Pakistan on Wednesday received half a million doses of coronavirus vaccines donated by China. The second consignment of the Sinopharm vaccine was received by Pakistan health officials at the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, was present to receive the batch of the vaccines. "China has always supported Pakistan during difficult times," Sultan said, extending his gratitude to the Chinese government. The vaccines will be shifted to the warehouse of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and administered to the frontline health workers and people above the age of 60 years across the country. Earlier, China donated 500,000 doses of Sinopharm on February 1, enabling Pakistan to launch vaccination drive a day later. The new consignment arrived amidst Pakistan struggling to combat the third wave of the pandemic, which threatened the earlier gains against the coronavirus when the country succeeded to contain the first two outbreaks. Meanwhile, Pakistan's nationwide coronavirus tally reached 612,315 after 2,351 new cases were detected in the last 24 hours. Sixty-one more people died overnight, taking the COVID-19 toll to 13,656, according to the health ministry. Also read: CBI files FIR against Cadbury for corruption in obtaining Himachal factory licence Photo credit: Design by Ingrid Frahm; Courtesy From Harper's BAZAAR Photo credit: Design by Ingrid Frahm; Courtesy Warning: This story includes discussion about sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised. If given the opportunity, many of us probably wouldnt even consider revisiting footage of ourselves as adolescents (just imagine the angst, the awkwardness, the foolishness). Thats especially so if you grew up before social media, when there wasnt a rolling account of every single misguided thing you said and did that could quickly be subjected to the court of public opinion. But thats what is so remarkable about Soleil Moon Fryes documentary, Kid 90. She dares to look at her past through the lens of who shes become today. About four years ago, Frye, who rose to fame as the star of Punky Brewster, began reflecting on her formative years in the 90s, opening, as she tells BAZAAR.com, a Pandoras box by revisiting the myriad home videos shed filmed herself, as well as her audio and physical diaries, all of which ultimately became Kid 90. In the documentary, she asks, Are memories real, or are they the stories we want to tell ourselves? What she discovered throughout this process was a sense of duality that was indicative of the time period and relatable for many teens still today. On one end, she was living a dream: partying with famous friends like Heather McComb and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, losing her virginity to her longtime crush (Charlie Sheen, as a matter of fact), and tripping out on mushrooms somewhere in the Los Angeles desert. But on the other, there was a dark side: Frye recollects her breast reduction surgery at age 15 following years of suffering from gigantomastia and being hypersexualized on-screen, blaming herself for her own rape, and failing to notice the pain friends like Shannon Wilsey and Jonathan Brandis were going through back then. I dont think Ive been living a lie all this time, but I certainly dont think Ive been listening, she says in Kid 90. Now as a mother of four (with producer Jason Goldberg), Fryewho invites pals like McComb, David Arquette, and Brian Austin Green on this emotional journey captured in the filmlooks back at that pain, the trauma, the light, the love, the joy, adding that, every moment of it brought me to now. Over Zoom from the place where it all started, L.A., she talks about working through her guilt and pain, the power of memory, the lessons she passes on to her children growing up in the social media era, and reclaiming her sense of self at age 44. Story continues How did you know you were ready to revisit this era of your youth again? As a teenager, I had documented all the world around me and kept the diaries from the time I was five and the audio recording at 12, and these videos. Then, I really locked it all away in Tupperware and in my vault, I think, on a subconscious level. One of the reasons was that I had lost some of the people that were closest to me so young, and I don't think I was ready to look back at it. I just didn't realize that there were so many ghosts of the past in there. Then about four years ago, I have these incredible kids and I was focused on being a mother and wife. And I also wondered if my life had happened the way that I remembered it. I think part of me had always known that there was this artist inside, but I was so focused on my family that I wasn't really focused on myself and the artist that I once was. So I started going back through these tapes, trying to see if things happened the way I remembered themand, of course, opened Pandora's box. And in opening Pandora's box, [I] discovered true self-love. It's been the most incredible journey that has been a coming-of-age of both the teen me and the adult me. Photo credit: Courtesy of Soleil Moon Frye I'm fascinated by this idea of memory, which prompted you to revisit this time, and the way thats explored in the film. For instance, you reflect on your rape back then through an entirely different lens now. Do you think memory helped protect you from certain realities or trauma from your past? As we speak about some of these painful experiences, there were parts I remember and parts I didn't. For example, when I was drinking the drinks that then had GHB [gamma hydroxybutyrate, a date-rape drug] in them, but I didn't know what GHB was at the time. Do you know what I mean? I had these moments that I could remember being on my doorstep, I remember waking up in a different room, but I couldn't put together the pieces in between. Then, finding that tape and trying to piece it together through this blueprint, and in unlocking certain memories, that led to unlocking more memories and this incredibly deep exploration into my subconscious and my unconscious. Once I had unlocked so many of these memories, you can't just put them back, nor would I want to, because that was part of the catharsis of this experience. [It] also led me to this incredible, deeper understanding of faith and studying my dreams again, meditating and healing the pain through my faith. I think memory is so fascinating, because once you open one gateway, it leads to another pathway that then leads to another. I spent these years working through them and wanting to really be authentic in showing what my discoveries were and what was there on the page and in the videos. And then, finding forgiveness for the little girl inside that somehow felt like she had to lock it away for all those years. Forgiveness, including of oneself, for the past is also an interesting theme as your journey concludes in the film. What was your process as you realized, for instance, some of the pain your friends were going through that you overlooked at the time? I went through so many emotions in the discovery of how much I loved people and how I was loved back and how often we don't always see the love around us. And the feelings around guilt and not seeing when friends were reaching out for help, or when they felt like they needed to be heard. It was such a process of working through all of those emotions and so incredibly cathartic. Because I was able to really live with these incredible ghosts of the past that I feel have been these angel wings wrapped around me every step of the way. I spent so many hours and days and nights crying, listening to the audio tapes and watching the footage and reliving those painful experiences over and over and over. It was really a form of therapy for me to work through it. Then to come to the realization that all of the experiences that I've had in life, all of the pain from the time I was little, I was taught that you take [it] and turn it into art. So all of that pain, the trauma, the light, the love, the joy, every moment of it brought me to now. I really look at it as all happening for me and not to me, because it brought me to here. It has been messy at times, yet it's been such a beautiful life. And I am so grateful for it. While Kid 90 is deeply personal, what you said about redirectingor perhaps compartmentalizing painmore broadly reflects how many young people in the decade navigated their emotions. The specific ways we deflected from sexual assault and mental health, and how women are sexualized, are conducive to the time. Completely. In some way, when I was just trying to be myself, I look at those experiences and how relevant they are today with teens. The amount of objectification that happens on such a magnified scale with social media. I've seen it through my own daughters eyes. I think it is our responsibility as families, media, journalists to share these stories and have this dialogue. Because there are so many young people struggling with mental health for so many reasons. And so much [of that is] driven by the insecurities of living through this unrealistic, filtered world, which they've been subjected to. One size doesn't fit all. We really need to lend support. I hope that in some way, this documentary can raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. If I can help one person, then I feel that we've done our job as filmmakers and as a journalist, as artists. Absolutely. How do mothers like yourself teach your children to engage with or challenge some of the ideas they might see on social media, or even in traditional media, about young women and sexuality? Well, you try to encourage your kids to love themselves. Then, there is the world that is at their fingertips every day. There are friends, and there's all of the things that I feel are explored in the dark. There's the moment towards the end [of Kid 90] where you hear all these messages to myself: Am I pretty? Am I ugly? All those questions that I felt as a teen, and then seeing how many teens are feeling the same way today. It is a conversation that definitely needs to happen at home. I also think it is the responsibility of the media to recognize this, and more and more documentarians and journalists are sharing these stories. Because we don't know what the long-term effects are going to [be]. Looking at the suicide rates and mental health right now and living through this pandemic and everything else compiled, I really think it's more important now than ever. On the other end of Kid 90 is a reflection of you as a young woman, whose work earned you a level of privilege many of us have never seen, hanging out with other cool celebrities. Did it feel at the time that you were living a piece of the American Dream? And has that feeling shifted since rewatching this period? [Laughs.] These tapes it's so incredible. Because I always felt like I had such a cult. I was so grateful and had such a colorful world around me that I wanted to drink it all in. And because we grew up together at such young ages, it really felt more, like my friend said, our real-life eighth grade. We were a very small group of friends that all hung out together. So it never felt like it was disingenuous. It felt authentic and that we were really amazing, wonderful friends. Different people went on to do different things. And we were just having so much fun. Photo credit: Courtesy of Soleil Moon Frye There were definitely perks. Obviously, there were so many innocent years, and then it was super fun, like, some of the wilder times. Then, when I moved to go to school in New York and do theater, [it] was such a dream. I loved writing and was writing for a magazine and obsessed with skate culture. So I saw a group of kids jumping into a taxi and ran after them. I said, Im writing this article, and Id love to interview you guys. It happened to be Harold Hunter and Justin Pierce, who had just finished Kids. I didn't know that it was them at the time, and then they became my best friends in New York. So I was so fortunate to constantly be surrounded by such incredible, artistic, inspiring people. And at the same time, some of my close friends since I was a little girl were actors. Some were kids just in school. It was a whole mix of us. Some were musicians. I saw Brian [Austin] Green yesterday and our friend Will, who we grew up with. So many people know him as Will.I.Am. We were all growing up together, and there was just this support and love. I think it's also the reason why when people tell me that there's so many sad stories that come out of the experience [of growing up] in the spotlight, I can name so many more of us that have come out and grown stronger than ever. Kid 90 includes footage of you watching the news of the L.A. riots and listening to a message from your dad, who was involved in the civil rights movement. What do you remember about that particular moment in history? My father was a civil rights activist. He, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Tony Franciosa had gone to Gadsden, Alabama, to work on equal rights. He was part of the March on Washington. The work that he did around the civil rights movement is the work that he was certainly most proud of. Ill do these Google searches every once in a while and find photos of James Baldwin, and [my father] is standing in the background. Or him and Sammy Davis Jr. To be able to see that in our DNA is something that I'm so proud of. My mom was an activist. I think that journalistic part of me was born into me, the part of me that was always raised to be of service to others and around justice and what is right and what is our duty. It's something that I really encourage in my children. I love that you mentioned that moment, because that was my dad's voice and what was going on at the time. Those moments captured the journalistic lens that I was looking at the world through. So there was the internal world of our friends, then there was a world around usthe earthquakes, the fire, all of these things that were going on. I would always grab my camera and pick it up. It was a part of me, and I'm so grateful for that. Photo credit: Courtesy of Soleil Moon Frye The film is titled Kid 90, but it spans both your teenage and young-adulthood years. And you've recently said that you're coming of age again. What does adulthood mean to you, and how has that evolved over the years? I had associated that spark with youth. I remember moving to New York and feeling so alive and the world was at my fingertips, and those teen years living in Los Angeles. Then, of course, I've had this incredible life and these amazing kids, and I really associated that spark, that kid within, with youth. And through this experience, unlocking these tapes and reliving these experiences and growth and looking within, I rediscovered that spark. And for me, that's what coming of age again, at this stage of my life, has really been. To be in my truth, thy own self, and that incredible discovery of self-love and self-awakening, and to be able to do my art and continue being of service to others and the work. I have the honor of working with CORE [Community Organized Relief Effort], which is so important in my heart, and we've now done over 500,000 vaccinations and over 4.8 million tests across the nation. So, for me, adulthood is about continuing to live with that spark. This interview has been edited for clarity. You Might Also Like County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh human rights organizations have added five people to a list of political prisoners, bringing the total number to 29 in the oil-rich Central Asian nation. The five individuals from different parts of the country added to the list on March 17 are Maqsut Appasov, Medet Eseneev, Abzal Qanaliev, Merei Qurbaqov, and Aidar Syzdyqov. According to the human rights organizations' group of experts, they either were convicted or are currently under investigation on politically motivated charges, namely for supporting or taking part in the activities of opposition groups -- the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) and Koshe (Street) Party. Both parties have been labeled as extremist organizations and banned in Kazakhstan. Bakhytzhan Toreghozhina of the Almaty-based Ar, Rukh, Khaq (Dignity, Spirit, Truth) rights group, told RFE/RL on March 18 that the group of experts representing human rights organizations was established in 2013. Since then, the number of political prisoners in the country has risen dramatically. In recent months, many activists across Kazakhstan have been handed parole-like sentences for their involvement in the activities of the DVK and the Koshe Party, as well as for taking part in rallies organized by the two groups. DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstans BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government. Kazakh authorities labeled DVK extremist and banned the group in March 2018. Human rights groups have said Kazakhstans law on public gatherings violates international standards as it requires preliminary permission from authorities to hold rallies and envisions prosecution for organizing and participating in unsanctioned rallies, even though the nations constitution guarantees its citizens the right of free assembly. Kazakh authorities have insisted that there are no political prisoners in the country. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Offaly GAA legend Seamus Darby is urging people across the county to support Offaly GAA's Grand Canal Walk. The Great Seamus Darby is promoting @Offaly_GAA Grand Canal Walk with @noel_cribbin in support of Club & County. Let's get behind the final push to raise much needed funds @DuignanMichael @RhodeGAA https://t.co/EkeNjvGBBu pic.twitter.com/uRH5wAzgc0 Edenderry GAA (@EdenderryGAA) March 18, 2021 The 1982 All-Ireland hero says his playing days are all over but that the support is important because he'd "like to have someone to follow" in the years to come. The Grand Canal Walk aims to raise money for club and county and this year takes place remotely on Saturday, March 27. Each of the 41 clubs in our county have nominated someone to walk 5km within their own 5K radius as per the current Covid-19 guidelines. The money raised by each club will be split on a 50:50 basis between Offaly GAA and the respective clubs. You can find out more and support your local walker, club and Offaly GAA by TAPPING HERE. Seamus Darby says the support is important for the future and for the youngsters, including his own nieces and nephews who are now following the family tradition in the GAA. Almost 100,000 has been raised in total so far. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... LAS VEGAS Federal and local health officials are warning people not to drink a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, after linking it to liver illness in five hospitalized children. Company President Brent Jones on Wednesday called for stores to stop selling the product throughout the United States until the issue is resolved. Our goal is to diligently work with the FDA to achieve a swift resolution, a statement from Jones said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers, restaurants and retailers not to drink, cook with, sell or serve the product, the Southern Nevada Health District said in a statement posted Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Real Water is asking that all retailers pull the product from the shelf, effective immediately, and hold it in the back rooms or return it to the distributors, Jones statement said. Any customer who has purchased Real Water from a retailer is asked to return the product. Jones did not address a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Nevada state court on behalf of a father, mother and their young son who say they became sick from the water. Real Water is marketed in boxy blue plastic bottles as mineral-rich and alkalized and infused with negative ions. Will Kemp, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, said it is sold throughout the Southwest including Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the Los Angeles area at stores including Sprouts, Whole Foods and Costco. It is also delivered to homes in large bottles. They represent this as the best water available, and it was the worst, Kemp said Wednesday. Jones statement traced the potential health issue to the companys Las Vegas home delivery operation. The health district, based in Las Vegas, said it began investigating five cases of acute non-viral hepatitis in November 2020 and notified the FDA. It said it also investigated the illness of six other people three children and three adults who reported less severe symptoms including vomiting, nausea, appetite loss and fatigue. Five children required hospitalization but recovered, the health district said. The patients lived in four different households. To date, the consumption of Real Water brand alkaline water was found to be the only common link identified between all the cases, the district said. Acute non-viral hepatitis is a liver inflammation that can be caused by exposure to toxins, autoimmune disease or drinking too much alcohol, the district said. Symptoms can include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and yellow skin or eyes. The district advised people experiencing symptoms to contact their health care provider. Affinitylifestyles.com has been in Las Vegas since 1998 and is headed by Brent Jones, a former one-term Republican Nevada state Assembly member from 2016 to 2018. It markets the water as infused with negative ions and the healthiest drinking water available. The label says the water is a beneficial pH average of 8.0, although the lawsuit notes it is drawn from the Las Vegas public tap water supply, which has an average pH of 7.8. The civil lawsuit seeks monetary damages based on several legal claims including false advertising, negligence and deceptive trade practices. Kemp said his clients, parents Emely and Christopher Wren and their 2-year-old son, each became ill after drinking the water. A daughter did not drink the water and did not become ill. The boy was flown in November to Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City and put on a liver transplant list. But Kemp said his condition improved and he has not undergone surgery. Emely Wren experienced nausea and fatigue but was not hospitalized, Kemp said. Christopher Wren was hospitalized in Las Vegas for several days after showing extremely high levels of a blood enzyme indicating liver damage, Kemp said. He is continuing treatment. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:08:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Ronald Ssekandi ABIM, Uganda, March 18 (Xinhua) -- As the world commemorates the International Day of Forests, which falls on March 21, communities in semi-arid northeastern Uganda are resorting to tree planting to mitigate harsh climate change effects and also earn a living. Christine Anyait, 63, was one of the first in northeastern Uganda to engage in private tree planting. Most of the forest areas in the region are on public land. Anyait used to be an agriculture teacher. After retirement, she has dedicated her time to tree planting, breaking a long-held view that forests can never be planted in this semi-arid area, also known as Karamoja. She told Xinhua that the battle to change this view started within her family and later spread to the community, who all believed that she was wasting time and land. Four years down the road, they are all enthusiastic because her plantation is doing well. Dorcus Angole is another community member who operates a tree nursery bed in the Karamoja region. Angole told Xinhua that she sells more than 600,000 tree seedlings to community members, civil society institutions and schools each season. For decades, this region neighboring South Sudan and northwestern Kenya has depended on relief food due to harsh weather, which does not favor agriculture. These harsh conditions are compounded by armed cattle rustling and illegal charcoal burning. A high demand for wood fuel driven by a growing population has pushed unemployed youth into cutting trees for firewood. According to Ugandan government figures, the country loses about 122,000 hectares annually, and the forest coverage rate of the country was reduced from 24 percent to 9 percent between 1990 and 2015. To reverse this trend, which has had dire consequences like prolonged dry spells leading to crop failure, the government and development partners have embarked on afforestation. In Karamoja, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) through the Sawlog Production Grant Scheme Project provides grants to farmers to subsidize the costs of setting up and maintaining forest plantations. The farmers are also given high-quality seedlings from FAO certified tree nursery beds. This support to private-sector tree planting has attracted substantial investment in timber plantations by small, medium and large-scale investors, according to the FAO. Since 2017, the FAO has supported 16 private growers to establish 329 hectares of forests in Karamoja. Anyait and Angole are some of the beneficiaries of this project and are now an inspiration to many people who want to engage in tree planting. Many rural schools in Karamoja depend on wood fuel. Pupils are occasionally sent to the wild to gather firewood, which interrupts learning as classes are postponed or cancelled. Pupils are also exposed to dangers like wild animals. To limit this practice, the FAO has established and maintained woodlots at one of the schools, Musupo Primary School in Moroto district. "In five years to come, I will have started getting some firewood from these trees," Simon Opolot, head teacher of the school, told Xinhua. Also, scientists at one of the research centers in the region are carrying out trials to find out the most suitable tree species for drylands. Evidence-based research shows that dryland afforestation and reforestation are possible, Paul Okullo, director of research at Nabuin Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Moroto district, told Xinhua. Okullo said that with continued publicity and support, communities in the region will take up tree planting. Embarking on private tree planting has also created employment for youths who had resorted to charcoal burning. Jerome Odong, 23, was one of the youths who abandoned charcoal burning and resorted to working in a private forest in his neighborhood. He said he uses his earnings to take care of his child and wife. Odong added that many of his peers are now abandoning tree cutting because they have come to realize the importance of forests. Enditem The issue received bids for 24.95 crore shares as against 9.57 crore shares on offer. The initial public offer (IPO) of Kalyan Jewellers India received bids for 24.95 crore shares as against 9.57 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Thursday (18 March 2021). The issue was subscribed 2.61 times. The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday, 16 March 2021, and it will close today, 18 March 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 86-87 per share. The issue comprised of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1175 crore, which comprises of a fresh issue of up to Rs 800 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 375 crore. The OFS comprises of sale of equity shares worth Rs 125 crore by one of the promoters T.S. Kalyanaraman and sale of equity shares worth Rs 250 crore by an investor shareholder Highdell Investment. The post issue promoter's shareholding in the company would decline to 60.53% from 67.99% while that of Highdell would fall to 26.36% from 32.01%. Ahead of the IPO, the company on 15 March 2021 finalised allocation of 4,04,48,275 equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 87 per share, aggregating to Rs 351,89,99,925. The company proposes to utilise Rs 600 crore from the net proceeds from fresh issue of equity shares to fund its working capital requirements and rest for the general corporate purpose. The company expects that listing of the equity shares will enhance visibility and brand image and provide liquidity to shareholders. Kalyan Jewellers is one of the largest jewellery companies in India in terms of revenues. The company was established by the founder and one of the Promoters T.S. Kalyanaraman in 1993 with a single showroom in Thrissur, Kerala. The company has since expanded to become a pan-India jewellery company, with 107 showrooms located across 21 states and union territories in India, and also have an international presence with additional 30 showrooms located in the Middle East as of 31 December 2020. All of the showrooms are operated and managed by the company. The company designs, manufactures and sells a wide range of gold, studded and other jewellery products across various price points ranging from jewellery for special occasions, such as weddings, which is the highest-selling product category for the company, to daily-wear jewellery. On a consolidated basis, the company reported a net loss of Rs 80.49 crore and revenue of Rs 5516.70 crore in the nine months ended on 31 December 2020. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Atlanta Police Department has released the audio recordings of two 911 calls related to the spa shootings Tuesday evening that left eight people dead. A 21-year-old man suspected in the slayings was arrested in southwest Georgia hours later. Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said the investigation is still in its early stages. Here is full coverage of the shootings Heres the transcript of the 911 call placed from the scene of the Gold Spa shooting, where the caller was still hiding. The call came in at 5:47 p.m., and responders were dispatched within 38 seconds. They arrived at the scene at 5:49 p.m. Dispatcher: [Inaudible.] Caller: [Whispering.] 1916 Piedmont Road. Dispatcher: Repeat the address? Caller: Yeah, Gold Spa. [Inaudible.] Right now. So, can help me, come. Dispatcher: OK. Repeat the address. Caller: 1916 Piedmont Road. Dispatcher: You need police, fire or an ambulance? Caller: Huh? Dispatcher: Police, fire or an ambulance? Caller: I dont know. Dispatcher: Who do you need? Caller: [Inaudible.] That guy, thats why. Need police. Dispatcher: Its a robbery there? Caller: Yeah. Dispatcher: OK. Is this a house, apartment or business? Caller: [Whispering.] Gold Spa. Dispatcher: I cant hear you. Caller: Gold Spa. Dispatcher: OK. You have a description of the male? Caller: [Inaudible.] Sorry. Thank you. Dispatcher: Do you have a description of him, maam? Caller: Hiding right now, thats why. Dispatcher: Is it a male or a female? Caller: They have a gun, [Inaudible]. Thats why. Dispatcher: They have a gun, you said? Caller: Yeah. [Inaudible.] Thats why. Dispatcher: Wheres he at in the building? Caller: Um, this is Gold Spa. Dispatcher: I know. Where is the person who is robbing the spa? Where is he right now? Caller: [Whispering.] I dont know, Im hiding right now. Dispatcher: OK. Did you have a description of him? Did you see him? Caller: Oh, yeah. [Inaudible.] Dispatcher: A white male? What is he wearing? Caller: I dont know. Please come, OK? Dispatcher: Whats your name, maam? Caller: My name [Inaudible.] Dispatcher: OK. Alright, what room are you in? Caller: [Whispering.] Thank you. Please. *** Here is a transcript of a subsequent 911 call, placed by a woman who was not at any of the spas. The call came in at 5:57 p.m. Tuesday, and responders were dispatched within 37 seconds. They arrived at 6 p.m. Caller: [Inaudible shouting] Dispatcher 1: [Inaudible] Whats the address of the emergency? Caller: Hi. 1907 Piedmont Road, Suite B. Dispatcher 1: You said 910? Caller: Its called Aromatherapy Spa. Dispatcher 1: You said 910 Piedmont Road? Caller: 1907 Piedmont Road. Dispatcher 1: 1907 Piedmont Road. And what was the suite number? Caller: B. Suite B. Dispatcher 1: Suite B as in Baker? Caller: Yes. Dispatcher 1: And you need the fire department, police or an ambulance? Caller: Ambulance. Both of them. Because the ladies Dispatcher 1: Hold on, dont hang up. Hold on one moment. [Line breaks.] Caller: Some guy came in [Ringing] Dispatcher 2: EMS, what is the address of the emergency? Caller: 1907 Piedmont Road. Thats 1907 Piedmont Road NE, Suite B as in Baker. Dispatcher 2: OK, just a second here. OK, and whats the name of the location? Caller: Aromatherapy Spa. Dispatcher 2: Say the name one more time? Caller: Aromatherapy Spa. Dispatcher 2: OK and say the location, just to make sure I have it one more time on Piedmont Road. Caller: 1907 Piedmont Road. Dispatcher 2: And what is the phone number that youre calling from, and what is your name? Caller: My name is Mina. Dispatcher 2: Say your name one more time. Caller: Mina. Dispatcher 2: OK, tell me exactly what happened. Caller: I dont know yet, but I just got a call from one of my friends. And they say, some guy came in, you know, we hear the gunshot, and you know, the ladies passed out, like, front of the door. And everybodys there, so everybodys hiding. So I dont know whats going on exactly, but I need the ambulance or something over there in that location please. Dispatcher 2: OK, at this location OK, I didnt quite understand, but let me let my crew know. OK. OK, so what happened? Caller: I dont know exactly. Im not there yet. Dispatcher 2: Yes, maam. Caller: Um. Um. But some guy came in and shoot the gun, so everybody heard the gunshot, and some ladies got hurt, I think. Everybody is scared so theyre hiding in the behind, but the ladies passed out. Dispatcher 2: OK. So, let me just let everyone know whats going on. And I understand youre not there. OK, one second. [Pause] OK. Do you know how old she is? Caller: Shes 60s. Somewhere around there. Dispatcher 2: OK, is she awake? And were almost there, OK? Caller: No, shes passed out. Dispatcher 2: OK and was she breathing? Caller: I dont know, Im not there. Dispatcher 2: Yes, maam, but youre giving me some good information. Thank you so much. Bear with me. I understand youre not there, and Im going to put down unknown for the rest of the information. OK? Can you hear me? Caller: Yes, yes, yes. Dispatcher 2: Atlanta, go ahead and start [Inaudible]. Dispatcher 1: [Inaudible] Dispatcher 2: OK, Im 754. Dispatcher 1: OK, thank you. Dispatcher 2: Miss Mina? Thank you so much. Miss Mina? Caller: Yes, yes. Dispatcher 2: OK, Im sending the paramedics to help you now. Stay on the line, Im going to tell you exactly what to do next. Let me ask you this, where did you say the people are hiding? Caller: They behind the desk. Dispatcher 2: OK. Inside the business? Caller: Yes, inside the business. Dispatcher 2: OK. OK. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. ___ (c)2021 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. 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The Biden administration is aiming to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions by mid-May for the Mexico and Canada borders and also loosen current flight bans on the UK, Europe and Brazil, officials have said. The international travel restrictions have been in place since March last year when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The Canadian border currently remains shut to Americans for non-essential travel. Land border crossings between Mexico and the US is also only allowed for essential travel purposes. International air travel for non-US citizens is also currently banned from the UK, certain European counties, China, Iran, Brazil and South Africa. The Biden administration is aiming to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions by mid-May for the Mexico and Canada borders and also loosen bans on the UK, Europe and Brazil, officials have said Sources told CNBC on Thursday that the Biden administration is looking to reduce the travel restrictions by mid-May. The timing is directly tied to Biden's plan to have vaccine available for all adults in the United States by the end of May. 'There is going to be a sea change in mid-May when vaccines are more widely available to everyone,' according to one of the sources, who is senior administration official. The US has currently vaccinated about 12 percent of its population. To date, the US has handed out 113 million doses. An average of 2.5 million shots are being given per day. Biden has vowed to have enough vaccines available for all adult Americans by May. There is currently no formal policy on the mid-May time frame to reopen borders and lift travel restrictions. The US government on Thursday officially announced land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least April 21. The 30-day extension is the second announced since Biden took office in January. The Canadian border currently remains shut to Americans for non-essential travel. The US government on Thursday officially announced land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least April 21 Sources told CNBC on Thursday that the Biden administration is looking to reduce the travel restrictions by mid-May. The timing is directly tied to Biden's plan to have vaccine available for all adults in the United States by the end of May CURRENT TRAVEL RESTRICTION RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL: Foreign nationals who have been in China, Iran, the UK, Brazil, and most European countries for the past 14 days are banned from entering the US. The European countries include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City. US citizens or residency holders are exempt. Anyone entering the US via air must provide a negative COVID test taken within 72 before departure. CANADA: The Canadian border currently remains shut to Americans for non-essential travel. MEXICO: Land border crossings between Mexico and the US is also only allowed for essential travel purposes. There are no current flight restrictions. Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security said in its notice that the US, Canada and Mexico had all 'determined that non-essential travel... poses additional risk of transmission and spread of the virus'. Canada, who has shown little interest in lifting the restrictions, wants to keep the borders shut until the majority of its citizens are vaccinated, sources within the Biden administration said. US officials had previously sought some revisions especially for residents along the Canadian border. The sources say Biden's administration are revisiting the current ban on travel from Britain, Europe and Brazil on a weekly basis given concern about new COVID variants that have are now also spreading across the country. The majority of the travel restrictions on the US have been in place since March 11 when then-President Trump enforced them. He banned entry to nearly all foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries, China and Iran in the 14 days prior to arriving in the US. Trump extended those measures to include Brazil on May 25. The ban has never applied to American citizens. On January 26, the US government began requiring nearly all international air travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within three days of travel. The Biden administration has spent weeks reviewing whether to impose COVID-19 testing requirements for land border crossings but has not issued new requirements. In an executive order in January, Biden directed U.S. officials to 'immediately commence diplomatic outreach to the governments of Canada and Mexico regarding public health protocols for land ports of entry'. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. That's an issue. It might be set underwater, but there is no drier show on television than "SpongeBob SquarePants," and the transition to Broadway now needs to involve a dialing back of excess and more attention to truth Bikini Bottom truth, sure, but metaphoric human veracity, nonetheless. Jarrow's book, which involves Bikini Bottom fighting off an erupting volcano (with you-know-who climbing the mountain at the last possible moment) is a deliciously quirky piece of writing, with resonance to the panic surrounding Y2K, and the more horrific perils, natural and human, attacking the environment we all share, for better or worse. Sometimes the production slows down enough to emphasize those moments and allow warm-blooded actors like Slater, Cooper and Lee to communicate directly with the audience. Often it does not. SpongeBob is too removed from us. Qantas has told about 7500 workers from its mothballed international division they will receive $500 a week for the next seven months as part of the federal governments $1.2 billion aviation support package. The airlines chief executive of international, Andrew David, informed staff at a town-hall meeting in Sydney on Thursday about the program, which will act as a safety net after the $500-a-week JobKeeper scheme that ends this month. Qantas international crew will be paid will pay $500 a week when JobKeeper ends. Credit:Getty Images The payment will go to international Qantas and Jetstar pilots, crew and other employees who are stood down from work until Australias international border reopens and they return to work, which Qantas expects to happen in late October once the COVID-19 rollout is completed. The cost of the government payments for 7500 Qantas workers over seven months will run to about $112 million. New Delhi, March 18 : Amid fear of Covid-19 spread in the protest sites, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said that the government should open a vaccination centre at the protest sites. Tikait said, "As the Covid-19 cases rise in the country once again, we will follow the Covid related guidelines. We will follow social distancing here. The government should inoculate the farmers at the protest sites. I will also get inoculated." "We won't end the protest because of Covid fear. We will increase the size of the tents in order to maintain distance. This protest is for a cause and we will continue this till the laws a withdrawal," he added. Talking about the increasing number of cases in the prison, he said: "Parents of the inmates in the prisons have requested us to take up their issues. Covid guidelines are not been followed in the prisons. There are lot of prisoners and they are sleeping close to each other. Social distancing should be followed in the prisons also." On Wednesday, in a meeting with the Chief Ministers amid growing alarm over the resurgence of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to act fast against the emerging "second peak" of the pandemic, warning "if we do not stop this now, a country-wide outbreak can occur". Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 A boat responded to a Sheffield neighborhood on Oakwood Boulevard Wednesday night to rescue residents from flooded homes. The Colbert County Emergency Management Agency said about 10 to 12 homes are involved, and floodwaters were about 5 feet deep in places. Khanh Hoa People's Committee plans to leverage VND140 billion ($6.1 million) to buy Covid-19 vaccines and inoculate its population for free. The decision has been approved by the provincial Standing Party Committee, Nguyen Tan Tuan, chairman of the central province's People's Committee, said Wednesday. The VND140 billion would be derived from the national budget and other sources. Besides prioritized groups, Khanh Hoa plans to buy around two million vaccine doses to cover all its citizens aged 18 and above for free. The province's population is about 1.2 million. The province would request the Ministry of Health and seek approval from the Prime Minister to choose what type of Covid-19 vaccine to buy, said Tuan. As Vietnam began its mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign earlier this month, 100 vaccine doses have been distributed by the Health Ministry for Khanh Hoa, where 100 medical workers at the Khanh Hoa Hospital for Tropical Diseases have been inoculated. The province has recorded 83 Covid-19 cases in total since the coronavirus first appeared. As of Thursday, over 24,000 people in Vietnam have been vaccinated with the first shot of a Covid-19 vaccine produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. They include frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight, doctors, nurses and contact tracers. Priority is given to 13 cities and provinces that recorded coronavirus outbreaks in the recent wave, with Hai Duong receiving the most shots, over 12,000, followed by Hanoi at over 3,700. Besides Khanh Hoa, other cities and provinces have also decided to buy Covid-19 vaccines for their citizens. Hanoi for example has requested the health ministry to help it buy 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for its citizens aged 18 and above, prioritizing those most at risk of infection. HCMC, Quang Ninh and Dong Nai have also followed suit. Vietnam has ordered 30 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses, with 117,600 doses having arrived last month. Around 5 million more are expected to come until April, provided through global vaccine access mechanism Covax, UNICEF and other contracts. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Iran's report on the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) passenger plane near Tehran in January 2020 as an attempt to hide true causes of the plane crash. He said this in a video address, Ukrinform reports. "Ukraine has earlier sent Iran more than 90 pages of remarks and proposals to its draft final report and insisted on Iran including them into the final document. However, what we saw in todays published report is just a cynical attempt to hide true causes of the downing of our aircraft," Kuleba said. According to him, an analysis of the document proves that Iran conducted the technical investigation with numerous violations of international standards of the Chicago Convention and IKAO. The minister noted that the investigation had been "biased, presented proves are selective, and conclusions are deceptive." "The document does not cover all the circumstances; it reveals neither the causes of the tragedy nor the chain of events that led to it. This is not a report, but a collection of manipulations aimed not at establishing the truth but acquitting the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is a great despair for Ukraine and the rest of the civilized world. Iran could not find strength to take responsibility for ensuring that such tragedies do not repeat in the future," Kuleba stressed. At the same time, he noted that if Iran does not want voluntarily demonstrate its willingness to establish the truth of the tragedy, Ukraine and international partners will find ways to achieve this. "We will not let Iran hide the truth or avoid responsibility for this crime. Justice will prevail, no matter how much effort and time it takes," Kuleba assured. As reported earlier, Irans Civil Aviation Organization released the final report on the crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020. The report blamed an error by an air defence operator for the accidental downing of the Ukrainian plane. On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK). On January 11, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner. On January 5, 2021, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine had received from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the crash of flight PS752, and should prepare its comments by the end of February. On February 20, Iran announced the completion of the investigation into this case. ish They give the vaccine to the prisoners but the state troopers who protect us are having a hard time getting the vaccine. What sense does that make, Gov. Wolf? The state of Pennsylvania must go complete Republican in the next gubernatorial election. Schuylkill Haven I read the article by Allen from Friedensburg and you got some of it right. The only thing is you have to put Republicans in there, not the Democrats. That is who is destroying our country. You have to remember that it is Trump they said was the chosen one. That is why we are going downhill, because they are putting false gods above our real Jesus and God. They have got to realize that Trump is not the savior. Shenandoah I was very disappointed to see Wolf going along with our Republican legislators to devote the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to teachers and essential workers. These people are actively working in most cases or are young enough to get the vaccine that requires them to show up for a second dose. People 65 years and older have a harder time getting around and in my opinion should be the first ones offered the J&J one-shot vaccine. Mahanoy City Is anyone else having trouble with County Waste? I have tried several times and can not get anyone human on the phone. This is ridiculous. Locustdale One thing is for sure, Jerry Knowles is not going to get my mail-in vote. He says the election isnt stolen. Then he says lets go back to in-person voting. He is talking out of two sides of his mouth. Deer Lake I just want to give a shout out of praise and a thank you to Jerry Enders of Northeast Auto Sales. He helped me fix a rear windshield wiper. Thank you very much. You are number one, buddy. Frackville The Duchess of Cambridge cut an elegant figure as she recycled a 349 camel coat to speak with ambulance staff and paramedics in east London today. Kate Middleton, 39, who has returned to the capital after spending lockdown at her Norfolk home of Anmer Hall with Prince William, 38, and their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, joined her husband to visit Newham Ambulance Station this morning. Cutting a stylish figure, the-mother-of three proved her love for tailored shapes as she stepped out in the buttoned wool and cashmere coat, teaming it with a matching tan poloneck jumper and accessories to match. It is not the first time that she has donned the 349 jacket, having previously worn the piece when she visited Cardiff to launch her Early Years survey in January 2020. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, cut an elegant figure as she recycled a 349 camel coat to speak with ambulance staff and paramedics in east London today Kate let her natural beauty shine through with a natural palette of make-up and let her statement tan ensemble be the focal point of her look. She opted to wear a pretty yellow and tan mask for the occasion, and completed her look with matching tan accessories. Her outfit choice comes after celebrity stylist Rochelle White said Kate is adopting a new 'chic and simple' style to appear 'more mature and business-like' during the Covid-19 crisis. She told FEMAIL the move was particularly poignant because of the current crisis the UK is facing amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing: 'It could be a mix of wanting to be more mature and business like, while still being herself.' Kate Middleton first wore the coat from Massimo Dutti to visit Cardiff during a nationwide tour in January 2020 (pictured) Rochelle said the Duchess might be trying to keep focus on her message, rather than on her outfits, explaining: 'I think that Kate knows that the press always have their eye on her what/who she is wearing. 'I think her approach right now is to not be known for that but for what she is doing during this time.' 'She is keeping it smart, simple and chic so that the attention isn't based on what she is wearing when speaking to people of importance.' During today's visit, William and Kate spoke to crews at the ambulance station to hear how they coped mentally during the pandemic. The Duchess paired the striking coat with matching accessories, including a brown polo neck, suede tan clutch bag and co-ordinating face mask They went on to meet with paramedic Jahrin Khan, who asked the couple if it was okay to Facetime her father Abu, in Bangladesh. The couple spoke to staff today about the problems they faced during one of the most challenging periods in the London Ambulance Service's history. The royals joined a call with Jay's sister Nasrin and granddad Baharam in the UK. William told them: 'She works very hard and she's looking forward to seeing you soon.' Kate added: 'Hopefully it won't be too long before you can all meet up and see each other again.' Kate let her natural beauty shine through with a natural palette of make-up and let her statement tan ensemble be the focal point of her look They also met paramedic Shani Smith who has been helping to run one of the special tea trucks to serve medics over the past year, and heard how she has used her mental health training to provide peer support to her colleagues. The visit comes a week and a half after the monarchy was plunged into crisis by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Oprah interview. Kate is said to have found it 'mortifying' that allegations over her alleged row with Meghan Markle re-emerged two years ago after first being reported in 2018. Royal biographer Penny Junor told People: 'For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse [for Prince William] than being attacked himself.' She added: 'William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry.' Chargers Agree to Terms with Cornerback Michael Davis The Los Angeles Chargers today agreed to terms on a multi-year contract with cornerback Michael Davis. Davis, who signed with the Chargers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Brigham Young prior to the 2017 season, has appeared in 59 games and made 35 starts for the Bolts. After working primarily on special teams as a rookie, Davis took on a starting role in 2018 that he has held ever since registering five interceptions over that span, including a 78-yard pick-six of Tom Brady last year. During the 2020 season, Davis set single-season career highs with 63 tackles, three interceptions and 14 passes defensed the latter of which ranks as the most in a single season by an undrafted player in team history. For his career, Davis has recorded 150 tackles (117 solo), 32 passes defensed, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and the five interceptions. His 32 career pass breakups rank as the fifth-most by any Chargers defender through their first four professional seasons. ADVERTISEMENT The Glendale, Calif., native has an additional seven tackles (five solo) and two passes defensed in a pair of playoff starts for the Chargers. 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. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), shown in 2012, said at a hearing Thursday, "The Asian American community is reaching a crisis point that cannot be ignored." (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) A House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday heard from lawmakers, experts and advocates about the rise of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role political rhetoric can play. "For over a year, Asian Americans have been fighting an additional virus of hate and bigotry," Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) told the committee. The hearing by the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties was called to address the increasing attacks against Asian Americans in recent months, and was scheduled before Tuesday's shooting deaths of eight people including six women of Asian descent at three Atlanta-area spas. A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shootings. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) began his opening statement by saying the shooting deaths felt "like the inevitable culmination of a year in which there were nearly 3,800 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate." Cohen was referring to a report produced by the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate that identified incidents of discrimination against Asian Americans between March 2020 and the end of February 2021. Of the reported incidents, 1,691, or 44.56%, occurred in California. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said the group has sounded the alarm on anti-Asian bias for a year. She said discrimination grew worse when former President Trump and other Republicans began regularly referring to COVID-19 as the "China virus" or "Wuhan flu." What started as dirty looks and verbal assaults, she said, escalated to attacks and violence against Asian Americans. "The Asian American community is reaching a crisis point that cannot be ignored," Chu said. This has become almost a daily tragedy." Orange County Republican Reps. Michelle Steel and Young Kim each testified before the committee, emphasizing the attacks are heartbreaking and wrong. Story continues This is wrong and it should play no role in our national rhetoric, Kim, one of the first Korean American women in Congress, said, adding the hate, the bias and the attacks are unacceptable and must be stopped. Other Republican committee members and their witnesses sought to focus the hearing on discrimination in higher education admission practices, or argued the spike in crimes against Asian Americans is part of surge in violence in cities in the last year. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) opened the hearing for Republicans by criticizing the Chinese Communist Party's handling of the virus. That led some Democrats on the panel to plead with Republicans to stop linking the pandemic to Asians. "You can say racist, stupid stuff if you want, but I'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like 'kung flu,' 'Wuhan virus' or other ethnic identifiers .... I am not a virus. And when you say things like that, it hurts the Asian American community," Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said. At one point, Roy made a particularly insensitive reference to the history of lynchings in Texas, claiming that was evidence that the state takes justice "very seriously." Evoking a form of murder that was once widely used against Black Americans at a forum to address racial discrimination triggered an immediate backlash. Social media users noted that one of the nation's largest mass lynchings, the 1871 Chinese Massacre in Los Angeles, resulted in the deaths of up to 20 Chinese people at the hands of a mob. Roy also complained that lawmakers appeared more concerned with language and terminology than prosecuting wrongdoers. "My concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society, free speech, and away from the rule of law and taking out bad guys," Roy said. Cohen immediately pushed back on the characterization. "I'd just like to reiterate that while speech is important and has meaning, the incidents I mentioned in my opening statement being spat at, slapped in the face, lit on fire, slashed with a box cutter and shoved violently to the ground, as the video showed that's not speech," Cohen said. Meng, the New York Democrat, became visibly angry as she addressed Roy directly at the end of her testimony. Your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you don't have to do it by putting a bull's-eye on the back of Asian Americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids. This hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community and to find solutions, and we will not let you take our voice away from us, she said. Meng sponsored a resolution last year urging public officials to condemn and denounce anti-Asian sentiment, racism, discrimination and religious intolerance. It passed the House with support from only 14 Republicans. Actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim told the subcommittee that the rhetoric used by elected officials is important, and that how Congress and the country respond to the shootings and the hundreds of other attacks will send a lasting message to the fastest growing racial population in the country. There are several moments in a countrys history that chart its course indelibly for the future. For Asian Americans, that moment is now, Kim said. "What happens right now and over the course of the coming months will send a message for generations to come as to whether we matter." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A GARDA believed she was going to die as her businessman husband choked her on the kitchen floor of their home during a domestic attack, a court heard. Mother-of-one Meihan Meng said she had to use her fingers to tap the floor to show husband Kai Zhu she could not breathe as he choked her during a row. Kai Zhu (39), an importer of vital PPE equipment during the pandemic, has admitted assaulting her but disputes the extent of the violence and maintains his wife started this by hitting him with a child's chair. A former personal trainer, he told investigating gardai: It was a domestic fight, I didnt realise it was so serious. In China it is common." Judge Karen O'Connor adjourned sentencing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Mr Zhu pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to his wife, and criminal damage to a phone at their then home at Sallymount Avenue, Ranelagh, on May 14 last year. Garda Oliver McStravick told the court Ms Meng said in a statement she arrived home that morning following a lengthy work shift needing sleep and asked her husband to take their daughter out to play. He was "ignoring" her as he prepared food in the kitchen and she called his mother in China on Facetime. She asked Mr Zhu what was wrong with him and he turned around and slapped her across the face, she said, before punching her five to six times. She said he used his left hand to choke her against a press while slapping and punching her with his right hand. Ms Meng said she blacked out after one of the blows and told Mr Zhu you have just punched me six times, why are you so angry?" He then lifted her up holding her neck, she said, and kept punching her face as he dragged her to the living room, where he pushed her down on the floor and started hitting her again. He dragged her back to the kitchen and tried to close the door, she said. He got on top of her, slapped her face and she felt a sharp pain and lost her hearing. His mother was still on Facetime and the accused grabbed the phone and smashed it. Ms Meng told gardai when Mr Zhu was choking her she thought she was going to die because it was done so hard. A medical report stated she had contusions, bruising and swelling to her face and clinical signs of a fracture to the base of the skull, but this did not show up in a CT scan. There was also a reference to attempted compression of the neck, diminished hearing and psychological distress. In interview, Mr Zhu said it was a small home, they were both under stress and an altercation started because of trivial family issues. He said his wife hit him with their childs chair and he got angry and started to fight with her. He said he slapped her on the mouth, she grabbed his collar, he slapped her again and she punched his eye. He slapped her maybe 10 times and did not intend to hurt her, he said. He said it was just slapsand denied choking her, saying he put his arm on her chest to push her away. If I were to punch her it wouldnt look like this, I was a personal trainer back in China, he said of photos of her injuries. He accepted he threw the phone on the ground because he did not want his mother to see them fight. In a victim impact statement, Ms Meng said the assault was life-threatening, frightening, unfamiliar and scary. She said Mr Zhu used his two hands to choke her until she lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes, he was still on top of me with one hand gripped around my neck, she said. I believed I would be dead, plain and simple, as I could only see all red and black from my eyes and I could barely breathe. I used my fingers to tap the floor to indicate to him that I could not breathe. When taken to hospital she said she had clearly visible fingermarks around her neck and face. After the assault I was questioning myself about where did I go wrong, and why he would hate me so much, she said. Ms Meng said she had difficulty sleeping, had nightmares and lost 20kg in weight. She said she was still in a lot of fear but was strong and independent and I refuse to live my life as a victim of him. Defence barrister Keith Spencer said Mr Zhu was remorseful and can only apologise for his completely disproportionate actions but was adamant that he did not start the physical altercation. Mr Zhu had been importing PPE for use in the pandemic, had spent three weeks in custody after his arrest, and his life had been destroyed but he was trying to rebuild it. The relationship had now irretrievably broken down. Mr Spencer said the times conspired to bring this about and the incident happened in a situation that many families find themselves in at the moment confined to a small physical space, irritable and frustrated. This erupted into a situation that should never have occurred," he said. The hearing continues next Wednesday. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are likely to open higher on Thursday, tracking positive global cues and firm trading at Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange. Among the individual stocks, shares of Punjab National Bank, BHEL, Future Retail, SBI Cards, DLF, Vedanta, Mindtree will be in focus in today's trading session. Also read: Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty set to open higher; DLF, Vedanta, PNB, Future Retail in focus Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Thusday's trading session. PNB: Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has said it has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to manage its credit card business. BHEL: The state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) engineering firm said it has emerged as the lowest bidder for supply of equipment for 6x700 MW nuclear power projects of Nuclear Power Corporation of India. With this tender, BHEL has retained its market leadership position of being the sole Indian supplier of nuclear steam turbines. Future Retail: Amid ongoing legal battle with Amazon, Future Group has asked a Singapore arbitration court to remove Future Retail from its order that temporarily blocked the deal with Mukesh Ambani-led firm. DLF Ltd: The real estate major plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures (NCD) to investors. The company has received approval from the board of directors to issue NCDs at a coupon rate of 8.25 per cent on a private placement basis in one or more tranches to certain eligible investors. SBI Cards: CA Rover Holdings has sold 4.25 per cent stake in SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd for Rs 3,943 crore through an open market transaction. Vedanta Ltd: The parent company, Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL), has raised its offer price to increase its stake in Vedanta by buying a 17.51 per cent stake in it at Rs 235 per share. Chemical stocks: Shares of chemical stocks will be in focus after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Indian chemical industry has an opportunity to attract investment of about Rs 10 lakh crore by 2025. Mindtree Ltd: India Ratings and Research has upgraded the company's long-term issuer rating to 'IND AAA' from 'IND AA+' with a stable outlook. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As energy efficiency and reliability become ever-hotter topics, the Southern California Regional Energy Network (SoCalREN) is introducing a new podcast dedicated to providing helpful information to anyone actively involved in sustainability and energy efficiency. The podcast series, dubbed "ReEnergizing Communities," will focus on exciting new trends and ideas impacting the energy efficiency and sustainability communities in Southern California, while also providing a platform for local leaders who are making an impact on the environment and economy, and provide information to the general public on SoCalREN's services. The debut episode, available for download beginning today, centers on energy resiliency, an entity's ability to withstand or recover quickly from disruptions in available and affordable energy resources. Guests include energy and technology leaders from Los Angeles County, the City of Palmdale and The Energy Coalition, a California-based nonprofit. "We are thrilled to launch the 'ReEnergizing Communities' podcast, which we believe will fast become an important platform for anyone who wants to make a positive community impact through energy efficiency," said Lujuana Medina, a manager for the Los Angeles County Environmental Initiatives Division. "This will be a place where public agency leaders, local government officials, regulators, business leaders, community organizers and energy industry professionals can come together, share ideas and experiences, and continue to move energy efficiency forward in Southern California." "ReEnergizing Communities" is available now. To listen, subscribe to 'ReEnergizing Communities' on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit socalren.org/about/podcasts. The Southern California Regional Energy Network (SoCalREN) Public Agency Programs believe in the power of public agencies to lead their communities toward a safe, secure, resilient, affordable, and sustainable clean energy future. SoCalREN offers a suite of customizable, no-cost services to remove barriers to achieving energy savings. They also offer programs for residents and businesses which public agencies can leverage for the benefit of their communities. SoCalREN is here to help public agencies save energy, save money, and lead their communities on the pathway to zero net energy and overall greater sustainability. Learn more at SoCalREN.org. SOURCE SoCalREN Chiles Air Force on Wednesday, March 17 said that the coronavirus vaccination has finally started in Antarctica. This comes after Chile becomes the vaccination champion in Latin America. According to the reports by AP, more than 25 per cent of Chiles population has received at least one shot of the vaccine. As per the government officials and health experts, this is all because of the countrys early negotiations and a lot of experience in dealing with vaccination programs. The vaccination drive in Chile Chiles minister of science, Andres Couve told the Associated Press that the formal negotiations with vaccination producers began in the month of April. He further added that by May, a team had presented a plan to President Sebastian Pinera. This also included a road map about how to use the countrys network of trade agreements and its previous contracts with pharmaceutical companies to get vaccines. Earlier this week, Chile surpassed the mark of vaccinating 5 million people against COVID-19 in 41 days. The country reached the target two weeks earlier than the nation's self-imposed deadline. As per the reports by AP, more than half of the immunised are older adults. Also, 2 million have the second dose of the vaccine. The President, Sebastian Pinera, at a ceremony in Santiago said that reaching the goal of inoculating 5 million people, "has undoubtedly been a very difficult job and has meant the contribution of hundreds of thousands of people. He further revealed that by March 24, the country will begin to inoculate the population between the age of 50 and 59. Earlier this week, the Health Ministry reported that more than 2.7 million people over 60 years of age had been vaccinated. This represents about 85 about of that age group. (Image Credits: AP) Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. The Redding police departments investigation of what they say is vandalism has struck up local discussion about residual effects of the 2020 presidential election. Reddings first selectwoman is condemning what she says is an act of vandalism after a video surfaced last week appearing to show a person lighting fire to a Trump flag displayed on private property. In the video, shared on the Redding Police Department Facebook page, a person who appears to be holding a long stick or pole that is on fire and proceeds to light the flag on fire. Small sparks and flames began falling, into an area containing brush. Residents trying to understand the incident stirred up conversations online after a person who said their family was a victim of the crime posted the footage to a private, community Facebook group. Redding First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton said, clearly its an act of vandalism and no act of vandalism is acceptable. I think it was obviously an election season that was very controversial, divisive and violent, quite frankly, culminating in the insurrection at the capitol and so clearly passions are still running high, she said, referring to the 2020 presidential election.. That said, lighting a flag on fire is not acceptable, Pemberton added. Pemberton also made a point to note that setting the flag on fire presented a danger to homes and volunteer fire personnel. At this time of year, its fire season in Connecticut... Were at high risk for brush fires now, she said. A resident named Joanna Horodyska, 51, learned about the flag burning from the Facebook group and said its very sad that American people are so divided right now. Horodyska, originally from Poland, migrated to the United States in 2004 and moved to Redding in 2017. While living in Redding, Horodyska said she cant recall anything like this happening before and that it surprised her because she thinks Redding is a beautiful place, wonderful people [and] a very nice community. John Brewster, another resident who engaged in the Facebook groups post said its a guys right to fly it [a flag], but it looks like he [the owner] was looking for a reaction. [Theres a] new president in office. Its just time for people to move on, he said. People are harboring a lot of resentment. TEL AVIV - The United Arab Emirates has suspended preparations for a summit planned in April with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, representatives of the Biden administration and heads of state of Arab countries that have normalised relations with Israel, said Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. It said UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed felt "offended" by what he called an attempt by Netanyahu to exploit the normalisation between the two countries in the electoral campaign underway in Israel for the vote on 23 March. The suspension of the summit comes one week after the postponement of the Israeli prime minister's trip to the Emirates due to the refusal by the Jordanian government to allow Netanyahu's flight to pass through its airspace. That decision came after the cancellation by Crown Prince of Jordan Hussein bin Abdallah of a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem due to disagreements on security procedures. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Berkeley and Charleston counties received nearly $19 million in relief money to help residents who are unable to pay rent or utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Berkeley received $6.89 million from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, while Charleston County got $12 million. To qualify, counties must have a population of at least 200,000. Dorchester County, which had an estimated population of 165,000 in 2020, did not qualify. The program provides funds for rent, rental arrears, utilities and home-energy costs, and utility and home-energy cost arrears. Eligible utility costs include electricity, gas, water and sewer, trash removal, and energy costs such as fuel oil. Berkeley County has partnered with Civitas, a Charleston-based community development consulting firm, to help allocate the federal funds to qualified individuals. I think this will provide a lot of assistance that is very, very much needed in our community, Berkeley County Councilman Steve Davis said. Charleston County hasnt settled on a consulting firm to allocate funds and is working on logistics in order to open up the application process. We are hoping to release dates and details as soon as possible to get the funds distributed, said Charleston County Public Information Officer Kelsey Barlow. Berkeley County will open its application period beginning March 29 and run through April 16. Information about the program will also be mailed out with Berkeley County Water and Sanitation bills later this month. Only renters who are Berkeley County residents can apply for assistance. Homeowners are not eligible. An "eligible household" is a household in which at least one or more individuals meets the following criteria: Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19. Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median. All funds will be paid directly to landlords and utility service providers. Rental and utility arrears can be covered back to March 2020, and applicants can receive up to three months of future assistance at a time. Were not sure how long the process will take, itll depend on the volume of applications we receive, said Berkeley County Grants Administrator Sandi Riddle. The county will determine if we need to cap how much each household will receive based on the number of applications that we get," she said. "We dont know what the demand will be. Berkeley County residents can apply online at BerkeleyCountySC.gov. They can also call the Emergency Rental Assistance Hotline at 843-377-8507. Paper applications will also be available upon request. Individuals can check to see if they qualify for the ERA Program or find out more information by visiting the U.S. Treasury Department. Berkeley and Charleston counties are expected to receive additional funds for the program, due to the recent passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill. Only nine of the 46 counties in South Carolina were eligible to receive money from the program. Counties that received funds were Anderson, Berkeley, Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Richland and Spartanburg. Lexington and York counties, which qualified to receive funds, declined their allotment, which went back to the state. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form 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. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region EU envoys agree first China sanctions in three decades BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Wednesday to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, two diplomats said, the first sanctions against Beijing since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown. EU ambassadors approved the travel bans and asset freezes on four Chinese individuals and one entity, whose names will not be made public until formal approval by EU foreign ministers on March 22, as part of a new and wider rights sanctions list. While the sanctions are mainly symbolic, the adoption marks a significant hardening in the EU's policy towards China, which Brussels long regarded as a benign trading partner but now views as a systematic abuser of basic rights and freedoms. The 1989 EU arms embargo on China, its second-largest trade partner, is still in place. "Restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses adopted," one EU diplomat said. The Chinese officials were accused of human rights abuses against China's Uighur Muslim minority, EU diplomats told Reuters. They said the move reflected deep concern about the Uighurs in Europe, the United States and Canada. Activists and U.N. rights experts say at least 1 million Muslims are being detained in camps in the remote western region of Xinjiang. The activists and some Western politicians accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations. The Dutch parliament followed Canada and the United States in labelling China's treatment of the Uighurs as genocide, which China rejects. On Twitter, the Chinese mission to the EU republished comments on the new sanctions made on Tuesday by China's ambassador to the bloc, Zhang Ming, saying that Beijing would not change its policies. "Sanctions are confrontational," the Chinese mission said on Twitter. "We want dialogue, not confrontation. We ask the EU side to think twice. If some insist on confrontation, we will not back down, as we have no options other than fulfilling our responsibilities to the people." China denies any human rights abuses in Xinjiang and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to fight extremism. Beijing has on numerous occasions invited EU ambassadors to Xinjiang but envoys say they cannot visit under the strict conditions and monitoring set by Chinese authorities. The EU has also called for the release of jailed ethnic Uighur economics professor Ilham Tohti, who was jailed for life in 2014. He was awarded the European Parliament's human rights prize in 2019. The EU's full sanctions list of 11 names approved by EU ambassadors also includes officials from Russia, Libya, South Sudan and North Korea, diplomats said. Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. In addition to our traditional advice, every Thursday we feature an assortment of teachers from across the country answering your education questions. Have a question for our teachers? Email askateacher@slate.com or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group. My second grader has been doing hybrid for most of this year, and his school is getting ready to return to full-time, in-person instruction after spring break. Despite the challenges, I think hes been doing well. At times its a struggle to get him to focus, but I think thats pretty normal for an 8-year-old. Hes been feeling pretty emotional, though, and hes been pretty hard on himself whenever he makes mistakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes in the gifted program, and his gifted teacher tells me that he can be a perfectionist. His grade level teacher, however, told me at a conference that she doesnt think hes making enough effort, is easily upset and frustrated, and that he hasnt made as much progress as she wants him to. She gives the students quotas for how many lessons they should complete, and she suggests that students who dont get them done should work over spring break. My son is a good student, but he hasnt met her quota, and I feel like kids should be able to enjoy their time off. I know his teacher is just trying to keep kids on track, but Im concerned about how much pressure shes putting on my child. I know hes working hard to keep up with the amount of work assigned. I know Im not the only parent who worries about the workload. Should I approach his teacher with my concerns, or let it go and privately tell my son to just do his best and not worry about it? Im worried all of this will even be more to handle when hes back at school full-timemy son has already told me hes fed up with this teacher. Advertisement Advertisement Isnt Our Best Good Enough? Dear Isnt Our Best Good Enough, Yes, it is. Tell the teacher that youve decided to give your child the vacation he deserves. Your son is far too young to be learning that vacations are only partial escapes from the demands of the workday. This is always the case but never more true than in the midst of a pandemic. I would thank your sons teacher for her concern but inform her that vacations are a time for human beings of all ages to rest, relax, and recharge. That is what your son will be doing because that is far more important than any arbitrarily determined quota that your district has assigned. Advertisement Then, release yourself of any worry or guilt over this decision. It is unquestionably the right thing to do. Mr. Dicks (fifth grade teacher, Connecticut) Slate needs your support right now. Sign up for Slate Plus to keep reading the advice you crave every week. I am a high school English teacher, and this is my fifth year teaching. Im wondering if you have any advice about classroom management in a virtual space. My school is hybrid this year, but I have some students who attend school entirely virtually. Advertisement When online students dont participate or dont meet expectations, I try to check in with them via private chat, but I often dont get a response. If they dont respond, I email them, and sometimes their parents, after class. I struggle with these emails. For example, if a student hasnt participated in a breakout room or responded when I send them a private message, I may try to follow up with them later. Advertisement I havent met many of these kids in person, and while I try to establish a good rapport with them online, its not the same as having them in my classroom. I worry that I am being too harsh or that the proper tone isnt coming across. If they were at school, I would pull them aside after class and could have a quick conversation, but having to comment on their behavior or participation over email seems to drag the issue out, and I worry that it gives students more anxiety since its in writing. If I email parents, it often becomes a game of tag between communicating with the student and parent. Any tips on how to make this less stressful and more effective for me and my students? Advertisement Advertisement Anybody Out There? Dear Anybody, You have my sympathyI relate to this problem and so does every other high school teacher I know. My advice? Stop emailing and put your energy toward trying new breakout room strategies and building relationships. There are lots of great ideas out there for how to manage breakout rooms (like here and here). I have found many of these tips to be successful, such as assigning a clear task for the group to complete and then share when we come back together as a whole group. Some of my colleagues have had success letting students choose their group-mates (with your approval, of course) and then setting up permanent breakout rooms. That said, temper your expectations. There will still be students who log in to Zoom and then fall asleep, leave the room to go make a snack, or watch YouTube instead of participate. And there will also be some students who cannot participate through no fault of their own (their audio isnt working, their connection is slow, their Chromebook crashes, etc.). Dont beat yourself up. Just keep doing your best to offer good instruction. Advertisement While managing participation in Zoom is challenging, building relationships can feel even more daunting. Yet, as Im sure you know, positive student-teacher relationships are the bedrock of learning. One strategy that has worked well for me is creating individual breakout rooms so that I can talk with students one-on-one. For example, my students recently wrote an essay, and I made individual breakout rooms so we could have writing conferences. I always start the conversation with small talk (How was your weekend? How did your debate tournament go last Friday? etc.) before moving into the academic conversation. These discussions help me to get to know my students and build rapport. While some students are still reticent, most will open up when Im the only one listening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pick a new strategy and give it a go! Afterward, get feedback from your students on which of these strategies is working for them. At the end of the last semester, I gave students a survey and received lots of great information; some students also shared what other teachers are doing that they find helpful. Finally, dont underestimate Zoom fatigue. Its OK to mix it up, especially with older students. Sometimes we stay together in Zoom for the entire block, but there are also days where I do a short Zoom lesson and then give the students asynchronous work (which also allows time for me to have those individual conversations). My students told me they appreciated having a change of pace on the aforementioned survey. Advertisement Hang in there! Summer will be here before we know it, and I am hopeful that next fall will bring more normalcy. Ms. Holbrook (high school teacher, Texas) My grandson is 12 years old and has an IEP. He used to have seizures, but is now on medication and so hasnt had a problem with seizures for a year. But because of his seizures, he has forgotten much he learned at school. His reading is a struggle, and spelling is even more of a struggle. What can I do to try and help him with this? Ive tried tutoring for him, but I havent found anyone with enough patience. Advertisement Forget-It-Not Dear FIN, What can you do? Connect him with experts. Folks who are not trained in this specific disability will not be able to handle your grandsons needs. Advertisement Memory loss is a medical consequence of seizures, so your first stop should be your grandsons doctor. The doctor may prescribe medication to help but will likely also refer him to a neuropsychologist, who will give him tests to determine the breadth and scope of the issue. Once the neuropsychologist understands the roadblocks to your grandsons memory, you can work together to remove them. The neuropsychologist might suggest your grandson see a psychotherapist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and/or tutor who is trained in exceptional children, or EC. These experts can determine which strategies will help improve his memory and offer you exercises you can do with him. Speaking of EC, I assume he has an individualized education plan at school. If not, request testing for learning disabilities posthaste. He should be receiving specialized education, push-in services, pull-out services, accommodations, test modifications, etc. Advertisement Most importantly, tell your grandson that this challenge is extremely common in patients who have seizureshes not alone. Remind him that his memory problems dont mean anything about his intelligence. If hes doing the best he can with the hand hes been dealt, thats enough. Advertisement Ms. Scott (eighth grade teacher, North Carolina) My daughter is in second grade in a large, urban public school thats been fully remote since spring. In first grade, she tested as an advanced learner overall but especially in reading/verbal aptitude. We got the results a few weeks after schools went remote, and she hasnt received any specific advanced learner programming. Shes doing well, though she has a tendency to do the bare minimum. For example, when she does a reading worksheet shell answer questions using the shortest possible sentences, then read a chapter book until the next lesson starts. Advertisement Im not too worried about her not pushing herself, since she reads constantly and her teachers say shes on track. But there are areas where I think she is behind. Her work is all done online, so she rarely writes anything by hand. Her handwriting is awful and slow (she makes each part of a letter shape by shape and hasnt progressed to more fluid writing). Occasionally she still makes some letters backward, and her writing is a mix of upper- and lowercase. I would love to work with her on these things, but by the end of the day shes burned out and extremely resistant. Ive encouraged her to write letters to friends, and she does occasionally, but it takes a lot of nagging. Advertisement Advertisement Should I be making her practice? Ideas for how to get her on board? There are other areas, like telling time, where she also needs more practice and is similarly resistant to my teaching her, so general strategies would help too. But writing seems the most pressing. Pencil Pusher Dear PP, I think that one of the biggest goals that parents of young kids undertaking an extended period of virtual learning should have is to support them in getting through it with their confidence and interest in learning relatively intact. It sounds like your daughter is, generally, doing fine, and under the circumstances, fine is great. All you can ask for, really. Nagging, resistance, and conflict is not what either of you needs right now, especially if it might sour her on an educational experience that sounds like, all things considered, is going pretty well. So in general, Id follow her lead and tread lightly. I do think there are a couple of things you can try, but in going forward with them, Id make sure to keep it light and low-pressure. Advertisement Since shes doing everything online right now, it wouldnt surprise me if her fine motor skills have lagged some, which is probably contributing to the laboriousness of her writing. Fortunately, there are lots of fun activities you can offer that will help strengthen the small muscles in her hands and fingers and improve her general dexterity without her ever cluing in to the fact that shes doing a therapeutic exercise. She could try making jewelrystringing beads, tying knots, and braiding bracelets with embroidery floss are all great. You could offer her a book of sticker mosaics, a Lite-Brite (those are back now!), or a relatively simple diamond puzzle, which will have her carefully placing and arranging small objects with accuracy. Legos, clay, playing Jengareally, whatever floats her boat and gets her to practice skillfully manipulating things with her hands would be great to encourage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do think you can prompt her to keep working specifically on letter formation, but there are a lot of ways to do so without making it a chore. (You definitely dont want to sit her down with a page of handwriting drills at the end of her school day when shes drained and resisting!) I would offer some interesting materialsbath crayons, shaving cream, a bit of paint squished around in a plastic baggie, the black paper you can scratch to reveal colors underneath, even dragging a paper clip through Play-Doh or slimeand prompt her to try some letters, especially if you can model it for her. I wouldnt ask her to practice any more than five to seven minutes at a timequit while youre well ahead, and then just let her play. I think that some consistent but quick practice that she enjoys will, in the long run, get you further than a real nose-to-the-grindstone work session that she fights the whole time. Advertisement Im crossing every extremity that your district reopens in the fall. You can definitely raise your various concerns with her teacher then, and perhaps ask for an evaluation by an occupational therapistbut also know that it is not possible for kids or teachers to be hewing to the typical benchmarks right now, and everyones going to need extra support in something or other by the time this is all over. Shell be OK. Ms. Bauer (middle and high school teacher, New York) More Advice From Slate My daughter is a freshman in high school, and she recently got an assignment in life sciences that seems inappropriate. The assignment is for the kids to identify someone in their family who died of cancer, and then students are supposed to research that kind of cancer and create a poster presentation to display for the entire school. This seems like a terrible idea, and an invasion of privacy. Should I talk to the teacher? We have a lot of new faces in leadership roles this year bringing a fresh perspective as we emerge from the COVID crisis, she said. More than ever before, our lineup of leaders is poised to make a difference. Five new appointments round out the expertise for global practice groups Stanton Chase, the international executive search and leadership firm, is pleased to confirm five new appointments to the positions of Global Practice Leaders (GPLs), a move that represents a fresh perspective for the challenges of 2021 and beyond. Fiona Lavan, the Vice Chair of Practice Groups for Stanton Chase who will be newly leading the Government, Education, and Nonprofit Practice Group, made the announcement. We have a lot of new faces in leadership roles this year bringing a fresh perspective as we emerge from the COVID crisis, she said. More than ever before, our lineup of GPLs is poised to make a difference. Other incoming GPLs include: Peter Deragon for Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transportation In addition to his new GPL role, Pete is a Managing Director of Stanton Chases Los Angeles office. He has over 30 years experience as a trusted adviser in business-to-business environments, and he also holds the title of Global Sector Leader Banking and Wealth Management. Stef Oud for Technology and Professional Services (joining Jan-Bart Smits as Co-GPL) As a Partner with the Amsterdam office, Stef focuses on the professional services industry and works closely with other Stanton Chase offices around the world to cover executive search for a broad range of organizations in this industry. Michael Schaumann for Board Services Now a Managing Partner for Vienna, Michael has worked in executive search since 1997. Previously, he was appointed Regional Practice Leader EMEA Board Services, Regional Practice Leader EMEA Financial Services, and Global Practice Leader Financial Services. Sukran Tumay for Life Sciences and Healthcare Sukrans specializes in the consumer products and services and life sciences and healthcare sectors. As a Managing Partner with the London office, she has taken on a leading role in the development and execution of many cross-border executive search assignments throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As we continue to build for the future, we are grateful that these valued individuals continue their service, said Fiona Lavan. Their expertise in their fields and knowledge of the practice groups ensure continued provision of the highest-quality services to our clients. Stanton Chase would also like to thank outgoing GPLs Anders Nannerup (Life Sciences and Healthcare), Juan Morales (Supply Chain, Logistics, and Transportation), and Panos Manolopoulos (Board Services) for their leadership and contribution over the past few years. As the head of the University of Chicago health systems infection control and prevention efforts, Landon has helped steer University of Chicago Medicine, the University of Chicago and its affiliates through the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a medical ethicist at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics and a national expert on the automated monitoring of hand hygiene. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Asian-American leaders Friday when they visit Atlanta, Georgia. The president and vice president were already due in the southern city for a stop on their 'Help is Here' tour - a way the administration is promoting the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. But with Tuesday's trio of shootings at Atlanta spas, in which six Asian-American women were among the eight victims, the White House canceled the planned political event, the White House said. Instead, a meeting was set up with Asian-American state legislators and community advocates, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The president and vice president will also visit the Centers for Disease Control, which is based in Atlanta. On Thursday, Biden ordered that American flags be flown at half-staff until Monday to honor the victims. President Joe Biden will meet with Asian-American leaders Friday in Atlanta after the trio of spa shootings that left six Asian-American women dead out of eight victims Vice President Kamala Harris also planned to be in Atlanta alongside Biden and will meet with members of the Asian-American community as well Crime scene tape is seen outside Aromatherapy Spa after shootings at a massage parlor and two day spas in the Atlanta area On Wednesday, Biden said he was making 'no connection' between the Atlanta massage parlor shooter and the race of his victims before the investigation is complete, but continued to call the uptick in hate crimes against Asians 'very troubling.' Biden made the comments in the Oval Office Wednesday before a virtual meeting with Ireland's Taoiseach Micheal Martin, telling reporters he had spoken with Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. 'I know that Asian-Americans are very, very concerned because, as you know, I was speaking about the brutality against Asian-American for the last couple months,' Biden said. 'And I think it is very, very troubling.' 'But I'm making no connection at this moment. The motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer, as the investigation proceeds, from the FBI and from the Justice Department,' the president continued. 'I'll have more to say when the investigation has completed.' A white man, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, is accused of killing eight people in three locations Tuesday night in Atlanta. Six of the people were Asian and seven were women. Long allegedly shot give people at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, which is north of the city. Two people died at the scene, while three were taken to the hospital where two later succumbed to their injuries. An hour later, three women were found dead at Gold Spa. Another woman was found dead at Aromatherapy Spa. The shooter told police that it was a 'sex addiction' and not racist motivations that compelled him to kill. Police have stressed they haven't come to a conclusion about the motivations of the killer. 'The suspect did take responsibility for the shootings,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said, according to the Associated Press. 'This is still early, but he does claim it was not racially motivated.' 'He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as ... a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,' Baker said. Earlier Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris also shared her condolences, prior to her virtual meeting with Martin to mark St. Patrick's Day. 'It is tragic. Our country, the president and I and all of us, we grieve for those lost. Our prayers are with the families of those who have been killed,' Harris said. 'This speaks to a larger issue which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it.' 'The investigation is ongoing, we don't yet know, we're not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people,' Harris added. First lady Jill Biden also spoke about the shooting during her trip Wednesday to New Hampshire. 'I want to start by saying something directly to the families of the shooting victims in Atlanta last night. My heart is with you. And I hope that all Americans will join me in praying for everyone touched by this senseless tragedy,' the first lady said. The president made a point during last Thursday's primetime speech to address the uptick in hate crimes against Asian-Americans since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden called out the 'vicious hate crimes against Asian-Americans, who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.' 'At this very moment, so many of them, our fellow Americans, are on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives and still, still they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America,' Biden continued. 'It's wrong, it's un-American and it must stop.' Press Secretary Jen Psaki pointed a finger at former President Donald Trump's administration when asked later Wednesday at the press briefing why Biden believed attacks on Asian-Americans are increasing. 'I think there's no question that some of the damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration blaming - calling COVID the Wuhan virus or other things, led to perceptions of the Asian-American community that are inaccurate, unfair, have raised threatening, has elevated threats against Asian-Americans and we're seeing that around the country,' Psaki said. A week ago, Trump, again, used the racist phrase 'China virus' in a statement taking credit for the swift development of COVID-19 vaccines. 'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful "shot" for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all.' the ex-president wrote. Biden previously made moves to stop usage of the term by signing an executive order titled 'Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States' on day No. 6 of his presidency. 'The Federal Government must recognize that it has played a role in furthering these xenophobic sentiments through the actions of political leaders, including references to the COVID-19 pandemic by the geographic location of its origin,' the order said. 'Such statements have stoked unfounded fears and perpetuated stigma about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and have contributed to increasing rates of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI persons,' it continued. Psaki said Wednesday that White House officials Cedric Richmond and Susan Rice will be doing 'listening sessions' with members of the Asian-American community. The group Stop AAPI Hate said in February that it received 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and Washington, D.C. from March 19, 2020 to the end of last year. In January, an 84-year-old Asian-American man was killed in an attack in San Francisco, which the family believed to be racially motivated. Video went viral of who police identified as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, slamming Vicha Ratanapakdee to the ground. 'If you see video, there's nothing non-intentional about it,' Ratanapakdee's step-son, Eric Lawson told KTVU, Fox's Bay Area affiliate. 'For him to come from all the way across the street, what else could have motivated him?' he said of Watson's actions. In February, video came out of a 91-year-old man in Oakland, California's Chinatown neighborhood being pushed to the ground, also during daytime hours. National Public Radio reported Thursday that an updated count from Stop AAPI Hate stood at more than 3,000 incidents. 'What we've discovered isn't that we've just had a spike, but we've had a surge over the entire year last year with COVID-19 and with the president's political rhetoric in the last administration,' Russell Jeung, a co-founder of the coalition and a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, told NPR. Trump defended using 'China virus' a day before Stop AAPI Hate started tracking anti-Asian hate crimes. 'It's not racist at all,' Trump said at a coronavirus taskforce press briefing on March 18. 'No, not at all.' He said he used the term 'because it comes from China.' 'That's why,' he continued. 'I want to be accurate.' Even then, there were already dozens of reports of bias against Chinese-Americans in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. When I was growing up, my mother would constantly tell me to mind my attitude. This most often occurred while I was doing household chores at her request. What she meant was for me to not only respect her but also be gracious and grateful, even while doing chores. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are long recognized as development engines for they are important vehicles to address the challenges of unemployment, alleviate poverty, accelerate economic growth and promote fair distribution of resource and economic diversification. Owing to this, Small and Medium Enterprises has become one of development programs of developing countries and where the Ethiopian Government has given special attention to drive rapid economic growth through job creation, acceleration of structural transformation to industrialization so as to realize nation's development vision. As a consequence, the government has been promoting the development of SMEs through the formulation of different policies and strategies and organizing SMEs support agencies. As part of its efforts and to make the enterprises effective, the government has also been facilitating loans and provision of working areas to those citizens who organize themselves and aspire to commence businesses. This is especially true in Addis Ababa and other towns where social challenges are acute. Accordingly, many youth and women centered SMEs have been set up and flourished across the country. As various studies indicate and our recent experiences show, the introduction of SMEs has created job opportunities for several Ethiopians and improves the lives of many, particularly the youths and women, for the better. In the same way, the enterprises have also contributed a lot for country's socioeconomic development serving as an input in terms of both generating skilled manpower and supplying semi processed product to the manufacturing and construction sectors. In similar fashion, the establishment of lot enterprises on the manufacturing, construction and other sectors have played key role in curbing urban unemployment. The construction sector in general and industrial parks and housing programs in particular, avail the opportunity to huge number of labor force with varied skills and qualification to engage in different activities. The contribution of those enterprises in terms of lessening social challenges was obvious. This is especially true in the area of job creation and government's Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP), which is one government's initiative to build residential units, create jobs and support up to 10,000 micro and small enterprises to enhance the capacity of the construction industry. Needless to say that housing problem is one of the serious challenges of Ethiopians living in urban areas (especially in the capital, Addis Ababa). As a means to overcome this challenge, the government has developed and is implementing IHDP. Using this program, several houses (condos) are constructed; and hundreds of thousands of people have become beneficiaries though a number of shortcomings are witnessed in the implementation process and the initiative is unfeasible in rural areas because the need for condos is lower in rural part of the country compared to the demand in urban areas. Whatever, the case, the contribution of MSEs has been crucial in terms of supplying processed housing materials plus directly taking part in the construction activities. Truly speaking, this does not mean that all the paths for members of MSEs were smooth and without any challenges. Rather they have been encountering numerous challenges and ups and downs. According to a research paper done by Habtamu Tezera, under the title, 'Challenges and Opportunities of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Addis Ababa (The Case of Arada Sub City)' the enterprises have been facing a number of challenges such as shortage of working capital, market linkage, unavailability of working shades, lack of transparency among SMEs office at the time of allocating the working place and the like problems. Especially, absence of strong chain between the manufacturing sector and the SMEs is a serious challenge. Apart from that, poor production quality (product defects) is also the other challenge of the enterprises. This is witnessed clearly in the construction sector and can be cited as a good example. Lack of market opportunities for all enterprises is still the major setback though the government is working persistently to alleviate the problem through making linkages with private investors, universities and other stakeholders as well as organizing and staging products in bazaars and exhibitions as they are very important to confer with local and foreign producers, retailers, agencies and entrepreneurs. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. As it is known, the issue of Small and Medium Enterprises development ranked first among the priorities of socio-economic development, given the growing need for employment creation and poverty alleviation. Though the government has strived to generate jobs and the sector paved the way for developing new culture of entrepreneurship, the sector was not free from the challenge of rent seeking. What is more, corruption related issues have also made the process difficult. What is more, the price of the house was so expensive that, it was only few people could afford it. As a means to overcome challenges (quality, price and affordability) the government has taken several measures. This includes construction of cost effective houses, taking necessary measure in area of quality related issue and constructing condos that reflect the culture of a particular society is a good indication. The Ethiopiam Herald March 17/2021 A newly-released app uses police data to show users where recent crimes have happened - so they can pick safe routes to walk home. WalkSafe pins stabbings, muggings and burglaries on a map to warn pedestrians. There have been more than 200,000 downloads of the free safety app in five days - as focus has turned onto women's safety following Sarah Everard's murder. Developers say they expect app downloads to reach 400,000 by tomorrow. The innovative app pulls the latest police data every month, and refreshes several times a week so users can see crimes which have happened close to them. This allows users to alter their routes home and avoid crime hotspots. WalkSafe has been in development for a year, and was released last week. An app which alerts users to recent crimes on their walk home has been downloaded more than 200,000 times in five days in the wake of the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard The app also allows users to send their reports to developers which will be logged on the map Co-founder Emma Kay explained: 'Personal safety is always something as a woman I've felt quite passionately about. 'The WalkSafe map shows reports of crime taken from the monthly police report in the area. 'So that includes sexual assault, muggings, knife crime and pickpocketing. 'The crime icons are designed to help people see patterns and regular trouble spots. 'I use it when I am out and about with my little girl. 'If I'm walking to the shops, I will automatically get an alert on my phone to a recent crime in the area. Co-founder Emma Kay (pictured) developed the app with brother-in-law Richard 'That will enable me to either plan a different route - or start to identify crime patterns. 'So say I notice a few crimes happening, I might change my route.' Emma, 32, developed the app with her brother-in-law Richard - so it pulls new police data every week. She says the reports are '95 per cent accurate'. Although users can make their own reports to the app, these must be verified by multiple users within six hours or they will be removed. It also has a setting which allows users to put in their estimated time of arrival home. If they don't arrive on time emergency contacts get alerted to their location. There is also a TapSafe alert system, which allows people to send a signal to their contacts if they're in trouble. Mother-of-one Emma said: 'This app should not have to exist, but if creating it helps just one person avoid a bad situation, it's worth it. 'The police always say the best thing to do when you are out is to stay aware and alert. 'Our app can work alongside you staying aware. 'I use the homesafe app with my partner - especially after a night out with the girls. 'I use the walksafe app with my daughter. 'As a female you feel a little bit more vulnerable anyway, and I'm pregnant. 'I feel that the safety of my child is very important to me - and the app helps me to stay alert when I'm out.' The topic of women's safety has come to the fore after the shocking disappearance of Sarah Everard from Clapham, London. Pictured: A vigil for Sarah at Clapham Common on Saturday The topic of women's safety has come to the fore after the shocking disappearance of Sarah Everard from Clapham, South London, earlier this month. Protests have been held to highlight concerns around male crime against females. On social media, many women have been sharing apps and techniques to stay safe at night. Emma, of Richmond, south west London, added: 'It's so devastating what has happened, and has shaken all of us to our core. 'We wish our app didn't have to exist, but there is a place for it right now. 'If we help one person from avoiding a difficult situation then it's worth it. 'Our goal is to create a safer community for everyone.' Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is investing $485,000 to support regional economic development. Scranton-based Digital Balance, which offers website hosting, design and marketing for holistic health practitioners, received a $100,000 investment through the program. Our mission is to help holistic practitioners run more effective businesses so they can focus on healing, said Patrick Sandone, CEO and founder of Digital Balance. We design a software-as-a-service product that supports them in getting new customers. The business, located in the Scranton Enterprise Center at 201 Lackawanna Ave., plans to allocate a majority of the funding toward hiring and technology improvements, Sandone said. He hopes to expand the staff from about 12 employees to close to 40 by the end of next year. Sandone noted these types of investments are critical to the success of newer companies. Capital for a business is like gasoline for a car ... you cant go anywhere without it, he said. The company was founded in 2020 and Sandone drew upon lessons learned from other ventures to navigate through the pandemic. I started Net Driven during the financial crisis of 2007-2008, he said. I think sometimes when there is an event like that, it creates a unique opportunity because people are looking to do something different. Weve ramped up (at Digital Balance) over the past 12 months, were hitting sales targets and the product was really well received in the marketplace. Sandone sold Net Driven, a web solutions provider, to Los Angeles-based new media giant Internet Brands in 2015. Prior to the sale, Sandone said he had created about 100 jobs, with most annual salaries over $50,000 and some exceeding six figures. Other local companies that will receive investments include: Build My Team LLC, Honesdale, $100,000 studio BE Mindfulness LLC, Wilkes-Barre, $40,000 CAN BE Innovation Center, West Hazleton, $5,000 Carbondale Technology Transfer Center, Carbondale, $5,000 Innovation Center @ Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre, $5,000 Allan P. Kirby Enterprise Center at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, $5,000 Scranton Enterprise Center, Scranton, $5,000 Stourbridge Project, Honesdale, $5,000 TekRidge Center, Jessup, $5,000 Digital Balance, Build My Team LLC and studio BE Mindfulness LLC are receiving the investments as loans with warrants. The business incubators, slated to receive $5,000, will be given grants. PM condoles death of Pejawar Mutt seer, hails him as a powerhouse of service and spirituality MIT Manipal Campus in Udupi declared as 'COVID19 Containment Zone' India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bengaluru, Mar 18: Deputy Commissioner and Chairperson, District Disaster Management Authority, Udupi district has declared Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), an engineering college located in Manipal in Udupi district of Karnataka as 'COVID19 Containment Zone' due to rise in positive cases. The development comes after 33 persons including 27 found COVID19 positive at Manipal Institute of Technology, Udupi district yesterday. For effective implementation of Covid-19 control measures, Raju K, Assistant Commissioner for the Kundapura Subdivision, has been appointed as the Incident Commander. Narayana Sabhahit, Registrar of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) told the media: "The academic area will be excluded but the hostel areas will be a containment zone. Students in the hostel will be asked to restrict their movement. We will continue online classes but laboratory classes are postponed. If there are any examinations in the next two weeks, they will be postponed," the registrar said. Over 150 Monks test Covid positive in Himachal, Gyuto Buddhist monastery declared containment zone Expressing concern over a rise in COVID-19 cases in parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for "quick and decisive" steps to check the emerging "second peak" of coronavirus, and stressed the need to seriously follow the "test, track and treat" approach. In a virtual interaction with state chief ministers over the pandemic situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, Modi also asserted that vaccine is an effective weapon against the diseases and asked states to establish more vaccination centres, be it government-run or private. Anjelina Jolie makes shocking accusations against Brad Pitt| Oneindia News Modi urged states to scale up RT-PCR tests, which he said should account for more than 70 per cent of overall testing, increase vaccination centres while targeting zero wastage of vaccines, follow diligently the practice of "test, track and treat" and create micro-containment zones to curb the infection's spread. The Iranian government has concluded that the fatal shooting down of a Ukrainian plane last year was the result of human error. Ukraine, however, has rejected the findings. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 took off from Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport for Kiev on Jan. 8, 2020. Shortly after takeoff, the plane was shot down by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which led to the deaths of all 176 people on board. At the time, Iran was conducting retaliatory strikes against the US military in Iraq following the death of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. Many of the victims were dual nationals of Iran and Canada, and there were also citizens of Ukraine, Sweden and other countries aboard the flight. The Iranian governments final report on the incident concluded that an air defense operator mistook the plane for a hostile target and fired two missiles at it, Reuters reported Wednesday. The Ukrainian foreign minister rejected the report, however, saying it was biased and deceptive. This is not a report, but a collection of manipulations aimed not at establishing the truth but acquitting the Islamic Republic of Iran, said Dmytro Kuleba in a video statement Wednesday. We will not let Iran hide the truth or avoid responsibility for this crime. Some people suspect the downing was intentional. Canada also has criticized the Iranian investigation for lacking transparency. In a joint statement, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said, "It is clear we still do not have answers as to why Iran did not put in place the necessary measures, such as a full closure of their airspace, to prevent such a tragedy." Iran agreed to pay compensation to the families of the passengers in November. Karimganj: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lashed out at the Congress, alleging that the grand old party can go to any extent to mislead people to get their votes. He also blamed the Congress of doing "corrupt and vote-bank based governance" claiming that it has resulted in Assam being one of the most disconnected states in the country. "The Congress has become so weak that it can align with any outfit and mislead people for the sake of getting votes," he said. Addressing his first election rally in the northeastern state of Assam after the announcement of poll dates, the PM said the Congress is moving around with "tala-chabi" (poll symbol of AIUDF) in the state, even as some of its workers were opposed to the idea. Further, he accused the party of creating "disconnect" between people and places. "The BJP, on the other hand, has done everything to connect people physically, emotionally and culturally," the prime minister added. "Today there is a wave of development and trust in Assam. We are trying to develop a multimodal logistic park in Silchar to transform this region into an import-export hub. This will provide a lot of employment opportunities to the youth and economic opportunities to the farmers," he added. PM Modi said the "double-engine government" in the state and at the Centre is also focused on providing health care to people. "Under Ayushman Yojana, over 1.5 lakh people from Assam have received free treatment. Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, 27 lakh farmers have received thousands of crores in the state," he added. Assembly elections to 126-seats House will be held in three phases starting from March 27, the counting of votes will take place on May 2. A Dutchess County man in March was fined $5,000 to settle criminal charges that he violated environmental laws when he kept seven sandbar sharks a protected species in a pool in his Lagrangeville home with the intent to sell them. The discovery of sharks in a basement is certainly unique, but the Hudson Valley and broader upstate New York regions have had their fair share of peculiar finds, and even literal treasures in homes. POUGHQUAG: Rare Purple Heart medal awarded to WWI soldier AP Photo/Brennan Linsley One of the first Purple Heart medals ever issued by the U.S. military was awarded in 1932 to Daniel Quinlan, a World War I veteran from East Fishkill in Dutchess County. Quinlan was among just 138 veterans to receive the honor, in a ceremony held near West Point in 1932. He died in 1938 in a car crash and the family lost track of the medal. MORE: Surprising, frightening things we found in the Capital Region It resurfaced in the mid 1990s, the Associated Press reported, when a family that bought a home near where Quinlan had lived in Poughquag discovered Quinlans medal in the attic. They returned the medal to Joseph Hardy, a surviving family member who previously owned the home, setting off a daisy chain of search efforts to find the Quinlans and subsequently return the medal to them. William Quinlan, Daniels grandson, received the medal in 2015 with the help of Hardy and Purple Hearts Reunited, a Vermont-based nonprofit that returns lost or stolen military awards to veterans and their families. AMES: 88 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey OUR WALLS ARE BUILT OF BOOZE! was the Instagram announcement trumpeted by homeowners Nick Drummond and Patrick Bakker in October last year, when they unexpectedly found stashes of whiskey in the walls of their 100-year-old rural home. Their fixer-upper had been built by Adolph Humpfner, who was known locally as The Count and had a bit of a reputation as a bootlegger. He had a reputation that preceded him, Drummond told the Times Union. Being in the country, people love to gossipand thats as true today as it was back then. RHINEBECK: Rare Russian figurine fetches $5M at auction A rare and valuable Faberge figure, commissioned by Russian Czar Nicolas II in 1912 and given to his wife, Empress Alexandra, was found in an attic in the Dutchess County town of Rhinebeck. A Manhattan gallery owner, George Davis, had bought the figurine in 1934 for $2,250, and the piece was never seen again until it was discovered decades later by Daviss descendants, WNYT reported. There were reportedly only about 50 such models ever made. Experts had valued the figure at $800,000, but it went on to sell for a cool $5.2 million to Wartski, a British firm of antiques dealers specializing in jewelry and Russian works of art, at a 15-minute auction in October, 2013 at Stair Galleries in Hudson. GENEVA: Susan B. Anthony portrait David Whitcomb David Whitcomb, who bought an old commercial building in Geneva for $100,000, found hundreds of photographs in the attic from the early 20th century. Among them? A gilded framed portrait of suffragist Susan B. Anthony, along with a broken plate-glass negative of another image of her, and other photos and equipment that apparently belonged to portrait photographer James Ellery Hale. The find was first reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. HALFMOON: Half a million in cash tied to NXIVM raid Will Waldron In the ultimate "Look what I found!" story: the FBI and state police seized more than $520,000 in cash in a raid of NXIVM President Nancy Salzman's Saratoga County home in March 2018. The move was part of a then-widening U.S. Justice Department investigation into the secret organization that later led to leader Keith Raniere's sentencing to 120 years in prison. Cash was found stuffed in bags, envelopes and shoe boxesincluding one shoe box that contained more than $390,000, the Times Union reported. Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) has published its final report on the January 2020 Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran, identifying "human error" as the cause of the accident. "The plane was identified as a hostile target by the operator of an air defense system stationed around Tehran, and two missiles were fired at it," the CAO said in the preface of its 285-page report published on its official website on Wednesday. The Boeing-737, en route from Tehran to Kiev, was shot down by two rockets shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8, 2020. The accident resulted in the deaths of all 167 passengers and nine crew members on board, who were citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the UK. Later, Iran's armed forces confirmed that an "unintentional" launch of a military missile by the country was the cause of the incident. In July 2020, the transcript of the black boxes from the plane confirmed the fact of an illegal interference with the plane. Reacting to the CAO's findings, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday said the report was a "cynical attempt" to hide the true reasons for the downing of the plane. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Britain insisted Thursday that its plan to ease coronavirus lockdowns in the coming months remained on track, despite a vaccine supply shortfall from India which will hit the inoculation drive in April. The state-run National Health Service in England has warned in a letter to local vaccination centres that doses will be "significantly constrained" from March 29 for four weeks. The next phase of the inoculation campaign, covering people in their 40s, will have to be suspended until May, the letter said. The problem is linked to a delay in getting new jabs from India by UK-based drugs giant AstraZenecathe same company whose supply issues have caused anger in the European Union. "It's a very complex international supply chain and that does mean occasionally we will experience issues and that's what we've experienced right now," cabinet minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News. But the government was sticking to its target of offering a first dose to every adult by the end of July, ministers said, after Britain on Wednesday said it had surpassed 25 million jabs delivered. The government's phased easing of its third lockdown in England, which was imposed in January amid a winter surge in caseloads of Covid-19 and resulting deaths, hinges on the success of the inoculation drive. "There's no reason to believe the roadmap is affected by this temporary shortage in supply," Jenrick stressed of the relaxation plan. EU threat AstraZeneca's jab, developed with Oxford University, provides the bulk of Britain's campaign and a portion of its supply has been produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine maker. Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed "we have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India". But he stressed the vaccination campaign would continue at a lower pace next month especially for people receiving second doses. AstraZeneca said its "UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption", but made no mention of possible problems in India. A spokesperson for the Serum Institute said: "Five million doses had been delivered a few weeks ago to the UK and we will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and requirement for the government immunisation programme in India." India is experiencing a three-month high in daily infection numbers. Britain's current other vaccine provider is Pfizer, which denied any issues with its UK delivery schedule. Hancock told parliament that jabs from a third supplier, Moderna, were expected "in the coming weeks". The supply issues are another headache for AstraZeneca after its jab was suspended in several EU countries, pending a review by the European Medicines Agency due later Thursday following isolated cases of blood clots and brain haemorrhages. The EU meanwhile threatened on Wednesday to invoke emergency powers to block European exports of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure "reciprocity" with other suppliers, urging Britain to send Europe more jabs. Britain reacted angrily to the threat, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggesting the bloc was engaging in "brinkmanship", and has dismissed any medical issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, said on Wednesday he would take it "very shortly". England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam also pushed back at the AstraZeneca suspension in European countries including France, Germany and Italy. "Vaccines don't save lives if they're in fridges. They only save lives if they're in arms," he said. 2021 AFP WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) A man has been charged in a series of nighttime attacks on men in a Boston suburb last November that left the entire community on edge, authorities announced Thursday. Clauvens Janvier faces charges in 11 attacks in Waltham, including several counts of assault and battery, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and acting Police Chief Kevin OConnell said at a news conference. I truly understood the anxiety and the frustration of our citizens of Waltham when this case had few leads at the start and continued to go on for some time, OConnell said. There was no doubt in my mind the person or persons involved would be brought to justice. Janvier, a 24-year-old Waltham resident, has been in custody since Dec. 11, when he was charged in a Nov. 11 assault on an 18-year-old man in a parking garage. The victim in that case was struck with the dull side of a machete. After a law enforcement review of cellphone records and surveillance video, as well as several searches and interviews with victims and witnesses, Janvier was charged in the other 10 attacks. He has also been charged with shooting at a car leaving a gas station on Nov. 24 following an argument with the driver, authorities said. In all, he faces 24 charges. Following his initial arrest, Janvier was found to be a danger to society at a Dec. 21 hearing and has been held without bail since. A voicemail was left Thursday with Janviers court-appointed attorney. It is unclear when he will be arraigned on the new charges. The victims, who were all on foot, were ambushed from behind and struck on the head with a blunt object, but the motive behind them remains unclear, Ryan said. No one was robbed, Ryan said. There does not appear to be, at this point in the investigation, any particular connection either between the victim and the defendant or the victims to each other, she said. The men, including a postal worker, were also of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds. Some required hospitalization and treatment for head and facial injuries. They are relieved by the arrest, Ryan said. The suspect also apparently used more than one object during the assaults, she said. By MARK PRATT Associated Press Flash The third batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines that Hungary had purchased arrived here on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto confirmed on his Facebook page. "Another 100,000 Chinese vaccines arrived from Beijing on Wednesday," Szijjarto said in a video posted on his page. He added that the Chinese vaccines arrived 43 days earlier than the deadline agreed upon, allowing people in the country to get vaccinated earlier. "We gain 43 days. We gain lives and health," he said. Szijjarto also underlined that the government plane that brought the vaccines would not rest in the coming days. It would soon head to China again to bring hundreds of thousands of vaccines to Hungary. Szijjarto also warned that the pandemic was raging at "full steam." "We must adjust our defense accordingly," he said. "This means we need vaccines and these have to be administered to the population," he said, adding that the sooner the vaccines arrive, the quicker doctors can deliver them to the people. The first batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines purchased by Hungary arrived in Budapest on Feb. 16, while the second batch arrived on March 11. The Hungarian government has been supplementing its vaccination program with Russian and Chinese vaccines to fight the third wave of the pandemic in the country. So far, Hungary has gained access to vaccines from five producers, namely Sinopharm, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V. Hungary, the first European Union member state to buy Chinese vaccines and authorize their use, started to administer the Sinopharm vaccines on Feb. 24. The Hungarian government on Wednesday reported 3,456 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour span, raising the national total to 532,578. In the past 24 hours, a record number of 195 people have died from the disease, taking the toll to 17,421 in the country, while 359,061 have recovered. Currently 10,284 patients are being treated in hospitals, according to figures from the government's coronavirus information website. As of Wednesday, 1,397,342 people had received at least one shot of a vaccine, while 406,746 had two jabs, according to the website. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... MESA, Ariz. A Canadian electric car company has announced plans to build a factory in Arizona that could bring as many as 500 jobs, company officials said. ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp. announced Tuesday that it has selected Mesa after searching for a location for its U.S. assembly facility and engineering technical center. The center is expected to feature an assembly plant with an engineering technical center, including multiple laboratories to research and test chassis, battery packs and other components. Once fully built, the company expects to employ between 200 and 500 workers and produce up to 20,000 SOLOs yearly. ElectraMeccanica plans to launch the SOLO in North America this year. The SOLO is a single-occupant three-wheeled electric vehicle that will retail for $18,500. It has a range of 100 miles (160 kilometers), can reach a top speed of 80 mph (128 kph), and can charge on conventional electrical outlets. The company hopes the vehicle will appeal to people who commute and run errands alone, along with various delivery services and utility companies that operate single-occupant vehicles, officials said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ CEO Paul Rivera said the company chose Arizona based on the best overall comprehensive proposal land, building, workforce and incentives, coupled with proximity to the companys prime target market in the West. The other finalist location was in Tennessee. ElectraMeccanica has not yet received any incentives from the state but is eligible for three programs, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. The company is eligible for a $1 million grant through the Arizona Competes Fund, $4.8 million in tax credits through the Qualified Facility Program and up to $2.3 million through the quality jobs tax credit program, which provides a tax credit worth up to $9,000 for each job meeting certain requirements. Arizona has fast become the electric vehicle center of America thanks to our robust and growing workforce, vibrant innovation ecosystem and ideal business environment, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement. Rivera said the company plans to complete the facility next year and begin hiring in the coming weeks. The "Adelis-SAMSON" project, an autonomous group of three nanosatellites built and developed by the Technion - Israel institute of Technology, will be launched into orbit on March 20, 2021. The project is the passion of a research team led by Professor Pini Gurfil of the Asher Space Research Institute (ASRI), and the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, with the support of the Adelis Foundation, the Goldstein Foundation, and the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology. The satellites will piggyback on a Glavkosmos Soyuz rocket from a site in Kazakhstan, and once in orbit, will be used to calculate the location of people, planes, and ships. The cluster of satellites will fly in formation in space by utilizing autonomous communication and control, without needing guidance from the ground. The Adelis-SAMSON formation includes three miniature satellites (CubeSats), each weighing about 8 kg (17 lb). Each CubeSat includes sensors, antennae, computer systems, control systems, navigation devices, and a unique and innovative propulsion system. The satellites will travel at an altitude of 550 km (341 mi) above ground and will detect signals from Earth using a mission receiver developed by IAI. The CubeSats will then transmit these signals to a mission control center located at Technion's Asher Space Research Institute. "Basic research over the course of many years, combined with advanced Israeli technology, allows Israel to take an important step forward in the field of nanosatellites," explained Prof. Gurfil. "You could compare the innovation of nanosatellites to switching from the personal computer to the cellphone. The Adelis-Samson project demonstrates a new concept in nanosatellite design and will enable many operations to be carried out that have been reserved until now for large and expensive satellites," he continued. "This is a leap in the field of miniature satellites, in the capabilities of the Technion, and for the entire State of Israel, and one which will make the Technion a global pioneer in the fields of geolocation and satellite communication, with diverse applications including search and rescue, remote sensing, and environmental monitoring." "The Adelis-SAMSON project is a wonderful and exciting example of the successful integration of science and technology and the transformation of innovative ideas into effective systems that contribute to humanity," said Professor Uri Sivan, President of the Technion. "Scientific and technological breakthroughs require multidisciplinary research and close collaboration between academia and industry, and this is what has led the project to this important day." "The current project continues a Technion tradition that began in 1998 with the successful launch of the Gurwin-TechSat II," added the Technion President. "That satellite has been operating in space for more than 11 years, a record time for academic activity in space. The launch of Adelis-SAMSON is a dramatic moment that we have been waiting nine years for and will follow closely. I sincerely thank our partners at the Adelis Foundation, the Goldstein Foundation, the Israel Space Agency, and Israel Aerospace Industries for helping us make this project a reality. Every time you look at the sky, remember that the Technion has once again managed to reach space." "For many years there has been a widespread belief that space technologies - and space itself - are the domain of leading economic powers, and are out of reach of ordinary countries," said Mrs. Rebecca Boukhris, Trustee of Adelis Foundation. "Today there is no dispute that Israel now belongs to the exclusive club of space powers, thanks to the rapid development of the space industry in Israel. Adelis-SAMSON is a unique project that embodies the Israeli spirit, power and intellectual resources. Israel shows its strength in technology and science and puts itself firmly on the world map of aerospace, all on a modest budget and in an academic environment. The Adelis Foundation sees itself as an organization that sows the seeds of the future and we hope that this project will be the first of many, inspiring other small and brilliant projects to lead Israel's development in space and bring recognition to the State of Israel." The field of nano-satellites has been booming recently and the number of launches is increasing every year," says Avi Blasberger, director of the Israeli Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology. "The cost of developing and launching such satellites, capable of performing a variety of uses, is significantly lower than those of regular satellites. In the near future networks are expected to appear to include thousands of nanosatellites that will cover the Earth and enable high-speed internet communication at a significantly lower cost than is currently available, as well as having many other applications such as the one demonstrated in the Adelis-SAMSON satellites." "We see great importance in our collaboration with the Technion to promote academic research and future technologies in the field of space," says IAI President & CEO Boaz Levy. "IAI, Israel's 'National Space House', sees high value in its connection to academia on the business and the technological levels to advance Israel's continued innovation and leadership in the field of space. This partnership promotes the development of the entire ecosystem and IAI is proud to join forces in this innovative and groundbreaking project." Israel's next generation satellites resulted from exceptional collaboration between academia and industry. A special propulsion system, based on krypton gas, will be the first of its kind in the world to operate on a tiny satellite. The digital receiver and the attitude control system were developed by IAI in collaboration with Technion researchers. In addition to the propulsion system, the satellites will accumulate energy through solar panels that will be deployed next to each satellite and will serve as wings that will control, if necessary, the flight of the formation without the use of fuel, using air drag in the atmosphere. Each of the nanosatellites is fitted with a digital receiver, one of the most complex ever to fly on a nanosatellite. The system for processing the information on the satellite and the algorithms that will keep the formation flying will be among the first of their kind in the world, and will support the autonomous operation of several satellites simultaneously. The navigation system will include two GPS receivers that will be used for autonomous navigation. The communication system through which the three nanosatellites will communicate with each other as well as with the ground station will be operated at three different frequencies - a significant challenge that was resolved in the current project. A dedicated frequency will be used to transmit information to Earth through broadband. ### There are many partners in Technion's Adelis-SAMSON project, including the Adelis Foundation, the Goldstein Foundation, the Israeli Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and IAI. From the Technion, researchers from the Asher Space Research Institute included Avner Keidar, Hovik Agalarian, Dr. Vladimir Balabanov, Eviatar Edlerman, Yaron Oz, Maxim Rubanovich, Margarita Shamis, Yulia Koneivsky, Tzachi Ezra and Dr. Alex Fried, as well as many students over the years. Chinese held from Bengal had forged Aadhaar with UP address To bookmark you need to sign in Two Chinese nationals, who were arrested by the West Bengal Police from Bagdogra airport near Siliguri, were carrying forged Aadhaar cards with an Uttar Pardesh address. The two were arrested on Tuesday for travelling without any documents. According to the police, the Chinese nationals have been identified as Nav Jang Jung and Kai Leng while they were on the way to Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati. The Chinese were first taken under detention by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which manages the security at the airports. The CISF officials had picked them up after finding their movements to be suspicious. They were later handed over to the police. During the probe, it was found that the two were carrying forged Aadhaar cards with the Uttar Pradesh mentioned on them. According to the police, the two had entered India from Nepal on Monday and stayed at a hotel in Bagdogra overnight. They had reached the airport in the morning. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. OTTAWA Manitobas northern grand chief says a key reason why reserves remain vulnerable to large-scale COVID-19 outbreaks is because most have managed to keep the virus from spreading. OTTAWA Manitobas northern grand chief says a key reason why reserves remain vulnerable to large-scale COVID-19 outbreaks is because most have managed to keep the virus from spreading. "This is basically their first wave, because theyve never really been impacted," said Grand Chief Garrison Settee of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. "The vaccines provide a lot of hope for our people." The Canadian Armed Forces deployed 41 members to Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in March, alongside the Red Cross. Active cases of COVID-19 have risen dramatically over the past two weeks. CHRIS KEPRON / CANADIAN RED CROSS This week, the chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation told media the Pukatawagan reserve had gone from having roughly 10 to 281 cases within two weeks. Dr. Michael Routledge, medical adviser for MKOs health unit, said most northern Manitoba reserves have only dealt with one or two cases at a time. "Up until then, Mathias Colomb had done a phenomenal job; they had very little activity. So that just means that when the virus gets there, theres really no immunity in that community, which is partially contributing to whats going on right now," Routledge told reporters. "The virus is around; its highly communicable. When this virus gets into a community it can really take off." Cases have started to plateau in northern Manitoba, he said, weeks after the province, as a whole, reached that trend. Thats because northern reserves can take a long time to contain the virus once it takes hold. The areas including Cross Lake and Island Lake each reported more than 125 active cases as of Wednesday, from outbreaks that started more than a month ago. Both Settee and Routledge said social determinants imperil the ability of reserves to contain COVID-19 outbreaks, such as cramped housing, limited access to clean water, overworked nurses, and poverty. Small outbreaks will probably continue to quickly escalate until these communities get widespread vaccination, they both said. The provinces goal is to have the north protected by the end of June, meaning widespread vaccination of adults on reserves and in remote communities, both of which have some of the most limited medical access. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Yes, no matter what Yes, but it depends on variety No, for medical reasons, uncertainty No, principle Vote View Results 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. Firmex, the most widely used provider of virtual data rooms, today announced the publication of The Firmex Deal Flow Bulletin for Q2 2021. The bulletin uses data on virtual data room openings to forecast closed deals for Q2. It also presents M&A advisor sentiment on the current M&A market for the rest of 2021, including the impact of COVID-19. Despite lingering macroeconomic uncertainty, our data shows theres reason for optimism. We predict a steady deal recovery for Q2, with many dealmakers indicating a bullish outlook for upcoming deal flows, said Mark Wright, Firmexs Chief Commercial Officer. In addition to the Firmex deal flow forecast, readers also get first-hand experience from M&A advisors on their perception of the state of deal volumes for the middlemarket. Here are some key findings from the bulletin. Deal Flow Bulletin Highlights: In tracking new Q1 data room activity, Firmex forecasts a 5% increase in deal announcements over the next 90 days compared to the previous quarter. Most M&A advisors (44%) hold a positive view of the M&A market, with 16% even stating that they feel very positive. 29% feel neither positive nor negative, while 11% hold a negative view of the M&A market. 48% of M&A advisors think that the pandemics impact has been negative, while 35% stated that the impact was neutral. When surveyed, 68% of M&A advisors anticipate an increase in deal volume, while 28% expect no change. 71% of M&A advisors are expecting to see an increase in the number of active sellers on the market, with only 7% expecting a decrease. Buyer and seller valuation expectations remain as the primary challenge (49%) for M&A advisors, with the inability to meet face-to-face (22%) identified as the second-most challenging obstacle to completing deals. As the most widely used virtual data room provider for deals, we have unique insight into data room creation, its relation to deal volume trends, and into forecasting deal activity. Our hope in publishing this report is to share helpful information thats unique to our position as the most widely used virtual data room, keeping middlemarket M&A advisors informed, said Wright. To access The Firmex Deal Flow Bulletin for Q2 2021, please visit: https://www.firmex.com/resources/reports-guides/deal-flow-bulletin-q2-2021/ -30- About Firmex Inc. Firmex is a global provider of virtual data rooms where more deals, diligence and compliance get done. As one of the worlds most widely used virtual data rooms, Firmex supports complex processes for organizations of all sizes, including diligence, compliance, and litigation. Whenever professionals need to share sensitive documents beyond the firewall, Firmex is their trusted partner. A Firmex subscription provides simple, safe, and stress-free document sharing without hidden costs or complexity. Since 2006, Firmex has helped over 140,000 companies worldwide take control of their confidential documents. For more information, please visit http://www.firmex.com. Media Contact: Mark Wright Chief Commercial Officer, Firmex 416-840-4241 ext. 281 mwright@firmex.com 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. Hexi Corridor covered by floating sand, dust Xinhua) 13:37, March 18, 2021 Tourists visit the the Jiayu Pass in Jiayuguan City, northwest China's Gansu Province, March 17, 2021. Some areas in Hexi Corridor, part of the ancient Silk Road in China's northwest, were covered by floating sand and dust on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin) For years, Lowcountry police chiefs and sheriffs have been in a tug of war with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council over a proposal to open a second state police academy in the Charleston area. Well, not exactly a tug of war, since the council said no, and the only recourse for local officials was to complain. Police had a legitimate complaint about the expense and disruption of requiring newly hired officers from Charleston to spend 12 weeks at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia a complaint that was compounded by increasing wait times to even be able to go through the state-mandated training. The Training Council had an equally legitimate concern about keeping police training consistent across the state and about the fallout: As surely as day follows night, a Charleston academy would have inspired demands for an academy in Greenville. And Aiken. And Florence. And Myrtle Beach. Until there was no state training academy. Fortunately, finally, state officials have collaborated to produce a solution that has the potential not only to eliminate delays in the training schedule and allow would-be police officers to stay home for much of their training but also to improve that training. As The Post and Couriers Gregory Yee reports, rather than letting officials in Charleston take over training some police, the Training Council worked out a deal with our acclaimed state Technical College System to split the training into two parts, with the first part conducted by the technical colleges and not just Trident Technical College but all 16 colleges. The final eight weeks of training will still be conducted at the academy in Columbia. But the technical colleges will offer a 14-week Police Pre-Academy Training certificate for students completing four courses covering such standard topics as introduction to criminal law, courts, crimes and procedures, basic patrol operations, domestic violence, report writing, drug enforcement and basic collision investigation. This should be much more convenient than the old 12-week Columbia course and much more effective than the trimmed-down substitute the academy designed in 2019 to cut down wait times, which allowed students to attend eight weeks of training at the academy after completing four weeks' worth of online and video training back home. Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! Of course it will be essential for the Training Council to retain control over whats taught and whos doing the teaching at the technical colleges. Just as importantly, the council needs to make the best use of that extra time. Unfortunately, despite what looked like promising efforts in both the House and the Senate, the Legislature hasnt moved on bills to place limits on the use of force, require outside investigations of police use of force, require the consistent use of body cameras and the video to be made public and in other ways address the problems in our communities and in our police departments that are caused by officers who abuse their authority and injure or even kill innocent people. But theres nothing to stop the Training Council from laying the foundation for new officers that could begin to address some of the problems while we wait for legislative action. An extra 10 weeks of training needs to incorporate essential components that either dont exist today or that feel to trainees like add-ons things some politician said they had to be taught but that dont really matter. That extra time gives us a chance to start bringing up a new generation of police officers who understand that its every bit as important for them to know how to de-escalate potentially dangerous encounters as it is to hit a target with their service weapon. Who know that an essential part of their job is recognizing mental illness and addiction problems, and understanding that those problems call for a different solution than ordinary lawlessness. It allows us to teach new officers that the fellow officer who slams suspects against the pavement for talking back, who twists their handcuffed wrists in order to inflict pain because they cant take the adrenaline rush, poses a much greater danger to them than just about any criminal theyll ever encounter. That they need to call out their fellow officers, and report them up the chain of command if necessary, because those officers erode community support for all police, and lead to a culture that spawns lawlessness. And if those extra 10 weeks are structured correctly, they should also free up some time in the eight-week course at the Criminal Justice Academy to allow instructors there to focus on identifying those students who dont have the self-control and temperament necessary to serve as police officers. Because figuring out who shouldn't carry a badge and a gun is the most difficult and probably should be the most important part of police training. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 17, 2021) - Minnova Corp. (TSXV: MCI) (OTC Pink: AGRDF) ("Minnova" or the "Company"), a discovery-stage exploration and advanced development-stage gold company focused on the expansion and restart of our 100% owned PL Gold Mine in central Manitoba is pleased to provide and update on our restart plan, latest assay results and positive implications for resource expansion potential. PL Mine Restart Work Programs: Planning has been comprehensive and is ongoing in parallel to finance discussions in support of the restart of the PL Gold Mine. The PL Mine is permitted for quick restart and we are advancing discussions with qualified contractors and service providers including; Mine restart upcoming/planned work programs; Surface bulk sample Ore sorting characterization study and follow-on test work Updated metallurgical test work with focus on gravity concentration recovery Completion of grid power connection Water treatment design and implementation Paste back fill design and implementation New northern portal and decline plan, design and implementation Camp expansion and upgrades Detailed engineering Equipment considerations and selection Contract mining Personnel/labour additions As we move forward with above programs it is important for shareholders to understand and appreciate that the 2017 Feasibility Study ("2017 FS") outlined what management and board view as the Phase 1 ("P-1") restart plan was completed using a base case gold price of US$1250 per ounce in support of an initial 5 year mine life, processing up to 600 t/d, producing an average of 46,000 ounces of gold annually at all-in sustaining costs of US$948 per oz. Initial mine restart and site refurbishment capital cost was estimated at C$35.4 million. The P-1 mine restart plan has considerable leverage to current higher gold price (see January 7, 2021 Press Release http://minnovacorp.ca/2021-01-07-NR-MCI.pdf), in support of our efforts to restart mining operations. Free cash flow generated by the P-1 restart plan will enable the company to internally fund our Phase 2 ("P-2") program to extend the mine life through an aggressive resource expansion, production expansion and exploration programs. In advance of the P-2 program the Company plans to initiate the permitting process for the satellite Nokomis deposit. Initial work would include an archaeological study and environmental data collection. Nokomis hosts a shallow open pit Indicated resource of 371,000 tonnes at a grade of 3.41 g/t gold (40,700 ounces contained gold) and an open pit Inferred resource of 247,000 tonnes at a grade of 2.41 g/t gold (19,100 ounces contained gold) (see Note 1 below). The potential to development of Nokomis as a satellite mining operation offers additional near-term resource and production expansion if it can be successfully permitted and developed. The PL Mine site is permitted under Environment Act 1207E, which allows for relatively quick restart of mining operations via the exiting portal and decline located at the southern end of the deposit. Processing would be caried out on site at the existing permitted 1000 tpd mill. Gorden Glenn, President & CEO, commented, "Positive results from ongoing PL North drilling, on a preliminary basis, supports some modifications to the P-1 restart plan. New initiatives include a surface bulk sample on the PL North Upper Zone to be followed by a new exploration portal and decline in support of an aggressive underground exploration, development, and test mining programs to further advance the project. In addition, the company is considering an ore sorting characterization study and updated metallurgical test work. New studies will look closely at new gravity recovery technologies that were not available during prior operations. The PL deposit contains significant free gold that offers potential for onsite gravity concentration equipment testing and gold recovery during our planned bulk sampling test programs." Project Finance Update: Minnova continues to advance project finance discussions with various groups in preparation for the restart of the PL Gold Mine. Discussions include project debt and equity financing alternatives. At current gold price the project is robust and fully supports a go it alone funding strategy with attractive payback and loan repayment characteristics. Management and board are fully aware of the challenges faced by smaller, single mine operators and are considering all options in support of maximizing the value proposition that the PL Mine represents to shareholders. As such we are also considering M&A or other alternative financing structures that would provide the funding requirements to fully fund the P-1 restart plan as detailed in the 2017 Feasibility Study, subject to alterations based on recent positive drill results. Additional Assay Results: In addition to positive initiatives with respect to project development and funding we are also pleased to announce latest assay results from the ongoing 2021 drilling program. All results are from the PL North Target area, which lies outside the existing 2017 resource and reserve estimate and is the northwest extension of the main PL deposit trend. Upper and Lower Zone structures were intersected in all holes and returned positive results including high grade, near surface and deeper gold mineralization. Gorden Glenn, President and CEO, commented, "PL North drilling has opened up significant resource expansion potential and new development options as noted above. The Upper Zone can be traced for over 300m on strike from the main PL Deposit resource and remains open on strike and down dip. The deepest Minnova drill hole on the Upper Zone to date intersected high grade gold mineralization at a relatively shallow depth of approximately 40 meters (Hole M-17-053 which intersected 1.0 meter at a grade of 13.5 g/t (duplicate sample returned a grade of 78.7 g/t)) and remains open down dip. There is a deeper historic intersection located approximately 500 meters down dip that is interpreted to be a down dip extension of the Upper Zone (PUF-214, located on the PL Mill site) that intersected 4.8 g/t over 0.5 meters surrounded by 6.5 meters (core length) of anomalous gold mineralization. Like the PL North shallow drilling completed by the Company, PUF-214 occurs outside of the current PL deposit resource and highlights the potential to extend mineralization down dip." See Figure 1 for location of PL North Drilling at the following link http://minnovacorp.ca/Figure-1-March-17-2021-Press-Release-PL-North-Drill-Loc.pdf Table 1: Selected Assay Results (>2.00gpt) from the 2021 PL Mine Drill Program Hole Location Sample Type From (m) To (m) Length(m) Au gpt M-21-068 373001E/6100971N Half-split 83.00 84.00 1.00 3.55 M-21-069 373006E/6100972N Half-split 16.50 17.00 0.50 2.33 Half-split 80.50 81.26 0.76 2.59 Half-split 81.26 81.97 0.71 9.10 Half-split 81.97 82.75 0.78 7.67 Half-split 108.90 109.85 0.95 27.44 Half-split 139.00 140.00 1.00 4.87 M-21-072 373012E/6101015N Half-split 97.00 98.00 1.00 2.71 Half-split 98.00 98.80 0.80 2.26 Half-split 120.90 121.4 0.50 2.13 M-21-074 373082E/6100995N Half-split 56.00 57.00 1.00 2.06 Half-split 117.00 118.00 1.00 23.05 Half-split 138.00 139.00 1.00 6.06 M-21-075 373082E/6100994N Half-split 46.00 47.00 1.00 2.13 Half-split 61.00 62.00 1.00 3.67 Half-split 123.00 124.00 1.00 8.01 Half-split 133.00 134.00 1.00 8.39 Half-split 138.00 139.00 1.00 2.67 Half-split 139.00 140.00 1.00 2.71 M-21-077 373171E/6100964N Half-split 144.70 145.70 1.00 10.55 M-21-078 372984E/6100952N Half-split 6.00 7.00 1.00 2.26 Half-split 43.00 44.00 1.00 9.41 Half-split 51.00 52.00 1.00 2.47 Half-split 78.00 79.00 1.00 2.37 Half-split 80.00 81.00 1.00 2.02 M-21-079 373008E/6100911N Half-split 51.00 52.00 1.00 2.37 Half-split 52.00 53.00 1.00 12.89 M-21-080 373009E/6100911N Half-split 54.66 55.16 0.50 12.76 Further to Company's press releases of January 7, 2021, January 25, 2021, and February 4, 2021, the Company has paid certain eligible persons (each, a "Finder"): (i) a cash commission in the aggregate of $26,894; and (ii) an aggregate of 119,000 broker warrants (each, a "Broker Warrant"). Each Broker Warrant is exercisable into common shares in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") at a price of $0.35 per Common Share unit February 4, 2023 in connection with the non-brokered private placement. All securities issued pursuant to the offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The closing of the offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company also wished to announce it has granted an aggregate of 1,050,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company exercisable at a price of $0.30 per common share for a period of 5 years, to certain directors, officers, employees and consultants. The common shares issuable upon exercise of the options are subject to a four month hold period from the original date of grant. QA/QC All samples were sawn and separated with one half being returned to the core box for reference and the other being bagged in a plastic sample bag which was labeled, tagged, documented and sealed. All core samples were placed in labelled rice sacks and sealed with a security zip-tie. Samples were delivered to TSL Laboratories Inc. in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Receipt of the samples was signed off at the preparation lab and was tracked by the Company. Pulps of each sample were prepared and followed by fire assay and gravimetric analysis, if required. A QA/QC program including the regular insertion by the Company of duplicates, blanks and standards was instituted. Sample lengths varied according to geology and mineralization with quartz veins regularly sampled. Note 1: Nokomis NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate was prepared by Leon McGarry, B.Sc., P.Geo., of CSA Global Pty Ltd., and is contained in the Technical Report entitled Feasibility Study, PL Gold Project, Manitoba, Canada filed on SEDAR on May 4, 2018. About Minnova Corp. Minnova Corp. is an emerging Canadian gold producer focused on restarting the PL Gold Mine and expanding gold resources on its PL and Nokomis gold deposits. The Company has completed a Positive Feasibility Study in support of restarting the PL Mine at an average annual production rate of 46,493 ounces over a minimum 5 year mine life. The resource remains open to expansion and future surface exploration work programs will target resource expansion. The PL Gold Mine has a relatively short pre-production timeline forecast at 15 months, benefits from a valid underground mining permit (Environment Act 1207E), an existing processing plant, over 7,000 meters of developed underground ramp to -135 metres depth, is fully road accessible and close to existing mining infrastructure in the prolific Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt of Central Manitoba. Qualified Person Mr. Chris Buchanan, M. Sc., P. Geo., a consultant of the Company and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. For more information please contact: Minnova Corp. Gorden Glenn President & Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact Investor Relations at 647-985-2785 or info@minnovacorp.ca Visit our website at www.minnovacorp.ca Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding the Company including management's assessment of future plans and operations, that may involve risks associated with mining exploration and development, volatility of prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource estimates, environmental and permitting risks, access to labour and services, competition from other companies and ability to access sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements. A feasibility study has not been completed and there is no certainty the disclosed targets will be achieved nor that the proposed operations will be economically viable. Although Minnova has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Minnova does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION INTO THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77698 The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Chennai, March 18 : Fishermen from Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam on Thursday alleged that they were assaulted and robbed on the high seas by a group of Sri Lankans. Nagaraju, Murthy and Ravichandran, said they went fishing from Vellappalllam in Nagappatanam on Monday late night. Murthy, talking to IANS over telephone, said: "We were intercepted at around 15 nautical miles from international waters by a group of armed men in a fiberglass boat. We could understand that they were Sri Lankans." The fishermen alleged that they were robbed off their outboard engine, as also their communication equipment, and they were physically assaulted. The assailants later escaped and the fishermen had to row back and reached Nagapattinam after 12 hours. Vedrayanam Marine police station officer was not available for comment even after repeated attempts to contact him. TORONTO, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tanzanian Gold Corporation (TSX:TNX) (NYSE American:TRX) (TanGold or the Company) operating through its wholly owned subsidiary in Tanzania (Tanzam2000) joins the United Republic of Tanzania in mourning the loss of H.E. President John P. Magufuli. H.E. President Magufuli was a stalwart statesman who was globally recognized for his vision, ethical standards and innovative solutions for Tanzania. He was a renowned reformer of government institutions, business, industrial relations and political structures for the benefit of Tanzania. His anti-corruption platform attracted attention around the globe for his unyielding and high ethical standards. He was also known for his pragmatic approach towards resolving complex situations and achieving fair and tangible outcomes. In addition to his consummate abilities as a statesman and leader, he was well known for his love of the people of Tanzania. He will be truly missed. We mourn the loss of President Magufuli and extend our sincerest condolences to his family and the people of Tanzania from our Company, our stakeholders, and our families. President Magufuli was a highly regarded and respected leader whose record of achievements and outstanding performance in government and industry is world renowned. He was from the region where our joint-venture in the Buckreef Gold Project is located. His loss is especially felt so close to home, said Stephen Mullowney, Chief Executive Officer. The passing of President Magufuli is a great loss to Tanzania and the world. It is with deepest sympathy we share and express our sincerest condolences. He leaves a legacy of respect and admiration. He was admired for his accomplishments and achievements in service to Tanzania and humanity, said James E. Sinclair, Executive Chairman For further information, please contact Michael Martin, Investor Relations, m.martin@tangoldcorp.com, 860-248-0999, or visit the Company website at www.tangoldcorp.com The Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on Jan. 27, 2021. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo) Biden Climate Czar John Kerry Spotted Maskless on Plane President Joe Bidens climate czar John Kerry was seen maskless on a plane despite requirements that passengers don face coverings, sparking an investigation from American Airlines. Kerry was seen reading a book while on a flight from Boston to Washington on March 17. He was not participating in activities that allow passengers to take off masks, such as eating or drinking. American Airlines said that masks are required on board its aircraft and that it was probing the situation. In February, Americans COO David Seymour said the airlines would mandate masks to align with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directive that was issued in accordance with an executive order from Biden. Our mask requirement has been and will continue to be a critical component of our comprehensive effort to protect the health and well-being of our customers and team members during the pandemic, he said in a statement. This federal mandate will provide additional support to our crew members who are working diligently to enforce our policy and further reinforce the safety of air travel during COVID-19. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Biden has repeatedly exhorted Americans to wear masks, even if theyve been vaccinated against the virus. Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate and a former Democrat presidential candidate, said in a tweet that there appeared to be a misunderstanding. Lets be clear: If I dropped my mask to one ear on a flight, it was momentary. I wear my mask because it saves lives and stops the spread. Its what the science tells us to do, he wrote. The passenger who snapped the picture told Fox News that Kerrys mask was off for five minutes. If five minutes is momentarily, hes correct. Not sure being in a plane without a mask for five minutes is excusable, the passenger said. American Airlines told the outlet that no crew members saw Kerry without a mask and no fellow passengers alerted crew to what was happening. We continue to review the matter and we are reaching out to Secretary Kerry to underscore that all customers are expected to wear masks for the duration of their trip, the company said. Chandigarh, March 18 : Promising to fulfill all the 2017 poll commitments before going back to the people in the 2022 Assembly elections, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the Congress has no rival in the state, as neither the Akalis nor the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) offer any competition. Vowing to "finish what we have started", he assured Punjab's people that his government will leave no stone unturned to fulfill every promise that the Congress made in the 2017 polls. More than 85 per cent of manifesto promises had already been implemented, he said out, adding that it was a record for any party in any state, and the previous record was held by Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh for 81 per cent promises fulfilled. Listing his government's biggest achievement as the maintenance of Punjabiyat in the state, which had witnessed no communal tension or trouble, Amarinder Singh said people want an environment where they can conduct their work or business in peace. "People will see our performance and management," he said, responding to questions at a media conference to mark four years of his government. To questions about the promises of debt waiver for all farmers and Rs 2,500 a month to all unemployed youth, the Chief Minister said the fiscal constraints in the state, especially due to the unprecedented Covid situation, had pushed back his government in implementing some of the promises. But with revenue increasing, these would be fulfilled as soon as feasible, he said, reiterating that he was committed to the implementation of all promises before the next polls. Already 5.64 lakh farmers had been relieved of their debts and currently farm labourers were benefitting from the waiver policy, he said. The Chief Minister further said all proposals made in the budget were based on realistic assumptions. Asked about Navjot Singh Sidhu's "rehabilitation", the Chief Minister said "everyone wants him to be part of our team." He was hopeful that Sidhu, whom he had known since the latter was a kid and with whom he had a very cordial meeting even on Wednesday, would soon take a decision on joining back. He would also be happy to have Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Dhullo as part of the team, he said, adding that while everyone has their own ambitions, it is up to the Congress President to decide. "In a difficult hour, you have to set aside your own ambitions and stand with the party," he said. To a question on him leading the Congress and being its CM face in 2022, Amarinder Singh said it was for the party chief to decide. Asked about Prashant Kishor's appointment, the Chief Minister responded that in a democracy every leader and party has a team of strategists. Replying to a question on EVMs versus ballot papers, he said he was among the first to oppose electronic voting machines as they can be fudged, which he had even proved to the Election Commission at one time. He pointed out that advanced countries like Japan, Sweden and the UK were not using EVMs. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Eritrean nationals residing in various countries contributed about 300 thousand USD in support of the National Association of Eritrean War Disabled Veterans. Accordingly, Eritrean EPLF-HGDEF Vision Room contributed 261 thousand and 558 USD in support of the National Association of Eritrean War Disabled Veteran. It is to be recalled that previously the nationals have made similar contributions in support of the association as well as to families of martyrs and other national programs. Similarly, the National Union of Eritrean Women branch in Germany at an event organized in connection with the International Day of the Disabled contributed 25 thousand Euros towards rehabilitating women war disabled veterans. According to a report from the NAEWDV, Eritrean nationals in Toronto and Calgary, Canada, contributed 3 thousand 600 Canadian Dollars. Expressing appreciation for the support the nationals made in support of the association, the National Association of Eritrean War Disabled Veterans called on others to follow the noble example of the nationals. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday engaged in a verbal war over the allegation by the main opposition party that the APC-led federal government was condoning corruption, the ruling party replied that the administration of President Muhammadu Budari is unsparing and does not condone thieves within and outside the government. PDP also said that the shameful attempt by the APC National Caretaker Committee to justify and provide cover for looters in their party at a time over 40 million Nigerians have lost their means of livelihood, with many more living in abject poverty because of the unbridled widespread looting by APC leaders, further confirmed that the ruling party is an irredeemable citadel of corruption. It stressed that this is a case of corruption in the APC fighting back and justifying its loathsome activities. The party said that it is not surprising that the Governor Mai Mai Buni-led APC leadership has become the mouthpiece for the treasury looters in the ruling party, whose conduct has brought the nation to its knees in the last five years. The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan further said; "This is in addition to the reports in the public space of over N3 trillion stolen from various agencies including the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Social Investment Programmes where the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, exposed that N500 billion was siphoned as well as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in which a very top APC government official was indicted. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Corruption By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "The APC spokesperson of corruption should answer the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) over its recent report that unemployment had escalated to an alarming 33.3 per cent under the corrupt and treasury looting APC administration; a revelation that shows that claims of massive job creation by the deceptive APC are mere statistic hoax. But the National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, in a statement issued yesterday argued that pervasive corruption, and impunity ultimately ended the PDP administrations' 16 years of locust. APC noted that in the past weeks, the main opposition party has laboured to canvass tales of a phantom stolen N15 trillion public funds in the media. The ruling party said it is not surprising that the generality of discerning Nigerians have ignored the unfounded and baseless allegation, because it is clear that only the PDP believes its deviant tales. Akpanudoedehe stressed that from petroleum subsidy rackets, unexecuted electricity, CCTV, roads, to arms contracts to fight the North East insurgency, the culture of outright theft, misappropriation and diversion of public funds became the mainstay and pastime of successive PDP administrations. COLUMBIA Lexington Medical Center cut the ribbon on its new $80 million medical center in northeast Columbia with the exception of two critical departments a surgery center and an MRI unit. Providence Health in Columbia and KershawHealth in Camden, both affiliates of Tennessee-based LifePoint Health, filed suit in S.C. Administrative Law Court, blocking the opening of those two service areas at the facility near the corner of Clemson and Longtown roads and arguing they are not needed. It's just the latest legal fight in an ongoing struggle for market share among the various Columbia area hospital systems. "Those are very important to what we're doing so we can provide the full gamut of services out here," Lexington Medical's Vice President of Community Medical Centers, Lara Lott Moore, said of the outpatient surgery and MRI. "Unfortunately we're still fighting the battle with the (state certificate) process. Once we're able to open those facilities there's not going to be anything our folks can't do out here." South Carolina law requires medical providers to apply to state Department of Health and Environmental Control for Certificate of Need when constructing certain new facilities. The purpose, according to regulators, is to "promote cost containment" and "prevent unnecessary duplication of health care facilities and services," as well as ensure quality. While the building marks Lexington Medical Center's first outpatient surgery facility in the county to the east, the medical provider has been operating there for years it says. It currently has 13 doctors' practices in Richland County, nine of which are located in northeast Columbia. And from October 2017 through September 2018, they treated approximately 70,000 patients, according the hospital system's application with DHEC. That number is only expected to rise, Lexington Medical argues. The population living within a five-mile radius of the new center is 107,278. Located in the fast-growing northeast area, that number is expected to increase 7 percent over the next five years. Combined with an expanding number of surgical procedures that can be performed on an outpatient basis, Lexington Medical told DHEC it does not anticipate this project will significantly affect the patient load at other area medical facilities. Providence Health, with its own 74-bed northeast hospital just 3 miles away, believes otherwise, calling Lexington Medical's projections flawed. "The proposed service area really is a market share play for LMC to try to gain volume from an area where it historically has little presence. This additional volume will most definitely come at the expense of existing providers," Providence said in a letter to DHEC. Sign up for our Columbia business and real estate newsletter. Get all the latest industry happenings from the Midlands, plus exclusive development news and more in your inbox each week. Email Sign Up! And Providence said its own northeast facility is already underutilized, only performing 1,247 outpatient surgeries in 2018. This number is down from 1,943 operations for years earlier. The arguments of market share grab and not enough patients to go around mirror those made by Providence and what was then Palmetto Health during the decade leading up to 2011. Lexington Medical Center was seeking to provide open heart surgeries, procedures already performed by its competitors. It took a partnership with Duke University School of Medicine for Lexington to final get the necessary state approval. Providence files this legal challenge as it faces one of its own from Lexington Medical Center. The for-profit LifePoint Health sought to sell downtown and northeast Columbia locations of Providence Health and Camden-based hospital KershawHealth, as well as an emergency care center in Fairfield County, to the Palmetto State's largest health care provider, Prisma Health. If the sale were to go through, it will take the Capital City down to two major health care providers Lexington Medical Center sued the competing hospitals and DHEC over the purchase process, alleging state regulators did not give it a proper review. The case is awaiting a hearing before the S.C. Court of Appeals after Administrative Law Court Judge Ralph King Anderson called into question whether the buyout qualifies for antitrust protections. If allowed to open in Richland County, Lexington Medical's northeast facility will have three operating rooms, two of which will take the place of operating rooms at the provider's urology center and one of which will take the place of its Irmo surgical center. Lexington Medical CEO Tod Augsburger said the new building adds convenience so patients won't have to travel for surgery. In 2018, Lexington Medical doctors performed surgeries on 1,997 patients living in the five Richland County zip codes immediately surrounding the facility. Providence's two hospitals, by comparison, performed 3,223 outpatient surgeries on patients from that same area. Richland County residents also account for 3,905, about 20 percent, of MRI recipients at Lexington Medical facilities. Providence Northeast gave 969 MRIs in 2019, about 19 percent of the hospital's operating capacity. When fully operational, the five-story Lexington Medical northeast building will house offices employing more than 300 health care workers, Lott Moore said. There are 80 people working there now. Loading Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said other small businesses and jobs were also at risk due to the lack of international tourism. Its great that airlines are receiving this JobKeeper extension, but our CBD hotels, tour operators and world-class attractions are still struggling to survive as a result of the international border restrictions, Mr Hall said. Most tourism operators are sole traders and family businesses the loss of JobKeeper means not only will their business close, but it will result in financial distress and loss of livelihood as well. Last Friday, Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan announced an extra $130 million to eligible travel agents and tour arranging service operators to be rolled out from April until the middle of the year. With a one-off payment ranging from $1500 to $100,000 to assist with their legal obligations to credit and refund Australian consumers who are unable to travel due to COVID-19, a statement read. While JobKeeper looks unlikely, Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Darren Rudd remained confident the Commonwealth would deliver the necessary funds to stop agents becoming insolvent while $3.5 billion of Australians money is trapped overseas in travel credits. Travel agents are still on Canberras agenda, from left, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan, AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, AFTA Director David Smith, Cowper MP Pat Conaghan. Mr Rudd said AFTA would work with Austrade to improve the rollout of federal grants to help agents like Mr Missikos, who falls into an exceptional class that could not afford to hibernate their businesses or work from home, and have staff to consider. He is lobbying for quick rolling deposits and as of next week will begin working with each of the states premiers to look at extending the commercial rental moratorium to keep landlords at bay. Mr Missikos business has diminished 95-100 per cent for the past year, with no extra reprieve from his landlord after he re-signed a three-year lease just as the pandemic struck. [My landlord] has just given the minimum rent relief possible, which is a 50 per cent waiver and a 50 per cent deferral, Mr Missikos said. However the government in the bill says or proportionate extra according to the downturn in the business. So I have gone back to him repeatedly to try and get some more assistance but the answer has been no. He had to take his matter to the State Administrative Tribunal, where they remain in mediation talks with the next hearing in April. We dont have the income yet, I cant afford the rent, Ive asked about sub-leasing or exonerating me from the lease? Oh yeah well do that but youll have to pay rent until we get a replacement, Mr Missikos said. Now here in East Perth, the landlord has a few units that have not been occupied for quite some time and one that has been unoccupied for nearly seven years because he cant get tenants due to high rents. So basically Ill end up paying rent until my lease expires anyway. Almost 37 per cent of WA small businesses reported revenue losses due to COVID-19 in 2020 and ranked JobKeeper as being of the greatest assistance, according to the latest report by the Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre. For many, the revenue impacts were severe with one in four businesses reporting revenue down by more than 25 per cent compared to the same time last year, the report found. Some 20 per cent of small businesses only have cash to survive three months or less. Over two-thirds of small business owners with cash support of less than one month report high or very high stress. WA Small Business Development Corporation commissioner David Eaton acknowledged travel agents mental anguish and how daunting it was to look at their finances but said the time may have come for some of them to navigate an exit strategy. It is absolutely critical in this situation that businesses understand their financial position today and forecast their future because if they understand that they can make better informed decisions and they can engage with their bank and their landlord in a more meaningful way, he said. Mr Eaton said agents bricks-and-mortar businesses were far more affected than anyone else, especially by the acceleration to online purchasing brought on by the pandemic. Loading Theres two responses; for the individual, its how do we help the individual to navigate the next few weeks and months with mental health and managing their finances today? But also whats the bigger picture support for this industry? The Commonwealths $128 million is a big amount of money that should sustain them and then also consumers wanting to keep this industry alive for the services that they deliver to them when we want to travel internationally again. Mr Eaton said agents need to seek quality independent information and advice on the corporations website and from its advisors, who are free of charge, or from their accountants. Victorias Helloworld and JMW Travel administrator, Mackay Goodwin chief Domenic Calabretta, agreed and told Travel Weekly agencies needed to get a handle on their finances sooner rather than later. There are a couple of routes open to struggling travel businesses if they act early and as soon as possible, he said. He suggested voluntary administration or a small business restructure, which would allow them to continue operating. Having the peace of mind that the restructuring expertise is there allows company directors and managers to focus on rebuilding the company and delivering an ongoing growth strategy, he said. If you or anyone you know needs mental health support, please call a helpline such as Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636; Mental Health Emergency Response Line 1300 555 788 (Metro) or 1800 676 822 (Peel); Rurallink 1800 552 002; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; The Samaritans Crisis Line 08 9381 5555. Landlords are suing at least five gyms in New Jersey for millions of dollars in back rent that allegedly went unpaid for months during the coronavirus pandemic. Three lawsuits were filed Wednesday against the owners of L.A. Fitness gyms in Hudson, Middlesex and Camden counties. Separate suits were filed in February and March against Crunch at two locations in Middlesex County. In March 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 104, which closed all gyms, fitness centers and classes throughout New Jersey. The governor also placed a moratorium on evictions, which halted court proceedings that may have forced the gym owners to pay or vacate. Gyms in New Jersey were allowed to reopen with 25% capacity on Sept. 1, 2020 but some of the facilities still have not paid rent and other bills, according to documents filed in New Jersey Superior Court. Most of the lawsuits claim the gyms stopped paying rent on April 1, 2020, and didnt start paying again until they were allowed to reopen on Sept. 1, 2020. Nearly all of the facilities signed multi-year lease agreements before the pandemic and had agreed in writing to pay top dollar for locations in shopping centers and other high-traffic areas, court records show. Business analysts say gyms in New Jersey never recovered financially during the pandemic and continue to lose money due to capacity limits and decreases in membership. Theyre open but theyre not really open, said Michele Siekerka, president of New Jersey Business & Industry Association. Fitness centers remain at 25 percent capacity and you also have gym membership dropping off because people arent getting the services (showers, sauna, late hours) that they used to get at a gym. New Jersey lags behind other states, like New York, Delaware and Maryland, when it comes to reopening businesses and other facilities. Gyms and restaurants have been especially slow to reopen, Siekerka said. High rents and the costs of maintaining expensive gym equipment can be draining on owners who are trying to pay staff and keep up with other bills, she said. These are massive investments made by the gym owners, Siekerka said. The economics are not working right now. L.A. Fitness in Kearny, for example, is located in a shopping center on Passaic Avenue across the river from Newark. The gym pays $103,520 in rent per month and more than $1.2 million in rent per year. The landlord, Kearny Holdings, is demanding the L.A. Fitness location $528,742 in back rent, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The Kearny L.A. Fitness hasnt paid its water or sewer bill either since January 2020, according to court documents. Crunch of North Brunswick is located in a shopping center along busy Route 1 South. The business stopped paying rent in April 2020 and currently owes $400,123 in back rent, attorney fees and other costs, according to a suit filed March. 8. In an effort to avoid a breach of contract lawsuit, Crunch of Woodbridge entered a deferment agreement with its landlord last summer that would have allowed the gym to begin paying rent in January, along with equal installments over 10 months to help it catch up on money owed. But Crunch defaulted on the agreement and now owes $181,120 in back rent, maintenance fees and late fees, according to a suit filed Feb. 25. L.A. Fitness in The Plaza in Cherry Hill, which operates as Esporta Fitness, failed to make its monthly rent payment of $96,758 on April 1, 2020 and didnt pay rent upon reopening, according to a suit filed Wednesday. The gym has also failed to pay $12,373 in property taxes and more than $10,000 in common area expenses, according to the lawsuit. L.A. Fitness of East Brunswick, located on Route 18, gym owes $333,439 in back rent and late fees, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday. Fitness Holdings Northeast of Greenwich, Connecticut, which is listed as the owner of both Crunch locations, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Fitness International, which owns L.A. Fitness, did not respond to a call seeking comment about the lawsuits. According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, more than 44% of the fitness professionals in the United States have lost their job since the start of the pandemic and more than 17% of fitness clubs have closed permanently since December 2020. A bill pending before Congress the Gym Mitigation and Survival Act may provide some relief to struggling gym owners. If passed, the recovery effort would create a $30 billion fund to provide grants to health and fitness businesses affected by COVID-19 closures and restrictions. The grant would cover payroll costs, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, taxes and more. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Of course, the rest of the world knew the Pickup as the Hilux, and we're talking about the fifth generation born in 1988. Back in those days, some of the vehicles sold in America were still imported from Japan. Only a part of the production came from what was once the NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing) plant, the California location that currently serves as a Tesla factory.Now, drift trucks seem to be more popular than ever these days, and it appears this modern classic Toyota bed machine has been given such a conversion, which explains the nickname we used in the title.The vehicle came with a rather svelte appearance from the factory, and this approach builds on the look. Heck, now that the thing looks even more compact, those factory mirrors bring Shrek's ears to mind.Given all the sliding the machine has to perform, this has obviously been brought close to the asphalt, while the muscular overfenders barely contain its custom wheels and tires.Another element that stands out is the front splitter, which is secured via a pair of rods, and the same is true for the aero element adorning the tailgate.Aptly named digital label dorifuto visuals, which is responsible for the pixel stunt, has also considered safety-related aspects, which is why the bed now holds a cage.PS: If you happen to be looking for a real-world build based on the Gen V Toyota Hilux, here's one putting a 2JZ to work at the drag strip. Majority of Canadians Say Adults Should Have Right to Seek Sexual Counselling of Their Choice: Poll A vast majority of Canadians agree that adults should have the right to seek the sexual counselling of their choice, according to a new poll. Conducted by Nanos for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the poll found that 78 percent of Canadians agree that consenting adults should be free to seek the sexual counselling of their choice, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The JCCF said this finding stands in stark contrast to Bill C-6, which seeks to ban conversion therapy by making it a criminal offence to offer treatment or services designed to change an individuals sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to reduce non-heterosexual sexual attraction or sexual behaviour. The poll also found that 33 percent of Canadians feel uncomfortable with the government making it illegal to provide counselling to gay individuals to reduce unwanted sexual behaviour while allowing straight people to continue accessing the same services. Banning coercive and abusive practices commonly associated with the term conversion therapy would not be controversial, said JCCF staff lawyer Marty Moore in a statement on March 16, the day the survey was released. Deceptively labelled conversion therapy bans, including municipal bylaws and the federal Bill C-6, will violate the constitutional rights of LGBTQ persons by restricting them accessing the same kind of counselling heterosexual and non-transgender Canadians access. These poll numbers show Canadians do not support those restrictions. Bill C-6 would ban causing an individual to undergo conversion therapy against their will; causing a child to undergo conversion therapy; removing a child from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad; receiving a financial or other material benefit from the provision of conversion therapy; and advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy. Critics say the legislation could go beyond efforts to change a persons sexual orientation and apply to private conversations, banning advice from parents, teachers, or counsellors related to the subject of sexuality and sexual behaviour. David Cooke, the national campaign manager for Toronto-based Campaign Life Coalition, a pro-life and pro-family organization, says that if passed, Bill C-6 will put parents, faith leaders, and clinicians at risk of being jailed. Counsellors, psychotherapist, doctors will be jailed for two yearstwo years for offering to help those with unwanted same sex attractions or gender dysphoria, he told The Epoch Times in a previous interview. Its going to criminalize parents who want to help their kids just simply accept their own biology. The poll showed that for minors who may be thinking about changing their bodies through the use of drug treatments such as puberty blockers or opposite-sex hormones, 48 percent of Canadians agree that counselling services with a wait and see approach should be available to them. A full 50 percent of respondents agree that there should be strict requirements for health-care professionals to evaluate whether its in the best interest for a young person to irreversibly change their body if it doesnt match their gender identity. On the question of legality of counselling for minors concerning gender and sexual behaviours, the poll showed that 41 percent say it should be legal for a parent to discourage a child from exploring gender possibilities and be comfortable with his or her birth gender. Many Canadians have found benefit from support and counselling which politicians are seeking to ban and even criminalize, Moore said. Politicians should listen to the will of Canadians and respect the Charter rights of Canadians to freely choose support they want. Nanos conducted the hybrid telephone and online random survey with 1,016 Canadians aged 18 and above between Feb. 28, 2021, and March 4, 2021, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The Morrison government is facing internal demands to let skilled migrants into the country ahead of Australians stranded overseas to deal with workplace shortages as new figures show the number of people with a job is back to pre-pandemic levels. While Prime Minister Scott Morrison said worker shortages in rural areas were holding back the economy, Labor, the Greens and unions ridiculed a proposal from the federal joint committee on migration to weaken rules around the importation of skilled staff. Skilled migrants would have spaces allocated on flights into the country under a plan from Coalition MPs. Credit:Getty Images The proposal has also raised concerns within the Liberal Party, with at least one MP saying the government had to get Australians back into work before allowing in migrants. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed the national jobless rate dropped half a percentage point to 5.8 per cent in February, its best result since March last year. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ElcomSoft Co. Ltd. updates iOS Forensic Toolkit, the company's mobile forensic tool for extracting data from a range of Apple devices. Version 7.0 expands the ability to perform full file system extraction without the need to install a jailbreak, adding support for recent versions of iOS including iOS 14 through 14.3 on all devices including the current iPhone 12 range. The toolkit now provides jailbreak-free forensic extraction for the entire range of devices, supporting iPhone 5s through iPhone 12. This update delivers the complete, zero-gap coverage for supported iPhone devices from iOS 9 onwards, up to and including iOS 14.3 on supported devices. "In this release, we deliver forensic extraction capabilities for the current generation of iPhone devices running recent versions of iOS," says Vladimir Katalov, ElcomSoft President and CEO. "Extracting data from the latest and toughest generations of Apple devices is becoming increasingly relevant. By carefully following the latest advances in iOS security researches, we strive to deliver forensically sound solutions offering a unique opportunity to access crucial evidence including the detailed reconstruction of the user's online and offline activities, visited locations, activities in social networks and chats in protected messengers, often including deleted records." Learn about extracting the iPhone 12 and other iOS 14 devices in the article. Forensic Analysis of iOS Devices Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit 7.0 brings low-level extraction support for the latest generation of Apple devices based on A14 Bionic. This includes the entire range of iPhone 12 models running all versions of iOS 14 from the original iOS 14.0 all the way through iOS 14.3. During the extraction, iOS Forensic Toolkit images the iPhone file system and pulls and decrypts the keychain, which in turn stores the user's passwords, certificates, authentication tokens and keys. The extraction process is based on the in-house acquisition agent that establishes a communication channel between the iPhone and the computer, enabling low-level access to the file system and the keychain. The extraction agent covers the entire range of iOS releases since iOS 9.0 all the way up to iOS 14.3 for all iPhone models from the iPhone 5s through the current iPhone 12 range with no gaps or exclusions. Agent-based extraction offers numerous benefits compared to other acquisition method. The agent does not make any changes to user data, offering the most forensically sound extraction among available acquisition methods. Using an Apple ID registered in Apple's Developer Program is strongly recommended for installing the agent as it alleviates the need to open Internet access on the device. Pricing and Availability Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit 7.0 is immediately available in Windows and Mac editions. North American pricing starts from $1,495 (local pricing may vary). Both Windows and Mac OS X versions are supplied with every order. Existing customers can upgrade at no charge or at a discount depending on their license expiration. Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit is available stand-alone and as part of Elcomsoft Mobile Forensic Bundle, which offers many additional features including cloud extraction. About Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit provides forensic access to encrypted information stored in popular Apple devices running iOS, offering file system imaging and keychain extraction from the latest generations of iOS devices. By performing low-level extraction of the device, the Toolkit offers instant access to all protected information including SMS and email messages, call history, contacts and organizer data, Web browsing history, voicemail and email accounts and settings, stored logins and passwords, geolocation history, the original plain-text Apple ID password, conversations carried over various instant messaging apps such as Skype or Viber, as well as all application-specific data saved in the device. About ElcomSoft Co. Ltd. Founded in 1990, ElcomSoft Co.Ltd. is a global industry-acknowledged expert in computer and mobile forensics providing tools, training, and consulting services to law enforcement, forensics, financial and intelligence agencies. ElcomSoft pioneered and patented numerous cryptography techniques, setting and exceeding expectations by consistently breaking the industry's performance records. ElcomSoft is Microsoft Certrified Partner, and Intel Software Premier Elite Partner. For more information about Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit visit https://www.elcomsoft.com/eift.html SOURCE ElcomSoft Co. Ltd. Keeping an eye on the virus from the sky Profile: When Covid-19 hit, 21-year-old Wits engineering student, Xolani Radebe, knew that he wanted to be part of the solution. The third-year mechanical engineering student says that the drone, with a built-in thermal camera, can detect the body temperature of large groups of people in vast areas such as malls or other busy places. High fever has been said to be one of the symptoms of Covid-19. The drone is able to detect if anyone in a large gathering has an above-average temperature and can alert the drone operator, says Radebe. The drone can also save time for those who are screening large groups of people in busy areas. Instead of screening each and every person, the drone can be flown to read the temperature of everyone in that area. The drone is a modification of an existing prototype designed by Radebe and his business partner, Tino Kurimwi, with whom he co-founded an aviation company in 2019. Radebes love for aviation and his aspiration to build airplane engines sparked his interest in drone development. Designing something that could fly was a step closer to his aviation career, he says. Elevating expectations Radebe has not always been a big dreamer. Growing up in a community where most young people are unemployed and were never afforded opportunities to study further, Radebe never imagined pursuing a career as an aircraft engineer. It is difficult to have a dream when people around you are not working or even studying further. There is no source of inspiration and this can be discouraging. You look at them and see yourself and wonder if you will turn out like them. Fortunately, a high school teacher ignited a flame of hope after Radebe nearly gave up on himself. Radebe says that Mr Ngwenya, his teacher from Letare Secondary School in Soweto, helped unearth his latent potential. A conversation with Ngwenya on the topic of purpose changed Radebes negative outlook. My high school teachers gave me a sense of purpose and gave meaning to my life. I had lost focus until Mr Ngwenya called me to order in Grade 11. Then I realised that I needed to change my ways and focus, says Radebe. Empowered with a vision and purpose, the drone designer began making an effort to achieve academic success. His interest in aviation was piqued after he found out about the field at a career expo. I developed a keen interest in aviation when I attended the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) show. I had the opportunity to meet with the chief of staff of the South African Air Force at this show and at the 100 defence countdown. After receiving advice from a lecturer at Wits on whether to pursue mechanical or aeronautical engineering, he opted for the latter. Engineering for societal good Radebe believes in advancing societal good and finds solving problems using his engineering skills gratifying. His motive in designing the drone was to provide solutions that could aid with some of South Africas social ills. Drones are solution based. Initially, we wanted to use the drone for crime detection purposes but we decided not to, for our own safety, says Radebe. Drones are able to serve multiple purposes. They can be used to search for missing people and to reduce the costs of using airplanes. He is proud that his innovation can make a positive impact, despite the costs that come with designing a screening drone. The drones thermal camera costs around R5 000 and the components to make the actual drone cost about R16 000 to R18 000, says Radebe. Although costly, he says the drone was not designed to generate revenue but to contribute to the fight against Covid-19. As someone who has benefited from development programmes, he has a great affinity towards them. He hopes to use his drones for a community development programme to help high school learners who are interested in aviation and engineering. Uplifting people in my community is important to me. I want to give others the same opportunities that I have been afforded in life. I would not be pursuing engineering had it not been for the exposure from the youth development programme, says Radebe, who currently works out of the Transnet Matlafatso Centre at Wits, where he is mentored and nurtured. Surviving hardships The charismatic youngster has encountered hurdles that threatened his ambitions and led to a mental breakdown. In his second year at Wits, Radebe failed and had to repeat his modules, which made realising his dreams seem almost impossible. It was very hard for me when I failed to the extent that I suffered a mental breakdown. But knowing that this degree was a stepping stone for me to achieve my ambitions, I had to try again. I was fortunate to receive a lot of support from Mr Kholisile Khumalo, Chairperson of the Youth Development Programme at AAD. He encouraged me not to give up, says Radebe, who is grateful that he is able to continue his studies thanks to his sponsor, Pioneer Foods. Radebe, who refers to himself as Gogos (grannys) boy says that he endured the pain of failure and repeating his modules because he wanted to make his grandmother proud she raised him from the age of 11 after his mother passed away. Radebes company, Rita Sibanyoni (RS) Aviation honours his grandmother. He hopes that RS Aviation will be the biggest drone company in Africa in future. For Radebe, the skys the limit. Swiss Re's Board of Directors to propose a regular dividend of CHF 5.90 per share Total contribution to economic net worth (ENW) of USD -434 million in 2020; excluding COVID-19 impact, total contribution of USD 3.3 billion for the year Swiss Re maintains a very strong capital position; Group Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio of 215% as of 1 January 2021 Sergio P. Ermotti to be nominated for election as Chairman of the Board of Directors For the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 16 April 2021, the shareholders are invited to have their shares represented by the independent proxy Cathy Desquesses to succeed Nigel Fretwell as Group Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee Zurich, 18 March 2021 - Swiss Re today published its 2020 Annual Report, Sustainability Report and the agenda for the upcoming Annual General Meeting of shareholders (AGM) on 16 April 2021. In line with the preventive measures announced by the Swiss Federal Council, and in order to best protect the health of Swiss Re's shareholders and employees, it will not be possible for shareholders to attend the AGM in person. Shareholders can exercise their voting rights in writing or electronically via the independent proxy. Voting results will be published on the Group's website. Shareholders are also invited to attend a virtual post-AGM information event to be streamed live, starting at 10:00 CEST on 16 April 2021. Details for this event are available in the shareholder invitation to the AGM or through the Sherpany App. Swiss Re's capital position remained very strong throughout 2020. As of 1 January 2021, the Group Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio was at 215%, within the new target range of 200-250%. The Group's very strong capital position and positive outlook enables the Board of Directors to propose a stable dividend of CHF 5.90 per share at the upcoming AGM. Swiss Re's Chairman Walter B. Kielholz said: 'In 2020, Swiss Re again proved that its business model is robust and that it can fulfil its role as shock absorber for the insurance industry in times of crisis. The company has supported its clients through the extraordinary events of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while maintaining a very strong capital position. Swiss Re's businesses delivered strong underlying results, highlighting their long-term earning potential, and market trends point to an optimistic outlook for 2021 and beyond. These factors allow the Board of Directors to confidently propose an attractive dividend to shareholders.' Swiss Re's 2020 Annual Report contains Swiss Re Group's Economic Value Management (EVM) results. EVM is Swiss Re's proprietary integrated economic valuation and steering framework, consistently measuring economic performance across all businesses. It allows Swiss Re to see the connection between risk-taking and value creation and provides a consistent framework to evaluate the outcome of controlled risk-taking and capital allocation decisions throughout a performance cycle. Swiss Re reported a total contribution to economic net worth (ENW) of USD -434 million in 2020. The result was largely driven by COVID-19-related claims and reserves of USD 4.6 billion, which include both the 2020 impact and forward-looking estimates for 2021. Excluding COVID-19-related impacts, the total economic contribution to ENW amounted to USD 3.3 billion for the year, reflecting a strong underlying business performance in Reinsurance and Corporate Solutions. ENW decreased to USD 33.7 billion as of 31 December 2020 from USD 36.1 billion on 31 December 2019. ENW per share was USD 116.45 (CHF 102.93) as of 31 December 2020. ENW per share growth amounted to -0.1% in 2020. Excluding COVID-19 claims and reserves, ENW per share growth was 10.3%, underpinning the strong underlying business performance. Cathy Desquesses to succeed Nigel Fretwell as Group Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee Cathy Desquesses has been appointed Group Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee, effective 1 July 2021. She will succeed Nigel Fretwell, who has decided to retire. Cathy Desquesses has been the Chief People Officer and member of the Executive Committee at Sodexo since July 2018. Prior to that she had a 20-year career at GE, working in various senior HR positions around the world. She holds a master's degree in Labor & Employment Law from the Universite Pantheon Assas in France. Swiss Re's Chairman Walter B. Kielholz said: 'On behalf of the Swiss Re Board of Directors, I would like to thank Nigel Fretwell for his contribution to the Group over the past eight years and wish him all the best in retirement. We are pleased to have found an ideal successor in Cathy Desquesses to continue championing the topics of employee engagement, global talent pipeline, inclusion and diversity.' Swiss Re Annual General Meeting The Board of Directors proposes that Sergio P. Ermotti be re-elected as a member of the Board of Directors and elected as its Chairman for a one-year term of office until completion of the next Annual General Meeting. As previously announced, Walter B. Kielholz will retire after 12 years as Chairman of the Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election. The Board of Directors will propose the re-election of the following members for a one-year term of office: Raymond K.F. Ch'ien Renato Fassbind Karen Gavan Joachim Oechslin Deanna Ong Jay Ralph Joerg Reinhardt Philip K. Ryan Sir Paul Tucker Jacques de Vaucleroy Susan L. Wagner Larry Zimpleman The Board of Directors will propose the following individuals to be re-elected as members of the Compensation Committee: Raymond K.F. Ch'ien Renato Fassbind Karen Gavan Joerg Reinhardt Jacques de Vaucleroy The Board of Directors proposes that KPMG be re-elected as the Group's auditor for a one-year term of office for the financial year 2022. The invitation to Swiss Re Ltd's 2021 AGM is available online here . Publication of the 2020 Annual Report and 2020 Sustainability Report Swiss Re today published its 2020 Annual Report 'Transforming Tomorrow Together'. The Annual Report consists of the Business Report and the Financial Report. The Business Report presents the Group's strategic position and illustrates how Swiss Re and its partners are creating new partnerships and technologies to drive insurance growth, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, while making the transition to a net-zero business model. The Financial Report includes the audited consolidated and statutory financial statements for 2020. The 2020 Annual Report is available online here. In addition, the SRZ Annual Report 2020 is also available online here. Information about Swiss Re's capital position, financial strength and capital management can be found on pages 54-59 of the 2020 Financial Report. The Group also published loss development triangles on both an accident year and underwriting year basis. These are available online here. Swiss Re today published its Sustainability Report, which describes its Group Sustainability Strategy and its implementation in 2020. Key topics include linking compensation to sustainability performance, progress on the Group's commitments to achieve net-zero emissions (in underwriting, investments and operations), the growing significance of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and Swiss Re's people strategy. The report is available online here. Investors' and analysts' conference call Swiss Re will hold an investors' and analysts' conference call today at 14:00 (CET) with John Dacey (Group CFO) and Philip Long (Head of Actuarial Control). The presentation slides are available on Swiss Re's website: here. To listen to the call you are kindly requested to dial into the conference call 10-15 minutes prior to the start, using the following numbers (listening mode for journalists): Switzerland: +41 (0) 58 310 50 00 Germany: +49 (0) 69 5050 0082 France: +33 (0) 1 7091 8706 UK: +44 (0) 207 107 0613 USA: +1 (1) 631 570 56 13 The conference call will be recorded, and the recordings will be made available after the event has taken place. Mumbai, March 18 : Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane and his son, MLA Nitesh Rane on Thursday vociferously demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as the government grappled with the fallout of the SUV case, here on Thursday. The Ranes duo took umbrage at the manner in which Assistant Police Inspector Vaze was posted to the Crime Branch despite being under suspension, always shielding him and delaying taking action against the official. It was only after the Opposition pressure that action was taken against Vaze and later the Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh was transferred on Wednesday and replaced by Hemant Nagrale as the new city police chief, which has exposed the government, Narayan Rane said. "I feel that the CM is to be blamed for reinstating Sachin Vaze in the police force given his past record, the subsequent death of Mansukh Hiran and others The law and order situation in the state has collapsed. Hence, he must own up moral responsibility and resign," the MP demanded. Rane Jr. pointed out that after the revelations of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, claiming that Thackeray had reportedly spoken to him seeking Vaze's rehabilitation, things are clear now who is behind the police official. "Its loud and clear who is Vaze's political boss! Who asked for his reinstatement in the force during the last (BJP-led) government! Who advocated for him during the current Vidhan Sabha and said he is not an Osama Bin Laden! Its 'Uddhav Thackeray'!!" Nitesh Rane said. Besides Rane - a former Shiv Sena CM, his son Nitesh, several other senior BJP leaders like Fadnavis have attacked the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on the SUV case, the death of Hiran and the Vaze imbroglio all of which have heated the state political atmosphere. The SUV case -- in which a Scorpio with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note was found parked near the home industrialist Mukesh Ambani on February 25 -- is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which has arrested Vaze and probing other Mumbai Police officials. The death case of Hiran -- whose body was found in the Thane Creek wetlands on March 5 -- is being investigated by the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS). There are indications that the NIA may take over the Hiran case since both the high-profile and ultra-sensitive matters are closely interlinked and triggered a massive political row with both the MVA and Opposition hurling allegations at each other. Absa Group Ltd., one of Africas largest financial services providers, today reported a 51% decline in normalised headline earnings to R8 billion after impairments nearly trebled to R20.6 billion amid the economic downturn that was precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Earnings and returns improved materially in the second half of the year as lockdown restrictions eased, particularly in South Africa, which accounts for more than 80% of the groups earnings. Group headline earnings fell 82% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019. Headline earnings in the second half of last year were 19% lower than in the second half of 2019. As COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were implemented across countries last year, Absa moved swiftly to adopt remote-working, implement payment relief measures for clients, and to launch initiatives to support the communities we serve, while ensuring operational and financial resilience. Absa responded decisively to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. We supported our staff, customers and communities through a difficult period and produced a resilient financial performance in a very challenging operating environment, said Daniel Mminele, Absa Group Chief Executive. We also successfully completed our separation from Barclays and reviewed our strategy to ensure that it continues to be relevant in the context of rapid changes in the operating environment. COVID-19 pandemic response Colleague safety and wellbeing was the immediate priority, following which substantial customer and community support initiatives were implemented. We believe we offered the most comprehensive relief programme in the South African banking sector, providing approximately R9.8 billion in cash-flow relief to 613 000 retail and business banking customers, said Mminele. In addition, Absa waived various transaction fees and provided insurance premium relief, while temporarily extending credit cover to include a wider definition of loss of income events. Absa subsidiaries in countries outside of South Africa extended COVID-19 payment relief to more than 60,000 retail and business banking customers. Approximately R54.4 billion in payment relief was extended to corporate and investment banking clients during the year under review. This included interest and/or capital moratoriums, covenant concessions and extensions of maturity dates on expiring facilities. Absa also mobilised its citizenship programme to support communities across presence markets. Absa and its employees directed R83 million towards COVID-19 response initiatives across the continent. Financial performance While credit impairments had a substantial negative impact on earnings, Absa Groups 2020 financial results indicated positive underlying trends, including a 2% increase in income and strong growth in pre-prevision profit. (Pre-provision profit is profit before setting aside funds for impairments.) Net interest income growth of 5% stands out, considering large policy rate cuts that reduced Absas net interest income in South Africa. However, Absas structural hedge released R2.6 billion to the profit and loss statement to partially offset this. Operating expenses remained well-managed, declining 2%. Combining resilient revenue growth with lower costs produced positive operating JAWS a measure of efficiency of 3%, improving cost-to-income ratio noticeably to 56%. I was really pleased with our 7% rise in pre-provision profit as this is an important indicator of positive underlying performance. I believe that we have appropriately prioritised balance sheet strength balanced against selective targeted growth during these uncertain times, said Jason Quinn, Absa Group Financial Director. Pre-provision profit growth was evident across Absa Groups three business units. Retail and Business Banking South Africa (RBB SA) While RBB SAs earnings declined 55%, strong pre-provision profit growth of 6% largely cushioned the business against an increase in impairments. In a challenging and uncertain period, RBB SA actively supported customers through relief measures including financial advice, proactive customer and community outreach programmes and the provision of comprehensive payment relief. Many customers signed up for the payment relief programme as a precaution, and by December, the outstanding exposure of loans deferred had reduced significantly as customers resumed payments. A combination of these support programmes, strong equity in mortgages and elevated savings rates, along with a resilient balance sheet, place the business on firm footing as it navigates the next phase of its strategy journey. At the same time, RBB SA continues to invest, particularly in digital to improve operating efficiencies and the overall customer experience. This is illustrated by a 23% increase in digitally active customers to 1.9 million, largely driven by the mobile app. The app has been consistently the highest-ranking in the market. Underpinning RBB SAs performance has been the deliberate decisions taken in 2018 when its transformation journey commenced. Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) CIBs headline earnings declined by 17% as impairments increased six-fold. Pre-provision profit increased by 22%, supported by income growth of 14%, with all core operating business units delivering solid revenue growth. CIBs completion of separation from Barclays, which involved 44 projects, was a significant milestone, freeing up management time and facilitating the introduction of newer systems. CIB successfully integrated the custody and trustee business (Absa Investor Services) which was acquired from Societe Generale. The US office became operational with all regulatory approvals and licenses secured. Absa Regional Operations (ARO) ARO earnings declined 56% or 65% in constant currency. Pre-provision profit grew 3% as ARO continued to benefit from its well-diversified portfolio, both by activity and geography. Completing its separation from Barclays was a significant event for ARO, most of which Absa acquired from Barclays in 2013. It included the largest single data and systems migration in Africa, as customers in nine countries were switched to a new, enhanced online banking system. It also involved a major rebranding of branches and corporate offices, ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, and over 1.2 million customer cards. Strategy Absa undertook an in-depth review of the group strategy in 2020, two years after the launch of the 2018 growth strategy, to evaluate execution progress, and to assess relevance given the changes in the operating environment. The review process concluded that, while our strategic choices from the 2018 strategy remain relevant, the world in which we seek to achieve them has changed, said Mminele. As a consequence, some shifts and accelerations are required to drive the modernisation our business, not only to maintain relevance but to thrive and advance as a business. Absas refreshed strategy addresses the implications of the evolving operating environment, and will accelerate the growth of the business, as the Group continues to execute and consolidate elements of the 2018 strategy that have been showing traction. Absa will refine its go-to-market approach and execute with agility and speed, keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do. Strategic shifts are required to ensure that Absa delivers deeper shared value to a broad range of stakeholders, strengthening the Groups position as a purpose-led organisation. Absa will become even more customer-centric in meeting the specific needs of clients, embrace digital-first distribution channels to match customers changing behavioural patterns, and diversify market reach to match customers points of presence. Areas targeted for acceleration include: Developing and nurturing a more entrepreneurial culture Creating more competitive digital, data, technology and innovation capabilities Leveraging strategic partnerships to create market leading capabilities To deliver against our refreshed strategy, Absa will invest in strategic capabilities including leadership, a more modernised technology architecture that powers digital transformation and in creating an execution model that promotes faster innovation. The Group has delivered respectable progress over the last two-and-half years against the strategy journey that was adopted in 2018, and we have seen good traction in some parts of the business. Our refreshed strategy enables us to become more precise in expressing how we want to embed customer-centricity at the heart of our business, how we will evolve our digital maturity, and what it means to be purpose-led, said Mminele. Outlook There remains substantial uncertainty regarding the global economic recovery, which depends on the roll-out of effective vaccines and additional policy support. However, Absa expects an improved macro-economic backdrop in 2021, which should support financial performance. Absa forecasts 3.1% growth in South Africa during 2021 and expects GDP to only recover to 2019 levels by 2024. Absa expects the economy in ARO presence countries to rebound in 2021, with GDP-weighted growth of 4.5%. While there is some way to go before economies stabilise, the roll-out of vaccines globally hold the promise of greater stability and we look forward to playing our role in the recovery and re-setting for the future, said Mminele. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video GEORGETOWN COUNTY A thousand year flood hit the Spring Gully community in 2015, and resident Dedric Bonds said it was like a sword cut through the scarred, still-healing community. It was something that took the scab off Mother Earth, Bonds said. Many residents say Spring Gully, an unincorporated community just a few miles southwest of Georgetown city limits, has been wounded since its establishment, claiming it was not properly built some 50 years ago, and lacks basic drainage infrastructure. Since the 2015 storm, Bonds said, issues in Spring Gully have only become worse. Homes and yards are flooding with a simple rain storm. Roads are falling apart, with potholes sprinkling state and county roads. Residents like David Doiley are worried that if something is not done soon to fix these issues, more will arise and may become unfixable. Doiley says that his den floods so badly when it rains, he has to buy two water pumps to keep the area dry. Even when he talked with contractors about building his den up higher from the ground, they said water would still collect and mold underneath, rendering the job nearly useless. We have to wear boots just to get to the mailboxes, and if Ive got packages coming from UPS, the guys sometimes dont even want to come to the area, they have to throw it to me in the yard, Doiley said. For the past three weeks, the residents of Spring Gully have pleaded with Georgetown County Council to allocate money from a surplus tax to fix their communitys issues. A Capital Project Sales Tax from 2014 left the county with an extra $12.5 million, and as part of a plan to distribute the surplus, each councilmember got $1 million to spend on capital projects in their district. Spring Gully resides in District 4, and its councilperson Lillie Johnson originally allocated her $1 million for library improvements, until residents like Bonds strongly opposed the plan at a Feb. 23 council meeting forcing the vote to be delayed. Now, after two meetings this month between Johnson and her constituents on March 2 and 11, some residents believe they are on a path to something good, while others think still not enough is being done to ensure resident safety. Terry Reed, one of the leaders of the Spring Gully Community Action Group, said he left the March 2 meeting with Johnson feeling hopeful. He said he felt Johnson had listened to him and his neighbors, and that she understood the community needed the money to go toward more urgent things than library upgrades. Then March 11, Johnson announced she would propose $300,000 of her $1 million to council to fix the issues in Spring Gully, and the other $700,000 to the library, when $1.16 million is already allocated specifically to library improvements in the surplus general allotments. After feeling ignored for so long already, Reed said this news was disappointing. Even after hearing the needs of her district we thought that she would decide to give that whole million to her district, to the needs of her people. And she decided to not even give us half of it, Reed said. Johnson served two consecutive terms previously on council as District 4s representative from 1993 to 2000, and after an 8-year break, has represented District 4 since. Johnson declined to answer questions about the surplus tax or the meetings with Spring Gully residents when reached by The Post and Courier Myrtle Beach. Sign up for our Myrtle Beach weekly update newsletter. Sign up for weekly roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Myrtle Beach area. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Myrtle Beach news staff. Email Sign Up! On March 11, Johnson gave residents a packet that outlined short-, medium- and long-term goals to fix the issues she heard from residents March 2. Short-term goals, within 9 months, include road inspections, citizen engagement with South Carolina State Delegation and a community clean-up. Unfortunately, many of the problems with the state roads and its roadside drainage within this area are beyond routine management, the packet states. It goes on to encourage residents to reach out to state representatives to request more state funding go toward maintaining and repairing the state roads in the area. Medium-term goals, between 1 and 3 years, include addressing the countys littering issue and working with SCDOT to investigate storm drains and conduct a traffic study. Long-term goals, between 3 and 6+ years, include implementing a major drainage improvement project on McDonald Road and a county drainage improvement study to prioritize infrastructure improvements from downstream to upstream. The packet covers how issues in the area can be addressed, but it is unclear if the $300,000 proposed will be or can be used for them specifically. The Spring Gully Community Action Group was established in 2019, with Bonds as its president. Its first community event was a Trunk or Treat, and it had more community outreach planned until the pandemic hit, and the group suddenly took a back seat. That is until Bonds learned about the surplus tax, and he mobilized his group to protest it. From there, it was word of mouth and social media. What started as 11 people speaking in front of the county council about that surplus tax on Feb. 23 turned into nearly 40 residents filling McDonald Elementary Schools multipurpose room March 11, pleading for adequate funding to fix their community, as well as a Facebook group with more than 100 members who are active weekly, posting information about their fight with the county and ideas on how to make things better. Reed said while Spring Gully has always been tight knit, a community where folks who are born there often return to take care of parents or move into relatives old homes, the neglect of it and the urgent need for changes has brought residents together like never before. This is the first time we have come together, at large, as a group, Reed said. Some residents at the meeting thought the $300,000 was a good start, with Bonds saying he doesnt want to criticize a humble beginning, but a common consensus among the community remains: even the full $1 million likely wouldnt cover everything the community needs fixed. While Bonds recognizes this financial reality, and said he will continue to fight for more funding, he also said he is focused on bigger picture issues for Spring Gully. He said he doesnt want quick fixes, but rather serious infrastructure work done to roads and drainage systems to ensure that the community will stay safe and be protected for years to come. Fighting for his community has always been about mutual respect, Bonds said, and about showing people what can happen when they make their voices heard. None of these problems are small, none of the solutions are small, but it takes neighborhood residents who have the fortitude to take down these giant problems, Bonds said. The surplus tax allocation is expected to be discussed again at county council March 23 after council said Feb. 23 it would try to return to the topic in 30 days to allow for reevaluations. Reed said his goal at this meeting is to let council know that he and his community are disappointed not only in the $300,000 proposal, but in the fact that the county significantly cut its stormwater budget the last two years. It is one thing to not know your community and district have a need, and it's another thing to know that they have a need and still decide to not fully contribute to that need, Reed said. Undated photo of Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia. After a manhunt late on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, authorities took Long into custody in connection with several fatal shootings at massage parlours in the Atlanta area. Photo: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office via AP The suspect in the fatal shooting of eight people at day spas in and around Atlanta on Tuesday indicated he had issues with sexual addiction and the shootings may have not been motivated by racial hatred, police officials said . Officials said that suspect Robert Aaron Long (21), appeared to have frequented the spas where the violence occurred or similar ones, and that he had been headed to Florida afterward, perhaps to carry out further shootings. Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. While preliminary investigations appeared to suggest the suspect was not motivated by racial hatred, officials said it was still too early to know with certainty. The bloodshed began about 5pm on Tuesday when four people were killed and another was wounded in a shooting at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County, about 64km north of Atlanta, Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriffs Department said. Two women of Asian descent were among the dead there, along with a white woman and a white man, Baker said, adding that the surviving victim was a Hispanic man. In Atlanta, police responding to a call of a robbery in progress shortly before 6pm arrived at the Gold Spa beauty salon and found three women shot dead, Police Chief Rodney Bryant told reporters. While investigating the initial report, the officers were called to a separate spa across the street where another woman was found dead from a gunshot wound, Bryant said. All four women killed in Atlanta were of Asian descent. The suspect did take responsibility for the shooting, Baker said. Its a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate, he added, referring to the suspects sexual addiction issues. Long, of Woodstock in Cherokee County, was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 240km south of Atlanta. A photo of Long was released by authorities. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said: This was a tragic day with many victims. But thankfully the suspect was quickly apprehended. Gun control remains a divisive issue in the US. The US House of Representatives last week approved a pair of gun control bills as Democrats seized upon a shifting political landscape that they said improved the chances of enacting new laws after years of failed attempts. Sorry! This content is not available in your region India's first legal sex toy and wellness products store, 'Kama Gizmos', which was opened this year on Valentine's Day in Goa, has now been shut down. The country's first official brick-and-mortar sex shop was shut after the head of the Calangute village panchayat ordered its closure citing 'lack of trade licence'. Dinesh Simepurushkar, sarpanch of Calangute village panchayat said that Kama Gizmos did not have mandatory trade permit therefore it was deemed as illegal, according to a report in Moneycontrol. "We became aware of the existence of the store only after its details went viral in media and on social media platforms. As per rules, every business entity has to acquire a trade licence to set shop within the panchayat's jurisdiction. The owners did not apply for a permit; hence, it was deemed illegal," Simepurushkar told the news portal. The sarpanch added that he also received several complaints about the store and questions were raised about its moral implications and legality. However, there is no law that specifically prohibits the sale of sex toys in a brick-and-mortar store in the country, the news portal said citing experts' opinion. In India, the interpretation of 'vulgarity' and 'obscenity' is mentioned under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which states that any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object will be obscene if it is lascivious, appeals to the prurient interest or tends to deprave and corrupt the minds of persons. The section penalises the sale, public exhibition, distribution, import and export of any such obscene objects and punishes the wrongdoer with imprisonment up to five years and fine up to Rs 5,000. Kama Gizmos was a joint venture of two sex product retailers--Kamakart and Gizmoswala. The two retailers had set up shop in Goa's touristy area of Calangute. Post the panchayat's decision, now Kama Gizmos' Instagram account is unavailable and its official website displays 'Account Suspended'. According to the fourth edition of India Uncovered: Insightful Analysis of Sex Products' Trends in India, a report curated by ThatsPersonal.com, India's appetite for sexual wellness products has spiked 65 per cent post coronavirus lockdown. Maharashtra topped the chart in the state ranking for the sale of sex products, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Amongst cities, Mumbai remains the biggest buyer followed by Bengaluru and Delhi. Among Tier-2 cities, Lucknow has emerged as the top city in purchase of sex products while Panipat, Shillong, Puducherry (Pondicherry) and Haridwar are some of the prominent Tier-3 cities. Also read: No toll booths in highways! Govt to launch GPS-based toll collection system Also read: India's Covid-19 stimulus fell short of announcements; lockdown impacted incomes: UNCTAD Directed and written by Remi Weekes, from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu in His House His House is the debut feature film of Remi Weekes, who also wrote the script from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. The film, available at Netflix, dramatizes the situation of South Sudanese refugees trying to adjust to life in England, beset by the nightmare of their past experiences, cruel government policies and anti-immigrant backwardness. It is an unusual horror movie in that the frightening, fantastic goings-on are not occasioned by the presence of zombies, vampires or other creatures of the imagination, but result from the concrete, real-life conditions of asylum seekers, mass killings in Africa and the drownings of refugees. His House opens in South Sudan, as Bol Majur (Sope Dirisu) and his wife Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) flee civil war with their young daughter Nyagak (Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba). Later, from an overcrowded boat crossing the English Channel between France and England, Nyagak and others are lost overboard in the stormy waters. After spending months in a harsh detention center, where in one scene we see a guard brutalizing a detainee, Bol and Rial are provisionally released for six months. They are essentially on probation. A cold, officious social worker Mark (Matt Smith) lays down the law: You will be given financial weekly support of 74 pounds [$US103] in total. You do not have permission to work or to supplement your earnings by any other means. Theres a final condition, Mark goes on. You will be sent to a home of our choosing. You must reside at this address. You must not move from this address. This is your home now. The state demands that the couple be among the good onesthat they accept their treatment without complaint and do what theyre told. Their new home is a run-down council house complete with peeling wallpaper and the rotting remains of someones pizza dinner. Bol makes an effort. He insists on speaking English and using utensils, even trying to copy the way people dress (Were born again. Born again), whereas Rial continues to wear colorful clothing and prefers to eat in a traditional manner (All I can taste is metal). On one of her first excursions, she gets lost in a maze of high walls and ends up being taunted by a group of teenage boys (Go back to Africa. Only English around here, darlin). To a doctor, Rial explains the markings on her skin: These I gave to myself with a knife. When I found my family butchered. There are two tribes where Im from. Theyre both killing each other. Depending on which one you belong to, you mark yourself. I marked myself with both. I survived by belonging nowhere. Far from offering Bol and Rial a place of rest and comfort, their new house soon torments them with strange and disturbing phenomena. A malevolent creature appears to be living inside the walls. Rial has a theory, the creature is an apeth, a night witch. The couple, she insists, needs to repay a debt. It comes to light that Bol was guilty of a desperate and unconscionable act while escaping the civil war in Sudan. To survive the horror now requires drastic action. Your ghosts follow you. They never leave. They live with you. His House (directed by Remi Weekes) His House is effective, in a distinct and unusual fashion, at conveying elements of the refugees plight. These are ordinary human beings forced to flee dreadful circumstances caused in large measure by Great Power operations and machinations. As though they hadnt been punished enough, once in their new country, the asylum seekers come up against inhospitable conditions and the whipping up of anti-immigrant chauvinism. They are victims of one of the great social crimes of our time. Director Weekes, aided by his cinematographer Jo Willems, captures the UKs reprehensible and indifferent bureaucracy, its animosity towards those who arrive penniless and shell-shocked after perilous, death-defying journeys. Attached to this state of affairs are detention camps and the constant threat of deportation. Actors Dirisu and Mosaku excel at portraying two people who bear the scars of this inhuman process. In one wrenching segment, a Sudanese mother and daughter are separatedthe former screaming while the bus containing her kidnapped child drives off. [F]or many people who are moving or thinking of migrating to the UK, theyre sold on the image that the UK sells to the rest of the world is a fairytale idea of England: its the Queen and Charles Dickens and beautiful and London-centric, commented Weekes in an interview with Esquire. And so for many people who arrive in the UK it can be very disorientating because what they see isnt what they were sold, the writer-director added. Many refugees are transported to a detention center, Weekes further explained, and then ferried to their new accommodation, and when they reach their new accommodation, they have no idea where they are. They have no sense of orientation. It adds to many peoples sense of confusion and exacerbates the trauma they already have. Like the superlative and unnerving 2019 film Atlantics directed by Mati Diop, His House artistically commemorates the tens of thousands of people who have gone to watery graves escaping unbearable conditions in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. It is the refugee experience as a horror movie. His House Africas refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons represent more than a quarter of the worlds 71 million forcibly displaced people. The latter figure is the highest number since World War II, the result of armed conflicts, persecution and natural disasters. Oil-rich South Sudan, the WSWS noted in April 2020, which has suffered years of civil wars since declaring independence from Sudan in 2011, has about 1.6 million IDPs [internally displaced people], some living in densely packed tent camps inside UN peacekeeping bases, with a further 2.2 million refugees in neighbouring countries. More than half the countrys population faces acute food insecurity, while the leading causes of death are treatable diseases and conditions like malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoea. Combine this reality with the rising death toll of the pandemic and a truly calamitous picture emerges. His House sensitizes the viewer to some of the social and emotional stress disorders arising from this immense suffering. Houston: A 25-year-old Indian student has died in Houston, days after she was rescued along with another Indian man from a swollen lake in the US state of Texas where Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc. Shalini Singh, a student pursuing Masters degree in public health from the Texas A&M University, was rescued from the Lake Bryan, where she along with another Indian student Nikhil Bhatia, had gone swimming last Saturday. While Bhatia died in hospital on August 30, Singh, who continued to be in a critical condition, was declared dead late last night. Her younger brother and maternal uncle, who flew in from New Delhi on August 30, were with her at the time of death. Singh, originally hailing from Delhi, came to the US only last month to pursue the two years Masters program after her degree in Dental Surgery from I T S Dental College in Greater Noida. ALSO READ | More floods possible in west Houston amid Harvey recovery: Authorities She will be cremated in Bryan on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, according to the consulate sources. Singh continued to be on life support till intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, according to the Consulate officials, who were in regular touch with the family members in hospital. According to their friends and some witnesses, Singh and Bhatia were swimming in the lake when a sudden current of water pushed them deeper. The friends accompanying them noticed that the duo were in distress and flagged down nearby police officers. Bryan Police officers were able to rescue and provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the victims until medics arrived, according to Bryan Mayor Andrew Nelson. Consul General of India in Houston, Dr Anupam Ray had been monitoring her medical needs and situation closely. Around 13 million people were battling catastrophic flooding and torrential rains in the storm-ravaged Texas where Hurricane Harvey has wreaked havoc, claiming at least 50 lives. According to local community leaders, at least 150,000 Indian-Americans live in and around Houston area and have been badly hit by the hurricane. ALSO READ | Hurricane Harvey: US Corporate conglomerates pledge whopping USD 170 million for disaster relief operations For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. 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The Meet Group Hosts Webinar with Safer Dating Advisory Board -- Dare to Date: The COVID Vaccine and Dating Safety The Meet Group, Inc., a leading provider of interactive dating solutions, announced that on Tuesday, March 23, beginning at 1:30 p.m. (EDT), its Safer Dating Advisory Board members will be participating as panelists in a public webinar hosted by The Meet Group: Dare to Date: The COVID Vaccine and Dating Safety to answer daters' questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and what it means for daters. The Safer Dating Advisory Board, along with The Meet Group's SVP Marketing, Catherine Connelly, will discuss the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, dating in person, and best practices to reduce the risk of transmission. Award-winning matchmaker and host of the Ask a Matchmaker Podcast, Maria Avgitidis, will be the special guest moderator for the event. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005255/en/ Dare to Date: The COVID Vaccine and Dating Safety Webinar will be held on March 23 at 1:30 pm EDT. (Graphic: Business Wire) The Meet Group's Safer Dating Advisory Board, formed in July 2020, is comprised of top epidemiologists and health experts, including , an internal medicine and infectious diseases physician certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Tali Elfassy, an epidemiologist and Research Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Dr. Melissa Sharp, an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The Safer Dating Advisory Board provides consultation on dating products, including the launch of the in-app COVID Dating Preference feature, safer dating guidance, including dating tips offered to members of The Meet Group's dating apps, and has helped shape the company's response to the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. As a leader in dating safety, The Meet Group continues to strive to set the industry standard, leveraging the most innovative technologies to make its dating applications a place where millions can safely connect, meet, and date. While geared toward online daters and members of The Meet Group's portfolio of dating apps, the free webinar will be open to the public. More details, as well as how to register, can be found on The Meet Group's blog. For more information about the Safer Dating Advisory Board and its board members, please visit https://www.themeetgroup.com/safety-meet-group/#datingboard. About The Meet Group The Meet Group owns and operates the most engaging dating communities in the world, spanning five apps including MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, LOVOO and GROWLr. Serving millions of daters daily, our community sends 70 million chats per day. Each month, our livestreaming solutions entice our community to spend more than 1 billion minutes in video. Our network size, technology, and leading moderation and talent teams enable us to partner for and acquire new audiences, including through video platform-as-service products. The Meet Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of ParshipMeet Group, a diversified international market leader in online dating, which also owns and operates leading matchmaking brands eharmony, Parship, and ElitePartner. For more information, visit themeetgroup.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005255/en/ It was earlier reported that Mumbai City court had directed Khar Police to file an FIR against actor Kangana Ranaut along with her sister Rangoli Chandel, brother Akshat Ranaut and producer Kamal Kumar Jain, after the author of the book Didda: The Warrior Queen Of Kashmir Ashish Kaul filed a complaint against her in a copyright violation case. Now, Ashish has sent a notice to Khar Police Station calling for immediate action against the actor. The writer also questioned why any police procedure did not happen against the actor. Ashish Kaul had filed the FIR against Kangana Ranaut on March 12, 2021. The author's advocates Yogita Joshi and Ravish Zamindar have revealed to IANS about the notice sent by them. They said, "We have just served the Khar police station a notice to seek what has been done so far in MECR 1/2021, which was registered on 12/03/2021 against Kangana Ranaut and others." Also Read: Manikarnika Returns: Case Filed Against Kangana Ranaut For Cheating & Copyright Breach They further revealed, "As per the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, Section 41 onwards there are procedures on how a warrant or a notice is issued to any individual when they are party to an FIR/MECR filed by the police station. It's all guided by the law and this applies to all citizens. We are still unclear on the progress despite visiting the police station almost daily till the 15th of March, 2021. Hence, we sent this notice and hope there is swift action taken as per the law of the land." Also Read: Kangana Ranaut Posts Controversial Tweet About Mahatma Gandhi: He Was A Great Leader May Not A Great Husband Kangana Ranaut's advocate Rizwan Siddiquee has reportedly refused to comment on the ongoing matter. For the unversed, Ashish Kaul filed the complaint against the Tanu Weds Manu actor as the movie, Manikarnika Returns: The Legend Of Didda was announced without the knowledge of the author. Ashish Kaul mentioned in the complaint that he has the exclusive copyright of the story of Didda and Kangana has taken material from his book without proper permission, so Manikarnika Returns: The Legend Of Didda is in violation of his copyright. For the unversed, Kaul is the descendant of Queen Didda, who was the Princess of Lohar and later became the queen of Kashmir. Heather Hoffman just wants to spread some good vibes. A bartender for 15 years in San Francisco, she's finally achieved her dream of owning a bar in the city and is starting Propagation, a "garden-centric" cocktail bar opening to the public Wednesday in the Lower Nob Hill area. "We [didn't] want to try too hard for a theme, but it just came naturally," said Hoffman of the bar. "... It's more about propagating good vibes. After this COVID stuff, we need something to feel good about again, you know?" Hoffman's wife, Lauren Nguyen, designed and built out the bar and is quite luckily a Plant Person who gave the bar its plant-y feel and helped load up the space with plenty of greenery. And while the venture seems like a risky one following a year of restaurant and bar closures during the pandemic, Hoffman said the time felt right given the rollout of vaccinations and with the change of political parties in the White House. Hoffman found the space for the new bar in what was formerly Tonic on Post Street and felt like "there was no better time than now." "It was kind of just like, 'Well, we're going to do it. Let's just do it,'" Hoffman said of her discussions with Nguyen about opening the bar. "Self-doubt is a real thing and you can't let it take over, sometimes. You just have to go with your gut. [Nguyen] believed in me, and I believed in her and we just looked at each other and we were like, 'We're going to go for it.'" Hoffman is putting her years of bartending to work with their cocktail menu. For their St. Patrick's Day opening, Hoffman is preparing a Teeling Irish whiskey cold brew with a salted pistachio crema top, a twist on the the Irish coffee cocktail. Hoffman is also looking forward to sharing an acai "Cali champagne" a pina colada served with California Cuvee and a beet-washed Japanese gin drink called the Red Snapper, similar in style to a bloody mary. Pop-up Mezcla will be providing the food accompaniment for Propagation, with dishes such as yucca fries with aji amarillo cheese sauce, shrimp ceviche and Colombian empanadas to start for opening week. Hoffman imagines Propagation as a neighborhood bar, reminiscent of the places she went to when she first moved to San Francisco. In recent years, she said she's felt there hasn't been too many bars like hers, instead gravitating towards stuffy or divey. She's hoping Propagation will fill that middle space, for those who miss the fun parts of San Francisco and just want a casual happy hour to hang out at, without the overly expensive drinks. "When you go out, you want to feel like it's the place that's maybe a little bit nicer than your own house," Hoffman said. "That's why you go to a bar, right? You can always be home and have a drink so this place is just for people that like want to enjoy a nice drink in the neighborhood and you don't have to think too hard about it. "Our bar welcomes everybody," Hoffman later added. "We're not a gay bar. We're not a straight bar. We're not a trans bar. We're everybody's bar, and so everybody is welcome. So come on down, bring your good attitudes with you." Propagation, at 895 Post St. in San Francisco, is open starting Wednesday, March 17. Their hours of operation are Thursday thought Saturday, 4-11 p.m. Hours are subject to change, so check their latest information at instagram.com/propagationsf. Eleclear Technologies is based in Alabama and will be initially funded with $1.2 million of new capital on a 70/30 basis between Dr Scott A Drummond and ME2C Environmental to coincide with the ownership arrangement ME2C Environmental will provide technical and research direction, along with the commercialization of the anticipated technologies Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. - - ( ), a leading environmental technologies firm, has announced its participation in the creation of a new technologies firm, Eleclear Technologies, LLC. Eleclear Technologies is based in Alabama and will be initially funded with $1.2 million of new capital on a 70/30 basis between Dr Scott A Drummond and ME2C Environmental to coincide with the ownership arrangement. ME2C Environmental will provide technical and research direction, along with the commercialization of the anticipated technologies. The initial technologies being developed by Eleclear will move to full pilot-scale testing in the near future. Our collaboration with Dr Drummond began in 2019 to further the development of sorbent technologies targeting environmental remediation and value-added by-products production. We understood the importance of providing a new solution to the industry to more effectively support wastewater and soil remediation, commented Richard MacPherson, president and CEO of ME2C Environmental in a statement. Eleclear Technologies has been formed as the commercial vehicle to further develop these environmental technologies and take them to market. It is the culmination of significant resources and joint efforts from both parties. We are excited to develop, through Eleclear, highly effective, innovative, and affordable solutions addressing relevant issues facing todays environmental challenges across the USA, concluded MacPherson. ME2C Environmental is a leading environmental technologies company developing and delivering patented and proprietary solutions to the global power industry. ME2Cs leading-edge services have been shown to achieve emissions removal at a significantly lower cost and with less operational impact than currently used methods, while maintaining and/or increasing power plant output and preserving the marketability of byproducts for beneficial use. ME2C Environmental is a trade name of Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com By Nathan Allen and Marco Trujillo MADRID (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Germans are planning last-minute Easter getaways to Spain's sun-kissed islands, leaving many Spaniards, who are not allowed to do the same because of a travel ban, upset. "It makes absolutely no sense that in Spain we can't move between regions but any foreigner can come in ... and spread infection," said Emilio Rivas, 23, who lives in Madrid. The young tax assessor wanted to get out of town for the holidays but must instead stay home because Spain banned travel between regions over Easter to avoid a repeat of a spike in contagion seen after an easing in restrictions over Christmas. But tourists from European countries with higher infection rates like France or Germany can fly in for a holiday as long as they have a negative covid test result - something even top health official Fernando Simon described as "incongruous." As soon as Berlin last week lifted a quarantine requirement for travellers returning from the Balearic islands, demand for flights to the archipelago soared, with tourists from France and elsewhere also conspicuous on the streets of Madrid. The German government still advises against non-essential travel, however. "The lack of a travel warning is not an invitation to travel," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said earlier this week. Retired Madrid resident Angelines Ruiz complained of having to stay put after cancelling a trip to the western region of Extremadura. "On top of that I'm afraid of going anywhere in case I get infected by one of these French or Germans," said Ruiz, 76. Spain's infection rate is at its lowest since August. NO FREE BOOZE Despite widespread grumbling from Spaniards, the return of sun-seeking Germans will provide a welcome shot in the arm to the ailing tourism industry after foreign visitors to Spain fell 80% to 19 million in 2020, the lowest level since 1969. In 2020 the industry's contribution to gross domestic product tumbled to between 4% and 5%, according to estimates from the Funcas think-tank from a 12% share in 2019. Story continues Hotels and holiday lets in Germany are barred from renting to tourists, leaving foreign vacations as the only option. Lufthansa's low-cost Eurowings airline added 300 extra flights from all over Germany to Mallorca for Easter in response to a fourfold jump in bookings after the quarantine lifting, while Ryanair announced 200 extra connections to Mallorca and Alicante. TUI Germany, said Easter bookings were double 2019 levels and some of the company's Mallorca hotels were already fully booked. Communications chief at TUIfly Aage Duenhaupt said the influx would not lead to rowdiness, and nightclubs in German resorts would remain closed. "There won't be the party holidays," he said. "They have even cancelled the free alcohol in the all-inclusive hotels." Responding to the sudden surge in bookings, Balearic authorities said they welcomed the new wave of tourists and would strictly enforce the requirement for a negative PCR test. "It is not a problem that people come to the Balearic Islands. We test everyone and will continue to do so as long as health security requires," a health department spokeswoman said. At Duesseldorf airport, travellers heading to the Balearics were sympathetic with Spaniards' discontent. "I can understand totally how the Spanish feel, to travel in corona times is really a privilege," said Mallorca-bound passenger Donata, who did not give her second name. "The whole thing is a bit irresponsible." (Reporting by Nathan Allen and Marco Trujillo in Madrid; Ilona Wissenbach, Tanya Wood and Maria Sheahan in Germany; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Alexandra Hudson) With the cash injection thanks to the new owners at Williams, Haas is expected to have a very difficult season with a relatively underdeveloped car. On top of that, they will have to face this challenge with two completely new drivers. Team boss Guenther Steiner was positively surprised though. He said that immediately after the winter test. Both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin left a very good first impression according to the Italian. In an interview with RTL Germany He says he doesn't regret the decision to work with these young drivers. He also enjoys the small details he sees in the young drivers. For example, he noticed something special with Schumacher. "I saw that he has a small book in which he writes things down. I didn't want to go to him to sneak a peek at it, but I hope and have faith that there are technical things in there." Mazepin and Schumacher get equal treatment With Haas' new main sponsor also being the father of one of the drivers, there was concern among some fans that Mazepin will receive preferential treatment, but Steiner is pressing them to make sure this is not the case. "Uralkali is the main sponsor, but with no rights to an advantage. It doesn't exist. It's not sporting and we don't participate in it, I stand by that," Steiner said. Dmitri Mazepin himself is reported to have said that he does not want his son to be favoured. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian military doesnt plan to participate in the NATO Defender Europe-21 exercises, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia told ARMENPRESS. ARMENPRESS: Will Armenia participate in the NATO Defender Europe 21 exercises? Defense Ministry: Generally, the Armenian Armed Forces take part in only the kind of NATO or NATO-member organized exercises which are in the nature of maintaining international peace and stability and during which it is possible to train peacekeeping forces or specialized units training for international missions, such as engineering or field hospital. Organizing and participating in international exercises is a long-lasting process of planning consisting of several stages and deciding participation or non-participation cant be done in one day, because the structural, functional, logistical, transport and other issues regarding the participation of the units from various countries are highly inter-connected. The representatives of the Armenian Armed Forces did not participate in the Defender Europe 21 planning process and the Armenian Ministry of Defense does not plan the participation of Armenian Armed Forces units in this exercise. Weve requested the organizer of the exercises to revise the list of participants posted on their website. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Former Deputy General Secretary of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho has described as 'unacceptable' how the attention of Ghanaians have been shifted from 'hardcore issues' like President Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address, (SONA) and the 2021 budget to the offensive 'juju-loving' history textbook. "How can we be debating the budget and the State of the Nation Address; those are the hardcore issues; who allowed this textbook issue to enter the debate? To the extent that that is what is topical now. It is extremely unacceptable for those behind this because now you have taken the debate away," he said in an interview on Kumasi-based Hello FM. The Chief Executive Officer of the Atta Mills institute however "congratulated all those condemning this textbook". Listen to him in the video below Ghanaians have been criticizing the Publishers of the "Golden English" textbook, which disparages Ewes and Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum says his Ministry has not approved the textbook for use even though it was on the market before its offensive nature was disclosed. 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. Featured Video Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 00:31:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- For the past couple of months, Latvia's COVID-19 incidence has been gradually dropping, with the most significant decrease recorded last week, but at the start of this week infections spiked again, causing fears of a third coronavirus wave. Commenting on the signs of a resurgence, Latvia's chief infectious disease specialist Uga Dumpis noted on public television Thursday that a worrying increase in COVID-19 cases was recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday. "We are concerned about what is going to happen in the next few days and the next week," the health expert said, warning that the infection rate will most likely increase. The speed at which the third wave will hit Latvia largely depends on the spread of the more transmissible virus strain identified in Britain, which is now found in around 25 percent of all sequenced samples. Another mutated coronavirus strain, first found in Uganda, has been detected in Latvia's southwestern city Liepaja. Asked about possibilities to adjust or loosen some COVID-19 restrictions, Dumpis ruled out any relaxation and stressed that at this point, "we can only talk about tightening restrictions." Professor Girts Brigis, head of the Public Health and Epidemiology Department at Riga Stradins University (RSU), agreed that in the current situation, any discussions about easing restrictions have to be put off. "Only a big optimist could believe that Latvia might avoid Europe's scenario," Brigis said, pointing to the spread of the new, more contagious coronavirus variants. Latvia therefore must be prepared for a fresh increase in COVID-19 incidence and "restrictions on any movement," Brigis said, adding that only vaccination and reduction of face-to-face contacts could help improve the situation. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. Meanwhile, 264 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 82 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem analysis Mob justice is to take the law into one's hand. The common reaction of a person who suffers injustice in the hands of a person is to seek revenge. The likely impact of revenge is the tendency for it to yield more injustice and more revenge. When a person perpetrates injustice and is arrested and detained the whole nation would sympathise with the victim. All just humanity everywhere will call for justice to take its course. This is how to mourn the dead and stand by them for justice to be done and be seen to be done. On the other hand, when the road of revenge is pursued the victims become many and people would concentrate on what has happened to their own side rather than empathise with the original victim. Strength is only strength if it is sustainable. Every Gambian should refuse to be pushed into the defensive by engaging in action that would make the person an outlaw. Mob justice tends to lead to collective punishment of people who are not guilty of any crime. A just human being should hate to perpetrate injustice against any human being on the face of the earth. Injustice anywhere should be fought by the just everywhere. That is the only way we can have a just and peaceful world. Jung Yu Mi joins a slew of celebrities who are self-confessed fans of BTS. The 38-year-old actress, who starred in the blockbuster hit movie "Train to Busan," did not shy away from expressing her support for the Grammy-nominated boy group, especially to one member. Jung Yu Mi Spotted with an RJ Plushie In a report, the Grand Bell Award winner is said to be a solid supporter of BTS' Jin. Although she may not be vocal about it, Jung Yu Mi's Instagram says so. It came after eagle-eyed fans noticed one of her Instagram Stories featured RJ - one of the characters from the group's team up with the app Line, dubbed as the BT21. Moreover, the actress' post came with a caption that reads, "it's still so cold," alongside a photo of the famous plushie. Interestingly, the white fluffy animal, who often wears a parka, is Jin's contribution to the said collaboration. To recall, the 28-year-old boy group member loves to doodle the fluffy white mammal and has been photographed with an alpaca stuffed toy. RJ is an alpaca who often wears a parka because he gets cold easily. Jin was drawing cute alpaca doodles for years before. In a previous report, it explained why the "Dynamite" hitmaker chose alpaca, who was often confused with llama. Fellow members mentioned that he resembles Jin, most especially the way he eats. As for "Train to Busan's" Jung Yu Mi, this is not the first time that the actress posted RJ's snap. In a now-deleted IG post, she shared a quirky photo featuring the alpaca plushie as she placed it near her head and did a funny pose. Interestingly, aside from the famous stuffed toy, the "The School Nurse Files" star's admiration for the seven-member boy band does not end there. She was previously spotted donning a colorful beanie in one episode of the TVN reality show "Youn's Stay." At the time, the 38-year-old actress sported a headwear similar to BTS' Jin, which he wore during the group's 2021 Winter Package photos. It's no surprise that Jin is well-loved by several celebrities. To recall, he is said to be a popular student at Konkuk University - a prestigious school known for producing some of South Korea's brightest and talented actors. This includes Lee Jong Suk, Lee Min Ho, Lee Min Ki, Yoo Ah In, and Joo Won alongside other notable idols, such as GOT7's JB, Changmin of TVXQ, Dong Woon of BEAST, BTS' Jin, and Subin of Dal Shabet. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: More Things To Know About Jung Yu Mi, The Leading Lady of Nam Joo Hyuk In "The School Nurse" Celebrities Who are Fans of BTS On the other hand, Jung Yu Mi is not the only celebrity who showed her love and support for BTS, who has managed to gain worldwide fame and has recently been nominated for the 2021 Grammys. In a report cited by J-14.com, several international artists and Hollywood stars mentioned how they love the boy band. In an Instagram Live, Selena Gomez shared to her followers that she adores BTS. The same goes with the Canadian superstar and two-time Grammy winner Justin Bieber who lauded how the group has been "shattering records across the global music industry." "If anyone knows how to make history, it's BTS," he mentioned in E! News video. READ MORE: Jung Yu Mi And Han Suk Kyu May Be Starring In a New JTBC Drama Kdramastars owns this article. Written by Geca Wills A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. INDIANAPOLIS, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To prepare for its facilities fully reopening to students and staff, northern California's Manteca Unified School District has installed 1,500 Carrier OptiClean Dual-Mode Air Scrubber & Negative Air Machines to purify the air in classrooms across its 30 schools. The OptiClean units will help to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) for the district, as its more than 27,000 students, teachers and staff return to campuses. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), the leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. "We've spent the last several months analyzing every facet of our organization in order to develop a comprehensive strategy designed to create a healthier environment for our students and staff," said Dr. Clark Burke, Superintendent, Manteca Unified School District. "The air quality in our area is often affected by the extensive local agricultural industry and lately, regional wildfires have also contributed to poor air quality. After reviewing a number of indoor air quality solutions available, we are confident that the OptiClean product is the right fit for our needs. By placing an OptiClean unit in each classroom, we feel that we'll not only help improve our IAQ, but also provide peace of mind to our students, their parents and staff." "Schools and school districts continue to evaluate the IAQ of their facilities and what can be done to help improve those environments for their students and staff," said Justin Keppy, President, NA Residential & Light Commercial, Carrier. "We're pleased to be working with Manteca Unified School District by providing one part of the solution for healthier and safer indoor environments. Our OptiClean units can help reduce contaminants in classroom air and inspire confidence for parents, students, teachers and staff as school districts safely return to in-person learning." Manteca Unified School District is one of several in California to choose OptiClean equipment as part of its IAQ solution. Among others are southern California's San Bernardino City Unified School District and Alvord Unified School District. The two recently purchased 3,700 and 1,500 units respectively, in anticipation of the return of their collective 80,000 students, teachers and staff. The OptiClean Dual-Mode Air Scrubber & Negative Air Machine has been named one of TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2020. It was developed through rapid innovation in early 2020 to help support infectious isolation rooms in hospitals as a negative air machine. TIME featured the OptiClean Air Scrubber & Negative Air Machine in the Medical Care category of its prestigious annual list that recognizes 100 ground-breaking inventions that are making the world better and smarter. OptiClean is one of a number of solutions offered through Carrier's Healthy Buildings Program, which was recently expanded to help K-12 students, teachers and staff safety return to in-school instruction. The new BluEdge K-12 program provides an outcome-based approach to help schools easily select the best IAQ kits for their needs, with attractive pricing and easier implementation. For more on Carrier's portfolio of Healthy Building solutions, visit corporate.carrier.com/healthybuildings. About Carrier Founded by the inventor of modern air conditioning, Carrier is a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions. Carrier experts provide sustainable solutions, integrating energy-efficient products, building controls and energy services for residential, commercial, retail, transport and food service customers. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the leading global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. For more information, visit carrier.com or follow @Carrier on Twitter. SOURCE Carrier Protest Outside Federal Facilities in Mountain View by No Migrant Child Detention Here or Anywhere Wednesday Mar 17th, 2021 5:37 PM On March 15 SIREN (Services, Immigration Rights, and Education Network) led a protest against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consideration of Moffett Federal Airfield as a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children. Photos: Simona Martin, Pro Bono Photo. Please credit the photographer. About 120 demonstrators expressed anger on March 15 as they rallied in front of the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. They criticized the Biden administrations use of detention camps for migrant children, saying the President promised to make immigration policies more humane during his campaign. A few demonstrators wore monarch butterfly costumes, a symbol of migration. Others waved signs, many of which were created at a workshop in Oakland coordinated by SIREN the day before. All cheered when cars and trucks honked in solidarity with the protest. After about an hour lining the boulevard and despite rain, protesters using a sound system demanded that the Biden administration change direction. Immigrants and children of immigrants bravely shared their stories and fears. More than one said they were stepping out of the shadows to make public their concerns, despite the risk. Maricela Gutierrez, Executive Director of SIREN, said that while Donald Trump created a reign of terror for immigrant families, it now seems it doesn't matter who is in the White House, Republic or Democrat. She called on the community to push back against these hateful policies. Pete Weiss, an attorney from Pangea Legal Services, said, These temporary detention centers have a long history of becoming permanent. They get entrenched ...and all of a sudden its not so temporary anymore. He said that the uptick in migration is caused by people who are fleeing violence and persecution caused by a century of U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. Sameena Usman of Council on American-Islamic Relations said, We need to stand firm and call on our elected officials. This cannot happen here, not anywhere. Judy Adams of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Peninsula Chapter, held a sign calling for the creation of a "children's welcome center" with no detention. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is considering Moffett Federal Airfield as a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children. Rally participants joined in a rap calling for an end to racist policies and the rally wound up with their vow to gather again to fight immigrant oppression. Mom Delivers Miracle Preemie in Car During Texas Storm Uri: The Strongest Woman When a Texas mom of two went into early labor during the winter storm Uri, she ended up giving birth to a baby girl in her car. It was a freezing 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 degrees Celsius) outside when the 1-pound, 11-ounce (765-gram) miracle baby made her debut to the world on Texas State Highway 75 as her father was driving their way through slippery roads to a hospital in Dallas. The tiny preemie was born at just 25 weeks of gestation and is currently under the care of the NICU at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, reported Today. I was worried we were going to lose her, mother Helen Woldemichael told Today. She was so tiny. I didnt think she was going to make it. That was terrifying. Helen then initiated skin-to-skin to keep her newborn warm while her husband, Abiey, cranked up the cars heater. On the way to the hospital, Abiey had called an ambulance, reported Today. However, they had been placed on hold, and eventually had to pull the car over to deliver. I remember pushing but it happened so fast, Helen told the outlet. I was in total shock. Helen Woldemichael with her husband, Abiey, holding their newborn baby daughter, Amari. (Courtesy of Helen Woldemichael) Helen revealed that she had no reason to think she might go into early labor, according to the report. She has two other children, both of whom were full-term pregnancies. When Helen started having contractions with Amari, at first she wrote them off as Braxton Hicks or false contractions. However, she soon realized she was going into labor. She is the strongest woman that Ive ever known, Abiey said of his wife. What she did is absolutely amazing. The way she managed to stay calmshes a rock star. The couple named their baby girl Amari, which means miracle of God in Hebrew. Amari is doing well in the NICU now. The miracle girl already weighs 2 pounds (907 grams) and can breathe on her own, the report said. Shes doing really good right now, but the doctors told us to be prepared for two steps forward, one step back, Helen told Today. Were hopeful, but we dont know what could happen tomorrow. Helen and Abiey Woldemichael with their two children. (Courtesy of Helen Woldemichael) Doctor Vijay Nama, the NICU director at Baylor University Medical Center, said it is pretty amazing and very unusual for a premature infant to be doing well after being born under such conditions, reported News Nation Now. The doctors are hopeful Amari will be able to go home with her family this May. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter An Offaly company has managed to increase employment numbers and production in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Simpli Baked, the food manufacturing business based at Cloncollig in Tullamore which produces tortilla and pizza bases, recently employed 12 extra full-time team members to help them meet production demands. This brings the workforce to a total of 62 full-time team members at the plant. The staff increase is particularly significant in the time of Covid-19 restrictions. In addition to the challenges posed by the pandemic, the company has also overcome Brexit challenges. Despite all these challenges, the company is working at full tilt at present. Managing director Kieran Walsh explained the situation. We are currently running a 24 hour, seven days per week production schedule. We are seeing a bit of a Brexit bounce at the moment, which we didnt expect, so we needed to take on extra staff, he said. Normally, the company works on a five shift per week basis, but with a surge in orders, they have stepped up to a seven-day shift cycle. In 2008, Simpli Baked gave a commitment to Enterprise Ireland to employ sixteen. The steady growth of the company has now seen an almost four-fold increase of staff in just over a decade. The Tullamore company is the only one in Ireland which produces flour tortillas. It also produces thin crust pizza bases. Luckily for us, pizza demand increases in bad weather, especially when it is lashing rain. And in the good weather people are more likely to eat outside and go more for wraps and sandwiches, Mr Walsh said. Hiring new staff during a pandemic, and level 5 lockdown restrictions, presented a new set of challenges which the company hadnt previously faced. We were very cautious about bringing in new people. Every person we hired was given a Covid-19 test first. Throughout the pandemic we have kept each shift isolated so if you were working a specific shift last March, then that is the one you are working on this March, Mr Walsh explained. In a change from normal procedure, all job interviews were done remotely over video software Google Meets which was a new experience for us at Simpli Baked, Mr Walsh said. Management was also impressed by the level of interest and quality of candidates who applied for the jobs. Many applications came through job specific websites, but also from local word of mouth. The latter is particularly important for a local company like Simpli Baked. It might sound like nepotism, but people need to know the type of work and shifts involved, before they start, Mr Walsh said. An enjoyable work environment is something which Simpli Baked places particular value on. Mr Walsh said if people spend almost half of their conscious day at work, it is somewhere they want people to be happy in. We do want it to be an environment where people can have a bit of craic, while maintaining the highest standards for a modern food producer, he said. With many business premises shuttered at present, being able to work in a safe environment is not an option for many who have embraced the new working from home environment, which can lead to a not always successful blurring of work and home life. We are lucky that in these difficult times, at least our team get to go to work and get that bit of headspace and engage in social interaction, Mr Walsh said. The Ministry of Education and the Civil Service Agency are in total disagreement over the retirement of 2,402 public school teachers across the country without replacement, which is negatively impacting the educational system. Appearing before the Liberian Senate Tuesday, the Minister of Education Prof. D. AnsuSonii and the Director of the Civil Service Agency James Thompson could not agreed how the retirement was carried out. The Ministry of Education told the Senate it is not in the know of the retirement and that the Civil Service Agency is the government entity that is responsible to retire employees. But the Civil Service director Thompson countered that when they generated the retirement data for public school teachers, it was shared with the Ministry of Education for its input before executing the process. On the other hand, Education Minister Sonii told senators the CSA sent the list of teachers after they had been retired, and not for input. "The names that came to us are those people that are already being retired by the CSA", the Minister said. Professor Sonii disclosed the retirement was carried out under a US$11m program supported by donors in which teachers were asked to sit a written test. He said teachers who scored below 20 percent were dropped and encouraged to go back to school, get trained and reapply, adding, this process started under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and the current administration met it there. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Education By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. But Montserrado County Senator Saah H. Joseph of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change said not every decision made by the former Sirleaf administration should be embraced by the CDC-led government. Senator Joseph noted that the ministry should had used some of the US$11 million to retrain those teachers rather retiring them. The Senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Executive, has been upset about the dismissal of classroom teachers under a donor program, saying that donors don't control Liberia. According to him, when donors come to help Liberia in the Education sector, the Minister of Education should tell them to work with Liberia's program than to take teachers out of the classrooms purely based on donors' criteria. "This Liberian Senate will not sit and allow those teachers leave the classroom; we have to stand for our teachers; they are citizens of this country. Those teachers who have been serving all of those years, what will become of them when they leave the classroom? How does the Ministry expect them to survive?" Sen. Joseph frowned. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and the Civil Service Agency have over the time been working together to get about 671 of the 2,402 retired teachers back into the classroom. Senators in agreement said those 671 teachers should be deployed in all 15 counties equally to keep students in school. Making a motion, Gbarpolu County Senator Daniel Nathaan said ministers from the Ministry of Education should remain under oath and return to plenary of the Liberian Senate in one week with full information on implementation of the replacement of the 671 teachers. Mr Jana Reddy has already started his campaign and covered the constituency and has the lead in both the campaign and a broad perception of the likely best bet. (DC file photo) Hyderabad: Even as the counting is on in the two MLC graduates constituencies elections, the political focus has shifted to yet another by-election whose schedule the Election Commission has announced. While the Congress has taken a lead in declaring a candidate, with its party chief Sonia Gandhi naming former Minister K. Jana Reddy as its official candidate. Mr Jana Reddy has already started his campaign and covered the constituency and has the lead in both the campaign and a broad perception of the likely best bet. The TRS, BJP, the Left and other parties are engaged in an exercise to identify their candidates. The Left, TDP parties, Dalit Shakti Program (DSP) and Mahajana Socialist Party (MSP) will also contest in this by-election. Party leaders said that the CPI and CPM were planning to field a combined candidate. In Nalgonda districts, the Left parties are planning to field a combined candidate as they have been strong here in the past. The two parties will meet shortly to finalise their candidate. The TDP has already announced the name of Arun Kumar, hoping to harness the influence of Andhra settlers in Nagarjunasagar. The Nagarjunasagar byelection is being taken seriously by the ruling TRS, which has faced a defeat at the hands of the BJP in Dubbaka and had a poor showing in the GHMC. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao held a public meeting in Halia as part of this. The government has announced a number of welfare and development programmes for the Nagarjunasagar constituency. Meanwhile, Dalit Shakti Program activists have been campaigning extensively in every village for the past two months, targeting votes of Dalit, tribal and backward class communities. The DSP will announce its candidate in a couple of the days. DSP held a public meeting on March 15 to celebrate Kanshi Rams birth anniversary. Thousands of people from the Dalits, tribal and backward communities attended the meeting. Social mobilization will therefore become an issue of high importance in the by-election. The ruling party is therefore considering fielding a BC social candidate to garner votes of the numerically crucial section. But it is learned that senior TRS party leaders are assessing social equations, even though one cannot completely rule out Nomula Narsimhaiahs son in the contest. The TRS candidate will be announced in the next two or three days, party sources said. Newsom dismissed the negatives in one brief passage: And look, weve made mistakes. Ive made mistakes. But we own them, learn from them, and never stop trying. And he referred to the recall only obliquely, saying, We wont change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsayers. So to the California critics, who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices, and rejecting everything that makes California great, we say this: we will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again. There is a larger issue whether in his obvious desire to persuade Californians that hes managing the pandemic well, hes allowed political factors to influence it. Newsom insisted last week that we listened to the experts and were guided by the evidence in managing COVID-19, but which activities were shut down and which were allowed to continue had tinges of politics from the earliest days of the crisis a year ago. We were the first state to issue a stay-at-home order, which helped us avoid early spikes in cases, Newsom boasted, and thats true. But he also eased up a few weeks later in response, as he acknowledged at the time, to complaints about millions of jobs being erased, and then cracked down again when infection rates spiked upward. I obviously cant comment on whether or not Robert Aaron Long was disregulated, he said. I have no idea. I do know from numerous research studies that often the best predictor for whether or not someone thinks they have an addiction is whether they feel morally upset by their behavior, whether they feel their sexual behavior is in violation of their moral and religious beliefs. If youre trying to suppress a normal part of your sexuality because youve been taught its immoral and you cant suppress it, you are more likely to say, Maybe I have an addiction. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio will get 500,000 coronavirus vaccine a week by March 29, a number Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that state officials expect will hold steady. That date coincides with the state expanding its vaccine eligibility to all Ohioans 16 and older. DeWine said his hope is that the ramped up vaccine availability from 400,000 a week will help hold off the possible spread of a more contagious strain that he said is circulating in Ohio, as well as neighboring states. The Ohio health department reported 2,104 new cases on Thursday, well below the numbers reported during a case spike in December, but above the states 21-day moving average of 1,600 cases. Meanwhile, about 2.5 million of Ohios roughly 8.5 million adults have gotten at least one shot, including more widespread vaccination rates among older and more vulnerable residents. Im worried, but also on the other hand, know that we vaccinated yesterday 67,000 people. Were on offense, were making progress, but this virus is still out there and were very leery of it, DeWine said. DeWine said Thursday the state soon will announce details of a limited program in Cleveland that will let a small number people walk in for a vaccine without an appointment. He said more details will be coming, but the idea will be to target underserved populations. Ive always felt at some point on this we will have the opportunity when we get the demand down lower, well be able to have mobile clinics out in neighborhoods, and the people literally will be able to walk up and get the vaccination, he said. On Thursday, DeWine also unveiled a pair of new PSAs meant to encourage Ohioans to get the vaccine, including one from retired Cincinnati Bengals star Anthony Munoz that will be in English and Spanish. He the state is working on another ad encouraging young people to get the shot, saying younger people may be less susceptible to severe illness, but can still spread the disease to others. DeWine said the state ideally would like to begin mass vaccination campaigns targeting college students, getting them before classes end in April. But he said he decided against doing so, in part because of the state wont have enough Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires one shot, unlike the other vaccines, which require two shots spaced weeks apart. I cant in good conscience take the vaccines away from 40 and 50-year olds to 20-year olds who are vulnerable, he said. He also said that would require the state to take away vaccines that might be available to older adults. So, he said the state likely will work with universities for an very, very aggressive vaccination schedule in time for students to get back to school in the fall. We know we will have vaccines in the summer. We just cant go into a campus and do everybody, but we hope students will sign up on their own and get the vaccine on their own, DeWine said. Colleges already are working with state officials on hosting mass vaccination sites. The mass vaccination site in Cleveland is at Cleveland State Universitys Wolstein Center, while DeWine gave his briefing Thursday from the Cintas Center on Xavier Universitys campus in Cincinnati. Kent State University is host to another mass vaccination site. DeWine has said that he will lift all coronavirus restrictions when the state reaches 50 cases per 100,000 residents. On Thursday, that number was 143.8 per 100,000 people, compared to 155 last week and 180 two weeks ago. DeWine also announced that four additional rural counties -- Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby and Vinton counties -- had joined Meigs County as falling below the 50 per 100,000 person threshold. Cleveland.com / Plain Dealer reporter Emily Bamforth contributed. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect number for when DeWine has said he will lift health restrictions. The number is 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, not 150. It has been corrected. London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/18/2021 -- Manon Andrieux is a well-known name in the world of modeling. Having modeled for several beauty brands, Manon is now a famous Instagram influencer and her followers seem to simply adore her style and charismatic personality. Manon started her career as a model in 2011 but it did not take her long to get busy with here modeling career. In the early days itself, Manon was represented by Elite Model Management Company and bagged several projects to work with top brands from the beauty industry. Modeling is a career which does not favor all. It favors those who are hardworking, persistent and of course talented. Young Manon had a lot of these qualities which is why she witnessed success from the very beginning itself. Thanks to Social Media, celebrities such as Manon Andrieux are able to get closer to their fan base. It took her very little time to gain popularity on this platform as well. With millions of followers already going gaga over her charm and grace, this model has also been a source of inspiration for many young and aspiring models. It was not just about posts and whereabouts. Manon reached out to her followers through beauty tutorials which became an instant hit. Manon did not hesitate to share her professional knowledge with others. And this is what makes her unique and inspiring. Manon gradually rose to fame faster and she thanks here followers for all the support and care they have shown. Manon Andrieux holds a DUT in Business and Administration Management from the University of Toulouse. Here career goals would have been different if she had chosen to follow her credentials. However, she was always drawn to modeling and despite a successful stint in other areas, she decided to pursue her passion. And the industry is blessed to have a personality such as Manon who has inspired millions to follow a beauty regime no matter what. During the pandemic, the model had continued to inspire her followers and reach out to more and more people. Modeling projects keep Manon very busy. With regular photo shoots and shooting for her short films, Manon still manages to find time to stay active on her social media pages. Manon comes with all the qualities that today's youngsters look for in their role model. Manon believes that despite her hard work, persistence and commitment, it is her fans, followers and well-wishers who have brought her the real success. Manon doesn't hesitate to admit that she has had an amazing career so far. However, she is on a constant lookout for better opportunities that can add to her skills. To follow Manon andrieux model mannequin on Instagram visit https://www.instagram.com/manon.uk/ About Manon Andrieux Manon Andrieux is a model and a photo mode for several beauty brands. Born on January 12, 1996 Manon hails from Toulouse in France. This young and beautiful model has participated in several advertising videos, short films and is now a popular Instagram influencer. Media Contact Manon Andrieux Website: https://manon.uk/ Contact Number : +33670243129 contact@manon.uk Average snow cover in days 2000-2019. Credit: Eurac Research For the first time, a study coordinated by Eurac Research has collected and systematically evaluated snow data from more than 2000 measuring stations in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland and France. Up until now, studies had been limited to individual areas in the Alpine region and been based on data from, at most, a few hundred measuring stations. The results, published in The Cryosphere, have made it possible to reliably describe snow trends at up to 2,000 meters above sea level. Higher than that, there are too few measuring stations to be able to extract reliable information for the entire Alpine region. This consistent data set spans five decades and was created through the collaboration of more than 30 scientists from each of the Alpine states. The results and data collected represent a valuable aid for future studies, especially those which center on climate change. "This study analyzes the snow cover in the Alps quantitatively for the first time and for the entire mountain range. It shows the distribution of snowwhich, we have seen, accurately reflects the major climatic zones in the Alpsand what has changed over the past 50 years," explains Michael Matiu, researcher at Eurac Research's Institute for Earth Observation, who together with colleague Alice Crespi, conceived the study. The data shows that snow is unevenly distributed and does not decrease everywhere to the same extent. In the Southern Alps, which already have less snow than their northern counterparts, snow depth below 2000 meters decreased more than in the Northern Alps. Regional trends sometimes differ considerably, but decadal variability is similar throughout the Alpine region: the 1970s and 1980s were generally snowy, followed by a period of snow scarce winters in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, although snow depths have increased again to some extent, they have not reached the level of the 1970s. And everywhere, there is less snow in spring, as Crespi points out: "While in winter, there is a wide range of variation in trends depending on location and altitude, even with isolated increases in snow at higher altitudes, in spring, almost all the stations recorded decreases." Below 2,000 meters, the snow season decreased by 22 to 34 days during the last 50 years, and snow on the ground tends to appear later in winter and disappear earlier as spring approaches. This is a direct result of climate change, as Matiu explains: "In this study, we did not look explicitly at the formal attribution, but it is clear that snow melts earlier and faster due to higher temperatures and that precipitation occurs as rain rather than snow." For climatological studies, this comprehensive and unified data collection is an especially valuable tool. The authors are making it available to the entire research community and hope that it can be enriched through future studies. The study has been published today in the scientific journal The Cryosphere. Explore further Climate change-driven snowmelt in Alps triggers abrupt seasonal change More information: Michael Matiu et al, Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019, The Cryosphere (2021). Michael Matiu et al, Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019,(2021). DOI: 10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 Provided by Eurac Research Page Content Canadian employers are reflecting on efforts to cultivate safe workplace environmentseither onsite or remoteafter a high-profile resignation of a Canadian leader accused of verbal harassment. An independent report in January 2021 detailed accounts from more than 40 federal employees about a toxic work environment under former Governor General Julie Payette. The governor general acts in Canada as the representative of Queen Elizabeth II. "Everyone has a right to a healthy and safe work environment, at all times and under all circumstances," Payette said in a statement. She noted in her resignation speech in January 2021 that no formal complaints or official grievances were filed against her. Payette's resignation "should serve as a powerful reminder to employers that workplace harassment is illegal, and failure to properly respond to and quell instances of harassment can result in serious repercussions," said Lior Samfiru, an attorney with Samfiru Tumarkin in Toronto in a statement. "Employees should also be reminded that they do have options, rather than endure ongoing harassment at the hands of a co-worker or manager." Employee Protection from Harassment Employment laws in Canada have evolved during the 21st century to protect workers from toxic work environments. According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, every person has a right to equal treatment in employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family status and record of offenses. Human resource professionals and employers need to enforce these laws when workplace misconduct ariseseven when instigated by high-level employees, stated Janet Candido, founder and principal at Candido Consulting Group in Toronto. "A toxic level is achieved at the workplace when one or more employees feel intimidated or afraid of another employee," she added. "This may be exacerbated by an imbalance of power but may also be seen between peers. It is toxic when the behavior impacts or impedes the day-to-day working environment, and if it carries on for some time." Candido pointed out some signs that a company has a toxic work culture: Employees become withdrawn, noncommunicative and do the bare minimum workwise. Workers tiptoe around certain individualsusually those who cause the toxicity. Employers report a higher incidence of sick and stress leaves. The company experiences high turnover and low morale. If HR or company leadership do not take action, seeking legal recourse is the only option left for employees, Candido noted. There are numerous federal and provincial laws in place to protect employees against violence and bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace, explained Jacqueline Gant, a lawyer at Roper Greyell in Vancouver, British Columbia. On the federal level, the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations came into force on Jan. 1, 2021 under the Canada Labor Code. HR and employers are now required to write detailed reports upon receiving an allegation of workplace harassment or violence from a federal employee. Most Canadian provinces also have legislation designed to prevent harassment and violence, including Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act and British Columbia's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation under WorkSafeBC. COVID-19's Impact on Employee Relations COVID-19 is having an impact on the virtual workplace, said Marnie Baizley, a lawyer at SpringLaw in Toronto. During the pandemic, the shift to working from home is another challenge for HR professionals, as they need to manage claims of remote bullying and harassment. In an in-person setting, HR could detect a bullying problem more quickly, Candido said. Employees working remotely may not be comfortable bringing up the subject with HR if the employee is bullied online, because of a lack of witnesses and shared experiences. "In many organizations, the focus during this period has been on productivity and security, not personal connections," Baizley added. "Social interaction in the workplace is now limited or nonexistent, so interpersonal connections are not as strong." While incidents of inappropriate physical contact may not be taking place during the pandemic, there could be an increase of unsavory online interaction and exchanges because of diminished employer oversight, explained James Kondopulos, an attorney with Roper Greyell in Vancouver. "To reduce or eliminate toxic behavior in a remote work environment, it is important that employers routinely monitor the job-related conduct of their employees and have regular, one-on-one remote or virtual check-ins with them," he continued. "More than ever before, it is important to have respectful workplace policies in place and conduct regular training or refreshers on those policies." How HR Should Address Allegations HR and employers should take allegations of a toxic work environment seriously, experts say. Baizley advised HR professionals to make sure their workplace policies about anti-harassment and anti-bullying are up-to-date, compliant with the law and reflect the tone of an organization. The policies should have examples of workplace misconduct and should guide the employer about the complaint process and subsequent investigation, she added. "HR should take a proactive approach by paying attention to changes in behavior and demeanor among employees," Candido said. "When reacting to a harassment allegation, HR should document everything, while respecting privacy and dignity." Catherine Skrzypinski is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. This was said in a joint statement by 19 UN member states following Russias Arria-formula meeting on Crimea on Wednesday, March 17, Ukrinform reports. "If Russia is truly interested in increasing understanding on the situation in Crimea, it would allow UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe envoys, as well as humanitarian workers, international human rights monitoring missions, and human rights non-governmental organizations, immediate and unimpeded access to Crimea," the statement reads. In this regard, the document calls on the Russian Federation to immediately end its occupation, stop human rights abuses, release all Ukrainian prisoners it unjustly holds, cease its aggressive actions in Ukraine, respect its international obligations, and implement its commitments under the Minsk agreements. We reiterate our support for the efforts of the Normandy format and our firm commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in line with the Minsk agreements and with full respect of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, the document reads. The joint statement was signed by Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Estonia, Ireland, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, the United States, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Ukraine. As Ukrinform reported, the Russian delegation to the UN organized an Arria-formula meeting on the situation in Crimea on March 17. Representatives of Western countries who spoke at this event declared their strong support for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and called on Russia to end its aggression and return control of the peninsula to Ukraine. ish 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. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. Stressing that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the People's Republic of Bangladesh 50 years ago, Xi said Rahman, an old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people, visited China twice and developed friendship with Chinese leaders of the older generations. Xi said the two sides should keep in mind contributions made to the bilateral relations by leaders of the older generations and carry forward bilateral friendship. Since its independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable achievements in national construction, Xi said, adding China is glad about that as a friendly neighbour. China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbouring countries since ancient times, and the friendship spanning over a thousand years was witnessed by the Silk Road, Xi said. Over the last 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and on an equal footing, offered mutual support and worked hand in hand, Xi added. As China and Bangladesh are both at a crucial stage of national development, Xi said the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of Sonar (golden) Bangla are interconnected, and the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have been making joint efforts to overcome the difficulties and rendering mutual help, Xi said. Major projects in Bangladesh Chinese enterprises participated in have made groundbreaking progress, and the treatment of zero tariff for 97 percent of the taxable items imported from Bangladesh into China has officially taken effect, Xi added. Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Bangladesh ties, Xi expressed the hope to work with Bangladesh to better align the two countries' development strategies and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, so as to take the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation to new heights. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form [March 18, 2021] Act-On Software Announces New Funding to Accelerate Success of Growth Marketing Automation Platform Portland, OR, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Act-On Software, the leading growth marketing automation platform, today announced $20 million of growth financing from existing investors U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), Norwest Venture Partners, Voyager Capital, founder Raghu Raghavan and new investor, Beedie Capital. The funding, which is comprised of equity and debt, will drive customer and revenue growth through product innovations and expansion of the companys go-to-market activities. Act-On will use this financing to build upon platform enhancements introduced throughout 2020. The company will also invest in its partner ecosystem through a cadre of new integrations and strategic relationships with best-of-breed solution providers and channel partners. Additionally, the investment will accelerate its current efforts of developing a more comprehensive and value-driven post-sales experience for its customers. For todays buyer, a great product or service is not enough. Buyers want meaningful and authentic brand experiences before, during and after a purchase. It has become essential that marketers evolve and drive engagement throughout the entire customer lifecycle, said Kate Johnson, CEO of Act-On Software. Our mission is to empower modern marketers to do more than just create sales leads--were helping them deliver holistic brand eperiences that strengthen customer loyalty and drive adoption. This is the future directive of all marketers regardless of industry, geography or market segment and with this investment we are able to advance our vision at accelerated pace. Since launching its rebranded Growth Marketing Automation Platform in June 2020, Act-On has released new innovations that modern marketers demand, including: Industry-first Zoom webinar integration Automated Journey Builder for customer lifecycle support Transactional event-triggered email capabilities Integrated real-time SMS messaging capabilities Localized offerings in both Canada and the European Union that are purpose-built to comply with relevant data protection regulations. These new innovations, combined with the platforms advanced capabilities such as segmentation, personalization, and multi-channel communications, enable customers to drive value beyond just customer acquisition. To capitalize on this investment, Act-On plans to expand its team in its Portland, OR headquarters and remotely, with an emphasis on engineering, product management and go-to-market roles. You can learn more about job openings on the website. As a long-time investor in Act-On, we have always believed in the power of marketing automation, said Rick Lewis, General Partner, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP). Over the past year, our enthusiasm has strengthened as we have seen the company expand its solution to address the unique needs of mid-market companies as they continue to seek avenues of customer acquisition and growth. Were thrilled to support Act-On as the company realizes its potential to be the leading independent company in the marketing technology sector. For more information about Act-Ons growth marketing solution and platform, visit www.act-on.com. ### About Act-On Software Act-On Software is the worlds growth marketing automation leader, offering solutions that empower marketers to move beyond the lead and engage targets at every step of the customer lifecycle. Act-On makes customer data actionable so marketers can strategize smart, effective solutions to grow their businesses and generate higher customer lifetime value all with the fastest time-to-value. For more information, visit Act-On Software. Dana Stein Matter Communications for Act-On 813-404-5677 act-on@matternow.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Amanda Demme/Hulu Soleil Moon Frye didnt know what she was going to find when she opened the vault. That vault is a treasure trove of self-shot camcorder footage, audio tapes of answering machine messages, recorded interviews, and diary entries. Its a time capsule, really, from the 90s, when the actress had just wrapped her run as the precocious Punky Brewster and was coming into her own as a teenager and a woman. There are clips of Frye and her friends hanging out, teasing each other, gossiping about crushes, and wondering innocently about the future. Theyre snapshots of growing up that would make any millennial feel nostalgic, theyre that familiar and relatableexcept for the small caveat that it is the decades biggest young Hollywood stars that are filmed palling around with Frye: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Brian Austin Green, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette, Charlie Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, and more. That archive is the backbone of Kid 90, the documentary now out on Hulu, in which Frye, who was just 7 when she skyrocketed to fame on Punky Brewster, confronts memories both happy and painful. She talks with those same friends from the vantage point of adulthood, after nursing the scars of child stardom, about what they do and do not rememberand what theyre meant to make of it all now. Really, I started this documentary when I was a child, Frye says, speaking over Zoom three days after Kid 90 premiered on Hulu andin a bit of unplanned cosmic synergyjust weeks after the revival of Punky Brewster that she stars in debuted on Peacock. I was this kid journalist keeping my diaries and filming everything and documenting everything, she says, and I really do feel that it was a chronological blueprint for me to find my way back home to the person that I once was. In a way, that my teenage self left this blueprint for me to come back to. For Frye, its a deeply personal look back at her relationship to celebrity, her body image, and sexuality. In addition to fond memories of first crushes, falling in love, and deep, rewarding relationships, specifically with House of Pains Danny Boy OConnor, Frye grapples with a sexual assault she experienced while still a virgin, the details of which she had buried until she unearthed a recording of herself talking about it. Story continues Kid 90 is as euphoric as it is harrowing. For all the unbothered bliss you see in Frye and her friends as they explore the boundaries of partying, there are the tragic stories of her friends including Jonathan Brandis and Justin Pierce, who both committed suicide. Watching the footage of themselves now, Frye and her other friends cant help but wonder if youthful ignorance and self-centeredness caused them to miss their friends cries for help. So much of what I remembered had been so joyful and full of love and life, and there is so much joy and love of life, Frye says. The discovery of so much painI think that it must have been a subconscious thing. It was something that I think was really very subconscious, that I stored it away. That I wasnt ready to face it. Exposing the Wild and Tragic Lives of 90s Teen Stars At first, Frye had planned to make a documentary about everyone but me. She envisioned it as an exploration of the last decade of privacy, when these young stars could record themselves goofing around and being authentic without the fear, or even the expectation, that the footage would become public. But then she embarked on the task of watching every piece of video and listening to every tape, and it became clear how personal the process had become for her. What it ended up being was me having to peel back the onion to my core, and, in that, releasing fear and all of those things, she says. I had to live through the pain over and over and just go through that process. I had to do it for myself. In Kid 90, Frye reads from a diary entry from when she was a teenager, her voice tremulous as she fights back tears reciting what her younger self had written about being raped during her first time having sex. She wrote that he thrust himself in me even though she said she didnt want to have sex. After she pushed him off, he asked her, How does it feel not being a virgin anymore? She grapples with the guilt and the shame she had felt, and wondered if she was to blame. Its something she realized that she hadnt processed until working on the documentary. In fact, she had buried the trauma away completely. (In the film, Frye also reveals that her first consensual sexual experience was with Charlie Sheen.) When I had that experience and I was trying to piece it together, my adult brain could remember pieces, but not everything, she says. Then finding a tape in which Im trying to question what happened, I didnt know that tape existed. So on a subconscious level I must have just locked so many of those memories away. Its interesting to witness Fryes candor now about everything she went through while being reintroduced to the teenage version of her through the film. She revisits the years following Punky Brewster when her body developed so rapidly that she was thrust into adulthood, which is to say leered at and sexualized before she was ready. Her breasts grew to almost a size E, and the publics fascination with them complicated her body image and ideas about self-worth. Just before she turned 16, she made the decision to have breast reduction surgery. Not only did she go public with the choice, appearing on the cover of People magazine and on talk shows discussing it, she also used the opportunity to talk about her decision to remain a virgin and the pressures of sex and importance of consent for young girls. Courtesy Soliel Moon Frye Looking back, Frye now thinks that honesty at such a young ageespecially at a time when young celebrities, particularly girls, were not expected to speak so openly about those issuesis owed to being the daughter of two activists, who raised her to be of service to other people. So as a teenager, I really felt like the right thing was to share, she says. Because I felt like if I was going through this, then so many other people must be going through similar things. And as I say in the documentary, I was kind of righteous about it. I was like, Im gonna do this and I'm gonna make a difference. The truth is that she received beautiful responses from other girls who thanked her and wanted to share their own experiences and struggles. It was Hollywood and the press that were less kind. The medias reaction and the business I was in and the dynamics around me were the awkward part, she says. They were the ones that made it feel dismissive in a way, and more like a punch line versus something that I felt I needed to share. As the mother of four girlstwo of whom are young girlsshe was struck by how relevant the feelings she was working through while making Kid 90 are today. Its such an incredible conversation that we need to be having, which is one size doesnt fit all, she says about girls relationship to body image and sex. And its magnified so much by social media. I look at my own daughters and their development. Just because one kid wears a tank top and has one body size and another wears a tank top and has another body size which they have no control over, were going to shame them? What the fuck is that? So, yes, the media was around and there was the objectification I felt around me, she continues. Now you multiply that times a bazillion and you think about every kid whos living through this filter world of social media at their fingertips. And also in the world in which anybody can say anything. It just is something that I think is so important for us to have the conversation about because I think the long term effects are going to be staggering. Frye frequently compares digging through all of her old footage in Kid 90 to opening Pandoras Box. It causes pain, troubles, and chaos. For most people, the threat of that darkness and uncovering long-buried secrets and trauma would make the exercise too frightening. But in the four and a half years that she was working on the project, Frye discovered that that was precisely why she needed to open the box. She needed to unleash the memories, and then release herself from the shame. It was about rehealing the little girl in me, she says. And in rehealing the little girl in me, coming of age again into the woman that I am today. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and say, I love you. And every experiencethe good, the messy, the painfuleverything will lead you to where you are meant to be, and it is happening for you and not to you. Just always remember that and never forget it. The fact that this healing journey is happening at the same time that Frye is stepping back into Punky Brewsters mismatched Chuck Taylors for the shows Peacock revival is a surreal full-circle coincidence she still cant get over. Her Kid 90 producers husband even asked how they managed to have the film come out timed to the reboot, but the truth is that there was no plan. Its just how the universe willed it to happen. I was never trying to run from Punky, she says. Im like, if Im 88 years old and people still call me Punky, Id be thrilled by it. She laughs, but also seems to get a little emotional when talking about how the process of working on the documentary helped her find the courage to be able to do the show again. I think so often were programmed from years of insecurities to think, can we really do it? she says. Just the programming that happens when so many people say, You cant do something, or, Its gonna be hard. We lose, at least for me, that inner spark that is such a belief system. I always associated that with youth. And then in this experience I started to feel this igniting and that spark again and I was like, Oh, this is what it feels like to be living your truth. Im just so grateful. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? 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. TEL AVIV, Israel, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vintage Investment Partners, a $2.1B AUM global technology investment firm combining fund-of-funds, secondary funds and direct co-investment funds, announced today that Barrel Kfir has joined as Principal. Most recently, Barrel was Director of Portfolio at Ignite Intel for Startups. Prior to that, he was a Principal at JVP where he led investments in early-stage companies and acted as a Board Director in companies in Cybersecurity, AI, Cloud, IoT and more. Barrel also brings significant experience through his military service, serving as a Captain at the Technological Unit of the Intelligence Force and the Israeli Ministry of Defense in R&D roles and leading a Cybersecurity focused product team. Barrel holds a BSc in Computer Science and an MBA from the Technion. Alan Feld, Founder and General Partner of Vintage, commented: "We are thrilled to have Barrel at Vintage. We believe that domain expertise is crucial to properly assess primary commitments to venture funds and to conduct due diligence on secondary or primary direct investments. Barrel's long experience and proven track record in the Cybersecurity and technology infrastructure areas bring additional depth to the Vintage investment team. Moreover, his broad network of relationships in these areas, dating back to his time in the military, should further expand Vintage's proprietary deal flow." Barrel added, "I'm excited to join the amazing team at Vintage. I strongly believe that the three investment strategies combined with the Value-Added Services uniquely position Vintage in the market as a great partner for companies, investors and global corporates. I look forward to leveraging my sector and investment experience, working on new deals and helping their portfolio grow." ABOUT VINTAGE: Vintage Investment Partners is a global venture firm combining Fund-of-Funds, Secondary Funds and Direct Co-Investment Funds. With over $2.1B AUM across 12 funds in the U.S., Europe and Israel, the firm is invested in the world's leading venture funds and late-stage startups and has exposure directly and indirectly to over 2,200 technology companies. Vintage leverages its unmatched network, and a database of over 8,500 companies to provide the Value-Added Services (VAS), a free-of-charge service, connecting venture-backed technology startups to corporations seeking innovation. VAS has a proven model that has helped generate nearly 200 POs and POCs globally exceeding $100m of revenue for its startups. Linkedin, Twitter Media contact: Danielle Bash Head of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE Vintage Investment Partners Related Links https://www.vintage-ip.com/ A man has died after falling from the roof of an eight-storey building at a construction site in Sydneys south-west. Emergency services rushed to Northumberland Street, in the centre of Liverpool, about 12.30pm on Thursday. NSW Ambulance paramedics worked on the 52-year-old man but he died at the scene. Local police and WorkCover are investigating the circumstances surrounding the mans death. SafeWork is investigating an incident in Liverpool after reports a worker fell from the roof of an eight-story building and died, a SafeWork NSW spokesman said. SafeWork Inspectors are responding and further comment is not available at this time. At least 12 inmates have escaped from the Gbarnga Central Prison following a jailbreak Wednesday morning, 17 March. Rehabilitation Officers have confirmed to our Bong County correspondent that 17 inmates were in the cell that got broken, but 12 of them escaped while the remaining five are in custody. Bong County Attorney Jonathon Flomo has also told a local news outlet that the 12 inmates were all pre- trial detainees. Flomo says the inmates were all high code criminals that were placed behind bars following police preliminary investigations in the county about series of crimes committed. He explains that their charges range from gang rape, murder, criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, theft of property, burglary, criminal mischief and several other charges that were pending trial by the 9th Judicial Circuit Court in Gbarnga. Attorney Flomo tells reporters that the Wednesday jail break at the Gbarnga Central Prison is a major threat to citizens of Gbarnga and the county at large. He calls on citizens of the county to be watchful about strange people in their communities and aid the security of the county with necessary information in other to have the alleged criminals rearrested. The Bong County Attorney says the joint security of the county has launched an investigation among prison officials regarding the "hard to believe jail break at the huge prison facility in Gbarnga" Our Bong County correspondent says given the structure of the Gbarnga Central Prison, jailbreak at the center remains a mystery because it has several fans before entering the building that hosts the various cells. New Delhi, March 18 : After witnessing workers protesting over ticket distribution, the BJP leadership is in a huddle to find a way out to curtail the mounting dissent in West Bengal. The dissent increased after the party announced the candidates list on Sunday for the third and fourth phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls. The BJP workers had protested at the party office in Kolkata and at other districts' offices in the state for giving tickets to 'turncoat' leaders. West Bengal BJP workers alleged that a few of the candidates, who have been given tickets, have cases of attacking saffron party workers when they were in the ruling TMC. Sources said the BJP central leadership also took notice of protests by the workers and discussed the issue with the state leadership in a meeting in the national capital on Wednesday. A West Bengal BJP leader, who was part of the discussion, said that the party leadership has taken dissent among the cadre over ticket distribution seriously and is working to find a way to pacify the agitated workers. "The central leadership has discussed the issue with the state leaders in detail and directed the West Bengal unit to address the anger of the cadres as it is impossible to change the candidates at this point. West Bengal BJP leaders will hold a discussion with the agitated workers to pacify them," he said. Another senior leader pointed out that allowing too many people to join the BJP from the ruling TMC has aggravated the problem. "Several TMC MLAs and senior leaders have joined the BJP in recent times and many of them got tickets to contest the assembly polls as committed by the party leadership before joining. Overlooking our own workers or leaders in ticket distribution has agitated the cadre," he said. A party insider said that the leadership was informed in advance about the unrest over the mass joining of TMC leaders and celebrities and it was suggested that proper checks and balance must be maintained. "As anger is growing among the cadre and is likely to grow more in the coming days after giving more tickets to turncoats, the dissent needs to be addressed urgently otherwise it will adversely affect the electoral prospects of the BJP," a party leader 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. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SEOUL, South Korea Americas top diplomat on Thursday pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it will ignore U.S. offers to resume negotiations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the end of security talks in Seoul, which included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Koreas foreign and defense ministers. Their first so-called two plus two meeting in five years came as President Joe Biden pushes to restore Americas alliances in Asia in the face of challenges from China and North Korea. Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest, in helping to pursue denuclearization of (North Korea) because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, Blinken told a news conference. He said Beijing has a critical role to persuade North Korea to denuclearize because most of the Norths external trade goes through China. Blinken stressed that China is obligated by U.N. Security Council resolutions to fully enforce sanctions imposed over North Koreas nuclear and missile tests. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ China, the Norths last major ally and biggest aid benefactor, has long been suspected of avoiding completely implementing sanctions on the North. Some observers say China believes a unified, pro-U.S. Korea would undermine its strategic interests and worries that a humanitarian disaster in North Korea could push swarms of refugees flooding over the countries border. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in working toward a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula. Zhao reiterated Thursday that China advocates a two-track approach to the issue, whereby the U.S. would offer security guarantees to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons programs. All parties concerned should move in the same direction, work together to manage differences, actively promote dialogue and contacts, and maintain regional peace and stability, Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing Thursday. Earlier Thursday, Choe Son Hui, North Koreas first vice foreign minister, confirmed Blinkens previous announcement that Washington had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels starting in mid-February, but it hasnt received any response. Choe called the U.S. outreach a time-delaying trick and said North Korea would discarding offers for talks unless Washington withdraws its hostility. What has been heard from the U.S. since the emergence of the new regime is only a lunatic theory of threat from North Korea and groundless rhetoric about complete denuclearization,' she said. Asked about Choes statement, Blinken said hes more interested in the thoughts of U.S. partners while he was making a regional tour. South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Thursdays talks dealt with the North Korean statement and its intentions. He said South Korea hopes for the early resumption of U.S.-North Korean talks. U.S.-led diplomacy focusing on North Koreas nuclear weapons remains stalemated because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Koreas nuclear activities in return for relaxing sanctions to prevent its arsenal from growing. Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States to refrain from causing a stink, while criticizing the U.S.-South Korean drills that her government views as an invasion rehearsal. Some experts say North Korea may further raise animosities with missile tests to boost its negotiation leverage. North Koreas moribund economy is hurting because of the pandemic-related border closure that has significantly shrunk its external trade and a spate of natural disasters last summer. After Thursdays talks, Blinken, Austin and their South Korean counterparts said in a joint statement that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address those issues. Austin said the U.S. is fully committed to the defense of South Korea, using the full range of U.S. capabilities, including our extended deterrent. Blinken slammed North Koreas human rights record for a second straight day, saying that people in North Korea continue to suffer widespread and systematic abuses at the hands of a repressive government. Later Thursday, Blinken and Austin met South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said Seoul will continue close cooperation with Washington to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Blinken and Austin are on the first overseas trip by Cabinet-level officials since Biden took office. They visited Japan before coming to Seoul. South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that during Thursdays talks the U.S. side stressed the importance of a U.S.-led trilateral security cooperation involving Seoul and Tokyo many times. He said South Korea in principle agrees on the U.S. view. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo have suffered major setbacks in recent years over issues stemming from Japans 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Blinken said Thursdays talks discussed Chinas role, and we are clear eyed about Beijings consistent failure to uphold its commitments. And we spoke about how Beijings aggressive and authoritarian behavior are challenging the stability and security prosperity of the Pacific region, he said. Beijings actions make forging a common approach among our allies all the more important at a time when were seeing a rollback of democracy and human rights around the world, including in Burma. Blinken will meet senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way back to Washington, while Austin will travel on to New Delhi for talks with Indian officials. Chinas ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said Beijing doesnt expect the Alaska talks will resolve all the issues between China and the U.S. and we dont hold overly high hopes. Cu still added that he hoped the meeting would be a start and that the two sides can begin a dialogue process that is candid, constructive and realistic. Gweru City Council director of housing and community services Mr Shingirayi Tigere was arrested last night on allegations of criminal abuse of office involving the sale of a stand to the city Mayor Josiah Makombe. Tigere was arrested by police working with the Special Anti Corruption Commission (Sacco) at his home around 7pm yesterday. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he was still gathering details around Tigere's arrest. Tigere's lawyer, Mr Esau Mandipa of Mutatu and Mandipa Legal Practice however, confirmed the arrest. "I can confirm that my client was arrested last night by the police in connection with a stand that he allegedly sold to the Mayor Josiah Makombe. They alleged that he didn't follow some procedure," he said. Mr Mandipa said his client is due to appear in court this morning. New Delhi, March 18 : Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian, two vocal critics of the Modi government, have resigned from the Ashoka University. Mehta stepped down as a Professor at the Ashoka University on Tuesday, almost two years after he had resigned as its Vice Chancellor. The noted political commentator is known as a staunch critic of the Modi government at the Centre and has been regularly expressing that in his writings. Faculty members at Ashoka University in Sonipat displayed their ire by writing to the Vice Chancellor and board members, expressing anger and deep anguish over Mehta's resignation as a professor from the university. The alumni council of the university has also released a separate statement expressing solidarity with Mehta. The statement by the faculty members came on a day when eminent economist Arvind Subramaniam also resigned from the university. The faculty members have noted that Mehta's exit has set a "chilling precedent for future removals of faculty" and is a "matter of great anguish". Former Chief Economic Adviser Subramanian said in his resignation letter: "The circumstances involving the 'resignation' of Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who is not just a dear friend but a truly inspirational national figure, have devastated me. I am acutely aware of the broader context in which Ashoka and its trustees have to operate, and have so far admired the University for having navigated it so well." Subramanian's exit from Ashoka University became public on Thursday. He had joined the varsity in July last year as a Professor in the Department of Economics. He is also the founding director of the new Ashoka Centre for Economic Policy, devoted to researching policy issues related to India and global development. Subramanian, in his letter addressed to Vice Chancellor Malabika Sarkar, wrote: "But that someone of such integrity and eminence, who embodied the vision underlying Ashoka, felt compelled to leave is troubling. That even Ashoka - with its private status and backing by private capital - can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom is ominously disturbing. Above all, that the University's commitment to fight for and sustain the Ashoka vision is now open to question makes it difficult for me to continue being part of Ashoka." "So it is with a sense of deep regret and profound sadness that I am writing to submit my resignation from the University which will take effect from the end of this academic year. I wish you and the University, and especially its gifted and motivated students -- who are the heart of Ashoka -- success in the future," he said. ADVERTISEMENT A police officer has been confirmed dead after some gunmen on Thursday attacked a police patrol team in Anambra State, Nigerias South-east. The police spokesperson in the state, Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the incident in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Tochukwu, a deputy superintendent of police, said the attack occurred at about 4:30 p.m. on a road junction called Okacha in Neni, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state. The hoodlums numbering over twenty with three Sienna buses and motorcycles engaged the police in a gun-duel which lasted for over 30 mins before reinforcements from the state headquarters, forcing the hoodlums to escape. As a result, two police operatives sustained gunshot injuries and (were) rushed to the hospital for medical attention where one was confirmed dead by a medical doctor, the statement said. The commissioner of police in the state visited the scene of the attack, the statement said, adding that the police have launched an investigation into the incident. The latest attack adds to the number of such attacks lately against the police in Nigeria, especially in the South-east and the South-south region. Editor Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His three books are available on amazon.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. In this March 17, 2021, file photo, Detective Suk H Too, second from right, with the New York Police Department Community Affairs Rapid Response Unit hands out fliers with information on how to report hate crimes to residents while on a community outreach patrol in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York. AP-Yonhap Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with attacking three Atlanta-area massage parlors and killing eight people, most of them Asian women. Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag (hash)StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings that happened Tuesday evening. ''I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is because Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long ... We've been raising the red flag,'' said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlanta-based Asian American Advocacy Fund, which does political and advocacy work across Georgia. Many were also outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told police the attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed that he targeted the spas because of a ''sex addiction.'' Six of the seven slain women were identified as Asian. Law enforcement needs ''some training understanding what a hate crime is. This man identified targets owned by Asians,'' said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. The gunman ''was very clearly going after a targeted group of people.'' This undated photo provided by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, in Georgia, shows Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Ga. AP-Yonhap Being Asian American herself, Huang said the shootings felt personal. She is worried that not classifying the attack as a hate crime will ''absolutely discourage others from coming forward and seeking help.'' She also cringed at the comments of a sheriff's captain who said of the gunman, ''It was a really bad day for him.'' The remark ''appeared to be trying to explain and justify'' the suspect's actions. ''Hopefully it was a misstatement,'' Huang said. Mahmood said Asian American business owners in the Atlanta area were already fearful because of incidents like graffiti and break-ins. The shootings will raise that worry to new heights. ''A lot of Asian American business owners in the beauty parlor industry and food service _ these are often the most visible front-line faces in the community,'' Mahmood said. Her organization is partnering with other groups like the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer resources in multiple languages, including mental health assistance, self-defense training and bystander training. Meanwhile, from Phoenix to Philadelphia, Asian American organizations nationwide organized events aimed at showing unity. Activists participate in a vigil in response to the Atlanta spa shootings March 17, 2021 in the Chinatown area of Washington, DC. AFP-Yonhap Asian Americans United, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and several other partner groups held a vigil Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia's Chinatown neighborhood. ''After the month and year we had, we knew our folks needed the time to come together safely just to grieve and heal and mourn and speak to what's happening,'' said Mohan Seshadri, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance co-executive director. As much despair as Asian Americans feel, Seshadri said, the shootings also mark a flashpoint. ''Our folks are pissed off and ready to fight,'' Seshadri said. ''The way we get through this is together by organizing our people and feeling solidarity.'' Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce CEO Vicente Reid is planning a vigil next week in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, which has a high concentration of Asian American-owned shops and restaurants. He thinks the slayings have galvanized the local community to go beyond vigils. ''I think there is this whole outlet of this younger generation who's passionate and has the energy. They just need someone to step up and lead them,'' Reid said. For the past several weeks, Asian Americans have questioned how to deal with a recent wave of assaults _ many on the elderly _ that coincided with the pandemic. The virus was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racial terms to describe it. New York City Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang speaks to the media at Times Square about the recent mass shootings in Atlanta that left 8 dead, including 6 Asian Americans on March 17, 2021 in New York City. AFP-Yonhap Foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provided aid worth more than 220.7 million USD for Vietnam in 2020, including over 6.5 million USD for COVID-19 response, heard a national teleconference on March 17. The teleconference on foreign NGO affairs held on March 17. (Photo: baoquocte.vn) A report delivered at the event, which reviewed foreign NGO affairs last year and set up tasks for 2021, noted that in 2020, activities of foreign NGOs, the Committee for Foreign NGO Affairs, localities, and ministries and sectors were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic along with common difficulties facing the world. In that context, the committee and relevant agencies proactively and flexibly organised activities while localities also worked hard to support and cooperate with foreign NGOs, resulting in encouraging outcomes. Of the over 220.7 million USD worth of aid, 41.3 percent came from European NGOs, 36.2 percent from North America, and 22.5 percent from Asia, focusing on Vietnams priority areas like healthcare, social issues, and socio-economic development. Notably, foreign NGOs offered strong assistance for the country in coping with natural disasters and the pandemic, the report said, elaborating that 115 foreign NGOs gave more than 6.5 million USD worth of financial support, medical supplies, essential goods and training to help with COVID-19 response. They also provided assistance worth nearly 9 million USD for central provinces hit by floods last year. At the teleconference, representatives of localities, ministries, and sectors asked for increased information exchange, partner matching, as well as training for personnel in charge of foreign NGO affairs. They also called for legal documents on the affairs to be overhauled and meetings held this year to encourage assistance from the organisations. Phan Anh Son, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Foreign NGO Affairs, said foreign NGOs, ministries, sectors, and localities need to maintain close and timely coordination with the committee in the time ahead. Meanwhile, relevant agencies should strongly reform methods for managing and attracting support from foreign NGOs so as to contribute to national socio-economic development, he added. VNA Looking ahead, Vectura said the revenue from CDMO agreements will more than triple this year ( ) said it will pay a special dividend of 115mln during 2021 after receiving a big payout from GlaxoSmithKline over a US patent litigation. The FTSE 250 pharma company has received 127.6mln, including payment for the settlement of damages, associated interest and royalties accrued up to the third quarter, and payment for fourth-quarter ongoing royalties. Vectura said it believes it has enough funds to execute its growth plans so it will distribute the excess to shareholders. Last November, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied GSKs motions regarding Vectura's US patent 8303991, which covers three of GSK's Ellipta products sold in the US. Looking ahead, Vectura said the revenue from CDMO agreements will more than triple this year, while sales from co-development contracts are expected to remain broadly in-line with 2020. Pharma companies tend to outsource inhalation drugs to contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) when they lack proper in-house capabilities. Vectura is looking to become an industry-leading inhalation CDMO, having signed 18 new contracts during 2020, contributing 3mln to revenues in the second half. It also produces its own products, such as flutiform, which is expected to bring in 75-80mln of sales this year after benefitting from partner stock builds in both 2019 and 2020, driven by moves towards more conservative stock holding policies given supply chain uncertainties. Royalties and other marketed revenues benefited from US$17mln approval milestones in 2020, following approval of generic Advair and Enerzair Breezhaler. Excluding milestones and any 2021 royalty contributions from Hikma ( ) and GSK, underlying royalties for 2021 will remain broadly in-line with 2020. The firm expects to spend 22-25mln in research and development, including continued investment in the generic Ellipta programme with Hikma. In the year to December 31, revenue advanced 7% to 197mln with adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) up 42% to 61mln. Cash at period-end was 6% higher at 79mln. "We are encouraged by the resilience and stability in the base businesses and note positive momentum in the signing of new deals over financial year 2020," analysts at Shore Capital commented. "We note the opportunity for 2021 upside from the US launch of generic Advair, continued progress in the transition to a CDMO model and the potential for further cash returns to shareholders in the form of share buybacks or special dividends." Shares rose 3% to 120.2p on Thursday morning. --Adds analyst comment, shares-- NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FAST Acquisition Corp. II (the "Company") today announced that it had closed its initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and began trading under the ticker symbol "FZT.U" on March 16, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company and one-quarter of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols "FZT" and "FZT WS," respectively. FAST Acquisition Corp. II is the third special purpose acquisition company formed by the principals of &vest with the business purpose to effect a business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination with a company in any sector or geography, the Company intends to focus its search on the restaurant, hospitality, consumer and related sectors in North America with an enterprise value of $800 million or greater. &vest is an investment platform led by founder and CEO Doug Jacob. Jefferies LLC acted as sole book-running manager for the offering. The Company has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (877) 821-7388 or by e-mail at [email protected]. A registration statement relating to the securities was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 15, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the initial public offering and search for an initial business combination. No assurance can be given that the proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement for the initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. Fast Acquisition Corp. II Contact: Chloe Gatta [email protected] SOURCE FAST Acquisition Corp. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions "Our posture's gonna be that we're posted outside of DC, awaiting the president's orders. We hope he will give us the orders. We want him to declare an insurrection, and to call us up as the militia." Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, in November, looking ahead to Jan. 6 As the controversy over the use of hijab in some schools rages on in Kwara State, some church members have devised measures to prevent the resumption of the affected schools. The state government had last month ordered the closure of 10 schools following the resurgence of the crisis over the use of the hijab. The affected schools are C&S College, Sabo-Oke; St. Anthonys Secondary School, Offa Road; ECWA School, Oja Iya; Surulere Baptist Secondary School, and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others are CAC Secondary School, Asa Dam road; St. Barnabas Secondary School, Sabo-Oke; St. John School Maraba; St. Williams Secondary School, Taiwo Isale, and St. James Secondary School, Maraba. The government set up a committee to look into the controversy and later announced that all public schools should respect the rights of Muslim students to wear the head covering, if they choose to. The government then directed the 10 schools to reopen but immediately withdrew the directive, citing security concerns after Christian leaders in the state rejected the governments position on the use of the hijab. It finally directed the schools to reopen on Wednesday but the crisis continued as rival groups clashed in some of the schools. A PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited three of the affected schools to observe the situation on Thursday. While some people held worship services at the gate of some schools, the entrances of one of the schools were filled with sand to prevent entry. Surulere Baptist Secondary School When PREMIUM TIMES arrived at Baptist Secondary School in Surulere on Thursday morning, scores of Christian faithful occupied the premises of First Baptist Church, which is close to the school. Some of the members, who spoke with our correspondent, said the church would not allow the use of the head covering in its school. Can I enter a mosque with my slippers? We dont want and we mean it. There is nothing the government can do than to reverse the order, a young man who does not want his name in print said. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, the leader of the Baptist Churches in the state, Victor Dada, blamed the state government for the crisis. The fact that they have helped us at one time or the other does not make them owner or co-owners of the schools. That is what we are saying, he said, disputing the governments ownership of the schools. Mr Dada advised the state government to await the Supreme Court judgement on the ownership of the schools before taking any action. C & S College At the Cherubim and Seraphim College at Sabo Oke, many members of the church occupied the front of the school between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Also, this newspaper observed that a truckload of sand was heaped at the entrance of the college. A banner with the inscription Our school is our heritage. We say NO to hijab also hung from the gate. Although the church leader was not there when our reporter got there, one of the church members ,who spoke, said the church will continue to block the entrance of the schools indefinitely. ADVERTISEMENT We were more than this earlier. Some of our members have gone back home but all of us cant leave. Well fight this to the end, the member told PREMIUM TIMES. He said the church leader had given a directive that members should assemble again by 7 a.m. on Friday to continue the protest. Service of songs at St. Barnabas College Members of the St. Barnabas Cathedral, an Anglican Church, decided to hold a worship service at the entrance of the school. Women in an Ankara uniform of the Anglican Diocese of Kwara were ministering in songs when our reporter got there. This is a period for us to be fervent and secure our schools, a pastor, who delivered a short sermon after the singing, said. Afterwards, a woman, who appeared to be the women leader, urged the female members to come back en masse on Friday. The woman encouraged the women to again wear their Ankara outfits at the next meeting. An elder in the church, Olalekan Aransiola, advised the youth, who he felt their dressing was not befitting of the service, to dress gorgeously in subsequent meetings. You cannot just dress anyhow. Put on something nice and even God is happy with it, the old man said. Also, he told the young men to keep watch over the facility after the congregation would have dispersed. Light refreshments were shared amongst the church members at the end of the service. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES after the meeting, Mr Aransiola said the church members were only trying to defend their heritage. We just want to defend this place with God sending us to this place. It is the blood of Jesus that formed this place and that we want to sustain. We welcome everybody to come and school here but that name of Jesus should not be defamed and cannot be crossed. Asked if he feared the crisis might linger longer than expected, Mr Aransiola said: We dont envisage it will linger more because its just a matter of reasoning. How many schools are in Ilorin that belong to the missions? Just a few. This is a Christian school, (they should) abide by the rules, he added. Students at receiving end The Executive Director of Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative, Abideen Olasupo, warned that the protracted controversy would take a toll on the students. Regardless of the angle we want to look at it, the students are at the receiving end of the whole saga. WAEC, NECO, UTME and NABTEB wont create a special timetable for the students. Covid-19 has disrupted the ways of working and education was one of the sectors that was grossly affected owing to the fact that we do not have the necessary technology and infrastructure for e-learning in Nigeria. Mr Olasupo also condemned the violence that erupted at Baptist Secondary School on Wednesday and called for prosecution of those involved. Kudos to the government and other stakeholders for not allowing the issue to snowball into something that will get out of hand, but it could have been avoided. The case has been decided by the court and if there is anything the government should do immediately, it is to change the names of the schools, the civil rights activist advised. Also, the President of Shehu Alimi Foundation, Abdulkadir Sholagberu, urged the state government to change the names of the schools. It is an affront for any person or groups to claim ownership of any establishment funded with taxpayers money, Mr Sholagberu said in a statement. Irrespective of their faith, the government should change names of all missionary schools belonging to both Christians and Muslims in the state. Let us all remember that the government is solely responsible for the recruitment, promotion, transfer as well as termination of appointments of workers of the schools. In addition, the government pays their salaries, entitlements, retirements benefits (gratuities) and pensions. Therefore, it is very pertinent to note that where other peoples right stops is where other peoples right begins. Government should stand up to its duties by enforcing the formula adopted in the case of Ilorin College Ilorin which was established by the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the Northern Region and father of the incumbent governor of Kwara State, late Lawyer A.G.F. Abdulrazaq, and was later changed to become Government High School, Adeta-Ilorin when the government commenced grant aiding of the school. He advised Muslims and residents of Ilorin to remain calm and law abiding in their dispositions. However, the state government has directed the principals, teachers and staff of all 10 schools shut down to report at the schools on Friday. The chairperson of the states Teaching Service Commission, Bello Abubakar, said this was necessary to prepare the final year students for their external examinations. The wreckage of a bus that carried Afghan government employees and was hit by a roadside bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 18, 2021. (Screenshot via Reuters) Afghan Bus Blast and Helicopter Crash Kill 13: Officials KABULA roadside bomb killed four people in a bus carrying Afghan government staff in Kabul on Thursday, a day after nine members of the security forces died when their helicopter was shot down, officials said. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the roadside blast though the government has blamed Taliban terrorists for recent attacks targeting government employees, civil society figures and journalists. The Taliban has denied involvement in the campaign. The bomb hit a bus rented by the Afghan Ministry of Information and Technology to transport employees, said Abdul Samad Hamid Poya, a ministry adviser. The bombing comes on the same day the Afghan government, Taliban and key countries, including the United States and Russia, gather in Moscow to push for a reduction in violence to propel the Afghan peace process forward. Afghanistans President Ashraf Ghani told reporters on Thursday that the helicopter had been shot down and the perpetrators would be arrested and punished. Today was a very hard day, he said. Two sources said the helicopter was hit by a rocket during take off in central Maidan Wardak province. It was not clear who fired the rocket and there have been no claims of responsibility for the crash late on Wednesday. The defense ministry said it was investigating the crash, which killed the helicopters crew members as well as members of the special forces on board. An air force source said the helicopter had been on a supply mission that included transporting the body of a soldier and wounded members of the military. By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 11:51:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A waiter sends meal for a passenger at a COVID-19 medical isolation center which is transformed from a hotel in Havana, Cuba, March 16, 2021. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua) by Yosley Carrero HAVANA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- For Yosvany Barrios, a 47-year-old Cuban national residing in the United States, coming back home had never taken so long. Amid efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide, thousands of international passengers who have arrived on the island since early February have been ordered to quarantine for five days either at isolation centers or at hotel facilities allocated by the government. Barrios flew to Cuba to visit his five-month-pregnant wife who lives in the rural town of San Juan y Martinez, located some 250 km away from the country's capital Havana. "In pre-pandemic times, I would take a 45-minute flight from Miami to Havana and spend 30 minutes at the customs area for normal procedures before hitting the road to my hometown," Barrios told Xinhua. "I am desperate to see my wife and my baby-to-be," he said. "But I understand it was necessary to wait a little longer for PCR test results." As a Cuban resident, he would have been quarantined for free in isolation centers set up by the local authorities, but rather preferred paying to spend the quarantine time at NH Capri Hotel in Havana. Cuba has set up nearly 20 hotel facilities across the country where international travelers are required to pay for their accommodation and logistics during the quarantine period. Passengers who are required to be quarantined in Cuban hotels can either book a room in advance through governmental websites or at travel bureaus after arrival. At NH Capri Hotel there is a crystal-clear pool, a bar and a buffet area, which remain uncommonly empty for guests are to self-isolate in their rooms following compulsory COVID-19 protocols. So far, of more than 200 guests who had stayed at NH Capri Hotel in March, only four had tested positive for COVID-19. While staying there, travelers are subject to temperature checks and PCR tests conducted by a medical team. "Epidemiological monitoring is very important to help authorities bring the contagious disease in check amid surging COVID-19 cases," said Jorge Vidaud, a 59-year-old doctor, who works at the quarantine hotel. "We play a critical role here." The island totally resumed scheduled commercial flights in November 2020, when Havana's Jose Marti International Airport restarted operations after having been closed for more than seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I am happy to be back in Cuba," said 45-year-old Jorge Carmona, who also flew from the United States to visit his family in Havana. "My relatives live almost around the corner, but the best way to protect them is being patient." Enditem The Icelandic Coast Guard has airlifted five BBC crew members to safety after their boat started to take on water, with a video capturing the dramatic rescue. The incident took place just north of Icelands northernmost peninsula of Hornstrandir, just miles from the arctic circle, on March 16. The Icelandic Coast Guard winched the five film crew members to safety after their vessel lost engine power around the Westfjords area, after the boat they were revelling in struck some driftwood, destroying the propeller. The crew were in the region to film a documentary on arctic foxes. It was reported in January that the BBC Natural History Unit had obtained permission from Icelandic officials. Speaking to the Mail Online, the team said that in addition to the damaged propeller, they have contended with a number of obstacles to their filming, including volcanic activity and nine-meter high swells. The Icelandic Coast Guard had to airlift five BBC crew members to safety after their boat started to take on water. Pictured: A still from a video showing the rescue The Icelandic Coast Guard winched the five film crew members to safety after their vessel lost engine power around the Westfjords area The local authorities said the boat was starting to take on water, prompting the BBC workers to call for help. Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue sent two boats and a helicopter to the scene while other vessels in the area were alerted in case further help was needed. A fishing vessel called 'Otur IS' in the town of Isafjorour started to tow the stricken boat to port before being relieved by one of the rescue ships. Two pumps were also placed on board to remove the excess water and keep it afloat until it could reach land. Meanwhile, the helicopter flew the rescued BBC workers back to the mainland where they were reportedly uninjured. As Iceland does not have a navy, security operations are carried out by the coast guard, known as Landhelgisaesla Islands. Rescue operations are also carried out by the volunteer Icelandic Search and Rescue organisation funded as a charity. The local authorities said the boat was starting to take on water, prompting the BBC workers to call for help. Pictured: A person is lifted to safety into a helicopter The crew was made up of five people - three women working for the BBC's Natural History Unity, and two men. The crew's director, a camera woman, camera assistant, scientists and a local fixer were all on board. While waiting to be rescued, and to save the boat, the crew were forced to bail water over-board for two hours. 'Our team of 3 were being taken to a remote island off Iceland when their charter boat struck wood at sea damaging the propeller and propeller shaft,' Julian Hector, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, told the Mail Online. 'The team are calm and get on with what needs to be done; in this case bailing water for two hours before being lifted from the boat by a rescue helicopter. I spoke to them all last night and everyone is safe.' Two pumps were also placed on board to remove the excess water and keep it afloat until it could reach land. Pictured left: A man is winched to safety. Right: A boat in the water below According to Iceland Monitor, the BBC was given permission by the Environment Agency of Iceland to film a documentary about the Arctic fox in the Hornstrandir nature reserve. It was reported that filming would mainly be done on land, with the use of drones, and that five people would be working on the documentary. Among the crew, Ester Rut Unnsteinsdottir, PhD, who is an ecologist at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, would provide scientific expertise. The crew were in the region to film a documentary on arctic foxes. It was reported in January that the BBC Natural History Unit had obtained permission from Icelandic officials. Pictured: An arctic fox standing n rock polar climate in Reykjavik, Iceland (file photo) The incident took place just north of Icelands northernmost peninsula of Hornstrandir, just miles from the arctic circle, on March 16. Pictured: A map showing the location The Monitor reported that the filming would be done in three phases, the first being from March 12 to April 12, with a second and third in summer and then September. The documentary is set to be part of a series about predatory animals in the world's northern regions, and was being filmed for another international broadcaster. 'We always try and plan for the unexpected,' BBC Natural History Unit Director Mairead Maclean told the Mail Online. 'Weve had volcanic activity, nine metre high swells and now a broken boat propellor. Thank goodness for our contingency planning that even after all this were heading back out to the island tomorrow, if nature allows.' An estimated 90 million people have already received their portion of the third round of stimulus checks approved as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The vast majority of those checks were sent out Wednesday morning as the IRS finalized that date as when the payments would be made for the first wave of checks. However, not everyone has received their $1,400 per-person checks. There are several factors that could be causing a delay in payment processing. If you are unsure of when you can expect to receive your check, the IRS Get My Payment tool is available to give you an estimate. It can also tell you some of the issues that need to be resolved before you can receive your check. Here is a look at some of the reasons why your check may not have arrived just yet: You no longer qualify because of your income One of the major issues lawmakers battled over with the bill was income thresholds for those who would qualify for checks. It was eventually agreed on that single tax payers needed to earn less than $75,000 on their latest tax filing in order to receive the full $1,400. Those who earned between $75,000 and $80,000 saw their checks diminish by $100 per $1,000 over $75,000. Single tax payers who earned over $80,000 received nothing. Couples who earned under $150,000 combined were eligible for full checks as well. However, if couple earned more than $160,000 combined, they received nothing. Your 2020 taxes havent been processed yet or you havent filed in two years Because the financial threshold for receiving a check is based on your latest tax return, its possible the government hasnt sent your payment yet because it is processing your 2020 return. Those whove already filed for 2020 may see a delay in their stimulus check because the IRS is reviewing your latest information to determine exactly how much you will receive. If you did not file taxes for 2019 or 2020, that may also delay your payment, even if you dont typically have to file a return. That doesnt mean you wont receive a payment, but that lack of a tax return could be causing a delay for you. You arent receiving the money via direct deposit While millions of Americans received their money through direct deposit at their bank, many others will receive their funds via a paper check or a prepaid debit card. Those checks and cards will be sent out to you directly, but may not have been sent yet. Its also possible your money is being sent that way because there was an issue with your bank account. Banks can reject the funds if youve closed the account the previous checks went to, or if some of your information was incorrect. You are also unable to change bank account information used for the first two rounds of stimulus. You will still be able to receive your money, but it will come in the mail and not direct deposit if you have bank issues. Youre in one of the next waves The IRS says its sending out the money in waves, so while some 90 million checks have already been sent, there are still millions more that need to go out. Its unclear when the next full wave of money will be released, but the IRS says it will be done in a timely manner. A debt collector has the right to take the money Unfortunately for many, when the bill was passed, Democrats did not include language in the procedural rules that would shield the stimulus money from being taken by a debt collector. That means that even if you qualify for the check, your bank may not put all of the money into your account. This specifically hurts people with unpaid medical or credit card bills who also have a court-ordered judgment against them. Under law, if a creditor has sued for outstanding debt and a court order is in place for garnishment, banks are required to comply and turn the funds over to the creditor. So if your garnishment is for $800 and you are scheduled to receive the full $1,400, you may only see $600 go into your bank account. Lawmakers are hoping to fix the issue with legislation that would shield the money, but it could be too late for many Americans. GIRARDVILE John Black Jack Kehoe, the alleged King of the Molly Maguires was hanged Dec. 18, 1877, leaving behind his wife, Mary Ann, to raise their five daughters and run the tavern he had established in the borough. Through the ensuing century and a half, the Hibernian House has endured two World Wars, the Great Depression, the decline of the coal industry and, now two, global pandemics. Kehoe has become a folk hero, a martyr in the fight for workers and immigrants. His great-grandson, Joe Wayne, is now living history, interviewed by local schoolchildren and serving green-clad tourists. They quote The Quiet Man in mock accents and ask him what he thought of the 1970 movie The Molly Maguires, where Sean Connery played his great-grandfather with a Scottish accent (much to Waynes chagrin). The music by Henry Mancini was excellent, he said. I wrote words for that. The photography by James Wong Howe was good. Other than that, the movie sucked. Among the visitors on a recent Saturday afternoon was Ed McDevitt, a member of the Philadelphia Ancient Order of Hibernians. Its a pleasure to meet you, sir, he told Wayne as they shook hands. No dirty Irish jokes! said Don Moynihan, another visitor from the city. Im easily insulted. Aint that a wonderful sound? Wayne said as he poured a drink. Like a fart from a baby. Countless people have told Wayne that they, too, are related to Kehoe. He tries to explain that they cant be, but they dont listen. It has to be true, they say, because their fathers told them so. Finally you have to shake their hands and say, Not too many people admit their line of bastardy, Wayne said. Kehoes widow and her mother ran the Hibernian House until Mary Anns daughter, also named Mary Ann, inherited it and ran it with her husband, Jack McDonald. In 1941, their daughter Alice MacDonald and her husband, Raymond Wayne, ran it. Alice and Raymond are Joes parents. Joe took charge in 2002. Kehoes spirit still haunts Schuylkill County, sometimes literally. After he was hanged, his body was taken by train to Girardville for a two-day wake, then to Tamaqua for burial, reportedly being kept on ice in the Tamaqua Railroad Station at some point. Local paranormal investigators have since investigated the station for ghostly activity. They put these recording machines all over and said, You hear that? It sounds like Jack Kehoes saying Can you help me? Wayne said. Yeah, and Im an astronaut. They give a dogs rear end heartburn with the stories they come up with. A noxious weed The troubles that ended with Kehoe at the end of a rope began during the Civil War. In 1863, mob violence against the draft was raging in Schuylkill County. That years Enrollment Act allowed wealthy men to avoid the draft by paying a $300 fee. One of the men who paid the fee was Franklin Benjamin Gowen, a prominent lawyer in Schuylkill County and a man whose actions in history secured him a place in the Hibernian House portrait gallery. A brash, flamboyant and well-spoken son of a Protestant Irish immigrant, Gowen was a failed mine operator before being elected district attorney of Schuylkill County. His father, James, witnessed schools, homes and churches burn during anti-Irish riots in Philadelphia. Although James was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, his son would see the society as a mortal enemy. In the ensuing years, a nonviolent group called the Workers Benevolent Association formed. The WBA was a threat to Gowen, who had risen through the ranks to become president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad which, through its subsidiary, The Philadelphia Coal & Iron Company, was gobbling up Schuylkills coalfields. He kept wages low and suppressed strikes with the help of the private police force, the Coal and Iron Police, known as the coalies. It was then that the killings popularly associated with the Molly Maguires began. Gowen declared that a noxious weed of foreign birth was in the mines. The WBA dissolved due to ethnic conflict between the Welsh and Irish miners. In 1875, a letter supposedly from a Molly Maguire was published in the Shenandoah Herald. I am against shooting as much as ye are, the letter read, but the Union is broke up and we have got nothing to defend ourselves with but our revolvers and if we dont use them we shall have to work for 50 cents a day. Meanwhile, Gowen had a secret plan of his own. In 1873, he hired a private detective named James McParlan, a slim 29-year-old Irishman with red hair and a redder face, to infiltrate the Molly Maguires. For his mission, McParlan reinvented himself as James McKenna. He claimed he was a Colorado miner looking for his fortune in Schuylkill County. McKenna sang, danced, drank and fought with the miners, slowly earning their trust. He would brag about violent adventures he never had. In 1874, McParlan was sworn into the Ancient Order of Hibernians under their motto: Friendship, Unity and true Christian Charity. The hangings The summer of 1875 was one of shocking bloodshed. McParlan claimed Kehoe ordered the murders of Bully Bill Thomas and mine superintendent John P. Jones. Then, on Dec. 10, a group of masked men attacked Kehoes in-laws in Wiggans Patch, near Mahanoy City. His pregnant sister-in-law, Ellen McAllister, and her brother Charles ODonnell were killed and his mother-in-law pistol whipped. The county was horrified at what appeared to be an act of vigilantism. At that point, McParlan wrote a letter of resignation. As for the ODonnells, he wrote, I am satisfied that they got their just deservings. Now to wake up this morning and find that I am the murderer of Mrs. McAllister. What had a woman to do in this case? Did the Molly Maguires in their worst time shoot down women? His superiors told him it was fighting fire with fire. The church, the labor unions and the general public were appalled when they read about the Mollies crimes. They are scum and a disgrace to us Irishmen and American citizens, said Father Daniel OConnor, of Mahanoy City. The trials and subsequent executions of the Molly Maguires began in 1876. They were hanged on the investigation of coalies and private detectives, the arrests by private policemen, the prosecution of Gowen and other coal region lawyers, and McParlans testimony. The juries had no Irish-Americans; they were predominantly German-Americans who spoke little English. Even now, Wayne is disgusted at the miscarriage of justice. When asked whether McParlan and Gowen have any descendants, he said, I hope not. The papers salivated over the trials. Gowen and his allies made fire-and-brimstone sermons about how the Mollies were Irish savages that must be eliminated. Gowen saw all labor activists as no better than lawless murderers. No trial was more sensational than the trial of the King of the Mollies. The defense brought in witnesses to vouch for Kehoes character, but it didnt work. As to his conduct, that has always been good, one said, but as far as the reputation goes, I never did hear much good. Among the many allegations of Molly political corruption was that they used their influence to deliver the Irish vote to Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor John Hartranft, defeating the Gowen-backed Democrat Cyrus L. Pershing. Rumor was that the Mollies expected pardons in return. If we dont get justice, Kehoe allegedly said to the county jailer, I dont think the old man at Harrisburg will go back on us. The pardon never came. Kehoe was sentenced to seven years in prison for the attempted murder of Bully Bill Thomas. It took 20 minutes for the jury to decide the verdict. Gowen wasnt satisfied. He believed that the Molly scourge would never be eradicated unless Kehoe hanged. Kehoe was tried for Langdons murder and sentenced to death in what historian Kevin Kenny called unquestionably the most dubious of all the verdicts handed down to the Molly Maguires. No witnesses claimed to have seen Kehoe in the mob that day and, allegedly, another man who had been hanged for a different murder had confessed to the crime. Although he defeated what the public saw as The Mollies, Gowens story did not end well either. After running the railroad into bankruptcy, he was eventually ousted and, on Dec. 13, 1889, put a bullet through his head in the Wormlys Hotel in Washington, D.C. Looking back, Wayne sees the Mollies as the forerunners of todays labor unions. The names have changed, but the corporate structures and so forth arent too different today as far as unions are concerned, he said. Look whats going on down in Georgia today and Alabama with Amazon. Fading traditions Since Kehoes hanging, the ethnic tensions have abated. Wayne grew up on a street with people of English, Welsh, Italian, Russian and Lithuanian descent. It was a melting pot, he said. Back in those days they took advantage. We were all immigrants. But there was nobody more prejudiced than the Irish were. When the Irish finally got a foothold in the mines, the owners didnt like the idea of having to pay more money out so they started bringing the Eastern Europeans over. And what did the Irish do? They started calling them names, mocking their food and their customs and so forth. And nobody was harder working than the Lithuanians, Polish, Ukrainians. While remembering his great-grandfather, Wayne is also grieving more recent losses. His wife died in 2016, and his brother ultimately died of injuries suffered in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Waynes lifelong friend, John M. Elliott, the attorney who helped clear John Kehoes name by securing a posthumous pardon from Gov. Milton J. Shapp in 1979, died Friday. Anyone who comes and tells you time heals all wounds dont know what theyre talking about, Wayne said. Thats the sad part of getting older, believe me. You dont realize, when somebody dies and youre at their funeral, theres some of you going in that hole. As he grows older, Wayne sees Girardvilles traditions fading away, too. All of the organizations are gone, he said. American Legions, VFWs, the Catholic War Vets, the AOH, the Elks, all the memberships are going down. The younger generation wont be involved in anything. They dont read about (history). And yet, he still has the folks who gathered from across Pennsylvania to be here this Saturday afternoon and listen to him talk about his great-grandfather and the Molly Maguires. They listen as he talks about his younger days I dont know if you ever picked coal a lot. Coal is sharp. and his memories of the Hibernian House. They expect me to live forever, Wayne said. I hope I do, but thats not gonna be the case. I figure 125 would be long enough. Happy St. Patricks Day, McDevitt said. God Bless America! John Kehoe was buried in Old Saint Jeromes Catholic Cemetery in Tamaqua, on a hill of yellow grass overlooking the town. The cemetery is old and worn now its gates are as rusty as Kehoes jail cell. The graves are cracked and broken. Many of them are so eroded that the names are no longer visible. Some are knocked over and shattered in the wind, like the leaves that scatter in front of them. Low on the side of the hill, behind a fallen tree, is Kehoes grave, the best-preserved of them all. The words at the bottom are faint, but they read WHILST IN THIS SILENT GRAVE I SLEEP/MY SOUL TO GOD I GIVE TO KEEP. There is an American flag at the foot of his tombstone. Kalpana Kochhar to retire from the IMF next month 02 Jun 2021 | 9:32 PM Washington, Jun 2 (UNI) Ms. Kalpana Kochhar, Director of the Human Resources Department (HRD) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will take early retirement next month to join Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. see more.. Isaac Herzog elected Israels 11th president 02 Jun 2021 | 9:07 PM Tel Aviv, Jun 2 (UNI) The chairman of the Jewish Agency and former head of the Labor party Isaac Herzog was on Wednesday elected as Israels 11th president. see more.. Two killed, 10 injured in Jalalabad blast 02 Jun 2021 | 7:50 PM Kabul, Jun 2 (UNI) At least two civilians were killed and 10 others injured in a blast targeting a security force convoy in the eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Wednesday morning. see more.. G7 intends to back Japan's Olympics efforts 02 Jun 2021 | 6:39 PM Washington, Jun 2 (UNI) The Group of Seven (G7), which consists of the world's leading economies, is expected to pledge support to Japan's efforts for organizing and carrying out upcoming summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, news reports claimed on Wednesday. see more.. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. LBPD Public Information Officer Allison Gallagher says that on March 16 at about 8:20 p.m., officers responded to the 1000 block of Myrtle Ave. (border CD 1/Zendejas and CD 6/Saro) regarding a shooting. They found two victims who said they were in front of a residence when an unknown dark-color sedan drove up, an unknown male suspect fired shots, and then fled the scene. The persons weren't hit but officers found casings and a building struck by gunfire. Less than an hour later in the 100 block of Aquarium Way, officers responded to a parking lot regarding a shooting that had just occurred. They found evidence of the shooting, including casings, and prior to officers' arrival a man (adult) was transported by a friend to a hospital with a gunshot wound (non-life-threatening.) "The preliminary investigation revealed that the two victims were driving through a parking lot when an altercation occurred. As the victims drove away, an unknown male adult suspect shot at their vehicle, striking the passenger. The second victim did not sustain any injuries. "The shooting appears to be gang-related," LBPD PIO Gallagher says.. The two evening shootings came on the same day (March 16) that a man was found shot to death in the 1700 block of Alamitos Ave. (CD 6/Saro) the gateway between LB's Cambodia Town and DTLB. LBPD detectives say the homicide occurred in the 1 a.m. hour although the victim wasn't found until about dawn and pronounced deceased at the scene. (LBPD detectives believe two suspects approached the victim (a man in his 30's) on foot and at least one suspect (perhaps both) opened fire on the victim and then fled in a vehicle last seen headed north on Orange Ave. toward PCH. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As Florida lawmakers consider legislation that would strip away pensions for teachers, a new state-wide survey finds that Floridians overwhelming support providing these retirement benefits for the state's education workforce. Eighty-seven percent of working-age Floridians agree that teachers in the state should continue to have a choice between a pension and a 401(k) account, and 82 percent say it is important to provide teachers with competitive retirement benefits to attract and retain teachers in Florida. These findings are based on state-wide survey of working-age Floridians conducted by Greenwald Research and the National Institute on Retirement Security to measure public sentiment on a broad range of retirement issues. The survey was commissioned by the Florida Retired Educators Association (FREA). The Florida legislature is considering legislation that would end pensions for new state employees beginning in July 2022. Other states that have replaced pensions with 401(k)-style accounts have seen taxpayer costs escalate while weakening public employers' ability to recruit and retain experienced employees and undermining retirement security. "It is encouraging to see such overwhelming public support for the economic security of Florida teachers," said Nancy Hosie, a retired St. Lucie County science teacher and president of FREA. "And, it's not surprising that 80 percent of Floridians agree any changes to teacher retirement benefits should not raise costs to Florida taxpayers." "Unfortunately, the pension legislation under consideration, S.B. 84, flies in the face of public sentiment and fiscal responsibility. If enacted, the bill would end teacher pensions and likely cause taxpayer costs to skyrocket," Hosie explained. "Instead, Florida lawmakers are wise to carefully examine failed and costly pension experiments in other states and in Palm Beach. The Florida Retirement System (FRS) has a long history as one of the best managed retirement systems in the country. Rather than enacting flawed legislation, we want to work with policymakers to ensure the retirement system is financially strong and provides a modest retirement benefit for Florida public employees who deliver essential taxpayer services." The statewide poll of working-age Floridians finds: There is overwhelming public support for teacher pensions in Florida . Nearly all (87 percent) agree that Florida teachers should continue to have a choice between a pension and a 401(k) account. Three quarters (75 percent) agree that Florida teachers have a better chance at a secure retirement with a pension plan rather than a 401(k) account. . Nearly all (87 percent) agree that teachers should continue to have a choice between a pension and a 401(k) account. Three quarters (75 percent) agree that teachers have a better chance at a secure retirement with a pension plan rather than a 401(k) account. Floridians want fiscal responsibility when it comes to public employee benefits . Eighty percent agree any changes to teacher retirement benefits should not raise costs to Florida taxpayers, while 73 percent say pensions are a good deal because Florida teachers and investment income cover most of the pension cost. Also, 82 percent agree Florida teachers should continue to have a pension because they help pay the costs. . Eighty percent agree any changes to teacher retirement benefits should not raise costs to taxpayers, while 73 percent say pensions are a good deal because teachers and investment income cover most of the pension cost. Also, 82 percent agree teachers should continue to have a pension because they help pay the costs. Floridians say that teacher retirement benefit levels are about right (48 percent) or too low (36 percent) . The average retirement benefit for Florida teachers is about $2,051 per month, with nearly three-fourths of the benefits paid by employee contributions (3.5 percent) and investment income (71.3 percent). . The average retirement benefit for teachers is about per month, with nearly three-fourths of the benefits paid by employee contributions (3.5 percent) and investment income (71.3 percent). Fairness is important to Floridians . Seventy-nine percent say it's unfair that the state has diverted money from the pension fund to balance the state's budget. Meanwhile, 76 percent agree it would be unfair to offer pensions to some Florida public employees, like police officers and firefighters in, but not to teachers. . Seventy-nine percent say it's unfair that the state has diverted money from the pension fund to balance the state's budget. Meanwhile, 76 percent agree it would be unfair to offer pensions to some public employees, like police officers and firefighters in, but not to teachers. Floridians see the workforce value of pensions. Eighty-two percent agree that offering competitive retirement benefits with a pension is important for maintaining good schools because it helps attract and retain good teachers in Florida . Seventy-nine percent agree that pensions help incentivize long teaching careers, which benefits children, schools, and communities. Also, 71 percent agree that Florida teachers should have a pension to compensate for their pay. The recent FRS funding shortfalls largely can be attributed to Florida lawmakers diverting their required pension contributions to Florida's General Fund during the Great Recession. Legislators used state employees' retirement savings to balance Florida's budget to the detriment of the FRS pension funding. This money still has not been fully returned to the educator's retirement plan, and now legislators have introduced legislation that would make managing the pension fund more difficult, raise taxpayer costs, undermine teachers' retirement, and hurt the state's ability to recruit and retain teachers. Conducted by Greenwald Research on behalf of the National Institute on Retirement Security and FREA, information for this study was collected from online interviews between December 410, 2020 and February 23-25, 2021. The final data were weighted by age, gender, and income to reflect the demographics of Floridians aged 25 and older. The sample was selected using Dynata, an online sample provider. The Florida Retired Educators Association is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization established in 1954 to serve the economic, social, and professional needs of Florida's retired education professionals. FREA is part of the National Retired Teachers Association and represents the interests of more than 9,000 retired educators in 45 local units across the state. FREA members are actively engaged in serving their local communities and supporting past, future, and active educators. More information is available at www.frea.org. The National Institute on Retirement Security is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to contribute to informed policymaking by fostering a deep understanding of the value of retirement security to employees, employers and the economy as a whole. Located in Washington, D.C., NIRS membership includes financial services firms, employee benefit plans, trade associations, and other retirement service providers. More information is available at www.nirsonline.org. Follow NIRS on Twitter @NIRSonline. SOURCE National Institute on Retirement Security Related Links www.nirsonline.org Eight Mexican migrants died on Monday afternoon when their pickup truck collided head-on with another vehicle during a high-speed chase involving state police on US Highway 277 in Val Verde County, Texas. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said, troopers were chasing a red Dodge pickup truck after the driver of the pickup refused to pull over for a traffic violation. The collision with the Ford F-150 occurred approximately 30 miles north of Del Rio, Texas, a town of 35,000 people across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. The scene of the crash which left 8 dead (Source: Texas Department of Public Safety) The AP reported that the driver and a child passenger in the Ford F-150 survived the crash and were hospitalized. One of the passengers in the Dodge pickup lived while the 24-year-old driver fled the scene on foot but was subsequently apprehended and booked by federal authorities. A spokesperson for the Texas DPS identified the driver as Sebastian Tovar. All of the deceased, seven men and one woman, were undocumented immigrants from Mexico between the ages of 18 and 20. The report did not specify what the alleged traffic violation was that prompted the high-speed chase. The horrific crash in Del Rio follows by two weeks a deadly collision in the Imperial Valley region of Southern California which claimed the lives of 13 people and injured many others when a semi-truck rammed into a Ford Explorer carrying two dozen passengers. US news outlets moved quickly to blame the victims in Del Rio for their own deaths. The New York Post, for example, reported late Tuesday, Authorities said they believed the people in the pickup truck being chased by the state police were part of an immigrant smuggling operation, but no details were provided. The latest mass death of migrants illustrates further the criminal policies of the Biden administration, which hypocritically promised a more humane US immigration policy upon taking office in January. As the World Socialist Web Site reported on Monday, the number of immigrant children being detained by the US government at the border with Mexico had risen from 3,200 to 4,200 in one week. Instead of releasing the children to family members, the Biden administration is relocating these youth to a convention center in Dallas which is being called an immigrant decompression center. With these measures, the Democrats are proving that they are continuing and intensifying the anti-immigrant program carried out during the previous four years of the Trump presidency. The Biden White House has steadfastly refused to refer to the record number of immigrants arriving at the US border in 2021 as a crisis and, instead, called it a difficult situation and blamed it on the Trump administration. On Tuesday, Bidens Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said, We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years, and, We are expelling most single adults and families. We are not expelling unaccompanied children. In other words, unaccompanied children entering the US are not being expelled but are being detained and held in detention facilities and, increasingly, for periods of time that exceed the legal limit of 72 hours. During an interview on Tuesday, ABC News George Stephanopoulos asked Biden about the surge of migrants and unaccompanied children, Do you have to say quite clearly, Dont come? to which the President responded, Yes, I can say quite clearly: Dont come over. Biden then added, Dont leave your town or city or community. SHELTON - Robert Swercewski was one of hundreds of school staff taking his place at the districts special vaccine clinic for educators, but unlike his coworkers, he was on the other side of the syringe. Swercewski, a Shelton Intermediate School teacher, is also a volunteer with Beacon Hose Co. 1 EMS. He received his vaccinations in December and offered his skills to the clinic, which was run under the direction of the Naugatuck Valley Health District and Griffin Hospital at the intermediate school. They took him up on the offer. The experience, he said, was something truly special. It was nice to see coworkers that, in some cases, we had not seen in over a year, Swercewski said. Several employees became visibly emotional as they sat for their vaccine there were many sighs of relief as well as an occasional tear for what may prove to be the first true step toward a return to normalcy. More than 550 school staff including teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and others received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine March 6 with the second to be administered on March 27. With so many staff inoculated, the district now is planning for a full in-person return to classes. Swercewski said he understands what his peers were going through as they bared their shoulders for their first shot. "After having been vaccinated, I did have a feeling of relief, Swercewski said in describing his feelings are receiving the doses three months ago. As a volunteer EMT in a small town, I certainly didnt have the level of exposure to the virus as many healthcare providers did across our country or even here in Shelton, he said. However, on occasion, I did have to care for patients that were COVID positive and having been vaccinated did reduce that stress level. As for the return to school, his experience with the virus along with the vaccine, without a doubt, lessened my worries. The concerns were focused on those students and staff that were not yet vaccinated and whether or not a return to school would promote viral spread, Swercewski said. As it turned out, our staff did a great job helping students adhere to the mask and distancing rules making for a safe return. "I would like to thank everyone in our district that has worked so hard work during the last year, he said. It has not been easy and certainly not what anyone could have imagined. The Connecticut Department of Public Health developed the training Swercewski took for administering the vaccine. It consisted of online coursework and an assessment followed by in-person skills practice. Swercewski praised the districts nursing staff - all of whom, led by head nurse and district COVID liaison Adrianna Collins, assisted at the clinic on Saturday. They have had the responsibility of managing the health and safety of our students and staff including many hours of contact tracing. A job that brought them far more grief than they deserve. So, to our nurses, thank you, he said. Swercewski teaches an elective course with its roots in hands-on collaborative problem solving, he said. While the use of computers has always played a central role in his work and that of his students, he said the safety measures that have been set in place forced a pivot to fully digital instruction. This shift forced me to explore avenues of instruction I would not have otherwise, bringing lessons and resources that will become a permanent part of the course, he said. Recognizing those benefits, I still cant wait to get my students back to working with their hands, in groups, side by side. brian.gioiele@ hearstmediact.com Presidente @FSagasti: A los integrantes de la @naval_peru, defensores de la soberania, continuen con su labor de entrega y patriotismo, a la luz del ejemplo de Miguel Grau, quien lucho y planteo la necesidad de un pais armonioso, justo y desarrollado para todos. pic.twitter.com/dVisVhpAVS 1. Over 35,000 Fresh COVID Cases In India NDTV India recorded its highest Covid-19 tally in 102 days on Wednesday with 35,886 patients testing positive for the virus as Maharashtra continued to be the worst affected state, accounting for 64% of the daily count in the country, a per TOI. 2. Airlines Act Against COVID Violators TNIE The gloves are off for travellers who refuse to wear masks or PPE gowns onboard aircraft. Three airlines acted against seven passengers on Monday and Tuesday (March 15 and 16), with five being handed over to security agencies on arrival for not wearing masks despite repeated warnings and two being taken off aircraft before take-off for not wearing PPE gowns, as per TOI. 3. North Korea Ignores US Offer For Talks, Citing Hostility AFP North Korea said Thursday it will ignore all US efforts to foster contact or dialogue unless Washington changes course, hours before President Joe Biden's top envoys held talks in Seoul, as per TNN. 4. Pakistan's Anti-Graft Body Reopens Money Laundering Case Against Maryam Nawaz Al Jazeera Pakistan's anti-graft body on Wednesday reopened a money-laundering investigation against embattled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz and summoned her on March 26, as per PTI. You can now find Australian cyber companies and their products all in one place. Photo: Shutterstock Nearly 1,900 Australian cybersecurity specialists and 128 companies have already registered for AUCyberscape, an industry centre of gravity that emerges just as a senior academic warns that the country is investing far too little to deliver the cybersecurity capabilities it will require in the future. The brainchild of industry-development organisation AustCyber and supported by Insurance Australia Group (IAG), seven state and territory governments and several private firms the AUCyberscape portal has been designed as a central source of information about Australian-built cybersecurity solutions. It is only available to domestic innovators, who had listed 2,443 individual solutions on its debut, and is free for users and service providers as a living catalogue of a $5.6 billion industry that has, AustCyber CEO Michelle Price said, become larger, more diverse, and sophisticated in recent years. Standardising definitions and representation of cybersecurity companies will be critical in getting a handle on an industry where even differences in nomenclature have made it hard to get real clarity around what companies offer. Weve aligned AUCyberscape to the digital language that is now being used internationally, Price said when the project was announced late last year. It is really important to be able to align market developments, and those export pathways for Australian capability, into global markets that are using consistent language and categorisation around cybersecurity capability. Making sure we are talking the same language as our international counterparts [makes] that trade equation smoother, but also helps buyers and investors have a much stronger idea and understanding around what [Australias] capabilities actually are. Buy Australian Entries are geographically tied, enabling searches by region as well as cybersecurity specialty through the AUCybermap, where software vendors like Mailguard and Haventec rub shoulders with security consultancies like Ignite Systems and CBIT Digital Forensics Services. Participating in the new portal enables security teams in APAC and across the world to source Australian cyber security providers, launch participant Snare Solutions said, noting that more easily finding domestic security specialists is becoming critically important as sovereign capabilities play a decisive role in cyber security purchase decisions and the building of secure supply chains. The public launch of the portal marks the end of months of work for AustCyber, which recently merged with incubator Stone & Chalk and last month partnered with cyber consultancy CyberCX to launch a portal for job seekers. It also provides a focal point for the engagement of the cyber insurance industry, with IAG believing that cyber is one of the most prevalent threats that our businesses face today and needs to be proactively addressed, said IAG information and analytics director Krishna Nageshwaran when the AUCyberscape project was announced late last year. Were really keen to make this project a success because we believe that increases awareness and, most importantly, business resilience across our client base. Charting skills-development success Although much of its early content relates to existing providers, AUCyberscapes engagement with students and employers will also provide ongoing visibility into the success or failure of efforts to further develop Australias cybersecurity skills base which, one academic has warned, are falling well behind the curve. Governments intent on achieving massive reform and ambitious plans in cybersecurity, and in digital transformation, must invest radically in educational transformation, UNSW professor Greg Austin, a senior fellow and leader of the Cyber, Space, and Future Conflict Program with the international Institute for Strategic Studies, told a recent Kaspersky forum of senior APAC cybersecurity policymakers. While Australia had decided to invest $26m in skills development in its 2020 Cyber Security Strategy up from $4m in 2016 Austin said that for a country like Australia, the spend on education for cybersecurity shouldnt be $26m over 10 years its got to be $100m or $200m over five or 10 years. Thats the dimension of the problem were dealing with. Yet underspending in education wasnt the only problem plaguing Australias cybersecurity sector, Austin said, noting that in many universities the Engineering faculty stops the reform and slows down the pace of change so not only do you have to invest large amounts of money, but youve got to shake up the institutions. And thats interesting as a test, really for each government to ask themselves have we invested enough? And even if were not able to invest more, have we shaken up the educational institutions, and stimulated their reform impulses enough? Private-sector training institutions would increasingly fill the gap, he predicted, with innovation in delivery methods to prove crucial. Surfacing these educational opportunities is a core mission for AUCyberscape, Price said, with students welcome and supported through their educational journeys right into their eventual jobs. Students will be able to pick up information, and to engage in lots of different ways, that the Australian economy hasnt been able to facilitate before, she said. The information thats available now is quite siloed and this brings it all together and puts a huge amount of rocket fuel into it. Australian PM Praises Strength of Quad Alliance With US, Japan, India Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as Quad, for its strength and purpose after he attended the dialogues first-ever leader level meeting. The meeting, which was held virtually on March 12, resulted in the four countries pledging to establish three working groups (pdf) on climate change, COVID-19 response in the Indo-Pacific, and critical and emerging technologies. News Corps The Australian reported that Morrison praised the strength of the Quad during a party room meeting in Parliament House on March 16, saying it was now a seriously big deal. There are things that happen in the life of a government that transcend the generations, Morrison said. This is, I would argue, the most significant thing to have occurred to protect Australias security and sovereignty since ANZUS. ANZUS is a security treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Morrison also reportedly said the Quad would help show countries in the region that liberal democracy is a way to get things done that preserves the freedom of our citizens. This is a sentiment that Morrison shared with U.S. President Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Suga, and Indian Prime Minister Modi at the virtual summit. As four leaders of great liberal democracies in the Indo-Pacific, let our partnership be the enabler of peace, stability and prosperity and to do so inclusively with the many nations of our region, Morrison said. He also noted that it was the Indo-Pacific that will shape the destiny of the world in the 21st Century. We join together as Quad leaders of nations to welcome what I think will be will be a new dawn in the Indo-Pacific through our gathering, he said. History teaches us that when nations engage together in a partnership of strategic trust, of common hope and shared values, much can be achieved. Comprising of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, the Quad was developed out of the joint response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004 and was formally initiated in 2007 by Japan to address security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. However, not everyone is happy with the strengthening of Quads place in the region. On March 15, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijuan warned against countries forming exclusive cliques that target a third partylike China. He also claimed the actions of the Quad ran counter to peace, development and cooperation, saying they will not be welcomed or succeed in the region. But the Quad said in its statement that it seeks to uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience, based on universal values. Victoria Kelly-Clark contributed to this article. [March 18, 2021] CreditShop is now Mercury Financial CreditShop Holdings LLC (CreditShop) announced the Company has officially changed its name to Mercury Financial Holdings LLC (Mercury Financial). The largest non-bank credit card company in the U.S. re-brands following the record growth of its flagship offering, the Mercury Mastercard, and the introduction of its purpose-driven mission to its near-prime customers. The Company's new purpose-driven mission is "To help our customers manage their credit responsibly, so they can enjoy the benefits of having better credit and better lives." We responsibly say yes to as many people as possible. Our products, rates and services are simple and intuitive. We use the power of data and the insights it provides to give customers the information and tools to help them make better credit decisions. "I am inspired by our purpose of helping improve the lives of so many hard-working Americans, who deserve better credit. As Mercury Financial, we will continue to develop new ways to offer fair access to more credit card solutions to this large, historically underserved population," explains James Peterson, CEO of Mercury Financial. "This transition marks the next step in the evolution of our business." The Company also recently secured $100 million in incremental capital to support accelerated acquisition of new card accounts and expansion of the platform. The Company's shareholders recognize the enhanced market opportunity as the utility of a credit card has fundamentally shifted since the last recession. Credit cards now represent the dominant form of payment in the U.S., and their importance is evident in recent consumer behavior as the digital economy accelerates. Since its launch in 2013, Mercury Financial has developed a differentiated and proprietary understanding of the goals and ambitions of the near-prime customer. Advanced analytics, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, has been embedded in the Company's underwriting and collections capabilities, improving both approvals and credit performance. As a result, the Company as recently acquired over two hundred thousand new customers in the Mercury card portfolio which has processed over $3 billion of purchase volume. In the next phase of its expansion, the Company is also partnering with existing co-branded card programs and issuers to extend their reach to the underserved near-prime population. This complementary-lender model is the first of its kind in the industry and provides the near-prime customer greater access to loyalty programs in the partner segment, while increasing sales and engagement for our co-brand partners. In fulfillment of this strategy, the Company launched its first co-branded card partnership in February with Spirit Airlines, the leader in customizable air travel serving the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Aneek Mamik, Global Co-Head of Financial Services at Varde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm, and the largest Mercury Financial shareholder, stated: "We are excited by the growth trajectory and technological innovation at Mercury Financial. The additional capital will enable Mercury Financial to build further scale and seek to become the leading credit card provider for hardworking Americans from all walks of life." To learn more about Mercury Financial, please visit www.MercuryFinancial.com. About Mercury Financial Mercury Financial (the "Company") is the largest non-bank credit card company in the United States, and is led by CEO James Peterson, and a seasoned management team with decades of experience at major banks. Mercury Financial's purpose driven mission is to help our customers manage their credit responsibly, so they can enjoy the benefits of having better credit and better lives. Mercury Financial provides fair and transparent credit card offerings that target consumers through direct mail, digital affiliates, email origination channels and co-branded partnerships. To date, the Company has extended $2.5 billion in credit lines and helped nearly a million customers with a credit card that earns rewards, carries no monthly fee for issuance or availability, and has an affordable APR. Mercury Financial has created a data and tech-centric credit card origination and servicing platform uniquely positioned to identify and attract the near-prime consumer segment to fast-track new account growth. The Company has recently originated well over two hundred thousand new accounts utilizing this sophisticated servicing platform. With offices in Wilmington, Delaware and Austin, Texas, the Mercury Financial team is committed to offering simple and easy to understand credit cards with the tools and flexibility that provide premium value to its customers. Varde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm with deep experience in consumer finance, is the largest investor in Mercury Financial. Varde Partners manages over $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The Mercury Mastercard and the Free Spirit Points Mastercard are issued by First Bank & Trust, Brookings, SD pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Free Spirit is a registered mark of Spirit Airlines, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005088/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WTVA) - Investigators are seeking information about a hit-and-run incident that recently happened in New Albany. New Albany Police Chief Chris Robertson said the incident happened on Friday, March 12 at approximately 10:30 a.m. near the Union County Courthouse. He said it appears a vehicle struck a man who was making a delivery to the courthouse. A police officer found the man, who had been seriously injured, lying in the middle of Camp Avenue. The victim received treatment at a hospital. Robertson is asking anyone who has information about the incident to call the New Albany Police Department at 662-534-2222 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi at 1-800-773-8477. By Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it would sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia after the Southeast Asian nation extradited a North Korean man to the United States to face money-laundering charges this week. Malaysia denounced North Korea's move as unwarranted and disruptive to regional peace, adding that the extradition had been carried out according to law. North Korea did not name its citizen in a statement carried by state media KCNA, but Malaysia said Mun Chol Myong, who was arrested in 2019, was extradited on Wednesday after he had already exhausted several legal appeals. "Malaysia denounces (North Korea's) decision as unfriendly and unconstructive, disrespecting the spirit of mutual respect and good neighbourly relations among members of the international community," its foreign ministry said in a statement. It said Malaysia would close its embassy in Pyongyang in response and order all diplomatic staff at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur to leave the country within 48 hours. North Korea's foreign affairs ministry also warned Washington would "pay a price" in the statement, according to KCNA. Mun's arrest in 2019 came after the United States accused him of laundering funds through front companies and issuing fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to North Korea. He had denied the allegations, saying they were politically motivated. The North Korean foreign ministry had called the extradition a "nefarious act and unpardonably heavy crime" by Malaysian authorities, who had "offered our citizen as a sacrifice of the U.S. hostile move in defiance of the acknowledged international laws." Kuala Lumpur's once-close ties with North Korea were severely downgraded after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged brother, Kim Jong Nam, was killed at a Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017 when two women smeared his face with VX nerve agent, which the United Nations lists as a weapon of mass destruction. Story continues Malaysia suspended operation of its embassy in 2017 after it secured the safe return of nine citizens held in Pyongyang in exchange for the release of Kim Jong Nam's body. Despite a promise by Malaysia's then-premier Mahathir Mohamad during an apparent thaw in diplomatic relations in 2018, the embassy never resumed operations. North Korea had used Malaysia as a hub for its arms export operation, and to set up business entities for funneling money to North Korea's leadership. "We warn in advance that the U.S. - the backstage manipulator and main culprit of this incident - that it will also be made to pay a due price," KCNA reported. On Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the administration of President Joe Biden would complete a review of its North Korea policy in the next few weeks in close consultation with allies. (Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Joseph Sipalan and Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Richard Pullin, Gerry Doyle and Ana Nicolaci da Costa) The number of immigrant children detained by the Biden administration continues to grow as two officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday plans to hold thousands of teenage boys at a convention center in downtown Dallas. A DHS document obtained by NPR revealed that 4,276 unaccompanied migrant children were being held by the government. The average stay in a camp was 117 hours, far longer than the maximum 72 hours allowed under the law. Migrant children at a detention camp in Homestead, Florida, Feb. 19, 2019 (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File) Another temporary camp in Midland, Texas, originally for oilfield workers, will be opened to jail migrants. Even a former NASA site, Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, California, is being considered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as another immigrant detention center. The opening of these new facilities occurs as an influx of refugees and immigrants, many of them unaccompanied children fleeing poverty and violence in Central America, arrive at the US-Mexico border. An estimated 9,400 unaccompanied minors arrived along the border in February, three times the number from last year. Despite being elected in no small part due to the universal revulsion with the Trump administrations inhumane and xenophobic immigration policies, President Joe Biden is continuing and in fact, expanding the war on immigrants and refugees. The Biden administration is now pushing all adult immigrants, including those with children, back to Mexico on the grounds that they pose a health risk due to the coronavirus. Using the Title 42 provision, immigrants are being denied the right to asylum and the right to a hearing before their deportation. Some 70 percent of the 100,000 immigrants arrested at the border in February were sent back across the border this way. Thousands, including families and unaccompanied children, now languish in squalid camps in Mexico at risk of COVID-19 and other diseases as well as predatory gangs. Children who are lucky enough to been penned into an American immigrant camp are now telling court-appointed lawyers that they have not been outside for days and are confined in overcrowded tents. One such camp in Donna, Texas, was only meant to temporarily house 250 people, but now has 1,000 children and teenagers, some as young as one year old. According to lawyers who were allowed to interview just 20 children protected by court settlements, the Border Patrol is holding 40 children to a room in white tents cordoned off by clear, plastic sheets. The 1997 Flores settlement mandates that such inspections be allowed to take place. The children told lawyers how there were not enough mats to sleep on, forcing some to sleep on the ground or a metal bench. Some were forced to stay in their crowded room for the entirety of their stay. The lawyers were not allowed by the Justice Department to go directly to the facility but instead were brought to a portable unit with the 20 children inside. One of the lawyers, Leecia Welch, told the New York Times, One child told me that she hadnt showered in six days, others said two and others three. She also had been given a list of more than 1,000 children with a staggering number under the age of 10. Most of the children according to her had been held for five to seven days, a violation of the Flores settlement. Most of the children are being held in COVID-19 quarantine for 10 days in camps around the country, creating overcrowding at facilities like in Donna. In response, the Biden administration opened a new camp in Carrizo Springs, Texas for up to 700 immigrants. Another possible camp is now reportedly being constructed in Homestead, Florida at a site which used to detain over 1,700 immigrant children. Responding to right-wing criticism that the White Houses open-border policies have created the inhumane conditions in the detention camps, President Biden told ABC News George Stephanopoulos in an interview Tuesday that his administration would continue all of the previous hated policies of Trump. Biden told would-be migrants, Dont come over. Dont leave your town or city or community. He even boasted to Stephanopoulos that were sending back people who cross the border, adding, The idea that Joe Biden said, Comebecause I heard the other day that theyre coming because they know Im a nice guy. Heres the deal, theyre not. Bidens Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, told a House panel on Wednesday that the situation along the border was not as bad as Republican critics hypocritically made it out to be. While things have been undoubtedly difficult, the surge along the border was not the fault of the current administration. Mayorkas dismissed the influx of migrants, the highest seen in the last 20 years, as episodic. He also said that migrants were being tested for coronavirus during their detention, increasing their wait time. The new facilities are being sold by the Biden administration and its political supporters as a temporary means by which to decrease the time spent by immigrant youth in the camps. The fact that these children are being held longer and longer in worsening conditions and families are being sent back to Mexico in record numbers to face their possible deaths is, of course, never mentioned. All those who promoted the idea that a Biden White House would welcome immigrants and refugees with open arms and wind back the hated policies of Trump now bear political and moral responsibility for the death and suffering along the US-Mexico border. THE Syrian civil war is 10 years old this week, and its time to stop it. At least half a million Syrians are dead, a quarter of the pre-war population are refugees abroad, and another quarter are refugees inside Syria. Thirty per cent of the countrys housing stock is destroyed or badly damaged and we have known who won the war for at least four years now. Opinion THE Syrian civil war is 10 years old this week, and its time to stop it. At least half a million Syrians are dead, a quarter of the pre-war population are refugees abroad, and another quarter are refugees inside Syria. Thirty per cent of the countrys housing stock is destroyed or badly damaged and we have known who won the war for at least four years now. More fighting cannot change anything. All the big cities are back under the regimes control, as is at least 80 per cent of the territory and of the population thats still within the borders. The Russian military intervention in 2015 turned the tide, the remaining rebels are all crammed into one province, Idlib, and local ceasefires have silenced the guns in most places. Yet there is no peace, because neither the rebels in Idlib nor their foreign backers are willing to recognize the victory of long-ruling dictator Bashar al-Assad and his Baath Party. You can see why, because this is a regime that pitilessly tortures and murders those who defy it, and in a world where divine justice prevailed it would surely have been destroyed. Unfortunately, this is not that world. Assad came down with coronavirus last week, but hes very unlikely to die from it (hes only 55), and its hard to think of anything else that might change the outcome. Indeed, even Assads death might not do the trick. Its a whole regime with deep roots, not just one man, and it has survived lost wars, attempted coups and rebellions for almost 60 years. Moreover, the only plausible successor to the ruling Baath Party at this point is the murderous Islamist fanatics of the al-Qaeda affiliates who control Idlib. The real reason Assad has won the war is that enough people in Syria believe the Islamist jihadis would kill them if they came to power. All the religious minorities, Shia Muslim, Christian and Druze, believe that, plus anybody secular and anybody who works for the government, including teachers. They think of the jihadis as an Islamic version of the Khmer Rouge, and theyre not far wrong. The jihadis didnt dominate the original uprising in 2011, but Assad is not stupid. He immediately freed around 6,000 Islamists from his jails, in the hope that they were ruthless enough to win control of the opposition and frighten people into backing him instead. It worked. Foreign countries, some ignorant, some naive and some "soft" Islamist themselves (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), poured in guns and money, and the Syrian Islamists did take over the revolt. That drove a lot of Syrians to Assads side and then Russia sent its air force in to save him in 2015. By 2017, the war was effectively settled but it did not stop. It slowed down almost to a stop after Assad had regained control of everything except Idlib province (occupied by Turkey) and the sparsely populated east of the country (partly held by Kurdish and American troops). But the anti-Assad foreigners wont acknowledge his victory. The United States actually strengthened its already savage sanctions against Syria last year, so Assads key supporters are still scraping by but everybody else is on the brink of starvation. The Syrian pound is worth less than a fifth of its value a year ago, and 80 per cent of the population is below the poverty line. The U.S. sanctions can go on forever at no cost to the United States, while American politicians feel virtuous and Syrians suffer, but there is a way to end this. It has to start with accepting that Assad will stay in power, because thats the only way that other countries get any leverage. What price would Assad pay for an end to sanctions and renewed international recognition as Syrias leader? Quite a lot, because it would enable him to start rebuilding the country, however slowly, and free him from the isolation he has endured for the past decade. He could be told that the price includes an amnesty for all Syrians, including those who fought against him, except for those who actually committed war crimes. Many of the refugees wouldnt go home anyway because they dont trust him, but international supervision and guarantees for those who take up the offer could probably be negotiated. Turkey would try to block the deal, but Russia would go along with it and put pressure on the Turks. Syria would still be a police state, but most people would be back in their homes (some measures required to ensure that those who fled recover their property), and all the children would be back in school (most havent been, for the past five years). It would be something like the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, in other words, except with more international involvement and less vengeance against the losers. No promises, but its certainly worth a try. Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). Today more than ever, networks play an increasingly prominent role in our daily lives. Whilst we are already more connected than we ever have been, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated our reliance on networks as remote working and increased digital engagements become the norm. To survive and thrive, businesses must ensure they are laser-focused on consistently delivering excellent customer experiences. This concept is called Experience-First Networking, which requires a high level of network automation to ensure large-scale networks are run safely and efficiently. According to ReportLinker, the global network automation market is expected to reach $27.85 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 19.8% during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate over this period, which is in part thanks to the increasing investment in 5G technology and artificial intelligence (AI). While AI and machine learning have garnered a large amount of hype over the past five years, the role they can play in surfacing the right information at the right time and provide problem solving capabilities makes them more than just a fleeting buzzword when it comes to networks. Network infrastructures bolstered by AI and automation enable IT teams to easily monitor and continually evaluate network performance, bringing substantial improvements in root cause analysis while simplifying operations and ensuring network uptime. Simply put, a few seconds of network downtime can have a significant impact on revenue, productivity and end-user experience. The boundless potential and benefits of network automation can also be extended to smart city initiatives where the network plays a foundational role in the success of these projects. Smart Cities Need Connectivity to Thrive While there is a fair amount of debate around the reality-versus-hype of smart cities, IDC has predicted that the Asia Pacific region will account for a third of global spending on smart cities through the 2019-2023 forecast period, reaching $84.5 billion by 2023. In Australia, the government has invested $50 million into the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program that supports the delivery of innovative smart city projects across Australia. Companies which sit at the intersection of networks and security will play a key role in determining the future of smart cities. There needs to be a new paradigm which is centred around leveraging data that comes from the network and using automation and machine learning to stay ahead of hackers and potential breaches. Smart cities require many applications working together and talking to each other at the same time, making it vital to have a strong network infrastructure centred around a secure, scalable, and automated multi-cloud environment. The City of Portsmouth in the United States is one such example where they have built a state-of-the-art 400 Gbps municipal network. The network has set a foundation for economic development to attract businesses to the city, as well as to support the network needs of city government, schools, and hospitals. Despite being a small town, Portsmouth is using leading-edge networking infrastructure, giving the city the capabilities of next-decade technology now. AI and Greater User Experience While realising the true potential of smart cities has yet to become a reality, network automation and AI today are making tangible differences to businesses and the experience they deliver. A report by IDC highlights that spending on AI systems in Asia Pacific will increase to $21.4 billion by 2023 with significant investments seen in automated customer service agents and smart networking. One example are virtual network assistants powered by AI that can fundamentally transform network operations from reactive troubleshooting to proactive remediation through self-driving actions. This will help eliminate the manual troubleshooting checkpoints initiated by support teams, thus minimising support tickets and reducing mean time to resolution. AI-driven networks and cloud architecture can help businesses reduce costs while maximising IT productivity and delivering the best networking experience to end users. With 5G on the horizon, enterprises, service providers and governments alike need to understand the impact AI and automation will have on the future of networking. Growth of 5G The 5G ecosystem is increasingly developing and will soon be critical in delivering a wide variety of next-generation services to consumers, enterprises, and governments. This will range from cloud gaming to augmented, virtual and mixed reality applications to industrial automation, connected vehicles, and more. In order to get 5G infrastructure right, automation must play a critical role. A truly efficient 5G network requires flexibility and optimised performance. AI can reduce the operational costs and complexity of 5G networks by automating complex network functionalities, and effectively utilise data with which to make and solve decisions. With the global network automation industry set to reach $27.85 billion by 2024, its future is bright and for good reason. It has the potential to revolutionise the way we live, how we experience our favourite cities, the user experience and network connectivity we receive and even the potential quality and ubiquity of 5G technology. Embracing the concept of Experience-first Networking and ensuring you are laser focused on customer experience is no longer a nice to have; it is a must particularly in the hyperconnected, dispersed and digitally focused world we live in. Automation plays a critical part in that, and by taking the guesswork out of network operations, removing human error and improving decision making, businesses can consistently deliver excellent customer experiences. A Made-in-India Covid-19 vaccine and a Made-in-India report on democracies around the world are among the options Prime Minister Narendra Modis government is mulling over to counter criticism it received from international organisations as well as foreign governments and non-government entities over the past few years. New Delhi is planning to highlight its initiative to deliver Covid-19 vaccine doses to over 70 countries around the world to counter the criticism the Modi government received from foreign entities for allegedly pursuing a Hindu Nationalist agenda. The government is also considering a proposal to engage a research institute based in the country to come out with an annual report after evaluating the quality of democracy around the world and assessing human rights, civil liberties and freedom of press in other nations ostensibly to turn the table on its foreign critics. Also Read | Rights bodies downgrading India to 'partly-free' are 'hypocrites', says S Jaishankar We have never seen a contradiction between the internationalism and the nationalism that was the driver of our independence movement and the subsequent efforts at our nation building, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Indeed, this experience has even further reinforced our internationalism, by creating a strong solidarity with other nations who have similarly struggled for their freedom, he added, making a statement on the Modi governments endeavour to deliver the Covid-19 vaccines around the world. Also Read | US index downgrades India from 'free' to 'partly free' He highlighted how the Government of India supported other nations in its neighbourhood and beyond to deal with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, be it by supplying Hydroxychloroquine or HCQ tablets, Personal Protective Equipment and masks or by conducting online courses for healthcare professionals of foreign countries on management of the pandemic. To date, we have supplied Made in India vaccines to 72 nations across geographies, said the External Affairs Minister. Also Read | India's democratic decline: World is able to see it A source in New Delhi said that the government had planned to highlight its Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative and drive home the point that while the other nations resorted to vaccine nationalism, it was the Indian government which took an internationalist approach and supplied vaccines around the world. It would be one of the main themes of the campaign New Delhi was planning to run to counter the criticism from foreign entities. Also Read | You cannot silence the whole world The government is also studying a proposal mooted by A Surya Prakash, a former chairman of Prasar Bharti, to engage a think-tank to publish an annual report to hold the mirror to whom the External Affairs Minister recently described as a set of self-appointed custodians of the world. The V-Dem (or Varieties of Democracy) Institute, an independent research organization based at University of Gothenburg in Sweden of late branded India as an electoral autocracy in its latest Democracy Report 2021. The Freedom House of the United States downgraded it from a Free Country to a Partly Free Country. Also Read | India downgraded to 'electoral autocracy', says Swedish institute The Modi government over the past couple of years also drew flak from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as other international human rights organisations over the detention of political leaders and others, restrictions and shutdowns imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after its August 5, 2019 move to strip the state of its special status and to reorganise it into two Union Territories. It also drew flak from United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the American Congress as well as the US State Department and several US lawmakers over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. The Modi Government was also criticised recently for the way it responded to the agitation by the farmers against the new agricultural laws. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Claroty , the industrial cybersecurity company, today introduced its Claroty FOCUS Partner Program. The three-tier program is designed to align to and support all partners' differentiated business models and expand the ecosystem's ability to become trusted advisors on industrial cybersecurity. The Claroty FOCUS Partner Program launch is the latest in a series of milestones the company achieved in the last few months. At the end of 2020, the company reported record growth as well as doubling its customer base, with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of over 60, indicating high customer satisfaction. Claroty also closed the year with 30% headcount growth, with plans to hire more than 100 new employees in 2021. Specific to the FOCUS program, Claroty expanded its partner coverage by 50% with the addition of Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, CrowdStrike, Atos, Yokogawa, and others to its roster, and also tripled the size of its channel team, making several hires worldwide to support this expansion and customer demand. "The industrial economy requires a strong ecosystem of partners that secure, detect, and manage assets in critical infrastructure environments, and we built the Claroty FOCUS Program to support these partners," said Keith Carter, VP of worldwide channels and alliances at Claroty. "Our partners are a critical part of the Claroty fabric protecting our mutual customers' attacks on their industrial environments. The program empowers our partners to deliver effective, high-value solutions and services that address customers' industrial cybersecurity needs." The Claroty FOCUS Program includes: Upgraded Partner Portal for streamlined, unlimited access to technical and business tools, training (via the Learning Management System), deal registration, collateral and guides, market development funds (MDF), and other key resources for streamlined, unlimited access to technical and business tools, training (via the Learning Management System), deal registration, collateral and guides, market development funds (MDF), and other key resources New Partner Levels include Authorized, Visionary, and Elite, with certifications for Visionary and Elite, to help these members develop strong industrial cybersecurity pre- and post-sales teams, increase profitability and improve customer lifetime value include Authorized, Visionary, and Elite, with certifications for Visionary and Elite, to help these members develop strong industrial cybersecurity pre- and post-sales teams, increase profitability and improve customer lifetime value Partner Tracks that deliver tailored programs for specific partner focus areas, including: that deliver tailored programs for specific partner focus areas, including: IACS/ICS Vendors: Control System Manufacturers, SCADA, and DCS Providers, Engineering and Design Services Control System Manufacturers, SCADA, and DCS Providers, Engineering and Design Services Managed Security Solutions Providers (MSSPs): Operational Technology ( OT) Security Monitoring and Response, Forensic and Incident Response, Threat Intelligence and Hunting, Data Analytics and Reporting, Telemetry Services Operational Technology OT) Security Monitoring and Response, Forensic and Incident Response, Threat Intelligence and Hunting, Data Analytics and Reporting, Telemetry Services Consultants: Global and Regional Consultants, Security Assessments, Advisory, Consultancy, Managed Services Global and Regional Consultants, Security Assessments, Advisory, Consultancy, Managed Services OT Security Integrators: System Integrators, ICS Engineering Firms, Value-Added Resellers System Integrators, ICS Engineering Firms, Value-Added Resellers Specializations for OEM, Building Management Systems (BMS), Claroty Authorized Support Center, and MSSP partners "Securing OT environments is a unique challenge that requires tools and skill sets that are tailored to the network activity and risks specific to them," said Rachael Conrad, vice president and general manager, Global Services Business at Rockwell Automation. "The combination of Rockwell's OT knowledge, global reach and managed support offerings with Claroty's OT visibility and threat detection software makes that possible. One example is how we helped a major life sciences company quickly discover and profile all of its OT assets, as well as detect anomalies and known threats in real-time. As OT environments are being targeted more and more by threat actors, Claroty's partner program will help us work even better together to innovatively develop more ways to help support customers reduce their risk and minimize disruption." Along with the launch of the Claroty FOCUS Program, today the company also announced its inaugural Partner of the Year Awards, which recognize the top-performing partners who are having the greatest impact on the growing adoption of The Claroty Platform worldwide. The 2020 winners by region are: Global: Rockwell Automation North America : Velta Technologies : Latin America : NTT Ltd. : EMEA: Kudelski Security APJ: Deloitte Australia The Claroty Platform reveals 100% of OT, Internet of Things (IoT), and industrial IoT (IIoT) assets on enterprise networks and protects them from vulnerabilities, emerging threats, malicious insiders, and unintentional errors. Its resilient threat detection model continually monitors the network for both known and unknown threats, automatically weeds out false positives, and gives clear direction on how to take action. This is all enriched by Claroty's extensive ecosystem of third-party technical integrations, as well as the latest threat signatures and remediation guidance from the renowned Claroty Research Team. Learn more about the Claroty FOCUS Program here . About Claroty Claroty is the industrial cybersecurity company. Trusted by the world's largest enterprises, Claroty helps customers reveal, protect, and manage their OT, IoT, and IIoT assets. The company's comprehensive platform connects seamlessly with customers' existing infrastructure and programs while providing a full range of industrial cybersecurity controls for visibility, threat detection, risk and vulnerability management, and secure remote accessall with a significantly reduced total cost of ownership. Claroty is backed and adopted by leading industrial automation vendors, with an expansive partner ecosystem and award-winning research team. The company is headquartered in New York City and has a presence in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, and deployments on all seven continents. To learn more, visit www.claroty.com . SOURCE Claroty Related Links https://www.claroty.com/ CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based Revolution Global, a leading multi-state cannabis operator, announced today that Dustin "Dusty" Shroyer has been promoted to lead the company as President in addition to his current role as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Shroyer, a 15-year veteran of the legal cannabis industry and prominent expert in cannabis cultivation and product development, has been instrumental in the growth and success of Revolution. Revolution currently operates seven dispensaries in four states with plans for further expansion. In his prior role as the company's Chief Cultivation Officer and COO, Shroyer helped to bring to fruition Revolution's crown jewel, its state-of-the-art cultivation facility in Delavan, Illinois. The facility is known for research and development techniques that drive the company's product quality and innovation. Shroyer also led the creation of Revolution's unified dispensary brand Enlightened, which has the mission of creating a comforting and inclusive environment for all cannabis users. For the past six months, Shroyer has co-led Revolution alongside Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Tripp Murray, who will continue in his current role. As President and COO of Revolution, Dusty will continue to pursue science-driven product innovation in order to help more consumers benefit from legal cannabis. "Dusty Shroyer is one of the most knowledgeable and innovative minds in cannabis and has proven himself as an inspiring leader at a critical time for the company. With a 15-year career building both small and big cannabis businesses, Dusty has a rare set of capabilities to lead our multi-state company. He has hands-on operating experience in cultivation and retail combined with a mastery of science-driven product development. We are excited and fortunate to have him lead the next phase of growth of our company," said Tony Hunter, Chairman of the Revolution Board of Directors. "Revolution is developing one of the most sophisticated operating platforms in the industry to produce craft-quality cannabis at scale and this is only the start," Shroyer said. "From cultivating award-winning cannabis strains to manufacturing faster-acting, easy-to-dose edibles and more, we are advancing our mission to make the benefits of cannabis accessible to more people every day. I am inspired by the creativity and passion of our team, and it's a great honor to have the opportunity to lead it." Hunter noted a number of company accomplishments over the last year and gave credit to Shroyer's and Tripp's contributions and extraordinary efforts in the last six months at the helm of Revolution, including: Four consecutive profitable quarters; A dominant showing at High Times' Cannabis Cup Illinois 2020, where it won six out of seven first-place awards; Cannabis Cup Illinois 2020, where it won six out of seven first-place awards; The unveiling of its national dispensary brand, Enlightened; Openings of a dispensary in Maryland and four in Arkansas ; and and four in ; and Laying the groundwork for the opening of a flagship Enlightened dispensary in Schaumburg, Illinois . A native Texan, Shroyer joined Revolution seven years ago in 2014 after successful tenures building, leading or working in other legal cannabis businesses. In 2006, Shroyer founded Digital Sun Harvesters in Colorado, one of the first legal wholesale cannabis businesses in that state, which he operated until it was eventually acquired. An avid natural health enthusiast seeking to evolve traditional Western approaches to body and mind, Shroyer founded Root Yoga Center in 2009, with the studio named Denver's best in 2012 by local magazine 5280. In addition to the yoga center, Shroyer founded and operated an organic medical cannabis center with a spa and a nutrition and physical therapy-focused healing center under the same name, operating all three Root centers until 2014. Additionally, Shroyer served clients in highly restrictive and competitive markets as a consultant with American Cannabis Consulting, advising on cultivation, extraction, refining, cannabis testing, and security. Ultimately, Shroyer said his experiences in the industry developed a belief that states with highly regulated markets would grow companies that could best serve consumers, leading Shroyer to Illinois and, eventually, Revolution. About Revolution Global Based in Illinois, Revolution Global is an industry-leading, multi-state cannabis operator that is revolutionizing the way legal cannabis is scientifically designed, grown, sold, packaged, and consumed. Focusing on health and wellness solutions, Revolution uses a best-in-class cultivation process, informed by genetic research, to produce superior cannabis medicine and a wide variety of cannabis-driven consumer packaged goods, from infused products and beverages to topicals. In addition to Illinois, Revolution also operates in Florida, Arkansas and Maryland. For more, visit www.revcanna.com. Contact: Lincoln Zweig [email protected] (202) 906-0292 SOURCE Revolution Global Related Links http://www.revcanna.com Hyderabad, March 18 : The Telangana government has allocated Rs 610 crore for the construction of the new Secretariat complex. Finance Minister T. Harish Rao announced this while presenting the Budget for 2021-22 in the Assembly on Thursday. Hours later, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao visited the upcoming Secretariat complex. He said that the construction of the new Secretariat should bring in glory to the country and it should have a wonderful ornamental form with all its grandeur. KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said that the new Secretariat should be constructed in such way that it should stand the test of time for decades to come. He also examined the red sand stone, beige sand stone, natural beige sand stone, natural Gwalior stone models brought in from Rajasthan. He visited the southwest side by foot and examined the constructions works, quality of the pillars and beams. The CM made several suggestions to R&B Minister Sri VemulaPrashanth Reddy, and representatives of the work agencies. Later, the CM reviewed the Secretariat building complex issue at Pragathi Bhavan. "The Telangana state which we have achieved, is making rapid strides in development and welfare activities and has become role model for others in the country. Against this backdrop, we have to construct the state Secretariat to reflect our self-respect and it should also become a role model for other states. The atmosphere in the Secretariat should provide comfort both for the employees and the visitors," he said. KCR directed officials to create wide inner roads, sprawling lawns with flower plants, and construct Dholpur stone laden fountains like those near the Parliament and the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. "The Telangana Secretariat should have all the necessary beautification and comforts," the CM added. Meanwhile, the Finance Minister also announced that construction of Police Command Control Centre in Hyderabad city will be completed shortly. For this purpose, an amount of Rs 725 crore is proposed in the Budget. EU also voted on Wednesday to blacklist Chinese authorities for human rights violations, the first such penalties against Beijing since an EU weapons embargo in 1989 in response to the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The United States has sanctioned twenty-four Chinese and Hong Kong officials in conjunction with Beijings continuing crackdown on the city. This news comes ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinkens meeting with top Chinese leaders, which is set to take place in Alaska. On the other hand, the European Union also voted on Wednesday to blacklist Chinese authorities for human rights violations, the first such penalties against Beijing since an EU weapons embargo in 1989 in response to the Tiananmen Square crackdown. As part of a new and wider rights sanctions list, EU ambassadors authorised travel bans and asset freezes on four Chinese persons and one organization, whose names will not be publicly disclosed until formal approval by EU foreign ministers on March 22. Read More: PM Modi to visit Bangladesh next week, first foreign trip since Covid-19 outbreak The US sanctions were enforced under the Hong Kong autonomy act which was passed by the United States last year. Foreign financial institutions that intentionally execute substantial transactions with the persons mentioned in todays study are now subject to sanctions, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Wang Chen, one of the 24, is a member of the Politburo, Chinas highest law-making body with 250 members. Another individual, Tam Yiu-chung, is the only Hong Konger on the committee that drafted the national security bill, according to ANI. Several of these individuals had historically been banned from entering the United States under the Trump administration, but not explicitly under the HKAA. China has unilaterally weakened Hong Kongs electoral structure, according to Blinken. This action undercuts the high level of autonomy offered to Hong Kong residents and forbids Hong Kongers a say in their own governance, Blinken said. The announcement comes as US and Chinese officials prepare to meet in Alaska, with relations between the two countries at an all-time low because of the pandemic and trade wars under former President Donald Trump. Beijing has yet to respond to the latest sanctions, but analysts are already speculating that Washingtons provocative action ahead of the meeting could lead to its cancellation, according to CNN. PITTSBURGH, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "I hate driving at certain times and being blinded by the sun's glare," said an inventor, from Sacramento, Calif. "I thought there should be a way to reduce glare and keep the interior of the car cool, so I invented the MODERN WINDSHIELD. My design provides a glare-free view for drivers." The invention provides an improved way to filter out bright sunlight glare while driving. In doing so, it offers an alternative to using the sun visor or other accessories. It also helps to protect the vehicle's interior and it enhances comfort and safety. The invention features an effective design that is easy to use so it is ideal for vehicle owners and manufacturers. Additionally, it is producible in design variations. The original design was submitted to the Sacramento sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 19-SOG-522, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com. SOURCE InventHelp Related Links http://www.inventhelp.com 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. WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nightingale Partners LLC ("NP"), the first healthcare qualified opportunity zone fund and advisory firm, today announced a strategic partnership and investment into Sonavi Labs ("SL"), an AI software and auscultation medical devices platform committed to transforming the way respiratory diseases and infections are detected and managed. SL is dedicated to creating technology that is affordable, user-friendly, and accessible for all levels of education and socio-economic status. "Nightingale could not be more impressed with the company and its trajectory," said SVP, Investment Strategy Jordan Buxton-Punch, who led the NP deal team. "Ellington West has been recognized by numerous institutions and industry leaders as a dynamic young executive. While SL boasts an innovative product with powerful AI technology adaptive to multiple current and future use cases, NP is most excited about the opportunity to support a black woman Chief Executive who is aiming to improve health outcomes in underserved communities across the globe." SL creates medical devices and software to provide clinicians of all skill levels with immediate diagnostic support. The company deploys Feelixan advanced, objective analytics software platforminto hardware to help physicians deliver the best care possible to the most remote or disenfranchised communities. Feelix modernizes health systems by improving the auscultation process with high quality data for health care providers and empowers communities to use that data in the most efficacious methodology possible. "I'm delighted to welcome Nightingale Partners to the Sonavi Labs family," said Ellington West, CEO of Sonavi Labs. "We're greatly honored by this team's commitment to supporting our work and helping us make a significant impact in healthcare. Their leadership team is more than impressive and I'm glad that we'll be able to call upon these giants for support and guidance." About Nightingale Partners LLC: Nightingale Partners is a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund and advisory firm connecting capital to payers and providers of care to the medically underserved, based in Washington, DC. John Gorman, long-time health care executive and entrepreneur, founded Nightingale with the mission to improve the quality of care and reduce unnecessary health care expenditures for the nation's most vulnerable patients. Nightingale deploys advanced technology, locally-curated social services providers, and innovative financing to address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). About Sonavi Labs Sonavi Labs is a global leader in the development of telehealth technology for respiratory monitoring and diagnostic support. Through the smart application of augmented auscultation, Sonavi Labs creates medical devices and software rooted in artificial intelligence and is driven by a commitment to save lives by making accessible, user-friendly assessment tools that can be used by clinicians of all skill levels as well as patients anywhere. FeelixPro and Feelix by Sonavi Labs are the world's first digital stethoscopes designed for clinicians and patients that deploy proprietary classification algorithms to detect and grade the severity of abnormalities in lung and body sounds. The Feelix platform delivers high-fidelity remote monitoring that is supported by integrated apps and a secured, HIPAA-compliant cloud system. Learn more at sonavilabs.com. Press Contact: Gabriel Hitchcock, CoS & VP of Communications Nightingale Partners LLC SOURCE Nightingale Partners LLC Related Links www.nightingalepartners.org Maputo A group of 39 Cuban health experts in intensive care, including doctors and nurses, will join Mozambican frontline workers, over the next few days, in providing health care to patients hospitalised in Covid-19 isolation centres. The group that landed on Tuesday in Maputo from Havana is the second, after the country received 14 Cuban specialists in January. who are already working shoulder to shoulder with Mozambican health staff. Speaking to reporters at the airport, the Permanent Secretary in the Mozambican Health Ministry, Zacarias Zindoga, said his Ministry has hired 60 Cuban medical staff specialised in intensive care and internal medicine, as the country faces a critical incapacity to halt the spread of the pandemic. "Besides medical care, the Cuban health experts will develop research activities over the main health problems, including assistance in the implementation of priority programmes, as well as promoting health education for the population," he said. The Cuban Ambassador to Mozambique, Pavel Hernandez, disclosed that Mozambique may receive a Covid-19 vaccine developed in Cuban laboratories. Cuban experts have developed five vaccines of which two are on the final stage of the third clinical trials. When the clinical trials are over, more than 300,000 people in several countries will be massively vaccinated. Hernandez added that vaccines under development worldwide remain the hope in the fight against the disease which has claimed over 2.6 million lives and infected more than 120 million others. LONDON (AP) Lawyers for Johnny Depp told Britain's Court of Appeal Thursday that the actor's ex-wife, Amber Heard, did not donate all of her $7 million divorce settlement to charity as she claimed, part of arguments seeking to overturn a ruling that the actor assaulted Heard during the couple's marriage. The Hollywood star is seeking permission to appeal a High Court ruling in November, when he lost his libel lawsuit against The Sun newspaper for labeling him a wife beater in an article. Depp lost the case thought to be one of the biggest English libel trials in recent history following a three-week trial in July. High Court Justice Andrew Nicol ruled that lawyers for Sun publisher News Group Newspapers proved during the trial that the allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were substantially true. The judge ruled that Depp, 57, assaulted Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times. On Thursday, Depps lawyers argued for an appeal, saying Depp did not receive a fair trial. Neither Depp nor Heard were present for the hearing. Lawyer Andrew Caldecott said in written submissions that Heard's claims she donated the entire amount of her $7-million divorce settlement to two charities were a calculated and manipulative lie." The claims gave Heard a considerable boost to her credibility as a person," and had tipped the scales against Mr. Depp from the very beginning," Caldecott argued. The couple divorced in 2016. Caldecott alleged that the one of Heard's supposed charitable beneficiaries, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, wrote to Depp's business adviser in 2019 to say Heard had not made any payments. Its a false plus to her and a false minus to him, he said Thursday. Caldecott also argued that Nicol, the High Court judge, unfairly rejected evidence unfavorable to Heard during last year's trial. He said the judge should have placed more importance on recordings in which Heard appeared to admit to assaulting Depp when she was heard saying I can't promise I won't get physical again." Story continues Her promise about future conduct suggests that this is not necessarily a one-off," the lawyer said. Lawyers for The Sun's publisher rejected the arguments, saying Heard did not lie about the donations because she was pledging to pay the sums over time. She had made a number of payments already in pursuance of these pledges," said Adam Wolanski, representing News Group Newspapers. Wolanski added that "even if the judge had had the fresh evidence and decided it did demonstrate that Ms. Heard was a gold-digger, that did not mean she had not been assaulted. Two judges at the Court of Appeal said they would not make a decision about the appeal Thursday, but would issue a ruling soon. During last year's trial, the judge - and the public - heard lurid accounts from Depp and Heard in which each accused the other of abuse. Nicol accepted Heard's claim that she feared for her life on several occasions, including during what Heard described as a three-day hostage situation in Australia in March 2015 while Depp was filming a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The judge found that 12 of the 14 instances of domestic violence cited had occurred and said that was sufficient to rule against Depp in his libel suit against the newspaper. Depp acknowledged wide-ranging drug problems but accused Heard of making up abuse allegations and insisted he was not a violent person, especially with women." His lawyers argued that the allegations caused serious harm" to the actor's reputation and significant distress and embarrassment. Jamie Foxx Lends Voice To PSA To Increase Awareness Of Colorectal Cancer Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx has joined Stand Up To Cancer for a public service campaign launched today to raise awareness about colorectal cancer screenings, early detection and prevention, with a focus on reaching underrepresented communities. Stand Up To Cancer and Exact Sciences, a provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, timed the release of a public service announcement starring Foxx to coincide with Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The PSA, in both English and Spanish, will be placed across print, broadcast, radio and digital outlets. Cancer affects everyone. Ive lost good friends young friends to this deadly disease, Foxx said. We need to make sure that we are taking care of our bodies, paying attention to certain things, that you didnt necessarily think about when you were younger, the actor said. Medical issues come up and you may not know whats at your disposal, so that is why I am proud to shine a light on the importance of getting screened for colon cancer early and bring awareness to the options that are available with this PSA campaign. ADVERTISEMENT In 2020, nearly 148,000 Americans received a new diagnosis of colon or rectal cancer, according to Stand Up To Cancer, which notes that Black people have the highest colorectal cancer rates of any ethnic group in the United States. They are 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die from it than any other population. And research has shown that colorectal cancer screening rates are the lowest in Hispanic communities, with Black and Hispanic people typically being diagnosed at a later stage in the disease when it is more difficult to treat. We are so thankful to Jamie Foxx for lending his voice to this campaign. We have seen a sharp drop in screenings as a result of COVID-19, and this compounds an already significant screening disparity in minority communities, said Sung Poblete, CEO of Stand Up To Cancer. With routine screening, colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, Poblete said. Its beatable in 90% of cases when detected early, and lives can be saved with just one simple step. People must get screened! Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences, said: Providing personalized outreach and making it easier to get people screened is vital, especially in minority communities. The PSA campaign is part of a larger initiative between SU2C and Exact Sciences, which provided a $10 million grant to enable the nonprofit to create a colorectal cancer Dream Team of researchers that will identify communities near anchor institutions serving medically underserved communities. The team will help pinpoint unique local needs of those areas and will provide free colorectal cancer testing in the identified zones and study samples collected via approved tests for colorectal cancer, including colonoscopy, CT colonography, flexible sigmoidoscopy and at-home stool tests that analyze fecal DNA and/or blood. The research will aim to develop better approaches to colorectal cancer interception, according to SU2C. To learn more about screening options, visit StandUpToCancer.org/ColonCancer. The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee has given approval to the Department of Transports plan of extending the ongoing trial of smart bus cards by one more year. As per the plan, the department will continue running the smart bus card tryout until December 2021. The smart ticket system, named UniPass, started it trial phase in March 2019 given a joint effort between the Ho Chi Minh City Management Center of Public Transport, the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and Zion JSC. It allows bus passengers to pay for their ride in two methods, either swiping their near-field communication (NFC) cards on the bus to pay money from their UniPass account or using their smartphones to scan a QR code that provides them with payment details. The pilot program for UniPass has so far been installed on 18 bus routes in the city, with five more to be added in the near future. Still, the new smart bus card system is struggling to attract users. According to Le Hoan, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Public Transport Management Center, out of 10,553 UniPass cards that have been issued by Zion JSC., only 6,583 of them are being used, which makes up of roughly 5 percent of bus goers on pilot routes, Phu Nu (Women) Online reports. Considering the initial blunder, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport will review the results and consider changing the contractor and pilot routes for the initiative. The transport department is required to report to the municipal Peoples Committee on the technical framework and implementational roadmap for the smart bus card system by no later than March 24. Ho Chi Minh Citys leaders have also endorsed the upgrade of the automatic ticketing system for the citys metro route No.1, which will be implemented by the Ho Chi Minh City Management Authority for Urban Railways and the British Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. City authority is also working to complete the invitation to tender for the smart ticketing system on metro route No.2. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui / Korea Times file North Korea said Thursday that it will continue to ignore any contact from the United States unless Washington withdraws its hostile policies toward Pyongyang. North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui also confirmed in a statement that the U.S. reached out to Pyongyang even the day before its combined exercises with South Korea from a "third country." The statement came as the top U.S. diplomat and the defense chief are in Seoul for talks with their South Korean counterparts to coordinate a joint approach toward North Korea and discuss other alliance issues. "We have already made our point clear that no North Korea-U.S. contact or talks will be held unless the U.S. withdraws hostile policies to us and that we will continue to ignore its attempts to reach out to us," Choe said in the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "In order to hold any talks, we must set a mood where the two sides can sit down face-to-face under equitable conditions," she added. Blinken stresses China's 'clear self-interest,' 'critical' role in North Korean denuclearization South Korea, US begin 'two-plus-two' talks on North Korean strategy, alliance, global issues US defense chief calls on Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation Blinken emphasizes S. Korea-US alliance to counter China's influence Choe said that the U.S. has made several attempts to reach out to the North through various channels since mid-February. Earlier, the White House said it has tried to contact North Korea for talks, but the North has remained unresponsive. She slammed the U.S. recent attempts to reach out to the North as excuses for Washington to "buy time," and warned that it will not grant any more opportunities for talks, such as the Singapore summit in June 2018 and the Hanoi summit the following year. She then criticized President Joe Biden's administration for bringing up the possibility of additional sanctions and "pressure measures" against the North. In this March 2, 2019, file photo, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam. AP "We have made ourselves clear that we will deal with the U.S. on the principle of answering force with toughness and good faith in kind," she added. The statement, dated March 17, was issued as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are in Seoul for talks with their South Korean counterparts to discuss a coordinated strategy on North Korea and joint efforts to reinforce the alliance. In his one-on-one talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Wednesday, Blinken accused North Korea of "systemic and widespread abuses" against its own people and vowed to work closely with allies for the denuclearization of the North. South Korea and the U.S. on Thursday are set to wrap up their nine-day springtime combined military exercise staged in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, lambasted South Korea for going ahead with the military exercise, threatening to scrap a 2018 tension-reducing military pact. She also warned the U.S. not to "cause a stink" if it wants to sleep in peace for the next four years. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. China in Focus (March 17): China Bans Live Broadcast of Academy Awards This years Academy Awards ceremony will not be aired in China. Beijing banned its live broadcast because of two China-related documentaries that were nominated for awards. The Secretary of State urged South Korea to stand up for shared values alongside the United States to prevent what he called a dangerous erosion of democracy in the region. U.S.China tensions are escalating ahead of the Biden administrations first meeting with Beijing. Chinese police arrested American students, while the United States slapped new sanctions on top Chinese officials. American drugmaker Pfizer plans to stop producing biosimilar products in China. It has plans to sell its China-based facility and assets to the countrys largest pharmaceutical research company. Cheap Chinese petroleum products are flooding the Australian market. Its prompting domestic oil refineries to shut down, boosting reliance on imports and possibly impacting its military. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China. For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter. A Moscow court has extended the house arrest of Kira Yarmysh, a spokeswoman of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny. The Basmanny district court on March 18 ruled that the house arrest of Yarmysh and three other Navalny supporters will be prolonged until June 23. No reason was given for the decision. The current house arrest period had been set to end on March 23. Yarmysh, along with nine other associates and supporters of Navalny, have been charged with publicly calling for Moscow residents to violate sanitary and epidemiological safety precautions. The group was detained in late January on the eve of unsanctioned mass rallies against Navalnys arrest. Most of them have since been placed under house arrest. If found guilty of the charges against them, they face up to two years in prison. On February 8, the Memorial human rights center in Moscow recognized the group as political prisoners. The 44-year-old Navalny was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany where he was treated for a nerve-agent poisoning that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has denied. More than 10,000 people were rounded up by police during nationwide rallies protesting Navalny's arrest in more than 100 Russian towns and cities on January 23 and January 31. On February 2, Navalny was found guilty of violating the terms of a suspended sentence relating to an embezzlement case that he has called politically motivated. The court converted the sentence to 3 1/2 years in prison. Given credit for time already spent in detention, the court said the Kremlin critic would have to serve just over 2 1/2 years behind bars. The court's ruling sparked new mass protests across the country that were also violently dispersed by police. More than 1,400 people were detained by police in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other Russian cities on that day. With reporting by TASS and Interfax Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page will become the first transgender man to feature on the front cover of Time Magazine. For the interview for the magazine cover, Elliot talked about the fight for trans equality and shared the journey of his own struggle while embracing his true self. The article by Katy Steinmetz has quoted him as saying that he wanted to cut his hair short as a nine-year-old and that there was an acute feeling of triumph when he was finally allowed. I felt like a boy. I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday," said a proud Elliot Page. The actor wrote on Instagram at the time that he could not begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. Page follows in the footsteps of actor Laverne Cox, who became the first trans woman to appear on the cover of Time , a mark of mainstream media approval, in 2014 under the headline The Transgender Tipping Point. The 34-year-old actor most famous for his role in Juno and now the Umbrella Academy came out in December 2020 in a long and heartfelt social media post, wherein he reintroduced himself as Elliot, and added that his pronouns are he/they. The Canadian actor was formerly Ellen Page. Here's hoping you go strength from strength, Elliot. John Abraham Says Action Sequences Are His 'Items Numbers', Finds Attending Award Shows 'Demeaning' Over the years the authenticity and validity of award shows in Bollywood have often come under question. While audiences may love to see which actors win and see them perform lavish acts on stage, for actor John Abraham these shows are as good as a circus. John is certainly not a face one would see walking down the red carpet and smiling at the flashing cameras year after year. The Satyamev Jayate star was pretty straight forward in expressing his disdain for award shows during a recent interview where he said that he has no respect for them. I totally dont respect awards. Its a joke. Its comical to see actors dance and then collect an award and make funny jokes, he told IANS in a conversation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by John Abraham (@thejohnabraham) His opinion might be shared a rare few in the industry but for his part he explains, I feel what they are doing is not necessarily wrong or what I am doing is wrong. But I am on this side of the fence. I am quiet about it. I just dont go for these functions. I will be a joker going to a circus, it will be demeaning and I dont want to do that. The actor is gearing up for his films Mumbai Saga and Satyamev Jayate 2 to release this year also expressed his love for action films and told the news agency, Its a genre that I am comfortable with. The audience finds that space very believable with me and I, too, enjoy that space. There are actors who love song and dance and I love action. Action sequences are my item numbers. Apart from these two releases this year, John has Pathan with Shah Rukh Khan and Ek Villain 2 under his belt. We urge all educators, students, parents and workers who support the fight against the reopening of schools and dangerous conditions to attend the meeting of the West Coast Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees this Saturday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Across the United States, there are growing signs of opposition among educators, parents and students to the reckless moves by the Biden administration, local and state Democrats, and the teachers unions to quickly reopen schools everywhere. At present, this is expressed most sharply on the West Coast, the last region in the country where learning largely remains remote and officials are aggressively pushing to reopen schools in the coming weeks. Facebook groups for educators and parents throughout the region have become highly active, with many posts receiving dozens or hundreds of comments opposed to the reopening of schools. A major development took place in California Tuesday at a union meeting of the Oakland Education Association (OEA), in which 49 percent of site representatives defied the unions executive board and voted to oppose the tentative agreement (TA) the OEA leadership had struck with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), while only 45 percent voted in favor. In this Feb. 25, 2021, file photo, Assistant Principal Janette Van Gelderen, left, welcomes students at Newhall Elementary in Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) The building reps are generally more conservative than the rank-and-file membership and it appears likely that the full membership will reject the deal, which is being voted on through Sunday. A comparable vote on February 8 by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) House of Delegates resulted in 85 percent of the delegates voting to endorse the deal to reopen schools, which was then used to browbeat teachers into accepting this abject betrayal. The World Socialist Web Site has received reports from Oakland teachers that they and all of their coworkers at individual schools intend to vote down the agreement. If rejected, this would be the first school reopening plan defeated by rank-and-file teachers since Bidens inauguration, and could spur a broader offensive by educators and workers throughout the US who strive to contain the pandemic while the population is vaccinated. Harley, a high school social science teacher in Oakland and member of the Northern California Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, commented, This TA is a devastating threat to student learning and community health. It misleads the public into thinking that schools are safe. It asks us to entrust the health of our students and their families to a district that never bothered to protect their health before the pandemic. It expects teachers to completely reinvent their pedagogy and curriculum to fit a schedule that has not even been bargained. OEA members should unequivocally reject this tentative agreement. The OEA announced their deal with OUSD on Sunday, less than a week after the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) reached a similar deal with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which LA teachers are voting on until this Sunday. There is also enormous opposition in LA and growing support for a working-class offensive against this policy. John, a middle school teacher in LAUSD with over 30 years experience, told the WSWS, My personal view, which is echoed by a number of teachers at my school, is that the TA for the secondary schools is poorly designed, idiotic and insulting. He added, The driving force behind this is NOT the students or a better educational experience for them, it can only be the LAUSD getting money from the state! Both the OEA and UTLA, which posture as radical unions and cloak their betrayals by utilizing identity politics, are following in the footsteps of the pseudo-left CTU, which enforced a similar deadly deal last month. In the aftermath of the CTUs betrayal, many educators felt beaten back and discouraged. In response, the ruling elites went on the offensive and ramped up their campaign, reaching agreements with local teachers unions to fully or partially reopen schools in Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville and other major Democrat-led cities. Emergency decrees were issued to force statewide school reopenings across Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. Enormous pressure is being brought to bear to reopen schools and keep them open. A major component of the $1.9 trillion American Recovery Act is $122 billion for K-12 schools, with funding allocations dependent upon school districts publishing a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services within 30 days of receiving funding. Roughly 25 percent of these funds must be reserved for learning recovery, including summer school and extended-day programs. With over 1,200 people continuing to die from COVID-19 each day in the US, as the global seven-day average of daily new cases once again reaches 500,000, and as more infectious and lethal variants of the coronavirus spread throughout the world, the most trusted epidemiologists such as Dr. Michael Osterholm have warned that school reopenings will facilitate a surge in infections and deaths. Despite these warnings, the corporate media and political establishment have deepened their propaganda campaign, continuing to present schools as miraculously safe from the spread of COVID-19. On Wednesday evening, NBC News issued its latest Life After Lockdown segment, which seeks to inure the population to the premature lifting of public health measures meant to contain the pandemic. After praising the reopening of Los Angeles schools, host Lester Holt interviewed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Cardona stated, When schools had to close [last year], it wasnt because of COVID spread within the schools, it was because we had to quarantine educators. Without explaining this absurd statement and ignoring a study that estimated these school closures saved at least 40,600 lives over a 16-day period, Cardona quickly added that today, Its not only about opening schools, its really about making sure they stay open. Cardona stressed, My focus really right now is getting as many schools open, K-8 schools, Pre-K-8 schools, in the first 100 days, but also trying to get those high schools open so that we can get all students back in safely, engaging with their friends and learning in the classroom where they learn best. Efforts are also underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to further manipulate science in the interests of big business, this time with the aim of reducing the social distancing recommendation in schools from six feet to three feet. In damning testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerces oversight and investigations subcommittee on Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated, As soon as our guidance came out, it became very clear that 6 feet was among the things that was keeping schools closed, and in that context science evolves (emphasis added). Walensky noted, There has been one study that was published late last week that demonstrated in Massachusetts where there is generally 100 percent mask-wearing that 3 feet was actually safe. She added, We are looking to update our guidance I am entirely with you as that we need to get our children back [to school]. The study Walensky referred to was published March 10 in Clinical Infectious Diseases and is clearly politically motivated and unscientific. One of the studys authors is economist Emily Oster, who has no background in epidemiology, and is best known as one of the foremost advocates of school reopenings. Last October, Oster wrote the widely criticized article, Schools Arent Super-Spreaders, which the bourgeois media, as well as then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the CDC cited to justify school reopenings throughout the US. The study itself notes that within the Massachusetts school districts they observed, 4,226 cases were reported in students and 2,382 in school staff. Brushing this aside, the study happily concludes that relaxing distancing requirements would likely have the impact of increasing the number of students who are able to benefit from additional in-person learning. The campaign to reopen schools has nothing to do with educating students or relieving the mental health crisis, both of which the capitalist elite and their political lackeys exacerbated for decades before the pandemic through austerity, unending war and the destruction of all social services. Rather, the primary motive for the rush to open schools is to be able to compel parents back to unsafe workplaces to produce corporate profits. Educators are becoming increasingly aware of this basic class reality, and there is growing disillusionment with the Democratic Party and the teachers unions that have ruthlessly pursued these policies. Many recognize the need to organize independently to fight for their interests and are joining the expanding network of Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees that have been built during the pandemic. In Oregon, there is enormous opposition to Democratic Governor Kate Browns mandate that all schools must reopen by April 12. Shortly after this announcement, the Oregon Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee was launched this week. Julisa, a bilingual educator and member of the committee, stated, Rank and File committees are especially important to participate in as they work to bring together all workers to oppose the dangerous reopening to school buildings. Schools have proven to be the lifeline of this country, yet students and school staff, along with all other front-line workers, are being treated as sacrificial lambs so that the billionaires can get wealthier and the leaders that serve them get pats on their backs. Kathleen, a teacher in one of Oregons largest districts and a member of the committee, said, I believe that our schools are not going to be able to keep our students safe. Ventilation systems are antiquated. Our schools think that opening a window is good enough, but that doesn't account for allergies, weather, distractions, or safety. Our kids are not vaccinated and are able to transfer infection to their families or to the friends. Our teachers are being forced back into classrooms with state and political pressures that have everything to do with the economy but nothing to do with health and safety of our staff and communities. In the face of the unrelenting ruling class campaign to reopen schools and nonessential workplaces, educators and all workers must wage a determined struggle to build their own, independent rank-and-file committees in every school district and industry, to fight for their lives and social rights. These committees are necessary to ensure safety, break through the propaganda of the ruling elites, advance a scientific program to contain the pandemic and to take the actions necessary to close schools. We urge all educators, parents, students and workers to sign up today to become involved with these committees, and build for this Saturdays meeting of the West Coast Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees as widely as possible! Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Two elderly men play "baduk," a board game in front of a corner store in Euljiro, Seoul, on March 12. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Kang Hyung-kyung Things are steadily going back to normal as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year. The elderly begin to play janggi,' a Korean board game, in the street. Wary of virus contamination, they're armed with safety gear face masks which hide their emotions. Janggi is a pandemic sport. People usually play it outside the home. It doesn't require much talk between players because it is all about strategy. People try to figure out their opponents' next move and they move their pieces accordingly. People gather in front of a "lucky" lottery store to buy tickets near Namdaemun Market. The crowded lottery store amid the pandemic reflects that pandemic-weary people are clinging to hope for a lucky break. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk A woman takes a nap at a currency exchange store near Namdaemun Market in Seoul on March 11. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Accustomed to the pandemic lifestyle, people walk a fine line between social distancing and social life. They have begun to gather outside but avoid places that are expected to be crowded. Middle-aged delivery women carrying food trays on their heads are spotted again here and there in markets. The scene was all too familiar during pre-pandemic days. A woman carries a food tray on her head in Namdaemun Market. She told The Korea Times that she has been delivering hot meals for her customers all throughout the pandemic without missing a single day. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Delivery women had disappeared since the outbreak began last year, as people chose to eat alone at home and stopped socializing with others. Seeing the delivery women back at work signals that market merchants, their main customers, are resuming their businesses. The food delivered is warm enough to eat right away without heating in the microwave. With the steady return of pre-pandemic life, resilience in our lives is back. Mario Bazan came to Napa in 1973 with the hope of earning $2,000 so he could return to Mexico and open a grocery store that he dreamt would expand to a small chain. To his dismay, he did not earn the money at harvest, so he found other winter jobs in the vineyards. Marios success in establishing both Bazan Vineyard Management and Bazan Cellars with his wife Gloria is the result of his tenacious desire to make life better for himself and his family. He knew satisfying his ever-growing ambition would only come from his ability to constantly learn additional skills enabling him to accept jobs that others could not or would not attempt. His Napa journey began at Souverain under the wing of Alex Vyborny where he became a truck driver and mechanic. These skills eventually landed him at Mondavi in 1979 where, over the next 15-years, his work ethic and desire to learn led to various vineyard jobs and eventually to becoming a foreman for Opus One and To Kalon. Marios next big move was to Stags Leap Cellars where Warren Winiarski encouraged his development as he recognized Marios willingness to constantly learn new skills to advance. Mario observed the success of others in the Valley and wanted a path forward for himself. In 1997 he established Bazan Vineyard Management and in 2005, harvested the inaugural release of Mario Bazan Cabernet. "We are off to a great start in 2021 and the Zerenia satellite clinic model is proving to be an exceptional platform for reaching new patients. The rapid expansion of clinics is helping Khiron reach more patients in more places, more conveniently, in these cities. With the opening of two new satellite clinics in Cali and Bucaramanga, Khiron has taken another step toward increasing patient access to medical cannabis, with the objective of improving the quality of life for thousands of people in Colombia. Our unique and proven business model will support our goal of reaching 1,000,000 patients by 2024 in a sustainable manner," comments Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and Director. Based on positive physician and patient feedback at Khiron's initial satellite clinics, the Company now plans to expand its clinic presence in major metropolitan centres throughout Colombia. Three additional satellite Zerenia clinics, which will focus on treating pathologies such as chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression, headache, epilepsy, and Parkinson's Disease, are expected to open over the course of the year. About Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Khiron is a vertically integrated medical and CPG cannabis company with core operations in Latin America, and operational activity in Europe and North America. Khiron is the leading medical cannabis provider in Colombia and the first company licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and sales, and international export of both low and high THC medical cannabis products. The Company has filled medical cannabis prescriptions in Colombia, Peru and the UK, and is positioned to commence sales of medical cannabis in Germany and Brazil in early 2021. Leveraging wholly-owned medical clinics and proprietary telemedicine platforms, Khiron combines a patient-oriented approach, physician education programs, scientific expertise, product innovation, and agricultural infrastructure to drive prescriptions and brand loyalty. Its Wellbeing unit launched the first branded CBD skincare brand in Colombia, with KuidaTM now marketed in multiple jurisdictions in Latin America, the US and UK. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced and diverse executive team and Board of Directors. Visit Khiron online at investors.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife. Cautionary Notes Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Investor Contact: Paola Ricardo E: [email protected] T: +1 (833) 275-8984 Media Contact: Elsa Navarro Vice President, Communications E: [email protected] [email protected] Khiron Europe: Tejinder Virk Europe President E: [email protected] SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Related Links https://khiron.ca/ Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? Commenting on the CSO Residential Property Price Index for January IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, said auctioneers throughout the country are seeing extremely strong demand for homes that they are unable to satisfy because of a lack of supply. Pat Davitt, IPAV Chief Executive said, The strong increase of 4pc in prices outside of Dublin has been influenced by many now working from home and seeing that to be the future, even if not on a full-time basis and also the fact that properties in many areas outside of Dublin are still well below the prices of 2007. He said builders must get back, safely, to building more homes. It is in nobodys interest that prices would continue to rise at such a level. And affordability is a real problem for those on average wages, many of whom are being forced to rent, at prices substantially greater than the cost of servicing a mortgage. The Central Bank mortgage rules are just too severe for this cohort of the population, he said. He said it remains to be seen if the promised Affordable Purchase Shared Equity scheme where the State will provide equity support to those seeking to buy homes but are unable to secure the full mortgage to do so, will address some of this sufficiently. He said the Housing Commission promised in the Programme for Government needs to be set up urgently and involve all stakeholders in the housing market. xt Meanwhile, t he latest Residential Property Price Barometer which charts actual house prices achieved by auctioneers, for the most common family home types three and four bedroom semi-detached houses and two-bedroom apartments - and compares prices in Q3/4 of 2020 with Q1/2 of 2020 reveals price increases in the vast majority of the country, with the largest increases taking place in 4-bedroom homes. In Laois it found that in the latter six months of 2020 four-bedroom semi-detached homes increased by just 0.35pc, three-bedrooms were up by 1.13pc but 2-bedroom apartments were up by 3.43pc, over the previous six months. Elsewhere Galway city topped the list for 4-bedroom homes with a 5.87pc increase, followed by Donegal at 5.16pc. In the three-bedroom category Louth was top at 4.69pc, followed by Kildare at 4.60pc and for two-bedroom apartments Waterford led the way with a 4.97pc increase followed by Carlow at 4.94pc and Dublin 24 at 4.14pc. Pat Davitt, IPAV Chief Executive said when, in the late Spring and early Summer of 2020, notable economists and analysts across both the public and private sectors were predicting house price drops, some of the order of 20pc, knowing the feedback from auctioneers IPAV publicly questioned the rationale for such forecasts. He said property valuations are crucially important because values impact, not only the balance sheets of lending institutions and pension funds but the financial security and immediate and future choices available to citizens. Mr Davitt said its likely that housing demand will keep prices elevated for the foreseeable future. Just over a year ago the Central Bank estimated we will need to build 34,000 new homes every year up to 2030. Latest CSO data shows the 2020 figure for new builds was 20,676. So demand will continue to outstrip supply for some time. But supply is not our only problem, he said. There is a huge issue around affordability, particularly for those on average wages of up to 45,000, many of whom by paying high rents have shown they can well afford to service a mortgage. They cannot get a mortgage because of the overly zealous nature of the Central Banks macro prudential mortgage rules. The 3.5 times salary cap in the Central Banks rules is not a high enough multiple to allow average wage earners qualify for a mortgage. The Government has already recognised this and allows 4.5 Loan to Income multiples in their Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, available from Local Authorities. However as this loan is only suited to certain applicants, the Central Bank needs to follow suit. At a time when rental levels is most areas of the country remain substantially higher than mortgage repayments for the same property, its ironic that the Government has had to step in and extend the Help-to-Buy scheme and are now introducing a new Affordable Purchase Shared Equity scheme where the State will provide equity support to those seeking to buy new private homes but are unable to secure the full mortgage to do so. Mr Davitt said the setting up by the Government of the promised Commission on Housing is awaited. Its absolutely critical that this body would have input from all stakeholders, so that past mistakes can be avoided and the major impediments that remain to building sufficient homes are addressed, he said. Dakar, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :The woman who filed a rape charge against Senegal's opposition leader repeated her accusation and said her case must proceed, following deadly clashes over his arrest. In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Adji Sarr said opposition leader Ousmane Sonko had forced her to sleep with him on several occasions and had threatened reprisals if she refused. "If Ousmane Sonko has never slept with me, let him swear on the Qurran," said the young woman, in the interview carried by several private television channels in the West African state. Sarr added that she had fallen pregnant by Sonko. Usually seen as a haven of stability of a volatile region, Senegal was rocked by the worst unrest it had seen in years after Sonko was arrested on March 3. Police detained the opposition leader -- a devout Muslim popular with Senegalese youths -- on charges of public disorder after scuffles with his supporters broke out as he travelled to court. He had been due to appear before a judge in relation to Sarr's separate rape charge, which she had filed in February. At least five people died in the clashes between opposition supporters and security forces that followed Sonko's arrest. The unrest died down only after a judge freed the 46-year-old from detention on March 8. But the judge also formally charged him with rape, paving the way for an investigation. To many opposition supporters, Sonko's legal troubles fit a perceived pattern of politically motivated court cases against rivals of President Macky Sall. Sonko -- considered a strong contender against Sall in 2024 -- himself accused the president of engineering the rape charge in order to sideline him from politics, although Sall has denied it. Sarr said Wednesday she had never met the president. "Let the Senegalese know that there is no conspiracy and that President Macky Sall is not involved in this case," Sarr said. While she was surprised at the scale of the reaction to the affair, she said she was keen for the legal case to proceed. "The judiciary needs to do its work," she said. "I am in a hurry for it to do so because I am not free". [March 18, 2021] ComEd Adds $9 Million in Bill Assistance and Extends Payment Plans to Help Customers Struggling with Electric Bills Recognizing that many Illinois families continue to be adversely affected by economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, ComEd is increasing financial assistance funding by $9 million to help customers regain their financial footing. ComEd worked with the Illinois Commerce Commission staff, the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, other large Illinois gas and electric utilities and a broad group of consumer advocates to develop a comprehensive support package to help residential customers through the continued challenges of the pandemic. The package, which the Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously approved earlier today, also includes enhanced payment arrangement options, and special reconnection programs for eligible customers. Each of these programs will be offered for a limited time. "The new programs being offered today extend our ongoing efforts to help customers get to a place of stability," said ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez. "Even before the pandemic hit, ComEd provided customers with the support they needed and worked with community organizations to generate awareness amongst customers who need help the most. In 2020, we connected customers to a record more than $75 million in financial assistance and supported more than a quarter million customers with stabilizing grants." Limited time, financial assistance options ComEd Bill Payment Assistance Program . In April 2021, ComEd will increase the amount of funds available to provide more one-time bill credits of up to $500, while funds are available. These credits are for eligible residential customers who have outstanding balances or who are looking to reconnect their electric service. . In April 2021, ComEd will increase the amount of funds available to provide more one-time bill credits of up to $500, while funds are available. These credits are for eligible residential customers who have outstanding balances or who are looking to reconnect their electric service. More Flexible Payment Arrangements . Through June 30, 2021, ComEd is offering extended payment arrangement plans to eligible households, which allows customers to spread outstanding balances over 18 monthly installments with no money down. Eligible residential customers facing financal hardship who enroll in an 18-month, no money down payment plan will be exempt from disconnection through June 30, 2021. All other eligible residential customers with outstanding balances can enroll in an 18-month payment plan with a 10-percent down payment through June 30, 2021. . Through June 30, 2021, ComEd is offering extended payment arrangement plans to eligible households, which allows customers to spread outstanding balances over 18 monthly installments with no money down. Eligible residential customers facing financal hardship who enroll in an 18-month, no money down payment plan will be exempt from disconnection through June 30, 2021. All other eligible residential customers with outstanding balances can enroll in an 18-month payment plan with a 10-percent down payment through June 30, 2021. Service Reconnection Assistance. Through July 10, 2021, eligible households that had electric service disconnected for a non-safety reason in 2021 can have their service reconnected by providing only 25 percent of their outstanding balance. Any remaining outstanding balance will be rolled into an 18-month, no-money-down payment plan. Additional financial assistance options The ComEd CARE programs also offer a range of financial-assistance options, while funding is available, to help eligible customers pay their electric bills. There are programs available for residential, small-business customers and nonprofit organizations, as well as activated and deployed members of the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard, Reserves and honorably discharged veterans. Any customer experiencing a hardship or difficulty with their electric bill should call ComEd immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to learn more on how to apply. Information on each of these options, along with eligibility requirements, can be found at ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance. ComEd also offers usage alerts and energy-management tips to help customers manage energy use to save money now and on future electric bills. For information, visit ComEd.com/OnlineTools. ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 100 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers - the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318006008/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Canada Life Reinsurance is pleased to announce that it has recently entered into a long-term longevity reinsurance agreement with Athora Netherlands covering 4.7 billion of in-force liabilities and 104,500 in-payment and deferred policies. Jeff Poulin, Global Head of Canada Life Reinsurance, affirms this agreement is another example of Canada Life Reinsurance's strength as a partner for longevity reinsurance transactions globally. "We are pleased to build and grow our relationship with Athora Netherlands with this major reinsurance agreement," says Poulin. "It demonstrates our ability to work together with our partners to meet their reinsurance needs and adapt our solutions to their needs over time." Canada Life Reinsurance offers a range of innovative risk and capital management solutions for life, health and non-life risk to insurers, reinsurers, and pension funds globally. About Canada Life Reinsurance Canada Life Reinsurance provides its clients with reinsurance solutions for life and health, annuity, and property & casualty business through its offices in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Bermuda, and Barbados. Canada Life Reinsurance is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Canada Life Assurance Company is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. To learn more, visit canadalifere.com. About Great-West Lifeco Inc. Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2020, our companies had approximately 24,500 employees, 205,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners all serving our more than 30 million customer relationships across these regions. Great-West Lifeco and its companies have approximately CDN $2.0 trillion in consolidated assets under administration as at December 31, 2020 and are members of the Power Corporation group of companies. Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.com. SOURCE Canada Life Reinsurance TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Were seeing positive COVID-19 trends across the State of Indiana. Positivity rates and hospital admissions are both decreasing steadily. Every Wabash Valley County is also in the blue zone according to the states color-coded map. Indiana Governor Holcomb held his weekly COVID-19 press conference on Wednesday. Heres the latest from Indiana Health Officials. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said on Wednesday in just three months time, 2.2 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Indiana. 870,000 Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. Thats more than 12% of the states population. Dr. Box says the federal government determines the allocation of vaccines that the state receives. Indiana always seeks as many doses as possible. Dr. Box shared some interesting statistics regarding this. Indiana is ranked 35th in doses delivered per 100,000 residents despite being ranked 17th in total population across the United States. She says Indiana seems to be receiving thousands of doses less than other states per the CDC website. Dr. Box says the push to get more vaccines is becoming more urgent with new variants showing up in Indiana. As of Tuesday, Indiana has seen 57 cases of the U.K. variant. She says this variant is much more transmissible so it is vital for you to get a vaccine once you become eligible. Luckily, Dr. Box says more vaccines will be on the way soon. Our goal is to get more shots in arms in Indiana. We are eager for the vaccine supply to increase substantially, Dr. Box said, According to our reports from the federal government, we will begin to see a greater supply of the three vaccines during the last week of March. As News 10 has reported, the state expanded eligibility to educators, support staff, and Hoosiers age 45 and older this week. Chief Medical Officer for the Indiana State Department of Health Dr. Lindsay Weaver spoke more about Indianas vaccine rollout. Dr. Weaver says the state is highlighting that pregnant women are at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 infection. More than 100,000 Hoosiers with conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 have had their information added to the states secure portal. Those individuals will be receiving unique links to sign up for the vaccine. In total, these additions represent over 500,000 additional Hoosiers that can receive the vaccine. Dr. Weaver adds that nearly 22,000 Hoosiers were vaccinated at the states first two mass vaccination sites. Those took place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Ivy Tech in Sellersburg, Indiana. Two more mass vaccination sites will take place in Gary, Indiana, and at the University of Notre Dame during the next two weekends. These sites will offer only the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Dr. Weaver also says mobile vaccine units will deploy to areas with limited access to vaccines and high percentages of minority or vulnerable populations. This will begin next week. Finally, Dr. Weaver says there are several high-volume sites across the state that do not fill appointments as quickly as smaller sites. Two locations fall under that description in the Wabash Valley: Good Samaritan Hospital in Knox County and Landsbaum Clinic in Vigo County. We are doing everything we can to expand access to a vaccine as quickly as possible and to ensure it is available equitably across the state, Dr. Weaver concluded, We will offer more mass vaccination clinics when our federal allocations increase. Dr. Weaver says the state will open up vaccine eligibility to Hoosiers age 40 and older very soon. Vaccine product of long, costly fight. Vaccine has been shown to be from 80 to 90 per cent effective. In a year and a half, they had produced two potent vaccines. These claims relate to the rollout of a vaccine in the mid-1950s to combat every parents worst nightmare, infant paralysis, better known as polio. Leann Warbrook, nine months of Balmain was the millionth child in NSW to receive a Salk anti-polio vaccination. Credit:Fairfax Much like the difficulties in distributing the COVID-19 vaccines, the polio rollout was plagued with state and federal government infighting, supply shortages, vaccine-related deaths, the objections of anti-vaxxers and unexpected outbreaks. The initial plan in 1956 had been to immunise all children under the age of 11 within a year, but by mid-1957, only 1 million out of a population of 7.5 million had been vaccinated. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Severe storms have moved out of Alabama as on Thursday, and now its time to survey the damage they left behind. There were so many storms that it may take a few days for the National Weather Service to figure out just how many tornadoes touched down across the state on Wednesday. But theres good news: There were no fatalities and only two injuries after a daylong run of severe and tornadic storms. THANK YOU Central AL for preparing beforehand & for heeding the warnings yesterday!! We are very thankful & happy to report there were NO fatalities. However, many people are picking up whatever is left of their belongings. Please keep them in your thoughts & prayers. NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 18, 2021 At least four tornadoes have already been confirmed as of Thursday night: An EF-2 in Chilton County, an EF-1 in Moundville in Tuscaloosa and Hale counties, an EF-1 in Tuscaloosa County and an EF-1 in Cullman County. Those findings are preliminary, and the storm surveys are ongoing. PRELIMINARY storm survey findings in Chilton County south of Pools Crossroads: EF-2 tornado damage was found, with peak winds of 130mph. Surveys in that area remain ongoing. #alwx pic.twitter.com/cGsF6v39mH NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 18, 2021 PRELIMINARY storm survey findings in Moundville: So far, EF-1 tornado damage was found, with peak winds of 110mph. Surveys in that area remain ongoing. #alwx pic.twitter.com/NqzdXRyX2z NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 18, 2021 PRELIMINARY storm survey findings in Lake Wildwood: EF-1 tornado damage was found, with peak winds of 90mph. Survey data is still being reviewed. pic.twitter.com/2fppQfJtN0 NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) March 19, 2021 5pm | Preliminary results from our survey indicate EF-1 damage in Cullman County. Note: We need to do some more analysis to determine if there is more than one track and we hope to have more information tonight or tomorrow.#HUNwx pic.twitter.com/yQAXm9aiwk NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) March 18, 2021 The National Weather Service offices in Alabama will continue to send out storm survey teams over the next few days to look at storm damage and determine if it was caused by tornadoes. The weather service office in Birmingham will survey damage in Hale, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Blount counties as well as Chilton, Autauga and Dallas counties. The weather service said multiple areas have been identified where there could be potential tornado tracks, and that at least 12 counties in central Alabama had tornadoes on Wednesday. The weather service office in Huntsville looked at Cullman County damage today. The weather service office in Mobile said on Thursday morning that it will also conduct storm surveys today. If evidence of a tornado is found then the weather service will give it a rating using the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The weather service said information on the survey teams progress will be released through the coming days. The Chilton County tornado was an EF-2 with estimated winds of 130 mph. It touched down at 5:12 p.m. Wednesday northwest of Billingsley near Little Mulberry Creek. It was on the ground for 5.6 miles and had a maximum width of 250 yards. The tornado destroyed a mobile home, shifted an unanchored home off its foundation and toppled the exterior walls of a brick home. Another home was damaged and a vehicle was moved 15 feet, according to the weather service. The tornado lifted just east of Pools Crossroads. There were no injuries. Mediators in Moscow on Thursday urged the Taliban not to launch a spring offensive, as international efforts for a peace deal intensify ahead of a deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. The conference in Moscow came as part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States to negotiate Washingtons exit nearly 20 years after US troops invaded the country in response to the September 11 attacks. Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan appealed for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan and to the warring sides to avoid deaths in order to create a favourable atmosphere for achieving a politico-diplomatic settlement. We call on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reduce the level of violence in the country and the Taliban Movement not to declare a spring-summer offensive campaign, they said in a joint statement. The international mediators also said the two sides should reach an agreement as soon as possible that would bring an end to over four decades of war in Afghanistan. The US is supposed to complete a withdrawal of its military from Afghanistan by May 1 as part of a deal with the Taliban a deadline US President Joe Biden said Wednesday would be tough to meet. Washington also wants to jump-start the peace process and get the Taliban and Afghan government to agree to some form of power-sharing. The Kremlin, which pulled Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 after a bruising occupation, last week threw its weight behind Washingtons initiative for an interim government that included the Taliban. In a degrading military-political situation, further delays are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said while opening the conference on Thursday. Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told the Moscow conference that Afghans should be left to decide their own fate, a Taliban spokesman said. The world should take into account the Islamic values, independence and national interests of the Afghan people, the spokesman said in a tweeted summary of Baradars speech, given behind closed doors. Curtain-raiser for Turkey negotiations In a show of support for the international efforts, the head of the Afghan governments reconciliation council, Abdullah Abdullah, said Kabul wanted to speed up negotiations and for the two sides to start their talks and discussions in a different atmosphere. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a famed anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s who joined the governments delegation to Moscow said Thursdays talks had broken the stalemate in Doha, according to his spokesman. The so-called butcher of Kabul, who was accused of killing thousands of people in the capital during the countrys bloody civil war in the 1990s, was seen casually lunching with leading members of the Taliban negotiating team. The visiting Afghan delegation included a large spectrum of personalities from the past four years of conflict, including members of the current negotiation team in Doha, a former president and two warlords accused of grave war crimes. Critics also lambasted the lack of women invited to the summit. Negotiations to end the conflict initiated in Qatar last September have made little progress and their outcome is uncertain. Meanwhile urban centres in Afghanistan are in the grip of a bloody campaign in the form of attacks targeting politicians, civil servants, academics, rights activists and journalists. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Thursday that a military helicopter that crashed in the volatile Wardak province had been shot down, killing four crew and five members of the security forces. The perpetrators of the incident will be seriously punished, he said at a ceremony at the presidential palace. The United States, despite tensions with Russia, has welcomed Moscows role and also consulted fellow rival China as diplomacy steps up. Pakistan which holds the most outside influence over the Taliban is also represented in Moscow. Analysts have said the Moscow conference is largely a curtain-raiser for an even bigger gathering to be held in Turkey next month. burs-ecl-jbr/acl/har 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. Gavin Newsom, shown during the 2018 campaign, is facing another election two years later this time to keep his governorship. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) With backers of the recall against Gavin Newsom formally submitting the last of their petitions Wednesday, Democrats from California to Washington were readying what they hope will be a united front to keep the embattled governor in office. Newsom's campaign is trying to keep the party focused on fighting the recall and preventing prominent Democrats from getting into the race to replace him if it qualifies for the ballot as expected. He has racked up high-profile endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), among others, and hopes to tie the recall campaign to former President Trump and extremist groups. The governor went on a national media tour this week, speaking out against the recall and generating both cheers from supporters and some controversy. Nathan Click, Newsom's campaign spokesman, said he expected heavy support to fight the recall at the Democratic Party State Convention, scheduled for the end of April. Volunteers will spread out across the state to do text banking and other digital stumping in the upcoming weeks, he said. Its been a steady drumbeat over the last few weeks of Democrats saying that [they support Newsom]," Click said. But it's still unclear whether any Democrats will enter the race to replace Newsom as an insurance policy against the growing field of Republican candidates, something that happened during the 2003 recall that ended with voters ousting Democrat Gray Davis and replacing him with Arnold Schwarzenegger. To secure the full strength of the Democrats support, Newsom may need to put in some work to court members of his own party. While Democrats are united in keeping a Trump Republican out of the governors mansion, progressive caucus chair Amar Singh Shergill said some more left-leaning party members are waiting to see Newsom deliver on progressive policy promises such as a universal healthcare bill making its way through the state Legislature , a fracking ban and support for eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate. Story continues If Gov. Newsom doesnt get on board with these progressive issues and fight for them, then hes going to put his own candidacy at risk. Right now, were not looking at any other candidates, but we know theres a simple formula for him to win, Shergill said. He has got to start fighting for those issues and show us that he is making progress. Though the state wont finish certifying the signatures for several weeks elections officials must determine how many are valid by April 29 Newsom acknowledged Tuesday that he expects the recall effort to qualify. Recall supporters said Wednesday night that they gathered more than 2.1 million signatures, more than the roughly 1.5 million they need for an election to take place. Volunteers handed in last-minute petitions to the registrar Wednesday as the campaign's leaders celebrated the years-long effort. "Later this fall, the voters of California will be able to participate in this historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a recall of their chief executive officer," said Randy Economy, senior advisor for the recall effort. "It's a very, very powerful moment." On Tuesday, former GOP Rep. Doug Ose added his name to the list of other Republicans in the race to replace Newsom should the recall qualify for the ballot, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox, who unsuccessfully ran against Newsom for governor in 2018. As the recall campaign neared Wednesday's deadline, Newsom's supporters united behind him in defense of his record as governor. "I'm completely devastated with the fact that people have even gone out to try to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, said Taisha Brown, chairperson of the California Democratic Partys Black Caucus. He has done some amazing work in the short time hes been in office. We wholeheartedly support Gavin, and will be working to fight back against the recall. Brown applauded Newsoms handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, though she said he didnt always have the right tools from the federal government under Trump. She and Norma Alcala, vice chair of the Chicano Latino Caucus, praised Newsoms efforts to provide rent, food security and vaccines to essential workers, many of whom are people of color. They also pointed to Newsoms several appointments of Black and Latino people to statewide positions as another success. Both caucuses have pledged to use their various campaign methods including radio ads, counterprotests and caravans to campaign for the governor. Its basically just an attempt by the Republicans they cant win any elections, so theyre going to try and do a special election, Alcala said of the recall effort. The California Democratic Party has pledged $250,000 to the campaign against the recall and launched a website, stoptherepublicanrecall.com, that Newsom promoted in a tweet on Monday when making his most direct comments yet about his fight against the effort. Other Democrats echoed Newsom's comments in condemning recall organizers as anti-vaxxers, QAnon conspiracy theorists and nationally funded Republicans. This was something that was done under the Republican Administration under the thumb of the Trump followers, said Mark Gonzalez, chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. Republicans knew they were losing their power nationally, and they're trying to trickle it down here to California, and now here under this administration. Recall advocates have maintained that one-third of petition signers are not Republicans, though polling shows the effort is far more popular among those in the GOP than Democrats or unaffiliated voters. Gonzalez said he believes Republicans "were duping" Democratic voters who signed the petitions into blaming Newsom for their situation during the pandemic. The governors handling of the pandemic remains a banner issue for recall advocates. Democratic leaders across the state are hopeful that by the time a recall election rolls around, likely in the fall, coronavirus cases will be down and the economy will be in better shape. California has already delivered more than 13 million vaccine doses, and t he federal relief package just passed by Congress will help peoples wallets and bolster state and local budgets. Some in the California Democratic Party, including rural caucus chair Joy Sterling, said the recall is distracting state leadership from what should be its singular focus: tackling the pandemic. Did he do everything perfectly? Did anybody do everything perfectly? No. Including my hero, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, Sterling said. I think you just have to be, 'Oh, OK, that didnt work, now we try this.' Though Newsom's supporters believe his record will stand up to attacks from the recall campaign, they are also keeping close watch on any errors that could alienate voters in a race where he needs all the support he can get. In the eyes of some Democrats, Newsom stumbled Monday when he told MSNBCs Joy Reid that, should California Sen. Dianne Feinstein retire, he would appoint a Black woman to replace her, noting that he already had a list of several Black women whom he would consider. Newsom came under pressure late last year to fill Vice President Kamala Harris seat with a Black woman, but instead appointed then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Californias first Latino senator. Feinstein reiterated that she had no plans to retire and Newsom downplayed his statement the next day but not before riling up some members of the state Democratic Party Womens Caucus, who voiced their frustrations to chair Christine Pelosi that Newsom's theorizing about the senators replacement before she left office was not a good way to start the anti-recall campaign. I would hope that they remember there are a lot of women who vote in the recall, and its not a very good look to pit women together to save the job of a man, Pelosi said of those organizing Newsom's campaign. Pelosi agreed that stopping a Republican from getting into office isnt enough to galvanize voters, adding that grassroots organizers want to hear from the governor directly about what his message will be. Don't just assume that because were Democrats and were Democratic delegates that you dont have to ask us, she said. If you dont respect us, dont expect us. Staff writer John Myers contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Internal Revenue Service extended the tax deadline to May 17 from April 15, giving taxpayers additional time to file their returns after mounting pressure from lawmakers and organizations. The IRS and Treasury Department said the extension is for individual taxpayers, in a short statement released on Wednesday afternoon, and that formal guidance would be published in the coming days. This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) said earlier Wednesday in a statement, confirming the agency had made the decision to extend the deadline after numerous media reports. Under titanic stress and strain, American taxpayers and tax preparers must have more time to file tax returns. And the IRS itself started the filing season late, continues to be behind schedule, and now must implement changes from the American Rescue Plan," Neal and Pascrell wrote. Read more: Here's how you should use your tax refund in 2021 This year, the filing season opened on February 12, a delayed start compared with previous years, leaving Americans with less time this season to prepare their returns. In addition to disruptions caused by the pandemic, taxpayers and the IRS are dealing with numerous tax changes this season after the government put in place various stimulus provisions to provide financial relief during the pandemic. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been calling on the Internal Revenue Service to extend the April 15 due to the new stimulus provisions and the late start of the filing season. In 2020, the tax filing deadline was moved to July 15 due to the health risks and economic challenges caused by the pandemic. A view of the Internal Revenue Service building is seen on March 27, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) "We are still grappling with the massive economic, logistical and health challenges wrought by this devastating pandemic," Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote in a letter obtained by Yahoo Money and signed by over 100 Democratic and four Republican representatives before news of the extension broke. "Millions of stressed-out taxpayers, businesses and preparers would appreciate an extension of the deadline to file their 2020 tax returns." Republican Senator Mike Crapo from Idaho also had joined the calls for an extension. Read more: Taxes: Here's how to know if you should itemize "The various coronavirus relief programs created over the last year, including the bill signed into law just last week, have resulted in a large amount of extra paperwork for taxpayers this year and have required tax preparation firms to constantly update their systems," he said on Wednesday in a statement to Yahoo Money. "The IRS should strongly consider extending the filing deadline, giving taxpayers and businesses more certainty and time to receive accurate guidance and file returns properly." AARP and AICPA, the largest member association representing accountants, both have called for a tax deadline extension. (Photo: Getty Creative) The $1.9 trillion stimulus deal recently signed into law included a tax exemption for the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits; any benefits above that threshold would be taxable. The break would apply to the 2020 tax year and only for households making up to $150,000. Along with the newly-added tax break from the recent stimulus, taxpayers face other key changes. They can claim the first and second stimulus check as a Recovery Rebate Credit if they didn't receive the payments or the correct amount. Under the $900 billion stimulus passed in December, taxpayers can use either their 2019 or 2020 income to calculate their Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Read more: Taxes 2021: How to avoid scams this filing season This year, taxpayers who take the standard deduction can write off up to $300 in charitable donations, thanks to CARES Act. And under the government spending bill, medical expenses now must exceed only 7.5% of adjusted gross income to take this itemized deduction. It's also unclear whether states will follow suit and extend their state tax deadlines. Yahoo Money sister site Cashay has a weekly newsletter. Denitsa is a writer for Yahoo Finance and Cashay, a new personal finance website. Follow her on Twitter @denitsa_tsekova Read more: Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Reddit. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Patna, March 18 : An Assembly speaker is generally accused by the Opposition party for not giving them enough time to speak or for favouring the ruling party but in Bihar the Speaker is miffed over the remarks by the members of the ruling outfit. However, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has appealed to the ruling party as well as the Opposition to support the Speaker for the smooth functioning of the Assembly. On Monday, the Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav made a remark about Sugarcane Industries Minister Pramod Kumar reacting to which Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad not only demanded an apology from Tejashwi Yadav but also accused Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha of favouring him. A few days back, the Opposition also accused Sinha of being guided by the ruling party. Things went from bad to worse on Wednesday when Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Chaudhary pointed at Sinha and asked him "not to get too anxious", which did not go down well with him. Sinha strongly objected to the Hindi word "vyakul" used by Chaudhary, which loosely translates to being anxious and asked the minister to withdraw his remark immediately which he not only refused to do but repeated it to Sinha's chagrin. Miffed over the remark, Sinha adjourned the House. He returned only after Chaudhary tendered an apology. Expressing anger for not giving enough time to speak in the Assembly, the Opposition had organised a march to Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum to the Governor. BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said we all respect Sinha and the Chair. "Sometimes, the members make a remark unintentionally during a debate. However, it should not be taken too seriously. The members even apologise for their remarks." However, on Wednesday Communist Party of India (MLL) MLA Mehboob Alam made a satirical remark citing a 1968 hit film 'Ankhen' song featuring Mala Sinha and Dharmendra: "Gairon par karam, apno par sitam". New Delhi: North Korea on Sunday tested a hydrogen bomb in its sixth nuclear test on Sunday, which judging by the earthquake it set off appeared to be its most powerful explosion yet. After which, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea strongly condemned NorthKorea's nuclear test. South Korea's weather agency estimated the nuclear blast yield of the presumed test was between 50 and 60 kilotons, or five to six times stronger than North Korea's fifth test in September 2016. That would mark a significant step forward inthe North's quest for a viable nuclear missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States. Also Read: North Korea successfully tests 'missile ready' Hydrogen bomb On North Korean television, a newsreader called the testa "complete success" and said the "two-stage thermo nuclear weapon" had "unprecedented" strength. Hours earlier, Pyongyang claimed its leader had inspected a hydrogen bomb meant for a new inter continental ballistic missile. Slamming Pyongyang for ignoring international condemnation of its atomic weapons programme. North Korea "has ignored the international community's widespread opposition, again carrying out a nuclear test. China's government expresses resolute opposition and strong condemnation toward this," the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. "We strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) to face the strong will of denuclearisation from the international community, earnestly abide by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, stop taking mistaken actions which worsen the situation and are also not in line with its own interests,and effectively return to the track of solving the problem through dialogue," it added. The test came just hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to open a summit of BRICs nations in southern China. North Korea's actions create a potentially embarrassing situation for Xi, who is preparing for a politically sensitive gathering of the ruling Communist Party in October, at which he aims to further consolidate his power. The leader chose not to address the test during his more than 40-minute address to the assembled leaders of Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil. It was the second time this year that North Korea has timed a weapons test to coincide with a major international political gathering in China. In May Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile as leaders from 29 nations gathered in Beijing for a summit touting China's new Silk Road project. Seoul's weather agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said an artificial 5.7 magnitude quake occurred at 12:29 p.m. local time, in Kilju, northern Hamgyong province, the site where North Korea has conducted nuclear tests in the past. Seoul officials revised their earlier estimate of 5.6 magnitude quake. The US Geological Survey called the first quake an explosion with a magnitude 6.3. The US State Department had no immediate reaction. South Korea's presidential office said it will hold a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in. South Korea's military said it has strengthened its monitoring and readiness while mulling a variety of possible responses that could be executed in collaboration with the US. Japan confirmed that North Korea conducted a nuclear test, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. "It is absolutely unacceptable if North Korea did force another nuclear test, and we must protest strongly," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. The USGS and China's earthquake administration detected a second tremor in North Korea minutes after the first, describing it as a cave-in or collapse. South Korea's weather agency, however, said no second quake occurred. North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year, the last nearly a year ago, on the September 9 anniversary of the nation's founding. It has since maintained a torrid pace inweapons tests, including its first two inter continental ballistic missiles test in July. Last month, North Korea fired a potentially nuclear-capable midrange missile over northern Japan. Earlier, photos released by the North Korean government showed Kim talking with his lieutenants as he observed a silver, peanut-shaped device that was apparentlythe purported thermo nuclear weapon destined for an ICBM. What appeared to be the nose cone of a missile could also be seen near the alleged bomb in one picture, which could not be independently verified and was taken without outside journalists present. Another photo showed a diagram on the wall behind Kim of a bomb mounted inside a cone. State media said Kim visited the Nuclear Weapons Institute and inspected a "homemade" H-bomb with "super explosive power" that "is adjustable from tens (of) kiloton to hundreds (of) kiloton." North Korea's nuclear and missile programme has made huge strides since Kim rose to power following his father's death in late 2011. The North followed its two tests of Hwasong-14ICBMs by threatening in August to launch a salvo of its Hwasong-12 intermediate range missiles toward the US Pacific island territory of Guam. It flew a Hwasong-12 over northern Japan last week, the first such overflight by a missile capable of carrying nukes,in a launch Kim described as a "meaningful prelude" to containing Guam, the home of major US military facilities, and more ballistic missile tests targeting the Pacific. It may be difficult for outside experts to confirm that the nuclear device detonated on Sunday was an H-bomb. State media reported that the test left no trace of radio active material. The US and its allies attempt to detect blast material to gauge North Korea's progress, but Pyongyang has become better at containing it as its nuclear program has evolved. To back up its claims to nuclear mastery, such tests are vital. The first of its two atomic tests last year involved what Pyongyang claimed was a sophisticated hydrogen bomb; the second it said was its most powerful atomic detonation ever. It is almost impossible to independently confirm North Korean statements about its highly secret weapons programme. North Korea is thought to have a growing arsenal ofnuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs. The White House said President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan regarding "ongoing efforts to maximize pressure on North Korea." The statement did not say whether the conversation came before or after the North's latest claim. With PTI Inputs For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Brussels, March 18 : The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a Digital Green Certificate covering Covid-19 vaccination, testing and recovery, in a bid to reopen the European Union (EU) "in a safe, sustainable and predictable way." "This is an EU level approach to issuing, verifying and accepting certificates to facilitate free movement within the EU," the executive arm of the bloc said in a statement, noting that the legislative proposal is "based on a strict respect for non-discrimination and of the fundamental rights of EU citizens." The European Commission proposed to define and implement a technical framework for the certificate at EU level by mid-June, so that security, interoperability, as well as full compliance with personal data protection, can be safeguarded, the Xinhua news agency reported. "It will also allow the possibility to extend to compatible certificates issued in third countries," the Commission added. The proposal is "a balanced package of existing and new measures," European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said. "In lifting restrictions, we must learn the lessons of 2020 and avoid damaging and costly cycles of opening and closing." Schinas hoped the bloc's 27 member states could endorse the proposal at the EU summit on March 25. SHENZHEN, China, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei is proud to announce that it was named a 2021 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for WAN Edge Infrastructure - the only Chinese company to receive this distinction. We believe it demonstrates the widespread recognition of Huawei's SD-WAN solution from customers worldwide. On Gartner Peer Insights, Huawei has earned an overall rating of 4.8/5 stars as of December 31, 20201 for its HUAWEI CloudWAN (HUAWEI SD-WAN) solution. This impressive result is based on factual reviews from 58 customers1 across a wide variety of sectors, such as finance, communications, manufacturing, and services. These reviews praise Huawei's products and solutions - including NetEngine AR series enterprise routers and iMaster NCE (a campus network management and control system) - in terms of product functionality, deployment, O&M, and service support. Gartner Peer Insights is an online platform of ratings and reviews of IT software and services that are written and read by IT professionals and technology decision-makers. The goal is to help IT leaders make more insightful purchase decisions and help technology providers improve their products by receiving objective, unbiased feedback from their customers. Currently, Gartner Peer Insights includes more than 255,000 verified reviews in more than 355 markets. The overall messages from customers who chose Huawei's SD-WAN solution are extremely positive. Here are some excerpts: "The CloudWAN provides a good solution for interconnection between the overall branch and DC in Japan , to fulfil high speed remote access requirement. Furthermore, the O&M experience is literally good, as it guarantees the normal operation of the overall solution. The O&M system describes the major activities in different phases of the O&M lifecycle, including the detailed process of ZTP and the monitoring and visualization of key information such as alarms and link statuses during system running, thereby improving the O&M efficiency of enterprise network." (As of December 19, 2020 ) - IT Engineer in the manufacturing industry (https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/wan-edge-infrastructure/vendor/huawei/product/cloudwan/review/view/1267482) , to fulfil high speed remote access requirement. Furthermore, the O&M experience is literally good, as it guarantees the normal operation of the overall solution. The O&M system describes the major activities in different phases of the O&M lifecycle, including the detailed process of ZTP and the monitoring and visualization of key information such as alarms and link statuses during system running, thereby improving the O&M efficiency of enterprise network." (As of ) - IT Engineer in the manufacturing industry (https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/wan-edge-infrastructure/vendor/huawei/product/cloudwan/review/view/1267482) "Huawei's solution provides a unified WAN management platform to centrally manage and configure all devices on the entire network, reducing the number of IT personnel in branches. In addition, the NetEngine AR provides a high-quality network that matches financial services. The NetEngine AR plays a key role in providing good performance, security features, and WAN optimization." - Engineer in the finance industry (As of December 29, 2020 ) (https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/wan-edge-infrastructure/vendor/huawei/product/cloudwan/review/view/1069128) Huawei is an established player in the SD-WAN market, having served over one thousand customers around the world, including in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, and China. As of September 2020, Huawei had been named a Challenger in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure2 for three consecutive years. "We're thrilled to be named a Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for WAN Edge Infrastructure again in 2021. We appreciate all the feedback our customers provide via Gartner Peer Insights, helping us to keep innovating and forging ahead," said Cao Tongqiang, director of Huawei's SD-WAN solution. "As we move forward, we will continue to provide first-class solutions and products that meet customer requirements while remaining both innovative and customer-centric, helping customers to accelerate digital transformation." For more information about Huawei's NetEngine AR routers and SD-WAN solution, visit Huawei SD-WAN website. Source: 1Gartner Peer Insights 'Voice of the Customer': WAN Edge Infrastructure, 5 February 2021 2Gartner, Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure, by Jonathan Forest | Andrew Lerner | Naresh Singh, 23 September 2020 Disclaimer: 1.Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates. 2. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Mass Mountain I am proud to be a part of the underrepresented group of women business owners in the field of technology and excited to be a part of the innovation and opportunities that are certain with the ever-changing digital world we are living in Minnesota based Mass Storage Systems Inc. has recently been acquired by community leader and local entrepreneur, Lisa Jabara Newell and rebranded as Mass Mountain Technologies. They have established a secondary HQ, as well as their sales and marketing office in Grand Rapids, MI. The company has been a leader of cutting edge technology in the data storage and back up world since 1996. The ownership and location change bring a new growth strategy and innovation to their branding, market focus, product offering and everyday operations. According to various 2020 research studies, women hold only a quarter of all technology jobs and women owned technology companies are even more rare. Lisa Jabara Newell, is excited to once again contribute to the West Michigan business community with her newest venture. Mass Mountain Technologies legacy of excellence continues with their commitment to bringing data storage and backup solutions at industry-defying speeds and affordability to organizations domestic and international. In the last decade, digital technology and innovation have brought a transformation in our society, impacting how we tackle some of the worlds biggest problems and how organizations are able to reach their customers and grow. I am proud to be a part of the underrepresented group of women business owners in the field of technology and excited to be a part of the innovation and opportunities that are certain with the ever-changing digital world we are living in, says owner, Lisa Jabara Newell. Mass Mountain Technologies is a market leader in designing and manufacturing customized data solutions for enterprise level organizations, up to the multi-petabyte level. Their focus is providing fast and reliable customized data backup and storage with an emphasis on innovation, security, scalability, industry-leading performance speeds, word class service, support and value. Their patented product portfolio has created a buzz in the technology and data storage world with their unique hardware, software and cloud offerings that provide high speed, security and affordability customized to the needs of organizations of all sizes. In light of the exceptional circumstances and changes the last year has brought, innovative IT solutions have made it possible for organizations to keep business moving. We want to provide reliable and affordable support to strategic leaders and professionals in all industries that will allow them to perform their mission critical tasks and business decisions with confidence and without complications, Ms. Jabara Newell said. Additionally, we are excited to contribute to our West Michigan business community by bringing our unique, trusted business model and future job opportunities to our amazing state. Business leaders and organizations interested in additional business, product and service information are invited to connect with Mass Mountain Technologies through their website, https://www.massmountain.com. China internet regulator has announced it is taking steps to stem the use of voice-changing software, a technology that has been used by activists on the audio chatroom app Clubhouse to disguise their voices from government agents monitoring the app. The Cyberspace Administration said it had held talks with 11 major social media platforms including Tencent and Alibaba to find ways to counteract the practice, which it claimed could endanger state security through the use of "deep fake" digital manipulation. It said it had called on police and China's specialized internet police to "strengthen the security assessment of voice-based social media software and the use of new technologies and apps" to change the digital voiceprint generated when people speak or record their voices. It said the 11 service providers had been instructed to report back with security assessments and improved risk prevention and control measures. The statement on the agency's website said the moves were needed to "safeguard national security, social order, and the public interest." An internet technician surnamed Zhan said government censors and internet police are extending the kind of controls that already exist for print content to include voice-based content as well. "For example, if I were to send you a voice message using Douyin or some other platform, they will sample the first recording, and store it on their server," he said. "This won't be available to the public, but the the police will be able to access it." He said phone, internet, and social media providers will all be required to keep files of biometric data on all users in future, including voiceprints. "As far as I am aware, public wifi networks like internet cafes and five-star hotels already have a mirror port ... so that all of the data you enter or download must pass through a data port controlled by the police," he said. An online activist who gave only her surname Ding said the move is part of an ongoing clampdown on China's social media giants. "They are tightening controls yet again," Ding said. "Their next step will be to go after Tencent, and then to nationalize Alibaba." Tightened controls in Hong Kong Meanwhile, authorities in Hong Kong are moving ahead with plans to require real-name registration for mobile phone SIM cards bought in the city. While a "consultation period" for the move is coming to an end this week, pro-democracy district councilors said there had been no public forum or communication channels through which the public could make their concerns known to the government. Tsuen Wan District Councillor Katrina Chan said the move will treat the entire population like potential criminals. Currently, law enforcement agencies can only access the person data of telecoms customers with a warrant, but the proposed move will make it much easier to access it. She also raised concerns about plans to bring in biometric scans on public transport, including facial recognition. Earlier, a group of pro-democracy district councilors were ordered to leave the Sham Shui Po district offices after they tried to submit documents for the consultation. The use of real-name registration for telecoms services and biometric scans in public places is already widespread in mainland China. China started blocking Clubhouse for users lacking the tools to get around the Great Firewall in early February. The block came after the app opened a rare window of opportunity for users in China to speak freely in Clubhouse's moderated audio forums, in Mandarin, and beyond the reach of government censorship. Unprecedented conversations were being had on normally banned topics between China-based users, who are fed the CCP's official narrative on most topics for much of the time, and activists in less censored countries, as well as those in democratic Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang, according to user accounts posted to social media. Some users have continued to use Clubhouse to discuss such topics in Mandarin, but with their voiceprints digitally disguised, to avoid being identified by the authorities. Reported by Qiao Long, Chingman and Gigi Lee for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he stands ready to better align China-Bangladesh strategies and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, to take the China-Bangladesh strategic cooperative partnership to new heights. President Xi made the remarks in a video message shown at an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the 100th birthday of the founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladeshi government, and the people. Calling Bangladesh a good old friend of the Chinese people, Xi said Rahman, who visited China twice, has forged a friendship with the older generation of Chinese leaders. President Xi hailed the contribution made by the older generation of leaders of the two sides to the development of bilateral relations, stressing the need to continue the friendship. Noting Bangladesh has made remarkable achievements in building the nation in the past 50 years since its independence, the Chinese president said, China, as a friendly neighbor, is deeply pleased. "China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbors since ancient times, and the ancient Silk Road has witnessed a thousand years of friendship between the two countries," said Xi, adding that the two sides have always respected each other, treated each other as equals, supported each other and moved forward hand in hand. Saying he attaches great importance to the development of China-Bangladesh relations, the Chinese president pointed out both two countries are now at a critical stage of revitalization and development. "The Chinese Dream to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation aligns with Bangladesh's dream of a 'Sonar Bangla'," said Xi, adding that the practical cooperation between the two countries has brought tangible benefits to the two peoples. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the two countries have weathered the trying times and helped each other, with Chinese enterprises making breakthroughs in the construction of major projects in Bangladesh, and the tariff exemption for 97 percent of the exports from Bangladesh, Xi recalled. (CGTN) Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - BELGRAVIA HARTFORD CAPITAL INC. (CSE: BLGV) ("Belgravia Hartford", "Belgravia" or the "Company") today announced an update on its Autumn Resources listing activities. The Board of Autumn Resources is continuing to make progress in terms of moving forward with its public listing plans and two financing rounds, including the public offering, which Belgravia will be the lead investor on both rounds. Autumn Resources will announce the offering documents and the appointment of its financial institution selection. The Board of Autumn Resources is expediating the process of the prospectus and financing activities. Mr. Joseph Victor Cacciatore has been appointed as an advisor to the Board of Directors of Autumn Resources. Mr. Cacciatore is a fourth-generation real estate developer from Chicago, IL, and a graduate of DePaul University. He started his career at the Cacciatore family-owned Lakeside Bank and currently advises the Chicago Media Angels and the Kanye West finance committee. Mr. Cacciatore is also an advisor to Belgravia Hartford. Autumn Resources is currently seeking further assets in addition to the Currie project to build a multi level platform of junior exploration properties. Once definitive agreements are signed, further announcements will be made. Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO of Belgravia Hartford, said "Belgravia Hartford remains a major shareholder of Autumn Resources holding over five million shares representing approximately 69% ownership. A detailed capital structure of this holding will be made available upon the completion of both financing rounds leading to public listing, which will identify the valuation for the Belgravia Hartford portfolio." About Belgravia Hartford Belgravia Hartford Capital Inc. is a Canadian publically traded investment holding company which invests in public and private companies in legal jurisdictions and under the rule of law. Belgravia Hartford and its investment holdings are high risk business ventures and expose shareholders to financial risks. For more information, please visit www.belgraviahartford.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding planned investment activities & related returns, the timing for completion of research and development activities, the potential value of royalties, and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, changes in market trends, the completion, results and timing of research undertaken by the Company, risks associated with resource assets, the impact of general economic conditions, commodity prices, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory, environmental, and governmental approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. For More Information, Please Contact: Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO Belgravia Hartford Capital Inc. (250) 763-5533 mazodi@blgv.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77784 How industrial fishing creates more CO2 emissions than air travel by ARYN BAKER March 18,2021 | Source: TIME Its been well established by now that the agricultural systems producing our food contribute at least one fifth of global anthropogenic carbon emissionsand up to a third if waste and transportation are factored in. A troubling new report points to a previously overlooked source: an industrial fishing process practiced by dozens of countries around the world, including the United States, China, and the E.U. The study, published today in the scientific journal Nature, is the first to calculate the carbon cost of bottom trawling, in which fishing fleets drag immense weighted nets along the ocean floor, scraping up fish, shellfish and crustaceans along with significant portions of their habitats. According to calculations conducted by the reports 26 authors, bottom trawling is responsible for one gigaton of carbon emissions a yeara higher annual total than (pre-pandemic) aviation emissions. Not only does the practice contribute to climate change, it is extremely damaging to ocean biodiversitythe equivalent of ploughing an old-growth forest into the ground, over and over and over again until there is nothing left according to lead author Enric Sala, a marine biologist who is also National Geographics Explorer in Residence. Bottom trawling is also one of the least cost effective methods of fishing. Most locations have been trawled so many times, there is little left worth catching, says Sala. Without government subsidies, no one would be making a penny. But Sala didnt set out to condemn bottom trawlers when he designed the research project back in 2018. He was looking for the incentives that just might make the fishing industry, and governments, give up on the practice on their own. The carbon findings may just do the trick. The study, which breaks the entire ocean down into 50-km-square units, measures how much each so-called pixel contributes to global marine biodiversity, fish stocks and climate protection, based on a complex analysis of location, water temperature, salinity and species distribution, among other factors. It also tracks how much CO2 each pixel is capable of absorbing as a carbon sink. (Overall, the ocean absorbs about a quarter of global CO2 emissions a year, though the amount fluctuates between regions). By mapping those pixel-level baselines the study can then calculate the impact of increasing or decreasing fishing and other human activities. The overall goal was to develop a map of ocean locations that, if protected, would produce the maximum benefits for humans in terms of increased fish stocks, biodiversity and carbon absorption while minimizing a loss of income for the fishing industry. The reason why we only have seven percent of the ocean under protection is because of the conflict with the fishing industry, says Sala. Refuting a long-held view that ocean protection harms fisheries, the study found that well placed marine protected areas (MPAs) that ban fishing would actually boost the production of marine life by functioning as fish nurseries and biodiversity generators capable of seeding stocks elsewhere. According to the study results, protecting the right places could increase the global seafood catch by over 8 million metric tons a year, despite the challenges of overfishing and climate change. Bottom trawling, however, would have to stop, says Sala. While mangroves, kelp forests and sea grass meadows are good at capturing carbon, the bottom of the ocean, piled deep with marine animal debris, is a far greater carbon sink. But when the trawlers weighted nets scrape the sea floor that carbon is released back into the water. Excess carbon in water turns it acidic, which is damaging to sea life. Worse still, the practice also impacts the oceans ability to absorb atmospheric carbon: if the water is already saturated from sources down below, it will be unable to absorb human-caused emissions from above, hamstringing one of our best assets in the fight against climate change. By combining publicly-available data on global bottom trawler activity with pixel-level assessments of carbon stored in the top layers of ocean sediments, Sala and his team were able to calculate the amount of emissions produced by the technique, down to the level of national fleets. The European Union, for example, releases 274,718,086 metric tons of marine sediment carbon into the ocean a year, while Chinese fleets release 769,294,185 metric tons, and the United States releases 19,373,438. If, as a 2018 study on the economics of fishing the high seas points out, bottom trawling is the least profitable method of harvesting the oceans bounty while producing the most carbon, it makes little sense for industry to continue, says Sala. Now, armed with the science along with the math, countries could conceivably put a halt to bottom trawling while selling the offsets to pay for marine protection. Technological innovations such as green power generation and battery storage are vital for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. But we still need to reduce atmospheric carbon, and so far technology has not been able to do that affordably and at scale. The oceans have been absorbing carbon for millennia, says Sala. The best way to reduce global emissions is to allow them to keep doing their jobs. Most people still see the ocean as a victim of climate change. What people dont realize is that nature is half of the solution to the climate crisis. 2021 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Theme(s): Others. Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Asian refineries are grappling with whats expected to be a brief period of weak profits as a demand-sapping Covid-19 comeback across the region coincides with a likely surge in oil-product exports from Iran.The virus resurgence in India and other nations apart from China is reducing consumption of products such as gasoline and jet fuel, squeezing the profit margins of refiners. The market is also bracing for the possibility of a boost to Iranian fuel oil supplies into Asia should a nuclear deal be revived.Thats led to complex refining margins in Singapore, a proxy for Asia, falling from $1.65 a barrel at the end of April to as low as 3 cents in mid-May. While its a setback for processors recovering from the pandemic, margins have rebounded slightly and are expected to resume an upward trajectory as soon as the third quarter with accelerating vaccination rates aiding demand.The average profit from converting crude into gasoline in Asia -- the so-called crack spread -- fell in May from April, snapping a three-month gain. Across the region, restrictions in place from Malaysia, Vietnam to Japan have sapped demand for transportation fuel. Oil consultant FGE sees Indias gasoline consumption as the biggest stumbling block to Asias demand recovery, with an estimated 20% fall in April through June versus the previous quarter.See also: Japans April Fuel Stocks Rise Despite Drop in ProductionExport is not a very attractive option, said N. Vijayagopal, the finance director at Bharat Petroleum Corp., Indias second biggest fuel retailer. Refiners across the country are facing a double whammy caused by weaker regional markets and lower domestic consumption thats prompting them to set aside earlier plans to maintain run rates and reduce operations instead.Complex refining margins in Singapore were at 60 cents a barrel on Monday and averaged about 71 cents in May. That compares with $2.41 in the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The profit from converting crude to gasoline in Asia was at $8.85 on Tuesday after averaging about $8.48 in May.Iran FlowsThe restart of some crude processing capacity after seasonal maintenance will boost fuel supplies and offset some of the expected increase in demand, limiting the gains in refining margins, said Victor Shum, vice president of energy consulting for IHS Markit.Most are expecting a flood of crude should the nuclear accord be renewed with Iran, but its the prospect of rising fuel oil flows -- used to power ships and for electricity generation in some countries -- thats raised concerns for Asian refiners, especially as China boosts output of heavy fuel.Margins for very low-sulfur fuel oil dropped below $10 a barrel in mid-May for the first time since December, easing from a high of almost $16 at the end of February. Cracks in May were also at the lowest average in five months. Margins for high-sulfur fuel oil fell as low -$8.80 in May, from -$3.71 in April.Diesel demand, most notably from China, is proving to be the bright spot and has provided a buffer for overall margins. Consumption in Asia during the first three months of the year was at 9.4 million barrels a day, or about 98% of 2019 levels, and is expected to edge higher during the second quarter, according to Yuwei Pei, a consultant at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.Singapores stockpiles of middle distillates -- a category that includes diesel -- fell through the week ended May 26 to the lowest since April 2020. Covid-19 restrictions and the return of refineries after seasonal maintenance may lead to rising Asian inventories, but regional diesel cracks could increase $3 to $4 a barrel to as much as $10 by December, according to Wood Mackenzie.As the Covid-19 situation in Asia stabilizes and restrictions are eased, improvement in cracks of transportation fuels should support both simple and complex refining margins through the third quarter, said Grayson Lim, a senior oil market analyst at FGE(Updates margins and adds analyst comment in seventh paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P. Chloe Zhao attends the drive-in premiere of "Nomadland" hosted by Fox Searchlight and the Telluride Film Festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Sept. 11, 2020. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images) CCPs Top Propaganda Body Orders State Media Outlets to Downplay Upcoming Oscars Ceremony Weeks ahead of the 93rd Oscars ceremony, scheduled for April 25 this year, Chinese authorities are said to have ordered state media outlets to downplay the event, with Chinas state broadcaster CCTV saying it will cancel its planned live streaming. According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), sources said that the decision was made by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) top propaganda bodythe Publicity Department shortly after the films Do Not Split and Nomadland were listed among the award nominees by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on March 15. Do Not Split is a documentary reflecting Hong Kong protesters fight for freedom since 2019, when the CCP pushed forward with it extradition law that would see people accused of crimes stand trial in mainland China. Nomadland narrates a story of an American woman in her sixties who lives a van-dwelling life alone. The film won six nominations, including Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role, Directing, Cinematography, Writing, and Film Editing, for its female director Chloe Zhao, who grew up in Beijing but went on to receive her college education in the United States. Zhao is the first woman director of Asian descent nominated by the Academy. However, the CCPs treatment of Zhao has been dramatic. In early March, when Zhao won two Golden Globe awards, she was lauded as the Light of the Chinese on Chinas social media Weibo and news portals like Tencent and Sohu. Her award-winning Nomadland was widely promoted to be shown in Chinese cinemas on Apr. 23. But shortly afterwards, some past comments Zhao made were critical of Chinese society were circulated online and labelled as insulting China by pro-Beijing netizens. In 2013, she referred to China as a place where there are lies everywhere when she discussed her childhood in an interview with Filmmaker magazine, a New York-based quarterly publication. Immediately, the CCPs Publicity Department issued orders to national and regional news agencies to fade Zhao from the nations attention or to focus on less sensitive nominations, media sources revealed. The CCP regime has maintained its power through ideological surveillance of the Chinese people. In 1993, at the 65th Oscars awards ceremony, Richard Gere, American actor and producer, criticized the CCP, calling out its most powerful figure, Deng Xiaoping, for a horrendous, horrendous human rights situation in Tibet. Chinas state media Shanghai TV, which was airing the event, immediately cut off transmission signals, according to CNA. In November 2018, Fu Yue, a native Taiwanese filmmaker, won best director for her work on Our Youth in Taiwan at the Golden Horse Awards ceremony. She voiced her greatest wish in a speech that one day, our country [Taiwan] can be treated as a truly independent entity. However, her statement angered attendees from communist China. The CCP has since banned any report of that event. Wang Aizhong, a Chinese dissident in Guangzhou in southern Chinas province, told RFA on March 16 that the Chinese regime dreads the idea of exposing the public to the true events that happened in Hong Kong. I believe they [the Chinese authorities] lack enough confidence or are more or less skeptical of what they have done [censorship], Wang added. "GIVE a man fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," goes an old English saying. True to the saying, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa is on a mission to help people fend for themselves. As patron of Angel of Hope Foundation, she said while her foundation would continue assisting those in need, there was need for those who are able to work to engage in projects which will help them become self-reliant. She made the remarks at a ceremony where her foundation received an assortment of foodstuffs and toiletries from its partners and Midlands business community here for onward distribution to the needy. The goods included maize-meal, flour, cooking oil, baked beans, dried vegetables, sugar, salt, bathing and laundry soap. After receiving the goods, Amai Mnangagwa said she wanted to donate them to vulnerable groups in all the districts in the Midlands. "These various fraternities have in unison donated food items to me as the patron of Angel of Hope Foundation. This endorsement is meant to shore up our mandate as a foundation, that of assisting the marginalised, the underprivileged, women, youth and children. "I have come to receive this donation with the purpose of handing it over immediately to Midlands Province. Our elderly, the disabled and vulnerable children in homes are in constant need, therefore our helping hand should not be once off, but in continuum. "As usual, Angel of Hope Foundation will continue assisting those in need, but will go further in encouraging those who are able to work to engage in projects which will help them become self-reliant," she said. The First Lady said she would engage the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare for them, if possible, to categorise those in need and ensure those with capacity to work can be empowered through the initiation of income-generating projects to enable them to fend for themselves and learn how to produce and process their products. "We will continue doing our best in assisting those who are incapacitated as I am not leaving any category behind. We are in the difficult time of Covid-19, an era which has cost us our loved ones who have succumbed to this pandemic. "It is during this time that the demand for the presence of Angel of Hope Foundation has amplified now more than ever. We have travelled far and wide the country of Zimbabwe with the aim of assisting the elderly, the disabled and the less fortunate simultaneously arming them with information on how the virus is spread and measures of prevention." The First Lady said the business community's donation had contributed immensely to the vision of her foundation. "I would like to thank all the entities who have contributed to this donation as this gesture is a light in the tunnel for those in dire lack. All the eight districts of Midlands Province are expected to benefit from this input. Let us continue to help those in need in our communities and society at large as one nation," she said. She urged the nation to continue adhering to Covid-19 protocols and urged the country's citizenry to embrace the vaccination programme currently underway. Amai Mnangagwa further implored women to unite and show love in observance of the current women's month. "Let us show each other love in our communities that we live in. Let's embrace each other and avoid hate which will not take us anywhere. Madzimai ngativei nerudo nevavakidzani vedu. Kana wanga usati watanga kuratidza rudo kune vamwe itotanga nhasi mumwedzi wemadzimai zvigoramba zvichiyenda mberi," she said. Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Larry Mavima paid tribute to First Lady's benevolence. "We are all gathered to witness a great gesture of generosity, kindness and love from our First Lady as we hand over groceries donated by Amai to our beneficiaries here in the Midlands Province. "Amai your support is invaluable to us and this shows that indeed you are the mother of the nation. You are a special type of person that changes lives, lifts people up and makes the world a better place. Thank you for your kindness and love towards the vulnerable communities," he said. The First Lady remains apolitical in her activities and this has attracted many admirers for her. Former MDC legislator Blessing Chebundo who recently rejoined Zanu-PF pointed out that what the First Lady was doing in Zimbabwe was the first of its kind since independence in 1980 and even during colonialism. "I have respect to the highest level for our mother of the nation. I am a history student and I love history a lot. I know that when building the future, you look at where you came from, where you are and where you are going. "Since time immemorial I do not remember hearing about a First Lady who had this kind of a heart like that of our mother. Today we are not presenting a historical account, but something tangible. I am not saying this because she is here. "Over the last few years before I came back home, I would look through the lens of opposition. But while watching television with my wife one day we marvelled at her non-partisanship. Your actions will carry us forward as a nation Amai," he said. His sentiments were echoed by one woman who identified herself as Mrs Virginia Muzhari and said that she was a member of the MDC-A. Mrs Muzhari was one of the beneficiaries of the First Ladies donations yesterday. She said together with other people she came with from the same political party, they all received goods from the mother of the nation. She said they admired the First Lady's non-partisan approach in all her programmes and projects. Mrs Muzhari said by giving her food and toiletries, the First Lady had lightened her burden since one of her children is physically-impaired. "I am here to thank deeply our mother, Amai Mnangagwa. She does a lot of good for us as a nation. Today I have received these goodies on behalf of my child who lives with disability," she said. "Today we saw it for ourselves that Amai Mnangagwa is a real mother of the nation, she did not select her children, she gave us all equally. She is a mother for all of us. I want to thank you heartily because you recognise the disabled and the elderly. I want to take this time to wish God to bless you and add even more years. We have never seen such in Zimbabwe," she said. In response, the First Lady said everyone looked the same to her. "When I look at people, they are the same to me. I am not selective and the happiness I accord to everyone is what I give to all people. No matter how many children may be, a mother knows her children. You have said words that touched me a lot that in most things I am not selective. I am happy that you are here because we are one family in one nation, Zimbabwe. I will never feel overburdened and I carry all my children on my back," she said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Zimbabwe Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Another beneficiary, Mrs Cooler Manava, who lives with disability expressed gratitude to the First Lady for her love and timely interventions. "I want to thank our mother because she has remembered us as disabled persons because when we are seated at home no one sees us. We are happy that today we left the homes and we want to thank for what she has done for us. "Over the lockdown period we were just in the homes with nothing to eat. Even those who look after us where finding it difficult to carry on with that task, but our mother came to our rescue," she said. Mrs Mavis Zulu was equally ecstatic and praised the First Lady for her generosity. "I was born in 1949 and I have never seen this kind of love. We were used to seeing this on television where the First Lady ate from the same plate with the elderly. It made me respect her and today she is here with us. "Her love is in the blood and it is in the bible. All my children are deceased and they left children that I am looking after. The First Lady has lessened my burden," she said with emotion written all over her face. She said she was looking after nine grandchildren adding that The First Lady's assistance was akin to that of Ruth in the Bible. The First Lady has made countless interventions to ease the plight of the vulnerable in societies. She thanked Angel of Hope Foundation partners for their continued support. Presented by finance minister T Harish Rao, this is the largest annual budget for the state since its formation in 2014 as well as for the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. (DC Image) Hyderabad: Telangana state on Thursday unveiled a Rs 2,30,825.66 crore budget for the financial year 2021-22. Presented by finance minister T Harish Rao, this is the largest annual budget for the state since its formation in 2014 as well as for the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. Once passed, the funds allocated in the Budget will be released for various departments from April 1. A sum of Rs 1,69,383.44 crore is earmarked for revenue expenditure and Rs 29,046.77 crore for capital expenditure to build assets. The minister estimated that Telangana will see a revenue surplus of Rs 6,743.50 crore. The estimated fiscal deficit, he said, is of Rs 45,509.60 crore. It is evident that Telangana has emerged as a major economic power, Harish Rao said and stated that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had stressed the state to safety and progress even during the trying Covid times. He also praised the CM for his leadership skills that has placed Telangana on the firm path of development and public welfare. Harish Rao said the Chief Ministers foresight and decisions stimulated the rural economy, helping the state limit the adverse impact of Covid-19. Round-the-clock power supply, increased irrigation and new welfare schemes helped the primary sector record a growth of 17.7 per cent in 2020-21, he said. As per advance estimates, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices is estimated at Rs 9,78,373 crore. The adverse impact of the lockdown reducing the GSDP growth from 13.5 per cent in 2019-20 to 1.3 per cent in 2020-21. Compred to this, the national GDP growth declined from 7.8 per cent to -3.8 per cent in the same period, he noted. On the per capita income front too, the state has done better than the nation, he said, adding in Telangana this is estimated to increase by 0.6 per cent in 2020-21 to Rs 2,27,145. The per capita income at national level is estimated to decline by 4.8 per cent to Rs 1,27,768. This, Harish Rao said, was proof that Telanganas economy is in a better shape despite the adverse situation. The finance minister, in his one-and-a-half hour budget presentation, referred to the successes the state achieved on various fronts, be it in irrigation, power supply, industries or the IT sector. This coming year, he said, programmes such as completing construction of two bedroom houses and expanding tourism to Kaleshwaram irrigation project will be taken up. Harish Rao said the governments goal was welfare of all people and our objective is to realise Bangaru Telangana with the participation and co-operation of all people. He said Chandrashekar Rao had put the chariot of progress on a fast track. Preserving the rich heritage of Telangana, let us march forward unitedly. We should ensure that the benefits of development reach the poorest of the poor, he said. Harish Rao created record during the presentation of Budget 2021-22 in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday as he became the first finance minister to present a Rs 2 lakh-crore budget in the Assembly. The Budget of Rs 2.3 lakh crore that he presented was the highest ever; in undivided AP, finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy presented an Rs1.83-lakh crore Budget in 2014. Harish Raos budget speech of 84 pages lasted 96 minutes, a record for its length. The previous record holder was then finance minister Etala Rajendar with a 78-minute speech in 2018. The customary press conference of the finance minister after the Budget presentation was cancelled owning to Covid restrictions. TS debt burden rises, faced revenue deficit for two straight years The state government's overall debt burden would increase to Rs 2.86 lakh crore as per Budget 2021-22 tabled in the Assembly on Thursday. Of this, open market loans account for Rs 2.44 lakh crore. The budget proposes to raise Rs 47,500 crore through market borrowing against Rs 43,784 crore last year. The government needs to pay Rs 17,584 crore this year towards interest while it was Rs 14,615 crore last year. Doctors allege neglect of health care sector Doctors complain that the cause of development of Osmania General Hospital, including construction of new buildings and improvement of infrastructure, has been neglected by the state government. Legislators hail hike in constituency development fund Each legislator and MLC will get Rs 5 crore as Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in the upcoming financial year year, in Budget 2021-22. The sum was Rs 3 crore last year. Accordingly, the budgetary allocation has been increased from Rs 480 crore last year to Rs 800 crore. Rs 1,602 cr provided for minorities The state government has provided Rs 1,602 crore (Rs 1,513 crore in 2020-21) for minorities in the Budget of which two-thirds has been marked for education and academics. No new schemes were introduced for the minorities on Thursday. Telangana relying heavily on taxes, income through sale of land to fund Budget The government is relying heavily on its own tax revenues, loans and sale of land to fund the largest-ever Rs 2.3 lakh-crore Budget presented on Thursday. The government plans to raise market value of land to increase revenue earnings besides selling government land parcels, HMDA land parcels and lands and flats owned by Rajiv Swagruha Corporation. Emigrants seek establishing Gulf Board with Rs 500 crore The Emigrants Welfare Forum has appealed for the establishment of a Telangana Gulf Workers Welfare Board (Gulf Board) with a budget of Rs 500 crore to benefit people from the state working in more than 18 countries. While presenting the Budget, finance minister T. Harish Rao said the government had decided to put in place an administrative arrangement on the lines of Kerala for the welfare of workers who had gone to the Gulf countries for livelihood. A facelift to government schools The Telangana state Budget for 2021-22 has thrown up some surprises as well as new schemes. The new schemes include giving Rs 4,000 crore for upgradation of government schools, Rs 1,000 for CM Dalit empowerment programme and extending Rs 30,000 per acre incentive for cultivation of oil palm. Budget allocation to Telangana police department increased by Rs 613 crore Finance minister T. Harish Rao allocated Rs 6,465 crore to the police, an increase of Rs 613 crore over the previous year. He allocated Rs 725 crore for the construction of the the police command control centre. The intelligence department got Rs 30 crore more, from Rs 11.02 crore last year to Rs 41.16 crore proposed in the state Budget on Thursday. Rs 1,602 cr provided for minorities The state government has provided Rs 1,602 crore (Rs 1,513 crore in 2020-21) for minorities in the Budget of which two-thirds has been marked for education and academics. No new schemes were introduced for the minorities on Thursday. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Commonwealth of Dominica's 'Safe in Nature' certification programme has successfully allowed tourism to resume on the island in a managed way that prioritises the safety of both visitors and citizens. Launched in October, the programme enables visitors to come to Dominica and experience the island with little risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus while still partaking in all the nation has to offer. With tourism being a primary driver of Dominica's economy, the 'Safe in Nature' programme also enables the island to support its stakeholders who the pandemic has hit. Dominica has ensured that its protocols and guidelines are continuously updated depending on travel advice. Visitors' requirements depend on the risk factor - with Dominica categorising countries under either low, medium or high risk. If travellers are coming from a high-risk nation, they must quarantine in one of the certified properties with a managed experience for the first five to seven days. Since its launch, the initiative has been hailed a 'success' by both visitors and operators on the island. Colin Piper, the Director of Tourism, addressed this during a recent government programme: "Since October 1st, we have had 1,678 visitors from high risk classified countries come and stay at certified properties.so the programme has been successful." During the government programme, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Lisa Valmond, indicated the importance of centring safety in all tourism protocols. "Dominica is unique, and it is beautiful, so it is partly due to that, but I think during the pandemic, they feel assured that their hosts are keeping them safe and the country safe as well." Visitors who want to make their stay a little more permanent can do so by investing in its Citizenship by Investment Programme. The initiative encourages high net-worth individuals to invest in the nation or buy into selected real estate property in exchange for second citizenship. Once undergoing a rigorous multi-tiered vetting procedure, successful applicants are granted receipt of citizenship and can thus apply for a second passport, gaining access to over 140 countries and territories across the globe. Aside from increased travel mobility, second citizenship from Dominica provides you with the right to live, work and study in the nation if you choose to. Additionally, it facilitates a healthy environment for business while also protecting its abundant natural landscape, earning it the title "Nature Isle of the Caribbean". Funds derived from the programme are invested into national development, including Dominica's quest to become the world's first climate-resilient nation. +447867942505 [email protected] www.csglobalpartners.com SOURCE CS Global Partners Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Relay Medical Corp. (CSE: RELA) (OTCQB: RYMDF) (FSE: EIY2) ("Relay" or the "Company") and Fio Corporation ("Fio") - together Fionet Rapid Response Group ("FRR") - announce an agreement with Lopes Limited ("Lopes"), to deploy the decentralized testing solution, Fionet Pandemic Platform in support of safe and efficient "Back-to-Work" program in Northern Ontario. The Fionet Platform automates high-throughput, quality-controlled, on-site testing using antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) approved by Health Canada. The Fionet Platform has been deployed in Canada and abroad as an instrumental pandemic management measure. "We are fortunate to be a part of the Provincial roll out of RDT's, that is the first step towards getting the economy back on track in a safe and healthy manner. We know the best way to deploy these rapid tests in the workplace is with the Fionet Pandemic Platform, which provides results in the time you need," said Felix Lopes Jr., President, Lopes Limited. Lopes Limited is a leading industrial contractor and one of the largest manufacturing facilities of northern Ontario. With close to 300 employees across eight self-sustaining companies that service the industrial, commercial, mining, agriculture and energy sectors. "We have always been committed to the idea of mobile, AI-based technology enabling high-quality healthcare. We are pleased to be supporting Felix in making this happen," said Dr. Michael Greenberg, CEO of FRR and of Fio Corporation. Emily Sheppard is the Nurse Practitioner working with Lopes Limited. She shares how, "The Fionet platform allows for employee tracking and messaging which is a unique key connectivity factor." She appreciates that, "FRR system is adaptable and makes it easy to train health care practitioners and onboard their existing team." Testing will begin at the Lopes operation in Coniston where Mr. Lopes is also constructing a mobile facility with the potential to provide solutions to other businesses and support the approximately 80,000 tradespeople responsible for Northern Ontario's Infrastructure. The agreement is effective as of today, March 18, and commercial terms of the deployment include a per test model. For Media Inquiries, please contact: Destine Lee media@relaymedical.com | 647-872-9982 SUBSCRIBE: For more information on Relay or to subscribe to the Company's mail list visit: https://www.relaymedical.com/news About Lopes Limited Lopes Limited provides design, fabrication and installation turnkey services to a variety of industries including mining, chemical, oil & gas, energy and agriculture. At Lopes, we have control of our value stream from beginning to end, providing you with reassurance that your project gets completed safely, on time and within budget. Website: https://www.lopesltd.com About Fio Corporation Fio Corporation, privately held and headquartered in Toronto, developed and markets the world's first integrated guidance & tracking IT platform for decentralized healthcare settings, a new category of solution that raises healthcare quality and lowers healthcare costs. The platform enables average healthcare workers in clinics to deliver a new level of quality-controlled diagnostic testing and case management. Website: www.fio.com About Relay Medical Corp. Relay Medical is a technology innovator headquartered in Toronto, Canada focused on the development of novel technologies in the diagnostics and AI data science sectors. Website: www.relaymedical.com Contact: W. Clark Kent President Relay Medical Corp. Office. 647-872-9982 ext. 2 TF. 1-844-247-6633 ext. 2 investor.relations@relaymedical.com Bernhard Langer EU Investor Relations Office. +49 (0) 177 774 2314 Email: blanger@relaymedical.com Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for the technology described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77847 Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The High Court in Kenya has dismissed an application to decriminalize female genital mutilation (FGM) for adult women. Judges ruled that the practice violated the right to health, dignity and in some instances the right to life. "[The] court holds that one cannot choose harm on themselves," the ruling said. The judges also said that the person behind the case had failed to prove that there was "public participation or insufficient public participation." FGM is the deliberate cutting or removal of a female's external genitalia and often involves the removal or cutting of the labia and clitoris. The case was in response to a 2017 petition by a doctor who argued that banning the practice was unconstitutional as women had the right to choose what to do with their bodies. Dr Tatu Kamau said women should be able to undergo the traditional practice in hospital, without fearing arrest. FGM was outlawed in Kenya in 2017. Campaigners had feared the case would set back their attempts to eradicate the procedure. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video CNN is losing around a million viewers on average each night since President Donald Trump left office - and is down nearly 50% in the key 24-54 age group, a report said on Thursday. The cable news channel had averaged 2.5 million prime-time viewers each night from November 4 through Inauguration Day on January 20, according to a Fox News analysis of Nielsen data. But data shows the network averaged only 1.6 million total prime-time viewers from January 21, the day after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, through March 15, according to the report. CNN's overall prime-time viewership, from 8pm to 11pm Eastern Time, has dropped 36% since Biden took office in January, according to Fox News. CNN's overall prime-time viewership, from 8pm to 11pm Eastern Time, has dropped 36% since Biden took office in January. Pictured: CNN's Chris Cuomo Fox News suffered its own ratings hit after its viewership dropped 13 percent in January. Pictured: Fox News' Tucker Carlson Meanwhile, since January 21 CNN's prime-time viewership of adults between the ages of 24 and 54 dropped a whopping 47% since Election Day. The network also suffered a major hit to its daytime viewership. CNN averaged 1.7 million total daytime viewers from November 4 through January 20 and has since suffered a 34% decline, Fox News reported. CNN has averaged 1.1 million daytime viewers since Biden took office. Daytime viewership among the 24-54 age group dropped 44% from an average of 483,000 to only 272,000, according to the outlet. Fox News also has logged ratings declines. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch recently spoke at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media and Telecom Conference where he addressed reports that Fox News' total-day and prime-time ratings as of January dropped 13 percent since the election. He said Fox News audience was 'disappointed with the election results' but suggested the company is turning around the ratings hit it took after the November election. After the election, disappointed Fox News fans flocked to Newsmax - which has since seen lost 'more than half' of its own audience,' Mediate noted. 'Going forward, if history is any lesson, the main beneficiary of the Trump administration, from a ratings points of view, was MSNBC,' Murdoch said at the conference. 'MSNBC had the biggest lift, relative to where it was before to its peers, throughout the Trump administration. We think that that's because they're the loyal opposition. They called out the president when he needed to be called out.' Murdoch said that Fox News will see its ratings 'really improve from here' as the network plays loyal opposition to the Biden administration for 'at least the next four years.' During the same March 5 conference, Jason Kilar, the CEO of CNN's parent company WarnerMedia, said his company was 'killing it' with viewership because of the coronavirus pandemic. 'It turns out the pandemic is a pretty big part of the news cycle and that's not going away any time soon,' Kilar said during the conference. He continued: 'If you take a look at the ratings and the performance, it's going well. I think it's going well because A. the team at CNN is doing a fantastic job and B. it turns out the pandemic and the way that we can inform and help contextualize the business is really good for ratings.' Most major television outlets suffered ratings declines in 2020 but cable news channels CNN, Fox News and MSNBC were up, Variety previously reported. Fox News had its best viewership year ever in 2020 as numbers went up 43 percent amid the pandemic and election cycle, even gaining viewers in the demographic for adults between the ages of 18 and 49, according to Variety. CNN had its most-watched prime time ratings ever in 2020, which soared 83 percent overall and increased 95 percent its demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds. 'Anyone that is paying attention to the news business through linear television, CNN is killing it. They're the number one cable news network now and have been since the election,' Kilar said during the conference. Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday that Northwest Georgias unemployment rate decreased in January.In January we saw the rate drop across all regions and counties, said Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler. Starting the year off strong with such a positive indicator is promising, especially as we learn to adapt to this everchanging workforce due to COVID.In Northwest Georgia, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points, bringing the rate to 4.3 percent.A year ago, the rate was 3.8 percent.The labor force decreased in January by six. The January total was 419,261. That number is down by 9,438 from the total from January 2020.Northwest Georgia ended January with 401,183 employed residents. The number increased by 1,716 in January but was down 11,115 as compared to last year.Initial claims for unemployment decreased by 9 percent in January. When compared to last January, claims were up by about 41 percent.The GDOLs online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 5,645 active job postings in Northwest Georgia for January. Pennsylvanias farmers market and farm stands are presented with an opportunity to help address food insecurity in their communities while expanding their customer base, all for free. With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, free equipment is being made available to farmers markets to accept Supplemental Nutrition Acceptance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, for transactions. Farmers markets who dont accept SNAP are missing an opportunity to serve their community by providing those who rely on the benefits with access to nutritious, local food, said Pennsylvanias Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. Not only does accepting SNAP benefit your community, but it benefits you. Its an opportunity to expand your consumer base and increase your sales. Accepting electronic benefit transfer cards at these locations would be no different from the process used in accepting debit or credit transactions and covers the full price of the products a customer is buying, according to state officials. Once authorized to accept SNAP, vendors can contact Pennsylvanias electronic benefit transfer (EBT) provider Conduent at 1-888-736-6328 to request free wireless EBT processing equipment. The grant also covers set-up costs and one year of SNAP transaction fees. SNAP is the nations most important and effective anti-hunger program; it helps individuals and families stretch their budgets, reduces the burden on local charitable food networks, and supports local retailers and grocers, said state Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller. SNAP helps more than 1.8 million Pennsylvanians, including children, people with disabilities, older adults, and working Pennsylvanians, to ensure their household has enough food to avoid going hungry. People can apply for SNAP and other public assistance programs online at www.compass.state.pa.us ; over the phone by calling 1-866-550-4355; or by picking up an application at a county assistance office. We want to do everything we can to help families who are feeling this economic strain most acutely and small businesses that have had to weather the last year of economic uncertainty, which is why we are so proud to offer this opportunity, Miller said. I strongly encourage farmers markets across Pennsylvania to apply to be an authorized SNAP retailer. Pennsylvania is home to more nearly 1,000 farmers markets and on-farm markets, however only 48 less than 5% are registered to accept SNAP benefits. Throughout the pandemic, managers of farmers markets and on-farm markets who redeem SNAP benefits have reported their redemption numbers have, in most cases, double[d] from previous years, said Brian Moyer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Farmers Market Association. This reflects the critical role that these markets play as an essential source of food and nutrition in our communities and the wireless EBT equipment makes SNAP redemption easier to use for outdoor community farmers markets. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. ADVERTISEMENT Dapo Akande, a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, has been nominated as the UKs candidate for the International Law Commission for the period 2023-2017. The Nigeria-born Professor Akande will see his bid co-nominated by the Government of Nigeria, making him the first ever candidate to be nominated by both the United Kingdom and Nigeria. The warm endorsement of Mr Akandes candidacy by both countries demonstrates the high value they place on the professors experience, expertise and commitment to upholding the highest standards in international law. It also demonstrates our shared confidence that he will bring those high standards to the ILC. Mr Akande is a world renowned expert in Public International Law, as both an academic and independent practitioner who has more than 25 years of legal experience. Raised in Ibadan, Oyo State, he qualified as a lawyer from the Nigerian Law School, and received his LLB at Obafemi Awolowo University and is currently Professor of Public International Law at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. Mr Akande began his legal career as a Research Assistant to Judge Bola Ajibola, KBE SAN, and he is an Editorial Board Member for the Nigerian Yearbook of International Law. As Counsel or Adviser, Mr Akande has worked on international litigation before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the World Trade Organisation, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as on cases involving Public International Law in domestic courts. Mr Akande has also served as a consultant to international organisations, including the United Nations (UN), the African Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the International Criminal Court, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the Commonwealth Secretariat. During his career, Mr Akande has demonstrated a strong and longstanding commitment to promoting the highest standards in international law and also to strengthening the Nigerian legal system. He has represented Nigeria before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and at Arbitral Tribunals. He also provided training to the Federal Director of Public Prosecution and the Nigerian Army on strengthening justice and accountability in Nigeria and capacity building for prosecutors to address the most serious and complex crimes under Nigerian criminal law. The UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, noted Mr Akandes professional accomplishments and breadth of experience in a statement endorsing him: The United Kingdom is pleased to nominate Professor Dapo Akande as our candidate for the International Law Commission for the period 2023-2027. The UK has always been a strong supporter of the International Law Commission and is proud of the contribution that British international lawyers have made to its work. I believe that Professor Akande is perfectly positioned to strengthen this contribution yet further. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, reiterated the UKs support for Mr Akandes bid for the ILC position: I am delighted that the UK Government and the Government of Nigeria will be co-nominating Professor Dapo Akande for the International Law Commission election in November 2021. This joint support by both our countries for an eminently qualified legal scholar reflects the strong people-to-people ties between the UK and Nigeria. It also demonstrates our support to UK leadership in important international institutions, and to advancing the rule of law across the globe. Mr Akande describes his vision for seeking the ILC position by saying: I am humbled to have been co-nominated by Nigeria for the International Law Commission, alongside the UK. This is a great honour as I was born, educated and started my legal journey in Nigeria. Throughout my career, I have been proud to represent Nigeria before international courts, and to help strengthen its legal system by providing training in international law to lawyers and government officials. It would be a privilege to be elected to the International Law Commission and I believe I can make a meaningful contribution to its work. My vision is clear: the codification and progressive development of international law can strengthen the rules on which international cooperation is based, and help promote a just and peaceful system of international relations. Hon. Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha announced the virtual launch of a breakthrough initiative by PanIIT, the Global Virtual Technology Summit 2021, under the umbrella initiative PanIIT World of Technology (PI-WOT). The Global Virtual Technology Summit will be held on 26th and 27th June 2021 (IST). It is expected to showcase 15,000 participants and 2000 submissions for the Hackathon, with 500-800 teams participating in the competing rounds. PanIIT's Global Virtual Technology Summit 2021 also presents a Startup Showcase, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, experts, and researchers to interact with and learn from each other. This is set to open up pathways towards immensely beneficial professional and personal networks. As part of the Summit, a Global Hackathon event will showcase the applicability of technologies by some of todays best minds, to solve current and future problems with the creation of pathbreaking products and services. Throwing light on this ambitious event, Krishen Dhar, Chairman of PanIIT Alumni India, says, The conference aims at introducing new thinking in the development of opportunities and possibilities in various fields of technology, by bringing together the leading thinkers of our times, paving the way for new collaborations, and incubation of ideas. Conference Chair Arun Jain said PI-WOT is not just a conference but a moment to bring thought leaders, innovators, disruptors and changemakers from every market segment together on a platform to inspire and motivate each one of us to use cutting edge technologies to design and define a better future. Sunil Khanna, Chair Sponsorship, said that the conference provides an opportunity for pathbreaking collaborations across the world. He also introduced Manoj Sinha, who is himself an IITian, having done his graduation and post-graduation from IIT(BHU) Varanasi. The world has seen pivotal changes in the last 12 months. The year 2020 forced us to make drastic changes in the ways in which we live and work. There has been a sea change in the way we use technology in our everyday lives. And yet technology continues to advance at an astonishing rate. New opportunities and for research and business emerge all the time. PanIITs Global Virtual Technology Summit 2021 World of Technology (PI-WOT) provides a platform to understand the direction and pace of these technological changes, how they will affect us, and how India can seize these emerging opportunities to benefit India and the world. Ajmer: In an exceptional case a father has filed a petition with the Consumer Disputes Commission, Ajmer over Cadbury Mondelez India Foods Private Limiteds advertisement. A lawyer by profession Amit Gandhi, has filed a complaint with the consumer commission and has asked for a ban on the advertisement as against Indian culture and morality. Following which the Consumer Commission has issued a notice to the company and summoned the reply by May 4. One day Amit Gandhi had asked his 6-year-old son to give medicines to his grandfather, when the child replied by quoting the ad that, Dad... even by doing nothing we can help people and save their lives. The father-cum-lawyer couldnt understand the relevance until his son showed him the video ad of the company. This was the incident which triggered the plea. Amit Gandhi in the petition stated that the advertisement shows the boy being insensitive to the old woman's request. The lawyer believes that this kind of advertising leads to a wrong message in society. A message like doing nothing and not helping anyone is being delivered from the script. The father not only asked for the compensation of Rs 5 lakhs but also urged the commission to take down the advertisement from televisions and even social media websites. The District Consumer Commission Chairman Ramesh Kumar Sharma and member Alka Rani Jain heard the plea and issued a notice to the chocolate company. Live TV Laredo police have arrested a man in connection with the body found at the end of Clark Boulevard, east of Bob Bullock Loop, near the end of last month. READ MORE: Zapata man killed in officer-related shooting Authorities arrested Colton Quade Branning, age 30, in connection with the death of Justin Allen Heath, 25. Both are from Vicksburg, Mississippi. Through the course of the investigation, LPD crimes against persons investigators identified the suspect as Branning. The investigation revealed that Branning had traveled to Laredo with Heath. Heath was found dead the morning of Feb. 23 in the 4500 block of Clark Boulevard. During the investigation, sufficient evidence was discovered linking Branning to the homicide of Justin Heath, LPD said in a statement. Investigators secured a warrant, and the Covington Police Department in Louisiana served Branning with the warrant on March 4. With the assistance of the Texas Rangers, investigators traveled to Covington to take custody of Branning. Branning was brought back to Laredo on March 15, where he was charged with murder and booked into the Webb County Jail. READ MORE: Webb district attorney involved in incident at Laredo gym The Laredo Police Department would like to thank The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, the Chambers County Sheriffs Office and the Covington Police Department, LPD said in a statement. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong highlighted security-defence ties as a pillar in the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership while hosting visiting Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev in Hanoi on March 17. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong and Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev pose for a photo (Photo: VNA) Lauding outcomes of cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Security Council of Russian Federation, Trong expressed his wish that the two nations continue to further extend their collaboration in traditional and non-traditional security issues for mutual interest of the two peoples as well as for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world. For his part, Patrushev took the occasion to deliver his congratulations on the success of the Communist Party of Vietnams 13th National Congress and on Trongs re-election as General Secretary of the Party Central Committee. The Russian official informed his host on a number of key collaboration contents between his council and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam. He said an important purpose of his visit is to translate into reality contents discussed between Trong and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the United Russia party and Deputy Chair of Russias Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in their recent phone talks. Patrushev affirmed that Russia treasures its comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, and wishes that the partnership will be further strengthened and sustainably developed. Prime Minister hosts Secretary of Security Council of Russian Federation Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev in Hanoi on March 17, during which he expressed his pleasure with Russias successful research and development of drugs against COVID-19 and belief Russia will soon overcome the pandemic. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (third from right)and Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev (third from left) pose for a photo (Photo: VNA) The PM welcomed the outcomes of the working sessions between the Russian delegation and Vietnams ministries of Public Security and National Defence, affirming cooperation in security and defence is a pillar in the two countries comprehensive strategic partnership. He noted that the 13th National Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam continues to pursue the countrys foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. Russia is Vietnams traditional partner and comprehensive strategic partner, and always a high priority in Vietnams foreign policy. Patrushev said he believes resolutions adopted by the 13th National Party Congress will contribute to Vietnam dynamic development, and promote Russia-Vietnam cooperation with the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership. On pandemic prevention and control, he thanked Vietnam for presenting medical supplies, announcing the Russian President decided to present Vietnam a batch of Sputnik-V vaccine. Russia is willing to provide Vietnam with a sufficient volume of this vaccine, he added. He underlined the importance of strengthening economic and trade amidst the pandemic, saying that thanks to the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), bilateral trade rose sharply. He proposed Vietnam create favourable conditions for Russian businesses operating in Vietnam, especially in oil and gas exploration, engine production, power plant construction projects. Russia is ready to support Vietnam in fighting money laundering and terrorism, he said, affirming bilateral cooperation in the current situation meets the two peoples needs. PM Phuc said Vietnam is interested in issues raised by Patrushev, adding although difficulties caused by the pandemic, the two countries have still promoted cooperation in politics, diplomacy, security, defence, economics trade and investment. Bilateral trade hit nearly 4.9 billion USD in 2020, sharply increasing from the previous year. On economic cooperation, especially in oil-gas and energy, Russian groups have been running many important projects in Vietnam. The two sides agreed to solve certain procedures to create favourable conditions for Russian projects in Vietnam. He proposed both sides exert efforts to remove obstacles so as to soon implement projects in sluggish progress. Vietnam is considering some projects that Russian businesses wish to invest in. Vietnam always gives priority to Russian businesses to operate in Vietnam, he affirmed. He thanked Russia for its support in terms of experts, medical equipment serving Vietnams COVID-19 prevention and control work and help for the Vietnamese community in Russia. He also thanked the Russian government for its batch of Sputnik-V vaccine for Vietnam. He suggested the Russian side continue promoting cooperation in defence and anti-crime for benefit of the two countries people, and for peace, stability and development,/. VNA LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / DLT Resolution Inc. (OTC PINK:DLTI) is pleased to announce its wholly owned, Union Strategies' "YOUnified" platform is creating buzz in the Union world. Local's across Ontario are eager to begin their deployment on this platform, making it a complete one stop shop to run the business of their Union. Since our recent launch, the feedback on this platform has been incredibly positive. As word of mouth continues to spread, more and more locals are looking to get their demos in to launch their membership within this platform. Union Strategies is expected to onboard an additional 6 new clients within the next week, including one local based out of Alberta, as it expands nationally. Furthermore, there have been talks with a provincial (Ontario) Union who has considered using YOUnified to distribute services across approximately 500 of its own locals. What is YOUnified YOUnified combines the many required services to run the business of a union into one unified platform. YOUnified's goal is to assist in increasing member engagement, decrease the local's expenses, and save everyone time. With this app, Unions will have everything they require to connect with their members, as well as maintain the local's needs. About Union Strategies USI has been providing a suite of products and services to Unions for over 10 years. The company designs, builds, and executes programs resulting in greater success for unions. Programs are designed to engage the membership, decrease expenses, and save time for a more productive business. The Company's suite includes secure electronic voting, Telecommunications, Event Management, Professional Writing, Social Media Management, Web Design, Graphic Services, and Promotional Offerings. The company is a one-stop-shop for all things union. The company has more than 130 clients that are considered "mid-market" in terms of overall size of the particular local with 450,000 members. USI operates nationally in Canada and looks to expand into the USA in 2021. Learn more at: UnionStrategiesinc.com About DLT Resolution Inc. DLT Resolution Inc. currently operates in three high-tech industry segments: Blockchain Applications & Cyber Security; Telecommunications; and Data Services which includes Image Capture, Data Collection, Data Phone Center Services, and Payment Processing. Its clients represent some of the top businesses from a variety of sectors. DLT Resolution helps organizations that have invoices, ledgers, statements, applications, surveys, employee and customer rewards programs and a wide range of other non-core functions benefit from data management. DLT Resolution also operates a Health Information Exchange providing the ability to request and retrieve medical information & records while meeting all of today's Security & Compliance demands for HIPAA, PIPEDA and PHIPA. Through RecordsBank, the Company offers an easy to use online gateway to its centralized system for patients, lawyers and insurers to retrieve and access medical records. Learn more at: DLTResolution.com. Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements The use of the word "company" or "Company" refers to DLT Resolution Incorporated and its wholly owned subsidiaries. This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of this Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time that include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company's actual results. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. DLT Resolution may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, in its annual report to stockholders, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the company, including, but not limited to, plans and objectives of management for future operations or products, the market acceptance or future success of our products, and our future financial performance. The company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 (available at http://www.sec.gov). DLT Resolution undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Nothing within this communication is meant to be a solicitation to buy or sell our securities. Investing in over the counter (OTC) securities often carries a high degree of risk. Please contact your financial advisor before investing in our securities. CONTACT: Website: www.dltresolution.com SOURCE: DLT Resolution Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636279/DLT-Resolutions-Union-Strategies-YOUnified-Platform-Attracts-6-New-Locals-Within-Canada STATEN ISLAND N.Y. The Fresh Kills landfill better known as the dump closed its gates in 2001. Opening in 1948, Fresh Kills was the citys dumping ground for 53 years. Over the years, the landfill became notoriously known as the Staten Island Dump and was New York Citys only operating landfill receiving residential garbage by the early 1990s. Eventually, on March 22, 2001, the last barge carried 505 tons of garbage to Staten Island. Now the New York City Parks Department is using the 2,200 acres to create one of the largest parks in the city. Take a look at the transformation from landfill to sprawling park over the past 20 years. Early on Garbage begins its slow rise in the Fresh Kills Landfill in this circa 1950 photo. (Courtesy of the Staten Island Museum) A visitor surveys the last remnant of open water in what once was Long Pond, with garbage dumped by the New York City Department of Sanitation in the background, circa 1950. (Courtesy Staten Island Museum) This photo from the Howard Cleaves collection shows a woman fishing in Fresh Kills, circa 1950. (Courtesy of The Staten Island Museum) An undated photo shows sanitation workers near a small shelter and a fire they built at the entrance to the Fresh Kills Landfill off Arthur Kill Road. (Staten Island Advance/ Barry G. Schwartz) This 1968 Advance photo shows a load of garbage on its way to its final resting place in the Fresh Kills landfill. (Staten Island Advance/John Padula) Dumping Grounds Fresh Kills was the largest landfill in the world and received as much as 29,000 tons of trash per day during its peak operation in 1986-1987. Birds swarm Fresh Kills Landfill on July 29, 1987. (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano) This undated photo shows the Staten Island Fresh Kills Landfill from above. (Staten Island Advance/ Mike Falco) Deodorant is spread on the landfill. Fresh Kills Landfill (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano) In this 1987 Advance photo, Ursala Zysnarski, a chemist for the Department of Hazardous Materials, tests the air to see if there are any toxins at the Fresh Kills landfill after about 70 workers were sickened by vapors. (Staten Island Advance/Tony Carannante) In this July 19, 1988, Advance photo, Dennis Hernon, a worker at the Fresh Kills landfill, transports a load of refuse. (Staten Island Advance/Frank J. Johns) In this Nov. 24, 1990, Advance photo, a worker sweeps around a huge pile of leaves after trucks dumped them at the landfill.(Staten Island Advance/Michael Falco) In this 1993 Advance photo, water birds add to the serene beauty of Fresh Kills Creek -- even with a mountain of trash rising at the landfill in the background. (Staten Island Advance/Michael Falco) A bulldozer stirs up a cloud of seagulls at the Fresh Kills landfill in 1993. (Staten Island Advance / Mike Falco) In this undated Advance photo, garbage is hauled along the top of the Fresh Kills landfill. In the foreground is Arden Avenue. (Staten Island Advance/Jim Sulley) Barges being pushed by a tug at the Fresh Kills landfill. (Staten Island Advance)/Tony Carannante) This 1996 Advance photo shows garbage being unloaded at the Fresh Kills landfill. (Staten Island Advance/Rob Sollett) The Twin Towers overlook the sanitation vehicles at the Fresh Kills Landfill in a 1996 photo. The towers eventually were the only city landmark that could be seen above the landfill. (Staten Island Advance/ Mike Falco) 1996, the landfill towers over northbound traffic on Richmond Avenue, New Springville. (Staten Island Advance/ Rob Sollett) A sanitation truck drops composted soil at the landfill on Jan. 3, 1997. (Staten Island Advance/Rob Sollett) A shot of landfill from across the expressway looking towards the mall area on April 9, 1998. (Staten Island Advance/ Frank J. Johns) This 2000s photo shows bags and other forms of debris fill the torn nets at the landfill as strong winds whip the island. (Staten Island Advance/ Rob Sollett) Gases can be seen rising from the last garbage barge to make a delivery to the Fresh Kills landfill on March 22, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) The final barge After years of broken promises, the landfill was set to close. In March 2001 the remaining mounds were retired. Tractors at the top of the last active bank of the Fresh Kills landfill prepare the roadway for the last barge of garbage, to be delivered on March 22, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Jin-Sup Lee) The last barge to deliver garbage to Staten Island is seen on its way to the Fresh Kills landfill on March 22, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Frank J. Johns) Dumping Grounds The last barge of garbage arrives at the Fresh Kills landfill on March 22, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Frank J. Johns) Gov . George Pataki, Borough President Guy V. Molinari and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani greet the last barge of garbage at the landfill on March 22, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Rob Sollett) 9/11 Clean up During a 10month recovery effort, rescue workers sifted through 1.2 million tons of material that came from the WTC site to Fresh Kills. This Sept. 18, 2001 photo shows workers looking through the rubble from the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein) A firefighter gazes at World Trade Center debris brought to the Fresh Kills landfill in a photo taken on Sept. 18, 2001. (Staten Island Advance / Irving Silverstein) A workman cuts through a steel beam at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Nov. 11, 2001. (Staten Island Advance / Irving Silverstein) After the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, a tour was given to the media of the sifting debris site at the Freshkills landfill on Staten Island.(Staten Island Advance / Irving Silverstein) Present-day reconstruction When completed, Freshkills Park will be almost three times the size of Central Park and the largest developed park in New York City in over 100 years. Construction of Freshkills Park began in 2008 and is slated to continue in phases for 20 to 30 years. City Parks Department holds early access and discovery days throughout the year for learning and exploration opportunities. Fresh kills landfill for fresh kills on March 9, 2004. (Staten Island Advance/ Irving Silverstein) This 2013 photo shows the landscape of the old Fresh Kills Landfill (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Waiting for the grass to fill in over these mounds. A tour of the Freshkills parkland asking the Department of Sanitation how do they ensure the safety of the future FreshKills Park and the continued capping of the landfill. April 25, 2016 (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel) WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new national survey finds that 77 percent of Americans agree that all workers, not just those working for state and local government, should have a pension. And even though the nation is deeply divided on many other issues, support for pensions is consistent across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Independents agree that all workers should have access to a pension. These findings are contained in a new issue brief from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), Americans' Views of State and Local Employee Retirement Plans. Download the research here. "The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the critical role that qualified, experienced state and local workers play in our lives," said Dan Doonan, NIRS executive director and report co-author. "From healthcare workers to first responders to teachers, these employees have worked tirelessly and taken immense risks this past year." "Our research shows that Americans understand that pensions offer more than retirement security they are a key workforce tool to help attract and retain employees. State and local governments typically offer lower salaries than the private sector, so retirement and healthcare benefits act as employee magnets," Doonan explained. "We also found interesting that nearly half of Americans say that public sector retirement benefits are about right (46 percent), while about one-third (31 percent) say the benefits are too low." While the majority of Americans are not on track for a secure retirement, one retirement bright spot is the benefits provided to state and local employees. Most public employees pay into a pension plan that is their primary retirement benefit, which often is supplemented by individual savings and Social Security. Workers with these three sources of retirement income are best positioned to have a secure retirement. This research finds that: More than three-fourths of Americans say all workers, not just state and local employees, should have access to a pension . Some 77 percent say all workers, not just state and local workers, should have a pension. This holds true across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Independents agree that all workers should have a pension. . Some 77 percent say all workers, not just state and local workers, should have a pension. This holds true across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 75 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Independents agree that all workers should have a pension. The vast majority of respondents agree that providing pensions to state and local employees is a good way to recruit and retain these employees . Some 75 percent of Americans agree that pensions are a good way to recruit and retain qualified teachers. With regard to public safety employees, 76 percent agree that pensions are an important recruitment and retention tool of these workers. . Some 75 percent of Americans agree that pensions are a good way to recruit and retain qualified teachers. With regard to public safety employees, 76 percent agree that pensions are an important recruitment and retention tool of these workers. Most Americans agree that public employees should receive pensions because workers contribute to the cost and these benefits help compensate for lower pay and risks of some jobs. Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) agree that state and local employees should receive pensions because they help finance part of the cost by contributing money from each paycheck. Sixty-nine percent say public school teachers deserve a pension to compensate for their lower pay. Similarly, Americans say high risk jobs are another reason that public employees should receive a pension, with 76 percent in agreement. State and local pensions are funded from three sources: employer contributions, employee contributions and investment earnings. Between 1993 and 2018, about 25 percent of public pension fund receipts came from employer contributions, 11 percent from employee contributions, and about 64 percent from investment earnings. This means that earnings on investments historically have made up the bulk of pension fund receipts, even during two market downturns, and taxpayers are funding only a portion of these benefits. The vast majority of state and local pensions are well-managed and positioned to weather economic downturns. The 2008 global market crash reduced public pension fund asset values from $3.15 trillion in 2007 to $2.17 trillion in 2009. But since then, nearly every state has enacted meaningful reforms to their pension plans to ensure their long-term sustainability, including benefit reforms and increased employee contributions. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, financial markets have been resilient and most plans remain on a financially sound course. As of the third quarter of 2020, public pension assets were $4.78 trillion, doubling their asset values since 2009. Pensions are economically efficient and also provide a sizable economic impact across the U.S. Retiree spending of public and private sector pension benefits in 2018 generated $1.3 trillion in total economic output, supporting nearly seven million jobs across the nation. Pension spending also added nearly $192 billion to government coffers at the federal, state and local levels. Conducted by Greenwald Research, information for this study was collected from interviews conducted between December 410, 2020, of 1,203 individuals aged 25 and older. The final data were weighted by age, gender, and income to reflect the demographics of Americans aged 25 and older. Tabulations in some of the charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding. The National Institute on Retirement Security is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to contribute to informed policymaking by fostering a deep understanding of the value of retirement security to employees, employers and the economy as a whole. Located in Washington, D.C., NIRS membership includes financial services firms, employee benefit plans, trade associations, and other retirement service providers. More information is available at www.nirsonline.org. Follow NIRS on Twitter @NIRSonline. SOURCE National Institute on Retirement Security Related Links www.nirsonline.org INCATech is proud to be listed for the first time at 208 in the D.C. metro area. We are thankful to our customers for valuing our services and employees for their hard work. We look forward to climbing the list in coming years as our service offerings expands Liliana Freedman, President & CEO Inc. magazine today revealed that Innovative Computing & Applied Technology LLC is No. 208 on its second annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Washington, D.C., area-based private companies. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the D.C. area economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in the Washington, D.C., region. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 211 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 120,000 people and added nearly $15 billion to the D.C. area economy. Companies based in major metro areasBaltimore, Maryland, the Washington, D.C. area, and Richmond, Virginiabrought in the highest revenue overall. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/washington-dc starting March 16, 2021. This list proves the power of companies in the Washington, D.C. area no matter the industry, says Inc. editor in chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. About INCATech INCATech is an SBA 8(a) certified, Woman Owned Small Business that has provided innovative technology to U.S. government and commercial customers for over a decade. Our expert teams apply Agile methodologies and use state-of-the-art products to achieve your mission goals and deliver breakthrough results. For more details, visit us on the web at: http://incatech-corp.com CONTACT at INCATech LLC: Bruce Freedman, Vice President 11700 Plaza America Drive, Suite 320, Reston, VA, 20190 Bruce.Freedman@INCATech-corp.com More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com Christian reporter joins Playboy correspondent in protest of Biden's press policies Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A diverse group of journalists from a Christian reporter to a writer for a pornographic magazine have expressed concerns over the Biden administration's press policies that they say limit access to independent and foreign journalists and show favoritism to mainstream outlets. In an interview with The Christian Post, Matthew Anthony Harper, a White House investigative journalist who writes for the conservative Idaho-based InterMountain Christian News and has covered presidential administrations dating back to the Obama administration, said his access to the White House has been substantially reduced compared to the previous administration. Harper told CP he had access to the White House grounds seven days a week during the Trump administration, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, he only has access to the complex one day a week. Harper characterized the Biden administration's new policy of allowing only 80 reporters into the complex at a time purportedly due to the pandemic in addition to a new policy requiring certain journalists to pay for their own coronavirus testing as a gross injustice putting a wall up for press access directly affecting our freedom of the press. In January, Harper, along with several other journalists, signed a letter sent to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki concerning the administration's press policies in light of the pandemic. He maintained that he brought up this issue with the letter in a meeting with Psaki last week. She stated that she was aware of the letter and had read it and that she had responded to Brian Karem, he recounted, referring to Playboy's White House correspondent who wrote the letter. Karem shared the contents of Psakis emailed response with CP. Thanks again for your letter, she wrote. I hope you know ... our objective is to ensure we have as many people in the White House as possible. Karem characterized Psaki's response as generic. The Christian Post reached out to the White House for comment on this story. A response was not received by press time. Harper, who reports on religious freedom violations and anti-Semitism, seconded Karems displeasure with the new policy enacted in February that requires journalists to pay for COVID-19 testing. Our nonprofit news organization and many other news outlets dont have funds to be paying this, Harper asserted. In a Feb. 26 email obtained by CP, White House Correspondents Association Executive Director Steven Thomma said: The White House has informed us that it has determined that budgetary constraints limit the governments ability to provide the daily COVID-19 testing that the White House requires for journalists on campus. The costs of the tests are reported to be about $170 each. The memorandum also stated that Only 80 members of the press can be physically on campus at any time, and a lottery program has been instituted to ensure fair access for news organizations that are not in the daily pool. The policy of limiting the number of reporters on White House grounds dates back to the beginning of the administration when Karem addressed the letter to Psaki expressing concern about restricting press access to the White House. The letter concluded by suggesting that the Biden administration limit the access in the fashion the Trump administration did and occasionally move briefings to a venue where larger numbers of reporters can attend and social distancing can be more easily maintained. While the new policy will enable members of the press who are part of any pools (in-town pool, travel pool, VP pool, supplemental pool, etc.) and press who have assigned seats in the briefing room to continue to have their COVID-19 testing paid for by the White House, press who choose to enter the daily lottery and report to campus will continue to need a daily COVID-19 test, but they will need to pay for their own testing. In addition to Karem and Harper, journalists Hugo Lovell, Jake Turx, Christian Datoc [of the Daily Caller], Andrew Feinberg, Tejinder Singh, Ksenija Pavlovic and Bricio Segovia are also signatories, according to a copy of the letter shared with CP. Karem, who won the National Press Clubs Freedom of the Press Award in 2015, told CP that he emailed Psaki on Feb. 26 to argue that its dangerous and wrong to charge reporters for testing. Karem elaborated on his concerns in a March 4 article, arguing that independent reporters are being penalized by the Biden administrations new White House entry policies that favor wealthy corporate outlets. According to Karem, These restrictions punish independent reporters, foreign bureaus and freelancers, myself included. It is favoritism for the rich. Karems Jan. 22 letter, obtained by CP, contends that the 80-person limit solves a problem that doesnt exist. He called the limit arbitrary. Crews rotate in and out, he asserted. Some people come to the White House simply to shoot a standup or to type up a story, or meet a source and then leave. The actual number who stay all day is nowhere near 80 these days. Segovia, a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, voiced his displeasure with the policies on Twitter. In the briefing room, there is only one shared seat assigned to foreign press, he wrote. Not all foreign journalists have access to this seat. Basically, the Biden Administration is preventing foreign journalists from taking part in the White House press briefings. Karem expressed particular concern about the White Houses decision to use the White House Correspondents Association as a gatekeeper for determining which journalists can access the White House on a daily basis. The WHCA is made up of White House correspondents journalists who cover the White House and the government generally, he said. Journalists should never act as government agents deciding who actually has access to the White House complex and when. Karem, who established a reputation as a staunch critic of the Trump administration, praised the previous administrations policy with regard to coronavirus testing and press access, where the protective pool got tested and the rest of us came and went wearing masks and limiting our time on campus as needed. President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, has appealed to the government of Saudi Arabia to assist in bringing back over 10,000 Nigerians detained in Saudi Arabia. Lawan made the appeal yesterday when the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Faisal Eebraheem Alghamdi, paid a visit at the National Assembly, Abuja. The Senate President, while underscoring the role of the Ninth Assembly in ensuring compliance to bilateral and multi-lateral agreements entered into by the Nigerian government, disclosed that ongoing efforts were underway to evacuate citizens held back in Saudi Arabia. He said, "This legislative arm of government is always conscious of ensuring that our government plays its role in bilateral and multilateral dispositions that our government has decided to go into. Saudi Arabia and Nigeria established a very solid relationship for a long time, and the relationship has been growing every year. I want to assure you that this arm of government will work with you as the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia. "We are aware that some of our pilgrims in the past had issues in Saudi Arabia, thousands of them are in detention and, therefore, as a country we have taken conscious decisions to ensure that we continue to educate and enlighten our citizens, especially those going to Saudi Arabia for Ummrah of Hajj, that when they get there, they perform their religious rites and return to Nigeria. This is to minimize and possibly avoid people going there and not coming back. I want to assure you that we will continue to support the National Hajj Commission in educating our pilgrims and, of course, the State Welfare Boards across the country." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Middle East and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Lawan also appealed to Saudi Arabia to use its influence as a major player in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase Nigeria's crude oil production quota. According to him, doing so would enable Nigeria meet with the country's infrastructural demands needed to match its growing population. He said: "As OPEC members, we need the support of Saudi Arabia in so many respects. Even though it is not Saudi Arabia alone that can determine the quota cut for any OPEC country, but Saudi Arabia is the major country in OPEC. Because of your position, you have a lot of influence more than any country. "Presently, our quota, I think, is about 1.5 million barrels per day. We would request that whenever the opportunity avails itself, we would like to see a higher quota for Nigeria. We have a very huge population - over 200 million - and we have massive challenges in developing our infrastructure. At the moment we still earn more than ninety percent of our foreign exchange from the export of crude oil, so we would like to see a situation where we are able to export more of our crude," he said. Speaking earlier, Alghamdi, said the purpose of the visit was to build on this existing relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, adding that there's need to develop both countries relationships. Fishermen risk their lives to defend a vital lake in Colombia by Manuel Rueda Every couple of weeks, Yuli Velasquez patrols Saint Silvester Lake near Barrancabermeja, Colombia, looking for signs of pollution. The lake is vital to hundreds of fishermen like Velasquez who make a living by catching a local species called bocachico for their small mouths, along with catfish. That's why Velasquez and her local fishermen's association are determined to protect it. Surrounded by tropical forests, the lake provides water for 300,000 people in Barrancabermeja, a steamy port along the Magdalena River. But defending the environment has become a dangerous job in Colombia. According to a United Nations report published in February, there were more than 750 attacks against community leaders in Colombia last year, including 133 murders. Dozens were environmental activists. In January, Velasquez had a close encounter with death herself. She said that two men on a motorcycle drove by her small home on the outskirts of Barrancabermeja, and shot at her and her family, while they hid under a bed. The windows still have bullet holes. And the house is now empty, except for the bedframe. Velasquez and her children have since relocated. This is a way to silence us for the complaints we have filed," said Velasquez, who recently filed a lawsuit against a local environmental agency in charge of cleaning up Saint Silvester Lake. Parts of the lake are full of sediment because the company responsible for cleanup has neglected its duties. When Velasquez stirs a stick in the water and pulls it out, it reveals a black, muddy substance. The fish used to transit through this area freely, she said. But now, theyre going to be trapped. Velasquez said that three other members of her group, the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of Santander (FEDEPESAN), have received death threats recently. Now, members of FEDEPESANs board of directors are taking a course on security protocols from a local human rights group where they discuss measures to avoid attacks and draw maps to identify threats in the area. FEDEPESAN Vice President Luis Gonzalez said that armed groups like the National Liberation Army and the Gulf Clan are using the forests around the lake to stash drugs and weapons. If we patrol the area, they are immediately suspicious, they think we are snitches, Gonzalez said. So, that turns us into their enemies and puts our lives at risk. United Nations officials say that these kinds of efforts by armed groups to enforce territorial control are behind many of the attacks against community leaders. The situation has become especially bad in areas that were previously under the control of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People's Army (FARC) rebels, the group that made peace with Colombias government in 2016, said Sergio Guzman, a risk analyst in Bogota, the capital. The government took too long to fill the voids and vacuums of power left by the FARC after they signed the peace agreement and withdrew from these territories," Guzman said. He added that armed groups like the National Liberation Army and the Gulf Clan are now fighting over drug routes, illegal mines and other resources abandoned by the FARC. Juliette de Rivero, the United Nations human rights delegate in Colombia, said that the rebel groups that have remained in Colombia following the FARCs demobilization are trying to impose illegal economies on some rural communities, which makes community leaders who oppose businesses like cocaine trafficking, or illegal logging a target. Colombias president has tried to tackle the problem by sending more troops to some parts of the country. Recently, he launched a special battalion of 7,000 troops that will focus exclusively on fighting groups that promote the drug trade and illegal mining. But while the UN says it welcomes efforts to make the state more present in remote areas, it has also urged the government to speed up implementation of the 2016 peace deal which includes rural development projects that could bring job opportunities and infrastructure to long-neglected communities. The state needs to give access to markets to these people so they have alternatives for their own economies, de Rivero said. Part of Velasquezs job is to visit river communities around Barrancabermeja to speak with residents about their needs. At the village of Aguas Negras, for example, people say theyve been waiting for three decades to get an aqueduct. Palm plantations are polluting the local lake with their fertilizers, which is a problem for villagers who make their living mostly from fishing. And that's not the only environmental problem. The lake is also being contaminated by herds of water buffaloes that have been brought here, said Wilman Vergara, a longtime resident. Velasquez knows that gathering these complaints can be dangerous. But she says that preserving these forests, and the livelihoods of people who live there, is a task that cannot wait. 2021 The World from PRX Theme(s): Communities and Organisations. Ukrposhta and IT-Enterprise (Kyiv) have signed an agreement on the implementation of an integrated ERP system worth UAH 95.8 million, the press service of the national postal operator said on Wednesday. "In two years, we plan to completely transfer all the processes of accounting and management of resources and flows of the company into a new unified system. This will reduce the influence of the human factor on the formation and processing of data, unite all flows and all directorates in real time. In addition, we will transfer online workflow and significantly increase information security due to a secure data storage format. We plan to start implementing the new system throughout the country by the end of 2021. This is the foundation on which we will build future front and CRM systems," the Ukrposhta press service said, citing its CEO Igor Smelyansky. Ukrposhta said the company currently has more than 80 accounting systems for the company's resources, which have been operating since the 2000s. Many of them work only in a certain region and are in no way combined with the management office and other directorates. "Digital transformation allows companies to improve their work and reduce costs and errors caused by the human factor. We are pleased to help Ukrposhta increase efficiency through digitalization, a transition to modern digital process management," CEO of IT-Enterprise Oleh Scherbatenko said. The company said in the statement the next step of Ukrposhta will be a tender for the purchase of a new front-system to automate all processes in departments and the work of operators. "This will improve the quality of services provided to customers and reduce the time required to provide operations. After that, Ukrposhta will implement a CRM system," the company said. Ukrposhta announced a tender for the purchase of a system for managing information flows, business processes and resources with a declared value of almost UAH 197 million on May 21, 2020. Eight companies submitted their proposals, and among two applicants from the register of tender proposals, IT-Enterprise offered a price of UAH 95.8 million, which is 52% lower than the announced tender value. IT-Enterprise is one of the leaders in the IT solutions market for medium and large enterprises. The company employs over 350 specialists. Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. WASHINGTON - Canadian cannabis companies are cheering the reintroduction of the SAFE Banking Act to the U.S. House of Representatives today. Staff work in a marijuana grow room that can be viewed by at the new visitors centre at Canopy Growth facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018. Canadian cannabis companies are cheering the reintroduction of the SAFE Banking Act to the U.S. House of Representatives today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick WASHINGTON - Canadian cannabis companies are cheering the reintroduction of the SAFE Banking Act to the U.S. House of Representatives today. The act proposes offering safe harbour to financial institutions like banks and insurance companies, who provide services to cannabis businesses and has long been seen as helpful for Canadian pot companies looking to expand to the U.S. The National Cannabis Industry Association says the bill was previously approved by the house in a 321-103 vote in September 2019 and then headed to the senate, but didn't move forward and had to be tabled again because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aurora Cannabis Inc. says in a statement that it sees the reintroduction as a step in the right direction and it is optimistic more cannabis-friendly legislation will soon follow. The Edmonton-based company says it will keep assessing opportunities to participate in the U.S. cannabis market while it awaits the bill's reintroduction to the senate and its potential adoption. Canopy Growth Corp. vice-president of international government relations David Culver says in an email that he sees the bill as integral to the success of the cannabis industry and essential for positively impacting social equity. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:ACB, TSX:WEED) Just two days after furiously telling Pauline Hanson to 'GO AWAY', Lisa Wilkinson was spotted out in Sydney. The 61-year-old Project host was seen talking angrily on her phone as she walked down a street in Mosman on Thursday. Clutching a takeaway cup of coffee and a brown paper bag in one hand, Lisa appeared tense as she chatted on her mobile. Stepping out: Just two days after furiously telling Pauline Hanson to 'GO AWAY', Lisa Wilkinson was spotted out in Sydney At one stage, she opened her mouth and looked horrified during the seemingly intense phone call. Lisa was dressed casually for the outing, stepping out in a pair of distressed pale blue baggy jeans. She also wore an oversize black button-up shirt and white sneakers, and carried a brown woven leather handbag on one shoulder. Walk and talk: The 61-year-old Project host was seen talking angrily on her phone as she walked down a street in Mosman on Thursday Fighting words: The outing came after Lisa fired off an angry response to Senator Hanson after the One Nation leader accused feminist protesters of 'demonising men' Her shoulder-length light brown hair was worn loose, and she appeared makeup free, stepping out in a pair of black thick-frame glasses. The outing came after Lisa fired off an angry response to Senator Hanson after the One Nation leader accused feminist protesters of 'demonising men'. Hanson also questioned parliamentary rape whistleblower Brittany Higgins for going public with her alleged ordeal two years after the event instead of pursuing the matter through the courts. Critical: Pauline Hanson (pictured in parliament on Thursday) questioned parliamentary rape whistleblower Brittany Higgins for going public with her alleged ordeal two years after the event instead of pursuing the matter through the courts 'Oh for Christ's sake Pauline Hanson. How dare you,' Lisa began in a furious post on Twitter on Tuesday. 'You don't know the first thing of the detail of Brittany Higgins' experience. Go away and stop adding to the trauma. Seriously, GO AWAY!' Hanson's words came a day after March For Justice rallies took place across Australia, which called for more action to stamp out sexual abuse and punish offenders. Creating controversy: Hanson's words came a day after March For Justice rallies took place across Australia, which called for more action to stamp out sexual abuse and punish offenders. Pictured, Brittany Higgins (centre) and Lisa at the rally in Canberra on Monday 'Stop demonising men. There are false allegations, there are men who have been accused of these things that didn't, it didn't happen,' Hanson told Sky News on Tuesday. Thousands joined the March For Justice rallies across Australia on Monday, with the issue of sexual abuse stirred up by a historical rape allegation against Attorney General Christian Porter, which he denied. Ms Higgins, a former Liberal Party staffer, kick-started the movement by going public with claims she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019. Speaking out: Ms Higgins (pictured speaking at the rally in Canberra on Monday), a former Liberal Party staffer, kick-started the movement by going public with claims she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019 Hanson criticised Ms Higgins for waiting two years to speak out about the alleged rape, despite the now 26-year-old telling police immediately afterward. 'Brittany Higgins, she had the right to go and lay those charges,' she said. She added: 'Take it to the courts. If you've got a case for assault then you take it to the courts.' A known sex offender who is a suspect in a 2020 Deerfield sexual assault has been added to the Massachusetts State Police list of most wanted fugitives. Jeffrey Cancel-Muniz, 40, is wanted by Deerfield police for a violent sexual assault from May. He is facing charges of aggravated rape with serious bodily injury, kidnapping, strangulation and rape. He was one of five violent fugitives identified in a state police briefing on Thursday as the newest members of its Most Wanted list. The five are being sought by the state polices Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and by local police. Anyone with information about any of these suspects is urged to call at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873) immediately. Information on each is posted on the state police website. These men have taken the lives of others or have assaulted victims in ways that cause lasting physical or emotional damage, leaving holes in families and physical or emotional wounds that may never heal, said state police Col. Christopher Mason. They need to be brought to justice. Cancel-Muniz is a registered Level 3 sex offender and has a lengthy criminal record, with has prior convictions for indecent assault and battery, statutory rape, and assault and battery. In 2005, he was convicted and sentenced for rape of a child. He has been the subject of 11 civil restraining orders in Massachusetts and has multiple convictions for violating protection orders. Cancel-Muniz is 6 feet tall and weights about 185 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He goes by the street name of Chillin, and has that tattooed on his upper left back. He is a native of Puerto Rico, but has many ties throughout Western Massachusetts. Police say he may commonly stay at homeless shelters throughout the region. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Zeaborn Ship Management builds on navigational excellence with Wartsila Fleet Operations Solution Hamburg-based third-party ship manager Zeaborn Ship Management (ZSM) has chosen Wartsila Voyages Fleet Operations Solution (FOS) as the digital navigation platform for its managed tanker fleet. Each of their 12 vessels will deploy the state-of-the-art system, enabling ZSM to effectively benchmark voyage execution, support the safety of the fleet and reduce crew workload. The order with Wartsila Voyage was placed in December 2020. FOS integrates Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) with voyage planning functions as well as enabling a ship-to-shore link from the system. With the capability of harnessing data from other ship systems and external sources and deploying advanced analytics and machine learning to deliver insights, FOS is a powerful tool with multiple uses. For ZSM, supporting navigational safety was one of the priorities given its importance to tanker owners and charterers. Digital innovation is a key element for ZSM to ensure that our managed vessels are executing voyages as safely and as efficiently as possible. Wartsilas solution gives us that increased transparency, connecting key stakeholders onboard and ashore in real-time, as well as making navigation and planning easier for the crew, said Matthias Ritters, Managing Director, Zeaborn Ship Management Tankers. This important contract with a progressive ship manager highlights the value that FOS can bring to a variety of maritime operators in diverse areas. Whether looking to make improvements on a single vessel or at a fleet level, to drive safety or improve efficiency, FOS can support you. We are delighted to begin this cooperation with ZSM, said Alex van Knotsenborg, Global Sales Director, Wartsila Voyage. The delivery includes the FOS navigation package, spanning voyage planning and execution modules, ECDIS operational leases and the Wartsila BridgeMate tablet application that enables back-up charts, navigation decision support and the berthing assistance on wings to be accessed from anywhere on the vessel. Simplified voyage planning and accurately monitored voyage execution allowing for benchmarking, assessment and continuous improvement - are fundamental to tanker owners and charterers given the high potential cost of safety concerns. One immediate benefit of FOS is a dramatic reduction in the amount of time needed to plan routes, leaving crew with more time to focus on other work critical to securing safe passage. Real-time monitoring, advanced weather routing and instant updates of charts are among the further advantages of the connected solution. China's insistence that those who apply for a visa should have inoculated themselves with a Chinese-made vaccine defies logic and scientific principles, and reflects a total ignorance about the objective realities about the pandemic situation in the world. (Photo: PTI) The decision of the Chinese government to ease visa restrictions, imposed during the peak of the pandemic Covid-19, is a welcome step that will speed up the return of life back to normalcy. However, its insistence that those who apply for a visa should have inoculated themselves with a Chinese-made vaccine defies logic and scientific principles, and reflects a total ignorance about the objective realities about the pandemic situation in the world. Scientists in several countries have in the last few months come out with vaccines that can protect people from the deadly virus. Each one is certified by the national regulators concerned following universally accepted scientific norms on safety and efficacy, and hence it is grossly unfair for a country to set vaccination with a product made there as a precondition to enter that country. The humanity is not engaged in a war among the nations of the world but one against a virus. Every nation must realise that. It is estimated that there are about 23,000 Indians who are waiting to return to China for various purposes including education and business. Given the fact that there is no availability of Chinese-made vaccines in India, they will have to wait for some more time. The Chinese side has explained that vaccine producers in other countries should file applications to competent authorities in China and the latter will make decisions in accordance with laws and regulations. There has been no timeframe or assurance on that either. There are many countries that have no access to vaccine as its production has been concentrated in a few spots and most of it has been contracted by the rich nations. Vaccination for all must be a universal goal at present, and every nation, including China, should be part of it. China has an added responsibility as the SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19 originated there. Unilateral actions by countries do not aid that endeavour. Cash position of 62 million at year-end provides runway until the end of H2 2022 Enrolment of SENS-401 Phase 2 SSNHL clinical study progressing Expanding internal gene therapy capabilities including AAV, analytical and process development Reported positive preliminary non-human primate data for the OTOF program In February 2021, extended Gene Therapy portfolio by adding a third program focused on the GJB2 mutations Regulatory News: Sensorion (FR0012596468 ALSEN) a pioneering clinical-stage biotechnology company which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent within the field of hearing loss disorders, announces today its full-year 2020 financial results and provides an update on its business activities and outlook for 2021. "We are pleased with the progress made in 2020. We raised 36 million in equity financing to help advance our otoprotective small molecule SENS-401 and our pipeline of promising preclinical gene therapies from our strategic partnership with Institut Pasteur. We expanded our unique technology platform in gene therapy by further building our internal preclinical, process development and analytical capabilities. In Q4 2021, we expect the topline data readout from the Phase 2 trial of SENS-401 to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). In H2 2021, we also expect to initiate a clinical trial of SENS-401 to treat cisplatin-induced ototoxicity, a large indication with a significant unmet medical need" said Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion. Key developments in 2020: science and operational Gene therapy collaboration with Institut Pasteur on hearing loss On June 9, 2020, Sensorion announced positive preliminary preclinical data in non-human primates for its gene therapy program targeting Otoferlin deficiency (OTOF-GT), showing that it could deliver an intracellular marker to the inner hair cells at levels that reflect the future clinical requirements. The company plans to discuss its OTOF-GT program with regulatory authorities in H1 2021. Additionally, Sensorion announced an agreement with Novasep on October 27, 2020, for the process development and manufacturing of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) gene therapy products for the Company's OTOF-GT program. Technology platform expanded Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform over the years to deepen the understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases. The platform is being actively deployed to select targets, identify biomarkers and to optimize small molecules and gene therapy candidates. The strengthened platform includes in-vitro assays encompassing the key cochlear cell types, systems to investigate explant tissue and advanced electrophysiological methods for assessing neuronal activity. On the in-vivo side, Sensorion is developing a suite of validated preclinical models reflecting specific pathologies and inner ear lesions, as well as advancing the use of techniques such as auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion product oto-acoustic emission (DPOAE) audiometry for measuring and analysing hearing parameters in those models. The last pillar of the Company's technology platform focuses on developing biomarkers to improve diagnosis and guide treatment in the key areas of unmet medical need in hearing loss. Drug candidate SENS-401 Our clinical program with small molecule SENS-401 continued to progress in 2020. Sensorion is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial of SENS-401 in the treatment of SSNHL in adults. This Phase 2, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study is being conducted in multiple countries in Europe and Canada. On February 17, 2020, Sensorion received Ethics Committee approval to include new military sites in this study, allowing clinical investigators to recruit volunteer military personnel who have suffered from acute hearing loss. On March 13, 2020, Sensorion provided an update on the recruitment schedule for the ongoing SENS-401 Phase 2 study for the treatment of SSNHL. Due in part to the impact of COVID-19 on patient enrolment, the availability of topline data were expected to be delayed to Q4 2021 (see below in 2021 announcements). On June 5, 2020, the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) confirmed the absence of safety concerns and recommended continuation of the Phase 2 trial as scheduled. Having demonstrated otoprotective activity in several preclinical models, SENS-401 is being studied as a potential option to preserve residual hearing in people with cochlear implants under a collaboration with Cochlear, the world leader in implantable hearing solutions. Positive preclinical data were announced on January 5, 2021 (see below in 2021 announcements). Next steps are being discussed with Cochlear. On December 15, 2020, Sensorion and Sonova Holding AG, a leading provider of hearing solutions, announced that Sonova had acquired a 3.7% equity stake in Sensorion via an investment of 5 million. At the same time, the two companies signed a letter of intent to exclusively explore potential plans for a strategic collaboration in the field of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for certain types of hearing loss. Discussions between Sensorion and Sonova are ongoing. Strengthened scientific and medical leadership As part of Sensorion's strategic move into gene therapy for hearing restoration, on February 19, 2020 the Company announced the appointment of Dr. Geraldine Honnet as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Honnet has extensive expertise both in gene therapy and small molecule clinical development across numerous disease areas. During 2020, Sensorion also increased its R&D headcount by 30% strengthening its team with experienced scientists and researchers in gene therapy, the inner ear and neurosciences. In addition to Dr Honnet, Sensorion also appointed a preclinical head in gene therapy and a new CMC gene therapy lead with more than 20 years of experience in the field. On July 29, 2020, Sensorion announced the appointment of five distinguished experts to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB); Prof. Alain Fischer, Dr. Robert Dow, Prof. Paul Avan, Dr. Diane Lazard and Dr. Hernan Lopez-Schier. The SAB is chaired by Prof. Christine Petit, Founding Director of the French Hearing Institute and a world-renowned geneticist and neurobiologist in hearing and hearing disorders. Scientific communications Sensorion presented at various scientific congresses and hosted two Key Opinion Leaders (KOL's) calls in 2020, including: New preclinical data on SENS-401 presented at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology Mid-(ARO) Winter Meeting 2020 highlighting the potential of SENS-401 to significantly prevent hearing loss due to chronic noise exposure. Christine Le Bec, Head of CMC Gene Therapy, gave a talk on "Challenges and Issues in Dual AAV Vectors Approach" at the Bioprocessing Summit Europe conference. She also chaired the "Advancing CMC and Analytical Strategies" track. During the Advanced Therapies virtual conference, Christine Le Bec, gave a presentation on "Challenges and Issues in Dual AAV Vectors Approach". Sensorion held a conference call with Dr. Michael Hoffer, Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurological Surgery from the University of Miami, who described the characteristics and unmet need in SSNHL (SENS-401). Sensorion hosted a conference call with Dr. John Greinwald, a pediatric otolaryngologist at the Children's Hospital in Cincinnati (USA), member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and expert in genetic hearing loss. During his presentation, Dr Greinwald discussed the different forms of deafness in children due to genetic causes. Governance: appointment of a new Chairman of the Board of Directors On July 6, 2020, Sensorion's Board of Directors was strengthened by the appointment of Edwin Moses as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Moses has more than 25 years of executive experience as both CEO and Chairman of numerous life science companies, including Ablynx, where he led its rapid growth from a small research-focused organization to one of Europe's leading biotechnology companies, prior to its $4.8 billion acquisition by Sanofi in 2018. 2021 announcements Since the end of the fiscal year, the key business updates are as follows: On January 5, 2021, Sensorion provided an update on plans and progress made in the development of SENS-401 for the prevention of hearing loss. After encouraging efficacy data in preclinical models, the Company expects to begin a proof-of-concept clinical trial with SENS-401 to treat patients suffering from cisplatin-induced ototoxicity (CIO) in the second half of 2021. A natural history study of CIO in adult cancer patients is expected to start in the first half of 2021. Successful clinical findings would significantly expand Sensorion's target market for SENS-401: approximately 500,000 cancer patients are treated annually with cisplatin in the USA and EU5, a significant proportion of whom will experience severe hearing loss. At that time, Sensorion also announced a delay in the availability of the topline results from the Phase 2 study of SENS-401 in SSNHL to Q4 2021, due to the impact of COVID-19. Additionally, Sensorion indicated that it planned to review the study design and consider opportunities to aid its successful on-time completion. Following this review, an amendment to the statistical analysis plan (SAP), which would significantly reduce the sample size without compromising on the quality and potential outcome of the trial, has been submitted to the regulatory authorities. The responses from regulators so far have been encouraging and this increases the Company's confidence in being able to generate topline data this year. On January 19, 2021, Sensorion announced positive preclinical data demonstrating the potential of SENS-401 to preserve residual hearing after cochlear implantation, in a collaboration with Cochlear, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. Cochlear implants are very effective in treating severe to profound hearing loss, but preserving acoustic hearing in patients with residual hearing who receive cochlear implants could provide substantial benefit. Sensorion and Cochlear are making progress in the discussion around potential clinical study designs. Next steps are being discussed with Cochlear. On February 15, 2021, Sensorion announced a third gene therapy collaboration with Institut Pasteur around the GJB2 gene targeting important pediatric and adult deafness markets. GJB2 mutations had already been widely recognized as the most prevalent cause of congenital deafness and now, new findings from Institut Pasteur have now demonstrated that GBJ2 mutations also underlie a wide range of other instances of severe hearing loss in the adult population. Sensorion will pursue three initial GBJ2-related indications: congenital deafness, progressive childhood hearing loss and early onset of severe presbycusis in adults. 2021 strategy and prospects As of 31st December 2020, the Company had 62 million in cash, boosted by a successful 31 million Reserved Offering conducted in September and the December investment of 5 million by Sonova. Sensorion intends to use the new funds to develop its current gene therapy programs (OTOF-GT, GJB2-GT and USHER-GT), to support its pharmacology and clinical studies of SENS-401 and for general corporate purposes. Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion commented: "We are working hard to secure further approvals of the protocol amendment to reduce the sample size for the SENS-401 Phase 2 SSNHL trial which will help ensure that we could complete this study on time. Sensorion will also engage with regulatory authorities in Europe and the US to discuss our potential Otorferlin gene therapy clinical trial design. We recently added a promising third program to the Sensorion gene therapy pipeline centered around the GJB2 gene, the most prevalent cause of congenital deafness. This program will focus on major new markets with an estimated patient population of 300,000 children and adults in Europe and the United States. We remain very focused on delivering on our ambitious goals this year and we will stay true to our vision to serve patients with hearing loss" Expected future milestones and estimated timelines: H1 2021 Start of CIO Natural History Clinical Trial H1 2021 Ongoing approvals of the protocol amendment to reduce sample size for the SENS-401 Phase 2 study in SSNHL H1 2021 Discussion with regulatory authorities on potential OTOF-GT clinical study design H1 2021 Generation of preclinical PoC results in older mice for USHER-GT H2 2021 Initiation of SENS-401 clinical study in adults with CIO Q4 2021 Communication of top line data for the SENS-401 Phase 2 clinical study in SSNHL 2020 financial results The annual accounts at 31 December 2020, drawn up according to IFRS standards and approved by the Board of Directors on 17 March 2021, have been duly reviewed by statutory auditors. The simplified income statement as of 31 December 2020 is as follows: In Euros IFRS standards 31.12.2020 31.12.2019 Operating income 2,421,267 2,522,717 Research Development expenses -7,679,365 -10,208,520 General Administrative expenses -3,631,123 -3,128,236 Total operating expenses -11,310,488 -13,336,756 Operating profit/loss -8,889,220 -10,814,039 Financial charges -88,869 -1,282,141 Net profit/loss -8,978,089 -12,096,181 For the year ended 31st December 2020, Sensorion reported operating income of 2.4 million, which included 1.8 million in research tax credit and 0.6 million in grants from Audinnove (RHU) and Patriot (PSPC) collaborations. The decrease of -0.1 million compared to 2019 is explained by a decrease of -0.7 million in research tax credit partly offset by an increase of +0.6 million in grants. Operating expenses declined by15% from 13.3 million in 2019 to 11.3 million for fiscal year 2020. R&D expenses decreased by 2.5 million mainly due to the completion of the SENS-111 clinical trial in 2019 and a slowdown of SENS-401 activities linked to the global Covid-19 pandemic situation, and partly offset by an increase in headcounts to strengthen the R&D team with Gene Therapy expertise. G&A expenses increased by 0.5 million, mainly driven by an increase in headcount. Operating loss at 31 December 2020 was -8.9 million compared with -10.8 million at 31 December 2019. The net financial charges decreased by 1.3 million compared to 2019 which was mainly due to the costs related to the convertible bond operations. Net loss was -9.0 million at 31 December 2020 compared with -12.1 million at 31 December 2019. As of 31 December 2020, the company employed 28 persons. Financial structure The simplified balance sheet at 31 December 2020 is as follows: In Euros IFRS standards 31.12.2020 31.12.2019 Non-current Assets 1,474,117 1,724,348 Other Current Assets 4,254,909 5,946,864 Cash cash equivalent 62,174,948 30,428,319 Total Assets 67,903,976 38,099,532 Equity 58,379,653 13,218,525 Non-current Liabilities 5,246,408 2,036,933 Current Liabilities 4,277,915 22,844,074 Total Liabilities 67,903,976 38,099,532 Total equity amounted to 58.4 million as of 31 December 2020 compared to 13.2 million at 31 December 2019; this increase of +45 million is related to the following share capital increases partly offset by the net loss of -9 million for the period: On February 10, 2020, Invus Public Equities LP converted into ordinary shares of the Company all of the 12,500,000 convertible bonds it had subscribed for in June 2019 On February 13, 2020 Sofinnova Crossover I SLP converted into ordinary shares of the Company all of the 7,500,000 convertible bonds it had subscribed for in June 2019 On September 18, 2020, the company announced and completed a share capital increase amounting to circa 31 million to which Invus Public Equities LP and Sofinnova Partners subscribed for a total amount of 16.2 million. On December 15, 2020, the Company announced and completed a share capital increase amounting to circa 5 million to the benefit of Sonova Holding AG Cash and cash equivalents amounted to 62.2 million at 31 December 2020 compared to 30.4 million at December 31, 2019 boosted by the 29 million net proceeds of the capital increase in September and the 5 million of investment by Sonova in December. Based on its cash position and its forecasted expenses, the Company believes it will be able to fund its operations until the end of the second half of 2022. Non current liabilities increased by +3.2 million after Sensorion obtained 3 million in loans including 2 million guaranteed by the French government and 1 million in a Research, Developement and Innovation loan from Bpifrance. Current liabilities decreased by -18.6 million, driven by the 20 million bond conversion in Q1 2020. 2020 annual accounts The 2020 detailed accounts can be found on Sensorion's website (https://www.sensorion.com) in the investors section under the financial information tab. The annual accounts as of December 31, 2020 have been duly reviewed by statutory auditors and the certification report is being issued. Capital Breakdown The company's capital breakdown as of 31 December 2020 is described in the table below: Non-diluted basis Fully diluted basis (2) Number of shares Equity holding Number of shares Equity holding Invus Public Equities LP 26,490,415 33.22% 26,490,415 32.02% Sofinnova Partners 15,469,458 19.40% 15,469,458 18.70% WuXi AppTec 5,249,608 6.58% 5,249,608 6.34% 3SBio 4,055,150 5.09% 4,055,150 4.90% Innobio 3,499,874 4.39% 3,499,874 4.23% SONOVA AG 2,941,176 3.69% 2,941,176 3.55% Inserm Transfert Initiative 982,911 1.23% 982,911 1.19% Cochlear 533,755 0.67% 533,755 0.65% Management, employees, directors (1) 160,000 0.20% 2,140,041 2.59% Floating (including former officers and directors) 20,357,881 25.53% 21,376,612 25.84% Total 79,740,228 100.00% 82,739,000 100.00% (1) Including 160,000 free shares allocated on May 29, 2018 (2) Including securities giving access to the capital and stock-options described below COVID-19 Sensorion continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and is actively managing the potential impact on the Company's activities. We observed a negative impact in the recruitment of the SENS-401 Phase 2 trial in SSNHL driven by a reallocation of emergency room resources and restrictions in the movement of people. In order to avoid overloading healthcare facilities, to ensure the safety of new potential patients, to avoid major protocol deviations due to missed follow-up visits and to minimize contact between patients and investigational staff, new patient recruitment in the study was temporarily suspended during the past year. Recruitment re-started progressively following the reduction in sanitary restrictions. It is difficult to predict the evolution of the pandemic and how local restrictions on individuals or additional governmental measures could impact future recruitment of patients in the ongoing Phase 2 clinical study and in line with our press release of January 5, 2021, we have taken further mitigation steps including seeking approvals for a protocol amendment which will significantly reduce the number of patients required for the study. For patients already in the SENS-401 Phase 2 study, there is a risk that some participants may not be able to attend follow-up visits as per study protocol due to government or local restrictions. The Company is seeking to mitigate this risk through the use of teleconferences and videoconferences. Furthermore, the pandemic might cause delays in the preclinical gene therapy studies that are part of the collaboration with Institut Pasteur. The pandemic could also impact our organization more generally where restrictions impede our ability to meet and collaborate in a timely manner or interact with external parties on our various collaborations across academia, clinical centers or sub-contractors. This could delay our preclinical work for the three ongoing programs. We had previously experienced delays in March 2020 and January 2021 and in light of the evolving situation, there is a risk of another guidance change on the availability of the Phase 2 results with SENS-401 in SSNHL, though as indicated previously we are seeking to minimize this possibility. Such an eventuality could, however, have a significant adverse impact on the Company's business, results, and financial position. As recommended by the French government, all the employees at Sensorion for which remote working was possible were working remotely until December 2020. The health and safety of the Company's employees is and continues to be a key priority for Sensorion. About Sensorion Sensorion is a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company, which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat and prevent within the field of hearing loss disorders. Its clinical-stage portfolio includes one Phase 2 product: SENS-401 (Arazasetron) for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform to expand its understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases enabling it to select the best targets and modalities for drug candidates. The Company is also working on the identification of biomarkers to improve diagnosis of these underserved illnesses. Sensorion has launched three gene therapy programs, currently at preclinical stage, aimed at correcting hereditary monogenic forms of deafness including deafness caused by a mutation of the gene encoding for Otoferlin, hearing loss related to gene target GJB2 as well as Usher Syndrome Type 1 to potentially address important hearing loss segments in adults and children. The Company is potentially uniquely placed, through its platforms and pipeline of potential therapeutics, to make a lasting positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people with inner ear related disorders, a significant global unmet medical need. www.sensorion.com Label: SENSORION ISIN: FR0012596468 Mnemonic: ALSEN Disclaimer This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the 2020 Half-Year financial report published on October 21, 2020 and available on our website and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005900/en/ Contacts: Press Relations Sophie Baumont LifeSci Advisors sophie@lifesciadvisors.com +33 6 27 74 74 49 Investor Relations Ligia Vela-Reid LifeSci Advisors lvela-reid@lifesciadvisors.com +44 74 13 82 53 10 People attend a "Rally Against Anti-Asian Hate Crimes & Racism" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence at Los Angeles State Historic Park on Feb. 20, 2021. The rally was organized in part in response to last month's fatal assault of Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, in San Francisco. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) With a recent surge in anti-Asian violence and the killing of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, in Atlanta, many Asian Americans are bristling with pain and fury. We want to help share the stories of Asian Americans and document the attacks on the Asian community. Have you, as an Asian American, been threatened, intimidated or attacked? Share your stories via text or voice recording. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Haiti - News : Zapping... 3 members of the "5 Seconds" Gang arrested On Wednesday, 3 alleged members of the "5 Seconds" gang operating in Village de Dieu were arrested by the judicial and police authorities in Les Cayes. These three individuals respond to the names of Hilaire Michelin, Gaspard Roberto and Delille Guerson. The USA urges Jovenel Moise... "Political instability & infighting cripple democracy in Haiti. We urge Jovenel Moise to initiate dialogue with stakeholders, end political paralysis & hold free & fair elections in 2021," declared Acting Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs After 1 month, the judges still on strike One month after the call to strike launched by associations of magistrates, Haitian judges are still on strike https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33017-haiti-justice-the-judicial-system-paralyzed-at-the-national-level-from-monday.html . The latter intend to force President Jovenel Moise to respect the Constitution. The country's four associations of judges blame President Jovenel Moise for the illegal arrest of Judge Yvickel Dabresil, the retirement of three judges from the Court of Cassation and the appointment of three others in violation of the Constitution. Carrefour : Second gas turbine installed "The second turbine for the new Carrefour power plant is in place. Soon, an additional 60 MW of electricity in the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince," informs Dr. Evenson Calixte of the National Regulatory Authority of the Energy Sector (ANARSE). 3 Gheskio Centers closed for lack of Covid Dr. Pape, Infectious Disease Specialist, says the coronavirus pandemic is on the decline in Haiti. He reveals that the 3 Gheskio centers have been closed as there have been no cases for 3 months in these centers. DR : documentation of Haitian immigrants Smith Augustin, Ambassador of Haiti in the Dominican Republic, had a fruitful meeting with the heads of mission of UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in view strengthening cooperation with the Embassy of Haiti in DR in the documentation of Haitian immigrants living on Dominican territory. HL/ HaitiLibre Killing of Emmett Till why his murder still rings in our ears! The new short film Killing of Emmett Till https://youtu.be/YfIyB1uDef8 is causing the right conversations in communities across the world. For some, its a reminder and for others, its an education on what happened to Emmett Till. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old child. A 14-year-old African American, child who was lynched brutally murdered in Mississippi, in 1955, after being accused of offending a White woman in her familys grocery store. Emmett. Till say his name over and over again because this 14-year-old childs murderers were acquitted. This is just one example of thousands of how justice works for our people drawing attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States. ADVERTISEMENT Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Emmett was visiting his relatives near Money, in the Mississippi Delta region. Just a regular, summer vacation. Thats how it started. The 14-year-old child dared to have a conversation with the 21-year-old wife of the owner (Carolyn Bryant). What happened inside is a work of fiction in my humble opinion. This child was accused of flirting with or whistling at Bryant. Several nights after the incident in the store, Bryants husband Roy and his half-brother J.W. Milam were armed when they went to Tills great-uncles house and abducted the boy. These murderous monsters took this 14-year-old, innocent child away and beat him. Then these heinous poor excuses for a human being mutilated Emmett before shooting him in the head and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Tills body was discovered and retrieved from the river. Tills broken body was returned to Chicago where his mother insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket for all the world to see. Its 2021 and the short film Killing of Emmett Till brings the story back to light for an examination of how something this terrible happened to an unarmed, innocent African American child and why the murders of our people continue. Here is what Killing of Emmett Tills director-screenwriter Denn Pietro had to share about why he made this short film. LOS ANGELES SENTINEL: Why did the storytellers want to tell this story? DENN PIETRO: While putting together a video for the national NAACP dinner some years back, people unanimously asked about one particular photo that I used. A photo of Emmett Till. Some people didnt know who he was or the story behind the photo taken from his funeral. In preparing to send some links about Emmett to those interested, I found myself shocked to learn what I thought I knew about Emmett Till was not the whole truth and sometimes often wasnt correct at all. I read everything I could and watched every documentary, but I was bothered by the fact that there was no film about Emmett Till to bring the story to life. After numerous trips to Mississippi, I thought, Hey, why not me! to tell that story?! and finally bring Emmetts story to life in a way that is accessible to everybody. ADVERTISEMENT LAS: What do you want the viewer/audience to take away from this film? DP: I hope the audience learns something that they didnt know about the Emmett Till story and clears up some of the many misconceptions many of us thought were true for so long. I love that the film has ignited a curiosity to research more about Emmett Till and have discussions with others about him and the film. I hope the viewer is moved by emotions, feels the story, and has a reaction to what they see. If that reaction is a fraction of the same reaction people had in 1955 that sparked the Civil Rights Movement, maybe those same feelings can propel the movement further today. The fact that the world has to continually repeat the fight against injustice is disheartening as things havent moved forward enough. I hope the audience watches Killing of Emmett Till and cant tell the difference between our film with an all-volunteer cast and crew filmed with no budget in the Detroit area versus a Hollywood film with a large budget shot on location in Mississippi. In addition to the FBI report itself, below are some links we provide in our film description on YouTube which helps answer many of the misconceptions about the film facts such as Emmett whistling; the picture of a white girl in Emmetts wallet; Emmetts stutter; the number of people involved in the kidnapping, torture, and murder; what Carolyn Bryant lied about; the changing stories of witnesses at the store; etc. For more information about the facts of this film, please visit the links below: FBI REPORT: https://vault.fbi.gov/Emmett%20Till%20 WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE STORE: https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandor TRUTH BEHIND THE LIES: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/n CAROLYN BRYANT LIED, NOT SO FAST: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/o CAROLYN BRYANTS MISSING CONFESSION QUOTE: https://www.krem.com/article/news/nat EMMETT TILL AND THE PHOTO OF A WHITE GIRL: https://www.king5.com/article/news/na YouTube link to film: https://youtu.be/YfIyB1uDef8 Website: whatantics.com #BLM #JUSTICE #BLACKPEOPLE Networking & Wireless Kentucky District Upgrades WiFi with Extreme Networks The largest school system in Kentucky has gone public with an upgrade of its wireless network. The refresh at Jefferson County Public Schools included WiFi 6 access points from Extreme Networks, as well as that company's ExtremeCloud IQ network management platform. The upgrade built off of or replaced existing Extreme gear. The district has about 115,000 student and staff users in 169 schools and 165 buildings. District digital initiatives have included a 1-to-1 device program, to provide students with iPads, Windows devices and Chromebooks, and a virtual "Backpack of Success Skills" platform for students, to demonstrate learning and collect artifacts such as pictures and video with Google tools. Assessments are done online. And the schools 3,000-plus IP-connected cameras with gunshot recognition capabilities and electronic access control. The latest technology implementation included: Nearly 8,400 Extreme WiFi 6 access points and Ethernet switches both inside and outside of buildings and sent home with families; ExtremeAnalytics software to track usage of the Backpack program and other applications and identify and address network connectivity and performance issues more quickly; and ExtremeCloud IQ, for network visibility and monitoring. "We are working with a small IT group in an enormous district, and my network team has to fill multiple roles. Without good support and dependable infrastructure, all our resources become locked up in network management," Annette Harris, assistant director of infrastructure services at the district, in a press release. "With Extreme, we're currently reporting 99 percent network uptime, and our team likes every product we've deployed." As China's national legislature plans to rewrite election rules in to ensure that the city is run by 'patriots', the most lingering question of this move is over the concern that Beijing might be rejecting the 'one country two systems' made to in 1997. According to Taiwan Times, China's National People's Congress (NPC) is expected to approve the reform of Hong Kong's electoral system, months after the draconian national security law was imposed last year. Despite fierce condemnation, approved the contentious resolution, a move that critics say could further smother opposition voices in Taiwan Times says that the decision is an assault on the democratic system of the former British colony and will cast a shadow over the delayed legislative council elections here, that were earlier scheduled to take place last September. Since then, has earlier indicated that it intends to undermine the authority of Hong Kong's local government, as the changes would strip the voting rights of several lower-level district councilors, many of whom are pro-democracy supporters. In the name of bringing reforms to the city's electoral system, has attacked the region's autonomy and freedoms - and in turn the democratic process. It will further limit the participation of people who are 'patriots', redcue democratic representation, and stifle political debate in order to defy the clear will of the people of Hong Kong to deny their voice being heard in their own government. The process will also further concentrate power in the hands of the ruling Communist Party and decimate the political hopes of the territory's already beleaguered opposition for years to come, writes Taiwan Times. However, China justifies the process by maintaining that this arrangement was in line with the stipulations and principles of the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and that it will ensure the steady practice of "one country, two systems", and help maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. Beijing was perturbed by violent anti-government protests in 2019 and has imposed the national security law to take action against those who protested against the government. These actions have raised fears among the people was rejecting the 'one country, two systems' concept which the city was promised when it was transferred from British to Chinese control in 1997, says Taiwan Times. The law remains China's most aggressive assault on Hong Kong's freedom till now. (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.) HALIFAX - Researchers from Nova Scotia are coming together with an international, multidisciplinary team to study whether the Vietnam War has affected the aging of people who lived through it. Zachary Zimmer, Canada Research Chair in Aging and Community at Mount Saint Vincent University, stands on campus in Halifax on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Researchers from the school are coming together with an international, multidisciplinary team to study whether the Vietnam War affected the aging of people who lived through it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX - Researchers from Nova Scotia are coming together with an international, multidisciplinary team to study whether the Vietnam War has affected the aging of people who lived through it. Project leader Zachary Zimmer, Canada Research Chair in Aging and Community at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, said the study will link DNA testing with social surveys to see how traumatic events shape the long-term health of survivors. Zimmer and his colleagues are trying to determine "whether we can see markers on the genes that are common among people who have had these experiences," he said in a recent interview. The study, called "The Long-Term Effects of War on Biological Aging: The Case of Vietnam," recently received $1.2 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. It expands on a 2018 project funded by the National Institutes of Health in the United States called the "Vietnam Health and Aging Study." That study collected data, including biological and sociological information, from some 2,500 people randomly sampled from above the 17th parallel in what once was referred to as North Vietnam. Zimmer's project is analyzing a second set of data collected from participants in the 2018 study. From the very, very early analysis that we've done on the first wave of data, it is actually quite astounding how robust the negative effect of wartime exposure seems to be in our sample, Zimmer said, adding that higher exposure to trauma earlier in life seems to be connected with health problems later on. Participants include members of the military, of militias and civilians who lived through the height of the war, from 1965 to 1975. The diverse range of people and experiences will offer a variety of sociological and biological markers to showcase how, and if, trauma has long-lasting effects on how the human body ages, he said. Alan Cohen, Universite de Sherbrooke professor in the faculty of medicine and health sciences, said his role in the study is to analyze participants' biology in order to measure the aging process. The goal is to understand how serious trauma gets under our skin, he said in a recent interview. If we want to look at the impact of the Vietnam War or any other war or trauma on the aging process we need to figure out how do we measure that aging process that might be changing, he said. We know when you were born, but how old is your body? That's a whole other challenge to be able to measure that. One of the markers Cohen plans to analyze is called allostatic load, which he said measures the general wear and tear a body experiences from stress. There is evidence people who live through war are not healthy overall, Cohen said. There is also evidence that people who live through trauma develop a certain resilience. Hardening you, but making you more brittle." Along with biological markers, the study will analyze how social circumstances related to things such as families, support systems and careers affect the way trauma imprints itself on the body into old age, Zimmer said. For University of Utah sociology Prof. Kim Korinek, another key figure in the study, the project will be a way to measure the effects of war on those who may not have had direct contact with the conflict an area, she said, thats gone largely unstudied. I don't think that studies have paid enough attention to those on the margins of these conflicts, but they have been affected, Korinek, director of the university's Asia Centre, said in a recent interview. Zimmer said he hopes the research will reveal the link between how people age and their experiences earlier on in life. You can't really understand old age by looking at someone just in old age without asking how they got there, what kind of experiences they've lived through in order to get there. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. Press Release March 18, 2021 Hontiveros renews call for cyberdefense framework amid Dito franchise Senate approval "The Department of Defense should make cybersecurity a national priority. A national cyberdefense framework should be in place as soon as possible. There are sharks in the water with us and we're still just learning to swim. There are estimates saying we are 15 to 25 years behind other countries." Senator Risa Hontiveros called on the DND to establish a 'clear, consistent, and tough' cyberdefense framework, after China-owned Dito Telecommunity's franchise was sponsored in the Senate. "We welcome competition in the telecommunications sector. Pero huwag naman tayo mag-bulagbulagan sa katotohanan. Ang Dito ay 40% owned at malamang kontrolado ng People's Republic of China, kaya hindi ito dapat basta-bastang maka-operate sa bansa nang wala tayong maayos na panangga sa posibleng cyber intrusions," Hontiveros said. "From one perspective, it is the Philippine arm of a foreign government whose territorial interests are adverse to our own and whose political maneuverings within our country threaten to draw us further into a deepening regional conflict. Huwag naman natin kalimutan na pinag-aawayan pa rin natin ang West Philippine Sea. Our armed forces must be ready not only over land, sea, and air, but also in the cyber- and information warfare spaces as well," the senator added. During the period of interpellations for the third telco's franchise, Hontiveros stressed the national security implications of having ChinaTel, a company 100% owned by the government of China, as a part-owner of Dito, citing the US Federal Communications Commission's recent revocation of China Telecom's authorizations to operate in the United States due to these same concerns. According to Section 301 of the United States Trade Report, the Chinese government has a "military-civil fusion" policy of "integrating platforms for information sharing between, among others, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese enterprises in order to provide competitive intelligence to Chinese state-owned enterprises through the use of cyber intrusions." "Cyberintrusions are really seen and therefore used for both geopolitical and trade purposes. This will constitute a juggernaut in our country, especially that we do not even seem to have a cyberdefense policy. This debate on Dito's franchise makes it clear that there are larger problems that urgently need to be addressed," the senator said. "Dapat umpisahan na ngayon ng DND ang cyberdefense framework ng bansa. Dapat matuto na tayong lumangoy man lang. Kung hindi, ay sobrang kulelat nanaman tayo. It's time to reassess our national security priorities and defend ourselves against current and future threats. Let not our security forces be limited to fighting the enemy they know - the much-diminished internal threats - but stretch to prepare for the obvious external threats that pose the greatest danger to our country's long-term interests," Hontiveros concluded. Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) A marine conservationist appealed to fellow Filipinos to observe zero-waste habits during this COVID-19 pandemic. Save Philippine Seas co-founder Anna Oposa emphasized plastic and medical waste like face masks should be disposed of properly, as these tend to pollute the seas and other marine resources. "Some medical waste is absolutely necessary (to throw away) for safety and hygiene. But also there are ways that we can still continue to reduce our waste," Oposa told CNN Philippines' The Final Word on Thursday. The Filipina marine advocate said just like any other trash, face masks polluting the oceans can be mistaken by marine animals for food, which can lead to their death. Oposa encouraged the use of reusable face masks, or extend the use of masks if hygienically possible. She urged Filipinos to avoid littering these on the streets as well. Oposa also called on government officials and other stakeholders to invest in building facilities that will process medical waste in the country. "We did not anticipate that we will be producing this much waste. But we need to catch up in terms of investments," she said. Oposa also appealed to the public to control plastics usage, as shoppers turn to online purchases. "It's hard to be plastic-free in a time like this. But what I try to do with all the e-commerce waste that I have is to collect them, I clean them, and I dry them. I bring them to a plastic waste collection point," she said. In April last year, the Asian Development Bank said Metro Manila could generate 280 metric tons of medical waste per day during the pandemic an estimate based on a peak period of 60 days in Wuhan, China. ADB clarified on Friday that it has no local data on what was actually experienced. It said what the report indicated was Manila, under similar peak circumstances, could generate the same amount of medical waste per day. The National Solid Waste Management Commission issued guidelines on the proper handling and management of all COVID-19 related health care wastes generated by households and other facilities, while ensuring the occupational health and safety of waste workers. Note: this report corrects details about the ADB report. Southwest Portland resident Audrey Perino, 67, says she could barely sleep the three nights before March 1, the first day she and her husband were eligible to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments in Oregon. But instead of battling the ferocious competition in the Portland market, she tried booking at the state fairgrounds in Salem, based on a tip from a friend. The restless nights had been for naught: she immediately secured two appointments in Salem for later that week. Since then, Perino estimates shes tipped off at least 25 other friends and acquaintances who also all have seamlessly booked their vaccinations about 45 miles to the south. The anxiety of getting an appointment is completely gone because you can get one instantaneously, Perino said. Yeah, you have to schlep to Salem, but you have an appointment. Perino has tapped into a peculiarity of Oregons vaccination distribution system: The Oregon Health Authority has not allocated all of its vaccines evenly across counties. An analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive found significantly more vaccine going to some counties per capita compared to others. For instance, Marion County last week received 66% more first doses for seniors per capita than the four-county area of Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Columbia. This week, it was 24% more. The disparities have sent leagues of Portland-area seniors to Marion County, Polk County, central Oregon or even up north over the Columbia River to Washington state. Officials there say Oregonians who dont work in Washington arent welcome, but in many cases no one is checking vaccine recipients residency status. Elderly residents in some particularly vaccine-deprived counties, including Clatsop, have even driven into Portland because theyve been lucky enough to snag appointments among the fierce competition of the metro area. For weeks, Clatsop received significantly fewer doses per capita than even the Portland-area counties, leading the state to send it a one-time catch-up shipment of 1,600 first doses this week, a 78% increase from the previous week. Clatsop was one of seven counties to get such a boost. Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen has said with few exceptions, nothing in the rules restricts Oregonians in one county from traveling to another to get vaccinated. Thats always true of appointments at pharmacies, which are open to any and all residents from anywhere in the state -- leading some residents to take hours-long road trips after they find available time slots. But state officials have not gone out of their way tell shot-seeking Oregonians to look in other counties, where doses are more readily available. Over the past few weeks, for example, freshly released appointments at the state fairgrounds in Salem have been relatively bountiful -- lingering on Salem Healths website in some cases for more than 24 hours. In fact, Thursday morning, 158 time slots were still available for shots that same day. Salem Health spokeswoman Lisa Wood said it was the first time the mass vaccination site wasnt able to book all appointments. The same thing happened the previous day at Western Oregon Universitys vaccination site, also run by Salem Health, Wood said. That compares to Hillsboro Stadium and Portland International Airport, where more than 3,900 appointments released for vaccinations later this month all vanished in about an hour Thursday morning. Perino, the Portlander who will again travel to Salem for her second shot next week, said shes baffled by the states distribution system. Shes a retired Bonneville Power Administration economist. I do spreadsheets, its really not that difficult, Perino said. It seems mysterious to me that there is plenty of vaccine in Salem and not enough in Portland. Dave Baden, chief financial officer for the Oregon Health Authority, said the state since February has been distributing vaccines proportionately based on the populations of people 65 and older in each county. But Baden said the formula grows more complicated from there, with some counties getting more doses because they have federally qualified health centers or mass vaccination clinics. Some counties in February also complained that the state let their supplies run dry after they had started giving inoculations to seniors before the official statewide start date of Feb. 8 for residents 80 and older. Baden said the state has given extra doses to some mass vaccination clinics, including the state fairgrounds in Marion County, because they need a robust supply to justify the size of the operation. Baden said its particularly important to keep large clinics operating in anticipation of possibly half a million or more people with underlying conditions and frontline workers who will become eligible for inoculations March 29. Shutting them down would have been bad because its obviously hard for them to reopen, Baden said of mass vaccination clinics across the state. Baden said the state gives additional doses to the state fairgrounds site in recognition that its a regional draw. He said 64% of vaccine recipients there have been from Marion County, 10% from Polk County, 7% from Clackamas County and 7% from Multnomah County, with the rest from various other counties. The Oregon Health Authority also has placed a special emphasis on getting extra vaccines to tribal governments across the state -- so much so that public health officials say some tribes have asked the state to cut back weekly shipments. Sara Thompson, spokeswoman for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, said with more than 5,000 tribal members living across the United States and more than 10,000 Moderna doses administered so far at Grand Ronde, tribal government has been able to open up vaccinations not just to tribal employees and spouses, but the general public. As long as we have enough vaccine, we welcome it, Thompson said. Thompson said demand from people not associated with Grand Ronde has been huge, with about 1,000 people a day with no association to the Confederated Tribes filling out a vaccination interest form on the website. But, again, thats not something state officials have promoted, leaving it to particularly resourceful Oregonians to find those slots. While the competition for vaccine appointments among seniors at Portland International Airport and area pharmacies is still intense, public health officials believe the state is reaching the tipping where appointments are becoming more readily accessible. A few weeks ago, appointments at the airport were snapped up within 10 minutes of their release, instead of the hour its taking now. Baden said hes noticed a different indicator that demand is slowing: Several days ago the state finished sending every name of the more than 150,000 Portland area seniors listed in its GetVaccinated.Oregon.gov registry to the Oregon Convention Center mass vaccination site. Baden said the site was unable to fill all of its available appointments, which stretch into April. As a result, Baden said in the absence of seniors to fill slots, the site operators asked the state for names of educators and people in phase 1a who hadnt been vaccinated yet, then started offering them appointments. Baden said the rollout is going just as predicted -- huge demand in the first several weeks seniors became eligible, then increasing supply to meet demand. As we said, the first two weeks of March were going to be hard for everybody to get an appointment, Baden said. Larger shipments in coming weeks promised by the Biden Administration led Allen, the Oregon Health Authoritys director, to say that Oregon will open vaccination eligibility to all residents by May 1 -- two months earlier than it had planned. Allen said he expects by late March, 80% of seniors will have received at least one dose. As of early this week, about 55% of Portland-area residents 65 and older had been vaccinated with at least one dose. Statewide, its 54%. Deschutes leads the state at 68%. Some counties, however, have been struggling. Tiny Grant County, with 7,200 residents, trails the rest of the state with just 31% of seniors inoculated. Baden highlights that as a concern -- wondering if the reason is some people may be reluctant to get vaccinated rather than not having access. Are we starting to see vaccine hesitancy? Baden said. I would argue yes, we are most definitely. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Seoul, March 18 : Defence and Foreign Ministers of South Korea and the US held the so-called "2+2" talks here on Thursday about the Korean Peninsula and regional issues. The meeting, the first held since October 2016, was attended by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defence Minister Suh Wook of South Korea, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, reports Xinhua news agency. A joint statement, released after the meeting, said the two sides reaffirmed that the South Korea-US alliance serves as the "linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region". The two sides also reaffirmed a mutual commitment to the defence of South Korea and to the strengthening of the bilateral combined defence posture, consistent with the South Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty. Following the meeting, chief negotiators from the two allies inked a tentative deal on the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a South Korea-US pact to share the upkeep cost for about 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea, with the observation of the four ministers. The SMA, requiring a respective internal process, such as parliamentary approval, to be formally signed, was reached earlier this month in Washington. Under the deal that will last until 2025, South Korea will raise its burden to share the military cost in accordance with the growth rate of the country's annual defence budget. The "2+2" meeting statement said the SMA is a symbol of the shared commitment to the South Korea-US alliance. The statement repeated the two sides' firm commitment to the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US, to which Seoul and Washington agreed in 2006. South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the US forces after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. South Korea won back its peacetime operational control in 1994. The top officials emphasised in the statement that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile issues were a priority for the alliance, reaffirming a shared commitment to address and resolve them. They also affirmed the importance of South Korea-US-Japan trilateral cooperation, pledging to continue promoting mutually-beneficial, forward-looking cooperation to promote peace, security and prosperity in the region. The statement reiterated the resolve of the two sides to continue to work together to create "a free and open Indo-Pacific region" through cooperation with South Korea's New Southern Policy. Blinken and Austin arrived here Wednesday after visiting Japan on the first cabinet-level overseas trip by US President Joe Biden's administration members. The House of Representatives has ordered the investigation of the incident of incessant extortion, harassment and victimisation of people of Baruten/Kaiama by soliders deployed to mount check points at the border. The House also called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Attahiru Ibrahim, to discipline the soldiers involved in shooting and killing of harmless citizens in Baruten/Kaiama Federal Constituency under the Armed Forces Act. The resolutions of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion on 'Need to Stop Incessant Extortion, Harassment and Victimisation of People of Baruten/Kaiama Federal Constituency, Kwara State, by Soldiers and other Security Forces,' that was moved by Hon. Mohammed Bio, at the plenary on yesterday. Bio said that the soldiers' roadblocks have become revenue collecting points at the expense of the security reasons they were constituted maintain. He expressed concern that the soldiers extort motorists by charging fixed rate depending on the category of the vehicle - motorcycles are charged N100, small cars N200 while tankers are charged N1500, stressing that these illegal fees are collected from several roadblocks in Baruten/Kaiama constituency. The lawmaker lamented that the illegal fees collected by soldiers are greatly affecting the economy of the people leading to 50 per cent increment in transport fare, foodstuffs and fuel respectively. Bio said: "The climax of the victimisation by the soldiers happened on January 8, 2021, where soldiers descended on youths and motorists with guns for refusing to pay illegal fees, which led to the death of three innocent persons namely, Muftau Abdul Akeem, Saadu Abdulqudus and Halidu Zubairu while others Abdullahi Zakariyau, Abubakar Taofeeq, Ibrahim Abdulkareem Abdullahi Halidu, Kwami Guruma, Hussaini Abdulrasaq and Yakuba Bio sustained bullets wounds and are currently receiving treatment in hospitals." The lawmaker pointed out that if the incidence of harassment, extortion by the soldiers manning the checkpoints is not nipped in the bud, more chaos and casualties would be recorded. The House, therefore, mandated its "Committee on Army to investigate the incident of incessant extortion, harassment and victimisation of people of Baruten/Kaiama by soliders deployed to mount check points at the border." Good morning. Once again, people across the country and in California are shocked and upset about violence against people of Asian descent this time because of killings in Georgia. On Tuesday night, a gunman opened fire at three spas in the Atlanta area, killing eight people. The police said on Wednesday that the white man charged with murder in the attacks, Robert Aaron Long, told them he had a sexual addiction and had attacked the massage parlors to eliminate his temptation. The authorities said they did not believe that there was a racial motive for the shootings but had not ruled it out. However, six of the victims were women of Asian descent, raising fears among Asian-Americans that they are being targeted for attacks because of their ethnic heritage. Nationwide, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders were the targets of nearly 3,800 hate incidents over the past year, according to a report this week by Stop AAPI Hate, a group that has been collecting data about discrimination against Asian-Americans. In San Francisco, which has experienced a rash of recent attacks against Asians, Mayor London Breed announced on Wednesday that the police would step up patrols in predominantly Asian neighborhoods. Two attacks occurred just this week, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. NPP Ashanti Regional Secretary, Sam Pyne says Ghanaians should pardon the publishers of the anti-Ewe textbooks and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), the regulator. Publishers, Badu Nkansah Limited and Golden Publications have received their share of slaps from Ghanaians after publishing textbooks that offend Ewes and Ghana's hero Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The textbooks titled History of Ghana and Golden English passed a first approval rating by NaCCA despite its derogatory contents. Although NaCCA hasn't given permission for the books to go for sale, they however found their way into the market with some schools reportedly grabbing copies of the textbooks. The general public has taken umbrage at the publishing and sale of the textbooks and called for their withdrawal from the market. Following the public outcry and vigilance, NaCCA has ordered all copies to be withdrawn from the market. Failure to do so, NaCCA says, publishers of such books would be made to face the full rigours of the law. Additionally, the publishers have been asked to issue an unequivocal apology through the electronic, print and social media, the regulator added. The publisher, Badu Nkansah Ltd has apologized and assured the public they have recalled the books. Spokesperson for the publisher, Mark Osei indicated that the books will be set ablaze. "Its unfortunate, all we will say is sorry but I can assure you that we will retrieve all and burn them in the public," he said in an interview on Neat FM's morning show "Ghana Montie". Responding to the issues during a panel discussion on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Sam Pyne noted that although what has happened is unfortunate, the Publishers deserve forgiveness. He called on the citizenry to accept the apology of the Publishers. "They have accepted their fault. Let us forgive them," he said. He, however, advised NaCCA and publishers to follow the ethics of writing ensuring the contents of their books are appropriate for public consumption. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video MENGISTEAB TESHOME A year has already elapsed since Ethiopia confirmed the first case of COVID-19. It was last year, 13 March 2020, the country reported the case. In fact, since the pandemic as a global threat, the Ethiopian Government along with stakeholders, regional and international organization, has been exerting utmost effort to contain the spread of the pandemic and minimize its severe social, health and economic consequences. By taking different preventive measures, such as limiting public gatherings, shutting schools and making civil servants to work from home, as well as closing borders and suspending flights, it has made substantial endeavors that are vital to curb the spread of the virus. In consequences, it was enabled to minimize the harsh consequences of the pandemic. However, as health practitioners warned, the pandemic can still cause greater loss of life if the people do not take much more care and jep themselves away from trends In consequences, it was enabled to minimize the harsh consequences of the pandemic. However, as health practitioners warned, the pandemic is still causing greater loss of life and if the people do not take much care; and distance themselves from trends that would aggravate the spread of the virus, the bearing can be overwhelming. As to Dagne Bekele, Pediatrician Nurse at Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital (TBGH), the number of cases registered per day is growing across the nation because negligence is growing and the protocols set by Ministry of Health (MoH) and WHO are breached by the communities. He further noted: "We are witnessing people without facemasks and gatherings for societal and business are conducted contrary to the set standards to combat the spread of the disease." Mentioning the recommended standards set by WHO and MoH to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as frequent cleaning of hands using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water; covering the nose and mouth with a flexed elbow or disposable tissue when coughing and sneezing; and avoiding close contact with anyone that has a fever and cough, he said though the rules were applied in the preceding months well, currently the behavioral change is not going as it should be. The community's engagement in putting in place the protocols is dwindling day out day in. "In my view, we should work hard in strengthening awareness creation efforts coupled with law enforcement agencies and other entities full participation to trace and correct those who are violating the rules". The pandemic is risking the lives of thousands due to peoples' negligence in the work, reaction and marketplaces, plus on transports among others. The various initiatives like "No mask no service" are not translated accordingly, he remarked. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to create well informed communities who put into practice the COVID-19 protocols accordingly, and be responsible and considerate for others. "As I have observed, a number of people are saying, once vaccination is commenced, the spread will drop immediately which is ungrounded with scientific facts. This kind of perception as it is unproved; it could lead to undesirable consequences. Thus, it is high time to think over and over before things going worse." Ethiopia has officially launched COVID-19 vaccination across the country in the presence of Health Minister Dr. Liya Taddesse, regional and federal government officials, and representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Ethiopia among others. That is a great step and should be strengthened further. However, it should be noted that in the first shipment, the country has received merely 2.2 million doses COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility and that is too small compared to the number of the people. Thus, communities should be aware that the commencement could not give guarantee in containment of the spread of the virus, he underscored. According to a recent report from The Ethiopian Public Health Institute, the number of cases is rising alarmingly throughout the nation and the daily reports publicized by the Ministry also confirmed that. With regarding to commencing the vaccination program, Education Minister Getahun Mekuria said that Ethiopia has been experiencing an increase in over recent days. Speaking to Anadolu the Minister said: "Negligence is costing the nation dearly." Thus, people should adhere to the COVID-19 protocol so as to contain the spread of the virus. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Ethiopia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Dr Dereje Duguma, Health State Minister on his part said that Ethiopia has been working persistently to combat the spread of Coronavirus pandemic. "A year ago, our COVID-19 capacity was nil," he said, referring to the fact that Ethiopia had no testing facilities and had to send specimens to South Africa. Today, we have tested more than 2.2 million people using our own laboratories." Boureima Hama Sambo, the WHO representative in the country, also lauded Ethiopia's efforts to stem the spread of the virus. "COVID-19 has affected all aspects of our lives. Globally, its impact on the economy and the society is something that we will have to deal with in the years to come; and Ethiopia is no exception," he said. "As a result of the high level of commitment from the government and the Health Ministry, Ethiopia has done well in mitigating the consequences of the pandemic." The Ethiopiam Herald March 17/2021 Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Silver Elephant Mining Corp. ("Silver Elephant" or "the Company") (TSX:ELEF)(OTCQX:SILEF)(Frankfurt:1P2N) announces the highest silver and zinc grade intercepts to date from its 2,300 meter Sunawayo maiden drill program. SWD010 intercepted 3 meters of mineralization grading 421 g/t silver, 0.92% lead, and 0.90% zinc (469 g/t AgEq) within 10 meters grading 144 g/t silver, 0.43% lead, and 0.97% zinc (183 g/t AgEq). SWD009 intercepted 2 meters of mineralization grading 50 g/t silver, 0.40% lead, and 7.67% zinc (290 g/t AgEq). So far, 100% of drill holes at Sunawayo have encountered silver and lead-zinc mineralization. Significant drill results from all 10 of them are tabulated below (including SWD0001 and SWD0002 which were press released on February 24, 2021). Hole ID Easting Northing From To Length (m) Ag g/t Pb % Zn % AgEq g/t SWD001 789542 7999748 0.0 137.0 137.0 36 0.12 0.02 39 SWD002 789736 7999607 1.0 32.0 31.0 44 0.39 0.48 67 incl 21.0 30.0 9.0 48 0.73 1.57 112 SWD003 789766 7999427 18.0 74.0 56.0 17 0.46 0.83 52 incl... 26.0 34.0 8.0 42 0.19 0.01 47 SWD004 791010 7997883 15.0 32.0 17.0 26 0.27 0.04 33 incl... 28.0 30.0 2.0 134 0.55 0.01 146 SWD005 791066 7998218 86.0 90.0 4.0 65 0.14 0.02 68 SWD006 791275 7997939 13.0 14.0 1.0 62 0.44 0.07 74 SWD006 19.0 21.0 2.0 29 0.21 0.04 35 SWD006 55.0 63.0 8.0 21 0.41 0.06 32 SWD006 95.0 97.0 2.0 30 0.05 0.03 32 SWD 07 791307 7998079 23.0 29.0 6.0 36 0.37 0.05 45 SWD 08 791449 7997690 30.0 33.0 3.0 21 0.34 0.05 30 SWD 08 86.0 88.0 2.0 26 0.17 0.05 31 SWD 09 791945 7997614 14.0 26.0 12.0 39 0.04 0.01 40 incl 14.0 20.0 6.0 59 0.05 0.01 60 SWD 09 69.0 77.0 8.0 16 0.16 2.82 104 incl... 75.0 77.0 2.0 50 0.40 7.67 290 SWD 09 110.0 111.0 1.0 158 0.08 1.65 209 SWD-010 792000 7997365 32.7 34.0 1.4 1 0.09 1.19 39 SWD-010 68.0 78.0 10.0 144 0.43 0.97 183 incl... 69.0 72.0 3.0 421 0.92 0.90 469 Based on core-angle measurements, true widths range from 80% to 85% of reported core length. AgEq calculation uses a silver price of $25.00/oz, a zinc price of $1.10/lb., and a lead price of $0.80/lb. (all USD) and assumes a 100% metallurgical recovery. Silver equivalent values can be calculated using the following formula: AgEq = Ag g/t + (Zn % x 30.1644) + (Pb % x 21.9377). Coordinates in UTM WGS83 Z19S. Silver Elephant's initial 15-hole program started in December 2020. It is designed to test the Pujiuni and Caballo Uma targets at the southeastern half of Sunawayo. Holes SWD001 to SWD003 tested Pujiuni (500 meters x 250 meters). Holes SWD004 to SWD010 tested Caballo Uma (southeast of Pujiuni), which is over 8 times larger (2,000 meters x 500 meters) than Pujiuni. The average drillhole spacing is 250 meters in each area. The remaining 5 holes spanning 400 meters north to south, are concentrated at south end of Caballo Uma where over half of the prior 950 grab and chip samples were taken. The Company also reports it has performed initial mapping and sampling in the northwestern part of Sunawayo that includes Pujiuni, Sunawayo, Jankho, and Kalayasa mine pit areas. As a result of the mapping and sampling, the Pujiuni target strike has doubled to 1 km and the drill program has increased to 17 holes to cover Pujiuni area northwest of SWD001 with drill assay results expected in April 2021. Joaquin Merino, the Company's VP South American Operations, states: "The Sunawayo discovery story is early in its making with highly encouraging drill results that demonstrated both long mineralized sections and high-grade intercepts." Sunawayo boasts a large land package-59.5 km2. It is one of Silver Elephant 3 active silver projects, the others being the Pulacayo project (with a NI43-101 compliant 107 million oz of measured and indicated silver announced October 13, 2020) and the Triunfo project (for which the Company announced in Nov. 2020 the first drill results of 48.9 meters grading 0.42 g/t gold, 35.5 g/t silver, 0.83%, and 1.17% zinc). Detailed maps of Sunawayo are available at www.silverelef.com Qualified Person The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision of Danniel Oosterman, VP Exploration. Mr. Oosterman is not independent of the Company in that he is employed by it. Mr. Oosterman is a qualified person ("QP") as defined by the guidelines in NI 43-101. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Silver Elephant adopts industry-recognized best practices in its implementation of QA/QC methods. A geochemical standard control sample and a blank sample are inserted into the sample stream at every 20th sample. Duplicates are taken at every 40th sample. Standards and duplicates, including lab duplicates and standards, are analyzed using scatterplots. Samples are shipped to ALS Global Laboratories in Ururo, Bolivia for preparation. They are then shipped to ALS Global laboratories in Lima, Peru for analysis. Samples are analyzed using Intermediate Level Four Acid Digestion. Silver overlimits ("ore grade") are analyzed using fire assay with a gravimetric finish. ALS Laboratories sample management system meets all the requirements of the International Standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015. All ALS geochemical hub laboratories are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for specific analytical procedures. All samples are taken from HQ-diameter core is split in half by a diamond-blade masonry saw. One half of the core is submitted for laboratory analysis and the other half is preserved for reference at the Company's secured core facility. All the core is geotechnically analyzed and photographed and then logged by geologists prior to sampling. About Silver Elephant Silver Elephant Mining Corp. is a premier mining and exploration company of energy metals. Further information on Silver Elephant can be found at www.silverelef.com. SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "John Lee" Executive Chairman For more information about Silver Elephant, please contact Investor Relations: +1.604.569.3661 ext. 101 ir@silverelef.com www.silverelef.com Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. SOURCE: Silver Elephant Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636119/Silver-Elephants-Sunawayo-Drills-3-Meters-of-421gt-Silver-Multiple-Intercepts-over-100gt-AgEq Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Please note The Sun Chronicle is providing this story and all of our local coronavirus coverage for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the pandemic. Please visit our dedicated coronavirus coverage page for more stories. If you'd like to support our mission, please subscribe. [March 18, 2021] Canada Supports Increased Indigenous Participation in the Natural Resources Economy OTTAWA, ON, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ - The meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in oil and gas projects provides important economic opportunities for their communities. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., today announced $2.6 million in funding for the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, as well as $1 million in funding for the First Nations Climate Initiative. Both of these initiatives will increase Indigenous participation in the natural resources economy by developing collaborative relationships between industry and government, increasing certainty around First Nations participation in major project development and advancing meaningful engagement. There is no relationship more important to the Government of Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples. Canada is ensuring Indigenous groups have access to the resources they need to support them as equal partners in natural resource projects. The First Nations Major Projects Coalition examines how to facilitate Indigenous ownership of major resource projects and how to improve environmental practices while providing support to Indigenous communities to undertake natural resource projects. The First Nations Climate Initiative will develop climate change mitigation policies that simultaneously increase Canada's efforts in addressing climate change and enhance First Nations' capacity to achieve self-determination through participation in natural resource projects. Both initiatives received funding through the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) program, which provides support to Indigenous communities and organizations in British Columbia and Alberta to increase their participation in economic opportunities related to oil and gas infrastructure development. By extending INRP funding for both the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and the First Nations Climate Initiative, we are capitalizing on the INRP's success and advancing reconciliation. Natural Resources Canada is currently accepting applications for the INRP. For details on how to apply to the program and submit a project proposal, eligibility requirements and assessment criteria, visit the INRP website. Quotes "Both the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and the First Nations Climate Initiative will help Indigenous communities respond to opportunities an create economic benefits." Seamus O'Regan Jr. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "The First Nations Major Projects Coalition provides support to First Nations in making informed business decisions concerning their participation in major projects. Our services are helping to fill a critical capacity gap faced by many First Nations, and this funding will ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our members." Chief Sharleen Gale Chair of First Nations Major Projects Coalition "We are pleased to be partnering with NRCan on the First Nations Climate Initiative (FNCI). FNCI has been a collaboration since its inception in the fall of 2019. We have achieved much in that timeframe as a result of working together with as many people, organizations, industries and other governments as possible. Our vision as Indigenous leaders is to spur the low-carbon economy of the future by way of infrastructure development projects that align with achieving climate targets and that attract significant private sector investment to the benefit of all British Columbians." President Eva Clayton Nisga'a Lisims Government "The FNCI is intent on increasing Indigenous participation and ownership in economic opportunities related to gas infrastructure development, including net-zero LNG on the North Coast, so all our communities can achieve economic self-determination. We are leading our communities out of poverty in a manner that addresses climate change on a local and global scale, which is to everyone's benefit." Chief Crystal Smith Haisla Nation "We invite everyone who shares these aspirations to join us. More importantly, we invite those who don't or may be skeptical that this is a greenwash for LNG development, to speak with us. We need real solutions to these shared challenges, and we can only achieve that together." Chief Harold Leighton Metlakatla First Nation Quick Facts The First Nations Major Projects Coalition's (FNMPC) work is helping to create ways forward in which Indigenous communities can become true partners in resource and infrastructure development that is taking place on their territories. By bringing First Nations communities together, building governance frameworks and economic capacity, and strengthening environmental stewardship, the FNMPC can empower First Nations and help mitigate many types of risks to development on First Nations traditional territories. The First Nations Climate Initiative (FNCI) works collaboratively with LNG proponents, environmental NGOs and other interested parties on: the development of climate change mitigation policies that simultaneously increase Canada's contribution to mitigating climate change globally and enhance the First Nations' capacity to achieve self-determination through participation in natural gas development opportunities; and, options and opportunities to construct energy infrastructure that will increase the availability of electricity from renewable sources to power gas pipelines, natural gas plants and related infrastructure. contribution to mitigating climate change globally and enhance the First Nations' capacity to achieve self-determination through participation in natural gas development opportunities; and, options and opportunities to construct energy infrastructure that will increase the availability of electricity from renewable sources to power gas pipelines, natural gas plants and related infrastructure. On December 16, 2020 , the FNMPC and FNCI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to advance an Indigenous-led net-zero policy framework concerning major energy and infrastructure development. Collectively, the FNMPC and FNCI bring together 70 First Nations covering over six provinces and territories across Canada to lead and own economic development projects that contribute to national and global strategies to achieve net-zero by 2050 while supporting economic self-determination for their communities. Other projects have received funding through INRP in 201920, including: Pimee Well Servicing $350,000 for the Rig 11 Freestanding Double Rig Modernization Project. This project is supporting an Indigenous company, wholly owned by six Alberta First Nations, in expanding its customer base and diversifying its services by undertaking a modernization project and retrofitting an oil rig. Chu Cho Environmental $80,000 for Building Technological Capacity for Chu Cho Environmental and Wai Wah Environmental To Increase Economic Participation in Energy Infrastructure Projects. This project is supporting Kitselas First Nation and its partner Tsay Keh Dene Nation in developing a cohesive digital strategy and implementation plan that will increase their capacity to participate individually and as partners in economic opportunities related to energy infrastructure projects. Related Information Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. You Are Not Getting SSI. You Are Getting Social Security! Every single day, I get emails from readers that say things like this: My wife and I are getting SSI. And we would like to ask you some questions. Or this: My SSI check is $2,140 per month. My wifes SSI check is $1,800. Can she get any of my SSI? You know the uncomfortable feeling you get when someone scratches their fingernails on a chalkboard? Well, thats how I feel when I get emails like this. Why does this bother me so? Because these folks are not getting SSI. They are getting Social Security benefits. And there is a HUGE difference, which I will explain. Most people know what Social Security is. You work. You pay taxes. And then, when you retire or become disabled, you start getting Social Security checks based on what you paid into the system. Or if you die, your widow, widower, or minor children start getting monthly benefitsagain, based on what you paid into Social Security during your working years. But its obvious to me, based on the reader mail I get, that most people do not know what SSI is. It stands for Supplemental Security Income. Its a federal welfare program that pays a small monthly stipend to people who are 65 or older who are very poor, or to people who are under 65 but disabled and very poor. How poor? Usually, they have to have a monthly income of less than about $800 to qualify for SSI payments. Many people confuse SSI with Social Security for a variety of reasons. One is the name. Supplemental Security Income just sounds like some kind of supplemental Social Security program. It is NOT. Another reason for the confusion is the fact that the Social Security Administration runs the SSI program for the federal government. But thats all they do. They manage the program. To repeat: SSI is not a Social Security benefit. And SSI payments are not paid for out of Social Security funds. The money for SSI comes out of the governments general operating funds. In fact, Social Securitys trust funds are even reimbursed from the general funds for the costs of administering the SSI program. And getting back to that name business. So many people think that SSI stands for Social Security income. In other words, when my readers say, Im getting SSI, they think they are saying, Im getting Social Security. But when I hear you say, Im getting SSI, or when a Social Security representative hears you say that, we think you are saying, Im getting Supplemental Security Income. So, its not really just a matter of semantics. By phrasing a question using the wrong terminology, you are going to get a wrong answer. Here is an example. Recently, a woman wrote to me and told me she was getting SSI and was planning to move from California to Texas. She asked if her SSI checks would change because of the move, and I answered telling her that her benefits would very likely change. Because SSI is a welfare benefit, the payment amount depends on your living arrangements (whether or not you own a home, rent, share expenses with others, etc.). Also, the payment rate can change from one state to another. For example, California adds a supplement to the federal benefit payment. When she moves from California to Texas, she is going to lose that extra California money. So, I told her that when she moves to Texas, there was a pretty good chance her SSI benefits would go down. Well, she later wrote back to tell me that when she called the Social Security people and they checked their records, she learned that her payment rates would stay the same. And surprise, surprisethats because it turns out she wasnt getting SSI, as she told me; she was getting Social Security benefits. And your Social Security check stays the same no matter where you live in the country. Actually, I partly blame myself for giving her bad information. I am so used to having people incorrectly tell me they are getting SSI that I usually respond by saying something like: I bet you meant to say you are getting Social Security. And here is the answer to your question assuming you are getting Social Security and not SSI. But I must have been lazy or rushed when I answered the California-to-Texas lady, so I assumed she was getting SSI and later had to apologize. But sometimes, just the opposite happens. I get emails from people who are actually getting SSI, but they tell me they are getting Social Security, and we end up with more misinformation. Not long ago, a woman wrote to me to say her mother was getting Social Security and planned to move to Honduras. She asked if her mother could get her Social Security check sent to that central American country. I initially told the daughter that her mother could move just about anywhere in the world and still get her Social Security checks. But after exchanging another email or two, I figured out her mother was actually getting SSI. As I said earlier, SSI is a welfare benefit. And we dont send welfare benefits overseas. So, if Mom leaves the United States, her SSI checks will stop immediately. So, please, dear readers, repeat after me: Social Security is not SSI, and SSI is not Social Security! If you use the wrong terms when asking questions, youre going to get wrong answers. Ive got a little space left, and I want to share this story about the birth of the SSI program. Back in the 1970s, President Richard Nixons administration thought it would be a good idea if instead of 50 different state welfare programs, as we had at the time, it would be better to have one national program with the same basic eligibility rules applying to everyone no matter where they lived. So, in 1973, they scrapped the 50 separate programs and created one national welfare program for the country. They decided to let the Social Security Administration run the program because it already had lots of experience paying monthly benefits to millions of Americans. But then, in my opinion, they made one huge mistake. They called the program Supplemental Security Income. And that name, coupled with the fact that the SSA ran the program, has led to a half-century of confusion between the two entirely separate programs. Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSAs public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book Social Security: Simple and Smart. If you have a Social Security question, contact him at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. Twenty four Customs officers from Eastern and Central Europe took part in a virtual specialized PITCH (Preventing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage) training, organized jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 15 to 18 March 2021. Participants represented 13 Customs administrations from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, as well as the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Eastern and Central Europe. The training was an opportunity for the officers to refresh their skills, expand their knowledge, and network with peers from around the region. The training was supported by experts from INTERPOLs Works of Art Unit, the University of Oslo and the Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA). The WCO-OSCE cooperation in the sphere of countering the illicit trafficking of cultural objects, which was initiated several years ago is an excellent example of how international organizations can create synergies and deliver training to their Members with the best use of available resources. This is particularly important in times when the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly undermined a lot of capacity-building initiatives and forced both the donors and Customs administrations to prioritize certain areas of enforcement over others, said Pranab Kumar Das, Director of the WCOs Compliance and Facilitation Directorate. 2020 and early 2021 are full with challenges for Customs agencies, related to the impact of the pandemic, but also related to the changing trends and modus operandi of individuals and organized criminal groups. Illicit trafficking of cultural property is no exception in this regards, and requires constant vigilance and above all cooperation across the borders if we are to fight it successfully. We do believe that this training would contribute towards increasing of Customs expertise and efficiency of the agencies as a whole and will contribute towards protection of the rich cultural heritage in the ECE region and beyond, said Goran Stojkovski, Customs Adviser at the OSCE Secretariats Border Management and Security Unit. The training is another stepping stone towards achieving the objective of the global deployment of the PITCH training for Customs administrations highlighted in the WCOs 2016 Council Resolution and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2347/2017. The training has already been successfully deployed in the countries of the West and Central Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia and Balkan regions, as well as in Jordan and Cuba. This training follows the other two successful joint WCO-OSCE deployments in Central Asia in 2019 and in the Balkan countries in 2020. The work being done in this area of enforcement is based on the Working Arrangement that both Organizations signed in 2018, providing the framework for co-operation in areas of mutual interest. The fast-spreading UK, South Africa, and Brazil coronavirus variants are raising both concerns and questions about whether COVID-19 vaccines will protect against them. New work led by Bing Chen, PhD, at Boston Children's Hospital analyzed how the structure of the coronavirus spike proteins changes with the D614G mutation -- carried by all three variants -- and showed why these variants are able to spread more quickly. The team reports its findings in Science (March 16, 2020). Chen's team imaged the spikes with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), which has resolution down to the atomic level. They found that the D614G mutation (substitution of in a single amino acid "letter" in the genetic code for the spike protein) makes the spike more stable as compared with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. As a result, more functional spikes are available to bind to our cells' ACE2 receptors, making the virus more infectious. Preventing spikes' shape change In the original coronavirus, the spike proteins would bind to the ACE2 receptor and then dramatically change shape, folding in on themselves. This enabled the virus to fuse its membrane with our own cells' membranes and get inside. However, as Chen and colleagues reported in July 2020, the spikes would sometimes prematurely change shape and fall apart before the virus could bind to cells. While this slowed the virus down, the shape change also made it harder for our immune system to contain the virus. Because the original spike protein would dissociate, it was not good enough to induce a strong neutralizing antibody response." Bing Chen, PhD, Boston Children's Hospital When Chen and colleagues imaged the mutant spike protein, they found that the D614G mutation stabilizes the spike by blocking the premature shape change. Interestingly, the mutation also makes the spikes bind more weakly to the ACE receptor, but the fact that the spikes are less apt to fall apart prematurely renders the virus overall more infectious. "Say the original virus has 100 spikes," Chen explains. "Because of the shape instability, you may have just 50 percent of them functional. In the G614 variants, you may have 90 percent that are functional, so even though they don't bind as well, the chances are greater that you will have infection." Chen proposes that redesigned vaccines incorporate the code for this mutant spike protein. The more stable spike shape should make any vaccine based on the spike (as are the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccine) more likely to elicit protective neutralizing antibodies, he says. Future direction: A drug to block coronavirus entry Chen and his colleagues are further applying structural biology to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 binds to the ACE2 receptor, with an eye toward therapeutics to block the virus from gaining entry to our cells. In January, the team showed in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology that a structurally-engineered "decoy" ACE2 protein binds the virus 200 times more strongly than the body's own ACE2. The decoy potently inhibited the virus in cell culture, suggesting it could be an anti-COVID-19 treatment. Chen is now planning to advance this research into animal models. UW, Partners to Discuss Improving State of Social Media The University of Wyoming College of Business is among 12 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program consortium schools hosting a screening of the popular Netflix docudrama The Social Dilemma at 7 p.m. Monday, March 29. A virtual panel -- that ties into the documentarys screening -- will feature three experts focused on improving the state of social media. They will discuss Beyond the Social Dilemma: Creating a More Ethical Social Media Future from noon-2 p.m. Tuesday, March 30. Both the documentary and panel discussion events are free and open to the public. To register, go here. David Ryan Polgar, a pioneering tech ethicist, founder of All Tech Is Human, and a member of TikToks Content Advisory Council, is the panels moderator. Panelists are Dipayan Ghosh, co-director of the Digital Platforms & Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of Terms of Disservice; and Safiya Noble, an associate professor at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), author of the bestselling book Algorithms of Oppression, and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry. If you havent seen the Netflix film The Social Dilemma, I recommend you and your family do so, says Kent Noble, UWs Bill Daniels Chair of Business Ethics. Hearing directly from some of the people who pioneered technologies that influence the way we think and act is sobering. At a minimum, the film and our panel of experts will give you a lot to think about. Other sponsors of the event are the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program consortium schools at Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University, New Mexico State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, University of Colorado-Denver, University of Colorado Law School, University of Denver, University of New Mexico, University of Northern Colorado and University of Utah. Julian Hill: "Julian Assange is an Australian citizen. He has never been convicted of any crime." A federal Labor MP has called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be brought home to avoid his possible extradition to the US to face alleged charges of espionage. Julian Hill, the member for Bruce, told Parliament on Thursday in an impassioned statement that Assange was still locked up even though he had never been convicted of any crime. "Julian Assange is an Australian citizen. He has never been convicted of any crime," Hill said. "Yet he has been locked up and confined for years, facing extradition to the US and an effective death sentence, on trumped-up, politically motivated charges. "Two months ago, a UK court found on humanitarian and health grounds that he should not be extradited to the US. Bring Julian Assange home NOW. Stop his extradition to the United States. Labor calls on Scott Morrison to bring this to an end. Respect the UK Court's decision & save his life. #JournalismIsNotACrime #FreeAssangeNOW #Assange #Wikileaks #NoExtradition #DropTheCharges pic.twitter.com/iuG78DHyH8 Julian Hill MP (@JulianHillMP) March 18, 2021 "Yet still, today, bail is withheld and Julian is locked up, isolated in a maximum security UK prison with murderers and rapists, at risk of death from COVID-19 because of his conditions. His health continues to deteriorate." On 4 January, British District Judge Vanessa Baraister ruled that Assange should not be extradited to the US, saying the risk he would commit suicide in an American jail were too high. The Australian faces criminal charges for publishing classified information that was leaked to WikiLeaks by an American soldier, then known as Bradley Manning, but now, after gender reassignment surgery, known as Chelsea Manning. On the day of the judgment, the US was given a fortnight to decide whether it wanted to appeal against the judgment. After saying it would be doing so, the administration of Joe Biden confirmed on 10 February that it would be continuing its bid to extradite Assange. Hill said: "As the Labor leader [Anthony Albanese] has said clearly, this has gone on for long enough. The Prime Minister [Scott Morrison] and his 'do-nothing' Foreign Minister [Marise Payne] need to act now to bring Julian Assange home and prevent his extradition to the US. "I want to remind everyone its been 2 years since Julian Assange has been in a high security prison. He faces 175 years in prison for the same reason he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize."@suigenerisjen https://t.co/UjanFKsqi7 #FreeAssangeNOW #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/eKBZkZzSXk Bean #DropTheCharges? (@SomersetBean) March 18, 2021 "His health and his life depend on it - as the UK court found. If Assange is extradited to the US, he will face extreme isolation for 175 years. And, charges carrying the death penalty could be laid once his feet are on US soil. "No national security defendant has ever succeeded in the Eastern District Court of Virginia [the court where Assange is to be tried if extradited]. Assange would be buried alive in the US justice system. Ironically, treated worse than those responsible for America's war crimes in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, which he and WikiLeaks exposed." "Should he even survive, his case would circle the US justice system for years and decades, as lawyers, academics and judges argued over whether the cherished First Amendment rights even extended to him." Assange has been given time until 29 March to respond to the US appeal to revoke the British judge's decision. Britain is facing a squeeze on supply of Covid-19 vaccines next month in part due to a delay in a shipment from India's Serum Institute that is making AstraZeneca's shot, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday. Britain has been conducting the fastest roll-out of inoculations by a major economy but health officials said on Wednesday the programme would face a significant reduction in supplies from March 29, without initially specifying where the problems were. "We have a delay in a scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India," Hancock told lawmakers. Britain is using vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, with 10 million doses of the 100 million ordered from coming from the Serum Institute. A spokesman for the Serum Institute said it had delivered 5 million doses to the UK a few weeks ago. "And we will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and requirement for the government immunisation programme in India," he said. Despite the comments by officials in Britain, Pfizer and said on Wednesday their delivery schedules had not been impacted. An spokesman said on Wednesday that "UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption". Hancock added that, separately, a batch of 1.7 million vaccine doses had been delayed as it had to be retested, without specifying the manufacturer. "Events like this are to be expected in a manufacturing endeavour of this complexity," Hancock said. MODERNA VACCINE TO BE ADDED Hancock denied rumours that the delays would mean no adults would get a first dose of the vaccine in April, but said it was important to make sure there was enough vaccine to give people a second dose within 12 weeks of their first. He also said that Britain was on target to offer everyone over 50 a first shot by mid-April, and a shot to all adults by the end of July. He added that a roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions in England was unaffected. So far 25.27 million people in the United Kingdom have had a first shot of vaccine, around 48% of adults. The country is on track to reach 50% in the next few days. Earlier, housing minister Robert Jenrick said that supplies would pick up again in May, and Moderna Inc has said it is expecting first deliveries of its vaccine to Britain to start in April. Hancock said Britain expected doses of Moderna's vaccine to arrive "in the coming weeks". TENSIONS WITH THE EU The announcement of a supply shortfall coincided with a resurgence in tensions with the European Union, which is frustrated by a lack of exports of AstraZeneca's vaccine from Britain. The EU threatened on Wednesday to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens. Britain imports Pfizer's vaccine from Europe. Hancock said that European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen had previously said that there should not be restrictions on companies who are fulfilling contractual responsibilities after Jenrick said he was "surprised and disappointed" with her comments. "There is of course a need for all countries to respect contract law... and I'm sure that the European Union will live up to the commitments and statements that it has made," Hancock said. "We fully expect those contracts to be delivered on, because there are very significant consequences to breaking contract law." Kilkenny County Council has launched a 'Health Check' consultation to inform new town plans for six towns and villages including Castlecomer, Urlingford, Johnstown, Goresbridge, Thomastown, and Mullinavat. The Town / Village Health Check will also seek to establish Town Teams in each location to shape and take forward these plans. This is exciting news for these six towns and villages as the series of Health Checks will seek to gather information concerning the current economic, social, environmental and physical situation of the town or village," says Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Andrew McGuinness. "The study will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each settlement based on factors such as the range and quality of activities in the town, its mix of uses, its accessibility to people living in the area, and its general appearance and safety. I encourage everyone to get involved in the process to build a plan that will bring everyone together to work for common goals. As part of these Health Checks, Kilkenny County Council is running an online survey at www.mykilkennytown.ie that aims to consider the needs and aspirations of each local community. The survey also calls for early expressions of interest for people to join their local Town Team. The survey will close on Friday, April 2, 2021. We are delighted to launch this community consultation with this set of six towns and villages," said Annette Fitzpatrick, Acting Senior Executive Officer in the Community Section at Kilkenny County Council. "Our ambition with this project is to provide the people of Castlecomer, Urlingford, Johnstown, Goresbridge, Thomastown, and Mullinavat, with an opportunity to have their say on what makes these settlements great places to live, work and enjoy, but also help identify areas for improvement and positive change. The appointment of Town Teams is a key focus for this engagement and we are looking for enthusiastic people to lead the regeneration and enhancements for their local town or village. Adopting a citizen-led approach these Town Teams will help shape and take forward new town plans. A series of dedicated online information events will be held in April to discuss the project with each of the communities in the towns and villages. In light of Covid-19 restrictions, the sessions will take place digitally, via Zoom, on the following dates: Thomastown - Tuesday 06 April 2021, 6pm 7pm Castlecomer - Wednesday 07 April 2021, 6pm 7pm Johnstown - Thursday 08 April 2021, 6pm 7pm Urlingford - Friday 09 April 2021, 6pm 7pm Mullinavat - Monday 12 April 2021, 6pm 7pm Goresbridge - Tuesday 13 April 2021, 6pm 7pm In addition to the survey a social media campaign is also live inviting members of the public to share photos or videos of their local town and village using the hashtags #makestheplace #wasteofspace. The photos can include spaces, landmarks and buildings within the six towns and villages involved in the Health Checks, and will inform part of this consultation. To register for your Town or Villages information event, to complete the survey, or to find out further information on the #MakesThePlace #WasteofSpace campaign visit www.mykilkennytown.ie. Members of the public can also contact the project team by emailing Kilkenny@turleyplanning.ie or calling the Freephone consultation hotline: 1800-010101. Kilkenny County Council has commissioned expert planning consultants, Turley, to undertake the Health Checks. We welcome the opportunity to work with Kilkenny County Council to engage with members of the community in each of the six settlements," says Seamus Donohoe from Turley. "The survey, workshops, and #MakesThePlace photo and video campaign provides the fantastic opportunity to listen, discuss and see the unique strengths of the towns and villages while uncovering ways to better the areas. Insights gathered throughout this process will be invaluable to the new town plans, as will the assembly of Town Teams to bring the plans to fruition. Chennai, March 18 : Madras Christian College, Tambaram, one of the most prestigious academic institutions of Tamil Nadu is venturing into a new area and is opening an innovation park in the campus. The college is opening the innovation park as a step to induce students into the world of startups and to train them for starting such startups and to make them successful. Interestingly, this is the first of such an innovation park in an arts college that specialises to provide expertise to students for venturing into setting up their own enterprises in a challenging world. The park is being constructed at the heart of the campus in an area of 70,000 square feet and will provide students of different streams to exchange ideas among them and to develop this idea into a new and innovative product. The innovation centre which is being constructed in an environmentally friendly manner will have writers' cafe, entrepreneurs' cafe, open air theatre, design studio, data analytical lab, science lab, psychometric lab, media science lab and instrumentation lab. The project which can be termed as one of the major milestones in the 183 old history of the highly reputed college, will have support from the industry and organisations like Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have already extended intellectual support to the project which will change the lives of a large number of students. Rajesh Jacob, a second year student of Economics at MCC while speaking to IANS said, "This is an interesting project and I think that by speaking with other like minded students for opening a new venture, the proposed innovation centre can provide ample of support to the students." The Madras Rubber Factory (MRF) has already promised a financial support of Rs 26.9 crore for the project and the Director of MRF, K.M. Mammen, who is also one of the directors of Madras Christian College(MCC) told IANS, "We are happy in supporting an initiative of the Madras Christian College for an innovation park which will be a gateway for the students to enter the world of entrepreneurship." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A paraprofessional at PS 9 in Concord, Alexis Venezia, 51, felt helpless amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when schools closed. Back in March 2020, the Stapleton resident wanted to do something for the kids at her school, so she launched a Facebook rock painting page. The kids were afraid and confused. ...The page allowed us to leave painted rocks for each other. I started leaving them at some of my kids houses. The parents started to get involved, and they were driving the kids all over to leave rocks for each other. We called it getting rocked, recalled Venezia, noting that eventually the whole school got involved in the project. With her paraprofessional job ending at 3 p.m., she began to use her free time to get creative. She started to make floral smudge sticks, which are tied bundles of herbs. They were so pretty, my kids said I should call them smudge art sticks and I should start to sell them, she said. At first, I didnt think anyone would buy them, so I started to just make them for friends. I was always into herbs and studied what herbs to burn for different reasons. I have always used my smudge sticks like a hippie thing. BRINGING IN POSITIVE ENERGY Her smudge sticks contain herbs, like sage, which are great to cleanse negative energy, and Palo Santo -- a good way to bring positive energy into your life, said Venezia. I am always creating something new because it is such a new business, and it is so much fun. People love my intention jars that are specially made with the key ingredients for, say, prosperity or self-love. I cleanse each bottle with sage smoke and then Palo Santo to ensure good vibes go into the bottle, then I seal the bottle with the color that represents it, so prosperity is sealed with green wax, etc..., she explained. The intention is to give the gift of positivity, either to yourself or to someone else. The creative energy flowed every day after her job ended led Venezia to team up with her daughters, Zoe, 26, and Zina, 24, to create Zoziart, an online store offering handmade perfectly imperfect unique gifts that include the smudge sticks, intention jars, and unique dried floral arrangements and/or herbs in jars. She is also experimenting with other items, like taxidermy bats with dried flowers in shadow boxes. The store was named after her two partners -- her daughters -- who were her first two perfectly imperfect creations, she said. I consider myself a positive person; I have a hippie way about the way I see things. I live a good, happy life with my husband, Jeff, and two daughters. They are also involved in the business. My husband grinds all the flowers and herbs. And my girls are artists themselves, said Venezia. But her handmade items arent just meant to be appreciated visually, many have meaning behind them. My work is very pretty, but more importantly I explain the intention behind it, she explained. This is in no way to replace what you believe in or how you pray; it is only to add to what you already do or believe in. I believe our minds and intentions are very powerful, and I try to promote that for all. After showcasing her wares at a craft fair in the fall at Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Livingston, she plans to attend more like events this year. ALWAYS CREATING She sells her items through her social media accounts and on Etsy. And her items can be found in gift stores in New York and New Jersey. While she currently purchases the flowers that she then dries herself in an old china closet that once belonged to her mother, she said she plans to grow her own florals in the future. I hope there will always be people who need something beautiful and positive to remind them how amazing we all are individually. I would also like to find a non-profit organization that is focused on remote-only children and even their parents, who may be struggling during these weird and difficult times. Even if its just to send some positivity and beauty their way, she said. ZOZIART AT A GLANCE Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/ZoziartCreations Instagram: www.instagram.com/zoziartperfectlyimperfect/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZoZiartcom-perfectly-imperfect-gifts New Businesses in Focus is a weekly column that relates the stories of new Staten Island businesses owners. If you have a new business on Staten Island, e-mail porpora@siadvance.com. Tracey Porpora is the business writer and Sunday manager for SiLive.com/Staten Island Advance. REALTED COLUMNS After overcoming many challenges, 20-year-old launches wood-craft business Kids speech therapy business expands with second Staten Island location Staten Island mom of 3 opens Sharkeys Cuts for Kids 3 pals launch CBD oil and wellness spa: We just want people to feel good Best friends launch Sugar Sisters, a handmade gift business, during pandemic New S.I. fish market with creative concept opens during pandemic Munch, a Tinder for food app, is launched during pandemic Local business owner opens Staten Island-themed Etsy shop during pandemic Tanning business owner opens new salon amid pandemic 2 friends develop edgy, comfy clothing for remote workers during pandemic Mom opens childrens play gym with coffee bar for parents during pandemic As one door shuts, another opens for gourmet coffee shop owner Franchise owner comes full circle opening Crunch Fitness in former NYSC space during pandemic 2 car enthusiasts launch auto glass repair business New day-care center offers remote learning services for working parents Husband-wife team takes over Udderly Delicious milk man business 18-year-old creates healthy snacks for on-the-go students FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER (Newser) A man with an AR-15, 113 rounds of ammo, and five 30-round magazines was arrested outside Vice President Kamala Harris' official residence Wednesday around noon. The Texas man, who a police report says had an "AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and five 30 round magazines" inside his car parked in a garage several miles away, now faces weapons-related charges, CNN reports. Harris does not yet live at the residence inside the US Naval Observatory because renovations are taking place, ABC 13 reports, and the Secret Service says none of its protectees were there at the time. No one was injured in the incident. story continues below CNBC names the suspect as Paul Murray, 31, of San Antonio. An intelligence bulletin that originated in his home state alerted authorities to respond and locate the "suspicious person," per a spokesperson for Washington's Metropolitan Police. The Secret Service ultimately detained him. He is charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. (Read more Kamala Harris stories.) New Delhi: The body of a renowned Mumbai-based doctor, who went missing in the floods in the city on August 29 has been found in a drain near the seashore at Worli, reports said. Deepak Amarapurkar worked as a senior gastroenterologist at Bombay Hospital and was well known in the city. He was last seen exiting his car near his Elphinstone Road home on Tuesday evening. After getting off the car, Amarapurkar started walking in waist-high water. According to eyewitnesses, Amrapurkar fell into a manhole. The police have recovered his umbrella from near it, Sunil Deshmukh, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dadar, told PTI. Dr Amarapurkar's colleagues have said that he left for home after lunch at the hospital cafeteria even though he was urged to stay back until it was safer to go out. While he was missing, many messages were circulated on WhatsApp on the doctor, who was prominent in medical conferences and research papers. The police urged people not to spread false messages about his death. The Mumbai chapter of the Indian Medical Association has criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over Amrapurkars death, reported ANI. The association, in a letter to the corporations commissioner has also sought an inquiry into the incident. The manhole ends at Worli and opens into the sea, where Amarapurkars body was found on Thursday morning. The manhole had been searched by firemen and civic workers for hours with no success. Also read | Mumbai rains: 3 killed including 2 minors in house collapse, landslide incidents, next 48 hours crucial for mega-city Covid-19: Non-essential shops in Mumbai can now operate 7 am to 2 pm on alternate days, says BMC FIR against Mumbai restaurant for flouting COVID-19 norms India oi-Madhuri Adnal Mumbai, Mar 18: Police have registered an FIR against a popular restaurant in Mumbai for allegedly violating COVID-19 rules, civic officials said on Thursday. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) team raided the restaurant Auber-Gin Plates and Pours, located in Breach Candy area, late Wednesday night and collected Rs 19,400 as fine from 245 people there for not wearing masks, they said. The establishment was not operating at 50 per cent capacity and customers were neither wearing masks nor maintaining social distance, BMC officials said. Based on the BMC''s complaint, the police registered an FIR against the restaurant. The BMC''s D-ward has also shut the restaurant for violation of the COVID-19 norms, a senior civic official said. The Maharashtra government in a notification on Monday said cinema halls, hotels, restaurants and offices, except those related to health and essential services, in the state will function at 50 per cent capacity till March 31. Mumbai cop Vaze on BJP hit list: Shiv Sena Violation of norms will result in shutting down of the establishment as long as the central government''s notification of the COVID-19 pandemic as a "disaster" is in force, it said. Nobody will be allowed inside these establishments without wearing a mask and temperature check, the government had said in the notification which was issued in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. On Wednesday, Maharashtra reported 23,179 new cases of coronavirus, which is the highest single-day infection count so far this year. With these new cases, the state''s overall infection count rose to 23,70,507, as per official data. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. CLEVELAND, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment banking firm, has released a new research report on IoT in Automation & Manufacturing. The industrial technology report covers global capital markets and mergers and acquisitions insights, trends and issues affecting the industry, and performance and valuation data. IoT is transforming the global manufacturing industry, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the timeline for adoption. The number of industrial IoT connections is forecasted to grow more than five-fold between 2016 and 2025. Tweet this Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment banking firm, has released a new research report on IoT in Automation & Manufacturing. The industrial technology report covers global capital markets and mergers and acquisitions insights, trends and issues affecting the industry, and performance and valuation data. IoT is transforming the global manufacturing industry, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the timeline for adoption. Read the report here: https://www.bglco.com/research/iot-in-automation-manufacturing-propelled-by-covid-19-bgl-insider/ Globally, digitization has permeated more than half of all industries, with IoT being deployed in major areas of product development, traditional supply chain, and manufacturing. Manufacturing is the fifth leading segment incorporating IoT technology. Companies spent $267 billion on digitization in 2020. The number of industrial IoT connections is forecasted to grow more than five-fold between 2016 and 2025, increasing from 2.4 billion to 13.8 billion. The global IoT market in manufacturing is expected to grow from $65.1 billion to $100.1 billion between 2020 and 2024, representing a CAGR of 11.4%. Among the key drivers are the growing popularity of intelligent technologies, increasing investment in digitization, and the emergence of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics to streamline manufacturing processes. COVID-19 has renewed the focus on efficient use of resources, leading manufacturers to increasingly utilize technology to enhance decision making and increase productivity. Companies are forging strategic partnerships with M&A a primary lever to fast-track digital initiatives. About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations and opinions, real estate, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, Inc., an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com. SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company Related Links www.bglco.com remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. 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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Here we round up new and forthcoming childrens titles including an early reader about two dog friends, a middle grade novel that confronts addiction, a YA novel about grief and roller derby, a picture book about confidence, and many more. Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate, illus. by Charlie Alder. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, $9.99; ISBN 978-1-250-62097-2. Nudged by a new friend, an older dog rediscovers how to let loose in this goofy illustration-driven early reader, a series opener by Newbery Medalist Applegate (The One and Only Ivan) and Alder (Miss Mary Mack). Where We Used to Roam by Jenn Bishop. Aladdin, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-5729-4. In this examination of how addiction can affect families, Bishop (Things You Cant Say) effectively showcases sixth grader Emmas realistic struggle to forgive her friends, her family, and herself. Bruised by Tanya Boteju. Simon & Schuster, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-5502-3. Eighteen-year-old Daya Wijesinghe is tough, just like her boxer father taught her to be. When her parents, both Sri Lankan immigrants, die in a car crash that she survives, that toughness becomes a shield as she bruises herself to cope with her grief. A year and a half after the accident, she learns about roller derbyseemingly the perfect way to get some new bruises. My Little Brave Girl by Hilary Duff, illus. by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. Random House, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-30072-5. In actor Duffs motivational picture book debut, an unnamed narrator emboldens girls to move through their lives with assurance. The Three Water Drop Brothers by Lee Eun-hee, trans. from the Korean by Asuka Minamoto, illus. by Yoon Mi-sook. Enchanted Lion, $16.95; ISBN 978-1-59270-323-4. This Korean import adds a mythological spin to its explanation of how water explores the world in different forms and ways. In elegant yet straightforward prose, biologist Lee follows the three water drop brothers, who are personified with simple, finely drawn features. Bicycle Bash by Alison Farrell. Chronicle, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-7462-4. In this picture book, the Metropolitan Bicycle Museum is having a big celebration, and everyone Etta the elephant knows is goingafter all, who would pass up a chance to ride a bicycle inside a museum? The Nice Dream Truck by Beth Ferry, illus. by Brigette Barrager. HarperCollins, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-290783-7. Three round-faced children of varying ethnicities are tucked into bed as this picture book opens. A page later, a brown-skinned, purple-haired girl with stars in her eyes makes her entrance in the fantastical Nice Dream Truckwhich serves up sweet dreams in the form of elaborate ice cream treats. Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Abrams, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-5091-5. This picture book by collaborators Hale and Pham (Real Friends) ostensibly starts out as a cute tale of pretend play, and transforms into something much more: a celebration of claiming and naming ones identity and having it affirmed by otherseven if its a community of two. The book earned a starred review in PW. The Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice by A.F. Harrold, illus. by Mini Grey. Bloomsbury, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-54760-677-1. A sly, tongue-in-cheek ambiance pervades British poet Harrolds collection of sometimes questionable counsel on matters ranging from unconventional (Gravy Is Not Perfume) to practical (If youre worried your teachers going to shout at you/ because youve not done your homework,/ do your homework). The Immortal Boy by Francisco Montana Ibanez, trans. from the Spanish by David Bowles. Levine Querido, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-044-2. Two stories told in parallel converge tragically in this poignant dual-language YA novel set around Bogota, Colombia, following children in an orphanage in a violent area of the city. Somethings Wrong!: A Bear, a Hare, and Some Underwear by Jory John, illus. by Erin Kraan. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-374-31388-3. In this picture book, Jeff, an absentminded bear, has left his house forgetting that hes wearing a pair of tighty-whities gifted to him by his grandmother, and none of the animals he meets in the woods dares tell him. Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker, illus. by Grant Snider. Abrams, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-4423-5. In this picture book about an iceberg who breaks off from his parents, a whole new existence opens up for Blue, offering more adventures, new friends, and a gratifying conclusion. Animating the water cycle is a project that Jonker (The Very Last Castle) takes on with humor, drama, and even momentary twinges of fear. The book earned a starred review in PW book. The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family by Sarah Kapit. Dial, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-593-11229-8. Joining the shelf of books about autistic characters drawn to sleuthing, this quiet family story by Kapit (Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!) centers two Jewish autistic sisters ages 11 and 12 navigating lifes mysteries. The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty. Levine Querido, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-64614-076-3. When Esther Mettlestone-Staranisean unexceptional child from an exceptional familyreturns to Katherine Valley Boarding School after summer break, shes distraught to learn that her two best friends have transferred elsewhere. Whats more, the normally peaceful mountains surrounding the academy now teem with malevolent Shadow Mages, in this standalone middle grade high fantasy. Renegade Flight by Andrea Tang. Razorbill, $18.99; ISBN 978-1-9848-3512-3. Picking up 15 years after the events of Rebelwing, this speculative standalone YA novel revisits the heroes of the first installment while focusing on a generation raised against the backdrop of sentient mechs and an intrigue-laden new world order. The Middle Kid by Steven Weinberg. Chronicle, $14.99; ISBN 978-1-4521-8180-6. This engaging early chapter book uses a loose diary structure to capture episodes in a day in the life of a middle child. Not tough enough for the older brother but too rambunctious for the younger sister, an unnamed and subtly ungendered diarist feels attacked from both sides. But with their abundant energy, love of drawing, and powers of creativity, they are able to appreciate their places. The book earned a starred review from PW. For more childrens and YA titles on sale throughout the month of March, check out PWs full On-Sale Calendar. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Pakistan's country pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai has been handed over to the authorities following the completion of its building civil works. The Pakistani Expo team will now focus on the internal work and try to complete it in time for Expo 2020 launch. Located in the 'Opportunity District' of the expo site, the pavilion has a total covered area of 35,000 sq ft. Its structural infrastructure work was handled by leading UAE construction group ASGC along with its subsidiaries - Al Shafar United which is the MEP contractor and Al Shafar Interiors its fit-out contractor - while Khatib & Alami (K&A) is the main consultant. The pavilion was handed over to the Pakistani authorities at an official ceremony which was attended by senior officials including Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Muhammad Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Afzaal Mahmood, Ambassador of Pakistan to UAE, and Ahsan Ali Mangi, Secretary Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). Addressing the gathering, Dawood said: "Pakistan is bestowed with natural beauty, historical and religious sites, highest peaks and calm deserts. It is the destination for mountaineers, historians, archaeologists, writers, photographers and many such tourists." The inner journey of the pavilion is set under the theme Pakistan: The Hidden Treasure with an aim to enhance tourism, commerce and investment in Pakistan. "Through our theme at Expo 2020 Dubai, we plan to present and showcase the land of opportunities to promote tourism, commerce and investment in the country," he added.-TradeArabia News Service A major step toward realizing a groundbreaking new treatment method for hypertension the first of its kind in Japan CureApp, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kohta Satake; hereafter "the Company") has completed a Japanese Phase III multicenter randomized controlled trial of their digital therapeutics ("DTx") app to treat hypertension, which was jointly researched by a team led by Professor Kazuomi Kario at Jichi Medical University. Results of this study showed a statistically significant difference in average systolic blood pressure*1 over a 24-hour period the primary endpoint of this study, demonstrating a hypotensive effect. Moving forward, the Company will seek regulatory approval based on the results of this study. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005504/en/ CureApp and Jichi Medical University collaborate on a hypertension therapeutics app: Primary endpoint met in Phase III clinical trial in Japan (Graphic: Business Wire) Summary of the clinical trial and efficacy of the hypertension therapeutics app Commencing in December 2019, this trial*2 evaluated the efficacy and safety of the DTx app when used with patients with essential hypertension who had not received oral treatments using antihypertensive drugs. For this comparative study, subjects were divided into two groups. This included a control group that only applied lifestyle changes based on the Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension 2019 (hereafter, "the Guidelines")*3, and an intervention group using the DTx app in addition to the lifestyle changes proposed in the Guidelines. As a result, the intervention group showed a statistically significant difference from the control group in the "deviation from the baseline in the average systolic blood pressure over a 24-hour period as measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)*4 in the 12th week of the study" the primary endpoint. This demonstrates that the DTx app had a marked effect in treating hypertension. The results from this study will be presented in detail at conferences and in papers at a later date to be notified separately. The potential of therapeutics for hypertension Hypertension is the highest risk factor for cerebral and cardiovascular diseases (stroke and heart disease). An estimated 100,000 people*5 die of hypertension-induced cerebral and cardiovascular diseases every year. In Japan, hypertension is found in some 43 million people*3, and medical costs associated with hypertension have ballooned to around 1.7 trillion yen*6. Despite this, only around 10 million people*7 are said to receive continuous treatment for hypertension, less than one-quarter of the total affected. While lifestyle improvements are vital for treating hypertension, maintaining such changes is dependent on a patient's values and motivation, their workplace and home environment, and other factors. This presents challenges for effective intervention by medical institutions. There is also a subset of patients that wish to avoid medication who struggle with reducing their blood pressure. In response to these issues, this DTx app automatically delivers treatment guidance personalized to the individual (optimal nutritional, exercise, and sleeping advice based on an IoT blood pressure monitor and lifestyle habit logs, and notifications prompting behavioral changes) directly to the patient. This form of treatment helps reduce hypertension without the use of medication by encouraging changes in mindset and behavior, and aiding patients in adopting appropriate lifestyle habits. *1 Systolic blood pressure: High blood pressure measured in blood pressure measurements. *2 Kario K. Nomura A. Satake K. et al. A multicenter clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the digital therapeutics for essential hypertension: Rationale and design of the HERB-DH1 trial. J Clin Hypertens. (Greenwich) 2020;22(9):1713-1722 https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.13993 *3 Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension 2019 [JSH2019]; The Japanese Society of Hypertension (2019) https://www.jpnsh.jp/guideline.html *4 Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM): Continuous blood pressure measurements taken at predetermined intervals over a 24 hour period during the course of one's daily life. This helps determine variations in blood pressure (variation patterns over the course of a day). This is important due to the various factors which may alter one's blood pressure. *5 "Vital Statistics Summary"2019 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei19/dl/15_all.pdf *6 "Medical Care Expenditure Summary" 2018 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/k-iryohi/18/index.html *7 "Patient Study"2017 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/kanja/17/dl/05.pdf Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Jichi Medical University Professor Kazuomi Kario The fact that the world's first hypertension therapeutics app was able to produce a hypotensive effect with relation to the average systolic blood pressure over a 24-hour period a key evaluation item of this Phase III clinical study (trial) represents a significant step forward for hypertension treatment. When treating hypertension, reducing the risk of serious complications through therapeutic intervention and reducing blood pressure at an early stage is vital. Treatment is based on reducing salt intake and maintaining a proper weight, getting sufficient exercise and sleep, and other lifestyle changes. The digital hypertension treatment that this DTx app provides through the use of an advanced bidirectional algorithm represents a new field for hypertension treatment, and is expected to play a pivotal role in providing medical care tailored to the individual, and in promoting drug-free treatments that do not rely on medications. CureApp, Inc. Kohta Satake, CEO and Practicing Doctor We have expanded our focus to encompass algorithm development to provide personalized healthcare advice based on medical evidence. The more data provided by the patient, the more the advice given is specifically tailored to the patient's condition. We view the popularization of digital therapeutics for hypertension as having the potential to alter hypertension treatments for the better, as well as greatly contribute to reducing medical care expenses. Following our nicotine dependency therapeutic app "CureApp SC", which was the first app of its kind to be covered by insurance in Japan, we also look to receive regulatory approval and insurance coverage for our hypertension therapeutics app. About CureApp, Inc. CureApp, Inc. is a MedTech venture that conducts research and development into the creation of medical device programs which apply advanced software technology and medical evidence to treat illnesses, with the intent of manufacturing and distributing them. We are hard at work developing "digital therapeutics" apps used to treat illnesses in order to become the first in Japan to establish a new healthcare service centered on "creating new therapeutic effects through technology." In August 2020, the nicotine dependency treatment app and CO checker, "CureApp SC," became the first therapeutic app to receive regulatory approval in Japan, and prescriptions began as a treatment covered by insurance in December of the same year. In addition to the hypertension therapeutic app, we are currently pursuing research and development into various other digital therapeutics apps. These include a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) therapeutic app jointly developed and currently undergoing clinical trials with the University of Tokyo Hospital, joint research on an app with the National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center, and a patient support app for cancer patients being jointly developed with DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED. We also draw upon the knowledge accumulated through the development of these therapeutic apps for medical institutions to provide the "ascure Smoking Cessation Program" for corporations that have been implemented at over 200 companies, health insurance associations and local municipalities. Moving forward, we will look to sequentially roll out this Japanese-developed digital therapeutics solution worldwide. [CureApp, Inc. Company Profile] Representative Director and CEO: Kohta Satake Head office: Kodenma-Cho YS building 4F, 12-5, Nihonbashi Kodenma-Cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Business description: Development of medical device programs, mobile health-related services URL: http://cureapp.co.jp/ [Jichi Medical University Overview] Name: Jichi Medical University Representative: Director, Toshio Oishi Address: 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan URL: http://www.jichi.ac.jp/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005504/en/ Contacts: [Contact Details] [For research inquiries] Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Jichi Medical University Professor Kazuomi Kario Ph: +81 285-58-7538 E-mail: kkario@jichi.ac.jp [For inquiries regarding therapeutics apps] CureApp, Inc. PR Representative, Yuuki Mishima Ph: +81 3-6231-0183 E-mail: pr-team@cureapp.jp Christians and Muslims yesterday clashed violently in Ilorin, Kwara State over the raging Hajib controversy as the state government reopened the 10 affected schools for academic activities. This came as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, asked Nigerians to hold Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq responsible for the violence and bloodletting in the state over his administration's Hijab policy. The Baptist Secondary School, Surulere, was the major battle ground where opposing parties besides exchange of harsh words, freely threw pebbles at each other, even as security operatives struggled to disperse the combatants including parents. Some Muslims groups who had laid siege to the main gates of the school were chorusing "Laillah Illaha Lahu, Laillaha Illah lahu" All efforts by the Muslims groups to allow Muslim students to enter the schools, were rebuffed by the Christians who were also at the main gate of the affected schools As the situation degenerated, security operatives, deployed to the schools to keep peace shut into the air and used tear gas to disperse them. The waiting students and teachers scampered for safety while the schools gates remained shut. At Cherubim and Seraphim Grammar School, Sabo Oke, Christian leaders in white garment occupied the gate, drummed, sang and disallowed students and teachers from resuming. The Christians in white garment displayed placards inscriptions such as "O to ge" give us our schools back", "No to Hijab in Kwara"," Kwara is not an Islamic State, Kwara is for all", "Our schools is our heritage", "we oppose the Hijab in our schools". Same at Bishop Smith Grammar School along Agba dam GRA, Ilorin and St Anthony Grammar School, along Offa Road, where the school principal and security officer who supposed to open the gates were nowhere to be found. The teachers were seen in groups at the school gate while some Christian leaders were also there to monitor the development. Already, the security agencies like police, civil defence corps, Soldiers have been deployed to all the affected schools to prevent the break down of law and order. The affected reopened schools are, C&S College Sabo Oke, ST. Anthony College, Offa Road, ECWA School, Oja Iya, Surulere Baptist Secondary School and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others are CAC Secondary School Asa Dam road, St. Barnabas Secondary School Sabo Oke, St. John School Maraba, St. Williams Secondary School Taiwo Isale, and St. James Secondary School Maraba. At Bishop Smith Grammar School along Agba dam, road a staff of the school Malam Abdulraaheed Gambari in an interview with journalists urged the government to be firm on its decision and restore normalcy in the affected schools. He said, "Some of the parents wish that their wards use Hijab to school, government has already intervened in this matter,and made their own stance that the Muslim students who wishes be allowed to use Hijab in the Christian schools. They are not forcing it on non Muslims. The issue is that the Christians can't still be behaving that the schools still belong to them when indeed the government owns the schools which they also know. But Venerable David Babatunde Alao, one of the Christian leaders, differed insisting among others, "as at last week Tuesday at our meeting our resolution was still the same, no students would be allowed to wear Hijab in any of the Christian schools. I don't believe that our leaders would sell us out. So, we are still on it. "The matter is in Supreme Court, why is the government intervening? In fact, it is a contempt of court. The government should allow the court to dispose of the matter instead of taking stand.". Meanwhile, CAN in a statement by its General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, blamed the state governor for the Hijab crisis. The statement said among others, 'The Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, should be held responsible if the matter degenerates because it was his pronouncement on the issue of hijab wearing in violation of the court directive on the matter to maintain status quo until the matter is finally resolved by the court that led to this trouble." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Education Religion By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "Wisdom is required by those in leadership to handle sensitive issues such as that of religion so as not to precipitate war. If any damage is done to any church or anyone is injured on this matter, the Governor of Kwara State will be held responsible. The state government had Tuesday, announced that the schools had been told to reopen but must respect its policy that allows the use of the Hijab in all public schools. The statement, among others, said "The Kwara State Government hereby announces the reopening on Wednesday March 17, 2021 of the 10 schools that were recently shut down over the Hijab question, even as government's peacebuilding efforts continue. Vanguard News Nigeria Nairobi The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has urged intern doctors to prioritize their safety even as the country faces a third wave of coronavirus with daily positivity rates since Tuesday averaging 17 per cent. KMPDC Chairperson Dr Eva Njenga on Wednesday stressed on the safety of doctors saying it is key to waging a successful war against COVID-19. Dr Njenga who was speaking during the oathing of Mount Kenya University pioneer medical students before proceeding on internship, also underscored the need for the intern doctors to desist from administering dangerous drugs (DDA ) before getting clearance from their seniors. He said that some doctors were notorious in administering drugs like morphine without following the laid down guidelines, putting the lives of their patients at risk. A total of 24 MKU medical students took the oath, clearing them to proceed on internship. There are about 543 registered medical interns in the country and 15752 doctors, with a single doctor expected to serve over 3,000 people. In 2020, Mount Kenya University Medical School was ranked the best in Kenya with a score of 82 out of the possible 100 points in an inspection conducted by a joint team of technical health experts from the East African Community (EAC) Partner States National Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulatory Councils. The University met the necessary requirements for the training of medical students. New mom, Army vet among 8 killed in Georgia spa shootings View Photo One was new mother taking a rare break from caring for her baby girl. Another was an Army veteran who installed security systems in the Atlanta area. They were among eight people killed Tuesday in shootings at three metro Atlanta massage businesses. Police have charged a 21-year-old man with the slayings. Seven of the slain were women, and six of them were of Asian descent. Authorities have not released all of the victims names but did identify 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 44-year-old Daoyou Feng and 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan, who owned one of the massage businesses. Here is a look at some of those who died in the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. since 2019. ___ DELAINA ASHLEY YAUN It was planned as a day for Yaun to relax. Yaun and her husband arranged for someone to care for their 8-month daughter while they headed to Youngs Asian Massage Parlor. Family members said the couple were first-time customers, eager for a chance to unwind. They were in separate rooms inside the spa when the gunman opened fire. Yaun was killed. Her husband escaped unharmed. Theyre innocent. They did nothing wrong, Yauns weeping mother, Margaret Rushing, told WAGA-TV. I just dont understand why he took my daughter. Yauns husband could hear the gunfire inside the spa but was helpless to save his wife, said Dana Toole, Yauns sister. Hes taking it hard, Toole said. When youre in a room and gunshots are flying, what do you do? ___ PAUL ANDRE MICHELS Michels owned a business installing security systems, a trade he learned after moving to the Atlanta area more than 25 years ago. Hed been talking about switching to a new line of work. Michels never got to settle on a career change. He was fatally shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor along with three others. From what I understand, he was at the spa that day doing some work for them, said Michels younger brother, John Michels of Commerce, Michigan. Paul Michels also might have been talking with the spas owner about how the business operates, his brother said, because he had been thinking about opening a spa himself. His age caught up to him. You get to a point where you get tired of climbing up and down ladders, John Michels said. He was actually looking to start his own massage spa. Thats what he was talking about last year. Paul Michels grew up in Detroit in a large family where he was the seventh of nine children. His brother John was No. 8. Though they were born 2 1/2 years apart, he was basically my twin, John Michels said. Both enlisted in the Army after high school, with Paul joining the infantry. A few years after leaving the military, Paul followed his brother to the Atlanta area in 1995 for a job doing low-voltage electrical work, installing phones and security systems. He also met his wife, Bonnie, and they were married more than 20 years. He was a good, hard-working man who would do what he could do to help people, John Michels said. Hed loan you money if you needed it sometimes. You never went away from his place hungry. By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press Opposition parties Thursday strongly protested in a bill to hike in the sector to 74 per cent and wanted its scrutiny by a parliamentary standing committee, but the Upper House approved the proposed law with the government not paying any heed to the demand. The (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to raise FDI in the sector to 74 per cent from the existing 49 per cent, and remove restrictions on the ownership and control on companies. This would enable foreign companies to own and control insurance firms in India. The Upper House witnessed four adjournments in the afternoon sitting after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the bill for further amendment of the Insurance Act 1938 for consideration and passage in the House. After the bill was moved, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge said the amendments will put people in "trouble". The Insurance Act 1938 is being amended for the third time, he said. He said the Act was first amended during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure when 26 per cent FDI was allowed in the sector. Later in 2015, the law was amended further to allow 49 per cent FDI and now the amendment is for allowing 74 per cent, he added. "I want the bill to be scrutinised to address the gaps and it should be referred to a standing committee," Kharge said. Later after four adjournments, Kharge said in the House, "I am not going to make a speech. He (Congress' Anand Sharma) will make a speech. But my request is that this is a very important matter. It pertains to crores of people's lives and crores of rupees are invested. Nearly 58 companies are involved in this. Therefore, we are requesting, you refer this bill to a standing committee and everything will come out." Deputy Chairman Harivansh explained that the amendment for sending a bill to a standing committee is given either by the government or by the Opposition, but neither has done so in this case. Kharge said it was "unfortunate" the government does not want to send it to a standing committee. "The government is adamant. They don't want stake-holders to come and talk on this bill and give their representation. They will come to know tomorrow whether they have done good or bad, when there would be strike." He further said, "They (government) did not send the three farm bills to a standing committee or joint select committee. Crores of people are sitting on roads because of this."Tiruchi Siva (DMK) said, "Discussion in the House within a few hours will not serve the purpose of passing any law in real sense. So the only scrutiny in standing or select committee will give scope for stakeholders to present before the committee and express their views...but the government is very adamant on passing the bill."He further said, "As a responsible opposition party, we will cooperate and participate in the proceedings and place our view on record, against the bill or about the bill."Congress' Anand Sharma said, "A bill must go through Parliament scrutiny. The government wants to push it though. Insurance is a strategic and social sector. This sector harnesses saving and reinvests in India's development. We must not forget that insurance policy also provides social security cover to a lot of common people."Sharma asked, "Is it disinvestment or are you leapfrogging towards privatisation or are you embarking on a path of privatisation or is it a grand clearance for the sale of India's national assets built by people of India?"Participating in the debate, Siva said, "Insurance sector was opened to the private sector through the IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act) 1999 under the NDA government. Initially the IRDA allowed for 26 per cent foreign equity in private insurance companies and subsequently in 2015 it was enhanced to 49 per cent. The government has now proposed to increase it from 49 to 74 per cent. "It is interesting to note that the actual share of FDI in total share of investments in private insurance today is much less than the current limit of 49 per cent...so there is no justification of increasing FDI in insurance frm 49 per cent to 74 per cent, Siva said. He noted that even during the recession period, the country withstood the impact due to two sectors --public sector undertakings and agriculture, and now these two were being targeted. "We urge that the public sector undertakings need to be protected at any cost and they should not be disinvested and privatised," Banda Prakash (TRS) said, adding institutions like LIC should remain 100 per cent under government control. Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP) opposed the bill, saying it was against the people of the country and should be sent to a select committee. Similarly, Jharna Das Baidya (CPI-M) and Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) also opposed the bill. Praful Patel (NCP) said that the bill should be sent to the standing committee for further improvement. "We will all come with good suggestions which are in the interest of the country. Please do not hurry this important legislation," he noted. Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose (YSRCP) and Ramchandra Prasad Singh (JD-U) supported the bill. Shiv Sena's Anil Desai said the government should boost state-owned insurance companies by infusing capital and improving solvency ratio. TDP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar urged the government to relook at the issue of raising FDI limit in the insurance sector. Notwithstanding the Opposition's arguments, approved the bill. Former Huntsville Panther is staying with his team at least one more year. Per Raiders Wire and USA Today, Nicholas Morrow re-signed with the Raiders Wednesday. Morrow has been with the Raiders since 2017. The linebacker went undrafted out of Greenville University, a DIII school in Illinois. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The Supreme Court has fixed March 30, 2021 to rule on a review application, which gave the EC the go ahead to gazette John Peter Amewu, as the Member of Parliament for Hohoe Constituency. The Court presided over by Justice Yaw Apau fixed the date after Mrs Grace Ewool, Chief State Attorney and Mr Tsatsu Tsikata had argued their cases. Mr Tsikata who represented the residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi contended that the apex court of the land fundamentally erred when it quashed the decision of the Ho High Court, which granted an injunction to the residents of the areas in dispute. He contended that the Court breached the fundamental human rights of the residents when it quashed an order by the Ho High Court which had placed injunction on the Electoral Commission from presenting Mr Amewu as MP-elect for Hohoe. Mrs Ewool opposed the review application and relied on the January 5, 2021 statement of case filed by the state. According to her, the issues raised by Mr Tsikata had been determined by the Supreme Court and counsel was only rehashing those arguments. Mrs Ewool said counsel for SALL had also raised no new and important issues to warrant the grant of the review application. She said the only issue that ought to be considered was ground eight of Mr Tsikatas review application. On January 5, this year, the five member panel of the court presided over by Mr Yaw Appau in a unanimous decision, held that the Ho High court erred in granting the order since it did not have the jurisdiction to do so. The Court held that while the Ho High Courts decision was about election petition, the original case, which invoked the jurisdiction of the Court was about human rights violations. It noted that it was, therefore, strange the Court orders were about Amewus election rather than the denial of the right of the people of SALL to vote. It, therefore, annulled all the proceedings of the Courts sitting by Justice George Buadi, which granted the injunction freezing the gazetting of Mr Amewu. The Ho High Court on December 23, 2020, granted an injunction aimed at prevented the EC from gazetting John Peter Amewu as the MP-elect. The applicants had insisted they had been denied their rights to vote in the Hohoe Constituency after the creation of the Oti Region, which warranted the creation of a new constituency. The apex Court also held that the order given by the Court on December 23, last year, as of January 5, 2020, was non-existent since the 10 days injunction granted by the Court had elapsed. Our jurisdiction does not extend to the C.I. 128, guiding the conduct of the Electoral Commission. It is the EC who must correct the issue regarding the Buem constituency. Whether they [People of SALL] should vote at the Buem constituency is not the issue before us. It is a matter between the interested parties and the Electoral Commission. If the interested parties were denied the right to vote, what has that got to do with the gazetting of the Hohoe MP-elect? He is not an agent of EC neither did he perform any decision for the EC, so why should he be the point of discussion. If the contention of the SALL people is that Amewu was not duly elected because of infractions, that would have been different but that is not the case here, Justice Appau said. Among other things, the Attorney-General was also seeking a prohibition order to prevent the Ho High Court from hearing the substantive case of disfranchising the people of SALL. But the Court tossed that up and gave Justice Buadi the right to continue hearing the rest of the case, which relates to the alleged human rights violations. The State had made an application at the apex Court to fight an injunction placed on Amewu by the Ho High Court. The injunction was granted after some residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe, and Lolobi (SALL) argued that the Electoral Commissions failure to allow them to vote in the just-ended parliamentary elections amounted to a breach of their rights. The injunction secured by the residents was to prevent the EC from gazetting Mr Amewu as the winner of the Hohoe parliamentary polls. According to them, the creation of the Oti Region coupled with a recent Supreme Court decision and failure of the EC to create a constituency for them meant they did not vote for a parliamentary candidate in the just-ended election. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Assessing supply chain risk depends on good data, visibility, experts say In the wake of the SolarWinds Orion attack, the White House instructed various executive departments to review the immediate and long-term supply chain risks to the agriculture, commerce, defense, energy, health and transportation industries. Agencies, however, may have a tough time getting the information they need because of fundamental problems with the public- and private-sector's ability to assess their cybersecurity postures, according to analysts, former government officials and industry representatives. "Most likely what will happen is we will find what we already know -- which is that these industries are all incredibly cyber vulnerable," said Kathryn Waldron, a cybersecurity expert at the R Street Institute. "They're all incredibly attractive targets for malicious actors and that probably their cybersecurity is not as good as they think." "We don't really have a lot of great metrics or systems of measurement for cybersecurity, and so I think actually determining whether or not an industry has a good cybersecurity posture in general is not something that we're really able to do well as a country both from a government standpoint but also maybe from an industry standpoint," Waldron said. Chris White, a former contractor for the National Security Agency and now an executive at BlueVoyant, said the reviews will likely conclude that most industries lack the data to confirm they have sufficient cybersecurity controls protecting their supply chain. "There will be a big fat goose egg of, well, we were able to understand that we know there's a problem, we know there is risk, but we have no insight into how to measure that risk" or how to reduce it, he said. White also argued the cybersecurity frameworks currently available are not up to par. In many cases, he said, they aim to establish "comprehensive, mutually-exclusive, perfect requirements," making them unwieldy and complicated to explain to the executives who will make decisions about how to invest in cybersecurity. He did praise the National Institute of Standards and Technology, however, for crafting a framework understandable by everyone from low-level engineers to top executives. "We all need to be reading from the same sheet of music," he said. "I think the call to action here is the need for a standard that solves the critical problem that NIST solved -- which was it can be universally interpreted by engineers at the low technical level, but be boiled up into a very simple message surrounded by five concepts that any board anywhere can understand." Another issue will be visibility, according to Blake Moore, formerly chief of staff for the Pentagon's CIO and now a vice president at Wickr. He described the various levels of a programmatic supply chain, starting at a developer creating a piece of software all the way to the integration of a system-of-systems. "If you walk that chain back, it exponentially grows as far as the potential avenues of vulnerability as you move further down the supply chain," he said. "I think they're going to realize that visibility across the entire process needs to be clear, and right now we simply don't have that." The reviews aside, a senior administration official told reporters March 12 the White House is already planning to implement a policy that would label some consumer devices as having sufficient cybersecurity standards as well as a grading system for software companies that sell products to government. The policies are expected to be released through an executive order in the coming weeks. A longer version of this article was first posted to FCW, a sibling site to GCN. GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on Wednesday the outcomes of its Universal Periodic Review of the United States, shedding light on the appalling state of basic human rights in the country. During the review, a U.S. representative underscored the country's pride in its human rights records, whereas a series of alarming facts painted a different portrait of the self-proclaimed "leader of the free world." For example, a group of UN recognized NGOs told the council that discrimination and inequality have been long-standing challenges in the country, with incidences of harassment and discrimination accelerating over the past two years. It remains uncertain whether the report could propel change in the world's largest economy, long used to highlighting human rights concerns in other countries. "ALARMING INEQUALITIES" The United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world's population, has logged about a quarter of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases and one fifth of global deaths from the disease. During the periodic review, several countries urged the country to respect right to life and health of Americans and quit politicizing the pandemic. A man wearing a face mask walks past the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 24, 2021. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) "We would strongly recommend the U.S. government that they establish a public system guaranteeing the right to health for their people who have been decimated because of COVID-19," noted a representative of Venezuela. In a written recommendation, Turkey said the United States should guarantee free health care to all segments of American society during the epidemic. Cuba said Washington should guarantee the right to health, especially in the context of COVID-19, and Singapore suggested the United States continue its efforts to build a more inclusive society and reduce inequalities, including updating its strategic plan to address the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on vulnerable populations. If the United States truly intends to promote and protect human rights, a diplomat in Geneva said, it should take effective measures to cope with the pandemic and prevent the heavy loss of lives in the first place. For UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, what stood behind the widespread protests affecting hundreds of U.S. cities last year were the "alarming inequalities" exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Racial minority populations in the country often experience higher hunger rates linked to poverty, according to review documents. "In the United States, protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd are highlighting not only police violence against people of color, but also inequalities in health, education, employment and endemic racial discrimination," said the UN human rights chief. A protester holds a sign near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "BLACK LIVES DO NOT MATTER" Racial discrimination and police brutality illustrate the extent of human rights violations in the United States. Several reports submitted to the working group of the review indicated that racial disparities persisted throughout the U.S. criminal justice system, and African Americans were nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated. For instance, George Floyd, an African American, died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes in May 2020, which soon triggered protests against racism and police brutality across the globe. "Black lives do not matter in the United States of America," said George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, addressing an urgent debate held by the UN Human Rights Council last year. During this round of the review, Professor Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, noted the long-standing structural discrimination on the basis of race, saying the United States remained a segregated society, while several other UN experts warned that racism and xenophobia were on the rise in the country. Mass incarceration, police violence, housing segregation, disparity in the quality of education, labour market segmentation, political disenfranchisement and environmental degradation continued to disproportionately impact Black people, according to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. A police officer raises his gun during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua) Institutionalized racism, especially within law enforcement, was another issue raised. India suggested the United States strengthen gun legislation to combat racial injustice and killings. Russia called for effective measures to end racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, and Austria raised the issue of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials. Despite strong evidence of excessive and often lethal force, officers were often not criminally charged or otherwise held accountable, the review showed. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The number of human rights concerns continue to pile up for the United States. Rural communities in the country lack access to basic sanitation, with little political will to rectify the problem through adequate infrastructure funding. De Schutter noted that almost a quarter of full-time workers and three quarters of part-time workers in the country receive no paid sick leave. Medical workers wheel a patient into the emergency room at Maimonides Medical Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, March 8, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) Punishing and imprisoning the poor were distinctively American responses to poverty. Workers who failed to repay their debts, those who cannot afford private probation services, minorities targeted for traffic infractions, the mentally ill and fathers who cannot pay child support were locked up. A number of questions were raised during the review. Has the United States adopted any measure to redress arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and other human rights violations committed by the CIA and other intelligence agencies overseas? Have those responsible for perpetuating or ordering such violations been held accountable? Does the United States plan to end its military interventions in other countries and stop killing their civilians wantonly? A representative of the Chinese delegation pointed out Wednesday that the United States "neither apologizes for its evil past of genocide nor provides reparation to the victims," but instead "maliciously slanders other countries out of political motivation." A Syrian representative on Wednesday asked that since some recommendations to the United States have been addressed under the banner of national security, does this mean that crimes as a result of U.S. military aggression are legal and justified under its national laws? As a representative from Belarus commented, "the Americans wish to put other people's houses in order in the field of human rights," and that should not serve as justification for a dismissive attitude towards their own problems. After working as an executive assistant in the corporate world for seven years, Samantha Wells took a pay cut and started an apprenticeship to become an electrician. Now aged 33 and two years into her trade apprenticeship, Samantha is running cables through walls to connect the internet, speakers and audiovisual equipment on a redevelopment site in Melbourne. Electrical apprentice Samantha Wells outside East Keilor Leisure Centre redevelopment site. Credit:Eddie Jim As the years clocked by while working as an executive assistant, Ms Well said: I reached a point where I thought, Do I want to be doing this forever?. According to the National Electrical and Communications Association there are tens of thousands of competent and experienced workers such as Ms Wells contemplating a career change to achieve job security and provide for their families. The Portland school board will vote Thursday evening on an agreement with the districts teachers union, which would require students and educators to remain at least 6 feet apart in classrooms for the remainder of the school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Oregons education agency both currently require 6-foot spacing. But the agencies say theyre reviewing that guideline in light of emerging findings that when masks are worn by all, 3 feet appears to be as safe. Should the school board adopt Portland Public Schools agreement with the union, the 6-feet requirement will be locked in regardless of revisions to state or federal guidelines. The draft agreement also allows educators to decide whether they broadcast live lessons to students at home but does not require them to do so. The school board will convene at 6 p.m. The agreement, which district and union negotiators reached early Monday morning, outlines an April 1 start for in-person instruction of elementary students and an April 19 return for middle and high schoolers. According to Portland Public Schools reopening plans, middle and high school students will get about five hours of in-person time over two afternoons per week. Educators wont go over new material. Instead, those afternoon sessions will provide in-person help on lessons the same teachers previously delivered virtually that morning. It also requires the district to ensure every school has its own safety committee and that those groups include at least two union members. Those committees will help develop a check-list for classroom safety that include such items as cleaning supplies, desk spacing and the presence of air filters. If any of those items are missing, the educator may refuse to use that classroom for instruction. The draft agreement also requires the district to allow educators who cant be vaccinated due to medical reasons to continue teaching virtually for the remainder of the school year. Teachers who refuse to be vaccinated may take the rest of the year off, unpaid. Portland Public Schools has not said how much of its workforce has been inoculated against coronavirus since Gov. Kate Brown put teachers and school employees at the head of the vaccination line in January. The district has only said that 100% of educators at this point have had access. Under the agreement union bargainers struck with the district, administrators must email teachers within 24 hours of a positive case being detected at their school. The agreement provides teachers union members with a monthly $300 per child subsidy for child care. The agreement does not say at what age a teachers children would no longer qualify for those payments. The agreement also requires the district to provide educators who work with children too young to wear masks with KN95 masks. In a note to union members Sunday, the bargaining team said its been negotiating the deal with district officials since last July. The bargaining sessions, which are typically broadcast live on YouTube, have often become tense. During one December meeting, the districts labor lawyer pushed back against educators claims that managing a classroom under pandemic protocols was akin to babysitting. Its not like were trying to cram as many bodies as possible in a classroom and have a babysitter. That is not accurate, Brian Hungerford said. And in February, union negotiators canceled a bargaining session after the district purchased $1.5 million worth of cameras to stream live lessons from classrooms. --Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano | Eder on Facebook Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com. President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are under fire for suggesting that Iran could continue talks with the United States after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. In a video recently released by Iranian media, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Esmail Ghaani criticizes the idea of speaking with the United States. Ghaani, who took over the Quds Force after the United States assassinated the previous commander, Qasem Soleimani, said that Iran is under a new era in the region and would be on the defensive. In reference to the nuclear deal, which the United States exited in 2018 after signing it in 2015, Ghaani said, Ignorance is part of their nature and cowardice of their existence; every day you witness how the heads of states sign a paper and in utter rudeness and shamelessness before the world, they undermine their own signature. They have no ability to negotiate. Its unclear when Ghaani made these remarks, but that conservative Iranian media published them today suggests that conservatives in Iran, even though they may want a reentry of the United States into the nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions, do not want direct Iran-US talks similar to those that occurred under the Obama administration. Amir Abdollahian, adviser to the parliament speaker and former deputy foreign minister of Arab affairs, also discussed the possibility of Iran-US talks, saying that removing sanctions would be a priority and Iran can be trusted to keep its word. However, he added that both Donald Trump and Biden would be different in how they approach Iran, and neither is a friend to the Islamic Republic and are not the key to solving all of the countrys problems. Zarif had recently said in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency that the US reentry into the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would not be complicated. He said that if the United States reenters its obligations under UN Res. 2231, then Iran would reenter its obligations under the JCPOA. The United States exited the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reapplied US sanctions on Iran, limiting Irans ability to sell its oil and causing a great deal of damage to the countrys economy. Zarif also said that if the United States wants to rejoin the JCPOA, then Iran is ready to negotiate terms for US participant status. Zarifs interview was conducted with the Islamic Republic News Agency, which operates under the administration. The interview, which was also translated into English, clearly was conducted to have an international audience. Rouhani was also quick to signal that Iran would be open to an improvement in relations, even if not talks, at the moment. The topic is not negotiations with America; its another topic, Rouhani said. The new administration can return to [following] rules. He said that under such a situation, We can slowly move from a direction of threats to a direction of opportunity. The Rouhani administration only has five months to normalize international issues before another Iranian administration takes office. Rouhani will be keen to at least see that the JCPOA in decent shape before leaving. Conservatives, while wanting the removal of sanctions, will be eager to paint Rouhanis eight years in office as a loss. Vatan-e Emrooz, the conservative paper, tried to sum up the Rouhani administration with their front page of Rouhani and Zarif hugging with the large headline, Loser. (Newser) After a backlash from readers, employees, and advertisers, Alexi McCammond and Teen Vogue have given up on the idea of her becoming the magazine's next editor. The outcry followed the surfacing of tweets about Asian and gay people she'd written as a college student in 2011, including one calling someone a "stupid Asian." McCammond, 27, apologized, but the issue didn't fade away, with a couple of companies stopping their advertising and staff members publicly objecting to management, the New York Times reports. "After speaking with Alexi this morning, we agreed that it was best to part ways, so as to not overshadow the important work happening at Teen Vogue," said Stan Duncan, personnel boss at Conde Nast. In her statement Thursday, McCammond, who is Black, again said she never should have written the slurs, per the Washington Post. story continues below "My past tweets have overshadowed the work I've done to highlight the people and issues that I care aboutissues that Teen Vogue has worked tirelessly to share with the worldand so Conde Nast and I have decided to part ways," she said. Duncan said the company had gone ahead with the hiring because McCammond had been open and apologetic about the tweets. But this week, concern rose even further about violence toward people of Asian descent after a mass shooting in Atlanta. "It's fair to say that Alexi McCammonds appointment with Teen Vogue brought many difficult and important conversations to the forefront over the last few weeks," Duncan wrote to the staff Thursday. McCammond, a political reporter for Axios for four years, said she wants to remain in journalism. (Read more Teen Vogue stories.) The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it still recommends using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as the benefits outweigh its risks. "Vaccination against Covid-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes. Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently. Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally," the WHO said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement came after a growing number of countries in the European Union suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure, based on reports of blood clots in persons who had received the vaccine, reports Xinhua news agency. "It is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunization. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to vaccination itself, but it is good practice to investigate them. "It also shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place," the statement added. Currently, the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is still assessing the latest available safety data for the AstraZeneca vaccine, while keeping in touch with the European Medicines Agency and other regulators around the world for latest safety information. Overview March 30 11AM PT, 2PM ET Watch Now Chatbots have become an invaluable tool for government agencies over the past year. In the first few months of the pandemic alone, nearly 75 percent of states launched new chatbots to help meet surging demand for public services in health, human services, labor and other areas. But in the rush to deploy these new technologies, many agencies had challenges optimizing their chatbot solutions, resulting in communications tools that are underutilized and misaligned with human support. In some cases, they may have even created new silos and communications challenges within agencies. Chatbots play a vital role in constituent service delivery, whether its for communicating crucial information about COVID vaccinations or enhancing constituent engagement with other government services. For an overview on how state and local agencies can make better use of chatbots, join us March 30 at 11 PT / 2 ET. This 30-minute webinar will cover several key areas, including: How chatbots can free up agency employees for the highest-value work How to bridge the constituent journey across multiple touchpoints Making better use of chatbots, whether your agency has relied on them for years or youre just getting started Lawyers for Johnny Depp seek to appeal wife beater ruling View Photo LONDON (AP) Lawyers for Johnny Depp told Britains Court of Appeal Thursday that the actors ex-wife, Amber Heard, did not donate all of her $7 million divorce settlement to charity as she claimed, part of arguments seeking to overturn a ruling that the actor assaulted Heard during the couples marriage. The Hollywood star is seeking permission to appeal a High Court ruling in November, when he lost his libel lawsuit against The Sun newspaper for labeling him a wife beater in an article. Depp lost the case thought to be one of the biggest English libel trials in recent history following a three-week trial in July. High Court Justice Andrew Nicol ruled that lawyers for Sun publisher News Group Newspapers proved during the trial that the allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were substantially true. The judge ruled that Depp, 57, assaulted Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times. On Thursday, Depps lawyers argued for an appeal, saying Depp did not receive a fair trial. Neither Depp nor Heard were present for the hearing. Lawyer Andrew Caldecott said in written submissions that Heards claims she donated the entire amount of her $7-million divorce settlement to two charities were a calculated and manipulative lie. The claims gave Heard a considerable boost to her credibility as a person, and had tipped the scales against Mr. Depp from the very beginning, Caldecott argued. The couple divorced in 2016. Caldecott alleged that the one of Heards supposed charitable beneficiaries, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, wrote to Depps business adviser in 2019 to say Heard had not made any payments. Its a false plus to her and a false minus to him, he said Thursday. Caldecott also argued that Nicol, the High Court judge, unfairly rejected evidence unfavorable to Heard during last years trial. He said the judge should have placed more importance on recordings in which Heard appeared to admit to assaulting Depp when she was heard saying I cant promise I wont get physical again. Her promise about future conduct suggests that this is not necessarily a one-off, the lawyer said. Lawyers for The Suns publisher rejected the arguments, saying Heard did not lie about the donations because she was pledging to pay the sums over time. She had made a number of payments already in pursuance of these pledges, said Adam Wolanski, representing News Group Newspapers. Wolanski added that even if the judge had had the fresh evidence and decided it did demonstrate that Ms. Heard was a gold-digger, that did not mean she had not been assaulted. Two judges at the Court of Appeal said they would not make a decision about the appeal Thursday, but would issue a ruling soon. During last years trial, the judge and the public heard lurid accounts from Depp and Heard in which each accused the other of abuse. Nicol accepted Heards claim that she feared for her life on several occasions, including during what Heard described as a three-day hostage situation in Australia in March 2015 while Depp was filming a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The judge found that 12 of the 14 instances of domestic violence cited had occurred and said that was sufficient to rule against Depp in his libel suit against the newspaper. Depp acknowledged wide-ranging drug problems but accused Heard of making up abuse allegations and insisted he was not a violent person, especially with women. His lawyers argued that the allegations caused serious harm to the actors reputation and significant distress and embarrassment. By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press What it owns Ncondezi The project is in the heart of Tete, Mozambiques most rapidly industrialising region and a hub for power generation. Total capital expenditure is expected to be US$1.1bn and once completed it will be one of the largest generation plants in the country. In July 2019, a joint development agreement was signed with Chinese firm CMEC and US group . Ncondezi Energy ( ) will look to retain a 40% equity stake in the project. On the share register are the African Finance Corporation, a specialist Africa infrastructure fund, and Polenergia that together hold approximately 30% of the companys issued shares. Solar Power Separately, Ncondezi has a joint venture deal with GridX Africa Development with a view to building captive solar and battery storage solutions for commercial and industrial use. GridX has 15 solar and battery storage projects, of which six are at an advanced stage. How it is doing In March, Ncondezi signed a Master Services Agreement with Synergy Consulting to provide financial and transaction advisory services in regard to the integrated 300MW coal-fired Ncondezi power project and coal mine in Tete, Mozambique. The agreement covers potential advisory services to the project up to financial close, including the finalisation of a power tariff with Electricidade de Mocambique, negotiations with China Machinery and Engineering Corporation on project subscription price, negotiations with lenders for debt financing, and capital raising for Ncondezi's equity contribution. In solar, meanwhile, re-mobilisation of construction works at its solar power project in Mozambique is underway. The project is the maiden commercial and industrial project for Ncondezi Green Power (NGP), the AIM-quoted firms wholly-owned renewables subsidiary. What the boss says: Hanno Pengilly, chief executive This is the first of our pipeline of green energy C&I assets to near completion and is expected to provide near term revenue for the company. Although the impact of COVID-19 delayed the Project delivery timetable, the demand for sustainable energy solutions that provide increased energy security whilst also reducing costs has become more robust. Video What the analysts say Analyst at broker said Ncondezis future lies beyond its current development of a thermal power station in Mozambique and in off-grid solar generation. The cost of solar is already highly attractive compared to off-grid diesel power, and with this cost expected to keep falling sharply we see customers moving increasingly to onsite off-grid generation, the broker said. There is sufficient coal in Ncondezis licence for a series of similar power stations, adds Canaccord, with export potential as well as Mozambiques neighbours also chronically short of power but the plan is to build a 300 MW plant, supplied by 1.5mln tons of coal annually. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. New guidelines released by medical experts last week will greatly widen the number of Americans eligible for lung cancer screening and potentially improve outcomes for the disease that kills more than 135,000 people every year in the United States. The recommendations, made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on March 9, advise people between 50 and 80 years old who have smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years or more, and those who either still smoke or quit within the last 15 years to be screened annually. About 15 million people are estimated to meet the task forces new criteria, which doubled the prior number, and also includes more women and Black people. Data suggests Black men have a higher incidence of lung cancer compared to white men, while Black women have a lower incidence than white women, likely related to differences in smoking exposure. The latest advice deviates from the previous guidelines, made in 2013, by lowering the age when screening should begin from 55 to 50 and decreasing the number of pack years from 30 to 20. Those previous recommendations changed the paradigm of how lung cancer was treated, said Dr. Loren Harris, chair of Richmond University Medical Centers Department of Surgery. Up until that time, about three-quarters of patients with lung cancer would present either locally advanced or advanced forms of lung cancer, said Harris. We wouldnt ever use the word cure for those patients. While the shift in 2013 enabled doctors to address lung cancer earlier, the most recent guidelines can further help catch abnormalities earlier and surgically remove cancer while it is still surgically amenable, Harris added. Clearly, there will be more patients eligible to be screened, and hopefully that will help us further shift the number of patients who are curable, said Harris. AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEFINITELY SAVE LIVES Many smokers who previously went to RUMC for screening start smoking in their teens, said Nancy Rooney, a pulmonary nurse navigator at the hospital and a tobacco specialist. By lowering the threshold for screening to 20 pack-years, or the number of years when a person smoked a pack-a-day, were definitely going to prevent extensive cancer, said Rooney. This gives us an opportunity to definitely save lives. Lung cancer generally has an overall five-year survival rate of 20.5%, but earlier stages of the cancer have a better prognosis. CT scans, called low-dose CT, use a relatively small amount of radiation to reveal lung abnormalities and can help reduce the risk of death, studies have shown. Dr. Keith Diaz, division chief of Pulmonary Medicine at RUMC, said the difference of just a few years of smoking could also manifest in significantly different lung conditions in patients. The more you smoke, the more susceptible you are, not only for getting lung cancer potentially, but also other lung-related diseases, mostly COPD or emphysema, said Diaz. So, the more you smoke, the longer you smoke, the more susceptible you are essentially. HOW SCREENING WORKS Rooney, whose role, in part, is helping patients navigate the screening process, said residents first have to speak to their primary care doctors to get a prescription or requisition for a low-dose CT scan. From there, patients call Rooney and she schedules an appointment. While Medicare and some insurances do not require a pre-authorization for the scan, Rooney said that some insurances do potentially delaying the process for about a week. Once the patient gets authorization, then we schedule it and the test itself takes all of 15 minutes, said Rooney. Within 24 hours, they have their results, their physician has their results, and it gives them peace of mind. After a patients first CT scan, RUMC sends letters on an annual basis for follow-up tests. Its nothing to be frightened about, said Rooney. Its not invasive in any way. A NEED TO CHANGE THE STIGMA While the recommendations of who should get screened has now changed, that declaration does not necessarily mean more people will take advantage of the widened eligibility. Studies have shown that only a small fraction of those within the range of cancer screening guidelines actually get screened. To change that, Rooney said the stigma surrounding lung cancer needs to change. We have to remember the stigma that goes along with lung cancer,' said Rooney. People dont want to be judged, so thats one of the big reasons patients dont come in. So, theres several things we need to change we have to change the stigma, and we have to encourage patients to come in because its going to save lives. Part of addressing that reticence expressed by patients can be done by allowing patients to speak about their dependency on cigarettes, rather than simply telling them, you need to quit, said Rooney, adding, Thats not helping anybody change their behavior. An effort to educate the public about the importance and availability of cancer screenings is a step that Rooney said will save lives, stressing, Its not one and done its an annual event. To further elevate its importance, lung screenings need to become parallel to the ubiquitousness of breast cancer screenings, said Rooney. We really need to get these insurance companies on board to make the process more streamlined, she added. The insurance companies are always going to drag their feet on these kinds of things, said Harris. Once it becomes a part of the vernacular of the medical community, much like breast cancer screening has become or colon cancer screening, its going to be hard for insurance companies to not get on board. To schedule a screening at RUMC, or for more information, call 718-818-2391. More information can also be found here. Andy Cohen has risen to the top of the TV programming heap in the past two decades, thanks in large part to Bravos massive Real Housewives franchise. But it took a long time for Cohen to get to where he is now, and it involved many years of hard work. Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live| Bravo Andy Cohen is from St. Louis, Missouri Cohen spoke to Naomi Campbell in March 2021 about his life, career, and much more on the supermodels web show No Filter with Naomi. Campbell took it all the way back to Cohens early life in St. Louis, Missouri. Thats where I grew up: right in the middle of the country, he said. He had a very traditional family and is close with his sister, who is three years apart from him in age. Andy Cohen attends the Tom Ford AW/20 Fashion Show at Milk Studios on February 07, 2020 in Los Angeles, California | David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Andy Cohens summer jobs Cohen comes from a working-class background and isnt ashamed at all about being a hard worker. His family was in the food manufacturing and distribution business, and he started working for them at a young age. I worked there every summer, he recalled. I drove a delivery truck, I worked on the assembly line, I drove a forklift, I answered phones, I made copies, I did everything you could possibly do. He said he started out working weekends then transitioned to becoming a full-time employee every summer. From the beginning, what motivated Cohen was seeing his hard work pay off literally in the form of his paychecks. I loved making a buck, he admitted. I loved the feeling of coming home with money that I had made. Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen | Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank RELATED: Andy Cohen Admits Reliving 2020 On Bravo Shows Like RHOC and Southern Charm Is A Bummer Andy Cohen got his big break in New York City Cohen went on to discuss how he found himself in the television industry. He moved to New York City in 1990 after attending Boston University and started working as an intern at CBS News alongside none other than Julie Chen. Cohen got a job as a desk assistant by a stroke of luck after the previous assistant left a week before. He worked overnight shifts and put in several hours of overtime work every week. I thought that I had made it because my check said CBS on it, and I was like, Look at this! Im from St. Louis, I didnt have any connections in the TV business, [and] here I am Im working at CBS News in New York.' Cohen continued to rise through the ranks at CBS over the following decade before leaving in 2000 to head up programming at the pop-culture network Trio. In 2004, when Trio became a part of NBC Universal, Cohen became a programming executive at the Bravo network, and just two years later, his baby, The Real Housewives series, took off. Russian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter in the bantamweight category Petr Yan said on Thursday he hoped to stand for a rematch with UFC Champion Aljamain Sterling of the United States in May or June. Former UFC Champion Yan held a title defense bout against Sterling on March 7 at the UFC 259 event in Las Vegas. The Russian fighter was disqualified after he dealt a blow with his knee into Sterlings head as his opponent was on the ground (when one of the opponents is prone or kneeling) in the fourth round of the fight. The Russian lost his UFC champions title in the bantamweight category. "The issue of a return fight is currently under negotiations and this bout may become possible in the next two or three months," Yan said speaking at a news conference in Moscow. "It may be in May or June." Yan also said addressing the news conference today that other possible fights besides rematch with Sterling, were out of possible options. "We had talks with managers on this issue," he said. "The focus is on Sterling." The Russian boxer said he had no intentions of filing an appeal against the result of his bout against the US fighter. "We have decided against filing appeals," Yan said. "I believe there was no sense in doing it, because it would have served for nothing." The Life Care company has registered in 2020 a profit of almost 1 million Euro, with 65% more than the previous year and a turnover of over 10 million Euro, rising by 25%, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday. "First, we took care of the supply chain and immediately decided to increase our stocks. We all adapted in a very short time, so that the team functioned without reproach, many from home. The essential word was online, which is already an integrated part of our business, and thus we managed to ship to the whole Europe, even in areas which were relatively closed during that time, such as Spain and Italy," Cristian Onetiu, co-founder of Life Care, said. Apart from the measures taken at an efficient functioning level of business, there were also those which sought out the community of clients and partners. Thus, Gabriel Dumitru, CEO of Life Care, says that another decision, for business, but also on a human level, which addressed clients, led to success: creating special promotions, followed by recommendations, for immunity products. This decision took, apart from a growth of the already existing demand, to a community one as well, which expanded by 25% to new clients, during the first 5 months of the pandemic, but also sales which surpassed 17% from the same period of 2019. Apart from that, in a year of recession, characterized by financial restructuring at employees' level for many companies, Life Care offered the opportunity for a new beginning and for the growing of the income for those who wished to become partners, starting their own business in this system of direct sales. Thus, Life Care registered a significant growth of 50% from 2019, with 50,000 active independent partners. Currently, Life Care covers a marketplace of 25 EU countries (among which there is Romania, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, France, Belgium) and the United States of America, on a platform of sales and learning - classes and training modules for partners - in 8 languages (Romanian, English, Italian, Hungarian, German, Spanish, French and Slovakian). Founded by Cristian and Danut Onetiu brothers, Life Care is the largest local direct sales company, not just in Romania, but also in South-Eastern Europe, on the bio, natural and vegan products. Currently, Life Care counts for 58 employees and an autonomous management team of over 5 years. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 In another embarrassment for Prime Minister Imran Khan, a massive ruckus broke out at Pakistan's upper house of Parliament on Friday morning after Opposition party leaders found as many as six spy-cameras at polling booths hours before the Senate was to begin casting votes for the Chairman post. In the nick of time, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Dr. Musadik Masood Malik reportedly landed upon the secret 'Chinese' cameras placed right over the polling booths stirring another controversy in the already contentious elections for the Senate Chairman. Taking to Twitter, the two shared photographic evidence from the incident which shows how cleverly the pinhole cameras were installed inside the booth along with tiny ones hidden inside the screws of the doors. Following the shocking discovery, the house broke into an uproar with the voting process being disrupted. The session was later adjourned till 3 PM. The secret ballot was to be held today to elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate. Myself and Dr Musadik found spy cameras right over the polling booth!!!! pic.twitter.com/aqRGFRYFbq Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@Mustafa_PPP) March 12, 2021 Theres absolutely no need for a screw on this... camera visible in the scew pic.twitter.com/WvkXXnNgRb Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@Mustafa_PPP) March 12, 2021 Another hidden device found in the polling booth. Bravo pic.twitter.com/ZGAO04RBMb Dr. Musadik Malik (@DrMusadikMalik) March 12, 2021 Two hidden cameras on top of the polling booth - SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME on this Sham of a demicraxy pic.twitter.com/eD9aAnbomI Dr. Musadik Malik (@DrMusadikMalik) March 12, 2021 Speaking to reporters after the incident, Senator Khokhar accused Pakistan's intelligence agencies of installing the cameras to boost support for the Imran Khan-backed candidates. He also hinted at the link between the incident and the presence of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-backed Chairman candidate- Sadiq Sanjarani hours before the voting saying, "Credible sources in senate staff disclosing that Sadiq Sanjarani left the senate building 5.30 in the morning!" Outgoing Pakistan Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani is facing a tough contest against the opposition's newly elected Senator Yusuf Raza Gilani who has been nominated to face him by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)- an alliance of 11 parties. As per sources, the authorities have ordered a probe into the incident and removed the spy camera devices from the Pakistan Senate. Notably, this incident comes just days after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan managed to restore the legitimacy of his government by winning the vote of confidence in the Parliament, securing 178 votes amid mounting pressure by the Opposition. (With Agency Inputs) YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) calls for the United States to provide urgently needed humanitarian aid for the people of Artsakh who were forced to flee their homes during the unprovoked attack by Azerbaijan and Turkey that displaced more than 50,000 ethnic Armenians in the region. We plead for the United States to actively negotiate the safe return of Armenian soldiers and citizens who are being held in violation of the ceasefire agreement signed on November 9, 2020. We also urge the broad recognition of the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century by all political and faith leaders throughout the United States, NCC said in a statement. NCC applauded the letter signed by 101 Members of Congress that was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to stress the importance of addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh). We call on President Biden and the Secretary of State to take direct action and negotiate the release of all Armenian soldiers and civilians held by Azerbaijan. Even though the ceasefire agreement mandated that Azerbaijan must free all Armenian prisoners of war and apprehended citizens, Azerbaijan has refused to abide by the agreement. An unknown number, believed to be over 200 Armenians, continue to be held captive. Many were captured after the military hostilities ended, the statement says. The Council also condemned the destruction of the churches and religious monuments by Azerbaijan during the conflict. As Armenians continue to be displaced and killed, we call for the President to keep his pledge and formally recognize the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2021, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, in order to further the US commitment to human rights, the statement added. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Sensor Technologies Corp. (CSE: SENS) ("Sensor") is pleased to provide an update on its proposed acquisition of EmersonGrow Technology Inc. ("EmersonGrow"). Further to Sensor's press release of January 20, 2020 and February 1, 2021, Sensor still intends to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities in the capital of EmersonGrow (the "Proposed Acquisition"). Sensor and the shareholders of EmersonGrow have not yet executed a definitive agreement with respect to the Proposed Acquisition as the parties have determined that the original terms of the Proposed Acquisition need to be revised in light of the current economic environment. Sensor and EmersonGrow are currently discussing revised terms for the Proposed Acquisition. Sensor will be providing an update once such terms are agreed to. The entering into of the definitive agreement will be considered a fundamental change under Policy 8 of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") and, as such, will subject to all of the requirements of Policy 8 including, but not limited to, CSE and shareholder approval. Sensor would also like to announce that an aggregate of $345,000 of debentures was converted into common shares at the conversion price of $0.05 per share. Sensor will look to continue to strengthen its balance sheet by settling additional debt. About EmersonGrow Technology Inc. EmersonGrow is a Canadian AgTech company specializing in Digital LED Grow Lights with Integrated IOT capabilities for the Global Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. The Company's patented hardware and software interface enables the full and independent digital control of an LED Light's spectrum, allowing growers to create their own proprietary 'Light Recipes' for different plant cultivars grown in various environments. In addition to evolving lighting design and hardware components, EmersonGrow is launching a Mobile App for growers to control their digital lights and connect and collaborate with other growers around the world. The App includes a Recipe Store for the sharing of optimal lighting and climate conditions between commercial, hobby and home growers, helping to bridge the knowledge gap between the World's best master growers and emerging growers in greenhouse, horticulture vertical farming and cannabis. LED Grow Lights are wildly used in vertical farming, commercial greenhouses, and cannabis cultivation as growers and operators are increasingly aware of the long-term operational benefits, such as energy efficiency, low heat emission, versatile hardware design, space saving, extended lifespan and the ability to apply a targeted spectrum of light that serves to maximize a plants photosynthetic conversion capabilities. As LED grow lights have been adopted by world-class operators, the trend of indoor growing has becoming more popular than ever. The industry trend for indoor farming have sparked the growth of LED grow lights market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.86% from 2020 to 2022. EmersonGrow was founded on a vision to transform a growers lighting experience from analog control to a fully digital interface, promoting total control for a grower to apply the right light, at the right intensity, at the right time throughout a plant's lifecycle, maximizing energy savings without compromising yield. The digital interface and innovative lighting designs provided by EmersonGrow aim to maximize the operational and energy efficiency of grower operations around the world. The company plans to further enable AI and machine learning capabilities in their lighting products through the integration of data collection devices to their light designs, creating a cloud database of global plant and environment data. About Sensor Sensor develops non-intrusive asset health monitoring sensor systems for the oil and gas market to help operators track the thinning of pipelines and refinery vessels due to corrosion/erosion, strain due to bending/buckling and process pressure and temperature. Sensor's FT fiber optic sensor and corrosion monitoring systems allow cost-effective, 24/7 remote monitoring capabilities to improve scheduled maintenance operations, avoid unnecessary shutdowns, and prevent accidents and leaks. For further information, please contact: Jay Vieira President, Director 905.275.8111 The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note regarding Forward-looking Statements This news release includes certain information and forward-looking statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward looking statements. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statement will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Corporation disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77781 Devon Windsor has shared the heartwarming moment she discovered she was pregnant and told her husband Johnny Barbara. The model, 27, filmed herself taking two pregnancy tests and then surprised Johnny by giving him a baby grow she had bought months before for when she would become pregnant. In the video, Devon took one positive test and then quickly took another which also said she was pregnant. Exciting: Devon Windsor has shared the heartwarming moment she discovered she was pregnant and told her husband Johnny Barbara Speaking to the camera, she said: 'I just peed on the stick and I have a good feeling about it. My heart is literally beating out of my chest. I'm so nervous right now. I know you're supposed to wait a few minutes.' When she saw the positive tests, she added: 'No f*****g way. Is this real life? I'm shaking I don't know how to process this. I can't wait to tell Johnny.' The Victoria's Secret model spoke to her fans alongside Johnny in the video and said: 'I was freaking out. I knew I wanted to tell him in a fun way. 'I bought a onesie months ago. I was thinking, whenever I'm pregnant, I'll give him this onesie. I put it in a little box and I'm waiting for him.' Overjoyed: The model, 27, shared a video of the moment she filmed herself taking two pregnancy tests and then surprised Johnny by giving him a baby grow Devon then showed viewers the moment she gave Johnny the baby grow and he wrapped her in his arms. However, the businessman insisted he thought Devon might be pregnant before she told him as the pair had been trying for several months. He said: 'She's been doing all these tests lately,' to which Devon added: 'I wasn't doing pregnancy tests, they were ovulation strips.' Johnny said: 'I figured when she said she had a gift, I figured it was a baby.' Surprise: When she saw the positive tests, Devon said: 'No f*****g way. Is this real life? I'm shaking I don't know how to process this. I can't wait to tell Johnny' Devon admitted she was surprised she didn't cry when she discovered she was set to become a mother. She said: 'I honestly thought I'd be the kind of person when they find out they start balling crying but I was in just such shock. 'It took us like, five to six months to get pregnant, I had no expectations. I was very surprised. I called my doctor to do all these blood tests to confirm.' The model added that she had a 'feeling' she may be pregnant after returning home from a new year's holiday in the Bahamas. Test: In the video, Devon took one positive test and then quickly took another which also said she was pregnant She explained: 'I was just home for Christmas vacation and in the Bahamas for new year's. We came home from our new year's trip and I got a really strong feeling. 'I don't know why, I'm not the kind of person who tests all the time. I don't know why I decided to test this time but I had a feeling. 'We are pregnant! I have wanted to be a mom my whole life. I am so excited to be a mom and he's so excited to be a dad.' Devon announced her pregnancy earlier this month when she took to Instagram to share two black and white snaps of her blossoming baby bump and ultrasound scan. Couple: The model added that she had a 'feeling' she may be pregnant after returning home from a new year's holiday in the Bahamas Devon wrote in the caption: 'Mom & Dad. I'm pregnant!! Johnny and I are so excited to finally share the news with you guys! 'I have dreamt of being a mama my whole life. We are so grateful for this little angel in my belly, and are so excited for this new chapter in our lives! 'Sending extra love and light to the mamas out there who are trying to conceive. I am hopeful your miracles are around the corner!' Devon wed Johnny - co-owner of fashion label Alexis - at St Bartholomew's Anglican Church on the Caribbean island of St Barths on November 16 2019. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The deadline for filing 2020 tax returns has been extended to May 17, 2021, the Treasury Department and IRS announced Wednesday. Normally taxes are due on April 15, but this year due to exceptional circumstances, the federal government has pushed back the deadline. Since May 15 falls on a Saturday, the due date was moved to the next business day, Monday, May 17. Taxpayers do not have to file any special forms or request this extension; it is automatic for everyone. The IRS says that any tax payments normally due on April 15 must be submitted by May 17. That means those who owe income taxes for 2020 will have an extra month to pay Uncle Sam without any penalties or interest. However, self-employed workers and others who make quarterly estimated tax payments will still have to make those payments on April 15, as normally scheduled. If you are due to receive a tax refund, you should file your tax return as soon as possible to get that money back. Military Personnel Stationed Outside the U.S. Military personnel assigned outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico normally receive a two-month filing extension. There has been no guidance from the IRS yet regarding how this new one-month blanket extension affects the military community. However, the normal two-month military extension only grants an extension on the filing of taxes, not paying them. So in a normal year, a military member deployed OCONUS must pay any taxes due by the regular filing date of April 15, even though they don't need to submit a return until two months after that time. This year, military members will have to pay any taxes due to the government by May 17. However, those stationed overseas may have the two-month filing extension added to the one-month blanket extension, depending on how the IRS rules. Military personnel serving in a designated combat zone are granted a 180-day extension on the filing and paying of their taxes. To be safe, however, military members should check with their command's tax officer for individual guidance. State Taxes This extension only applies to federal tax liability, not state taxes. Some states already have announced they will follow the federal government's lead and grant extensions for filing and paying taxes this year. Check with your individual state to determine your situation. States Affected By Natural Disasters Taxpayers in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas will have until June 15, 2021, to file and pay their taxes due to the federally declared disaster related to the winter storms those states experienced in February. Get the Latest Financial Tips Whether you're trying to balance your budget, build up your credit, select a good life insurance program or are gearing up for a home purchase, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com and get the latest military benefit updates and tips delivered straight to your inbox. President Mario Abdo Bentez survived an opposition attempt in Paraguay's congress to impeach him Wednesday over his handling of the pandemic, while hundreds protested outside the legislature demanding his resignation. The Chamber of Deputies, which is dominated by his governing Colorado Party, voted 42 to 36 to reject impeachment. Outside, hundreds of protesters threw stones at police who responded with water cannons and rubber bullets. Some protesters smashed store windows and car windshields, while shouting anti-Abdo slogans. Several people were arrested. Recent days have seen a series of protests against Abdo's government amid overwhelmed hospitals and shortages of vaccines and drugs for COVID-19 patients. The shortages prompted Wednesday's bid by the opposition to remove him from office. Some doctors and nurses have joined the protests. It was time for Abdo Benitez and his entire government to leave office because they did nothing to confront the There are no vaccines, there are no drugs in hospitals, and the hospital infrastructure is deficient, Kattya Gonzalez, a legislator with opposition group Encuentro Nacional, said at a news conference. More than 183,000 confirmed cases and 3,554 deaths related to COIVD-19 have been registered in the South American country of 7.6 million people. Opposition lawmakers emphasized, among other things, that so far only 24,000 vaccine doses have arrived in Abdo Bentez has not commented publicly on the impeachment bid. But the leader of pro-government lawmakers, Basilio Nunez, said it "was impossible for the opposition to impeach the president because the effort clearly has electoral objectives, alluding to the municipal elections scheduled for October and national elections set for May 2023. (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.) Volunteers at the Lestonnac Free Clinic guide patients through the COVID-19 vaccination process in Orange, Calif., on March 9, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Free Health Clinic in Orange Adds COVID-19 Vaccinations to a Busy Schedule ORANGE, Calif.A free health clinic in the city of Orange has expanded its medical services for uninsured and low-income residents to include COVID-19 vaccinations, making it easier for them to get the shot if they desire. The Lestonnac Free Clinic is preparing to inoculate up to 500 patients a day, depending on vaccine availability in Orange County. The program began earlier this month, when over 100 people were scheduled to receive the Moderna vaccine on the first day it was offered there. Constance Klein, an elderly patient at the clinic, told The Epoch Times she felt fortunate to receive her vaccination that day. I actually like shots. I much prefer them to pills. You get it over with, and can just go about your day, Klein said. Letty Rojas, the clinics operations manager, told The Epoch Times the program had been added to the many other health care services the center provides to the needy on a daily basis, augmenting an already busy schedule. From one end of the clinic to the other, we also had regular patients coming in for their appointments, and doctors treating patients as they normally would. This, along with COVID testing, made for a productive day, said Rojas. We are always keeping busy here, but we stay organized. When you love what you do and you love your staff as much as I do, it does not feel like workespecially when you know you are doing what you are called to do. She said the clinic is able to provide free services thanks to the contributions of many, including medical professionals and Orange County officials. We have a lot of volunteers giving out the shots, and we have the county that was generous enough to donate the shots to us to be able to give the vaccines, Rojas said. Constance Klein receives the Moderna vaccine at the Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif., on March 9, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Thinking About the Future Executive Director Ed Gerber, who has been with the clinic for 27 years, said he first became connected with the clinic while looking for treatment for his young son. I was afraid to come and ask for helpI know many people today are afraid to come and ask for helpbut when I got here, all those fears were relieved, because I was treated with such dignity and respect. And nobody made me feel like I was getting something handed out to me, Gerber told The Epoch Times. So they took care of my son, and then said on top of that, You know, be assured that your wife and you can come here if anything goes wrong. Its like, we are now your medical home. And that made me feel very warm inside. The clinic was founded in 1979 by Sister Marie Therese, a member of the Sisters of the Company of Mary, after she noticed that many people in her under-served community could not afford health treatments, including mothers about to give birth. Ten years later, Carl Karcherfounder of the Carls Jr. fast food restaurant franchiseraised money for the clinics 8,000-square-foot home base. Carl thought about the future, said Gerber. And if this clinic was to grow, Carls notion was to have your own rent-free space. So he was good about donating the money and raising the money to buy this building that were in. Gerber said the company gets no support from the state of California for what they do; physicians, dentists, and mental health providers all volunteer their time. Everything that we do is purely from the generosity of private funders, he said. In order to receive treatment, a patient needs to be uninsured, a resident of Orange County, and entered into the clinics system prior to making an appointment. Along with COVID-19 treatments, the clinic also provides all forms of health care, including womens issues, life-saving surgeries, and epilepsy treatments. This free clinic has become a gem to the county of Orange, said Gerber. The impact on the community is amazing. And you know, I think as a community, this clinic shows what people working together can do to make a difference. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.lestonnacfreeclinic.org Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, separately leaving the court in London in July 2020 Johnny Depps bid to overturn a damning ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard and put her in fear for her life will be considered by the UK Court of Appeal today. The Hollywood star wants the court to order a retrial of his libel claim against The Sun over an article calling him a wife beater, which a British high court judge found was substantially true. Following a three-week trial in July 2020, the court ruled that Mr Depp (57) assaulted Ms Heard (34) on a dozen occasions, and put her in fear for her life three times. The actor is now challenging that ruling and his application for permission to appeal will be heard in London this morning. It is not known if Mr Depp or Ms Heard will be in attendance. Mr Depp sued The Suns publisher News Group Newspapers over a 2018 column by the newspapers executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to overwhelming evidence he attacked Ms Heard. Following the high-profile trial, the court ruled against Mr Depp, but the actor claims he did not receive a fair trial. Just days after the ruling in July, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts the very role which prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be genuinely happy Depp was cast in the film. Mr Depp is currently embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name. Depp's $50m US case against Heard was recently delayed until April 2022. BISHKEK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Mar, 2021) Kyrgyzstan has opened an interactive museum of miniatures and culture of the Kyrgyz people in the Supara Ethno-Complex, Bishkek. Kyrgyz National news Agency Kabar has quoted General Director of the Supara Group Janylsynzat Turganbayeva as saying that the pride of the museum is models of Village of Crafts, Great Nomadic Village and Kok Boru in the form of miniatures made of polymer clay, which were created for the first time in Kyrgyzstan. "Each visitor of the museum will be familiarised with greatness of our ancestors, and will be able to make a wish, grind wheat in the river mill and play national games," she said. In addition, the director noted that the peculiarity of the museum is not only the presence of the exhibition hall, but also other objects located on the territory of the ethno-complex. "Each visitor will be able to touch the exhibits and experience all the charms of the life of the ancient Kyrgyz," explained Turganbayeva. The opening of the museum was attended by first lady of the Kyrgyz Republic Aigul Zhaparova, former president of the Kyrgyz Republic Roza Otunbayeva, poetess Roza Aitmatova and many others. The Bid Program was created to help sellers understand that just because the market is moving fast doesnt mean you have to settle. Were giving our sellers the best opportunity to get the highest offer possible. - Listing Manager, Mike McDonagh Jeff Cook Real Estate continues to keep pace with the ever-changing real estate scene by unveiling their new Bid Program to benefit homeowners looking to sell. The Bid Program was designed to allow homeowners the chance to sell their homes quickly and to the highest bidder. Jeff Cook Real Estates Listing Manager, Mike McDonagh, says, The Bid Program was created to help sellers understand that just because the market is moving fast doesnt mean you have to settle. Were giving our sellers the best opportunity to get the highest offer possible. The Bid Program is a proprietary program created to keep up with the needs of homeowners who are looking to list their homes and sell to the highest bidder. The program also assures buyers an opportunity to see the house and know their offer has a fair shot at being accepted. To buy or sell your home, give Jeff Cook Real Estate a call at 855-HEY-JEFF or visit https://www.jeffcookrealestate.com/ to connect with an agent today. St. Patricks Day is traditionally a big day for 2nd Street establishments in Harrisburg but the onset of COVID-19 shut down all celebrations in 2020. Bars and restaurants along the popular city stretch were silent as businesses and public places were forced to close. A year later restaurants have reopened but at limited capacity with social distancing guidelines in effect. Taste Key West turned into Taste Ireland with a pop-up Irish bar featuring a special Irish food Menu, outdoor seating, and $2.50 Green Beer Pints. Ryan Shaver, of Harrisburg, is a member of the Locheil Emerald Society Pipes and Drums and has been playing bagpipes for 11 years. Los Angeles, March 18 : Music producer-composer Kanye West is the richest Black person in the United States, according to a report in Bloomberg. The 43-year-old's net worth is close to $6.6 billion, thanks to his sneaker and apparel business, Yeezy. The report suggests that his brand's tie-up with Adidas and GAP is estimated to be between $3.2 and 4.7 billion. His new tie-up with GAP, which will hit stores this summer in the US is estimated to be worth $970 million. An unaudited balance sheet of West's finances provided by his lawyer to Bloomberg includes another $122 million in cash and stocks, and more than $$1.7 billion in other assets including a significant investment in Skims, Kim Kardashian's underwear label. The report also noted that West's entire music catalogue is worth $110.5 million, according to a 2020 valuation. West and his wife, reality star Kim Kardashian, recently filed for divorce after being married for seven years. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Hundreds of alleged cases of sexual violence committed by clergy and laymen in Germany's top diocese have been uncovered in an independent report released on Thursday that was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church. The long-awaited 800-page report on the Cologne diocese found 202 alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and 314 victims between 1975 and 2018, Bjoern Gercke, a lawyer mandated by the Church, told reporters. 'More than half of the victims were children under the age of 14,' Gercke said, noting the findings show 'that for decades, apparently no one dared to report such cases'. However the investigation cleared Cologne's Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki - a conservative who has long resisted reform - of breach of duty over the abuse. Most of the allegations cover the tenure of Woelki's predecessor, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who died in 2017. Pictured: A sculpture by artist Jacques Tilly with the slogan '11 years of relentless investigation of the abuse cases!' is seen in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, western Germany, on March 18, 2021, as a long-awaited report was published on sexual violence allegedly committed by clergy and laymen in Germany's top diocese Woelki had faced months of protests for refusing to allow the publication of an earlier study on abuse committed by priests in his diocese. He had justified his decision citing a right to privacy for those accused in the report, carried out by a Munich law firm, and what he called a lack of independence on the part of some researchers. His approach was branded 'a disaster' as recently as late February by Georg Baetzing, president of the German bishops' conference. In the wake of Thursday's damning report, Woelki said he was suspending two Cologne Church officials with immediate effect. Woelki said bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp and the head of a diocese court, Guenter Assenmacher, had participated in a 'cover-up' of abuse cases. Woelki pledged to take more concrete measures next week after reading the report in full. He was handed the report during the press conference on Thursday when the findings were announced. Gercke's findings also pinpointed 11 instances of breach of duty by the current archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Hesse, linked to abuse allegations against clergy during his time as vicar general in the Cologne diocese. Pictured: German cardinal Joachim Meisner, pictured at the Vatican in 2013. Most of the allegations in the report released on Thursday cover the tenure of Meisner, who died in 2017 The government commissioner on child sexual abuse, Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig, said in a statement that 'the scale of the abuse and breaches of duty by Church leaders' was 'shocking'. 'I hope that the independent investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church will now be pursued with full determination and a limitless will to find the truth in all German dioceses' in the interest of the victims, he said. The abuse scandal returns to the headlines just as the Catholic Church has made small steps toward addressing decades of abuse and a culture of enforced silence. The investigation cleared Cologne's Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki - a conservative who has long resisted reform - of breach of duty over the abuse. Pictured: Cologne's archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki arrives for a press conference on March 18, 2021 Pictured: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki holds the 800-page report on the Cologne diocese, that found 202 alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and 314 victims between 1975 and 2018, Bjoern Gercke, a lawyer mandated by the Church, told reporters A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and released in 2018 showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed some type of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014. However, its authors said the actual number of victims was almost certainly much higher. The revelations, which mirror paedophile scandals in countries including Australia, Chile, France, Ireland and the United States, prompted Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a prominent reformer, to apologise on behalf of the German Catholic Church. The Church currently pays victims an average of 5,000 euros (about $5,950) 'in recognition of their suffering', as well as covering their therapy fees. Victims have called the sum woefully insufficient. Meanwhile, each diocese in Germany has ordered a separate local investigation into abuse among its ranks. The scandal in Cologne has sapped energy from efforts to spearhead broader reforms at a time when the Church is losing members, who in Germany pay a tax that goes toward church activities including charity work. A gatekeeper stands at the entrance of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne. In the wake of Thursday's damning report, Woelki said he was suspending two Cologne Church officials, bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp and the head of a diocese court, Guenter Assenmacher Woelki had faced months of protests for refusing to allow the publication of an earlier study on abuse committed by priests in his diocese. Pictured: A page in the report Germany's Catholic Church counted 22.6 million members in 2019 and it is still the largest religion in the country, but the number is two million fewer than in 2010 when the first major wave of paedophile abuse cases came to light. Among the reforms on the table, in the face of opposition from Woelki and the pope, are a reevaluation of celibacy in the clergy, married priests and a greater role for lay people and women in the Church. In a setback for members calling for greater openness, the Vatican on Monday said the Church did not have the power to bless same-sex unions, declaring it was impossible for God to 'bless sin'. Growing up in civil warera Lebanon, Rita El-Mounayers family often had to hook up the television to a car battery. Last month, her ministry launched the first Christian on-demand streaming service in the Middle East. Television was our only refuge during the war, and was a communal activity, said the international CEO of SAT-7. This is what we will miss with [video on demand], but we have to be where the technology leads. SAT-7 is a pioneer in the field. Beaming Christian satellite TV programming into the Arab world since 1996, it now hosts channels specializing also in Turkish and Farsi. In 2007, it launched a dedicated kids channel. Ten years later, a separate academy brand was created to provide schooling to Syrian refugees and later to assist with at-home COVID-19 education. Each is now available at SAT-7 PLUS, through web and mobile apps accessible via Android or iOS. Approximately 20 percent of the broadcasters 25 years of content can be streamed, along with all current live programming. In Morocco, it used to be that viewers had to wait for days until the Christian teaching program was scheduled, El-Mounayer said. Now, they can binge watch. While the advantages for the ministry are obvious, the drawback lies in contributing to a culture of isolation. But Arab youth today are comfortable alone, El-Mounayer said, and Christians must find ways to reach them. The media giants certainly are. The Middle East was relatively slow in adopting on-demand video. In 2014, a mere 1 percent of households subscribed to a streaming service. Showtimes local affiliate launched the service in 2008, and Netflix established a regional presence in 2016. Amazon, Apple, and Starz are also available. By 2019, an estimated 30 percent of households were streaming online. By 2025, they are expected to outpace cable subscriptions. And youth are especially addicted. SAT-7 research finds that 66 percent watch content primarily on smart devices. And gaming is especially popular for all ages, with Egypt on top at 68 percent. But only 14 percent in the Nile River nation play on a traditional console. These numbers are reflected in Christian media also, boosted by COVID-19. SAT-7 reported a 16 percent rise in audience engagements in 2020, and a 70 percent rise for its childrens channel. With 50 million views on Facebook and 45 million on YouTube, it was a banner year for the once-satellite-only ministry. More engagements lead to more opportunities to share the gospel. Miracle Connect reported a 375 percent increase in audience connections, resulting in 5,000 presentations of the Good News. Heart4Iran, meanwhile, reported a 10fold increase in decisions for Christ in 2020. And 90 percent of its 12,000 decisions in the first four months of COVID-19 lockdown originated through the internet, reflecting the increasing millennial trends in the region. Half of the population in the Middle East and North Africa is under 24 years old, according to UNICEF. And for these, the largest increase was practical. SAT-7 reported a 335 percent increase through its academy channel, with hundreds of daily engagements. It was a lifeline for many. Even prior to the pandemic, 15 million children were out of school due to armed conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. And the Beirut port explosion last year damaged or destroyed 120 schools, resulting in another 55,000 children deprived of education. The first thing 19th-century Christian missionaries did when they went to a new country was to open schools and build hospitals, said George Makeen, SAT-7s programming director. With modern technology, social media, and the power of satellite television, [we] have the ability to reach beyond previous boundaries, and help millions of children. And now, streaming services are the latest tool in the toolbox to reach their audience, said Febe Armanios, professor of history at Middlebury College. From handwritten letters to dedicated call centers to texting apps, on-demand video is the next step in creating intimate connections with viewers. In a crowded mediascape, Christian satellite ministries are continually distinguishing themselves and their brand from one another, said Armanios, author of the forthcoming book Satellite Ministries: The Rise of Christian Television in the Middle East. But I dont expect it to fully displace satellite TV any time soon. Neither does SAT-7. This is a means of communication for those who can, said Antoine Karam, SAT-7s information technology and broadcast director, speaking directly to the question of security. Our audience is vulnerable, but the newest generations are already aware of the risks. Many in restricted societies are already competent in VPN technology, he said. But to protect them further from snooping governments or malevolent hackers, SAT-7 has minimized data collection from online users. Anyone can watch content without registration, and full platform access requires only ones first name, email, and age range. SSL certification is built into the system, with opt-in multiple-factor authentication and geoblocking. But while individual usersespecially those of a Muslim backgroundmust always weigh carefully their privacy concerns, El-Mounayer does not expect any pushback in the region. SAT-7s board of directors has members representing the respected traditional churches of the Middle East, and maintains a strict policy to never criticize another faith. In a region torn by sectarian division, it is a welcomed stance. But recalling her youth, El-Mounayer finds the challenges today to be different. So while SAT-7 PLUS may accommodate the spirit of isolated binge watching, it will not surrender to the oft-resulting escapism. The risk is acknowledged but considered to be minor. SAT-7 will monitor user patterns as closely as possible but doesnt play the commercial game of cliff hangers at the end of every episode. Instead, the ministry focuses on discipleship. Past episodes are chosen not only according to their HD quality, but also their educational value. SAT-7s music, teaching, and dramas have always aimed to build up the church. Now, they also address the need of the region. The biggest problem in the Middle East is not war or poverty, but hopelessness, El-Mounayer said. So with every program we make, we convey a message of hopespoken by fellow Middle Eastern people, who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. (JTA) The restaurant signage went up on Tuesday in Everett, Washington: The Soup Nazi Kitchen, a reference to the famous episode of Seinfeld that features the angry owner of a soup eatery. By Wednesday afternoon, the unopened store front was riddled with pellet bullet holes and spray paint, according to the Everett Herald Business Journal. And owner Andrew Ho, who has a history of controversial opinions, had heard complaints from the small citys local Jewish community. So he removed Nazi from the sign. The restaurants logo featured a cartoonish woman looking angry and holding a whip. ADVERTISEMENT It really diminishes and makes light of the horrors of the Holocaust, Rabbi Rachel Kort of Everetts Temple Beth Or told the Herald Business Journal. The Anti-Defamation Leagues Pacific Northwest regional director, Miri Cypers, also objected to the name, saying it dredged up painful memories of Nazis starving Jews in death camps. Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin lamented that she could not require the restaurant to change its name. The City of Everett is a Safe City and strives to be inclusive and welcoming for all residents and visitors, Franklin wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. Unfortunately, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have greatly restricted the Citys authority to regulate the wording of signs and largely prohibits the City from banning signs based on the hateful or offensive wording in that sign. Ho said he was jokingly referred to as the juice Nazi by customers at his previous eatery, the Alive Juice Bar in the northern outskirts of Seattle. He was hoping to play off that nickname and had already printed shirts with the Soup Nazi name on them which he will not sell, the Herald Business Journal reported. Oh his blog, Ho added that he wanted to be provocative and respond to the lockdown and social distancing measures imposed during the COVID pandemic. He also wrote: White supremacy is not on the rise. Nationalism wrongly conflated with White supremacy everywhere is on the rise, which is a reasonable response to globalism, the rule of transnational corporations with the US as its private security force. Ho has written several other inflammatory blog posts, including a recent one disparaging Dr. Anthony Fauci, and self-published books with titles such as How to Cook Like a Racist and How to look f***able while pregnant. Credit: Dominic Chavez, World Bank Millions of children weighing less than 15kg are currently denied access to Ivermectin treatment due to insufficient safety data being available to support a change to the current label indication. The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN)'s new meta-analysis published today provides evidence that supports removing this barrier and improving treatment equity. A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of Ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: "Is it time to reconsider the current contraindication?" shows that concerns regarding the potential for neurotoxicity of Ivermectin in infancy are misplaced. The data provide limited but encouraging evidence that the Ivermectin tolerability and safety profile in children weighing less than 15kg is similar to that in heavier, older individuals. Ivermectin is a safe, broad-spectrum anthelminthic drug registered for the treatment of several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, scabies, and strongyloidiasis. These frequently afflict young children but Ivermectin use is restricted because of a lack of evidence for the safety of these drugsalternative treatments to ivermectin are frequently less effective or potentially even toxic. Available data suggest that adult-based dosing is not appropriate for children and that a standard dose may not reach effective levels in small children for all NTDs. The ideal dose of Ivermectin for different indications in small children is not known and further investigation through well-designed clinical trials to optimize this and characterize the safety profile is needed. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, dose escalation trial, called the Ivermectin Safety in Small Children trial, is underway to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and scabies efficacy of escalating doses of ivermectin in children weighing less than 15 kg in Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya and Mozambique. WWARN's review of the literature conducted an individual-level participant data (IPD) meta-analysis across all clinical trials, case series, case reports, and database entries for reports on the use of Ivermectin in children weighing less than 15kg published between 1 January 1980 to 25 October 2019. 1,088 children weighing less than 15kg were administered oral Ivermectin and overall 1.4% experienced 18 adverse events all of which were mild and self-limitingno serious adverse events were reported. Dr. Kevin Kobylinski from the WWARN Ivermectin Exposure in Small Children Study Group said: "Our systematic review suggests that Ivermectin is as safe and well tolerated in children weighing less than 15kg as it is persons weighing more than15 kg. Hopefully, this work encourages future, well-designed clinical trials and review by regulatory authorities so that the contraindication of Ivermectin use in children weighing less than 15kg can be removed allowing equitable access to ivermectin use in small children." To continue developments in this field, greater clarity is needed when reporting Ivermectin use in children to include the weight of any child below 15kg and report any associated adverse events (AEs). An IPD call for Ivermectin safety in children weighing less than 15kg has been organized by WWARN and data from future publications, or clarifications to the publications cited, can be contributed by contacting the study authors. The evidence in this review has been compiled into an IPD database, held at WWARN, and is available on request via info@wwarn.org The impact on populations affected by NTDs During mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns for operational reasons and to expedite delivery, dosing is usually based on height, not weight. Only people taller than 90cm are eligible to receive Ivermectin. Many children at 90 cm weigh between 11-15kg and millions weighing less than 15kg have taken Ivermectin for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in Africa but this was not documented. Over 400 million people were treated with Ivermectin during MDAs in 2019 alone, primarily in Africa, with over four billion treatments administered via MDA to date, supporting the case that Ivermectin is a safe drug. Ivermectin has been proposed as a novel malaria control tool due to its ability to kill Anopheles mosquitoes and Ivermectin MDAs can suppress Plasmodium transmission. Coverage is one of the most critical components of MDA efficacy and excluding children under 15kg excludes roughly 20% of the population in many malaria endemic areas. In Africa, children under five years old are frequently bitten by Anopheles and become an important reservoir of Plasmodium and facilitating its onward transmission. NTDs cause growth stunting in children, for example infection with soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). This growth stunting means that some children may not reach 90cm until they are older but ironically are denied Ivermectin during MDA campaigns which could eliminate the very parasites causing their stunted growth. Additionally, STH infections at a young age are associated with impairment of cognitive development, and reduced school attendance further justifying the importance of including children under 15 kg in Ivermectin MDAs. Read the research: A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of Ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: is it time to reconsider the current contraindication? Explore further Ivermectin does not speed symptom resolution in mild COVID-19 More information: Podjanee Jittamala et al, A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: Is it time to reconsider the current contraindication?, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (2021). Journal information: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Podjanee Jittamala et al, A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: Is it time to reconsider the current contraindication?,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009144 Provided by Infectious Diseases Data Observatory U.S. President Joe Biden (left), with Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd left), meets virtually with members of the "Quad" alliance of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S., in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Mar. 12, 2021. On screens are Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Maputo The United States government and the Mozambican Ministry of Public Works have signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate the investment of more than 90 million dollars which the US is currently providing to strengthen and expand access to basic water and sanitation services. According to a press release from the US embassy in Maputo, under this agreement, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry's National Directorate of Water Services and Sanitation (DNAAS) "will collaborate on strengthening water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) governance and financing, improving management of water resources, and increasing sustainable access to and use of safe drinking water and sanitation systems throughout Mozambique". As a result, the embassy predicts, "more Mozambicans will have reliable access to safe water and sanitation systems that improve health, reduce extreme poverty, and make communities more resilient, especially after natural disasters such as a cyclone or drought". The Mozambican government has committed to universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services by 2030. The embassy release notes that, "while progress has been made, only half of Mozambicans have access to clean water supply and 29 percent use basic sanitation facilities, particularly in rural communities. This reality contributes to high rates of waterborne diseases such as malaria and cholera as well as chronically high rates of malnutrition". USAID says that through this partnership, it "will support the government efforts to provide more Mozambicans with safe, clean water and sanitation". Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the signing ceemony was virtual, rather than face to face. USAID Agriculture, Environment and Business Office Director Mary Hobbs represented the US Embassy at the ceremony, while the National Director of the DNAAS, Raul Mutevuie, represented the Mozambican Government. "USAID's goal is to ensure that individuals, communities, and nations have the water they need to be healthy, prosperous, and resilient," Hobbs said. "In Mozambique, USAID aims to achieve this through programs that promote greater use and sustainable management of WASH services, particularly by women and girls, and in line with the strategies of the Government of Mozambique." Mar. 17A Mitchell man who allegedly shot and wounded two people and fired multiple rounds at police officers in December was denied a bond modification on Tuesday. Connor Hoy, 21, of Mitchell, was denied a modification to his bond that would allow for his release. Due to the severity of the charges that includes 10 counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, Judge Chris Giles denied the request due to the "severity" of the charges. With the denial of Hoy's bond request, his bond remains set at $50,000. "I know where you're at, and I know you're safe. And I know the community is safe because you are in custody," Giles said. In February, Hoy pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, two counts of domestic abuse and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of aggravated eluding and one count of reckless weapon use. The charges stem from an incident that occurred on Dec. 20, near the 700 block of South Rowley Street in Mitchell, where he shot two victims with a shotgun and fired multiple rounds at officers before he fled the scene with his vehicle. According to court documents, Hoy was intoxicated on the night he shot two victims and fired multiple rounds at Mitchell Police officers while they were still inside their vehicles. Both victims who sustained gunshot wounds suffered serious injuries but survived the incident, as first responders managed to provide medical attention. A grand jury indicted Hoy on Jan. 4, court documents show. Hoy allegedly led officers on a pursuit on the night of his arrest, which damaged several patrol cars with the Mitchell Police Department. During the pursuit, Hoy drove into patrol vehicles and broke through a barricade before he was detained. When officers arrived at the scene, Hoy allegedly fled in his vehicle, leading officers on a pursuit outside of the city limits and into rural Davison County. As officers were pursuing Hoy, he came to a stop and exited his vehicle to fire multiple rounds at the authorities inside their patrol vehicles, according to court documents. No officers were wounded or sustained injuries from the gunshots that Hoy fired throughout the incident. Story continues The incident prompted additional law enforcement agencies to get involved, including the Department of Criminal Investigation. Hoy could face up to 42 years in prison and roughly $160,000 in fines, if found guilty on all charges. In total, Hoy was charged with 15 felonies and two misdemeanors from the incident. Aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon is the most severe charge he's facing, which is a class 2 felony that carries a maximum punishment of 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Aggravated assault with a weapon is a Class 3 felony, punishable upon conviction by up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. Hoy was granted a request for a mental evaluation. In South Dakota, as part of a plea agreement, one can plea the crimes committed were due to a mental illness. Hoy could face a jury trial in June. 's ( ) Mike Struthers joins Proactive London as the next phase of works at its Eclipse Gold Project, in Western Australia, is now fully funded and ready to go. The reverse circulation drilling component of the next phase of work at Eclipse is expected to commence next week followed by the diamond drilling in early April. Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs will co-sponsor the 2021 Frederick Douglass Global Fellows in Dublin, Ireland, to honor the 175th anniversary of the meeting between 27-year-old abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the Irish reformer Daniel O'Connell in Dublin in 1845. Like Frederick Douglass in Ireland, you can come as you are, and you can leave who you aspire to be. The following high-achieving students were selected for this prestigious award: Sophia Kathryn Jackson , Bard College , Leeah Derenoncourt , Emerson College , Carolina Jimenez , Harvard University , Brielle Smith , Howard University , Katherine Sanchez , Lehman College, CUNY , Iesha-LaShay Phillips , Oberlin College , Corinne Bobb-Semple , Pomona College , Mikayla Tillery , Stanford University , Paul Douillon, University of Miami Nikita Joshi , University of Missouri - Kansas City , Jaylen Antoine , University of Puget Sound , Delali Gadzekpo , University of Tennessee at Chattanooga , Isaiah Franco , Wofford College , Ayodele Theard-Lewis , Xavier University of Louisiana You can hear from all 2021 Frederick Douglass Global Fellows in this video. In Ireland, the Frederick Douglass Global Fellows will study leadership, effective communication, and strategies to affect positive social change as they explore the life stories and legacies of Frederick Douglass and Daniel O'Connell. They will be joined on their program by the 2020 Frederick Douglass Global Fellows who were unable to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, last summer as scheduled due to COVID-19. At the roundtable event, Vice President Harris congratulated the Frederick Douglass Global Fellows. She expressed her pride, and America's pride, in their accomplishments. She said to them: "You will create friendships around the globe as an extension of the work we do as a country to inspire and to work on and to build on the friendships we have around the world." "Many of you know that I attended Howard University, a school that was founded at a time when few recognized the potential of Black students to be leaders," said Vice President Harris. "At HBCUs, and at fellowship programs like this, students of color are prepared to lead. Like Frederick Douglass in Ireland, you can come as you are, and you can leave who you aspire to be." Following the roundtable, which was attended by many of the Frederick Douglass Global Fellows who will travel to Ireland this summer, the Taoiseach said: "I was delighted to join Vice President Harris this morning in meeting these exceptional young people. Frederick Douglass has a vital and valued legacy on either side of the Atlantic and my Government is delighted to mark the 175th anniversary of his historic tour of Ireland by welcoming twenty brilliant American students from minority backgrounds to follow in the great abolitionist's footsteps and learn of the influential relationship between Daniel O'Connell and Frederick Douglass. Today's meeting with the Fellows is also a great opportunity to recognize the great diversity that powers both our countries and our relationship today." "It's fitting that this diverse group of young people will have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in a place so special to Frederick Douglass," said Nettie Washington Douglass, chairwoman and co-founder of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, and the great-great-granddaughter of Frederick Douglass and great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington. "The welcome and respect with which Frederick was greeted across his tour of Ireland affected him profoundly. I can think of no better place for future American leaders to gain a global perspective and prepare to be agents of change." "Frederick Douglass was transformed by his time in Ireland and returned to America in 1847 as a free man, spending the next 50 years of his life agitating for positive change in our world," said James P. Pellow, president and CEO of CIEE. "We know this group of exceptional students will have a similar transformative experience in Ireland and return home with enhanced skills and passion to change our world for the better." The Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship was launched in 2017 by CIEE to expand access to international education to underrepresented students. In addition to funding the Frederick Douglass Global Fellows, CIEE provides all students who complete the fellowship application a $1,500 grant to attend a CIEE summer study abroad program. Known as the Frederick Douglass Summer Scholars Grant, this award is matched by many colleges and universities, making an international education experience financially attainable for many more students from diverse backgrounds. To learn more about the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, visit ciee.org/FDGF. About the Council on International Educational Exchange CIEE, the country's oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization, transforms lives and builds bridges by promoting the exchange of ideas and experiences. To help people develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world, CIEE sponsors a wide variety of opportunities for cultural exchange, including work exchange programs, teach abroad programs, and a worldwide portfolio of study abroad and internship programs for college and high school students. www.ciee.org. Contact: Leslie Taylor, (207) 553-4274, [email protected] SOURCE Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Related Links www.ciee.org Flash At least 20 European countries have fully or partially suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following reports of suspected deaths from blood clots after vaccination, which prompted the European Medicines Agency (EMA)'s investigation and the World Health Organization (WHO)'s safety review. On Tuesday, Sweden joined countries like Bulgaria, Denmark, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus and Portugal to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Public Health Agency's move came out of concerns of potential serious side effects, including blood clots in combination with low levels of platelets that have been observed in a few younger individuals following vaccination, said Swedish epidemiologist Anders Tegnell. "The decision is a precautionary measure," Tegnell said. "There is good knowledge about the vaccine, but it is still important that we now pause the vaccinations until the European Medicines Agency has investigated whether these events may be related to vaccination." Having suspended the use of one particular batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines due to safety concerns, Latvia and Lithuania on Tuesday also announced the temporary halt of the use of the vaccine. Lithuanian Health Minister Arunas Dulkys described the decision as "a precaution" pending the EMA's final conclusions on the safety of the vaccine, adding that both the EMA and the WHO say that there is no evidence that the vaccine could cause blood clots. Latvian Health Minister Daniels Pavluts said that experts' decision to suspend the use of the vaccine had been unexpected and it meant a pause in the immunization process. Although there have been a small number of cases in Latvia where people have died a few days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, none of these cases involved thromboembolism and no evidence has been found to suggest that the deaths were caused by the vaccine, said the State Agency of Medicines of the Republic of Latvia. Moreover, both Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Tuesday stressed "precaution" for the decision to at least temporarily ban the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in their respective countries. Estonian Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik on Tuesday said on social media that the Estonian national expert committee on immunoprophylaxis supports continuing the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine. "We decided that we will not stop vaccinations. For now, it is not clearly proven that the vaccine is related to thrombosis," immunoprophylaxis expert committee member Professor Irja Lutsar told Estonian TV. Late on Monday, Romanian health authorities decided "to continue the vaccination campaign in Romania with all the vaccines against COVID-19 currently authorized at the European level." Romania decided last Thursday to temporarily quarantine the 4,317 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that had not been used among the 81,600 doses of the problematic batch received, but to continue the vaccination with the AstraZeneca serum from other batches. In Austria, as of Monday evening, the head of the vaccination department in the Ministry of Health saw no reason to cancel the upcoming vaccinations. There is currently no evidence of a causal connection between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the currently discussed health events "which can also occur in unvaccinated people," according to Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober, who called for "a common pan-European approach." In addition, the Greek authorities decided to continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country as originally scheduled, the official news agency AMNA reported on Tuesday. For his part, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday defended the safety of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, saying regulators of his country's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) "see no reason at all to discontinue the vaccination program." "We are closely reviewing reports but the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause," and "people should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so," said Dr. Phil Bryan, head of vaccine safety at the MHRA, in a statement on Monday. France has entered "a form of third wave (of the coronavirus pandemic) characterized by numerous virus variants," Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Tuesday, stressing that his government still considers vaccination a top priority in its strategy to stem the spread of the virus. The suspension of the vaccine by several European states highlights the gap between an approach of the precautionary principle and the urgency of deploying strategies to fight the virus, said an editorial in Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday. The success of a vaccination campaign is as much about the effectiveness of the vaccine as it is about the confidence it inspires, it noted. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. Globally, 264 candidate vaccines are being developed worldwide -- 82 of them in clinical trials, according to information released by the WHO on Tuesday. Little Falls, N.J., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bantec, Inc. (OTCPINK: BANT) ("Bantec" or the "Company"), through its subsidiary Bantec Sanitizing, LLC, performs a post covid workplace infection and contamination deep cleaning project. Michael Bannon, Bantec's Chairman and CEO stated: "Workplaces that experience an employee Covid infection incident, according to New Jersey Executive Order 192, must perform a deep cleaning before employees return to the workplace. The deep cleaned and disinfected 8,000 square foot facility housed sensitive instruments, office equipment, production equipment, raw materials, and finished products. Everything remained in place during the cleaning and ultimately the employees safely returned work. As we progress quickly through the business plan and franchise document phase for our Exposure Response Mobile Unit Franchise, we intend to keep one or two of the franchise units under Bantec's direct control. We will do so to ensure a continuous and never-ending improvement learning process that will benefit both the parent Bantec, Bantec shareholders and all future franchisees." About Bantec Sanitizing Bantec Sanitizing, a division of Bantec, provides a variety of products and services to help facility managers, safety professionals, and maintenance personnel combat a multitude of airborne and surface hazards. On February 3, 2021 Bantec announced that it will offer Bantec Sanitizing (Exposure Response Mobile Service) as a Franchise. Future Bantec Sanitizing franchisees will offer Bantec Sanitizing supplies, robots, UV lights and deep cleaning services. Bantec Sanitizing: www.bantec.store About Bantec Bantec, Inc, a product and services company, through its subsidiaries and divisions sells to facility managers, engineers, maintenance managers, purchasing managers and contract officers who work for hospitals, universities, manufacturers, commercial businesses, local and state governments, and the US government. We intend to grow different businesses lines, including using the franchise model, that support the customers described above. For example, we are exploring the idea of creating a solar franchise that would ultimately provide solar products and services to our target customers. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include projections of matters that affect revenue, operating expenses, or net earnings; projections of growth; and assumptions relating to the foregoing. Such forward-looking statements are generally qualified by terms such as: "plans, "anticipates," "expects," "believes" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or qualified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking information. These factors are discussed in greater detail in our most recent Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Michael Bannon Chairman & CEO [email protected] +1 203 220-2296 SOURCE Bantek Inc. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Since late 2020, online stores selling Vietnamese books have bloomed in many European countries including Finland, Sweden, Demark, France, Germany and Belgium. It is likely that the frustration of the self-quarantine period due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a positive impact on the increasing demand for books among the Overseas Vietnamese communities in Europe. Quynh Hanh and her daughter share the joy of reading a Vietnamese picture book. Tiem Mot (Bookworm Store) was opened in 2018 by Quynh Hanh, a former flight attendant who moved her husband to settle in Finland, with the aim of bringing Vietnamese books closer to Vietnamese expatriates. Hanh came up with the idea of opening the store when she had her first-born daughter. She wanted her daughter to be fully aware that she is a Vietnamese person and have the ability speak to her parents in Vietnamese as she grows up. At a meeting with experts from Neuvola, a Finnish agency of maternity and child care, Hanh said that reading books and talking to children in their mother language both play a crucial role in inspiring childrens pride in their Vietnamese culture and language. I hope that children who are not born or grow up in Vietnam can still read and speak Vietnamese, Hanh said, adding that her bookstore has received much appreciation from not only Vietnamese parents, but also students, workers, and the elderly. Her store also receives orders from schools who want to buy books on Vietnamese culture and on teaching the Vietnamese language. Hanh revealed that thanks to her customers recommendations, she has kept up to date on many fascinating and useful books covering various topics such as business and skill development. Sharing the same vision of nurturing a love for the Vietnamese language among children, Hoang Trang and her husband have built an online community named Lets read Vietnamese books to our children at the end of 2020. While translating and reading French books and stories to her four-year-old daughter Minh Anh, Hoang Trang realised it would be more interesting if she read books in her mother language to her child. The majority of the available Vietnamese books in Europe are childrens stories, books on teaching the Vietnamese language, bilingual books on Vietnamese culture, and books on life skills and success in business. The majority of the available Vietnamese books in Europe are childrens stories, books on teaching the Vietnamese language, and bilingual books on Vietnamese culture. According to Trang, the highest risk in regards to selling Vietnamese books abroad is calculating shipping costs, which are often double the price of the book. Sometimes, when books are on the way from Vietnam to the store, Trang estimates the shipping cost based on the publishing houses description. If the book is heavier than her assumption, shed rather suffer the losses rather than adjust the books price. In addition, the change in border policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also made shipping times longer, thus making many customers cancel their orders. However, Trang feels happy to hear customer feedback on how their children respond to the Vietnamese books and how they are interested in reading the Vietnamese language. Vietnamese bookcases in Belgium was launched in mid-2020 at a time when businesses in Belgium were required to close their doors and people had to work from home, encouraging each Vietnamese family in the host country to have its own bookcase of Vietnamese books. The programme has so far attracted more than 200 members, who all share a common interest in reading. The biggest reward Hanh and Trang have earned from their business is that their children and many friends from Vietnamese families in the host countries now have a better understanding of their homeland thanks to the reading time spent on Vietnamese books provided by their stores. Nhan Dan Vietnamese language classes maintained in Czech Republic despite pandemic A Vietnamese language course for the 2020-2021 academic year was recently opened for children of Vietnamese people in the North Moravia region of the Czech Republic. Wednesday, 16th March Eurozone Core CPI (YoY) (Feb) Final Eurozone CPI (MoM) (Feb) Final Eurozone CPI (YoY) (Feb) Final Thursday, 17th March Eurozone Wages in euro zone (YoY) (Q4) Eurozone Trade Balance (Jan) ECB LTRO Friday, 18th March German PPI (MoM) (Feb) The Majors It was a bullish day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 and the DAX30 rose by 0.32% and by 0.66% respectively, with the EuroStoxx600 gaining 0.88%. While economic data from the U.S disappointed, stats from the Eurozone provided support in the early part of the session. The auto sector was on the move early in the week, with Volkswagen delivering a more optimistic outlook on earnings. For the majors, concerns over vaccine woes and the latest spike in new COVID-19 cases across Europe limited the upside, however. The Stats It was a relatively day on the economic calendar on Tuesday. Economic sentiment figures for Germany and the Eurozone were in focus. Finalized inflation figures from France and Italy were also on the docket but had a muted impact on the majors. Germanys ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator rose from 71.2 to 76.6 for March. Economists had forecast a more modest rise to 74.0. Sentiment towards current conditions also improved in March, with the indicator rising from -67.2 to -61.0. Economists had forecast an increased to -62.0. For the Eurozone, the ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator rose from 69.6 to 74.0. From the U.S Retail sales and industrial production figures were in focus late in the European session. The numbers were skewed to the negative, however. In February, core retail sales fell by 2.7%, partially reversing an 8.3% gain from January. Economists had forecast a 0.1% decline. Retail sales slid by 3.0% following a 7.6% increase in January. Economists had forecasted a more modest 0.5% decline. Industrial production figures were not much better, with production falling by 2.2% in February versus a forecasted 0.3% rise. In January, production had risen by 1.1%. Story continues The Market Movers For the DAX: It was a bullish day for the auto sector on Tuesday. Volkswagen jumped by 7.31%, with BMW and Continental rallying by 3.12% and by 2.90% respectively. Daimler ended the day up by a modest 0.98%. It was a bearish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell by 0.65% and by 0.76% respectively. From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas fell by 1.23%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen ending the day with losses of 0.37% and 0.94% respectively. It was also a bearish day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV and Renault fell by 0.73% and by 1.41% respectively. Air France-KLM and Airbus SE ended the day with gains of 0.88% and 1.78% respectively, however. On the VIX Index It was a 6th consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Tuesday, marking a 7th day in the red from 8 sessions. Following a 3.19% fall on Monday, the VIX declined by 1.20% to end the day at 19.79. The NASDAQ rose by 0.09%, while the Dow and the S&P500 slipped by 0.08% and by 0.16% respectively. The Day Ahead Its a relatively busy day ahead on the European economic calendar. Key stats include finalized February inflation figures for the Eurozone. From the U.S, housing sector numbers are due out ahead of the FOMCs monetary policy decision and projections. While the markets are expecting the FOMC to stand pat after the European close, there will be some uncertainty on the projections. Concerns over reinflation have continued to linger, placing a greater emphasis on the FEDs outlook on inflation and rates. Away from the economic calendar, COVID-19 news will also need monitoring. The Futures In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 25 points. For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: BrainTale, an innovative French company dedicated to enabling improved care for brain-injured patients in clinical routine with its portfolio of digital medical devices in neurology and intensive care, announces the CE marking of its new and expanded brainQuant release and the active participation to the World Coma Day, a digital event, on March 22nd, 2021. One year after its first CE-mark, brainQuant, which offers clinically validated white matter quantification, is now available in an enhanced version. brainQuant features now include a simplified user interface, patient follow up and management, and an evolved visualization scale, enabling brain white matter quantification in clinical routine in intensive care. Compelling potential for application of brainQuant more broadly in neurology is under evaluation. Deeply engaged with the international medical and scientific community, BrainTale is partnering with the first World Coma Day organized by the Curing Coma Campaign launched by the Neurocritical Care Society as its signature clinical, scientific, and public health effort. This US-based initiative aims at raising awareness of coma as a treatable and recoverable clinical entity and promotes international scientific collaboration. "Participation in this first World Coma Day initiative demonstrates the strong commitment of the BrainTale team to improved patient care in intensive care and neurology internationally. We believe BrainTale can play a role in supporting timely and impactful clinical decisions." Julie Rachline, CEO, comments. Dorothee Uriet, Chief commercial officer adds "We are very proud to continue building our unique positioning by offering clinically-validated digital medical devices, developed through clinician-led initiatives to support multi-disciplinary teams in complex decision making and improved care for brain-injured patients." About brainQuant BrainQuant is an SaaS solution providing quantitative measurement of white matter microstructure from brain diffusion MRI. brainQuant is a new and unique decision-support tool, offering healthcare professionals routine access to quality controlled, quantitative, and qualitative analysis of white matter injuries within the brain, unavailable through standard medical imaging. CE-marked brainQuant is currently available in select hospital centers in Europe, following introductory education and MRI calibration. About World Coma Day World Coma Day 2021 is an all-day global online event featuring stories of remarkable recovery, scientific talks by medical experts, educational sessions for patients and families, and live "shout out" videos from neurocritical care units around the world to raise awareness around Coma. More information available at World Coma Day 2021. It is part of the Curing Coma campaign initiative. About BrainTale BrainTale is an innovative company opening a new era in medicine by providing physicians with clinically validated prognostic solutions for the management of brain injured patients through sensitive and reliable measurements of brain white-matter microstructure alterations. Building on more than 15 years in clinical development, BrainTale's products are developed collaboratively to address medical need and fulfill expectations of healthcare professionals and patients alike. Since its inception in 2018, the company has set up a complete quality management system and is now ISO :13485 :2016 certified, with a suite of products available on the European market. For more information, please visit www.braintale.fr View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005066/en/ Contacts: Julie Rachline, CEO julie.rachline@braintale.eu +33662420358 Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan says he is disappointed in the Council of Elders of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for failing to rebuke the party's National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi. Sammy Gyamfi recently spewed venom on the Minority leadership in Parliament for passing the Ministerial appointees of President Nana Akufo-Addo. He berated the NDC leadership in the Chamber saying they have betrayed the party for their selfish gains. Sammy Gyamfi Goes Hard On NDC Leaders Comrades, the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, the leadership of our Parliamentary group, particularly Hon. Haruna Iddrissu and Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, and dozens of our own MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC to regain power. They brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed the collective good for their selfish interest. And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks, Mr. Gyamfi wrote in a statement. He called for a shakeup in the NDC leadership. ''This is the time for us to insist on the right changes in the leadership of the NDC group in Parliament or forget about them completely. The current leadership have lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house. More importantly, its about time we understood, that we dont have any NDC Speaker of Parliament. No we dont! We have a Speaker who rode on the back of the NDC into Office to pursue his own parochial agenda and nothing more. You trust them, at your own peril. ''The hypocrites can choose to remain quiet or even condemn us for speaking up, so they can remain in the good books of the renegades. But I and all who are pained by this act of betrayal will not keep quiet, because we dont fear anyone and dont wish to be in their good books. If they can defy the party leadership and interest openly and subject all of us to public ridicule, then they can and must also be called out openly. The NDC party is supreme and it must be cleansed.'' Council of Elders Response The NDC Council of Elders, in reply, issued a statement addressing Sammy Gyamfi's outburst. "The Council and the Caucus leadership collectively agreed that the incident of 3rd March, 2021 was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country. "The Council urged National Leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability," the Council's statement read. NDC Council of Elders Is A Disappointment Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Kwamena Duncan asked why the Council didn't make Sammy Gyamfi apologize for disrespecting the leadership. "I am disappointed in the Council of Elders," he said, stressing what the Council should have done is to tell Sammy Gyamfi to retract his statements and render an apology. The Council of Elders, he stated, should have rather said; ''Mr. Moral Compass of this party (Sammy Gyamfi), completely withdraw. That is not the procedure; that is not the process, withdraw and in our view, extend an apology to the Parliamentary party.'' Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Amaravati, March 18 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched a Rythu Bharosa Kendram (RBK) channel or an exclusive farming channel to continuously inform and enlighten farmers about farming and weather conditions. "RBK channel is launched to provide information to farmers on crops and weather conditions. As Smart TVs are being set up in RBKs, the RBK Channel would help the farmers to get continuous information on the precautions to be taken while farming and information on weather conditions," said Reddy. Similarly, the chief minister said that a toll free number, 155251, has been set up to address specific problems raised by farmers at the RBKs. He instructed the agriculture minister and secretary to come up with a system to address the doubts of farmers in RBKs in an interactive manner with scientists, as he launched the channel virtually. Besides the channel, Reddy reviewed rabi crop procurement and preparations for kharif 2021 - 22. He highlighted that RBKs have be set up to support farmers in all activities ranging from sowing seeds to selling the crop and added that new buildings are being constructed for RBKs in the villages with an idea to make them a permanent fixture for farmers. The CM exhorted that farmers should not be cheated when it comes to buying seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and others through RBKs and said that the state government has been testing the products at RBKs to guarantee quality with government certification stamp on it. According to the CM, the government aims to make orders available to farmers in the villages within 48 to 72 hours of placing them. "Agriculture assistants are working from RBKs and e-cropping is being registered at the same place. The poster with details of minimum support price for any crop within the RBK's limit is displayed in the RBK," he noted. In the event of any farmer facing the difficulty of being compelled to sell his produce at a price lower than the minimum support price (MSP), Reddy said such a farmer can register his complaint with the RBK, whose details will be uploaded by the agriculture assistant in CMAPP. "Marketing department would intervene and ensure the crop is sold at a fair price, if not it should procure the crop from the farmer directly. All this process will be done under the purview of the joint collector," he observed. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 05:46:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA -- Turkey has received the first batch of 5,800 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Thursday. The first batch will be used for tests, and 4.5 million more doses will arrive this month, Koca said after a meeting of the country's Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board. (Turkey-New Vaccine-Arrival) - - - - RAMALLAH -- Palestine has already asked Israel to allow the Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate in the upcoming general elections, according to a senior Palestinian official on Thursday. Hussein al-Sheikh, Palestinian minister of civil affairs, said in a statement that the Palestinian side has officially addressed the Israeli government on the issue. (Palestine-Elections-East Jerusalem) - - - - BEIRUT -- Najat Rochdi, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said Thursday that the UN Security Council urged Lebanon's political forces to facilitate cabinet formation and undertake necessary reforms to put the country on the path of recovery. Rochdi's remarks came following her virtual meeting with the UN Security Council to brief its members on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which led to cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel in 2006, and the situation in Lebanon. (Lebanon-UN-Cabinet) - - - - SANAA -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they attacked the Abha international airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Thursday, using a bomb-laden drone. "The drone hit a military target in the airport accurately," the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement by the militia's military spokesman Yehya Sarea as saying. (Yemen-Saudi Airport-Attack) Enditem This portfolio, approaching a capacity of 800MW, has been built through a series of acquisitions. The first assets will be ready to build at the end of 3Q 2021 with energisation occurring approximately 12 months later. The milestone marks an important step towards an ambitious growth plan for the benefit of investors and the development of clean energy infrastructure in the region. Quercus is currently exploring strategic options for this portfolio, which represents one of its Southern European development initiatives. Diego Biasi, the Chairman of Quercus, said: "We are delighted with our progress in expanding our presence in Spain a promising and growing market for investments that meets our strategic objectives. This transaction represents our first announcement since the exit of our 1bn fund platform and furthers our objective of placing long-term environmental and social capital through sustainable investments." For further information, please visit www.quercusrealassets.com. Note to Editors About Quercus Real Assets: Quercus Real Assets is an impact investment firm specialising in energy transition investments regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Since creation in 2010, our strategies have been founded on the belief that the creation of long-term environmental and social capital underpins and strengthens investors' and shareholders' returns. We are committed to investing responsibly for sustainable income and capital returns while contributing to a carbon-neutral future. Quercus' founders, Diego Biasi and Simone Borla, also established a Luxembourg Fund which grew to be one of the top 10 largest European independent funds specialized in utility scale renewable energy investments. The Fund successfully completed over 1bn in gross investments since inception and in October 2019 was sold in the largest Pan-European renewables transaction of the year. For Quercus, the sale completed a 10-year Phase One of its European investment strategy. In January 2020, Quercus' Chairman, Diego Biasi, embarked on Phase Two by joining forces with Marco D'Arro, founder of the Real Asset Group, a capital advisory firm having advised and arranged 3.6bn of gross investments since its inception in 2013 and became Quercus Real Assets. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457499/Quercus_Real_Assets_Diego_Biasi.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457497/Quercus_Real_Assets.jpg Related Links https://quercusrealassets.com SOURCE Quercus Real Assets Limited Independent TD Michael Healy Rae has described calls for the title of The Kerryman newspaper to be changed to The Kerryperson as absolute balderdash. The South Kerry politician was speaking out after Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Josepha Madigan, called for the end of gender titles such as chairman and spokesman. The Dublin TD for Dublin Rathdown has suggested that the County Kerry newspaper be renamed, to align with gender neutrality, from The Kerryman' to 'The Kerryperson'. "To be honest, I wouldn't agree with it, I think this is political correctness gone mad, Deputy Healy Rae told Newstalk Breakfast. Might I say that I truly believe that Minister Josepha Madigan is a very good person, I really like her a lot. "As a politician, she is very dedicated, very sincere so anything that I'm saying is in no way me saying bad things about her. "The CEO of The Kerryman is a lady, and she has come out and says she has absolutely no problem with it being The Kerryman newspaper. "Some people go on with this political correctness in the hope of it being seen as popular amongst people, particularly women, because they might be offended. "I've never once in my life heard of a lady come in and say 'this is an awful heading, The Kerryman newspaper'. This is political correctness gone mad. Expand Close Josepha Madigan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Josepha Madigan "And I think that government ministers at the minute, be they senior or junior, have better things to be worried about. Read More Siobhan Murphy, General manager of The Kerryman, told the Irish Mirror that as a woman, I dont have a problem with the name of the paper. I think the brand is iconic and Im very proud to be here. "Ive been with The Kerryman for over 40 years and I think the most important thing about the paper is the people and the stories that make us such a recognisable title at home and abroad." The paper hired a paperboy this year in the form of a newspaper stand outside the papers headquarters in Tralee. But Ms Murphy said the paper was traditionally sold by paperboys - "if we were to put a papergirl outside the front door it wouldnt represent the way The Kerryman was sold," she said. I know how important it is to move with the times and Im a strong advocate of womens rights, but I also believe that you have to respect history and traditions. For us, its a case of 'if it aint broke, why fix it'. Deputy Healy Rae added: I think the next thing we'll have to change will be that the title of Ceann Comhairle in the Dail will have to change, the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad will have to change and the 'manhole' in the ground by the local authority will have to be called a 'personhole'. "It is absolute balderdash of the worst type. "Can I give another example? "One thing that I was totally opposed to was when gender quotas were brought in to Irish politics so that parties would be fined if they didn't have enough women .. I thought that was the ultimate insult to women. "Did anybody ever think that women are too sensible to enter into politics? Do you not think it was an awful insult to put a price on women candidature to enter politics? "What I would say to government ministers at the minute is, for God's sake do your job. We have enough to be worried about than to consider the title of The Kerryman newspaper." Vallarta Living Semana Santa Survival Tips for Puerto Vallarta Residents If you are a Puerto Vallarta resident or homeowner who'll be spending the two-week Easter vacation period here, these tips will help you survive the influx of visitors from other parts of Mexico. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Easter holidays, called "Semana Santa" in Spanish, come early this spring, with Easter Sunday landing on April 4, 2021. Generally, this is a very popular time for visitors in Puerto Vallarta with hotel occupancy even higher than during the Christmas season. And while travel will be a little different this year, with hotel occupancies limited to 66% over Semana Santa along with some other restrictions to help protect the health and wellness of our community, we can still anticipate that Puerto Vallarta will be an attractive destination for guests from other parts of Mexico and the USA. For residents living in Puerto Vallarta, we have a few helpful tips and reminders. Schools will not be hosting in person or virtual classes from March 29th to April 13th. Banks will be closed April 1st to the 4th, and one should anticipate long lines on Wednesday, March 31st and Monday, April 5th. Many small businesses will close for vacations from April 1st to 5th, if not longer. Costco, grocery stores, and convenience stores get very busy during the two weeks of Semana Santa, so it's a good idea to avoid the crowds by stocking up your fridge and pantry in advance. ATM machines regularly run out of cash during Easter Holidays, so be prepared with a little money on hand and credit cards. Traffic will be heavier than usual, and parking will be more congested. Walking, taxis and ride-share are usually the quickest ways to get around but be prepared for longer waits for ride-share pick-ups and for surge pricing during the busiest periods. It will be a quieter Semana Santa this year but still active with tourists in our city, helping to bolster our economy after a challenging year. We urge all our residents and guests to continue to use safer practices with masks and social distancing during this vacation period to help keep Puerto Vallarta healthy, and we wish you all a Happy Easter. Click HERE for more Puerto Vallarta real estate and lifestyle tips from Tropicasa Realty. Since 1997, Wayne Franklin and his team at Tropicasa Realty have been a trusted name in Puerto Vallarta real estate. Tropicasa Realty is the region's representative for "The Leading Agents of the World" and with over 100 years of combined experience in real estate, all agents of the company are affiliated with AMPI. Wayne Franklin or any member of his knowledgeable team can be contacted in-person at their Romantic Zone Office - Pulpito 145-A at Olas Altas. While in PV they can be reached at (322) 222-6505 or by calling 866-978-5539 (Toll-Free) from the U.S. - The Easter holidays, calledin Spanish, come early this spring, with Easter Sunday landing on April 4, 2021. Generally, this is a very popular time for visitors in Puerto Vallarta with hotel occupancy even higher than during the Christmas season.And while travel will be a little different this year, with hotel occupancies limited to 66% over Semana Santa along with some other restrictions to help protect the health and wellness of our community, we can still anticipate that Puerto Vallarta will be an attractive destination for guests from other parts of Mexico and the USA.For residents living in Puerto Vallarta, we have a few helpful tips and reminders.will not be hosting in person or virtual classes from March 29th to April 13th.will be closed April 1st to the 4th, and one should anticipate long lines on Wednesday, March 31st and Monday, April 5th.will close for vacations from April 1st to 5th, if not longer.get very busy during the two weeks of Semana Santa, so it's a good idea to avoid the crowds by stocking up your fridge and pantry in advance.regularly run out of cash during Easter Holidays, so be prepared with a little money on hand and credit cards.will be heavier than usual, and parking will be more congested. Walking, taxis and ride-share are usually the quickest ways to get around but be prepared for longer waits for ride-share pick-ups and for surge pricing during the busiest periods.It will be a quieter Semana Santa this year but still active with tourists in our city, helping to bolster our economy after a challenging year. We urge all our residents and guests to continue to use safer practices with masks and social distancing during this vacation period to help keep Puerto Vallarta healthy, and we wish you all a Happy Easter.Since 1997, Wayne Franklin and his team at Tropicasa Realty have been a trusted name in Puerto Vallarta real estate. Tropicasa Realty is the region's representative for "The Leading Agents of the World" and with over 100 years of combined experience in real estate, all agents of the company are affiliated with AMPI. Wayne Franklin or any member of his knowledgeable team can be contacted in-person at their Romantic Zone Office - Pulpito 145-A at Olas Altas. While in PV they can be reached at (322) 222-6505 or by calling 866-978-5539 (Toll-Free) from the U.S. Click HERE to learn more about Tropicasa Realty , or visit tropicasa.com. Site Map Print this Page Email Us Top He recently became a father-of-seven. And Alec Baldwin looked like quite the proud papa while walking around the beaches of Amagansett, New York with his brood on Wednesday. The 30 Rock star, 62, bundled up in a dark windbreaker and matching slacks while leading son Rafael, five, around while the rest of the kids followed along with with the family nanny. Dad on duty: Alec Baldwin was a proud papa while leading his six young kids around the beach of Amagansett, New York on Wednesday He seemed like he was in his element, smiling softly while listening to his eldest boy point things out around them. Rafa looked adorable next to dad, donning plaid pants, rain boots, and a cool blue, grey and red puffy jacket. After enjoying the sun for a while, the family decided it was time to head home and away from the cold. Curious kiddo! He seemed like he was in his element, smiling softly while listening to his eldest boy Rafael, five, point things out around them Cute: The Baldwinito looked adorable next to dad, donning plaid pants, rain boots, and a cool blue, grey and red puffy jacket Alec and wife Hilaria, 34, just welcomed a new baby girl, Maria Lucia, to the family. MariLu, as they call her, came into the world less than six-months after mom gave birth to Eduardo, leaving most to assume the Baldwins welcomed their baby girl via surrogacy. But the family have been fiercely private about the matter, with a source telling People their decision to have another child so quickly is 'no one's business.' Timeline: MariLu came into the world less than six-months after mom gave birth to Eduardo, leaving most to assume the Baldwins welcomed their baby girl via surrogacy Full house: The Mom Brain podcast host chose to give their daughter yet another Spanish -influenced name like the rest of their brood that includes Carmen, seven, Rafael, five, Leonardo, four, Romeo, 2, and Eduardo 'It's no one's business about a woman's right to choose how and when she expands her family,' the source shared. The couple have not confirmed the surrogacy publicly or on social media. Hilaria does however follow a surrogacy agency, Alcea Surrogacy, on Instagram and it had posted a photo congratulating two intended parents on the 'amazing birth of their daughter,' days before Hilaria's post. It has now been deleted. The Mom Brain podcast host chose to give their daughter yet a Spanish name like the rest of their brood (which also includes Carmen, seven, Rafael, five, Leonardo, four, Romeo, two.) In January 2019, we saw scenes in the lower Darling (Baaka) River that looked like something from an Old Testament plague. A million dead fish. The Baaka, no longer a river, but a series of pools the colour of a moon of Saturn, full of toxic algae. The next summer, there were those horrendous fires. Dont think of these cataclysms as one-offs. This is what the future likely looks like. Earlier this month, the Murray Darling Basin Authority the federal agency charged with implementing our most important environmental law hosted a Basin Climate Resilience Summit. When it comes to climate change, the MDBA moves with the speed of a riverboat on the Murray, on a leisurely 13-year cruise. The aftermath of a massive fish kill event in the Darling River at Menindee in January 2019. Credit:Graeme McCrabb In October 2008, the CSIRO produced a report titled Water Availability in the Murray Darling Basin. This was before our government shredded the research being conducted in Australia into climate change adaptation. This report is pretty scary, unless you dont believe in the laws of physics. We knew then, and with more certainty now, that its going to get a lot hotter and drier in our part of the world. For every degree increase in the average daily temperature, we will have 15 per cent less run-off into our already hydrologically feeble rivers. Then think week after week of 40-plus-degree days. In July 2009, the MDBA was preparing the Basin Plan. Their main task was calculating based on the best scientific knowledge how much water has to go out of consumptive uses (like irrigated agriculture) and be returned to the rivers. Returned so we stop killing our environmental treasures, like the 16 internationally listed wetlands of the Basin, which stretch from southern Queensland down to the Coorong near the Murrays (dredged) mouth. The CSIRO told the MDBA that in order to properly do its sums (computer modelling) on the yearly average amount of water that would have to go back to the rivers, future climate scenarios that the CSIRO had prepared needed to be incorporated into the modelling. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Two brothers with no criminal history have fronted a court in Melbourne, charged with attempting to plan a terrorist act. Ari Sherani, 20, and Aran Sherani, 19, from the Melbourne suburb of Epping, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after they were arrested by counter-terrorism police in raids on Wednesday. They are both charged with attempting to plan a terrorist act in Humevale, north-east of Melbourne near Whittlesea, on February 18. Aran Sherani has also been charged with intentionally causing injury on March 9 in Preston, and is accused of buying a knife on March 17 in preparation for a terrorist act, court documents show. 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. An independent study into child sex abuse in Germany's Roman Catholic Church published Thursday revealed hundreds of alleged cases and led to the resignation of the archbishop of Hamburg. The long-awaited 800-page report on Germany's top diocese Cologne found 202 alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and 314 victims between 1975 and 2018, Bjoern Gercke, a lawyer mandated by the Church, told reporters. "More than half of the victims were children under the age of 14," Gercke said. The findings including abuse by both clergy and laymen show "that for decades, apparently no one dared to report such cases". The Archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Hesse, offered Pope Francis his immediate resignation after the report pinpointed 11 instances of breach of duty linked to abuse allegations during his time as vicar general in the Cologne diocese. Hesse said in a statement he had always acted "to the best of my knowledge and conscience" and had "never participated in any cover-up". "I am nevertheless prepared to bear my share of responsibility for the failure of the system," he said. However the investigation cleared Cologne's Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki -- a conservative who has long resisted reform -- of breach of duty over the abuse. Most of the allegations cover the tenure of Woelki's predecessor, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, who died in 2017. - Scale of abuse 'shocking' - Woelki had faced months of protests for refusing to allow the publication of an earlier study on abuse committed by priests in his diocese. He had justified his decision citing a right to privacy for those accused in the report, carried out by a Munich law firm, and what he called a lack of independence on the part of some researchers. His approach was branded "a disaster" as recently as late February by Georg Baetzing, president of the German bishops' conference. In the wake of Thursday's report, Woelki said he was suspending two Cologne Church officials, bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp and the head of a diocese court, Guenter Assenmacher, with immediate effect, saying they had participated in a "cover-up" of abuse cases. Story continues Woelki pledged to take more concrete measures next week after reading the report in full. The government commissioner on child sexual abuse, Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig, said in a statement that "the scale of the abuse and breaches of duty by Church leaders" was "shocking". "I hope that the independent investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church will now be pursued with full determination and a limitless will to find the truth in all German dioceses" in the interest of the victims, he said. The abuse scandal returns to the headlines just as the Catholic Church has made small steps toward addressing decades of abuse and a culture of enforced silence. - 'Recognition of their suffering' - A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and released in 2018 showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed some type of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014. However, its authors said the actual number of victims was almost certainly much higher. The revelations, which mirror paedophile scandals in countries including Australia, Chile, France, Ireland and the United States, prompted Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a prominent reformer, to apologise on behalf of the German Catholic Church. The Church currently pays victims an average of 5,000 euros (about $5,950) "in recognition of their suffering", as well as covering their therapy fees. Victims have called the sum woefully insufficient. Meanwhile, each diocese in Germany has ordered a separate local investigation into abuse among its ranks. The scandal in Cologne has sapped energy from efforts to spearhead broader reforms at a time when the Church is losing members, who in Germany pay a tax that goes toward church activities including charity work. Germany's Catholic Church counted 22.6 million members in 2019 and it is still the largest religion in the country, but the number is two million fewer than in 2010 when the first major wave of paedophile abuse cases came to light. ilp-dlc/fec/hmn/har Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to a new report published by Polaris Market Research the essential oil market is anticipated to reach USD 16,172.2 million by 2026. In 2017, the orange essential oil segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. Europe is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period. Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market A significant increase in disposable income, changing lifestyles, and initiatives by market players to promote healthy lifestyles drive the growth of this market. Other driving factors include increasing incidences of stress and anxiety, growing inclination towards use of natural and organic products, and increasing awareness regarding physical and mental health. The use of essential oils in various applications such as food and beverages, healthcare, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and aromatherapy further propel the market growth. Increasing demand in developing nations is expected provide numerous growth opportunities to the market players during the forecast period. There has been a shift towards e-commerce and consumers are increasingly purchasing essential oils through online platforms. The variety of choices available coupled with ease of purchase offered by online platforms encourages consumers to buy essential oils online, supplementing the growth of the market. Improvement in lifestyle due to rise in income level, especially in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific fuels the demand for essential oils market. Factors such as increase in per capita income and changes in consumer behavior towards physical and mental health are expected to accelerate the adoption of essential oils in the coming years. Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market/request-for-sample Europe generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The high geriatric population in the region coupled with high disposable income drives the market growth. The high demand of essential oils in food & beverages and cosmetic products support the market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to increasing disposable incomes in developing countries of this region, rising awareness about benefits of essential oils, and rising demand of essential oils from healthcare sector in this region. The different types of essential oils in the market include lemon, lime, orange, corn mint, eucalyptus, peppermint, citronella, clove leaf, and others. In 2017, the orange essential oil segment accounted for the highest market share. The increasing demand for orange essential oil is owing to properties such as anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and antispasmodic. Use of orange essential oil has a calming effect on mind and body, and is used in various cosmetics products. It is also used in various foods and beverages to enhance flavor. Make Inquiry about this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market/inquire-before-buying The well-known companies profiled in the report include Doterra International LLC., Rocky Mountain Oils, LLC, Naturals Together, Robertet SA, Now Health Group, Inc., Biolandes SAS, Falcon Essential Oils, Ungerer Limited, The Lebermuth Company, Flavex Naturextrakte GmbH, Farotti Srl, and E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers. Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Product Type Lemon Lime Orange Corn mint Eucalyptus Peppermint Citronella Clove leaf Others Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Distribution Channel Offline Stores Online Platforms Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Application Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Cleaning Food and Beverages Spa and Wellness Others Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Region North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany UK France Italy Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China India Japan Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa Check for discount: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market/request-for-discount-pricing About Polaris Market Research Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. Contact us- Polaris Market Research Phone: 1-646-568-9980 Email: sales@polarismarketresearch.com Web: www.polarismarketresearch.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 04:10:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush discussed on Thursday ways to enhance Arab support for Libya during the transitional phase. During a phone conversation, the two discussed ways to boost Arab support for Libya as well as advancing cooperation between the Arab League and the North African country in support of joint Arab action, the pan-Arab organization said in a statement. Aboul-Gheit reiterated the Arab League's commitment to back the newly-appointed executive authority in Libya, which assumed its duties under the leadership of president of the Presidency Council Mohammad Menfi, and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. He also stressed the league's commitment to continue its efforts to support the country's stability, advance national reconciliation among Libyans, contribute to the accomplishment of the preliminary phase as well as holding the general elections by the end of 2021. The new executive authority, which officially took office this week, was selected recently by the UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), which agreed to hold general elections in the country on Dec. 24, 2021. Enditem Christian and non-Muslim women in Indonesia are being forced to wear the hijab, with children bullied and humiliated by schools, a report warned today. Schools across the vast Muslim majority country of nearly 270 million use 'a combination of psychological pressure, public humiliation, and sanctions to persuade girls to wear the hijab', Human Rights Watch said. One mother-of-four described how her daughter had been taunted with Koranic verses and told her parents would go to hell unless she donned the veil. Indonesia traditionally embraced its significant Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, but Islamic conservatism and a growing intolerance for other beliefs has 'increased substantially in recent years', the study said. Indonesian schoolgirls are forced to wear the jilbab in most of Indonesia's 300,000 state schools, no matter their faith. Human Rights Watch has called on Jakarta to end the practice Women walk past hijabs displayed for sale at the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 16 Women and girls across the country can face 'intense and constant' pressure to wear the hijab, said HRW researcher Andreas Harsono, which the rights body described as an assault on basic rights to freedom of religion, expression and privacy. 'Wearing a jilbab (hijab) should be a choice, it should not be a mandatory regulation,' Harsono said. 'There is a growing belief all over Indonesia that if you are a Muslim woman and you don't wear the hijab you are less pious; you are morally less.' HRW identified more than 60 discriminatory local, provincial bylaws issued since 2001 to enforce female dress codes. A 2014 national government regulation has been widely interpreted as requiring all female Muslim students to wear a hijab at school. 'Indonesian state schools use a combination of psychological pressure, public humiliation, and sanctions to persuade girls to wear the hijab,' said the report. One Muslim schoolgirl, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled being told at age 12 by two of her classmates that she should wear the hijab as 'one strand of hair that is shown is equal to one step closer towards hell'. The issue made headlines earlier this year after a young Christian pupil in Sumatra was pressured to cover up, triggering a backlash. The student refused and her parents later secretly recorded a meeting with an official who insisted that school rules required all girls to wear hijab, regardless of their religion. That prompted the education ministry last month to ban state schools from forcing any female student - Muslim or non-Muslim - to wear headscarves, and threaten to pull government funding for non-compliance. Religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has criticised the practice of forcing the hijab on non-Muslims and described the Sumatra case as the 'tip of the iceberg'. Mother-of-four Sita Rohani told AFP that her daughter had faced vicious abuse from other students who quoted the Koran at her for not wearing a hijab. 'She was begging to drop out of school and move to another one because she was picked on by her peers and older students,' Rohani said. Rohani said one of her younger daughters is also now facing pressure to conform. None of her family wear Islamic headscarves. 'We're Muslim but we have different beliefs about Islamic clothing,' Rohani said. 'Good character doesn't just come from what you wear.' Among the cases cited by HRW were former students who said teachers would sometimes tear at clothing deemed too revealing. 'This environment encourages peer pressure and bullying by teachers and fellow students to ensure that 'good Muslim girls' wear a hijab,' the report said. A woman is whipped in public in Aceh province in 2019. Aceh is the first Indonesian province to be ruled by sharia under semi-autonomy, however sharia rules have been creeping across the rest of the Indonesian archipelago Elsa, a 23-year-old Catholic, recalled the humiliation of being forced to wear a head covering in high school. 'Every time I look back now I always feel ashamed that I didn't fight for my rights,' Elsa, who asked that her real name not be used, told AFP. Teachers and female civil servants are also pressured to wear conservative dress, and some government offices require that visitors wear head coverings to enter, according to the report. '(This has) led to harassment of women in public spaces who choose not to wear (hijab) and imposition of pressure to conform,' it said. Indonesia's government did not respond to requests for comment on the HRW report. The rights watchdog warned that it remained to be seen if the new education ministry rules would be enforced. Former head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia Volodymyr Zhmak does not plan to leave the railway industry. "I aspired to make Ukrzaliznytsia the locomotive of Ukrainian economy in 2021. Thanks to everyone who was there and supported this goal. In the future, I am not going to stand aside, because I have already managed to feel like a member of a large railway family. Only forward," Zhmak wrote in his Telegram channel on Wednesday evening, March 17. At the same time, he believes that the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to remove him from office is unfounded. "The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to dismiss me from the post of the chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia. This decision looks at least strange both in the absence of grounds and in gross violation of all possible procedures and the law," he said. According to Zhmak, at an extraordinary meeting of the company's supervisory board on Monday, he presented a three-hour report, on Tuesday he received a call from head of the supervisory board Sevki Acuner who "offered to urgently write a letter of resignation by agreement of the parties." "Since I did not see any grounds for such a 'friendly offer', I never received any messages about shortcomings in my work from the Supervisory Board, therefore I did not accept this 'generous offer'. After that, today in the morning [Wednesday], breaking all the stereotypes about slowness of decision-making by the Ministry of Infrastructure, the minister had already prepared and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers a submission on my dismissal. Someone was in a hurry with this issue," Zhmak said. As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, on the recommendation of the Supervisory Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia on March 17, dismissed head of the board of the company Zhmak and re-appointed to the position of acting head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia Ivan Yuryk (current member of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia), who previously served as the head of the company. Earlier, the Supervisory Board of Ukrzaliznytsia considered the possibility of removing the head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the candidacy of Zhmak, who held the post of head of the Boryspil Airport Supervisory Board, as Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia on August 26, 2020. The supervisory board of the company supported his candidacy on August 12 of the same year. A church in Scotland is facing a police investigation for holding worship services that allegedly violated the pandemic gathering restrictions for the United Kingdom country. Hope United Church of Motherwell, an evangelical congregation near Glasgow, is being investigated for allegedly holding worship services that did not follow public health guidelines. This included videos of worship gatherings showing attendees not socially distancing and not wearing face masks, according to a report by BBC Tuesday. Clare Adamson, a member of the Scottish Parliament representing the Motherwell area who told the police about the churchs actions, told the BBC that she found the situation "very concerning." Source:The Christian Post We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Over the years we have all wondered at the German economic miracle and how it continues to be miraculous. There is no magic involved, but there are a number of key elements to the German system, not least among them a strong system of vocational training and apprenticeship. The traditional trades along with other occupations and skills are valued and supported by a structured system of vocational education that delivers. Meanwhile, in this country, we have been scrambling around the woolly heights of academia looking for ways to upskill our young population. We are a nation of educational snobs. The problem with snobbery is that it is one directional, it is only interested in vertical movement and is obsessed with ladders, lifts and hot air balloons. Snobbery blinds us to what is around us. The first step on this sky-road is a good Leaving Cert with perfect points; the next is a college course in some ivy-covered Victorian institution. As for the third step, well, we don't care really. We often don't mind what our offspring do with their years of academic pursuit: "Oh, he has degrees coming out his ears but look at him, at home minding the children". The important bit, as far as we are concerned, is that he has the degrees coming out his ears. According to reliable figures, over 7,000 first years drop out of third-level colleges in Ireland every year. This is not to mention the thousands of others that are hanging in there, convinced they have no alternative. Others feel too guilty to tell their hard-pressed parents they are unhappy, while more- already cynical and hard - have decided that grinning and bearing are essential coping mechanisms in the face of the human condition. It has to be said that a great number find their feet, find a course they like and a decent career. Our obsession with going to college and with sending ALL our children to college is narrowing rather than broadening our sense of what we value in terms of life choices. It is also narrowing the field of life opportunities for our young people. Photographs of oneself decked out in a mortarboard, fancy gown and holding a scroll are not essential for a contented and fulfilled life. I've had occasion of late to peruse the background material for a publication to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Castlelyons Co-op in East Cork. The material consists almost entirely of the recollections of people associated with the Co-op as employees or farmers. At one stage in its history, it employed over 200 people and created a multitude of spin-off enterprises. It is now part of the Glanbia family. These reminiscences exude an extraordinary sense of joy and life. The majority of the contributors went to work in the Co-op directly from school, be it primary or secondary. One man Paddy O'Leary wrote: "When I left school, I joined the Merchant Navy as a deck cadet in Plymouth after my Leaving Cert. The life at sea didn't suit me, so I came home and was kicking a ball around the village and one day a neighbour came up to my house and asked me if I would be interested in a temporary job in the Co-op. "I said I'd go down for a couple of months. I can remember him saying the job would entail writing dockets and answering the phone. So I went down for my temporary job in 1969 and I stayed for 41 years, ending up as manager of the grain and production manager." A young man, Will Daly, for whom work experience during transition year led to full-time work in the Co-op talks of a lovely life. "I was offered a full-time job in November 2010 by the branch manager and grabbed it with both hands. "I feel that working in the local creamery has really made me feel part of the local community, we are the first to hear about any births, death and marriages in the villages, we are experts on the weather and I could tell you every dry summer and wet winter since time began, and we often solve the world's problems at the counter - and that's all before tea time!" While every community may not be blessed with such ready local employment, these stories show there is a life-path outside academia. I was delighted to hear on RTE last week that a new initiative, Generation Apprenticeship, driven by the Apprenticeship Council, is seeking to expand the disciplines and skills covered by the apprenticeship system. The council is calling for proposals from people across the range of sectors and disciplines that wish to be considered for inclusion in the apprenticeship system. The insurance sector is leading the way and has chosen apprenticeship as a key way to train would-be insurance specialists. I think this is a great move. Many young people at 17 and 18 will learn far more easily on the hoof while gathering real-life experience. They can reflect, academically, on this experience at a later stage. I remember studying philosophy at 17 years of age - a waste of time - I was trying to grapple with questions I had never even thought of asking. My current trade as a journalist is best honed on the hoof, working beside an older hack in the courts, at the council meetings or, indeed, outside the mart while the place is being blockaded by farmers. A welcome outcome from the development of a decent apprenticeship system should see an end to the current informal and infernal internship practices that are nothing short of slave labour. An apprenticeship guarantees clarity in relation to the rights, duties and obligations of the apprentice and the employing mentor. I think it's time we took stock of the ingrained elitism in our approach to education. Every September there is an unholy scramble for college places, and by January the dropout trickle turns to a flood. I have a friend who works in a third-level institution and is under subtle but constant pressure to produce 'good results' when correcting papers. He tells me a sizeable portion of exam scripts are the clearly work of people in the wrong place doing the wrong thing. Meanwhile, we have a housing crisis because we don't have people with the capacity or the skills to build the houses we need. Last week, I referred to sound advice from my writing mentors, according to another piece of wisdom from that same source, good writing shows you and bad writing tells you. A lot of our young people would be far better occupied with their feet on the shop floor standing beside a mentor rather than sitting on their backsides in a lecture theatre. For information on apprenticeships in Ireland contact apprenticeship@solas.ie or go online to www.apprenticeship.ie SPRINGFIELD Nine new firefighters were officially welcomed to the Springfield Fire Department Thursday afternoon with a swearing-in ceremony led by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi. In a brief ceremony at the state Department of Fire Services Springfield campus, Sarno and Calvi warmly welcomed the new firefighters. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, families were not permitted to attend but were able to watch it broadcast live on Facebook courtesy of the mayors office. Being sworn in were Giovanni Carrasquillo, Ariel Cruz, Roberto Flores, Raushaun James, Kenneth Korzec, Sean Lemke, Frank Medero, Audeliz Nieves and Joshua Rios. The nine new firefighters bring the departments total number of line firefighters to 268. Springfield Fire Department Swearing in Ceremony Posted by City of Springfield, MA - Office of Communications on Thursday, March 18, 2021 Sarno thanked each new firefighter for their service, and thanked their families for the sacrifices they will make over their loved ones careers. On behalf of the residents of our great city, we thank you for your continued efforts in keeping our community safe and we truly appreciate your service to our Springfield. Godspeed, Sarno said. Calvi said, On behalf of the Springfield Fire Department, we are all looking forward to working together on behalf of our residents. All of the new recruits have a bright future with our SFD and I wish to congratulate all of them and their families. The new firefighters all graduated from the fire academy in Indian Orchard on March 5 as part of a class of 16 representing six area fire departments. They join the department after having completed a 10-week program at the academy that teaches fire recruits the basic skills they will need to be both proficient and safe on the job, including ladder operations, search and rescue, water supply and pump operation, and fire attack. The course includes both classroom instruction and hands-on demonstrations. Related content: Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 21:15:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese and U.S. officials will kick-start in Alaska's largest city of Anchorage a two-day high-level strategic dialogue on Thursday. Recent history has shown that when the two countries engage in effective communication, their relationship can move forward smoothly and cooperation can be fruitful. The coming sit-down marks the first face-to-face talks between high-level officials of the two sides after the new U.S. administration took office. It also follows the first telephone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, after the American leader assumed office in January. For the long-term health and stability of what many deem as the world's most important bilateral relationship, both sides must seize the moment in Anchorage and make the dialogue effective communication. First, the two sides need to show good faith. Progress is only possible when China and the United States share a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue. Regrettably, the United States, along with some of its regional allies, has made noise in the Asia-Pacific ahead of the talks. Washington needs to realize that forming small cliques targeting China will only deepen distrust between the two countries, exacerbate the current difficulties in China-U.S. relations, and raise doubts of its sincerity to engage with Beijing. Second, the two sides should treat each other as equals. No country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself. China has made clear that it will state its positions and concerns face to face with the U.S. side in the dialogue. If there is any issue Washington wants to resolve with Beijing, it can bring it to the table directly. Little stunts outside the meeting room are both unproductive and unnecessary. Also, both should respect and properly manage the differences inherent in their political systems and chosen development paths. Third, the two countries must learn to accommodate each other's core interests. Beijing has made it abundantly clear that on issues concerning China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity, there is no room for compromise. China hawks in Washington repeatedly challenged Beijing's red lines and willfully interfered in China's internal affairs over the past four years. The results have been destructive. The two now face the most difficult period in relations since they normalized diplomatic ties. If the U.S. side believes that it can somehow get China to make concessions on its core interests at the coming dialogue, it is simply delusional. Anchorage is located roughly midway between Beijing and Washington. Indeed, meeting each other halfway is what the two countries need following four years of deteriorating bilateral ties. Fifty years ago, Chinese and American leaders demonstrated their political acumen by tapping the pingpong diplomacy and broke the ice in bilateral ties by overcoming seemingly unimaginable difficulties and divisions. To take the China-U.S. relationship back on track, the Anchorage dialogue should be a new start. The two sides need to bring forth immense political wisdom and courage to ensure that the dialogue can set in motion future productive and effective engagement between China and the United States beyond Alaska. Enditem 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 farmers agitating against the three contentious farm laws at the borders of Delhi are not perturbed by the surge in the Covid cases, rather they have asked the government not to spread fear to end the agitation. On Wednesday, in a meeting with the Chief Ministers amid growing alarm over the resurgence of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to act fast against the emerging "second peak" of the pandemic, warning "if we do not stop this now, a country-wide outbreak can occur". Amid the rising Covid cases, Section 144 has been imposed in Ghaziabad. Talking about the Covid-19 surge, Ghazipur border protest committee spokesperson Jagtar Singh Bajwa told IANS, "Farmers are here from the last four months but not a single Covid-19 case has been reported from here. The government is spreading the fear so that people don't come here to participate in the protest. This is a conspiracy to end the protest. We condemn this act of the government." Bharatiya Kisan Union president of Uttar Pradesh Rajvir Singh Jadaun said, "We started the protest amid the pandemic outbreak and now when we have vaccine then why the government is spreading the fear. Rather than sending the vaccine to the foreign countries, for free, the government should provide it to its citizens." "The Prime Minister's concern about the villages is fine but Covid-19 surge is not the only concern in the villages. Not a single farmer has been infected while working on the farms. Instead of spreading fear, the government should proactively think about saving the lives of the people," he added. The government of southwestern Yunnan province is tracking 15 wild Asian elephants round-the-clock as the herd moves northward. The elephants, which started their journey from the southernmost prefecture in the province on April 16, were 10 kilometers away from the provincial capital Kunming on Tuesday. The local government has been tracking and escorting the animals to keep them away from residents. The elephants have damaged 561 square meters of cropland, according to media reports Jun 02, 2021 05:22 PM Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:08:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Abdul Ghaffar Shar collects soil samples at a cherry plantation of Yangling agricultural hi-tech industrial demonstration zone in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, March 17, 2021. Abdul Ghaffar Shar, 30, is a Pakistani doctoral student in China's Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU). Shar is doing plant nutrition research for his doctoral degree. After receiving his bachelor's degree in agriculture from Sindh Agriculture University in Pakistan in 2014, Shar decided to further his studies in China's NWAFU. Shar has learned to speak Mandarin and use chopsticks. He also adapted himself to Chinese food. In order to make more friends, Shar adopted a Chinese name "Jin Letian", which means "golden, happiness and sky." In Shar's opinion, Pakistan is a traditional agricultural country and farmers use many chemical fertilizers in the fields, which has a negative impact on soil fertility and the environment. "I study to improve soil fertility by adjusting trace elements of farmlands, which will help increase grain yields in my hometown," he said. In the past seven years, Shar collected research samples extensively from around the experiment stations in Shaanxi, which also gave him an opportunity to witness the development of China's rural areas. Shar says he wants to be an "envoy" between China and Pakistan as the two countries deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. "I hope I can play a role in strengthening the exchange of agricultural technology between the two countries under the initiative," said Shar. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen) Lawton, OK (73501) Today A few passing clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 59F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few passing clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Lawyers for Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou accuse Canadian authorities of conspiring to breach her rights, which government lawyers say is mere "speculation and innuendo" A lawyer for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on Wednesday accused Canadian authorities of being "deliberately deceptive" and "untruthful" in their court testimony about her 2018 arrest and then trying to cover it up. Meng is fighting extradition to the United States, where she faces charges of bank fraud and conspiracy related to a Huawei subsidiary's alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran. Both Meng and the Chinese telecom giant deny any wrongdoing. Her defense lawyer Tony Paisana said authorities failed to read Meng her rights, give her access to a lawyer or consular support, or safeguard her seized phones and laptop when she was detained during a Vancouver stopover in December 2018. Border and federal police officers last year admitted to a series of errors -- including giving passcodes for Meng's electronic devices to US authorities -- but testified there was no intent to breach her rights. "The officers at the heart of this case at times demonstrated a lack of regard for the Charter, this court's role in overseeing their conduct and, frankly, the truth," said Paisana, alleging they also attempted to "conceal their misconduct." "When pressed further about this issue in court, many of the officers provided untruthful testimony, sometimes bordering on the absurd," he added. Paisana singled out for special rebuke -- for refusing to testify at the extradition trial -- retired RCMP staff sergeant Ben Chang who'd handed over Meng's electronic devices information to the FBI. The sum of these gaffes and Chang's refusal to testify, he said, amount to "a pattern of misconduct." In court filings, Canadian government lawyers called on the judge to throw out the abuse allegations, which they said were "supported only by speculation and innuendo," and proceed to extradition. "She has failed to establish the existence of the conspiracy she alleges," they said in the documents. And, "the evidence adduced by (Meng) does not establish misconduct." Meng remains under house arrest in her Vancouver mansion. Her extradition trial is expected to end in mid-May, barring appeals. str/amc/caw Allan Baxter/Getty Images Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, recently voted against the For the People Act of 2021. She called it "a massive partisan power grab to advance [Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's] far-left agenda." Honestly, which is the partisan party? The unexpected candor of two Republicans may have told us more than Stefanik whose support of a presidential election-result myth does mar her credibility a tad. Press Release 18 March 2021 The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) - the world's largest business travel association - supports the European Commission's proposal to introduce a Digital Green Certificate that is inter-operable and consistent across Members States. The certificate will verify that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has recovered from the virus, or has a negative test result, to enable the safe and swift restart of business travel in the EU. "We are already witnessing some European countries opening up their borders with differing entry requirements and timelines. GBTA is calling for a European-wide solution to facilitate a consistent plan and avoid a fragmented approach across the 27 member countries. An EU-wide recognised certificate proposed by the European Commission will help to restart travel after a devastating year for the business travel industry, valued at $392 billion in Europe and $1.43 trillion globally in 2019. The need for a quick agreement and speedy, uniform implementation, based on data-driven decisions is crucial to the success of this proposal," commented Catherine Logan, Regional VP Europe, GBTA. The company logo is seen on the hood of an unsold Tesla at a dealership late Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Littleton, Colo. On Monday, March 15, 2021, the U.S. government's highway safety agency said it is sending a team to Detroit to investigate a crash involving a Tesla that drove beneath a semitrailer. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) For the second time this week, the U.S. government's road safety agency is sending a team to investigate a Tesla crash in Michigan. This time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sending a special crash investigation team because a Tesla using the company's Autopilot partially automated driving system crashed into a State Police cruiser with flashing lights along a freeway. It's another sign that the safety agency under President Joe Biden may be taking a stronger look at regulating driver-assist systems such as Autopilot, as well as self-driving automobiles. Previously, it had taken a hands-off approach to the new technologies, favoring voluntary safety compliance so it wouldn't interfere with the promising safety systems. In the freeway crash, the police car was parked on Interstate 96 in Eaton County near the state capital of Lansing while a trooper investigated a car-deer crash early Wednesday, WLNS-TV reported. Neither the trooper nor the 22-year-old Tesla driver were injured in the 1:10 a.m. crash, police said. The Tesla's driver was issued citations for failure to move over and driving with a license suspended. In a statement, NHTSA said it would send the team to investigate "consistent with NHTSA's vigilant oversight and robust authority over the safety of all motor vehicles and equipment, including automated technologies." An email message seeking comment Wednesday night from Tesla was not immediately returned. Tesla has disbanded its press office and has not returned messages for months. Earlier this week NHTSA sent a special crash investigation team to Detroit for a crash that involved a Tesla that drove beneath a semitrailer. Two people in the Tesla were hurt in the crash last Thursday on the city's southwest side. WJBK-TV quoted a Detroit police deputy chief as saying all indications are that the car was not in Autopilot mode. The circumstances of the Detroit crash were similar to two others in Florida in which Teslas drove beneath tractor-trailers, causing two deaths. In both crashes, in 2016 and 2019, the cars were being driven while using Tesla's Autopilot system, which can steer a car to keep it in a lane and stop it from hitting vehicles in front of it. NHTSA's moves to send teams to both crashes indicates that it may be taking a different stance on automated driving systems, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst for Guidehouse Insights. "It seems that under the new administration, NHTSA has finally started to take a serious look at this," he said. NHTSA has previously investigated more than a dozen Tesla crashes, but hasn't made public any action. In January, before Biden took office, it threatened a public hearing and possible legal action to get the Palo Alto, California-based company to recall vehicles for a touch screen problem. Tesla has said previously that its Autopilot and its "full self-driving" software are driver-assistance systems and that the driver must be ready to intervene at all times. Tesla has been criticized by the National Transportation Safety Board for failing to adequately monitor drivers to make sure they are paying attention. The NTSB, which investigates crashes and makes recommendations, also criticized Tesla for allowing the system to work on roads that it can't handle. Abuelsamid said a February letter to NHTSA from NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt urging regulation of the new systems may have prodded NHTSA into taking more action. "Hopefully we will finally see NHTSA establish standards" for driver assist systems, he said. Jason Levine, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said it's about time NHTSA starts to get serious about the risks posed to all motorists by companies such as Tesla, "who are intentionally misleading the public regarding the capabilities and shortcomings of their technology." Under President Donald Trump, NHTSA either could not or would not take action, Levine said. "We can only hope the era of vehicle safety being an afterthought is over." Explore further US sends team to Detroit to investigate Tesla-semi crash 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. SHENZHEN, China, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyPixel, one of the world's most popular aerial photography community, today announced the winners of its 2020 Aerial Storytelling Contest. Co-organized with DJI, this year's contest attracted more than 26,000 submissions from professional photographers, videographers, aerial enthusiasts and content creators from 136 countries. The Video Category grand prize winner Ellis Van Jason shared breathtaking, high-speed FPV sequences shot on the island of Madeira. "A year ago, I asked myself what kind of pilot do I want to be," said Van Jonson. "Race drone pilot or Freestyle Pilot? Neither of the two was an option, and it took me some time to find my place. I ended up in the cinematic mid-long-range area and I kind of like it out here." The grand prize winner in the Photo Category Karim Iliya used his Mavic 2 Pro to capture a young humpback whale using his powerful tail fin to launch himself out of the water near Tahiti. "Humpback whales breach for a variety of reasons including communication, fighting, barnacle and parasite removal, waking up, playing and more," said Iliya. "For humpback whale calves like this one, playing is an important way to build muscles and prepare for the long journey to Antarctica." In addition to the Grand Prize Winners, there were also First, Second and Third Prizes categories such as vlog, travel, sports, nature, architecture and portrait. From the beautiful landscape of Iceland to exploring the Dead Sea by kayak to riding gravel bikes in France, the winning submissions captured thrilling images from around the world. To view the submissions, please visit: https://www.skypixel.com/contests/2020 This year, the judging panel included a jury of award-winning directors, photographers and influencers, including Toby Strong, famous documentary photographer who has won many Emmy and BAFTA awards and Swiss photographer, filmmaker and cinematographer Chris Schmid. Every year, SkyPixel organizes aerial photo and video contests to call on creators around the world to share their artwork and stories captured from above. This contest marked the inaugural celebration for both photographers and videographers to come together in a single event. Winning pictures and videos are available for download here: https://bit.ly/3vBorHX *Permits were obtained, where applicable, in all locations depicted in awarded photos and videos. Always follow applicable rules and regulations in your jurisdiction when flying. About SkyPixel SkyPixel was founded in 2014 and has become a leading global community for aerial photographers and videographers. The platform has over six million registered users and hosts thousands of aerial images and videos uploaded daily by users from around the world. Leading works have received over 1 million views. In addition, SkyPixel also promotes the growth of the aerial community, with an educational section featuring key experts of aerial imaging who provide tips on how to produce the best aerial photography. For more info, please visit www.skypixel.com . About DJI DJI, the world's leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, was founded and is run by people with a passion for remote-controlled helicopters and experts in flight-control technology and camera stabilization. The company is dedicated to making aerial photography and filmmaking equipment and platforms more accessible, reliable and easier to use for creators and innovators around the world. DJI's global operations currently span the Americas, Europe and Asia, and its revolutionary products and solutions have been chosen by customers in over 100 countries for applications in filmmaking, construction, inspection, emergency response, agriculture, conservation and other industries. For more information, visit our: Website: www.dji.com Online Store: store.dji.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/DJI Instagram: www.instagram.com/DJIGlobal Twitter: www.twitter.com/DJIGlobal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/dji Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/DJI SOURCE DJI Related Links store.dji.com/cn STAMFORD Prosecutors gave a Norwalk man facing assault and weapon-related charges who allegedly showed an interest in mass shootings an ultimatum Wednesday: Either take the plea deal offered by the state by the end of the day or it would be withdrawn. The ultimatum from Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning to Brandon Wagshol and his lawyer Darnell Crosland came during a pretrial hearing at Stamford Superior Court. Wagshol did not accept the offer in court and his attorney said Wednesday night that Wagshol did not have access to the court to the remainder of the day. Its not for me to accept for him. Thats unfair and unjust, Crosland said, adding that he will insist his client have an opportunity to accept the offer during his court apperance next month. We must demand a fair and transparent system of justice, Crosland said. He might have mental health issues, but his life matters. Wagshol faces charges of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, second-degree assault on an elderly person and four counts of possession of a high-capacity magazine. There needs to be some kind of resolution here, said Manning, who did not go into details regarding the states offer. Records show it has been on the table since at least November of 2020. After the hearing, Crosland said the state had offered Wagshol a three-year prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. The problem, Crosland said, is that his client has not been speaking to him. After receiving the offer, Crosland asked the court to have Wagshol undergo a competency hearing because the attorney believed his client was unable to understand the breadth of the offer that he is being asked to accept or reject, records show. That evaluation, however, concluded that Wagshol is competent to stand trial. If Wagshol goes to trial, he faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of attempted first-degree assault, a Class B felony. All the other charges he faces are Class D felonies, which would each carry up to five years behind bars and up to a $5,000 fine, if convicted. Wagshol, 23, has been held at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown since he was arrested after he allegedly attacked his father with a 23-inch metal pipe in February 2020. Before that, he had been on house arrest at his fathers Norwalk apartment since his release in August 2019 on $250,000 bond after he was arrested and charged with four counts of possession of illegal high-capacity gun magazines. Police said Wagshol showed an interest in mass shootings on social media and had access to an arsenal of weapons and military gear belonging to his father. Wagshol was first arrested in 2019 after the FBI received a tip from a family member who said he was trying to buy magazine clips, officials said. An investigation revealed that Wagshol had shown an interest in mass shootings as early as the sixth grade, according to a search warrant for his fathers apartment. At the residence, police found a .40-caliber handgun, a .22-caliber rifle, a rifle scope with a laser, four firearm optic sites, a firearm flashlight, body armor with a titanium plate, a full camouflage outfit, a ballistic helmet, tactical gloves, a camouflage bag, computers, and numerous .40-caliber, .22-caliber and .300-caliber blackout rounds of ammunition, the search warrant said. Police said the guns were registered to Wagshols father, who was not charged. In his witness statement, Wagshol said he had no intention of committing a mass shooting and said he purchased the magazines in New Hampshire to circumvent what I viewed as an unconstitutional restriction on the Second Amendment. The high-capacity magazines are banned in Connecticut but not in New Hampshire. Wagshol is next scheduled to appear in court for that case on April 14 in Stamford. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that hed like to greet President Joe Biden at the airport for his planned visit to Ohio next week, saying he thinks its important to maintain a good relationship with any president. During Republican President Donald Trumps tenure, DeWine fielded questions about greeting him at the airport, especially when Trump held large political rallies where mask wearing wasnt required, disregarding coronavirus precautions backed by DeWine. DeWine, a Republican, gave a similar answer on Thursday when he was asked about greeting Biden, a Democrat, who is coming to Columbus on Tuesday. I had a good relationship with President Trump, and I have a good relationship with President Biden, said DeWine, who previously served with Biden in the U.S. Senate for more than a decade. And if theres an opportunity to welcome the president of the United States to Ohio, I will certainly do that. Biden is coming to Columbus on Tuesday to promote the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan he signed into law earlier this month. The Democratic-backed bill includes $1,400 payments to qualifying individuals, with more money available to people with children. It also awards $350 billion to state and local governments, including more than $5.4 billion to Ohio, and the same amount going to local governments. Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued the Biden administration on Wednesday over the new law, trying to block a provision that requires states that accept the funding to commit to not cutting taxes through 2024. States that do so could risk funding being clawed back, although the U.S. Treasury Department has yet to release specific rules. DeWine again was noncommittal when asked about the bill on Thursday. He said the tax provision was concerning, although he has no tax cuts proposed in his current state budget proposal for 2022 and 2023. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a Republican, issued a statement earlier in the day praising Yosts lawsuit and saying the provision could block Ohio from granting tax credits to companies, a standard economic-development move for states trying to lure or retain jobs. Were trying to get an analysis, and we want to hear what treasury says, DeWine said. 7 Charged After Search of Bardwell Home By West Kentucky Star Staff BARDWELL - Seven people face drug and other charges after authorities searched a home in Bardwell Tuesday night.The Carlisle County Sheriff's Office, the Ballard County Sheriff's Office, and the Kentucky State Police responded to a home in the 2600 Block of State Route 1181 in Bardwell.Authorities were attempting to locate 33-year-old Anthony Lynn regarding three bench warrants for his arrest. Deputies say he is also a person of interest in a burglary investigation in Ballard County.At the home, authorities located Lynn along with 42-year-old Jesse Beggs, 38-year-old Angalec Johnson, 28-year-old Elizabeth Clark, 41-year-old Christina Hogancamp, 49-year-old Douglas Allen, 28-year-old Jonathan Gray, and two other people that were left unnamed.A search of the home reportedly uncovered seven grams of methamphetamine, nine guns, scales, bags for packaging methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.Everyone except for Gray and the two unnamed individuals were arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Jail.Lynn was served with the bench warrants.Beggs is charged with trafficking in a controlled substance first-degree (firearm enhanced), possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia possession.Johnson is charged with possession of a controlled substance first degree, possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia possession.Clark is charged with possession of a controlled substance first degree, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and a violation of release conditions.Hogancamp is charged with possession of a controlled substance first degree (firearm enhanced) and drug paraphernalia possession.Allen is charged with tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia possession.Gray was cited and released for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. AirBaltic, the flag carrier of Latvia, is resuming Riga-Tbilisi-Riga flights starting March 28, announces the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency. Flights will be carried out twice a week - on Mondays and on Thursdays - while from May 2020 the flight frequency will be increased to four flights in a week and the fourth flight will be carried out on Saturdays, Agenda.ge reported. The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency has already granted a permit to airBaltic to resume flights. International flights resumed in Georgia on February 1 and all airline companies that have already operated or plan to enter the country's aviation market in the future are able to operate regular flights. A ceremony was held in Hanoi on March 17 to mark the reception of the Japanese Government-sponsored equipment for the Government Information Reporting System of Vietnam. Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung (R) and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio at the ceremony on March 17 (Photo: VNA) Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said that on January 9, 2020, the Government Office and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam signed the two governments exchange of note on the supply of hardware equipment for the Government Information Reporting System. All the equipment has been handed over to the Vietnamese side three months ahead of schedule, he said, noting that this is the only Government reporting centre of Vietnam, which has been connected with 15 ministries and 54 provincial-level localities nationwide. He attributed the outcome to the active and responsible contributions by the Japanese Embassy, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Vietnamese ministries and agencies, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), and Vietcombank. Dung also noted the e-Government systems and platforms that the Government Office has been operating, namely the National E-Document Exchange Platform, the e-Cabinet System, the National Public Service Portal, the National Information Reporting System, and the Governments information and steering centre, which have helped convert from a paper-based to an electronic working environment that centres on the people and businesses. The minister appreciated both sides close coordination to realise the Japanese Governments sponsorship commitment, voicing his belief that with the resolve of the Vietnamese Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, sectors, and localities, along with the support from Japan, Vietnam will obtain more encouraging outcomes in building an e-Government so as to achieve a digital Government, a digital economy, and a digital society. For his part, Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio said it is an honour of his countrys Government to supply made-in-Japan equipment for the National Information Reporting System and the Governments information and steering centre, which shows the Vietnamese Governments trust in Japan. The e-Government application to the Government Office is among reform efforts by the Vietnamese Government to secure quicker consideration and issuance of policies, he noted, adding that the Japanese Government has been doing everything it can to help with this. Reviewing bilateral cooperation in e-Government building, the ambassador said Japan wishes to collaborate with Vietnam in digital affairs, with the e-Government building a focus. In the post-pandemic period, a large number of Japanese enterprises are choosing Vietnam as a new investment destination, helping to expand the two countries cooperation chances in the digital area. Japanese businesses which own the worlds leading technologies and Vietnamese firms which have talented human resources will cooperate well in this regard in the future, according to the diplomat./. VNA Opposition questions achievements of Congress government in Punjab in last 4 years India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Chandigarh, Mar 18: The opposition parties in Punjab on Thursday questioned the last four years' achievements listed by the Amarinder Singh-led government and accused the ruling Congress of failing to fulfil its poll promises. On the completion of his government's four years, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday claimed that more than 85 per cent of manifesto promises have been implemented while asserting that no stone would be left unturned to fulfil every promise that was made to the people in 2017. BJP national general secretary Tarun alleged that making "hollow claims" about his government's achievements have become a "habit" of the chief minister. None of the election promises made by Congress has been fulfilled by the Amarinder Singh government, be it eliminating the drug menace or providing a job in every household, he said. "Amarinder Singh has not only been playing a deceptive politics but at the end of his four years in power, has exposed himself as a loser and a non-achiever," Chugh alleged. Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma questioned the report card of the Congress-led government for the past four years and accused Amarinder Singh's government of misleading the state's farmers about waiving their debt. Debt-ridden farmers were still committing suicide, he claimed and slammed the Congress government over issues such as the law-and-order situation and the promise of providing electricity to the industry at Rs 5 per unit. Congress demands Uttarakhand CM's apology for 'ripped jeans' remarks or resignation The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) asked the chief minister to resign on moral grounds for not ending the drug menace and giving jobs to youth. It accused Amarinder Singh of presiding over four years of "corruption, scams, brazen misrule and breakdown of law and order". SAD leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shocking the chief minister tried to "squirm his way out of the commitments made by him". He said it was unfortunate that Amarinder Singh, who had promised to completely waive farmers' loans, was taking credit for a marginal Rs 4,700 crore loan waiver which did not even cover the penalty imposed on farmers for not paying their loan instalments. Assam Assembly elections 2021: Rahul Gandhi to interact with students in poll-bound Assam "The youth were not given unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500, old-age pension was not raised to Rs 2,500 per month, shagun amount was not increased to Rs 51,000, no houses were given to the houseless and industry was not provided power at the rate of Rs five per unit," he said. Aam Aadmi Party MLA Harpal Singh Cheema said the Congress government had promised to provide employment to the educated youth and eradicate mafia rule which has not been fulfilled yet. The CM who was claiming about fulfiling 85 per cent of the election manifesto promises, in fact, had fulfilled only 0.85 per cent of the promises made in it, he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 23:53 [IST] ARLINGTON, Va., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) congratulates Katherine Tai on her recent landmark appointment as the United States Trade Representative under the Biden Administration. SOCMA Vice President of Legal & Government Relations Robert F. Helminiak released the following statement about the appointment: "Due to its significant impact on the specialty chemical supply chain, trade is a foundational issue for SOCMA. In continuing to represent the interests of its members, SOCMA looks forward to continuing its close collaboration with newly appointed United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai to effect positive outcomes for the industry," Helminiak said. "As SOCMA celebrates 100 years of service to the specialty chemical industry in 2021, trade issues remain at the forefront of our priorities. Through our longstanding relationship with the office, SOCMA is eager to partner with U.S. Trade Representative Tai on critical areas impacting our members' supply chains." "SOCMA members contribute to a lengthy supply chain, which is integral to the U.S. economy and depends on trade relationships with other countries," Helminiak said. "Specialty chemical manufacturers are right in the middle of the supply chain and use raw materials and inputs from all over the globe to make their products. In turn, those materials are used in a myriad of end-use products that improve the health, well-being and quality of life for consumers across the world." Through its longstanding relationship with USTR, SOCMA particularly looks forward to collaborating with U.S. Trade Representative Tai on Section 301 China Tariffs, specifically reopening and extending the exclusion process, and improving transparency in the exclusion process and U.S. trade efforts." About SOCMA SOCMA is part of a $300 billion industry that is fueling the U.S. economy. Our members play an indispensable role in the global chemical supply chain, providing specialty chemicals and services to vital markets ranging from aerospace and electronics to pharmaceuticals and agriculture. For more information on this innovative organization, visit www.socma.org. SOURCE Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates Related Links https://www.socma.org/ A unanimous vote in the Senate calling for a royal commission on veteran suicide has heaped parliamentary pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to establish one. On Thursday Coalition senators voted with Labor, the Greens and independents to call on Mr Morrison to establish the inquiry, and the motion will now go to the lower house. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Jenny Morrison lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in Canberra. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen A government spokesman said Mr Morrison will reveal his position on calling a royal commission when the vote is put to the House of Representatives. The Senate motion noted that Australian Defence Force personnel have a suicide rate of less than half the general population before they serve, but the rate is more than twice the general population rate after they leave the ADF. New York, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Data Center Market in Europe - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05770928/?utm_source=GNW The market is expected to grow due to the growing procurement of renewable energy sources. Over 25 European cloud and data center operators, including AWS, Google, Equinix, Interxion, OVH Cloud, Scaleway, Aruba, and 17 other industry associations have signed an agreement to make their facilities carbon neutral via 100% renewable energy sources by 2030. According to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, 75% of the power supplied to data centers in Europe will be supplied through renewable energy or carbon-free energy by December 31, 2025, and the objective is to reach 100% by December 31, 2030. This announcement is likely to offer a high impetus to the growth of the data center market in Europe. Hyperscale data center providers are the major investors in renewable energy initiatives. Germany intends renewable resources to constitute at least 35% of the gross electricity consumption. Ireland aimed to generate 16% of its energy through renewable energy sources in 2020, which is expected to reach 55% by 2030. Norway is the leading country in the production of renewable energy sources, followed by Sweden and Finland. Iceland continues to produce 100% of electricity through renewable sources. The following factors are likely to contribute to the growth of the Europe data center market during the forecast period: Procurement of Renewable Energy Sources Introduction of Innovative UPS Battery Technology Adoption of District Heating by Data Centers Cloud Adoption driving Data Center Market The study considers the present scenario of the Europe data center market and its market dynamics for the period 2020?2026. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The report offers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent ones operating in the market. Europe Data Center Market Segmentation The Europe data center market research report includes a detailed segmentation by IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling technique, general construction, tier standards, geography. Enterprises are shifting to high-performance and capacity-intensive infrastructure. The high consumption of internet-based services is expected to drive the IT infrastructure market. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled infrastructure adoption among internet-related service providers in Q1 and Q2 2020. Hyperscale operators procured ODM infrastructure, which grew by over 10% across Europe in 2020. UPS systems are the highest contributors to market investment. In 2020, the adoption of lithium-ion UPS systems grew considerably. Most data centers operating in Europe are adopting N+N redundant infrastructure. The adoption of generator systems with a capacity of over 2 MW is high due to the increased construction of large and hyperscale facilities. Data center operators have adopted innovative and energy-efficient cooling infrastructure solutions, aiming to reduce power consumption by up to 50%. This is expected to grow during the forecast period as market vendors are introducing innovative high-efficient cooling systems. The server infrastructure market has witnessed strong growth over the last two years. Server systems based on x86 architecture dominated the Europe data center market share with over 85% in 2020. Most modern operators adopt the server infrastructure that matches workload requirements. The demand for servers suitable for cloud environments is likely to grow during the forecast period. In 2020, the increased adoption of all-flash storage arrays along with sizable contribution from hybrid storage arrays is expected to aid storage systems. The growth of flash storage systems is boosted by high-performance operations that require strong input/output capabilities. The increase in bandwidth requirements, data center consolidation, and virtualization are some major factors driving the demand for ethernet port switches, controllers, and adaptors. 25/50 GbE switches are likely to experience considerable growth during the forecast period. Several facilities have adopted flexible designs to facilitate the installation of dual power feeds, 2N redundant UPS and PDU systems, and N+1 generators. The market share of metered and monitored rack PDU solutions has observed a remarkable increase in Western Europe. In the Nordic region, the deployment of hyperscale facilities is likely to fuel the procurement of 48V DC UPS systems. Most facilities in the region are powered by renewable energy with grid stability of over 95%. This reduces the number of redundant generator systems, encouraging 2N UPS system installation. A majority of data centers in central and eastern Europe are designed as Tier III standards with a minimum of N+1 redundancy in UPS and generator systems. The use of renewable energy sources to power data centers is low in the region. However, their utilization is expected to grow during the forecast period. Several data centers in Western Europe support free cooling systems, which include adiabatic coolers, evaporative coolers, and free cooling chiller systems. The use of water-based cooling techniques includes water-treatment plants and systems. Most data center operators procure 45U52U rack cabinets. However, the procurement of 42U racks is declining in the Europe data center market. Western Europe is the most active market for data center construction across the European region. The increase in demand for cloud computing and other related services has offered several revenue opportunities for multiple and sub-contractors in the market. Many facilities are being designed and built to cover an area of over 100,000 square feet. Several major data center construction in the region is managed by Europe-based construction service providers. However, the non-availability of a skilled workforce to manage multiple hyperscale projects is the major challenge for several contractors in the region. According to the Uptime Institute, Europe has around 217 certified data centers spread over 29 countries, which include local and global facilities. A majority of them are in the UK, Russia, Spain, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Italy, and France. Europe has higher Tier III certified facilities than Tier IV and Tier II. Around 163 facilities in Europe are Tier III certified. Russia, the UK, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania have the highest number of certified data centers. By IT Infrastructure Servers Storage Network By Electrical Infrastructure UPS Systems Generators Transfer Switches and Switchgears PDUs Other Electrical Infrastructures By Mechanical Infrastructure Cooling Systems o CRAC & CRAH Units o Chiller Units o Cooling Towers, Dry Coolers, & Condensers o Economizers & Evaporative Coolers o Other Cooling Units Racks Others Mechanical Infrastructure By Cooling Technique Air-based Cooling Technique Liquid-based Cooling Technique By General Construction Core and Shell Development Installation and Commissioning Services Engineering and Building Designs Physical Security DCIM/BMS By Tier Standards Tier I &II Tier III Tier IV INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY In 2020, Western Europe witnessed investments in 80 projects, out of which 20 projects became operational in Q3 2020. However, the remaining projects are still under development and are expected to be functional by Q2 2021. The demand for smart devices, coupled with growing internet penetration, is likely to fuel the growth of data centers and other related infrastructure in the region. Data centers in Western Europe are built to support OCP rack infrastructure solutions. The UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and France are the leading destinations, while Belgium, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland are the emerging markets. By Geography Europe o Western Europe UK Germany Netherlands France Ireland Belgium Switzerland Luxembourg Other Countries o Nordic Denmark Norway Sweden Finland & Iceland o Central and Eastern Europe Russia and the Czech Republic Poland & Austria Other Countries INSIGHTS BY VENDORS The Europe data center market consists of several IT, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure providers. Arista Networks, Atos, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, and Extreme Networks some major IT infrastructure providers. With the increasing demand for high-density, mission-critical servers, storage, and network infrastructure, the IT infrastructure market is likely to witness growth. The server market has witnessed significant growth in revenue contribution from ODM server manufacturers. The electrical infrastructure market has become highly competitive owing to the increased interest shown by operators in procuring energy-efficient infrastructure solutions. ABB, Eaton, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv are the major power infrastructure players. Key Data Center Critical (IT) Infrastructure Providers Arista Networks Atos Broadcom Cisco Systems Dell Technologies Extreme Networks Huawei Technologies Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Hitachi Vantara IBM Inspur Inventec Juniper Networks Lenovo MiTAC Holdings NEC Corporation NetApp Oracle Pure Storage Quanta Computer (Quanta Cloud Technology) Super Micro Computer Wistron (Wiwynn) Key Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers ABB Airedale International Air Conditioning Asetek Alfa Laval Assa Abloy Bosch Security Systems (Robert Bosch) Caterpillar Cummins Delta Electronics Eaton HITEC Power Protection KOHLER-SDMO Legrand Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Nlyte Software Piller Power Systems Rolls-Royce Power Systems Rittal Riello Elettronica (Riello UPS) Schneider Electric STULZ Socomec Trane Technologies (Ingersoll Rand) Vertiv Group Key Data Center Contractors AECOM Arup Group Bouygues Construction CapIngelec DPR Construction Deerns Fluor Corporation Future-Tech HDR Architecture ISG Jones Engineering Group Kirby Group Engineering Linesight Mercury Engineering Mace Group M+W Group (Exyte) Metnor Construction RED-Engineering Structure Tone Winthrop Engineering and Contracting Key Data Center Investors 3data Aruba SpA AzInTelecom Bahnhof CyrusOne Colt Data Center Services (Colt DCS) Digital Realty DigiPlex DataPro DATA4 Smart Data Centers Equinix Echelon Data Centers EcoDataCenter Facebook Google Global Switch GlobalConnect Green Mountain Iron Mountain (IO) Microsoft NTT Global Data Centers QTS Realty Trust VIRTUS Data Centres Telecom Italia Sparkle T5 Data Centers Vantage Data Centers KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1. What is the European data center market size and growth rate during the forecast period? 2. What are major innovations in UPS battery technologies adopted by data center infrastructure providers? 3. How is the COVID-19 pandemic expected to affect the market growth during the forecast period? 4. What EU data center regulations are likely to increase aid the Europe data center market? 5. Which segment is expected to generate the highest revenue during the forecast period? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05770928/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ SPRINGFIELD The city has set aside $60,000 for an exterior evaluation of the historic City Hall that will determine whether the windows need to be repaired or replaced. Patrick J. Sullivan, the citys director of parks, buildings and recreation, said during a meeting with councilors Monday that he believes the last window renovation project at City Hall occurred in the mid-1980s. The evaluation will also check the roof and brick exterior, he said. It will give us a budget, it will tell us should they (windows) just be replaced, should they be rebuilt, Sullivan said. And also, the roof is nearing its end of life as well, so its going to be important to get the information on the roof. The windows are what scares me the most about the building right now. The council formally accepted a $30,000 grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission to help with the evaluation. The city will provide $30,000 in matching funds. As you know its one of our most important buildings in the city, Sullivan said. The exterior building assessment was authorized by Mayor Domenic Sarno, aided by the state commissions Preservation Projects Fund. The funds will allow for an architectural/structural analysis and conditions assessment ... including a prioritized treatment plan, comprehensive window survey and construction documents addressing window repairs, said Timothy J. Plante, the citys chief administrative and financial officer. Sarno praised the evaluation being done. We have one of the best historic and architectural City Halls in the nation, Sarno said. Things age, and even with proper upkeep and maintenance replacements and historic preservation is not only needed, it is required. I personally know with my office, during heavy winds, my windows will sometimes blow right open. In Chicopee, the mayor and City Council have funded major improvements to the 150-year-old City Hall complex in recent years, with additional renovations planned. In February, the Chicopee City Council agreed to move to the second phase of renovations, which will include replacing carpet and wallpaper, adding safety features, and redesigning and moving some offices. An initial $14 million project at Chicopee City Hall included structural repairs, weatherization, and modernizing the interior. The work included replacing aging windows, roof work and renovating the auditorium. Related content: There were 21 arrests made in Dublin as some ignored pleas to avoid congregations on St Patrick's Day, while gardai were called to disperse crowds at one of Cork's most popular amenities. As of 8pm tonight, seventeen men and four women were arrested during garda interventions at a number of protest events around the capital. Fourteen of those arrested were charged and appeared before a sitting of Dublin District at the Criminal Courts of Justice earlier this afternoon. Seven others were charged with offences and released on station bail. Gardai said those who were arrested had failed to comply with directions from An Garda Siochana and with public health guidelines. A crowd of roughly 100 anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protesters gathered in Herbert Park in Ballsbridge carrying banners and posters. Many were not wearing protective facemasks. Gardai outside national broadcaster the RTE building in Donnybrook earlier this afternoon. Picture: Stephen Collins / Collins Photos Dublin Another crowd gathered near national broadcaster RTE's Donnybrook HQ, several of whom carried anti-vaccine posters. Though nearly 2,500 officers were deployed in expectation of the protests, gardai said that most people in and around the city had shown "high levels of compliance and social responsibility." Speaking this afternoon, Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, Anne Marie McMahon appealed to the public to continue to comply with public health guidelines for the rest of tonight. "Please do not engage in house gatherings or parties or congregate in public spaces and amenities," she said. Gardai disperse crowds gathered at the Lough in Cork city Gardai at the Lough, Cork, after moving on a crowd on St. Patrick's Day. Picture: Denis Minihane. However, there were scenes to worry authorities in Cork as pleas to avoid areas like The Lough fell on deaf ears. Thousands of people came to The Lough from around midday, gathering at the popular amenity until the late afternoon, with little social distancing observed as people drank together in groups. Gardai dispersed crowds in the afternoon as the gatherings grew, as the temptation to celebrate the national holiday proved too tempting for some. However, there were no reports of any trouble, as the crowds were largely convivial, intent on celebrating. City councillor Mick Finn, who had warned that St Patrick's Day could be a sign of things to come for potential mass congregation as the weather grew milder and the summer months approached, reiterated his call for a policing plan for the area. "There were thousands of people who came at various stages throughout the day, and is a warning to what it could be like in the summer. A major policing plan, incorporating enforcement of by-laws banning drinking, has to be implemented. "What we saw during St Patrick's Day is what we can reasonably expect during the summer if we don't tackle it. I believe gardai will have to treat the Lough as being akin to a festival, such is its attractiveness as a place to congregate." A crowd gathered at The Lough in Cork. Picture: Eddie O'Hare Mr Finn said that public urination exacerbated the situation for residents. "The residents are not able to visit their neighbours due to restrictions, but they then have to witness mass gatherings, people drinking, and urinating. Cleaning off their walls with soap and water on St Patrick's Day is simply not fair on them," he said. The garda operation went on throughout the evening across the country, continuing "high visibility patrolling at public amenities, conducting checkpoints focused on non-essential travel and people exercising outside 5km of their home, road safety activity and large gatherings," they said. West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress supporters were involved in a violent clash with their arch rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists in East Midnapore's Nandigram on Thursday. The BJP alleged that Trinamool-backed assailants carrying lathis launched the attacks on their party workers in which one BJP worker received serious injuries. The incident of violence took place near Sonachura Chawk in Nandigram when a group of Trinamool supporters allegedly attacked BJP workers with sticks, barely a few meters away from the public meeting site of Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP's Nandigram candidate and a Trinamool turncoat Suvendu Adhikari. The injured BJP worker was taken to the nearest hospital by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. An official complaint was also lodged by the East Midnapore district BJP unit with the local police station. "Mamata Banerjee must fight elections democratically. One of our Yuva Morcha leaders was attacked here in front of me. A group of Trinamool workers attacked our supporters after Suvendu Adhikari's 'roadside' meeting started in Nandigram," said Pradhan. The Union Minister said that he would appeal to the Election Commission (EC) to deploy paramilitary forces in the region to restore peace and normalcy during the elections. "In a democratic set up anybody can contest an election and do the political campaigns freely," Pradhan said, dubbing the incident as "unfortunate". (Newser) Under a bill Congress passed in 2019, spammers can be fined up to $10,000 for a single robocall. The fine handed out to two Texas-based telemarketers Wednesday worked out to less than 5 cents per robocall, but it was still a new record for the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC says John Spiller and Jakob Mears, who operated under business names including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, have been fined a record $225 million for sending out around a billion automated calls falsely offering affordable short-term health insurance plans from major companies, KHOU reports. story continues below Officials say Spiller admitted sending out millions of calls a day and said he targeted people registered on Do Not Call lists because he thought it would be more profitable. He also admitted using spoofed numbers, the FCC says. The fine is part of a wider FCC effort to crack down on robocalls, CNBC reports. Officials announced Wednesday that a new Robocall Response Team has been formed with 51 FCC employees who will coordinate anti-robocall efforts with other federal agencies. (Read more robocalls stories.) Bhubaneswar, March 18 : High political drama unfolded in front of Naveen Nivas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs sat on dharna on Thursday. The Chief Minister came out from Naveen Nivas and invited the protesting BJP MLAs for a discussion on how to end the stalemate in the Assembly, which has been witnessing pandemonium over alleged irregularities in paddy procurement and other issues for the last six days. After the House was adjourned following ruckus by the opposition and treasury bench, the BJP legislators marched towards Naveen Nivas in search of Naveen Patnaik. This was in protest against the Chief Minister's absence in the Assembly. They sat on dharna in front of the Chief Minister's residence. They refused to budge even after persuasion from the ruling party MLAs and Ministers. However, they ended their dharna and agreed for a discussion over the paddy procurement issue after the Chief Minister came out of his residence to meet agitating BJP MLAs. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has assured to chair an all-party meeting in a day or two to resolve the paddy procurement issues in the state, informed BJP deputy legislature party leader Bishnu Charan Sethi after meeting Patnaik at his residence with other BJP legislators. Leader of the Opposition Pradip Kumar Naik said normalcy can be restored in the House only after procurement of paddy. "We asked the Chief Minister to bring normalcy in the House. It is your duty to run the House smoothly," said Naik. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha informed that the discussion was fruitful and hoped that the House would function smoothly. Meanwhile, members of the Congress party staged a protest in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Assembly premises demanding procurement of paddy from all farmers in the state. Notably, stalemate continued in the Odisha Assembly for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday. The opposition BJP and Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the well over irregularities in paddy procurement while the ruling BJD MLAs protested from their seats demanding an apology from BJP MLA Subash Chandra Panigrahi for attempting suicide in the house by consuming sanitizer last week. Speaker Surya Narayan Patro adjourned the proceedings till 12 p.m. and then till 4 p.m. HOLYOKE Work will begin soon rehabbing the 149-year-old former Hotel Jess in Holyokes historic Depot Square into eight apartments and a first-floor restaurant once all the tax credits for the project are finalized. The state announced Thursday that it approved the citys five-year tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement for the project. The City Council OKd the agreement, worth $20,811, in December, but it also needed approval from the state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council. A TIF reduces the property tax burden on newly redeveloped property for five years. Owner Anthony Witman said Thursday hes also expecting a $475,000 incentive from the state Housing Development Incentive Program, as well as state and federal tax credits to help finance the project. The state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council said the project will entail a private investment of $850,000 and create 10 new full-time jobs. The Hotel Jess was built in 1872 in the "Commercial Italianate" architectural style. In 2018, it was acquired by Witman... Posted by Hotel Jess on Saturday, November 3, 2018 The construction costs are significantly more than the value of the property when youre done, said Whitman, who owns and manages other Holyoke properties. He bought the property in 2018 for $10,000, according to documents on file with the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. The previous owner was MassDevelopment, the states development finance agency. Built in about 1872 and also known as the Perkins Block, the building at the corner of Main and Dwight streets was a big part of Holyoke when it was a bustling railroad town. Now they are bringing the railroad station back, Witman said. I know a lot of older Holyoke people remember going there when it was the Hotel Jess as a bar and restaurant. The building has been vacant since the 1980s, Witman said. A fire in 1997 led to the city condemning it. But on Thursday Witman called it a gem. This photo of the interior of the Hotel Jess in Holyoke shows off the surviving 19th century details. (photo provided) I love fixing these things up, he said, sharing photos of surviving Victorian details including a pressed-tin ceiling. Its great. A real landmark property. Statewide, the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council approved six projects for participation in the Economic Development Incentive Program and one Vacant Storefront Project. These projects are expected to create 297 jobs and retain 25 jobs throughout Massachusetts, while leveraging approximately $108.6 million in private investment. West Australian political parties must heed calls to drive cultural change or risk their demise, according to retiring Nationals MP Jacqui Boydell. In the wake of revelations members of Parliament and parliamentary workers in WA are not clearly protected from, or liable for, sexual harassment in the workplace, Ms Boydell who has called out her own party for slut shaming threw her support behind calls for legislative change. Nationals WA Jacqui Boydell. Credit:Peter de Kruijff Fundamentally, any changes that improve the expectations of members of Parliament, I think the time is ripe to do that, Ms Boydell said. Australia is calling for it, we should do it and we should be able to reflect on ourselves without fear or favour. Where everyone else is expecting us to behave in a manner that is acceptable outside the Parliament, we should also expect to operate within those same principles inside Parliament and not use the Parliament as a form of protection. "I started Kaleidescape, with cofounders Cheena Srinivasan and Dan Collens, in February of 2001. I had just built my first home theater at a time when the only practical movie source was a DVD disc. But DVDs were inconvenient to purchase, store, find, and play. We imagined and created new products and a cloud infrastructure that would deliver high-fidelity movies through the Internet, store them digitally in the home, automatically organize them, and make them easy to play in any room," said Michael Malcolm, chairman of Kaleidescape's board of directors. At its inception, Kaleidescape's founders united around a desire to do what they loved and create a company and products they could champion with pride. With a passion for movies and deep respect for experiencing them as the filmmakers intended, they saw an opportunity to bring films to life through immersive home cinema. They built a team grounded in a shared dedication to their craft, and engineered innovations that stemmed from the realization that great home cinema is as much about audio as video; that what happens before the movie starts and after it finishes is just as important as the quality of the movie itself. As the lights dim, viewers are drawn deeper into the story by each subtle sound and ground-shaking rumble and held captive until the end credits roll and the lights slowly return. This is the transportive power of the Kaleidescape experience. "Kaleidescape remains as elegant and unmatched as it began," said Tayloe Stansbury, Kaleidescape's chief executive officer. "We are more engaged than ever with our customers, our partners, and our dealers, to deliver the finest home cinema experience to our discerning audience." Garnering over 50 industry awards, Kaleidescape built a global brand with installations in over 80 countries and the finest superyachts. We transitioned from storing digital copies of customers' DVD and Blu-ray discs to providing download access to thousands of iconic films. Today, Kaleidescape has the largest collection of 4K titles with lossless Atmos audio available and boasts over 12,000 titles for purchase and more than 8,000 for rent. For those who want to enjoy opening night at home, our Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) feature provides access to just-released films. In addition to offering an expansive catalog of films, concerts and TV series, Kaleidescape prioritizes quality and ease by automating settings and curating instant scene access. "I'd like to congratulate Kaleidescape for 20 years of providing a fantastic, secure, super high-quality source for true home cinema," says Barry Sonnenfeld, whose award-winning credits include his cinematography on Miller's Crossing, Raising Arizona, Big, and When Harry Met Sally as well as his directorial work, including Get Shorty, The Addams Family, and the Men in Black franchise. Most recently, he was the show runner and directed many episodes of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events. "I've had several home screening rooms in the last 30 years and I always tried to create an experience better than I can get in a commercial movie theater. I rely on Kaleidescape to deliver a truly fantastic image and incredibly great sound." Kaleidescape is the only online provider of films with full-fidelity audio and video for luxury home cinema. The company's Internet-delivered movies include proprietary metadata that enables its award-winning movie players to produce a truly astonishing home cinema experience. Kaleidescape systems are installed worldwide in the best homes and yachts. Founded in 2001, and headquartered in California, Kaleidescape sells its products exclusively through custom integrators. CONTACT: Josh Gershman, [email protected] SOURCE Kaleidescape Related Links https://www.kaleidescape.com/ Ged Kearney, the newest entrant to Parliament of the trio, said her byelection was plagued with undesirable tactics from both sides of politics. One poster attached to a pole outside the front door said open season on politics with a picture implying I was fair game to be shot, the member for Cooper said. This issue is an incredibly important conversation. It is one of unquestioned solidarity from me and my Labor sisters to all women across the political divide. So many of us have experienced the sexualised comments, the insults, the obsession with our bodies and our private lives and the expectation of sexual favours. We need to fight alongside each other against woman-hating everywhere. If this is happening to one, it is happening to us all. Earlier this week, Liberal MP Nicolle Flint, who is quitting politics partly because of the abuse directed at her during the last election, broke down on the floor of the Parliament as she pleaded for the safety of women to be above politics. Loading Ms Flint has spoken about being targeted by GetUp using controversial bird-dogging or hunting techniques. GetUp issued a statement this week and said it had conducted an internal investigation, which found none of its staff were involved in harassing the MP. The harassment experienced by Nicolle Flint as the Member for Boothby during the 2019 election campaign is abhorrent to GetUp as an organisation, the organisation said in a statement. We condemned the behaviour at the time and went to great lengths to confirm our members were not involved. We campaigned in the seat of Boothby and other key seats with hard-right Liberal MPs, but it is simply wrong to characterise our campaign as harassment or misogyny. Separately, Ms Flint has previously spoken of being stalked during the 2019 campaign. The member for Boothby took aim at Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, reprising Julia Gillards famous misogyny speech. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, I will not be lectured by you, I will not be lectured by your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place, she said. I ask the Leader of the Opposition, where was he and where was his predecessor and where were the senior Labor women when GetUp, Labor and the union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead-up to the 2019 election? Loading What I say to the Labor Party today is they may not have held the spray can to vandalise my office with sexist slurs, they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker or called me evil in GetUps phone calls, but they did create the environment in which hate could flourish, she said. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, this cant be about politics anymore. Federal politics has been embroiled in a furious debate about the treatment of women ever since Brittany Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, alleged she had been raped by a colleague inside the ministerial office of her then-boss Linda Reynolds. Higgins this week addressed a womens march outside Parliament House in Canberra, heaping pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison who refused to attend the event and told women they should be grateful that they could protest without being met by bullets, as in some countries. Tesla recently made a move on a major supplier of nickel in New Caledonia Our goal is to secure a pole position. Thus spake the chief executive of (ETR:VOW3), Herbert Diess, at the companys so-called Power Day, which was held on 15 March, in a conscious echoing of a similar event held by Tesla ( ) at the end of last year. The idea was to showcase Volkswagens move into the electric vehicle space, and to emphasise its arrival as a serious player. To some extent markets are already on board with this idea, as although Tesla remains the number one car company by market capitalisation, and an order of magnitude bigger than Volkswagen, nevertheless this year, Volkswagens shares have outperformed Teslas. Whether thats any reflection of valuations returning to a fundamental rather than a speculative basis is an open question. By unit vehicle Volkswagens sales far outstrip Teslas and always have. But the attraction of Tesla remains: its unremitting focus on electric vehicles. For now, Volkswagen remains in the company of governments and corporations the world over, talking of target dates and aspirations for change, while Tesla powers on with its singular electric-vehicle-only product range. So, while it may be that other companies like Volkswagen are playing catch-up fast, Tesla, according to its own publicity as well as the market, retains the edge in not trying to ride two horse at once. Battery technology is a key aspect of this, and it was noticeable that Volkswagen had a lot to say on battery types during Power Day and a little less to say about where the raw materials would be sourced from. Did Herbert Diess look out in envy from his office window in Germany when Tesla went in to New Caledonia and stake a significant intellectual marker over one of the biggest nickel deposits in the world? And what about lithium? The Volkswagen presentations were notably light about where the company expected to be able to source its supplies. Given the scale of Volkswagens ambitions, these are serious issues. The company has said it plans to develop six gigafactories in Europe alone, able to produce a total capacity of 240 gigawatt hours by the end of the decade. One major hub will be a gigafactory at Skelleftea in Sweden, already well-known as a mining industry hub. But therell need to be more to it than that Volkswagen plans to have a unified battery cell starting 2023, employing lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, in entry models, nickel-manganese in volume models, and nickel-rich NCM in high-end models. The plan goes against popular belief that nickel-rich chemistries will dominate the electric vehicle market in the future, so perhaps there was less envy of Elon Musk than might be supposed after the New Caledonia deal after all Diess and Musk are actually known to be quite friendly, and Musk has spoken favourably about a recent VW model. Still, when alls said and done, Volkswagen remains beholden to commodity markets and suppliers to deliver the relevant materials to get all these new cars built. How that will get done remains a key question. Some argue that Volkswagen was light on information because it doesn't yet know how and where it will source these metals. But there's another theory too: that Volkswagen is actually already deep into negotiations, and that it's deliberately saying very little so as not to influence how those deals end up being priced. Theres one source of lithium at Cinovec in the Czech Republic, right on the companys doorstep. Another lies not too far away, in Portugal, under the ownership of Savannah Resources ( ). Its possible to that a new lithium district is being opened up in West of England by the likes of and British Lithium, both of which remain private for now. But where will Volkswagen get its nickel, manganese and tin? And what will the immense demand its proposed 37-vehicle range looks set to create do to prices? The answer can only be good for junior nickel mining companies like Horizonte Minerals ( ) and Amur Minerals ( ), whether or not they actually end up selling to Volkswagen. 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. ATLANTA (AP) A white gunman accused of killing eight people, most of them of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors has been charged with murder in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community. Robert Aaron Long told police the attack was not racially motivated, claiming to have a "sex addiction" and apparently he lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. RELATED: Suspect in Atlanta-area spa shootings might have intended more shootings in Florida, mayor says Six of the victims were identified as Asian and seven were women. Officials said Long may have targeted the parlors because he saw them as a "temptation." Many suspects who commit mass shootings have a history of violence against women. Still, the attack haunted members of the Asian American community. New Covid infections continue to drop Hong Kong's coronavirus situation eases after a Covid outbreak at a gym appears to come under control. Image: Shutterstock The number of new coronavirus infections in Hong Kong continued to drop on Thursday, with 10 cases reported, six of which were locally acquired. The Centre for Health Protection was unable to trace the source for three of the infections a 15-year-old secondary school student, a 35-year-old marketing manager and a 36-year-old engineer. Health officials said they hope the decline in the number of cases linked to a gym in Sai Ying Pun means the outbreak there has been brought under control. Four imported cases reported on Thursday involved people travelling from the Philippines, Pakistan and Indonesia. The latest cases took the territory's pandemic tally so far to 11,350. Gwen van de Pas was a preteen swimmer in Holland when she met the man who would become her assistant swim team instructor, her caring confidante and soon after, her sexual abuser. Now a filmmaker living in San Francisco, van de Pas explores the traumatic experience in the documentary Groomed. The film (streaming on Discovery+), which van de Pas directed, has a strong pedagogic drive, laying out the steps perpetrators often take to groom victims target, befriend and prime them for sexual abuse. Van de Pas calls on experts, psychologists and a convicted sex offender for interviews, but the most illuminating examples come from her own story. In one harrowing sequence, she returns to her childhood bedroom to find the fawning letters her abuser wrote to her, and rereads them with an adults eye. As the film lays bare the intricacies of grooming, van de Pas chronicles her personal journey toward closure. In interviews, she recalls how she blocked out troubling memories for years, until the encounters began appearing in her dreams. She meditates on the meaning of justice and explores her hesitancy to report the abuse. Cathartic conversations with family members and other survivors lend comfort and clarity. Much of Groomed was filmed with a crew, and the subjects often appear in soft focus and cool hues. But the most affecting scenes clearly arose too suddenly for a production team. Early one morning, van de Pas calls her partner on Skype to relay upsetting news. She weeps in bed as her partner, on his way to work, sits down, stunned. The documentary is deliberate in ending on an uplifting note, but it is such intimate moments of pain that linger on. Groomed Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes. Watch on Discovery+. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Perhaps its the one year anniversary of the start to quarantine days or the fact that Staten Islanders are emerging from their homes more freely. By that, it means readers are looking around at the restaurant landscape and seeing whats open, whats closed and wondering generally about the state of the boroughs eating and drinking industry. So here are some of the most frequently asked questions to come over the transom these last few weeks. The former New Dorp Applebee's, which has relocated to the Mall with staff and furniture. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Staten Island Advance Q: Is Applebees in New Dorp re-opening? If yes, when will that be happening? A. The answer is no. But the good news is that the staff (and furniture) from the former New Dorp location have been relocated to the Staten Island Mall Applebees. Apple-Metros CEO Zane Tankel called the final day as Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 after a 25-year run. Tankel said it would vacate the premises so the property can be repurposed and the shopping complexs landlord confirmed that. Fish dishes at Applebee's added to the menu during Lent (Courtesy of Applebee's) In more current Applebees events, the Bulls Head, Charleston and Mall locations will present more fish as part of a Lenten menu program. Specials include Blackened Tilapia and Double Crunch Shrimp, both $19.99, Blackened Cajun Salmon for $21.99, Hand-Battered Fish & Chips for $16.99 and Blackened Cajun Salmon Caesar Salad for $18.99. Cafe Milano was established in 1993. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Shane DiMaio Q: What happened to Cafe Milanos next-door restaurant? A. Owners Eric Stropoli and John Lucchese closed the sit-down dining portion of their place in early December 2019. A wise decision in hindsight, perhaps, considering COVID-19. The owners have said future plans include an expansion of the lounge which is the storefront immediately next door to the pizzeria which is open daily. Cafe Milano 401 Forest Ave., West Brighton; 718-720-1313; CafeMilanoSI.com opened originally in 1993. Vittorio and Pauline Asoli in their New Jersey home on Thursday, March 18, 2021. Does that portrait look familiar? (Courtesy of the Asoli family) Q: Several readers took time to express how much they missed Trattoria Romana. The restaurant closed on Nov. 22 after a 26-year run. This time of the year with St. Josephs Day in our sights the saints feast day is Friday, March 19 good memories flow of former owner Vittorio Asoli and his wife Pauline. With that, the tenor of sentiment of correspondence has been: what are the Asolis up to these days? One reader asked, Can you remind us what was on the traditional San Giuseppe table? A. On Thursday morning, Pauline updated, Were trying to figure out things we never used to do like shop for the week. She laughed and explained that raiding the restaurants inventory would suffice when stocking their house pantry. Now we come up with weekly schedules. Were cooking for four rather than the masses but were getting there, she said on post-food service life. Before COVID-19: Chef Vittorio Asoli hosted his annual "Feast of San Giuseppe" cooking class, history lesson and celebration in honor of St. Joseph. (Staten Island Advance/Shane DiMaio) Shane DiMaio As for the St. Josephs Day tradition, it was one that became a sacred ritual, so to speak, at Trattoria Romana. Joseph, a carpenter by trade, is revered in Sicily because of a time of drought back in the Middle Ages. And as a nod to the woodworker breadcrumbs can be found liberally on foods this day. A lot of people from Staten Island, theyre from Sicily, said Vittorio in a phone call from his Jersey home. Pauline reminded, St. Joseph was the patron saint of Sicily. Vittorio is Roman but he took to the tradition. He had a cousin take him to Italy, a good month or two, in the summertime to go to the beach when he was a child. He started the St. Joseph tradition for the people of Staten Island. Every year it got bigger and bigger. Vittorio recalled, There were times we had to do four classes a year. There was the Italian American Association. They used to book a class just for themselves. This is the altar Vittorio Asoli built for St. Joseph. Note the three tiers for the Divine Trinity (Staten Island Advance File Photo) Between prepping for Pasta Con Sarde to building a three-tiered altar to St. Joseph, there are several painstaking steps to ready ones table for the holiday. Vittorio acknowledged the keen attention to detail and said, From cleaning of the fresh sardines, that was a big effort to do. With his chats and instruction, Trattorias Sicilian patrons would reflect fondly on memories of the Old Country. Theyd be in tears, I could see it in their eyes, he said. Musts for the meal on March 19 are stuffed artichokes, a cold eggplant dish known as caponatina, a blood orange-fresh fennel salad drizzled with olive oil and Penne Ala Nonna with fried eggplant cubes plus the celebrations starring dish Pasta Con Sarde topped with toasted breadcrumbs. Pauline experienced the holiday as as child in a piazza outside of a church. Every family had to cook a dish. There were long, long tables outside the church. The food basically was everything they had they were giving out plates of fresh fennel, said Pauline. She continued, Fava beans are the first crop that came about after a drought. Every Sicilian who is a true Sicilian will keep a dried fava bean with them at all times. Its a sign of good luck and assurance that there is always something to eat. Vittorio said not to forget the pastries! And one should know the difference between the two sweets important to the day sfingi and zeppole. Sfingi San Guiseppe is pastry with cannoli cream and has a hole in the middle. Zeppole have custard and no hole, Vittorio summed up. He will send recipes to Staten Island in his time at home, he said. Pauline and Vittorio miss their customers. Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com. 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 International University for East Africa (IUEA) has created 50 electric motorcycles in a bid to curb environmental pollution in the country. While unveiling the motorcycles at the campus at Kansanga in Kampala yesterday, Mr Hassan Alwi, the university proprietor, said the motorcycles are a result of a research project under the university's Bachelor of Science and Technology programme to improve life of batteries currently used in motorcycles in Uganda. He also said they were preparing to set up a local factory to manufacture the electric motorcycles. "These motorcycles are tailor-made from China. They are not the common bikes from the showroom in China. They are stronger, can carry heavy weight and were developed from a concept of solving problems using technology," he said. Mr Alwi also said when they asked their engineering students which local problems they could solve using technology, they identified pollution. He said the current motorcycles and old vehicles pollute the environment because they are powered by two-stroke engines, which burn fuel fast and grow old faster. The motorcycle with a fitted battery is fixed to a power source and is charged for about four to five hours. Upon full charging, the motorcycle can run up to 80km before it requires recharging. Mr Alwi said they are doing further research on how they can increase the battery's power retention to run up to 150km before the next charging. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Transport Innovation By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Dr Emeka Akaezuwa, the university's vice chancellor, said in 2018, the United Nations Environmental Programme and Electric Mobility Uganda, picked interest and started supporting the project because it is aligned with the sustainable development goal on use of clean energy. Dr Maxwell Otim Onapa, the director of science research and innovations at the Ministry of Science and Technology, thanked the university for the initiative. "Developed countries are getting rid of using fossil fuel in transport systems. I believe very soon, we shall be using electric vehicles and production of vehicles running on fossil fuels will go down," he said. The university also revealed that the United Nations Development Programme gave them up to the end of 2022 to reduce importation of motorcycles for boda boda service in Uganda by 30 per cent. Nollywood star, Rita Dominic, has explained why the release of La Femme Anjola, the buzzy crime thriller directed by Mildred Okwo and which she stars ,comes about five years after its production commenced. The movie which stars, Nonso Bassey, in the lead role, will launch locally in theatres nationwide on March 19, 2021. According to her, the movie was originally billed for release in 2020 but was postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. With the funding secured in March 2019 from Lagos-based GTI Securities as well as other private investors we finished up production in time for a 2020 release only for the rollout to be interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. The 45-year-old actress revealed this during an interview with PREMIUM TIMES at the media screening of the movie on Thursday. The movie was shot on a tight budget according to the producers who said the movie already had to wait at least five years for financial reasons. It was filmed for twenty-five days in Nigeria and went to South Africa for a week. It was difficult because we didnt have that much money. I would have loved for us to have about eight weeks here in Nigeria and another two or three weeks in South Africa, but we didnt have much money, Okwo explained. Speaking about how she was able to play the challenging lead role and get in tune with the character, Ms. Dominic said she felt she needed to play the character since she read the script and she connected to the role. For me, when I read a script and the character scares me, that is inspiration right there. When I first read the script and I was getting to the end, I said to myself, what just happened here? I went back to the beginning and read it all the way to the end. I feel for every actor, we are all going to find that one role that we connect with and I did connect to that role and I felt that I needed to be a part of this project. During the production, you know planning is everything, with the help of the director we created a backstory for Anjola. Backstories help you a lot because it helps you understand who this person is, where she is coming from, how she looks, why she is this way, just basically everything you need to know. Backstories help in the interpretation of the role and that is it, she said. Commenting on Ms Dominics role on the project, the director of the movie, Ms Okwo, said she felt lucky to have her and other actors on the set because they made her directional role easy. She said, Rita scared me. If you say drop it, she just drops it, takes her close, and goes to sit in a corner and wont talk to us which is sort of unusual because I thought I had to talk plenty but she said to me that I have been talking to her for five years. I always tell people that I try not to direct on set, even with all the other actors. I was very lucky with them, they prepared. But guess what, people will prepare for you when you give them the right tools. As you can see, we put in a nice script, a good script, proper production setting, but we waited a while to get the money because we didnt have the money initially. We waited almost four years and it was when we found the money that we started. Mental Health Challenges The actress also revealed how she fell into depression while filming her new movie, La Femme Anjola. I couldnt sleep, I remember my assistant was saying that I couldnt sleep at night, I would wake up with jolts, it was really depressing. I felt like Anjola, she revealed. Ms Dominic said she completely became her character, Anjola, who went through the harrowing consequences of getting entangled with a young male stockbroker and musician, played by Nonso Bassey, while still married to a wealthy gangster. The director spoke further on how filming intense roles affected the actors mentally. She said the lead characters, Dominic and Bassey, got so engrossed in their roles that it affected their mood off of the set. She said, I remember the day that had to do the killing scene, she was so depressed and she would sit away from everybody. She wasnt talking, she was sad. There was a scene when Nonso found his brother with his girl, he broke down, he started crying, he was into the character. ADVERTISEMENT That is what we hope to do with Nollywood, if you give people time, they will get into the character, so as a director, all I do is to guide them. She added that, unlike most directors, it is important to her how the actors fair mentally so she helped them unwind to feel better. Most directors dont really care about the actors and these emotional things affect them. So what I did after we finished shooting was I flew them away and paid for extra time for them to at least detox because you must take that time. It is very important to me, she said. Expenses The 54-year-old director also revealed that La Femme Anjola is an expensive movie and she is yet to figure out how much the movie costs, adding that she hopes the movie does well in the cinemas. Thank God for the pandemic, there are not too many Hollywood movies in our cinemas. I am hoping that people will come out and watch it, we dont have too many Hollywood films competing. Apart from that, it is a great film. Regarding the money, the thing is that we are still spending. It is a very expensive film, I hope that in the coming weeks, Ill be able to say how much because it is a lot of money, she said. La Femme Anjola Written by Tunde Babalola, La Femme Anjola is a psychological-thriller film noir that tells the story of a young man (Nonso Bassey), whose life followed a negative trajectory after he fell for a beauty queen, whom he cannot have. The film, which is from the stables of The Audrey Silva Company Limited, will be distributed by, Silverbird Distribution, the company which distributed their earlier releases The Meeting and Surulere. The film was shot in locations in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town (South Africa). UPDATE: Father says it makes no sense not charging adult in teens Russian roulette death at Burton home FLINT, MI -- The second of three teens charged with manslaughter after his friend was killed during an apparent game of Russian roulette at a Genesee County home has been arraigned in connection with the incident. Carter Gorham, 17, was arraigned Tuesday, March 16 in Genesee County District Court on a single count of involuntary manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. His arraignment comes after Denver Duffin, 19, was formally charged in district court on March 12. The youngest of the trio is charged as a juvenile as he was 16 when the fatal shooting occurred. He is awaiting a March 25 juvenile preliminary hearing, according to the Genesee County Prosecutors office. The charges stem from the Oct. 24, 2020 death of 17-year-old Zander A. Smith. Smith was at the home of one of the adult defendants in the 1400 block of South Packard Avenue in Burton. Related: Michigan teens charged in Russian roulette death of friend Smith suffered one gunshot wound to his head. Police arrived to find him unresponsive. He was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint where staff pronounced him deceased. The delay between when the shooting occurred and charges being issued was due to a lengthy investigation, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton previously said. The warrant submitted to Leytons office was originally rejected and sent back for more information. There was some social media chatter about it recently that got my attention, said Leyton. I inquired about that and one of my assistants and I worked with Burton police to get additional information that led to these charges. The revolver Smith used belonged to the teen whose house he was at, Leyton said. Two adults were also in the house, but not in the bedroom where the shooting occurred, he said. Leyton added the teens were smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol prior to the shooting. We know that the victim had the revolver, put a single bullet in the cylinder, and spun it, he said. Based upon the information we received, its pretty clear he was playing Russian roulette and none of the other three made any attempt to stop him. Thats where I have a problem and I think they should have intervened. Its grossly negligent that they did not, and thats how we got to the manslaughter charge. Gorham was issued a $100,000 cash/surety bond. He is scheduled for a March 25 probable cause conference in front of Genesee District Judge David Guinn. Read more on MLive: Man found shot to death in parking lot outside Flint club 2 injured, 1 critically, after exchanging gunfire outside Flint store Man who exchanged gunfire with state trooper charged with 11 felonies Michigan teen arraigned on manslaughter charge in Russian roulette death of friend Former Genesee Township police chief sues township claiming discrimination, forced resignation New Delhi, March 18 : The Delhi Police nabbed two persons, including a juvenile for the murder of a 23-year-old man. The three had fought over the deceased man's girlfriend. Pankaj was stabbed to death by the duo after a scuffle on March 14 in Dwarka's Dabri. "During investigation it was revealed that initially there was scuffle between Salman, age 23 years, and victim Pankaj over Pankaj's girlfriend in her presence. "Salman called his friend aged 16 years in order to teach Pankaj a lesson of his life. There was scuffle between Pankaj and the juvenile, and the juvenile stabbed Pankaj with a knife, who later succumbed to his injuries," said Santosh Kumar Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dwarka. Both the accused were traced to Agra at the native address of Salman and brought to Delhi. Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE, N.M. Its been more than a decade since the sparkling life of Tessa Horan was snuffed out at the untimely age of 24 when a tiger shark ripped off her leg in the South Pacific waters off a beach on a Tonga archipelago, where she was a Peace Corps volunteer. But her memory still looms large for those who knew her and have felt compelled to honor her lifes work with ongoing charitable events in her name. On Saturday, the 10th annual Tessas Ascension will again celebrate the things she loved, said Cody Sheppard, the Ski Patrol director at Ski Santa Fe, where the competition will be held. The idea was to reflect the things that she found important in life, Sheppard said. She really wanted to help people. This combined the sporting end of things that she loved to do with the ability to raise money for a good cause. If you go WHAT: Tessas Ascension WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday; registration begins 3 p.m. WHERE: Santa Fe Ski Area COST: Entry fee $35 REGISTER: Pre-race registration (deadline today) at Tessas Ascension5 p.m. Saturday; registration begins 3 p.m.Santa Fe Ski AreaEntry fee $35Pre-race registration (deadline today) at webscorer.com After graduating from high school in Santa Fe, Horan became an EMT and joined the ski patrol, re-acquainting herself with Sheppard, who had gotten to know her as a youngster on the local ski teams. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Ive been ski patrol director at the ski area for 30-some years, he said. She was on the ski race team up there. You get to know all the kids coming up. The acquaintance grew into much more as Horan went to work with Sheppards wife in her business. Then they started going on adventures together: rock climbing, triathlons, sailing. Meanwhile, Horan earned a bachelor of arts degree from the College of Santa Fe in elementary education in 2003 and worked as a substitute for Santa Fe Public Schools for two years. Feeling compelled to do more, Horan joined the Peace Corps and headed off to Tonga to teach and help the impoverished residents of that island nation. Shortly before she was mauled, she had expressed to her friends in New Mexico and Colorado, where she also spent quite a bit of her youth, the need for a library in the area where she worked. From the idea of helping that seed of an idea germinate into reality, Tessas Ascension was born, Sheppard said. She wanted to help people in so many ways, he said. We thought we would do something in her honor and also reflect some of the things she would like to do. Its a different type of ski event, Sheppard said, in that participants must first climb the ski run with Randonee or Telemark gear with climbing skins, then ski down slalom style. Snowboarders and those on regular downhill Alpine gear can participate by using snowshoes for the uphill segment That was something she loved to do: climb the hills, Sheppard said. Several years ago, a longer course with two hill climbs sandwiched around a mogul ski and ending with a giant slalom was added, and has proven to be quite popular, particularly with the extreme fitness crowd, he said. And while the event has grown to the point where a number of the participants do not know Horan, theres still a core of folks who knew her and participate every year, Sheppard said. A lot of these people come back year after year, he said. It just kind of keeps it going. They talk up the event and bring a friend. And then they become another regular. Its just a beautiful event. It starts after the ski area has closed to the general public so participants often can enjoy a sunset glow show, Sheppard said. Also, participants are treated to a dinner provided by the ski area and local restaurants, and top finishers are awarded prizes donated by local sporting goods stores, he said. But the real winners are the charities the event supports. It took two years to raise the money for the library and, thereafter, funds went to various other causes. This year, money raised will go to the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico, which helps northern New Mexicans with cancer to access treatments in Santa Fe. Previous organizations that have benefited include the Central Asia Institute, Warehouse 21, Assistance Dogs of the West and Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity. For more information or questions, call 992-5086 or email kathyw@sfpatrol.org. To register in advance, go to webscorer.com and search using the race name Tessa. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:41:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday urged for regional peace which would help the country take advantage of its strategic location for better trade ties and connectivity with its neighbors to achieve regional economic prosperity. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said at the inauguration of a government-sponsored Islamabad Security Dialogue held here that economic prosperity can not be sustained without peace in the neighborhood, urging India to take steps and create an enabling environment for moving forward regarding bilateral ties. The prime minister also said that peace in Afghanistan "is the key to unlocking the connectivity potential of the region" and wished a political settlement in Afghanistan that can lead to sustainable peace. The main theme of the Islamabad Security Dialogue is "Comprehensive Security Framework" that will enable the country to unfold its untapped potential in becoming a hub of regional development. Pakistan plans to make the dialogue an annual event to parallel world's leading security dialogues. Enditem This is the shocking moment a man set fire to the headquarters of a local newspaper that has slammed the Brazilian government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveillance cameras captured the arsonist pulling up his motorcycle to the office of Folha da Regiao de Olimpia in Aracatuba, Sao Paulo, on Wednesday and torching the front door entrance before he sped away. The newspaper's editor, Jose Antonio Arante, said he was woken up at approximately 4:30am by his barking dogs, who were alarmed by the smoke that was coming out of the office. The family then noticed that the door to their home, which sits next to the office, was set on fire and managed to extinguish it before he, his wife and his granddaughter were able to exit the residence. A man escapes on a motorcycle moments after setting fire to the the headquarters of local newspaper Folha da Regiao de Olimpia in Aracatuba, Sao Paulo, on Wednesday. The outlet has been critical of the Brazilian government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic Folha da Regiao de Olimpia's editor Jose Antonio Arante blamed the followers of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for Wednesday's arson attack at the newspaper's office A section of the wall at the entrance of Brazilian newspaper Folha da Regiao de Olimpia was burned during an attack Wednesday Arante said that a vehicle used by the publication to pick up print copies at a plant in the city of Sao Jose do Rio Preto had been involved in a minor accident on a highway Friday after it was rear-ended and almost hit on the side by another motorist. On Sunday, Arante noticed that his car had a flat tire and the wheel nuts were loose. It's unknown if all three incidents were related. Footage from a security camera across the street from the office of local newspaper Folha da Regiao de Olimpia captures the moment a male suspect set fire to the office's entrance Arante believes that the fire was the work of supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, whom he categorized as 'genocidal denialists.' In an op-ed column published Sunday, Arante blasted Bolsonaro for suggesting that the latest preventive measures set in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in Sao Paulo and in the Federal District were 'extreme.' The governors of both locales imposed a curfew that banned pedestrians from being in the streets between 10pm and 5am in the Federal District and from 8pm to 5am in Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro went as far as comparing the measures to a siege. 'Although we are in a real war against a mortal enemy, this is microscopic, invisible to the naked eye and what it seems is that everything is done to further confuse or disturb the Brazilian scenario that is already being considered the epicenter of the current world crisis (or the most backward and stupid country in the world),' Arante wrote. 'And surely what is leading the country to this world situation is another virus, that of Bolsonaro's political tactics of pseudo negationist imbecility (who intentionally opts for his electoral strategy no matter how many Brazilians will have to die because of his desire to keep in power).' Arante, a journalist with 40 years of experience, vowed that the latest string of incidents would not quiet him from exposing the truth. 'I started my career at the end of the dictatorship and I will not give up fighting for my people and against any kind of terrorism and political thinking that aim to take away the freedom and provide for the rights of my population,' Arante said in a story that was published on the newspaper's online portal. The entrance to Folha da Regiao de Olimpia, a local newspaper in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was set on fire Wednesday. No arrests have been made Arante runs the weekly publication and also hosts a daily news show with his daughter that airs on YouTube and Facebook and is simulcasted on Radio Cidade. 'Even so, I was able to see that some terrorist attack was being carried out against me and mine. But, now the confirmation came that we are in a much more serious clash than we imagined,' Arante said. 'I just can't see what the real reason for this situation would be. If it is merely local or transcends the boundaries of the municipality ... I want to believe that it is not, because then we would really be following a path that can be too bloody.' Fighting talk from Kwasi Kwarteng on how audit reform is crucial to restoring confidence in business. He charges that audit failures led to large-scale collapses such as Thomas Cook, Carillion and BHS, causing job losses and leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill. If he wanted to be fully up to date the Business Secretary could have added invoice finance group Greensill and Sanjeev Guptas industrial empire GFG to his list of corporate sinners. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claims audit failures led to large-scale collapses such as Thomas Cook, Carillion and BHS causing job losses and leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill London-based Greensill Capital handled billions of pounds of supply chain finance and ballooned into a vast business with virtually no regulatory oversight while audited by a lesser-known firm Saffery Champness. As for Guptas private empire it is almost impossible to track the finances of the 64 or so entities. What we do know is that in support of the jobs Gupta has saved in the UK until now he has managed to extract taxpayer funding from the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments and Whitehall. His companies may need fresh guarantees and loans now that Greensill, its main financier, is insolvent and some 5,000 British jobs are at stake. Audit industry changes proposed by Kwarteng are well rehearsed. At the core is new regulator the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority with sweeping powers to fine and discipline auditors as well as hold directors responsible for preventing and detecting fraud. John Kingmans report on toughening up the policing of audit was produced and published in super-quick time in 2018. Subsequent reports by the Competition and Markets Authority and Donald Brydon designed to encourage competition, clean up the profession and restore faith in accounts have still to be acted upon. The authors of all three reports have been wheeled out by the Business Department in support of change. All carry the same message the need for reform is urgent. But in place of action now there is to be a further round of consultation. Instead of grasping the nettle there is to be four months more of delay. By then the House of Commons will have packed up shop for the summer. The linked Greensill GFG/Liberty scandals tell us why, as former stock exchange boss Brydon says, reform is required now and Kingman demands legislative action. These are not governance hotheads sounding off but City grandees who have had enough of the bumbling. In the small print of the Government statement are the deadly words that legislation will be introduced when Parliamentary time permits. Companies and the employees have transformed in the pandemic, converting to home-working and embracing digital systems. The very notion there is insufficient bandwidth to clean up audit as Britain goes global is beyond parody. Free wheeling A great feature of Britains labour market is its flexibility. There is a tendency to denigrate the gig economy but without people like Deliveroo moped riders and Freddies Flower cyclists, some of the wealth creation seen in the pandemic might never have happened. Arguably, Uber drivers are a different case and new employment rights such as the living wage, sick pay and pensions will not spread to other activities. One also suspects not all drivers will be excited by the change. The regularisation of their terms and conditions will see them converted from self-employed to payroll workers, removing tax advantages. Among the movers behind the change are black cab drivers, who were on a mission against cheaper rivals even though many are free market advocates. They are allied with the unions which would like nothing better than bring everyone into the net. A solution might be for employers to offer staff a choice of gig working or regular employment. Everyone deserves decent pay and that means the living wage-plus. It would be fascinating to see which way gig workers would jump. Upwardly mobile Marks & Spencer has been out of stock market favour for a long time. Fascinating then that, as it broadens the brand offering online with Jaeger, ramps up food delivery with Ocado and prepares to redevelop its flagship store in London, attitudes rapidly are changing. Data provider Sentifi shows M&S shares scored the biggest sentiment change, plus-92 in the last week. Fancy that! This is always the time of year when I remind our customers to get a head start on scheduling home improvement projects, said Sam Boak. Now that spring has officially begun, exterior contractors are getting busier and busier. Sam Boak, president and founder of Boak & Sons, Inc. has avidly reminded customers to start scheduling their home improvement projects to get ahead of the rush and avoid delays. Boak & Sons, Inc. is a residential and commercial exterior contracting company based in Youngstown, Ohio. They specialize in roofing, gutters, insulation, siding and sheet metal and serve customers from Cleveland, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although the winter season isnt over yet, as the warm weather approaches, Sam Boaks schedule along with other contractors are starting to fill up quickly. This is always the time of year when I remind our customers to get a head start on scheduling home improvement projects, said Sam Boak. We call it March Madness because out of all the months here at Boak & Sons, March is always when scheduling is the most hectic. The weather starts to warm up, so everyone wants to get their projects done for spring. We do our best to avoid delays, and customers can help that by scheduling far in advance. Through the winter season, Boak & Sons still works on as many projects as the weather will allow. In many cases, it is either too cold or there might be too much snow to safely work on a home or building. Safety is the number one rule at Boak & Sons, which applies to both the employees and their customers. Boak & Sons takes advantage of the slower season by preparing for March and the rest of spring while also maintaining trucks and equipment. Reaching out to customers to verify schedules and scheduling new projects takes up the majority of a typical work day throughout this time of year. We start preparing our crews and office staff for March months in advance, said Chris White, vice president, operations at Boak & Sons, Inc. We want to stay on top of the busy season to bring our customers the best quality service possible, so we dont take a break when things slow down a bit. March is always the month where our phones are ringing off the hook, but were ready. Sam Boak also knows how important it is to get repairs made in a timely manner to avoid causing further damage to homes and commercial buildings. By scheduling far in advance, home owners and building managers can avoid a long wait time for their projects. To learn more about Sam Boak and Boak & Sons, Inc. or to schedule a free estimate for one of their services, visit http://www.boakandsons.com/contact. You can also call the office at 330-793-5646 to speak to Sam Boak or one of the Boak & Sons employees. # # # About Boak & Sons: Boak & Sons, Inc. was founded by Sam Boak in 1974 as an insulation contractor. With the high energy costs of the 70's, Boak & Sons expanded early on into the roofing business. They offered economical roof installations through cutting edge technology and equipment, allowing customers to recoup even more in energy savings. Today, Boak & Sons is a residential and commercial contractor for roofing, insulation, sheet metal, siding, and gutters. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, the company serves customers in surrounding areas from Cleveland, Akron, and Canton to Cranberry and Pittsburgh. For more information on Boak & Sons, visit their website at: https://www.boakandsons.com/ Moundville suffered damage after a swept through town during a surge of severe weather in Alabama Wednesday. Homes, vehicles and other structures were destroyed in downtown Moundville and other areas like the Waterbury subdivision at the edge of town in Hale County. Residents surveyed the damage, with car windshields shattered and the homes front doors busted through, as neighbors and others gathered to make immediate repairs. Large trees were uprooted, with chunks of roof from nearby homes and businesses scattered across the soaked pavement. See photos from the storm damage in the gallery above and the images below. RELATED: Read all of AL.coms weather coverage. Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) Severe weather damage at homes in the Waterbury subdivision in Moundville, Ala., on March 17, 2021. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com) A house on Moundvilles Second Avenue suffered major structural damage. Most homes in the downtown area were, however, spared. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) Some tree damage was visible on Moundvilles Market Street, the road that connects downtown to busy Highway 69. Cleanup efforts had already begun only hours after the storm. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) An automotive shop near the corner of Market Street and Second Avenue after the presumed tornado. The shop is in the center of downtown Moundville. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) A trampoline from a neighboring yard landed in Moundvilles Taylor Park. The park itself was undamaged. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) An automotive shop near the corner of Market Street and Second Avenue after the presumed tornado. The shop is in the center of downtown Moundville. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) The Bank of Moundville suffered some damage to the drive-thru teller area of its building. The presumed tornado crossed Second Avenue and then struck the bank. (Courtesy of Will Nevin) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 She never fails to catch the eye whenever she steps out for her daily radio show. And Amanda Holden was at it again on Thursday as she made a very stylish exit from her Heart FM radio duties at the Global Studios in London's Leicester Square. The presenter, 50, looked effortlessly chic in a white knitted midi dress adorned with matching buttons. Chic: Amanda Holden was at it again on Thursday as she made a very stylish exit from her Heart FM radio duties at the Global Studios in London 's Leicester Square Amanda teamed the item of clothing with a tailored cream coat which further highlighted the star's toned figure. Adding some finishing touches, the presenter opted for white heels, sunglasses and a gold chain necklace. Amanda styled her blonde locks into a blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up. The presenter appeared in great spirits as she made a stylish exit from her daily radio show. Stunning: The presenter, 50, looked effortlessly chic in a white knitted midi dress adorned with matching buttons Details: Amanda teamed the item of clothing with a tailored cream coat which further highlighted the star's toned figure It comes after Amanda recently shed light on how she goes about selecting her daring ensembles for Britain's Got Talent. The TV judge famously racked up 235 Ofcom complaints during last year's series for a very risque dress but she remains defiant in her wardrobe choices. Amanda said she seeks advice from her husband, record producer Chris Hughes, and her daughter, Lexi, 15, when selecting her ensembles. She said: 'If I'm trying on outfits for shows I'll say to Lexi, "Is there too much side-boob?" or "Is this too much?" and she'll grin and say, "Go for it, Mum". Radiant: Amanda styled her blonde locks into a blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up 'I'll ask Chris if I'm looking like mutton and he says, "Mandy, you could never look like mutton." It's positive affirmation that we women need. 'My mum loves it. She just laughs about it. So does my daughter.' Speaking to the Mail On Sunday's YOU Magazine, Amanda was more than happy to chat about how comfortable she is being naked. Chatting about cooking her family a roast recently, she said: 'I was quite literally the Naked Chef. I got out of the shower, realised I was running late to get everything on the table so I didn't bother to get dressed. 'I just raced downstairs, got the potatoes on, the meat in the oven and my veggie option. It definitely made it more interesting.' Chris, Lexi, and younger daughter Hollie, nine, didn't seem to care, she added. 'No one noticed. It's absolutely par for the course for me to be walking around with no clothes on in our house. 'Obviously now Lexi's a bit older she does a bit of eye-rolling every now and again, but they're all very used to me.' 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. Moscow, March 19 : Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he would like to invite his US counterpart Joe Biden to an online meeting to continue their discussions of bilateral ties. Putin told a local TV program that the first phone call between the presidents in January was initiated by Washington, the Xinhua news agency reported. "I want to invite President Biden to continue our discussions, but on the condition that we do this actually live, as they say, online," he said. The discussions could be held on Friday or Monday, and the Kremlin is ready at any time convenient for the White House, Putin said, adding that he would give relevant instructions to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Earlier in the day, Putin said that the US has to take into account Russia's interests and Moscow is capable of protecting them. He emphasised that Russia is prepared to work with the United States in fields of mutual interest, but only on terms that are favourable for Russia. Putin made the remarks amid escalating Moscow-Washington tensions after a US intelligence report on Tuesday accused Russia of "denigrating" Biden's candidacy during the elections to increase support for former President Donald Trump. President Moon Jae-in speaks with Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong during his visit to a public health center in Seoul's Mapo District, Feb. 26, to observe the administering of COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare workers. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok By Jun Ji-hye President Moon Jae-in is facing a dilemma over whether he has to keep his promise to receive an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shot next week, as concerns over safety of the vaccine have kept rising as cases of blood clots after vaccinations have been reported for two consecutive days, Thursday. The presidential office earlier said President Moon, 68, and first lady Kim Jung-sook, 66, planned to get vaccinated in public on March 23, saying the inoculation is part of preparations for participation in a G-7 summit to be held in Britain in June. "Moon and the first lady's inoculation against COVID-19 is in line with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's (KDCA) guidelines for those who have to go overseas for essential purposes," presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said, Monday. Today Some sun mixing with thickening clouds with an afternoon shower possible. Tonight Mostly cloudy with a few showers, especially late. Tomorrow Mostly cloudy and more humid with a few showers and thunderstorms, our best chance for rain this week. A few gusty t-storms are possible later in the day. A man wanted for questioning over a house fire in Adelaide in which three people were seriously injured has been arrested in NSW. The 32-year-old was stopped while driving by NSW Police on Wednesday night and detained on a South Australian warrant for attempted murder. He was taken to a Sydney hospital where he remains under police guard. The blaze started in the lounge room of a home in Woodville West just before 4am on Wednesday. Pictured: Crime scene investigators and detectives on the scene SA police are currently liaising with NSW authorities to secure his extradition in coming days. A 31-year-old man who was burnt in the fire remains in a critical condition in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Two women, aged 27 and 28, are also being treated in hospital for less serious injuries. A man and two women inside the home were taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious injuries after being doused with a flammable liquid The Woodville West blaze was quickly brought under control on Wednesday morning with two fire trucks and eight firefighters containing damage to the lounge room. Crime scene investigators and detectives believed the fire was deliberately lit and wanted to speak with a man over the incident. All the parties were known to each other and the blaze was not considered a random attack, police said. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Paul Deonaraine sat at the bar in a green Boston Bruins jersey Wednesday night. Alone, technically, but not really throughout the night, imbibers in the relatively packed Kings Head pub seemed to recognize him and what might have once been a hug became an elbow bump and a yelled conversation two metres or so apart. While he elbow-bumped and yelled, a masked server placed a fourth drink in front of him without saying a word. "It feels awesome to be here," he told the Free Press, and he clearly meant it. Deonaraines been a regular at the Exchange District pub for 15 years. A longtime Bruins fan, hed purchased the jersey shipped across the border in anticipation of St. Patricks Day last year and was crushed when he wasnt able to wear it out. He's waited two years to sit at this bar and wear this jersey. Its the last night out for Deonaraine for a while hes taking a break after this, he said; when asked why, he grins and says "personal reasons" but has planned his evening out accordingly: two hours outdoors on the patio, enjoying the warm weather, and then a seat at the bar to catch the streamed concert from American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys till close. Deonaraine wasnt alone. Across the city, pubs and bars hosting their first St. Patricks Day since 2019 saw tables of socially distanced green-clad patrons, with lines snaking out the door starting early in the day. Walking into the Kings Head, for a brief moment, felt surreal for a minute, before taking in the masks, barriers and spaced-out seating that have become staples of our everyday life, it could have been 2019 again. Theres still some cognitive dissonance in providing your contact information to a pub so the province can contact you should you be exposed to a potentially deadly virus. Asked if he felt some lingering nervousness being there that night, Deonaraine joked he didnt "after a couple drinks," but quickly took a more serious tone. The Kings Head was quick to implement closures, show up for the community, and introduce strict cleaning and distancing rules, he said, and that gave him more comfort than he would have going anywhere else. "Its also supporting a business that was proactive in shutting down the day before St. Patricks Day (last year), which wouldve been their cash cow," he said. "Theres a lot of working parts (that went into) me being here right now." In Osborne Village, the Toad in the Hole pub was seeing relative success in the time of COVID-19, manager Sam Matthews said. At one point in the day, people had been waiting outside to enter, in part because customers who wanted a pint had to order a meal as well, a pandemic regulation that kept people around longer than usual. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Even dogs got into the spirit. "The customers are very respectful more so on this reopening than the first reopening respectful of the regulations, I mean," he said. "Everyone seems to be a little more in line and understanding. The musics not cranked, obviously, but everybodys still having fun and shaking off a bit of the cabin fever." The Toad reopened on Monday, but Matthews said Wednesday marked the first day customers really showed up, adding that advertising for the reopening was low-key. The return to business felt particularly meaningful considering the Toads unfortunate luck a year ago after closing its original Osborne Street location on New Years Eve, the pub was slated to reopen at a new spot down the street on that St. Patricks Day. The pandemic ruined that. A year later, however, Matthews said he was "thrilled" to be back at it. "I would say its a success. Everyones trying to make the best of it and being respectful," he said. Meanwhile, at Fionn MacCools on Grant Avenue, live music was part of the experience for a full patio. In true DIY style, one-man band Grant Leutschaft performed cover songs from the back of a truck owned by restaurant owner Jay Kilgours father. On Saturday, the province loosened regulations for patios: up to six people from different households are allowed at a table. The new rules were the perfect opportunity for Kerrine Wilson and her five friends to meet up at Fionns Wednesday evening. All six belong to a jazz enthusiast club, which would meet every Tuesday night pre-pandemic. They werent able to meet virtually "Were older, you know," she joked so the close-knit group hasnt seen each other in months. Wilson, decked out in a green hat and scarf, said she was overjoyed to see her friends again and celebrate one of her favourite holidays. Her plan for the rest of the evening? Finishing a Guinness "Of course," she said and potato skins, her favourite. "Im Irish. I just love the energy, the excitement, the food is wonderful. Its great to be with my friends again." MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Di and Jim McDougal celebrate St. Patricks Day at The Kings Head. Back at the Kings Head, maybe three metres away from where Deonaraine was elbow-bumping and yelling at the bar, Jim and Di McDougall sat on the same side of a booth tucked away in the corner, shrouded in protective glass. Decked out in full green regalia and picking at the last bits of a fish and chips plate and two drinks "some kind of IPA" for Di, a Guinness for Jim Di beamed when asked what brought them out that night. "Its my favourite day besides my birthday," she said. They were both quick to say they werent overly worried about the possibility of exposure at the Kings Head, as they were more or less behind glass and were following all protocols. If the case counts were higher, theyd likely be at home. Normally, St. Patricks Day is a cultural event for them they typically take in Irish dancing and live music. This year, however, they planned to finish their drinks, take in the first period of the Jets game and head home. "Its still not the same as a normal year, but Dianes always crazy excited about (the day)," Jim said. "So she really wanted to go have lunch and a few beers, and just sort of seeing people outside and inside is a big deal." Dis bright smile belied the tears that began to well up while her husband talked. The smile didn't leave even after she quickly wiped her eyes. "Im so elated to be here today," she said. "Its fun." There was a feeling of relief that permeated pubs and eateries that evening, the chance for a semblance of normalcy after a year of isolation that has left many exhausted and eager for a chance to reconnect. Walking out of a busy pub and onto a busy patio that night made it apparent people were nostalgic for a time that wasnt that long ago and that they possibly saw a return to that time on the horizon. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: malakabas_ Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Mar, 2021 ) :President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw the opening of a Moscow-backed gold refining plant in Kyrgyzstan, pledging the impoverished country's second largest mine would see $600 million in investments from Russia. Russia, China and the West have competed for influence in Central Asia including in Kyrgyzstan whose economy relies on gold mining, among other industries. Moscow has watched billions in investments from China pour into Central Asia in recent years, with Russian companies struggling to compete. On Wednesday, watching the opening of the gold processing plant at the Jerooy mine in northwestern Kyrgyzstan via video link, Putin said the project would see "record volumes" of investment totalling $600 million by the end of its lifetime. The plant at Jerooy, a mine operated by Russia's Alliance Group had been expected to go on line last year, but was attacked during unrest that saw a Kyrgyz administration toppled and populist Sadyr Japarov emerge as leader. The group said the arson attack cost the company over $10 million in damages, delaying production at Jerooy, which holds nearly 90 tonnes of gold and 25 tonnes of silver. Kyrgyz leader Japarov thanked Putin for his support of the project. Gold is central to the threadbare economy of the majority Muslim country of 6.5 million people which sends hundreds of thousands of its citizens to work in Russia each year. But mining projects, including a flagship Canadian mine and several Chinese projects, have been flashpoints of contention in recent years. During his trip to the largely agrarian province of Talas on Wednesday, Japarov met with demonstrators who have protested against the Jerooy project over environmental concerns. At the ceremony, he appealed for stability, stressing the project's importance to the state budget. "We have great goals and common intentions. They are a bright future for our country and the well-being of our people," said Japarov, who was serving jail time for hostage-taking when he was freed during October's anti-government uprising. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrains Ambassador to Belgium Dr Bahia Jawad Al Jishi has stressed that the resolution issued by the European Parliament and its fallacies constituted an unacceptable interference in the Kingdoms internal affairs. The Ambassador was speaking during the monthly meeting of the Arab Ambassadors Council in Brussels held virtually. At the Ambassadors request, the Council expressed strong condemnation and total rejection of the European Parliament statements and resolutions on the situation of human rights in the Arab countries, the most recent of which was the resolution on Bahrain. Dr Al Jishi, who is also Bahrains Ambassador to Luxembourg and Denmark and Representative to the European Union and NATO, stressed the importance of the Council confronting such resolutions and their allegations and fallacies. The resolutions are drawn from suspicious and dishonest sources and they are aimed at distorting the image of Bahrain as well as other Arab countries, she said. Dr Al Jishi highlighted Bahrains progress in protecting and promoting human rights and ensuring basic freedoms, both of which have been recognised and praised by many regional and international institutions. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? Traders need to learn how to navigate volatile markets by implementing a solid trading plan and adopting sound risk management. This article provides effective tools for traders looking to trade post release. Other articles in this series: Post-release trading strategies 1. Trend following strategy This strategy involves the use of multiple time frames, as well as, well-defined levels of support and resistance that come into play after a news release. Traders can adopt this strategy when the current market price is approaching a well-defined level of support or resistance but isnt quite there yet. The volatility after the news release has the potential to push the market toward the trendline. If price respects the trendline, traders can look to trade in the direction of the trend and trade the potential bounce. The following 4 points are of assistance for this type of trade: Determine trend direction on a daily chart Draw support and resistance lines Select a forex time frame anywhere from 1 4 hours Buy near support in uptrend and sell near resistance in downtrend Keep in mind that news releases have the potential to break through longstanding levels of support and resistance which underscores the importance of using tight stops when pursuing this strategy. 2. Dual spike breakout strategy This strategy involves waiting for market volatility to reveal a range before trading a break of that range and makes use of a five-minute chart. For illustrative purposes this section incorporates the US Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) release as this often has the greatest potential to move the market. After the NFP release, wait 15-minutes for three five-minute candles to close. Take note of the highest price and the lowest price of the three closed candles. Next, place an entry order to go long at the highest price and an entry to go short at the lowest price. Once an order is triggered, targets can be set at twice the distance of the high/low channel while stops can be set above resistance for short trades and below support for long trades. The disadvantage of this strategy is that volatility can push price above or below the short-term range, triggering an entry order, and then immediately reversing to hit a stop loss. This strategy can be applied in the following way: Customize the chart settings to show 5- minute charts Take note of the highs and lows of the first three candles Set entry orders when price breaks above or below the range Set stops and limits Delete the unfilled order Dual spike forex news trading strategy 3. News Reversal Strategy The market can trade in one direction immediately after a major news release only to reverse and trade in the opposite direction. The news reversal strategy looks to trade the news after the release and focuses on a sudden, sustained reversal in direction after a strong initial move in price. The reversal could be the result of algorithms or, the market as a whole, feeling that there was an overreaction in price prompting trades in the opposite direction. The downside of this strategy is that no reversal takes place and the price continues trading in the direction on the initial spike. How to implement the news reversal strategy: Initial spike in price: News with great market moving potential generally lead to a spike in price as the news is released. Look out for a reversal : Traders can wait 10-15 minutes for the reversal to bring price back to where it was before the release. Entry: Enter as price breaks above/below pre-release levels. Set multiple target levels : Traders should consider setting multiple target levels. As one is triggered, traders can take profit on half of the position and adjusting the stop on the remaining position to breakeven. Trading forex after the release: Conclusion Trading the news after the release can be a more conservative way to approach news trading. This is due to the emotions from the news release subsiding allowing a trader time to plan a technical set up for their trade. Regardless of your trading approach to news trading, risk management and utilizing small amounts or no leverage is critical to maintaining capital in your account to make the next trade. Boost your forex trading knowledge Download our free currency forecasts to stay abreast with the DailyFX expert view on forex market movements. If youre just starting out on your forex trading journey, download our free New to Forex trading guide to get to grips with the basics. Trading after the news FAQ section What type of news is most likely to move the market? US economic data is so influential within global currency maekets that it is generally seen as the most important news. Additionally, it is important to note that not all news releases lead to increased volatility. Rather, there are a limited number of major news releases that have previously produced the greatest potential to move the market and some of these include: March 18, 2021 - Hoboken, N.J. - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. today announced a new four-year open access agreement with IReL, an e-resource licensing consortium for Irish institutions, to accelerate open access publishing and increase visibility for more than 150,000 students and researchers across Ireland. The read and publish agreement, which will run through 2024, allows researchers at participating institutions to both access Wiley's journals and to publish accepted articles open access in Wiley's hybrid and fully gold open access journals. From the start of the agreement, all authors from participating IReL institutions will be able to publish open access - resulting in a sharp increase in open access output. "Wiley continues to deepen its commitment to open access through transitional agreements - across both Europe and globally - which support academic collaboration and discovery at scale," said Judy Verses, Executive Vice President, Wiley Research. "With IReL, we will deliver more open access research than ever before and further knowledge on a variety of timely subjects." "IReL is very happy to proceed with this major agreement, which will help thousands of Irish authors easily make their work open access upon publication" said Jack Hyland, IReL Manager. This agreement marks Wiley's eleventh open access agreement, having signed agreements with Iowa State University in the United States, and the Conference of Italian University Rectors in Italy, earlier this year. ### About Wiley Wiley drives the world forward with research and education. Through publishing, platforms and tech-enabled services, we help researchers, professionals, students, universities, and corporations to achieve their goals in an ever-changing world. And for more than 200 years, we have delivered consistent performance to all our stakeholders. The Company's website can be accessed at http://www. wiley. com . About IReL IReL is an e-resource licensing consortium for Irish publicly funded higher education institutions and is managed and governed by Maynooth University. Further information: https:/ / irel. ie/ . Media Contacts: Geena De Rose, Wiley gderose@wiley.com / +1 908 723 6078 Jack Hyland, IReL jack.hyland@mu.ie or irel@mu.ie Former president Mary McAleese has challenged Irish bishops to acknowledge that the language used in the Vaticans recent document on blessing gay unions is gratuitously cruel in the extreme. She has sent correspondence to the head of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, seen by the Irish Independent. Dr McAleese appeals for him to please acknowledge the hurt these words of the CDF and Pope Francis have caused and will keep on causing. Her comments to the church leader are accompanied by a letter she has written to The Tablet, the international Catholic weekly, criticising the documents contents and Pope Francis. Read More On Monday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a formal response to the question of whether the Catholic Church can bless gay unions. In its Responsum on the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex, it concluded that the Church does not have the power to bless same sex unions as it was impossible for God to bless sin. While the Church should welcome gay people, it should not bless their unions since any such sacramental recognition could be confused with marriage, the document states. A number of bishops and priests have strongly criticised the CDF document which was approved by Pope Francis. Last October, Pope Francis said in a documentary that same sex couples should be allowed to have civil unions. In her letter to Archbishop Eamon Martin, who is head of the Irish Episcopal Conference, Dr McAleese said it had been heartening over the past few days to see clerics and bishops (though not from Ireland in the case of the latter) take issue with the language of the Responsum Explanatory Memorandum. Their courage is commendable. Is there any vestige of such episcopal courage here? she challenged the Irish bishops. She reminded Dr Martin that she had written to him recently seeking support from the Irish bishops for the 2020 Global Interfaith Commissions Declaration of the Sanctity of Life and the Dignity of all which acknowledges the harm done to our gay brothers and sisters by the language employed historically within faith systems. She admits she was taken by surprise by the unbearably vicious language of the Vatican document which can only have brought more heartache to our gay children and to us their families. Heartache and hurt fired like a missile from the centre of governance of the Church. Foolishly I dared to hope the language might reflect a growing awareness of the damage Church language has already wrought, the former head of state admits. Dr McAleese, who is a canon lawyer and a committed Catholic, warns that failure to challenge the Vatican document bodes ill for the synodal journey which the Irish bishops are preparing for the Irish church and is simply unacceptable. She questions if the proposed synod will really be an open, honest, good faith invitation to a listening dialogue especially to those who have left the Church or who are hanging on by a thread? Elsewhere in her letter, she points out that the Catholic Church runs 90pc of primary schools and 50pc of secondary schools in the country. School children in faith-based schools have rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Our government is a State Party to that Convention (as is the Holy See) and thus a protector of those rights. Among them is the right of our children not to be exposed to cruelly worded teachings that conduce to homophobia by presenting same sex married couples as ipso facto sinful and incapable of receiving Gods grace. We already know the dysfunction and damage those teachings have caused in the past and the message from the same sex marriage referendum was a resounding Stop. Did you not hear it? she asks. The Association of Catholic Priests has also criticised the recent document. In a statement, it said: The ACP believes that the CDF document is unfortunate and unwise, both in content and in timing. It is also contradictory. The content is negative, and condemnatory. While it says that gay people are loved and valued by the Church, it then states that they are sinners, that their loving relationships are fundamentally opposed to Gods plan for creation. Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers This is the main aspect of the election reform imposed by the mainland on Hong Kong. The Committee appointing the head of the local executive gets more powers. Beijing wants to eliminate so-called anti-Chinese elements. For Taiwans former pro-China president, the law means the death of the one country, two systems principle. Hong Kong (AsiaNews) The pro-Beijing Electoral Committee that appoints Hong Kongs chief executive will pick most of the members of its Legislative Council (LegCo), this according to Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, speaking on the final day of a forum on electoral reform in the former British colony. On 11 March, the final day of its annual session, the National People's Assembly (NPC) gave the green light to a draft proposal that grants new powers to the Electoral Committee (already controlled by Beijing). With the addition of 300 delegates from the NPC and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the body will go from 1,200 to 1,500 members. The LegCo will also be expanded from 70 to 90 members. According to Zhang, the Committee will elect the largest share; the rest will be chosen by direct suffrage in five geographical constituencies and indirectly by representatives of functional constituencies (industry, trade unions, professions). The authorities will also set up a committee to screen the nominations to the Electoral Committee and LegCo in order to block candidates who are not considered 'patriotic', a euphemism for people in favour of democracy. Zhang pointed out that forum participants have called for district councillors, most of them pro-democracy, to be removed from the enlarged Electoral Committee, or at least drastically reduce their numbers (there are currently 117). He pointed out that the matter would be referred to the NPC Standing Committee, which is responsible for drawing up amendments. In line with what Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, has already said, Zhang noted that reform is necessary to prevent Hong Kongs affairs from being endangered and manipulated by a very small number of so-called anti-Chinese elements. He also warned that the local economy and residents lives cannot be kidnapped by political interests. After a national security law was adopted in June 2020, critics say electoral reform is actually a new trick to wipe out the pro-democracy opposition in the former British colony. The toughest attack came from Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwans former (pro-Beijing) president. Last Friday, during a ceremony in memory of the founder of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen, Ma said that the electoral change will decree the death of the one country, two systems principle, which is basis of Hong Kong's autonomy. The issue is particularly sensitive for Taiwan, seen by Communist China as a rebel province. In addition to threatening to take the island by force, Beijing proposes peaceful reunification precisely on the basis of the principle of one country, two systems. Johnny Chiang, current leader of the Kuomintang (the nationalist party once led by Ma), expressed regret at the latest developments in Hong Kong. He noted that Beijing will not regain the trust of Hong Kong people unless it guarantees them a high degree of autonomy and democracy. Our Top 5 Magazines + Digital We get it. You live by the Ski Valleys snow report even when youre hours away. You follow every Taos post on Instagram. Our small town occupies a BIG part of your heart. Keep in touch with all things Taos when you subscribe to FIVE of our national award-winning magazines, plus access to the website and e-edition for a full year at the special low rate of just $55. Welcome To SpoilerTV We bring you a comprehensive and up to date spoiler service on all the major US TV shows and Movies. You can find specific show content by clicking the menu system at the top of the screen. We scour the Internet for spoilers as well as posting our own exclusive spoilers (Scripts, Casting Calls, Set Photos etc) as well as recaps and other fun articles and polls. We hope you enjoy your stay. Alexei Navalnys story reminds me of many a fictional plot, but it is real. On January 17 he took a flight from Berlin to Moscow after an attempted poisoning with Novichok nerve agent. He clearly understood that he would be arrested upon arrival and the Kremlin would most likely keep him locked away for years. Many people are perplexed by his reasoning, but his personal courage is beyond imagination. It actually demands heroism to challenge Vladimir Putin. He is Russia's political prisoner No. 1, now. Zhanna Nemtsova (36) campaigns with her foundation for freedom of expression and democratic change in her home country Foto: NIELS STARNICK / BILD AM SONNTAG The trial of Navalny is completely unlawful and the biggest change that we see right now is that the Kremlin doesnt even pretend that they are following any laws or procedures. Auch Interessant Putin is no longer afraid of Western sanctions, critical statements and the demands of European and American politicians for further isolation. For him the stakes are too high he knows that Navalny is capable of overthrowing his regime. This is a game-changer Navalny is indeed the most recognised Russian opposition politician in the world and the most powerful voice in Russia. His audience has grown significantly since his poisoning, thanks to the propaganda that mentioned his name multiple times in an effort to portray him as a national traitor who fled to Germany for a better life. Well, it doesnt really matter what it said, but today almost everyone in Russia is familiar with his name. This is a game-changer and now the most important thing is to develop an agenda that can unite millions. Lesen Sie auch Russian Opposition Leader Navalny: Sanction Putin's closest circle He is Putins most serious opponent and the worlds most famous poison victim: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. BILD EXCLUSIVE With this letter, the vaccine disaster in the EU began It shows how Merkel and von der Leyen urged Jens Spahn, Federal Minister of Health, to hand the mandate over to the EU Navalny, who is under arrest until February 15, is calling for people to join protests across Russia scheduled for January 23rd ahead of the court hearings on February 2nd where the decision to sentence Navalny to a long prison sentence on fabricated charges might be taken. He says that Russians have to take to the streets for their future, not for him. I happen to be in Russia and I will be going to join my fellow citizens in the city of Nizhny Novgorod where I was born and raised. Police officers detain a supporter of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow Foto: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images We all know that change in social behaviour is hard to predict. Based on conversations with my friends who dont follow politics closely, I can see that Russia is not yet in a revolutionary situation. There is no a nationwide movement, only segmented protests here and there. However, Russians are weary of Putin and his leadership. The big question is how to overcome the prevailing apathy and convince people to take risks for, as Navalny puts it, the Beautiful Russia of Tomorrow. * * * * Zhanna Nemtsova (36) lost her father, opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, in a murder within sight of the Kremlin in February 2015. The background has never been clarified. She is a co-founder of the "Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom" The Chinese ambassador had ordered Senator Alain Richard not to visit Taiwan. For the Chinese it is a violation of the "one China principle". It is not the first time that China has threatened European politicians who want to visit the island. Paris (AsiaNews / Agencies) - French senators are free to meet whomever they wish when they go on missions. This is the harsh response released last night by the French Foreign Ministry after details of a letter emerged in which the Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, ordered Senator Alain Richard not to visit Taipei next summer. The letter dates back to last month; after the press revelations on March 15, the Chinese embassy published it yesterday on its website. According to Lu, Richard's trip violates the "one China principle" and sends a "wrong" signal of support for Taiwanese independence, all elements that could "damage" relations between Beijing and Taipei. The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry condemned the letter from Ambassador Lu: "The uncivilised behaviour of the Chinese government will only deepen the Taiwanese people's antipathy towards China. Beijing considers Taiwan a "rebellious" province and President Xi Jinping has never ruled out recapturing the island through the use of force. At today's Alaska summit with Chinese counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan vowed to speak of Washington's "deep concerns" over China's increasingly aggressive policy towards Taipei. Meanwhile, French charge d'affaires in Taipei Jean-Francois Casabonne-Masonnave a de-facto ambassador - said yesterday that the visit of Richard and other senators has been confirmed. Richard was defence minister in the Chirac administration: in that function he visited Taiwan several times. Now he heads the Paris Senate French-Taiwanese Friendship Group. Chinese leaders and diplomats have attempted to block relations between European and Taiwanese governments before. Last August, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi threatened the President of the Czech Senate Milos Vystrcil, who was visiting Taipei at the time. Wang said Vystrcil would "pay dearly" for it; the same treatment was reserved for the mayor of Prague Zdenek Hrib, targeted for the twinning his city with Taipei. The renewed controversy about the basic right of access to birth information for adopted people often misses a key point the very same issues are facing adopted children born today. Successive Irish governments have failed to resolve the long-standing need to guarantee a basic right of access to such information. The very real impact of this is a lack of human rights of children adopted now just as was the case for those adopted in the past. The reason we find ourselves in this no mans land is due only in part to a history of adoption built on secrecy and denial. It is also a result of an interpretation given to a Supreme Court decision of IOT v B in 1998. Subsequent interpretations of this judgment, which relates to two cases of informal adoption, has had a huge knock-on effect on the disclosure of birth information to adoptees. It has resulted in an overly conservative approach that continues to suppress the needs and rights of adoptees and prioritises the privacy rights of birth mothers. Draft legislation on adoption information and tracing in 2016 added further insult to injury in that it contained measures that provided for conditional access only to birth information. Several attempts have been made to introduce legislation on the right to information, the most recent being a private members bill introduced by Kathleen Funchion. The absence of legislation guaranteeing all adopted persons a legal right to information concerning their identities means that Ireland is now significantly out of step with minimum international standards concerning identity rights. While recent changes in both the Irish Constitution and adoption legislation have resulted in new legal routes for adoption, such as adoption from State care, there are perhaps unanticipated and unforeseen consequences resulting from these changes. In effect, there are now two cohorts of child adoptees in Ireland those who may have pre-existing information concerning their birth families due to the circumstances of their adoption from care, and children who are adopted through more traditional routes who are denied any right to legally access their birth family information. This means that just as happened people adopted in the past, children who are adopted in Ireland today still have no legal entitlement whatsoever to information about their origins. Perhaps less well known is the fact that social workers practising in this area have sought to provide some information to adopted people over the age of 18 years. This is despite the fact that under the Adoption Act 2010 (section 4(k)) their role is restricted to the provision of tracing services only. In fact, there are currently no provisions in Irish adoption legislation which permit adoption agencies to share any birth information with adopted persons. The absence of such legal regulation has resulted in a conservative practice whereby adoption social workers prepare background information (albeit limited), where possible, for an adopted person, at their request. The information currently provided is, in most cases and much to the frustration of adoptees, quite basic in nature and cannot identify any third party. In effect, this prioritises the constitutional rights of the birth mother over the rights of the adopted person. While contemporary adoption files are more detailed in recognition of the need for accurate and meaningful information, older adoption files can range from a one-line entry in a ledger to a few handwritten pages contained in a file. Such files may include information regarding birth weight, head circumference and any relevant medical information. In a quest to discover their true identities, adopted people have sometimes used the basic information provided by social workers to enable them to find their original birth certificates through the General Register Office. It may be that they were given a somewhat unusual Christian name by their birth mother, and this might be enough to enable them to locate a birth certificate that matches the name given to them at birth as well as their date of birth. Following the introduction of the GDPR legislation in 2018, new issues emerged in relation to the release of birth information for adoptees in Ireland. In order to be GDPR compliant, social workers have been careful not to share any third-party information with an adopted person, without that partys consent. Thus, social workers have had to reassess the level of personal information they provide to an adopted person so that they do not inadvertently release any information that may enable an adoptee to find their original birth certificate. It is clear that the absence of a legal framework concerning adoption information and tracing in Ireland serves to perpetuate the unwanted legacies of the past. For as long as theres no legal framework in this area, adopted people will continue to be treated by the Irish State as marginalised second-class citizens. Moreover, the current lengthy waiting lists are attributable to an under-resourced tracing service which is in fact not legally mandated to provide birth information. It seems that not only did Ireland come late to legalising adoption compared to other European countries, but it has also been remiss in protecting the basic human rights of adopted persons. Other European countries have long resolved the issue of access to information, some as far back as the 1930s. Our legacy is one only to be utterly ashamed of and instead of continuing this practice into the future, the Government should quickly move to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not continued into the future. Dr Aisling Parkes is a senior lecturer at the School of Law, University College Cork. Dr Simone McCaughren is Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin. Editors note: This is the fifth column in a Barbecue at Home series in which Reid provides how-to advice on becoming a proficient backyard pitmaster. The art of maintaining a fire for the purpose of cooking meat is a fundamental skill for any backyard pitmaster. Its also the most physically taxing, time-consuming and often frustrating part of cooking barbecue at home. Here are my tips, tools and techniques for starting and maintaining a fire that will result in delicious barbecue. As always, wear appropriate safety equipment, have a fire extinguisher close by, and never leave the fire unattended for too long. Begin with a properly built wood stack in your offset smokers firebox. The goal here is to avoid crowding the logs into the firebox you want plenty of space around the logs for oxygen to flow and feed the fire. Stack properly sized and seasoned logs in a Lincoln Log-like formation: start with two logs parallel on the bottom of the firebox, and add a pile of charcoal briquettes and wood chips for kindling in between. Next, add two logs perpendicular and another on top of that, and then one more layer perpendicular to that. Now its time to start the fire. Some backyard offset smokers, such as my Pitts & Spitts model, come with a built-in propane gas log-lighter feature. This is a great option for novices, though it can take a while to get the fire going. Pro-tip: Never use lighter fluid to start your fire as it will add an unpalatable petroleum flavor to your barbecue. The tool I use is called a propane torch, which is also the choice of professional pitmasters. Its a torch that attaches to a standard 20-pound propane tank. Fire it up, point it at the kindling pile at the bottom of your wood stack, and youll have a roaring fire in a matter of minutes. Note that a propane torch is a powerful tool, and I only recommend it if you are experienced in using propane appliances. Fully review and follow the safety instructions that come with it. At this point youve got a roaring fire in the firebox. The temperature in the cooking chamber is extremely high, so let the fire burn down to coals to achieve a steady temperature. It might take as long as an hour to get a good coal bed. Now it becomes a chess match between you and the fire to keep a consistent temperature (usually about 270 degrees) for the next 12 hours while cooking a brisket. The tools you will need are a temperature probe (thermometer), a shovel and a whole lot of patience. Though all backyard smokers have an analog thermometer attached, I use a Bluetooth-enabled (wireless) probe that allows for easy monitoring of temperature. Place the probe in the cooking chamber and use the connected pocket monitor to alert you when the temperature goes above or below the target temperature. Heres how the process goes down. Youve stabilized the temperature and placed the meat in the cooking chamber. Now youve got about 20-30 minutes before the temperature starts to decrease because the fire is burning down. Sometimes you can use the shovel to mix up the coal bed to raise the temperature, which may gain you another 30 minutes or so at temperature. Eventually, though, youll need to add more wood to raise the temperature. Note that you dont want to add full logs at this point, as they will take too long to catch fire. I use 4-by-4-inch wood chunks that have been cut down from full logs. When you first add the new wood, the temperature will usually rise above 270 degrees. Until the new wood burns down, the main technique I use to control the too-hot temperature is to manipulate the firebox door. If the temperature is too hot, Ill open the door all the way so an equal amount of heat is going out the door on one end as is going into the cooking chamber on the other end. Depending on what my temperature probe is telling me, Ill open or close the firebox door a certain amount so that more or less heat is radiated into the cooking chamber. Once the added wood has burned down to coals and a steady temperature is again achieved, youve got about another 30 minutes before you have to add wood or shovel coals to get the temperature back up. If you can maintain that 270 degrees for the next 12 hours, a perfectly cooked brisket will be waiting for you at the end of the process. jcreid@jcreidtx.com twitter.com/jcreidtx For many, it's like emerging suddenly from a long, dark tunnel. Some people who've been laid low for months by so-called "long haul" symptoms after a coronavirus infection say that within days of getting their COVID-19 vaccine, those symptoms nearly disappeared. Speaking with The New York Times, Bridget Hayward, a 51-year-old operating room nurse in Alexandria, Va., said that for nearly a year after first becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, she's had a slew of devastating symptoms. They've included persistent body aches, fatigue, a feeling of being hot even in cool weather, and a "brain fog" that rendered remembering even simple words difficult. "It was horrifying," she told the newspaper. "It was awful thinking it may never get better, like "Is this my new normal, am I now damaged this way?'" But then, just one day after her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, everything changed. "It was like, click, everything is fine," she said. Her body temperature has normalized and "it felt like a darkness lifted." Anecdotal cases like this are popping up around the United States, elating patients and puzzling most experts. Because long COVID is still a mysterious ailment to begin with, figuring out why vaccination is helping at least some patients recover is a black box of sorts, too. One study out of Britainnot yet peer-reviewedtracked the health of a group of patients who'd been released from the hospital after a bout of severe COVID-19. According to the Times, the study found that those who'd been vaccinated appeared to have more improvement in symptoms of long COVID versus those who hadn't gotten the shot. The improvements weren't uniform, however: Among the 44 patients who were vaccinated, 23% saw improvements in issues like joint pain and breathing, but 5.6% saw a worsening of symptoms post-vaccination. It didn't seem to matter whether the patient got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot. Indeed, 55-year-old Jim Golen, of Saginaw, Minn., told the Times that his long COVID symptoms actually worsened after his two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. For months after becoming infected with the new coronavirus, he experienced symptoms such as chest pain, brain fog, insomnia and shortness of breath. Golen said he was finally getting a bit better when, after the second dose of the vaccine, his chest pain and weakness returned even stronger than before. Still, he stressed that he's glad to have gotten the vaccine, because getting a real case of COVID-19 was much worse. Cases of long COVID patients feeling better after getting a vaccine do appear to far outnumber those of people who got worse. Speaking with WebMD, 33-year-old Aaron Goyang of Austin, Texas, said that eight or nine months after coming down with COVID-19, his breathing became so labored it would sometimes send him to the emergency room. However, a few weeks after receiving the Pfizer shots, he's now able to run a mile with no problem. "I was very thankful for that," he told WebMD. Dr. Daniel Griffin is an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University in New York City. Speaking with WebMD, he said that long COVID appears to affect about one-fifth of the patients he's treated. But he estimated that since the advent of vaccines, about 30% of long COVID patients get better soon after receiving their shots. "I'm seeing this chunk of people, they tell me their brain fog has improved, their fatigue is gone, the fevers that wouldn't resolve have now gone," he said. "I'm seeing that personally, and I'm hearing it from my colleagues." So what's going on? "It's very hard to say anything definitive about these anecdotal reports of COVID long haulers getting improvement of their symptoms post-vaccination," cautioned Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in Baltimore. "First, we need to understand exactly what the COVID long hauler is: There are no strict diagnostic criteria and not everyone with post-infection symptoms is the same," he said. "Second, in order to determine whether or not the vaccine is actually having a beneficial impact you have to do a prospective study that is well-designed to remove any chance of a placebo effect being responsible for the symptomatic improvement," Adalja added. In the meantime, some experts theorize that remnant amounts of SARS-CoV-2 may linger in the body after the initial bout of illness has passed. "We do know that lingering fragments of dead virus and RNA that remain long after the infection is cleared may stimulate or 'rev up' the immune system," explained Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital. "It's possible that COVID-19 vaccination may help to 'reset' or correct this state of immune over-activation," said Glatter, who's helped treat many COVID patients. "It may do this by driving the production of antibodies and T cells, which can help to clear lingering fragments of RNA or dead viral particles." Speaking with the Times, Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, put forth a similar theory. It's possible that "you have your immune system revved up when you're fighting a reservoir" of virus or RNA remnants, Topol said. He's currently begun a study to investigate the body's responsesheart rate, immune system activity, temperaturebefore and after a COVID-19 vaccine is delivered. For Griffin's part, he said only research will help unravel this latest COVID-19 mystery. In the meantime, "the vaccines are a much-needed bit of hope for the long haul COVID-19 community [and at least] they'll be protected from another SARS-CoV-2 infection." More information There's more on long COVID at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. The Hynes Convention Center in Boston is expected to open Thursday as the states newest super coronavirus vaccination site, a week before the Fenway Park large-scale immunization located is slated to stop taking appointments. Gov. Charlie Baker announced earlier this month the Fenway Park site would eventually transition to the Hynes Convention Center. CIC Health, the vendor running the Fenway location, was expected to work with the state to launch the new site. The last day for appointments at Fenway will be Saturday, March 27. Massachusetts plans to move into Phase 4 of its reopening plan in late March, permitting large stadiums to open at 12% capacity. On Opening Day on April 1, Fenway could have nearly 5,000 fans. The Boston Red Sox are set to play the Baltimore Orioles. The Fenway and Hynes immunization sites will overlap for roughly a week as the new location ramps up capacity, according to Bakers office. All individuals that were vaccinated at Fenway and have second-dose appointments scheduled will be able to receive those second doses at Hynes. CIC Health is expected to send individuals appointments details by email, the Baker administration said. Since the opening in January of the Fenway super vaccination site, one of seven large-scale immunization locations run by the state, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Red Sox team and CIC Health have operated what the governors office called a highly efficient, friendly and effective site. Records obtained by MassLive and The Republican showed the state is paying CIC Health roughly $540,000 weekly to operate the Fenway immunization location. By the end of March, the site will have completed more than 55,000 vaccinations, according to the Baker administration. The Hynes site will eventually ramp up to administer 1,500 vaccine dose per day, the same volume of vaccinations as the current Fenway location. Later in the spring, depending on the vaccine supply from the federal government, the convention center is expected scale up capacity to administer more than 5,000 shots per day, Bakers office said. I know everybodys anxious about all this, but its important to remember that everyone who wants a vaccine will get one and that practically no other state in America is moving as quickly as we are and as equitably as we are in Massachusetts, Baker said at a press conference Wednesday. At the press conference, Baker noted 946,306 people in Massachusetts are currently fully vaccinated. By Thursday, the state is expecting that number to surpass a million. That obviously is a significant milestone for the people of Massachusetts and a real tribute and comment about the quality of the people and organizations that have come together to create the very robust vaccination system that we have here in Massachusetts, Baker said. According to the governor, his administration and the federal government have been in constant talks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and the production of the vaccine is ramping up. As of Wednesday afternoon, 2,710,203 total doses had been administered in Massachusetts, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Related Content: is overhauling its business amid regulatory investigations into its dealings with collapsed Greensill Capital, the bank said on Thursday, warning the scandal could hit its results and client confidence. Switzerland's second-biggest bank and its arm have been reeling over the collapse of around $10 billion of funds related to British supply chain financier Greensill, heaping pressure on CEO Thomas Gottstein, who said on Tuesday he was scrutinising the business's structure. In its annual report, the lender said Swiss regulator FINMA was one watchdog looking into the matter, and reviewing it in relation to the bank's "Pillar 2" buffer - a pool of capital banks have to ensure they can withstand risks. also named Ulrich Koerner as the new head of and said it would separate the business into its own division from April 1. It is currently part of the wealth division run by Philipp Wehle. In the annual report, the bank said some unidentified investors had threatened litigation over the matter, whose ultimate cost "may be material" to operating results. "We might also suffer reputational harm associated with these matters that might cause client departures or loss of assets under management," it added. Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said the bank's emphasis of the new asset management division's "strategic importance" meant a sale of that business was unlikely. shares were up 1.5% in early trade. Koerner returns to the bank from arch-rival UBS, where he most recently served as senior adviser to the CEO from 2019 to 2020. He ran UBS Asset Management from 2014 to 2019. Koerner was previously a senior executive at Credit Suisse Financial Services and ran its Swiss business. Current asset management head Eric Varvel, who is also chairman of Credit Suisse's investment bank and head of its U.S. holding company, will focus on his other roles. "Ulrich Koerner is an excellent addition to our leadership team, reinforcing its values and performance culture," Gottstein said in a statement. "Ueli is a strong leader and strategic thinker with proven ability in business development and profitable growth in asset management, as well as in business transformation." Three senior asset management employees who helped oversee the Greensill funds, including the head of the business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, have temporarily stepped aside. The bank's annual report showed the payout and vesting of bonuses for a number of senior employees involved in these matters, "up to and including Executive Board members", had been suspended. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Rachel Armstrong, Editing by Silke Koltrowitz and Mark Potter) Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. New Delhi, March 18 : The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it was not pressing against the grant of bail to actress Rhea Chakraborty in a drugs-related case, instead objecting to the wide-ranging observation made by the Bombay High Court in the matter. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for NCB, that it would have to challenge the High Court order, granting bail to actress Rhea Chakraborty, if it wanted to assail adverse remarks made in the judgement. Mehta submitted that the NCB is not pressing against bail granted Chakraborty. He clarified that certain wide-ranging observations have been made by the High Court about the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Mehta added these observations will make it very difficult for the agency to prosecute and ensure conviction. The bench also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told Mehta that he cannot challenge the bail order observations without challenging the bail order itself. Mehta submitted that the NCB would make the necessary amendments in the petition and challenge the bail order as well. The top court scheduled the matter for hearing next week. On October 7, last year, the High Court had granted bail to Rhea after furnishing a bond of Rs one Lakh. She was among the 20 arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in connection with the drugs angle probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Rhea had spent 28 days in custody. Rhea's counsel had contended that the NCB lacked jurisdiction to probe the matter in view of the Supreme Court order of August 19 directing to hand over all investigations in the Sushant case to the CBI, the offences under which the accused were nabbed by the NCB were bailable and the charges under the NDPS Act Section 217A against the accused did not have supporting evidence. Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty and three others -- Abdel Basit Parihar, Samuel Miranda and Dipesh Sawant -- were accused of having facilitated the procurement of drugs for consumption by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. They filed bail applications before the Bombay High Court after their bail plea was dismissed by a Special NDPS Court in Mumbai. Among the conditions listed for Rhea's bail were depositing her passport with the NCB, reporting to the local police station daily for 10 days, not leaving Mumbai without informing the NCB, etc. Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery A bus and tro-tro station in Accra, Ghana. Credit: nicolasdecorte/Shutterstock Millions of people in Africa's cities rely on public transport to get around. Minibuses are especially common, whether you're in Accra, Dar es Salaam, Lagos or Nairobi. In Accra, the ubiquitous minibuses are known as tro-tro, in Dar es Salaam as daladalas, in Lagos as danfos and in Nairobi as matatus. These vehicles offer flexible, generally affordable services. They also, unfortunately, contribute significantly to the continent's well documented road safety problems. In Kenya's capital city Nairobi, it is estimated that minibus crashes account for some 95% of road deaths. In Ghana, accidents involving tro-tro vehicles killed 300 and injured nearly 2,000 people in the first quarter of 2019. This stands to reason, since minibuses carry numerous passengers and so there's a risk of higher fatalities in a crash. Many minibus drivers often speed and overtake recklessly. They are also likely to spend long hours behind the wheel. Authorities often accuse them of "indiscipline". Governments impose hefty fines and threaten long prison sentences, insisting this will make Africa's roads safer. But why do minibus drivers operate so recklessly? I set out to answer this question, focusing on tro-tro drivers in Ghana. My research shows how a range of structural factors including exploitative labor relations between car owners and drivers and police corruption compel and solicit dangerous driving behavior. Given this, I argue that fines and prison sentences are not suited for inducing safer driving behavior among tro-tro drivers. These interventions don't tackle the range of political-economic causes, motivations and constraints that result in dangerous driving. Hopefully, these findings can contribute to developing better policies that make roads safer in Ghana and other African countries. A daily struggle As in most other African countries, Ghana's tro-tro industry emerged from the lack of organized public transport. Tro-tros use just about 30% of Ghana's road space, but convey over 70% of person-trips in the country. The industry is organized around a target system. The driver, almost always a man, and his assistantGhanaians call them "mates"operate the bus as a sort of daily franchise. In return the owner demands a daily fee, popularly called "sales". The driver and the mate take home what remains once the "sales" target is reached. They also have to pay for the day's fuel; the car owner doesn't contribute to this. Research has shown that tro-tro owners do well, financially, from this arrangement. They are able to impose high "sales" because, as with other African countries, unemployment is high in Ghana. The passenger transport sector, therefore, attracts plenty of young people looking for work. The oversupply of job-seekers tilts the balance of power in favor of vehicle owners. In Tanzania, where a similar set-up exists, one driver complained in a study that: "(Bus owners) can ask you whatever (daily sales or fees) they want and you have to accept it." Studies have shown that minibus drivers in other parts of Africa face similar challenges. The power imbalance between the drivers and car owners and the lack of labor protection condemn the drivers to great occupational uncertainty, extremely harsh working conditions and meager returns. They are also frequently harassed by corrupt police officers who use threats of arrest to extort bribes. The drivers can make enough revenue to cover operational costs and police bribes and pay their owners, themselves and their mates only by increasing the number of trips or passengers per trip. This compels them to drive for long hours, resort to dangerous overtaking and overloading and drive at dangerously high speeds. This shows that dangerous driving by tro-tro drivers is connected to the precarious conditions associated with their work systems and the broader commercial passenger transport industry in which they operate. This, however, is not how the Ghanaian public, media, police, road safety practitioners and researchers frame and explain the tro-tro safety problem in the country. They often blame the problems on the drivers' personal indiscipline and unruliness. This has legitimized punitive action against the drivers marked by police harassment and declaration of 'wars' on them. In turn, this has led to frequent physical abuse as well as the imposition of long prison sentences and hefty fines on them. Changing systems It has been shown that tro-tro drivers in Ghana operate within a precarious work climate marked by cut-throat competition; low wages; job insecurity; non-negotiable daily fees by car owners and harassment from corrupt police officers. These numerous financial and other demands are what push the drivers to undertake the dangerous driving behavior that earn them public opprobrium. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, tro-tro divers in Ghana drive dangerously not because they are inherently bad or morally bankrupt people, but because their work systems and conditions compel or incentivise them to do so. This analysis is not intended to shield any drivers from personal responsibility or accountability. The point, simply, is that much of their dangerous behavior is driven by systems and structures beyond their control. This means that targeting the drivers themselves won't stop the behavior. What need addressing are the work-related and system-level constraints they operate under. For instance, authorities need to address structural unemployment and police corruption. They need to create and enforce labor protection policies that improve commercial passenger drivers' working conditions. Interventions like these could yield widespread and sustainable road safety benefitsfar more than is achieved by the present public policy of declaring 'wars' on the drivers. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The secretary general and leader of the Gambia Action Party (GAP), Musa Yali Bacthilly, yesterday stated on his Facebook page that Gambia will be on better footing when GAP is voted in office after December presidential election. He continued to reassure the public that his party will work together with Gambians in the realisation of our aspirations in order to position our economy at the global stage." "The Gambia Action Party is formed on the basis of upholding genuine democratic principles, rule of law and safeguarding the fundamental human rights as well as spearhead the socioeconomic process of The Gambia." The politician further explained in a different post that his party set a noble goal for the nation by ensuring that the welfare of all Gambians are met through inclusivity. "I promise to follow this path until I can no longer serve our country. I believe that our differences in political ideologies are a clear manifestation that our strength as a nation rests on unity, peace and understanding towards the common good, but not a sign of divisiveness or cowardice." Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began, the question has been, Where did COVID-19 originate? According to a report by NPR, a member of the World Health Organization investigative team says the most likely source of the COVID-19 pandemic are wildlife farms in southern China. Peter Daszak, a disease ecologist with EcoHealth Alliance, and a member of the WHO delegation that traveled to China earlier this year, told NPR that during that trip, new evidence was found by the WHO team, that vendors at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan were being supplied with animals from these wildlife farms. Daszak told NPR that when the Chinese government shut down those wildlife farms in February 2020, the response was a strong signal that the Chinese government thought those farms were the most probable pathway for a coronavirus in bats in southern China to reach humans in Wuhan. The report said the wildlife farms were part of a project the Chinese government has been promoting for 20 years. Daszak said: They take exotic animals, like civets, porcupines, pangolins, raccoon dogs and bamboo rats, and they breed them in captivity, NPR cited. He added that the project was a means to alleviate rural populations out of poverty, In the next two weeks, the WHO is expected to reveal the teams investigative findings. However, Daszak provided NPR with a highlight of what the team determined. The wildlife farms were very successful. With regards to the wildlife farm project, Daszak told NPR, It was very successful. He added, In 2016, they had 14 million people employed in wildlife farms, and it was a $70 billion industry. However, Daszak noted that on Feb. 24, 2020 the Chinese government made a complete reversal about the farms - right at the time the Wuhan outbreak was winding down. What China did then was very important, Daszak said. They put out a declaration saying that they were going to stop the farming of wildlife for food, and they shut down the farms. They sent out instructions to the farmers about how to safely dispose of the animals to bury, kill or burn them in a way that didnt spread disease, he added. Why would the government do this? Daszak thinks the government acted because these farms could be the point where the coronavirus moved from a bat into another animal and then into people. Daszak said, I do think that SARS-CoV-2 first got into people in South China. Its looking that way, the news outlet cited. Theres good reasoning behind Daszaks belief. First off, in or around the southern province of Yunnan is where many farms are located. Its also where virologists found a bat virus thats genetically 96% similar to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. Second, the farms breed animals such as civet cats and pangolins, which are known to carry coronaviruses, the report said. Finally, Daszak told NPR that during the WHOs mission to China new evidence was found by the team indicating that these farms were supplying vendors at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, where an early outbreak of COVID-19 occurred. After being linked to cases of what was then described as a mysterious pneumonia-like illness, the market was shut down overnight on Dec. 31, 2019. NPR cited another member of the WHO investigative team, Linfa Wang, a virologist who studies bat viruses at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, who said, There was massive transmission going on at that market for sure. Following the outbreak at the Huanan market, Wang noted that Chinese scientists went there and looked for the virus. In the live animal section, they had many positive samples, Wang told NPR. They even have two samples from which they could isolate live virus. And so, its the belief of Daszak and other WHO team members, that the wildlife farms provided a perfect conduit between a coronavirus-infected bat in Yunnan (or neighboring Myanmar) and a Wuhan animal market, NPR reported. China closes that pathway down for a reason, Daszak said. READ MORE: The World Bank on Thursday announced financing for Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal to vaccinate their populations against Covid-19. Afghanistan will receive $113 million -- including $60 million from the International Development Association (IDA), part of the Washington-based development lender that helps the world's poorest nations -- to "deploy safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines," it said. "The World Bank has worked closely with the Afghan government and development partners to respond effectively to Covid-19, improve testing and treatment, and strengthen the country's health system," World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan Henry Kerali said. "This additional financing is a major step forward to provide timely and equitable access to vaccines to millions of Afghans." The funding package is aimed at vaccinating 17 percent of Afghans and helping the country recover from the pandemic, the lender said. Via the IDA, the World Bank approved $500 million in Bangladesh and $75 million for Nepal. "In addition to financing, the Bank is providing technical assistance and knowledge-sharing workshops for countries in South Asia on different aspects of designing and deploying fair and equitable vaccine strategies," the statement said. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are among Asia's poorest nations by GDP per capita. In total, the World Bank had provided $12 billion for developing countries to procure and distribute Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments. Dt/cs/ft (Repeats to additional subscribers, no change to text) By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Saeed Azhar DUBAI, March 18(Reuters) - Kitopi, a Dubai-based shared kitchen platform for online food delivery, is looking to raise between $150 million to $200 million in a new round of financing to expand into Southeast Asia, two sources told Reuters. A successful fund raising could lift the valuation of the unlisted company to about $1 billion, said the sources, declining to be identified as the matter is not public. Kitopi declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Kitopi has hired BofA to arrange the funding round, said one of the sources. BofA declined to comment. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kitopi had to suspend its operations in the United Kingdom and the United States last year and shift its focus on markets where growth was possible, such as the Middle East and Asia. Kitopi was active in these two markets for only brief period of time before the pandemic hit and will be planning to re-enter the markets when the situation becomes clear, one of the sources said. So-called "cloud kitchens", facilities built to produce food specifically for delivery, are becoming popular with investors. Kitopi, which is headquartered in Dubai, operates over 60 kitchens and has over 1500 employees. It plans to expand into South East Asia later this year. Kitopi has raised $117.2 million since its inception from investors including Dubai-based venture capital firm BECO Capital and US-based Lumia Capital. Smaller rival iKcon was also in the market to raise funds last year, two sources told Reuters, as cloud kitchen startups grew their business during the pandemic that disrupted the dining industry. iKcon could not be immediately reached for a comment. (Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Saeed Azhar; editing by Kim Coghill) 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. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government approved amendments to the Law on State Border and the Administrative Offense Code making it illegal for anyone to use photo-video devices, including drones, to film the territory of the bordering country, or the engineering facilities, buildings, surveillance towers and transportation equipment used by border guards in the border layer in Armenian territory unless having a special permit issued by the National Security Service. The amendments will specify the grounds for imposing administrative liability for people who'd violate the rules of entering or residing in border layers. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan During a pandemic like COVID-19, vulnerable countries are traditionally the focus of global attention and concern. However, new research suggests that we need to rebuild our understanding. A study published in KeAi's Global Health Journal, examined the relationship between state vulnerabilities (measured using the Fragile States Index (FSI) from Fund for Peace) and COVID-19 incidence and death rates in 146 countries. The FSI consists of 12 specific indicators covering cohesion, economy, politics and society. "When using the total FSI score for statistical analysis, we were surprised to find that, overall, the more fragile countries had lower cumulative incidence and fatality rates for COVID-19," explains one of the study's authors, Yangmu Huang. However, according to Huang, in-depth analysis revealed that vulnerabilities in three specific FSI indicators increased the impact of COVID-19: State Legitimacy (the public's confidence in their state's institutions), External Intervention (influence and impact of external factors), and Security Apparatus (domestic and international security threats to a state). Huang explains: "State Legitimacy and External Intervention were associated with cumulative incidence rates, while Security Apparatus was associated with the risk of death. This indirectly reflects the important role of health security infrastructure, government leadership and international support in the fight against the pandemic." Another key finding of the study was that countries with higher levels of economic development were more likely to contract infectious diseases than countries that are more fragile based on the FSI. "This seemingly contradictory finding also has a reasonable explanation: the more developed countries have superior transportation systems, larger population densities, and more free communication, which is conducive to the spread of the virus," says Huang. She added: "The initial goal of this study was to explore the impact of a broader range of national environmental factors on COVID-19. We searched all the available scoring metrics, and finally chose the FSI, because it was one of the most comprehensive indicators. This finding has significant implications for both political leaders and health professionals. It shows that the impact of socioeconomic and political measures can be more important than healthcare in protecting people from diseases and promoting health. And that it is prudent to balance economic development and human health." ### This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 72042014). Contact the paper's corresponding author: Yangmu Huang of Peking University, China - ymhuang@bjmu.edu.cn Duan Y, Ma J, Huang Y, Chen X, Zheng ZJ. State fragility and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: an ecologic analysis of data from 146 countries [published online ahead of print, 2021 Feb 6]. Glob Health J. 2021;10.1016/j.glohj.2021.02.002. https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. glohj. 2021. 02. 002 The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 100 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the Chinese Medical Association. ADDIS ABABA - Despite the deployment of numerous Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in Tigray State, the humanitarian assistance they have been providing thus far is inadequate, according to the Interim Administration's Communications Bureau. In an interview with the Tigrinya weekly, Wegahta, Bureau Head Etenesh Negusie stated that though the NGOs are providing nutritious food and non-food items, the expectations were that international partners would avail support that matched the scale of the problem. However, she said international relief agencies like World Food Program (WFP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been providing assistance in the state. The relief agencies pledged to provide nutritious food to children in the area. As compared to the number of relief agencies and NGO's involving in the state, the supports are not that significant. "70 percent of supports are still covered by the government." "The Federal Government and Tigray's Interim Administration are working tirelessly to bring citizens in the State to normal life," Etenesh noted, adding that individuals, businesspeople and non-governmental organizations should pay utmost attention to tackle the problem. The bureau head called on fellow Ethiopians to strengthening their support. "On behalf of the Tigray Interim Administration and the people of Tigray, I would like to thank state governments, organizations and individuals for their support." Noting that the Federal Government has covered 70 percent of the humanitarian assistance to Tigray and reaching 4.2 million people, she stressed that the NGOs that have been involving in the state have not been performing per the expectations. If you're looking for a vaccine in Liberty County, now's your chance. The county's office of emergency management announced Thursday that age restrictions were lifted for anyone wishing to seek a vaccine in Liberty County. Now, anyone 18 or older can go, so long as they are a county resident. MORE COPS: HPD ramps up patrols in Asian communities after Atlanta attacks Some counties outside the Houston area have allowed non-residents to get vaccines, as long as they meet certain criteria, according to Julie Garcia and Gwendolyn Wu of the Houston Chronicle. However, Liberty County officials told Chron that anyone seeking a vaccine in Liberty County today will have to prove they live in Liberty County. Liberty County has 250 vaccines to administer today and another 250 tomorrow, officials said. Any resident wishing to get a vaccine should go to the Dayton Clinic at the Dayton Community Center or the Liberty Clinic at the Jack Hartel Building. Registration is on-site. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading, warns the vaccine supply shortfall could delay plans to leave lockdown Britain's route out of lockdown could be delayed because of the shortfalls in the Covid vaccine supply next month, an expert has warned. All lockdown restrictions are expected to be lifted by June 21 at the earliest, under Boris Johnson's ultra-cautious roadmap out of lockdown. But a fall in supply of the vaccine to the UK, thought to be down to a delayed shipment of 5million doses from India, could threaten plans for Brits to return to the pub and go on holiday over summer. The roadmap out of lockdown is reliant on the vaccine drive going smoothly to ensure millions of vulnerable Britons, most of whom have already had their first dose, are protected in the event of a third wave. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said millions of youngsters could find themselves excluded from being allowed on holidays in the summer, if foreign countries make it a requirement for all travellers to be fully vaccinated before entering. He said that meeting the target dates set out by the Prime Minister would be 'more difficult' and if two doses were required for holidays abroad, people would remain limited in what they can do. Britain's vaccine shortage has forced No10 to shelve plans to start vaccinating over-40s in the coming weeks, with supplies reserved for second doses. All lockdown restrictions are expected to be lifted by July 21 at the earliest under Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown. Pictured: People meet outside a pub in London in November last year, the day after the city was put into Tier 2 restrictions Dr Clarke: 'It will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been. 'By pushing back the under-50s first doses, their second doses are also being pushed back. 'If full vaccination becomes required for holidays abroad or even more mundane things like going to the cinema, millions of younger people may end up being excluded from participating for the whole summer.' Panic about the UK's own plans erupted last night when NHS officials wrote a letter to vaccine teams saying there would be a 'significant reduction' in supplies and they must all but stop giving out first doses next month. In the UK, AstraZeneca's vaccine was set to be the one providing for most people in the non-priority groups, with Pfizer's supplies used to go back over those who are waiting for their second shots. But a delayed shipment of AstraZeneca's jab from the Serum Institute of India means the NHS isn't expecting to have enough supply to continue offering jabs to first-timers in April, stalling the rollout that has reached a massive 25million people already. Ministers have been desperate to reassure people this won't scupper plans to get the country out of lockdown. Matt Hancock last night insisted the UK remains on track to hit its target of getting at least one dose to all adults who want one by the end of July. And Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sky News today: 'This isn't anything that people should be worried about. 'We are still on course to meet our targets... Nobody who has an appointment should be concerned, you are still going to get your second vaccine, all those appointments will be honoured.' There was confusion over the source of the delay with a Government source blaming a range of 'production issues' but not naming the manufacturer. He said that meeting the target dates set out by the Prime Minister would be 'more difficult' and if full vaccination is required for holidays abroad, people would remain limited in what they can do. Pictured: Holidaymakers sunbathing in the Algarve, Portugal AstraZeneca refuted the claims that it was its fault and insisted last night that the UK supply chain was not experiencing disruption. But it has now emerged the shortage is likely being caused by a shipment expected from the Serum Institute being cancelled. The company has been open about the fact that its top priorities are supplying Covid vaccines to India's own one billion citizens and then to a programme that sends life-saving jabs to poor countries. In an interview with The Telegraph today, the firm's CEO Adar Poonawalla hit back against attempts to shift the blame for a hiccup in Britain's rollout onto the Institute. He said: 'There is no stipulated contract period and time in which I am supposed to deliver these doses. I am helping as I can and when I can AstraZeneca and UK to supply these doses.' Police have found two bodies hidden in a house in the hunt for a missing 25-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter. Officers found human remains concealed in a home in Dundee during the search for Bennylyn Burke and Jellica. The mother and her two children were reported missing from their south Gloucestershire home on March 1, having been last seen on February 17. The second child who vanished has been traced and is being supported by specialist police. Andrew Innes, 50, from Dundee, appeared at sheriff court on March 8 accused of murder. He made no plea and was remanded in custody. Officers found human remains concealed in a home in Dundee during the search for Bennylyn Burke and two-year-old Jellica Neighbours of Bennylyn Burke in Bristol were being quizzed by police as officers in Dundee conducted inquiries Police activity at a property in Troon Avenue in Dundee as the search for Bennylyn Burke continued last week Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie said: 'This is a significant development in what has been a particularly challenging enquiry for everyone involved. 'Bennylyn's family have been informed of this development and we will continue to support them at this difficult time as our investigation continues. 'The thoughts of everyone involved in this investigation are with them at this time. 'I would like to thank the local community for their co-operation with what is a large and complex police operation involving many specialist resources from across Police Scotland. 'There will continue to be a significant police presence in the area for some time and I would ask anyone with information to please come forward and speak to us.' Ms Burke (pictured), a mother of two, is believed to have moved from the Philippines to Bristol around two years ago Software engineer Innes is alleged to have bludgeoned Ms Burke to death with a hammer at his home in Dundee. He is also alleged to have murdered the child by unknown means between February 17 and March 5 this year. Ms Burke, Jellica and another child were reported missing to Avon and Somerset Police on March 1, having last been seen at her first floor flat in Kingswood. A resident who stays on the ground floor of the block said police had been going door-to-door to inquire about the mother's disappearance last week. The neighbour said: 'The police were here to ask about Bennylyn and what I knew about flat number seven. I didn't know them.' Other residents in the block had also been questioned by police about the disappearance of Ms Burke. Neighbours in nearby streets were also questioned and suggested the block, which they understood to be social housing, was no stranger to the emergency services. One said: 'I was watching on the news on Sunday evening and they said a South Gloucestershire woman had been murdered and I thought that's near me. 'Then they said Kingswood and then Court Road and the next thing, a police detective knocked on my door to ask if we had seen or knew anything. A police officer stands at the entrance to Troon Avenue in Dundee as the search for Bennylyn Burke continued on March 9 A 50-year-old man was arrested at a property in Troon Avenue, Dundee, in connection with the disappearance of Burke and her two-year-old daughter Jellica. Picture date: March 9 'I didn't know her or recognise her. The first I heard of it was on the news. I had heard people shouting at the flats in the middle of February and I think it was reported to the police.' Local residents were also asked if they had seen a blue Renault car, like one seized by investigators in Ardler for further examination. Neighbours admitted recognising the vehicle would be difficult given the road is a busy thoroughfare. Innes allegedly used a hammer to murder Bennylyn and is accused of killing pre-schooler Jellica through 'unknown means.' Innes made no plea at Dundee Sheriff Court. A seven-year-old girl was found alive in the Dundee property and is being supported by police. Flowers and a teddy bear left at the entrance to Troon Avenue in Dundee as the search for Bennylyn Burke continues It is understood Ms Burke originally hailed from the Philippines and travelled to live in Bristol around two years ago. She is understood to have had family members living in the United Kingdom and they have been informed as her next-of-kin. Door-to-door inquiries have been carried out in the Ardler area of Dundee, where Innes lives in a 250,000 five bedroom house. Detectives are trying to establish the full extent of Ms Burke's movements in the period since she was last seen until Innes' arrest. Post mortem examinations will take place to establish the identities of the bodies and cause of death. Ms Burke's family have been told. Americas drinking water is surprisingly easy to poison This article was first posted to ProPublica. On Feb. 16, less than two weeks after a mysterious attacker made headlines around the world by hacking a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, and nearly generating a mass poisoning, the citys mayor declared victory. This is a success story, Mayor Eric Seidel told the City Council in Oldsmar, a Tampa suburb of 15,000, after acknowledging some deficiencies. As he put it, our protocols, monitoring protocols, worked. Our staff executed them to perfection. And as the city manager said, there were other backups. ... We were breached, theres no question. And well make sure that doesnt happen again. But its a success story. Two council members congratulated the mayor, noting his turn at the press conference where the hack was disclosed. Even on TV, you were fantastic, said one. Success is not the word that cybersecurity experts use to describe the Oldsmar episode. They view the breach as a case study in digital ineptitude, a frightening near-miss and an example of how the managers of water systems continue to downplay or ignore years of increasingly dire warnings. The experts say the sorts of rudimentary vulnerabilities revealed in the breach including the lack of an internet firewall and the use of shared passwords and outdated software are common among Americas 151,000 public water systems. Frankly, they got very lucky, said retired Adm. Mark Montgomery, executive director of the federal Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which Congress established in 2018 to upgrade the nations defenses against major cyberattacks. Montgomery likened the Oldsmar outcome to a pilot landing a plane after an engine caught fire during a flight. They shouldnt celebrate like Tom Brady winning the Super Bowl, he said. They didnt win a game. They averted a disaster through a lot of good fortune. The motive and identity of the hackers, foreign or domestic, remain unknown. But Montgomery and other experts say a more sophisticated hacker than the one in Oldsmar, who attempted to boost the quantity of lye in the drinking water to dangerous levels, could have wreaked havoc. Theyre skeptical of the citys assurances that redundant electronic monitors at the plant protected citizens from any possible harm. If the attackers could break into the lye controls, Montgomery said, dont you think they could break into the alarm system and alter the checkpoints? Its a mistake to think a hacker could not introduce contaminated water into our water systems. Oldsmar officials, citing the ongoing investigation, declined ProPublicas requests for an interview or to address emailed questions about the citys cybersecurity practices. The consequences of a major water system breach could be calamitous: thousands sickened from poisoned drinking water; panic over interrupted supplies; widespread flooding; burst pipes and streams of overflowing sewage. (This is not merely theoretical. In 2000, a former municipal wastewater contractor in Australia, rejected for a city job, remotely manipulated computer control systems to release 264,000 gallons of raw sewage, which poured into public parks, turned creek water black, spilled onto the grounds of a Hyatt Regency Hotel and generated a stench that investigators called unbearable. The man was sentenced to two years in prison.) In congressional testimony on March 10, Eric Goldstein, cybersecurity chief for the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, described the Oldsmar incident as illustrating the gravest risk that CISA sees from a national standpoint. He said it should be a clarion call for this country for the risk that we face from cyberintrusions into these critical systems. Grave warnings have sounded for years. As far back as 2011, a Department of Homeland Security alert advised that hackers could gain access to American water systems using readily available and generally free internet search tools. Such admonitions have abounded in recent years. Booz Allen Hamiltons 2019 Cyber Threat Outlook called Americas water utilities a perfect target for cyberattacks; a 2020 Journal of Environmental Engineering review found an increase in the frequency, diversity, and complexity of cyberthreats to the water sector; and the Cyberspace Solarium Commissions March 2020 report warned that Americas water systems remain largely ill-prepared to defend their networks from cyber-enabled disruption. Despite the warnings, and some high-profile breaches dating back a decade, the federal government has largely left cyberdefense to the water utilities. For years, it relied on voluntary industry measures, dismissing any need for new regulation. Then, in 2018, Congress included a provision addressing cybersecurity in a 129-page water bill that covered everything from river levee repairs to grants for school water fountains. The requirements were less than demanding. Every U.S. water system serving more than 3,300 customers was obliged to conduct a self-assessment of the risks and resilience of its physical and electronic systems and prepare an emergency-response plan. Different-sized utilities got different deadlines; for the smallest covered by the law, such as Oldsmar, the self-assessment must be done by June 30, 2021, more than two and a half years after the law was signed. (Oldsmar had completed its cybersecurity review by early November but hadnt yet incorporated its recommendations in the citys emergency response plan before the February hack, according to a statement provided by the city manager.) Tens of thousands of U.S. water systems with fewer than 3,300 customers were exempted entirely from the laws requirements. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 14:27:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WINDHOEK, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's economy is likely to post a moderate growth of 2.1 percent this year, further rising 2.8 percent in 2022 and average around 3.4 percent by the end of 2024, authorities said on Wednesday. "All major industry sectors are forecast to post a moderate positive growth in 2021 relative to the sharp contraction in the past year," Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi told lawmakers as he presented the budget. "Economic recovery is expected to be anchored by the growth in the mining industries, particularly the rebound in mining activities," Shiimi added. The budget deficit is expected to stand at 8.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, down from an estimate of 9.7 percent in 2020-2021. According to Shiimi, the budget deficit will be financed through a combination of domestic and external borrowings. Namibia expects budget revenue to decline by 6.1 percent to 52.1 billion Namibian dollars (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the fiscal year, from the estimated 55.5 billion Namibian dollars (about 3.83 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020-2021. The minister said the dwindling revenues are largely due to the expected contraction in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts. The revenues are expected to gather pace at an average rate of 4.8 percent as domestic economic activities and regional trade pick up, Shiimi added. Enditem Atlanta police on shooting probe: Nothing is off the table View Photo ATLANTA (AP) Police said Thursday that nothing is off the table in the investigation of the deadly shootings at two Atlanta massage businesses, including whether the slayings were a hate crime. Those attacks and a third one near the suburban town of Woodstock killed eight people and prompted President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to change their plans for a previously scheduled trip to Atlanta. The pair postponed a political event in favor of meeting Friday with Asian American community leaders. A 21-year-old white man, Robert Aaron Long, is charged with murder in Tuesdays slayings. Six of those killed were women of Asian descent. Our investigation is looking at everything, so nothing is off the table, Deputy Atlanta Police Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said at a news conference. The Cherokee County Sheriffs Office said it also was investigating whether the killings were hate crimes. Georgia lawmakers last year passed a hate crimes law that allows additional penalties to be imposed for certain offenses when motivated by a victims race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender or disability. A hate crime is not a standalone crime under the law, but it can be used to add time to a sentence once someone is convicted of another crime. Investigators believe Long had previously visited two of the Atlanta massage parlors where four of the women were killed, Hampton said. Long told police that the attacks were not racially motivated. He claimed to have a sex addiction, and authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. Longs statements spurred outrage and widespread skepticism in the Asian American community, which has increasingly been targeted for violence during the coronavirus pandemic. Cherokee County Sheriffs Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker also drew criticism for saying Long had a really bad day and this is what he did. Sheriff Frank Reynolds released a statement Thursday acknowledging that some of Bakers comments stirred much debate and anger and said the agency regrets any heartache caused by his words. In as much as his words were taken or construed as insensitive or inappropriate, they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect, Reynolds said, adding that Baker had a difficult task before him, and this was one of the hardest in his 28 years in law enforcement. Baker was replaced Thursday as spokesman for the investigation, according to a statement from a county spokeswoman who said she would be handling future media inquiries about the slayings. The sheriffs statement did not address a 2020 Facebook post that appeared to have been written by Baker promoting a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus. Baker has not commented on the post, which was taken down Wednesday. Meanwhile, lawyer J. Daran Burns issued a statement saying he had been appointed to represent Long. He offered condolences to the victims families and said he was working on Longs behalf to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the slayings. Long waived his right to an initial hearing in Cherokee County Magistrate Court on his lawyers advice, the statement said. Biden and Harris had already been scheduled to travel to Atlanta to tout the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, but the trip took on new meaning after the shootings. The visit also comes amid an intense debate over voter rights in Georgia. Biden and Harris, the first vice president of Asian descent, will instead meet with Asian American leaders to discuss threats against the community, meet with other local leaders and visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an update on the pandemic. Also Thursday, Biden directed that flags be flown at half-staff through sunset Monday in honor of the dead. At a congressional hearing on violence against Asian Americans that was scheduled before the shootings, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler called for the government to investigate and swiftly address growing tensions but did not call for a specific course of action. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would assign a person at the Justice Department to expedite the review of hate crimes related to COVID-19 and provide additional support to state and local authorities to respond to those crimes. But it is unclear if the bill by Rep. Grace Meng, a New York Democrat, and Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, will get a vote. Testifying at the hearing, Meng urged Democratic leaders to move the legislation and said lawmakers cannot turn a blind eye to people who are living in fear. Our community is bleeding, Meng said. We are in pain. And for the last year, weve been screaming out for help. There was some tension as a Republican on the panel, Texas Rep. Chip Roy, charged that Democrats were trying to control speech. When we start policing free speech, were doing the very thing that were condemning when we condemn what the Chinese Communist Party does to their country, Roy said. And thats exactly where this wants to go. Meng responded angrily to Roys comments, saying Republicans can talk about issues with any other country you want, but you dont have to do it by putting a bulls-eye on the back of Asian Americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids. ___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Zeke Miller, Jonathan Lemire and Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this report. By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with killing eight people, most of them Asian women, at three Atlanta-area massage businesses. After dropping off flowers Jesus Estrella, left, and Shelby stand in support of the Asian and Hispanic community outside Young's Asian Massage Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in Acworth, Ga. Asian Americans, already worn down by a year of racist attacks fueled by the pandemic, are reeling but trying to find a path forward in the wake of the horrific shootings at three Atlanta-area massage businesses that left eight people dead, most of them Asian women. (Curtis Compton /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with killing eight people, most of them Asian women, at three Atlanta-area massage businesses. Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings Tuesday evening. I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is because Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long. ... Weve been raising the red flag, said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlanta-based Asian American Advocacy Fund, which does political and advocacy work across Georgia. Many also were outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told them the attack was not racially motivated and claimed that he targeted the spas because of a sex addiction. Six of the seven slain women were of Asian descent. Law enforcement needs some training understanding what a hate crime is," said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. "This man identified targets owned by Asians. The gunman was very clearly going after a targeted group of people, Huang said. FILE - In this March 17, 2021, file photo, Roula AbiSamra, center, and Chelsey, right, prepare to lay flowers bouquets at a makeshift memorial outside of the Gold Spa in Atlanta. Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with attacking three Atlanta-area massage parlors and killing eight people, most of them Asian women. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) Being Asian American herself, Huang said the shootings felt personal. She is worried that not classifying the attack as a hate crime will absolutely discourage others from coming forward and seeking help. She also cringed at the comments of a sheriff's captain who said of the gunman: It was a really bad day for him. The remark appeared to be trying to explain and justify the suspect's actions, Huang said. "Hopefully it was a misstatement. Cherokee County sheriffs Capt. Jay Baker, whose remarks drew outrage, was replaced Thursday as spokesman for the case. The sheriff's office said it regrets any heartache caused by his words and that they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect." It also emerged that a Facebook account tied to Baker promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus last year. The account was deleted Wednesday night. Mahmood said Asian American business owners in the Atlanta area were already fearful because of incidents like graffiti and break-ins. The shootings will raise that worry to new heights. A lot of Asian American business owners in the beauty parlour industry and food service these are often the most visible front-line faces in the community, Mahmood said. FILE - In this March 13, 2021, file photo, Chinese-Japanese American student Kara Chu, 18, holds a pair of heart balloons decorated by herself for the rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. Asian Americans, already worn down by a year of racist attacks fueled by the pandemic, are reeling but trying to find a path forward in the wake of the horrific shootings at three Atlanta-area massage businesses that left eight people dead, most of them Asian women. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Her organization is partnering with other groups such as the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer resources in multiple languages, including mental health assistance, self-defence training and bystander training. Meanwhile, from Phoenix to Philadelphia, Asian American organizations organized events aimed at showing unity. Asian Americans United, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and several other partner groups held a vigil Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia's Chinatown neighbourhood. After the month and year we had, we knew our folks needed the time to come together safely just to grieve and heal and mourn and speak to whats happening, said Mohan Seshadri, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance co-executive director. As much despair as Asian Americans feel, Seshadri said, the shootings also mark a flashpoint. Our folks are pissed off and ready to fight, Seshadri said. The way we get through this is together by organizing our people and feeling solidarity. Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce CEO Vicente Reid is planning a vigil next week in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, which has a high concentration of Asian American-owned shops and restaurants. He thinks the slayings have galvanized the local community to go beyond vigils. I think there is this whole outlet of this younger generation who's passionate and has the energy. They just need someone to step up and lead them, Reid said. For the past several weeks, Asian Americans have questioned how to deal with a recent wave of assaults many on the elderly that have coincided with the pandemic. The virus was first identified in China, and former President Donald Trump and others have used racial terms to describe it. Numerous Asian American organizations say Trump's rhetoric has emboldened people to express anti-Asian or anti-immigrant views. Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting centre for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and its partner groups, since March 2020. Nationally, women reported hate crimes 2.3 times more than men. Following the release Wednesday of a report showing a surge in white supremacist propaganda in 2020, the Anti-Defamation League told The Associated Press that a significant amount of the propaganda included anti-immigrant rhetoric. The anti-hate group said 10% of propaganda descriptions in its inventory contained negative references to immigration, multiculturalism or diversity. The 522 physical flyers, stickers or banners included the use of words such as invasion, deport, disease, illegal, infection and virus, the ADL said. There were also seven propaganda incidents with direct anti-China references to COVID-19. Meanwhile, Asian Americans are thankfully getting support from many non-Asian allies, Mahmood said. The path forward for us is really just standing together and making sure we dont let these types of tragedies divide our communities." Associated Press writers R.J. Rico in Atlanta and Aaron Morrison in New York City contributed to this report. Tang reported from Phoenix and is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ttangAP. TOKYO, Mar 18, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Glencore Plc (Glencore, head office located in Switzerland) to acquire a 30% interest in the Aurukun Bauxite Project in Australia currently wholly owned by Glencore.In addition to MC's existing aluminum smelting and trading operations, this acquisition marks MC's first investment in the mining of bauxite, a raw material of aluminum.MC's mineral resources group conducts business through investment and development of resources such as iron ore and aluminum, in addition to its core operations in metallurgical coal and copper, aspiring to improve global outcomes by contributing to the transition to a low-carbon/decarbonized society, and to create new values through digital transformation (DX). With its unique lightweight properties and ability to be endlessly recycled, aluminum plays an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, of which a particular case is when it is used to manufacture electrical vehicles where the lightness of material is integral. As the metal commonly used in construction such as sashes, walls, and roofing materials, and also as a lightweight material for automobiles to increase fuel efficiency, the global demand for aluminum has nearly doubled over the past ten years and is expected to continue to rise in the mid to long term.The Project is an undeveloped bauxite mine located in Queensland, Australia. Glencore is currently assessing the feasibility of developing the mine, and MC believes that this is a promising asset with competitive resource volume and production costs. MC's view is that early stage development of the mine is feasible through joint operations with resources major Glencore.Subject to the satisfactory regulatory process, including the approval from the Queensland Government, Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd (MDP, head office located in Australia), a wholly owned subsidiary of MC, will hold a 30% interest in the asset.By utilising its expertise in the mining business in Australia, and working together with Glencore to conclude the feasibility studies, MDP will aim to reach a final investment decision on development of the mine during 2022.Through the acquisition and development of the Project together with other business activities, MC will continuously secure competitive assets that contribute to a stable, global supply of a resource, and also to strive for sustainable growth by simultaneously generating economic, societal, and environmental values.Source: Mitsubishi CorporationCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, has said he is going to prioritise the prosecution of economic and organised crimes because they do not only affect every Ghanaian but also retard development. He has, consequently, urged the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, to create specialised courts for the prosecution of such crimes to help in the acceleration of the national development effort. During a meeting with the Chief Justice Monday, the minister asked him to help the A-G's office to improve conditions in the prisons and ensure that the prisons were decongested. Understaffed Mr Dame said the A-G's Department was understaffed, with only a few State Attorneys. That, he said, had contributed to the slow pace at which some cases had gone on in court. The department is inadequately staffed and we need funds to boost the number of personnel and equip them properly to meet the demands of their work because there is lack of computers and space, so some staff work from containers, he said. Mr Dame assured the Chief Justice that the A-G's office would begin recruitment of new staff and ensure that their conditions of service were attractive. New office Mr Dame disclosed that after many years of delay, the A-G's office would soon relocate to a new office complex known as the Law House near the High Court Complex in Accra. He said the Ministry of Finance had made provision for the completion of the project in the budget that was currently before Parliament. He expressed the hope that the national arbitration centre would also be set up in the new office complex. Mr Dame said the movement to the new buildings should give a completely new look to the Ministry of Justice. I have set out to ensure the completion of the project and thankfully the Ministry of Finance seems to be aligned and has actually allocated the sum required for the completion of the project. I will just follow up and ensure the release of the funds, he said. Assurance Furthermore, he told the Chief Justice that the A-G's office would ensure proper collaboration among the various investigative bodies in the country, such as the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), to ensure prompt and efficient investigations into high-level criminal activities. Mr Dame said the work of the A-G was cut out in the Constitution to be the chief legal advisor to the government, who was supposed to ensure that every opinion that emanated from the office was well scrutinised and was one that would meet the demands of the people. The A-G will ensure that agreements are not made in a way that will cause unnecessary loss to the state or burden the taxpayer, but that they are scrutinised to ensure that the state derives benefits from them, he said. Speed prosecutions The Chief Justice, for his part, promised to consider the suggestion put forward by the A-G, but also urged him to get his attorneys to speed up work when it came to prosecutions. He assured the A-G of his commitment to help provide specialised courts for the prosecution of organised crimes. He said the provision of more courts would also be prioritised to ensure the timely discharge of justice. He encouraged the A-G to report inappropriate activities, such as the presentation of fake documents in criminal appeals. If a judge is not firm, the Judiciary must be alerted for action to be taken, so that we can see some improvement in justice delivery, he said. The Chief Justice also encouraged the A-G to ensure that government officials in the various ministries, departments and agencies operating under the government responded to requests of the A-G to help in the prosecution of cases or the scrutiny of agreements. He urged the A-G to be firm to avoid the situation where he would be working hard without results. He identified a problem with some lawyers from institutions such as the Lands Commission whose work often slowed down the prosecution of land cases, which affected the discharge of compensation to traditional landowners. The Chief Justice said the partnership between the two institutions was not supposed to be limited to courtroom activities but every facet of the justice system that would help improve the system. Our partnership is not limited to court activities but even in the training of lawyers, so wherever the A-G is found, the Judicial Service must complement its work, he said. Jurors For her part, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, said there was an urgent need to look at the work of jurors again to ensure that those who had stayed in some courts for years were changed. He said some jurors had stayed in some courts for 14 years because the institution that appointed them kept appointing the same persons for jury work. She appealed for the migration of case files onto an electronic platform to eliminate the presentation of fake documents for criminal appeals. Present at the meeting were Justices Jones Mawulom Dotse, Samuel K. Marful-Sau and Paul Baffoe-Bonnie. 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 In case youre a superhero movie fanatic (like me), youd know about the pain and relentless hope for a Snyder Cut for the abysmal Justice League that every DC fanboy wanted. WB So when Snyder announced that he was finally going to make a Snyder Cut for the Justice League, it was like a dream come true. Today, this Snyder Cut has gone live on HBO around the world, as well as BookMyShow Stream in India. However, it looks like HBO wasnt prepared for what was about to get unleashed on its platform. HBO Servers crashed on Justice League Snyder Cut demand As soon as the stream went live, the platform experienced a considerable rise in the number of users, getting in line to stream the much-awaited movie. This resulted in the stream not working for many users. HBO Asia went ahead and announced that it was working on fixing its issue with its servers, Hi everyone! We are working hard to restore the service. Sorry to keep you waiting but thank you for your patience! Facebook/HBO Asia Fans were truly not happy with the service provider and they not only lashed out in the posts comments section on Facebook but also on Twitter. ALSO READ: Justice League Snyder Cut Leaked On Torrent, Telegram: Why You Should Avoid It They had all been waiting to watch the highly-awaited Snyder Cut of the Justice League movie for half a decade now, so no wonder why they left such angry comments on social media: Twitter Some were angry while some were really creative. They let all of this show across Twitter and Facebook, obviously, which additionally adds salts in HBO's streaming wounds. Twitter Some users in India too experienced this with streaming partner BookMyShow Stream or BMS Stream. ALSO READ: From Google To WhatsApp: Worst Server Outages In Recent Internet History Twitter The company in a press release revealed that it had rented over 31,000 streams for the Snyder Cut. They havent really given any clarity on whether it was an issue linked with the HBO server issue or whether it was an issue on their end entirely. WB The Justice League Snyder Cut has a run time of 4 hours and two minutes, encompassing new shot footage and expected to round the rather hasted story from the original Justice League, giving it more depth along the way. Are you excited about the Snyder Cut? Let us know in the comments below. The South Korean and U.S. foreign and defense chiefs on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral alliance and vowed to make North Korea's nuclear and missile programs a priority. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook met with their U.S counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin in Seoul on Thursday morning. The U.S. secretaries of state and defense arrived here on Wednesday after a visit to Tokyo on their first trip to Asia since the Biden administration took office early this year. The two sides in a joint statement "reaffirmed that the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance, forged in blood on the battlefield 70 years ago, serves as the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region." They said the "North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance," and "reaffirmed a shared commitment to address and resolve" them. They "should be addressed through a fully-cooperated strategy toward North Korea" between the two allies, they added, and pledged "high-level consultations on the United States' ongoing North Korea policy review." SALEM, Ore. With the American Rescue Plan now signed into law, Oregon will soon be receiving more than $4.2 billion in coronavirus relief funds. Unlike provisions in last year's CARES Act, much of that funding will be going directly to local city and county governments. President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package last Thursday after it passed both chambers of Congress. While the precise amount of aid that will be doled out to municipalities in the coming days is likely to fluctuate somewhat, the National League of Cities has been working to calculate the approximate amounts that each area will receive. All told, Oregon is slated to receive more than $4.2 billion $2.6 billion of which will go to the state government to fund agencies impacted by COVID-19, with another $155,000 going to capital projects. Almost $1.5 billion will be split among counties, cities and towns throughout the state. So what does this mean for governments our area? The NLC came up with these early estimates... Cities Ashland - $4.41 million Brookings - $1.32 million Central Point - $3.84 million Eagle Point - $1.95 million Grants Pass - $9.34 million Klamath Falls - $4.43 million Medford - $18.34 million Talent - $1.35 million Yreka - $1.42 million NOTE: Municipalities receiving less than $1 million have been omitted for brevity in this report, but many of them are eligible for their own funding in the relief package. Counties Curry County - $4.45 million Jackson County - $42.85 million Josephine County - $16.97 million Klamath County - $13.23 million Lake County - $1.53 million Siskiyou County - $8.44 million The National League of Cities came to these numbers after using the formulas set out by the bill on how much money each city in the country can get. For municipalities over 50,000 people, population, poverty, and housing instability all contribute to the monetary value given to each local government. Cities with less than 50,000 will get money from the state that will be sub-allocated from funding through a simple per capita formula. According to the legislation, half of the relief money will be given out this spring and summer and the other half will be given out in 2022. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Sorry! This content is not available in your region FORT MYERS, Fla., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fort Myers, FL-based manufacturer NFI Masks has joined American Mask Manufacturers Association (AMMA), uniting with over 50 mask manufacturers across the country to encourage Americans to buy 'U.S. Made' high-filtration masks rather than purchase masks from foreign countries such as China. In response to the pandemic one-year ago, our country faced an alarming shortage of protective masks that keep American workers and individuals safe from COVID-19. The U.S. relied heavily on supply chains outside the country and outside our control with only 20-30 percent of masks being manufactured in the States. Fast forward one year later, and America is now home to more than 200 mask manufacturers who say they can now manufacture enough masks to keep 100% of the American workforce safe. "The only way to ensure availability of safe, high-quality, high-filtration masks for every American worker that are produced in clean surroundings and available for timely delivery is to buy 'U.S. Made' masks," says Todd Raines, President of NFI Masks and member of American Mask Manufacturers Association (AMMA). The mask manufacturers from across the U.S., including NFI Masks, formed the AMMA organization earlier this year to lobby the Biden administration to improve regulations that would keep inferior products out of the country and urge Americans to buy masks from companies here in America that meet the necessary health and safety standards. A letter sent to the Biden Administration dated March 1, 2021 stated, in part, that AMMA members "produce products that are superior to those made in other countries like China. We strongly recommend using the new ASTM Barrier Face Covering Standard at an 80% filtration level. The U.S. has ample supply of masks and filter material to protect the entire workforce and public." "Our American workforce deserves quality and safety to ensure health," said Raines. "They deserve American made. NFI Masks is calling on all Americans to demand American made." NFI Masks and the AMMA are also calling for an implementation the Berry Amendment standard. This would require the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to purchase only PPE that is 100% made in the United Sates. This aligns with the American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act that was recently reintroduced by a bipartisan effort in Congress. Additional information on the American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act can be found at: https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/pascrell-mchenry-reintroduce-legislation-encourage-medical-supplies-made-america/ Although some larger U.S. mask corporations import mask materials from overseas, NFI Masks and other manufacturers in AMMA purchase only American made materials and supplies to manufacture high-filtration masks right here on U.S. soil. NFI Masks employs local workers and adheres to CDC guidelines and safety standards. Raines added, "We hope to educate the consumer on masks so they know what they are buying. American made masks are simply safer than what is being imported. The quality and cleanliness of these foreign made products are not being controlled overseas. This is why we urge the Biden administration to act in the best interest of America's health and safety." About NFI Masks, LLC NFI Masks opened its doors in Fort Myers, Florida in the spring of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded by Todd Raines, owner of National Filters, Inc., NFI Masks manufactures a complete line of 3-4 ply disposable ASTM F3502-21 non-medical & FDA 510k surgical masks, as well as GB 2626:2019 approved KN95 face masks. They manufacture a truly 100% American made face mask. NFI Masks stocks over 1.5 million American made surgical level masks and KN95 face masks at their facility. All of NFI Masks products are made using only American made raw materials. For more information about NFI Masks please go to nfimasks.com or call 239-990-6546. ORGANIZATION MEDIA Todd Raines Josh Milton NFI Masks LLC CONRIC pr + marketing 239-990-6546 239-690-9840 x1004 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE NFI Masks LLC Related Links http://www.nfimasks.com The House on Wednesday passed a bill to award congressional gold medals to U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department for protecting the Capitol and members of Congress during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Before any medals can be awarded, the House version of the measure, passed 413-12, will need to be reconciled with a Senate-passed bill that would award a congressional gold medal to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led rioters away from the Senate chamber. The congressional gold medal is the highest honor Congress can bestow on an individual or institution. Congress first started commissioning the medals during the American Revolution to honor citizens who participated in the war, according to the House historian. Later, Congress broadened the scope of the award and started giving medals to a variety of individuals whom lawmakers considered worthy of recognition, including actors, authors, musicians, astronauts, scientists, doctors, athletes, humanitarians and public servants. House and Senate rules require congressional gold medal bills to have at least two-thirds of the respective chamber co-sponsoring the measure before it can be considered. Sponsored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the bill had 333 cosponsors heading into the vote. The measure would commission three gold medals: one each for the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department to display at their respective headquarters, and one for the Smithsonian Institution to display with a plaque that lists the other law enforcement agencies that aided in protecting the Capitol on Jan. 6. Some Republicans who didnt co-sponsor the bill said they had concerns about the language, including the use of the term insurrection and calling the Capitol a temple. A dozen ended up voting no. Capitol Police officers stationed outside the chamber during the vote were overheard questioning which members voted against the bill. Its just offensive that we literally logrolled recognition of the Capitol Police, Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the no votes, told CQ Roll Call. We didnt give it its own dignity. We had to combine it with these editorial comments about the Jan. 6 sequence of events, and then we had the logroll it with this exhibit at the Smithsonian, and that was a little much for me. Rep. Thomas Massie told CQ Roll Call he voted against the bill because it used the term insurrection and the implication codifying that description of Jan. 6 could have on prosecutions of individuals in the Capitol that day. If we give weight to the word insurrection that then that comes up in somebodys prosecution, so thats a concern of mine, the Kentucky Republican said. Also calling this a temple is a little too sacrilegious for me. This is not a religion here. This is a government. We separate our religion from our government. Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy also took issue with the phrase in the bills findings section that calls the Capitol the temple of our American Democracy, saying, Its neither a temple, nor is it a democracy. However, he ended up voting for it. Other Republicans who voted against the bill were Texans Michael Cloud, Louie Gohmert and Lance Gooden, Georgians Andrew Clyde and Marjorie Taylor Green, Arizonian Andy Biggs, Virginian Bob Good, Marylander Andy Harris, Tennessean John W. Rose and Floridian Greg Steube. Exemplify the heroism Pelosi had been gathering co-sponsors on her bill when the Senate on Feb. 12 passed a bill via voice vote to award a congressional gold medal to Goodman. That bill, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, has 72 cosponsors. Goodman is among only a handful of officers who have received public recognition, but hundreds of officers fought back the insurrectionists on Jan. 6. Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic captured video of Goodman leading rioters away from the Senate chamber, where lawmakers and staff were still being evacuated. The video went viral, and Goodman was widely praised as a hero. The praise quickly translated to calls for Goodman to be awarded the congressional gold medal, with Van Hollen, D-Md., introducing a Senate version of the bill and Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., introducing a House version. Crists bill has only 165 cosponsors, short of the two-thirds needed to be considered. Van Hollens bill cites Bobics video footage as it notes Goodmans selfless and quick-thinking actions doubtlessly saved lives and bought security personnel precious time to secure and ultimately evacuate the Senate before the armed mob breached the Chamber. Officer Goodmans actions exemplify the heroism of the many men and women who risked their lives to defend the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the bill says. Although Pelosis bill provides for a broader award in commissioning the gold medals, it names Goodman and compliments him for his courage. Her bill also names the three officers who died: Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries suffered in the attack, and Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood and D.C. Metro Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who both died by suicide after the events of Jan. 6. A Pelosi spokesperson said the speaker wanted to make sure all officers who fought the rioters and protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 received recognition. The topic of Goodman being just one of many heroic officers who fought back rioters came up during a recent New York Times interview with Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. People fought their asses off. Eugene was great. He did his job. He did it heroically, literally, in the face of danger. So many people did that that day. So many freaking people, Dunn said. Weve got officers who suffered concussions and got attacked. So many people fought so bravely. There were so many Eugene Goodmans that day. Everybody I saw fought their asses off. And theyre heroes. Its not clear how the House and Senate plan to reconcile their bills. A Pelosi spokesperson said those discussions would occur after passage of the House version. Van Hollen told CQ Roll Call last week that hed like to see both measures passed into law but that Goodman deserves his own medal because he played a particularly special role in defending the Senate. Weve been in communication with [the House] and our hope is that they will pass both, he said. I understand that their plan is to pass the gold medal for all the officers, which I support. Delayed vote The debate on the House gold medal bill was originally scheduled for last week, but it was delayed along with a dozen other bills scheduled to be brought up under suspension of the rules, a fast-track process that requires two-thirds support for passage. A majority of suspension bills pass on voice vote, but Roy and Greene planned to ask for roll call votes on all 13 suspension bills scheduled to be debated last week. Democratic leaders decided to pull the suspension bills from the schedule because of the floor time it would have taken roughly 45 minutes per vote due to COVID-19 voting groups that allow for more social distancing that would have cut into the time needed to debate other scheduled legislation. Some Republicans, not the Republican leadership, but some Republicans, had threatened to ask for a vote on each one of those 13 bills, which would have taken some 10 hours of voting, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer told reporters last week. The Maryland Democrat specifically mentioned Republicans protest delaying consideration of the gold medal bill for Capitol and D.C. police, saying, Its a shame that that was not passed. The gold medal bill was one of only five suspension bills Hoyer put on the schedule this week, anticipating Republicans may again request roll call votes on each one, which they did. Out of an abundance of caution and trying to avoid, you know, a confrontation on this, I pulled all but five, Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. These five are very important to get done. Chris Cioffi and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report. I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a news release. Google wants to be a part of that recovery. Thats why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year. 2021-03-18 Maeci Today, 18 March, is the first National Memorial Day for the victims of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Foreign Ministry is close to the families of all our fellow citizens struck down by this terrible virus, in Italy and around the World. We will defeat this pandemic, for their sakes as for ours. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 08:54:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 1.0 percent in the December 2020 quarter, following a revised 13.9-percent increase in the September 2020 quarter, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday. "The dip in activity in the December quarter follows record growth in the September 2020 quarter," national accounts senior manager Paul Pascoe said. "The September quarter reflected a bounce back after a slump in the June quarter, due to the COVID-19 national lockdown when many businesses were shut for weeks." "Activity in the December quarter shows a mixed picture - some industries are down, but others have held up or risen, despite the ongoing impact of COVID." At the industry level, seven out of 16 industries declined. The two largest contributors to the drop were construction, and retail trade and accommodation. Both industries saw strong September 2020 quarter results. On the other hand, parts of the retail trade and accommodation industry continue to be affected by the absence of international tourism. "Businesses ranging from hotels and motels, to restaurants, cafes and bars faced much lower activity in calendar year 2020 than in 2019, with far fewer international tourists in the country because of border restrictions," Pascoe said. The two largest positive contributors in the quarter were transport, postal and warehousing, and business services. However, both industries are still operating below pre-COVID levels and are weaker over the calendar year 2020 compared to 2019. Transport services, in particular, have been impacted by the lack of international travel. The December 2020 quarter results capture the beginning of what is traditionally the international tourism season, which has tended to peak during the summer months. Tourism in New Zealand comprises an important sector of the national economy, which directly contributed about 6 percent of the country's GDP prior to COVID-19. China has been New Zealand's second-largest international visitor market since 2012 and one of the most valuable in terms of holiday visitor spend, according to New Zealand's national tourism organisation Tourism New Zealand. Enditem MTET exam dates 2021 to be announced soon India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Shillong, Mar 18: The education department in Meghalaya will soon announce the dates for the Meghalaya Teachers' Eligibility Test (MTET) examination, state minister Lahkmen Rymbui said in the assembly on Wednesday. Replying to a query during Question Hour, the education minister said the notification for conducting the examination will be issued in the coming weeks. Legislators present in the House had expressed concern over non-availability of qualified teachers in many primary schools. Congress MLA HM Shangpliang said, there are 10 such schools in Mawsynram area under East Khasi Hills, 80 in Ranikor in South West Khasi Hills and 20 to 30 such schools inRambrai-Jyrngam area of West Khasi Hills district. He also requested the state government to allow teachers, who had not qualified in the last MTET exam, to teach in schools in border areas, where students are taught in their mother tongue, mostly in Garo language. NPP MLA Rakkam Sangma said over 80 schools in RongaruSiju, his constituency, are also without teachers. Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh requested the education minister to address the problem at the earliest. In his reply, Mr Rymbui said, there will be no temporary appointment in such schools to set things straight in the department. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan have jointly called on Afghanistan's warring sides to reach an immediate cease-fire just six weeks before a deadline for the United States to pull out troops who have been in the country for nearly 20 years. "At this turning point, our four countries call on the sides to hold talks and reach a peace agreement that will end more than four decades of war in Afghanistan," read a joint statement issued after the conclusion of talks in Moscow on March 18. The statement called on the Taliban and government forces to curb violence and urged the militants not to declare offensives in the spring and summer. It also said the four countries were committed to mobilizing political and economic support for Afghanistan once a peace settlement had been reached. The Moscow talks were meant to breathe life into negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban that opened in Qatar in September but have stalled over government accusations that the insurgents have done too little to halt violence. The meeting included members of the Afghan government, the country's negotiation team, Taliban officials, as well representatives of Russia, China, Pakistan, and the United States. It marked the first time Washington has sent a senior official to participate in Afghan peace negotiations convened by Russia. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's presence was seen as a sign of Washington's increasing effort to attract support among regional powers -- including China and Russia -- for its plans for Afghanistan. Khalilzad has recently tried to gain support for the U.S. administration's road map to peace, including inviting more parties to the negotiations, the establishment of an interim government including the Taliban during the transition to peace, and the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Afghan political factions and the Afghan government. The U.S. envoy said earlier that he saw the Moscow meeting as a "complement" to international efforts to support the Afghan peace process. Moscow, which fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, has given its support to the Washington initiative and pushed for a quick resolution, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying while opening the talks in Russia that "in a degrading military-political situation, further delays are unacceptable." "The situation is becoming an increasingly bigger concern, especially with the approaching spring and summer season traditionally accompanied with intensified combat activity," Lavrov said. Moscow has hosted talks among Afghan sides and regional powers since 2017. However, Washington had focused on its own direct talks with the Taliban and talks between the Afghan parties themselves. On March 18, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said that Moscow now plans to host intra-Afghan talks. The Afghan delegation included members of the current negotiation team in Qatar, warlords accused of war crimes, and no women. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is opposed to an interim government, while the Taliban has indicated it would not join. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's High Council For National Reconciliation, said after the Moscow talks that the state negotiation team was ready to discuss any topic with the Taliban. "We called for an end to targeted killings and a comprehensive ceasefire to begin the next rounds of the talks in a peaceful environment," Abdullah wrote on Twitter. The Moscow gathering was seen as a curtain-raiser for a larger meeting of regional players in Turkey in April, as well as a summit that Khalilzad has asked the United Nations to organize. With reporting by AP, TASS, and Reuters [March 18, 2021] Canada Raising Awareness on Zero-Emission Vehicles OTTAWA, ON, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the Government of Canada remains committed to building a clean energy future to strengthen the economy, create good, middle-class jobs and support the natural resource sectors. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., today announced a federal investment of $50,000 in a campaign by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) to raise awareness of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and help Canadians make informed decisions when choosing their next vehicle. The CAA is matching the investment in the project, bringing the total funding to $100,000. This funding supports a bilingual ZEV education and awareness advertising campaign and a website providing buyers with important information about charging infrastructure, operating costs, available government subsidies and common misconceptions about ZEV technology. Federal funding is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative, supporting the government's ambitious target to have all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada be ZEVs by 2040. The government has invested over $600 million to make EVs more affordable and charging infrastructure more accessible. This includes establishing a coast-to-coast network of fast chargers and installing chargers in localized areas where Canadians live, work and play. This investment supports natural gas refuelling stations along key freight corridors, hydrogen stations in metropolitan centres, the demonstration of next-generation charging technologies and the development of enabling codes and standards. The government is providing incentives of up to $5,000 to increase affordability for anadians to buy EVs and full tax write-offs for businesses purchasing them. These initiatives complement Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, which will further accelerate zero-emission vehicle adoption through an additional $150 million for ZEV infrastructure and an additional $287 million for ZEV purchasing incentives for Canadians. The government continues to support green infrastructure projects that will create good, middle-class jobs, advance Canada's low-carbon future and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Quotes "We are giving Canadians the greener options they want to get to where they need to go. This is how we get to net zero by 2050." The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "The Government of Canada continues to spread the word about zero-emission vehicles. By putting more clean vehicles on our roads, we are making our communities healthier, reducing pollution and creating a greener future for Canadians." The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "CAA is proud to have played its part in educating Canadians about zero-emission vehicles, in particular electric vehicles, for nearly a decade now. Support from the Government of Canada makes it possible for us to reach even more Canadians with messages that demystify zero-emission vehicles." Ian Jack, Vice-President, Public Affairs Canadian Automobile Association Related Links Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION FROM THE SEASON OPENER ON THURSDAY NIGHT WITH OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF RICHMOND v CARLTON FROM 6.30pm AEDT. Richmond captain Trent Cotchin will miss Thursday nights AFL season opener against Carlton due to illness. The club tweeted the news on Thursday afternoon. Trent Cotchin did not train on Wednesday due to illness. Credit:Getty Images Earlier on Thursday, Richmond had told The Age that although Cotchin had been feeling unwell and had missed training on Wednesday, he was still a chance to line up for the seasons first bounce, describing him as very much in the mix. A man wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walks through a shopping mall, Thursday, March 18, 2021, in Tokyo. The Japanese capital confirmed more than 320 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Japan said Thursday it would end a monthslong state of emergency in the Tokyo area set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, despite concerns the spring party season and next week's Olympic torch relay could fuel a resurgence. The emergency measures are set to be lifted on Sunday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced during a government task force meeting. The move underscores the government's eagerness to minimize burdens on businesses and keep the economy going. However, some experts warned that although Tokyo has managed to bring down the rate of new infections, the decline has levelled off and could rebound. Cautionary measures after the end of the emergency will be crucial, said Shigeru Omi, a doctor on a government panel of coronavirus experts. "We must prevent a rebound of infections. We must avoid putting strains on the medical and public health systems like before," Omi said. Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures have been under emergency measures since Jan. 7, mainly requests for restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and take preventive measures, as well as asking companies and employees to do more remote work. Similar emergency measures were lifted in six urban areas late last month. Japan has managed to keep virus cases and deaths relatively low without enforcing a hard lockdown, with the Health Ministry tallying more than 8,700 deaths out of 450,000 total cases throughout the pandemic. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence on Thursday, March 18, 2021, Tokyo, Japan. Suga said Thursday it would end a monthslong state of emergency in the Tokyo area set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, despite concerns of a resurgence ahead of the spring party season and next week's Olympic torch relay. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP) Suga said indicators such as daily new cases and hospital bed occupancy rates have come down to levels that allow the emergency to be lifted in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures. Suga thanked people for coping with restrictions and sought their continuing cooperation, saying measures to prevent a resurgence still are necessary, as new cases in Tokyo are not declining steadily. "In order to prevent the resurgence of the infections, we will do all we can to ... get the coronavirus under control while cooperating with local authorities," Suga said at a news conference. "It is my responsibility to protect the lives and health of the people." Fears of a potential resurgence are rising outside the Tokyo area as well. The governor of the northern prefecture of Miyagi issued a non-binding local emergency after new cases spiked this month. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A couple wearing face masks walk on rocks with a backdrop of the Olympic rings floating in the water in Tokyo's Odaiba section Thursday, March 18, 2021. Japan on Thursday will approve ending a monthslong state of emergency in Tokyo set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, despite concerns of a resurgence ahead of the spring party season and next week's Olympic torch relay. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence on Thursday, March 18, 2021, Tokyo. Suga said Thursday it would end a months-long state of emergency in the Tokyo area set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, despite concerns of a resurgence ahead of the spring party season and next week's Olympic torch relay. (Rodrigo Reyes Marin/Pool Photo via AP) Experts also said that some of the areas, including Osaka, where the emergency was lifted last month are showing signs of a rebound. The prime minister said the government will expand testing and step up monitoring of new variants of the virus believed to be more contagious, while carrying out vaccinations safely and promptly. Restaurants and bars can stay open only an hour longer until 9 p.m., though those who cooperate will get a 40,000-yen ($370) in return. Since last year, the Japanese economy has been slammed by a drop in consumption, tourism, exports and manufacturing. The decision to lift the measure comes just days before the nationwide Olympic torch relay begins in Fukushima prefecture on March 25. "I will firmly support preparations to achieve the Olympics," Suga said, referring to the Games scheduled to begin in July after being postponed from last year. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. TAKE OUR SURVEY ~~TELL US HOW WE ARE DOING Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Staten Island elected officials condemned on social media hate crimes against the Asian community after a shooting at a Georgia spa that killed six Asian women. A total of eight people died after a man identified as Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Ga., entered Youngs Asian Massage, located north of Atlanta, and started firing, police said. Six of the victims were Asian, raising concerns about a spike of hate crimes targeting that community during the coronavirus pandemic throughout the country. While the investigation continues, it is clear that these killings come amid an increase of hate crimes and escalating threats against Asian Americans, the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force said in a statement share by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon on Twitter. The Asian American Pacific Islander community on Staten Island is an essential part of the fabric of our borough and while we are exceptionally fortunate not to have seen any anti-Asian bias incidents or crimes since the outset of the pandemic, we will not let our guard down, and we will continue to stand with them in the face of bigotry and hatred. We stand with our neighbors in the AAPI community against the rising tide of hate far too many are experiencing. As the investigation continues into the tragic killings in Atlanta, the Staten Island Hate Crimes Task Force issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/Bly76OSWwO Michael E. McMahon (@StatenIslandDA) March 18, 2021 The NYPD Counterterrorism Unit said on Tuesday that it will deploy assets to our great Asian communities across the city out of an abundance of caution and that there is no known nexus between what happened in Georgia and possible threats in New York City. This is tragic and evil and comes at a time when we are seeing an unacceptable rise in violence against Asians, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) said. We appreciate the NYPD taking swift action to increase its presence in our citys Asian communities as the motive is investigated. This is tragic and evil and comes at a time when we are seeing an unacceptable rise in violence against Asians. We appreciate the NYPD taking swift action to increase its presence in our citys Asian communities as the motive is investigated.https://t.co/ue8KO4inla Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (@RepMalliotakis) March 17, 2021 State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) also joined her colleagues for a call against hate crimes. I want my constituents locally to know that whoever you are, wherever you come from, and whatever you look like, I will always stand with you against these bias attacks, and hope these perpetrators are tried to the fullest extent of the law, she said. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close YEREVAN -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has agreed to hold early general elections in June in an effort to defuse a political crisis sparked by the war with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. Pashinian said in a post on Facebook on March 18 that following talks with the leader of the opposition parliamentary faction Prosperous Armenia, Gagik Tsarukian, it was agreed that early elections will be held on June 20. During their meeting, Pashinian and Tsarukian agreed that the snap elections were "the best way out of the current internal political situation," the prime minister wrote. "Taking into account my discussions with President [Armen Sarkisian], the My Step faction, the leader of the Bright Armenia faction Edmon Marukian, early parliamentary elections will be held in the Republic of Armenia on June 20," he added. Armenia has been in the grip of political upheaval since November, when Pashinian signed a Moscow-brokered cease-fire agreement with Azerbaijan that ended six weeks of fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the deal, a chunk of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces. A coalition of 16 opposition parties has been holding anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and other parts of the country in a bid to force Pashinian to step down over his handling of the war, during which more than 6,000 people were killed. But the prime minister, whose My Step faction dominates parliament, has refused to resign, defending the Russia-mediated agreement as the only way to prevent Azerbaijan from overrunning Nagorno-Karabakh, while his supporters rallied in his support to counter the pressure for his resignation. The region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region's population reject Azerbaijani rule. They had been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan's troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994. Donna Perry is a Sun Chronicle columnist and media commentator. Reach her at sprucemedia8@gmail.com , follow her @donnaperryma1. Flags at half mast and minute of silence throughout Italy for the first Giornata nazionale in memoria delle vittime di covid. Italy has declared 18 March as the national day in memory of the victims of covid-19, after a bill was approved unanimously by the Italian senate yesterday. Flags will fly at half mast across Italy today with mayors throughout the country to hold a minute of silence at 11.00 to "preserve and renew the memory of all the people who died because of he epidemic." Italy's premier Mario Draghi will attend a ceremony at 11.00 in Bergamo in the northern Lombardy region, a city devastated by the first wave of the coronavirus. Together with the Lombardy governor Attilio Fontana, the prime minister will lay a wreath of flowers at the cemetery in the city which this time last year was the epicentre of Italy's covid-19 emergency. The choice of date for the commemoration is in memory of the grim events of 18 March 2020: on this night last year a convoy of army trucks carried the coffins of covid-19 victims out of Bergamo because its cemeteries had reached capacity. The shocking image made news around the world. Also on this day last year Italy saw its total death toll from covid reach almost 3,000. Institutional events are planned from north to south of Italy today as the country remembers all the people who have died with coronavirus since the outbreak began; the latest data by the health ministry put that figure at 103,432. Following the wreath-laying ceremony, Bergamo will see the inauguration of the Bosco della Memoria, at the Parco alla Trucca, with the planting of the first 100 trees in memory of the covid dead. In Rome a minute of silence will be held in the senate whose flags will be hoisted at half mast, while Florence will unveil a plaque in the courtyard of the Dogana of Palazzo Vecchio, in memory of the Florentine deaths due to covid, at 13.30. Milan will host a commemorative event at 11.00 in Piazza Scala and this evening the city's Palazzo Pirelli and Palazzo Lombardia will be illuminated with the lights of the tricolour. Yesterday evening the health ministry announced 23,059 new covid-19 cases, and 431 more fatalities, in Italy over the last 24 hours. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 As a naval ship chased a small boat through open ocean off Australias east coast, an Olympic silver medallists brother allegedly threw 20-kilogram packages of cocaine overboard in an attempt to dispose of evidence and force the pursuing ship to end its chase. The navy did stop chasing, but the fleeing boat was later intercepted by Queensland water police and the two men aboard were arrested. One of the men was Dru Anthony Baggaley, younger brother of Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley. Nathan is accused of buying the boat, launching it for the escapade and of using tape to cover the vessels registration numbers. Nathan Baggaley, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, has pleaded not guilty to an attempt to import cocaine. Credit:David Guttenfelder - AP The men on the boat had ditched the packages, but 587 kilograms of the cocaine was collected by the Royal Australian Navy and other packages washed up along the coast. Was he being strategic or was it simply a gaffe? Answering a direct question with a straight answer something all too rare in modern politics Gov. Gavin Newsom told host Joy Reid on MSNBC this week that he was committed to appointing a Black woman to the Senate if Dianne Feinstein were not to finish her term, which is scheduled to run through 2024. Feinstein was not amused, but she was forgiving. Please, were very good friends, told reporters. I dont think he meant it the way some people thought. From a political standpoint, Newsoms answer really puts more heat on her than him. After all, more than a few Democrats were irked at her effusive praise and a hug for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for his handling of the fast-track confirmation of Trumps Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the Judiciaary Committee last year. Now she is taking heat for sitting on the fence about whether to end a Senate filibuster rule that makes it all but impossible for the ruling Democrats to pass voting-rights legislation. Besides, questions about whether the 87-year-old senator would serve a full term have been top of mind in California political circles since her 2018 campaign. She insisted shes there to stay, critics notwithstanding. It brings to mind her 2004 words about Newsoms allowance of same-sex marriages in San Francisco in open defiance of state law a move some analysts believe contributed to the re-election of President George W. Bush. Too much, too fast, too soon, Feinstein said at the time. You can say it again, senator, in another context. But too much, too fast, too soon has often been Newsoms style, and often to his benefit. By the time he ran for governor, same-sex marriage was the law of the land and his move seemed bold, not rash, in retrospect. Now he is facing a recall, and his pledge to appoint a Black women to the U.S. Senate could help solidify his support from the Democratic base, and as my colleague Joe Garofoli noted in a smart analysis piece, Black women are the most loyal voters in the party. Well have more to say on Feinstein and the filibuster in our Sunday editorial. What were saying in editorials Crisis at the border: The fact is that upheaval, violence, poverty and other hardships in Central America and Mexico drive northward migration regardless of U.S. policy changes, which are communicated to prospective immigrants in unpredictable ways by smugglers and other unreliable sources. Biden has rightly sought to target what drives migration through increased investment in the countries that are home to the migrants. Read our editorial Josh Gohlke: Wednesdays anniversary of the national lockdown led by the Bay Area marks a year of lives, livelihoods and living lost to a mismanaged pandemic. In the spirit of acknowledging that these losses can hardly be described, much less redeemed, lets take note of a few casualties of the contagion that need not be mourned and might yet be celebrated. Read his column The payments and the politics: Polls have shown strong popular support for the bill particularly the $1,400 stimulus payments but sustaining those numbers will depend greatly on whether it produces the promised boost to an economy that has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. If it does, the Republicans who mocked the spending infusion as too extravagant and ill targeted will have some explaining to do. Read our editorial Guest opinions Grande Lum: The harsh reality is that while Asian Americans are being scapegoated for the pandemic today, the history of anti-Asian violence stretches to the Gold Rush days. It will not disappear of its own accord. Read his piece Anne Torney: Ending exclusionary zoning is vital in and of itself because its long past time to get racist laws off the books. But that is only half the story. Zoning reform that allows multifamily housing to be built where only single-family homes were once permitted will also result in adding much-needed middle-income homes and welcoming new neighbors. Read her piece Anna Fang: Fashion is absolutely a route for self-expression, and buying secondhand is a no-brainer option to stop supporting cheap textile production, but it is not to be taken at the expense of those who have no other affordable options. Read her piece In case you missed it My Sunday column will be my last for The Chronicle. And this will be my final Thursday newsletter. After a quarter century of having the privilege of serving as editorial page editor for the Voice of the West, its time to give someone else (not yet announced stay tuned!) a chance at what I firmly believe is one of the best jobs in journalism. Im fortunate to leave the newspaper business I love on my terms and my timeline after a four-decade career. And one of the elements that makes it so special is our engaged, informed readership. Thank you for your feedback over the years, whether you agreed or disagreed with me. As I wrote in my final column, you are the franchise. Heres a link to my final column Letter of the Week Matthew Hallinan of Berkeley had this thoughtful contribution about the controversies over history: Now that the San Francisco School Board has temporarily backed off changing the names of local school sites, we need to have a discussion about how to look at our nations history. If we see history as a morality play, a battle between good and evil, we are going to have a hard time finding any heroes to celebrate. I grew up admiring Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull; but if I were a Pawnee or a Crow, tribes that were brutally treated by the Sioux, I might feel different. Should the Mexican people see Aztec civilization as proof that the Indigenous peoples of this continent were as capable of building a higher culture as those anywhere else? Or should they focus on their brutality something the Aztecs shared with the Assyrians and almost every other early civilization. What about the West African empires of Ghana and Mali? They put the lie to the claim that sub-Saharan peoples could not create a higher culture. Both, however, not only employed extensive slave labor, but had an extensive slave trade. We humans have clawed ourselves out of a harsh nature. We didnt get to where we are today by following the Yellow Brick Road. But we have made progress, and that progress was made by people who were not perfect, but who bent the arc of history toward greater justice. And please check out our other letters of the day responding to this and other matters. You can send us a letter via this form. Where to follow us We have a Twitter channel, Opinion Central (@sfc_opinions). Please add it to your stream. Youll catch our editorials and opinion pieces, as well as our drive-by comments on assorted subjects in the news. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnDiazChron Just a reminder The Chronicles editorials represent the collective judgment of our Editorial Board, which includes the publisher as well as the writers and editors from the opinion team. Our editors and reporters on the news side are not involved in those decisions (including election endorsements). They are charged with reporting fairly and objectively without regard to our editorial positions. It is one of the core values here at Fifth and Mission streets. Opinion Central is a thrice-weekly newsletter from John Diaz, The Chronicles editorial page editor, and the rest of the Editorial Board. Follow along on Twitter: @sfc_opinions Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 00:53:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People walk in central London, Britain on March 18, 2021. The British government has announced that more than 25.2 million people have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, almost 50 percent of all British adults have received a jab. (Xinhua/Han Yan) LONDON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed Thursday that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19 far outweigh the risks, calling on people to continue to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Following a rigorous scientific review of all the available data, the regulator said that "the available evidence does not suggest that blood clots in veins (venous thromboembolism) are caused by COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca" developed by pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The statement came after a growing number of countries in the European Union suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure, based on reports of blood clots in persons who had received the vaccine. The MHRA said that it made the conclusion after having a detailed review of report cases as well as data from hospital admissions and GP (general practitioner) records. This has been confirmed by the British government's independent advisory group, the Commission on Human Medicines, whose expert scientists and clinicians have also reviewed the available data, said the regulator. As to media reports on Thursday saying a British man died and four suffered blood clotting after receiving AstraZeneca vaccine, the MHRA said a further, detailed review into the five cases "is ongoing". The five men, aged between 19 and 59, suffered from Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST), said the Telegraph newspaper. "This has been reported in less than one in a million people vaccinated so far in the UK, and can also occur naturally -- a causal association with the vaccine has not been established," said the MHRA. "Our thorough and careful review, alongside the critical assessment of leading, independent scientists, shows that there is no evidence that that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine," said Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive. "We have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot in the cerebral veins occurring together with lowered platelets soon after vaccination. This type of blood clot can occur naturally in people who have not been vaccinated, as well as in those suffering from COVID-19," said Raine. The MHRA's advice remains that the benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 continue to outweigh any risks and that the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so. Meanwhile, the European Union's medicines agency, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), announced in Amsterdam on Thursday that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is "safe and effective" to use following an investigation into reports of blood clots in a small number of recipients. "Our scientific position is that this vaccine is a safe and effective option to protect citizens against COVID-19," said the head of the EMA, Emer Cooke. The EMA said the benefits outweigh the risks and the vaccine is not linked to an "overall risk" of blood clots. The World Health Organization has said that there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine was responsible for the possible blood clots and that the benefits of immunization far outweigh the potentially small risk. The British government has announced that more than 25.2 million people have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, almost 50 percent of all British adults have received a jab. Experts have warned Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules. COVID-19 has killed nearly 126,000 people in Britain, the highest toll in Europe. 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. An Asian-American as the states top law enforcement official is needed to build trust, particularly when it comes to what have been strained relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities and communities of color, David Chiu, a member of the California State Assembly, said during a news conference on Wednesday. In the Atlanta area, where the Asian community has grown in recent years and become more politically influential, the murders have reignited anxieties that may have been subsiding for some people as an end to the pandemic is in sight. When the pandemic began, Ms. Hsu, the lawyer, said she almost expected that people would hurl insults at her because she is Chinese-American. In recent weeks, she had let her guard down, she said. Were coming out of the pandemic, theres a new president, were not hearing Kung Flu and China Virus every other word, she said, referring to some of the derogatory terms that Mr. Trump used for the coronavirus. I was really lured into thinking its sort of safe to go outside again. Now, she is back on high alert. Suraiya Sharker, a community organizer with the Atlanta chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Womens Forum, said that after the shootings, she received calls from several members of her organization who were in tears. Ms. Sharker, 22, is particularly worried about her parents, who moved to the United States from Bangladesh when she was 4, because they are of the demographic particularly vulnerable to attacks. As first generation immigrants, their English is not perfect. They work in a fast-food restaurant in suburban Atlanta, where, Ms. Sharker said, a customer once threatened her father in a disagreement over the bill and customers have refused to be served by her mother because she wears a hijab. But as much as she and other Asian-Americans are more cautious now, they are also more energized, she said. This, she said, has been an awakening for a lot of folks to say, Enough is enough. Ukraine is ready to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Indonesia and create an effective mechanism for cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Yevheniy Yenin made a corresponding statement during a meeting with a delegation of the Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation of the House of Representatives (lower Chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia) headed by Deputy Head of the Committee Mr. Hafisz Tohir, the press service of the Ministry informs. The Deputy Minister reaffirmed Ukraine's readiness to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Indonesia, strengthen cooperation within international organizations, and create an effective mechanism for cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), reads the statement. Yenin drew the attention of the Indonesian delegation to the aspiration of Ukraine to expand and institutionalize the relations with ASEAN by acceding to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), the acquisition by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the observer status in the ASEAN Interparliamentary Assembly, as well as launching of the ASEAN Center in Ukraine. The parties also discussed the inter-parliamentary cooperation between Ukraine and Indonesia, the development of political dialogue at high and the highest levels, cooperation in trade, finance and military-technical fields. The bilateral events for 2021 were also touched upon. ol H.R. 1 is Nancy Pelosi's signature bill, and exploring it is like taking a deep dive into political depravity. A partisan House passed it on March 3, without any Republican votes. While it's currently before the Senate, provided the filibuster continues to exist, it's predicted to fail. The filibuster's continuation depends on ethical behavior by a few moderate Democrats, who are probably getting their arms twisted by Chuck Schumer, who wants it gone. The ludicrously named "For the People Act of 2021" is a dream for elite progressives and a nightmare for everyone else in our great country. Whether or not it fails, it can be viewed as an expose into the caviar wishes of these liberals, who are the only ones it would serve. Its primary purpose is to prevent fair elections from ever taking place again and to create a one-party dictatorship in perpetuity. H.R. 1 is designed to eliminate state control of elections, which was specified in the Constitution to safeguard against exactly this type of takeover. Because there are more Republican state governments, 27 Republican governors and 30 legislatures, the only way to destroy our electoral process thoroughly is at the federal level. No doubt, if the bill is passed, it will be challenged in court on constitutional grounds; the problem is, we now know we have a Supreme Court whose majority is made up of liberals and cowards who would rather not make waves. We've seen that with Obamacare and, most recently, with the integrity of the 2020 elections being wholly disregarded by the Court. H.R. 1 wipes out any possibility of a clean election. Most of the provisions of the bill are meant to cause irremediable chaos in the electoral process, thereby obfuscating obvious fraud. There are nine parts to the long bill, and within each, there are multiple sections. Here are just a few "highlights": Registering to vote via the internet would be legal, and you'd be automatically registered (whether you already were or not) when doing any business with a governmental entity. Election-day registration would be legalized. Signature verification and voter ID would be eliminated. Teens can "pre-register" when they turn 16. Without signature verification or voter ID, what this means is that they could easily be able to vote. Indeed, anyone could vote anywhere he wants, which means with no verification, as many times as he wants. Felons could vote the day they leave prison. Ballots would be mailed to every voter, drop-boxes for collection would be mandated, and ballot-harvesting would not only no longer be illegal, but also be encouraged. States would have to accept absentee ballots up to ten days after the election. This means that once people see which way the wind is blowing on the actual election day, they can then start voting in dead earnest for their candidate or cause. The bill outlines a new process for the District of Columbia to attain statehood, again circumventing the Constitution. It also grants the House of Representatives the authority to redistrict (gerrymander) via an appointed "independent" commission within each state, which panel is specifically taken from an "approved selection pool," partly designated by race. Those are just some highlights. The entire bill is available to plow through, should you be interested. I must ask why these people are hell-bent on destroying the U.S. It's hard to fathom. Greed is at the bottom of it. If no fair elections can happen, the ruling classes can do whatever they please. They can tax the middle class out of existence, creating a socialist haven where the elite get very rich and the rest of us get zilch. They can redistribute wealth to all their cronies, and they can create "equity" that sees those who don't have wealth given a boost up to the level playing field, provided they are willing to be wholly dependent on the largesse of their masters. Those of us who have worked for what we have will be kicked off the playing field entirely. Once they have consolidated power, look for a wealth tax to bleed not the "uber-rich" of their money those are the people who can manipulate the system, donate to the right people, etc. to avoid losing anything but the rest of us. Remember Margaret Thatcher's oft-quoted maxim on the direction we're heading? "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." There's another old proverb that pertains, too: "sandals to sandals in three generations." I'll add just one more, for my three liberal readers: "buyer, beware!" Image: Andrea Widburg, using public domain images. Finnish telecommunications equipment vendor Nokia has appointed Melissa Schoeb as its chief corporate affairs officer and as a member of the Group Leadership Team from 12 April onwards. She will have the responsibility of looking after communications, government relations, brand ans sustainability. A statement from the company said Schoeb had extensive experience in corporate affairs and was joining from Occidental, a large independent oil and gas company, where she is vice-president, Corporate Affairs. Before Occidental, she worked in senior roles at at communications consultancy FleishmanHilliard, and was director of Global Communications for Nortel Networks, a multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer. Schoeb also had management consulting and business management experience as she was a business director at The VenCom Group, a venture capital company focused on the telecommunications sector, and also worked in consulting roles at Gemini Consulting. "I'm delighted to welcome Melissa to Nokia's Group Leadership Team. She has extensive experience in managing company reputations and enabling organisations to achieve their objectives," said Pekka Lundmark, president and chief executive of Nokia. "As Nokia embarks on the next stage of its journey, we will play a key part in providing the technology that will enable positive change for the planet, our economy and our society. Melissa's knowledge in helping shape these relevant debates and ensure a strong voice for Nokia will be crucial to our future success. Schoeb said she was thrilled to be joining the Nokia team at a pivotal time in the company's history. "Its leading technology and intellectual property, iconic brand and differentiated strategy position it for sustained long-term growth. I look forward to advancing Nokia's global reputation with its stakeholders to drive and support the company's business goals," she commented. Schoeb will be based in Espoo, Finland, and report to Lundmark. Nifty, Sensex remain under pressure Thursday closing report To bookmark you need to sign in We had mentioned in Wednesdays closing report that Nifty, Sensex may head lower. On Thursday, the indices opened higher but continued its decline and ended with major losses. On the NSE, there were 444 advances, 1,462 declines and 90 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Thursdays trading are given in the table below: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has ordered an inspection of the books of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company after a whistleblower alleged fraud at the firm. The whistleblower has alleged that Edelweiss Group along with its partner Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), diverted at least Rs 1,800 crore from EARC. GoAir is likely to file a draft red herring prospectus for its initial public offering in April to raise around Rs 4,000 crore, reported CNBC-TV18. The Supreme Court dismissed a review petition filed by power distribution companies of Rajasthan against paying compensatory tariff to Adani Power for the high costs of imported coal. Somany Ceramics declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.40 per share for the financial year 2020-21. Welspun Corp has bagged multiple orders worth around Rs 777 crore. Bharat Heavy Electricals emerged as the lowest bidder for a Nuclear Power Corporation of India project at Rs 10,800 crore. Adani Green Energy has raised a $1.35 billion debt package for its under-construction renewable asset portfolio through definitive agreements signed with a group of leading international lenders. DLF plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis in one or more tranches to certain eligible investors. Bajaj Auto amended its dividend distribution policy with the board aiming for a dividend payout as a percent of standalone profits. The company will also consider surplus funds to decide dividend payout. The dividend payout will be up to 90 percent if the surplus funds are more than Rs 15,000 crore. The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: From autumn, all police forces in England and Wales will have to record if violent crimes are driven by misogyny that is, motivated by 'hatred of sex or gender'. It comes in the wake of an outpouring of anger about the death of Sarah Everard, and campaigners say it represents the first step towards making misogyny a specific hate crime. So, is this a move in the right direction to finally make women feel safe or an empty gesture? Here, eight writers argue their views... All police forces in England and Wales will have to record if violent crimes are driven by misogyny from Autumn. (Stock image) Wolf-whistling and sexual violence are linked Lorraine Candy, Former Elle editor One of my male friends wants to know if wolf- whistling 'will be made a crime next?' He rolls his eyes and tells me the police have got 'better things to do'. His eyes nearly pop out of his head when I reply: 'Wolf-whistling should be a crime. The safety of women is 'better things to do'.' Lucky him, he's never seen his petrified 13-year-old in tears after a vanload of men yelled 'show us your t**s' in her face on the way to school at 8am. Lorraine Candy, former editor of Elle, said misogyny is born out of society's culture of sexism, which starts with a whistle What men can't seem to grasp is that wolf-whistling and sexual violence against women are linked. Even the smart ones who don't wolf-whistle don't see that the root cause of female sexual harassment is misogyny. And misogyny is born out of society's culture of sexism, which starts with a whistle. And despite the tsunami of evidence proving this, men still don't seem to believe misogyny motivates perpetrators. These aren't sex crimes, they are hate crimes. Classifying misogyny as a hate crime is a step forward because it helps us compile data around trends on sexual violence towards women, which will help define future laws to protect us. Hopefully, it will encourage more women to come forward and it will educate police forces. And, hopefully, it will educate men too. Sadly, most men reckon things like wolf-whistling aren't worth making a fuss about. Maybe they haven't had to watch their daughter's eczema get worse under the stress of dreading her journey to school; maybe they haven't had to buy a bigger coat to cover their child's uniform to protect her from wolf-whistlers. Maybe if all men understand this better, they will trust us to tell them what needs to be done to ensure the safety of all women. It will entrench the idea that women are victims Julia Hartley-Brewer, radio presenter Radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer said the move firmly entrenches half of the population as victims If women's campaigners are to be believed, the move to require that police record whether crimes are motivated by 'hatred of sex or gender' is a 'game-changer'. So will millions of women now be able to happily walk home alone on dark nights without having to nervously glance behind them all the time? Will millions jump for joy because they will never again have to endure comments about their bodies from a complete stranger? Of course not. Sadly, adding misogyny to the long list of existing hate crimes is simply a kneejerk wish to 'do something' in the wake of the horrific death of Sarah Everard and will do nothing to protect women. Indeed, far from empowering women, this firmly entrenches half of the population as victims. It is, first and foremost, wrong to add yet another category to the already long list of Orwellian thought crimes of 'hate', where an action or words are recorded as a hate crime based on the subjective perception of the victim, not any objec- tive evidence. It is also wrong to turn women into a special class of victim. Are there really men who go around abusing or attacking women in public places who will suddenly realise the error of their ways simply because their actions are now classed as a hate crime rather than harassment or GBH? What would be the real game-changer is if the police and the courts started enforcing the laws we already have. What most women need to feel safer is not more laws policing men's thoughts but more officers policing our streets. This is a vital move that will help change police attitudes Sue Fish, former Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, who introduced misogyny as a hate crime before retiring in 2017 Sue Fish, former Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said she is convinced that misogyny is on a spectrum that can lead to violence I am immensely proud of my decision in 2016 to categorise misogyny as a hate crime. It means women feel empowered to report all the toxic examples of sexist behaviour and know they will be taken seriously. I'm convinced that misogyny is on a spectrum that can lead to violence. Not everyone who starts by yelling: 'Get your t**s out, darling' will go on to sexual assault or worse. But the climate that says that's normal is a breeding ground. It also forced my officers to look at their own behaviour. They realised it wasn't OK to indulge in the casual sexism that had become, for some, second nature at work. After hearing reports from victims about sexism and harassment, I'd hear male officers ask their female colleagues: 'This sort of thing doesn't really happen to you, does it?' They'd say: 'Yes, all the time.' When I first joined as a graduate trainee in 1986, there were constant humiliations. The duty inspector once ordered me to wear my skimpy white shirt without a jacket so everyone could see my breasts and snigger. The shirt went transparent in the rain. I might as well have been in a wet T-shirt competition. I was sexually assaulted at work twice. The first time I was so junior I felt too fearful to complain. The second time, I told my chief constable, and the culprit's behaviour was addressed. Despite improvements, parts of the service still suffer from a toxic culture that objectifies women. That's why criminalising misogyny is a vital first step to make women safer and build confidence in our police force. An important step...but there's much more to do Laura Bates, founder of Everyday Sexism Laura Bates, founder of Everyday Sexism, said the move will allow police to see patterns for the first time and to recognise areas and situations in which the abuse of women is common Recording misogyny as a hate crime won't criminalise wolf- whistling, or send men to jail for complimenting women, no matter how much misinformation you might have seen online. But it is an important signal that abuse against women, motivated by misogyny, will be taken seriously. It will allow police to see patterns for the first time: to recognise areas and situations in which the abuse of women is common. This will help to tackle the problem. And it will send the message to survivors that they can come forward and should be taken seriously. But it won't be enough to solve the problem alone. In the past week, we have seen women's experiences dismissed, belittled and disbelieved as #NotAllMen trends online. We've seen commentators accuse women of 'hysterical' overreaction and a dead woman blamed by many for her own death because she dared to walk home alone. I wrote Men Who Hate Women, my book exploring how misogyny affects us all, because we will never tackle the problem of male violence until we are able to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that that is what it is. Not 'violence against women'. Male violence. And male violence is also suffered by other men. So, for all of our sakes, we need to confront it. We need to educate boys about sexual consent, not girls about not wearing short skirts. We must address institutional sexism and racism in a justice system where just 1.5 per cent of reported rape cases result in a charge or summons. This is an important first step. But there is so much further to go. Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates, Simon & Schuster, 9.99. A knee-jerk new label won't change anything Liz Jones, writer Writer Liz Jones said labels on their own don't help and men who rape, murder and stalk are willing to risk everything If someone's killed because of their race, that's a hate crime. It's treated more punitively than if, say, two men who know each other fight in a bar. You commit a hate crime because you see a group of people as a target for abuse or violence. The knee-jerk big idea in the wake of Sarah Everard's killing is that all police should note whether a crime was motivated by 'hatred of sex or gender', presumably to trigger tougher sentences. The problem is, when a man is violent towards a woman, it is seldom because he despises all females. Indeed statistics show most women are raped, murdered or stalked by someone they know. If creating a new hate crime means more men are convicted of rape and do indeed receive harsher sentences, then good. But labels on their own don't help: men who rape, murder and stalk are willing to risk everything. All violence is horrible, as the mother of any murdered teenage boy will tell you. Pitting one sex against the other, exacerbating our differences, surely isn't the answer. If a man hurts a woman, it's not about her gender Beverley Turner, TV presenter TV presenter Beverley Turner said she worries that by developing a preoccupation with victims' profiles we are causing an imbalance that takes too much focus away from the perpetrator In the wake of the horrific case of Sarah Everard, it is vital to remember that 'stranger violence' has fallen by 52 per cent since a peak in 1995, from 1.1 million incidents to 511,000, according to The Crime Survey England and Wales to the year ending March 2020. 'Acquaintance Violence', in which a person may know their assailant, has decreased by 75 per cent from 2.1 million to 528,000. And although women are significantly more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men, blokes remain almost twice as likely to be victims of violent crime (2 per cent of men and 1.3 per cent of women). Some 73 per cent of murder victims are male. So, although misogyny lives among us in many forms from assumptions that the female in the office must be the tea lady, to unsolicited touching and even that childcare remains overwhelmingly a mother's responsibility the solution is not to further cast us as victims due to our gender. If I am attacked by a man, it is not because I am a woman it is because he is a criminal. I worry that by developing a preoccupation with victims' profiles we are causing an imbalance that takes too much focus away from the perpetrator. Of all perpetrators of violence, 82 per cent are male. Therein lies the problem: angry, depressed, insecure and dangerous men. Let's switch the focus from us to them. Only the men who demean women should be afraid Cristina Odone, head of the Family Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice Head of the Family Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice, Cristina Odone, said sometimes our law-makers have to be heavy-handed to drive home the point Growing up, cat-calls were as familiar as, well, cats. So were wolf-whistles and men who were 'not safe in taxis'. More alarming, so were threats of sexual violence for being a 'gobby' woman. But I put up with them, accepting that this was the way of the world. Then I had a daughter. Suddenly, misogyny matters. I don't want Izzy, 17, to grow up thinking that casual humiliation is her lot as a woman. I don't want her to fear that reporting a rapist, in almost 98 per cent of cases, results in no conviction. Those who have been victims of misogyny report the terrible, long-lasting impact of being targeted: fear, anxiety and a lack of self-confidence. Sometimes, our law-makers have to be heavy-handed to drive home the point. I think that time has come. We are sending out a clear message: this country will not tolerate hatred of women. Which doesn't mean we are becoming a nation of men-haters. It only means that men who demean women should run scared. ...And one man's view The real issue here is anti-male prejudice Neil Lyndon, writer Writer Neil Lyndon said this is only the start of a despotism that will make the heresy laws of the past look tame I shall resist crowing 'I told you so', but the news that misogyny is to be treated as a hate crime comes as very far from a surprise to me. I have charted this totalitarian insanity rising for decades. Twenty years ago, I sketched out a novel set in the near-future where men would be forced to live together in 'correction' camps; wear overalls that bore the slogan 'I am Guilty' and be let out wearing security anklets only to carry out essential heavy labour. My agent refused to offer that novel to publishers. His concern was not for my position. 'Publishing is so dominated by feminists,' he said, 'that I couldn't afford to associate my name with such a work.' Little did he imagine the state of anti-male prejudice we see today when a member of the House of Lords can seriously propose a curfew for all men after 6pm. The proposals for the hate crime of misogyny are limited to crimes of violence where 'the victim believed the crimes were motivated by hostility based on the victim's sex'. This is only the start of a despotism that will make the heresy laws of the past look tame. There is a word for the anti-male prejudice that now so dominates our age. It is called 'misandry'. But no one talks about that, do they? Still less propose it becomes a hate crime. on Thursday raised questions over the credibility of Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal's assurance in Lok Sabha that Indian Railways will never be privatised while slamming the Centre for its pro- policies. "Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said in Parliament that Railways is the property of the country. It will not be privatised at all. At the same time, another Union Minister Prakash Javadekar assured that the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) would not be privatised. Is there such an atmosphere in the country today that their assurances given by these two Ministers of the Centre can be believed?" read an editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana. "Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are doing the exact opposite of what Goyal or Javadekar are saying. Not only the country's major ports and airports but nationalised banks also have started to be privatised. The Modi government's only policy is to hand over Public sector undertakings to investors," it added. Further criticising the Centre's pro- policies, the editorial said that public property was not built with the sweat of investors. But the Modi government was selling these assets. These assets such as airports, seaports now have boards of industrialists. "Therefore, no matter how seriously the Ministers may be saying, the sword of privatization is still hanging on the railways and insurance companies," the editorial added. It further said if the government will not do business, then why should you run the government and why do you present a budget? The Ministries of Industry, Trade, Commerce should be put under lock. (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.) Proposed bills take away local control Our Connecticut state legislature is now considering a tangled web of bills that infringe upon our individual property rights and imperil our towns local home rule bills that turn these valuable and precious rights over to the state. These bills comprise a bad, one-size-fits all, we know better public policy that will have serious and harmful systemic impacts on our communities. These bills dont address social inequity, dont provide for homeownership, and dont provide for affordable housing. They don't provide any solutions for the extensive urban problems that are plaguing our cities. These bills prevent our zoning regulations from even considering important issues such as town character and property values and this will damage all towns in Connecticut. And these bills dont account for water quality, a vitally important point with regard to my town of Easton, which supplies potable drinking water to more than 600,000 residents of Fairfield County. Here is the bottom line: Look at the stable and sturdy financial conditions of our towns and compare them with the perilous financial condition of our state which our overwhelmingly Democrat state legislature wants to empower with zoning control over our towns. Why on earth would anyone want to turn our local zoning control over to the financially crippled state of Connecticut? Any politician who votes to do this should be voted straight out of office. Grant Monsarrat, Easton Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 03:52:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Latvia will resume inoculations with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday after suspending the use of the vaccine while the European regulator was reviewing its safety, Health Minister Daniels Pavluts announced at a news conference Thursday. Vaccination centers will be informed about the decision and the permission to resume AstraZeneca vaccinations will be given on Friday, the minister said. Family physicians' practices and other institutions involved in Latvia's immunization drive will be able to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves the risk management guidelines and sends them out to European Union (EU) member states. He added that the approximately 25,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, currently at Latvia's disposal, have already been distributed to vaccination rooms. The EU's drug regulator EMA said on Thursday that no evidence has been found to link the AstraZeneca vaccine to an increased risk of blood clots and that the benefits of the jab outweigh the risks. A number of EU countries, including Latvia, had temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports that several people had developed thrombosis after vaccination. As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. Meanwhile, 264 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 82 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem Minister presidents of Germanys three federal states, namely Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, have supported the idea of the use of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the Funke media group said on Thursday. "Trust plays a major role on such matters as healthcare, medicine, and vaccines. Russia is great country in terms of science. I have no doubts that its scientists have managed to develop an efficient vaccine," said Saxonys Minister President Michael Kretschmer. "The vaccine should be approved." Thuringias Minister President Bodo Ramelow said that Germanys dependence on the AstraZeneca vaccine makes "the vaccination campaign vulnerable." "So, it is important to finally consider the Sputnik V topic," he said, adding that politicking around the Russian vaccine is inadmissible. "When it comes to health issues, the origin of a vaccine should play no role," said Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff. "When I was a child, I received a Russian polio vaccine and there were no problems." Germany has repeatedly said it is principally ready to use vaccines originated from outside the European Union, including Russias Sputnik V, if they are certified with the European regulator, TASS recalls. The administrative agency for U.S. judges is recommending creation of 79 new federal judgeships nationwide, including five in the Bay Area, to keep up with steadily rising workloads in courts that have not been substantially expanded since 1990. But the expansion proposed by the U.S. Judicial Conference would require congressional approval, and a filibuster in the Senate would block any such law unless at least 10 Republicans joined Democrats in supporting it. Approval would most likely require Democratic concessions that would prevent President Biden from immediately appointing new judges. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), senior Republican member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, wants any legislation expanding the courts to delay the creation of new judgeships until 2025, after the next presidential election, spokesman Jonathan Wilcox said Wednesday. He said Issa included a similar provision in proposed 2018 legislation that would have added 52 new federal judges, starting in 2021. Issa and other Republicans have also called for breaking up the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as part of court expansion. The Ninth Circuit, the largest federal appeals court, is based in San Francisco and oversees federal courts in nine Western states. It is one of the nations most liberal courts, and its breakup has long been sought by Republicans but opposed by Democrats and by most of the courts judges. In all likelihood, court expansion is not going anywhere, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor and analyst of judicial appointments. The problem is, if your person is in the White House, you want it, and if its the opposing party, you dont. Congress last approved an overall increase in federal judgeships in 1990, during the administration of Republican President George H.W. Bush, though it added 34 trial-court positions in U.S. District Courts in periodic legislation between 1994 and 2003. The only judicial vacancies Biden could now fill are 68 openings 62 in District Courts, six in appeals courts created by judges retirements, deaths or transfers to semiretired senior status. Three of the vacancies are in the Northern District of California, based in San Francisco. Another 28 judges have announced plans to take senior status, including Judge Susan Graber of the Ninth Circuit and four judges in other appeals courts. The Judicial Conference is chaired by Chief Justice John Roberts and includes chief judges of appellate and trial courts. In its announcement Tuesday recommending additional judgeships, the conference said District Court caseloads had increased by 47% between 1990 and Sept. 30, 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began reducing court filings. The proposal would add five judgeships to the Northern District of California, which now has 14 judges hearing federal cases from the Bay Area and northern coastal counties. The court has not added any judges since 1990 and reports that its workload increased by about 19% between 2001 and 2019. The Judicial Conference recommended adding 25 judgeships to Californias other three federal districts, which have a total of 47 judges. Of the 79 proposed additions overall, only two would be for federal appeals courts both in the Ninth Circuit, which now has 29 judges. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko West Bengal elections 2021: Will bring 'parivartan' in Delhi after winning the elections, says Mamata Banerjee India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Kalaikunda, Mar 18: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she will bring 'parivartan' (change) in Delhi after winning the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. The chief minister said that the BJP is targeting West Bengal with all its might as it knows that she will go for the Centre soon after securing victory in her state. She accused the BJP of "stealing" her 'parivartan' slogan and remodelling it as 'asol parivartan' (real change). "The BJP is afraid that if we win in West Bengal, then we will bring an alternative in Delhi and that is why they are targeting the state with all force," she said while addressing a public meeting in Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district in support of TMC candidates contesting the seats going to polls in the first phase on March 27. Alleging that the BJP will try to rig the assembly elections, Banerjee asked TMC workers to remain vigilant during and after the eight-phase elections till the counting of votes on May 2. I'm like a tiger, won't bow my head, says Mamata Banerjee at Amlasuli rally "I have respect for the police, they do not do such things, but there are instructions from the BJP to take hold of the EVM machines," she said. Maintaining that the once-Maoist stronghold of Jangalmahal region is now peaceful, Banerjee said her government has done everything for the development of the region spread over Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia districts. The TMC had won most of the assembly seats in the Jangalmahal region in the 2016 elections but the BJP emerged victorious in all the five Lok Sabha seats in the region in the 2019 polls. Alleging that the CPI(M) and the Congress are hand- in-glove with the BJP, she urged the people not to vote for the candidates of these parties. Without naming Medinipur MP and state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, Banerjee said, "The BJP is a party of lies. It does not keep its word. The saffron party's parliamentarian from here has not done anything for the people." She also promised a new port at Digha and ancillary industries in the railway town of Kharagpur and other parts of Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts. Accusing the BJP-led government at the Centre of trying to "sell off the Railways", the former railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet urged the railway employees of Kharagpur not to vote for the saffron party. Assam elections 2021: PM Modi blames Congress for making Assam one of the 'most disconnected states in India' Claiming that her government has brought down unemployment in West Bengal by 40 per cent, she said the MSME sector will receive an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore, which will create a large number of jobs. She also promised to accord OBC status to some castes following requisite inquiry. The chief minister also promised Rs 10 lakh education loan to students at only 4 per cent interest for pursuing higher studies. Reminding the community clubs that she gives Rs 50,000 to each of these for celebrating Durga Puja, she asked them not to get swayed by the BJP's allurements. "Have you got Rs 15 lakh that Narendra Modi had promised?" she asked, claiming that he has reneged on his promise after becoming the prime minister. Claiming that she had wanted to give COVID vaccines for free to the people of West Bengal, Banerjee said that the Centre has not responded to her proposal. The chief minister said that COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh but her government is working to keep the disease under control in the state. The daily spike in COVID-19 cases in West Bengal is on the rise, with the state reporting over 300 cases after several weeks on Wednesday. Farmers' Protest: Rahul Gandhi attacks government for not paying tributes to farmers who died during protest Alleging that the BJP is trying to take control of Kolkata Coffee House, she said that "saffron goons" recently created ruckus there as they don't know the establishment's heritage, which is an integral part of the city's culture. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 18:40 [IST] In April, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine plans to launch services for automatic registration of individual entrepreneurs on the Diia portal, as well as the possibility of paying taxes in Diia application, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said during the All-Ukrainian Forum Ukraine 30 on Thursday. "We want to remove the human factor in principle, and we have agreed with the Ministry of Justice to jointly launch the automatic registration of individual entrepreneurs. We will present this at the Diia Summit in April," he said. The launch of this service will allow to completely remove the human factor in terms of checks, replacing it with machine verification of information from registers. According to Fedorov, now the satisfaction with the online registration of individual entrepreneurs on the Diia portal is about 90%, after the automatic registration launch, the minister expects this figure to increase to 95-99%. The ministry also plans to launch an option to pay taxes in the Diia application. "It will take several clicks, since the system understands everything automatically. You enter the amount or it is brought from the banks, it shows you how much to pay, you click 'pay' with a linked card, Apple.Pay or Google.Pay - and that's it, in four clicks taxes are paid, the declaration is already in the tax office," Fedorov said. The Ministry of Digital Transformation also plans to launch this service in April. Nicole Kidman recently finished filming the Hulu limited series Nine Perfect Strangers in Byron Bay with a star studded cast. And on Thursday, the Big Little Lies star jetted out of Sydney Airport after completing the project. The actress, 53, kept a low profile in sunglasses and a black beanie as she arrived to the airport without her husband Keith Urban and their daughters. Jetting out: Nicole Kidman (pictured) kept things casual in an all-black ensemble as she jetted out of Sydney on Thursday after filming her new TV series Nine Perfect Strangers Nicole wore casual black sport tights, a matching coloured jumper and sneakers as she walked alongside her bodyguard. She also held a black coat, wore a face mask and carried a brown backpack. After arriving to the departure terminal, Nicole was transported to the airplane via a bus. It is unclear where Nicole is travelling to and whether she is returning back to the US. Flying out: The actress kept a low profile in sunglasses and a black beanie as she arrived to the airport without her husband Keith Urban and their daughters Casual: Nicole wore casual black sport tights, a matching coloured jumper and sneakers Protection: She was spotted walking to the terminal alongside her bodyguard She recently signed on to star in and executive produce a new anthology series for Apple TV+ called Roar. The screenplays for Roar are being adapted by GLOW showrunners Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch from a collection of short stories by Cecelia Ahern. The actress is also set to play Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin's Amazon biopic Being The Ricardos. Travel: After arriving to the departure terminal, Nicole was transported to the airplane via a bus Next stop: It is unclear where Nicole is travelling to and whether she is returning back to the US Completed: Nicole and her family resided in the Byron Bay for six months while she filmed Nine Perfect Strangers Nicole and her family resided in the Byron Bay for six months while she filmed Nine Perfect Strangers. The limited series is being produced by Nicole's production company, Blossom Films, alongside Big Little Lies collaborators Bruna Papandrea and David E. Kelley. Nine Perfect Strangers is based on Liane Moriarty's bestselling novel of the same name. The series stars Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Canavale, Regina Hall, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving and Manny Jacinto. Last year, Nicole told The Daily Telegraph, she's 'thrilled' to be able to bring the $100million production and hundreds of jobs to the local film industry, after it was sent crashing down by the coronavirus pandemic. New project: She recently signed on to star in and executive produce a new anthology series for Apple TV+ called Roar 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. Erik von Detten and his wife Angela have given their daughter a little brother, as they've revealed they have welcomed baby boy to their family on Thursday morning. A representative for the actor spoke to E! News and confirmed that the former actor, who is known for his role in The Princess Diaries, and his spouse were now the parents of two children. The rep also revealed that the child's name is Thomas and explained that the happy parents chose the name because it had repeatedly appeared in both of their lives. Happy family: A representative for Erik von Detten, who was featured in The Princess Diaries, announced that the former actor and his wife Angela had welcomed their second child on Thursday morning; they are seen with their daughter in a picture from 2020 'Thomas is Erik's middle name, and his father-in-law's first name,' the representative noted. Prior to his son's arrival, the Toy Story voice actor told the media outlet that he would like for his daughter, aged one, to have a younger brother. Von Detten said, 'To have your first child be one gender and then the second child be the opposite gender, I think is just such a gift. 'Not to say that I'd be disappointed if I got another girl, but at the same time, I think it's going to be a phenomenal experience,' he added. Going both ways: Prior to the birth of his son, the former actor spoke to E! News and commented that to raise both a boy and a girl would be 'such a gift' A lot to live up to: Von Detten's representative also noted that the couple had named their son Thomas partially so he could share a name with his maternal grandfather The teenage heartthrob also commented that his wife was 'born to have babies.' The 38-year-old former actor and his wife welcomed their first child in May of 2019, less than a year after they tied the knot in August of the previous year. The Disney Channel alum announced his daughter's birth on Instagram, and the couple regularly share pictures of their child, whom they named Claire Elizabeth, on their respective accounts. Von Detten spoke about the circumstances regarding his daughter's birth and commented that his wife's delivery was not as difficult as they had expected. Notable role: Von Detten is known for his role as Josh Bryant in the 2001 coming-of-age comedy film The Princess Diaries Moving fast: In May of 2019, the Toy Story voice actor took to Instagram to announce his first child's birth, which occurred less than a year after he and his wife tied the knot The voice actor noted, 'Our first birth with our daughter, we got to the hospital at, like, 10 p.m. They gave her the epidural and then we went to sleep and she woke up and had the baby an hour later. 'It was the smoothest pregnancy,' he concluded. The commodity broker also joked that his children would be forced to watch every movie that had performed in during his acting career, which lasted for just over two decades. Von Detten remarked, 'It's going to be like mandatory watching...Every evening before they go to bed, they're going to have to watch one of the old flicks.' Ukrainian Artists Vibrant Hand-Painted Glassware Turns Teatime Into Stunning Fine Art A Ukrainian artist has taken glass painting to a whole new level with a series of unique mugs, teapots, and wine glasses bearing vibrant hand-painted designs. The glassware with intricate details features colorful flora and fauna such as hummingbirds, mushrooms, butterflies, and more. Better still, the artists decorated pieces are fully-functional. Vita Panchenko, from Kyiv, Ukraine, who owns a small family business called Vitraaze, told The Epoch Times via email that she has amassed over 500 designs over the years since starting her venture. The talented artist also takes personalized commissions. Vita, who isnt formally trained to paint, has been fond of painting since her childhood. Ive never studied how to paint and simply did it for fun with my sister, she told Bored Panda. When I was a student, I read an article about glass painting and decided to try it out, she continued. I took a glass bottle and bought special paint for glass in the nearest shop. However, after painting her first bottle she said her very simple design wasnt nice at all. But instead of giving up on the art completely, Vita decided to forge ahead and perfect it. I am crazy about doing everything as well as possible, she explained. Six years later, Vitas craft developed into a highly-skilled passion and her love for glass painting has only grown stronger. Besides nature-inspired designs, the artist also plays with color, with items such as a bright flower mandala and night sky wine glasses emitting beautiful beams of blue, red, and orange when hit by sunlight. Meanwhile, she also undertakes custom-made orders and has crafted a colorful dog portrait as an unusual keepsake for a dog owner. Each piece of glassware that Vita produces is hand-painted with non-toxic paint, before being heat-set to ensure the designs are not damaged when they are washed. I love the idea that I am not only creating something beautiful but also useful, Vita told My Modern Met. I hope that my works will be used and loved and bring lots of positive energy and smiles into your lives. The artists handiwork brings the majesty of stained glass to the humble kitchen table. Vita showcases and sells her work worldwide on Instagram, Etsy, and Amazon, where she explains that her love for the beautiful moments in life is what inspires me to create the perfect gifts for every occasion. Check Vitas Vibrant and Inspiring Art: Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Prospect Capital Management Banks On Blackberry For Safety And Security On March 20, 2020, New Yorks Governor Cuomo issued an executive order closing the offices of all non-essential businesses which included Prospect Capital Corporation, a financial services firm with thousands of shareholders across the US. In the following weeks, emails scams and phishing attacks spiked by an unprecedented 436%, and breaches increased by 175%. Read this case study to learn how Prospect Capital Corporation juggled the challenges of growing threat landscape with industry-specific compliance needs all while securing and enabling a remote workforce. 03/17/2021 Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu LOWELL, Mass. UMass Lowell student Molly Polanek showed up well-prepared for her first career fair. Not only did the psychology major have her resume ready to go, but she researched the employers with whom she planned to meet and wrote a list of detailed questions for each of them. And she did it all from the comfort of her home in Milford. Polanek was among the more than 650 UMass Lowell students who participated in the recent Spring Career Fair and another recruiting event specifically designed for students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Both sessions were presented virtually by the UMass Lowell Career and Co-op Center Recruiters from nearly 130 companies met with students one-on-one and in group sessions over the course of the two-day event, which was held on the networking and job search platform Handshake. The STEM Career Fair featured a lineup of 73 employers, including Analog Devices, Eversource Energy, Massachusetts General Hospital and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. According to Karen ODonnell, manager of business operations and special events for Career Services, 450 UMass Lowell students participated in the three-hour STEM fair and logged more than 1,800 interactions with employers mostly in the one-on-one setting. The students were really productive, which we were pleased to see, ODonnell said. The following day, recruiters representing 55 employers including Bank of America, CVS Health, EY, Putnam Investments and Sherwin-Williams -- sought out UMass Lowell students majoring in business, social sciences, liberal arts and health sciences at the Spring Career Fair. Some 213 students attended and had nearly 800 one-on-one and group interactions with employers over the course of the three-hour event. The U.S. economy is still down about 10 million jobs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year and the nations unemployment rate is at 6.2 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But career-focused events at UMass Lowell suggest there may be an increase in hiring this spring, as more people become vaccinated against the disease and the new federal rescue-aid package spurs economic recovery. Were seeing a flurry of job postings on Handshake, said ODonnell, who has spoken with companies that are feeling more comfortable bringing workers back to the office. Hopefully, these graduates are going to have a good selection. Polanek, who participated in the event hoping to find a summer internship, enjoyed the virtual format. The video-call setup was still personal enough that I could make a connection with an employer, while also learning more about the company, she said. I really enjoyed my meetings with the Massachusetts Trial Court and the Key Program because I feel that they could potentially have great opportunities for me. During her group session with the Key Program, a nonprofit social service agency focused on helping children, youth and their families, Polanek asked the recruiter how students can stand out in interviews during the pandemic. She also asked about what a typical day at the agency is like. I was very comfortable with it. Each session got better and better, Polanek said. Afterward, I felt excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. To help students prepare for the virtual fairs, Career Services hosted several Q&A sessions on Zoom. UMass Lowell Career Services Director Kerry Willard Bray moderated a Navigating Virtual Career Fairs panel that feature recruiters from Enterprise Holding, Liberty Mutual and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Meeting with an employer one-on-one at the career fair can be a little intimidating if youve never done it before, Willard Bray said. When its virtual, its just you and the employer for 10 minutes with no other distractions. We were able to give students some added confidence in their ability to do that. For undergraduate business, engineering and science students looking for a three- or six-month co-op this summer, Career Services hosted a special networking and recruitment event in early March called The Co-op Connection. More than 30 employers from across the region attended, which drew 125 students. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education, Government of India, for granting of the prestigious status of Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University (IoE). With this MoU, it has become the youngest recognized IoE and part of the hallowed league of top 20 public and private institutions mandated to elevate Indian higher education on the global stage with complete academic and administrative autonomy. Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) was recommended as an IoE' by the EEC in August 2019 after the Institutions of Eminence' scheme was rolled out by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2017. The 20 IoEs' were selected from a total of 114 applications received from public and private universities. Shiv Nadar University is also among the select group of institutions in the country which were awarded the prestigious Atal Incubation Center grant by the NITI Aayog, Government of India, in the very first round in 2017. Shiv Nadar University's Pro-Chancellor, Shikhar Malhotra, and Vice-Chancellor,. Rupamanjari Ghosh, signed the MoU in the presence of Vineet Joshi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India, and Kirti, Deputy Director (Science), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. "This is a historic achievement in the journey of what we now proudly call Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence'. It's a heartening testament of our commitment to redefining higher education in India and to helping transform the future of human capital emerging from our country. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for recognizing Shiv Nadar University as a role model for private higher education as India addresses the needs for enhancing access to modern, high-quality education and cutting-edge research," said Shikhar Malhotra, Pro-Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University. Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) has been granted the IoE' status upon duly clearing a wide-ranging assessment by the Government-appointed Empowered Expert Committee (EEC). The assessment included several legislative and procedural requirements under the UGC regulations and guidelines. It took into account all aspects of the University's functioning including but not limited to curriculum, research, faculty, campus infrastructure, student selection parameters and the Institution's long-term vision, culminating in the MoU signed. Robert Aaron Long struggled with sins he committed at massage parlors, former roommate says Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Robert Aaron Long, the 21-year-old who's now facing multiple murder charges for killing eight people at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area on Tuesday, struggled with sexual sins he committed in these establishments, a former roommate says. I lived with Robert Aaron Long for a few months. I can tell you right now that this is not racially motivated killing, but the product of an emotionally disturbed young man who was religious to the point of mania and who felt deep shame about why he frequented these places, Tyler Bayless revealed in a Facebook post Wednesday. I wonder how this would have gone if he had been in an environment where he wasnt repeatedly told how sinful he was for the things that drove him. What a tragic loss of life, and a kid that was all around one of the sweeter people youd meet. Bayless, 35, further explained to Reuters that he lived with Long in an Atlanta halfway house for recovering addicts named Maverick Recovery in late 2019 and early 2020. The former roommate who last saw Long in February 2020 said he was being treated for drug addiction while Long was being treated for sex addiction. He revealed that Long admitted to frequenting massage parlors for explicitly sexual activity but would become very emotionally distraught that he frequented these places. In the halfway house he would describe several of his sexual addiction relapses as he called them. He would have a deep feeling of remorse and shame and say he needed to return to prayer and to return to God, Bayless told Reuters of Long, who was once a member of the student ministry at Crabapple First Baptist Church. Long shot up three massage parlors in the Atlanta area Tuesday, killing six Asian women and two white men. He was planning to shoot up more massage parlors in Florida, police said. Four people died in Longs shooting spree during his first attack at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, which was reported around 5 p.m. A Hispanic man was also injured there. Atlanta police officers then responded to what was reported as a robbery at Gold Spa (open 24 hours a day) in the northeast part of the city at 5:47 p.m., where they found the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. While officers were at that scene, they received a call about shots fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street, where they found another woman's body. Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said at a press conference Wednesday that Long did take responsibility for the shootings and dismissed reports that his actions were racially motivated. He does claim that it was not racially motivated. He apparently has an issue with what he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places. Its a temptation for him he wanted to eliminate, Baker said. He was pretty much fed up and kinda at the end of his rope, and I guess it was a really bad day for him and this is what he did, Baker continued. "These locations, he sees them as an outlet for him, something he shouldnt be doing. He had an issue with porn and he was attempting to take out that temptation. Brett Cottrell, who led the youth ministry at Crabapple from 2008 to 2017, told The Washington Post that Longs father was considered an important lay leader in the church. Long would attend morning and evening activities on Sundays, along with meetings on Wednesday evenings and mission trips. Cottrell described Long as a typical teenager growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta. Its not unusual for young men to be into video games, he said. Was he around guns and hunting? Yeah. Would I consider him to be obsessed? No. Was it part of the life? Yeah. At that time, I wouldnt classify it as one of the main things he was involved in. Had he been deer hunting? Yeah. I dont know that I wouldve considered it to be a massive chunk of his life. Like Bayless, several prominent critics of the evangelical community suggested that the influence of Longs Southern Baptist upbringing likely contributed to his response to his sexual struggles. Rachael Denhollander, a lawyer who's a former gymnast and outspoken abuse survivor, suggested in a series of tweets that the ease with which the women at the massage parlors were killed is a reflection of how they are treated in Southern Baptist culture. The man who murdered women in a massage parlor yesterday says he was eliminating temptation because he had a sex addiction. He was a baptized member of an SBC church. Brothers. Pastors. Seminary heads. How you teach sexuality matters. It can be life and death, she wrote. How you teach gender roles, and how you talk about women, how you sexualize them as temptations or dangers, matters. It can be life and death. The way you indirectly blame women for abuse, lust, assault, temptation, can be life and death. This is happening in your pulpits, in your seminaries, in your counseling programs. It is in your marriage books, your books on womanhood and manhood, it is in your counseling sessions. It is in your purity books and discussions. It is in your social media. ... Your words, your teachings, your actions matter. The messages you send and imply and the culture it creates, matters. Real people pay the price. I am devastated, she said. Jemar Tisby, president of The Witness, also argued that the Church must accept some responsibility for Longs actions. Again, churches are not responsible for every individual action of their members, but when you steep your flock in ideas that exclude and demonize, the community bears responsibility. Your ideas, words, and actions failed to challenge or worse actively promoted racism and sexism, he wrote on Twitter. When asked by The Christian Post to comment on the criticism Thursday, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called the killings shocking and repulsive and said Christians should lead the way in standing against bigotry and injustice. These murders are shocking and repulsive. The killer should be brought to justice, and the roots of this violence should be made known as soon as it is revealed to investigators. While I do not yet know the reports from law enforcement as to the motives in this particular case, I am hearing increasingly from Asian Americans, including Asian American Christians, who face escalating bigotry against them in this sick time. Such is immoral and unjust, he said in a statement. Every murderer should be held accountable for justice. Christians must also lead the way in refusing to listen to and refusing to amplify the voices of those who would incite hatred against minority populations. Jesus has taught us this: hatred in the heart leads, in the fullness of time, to bloodshed. We should stand against that, he ended. The Khengjang- Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone in Manipur, India: An ecological initiative by Fr Paul Lelen Haokip March 18,2021 | Source: The Sangai Express Against the backdrop of deteriorating environmental conditions, creation care is a relevant option for sustainable behaviour. Creation care can manifest in different ways. One such care is The Khengjang-Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone project under Chandel district of Manipur, India. This unique project is positioned in the Eastern Himalayas, which is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. The unique topography of these mountains, combined with the southwestern monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal promotes a multitude of diverse flora and fauna. It has been learnt that due to severe exploitation of freshwater ecosystems in this biodiversity hotspot, nearly 14% of the fish species are considered threatened, while 9% are near threatened. While the Wildlife Protection Act of India (1972) offers a legal shield to terrestrial and some of the aquatic animals and marine mammals, unfortunately, less emphasis has been accorded to freshwater fish biodiversity. This project is an initiative to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and western scientific ecological knowledge (WSEK) looking forward to co-creation, integration and co-management arrangements. This project has been initiated to conserve fish resources through a community-based fishery management model called Fish Conservation Zones. This is aimed to educate the local population regarding the depletion of fish and involve them in fish conservation community responsibility. Empowerment of the locals to be aware of their surroundings for a proactive stance is the priority. A recent freshwater biodiversity assessment in the eastern Himalayas potentially list two endangered species namely Schisturakangjupkhulensis and Schistura reticulata. In the above project areas, nearly 20 species of fish were consumed earlier, but now only four or five are available in small quantities. Other studies also have pointed out the critically endangered and endangered freshwater finfish species such as Horabagrusbrachysoma, Tor mussullah, T. putitora, T. tor, Pangasius pangasius, Osteobramabelangeri, Om-pokpabda, Chitalachitala and Chacachaca. Protection and conservation are imperative. The Khengjang-Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone project falls under the larger project titled Saving the fish from the Mekong to Meghalaya funded by The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Bangalore, India wherein Bashida Massar (a Zoology Professor at St Anthonys College, Shillong) and James Haokip (a Professor of Anthropology at Sikkim University) are principal researchers. From the conventional rearing of fish in ponds and tanks, these two researchers are trying to conserve fish in their habitat. This project research has pointed out that while Fish Conservation Zones are a novel project for the Indian context, the same has been successfully implemented in Laos and Myanmar where communities directly manage their local resources. They do this by identifying an area where the conservation of fish species is needed, and they typically close this area to all fishing activities. Rules for the same are imposed by official authorities and the area is monitored by members of the community, providing a haven for fish. Realizing the imminent need to conserve for the survival of almost extinct species of fish and enhancing local availability of the species for consumption, this project has been initiated to conserve fish in their habitat through a community-based fishery management model called Fish Conservation Zones. 2021 The Sangai Express. All Rights Reserved Theme(s): Fisheries Resources. TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions), a leading cloud platform vendor, managing corporate payments and cash flows, announced today that the company recently completed their System and Organization Controls 1 2 (SOC 1 2) Type II and ISO 27001 recertification audits without observations. This highlights TIS' strong commitment to security and state-of-the-art compliance, starting with the ISO 27001 certification in 2010, and the recertification since 2017 for SOC1 2, TISAX and SWIFT. The SOC audit evaluated the security controls within TIS to ensure protection against unauthorized access, unauthorized disclosure of information and damage to systems. In addition, the SOC audit tested these controls to certify that they operate effectively to achieve the promised service level commitments and system requirements. The ISO27001 provides the information security governance framework on top of which other standards and security controls are built. "The audits we have conducted are an effective way to show our customers the level of commitment TIS maintains in the area of security. It challenges our organization to focus on continuous improvement and service excellence," says Jari Pesonen, Chief Information Security Officer of TIS. "Security and customer trust form the foundation of our business success, therefore we must demonstrate our commitment to the highest level of security through continuing recertification audits." About TIS: TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH), founded in Walldorf, Germany in 2010, is a global leader in managing corporate payments. The Financial Times named TIS as one of "Europe's Fastest Growing Companies" for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Offered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), the TIS solution is a comprehensive, highly-scalable, cloud platform for company-wide payments and cash management. The TIS solution has been successfully used for many years in both large and medium-sized companies, including Adecco Group, Hugo Boss, Fresenius, Fugro, Lanxess, OSRAM and QIAGEN. More than 25% of DAX companies are already TIS customers. Your world of Payments. ONE Login. https://www.tis.biz View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005400/en/ Contacts: Press Contact: Treasury Intelligence Solutions GmbH Liang Fang Altrottstrae 31 69190 Walldorf Tel. +49-6227 698240 Email: liang.fang@tis.biz https://www.tis.biz Election officials speak amongst themselves near electronic ballot boxes in the polling area in the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 3, 2020. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) Kentucky Senate Passes Election Reform Bill The Kentucky Senate on Tuesday approved a major election reform bill on a bipartisan vote, paving the way for the measures final passage once the Senate amendments are approved by the commonwealths House of Representatives. The state senators voted 33-3 on March 16 to approve an omnibus bill that would, once enacted, establish three days of no-excuse early voting, mandate a universal paper ballot across the state, and prohibit ballot harvesting, among other provisions. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams praised the Kentucky Senate for passing the bill. Im grateful to our state senators for putting voters first, Adams said, according to WKDZ. Our legislators deserve enormous credit for making Kentuckys election system a national model in the 2022 elections and beyond. The bill will also retain an online voter portal, which will make absentee balloting transparent to the voters and officials. The bill will also make it easier for election officials to clean up the voter rolls, according to WKDZ. All eight of the Democratic Senators voted in favor of the bill. Kentuckys push to reform election laws is part of a nationwide wave of election reforms set in motion by the controversy surrounding the results of the 2020 presidential election. Democrats and Republicans in 50 states have introduced more than 1,600 election-related bills. Only about 200 have made it out of a committee so far. A handful of the bills have become law but none in the battleground states contested after Nov. 3 last year, based on data from Voting Rights Lab, an advocacy group co-founded by former executives of Mike Bloombergs Everytown for Gun Safety gun control group. Republican voters have demanded election security measures be implementedparticularly in states where the GOP controls the legislatures but Democrat President Joe Biden claimed victory. Democrats argue that the Republican efforts are aimed at making voting more difficult. The state-level legislative activity is concurrent to Democrats in Congress advancing a major federal election reform bill titled For the People Act. The bill would federalize many of the state-level changes made ahead of the 2020 election, including no-excuse mail voting. Republicans argue that the bill would be a fatal blow to the integrity and security of U.S. elections. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that if the bill becomes law it would be very difficult for Republicans to win in elections. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Hello, Joe, Josie, Giuseppe, Pepe, Youssef and Joanne. Youre looking at the arrival of March 19, your special day and the feast day of St. Joseph. Our feast finally has come! So, get your red on (its good luck!) and tug an ear (its an expression of endearment to a dear Joe or person with a name derivation thereof.) And its time to celebrate with very specific foods, some of which are particularly outstanding on Staten Island. FLASHBACK TO 2006: Anthony Trimarco of Rosebank carries a statue of St. Joseph in Rosebank for a parade (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Pamela Silvestri First, lets address the religious aspect of the holiday. Joseph is the patron saint of workers. His reverence in Sicily comes from a time of drought on the Island back in the Middle Ages. The peasants prayed to God through St. Joseph, asking for rain. They promised that if the drought ended, they would fete both the Almighty Father and St. Joseph in an annual feast. A statue of St. Joseph outside St. Joseph by-the-Sea (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Pamela Silvestri This year, St. Josephs Day falls on a Friday. As such in 2021, it affords a special dispensation from Cardinal Dolan for this particular Friday in Lent. Our Lady of Pity R.C. Church, Bulls Head, will have a consecration Mass at 8:30 a.m. with a statue and flowers. (Cardinal Dolan will be consecrating the Archdiocese to St. Joseph on Friday, March 22 after the 7 a.m. Mass in St. Patricks Cathedral.) But the corned beef leftovers from St. Patricks Day should be pushed aside for this fete nonetheless, as fish takes centerstage. Pasta Con Sarde by Vic Rallo and Josh Laurano at Pastavino in Stapleton at Urby. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri The fish The most famous dish associated with this holiday is Pasta Con Sarde, traditionally made with a straw-like pasta called bucatini. The strands are sauteed with fennel fronds and/or fennel, raisins or currants and topped with toasted breadcrumbs. That finishing flourish is reminiscent of wood shavings. (Get it? Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a carpenter?) Breadcrumbs also resemble sand and dry dirt, a nod to the drought in Sicily centuries ago and subsequently what sparked a feast in honor of the saint. Brioso's Pasta Con Sarde in New Dorp (Staten Island Advance File Photo) Most Italian restaurants will be serving Pasta Con Sarde mid-March so you dont have to worry about fetching a catch yourself of whole, fresh sardines. Plus the Lord doth give humankind the gift of Cuoco brand seasoning for Macaroni with Sardines available at Met Foods in Grasmere and Castleton Corners and true Italian specialty shops. Basillio Inn's presentation of sfingi and zeppole with citrus on St. Joseph's Day. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)staten island advance The pastries thou must knoweth There are two pastries in our usual borough repertoire sfingi and zeppole. The sfingi are filled with cannoli cream and zeppole come with custard. Further food identification tip when sourcing such deliciousness: sfingi have a hole in them like a doughnut whereas zeppole do not. Stuffed Artichoke at LaStrada Restaurant, New Dorp. (Staten Island Advance/Carol Ann Benanti) Staten Island Advance The chokes Another way to bring on the breadcrumbs: stuffed artichokes which are perfectly in season in other parts of the world at this time of year. At home: Clean them by snipping off the thorny thistle tips and scooping out the hairy part of the choke in the center. Steam them with chicken broth, maybe a little anchovy, lemon and white wine in the mix. Stuff with seasoned breadcrumbs toasted with olive oil. FLASHBACK TO 2013: Blessing the bread for the Feast of St. Joseph during mass at St. Adalbert's R.C. Church, Port Richmond. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Pamela Silvestri The bread San Giuseppe Bread can be found at many Italian bakeries but well call out Rossvilles La Dolce -- 655 Rossville Ave., 718-356-9864 -- which sells petite or large crosses and shepherds staffs on March 19. Fava beans are associated with the feast of St. Joseph because in the Middle Ages, Sicily suffered a drought during which lava beans flourished while other crops died and are considered lucky. (Danielle McGrew | The Bay City Times) The Bay City Times/MLive.com The fever for fava Fava beans blessed by a priest make them lucky. Carry a dried one around for the year and you will be blessed with good fortune. Youll never be broke, as custom has it. St. Joseph fun fact: If you're selling your home bury an upside-down stature of St. Joseph in the front yard and you'll be sure to sell. Here they are at Alba House in Willowbrook. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Pamela Silvestri The citrus Lemons and oranges are particular to Sicily and should be represented in some way at a St. Joes dinner. Brioso in New Dorp serves oranges with shaved fennel and olives which fits into our need for citrus at this time. FLASHBACK TO 2013: The altar as per Vittorio Asoli at former Trattoria Romana in Dongan Hills. (Staten Island Advance File Photo) The altar Build a three-tier shrine noted so for the Divine Trinity tricked out with seasonal veggies, favas, bread, fennel and whatever you have to offer. FLASHBACK TO 1997: The statue of St. Joseph was carried in procession through the streets of Rosebank. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Pamela Silvestri The blessing There is a way to address a neighbor and friend this day. One might say, May St. Joseph always smile upon you. That can be followed by an ear tug as a sweet gesture. In December 2020, Heritage entered into an arrangement with CannaBR Exports Corp., a Brazilian focused pharmaceutical CBD product importation and distribution company, for the distribution and bulk sale of formulated CBD products to the Brazilian cannabis market The arrangement calls for minimum order quantities agreed to by both parties, to be delivered to CannaBRs large distribution network in Brazil with the option to establish long-term distribution contracts ( ) ( ) announced that Health Canada has granted the company the first-ever license to export cannabis products from Canada to Brazil. In December 2020, Heritage entered into an arrangement with CannaBR Exports Corp., a Brazilian focused pharmaceutical CBD product importation and distribution company, for the distribution and bulk sale of formulated CBD products to the Brazilian cannabis market. The arrangement calls for minimum order quantities agreed to by both parties, to be delivered to CannaBRs large distribution network in Brazil with the option to establish long-term distribution contracts. Heritage, in conjunction with CannaBR, has focused on filing and achieving approvals from the Brazil Health Authority (ANVISA) to distribute and sell various formulated CBD products in Brazil and is currently in advanced stages of product testing, enabling it to meet ANVISAs requirements. Through its partnership in Brazil, CannaBR already holds an import license, and with Heritage receiving its export license from Health Canada, shipments of CBD products are set to begin within a week with the intention to satisfy the ANVISA requirements. Upon achieving all necessary testing requirements, the Company will commence final negotiations to complete a long-term sales agreement with minimum order quantities. We are very pleased to be the first cannabis company in Canada to be granted an export license for Brazil by Health Canada, said Clint Sharples, CEO of Heritage in a statement. Our work with CannaBR is the second extension of the Company beyond the Canadian and US markets, and with the Brazilian market projected to grow dynamically over the next five to seven years, we are poised to take advantage of the many opportunities in the premium CBD product space. Heritage is a cannabinoid company focused on the production and sale of medical and recreational hemp-based and cannabis-based products and services. In Canada, Heritage operates through its subsidiaries Voyage Cannabis Corp. and CannaCure Corp., both regulated under the Cannabis Act Regulations. Working under these subsidiaries and the Purefarma, Pura Vida, Premium 5, RAD and feelgood. brands, Heritage focuses on extraction and the creation of derivative products for recreational consumers, as well as the formulation of cannabis-based medical solutions. In the US, Heritage operates under Opticann Inc., a Colorado-based oral and topical cannabinoid company with the rights to exclusively sell CBD and CBG products made with the patented VESIsorb drug delivery system for optimized absorption and stability. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com Let's do awesome things. Inc. magazine today revealed that Nash Imaging is No.87 on its 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Midwest economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in the 12 Midwest states. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 199 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 43,000 people and added more than $11 billion to the Midwest economy. Companies based in the Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati areas brought in the highest revenue overall. This list proves the power of companies in Midwest states no matter the industry, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. Nash Imaging creates and builds experiential technology that engages consumers and leaves a lasting impression both online and in person. CONTACT: Brian Nash, brian.nash@nashimaging.com, 740.605.7025 More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. Shmyhal proposes to consider opening office of state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Ukraine Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal proposed to consider the issue of opening an office of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Ukraine. "In order to strengthen interregional cooperation, the head of the Ukrainian government proposed to consider the issue of opening the office for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Ukraine, which would be an additional impetus to maximize the existing potential," the governmental press service said following a meeting between Shmyhal and Head of the Christian Democratic Union, Prime Minister of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet. According to Shmyhal, one of the main functions of the representative office could be to disseminate comprehensive information among industrialists and entrepreneurs of North Rhine-Westphalia about the possibility of starting cooperation with Ukrainian partners. "We are talking about the dissemination of objective information about Ukraine to deepen not only business contacts, but also to intensify cooperation in educational, tourism, cultural and other sectors," the prime minister said. Shmyhal also noted the importance of partnership with the federal state, which is an economically powerful region and ranks first among the German federal states in terms of trade and investment from Ukraine. "In recent years, the partnership between Ukraine and the powerful federal state that you lead has intensified, primarily in the economic sector. We have good examples of cooperation in various fields. Most German investors with a significant amount of investment in the economy of our country come from North Rhine-Westphalia," the Ukrainian prime minister said. In addition, he expressed hope for the active participation of the German side in the international platform for de-occupation of Crimea. The Prime Minister of Ukraine extends the Ukrainian President's invitation to Lashet to visit Ukraine. The Biggest Loser host Fiona Falkiner and her fiancee Hayley Willis are due to welcome their first child any day now. And in the lead-up to their son's arrival, the expectant mother has posed for a stunning maternity photo shoot. Fiona, 38, shared one of the black-and-white images on Instagram on Monday, and wrote: 'I'm in the final weeks of this pregnancy.' The countdown is on! In the lead-up to her son's arrival, former Biggest Loser host Fiona Falkiner has posed for a stunning maternity photo shoot 'I love that many of you have reached out and shared your pregnancy stories with me! We are amazing, our bodies are amazing we should be proud of what our bodies are doing and celebrate this time!' she added. 'I always said I would never pose nude, but I thought this was a pretty special occasion and I probably will never look like this again.' In the gorgeous picture, taken by Sydney-based photographer Deanna Mushins of Dimages, Fiona's blossoming baby bump is on display. Glowing and gorgeous! Fiona showed off her burgeoning baby bump on Thursday ahead of the birth to her first child with fiancee Hayley Willis Earlier this month, Fiona showed off her growing tummy on Instagram as she discussed her changing waistline. 'Old memories popping up reminding me of the days I had a waist. But that's okay. I would choose to have this little man inside me any day! Waistlines come and go!' she wrote. Her update came after she revealed the difficulties she'd faced during her pregnancy. Not long to go: Fiona is due to give birth to her first child any day now The TV presenter took to Instagram to reveal she was 'now a snorer' and suffered from carpal tunnel in her hands. The syndrome causes numbness and tingling in extremities from a pinched or compressed nerve. Fiona announced her pregnancy in September. She and Hayley had got engaged in April 2019 while on holiday in Vanuatu. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. James Donaghy, managing director of Donaghy Bros, confirmed the independent electrical retailer had agreed to purchase the landmark building on Main Street in the village. (stock image) The sale of the former Danske Bank building in Kilrea has been agreed with local company Donaghy Bros. The branch served customers face-to-face for the final time on December 4 last year after Danske deemed it was unsustainable. Constructed in 1885, the 3,540 sq ft building was on the market for 130,000. James Donaghy, managing director of Donaghy Bros, confirmed the independent electrical retailer had agreed to purchase the landmark building on Main Street in the village. Mr Donaghy said: "We're a family-run business and have been operating in Kilrea since 1964, so we were keen to ensure that the building was brought back into use and stop it becoming dilapidated. "This is an exciting project for us, and we hope for Kilrea as a whole. "We're keen to ensure that Kilrea is an attractive, vibrant place for people to live, work and shop in. "As proud Kilrea people we're honoured to have acquired such a historic and beautiful building. "And it will be renovated with a view to expanding upon our existing modern office space and also to provide a training centre for staff. "The acquisition of the property is part of an overall growth strategy for our electrical retail business and will expediate our plans for recruitment going forward." The majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 are protected from being reinfected with the virus for at least six months, a new study suggests. Researchers found that fewer than one percent of people in Denmark in 2020 caught coronavirus twice. In addition, those who were aged 65 or older were 46 percent more likely than younger or middle-aged adults to be reinfected. The team, led by the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, says the findings provide further evidence that coronavirus mitigation measures are essential to maintain until enough people are vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. A new study found that just 0.65% who tested positive during the first wave were reinfected during the second wage compared to 3.3% who were newly infected (above) mong senior citizens, 0.88% of senior citizens were reinfected during the second wave, making them up 46% more likely to test positive twice than younger adults. Pictured: The number of tests done per person 'Our study confirms what a number of others appeared to suggest: reinfection with COVID-19 is rare in younger, healthy people, but the elderly are at greater risk of catching it again,' said Dr Steen Ethelberg, from the Statens Serum Institut. Cases of presumed reinfection have cropped up in other parts of the world, but questions have arisen about testing accuracy. Last year, University of Hong Kong researchers reported details of a 33-year-old man who had recovered in April from a severe case of COVID-19 and was diagnosed four months later with a different strain of the virus. Additionally, two European patients, one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands, were reported to have been reinfected with the virus. And in Nevada, a 25-year-old man become the first person in the U.S. to be struck down with the coronavirus for a second time - which hit him harder than his first bout of the disease. For the new study, published in The Lancet, the team analyzed data that was collected during Denmark's national testing strategy in 2020 during the country's first and second waves. During the first wave between March and May 2020, 11,068 Danes tested positive for COVID-19 and 514,271 tested negative. Comparatively, during the second wave from September to December 2020, 72 of the people who tested positive in the first wave, just 0.65 percent, were reinfected. Additionally, 16,819 of the people who tested negative, 3.3 percent, tested positive during the second surge. Results showed the rate of infection was five times higher among reinfected people than people who previously tested negative. Of people under age 65 who were infected with COVID-19 during the first wave, 0.6 percent tested positive once mored during the second wave However, 0.88 percent of senior citizens who tested positive during the first wave were reinfected during the second wave, making them up 46 percent more likely to test positive twice. 'Since older people are also more likely to experience severe disease symptoms, and sadly die, our findings make clear how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic,' said Ethelberg. 'Given what is at stake, the results emphasize how important it is that people adhere to measures implemented to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had COVID-19. Our insights could also inform policies focused on wider vaccination strategies and the easing of lockdown restrictions.' In a linked editorial, Professors Rosemary J Boyton and Daniel M Altmann, from Imperial College London, said that the findings show the importance of vaccinating. 'Set against the more formal reinfection case reports that are based on differential virus sequence data and make reinfection appear an extremely rare event, many will find the data reported by Hansen colleagues about protection through natural infection relatively alarming,' they wrote. 'These data are all confirmation, if it were needed, that for SARS-CoV-2 the hope of protective immunity through natural infections might not be within our reach and a global vaccination program with high efficacy vaccines is the enduring solution.' Tech firm Darktrace has a moved a step closer to a stock market listing in London after hiring Tory former minister David Willetts. Nicknamed 'Two Brains', Willetts will join as a non-executive director as Darktrace looks to beef up its board ahead of a hotly anticipated float. Last month the company put former BT boss Sir Peter Bonfield on the board. Darktrace, based in Cambridge, helps companies detect suspicious cyber activity and was founded in 2013 with seed funding from Invoke Capital. Tory former minister David Willetts will join Darktrace as a non-executive director as the cyber security firm looks to beef up its board ahead of a hotly anticipated float Invoke was established by Mike Lynch after he sold Autonomy to Hewlett Packard and he now owns a third of Darktrace. Willetts, who now sits in the House of Lords, said: 'I am honoured to join the board of Darktrace, a true example of great British innovation and leadership in the cyber AI field. 'I look forward to supporting the company as it continues to play a critical role in building the technology and talent needed to counter the rising threat from cyber-attacks on business, government and critical national infrastructure.' The company has hired Berenberg and Jefferies to work on the float. But the process has not run smoothly and last month UBS resigned as an adviser. UBS told Darktrace that its compliance department had decided that it could not fulfil the role after extradition proceedings were launched by the US against Lynch, on fraud charges. There are wider fears that Lynch's ties to the company could scare off potential institutional investors. Nevertheless the float is set to be another win for Chancellor Rishi Sunak who is looking to make sure the UK's brightest tech firms list in London post Brexit. Many UK tech firms plump for a move to the US where the tech scene is more mature and there are more investors. This year food delivery firm Deliveroo said it would list in London a process which is tipped to value it at 5billion. [March 18, 2021] Amplify Awarded Grant for Math Curriculum Designed to Benefit Diverse Students Amplify, a publisher of next-generation curriculum and assessment programs, today announced that Amplify has been awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Balance the Equation: A Grand Challenge for Algebra 1" (The Grand Challenge) grant program. The program selected education partners who have designed solutions to make Algebra 1 more accessible, relevant, and collaborative for Black, Latino, English language learners, and students experiencing poverty. To help students gain a deeper conceptual understanding of data and statistics, Amplify, in partnership with the English Learners Success Forum, is developing a solution that leverages a visual approach to learning mathematics, making advanced concepts more accessible to a broader population of students, especially students learning English. Building on both algebraic and geometric concepts from earlier grades, the materials enable students to better apply statistics to their everyday lives. For nearly two decades, The Grand Challenge has focused on addressing key global health and development problems by seeking out and engaging the world's brightest minds through an open and transparent process focused on the best ideas most likely to make an impact. "Balance the Equation: A Grand Challenge for Algebra" is the foundation's first education-focused challenge, centered on the importance of providing all students with high-quality, equitable Algebra 1 education. "We are grateful to the foundation for the opportunity to be a partner in their effort to transform and rethink the traditional math classroom to better support students who have been historically marginalized in math," said Zach Wissner-Gross, vice president of math education at Amplify. "Amplify Math seeks to improve statistical literacy and conceptual understanding in our country, and we are honored to be awarded the opportunity to build atop the statistics units of our already strong math curriculum." Amplify is one of 15 grantees receiving a Phase 1 grant of $100,000. Later this summer, 8-10 grantees will receive up to $1M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to design solutions to make Algebra 1 a gateway, rather than a gatekeeper, to future success. For students who do not complete Algebra 1, their chances of graduating from high school are one in five. Black and Latino students, English language learners, and students experiencing poverty are particularly affected, putting these students at a disadvantage in pursuing high-paying, in-demand careers. About Amplify A pioneer in K-12 education since 2000, Amplify is leading the way in next-generation curriculum and assessment. Our captivating core and supplemental programs in ELA, math, and science engage all students in rigorous learning and inspire them to think deeply, creatively, and for themselves. Our formative assessment products turn data into practical instructional support to help all students build a strong foundation in early reading and math. All of our programs provide teachers with powerful tools that help them understand and respond to the needs of every student. Today, Amplify serves more than seven million students in all 50 states. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005987/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A large number of students at Wesley College staged a boycott of the schools uniform on Thursday as anger around sexism, misogyny, lack of respect and sexual assault of girls in independent schools in Melbourne grew. One current Wesley student told The Age she had been groped several times on school grounds, once witnessed by a teacher who did not act. Some students from Wesley College boycotted the uniform in protest at handling of allegations of misogyny by other students. Credit:Paul Jeffers Students refused to wear the school jumper on Thursday and instead wore hoodies, which some said was in protest at comments about forgiveness made by principal Nick Evans at an all-school assembly he held on Wednesday to address misogyny on campus. As part of his speech about his own anger about the maltreatment of women and girls, including students at the school, Mr Evans cautioned students not to rush to condemn others and to please understand what forgiveness is. 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. [March 18, 2021] Bosma Honors Blinded Veterans Association as its 2021 Community Partner Bosma today announced the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) has received the organization's 2021 Community Partner Award. Rooted in more than 100 years of history, Bosma is a nonprofit organization providing training and employment for people who are blind or visually impaired. The 2021 Community Partner Award honors an organization for extraordinary collaboration to better the lives of people who are visually impaired. The award was presented at the annual Thomas C. Hasbrook Award event hosted by the Bosma Visionary Opportunities Foundation. The foundation is Bosma's philanthropic arm and funds the organization's life-changing programs for Hoosiers who are blind or visually impaired. BVA is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization created for veterans who are visually impaired. The organization was established to help veterans and their families meet and overcome the challenges of blindness. BVA continually strives to better the lives of all who served in the U.S. armed forces living with sight loss through expert advocacy, engaged membership, clear communication and peer inspired self-reliance. BVA and Bosma have had a longstanding relationship. Last year, the two organizations worked together with legislators on Capitol Hill to pass legislation that protected thousands of jobs for veterans and other citizens with disabilities. Earlier this year, BVA announced its endorsement of osma Enterprises' Good Works Ice Melter. The endorsement acted as an extension of BVA's commitment to sustaining a thriving, informed, patriotic and connected community. Bosma Enterprises is the organization's business entity. From contract packaging, warehousing and assembly to its Good Works products, Bosma Enterprises helps socially responsible companies with a focus on supplier diversity expand their sourcing options with high-quality goods and services. "The Blinded Veterans Association has been a committed partner who has helped to get the word out about not only the products but also the services available to Hoosier veterans with visual impairments," said Bosma President and CEO Jeffrey Mittman. "Good Works Ice Melter is more than a great product. Each purchase contributes to supporting individuals with vision loss through meaningful employment and comprehensive rehabilitative programs." Bosma Enterprises' line of Good Works products, including Ice Melter, are packed and shipped by the organization's production employees, more than half of whom are blind or visually impaired. Sales of the products create employment for people with vision loss, who would otherwise face a 70% unemployment rate. Revenue also supports ongoing programs for people with vision loss. About Bosma Rooted in more than 100 years of history, Bosma is one of Indiana's largest nonprofit organizations providing training and employment for people who are blind or visually impaired. Bosma Enterprises, the organization's business entity, helps socially responsible companies with a focus on supplier diversity expand their sourcing options with high quality goods and services. Bosma's Center for Visionary Solutions, located in Indianapolis, served over 1,000 clients last year. Our experienced staff, more than half of whom are blind, offer personalized programs throughout Indiana, ranging from counseling, to job placement, to training for daily living skills. These initiatives help adults gain the life skills they need to remain independent and the job skills they need to stay self-sufficient. Learn more by visiting bosma.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005862/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. Spanish MPs on Thursday legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide for people with serious and incurable or debilitating diseases who want to end their life, despite facing strong opposition from religious groups and the far-right. "Today we are a more humane, just and freer country. The euthanasia law, widely demanded by society, finally becomes a reality, tweeted Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez. "Thanks to all the people who have fought tirelessly so that the right to die with dignity was recognized in Spain. A long round of applause rang out after the lower house of parliament passed the law, with 202 votes in favour, 141 against and with two abstentions. Until now, helping a person to end their life in Spain was punishable with a jail term of 10 years. The law, which applies to Spanish citizens and foreign nationals, including any of the 290,000 British citizens who have legal residence in Spain, will come into force in threemonths while regional committees assess requests. Read more: Outside the parliament in Madrid, pro and anti-euthanasia groups demonstrated during the debate and the vote. The law faced determinedopposition from religious groups and the far-right Vox party. Lets not forget that the first to practice euthanasia on the weakest ended up carrying it out as part of the final solution in Nazi Germany, said Polonia Castellanos, of the Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers. Vox has said it will challenge the law in the Constitutional Court. The law allows anyone with a serious or incurable illness or a chronic or incapacitating condition to request help dying to avoid intolerable suffering. The patient must be fullyaware and conscious when they make the request which must be submitted twice in writing, 15 days apart. A doctor can reject the request if the requirements have not been met and it must be approved by a second doctor and an evaluation body. Any medic can withdraw on grounds ofconscience. The issue of euthanasia grabbed public attention in Spain since the 2004 Oscar-award winning film The Sea Inside, starring Javier Bardem, which told the true-life story of Ramon Sampedro, a paralysed former sailor who wanted to end his life. Sampedro recorded his assisted suicide in 1998 after being denied that right by courts. A 2019 opinion poll showed that almost 90 per cent of Spaniards supported decriminalising euthanasia. An anti Euthanasia protester stands in front of police officers outside the Spanish Parliament (AP) Spain has become the latest country to legalise euthanasia nationwide, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada, while some US states also permit it or assisted suicide. A similar bill in Portugal was thrown out on Monday when the countrys top court ruled that it was unconstitutional. Last year, New Zealand also approved an assisted dying law. Switzerland allows assisted suicide but not euthanasia. Tunis/Tunisia The World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently examining the adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca, Member of the Anti COVID-19 Scientific Committee Hechmi Louzir told TAP on Tuesday. This approach was launched as a number of countries decided to halt the vaccine as a precautionary measure, Louzir pointed out. The WHO will not ship AstraZeneca in case its side-effects are confirmed, Louzir said at the end of a meeting held by the scientific committee. Although Tunisia did not order the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of a market deal it will receive a first batch of the vaccine as part of WHO's initiative Covax. The country is expected to receive about 138,000 doses in March, the same source said. The WHO will soon finish testing the vaccine safety, Louzir underscored, adding that the organisation has the best experts in pharmacovigilance (PhV) and no shipment will be made in case the vaccine adverse effects are confirmed. The side-effects of other COVID-19 vaccines and the means of treating these reactions were also discussed during the meeting of the scientific committee, Louzir further indicated. The scientific committee is closely monitoring the vaccine safety and the health of those eligible for it in Tunisia, Louzir added. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Kris Jenner has spoken out about Kim Kardashian's highly publicised divorce from Kanye West during a candid interview. The 65-year-old media personality was asked about the divorce - which neither her daughter, 40, or the rapper, 43, have spoken about publicly - during a chat on Friday's The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Australia. When asked by host Kyle Sandilands how the two are doing, Kris said: 'Well, I think it's always going to be hard anytime... there's a lot of kids, and Kim and Kanye. Mum's the word: Kris Jenner has spoken out about her daughter Kim Kardashian's highly publicised divorce to Kanye West during a candid interview 'The good thing about our family is that we are there for each other and supportive, so all I want is for those two kids to be happy. 'That's what you want as a mum.' While vague on the details, she went on: 'I think we all want that for our families, just to be able to have the love and appreciation of one another, and that everyone's OK.' When asked by Jackie 'O' Henderson if viewers will see details of the divorce in the final season, she said: 'You might. I don't know what they have decided on in the finale, as we haven't even seen the first show yet. 'I'm sure they're putting some final touches. But I think it's just a private time - Kim wanted to deal with this with her own family in her own time, so when she feels like it I'm sure she'll say what she needs to say.' Sweet: 'The good thing about our family is that we are there for each other and supportive, so all I want is for those two kids to be happy' Kris said Over: Kanye and Kim began dating in 2012 and were engaged in 2013 before marrying in a lavish ceremony in May 2014 Kanye and Kim began dating in 2012 and were engaged in 2013 before marrying in a lavish ceremony in May 2014. The divorce is the first for Kanye and third for Kim, who was previously married to Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2004 and Kris Humphries from 2011 to 2013. TMZ reported that Kim officially filed for divorce from Kanye in February. The pair share four children together; North, seven, Chicago, three, Saint, five, and Psalm, one. In recent months, the children have mostly been seen with Kim in Hidden Hills, California, where the family has a $60 million mansion. Kim recently sat down with Vogue magazine ahead of the last season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, where she touched upon a 'challenging year'. Tease: When asked by Jackie 'O' Henderson if viewers will see details of the divorce in the final season, she said: 'You might. I don't know what they have decided on in the finale, as we haven't even seen the first show yet' Speaking out: The 65-year-old media personality was asked about the divorce - which neither her daughter, 40, or the rapper, 43, have spoken about publicly - during a chat on Friday's The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Australia. Pictured: Kyle Sandilands with co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson Family: TMZ reported that Kim officially filed for divorce from Kanye in February. The pair share four children together; North, seven, Chicago, three, Saint, five, and Psalm, one The reality star was asked about life beginning to return to normal post COVID-19 pandemic amid her impending divorce from Kanye after nearly seven years of marriage. She said during the video interview: 'I think this year has been challenging for so many people but I also think that this year was a huge cleanse and just a huge opportunity for people to really be grateful for the simple things and and that is a huge -- I think awakening that some people had,' per Vogue via Page Six. The mother of four added: 'I always try to look at things in a positive way.' She continued: 'Even though it has been such a challenging year, it's a time to regenerate, get creative, spend so much time with family and just this time I've been able to spend with my children has been priceless. That part has been so beautiful.' The beauty was not asked directly about her divorce nor did she speak on it. The new season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians is available on hayu & E! from Friday. Zimbabwe on Tuesday took delivery of 400,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from China as it steps up its immunisation programme that began almost a month ago. The doses of the Sinopharm vaccine that were delivered by an Air Zimbabwe chartered flight on Tuesday comprised of 200,000 doses donated by China and another 200,000 bought by Zimbabwe. There was also a donation of 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China destined for Namibia on the same flight. On February 18, Zimbabwe received its first consignment of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who received the consignment at the Robert Mugabe International Airport in Harare, on Tuesday told journalists the Chinese donations were a testimony of the Asian economic powerhouse's growing ties with Zimbabwe. "The fact that we are the only country in Africa, which has to date received the second batch of the vaccine doses from China, attests to the strong, comprehensive and strategic nature of our partnership," President Mnangagwa said. "The event marks yet another milestone in the robust development and consolidation of our bilateral relations and cooperation in relation to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. "China's continued assistance and solidarity has lightened our burden in an otherwise difficult period." Zimbabwe says it is targeting to vaccinate 60 percent of the population or 10 million people by the end of next year to achieve herd immunity. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The immunisation programme, however, has started slowly with only 37,660 people having been vaccinated by March 15. Observers say frontline workers, who are being targeted in the first phase of the vaccinations, were reluctant to take the jabs because there was still inadequate information about the safety and efficacy of the Chinese vaccine. Last month, a group of human rights lawyers wrote to the Health ministry demanding that the Sinopharm vaccine should be first subjected to clinical trials before it is administered to locals. Zimbabwean authorities, however, insist that the vaccine is safe. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who doubles up as Health minister, was the first to take the Sinopharm vaccine in Zimbabwe as the government began to roll out the immunisation programme. Zimbabwe is expecting a donation of 75,000 doses of China's Covaxin vaccine and 20,000 of Russia's Sputnik vaccine. It has also registered China's Inova vaccine. The southern African country has witnessed a significant decline in new infections in the past month after a deadly second wave at the start of the new year. As of March 15, Zimbabwe had recorded 36,504 Covid-19 cases with 949 active cases, 34,051 recoveries and 1,504 deaths. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A reading on Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity spiked to a nearly 50-year high in the month of March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity soared to 51.8 in March from 23.1 in February, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged. With the substantial increase, the Philly Fed Index skyrocketed to its highest level since hitting 53.6 in April of 1973. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. After two Vipassana courses last year, Aneesh Reddy, Co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based software-as-a-service (Saas) customer engagement firm Capillary Technologies, realised meditation's powerful impact on him. The practice de-cluttered his mind and improved his ability to focus on the present and think clearly. "I am probably at my best in terms of inner peace and mental health," says Reddy. With stress and loneliness becoming an integral part of the Covid-19 world, Reddy wanted to promote the meditation technique within the organisation. As an experiment, in December 2020, Capillary announced an 11-day Vipassana leave. Anyone who intends to participate in a Vipassana course can avail an 11-day leave - over and above the mandated annual leave. "Annual leave get over during the yearly vacation. Anyone hardly takes off for themselves," says Reddy. The pandemic ushered in the realisation that being healthy was beyond being physically fit - it is a state of complete physical, mental, social and financial well-being. This led companies to look at health holistically and expand their offerings. Earlier, employees' health benefits included offerings related to physical health, but now emotional and social health have become integral as well. Companies such as Kellogg India, Dalmia, Mondelez, Cisco and Infosys introduced new social and emotional health offerings in their portfolio and extended the existing ones significantly. Plain vanilla insurance plans, annual health check-ups are passe, benefits such as meditation leave, bereavement leave, mandatory day offs, me time and digital detox time have become the new normal. "There is cognizance that stress today is a greater killer than diabetes and is the underlying cause for many physical ailments as well. Firms, too, are realising how intertwined social and emotional health is with the physical self, and that investing on physical health is a curative process whereas focusing on emotional wellbeing can be preventive," says Premkumar Seshadri, Chief Mentor, wellness services firm 1to1help, and former MD of HCL Infosystems. Physical Health As work from home (WFH) and work from anywhere takes centrestage, the concept of office has gone beyond physical premises. Health benefits have to cater to this new reality. Hence, they have to be broad, flexible and personalised, catering to the requirements of a wide variety of people. "Companies would look at employee satisfaction and employee engagement at work. Today, we have to go beyond the confines of the office space and have to be conscious of experiences outside work because employees are bringing work into their personal lives," says Seshadri. Infosys launched more than 150 plus interventions related to employee stress, health, and overall wellness through workshops, emails, health checks, online chats, fun quizzes and focused communication campaigns. "We had a lot of activities from the engagement side that are built on the framework of the 5Cs -- Connect, Collaborate, Celebrate, Culture and Care. This is something we have always focused on because at the end of the day we are people's business, so we need to make sure we engage our people," says Richard Lobo, Executive Vice president, Head HR, Infosys. As the lockdown began, the first thing companies did was convert their health benefits into virtual offerings. They tied up with online partners such as Stepathlon, Cure.Fit and HealthifyMe to enable fitness classes for gym or yoga since office premises were closed. They also introduced telemedicine consultations. Health benefits were also extended beyond employees, to families and partners. Kellogg India gave insurance and medical benefits cover to not just employees and their families, but to distributors, vendors and sales people. The company also included 24x7 emergency response services through a dial-in number. "It is much clearer today that the pandemic is going to be a long haul. It is not something which is going to go away, so it is important that everyone is safe," says Nimisha Das, Director HR, Kellogg South Asia. Also, plain vanilla insurance plans are passe and flexi-healthcare plans will gain popularity, says Dalmias Menon. For instance, earlier most insurance plans were slab-based, now employees have the option to choose according to their family size and age bracket. Health check-ups have also entered offices like never before. They are no longer optional for employees. Dalmia Bharat, like many other companies, had the policy of conducting a mandatory health check-up at the time of joining. Now, it has a differentiated health check-up plan for employees, the health card being a part of their key result area (KRA). People under 40 get access to the company supported regular check-up plan, while those above 58 can avail an advanced executive health check-up. "Health cards had to be included alongside KRAs because we were finding that people still wouldn't get annual check-ups done," says Dalmias Menon. It helps the company determine the job role to be assigned to a person that doesn't impact or aggravate his/her condition. For instance, a person with asthma could be moved from the packaging department to perhaps the corporate office. Mondelez India uses its annual health check-up data to curate a segmented wellness calendar for the workforce. The results of the annual health checkup are analyzed using various cuts like level, function, location etc (while keeping person-wise data confidential) - and that feeds into a segmented wellness calendar. "Just like there's a product launch calendar, we create a wellness calendar for the year," says Mahalakshmi R., Director, Human Resources, Mondelez India. For instance, at one of their sites, health check-up of employees revealed that many people had cardiac issues with high cholesterol level, obesity problems, etc. Another sales branch had people who felt they wanted emotional support. "Some calendar events are common and some differ according to the location. They vary as per locations to meet the requirements of that population or cohort," adds Mahalakshmi R. Emotional Health While offerings on physical health have been extended, a significant focus is now on emotional health unlike earlier. Firms are offering systemic ways to enable employees to be in charge of their feelings and thoughts to understand how they relate to self and enable them to manage challenges better. "Earlier, Dalmia's employee wellbeing programme focused 100 per cent on physical health, perhaps just 1-2 per cent on other wellbeing programmes. Now, over 30 per cent cater to emotional health," says Ajit Menon, Group HR head at Dalmia Bharat Group. Managing WFH, self-care, meditation, workplace ergonomics, ways to manage stress and anxiety, integrating work and life are pertinent issues that are affecting many. Companies are providing online content on these topics. Many have tied up with experts to conduct webinars on resilience and work-life integration. Kellogg India has a monthly webinar with Mindful Leadership Expert Pandit Dasa on stress management. Infosys has expert talks by professional counselors, external speakers on topics ranging from mental health at workplace to depression to managing work-life balance. "Segmentation approach is followed where our objective is to have focused sessions for the target population, ours being millennials, family members, women etc," says Infosys' Lobo. Dalmia Bharat, on the other hand, organises online Gita sessions. "These webinars help people understand that they are not alone, and the issues they are facing are not unique to them in any way and hence they shouldn't feel bogged down," says Dalmia's Menon. Seshadri of 1to1help says it is important in today's times to get emotional health-risk assessments done along with physical ones. "If there are any issues such as sleeplessness or anxiety or those related to self-esteem, they can be addressed early on." No wonder then that companies are rolling out programmes for mental well-being of employees, including roping in mental health service providers such as 1to1help, YourDost, mPower for delivering self-help workshops (online and offline), knowledge-sharing sessions and online counselling and therapy. "Due to the pandemic, the discussion on mental health has come to the fore. Stress, burnout was all there even earlier, but after the pandemic there is a lot more openness around it, which is a step in the right direction," says Anupam Trehan, Director, People & Communities, India and SAARC, Cisco. The company's wellbeing strategy is focused on four pillars: physical, emotional, social and financial. "If we want our employees to be at their best each day, then they have to be at their best across all four parameters," she adds. Hence, companies are reworking strategies to ensure they are family friendly as well. Cisco has employee resource groups to address new realities. There's an employee network called the 'Special Children's Group' to provide support to parents with children who have special needs. Infosys has a Family Matters forum that touches aspects of parenting, relationship, emotional and psychological wellbeing of parents and children. It spans a wide range of topics from spreading awareness on autism to understanding learning style and multiple intelligences of children, food habits, stress management and Vipassana meditation. As workplace got extended to home and beyond, FMCG major HUL introduced a policy to protect and provide relief to employees who have faced acts of physical/emotional abuse beyond the workplace, i.e. in their personal (home) or other public spaces, including the online medium. "In case, an employee foresees a threat to their physical/emotional safety or identifies as a survivor of abuse beyond the workplace, the employee can reach out to the line manager, HR business partner or functional head for support," said the company's spokesperson. Measures such as special paid leave for relevant appointments with support agencies and solicitors, access to counselling/support services, access to courses to support survivors of domestic abuse, flexible working amongst others are being provided. Work-life Balance Employee assistance programmes are revolving around health more than ever, but they will fall flat if employees continue to work under pressure day after day. Companies, therefore, are changing the tone. "Getting the right work-life balance appears to be an effective way to provide a lot of elements of wellbeing for the individual in order to have a good social wellbeing as well," says Krishna Raghavan, Chief People Officer, Flipkart. Nitika Lal, Senior Manager, Central Merchandising, Flipkart, shares how her manager asked her to take a couple of days off after their annual event Big Billion Day was over. "Not only had my manager, but the vice president of my organisation also called me several times during the lockdown to ensure I was doing fine. If seniors reach out without any work agenda, as an employee it makes you feel valued," adds Lal. She adds that the employee-friendly culture is one of the reasons why she came back for her second stint at Flipkart. Companies are also introducing leave options to help employees take time off. Flipkart recently extended its leave policy under 'COVID Care Leaves'. Employees can take up to 28 calendar days of paid leave for self care or take care of their loved ones if they are sick. Also, bereavement leave has been introduced for employees to overcome their grief in case they have lost someone close to them. "Since everyone has their own individual way of dealing with the loss of someone, there is no cap on such leave," says Flipkart's Raghavan. Mondelez has a set of guidelines called 'remote work commitments', which guides work norms in the new remote-work normal. "While remote-work commitments were not curated under the wellness programme 'LIVE WELL', in our pulse surveys several employees shared how those guidelines of taking a break, digital detox, and drawing a 'line of control' to close the work day, have helped them in their work-life integration," says Mahalakshmi R. Kellogg India has a 'no meeting day' on the second Thursday of every month. Also, there are no meetings after 4 pm on Fridays. "The calendars get automatically blocked so everyone observes these codes in principle," says Das. Dalmia has started this policy of not giving leave encashment so employees avail their annual leave. Companies have been quick to adapt to the challenging times. What remains to be seen is if these best practices percolate down the hierarchy and become a new normal for India Inc. @sonalkhetarpal7 Phone bank with Pappas and Chatman of ABC 7 Chicago returns $12.5 million to property owners PR Newswire CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today that her office is sending checks totaling $12.5 million to homeowners who called the "Black and Latino Houses Matter" phone bank she hosted with ABC 7 Chicago on March 11-17, 2021. "We realized immediately that this was an extraordinary opportunity." -John Idler, President, ABC 7 Chicago Staff from the Treasurer's Office, fluent in Spanish, Polish, Chinese and English helped homeowners find refunds, apply for property tax exemptions and avoid the Tax Sale of delinquent taxes. "All houses matter, but I launched the 'Black and Latino Houses Matter' initiative because the Tax Sale disproportionately impacts certain areas," Pappas said. John Idler, President and General Manager of ABC 7 Chicago, said: "When Treasurer Pappas reached out we realized immediately that this was an extraordinary opportunity to educate homeowners and help them take full advantage of tax refunds and exemptions. We are thrilled to be part of the effort that put millions of dollars back into the pockets of Cook County residents." Samantha Chatman, a consumer investigative reporter with ABC 7's I-Team, reported on the 20-hour phone bank during the station's afternoon and evening newscasts. Property owners who did not call the phone bank, may visit cookcountytreasurer.com to: Search $76 million in available property tax refunds Check if they are eligible for $46 million in missing tax exemptions Verify if their property is on the Tax Sale list of delinquent taxes Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phone-bank-with-pappas-and-chatman-of-abc-7-chicago-returns-12-5-million-to-property-owners-301250208.html SOURCE Cook County Treasurer's Office The Viking Sky which is the same shape and size as the Viking Venus in Lofoten, Norway. (Viking) After announcing a May restart as well as its first three ocean sailings for UK travellers earlier this week, cruise line Viking says it has seen an overwhelming response from potential guests. Due to the overwhelming response we received from guests who pre-registered as soon as we made the announcement, we have started taking bookings from past passengers earlier than planned, a Viking spokesperson tells Yahoo UK. We have also received a significant number of enquiries from travellers who are new to Viking and are keen to join the UK sailings. Reservations will be available to all UK residents in due course. Read more: These are the fastest-growing destinations for post-lockdown travel With self-catered stays set to resume in England from 12 April and international travel slated to return from 17 May, Viking has announced three sailings along the coast of England with departures on 22 May, 29 May and 5 June. Guests on these eight-day voyages will be among the first to sail on Vikings newest ocean ship, Viking Venus. The Viking Venus will be a similar style to most Viking Ocean ships. (Viking) The aptly-named Englands Scenic Shores voyages will depart from Portsmouth and stop in at Liverpool, Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, Falmouth and Portland the price for the voyage is yet to be announced. All other previously scheduled Viking sailings through to 31 May this year remain cancelled. Read more: 10 small Greek islands to visit this year Cruise liners were hit hard when the pandemic spread in early 2020 and Viking were among the first to suspend operations. Last November, Viking announced it had become the first cruise line to complete the installation of a full-scale polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing area at sea to help detect the spread of coronavirus. This PCR testing area will be on all of the three planned voyages and has the capacity to test every crew member and guest daily for COVID-19. Interiors of a Viking Ocean ship (Viking) As well as daily PCR tests, Viking has implemented new air purification technology on its ships and there will be additional health checks, sanitisation and social distancing measures in place too. Story continues Read more: These are the countries most likely to open for Brits this summer Viking chairman Torstein Hagen said in a statement: We welcome the UK governments support for the return of safe domestic cruises as an important component in the travel industrys recovery. In recognition of this support, and to celebrate the fact we have a British godmotherthe esteemed broadcaster and journalist Anne Diamond we have chosen to name our new ship, Viking Venus, in the UK on May 17. We are in a position to restart operations quickly and to start sailing again in May because we have kept our ships crewed during warm lay-up throughout the past 12 months. "We have been implementing our additional protocols, including daily quick and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests for our crew, for almost six months now. "With our new protocol enhancements in place, we feel strongly there will be no safer way to travel the world than on a Viking voyage and we look forward to welcoming UK guests back on board very soon. Subscribe to our newsletter Watch: Why Britons will get an extra bank holiday in 2022 An increase in cases of the more transmissible U.K. coronavirus variant in southwest Louisiana has added urgency to vaccination efforts there. But with the region reeling from a string of destructive natural disasters, health officials are struggling to get shots in arms. Nearly seven months after Hurricane Laura ravaged Lake Charles and surrounding parishes, thousands of families are still without homes and many are preoccupied with the grueling tasks that come with recovery: haggling with insurance companies, hiring contractors and picking up debris. "It's very hard for people to prioritize their health and get a vaccine when they don't have a roof over their head or food on the table," said Dr. Lacey Cavanaugh, the region's public health coordinator. "It's low on the hierarchy of needs." Single-dose COVID vaccination sites in Acadiana announced by health department The Louisiana Department of Health has announced two upcoming locations to received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Acadiana. The region which includes Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes was further hobbled in its inoculation efforts in February, when an icy storm knocked out power and closed roads, pausing distribution efforts and adding one more layer of stress to an already weary population. As of Wednesday evening, the southwest region had completed 23,531 vaccine series. The five-parish region it covers had the lowest percentage of its population fully vaccinated in the state at 7.82% nearly half the rate in the New Orleans region, which tops the list at 13.48%, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health. Dr. Cavanaugh cautioned against relying on that data, noting that untold thousands of residents have been displaced from the region in recent months, making the numbers benchmarked to an outdated population count. Still, there's no doubt that the region is facing added challenges in getting shots in arms. That's most apparent, officials said, in how much longer it takes providers to fill up their appointments. "It's not like other regions, where there's a race to get a spot," said Lance Armentor, vice president at Oschner CHRISTUS Health Center in Lake Charles. "It's kind of like a slow trickle effect." To encourage sign-ups, Dr. Cavanaugh said providers are focusing on the "little things" they can do to reduce barriers. They've set-up phone lines so patients who have yet to have their internet restored can still make appointments. At drive-thru events, people without cars or appointments aren't turned away. And providers are flexing hours to accommodate different working schedules. We have to make it easy and simple for them to get the vaccine, Armentor said. The best compliment I got is, Yall run yalls clinic like a Chick-fil-a drive-thru. 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 A study last summer from the Louisiana Public Health Institute found that 43% of residents living in the southwest region would get a vaccine if it became available the lowest interest recorded in the state. The survey was conducted prior to the approval of any vaccine, and Dr. Cavanaugh said hesitancy in the region is no more pronounced than what officials are seeing elsewhere. Adding to the urgency to roll-out vaccinations is the concentration of confirmed cases of the United Kingdom variant in the region, a fact that Gov. John Bel Edwards highlighted on his Wednesday radio show. Seven cases of the strain have been identified there, with 50 more suspected and awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to state health department data. +6 75% of West Feliciana Parish school employees receive COVID-19 vaccine When the latest guidelines allowed school employees to receive the coronavirus vaccine, West Feliciana Parish was ready. In partnership with t "We feel like we're in a race to get as many people vaccinated as soon as we can to prevent any future wave of COVID," Dr. Cavanaugh said. "Another big spike is the last thing we need when we're already trying to recover." As they work to inoculate the public, health officials in the region are facing their own struggles in recovering. The roof on Dr. Cavanaugh's house was destroyed by Hurricane Laura. It was soon replaced, but less than two months later, Hurricane Delta damaged it again. Oschner Christus' Armentor said his insurance claim for damage to his home was approved three weeks ago, allowing him to finally get to work on repairs. There are three other families who lost their homes living on his property. The region's public health building was also damaged, cutting off access to nearly half of its working space. The storage facility on campus that holds personal protective gear and some paperwork caved in and boxes of masks and gloves are now stacked ceiling high in a vacant conference room. Its the wild, wild west, Dr. Cavanaugh said of their new set-up. In the face of so many challenges, some providers have found a way to keep vaccines flowing. South Cameron Memorial Hospital was ravaged by Hurricane Laura and is now largely unusable, but a determined group of health care workers are still giving out shots under a makeshift tent clinic. And Boudreaux's New Drug Store in Lake Charles is now vaccinating up to 1,200 people a week, a bright spot its owner Jesse Vidrine said is a testament to the connection that small, locally owned pharmacies have with the people they serve. Were a community pharmacy thats focused on caring for patients rather than treating patients like cattle, getting them in and out as fast as possible, Vidrine said. Good morning, Bay Area. Its Thursday, March 18, and Mills College is undergoing massive changes. Heres what you need to know to start your day. The mass shooting in Georgia on Tuesday night felt like a punch in the gut for the Bay Area Asian American community reeling from a surge in racism and violent attacks over the past year, says Melissa May Borja, a Filipino American researcher at Stop AAPI Hate, a San Francisco-based reporting center. Eight people, six of them Asian women, were killed by a gunman at three spas in the Atlanta area Tuesday in the latest and largest outbreak of violence against Asian Americans across the country. Borja and others said they felt grief and anger but not surprise. Weve always known about this type of hate, said San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan. A recent analsysis by Stop AAPI Hate found Asian American and Pacific Islander women were more than two times more likely to experience discrimination this past year including verbal harassment and physical assault. On Wednesday morning, following the shooting and two attacks on Market Street this week, Mayor London Breed directed police to immediately increase patrols in Asian communities. Chronicle In-Depth: Anti-Asian violence is forcing another racial reckoning in the Bay Area. Coronavirus Updates Jessica Christian / The Chronicle In the window: As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Bay Area last march, Chronicle photographer Jessica Christian took window portraits of Bay Area residents. This month, she went back to take their portraits again. She found a group altered by lockdowns and uncertainty, mourning lost time and buoyed by hope for the future. See the portraits before and after here. Report shows California lagging most states in vaccination equity. Coronavirus vaccines could be ready for children by years end, experts say. How to prepare kids to return to school in the Bay Area after a year out of classrooms. California and Florida have similar COVID pandemic rates, but these charts show key regional differences. Around the Bay Michael Macor / The Chronicle One of 34 in the country: Oaklands Mills College will stop granting degrees, ending 169-year run for womens school. Which tier?: S.F.s Church of 8 Wheels hits the brakes again after reopening for just a few days. With L.A. District Attorney: Chesa Boudin is suing a N.Y. company for violating Californias AB5 gig-work law. A spending plan for a crisis: Heres how S.F. wants to spend its $125 million surplus this year. Background: A surprise surplus, but future potential deficits loom. Confirmation vote soon: Xavier Becerra will face influx of immigrant children on top of pandemic in Biden Cabinet job. Cow burps and climate change Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Beef and dairy production has an outsize impact on climate change, mostly in the form of methane released by animals like cows in their burps and manure. But a promising new study out of UC Davis found that adding just a small amount of seaweed to cattle feed can reduce the output of methane in their burps by 82%. We have a billion cattle in the world, and if even a few of them get it, it will make a big difference, said Ermias Kebreab, animal science professor and co-author of the study. Climate reporter Tara Duggan writes on the potential impact on California, the largest dairy state in the nation. For more local climate news: Sign up for The Chronicles MicroClimates newsletter. Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown, Anna Buchmann and Kellie Hwang and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact the writers at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com, anna.buchmann@sfchronicle.com, and kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Americas top diplomat on Thursday pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it will ignore U.S. offers to resume negotiations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the end of security talks in Seoul, which included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korea's foreign and defense ministers. Their first so-called two plus two meeting in five years came as President Joe Biden pushes to restore Americas alliances in Asia in the face of challenges from China and North Korea. Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest, in helping to pursue denuclearization of (North Korea) because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, Blinken told a news conference. He said Beijing has a critical role to persuade North Korea to denuclearize because most of the Norths external trade goes through China. Blinken stressed that China is obligated by U.N. Security Council resolutions to fully enforce sanctions imposed over North Koreas nuclear and missile tests. China, the Norths last major ally and biggest aid benefactor, has long been suspected of avoiding completely implementing sanctions on the North. Some observers say China believes a unified, pro-U.S. Korea would undermine its strategic interests and worries that a humanitarian disaster in North Korea could push swarms of refugees flooding over the countries border. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in working toward a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula. Zhao reiterated Thursday that China advocates a two-track approach to the issue, whereby the U.S. would offer security guarantees to North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons programs. All parties concerned should move in the same direction, work together to manage differences, actively promote dialogue and contacts, and maintain regional peace and stability, Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing Thursday. Story continues Earlier Thursday, Choe Son Hui, North Koreas first vice foreign minister, confirmed Blinkens previous announcement that Washington had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels starting in mid-February, but it hasnt received any response. Choe called the U.S. outreach a time-delaying trick and said North Korea would discarding offers for talks unless Washington withdraws its hostility. What has been heard from the U.S. since the emergence of the new regime is only a lunatic theory of threat from North Korea and groundless rhetoric about complete denuclearization, she said. Asked about Choes statement, Blinken said hes more interested in the thoughts of U.S. partners while he was making a regional tour. South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Thursdays talks dealt with the North Korean statement and its intentions. He said South Korea hopes for the early resumption of U.S.-North Korean talks. U.S.-led diplomacy focusing on North Koreas nuclear weapons remains stalemated because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Koreas nuclear activities in return for relaxing sanctions to prevent its arsenal from growing. Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States to refrain from causing a stink, while criticizing the U.S.-South Korean drills that her government views as an invasion rehearsal. Some experts say North Korea may further raise animosities with missile tests to boost its negotiation leverage. North Koreas moribund economy is hurting because of the pandemic-related border closure that has significantly shrunk its external trade and a spate of natural disasters last summer. After Thursdays talks, Blinken, Austin and their South Korean counterparts said in a joint statement that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address those issues. Austin said the U.S. is fully committed to the defense of South Korea, using the full range of U.S. capabilities, including our extended deterrent. Blinken slammed North Koreas human rights record for a second straight day, saying that people in North Korea continue to suffer widespread and systematic abuses at the hands of a repressive government. Later Thursday, Blinken and Austin met South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said Seoul will continue close cooperation with Washington to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Blinken and Austin are on the first overseas trip by Cabinet-level officials since Biden took office. They visited Japan before coming to Seoul. South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that during Thursdays talks the U.S. side stressed the importance of a U.S.-led trilateral security cooperation involving Seoul and Tokyo many times. He said South Korea in principle agrees on the U.S. view. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo have suffered major setbacks in recent years over issues stemming from Japans 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Blinken said Thursdays talks discussed Chinas role, and we are clear eyed about Beijings consistent failure to uphold its commitments. And we spoke about how Beijings aggressive and authoritarian behavior are challenging the stability and security prosperity of the Pacific region, he said. Beijings actions make forging a common approach among our allies all the more important at a time when were seeing a rollback of democracy and human rights around the world, including in Burma. Blinken will meet senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way back to Washington, while Austin will travel on to New Delhi for talks with Indian officials. Chinas ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said Beijing doesnt expect the Alaska talks will resolve all the issues between China and the U.S. and we dont hold overly high hopes. Cu still added that he hoped the meeting would be a start and that the two sides can begin a dialogue process that is candid, constructive and realistic. On the walls outside Nevadas Senate chamber are rows of sepia portraits celebrating members of the legislative Hall of Fame. Dozens of men, several flamboyantly hirsute in the Old West style, vastly outnumber the women. But just steps away, seated in her leadership office, Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro embodies a dramatic shift in this seat of government. Nevada is the first and only state in the country where women make up a majority of lawmakers, a historic breakthrough that arrived two years ago. Since then, women have expanded their ranks to 60% of the 63-member Legislature, considerably more than any other state. The result can be measured in dollars and sensibilities. Among the changes are new laws expanding access to health care and family planning, fortifying abortion rights, strengthening the penalties for domestic violence and giving prosecutors more and better tools to fight sex crimes. Of course were going to focus on the business of the state, said Cannizzaro, the Senate majority leader. Were going to balance the budget, were going to focus on education, were going to focus on workforce development. At the same time, she went on, the influx of female lawmakers has brought a fresh perspective to issues as wide-ranging as maternal health, COVID-related job loss, poverty and small-business ownership. Were having those discussions in a way that we can relate to and that were shining our own experiences on, Cannizzaro said. A case in point: legislation that expanded workers compensation for Nevada firefighters who develop job-related breast, uterine or ovarian cancer. Those types of cancer were previously excluded from coverage. Another example: a law stiffening the requirement that women receive equal pay for equal work. Previous attempts failed in part because male lawmakers questioned whether gender discrimination was, in fact, a problem requiring legislative action. There was never a doubt among many of their female counterparts, who spoke from personal experience; Cannizzaros mother, a restaurant manager, won back pay as a result of a legal settlement. When women have a seat at the table, Cannizzaro said, were not inclined to have that argument an entire session, which lasts a mere 120 calendar days every other year. (Nevada may have the countrys most humble capital, the statehouse and capitol building set like an afterthought along a drab commercial strip of casinos, coffee shops and budget hotels. It reflects the way many here prefer their government, as small and inobtrusive as possible.) Politically, Republican Assembly Leader Robin Titus agrees with Cannizzaro on very little. But she echoed the Democrats suggestion that the greater number of women lawmakers has brought a more collaborative spirit to the legislature, which meets across the street from a sandwich shop and hookah lounge. We problem-solve differently, Titus said. We negotiate differently. Women do a better job keeping it on policy and not taking things personally. The change is part of a larger trend. Forty years ago, women made up just 12% of state lawmakers nationwide. It took more than three decades for that number to double, to just over 24% in 2013. Since then, the number has grown considerably, owing in good part to the turnover spurred by legislative term limits and, in the Trump era, a greater number of politically energized women winning elected office. Today, women hold nearly 2,300 of the roughly 7,400 legislative seats nationwide, or just over 30%. In addition to the Nevada Assembly and Senate in Carson City, female lawmakers hold a majority of seats in the Colorado House, the New Mexico House, the Oregon House and the Rhode Island Senate. The trend appears to feed on itself: The more that women are in positions of power, the likelier others are to try for political office. Nevada offers several role models, including its two U.S. senators, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, and two of the states four House members, Susie Lee and Dina Titus (who is no relation to the Republican Assembly leader.) In Carson City, women hold three of the states six statewide offices, including lieutenant governor, make up half the legislative leadership and lead several of the most powerful committees in the statehouse. Theyre now in a position to set the agenda, said Sondra Cosgrove, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada, who is studying the impact of the states female majority Legislature. They decide what gets heard and what goes forward. It helps that Democrats, who control the Legislature, have a governor of their party, Steve Sisolak, willing to sign bills such as the pay equity requirement into law. But as Cannizzaro noted, You still have to have a legislature that is willing to pass that out of committee in both houses, off the floor in both houses and get it over to the governors desk. It is not enough for him to say, I would be inclined to sign a bill if it comes to me. Of course, partisanship hasnt melted away simply because women are wielding increased power, or seeking ways to disagree without being quite so disagreeable. (Democrats outnumber their female Republican counterparts in the Legislature by nearly 3 to 1.) Titus dismissed the special interest bills promoted by some Democratic women and scoffed at the identity politics of sorting lawmakers by gender. There will come a time, she said, when the power and proportion of women legislators becomes so commonplace in Nevada and beyond that people stop noticing. That, Titus said, will be the true measure of equality. MARK Z. BARABAK writes for the Los Angeles Times. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:10:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Starry Lee Wai-king, chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, meets the press at one of the symposiums held to hear the public opinion about improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in Hong Kong, south China, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) HONG KONG, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Over the past three days, more than 1,000 representatives from various sectors of Hong Kong have expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) through symposiums, visits and interviews arranged by the central authorities. Officials of central authorities' departments have heard the voice of Hong Kong people carefully and sincerely. The opinion collection came after the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR last week. From Monday to Wednesday, 66 symposiums were held in Hong Kong, which gathered representatives from all walks of life, including political figures, business leaders and professionals. "All opinions are welcome at the symposiums," Zhang Yong, deputy head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said when speaking at a meeting on Monday. As the NPC's decision has the importance of landmark to the implementation of "one country, two systems," the central authorities attach great importance to improving the electoral system of the HKSAR and takes a prudent attitude, Zhang said, stressing a "good law" will eventually be enacted after different views are heeded in Hong Kong. In fact, before the NPC's decision was adopted, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council had invited legal experts and experts on politics, among others, from both the mainland and Hong Kong to study the matter. From Feb. 28 to March 1, Hong Kong representatives from all walks of life attended symposiums in Shenzhen to share their views. During the annual "two sessions," related departments of the central authorities also listened to the opinions of NPC deputies and political advisers from the HKSAR. "The central authorities are sincere and have taken action to listen to the opinions of various sectors of Hong Kong society," Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said. It is the common responsibility of the relevant departments of the central authorities, the HKSAR government and legislature, and various sectors in Hong Kong to implement the NPC's decision, Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, said, encouraging Hong Kong representatives to express their views freely. During the meetings, Hong Kong attendees have vigorously put forward their suggestions. Starry Lee Wai-king, chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, highlighted the greater empowerment of the Election Committee of the HKSAR. Given the deteriorating working environment in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in recent years, entrusting the Election Committee with the function of electing a relatively large share of LegCo members will improve Hong Kong's democracy and enable Hong Kong to focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood, which is conducive to Hong Kong's long-term development, she said. Ng Chau-pei, president of Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, proposed that the District Council's seats in the Election Committee should be removed and the District Council should no longer participate in the election of the chief executive or the LegCo. The District Council's seats in the LegCo should be removed, too, he said. Ng also believes efforts should be made to increase the size of the Election Committee and optimize its subsectors so that the principle of balanced participation and Hong Kong's overall interests can be ensured. The share of the labor sector should be expanded as there are around 3.8 million workers in Hong Kong, he added. Ip Lau Suk-yee, chairwoman of Hong Kong's New People's Party, said the current LegCo still lacks full representation of Hong Kong's high-end financial industry and some key science and technological industries, and she hoped that the future Election Committee will make up the shortfall. Wong Kam-leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, suggested measures to create favorable conditions for patriotic education through improving the electoral system so that Hong Kong's education sector can be pushed back on the right track. Participants of the meetings have reached consensus on many areas and unanimously support the NPC's decision, Zhang Xiaoming said Wednesday at a press briefing. After the implementation of the national security law in the HKSAR and the improvement of the electoral system, Hong Kong will return to the normal path, get out of the political mire and embrace peace and stability, he said. Ordinary residents in Hong Kong have also expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the HKSAR. As of Wednesday morning, more than 700,000 people have signed a petition online in support of the NPC's decision. HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the HKSAR government has set up a special team to speed up related work. LegCo President Andrew Leung also said the LegCo will expedite the deliberation to ensure the timely passage of related bills so that the upcoming three elections in the next 12 months will be held smoothly. Enditem Bernice Bohannon said afterward that shed been looking forward to it, and getting the shot was virtually painless. A 111-year-old woman in Indianapolis received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Bernice Bohannon told reporters afterward that she had been looking forward to it and getting the shot was, for her, virtually painless. You could feel it a little bit but it wasnt bad, she noted. You just gotta take care of yourself Just get the shot! Bernice Bohannon got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center in Indianapolis, where shes shown, just two days after her 111th birthday. (Indiana University Health) Bohannon shared that she hoped her experience would encourage others to get vaccinated. She got her shot at the Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center in Indianapolis just two days after her 111th birthday. The registered nurse who administered the vaccination praised her. We appreciate you for letting us serve you today, said Jalissa Hurd. You crossed so many bridges for us, and its an honor to serve you. Read More: Biden administration allocates $10 billion for COVID-19 testing to reopen schools IU Health shared a video of Bohannon getting her injection Tuesday on their Facebook page. Late in the clip, Hurd says, You have that opportunity in nursing to be impacted and to impact, but today just her presence and being there to assist in her decision was impactful. It was something that was positive to me, Im full of hope, full of excitement, Im happy that she selected IU Health, she continued. Im happy I was selected to participate in this historical moment she allowed us to participate to serve her and put a stamp in history. Read More: People of color bear COVID-19s economic brunt, AP-NORC poll finds The centenarian lives alone, but has a home health aide who checks on her several times a week, as does her great-nephew, who drove her to her vaccination appointment. Bohannon has survived the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression, and now the coronavirus pandemic. Her great-nephew, Ken White, says thats just part of who she is. Story continues Shes lived a good life, he said, according to People magazine. She hasnt been in poverty, she hasnt been in a life where she was without shes outlived her children, her husband, most of our relatives, and just about all of her friends. Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today! The post Indiana woman, 111, receives COVID-19 vaccine: Just get the shot appeared first on TheGrio. Published March 18, 2021 Kristina Franco was sitting at her desk at her Kingwood day care when she heard a small voice yell out: Dont stand too close to me, youre gonna give me the virus! The little boy was only 5 or 6 years old, Franco thought. But his fears are valid. It was four months into the pandemic, right before Houston would see a summer surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths that would lead to Texas becoming one of the hardest-hit states in the country. "It breaks my heart. I understand having to explain to these kids what is going on, but I felt like we were completely robbing them of their innocence." The soundtrack of children laughing and playing carefree had become a distant memory for Franco; shrieks of excitement were replaced with worrisome cries. It breaks my heart, Franco, 44, said. I understand having to explain to these kids what is going on, but I felt like we were completely robbing them of their innocence. For the past four years, Franco has served as the owner and director of Spanish Schoolhouse in Kingwood, a private language immersion school and day care for children and toddlers. Her day care caters to a diverse range of families, and her staff is largely Latina. Because we are Latinas, we hug the kids multiple times a day, Franco said. To go from doing that to not being able to touch a child is very sobering. The pandemics emotional toll on day care workers is just one piece of the puzzle they have been tasked with overcoming. For the past year, Houston-area day cares have been grappling with dramatic drops in enrollment some as much as 80 to 90 percent and increased operating costs, netting virtually no income and leaving many teetering on the edge of having to close for good. Financial strain Pre-pandemic, Francos day care had an enrollment of 99 students. The first week of April, when day cares were allowed to reopen to care for children of essential workers, only six returned. Her enrollment has slowly crept back up to around 80 students, but the financial hit from the initial drop has had a lasting effect. Franco is losing money every day by remaining open and she is not alone. According to a December study from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), 59 percent of child care centers in Texas say they are currently losing money by remaining open. The financial strain has led to day care closures across the state and country, which experts say could lead to a national child care crisis. The situation is dire for child care providers the ones that are still open, NAEYC CEO Rhian Evans Allvin wrote in the study. Add to that the thousands of providers that have already closed and the magnitude of this national crisis is much, much greater. Perla Elizondo, left, talks to her kindergarten class at Spanish Schoolhouse Preschool on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Kingwood, Texas. Kristina Franco, owner of the Spanish Schoolhouse in Kingwood, Tx., says she may have to close down in the next few months if things dont pick back up. She has spent her life savings on her daycare business, and says she has not raised tuition for her students this entire time. less Perla Elizondo, left, talks to her kindergarten class at Spanish Schoolhouse Preschool on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Kingwood, Texas. Kristina Franco, owner of the Spanish Schoolhouse in Kingwood, Tx., says ... more Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Day Care Photo Gallery #1 1 / 6 Back to Gallery MORE COVID NEWS: Can't find a COVID vaccine? Some Houstonians are taking road trips to get one. There were 17,279 child care operations in the state in February 2020, according to Texas Health and Human Services. A little more than one year later, that number has dropped to 14,493, although 768 of those are considered temporarily closed and are not currently caring for children. The number of day cares still in operation does not include Listed Family Homes. The state does not track closures due to COVID-19 but is reaching out to those operations to clarify their intent to reopen, according to Danielle Pestrikoff, assistant press officer for HHS. Franco, in Kingwood, applied for several Paycheck Protection Program loans that helped keep her staff intact, but she said her financial situation is still tighter than ever. She went nearly 12 months without raising tuition but was forced to raise it by 1.5 percent in June. She estimates if she can hang on until August, she might be able to avoid closing the business she has sunk her life savings into. The states now-retired stringent COVID protocols have added to the overwhelming financial strain placed on day cares. For the better part of a year, Francos school required masks, temperature checks and oxygen level checks; she invested in a fogging machine that disinfects the building every day; she spent thousands on HVAC units that she was told would help prevent viral spread. You can only float so many things I am spending all of this money on everything I am supposed to do, Franco said. I just need people to come in the door. Her day care will continue following all of the same COVID protocols despite the states decision to lift the mandates and mask order, unless she receives new guidance from HHS and her day cares corporate offices. "It takes on a whole other meaning when you have to let staff go under these situations; (staff) that havent done anything to deserve to be let go other than being a victim of this pandemic." Kingwood native Jean Perucca has owned 1st Step University Child Care for nearly 15 years. She worries she may have to close her business and turn away families if things do not pick back up. Her enrollment dropped from its pre-pandemic peak of 75 children to 10 children in a week when they first returned. As of early March, that number has climbed back up to 30. Her financial situation is dire enough to make her thoughts turn to closing. We are teetering on it right now, Perucca said. We are probably at the lowest (point financially) we have ever been. She and others have also had to face tough decisions, like whether to let staff go. Robin Williams, executive director of the Primrose School at the Galleria, said at the start of the pandemic her staff dropped from 27 teachers to 13, as enrollment declined from 165 to 27 students. It takes on a whole other meaning when you have to let staff go under these situations; (staff) that havent done anything to deserve to be let go other than being a victim of this pandemic, Williams said. Losing staff puts another barrier on day cares that rely on fostering relationships to keep enrollments steady. Then thats where your school culture suffers a little bit, you almost have to start from ground zero and rebuild a school, Williams said. Pandemic overload While some studies have shown that children in child care settings do not pose an increased risk for transmission to providers if safety guidelines are followed, the virus choke hold on the world is hard to ignore when caring for multiple, maskless toddlers for upward of 10 hours a day. You dont know what is going on in their homes and what decisions their families are making, so it is a very, very scary and difficult place to be in, said Huma Hosain, who has worked as the director of her parents two Houston day cares, Teeter Toddler Daycare, for nearly 11 years. She said her familys day cares saw a 75 percent drop in enrollment at the start of the pandemic. MORE COVID NEWS: Houston ZIP codes that need COVID vaccines the most don't have enough, data shows Hosain said workers like herself felt shortchanged for risking their lives to work in a society that often undervalues their industry. The child care industry in Texas has an estimated impact of $8.7 billion on the Texas economy, according to a 2019 report from the nonprofit policy think tank the Committee for Economic Development (CED). There is no recognition, Hosain said. We are not just babysitters. We are watching your children, we are teaching them, we are building a foundation for them. Hosain added the state was slow to issue guidance for initial reopenings, leaving many day care workers to figure it out on our own. Child care workers only recently received priority access to the vaccine after 12 months of uncertainty and chaos. Kindergarten teacher Liz Carrizales, center, gets her students' attention at Creative Corner Child Development Center on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Houston. The pandemic has bankrupt daycares across the country, and many have had to consider closing or close all together. Pamela Humphries, who owns Creative Corner, thinks she wont have to close any of her daycares, but says she is worried about her staffs mental health. less Kindergarten teacher Liz Carrizales, center, gets her students' attention at Creative Corner Child Development Center on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Houston. The pandemic has bankrupt daycares across the ... more Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Day Care Photo Gallery #2 1 / 10 Back to Gallery Day care owner Pamela Seale Humphries has been in the business since the 1980s; she and her husband, Gordon, co-own three centers across Houston. At the start of the pandemic, Humphries day care centers experienced an 80 percent drop in enrollment. Her husband has not taken a paycheck for a year. Thanks to her frugal money management, she is optimistic she can keep her centers open, but she worries about her staffs mental health. Pandemic overload, thats the best way that I can describe it, Humphries said. Her employees are fearful for their grandparents, fearful for the parents of their students, they are fearful for their own family. Its just wrapped all around them, and it feels like its squeezing in on them. Child care deserts The virus could cripple the nations day care infrastructure and lead to an increase in child care deserts, further threatening working parents abilities to keep their jobs. Nearly two thirds of the nations working families are already having trouble finding child care, according to the research and advocacy organization Children at Risk. And upward of 4 million child care slots could be permanently lost if more is not done to stabilize the industry. "When is it going to get back to normal if there is a normal?" The U.S. House of Representatives in July approved two bills that would address child care funding shortfalls: the Child Care for Economic Recovery Act, which would provide additional funding and infrastructure grants to improve child care; and the Child Care Is Essential Act, which would provide $50 billion in grant funding for child care providers hit hard by the pandemic. Neither have yet to pass the Senate. For Houston-area day care workers, more assistance could not come soon enough. Its just kind of like, when is it going to end, really? Perucca said. When is it going to get back to normal if there is a normal? Support our journalism. Subscribe today. Rebecca Hennes is a digital producer and reporter at the Houston Chronicle. A Houston native, Hennes graduated from the University of Houston Honors College in 2016 with a bachelors in print journalism. When she is not writing about dogs or animal welfare, she covers anything Houston-related, including crime, entertainment, education and politics. She can be reached by email at Rebecca.Hennes@chron.com or by Twitter: @beccaghennes Godofredo A. Vasquez is a staff photographer for the Houston Chronicle, primarily covering breaking news. Vasquez was born in El Salvador but grew up in the Bay Area, where he attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a B.A. in Photojournalism. He can be reached by email at godofredo.vasquez@chron.com or by Twitter: @godovasquez Design by Julie Takahashi. Takahashi is the features digital manager at the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached by email at julie.takahashi@chron.com or by Twitter: @Julie_Takahashi A worker has fallen to his death at a construction site in south-west Sydney in a horrific workplace casualty. The 52-year-old man was reportedly abseiling at the worksite when he fell eight stories from the roof of a building just after midday on Thursday. Emergency services were called to the site on Northumberland street in Liverpool after reports a man had fallen. A 52-year-old man has fallen to his death while reportedly abseiling at a construction site in Liverpool, south-west Sydney NSW Ambulance paramedics worked on the man but he died at the scene. The 52-year-old tradesman is yet to be formally identified. A spokesperson from SafeWork NSW told Daily Mail Australia that SafeWork inspectors were responding to the incident. 'SafeWork is investigating an incident in Liverpool after reports a worker fell from the roof of an eight-story building and died', the spokesperson said. WorkCover and local police have launched an investigation into the death, with a report to be prepared for the coroner. Two construction workers have died while working as of March 4 this year, with a total of 18 deaths in all workplaces according to Work Safe statistics. On March 8, a University of Vermont (UVM) professor joined the growing chorus of brave souls willing to risk their careers and public scorn to stand for what is right. Professor Aaron Kindsvatter, a self-declared liberal, claims that the university is embracing dubious ideological racial policies. The intolerant backlash against this professor was fast and fierce, but so too have been the expressions of support. Americans once regarded themselves as sharing agreement on most goals, just differing in desired means. But "social justice ideology" does not broach dissent: it negates traditional liberalism and free speech protections. Thus, "liberal" professors will be silenced as readily as conservative speakers such as those at Middlebury College. "Social justice" ideology behaves much like an institutionalized cult. Professor Kindsvatter titled his latest video "Racism and the Secular Religion at the University of Vermont" as an allusion to that religiosity, warning that this ideology will seed future hate and division: [W]hiteness falls under the umbrella, in the derogatory meaning of the word, of critical social justice. And whiteness, the thinking that informs it is so crude, and so lacking in falsifiability, and it speaks so eloquently to our tribal impulses that the same logic that informs what's currently being called whiteness right now can easily find its way to desperate persons who need a group to hate and who will adopt the suppositions that inform whiteness towards their own ends. This intelligent foresight is indistinguishable from many conservative warnings. In The Madness of Crowds, conservative Douglas Murray warned: We face not just a future of ever-greater atomization, rage and violence, but a future in which the possibility of a backlash against all rights advances including the good ones grows more likely. A future in which racism is responded to with racism, denigration based on gender is responded to with denigration based on gender. At some stage of humiliation there is simply no reason for majority groups not to play games back that have worked so well on themselves. (p. 9) This stifling social justice ideology now predominates at American universities. Professor Kindsvatter's alarm should concern all citizens: I just couldn't believe that someone would denigrate another person by their race in such a crude way on a progressive campus. I know it happens in society, I just didn't expect it to happen in my workplace. I was also aware though that it wasn't OK to speak up about it[.] ... I never expected the concept of whiteness to endure because it's so obviously discriminatory, but not only has this ideology endured in the University, it has flourished[.] ... Do you see how clever this ideology is at protecting itself? It makes it impossible to dissent from on pain of being labeled a racist[.] In response to these criticisms, a group of UVM students called "Sisters of Color" launched a petition demanding Professor Kindsvatter resign, claiming: His most recent video, "Racism and the Secular Religion at the University of Vermont" is harmful to our campus' community of color. His demands to remove anti-racist work done by administrators on the basis that it "reduces his identity to his race" defends his privilege and denies accountability that campus groups have spent years advocating for. Predictably, these "students of color" demonstrate precisely the "impossibility of dissent" that this honest professor warned of: Claims of being "suppressed" for his "moderate views" are unsavory and asinine the first step towards any kind of progress on campus is through accountability and having honest discussions[.] ... Having conversations around anti-racism and acknowledging the role of whiteness in systemic racism has been supported by every department on campus, as it is rooted in our campus' common ground values. Speaking out against this work is harmful when you cannot hold yourself accountable and begin practicing good allyship. This video is particularly harmful towards the community of color through his calls to organize. (Translation: "Only after indoctrination may you express an accordant opinion.") The students also display the mentality of "anyone who disagrees with our racist classification of people is a racist": A UVM faculty member, especially one who teaches courses in counseling, should not hold this ideology employed by white supremesists [sic]. The freedom of free thought is not what is being restricted here, it's the fact that Aaron Kindsvatter is using his position of power and authority as a platform for spewing these ideologies. Fortunately, supporters of Professor Kindsvatter have created a rebuttal petition, encouraging more "freedom of free thought." "Social justice" ideology employs layers of circuitous pseudo-logic to call its racist identification system anti-racist, to call unfairness equity, to label constitutional guarantees as white supremacy, and to silence dissenting speech as a necessary precondition for "progress." Opposing such toxic nonsense is the responsibility of not just conservatives, but intelligent Americans of any stripe who affirm the Bill of Rights. Image: Aaron Kindsvatter via YouTube. [March 18, 2021] The Hartford Confirms Receipt Of Unsolicited Proposal The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) today confirmed that it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB) to acquire The Hartford. The Hartford's Board of Directors is carefully considering the proposal with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors. The Board of Directors is committed to acting in the best interests of shareholders over the long term. About The Hartford The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @TheHartford_PR. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. For additional details, please read The Hartford's legal notice. HIG-C Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-Q, and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued. From time to time, The Hartford may use its website and/or social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook (News - Alert) , to disseminate material company information. Financial and other important information regarding The Hartford is routinely accessible through and posted on our website at https://ir.thehartford.com, Twitter account at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR and Facebook at https://facebook.com/thehartford. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about The Hartford when you enroll your email address by visiting the "Email Alerts" section at https://ir.thehartford.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005903/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Press Release March 18, 2021 Villanueva asks gov't to reconsider ban on returning OFWs; 'They are our assets, why treat them like liabilities?' Senator Joel Villanueva appealed to the government to reconsider its ban on returning Filipinos, saying every minute they are stranded overseas, their resources get depleted to the detriment of their families back home. "Every Filipino who had lost his job, on his last money, and had last seen his family years ago, is a kababayan in distress. Huwag po natin antaying magkalkal sila ng mga basura para makakain o mamalimos sa tabi-tabi," Villanueva said in a statement as he gears up for another hearing on the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos on Thursday morning. "They need to be brought back home because our overseas offices--undermanned and underfunded--are being overwhelmed by this growing number of stranded workers," he continued. "Huwag na po natin paramihin ang OFWs - Overseas Filipinos Waiting for a flight home. Kung ano man ang naipundar o naitabi nilang pera, unti-unti itong maglalaho sa bawat minutong hindi sila makauwi ng Pilipinas." Villanueva reiterated the importance of following quarantine protocols to ensure that no COVID-positive individual brings home the disease unwittingly, and the proper conduct of contact tracing to track down persons who had exposures with COVID patients. "I understand the risk that we currently have and the danger of spreading COVID. But I don't think banning Filipinos from coming home to their family is the solution. This is the most inhumane act we can do to our fellow Filipinos. Again, this requires using simple and tested approaches: strict quarantine requirements, effective contact tracing, and quick-roll out of the vaccination program," Villanueva pointed out. Villanueva said the IATF memorandum that would maintain a "humanitarian air bridge" for OFWs was welcome but more needs to be done to ease the sufferings of OFWs. Included in the exemptions to the government order issued on Tuesday are holders of the 9C visa or Seaman's visa, medical repatriates and their escorts, distressed returning overseas Filipinos, and emergency, humanitarian, and similar cases as approved by the IATF. Villanueva's Senate labor committee resumes today, March 18, its public hearing into the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos, which seeks to streamline all services for overseas Filipino workers and migrant Filipinos abroad. 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. Country after country is pulling out from the AstraZeneca vaccine scheme as reports of blood clots stain the company's efforts to combat COVID-19. However, three other COVID-19 vaccines have received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so far: Pfizer's, Moderna's and Johnson & Johnson's. Let's take a look at how they compare to one another: Astrazeneca, how does the vaccine work ? The AstraZeneca vaccine uses adenovirus-vectored technology. This is a harmless, modified version of a common cold virus that usually spreads among chimpanzees. This altered virus can't make you sick, but it carries a gene from the novel coronavirus' spike protein, the portion of the virus that triggers an immune response. This allows the immune system to manufacture antibodies that work against COVID-19, teaching your body how to respond should you become infected. In other words, AstraZeneca's vaccine mimics a COVID-19 infection without its life-threatening side effects, according to the company. The reason researchers chose a chimpanzee adenovirus is that the modified virus needs to be new to the people being vaccinated, otherwise the body won't create those all-important, unique antibodies. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine also relies on similar adenovirus-vectored technology. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, meanwhile, rely on mRNA technology, which essentially introduces a piece of genetic code that tricks the body into producing COVID-19 antibodies, with no virus required. Both approved vaccines require two shots spaced about a month apart. Covid Vaccine: storage and distribution The vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are the easiest to transport so far - they can be stored for up to six months between 2C and 7C, which are normal refrigerator temperatures. The Moderna and Pfizer options, however, must be stored at sub-zero temps until they're ready to be used, at -20C and -34C respectively. The mRNA tech is relatively more fragile, meaning it must be kept at much lower temperatures to remain effective and stable. Why certain vaccines need to be so cold Higher storage temperatures could make distribution much easier. "A clinic, a nursing home, or even [regional] health departments may not have freezers that can hold things at -34C," says Kawsar Talaat, M.D., an infectious disease doctor, vaccine researcher, and assistant professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University. Being able to use a typical fridge "allows time for distribution, allows the vaccine time to get to more rural areas, [and allows vaccines] to be kept at a clinic for a longer period of time." Cost AstraZeneca's vaccine is estimated to cost U.S. providers about four dollars per dose, per a 2021 BMJ report. Pfizer's costs about 20 dollars per dose, Moderna's costs between 25 to 37 dollars per dose, while Johnson & Johnson's costs about 10 dollars per dose, according to Forbes. Vaccine side effects All four vaccines' side effects are similar. These include potential injection site pain and flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, headaches, and muscle pain. However, at least 10 European nations and Thailand either slowed or suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations on March 12 after sporadic reports of blood clotting in people who had received the jab. The European Medicines Agency insists that the vaccine is safe, citing 30 reported cases of blood clots among five million people given the AstraZeneca vaccine across Europe. It is unclear if the events are related, and more research is needed to confirm direct causation. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends continuing with inoculations while the concerns are investigated as a precautionary measure. Overall efficacy The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have a slight edge in efficacy; both report being about 95 percent effective against COVID-19 after the second jab in clinical trials. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was found to be 85 percent effective against severe forms of COVID-19, which prevents hospitalization and death, per the FDA. The company's Phase 3 trial also reported no COVID-19-related deaths and no COVID-19 cases requiring medical intervention after 28 days in vaccinated participants. AstraZeneca's own study found its vaccine is 76 percent effective against COVID-19 for up to three months after just one dose. It also appears that the vaccine becomes more effective with a longer wait between doses; infections were less likely among those who received their booster more than 12 weeks after their initial shot compared to those who received theirs less than six weeks after. More research is needed to confirm the significance of these findings, however. Efficacy against variants Pfizer maintains that it has "not seen any evidence that the circulating variants result in a loss of protection," while Moderna says initial data shows that its vaccine "provides neutralizing activity against variants of concern". Johnson & Johnson's global Phase 3 trial was completed amid the spike in variants. Its study found that the vaccine's efficacy dropped in South Africa, presumably due to the B.1.351 variant that has dominated the region. That said, it still provided worthwhile protection in South Africa: 64 percent efficacy after 28 days, which is in line with the annual flu shot's protection. South African research on the AstraZeneca vaccine, conducted in roughly 2,000 people, found an under-25 percent efficacy against mild and moderate illness from B.1.351, failing to meet the threshold for approval. As a result, South Africa stopped offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to its citizens, instead turning its attention to Johnson & Johnson. Which COVID-19 vaccine is the best? "The best vaccine is the one that's offered the day you go in for your appointment," says Andrew Thomas, M.D., chief clinical officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. "The best vaccine is the one that's offered the day you go in for your appointment," Andres Thomas, M.D Chief clinical Officer In the meantime, it's likely "that all the manufacturers are working on making their vaccines more stable at easier-to-manage temperatures," Dr. Talaat explains. Similarly, manufacturers are working toward greater protection against new variants. As their formulations change, their pros and cons will, too. BACKGRID Kristin Cavallari is relaxing in Cabo San Lucas! The reality star, 37, was spotted on Wednesday relaxing in the sun while on vacation in her "second home," as she dubbed it on Instagram. In the photo, Cavallari is sporting a skin-baring black swimsuit with two large cutouts in the front. Cavallari revealed she was in Cabo on Tuesday, posting a photo smiling in front of a souvenir shop. "You know the saying 'what happens in Cabo, stays in Cabo,' " she captioned the photo. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. RELATED: Kristin Cavallari Seen with Jeff Dye as Source Says They're 'Not Exclusive': 'She's Having Fun' In another photo from the trip, Cavallari wrote: "Freedom. It feels really damn good." Cavallari shares three kids with ex-husband Jay Cutler sons Camden Jack, 8, and Jaxon Wyatt, 6, and daughter Saylor James, 5. The pair announced their split in April 2020 after 10 years together. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Earlier this month, the mom of three spent some time in Tennessee with her BFF, celebrity hair colorist Justin Anderson, and she brought Saylor along for the trip. The best friends posted several beautiful photos from their trip to the mountains, including a snap of the two embracing, captioned: "R & R with my bestie." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. RELATED: Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler Are Both 'Single' Despite Photo Sparking Rumors of Reconciliation, Source Says Last month, Cavallari and comedian Jeff Dye continued to spark dating rumors after they were caught grabbing lunch and coffee together while she was in Los Angeles filming an upcoming appearance on MTV's The Hills: New Beginnings. A source told PEOPLE that she and Dye are keeping it casual, adding Cavallari is still "single" following her divorce. "She's having fun and enjoying dating," the source says, adding of Dye: "They're still hanging out, but it's not exclusive and he's not her boyfriend." Cavallari was first linked to Dye after they were spotted kissing at a Chicago bar last October. Since then, the pair has continued to spend time together and took a trip to Mexico in December. There appears to be no end in sight for the indiscipline among many motorists on the Accra-Tema Motorway. On the 19-km motorway on a daily basis, some motorists defy warnings to engage in activities that threaten lives and properties. For three days (March 10 - 12, 2021) when the Daily Graphic monitored activities on the countrys only motorway as a follow-up to a similar exercise in December last year, it observed that the illegal activities along the route were still ongoing. The indiscipline, in the form of road diversions, illegal U-turns, illegal bus stops, dumping of refuse, farming, dangerous driving, among others, was mainly perpetrated by drivers, slum dwellers, tricycle riders and farmers. The results associated with the illegal activities include pedestrian knockdowns and car crashes. Burgeoning slums Along the motorway, burgeoning slums and shanty towns with unacceptable living conditions for their residents could trigger humanitarian crises in those areas. Slum dwellers have converted the bare land serving as a buffer between the motorway and the settlements into vegetable farms. One of the farmers, who admitted engaging in a risky activity along a busy highway, said he had been operating there for a few months without any trouble and was hopeful that he would not face any danger. Asked how he came by the land, he said it was leased to him by some slum dwellers who first started farming on the land some years ago. Caught in the act At a point, the Daily Graphic saw a taxi enter a ditch when the driver tried to use an illegal U-turn which had been barricaded with galvanised pipes to enter the Accra-bound side of the motorway from the Tema end. Most of the galvanised pipes used to barricade the illegal U-turn spots had been broken down, allegedly by recalcitrant drivers who insist on using such illegal turns on the motorway. Wrong parking It was also observed that fully loaded trucks had parked along the shoulders of a segment of the busy motorway. At least 15 trucks were parked along the shoulders, either to get faults fixed or for the drivers to take a nap. Most of the trucks were carting transit goods from the Tema Port to landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali. An illegal route that was created close to the KICC Bus stop - an illegal bus stop - which had caused an accident when the Daily Graphic visited the area last year was closed with rocks. However, trotro drivers were still stopping at the illegal bus stop to pick and drop passengers. An Okada rider, Mr Promise Dakey, who claimed to have helped in blocking the illegal road close to the KICC Bus stop about a month ago, said accidents at the spot had since reduced. Before it was blocked, every day you heard of an accident at KICC, but since we blocked that road, accidents have reduced; but you can see the drivers are trying to create other routes, he said. The situation on the highway, he said, needed urgent government attention to bring lasting solutions to the indiscipline activities. Tricycle menace Also observed on the entire stretch were some drivers who used the shoulders of the road to jump traffic, in contravention of the Ghana Highway Code. Some tricycle riders also drove on the wrong side of the expressway, inconsistent with their speed, thereby compelling other vehicles to do wrongful overtaking. A few others were also seen trying to create unapproved U-turn spots and criss-crossing the highway with loads of refuse or consumables. Tricycles, popularly called borla taxis, carrying refuse moved at tortoise pace towards the Tema end of the motorway. Commercial activities Commercial activities, including hawking and makeshift workshops, had sprung up along both sides of the motorway. Right at the entrance of the motorway close to the Accra Mall were food vendors and a vulcanising workshop operating permanently under a sign post: No Hawking. Around the under bridge, commercial activities were brisk and rubbish were being burnt just on the shoulder of the motorway. It was also a spot where trotros stopped indiscriminately to pick passengers. The Daily Graphic saw a policeman who had arrested a trotro driver at the spot. This car has been arrested; the rest are all doing the wrong thing but I am the only one here and so its difficult, the policeman said. Reaction When contacted, a source at the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) told the Daily Graphic that the motorway had outlived the purpose for which it was constructed in 1964, and that had contributed to some of the acts of indiscipline witnessed on it on a daily basis. "When the motorway was first constructed, there weren't people living along it and it was not meant to serve such huge traffic, but now the motorway needs to be redesigned to check some of these indiscipline acts. I know that financing arrangements will soon be made for contractors to begin work on it, so we can expect to see some improvement in terms of the conduct of users of the road when the redesign works are done," the source said. Already, it said, the contract for the design and construction of the motorway from the Tema Interchange through the Apenkwa Interchange to the Neoplan Junction in Achimota had been awarded to the engineering firm, Mota-Engil, Engenharia E Construcao Africa SA. In the meantime, it said, the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service would be put on high alert to monitor the situation on the motorway to arrest and prosecute offending road users. 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 POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested a suspected 56-year-old fraudster who went on shopping sprees using cloned bank cards, fleecing companies and members of the public of over $500 000. James Malolo from Emthunzini suburb was on Wednesday found in possession of 78 active Zimswitch cards belonging to various corporates and individuals which he has allegedly been using to lavishly shop at supermarkets and wholesale outlets. Card-cloning is the duplicating of bank cards by criminals after acquiring information contained in the magnetic strip of the card. Normally, criminals will have a copy that they use to make transactions and the owner of the card may only find out when money suddenly starts disappearing from their account. Card cloning has become rampant in Zimbabwe as syndicates are taking advantage of the uptake of plastic money by business organisations and members of the public. Fraudsters need to distract victims for a fraction of a second to put their ATM cards through a card skimming machine to make duplicates. Malolo ran out of luck on Tuesday when a woman based in Harare was tipped off by an alert till operator at a wholesaler in the city, that someone had just used her banking details to make a $12 000 transaction. Upon verifying and looking at the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, the wholesaler identified Malolo as the culprit and realised he was a regular customer. Malolo went back to the same wholesale on Wednesday which led to his arrest. Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube yesterday said police have linked Malolo to a number of ATM card scams including a similar case where Nyaradzo Funeral Assurance Company lost $203 673 after someone mysteriously swiped for groceries and withdrew cash earlier this year. Insp Ncube said members of the public who got unexplained deductions from their banks should approach the police in case they are Malolos victims. He applauded members of the public for helping police with information that led to Malolos arrest. Police officers in Bulawayo from the Commercial Crimes Division based at Drill Hall, received a tip-off that there was a person who was in the business of cloning cards. The man is originally from Hwange and was caught after using a card belonging to a woman in Harare, said Insp Ncube. He is linked with four other crimes that we have confirmed and upon searching him, our members recovered 78 cards which we are yet to establish if they have been used to commit crime. Insp Ncube said Malolo is helping police with investigations and will appear in court soon. I appeal to those facing discrepancies in their accounts to visit their banks and study their account to see if there is anything amiss. If they suspect that their accounts have been tampered with, they may approach our offices and we trace in case their cards have been cloned. Insp Ncube said the Nyaradzo incident occurred on December 20 when the accountant at the funeral assurance company gave an ATM card to Genesis Mlala (35), residing at Pumula East, who is the internal security officer in the company, to buy groceries for the kitchen. Upon making a transaction at OK Mart, the card declined due to lack of funds, said Insp Ncube. Investigations were carried out by the company and an online bank statement request revealed that an unknown person swiped using the company ATM card at various shops in the city centre and made withdrawals without company approval. According to the police, 154 cases of card cloning were reported in 2018 and US$200 000 was lost within three months. In 2019 some banks in the country suspended balance enquiry on all POS devices to stem card cloning fraud. Chronicle The issue received bids for 1.36 crore shares as against 1.35 crore shares shares on offer. The initial public offer (IPO) of Suryoday Small Finance Bank received bids for 1.36 crore shares as against 1.35 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Thursday (18 March 2021). The issue was subscribed 1.01 times. The issue opened for bidding on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, and it will close on Friday, 19 March 2021. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 303-305 per share. The issue comprises of 1.90 crore equity shares comprising a fresh issue of up to 81.50 lakh equity shares and an offer for sale of up to 1.09 crore equity shares. Ahead of the IPO, the bank finalized allocation of 55.77 lakh shares to anchor investors at a price of Rs 305 per share, aggregating to Rs 170.12 crore. The bank proposes to utilize the net proceeds from the offer towards augmenting bank's tier I capital base to meet future capital requirements. The listing of the bank is also in line with terms of the RBI in-principle approval, RBI final approval and SFB licensing guidelines, requiring the bank to list its equity shares on the stock exchanges within three years from the date of commencement of business. The small finance bank (SFB) reported a net profit of Rs 54.87 crore and a net total income of Rs 418.20 crore in the nine months ended on 31 December 2020. Suryoday Small Finance Bank is among the leading Small Finance Bank (SFBs) in India in terms of net interest margins, return on assets, yields and deposit growth and had the lowest cost-to-income ratio among SFBs in India in FY2020. It has been serving customers in the unbanked and underbanked segments in India and promoting financial inclusion for over a decade, operating as a Non-Banking Finance Company prior to converting to SFB. The company started operations as an SFB on 23 January 2017 and it was included in the second schedule to the RBI Act on 24 July 2017. Over the years, the bank has diversified its loan portfolio to include non-micro banking loans thereby reducing dependence on micro banking business. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WASHINGTON The Senate approved William J. Burns on Thursday as director of the C.I.A., placing a veteran diplomat in charge of rebuilding morale that eroded during the Trump administration and focusing more intelligence resources on China. Mr. Burns was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate without a roll-call vote. A former ambassador in Russia and Jordan and a senior State Department official, Mr. Burns, 64, is the only career diplomat chosen to lead the C.I.A. (George Bush had served as United Nations ambassador and as the top diplomat in China before becoming the agencys director.) During Mr. Burnss long career, he earned a reputation for careful analysis of national security and foreign policy problems, a talent that helped prompt President Biden to tap him for the C.I.A. post. But strong ties to Mr. Biden and his team may well be Mr. Burnss most important attribute. Former C.I.A. officials say other outsiders with little direct intelligence collection experience but close links to the White House, like Leon Panetta, were effective directors. A close and trusting relationship with the president helps a C.I.A. director win the presidents ear, said John McLaughlin, a former deputy director of the agency. C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945 TORONTO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by Obatan LLC (Obatan) to purchase up to 500,000 Manulife common shares, or approximately 0.026% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of USD$13.00 per share. Manulife is in no way associated with Obatan and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer. Manulife cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below the current market price for Manulife shares. The offer represents a discount of 38.53% and 38.56%, respectively, below the closing prices of Manulife common shares on the TSX and NYSE on March 5, 2021, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of 39.94% and 40.20%, respectively, below the closing prices on the TSX and NYSE on March 17, 2021. Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities. The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price." According to Obatan's offer documents, Manulife shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw their shares at any time before 8:00 P.M. New York City Time on April 13, 2021 by following the procedures described in the offer documents. Shareholders should carefully review the Obatan offer documents and current market price for Manulife shares, and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Manulife shares. Manulife has stock transfer agents providing shareholder services in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These local agents provide services directly to our registered shareholders and can provide information on share account management, direct deposit of dividends, dividend reinvestment and share purchase plans. Please email [email protected] for more information. Manulife requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to Obatan's mini-tender offer for Manulife common shares. About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2020, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 118,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 30 million customers. As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.3 trillion (US$1.0 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.6 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation Related Links http://www.manulife.com [March 18, 2021] H Code and Spanish Multimedia Leader Grupo Vocento Announce Exclusive Partnership H Code, the largest Hispanic digital media company in the U.S., today announces its exclusive partnership with Grupo Vocento, the leading multimedia communications group in Spain. Through this partnership, H Code will represent 100% of Grupo Vocento's inventory in the United States, offering brands and advertisers unparalleled access to Grupo Vocento's leading media properties like ABC, El Correo and Hoy to reach Hispanic audiences. "We are grateful for this partnership with Grupo Vocento as it offers us access to an excellent portfolio of digital properties that have provided significant value to Hispanic audiences. We're looking forward to helping brands tap into this audience with deeper authenticity and precision," says Parker Morse, CEO of H Code. Grupo Vocento accounts for 29.9% of newspaper circulation in Spain thanks to its 12 newspapers with national, regional and local coverage, including ABC.es, the third-largest national general-interest newspaper . Brands and advertisers can now engage with the company's Spanish-speaking U.S. audiences using H Code's premium products, which include display, rich media, video, mobile, native, social/digital channels, as well as creative services. In Digital Vocento counts ith 14 digital newspapers and has a notable positioning on the internet, with an audience of more than 30 million unique visitors at the end of 2020 (Comscore), reaching 86% of the audience. "We're confident that H Code is the right monetization partner that will deliver us the best advertising partners due to their leadership in engaging with the U.S. Hispanic audience. Their leadership in the digital space will be key to helping us continue growing our presence in this critical market for us," says Pedro Obieta Orue, Business Digital Manager at Grupo Vocento. The partnership with Grupo Vocento further strengthens H Code's global leadership within Hispanic digital media and allows H Code to utilize large, engaged U.S. Hispanic audiences and maximize campaigns for brand partners. "Our partnership with Grupo Vocento will give us the opportunity to create elevated digital ad experiences to support their high quality content that will generate significantly more engagement from their audiences. We're excited to partner with them to increase our footprint in digital Hispanic reach," says Pablo Rivera, VP of Publisher Development for H Code. The partnership with Grupo Vocento is H Code's first move in establishing a foothold in Europe. The company has previously secured strategic partnerships with leading Latin American publishers including Mexico-based Grupo Imagen, Peru-based Grupo El Comercio and El Salvador-based La Prensa Grafica. About H Code Founded in 2015, H Code has solidified its place as the largest Hispanic digital media company in the United States. Committed to reaching Hispanic audiences at scale, H Code strives to leverage its learnings, brand equity, and expertise to shape the future of media by unlocking diverse audiences through data and authentic creative and content. Today, H Code's employee base is 84% multicultural, 65% Hispanic/Latinx, and 49% female across its offices in the U.S. and Latin America. Named one of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation by multiple outlets, H Code strategically brings together targetable data, exclusive inventory, authentic creative and custom content, and more to influence powerful Hispanic consumers every day through digital and integrated campaigns. Backed by its proprietary intelligence platform that derives insights from a robust influencer network and the largest Hispanic digital panel, H Code delivers the most impactful, data-driven strategies to effectively reach and influence multicultural audiences online with unmatched authenticity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005037/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Madhya Pradesh bans movement of buses to and from Maharashtra to check coronavirus spread India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Bhopal, Mar 18: The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday announced a ban on movement of passenger buses to and from Mahrarashtra from March 20 in view of the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the neighboring state. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation with municipal commissioners and district collectors, an official said. The government has already advised officials in border districts to place the passengers arriving from Maharashtra in week-long quarantine. Markets and business establishments in the districts which are affected most due to the pandemic, including Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Sagar, Betul, Burhanpur, Khargone, Ratlam and Chhindwara, will remain closed from 10 PM to 6 AM, it was decided during the meeting. Coronavirus cases: Chidambaram says COVID-19 will win the race on slow vaccination drive In Indore and Bhopal cities, night curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM is already in force from Wednesday. The vaccination target will be raised to 5 lakh doses per day by setting targets for each district. Chouhan also said that wastage of vaccine doses was a "national wastage" and it should not happen. Madhya Pradesh on Thursday reported 917 coronavirus positive cases, taking its tally to 2,71,957 while with one more death, the toll rose to 3,894. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 22:29 [IST] 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. If youre looking for a metaphor for Americas immigration policy, look no further than the disconnected pieces of Donald Trumps southern border wall barriers that anyone could just walk right around. The absurdity. The ineffectiveness. The waste of $15 billion and all that national energy that could have gone to dealing with the issue of immigration in an intelligent, comprehensive way. America cant get back the last four years of Mr. Trumps simplistic pandering, or the decades of dead-end debate that did little more than boost the political fortunes and fatten the campaign coffers of politicians cynical and opportunistic enough to milk this issue for all its been worth. But Congress has the opportunity, right now, to finally tackle immigration thoughtfully and effectively. On the table is President Joe Bidens U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which would address immigration from a multitude of angles. It would increase security, with greater use of technology at ports of entry and along the border, better training of border agents, and more focus on narcotics and human smuggling. It would provide a path to citizenship eight years long for millions of undocumented immigrants in this country, including Dreamers who were brought here as children. It would help fund state, local and private programs to promote inclusion and integration, such as English-language instruction and help for people seeking to become citizens. It would reverse anti-immigrant federal policy that runs counter to the nations interests and seek to grow the U.S. workforce by expanding visas, allowing more flexibility in green card policies to address labor shortages, and making it easier for foreign students who graduate from American universities to remain here. At the same time, it includes provisions to protect U.S. citizens from unfair competition. It would take a more humane approach than the harsh tactics of the Trump administration that shamed this nation and drew U.N. condemnation, with proposals to keep families together, expedite requests for asylum, and develop formal guidelines for treatment of individuals, families and children in government custody. And, it would include anti-gang initiatives and invest $4 billion in the economies of Central American countries to address root causes of the surge in migration poverty and violence. We know there are plenty of people and organizations with a vested interest in keeping immigration alive as a divisive political issue, from a right-wing media ecosystem that thrives on appealing to fear and white nationalism to politicians for whom a hard-line stance is both a cheap test of ideological purity and fund-raising gold to the thousands who enlisted in Mr. Trumps anti-immigration hiring spree to the contractors who reaped the $15 billion that American taxpayers not Mexico were forced to spend on the wall that isnt a wall. And we know there are people who remember the broken promises of the Reagan era to address both immigration reform and border security. That was a generation ago. Its time deal with immigration in the here and now, with an approach that doesnt stand as one more monument to failure. However, despite these experiences, he also noticed microaggressions in addition to discrepancies between how he was treated compared to his peers, the statement said. Although Tim did not imagine himself as someone who would run for office, hearing how current students challenges so closely resemble his own, even 15 years after he graduated, he was left with no choice. Tim is now running ... to give voice to underrepresented members of our community and advocate for their needs. 300% record revenue growth Q2 2021 compared to Q2 2020 reflects strong execution Management to host earnings call March 22, after markets VANCOUVER, BC, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Body and Mind Inc. (CSE: BAMM) (OTCQB: BMMJ) (the "Company" or "BaM"), a multi-state operator, is pleased to report its financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2021. Financial results are reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and all currency is in U.S. dollars. Q2 FY2021 Financial Summary: Reported Q2 FY2021 revenue of $6.31 million , a 19 % increase over Q1 FY2021 ( $5.29 million ), and a 300% increase over Q2 FY2020 ( $1.57 million ); , a 19 % increase over Q1 FY2021 ( ), and a 300% increase over Q2 FY2020 ( ); Q2 FY2021 Gross profit of $2.74 million , an increase in excess of 400% over Q2 FY2020 ( $0.53 million ); , an increase in excess of 400% over Q2 FY2020 ( ); Q2 FY2021 Net Operating Income of $0.19 million ; ; Q2 FY2021 Net Loss of $1.15 million ; ; Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $0.66 million *; *; Inventory of $2.22 million as of January 31, 2021 ; as of ; At January 31, 2021 , BaM had $1.17 million in cash and a working capital surplus of $1.13 million ; , BaM had in cash and a working capital surplus of ; Total Assets were $41.44 million and Total Liabilities were $8.93 million at January 31, 2021 ; and Total Liabilities were at ; 108,377,778 common shares were issued and outstanding as of January 31, 2021 (108,827,778 as of March 16, 2021 ). Operational Milestones for Q2 FY2021 and to Date: California: ShowGrow Long Beach dispensary ownership transferred to 100% owned Body and Mind subsidiary to allow consolidation of revenues effective August 28, 2020 ; ; ShowGrow Long Beach dispensary commenced curbside pickup and online ordering purchase options; ShowGrow San Diego dispensary has commenced delivery service in addition to curbside pickup and other on-line ordering purchase options. Nevada: Body and Mind branded products sold through almost all dispensaries throughout Las Vegas and Nevada ; and ; Received approval to expand cultivation canopy. The Company has completed expansion of new cultivation space and new flower rooms are in use providing an increase in cultivation output by approximately 20%; Received cannabis distribution license from the state of Nevada ; ; Worked with brand partner Her Highness to launch their female-focused brand into the Las Vegas market. Ohio: Ownership of The Clubhouse dispensary outside Cleveland, Ohio transferred to a 100% owned Body and Mind subsidiary to allow consolidation of revenues effective September 4, 2020 ; transferred to a 100% owned Body and Mind subsidiary to allow consolidation of revenues effective ; Rebranded the dispensary as Body and Mind in September 2020 ; ; Development of the NMG Ohio production facility has advanced with construction expected to be completed around April 2021 . Arkansas: Body and Mind dispensary awarded "Best Dispensary in Arkansas " by Ark420.com; " by Ark420.com; Commenced delivery and online ordering options; Preparation for cultivation ongoing with cultivation team engaged in the final stages of set up with inspection and permitting by local and state authorities scheduled; The facility construction Capex is complete with approximately 3,500 square feet of retail and approximately 6,500 square feet constructed for future cultivation and packaging operations. "Our continued growth is reflected in our strong quarterly results and clean balance sheet as our operations continue to increase revenue, gross profit and EBITDA across our cultivation, production and dispensary platforms," stated Michael Mills, CEO of BaM. "We are seeing increased adoption of our delivery and curbside offerings as cannabis sales across all of our markets show ongoing growth. Our team is working with local and state inspectors for final permits for the Arkansas cultivation as well as finalizing construction of the Ohio production facility. Both these opportunities are expected to add revenue this fiscal year and allow expansion of Body and Mind branded offerings. Our licensing team is advancing applications at state and local levels in our current states as well as applications in new states. Our executive team is active with review of acquisitions and opportunities to continue our growth and expansion." *Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP metric used by management that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management defines the Adjusted EBITDA as the Income (loss) from operations, as reported, before interest, taxes, and adjusted for removing other non-cash items, including the stock-based compensation expense, depreciation, and further adjustments to remove acquisition related costs or gains. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is a useful financial metric to assess its operating performance on a cash adjusted basis before the impact of non-cash items and acquisition activities. The most comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP is net operating income (loss), which was presented above prior to the Adjusted EBITDA figure. The unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the quarter ended January 31, 2021 are available on SEDAR and EDGAR and should be read in connection with this news release. The Company will be hosting earnings call on Monday, March 22nd, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. Participants can dial 1-888-664-6392 or 416-764-8659 and use confirmation number 34426056. A replay of the conference call will be available at 1-888-390-0541 until March 29, 2021. Please use replay number 426056 # View the Body and Mind video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Kv0IspqnY&list=PLpvtfnO6zJVIINtW_tLr3aeIuOpYqJmUR&index=3 About Body and Mind Inc. BaM is an operations focused multi-state operator investing in high quality medical and recreational cannabis cultivation, production and retail. Our wholly owned Nevada subsidiary was awarded one of the first medical marijuana cultivation licenses and holds cultivation and production licenses. BaM products include dried flower, edibles, oils and extracts as well as GPEN Gio cartridges. BaM cannabis strains have won numerous awards including the 2019 Las Vegas Weekly Bud Bracket, Las Vegas Hempfest Cup 2016, High Times Top Ten, the NorCal Secret Cup and the Emerald Cup. BaM continues to expand operations in Nevada, California, Arkansas and Ohio and is dedicated to increasing shareholder value by focusing time and resources on improving operational efficiencies, facility expansions, state licensing opportunities as well as mergers and acquisitions. Please visit www.bodyandmind.com for more information. Instagram: @bodyandmindBaM Twitter: @bodyandmindBaM Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Safe Harbor Statement Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans, "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation of activities, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release. Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. SOURCE Body and Mind Inc. Related Links https://bamcannabis.com/ LONDON Britains speedy Covid-19 vaccination program has been dealt a blow by a delivery delay of millions of doses ordered from India, a setback that illustrates the fragility of global supplies and underscores fears that an exit from the pandemic could be hampered by vaccine nationalism. News of a shortfall that will slow the British vaccine roll out came amid a bitter dispute over supplies between London and the European Union, and a veiled threat from the bloc to use whatever tool is necessary to make sure Europe gets its fair share of vaccines. Although the death toll from Covid-19 in Britain now exceeds 125,000, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outpaced the rest of Europe with a vaccination program that has already provided first doses to more than 25 million people. But that giddying pace is set to slow as a result of the delay in the delivery of about 4 million doses from India, underscoring the extent to which even successful vaccination programs are at the mercy of supply chains. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch. The rise of app-based occupations comes with a lof of flexiblity but also insecurities for workers. Photo: Shuttlestock Nguyen Anh Nam left his office job after three years to join the food delivery team of a technology application. Instead of coming to the office at 8am, Nam now turns on the app at 6am, takes orders, drives to restaurants around Hanoi and delivers food to customers. Instead of working eight hours a day like before, now his working days usually end well after 8pm. However, although the working conditions are harder and more dangerous, he began to make at least twice as much compared to the VND5-7 million ($220-300) from his old job. But the times of good earnings have come to an end. Since the pandemic broke out, the number of people signing up as shippers on food delivery apps ballooned. Now that orders have to be split among more shippers, my income decreased and there is also far more competition than before, Nam said, adding that he is considering switching to a more stable job with comprehensive benefits such as social insurance, paid leave, salary, and bonuses. We must have orders to make money. This job is very passive and there is no labours commitment between the employee and the employer. It is not a long-term job, he concluded. Difficulties for platform workers Digital platforms have the potential to create a labour revolution as the trend of freelance, autonomous, and non-traditional work is expected to accelerate. The platform economy has already taken a robust size across the globe with a significant portion of the workforce employed. Figures from US Foreign Policy magazine show that as many as 15 per cent of the Chinese workforce (110 million workers) are platform workers, while the figures are 10 and 4.4 per cent for the United States and the United Kingdom. While the expansive growth of the platform industry is indicative of a tech shift in consumption and employment and is often highlighted as a trend, its rise has far less positive implications on social welfare. According to the World Employment and Social Outlook 2021 report of International Labour Organization (ILO), workers on digital platforms have to deal with the unique working conditions, the irregularity of work and income, and the lack of access to social protection, freedom of association, and collective bargaining rights. Working hours can often be long and unpredictable. Half of online platform workers earn less than $2 per hour. In addition, some platforms have significant gender pay gaps and the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed many of these issues. The new opportunities created by digital labour platforms are further blurring the previously clear distinction between employees and the self-employed. Working conditions are largely regulated by the platforms terms of service agreements, which are often unilaterally determined. Algorithms are increasingly replacing humans in allocating and evaluating work, and administering and monitoring workers, the ILO wrote. The organisations director-general Guy Ryder added, The new challenges they present can be met through global social dialogue so that workers, employers, and governments can fully and equally benefit from these advances. All workers, regardless of employment status, need to be able to exercise their fundamental rights at work. New challenges Nam is just one of millions of Vietnamese people working via digital platforms, who are day-to-day struggling with the same issues. The lions share of platform workers is involved in transport and goods delivery on popular applications. During the first half of 2020, Grab staff were encouraged to take unpaid leaves or reduce working hours during the day to avoid staff cuts. However, the platform was still forced to cut its global workforce by 5 per cent. Additionally, human resources experts also warn that the growing number of people opting to become shippers can negatively impact their future employment prospects and have a detrimental impact on the general employment market. Tran Anh Tuan, vice chairman of the Association of Vocational Education in Ho Chi Minh City explained, Many with higher education are working as ride-hailers and waste years of education. If they found the right job or established their own startup, they would surely make more money and achieve more than driving around the narrow streets. WASHINGTON Connecticut will receive $107 million in new federal funding to increase coronavirus testing in public K-12 schools, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday, as the Biden administration floods schools with money in an effort to restart classroom learning across the country. The new testing money will flow to the state Department of Public Health by early April, but information was not available Wednesday on how it will then be used or distributed to individual school districts. The testing money comes on top of more than $1.1 billion that the U.S. Department of Education is sending to Connecticut primary and secondary schools to push school reopening. Its part of billions in federal relief money flowing to the state from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that President Joe Biden signed into law last week. These funds from the American Rescue Plan and the extraordinary steps the Department is taking to get these resources to states quickly will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom and stay there, and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education and former Connecticut Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona said. As of March 8, about 61 percent of Connecticut schools are teaching fully in-person, said Peter Yazbak, director of communications for the state Department of Education. At least a few Connecticut school districts including Middletown and East Haven have offered some coronavirus testing on site, but its unclear how widely available COVID-19 testing is at public schools in the state. The Department of Education referred questions on the subject to the Department of Public Health, which did not answer. The Connecticut Education Association, the states teachers union, also did not have data to share. Mandel Ngan / AP The Connecticut Education Association has called for all schools, with state assistance, to provide regular COVID-19 testing of students and staff to check for both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Teachers and school staff have been able to get priority access to other coronavirus testing sites in Connecticut through an initiative set up by the state. Biden has set a goal of having a majority of schools reopen for in-person learning five days a week by April 30, Bidens 100th day in office. To help schools reopen, fight learning loss and shoulder other new expenses, the American Rescue Plan is pumping an unprecedented amount of money into public schools using Title I, a formula that supports schools educating low-income students. Biden has encouraged states to prioritize vaccinating teachers and school staff, which Connecticut has done. The CDC has issued new guidance for school reopening and is re-evaluating whether three feet of physical distancing not six might be sufficient in schools when all students are masked. The CDC is promoting and funding increased coronavirus testing in schools as one strategy to help more classrooms stay open. In addition to ensuring diagnostic testing of symptomatic and exposed individuals, serial screening testing will help schools identify infected individuals without symptoms who may be contagious so that prompt action can be taken to prevent further transmission, the CDC said announcing the new funding awards Wednesday. We know that testing works. We know that it works to identify cases and slow the spread of COVID, said Carole Johnson, White House coronavirus testing coordinator. We look forward to working with schools to implement this exciting new program. Cardona visited a Meriden elementary school in early March with first lady Jill Biden to highlight strategies helping schools teach safely during the pandemic. emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson In early 2019, industrialist Sanjeev Gupta was trying to secure his biggest prize yet: a deal to buy a string of steel plants across Europe from ArcelorMittal. There was just one problem: he was struggling to find the cash. The European Commission insisted he invest more of his own money - and take on less debt - before it would approve the purchase. For Gupta, as on so many previous occasions, the answer came as a creative solution from financier Lex Greensill. Industrialist Sanjeev Gupta has assets dotted across the world. Credit:Bloomberg Greensills company extended hundreds of millions of dollars of credit to Guptas businesses based on the inventories at his Australian assets. Problem solved, a few months later the ArcelorMittal deal was done. The tale of Guptas acquisition of the ArcelorMittal assets illustrates how the British-Indian entrepreneur built his empire by shuffling cash from one part of his business to another. The reporting, based on corporate filings spanning Australia, Singapore and the UK, and interviews with two people with direct knowledge of the deal, suggests his ascent relied on clinching one deal after the next, raising new financing at every stage, and thus piling debt on top of debt - much of it from Greensill. Drag doesnt happen in a vacuum. Its an art form that thrives on stage and in front of an audience two things that have been hard to come by during the pandemic. Drag doesnt happen in a vacuum. Its an art form that thrives on stage and in front of an audience two things that have been hard to come by during the pandemic. This weekend, Synonym Art Consultation will create a virtual stage to showcase Winnipegs queer arts and drag community with its first-ever GORGE Festival. The free two-day event is supported by a Safe at Home grant from the province and will feature 31 live and pre-recorded drag performances, concerts, karaoke, bingo, panel discussions, storytelling and interactive workshops. BNB Studios Local drag queen Peppermint Phattie and musician Ami Cheon perform a karaoke duet. Festival co-founder Andrew Eastman says the variety of programming is a reflection of Winnipegs distinct and diverse drag scene. "Other cities that Ive visited (drag is) based on a fame model, where artists are kind of climbing on top of each other to get to the top," he says. "I think Winnipeg does stand out as a really strong community-based drag scene that serves to lift everyone up. BNB Studios Winnipeg drag queen Cheron Sharelike records a perfomance for the GORGE festivals Drag Brunch event at Chips Vintage store. "Its not just about performances in nightclubs we also have performers reading books for children, we have performers doing workshops about craft-making." Levi Foy, who performs as local drag queen Prairie Sky, is the co-curator of GORGE. He sees the festival as an opportunity to share Winnipegs "gritty, cosmopolitan, unabashedly raw" drag scene with a wider audience. "Most peoples engagement with drag is through a kind of awful representation of what drag is supposed to be through RuPauls Drag Race," he says. "Its awful because its so prescriptive and its often very myopic about what drag can be and I think at the local level weve always had our own interpretations." The idea for GORGE has been simmering for a while. Last year, Synonym hoped to host a live drag festival but had to press pause for obvious reasons. Launching the inaugural event virtually has been a blessing in disguise. BNB Studios From left: Nader, Maribeth (Kilusan) Tabanera and Jen Otisi present Learn to Vogue this Saturday during the festival. "We probably wouldnt have focused as much on the video aspect of the project, and thats actually turned out to be a huge asset for a lot of these performers," Eastman says. "A lot of them only have videos of themselves like on an iPhone, in a nightclub so were able to provide these really professionally shot and edited videos that they get to use in furthering their career." Foy is hosting Sundays drag brunch and bingo events. Working with a film crew from Winnipegs BNB Studios helped take away some of the stress associated with virtual drag shows during the pandemic. "Its left those of us who do not want to be as technologically savvy kind of in the dark," he says. "Learning new technologies or doing drag on those types of platforms is very challenging." Being able to perform to a live audience albeit a very small one on set was a major highlight of filming. Foy prefers hosting events to other forms of drag because it allows him to engage with other performers and audience members. BNB Studios Samuel Collett, left, and Miss Assuma Gender host a virtual craftmaking workshop on Sunday. "I can do my makeup in my room and put on a nice wig and maybe go to a photo shoot, but for me thats not the appeal of drag," he says. "Ive used drag as an opportunity to build connections with people." Most GORGE Festival performers and presenters are from Manitoba, save for American rapper Big Freedia, who will join local activist Mahlet Cuff in a conversation hosted by The Uniter Speaker Series. In the future, Synonym hopes to expand the event with more out-of-town artists. eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market: Information by Disease Type (Systemic Autoimmune Disease and Others), Localized Autoimmune Disease (Dot Blot, and Line Blot), End-User (Hospitals, Diagnostics Centers), Global Forecast till 2023 Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market Overview Market Research Future (MRFR) confirms that the autoimmune disease diagnostics market size can expand at a decent rate of 7.6% over the appraisal period (2018 to 2023). We will provide COVID-19 impact analysis with the report, along with all the extensive key developments in the autoimmune disease diagnostics market post the coronavirus disease outbreak. One of the top concerns for the government since the COVID-19 outbreak is the excruciating requirement for screening and testing a vast pool of individuals for the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, there has been a significant shortage of diagnostic kits for testing of the novel coronavirus virus. Diagnostics virology firms are faced with a lot of pressure to supply effective testing kits, with the demand for point-of-care or in-vitro testing by labs growing at a rapid pace. The autoimmune disease diagnostics market will also face challenges in the form of rising focus of the healthcare industry on the pandemic instead of other diseases, the worldwide lockdown that restricts peoples mobility and the shutdown of manufacturing units and disruptions in supply chains. Request Free Sample Copy of the report Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market Research Report Global Forecast till 2023 at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6715 However, the rising number of supportive government initiatives that strive to spread awareness about various autoimmune diseases can be favorable for the global market in the upcoming period. Well-known organizations such as Cooperative Study Group for Autoimmune Disease Prevention, North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium and the Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence are deeply involved in boosting the knowledge level of medical professionals as well as patients with regard to efficient diagnosis and treatment. In a nutshell, the growing efforts by these organizations and the government and the resultant surge in the awareness level amongst people concerning such diseases will contribute majorly to the market expansion. Escalation in technological innovations along with lab automation rates could also trigger substantial market growth. Clinicians are increasingly opting for superior technologies to simultaneously carry out multiple tests with more precise and faster results. Research and diagnostics firms across the world are taking up steps along with government agencies, in light of the alarming rise in the prevalence of autoimmune disorders and the subsequent surge in healthcare spending. Development and introduction of novel and highly innovative products that facilitate quick and efficient diagnosis is one of the top strategies being adopted by top firms to stay ahead in the competitive landscape. To cite an instance, in September 2020, Exagen, a leading developer of tests for diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of autoimmune diseases, launched a novel diagnostic test AAV or ANCA-associated vasculitis. The test is called AVISE Vasculitis AAV and helps measure a series of biomarkers that detect the presence of ANCA antibodies. Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market Segmentation The autoimmune disease diagnostics market has been dissected in terms of disease type, test type, and end-user. The various disease types considered in the autoimmune disease diagnostics market report study are localized autoimmune disease as well as systemic autoimmune disease. Test types studied in the autoimmune disease diagnostics market report are line blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), agglutination, dot blot, multiplex immunoassay, immunofluorescence assays (IFA), counter immune-electrophoresis, western blotting, double immune diffusion, and more. Some of the top autoimmune disease diagnostics market end-users are research laboratories, diagnostics centers, hospitals, and others. Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market Regional Insights Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics market size has been estimated in the MRFR report, taking into account certain primary regions, namely Europe, the Americas, MEA or Middle East & Africa as well as Asia Pacific or APAC. The Americas can most likely be the global leader in the autoimmune disease diagnostics market, on account of the surging cases of as rheumatoid arthritis, fast uptake of modern technologies by the healthcare industry and the rising support from the government as well as private firms. The high prominence of the autoimmune disease diagnostic criteria in the region combined with the large-scale healthcare expenditure prompt the introduction of several initiatives that aim to spread awareness with regard to autoimmune diseases. These initiatives also help bring down the healthcare spending by detecting diseases and disorders at an early stage. Europe will be the second most lucrative autoimmune disease diagnostics market in the following years, given the rising adoption of automation across laboratories and other healthcare facilities and the overall significant growth of the healthcare sector. The growth strategies taken up by renowned vendors in the region generally prove to be effective and help these players in bolstering their global presence. APAC has the potential to garner the fastest growth rate over the coming years, primarily due to the exploding population that observes accelerated cases of autoimmune disorders, and the surge in private-public collaborations for the development of the healthcare industry. Mounting patient awareness level along with the regions increasing unmet patient requirements also work in the APAC autoimmune disease diagnostics market favor. Browse Detailed TOC with COVID-19 Impact Analysis at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/autoimmune-disease-diagnostics-market-6715 Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market Reputed Vendors Some of the highly reputed vendors in the worldwide autoimmune disease diagnostics market are Hoffmann-la Roche, Inova Diagnostics Inc., Trinity Biotech Plc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Myriad Genetics Inc., EUROIMMUN AG, AstraZeneca, Hemagen Diagnostics, Inc., Bio -rad Laboratories, Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, bioMerieux SA, Beckman Coulter, Inc., and more. About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients 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. Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc (Seplat or the Company), a leading Nigerian independent energy company listed on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), is strongly committed to deploying resources and expertise to create and deliver sustainable value to meet the expectations of its various stakeholders through a responsible approach in the management of the Companys Environment Social, and Governance (ESG) imperatives. The Company is committed to driving operational excellence in optimizing benefits to society and minimising the negative impacts of its activities whilst making significant contributions towards sustainable development and pursuing continuous improvements in its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure a better world without losing focus on the future generations. Roger Brown, Chief Executive Office at Seplat said this at the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report presentation made to the Nigerian Stock exchange (NSE) on Tuesday in a virtual session. According to Mr Brown, Seplats sustainability policy is based on the following principles: Commitment to transparent and complete disclosure of our ESG performance; encouraging responsible use of resources energy, water and others; implementing human rights and gender equality; needs assessment of stakeholders to identify appropriate solutions; considering natural and cultural circumstances of Seplats host communities in the implementation of CSR initiatives; and setting science-based targets to deliver on environmental footprint. In addition, the Seplat CEO added: We adopt an inclusive stakeholder management approach; integrate sustainability into our core business model and strategy; embed Sustainability concept and practice companywide; operate the highest standard of corporate governance; leverage on stakeholder engagement in determining materiality; and exhibit a strong belief in our shared Value philosophy. He noted that the Company is strongly driving Nigerias transition to gas, delivering significant environmental, economic and social benefits that support United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. On Seplats response to Climate Change, he said the Company is strongly adhering to its flare out campaign to reduce carbon footprint, and has gone ahead to establish a science-based assessment of our Greenhouse Gases emissions and reporting, adding that SEPLAT is currently investing in new infrastructure and R&D to help capture some of the emissions not previously reported. Mr Brown explained: We are developing a Carbon Calculator for continuous sustainable deployment to highlight the most negative carbon emission activities. Our investments in gas at Oben, Sapele and ANOH is aimed at reducing GHG emissions. Seplat has created a new energy group to manage our midstream gas business and explore the adoption of renewable energy. According to him, Seplats operations impact a wide range of stakeholders; as the Company has continued to deploy proactive and effective stakeholder engagement framework, identify and classify stakeholders and their expectations, build mutually beneficial relationship with stakeholders, engage its stakeholders regularly and consistently, and deliver consistently on our Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) commitments. He explained that Seplat has invested extensively on development of local suppliers, of which over 98 per cent of materials are sourced from Nigeria; adding that: We have a deliberate policy of encouraging local contractors in the award of some jobs. The Company takes the issue of local content delivery seriously. Over the years, Seplat has improved economic empowerment of women and youths with customised empowerment programme; sustained skills acquisition programme for youths in its communities whilst creating jobs and developing local suppliers. The Company has also improved access to quality education through customized CSR programmes, improved community infrastructure development, engaged 534 employees in its Nigerian and UK locations. In his address, Oscar Onyema, the NSE Chief Executive Officer, congratulated Seplat CEO and the Company for the robust achievements and strides in the sustainability journey. The NSE CEO who urged companies to learn from Seplat, said reporting sustainability could help organisations create a sustainable future. Mr Onyema noted that there is a recognised need for enhanced levels of corporate transparency on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), and as an exchange we are well positioned to encourage and even require listed companies to produce better sustainability reports that are issued consistently and with comparable information. On governance, Mr Brown said Seplat operates with the highest standard of corporate governance, with the Board oversight of all sustainability issues and the CSR Board sub-committee having direct oversight of sustainability issues. This is in strict compliance with Seplats corporate governance policy and companywide compliance with the Code of Business Conduct. Also speaking, the Divisional Head, Trading Business at the NSE, Jude Chiemeka, said sustainability is a journey and various companies are in their different stages of achievement and reporting. He said the NSE will continue to promote global best practices as is seen in sustainability reporting, whilst also encouraging companies to do likewise. ADVERTISEMENT The Seplat CEO explained: We respect rights of employees, community people and their culture. We maintain a non-discriminatory posture in recruitment devoid of gender, religion, tribe or other such considerations, and adhere to national and international labour laws and protocols. Commenting on the Companys adherence to best practices, Mr Brown said: We adhere to relevant international standards and protocols such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Board decision from inception on complete and transparent disclosure annually via Sustainability Report, Creation of a new function of Research & Sustainability Department to focus on ESG monitoring and reporting. Shelby Swan adjusts flowers and signs outside Youngs Asian Massage where four people were shot and killed, in Acworth, Ga., on March 17, 2021. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Atlanta Mayor: Hate Crime Charges May Be Appropriate in Massage Parlor Shootings Hate crime charges may be brought in the string of massage parlor shootings in the Atlanta area, the citys mayor said Wednesday. I think whatever the stiffest, most appropriate charges there are, this guy should face those charges. In Georgia, you can be charged with a hate crime. It covers a variety of areas. And I personally think it would be appropriate, but I will defer to the prosecutors to make that determination, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, said during an appearance on CNN. Law enforcement officials earlier in the day said the man arrested for the eight murders, Robert Aaron Long, admitted to committing them. The white 21-year-old suggested his motivations included sexual addiction, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds told reporters. Long also asserts he was not fueled by racism. I think that it is important that we first acknowledge the factI know that many weve received a number of calls about, Is this a hate crime? Were still early in this investigation. So we cannot make that determination at this moment, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said. Bottoms told CNN that she takes the sexual addiction claims with a grain of salt. This is a man who murdered eight people in cold blood. So its very difficult to believe what he says. Its difficult to ignore the fact that many of the victims were Asianall of the victims in Atlanta were Asian, in factand that he targeted these Asian massage parlors. And so Ill leave it up to the prosecutors to determine what other appropriate charges may be warranted as it relates to hate crimes, but its very difficult to ignore that the Asian community has once again been targeted, and its happening across the country. Its unfortunate and it makes no sense in it, it needs to stop, she said. Law enforcement officials confer outside a massage parlor following a shooting in Atlanta, Ga., on March 16, 2021. (Brynn Anderson/AP Photo) Bottoms has said that the suspect was on his way to Florida with potential plans to carry out more shootings when he was apprehended late Tuesday, citing evidence from law enforcement. Cherokee County officers found four women dead in a spa on March 16. Police officers later discovered three deceased females inside a parlor in northeast Atlanta before finding another dead woman inside a business across the street. The group Stop AAPI Hate has already received reports of 503 attacks on or discrimination events against Asian Americans in 2021, as of Feb. 28, after receiving 3,292 such reports in all of 2020. Lawmakers have called on people to stop hurting Asian Americans. We have increasingly seen Asian Americans become targets of hate across the nation, Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) said during a hearing this week. The hate, the bias, and the attacks that weve seen against the Asian American community are unacceptable and they must be stopped. She has a new hunky guy in her life. And on Wednesday Alessandra Ambrosio put her best model foot forward as she ran some solo errands in LA. The Brazilian model, 39, was every inch the fashionista as she picked up coffee to go wearing a stripy sweater and voluminous pants. Famous face: She has a new hunky guy in her life. And on Wednesday Alessandra Ambrosio put her best model foot forward as she ran some solo errands in LA The former Victoria's Secret Angel has been spending time with male model Richard Lee for about a month. They sealed their romance with a kiss on Monday while on a sushi date. The new relationship comes after Alessandra returned to LA following a lengthy stay in her native Brazil with her children Anja, 12, and Noah, eight. Stylish: The Brazilian model, 39, was every inch the fashionista as she picked up coffee to go wearing a stripy sweater and voluminous pants with a wide belt Her new love: The former Victoria's Secret Angel has been spending time with male model Richard Lee, pictured, for about a month. Lee is repped by Wilhelmina and LA Models The model shares her two children with ex-fiance Jamie Mazur. Their relationship ended after 10 years and she moved on with Italian businessman Nicolo Oddi. Now that romance appears to have faded after two years together. It's not known how Alessandra met male model Richard. They stepped out publicly together for the first time in February on a date at Nobu, and they have continued to enjoy hikes, trips to the grocery store, and of course more dinner dates. Dating: Alessandra and Richard first stepped out together publicly in February and have been seen together frequently since then (pictured March 4) Quint Digital Media, which owns and operates thequint.com, has been awarded a contract by Google Asia Pacific to support journalistic efforts to fact-check misinformation about the COVID-19 immunisation process in India. "In terms of Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulation 2015 (the Listing Regulation), we would like to inform that the Company has been awarded a contract by Google Asia Pacific Pte. Limited to support journalistic efforts to fact-check misinformation about the COVID-19 immunization process in India," Quint Digital Media said in a filing to the BSE. In a blog post, Google News Lab News and Information Credibility Lead Alexios Mantzarlis said that the rapid nature of the COVID-19 vaccine development process and the great anxiety caused by the pandemic have made the topic of vaccination particularly susceptible to misinformation. He further stated that journalists can play a fundamental role in supporting an evidence-based discourse by listening to their audiences concerns and providing corrective information about misconceptions that circulate online and offline. To support this work, the Google News Initiative launched a $3 million Open Fund in January. Over a three-week window, we received more than 309 applications from 74 countries. Google News Initiative has selected 11 projects through an extensive review process that included a 17-person project team and an expert jury reviewing the highest-scoring applicants. A broad collaborative project led by The Quint in India will seek to source hyper-local misinformation and distribute fact checks through a grassroots network of rural women, Mantzarlis said. "These projects stood out for their attempt to reach underrepresented audiences, explore new formats for fact checks, and rigorous strategies to measure their impact. Each recipient will be sharing more details on their own channels in the upcoming weeks," he noted. The other projects that were selected are as follows: Africa Check, in partnership with Theatre for a Change, will produce a series of interactive radio drama shows in Wolof in Senegal and Pidgin in Nigeria to present fact checks in a more participatory format. Agencia Lupa will provide COVID-19 vaccine fact checks to a network of community radios covering Brazilian news deserts and work with digital influencers to promote media literacy on the topic. Aleteia, I.Media, and Verificat.cat will work with a scientific committee and two research centers to source misinformation and create a database of related fact checks available in seven languages for Catholic media outlets around the world. Chequeado will continue spearheading the collaborative project Latam Chequea that includes more than 20 fact-checking organizations across Latin America. It will aim to reach senior citizens, indigenous populations, and 18-to-26-year-olds through dedicated formats. The hyperlocal digital site Escenario Tlaxcala, assisted by local doctors, will produce fact-checking content and distribute it across the Mexican state in Nahuatl and Otomi through various formats including by using perifoneo loudspeakers to reach offline audiences. Katadata will provide a platform debunking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and work with the Indonesia Traditional Wet Market Merchants Association (Asparindo) to disseminate this content to wet markets across the country. In Uruguay, la diaria will publish fact checks and co-created content around COVID-19 misinformation, broadening its reach by partnering with trap music performer Pekeno 77 and screenwriter Pedro Saborido. Servimedia and Maldita.es will join forces to create fact-checking content relevant for Spaniards with disabilities, in formats that are accessible to them. Stuff will work in partnership with Maori Television and the Pacific Media Network to fact-check misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine in New Zealand. Univision Noticias and FactCheck.org will work together to produce fact checks about COVID-19 immunization as short bilingual video explainers, with a plan to measure their impact systemically and reach a majority of U.S. Hispanic households. Our goal is for the lessons learned from these initiatives to support our collective understanding of how best to combat misinformation about health topics, whether its through new audience strategies or new approaches to measuring the impact of fact checks. Stay tuned for more updates from us as these projects get underway. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) This article appears in the March 19, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. October 28, 1994 The Coming Fall of The House of Windsor [Print version of this article] Editors Note: These are extensive excerpts from an article that originally appeared in EIR, Vol. 21, No. 43, October 28, 1994, pages 12-16. The full article, and the Special Report of the same title of which it is a part, are available here. In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation. This report documents the fact, that for more than thirty years, Prince Philip has personally directed his World Wildlife Fund in genocide against the population of sub-Saharan Africa. For most of us, that Hitler-like behavior would be grounds to convict the monarchy. However, the relevant strata of the British oligarchy are not like us; they are typified, as an institution, by the common inhumanity otherwise seen among the leading London, Geneva, and Wall Street bankers, financial houses, and the London Economist of today; for reasons to be supplied in the closing section of this report, most such persons probably would not consider genocide directed against darker-complexioned peoples of sub-Saharan Africa sufficient grounds for annoying the Royal Family, let alone toppling it. This report documents also the facts which do affright even the calloused consciences of London oligarchs. The Windsors continue to spread that same mass-murderous, New Age policy which we witness in the World Wildlife Fund operations against Africans, also into the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. This threatens the imminent downfall of a global civilization already racked by the worst financial instability which Europe has seen since the middle of the 14th Century. A continuation of the policies of the Windsors, and also of the corruption-soaked former Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, under such present financial and economic circumstances, can bring on a planet-wide plunge into chaos, taking the London-led international oligarchy down with the rest of us. The Charges Against the Royals Ladies and gentlemen of the readerships international jury, we have brought you to this court to hear charges arising from one of the most monstrous crimes committed in all known human history, a crime perpetrated on a vast scale. We present to you here the evidence, that for the past thirty-four years, since its founding in 1961, a wicked organization, calling itself by such names as the World Wildlife Fund, has engaged in willful genocide against the nations and peoples of the sub-Sahara regions of East, West, and South Africa. We shall prove to you, that throughout all of this period, the kingpin of this criminal conspiracy has been Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, and as Consort to the reigning Queen of the United Kingdom. We show you here, from his own public utterances, that not only has Prince Philip been the titular head of this criminal conspiracy. You will discover that he has played this role with full consciousness of the criminal intent of his organizations policies. We show you here, that he has repeatedly stated his desire to bring about the deaths of countless millions of people, to which monstrous crime he has professed to have been driven by the same quality of motive which impelled the Conservative Revolutions Adolf Hitler: to the purpose of drastically reducing certain human populations of this planet. We show you here the evidence, that he has advocated the policies by means of which this genocide, including that ongoing in Rwanda, has been brought about, In Her Majestys Service, through concerted action of the World Wildlife Fund and the British Crown. We present to you the evidence, that he, by the word of his own hand and mouth, with shameless braggadocio, has adopted publicly many of those programs which the World Wildlife Fund and its affiliates have deployed to bring about against Africans, and also others, that genocide which was the Princes explicit standing instruction and documented intent. This evidence will show that he is personally responsible for this ongoing and attempted genocide against the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, and, also, of other parts of this planet. The evidence shows that this Royal Consort is guilty of this crime not only in his own person, but in his capacity as the designated princely kingpin of this horrible undertaking. There are many other culpable parties: the House of Windsor as an institution; many individual accomplices, simply on their own account; officials of governments such as the [John] Major governments British Overseas Development Minister, Lady Lynda Chalker; wealthy families, in addition to his own; powerful financier and other corporate interests; highly paid officials of well-financed and complicit charitable and other private organizations; and many others: the list reads, as it should, like a summary of the Nuremberg Trials categories of criminals under the rubric of crimes against humanity. It is readily and fairly calculated, that the policy-measures which the Prince and his accomplices have adopted, and are implementing currently would, if allowed, reduce the population of this planet from a current level of about 5.3 billions persons, to much less than 1 billion within about two generations, chiefly through the hyperbolically self-accelerating impact of famine and epidemic diseases of persons, animals, and plants. Under conditions produced as a by-product of such concentrated shock to the collective immune system of all higher forms of life, it is by no means assured that any human beings would exist at the close of the coming century, if the Prince and his accomplices were not stopped, and the policies reversed, now. We might hope such a holocaust were not certain, but we dare not risk that wish; in any case, the Prince, his accomplices, and their evil policies must be stopped now. One must not overestimate the morality of those sections of the oligarchy which are working toward the ouster of the Windsors, of the Thatcherites, or both. From the standpoint of such factions of the oligarchy, the essential crime of the Windsors and the Thatcherites (like the Bush-leaguers in the U.S.A.) is not that the oligarchy has strong objections to the Hitler-like immorality of the Windsors genocidal practices, but rather only the Windsors manifest fanatical stupidity, their decadence. No doubt, many of the eugenicists of the oligarchy view this fanatical stupidity as the result of something like a flaw in the familys genes, whether from Philips side of the family, or to be found already among [Queen] Victorias brood. Put summarily, the world seems headed toward Hell in the proverbial wheelbarrow, and the Windsors (and Thatcherites) wont get off the track of their failed New Age experiments. They appear as a degenerate stage of a species, which is no longer capable of presenting, or tolerating new ideas, at a time that valid new conceptions of policy are desperately wanted. In brief, if our adversary recognizes that his recent strategic reverses are caused by the fact that several of his generals are fanatically stupid commanders, one should acknowledge the fact that this probably correct perception has arisen, but should not fear that our reporting that truth renders EIR in any sense well-wishers of the adversarys cause. Rather, such developments on the adversarys side as the recognition that the current basket of Windsors or Thatcherites may be the proverbial runts of the litter, should warn us not to be misled into any self-deluding scapegoating of Prince Philip. He has been but the defective instrument of a policy-interest which was defined millennia before he was born, and will be a continuing danger for at least the several decades immediately before us, after he is departed. The crime documented in this report is by far the greatest crime perpetrated in all human history: the assured destruction of all civilized human life on this planet, and perhaps, possibly, also a set of wicked actions leading to the extinction of the human species. Since 1961, Prince Philip has supplied a crucial leading role in heading up this global criminal conspiracy, but he did not originate the underlying policy. That policy we trace immediately to the 19th-Century Darwin-Huxley circles and their role in creating the Eugenics network which, among its other productions, sponsored the Hitler dictatorship in Germany, and also its satellite, Margaret Sangers Planned Parenthood organization. Prince Philips role should be seen as continuing that same tradition which produced Hitler earlier, and to carry that criminal tradition to new extremes, of which some television fans might say, To boldly go where no man has gone before. Then, If You Find Them Guilty ... Following our presentation of the evidence against the culpable Prince and his more notable accomplices, we have appended an appropriate sentencing report. That concluding section will provide you jurors a summary of what known human history has to tell us about the origins and nature of the specific quality of criminality which the Prince, the World Wildlife Fund, and their accomplices represent. When you decide how you must judge the perpetrators charged here, we ask that you not lose sight of the setting in which this case is being heard. The evil permeating the criminality of the Prince and his accomplices is very old, as old as the dimly lit fringes of earliest known history. The ultimate enemy is not this unfortunate Prince, but rather that specific tradition of criminality fairly described as oligarchism. That oligarchism is the specific infectious agent responsible for the moral and mental sickness shown by the accused Prince and his accomplices. In selecting a just and prudent course of action in the matter of the ongoing criminality documented here, we must rise above the prevailing decadence of most current international legal and related practice, to cure the problem, rather than, as the victors perverted the post-World War II Nuremberg Trials, seeking to hide our own earlier negligence behind some conspicuous suffering imposed upon inculpated scapegoats. It is shown to us, respecting the character of this moment of history, that the world has tolerated for more than three decades a criminal conspiracy of an enormity already vastly exceeding, in its toll upon humanity to date, the memorable atrocities of Hitlers crew. We do not go so far as to suggest that this signals the onset of an Apocalypse; but, it does symptomize a crisis fairly seen as permeated with an apocalyptical quality. This case expresses the threatened onset of a new dark age, global in scope, echoing, and exceeding in intensity the new dark ages attending the collapse of the Roman Empire in western Europe, and the so-called New Dark Age of Europes 14th Century. In brief, the enormity of the Princes crime, presently coinciding with the threatened imminent disintegration of the global monetary and financial systems, bespeaks the close of a five-hundred-odd-year cycle in the history of European civilization. To the historian, such a spectacle is to be compared only with the numerous earlier, analogous cases of closing periods of dynastic collapse which have characterized the known history of every culture on this planet, prior to the Renaissance advent of modern European Christian civilization. No dynasty, however ancient or powerful, of whatever culture, has ever survived the end of such a dynastic cycle. The Windsors show no talent for becoming an exception to that rule. Such evidence helps the jurors assembled better to understand that this Windsor dynasty were almost certainly turned into a pitied relic very soon, whatever we do or fail to do in this proceeding. Our task is not to punish the Windsors (although we may be hastening their retirement), but rather to act with greater prudence than any ruling culture has shown at the close of any earlier time or place of apocalyptical crisis. Our work here will be rightly judged not by some silly Nuremberg-style sentence we might recommend for the Prince and his accomplices. It is relevant to this admonition, to recognize, from considering how many millions of onlookers have tolerated the nature and scope of the crimes which the Prince has conducted openly, how little enduring good was done, or personal political courage shown by the Nuremberg courts after World War II. The nominally exonerated Schacht, and Auschwitzs von Knieriem, had but recently departed the stage, and the benches at Nuremberg had scarcely grown cold, in 1961, when the Prince and his accomplices launched a scheme vaster and more evil than any yet known to have been conducted or conceived by Hitlers crew. The crimes of the House of Windsor must be seen rightly by this jury, by borrowing the eyes of history. The Princes is a most monstrous crime, but yet, more significantly, the symptom of the terminal sickness of a civilization which has tolerated the conspicuous promotion of such evil policies and agencies. The essence of the matter is that this Prince has been a cats-paw of the decadence of our age, and, in that way, a marker for the onrushing doom of ruling global institutions bereft of the moral fitness to survive. It is that latter sickness, not the mere symptom, to which our justice must address its curative powers. We conclude these opening marks thus: The challenge posed by the evidence set before you, is: Can you, the jurors, be provoked by the horror of the fact that no solution for the collapse of this civilization exists under the presently generally accepted rules of conduct, into discovering the needed radical changes in axioms of policymaking, those changes which might enable humanity to rebuild a ruined society immediately from the ruins of the collapsed dynasty, without living through the intervening nightmare of yet another New Dark Age. The UK medicines regulator has insisted that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe to use and that there is no evidence of a link to the blood clots that have been reported in some recipients of the jab. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19 far outweigh any associated risks. It added that it was investigating an extremely rare type of blood clotting within the brain of five people in the UK who received the vaccine, though no causal link has been made to the jab. These thromboembolic events have also been recorded in Germany and Norway, both of which have suspended use of the vaccine amid ongoing reviews. The MHRA intends to closely assess five reports of men aged 19 to 59 who experienced a clot in their cerebral veins together with lowered blood platelet counts. One of the five has since died. The regulator said it was looking at the cases but stressed the events are very uncommon and there was a possibility they could have been caused by Covid itself. Read more: It said that use of the vaccine, which has so far been administered to roughly 11 million people in the UK, should continue while the five reports were investigated. "The available evidence does not suggest that blood clots in veins (venous thromboembolism) are caused by Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca," the MHRA said. "A further, detailed review into five UK reports of a very rare and specific type of blood clot in the cerebral veins (sinus vein thrombosis) occurring together with lowered platelets (thrombocytopenia) is ongoing." While this condition has so far been reported at a rate of less than one case per one million vaccinated people, the risk of dying from Covid-19 for those aged 40 to 49 is one in 1,000, the MHR said. Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccine safety lead, said: "Where we are now is that no proven causal association with what is still an extremely rare medical event has been proven for the AZ vaccine. "But we do know that these are highly effective vaccines. We still have a huge burden of Covid disease in the population. "So, right now, the balance of benefits and known risks of the vaccine are favourable." Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, suggested that even if a link between the clots and the vaccine was established, the benefits of the jab would continue to outweigh the risk. If we feel that theres causal link then we may need to update the product information, but overall, I dont think that would necessitate pause to any kind of vaccination programme, he said. The MHRA said anyone with a headache that lasts for more than four days after vaccination, or bruising beyond the site of vaccination after a few days, should seek medical attention. France, Spain and Italy along with many other countries are similarly investigating the vaccine after 37 people who received a first dose, out of some 17 million recipients in Europe, later went on to experience a thromboembolic event. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 2 May 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 1 May 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 AP UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach AP UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased PA UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 27 May 2021 White Pelicans in the sunshine in St James's Park, London PA UK news in pictures 26 May 2021 Boats are seen at Southsea Moorings in Portsmouth Reuters UK news in pictures 25 May 2021 York Glaziers Trust employees Kieran Muir (left) and Emily Price (right) remove a stained glass window panel at the start of a new five year, 5m project to conserve York Minsters South East Transept and its medieval St Cuthbert Window PA UK news in pictures 24 May 2021 Dark rain clouds above an oast house at Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst in Kent during one of the rainiest Mays on record, with the UK seeing 131 per cent of the usual months rainfall already PA UK news in pictures 23 May 2021 The Premier League trophy with the Manchester City club colour ribbons on, at Etihad Stadium, prior to the last Premier League match of the season. City will finally pick up the trophy after they won the league on 11 May Getty UK news in pictures 22 May 2021 Gary Kenny lifts the Buildbase FA Vase Trophy after Warrington Rylands won the FA Vase Final against Binfield at Wembley Stadium Getty UK news in pictures 21 May 2021 A family buffeted by the wind whilst crossing the the Millennium Bridge in London, with wind and rain forecast to ravage the UK on the first Friday that people have been allowed to meet in large groups outside in England PA UK news in pictures 20 May 2021 Devon And Cornwall Police Demonstrate Their Skills For Policing The G7 Summit Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 May 2021 An employee stands before a costume for the Queen of Hearts by Bob Crowley on display at the Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London PA UK news in pictures 17 May 2021 Passengers prepare to board an easyJet flight to Faro, Portugal, at Gatwick Airport after the ban on international leisure travel for people in England was lifted following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 16 May 2021 Emergency workers at the scene of a suspected gas explosion, in which a young child was killed and two people were seriously injured, on Mallowdale Ave Heysham which caused 2 houses to collapse and badly damaged another PA UK news in pictures 15 May 2021 Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters let off smoke flares, wave flags and carry placards during a demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause as violence escalates in the ongoing conflict with Israel, in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 14 May 2021 Member of staffs tighten screws and paint a Marlin skeleton, before it goes on display at the Natural History Museum in London, as the museum prepares to reopen to the public on 17 May, following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 13 May 2021 A worshipper at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Mordon, south London, ahead of Eid al-Fitr. The celebration marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting, called Ramadan. PA UK news in pictures 12 May 2021 A couple have wedding photos taken in Westminster, London Getty UK news in pictures 11 May 2021 The sun rises on Coquet Island, off Amble on the Northumberland coast, where as many as 35000 seabirds cram onto this tiny island to breed PA UK news in pictures 10 May 2021 Newly elected for a second term Mayor of London Sadiq Khan during his signing in ceremony at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on Londons Southbank PA UK news in pictures 9 May 2021 People mill around St. Michael's tower on top of Glastonbury Tor as it is seen through blooming yellow rapeseed on a day of mixed weather in Glastonbury, Somerset PA UK news in pictures 8 May 2021 Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford elbow bumps newly elected MS Labour candidates Elizabeth Buffy Williams, Rhondda, left, and Sarah Murphy, Bridgend & Porthcawl Labour, right, as they meet in Porthcawl, Wales PA UK news in pictures 6 May 2021 A group of five Sisters from Carmelite Monastery in Dysart cast their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election at Dysart Community Hall, West Port, Dysart PA UK news in pictures 5 May 2021 Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer (centre) with West Midlands Metro Mayor candidate Liam Byrne (far right) and Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner (far left) during a visit to Birmingham, whilst on the election campaign trail PA UK news in pictures 4 May 2021 Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey stand within 100 oak saplings which form part of a living art installation entitled Beuys' Acorns by the UK-based artist duo, outside the Tate Modern in London PA UK news in pictures 3 May 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie feeds the Gentoo penguins during a visit to Edinburgh Zoo on the campaign trail for the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election on May 6 PA UK news in pictures 2 May 2021 Chelsea players celebrate their fourth goal during the Womens Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, at Kingsmeadow Stadium in south west London. The Blues won the game 4-1, (and the tie 5-3 on aggregate) sending them through to their first Champions League final AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 1 May 2020 Demonstrators during a march through London during a 'Kill the Bill' protest Angela Christofilou UK news in pictures 30 April 2021 Shoppers queue outside Primark in Belfast as shops reopen and hospitality is able to open outdoors in Northern Ireland where lockdown restrictions have begun to gradually ease PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2021 Specialist operators at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, near Telford, Shropshire, clean the Hawker Hunter aircraft displayed within the museum's National Cold War Exhibition, during annual high-level aircraft cleaning and maintenance PA UK news in pictures 28 April 2021 Millions of tulips in flower near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, as Belmont Nurseries, the UK's largest commercial grower of outdoor tulips, offers socially-distanced visits to its tulip fields at Hillington to raise funds for local charity The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2021 Paula Laughton checks one of the newly installed Lego models in the new Lego Mythica land at Legoland Windsor Resort PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2021 A red panda rests on a tree at Manor Wildlife park, which reopened its doors as lockdown restrictions continue to ease, in Tenby, Wales Reuters UK news in pictures 25 April 2021 Sheep climb the hillside as flames from a moor fire are seen on Marsden moor, near Huddersfield AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 24 April 2021 Supporters protest against Manchester United's owners, outside English Premier League club Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 23 April 2021 People enjoy the warm weather at City Hall near Tower Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 22 April 2021 Uyghurs during a demonstration in Parliament Square, London, which is being held ahead of a House of Commons debate, bought by backbench MP Nus Ghani, on whether Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2021 People walk at the Taihaku Cherry Orchard in Alnwick REUTERS UK news in pictures 20 April 2021 People stand in front of anti Super League banners outside Anfield as twelve of Europe's top football clubs, including Liverpool, launch a breakaway league Reuters UK news in pictures 19 April 2021 Women enjoy sunny weather in Greenwich, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, Reuters UK news in pictures 18 April 2021 Stephen Maguire (right) of Scotland interacts with Jamie Jones of Wales during day 2 of the Betfred World Snooker Championships 2021 at The Crucible, Sheffield PA UK news in pictures 17 April 2021 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburghs coffin, covered with His Royal Highnesss Personal Standard arrives by Landrover Defender at St Georges Chapel carried by a bearer party found by the Royal Marines during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle Getty Images UK news in pictures 16 April 2021 Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, checks the teeth of "Dentosaurus" during a visit to the Thornliebank Dental Care centre in Glasgow, as she campaigns ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary Election AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 April 2021 Myanmar's former ambassador to the UK, Kyaw Zwar Minn, outside his residence in north west London. The ambassador has been barred from entering the Myanmar embassy in Mayfair after he was removed from office PA UK news in pictures 14 April 2021 People take part in coronavirus surge testing on Clapham Common, south London. Thousands of residents have queued up to take coronavirus tests at additional facilities set up after new cases of the South African variant were found in two south London boroughs. 44 confirmed cases of the variant have been found in Lambeth and Wandsworth, with a further 30 probable cases identified PA UK news in pictures 13 April 2021 The core of the Milky Way becomes visible in the early hours of Tuesday morning as it moves over Bamburgh Lighthouse at stag Rock in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 12 April 2021 Rebecca Richardson (left) and Genevieve Florence, members of the Aquabatix synchronised swimming team, during a practice session in the swimming pool at Clissold Leisure Centre in north London, which has reopened to the public. Many facilities have reopened in the latest easing of lockdown include pubs and restaurants who can serve outside, non-essential shops, indoor gyms and swimming pools, nail salons and hairdressers, outdoor amusements and zoos PA AstraZeneca said the incidence of such conditions is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar to that of other licensed Covid-19 vaccines. The European Medicines Agency is conducting its own review into the vaccine, the findings of which are due to be announced later today. The MHRAs announcement comes as health secretary Matt Hancock said a batch of 1.7 million doses had been delayed in the last week due to the need to retest its stability. Events like this are to be expected in a manufacturing endeavour of this complexity and this shows the rigour of our safety checks, he told MPs. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) More than three years after ending peace talks with communist rebels, President Rodrigo Duterte is blaming Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sisons supposed health condition for the breakdown. In a speech during a meeting of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Tacloban City on Thursday, Duterte recalled his November 2017 decision to formally terminate negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The group represents the CPP and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army, in talks with the government. Really, I cannot fathom the brain of Sison. However you prick it, wala na e. Dementia or something, Duterte said in the NTF-ELCAC's meeting with the Eastern Visayas regional task force. He keeps on transferring from one topic to another that finally I thought that peace through negotiations sa kanilang liderato hindi pwede so nag-give up na ko (under their leadership has no chance, so I gave up). I tried everything, the President added. Duterte cited the release of peace consultants, including Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, whom he had ordered rearrested following the botched negotiations. Now they are wanted. I do not know where the Tiamzon spouses are, but the last time we had a serious talk in a restaurant, we had dinner and we were talking about peace, and everything was doing all right until the time that Sison and I went down to brass tacks, Duterte said. It was Sison who first said Duterte was mentally unfit to handle the peace talks, accusing the President of sabotage. Both the government forces and the rebels accused each other of ceasefire violations and lack of sincerity. Meanwhile, Duterte has said there will be no more peace talks, even ceasefire with the communist group for the rest of his term. The executive Anti-Terrorism Council has also designated the CPP and the NPA as terrorist organizations pending court proscription. The Duterte administration is now banking on increased military operations and its multibillion-peso Barangay Development Program to clear villages of NPA influence. Dr. Carola Eisenberg, who broke gender barriers as a dean at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School and helped found Physicians for Human Rights, whose campaign against anti-personnel landmines led to a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, died on March 11 in Lincoln, Mass. She was 103. Her death, in a nursing home, was confirmed by her son Alan Guttmacher. Dr. Eisenberg, a psychiatrist, was born with a social conscience. She was descended from Jewish socialist refugees from Czarist Russia and was a native of Argentina, where by her account she was inspired to pursue psychiatry after visiting a mental hospital as a teenager with her father, one of a series of Sunday tours arranged by a socialist newspaper. She was shocked to see hundreds of patients chained to their beds. She went on to blaze a trail in the United States both in human rights advocacy as well as in academia while becoming an outspoken proponent of parity for women in medicine. Dr. Eisenberg served as M.I.T.s dean of student affairs from 1972 to 1978, the first woman to hold that position; she was also the first woman to be named to the universitys Academic Council. From 1978 to 1990 she was dean of student affairs at Harvard Medical School, again the first woman to be named to that office. Entebbe International Airport has registered an increase in the number of commercial aircraft movements per day with an average of 48 in January and Febraury2021. "In January and February 2021, Entebbe International Airport recorded 2838 aircraft movements. On average, the airport used to handle about 89 movements per day in 2019, which reduced to an average of about 39 aircraft movements per day in 2020. The January and February 2021 average is so far 48 commercial aircraft movements per day. The pandemic impacted aviation operations to the extent that commercial aircraft movements reduced from 32,798 in 2019 to 14437 in 2020," explained the Ag. Director-General Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), Mr Fred Bamwesigye, during the visit of the parliamentary committee on physical infrastructure at UCAA headquarters on Tuesday. He added: "While at the beginning (October-December 2020) we allowed only one flight per airline per day since January 2021 two flights have been permitted per airline per day and those with traffic have an opportunity to even increase the frequency. Although initial plans envisaged full resumption of operations in June 2021, this may be achieved earlier than anticipated depending on the availability of passengers. Therefore, we are engaged in all confidence-building measures that will attract passengers back to use air transport." Mr Thomas James Kiggundu, the UCAA board member who represented the board chairman Justice Stephen Kavuma said the revenues from the industries have gone low since it is derived from commercial passenger operations which were halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "This automatically means some operations here have to stall. We, therefore, call upon the government to fill the gaps of the revenue at UCCA," he said. The chairperson of the parliamentary committee on physical infrastructure which oversees the activities of the ministry of works and transport, Eng Robert Kafeero Ssekitoleko, revealed that the parliament appropriated over Shs149 billion in the year 2020/2021 for the expansion and rehabilitation of Entebbe International Airport. "As a committee of parliament, we are here to perform our oversight function to see whether the funds we appropriated and sent to UCAA really did what it was supposed to do. So far so good; they have shown us the new cargo center, new fuel facility, expansion of Apron 1, rehabilitation runway 17/35 which has been strengthened and expanded," he said. Mr Ssekitoleko also noticed the expansion of the departure lounge which is almost ready and promised as the committee that they will appropriate more funds to facilitate phase two which will see the lighting of the runway among other projects. I expect television news reporting to be informed, incisive and investigative. But sadly I am often disappointed. Last weekend was no exception. After the murder of Sarah Everard a feminist group named Reclaim These Streets organised a vigil at Clapham Common. This was said to be in breach of Covid-19 regulations and the group cancelled its event, instead urging people to remember Sarah Everard in other ways. Nevertheless, several thousand people gathered on Saturday night at the bandstand on Clapham Common and the rest has been reported endlessly. Or has it? We were told by reporters people just turned up around 6pm, the time of the cancelled vigil. But was it something that just happened, unplanned and uncoordinated? In fact, earlier that afternoon a collective of radical "direct actionists" called Sisters Uncut tweeted: "Meet at 6pm at the bandstand on Clapham Common." Those attending were told to bring their "rage" and were advised: "Don't speak with the police!" This was the organisation behind the Saturday night gathering and it was able to draw on its membership, with three groups in London and at least a dozen more scattered across England. Not everyone at the gathering was a member of Sisters Uncut, but many were, and many others came in response to its invitation. Yet this organisation received barely a mention in news coverage. Do mainstream television reporters not have access to the internet? Have they never heard of search engines? Even a quick look at the Sisters Uncut website should have raised some questions. Their homepage carries an inspirational quotation by Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army, a Marxist urban guerrilla gang that operated in America during the 1970s. Shakur was convicted of the murder of a police officer during a shoot-out in New Jersey in 1973, but escaped from prison, fled to Cuba and is now on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists. By Sunday afternoon another crowd had gathered in London, with assorted anarchists and Trotskyists on hand to carry the placards demanding "Defund the police", an euphemism for "Abolish the police", while others carried the acronym ACAB, or "All cops are b******s". The murder of Sarah Everard and the events of the weekend raise several issues. The first is that of violence, especially against women, and the factors that contribute to it. The second is about freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, and that includes not only the freedom to protest in public, but also the public freedom to preach and to parade. Freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are basic rights and should be protected. The irony here is that many of those who were demanding the right to assemble were from the "cancel culture" crowd, who would seek to ban or silence anyone who expresses a view contrary to their own. The third is about police tactics and how to police public demonstrations, especially when some demonstrators with an anti-police agenda set out to provoke the police. It is more than half-a-century since the Grosvenor Square riots and police tactics have evolved, but so too have the challenges. The fourth is how such situations are reported and the need for investigative reporting. We know very well, especially from experience in Northern Ireland, of the power of a single photograph to set a narrative. But with 24-hour news, there has to be more to television reporting than that. Finally, the events of the weekend have started a bitter war of words between two feminist factions, with the radical Sisters Uncut being described as "real feminists" and Reclaim These Streets now dismissed as "fake feminists". Yet, that bitter feminist infighting has never made it on to our screens. We should sympathise with the family and friends of Sarah Everard, but we also need a thoughtful conversation about the issues which have been raised by the murder and the subsequent protests. The print segment will generate maximum revenue in the magazine publishing market, owing to the rising number of magazine readers. In terms of geography, APAC will present significant opportunities for market vendors due to the increasing preference for digital magazines among magazine publishers. 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Enquire Before Purchasing Related Reports on Communication Services Include: Global Digital Publishing Market Global digital publishing market is segmented by type (text content, video content, and audio content) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, and South America). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Global Publishing Market Global publishing market is segmented by platform (traditional and digital) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ Sample Report: www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR70350 SOURCE Technavio Related Links http://www.technavio.com/ Pastor Black Releases A.S.K. for Those Seeking Gods Help New book by Pastor Audrey Black aids people waiting for Gods response Many people may have heard the popular lament, God is not answering my prayers. If you or someone you know are in that category, consider reading A.S.K. Ask, Seek, Knock by Pastor Audrey Black. The new book, which Black released earlier this year, aims to help those who think that God is ignoring or refusing to answer their petition. In Blacks opinion, many people are under that impression, but she says it is simply not true. God wants us to have the things we desire as much as we do, but there is a pattern and there are principles that we may not be aware of, insists Black, who co-pastors Canaan Inheritance Worship Center with her husband, the Rev. Owen Black. ADVERTISEMENT Becoming aware of these principles will provide strategies of success and assist us in identifying the ways of God so there is no misunderstanding on whether He hears us. I believe this book will bring encouragement and inspiration, to the point, where we can continue to believe God, says Black with earnest conviction. A.S.K. is an easy read of 101 pages and its full of practical guidance to teach believers how to communicate with God through prayer. The chapters include Asking Amiss, Mix It With Faith, Change the Way You Think, and Understand His Ways. Black also uses everyday examples that readers can relate to along with scriptures that reveal Gods love for His children. For instance, Chapter 2 is entitled, Why Are You Asking and Black urges believers to examine their reasons for making the request. She writes, When you know why youre asking and agree to let God provide your wants in peace, you have no anxiety and your motives are made clear. Also, she cites Bible verses such as Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall nor want to emphasize that God provides for your wants and Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me to remind readers that the Lord will assist you in accomplishing those impossible things while you give Him glory. Explaining that there is a three-step process to obtaining Gods promises, Black says, There is a process to everything in life and that includes prayer. A.S.K. shows us what the process looks like and guides us on how to mix it with faith. It points out ways we could be asking incorrectly in prayer and how to avoid missteps. The book also covers how we must change the way we think in order to understand the ways of God so we may be able to come into agreement with Him when obtaining our desires, she adds as she encourages believers and skeptics to read A.S.K. because it answers many questions we as believers and non-believers have regarding prayer. Even before she wrote the book, Black was practicing the doctrines she espoused in A.S.K. by teaching the principles during her churchs Bible Study. As a result, she said the students responded with enthusiasm and began to increase their faith as well as invited others to attend the classes. ADVERTISEMENT Blacks love of God and His word are contagious to those who are around her. As a youngster, she remembers first hearing the voice of God and how He saved her because she was obedient. During her teen years, other youth would seek her out for instruction about their dilemmas. At the age of, I clearly heard Gods voice without uncertainty. He was warning me not to go to a certain place. My older brother insisted that we continue as planned and the very thing God warned me of came up. I know that it is by the grace of God that I did not become a statistic on that day, says Black. During my years in high school, I purposely remained sensitive to His voice. There were students being delivered at school in the hallways. It was so many in abusive relationships and dealing with life-threatening situations. They would come to pull me out my sixth-period class for advice and without thought I would give it to them, she recalls. As an adult, her relationship with God continues to grow stronger. Also, her desire to help others grows more and more, which probably inspired her to write A.S.K. so she could assist people in having a victorious relationship with the Lord. I believe A.S.K. has information that will give us a head start to seeing all the possibilities God has planned for us, says Black. And when followed, it will cause us to experience the word of God, not only to have life as He promises, but to have it in abundance. A.S.K. is available at AudreyBlack.org or on Amazon.com. Also, Pastor Audrey Black teaches a live Bible Study session on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (PST) on Facebook. 3 1 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 MIDDLETOWN More than 2,700 green industry professionals are donating a full days work Sept. 18 to honor Americas military service men and women as part of Saluting Branches: Arborists United for Veteran Remembrance. This nonprofit organization, which will mark its fourth annual day of service with the largest volunteer event in the tree care industry, will also visit the Connecticut Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, according to a press release. HVAC If you like your cars more unlike any other car out there, youre in the right place. The Consumer Car concept, which was created in 2016 and has been on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, is now being offered on Doug DeMuros Cars & Bids platform. The Consumer defies automotive expectations on purpose. Designed and built by designer slash artist Joey Ruitner, it aims to disrupt. Most of Ruitners work focuses on minimalism and what is left of common things once we reduce them to their most basic. In the case of the automobile, the answer seems to be: a box with wheels and a steering wheel.Based on a 1993 Ford Festiva, the Consumer has a hand-formed steel bodywork, covered with sugarcane-based Xorel fabric. Visually, its a box with hidden wheels, into which you mount by using the hidden steps. The cabin is, again, stripped down to the minimum. You have a steering wheel and the shifter, no gauges, no radio, no, nothing. Seating is for four, and they all get lap seatbelts.The front of the Consumer is a two-side mirror with hidden LEDs. At night, the LEDs shine bright with all their 54,000 lumens, but during daytime drives, the mirror reflects surrounding objects. Having drivers in incoming traffic see themselves and their own vehicles into the two-side mirror must be a commentary of some sorts; we have a feeling that the nature of this commentary is relative to whoever is making it.Power for the Consumer comes from a tiny Mazda-supplied 1.3-liter inline-4 engine, rated at 63 hp and 73 lb-ft (99 Nm) of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.Ruitner sold the car to a dealer in February this year. Right away, Garage Kept Motors listed it , with an asking price of $74,900 (!). It is being offered out of Michigan where, get this, it is road-legal. To that end, it has a taillight, rear license plate holder, and side mirrors. The seller advises that it could be road-legal in other states as well, but verification depends on the buyer.Not that youd want to drive it that much, even if it is. It has no grille to allow the air to pass through to the radiator and no dashboard instrumentation to tell if something is wrong. Still, its a unique piece of automotive art, as attested by its nearly yearlong display at the Petersen Museum , as part of the Disruptors exhibit.As of the time of press, bidding sits at $9,300, with just one day left into the auction. Without putting negativity into the universe, seeing the low level in interest in it compared to the original asking price last month, it doesn't look like the Consumer is about to find a new loving owner right now. The absence of two defence witnesses on Thursday stalled the trial of Ogunyemi Olalekan, a dismissed police inspector accused of the murder of a 36-year-old man, Kolade Johnson. Mr Olalekan, who was attached to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad (SACS) of the Nigeria Police, allegedly shot Mr Johnson in the lower abdomen on March 31, 2019, at a viewing centre in Mangoro, Lagos. He was dismissed from the police days later. During Thursdays proceedings at the Ikeja High Court in Lagos, the defence counsel, Abayomi Omotubora, informed the court that the defence witnesses, who are police officers, were absent. He said they were not in court because they had not gotten clearance from police authorities. One of them said he needs to get clearance from the authorities while the other witness said he did not get the clearance because he is on special duties. One is in Port-Harcourt while the other is in Asaba. I have assurances from them that if the matter is adjourned, they will work towards coming to court, Mr Omotubora said. Reacting, the lead state prosecutor, Adebayo Haroun, told the court that it was the second time the defence would be requesting an adjournment due to the absence of the two witnesses. My lord, this adjournment should be the last one. If the defence have no more witnesses, they should inform the court, Mr Haroun said. The judge, Adenike Coker, adjourned the case until April 8 for the continuation of defence. The defence should make sure their witnesses are in court. The defendant is further remanded at the correctional facility, she said. NAN reports that while testifying in his defence on Jan. 19, Mr Olalekan, who served as a policeman for 20 years before his dismissal, denied killing Mr Johnson. He told the court that on the day of the alleged murder, he was the leader of the team patrolling the Mangoro area and had been issued an AK47 rifle with 10 rounds of ammunition for his duties. According to him, his team had received some intelligence that some cultists were drinking alcohol, taking hard drugs and causing trouble at a viewing centre located in an eatery called Kingston-Jo. He said that on arriving at the scene, he arrested two persons Ismail Folorunsho (first prosecution witness) and Paul (surname not provided). The defendant said that while effecting the arrests, he and his team were viciously attacked by a mob. Folorunsho had shouted that kidnappers have arrested him, the boys were holding iron, cutlasses and pieces of wood. They were shouting olopa ole (the police are thieves). They said they didnt believe we were policemen; I identified myself but they threatened to kill us, Folorunsho was dragging with my boys till he saw me with the AK47. ADVERTISEMENT They refused to listen to me, I noticed someone was dragging my arm away from me, we were surrounded and mobbed. The crowd from Kingston-Jo had joined them. I was the only one holding a gun, I shot once in the air because our lives were in danger and I was hacked in the hand with a cutlass by the cultists. They moved back after the shot and I had the opportunity to move my men. I noticed shots being fired on our way out with the two arrested suspects, he said. The defendant said that he had nine rounds of ammunition left and had to quickly flee the scene with his men because they were stoned by the mob. He also alleged that his team could not withstand the gunshots fired at them by some individuals in the crowd. Mr Olalekan said he was treated in the hospital for his injuries and that the next day, he was informed by his bosses that Mr Johnson had been shot during the incident. He denied being responsible for Mr Johnsons demise.(NAN) Imports to Ireland from Great Britain dropped by more than 900m in January following the end of the Brexit transition period. New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed a 65% drop 906m to 497m in January compared with the same month last year. The beginning of 2021 marked the end of the Brexit transition period, bringing an end to the free movement of goods between Great Britain and EU member states. CSO senior statistician Orla McCarthy said: Traders reported that a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from Great Britain in January 2021. These included the challenges of complying with customs requirements. Other factors identified by traders were stockpiling of goods in Q4 2020 in preparation for Brexit, substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of Covid-19 related restrictions throughout January. The largest decrease was in the imports of live animals, falling by 75% or 187m to 62m. It was followed by mineral fuel imports such as coal and gas, which fell 71% or 139 million euro to 57m. Chemicals, machinery and transport equipment also saw significant drops. Exports to Great Britain also fell, by 14% or 149m to 946. GB accounted for just 7% of exports from Ireland. Trucks pass through a customs post at Dublin Port (Niall Carson/PA) The largest declines were in exports of food and live animals, which fell by 33% or 92m to 188m. Machinery and transport equipment decreased by 106m to 101m, a decline of 51%. But chemicals and related products increased by 56%, up 157m to 437m. Since January 1, all trade in goods with Great Britain is treated as non-EU trade. This brings considerable red tape that has caused significant delays for hauliers at ports. During the Brexit transition period, trade rules remained the same as when the UK was an EU member state. However, since that period ended at the beginning of 2021, incoming trade from Great Britain has remained persistently low. Customs officials say Brexit alone is not to blame for this, with high levels of stockpiling and the coronavirus pandemic also contributing. But the Department of Transport has voiced its concerned, saying it would like to see trade volumes pick up quicker. Xavier Becerra, California's Attorney General, is officially Joe Biden's health secretary after the Senate narrowly voted Thursday to confirm the first Latino to hold that position. The 50-49 vote was nearly along party-lines as Republican Senator Susan Collins, a moderate, was the only senator to cross the aisle on the vote confirming Becerra. 'Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS secretary,' the Maine Republican said upon voting to confirm. 'I look forward to working with the department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people.' Other than Collins, all GOP senators voted against and all Democratic senators in favor. except for Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, who did not cast a vote. This confirmation fills a key position in the administration's coronavirus response and its ambitious push to lower drug costs, expand insurance coverage, and eliminate racial disparities in medical care. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was confirmed Thursday as Joe Biden's secretary of Health and Human Services The 50-49 vote was nearly along party lines and was missing one vote with Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono not casting one on Thursday Republican Senator Susan Collins was the only one to cross the aisle to vote in favor of Becerra's confirmation: 'Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS secretary' HHS encompasses health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, advanced medical research, substance abuse treatment, and the welfare of children including the hundreds to thousands of Central American migrants arriving daily at the U.S.-Mexico border. Becerra, 63, has been California's attorney general since 2017. He sued the Trump administration 124 times on a range of policy issues, earning the ire of conservatives. Before that he represented a Los Angeles-area district in the U.S. House for 24 years. A lawyer, not a doctor, his main experience with the health care system came through helping to pass the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and defending it when Donald Trump was president. 'I understand the enormous challenges before us and our solemn responsibility to be faithful stewards of an agency that touches almost every aspect of our lives,' Becerra said recently at his confirmation hearing. 'Im humbled by the task, and I'm ready for it.' He comes from a working-class Mexican American family; his father was in road construction and his mother was a secretary. Leading Republicans have dismissed Becerra as unfit. But the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association supported his nomination. Two influential lobbying groups, representing the drug industry and health insurers, said after the vote that they look forward to a collaborative working relationship. But to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, 'the distinguishing feature of this nominee's resume is not his expertise in health, medicine, or administration - that part of the resume is very brief. What stands out are Mr. Becerras commitment to partisan warfare and his far-left ideology.' Becerra was reliably liberal in nearly a quarter-century in the House, but he was not seen as a left-wing firebrand. His issues were education, immigration and equal treatment for minorities. His profile was of a low-key insider who could work with Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said GOP arguments against Becerra 'almost verge on the ridiculous.' Schumer said Republicans 'complained loudly that he had no direct experience as a medical professional, even though Republicans voted in lockstep' to make pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar health secretary under President Donald Trump. The Biden administration's COVID-19 response is already in high gear, directed out of the White House. Biden has signed his $1.9 trillion relief bill into law and agencies are making announcements almost daily. But having a health secretary in the mix will make a big difference, said Kathleen Sebelius, who led HHS during much of President Barack Obama's administration. 'Many of the assets that will be important to this effort are in HHS, and he'll have the key coordinating role within the department,' Sebelius said. 'It adds a force multiplier and expertise to the efforts already under way.' Core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the coronavirus response. The Food and Drug Administration oversees vaccines and treatments. Much of the underlying scientific and medical research comes from the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the lead containing the spread of the virus and developing guidance to safely reopen schools and offices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides insurance coverage for more than 1 in 3 Americans, including vulnerable seniors, as well as many children and low-income people. Many Republicans claim Becerra is not qualified to head up HHS. Here he testifies during a nomination hearing before the Senate Finance Committee February 24 Becerra also will also be the point man on Biden's health care agenda, which includes insurance for all Americans, deputizing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and tackling persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system. Prescription drugs and health insurance will lead to major legislative battles. Democrats may have to go it alone and again use the special budget maneuver they relied on to muscle the COVID-19 relief bill through the Senate without Republican support. Leslie Dach, a former senior adviser at HHS in the Obama administration, said Becerra appears poised to take advantage of a shift in the politics of health care. 'Its a different time and its a time of tremendous opportunity in health care,' he said. 'Whereas the Obama years were against a backdrop of tough politics and a (health care) law that still had to earn its stripes, he enters with a proven and popular law, an issue that won for the Democrats.' Dach now leads the advocacy group Protect Our Care, which pushes to expand coverage. Becerra's Senate confirmation was a defeat for religious and social conservatives who worked to derail him over his support for abortion rights. During his confirmation hearings Becerra tried to play down the issue, acknowledging Americans have deeply held differences on abortion and assuring senators that he would follow the law. The law says abortion is legal but also that taxpayer money cannot be used to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman. On the Senate floor Thursday, Republicans mostly closed ranks against Becerra. But during committee hearings several indicated a willingness to work with on prescription drugs, rural health care and other matters. ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union said on Thursday that African countries should continue to use AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, echoing the World Health Organization (WHO) by saying the shot's benefits outweighed risks. The recommendation comes after more than a dozen European countries suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine amid concerns over the risk of blood clots. Africa has lagged wealthier parts of the world in vaccinations, with many countries on the continent using free AstraZeneca shots distributed by a global scheme co-led by the WHO to kick-start immunisation campaigns. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference the "benefits still outweigh the risks" and countries should "move forward". The head of the disease control body added that any adverse reactions should be monitored and reported. "I encourage countries...to continue with their vaccination campaigns and not to pause, as we are in a race against time," the WHO's Africa director Matshidiso Moeti told a separate briefing. "The more people are protected, the less likelihood of mutations producing more dangerous variants of the virus." AstraZeneca said on Sunday that a review of safety data of more than 17 million people in the United Kingdom and European Union who had been given its vaccine had shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. The European Medicines Agency is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 27-nation EU. It said it has so far found no causal link. In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has delayed the rollout of AstraZeneca's shot, citing the suspensions in Europe. But other countries are forging ahead. Angolan Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta said on Thursday her country had not recorded any serious side-effects from AstraZeneca's vaccine so far. She said doses shipped to Angola were from a different batch to ones distributed in Europe. Muluken Yohannes, a senior adviser to Ethiopia's health ministry, said the government there would continue using the AstraZeneca shot. "It is too early to associate the link between the current problem and the vaccine," he told Reuters. (Reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa and Alexander Winning in Johannesburg; Editing by Nick Macfie/Mark Heinrich) Face masks have become Obedience Theatre, a way for bullies with the power of the state behind them to force everyone else to visibly submit to their power. Mask mandates do not save lives. Life without smiles from the clerk at the pharmacy or the stranger who holds a door open for a mother pushing baby in a stroller into the Post Office signals a new reality, one in which our liberties are constrained as never before. We live in a grim new world, forced to breathe in our own carbon dioxide as our face masks trap exhaled breath. Meanwhile, the politically powerful flaunt their immunity to the legal, corporate, and social constraints that keep the rest of us hiding all but our eyes from others, like Muslimas in hijabs. John Kerry must have forgotten that plebeians who ride commercial airliners instead of his customary Gulfstream private jet, The Flying Squirrel (that actually belongs to his wife, Theresa Heinz, who inherited her wealth from her late husband, Republican senator John Heinz, heir of the pickle, ketchup, and baked beans fortune) are supposed to wear face masks the entire time they are aboard, except when eating or drinking. The Tennessee Star posted a picture of him aboard an American Airlines flight from Boston to Washington, D.C. (in first class, of course) with his face mask dangling from his left ear. Image credit: Tennessee Star. No food or drink is evident, just documents. Of course, it is much easier to breathe and get adequate oxygen in the thinner air of a pressurized airliner when no mask is worn, but if try going maskless on a commercial airliner, expect a demand to mask up and, if you don't, a ban from future air travel. As the Tennessee Star notes: The Center for Disease Control issued a Jan. 29 order, under its authority from the Public Health Act, that became effective Feb. 2, which reads in part: "People must wear masks that cover both the mouth and nose when awaiting, boarding, traveling on, or disembarking public conveyances. People must also wear masks when entering or on the premises of a transportation hub in the United States." And American Airlines agrees: "Our mask requirement has been and will continue to be a critical component of our comprehensive effort to protect the health and well-being of our customers and team members during the pandemic," said Seymour. "This federal mandate will provide additional support to our crew members who are working diligently to enforce our policy and further reinforce the safety of air travel during COVID-19." Unless you are a Very Important Democrat, apparently. Kerry is far from alone. And not even as blatant about his immunity from the restrictions the rest of us face while traveling. Yesterday, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) had the effrontery to claim on Twitter that he was holding a virtual Senate hearing while traveling maskless on an Amtrak train: Yes, Im leading this hearing from an Amtrak train. Tune In https://t.co/XUYpnQ2dVI Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) March 17, 2021 The only problem was the wasn't wearing a mask as required: WATCH: @SenatorCarper began chairing a hearing this morning on a train and arrived about 30 minutes later.@SenDuckworth: "I hope you weren't on the quiet car." Sen. Carper: "I was not. I went all the way to the front car and there weren't many people up there." pic.twitter.com/Yb0WFDXZqs CSPAN (@cspan) March 17, 2021 Katie Pavlich of Townhall notes Amtraks explicit policy: "Federal law and Amtrak policy require all customers and employees to wear a mask or covering that fully covers the entire mouth and nose, fits snugly against the side of the face, and secures under the chin at all times while onboard trains and in stations, even if state or local policies are different," the Amtrak website states. "Neck gaiters, open-chin triangle bandanas, face shields, and masks containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind do not qualify as acceptable face coverings. Face masks can be removed briefly while actively eating, drinking or taking medication. Children under 2 years old are not required to wear a face covering. Refusing to wear a mask is a violation of federal law; passengers may be subject to penalties under federal law, denied boarding, removed from the train and banned from future travel in the event of noncompliance. "Amtrak reserves the right to remove customers or ban them from future travel in the event of noncompliance with Amtrak's face covering policy," the policy continues. Carper could have learned this by watching a 45-second video the federally owned railway posted last month: Learn more about wearing masks while traveling with Amtrak. Amtrak (@Amtrak) February 17, 2021 Don't hold your breath waiting for Carper to be banned from Amtrak; he's important (and you're not). Flash People take part in a rally against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, California, the United States, on Feb. 27, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua] The Joe Biden administration and congressional Democrats on Wednesday condemned the exacerbating anti-Asian violence in the United States in the wake of a series of shooting incidents in Atlanta on Tuesday that killed eight people, many of whom were Asians. Rodney Bryant, acting chief of the Atlanta Police Department, told a news briefing that the investigation was still in the "very early" stage, and that investigators cannot determine at the moment that the shooting spree was a hate crime, although multiple calls received by the police department sought to confirm that conclusion. Police on Tuesday evening arrested the suspect, 21-year-old white man from Georgia, Robert Aaron Long, who during an interview with law enforcement at the night claimed responsibility for the shooting incidents at three massage parlors in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Eight people, six Asians and two Whites, were killed. Long claimed that the attacks were not racially motivated, and that he had a "sexual addiction" and saw the massage parlors as a "temptation" that he wanted to "eliminate," according to authorities, adding that Long, when caught, was on the way to Florida, where he planned to commit similar crimes. The carnage added to the already high tensions around violence and discrimination targeting the Asian American community during the coronavirus pandemic. President Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he has been briefed on the shootings by the attorney general and the FBI director, and that even as he reserved his comments on the possible motive behind the acts due to an ongoing probe, he found anti-Asian violence in the country "very troubling." "The investigation is ongoing and the question of motivation is still to be determined. But whatever the motivation here, I know Asian Americans ... are very concerned, because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months and I think it is very, very troubling," the president said in the Oval Office before meeting virtually with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. "I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed," Biden added. Vice President Kamala Harris offered her support for and solidarity with the Asian American community in light of the tragedy. "But knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate." Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate condemned anti-Asian violence in the aftermath of Tuesday's shootings while warning of a surge in similar crimes. Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman Ted Lieu, both of whom are of Asian origins, accused the Donald Trump administration of stoking racial discrimination and fanning the flame of hatred toward Asian Americans by using ethnic identifiers like "China virus," "Wuhan virus" and "Kung Flu" in describing the coronavirus. "As a result, the anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents increased exponentially," said Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She said research has found that the amount of anti-Asian Twitter traffic increased by 900 percent in the first few months of Trump's usage of the slurs. "And what we saw yesterday, is the result of that." The House has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on rising incidents of hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans. Meanwhile, Richard Blumenthal, senator from Connecticut, tweeted that the shooting on Tuesday "reflects a sickening trend that must be stopped." "America must unite to fight the stomach-turning surge in violence against the Asian-American community," he said. In a series of morning tweets on Wednesday, former President Barack Obama said the identity of those killed in Tuesday's shooting rampage "underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end." He called for ridding the country of gun violence, which he said is a "longer-lasting epidemic" compared to the coronavirus pandemic. My hope is that by bringing forward these amazing stories and the passion of the people behind them, all of us are better able to appreciate nature, no matter where we live or how we encounter it. March 16th, 2021, Global Conservation Corps (GCC) GCC launches its Voices of Nature podcast to share the voices of young, passionate leaders who are committed to saving and protecting the worlds most threatened natural species. Created and hosted by Bob Ludke, advisor to GCC, the Voices of Nature podcast aims to showcase the amazing work of people who have dedicated their lives to living and working in some of the most challenging places in the world. Its mission is also to explore solutions that all of us can be part of, in an effort to protect wildlife, and the ecosystems that all of us depend on for healthy, prosperous lives. The purpose of Voices of Nature is to encourage all of us to achieve a better world by sharing the courage, commitment, and determination of people working on the front lines of nature, said Ludke. Each of these episodes leaves the listener with confidence that we can and will protect and preserve nature so that future generations can enjoy its splendor, be inspired by its beauty, and appreciate the many ways it connects us as humans. In the inaugural podcast, Ludke talks with GCC Founder and Executive Director Matt Lindenberg about why he founded GCC, the people who inspired him, and why he believes education and promoting role models are the secret to animal conservation. Matt also tells what it feels like to come face to face with a lioness intent on protecting her pride. In Episode 2, Ludke talks with Anton Mzimba about his life as a ranger in South Africas Timbavati Private Game Reserve. Mzimba shares what it feels like to stand up to poachers and the enormous cost rangers like him must bear in doing so. In Episode 3, Allison Devlin, a postdoctoral research associate with Panthera, shares her work protecting the worlds 40 wild cat species and their ecosystems. Listeners will discover the Pantanal region of Brazil, the jaguars that live there, and solutions to providing opportunities for the local communities living in the region. All of us experience nature in different ways, said Ludke. My hope is that by bringing forward these amazing stories and the passion of the people behind them, all of us are better able to appreciate nature, no matter where we live or how we encounter it. The Voices of Nature Podcast Series to Date Episode 1: Matt Lindenberg discusses the vision of the Global Conservation Corps Episode 2: Anton Mzimba talks about his life as park ranger in South Africa. Episode 3: Allison Devlin brings us into the Pantanal region of Brazil Episode 4: Cara Khan inspires us with her journey into the Grand Canyon Episode 5: Michele Sofisti educates us about the importance of biodiversity Episode 6: Kate Vannelli shares her love for art, wildlife, and cheetahs Accessing the Podcast The podcast is available directly on the GCC website http://www.globalconservationcorps.org/podcasts/ and via Apple Podcasts and Spotify. About Us We are the Global Conservation Corps, a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization that is dedicated to conserving the natural world by bridging the gap between people and wildlife. Few know that many communities surrounding wildlife reserves in South Africa rarely have access to them. Children grow up never seeing wildlife, leaving them disconnected from their national heritage and susceptible to bribing by crime syndicates. GCC works in these communities to provide conservation education, career guidance and employment opportunities for the next generation of conservations and wildlife guardians. Press Contacts For further information and/or requests for interviews: Sophie Furley: sophie.f@globalconservationcorps.org There were speculations in the media that actor Rajkummar Rao had turned down Karan Johar's Dostana 2 as he was skittish about playing a gay character on screen. The film now stars Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor and Lakshya in leading roles. Recently in a tete-a-tete with a news portal, Rao refuted these reports about turning down Dostana 2 because of this reason. The actor said that he is surprised to hear about such things because he is someone who constantly strives to push the envelope with his films. Rajkummar added that he would like to play all kinds of roles and be part of different stories. According to him, he has played goofball, a terrorist, a lawyer, and so on. The actor said that he won't decline any role. However, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Rao had revealed that he couldn't be a part of Dostana 2 because of date issues. The actor had said that he is keen to work with Karan Johar and was quoted as saying, "He's one of the finest filmmakers in the country. I hope something works out soon and I am pretty sure that it will." Reportedly, in Dostana 2, Janhvi Kapoor and Kartik Aaryan play siblings who fall for the same guy, essayed by Lakshya. The actress had revealed that the film helmed by Colin D'Cunha has been made keeping in mind the sensibilities of the current times and the team is conscious about depicting an authentic representation of homosexuality. Speaking about Rajkummar Rao, the actor's latest outing Roohi released in theatres last week. Further, he recently wrapped up the shooting of Badhaai Do alongside Bhumi Pednekar. ALSO READ: Rajkummar Rao Shares Picture Of His Toned Physique For Badhaai Do, 'Says It Was Not Easy To Get This' ALSO READ: Rajkummar Rao On Being Ousted From Films Earlier: You Just Move On On February 15, 2021, Ferdinand Ruta was arrested in Kampala for caning an effigy of President Museveni. Ruta, now in prison - and has never appeared before court over a month ago - caned 'Museveni' for the kidnaps and murders of Ugandans, and also for rigging the election. Because there has not been enough coverage on this man, we do not know who his candidate was in the election. But, ooh, the crowd loved his activism. Not many had gathered before he was arrested, but those few cheered him on. Traffic came to a standstill. Surely, Kampalans long to see Museveni being flogged for the mess and pain in the country. They wonder whether Museveni's body feels physical pain when his skin is pricked. Does his blood flow? Would Museveni cry if his fingernails were brutally pulled out with a pair of tongs? Would he grimace in excruciating pain? Would he kneel and beg a mob to spare his life? Powerfully, symbolically, Ruta offered to beat this man, and have a feel of his pain. Ooh, that picture of the Museveni-effigy tearing apart, and being dragged on the tarmac as the police officer took it off the streets completed the imagery. We should thank the photographers - Abubakar Lubowa, and the innumerable 'community journalists' who took those memorable shots. Cameras and smartphones are part of this protest script. In this new age of street protests, cameras and smartphones are a major 'weapon of the weak.' Autocrats and thieves loathe them the way they loathe AK-47s. [We cannot thank China enough for making them cheaply available for ordinary folks - surely, Steve Jobs didn't have Africans in mind]. It is not clear what charges will be forced onto Ferdinand Ruta, but we can correctly assume they will be the same charges that were thrown at the relentless vulgarist, Stella Nyanzi, not computer misuse, but "hurting the person of the president." Ruta's activism: The effigy is a life size, roughly made impression of a person. It takes plenty of work to knit one together, because it has to look real. There are industrial made effigies in Europe and North America. But in our context where this technology is almost inexistent, it means hand-making these caricatures. It means going to the market and procuring fabrics, and materials for building the body of the person one wants to caricature. I can only imagine the amount of labour that Ruta invested in this project; the venom and tidiness. He had to carefully assemble an easily recognizable caricature of Museveni. This is Hollywood stuff - make-belief, costume and cosmetics. While I saluted Ferdinand Ruta for his excellent piece of non-violent protest, a viral video circulated on social media of a man burning printed images of people he accuses of being behind all the torture and abductions going on in the country. Ruta and this nameless man must be friends. Burning these pictures and running the ashes down a kitchen pantry, this burning man started with Minister Ruth Nankabirwa, calling her a "wicked woman," who has caused a lot of pain. "You have tortured and beaten our children; I burn you in the name of Jesus. I want you to die and disappear in the name of Jesus. You should leave nothing in Uganda," the man supplicated. He then moved on to Museveni's son-in-law, Odrek Rwabwogo accusing him of being responsible for the drone vehicles used in the abduction. "I am burning you in the name of Jesus. You and your children and your grandchildren; I am burning you in the name of Jesus," he said as the pictures burned away. "As this ash is going to be run down the pantry, you should be run off this earth in the name of Jesus," he cursed. The final burning was for the head of court martial, Gen. Andrew Gutti, whom he accused of refusing to release innocent children. He also burned him in the name of Jesus, extending his curses to Gutti's entire family. What an excellent way to protest - aesthetically powerful and non-violent. I know, some folks [undoubtedly, our poorly educated "elite" in high offices] are wondering the effect of all these seemingly passive forms of protest. What is the end-game of burning printed pictures in the comfort of your visibly swanky kitchen in an affluent neighbourhood of Kampala? Why waste energy on an effigy to simply flog it? How does this cause change in the country? UPE! The beginning point should be understanding the fact that human beings are all mental and community beings. That is, humans are endlessly seeking approval for their natural gifts, and actions (in art, fashion, speech, appearances, sex, relations,) and hurt by disapproval. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. This is even obsessive for politicians, and public figures. Disapproval kills them. Being hated kills them. This is why politicians hire crowds, and pay for positive press ( just as they will seek to buy or kill for negative press). Words have power. Curses are feared. Surely, our terribly superstitious, witch-doctor visiting, pseudo-religious politicians will mentally collapse with curses and proclamations of burning them while alive - in Jesus' name. Look, just imagine these powerful men thinking about their terribly pampered children watching videos of them [beloved and sometimes, prayerful parents] being cursed nationally will crush them to shreds. I have never forgotten that NTV interview where Minister of Education Janet Museveni pensively wondered why Stella Nyanzi didn't like her. Nyanzi's vitriol must have hurt deeply. Yes, her government didn't collapse, and Nyanzi is in exile. But I cannot imagine if there were 100 Stella Nyanzis, and another 100 Ferdinand Rutas. yusufkajura@gmail.com The author is a political theorist based at Makerere University. Sipa USA via AP En espanol | Nursing homes owned by the largest senior living operator in the U.S. illegally discharged residents to free up beds for patients who would bring in more money and gave false information to regulators to inflate their quality ratings, according to a lawsuit filed this week by California's attorney general and district and city attorneys in the state. The suit is among the first to target a high-profile nursing home operator for giving inaccurate information to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates nursing homes. It accuses 10 California nursing facilities owned by Brookdale Senior Living a $4 billion company that operates approximately 800 nursing, senior living and long-term care facilities across the country of falsifying the reported working hours of registered nurses and staff. CMS uses that information to award quality ratings on a five-star scale that help consumers compare options and make long-term care decisions for themselves and their family members. By submitting inflated staff hours to make it look like it was providing a higher standard of care, the suit alleges, Brookdale received higher star ratings than it deserved." "It lured individuals to its facilities through false promises about providing the highest-quality care, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday in a statement about the lawsuit. Until 2018, nursing home staff hours were largely self-reported by individual facilities. CMS has since switched to a payroll-based system that is supposed to be harder to falsify. The lawsuit accuses Brookdale of falsifying hours under the old system and says it continues to provide misleading information to CMS and continues to manipulate its star rating by falsifying its payroll-based journals. The facilities involved received four- and five-star ratings from CMS (five is the highest rating). "It can be very scary, and very challenging, for a family to make a decision about long-term care. When they see a five-star rating, they assume it means their loved one will get the very highest standard of care, says Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP. It is outrageous that nursing homes would manipulate the data to give themselves better ratings." COVID highlights nursing home problems The suit also accuses the 10 Brookdale nursing facilities of illegally discharging patients without giving them 30 days notice in order to fill [their] beds with residents who will bring in more money. Prosecutors say the facilities prioritized Medicare recipients over residents on low-income assistance like Medicaid, since Medicare pays more. The suit alleges that Brookdale facilities in some cases discharged residents when their Medicare coverage ended without giving them sufficient notice, without notifying a long-term care ombudsman state-sponsored representatives for residents and without a formal discharge plan. Brookdale has denied wrongdoing and was not engaged in intentional or fraudulent conduct, according to a statement from the company. Publicizing unproven allegations is reckless and undermines the public's confidence in a service necessary to the care of elderly individuals, it said. The lawsuit is another black eye for a nursing home industry that has been battered over the past year, as COVID-19 had infected more than 1.3 million long-term care residents and staff, killing more than 174,000 as of March 7. Mike Wasserman, a geriatrician and past president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, says one of the few positives from the pandemic is a new public awareness of problems that have long plagued the industry. "I don't know if Brookdale did what they are purported to have done, but that stuff happens. This stuff has existed forever, he says. I hate to say it, but the only reason we're hearing about it is that we just had a pandemic that we'll ultimately find killed close to 200,000 nursing home residents." The suit also heaps scrutiny onto the CMS rating system days after The New York Times published an investigation into how nursing facilities have gamed its five-star ratings system. The investigation was cited Wednesday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) saying the investigation questions the objectivity and accuracy of the CMS star ratings system." A separate Brookdale facility in Lexington, Kentucky, is named in the Times investigation and is alleged to have misrepresented hours worked by nursing staff to Medicare officials. In a statement to the Times, Brookdale denied wrongdoing. Separately, the AARP Foundation is leading two lawsuits against Brookdale's assisted-living-facility operations in Florida and North Carolina. The facilities are alleged to have fallen short of the staffing and care standards reported in marketing materials to consumers. In one of the suits, Brookdale is accused of operating a system of chronically understaffed assisted living facilities that routinely and as a matter of practice fail to provide sufficient staffing." If you or a loved one is a resident of a Brookdale assisted living facility in North Carolina or Florida and want more information about the lawsuit, contact the AARP Foundation: litigation@aarp.org. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New York, March 18 : A team of scientists have identified a wide swath of habitat in Arizona and New Mexico that they say could eventually support more than 150 jaguars. Publishing their results in Oryx -- the international journal of conservation -- the team says that the central mountains of the two states, which they call the Central Arizona/New Mexico Recovery Area or CANRA, offers new opportunities for the US Fish and Wildlife Service to contribute to recovery of the species. Authors of the study include scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Wildlands Network, Pace University, US Geological Survey, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Bird's Eye View, IUCN, and Bordercats Working Group. The multidisciplinary group of scientists compared 12 habitat models for jaguars in Arizona and New Mexico and found an area of habitat the size of South Carolina far from the southern border with Mexico. This area was not considered in the US Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for the jaguar released in 2019, but it left open the possibility of revising the recovery plan boundaries as new information, such as this study, becomes available. Jaguars are now considered an endangered species across their range, including the US, and state-level protections exist in Arizona and New Mexico. Over the last two decades, a number of male jaguars have been photographed in the mountains. Jaguars are often associated with tropical habitats such as the Amazon and Central America, but historically they were found as far north as the Grand Canyon. The last jaguar north of the Interstate-10 highway was killed by a US government hunter in 1964. Said Eric W. Sanderson, WCS Senior Conservation Ecologist: "There is a lot more potential in the jaguar habitat in the United States than was previously realised. These findings open a new opportunity for jaguar conservation in North America that could help address threats from habitat loss, climate change, and border infrastructure." Bryan Bird, Director for Southwest Programs at Defenders of Wildlife and one of the study's co-authors, said: "This fresh look at jaguar habitat in the US identifies a much larger area that could support many more of these big cats. This expanded area of the Southwest is 27 times larger than the current designated critical habitat. "We hope these findings will inspire renewed cooperation and result in more resident jaguars in the US". Juan Carlos Bravo, Wildlands Network's Mexico and Borderlands Program Director and a co-author of the study, said: "Jaguar recovery in the northern extreme of its range is of interest to both the US and Mexico, and having this analysis -- which clears previous misconceptions about available habitat -- is indispensable to make informed decisions for international efforts." Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, a co-author of the study, said: "It should come as no surprise that the forested Mogollon Plateau, which teems with deer, elk and javelina, now has scientific recognition as good jaguar habitat. This region was the last stand for breeding jaguars after their elimination elsewhere in the US, and these beautiful cats could thrive here again." Acting Features Editor Jennifer Huberdeau is the acting features editor. Prior to The Eagle, she worked at The North Adams Transcript. She is a 2020 New England First Amendment Institute Fellow and a 2010 BCBS Health Care Fellow. For the past year, faced with a spike in violence against Asian Americans, lawmakers and activists from around the country have pushed for stronger anti-hate crime legislation, with mixed results. Now, in the aftermath of the deadly Atlanta shooting that killed eight people, demands for immediate change are growing louder. Democratic lawmakers have proposed policy fixes to address the rise in hate crimes in the wake of the pandemic. Last Thursday Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) announced plans to reintroduce legislation bolstering law enforcements response to hate crimes against Asian Americans. The bill would appoint a Justice Department official to expedite reviews of hate crimes and provide guidance to local law enforcement on accurately reporting Covid-19-related hate crimes. Hate crimes are difficult to prosecute, partly because theyre underreported and difficult to prove, which ultimately makes it harder to track them and eradicate the problem. Another bill is in the works to transform the way hate crimes are reported in the U.S., with efforts led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Asian American and Pacific Islander violence on Thursday. And advocates in and outside the Beltway are demanding more action from the Justice Department, such as opening investigations into incidents that traumatize Asian Americans such as yelling racial slurs but legally cant be categorized under hate crimes. But advocates are also seeking a culture shift. They point to former President Donald Trumps anti-Asian comments at the onset of the coronavirus as the catalyst for the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes over the past year. Trump and his allies often called the virus the Kung Flu and China virus, alluding to its origins in Wuhan, China. Their rhetoric led to a 900 percent surge in anti-Asian Twitter traffic. The former president continued to use China Virus in an interview with Fox the night of the shooting. Story continues This is the aftermath of a whole year of Donald Trump's using the terms China Virus and Wuhan Virus and creating hatred, said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who is chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told POLITICO. It's clear that the individuals were targeted because they are amongst the most vulnerable in our country: immigrant Asian women, she later said about the shooting in a weekly press conference. Curbing these crimes is an important first step, advocates say. But, they say, congressional leaders will also need to address the environment that gave rise to the violence. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Asian American advocacy organization Stop AAPI Hate has reported 3,795 cases of hate incidents. Of those, 35 percent occurred at Asian-owned businesses. Another analysis released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found a nearly 150 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in 16 of Americas largest cities, with particularly drastic surges in New York City and Los Angeles. Tuesdays fatal shootings at three Atlanta-area spas are the culmination of a long-history of racism and misogyny against Asian Americans, misinformation about the virus and the presidents divisive rhetoric, advocates and lawmakers say. A majority of the victims were women; at least four were of Asian descent. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, is white and as of this writing, has been charged with at least four counts of murder. Atlanta police on Wednesday suggested the alleged gunmans self-proclaimed sexual addiction could have played a role in his decision to target the spas, rather than racial bias. One police officer said the suspect had a really bad day. Those remarks added to frustrations from advocates who say that blaming the suspects mental state on his actions distracts from the larger dynamics at play. Racism isn't necessarily an individual harming another person. It's a systemic issue. It's societal, said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Womens Forum. We need to stop legislating reactively, which is basically putting Band-Aids to situations that pop up, and start digging deeper to address root causes. Among them is a history of over-sexualization of Asian women, which several advocates cited as a contributor to Tuesdays violence. Long-held stereotypes about Asian women as docile or submissive, Choimorrow explained, makes them more vulnerable to harassment. Stop AAPI Hates national data showed that Asian American women were more than twice as likely to report hate incidents than men. It's gone from a racial slur to provocation to a point where you have multiple Asian American women being killed, said Madalene Mielke, president and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. During a Wednesday morning press conference, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Tuesday nights shootings were an outgrowth of growing racism and violence against Asian Americans across the country. It is unacceptable, it is hateful, and it has to stop, Bottoms said. Were hearing the stories. Were seeing them on television, were seeing them on social media. A slew of public officials decried the violence in Atlanta on Wednesday, including New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. This speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it, Harris told reporters at the White House. Were not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Meng, the sponsor of the original Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act from last year, said language has consequences. She believes her legislation could counter anti-Asian rhetoric among those that have been using racist language due to misinformation. A segment of the bill calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the White House Covid19 Health Equity Task Force and community-based organizations to band together to compile guidance on how to avoid racially discriminatory language when describing Covid-19. We were shockingly disappointed when our own president started using words like Chinese Virus and Kung Flu. And I was very nervous, as were many people at the time, because he obviously had a very wide platform in a time of fear, Meng told POLITICO. We were really scared of how people might react to a leader like him using those words, Meng said. "And weve literally seen in this past year how his constant use of phrases like this has contributed to these violent attacks across the country. Mengs bill will also designate an official within the Justice Department to expedite hate crime reviews and facilitate access to hate crime reporting by creating an online platform in multiple languages. The bill would also improve data collection. And her bill isnt the only one lawmakers are queuing up in response to the rise in Asian American violence: Later this month, Democratic lawmakers also plan on reintroducing The No Hate Act, a bill that could revamp hate crime reporting infrastructure in the U.S. The current hate crime statistics, collected by the FBI, barely scratch the surface of the actual number of cases: Out of about 18,000 local law enforcement departments, 15,588 sent in their hate crime data to the FBI, and 86.1 percent responded with zero hate crimes, according to the agencys most recent report. Even major cities with a population of over 500,000 such as Houston, Baltimore and Philadelphia didnt report a single case. Its unlikely that hate crimes arent happening in urban areas, advocates say. But police departments fail to properly identify hate crimes due to lack of training and have little incentive to nail down the numbers, especially without any oversight from the FBI or the Justice Department, according to Chu. The No Hate Act would be able to address these issues by providing grants for training and establishing hate crime hotlines, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who sponsored the original Senate version of the bill. And although it died in Congress last year, he thinks its fate will be different this time around. Tragically what may well drive this legislation more urgently than before is the deplorable uptick in hate crimes that weve seen against groups like Asian Americans, Muslims, immigrants generally, Blumenthal told POLITICO. The surge in hate crimes is directly connected to violent extremism driven by white supremacists and others who are involved in hate crimes, Blumenthal said. And the surge that we've seen is a cancer that tears at the fabric of our whole society. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee will host a hearing on Thursday to address the discriminations that Asian Americans have faced during the pandemic to raise awareness and collect experts opinions on potential solutions. Members will interview Chu, Meng, Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) , who are all Asian American lawmakers, along with a slew of Asian American activists and academics. Action is also brewing outside of Congress. Chu said members of CAPAC have already met with Kristen Clarke, the nominee for the DOJs assistant attorney general for civil rights, last week. The group discussed the challenges of proving racial bias or intent in hate crimes and how that impacts data collection. Chu said theres no way to track anti-Asian attacks/incidents unlike hate crimes that are monitored, albeit poorly, by the FBI that arent technically a crime, such as aggressive intimidation, but are traumatizing, a void that Clarke pledged to address, according to Chu. The push to accurately catalogue hate crimes is crucial to combat them, said Beyer, who sponsored the house version of the No Hate Act last year. All of this goes back to this sort of basic idea that you can't manage what you don't measure, Beyer told POLITICO. If you have no data, what do you make a decision on? Or how do you know if you're making any progress? Sarah Ferris and Marianne Levine contributed to this report. DENTON, Texas (AP) Jacob Gilyard and Tyler Burton scored 18 points each and Richmond overcame the absence of their top two scorers to beat Toledo 76-66 in the opening game of the NIT Tournament on Wednesday. A basket by Matt Grace making his first start in his 82nd career game at Richmond with under 12 minutes left gave the Spiders their first lead since 2-0. After 10 lead changes over 5 1/2 minutes, Nathan Cayo scored seven points in a 9-0 run that left Richmond ahead 66-58. A 3-pointer by Jacob Gilyard made it 71-62 with 1:35 to go. The two-seed Spiders (14-8) were without Blake Francis (16.1 ppg), who hurt his back in their regular-season finale, and Grant Golden (12.7), who has been limited by a finger he broke in a Feb. 23 game. Burton grabbed 10 rebounds in picking up his third double-double this season. Gilyard had four assists to become the program's career leader with 577, passing Greg Beckwith (1982-86, 573). Cayo added 15 points and Souleymane Koureissi 10. Ryan Rollins scored 18 points, but 16 came in the first half when three-seed Toledo (21-9) took a 38-32 lead. Setric Millner Jr. added 13 points and Spencer Littleson 11. Mid-American Conference player of the year Marreon Jackson scored 10 points. Toledo shot only 28% in the second half, including 1 of 14 from the arc. Richmond will play the winner of Saturday's game between Saint Louis and Mississippi State in a quarterfinal on March 25. The tournament, limited to 16 teams instead of 32 this season, is taking place in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area at the University of North Texas Coliseum in Denton and at the Comerica Center in Frisco. ___ For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Only days after the deadliest crackdown since the February 1 coup, tens of thousands of protesters across Myanmar have continued to demonstrate against military rule, even as authorities are stepping up their use of repression to defeat the anti-coup movement. Martial law was imposed on several parts of the countrys two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, along with a day-long shutdown of mobile internet. The districts being targeted by the military are working-class suburbs which have proven to be strongholds of the nationwide movement of strikes and work stoppages. Protesters shout slogans 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) State broadcaster MRTV declared that military commanders in Yangon would take over administration of districts, including the courts. The courts martial have the authority to issue the death sentence or long prison terms for a range of offences, while those sentenced to death can only appeal to the Yangon regional commander or the junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing. The offences include treason and sedition, obstructing the military or civil service, spreading false information, and ties to unlawful associationsall of which the junta and its media outlets have accused protesters of doing since the anti-coup movement began. Reports that many critically wounded victims of Sundays violence have succumbed to their injuries in hospital, along with further killings on Monday and Tuesday at the hands of state security forces, have brought the death toll soaring to at least 216, with many more feared dead. Protests across the nation on Mondayin Mandalay, Yangon, and the towns of Aunglan, Gyobingauk, Bago, Monywa, Thabeikkyin, and Myingyanwere brutally attacked by police and soldiers, who fired live ammunition on crowds of protesters, killing an estimated 23 people. One girl got shot in the head and a boy got shot in the face, an 18-year-old protester in Myingyan told Reuters journalists over the phone after police ended protests there by killing three and injuring dozens more. Im now hiding, the protester said. Smaller villages on the outskirts of Mandalay were also scenes of military violence. At least five people were killed in Singu Township. A 16-year-old girl, Ma Thida Aye, was shot twice by a sniper while in her house in Chaunggyi Village, her father told the Irrawaddy. Protesters have gathered daily near Chaunggyi, at a junction leading to Mogok, Thabeikkyin, and Mandalay. On Monday, soldiers used gunfire to break up demonstrations, firing at passers-by from a military truck. Some villagers managed to pull over the truck and detain two soldiers, but three others escaped and later fired shots from a nearby hill with a sniper rifle, killing the girl and wounding her friend. In Yangons Dawbon Township, security forces attacked a night-time rally. A video showed soldiers shooting a man, removing his clothes and dragging him away, while firing shots at the neighbourhood. Late night assaults also happened in South Dagon Township, where one was killed and three wounded when shots were fired after 11 p.m. The violence continued on Tuesday, claiming the lives of at least two protesters. One was shot dead in the central town of Kawlin, where hundreds of protesters returning home were set upon by riot police. That night, a demonstration gathered outside a police station demanding the release of three detainees, according to media in Sagaing Region. Police and soldiers opened fire on the crowd, wounding two. Families of dozens of the 74 protesters killed on Sunday attended funerals Tuesday. Some mourners told media that security forces had seized the bodies of victims, but they would still hold a funeral. Hundreds of young people in Yangon attended the funeral of medical student Khant Nyar Hein, 19, with many fellow medical students in white lab coats chanting: Our revolution must prevail! Tensions continue to escalate in Hlaingthaya Township, one of the Yangon industrial districts under martial law, where 40 people were killed on Sunday in a ruthless military onslaught provoked by fires breaking out at two garment factories. Hlaingthaya is mostly inhabited by poor migrant workers who fled their rural hometowns around the Irrawaddy Delta after Cyclone Nargis struck in 2008. The military is clamping down hard on Yangon, the protest movements centre. Barricades built to protect protesters in Hlaingthaya were set alight Tuesday and volleys of gunfire sounded across the neighbourhood. Downtown areas previously flooded with mass protests are now all but deserted, under heavy patrol by military vehicles. Security forces have threatened residents in Yangon and Mandalay under martial law, saying they will shoot into every house if residents do not remove roadblocks which have been put in place to prevent access by soldiers. The UN Human Rights office has drawn attention to disturbing new developments. While some 37 journalists have been arrested, with five major news outlets having their licences withdrawn, five people have died in detention and deeply distressing reports of torture in custody have emerged. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani also mentioned signs of enforced disappearances, saying hundreds of people who have been unlawfully detained remain unaccounted for and have not been acknowledged by the military authorities. Attacks on workers associated with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) of strikes and work stoppages have significantly increased. Over 200 employees of the Central Bank of Myanmar, ranging from assistant directors to cleaners, were suspended for refusing to work under the military regime. Meanwhile, ten civil servants were sentenced Monday to prison terms for joining the CDM, including two young police officers and eight staff from the Cooperative Department in the capital city Naypyidaw. Around 1,000 workers and their families living at Myanmar Railways staff quarters in Yangon fled their homes last week after security forces raided their neighbourhood. Similarly, healthcare workers at the Sao San Htun Hospital in Shan States capital Taunggyi who have joined the CDM were threatened with eviction from staff housing unless they returned to work immediately. About 70 doctors and health workers from the hospital moved out rather than return to work, as several went into hiding to avoid arrest. Doctors, engineers, teachers, railway workers, and civil servants are chief among the more than 2,100 protesters who have thus far been detained by the authorities, as well as people who provided food or shelter to protesters. On Wednesday evening, eleven young workers at a Yangon tea shop were detained by a large police contingent. Their whereabouts are still unknown. The junta is desperate to intimidate workers from joining the growing movement, which has stifled economic operations for over a month. This was demonstrated in an incident Tuesday morning, when four customers at a Yangon private bank were detained by police for allegedly inciting bank employees to join the CDM. The dramatic arrest was broadcast on all the military-run television channels. Video footage, however, appears to show they were simply withdrawing money. As mounting economic pressure tightens on the junta, food and fuel prices have spiked due to the freezing of business activity, and could provoke further unrest as larger sections of the population sink into poverty amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN World Food Programme said the price of rice had risen as much as 35 percent in the countrys north, while the cost of fuel had increased by 15 percent since February 1. The economic and social crisis is also fuelling the strikes and protests against the seizure of power by the military on February 1. While protesters undoubtedly recall the previous junta that severely restricted workers rights, they should also recall that the current oppressive social conditions are also the responsibility of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) which governed in tandem with the military. The NLD represents sections of Myanmars capitalist class hostile to the militarys domination of the economy, but which are just as fearful that any mass movement of the working class will undermine bourgeois rule. The political subordination of the oppositional movement to the NLD is paving the way for its betrayal, as was the case in 1988 when Suu Kyi sought to rein it in on the basis of a phony promise of elections, opening the door for a bloody military crackdown. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed that the Islamic Republics presence in countries such as Iraq and Syria is not for military control, but rather for advisory assistance. We are there to support sovereign governments at their own behest, he said, rejecting the US depiction of Iran as a destabilizing factor. Khamenei also criticized the American military for establishing bases in those two countries without permission from the hosts. The issue of Irans influence in the region has been at the core of its tensions with the West and Khameneis latest remarks appeared as yet another message of defiance and a clear statement that the issue is not up for negotiations. Instead, he insisted that it is the United States that must leave Iraq and Syria. They claim they are against Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Iranian leader said, before throwing a sarcastic quip at the US lying because they possess the worst and most dangerous of such weapons and they have used them. In response to Western worries regarding Iranian plans to develop nuclear bombs, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly referenced a Fatwa, or religious edict, by Khamenei that places a strict ban on the pursuit of such arms as religiously forbidden. Last month, however, a slip of tongue by the countrys Intelligence Minister, Mahmoud Alavi, sparked controversy when he suggested Iran might change course and produce such weapons if it continues to remain targeted by crippling sanctions. The comment cost him a rebuke from President Hassan Rouhani. Khameneis speech also targeted Washingtons ties with Riyadh, Tehrans top rival in the region. The Americans defended a convict who dismembered his opponent with a saw, Khamenei said of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his role in the 2018 murder of prominent dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Americans have been inverting the truth. Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been on the rise, especially since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition invaded Yemen to defend the Yemeni government and curb the influence of Tehran-backed Houthi rebels. Iran is accused of providing arms including a range of rockets and missiles which the Shiite group continues to launch against Saudi interests, among them military bases and key oil installations. In his speech, however, Khamenei appeared to be distancing Tehran from the Yemen conflict. While defending the Yemenis, he denied any Iranian involvement. Yemenis are gifted people. They have managed to produce or provide means for their defence on their own to respond to the six-year-long bombardments." VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - We put a vaccine poll on our social media. On Twitter 62% of you said you will get the shot, 24% said you won't get it, and 14% said you are not sure yet. Local leaders are working to make you more comfortable. A virtual health forum was held Wednesday morning. It was made up of health officials across the Wabash valley, hosted by the Terre Haute Chamber of commerce. Dr. Darren Brucken is the Vigo county health commissioner. He says there are advantages to being fully vaccinated. "Somebody who has been fully vaccinated and they've gotten their second dose plus the two-week period. If they are exposed to a known positive, they do not need to quarantine," says Dr. Brucken. He gave the example of, if one partner is fully vaccinated and their spouse gets the vaccine they do not need to quarantine. He says it's the added advantage of not having to miss work. Even though some people still say they won't get the vaccine, Mel Burks with the Hamilton center says it's our duty. "It's important that we prepare ourselves by going out and getting the shot," says Burks. He adds this will help the world get back to some sort of normalcy. "So I'm just saying people let's get out, let's make sure our community galvanizes together to make sure that we make our community a non-zone for coronavirus," says Burks. Slyvester Edwards is the president of the NAACP. He says he hopes with him getting the vaccine it will help ease some folks mind. "We have to lead by example and hopefully people take this as serious because doing nothing is not an option," says Slyvester Edwards. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html (Adds details about immigration enforcement and vaccine sharing) MEXICO CITY, March 18 (Reuters) - Mexico's government said on Thursday it would apply travel curbs on its southern and northern borders to contain the spread of COVID-19 as a U.S. official said the Biden administration planned to loan Mexico vaccines to combat the pandemic. The foreign ministry's announcement that Mexico would be tightening its border with Guatemala comes just as the country plans to step up enforcement efforts on that frontier to curb illegal immigration, according to a Reuters report. Mexico has been pressing the U.S. government for a loan of vaccines to help its drive to tackle COVID-19, and President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to reduce a recent surge in migrants from Central America reaching the U.S. border. A U.S. congressional source said the mutually beneficial news of the vaccine and border decisions was not coincidental. A Mexican official did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether the two announcements were linked. Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed on Twitter the two countries are working on a vaccine deal and said that he would provide details of the "good news" on Friday. Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement restrictions for non-essential activities on its borders with the United States and Guatemala would take effect starting on Friday, and would remain in place until midnight of April 21. Meanwhile, the U.S. official said the United States plans to send roughly 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine that it is not using to Mexico in the loan deal. (Reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City and Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Samia Suluhu Hassan is a soft-spoken, veteran politican unexpectedly thrust from the role of vice president to become Tanzania's first female leader after John Magufuli's sudden death. Hassan, 61, made history Friday when she was sworn in at a ceremony in Dar es Salaam before a room of dignitaries. Under the constitution, Hassan will serve the remainder of Magufuli's second five-year term, which does not expire until 2025. A former office clerk and development worker, Hassan began her political career in 2000 in her native Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago, before being elected to the national assembly on mainland Tanzania and assigned a senior ministry. She rose through the ranks of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) until being picked by Magufuli as his running mate in his first presidential election campaign in 2015. The CCM comfortably won and Hassan made history when she was sworn-in as the country's first-ever female vice president. The pair were re-elected last October in a disputed poll the opposition and independent observers said was marred by irregularities. She would sometimes represent Magufuli on trips abroad but many outside Tanzania had not heard of Hassan until she appeared on national television wearing a black headscarf to announce that Magufuli had died at 61 following a short illness. In a slow and softly spoken address -- a stark contrast to the thundering rhetoric favoured by her predecessor -- Hassan solemnly declared 14 days of mourning. She will consult the CCM over the appointing of a new vice president. The party is set to hold a special meeting of its central committee on Saturday. - 'Hold your breath' - Analysts say Hassan will face early pressure from powerful Magufuli allies within the party, who dominate intelligence and other critical aspects of government, and would try and steer her decisions and agenda. "For those who were kind of expecting a breakaway from the Magufuli way of things I would say hold your breath at the moment," said Thabit Jacob, a researcher at the Roskilde University in Denmark and an expert on Tanzania. Story continues "I think she will struggle to build her own base... We shouldn't expect major changes." Hassan's loyalty to Magufuli, nicknamed the "Bulldozer" for his no-nonsense attitude, was called into doubt in 2016. Her office was forced to issue a statement denying she had resigned as rumours of a rift grew more persistent, and Hassan hinted at the controversy in a public speech last year. "When you started working as president, many of us did not understand what you actually wanted. We did not know your direction. But today we all know your ambitions about Tanzania's development," she said in front of Magufuli. - 'Getting things done' - Hassan was born on January 27, 1960 in Zanzibar, a former slaving hub and trading outpost in the Indian Ocean. Then still a Muslim sultanate, Zanzibar did not merge formally with mainland Tanzania for another four years. Her father was a school teacher and mother a housewife. Hassan graduated from high school but has said publicly that her finishing results were poor, and she took a clerkship in a government office at 17. By 1988, after undertaking further study, Hassan had risen the ranks to become a development officer in the Zanzibar government. She was employed as a project manager for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and later in the 1990s was made executive director of an umbrella body governing non-governmental organisations in Zanzibar. In 2000, she was nominated by the CCM to a special seat in Zanzibars House of Representatives. She then served as a local government minister -- first for youth employment, women and children and then for tourism and trade investment. In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly on mainland Tanzania. Then president Jakaya Kikwete appointed her as Minister of State for Union Affairs. She holds university qualifications from Tanzania, Britain and United States. The mother of four has spoken publicly to encourage Tanzanian women and girls to pursue their dreams. "I may look polite, and do not shout when speaking, but the most important thing is that everyone understands what I say and things get done as I say," Hassan said in a speech last year. Hassan is the only other current serving female head of state in Africa alongside Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde, whose role is mainly ceremonial. str-np/fb/txw Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:35:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China and the United States will hold a high-level strategic dialogue on Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, a city in the U.S. state of Alaska. It will be the first face-to-face talks between top Chinese and U.S. diplomats since Joe Biden took over the U.S. presidency. Experts say that one of the reasons to hold the meeting in Alaska is because of its location. Alaska is a halfway point between Beijing and Washington D.C. This literally means that the two sides meet each other half way. Xinhua reporter takes you to Anchorage for a firsthand look. Produced by Xinhua Global Service 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. Canberra, March 18 : Police in Australia on Thursday charged two men over plans to carry out a terrorist attack, with one of them believed to be a member of the Islamic State (IS) terror group. Of the two, a 19-year-old male was charged with attempted terrorist act, intentionally causing injury, acting in preparation of terrorist act, as well as being a member of IS, which is prohibited in Australia, Xinhua news agency reported. While the second person, a 20-year-old man was charged with one count of attempted terrorist act. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old was also arrested in Melbourne on Wednesday but was subsequently released. Australian Federal Police representatives said they became concerned about the level of the men's radicalisation to extremist ideologies, which they say occurred largely online. "There is a range of factors but one that cannot be underestimated is the magnification of the online environment and what that means for the radicalisation of these individuals," Assistant Commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Scott Lee said. Officers emphasised it was the crime, not the ideology that they were targeting. "But let me make it very clear that we target the crime, not the ideology. It makes no difference to us," Assistant Commissioner Michael Hermans from Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Command said. According to Lee, counter-terrorism operations regularly involved young people who had spent large amounts of time online -- a scenario which has increased during the global pandemic. "That is certainly what we have seen in the Covid period, as people come out into the physical world after being isolated and driven into the online environment to a degree. "That has exacerbated some of the radicalisation we have seen," Lee said. Penalties for terror-related offences in Australia are particularly severe, with the 19-year-old potentially facing life imprisonment. Coronavirus deaths in Maharashtra crossed the 53K-mark and about 23,179 fresh infections have been recorded in the state, said the health officials. The figure of new cases in the state has come tantalisingly close to the highest ever daily load of 24,886 recorded on Sep. 11, 2020, followed by 515 deaths on a singly day on Sep. 15, last year. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the death rate is low in the current wave though the high number of cases pose a serious concern in the state. The burden of cases and fatalities remains heavy in Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur circles, with Aurangabad and Latur circles also recording increasing figures in recent weeks. Of the 84 deaths, Nagpur led the state with 16 fatalities, 9 in Thane, 8 each in Mumbai and Nashik, 7 in Jalna, 6 in Amravati, 5 in Aurangabad, 4 in Raigad, 3 in Nanded, 2 each in Ahmednagar, Solapur, Beed, Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli, 1 each in Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Satara, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, and one outsider. Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home quarantine stood at 671,620 while the figure of those in institutional quarantine was 6,738 on Wednesday. Source: IANS As stated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Health Minister Rajesh Tope earlier, the death rate is low in the current wave though the high number of cases pose a serious concern in the state.The burden of cases and fatalities remains heavy in Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur circles, with Aurangabad and Latur circles also recording increasing figures in recent weeks.Of the 84 deaths, Nagpur led the state with 16 fatalities, 9 in Thane, 8 each in Mumbai and Nashik, 7 in Jalna, 6 in Amravati, 5 in Aurangabad, 4 in Raigad, 3 in Nanded, 2 each in Ahmednagar, Solapur, Beed, Wardha, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli, 1 each in Jalgaon, Nandurbar, Satara, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, and one outsider.Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home quarantine stood at 671,620 while the figure of those in institutional quarantine was 6,738 on Wednesday.Source: IANS With 84 deaths on Thursday, the state toll till date has reached 53,080 fatalities, with a fatality rate of 2.24 percent and a recovery rate which has dropped to 91.26 percent now. Its definitely kind of a windy, raw day across the area, meteorologist Kevin Birk said about 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The rain should be stopping in the next few hours. In northern Cook County, its already begun letting up. The southern suburbs may get a quick wintry mix before it ends, an ice pellet or a snowflake here and there, but that should taper off by this afternoon, too. 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. Drivers suspend services demanding booking of looters Miscreants have looted around 120 Imphal-bound bullet tankers (bulk LPG carriers) proceeding towards Imphal along NH-2 with security escorts on Wednesday night. Demanding the arrest of miscreants involved in the looting and deployment of highway protection force, bullet tankers launched a steering down strike from Thursday. Reports said that around five miscreants looted bullet tankers escorted by CRPF personnel on the way along NH-2 at Kanglatombi area in Kangpokpi district around midnight on Thursday. Drivers alleged that the miscreants numbering around five forced them to stop by pelting stones, breaking windshields, and side glasses of many vehicles. They then forced drivers and handymen to handover their money and mobile phones. Those without money and mobile phones were thrashed. Some drivers and handymen sustained minor injuries which needed no medical attention, a driver who faced the ordeal said. The looting incident took place near an orphan home also known as a motor vehicle checkpoint at Kanglatombi along the NH-2 last night, around midnight, he said. They came together from Khatkati of Assam with the bulk LPG with regular security escort provided by the CRPF, he added. Following the incident, the drivers of all the bullet tankers suspended their work and gathered in Imphals Mantripukhri demanding arresting of the culprits. Talking to reporters at the site where the tankers remained stranded, a driver named Md Gaffar said that they will not resume working until appropriate action against the culprits was taken up and adequate security protection on the highway. Leaders of All Manipur Road Transport Drivers and Motor Workers Union (AMRTDMWU) who visited the drivers extended support to the steering down strike of the drivers and demanded booking of the culprits at the earliest. Drivers will not return to work until the culprits are brought to justice, AMRTDMWU joint secretary N Dilip Singh told reporters. He strongly condemned the looting and physical assault on drivers in spite of the deployment security escorts and reiterated demand for highway protection force, a long pending demand of the drivers plying on the national highways of Manipur. He further condemned the state government for not addressing their demand for adequate ROP on the stretches of the highways in the state and lamented Thursday nights incident, stating that it is not the first time truck drivers were looted and assaulted. The joint secretary said that the latest brutality on the drivers showed that there were lapses in the provision of security escorts to the petroleum product transporters. Not only the bullet tankers but security escorts were being provided to all petroleum product carriers of the state shipping the products throughout the NH-2, from Assams Khatkati to Imphal via Nagaland. Currently, the escort is provided by the CRPF. DAFM told the court that the issue could have profound implications for the entire agricultural sector The EUs top court has issued a ruling that will require Irish courts to take remedial steps to ensure veterinary medicine products sold in Ireland are labelled in Irish. In its first-ever full judgement on a case conducted in the Irish language, the Court of Justice of the European Union said national courts cannot disregard the obligations on EU member states to ensure EU legislation is transposed correctly into legislation in their own country. Although it has been possible since 1973 to bring a case to the CJEU in Irish as one of the EUs 24 official languages, it has never happened before now. The ruling represents a major victory for an Irish language activist, Peadar MacFhlannchadha of Moycullen, Co Galway who had initiated a case on the issue against the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the High Court in 2016. The case was referred to the Luxembourg-based court by the High Court in Dublin after Mr MacFhlannchadha sought a declaration by the court that the department had failed to correctly transpose an EU directive on the labelling of veterinary medicines into Irish law. The department had argued that Mr MacFhlannchadha did not have locus standi to initiate such proceedings as well as claiming the issue could have profound implications for the entire agricultural sector, for the economy as a whole and, indeed, for human and animal health. It said it was of critical importance that an appropriate range and supply of veterinary medicines continued to be available in Ireland. The department warned that suppliers of veterinary medicines would probably withdraw entirely from the Irish market if they were required to provide labelling in Irish as well as English. The High Court agreed with Mr MacFhlannchadha that the Irish statutory instrument that transposed the EU directive was incompatible with the EU legislation as it did not require the labelling of such products in both Irish and English The effect of the Irish regulation is that no medicine sold in Ireland is labelled in Irish. However, the High Court deferred making an order in the case as Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh had noted that a new EU regulation due to come into effect in January 2022 would render Mr MacFhlannchadhas point moot. It sought guidance on whether it could refuse to provide the declaration sought by Mr MacFhlannchadha on the basis that it would be undone by the new regulation coming into effect. It will allow EU member states discretion as to the languages required on veterinary medicines which would make the existing Irish statutory instrument perfectly valid under EU law again. However, the CJEUs ruling on Wednesday stated that courts in EU member states must exercise its powers to take remedial steps to address national laws which incorrectly transpose EU legislation. The CJEU said the provisions of the existing directive remain binding until is repealed and replaced by the new one next year. The ruling also comes as a surprise as it reverses the legal opinion by an advocate general of the CJEU published in January which recommended that the Irish courts could defer making the declaration sought by Mr MacFhlannchadha A spokesperson for the CJEU said it was a curious, happy coincidence that the courts first-ever proceedings in the Irish language after almost 50 years took place on St Patricks Day. The San Francisco school boards decision to rename 44 schools faces a legal challenge from a local law firm joined by a prominent constitutional scholar, with a lawsuit filed Thursday. Attorney Paul Scott called on district officials to rescind the 6-1 vote, claiming the district failed to adequately notify the public that the decision would be final. His cure or correct demand gave the board 30 days to reverse the decision. Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University professor emeritus who has argued many cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, is also representing the plaintiffs, which include district high school alumni associations. After Scott threatened legal action in February, board President Gabriela Lopez announced the process to rename schools would be paused while the district focuses on reopening. In a public opinion piece in February, Lopez acknowledged mistakes were made in the selection of schools, saying that the district would move in a more deliberative process involving historians in future discussions. Yet the boards January decision to rename the schools still stands and requires each school site to suggest a new name by mid-April, with a formal recommendation submitted to the board by a renaming committee after that. The San Francisco Superior court judge assigned to the case, Ethan Schulman, issued a ruling Thursday calling on the district to do what is requested in the lawsuit to rescind the vote and dissolve the committee or show cause why they shouldnt be compelled to do so, Scott said. Scott said suing his childrens school district was definitely not on my bucket list of things to do this year. But a lot of people expressed concern about the school boards action, he said, and it seemed a gross abuse of due process in failing to get a fair and full input from the community. The district has until April 16 to respond to the suit. My hope is at last they do what the law requires, he said, which includes repealing the vote and dissolving the renaming committee, and get a fresh start here. District officials did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. The school board asserted in the controversial vote that the 44 school names, which include historic figures as well as locations or in one case a tree, had connections to slavery, oppression, racism or similar criteria. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. Lincoln, Washington, Mission and Lowell high schools were on the list as well as Jefferson, El Dorado and Alamo elementary schools. Supporters said the renaming was important and timely in light of a racial reckoning across the country, that now was always the right time to address systemic racism. But critics called the process slapdash, with little to no input from historians and a lack of information on the basis for each recommendation. In several cases, the committee members relied on Wikipedia to make a decision on whether a name met criteria. Scott said the board violated the requirements under the Brown Act the states open meeting law given the publicly noticed agenda item said the vote would decide on a list of potential schools to be renamed. The notice was inadequate and misleading, and the agenda item associated with the renaming issue gave no indication that the Board was going to make a final decision to rename 44 San Francisco public schools in a single vote at the meeting, according to the lawsuit. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker 35-year old Sulaiman Jubateh has been found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years in jail for sexually penetrating a 15- year- old child. Jubateh was in court on two counts of sexual penetration contrary to Section 19 of the Sexual Offence Act of 2012. Justice Momoh Jah Stevens said the State Prosecutor, Jane B. Kamara, called two witnesses including a police investigator, while the accused recorded having no witness but relied on the statement he made to the police. He said the court was told as to how the incident took place in January 2019. Testifying in court, the victim identified the convict as her father's close friend. She narrated that the convict took her to his residence, where he first asked her to suck his penis and thereafter sexually penetrated her. Justice Stevens further told the court that, the convict had told the victim not to explain to anyone about their encounter. He said the police investigator had earlier informed the court that, the victim and his father came with the convict and reported a matter of sexual penetration. He said the police had told the court that he issued out a medical report form and that from the examination conducted on the victim, it was discovered that her virgina was completely ruptured and that it was producing an offensive yellowish discharge resulting from sexual penetration. Justice Stevens said it was the burden of the prosecution to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt. The judge said the prosecution has proven their case beyond all reasonable doubt that the convict was guilty of the offence as charged. After handing down the judgement of 15 years jail term on the convict, Justice Stevens stated that Sierra Leone is not safe with the existence of such acts. The Iraqi government implemented March 15 visa on arrival status to citizens of several countries. The move constitutes a profound change to Iraqs visa policy. Citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union states, Russia, China and other countries can now get a visa upon entering Iraq via an airport or a land or sea border. Those entering will need to pay a fee and their entry is subject to coronavirus-related regulations, the Iraqi government said in a press release. The measure aims to boost the Iraqi economy. To this end, Iraq included all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council on the list. Citizens of the economic powerhouses Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland can also receive a visa on arrival. Iraq wants to encourage investment & support job creation, the government said in a tweet. Almost all foreigners needed to apply for an Iraqi visa before entering previously and this rule still applies for the states not on the exemption list, including Middle Eastern countries. The new policy will also make it easier for many international journalists to cover Iraqi news. The Iraqi federal government does not control visa requirements in the entire country. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq implements its own visa regimen. Citizens of the United States, the EU, Turkey, Iran and several other countries can enter the Kurdistan Region without obtaining a visa beforehand, according to the KRG. This policy has been in place for several years. The Iraqi governments visa announcement followed weeks of rumors in Iraqi online and social media. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Somalia will be allowed to conclude its final submissions to the International Court of Justice after Kenya reiterated pulling out of oral hearings. On Wednesday, Kenya's Attorney General Kihara Kariuki wrote to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), confirming Nairobi's earlier decision not to take part in oral submissions, protesting the scheduling. Somalia sued Kenya at the ICJ based at The Hague, seeking to redraw their maritime boundary in the Indian ocean from the current easterly parallel line of latitude to a diagonal border based on the line of equidistance. The decision now means Somalia will use the slot initially granted to Kenya to respond to Mogadishu's submissions made on Monday and Tuesday "In light of the fact that, by a letter dated 17 March 2021, the Republic of Kenya confirmed its decision not to participate in the oral proceedings, Somalia will present its final submissions on Thursday 18 March 2021 at 3pm (5pm EAT)," the Registrar announced on Wednesday. In their submissions on Monday and Tuesday, Somalia dragged in Tanzania, telling the court that Nairobi's 2009 maritime agreement with Tanzania, which follows a parallel line of latitude had influenced Nairobi to violate Somalia territory, by making the same call on the flow of the border. Paul Reichler, appearing for Somalia, said Nairobi had deliberately lost its own sea territory when it signed a deal with Tanzania. Kenya had argued that changing the flow of the boundary as Somalia has demanded would see Nairobi lose crucial fishing areas in the sea. Mogadishu, however, said Kenya would be demanding "charity" if the border remains as it is. The lawyers also argued that Kenya had violated Somalia's rights after it authorised oil firms to explore the fossil fuels in the disputed area. Somalia says it is seeking "remedies" for any future boundary dispute, but said they will not necessarily demand compensation from previous violations. The case which Somalia filed in August 2014 affects a sea area of about 100,000km2 thought to have lucrative fishing grounds and oil. Previously, Kenya has accused Somalia of auctioning blocks in the disputed area. Mogadishu too claims Kenya had given contracts for exploration to foreign firms. Judges will start writing their judgments after today's session. They do not usually have deadlines under which the judgments are delivered. Usually, each of the judges will write their independent verdicts which are then polled for majority or unanimous decision. Canada's procurement minister says a deal is close to receive Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the U.S., while the military commander in charge of the rollout here says all adults who wish could be able to get their first shot by July 1. Major General Dany Fortin responds to a question on COVID vaccines during a news conference, Thursday, January 14, 2021 in Ottawa. The military commander overseeing the complex logistics of Canada's COVID-19 program is almost ready to say there are enough doses coming into the country to get a first dose to all adults before Canada Day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Canada's procurement minister says a deal is close to receive Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the U.S., while the military commander in charge of the rollout here says all adults who wish could be able to get their first shot by July 1. "After numerous discussions with the Biden administration, Canada is in the process of finalizing an exchange agreement to receive 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the U.S.," Anita Anand said on Twitter on Thursday. "We look forward to providing an update to Canadians once the details are finalized." White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier that another 2.5 million doses would go to Mexico, but the details were still being worked out. The United States currently has seven million "releasable" doses of the vaccine, which has yet to receive approval from its Food and Drug Administration, she said. The loan would be in lieu of a future exchange of doses from Canada and Mexico, Psaki said either of the AstraZeneca vaccine or a different one. "God Bless America. They're coming to our rescue," Ontario Premier Doug Ford told a news conference in Hamilton. "I'll drive down there in my pickup and pick 'em up if we have to." U.S. President Joe Biden did not address the vaccine exchange when he updated Americans on that country's vaccination progress. He said the U.S. will have administered 100 million shots by Friday and that the country is on track to have enough vaccine supply to inoculate all adult Americans by the end of May. Last week, Canadian provinces began administering 500,000 doses of the version of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced at the Serum Institute of India. The federal government has purchased 20 million doses directly from AstraZeneca, but did not have a timeline for when they would arrive. Regulators in Europe and the United Kingdom have concluded the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks, but both are still studying whether the shot had any link to a small number of rare brain blood clots. Earlier Thursday, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing Canada's vaccine program logistics, said provinces should have enough doses by the end of the next quarter for everyone who wants to be vaccinated. But he later clarified that depends on provinces continuing to delay second doses up to four months so that more people can get their first shot sooner, as well as supplies coming in as planned. "While there is no indications of disruptions or fluctuations in the production, it is a pandemic with global demand on vaccines that are produced as rapidly as possible," Fortin said in Ottawa. "We are always subject to fluctuations in the production and the challenges of a complicated supply chain across the world and into this country." Although initial deliveries from Johnson & Johnson and shipments directly from AstraZeneca are still in limbo, there is more than enough from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in India to pass the one-dose-per-person target by the end of June. Procurement numbers show there are 36.5 million doses confirmed to be shipped by June 30. Only people over the age of 16 can currently be vaccinated and about 31 million Canadians are in that age group. Ottawa still says Canadians will be fully vaccinated by the end of September. Canada's deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said almost seven per cent of Canadians have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 1.6 per cent have received two doses. The vast majority of doses given in the past two weeks have been first shots. British Columbia announced Thursday that it would use its expected doses of AstraZeneca on 300,000 front-line workers, including police, teachers, grocery store workers and child-care workers. Premier John Horgan said immunizing these workers will make the province safer. Also Thursday, the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador said the Atlantic travel bubble will be restored by April 19. That means residents of the region will be able to travel within Atlantic Canada without having to isolate for 14 days. Travel between the four provinces has been restricted since the end of November, following a number of COVID-19 outbreaks. Meanwhile, Ontario, which is tightening restrictions in Ottawa amid "concerning trends", reported 1,553 new COVID-19 infections and 15 more deaths. Quebec has surpassed 300,000 COVID-19 infections with the 702 new cases reported Thursday. The province also added seven more deaths in its latest update. In Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney said COVID-19 data looked promising as his cabinet committee prepares next week to decide whether restrictions could be further eased. with files from Mia Rabson in Ottawa, James McCarten in Washington and Shawn Jeffords in Toronto. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. An artist's impression of winds in Jupiter's stratosphere near the planet's south pole, with the blue lines representing wind speeds. These lines are superimposed on a real image of Jupiter, taken by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft.Jupiter's famous bands of clouds are located in the lower atmosphere, where winds have previously been measured. But tracking winds right above this atmospheric layer, in the stratosphere, is much harder since no clouds exist there. By analysing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s and using the ALMA telescope, in which ESO is a partner, researchers have been able to reveal incredibly powerful stratospheric winds, with speeds of up to 1450 kilometres an hour, near Jupiter's poles. Credit: ESO/L. Calcada & NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, a team of astronomers has directly measured winds in Jupiter's middle atmosphere for the first time. By analyzing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s, the researchers have revealed incredibly powerful winds, with speeds of up to 1450 kilometers an hour, near Jupiter's poles. They could represent what the team have described as a "unique meteorological beast in our solar system." Jupiter is famous for its distinctive red and white bands, swirling clouds of moving gas that astronomers traditionally use to track winds in Jupiter's lower atmosphere. Astronomers have also seen, near Jupiter's poles, the vivid glows known as aurorae, which appear to be associated with strong winds in the planet's upper atmosphere. But until now, researchers had never been able to directly measure wind patterns in between these two atmospheric layers, in the stratosphere. Measuring wind speeds in Jupiter's stratosphere using cloud-tracking techniques is impossible because of the absence of clouds in this part of the atmosphere. However, astronomers were provided with an alternative measuring aid in the form of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 , which collided with the gas giant in spectacular fashion in 1994. This impact produced new molecules in Jupiter's stratosphere, where they have been moving with the winds ever since. A team of astronomers, led by Thibault Cavalie of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux in France, have now tracked one of these moleculeshydrogen cyanideto directly measure stratospheric jets on Jupiter. Scientists use the word "jets" to refer to narrow bands of wind in the atmosphere, like Earth's jet streams. "The most spectacular result is the presence of strong jets, with speeds of up to 400 meters per second, which are located under the aurorae near the poles," says Cavalie. These wind speeds, equivalent to about 1450 kilometers an hour, are more than twice the maximum storm speeds reached in Jupiter's Great Red Spot and over three times the wind speed measured on Earth's strongest tornadoes. "Our detection indicates that these jets could behave like a giant vortex with a diameter of up to four times that of Earth, and some 900 kilometers in height," explains co-author Bilal Benmahi, also of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux. "A vortex of this size would be a unique meteorological beast in our solar system," Cavalie adds. Astronomers were aware of strong winds near Jupiter's poles, but much higher up in the atmosphere, hundreds of kilometers above the focus area of the new study, which is published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Previous studies predicted that these upper-atmosphere winds would decrease in velocity and disappear well before reaching as deep as the stratosphere. "The new ALMA data tell us the contrary," says Cavalie, adding that finding these strong stratospheric winds near Jupiter's poles was a "real surprise." The team used 42 of ALMA's 66 high-precision antennas, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, to analyze the hydrogen cyanide molecules that have been moving around in Jupiter's stratosphere since the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9. The ALMA data allowed them to measure the Doppler shifttiny changes in the frequency of the radiation emitted by the moleculescaused by the winds in this region of the planet. "By measuring this shift, we were able to deduce the speed of the winds much like one could deduce the speed of a passing train by the change in the frequency of the train whistle," explains study co-author Vincent Hue, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in the US. In addition to the surprising polar winds, the team also used ALMA to confirm the existence of strong stratospheric winds around the planet's equator, by directly measuring their speed, also for the first time. The jets spotted in this part of the planet have average speeds of about 600 kilometers an hour. The ALMA observations required to track stratospheric winds in both the poles and equator of Jupiter took less than 30 minutes of telescope time. "The high levels of detail we achieved in this short time really demonstrate the power of the ALMA observations," says Thomas Greathouse, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in the US and co-author of the study. "It is astounding to me to see the first direct measurement of these winds." "These ALMA results open a new window for the study of Jupiter's auroral regions, which was really unexpected just a few months back," says Cavalie. "They also set the stage for similar yet more extensive measurements to be made by the JUICE mission and its Submillimetre Wave Instrument," Greathouse adds, referring to the European Space Agency's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer, which is expected to launch into space next year. This research is presented in the paper "First direct measurement of auroral and equatorial jets in the stratosphere of Jupiter" published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Explore further Scientists image a bright meteoroid explosion in Jupiter's atmosphere More information: "First direct measurement of auroral and equatorial jets in the stratosphere of Jupiter" Astronomy & Astrophysics (2021). www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140330 Journal information: Astronomy & Astrophysics "First direct measurement of auroral and equatorial jets in the stratosphere of Jupiter"(2021). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202140330 March 18 : Superstar Aamir Khan, who has recently quit social media, has said that now medias responsibility has increased as media would be the only connecting factor between him and his fans. He added saying that he quit social media because he wasnt active on it and he urged the media not to create their own theories behind his sudden decision. Aamir Khan was interacting with News Helpline at the special screening of Koi Jaane Na along with films actor Amyra Dastur and director Amin Hajee in Mumbai. Aamir Khan, a man of few posts, has "decided to drop the pretence" and quit social media. The actor made the announcement a day after his 56th birthday, writing tongue-in-cheek that he took the decision because he is "SO active anyway." The Dangal star thanked fans for their birthday wishes before announcing his intention to log off permanently. "Hey guys, thank you so much for all the love and warmth on my birthday. My heart is full. In other news, this is going to be my last post on social media. Considering that I am SO active anyway, I have decided to drop the pretence," Aamir Khan wrote. All things Aamir will now be shared via the official handle of his production house, Aamir Khan Productions. "We will continue to communicate as we did before. In addition, Aamir Khan Productions (AKP) has created its official channel. So, future updates on me and my films can be found there...Lots of love," Aamir wrote. When asked Khan is there any specific reason behind deactivating his personal Instagram handle, he said, You (media) dont create your own theories for it. I am always busy in my own work and company. Where do you see me on social media? I thought that I am not very active on it, so I decided to quit it. Making a sarcastic comment on the media persons, Khan said, I am here only. I am not going anywhere. Before the existence of social media, we used to communicate with each other. Now the media's role has increased because now I will be able to talk to my audience through the media so you (media) should feel more happy about it. I have full faith in the media. On film front, Aamir Khan will next be seen in Laal Singh Chaddha alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan, which will release on Christmas this year. The film is a Hindi remake of the 1994 Hollywood film Forrest Gump, which starred Tom Hanks in the lead role. 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. Les Wexner is leaving the board of L Brands, bringing an end to a long - and recently troubled - relationship with a company he built into a retail empire. Wexner, 83, and his wife, Abigail, wont stand for re-election at the annual shareholder meeting in May, the company said on Thursday (US time). Wexner had already relinquished his chairman seat last year at L Brands, the owner of Victorias Secret, though he had maintained in a chairman emeritus role. Abigail and Leslie Wexner are not seeking re-election on the L Brands board. Credit:AP The decision caps a nearly six-decade run for Wexner, whose once-sprawling company is now being dismantled. Victorias Secret, which has struggled with changing consumer tastes and controversy amid the #metoo movement, is being split off in the coming months, leaving only the Bath & Body Works chain. I am more confident than ever that we have very positive momentum as we approach the planned separation into two businesses, he said in a statement. Now is an ideal time for Abigails and my transition from the board. The New Hampshire attorney general ruled a shooting of an unarmed, naked man who was running toward a police officer was justified. Ethan Freeman, 37, was shot and killed by Thornton Police officer Matthew Yao on Oct. 19, 2020 outside his apartment. Body camera footage released Tuesday showed three interactions between Yao and Freeman that took place that day, including the events leading up to the shooting. In the video, Yao encounters Freeman, who is bloodied from a head wound and claims to not know his own identity and holding a piece of broken furniture. At one point Freeman jumps out of a window and threatens to kill Yao. After he charges at Yao multiple times, and the officer repeatedly yells at him to back up, Yao shoots Freeman after the mans last charge. [Warning: The following video contains graphic violence.3/8 All of the other evidence gathered from the investigation supports the conclusion that Officer Yao did reasonably believe that he faced the imminent use of deadly physical force from Mr. Freeman at the time that the officer fired his pistol, Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinkley said Tuesday. Officer Yao believed that when Mr. Freeman, who he heard had threatened his life, ultimately reached him, he would attempt to take his gun and shoot him, Hinckley said. The events leading up to Freemans shooting are bizarre and tragic. Freeman had a reported history of mental health issues, according to InDepthNH. Before Yao arrived, Freeman reportedly threatened to kill his landlord. Later he ran into the woods and into the lobby of a nearby school where he told staff he was experiencing chest pains. Staff later told police they suspected he had taken methamphetamines. At the school, Freeman told Yao he had not slept in a while. Freeman was transported with Yao in an ambulance but tried to escape. At a nearby hospital, Freeman ran toward an exit door but fell down. After he was released from the hospital and back at his apartment, Freeman began breaking things and screamed that he had been cut and was bleeding, according to his landlord. The landlord called Freemans mother and 911, officer Yao arrived at the scene first. Yao, who has been a police officer for three years, told investigators he had a Taser and pepper spray on him but did not think he had enough time to holster his gun and get a non-lethal instrument out before Freeman would have overwhelmed him. A complete set of the body camera footage released by the attorney generals office can be viewed here. Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (March 18) released the list of candidates for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth phases of West Bengal assembly elections. A total of 148 candidates have been named in the list. The state vice president of the party, president Mukul Roy will contest from Krishnanagar North constituency. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) releases a list of candidates for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth phases of #WestBengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/yzlo3otLfz ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2021 Campaigning for the upcoming polls has reached a feverish pitch as the two primary opponents - BJP and TMC - are pulling all stops to command the narrative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed public rallies in Purulia, where he accused the state government of corruption. "TMC is 'Transfer My Commission'. We believe in DBT - 'Direct Benefit Transfer'," said Modi. He said that BJP will build 'Sonar Bangla' to achieve the dream of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of arriving with cash during polls to lure voters and loot votes. Addressing an election campaign rally at Paschim Medinipur, Banerjee alleged that ahead of elections, BJP leaders "arrive here in choppers and planes from outside with bagful of cash to lure voters and loot votes". The TMC supremo also assured that if voted to power, her party will not allow the exercise of the National Population Register (NPR) to be implemented in the state. The assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. Live TV White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Psaki Stonewalls Queries on Press Access to Border Facilities The Biden administration has repeatedly championed its commitment to transparency, but wont let reporters into facilities holding child immigrants near the U.S. border. A growing surge of illegal border crossings, including a jump in unaccompanied minors, has led to intense scrutiny of the administrations immigration policies. At the same time, reporters have clamored for access to facilities housing the child immigrants. White House press secretary Jen Psaki has repeatedly stonewalled questions on when that access will be granted. We remain committed to doing that, she told reporters at the White House in Washington on Wednesday. The administration is working with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, which oversee the facilities, to arrange tours, while respecting the privacy and, obviously, the health protocols required by COVID, she said. Pressed on why the administration itself also hasnt released images from the facilities, Psaki added: We remain committed to transparency. I dont have an update for you on the timeline for access, but its certainly something we support. Some reporters said theyd been denied requests to ride along with Border Patrol agents. Psaki deferred questioning on the matter. We fully support transparency, and I would encourage you to talk to the Department of Homeland Security about any requests you have for press access or what youre looking to accomplish at the border, she said. The Epoch Times recently traveled with Border Patrol agents in Texas as they apprehended illegal immigrants. Border Patrol agents arrest seven illegal immigrants who tried to evade capture near Penitas, Texas, on March 15, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) The Biden administrations reversal of key Trump era policies has driven the surge in illegal immigrants, according to experts, Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats. Among the reversals: ending Trumps remain in Mexico policy and allowing unaccompanied minors to stay in the country, even amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Psaki defended the policies, saying, We decided that we will be more humane about how we approach this and that it will take time to deal with the higher numbers of child immigrants. Our policy continues to be: Were not going to send a 10-year-old back across the border. That was the policy of the last administration. Thats not our policy here, she said. Asked if that amounted to incentivizing parents to send their kids across the border alone, Psaki pointed to how President Joe Biden said this week that people should not cross the border into the United States. And he believes, as he talked about last night, that no parent is looking and just trying to make a bet on whether their kid can, kind of, make it, she said. This is a very difficult and treacherous journey. Most of these kids are fleeing very challenging circumstances. And his view is that theres a number of steps we need to take and steps that he hopes he can work with Democrats and Republicans on. So thats his goal. The Ukrainian mission to the OSCE informed the delegations of the participating states about new cases of changes in the positioning of the Russian occupation forces along the contact line in Donbas. In violation of provision a.) of the TCG agreement of 22 July 2020 that prohibits the conduct of offensive and subversive activities, the armed formations of the Russian Federation regularly change their positioning, which includes the advancement of their positions towards the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These actions are considered as provocative and offensive in nature, Nataliia Kostenko, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on March 17. As emphasized, the Ukrainian side regards engineering and fortification works conducted by the armed formations of the Russian Federation to build new and upgrade existing positions as a blatant violation of the Minsk agreements and disregard of the TCG agreement of 22 July 2020, as well as deliberate steps to destabilize the situation in the temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and adjacent territories and further instigation by Russia of the conflict it started. As reported, on July 22, the Trilateral Contact Group agreed on additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire in Donbas. The first paragraph of the TCG decision, which came into force on July 27, provides for a "ban on offensive, reconnaissance and sabotage operations, as well as a ban on the use of any type of aerial vehicles of the parties." Offensive operations, as defined in the agreement, should be understood to mean any attempt to change the positioning of troops made at the time of the adoption of this statement, including additional engineering equipment of positions and/or any advance or relocation of armed persons towards the adversary, including with the purpose of conducting reconnaissance or sabotage operations. ol On Wednesday evening she had the task of announcing to Tanzanians that President John Magufuli had died and on Thursday Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan is due to take his place as the country's head of state. First elected as Magufuli's running mate in 2015, she was re-elected last year and will serve out the rest of the five-year term in the top job. She will become Africa's only current female political head of state - the Ethiopian presidency is a largely ceremonial role - and join a shortlist of women on the continent who have made it to the top. The 61-year-old is affectionately known as Mama Samia - in Tanzanian culture that reflects the respect she is held in, rather than reducing her to a gendered role. But she was a surprise choice for a running mate in 2015, leaping over several other more prominent politicians in the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power in one form or another since independence in 1961. First elected to a public office in 2000, she came to national prominence in 2014 as the vice-chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, created to draft a new constitution. There her calm demeanour in managing occasional outbreaks of pandemonium and the way in which she dealt with some of the more outspoken members earned her plaudits. In terms of personality, she strikes a contrast with Magufuli. Where he appeared impulsive, not afraid to speak off the cuff and let his feelings be known, she is more thoughtful and considered. She is also said to be a good listener who believes in following the correct procedures. 'Capable leader' One MP, January Makamba, who worked with her in the vice-president's office, has called her "the most underrated politician in Tanzania". "I have observed at close quarters her work ethic, decision-making and temperament. She is a very capable leader," he said. But where this places her in terms of policy is not yet clear. Most significantly she has to decide whether to continue her predecessor's sceptical approach to dealing with coronavirus. There was no doubt that she was loyal to the president but she was not afraid to strike out on her own. Perhaps the most significant evidence of that was in 2017 when she visited opposition leader Tundu Lissu in hospital in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, after he had survived an assassination attempt. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Amazon India today announced the launch of the Amazon Smbhav- Build for India Hackathon organized by Skillenza, supported by Amazon. Amazon Smbhav- Build for India Hackathon, a part of Amazons flagship event Smbhav, aims at bringing the community of developers together and enable development of unique and disruptive solutions towards creating an AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Amazon Smbhav Build for India Hackathon has been designed to provide developers and software engineers with the opportunity to build innovative solutions and solve real-world problems. The 10 winners are eligible to win cumulative cash prizes of up to INR 15 lakhs from Skillenza in addition to getting redeemable Amazon Web Services credits and access to informative webinars and mentoring sessions provided by industry leaders. The hackathon is open for working professionals with teams ranging from 1 to 4 members. Additional details on the hackathon are available on https://www.smbhav.com/summit/hackathon. Registrations for the Amazon Smbhav- Build for India hackathon have begun and will close on 22 March 2021. Pranav Bhasin, Director, MSME & Selling Partner Experience, Amazon India said, Its our firm belief that technology and innovation will be a key enabler in realizing the potential of India in the 21st century. India has a thriving startup ecosystem and over the past few years, we have seen great examples of business ideas and product innovation emerge that have been transformative in nature. Young entrepreneurs are eager to drive a change and are brimming with ideas that can drive step-function change in the trajectory of India. We are happy to sponsor Amazon Smbhav Build for India Hackathon organized by Skillenza as it will not only empower entrepreneurs to realize their full potential but also support the growth of Indias startup ecosystem by offering them access to the right ecosystem. Amazon Smbhav is one of our biggest platforms that enables, empowers and enriches young entrepreneurs from any part of India to make it big. The two themes for the hackathon, Business Innovation and Sustainability & Healthcare are aimed at empowering ideas and businesses that focus on technology innovation and creative strategic proposals that will promote and enable further development and self-sufficiency in India. The theme Business Innovation is one where, developers will work on building products that put the SMBs in the centre of the Indian economy. The areas of innovation include SaaS for SMBs like book-keeping and accounting that would put the SMB sector on the fast track, develop innovative solutions for bringing SMB online along quick website creation tools, plug n play e-commerce solutions for creating online stores, and build tools which can enable invoice discounting, peer to peer lending, faster and secure digital payments. The other theme, Sustainability and Healthcare is focused on creating products that can address areas that are a priority for the world at large. Under this umbrella theme, Amazon is seeking ideas that will create solutions for smart cities, energy efficiency, data analytics engines that make cities run efficiently and productizing high impact innovations which can operate at scale and provide affordable medical solutions to the distant corners of the country. The competition will involve six phases including outreach, team creation and ideation; first shortlisting, product building, final shortlisting, live demo and winners announcement. The second edition of Amazon Smbhav will be hosted from April 15-18th, 2021. Smbhav 2021 will bring together important industry and thought leaders for invigorating discussions on way ahead towards creating an AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Amazon Smbhav will be a four-day virtual summit hosted around the theme of Unlocking Infinite Possibilities for India across sectors like manufacturing, retail, logistics, IT/ITeS, content creators, start-ups, brands and entrepreneurs across India. Over 30,000 participants are expected to participate at Amazon Smbhav, learning about best practices and industry trends from over 70 speakers. Amazon supported events are organised by third parties and Amazon does not decide and is not responsible for the selection of participants, their evaluation or the winners of these events. The events are not open to employees of Amazon and its affiliates. Fulfill, the food bank that provides millions of meals a year to residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties, is asking Monmouth officials to include it in the countys allocation of federal grant money under this years COVID-19 stimulus package after the county failed to provide any funding under last years CARES Act. Monmouths failure to award Fulfill any money during last falls round of the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program was in contrast to Ocean Countys decision to award the food bank a $355,228 CDBG grant in 2020, said Fulfills chief executive officer, Kim Guadagno. CDBG grants are funded by the federal government but awarded by counties. On Friday, Ocean informed Fulfill it would receive an additional grant of more than $44,000, to bring its total allocation of federal coronavirus relief funds from the county to $400,000. Literally, the Ocean County people sent us a grant application almost immediately, Guadagno, a former Republican Monmouth County sheriff and lieutenant governor under Gov. Chris Christie, said of Oceans response after she contacted county officials last summer. By December, we had the money. Referring to Monmouths 2021 round of CDBG grants under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, Guadagno added, I dont want to be forgotten again this year. But county officials say Fulfill was not forgotten; it didnt apply. Upon review, Fulfill did not submit an application for the first round of CARES Act grant funding, which was open to non-profits and small businesses, Thomas Arnone, director of the ounty board of commissioners stated in an email on Friday. I personally spoke to the Chair of the Fulfill Board of Trustees and informed her that their application was never filed. In response to Arnones assertion, Fulfill released a timeline composed by Guadagno later on Friday acknowledging that it did not apply for funds directly after the county announced in June that it would limit coronavirus relief grants to businesses or organizations with up to 50 employees, a smaller number than the food bank employs. But, according to the timeline, Fulfill told the dozens of individual soup kitchens and shelters in its provider network to apply for grants, which the county limited to $10,000. To our knowledge, none received any of the $108 million funding from Monmouth County, the timeline states. Fulfill, which gets just under 90% of its funding from private contributions, is now putting together its 2021-22 budget for the fiscal year starting in July. Its projected to be about $19 million, more than double the $8.7 million, 2020-21 budget, which was adopted last summer only a few months after the pandemic began taking its toll on employment and income, with a dramatic impact on hunger. Ultimately, that impact translated to 250% increase in the demand for food among residents of Fulfills bi-county service area. The number of regular clients rose almost as dramatically, from 136,000 people pre-pandemic to 215,000 now, including 70,000 children, Guadagno said. Half of those people live in Monmouth County, Guadagno said. To put Fulfill on Monmouth commissioners radar early in the grant making process, Guadagno sent a letter on Wednesday to the director of the county board of commissioners, Thomas Arnone, urging him and fellow commissioners to include Fulfill among this years recipients of CDBG money. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage Specifically, Guadagno asked for a grant of $725,000, which amounts to 12% of what Fulfill spent on food for Monmouth County residents last year. Over the past year, Fulfill has provided 3.3 million more meals to the food insecure in Monmouth County than we did the prior year, at a cost of $4.7 million, Guadagno wrote. This includes 1.1 million meals to Long Branch; 1.2 million to Asbury Park; 303,140 to Neptune; and, 460,443 to the County seat of Freehold Boro and Township to name a few. State Senator Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), who represents those communities in New Jerseys 11th Legislative District, issued a statement Wednesday noting that during the pandemic, Fulfill had nonetheless been able to tend to families in need in both Monmouth and Ocean Counties even with a lack in funding. Still, he urged commissioners to include Fulfill in this years grant program. In a phone interview, Gopal acknowledged that there are many non-profits in Monmouth County supplying food and other essentials to those hit hard by the pandemic, and it was incumbent on commissioners to distribute this years grants fairly and effectively. Theyve got to look at everybody, Gopal said. And I hope every food bank is getting a piece of it. In Ocean County, the director of the board of commissioners, Gary Quinn, said staffers in his countys planning department who screen the annual CDBG applications concluded last year that Fulfill was a qualifying agency that provided a vital service to Oceans hungry residents. Certainly, COVID having hit us as hard as it did, the need that Fulfill had was tremendous, Quinn said. Referring to this years grants, he added, Im sure well have Fulfill on our list again. Fulfill CEO Kim Guadagno, a former Republican Monmouth County sheriff and lieutenant governor, has asked Monmouth County's all-Republican Board of Commissioners for $750,000 in federal grant money to offset the increasing cost of food for Monmouth residents hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Noah K. Murray NOTE: This article was updated to reflect a comment received Friday by Monmouth County Commissioner Thomas Arnone, and a response from Fulfill to Arnones comment. Nobody knows Jersey better than N.J.com. Sign up to get breaking news alerts straight to your inbox. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com Spain is already known for its afternoon siestas, but now the country may take a new approach to work-life balance with the introduction of a permanent four-day workweek. The idea was proposed by Spanish political party Mas Pais and recently received government approval for a pilot program trialing the shortened workweek. According to The Guardian, the president of Mas Pais, Inigo Errejon, said, "Spain is one of the countries where workers put in more hours than the European average. But we're not among the most productive countries. I maintain that working more hours does not mean working better." The exact details of the pilot program are still being discussed among government officials, but Errejon's party has proposed a three-year, 50-million-euro project that would allow companies to try reducing their hours with minimal risk. The costs of a company trialing the four-day workweek, for example, could be covered at 100% the first year, 50% the second year, and 33% the third year. "With these figures, we calculate that we could have around 200 companies participate, with a total of anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 workers," Hector Tejero of Mas Pais said, according to The Guardian. "The only red lines are that we want to see a true reduction of working hours and no loss of salary or jobs." Tejero also said that the pilot program could launch as early as this upcoming fall, adding that "Spain will be the first country to undertake a trial of this magnitude. A pilot project like this hasn't been undertaken anywhere in the world." Though no other country has officially tried to implement a four-day workweek, the idea has been gaining popularity in recent years. Several European government officials, including those in Germany and the U.K., have expressed their support for a four-day workweek. New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, also once suggested it might be a way to help the country recover post-COVID. Jessica Poitevien is a Travel + Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but she's always on the lookout for her next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram. European countries on the brink of a third wave: Experts Large parts of Europe are at the start of a third wave, experts have said, with warnings that the decision to pause the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over health concerns is likely lead to a rise in cases and a high number of deaths as more contagious new variants account for the majority of cases. A sluggish vaccine programme, hampered by a shortage of supplies, has already been far slower than expected in the Europe. Cases have increased in Italy. On Tuesday, Poland announced a three-week partial lockdown from this weekend. Germanys incidence rate has risen to 88.8 per 100,000 over seven days and so on. Read here Scientists are studying the potential effect of vaccines on long Covid symptoms. But as of now, there are only anecdotes. Besides those who report feeling better after the shots, many people say they have experienced no change and a small number say they feel worse. Even doctors are divided on the potential outcome. Some say the vaccine may be a good antidote to long Covid, while other stress the fact that it is too early to come to any conclusion. However, a small British study, which is not yet peer reviewed, showed that eight months after people were hospitalised for Covid, those who were vaccinated experienced improvement in more long Covid symptoms than those who werent yet vaccinated. Read here Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 121,130,924 Global deaths: 2,679,063 Nations with most cases: US (29,604,448), Brazil (11,693,838), India (11,438,734), Russia (4,368,943), United Kingdom (4,287,996). Source: John Hopkins Research Center WHO and European Commission urge countries to keep using AstraZeneca vaccine The World Health Organization and the head of the European Commission urged European countries to use the AstraZeneca vaccine and expressed confidence that it was safe, as investigations continue into unusual cases of side effects that led several countries to pause administering the shots. The head of the WHOs vaccines department said cases of blood clots reported among millions of Europeans who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine were rare. And, she said, it was not unusual that some of those vaccinated should suffer blood clots resulting from other health conditions. No causative link has yet emerged between the vaccine and blood clots or severe bleeding. The European Unions top drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, is expected to give its assessment of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday. Read here France probes new, potentially evasive Covid variant Scientists are investigating a new coronavirus variant that has been detected in western France that may evade testing more successfully than other versions. However, early analysis did not suggest the mutation was more contagious or more deadly than earlier versions of the virus. Scientists want to understand if the variant can hide from testing after several of the patients delivered negative PCR tests and returned a positive result only from samples taken from blood or deep in the respiratory system. Eight cases of the new variant were identified in a cluster in a western France hospital. International agencies have been alerted to the discovery of the new variant. Read here Link Consulting Services Ranks No. 68 on Inc. Magazines List of Californias Fastest-Growing Private Companies This recognition [...] indicates that we are providing unparalleled service to clients and candidates and building stronger partnerships. Inc. magazine revealed that Link Consulting Services is No. 68 on its second annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: California list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing California-based private companies. Link Consulting Services is a global staffing services and recruitment consulting organization specializing in executive search, business leaders, technology experts, and diversity recruiting. Ranking within the top 70 fastest-growing private companies in Californiathe largest state economy in the U.S.is a great accomplishment, said Natalia Sans, CEO and Founder of Link Consulting Services. This recognition, along with our ranking as No. 945 on the 2020 Inc. 5000, indicates that we are providing unparalleled service to clients and candidates and building stronger partnerships. Since day one our mission has been to connect Fortune 500 organizations with the diverse experts they need to achieve their technology and business objectives, and Link Consulting Services rapid growth has demonstrated that we are fulfilling that mission every day, even during particularly challenging circumstances. I am very proud of our team and grateful to partner with excellent clients and candidates. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, the Inc. 5000 Regionals: California list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the California economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in California. This list proves the power of companies in California no matter the industry, said Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: California, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/california. About Link Consulting Services Link Consulting Services is a global staffing services and recruitment consulting organization specializing in executive search, business leaders, technology experts, and diversity recruiting. The company is ranked #945 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies, and is among the select few to earn ClearlyRateds coveted Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for two consecutive years. Since 2005, internal Consultants have placed more than 10,000 highly skilled experts and executives in Fortune 500 and industry-leading organizations around the world, leveraging Link Consulting Services proprietary Recruitment as a Service model and more than 50 years of combined management experience in the recruitment industry. CEO and Founder Natalia Sans serves on the Forbes Los Angeles Business Council. Learn more at http://www.link-cs.com. More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regional are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. Wisconsin-based Society Insurance has plans to launch its insurance programs for the hospitality industry in Texas this year. In business for more than 100 years, Society Insurance offers property/casualty coverages, partnered with underwriting, risk management and claims handling for restaurants, bars, brewpubs, craft breweries and more. Specializing in comprehensive, tailor-made packages for businesses, Society will work with local independent insurance agents across the Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth markets. In the wake of Winter Storm Uri earlier this year, Society Insurance partnered with restaurants in Austin, Texas, to coordinate the delivery of meals to hospitals and organizations in need. In total, Society donated and hand-delivered more than 1,300 meals to St. Davids Medical Center, Ascension Seton Medical Center, and SAFE Alliance shelters. Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wis., Society Insurance operates in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and Colorado. It will launch in Texas in 2021. Source: Society Insurance Topics Texas New Markets Wisconsin The nurse had watched the nursing home resident suffering with breathing complications from COVID-19. She saw him repeatedly try to remove his oxygen mask and asked him if he "wanted to let go and go to Heaven" so he could "fly with the angels." She then removed his oxygen mask without a doctor's order. The man died. The alleged incident inside Wedgewood Healthcare Center in southern Indiana is detailed in a state health inspection report reviewed by IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network. Local police and the nursing home operator, Ohio-based Communicare, confirmed to IndyStar that the attorney general was investigating. The report says the resident, identified only as "Resident B," had COVID-19 and had endured days of aggressive oxygen treatment. The nurse, who is not named in the inspection report, later described the ordeal in social media posts. "I just want y'all to know the hardest thing I've ever done in 28 years start a patient on O2 for 4 days 12 LPM. with a non-rebreather mask," she wrote, describing the oxygen treatment of the resident. "I asked him on day 4 if he's tired he said yes I said do you want me to take all this off for you and let you go and fly with the angels and he said yes." The post continued: "I took it all off of him I went in the hallway and I cried and I let him go and he passed away ... after I left." According to the inspection report, no further care was provided to the resident for nearly eight hours until his death. Inspectors cited the facility for abuse and neglect, failure to notify changes in the resident's condition, among other violations. Neither the resident's doctor nor the family was told about the oxygen mask until after the resident's death, according to the inspection. The facility learned of the nurse's actions days later only after another employee saw the nurse's social media posts and sent screenshots to the nursing home's executive director. Story continues "It's just heartbreaking in a whole new way," said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a national group that advocates for nursing home residents. Tracking COVID-19 vaccine distribution by state: How many people have been vaccinated in the US? An excerpt of the Indiana Department of Health inspection report dated May 12, 2020. The report says the man died nearly eight hours after the nurse removed his oxygen. Clarksville Police Chief Mark Palmer told IndyStar that the case had been referred to the state attorney general's office. A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said she "could neither confirm or deny" whether the case was being investigated. Beth DeFalco, spokeswoman for Communicare, confirmed that the attorney general was investigating and that the company was cooperating "at every step." Illustrated guide: What to expect before and after getting a COVID-19 vaccine Poor staffing likely contributed to COVID-19 death The nurses action is an extreme example of the stress and challenges nursing home workers across Indiana faced dealing with COVID-19. At the time, Indiana was at the first peak of coronavirus cases, both inside its nursing homes and in the general public. Wedgewood was among the facilities hit particularly hard by the virus. At least 70 residents have contracted the coronavirus, and 20 have died at the 124-bed facility owned by Columbus Regional Hospital. Going into the pandemic, Wedgewood had the lowest possible staffing rating from federal regulators much below average and was in the bottom 15% for total staffing nationally. The Wedgewood nurse told inspectors she had been having a terrible" week when she removed the oxygen from the resident. She said she had been taking care of more than 40 COVID-19 patients at the time and had forgotten to contact the doctor. Background on this series: What you need to know about IndyStar's nursing home investigation In its citation, state inspectors said the potential for harm started when the nurse removed the resident's oxygen but persisted for weeks later because the facility needed to continue monitoring staff who were working more than 40 hours a week. Even though the nurse took action on her own, the facility is ultimately responsible for the care of the residents, Mollot said. "The nursing home is responsible for the actions if its staff and for maintaining an environment where the staff is well-trained about residents' rights and appropriate care and treatment," Mollot told IndyStar. "This is a system with a lot of checks and balances, and a lot of checks and balances were missing for this to occur." In response to the state's inspection, the facility said it would update its policies, increase its oversight of resident progress notes and complete regular audits of resident conditions and assessments. It also said it would track hours by position to identify staff working overtime and monitor staff to make sure they get enough rest. In an email to IndyStar, Communicare's DeFalco defended the care the company provided. "Communicare staff have worked tirelessly to care for our residents during this global pandemic and we have followed all state and federal safety guidelines," she said, although several Indiana facilities managed by the company were cited for violations last year. She also said that "nursing homes are being held to a higher scrutiny than hospitals and ERs." Red flags: Here's what to do and what to look out for when choosing a nursing home Kelsey DeClue, public relations director for Columbus Regional Health, which owns Wedgewood, called the situation heartbreaking and said Communicare "worked in a diligent, timely manner to correct all deficiencies identified as a result of the (inspection)." The nurse could face criminal charges. Indiana has no assisted suicide law, and helping a person end their life can be a crime. Legislation that would allow people with a terminal illness to request medication from a health care provider to bring about a peaceful death has been introduced in the Indiana General Assembly for at least the past three years. But none of those proposals have gained any traction. Cases that are investigated by the attorney general are referred first to local prosecutors, who decide whether to pursue the case or hand it off to the attorney general. In the latter case, the attorney general will identify the appropriate charges. Reach reporter Emily Hopkins at emily.hopkins@indystar.com. Follow reporters Tim Evans and Tony Cook on Twitter: @starwatchtim, @IndyStarTony Opinion: Infectious disease expert, former attorney general: Prioritize COVID vaccines for inmates Just started collecting Social Security? Here's how to know whether you'll owe taxes on it This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana nursing home nurse under investigation for unhooking oxygen 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. It was another Covid-era Wednesday night, another Zoom call, but for the entire hour, nobody spoke. None of the attendees even looked at each other. All eight of their heads were tilted down, their pens and the corners of their notebooks occasionally bobbing into view of the laptop cameras. These writers were gathered, virtually, for their weekly accountability session, a variation on the traditional writing group that replaces discussions and feedback with focused quiet time. Some of these informal gatherings have flourished as people who once shied away from writing groups because of the time commitment, commute or intimidation factor of a room full of aspiring authors are finding that the pandemic has lowered the barriers to entry. The idea of a writing community in New York is very scary, said Hannah Pasternak, 25, an editor at Self magazine who started the group last March, around the time that many offices in New York City were closing because of the pandemic. You feel like everybody is better than you, or everybody has a book deal and you dont, or everybody is published in X magazine or Y magazine. She was inspired by a fiction writing class she took at the 92nd Street Y in January 2020, which helped her realize that not all writing spaces needed to feel competitive. When the pandemic hit and she couldnt take another class in person, she posted on Instagram that she would be writing for an hour that Wednesday night and invited anyone to join her. [March 18, 2021] Amazon Air Launches First Air Gateway in Fairbanks, Alaska Today, Amazon begins operations at its new air gateway at Fairbanks International Airport in Fairbanks, Alaska. This is Amazon Air's second location in the state and its most northern gateway in the world. The first flight, on Amazon Air's branded 737 cargo aircraft operated by Sun Country Airlines, will arrive this evening from Portland International Airport. The service will continue daily. "The addition of this gateway in Fairbanks allows us to deliver items to our customers faster, while gaining the ability to deliver to areas of Alaska that were not previously serviced by Amazon Air," said Sarah Rhoads, Vice President of Amazon Global Air. "Fairbanks International Airport, the city of Fairbanks, and Naniq Global Logistics, LLC, have been excellent partners through this process and we're looking forward to serving the people of Alaska more efficiently together." Amazon Air's newest gateway will include an onsite area to sort packages bound for their next destination and will be managed by an Amazon logistics partner, Naniq Global Logistics, LLC. The site will create more than 50 new jobs in the area. People interested in learning more about open positions with Naniq Global Logistics, LLC, may visit the company's careers page. Angie Spear, Fairbanks International Airport Manager, added, "We've been looking forward to welcming Amazon Air at their new gateway at Fairbanks International Airport. This new location will expand Amazon's presence, not only in Fairbanks, but in some of the most rural areas in the region. Throughout the last year especially, they've focused on getting necessary items to customers quickly and efficiently and we're honored to be a part of those efforts here in our backyard." Bryce Ward, Mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, said, "The addition of Amazon to Fairbanks is incredibly exciting for the people of our area. The air gateway will indirectly create more than 50 local jobs and will reduce delivery times for necessary items the people of Fairbanks and others in the area need. I want to congratulate everyone involved in helping make this partnership with Amazon a reality, and we welcome Amazon along with its related job opportunities, to Fairbanks." Kimberly Howard, Naniq Global Logistics, LLC, President, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Amazon Air to Fairbanks and look forward to creating new jobs in the months ahead for Alaskans. We partner with companies who share our values, and Amazon supports our commitment to hire local, indigenous people across our operations. We're excited to continue our partnership with the company in Alaska and globally." Photos of Amazon aircraft can be found here. Additional photos and video of Amazon Air operations at Fairbanks International Airport will be available soon. About Amazon Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005279/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... DETROIT The Movement for Black Lives is opposing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, arguing the bill doubles down on reform strategies that have historically failed to center marginalized communities and address police violence nationwide, according to a blistering letter to congressional leaders, first shared with The Associated Press. The movement, which was formed in 2014, is a coalition of 150 organizations nationwide that helped drive the global protests against racial inequity last summer. It is demanding Congress create new, comprehensive legislation to confront disinvestment, mass incarceration and systemic racism in America. While the Justice in Policing Act has been called one of the most ambitious efforts in decades to overhaul policing, the movement is concerned it doesnt address the root causes that have led to Black Americans dying at the hands of police. The House passed the bill earlier this month, but the movements opposition presents a new roadblock for Democrats. Even though the party controls both chambers of Congress, a tough road lies ahead for Senate approval. Over this summer, communities lifted up solutions that would truly address the root causes of police violence and terror, the movement wrote in a letter addressed to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and to Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and shared with the AP on Wednesday. Justice in Policing, by its very name, centers investments in policing rather than what should be front and center upfront investments in communities and people. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The bill, which is named for the man whose killing by police in Minnesota last Memorial Day sparked global protests against racial inequity, would ban chokeholds and qualified immunity for law enforcement while creating national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. The bill is supported by President Joe Biden and has received support from some of the nations leading civil rights organizations. The officer that killed George Floyd was looking at the camera as he killed him, said Bass, who authored the bill, prior to the House vote in an interview with the AP. Why? Because he felt he could operate with impunity. The movement said that while it does support the end of qualified immunity, which shields law enforcement from certain lawsuits, it believes the bill in its current form focuses on reactive measures and incrementalist reforms. Instead, the movement is pushing political leaders to enact the BREATHE Act, which it proposed last July and believes addresses the fundamental causes of police violence. The AP first reported that the BREATHE Act would transform the nations criminal justice system through sweeping changes, such as eliminating the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of surveillance technology, abolishing mandatory minimums and ending life sentences. The bill, designed by the Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project, would also redirect funding toward communities to address the nations systemic racial injustices. Its not just about after the fact accountability, said Gina Clayton-Johnson, the lead BREATHE Act architect and leadership team member of the Movement for Black Lives Policy Table. Theres this thought that Black people are dying at the hands of police officers because individual officers are bad actors, but it is actually a systemic issue, and if you understand it to be systemic, then the solutions must also be systemic. The letter lists five central concerns driving the opposition, including the fact that the movement believes the act will provide new money to the very systems that have always served to kill, cage, and destroy the families of Black people. The movement also criticizes the act for failing to center the voices of community members who are closest to the problem. The bill bans federal use of chokeholds, ignoring the reality that police have killed Black people in this manner regardless of whether these bans are in place, the letter states. A no knock warrant ban would not have saved Breonna Taylors life, just like a ban on chokeholds did not save Eric Garners life. The JPA fails to address the root causes and realities of policing in this country. Individual organizations are still signing onto the letter, but organizers said the movement is mobilizing 165,000 active supporters to contact their elected officials, as part of their push against the Justice in Policing Act. But the movement faces a significant uphill battle in securing needed political support from lawmakers who will be key in pushing forward the BREATHE Act or revamping the Justice in Policing Act. This is a radical transformation, challenging the very tenets of the system, said Nadia Brown, a Purdue University political science professor, who added that change is often incremental in politics. And thats a tough act to get Americans to believe even those who stand with and understand policing in the United States as being a wholly racist and unjust system. But the stakes are equally as high for Democratic leaders who were elected in part because of the organizing led by many Black activists on the ground seeking transformative change, Brown said, including some younger generations of voters. There are large and vocal populations that will not be satisfied, Brown said. You cant divorce racism and the liberty of Black bodies from policing. And thats what the Movement for Black Lives is trying to get us to think about. And Clayton-Johnson believes transformative change is whats owed to all Black Americans, including Black organizers and voters who turned out in significant numbers to help elect Biden and other Democrats last year. Black people have organized, have pushed and created the pathways for you to sit in the seat that you are in and it is because there has been a hope and an understanding that you will deliver on a commitment to race justice and equality, said Clayton-Johnson, also executive director of the Essie Justice Group. We are owed the opportunity to be safe and that includes first and foremost to be safe from a criminal legal system that has been harming us and taking the lives of Black people and of our loved ones for years, she said. ___ Stafford is an investigative reporter on The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kat__stafford. ___ Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. New Delhi: NASA's rover to the Mars has sent back an audio file containing sounds of the Perseverance driving on the Red Planet. This is the first such audio recorded of any vehicle driving around in Mars. The 16-minute raw audio feed is grinding, clanking, banging affair worry people back on Earth. "If I heard these sounds driving my car, I'd pull over and call for a tow. But if you take a minute to consider what you're hearing and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense," Dave Gruel, an engineer on the rover team, said in a written NASA statement. Though, the NASA engineers are trying to figure out a unexpected high-pitched scratching noise recorded in the driving audio. Listen here: Hear that? Thats the sound of me driving over Martian rocks. This is the first time weve captured sounds while driving on Mars. Read full story: https://t.co/oqdnCJShjm pic.twitter.com/yKwypUSnE7 NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 17, 2021 On Wednesday, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California released the 16-minute raw audio feed of the rover's six metal wheels and suspension on the very first test drive which took place two weeks ago. Perseverance is on the Red Planet searching for signs of past life, it will collect samples from the most promising rocks and bring it back to Earth. The rover carries two microphones. One already has captured the sounds of wind and rock-zapping lasers, the other was meant to record the descent and landing. This second mike didn't pick up any sounds of the rover's arrival at Mars, but managed to record the first test drive March 4. The Perseverance is the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent to Mars. One Mans Escape From Communist Vietnam Theres a different story for every boat person who escaped communist Vietnam. For one man, Binh Tran, his journey involved a boat he built with some friends. As the last Americans pulled out of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975, the communist North Vietnamese Army and the souths communist Viet Cong forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, also known as the Republic of Vietnam. The shift, now referred to as the end of the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon, drastically changed the lives of the South Vietnamese people. Tran was a young pharmacist. After the communists unified the north and the south, forming the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976, the subsequent lack of freedoms prompted him to leave for a better life. [At the time], if you want to say something true, you cannot say it. If you want to do something productive and good for the people around you, you cannot do it. You cant live a life like that, he explained to The Epoch Times Crossroads in broken English. He said Vietnamese people could not speak up about their condition. And if they did, nothing would change anyway. We just wanted to say the truth, [for example] what it is now, whats the life now, and what do you want to do to improve it? But we cannot say it, he said. If we want to do better, we dont know what is the bad one to improve yetbut no, you cannot say the bad things. You know people cannot have enough food. Now for example, how to improve it? The people have no medication, and [if you want more medication], how to improve it? No one would listen to you. That is the problem, he added. The communists in charge wanted to reeducate the people who lived under the former government of the Republic of Vietnam, Tran noted. Because he wasnt directly involved in resisting the communists during the war, he was not sent to a reeducation camp. But he was still subjected to other forms of punishment. Talking life for me, I had to spend one year for them to brainwash [us] about what is the communist theoryhow good it is, and [the idea is] then youd forget everything else, he described. But definitely, they cannot do it. They cannot do it. We [were] mature enough. Forced Labor Tran was subjected to forced labor in the fields. They make us go to labor, real labor! You go to the fields, you have to dig the soil to build the levee here, he recounted, further elaborating: Were not directly involved [in the war]. The people who got directly involved were in the forced labor. But we were in it together [with those people]. [The communists would] move us to the fieldsnot in the campand after so many days, we were back to the schools for a few days to study politics. And then wed move again to another field. That was the way it was. Labor and politicsthey want to brainwash us. But they cannot do, Tran said. It took Tran and his friends, a group of about five people, about a year to build the boat. It measured six feet (1.8 meters) by 15 feet (4.5 meters)well, about 18 feet (5.5 meters) if you counted a special pointy section of the boat that was designed to cut the wave, Tran said. That boat would ultimately hold 58 people, even though theyd planned for about 25 people. The escape was full of obstacles. Tran and his friends had to bribe a policeman near Vung Tau Capethe southernmost part of Vietnam, to let them move freely to the area. Once the group proceeded to transport the boat further toward the sea, they had to try bribing a different policeman guarding another area they needed to pass. However, it did not go like [the first] one. We were arrested, Tran said, clarifying that he himself wasnt arrested. The main thing is, the captain was arrested. And all of the other members in the family of my friend [were] arrested. He became the only person in the group in a leadership role to continue efforts to escape the country. So Im the only person left who knows about that [leaving the country], who [gets to] decide to escape or not, he said of the situation. That was a stormy nightvery strong, strong. But I made decisionYes, we have to escape.' He continued: So only myself, I had to contact the police againa whole bunch of them, almost all Vung Tau police, about 100 of them. And then [I had] to look for the guy we bribed before. Protected by a Storm The man theyd bribed before helped provide the group with a compass and some engine oil. He told Tran to go to buoy number eight. A fisherman helped to transport Tran there. And I allow, definitely, his family members to go with us too Because one of the family members on the boat already, he recounted, smiling. The fisherman didnt decide to leave too, though. The police caught wind of the situation and pursued the group as they were leaving. But the storm, a seeming deterrent, ultimately protected them. They chasing us, the police. But then, luckily stormy, strong storm. About 15 minutes later, they let us go. They dont want to risk their lives, Tran recalled. Tran fainted after that police pursuit and slept for two days on the boat, while a 16-year-old boy helped to navigate the boathe was the only one who knew how. When Tran woke up, his boat encountered a big ship. While the ship didnt take in the group of 58 refugees, it did provide them with more supplies, including another compass and more engine oil, as well as milk. I drink the milk. I regain my strength and work again, he recounted. For another two days, four days, I remember that day in that morning I sit at the back where we stir the control [of the boat]. And then I saw a little bug A very small one, flying. The refugees began looking around for hints of land. They thought they saw something far away like a pencil tip, Tran said. As they tried to approach it, the tip appeared larger and larger until a strong storm hit in the evening. To weather the storm, the group put down the anchor and let the engine run slowly, Tran said. But in the morning, all broke No more anchor. The boat not balanced anymore We had engine that broke that time, we cannot go any further, Tran said. But he had a backup plan. I brought a light. Strong light. And one of my friends, he knows how to send signal, SOS signal. And he send signal, he said. The signal caught the attention of a small boat from afar that came to help. A policeman and another man on the boat told them theyd reached a very small Indonesian islandPulau Laut. From that, we had to transfer to another island then transfer to anther island, Kuku island then transfer to Galang Island. From that one, We met the delegations all over the world. They interview us. For me and some of my friends, the U.S. delegation interviewed us and we qualified for the political asylum, Tran said. He and his friends would spend over a year in Galang Island refugee camp before setting off to the United States. Tran said he was resolute in leaving communism. Do you want to live in a country you cannot talk what is true? And you want to live a country [where] you want to do something right for the people [but] you cannot do? he asked. No freedom of speech. You know that time you [cannot] go anywhere freely. You cannot do some work for the people. You cannot do. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she will not be forced to comment on a proposal for a mobile phone app to record sexual consent because it was not a conversation that could be solved in 24 hours. Ms Berejiklian said she had not had time to digest the proposal from Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Thursday to use an app to record consent between two partners, but commended him for taking a leadership position in having the conversation. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit:Kate Geraghty Im sick of this issue coming up every time theres a headline. If youre serious about making change, you have to do it properly, she said. Im not going to be forced to just say things one way or the other. What I will do is make sure, if youre serious about change, to do it properly and Im committed to the process. The amended law on biodiversity and wildlife has recommended penal sanctions against poachers and those who engage in trafficking of wildlife as a way of protecting biodiversity and wildlife. The relevance of the bill, which was presented by Rwanda Development Board CEO, Clare Akamanzi, was passed by the lower chamber of parliament during a plenary session held virtually on March 16. The existing law of 2013 governing biodiversity, which the bill seeks to replace, merely refers to a Ministerial Order that establishes a list of protected species, but does not prescribe punitive measures a way of protecting wildlife, according to Akamanzi. She added that the current laws give broad protection and do not align with international conventions relating to wildlife protection that Rwanda ratified. "The current legal framework is not addressing the major challenges regarding the management and conservation of wildlife, such as poaching, wildlife trade and trafficking, human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crimes," she observed. This draft draw establishes wildlife offences and their penalties and seeks to address the identified loopholes in the current legislation. Here are some of them. Punitive measures The bill prescribes a prison sentence of between one and three years for a person convicted for poaches, injures, takes, harasses or breeds a wild animal and a fine of between Rwf500,000 and Rwf1 million. If the offence is committed against critically endangered or endangered species, the penalty is a term of imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and a fine of not less than Rwf5 million but not more than Rwf10 million. For a person convicted for possession, transferring, selling, buying or using a wild animal is liable to imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than five years and a fine of not less than Rwf1 million but not more than Rwf5 million. When the offence referred to is committed against critically endangered or endangered species, the penalty is between five and 10 years in prison and a fine of between Rwf5 million and Rwf10 million. A person who takes or destroys eggs or nests of wild animals commits an offence. Upon conviction, he or she is liable to a term of imprisonment of between six months and two years and a fine of between Rwf500,000 and Rwf1 million. In case this offence is committed against the eggs or nests of critically endangered species, and endangered species, the penalty goes up to between three and five years and a fine of between Rwf2 million and Rwf5 million. According to the draft legislation, a person convicted for removing animal species from their habitat, harming, transporting, or hawking them is liable to a term of imprisonment of between six months and two years and a fine of not less than Rwf500,000, but not more than Rwf1 million. In case it's committed against endangered species, the jail time increased to between three and five years while the fine is between Rwf2 million and Rwf5 million. Logging from protected area A person is found guilty of logging, harvesting, damaging, growing or breeding a plant or its derivatives in a protected area commits an offence. Upon conviction, he or she is liable to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than three years and a fine of not less than Rwf500,000 but not more than Rwf1 million. If the offence in question is committed against a plant listed among critically endangered species, and endangered species, the penalty is a term of imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than seven years and a fine of not less than Rwf5 million but not more than Rwf10 million. Import, export specimens from the sea The importation, exportation, re-exportation, introduction of a sea specimen without a valid permit or certificate, or in contravention with this draft law, is an offense punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than five years, and a fine of not less than Rwf1 million but not more than Rwf5 million. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Legal Affairs Wildlife By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. If the offence is committed against a specimen of critically endangered or endangered species, the offender is imprisoned between five and10 years and fined between Rwf5 million and Rwf10 million. Biopiracy A person who commits an act of biopiracy - the commercial exploitation of biological or genetic material - commits an offence. Upon conviction, he or she is liable to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and a fine of not less than Rwf20 million but not more than Rwf25 million. If the offence is committed by a corporate body, the penalty is a fine of not less than Rwf500 million but not more than Rwf1 billion. After the plenary passed the relevance of the bill, it was sent to the committee for further scrutiny before it is returned to the plenary for final passing. The federal government is working out the modalities for payment for the COVID-19 pandemic vaccines, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clement Agba, has said. He told THISDAY at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday in Abuja that the federal government has set up a committee to work out the payment mode for the COVID-19 vaccines, explaining that the committee would determine how the states and the central government would share the cost of the vaccine. According to figures from the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the federal government will require about N400 billion to vaccinate 70 per cent of Nigeria's 211 million population. Of the amount, N156 billion would be needed in 2021 and N200 billion in 2022. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Infectious Disease Control, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, had also told THISDAY exclusively that the federal government was planning to raise a supplementary budget to tackle the funding gaps for the procurement of the vaccines. Agba, however, said the committee's membership was drawn from the presidency, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Ministry of Health and representatives of the 36 state governments. He stated that it is after the committee might have concluded its assignment that payment for the vaccines can be sorted out. He said: "The committee is still meeting and before long, it will finish its assignment. We have representatives of both federal and state governments there. So, it is when they finish and submit their report that we can talk about picking the bill for the COVID-19 pandemic vaccines and the level of commitment of both the federal and state governments in this regard." The minister added that the executive will soon present to the National Assembly a supplementary budget for the procurement of the vaccines. Ehanire had also told the Senate that the country, which had successfully fought polio, would use the same storage facilities (cold chains) to store the vaccine, urging the Senate to have confidence in the plan for the vaccination. Jennifer Haberkorn Jennifer Haberkorn covers Congress in Washington, D.C., for the Los Angeles Times. She has reported from Washington since 2005, spending much of that time roaming the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Before arriving at The Times, Haberkorn spent eight years at Politico writing about the 2010 healthcare law, a story that took her to Congress, the states, healthcare clinics and courtrooms around the country. She also covered Congress and local business news for the Washington Times. Haberkorn is a native of the Chicago area and graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from left, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, second from right, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook pose for the media before the Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting between South Korea and U.S. at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 18, 2021. AP South Korea and the United States began a "two plus two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in Seoul on Thursday to discuss a coordinated strategy on North Korea, joint efforts to reinforce the alliance and other issues. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook joined their U.S. counterparts, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, for the first such gathering since 2016, as the Joe Biden administration seeks to rebuild its alliances after four years of uncertainty under former President Donald Trump's inward-looking "America-first" credo. Blinken and Austin arrived in Seoul on Wednesday after a three-day visit to Tokyo as part of the Biden administration's first Cabinet-level overseas trip meant to reaffirm its priority to "reinvigorate and modernize" democratic alliances to tackle shared current and future challenges. Hours before the symbolic meeting, North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Pyongyang will continue to ignore any contact from the U.S. unless Washington ends its "hostile" policies toward Pyongyang. Choe's remarks came a day after Blinken accused the "authoritarian" regime in the North of "systemic and widespread" abuses against its own people, while Austin accentuated the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in the face of "unprecedented challenges" from the North and China. Policy coordination on the North is likely to top the agenda for the two plus two meeting, as the two sides seek to resume diplomacy with Pyongyang while deterring its potential provocations amid signs of activity at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex. Blinken has said that Washington's ongoing review of policy on the North expected to be completed in the coming weeks involves the evaluation of "all available options," including "pressure measures" and "diplomatic paths." South Korean army's K1A2 tanks move during a military exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. In North Korea's first comments directed at the Biden administration, Kim Jong-un's powerful sister Kim Yo-jong on Tuesday warned the United States to "refrain from causing a stink" if it wants to "sleep in peace" for the next four years. AP .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ANCHORAGE, Alaska Top U.S. and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of each other and the world on Thursday as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office. In unusually pointed public remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each others countrys policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska. The contentious tone of their public comments suggested the private discussions would be even more rocky. The meetings in Anchorage were a new test in increasingly troubled relations between the two countries, which are at odds over a range of issues from trade to human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and Chinas western Xinjiang region, as well as over Taiwan, Chinas assertiveness in the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Blinken said the Biden administration is united with its allies in pushing back against Chinas increasing authoritarianism and assertiveness at home and abroad. Yang then unloaded a list of Chinese complaints about the U.S. and accused Washington of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing on human rights and other issues. Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability, Blinken said of Chinas actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and of cyber attacks on the United States and economic coercion against U.S. allies. Thats why theyre not merely internal matters, and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today. National security adviser Jake Sullivan amplified the criticism, saying China has undertaken an assault on basic values. We do not seek conflict but we welcome stiff competition, he said. Yang responded angrily by demanding the U.S. stop pushing its own version of democracy at a time when the United States itself has been roiled by domestic discontent. He also accused the U.S. of failing to deal with its own human rights problems and took issue with what he said was condescension from Blinken, Sullivan and other U.S. officials. We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world, he said. Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States. China will not accept unwarranted accusations from the U.S. side, he said, adding that recent developments had plunged relations into a period of unprecedented difficulty that has damaged the interests of our two peoples. There is no way to strangle China, he said. Blinken seemed taken aback by the tenor and length of the comments, which went on for more than 15 minutes. He said his impressions from speaking with world leaders and on his just-concluded trip to Japan and South Korea were entirely different from the Chinese position. Im hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that were reengaged, Blinken retorted. Im also hearing deep concern about some of the actions your government is taking. Underscoring the animosity, the State Department blasted the Chinese delegation for violating an agreed upon two-minute time limit for opening statements and suggested it seem(ed) to have arrived intent on grandstanding, focused on public theatrics and dramatics over substance. Americas approach will be undergirded by confidence in our dealing with Beijing which we are doing from a position of strength even as we have the humility to know that we are a country eternally striving to become a more perfect union, it said. U.S.-China ties have been torn for years, and the Biden administration has yet to signal whether its ready or willing to back away from the hard-line stances taken under Donald Trump. Just a day before the meeting, Blinken had announced new sanctions over Beijings crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. In response, China stepped up its rhetoric opposing U.S. interference in domestic affairs and complained directly about it. Is this a decision made by the United States to try to gain some advantage in dealing with China? State Councilor Wang Yi asked. Certainly this is miscalculated and only reflects the vulnerability and weakness inside the United States and it will not shake Chinas position or resolve on those issues. Trump had taken pride in forging what he saw as a strong relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But the relationship disintegrated after the coronavirus pandemic spread from the Wuhan province across the globe and unleashed a public health and economic disaster. ___ Lee reported from Washington. Polling is showing that a majority of Trump supporters are refusing to get their COVID shots and that concerns the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Fauci. But there's a valid reason for their denial! President Trump often undercut or even contradicted the medical experts who warned of an increasingly dire situation! In fact, early on he downplayed the risk. At the onset Jan. 22 he told us that We have the virus totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine. He even thanked President Xi saying, the United States greatly appreciates China's transparency. One week later the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern. (Later, that same day at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa the president said, We only have five people ... they have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully, it's all going to be OK.) President Trump continued to downplay the virus ... even accusing the Democrats of politicizing the coronavirus! on Feb. 28. A leading human rights organization criticized the Jordanian government on Tuesday for imprisoning people over unpaid debt. Human Rights Watch said that poor Jordanians sometimes need to turn to informal lenders to cover essential expenses. If they cannot pay their lenders back, they are prosecuted, according to the New York-based organizations Middle East researcher. Under Jordanian law, if you take out a loan and cant pay it, you go to jail, said Sara Kayyali in a press release. In many cases, people take out loans to pay for rent, groceries, medical bills. But instead of helping those in need, the authorities jail them. The lengthy report in English and Arabic details struggles Jordanians charged with failing to pay back loans have faced. One section tells the story of a doctor who was sentenced to several months in prison after his creditors filed a complaint against him. The doctor was unable to make his car loan and mortgage payments after developing a bone disease that rendered him unable to work. He made some of the loan payments from his savings, but was convicted in absentia while receiving medical treatment abroad, according to Human Rights Watch. Few countries in the world allow debt imprisonment. More than 250,000 Jordanians are wanted by the authorities for failure to repay debt or for writing bad checks, Human Rights Watch said. In 2019, some lawmakers called for a change to the law after families of debt prisoners protested outside the royal court. The problem is particularly pressing now because of the economic crisis that has gripped Jordan for several months. The strict lockdowns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic led to initial success in fighting the virus, but resulted in job and income losses. Now, infections are increasing again dramatically and the government has reimposed a partial lockdown. The country has seen several protests against the government during the crisis. The capital Amman is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the region. The Jordanian government has not responded to the report as of this writing. CAIRO (AP) Yemens internationally recognized government said a Cabinet minister survived an attempt on his life in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, escaping unharmed from an explosion that targeted his convoy. A government statement said Minister of Civil Service and Insurance Abdel Nasser al-Waly was not harmed, describing the attack as sinful and terrorist. It was not known if anyone was hurt in the explosion. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Yemens new prime minister, Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, ordered an investigation. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Shiite rebels known as the Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of the north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the internationally recognized government to power. The conflict has killed about 130,000 people and spawned the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations. The incumbent government was formed in December to end an internal rift with southern separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates. The rift had threatened the UAEs partnership with Saudi Arabia in the anti-Houthi coalition. Saeeds Cabinet was formed following a power-sharing deal between the Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of militias seeking to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967 until unification in 1990. Al-Waly, the minister reported targeted on Thursday is a prominent member of the council, which said in a statement that two roadside bombs went off as his convoy drove through Aden. The statement did not provide further details. Separately, the statement said 12 southern fighters loyal to the council were killed on Thursday in an attack in the southern province of Abyan. It did not elaborate. However, security officials told The Associated Press that a group of militants had attacked a security checkpoint in Abyans district of Ahwar using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, adding that that four civilians were among the casualties. The attack carried the fingerprints of al-Qaida, added the officials, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to talk to the media. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Saeeds government has struggled to restore stability. Thursdays attacks came two days after a protest against dire economic conditions escalated when some demonstrators broke through the entrance gate of the Presidential Palace in Aden. Shots were heard as the crowd gathered around the entrance gate but there was no subsequent word of any casualties. ___ Associated Press writer Ahmed Al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report. By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a news release. Google wants to be a part of that recovery. Thats why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year. "Since we acquired our Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname licenses, the team have worked tirelessly to fully understand their significant potential, said Simon Potter ( ) highlighted multiple value drivers as it updated investors on its preparations for drilling in Trinidad and Suriname. First on the slate is the Safron-2 appraisal well which is expected to begin in mid-May, following mobilisation in April. If successful, Saffron-2 is expected to deliver production of around 200 to 300 barrels of oil per day (bopd). A further five to nine follow up wells are then lined up for drilling in the second half of 2021 as part of a field development which would eventually comprise around 30 wells. This initial programme of wells is presently projected to yield some 1,000 to 1,500 bopd by the end of 2021, to generate an estimated US$8-12mln of annual cash flow (at US$$60 per barrel crude). Another upside project is planned in Suriname, within the Weg Naar Zee production sharing contract (PSC) area, where drilling is due to start in July after a minor COVID-19 related delay. Staying in Trinidad, the companys core production portfolio is said to have stabilised at 450 to 500 bopd, and it is supported by a planned programme of well workovers (10 are planned) during the second quarter of the year. BPC highlighted also that 40 potential infill well locations have been identified at existing fields, and four have been high graded for drilling in the second half of this year. The wells are estimated to add between 50 and 100 bopd of production. "Since we acquired our Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname licenses, the team have worked tirelessly to fully understand their significant potential, said Simon Potter, BPC chief executive. This has progressed such that we are now looking at multiple value drivers via appraisal, infill and well testing campaigns across our portfolio during 2021. He added: It is our intention that through these actions we can continue to increase production to more than 2,500 bopd across our portfolio which, with a conservative oil price estimate, can generate significant cash flow." The company also told investors that talks are underway with various parties in relation to a potential prepay facility over the company's producing asset base in Trinidad and Tobago. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 05:52:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Syria as the health ministry said Thursday that the occupancy rate of intensive care beds in capital Damascus reached 100 percent, according to the state news agency SANA. The ministry said the intensive care unit's beds, allocated for the COVID-19 patients, are full in Damascus, noting that some patients with critical conditions were transferred to intensive care units in other provinces. The rise in infection rate has been obviously noted over the past two months, said the ministry, stressing the need for people to adhere to safety and protection measures. Last month, the ministry said it was starting to give COVID-19 vaccines to medical staff. Enditem CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An investor in the Lordstown Motors Corp. filed a lawsuit against the electric truck-maker Thursday, alleging that it offered false and misleading information about the vehicle and the time needed to get production started. Matthew Rico filed the document in U.S. District Court in Youngstown just days after an analyst reported the companys pre-orders for its vehicles are largely fictitious and used as a prop to raise capital and confer legitimacy. Amid the report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into the business. Attorneys for Rico are seeking class-action status to include other investors. The lawsuit says the company made untrue statements of material fact and omitted other information that caused investors to pay for artificially inflated prices for the companys shares. Company officials did not return emails seeking comment for this story. The lawsuit comes just days after financial analyst Hindenburg Research wrote a report that carried the headline: The Lordstown Motors Mirage: Fake Orders, Undisclosed Production Hurdles and a Prototype Inferno. The report, cited throughout the lawsuit, says the first test drive of the companys flagship truck, Endurance, burst into flames 10 minutes after it hit the road. The report also says Lordstown Motors Corp. has no revenue and no sellable product. The truck company is building its fleet in the old General Motors plant in Lordstown, just off the Ohio Turnpike, in Trumbull County. General Motors closed its Chevy Cruze line in March 2019, which put more than 1,000 employees out of work. Lordstown Motors later purchased the plant. An attorney for Rico, Jeffrey Block, said in an interview that the companys announcement of thousands of pre-orders of vehicles prompted many investors to get behind the venture. The lawsuit, citing the Hindenburg report, says that many of the pre-orders were non-binding and fake. The companys chief executive officer, Stephen Burns, paid for customers to book valueless, non-binding pre-orders out of desperation to claim a demand for the vehicle, the lawsuit says. The document also cites a report last month in Yahoo Finance that quoted Burns as saying, we have pre-sold 100,000 of these vehicles to various fleets across America. In a statement in January, the company said the number of pre-orders is unprecedented in automotive history. Adding in the interest we have from federal, state, municipal and military fleets on top of that, I think you can see why we feel that we are about to revolutionize the pickup truck industry, Burns said in the statement. In an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Burns said the pre-orders were simply to gauge interest in the vehicles. I dont think that anyone thought that we had actual orders, Burns said. The lawsuit says Lordstown Motors sought to begin production in September. The suit, however, says it is not and has not been on track to commence production of the Endurance in September. In this Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team attends a joint press conference at the end of their mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Peter Ben Embarek, the head of a World Health Organization team, working with Chinese colleagues to finish a long-awaited report into the origins of the coronavirus, said in interviews on Wednesday and Thursday that the team hopes the report will be ready for release next week. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file) The head of a World Health Organization team working with Chinese colleagues to finish a long-awaited report into the origins of the coronavirus acknowledged its authors could face "pressures" but insisted the final product will have a unanimous green light from all of the team's science-minded members. Peter Ben Embarek, an expert on food safety and diseases that jump from animals to humans, said in interviews on Wednesday and Thursday that the team hopes the reportnow totaling some 280 pages and complete with graphs, dates and annexeswill be ready for release next week. The report is a first-phase study that is expected to be followed by a more in-depth look as part of guidelines set by Chinese officials and the WHO team. Ben Embarek, who led a 10-person international team of experts that visited China in January and February, acknowledged that political pressures have loomed large over the virus pandemic. "We are in the world that we live in," he said. "It's possible that there will be pressures from right to left." "What we can guarantee is that everyone will be on board" and "unanimous" in their backing of the report once that the text is completed, Ben Embarek said. The "fine-tuning of the text" has centered on scientific issues, while some Chinese-English translation issues were "taking a lot of time," he said. He said the report was being written by all of the experts and is part of a "long and complex" process. In this Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team arrives for a joint press conference at the end of their mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Peter Ben Embarek, the head of a World Health Organization team, working with Chinese colleagues to finish a long-awaited report into the origins of the coronavirus, said in interviews on Wednesday and Thursday that the team hopes the report will be ready for release next week. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file) China's Global Times newspaper on Wednesday published an interview with Liang Wannian, the head of the Chinese side of the team, who spoke of alleged political pressures that amounted to "huge disrespect to the work of our scientists." Liang was quoted as saying some politicians and international media had "insisted on politicizing the scientific issue of tracing the source of COVID-19, regardless of scientific facts, for their own personal gain, arbitrarily misinterpreting the scientific findings and reports of our joint team." He took pains to emphasize the spirit of cooperation among the scientists and said both sides had cooperated openly and fully throughout the month-long investigation, and that "results of this joint study in China are the consensus of Chinese and foreign experts." Liang echoed the comments from Ben Embarek about the extended time to publish the report, saying the process required to present a complete and scientifically rigorous report "takes some time." The team did not find cases of COVID-19 before December 8, 2019, he said. Ben Embarek cited the need to investigate the possible role in the pandemic of the local trade in frozen wild animal products from farms in and around southern China in 2019 and beyond to a market in the city of Wuhan, which could have been a way that the virus entered a large city tied into global supply chains. "We don't know yet the origins of the pandemic," he said, adding that cold-chain transmission, including through frozen food packaging, was a "possible route" of spread, but that the issue requires further exploration. In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 file photo, Peter Ben Embarek, center, of a World Health Organization team is approached by a journalist as he arrives at the VIP terminal of the airport to leave, at the end of the WHO mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. Peter Ben Embarek, the head of a World Health Organization team, working with Chinese colleagues to finish a long-awaited report into the origins of the coronavirus, said in interviews on Wednesday and Thursday that the team hopes the report will be ready for release next week.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file) Liang promoted Chinese government claims of other sources of the pandemic saying that cold chain transmission "plays an important part in the origin and transmission of the epidemic." The international team left open the possibility of the cold chain playing a role in the transmission. It took many months for the U.N. team to arrange a visit to China with Chinese authorities. Critics say the delay cost valuable time in efforts to unearth the origins of the pandemic, which has led to at least 2.6 million reported deaths. On Friday, Chen Xu, the Chinese ambassador to U.N. organizations in Geneva, said the WHO had selected the team's members who did the work with Chinese counterparts, appearing to suggest no political influence by China was exerted. "We have our hands off, like the officials from the WHO as well," Chen said, alluding to the U.N. agency's secretariat. "Let the scientists (do) their work." The team's visit was politically sensitive for Chinawhich is concerned about any allegations it didn't handle the initial outbreak properly. Shortly after the outbreak, the Chinese government detained some Chinese doctors who sought to raise the alarm about the outbreak, which is believed to have originated in or near Wuhan in late 2019. The U.N. team was dogged by questions about how much freedom China would give it to visit sites and talk to the people they wanted to. In the end, the team appeared satisfied with the arrangements, at least in their public comments. The WHO leadership including Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeatedly praised the Chinese government's early response, even though recordings of private meetings obtained by The Associated Press exposed how top WHO officials were frustrated at China's lack of cooperation. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Hundreds of yellow-and-black taxi cabs disrupted traffic in Barcelona on Thursday to protest the return of the ride-hailing giant Uber to the northeastern Spanish city after a 2-year hiatus. The U.S.-based multinational was driven out of the streets of Barcelona in February 2019, when regional authorities ordered that rides arranged through mobile apps had to be hired at least 15 minutes in advance. At the time, Uber said the requirement was totally incompatible with the immediacy of on-demand services. But Uber resumed operating in the city of 5.4 million residents this week, allowing users to order rides from over 350 regular cabs charging with taxi-meters. The company said it is seeking regulatory permission to also offer fixed rates for rides, Ubers original model. The company's current platform in Barcelona also provides car-sharing services and displays information about public transportation, following a similar initiative in London, Paris, Lisbon and Rome, Uber said in a statement. The return has angered cab driver unions in the Catalonia region's capital. Three columns of taxis made their way through Barcelona's main thoroughfares on Thursday, advancing toward the seat of the regional parliament. Representatives of the Elite Taxi union called drivers who are working with Uber traitors and called the company's re-entry in Barcelona illegal. Syed Junaid, a driver representing Pak Taxi, an association of cab drivers of Pakistani origin, said that Uber was using the coronavirus pandemic to lure hard-hit drivers and pit them against their peers in order to gain a foothold in the market. That's what they've done in other cities around the world, Junaid told The Associated Press. We won't allow them to do it here, because we have overcome the worst and we are about to leave the pandemic behind, so we don't need their platform to survive. __ Parra reported from Madrid. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Range Resources Corporation ("Range Resources" or the "Company") (NYSE: RRC) from April 29, 2016 through February 10, 2021 (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you purchased Range Resources securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Range Resources Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected] The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Range Resources had improperly designated the status of its wells in Pennsylvania since at least 2013; (ii) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory investigation and enforcement, as well as artificially decreased the Company's periodically reported cost estimates to plug and abandon its wells; (iii) the Company was the subject of a DEP investigation from sometime between September 2017 to January 2021 for improperly designating the status of its wells; (iv) the DEP investigation foreseeably would and ultimately did lead to the Company incurring regulatory fines; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On February 10, 2021, prior to the close of the trading session, the DEP issued a press release announcing the payment of a $294,000 civil penalty by Range Resources to the agency for the Company's violations of the 2012 Oil and Gas Act. The DEP had launched an investigation of the Company after finding conflicting and inaccurate information regarding the status of a Company well in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. After subpoenaing the Company for information about its wells, DEP found that "between Tuesday, July 16, 2013, and Monday, October 11, 2017, 42 of Range Resources' conventional wells were placed on inactive status but were never used again" and that several of the Company's wells had not been used for "12 months at the time Range Resources submitted its applications for inactive status, even though "after 12 consecutive months of no productive, the well would be classified as abandoned and must be plugged." The Company ultimately had to plug the wells identified by DEP as having no viable future use to remediate the issue. On this news, Range Resources' stock price fell $0.62 per share, or 6.08%, to close at $9.57 per share on February 11, 2020. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 3, 2021. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member. If you purchased Range Resources securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit https://www.bernlieb.com/cases/rangeresourcescorporation-rrc-shareholder-class-action-lawsuit-fraud-stock-374/apply/ or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected] Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. 2021 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Michael S. Bigin. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Contact Information Matthew E. Guarnero Bernstein Liebhard LLP https://www.bernlieb.com (877) 779-1414 [email protected] SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP Related Links http://www.bernlieb.com For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size You are in a queue that could save your life. To combat the worst pandemic the world has seen in a century, scientists have broken records, and governments cut red tape, to deliver vaccines at astonishing speed. But the story isnt over yet. Now the shots are here, safe, and more effective than many dared hope, the task of getting them out of the lab and into our arms is coming back to two familiar forces: money and politics. Thats why in April 2020, the World Health Organisation launched a scheme called COVAX to keep vaccine prices low and dole out doses to countries based on need. It was hoping to avoid the scenes of the last (less deadly) pandemic, swine flu in 2009, when rich nations hoarded vaccine supplies. But, this time, COVAX is already being undercut by side deals and disputes are again breaking out over exports. Israel initially blocked vaccines entering Palestine, for example, and reportedly offered to fund others in Syria in exchange for prisoner releases, and a shipment bound for Australia out of Italy has been seized as a new mood of vaccine nationalism takes hold in Europe. Meanwhile, China and Russia are jockeying for influence with the West by offering cheaper doses to regions in need through their own brand of vaccine diplomacy. For poorer nations, watching this scramble play out from the end of the vaccine queue can feel a bit like being last to the lifeboats on the Titanic. As West African infectious disease expert Dr Mosoka Fallah says, Africa is still at the bottom of the boat. Now, in an almost Hollywood-style twist of its own, the virus has begun to mutate into variants, some of which may be able to evade vaccine immunity altogether. Scientists warn that nations snapping up more vaccine doses than they need could actually be dragging out the pandemic longer, as the risk of mutants goes up in unprotected populations. We cant keep the virus out, not entirely, so no country is safe until everywhere is safe, says epidemiologist Professor Michael Toole. And remember weve never done this before. Successful smallpox and polio vaccination campaigns were much slower and patchier in their roll-out, he says. But this is the first time in history weve tried to vaccinate everyone in the world against a single pathogen [at once]. Advertisement So how exactly are we doing it? Who gets which vaccine and when? How much cash are the big pharmaceutical companies making? And when will it all start to make a difference? Vaccinations in Englands Salisbury Cathedral. The record speed of vaccine development was because of record research focus and investment not because safety standards were cut. Credit:AP Which countries are getting the vaccines first? On December 9, 2020, just a week out from her 91st birthday, the UKs Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive an approved COVID vaccine. In Australia, the first official shot went to Sydneys Jane Malysiak, 88, more than two months later, closely followed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. But many nations are yet to receive a single dose. So how did Margaret (and the UK) get to the front of the queue? It comes down not only to early deals done with vaccine makers but where the breakthroughs have happened so far. Governments of countries such as the UK, the US, China and Russia invested in local labs developing vaccines hence the AstraZeneca vaccine came out of Britains Oxford University; the Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson shots were developed in the US; Pfizer in Germany and the US; Sinopharm in China, and Russia named its own home-grown formula Sputnik V after the world-first satellite it put into space in 1957. Other vaccine candidates are likely to be approved as effective too but are further behind in clinical trials, including the Novavax shot developed in the US, of which Australia has already ordered 51 million doses. There have now been more vaccinations recorded worldwide than COVID cases more than 400 million doses. In Israel, home to the fastest vaccination program, the world has a glimpse of what a post-COVID world might look like. About two-thirds of its 9 million citizens have already received a shot, and half have also had their second dose. The tiny nation of Seychelles is close behind, followed by the United Arab Emirates and then the UK (at about 40 per cent). Advertisement The United States smashed its target of delivering 100 million doses within 100 days in just 58, and is now vaccinating more than 2 million people every day. President Joe Biden says there will be enough supply to cover every adult by mid-May. Australia is hoping to pull off the same feat by October, using the Pfizer vaccine for high-priority groups (such as healthcare workers and the elderly) and then AstraZeneca and possibly Novavax for everyone else. But, based on the patchy rollout so far, Australia is unlikely to make that deadline. India, meanwhile, kicked off the worlds largest vaccination effort in mid-January, aiming to inoculate its first 300 million people by August. (Vaccinating all of Indias 1.4 billion people will likely still take until 2023.) It will rely on the countrys own mammoth election infrastructure to reach people workers who typically carry voting machines out to remote villages will now haul vaccines on ice. Women in Mumbai take post-vaccination selfies outside a hospital in March. Credit:Getty Images These countries are shooting for what is called herd immunity, when enough of a population is protected from a virus that it begins to run out of people to infect. The magic number can vary with each disease (and vaccine) but, for COVID, scientists put it somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent of a population. Globally, thats more than 5 billion people out of the 7.8 billion on Earth. During the great plagues of the past, people had little choice but to let this immunity build naturally. But vaccines work by teaching your body to mount an immune defence against the virus without you ever having to catch it. Whats injected into your arm will actually disappear from your system quite quickly yet its hoped the immunity it triggers will last for some time. All the vaccines approved so far are very effective at stopping severe disease and death from COVID. It is less clear how well they will stop the virus from spreading between people, or hold up against new mutant variants. Some vaccines appear less effective at stopping milder cases of COVID than others (about 70 per cent of cases were blocked in trials by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Sinopharm versus a 95 per cent efficacy rate for Pfizer and Moderna, which use a new type of mRNA technology). But they were all trialed during different surges of the pandemic and scientists stress each of those approved so far are performing better than expected. Remember, no vaccine at all likely puts your immunity back down to zero. Advertisement China, meanwhile, does not appear to be trying to vaccinate its own large population as fast as the West, instead relying on its sweeping surveillance machinery to crush outbreaks fast. Europes vaccine rollout has also lagged, hamstrung, some say, by the European Unions collective vaccine purchase arrangements as well as production delays and reservations about the AstraZeneca shot. Meanwhile, Serbia, outside the EU, is a surprise top performer in the region, benefiting from the vaccine diplomacy push by both Russia and China as they offer cheaper prices for their vaccines than the West. Of course, both countries also leapfrogged the final phase of clinical testing into a live trial rollout of sorts, offering assurances via press conference rather than the standard rigorous data. Loading Russias results for Sputnik V, at last peer reviewed and published in leading medical journal The Lancet, have since shown its an excellent vaccine, Toole says, with more than 92 per cent efficacy against COVID. Unfortunately, Putin jumping the gun has created a lot of mistrust, most of all in Russia itself. Question marks also remain over how Russia can actually deliver on the 2 billion doses it has promised other nations in deals. (On March 9, yet another was signed to produce Sputnik V in Italy, a major step for Russias quest to expand the vaccines reach into the West. Its also managed to get around Israels initial block on Sputnik V into Palestine by delivering doses through Egypt with help from the UAE.) As for Chinas vaccines, the data is less clear, limited to the results published by other countries running trials, such as the UAE. But Toole says they too look quite effective. In Rwanda, a young man receives his first dose of vaccine in March. Credit:Getty Images Why arent vaccines being rolled out equally? Manufacturers are promising to deliver about 5 billion vaccine doses between them by the end of 2021. Considering all of the vaccines (save the very latest approved from Johnson & Johnson) require two doses, thats enough for less than 3 billion people. And more than half of this supply is already tied up in deals with rich nations. Canada has ordered more than five times what it needs to vaccinate its people, Australia almost four times as much, and the UK and US are also well in excess. Advertisement At this rate, researchers estimate at least a two-year gap between when wealthy nations roll out most of their vaccines and the rest of the world can. The WHO-led allocation model, COVAX, has deals in place for 2 billion vaccine doses so far, and wants to distribute 1.3 billion of these under subsidy to low-income countries by the end of 2021. While high-income countries can buy enough from the COVAX pot to cover up to 50 per cent of their populations, the idea is for everyone to get vaccines for their most vulnerable 20 per cent (such as frontline workers) first. At Medecins Sans Frontieres, Kate Elder says the model is well-intentioned but too slow. As of March, it was well behind schedule, having struggled to secure funds from its member countries, though hundreds have signed on, including Australia, and now the US with a late but welcome $4 billion cash injection. The first free shipment of COVAX vaccines did not touch down in Ghana until late February. Africa is expected to get only enough doses to vaccinate 3 per cent of the population by mid-2021. Toole says rich countries dont just need to up their financial contributions to COVAX; they need to step back and allow it room in the market to buy the vaccines needed, instead of making their own deals. Australian COVID adviser to the WHO, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, agrees. Had everyone just relied on COVAX it might have worked well, she says. But its difficult because, of course, countries want to protect their citizens first. Africa, Fallah says, tried to do its part and keep the virus out governments shut airports and even imposed lockdowns at great economic cost. Now their existing debts are worse. They cant buy vaccines at current prices. They need COVAX. It cant fail, he says. It has to be accelerated. Advertisement Amazon to expand health care service across US Amazon will be offering a health care service through US employers that will allow instant access to a medical provider online Amazon on Wednesday unveiled plans to launch a health care service to employers across the United States, including telemedicine and home care visits, opening up a new market for the tech giant that has increasingly woven its way into the lives of consumers. The initiative will make Amazon Care, which so far had been offered to a limited number of the company's own employees, available to "millions" of people through their jobs, it announced in a blog post. "By supplying Amazon Care as a workplace benefit, employers are investing in the health and wellbeing of arguably their most important asset: their employees," the company said. The new initiative will offer "a range of urgent and primary care services" but will not replace comprehensive medical insurance. Amazon Care, which has been tested since 2018 with some company employees in Washington state, includes a mobile app that will allow people to connect with medical professionals by video or chat "typically in less than 60 seconds." A second element of the service available in some areas will involve in-person care, in which Amazon will send a medical professional to a patient's home for certain services such as blood draws or limited exams. "Beginning this summer, Amazon Care will expand its virtual care to companies and Amazon employees in all 50 states across the US," the statement said. Amazon Care's in-person service will expand to the US capital, Baltimore and other locations in the coming months. The new service will be available to "companies of all sizes" and will offer services including Covid-19 and flu testing, vaccinations, treatment of illnesses and injuries, preventive care, sexual health and prescription requests. - Expanding reach - It comes following a period of spectacular growth for Amazon across several sectors -- and increased scrutiny of the company from antitrust enforcers in the United States and elsewhere. Story continues Amazon said it decided to expand the health care program based on feedback from its employees and increased interest in telemedicine, which exploded during the coronavirus pandemic, as people shied away from medical offices. A recent McKinsey study showed 46 percent of Americans used telemedicine in 2020, up from 11 percent the prior year. McKinsey sees the trend continuing, predicting that "up to $250 billion of current US health care spend could potentially be virtualized." The new venture adds yet another market for Amazon, which has expanded from its origins in e-commerce to streaming media, cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence and groceries. In the health field, Amazon last year launched an online pharmacy for US consumers, who will be able to order prescription medications directly from its website or mobile app. That came two years after Amazon acquired PillPack, an internet pharmacy offering pre-sorted dose packaging and home delivery. A separate venture launched three years ago by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan aimed at providing broader health services to US firms was disbanded earlier this year. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among executives called to testify at a congressional antitrust hearing on the growing dominance of Big Tech firms, has denied that the company stifles competition. But along with its Big Tech peers, Amazon has seen its fortunes rise during the pandemic as more consumers turn to online goods and services. In 2020, Amazon's full-year profit more than doubled to $21.2 billion while revenues jumped 38 percent to $386 billion. Bezos has said he will step down as chief executive at Amazon later this year, taking the role of executive chair of the company he founded. rl/sst A large group of masked police officers, members of a disgruntled sector of the Haitian police force who call themselves Fantom 509, stormed several police stations in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday. The rogue group freed fellow officers that had been jailed, accused of participating in an alleged coup against embattled President Jovenel Moise last month. The group, along with some civilians, set a police station ablaze and then headed to a local Nissan dealership that was also vandalised, setting cars on fire. The day began with officers and cadets from the police academy marching towards police headquarters to demand that the bodies of five officers killed during a raid on the Village of God shantytown, which is run by a gang known as 5 Seconds, be recovered from the gang which still holds them. The ill-fated raid took place five days ago when police attempted to arrest gang members who are in control of the shantytown, but were ambushed, resulting in the death of the officers and the wounding of several others. But then other events began to unfold in the capital on Wednesday as members of the Fantom 509 took to the streets demanding the release of their arrested colleagues. The Haitian capital is experiencing a crime wave that includes kidnappings for ransom, along with entire sections of Port-au- Prince being under the control of violent gangs. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) David Walliams has taken to Twitter to insist he is not one of the suspects in an attempted dog-napping case. South Wales Police have released an E-FIT of the three men accused of trying to steal dogs in Cardiff, with one of them bearing a striking resemblance to David. The comedian, 49, replied to the tweet from BBC News, posting: 'Is that me on the far left? I think I would remember stealing a dog!' Not guilty! David Walliams [L] has taken to Twitter to insist he is not one of the suspects in an attempted dog-napping case. South Wales Police have released an E-FIT of the men accused of trying to steal dogs in Cardiff, with one of them bearing a striking resemblance to David [R] David is known for his fondness of dogs, with fans joking he's taken it too far this time. 'Hahaha we all know how much you love dogs... youve been sprung this time!' one penned. Another wrote: 'Tut tut tut, that is taking your love of dogs too far...!' Others suggested that the other E-FITS looked like other celebrities, such as AJ Pritchard, Justin Bieber and Ewan McGregor. The comedian, 49, replied to the tweet from BBC News, posting: 'Is that me on the far left? I think I would remember stealing a dog!' The accused: David is known for his fondness of dogs, with fans joking he's taken it too far this time Lookalike: Others suggested that the other E-FITS looked like other celebrities, such as AJ Pritchard [L] and Justin Bieber [R] Ew've got to be kidding! The third man was likened to actor Ewan McGregor More than 70 stolen dogs worth at least 40,000 have been rescued by police in Wales and returned to their rightful owners. The rescue mission was the latest development in a spate of dog thefts which has been plaguing the country throughout coronavirus lockdown. Pet detectives from two police forces recovered a large number of dogs suspected to have been stolen from homes and breeders in recent months. Awful: More than 70 stolen dogs worth at least 40,000 have been rescued by police and returned to their rightful owners after a spate of pet thefts throughout lockdown [stock picture] Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police raided two sites where dogs and puppies believed to be worth tens of thousands of pounds were found. Police observed several dogs being released onto common land from a nearby location in Briton Ferry, near Swansea, and recovered six dogs. The owners of the stolen dogs have been identified - and they have been returned home to their grateful families. Cases of what is known as 'dognapping' are on the rise, with recent figures from lost and found organisation DogLost showing that thefts surged by 170 per cent in the UK last year. The figures have been climbing for a while, but last year the booming market for 'pandemic puppies' in a nation looking for companionship during lockdown led to a surge in opportunistic theft, as well as more sophisticated gang-related crime with dognapping gangs removing microchips, raiding kennels and robbing breeders. Terrible: Officers swooped on two sites in the Welsh countryside - Briton Ferry, in Swansea, and Carmarthenshire - after the prices of dogs rocketed during lockdown. Pictured: Some of the stolen puppies What's more, amid rising reports of assaults on dog owners, the cases appear to be 'getting more aggressive in nature', according to DogLost's Justine Quirk. 'We don't want to scare people, but there is an element of 'nowhere is safe' for your dogs on their own not even in your own back garden,' she says. 'These stories are ever-more widespread and behind every one lies heartbreak.' A police spokesman said: 'A further criminal investigation is ongoing.' On the rise: Cases of what is known as 'dognapping' are on the rise, with recent figures from lost and found organisation DogLost showing that thefts surged by 170 per cent in the UK last year Superintendent Cath Larkman, of South Wales Police, said: 'It needs to be borne in mind that these dogs are not merely items of financial value, these are living creatures who feel pain and suffering and loss at being stolen and they are much loved family members in many instances. 'One of the stolen dogs that was recovered at Briton Ferry fell into the water in panic at being released and had to be rescued by a police officer to prevent it drowning. 'We are pleased these dogs are back with their owners. 'As a police service, we take this criminality very seriously and our investigations are ongoing. We are grateful for the assistance of the public for their support with this investigation.' Dyfed-Powys Police attended an separate address in Carmarthenshire, where officers found a large number of dogs and puppies in outbuildings. Detective Inspector Barry Kelly, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: 'We had been alerted to this property by a dog owner who reported the theft of five bitches and 17 puppies on Friday, January 22. 'On attendance, officers found a number of dogs, some of which have been identified through microchips. 'We estimate there to have been 70 to 80 dogs at the property, with the total value reaching tens of thousands of pounds.' Officers remain at the location today where work is being undertaken to scan all the animals for microchips and identify their legal owners. 'We have animal welfare officers, local authority staff and South Wales Police officers at the property today, who are making their way through the whole site scanning the dogs,' DI Kelly said. Plea: Mike Jasper is desperately trying to recover his beloved Ted after thieves punched him to the ground and ran off with the Sprocker Spaniel in Cannon Hill last month 'The problem we have is that the puppies won't have been chipped, so unless they are feeding from the mother dog while we are there, it will be very difficult to trace their owners. One person has been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods following the warrant at the Carmarthenshire property, and is currently in police custody. Enquiries are ongoing as officers search the site and look into recently reported dog thefts. DI Kelly said: 'We have had seven crimes reported to us in respect of dog thefts in the past six months. The officers in case will review these investigations and re-engage with the victims. As and when we find any link with dogs recovered from the two sites, we will be in contact with the potential owners. Napped: Buster was taken from Woodford Green, Essex, last month, after his owner was approached by a man, a woman and three youths. Experts are now calling for new laws to make pet theft a specific criminal offence 'Although we have made an arrest, our enquiries are still at an early stage, and we would like to hear from anyone with information that might assist us. 'We also urge dog owners - and particularly breeders - to be vigilant and take all possible steps to ensure their animals are secure. 'A number of dogs stolen in just one incident reported to us were estimated to be worth around 40,000, which goes to show these are incredibly high value thefts.' There is little in the way of deterrent to would-be thieves, because pet theft is not currently a specific crime. Instead, under the Theft Act of 1968, animals are regarded as objects akin to a stolen phone. In the rare cases where offenders are prosecuted only 1 per cent of all reported dog thefts in 2019 those convicted are more likely to be given community service, a caution or a fine than a prison sentence. Taken: Flora was stolen by two youths after she left for just a minute while her owner popped inside a a shop in Wakefield. Demand for so called 'pandemic puppies,' has seen a 170 per cent rise in dog thefts over the past year In short, given the eye-watering prices stolen dogs can fetch, many criminals are deciding the risk is more than outweighed by the potential financial reward. 'Money is driving this,' says Dr Daniel Allen from Keele University, creator of the #PetTheftReform campaign with the Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance. The campaign is calling for pet theft to be classified as a specific offence with tougher sentencing. 'The prospect of a small fine is not going to stop pet theft crime,' says Dr Allen. 'Not when you could get little more than a 250 fine or a suspended sentence for stealing dogs that can, in some cases, end up breeding on puppy farms and making thousands of pounds.' He argues that the law does not recognise the huge bond we have with our pets. 'These are not inanimate possessions but members of the family,' he stresses. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. New Delhi: Following aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) stringent COVID-19 protocols, Airlines too have started to tighten its noose around adamant passengers who are reluctant to wear mask. As per DGCA guideline, strict action will be taken against those passengers who refuse to wear masks. Such passengers can be put on the no-fly list or in harsher situations be even handed over to the police. On Wednesday, Alliance Air reported that it had put 4 passengers travelling from Jammu to Delhi on March 16 in the no-fly list, for failing to wear mask. Indigo has said that that on Tuesday, the Airline company handed over a female passenger travelling from Delhi to Goa to the police as soon as she reached Goa, because the woman was not wearing a mask despite repeated requests and warnings. As per the DGCA rules, an airline can choose to put an unruly passenger on its no-fly list after internal deliberations. Subsequently, airlines are following suit in putting passenger on their no-fly lists. DGCA also issued a notice recently, informing that passengers will be de-boarded and may face a lifetime ban if they don't follow COVID appropriate behaviour inside the aircraft. Domestic flights resumed in India on May 25 last year after a gap of two months in view of the pandemic. Live TV #mute Scheduled international commercial passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. DGCA had few weeks ago extended ban on international commercial passenger flights till March 31, 2021. "In partial modification of circular dated June 26, 2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity... Regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 23.59 pm IST of March 31, 2021," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a circular. However, special international flights have been operating under bilateral air bubble arrangements that have been signed with various countries, will continue to fly. The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday adjourned until April 26 the trial of former governor of Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose, charged with alleged N6.9 billion money laundering. Mr Fayose is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was first arraigned on October 22, 2018, before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, alongside his company, Spotless Investment Ltd, on 11 counts bordering on fraud and money laundering offences. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail on October 24, 2018, in the sum of N50 million, with sureties in like sum. The defendant was subsequently, re-arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, on July 2, 2019, after the case was withdrawn from Mrs Olatoregun, following EFCCs petition. He also pleaded not guilty to the charges and was allowed to continue on the earlier bail granted, while the case was adjourned for trial. The commission has since opened its case, and is still leading witnesses in evidence. Meanwhile, the case, which was fixed for continuation of trial on Thursday could not proceed, following the absence of the trial judge, Justice Aneke. Judges of the court were said to be away on a valedictory court session in honour of a retired brother judge, Saliu Saidu. The event is said to be holding in Ilorin. Mr Fayoses trial, which was previously adjourned for several dates will now resume on April 26, April 27 and April 28. Charges According to the charge, on June 17, 2014, Mr Fayose and one Abiodun Agbele were said to have taken possession of N1.2 billion, for purposes of funding his gubernatorial election campaign in Ekiti, which sum he reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds. Mr Fayose was alleged to have received a cash payment of $5 million (about N1.8 billion) from the then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, without going through any financial institution. He was also alleged to have retained the sum of N300 million in his account and took control of the aggregate sums of about N622 million which sum he reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds. The defendant was alleged to have procured De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd, to retain the aggregate sums of N851 million which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds. Besides, he was alleged to have used the aggregate sums of about N1.6 billion to acquire properties in Lagos and Abuja, which sums he reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds. He was also alleged to have used the sum of N200 million, to acquire a property in Abuja, in the name of his elder sister Moji Oladeji, which sum he ought to know also forms crime proceeds. The offences contravene the provisions of Sections 15(1), 15 (2), 15 (3), 16(2)(b), 16 (d), and 18 (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011. ADVERTISEMENT (NAN) The UK economy is on course for a rapid recovery as Covid restrictions ease, the Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane predicted today. His upbeat assessment came as the central bank painted a brighter picture for the UK, boosted by a successful vaccine programme that will allow parts of the economy to reopen next month. Speaking at an awards ceremony for Women In Banking and Finance, Mr Haldane said: 'As I've been saying for months - drawing on the economics of coiled springs, and crouching tigers, and 'Chicken Lickens' - I do think more likely than not we are set for a rapid-fire recovery. That is coming, and I think that is coming soon.' Haldane has been famously optimistic about Britain's prospects for recovery from the pandemic. Andy Haldane's upbeat assessment came as the central bank painted a brighter picture for the UK In September he warned the country was being overly pessimistic about the pandemic, adding the 'economics of Chicken Licken' had won over in a reference to a folk tale about a chicken who worried the sky was falling down. Mr Haldane, like many of his peers, has predicted a spending boom once lockdown is lifted and Britons return to shops, offices and bars. Statistics show that UK households have accumulated a savings nest egg of 125bn, which the economist compared to a 'coiled spring' that would kickstart growth. The Bank of England was also upbeat at its March Monetary Policy Committee meeting, where it left rates unchanged for the ninth consecutive month. The committee said there was evidence the economic recovery was gathering momentum and that data showed consumer confidence had picked up. It said: 'The news on near-term economic activity has been positive. The number of new Covid cases has fallen markedly across the UK and the vaccination programme has proceeded at a rapid pace.' The BoE also dampened fears over the UK's poor export performance last month, when shipments to the EU fell by 44pc - the biggest monthly decline in British trade for more than 20 years. The bank said trade would return to normality next month once stockpiling had been worked through. allaying concerns that the UK's exit from the EU could have caused long term problems. The BoE also dampened fears over the UK's poor export performance last month, when shipments to the EU fell by 44pc - the biggest monthly decline in British trade for more than 20 years The Bank added: 'The January data on UK exports to the European Union were more uncertain than usual. 'Trade was expected to have recovered somewhat in February, as inventories built up before the end of the transition period were used up.' But earlier this week BoE Governor Andrew Bailey urged caution, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Let's be realistic, it's not more than getting back to where we were pre-Covid.' In addition, Mr Haldane today said saw some risks of more persistent damage to people's job prospects due to the pandemic. "It seems very likely, based on the evidence we have seen so far, that the deepest and the most damaging of those scars will be felt by those least advantaged in the job market, including women," he said. Businesses, especially in financial services, should focus more on performance than how many hours staff spend in the office, and offer better career prospects for staff who want flexible or home-working arrangements, he said. New Delhi, March 19 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a snatcher after a brief exchange of fire from the Ghazipur area in the national capital. The arrested person, who has been identified as Adil (25), was wanted in a case of opening fire at two police personnel during vehicle checking at a police picket in the Bhalswa Dairy area in February this year, in which a constable was seriously injured. Adil was nabbed after a brief exchange of fire at about 10.45 pm on Wednesday from near a DDA park in the Ghazipur area. Adil sustained gunshot injury in his right leg. One semi-automatic pistol along with three live cartridges and a bike were recovered from his possession. Five empty cartridges were also recovered from the spot. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Another state-run coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site is coming to Staten Island next week. St. Philips Baptist Church in Port Richmond will host the site Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to a media release from the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Dr. Tony Baker Sr., pastor of the church that was meant to celebrate its 150th anniversary last year but could not because of the pandemic, expressed enthusiasm about the pop-up site. Its been hard for some to get appointments, and when the governors office said they wanted to use our church, I jumped at the chance, Baker said. The pastor said he and his wife have already received their vaccinations, he said in part to encourage members of his congregation to get the vaccine when their time came. The exterior of St. Philips Baptist Church in Port Richmond is shown March 15, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez) He said hes seen hesitancy among members of his congregation, particularly among its young people. The state has focused much of its vaccine efforts on socio-economic and racial equitability launching many of its vaccination sites in historically underserved communities often partnering with churches and community-based organizations. We are ramping up our vaccine distribution system to match increases in supply, but a distribution system cant just grow - it has to grow equitably, Cuomo said. Thats why from the outset weve prioritized the fair and equitable distribution of the vaccine through special efforts like pop-up sites that are being established in the communities that were hit hardest by COVID to help ensure underserved New Yorkers are not left behind in the distribution process. Staten Island, the citys least-populated borough, has been the only of the five to not yet be home to a state-run mass vaccination site, but the Cuomo administration has sited multiple pop-up vaccination sites on the Island. In addition to St. Philips, Mt. Sinai Center for Community Enrichment in New Brighton, the Stapleton houses, the Central Family Life Center in Stapleton, and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in West Brighton have had pop-up sites. None of the states sites have been in the Mid-Island or South Shore. According to the latest city data, the North Shore, Mid-Island, and South Shore have estimated populations of 172,000, 137,000, and 165,000, respectively. The city has set up some of its vaccine hubs at Empire Outlets, Port Richmond High School, Staten Island Technical High School, Susan Wagner High School, and the NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt location in Clifton. Those interested in scheduling a vaccine appointment at a state-run site should visit their Am I Eligible website, and residents of the five boroughs can also visit the citys vaccine finder. User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Hamiz Dar El baida / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : I was asleep and instantly woke up to the ground shaking | 20 users found this interesting. The shaking was horizontal and strong with some noise, it wake me up. Another shaking felt few minutes alter with weaker noise. / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 95.1 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : feeling dizzy | 11 users found this interesting. Setif / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I live in Setif we are 135 km at least far from Bejaia and we felt it it was shaking | 9 users found this interesting. Tizi-Ouzou / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 20-30 s : It was a frightening experience,I'm a foreign student in Algeria who resides in Tizi-Ouzou (rehanlia, Ouedaissi). As I'm speaking we are gathered outside our old building in shock and fear. Some had already left the building and chose to sleep outside whilst the majority are still contemplating on the next move. We just hope God will protect us as he did during the covid-19 period, he can't spare us from the virus for us to get killed by earthquake lol. | 7 users found this interesting. Beni Hamidene Constantine / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : This was a second one. the same as the fisrt one an hour ago. | 7 users found this interesting. 201.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I am 191km away from the center of the earthquake and fel my bed shaking for 5 to 10 sec it ws not strong not light. It felt like the center is very close | 6 users found this interesting. 385.7 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Terremoto avvertito in Sardegna, soprattutto nel SW. | 7 users found this interesting. Boumerdes.Algeria (155.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s Trois legeres secousses (me trouvant dans mon lit)craquements aux fenetres durant 3 a4 secondes. | 7 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s Cheraga (198.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s : I was laying in bed when I suddenly heard the sound of objects in my room rattling and the walls creaking after a few seconds my bed started swinging ,I looked up at the ceiling and the chandelier was swinging as well, I was the only one awake in the house so I was the only one that felt it I dont know about the neighbors tho | 6 users found this interesting. belkheir , guelma / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : wake me up , and just followed by another one when i was writing | 7 users found this interesting. 93.8 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : It was 1:04 when I felt this earthquake. I saw the lamp swing, I went out from my bed and took refuge under a table in the hall . I guess it was two strong and successive earthquake but not far away from my city. | 3 users found this interesting. 490.3 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : E durato pochi secondi, il luquido nella bottiglia si muoveva. Abito al 6 piano | 4 users found this interesting. Located in Ben aknoun , Algiers , Algeria / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I thought it was a pacific earthquake but it was not .. so Im leaving in Algiers and I felt the shaking which is pretty scary . I felt my door and bed (Im laying down on it ) shaking , so I concluded that I was some earthquake and I decided to search up on internet ! Have a nice day/night | 3 users found this interesting. Mosquee Ali Ben Abou Talib/ Cite des 1000 logts/ / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging | 2 users found this interesting. Hello I am a writer for this site. Could I ask if we can use your photos in our news report on this quake? / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging 94.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : I was sleeping then out of sudden I woke up to my bed shaking left to right side and a something that sounds like a sound of thunder , there was metal bars in Roof of the house and they were shaking hitting each other creating the similar sound they make when there's a wind storm ( the wind makes them hit each other)! You can easily walk , everyone woke up without exception ( in our house ) , it was for like 4 seconds , the shaking was strong for me since it's the first time I experienced an ear | 2 users found this interesting. Beni Ziki (69.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s : I was in my bed on the phone and i suddenly felt my bed shaking and my metallic window started making a vibrating sound, so i stood up and went under the piller of my room .i felt that the vibration lasted at least for 10 seconds. | 2 users found this interesting. 94.5 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s : Nous dormons depuis 1h quand la terre a tremble nous nous sommes reveilles brusquement par une secousse moderee mais qui a dure plus de 15s. Au 4 eme etage le lit basculait et les portes grincaient... tout le monde est sortie juste apres la premiere secousse a cet instant meme une 3 eme secousse tellurique est ressentie... | 2 users found this interesting. m'chedallah / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : m'chedallah bouira | 4 users found this interesting. Setif / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Terrible | 4 users found this interesting. Annaba (228.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : It was stronger and went on for a bit longer than the first one which was about 3 hours ago I think. | 3 users found this interesting. 88.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 15-20 s : i felt the house shaking strongly i run to wake up my family members and run outside | 3 users found this interesting. Alcudia (356.2 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Short shaking, came in 2 waves | 3 users found this interesting. 189.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I felt my desk moving | 3 users found this interesting. Bejaia, amizour / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : We were so scared and we had to go outside and stay there in case it happened again, buildings in bejaia fell but thank God there were no human losses | 2 users found this interesting. Tizi Ouzou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : I was on my bed back against the wall when I felt the wall go away from me and coming back, then my mother woke up we saw the ground going up and down the walls going right and left, the windows shaking, it was at 1:04 then some minutes later there was another one and then another one (3 in total) | 2 users found this interesting. Jijel algeria / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) : I was about to go to sleep then suddenly i felt my bed start shaking, then i didnt take it too seriously and just waited for it to stop but it just got worse,my books fell off doors opened and it lasted too long | 2 users found this interesting. alger / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : I think 1:04not 0:04. I feel it 1:04than this site say few minutes agobut I don't kown why il say 0:04. | 2 users found this interesting. Annaba / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : We felt it in Annaba we were awaked because of the chakiking,and the sound of the windows moving and we felted twice at 23:22 and 01:05 | 2 users found this interesting. yes i fellt it to a 1:05 no one is out tho i felt the wholl building shking a bit and vbrations were simwhat string / Moderate shaking (MMI V) guelma / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I was in bed, I felt several vibrations through my body, but the shaking bed made it clear for about 6 to 7 seconds, it was the second time tonight | 2 users found this interesting. By the way it was followed by another WEAK one just 5-10 MIN after, did you felt it, I'm at belkheir / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Boudouaou / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Light shaking of the bed and the iPad on my lap the lamps on the roof were swinging and felt the wall shaking too | 2 users found this interesting. 53.6 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : was trying to sleep , and suddenly everything around start encreasingly shacking well it was a pure panic moment , two earthquaks 5 mag followed in the next 30 min so we all got out | One user found this interesting. Algiers (192.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : I was woken up by a sound, afterwards I felt my bed shake,knew it was an earthquake. Then a lighter quake followed.Felt frightened | One user found this interesting. 224.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Vibrations de tout l'appartement pendant plusieurs secondes. Reveil du sommeil location :Annaba Algeria | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Scary | 3 users found this interesting. 143.8 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : My animals felt it before it happened. Even that i was sleeping. This earthquake woke me up | 2 users found this interesting. Bordj Bou Arreridj (98.8 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Woke up from sleep, bed shaking | 2 users found this interesting. Azazga (73.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : Man I'm not experienced with this stuff so of course I'd panic but I went outside really fast | 2 users found this interesting. Setif (81.6 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling : Can still feel aftershake | 2 users found this interesting. That's through bro, same here a guelma / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling 230.3 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s : In my bed i feel vibration | 2 users found this interesting. 166.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Flippant | 2 users found this interesting. Mila (111.1 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 6 | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Bejaia / Violent shaking (MMI IX) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Unbelievable thought it was a nightmare the whole house was dancing unbelievable left right the floor was crazy the light went on and off it was unbelievable literally | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : The light shake woke me up from my sleep, i witnessed furniture was still shaking. 2 minutes later another lighter shake was felt | One user found this interesting. j'etais chez moi (a 30km du tremblement) / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : j'etais alongee et le tremblement a commencer vers 01h04min (et je precise qu'il ya eu un tremblement vers 20h40min ) ce tremblement etait vraiment fort pour nous ya pas eu de degats car nos batiment on etait finaliser recament mais ya eu des degats dans l'ancienne ville , et il ya eu plus de 40 repliques apres 15h du tremblement principal | One user found this interesting. Bordj elkiffan / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Nothing happened to the buildings here, but all were shaking strongly and that made me wake up at night very terrified. It began on 1:04, and then returned on 1:19. During that time it was felt in small vibrations. | One user found this interesting. i was approximately 11km away at bejaia / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s : I was sleeping for a while, then i just woke up and it started happening instantly, i was scared but atleast we we're safe. | One user found this interesting. Reda Slimani / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : I was sitting on a chair in my kitchen suddenly didn't understand what's happening I felt my chair rocking from right to left like a cradle it was not violating but it moved in three directions left right and forward | One user found this interesting. Annaba city ,Algeria / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s : I felt it , it is like when youe blood pressure goes up , i felt like i had a vibratory sight, it was stronger at the end , i felt like mini vibrations 5 minutes after it was over , surely some remaining echos of this quake , it is like waves but made of sound vibration due to ground shaking i guess | One user found this interesting. Setif Algeria Novotel hotel / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s : I was sleeping in setif at accord hotel Novotel 6 floor when the bed shaking everywhere I never felt such a feeling the bed went left to right | One user found this interesting. Annaba city ,Algeria / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s : I felt it , it is like when youe blood pressure goes up , i felt like i had a vibratory sight, it was stronger at the end , i felt like mini vibrations 5 minutes after it was over , surely some remaining echos of this quake , it is like waves but made of sound vibration due to ground shaking i guess | One user found this interesting. Birkhadem Algiers / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was sleeping when I felt the first shaking I first had the feeling that it might not be an earthquake and then was convinced when the shaking continued I later explored on the web and it was true | One user found this interesting. Assfoune, Tizi Ouzou / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) : Woke up to strong vibrations although it was smooth. First time experience as a expat in Algeria. About 15 minutes later felt the after quake. | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s : At first, I thought that it was my 6 years old cat, that was shaking and pulling my bed-duvet but then it got stronger and I felt that my wardrobes doors were squeaking and suddenly everything around me started to be shaking violently for at least 5 to10 seconds. I went online to check if the epicenter was that close by (Algiers). I was a bit concerned because it felt that it was a strong earthquake. | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Awakened ans terrified by the shaking and the sound, the first one was stronger ans longer than the second one which was also a bit strong but brief.It remind me of the Boumerdes earthquake,same feeling,so I suppose in the epicenter the inhabitants felt terrible and terrified. | One user found this interesting. Skikda, Algeria / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : I was sitting on my chair watching LUPIN series, and suddenly everything started shaking it was kind of heavy shaking. | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Algiers is far from Bejaia,but the impact of the earthquake was huge, I woke up from my sleep that prouves its intensity . | One user found this interesting. Bouzareah Algiers / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Jai entendu les portes de mon placard sentrechoquer pendant une periode de 10 seconde environ J | One user found this interesting. (21.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : (21.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : TIPAZA (245.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short : It was very weak, I noticed some high (1,5m tall with a base of 80sqm) furniture swinging back and forth (east to west), NOTE that I live in an apartment building on the 6th floor. 172.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : On dormait, une fois le seisme a frappe nous nous sommes vite fait reveille et couru vers la chambre des enfants ca a dure longtemps quand-meme mais hamdoullah pas de degats materiels ni humaines Bejaia / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) : In Bejaia. It's z very strong shaking / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) Telemly Algiers - Algeria (189 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : La chaise sur laquelle j'etais assise a boite a 2 reprises en faisant un petit bruit pendant 2 a 5s, j'ai du verifier la chaise et ce n'est qu'apres j'ai realise que c'est un seisme. Bouzeguene, idjeur (2.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : J'ai ressenti le premier seisme a 1h07 (am) apres minuit c'etait le plus fort rien ne vibrait mais je ressentais une secousse assez forte, j'etais debout et j'etais desoriente si comme mon cerveau se retournais et j'avais une envie de vomir a la fin du premier seisme Y'en avait d'autres apres celui la mais il etait pas aussi intense que le premier Tarihant (98.7 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Un bruit comment quelq'un qui essaie d'ouvrir la porte fenetre de l'exterieur avec un mouvement lateral du lit. 190.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : Ca a commence par la vibration de la vaisselle dans le buffet a cote duquel j'etais assise puis le craquement des murs Au moment ou j'ai compris il y a eu la secousse, legere, en va et vient, comme un bercement algiers (188.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : An earthquake hit Algeria at 1.04 . 18 03 2021 . I was awakened at home , not yet asleep . I felt a horizontal light shaking . It lasted for a few seconds . Boufarik Blida algeria / Light shaking (MMI IV) : It's scary cause it happens twice in algeria today | 2 users found this interesting. nope it's more / Light shaking (MMI IV) el milila wilaya de jijel / not felt / 20-30 s : i feal it " times 1 long a little bite then 2 short then 3 after 15 minute | 2 users found this interesting. Tazmalt / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I felt it in tazmalt | 2 users found this interesting. Setif / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Secousses legeres | 2 users found this interesting. Algiers / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Light | 2 users found this interesting. Bouira / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Light to average Shaking felt in the city of bouira | 2 users found this interesting. Jijel (54.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Shocking | One user found this interesting. 1778 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt I was alarmed last night by the app. But nothing felt. I hope the people there are ok. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / not felt Boumerdes (151.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Shaking at around 1:05 am. Awakening neighbors. | One user found this interesting. Setif ain oulmen (110.2 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) I was sleeping and may bed move It was very scrrr omg I steel awake can't sleep | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 72.3 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : My bad and closet kept shaping for like 10 seconds | One user found this interesting. Ouled Fayet, Algiers (198.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : I felt it for a short time, then my wife who was sleeping came towards me to tell me about it. | One user found this interesting. Naciria (121.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : It's hard I'm scared | One user found this interesting. Rouiba (169 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Je dormais et j'ai ete reveille par le seisme. | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 173 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : I was going to sleep it was strage and hard i don't leave in bejaia but i felt it | One user found this interesting. setif (81.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : my bed shaked | One user found this interesting. 234.1 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was sleeping and get waked by shaking bed and heard cracks on Windows | One user found this interesting. 175.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : I felt it | One user found this interesting. Algiers (188.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Felt in the bed lightly | One user found this interesting. 96.5 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : It wasn't that strings, everything is fine here for now | One user found this interesting. bouira (127 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) : 5 secound long | One user found this interesting. skikda (134.3 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : felt it | One user found this interesting. Boumerdes (155.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : ! | One user found this interesting. Bejaia city soumari / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Everything was moving it was 1:04 am exactly when it happened we weren't sleeping because an earthquake already happened so we were scared and coulsn't sleep me and my familly , and suprisingly everything moves strongly , all of our fourniture was broken (mirrors, decorations, closet, utensils..) and then it took about 15 seconds to stop so we all went out and another earthquake happens we saw all buildings moving strongly like they were gonna fall it was scary everyone stayed outside and sleepe bejaia / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) : I was laying in bed when I heard the noise of a strong thunder followed by some shaking I ran into my nieces and picked both of them and ran outside while telling my family to come outside all that happened while the earthquake was still going, which was the scariest part, the fact that it lasted really long, we're all traumatized at this point, and became paranoid every time we hear a small shake or noise caused by big Trunks passing by, it leaves us in a state of panic. Bejaia City / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 15-20 s : During these earthquakes, I was sleeping in my nap at 1:03:42 on floor 3 in my apartment, suddenly I heard a vibration in my ears, and my sofa moves and the door moves, and in the kitchen, all the material moved down. I felt fear and scare of the situation, I took my clothes and left my apartment, I drove my car to in order to be in a safe place. Bejaia centre / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : I am an Algerian citizen, I live in Bejaia. At that moment when the first earthquake happened, I was a slep next to my mother, my sister and my nephews, we woke up to shaking walls . TVs and the sounds of crashing dishes ... We panicked, got dressed quickly and got out of the apartment where we were living in the fourth level. When we got to the yard of the neighborhood, we found the people there, then after five minutes the ground shook strongly again, so people started screaming and panicking Setif / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s : It was fast and strong , everything around was shaking the bed, the desk , the dishes , even the strong steel of the windows was shaking... that was scary Algiers algeria / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : last night ( 18/03/2021) I waked up at 1 am, a few minutes later I hear the cupboard shaking, i was not sure if that was an earthquake, I hear my neighbor screaming, before that I knew in the evening that more than an earthquake shook several towns in the east of Algeria ( Constantine, Bejaia, and Mila) then my niece text me on messenger to ask if i was safe me and my mother, at that moment I realized it was an earthquake. Chorfa bouira / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : My home is on the 3rd plancher . It was 01:05 I felt that our home is moving i woke up shocked and i was crying because It's the first time that i felt it strong like that and it wown't stop. I was very afraid That situation continued to 2:30 . Lakhdaria. Dept.of bouira / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : While i was watching a movie, i noticed " un ebranlement " then immediately i realised it was an earthquake, heard the structure " pilliers " moving wright and left producing a special noise. It last for 3 to 5 seconds then nothing except my heart started to beat fastely ! AZAZGA / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 10-15 s : Nous l'avons bien ressenti dans notre logement, j'etais debout, les meubles et chaises bougeaient, panique je suis sorti dehors et reste dans ma voiture Algeria / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s : Hello Its earthquake very strong and bejaia Algeria west, and ita make a song and light and earthquake in same time, however the people all afraid and go our ,and the Ouzellaguen / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : # Algeria , Mesila boussada / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : The whole apartment was shaking and it happened twice the first one was light the second was strong and it lasted probably for 25sec Algiers / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s : It was a pretty strong shaking, woke us up, was expecting it to get stronger but fortunatelly it stopped, there was no noise at all tho...surprised the epicenter is that far! ski kDa , algeria / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It was terrifying , every thing was shaking and swinging from a side to side ,some of my parfums fall dawn. tizi ouzou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : nous venons de ressentir (ici a Tizi Ouzou) de maniere assez forte le seisme qui vient de se produire a Bedjaia. Nous avons aussi ressenti 10 minutes apres une replique. Tizi Ouzou est a 130 Km a l'ouest de Bedjaia. Skikda felfla / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) : I'm shoking | 2 users found this interesting. Amizour; Bejaia, Algerie / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 10-15 s : Pas de degats . | One user found this interesting. Jijel / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : I was very scared | One user found this interesting. Tadjenanet / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / single lateral shake : The shake was weak then it becomes sooo strong | One user found this interesting. Bejaia / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 5-10 s : I got traumatized that's how strong it was and i was shaking and everyone panicking | One user found this interesting. chemini / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : it was cool | One user found this interesting. Hamma bouziane constantine algeria / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s : Very strong | One user found this interesting. Bouira / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was watchin' a movie at 1am then i suddenly felt my bed shakin' and everything around me | One user found this interesting. Jijel / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : We felt strong earthquake and also hear beards sounds | One user found this interesting. Tizi-ouzou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Scared | One user found this interesting. algiers / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : its was moderate shaking in 2 times | One user found this interesting. alger / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : feel like it was not natural like magnetic vibes | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : it was scary and it lasted for few seconds but it felt too long, | One user found this interesting. SETIF / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : It was weird shaking | One user found this interesting. ouzellaguen / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 15-20 s : moderate earthquake | One user found this interesting. Staoueli / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : It was weak but very long. Rebbi yester | One user found this interesting. Eleulma / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Earth shaking for 15 to 20s no demage for now | One user found this interesting. Medjana bordj bouarerej / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : I was laying on chair I thought iam going to fall | One user found this interesting. 87.5 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : | One user found this interesting. Alger / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating : Rabi yesterna inchalah | One user found this interesting. Tipaza douaouda / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Scary | One user found this interesting. Algiers / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Im sleeping an awa long after | One user found this interesting. Beni douala tizi ouzou / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Medium vos rations during sole seconds, no damage here | One user found this interesting. Tadmait / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s : Laterale environs 10 a 15 secondes | One user found this interesting. Bordj Bou Arreridj / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake : Les lampes ont bouge | One user found this interesting. Alger / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short : Very weak shaking | One user found this interesting. Les eucalyptus alger / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : 3 secousses | One user found this interesting. Boumerdes / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : C'est effrayant. Ca m'a fait tres peur. | One user found this interesting. Birkhadem / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Alger centre | One user found this interesting. Setif / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : No comment | One user found this interesting. El achour Algiers / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Wall cracking, tought it was my upstairs neighbour, then the floor moved sideways for one second. | One user found this interesting. Bordj ghedir / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 10-15 s : I live in bordj bou arreridj I fell it 4 times first time take 10 second and other time 4 sc | One user found this interesting. Tipaza / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : the earthquake lasted a long time, almost a minute. | One user found this interesting. Alger Cheraga / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s : 3 sur 5 personnes minimum ont ressenti le seisme. 1er etage. | One user found this interesting. Annaba / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s : Annaba | One user found this interesting. Constantine / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Constantine | One user found this interesting. 19.2 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s Plus de peur que de panique (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s 18 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s Haouch el mokhfi (161.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : Scared bejaia (20.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s 37.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) (reported through our app / Violent shaking (MMI IX) 196.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 18.7 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) (reported through our app / Violent shaking (MMI IX) 98.3 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Timezrit (47.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging Cisterna Di Latina (840.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 532.8 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 1711.2 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Richterswil (1182.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1711.2 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1748.6 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Jijel (65.9 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s Constantine (149.1 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) 1147.8 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s chekfa (305.3 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s 43.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) (reported through our app / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) 2070.1 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 197.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Alger (192 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt / very short 96.1 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : So frightening that everyone who were asleep got up scared 232.3 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Takorabt (208.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s 106.6 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 15-20 s : C'etait juste terrible a vivre 1357.8 km NW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 615.5 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1990.6 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 145.2 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) 1.6 km NW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 102 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 1543.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 5.3 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 33.6 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s it was terrible i was asleep, Unspeakable fear and panic (reported through (reported through our app / Violent shaking (MMI IX) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s 199.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) 1683.9 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 89.1 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 168.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 2102.2 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1538.1 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 535.8 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Rouiba (168.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 134.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s 29.3 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 1640.7 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1952.7 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1865.3 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 119.4 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s Ouled Fayet Algiers (198.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Algiers (170.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 33.1 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 2-5 s 174.8 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Szczecin (1974 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 81.4 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Hussein dey (185.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 114 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s 125.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Setif (79.7 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 1683.9 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Bejaia (20.8 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s 193.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Setif (80.6 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating 1645.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt EL MENZEH (533.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1784.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 102.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s 103.7 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 1721.9 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 158.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s 226.4 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s 102 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 499.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Tizi ouzou (102.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating 1884 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Alger (185 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 108.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 1942.4 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 213.9 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) Manresa (609.4 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt 1147.8 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s 1488.4 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1991.3 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 170.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Annaba (227.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s It was a little bit scary but we handle it (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s reghaia (163.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s 200.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s 53.5 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Rotterdam (1657.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 53.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) Very terrifying shaking (reported through (reported through our app / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) 153 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 66.7 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt alger douera (200.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s 1820.6 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 163.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s (reported through our app / not felt / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 626.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 140 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s 232.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short Algiers (181.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 1645.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Guzelcaml Aydn (1948.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Manresa (609.4 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Parla (861 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt No se sintio absolutamente nada (reported through (reported through our app / not felt 97.3 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : it woke us up from sleeping it was too strong 524.6 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 1756.5 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Elkseur Bejaia (36.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Trop de panique dans les rues et les gages d'escalier (reported through (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 187.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 153.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 15-20 s Seddouk (58.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s 177.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s 1430.7 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) Annaba (246.4 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s 184.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Spijkenisse (1662.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Amizour bejaia (34.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 20-30 s Taher jijel (66.9 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Bejaia (18.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : It's was realy strong and long all the people gone out . 22.2 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) 177.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Algiers (193.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s 179 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 20-30 s Telemly Algiers - Algeria (189 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 1-2 s 41.7 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Sidi aich (53.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : La peur de ma vie c'est ma premiere fois a ressentire un seisme 109.3 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 216.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s Portsmouth (1623.8 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Aadl zemmouri boumerdes (73.6 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Setif ain oulmen (110.2 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Bejaia (20.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Setif (80.4 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 161.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s Ouled Bonar, Jijel (49.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 30.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s 79.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s 64 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Borj bou arreridj (99.5 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) IGHRAM (78.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I felt a moderate shaking that vibrate the hole room 97.4 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s 72.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s : coso (155.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 89 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s 54.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : Se sintio con fuerza en Jijel. Fuerte movimiento dentro de la casa. 57.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Without damage ! We respect nature and in God we trust. Khenchela (242.7 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Boumerdes (152.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Setif (84.2 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s 88.9 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 58.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating 25.3 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging Tizi ouzou (102.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s Algiers (187.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 81 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 115.3 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s 102.5 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s Ventimiglia (795.9 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s Tadmait (113.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s 82.4 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s Grarem Gouga (112.3 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Maybe 5 seconds 192.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 116.4 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 59.9 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt / 5-10 s 193.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 209.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) 181.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 152.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Alger (196.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Boumerdes (166.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s 122.7 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s Alger (199.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging 65.4 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating 93.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Ait Bouhouni, Yakouren, Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria (70.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Annaba (228.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating : Awakened by the earthquake 140 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 173 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s 102 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 20-30 s 175.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 194.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt Skikda (153.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s El kseur (28.5 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : Like a bassin in a ferious sea Cagliari (413.6 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short 94.5 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Alger (184.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Algiers (189.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 90.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Beni douala tizi ouzou (103.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Secousses moyennes ayant reveille lesendormis mais pas de degats 189.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Hussein dey (187.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt 186 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Tizi Ouzou (102 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) Khraicia-Alger (194 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 155.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Dely Ibrahim (195.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 162 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s 230.1 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 114.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) Tres fort (reported through (reported through our app / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) Elmilia (99.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 196.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 143.5 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 190.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 1764.5 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 95.5 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 86.1 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s 178.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s Reghaia (161.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s 85.3 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Algiers Hussein dey (184.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s 192.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Annaba algeria (21.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 27.3 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 92.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Batna (175.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 21.2 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s 147.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) tizi ouzou (99.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 168.3 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s Dely brahim , Algiers (195.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s reghaia (188 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 195.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s Bordj bou arreridj (98 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Algiers (183.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s Algiers (193.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 185.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Algiers (196.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Boumerdes (153.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s Taher, Jijel, Algeria (66.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 15-20 s Algiers (198.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 52.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 229.6 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) 187.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s 228.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 198.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 182.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Azeffoun (67.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 96.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) 103.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Rouiba Alger (168.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s Sestu Cagliari Sardegna (434.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Annaba (211.4 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s 92.1 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Algiers (188.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 81.6 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 128.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s Jijel (55.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s 175 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 99.9 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s El Milia (98.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s Algiers (188.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s Bordj (98.1 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s 38.5 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Alger (173.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s Setif (80.7 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 20-30 s 112.1 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 200 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Bordj bou arreridj (98.3 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short berrahal annaba (200.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s 32.3 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Chelgh (121.7 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) Algiers (189.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s 176.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s tizi (102 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe N'gaous (161.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s Algiers (17.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s 182.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s 187 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s 155.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 206.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 1-2 s 95.7 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s Algiers (236.5 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 68.3 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) N'gaous (153.9 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s 108.2 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Algiers (188.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s 197.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s 153.1 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 151.6 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) (reported through our app / Violent shaking (MMI IX) babezzouar algiers (188.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 172.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 103.5 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s 135.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s bordj bou arreridj (98.3 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Guelma (208.7 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s 155.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Bab Ezzouar (177.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s 228.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 125.6 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 10-15 s ALGIERS (193.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 54 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Violent shaking (MMI IX) 160.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 143.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) aghbalou (91.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s batna (174.4 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake 141.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 194.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s 104.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 158.3 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Cagliari (433.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s souk ahras (228.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Bachdjarrah (183.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 188.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s 230 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 69.2 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s 97.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 230.1 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s 89.8 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 161.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) Marseille (704.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short 85.3 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 190.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Algiers (175.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s : My birds was shocked 168.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Algiers (172.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s Algiers (177.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s 190.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s 159.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) 154.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 192 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 85.8 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Skikda (154.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s Ain smara (138.7 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s 151.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) 82.4 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Boufarik (205.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 174 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Annaba (225.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s Alger (192.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) 142.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Algiers (196.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake 79.8 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 184.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 145.1 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s 161.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s 183.4 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 175.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s 130.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 94.6 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s Skikda (154.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s boumerdes (156.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s 80.6 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s (21.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Algiers (186.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s 1803.5 km NNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt 181.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Algiers (191.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 177 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating 156.6 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 114.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) 58.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Jijel (51.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) 143.1 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) (reported through our app / Very weak shaking (MMI II) 190.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s Algiers (23.5 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 195.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s 82.3 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s 124.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Canada Life Reinsurance is pleased to announce that it has recently entered into a long-term longevity reinsurance agreement with Athora Netherlands covering 4.7 billion of in-force liabilities and 104,500 in-payment and deferred policies. Jeff Poulin, Global Head of Canada Life Reinsurance, affirms this agreement is another example of Canada Life Reinsurance's strength as a partner for longevity reinsurance transactions globally. "We are pleased to build and grow our relationship with Athora Netherlands with this major reinsurance agreement," says Poulin. "It demonstrates our ability to work together with our partners to meet their reinsurance needs and adapt our solutions to their needs over time." Canada Life Reinsurance offers a range of innovative risk and capital management solutions for life, health and non-life risk to insurers, reinsurers, and pension funds globally. About Canada Life Reinsurance Canada Life Reinsurance provides its clients with reinsurance solutions for life and health, annuity, and property & casualty business through its offices in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Bermuda, and Barbados. Canada Life Reinsurance is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Canada Life Assurance Company is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. To learn more, visit canadalifere.com. About Great-West Lifeco Inc. Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2020, our companies had approximately 24,500 employees, 205,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners all serving our more than 30 million customer relationships across these regions. Great-West Lifeco and its companies have approximately CDN $2.0 trillion in consolidated assets under administration as at December 31, 2020 and are members of the Power Corporation group of companies. Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.com. SOURCE Canada Life Reinsurance (This story has been updated to correct the date that the news conference occurred.) FLINT, MI -- Two City Council members and other Flint water crisis activists are distributing forms they say can be used to opt-in with objections to a $641-million settlement with the state of Michigan and others. Councilman Eric Mays and Councilwoman Jerri Winfrey-Carter urged residents to mail the form to U.S. District Court, where the settlement has been given preliminary approval in advance of a March 29 deadline for registering to make a claim. The five-page form includes a section to opt-in to the settlement process and gives residents and others exposed to Flint water the opportunity to write or check off suggested objections so they can be considered at a July 12 fairness hearing in federal court. Among the listed objections are that the settlement is not fair, reasonable or adequate; that the settlement is vague and the details have not been easily available; and that attorneys for residents, who have filed for more than $200 million from the settlement, are being paid too much. Weve designed it based on the instructions in the preliminary settlement, Mays said Wednesday, March 17, news conference. Even if residents have already filed their intent to opt-in or opt-out of the settlement, Mays suggested the objection form can still be sent to the court. Were doing something the lawyers didnt do for us, Mays said of the opt-in with objections form, which allows for residents to make a claim in the future for a piece of the settlement but also to object to the overall deal. Last month, an administrator with the U.S. District Court mailed about 70 pages of information to households with water service in Flint, including forms for adults to register themselves and their children and to opt-in or opt-out of the $641-million settlement of lawsuits filed by Flint residents against the state of Michigan, city of Flint, McLaren Regional Medical Center and Rowe Professional Services. Those who opt-out of the settlement are not entitled to make a claim but can continue to pursue lawsuits against the state, the city, McLaren and Rowe. Registration can also be done online and forms can be downloaded at https://www.officialflintwatersettlement.com/. Read more on MLive: Every water customer in Flint to receive claims documents by mail for water crisis settlement Federal judge says she will meet for days if necessary to hear from residents about Flint water settlement Judge gives preliminary OK to $641 million Flint water crisis settlement Colorado Politics took a close look at how the world has changed around us after a year of the pandemic by looking through the eyes of those who have seen it up close. There is hardly any facet of life that hasnt changed, and some things will never be the same. We found concerns and worries, optimism and hope, challenges and solutions. EMPLOYMENT: The workplace is more depressing and challenging Liddy Romero, Worklife Partners, founder and CEO Liddy Romero knows what a job is worth on both sides of the paycheck. Her family operated a cake shop when she was growing up. You break all kinds of child labor laws when you run a small bakery in McAllen, Texas, she recalled. The turnover of one person really does matter to a small business. It kept my parents away from the bandwidth to think beyond the day to day. Now Romero tries to help employers retain their best employees by helping front-line workers navigate the roiling economy and uncertain health crisis. Romero leads the Denver-based nonprofit WorkLife Partnership, which helps untangle some of the workplace webs ahead by assigning a navigator to front-line workers to help them find help with housing, health care, affordable child care, transportation, food insecurity, domestic violence or other challenges that might keep needed workers off the job. It very much seeps in and out of the workplace, Romero said about the troubled world. When employers have a handle on those issues, they can make informed decisions about retaining their workforce rather than constantly hiring and training. Some workers just havent had good role models on how to be reliable, ambitious employees, she said. I know I got my work ethic from my parents, Romero said. The pandemics troubles will ripple through the workplace for years to come, she said. Colorado will need to invest more in behavioral and mental health services, and the state already was short on addiction and recovery beds before the pandemic, Romero said. Whats happened during COVID is atrocious and horrific, and I think theres going to be a lot of mental health issues coming up, she said. Domestic violence is on the rise, yet harder to spot, with kids home from schools and abused spouses away from their office and friends. It is sad to see this happen, but there is a chance to rebuild something that is more equitable, Romero said, on a hopeful note. SMALL BUSINESS: Trying to make it last Gail Lindley, owner of Denver Bookbinding, 1401 W. 47th Ave., Denver The pandemic has been a double-edged sword for Gail Lindley, who owns 93-year-old Denver Bookbinding. One part of her business dropped substantially when the pandemic hit, but another took off. I would not want to repeat last March, April, May and June ever again, Lindley said. Business for her 10-person company dropped by as much as 64%. The companys customers are printers and publishers for whats known as short runs, small printing jobs of anywhere from one book like someone wanting to bind a college thesis to as many as 5,000 copies. Lindley said she was able to get a Paycheck Protection Program grant, which she spent conservatively, to keep her employees on the payroll, pay the utility bills and keep her employees health insurance paid. We tried to make it last as long as possible, she said. In March, hardly anyone worked at all those last two weeks, she said. As we started to gauge what was happening, we started increasing hours, she said. By the end of June, everyone was back to work, and on a part of the business that usually doesnt get a lot of attention: restorations. With COVID, people stayed at home, cleaning out closets or reorganizing. Some found books that needed to be restored, so that part of Lindleys business, which is done by hand, picked up. That part of the company even had a big rush at Christmas. Its allowed her to add another half-time employee. Were a niche, Lindley said. Books are always going to be around, and I foresee us being around as long as we want to be. The one area that still needs work, according to Lindley, is Denvers process for assessing property taxes. Lindley explained that the rule is that if your commercial property is zoned for eight stories, for example, but you have a one-story building, youre still assessed at the higher rate. The city asks what they can do to help us stay in business, Lindley said. Keep our tax rates down. HOUSING: Keeping up by reaching out Ashley, Lakewood (Colorado Politics is withholding her last name at her request.) In August 2019, Ashley was feeling optimistic about her life with her husband and 10-year-old son. Shed been a corporate accountant for 10 years in different industries, a profession that led her from her hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., to Colorado. Moving to Colorado wasnt just about her job, she said, pointing to better opportunities for her son. The cultural and political climate in Colorado was more in line with her tastes, she added. After a decade in the corporate world, she thought she had the experience and networks to strike out on her own. The market was good then, she said. The business was going really well, I was continually increasing my client base and workload and was in the process of proposing and landing some big projects. Revenue month over month was increasing. Then the pandemic hit. Schools closed. The state went into a lockdown, and her family was stuck at home. At first, her business held up. After all, it was tax season, and that kept her going for the first two months. The crash came at end of May. She lost 70% of her clients in six weeks. They couple was able to keep up with the rent on her husbands job as a transporter and what clients she had left until the end of July. Thats when they started to have to make decisions about bills, and it got harder to cover the rent. In August, the past due notices started coming. The family had been renting the same place for four years, so they had a good relationship prior to the pandemic with the office staff and were proactive in communicating their situation, she said. It was the management of the apartment complex that suggested Ashley reach out to the nonprofit Foothills Regional Housing. By then, they were behind on rent for August and September. Within a few weeks, Foothills got them caught up. The day she heard they were getting help was emotional. Ashley got the call from a Foothills counselor, who said she was taking a check to the apartment complex that very afternoon. I completely lost it, Ashley said. I fell apart into tears. This was the first good news Id had in months, months of waking up and wondering what kind of catastrophe was going to happen that day. Ashley also got one fiscal quarter of relief from the Small Business Administration, so now shes trying to get that assistance updated. Shes also stayed in touch with Foothills, as she is still struggling financially, including with rent. Day to day is still constant stress, she said. Were figuring it out, and continuing to work with the clients I have and to make new inroads. Weve leaned on each other as a family, Ashley said, which includes keeping their son at home for school since shes been working from home during the pandemic. If theres one positive, weve become closer as a family and more appreciative of each other, more open about feelings and stress. It wouldnt have been possible for us to deal with this if we didnt do that. EDUCATION: Missing classes creates trying times for parent Nicole Kane, mother and Facebook group leader Nicole Kane is finished with Denver Public Schools. The single mother of a fifth-grade student plans to send her daughter to private school next year, angered over how the district has, by her estimate, provided only 30 days of in-person learning over the past year. She has developed a speech impediment. Shes an only child, Kane said of her daughter, Vivienne. She went almost a year, nine months, without any peer interaction. Thats really hard. She added that her daughters test scores are lower now than they were at the same time last year. Consequently, she will be holding Vivienne back one year. Her daughter is frustrated about that decision, Kane acknowledged, but its not just about what she wants. As her parent, I have to make those decisions for her. Although Kane is the administrator of a 1,000-member Facebook group called DPS Parents for In-Person Learning, she does not solely blame the school system for its inability to provide Vivienne with the environment she needs. Kane also faults the state for failing to take control and establish uniformity among the school districts. You look to where there are successes, you look to where there are failures. You replicate the successes and mitigate the failures, she said. There needs to be a legislative oversight committee to make sure that happens. She advocates for an across-the-state expectation that schools will reopen to in-person learning as a priority, with one entity directing the process. Safety concerns, to Kane, are overblown, because she believes children will do their part to keep others safe. We sell them short when it comes to wearing masks, she explained. She also advocates for a holistic approach to helping kids, not merely examining what can be done in the classroom itself. Those measures could include further financial and mental health support for business owners and parents during the pandemic. It all matters, right? We need tax dollars, thats important. We need to educate our kids, thats important. We cant just look at one thing, Kane added. JUSTICE: Deadly virus makes its way through a captive audience in prison John Peckham, inmate in Colorado Department of Corrections John Peckham is serving nearly two decades behind bars, but he worries the pandemic may turn it into a death sentence. My major problem is this: Out there, you have a choice, said Peckham, 55, who has served six years with the Colorado Department of Corrections and has 12 more to go. When someone is in a store or a restaurant not wearing a mask, you can ask them to put their mask on or leave, or you yourself can leave. But in prison, inmates must use the dining hall, sitting close to others, and occupy a double cell with another person less than 6 feet away. You cannot self-distance, and that is why it spread so quickly in here, he said. Peckham, who is at Arrowhead Correctional Center in Canon City, wrote to Colorado Politics through his attorneys. He noted that the ACLU of Colorado had won important concessions from the CDOC in implementing pandemic protocols. But both staff and inmates still do not wear masks sometimes, do not wash their hands or do not follow other guidelines, he said. Peckham, who said he already contracted COVID-19, is scared. It is a well-known axiom in mental health that isolation fosters depression. I want the lawmakers to make sure we have single cells, but we should not be isolated to the point of damaging our mental health, he said. I believe the health benefits of having regular access to the outdoors, a means to contact the outside, and the usual daily contact with inmates and staff would be good. And, like for everyone out there, therapy and or mental health assistance is a good thing. Although Gov. Jared Polis has refused to prioritize inmates for the COVID-19 vaccine, despite the known risks of transmission in congregate settings, Peckham would like the governor to reconsider. He also advocates for allowing inmates to place video calls on tablets affordably, and to parole individuals in greater numbers. Now the variant versions are coming here, Peckham said. You can catch it more than once. LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Opportunity through partnership Adam Paul, Lakewood mayor The COVID-19 pandemic has done a demolition job on local government budgets, but Lakewood Mayor Adam Paul thinks asphalt can pave the road to recovery. Its been really very painful and we look forward to recovery, but weve got a long way to go, he said. Paul, who has served as mayor since 2015 after an eight-year stint on Lakewood City Council, said the city had to cut some $17 million out of its budget in the face of declining revenues brought on by the coronavirus. Lakewood received a $12 million boost from the federal CARES Act, but Paul said a majority of those funds were pushed out to provide relief for local businesses and shield police officers and other city staff from layoffs. That kept municipal employees in their jobs, but meant across-the-board cuts nearly everywhere else, including a pretty substantial hit to the citys public works department. A survey from the Colorado Municipal League of roughly two-thirds of Colorados cities and towns shows Lakewood isnt alone nearly half the respondents said they cut capital improvements to help balance shrinking budgets. But Paul said those challenges present an opportunity, particularly if the feds are willing to partner with locals. While hes worried about Washington lawmakers running up the deficit, he believes federal funds targeted toward infrastructure projects could amount to an opportunity to build off this pandemic to make systemic change. In our case, weve seen a lot of businesses closed that arent going to come back, but we can flip this into an opportunity where we can provide jobs in infrastructure renewal, Paul said. We can take advantage of this workforce that may not be able to go back to where they were, but can shift to the long-term needs that weve neglected forever: our highways, our infrastructure, our power grid, other areas where we need to maintain or rebuild as a nation. CHILD CARE: A roller-coaster ride of supply and demand Sonia Brown, child care provider at Sonias Childcare Sonia Brown is counting her lucky stars. As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the health and fortunes of her colleagues in the child care field, the owner of Sonias Childcare says the families of all six children she cares for kept her on the payroll, even as only three were showing up each day. I know some child care providers have money or health issues from being around with this pandemic, they had to close and they are now closed totally, said Brown, a 53-year-old Mexican immigrant who, for the past 24 years, has been running a Broomfield child care center for infants and children up to 5 years old. Im one of the lucky ones. The transition to working from home in the early days of the pandemic meant fewer Coloradans needed child care services. And while business for child care providers plummeted, the cost to provide child care soared. Brown said her bill for cleaning supplies has doubled as she seeks to comply with health and safety regulations and provide a safe space for the kids she cares for. Add in the cost for some larger facilities to bring on additional staff to help accommodate smaller, more dispersed groups of children, and Brown says child care providers were staring down a crisis. But the services they provide became more important than ever, particularly for essential workers in health care and grocery stores who couldnt work from the comfort of home. That led Gov. Jared Polis and lawmakers to push through a relief package last year that included a $45 million grant program to help licensed child care providers keep their doors open. Brown received her grant last month, a $990 check she plans to use to install no-touch faucets on her sinks and automatic paper towel dispensers to cut down on potential transmission points. Other providers were eligible for up to $34,270 on a sliding scale, based on quality of service and licensed capacity. While Brown said the funds helped, she believes the child care field will need continued support in the future. With the vaccine, hopefully we get back to normal and we wont have to spend as much money on supplies in the future, she said. But for now its the same thing: we still need to spend more money to keep the kids safe. It would be nice to be able to count on a little bit more. press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday (local time) that former President Donald Trump's rhetoric around the pandemic -- calling COVID-19 the "ChinaVirus" -- has contributed to discrimination against Asian Americans. The comments come in the wake of Tuesday's shootings in and around Atlanta that left several Asian women dead. "I think there's no question that some of the damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration calling COVID the "Wuhan virus" or other things led to perceptions of the Asian American community that are inaccurate, unfair, have raised, you know, threatening -- has elevated threats against Asian Americans. And we're seeing that around the country," Psaki said during a daily press briefing at The The Press secretary pointed to President Joe Biden's focus on the issue of anti-Asian American bias amid the pandemic, including a memo condemning and seeking to combat racism against Asian Americans, according to The Hill. Biden denounced hate crimes against Asian Americans during a prime-time address last week marking one year since pandemic restrictions began, calling the violence "un-American." The Hill citing NBC News reported this week that there were nearly 3,800 incidents of bias against Asian Americans reported over the past 12 months. Trump has referred repeatedly to COVID-19 as the "ChinaVirus," the "Wuhan virus" and "kung flu" despite concerns that the rhetoric is contributing to racism against Asian Americans. The suspect in the Atlanta massage parlors shooting spree has been charged with eight counts of murder, The New York Times reported citing local authorities. At least eight people were shot dead late Tuesday at massage parlors around the Atlanta metropolitan area in the US state of Georgia. Police have taken the suspected gunman, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, into custody. Long was also charged with one count of aggravated assault in connection with the shootings. The authorities said four of the murder counts and the assault charge originated from the first shooting incident, in Cherokee County, and the remaining four murder counts were connected with shootings at two massage parlors in the city of Atlanta shortly after. The tragedy caused outrage and fear in the Asian-American community as the shootings claimed the lives of six women of Asian descent, although the suspect denied racial bias once in custody, the newspaper 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.) Russian Justice Ministry backs extension of moratorium on NPOs reports of foreign funding RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 12:14 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) The Russian Ministry of Justice has supported the Civic Chamber as to the extension of the moratorium on reporting about foreign financing by nonprofits (NPOs) until July 15, 2021, by issuing a respective proposal, Secretary of the Chamber Lydia Mikheyeva informs. The day before, the Justice Ministry hosted a working meeting dedicated to the issue of the presentation of reports by non-profit organizations on their activities for year 2020. In particular, the Ministry proposed to extend the moratorium, which concerns the reporting on foreign financing of their donors. Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko expressed his confidence that it was needed to implement a balanced approach that would not entail negative consequences for the activities and reputation of bona fide NPOs, but at the same time ensure compliance with the requirements of Russian laws. In order to help nonprofits to organize their work under changed laws, the Ministry of Justice plans to extend the moratorium on their reporting about the funds they received from abroad for 3 months, Chuichenko said. This January, the Chamber asked Chuichenko to extend this moratorium as to nonprofit organizations funded from domestic sources who in turn receive foreign financing. Having expressed her satisfaction with the fact that the Ministry supported the Chambers initiative, Mikheyeva noted that the body will use the time the moratorium is in force for the development of an understandable algorithm for reporting on the amounts and purposes of spending of the funds received from donors, who may have foreign sources of financing, in a way ensuring that the respective procedures take into account the interests and protect the reputation of bona fide NPOs when ensuring compliance with legal requirements. According to the Chamber Secretary, the body is ready to take an active part in the development of methodological recommendations for filling out reporting forms being a part of a special working group, and also proposes to conduct, together with the Justice Ministry, an expert discussion of these recommendations with the participation of NPOs on the Chamber premises. Chair of the Chamber Commission on Nonprofit Sector Development and Socially Oriented Nonprofit Organizations Support Elena Topoleva-Soldunova also took part in the workshop. She expressed her satisfaction with the fact that the body had finally reached mutual understanding with the Justice Ministry, and that the Ministry could understand the Chambers concern with the fact that NPOs wish to report as honestly as possible, fulfill the obligations they have before the law, but, unfortunately, the existing reporting forms do not allow this. The Ministry of Justice assured the Chamber that it was ready to change the approaches to this type of reporting, specifically, how NPOs are to fill out the forms is to be defined by a working group at the Ministry of Justice, the social activist said. Topoleva-Soldunova welcomed the fact that the Justice Ministry proceeds from the principle that NPOs act in good faith and that the Ministry is to request information on foreign financing of domestic donors when needed in cases where NPOs are unable to obtain and report such financing data on their own. The Justice Ministry proposal as to the moratorium was also backed by Head of the Chamber Commission on Charity, Chairman of the Board of the Circle of Kindness Foundation, Alexander Tkachenko, who said that the time granted seems to be enough to come to an agreement within a working group for the development of reporting guidelines the Ministry intends to establish. However, the activist noted, the main thing is that an agreement had already been reached to the effect that respective recommendations are to be based on the principle of the presumption of legality and good faith of non-profit organizations and their counterparties. This fact means that during the time law enforcement practice is to be formed the Ministry will be actively engaged in a dialogue with the non-profit sector presuming that there is no need to impose excessive responsibilities and burdens on the NPOs already engaged in important for the society and complex social work, Tkachenko wrote on his Facebook page. Google's second-gen Nest smart home device has now installed a health tracking feature that helps you if you want to know how well you sleep during a particular course. It can also measure other vital movements from your chest to tell if you are sleeping or not. The Google Nest Hub 2 features a smart home screen where deep sensing technology in sleeping patterns is identified. If you want to track how your sleeping routines go, get to know this new Google device. Google Nest Hub 2 Has Sleep-Sensing Technology According to a report by Independent Online, the next generation of the Google Nest Hub will be available starting on Mar. 30. It has a "sleep sensing feature," where the user can track how their sleeping pattern goes during the process. The seven-inch smart device was revealed on Mar. 16, and it was said that it could alter the perception of people who rely on smartwatches just to detect their sleeping progress. The newest Google Nest Hub could do many wonders for you. For example, as mentioned a while ago, donning a wearable fitness tracker will not be required anymore through this device. While wearable devices are lighter and more convenient, they could sometimes interrupt your sleeping. The said feature introduced to the Nest Hub 2 depends on Project Soli, Google's newly launched chip. Soli uses radar for motion detection, and that includes how you breathe during sleep, Android Central reported. Other Features of the Second-Gen Nest Hub For its price, you might find it reasonable for $100 since its features do not come cheap for people's expectations. Moreover, it could play videos and it could also generate photos besides having Google assistant support for ease of commands when ordering a specific task. However, the Nest Hub 2 does not have a camera. To understand clearly how the sleeping tracker works, the device will give you weekly updates about your sleeping. Furthermore, you can also determine the quality of the sleep you get during the time, as well as how long you have slept. It also notifies you about the frequency of sleeping interruptions at night, as well as the frequency of your snoring and coughing in connection to the tips and recommendations provided by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Before adding the feature to the smart device, Google has previously tested 15,000 people for a total of 110,000 nights. From there, the company has known that there is a need to address the issue in the sleeping patterns. Read Also: Google Pixel to Receive Google Fit Features Including Respiratory, Heart Rate Measurements Privacy Could be Involved As Concern For those who have difficulty in sleeping, this feature may help you.However, there might be privacy issues that could happen when using Google Nest Hub 2. The data collection could lead to the identification through important details like name, location, and other personal information, so that is something you should consider. When Google has completed the $1 billion purchase of Fitbit, it means that the company now has control of the gadgets where they could see a person's health much deeper than before. Regarding the sleep tracking feature, Google said it is up to the users to enable the feature. The device also has the necessary controls, making sleep sensing manageable, so users can easily remove the data after using the Nest Hub. The recorded audio will be stored in Hub 2, but it will not go to the data server of Google. However, other details needed to analyze your sleeping pattern will be requested. According to Ashton Udall, the senior product manager of Google Nest, the information gathered using the feature will skip Google ads. Related Article: Google Home Mini vs. Google Nest Mini: Design, Pricing, and Other Features to Consider This article is owned by Tech Times. Written by Joen Coronel 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A night of St. Patricks Day celebration turned violent after a reveler stabbed a fellow bar patron with a box cutter outside a popular Lakewood night spot. The stabbing happened about 9 p.m. outside The Riverwood Cafe on Detroit Avenue near Riverside Drive, Lakewood police said. Police officers went to the bar after receiving a call about an altercation and were met by a man with a large cut on the side of his neck, police said. Police took a man into custody, but he has not been formally charged as of Thursday afternoon. Cleveland.com does not name criminal suspects until they are formally charged. Paramedics took the stabbed man to Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. Police said his injuries are not life threatening. Further investigation revealed that the two men knew each other, but initial police reports do not reveal what prompted the argument that led to the stabbing. Read more crime stories on cleveland.com: Cuyahoga County prosecutors declined to prosecute Cleveland police officer for May 30 conduct, letter reveals Man fatally shot in West Akron Authorities arrest suspect in Akron murder, robbery Frustrated Cleveland City Council urges Chief Calvin Williams to loosen restrictions on police chases Two Cleveland brothers accused of fatal shooting outside Parma bar that killed off-duty corrections officer appear in court Mumbai, March 18 : Bollywood celebrities have reacted sharply to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat's controversial remark on women wearing ripped jeans. Earlier this week, while attending a workshop for Protection of Child Rights in Dehradun, CM Rawat made a remark about women wearing ripped jeans. He spoke about a female co-passenger once onboard a flight with him who was wearing ripped jeans and runs an NGO. Describing her attire, the Chief Minister questioned what kind of "sanskar" (values) the woman is going to give wearing ripped jeans and showing her knees. This controversial remark didn't go down well on social media and the hashtag #RippedJeansTwitter started trending on Twitter. Several Bollywood celebrities also reacted to the remark , voicing protest. Koena Mitra tweeted: "May Bjp rule for another 50 years but.... ripped jeans and boots will rock forever! Men don't tell us what to wear! I wear shorts and snickers, I dance like a hip hopper, I chant Hanuman chalisa, I vote, I travel like a Gypsy and I cancel Men like him. Stop." Gul Panag tweeted a photo of herself wearing ripped jeans and captioned: "#RippedJeansTwitter" May Bjp rule for another 50 years but.... ripped jeans and boots will rock forever! Men dont tell us what to wear! I wear shorts and snickers, I dance like a hip hopper, I chant Hanuman chalisa, I vote, I travel like a Gypsy and I cancel Men like him. Stop https://t.co/QsSM15RCAI Koena Mitra (@koenamitra) March 18, 2021 Sona Mohapatra shared a photo of herself wearing a ripped long t-shirt and wrote: "I don't wear jeans owing to the humidity & heat here but happy for this ripped T shirt with my sanskari ghutnas showing!..& #GirlsWhoWearRippedJeans don't need anyone's permission in #India . We are the land of the glorious Konark, Khajurao, Modhera, Thirumayam, Virupaksha!" I dont wear jeans owing to the humidity & heat here but happy for this ripped T shirt with my s showing!..& #GirlsWhoWearRippedJeans dont need anyones permission in #India . We are the land of the glorious Konark, Khajurao, Modhera, Thirumayam, Virupaksha! https://t.co/zP98bBiLkd pic.twitter.com/gZQfWjN6Rb Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) March 17, 2021 Shruti Seth tweeted: "Currently ripping all my jeans." Currently ripping all my jeans Shruti Seth (@SethShruti) March 18, 2021 Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda had on Wednesday evening reacted to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister's comment. Taking to her Instagram story, Navya shared a photo of herself in ripped jeans, asking the CM to change his mentality. "Change your mentality before changing our clothes. Because the only thing shocking here is the message comments like this send to society. Just..." Navya wrote. Sharing her photo in ripped jeans, Navya wrote, "I'll wear my ripped jeans. Thank you. And I'll wear them proudly." However, she later deleted the post. -- Syndicated from IANS Welcome Guest! You Are Here: [March 18, 2021] Fancamp Sets the Record Straight and Corrects the Misleading and Baseless Statements by Activist Peter H. Smith and His Associates Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp" or the "Corporation") (TSX Venture Exchange: FNC) today sets the record straight and corrects the misleading and baseless statements made by Mr. Peter H. Smith, a disgruntled director of Fancamp, and his associates (together, the "Activists"). The proxy fight that Mr. Smith, former President and Chief Executive Offer, has initiated has nothing to do with the proposed business combination with ScoZinc Mining Ltd. (the "Transaction") or the governance practices of the Fancamp Board of Directors (the "Board"). Mr. Smith has a self-serving agenda to take over the Corporation and destroy shareholder value. The unnecessary and expensive proxy fight he is forcing on the Corporation is simply about advancing his own agenda that would enable him to install a Board of handpicked friends and associates, and to continue treating Fancamp's finances as his own. It is important that shareholders have the right facts: FANCAMP IS ON (News - Alert) THE RIGHT TRACK TO SIGNIFICANT VALUE CREATION 1. The Transaction will Unlock Value for Fancamp Shareholders As discussed on the March 4, 2021 investor call, the new management of the Corporation has a focused, three-pronged strategy to grow the Corporation: Focus on select quality exploration targets to enhance value (a stark contrast to the ill-defined approach of Mr. Smith); Support titanium technology strategy; and Seek strategic alternatives that have the potential for near-term cash flow. ScoZinc's Scotia Mine is a high-quality asset that has the potential to provide near-term cash flow, while Fancamp's strong balance sheet should enable the Corporation to secure attractive financing of the Scotia Mine to bring it to production. The cash flows expected after the Scotia Mine restart should provide the combined company with future funding for exploration and other activities. The Scotia Mine asset has a potential for a combined value creation of over C$100 million, and is located in a premier, mining-friendly jurisdiction, as demonstrated by the contribution of C$150,000 made by the Government of Nova Scotia to the Scotia Mine pre-feasibility study. 2. Significant Potential for Value Accretion for Fancamp The Board is focused on obtaining the best value for shareholders, which is achieved through this Transaction. The combination of Fancamp and ScoZinc is expected to combine two significantly undervalued companies with complementary strengths and create a larger entity that will be in a better position to attract new investments for growth and funding for strategic initiatives. 3. Fancamp's Experienced Board of Directors is Governance-Focused The Activists falsely assert that Messrs. Mark Haywood (President and CEO of ScoZinc) and Chris Hopkins (director at ScoZinc) will control the Board once the Transaction closes. As stated in the Transaction agreement available on SEDAR, Messrs. Haywood and Hopkins "shall be duly recommended for election by the Fancamp Board of Directors at Fancamp's next Annual General Meeting." As such, shareholders will be able to vote on these nominees in due course. 4. Fancamp's New Management Team has a New Plan for Growth and a Disciplined Rigor to Allocating Funds Under the leadership of the current management and Board, Fancamp has completed a comprehensive strategic review of its mineral properties and finalized a focused exploration plan with clear objectives, milestones and targets. The focus on select, high-priority targets will be value accretive to Fancamp. This is a clear departure from Mr. Smith's past approach where no coherent strategy was presented and involved jumping from one property to another, resulting in endless staking exercises that failed to produce any discoveries and the accumulation of over 90 property groups. One recent example of Mr. Smith's typical approach was an expenditure of approximately C$600,000 in Virginia, United States on geological activities which had no underlying mineral property. Since there was no underlying property associated with these expenses in Virginia, the Corporation was forced to write off all of it. This expenditure was committed without the knowledge and approval of the Board. IN RESPONSE TO THE CLAIMS BY MR. SMITH AND THE ACTIVISTS WHICH ARE FALSE: 1. All Measures were Taken to Ensure No Conflicts of Interest Contrary to the Activists' claims: The Transaction was the result of a transparent, credible and thorough process with input from Fancamp's independent financial and legal advisors. When the Transaction was presented to the Board, Mr. Ashwath Mehra was the only Fancamp director who had a disclosable interest. Mr. Mehra disclosed his interest in a timely manner and recused himself from all discussions and voting on the Transaction. Mr. Mehra has a proven track record of delivering value to shareholders, as recently proven by his work with GT Gold Corp. (TSX-V: GTT), where shareholders are set to receive a 62% premium1 as a result of a proposed acquisition by Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT), valued at C$456 million on a fully diluted basis. In just four years, under Mr. Mehra's leadership, GT Gold Corp. has increased in value by 4,397%.2 The Activists also wrongly state that Mr. Mark Billings is conflicted. Mr. Billings did not have any disclosableinterest in the Transaction (within the meaning of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia)), and as such, was entitled to vote on the Transaction. (British Columbia)), and as such, was entitled to vote on the Transaction. Mr. Billings resigned from ScoZinc's Board of Directors and was not involved in the negotiations around the Transaction while he was a director of ScoZinc. 2. Fancamp is Eager to Hold its AGM; ScoZinc Shareholders to Vote on Transaction April 12, 2021 As indicated in a press release on March 10, 2021, despite the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and certain associated limitations, the Corporation is eager to move forward with its annual general meeting ("AGM") in a timely fashion. Consistent with the extension provided by the B.C. Registries and Online Services, the Corporation intends to hold its AGM by June 30, 2021 and looks forward to starting a new, value-creating chapter in the Corporation's history. While the Activists have demanded that the Corporation incur additional expenses by conducting an unnecessary shareholder vote on the Transaction or hold its AGM prior to completing the Transaction, under applicable securities regulations, the Transaction is an arm's length transaction. Accordingly, no approval is required from the shareholders of the Corporation. If the Activists are so keen to accelerate a shareholder meeting, why haven't they requisitioned one? They could have under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). It is clear they want Fancamp to spend shareholders' money on their disruptive goose-chase rather than spend any of their own. Even though he is no longer President and CEO, Mr. Smith continues to find ways for Fancamp to spend money unnecessarily and with no results. 3. Favourable Fairness Opinion Received Shareholders should be aware Fancamp was not required to obtain a fairness opinion - but in an abundance of caution, out of a commitment to good governance and a focus on shareholder value - the Corporation chose to do so with Ernst & Young LLP, a leading and independent financial advisor. The financial advisor opined that the consideration to be paid in connection with the Transaction is fair. Not only is the consideration to be paid fair, but Fancamp also believes that the Transaction will create tremendous value and sustainable growth for the Corporation over the medium to long-term. Among other benefits, the Transaction will enable Fancamp to plan the restart of the commercial production at the Scotia Mine in Nova Scotia, which is expected to create significant cashflow for the Corporation. Mr. Smith's Business Judgment Cannot Be Trusted; His Interests are Not Shareholder Interests Mr. Smith was asked to step down as President and CEO in response to several actions he undertook, which were not in the best interest of Fancamp or its shareholders; rather, they were self-serving. He repeatedly disregarded the Board's guidance on several issues of importance, including, among others: To be transparent with the Board about ongoing negotiations with third parties. To stop defying common governance and accountability practices, such as obtaining Board approval prior to spending shareholders' money, initiating projects, and providing formal budgets. To follow due process and exercise caution while selling shares of Champion Iron Limited (TSX: CIA) ("Champion"). Instead, Mr. Smith incurred excessive, value-destroying expenses. Between May 2018 and July 2020, Mr. Smith sold off over 4.8 million shares of Champion for C$6.8 million at low prices. Such sales were at times in direct contravention with the instructions of the Board. Due to his ill-defined approach and poor judgment in allocating funds, the proceeds of the shares were quickly squandered by Mr. Smith, bringing no returns or value to the Corporation, and leaving the Corporation with net current liabilities of $564,597 when he departed as President and CEO. In contrast, since Mr. Smith's departure, the Corporation has approached its ownership of Champion shares in a strategic, value-creating way to take advantage of the buoyant iron ore markets. The current management team has used this market opportunity and created a cash balance of over C$10 million which is reserved for strategic purposes, in line with Fancamp's recently announced strategy. Even after stepping down as President and CEO, Mr. Smith has continued to take a series of actions detrimental to the Corporation and its shareholders, such as violating his duty to act in the best interest of the Corporation, disclosing confidential information privy to him as a Board member, and engaging in selective and self-serving disclosure with respect to the Transaction. This is all despite the fact that he is still a director of Fancamp. Mr. Smith still has no strategy, a complete disregard for proper governance practices and accountability, and a pattern of using shareholder money as his own. The Corporation belongs to its shareholders, not Mr. Smith. Fancamp shareholders cannot risk undoing the progress achieved since Mr. Smith departed. Fancamp is disappointed that Mr. Smith has chosen to spread misinformation about the Corporation and the Transaction, and initiate an unnecessary and time-consuming proxy contest against the Corporation at a time when Fancamp's future is bright and the Corporation is finally set to deliver significant value to shareholders. The Board remains focused on value creation and has reached out several times to Mr. Smith to address his grievances within the forum of a Board meeting. Each time, Mr. Smith has declined to engage in any meaningful dialogue and has continued his disruptive behaviour. Advisors Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P. is serving as legal advisor to Fancamp. Kingsdale Advisors is acting as strategic shareholder and communications advisor to Fancamp. About Fancamp Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: FNC) Fancamp is a growing Canadian mineral exploration corporation dedicated to its value-added strategy of advancing mineral properties through exploration and development. The Corporation owns numerous mineral resource properties in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, including gold, rare earth metals, strategic and base metals, zinc, chromium, titanium and more. Fancamp is also building on the industrial possibilities inherent in dealing with some of these materials, notable being the development of its Titanium technology strategy. It has recently announced the acquisition of ScoZinc, a Canadian exploration and mining corporation that has full ownership of the Scotia Mine and related facilities near Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as several prospective exploration licenses in surrounding regions. The Corporation is managed by a new and focused leadership team with decades of mining, exploration and complementary technology experience. Forward-looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe both companies' future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that both companies or their respective management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Fancamp, Fancamp provides no assurance that actual results will meet the management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Corporation's AGM, objectives, goals or future plans, statements, potential mineralization, exploration and development results, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations, estimates of market conditions, future financial results or financing opportunities. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Fancamp's expectations include, among others, political, economic, environmental and permitting risks, mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions, environmental and permitting restrictions and liabilities, the inability of both companies to satisfy the conditions precedent to complete the Transaction, the inability to obtain the necessary regulatory and third-party approvals for the Transaction, the inability to start production at the Scotia Mine, the inability of Fancamp to realize the anticipated financial gains from the Transaction, including generating, in the near-term, cash-flows from the Scotia Mine, the inability of Fancamp to raise capital or secure necessary financing in the future, the inability of both companies to achieve the synergies excepted from the Arrangement, as well as factors discussed in the section entitled "Risks and Uncertainties" in Fancamp's management's discussion and analysis of Fancamp's financial statements for the period ended October 31, 2020. Although Fancamp has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. 1 To the closing price on March 9, 2021, the day prior to the transaction was announced. 2 Value increase is reflective of the enterprise value as of December 1, 2016 relative to the proposed acquisition by Newmont Corporation valued at C$456 million on a fully diluted basis; Mr. Mehra joined the board on November 22, 2016 in conjunction with GT Gold Corp.'s initial public listing. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005641/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MELBOURNE, VICTORIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Taking control over your financial future and living on your own terms is a dream that many creative people have, but not many actually realize. The alluring safety net of a corporate 9-5 can prove too alluring for some, and often ends up taking up too much space for any ideals of forging your own financial freedom to grow in. This was not the case for 24 year old, Melbourne-based entrepreneur Leo Alhalabi; who decided to grab onto his vision and run as far as he could with it, fusing his passion for connecting and helping, with an unwavering determination to build a financially secure life for his family to enjoy. Owner and Director of LGT Digital, Leo Alhalabi leads a passionate team of digital marketers that work with clients across the country. Specialising in web design and paid advertising, Leo and his team are experts at effectively connecting their clients with their dream customers, who in turn, generate more sales and scale up their businesses. LGT not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk, having done no cold emails, cold calls or any form of outbound outreach to grow from $0, to over 7 figures in just 18 months. Their own business success has come directly from the same digital marketing strategies they apply to their customers. The acronym, LGT, stands for Let's Grow Together, representing values that Leo holds dear and acting as their forward-facing ethos of first helping their clients grow, who will in turn, help them grow as an agency. Leo's drive to see his goals through took him on a journey that lead him from being $30k in debt to proudly running a 7-figure business in only 18 months later, demonstrating how far his skills as a strategist and his strong willpower to succeed could take him. One of Leo's proudest moments was when he paid off his $20k HECS debt in one go, reflecting on the decision he made when he dropped out of his engineering degree 2 years into the course to pursue business full-time. Remembering the moment when he was determined to take care of his family's safety, Leo was 17 and learning to understand the financial hardships his family endured. "My dad opened his wallet and showed me two 5 dollar notes, saying 'this is all I have'" Leo recalls. "My family is my 'why'. They're my reason to keep fighting every day and so long as God gives me life to look after them, any obstacles that get in our way will be overcome." So fierce was Leo's will that not even the global lockdowns in 2020 caused by the pandemic would hold him back. Having their record month in February and taking a massive 80% hit to their revenue in March due to the lockdowns, Leo refused to back down. He doubled his efforts, pivoting their operation to incorporate more interstate clients so not all of their eggs were in one basket, and riding the wave of online businesses that were rising up to meet the growing needs of e-commerce. Leo and his team rose to the challenge and conquered it without letting go of a single staff member or dropping any hours. "If we can make it through 2020, we can make it through anything." Leo Alhalabi is a testament to having the conviction to stay the course, and he proves that constantly working towards a dream can turn it into reality. He fought for the freedom of his family and built a life where they can live comfortably, using his passions as fuel to generate wealth and success. He still fights every day to bring out the best in himself, his team and his clients for LGT Digital. Connect with Leo Alhalabi if you want to see more about what it takes to achieve the financial freedom you've been dreaming of. Contact Name: Leo Alhalabi Business Name: LGT Digital Email: leo@lgtdigital.com.au Address: Melbourne, Victoria Phone: 1300 209 827 Website: https://lgtdigital.com.au/ SOURCE: LGT Digital View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636266/I-Had-Nothing-Left-Leo-Alhalabis-Journey-From-Over-30000-in-Debt-to-Running-a-Seven-Figure-Business-in-Under-18-Months Several tornadoes were reported across the south of the country on Wednesday, the weather service's Storm Prediction Center said. One of the areas that were initially affected by the catastrophic event is the state of Alabama. According to USA Today, at least six tornadoes were reported in Alabama, two in Mississippi, and one in Louisiana. Luckily, no one was reported hurt, but damage has been reported in Alabama and Mississippi. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued over 50 tornado warnings in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The NWS said tornado watches also included parts of seven states. A tornado warning is issued when the weather services have detected a storm, while a tornado watch means that tornado conditions are on the way in the next couple of hours. CBS News reported that March is known for the occurrences of extreme weather. This is because the warm spring conditions battle to replace the cold of winter, and the collision between the two temperatures can result in extreme weathers or the formation of tornadoes. READ NEXT: New Study Shows Climate Change Intensifies Tropical Storms, Depletes Oxygen Alabama, Other States, and Tornadoes "Long track, intense tornadoes are expected along with winds and large hail," said the Storm Prediction Center on Wednesday morning. The center added that the tornadoes would move eastward by Wednesday evening into Mississippi and Alabama. The center classified the tornadoes to be in a high-risk warning. A warning that has never been given since March 2012. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the predicted severe weather. "This severe weather event, coupled with COVID-19 public health emergency, poses extraordinary conditions of disaster," said Ivey in a statement. Ivey added that the events are threats to public safety and properties within their state. A certain James Spann tweeted a photo that showed a tornado on the scene, almost colored black covering the cast sky of Autaugaville, Alabama. Another user tweeted a video capturing lightning striking in Alabama. Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Also, Jackson and Birmingham's cities were specially mentioned due to the high chances of tornadoes crossing the areas. This is a "PDS" (particularly dangerous situation) Tornado Watch for #Alabama and #Mississippi. PDS Watches are issued when there's a heightened risk of strong or violent, long-track tornadoes. https://t.co/nk5hHOUUoG Ray Hawthorne (@ray_hawthorne) March 17, 2021 "PDS watches are issued when there is a heightened risk of strong and violent long-track tornadoes," tweeted meteorologist Ray Hawthorne. Tornadoes' Terror The Storm Prediction Center noted that about 40 million Americans were in the path of the violent storms. The area of the bull's eye or the eye of the possible tornadoes will be in Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Weather experts are not surprised that the spring severe season started with a devastating entrance. The reason is the La Nina event which is present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The said phenomenon is associated with a more extreme and heightened tornado threat. "The most important thing is this is coming at nighttime," said Nick Loli From Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency. Loli's statement followed the experts' statements, saying that the threat will continue overnight in Alabama, a deadly time for tornadoes in the South. According to the Weather Channel, there would be a continued threat of severe storms across the southeast until Thursday. It noted that some severe storms would be ongoing around the Appalachians to parts of Georgia, eastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle until early Thursday morning. It warned that these storms might pose a risk due to its damaging wind gusts with possible large hail and tornadoes, including around the Atlanta area, and the severe weather would likely hit as far as eastern Georgia, east as the central and eastern Carolinas, southeastern Virginia, and northeast Florida in the afternoon and into the early evening. READ MORE: Air Pollution in Asia Creates Bigger Storms in the U.S. WATCH: Tornado Captured on Camera in Demopolis, Alabama - from Alabama News Network 5 Japanese Residents Speak of Recovery of Peoples Hearts 10 Years After Quake Ten years after Japans earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, the lives of many who survived are still on hold. On March 11, 2011, one of the biggest temblors on record touched off a massive tsunami, killing more than 18,000 people and setting off catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Nearly half a million people were displaced. Tens of thousands still havent returned home. More than 30 trillion yen (US$280 billion) has been spent on reconstruction so farbut even Reconstruction Minister Katsuei Hirasawa acknowledged recently that while the government has charged ahead with new buildings, it has invested less in helping people to rebuild their lives; for instance, by offering mental health services for trauma. Michihiro Kono, president of Yagisawa Shoten Co., stands at a his factory under construction Friday, March 5, 2021, in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP) The Associated Press talked to people affected by the disasters about how far they have comeand how much more needs to be done. As long as my body moves Yasuo Takamatsu, 64, lost his wife, Yuko, when the tsunami hit Onagawa, in Miyagi prefecture. He has been looking for her ever since. He even got his diving license to try to find her remains, and for seven years he has gone on weekly dives470 and counting. Im always thinking that she may be somewhere nearby, he said. Yasuo Takamatsu prepares to take a diving lesson at Takenoura bay, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan. (Koji Ueda/AP) Besides his solo dives, once a month he joins local authorities as they conduct underwater searches for some 2,500 people whose remains are still unaccounted for across the region. Takamatsu said the citys scars have largely healed, but the recovery of peoples hearts will take time. So far, he has found albums, clothes and other artifacts, but nothing that belonged to his wife. He said he will keep searching for his wife as long as my body moves. In the last text message that she sent me, she said, Are you okay? I want to go home, he said. Im sure she still wants to come home. Starting line again Just a month after a tsunami as high as 17 meters (55 feet) smashed into the city of Rikuzentakata, Michihiro Kono took over his familys soy sauce business. That he was even able to continue the two-century-old business is a miracle, he says. The precious soy yeast was only saved because he had donated some to a university lab. For the last decade, Kono has worked to rebuild the business in Iwate prefecture, and later this year he will finish construction on a new factory, replacing the one that was destroyed, on the same ground where his family started making soy sauce in 1807. He has even launched a soy sauce named Miracle in honor of the saved yeast. Michihiro Kono, president of Yagisawa Shoten Co., holds his companys soy sauce bottle, named the miracle, at his companys new headquarters in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP) This is a critical moment to see if I can do something meaningful in the coming 10 years, said the ninth-generation owner of Yagisawa Shoten Co. I was born here, and now Im at the starting line again. But challenges remain: His customer base has been decimated. The citys population has plunged more than 20 percent to about 18,000, so he is trying to build business networks beyond the city. Kono often thinks of the people killed by the tsunami, many of whom he used to discuss town revitalization plans with. Those folks all wanted to make a great town, and I want to do things that will make them say, Well done, you did it, when I see them again in the next life, he said. Who wants to come back? About 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the wrecked nuclear plant, rice farmer Naoto Matsumura defied a government evacuation order a decade ago and stayed on his farm to protect his land and the cattle abandoned by neighbors. Hes still there. Most of the town of Tomioka reopened in 2017. But dozens of neighboring homes around Matsumura are still empty, leaving the area pitch dark at night. Naoto Matsumura speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his farm land in Tomioka town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. About 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, rice farmer Matsumura defied a government evacuation order and stayed on his farm to protect his land the cattle abandoned by neighbors a decade ago. (Hiro Komae/AP) The Fukushima prefecture towns main train station got a facelift. A new shopping center was built. But less than 10 perecent, of Tomiokas former population of 16,000 has returned after massive amounts of radioactive material spewing from the plant forced evacuations from the town and other nearby areas. Parts of the town remain off-limits; houses and shops stand abandoned. It took hundreds of years of history and effort to build this town, and it was destroyed instantly, he said. I grew up here but this is nothing like a home anymore. Because it took six years to lift the evacuation order, many townspeople already found jobs and homes elsewhere. Half of the former residents say they have decided never to return, according to a town survey. Naoto Matsumura pets his dogs during an interview with The Associated Press at his farm land in Tomioka town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Hiro Komae/AP) This has been true across the region. In Tomioka, radioactive waste from decontamination efforts in the town are still stored in a no-go zone. Who wants to come back to a place like this? Matsumura asked. I dont see much future for this town. For company, Matsumura has several cows, a pony, and a family of hunting dogs that help him chase away wild boars. The cows are descendants of those from neighboring farms that he has kept, as a protest, after the government issued an order to destroy thousands because of radiation fears. This spring, for the first time since the disaster, the 62-year-old farmer plans an experimental rice planting, and to expand his beekeeping efforts. I will stay here until the end of my life, he said. Their home is still here Yuya Hatakeyama was 14 when he was forced to evacuate from Tomioka after the disaster. Now 24, the former third baseman for the Fukushima Red Hopes, a regional professional league team, is in his first year working at the Tomioka town hallbut he still hasnt returned to live in the town, joining the many who commute into it from outside. Yuya Hatakeyama, a Tomioka town official, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press as he guides reporters in a difficult-to-return zone in Tomioka town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Hiro Komae/AP) Hatakeyama has bittersweet memories of Tomioka. The area thats now a no-go zone includes Yonomori park, where people used to gather for a cherry blossom festival. Decontamination work is being stepped up in the area and the town plans to lift the rest of the no-go zone in 2023. I want to reach out to the residents, especially the younger generation, so they know their home is still here, Hatakeyama said. One day, he said, he wants to see young families playing catch, like he used to do with his father. A place of comfort Hazuki Sato was 10 when she fled from her elementary school in Futaba, home of the wrecked nuclear plant. Shes now preparing for the coming-of-age ceremony that is typical for Japanese 20-year-olds, hoping for a reunion in town so she can reconnect with her former classmates who have scattered. Despite horrifying memories of escaping from her classroom, she still considers Futaba her home. Hazuki Sato, a Futaba town official, walks around an elementary school she used to attend until she evacuated due to a nuclear scare following a 2011 earthquake, during an interview with The Associated Press in Futaba town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. (Hiro Komae/AP) After studying outside the region for eight years, Sato now works for her hometownthough from an office in Iwaki, another city in the Fukushima prefecture. None of Futabas 5,700 residents can return to live there until 2022, when the town is expected to reopen partially. An area outside a train station reopened last March only for a daytime visit to bring in the Olympic torch. Sato has fond memories of Futabaa family barbecue, riding a unicycle after school, and doing homework and snacking with friends at a childcare center while waiting for her grandma to pick her up. I want to see this town become a place of comfort again, she said. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter STAMFORD A University of Connecticut panel on anti-Asian violence set for Thursday night had been set up weeks ago, but the Tuesday night shootings in Atlanta that left eight dead have only brought more urgency to the discussion. Its time for us as a community to have a discussion about this and it needs to come from our voices as opposed to having a panel of allies, said Angela Rola, director of the UConn Asian American Cultural Center located in Storrs. Terrence Cheng, professor of English and campus director for UConn Stamford, is the moderator of the panel. On Wednesday, Cheng posted a letter to the UConn Stamford community condemning the attacks in Atlanta and pushing back on the model minority stereotype for keeping people silent for too long. In the past I would not have said anything about this publicly, he wrote. Even now, I feel uncomfortable doing so. But that is the problem, that society has conditioned us to be the model minority, to be silent when we should be speaking out and taking action. The panel, titled Anti-Asian Violence and the Fight Against Invisibility, is scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and is open to the public, but registration is required. Instances of anti-Asian violence have grown in the last year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Activists and elected officials have blamed former President Donald Trump for fueling the increased vitriol and attacks against Asians by using racist language to describe the coronavirus. On Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont put out a statement addressing the recent attacks, emphasizing that hate and bigotry are symptoms of a virus that continues to permeate our society - racism. I condemn - in the strongest of terms - the recent violent acts of racism and hate committed against Asian Americans that we have seen across our country, Lamont said. Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella said they were monitoring the events in Atlanta, but at this time, there are no known threats or confirmed hate incidents in Connecticut toward our Asian population. The nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate, which tracks incidents of discrimination and hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, reported that there have been 3,800 anti-Asian incidents recorded in the past year. Rola and others decided a few weeks ago that the cultural center should put out a statement, as well as host a panel to discuss what has been happening. That letter, which was co-signed by the universitys Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, also attacked the model minority stereotype. Because of this racial stereotype, Asian Americans are too often left out of discussions of racial justice, thus ignoring our pain, minimizing our feelings, and assuming a passive response, the letter reads. While many have condemned the Atlanta attacks, the hesitancy from the local police to classify the killings as hate crimes has been roundly criticized on social media. Cheng said he noticed how the narrative after the shootings shifted, as the perpetrators crimes were described as a result of a sexual addiction. In his letter, which was shared on UConn Stamford Instagram, Cheng wrote, I dont need an official report to tell me that these murders are a hate crime. The facts are that six of these eight people were Asian, Cheng said. Rola also criticized the failure to call the shootings a racially motivated crime. I am hoping that the narrative of these murders will be more informed as they get more information, she said. Im struck that usually in other communities, the racial component is pointed to very quickly. Here, there is that reservation. She said her reaction to the killings was numbness. While we are coming to talk about this because of the increase of anti-Asian violence due to COVID, this is not something new to our community, she said. Weve been experiencing racism and bias ever since we stepped foot on this land. In the wake of the Atlanta attacks, Rola said the panel event on Thursday will begin with a discussion of the shootings. Other panelists include Mike Keo, a West Hartford photographer who founded the #IAMNOTAVIRUS campaign; Na-Rae Kim, associate director at the Asian and Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut-Storrs; and Glenn Mitoma, assistant professor of human rights and education at UConn. Students Shaina Selvaraju and Aubrey Tang round out the panel. ignacio.laguarda@hearstmediact.com A lawyer for the man accused of killing Houston police Sgt. Sean Rios, who at the time of his death was off-duty and in plainclothes, has requested that the officers profession be tossed from evidence because he may have failed to identify himself as law enforcement. If not, criminal defense attorney Paul Looney warned, Sean Rios disciplinary history spanning 25 years with the Houston Police Department which he described as troublesome and potentially embarrassing could be made public. By keeping this irrelevant fact out of evidence, we avoid having to dredge up Mr. Rios troublesome history of multiple Internal Affairs investigations, Looney wrote in court records, adding that the documented reports of poor behavior would only muddy the waters. The latest filing comes on the heels of Looneys client, Robert Soliz, posting bond on multiple charges including $500,000 on the murder charge alone and being freed this week from the Harris County Jail. Other charges include felony possession of marijuana, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor carrying a handgun in a motor vehicle. He is slated on March 23 to return to court. Soliz, 24, was charged last November in Rios death following a gun battle along Interstate 45, near Stuebner Airline Road. The mortally-wounded sergeant staggered into the Taj Inn & Suites office and died. In a phone call, Looney said he was made aware of the latest potential dent on Rios disciplinary history after records related to a fifth Internal Affairs investigation were found in the sergeants personal vehicle at the crime scene, according to court documents. The sergeant, Looney said, had received a notice of a complaint about five days before his death. Doug Griffith, head of the Houston Police Officers Union, said the complaint has no bearing on the investigation into Rios death. Officers are complained on all the time, Griffith said. It doesnt mean he violated any policy at the time (of the shooting). What led up to the shooting more than four months later has yet to be disclosed. Rios, 47, was said to have encountered Soliz while driving his personal vehicle to an afternoon shift at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where for about two months he was temporarily posted following an assignment at Hobby Airport. Police Chief Art Acevedo contends that Rios a father of four and Marine veteran was confronting Soliz about a road rage incident, though no video or witness statements have been publicly shared to corroborate that narrative. Union leaders also agree that this is the most likely explanation. Meanwhile, Looney painted Rios as the aggressor and slammed the police departments response as one of Acevedos greatest failures. The lawyer, in court documents, pointed to at least one witness in the nearby Cactus King parking lot who said Rios made no attempt to portray himself as a peace officer during the fatal clash which is why the lawyer has dismissed Rios occupation as irrelevant to a jury. Records have yet to turn up to show that Rios called a supervisor, 911 or another officer for backup, Looney wrote. He got out of his vehicle, gun drawn and red-faced to assault Mr. Soliz, Looney continued. He was not acting like a police officer. He was not following any police procedures, protocols or training. He was acting entirely on his own. Not a single eye-witness was aware of his law enforcement status until they were told after the fact. The motion, which is pending a decision by 179th District Court Judge Ana Martinez, reiterates Looneys call for the Texas Rangers to takeover the murder investigation. He has called into question HPD leaderships ability to avoid a conflict of interest. After the shooting, police brought Katy Freeway traffic to a halt to apprehend Soliz, who was with Looney at the time, at gunpoint. Looney argues the drive was intended to deliver the wanted man to the Harris County District Attorneys Office to surrender. He called the arrest a public spectacle that could taint a jury pool. Acevedo has declined Looneys request to hand the investigation over to another law enforcement agency. nicole.hensley@chron.com London: Britain is considering copying Australias offshore processing regime to stop the flow of migrant boats across the English Channel, but is struggling to find any volunteer countries to house asylum seekers while their claims are considered. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a Downing Street news conference that the objective was to save lives and avert human misery. A British Border Force vessel assists a group of people thought to be migrants on board from their inflatable dinghy in the English Channel. Credit:PA The idea was mooted in several British media outlets which reported that Home Secretary Priti Patel was considering setting up an offshore processing regime heavily modelled on Australias whereby asylum seekers who travel by boat are sent to detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru and often wait years for their refugee claims to be processed. Johnson said the government was trying to stop the abuse of migrants perpetrated by a bunch of traffickers and gangsters. The Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, has cautioned entrepreneurs against dumping business to engage in full-time politics. He gave th... The Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, has cautioned entrepreneurs against dumping business to engage in full-time politics. He gave the advice while speaking at a webinar organised by the Lagos Business School Alumni on Thursday. Ekeh, who spoke on Strategies for business scalability and sustainability, said dumping business for politics is wrong. According to him, most entrepreneurs who joined politics at the detriment of their businesses ended up regretting it. He also advised business owners to focus more on developing their businesses rather than criticising the government. Ekeh said, When you have a business in a third world. The government can delete you because of lack of knowledge, they are ignorant of the implications of some of their policies. But you must continue to invest in uncomplimentary businesses. You cannot change certain things in Nigeria and that is why some of us criticise government less. So many people are talking at the same time, that will not bring about desired development. That you are a Nigerian means nothing, you can deliver your service anywhere in the world but know that to deliver your business in the third world, government, infrastructure can be disappointing. When a place becomes highly political, move on. To sustain a business, you must dump politics. Look into it, but never invest in it. You can not dump business to do politics comfortably. Those leaving biz to politics need a rethink. Some of them regret after failing. It is not the right thing to think politics can help you to sustain your business. Murder hornets invaded North America last year, sparking fears that the invasive species could establish its presence for years to come and those concerns have now been validated. Scientists in the US and Canada are preparing for another battle with the giant Asian hornets that are expected to emerge in the summer through fall of 2021 - and warn they pose 'serious danger to our health. The giant insects have a toxic venom that that can damage tissue in humans if stung. Teams are set to prepare for the worst in Whatcom County, Washington, and the nearby Fraser Valley of British Columbia, where the hornets have been spotted in recent years. Along with tracking the insects down, scientists are also investigating how they traveled across the Pacific Ocean one theory is they hitchhiked on cargo ships. Scroll down for videos Murder hornets invaded North America last year, sparking fears that the invasive species could establish its presence for years to come and those concerns have now been validated After murder hornets emerged in 2020, many had hoped the critters would not make into the following year after a massive nest was destroyed in Washington State last October. In an operation on October 24, entomologists eradicated the first-ever US nest in Blaine, north of Seattle, using a vacuum to suck them out. Prior to the mission, scientists had strapped radio trackers to three insects caught in traps, with the hopes one would lead to the hideout and the plan worked. Experts found nearly 500 live 'murder hornet' specimens including 200 queens in the nest. Scientists in the US and Canada are preparing for another battle with the giant Asian hornets that are expected to emerge in the summer through fall of 2021 Murder hornets were one of the many main events in 2020 and many had hoped the critters would not make into the following year after a massive nest was destroyed in Washington State last October (pictured) But the latest news suggests the work is not over. Sven-Erik Spichiger of the Washington state Department of Agriculture, which eradicated a nest of the Asian giant hornets last year, said: 'This is not a species we want to tolerate here in the United States.' 'The Asian giant hornet is not supposed to be here.' 'We may not get them all, but we will get as many as we can,' he said of eradication efforts this year. Paul van Westendorp of the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries said the hornets also pose threats to human life, as they possess toxic venom that can damage tissue in humans if stung. Prior to the mission, scientists had strapped radio trackers to three insects caught in traps, with the hopes one would lead to the hideout and the plan worked. Experts found nearly 500 live 'murder hornet' specimens including 200 queens in the nest 'It's an absolutely serious danger to our health and well-being,' he said. 'These are intimidating insects.' However, Asian hornets do not have a thirst for humans, but instead hunt honeybees. The murder hornets invade hives, decapitate bees and feed the bodies to their young. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours. The honey bees pollinate many of the crops in Washington's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry WHAT IS THE ASIAN HORNET? The 'Asian hornet', scientific name Vespa velutina, is an invasive non-native species from Asia. It is thought to have first arrived in France in 2004, and has since been spreading rapidly, with the first UK sighting in 2016. It is a highly effective predator of insects, including honey bees and other beneficial species. Queens grow up to 3cm in length, and workers up to 2.5cm. It can cause significant losses to colonies, other native species and potentially ecosystems. Advertisement A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours. The honey bees pollinate many of the crops in Washington's multibillion-dollar agriculture industry. Although hundreds of hornets were killed last year in Washington State, scientists are still studying the insets captured to understand their genetics. Initial findings indicate the hornets found in the U.S. were linked to hornets in South Korea, while those in British Columbia were linked to hornets found in Japan, Spichiger said. But it is not clear that the hornets found in North America actually migrated directly from those countries, said Anne LeBrun, a scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency is working to pin down the origin of murder hornets found here. Initial findings indicate the hornets found in the U.S. were linked to hornets in South Korea, while those in British Columbia were linked to hornets found in Japan, Spichiger said. But it is not clear that the hornets found in North America actually migrated directly from those countries, said Anne LeBrun, a scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ADVERTISEMENT It is on the shoulders of these and other elder statesmen/women that the young can cry Sore Soke. What would further guarantee a change of narrative in our country is when academics marry the gown and the town towards producing global citizens with intellectual probity, who are dressed for street protests for a just and equitable society. The cliche, ideas rule the world, suggests that a zero index, with regards to ideation, constitutes a huge deficit for good governance. In developed climes, engineers, scientists, captains of industry and other stakeholders are produced in the classroom. This shows that mass mobilisation for sustainable change is a consequence of qualitative literacy and showing poverty the exit door. Where illiteracy and material poverty thrive, a docile citizenry emerges. From Plato to Socrates, Aristotle to Aquinas, and Augustine to Albert Camus, public intellectuals have shaped history. In both theocratic and secular states, intellectual power has always been an open cheque for transitioning to the next level. This is why mentoring young men and women for the changing narrative is key. This can only come about if academics do not shy away from raising global citizens. This is where the cerebral social critic and Nigerias finest political scientist, who doubles as the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and Convener of The Kukah Centre plus its sister Not for Profit Organisation, The National Peace Committee, Most Rev. Dr. Mathew Hassan Kukah, come in. It is crucial to note that there is no Nigerian, at home or in Diaspora, who has delivered public lectures like Bishop Kukah does. To be sure, students of Kukasiya, a movement which marries leadership and faith with public policy as instruments for sustainable change are increasingly being incubated by the Bishops superior arguments about the Nigerian State. Recently, while highlighting grey areas on the current state of African politics, the Prelate bared his mind during the latest Toyin Falola interviews. The host, Professor Falola disclosed that: The Bishop [Kukah] anchored the nations fate on the youth he enjoined to colonise the street for a systemic and strategic purge of the Augean stable. At the moment, it is elevating that Nigerians are rising beyond limiting their political participation to the election period, as seen in the recent protests and burgeoning political awareness/consciousness. Like their ilk who debuted the Arab spring, these youths are not only contending with determination and resilience as weapons for bargain. On the contrary, they are powered by the sound bites of global news and events that would train them on how to hold public office holders accountable. In the light of the above, intellectual engagement and street protests are accountability mechanisms. During that interview, the Bishop noted that he hopes to see students writing dissertations on street activism as drivers for integral development. We should recall that during the #EndSARS protests which took place in various paths of the country, young Nigerians combined resilience with technology (social message) to drive home their message. To all intent and purposes, the political elite now know that the years of Mango Park are gone. In the words of Prensky (2013), young Nigerians have demonstrated that they are digital natives while older folks are digital immigrants. As such, our media savvy youth would defer the sounds of rifles and bullets to demand for a better country. Like their ilk who debuted the Arab spring, these youths are not only contending with determination and resilience as weapons for bargain. On the contrary, they are powered by the sound bites of global news and events that would train them on how to hold public office holders accountable. Not even the ban on crypto-currency can deter them. Indeed, in a nation that is dwarfed by bribery and corruption, voices such as Kukahs are capable of purging the Augean stable. Since there is a trust deficit between those in positions of authority and the poor masses, the citizenry is more than ever positioned to listen to detribalised Nigerians like Kukah, who have travelled around the globe to market hope to a traumatised world. What is worrisome is that political gladiators in Nigeria do not care if the people pay attention to what they say, except during elections. With scandalous public attacks and counter-attacks on each other, they do not give a hoot about public perception. In the light of political communication, we have jobbers whose only interest is to lock the hoi polloi in the chimney of ethnic, religious and political shenanigans. With this divide-and-rule tactic, they keep the people in perpetual limbo. Is it not shameful that the same individuals who protested during previous governments are now placing bans on street protests? Is it not embarrassing that the current people in powerfail to realise that protest is an indispensable requirement in any constitutional democracy? The most traumatic experience in the Nigerian political landscape is that the same political buccaneers who recruit young adults as political thugs, turn around to blackmail protesters for demanding good governance. Their stringers who supply them with all sorts of information to eliminate their political rivals and who also act as their microphones are suddenly silenced after the polls. Is it not shameful that the same individuals who protested during previous governments are now placing bans on street protests? Is it not embarrassing that the current people in power are quick to make reference to international best practices, when it is convenient for them but fail to realise that protest is an indispensable requirement in any constitutional democracy? How about the unreasonable show of force, at various times, by the Nigeria Police in the wake of protests across the country? At a time that Nigeria is celebrating Afrobeats stars, Burna Boy (Damini Ogulu) and Wizkid (Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun) for winning the 2021 Grammy awards, young people should be determined to rule the world. They should not just be carried away by the Not too Young to Run Act. They have shoulders of public Intellectuals like Professor Falola; the new Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Bishop Kukah, et al., to lean on. It is on the shoulders of these and other elder statesmen/women that the young can cry Sore Soke. What would further guarantee a change of narrative in our country is when academics marry the gown and the town towards producing global citizens with intellectual probity, who are dressed for street protests for a just and equitable society. Justine Dyikuk is a lecturer in Mass Communication, University of Jos, editor of Caritas newspaper and Convener of the Media Team Network Initiative (MTNI), Nigeria. The first talks between President Joe Biden's administration and China were "tough and direct," a senior US official said Friday, amid rising tensions between the rival world powers. The meeting had begun Thursday with the top diplomats of both sides exchanging fiery broadsides, setting the stage for tense discussions as Washington seeks to hem in China's expanding influence, and with Beijing's Yang Jiechi accusing the Americans of trying to "strangle" his country. But after three rounds of talks in frigid Anchorage, Alaska, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the economic giants had found areas where their interests overlap. He said the American side was candid about its concerns over Beijing's behavior toward Hong Kong and Taiwan and its actions in cyberspace. "But we were also able to have a very candid conversation over these many hours on an expansive agenda," said Blinken. "On Iran, on North Korea, on Afghanistan, on climate, our interests intersect," he told reporters. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Beijing hopes the US will meet it halfway with mutual respect, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. But Wang, it said, "made it clear to the US side that sovereignty and territorial integrity are major issues of principle." Wang said Washington should not "underestimate the Chinese people's will to safeguard national dignity and legitimate rights and interests," Xinhua said. - US 'clear-eyed' on differences - The talks, two months into the Biden administration, were set up as an exchange of views, and no agreements or pacts were expected. Biden inherited the tense relationship from his predecessor Donald Trump, and has indicated so far that he is holding the same tough line, viewing China as the number one US competitor, economically, politically and militarily, in the decades to come. The two sides have increasingly butted heads over a broad range of issues, from geopolitical competition in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean, to trade relations and the handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, which began in central China. Story continues Washington has been particularly critical of China's growing political control in Hong Kong, its threats against Taiwan, and its mistreatment of the large Uighur minority, which US officials label a policy of "genocide." China though rejects the criticisms, saying the US is interfering in its domestic affairs. "We expected to have tough and direct talks on a wide range of issues, and that's exactly what he had," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said after the talks. "We are clear-eyed coming out, and we will go back to Washington to take stock of where we are," he said. The talks opened late Thursday with fireworks, the two sides lashing out at one another over human rights and geopolitics. Blinken accused China of actions that "threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability." - 'Cold War mentality' - Yang blasted back against Blinken's "condescending" language, accusing him of setting up a show of strength for the cameras in the room. "When I entered this room, I should have reminded the US side of paying attention to its tone in our respective opening remarks, but I didn't," said Yang, according to a US translation of his remarks in Chinese. Sullivan said that the United States didn't want conflict, but "we welcome stiff competition." Yang called on him to "abandon the Cold War mentality," saying Beijing wanted "no confrontation, no conflict." And the Chinese side rejected Blinken's claim that his discussion with "nearly a hundred counterparts" around the world showed that most of them appreciated the US global role and had "deep concern" over Beijing's behavior. "Between our two countries we've had confrontation in the past, and the result did not serve the United States well," Yang retorted. Beijing accused the US of an aggressive, undiplomatic approach in receiving guests in frigid Alaska. "When the Chinese delegation arrived in Anchorage, their hearts were chilled by the biting cold as well as the reception by their American host," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian early Friday. fff/pmh/ft 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). The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. ADVERTISEMENT The Edo Task Force Against Human Trafficking said it has received about 5,619 returnees from Libya enroute Europe from 2017 till date. Yinka Omoregbe, the commissioner for justice in the state, who heads the taskforce, disclosed this on Tuesday during a virtual conference on human trafficking. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the conference, organised by INSIgnt Action, was funded by the European Union. Ms Omoregbe said irregular migration from the state was on the decrease due to proactive steps taken by the taskforce. We believe that our activities such as advocacy, sensitisation, rehabilitation, investigation and prosecution have helped to reduce irregular migration, she said. Ms Omoregbe said the taskforce had trained about 600 returnees and recently built a shelter with a clinic, training centre and residence for returnees. Ms Omoregbe, however, said the taskforce needed more cooperation, noting that funding and under staffing were major challenges. Also speaking, Hajara Yusuf, Nigerian Liaison Magistrate, Italy, said removal of the disconnection that existed among countries in the fight against human trafficking had led to reduction in irregular migration from Nigeria. Ms Yusuf, who is also an assistant chief state counsel, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, said, We now have better synergy between Nigerian officers and Italian officers in the fight against human trafficking. We are experiencing high rise in the prosecution of traffickers in the country, this is because the bottlenecks have been removed. We also have improved collaborations among ministries, departments, agencies and organisations working on human trafficking. Meanwhile, Evon Benson-Idahosa, the executive director, Pathfinder Justice Initiative, identified legal, political and practical challenges as limitations to improving transnational cooperation in the fight against human trafficking. Mr Benson-Idahosa called for a more collaborative approach to sustain the reduction of irregular migration from Nigeria to Europe as well as to discourage potential victims from being trafficked. (NAN) What do you talk to your kids about? Homework, eating their vegetables, using their manners, a million different YouTube videos? (Or is that just my house?) Here's the real question, though: Do you talk to them about money? Heck, do you even talk to your spouse about finances? Many of us are raised with certain beliefs about money. I'm not sure about your childhood, but I can vouch for at least a few of these from this list: It's taboo It's "the root of all evil" Only greedy people want money It's a private topic and should not be discussed "A fool and his money are soon parted" It's best to keep it under the mattress You only need enough to get by; excess is bad Debt is shameful Money will make you happy Money's just not attainable, and you'll never be wealthy Do any of these resonate? If so, where did this start? It started in the home. These were most likely ideas that were passed down and taught to you by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles -- you name it. What if military families were intentional about teaching good money and savings habits to our kids from a young age? At Military Saves, we encourage you to do something different and invite the topic of finances into your home from an early age. We believe it's healthy to normalize financial discussions, not to be afraid to ask about money and to explore options of planning for your future, together. Involving Military Spouses in Finances Military spouses face unique challenges when it comes to finances. How much better would our military community be with money if we empowered not only our service members and veterans to save, but also our spouses? What if we, as military families, had a plan and developed our strategy together? Before my husband joined the Army, I was the breadwinner. When he signed on the dotted line, our young family of four was whisked off to an OCONUS [Outside the Continental U.S.] duty station, and I no longer worked. Although I stopped earning my own wages, I still wanted to contribute to my IRA that I set up outside of my job. Unfortunately, because we were stationed in Germany, my account was flagged as attempting to make "international transfers," and I wasn't able to contribute to my personal retirement for three years. When I told this story to other military spouse friends who weren't working at the time, they were surprised to hear that you could start your own personal retirement accounts outside of those offered by an employer. Many knew that their active-duty spouses had a TSP account set up through the military, but didn't have anything for themselves, or anything jointly outside of that one account. My friends who worked faced challenges like gaps in employment, periods of not working, underemployment and the emotional stress of feeling dependent on their spouse while wanting to contribute financially. No matter how you slice it, conversations need to happen. Military Saves wants to initiate those with you. Military Saves Month -- Save as a Family April is Military Saves Month, an annual free, virtual event where hundreds of organizations come together to encourage the military community to do a financial wellness check-in. It's hosted by Military Saves, a participant in the Defense Department's Financial Readiness Network. Our research-based program is coordinated by the nonprofit organization, Consumer Federation of America. Over the course of a month, we'll cover money-related topics from a relatable, down-to-earth, positive perspective. Savers will end the month with tools, resources and clarity on their current financial situation, new savings goals and a realistic plan to achieve them. We are dedicating an entire week, April 26-30, to the theme of Save as a Family. We'll focus on the tangible and intangible ways we can set ourselves up for success as military families and spouses, and positively influence and model for our children and teens when it comes to money, spending habits and saving. In addition to this wealth of information, Military Saves Month participants have the chance to win $500 during our #ImSavingFor Sweepstakes. We think that's a perfect way to jump-start your military family's financial goals. Start with the Pledge, then Join Us in April As you count down to our event, we encourage you to take the Military Saves Pledge. Once you make a promise to yourself to embark on your financial journey, you'll join a community of #MilitarySavers and can look to Military Saves for accountability. We'll keep you on track with emails, text reminders, free resources, and tips to help you realize your financial goals. Visit us at militarysaves.org for more information. --Jackie Toops is the program coordinator for Military Saves. She's also a freelance writer, content creator, media personality and mom. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Diagnostic Imaging Systems Market Research Report: By Product, Application, End User - Industry Dynamics and Competitive Benchmarking till 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Research and Markets Logo This market generated $38.9 billion in 2019 and will increase to $70.0 billion in 2030. Factors such as the escalating healthcare expenditure, burgeoning number of diagnostic imaging centers, growing requirement for diagnostic imaging procedures, booming population of the elderly, continuous technological developments in diagnostic imaging, and rising prevalence of chronic diseases are expected to drive the diagnostic imaging systems market at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period (2020-2030). One of the leading factors supporting the diagnostic imaging systems market growth is the surge in the geriatric population. According to the World Population Ageing report of 2019 of the United Nations (UN), the population of people aged 65 years and above is expected to reach nearly 1.5 billion in 2050. Older people need extensive care, as they are more susceptible to chronic diseases due to their weak immunity levels. Due to this, the demand for diagnostic imaging systems will continue to escalate during the forecast period. Currently, the diagnostic imaging systems market is witnessing the trend of product launches. The new high-quality imaging systems are facilitating access to advanced diagnosis with fast and accurate results. For instance, Carestream Health Inc. launched the DRX-Compass X-ray System in August 2020 to provide a scalable and flexible approach to digital imaging. The system, marketed to diagnostic imaging centers and hospitals, assists in vertical auto-centering and auto-tracking. Similarly, in July 2020, Hologic Inc. launched a cart-based system ultrasound system, named SuperSonic MACH 40, in the U.S. to offer a high image quality and various imaging modes. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Research Background Chapter 2. Research Methodology Chapter 3. Executive Summary Chapter 4. Introduction 4.1 Definition of Market Segments 4.1.1 By Product 4.1.1.1 X-ray imaging systems 4.1.1.1.1 By technology 4.1.1.1.1.1 Digital 4.1.1.1.1.2 Analog 4.1.1.1.2 By portability 4.1.1.1.2.1 Stationary 4.1.1.1.2.2 Portable 4.1.1.2 MRI systems 4.1.1.2.1 By type 4.1.1.2.1.1 Closed 4.1.1.2.1.2 Open 4.1.1.2.2 By field strength 4.1.1.2.2.1 Mid 4.1.1.2.2.2 High 4.1.1.2.2.3 Low 4.1.1.3 Ultrasound systems 4.1.1.3.1 By technology 4.1.1.3.1.1 3D and 4D 4.1.1.3.1.2 2D 4.1.1.3.1.3 Doppler imaging 4.1.1.3.2 By portability 4.1.1.3.2.1 Trolley/cart-based 4.1.1.3.2.2 Compact/portable 4.1.1.4 CT scanners 4.2.2.1.1 By slice 4.1.1.5 Nuclear imaging systems 4.1.1.6 Others 4.1.2 By Application 4.1.2.1 Cardiology 4.1.2.2 Oncology 4.1.2.3 Neurology 4.1.2.4 Orthopedics 4.1.2.5 Urology 4.1.2.6 Dentistry 4.1.2.7 Ophthalmology 4.1.2.8 OB/GYN 4.1.2.9 Others 4.1.3 By End User 4.2 Market Dynamics 4.2.1 Trends 4.2.1.1 Increasing number of product launches 4.2.1.2 Rising number of collaborations and acquisitions 4.2.2 Drivers 4.2.2.1 Increasing number of healthcare settings 4.2.2.2 Increasing healthcare expenditure 4.2.2.3 Growing need for diagnostic imaging procedures 4.2.2.4 Surge in the prevalence of chronic diseases 4.2.2.5 Technological advancements in diagnostic imaging 4.2.2.6 Surging geriatric population 4.2.2.7 Impact analysis of drivers on market forecast 4.2.3 Restraints 4.2.3.1 High cost of development and maintenance of diagnostic imaging systems 4.2.3.2 Stringent regulations 4.2.3.3 Diminishing helium reserves 4.2.3.4 Increasing risk of cancer due to exposure to radiation 4.2.3.5 Impact analysis of restraints on market forecast 4.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.4 Impact of COVID-19 4.5 Regulatory Scenario for Diagnostic Imaging Systems 4.6 Pricing Analysis 4.7 Maintenance Cost Associated with Diagnostic Imaging Systems Chapter 5. Global Market Size and Forecast 5.1 By Product 5.1.1 X-Ray Imaging Systems Market 5.1.1.1 By technology 5.1.1.2 By portability 5.1.2 MRI Systems Market 5.1.2.1 By type 5.1.2.2 By field strength 5.1.3 Ultrasound Systems Market 5.1.3.1 By technology 5.1.3.2 By portability 5.1.4 CT Scanners Market 5.1.4.1 By slice 5.2 By Application 5.3 By End User 5.4 By Region Chapter 6. North America Market Size and Forecast Chapter 7. Europe Market Size and Forecast Chapter 8. APAC Market Size and Forecast Chapter 9. LATAM Market Size and Forecast Chapter 10. MEA Market Size and Forecast Chapter 11. Competitive Landscape 11.1 Market Share Analysis of Key Players 11.2 Competitive Benchmarking 11.3 Strategic Developments of Key Players 11.3.1 Product Launches and Approvals 11.3.2 Acquisitions 11.3.3 Partnerships 11.3.4 Other Developments Chapter 12. Company Profiles Story continues General Electric Company Siemens AG Koninklijke Philips N.V. Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation Hitachi Ltd. Agfa-Gevaert N.V. Canon Inc. Carestream Health Inc. Shimadzu Corporation Esaote S.p.A. Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. Ltd. Analogic Corporation Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Hologic Inc. Konica Minolta Inc. KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG DEL MEDICAL Inc. Dornier MedTech GmbH Varex Imaging Corporation Bruker Corporation Fonar Corporation Neusoft Corporation Aurora Healthcare US Corp Time Medical Holding Aspect Imaging Ltd. SonoScape Medical Corporation SternMed GmbH For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sgfgj7 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-diagnostic-imaging-systems-market-to-2030---rising-number-of-collaborations-and-acquisitions-301250134.html SOURCE Research and Markets A South Carolina-based surveillance firm that has sold services to the U.S. military is promoting its ability to provide real-time location information about 15 billion cars every month. The company, called The Ulysses Group, says it can monitor vehicles in every country in the world, except North Korea and Cuba. The claims come from a document obtained by the office of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in which the company has detailed its capabilities. Wyden is investigating companies that sell the data of consumers. The company says it can track cars through sensors in vehicle parts - either installed by the car company, or by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) - the company that provided the components. The sensors collect information such as airbag and seatbelt status, engine temperature, and location, and then transmit that information either back to the car maker or to third parties. Aggregator companies also purchase or obtain this data, repackage it, and then sell that data or products based on it to their own clients, Vice News reported on Wednesday. Clients could include insurance companies, anti-terrorism agencies and the military A South Carolina firm staffed by ex-military officials is offering car surveillance technology (stock photo) The company's president's LinkedIn page gives an example of the type of surveillance available The amount of people who have access to the highly personalized data may surprise many car owners. 'The OEM will have first dibs to the data, because they made the car and have access to the telematics,' said Andrea Amico, the founder of Privacy4Cars. His company sells tools to help dealerships remove data from vehicles. 'But the company that provides the map itself, for instance, would have access to it; the company that provides the infotainment system may have access to it; the company that provides the traffic data may have access to it; the company that provides the parking data may have access to it. The Ulysses Group is promoting 'telematics' - using GPS data to monitor vehicle movements 'Right there and then you've got five companies that are getting your location,' she told Vice. The firm, The Ulysses Group, did not specifically say in the document who it wanted to sell the information to. Car location data is of interest not just to insurance companies and the finance sector, but to government contractors who explicitly say they want to source the data for intelligence and surveillance purposes. The document does, however, promote the company's technology for use in military operations. The Ulysses Group promoted a map showing the Iran-Syria-Iraq border regions and car data 'We believe that this one attribute will dramatically enhance military intelligence and operational capabilities, as well as reduce the costs and risk footprint of ISR [intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance] assets currently used to search for and acquire mobile targets of interest,' the document adds. It says that Ulysses has 'existing access to bulk commercial telematics data.' They provide a map showing apparent vehicle locations spread across Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey, including along the border with Syria. A section of text next to the map says Ulysses' data access lets clients analyze targets 'whether you want to geo-locate one vehicle or 25,000,000 as shown here.' An image on the company's LinkedIn page appears to show data related to Bulgaria. The Ulysses Group heavily promotes their military ties, boasting on its website of 'representatives with experience from Army Special Forces, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Naval Special Warfare Groups, Ground Branch, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence), Joint Special Operations Command, and the Asymmetric Warfare Group.' On their website, they are currently recruiting for 'Personnel Recovery Specialists' - people who, in military jargon, track down missing military personnel. The Ulysses Group is currently recruiting former Special Forces officers to work with them They want former members of the Special Forces (SOF) with Top Secret security clearance (TS). The candidate must have 'nonconventional assisted recovery' (NAR) or 'unconventional assisted recovery' (UAR) experience. 'Ulysses is seeking former SOF personnel with Personnel Recovery experience - must have TS and experience with NAR / UAR, 943, and operations in a COM environment,' they write. Ulysses previously had a contract with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), though for a different piece of technology. The Ulysses Group participated in a March 1-5 seminar held by the U.S. Navy, as part of their Joint Interagency Field Experimentation scheme. The seminar was looking at how the armed forces could use artificial intelligence, drones and sensors, among other things. 'We provide a realistic field environment with airspace, buildings, tunnels, forests, open plains, etc,' the JIFX website states. 'You provide an emerging technology to address challenges faced by the US Military Forces 'Together we collaborate and learn about challenges your technology may address!' The company is touting its services in a document entitled: 'Telematics Intelligence Executive Summary'. The document was obtained by Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat representing Oregon, who then passed it on to Vice News' Motherboard site. Keith Chu, Wyden's spokesman, told Motherboard that the senator was concerned about 'this shady industry'. 'Far too little is known about how private information is being bought and sold,' Chu said. 'Senator Wyden is conducting an ongoing investigation into the sale of personal data, particularly via data brokers, to put some sunlight on this shady industry. 'Our office is continuing to perform oversight into where data brokers are acquiring Americans' information, and who they're selling it to.' Andrew Lewis, president of The Ulysses Group, told Vice News in an email that the document was 'aspirational' and they were not currently working with the government or its agencies. 'Any proprietary promotional material we may have produced is aspirational and developed based on publicly available information about modern telematics equipment,' Lewis told Vice. 'We do not have any contracts with the government or any of its agencies related to our work in the field and we have never received any funding whatsoever from the government related to telematics.' Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 18 March 2021 at 8:00 EET Nokia speeds up transformation to improve profitability Capital Markets Day 2021 Company sets out a three-phased journey to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and technology leadership. Reiterates its financial outlook for 2021 and provides outlook for 2023. Anticipates comparable operating margin to increase to 10-13% in 2023 and to grow faster than the market in full-year 2023. Launches new company purpose and ways of working. Capital Markets Day presentations will update on key market opportunities, focus areas and long-term trends. Today Nokia is holding its Capital Markets Day 2021 and providing an overview of long-term market trends, how it is setting itself up for value creation, detailed plans for each of its business segments, its financial outlook and its updated dividend policy. "Nokia is repositioning itself to deliver sustainable, profitable growth, adapting our business to lead in an increasingly digitalized world. We have a clear and detailed plan for how we will reset the business, accelerate competitiveness and scale up our lead in the markets we choose to play in. This plan will enable us to deliver double-digit comparable operating margins in 2023," says Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia. "We have moved away from end-to-end as a cornerstone of our equity story and have instead put in place four fully accountable, empowered business groups, arranged according to how customers buy. Each of these business groups has solid strategies and targets to grow market share and margins through enhanced technology leadership," he continues. Nokia sees a number of major trends impacting the industry over the next few years, with 5G and resulting technologies at their core and creating opportunities for CSPs, enterprises and webscales. These trends include next-generation access with fiber-to-the-home and optimized transport technologies delivering a seamless experience for consumers in homes and workplaces, enabling a "gigabit society" when combined with mobile 5G. In addition, connected digital enterprise will drive massive productivity, efficiency and safety gains across industries. A result of this will be significant growth in the Enterprise market. "5G is still in its early phase. We estimate that the peak of the 5G market will last roughly twice as long as it did with 4G. So these trends of next generation access and digital connected enterprise still have a long way to run. I want Nokia be able to shape them, delivering best-of-breed products, services and connectivity that allow our customers to deliver constantly improving performance," says Lundmark. New company purpose The world is changing rapidly and facing fundamental challenges. Pressure on the planet is increasing, productivity is stalling and access to opportunity remains stubbornly unequal. Nokia believes technology is central to the solution. Technology can help to respond to climate change through more efficient use and re-use of the world's resources. It can be essential for restoring productivity growth by digitalizing physical industry, and it can help provide more inclusive access to work, healthcare, markets and education. "With that in mind, our new purpose at Nokia is to create technology that helps the world act together. With our customers, we create the critical networks that bring together the world's people, machines, and devices. And everything we do in our business will contribute to this aim" Lundmark continues. To deliver on its refreshed purpose, Nokia will strengthen its position as a trusted partner for critical networks, which underpin more and more mission-critical functions for businesses and across societies. In addition, Nokia focuses on technology leadership in each of its businesses and captures the value shift to cloud and new business models as critical networks evolve. Nokia also creates value with long-term research and intellectual property which provide both the technology and the financial platform for the company to be successful over the long term. In addition, Nokia is refreshing its ways of working and promoting a culture where its people are open to continuous development, fearless to experiment and empowered to act with clear accountability. Reset, Accelerate, Scale - three phases to delivering above market growth To deliver on its targets for sustainable growth Nokia has set out a three-phased approach. First, an ongoing reset, with focus on securing technology leadership; implementing the new operating model to reduce complexity and increase accountability; securing full portfolio competitiveness in Mobile Networks; resetting its cost base; and renewing the ways of working. From 2022 onwards the company will accelerate competitiveness and aims to grow margins through enhanced technology leadership, digitalization of own operations, automation and capturing emerging opportunities. It then plans to scale up to drive growth in new use cases and business models including in enterprise and private wireless in order to grow faster than the market. Market development 2020 to 2023 Nokia's total estimated addressable market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1% from 2020 to 2023, comprising of the following estimates: Mobile Networks estimated 2020 - 2023 addressable market CAGR, excluding China, of approximately 1%; Network Infrastructure estimated 2020 - 2023 global addressable market CAGR of approximately 2%; Cloud and Network Services estimated 2020 - 2023 global addressable market CAGR of 2%. Financial outlook for 2021 and 2023 Today, Nokia reiterated its financial outlook for 2021 and provided its outlook for 2023. Outlook Full year 2021 Full year 2023 Net sales, adjusted for currency fluctuations1 EUR 20.6 billion to EUR 21.8 billion Grow faster than the market Comparable operating margin2 7 to 10% 10 to 13% Free cash flow3 Positive Clearly positive Comparable ROIC2,4 10 to 15% 15 to 20% 1Assuming continuation of 2020 year-end EUR/USD rate of 1.23. 2 Comparable measures exclude intangible asset amortization and other fair value adjustments, goodwill impairments, restructuring related charges and certain other items affecting comparability. 3 Free cash flow = net cash from/(used in) operating activities - capital expenditures + proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets - purchase of non-current financial investments + proceeds from sale of non-current financial investments. 4 Comparable ROIC = (Comparable operating profit after tax) / (Average total equity + average interest-bearing liabilities - average total cash and current financial investments). Providing transparency to Nokia's four new business groups In addition, regarding the underlying assumptions of Nokia's financial outlook, Nokia updated its outlook assumptions for its four new business groups and Group Common and Other in 2021, and provided new outlook assumptions for 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, each business group is expected to contribute to shareholder value creation. Each business group is focused on driving improved focus on capital allocation and technology leadership in 2021, positioning Nokia to grow profitably in 2022 and beyond. Over time, each business group is expected to generate a return on capital employed (ROCE) greater than Nokia's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 7%. Comparable operating margin Outlook assumptions Full year 2021 Full year 2023 Mobile Networks -1% to +2% 5 to 8% Network Infrastructure 7 to 10% 9 to 12% Cloud and Network Services 3 to 6% 8 to 11% Nokia Technologies >75%* >75%* *Although we are now providing our outlook assumption for Nokia Technologies in terms of comparable operating margin, we continue to maintain our expectation for Nokia Technologies to deliver a slight improvement in comparable operating profit in full year 2021, relative to full year 2020, and stable performance over the longer term. Group Common and Other primarily consists of support function costs. Where possible, we have now embedded support function costs directly into our business groups. Therefore, we expect the net negative impact of Group Common and Other to decrease, relative to previous levels, to approximately 200 million in 2021 and 2023. Sustainability Nokia strongly believes that connectivity and technology will play a key role in helping to solve many future challenges. Its sustainability strategy is focused on areas it believes will have the greatest impact on sustainable development and on its business. To improve people's lives, it is focusing on climate, integrity and culture: On climate, Nokia recently announced that it is targeting to reduce emissions by 50% across both its own operations and products in use between 2019 and 2030. Its new recalibrated Science Based Targets fulfil its commitment to align with a 1.5C global warming scenario. On integrity, Nokia has been recognized as one of the world's most ethical companies by the Ethisphere institute and intends to continue to strengthen its position. On culture, Nokia wants to prioritize greater inclusion and diversity. As one example, it is targeting an increase of female hires in global external recruits. Updated dividend policy Today, Nokia also updated its dividend policy. It is target recurring, stable and over time growing ordinary dividend payments, taking into account the previous year's earnings as well as the company's financial position and business outlook. As previously announced, Nokia's Board of Directors did not propose a dividend or dividend authorization for the financial year 2020. After Q4 2021, the Board will assess the possibility of proposing a dividend distribution for the financial year 2021 based on the updated dividend policy. Speakers and webcast details Nokia's webcast for investors and analysts will begin on 18 March 2021 at 14:00 EET. Note: The proposed organizational changes referenced in this release may be subject to consultation with employee representatives in certain jurisdictions and are not considered final until such processes are completed. About Nokia We create technology that helps the world act together. As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. Investor Enquiries: Nokia Investor Relations Tel. +358 4080 3 4080 Email: investor.relations@nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Katja Antila, Head of Media Relations Forward-looking statements It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect Nokia's current expectations and views of future developments and include statements regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to our strategies, growth management and operational key performance indicators; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, our supply chain and our customers' businesses) and any future dividends including timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholds associated therewith; C) expectations and targets regarding financial performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, cost savings, product cost reductions and competitiveness, as well as results of operations including targeted synergies, better commercial management and those results related to market share, prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in organizational and operational structure; E) expectations regarding competition within our market, market developments, general economic conditions and structural and legal change globally and in national and regional markets, such as China; F) our ability to integrate acquired businesses into our operations and achieve the targeted business plans and benefits, including targeted benefits, synergies, cost savings and efficiencies; G) expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or to business collaboration agreements or patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration or partnership, agreement or award; H) timing of the deliveries of our products and services, including our short term and longer term expectations around the rollout of 5G, investment requirements with such rollout, and our ability to capitalize on such rollout; I) expectations and targets regarding collaboration and partnering arrangements, joint ventures or the creation of joint ventures, and the related administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions, as well as our expected customer reach; J) outcome of pending and threatened litigation, arbitration, disputes, regulatory proceedings or investigations by authorities; K) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, including our current cost savings program; L) expectations, plans or benefits related to future capital expenditures, reduction of support function costs, temporary incremental expenditures or other R&D expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products, including 5G, ReefShark and increased digitalization; M) expectations regarding our customers' future actions, including our customers' capital expenditure constraints and our ability to satisfy customer's needs and retain their business; and N) statements preceded by or including "believe", "expect", "expectations", "deliver", "maintain", "strengthen", "target", "estimate", "plan", "intend", "assumption", "focus", "continue", "should", "will" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to them. These forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our strategy is subject to various risks and uncertainties and we may be unable to successfully implement our strategic plans, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business groups, correctly identify or successfully pursue business opportunities or otherwise grow our business; 2) general economic and market conditions, general public health conditions (including its impact on our supply chains) and other developments in the economies where we operate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and our ability to successfully capitalize on that deployment; 3) competition and our ability to effectively and profitably invest in existing and new high-quality products, services, upgrades and technologies and bring them to market in a timely manner; 4) our dependence on the development of the industries in which we operate, including the cyclicality and variability of the information technology and telecommunications industries and our own R&D capabilities and investments; 5) our dependence on a limited number of customers and large multi-year agreements, as well as external events impacting our customers including mergers and acquisitions and the possibility of our customers awarding business to our competitors; 6) our ability to maintain our existing sources of intellectual property-related revenue through our intellectual property, including through licensing, establishing new sources of revenue and protecting our intellectual property from infringement; 7) our ability to manage and improve our financial and operating performance, cost savings, competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing around our ability to recognize any net sales and our ability to implement changes to our organizational and operational structure efficiently; 8) our global business and exposure to regulatory, political or other developments in various countries or regions, including emerging markets and the associated risks in relation to tax matters and exchange controls, among others; 9) our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits, synergies, cost savings and efficiencies of acquisitions; 10) exchange rate fluctuations, as well as hedging activities; 11) our ability to successfully realize the expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration, partnership, agreement or arbitration award; 12) Nokia Technologies' ability to protect its IPR and to maintain and establish new sources of patent, brand and technology licensing income and IPR-related revenues, particularly in the smartphone market, which may not materialize as planned, 13) our dependence on IPR technologies, including those that we have developed and those that are licensed to us, and the risk of associated IPR-related legal claims, licensing costs and restrictions on use; 14) our exposure to direct and indirect regulation, including economic or trade policies, and the reliability of our governance, internal controls and compliance processes to prevent regulatory penalties in our business or in our joint ventures; 15) our reliance on third-party solutions for data storage and service distribution, which expose us to risks relating to security, regulation and cybersecurity breaches; 16) inefficiencies, breaches, malfunctions or disruptions of information technology systems, or our customers' security concerns; 17) our exposure to various legal frameworks regulating corruption, fraud, trade policies, and other risk areas, and the possibility of proceedings or investigations that result in fines, penalties or sanctions; 18) adverse developments with respect to customer financing or extended payment terms we provide to customers; 19) the potential complex tax issues, tax disputes and tax obligations we may face in various jurisdictions, including the risk of obligations to pay additional taxes; 20) our actual or anticipated performance, among other factors, which could reduce our ability to utilize deferred tax assets; 21) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 22) disruptions to our manufacturing, service creation, delivery, logistics and supply chain processes, and the risks related to our production sites; 23) the impact of litigation, arbitration, agreement-related disputes or product liability allegations associated with our business; 24) our ability to re-establish investment grade rating or maintain our credit ratings; 25) our ability to achieve targeted benefits from, or successfully implement planned transactions, as well as the liabilities related thereto; 26) our involvement in joint ventures and jointly-managed companies; 27) the carrying amount of our goodwill may not be recoverable; 28) uncertainty related to the amount of dividends and equity return (if any) we are able to distribute to shareholders for each financial period; 29) pension costs, employee fund-related costs, and healthcare costs; 30) our ability to successfully complete and capitalize on our order backlogs and continue converting our sales pipeline into net sales; 31) risks related to undersea infrastructure; and 32) the scope and duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financial markets as well as our customers, supply chain, product development, service delivery, other operations and our financial, tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economic recovery following the pandemic as well as the risk factors specified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 4, 2021 under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. The United States is seeing an increase of migrants crossing the border in 20 years, with a noted increase in apprehension of illegal crossings. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott scrutinized the Biden administration last week for what he called a growing crisis at the border due to a migrant surge. The Biden administration is allegedly restricting Border Patrol agents on the extent of information they can share with the media as migrant surge prevails at the border. The restriction extends to sector chiefs, according to four current and two former Customs and Border Protection officials. Officials say the restrictions are seen as an unofficial "gag order," which they often refer to that way among colleagues, according to an NBC News report. Meanwhile, border officials working under The Biden administration said that U.S. President Joe Biden and his surrogates are wrong not to call the migrant surge a border crisis. "We do not have the resources to stop the cartels from bringing in illegal aliens, from bringing in drugs, therefore we are in fact in a crisis," Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, was quoted in a Fox News report. Judd also noted that a week ago they would not have called the situation a crisis, but currently, it meets the meaning. A senior Border Patrol official who spoke on anonymity agreed to Judd's sentiments. The official said that the President understands it is a crisis, "which is why he told migrants no to come over to the United States." During an interview in Pennsylvania, Biden sent a message to the migrants, saying to not come to the U.S. He added that migrants should not leave their town or city or community. READ MORE: Trump Blames Biden for the Border Mess, Says It Will 'Destroy Our Country' Media Restrictions Media requests wanting to accompany agents at the southern area of the border were denied, as per the new order. Part of the order was to send all information requests to the press office in Washington for approval. This includes those that come from local media. Multiple news organizations have also been denied to have access to videos or photos from inside overcrowded border processing facilities of migrant children. The Domestic Homeland Security released a photo late Tuesday showing a mother and child while in a health screening. However, there were no wide shots to show conditions or sleeping arrangements inside the facility. Officials said the new instruction does not come down with a memo, but was passed down verbally. Migrant Surge Aside from Border Patrol officials, Abbott blamed Biden for changing policies at the U.S.-Mexico border. He added that there is a crisis on the Texas border as of the moment, seeing migrants surge with a number of people coming across the border, according to an Aljazeera report. Abbott blamed Biden for the current crisis for his open border policies. "It invites illegal immigration and is creating a humanitarian crisis in Texas right now that will grow increasingly worse by the day," Abbott was quoted in a report. Biden has been reversing several of former President Donald Trump's policies on his first months in office, which includes suspending the "Remain in Mexico" program and scraping the border wall construction. READ NEXT: Biden Says U.S. in Talks With Other Countries for COVID Vaccine Supply WATCH: Biden administration scrambles to respond to surge of migrant children at the U.S. border - from PBS NewsHour New Delhi, March 18 : Designer brand Shantanu and Nikhil's latest collection '#SNSafari' features a luxury getaway wardrobe for both men and women. It draws inspiration from "millennials on the move", while celebrating S&N's one year milestone creating celebration wear for millennials. The collection was launched through a video presentation at the joint phygital fashion week by FDCI and Lakme Fashion Week on Day 1. The designers reveal that the collection is inspired by the notion of "celebration on the move, with earthy tones and unconventional silhouettes". The line comprises of asymmetric kurtas and cropped jacket shirts for women; open cut sherwanis and structured shirts with Nehruvian details for men, alongside casual-chic elements of T-shirts, sneakers and shorts, the brand offers a sartorial choice for our uber-cool millennial customers. "Having completed one year in this enriching journey, S&N with much gusto now presents, #SNSafari a collection that reinforces the celebratory and blithe spirit of the brand," said brothers Shantanu and Nikhil. Signature S&N attributes like offbeat details, bold drapes against minimalistic silhouettes and the oomph of contemporary India are all reinstated in #SNSafari. "The post-pandemic landscape has left us reimagining newer ways to collaborate within the industry. We, for one, believe that fraternity collaboration is the future and what better than the fraternity's two gigantic players like the FDCI & LFW coming together for a unique phygital fashion week. This not only sets a precedent for the fashion weeks to come, but opens up the market to newer and better opportunities," said the designers. (Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in) Katelyn Graham's Wynd Creek ($5.30) notched her third consecutive win on Wednesday night (March 17) at The Raceway at the Western Fair District, taking the card's $10,000 trotting feature in decisive fashion. The four-year-old Explosive Matter mare bided her time in midfield while Rose Run Unclebuck (Travis Henry) and Victoriahasasecret (Tyler Borth) disputed a :29.2 first quarter, and then sustained a first-over attack through the middle half to seize control with just over a quarter mile remaining. Wynd Creek extended her lead off the home turn, defeating the mildly rallying Mr Arch (Alfie Carroll) by 3-1/4 lengths in 2:00.4. Rose Run Unclebuck faded to third. Wynd Creek, now a nine-time winner, has won in eight of her 11 starts to date in Graham's care. In the sub-featured $9,400 conditioned trot, Ann Jackson ($12.80) rode the pocket to a minor upset, collaring Dustylane Thunder in the final stride of a 2:00.2 mile. Ryan Holliday drove the daughter of Holiday Road for trainer David Holliday and Listowel Livestock Ltd. Leafs And Wings ($2.60) appealed to Toronto and Detroit fans alike in the $6,000 Senior Pace, which was restricted to 11-year-olds and upward. The 14-year-old Rambaran entire posted a 1:58.3 win the 56th of his career while in line to Daryl Thiessen. Michael Rogers trains the Gregory Rogers homebred. To view Wednesday's complete results, click the following link: Wednesday Results The Raceway at the Western Fair District. Whats the craic?, he/shes an eejit and its grand are some of the most popular Irish slang phrases commonly used by the English, Welsh and Scottish. However, only 16 per cent of them could identify the Irish term deadly as being something with positive connotations rather than bad, with the rest assuming it meant something not good, expensive or likely to kill you, according to a poll of 2,000 UK adults in the lead up to this years St Patricks Day celebrations. Interestingly, only 26 per cent of people in the UK understood that someone was asking for the toilet if they asked for the jacks, with the remainder assuming they were being asked for money owed or the police, according to the survey carried out by OnePoll for online lottery company Lottoland. The research into all things Irish also found that 46 per cent surveyed across the water often used the term Im knackered but only 11 per cent were aware that its origins are commonly credited to the Emerald Isle, while a further 92 per cent assumed their frequently used reference to being wrecked was of English heritage when in fact it is considered more Celtic in origin. What people in the UK think of Irish drinks: Overall when it comes to Irish drinks, its Baileys that perhaps surprisingly turned out to be the favourite Irish tipple (30%) with UK adults, followed by Guinness (21%) and then Irish Whiskey (13%), with the ladies definitely preferring the world famous creamy liqueur and the men plumping for the Black Stuff. Funnily enough, 1 in 7 respondents didnt realise a pint of the black stuff referred to a pint of Guinness! What people in the UK think of Irish accents: Three in 10 English people admit they cant resist putting on a dodgy Irish accent when they encounter an Irish person! Three in every five surveyed said they couldnt tell the difference between Southern and Northern Irish accents but despite the confusion, 7 in 10 adults in the UK claim to love both versions, with Liam Neeson getting the female vote for sexiest Irish accent and Nadine Coyle getting the nod from UK men. Overall, 4 in 10 adults find Irish accents charming, while just over 3 in 10 describe them as lilting and a further 25 per cent musical and jolly. Maybe its the rain but only 45% of adults polled via OnePoll for Lottoland have visited Ireland but the good news is that post Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, an incredible 71% would love to come back or visit for the first time when current restrictions allow. Graham Ross, Country Manager for Lottoland Ireland said Theres no better time than St Patricks Day to celebrate all the amazing things to have originated in Ireland and while we cant claim to have invented everything, we certainly seem to have our UK neighbours drooling over our accents, our drinks and our culture. Its probably not hugely surprising that so many well-known Irish phrases have jumped across the Irish Sea into common UK usage but its always surprising how little UK people realise the connection between our two islands. One big positive to take away from our fascinating survey is that over 70% of UK adults literally cant wait to visit Ireland again and thats surely the ultimate jackpot payout for the Irish economy when it happens! TOP IRISH PHRASES USED BY THE UK ADULTS 1. Im knackered 2. Its been donkeys years 3. Its bucketing down 4. Have a gander 5. Im on me Tod 6. Ive had a whale of a time 7. Shut your gob 8. Im wrecked 9. Hes/shes an eejit 10. Its grand 11. Whats the craic? 12. Yer man Others in Top 20 Youre a chancer Thats deadly Where are the jacks? Detectives Find Owner of Stolen Shotgun By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - McCracken County Sheriff's Detectives have found the owner of a stolen shotgun.On Thursday morning, the Sheriff's Department said that tips and leads they received led them to the owner of the stolen shotgun. That person was able to give a detailed description of the firearm, which is a family heirloom.The Volunteer Arms model 1929 12-gauge single-shot shotgun was found during a search of a Carlisle County home on Tuesday, as detectives were investigating multiple thefts in both counties.ORIGINAL STORY:The McCracken County Sheriff's Department is trying to find the owner of a gun that they believe is stolen.Detectives executed a search warrant at a home on Tuesday and multiple items were recovered. This led them to a home in Carlisle County, were another search warrant was executed, with help from the Carlisle County Sheriff's Department. While recovering multiple stolen items, an old shotgun was found, and detectives believe it was stolen.It is a Volunteer Arms model 1929 12-gauge single-shot shotgun. The trigger guard has apparently been broken and the owner created a unique homemade replacement. The gun has a brown wooden stock, and the receiver might have been silver, but is extremely worn. The barrel appears to be about 28 inches long.Detectives are hoping to return the gun to its owner. A photograph was not included with a press release so that the description of the shotgun could confirm the rightful owner. It's believed that the gun was stolen from a home or storage locker sometime within the last year.More details about the investigation that led to the shotgun's discovery will be released soon.Anyone with information on this shotgun should contact the McCracken County Sheriffs Department at 270-444-4719. OCALA, Fla. (AP) A man accused of setting a Florida church on fire last year is facing a federal hate crime charge, prosecutors announced Thursday. A federal grand jury in Orlando returned an indictment Wednesday against Steven Shields, 24, of Dunnellon, according to court records. Hes charged with using fire to commit a felony and intentionally damaging religious property, a hate crime charge that falls under the Church Arson Prevention Act. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the hate crime and a mandatory minimum of 10 years if convicted of the fire charge. He also faces state arson and burglary charges. According to the indictment, Shields intentionally set fire last July to the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala, about 80 miles (about 130 kilometers) north of Orlando. The Marion County Sheriffs Office said last year that Shields plowed a minivan through the churchs front door, doused the foyer with gasoline and set it on fire, causing extensive damage. Several people were inside preparing for Mass when the attack occurred, but no one was hurt, officials said. According to court documents, Shields told detectives he was mentally ill but had stopped taking his medication. Shields told detectives that he has problems with the Catholic Church and referenced passages in the Bibles Book of Revelations. Federal court records didnt list an attorney for Shields. An attorney listed in his state case didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment. MIDDLETOWN Middlesex Community College announces the approval of the Health Information Management certificate program by the AHIMA Professional Certificate Approval Program. The highly regarded national PCAP-approved status is from January 2021 to January 2024, according to a press release. The PCAP approval identifies coding education programs that have been evaluated by a peer review process against national minimum standards for entry-level coding professionals. This process acknowledges academic institutions as providing an approved coding certificate program, according to the college. The clinical coding certificate program was developed to meet the needs of employers in our community for certified coders, and especially those coders with the American Health Information Management Association certified coding specialist credential, Jill Flanigan, coordinator of the program at Middlesex, said in a prepared statement. The AHIMA PCAP approval of our coding certificate positions our graduates to enter the health care workforce in a challenging and rewarding role classifying medical data in hospitals and other health care settings, Flanigan said. Health care organizations rely on accurate and skilled coding professionals because it affects revenues and health outcomes. This approval assures health care providers that certificate holders of the MxCC coding program possess the necessary job skills to attain success in coding positions, the news release said. Students are guided through a comprehensive coding curriculum providing them with more than 400 hours of instruction in ICD-10-CM/PCS coding and CPT coding and reimbursement methodologies, the release said. The certified coding specialist, or CCS, is a highly sought after credential in the field. Students who complete the program meet eligibility requirements and can take the CCS credential exam. Students may also choose to seek additional coding certification through the American Academy of Professional Coders. For information, visit mxcc.edu. Until congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden delivered the American Rescue Plan, the state government and every school district in Pennsylvania had to scramble in search of funds to cover tax revenue lost to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the federal cash on hand, the bigger long-term problem facing the state government and schools has returned to the radar. Every year, taxpayers fork over $5 billion of the state budget and an amount equal to 34% of every school districts payroll to the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System. Those crippling amounts are something for taxpayers to ponder when the state says that it cant fix bridges without new tolls or schools say they cant afford busing for all students. Such astronomical burdens are the result of the Legislature tying pension benefit rates to lawmakers own unconscionable benefits nearly 20 years ago, and the refusing to effect sweeping reforms when it was obvious that their decisions had blown up the system. One reform that lawmakers did come up with several years was called risk-sharing, as in teachers and other school employees sharing the systems risks with taxpayers. In a given year, if the $62 billion systems earnings did not meet certain targets, the employees would have to make increased contributions to cover the difference. In December, the PSERS concluded that the plan had earned 6.38% for the year, 0.02 of a percent higher than the target earnings of 6.36%. Therefore, the system did not impose higher contributions on more than 100,000 school employees. But Friday, the board acknowledged that it was incorrect, and that the plan had earned less than 6.36%. But because of the timing, an additional $25 million in costs will be passed on to taxpayers. Beyond the question of why the plan cant generate 6.36% in a booming market is that calculating the earnings is a matter of math. The board authorized an inquiry by an outside body to be selected by one of its committee. But this matter should be taken wholly outside PSERS. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro should launch his own investigation and ensure that the responsible parties are held accountable, criminally, civilly or both. Actor Daniel Dae Kim knocked Republican lawmakers at a House hearing Thursday for voting against a resolution that condemned anti-Asian racism. 'I was disheartened to find that for a bill that required no money or resources, just a simple condemnation of acts of hate against people of Asian descent, 164 members of Congress - all Republican - voted against it,' Kim testifed before a Judiciary Committee subcommittee. Thursday's hearing topic was discrimination against Asian-Americans and it came just two days after six Asian-American women were gunned down in Atlanta, Georgia at three spas. Actor Daniel Dae Kim shamed Republicans who had voted in September against a resolution condemning Asian-American hatred spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic Members of the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties met on Capitol Hill and virtually Thursday for a hearing on discrimination and violence against Asian-Americans Republican Rep. Chip Roy's comments at the top of the hearing got pushback from several Democratic lawmakers, as he accused them of forcing the 'policing of rhetoric' New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng hit back charging Roy and Republicans including former President Donald Trump with 'putting a bullseye on the back of Asian-Americans' The investigation of the shootings is ongoing and the 21-year-old suspect denied the attacks were racially motivated - and instead blamed a 'sex addiction' - though it still called attention to the uptick in racist violence against Asian-Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim, the sole witness from Hollywood testifying at Thursday's panel, said he was both 'honored and dismayed' to be appearing before Congress once more, noting that the racist violence has 'gotten worse, much worse.' He called attention to such crimes as the 89-year-old Brooklyn woman who was set on fire and the shootings in Atlanta this week. 'I will tell you just to start when I have a bad day, I think about going home, having a beer, watching a movie with my family,' Kim said. 'I don't think about going out and murdering eight people.' The 'Lost' actor also pointed out that when the shooter said he was eliminating temptation, 'what does it mean when he sees the manifestation of sexual temptation as an Asian female?' Kim asked. He said the racism surrounding the killings would be more obvious had they happened in a synagogue or black church, as other mass casualty shootings have in the past. Kim pushed for related legislation to be voted on by the House, such as Rep. Grace Meng's 'COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.' In September, the House passed a resolution against anti-Asian 'sentiment, racism, discrimination, and religious intolerance related to COVID-19,' which asked federal law enforcement to investigate credible reports. Just 14 Republicans joined with Democrats to vote in favor of the resolution, while 164 Republicans, as Kim said, voted against it. Meng's bill would designate an individual the the Department of Justice to expedite the review of hate crimes related to COVID-19. 'Now I'm not naive enough to think I'm going to convince all of you to stand up for us - trust me, I've seen your voting records - but I am speaking to those [for whom] humanity still matters,' Kim said, taking a second swat at GOP lawmakers. Thursday's hearing kicked off with Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy saying that while victims and their families of race-based violence deserve justice - so do the 'victims of cartels,' taking a shot at Democrats over the current border crisis, and the 'victims of rioting and looting in the streets ... last summer,' a knock at the Black Lives Matter demonstrators. 'We believe in justice. Theres old sayings in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. Thats what we believe,' he said. 'My concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric,' he continued, instead of 'taking out bad guys.' Roy then started criticizing the Chinese Communist Party and the country's handling of the initial COVID-19 outbreak. 'We shouldn't be worried about having a committee of members of Congress policing our rhetoric because some evildoers do engage in some evil activity as occurred in Atlanta, Georgia,' he added. Roy's comments irritated Democrats participating in the hearing. 'Your president, and your party, and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you dont have to do it by putting a bullseye on the back of Asian Americans across this country. On our grandparents. On our kids,' Meng, a New York Democrat, said as part of testimony she delivered during the first half of the hearing. A number of Democrats slammed former President Donald Trump's use of 'China virus' - which he said in a statement, again, last week. Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat and Air Force veteran, brought up his active-duty service to the country as he aimed at Roy. 'I'm very aware of who the bad guys are and who our foreign enemies are, but this hearing is about Americans of Asian descent who are being targeted in the United States, it's not about policing speech,' Lieu argued. 'You can say racist stupid stuff if you want, but I'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like Kung-Flu, or Wuhan Virus or other ethnic identifiers in describing this virus,' he continued. 'I am not a virus and when you say things like that, it hurts the Asian-American community.' One of the Democratic witnesses, Shirin Sinnar, who's a professor at Stanford Law School, linked Trump's rhetoric with the uptick in violence. 'When former President Donald Trump used racist dog whistles that are clearly interpreted as an effort to blame one community, or one government and by implication a community of people who are thought to be associated with it. That effects the entire society,' she testified. 'And Stop AAPI Hate's research shows, as well, that those tweets from the former president were retweeted over a million times.' 'So once you have that norm-setting at the top, that normalizes stigmatizing a particular community for hate, it does lead to ripple effects to society at large,' she explained. Only a handful of Republicans participated in the hearing. Rep. Tom McClintock, a California Republican, shared his view that 'hostility to that government is not hostility to its victims,' arguing that many Chinese are victims of the country's communist party. 'Quite the contrary, but that seems to be the connection that many people are making today,' he said. He also argued that the U.S. is working on its racism problem. 'There are despicable racists of every color in every society, it is the baser side of human nature, but no nation has struggled harder to transcend that nature and isolate and ostrasize its racists than have Americans,' he said. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, used his time to speak about his state's governor, Republican Larry Hogan, whose wife is Korean-American. He said he had spoken with Hogan and 'he and his wife and his daughters' closest friends have all been affected by the new wave of hostility against the AAPI community.' 'Gov. Hogan told me that close family friends ahve been assaulted in a convenience store, screamed at by racists telling them to go back to China and told that they did not want to sit next to them on an airplane because they were Asian and had COVID,' Raskin said. Besides the Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta, Georgia on Friday and meet with members of the Asian-American community to speak about the shootings, but also the uptick in racist violence. A man has today been arrested by detectives investigating the New IRA's bomb-making activities. Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) say the 52-year-old was arrested in Creggan in Londonderry this morning. A forensic examination of a house in Derry was also undertaken earlier today. Detectives say the arrest was part of an operation targeting the dissident group's bomb-making, as well as its storage of explosive devices and equipment. PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, who is head of Serious Crime Branch, described Thursday morning's police operation as a 'significant development'. It was a stand-alone operation, codenamed Ledging, as part of the PSNI's wider investigations into the New IRA, which is named Operation Arbacia. Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) say the 52-year-old was arrested in Creggan in Londonderry this morning. Pictured: Library image of police in the Creggan area in 2019 PSNI (pictured: The PSNI badge) Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, who is head of Serious Crime Branch, described Thursday morning's police operation as a 'significant development' Mr Murray said the search and arrest was conducted by the PSNI's terrorism investigation unit. He said: 'This a discrete, stand-alone strand of Operation Arbacia, looking specifically at the New IRA's bomb making activities as well as the group's storage of explosive devices and equipment. 'Operation Ledging is one of a number of ongoing investigative elements relating to the activities of the New IRA. 'The New IRA continues to pose a very real danger, most especially to the communities in the areas where they construct and store their bombs and guns. 'Previous investigations have shown time and time again that the New IRA has a callous disregard towards who it might hurt or what it destroys. 'We have witnessed on numerous occasions that they are willing to put the lives of local people at risk in their reckless haste to carry out bombings and shootings. 'Most starkly they have a chilling indifference to hiding lethally dangerous weapons and bombs in places where local people can easily stumble across them, unaware of the potential horrific consequences of touching them. 'We have witnessed this all too often in recent times when they have left explosives and weapons near to children's play-dens and in the middle of housing areas - places that should be sacrosanct and safe.' Mr Murray noted that the operation came ahead of the second anniversary of the New IRA murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Creggan. Mr Murray noted that the operation came ahead of the second anniversary of the New IRA murder of journalist Lyra McKee (pictured) in Creggan 'The approaching anniversary of the heartless murder of Lyra McKee and the self-serving justification of it by those who were involved in it, underscores the risks that the New IRA pose to those going about their lawful business,' he said. 'Our focus is on keeping the community safe and protecting them from the threat of these violent groups but we need the help of the public. 'Our chances of success are vastly improved by support and information from the community in relation to their activities. 'We have previously stated that Operation Arbacia is a longer term investigation that will look into every aspect of the activities of the New IRA in its entirety. 'Today's search and arrest is evidence that we have various operations complementing Operation Arbacia and today does not mark the end of them but rather a continuance.' African scientists have continued to perform dismally in research on Covid-19, authoring just three percent of research on the virus, according to analyses of leading medical and global health journals. Worse, even what is published -- 1,130 documents between November 2019 and August 2020 -- almost 65 percent of the articles were from just three countries: South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria. The authors warned that by Africans not publishing their own research on Covid-19 in Africa they denied the continent the creation of locally relevant knowledge to address the pandemic. "African research groups are in an excellent position to intensify and sustain intra-continental collaboration to more accurately describe what goes on in Africa as the pandemic evolves," they said. Response efforts "Based on our findings, we posit that governments should increase research resource allocations needed to build trust for academic institutions that will rapidly catalyse the contribution of African-led research in infectious diseases." The analyses also highlighted the low number scientific articles describing the outbreak and response efforts across the continent. Also, just four percent of scientific research published on Covid-19 is relevant to Africa. Of the total 2,196 articles on Covid-19, with 9,222 authors listed across them -- reveals the two analyses, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health on March 1 -- just 94 articles (4.3 percent) had content related to Africa or a specific African country; 292 (3.2 percent) of the authors were affiliated to an African organisation, and while the average number of authors per article was 4.2, overall, only a paltry average of 0.13 (3.1 percent) of these authors were African. One in five African Covid-19 papers had no African authors, and two-thirds or 66.1 percent of authors on African papers were not from Africa. These recent events rekindle the often sour debate around the historical under-representation of African scientists across the world of scientific research. Previous studies suggest that Africans have been under-represented in medical literature related to the burden of disease on the continent, with their research sector producing less than one per cent of the world's health research each year. "It may well be the case that the same has happened during the Covid-19 pandemic," said the authors of the report. With over four million confirmed cases across the continent, 105,572 deaths and 3,535,824 recoveries as of March 8, the authors of the study said the relative lack of research on Africa or authored by Africans added to the growing body of "evidence of coloniality in global health research and decision-making". Question of resources In the first analysis, the study authors looked for African authors publishing research and comment on Covid-19 in Africa in the top five general medical and top five global health journals between January 1 and 30 September 2020. In articles with African content, 619 authors were listed. But only a third (210; 34 per cent) of these authors reported an affiliation to an African organisation. There were an average of 6.6 authors on each article about Africa, 2.2 of whom were African. Authors from other parts of the world made up two-thirds (66 per cent) of authors on African papers, but Africans comprised just three per cent of authors on non-African papers. One in five (19) African Covid-19 papers listed no African authors. Some 39 (41.5 per cent) of these articles had an African first author, while 18 19 percent) had an African last author. African authors occupied both of these prime authorship positions in 13 articles (14 percent), compared with 60 (three per cent) instances of Africans occupying prime authorship positions for content that wasn't about Africa. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. It is unsurprising that high income countries have produced most Covid-19 research, given their resources, but they are nevertheless over-represented in research about Africa, added the authors. *** UNSETTLING CONCLUSION It is perhaps unsurprising that high income countries have produced most Covid-19 research, given their resources, but they are nevertheless over-represented in research about Africa. Health policy is not only informed by original research; sensible, contextually appropriate guidelines, opinions and commentary are also essential to improving the functioning of healthcare systems. But, of the 94 articles related to Covid-19 in Africa, almost three-quarters were opinion-based, compared with just over half for those not related to Africa. Nearly 90 per cent of the opinion-based articles related to Africa listed authors from elsewhere. ISTANBUL Amid a growing crackdown on Turkeys pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), a lawmaker was stripped of his parliamentary seat March 17 following a conviction for spreading terrorist propaganda in a 2016 social media post. Later in the day, a Turkish prosecutor filed a lawsuit with Turkeys Constitutional Court seeking to officially shutter the HDP entirely. The Turkish parliament revoked Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu's status as an HDP deputy after a court ruled in February to uphold a 2 year prison sentence for the lawmaker, a relentless critic of Turkeys human rights record. After the decision was read out in the parliaments assembly hall, Gergerlioglu staged a sit-in with HDP deputies that he livestreamed on Periscope, saying that the move went against the will of people who voted for him and that he would not leave the building on his own accord. I am not going anywhere, Gergerlioglu said in the broadcast. I have come with the votes of 90,000 people. I take refuge in the will of the people. We will not bow down to anti-democratic acts." At the time of reporting, the sit-in was ongoing and Gergerlioglu had yet to be removed from the parliament building. The developments are the latest signs of growing pressure on the HDP, whose members face a slew of charges over alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Various HDP leaders have been imprisoned since 2016. While HDP officials deny the charges, nationalist allies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have increasingly called for the partys closure due to the suspected terror links. "If Turkey is a state of law, the closure of the HDP is an emergency, it is vital, it is a must," Devlet Bahceli, chair of the Nationalist Movement Party, said in a speech earlier this month. The revocation of Gergerlioglus status as a member of parliament comes after two HDP deputies were stripped of their parliamentary seats due to terror-linked charges in June 2020. The March 17 action reduced the HDPs seats to 55 in the 600-member assembly, where it remains Turkeys third-largest political party. In response, human rights advocates as well as lawmakers with Turkeys main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) condemned the move. CHP Istanbul provincial leader Canan Kaftancioglu tweeed that the removal of yet one more HDP legislator was in violation of the constitution. Meanwhile, Milena Buyum, a Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International, said the decision contradicts the goals laid out by Erdogan two weeks earlier when he unveiled a sweeping human rights action plan designed to bolster the rule of law and safeguard freedom of expression for Turkish citizens. The decision sadly indicates that the plan is no more than a window-dressing exercise, Buyum told Al-Monitor. She added, Gergerlioglu is a very outspoken human rights defender who has used his platform to highlight some of the most serious human rights violations suspected enforced disappearances, prison conditions, torture and other ill treatment allegations. He should never have been tried, let alone convicted. A travesty of justice. Nacho Sanchez Amor, the Turkey rapporteur for the European Parliament, and Sergey Lagodinsky, delegation chair for the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, issued a joint statement condemning the move against Gergerlioglu on March 17, writing, His conviction, expulsion and expected incarceration constitute a severe violation of his human rights and act to further undermine the trust in Turkeys parliamentary democracy. A longtime rights advocate, Gergerlioglu has worked to shed light on human rights infringements in Turkey since he was elected to parliament in 2018. In recent months, he raised awareness over the frequent use of strip searches by security forces and took part in protests against the controversial appointment of a politically connected academic to be rector of Istanbuls Bogazici University. Such actions prompted many on social media to call Gergerlioglu Turkeys conscience. Prior to joining parliament, Gergerlioglu posted a tweet in August 2016 encouraging the Turkish state to pursue a peaceful resolution to ongoing clashes with the PKK. In February 2018, Gergelioglu was convicted of spreading terrorist propaganda with the tweet and sentenced to 2 years in jail, which he appealed. The ruling was then upheld by Turkeys Court of Cassation last month, opening the way for Gergerlioglu to be stripped of his seat and parliamentary immunities to serve out the sentence, though he filed a Constitutional Court challenge that has yet to be finalized. In an sssessment of the court proceedings, Human Rights Watch condemned the latest decision, calling it a violation of free speech rights. Gergerlioglus 2016 tweet falls squarely within the boundaries of protected speech and there are no grounds on which to argue that it could be either necessary or proportionate to prosecute him for words which state an opinion and do not incite violence, Human Rights Watch said in a statement March 17. Wendy Williams recently let off the fart/burp combination heard round the world. But the five-time Emmy nominee isn't hiding away in embarrassment, as she gets back to business. She bundled up in a black Moncler x Valentino puffer jacket Tuesday, as she stepped out of her apartment building in the Financial District of New York City, before recording another show. Back in black: Wendy Williams bundled up in a black Moncler x Valentino puffer jacket Tuesday, as she stepped out of her apartment building in the Financial District of New York City, before recording another show The 56-year-old layered the red-lined jacket over a plunging black top with a pair of matching black skintight leggings. She finished the look with a black face mask and a pair of rave wear chic unkept black furry boots. Williams previously had an on-air mishap Tuesday, when she appeared to burp and fart at the same time, while discussing the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West divorce. It wasn't the first time her bodily functions interrupted an episode of The Wendy Williams Show, after she seemingly passed gas on air last January. Casual outing: The 56-year-old layered the red-lined jacket over a plunging black top with a pair of matching black skintight leggings Rave vibes: She finished the look with a black face mask and a pair of rave wear chic unkept black furry boots Passing gas: Williams previously had an on-air mishap Tuesday, when she appeared to burp and fart at the same time, while discussing the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West divorce Fartgate: It wasn't the first time her bodily functions interrupted an episode of The Wendy Williams Show, after she seemingly passed gas on air last January She commented on 'Fartgate' at the time, defending herself on her show: 'I have never farted once on this show. I barely fart. 'You know why? Because gas gets released several different ways and mine is belching cause all I do is talk. If I farted, I'd have laughed, cause farts are always funny.' The former shock jockette's latest 'Fartgate' was followed by another on-air gaffe, as her chair broke during Wednesday's episode. She had just sat down for her Hot Topics segment, before her attention was pulled offscreen, yelling: 'What! Hold On! Why are you all screaming at me? They're screaming at me. What is going on?! The chair broke. Not my throne?! Live TV, hey!' After having a production assistant bring in her 'prince chair,' she gushed: 'Oh my gosh. What a disaster. I love it!... Oh my gosh I love this show.' Wellington, March 18 : New Zealand is working to establish two-way "travel bubbles" with Australia and some Pacific Islands that could be in place within the next month, a Minister said on Thursday. New Zealand's border has been closed to all but residents and citizens, with a few exemptions, since March 2020, reports dpa news agency. Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told Radio New Zealand on Thursday he was "very optimistic" the government would work out conditions for a travel bubble soon. "There's a few issues still to talk through, including what we do in the event there is an outbreak, how we manage people who aren't in their home country at that time," he told RNZ. Christchurch Airport, in the country's South Island, had been ready for a "bubble" since October, chief aeronautical and commercial officer Justin Watson said in a statement on Thursday. Frontline staff had been vaccinated, and the airport had be split in two to allow for separate processing of "red and green" flights, he said. "Like us, the South Island tourism industry is eager to welcome Australians back." Two-way quarantine-free travel with the Cook Islands and Niue, both realm countries of New Zealand, is also on the cards. Cook Islands residents can already travel to New Zealand without the need to quarantine, while Niueans will be able to do the same from March 24. The "trans-Tasman travel bubble" idea has been around since mid-April 2020, and would allow Australians and New Zealanders to travel between both countries freely. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Police in England and Wales will, from autumn, be asked to record crimes motivated by hatred of sex or gender. Campaigners have been asking for misogyny to be treated as a hate crime for years and, in a concession to women's rights activists following the death of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, the government has now said it will require all 43 police constabularies in England and Wales to record crimes as a result of a person's sex or gender "on an experimental basis". Home Office Minister Baroness Williams said in the House of Lords this week: "On an experimental basis, we will ask police forces to record and identify any crimes of violence against the person including stalking and harassment, and sexual offences where the victim perceives it to have been motivated by a hostility based on their sex". The data collected from recording hate crimes motivated by sex or gender will "help us find solutions", said Williams on the wider social issue of violence against women and girls. Read more: Social media gives female celebrities a platform - but it didnt stop the torture The Law Commission is expected to offer its proposal to the government later in 2021 and will recommend that sex- or gender-based hostility should be added to the existing five characteristics protected in hate crime laws. Our proposals will ensure all protected characteristics are treated in the same way, and that women have hate crime protection for the first time," said criminal law commissioner Penney Lewis in a statement to The Independent. A long-term decision will be made after ministers have seen a review into hate crime by the Law Commission. What is a hate crime? The term hate crime can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the victims disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Under the experimental law in England and Wales, crimes carried out against someone because of their sex or gender will soon fall into this category. There is no specific crime that will be considered a hate crime; a sexual assault against a woman is still recorded as a sexual assault, but will be recorded as a hate crime too. Aspects of a persons identity [including, for example, race and religion] are known as protected characteristics. A hate crime can include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault and bullying, as well as damage to property. The perpetrator can also be a friend, carer or acquaintance who exploits their relationship with the victim for financial gain or some other criminal purpose, states the CPS. When a person is convicted of a hate crime, the punishment will be more severe than otherwise. The CPS outlines: Because of the serious nature of these offences, the CPS can apply to the courts for a sentence uplift which is an increased punishment for the crime. Last year, more than half of our requests led to offenders having their sentence increased because it was motivated by hate. Read more: What would a sex or gender hate crime law do? It will give judges the power to hand out harsher sentences where sex or gender is recorded as a factor in the crime. It will also allow police to collect data on patterns of behaviour and violence towards women and "form a pattern and identify the trends and issues about where these are taking place", said Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has consistently campaigned against violence towards women. "There are streets women cant walk down without being groped or abused and there is no action being taken. There is no clarity that this is a crime, and it is a crime, Creasy told The Standard. The Labour MP for Walthamstow believes making misogyny a hate crime can encourage women to come forward, about domestic abuse, rape, and forced marriages. "There are lots of examples of how it can make a difference. All the evidence shows that this can make a difference. For comparison, there is a requirement to say if skin colour is a reason for why someone has been targeted." The Fawcett Society, a gender equality charity, which campaigned for the move to include misogyny, said it was delighted that this government has accepted that misogyny should be treated as a hate crime. Chief executive Felicia Willow added: Fawcetts campaign showed there was overwhelming public support for this. Its essential that women have the confidence to report crimes and that they are taken seriously when they do. Does this already exist anyway? Seven police forces in England and Wales, including Nottinghamshire Police, already consider misogyny a hate crime. We were really shocked at how high the figures were in terms of people reporting the more serious end of crime, and that [is] becoming part of a regular occurrence, said professor Louise Mullany to the BBC on the data collected after Nottinghamshire Police added the additional hate crime category. Mullany produced the Misogyny Hate Crime Evaluation with peers at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Meanwhile, Scottish parliament just passed a new hate crime law, which includes crimes motivated by transgender identity or variations in sex characteristics and has added new offences for intentionally stirring up hatred. Why is sex and gender being included in hate crime law now? Following the murder of Sarah Everard, the government has bowed to campaigners, who have been asking for more protections for women for years. Everard went missing on 3 March after walking home to Brixton from a friend's house in Clapham, south London. Met Police officer PC Wayne Couzens has been charged with her murder. Hundreds of people attended a central London vigil for Everard on Saturday. A UN Women poll recently found that most women and girls in the UK experience sexual harassment in public spaces. The systems in place to reduce violence and harassment are not working, stated the UN. This is a human rights crisis. Its just not enough for us to keep saying this is too difficult a problem for us to solve it needs addressing now, said Claire Barnett, executive director of UN Women UK. Could adding sex and gender to the crime bill be problematic? The terminology around including misogyny in the hate crime bill has been debated in parliament. Hate crime laws traditionally protect minority groups, and minister Victoria Atkin asked if we would need to consider applying sex and gender to the entire population or just half of it? She noted that great consideration was needed when creating new laws that would would inadvertently conflict with principles of equality. Atkins noted in parliament in 2018: "We must be mindful of unintended and inadvertent consequences. I wonder whether hate crime legislation is definitively the best way to treat these crimes. Women are not a minority, and I would be hesitant to put us forward as one. Two US Congressmen, Al Green and Joaquin Castro, have reintroduced the #EndSARS Resolution in the 117th Congress. In a joint stateme... Two US Congressmen, Al Green and Joaquin Castro, have reintroduced the #EndSARS Resolution in the 117th Congress. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two lawmakers stressed that human rights abuses by men of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad must be investigated, adding that victims must get justice. They also said extrajudicial killings of peaceful protesters during the October 2020 #EndSARS demonstrations against police brutality must be probed and those culpable must be held accountable. Congressman Green said, On the heels of a widespread movement in the United States demanding police reform after the brutal killing of George Floyd, I along with much of the rest of the world was heartbroken when a video surfaced on October 3, 2020, appearing to show the horrific killing and robbery of a Nigerian man by Special Anti-Robbery Squad officers. #EndSARS joined #BlackLivesMatter as a global rallying cry calling for justice. He added, As we continue to work toward this goal in the United States, awaiting the Senate passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, it is imperative that we maintain solidarity with peaceful protesters in Nigeria demanding justice, accountability, and meaningful security reform from their government. This is in part why I and Congressman Joaquin Castro have re-introduced our resolution in support of the #EndSARS movement in Nigeria. We understand the importance of sending a strong message that the ongoing events in Nigeria are of international concern, because Black lives matter wherever they may be in the world. Also, co-sponsor of the resolution, Congressman Castro said, Last year, Nigerians came together to protest police violence, and like here in the United States, are still demanding justice. Im proud to co-lead this resolution as a statement of support for the people of Nigeria who are standing up against these injustices. As I said before, human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions of peaceful protestors, must be independently investigated and held accountable. The resolution is also co-sponsored by Representatives Ilhan Omar, Alcee Hastings, Ayanna Pressley, Karen Bass, Sheila Jackson Lee, Steve Cohen, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jim Cooper, Dina Titus, Danny Davis, and Jim McGovern. It has been endorsed by the international human rights organisations including Amnesty International US, Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and PEN America. Joe Biden is eyeing breaking up his Build Back Better initiative into smaller bills his Chief of Staff Ron Klain told a group of progressive lawmakers Wednesday night as the president hopes he can get at least part of his jobs plan more easily passed in Congress. Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders met with Klain at the White House Wednesday morning, the group's Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal told Politico Playbook, to discuss Biden's next legislative agenda: jobs. The far-left Democrats are demanding a commitment from the president that the plan will still address transportation, climate, health care and family infrastructure such as child care and paid leave even if it is broken up into smaller bills. They are also insisting it includes tax hikes, especially on the wealthy. Jayapal, who represents Washington state in the House, said her party will have to prioritize whether it wants to address the climate crisis or work with Republicans. 'We can either go green, or we can go bipartisan, because I just don't think that Republicans are ready to have a transformative package and so I said that at the White House,' Jayapal detailed, according to the Thursday morning report. Joe Biden's administration is considering breaking up his 'Build Back Better' jobs plan into at least three smaller bills to hopefully gain more bipartisan support in Congress and increase the changes of passage Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (left), and four other members, met with Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain (right) Wednesday to discuss the plan. She demanded a commitment it will address infrastructure, climate and health care as well as tax hikes on the wealthy Centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, however, has said that he would not support a bill that did not include Republican negotiations and input. With a 50-50 split Senate, any Democrat defector could essentially hold veto power of legislation with which they don't agree. 'I think they share that commitment to addressing climate in this infrastructure package,' Jayapal continued of the administration. 'Maybe that's part of the reason they were saying there may be multiple bills.' After signing into law the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package earlier this month, Biden's team has floated he is getting to work on a major infrastructure bill which some said could reach between $2-$4 trillion. According to Jayapal, Klain suggested Wednesday that the bill could be broken up into as many as three bills. Jayapal was joined in her meeting with Klain at the White House by fellow CPC members Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Barbara Lee of California and Cori Bush of Missouri. The goal in breaking up the plan is to get some bills passed with bipartisan support and others passed in Congress through reconciliation. It's possible that at least a handful of Republicans would get on board with narrower packages like ones paying for new U.S. infrastructure like roads and bridges. However, it's also entirely possible that some GOP members wouldn't want to go further than that. Jayapal and her progressive colleagues still want any new plan to include tax hikes, especially on the rich as they demand 'Build Back Better' implements some sort of wealth redistribution. The administration is working on an infrastructure and jobs bill that could reach $2-$4 trillion as high unemployment numbers continue to hold steady in the coronavirus pandemic The Washington congresswoman said Klain appeared to agree with this notion. 'We did have a very good discussion about how the White House sees any revenue [raisers] and I think we share their perspective that revenue raisers are really about making the tax code fair,' Jayapal said of her meeting Wednesday morning. 'And of course, addressing the massive and unprecedented income inequality in this country,' she added. 'That's very much our frame as well.' Also a topic of the meeting was raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which Democrats were not able to hike as part of the American Rescue Plan earlier this month. Progressives feel this should be a priority for the Democratic-led Congress and Biden White House. Some more progressive Democrats have floated increasing the minimum wage by a smaller margin, like to $11 per hour from the current federal rate of $7.25. 'There was no consensus around it, but I will just say we got a very clear sense that this is a real commitment for the White House, and they're very willing to work with us on what that looks like,' Jayapal said of raising the minimum wage by more than 100 per cent. Two best mates have made $200,000 after selling a meteorite believed to be four-and-a-half billion years old, which they found while searching for gold. In 2016 Paul McRae and John Miller were walking home after a day of gold-fossicking on cattle-grazing country near Georgetown in north Queensland when Paul's metal detector was set off. It was nearly a year before the pair decided to take the 25kg rock to Geoscience Australia during a work trip, and they discovered it was one of only six fallen stars of its kind. Best mates Paul and John (pictured) have made $200,000 after selling a meteorite believed to be 4.5 billion years old which they found one day while searching for gold and left in a ute In 2016 the pair were walking home after a day of gold-fossicking on cattle-grazing country near Georgetown (pictured) in north Queensland when Paul's metal detector was set off When scientist Steven Petkovski was told two men from Queensland had a rock in the boot of their car for him to look at, he wasn't hopeful. 'Often we get people come in, members of the public, just to show us some of the rocks that they have and this and that,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'We went out to the car park and they opened their boot and had a look at it, and was fairly sure and certain at the time that they indeed had a really large iron meteorite.' Any meteorite - pieces of rock that were once part of asteroids but have landed on Earth - are always exciting, but this particular iron-nickel piece is especially rare. The solar system is believed to have formed 4.6 billion years ago, meaning the meteorite could be as old as Earth itself. It was nearly a year before the pair decided to take the rock to Geoscience Australia during a work trip, and they discovered it was one of only six fallen stars of its kind. Pictured: Paul with the asteroid chunk Asteroid pieces with this particular mineral composition have only been discovered in five other places, four of which were in Antarctica and one in the US Meteorites of this type have only been discovered in five other locations, four of which were in Antarctica and one in the US. 'It's a really rare type of meteorite that contains iron that is sulphide rich which also has a really rare mineral called troilite,' Mr Petkovski said. Other pieces of the same meteorite have been found in the same North Queensland region and scientists are trying to find out when it hit the Earth. Other pieces of the same meteorite have been found in the same North Queensland region and scientists are trying to find if and when it exploded before hitting earth. Pictured: The mates spent two hours digging before they found the piece Adventurous friends Paul and John could have split the special rock (pictured) into pieces and made a lot more money, but they wanted it to be used for scientific and educational purposes Friends Paul and John could have made a lot more money if they split the special rock into pieces, but they wanted it to be used for science and education. 'They had the opportunity to possibly make a lot more money by slicing it up and and and filling it in pieces but they wanted to see it go to a good home,' said Mr Petkovski. 'They're very keen on learning more and understand more about the science from my discussions with them.' Besides the scientific significance, the museum curator said the mineral looked like an artwork and is now on display at Geoscience Australia in Canberra and online. Besides the scientific significance, the museum curator said the mineral (pictured) was as pretty as an artwork Today's climate of woke progressive political correctness, systemic racism, and social hypersensitivity encourages anti-Semitic events committed by non-right-wing groups to be swept under the rug of white supremacism. I am amused by the distinctly divergent pretext for Jew-hatred from the Alt-Right and the Alt-Left. On one side of the "Anti-Semitic Spectrum," we are blamed for the evils of capitalism, while the other side blames us for the hardships of communism. There is no excuse for the lack of attention and condemnation placed on the increased incidence of anti-Semitism from groups not associated with white supremacy. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) get a pass when they claim that boycotting Israel is not at all different from boycotting Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. When retired neo-Nazi-turned KKK leader David Duke praises black separatist Louis Farrakhan, we should heed prophetic wisdom: the enemy of your enemy is your friend. We are the enemy. In 2019, two individuals associated with the blatantly anti-Semitic Black Hebrew Israelites plotted with handguns, assault rifles, and pipe bombs to murder 50 Jewish children in a New Jersey day school. They had to settle for a deadly shoot-out in a neighboring Kosher deli. According to CBS News, over a ten-day period in 2020, thirteen blatant acts of anti-Semitism were committed in New York City and not one of the culprits captured on surveillance cameras was a white supremacist. These heinous events hung on the heels of Hanukah, when, in New Jersey, five Jews were brutally stabbed, and a rabbi murdered not by white supremacists. When well-meaning liberal Jews declare, "We should all be Antifa," are they naive to the connotation? I am in total agreement that we, as Jews, in the spirit of Tikkun Olam, should oppose fascism. If the left is left unchecked, it will Tikkun Olam us into extinction. Borrowing a title and logos from an extremist left-wing group is problematic. Even if today's "Antifa" designation represents loosely affiliated groups of individuals who oppose fascism, they are memorializing a group of Stalin loyalists born and bred in Germany and funded by the Communist Party. Analogous to well-meaning individuals adopting the "Antifa" designation is this antithetical hypothetical: a politician endorses a political and economic theory of social organization and speaks of promoting it on a national level. I suspect that labeling his plan "National Socialism" would turn some heads. Included among the Antifa groups are those who mounted an assault on Berkeley, California in 2017. In my youth, the University of California at Berkeley was the bastion of free speech and expression. Today, not so much. During the confrontation designed to prevent the right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos from addressing an audience, Antifa loyalists proudly displayed the two Antifa logos on flags, banners, and T-shirts. The red and black "Antifa Circle" with three arrows was designed in 1931 by Sergei Tschachotin of the German Iron Front to represent anarchy. The "overlapping flag" design represents the merger of socialism and communism. Are these the philosophies being endorsed by today's "we should all be Antifa" promoters? These modern-day Antifa loyalists tossed Molotov cocktails, set off raging fires, and caused personal injury and extensive property damage to combat freedom of speech. Yet when Louis Farrakhan spoke on the very same campus, he was welcomed with open arms and a well attended catered reception. Is this not the epitome of a double-standard? The anti-Semitic assaults on college campuses have continued. According to an article in Newsweek on September 11, 2020, "Jewish students and faculty have faced physical assault, discrimination, destruction of property, genocidal threats, suppression of speech, movement, and assembly, bullying and denigration[.] ... [C]ampus haters have learned that if they couch their anti-Jewish animus in terms of anti-Zionism rather than 'classic' anti-Semitism, campus administrators turn a blind eye and allow the hate to flourish unabated." Do not allow white supremacy to obscure the condemnation of other racists and bigots. They will ferment, fester, and flourish while we turn the other cheek. Image: Martin Vorel via Libreshot. In a story that's provoking outrage across parts of the conservative internet, a New York City judge has ordered a child removed from the custody of her mother over what the mother says is her refusal to wear a mask on a city street in broad daylight in front of her daughter's tony private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. According to GatewayPundit: It was a normal day for Dr. Micheline Epstein, a family physician, when she went to drop her daughter off at the Birch Wathen Lenox School on the Upper East Side last week until her entire life was turned upside down in an instant. The tearful mother explained in a phone call that her daughter was already inside the building and wearing a mask when the school nurse and school security attempted to force Dr. Epstein to wear a mask on the public street in front of the building where drop off takes place, Dr. Epstein refused. "No one got physical or anything, she just refused to wear the mask. They were outside on the public sidewalk," Dr. Epstein's boyfriend Jeff Guttenplan explained, adding that the daughter was wearing a mask because they are required to go inside. The mother explained that the school nurse had came out and was aggressively demanding that she put on a mask, but she was already leaving and did not accept it. "The next thing I know, my daughter is taken away from me," she cried. Epstein is involved in a contentious divorce over child custody with her ex-husband, and apparently, the school sent a note to the mom not to drop off the kid anymore, given her failure to wear a mask, the ex got a copy of the note, and he took it to the judge, who made his ruling to yank custody and give it all to the ex. If it's true, it's an outrageous abuse of governmental power over a highly questionable matter, given that the supposed transgression happened in open air on a public sidewalk. The worst that should have happened would have been that a cop cite her for failure to wear a mask on New York City streets, where mask-wearing is mandatory. They've instead declared her an unfit mother? And harmed her child by taking her away from her mom? And during supervised visits, they want her to wear a mask in her own home? It's outrageous if it's true. Number one, taking children away from their parents upsets the parents, sure, but it utterly traumatizes the children. Richard Wexler, who's an expert on state abuse of children by state judges and child protective services agencies who take away children all too eagerly on flimsy evidence, knows that these things happen, and happen too often. The state loves to get its hands on people's kids and take them away for any reason whatsoever, and lots of lawsuit payouts have happened based on this kind of abuse. Wexler's nonprofit, the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, has tremendous resources on the prevalence of these state abuses of power. One of the things Wexler has found, and I am recounting an old conversation I had with him a few years ago, is that even children in dysfunctional homes, beset by alcoholism, drugs, and prostitution, do better in such lousy homes than they do in foster care. Stuffing them in foster care is a recipe for future jail time, given the huge number of convicts in prison who did their first time in foster care. In this case, the custody went to the dad, who's embroiled in a contentious divorce with the mother, so there was no foster care; foster care is just something creepy in the background. But the child is undoubtedly traumatized, as any kid would be if suddenly told she would never see her mother. It would be as if the mother were dead and the kid would have no answers. This case is told only from the perspective of the mother and her boyfriend, Jeff Guttenplan, who might be the person on this sparse LinkedIn account, listing him as the vice president of sales at Eco Supreme in New York, a company that makes bio-degradable materials at a factory in China. Unfortunately, in divorce proceedings, one should proceed with caution. Divorce cases gone to court, according to those who know the matter, are commonly said to be good people on their worst behavior, which is the opposite of criminal cases, which is bad people on their best behavior. So it's hard to say if this is what's really going on. Some red flags to me are that the supposedly wicked vindictive father is not named at all in the story or any of them that printed this. Why isn't he named? In the GatewayPundit story, Epstein encouraged everyone to email the judge and the school and doxxed the judge by printing his email, in order to ensure he got a load of angry emails, but she didn't name the husband, the source of the problem, which, given her desire to doxx, is curious. Something is being kept from us. As for the school, yes, it's a tony private school on the Upper East Side of New York, which costs about $48,000 a year to attend, plus fees, and boasts of alums such as Edwin Schlossberg and Barbara Walters. It's considered a competitor to the Dalton School, which is that place Bari Weiss wrote about, famous for its status-obsessed parents and their forced bow to wokeness, which bothers them. Weiss's piece was published earlier this month in City Journal, "The Miseducation of America's Elites." The Birch Wathen Lenox school seems to have blocked access to its site except for those with passwords, so it's hard to tell much about the place. As for the judge, Matthew F. Cooper, he seems reputable. A Yeshiva grad, practiced law for a while on issues defending workers who didn't get their union benefit plan offerings, or whose employers didn't give them, and who now works divorce cases as a judge for the courts, been doing so since 2000, and has no controversies to his name. Doesn't seem like a flaming left-winger with a yen for extending government power and control, but perhaps anything is possible. Right now, I see no evidence. He does seem to teach a course for other people in the legal profession about how to spot mentally ill people in the courtroom. Epstein, in her fundraising note, says the judge called her "crazy," which is interesting. As for the really important thing about Cooper, which is his ruling and the legal reasoning behind it, this list of his recent cases does not include the Epstein case. Perhaps this has been going on a long time, so it's not a recent case; perhaps the listing is not updated; or perhaps things are not what Epstein says they are, or maybe she has more than one name. There are many possibilities. Some may be quite innocent, but for now, we don't know what the judge said to explain why he took away custody from the mom and that's important. It's a big hole in the story. Lastly, there's Epstein herself and some unexplained things about her behavior. She's a doctor, and she refuses to put on a mask? This is puzzling. Doctors live in masks; it shouldn't be a big problem for them. And why would a doctor, who presumably sees COVID patients at her workplace, or who could easily be exposed to them, and who could easily bring COVID into her home and infect her daughter, be resistant to wearing a mask at home? Many medical personnel actually do that. Another thing is the nature of her school, which, if it's anything like Dalton as described by Bari, is Karen Central. Good New Yorkers know that you avoid trouble, you don't get involved, getting involved is total trouble (just ask Central Park Karen about that), you put on the damn mask not because it's right or wrong, but to avoid problems and continue on your merry way because you've got things to do. A normal person would put on the damn mask if, for nothing else, then to avoid the kinds of pointless, time-wasting problems not putting on a mask could and would bring. She didn't know her child's school was that kind of place, and she was status-oriented enough to send the kid to that place? Hard to understand seems to be a judgment problem on her part. Here's another thing that doesn't add up. She bills herself as a single mom working three jobs to put her kid through this $47,000-a-year private, status-oriented school for the Upper East Side regulars. She doesn't seem the type. If she's the same person as this doctor listed here in the low-status Bronx, she went to a matchbox school with a checkered history in the Caribbean, has mixed ratings from her patients, and says she has to work three jobs? Hard to understand what's going on here; she doesn't fit the profile of the kind of person who'd send her six-year-old to a tony private school to get a wokester education for the status of it all. Maybe the husband has the cash. But if she is working three jobs, how does she have time to take care of the kid? Maybe everything is as she says it is, and New York is an evil place that would yank a child from her mother at the drop of a mask. But there are a lot of caveats, a lot of unanswered questions. It might explain why this story hasn't hit the mainstream press; there are too many questions here to feel confident that this is what is going on at this point. More information is needed before it's time for any outrage. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. Young Robert Whelehan was celebrating last week when he finished second in a national colouring competition. The five-year-old junior infants pupil from St Brendans Primary School in Birr was a finalist in the Jack and Jill colouring competition and came 2nd in Ireland. The winners were announced last Friday on 2FM with Jennifer Zamperelli. Robert was the only contestant to win from Offaly. Patong wastewater a factor in rise of red sea urchins, says expert PHUKET: Phuket marine life expert Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong has identified wastewater released into the sea as among the key contributing factors leading to red sea urchins being washed ashore at Patong Beach. patongpollutionenvironmentnatural-resourceshealthmarineanimals By The Phuket News Thursday 18 March 2021, 11:07AM Dr Kongkiat urged people to not remove the sea urchins as they will help by eating the algae. Image: Dr Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong An aerial photograph shows the algae bloom at Patong Beach on Monday (Mar 15). Image: Dr Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong Dr Kongkiat, Chief of the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC), which is operated by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), urged people to not collect or eat the red sea urchins, which have washed ashore in the many hundreds during the past two spring tides, most recently on Monday (Mar 15). The sea urchins have risen to the surface close to shore at Patong Beach to feast on a bloom of macro algae in Patong Bay, Dr Kongkiat said. These algae are the food of the sea urchin. Algae thrive and are carried by the water currents, as well as sea urchins, he explained. The phenomenon of sea urchins stranded on the beach is explained by the phenomena of these algae blooms, together with this period being the spring tide with high tides, he added. Dr Kongkiat urged people to not remove the sea urchins for the area We shouldnt take these sea urchins out. We should help them into the sea to serve as the Cleaner of the sea, he said, as the urchins will eat the macro algae. Dr Kongkiat pointed out that the algae bloom was the result of higher concentrations of nutrients in the beach water. For algae to be able to bloom, it needs food like fertilizer we use to feed plants, he said. These fertilizers do not come from just anywhere, but are elements of the wastewater that we release into the sea, he said. Phuket officials at all levels for more than a decade denied that wastewater being released into Patong Bay was a consistent contributing factor to algae blooms at Patong Beach. However, Patong Municipality health officials in 2016 finally admitted that during the heavy influx of tourists during the pre-COVID tourism high season as much as 20% of Patongs wastewater flowed untreated into the bay. The rise in effluent being released into the bay consistently led to algae blooms, the health officials admitted. ??El Peru recibio un nuevo lote con 50 mil dosis de la vacuna contra la #COVID?19 del laboratorio Pfizer, sumando asi un total de 217 mil dosis, para continuar la inmunizacion de los adultos mayores y del personal de la @PoliciaPeru y las Fuerzas Armadas. https://t.co/D9FvymKJte Actor and IAS Abhishek Singh recently got candid with NewsX and shared insights from his journey of being an actor as well as an IAS. He also shared his vision for the country and gave a message to the youth. Abhishek Singh, an IAS officer turned actor, recently joined NewsX for a conversation as part of NewsX India A-List. He recounted his amazing experiences and explained how he became an actor being an IAS. All set to make his acting debut in Delhi Crime Season 2, Abhishek also shared about how he got the part. He said, Mukesh Chhabra introduced me to a few people who were making this web series on Netflix called Delhi Crime season 2. So he said, why dont you brief them regarding the police administration, they would like to hear your views. So I was just briefing them and somebody from the team asked me, What experience do you have in acting? So I said, Im not an actor and Im Deputy Commissioner. So they were surprised. They said that we did not think that we will be getting to meet a deputy commissioner in Mr Mukesh Chhabra office. So nevertheless, then they said that they have a role in their mind of an IAS officer, and they said that my body language suits the role, So would you like to get into acting? Talking about the revamping of Bandra police station, He said, It so happened that I met Suzanne in one of the events and I mentioned this to her that, Im planning this talent show so she said that why dont you do something else also in the same name, so I said like what?, then she said that she had gone to Bandra police station for some work and she found a building to be not in a very good condition. So she said that since Im an interior designer, I would like to do something for the police station. So if you help me and join me, then I think well be able to do something. So thats how it all started. And then we picked Bandra police station, and we thought that we will revamp it, so she is doing it free of cost When asked about one of his initiatives i.e World of Wardi, he shared, All these policemen, who will be of the rank of constables and head constables, will be given a chance to showcase their talent and it will be a kind of a reality show. They will be showcasing their talent and then the audience will be judging and there will be few judges from the music industry. So, they will be picking up the top 10 best talents of the country and then we will be providing them a platform where they can get to sing in the movies or they can get their own albums released. The idea is that the talent which is there in our country should not go wasted. Even if one is doing police force, it doesnt mean that you know, he cannot have a hobby and he cannot pursue it as a hobby. In the concluding remarks, he said, I think one should follow their heart. And if you are actually determined to do something, you will be able to do it no matter what, nobody is going to stop you. The only limits that one has is ones own mind. So think free, be free, be very hardworking, be very focused. For years, in the vastness of our galaxy, astrophysicists have been tracking down pevatrons - natural accelerators of particles with monstrous energies. Thanks to the HAWC Observatory for Cosmic Radiation, another probable trace of their existence has just been found: photons with some of the highest energies. However, what is particularly important is that this time the high-energy photons have not only been recorded, but also their probable place of origin has been determined. We know they exist, we just don't know where exactly they are or what they look like. Pevatrons - because this is what we are talking about here - are the largest natural particle accelerators in our galaxy, capable of accelerating protons and electrons to energies even many billions of times greater than the energy of photons of visible light. The problem with detecting pevatrons stems from the fact that the particles they accelerate carry an electric charge and are therefore deflected by magnetic fields in the galaxy. The discovery which has just been made thanks to data collected by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory brings us significantly closer to finding the first cosmic pevatron and understanding its nature. The HAWC Observatory is located on the slope of the Sierra Negra volcano in Mexico, at an altitude of 4,100 m. It consists of 300 water tanks, each surrounded by sensitive photomultipliers. When a particle of secondary cosmic radiation travelling at a speed faster than the speed of light in water enters a tank, there is an electromagnetic "boom" - a weak flash of radiation (Cherenkov), detected and amplified by the photomultipliers. A careful analysis of flashes observed at the same time in individual tanks makes it possible to extract information about the type, energy and direction of the particle of the primary cosmic radiation which initiated the recorded cascade of secondary particles. "Based on data collected by the HAWC, we were able to determine the source of photons with energies of about 200 teraelectronvolts. For photons, this is an extreme value, one hundred trillion times greater than the energy typical of photons perceived by our eyes," says Dr. Sabrina Casanova from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow. Together with Dr. Francisco Sales Greus (IFJ PAN & IFIC) and PhD student Dezhi Huang from the Michigan Technological University in Houghton (USA), she is one of the main authors of the analysis published in the excellent astronomical journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Compared to protons and electrons, photons have a pleasant feature: they ignore magnetic fields and run to their target along the shortest path that space-time allows. So, once the direction from which the photons are coming is identified within a galaxy, it is usually possible to determine their source. This is not an easy task, but in this case it was successful. The source of the 200 TeV photons turned out to be a region of the recently discovered pulsar eHWC J1825-134, visible in the southern hemisphere in the background of the Vela constellation, and lying at a distance of about 13 thousand light years from Earth. Observations of such high-energy photons are rare, and it is even rarer to identify the source. The record currently belongs to photons with energies of 450 TeV, detected with the Sino-Japanese ASgamma detector in Tibet. In that case, the photons came from the vicinity of a pulsar in the famous Crab nebula in the background of the Taurus constellation. "We now know of two mechanisms that can explain the existence of photons with energies of 200 TeV and above," explains Dr Salesa Greus, before elaborating: "According to the first, the source of such energetic photons could be electrons with slightly higher energies, emitted by supernova remnants or pulsars and then interacting with the microwave background radiation filling the Universe. This case seems to fit the Crab nebula. The second variant of the course of events assumes that photons are born due to the interaction of protons emitted by a pulsar with matter in interstellar space. What is particularly interesting in this scenario is that the energies of the protons must be at least an order of magnitude greater than the energies of the observed photons!" The region of the eHWC J1825-134 pulsar is a complex astronomical structure with several sources of high-energy gamma rays within it. HAWC researchers have determined that the origin of the 200 TeV photons was not the pulsar itself, but a previously unknown source: a nearby cloud of interstellar material. It surrounds a young cluster of stars, about one million years old, designated as [BDS2003] 8. The observed photons could thus have been emitted by protons from the eHWC J1825-134 pulsar which, within the [BDS2003] 8 star cluster, had enough time to accelerate in the local magnetic field to energies of a few petaelectronvolts and produce energetic photons in the interaction with the cloud. If this variant of the course of events is confirmed in subsequent observations, we would be dealing with the first pevatron identified in our galaxy. "For the time being, we have too little data to unambiguously decide on the nature of the cosmic accelerator responsible for the generation of 200 TeV photons in the region of eHWC J1825-134. If, however, there is a galactic pevatron hiding somewhere, we have managed to find a really excellent candidate," notes Dr. Casanova. ### The research of scientists from the IFJ PAN was funded by a grant from the Polish National Science Centre. The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics (IFJ PAN) is currently one of the largest research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. A wide range of research carried out at IFJ PAN covers basic and applied studies, from particle physics and astrophysics, through hadron physics, high-, medium-, and low-energy nuclear physics, condensed matter physics (including materials engineering), to various applications of nuclear physics in interdisciplinary research, covering medical physics, dosimetry, radiation and environmental biology, environmental protection, and other related disciplines. The average yearly publication output of IFJ PAN includes over 600 scientific papers in high-impact international journals. Each year the Institute hosts about 20 international and national scientific conferences. One of the most important facilities of the Institute is the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB), which is an infrastructure unique in Central Europe, serving as a clinical and research centre in the field of medical and nuclear physics. In addition, IFJ PAN runs four accredited research and measurement laboratories. IFJ PAN is a member of the Marian Smoluchowski Krakow Research Consortium: "Matter-Energy-Future", which in the years 2012-2017 enjoyed the status of the Leading National Research Centre (KNOW) in physics. In 2017, the European Commission granted the Institute the HR Excellence in Research award. The Institute holds A+ Category (the highest scientific category in Poland) in the field of sciences and engineering. CONTACTS: Dr. Sabrina Casanova Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences tel: +48 12 6628274 email: sabrina.casanova@ifj.edu.pl Dr. Francisco Salesa Greus Instituto de Fisica Corpuscular, Universitat de Valencia; Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences email: sagreus@ific.uv.es; francisco.salesa@ifj.edu.pl SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS: "Evidence of 200 TeV Photons from HAWC J1825-134" A. Albert et al. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 907, 2, 2021 DOI: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 3847/ 2041-8213/ abd77b LINKS: http://www. ifj. edu. pl/ The website of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences. http://press. ifj. edu. pl/ Press releases of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences. IMAGES: Social Commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has jabbed the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over their recent communique which sought to address its National Communications Officer's outburst against the leadership Caucus in Parliament. The NDC National Commuications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi recently vented his spleen on the party's Minority caucus and called for a shakeup in the leadership. Comrades, the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, the leadership of our Parliamentary group, particularly Hon. Haruna Iddrissu and Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, and dozens of our own MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC to regain power. They brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed the collective good for their selfish interest. And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks. ''This is the time for us to insist on the right changes in the leadership of the NDC group in Parliament or forget about them completely. The current leadership have lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house. More importantly, its about time we understood, that we dont have any NDC Speaker of Parliament. No we dont! We have a Speaker who rode on the back of the NDC into Office to pursue his own parochial agenda and nothing more. You trust them, at your own peril. ''The hypocrites can choose to remain quiet or even condemn us for speaking up, so they can remain in the good books of the renegades. But I and all who are pained by this act of betrayal will not keep quiet, because we dont fear anyone and dont wish to be in their good books. If they can defy the party leadership and interest openly and subject all of us to public ridicule, then they can and must also be called out openly. The NDC party is supreme and it must be cleansed'', Mr. Gyamfi wrote in a statement. The NDC Council of Elders, in reply, issued a statement saying ''the Council and the Caucus leadership collectively agreed that the incident of 3rd March, 2021 was regrettable and unfortunate, and runs contrary to the principles and values of the party. The Caucus Leadership have since pledged to uphold the principles and values of the party in our collective bid to develop our country''. ''The Council urged National Leadership of the party to resolve issues relating to the Caucus leadership in Parliament and called on the rank and file of the party to remain calm, and provide the needed support to our Caucus in order to hold the Akufo Addo government strictly to the principles of probity and accountability'', the Council's statement further read. Allotey Jacobs, speaking on Wednesday's edition of Peace FM's morning show ''Kokrokoo'', held the belief that Sammy Gyamfi's behavior was sanctioned by some leaders in the party. To the former NDC Chairman for the Central Region, the opposition party has "no elders", and therefore found the Council's statement ridiculous saying ''when the devil finds residence in your heart, everything that comes out of your mouth is evil. That is what is happening. There are no elders. The elders' statement is conflicting itself. They mean when we elect President and the President appoints his Ministers to help with affairs of the State, the country should be at a standstill. That is the underlying factor in this statement that Ghana should be at standstill''. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video I enjoyed reading the Feb. 27 Post and Courier article about Clements Ferry Road that discussed ferry proprietor John Clement. As one of his many descendants, I offer further information. The name given as his wife in the article is incorrect. John was married to Sarah Smith Clement at St. Philips Parish Church, Charleston, in 1771. Their residence was on Queen Street. There is no family connection with the family of William Watson or Hobcaw Ferry. John also was a carpenter and novice architect. He served at different times with infantry and artillery units during the Revolutionary War. Captured by the British, he was ordered out of the city for refusing to make an oath of allegiance to the monarch. John was severely wounded at the Battle of Videaus Bridge (in Berkeley County). After his death in 1801, both Sarah and their eldest son, William, were named as administrators of the estate in the twenty-sixth year of American Independence (Charleston District: Ordinarys Office, 1802). Sarah had a momentous and long life, caring for the family during times of peace and war. She continued to manage aspects of the business after her husbands death. Sadly, she witnessed the death of two sons during the influenza epidemic of 1809. Sarah died in 1831. JAMES M. CLEMENT Old Point Road Charleston Step in right direction I was greatly encouraged when I read about the Story of America legislative package being promoted by Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, and others at the Statehouse. The woke mob is aggressively attempting to cancel history. As Rep Taylor said, Its time to stand up and defend the history of South Carolina. We must push back against this hatred of our history. The Story of America package will help to preserve our culture and, at the same time, help us to ensure that we face the realities of its past. This legislation is an important step in the right direction. WALTER ROLANDI Rutledge Hill Road Columbia Deal with immigration A Monday letter writer suggested we allow immigrants illegally crossing our borders the opportunity to acquire citizenship by serving in our military. They would be taught English, given medical care, taught skills, provided meals, clothes, etc. Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! The writer also suggested they would be given a safe place to live while earning citizenship. Im not sure where that would be. Iraq maybe? The proposed plan essentially suggested we adopt an armed mercenary force. Its simply a bad idea. Its been a long time since I served in our military, but the mission is still defense of the country. Societal goals are achievable and worthwhile in the military but quite secondary to defense of the nation. This task is made more complex and demanding each day. I suggest most of us want to deal with immigration in a balanced and humane way. But do not use our military as a social petri dish. J.D. WINCHESTER Brooks Street Sullivans Island Protect LGBTQ people South Carolina has come a long way in recent years when it comes to supporting the dignity and freedom of LGBTQ people. Statewide polling has shown that 68% of people support protecting people in this group from discrimination. It appears that some lawmakers in the South Carolina Statehouse havent gotten the memo. Again and again this year, legislators have proposed to further marginalize LGBTQ people, especially transgender youth. For weeks we had to fight against H.3477, which would have restricted transgender students from participating in middle and high school sports. A bipartisan array of South Carolinians spoke out against the bill, most prominently state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, before a House committee finally voted it down on Tuesday. Elected officials recently hit a new low, filing a bill that would criminalize medical professionals who provide lifesaving care to transgender youth. If doctors, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners or others provide best-practice medical care, they could face up to 20 years in prison. The bill doesnt stop there: It also requires teachers, nurses and counselors to out transgender students to their parents. LGBTQ people were even temporarily removed from a proposed bill protecting South Carolinians from crimes motivated by hate. The bottom line is that the South Carolina Legislature is woefully behind the times on LGBTQ inclusion, and its causing real strife for transgender children. Lawmakers need to wake up, stop these cruel attacks, and move toward actions that allow all South Carolinians an equal opportunity to thrive. IVY HILL S.C. United for Justice and Equality Coalition Ivy Acres Drive Piedmont Advertisement The overall winners for the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards will be announced next month, but in the meantime feast your eyes on this mouth-watering hors d'oeuvre from the organisers category winners and shortlisted entries in the open competition. Anyone, of any ability, can enter from across the world so amateurs compete with professionals. This makes it all the more intriguing. Though for the judges it represents surely an almighty headache - because the standard is sky-high. The categories are street photography, architecture, creative, landscape, lifestyle, motion, natural world and wildlife, object, portraiture, and travel - and here we present our pick of the dozens of judge-wowing images. The MailOnline Travel selection includes a striking image of lightning over a Spanish lavender field, a bewitching picture of the Austrian village they say inspired Frozen's Arendelle and an amazing picture of shepherds with their flocks marching through Poland. Scroll down to see these and 16 other sensational open competition snaps. An electrifying image of a lightning storm above a solitary tree in a lavender field in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. It was taken by Spanish photographer Juan Lopez Ruiz and it earned him gold in the landscape category. It's also MailOnline Travel's pick of a very special bunch A breathtaking image of 24,790ft/7,556m-high Mount Gongga in Sichuan province, China - with a lone horserider in the foreground. The image is called Alone and it was taken by Chinese photographer Jinjing Lyu and shortlisted in the landscape category LEFT: A mesmerising picture by German Franz Subauer of a view over Austria's Lake Hallstatt towards the town of Hallstatt, taken on a moody, rainy summer day. It is shortlisted in the travel category. Hallstatt is rumoured to be an inspiration for fairytale kingdom Arendelle in Disney's Frozen films. RIGHT: A striking image by Estonian photographer Mati Puum of a young long-eared owl crying out to his mother. It is shortlisted in the natural world and wildlife category This beautiful image is shortlisted in the travel category and was taken by Norwegian photographer Rune Mattsson. He said: 'On a trip along the coastal highway in northern Norway, I found this old boathouse in Gildeskal. It was a beautiful autumn day, with great light and reflections' LEFT: Hiroki Nose submitted this stunning image and has been rewarded with shortlisted status in the travel category. The Japanese photographer said of the picture: 'This is Mount Fuji in winter, as seen from Hakone. I wanted to make an image that appeared almost to be a watercolour painting, which is why I chose to visit on a cloudy day.' RIGHT: Croatian photographer Marijo Maduna is behind this gem, which captures a young girl showing off her diving skills with a poetic leap from a cliff on the island of Lokrum in Croatia. The judges verdict? 'Motion' category winner The street photography category is blessed with Pole Bartlomiej Jurecki's shortlisted entry, which shows an annual Polish shepherd's march. Jurecki said: 'Redyk is a traditional annual march of shepherds with their sheep. Each summer, the sheep are taken high up into the mountains to graze for a few months. In October, they return to the villages for winter an event that is much celebrated. Shepherds lead the flock through the villages, while locals welcome them with music and cheering. Despite the traffic problems it causes, everybody is happy to see them. During the summer grazing, the shepherds sleep in small wooden houses without electricity or running water. All they have is what nature provides' The street photography category winner is this striking picture by Turkish photographer F. Dilek Uyar of a train being disinfected in Ankara An incredible image of 2020's Storm Ciara whipping up the waters off Newhaven, East Sussex, into a frenzy. It was taken by Briton Daniel Portch and is shortlisted in the motion category Cristo Pihlamae from Estonia snares gold in the natural world and wildlife category thanks to this joyful picture of a hare sticking its tongue out LEFT: Norwegian photographer Hans Kristian Strand submitted this photo with the simple description: 'A magical night.' It's shortlisted in the landscape category. RIGHT: Comet Neowise streaks over Stonehenge in this amazing shortlisted landscape image by Briton James Rushforth. He said: 'It's fascinating to think that this historic site did not even exist when Neowise last passed the Earth. The comet is due to return in approximately 6,800 years. I wonder if the stones will still be standing then. This is a single-exposure photograph taken early on the morning of July 20 [2020]. The orange glow is light pollution from the nearby villages of Durrington and Larkhill, and a passing lorry very kindly painted the rocks with light' This bewitching picture of an ezo red fox is by Japanese photographer Yuta Doto and is shortlisted in the natural world and wildlife category. Doto said: 'Taken in Biei, on the island of Hokkaido, I focused on the point at which the fox was likely to appear in the dusk' A Portrait of Labour is the title of this stunning shortlisted entry in the portraiture category, taken by Indian photographer Shirsendu Banerjee 'I photographed this ant looking through an autumn leaf in a forest near my home,' said Dutch photographer Alex Pansier of this incredible image, shortlisted in the natural world and wildlife category and called 'Hello World' Hersley-Ven Casero, from the Philippines, entered this brilliant shot, with the judges wowed enough to shortlist it in the motion category. Casero said of the image: 'A group of friends cool off by leaping from the seawall into the ocean at Bantayan Beach, Dumaguete City. I regularly pass by this spot on the lookout for a good shot, as it's a popular hangout for these active and fearless local kids' This mesmerising and slightly surreal image, shortlisted in the street photography category, was taken by Indonesian photographer Ares Jonekson, who called it Night in Pandemic Time. Jonekson said of the picture: 'Taken at the Pondok Ranggon Cemetery, Jakarta, late one afternoon. The funeral officers were having a break, watching videos on their smartphones and chatting with their families' ANN ARBOR, MI University of Michigans fall classes will mostly be in-person, which means most students will be back in classrooms instead of using Zoom. It also means their professors will be back teaching in a classroom, engaging with their students face-to-face. For a majority, it will be the first time theyll be back in front of students since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. I think most of us are really excited about a chance to return to the classroom, said Silke-Maria Weineck, a UM professor of German studies and comparative literature. As a colleague of mine said, Itll be like falling in love all over again. Most classes will be in-person at University of Michigan this fall, officials say The excitement, though, is being met with some reservation. The increase in on-campus activity, which includes residence halls operating at 80% capacity, is based on the presumption that all faculty, graduate student instructors and staff who wish to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will have access to a vaccine prior to the start of the fall semester. Fall semester classes begin Aug. 30. Weineck and others said they would like to know what the universitys backup plan is if things dont go according to plan. What if theres no broad access to vaccinations? What is a significant percentage of our students refuse to get vaccinated? Will we scramble madly again, or is there a contingency plan? Weineck asked. UM offered a mix of in-person, hybrid and online classes in fall 2020. However, COVID-19 cases began to rise in September, around the same time the Graduate Employees Organization went on strike for, among other things, more transparency related to the universitys plans for the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people were unhappy the fall 2020 semester plans, including members of UMs faculty senate and Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs. In planning for fall 2021, though, SACUA has seen a 180-degree turnaround in the way administrators have communicated with UMs Senate Assembly, said Colleen Conway, SACUA chairwoman. In the past, my understanding is that even when the president and the provost came to things like senate assemblies, they would often report but not necessarily listen, said Conway, a UM professor of music education. I felt like from the (recent) announcement, there was definitely some listening going on. UM President Mark Schlissel and Provost Susan Collins attended several faculty senate meetings leading up to the fall semester announcement on March 12, and listened to concerns faculty had, which started with COVID-19 vaccines, Conway said. UM is working to release a statement that makes it clear the university will be responsive to change its plans if it looks like it wont be safe for faculty to teach in-person, according to Conway. Ellen Rowe, a UM professor of jazz and contemporary improvisation, is thrilled to hear about the fall plans and thinks this time around, the communication between administrators and professors is much improved. I think everyone has learned a tremendous amount from our experiences in the fall and that the transition to fall 2021 will be much smoother, Rowe said. I feel that the lines of communication are more open and that decision making is more transparent now. However, where the rubber meets the road for faculty is with what their dean or director says, Conway said. Plans for different schools and colleges happen at the dean or director level, and while the provost may ask deans to communicate with faculty at the unit level, its a matter of whether that communication actually happens, Conway said. Conway and other faculty members were hoping for more clarity surrounding faculty members who have might not be vaccinated by the fall, they said. We wanted to hear a statement that said something like, We are recommending to deans and directors that no faculty member who has not been vaccinated be told that they must teach in person, Conway said. I think what has come out is just a softer version of that, but it doesnt say, bottom line, were not going to force you to go in. Like Weineck, Allen Liu, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, is excited to get back into the classroom, but with the caveat that faculty, staff and students will have a chance to get vaccinated by September. He sent emails to colleagues in the College of Engineering asking for their thoughts about the fall plans, and most could see the benefits of in-person learning, provided everyone could get vaccinated, he said. Students and professors have gone through an entire year of learning and teaching virtually, and its obvious the pandemic has taken a toll on almost everyones mental health, Liu said. And with President Joe Bidens recent announcement calling for all adults to be eligible for a vaccine by May 1, he said he thinks people will be more confident about going back to in-person classes in the fall. The risks of remote (learning) are going to outweigh the remaining risks of COVID-19. I think that scale is tilting, Liu said. Last fall was the opposite scenario, where there was a real risk of COVID-19 and we had to switch over to remote. But I think now we have to move ourselves back (to in-person). READ MORE: Ford partners with University of Michigan in $75M robotics facility Most classes will be in-person at University of Michigan this fall, officials say COVID-19 cases at University of Michigan trending downward, officials say Rating Action: Moody's affirms Vietnam's Ba3 rating, changes outlook to positiveGlobal Credit Research - 18 Mar 2021Singapore, March 18, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today affirmed the Government of Vietnam's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Ba3 and changed the outlook to positive from negative.The drivers of the positive outlook include signs of improvements in fiscal strength and potential improvements in economic strength that may strengthen Vietnam's credit profile over time. Sustained fiscal consolidation has led to improvements in fiscal and debt metrics, which Moody's expects to be only briefly interrupted by the pandemic. Moreover, Vietnam's economic strength may benefit from global shifts in production, trade and consumption following the coronavirus pandemic and support Vietnam's economy. Over time, indications of higher fiscal and economic strength may point to improving policy effectiveness, also putting upward pressure on Vietnam's credit profile.Meanwhile, Moody's has determined that the drivers of the previous negative outlook assigned in December 2019 have receded. The negative outlook, which followed a review for downgrade, related to the risks posed to Vietnam's credit profile from administrative failures leading to payment delays on government guaranteed debt. In Moody's assessment, the government has enhanced administrative scrutiny on forthcoming payments. Moody's will continue to monitor the practices and systems that the government is putting in place to ensure timely payment of direct and indirect obligations.The affirmation of the Ba3 rating is underpinned by ongoing credit strengths and weaknesses, including a large, diversified economy with high growth potential offering resilience to shocks, and increasing capacity in the domestic financial system to finance government borrowing at low costs. At the same time, ongoing risks stem from persistent governance weaknesses related to the lack of transparency of the management of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and lingering risks in the banking system.Vietnam's local- and foreign-currency ceilings are unchanged at Baa3 and Ba2, respectively. The Baa3 local currency ceiling, three notches above the sovereign rating, reflects relatively opaque government decision-making and the significant - albeit shrinking - government footprint in the economy, balanced by moderate political risks and low external imbalances. The foreign currency ceiling at Ba2, two notches below the local-currency ceiling, reflects constraints to capital flows that point to possible transfer and convertibility restrictions being imposed at times of perceived need.RATINGS RATIONALERATIONALE FOR THE POSITIVE OUTLOOKIMPROVED GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF GUARANTEES REDUCES RISK OF FUTURE INDIRECT DEBT PAYMENT DELAYSIn December 2019, Moody's changed the outlook on Vietnam's credit rating to negative, reflecting concerns around administrative deficiencies that had led to the delayed payment of an indirect debt obligation.Moody's now assesses that guaranteed debt payment management practices have been strengthened within the administration, with greater scrutiny to the range of guaranteed debt payments coming due. The government monitors a full list of direct and indirect debt obligations and has instituted an administrative process whereby relevant ministries set aside funding in advance to fulfill these obligations. With a coordinated focus on ensuring that the payments are planned for and processed promptly, Moody's assesses that the risk of renewed delays has diminished.Moody's will continue to assess the practices and systems the government has instituted or is instituting, for timely payment of guaranteed obligations.GRADUAL FISCAL CONSOLIDATION TO CONTINUEFiscal consolidation in effect before the pandemic is likely to continue supporting fiscal strength, especially if fiscal policy becomes more effective and growth is increasingly less reliant on fiscal incentives.Moody's expects public debt to rise slightly to 39% of GDP in 2020, as the pandemic hit revenue and raised expenditure albeit materially less than for most other sovereigns, before declining steadily in the next few years.Effective management of the pandemic supports a rapid resumption of domestic economic activity and cross-border trade, supporting tax revenue. Over the longer term, the government aims to improve tax compliance with increased attention to tax arrears, taxation of digital businesses, and greater inclusion of informal sector businesses in the revenue base, although the effectiveness of these measures has yet to be seen.Fiscal strength will be supported by stable debt affordability, thanks to a lengthened debt maturity profile. Low domestic borrowing costs have allowed the government to increasingly source budget financing from local sources and increase the average maturity of new government borrowings to nearly 14 years, bringing the average term to maturity on all outstanding domestic government debt to 7.5 years. The government also implements a rolling three-year debt management plan, although regular bond auction schedules are not yet the norm.ECONOMIC STRENGTH MAY BE SUPPORTED BY STRUCTURAL SHIFTS IN PRODUCTION, TRADE AND CONSUMPTIONCyclical and structural features may raise economic strength, driven by Vietnam's integration in Asian supply chains as well as its ability to capitalize on the rise in demand for electronics, smartphones, furniture and other manufactured goods that is likely to endure beyond the pandemic.Vietnam's share of global exports has risen rapidly since 2010 and has now caught up to peers in southeast Asia. Vietnam stands to continue to benefit from shifts in production and trade, including as a party to major trade agreements for the region, including the recently concluded Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and a bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, one of its largest export markets. As companies aim to diversify their production locations in Asia, Vietnam will continue to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) due to competitive labor costs, political stability, and preferential incentives favoring trade and investment.Moody's expects these agreements to firm up Vietnam's competitive position in lower value products such as footwear and garments vis-a-vis other major producers, while placing it at the center of higher-value-added regional tech supply chains for smartphones, semiconductors and other electronic products. Trade integration will also drive continued investment in Vietnam's transport and logistics infrastructure, which remains less developed than in other southeast Asian economies but is catching up in terms of efficiency.Greater spillovers from foreign manufacturing operations to domestic value chains would further support economic strength.Over time, indications of higher fiscal and economic strength may point to improving policy effectiveness, also putting upward pressure on Vietnam's credit profile.RATIONALE FOR THE AFFIRMATION OF THE Ba3 RATINGThe Ba3 rating balances Vietnam's robust economic strength, low liquidity and external risks, and relatively weak institutional and governance strength and ongoing risks of crystallization of contingent liabilities.In particular, an improved debt financing and maturity strategy, which increasingly draws on domestic borrowing but still includes concessional external borrowing from official creditors, drives low government liquidity risk.Meanwhile, a robust export sector and investment inflows support external buffers. The central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), has accumulated a record high $89 billion in foreign exchange reserves through September 2020 while maintaining a stable exchange rate around the 3% trading band for the dong, a key ingredient of Vietnam's foreign direct investment-driven export sector. Policies to attract investment have resulted in high levels of FDI and trade integration within Asia and other major economic blocs, supporting increased export dynamism, robust external balances and the buildup of foreign exchange reserves. Geopolitical tensions related to trade protectionism or tensions in the South China Sea may pose challenges for Vietnam's trade-reliant economy.These strengths are balanced against constraints in institutional capacity and the ongoing risks of the crystallization of contingent liabilities on the government's balance sheet, given the limited visibility into the state-owned enterprises. Though evolving, policy effectiveness remains below that of peers. Fiscal planning remains opaque and susceptible to a narrow revenue base. Furthermore, the SBV also continues to manage monetary aggregates through quantity-based targets and rigid controls on lending and deposit interest rates. Opacity in the large, state-owned sector drives contingent liability risks.Banking system oversight also remains weaker than peers, driving Moody's assessment of susceptibility to event risk. Despite recent improvements in profitability, capitalization and asset quality, overall capitalization remains at relatively weak levels and constrained by the government's limited fiscal capacity to inject capital, particularly given the scale of banking credit to GDP (163% in 2019). In particular, several state-owned banks remain undercapitalized and represent a contingent liability to the government. These strains could also result in a re-emergence of financial instability, leading to higher inflation, a rise in debt-servicing costs or a worsening of the country's external payments position.ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONSVietnam's ESG Credit Impact Score is highly negative (CIS-4), primarily reflecting exposure to physical climate risks and weaknesses related to institutions and governance strength.The environmental issuer profile score is moderately negative (E-3) and largely reflects physical climate risks due to the potentially adverse exposure to coastal flooding. Over time, rising sea levels and increasing frequency of severe climate change-related weather shocks pose risks of significant adaptation and reconstruction costs, while potentially requiring resettlement of some urban populations. The reliance of a substantial albeit diminishing share of the population on agriculture exacerbates the potential economic and fiscal impact of weather-related shocks, such as flooding and storm surges, as well as spillovers from the country's large and fast-growing manufacturing sector, such as pollution. Partially mitigating these risks is the relative insulation of major manufacturing operations from sea level rise and coastal flooding, and nascent government plans to invest in climate-related infrastructure.Vietnam's social issuer profile score of moderately negative (S-3) balances Vietnam's favorable demographics relative to peers with risks to longer-term social stability from the young workforce's rising expectations of continued improvement in living standards. Relative to peers in terms of level of economic development, Vietnam's government has prioritized provision of housing, health care and education and demonstrated firm control of the coronavirus pandemic domestically. However, rising levels of economic and social inequality reflect generally weak provision of social services, with high levels of undernourishment and access to clean drinking water.Vietnam's governance issuer profile score is highly negative (G-4), reflecting ongoing concerns related to the quality of institutions despite some evidence of improved policy effectiveness. The predictability and transparency of policymaking, including the incomplete adoption of more robust international standards for data collation and reporting, continue to be weaker as compared to emerging market peers. Previously, insufficient coordination and planning among various arms of the government resulted in delayed debt payments in 2019, although debt management practices have since strengthened.GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 10,755 (2020 Estimate) (also known as Per Capita Income)Real GDP growth (% change): 2.9% (2020 Actual) (also known as GDP Growth)Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 0.2% (2020 Actual)Gen. Gov. Financial Balance/GDP: -3.5% (2020 Estimate) (also known as Fiscal Balance)Current Account Balance/GDP: 5.0% (2020 Estimate) (also known as External Balance)External debt/GDP: 34.9% (2020 Estimate)Economic resiliency: baa3Default history: No default events (on bonds or loans) have been recorded since 1983.On 15 March 2021, a rating committee was called to discuss the rating of the Vietnam, Government of. The main points raised during the discussion were: The issuer's economic fundamentals, including its economic strength, have not materially changed. The issuer's institutions and governance strength, has materially increased. The issuer's fiscal or financial strength, including its debt profile, has materially increased. The issuer has become increasingly susceptible to event risks.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSFACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADEIncreasing signs that Vietnam's economic strength is rising, for instance its sustained ability to continue to attract foreign direct investment and benefit from global supply chain restructuring, would likely lead to an upgrade.Signs that fiscal and/or monetary policy effectiveness is strengthening would also likely lead to an upgrade.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADEThe positive outlook signals that a rating downgrade is unlikely over the near term. Moody's would consider downgrading Vietnam's rating as a result of a re-emergence of financial instability, leading to higher inflation, a rise in debt-servicing costs or a worsening of the country's external payments position. Such signs of stress could be related to the reversal of the current stabilization in the debt and deficit trajectory, potentially as a result of a sizable crystallization of contingent risks from either the banking system or state-owned enterprises.Evidence of renewed delayed payments on the government's direct or indirect debt obligations, indicative of a more systemic weaknesses in government coordination, would also put downward pressure on the rating.The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1158631. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used in this credit rating action, if applicable.REGULATORY DISCLOSURESFor further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1243406.At least one ESG consideration was material to the credit rating action(s) announced and described above.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. 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Police swarmed the man's red-brick property in Waikiki, Perth's south, on Thursday and spent the day collecting evidence after an intruder scaled the home's back fence. The home was broken into less than 24 hours after the former SAS soldier, whose name has been suppressed, was taken into custody, a source told Seven News. The break-in was reportedly an attack of retaliation however police have not revealed why they believe the property was being targeted. The 34-year-old accused is currently being held under heavy protection in a secure wing of Casuarina Prison, Western Australia's highest security jail. The man charged with allegedly murdering Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin has had his Perth home broken into shortly after his arrest. His name has been suppressed Nick Martin's (pictured with wife Amanda) died at the Perth Motorplex, Kwinana Beach on December 12 last year after he was shot in the back About a dozen police officers guarded the vehicle carrying the accused as he faced court on Wednesday. He has been charged with one count of murder and two of committing an unlawful act or omission with intent to harm. Martin was shot in the back at the Perth Motorplex, Kwinana Beach at 8.30pm on Saturday, December 12 last year. The 51-year-old died at the scene in front of hundreds of horrified families and children including his own wife and step-daughter. After being hit, Martin told his wife Amanda: 'Babe, I've been shot', as she tried to give him CPR while he died in her arms. Police believe he was shot in the back by a sniper as far as 300m away. Police spent Thursday at the home of the murder accused after an intruder scaled the back fence of the property Forensic officers collected evidence as they scoured the property following reports of the break-in Martin's wife Amanda switched her Instagram account to private after learning her husband's alleged killer was one of her 710 followers. The public page on the social media platform was set-up under the name 'miss boss racing', which was run by a friend, to promote the family's speedway pursuits. She has now turned on her privacy setting and changed the account's name to 'mrs_a_martin_' after being told the prime suspect in her husband's murder was following her profile, The West Australian reported. The new settings forbid members of the public, who do not already follow the account, from accessing Mrs Martin's list of followers or from viewing photos posted on her page. Forensics teams and detectives, including Australian Federal Police, spent all of Monday afternoon sweeping the accused man's Waikiki home. Police spent a considerable amount of time examining a boat parked out the front and a motorbike before taking both items away. Other investigators were seen scouring bushland surrounding the salt water flats along Safety Bay Road, in nearby Warnbro, before loading evidence bags into vehicles. A car and boat were also towed away, Seven News reported. YouTube, the video service owned by Google, is bringing its short-form clip service to the US market in a ramped up challenge to TikTok YouTube on Thursday started rolling out an early version of its Shorts quick-clip feature in the United States, ramping up its challenge to TikTok. The popularity of YouTube Shorts soared during testing in India, and it has been racking up more than 6.5 billion views a day by people tuning in overall, according to product lead Todd Sherman of the Google-owned video service. "We're introducing our YouTube Shorts Beta to the United States starting today, as we continue to build the experience alongside our global community," Sherman said. "We plan to introduce more features as we continue to build Shorts alongside creators and artists." YouTube is also working on ways for people to make money from audiences at Shorts, according to Sherman. The new service is the latest to challenge the fast-growing Chinese-owned TikTok which has faced scrutiny over its ties to the Beijing government. Netflix early this month added a "Fast Laughs" feature to its iPhone app, serving up comic clips in rapid fire, in a move taking on the popular video app TikTok. Facebook-owned Instagram responded to TikTok's popularity with their own short video format called Reels last August. And in November, Snapchat launched Spotlight, a public feed of content produced by users. Explore further YouTube Shorts eyes TikTok competition with 3.5 bn daily views in India 2021 AFP April 1st Webinar: Prevention Tools and HIV & AIDS The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee (UMGAC) will host a free webinar online on April 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET titled "Prevention Tools and HIV and AIDS." Moderated by Linda Bales Todd, the webinar will share important information about preventing the spread of the HIV virus, a high priority for The United Methodist Church. Thirty-eight million people in the world were living with HIV at the end of 2019, according to the World Health Organization, and 1.7 million people were newly infected that year. The presenters will be Dr. Jacquelyn Kissel and Joshua Culbertson, who will discuss various prevention techniques with an emphasis on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)--medicine that can prevent HIV infection when taken daily by people who do not have HIV, but who are at very high risk of getting the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. The webinar will also share information about other prevention tools such as female condoms, along with suggestions for what faith communities can do to help prevent the spread of the virus. Jacquelyn Kissel, PharmD, RPh, AAHIVP is a Clinical Pharmacist at Equitas Health Pharmacy and Medical Center where she has been involved in developing many programs around PrEP and increasing access and education. Dr. Kissel's passion lies in serving the underserved and being an advocate for at risk populations. Her interests include chronic disease state management, HIV education, and collaborative practice models; including nurse practitioners, doctors, case managers, and community pharmacy. Joshua Culbertson has been a member of Broad Street United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio since 2011. He has been a PrEP patient with Equitas Health, formerly AIDS Resource Center Ohio, since late 2014. Josh is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Harding Hospital where he works in their partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient therapy programs. He also sees clients through his private practice, Authentic Pathways Counseling & Consulting. The webinar is the fourth in a series of educational events sponsored by the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee, which was established by the 2004 General Conference. Chaired by Bishop Julius Trimble, the committee provides resources and training to annual conferences and local churches, engaging them in HIV and AIDS education and advocacy. This work reduces stigma and provides greater opportunity for welcoming all people into the church. The committee includes members from members from the Council of Bishops, Discipleship Ministries, General Board of Church and Society, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Communications and United Methodist Women. The webinar will be broadcast on Facebook Live at http://www.Facebook.com/umcglobalaidsfund and made available on the UMGAC website at umgaf2014.wordpress.com. Past webinars are also available on the website. ### An Austrian property firm boss has laughed off claims that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'plagiarised' his company logo for their Archewell Foundation's remarkably similar new design. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were accused on social media of copying their new logo design from the Am Werdertor project, which has used an almost identical 'A' and 'W' emblem for three years. But Dmitry Pryanishnikov, chief executive of Am Werdertor's parent company Allea Group, was unconcerned by the similarities today when he said: 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.' Mr Pryanishnikov added: 'Despite obvious similarities between our logo and the logo of Archewell, we do not plan to take any action in this regard, as the subject projects are very much different by their nature, so we do not take offence.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were accused on social media of copying their new Archewell (right) logo design from the Am Werdertor project (left), which has used an almost identical 'A' and 'W' emblem for three years Dmitry Pryanishnikov, chief executive of Am Werdertor's parent company Allea Group, was unconcerned by the similarities today when he said: 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery The logo was first devised in 2018 for the exclusive refurbishment of a 19th Century building in central Vienna when it was turned into luxury apartments costing up to 3m. But marketing expert Vanessa Liwanag, of Creative Talents Worldwide, who contacted MailOnline after spotting the similarity, was amazed that Archewell's design team hadn't spotted the resemblance before launching their own version. 'There seems to be no diligent research and effort done in creating unique branding and a creative logo for Archewell,' she said. 'In any branding project nowadays, it is important to do online research for similar names, logos and check if they are trademarked or copyrighted. 'Especially if you are a global firm, research should be done on a global scale. Isn't Archewell a global charity organization? They should know better.' Twitter users were equally scathing. @K_L_Cox wrote: 'I think Am Werdertor would have a good lawsuit case against Archewell. Stealing their logo. My understanding you can't have a logo that is very similar to an already established logo.' Another, with the Twitter handle @harryandmegxit, posted: 'Who wore it best Am Werdertor or Archewell? #logodesign #copycat #MeghanAndHarry' The updated logo was first spotted at the top of a letter sent by the Duchess to Robert Clack School in London following her visit last year - and later shared online for International Women's Day The new Archewell logo emerged this week after Harry and Meghan were forced to drop their previous 'Sussex Royal' crest from their stationery and website in the wake of their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused the Royal Family of racism. The Sussexes faced criticism for continuing to use their original logo - which featured their initials H and M intertwined with a crown on top. The updated logo was first spotted at the top of a letter sent by the Duchess to Robert Clack School in London following her visit last year - and later shared online for International Women's Day. The logo also features on the couple's Archewell website, which encourages 'community, service, compassion and action'. Meghan and Harry's old website - SussexRoyal.com - is still active, although it directs visitors to Archewell. AmWerdertor, originally built in 1869 as a residential and commercial building, was developed to include a spa, swimming pool and fitness area for its well-heeled residents. The development was shortlisted and won in several categories at the European Property Awards in London in 2019. Archewell Foundation was contacted for comment. Supports expansion of global financial services products and solutions Growing subscriptions to natural hazard data and analytics Offering online solutions with three major industry partners DENVER, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Intermap Technologies ("Intermap" or the "Company"), a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions, today announced the hiring of a new Chief Technology Officer and expansion of its global financial services business. Intermap is pleased to welcome Ralph Hope as Chief Technology Officer. For more than two years, Mr. Hope has been collaborating with the Company's technical teams and senior management as an analytics research consultant. Previously, Mr. Hope served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer for the Global Capital Markets division of BlackRock, one of the world's largest and most respected asset managers with over $8 trillion in assets under management. In this role, Mr. Hope developed automatic allocation algorithms and global trading policy. Prior to Global Capital Markets, Mr. Hope worked for BlackRock as a senior developer in a cross-department, cross-region, rapid application development team providing front, middle and back office tools to support BlackRock's growth. He also worked with senior leadership to create and implement global IT policy. Before his ten years at BlackRock, Mr. Hope worked in the software industry, developing systems for insurance and financial industry clients. Mr. Hope brings a wealth of experience in IT development and leadership from his career in technology designed for the finance and insurance markets. "We are delighted to welcome Ralph to the team," said Patrick A. Blott, Intermap Chairman and CEO. "With this important addition, Intermap takes another step forward to enhance our technology and IP, including machine learning and automation. Ralph will also help grow our financial services business, which leverages our expertise in other industry verticals. Our products and solutions are provided in real time and offered as a service. Ralph will be a valuable part of our shift in revenue mix toward recurring software subscriptions." In the fast-evolving geospatial market, there is a high demand for real-time alternative data and predictive analytics. Alternative data is compiled from multiple sources and are often less accessible and structured than traditional datasets. Intermap collects high-frequency 3D data and offers data-as-a-service for a variety of solutions. The Company uses the data and produces models that are integrated into analytics, which include insurance underwriting, telecommunications network planning, railway corridor risk management and pattern of life modeling. Intermap's commercial solutions are based on proprietary NEXTMap elevation datasets and are available worldwide. Intermap is expanding solutions around the world by offering products and services to the financial services market. The Company recently added multiple European banking customers, including ERSTE Group, three KBC Group banks, Raiffeisen, Moneta Money Bank, and Banka Creditas. Intermap is also delivering unmatched results and seamless integration with property valuation application makers such as MyNEMO Report and PlutoOlt. The Company is serving this new market in collaboration with Spolecnost pro Cenove mapy CR and their exclusive project partner Deloitte Advisory. In the Czech Republic, Intermap's flood hazard data-as-a-service and software are used by the largest insurance carriers, accelerating the Company's expansion across Europe. European financial services providers are now benefitting from Intermap's long history of providing essential natural hazard risk data throughout the continent. Learn more about Intermap's European offerings at www.intermap.com/european-solutions. "Our financial services business is growing dramatically," Mr. Blott continued. "The combination of our predictive analytics and dynamic 3D data delivers powerful results to our clients, including commercial enterprises and allied governments. Intermap will continue to invest in the necessary expertise and infrastructure to drive continual improvement of those results." Intermap Reader Advisory Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "will be", "will consider", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermap's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermap's Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law. About Intermap Technologies Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP;OTCQX: ITMSF) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions. The Company's proprietary NEXTMap database and value-added geospatial data management, processing, analytics, fusion and orthorectification software and solutions are utilized across a range of industries that rely on accurate, high-resolution elevation data, including aviation, engineering, environmental planning, government markets, hydrology, insurance, land management, law enforcement and patrol, oil and gas, renewable energy, telecommunications, transportation and utilities. Intermap's commercial applications include location-based intelligence, risk assessment, geographic information systems, global positioning systems and 3D visualization. For more information, please visit www.intermap.com. SOURCE Intermap Technologies Corporation Related Links https://www.intermap.com/ Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. New Delhi, March 18 : Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Ahmed Bajwa has called for India and Pakistan to "bury the past". Bajwa's statement is being seen as an outreach to India as relations between the two neighbours have been hostile for some time now. Bajwa, however, said that the burden is on India to create a "conducive environment", adding that Washington also has a role to play in ending regional conflicts. "We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward," Bajwa said at a conference in Islamabad. "But our neighbour (India) will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in Kashmir," he added. Bajwa said the economic potential of South and Central Asia has "forever remained hostage" to the India-Pakistan disputes. He added that Pakistan has "hope" in the form of US President Joe Biden's new administration, which he said could help facilitate peace in the region. (Photo : Youtube/ CGTN Tech It Out) Mice embryo mechanical womb Scientists were able to grow the embryo of a mouse outside of the womb for the first time in tech history. A group of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel said that they have successfully grown more than 1,000 mice embryos for six days using a mechanical device process. Mice embryo is grown in a mechanical device The study was published on Mar. 17 in Nature and the first part of the experiment saw that the team remove the mice from their mothers' wombs after five days. Dr. Jacob Hanna told The New York Times, one of the researchers on the project, said that his team has since managed to take an embryo from a female mouse right after fertilization and grow it for 11 days. The lab-grown embryos are identical to their real counterparts. Also Read: Preterm Babies Possibly Mistaking Mothers' Uterus As Hostile Host During Preterm Labor The team then spent seven years making the machine that has helped them with their research. It is a two-part system that consists of an incubator and a ventilation system. Each of the embryos floats in a vial that is filled with a special nutrient-laden fluid. A wheel gently spins the mice so that they do not get attached to the wall of their temporary home. The wheel prevents the embryos from deforming and dying while inside the mechanical womb. The attached ventilator also gives the mice oxygen while maintaining their environment's flow and pressure. According to the study, it takes 20 days for a mouse to gestate to the point where it can survive outside of the womb. So far, the mechanical womb that Dr. Hanna and his team of researchers have created can help sustain the mice through 11 days of growth. The embryos need blood supply and not just nutrients, and that is the next challenge that the team of scientists plans to solve. , one potential solution that was presented is including an artificial blood supply that could connect the placentas of the mice. Are humans next? Dr. Hanna's team did not create the mechanical device to disrupt the natural order. They are using their process to study how factors like environmental conditions and genetic mutations can affect a fetus's growth while inside the womb. So the answer is no, scientists are not planning to use the mechanical womb to nature human embryos and help develop a human child. Until this study, scientists had turned to frogs and worms, both non-mammals, to study organs and tissues' development. The study, which UCSB, published, proves that animals such as frogs and worms have similar tissues and organs. The findings have important implications for medicine, including cancer, the study of birth defects, and tissue engineering. Joel Rothman, the associate professor of molecular biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that the studies show that animals that are very distantly related show something in common that had not been expected. Related Article: Trials on Growing Babies in Ziplock Bags Show Promising Results This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sieeka Khan 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. OTTAWA - Daycare providers across the country are finding themselves in dire financial straits, as the pandemic exposed how overly reliant the system is on soaring parental fees, says a report on the cost of child care in Canada. A man walks his daughter to daycare on a rainy morning in Montreal on October 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson OTTAWA - Daycare providers across the country are finding themselves in dire financial straits, as the pandemic exposed how overly reliant the system is on soaring parental fees, says a report on the cost of child care in Canada. The annual report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found daycare costs continued to climb across most of the nation last year, with annual increases ranging between one per cent in places like Ottawa, Regina and Halifax, up to 21 per cent in Brampton, Ont. Four cities surveyed showed overall small price declines: Vancouver, Moncton, Whitehorse and Yellowknife. Few of the daycares surveyed said they increased fees due to COVID-19. Many daycares across the country were forced to close during the first wave of the pandemic, causing disruptions in parents' working lives and a drop in their ranks in the workforce. The report, however, found that once reopened, there was a drop in enrolment that in some cases was so severe that centres lost 20 to 30 children, winding up with fewer than five enrolled. Wait lists, too, seemed to vanish as many centres reported suddenly having spaces for children. Now, daycares are on the verge of closing without parental fees coming in, which the authors of the report said poses a problem for an economic recovery the federal Liberals will have to address in their promised child-care policy. In every city outside of Quebec, which has its own publicly funded system, child care centres had on average 10 per cent fewer children in the fall of 2020 than in February of last year, pre-pandemic. The report said daycares in 27 of the 37 cities surveyed on average reported enrolment drops of upwards of 20 per cent. The reasons for the drops had to do with a combination of factors, including fewer staff and parental concerns about health and safety. What the survey found as well was that the higher the fees, the more likely parents were to take their children out of care. The opposite was the case where fees were lower, said report co-author David Macdonald. He said a similar effect was noticed when it came to unemployment: as the job losses rose, enrolment dropped. "If this drop in enrolment does start to affect the amount of spaces that are available, then it becomes a drag on those local economies where you're seeing these big drop-offs in enrolment," said Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "But also (it becomes) a drag on the national economy as it becomes harder for parents to find spaces for their kids, so they can go back to work or look for a job, or go back into retraining." The Liberals have promised the upcoming federal budget will lay out a plan to create a national child-care system, arguing it is necessary to help more parents get back in, and remain in the workforce. Statistics Canada says that between February of this year and the same month last year, employment fell by 4.5 per cent for core-aged parents, meaning those 25 to 54, whose youngest child was under six. That meant 104,800 fewer parents with daycare-aged children in the workforce 12 months into the pandemic. For those whose youngest is between six and 12 years old, employment was up 1.6 per cent from February 2020. None of the figures the agency provided are adjusted for seasonal variations in employment. The promised national daycare system, which would be voluntary for use and publicly funded, has garnered backing from business groups. The House of Commons finance committee recommended in its pre-budget report that the government allocate $2 billion towards a national system this year. A spokeswoman for Families Minister Ahmed Hussen said the report "reiterates what we already know: high quality, affordable child care is not a luxury, it's a necessity." Mikaela Harrison said the government remained committed to create a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system. Crafting a plan for how to use that money will first need to shore up what is already available so it isn't lost before moving to expand the number of available spaces, said Martha Friendly, one of the report's authors. There is also a need to train and retain staff and fund services directly to drive down fees to make prices more affordable, she said. "If we're going to build a childcare system, we think it's imperative to try to preserve what we've got because it took years to build up the services and it will put us so much further behind if they actually disappear," said Friendly, executive director for the Childcare Resource and Research Unit in Toronto. Cardus, a faith-based think tank, argues a national system should be as flexible as possible to give latitude to local officials and parents to figure out what works best. Respondents to a recent survey commissioned by Cardus were almost split about whether public funding should go to spaces or parents. "Parents have diverse care needs, especially during the pandemic," said Peter Jon Mitchell, the group's family program director, in a release. "Public policy should offer flexibility and respect families' choices." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. BARCELONA, Spain, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Co-founded back in 2014 by VHIO's Laura Soucek, CEO of the enterprise, and Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the company, VHIO-born spin-off Peptomyc S.L. has just announced that it has received approval from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices for conducting clinical trials in Spain (AEMPS), to initiate the first-in-human Phase I/II clinical trial with its first compound - a disruptive Myc inhibitor, Omomyc (OMO-103). Building on the proven preclinical efficacy and safety of the Omomyc cell-penetrating peptide (CCP) in mouse models, and Peptomyc's company's successful development of anti-Myc peptides for the treatment of several tumor types, this latest milestone represents a greatly anticipated 'leap' into the clinical research setting and an important step forward in becoming the first ever clinically viable and direct inhibitor of Myc - a protein implicated in the formation of most tumor types. Commenting for VHIO's Global Communications, Laura Soucek, Principal Investigator of VHIO's Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies and an ICREA Research Professor said, "MYC has been considered an 'undruggable' cancer target for many years. We have previously shown that Myc blockade has an excellent therapeutic effect in several mouse models, with mild side effects that are well tolerated and reversible. Now that we have received approval to initiate our early phase clinical trial, we can further progress in testing the safety and efficacy of our Omomyc-based therapy for the benefit of those who matter the most - our patients." Over the last 20 years Laura's determined research efforts have centered on proving countless cynics wrong in her ambitions to combat resistance to therapy and cancer regression through clinically inhibiting the Myc oncogene. Found deregulated in most, if not all tumor types, and as a key driver of cancer progression and maintenance, Myc is consequently a major contender as a cancer target and yet, its promise has not yet been successfully translated into benefits at the patient level. "At the preclinical level, we have reported the efficacy of Omomyc as a cell penetrating peptide - essentially, a mini-protein with the ability to enter cells and reach its target compartment, namely, the nucleus. The successful intravenous systemic administration of our mini-protein MYC inhibitor against lung cancer and other malignancies, has led to this week's exciting development," said Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Peptomyc's Chief Scientific Officer. She added, "Our strategy differs immensely from other previous approaches aimed at inhibiting Myc. Our Omomyc mini-protein is large enough to accurately fold and adapt to Myc's disordered structure, which determines the specificity of inhibition. At the same time, it is small enough to penetrate tumor cells and nuclei in order to reach its target. By conducting our first-in-human early phase clinical trial, we hope to drive this novel therapy into the clinic for the more effective treatment of multiple tumor types". Twenty patients with advanced solid tumors across various cancer types, whose disease has progressed after previous treatments, will be enrolled in the Phase I study. This clinical trial will be carried out at three different Spanish sites: our Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (HUVH), also located within the Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, the HM Sanchinarro University Hospital, and the Fundacion Jimenez Diaz University Hospital (Madrid). VHIO's Elena Garralda, Director of our Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) - "la Caixa" Foundation, and Head of Early Clinical Drug Development at our Institute, is the Principal Investigator of Peptomyc's clinical study at Vall d'Hebron. She noted, "I am honored and privileged to participate in this study of a VHIO-developed molecule. Since Myc has traditionally been considered as an impossible drug target, this clinical trial represents a pivotal development. Confirmation of OMO-103's safety and efficacy in patients would be extremely important for the future treatment of cancer". "To get to where we are today has been a long and challenging journey. While we have had to overcome many obstacles, we have successfully proven our hypothesis about Myc by achieving amazing results in animal models. We very much hope that Omomyc will meet the same expectations in clinical research lso that we can ultimately provide new hope for cancer patients, particularly for those suffering from advanced disease," concluded Laura Soucek. At the age of 81, Tina Turner has told her story more times than she ever thought she would. There was her autobiography, I, Tina; there was the surprisingly good biopic based on it, Whats Love Got to Do With It?, starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Australian Crawls James Reyne as her Australian manager Roger Davies; just three years ago, the musical Tina took Londons West End by storm. Audiences loved it: it was a big story with a lot of big songs to go with it. For Tina herself, however, so much telling has been painful. Each new version of her story has meant revisiting her worst memories, from being abandoned by her parents to spending 16 years married to the violently abusive Ike Turner. And now there is an exemplary documentary, executive produced by her Swiss husband Erwin Bach and directed by Oscar-winning directing duo Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, that surely turns every stone. So that should be it. Maybe. Tina Turner as she appears in the feature documentary Tina. Credit:NBCUniversal She first told her story in 1981, when she was trying to restart her career as a solo rocker by going on any game show or cabaret slot that would give her a platform. Naively, she thought that if she gave one definitive interview telling the truth about her marriage, nobody would ask about it again. People magazines music editor, Carl Arrington, was her pick. In the documentary, he remembers his shock as the interview he expected to be a bland celebrity puff piece turned out to be a horror story. The first time she told the story, it was an attempt to get away from Ike in terms of the record industry, says Dan Lindsay. To be able to say oh Im not with this guy any more and that just kept getting bigger and bigger. Acquisition expands company's digital transformation capabilities LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambridge Management Consulting (Cambridge MC), a global digital transformation consultancy, announces an expansion of its telecommunications capability with the acquisition of network infrastructure consultancy, Straxia. As global markets emerge from the pandemic, digital transformation is vital to adapt to a new set of consumer behaviours. The acquisition of Straxia widens the portfolio of services offered by Cambridge MC, allowing more routes for clients to build a digital strategy that drives growth. For a decade, Straxia has built a reputation focussed on infrastructure transformation and sourcing, more recently using SD-WAN technology to transform networks and migrate services to the cloud. Cambridge MC Chairman, Tim Passingham, explains how this acquisition expands the company's services, "I'm delighted to welcome the Straxia team to the Cambridge MC family. Straxia widens our telecommunications vertical knowledge, expands our large-scale project and programme management capabilities, and consolidates our technical skillset." Richard Brown founded Straxia in 2009, rooting the business in a strong ethos that earned loyal partnerships. He joins Cambridge MC as a Director and General Partner. Richard comments, "I'm pleased that we can bring our capabilities to Cambridge MC. Merging Straxia's project management, service management, and sourcing services with Cambridge MC's wider capabilities brings further benefits to our clients. As part of the leadership team, my intent is to build on our combined strengths to offer cohesive and agile digital transformation, enhancing our world class teams with years of practical experience." The acquisition of Straxia is the latest in a series of successes that Cambridge MC has recently enjoyed. Earlier this year, the company launched a new environmental consultancy, edenseven, in response to climate change. In 2021, Cambridge MC will open offices in Dubai and Lagos, Nigeria. For more information on Cambridge MC's extensive suite of services, visit www.cambridgemc.com. About Cambridge Management Consulting: Cambridge Management Consulting is a specialist management consultancy drawing on an extensive network of global talent. We are a growth catalyst. With an emphasis on digital transformation, the Cambridge Management Consulting Group combines digital innovation, people and organisational change, cost transformation and world class project and programme management capabilities. Founded in Cambridge, UK, Cambridge MC has offices in Cambridge London, Paris and Tel Aviv with consultants in 11 countries and clients all over the world. Press Contact: Mirren Mace, Chief of Staff +44(0)7973-542664 mmace@cambridgemc.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1456829/Cambridge_Management_Consulting_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1456825/STRAXIA_Logo.jpg Islamabad, March 18 : Pakistani authorities were on Thursday interrogating more than a dozen illegal immigrants after they were deported by Germany and Poland, officials said. A chartered flight carrying 27 people deported by Germany and two from Poland landed in Islamabad, dpa news agency quotd Sheikh Naeem from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that deals with immigration, as saying. Immigration authorities released 10 of the deportees but arrested the rest for questioning, another FIA official Amjad Khan said. They have been charged with leaving the country through illegal means including with the help of people smugglers, Khan said. Rejected asylum-seekers and those who tried to enter the European countries on fake documents were among the deportees, the two officials said. The FIA has arrested several dozen suspected people smugglers from Punjab province in the crackdown launched some three years ago. Thousands of young Pakistanis try to reach countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain every year in anticipation of a better future. They pay millions to human traffickers to take them to Europe through a dangerous land and sea route that goes through Iran, Turkey and Greece. Hundreds of illegal immigrants either die on their way or end up in jail in one of these countries. Gaza City, March 18 : Leaders of 14 Palestinian factions have agreed to strengthen the national partnership during the second round of the two-day intra-national dialogue held in Egypt, according to an official statement issued here. "The leaders of the factions discussed for two days the national issues and the dangers that the Palestinian cause is facing," the statement said on Wednesday, adding that they also discussed issues on holding the elections and strengthening the national partnership. On Tuesday, the Palestinian factions, including President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and the Gaza Strip's ruling party Islamic Hamas movement, gathered in Cairo for the dialogue in a bid to overcome obstacles to the upcoming elections, Xinhua news agency reported. Representatives of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (PCEC) also joined the dialogue. "The leaders agreed on the solutions for the outstanding issues in a bid to guarantee high transparency and integrity for the electoral process in the Palestinian territories," it said. The leaders reiterated the legal and political unity of the Palestinian territories and the necessity for the elections that will take place in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the 14 factions signed a code of honour, saying they will respect the results of the elections, ensure the standards of integrity and transparency, cooperate with the PCEC to organise free and fair elections, and respect the role of the Palestinian police in securing the electoral process, according to the statement. In the first round of the dialogue in Cairo last month, the leaders of the factions agreed to hold the general elections as scheduled. They also agreed to set up an electoral court, which will include judges from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In January, President Abbas announced that the 2021 general elections will include the legislative elections on May 22, the presidential elections on July 31, and the elections of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on August 31. The last Palestinian presidential elections were held in March 2005, and the legislative elections in January 2006. The internal Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-dominated West Bank. After closing its downtown restaurant in December and operating out of a food truck since then, the health-forward restaurant Pharm Table is reopening in Southtown Tuesday. For chef Elizabeth Johnson, the move represents some big changes for the restaurant, renowned for its Ayurvedic healing approach to food and a colorful, refreshing menu of salads, broths, tacos, kitchari bowls and juice shots. Youll still be able to get those things, but Johnson is adding dinner hours to the experience, and with that comes an all-day menu with more protein options as entrees and add-ons, including Persian chicken, grass-fed beef, salmon and seared fish. New dishes will include smoked mole verde enchiladas, a beet-cured salmon gravlox board, Israeli-style hummus and roasted roots and cilantro-coconut guacamole, which Johnson calls Ayurveda meets Mexico. Keeping with Pharm Tables connection to fresh food and its growing seasons, the menu will change regularly and take advantage of Johnsons well-curated global spice library. The new Pharm Table also includes a full bar, with wine, beer and cocktails like the Pharmers Cup, which uses housemade turmeric ginger beer, and a pisco-based Sumac Sour that draws on the flavors of sumac, white port and aquafaba, a whipped foam conjured from the liquid produced from cooking garbanzo beans. On ExpressNews.com: Review: At Pharm Table, we finally get health food that doesn't taste like punishment The new space is located next to the upcoming new location of the progressive restaurant Mixtli in the complex that once housed Steel City Pops. There is plenty of outdoor seating in a broad courtyard thats been popular with Pharm Table food truck customers. Indoors diners will enjoy lots of light from garage door-style windows. The food trucks last day will be Sunday, then the restaurant will open Tuesday. Pharm Table, 611 S. Presa St., Suite 106, 210-802-1860, pharmtable.com. Opening hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for brunch and lunch and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for brunch and lunch Sunday. Permanent hours will be announced at a later date. msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking Wirex is an innovative crypto payments platform, giving customers the ability to buy, hold, exchange and sell up to 20 traditional and cryptocurrencies from a centralised, intuitive app. Cryptoback is one of Wirex's most popular features, and the company is proud to have been the world's first to offer a cryptocurrency rewards scheme. The programme automatically rewards customers up to 2% back in WXT, Wirex's native token, for using their crypto-enabled debit card in-store or online. Wirex issued its claim for trade mark infringement in September 2019 after discovering that the defendants were using the Cryptoback name in conjunction with a cryptocurrency rewards scheme. After a High Court trial in January this year, His Honour Judge Hacon found that Wirex's Cryptoback trade mark was valid and infringed by the defendants, and all of their counterclaims (including to invalidate the Cryptoback trade mark) were dismissed. The news comes at a significant time for Wirex, as they release a product overhaul, including their X-tras rewards programme. Building on the success of the crypto-rewards scheme and rewarding loyal customers, it offers enhanced Cryptoback rewards and up to 12% annual Savings Bonus on users WXT balance*. Last week, the company also announced their brand new crypto-enabled and multicurrency Mastercard debit card in the UK and EEA regions, with real-time point-of-sale conversion, exclusive interbank and OTC exchange rates, free international ATM withdrawals, zero monthly fees and free fiat-to-fiat exchanges. Dominique Simon, Global General Counsel at Wirex remarked, "We are delighted that the Court has found in our favour after a long and hard-fought battle against these infringers. We would like to thank our legal team, Andrew Norris QC (Hogarth Chambers) and Brown Rudnick LLP, for all of their fantastic work in helping to deliver this outcome. We look forward to developing and expanding our Cryptoback program in the UK and worldwide, along with other exciting innovations. " Read the full judgment here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/IPEC/2021/617.html To find out more about the new X-tras scheme, visit: https://wirexapp.com/blog/post/a-new-era-wirex-x-tras-programme-0280 To find out more about how Cryptoback works, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8QWzMUglbU *up to 12% available for a limited time About Wirex Wirex is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution that has forged new rules in the digital payments space. In 2015, the firm developed the world's first crypto-enabled payment card that gives users the ability to seamlessly spend crypto and traditional currencies in real life. Wirex was created in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who identified the need to open up the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies and make digital money accessible for everyone. With the core aim of making it as easy as possible to use digital assets in everyday life, Wirex provides a trusted and cost-effective service for crypto and traditional currency transactions by incorporating the next generation of payments infrastructure integrated with cryptocurrency blockchains With nearly 3.5 million customers across 130 countries, the company offers secure accounts that allow customers to easily store, buy and exchange multiple currencies instantly at the best live rates on one centralised mobile app. Quick and simple crypto transfer options are available, as well as the freedom to spend 150+ traditional and cryptocurrencies in more than 61 million locations around the world using the Wirex card. Wirex continues to develop the product in line with market developments, whilst adhering to regional regulations and securing appropriate licensing where it exists. A proven industry pioneer, Wirex launched their own native utility token, WXT, and introduced the world's first crypto reward programme, Cryptoback, which earns cardholders up to 2% back in WXT for every transaction they make. Wirex is based in London, with offices in Singapore, Kyiv, Tokyo, Toronto, Dallas, Dublin and Atlanta. With over $5bn worth of transactions processed already and rapid expansion into new territories, including the US and Japan, Wirex is uniquely placed to support and promote the mass adoption of a cashless society through creative solutions. | wirexapp.com | Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458473/Wirex_CryptoBack.jpg SOURCE Wirex Related Links wirexapp.com Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Southern Baptist church where mass shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long was baptized grieves for dead Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Southern Baptist church where 21-year-old mass shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long got baptized twice is now grieving for his victims and the families impacted by his deadly shooting rampage at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead Tuesday, including six Asian women. Jerry Dockery, the lead teaching elder at the Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, where Long worshiped with his family, prayed on Sunday that God would use his church to have leaders in various areas of the public and private sector drawn toward you. We pray that Lord, our leaders, our first responders, our teachers, our business leaders to have their eyes and hearts drawn toward you. Youd make Yourself known in this community in a very powerful, personal way. We ask that you use Crabapple Church to bring this to pass, he said. Asked by The Christian Post on Wednesday to share his thoughts on Longs faith and any possible explanation for what could have driven Long to carry out a mass shooting, Dockery said: We are grieved to hear the tragic news about the multiple deaths in the Atlanta area. We are heartbroken for all involved. We grieve for the victims and their families and will continue to pray for them. Moreover, we are distraught for the Long family and pray for them as well. Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriffs Office told The New York Times that four people died in the first shooting at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, which was reported around 5 p.m. A Hispanic man was also injured. Atlanta police said officers responded to a robbery at Gold Spa in the northeast part of the city at 5:47 p.m., where they found the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. While officers were at that scene, they received a call about shots fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street where they found another woman's body, The New York Times said. The Crisp County Sherriffs Office later released images of Long at the scene of the crime and he was quickly arrested. As news of his arrest spread overnight and his connection to Crabapple First Baptist Church was established, all of the churchs social media pages were suspended or made private. A student who graduated from Sequoyah High with Long in 2017 told The Daily Beast that Long didnt appear to be a violent person. He was very innocent seeming and wouldnt even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didnt seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion, the former schoolmate who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Posts reviewed by Heavy.com on the churchs Facebook page before it was shuttered indicate that Long attended services there with his mother, father and younger sister. His mother reportedly organized events at the church like movie nights. Other posts showed testimony from Long at his baptism in 2018 and he indicated that it was his second time in the water. As many of you may remember, when I was 8 years old I thought I was becoming a Christian, and got baptized during that time. And I remember a lot of the reason for that is a lot of my friends in my Sunday school class were doing that. And after that time, there wasnt any fruit from the root that is our salvation, he said. He likened his spiritual journey to that of the prodigal son story in the Bible and said it helped him to become saved. The son goes off and squanders all that he has and lives completely for himself and then, when he finds hes wanting to eat pig food, he realized theres something wrong and he goes back to his father and his father runs back to him and embraces him. And by the grace of God I was able to draw the connection there and realize this is a story between what happened with me and God. I ran away living completely for myself, and he still wants me, and so thats when I was saved, he said. Minutes from a meeting of the elders at the church showed that as recently as 2018, Long was one of 11 people who served as members of the Student Ministry Team, which exists to see students receive Jesus Christ as Lord, and walk in Him, being rooted in the faith. A motive for the killings has not yet been established, but some have connected the shootings to what they see as an uptick in anti-Asian attacks in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Chris Chan, an advisory chair for the Asian American Action Fund Georgia Chapter, told The Washington Post that violence toward Asian American businesses "is frightening and alarming. Were horrified by the news coming out of GA at a time when were already seeing a spike in anti-Asian violence. Although details are still unfolding, at least half of the victims appear to be Asian American women. Our hearts go out to the victims & their families. #StopAsianHate the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus noted in a tweet Tuesday. Popular Bible teacher Beth Moore also weighed in. This violence against our Asian American neighbors is from the mouth of hell. Hate acts. It does not stay confined to the heart & mind. It incites the tongue. Untreated, it travels to hands & feet. Hate is murderous. (1Jn 3:15) Stand against it. Speak against it. Pray against it, she wrote on Twitter. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who still leads the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, said he is heartbroken over the killings. My heart is broken tonight after the tragic violence in Atlanta that took eight lives. Once again we see that hate is deadly. Praying for the families of the victims and for peace for the community, he tweeted. Georgias Gov. Brian Kemp also offered prayers for the victims. Our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence. We deeply appreciate the quick apprehension of a suspect by @ga_dps in coordination with local and federal law enforcement, he tweeted Tuesday night. Sorry! This content is not available in your region SOFIA -- Bulgaria has announced it will close kindergartens, schools, restaurants, and shopping malls for 10 days as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 infections that have stretched its hospitals. RFE/RL's Coronavirus Crisis Archive Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region. Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told reporters on March 18 that theaters, cinemas, and gyms will also be closed from March 22, while indoor gatherings of more than 15 people will be banned. The center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was taking all necessary health safety measures for national elections to be held on April 4, he said. Earlier in the day, Bulgaria reported 4,201 new coronavirus cases, with 7,804 people in hospitals, including 609 in intensive care. Overall, health authorities have reported more than 290,000 infections and over 11,000 related deaths since the start of the pandemic. Bulgaria, with a population of 7 million, holds the poorest inoculation record in the European Union, with only about 350,000 people vaccinated so far with a first dose. With reporting by Reuters "We are honored to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing small businesses in the D.C. area on the Inc. 5000 Regionals D.C. Metro list," said Leap CEO, Patrick Fingles. "From the beginning, Leap was designed to challenge the outdated contractor sales model. We created a new standard that helps contractors quickly and easily increase business using the digital approach that homeowners expect. This recognition affirms our market-wide adoption and ability to scale to meet growing demand." The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in the Washington, D.C., region. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 211% and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 120,000 people and added nearly $15 billion to the D.C. area economy. Companies based in major metro areasBaltimore, Maryland, the Washington, D.C. area, and Richmond, Virginiabrought in the highest revenue overall. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/washington-dc starting March 16, 2021. "This list proves the power of companies in the Washington, D.C. area no matter the industry," says Inc. editor in chief Scott Omelianuk. "The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay." Leap experienced a two-year revenue growth of 168%, positioning them near the top of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro list. Leap is the first-ever end-to-end contractor sales software application to make the list. Leap's software digitizes every stage of the in-home sales process including estimating, financing, contracting and real-time customer communication. Built and backed by seasoned home improvement professionals, Leap empowers contractors and home services professionals to simplify and automate the sales process and eliminate errors. Media Contact: Hannah Johnson, 262.689.9985, [email protected] More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com About Leap Founded in 2016, Leap empowers contractors and home services professionals to simplify and automate the sales process. The subscription-based software eliminates manual, paper-based processes and digitizes the most critical aspects of the business digital contracts, estimates, documents, financing and more. Leap can be integrated with top home improvement software systems to eliminate redundancies and errors that slow down the sales process, helping professionals deliver the fast, digital-first experience that clients expect. For more information, visit www.leaptodigital.com. SOURCE Leap Water 'Biggest Crisis No One Is Talking About' Says Gospel for Asia Report New report for World Water Day, March 22, says two-thirds of planet may face shortages by 2025, 30 million in U.S. lack safe water 'BIGGEST CRISIS NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT:' A new report [http://www.gfa.org/press/WaterCrisis] -- released by GFA World (Gospel for Asia, www.gfa.org) for World Water Day, March 22 -- says two-thirds of the planet may face water shortages by 2025, 30 million people in the U.S. lack safe drinking water, and several megacities are on the verge of "running out of drinking water." NEWS PROVIDED BY Gospel for Asia (GFA World) March 18, 2021 WILLS POINT, Texas, March 18, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- The world is on the brink of a devastating water crisis that could be "much more worrying" than the COVID-19 pandemic, says a disturbing new report coinciding with World Water Day, March 22. Citing global forecasts, the report -- published by leading faith-based humanitarian agency GFA World (Gospel for Asia, www.gfa.org) -- suggests the toxic mix of poverty, hunger and lack of safe drinking water around the world could be "potentially much more worrying than the virus spreading." "Two-thirds of the world's people could face water shortages by 2025," said K.P. Yohannan, founder of GFA World that has clean water projects across Asia. "It's been described as 'the biggest crisis no one is talking about.'" Several megacities are on the verge of "running out of drinking water," says the report, titled Water Stress: The Unspoken Global Crisis [http://www.gfa.org/press/WaterCrisis], as World Water Day -- an annual awareness event -- spotlights the rising global threat. According to BBC News, cities such as Mexico City, Mexico; Beijing, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cairo, Egypt; Cape Town, South Africa; and even London, England, already have massive stress on their water supplies and could run out of drinking water in a few years. Global agencies UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) place Mexico and nine African and Asian countries in the "top 10" nations with the "worst drinking water." In the African country of Uganda, 40 percent of the population has to trek 30 minutes or more to find safe drinking water, says the report. Two Billion Drink From 'Feces-Contaminated' Sources Around the world, some 785 million people -- more than double the U.S. population -- don't have basic water service, the report says. A staggering two billion people -- mostly in Africa and Asia -- get their drinking water from feces-contaminated ponds and watering holes, leading to often-fatal diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and dysentery. Organizations like GFA World and World Vision have made clean water a top priority. GFA World drills about 4,000 new community wells -- called "Jesus Wells" -- every year, providing safe drinking water for entire villages. Over the past two decades, the organization has drilled more than 30,000 wells and distributed more than 58,000 home kits, called BioSand filters, that remove 98 percent of water impurities. "Our goal is to bring people life-giving clean water," Yohannan says, "and also to show people that we care about their most vital needs, such as water, because God loves them and values them." U.S.: 30 Million 'Without Safe Water' Americans are not exempt from the worldwide water crisis, with more than two million people in the U.S. without access to running water, and 30 million Americans lacking "safe" drinking water, according to the report. School officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania announced last year they had found legionella -- the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires' disease -- in their local water supplies. Some Texas residents were scooping water out of swimming pools after their taps ran dry following the state's recent "Big Freeze." GFA World (Gospel for Asia, www.gfa.org) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA World's latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news. SOURCE Gospel for Asia (GFA World) CONTACT: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660, gwooding@inchristcommunications.com Share Tweet Rescue workers search the scene where an Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Ottawa Rejects Iran Report That Blames Shootdown of Flight 752 on Human Error OTTAWAThe federal government is rejecting outright a final report by Irans civil aviation authority that blames human error as the reason why a passenger jet was shot down by the Iranian military in January 2020. Irans Revolutionary Guard fired two missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran on Jan. 8 last year, when the aircraft was misidentified as a hostile target by an air defence unit, says the agencys final report into the crash. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau largely dismissed the 145-page document, which was posted to the website of Irans Civil Aviation Organization. The report has really avoided addressing the substance and the real reasons behind shooting down the plane, Alghabra said in an interview. It appears incomplete and has no hard facts or evidence, he and Garneau said in a statement Wednesday. Alghabra said the report fails to explain why Iran kept most of its airspace open to commercial traffic despite having just launched a missile strike against a pair of U.S. military facilities across the border in Iraq. All 176 people on board the jetliner were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and dozens of others bound for Canada. The Tehran-Kyiv route has been an inexpensive first leg of a trip from Iran to Canada. The federal government continues to call for a comprehensive and transparent investigation conducted according to international standards. A Canadian forensic team will produce its own report based partly on intelligence in the coming days, Alghabra said. Under international civil aviation law, the Iranian government led the probe. The report, which Canadas arms-length Transportation Safety Board says it will comment on at a news conference scheduled for Thursday, echoes what the Iranian military said last year: human error caused the tragedyan explanation found wanting by multiple countries that lost citizens. Iran initially denied responsibility for the crash, but three days later said the Kyiv-bound Boeing 737-800 was shot down by accident after being mistaken for a missile amid heightened tensions with the United States. The admission came after video footage on social media appeared to show at least one missile striking the jet. The disaster unfolded hours after Iran launched missiles into Iraq at two American military bases in retaliation for the U.S. having killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani near the Baghdad airport by order of then-U.S. president Donald Trump. A group representing families of the victims138 had ties to Canadastrongly rejected the report findings. (They) appear to be mere fabrications and a continuation of a lie, the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims said in a release. The contents published in this report, as with their previous reports, contain countless inconsistencies and are grossly inadequate to justify Irans claims about the causes of the downing. Ralph Goodale, the former Liberal public safety minister who was named Canadas special adviser on the response to the crash, called the report unconvincing, shambolic and insulting to loved ones. They also failed to alert their own air-defence missile operators about the identities of those innocent aircraft that were taking off. Its just a litany of failure that sounds very much like wanton disregard for human life, Goodale said in an interview. Without an honest assessment of what went wrong and how its been fixed, Iranian airspace remains as potentially dangerous today as it was in January 2020, he said. Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden also lost citizens when the plane was destroyed, and the countries formed a coalition with Canada to deal with Iran. A series of mistakes led to the fatal missile launch, the Iranian investigation team found. An incorrect read on the planes flight direction due to human error caused an operator to perceive the aircraft as flying northeast toward Tehran at a low altitude, rather than flying west away from the main airport, which it was. The operator tried to alert the command centre to the apparent threat, but the message was never relayed, the report states. Without receiving a go-ahead or response from the command centre, he came to identify the target as a hostile one and fired missile (sic) at the aircraft against the procedure planned. The first warhead exploded near the aircraft, hurling more than 2,500 pieces of shrapnel toward it at nearly 6,500 km/hmore than five times the speed of sounddamaging the plane and aircraft systems but leaving its structural integrity intact, according to the report. (T)he three cockpit crew members were all still alive. They appeared to have sustained no physical injuries. The second missile likely did affect the aircraft, but the plane plummeted to the ground regardless, crashing near the airport and exploding on impact six minutes after takeoff and three minutes after the first missile detonated, the report said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged Iran to provide justice and transparency to the victims and their families. In December, Iran pledged to pay $150,000 to each family that lost someone on the plane, but Goodale rejected the offer at the time. He said Iran doesnt have the right to offer compensation to victims families unilaterally and that the final amount will be subject to negotiations between Iran and Canada and the four other countries whose citizens were killed on the plane. Theres more to reparations than just compensation. They will pursue a formal explanation of the facts, Goodale said of negotiators. Trudeau has promised Canada will offer a pathway to permanent residency for some family members, while those already here could apply to stay if needed. He also designated Jan. 8 as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Air Disasters. The federal government also said scholarships would be set up in memory of the victims. By Christopher Reynolds With files from Maan Alhmidi Training neural networks to perform tasks, such as recognizing images or navigating self-driving cars, could one day require less computing power and hardware thanks to a new artificial neuron device developed by researchers at the University of California San Diego. The device can run neural network computations using 100 to 1000 times less energy and area than existing CMOS-based hardware. Researchers report their work in a paper published Mar. 18 in Nature Nanotechnology. Neural networks are a series of connected layers of artificial neurons, where the output of one layer provides the input to the next. Generating that input is done by applying a mathematical calculation called a non-linear activation function. This is a critical part of running a neural network. But applying this function requires a lot of computing power and circuitry because it involves transferring data back and forth between two separate units--the memory and an external processor. Now, UC San Diego researchers have developed a nanometer-sized device that can efficiently carry out the activation function. "Neural network computations in hardware get increasingly inefficient as the neural network models get larger and more complex," said Duygu Kuzum, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. "We developed a single nanoscale artificial neuron device that implements these computations in hardware in a very area- and energy-efficient way." The new study, led by Kuzum and her Ph.D. student Sangheon Oh, was performed in collaboration with a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center led by UC San Diego physics professor Ivan Schuller, which focuses on developing hardware implementations of energy-efficient artificial neural networks. The device implements one of the most commonly used activation functions in neural network training called a rectified linear unit. What's particular about this function is that it needs hardware that can undergo a gradual change in resistance in order to work. And that's exactly what the UC San Diego researchers engineered their device to do--it can gradually switch from an insulating to a conducting state, and it does so with the help of a little bit of heat. This switch is what's called a Mott transition. It takes place in a nanometers-thin layer of vanadium dioxide. Above this layer is a nanowire heater made of titanium and gold. When current flows through the nanowire, the vanadium dioxide layer slowly heats up, causing a slow, controlled switch from insulating to conducting. "This device architecture is very interesting and innovative," said Oh, who is the study's first author. Typically, materials in a Mott transition experience an abrupt switch from insulating to conducting because the current flows directly through the material, he explained. "In this case, we flow current through a nanowire on top of the material to heat it and induce a very gradual resistance change." To implement the device, the researchers first fabricated an array of these so-called activation (or neuron) devices, along with a synaptic device array. Then they integrated the two arrays on a custom printed circuit board and connected them together to create a hardware version of a neural network. The researchers used the network to process an image--in this case, a picture of Geisel Library at UC San Diego. The network performed a type of image processing called edge detection, which identifies the outlines or edges of objects in an image. This experiment demonstrated that the integrated hardware system can perform convolution operations that are essential for many types of deep neural networks. The researchers say the technology could be further scaled up to do more complex tasks such as facial and object recognition in self-driving cars. With interest and collaboration from industry, this could happen, noted Kuzum. "Right now, this is a proof of concept," Kuzum said. "It's a tiny system in which we only stacked one synapse layer with one activation layer. By stacking more of these together, you could make a more complex system for different applications." ### Paper: "Energy Efficient Mott Activation Neuron for Full Hardware Implementation of Neural Networks." This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Samsung Electronics, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, a Qualcomm Fellowship and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science through an Energy Frontier Research Center. Juba The United Nations Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until March 15, 2022 after the unanimous adoption of resolution 2567 (2021). In a press statement seen by The EastAfrican on Wednesday, the Council also demanded all parties in South Sudan's conflict and other armed actors to immediately cease fighting and engage in political dialogue in accordance with the peace agreement signed in 2018. "Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2567 (2021), by which it decided that the Mission's mandate is designed to advance a three-year strategic vision to prevent a return to civil war," read the statement. According to the terms of the 13-page resolution, the 15-member Council stated that the mandate shall include the protection of civilians facing threat of physical violence, with specific protection for women and children. "UNMISS shall also deter violence against civilians, especially through proactive deployment and active patrolling, with particular attention to internally displaced persons and refugees in UNMISS protection sites...The mandate shall also include the creation of conditions that are conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, supporting implementation of the Revitalized Agreement and the South Sudan peace process, as well as monitoring, investigating and reporting on violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights," it added. The UN has also decided to maintain the Mission's overall force levels at a ceiling of 17,000 troops and 2,101 police, including 88 corrections officers. "However, it expressed its readiness to consider adjusting those levels on the basis of security conditions on the ground and implementation of priority measures by the Government of South Sudan and all relevant actors," the statement said. The Council also threatened to institute unnamed measures against those whose actions undermine peace, stability and security, and demanded that all member states comply with their obligations to prevent the supply, sale or transfer of arms. (Natural News) A survey by the University of Chicago finds that most Capitol Hill rioters had no ties to any fringe right-wing groups and were merely engaged people outraged by what they believed was a rigged election. (Article by Victoria Taft republished from PJMedia.com) While colorful weirdos with names such as QAnon Shaman and Baked Alaska stole the headlines, people who were arrested by federal officials during and after the riot were a broader core of people with a healthy skepticism about the veracity of the November 2020 election, according to the study. QAnon Shaman: 'I regret entering that building with every fibre of my body' https://t.co/YpLx4dhw57 BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 5, 2021 There was plenty of reason for the skepticism, considering the collusion between Big Tech, unions, lawfare, and Democrats combined efforts to sway the election. Those efforts were at the very least unethical. As Time Magazine enthused in an article entitled, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election, there was a conspiracy unfolding behind the [election] scenes of an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans to save the election from Donald Trump. The handshake between business and labor was just one component of a vast, cross-partisan campaign to protect the electionan extraordinary shadow effort dedicated not to winning the vote but to ensuring it would be free and fair, credible and uncorrupted. For more than a year, a loosely organized coalition of operatives scrambled to shore up Americas institutions as they came under simultaneous attack from a remorseless pandemic and an autocratically inclined President. []Their work touched every aspect of the election. They got states to change voting systems and laws and helped secure hundreds of millions in public and private funding. They fended off voter-suppression lawsuits, recruited armies of poll workers and got millions of people to vote by mail for the first time. They successfully pressured social media companies to take a harder line against disinformation and used data-driven strategies to fight viral smears. Rather than being ill-informed, it appears that the Capitol Building rioters may have been better informed than most on these moves to sway the election. In a working paper that is considered to be a novel approach to estimating community-level participation in mass protest events, Asst. Prof. Austin Wright of the Harris School of Public Policy and David Van Dijcke of the University of Michigan found a surprising number of the people arrested at the Capitol Hill riot who were business owners and other professionals obviously upset over election fraud. The paper found that those arrested were more likely to have traveled to the Capitol from Trump-voting islands, where residents are surrounded by neighborhoods with higher numbers of Biden supporters. More than half came from counties that Joe Biden carried. Though the researchers include the fact that the overwhelming number of people live in Democrat areas, they also highlighted the fact that proximity to Proud Boy chapters and local levels of engagement with misinformation posted on Parler, the exiled social media platform popular with the far right, are robustly linked to participation in the Capitol rally. However, researcher Austin Wright said living in those leftist areas played a significant role. Social isolation and the perception of being threatened by neighboring areas that largely hold opposing political views also played a significant role in who was there. The researchers also looked at cell phone data such as where in the country Capitol rioters called. Most were in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country. Could the cancel culture and being surrounded by people with Trump Derangement Syndrome and other anti-conservatives have helped trigger the attack? They claimed some of the rioters were on the social media app Parler, though efforts to discover other social media apps used by the people arrested were not noted. The survey found that approximately 10% of the Capitol rioters had a connection with Proud Boys, which they describe as a hate group, and Oath Keepers. Nearly 90% had no ties or right-wing affiliations whatsoever. And they found out that 85% of the people arrested were business owners or held down white-collar jobs. WTTW TV reported that researchers hadnt even needed a business owner category before when looking into protest groups. Robert Pape, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, oversaw the study and said the caliber of people at the riot was surprising. Normally, we dont even have a category for business owner when we study political violence, so this is a very big sign that were dealing with a new political movement with violence at its core that cant be reduced to the usual suspects. President Trump also appealed to a wide variety of Americans from all socio-economic backgrounds. The fact that the rioters were not red-meat, right-wing fanatics threw researchers for a loop. It also forced some reflection by researchers about the people who believe there was election fraud, according to the study. What we are dealing with here is not merely a mix of right-wing organizations, but a broader mass movement with violence at its core. We need to do more to understand who we are dealing with in the new movement. Targeting pre-2021 far right organizations alone will not solve the problem. Perhaps they should consider that the 2020 election was seen by half the country as rigged. Election integrity efforts, not name-calling, lawfare, and canceling others who hold politically opposing views, will be key in winning back confidence in the elections process. If Democrats pass HR 1, all bets will be off. Read more at: PJMedia.com and RealInvestigations.news. Chennai, March 18 : Senior Congress leader and former Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanaswamy, who is not contesting the 2021 Assembly elections, will, however, be leading the poll campaign of the DMK-Congress combine in the Union Territory. Narayanaswamy was reportedly denied ticket by the party high command due to his failure to hold together the Congress leaders and MLAs, many of whom joined the BJP, leading to the fall of his government. However, the party is using the services of the veteran leader to lead the poll campaign. Narayanaswamy, talking to IANS, said: "I was not intended to contest the election and I will be leading the election campaign for our alliance." Though several opinion polls show the AIADMK-BJP-AINRTC combine coming to power, he said: "The Congress party is well placed for any electoral challenge and our combine will win the elections for sure. We have stitched our combination in a proper manner without any loopholes and taking into consideration all the basic social intricacies." While Narayanaswami is putting up a brave face, the BJP camp is upbeat. Puducherry BJP President Swaminathan told IANS that "our alliance is on a winning mode and the ground realities are in our favour. We have a formidable combination with AINRC and AIADMK". A woman walks past a large cutout of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the nation marks his 101th birthday in Dhaka, March 17, 2021. Bangladesh kicked off a ten-day countdown to the 50th anniversary of the countrys independence on Wednesday, while also marking the birth anniversary of the nations founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Mujib declared independence from what was then known as West Pakistan on March 26, 1971, following which the country won freedom in December that year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is Mujibs daughter, virtually addressed a childrens rally on the occasion of his birthday, which is celebrated as National Childrens Day in Bangladesh. We want to make the lives of children more colorful, beautiful, successful and fruitful - this is our aim, Hasina said, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the state news service. The country marked the centenary of Mujibs birth on March 17, 2020. A year-long celebration of Mujib Year was extended to December 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih arrived in Dhaka for the opening day of independence celebrations, and laid wreaths at the National Martyrs Memorial to honor Mujib and Bangladeshs freedom fighters. He is one of the giants of South Asian history, whose actions were pivotal in securing an independent destiny for the people of Bangladesh, Solih said in a speech on the occasion, BSS reported. Hero for all Indians On Wednesday, Mujib, who is affectionately called Bangabandhu, or Friend of Bangladesh, was hailed as a hero by Narendra Modi, prime minister of neighboring India. My heartfelt homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a champion of human rights and freedom, on his birth anniversary, Modi said on Twitter. He is a hero for all Indians too. It will be my honor to visit Bangladesh later this month for the historic celebrations. Modi is expected to visit Bangladesh on March 26-27, in what will be his first visit to a foreign nation since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the guest on March 19, Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari on March 22, and Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering on March 24. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have all delivered video messages congratulating Bangladesh on the 50th anniversary of its independence. Mujibs dream of a Sonar Bangla, or Golden Bangladesh, was still galvanizing the countrys citizens, Xi said in his video message, according to BSS. Shadow of the pandemic Ten days of events at the National Parade Ground will highlight Bangladeshs economic and social development since independence, according to organizers. Celebratory activities have been held under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, the chief coordinator of the committee overseeing activities marking Mujib Year, said all events are being held following all health guidelines. A maximum of 500 invitees are allowed to attend each day of the festivities for five days at the National Parade Ground in Dhaka. Attendees must get a negative COVID-19 test result before attending, Naser told BenarNews. At least 5,000 artists and artisans from home and abroad are participating in the cultural events in Dhaka, Asaduzzaman Noor, another committee member, told BenarNews. While social distancing regulations have meant limited gatherings, they have also spurred artists and citizens around the country to design unusual tributes to the countrys founder. For instance, Md. Hirok Ahmed, a differently-abled teenager in the northern Pabna district, baked a 120-foot cake weighing 800 pounds to honor Mujib. I am a poor tea-seller and I have spent whatever I could. This is my pleasure that I have done something for my beloved Bangabandhu, Hirok told BenarNews over the phone. In the northern Bogra district, an agricultural company crafted a 400-meter long portrait of Mujib, by planting purple and green rice over 13 hectares (33 acres) of land. People from all over the country have been visiting since the portrait became visible last month - every day we get hundreds of visitors, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, a manager of National AgriCare, the company behind the giant portrait, told AFP news agency. Luis Robert was a late scratch for Mondays game against the Chicago Cubs as a precautionary measure with a lower abdominal strain. Robert said the situation popped up about four or five days ago. And while he wasnt sure how it happened, the center fielder was eager to return to the Chicago White Sox lineup Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I feel good, Robert said through an interpreter before the game. He wasted little time showing he was healthy. In his first at-bat in the second inning, he hit a hard grounder that ate up second baseman Chris Taylor. Robert reached on the error and then attempted to steal. He was thrown out, but it was a good sign he was ready to test all aspects of his game. Despite going 0-for-3 Wednesday, Robert has been a standout at the plate for the Sox this spring as he prepares for his second big-league season. Hes slashing .296/.321/.519 with three doubles, one home run and two RBIs in nine games. He has four runs and three stolen bases. The home run came Saturday against Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani. That was also the last game Robert played before Wednesday. It has been good, Robert said of his spring. I feel good. Physically and mentally. Im preparing myself to have a very good season, and thats most important. Earlier in the month, Sox hitting coach Frank Menechino said Robert used the offseason to work on pitch recognition. Menechino pointed to a March 1 at-bat against the Angels as an example of a positive result. He laid off some tough pitches, got the count back to 3-2 and took a fastball inside and barreled it to left-center (for a double), Menechino said. Thats really encouraging how he never got off the fastball and was ready to hit every pitch, not kind of guessing and figuring out what the pitcher was going to do to him. He was convicted in his approach. Robert said he feels comfortable at the plate. Ive been taking the pitches, he said. (If) its something that is not in the strike zone, I just let it go. But I think that what makes you feel comfortable at home plate is when you are really recognizing the pitches or you are swinging at the pitches that you can do damage (with). Story continues Ive been doing that, and I think thats the reason Ive been feeling so comfortable right now. Robert finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting last season after slashing .233/.302/.436 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs in 56 games. He also won the AL Gold Glove Award for center fielders. He has been able to transfer what he learned in 2020 to spring training. The difference (between this spring and last) has been this year I already have experience of playing in the major leagues, and that experience has helped me to do things in a better way to help me feel more comfortable, Robert said. Manager Tony La Russa called Robert a humble guy who just likes to let his play speak for him. Robert batted sixth Wednesday. He also has been slotted first and second this spring. Because of his speed, there isnt any place you couldnt put him, La Russa said. Sometimes if hes really hot, you give him that extra at-bat in the two spot, or leadoff if Tim (Anderson) takes a day off. Hitting in the middle of the lineup, hes going to have plenty of chances to drive in runs and score runs. The top of the lineup is that extra at-bat, which you look for. Other than that, its not a big difference. Every time you come to bat, you want to score, and the deeper the lineup, the better. Robert spent a majority of his rookie season hitting seventh (31 games). He also saw time leading off (seven games) and batting fifth (one), sixth (16) and eighth (one). Hes prepared to hit anywhere. Its not that big of a difference, he said. I feel like I can feel comfortable in whatever spot in the lineup. Protesters stormed a government building in southern Yemen on Tuesday to demand payment of their salaries. Dozens of demonstrators went into a presidential palace in the southern coastal city of Aden. Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed remained in the building during the incident. The protesters wanted payments for government employees, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) controls the greater Aden region in southern Yemen. The separatist group, which is supported by the United Arab Emirates, broke away from the Saudi-backed government in 2017. In December, the STC reconciled with the government and entered into a unity Cabinet. For years, Yemens Southern Movement has demanded independence for south Yemen. The STC is an offshoot of the movement. The protest came as the ongoing war in Yemen between the government and Houthi rebels is escalating. Most recently, on Monday, the Iran-backed Houthi forces fired missiles into Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, also known as Ansarallah, control the northwest of the country where much of the current fighting is focused. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 23:59:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANGZHOU, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba.com, an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace for global wholesalers under the Alibaba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), with the aim of supporting Vietnamese firms to boost online exports. According to the MoU, Alibaba.com will support Vietnamese firms with faster access to its global e-commerce platform, as well as solutions designed to accelerate business growth and tailored services to help them deepen their online trade capabilities. In 2020, the two sides organized workshops for companies from five Vietnamese provinces and cities including Ho Chi Minh City. Another four workshops in other locations are expected to be organized this year. Alibaba.com pledged to support 10,000 Vietnamese firms by 2024. The e-Conomy SEA 2020 report shows that the size of Vietnam's e-commerce market currently stands at 7 billion U.S. dollars, with a growth rate of 46 percent from 2019 to 2020, and an expected value of 29 billion dollars in 2025. Enditem Seventy-three House Democrats have signed onto an effort to expel GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress, with California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez introducing a resolution to do so on Friday. Forbes first reported on Gomez's plans - and the number of co-sponsors he was able to attract, including prominent Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Eric Swalwell, Ilhan Omar and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 'There is nothing more threatening to Democrats than strong Republican Women!!!' Greene tweeted Thursday, sharing a tweet about the move. 'House Democrats have declared war on House Republican Women!' A resolution will be introduced Friday to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House of Representatives for statements she's made backing conspiracy theories and indicating Democratic members should be executed On Thursday, Greene sent out tweets about the Democrats' move calling it a 'war' on Republican women and using it to raise funds for her re-election Among the 73 Democratic lawmakers to co-sponsor the resolution against Greene were prominent members including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) and Ilhan Omar (right) THE CLAIMS TAYLOR GREENE HAS NOT PUBLICLY RENOUNCED The California Camp Fire which killed at least 85 was caused by a space laser linked to the Rothschilds and the state's high-speed rail. PG&E admitted it was caused by a faulty power line and went into bankruptcy to fund a $13.5bn settlement and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin cut off a child's face while she was alive, Clinton wore it as a mask so the terrified child would produce 'adrenachrome' and then organized the killing of a cop who knew about it. The Las Vegas massacre was organized by Democrats to help them ban guns and shooter Stephen Paddock was not a lone wolf. ' I am told that Nancy Pelosi tells Hillary Clinton several times a month that we need another school shooting in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control.' Seth Rich leaked Hillary Clinton's emails and was murdered in revenge by her aide John Podesta because the emails revealed that a D.C. pizza restaurant had a child-smuggling operation in its basement. It does not even have a basement. The world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles and the Q in QAnon exists and is the 'best chance to take them out.' Barack Obama and Valerie Jarrett are Muslims. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was replaced by a body double. The Clintons has JFK Jr. killed by organizing his plane crash. She wasn't the person who posted a call to assassinate Nancy Pelosi to her own Facebook page. Advertisement In another tweet, which linked to the Georgia Republican's donation page, Greene said: 'In Nancy Pelosi's America, I've been expelled from Congress!' 'And that's exactly what the Democrats are introducing TOMORROW: a Resolution to expel & remove me from office for the mere crime of standing with the People, not the politicians!' she said. The timing isn't connected to anything Greene did this week, rather Gomez's office had 'quite a few' conversations with House Republicans about supporting the resolution and wanted to wait for those decisions to be made, Forbes said. Gomez's spokesperson Eric Harris told the publication that there was 'interest' among GOP lawmakers, but 'concerns regarding threats of violence and political retribution' prevented any from signing on. During the vote last month to strip Greene of her committee assignments, just 11 House Republicans signed on. Gomez called for a 'strong and clear condemnation from all of her Republican colleagues,' Forbes reported. Instead, she's been embraced by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and former President Donald Trump, while Senate Minority Mitch McConnell - who broke with Trump after the January Georgia run-off losses - has condemned her. Gomez said he believed Greene should be expelled from Congress over some of the conspiracy theories she's signed onto - including on the legitimacy of school shootings and the Sept. 11 terror attacks - as well as social media posts that indicated she wanted top Democrats executed. Greene also took heat this week for voting against a resolution that gave Congressional Gold Medals to the U.S. Capitol Police and other law enforcment that protected the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. The resolution gave one medal to the Capitol Police, another to D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department and another to the Smithsonian to be displayed with a plaque listing all the law enforcement agencies that were involved. Instead of voting in the affirmative, Greene signed on as a co-sponsor to a separate resolution, sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert, that made no mention of the attack on the Capitol, though listed the three names of the of Capitol Police officers who died. [March 18, 2021] ORYZON to Participate in Upcoming Virtual International Conferences in March and April BIO-Europe Spring 2021 Kempen Life Sciences Conference 4th SACHS Annual Neuroscience Innovation Forum 2021 MADRID, Spain and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oryzon Genomics, S.A. (ISIN Code: ES0167733015, ORY), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging epigenetics to develop therapies in diseases with strong unmet medical need, announced today that Executive Directors of the company will attend several renowned international conferences in March and April, all to be held virtually. Dr. Carlos Buesa, Oryzons CEO, together with Dr. Jordi Xaus, Vice President of Clinical Portfolio and Innovation, and Emili Torrell, Chief Business Development Officer, will attend BIO-Europe Spring 2021, which will be held March 22-25. Dr. Buesa and his team will hold 1x1 meetings with international investors and pharma industry professionals. For more info about this event, please visit: https://informaconnect.com/bioeurope-spring/ Dr. Buesa will also attend the 2021 Kempen Life Sciences Conference, which will take place on April 21 and focus on immuno and targeted oncology, where he will hold 1x1 meetings with international investors and pharma industry executives. For more info about this event, please visit: https://www.kempen.com/en/securities/events/life-sciences-conference Finally, Dr. Buesa and Dr. Torsten Hoffmann, Oryzons Chief Scientific Officer, will participate in the 4th SACHS Annual Neuroscience Innovation Forum 2021, which will be held April 28-30. Dr. Buesa will make a corporate presentation, as well as participate in a panel entitled Advances in Neuropsychiatry on April 29 at 10:30 ET. For more info about this event, please visit: https://www.sachsforum.com/4nif-about.html About Oryzon Founded in 2000 in Barcelona, Spain, Oryzon (ISIN Code: ES0167733015) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company considered as the European champion in Epigenetics. Oryzon has one of the strongest portfolios in the field. Oryzons LSD1 program has rendered two compounds, vafidemstat and iadademstat, in Phase II clinical trials. In addition, Oryzon has ongoing programs for developing inhibitors against other epigenetic targets. Oryzon has a strong technological platform for biomarker identification and performs biomarker and target validation for a variety of malignant and neurological diseases. Oryzon has offices in Spain and the United States. Oryzon is one of the most liquid biotech stocks in Europe with +90 M shares negotiated in 2020 (ORY:SM / ORY.MC / ORYZF US OTC mkt). For more information, visit https://www.oryzon.com About Iadademstat Iadademstat (ORY-1001) is a small oral molecule, which acts as a highly selective inhibitor of the epigenetic enzyme LSD1 and has a powerful differentiating effect in hematologic cancers (See Maes et al., Cancer Cell 2018 Mar 12; 33 (3): 495-511.e12.doi: 10.1016 / j.ccell.2018.02.002.). A first Phase I/IIa clinical trial with iadademstat in refractory and relapsed acute leukemia patients demonstrated the safety and good tolerability of the drug and preliminary signs of antileukemic activity, including a CRi. Beyond hematological cancers, the inhibition of LSD1 has been proposed as a valid therapeutic approach in some solid tumors such as small cell lung cancer (SCLC), neuroendocrine tumors, medulloblastoma and others. Iadademstat has been tested in four clinical trials (two in monotherapy in SCLC and AML, and two in combination, in SCLC and AML) in more than 100 patients. In the combination studies, ALICE (ongoing), a Phase IIa trial in combination with azacitidine in elderly or unfit AML patients, and CLEPSIDRA (finalized), a Phase IIa trial in combination with platinum/etoposide in second line ED-SCLC patients, preliminary efficacy results have been reported. About Vafidemstat Vafidemstat (ORY-2001) is an oral, CNS optimized LSD1 inhibitor. The molecule acts on several levels: it reduces cognitive impairment, including memory loss and neuroinflammation, and at the same time has neuroprotective effects. In animal studies vafidemstat not only restores memory but reduces the exacerbated aggressiveness of SAMP8 mice, a model for accelerated aging and Alzheimers disease (AD), to normal levels and also reduces social avoidance and enhances sociability in murine models. In addition, vafidemstat exhibits fast, strong and durable efficacy in several preclinical models of multiple sclerosis (MS). Oryzon has performed two Phase IIa clinical trials in aggressiveness in patients with different psychiatric disorders (REIMAGINE) and in aggressive/agitated patients with moderate or severe AD (REIMAGINE-AD), with positive preliminary clinical results reported in both. Additional finalized Phase IIa clinical trials with vafidemstat include the ETHERAL trial in patients with Mild to Moderate AD, where a significant reduction of the inflammatory biomarker YKL40 has been observed after 6 months of treatment, and the pilot, small scale SATEEN trial in Relapse-Remitting and Secondary Progressive MS. A Phase IIb trial in borderline personality disorder (PORTICO) has been recently authorized and the company is preparing a Phase IIb trial in schizophrenia patients (EVOLUTION). Vafidemstat is also being explored in a Phase II in severe Covid-19 patients (ESCAPE) assessing the capability of the drug to prevent ARDS, one of the most severe complications of the viral infection. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This communication contains, or may contain, forward-looking information and statements about Oryzon, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, capital expenditures, synergies, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates and similar expressions. Although Oryzon believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of Oryzon shares 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 Oryzon 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 those discussed or identified in the documents sent by Oryzon to the Spanish Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), which are accessible to the public. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and have not been reviewed by the auditors of Oryzon. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Oryzon or any of its members, directors, officers, employees or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. All forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to Oryzon on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, Oryzon does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Oryzons securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of Oryzons securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from Oryzon or the selling security holder, as applicable, that will contain detailed information about Oryzon and management, as well as financial statements. IR, US IR & Media, Europe Spain Oryzon Ashley R. Robinson Mary-Ann Chang Patricia Cobo Emili Torrell LifeSci Advisors, LLC LifeSci Advisors, LLC / Carlos C. Ungria BD Director +1 617 430 7577 +44 7483 284 853 +34 91 564 07 25 +34 93 515 13 13 arr@lifesciadvisors.com mchang@lifesciadvisors.com pcobo@atrevia.com cungria@atrevia.com etorrell@oryzon.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] HOW MATT HANCOCK WAS FORCED TO REVEAL INDIA VACCINE DELAY 4.45pm, Wednesday Just before the Downing Street press conference, news breaks that the NHS has issued a letter to vaccine clinics warning of a 'substantial reduction' in vaccine supply in April and that no new first dose appointments should be booked. 5pm press conference Matt Hancock completely glossed over the vaccine shortage in his opening remark but said supplies were being prioritised for the over-50s not already vaccinated. 5:05pm The Health Secretary is quizzed at the press conference by BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg and the Daily Mail's Jason Groves about the vaccine shortage. He avoids answering questions about the source of the delay and tries to downplay fears, stating that vaccine supplies were 'always lumpy'. 5:30pm Laura Kuenssberg reveals in a tweet she has been told 'fewer AstraZeneca vaccines are available than expected' this is the first time the vaccine type behind the hold-up is reported. Overnight Government sources brief the BBC and the Financial Times that the reason behind the AstraZeneca hold up is a delayed batch of vaccines expected form the Serum Institute of India. 8.10am, Thursday Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says on BBC Radio 4 there is not 'any one factory responsible for this, or any one country'. 8.30am The Telegraph publishes an interview with the Serum Institute CEO, Adar Poonawalla, in which he says there was no promised schedule and the UK already received 5m out of its 10m doses. Mr Poonawalla said the hold-up was due to export restrictions imposed by the Indian government. He urged the UK to be patient. 12:25pm Matt Hancock stands up in the House of Commons and admits: 'We have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India.' He then gushes about the Institute and calls it 'remarkable'. Advertisement Matt Hancock was forced to begrudgingly admit that a vaccine shortage will delay Britain's vaccine drive today after an evasive press conference last night in which he made no mention of the shortfalls until challenged by journalists. The Health Secretary's attempt to present the delay as a 'pause' in vaccinations for under-50s was only exposed by the release just minutes before he took the podium of an NHS letter revealing the supply problems. Last night, he tried to blame the delay on a 'lumpy' supply chain before finally appearing in the Commons today to announce that India's decision to block a shipment of around 4million doses was behind the problem. Mr Hancock was forced to admit the scale of the problem after details were leaked by senior Government sources last night. He said No10's priority would be mopping up millions of Britons in the top nine priority groups yet to receive their first dose, while ensuring second doses aren't threatened by any potential supply hiccup. Labour's Jonathan Ashworth accused Mr Hancock of attempting to 'downplay legitimate concerns' about the possible rationing of first doses last night. News emerged shortly after the press conference that AstraZeneca's vaccine was the one being hit by supply issues, and government sources said overnight that it was the delivery in India. Robert Jenrick denied that any one firm or country was to blame on Radio 4 this morning, but the CEO of the Serum Institute of India revealed soon after that it had not shipped batch of 5m doses. Mr Hancock was forced to admit it in the House of Commons at around midday. Commenting shortly after the press conference, the shadow health secretary said: 'People across the country will be anxious and worried that the booking of new first dose vaccination appointments will be paused form the end of March. 'Matt Hancock needed to explain exactly what these supply issues are and what he is doing to resolve them. Trying to dismiss or downplay the legitimate concerns of anxious people waiting for a vaccine is simply not good enough.' Deputy leader of the Labour party Angela Rayner accused Mr Hancock of ducking legitimate questions about supplies, tweeting last night: 'I fail to see the point of a press conference that fails to answer those basic questions when people will be legitimately very worried tonight.' It follows weeks of increasingly optimistic briefings and promises by vaccines minister Nadim Zahawi of a surge in the number of vaccines to be delivered in March. That surge will now not happen and a briefing last week that claimed over-40s will be offered jabs in March appears to have also been proven incorrect One former minister told MailOnline today the Government's 'over-hyping' of the rollout had 'opened it up to avoidable criticism'. 'We should always underpromise in the anticipation of 'events, events'',' the MP said. 'The early success has unfortunately made people get carried away. Had they not overpromised there would not be an issue because the public would have been delighted with what has been achieved. 'The over-hyping opens up the government to criticism which it could have avoided.' Senior government sources told The Telegraph last week that over-40s group would be offered a vaccine by April 4 more than a week before all over-50s should have been offered their first dose. But the Department of Health and Social Care dismissed the claim at the time. despite hopes of a bumper supply that saw NHS bosses tell vaccination clinics to prepare for twice as many doses from this week. A spokesperson added: 'We have set out our timelines for the vaccination programme and there is no change to this. 'We intend to offer a first dose to all over-50s by mid-April and all adults by the end of July.' Matt Hancock last night played down vaccine delays which could see Britons under 50 waiting an extra month for the lifesaving jab, muddling the rollout's timeline Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures Although the Serum Institute agreed to supply 10million doses of vaccine to the UK, Britain gets most of its AstraZeneca supplies from factories within the country. Most manufacturing is done in Keele and Oxford, with the finishing process completed in Wrexham in North Wales Confusion about the UK's vaccine timeline began in January, when AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot predicted the UK would have vaccinated all over-50s by the end of this month. He told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: 'By March, the UK will have vaccinated maybe 28 or 30million people. 'The Prime Minister has a goal to vaccinate 15million people by mid-February, and they're already at 6.5million. So they will get there.' That goalpost was shifted back to early May by Health Secretary Matt Hancock at the start of February, stressing the date was dependent on supply. Speaking at the time, he told The Telegraph: 'My plan is that we should be able to offer a vaccine to everybody in categories one to nine that's all the over-50s by May. 'Lots of things have got to go right to hit that goal, especially supply, which is the rate-limiting factor. 'But I'm sure, working with the NHS and everybody else who is making this happen, that if we keep going at the pace we can, then we can make sure all the over-50s get the offer of a vaccine by May.' Just over two weeks later, the date was moved forward again, with the Government announcing a target of April 15 to have all the priority group vaccinated. The Serum Institute of India's CEO, Adar Poonawalla, is pictured with No10's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in February, before news emerged of the deal that it would supply the UK with 10million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine But No10's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said 'bumper weeks' of supply would accelerate the rollout this month. He said: 'We are working towards accelerating the pace of rollout with some bumper weeks ahead from the middle of this month allowing us to ramp up the vaccination.' It came just over a week after the UK agreed a deal with the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, to receive 10million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Previously all 100million doses of the vaccine ordered by the UK were expected to be made between British factories. The UK did receive an unknown amount of AZ's jab from the Netherlands at the start of January. NHS bosses last night warned of a vaccine shortage in April, effectively cancelling new first dose appointments until May because of a lack of supplies. Government sources immediately claimed the UK's dilemma was down to a delayed shipment of 5million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine being manufactured on India. AstraZeneca and Pfizer the manufacturers of the two jabs being used in Britain were both quick to dismiss shortage fears. AstraZeneca also insisted there were no hiccups with its domestic supply. Its comment implied the problem was coming from abroad, backing up claims from Whitehall insiders that the delayed shipment from the Serum Institute of India was to blame. HOW VACCINE TARGETS HAVE SHIFTED OVER TIME January 26 AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot predicted the UK would have vaccinated all over-50s by the end of March. February 5 Health Secretary Matt Hancock says all over-50s were expected to be vaccinated by early May. February 21 No10 announces a target of April 15 to have all over-50s vaccinated. March 9 Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says 'bumper weeks' of supply would accelerate the rollout in March. March 12 Senior Government sources say the vaccine rollout is ahead of schedule and over-40s would be offered a vaccine as early as April 4. March 17 Matt Hancock acknowledges a fall in supply of the vaccine but insists over-50s will still be vaccinated by April 15. Advertisement Mr Hancock today finally confirmed a delayed shipment from India was behind the vaccine shortage due to hit the UK next month. This was after he chose to gloss over the actual cause of the shortage in last night's press conference, instead resorting to his usual jibe of 'lumpy supplies'. The UK was expecting another 5million doses of the Oxford-made vaccine from the Serum Institute to complete its order for 10m but a 'scheduled' delivery was pushed back, Mr Hancock told MPs today. But pouring more confusion on the topic, the SII's boss insisted it was never under a certain time frame to deliver on all 10million doses it had promised to Britain. Narendra Modi's government in New Delhi is in control of exports and blocked the shipment, the Serum Institute's CEO Adar Poonawalla said, to keep them for their own citizens with the country facing the prospect of a second wave. Mr Poonawalla said the company has committed only to helping the UK 'as and when it can'. Last month Mr Poonawalla asked other countries to 'be patient' and said it had been asked to 'prioritise the huge needs of India' and poorer nations. Coronavirus cases in India are currently at about a third of their peak 2020 levels and the foreign minister said in parliament this week that 'adequate availability at home' was top of its priority list, the Financial Times reported. Mr Hancock told the House of Commons today: 'We have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India.' And he said a further 1.7million doses of vaccines had been held up because experts had to 're-test its stability', although he did not say which vaccines this affected, nor when the delay happened or how long it was. Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said the Government had learned of vaccine supply issues 'in the last few days', and suggested the problem is not due to reductions from a single nation. The Housing Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We have learned from some of our manufacturers that there are going to be some supply issues in the last few days. 'A number of global manufacturers are experiencing issues.' Pressed if the issue was vaccine coming from India, he said: 'It's not that there's any one factory responsible for this or any one country.' The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Xiaojie Tan, the hardworking owner of Youngs Asian Massage in Acworth, Ga., made her patrons feel at home and treated her friends like family, one longtime customer said on Thursday. Two days ahead of her 50th birthday, Ms. Tan was among eight people killed at three spas in the Atlanta area. One of her employees, Daoyou Feng, was also among those left dead on Tuesday. The suspected gunman, Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. Greg Hynson, the longtime customer of Ms. Tan, described her as just the sweetest, kindest, most giving person. He last saw her last weekend, he said, when stopping by her spa to say hello. Ms. Tan, whose friends called her Emily, was originally from China and had a daughter she was tremendously proud of, he said. Mr. Hynson, a former competitive weight lifter, had regular appointments for massages to ease his upper neck trauma, and he and Ms. Tan had been friends for years. Patna, March 18 : A civil court in Gaya on Thursday awarded life sentence to nine persons in connection with the gang-rape of a mother-daughter duo in 2018. The accused had committed the crime on June 18, 2018, after intercepting a doctor, his wife and daughter, who were returning home on a motorcycle from Gaya, at Sondiha village in the district. After tying the doctor's hands and legs with towels, the accused persons had raped his wife. A total of 13 persons were present during the commissioning of the crime, one of whom also raped the minor daughter. Kamlesh Kumar Sinha, the prosecution lawyer, said: "Additional Session Judge Neeraj Kumar declared nine persons guilty of gang-rape and for raping the minor under the POCSO Act. The court awarded life sentence to all of them besides slapping fines. The decision on the four other accused is pendin." Photo: The Canadian Press Several family members of women killed in the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will no longer be welcome at annual commemorations unless his government strengthens recently tabled gun-control legislation. In a letter to Trudeau made public today, relatives of victims, survivors of the Montreal shooting and witnesses say the dismal Bill C-21 will not make society safer. The bill proposes a buyback of many recently banned firearms the government considers assault-style weapons, but owners would be allowed to keep them under strict conditions. The letter says the ban must be made mandatory to ensure it cannot be easily overturned by a future government. The legislation would also allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation a move the letter says would create an ineffective patchwork of laws across the country. In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office says Trudeau thanks the signatories of the letter and will respond to them directly, sharing their desire to enact stronger laws. Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) The Mauritian Government on Wednesday urged the whole population to participate in the vaccination programme against the Covid-19 as early as possible, so as to kick-start the economy 404 What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday A San Antonio man has been arrested after being found with an assault-style rifle and high-capacity magazine near the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. Paul Michael Murray, 31, who has also had an address in the College Station area, was arrested by the Secret Service near the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., which contains Harris residence, after a bulletin alerted law enforcement officers to his possible presence in the area. The bulletin, originating from Texas law enforcement agencies, said he may be experiencing a mental health crisis and was believed to be armed. Subject has been experiencing paranoid delusions of people, mainly the military and government being after him and want to kill him, the bulletin said. He recently purchased an AR-15 and may have it in his possession. Mother received a text from (him) this morning stating he was in Washington DC and was going to take care of his problem. He was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. The vice presidents residence is being renovated, and Harris currently is living at Blair House, near the White House. Murray was known to law enforcement in Texas, at least in Brazos County and College Station, since at least October 2020. An internal police intelligence memorandum issued by the College Station Police Department earlier this month said Murray is a former Army remote pilot operator who received a medical discharge and who suffers from schizophrenia. He began his service in 2010, that memo said. On March 2, he went into the College Station police department lobby and complained that he was not getting enough support from the Veterans Administration or police, the memo said. The memo said he had been prescribed medications but had stopped taking them because of side effects. On March 3, Brazos County Sheriffs deputies conducted a welfare check on Murray. The memo said Murray thought he had been attacked by a group called 3 Stones while overseas. Stated he didnt want to hurt himself, but might hurt someone else if it was justified, the bulletin said. Mentioned owning an AR-15. The Associated Press contributed to this story. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net The best bang for your buck! 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[March 17, 2021] FICO Survey: 54% of Indonesians Prefer to Use Digital Channels to Engage with their Bank During Financial Hardship Appeal of in-person branch banking fading fast post pandemic JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights: 54 percent of Indonesian consumers prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. 23 percent of Indonesians prefer to communicate via their mobile banking app; 14 percent use telebanking. prefer to communicate via their mobile banking app; use telebanking. 35 percent of Indonesians prefer to deal with just one primary bank with a further 39 percent saying that they 'somewhat agreed' this was their preference. A recent survey by global analytics software firm FICO has revealed that 54 percent of Indonesian consumers prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. The poll conducted in December 2020, during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates the willingness of consumers to embrace digital banking and the opportunities that exist for banks to further develop their offering. More information: https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/market-research/advancing-new-experiences-digital-banking The high level of smartphone penetration in Indonesia meant that 23 percent of Indonesians preferred to communicate about hardship using their mobile banking app; 14 percent wanted to use phone banking; 8 percent communicated via email; 7 percent preferred internet banking and 3 percent wanted to use virtual conference technology. "The risk of infection and social distancing requirements made branch visits less appealing last year, accelerating a shift to digital banking channels globally," said Aashish Sharma, risk lifecycle and decision management lead for FICO in Asia Pacific. "Being able to deliver and manage numerous channels in line with customer preference and deliver a seamless and engaging experience is a challenge that is here to stay. Investment i customer management and communication tools that span these channels and product silos and can deliver personalization and improved decision making is key to making digital banking a success." Customer attitudes to new technology from banks such as debt collection automation can yield some interesting preferences and behaviors. "It is worth noting that during periods of hardship, some customers prefer to deal with the issue using intelligent, automated online services, such as our FICO Customer Communication Services (CCS) so as to avoid the embarrassment of talking to an agent about outstanding loans. If customers prefer digital channels during times of hardship, their most difficult time, it seems to me we can expect branch banking to continue its decline." explained Sharma. Importance of maintaining banking relationships Banks still have a data and relationship advantage when compared to fintech challengers. The survey revealed that across Asia Pacific, one in three consumers preferred to have all their banking needs serviced by one bank. In Indonesia this was slightly higher at 35 percent, with a further 39 percent saying that they 'somewhat agreed' they would like to deal with just one primary bank. "Managing multiple bank accounts or finance products with different lenders can often be a complex, time-consuming and costly process for the average banking customer," said Sharma. "Digital banking users today are looking for greater control and visibility of their financial position." When asked about their willingness to try a fintech or challenger bank, 28 percent of Indonesians said that they were inclined to consider a competitor with a further 41 percent relatively open to the idea. "To consolidate and strengthen main bank engagement, lenders need to offer digital banking features that compete with the challengers to ensure the stickiness and viability of long-term customer relationships," added Sharma. Most appealing reasons to switch banks When asked about the reasons they would make the switch to a competitor, 52 percent of Indonesian consumers said their number one reason would be to secure improved personalization and controls in their digital banking service. The poll defined this as the ability to view transaction history, update personal details, reset passwords and other such functions. Interestingly, personalization and control was also the top reason for switching across Asia Pacific (31%). Other top switching drivers across Asia Pacific were; the ability to control a payment card (set transaction limits, lock/unlock); the ability to set up recurring payments; and improved security features such as biometrics and two-factor authentication. FICO's Advancing New Experiences in Digital Banking survey was conducted in December 2020 using an online, quantitative poll of 5,000 consumers across ten countries and regions carried out on behalf of FICO by an independent research company. The countries surveyed were Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. About FICO FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 195 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 120 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time. Learn more at www.fico.com. Join the conversation on Twitter at @FICOnews_APAC. FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the US and other countries SOURCE FICO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mumbai, March 18 : Priyanka Chahar Choudhary stars features in the new daily soap "Udaariyaan", which deals with the trend of people migrating from Punjab to Canada. While the series is being shot near Chandigarh, parts of it might be shot in Canada only on one condition, revealed the actress. The condition, as Priyanka reveals: "Shooting in Canada will be done only if the show gets a good TRP!" She plays a character called Tejo in the show. Talking about the story of the show, she informed: "It is the story of two sisters Tejo and Jasmine (Isha Malviya) and their dreams. Tejo loves Punjab and wants to stay there forever but Jasmine dreams of settling in Canada, a dream which her family has instilled in her since childhood. Fateh (Ankit Gupta) on the other hand, dreams of marrying Jasmine." Quizzed if she would also like to settle in Canada given a choice, the actress replied: "Tejo has no intention of moving to Canada but is willing to do that if her family wants that. Priyanka in real life is exactly like this. For me, my family is important just like Tejo." The Jaipur girl also shared her experience of shooting in Punjab. "We are shooting in the outskirts of Chandigarh. The experience is amazing. The people are friendly and helpful. I've earlier shot music videos in Punjab. Also, the food is so yummy that I'm afraid I'll put on weight in a few months. I enjoy eating Rajma Chawal on the sets." As a precautionary measure amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the cast and crew can only access soft copy of the script to prevent common touch, informed the actress. The show is backed by popular telly-couple Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta. "Udaariyaan" started airing on Colors TV on March 15. The daily soap also stars Ankit Gupta and Isha Malviya in the lead. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text My journey to becoming an American citizen and realizing the American Dream as a poor immigrant child from South America inspired me to write this book and convey my story to all those who still see America as a beacon of hope and opportunity. Author James Veltmeyer shares his insights into the current threats against our American republic in Physician on a Mission: Dr. Veltmeyers Rx to Save America ($20.99, paperback, 9781662808760; $37.99, dust jacket, 9781662808777; $9.99, e-book, 9781662808784). In addition to his work as a physician, Veltmeyer has also focused his energies into the political arena, writing OpEds and participating in podcasts addressing current events and issues affecting the United States and her citizens. He has compiled his thoughts on health care, foreign policy, immigration, trade, economics and more into this volume aimed at reclaiming Americans endangered heritage. My journey to becoming an American citizen and realizing the American Dream as a poor immigrant child from South America inspired me to write this book and convey my story to all those who still see America as a beacon of hope and opportunity, said Veltmeyer. Dr. James Veltmeyer emigrated to the United States from Ecuador, a vital part of a fresh start for his mother and siblings. On his journey to his current status as one of the San Diego regions most well-respected doctors, he has served as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in San Diego and Chief Medical Officer of Therapeutic Solutions, Inc. Veltmeyer is a five-time winner of the San Diego Medical Society's "Top Doctor Award" and was the 2016 Republican nominee for Congress in California's 53rd District. Liberty Hill Publishing, a division of Salem Media Group, is a leader in the print-on-demand, self-publishing industry. Physician on a Mission is available online through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Aktia Bank Plc Press release 18 March 2021 Aktia has won first place in all three Fixed Income Fund House categories in Morningstar's Finland Awards 2021. In terms of fund houses, the five-year risk-adjusted return in three areas is assessed: equities, fixed income and combination funds. This year, Aktia was the winner in all three areas. "Our success in the Morningstar comparison reflects our long-term work in asset management. Aktia has unique competence in fixed income and equities and we create added value for our customers with our diverse offering. Once again, it is great to be recognised for our work", says Niina Bergring, Director in charge of Aktia Bank's asset management. The success of Aktia's funds and Aktia's excellent asset management benefit all customers from institutional investors to private customers. Niina Bergring continues: "We are continuously developing our products and competence and the recognition from Morningstar reflects that our chosen path is the right one. Our success is a strong token that our active portfolio management is profitable, which is above all reflected in the development of our customers' investments." Aktia has been recognised for its excellent asset management also internationally: in January, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri named portfolio managers Jan Brannback and Janne Lahteemaki as the best portfolio managers in the Nordics. Now the Morningstar award reflects that Aktia's asset management brings its customers added value in a comprehensive way. The competence is strong in fixed income asset management as well as in equities and the services are continuously developed and diversified. Aktia's asset management services have been repeatedly rewarded both in Morningstar's and in several other actors' comparisons. Morningstar has awarded Aktia as the best fixed income fund house also in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018. 2019 and 2020. Further, Aktia has been the only Finnish service provider among the top three fixed income fund houses in 2016 and 2017. Morningstar is a leading hub of independent investment analyses in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. It rewards the best asset managers and best individual funds annually. Further information: Niina Bergring, Director in charge of Aktia's asset management +358 40 822 1514, niina.bergring@aktia.fi Katja Korsinkin, Communications Manager, tel. +358 10 247 6294, katja.korsinkin@aktia.fi Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 830 people around Finland. Aktia's assets under management (AuM) 31 December 2020 amounted to EUR 10.4 billion and the balance sheet total was EUR 10.6 billion. Aktia's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com BRIDGEPORT A man was killed after being shot multiple times on the East End late Wednesday afternoon, according to police. Patrol officers responded to the 100 block of Union Avenue around 5:30 p.m. for a report of gunshots. Arriving officers found a victim, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, in the 100 block of Blackstone Street, police said. Medics rushed him to Bridgeport Hospital, where he later died, police said. Police said the victim was a 22-year-old Bridgeport man. No further information on him has been released as of Thursday morning. The Bridgeport Police Department offers its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victim, police said. Detectives processed a large crime scene in the 100 block of Union Avenue and the 100 block of Blackstone Street, police said. As police investigated, roads in the area were closed for several hours. Wednesdays homicide marks the citys third of 2021 and the second in less than a week. On March 13, Gregory Ingram was shot through the window of a multi-family Seaview Avenue home around 2 a.m. The 33-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made. On Jan. 20, 36-year-old Angel Valle was fatally stabbed by his brother with a kitchen knife around 2 a.m. in a Pennsylvania Avenue home, police said. His brother, Julian Daivon Valle, was charged with murder, risk of injury to children and disorderly conduct. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Robert Winkler at 203-581-5244 or the tips line at 203-576-TIPS. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Prosper Gold Corp (TSX-V: PGX; OTCQX: PGXFF), a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on discovery-stage gold properties, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Prosper Gold Corp upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink market. Prosper Gold Corp begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "PGXFF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their U.S. investors. For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the U.S. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. "By trading on OTCQX we have succeeded in making Prosper Gold shares more accessible to an even broader range of investors," stated Peter Bernier, President & CEO. "This important milestone will strengthen our U.S. and global shareholder base and increase liquidity to the benefit of all investors." B. Riley Securities, Inc. acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor. About Prosper Gold Corp Prosper Gold is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on discovery-stage gold properties. The Company is well-capitalized, has a tight share structure and is led by a proven management team with a track record of success. Prosper Gold is currently concentrating on its flagship Golden Sidewalk Project. The Golden Sidewalk is a district-scale gold exploration project covering over 160 square kilometres of contiguous mineral claims and mining leases (see the Company's Aug. 10, Sept. 8, and Sept. 15, 2020 news releases for details) in the western Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt, approximately 60 km east of Red Lake, Ontario. The vehicle-accessible project straddles 12 kilometres of the Balmer Assemblage Narrow Lake Assemblage unconformity, a regional-scale feature that has been the Red Lake exploration guide, but which has seen limited exploration in the project area. The recently identified "Golden Corridor" lies immediately north of the unconformity in the western portion of the property and is characterized as a highly prospective, greater than 5-kilometre trend of coincident favourable magnetic and resistivity lineaments supported by highly anomalous gold-in-till samples covering 3.3 by 0.5 kilometres. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com. OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed Media Contact: OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected] SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc. Related Links http://www.otcmarkets.com The Gallipoli Campaign (known in Turkey as Canakkale Savas), was a campaign in the First World War that took place on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Today (18 March), Turkey commemorates the 106th anniversary of the Ottoman Empires World War One victory over Allied fleets that were attempting to break through the Strait of Dardanelles in the northwestern province of Canakkale. Britain and France, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the straits that provided a supply route to Russia. In February 1915, the invaders launched a naval attack followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula, to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). 106 years ago hundreds of thousands of troops were killed and wounded as they fought for a tiny patch of land. The landing and the succeeding months-long stalemate ended in early 1916 when the allied army gave up and withdrew. The victory proved a massive morale boost for the Ottoman Turks and cemented the reputation of Mustafa Kemal Pasa. Years later he would lead the Turks to an even bigger victory in their War of Independence and establish the Turkish Republic. Canakkale Crowds would normally flock to the historical peninsula of Gallipoli to attend the ceremony and remember the legacy of the Gallipoli battle. The Canakkale Martyrs Memorial commemorating hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed during the World War I Battle of Gallipoli. (AA Photo) A ceremony was held in Fethiye to mark the occasion. The ceremony was attended by the Fethiye District Governorship, Fethiye Municipality and Fethiye Combatant Veterans and Martyr Families Aid and Solidarity Association. Wreaths were laid at the Martyrs Monument followed by a one minutes silence and Turkish National Anthem. Martyrs Monument in Fethiye Garrison Commander Military Branch Head Major Sedat Karabay made a speech, indicating the meaning and importance of the day. Following the reading of poems, District Governor Eyup Frat signed the honour book. After the ceremony, members of the protocol visited Fethiye War Veterans and Martyr Families Cooperation and Solidarity Association. Sources: Wikipedia/Anadolu Agency/Gercek Fethiye Featured image courtesy of Wikipedia Mullery is the top recipient of per diems in Luzerne County and says he will "compare the alternatives available" Behind a glass enclosure at the Mutter Museum of The College of Physicians in Philadelphia is a terrifying exhibittwo human skeletons. Their bones appear to have melted and fused together. One of the skeletons has its back covered by sheets of bone, locking the spine to the skull, and the skull to the jaw. Additional ribbons of bone join the spine to the limbs, and immobilize the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and jaw. The upper arms are welded to the ribcage, and the pelvis is fused to the thigs bones. Thin stalagmites of bone launch outward from everywhere. The deceased owners of these skeletons suffered from an extremely rare and debilitating condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), or Munchmeyer disease. Victims suffering from FOP have their muscles, tendons, and ligaments gradually turned to bone, until the sufferer becomes rigid and unable to move. Anna Dhody, Mutter Museum curator, and Dr. Fred Kaplan, the world's preeminent FOP researcher, look at Carol Harrys skeleton at the museum. Photo: Jessica Griffin/ The Philadelphia Inquirer Normally when a person dies and the connective tissues that bind the bones together in life decomposes away, the skeleton collapses into a pile of loose bones. To display a skeleton in human form, typically in museums and in classrooms, they have to be re-articulated and pieced back together with fine wires and glue. But the two specimens at the Mutter Museum have their bones naturally and completely fused into a contiguous piece. FOP is so rare that there are only about 700 known cases worldwide. The most famous of these patients was Harry Raymond Eastlack, whose skeleton is one of the two behind the glass facade at the Mutter Museum. Harry Raymond Eastlack was born in 1933 in Philadelphia with characteristic malformations of the great toes, but the doctors who delivered him failed to recognize this telltale sign. When Harry was four, he was hit by a car while playing outdoors with his sister and broke his leg. The injured leg was put in a cast, but the fracture never healed properly. Months later, when the cast was removed, his leg was swollen and inflamed. Soon he found it difficult to move his hips and knees. X-rays revealed abnormal bone growths on his thighs. This later spread along his back, neck, and chest. Harry underwent a total of eleven surgeries, but this invasive procedures only exacerbated his condition as the body tried to repair damaged tissues with more bones. The skeleton of Harry Raymond Eastlack. Photo: Joh-co/Wikimedia Commons Despite the sufferings, Harry had a relatively happy childhood. Like any boys his age, he listened to music on the radio, loved reading, played cards with his sister, and went to the movies. At the Hamilton Theater in Philadelphia, Harry had a special seat at the center of the seventh row, where he could recline and stretch out his leg, which did not bend. As Harrys condition worsened, he had more difficulty with his daily activities and needed help in toileting, feeding, and dressing. At the age of 15, Harrys jaw became fused making him unable to eat solid food. He had to speak through clenched teeth. He had difficulty siting down, as his hips were one of the first to become immobilized. Soon, bone formed across his upper arms and extended onto his breastbone, tying his arms to his chest. Sheets of bone spread along his back and ribbons of bone extended from there to his skull to lock his neck and head. Throughout the years, new bone growths caused juts of bone to form on his pelvis and thighs. One year he accidentally bumped his buttocks into a radiator, and this resulted in a bruise wherein the smooth tissue was destroyed and gave way to newly formed bone. Eventually, the only mobility that Harry was left with was in his eyes, lips, and tongue. Harry died in 1973, just six days shy of his 40th birthday. Near the time of his death, Harry told his sister that he desired to donate his body and medical records to research, so that the disease may be further investigated and understood. Carol Orzel's skeleton at the Mutter Museum. Photo: Jessica Griffin/ The Philadelphia Inquirer Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, also called Stoneman disease, was first described as far back as the 17th century. By the early 20th century, only about a hundred cases were found mentioned in medical literature. Jules Rosenstirn, who conducted an extensive review of the disease, wrote: One does not wonder that a disease so baffling it is course from the first causes to its ultimate state, should invite the speculate as well as the patiently investigating observer to lift the obscuring veil and solve this embarrassing puzzle. It wasnt until 2006 when researchers discovered that FOP is caused by mutations in the ACVR1 gene, and this condition can be inherited. However, in most cases, victims of FOP had no history of this frightening disorder in their family, and had developed the gene mutation spontaneously. Currently there is no cure for FOP. In 2018, Harry Eastlacks skeleton was joined by another skeleton, that belonging to Carol Orzel, another FOP sufferer. Like Harry, Carol too was born in Philadelphia, in 1959. She needed help with eating and dressing because she couldnt bend her elbows. Despite her disabilities, Carol liked to draw using a stick-like device and prism eyeglasses that compensated for her immobile elbows, wrists, fingers, and neck. She drew landscapes and made greeting cards. The stick also enabled her to put on makeup. Carol loved fashion, and had an extensive wardrobe modified with Velcro and zippers to make them easy to wear. Carol Orzel in the early 1990s with Mary Hitner, her best friend at Inglis House. Carol died in the same nursing home where Harry spent his last years. Carol decided to donate her body after she learnt about Harry and saw his skeleton at the Mutter Museum. Both Harrys and Carols skeletons have proven to be an invaluable source of information in the study of FOP. References: # Frederick S.Kaplan, The skeleton in the closet, GENE # Anderson Martelli and Arnaldo Rodrigues Santos, Jr, Cellular and morphological aspects of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, Organogenesis # Marie McCullough, New Mutter Museum exhibit grants final wish for woman who turned to bone, The Philadelphia Inquirer # Wikipedia Haiti has signed Patino & Assocs. to a $37K monthly retainer pact for advocacy and strategic communications services to improve its relationship with the US. The Coral Gables-based firm will gather information from Haitian officials or private sector representatives to attain intelligence that will help the country better target its outreach efforts. It will also cultivate interest in Haitian issues among public policy organizations, as well as members of Congress. The one-year contract began March 1 and automatically renews for another 12 months. Patino reports to Haiti's US ambassador, Bocchit Edmond. Ralph Patino, who handles the Haitian outreach with James Brewster, is a noted Democratic fundraiser. He co-founded the Futuro Fund that raised $36M for the Democratic National Committee in 2012 and went on to help launch the Latino Victory Project, a bi-partisan effort that supports Hispanic candidates for national office throughout the US. Patino also has promoted US ties with Cuba. He is a founding member of Cuba Now and the U.S. Chamber of Commerces US-Cuba Business Council and worked closely with the Obama administration to restore diplomatic ties with the island. Barkley Airport Receives $1 Million in Funding By West Kentucky Star Staff MCCRACKEN COUNTY - On Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced that 11 airports, including two in western Kentucky, have received funding to support operations during the coronavirus crisis.Out of the $13,467,502 in funding distributed across the state, Barkley Regional Airport in McCracken County has received $1,009,959. The Fulton Airport Board received $9,000.Barkley Regional Airport remains a strong engine driving the economic growth in West Kentucky. Im proud to continue delivering for this critical infrastructure and the workers it supports, said Senator McConnell. With the construction of a new terminal, Barkley Airport is primed to climb to new heights. Im proud the bipartisan relief legislation I negotiated is delivering additional resources to put wind at their backs.The Federal Aviation Administration will distribute the federal funding made possible by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act."We would like to thank Senator McConnell for looking out for airports like Barkley Regional Airport. We are incredibly grateful for his support as the pandemic continues to impact air travel negatively. These grant funds will enable us to continue to operate as we suffer significant losses from parking, fuel sales, passenger, and concession revenue," said Barkley Regional Airport Executive Director Dennis Rouleau.According to Rouleau, the funding also includes $3,851 to support Airport business partners, including Hertz, Enterprise, and Mid-America Pepsi.The $3,851 will be divided among our rental car companies and the vending company that we utilize, Rouleau added. We are honored to receive these funds and pass them along with our airport partners who have, like us, been walloped by lower than normal passenger numbers over the last year.According to the FAA, the funding can be used for costs ranging from operations and personnel to sanitization and combating the spread of pathogens at the airport.Other airports receiving funding include the following: Pendleton County Airport - $13,000 Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport, CVG - $12,340,543 Georgetown-Scott County Airport Corporation - $23,000 Madison Airport Board - $13,000 Marion-Washington County Airport Board - $9,000 Middlesboro-Bell County Airport Board - $9,000 Russell County Airport Board - $9,000 Capitol City Airport - $23,000 Union County Airport Board - $9,000 flynas, a Saudi Arabia-based low-cost airline, inaugurated the first of its flights to the historical city of AlUla in a direct flight from Riyadh yesterday (March 17). The new route utilizes flynas A320 neo aircraft, the latest addition to the carriers fleet, bearing the Design of Year of Arabic Calligraphy as part of flynas contribution to the Ministry of Cultures initiative in this direction. Upon its arrival at AlUla International Airport, the aircraft was received by a delegation on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and a number of airlines affiliates. flynas CEO Bander Almohanna extended his gratitude to the General Aviation of Civil Authority (GACA) and the RCU for their efforts and collaboration with flynas in achieving the shared goal of increasing access to the historical city of AlUla as the destination continues to open up to tourism and offer more heritage and culture experiences. flynas has been keen on offering the best service for travellers interested in visiting this unique historical city, in accordance with the airlines overarching strategy that aims to take travel in the Kingdom to the next level, in both services and cost. This serves to transform the Kingdom to an international touristic destination, in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030, he said. Phillip Jones, Chief Destination Management and Marketing Officer at RCU said: We welcome flynas to AlUla and look forward to more domestic flights with flynas from other destinations in the Kingdom. AlUla is a place like no other in the world and we encourage residents of the Kingdom to experience their unique culture and heritage now while they have the destination to themselves. He added: With the recent renaming of AlUla International Airport, we are preparing to open up to international tourism and cement AlUlas position as a globally significant UNESCO destination, but with a modern and future-focused take on tourism. We are working on connecting the culture of the past with the possibilities of future, to present a world-class boutique destination to the world. AlUla is the latest addition to flynas domestic network, facilitating two weekly flights (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) between Riyadh and AlUla. TradeArabia News Service U.S. Secret Service arrested a Texas Man outside Naval Observatory, the traditional home of the all the Vice Presidents of the United States. NBC News noted that the authorities arrested the man who was found lurking around the residence of the vice president around noon. Texas Man in Naval Observatory The man was identified as Paul Murray. Murray was a subject from an intelligence bulletin from Texas, which tipped off the authorities who were able to seize the man, according to a WUSA9 report. ALSO READ: Lindsey Graham: Kamala Harris Impeachment Might Soon Happen if GOP Continues to Overwhelm House As the authorities searched for Murray's car, they found a rifle and ammunition. Several handguns were also seized, which were also found in his car parked in a DC garage, according to an Independent report. Murray was arrested at the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest. The Naval Observatory will be the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris. They will reside in the establishment once the renovation of the property is finished. The renovations took place after former Vice President Mike Pence left the office in January. The Secret Service confirmed with NBC News that they have detained the man near the residence on Wednesday. However, it is not yet confirmed whether Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are present at the scene during the seizure. Murray from San Antonio Texas has is facing charges of carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business. Moreover, he will also face charges of possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of large-capacity ammunition feeding device. It is not yet clear why Texas Man Paul Murray was in Washington D.C. It is also unclear to the authorities why he is lurking around the Naval Observatory, where Vice President Kamala Harris will soon reside. RELATED ARTICLE: Kamala Harris Remains Mum on Mounting Cuomo Sexual Harassment Allegations Questions about whether the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is morally acceptable to observant Catholics due to concerns over use of fetal stem cells in its development have brought the deep divisions within the Catholic Church into public view. On Feb. 26, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans released a statement saying that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing. Four days later, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the national body of Catholic bishops, stated, if one has the ability to choose a vaccine, Pfizer or Modernas vaccines should be chosen over Johnson & Johnsons. A few days later, Kevin Rhoades, one of the bishops who issued the statement, attempted to clarify things when he said, Theres no moral need to turn down a vaccine, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is morally acceptable to use. But only hours later, the bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota, said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is morally compromised and therefore [it is] unacceptable for any Catholic physician or health care worker to dispense and for any Catholic to receive due to its direct connection to the intrinsically evil act of abortion. These statements have confused many Catholics and others outside the church, too. They have also led to concerns over people being discouraged from getting vaccinated. As a political scientist who also works in theology, I have studied Americas growing political polarization, especially related to the Catholic Church, for many years. The current controversy about vaccines needs to be seen in that context. Abortions and fetal tissue To be clear, none of the vaccines directly uses fetal tissue. Embryonic stem cells can turn into any type of cell and are often used in medical research. Embryonic stem cells used in medical research are usually clones, thousands of generations removed from the original cell. Researchers can turn these cloned cells into any type of cell. All vaccines, whether Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson, rely on stem cells, harvested decades ago from early stage aborted fetuses, for the laboratory testing of vaccines. This research is extensively regulated. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is somewhat different from the other vaccines because stem cells were used not only to test the vaccine in the lab, but also to produce it. Johnson & Johnson said in a statement recently: Several types of cell lines created decades ago using fetal tissue exist and are widely used in medical manufacturing but the cells in them today are clones of the early cells, not the original tissue. However, Catholic moral theology obliges believers to be concerned that they might benefit from the abortions that resulted in those initial fetal stem cells. Catholic moral theology Faithful Catholics feel morally bound by the teaching of the Catholic Church that abortion is an intrinsic moral evil an act which never can have a justification. The moral principle involved is called cooperation in evil. To understand cooperation, we might imagine the getaway driver in a bank robbery. The driver might not actually rob the bank or even approve of the robbery. Yet, driving the robbers away assures the robberys success. The driver has cooperated. Cooperation can take many shapes. If I discover that a bank robber has used stolen money to buy me an expensive gift, I have profited from the robbery if I keep the gift and do not report the robber to authorities. This example is a little more like the case of fetal stem cells. To accept a benefit from what is deemed an evil act even at some remote distance can be to cooperate with it in some situations. Rarely are our moral choices so clear as these examples, however. It is shockingly easy to cooperate in evil in the course of daily life. Catholic moral principles can often help Catholics weigh and balance competing moral priorities. Morally acceptable Because the benefit obtained from stem cells that resulted from an abortion is a little bit more direct in the case of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, Catholics have been more hesitant. Pope Francis and many Catholic bishops have said people have a moral obligation to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Still, weighing and balancing everything that is at stake, most Catholic bioethicists, many Catholic bishops and Pope Francis have found that receiving any of the vaccines is morally acceptable, which was the judgment of the Pontifical Academy for Life, a Vatican office that studies bioethical issues. But there have been prominent Catholic bishops and other Catholic voices who have said that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may not be administered by, or received by, a Catholic. Divisions in church The popular image of the Catholic Church is that it is a top-down organization, one unified voice with one central authority. It is this sensibility that gives rise to media headlines about the Catholic Churchs moral concerns over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In one dimension, this is an accurate description of the church, which is a monarchy and does have one central authority in Rome. But in reality, the Catholic Church is more complex and much more fragmented than those outside often can see. Jurisdictional distinctions are important in Catholicism. The Catholic Church is both a global institution and a highly local one. The Catholic Church divides the globe into dioceses. Each diocese is overseen by a bishop who is the authoritative pastor and teacher of doctrine for his own diocese. Catholic bishops enjoy a tremendous amount of autonomy inside their own dioceses. All of them are subject to the authority of the pope. But none of them is bound by anything another bishop says. Not even the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has authority over any individual bishop. The statement from the Archdiocese of New Orleans is binding only on Catholics in New Orleans. So is the case with the statements from bishops of Lexington and San Diego they have authority only within their diocese. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement is intended to give guidance to Catholics around the United States, but has no particular authority over any individual Catholic. Heres what the pope has said To understand what is happening around the vaccine, context is important. Prior to recent decades, public disagreements among senior Catholic Church leaders like these were unheard of. But public airings of pointed disagreements have been becoming more and more common over the last 25 years. In 2020, bishops were divided over how to deal with a Biden presidency. And this year, that division reemerged following an Inauguration Day statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that described how the Biden administrations policies could advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity. Several church leaders later expressed public criticism over the statement. Such disagreements are a symptom of the polarization that is roiling the world all around the Catholic Church. This polarization is dividing Catholics, too. Caught in the middle of all of this are ordinary, faithful Catholics who simply want to do the right thing. For that, the advice of Pope Francis would be a good place to start. Pope Francis has said that the role of the church, its bishops and priests is to inform consciences, not replace them. Catholic Theological Union is a member of the Association of Theological Schools. The ATS is a funding partner of The Conversation US. The world-first creation of model embryos by Melbourne researchers is putting major strain on existing laws that restrict embryo research, as scientists prepare for a global debate on what protections they should receive. Australias restrictions on embryo research, enshrined in law, could soon be out of step with and potentially stricter than the rest of the world once new global guidelines are released in May. An animation, developed by Monash University, showing how the artificial embryos are generated. Credit:Monash University On Wednesday, Monash University researchers revealed they had grown model embryos in the lab. The model embryos closely resemble human embryos, but do not require a sperm or egg. Their creators do not believe they could develop into humans. Australias Embryo Research Licensing Committee has said it considers the model embryos, known as iBlastoids, meet the legal definition of a human embryo, meaning scientists are legally prohibited from growing them in a lab for more than 14 days. NORWALK City Health Department Director Deanna DAmore was one of six women across the state awarded the title of SHero for making a positive impact on the local community during the coronavirus pandemic. The SHero title is awarded by the Connecticut General Assembly Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. In honor of March being National Womens History Month, the commission chose six women leaders, nominated by their communities, to highlight as heroes. These are women that have been nominated by community partners and/or legislators for demonstrating leadership in their communities during COVID-19, according to the commissions website. They have made a significant contribution to our states COVID response by helping to mitigate its harmful impacts during this tumultuous time in Connecticut. Since joining the Norwalk Health Department in 2018, DAmore has spearheaded the citys COVID-19 response, according to the commissions award statements. Her input was invaluable during the first days of the pandemic, when Norwalk was at the forefront of the crisis, DAmores award said. Whether crunching numbers, running a vaccination clinic, testing clinic or investigating complaints of violations of the governors executive orders, Deanna has tirelessly worked to keep the residents of Norwalk safe. Mayor Harry Rilling congratulated DAmore on the accomplishment and said the award was much deserved in his March 15 coronavirus update. She remains an integral part of my COVID-19 task force as we move from testing to vaccinating, and has been an invaluable asset to our community, Rilling said. Her expertise, experience, and judgement has helped save lives. The same week DAmore was named a SHero, she helped lead a vaccination clinic at Bethel AME Church on Tuesday and is set to run a mass vaccination clinic, which will aim to vaccinate about 1,000 people, at Brien McMahon high school Saturday. It has been an unprecedented and challenging year for us all, and while this award highlights my efforts, I am only one part of our great team in Norwalk. We have all relied on each other throughout this crisis, DAmore said. I am extremely fortunate to work with such dedicated and passionate staff members and volunteers. Local health departments across the state are filled with heroes who have been working nonstop to serve their communities. DAmore expressed her excitement and pride at being given the award alongside another female leader in the Norwalk community. The Rev. Elizabeth Abel, of Cornerstone Community Church on West Avenue, was also named a SHero. At a time when more and more people have been finding trouble just keeping up, Pastor Liz has risen to the occasion, Abels award read. abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com One of the elements of the statement that was meant to serve the peace and reconciliation process was concerning the provision of stable communication between the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and Armenia via the so-called Lachin Corridor of which security is provided by the Russian peacekeepers, Dr. Vasif Huseynov, a senior fellow at the Center of Analysis of International Relations, writes for Eurasia Review. This corridor was supposed to be used for entirely non-military purposes in line with another clause of the trilateral document that committed Armenia to withdraw its armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan. According to the document, concurrently with the deployment of Russias peacekeeping contingent, Armenian troops were required to withdraw from the region. What happens weeks after the signing of this document and establishment of ceasefire is extremely alarming and undermines all the regional and international initiatives for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There are reports from multiple sources about Armenias attempts to deploy its armed personnel to the Karabakh region, internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan, through the Lachin Corridor in total disregard to both the trilateral statement and international law. This was the concern raised by Jeyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijans Foreign Minister, in his letter addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations dated March 1, 2021. According to the credible information available to the Azerbaijani side, which is also validated by the reports of independent mass media sources, members of armed forces of Armenia, wearing civilian dress, are transferred to the territory of Azerbaijan through the Lachin Corridor in civilian trucks, including disguised among the construction cargo, in an attempt to escape the control procedures of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, reads the letter. The deployment of Armenian armed forces to the Azerbaijani territories is also confirmed by the fact that the parents and relatives of Armenian soldiers who reject the transfer to the territories of another state have publicly come together protesting this illegal practice of the Armenian government. Armenian servicemen and their relatives have voiced serious allegations of human rights abuses, in particular torture and inhumane treatment, against the personnel deployed into territories of Azerbaijan, stated in Bayramovs letter to the Secretary-General. The deployment of Armenian armed personnel to the territories of Azerbaijan is a move that drastically challenges the precarious balance established by the trilateral statement and serves as a call for future armed confrontations. This threat is reinforced by the internal domestic quarrels within the Armenian government and the armys attempts to topple the incumbent government. The sabotage operations and provocations by the Armenian armed forces are therefore alarming repercussions that would spiral out of control if not properly countered. It should be recalled that it was the transfer of Armenian conscripts into the territory of Azerbaijan in late November last year that eventually led to serious military tension. Thus, the sabotage group of 62 Armenian servicemen committed a series of attacks on the Azerbaijani military and civilians, causing casualties and injuries, before being detained as a result of an anti-terror operation, the letter informed the Secretary General in his letter that was circulated as General Assembly of the United Nations (UN GA) and United Nations Security Council (UN SC) document. Azerbaijans Foreign Minister calls upon Armenia to stop sending its military personnel into the territory of Armenia in order to avoid the re-occurrence of such incidents in the future. The letter also touches upon the human rights dimension of the deployment of military servicemen against their will. By forcing its servicemen to engage in military activity in the territory of another State, not necessitated by legitimate national defense, and putting their safety in danger, Armenia is violating its commitments stemming from numerous documents adopted by regional organizations of which it is a member, such as the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the letter. Undoubtedly, this also puts a further burden of responsibility on the peacekeeping contingent of Russia in the region that is also deployed along the Lachin Corridor and controls the movements between the two sides through the corridor. The Azerbaijani government has called upon the Russian peacekeepers to demonstrate more vigilance against the misuse of the Lachin corridor. Azerbaijan believes that Russia, as the guarantor of ceasefire established by the trilateral statement, and the international community must take all measures to persuade Armenia to cease destabilizing actions and statements and comply with the provisions of the trilateral statement. Who will be the next CM of Assam? Sarbananda Sonowal or Himanta Biswa Sarma? Assam Assembly elections 2021: Rahul Gandhi to interact with students in poll-bound Assam India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will interact with college students and meet tea estate workers as part of his poll campaign in Assam on Friday, the party said. Gandhi will be on a day-long tour to the poll-bound state where the Congress is seeking to wrest back power from the BJP. The former Congress chief will be interacting with college students in Lahoal in Dibrugarh on Friday morning and then attend the tea estate workers rally in Dinjoy in Panitola block of Dibrugarh later, the party said. He will also address a public meeting in Town Field in Doom Dooma in Tinsukia district of Assam, it said. "Looking forward to meeting you all in Assam! Together let's defeat the forces that seek to divide us and join hands to build a strong, united, peaceful and prosperous Assam," he said via messaging app Telegram. Farmers' Protest: Rahul Gandhi attacks government for not paying tributes to farmers who died during protest This is the second time Gandhi would be campaigning in Assam. Earlier, his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also campaigned for the party in the state and met tea estate workers. Assembly elections in Assam are slated in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, to elect the 126 member house. The results will be out on May 2. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 22:18 [IST] Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Pharmacy Technician Katrina Bonwick administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) The European Union's drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn't increase the overall incidence of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. France, Italy and Germany promptly announced they will start using the vaccine again on Friday. Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands said they will do so next week, though Spain said it might exclude certain groups to minimize any danger. More than a dozen nations around the world had suspended their use of the vaccine over the past week following reports of clots in a few dozen of the millions of people across Europe who have gotten the shot. The question was whether the vaccine had anything to do with the clots and whether any action needed to be taken. The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency "has come to a clear scientific conclusion," the head of the EMA, Emer Cooke, announced. "This is a safe and effective vaccine." She added: "If it were me, I would be vaccinated tomorrow." However, she said the agency "still cannot rule out definitively a link" between certain rare types of blood clots and the vaccine. The EMA recommended adding a description of these cases to the vaccine leaflets. The debate raised fears that the safety questions would seriously undermine public confidence in AstraZeneca's vaccine, which is key to efforts to immunize some of the world's poorer countries, and further slow the lagging vaccination drive across the 27-nation EU at a moment when infections are rising at an alarming rate. Europe also relies on Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines. Pharmacy Technician Katrina Bonwick draws a does of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready for use at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) French Prime Minister Jean Castex said he would be getting an AstraZeneca shot on Friday "to show we can have complete confidence" in it. Clots that form in the arms, legs or elsewhere can break free and travel to the heart, brain or lungs, causing strokes, heart attacks or other deadly blockages. In its findings Thursday, the EMA said the overall number of clotting events of various sorts reported since the rollout is lower than what would be expected in the general population. But those very common clots aren't the kind causing concern. Instead, the EMA said it will continue to look closely at two rare types of blood clots. It cited seven reports of a type that appears in multiple blood vessels and 18 reports of a kind called cerebral venous thrombosis, which occurs in a vein that drains blood from the brain. That's out of the 20 million people who have received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Britain and the EU. A man receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a mass vaccination site at the Brabanthal event center in Heverlee, Belgium, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Anglo-Swedish vaccine-maker AstraZeneca on Wednesday, accusing the embattled pharmaceutical company of delaying Europe's coronavirus vaccination campaign and warning that the EU is weighing export bans to ensure supplies. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) Most of those cases were in people younger than 55 and the majority were women, the EMA said. Experts said it will be critical to uncover if something predisposed those people to these rare clots. For example, before the pandemic, the brain-related clots almost always occurred in people with certain risk factors such as taking birth control pills, or any of a list of underlying conditions that affect clotting. Sabine Straus, head of the EMA's safety committee, said birth control pills are "a distinct possibility" that will be investigated. She also said experts found "no evidence of a quality or a batch issue" linked to any particular manufacturing site. Ann Taylor, AstraZeneca's chief medical officer, welcomed the EMA's findings and added: "We trust that, after the regulators' careful decisions, vaccinations can once again resume across Europe." People rest after being vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a mass vaccination site at the Brabanthal event center in Heverlee, Belgium, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Anglo-Swedish vaccine-maker AstraZeneca on Wednesday, accusing the embattled pharmaceutical company of delaying Europe's coronavirus vaccination campaign and warning that the EU is weighing export bans to ensure supplies. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) The World Health Organization previously said it saw no evidence the vaccine was to blame for the clots. AstraZeneca's vaccine is central to COVAX, the U.N.-backed project to supply COVID-19 shots to poorer countries around the world. AstraZeneca is expected to apply in the coming weeks for U.S. authorization for its vaccine. The U.S. now relies on vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Britain was not among the countries that suspended use of the vaccine. On Thursday, ahead of the EMA's announcement, Britain's drug regulatory agency said there is no evidence the formula causes clots, and it urged people to continue getting the shot. Like the EMA, however, British regulators followed its counterparts on the continent in urging people to seek medical attention if they suffer headaches that last for more than four days after vaccination or bruising beyond the injection site after a few days. The pause in vaccinations with AstraZeneca's formula comes as tens of thousands of new daily cases have prompted new lockdown measures in Italy, caused hospitalizations in France to spike and led German officials to announce a third surge of COVID-19 has begun. A vial and syringes ready for use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) "Rarely has an immunization program been more important to the well-being of a population," said Pauline Paterson, co-director of the Vaccine Confidence Project team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In yet another setback, however, British officials said the country is facing a shortfall in vaccine deliveries that may delay the start of shots for people under 50 in the coming weeks. The EU has an estimated 7 million unused doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Clinical trials are typically done in tens of thousands of participants. As a result, extremely rare side effects often aren't detected until a vaccine has been used in many millions of people, long after the product has reached the market. For example, it took nearly a year after vaccination campaigns began against the 2009 swine flu pandemic for European officials to notice an increase in narcolepsy in children and teenagers who got the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine. The exterior of the European Medicines Agency, EMA, is seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday March 16, 2021. At least a dozen countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain have now temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine after reports last week that some people in Denmark and Norway who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there's no evidence that the shot was responsible. The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization say the data available don't suggest the vaccine caused the clots and that people should continue to be immunized. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) "It's right to investigate any potential signals of problems, but you can do that while you continue immunization," said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton. "If we pause the vaccine rollout every time there's a possible signal, it won't be much of a rollout." Head cautioned that there are costs to going slowly: The longer the coronavirus is allowed to circulate widely, the more chance it has to mutate into a deadlier version. "People may well be more hesitant to take an AstraZeneca vaccine when immunization resumes," he said. "And this is at a time when we need to stop the virus circulating to the reduce the chances of further variants emerging." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. New Delhi, March 18 : The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside Madhya Pradesh High Court's order granting bail to a man accused in a molestation case on a condition that he would tie 'Rakhi' to the victim. A bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar issued a slew of directions, which included training modules for sensitization of judges and emphasized that judges should avoid any kind of stereotyping. The Attorney General (AG) K.K. Venugopal had also opposed the bail condition. The plea was filed by advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other women lawyers against the July 30 order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where an accused of sexual assault was asked to get a 'Rakhi' tied on him by the victim as a condition for bail. "The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of 'Raksha Bandhan' being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialization of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case", said the plea. The petitioners had argued that the bail condition by the High Court should be set aside. Bhat had contended in the plea that order has been passed by a constitutional court such as a High Court of a state and there is a strong likelihood that such observations and directions may result in normalizing "what is essentially a crime and has been recognised to be so by the law." The plea said: "It is highly objectionable for the High Court in the present case to put the complainant in a position where she is forced to accept the sum of Rs 11,000 as part of the customary ritual of Raksha Bandhan. Moreover, the said bail condition also goes a step further by stating that Respondent No. 2 (the accused) tender Rs 5,000 to the son the complainant." India on March 17 advocated for peaceful dialogue over the situation in Crimea at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in a follow-up to March 12 meeting adhering to the Arria-formula. While speaking at the UNSC, Indias Deputy Permanent Representative-Political Coordinator to the UN, R Ravindra as per news agency ANI report, said that India has advocated political as well as diplomatic solutions that safeguard the legitimate interests of all the nations in the region to ensure prolonged peace and stability in Europe and beyond. Russia had sent its troops into Crimea and annexed the European peninsula in 2014 while backing the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in a six-year war that has reportedly killed thousands of people. However, since July 2020, an uneasy cease-fire has been in effect. On March 18, apart from India said it would advocate for peace, the Group of Seven nations (G7) along with the European Union (EU) denounced Russias continued actions to undermine Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Ravindra said at UNSC that the path forward regarding Crimea can only be through peaceful dialogue for a lasting solution that is accepted by all parties in concern. "I wish to clarify that India's relations with countries in the region stand on their own merit. They are not affected by any individual issue or crisis or external factors," Indias Deputy Permanent Representative-Political Coordinator to the UN said. While thanking the Russian delegation for organising the follow-up meeting, Ravindra warned, Allow me to also place on record our reservations on this format of meeting as it has been misused in the past." The second meeting in five days The march 17 meeting was the second Arria-formula meeting on Crimea in five days. On Wednesday, the meeting was organised in a follow-up to the March 12 high-level Arria-formula meeting on Crimea that was organised by UNSC members including Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the UK, and the US. According to Russia, the meetings objective was to provide comprehensive information on the situation in the peninsula from current residents of Crimea. Earlier, Russia has drawn the attention of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging the organisation to remain unbiased in their remarks about Crimea, the Russian-speaking province of Ukraine that was acceded to Russia after the 2014 referendum. Kanye West - with or without Kim Kardashian - can continuously become a billionaire. In the first quarter of 2021, Kanye already beat his record and raked more billions than ever. Last year, Forbes estimated his net worth and confirmed that the rapper has $1.3 billion under his name. Still, during that time, he insisted that his net worth was not only a billion but $3.3 billion. Still, only a few months after the magazine calculated it, People confirmed that Kanye is now worth $6.6 billion - a 407 percent increase compared to his previous reported net worth. The key player for the sudden increase is his sneaker and apparel business, Yeezy. In 2019, the Bank of America valued the company at $3 billion, and it brought him $1.26 billion income during that year. However, after he established partnerships with Adidas AG and Gap Inc., Yeezy is now valued between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion, UBS Group AG estimated. Meanwhile, Bloomberg released the bank report and revealed that the value of the Yeezy-Gap collaboration could be $970 million. Once this project has hit the stores this summer, Kanye West's net worth is expected to boom even more. For what it's worth, the "Jesus is King" rapper has full ownership and creative control of his brand. Thus, it allows him to savor his income alone. For Gap's part, its executives already trust the rapper in helping them sell more as they put more money into e-commerce and activewear. After the collaboration has been established, GlobalData Retail analyst Neil Saunders commented on Gap's quarterly earnings. He said, "Without some form of reinvention it will revert to previous struggles, which saw it lose shoppers, market share and sales." With the help of Yeezy, the company is now expecting to gain over $150 million in sales in 2022 and exceed $1 billion in 2023. Kanye West's Net Worth: Other Sources of Income Aside from his company, Kanye also has $21 million worth of real estate. He owns multiple ranches in Wyoming, an ultra-wide ranch in Calabasas, and a multi-million worth one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. With that said, the "Closed on Sunday" hitmaker remains the richest artist in the hip-hop industry. His current net worth surprised his fans though, especially since he just cashed out millions for the U.S. presidential campaign last year. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday (March 18) slammed the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their negative politics, and said it is only the Left that can work for the overall development of the state. While speaking to the media in Malappuram during his campaign trail, Vijayan said that this was the first meeting with the media after he began the Assembly election campaign and from "the responses that I have had in the meetings, it is unbelievable as people have realised that Kerala in the past five years has changed a lot, under the Left rule". "I have realised that the people also have realised that only the Left government can assure of the overall development of the state. Hence the opposition to the Congress and the BJP are understandably jittery and showing signs of desperation," said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He said despite the state facing a series of disasters, the Left government with the unstinted support of the people was able to face all the difficulties. "Its here that the government did not get the desired and expected support from Congress or the BJP. When we were facing a serious shortage of funds, despite repeated pleas to increase the borrowing powers of the state government, it was shot down by the Centre. The various probe agencies of the Centre have been trying their best to scuttle the development plans of the state and in all these, the Congress and the BJP were hand in hand," said Vijayan. Like in the past 10 days, Vijayan has time and again reminded the role played by the government in tackling COVID-19 and on Thursday also he repeated the same that when the world was stuttering under COVID-19, Kerala bravely faced it and statistics have shown that the spread of COVID-19 in the country is the least as we have the maximum number of people, who have not been affected with COVID-19. Kerala continues to have the lowest death rate, even when we are home to a huge elderly population, said Vijayan. On the recent utterances of RSS ideologue R. Balasankar that there is a secret pact between the CPI-M and the state unit of the BJP, he said, the Left is a cohesive unit and does not go after opportunistic alliances, and strongly emphasised that they do not need the support of any communal forces. "It's the Congress here which is the B-team of the BJP and we all have seen what has happened in states like Goa and a few others," added Vijayan. On the Sabarimala temple issue, Vijayan said their stand on it is clear and at the moment the issue is before the apex court and once the verdict comes, the state government will sit down and discuss the verdict with all concerned. Incidentally, this is the first time that Vijayan is spearheading the election campaign of the Left as in the past it was their star campaigner and arch-rival of Vijayan V.S. Achuthanandan. Live TV Other agencies in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois charged with clearing roads in the winters also said they also used strategies to manage their salting. For its part, the forest preserve district has made its own strides in cutting down on salt usage, most of it within the last decade. because I will be guest hosting. We have a good slate of guests, and it promises to be an interesting three hours. I plan to spend an entire hour on the Derek Chauvin trial, so if you want to weigh in on that you should tune in and take the opportunity to call. Beyond that, I will have guests talking about the Texas blackout, the radicalism of the Biden administration (that would be Steve Hayward), how blacks can find a better path forward than BLM, and more. If the schedule breaks our way, we may also hear from a leading contender for the national GOP ticket in 2024. The Prager show runs from noon to 3 p.m. Eastern time (9 to 12 on the West Coast). You can find a station near you or listen here. I hope you will join us. UPDATE: We have confirmed Governor Kristi Noem for 12:30 Central, 1:30 Eastern. We will be talking about this post. Shortly after a 20-year-old man was released from confinement, he was shot and killed on prison grounds in Philadelphia. Medics pronounced the 20-year-old dead after he was shot multiple times around 2 a.m. Thursday at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in the citys Holmesburg section, NBC 10 is reporting. He was gunned down on a sidewalk near a shack in an area out of view of surveillance cameras when at least 10 shots were fired, reports indicate. Shell casings were found near the body of the 20-year-old, who had been released from prison less than an hour before the shooting, Action News 6 ABC is reporting. It appears that shooter or shooters were actually on the grounds of the prison when the shots were fired, Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small told 6 ABC. Guards in the nearby shack did not see the shooting, but they saw a dark-colored vehicle speeding away, according to reports. Its not clear if shots were fired form the car or not. Police have not released the name of the 20-year-old or said why he had been held in prison. Reports indicate he lived in the citys Germantown neighborhood. It was not clear if he had been waiting for a ride home when he was shot. Deputy President David Mabuza says the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan should respond to young people, who are digitally adept in ICT. Responding to oral questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, the Deputy President said this also demands skills and expertise, which will enable young people to adapt adequately to a changing workplace and technological demands. "It is a fact that young people have immense potential that should be harnessed, especially for the poor majority who need us to address the structural factors pertaining to skills development, education and economic inclusion. "No society should allow young people to wallow in hopelessness when there are possible solutions that can change the prevailing situation," he said. The Deputy President said the potential to recover and reconstruct the economy lies in recognising that in order to reconstruct, there is a need for a youth-centric, multi-sectoral, strategic and innovative ethos that guides massive employment, impacting positively on the demand and supply side of the labour market. "This new approach sees youth as not only potential beneficiaries of jobs, but as co-creators of a new economy as well. "A study into Youth Labour Market Transitions by the National Planning Commission concluded that there needs to be a change in approach to the pathway management of youth - from education to active economic participation. Youth development programmes must account for their different circumstances, constraints, needs and aspirations." Private sector role in aiding youth jobs The Deputy President said, meanwhile, that the private sector also has a responsibility to contribute to making South Africa better. "We must also look at young people as creators of industry." The Deputy President lauded the Department of Tourism for implementing empowerment programmes for the youth in areas such as culinary, food safety, sommelier and hospitality. "Young people in these programmes also receive stipends as part of a comprehensive poverty alleviation response. "The non-financial business support provided to SMMEs is critical in ensuring their sustanaibility," said Mabuza. The Deputy President said that at the same time, the stimulus contributes to catalysing economic recovery through the multiplier effects of spending in local economies. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Business Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said this spending directly supports small enterprises and the informal sector in townships and rural areas. "In the current phase of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which was announced by the President, the target is providing 700 000 directly-funded opportunities. "These range from public employment to livelihood support for vulnerable categories of the self-employed and job retention schemes. "By the end of February this year, more than 550 000 opportunities were being implemented to support the employment of education and teacher assistants. "Of this, more than 300 000 young people were employed as teacher and education assistants across 20 000 schools." The Deputy President said in addition to these interventions, government has over the past year laid the foundation to address the barriers facing young people in order to shift their trajectory from learning to earning, so that they are able to gain a foothold in the economy. "We are mindful of the dictates of the Future of Work, which requires us to adapt to the changing environment in the workplace. "This means embracing digitisation, upgrading of workforce planning and reskilling, targeting of high growth sectors and roles, as well as finding opportunities for entrepreneurship." President Uhuru Kenyatta was the first Kenyan to ride on the Standard Gauge Railway, register for Huduma Namba and even receive the new-look currency, but he's missing on the Covid-19 vaccine front line. His decision not to be the first to take the shot is among the reasons being cited for the apathy towards the vaccination campaign, which has recorded a paltry 20,000 takers since rollout two weeks ago. This is a drop in the ocean for a country of 52 million people. In Rwanda, where President Paul Kagame and first lady Jeannette led from the front, more than 257,000 have received the vaccine since March 5, out of a population of about 12.6 million. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa and United States leader Joe Biden have taken the jab, instilling confidence in their citizens about the safety and efficacy of the vaccination. Category number one "We met as Cabinet and made it clear that the first persons to be administered with this vaccine shall be our frontline health workers. That is category number one," President Kenyatta said while launching the AstraZeneca vaccination drive on March 4, offering the first hint that he would not be on the priority list of those taking the jab. "They (health workers) will be followed by our category number two, who will be our security forces. Due to the nature of their work, they are equally frontline workers." With that, the President and his Cabinet have kept off the vaccination campaigns. The targeted frontline workers appear to have taken the cue as well, with their apathy contributing to the low uptake. With advanced nations like Germany, France, Norway and Spain halting AstraZeneca jabs due to safety concerns, analysts say only acceptance by the top leadership could assure ordinary Kenyans of its safety and efficacy against the deadly coronavirus. Last week, religious leaders asked President Kenyatta and his Cabinet to get a dose of the vaccine in public as a safety assurance to Kenyans. Kenya Council of Churches Alliance and Ministries (KCCAM) chairman Kepher Omae said political goodwill is needed to help the public shed doubts about the vaccine. "A father can't send his children to be immunised, yet he himself hasn't been vaccinated. We'd like President Kenyatta and his Cabinet to receive a dose of the vaccine to assure the public that it's safe," KCCAM deputy chairman Stephen Mutiua said. Kenya Medical Association (KMA) President Were Onyino attributed the hesitancy among health care professionals to "a lack of adequate stakeholder involvement and public education on the importance and safety of the vaccine and its rollout". As of yesterday evening, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi and Acting Health Director-General Patrick Amoth were among the few top government officials to receive the vaccine, by virtue of their being medical doctors. Even the country's top frontline health worker - Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe - is yet to get the vaccine. "I will not take the vaccine until it gets to my turn on the priority list. If I take it before, I will be accused of jumping the queue. If I do not take it, I will be accused of not leading by example," Mr Kagwe said recently. "So, I am not sure which is which. That is why I have chosen to await my turn. The worst thing that could happen is if a nurse got Covid-19, because I have taken the vaccine meant for her." Political leadership His sentiments and the apathy among the political leadership, is a stark contrast from other government initiatives, where they are always front on the queue. Mr Kagame was the first head to receive the vaccine in East Africa, where immunisation campaigns have not yet picked speed. Photos of the 63-year-old and his wife receiving the vaccine at a hospital in the capital, Kigali, were posted on the official Twitter account of the Rwandan leader. The country also set a high standard in the region, managing to vaccinate 230,000 citizens within a week of receiving its first doses. In the same period, Kenya managed a paltry 8,700 sots, out of the 1.02 million doses it received. By yesterday, the number had gone up to 20,000. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In South Africa, President Ramaphosa and Health minister Zweli Mkhize received the shot last week, in a bid to show the country that the vaccine was safe. The country had administered more than 100,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by the end of February. "Taking the vaccine was quick, easy and not so painful. I urge our healthcare workers to register to receive their vaccination as they are our first line of defence against the coronavirus pandemic," Mr Ramaphosa said. For Kenya, the public concern on the safety of the vaccines continues to grow. During his 14th address on the pandemic on Friday, Mr Kenyatta downplayed fears on the vaccine's safety, saying, its arrival is critical in management and control of the virus. "Kenya is entering a critical phase in the management of the pandemic with the arrival of WHO prequalified Covid-19 vaccine. Our experts are persuaded its safety is bankable," he said. aolingo@ke.nationmedia.com Advocates from across Massachusetts are calling on Gov. Charlie Baker and state education officials to institute a lottery system for admission to technical and vocational high schools, saying the current system is discriminatory. Criteria used for admission at this time include academic grades, attendance record, discipline/conduct record, recommendations from the sending-school counselor and may include a student interview as long as no one criterion exceeds 50% of the total. That admission policy means fewer students of color and English language learners are being admitted to vocational schools, leaders said in a virtual press conference on Thursday morning. Jack Livramento, of United Interfaith Action of New Bedford and Fall River and the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, said that public schools being allowed to rank students for admission based on those factors has been found discriminatory and violates state and federal laws. Data from the state Department of Education shows because of these admissions standards, we have less students admitted who are students of color, English language learners, special needs students and economically disadvantaged students, Livramento said. And this doesnt even count all of the students who have been denied or who are discouraged from applying because they dont have strong records in grades, attendance and discipline. Advocates are asking Baker, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley and the states education board to institute a lottery system instead, which they say will give all students equal access to obtain a technical education. In Massachusetts, Chapter 74 programs are offered in 90 districts, including 26 standalone regional vocational-technical districts and 58 local/academic regional districts, including 5 municipal vocational schools. These Chapter 74 programs receive state and federal funding. Gladys Vega of La Colaborativa said the admission policy is a civil rights issue that must be addressed and changed to improve the futures of students and to end generational poverty. If we dont change it now, it will repeat over and over throughout of the decades of our society, Vega said. Beth Kontos, the president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, said all children should have an equal chance to attend technical schools. Think about this, where were you at the end of eighth grade, Kontos asked. Ranking students by grades by the end of eighth grade should not determine a childs career choices. Kontos noted that ranking a student by attendance can be harmful because some students who experience housing insecurity or domestic violence may move around with little notice, causing transportation problems that lead to absences or tardiness. They may not realize that they can ask to have those absences excused or they know it and they dont ask because of shame, Kontos said. Those absences can change their career trajectory. In other scenarios, a child may help take care of a younger sibling so a parent can go to work. Poverty should not keep a child out of a vocational school, Kontos said. A child who lives in poverty ... can greatly benefit from a free vocational education that will lead to a very lucrative career and without the expense of college. Kontos repeated the same idea with discipline, that behavior should not determine a childs career path, and said discipline is often misinterpreted among Black children who are often punished more harshly. Many Black and Latino students and students of lower-income families are denied admission by means of exclusionary admission policies, which are unlawful and which hinder these students future opportunities to become middle-income earners, said Juan Cofield, the president of the NAACP New England Conference. As long as there are sufficient seats to meet the demand, the state board should mandate that admission be granted on the basis of a lottery system open to all students who can benefit from a vocational and technical education. DESE has been gathering data to analyze the admissions process, officials said, and the department is working to make sure local districts have equitable and transparent enrollment and admissions plans and practices. Discussion on the topic is expected before the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education next month. Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has not made a recommendation yet and the agenda for the April meeting is still in the process of being determined. After any recommendation is made, the board will have a vote on whether to send the proposal out for public comment. Advocates have been urging changes in the admission process for more than a year. In January 2020, a letter sent to Riley and Education Secretary James Peyser signed by more than 20 Massachusetts mayors noted that the current admission policy based on academic performance leaves behind students with disadvantages who may benefit from a vocational education. We are grateful that after long refraining from meaningful action, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officially acknowledged the problem when you recently informed six of these schools that you had identified enrollment discrepancies for various subgroups, including students with disabilities, low income students, students of color and English Language Learners. Those six schools were Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton, Diman Regional Vocational Tech High School in Fall River, Worcester Technical High School, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg and Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton. In Worcester, for example, 7.4% of the technical high school students were English language learners, according to data from 2018-2019. The percentage was higher at the citys traditional high schools. English learners made up 27.8% of the study body at Burncoat Senior High School, 18.7% at Doherty Memorial High School, 34.2% at North High School and 32.2% at South High School. Tom Fisher of the North Atlantic States Carpenters Training Fund said Tuesday that the number of vocational school graduates who are entering his program has dropped off. Fisher called it a great concern, particularly because there are students who arent able to pursue this type of education because of admission policy. The one area of recruitment that falls disappointingly short in helping us continue to grow a diverse apprenticeship is recruitment from Massachusetts vocational schools, Fisher said. Of the current 34% minority apprentices in my program, a mere 1% have come from Massachusetts vocational schools. The states Executive Office of Education and DESE are working on expanding access to career programs, officials said, including afternoon and evening programs and innovation pathways career programs at traditional high schools. Additionally, DESE is working with community organizations and districts to increase applications from underrepresented students and make sure families know about technical education opportunities, officials said. Taunton Superintendent John Cabral in testimony to the education board in January stressed that technical education can have big benefits for at-risk children, the same students who cannot gain access because of current admission policies. Many at risk students lose interest and motivation in education because the curriculum does not seem to have a real-world application, Cabral said. The opportunity for these students to enroll in a program with high job demand for employment, and in many cases, high wages and great benefits provide incentives for students and respond to these students varied needs and life circumstances. Without these opportunities students do not realize their full potential. Help India! Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind leaders argued that in the light of its own previous rulings, the Supreme Court had observed that it has no jurisdiction to entertain any petition related to the Holy Quran. New Delhi: President of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Qari Syed Muhammad Usman Mansoorpuri and General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani on Thursday said that moving the Supreme Court with a plea seeking removal of some verses of the Quran is a highly condemnable act. They described such PILs as unending public mischief that poses a grave threat to the public order and communal harmony and tranquillity in the country. Support TwoCircles In a statement, both the leaders also argued that in the light of its own previous rulings, the Supreme Court had observed that it has no jurisdiction to entertain any petition related to the Holy Quran. Furthermore, they also underlined that the Indian Constitution accords due respect to all faiths and beliefs and the right to practice and preach ones own beliefs and religion. Highlighting that the Holy Quran is the foremost book of guidance and beliefs for Muslims and the very foundation of Islam is based on it; one cannot imagine the religion of Islam without it. Therefore, we, as responsible citizens, request the Supreme Court to dismiss this petition in the first very hearing and to stamp out this fitna (mischief) in the bud, they added. We also appeal to all the community organizations to remain steadfast in their stand that the Holy Quran and other faiths religious texts are beyond the purview of the court including the Supreme Court and the Constitution of India. Underlining that the Constitution of India has fixed powers of the judiciary in respect to religions and their books, Jamiat leaders asked the fellow community leaders and members to keep in mind the decorum of the Holy Quran and not do anything which can pave the way for court intervention as matters of faith are beyond the jurisdiction of the courts. The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind draws the attention of religious leaders of all faiths that this mischief is not to consider merely an attack on the Holy Quran, because it paves the way for an attack on the all-holy texts of different religions. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that we all stand together to defeat this nefarious and evil design of such bad elements, they underscored, they said. Back in November, voters passed by a 2-1 margin an amendment to the state constitution legalizing marijuana. That amendment took effect on Jan. 1. Does that mean pot is legal? Well, its legal to possess it. But where can you buy it? Dont ask Phil Murphy. The governor delayed the enabling legislation for almost two months in an argument over the most minute piece of minutia imaginable the question of how the law treats underage pot smoking. Murphy wouldnt sign the package until a so-called clean-up bill was passed. That and the legalization bills were signed Feb. 22. But as of Wednesday, the Legislature was debating a clean-up bill for the clean-up bill. The prior bill outraged parents because it prohibited police from contacting parents in the event a child under 18 was caught smoking pot or drinking alcohol. This bill cleans that up by letting police contact parents. But the enabling legislation is so complex that it could be a year or more before state-approved dispensaries are opened. In the meantime, whats a poor pothead to do? Well, theres always the Weedman. Ed Forchion has been running a non-state-approved dispensary in Trenton since before the amendment was passed. When I called him the other day, Forchion told me business is booming. Back when possession was illegal, he used to have about 200 customers a day. But now that no one has to fear being arrested for holding his product, hes getting 350 customers a day. Its starting to worry me that Im not gonna be able to meet demand, Forchion told me. He said he might have to start restricting sales. But where else can a marijuana user go? To the internet, thats where. The Weedman directed me to a site that promises to deliver pot all over New Jersey. We DO NOT sell Cannabis!!! the site states. It goes on to say that the fresh-baked cakes and brownies they deliver to your door are MADE WITH NO CANNABIS! So why would you bother paying $150 to $300 per delivery? We also provide you the option to choose one of our free gifts when you purchase one of our Products which can include up to 28g (1 ounce), of some of the finest cannabis in the state of New Jersey, it states. Now, thats creative. Whether its legal is another issue. But it certainly shows how quickly and efficiently the free market rises to meet consumer demand. As for the state, not so much. Its hard to think of an activity simpler than raising and marketing marijuana. Its so simple that even Grateful Dead fans can do it. So why cant the government? The Cannabis Regulatory Commission set up in the law has six months just to issue the regulations for legal growing and sales. Those regulations will include filing an environmental impact statement. But if growing weeds is illegal I hope no DEP agent ever drives by my front lawn. The prospective pot dealers also need an attestation signed by a bona fide labor organization stating that the applicant entered into a labor peace agreement with such bona fide organization. An unlimited number of licenses would be reserved for microbusinesses that face less onerous requirements. But the Weedman argues that his customers dont want to wait a year for him to go through the application process. Ed Forchion aka NJ Weedman. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Meanwhile the number of cultivators is capped at 37, and he would be required to buy from them. Forchion argues the system is set up to protect cannabaggers out-of-state corporations desiring to dominate what should be a cottage industry. The industry publication Marijuana Business Daily reports that Multistate operators with licensed operations in New Jersey include Acreage Holdings, Columbia Care, Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, iAnthus and TerrAscend. Forchion, who is African-American, also refers to these as the Caucasian cannabis corporations. His stated goal is to embarrass our elected officials into legalizing small-time operations like his own, which is by far the most popular enterprise on State Street - and that includes the Statehouse. State Sen. Declan OScanlon, who sat on the committee that approved the bill, agreed with the Weedman that the law was designed to squeeze out small operators. All the hoops you have to jump through to get into this play right into the hands of the big corporate operations, said the Monmouth County Republican. Trenton over-complicates, over-regulates and overtaxes on marijuana just like we do anything else. The goal of the legislation was to curb the black market. But the end result might be to encourage the black market, OScanlon said. The law imposes both a state and a local sales tax as well as a Social Equity Fee on the wholesale level, The tax structure will lead to the success of the black market, he said. It certainly gives them a running start. Lets hope the state never catches up. Sorry! This content is not available in your region A plan by the state Board of Regents to cut back on mandatory exams this spring appears on the surface to be a fair compromise, but the fact that teachers and students are being asked to prepare for any standardized testing this year is an exercise in futility. The U.S. Department of Education has told states not to expect blanket waivers from federal testing mandates that were given last year after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools across the country to close, but the door was left open for flexibility in how states administer assessments. To that end, New York has now officially asked for permission to cancel standardized tests. If a waiver is not granted, the plan will be to shorten the math and ELA assessments for grades three though eight and administer a limited number of Regents exams for high school students. The Department of Education says that annual assessments in English, math and science are among the most reliable tools to understand how children are performing in schools. Under normal circumstances, we would tend to agree, but this school year has been anything but normal. 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. I have so much sympathy for Evan Davis, the presenter of Radio 4s PM programme, whos revealed how unhappy he was when he was asked to replace Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight in 2014. Evan suffered from stage fright and was concerned his head looked too small on TV. Its unusual for a man to feel anxious about his appearance on screen. Believe me, Ive known plenty who would breeze into make-up, dot a bit of powder on their noses and swan into the studio, confident that the way they looked mattered not one jot. Women tend to fall very much into the Evan camp, knowing, without a doubt, that their hair, their clothes, their size, their make-up were far more important to their bosses and the audience than what they actually had to say. Jenni Murray (pictured) claims women's appearance is often more important to audiences and bosses than what they say I used to be infuriated at having to spend so much more time in make-up than my male colleagues, when I would have preferred to be using that half-hour honing the quality of my script or preparing for my interviews. Even before social media, the audience never failed to make its views known. In the 1980s, when I presented South Today in Southampton and worked through my first pregnancy, the abuse I received was horrible. It came through the post, of course, and consisted of How dare you flaunt your revolting condition on my TV, Why are you working in that condition. Dont you have a husband to keep you? and Why are you taking a mans job? When, like Evan, I moved to Newsnight in 1983, Im afraid it was my mother who was the chief culprit. She would phone every night after the programme. I would ask her what shed thought of the interview Id done, say, with Norman Tebbit. Her response, invariably, went along the lines of: Oh, sorry, love, I didnt really hear what you were saying, but you know that red top you were wearing? A bit too bright, I think. And do get your fringe cut. Your eyes are your best feature and we cant see them if your hairs too long. So, just as it has for Evan, going to radio made a huge difference. No one could see me. They had no choice but to listen to what I was saying. No time was wasted fussing about the size of our heads or the length of our hair. Jenni said her mother would phone every night to comment on her appearance while on Newsnight. Pictured: Jenni on ITV's Loose Women I worry about the new fashion for radio to have pictures attached through the latest technology. Radio should be about sound. The audience should be making its own pictures in its head. I cant, though, go along with Evan and his declared tendency to be more likely to burst into tears than his interviewees. Another woman has been removed from a leadership position in the ongoing transgender debate. The President of the Bristol Students Union allowed a group called Women Talk Back, discussing rape and sexual assault, to ban male-born transgender people, who self-identify as women without changing their legal gender, from their meetings. As a result she has been ordered by the union to stand down and banned from any union leadership post for two years. In her defence, Ms Raquel Rosario Sanchez cited the Equality Act of 2010 which lists biological sex as a protected characteristic, meriting single sex spaces. No law was broken. When will this nonsense end? Yes, there are so many times when you have someone in front of you who is relating a heartbreaking story. Youd be an unfeeling monster not to be moved by the girl abducted and forced into prostitution, or the woman dying of cancer after a series of failures to give her an accurate diagnosis. It is, though, the job of the professional to be detached from the other persons agony and help them to relate their story. In my 33 years on Womans Hour, I shed a tear only once. I was talking to Deborah Spungen about her book on life with her daughter, Nancy, the girlfriend of the punk rocker, Sid Vicious. Deborah described how Nancys brain had been damaged because of a lack of oxygen at birth, how shed been a nightmare to raise as she stole cars, ran away and would constantly ask for money. Why, I asked her, did she always give her money when she knew she would only use it to buy drugs? Because, she replied, shes my child and I loved her. We both wept. Surely my plastic fur is worse than the real thing Jenni who owns two fake fur coats, questions if fur made from plastic is better for the environment than the real material. Pictured: A Dennis Basso 100 per cent real fur coat Should I be ashamed that I once owned the most fabulous red fox fur coat which was my pride and joy? I gave it away in the late 1980s when anti-fur campaigners started spitting at me in the street. I miss it. It was warm and beautiful. Now leading designers such as Stella McCartney are demanding a ban on the sale of fur. I cant see the point. Lots of jobs will be lost in the industry. Why, if were prepared to kill animals for food, is it so reprehensible to kill them to keep us warm? I now have two fur coats, one black and one which looks like a leopard. Both are fake fur, made of plastic. How is that better for the environment? Its simply never ok to kerb crawl! I have never felt so angry and upset for so long as I have since I learned of the fate of Sarah Everard. There is a sense that violence against women has finally risen to the top of the political agenda. I am encouraged by a cross-party collection of women pressing for a bill to cover Violence Against Women And Girls. They are the conservative former minister for Women and Equalities, Maria Miller, the Labour MP Jess Phillips and the Mother of the House, Harriet Harman. Kerb crawling is only illegal if a man is seeking to buy the services of a prostitute. It is not an offence to kerb crawl a schoolgirl. Harman has a plan for how it should be punished. Make sure any girl who suffers takes down the registration number and reports it. Take the creeps driving licence away from him. Thatll take some explaining to his wife and kids. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (pictured) has suffered five years of torture in prison Just get Nazanin out now Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe waits for the result of her recent trial, accused of taking part in a demonstration 12 years ago and speaking to the BBC Persian service allegedly spreading propaganda against the Iranian regime. She has suffered five years of torture in prison while separated from her husband and daughter, and the British government has been of little help. Now it seems shes still a pawn in a nasty political game. For goodness sake, just do whatever it takes to get this poor woman home. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Thirty-one new electric vehicle charging stations are soon to be rolled out across southern Manitoba. Thirty-one new electric vehicle charging stations are soon to be rolled out across southern Manitoba. A funding partnership between municipalities and the federal government will result in a total of $155,000 doled out from Natural Resources Canadas Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program. The agreement splits funding 50-50, up to a maximum of $5,000 per charger. Eco-West Canada, a not-for-profit focused on greening the economy of rural municipalities, is co-ordinating planning and construction. Eight stations will be placed in Winnipeg, four each in Stonewall and Niverville, and one or two chargers will be installed in the communities of Matlock, RM of Tache, Pinawa, St-Georges, Ile-des-Chenes, Grande Pointe, Ste. Agathe, St. Adolphe, and St. Pierre-Jolys. All stations will be Level 2 chargers, or 240-volt outlets (the same power needed for a clothes dryer). It takes six to 14 hours to charge a car fully from empty. Investments in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure is a component of the federal governments plan to address climate change. "The government of Canada is committed to working collaboratively with local organizations to achieve Canadas goal of net zero by 2050. Eco-Wests infrastructure project will make EV charging easier and more accessible for Manitobans, while helping to reduce their carbon footprint," Liberal MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South) said. Dany Robidoux, chief executive officer of Eco-West, said hes excited to see progress being made in the province, which lags behind other jurisdictions in developing EV infrastructure. "A major reason is that its difficult to access funding on the consumer side for the purchase of electric vehicles (in Manitoba), but also on the supply side for the EV charging stations. Its kind of a chicken-and-egg scenario. What do you invest in first? But weve not invested in anything, so were not going anywhere fast," he told the Free Press. Only 138 battery electric vehicles were newly registered in the province in 2019, according to Statistics Canada. Winnipeg has approximately nine EV charging stations per 100,000 people, compared with 31 in Toronto, and 96 in Montreal, according to figures released by the non-profit Climate Reality Project. Robidoux said the COVID-19 pandemic threw this project a curveball in the homestretch. Eco West had applied for the funding in 2019 with sign on from municipalities, but after the pandemic hit, municipal budgets needed to be revised. All of the sudden, 10 of the 31 planned EV locations needed new homes, he said. The City of Winnipeg dropped from wanting 12 chargers to eight; other municipalities on board initially dropped out altogether. Robidoux said hes still committed to installing 31 stations, but four locations still need to be finalized. Since the funding announcement was made this week, there have been numerous requests for partnership from communities across the province, he said. "Its garnering a lot of political interest at the municipal level right now, which is also a key component of moving anything environmental forward. You need political buy-in." sarah.lawrynuik@freepress.mb.ca A 2021 award nomination places a museum dedicated to the nature, history and culture of central Oregon among the very best in the country. The High Desert Museum outside of Bend announced Thursday that it was named a finalist for the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Science, considered one of the nations highest honors for museums and libraries. The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which gives out the awards, named 30 finalists this year, of which only six three museums and three libraries will receive a medal. Awards were not given out in 2020, as museums and libraries shut down during the initial spread of COVID-19. Winners of the 2021 medals will be announced in May, the institute said. It would be a big win for the rural High Desert Museum, which is home to several beautiful exhibit spaces and live animal enclosures. With more than 100,000 square feet of museum space and 135 acres of land, the museum educates visitors about Indigenous culture, native wildlife and the modern history of central Oregon. Dana Whitelaw, executive director of the High Desert Museum, said the nomination this year also recognizes the museums dedication to community outreach, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, when staff pivoted from hosting field trips to educating students remotely. We like to think of the national medal for museums as the Pulitzer for the museum world, so even to be considered for it is really an honor, she said. A stuffed sage grouse is on display at the High Desert Museum. The High Desert Museum is an expansive museum that showcases local history, culture and wildlife near Bend. An exhibit shows traditional and modern Native American culture at the High Desert Museum. The High Desert Museum is an expansive museum that showcases local history, culture and wildlife near Bend. Jamie Hale/The OregonianJamie Hale/The Oregonian Trails lead museum visitors to outdoor exhibits. The High Desert Museum is an expansive museum that showcases local history, culture and wildlife near Bend. The nomination comes after a hectic of a year for the institution. The High Desert Museum temporarily closed last March due to the pandemic, then reopened in June, shut back down in November following Gov. Kate Browns freeze orders, and has been partially reopened since January. Now, with Deschutes County currently considered by state health officials to be at moderate risk of spreading COVID-19, the museums indoor section is allowed to operate at 50% capacity or 100 people max. Its outdoor area can have up to 150 people at a time. The hectic year has come with some big wins for the museum. In February, the Sisters-based Roundhouse Foundation pledged to donate $6 million to the High Desert Museum, the largest single donation of its nearly 40-year history. Plans for the money include the addition of a permanent art gallery, an immersive tree canopy experience and a revamp of a 22-year-old permanent exhibit on the Indigenous people of the Columbia Plateau. It has been a roller coaster, but I think it has been the right thing to do to be available to our community, even in a limited capacity, Whitelaw said. Theres nothing more sad than an empty museum. The fact that the High Desert Museum still managed to stay engaged with the central Oregon community last year, when many other museums across the country shut down, could be a factor in the awards this year, she said. Congrats to the @HighDesertMuse for earning this well-deserved honor from the @US_IMLS This museum is a genuine treasure for residents in Central Oregon and everybody who visits this special part of our state: https://t.co/n3haFJs25C Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) March 18, 2021 Only three Oregon museums or libraries have ever won the National Medal for Museum and Library Science, which dates back to 1994: the Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Eugene in 2018, the Multnomah County Library in 2009 and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in 2007. The High Desert Museum was named a finalist in 2018, but was not awarded a medal. This year, its the only finalist west of the Mississippi River. For the small Oregon museum, even to be considered among the best of the best is a meaningful experience. What I love about this award is that it specifically calls out the contribution to community, and that that kind of community engagement occurs regardless of a museums size, Whitelaw said. But as it steps up against the competition this year, she still likes the museums chances. I feel like this is our year. --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB San Francisco police have arrested a man for allegedly attacking two older people of Asian descent in what authorities believe was an unprovoked attack. Steven Jenkins, 39, faces two charges of assault likely to produce great bodily injury and two charges of elder abuse, authorities said. Police said they were still working to determine whether racial bias was a factor in the attacks, which took place on Market Street, near 7th Street, Wednesday morning. Witnesses told authorities that Jenkins had been involved in a fight at United Nations Plaza prior to the alleged assaults. Following that fight, Jenkins approached an 83-year-old Asian male and attacked him, authorities said. Witnesses told a security guard about the attack, who chased Jenkins on foot. While Jenkins was running, police said he assaulted a 75-year-old woman, who is also Asian. The security guard detained Jenkins until officers arrived. He was taken to a hospital for what authorities described as an unrelated, prior medical condition. The attacks came amid a series of assaults on people of Asian descent in the Bay Area, and a day after eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in a series of shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area. A GoFundMe for the woman who was attacked has raised more than $340,000. San Francisco Mayor London Breed directed police to immediately increase patrols in Asian communities on Wednesday. Michael Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: michael.williams@sfchronicle.com French authorities have announced the emergence of a new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the northwestern region of Brittany that has escaped detection by standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to ravage the globe and has now caused more than 2.67 million deaths. An in-depth investigation is now underway in Brittany after genomic sequencing identified eight carriers of the variant among a cluster of 79 cases in the town of Lannion in the Cotes d'Armor on the 13th of March. On Monday, the health ministry said in a statement that initial analyses of the variant do not suggest that this new strain is more transmissible or causes more severe disease than previous viral strains. However, in a press conference on Tuesday, health officials said the failure of PCR tests to detect the virus is raising concerns. Belgian virologist and interfederal COVID-19 spokesperson Steven Van Gucht clarified that about eight individuals presented with typical coronavirus symptoms, "but the tests remained negative." The announcement comes as France sees a resurgence in SARS-CoV-2 cases, with President Emmanuel Macron warning that new lockdown measures could be implemented in the days to come. Image Credit: Hand Robot / Shutterstock WHO categorizes new strain as "variant under investigation" The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized the new strain as a "variant under investigation" (VUI) rather than a "variant of concern" (VOC) like the strains that were recently identified in Brazil, the UK and South Africa. The VUI category includes thousands of naturally occurring variants, of which only a small fraction are likely to pose any risk to public health. Investigations are currently underway to better understand the variant and its response to the protective antibodies generated following previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against the virus. However, as Gucht reminded people on Tuesday, it is expected that new variants will emerge as viruses constantly evolve mutations in their genome. What about the testing? Furthermore, many different tests are used by different laboratories, and it is possible that a particular test may have problems detecting a certain variant, added Gucht. "That does not necessarily mean that this is the case for all other tests quite the contrary," he said. Each test detects one to three different parts of the virus and different tests can detect different parts. "Usually, a good test does not depend on detecting one specific part. So, if there is a mutation in one part of the virus, that signal may be lost, but there is usually a second or third signal that will be found," said Gucht. Authorities are implementing the necessary monitoring and support In the meantime, French health authorities are implementing the necessary monitoring and support measures. Public Health France and the National Reference Centers has set up a system for detecting and monitoring potential cases or carriers of the new VUI across areas including Lannion, Guingamp, Saint-Brieuc and Morlaix. The general health directorate has also alerted health establishments and health professionals that the variant is being monitored. Finally, as a precautionary measure, local authorities, prefectures and the Regional Health Agency are stepping up measures to mitigate viral spread by speeding up vaccination and reminding people about the importance of protective measures such as social distancing and restricting the number of people at gatherings. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) revealed what it said was a new underground missile base capable of conducting electronic warfare in support of the countrys navy, state-run television reported. The subterranean missile city houses both ballistic and cruise missiles that will support Irans navy, IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted as saying. The head of the IRGCs naval forces, Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, said the projectiles had enter[ed] the operational section of the IRGC navy, according to Irans Fars News Agency. Although the IRGC did not state the location of the site, commanders emphasis on the bases support role for Irans navy suggests it is the latest addition to fortifications along the countrys southern coast. Iran revealed in January what it said was another underground missile base near the Gulf amid ongoing tensions with the United States and Israel. We believe that our enemies do not accept the power of logic, but rely on the logic of power, Salami said at the time. Therefore, we have no option but to strengthen the defensive and offensive deterrent power for preventing the imposition of their hegemonic will and plots. Iran has expanded its ballistic and cruise missile capabilities in recent years as a deterrent and power-projection tool, seeking leverage in international diplomacy by advertising its capability to strike regional countries friendly to the United States. The United States has accused Iran of passing weapons technology to proxy militias in the region, including to Yemens Houthis and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria. With the support of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the previous US administration of former President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran over its activities in the region. The United States then enacted a campaign of sanctions on Iran to pressure its leaders to cut support for regional militias. Tensions in the Persian Gulf soared after the Trump administration began sanctioning Tehran and authorized covert support for Israeli airstrikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria. The Wall Street Journal also reported last week that Israel, with US support, has been behind a series of sabotage bombings of Iranian fuel shipments to Syria. Such shipments contravene US and international sanctions. In 2019, the US publicly accused Iran of sabotaging two oil tankers in the Gulf and launching a massive cruise missile and drone attack on major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. UN inspectors later reported the latter attack was carried out with Iranian weapons. Despite the Trump administrations so-called maximum pressure campaign, Iran continued its regional activities and ramped up uranium enrichment in an apparent bid to pressure the United States to return to the deal and relieve sanctions. Biden administration officials have labeled the previous administrations approach a failure and have sought to return to the 2015 nuclear deal while pushing for a negotiated end to Yemens civil war. So far, neither initiative has shown significant progress. On Friday, the new US envoy assigned to lead diplomatic efforts to end Yemens crisis, Timothy Lenderking, blamed Yemens Houthis for rejecting a US cease-fire proposal for the conflict. The US military has continued to fly nuclear-capable B-52 bombers across the region in an ominous signal to Tehran. The show of force is part of an initiative led by the commander of US forces in the Middle East, Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie. More than once, McKenzie has said he aims to deter Iran and its regional proxy forces from launching attacks in the region. Yet it is not clear the tactic is working. Saudi Arabia has been hit with a slew of missile attacks in recent weeks, some claimed by Yemens Houthis, who receive training and weapons from the IRGC, US officials say. Last week, Riyadh resumed bombing Yemens Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, for the first time since Biden took office and vowed to push for an end to Yemens civil war. Rocket attacks on Iraq military bases used by US-led coalition troops have also continued, despite a US airstrike on a Kataib Hezbollah outpost in eastern Syria last month, which the Pentagon hoped would deter future barrages. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city recorded 47 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus and four new deaths, Mayor Frank Jacksons administration announced Wednesday. The newly confirmed cases involved patients ranging in age from two years old to their 80s. As of Wednesday, the total number of new cases confirmed in the city since March stood at 25,836, the city reported. The deaths of 414 Clevelanders have been attributed to the coronavirus. The average age of those who died was 73 years old. In addition, the health department has identified 1,824 probable cases. That figure, using an expanded definition from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, captures suspected cases where there is no confirmed test. Cleveland had recorded a total of 27,640 cases as of Wednesday. Those infected have ranged in age from less than 1 year old to more than 100 years old. The average age is 45 years old. Six percent of those cases required hospitalization. Fifty-four percent of the cases involve women. About 40% of all those infected are African American. About 28% are white. Other races account for 12% of the patients. Race is unknown for 18% of the cases. The Cleveland Department of Public Health reports that 6,650 patients have been released from isolation, 70 more than on Wednesday. Across the state, 1,458 more coronavirus cases were reported on Wednesday, still below the 21-day average of 1,604, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Total cases reached 993,681 on Wednesday. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions reported were also under the 21-day average. A state dashboard shows zero deaths. Death data, which the Ohio Department of Health releases twice a week, comes from the Electronic Deaths Registration System. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health reported 70,713 cases of coronavirus had been tallied as of Wednesday, up 153 from the previous day. The department reported a total of 1,639 deaths in its jurisdiction, nine more than the previous day. The numbers exclude cases from the city of Cleveland. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions tally on Wednesday reported 29,374,758 cases, up 51,954 from the previous day. The CDC recorded 534,099 deaths in the United States, an increase of 995 from the previous day. Those numbers tend to lag other reporting sites. Johns Hopkins University of Medicine reported that as of Wednesday evening its tally showed 29,603,457 people had become infected with the coronavirus, an increase of 61,149 from the previous day. Its tally showed 537,955 deaths in the United States, an increase of 1,316 from the previous day. A former Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Mr Ernest Thompson, and four others have, for now, no case to answer concerning the charges of causing financial loss of $14.8 million to the state and others levelled against them. In a unanimous decision given Wednesday [March 17, 2021], a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Yaw Apau, held that the Attorney-General (A-G) failed to provide sufficient particulars of offence to the charges levelled against the five individuals. It said the failure by the A-G to provide sufficient particulars meant the charges did not meet the constitutional requirement of fair trial, as stipulated by Article 19 (2) of the 1992 Constitution. It, therefore, dismissed an appeal by the A-G challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal which had held that the particulars were not sufficient. However, if the A-G was still interested in pursuing the charges against the five individuals, the state would have to provide enough particulars of offence to be able to get the High Court to try the case, it said, reports Graphic Online's Justice Agbenorsi who was in the courtroom for the judgment. The individuals Mr Thompson; a former Information Technology (IT) Manager at SSNIT, Mr John Hagan Mensah; a former Head of Management Information Systems (MIS) at SSNIT, Mr Caleb Kwaku Afaglo; the lawyer for SSNIT, Mr Peter Hayibor, and the Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Business Systems (PBS), Ms Juliet Hassana Kramer, were, in July 2018, charged with wilfully causing financial loss to the state, conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretence, in contravention of the Public Procurement Act, and authoring of forged documents. They pleaded not guilty to the charges at the High Court. Legal tussle over particulars of offences However, as a result of a legal tussle between counsel for Mr Thompson and the A-G over the particulars of the offences, the case has not been able to commence at the High Court. For every charge sheet, there is a statement of offence which states the particular offence an accused person has been charged with and the particulars of offence which further provide details of what an accused person is alleged to have committed in relation to the offence. It was Mr Thompsons case that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient particulars on the offences levelled against him, as required under Article 19 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 122 of the Criminal Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30). His lawyers argued that the particulars were so scanty that they did not afford their client any concrete information to enable him to mount his defence. The prosecution, on the other hand, insisted that the particulars of offence contained adequate information, and argued that Mr Thompsons contention, when allowed to hold, would amount to the prosecution providing evidence in the particulars of offence. Application Mr Thompson, who wanted the charges against him struck out on the basis that the prosecution failed to provide adequate particulars of offence, as required by law, filed an application to that effect before the trial court, presided over by Justice Henry A. Kwofie, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as a High Court judge, on April 19, 2019, but it was dismissed. Dissatisfied, Mr Thompson filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, on the grounds that Justice Kwofie committed an error of law and also erred by dismissing his application. On April 3, last year, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 majority decision, upheld Mr Thompsons appeal, and held that, indeed, the particulars of offence on the charge sheet were not sufficient. It, accordingly, directed the prosecution to provide reasonable information to enable the appellant (Mr Thompson) to prepare adequately for his defence. A-Gs appeal The A-G too decided to appeal against the appellate courts decision at the apex court because it was not satisfied with the decision. The Supreme Court, which had Justices Agnes M.A. Dordzie, Avril Lovelace-Johnson, Gertrude Torkonoo and Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu as the other members of the panel, in its ruling, upheld the Court of Appeals decision on the grounds that there was no merit in the A-Gs appeal. Justice Yaw Appau urged the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Attakorah Obuobisah, who represented the state at the apex court yesterday, to go back and look into the charges again in order to provide sufficient details of the offences. He said the country had gone beyond the regime where accused persons were surprised by the state. Alleged OBS scandal In June 2010, SSNIT initiated the $34-million OBS project to use information and communications technology (ICT) to revamp its operations to enable it to provide a state-of-the-art pension administration system in the country. It is the case of the prosecution that between September 2013 and September 2016, the five accused persons engaged in various illegalities that caused financial loss to the state in relation to the said project. The contract sum, the prosecution said, also ballooned from $34 million to over $66 million, even though the OBS system failed to perform efficiently, as the project contract had envisaged. 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 Relatives, friends and public figures in Ivory Coast paid tribute on Wednesday to Hamed Bakayoko, the country's Prime Minister who died of cancer last week in Germany. The official ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan and was attended by the family of Bakayoko, President Alassane Ouattara and his wife, as well as representatives of political parties and ambassadors of different countries. As a last gesture to honour Bakayoko's trajectory in the political life of the Ivory Coast, Ouattara awarded Bakayoko with the Grand Cross of the National Order, the country's highest distinction. Other events are planned this week to pay tribute to the politician. Bakayoko, 56, had been brought to Paris for medical treatment nearly a month ago and had recently been moved to Germany, where he died on March 10. Appointed Prime Minister in July 2020, Bakayoko was the second prime minister in office that the West African country lost in the last eight months, following the death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly from heart problems. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region A North Carolina man said going on a hunt for the specific scratch-off lottery ticket he wanted paid off with a $1 million jackpot. ADVERTISEMENT Travis Archible of Smithfield told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he decided to pick up a $30 Millionaire Maker scratch-off ticket during a recent lunch break, but he ran into a problem. "I was on my lunch break and I was pressed for time like always," Archible said. "I went to get something to eat and I stopped but they didn't have that particular ticket in the machine, so I thought, 'I'll just zip into that little store down the road on the way back to work.'" Archible's second stop, the Variety Pic-Up store in Wendell, had the ticket in stock. "Got back to work and scratched it and saw the prize," he said. "I was so excited." The ticket earned Archible a $1 million jackpot. "After I scratched it, it was awesome," he said. "I'm going to get that business running to where I can eventually stop working for somebody else and work for myself." 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. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged the federal government to restart the Safe Schools Initiative launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Abuja in May 2014 to protect schoolchildren from abductions. Okonjo-Iweala, who is on an official visit to Nigeria said in an interview with ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, that she had discussed the programme with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed. At another forum yesterday, she also expressed concerns that the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as women-owned businesses have been relegated in the country's export drive. Okonjo-Iweala expressed optimism that a former British Prime Minister and United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr. Gordon Brown, who was one of the backers of the initiative when it was launched in 2014, on the heels of the global outrage triggered by the abduction of 276 pupils from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, and the UN would be willing to support Nigeria to restart the programme. At the launch, more than 500 schools in the North were targeted to benefit from the initial $10 million fund pledged by a coalition of Nigerian business leaders. Brown had stressed the need for action to stop the repeated assaults on education in Nigeria. He said: "The first step in response to this crisis has been to show our support. The next phase is now to take practical measures to make schools safer. "We cannot stand by and see schools shut down, girls cut off from their education and parents in fear for their daughters' lives." Okonjo-Iweala described the abduction of schoolgirls and young ones as unacceptable, warning that it amounted to the destruction of Nigeria's future. "I think it is totally unacceptable to have young girls taken out of school - even young boys. You know, the parents will feel insecure. The more you do this kidnapping, the more likely they won't let these children go back to school, especially the girls. You know the country is not going to move unless we educate our girls- educate our young people. So, this kidnapping is something that is terrible and should be stopped. The kidnappers are trying to do damage to our very future," she stated. The WTO DG said she had raised the issue with the president and the finance minister. She said: "I raised the issue because we had started a safe school initiative with the former Prime Minister of the UK, Mr. Gordon Brown, who is a UN Envoy on Education. And I think they are willing to help us restart that initiative and say, how do we protect our schools? What are actually the things that allow bandits or kidnappers to come in at will and abduct hundreds of children, which is unacceptable? How do we better protect them? I think that is what we should look at. "We spoke about it today. I think the government will be looking at how to improve the safety of the schools through the initiative." She also urged the private sector to contribute to the scheme as part of their corporate social responsibility. Okonjo-Iweala lamented that some schools have no fence or gate or even power supply, adding that the non-availability of such facilities make them prone to attacks. She identified the needs of some of the schools to include: "Simple things like making sure you have electricity in all schools so that they are not in the dark for people to come in and abduct them, and having more security and fencing. These are some very simple things you can start to do." The short-term objective of the initiative was to build community security groups to promote safe zones for the stakeholders in the education sector - teachers, parents, community leaders and young people. The long-term agenda of the Safe Schools Initiative was to improve the safety of schools by providing school guards, training staff as school safety officers and providing counsellors to schools that are prone to attacks. One of the prominent business leaders to support the initiative and Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY/ARISE Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, had during the launch of the programme highlighted that the Nigerian business community was behind the initiative. He had also pledged their readiness to work with the communities, youth, government and the media to ensure the safety of schools. Meanwhile, Okonjo-Iweala yesterday expressed concerns that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), as well as women-owned businesses, have been relegated in the country's export drive. She stated that small business remained crucial in transitioning the country from an oil and gas-based economy to one that relies on other sectors and sources of growth. Okonjo-Iweala during a visit to the head office of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in Abuja, said lowering obstacle to businesses of all sizes, especially women-owned companies to participate in international trade would help revamp the economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said while trade could help improve economic outcomes of women by creating more and better jobs, raising wages and lowering costs, a business that engages in cross border trade was likely to employ more women. She added that MSMEs constitute the major backbone of the Nigerian economy, accounting for over 76 per cent of jobs and nearly 50 per cent of GDP. Okonjo-Iweala stated that when MSMEs thrive and become productive as well as formalised, the people become the greatest beneficiaries. According to her, connecting to the international market could drive economies of scale and learning and lead to higher productivity and higher wages. "But as we speak, even though MSMEs account for 76 per cent of the jobs in the country, they only account for 7.6 per cent of exports - so, very much underrepresented in the export sector," she stated. Addressing women exporters who made presentations on their efforts to access international markets, she said: "In Nigeria, this reservoir is deep: only about half of the women are part of the workforce and most are in the informal sector. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "Wages of men are 30 to 40 per cent higher than for women in the formal sector. "So there's a missed opportunity for all Nigerians and for the country in not tapping the reservoir of talents we have in our women. "The evidence shows that women empowerment is not about moral imperative only, it is good economics and it's smart economics." She said trade could help improve economic outcomes of women by creating more and better jobs, raising wages and lowering costs. She noted that the WTO would work with Nigeria to enhance the quality and packing of non-oil export products to boost their accessibility to the international markets. According to her, the purpose of the WTO is to create jobs and improve incomes to support sustainability, among others. She, however, commended recent efforts by the federal government to trade agencies, particularly NEPC, to enhance the quality of export products working with international partners. She said the organisation would help Nigeria to enhance the quality of its products designed for export. Okonjo-Iweala also commended the Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, Mr. Segun Awolowo, for his role in encouraging women entrepreneurs and exporters and giving them platforms to thrive. Earlier, Awolowo had said the country had come to a defining moment for international trade and shared the council's giant strides towards implementing the zero oil plans to boost exports. NORWALK The first part of a new chapter at Jefferson Elementary School began this week. While students are out on spring recess, demolition of the portable classrooms behind the main building of Jefferson will begin. Its the start of a renovation which will completely redesign and revamp the school. The project will result in a new gymnasium, playground, kitchen and exterior design which will allow for easier drop-offs. There will also be more classroom space. Much of the work being done to the main building will have to wait as some students from Silvermine Elementary School are in the building until the end of the school year due to COVID density restrictions. But the demolition of the portables represents an important point of progress in the renovation, according to Norwalk Public Schools Chief Communications Officer Brenda Wilcox Williams. Chief of School Operations Frank Costanzo said the portables have served the district for a number of years but were at the end of their useful life. He estimated the structures had been there 10 years or more. I think the ultimate goal of any school district is not to educate students in portables, he said. Portables by design are temporary and strategic for a period of time as facility improvements are made in a school system. This is what you hope to see, the removal of temporary structures and a school being renovated as new which would serve this population well. The school currently has a lot of open classrooms, which Costanzo said was popular at the time of design. Since then, this concept has proven not to be best practice. The new design will allow more closed classroom space. Over time as that pedagogy has fallen out of favor ... the employees have tried to create more traditional classroom spaces, and the district has tried to support that, Costanzo said. As this building comes down, a lot of what theyre pulling out are partition walls and other items that served as barriers to create classrooms. Costanzo said the school is on track to reopen to Jefferson students for the 2022-23 school year. Jefferson students are currently relocated at Ponus Ridge Middle School. Jefferson was designed for a little over 400 students, but enrollment was approaching 600, according to Costanzo, due to the number of students in the magnet program there. The school is phasing out of the magnet program, he added, to become a neighborhood school again with about 400 students. This was really a beautiful school, and itll be state-of-the-art and offer all the things we want to see, he said. This community has looked forward to a new school in the neighborhood and theyre really deserving of it. Im so excited to see it all come together. An official groundbreaking of the project will occur later this spring, according to Wilcox Williams. erin.kayata@hearstmediact.com Whats in a name? Kylie Jenner can tell you. The fabulously wealthy spawn of Kardashian family fame prompted millions of likes on Instagram in 2018 when she revealed the name of her newborn baby with rapper Travis Scott to the world. The infant, Stormi, became famous in an instant, and a 7-year-old Lakeview girl was not happy about it. She asked, Why would she take my name?, said Shenitriya Saleem of her daughter, Stormi. Shes a little firecracker. Shes life. And why not? Everything I do, I do for the kids. Its for them. What has erupted since then is a legal tussle that pits the New Orleans family and Curtis Bordenave, a trademark prospector from St. Roch, against Forbes top-earning celebrity in the world last year. Its a battle of trademark veterans. At 23, Jenner has applied to register 208 of them, seeking protection for the commercial use of Kybrow, Kyshadow, Glitter Eyes and Rise and Shine, to name a few. Bordenave, 51, said he's been registering trademarks since before she was born. He once tried in vain to register alternative facts, minutes after former Donald Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway blurted it out. Kylie Jenner gives birth to baby girl Kylie Jenner, the model, makeup mogul and reality TV celebrity, gave birth to an 8 lb., 9 oz., baby girl Feb. 1, according to social media pos Partnering with Saleem and her family, Bordenave put in for the Stormi Couture trademark for apparel, a month after Jenner gave birth, when Stormi from Lakeview was 7. Months later, Jenner applied for a host of Stormi-related trademarks, including Stormi World for cosmetics, childrens clothes, toys, sporting goods, perfumes, costumes. She announced the release of a Stormi line of cosmetics in February 2020. A month later, Bordenave and his company, Business Moves Consulting, opposed her trademarks, saying they would likely create brand confusion. Jenners attorneys allege fraud, seeking to cancel out Bordenaves trademarks. They describe Bordenave as a trademark pirate with a colorful history of piggybacking off famous monikers. I definitely want brands that are valuable, that people may want to use. You want property on the lakefront, explained Bordenave, who said he splits his time between Mississippi and New Orleans. Ill go against anyone. Theyre the bullies. Multiple trademarks can apply to the same words or phrases, allowing brands like Delta Airlines and Delta Faucet to co-exist in different markets. It can get thorny when the brand is tied to a celebrity, said Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law. Jenner herself once battled it out in a trademark dispute with Australian actress Kylie Minogue over use of their names. It ended with an undisclosed settlement. So much of the nature of being a celebrity is about brand management. Theres this person called Kylie Jenner, but theres this entire economic enterprise thats under the Kylie Jenner brand, Goldman said of the rush by celebrities to register trademarks. There are millions of dollars that are going to be anchored to this babys name." Jenners knack for marketing cosmetics raises the stakes. Last year, she cashed out 51% of her namesake cosmetics company in a deal that valued the business at $1.2 billion. Her Stormi, now 3, has achieved fame in her own right, Jenners lawyers argue. Even so, the relative fame of one Stormi over another wouldn't matter if Bordenave and the family were making a legitimate go of his Stormi Couture brand, Goldman said. This famous baby isnt inherently a problem, he said. The real issue is whether this person is just picking a brand and marketing it, or trying to create a barrier for someone more legitimate just so they can cash out. Bordenave claims hes leveling the playing field against a Hollywood behemoth in an Internet world, where a Lakeview girls brand has a shot at going big even if it hasnt yet made it off the block. I have every right to own intellectual property just like these celebrities. They just dont like the fact the Internet has created an avenue for everyday people to expand their brands, he argued. Shes got the fame and the money. She knew she was going to have a baby before me. If she had real intent on using something, she should have gotten it first, he added. Well gladly give her a license agreement to do cosmetics, but dont just bogart your way and take our mark. His tactics have brought plenty of backlash over the years. A federal judge in 2000 barred Bordenave and a company he created from using trademarks for Cash Money, Hot Boys and Hot Boy Wear. U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon ordered Bordenave to surrender merchandise and Internet domain names and pay $92,000 to Cash Money Records, court records show. Record producer DJ Khaled sued Bordenave in 2018 for registered trademarks using Asahd, the name of Khaleds baby son, as well as the entertainers catch phrase, We the Best. The two sides reached a confidential settlement in 2019, court records show. There's no indication that Bordenave or the family were making "Stormi" T-shirts or other merchandise before Jenner's announcement, and Bordenave is vague when asked to describe his efforts to market them since he registered the trademark. A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans recently debated a similar question in the case of a Lacombe motel owner who had registered a trademark in 2007 for metchup, his blend of mayonnaise and ketchup. Dennis Perry sued mammoth condiment maker Heinz after it launched Mayochup in 2018. Perry cried foul, but an attorney for Heinz argued last month that hes done almost nothing over a decade to push his product, which hed made from ketchup and mayonnaise purchased at Wal-Mart. Once a year, he filled six plastic bottles with condiments that he bought from Wal-Mart, stuck metchup labels on them and put one or two on a table in his motel lobby and then called it a day, the lawyer said. A ruling in that case is pending. Bordenaves attorney, Andrew Lilly, said its obvious that Kylie Jenner can make plenty more money off the Stormi name, but that the issue is a level playing field. Does the law really apply evenly or not? he asked. The case is currently before a trademark hearing board, though Lilly said they may soon file an infringement lawsuit against Jenner that would move the case to federal court. The older Stormi is now 9. Saleem said the family hopes to launch lines of hair care and nail-polish products for girls using her namesake trademarks. The childs father and Bordenave have known each other since high school, she said. Bordenave said the agreement calls for the family to get licensing rights in Louisiana. Saleem said she doesnt begrudge Jenner or her famous baby for their fame and money, but she wondered why her own daughter's prospects should dim. Why should my Stormi (be told), You cant do it, you cant have it? she asked. I have nothing personal against (Jenner). Im excited and Im happy for her. Its not personal. Its business. Jenner's attorney did not respond to messages seeking comment. SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) has launched its first psychedelic-assisted clinical trial and begun participant enrollment. The Visual Healing study is a collaboration among PNI, award-winning filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg, and the Usona Institute, and tests a strategy incorporating a nature-themed immersive video experience into psilocybin-assisted therapy for patients with alcohol use disorder. Visual Healing Study Trial Investigators Dr. Keith Heinzerling and Dr. Daniel F. Kelly Treatment & Research In Psychedelics (TRIP) Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute Since the late 1990s there has been renewed interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat mental health conditions including addiction, anxiety, depression and PTSD. The Treatment & Research In Psychedelics (TRIP) program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute is exploring how altered states of consciousness elicited by psychedelics can be harnessed to change behavior and improve brain health. TRIP program director and addiction medicine specialist, Keith Heinzerling, MD, is the principal investigator of the study. "Psilocybin-assisted therapy shows promise for treating alcohol use disorder, but early studies suggest that patients with alcohol problems may be less likely to achieve a mystical experience with a standard psilocybin dose," said Dr. Heinzerling. "Feeling more connected with nature is a common element of a psychedelic mystical experience. Our pilot study will test whether adding Louie's beautiful nature-themed Visual Healing videos to the start of the psychedelic session, during the so-called ascent as the medicine begins to take effect, may facilitate reaching a peak or mystical experience. Results of the study may help us refine interventions that optimize the impact of psilocybin without having to increase the dose and will increase our understanding of the potential beneficial role of nature-connectedness in psychedelic therapies." Visual Healing This phase 2 study assesses feasibility, safety and efficacy of incorporating Visual Healing, to optimize set and setting in psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder. All participants will receive two doses of 25 mg psilocybin therapy separated by four weeks. The 20 participants will be randomized into two cohorts - a Visual Healing cohort and a standard Set and Setting arm. Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, is provided as capsules by Usona Institute and considered non-addictive. The Importance of Set and Setting "We know from multiple psilocybin-assisted therapy clinical trials that participants who achieve a mystical experience are more likely to have a long-term change in behavior, which is why the mindset of the patient and the setting of the journey is so critical to consider," said Daniel Kelly, MD, PNI director and founder, and co-investigator of the study. "The novel Visual Healing approach we are taking along with the pre-journey counseling aim to optimize set and setting and maximize the chance of a mystical experience to ultimately help participants stop drinking." Preparation sessions are followed 1-2 weeks later by a supervised 45-hour psilocybin journey in the peaceful setting of the PNI TRIP room, with follow-up integration sessions. These sessions are crucial, allowing participants to address and, hopefully, resolve longstanding alcohol use-related issues. "We are thrilled to be launching this first psilocybin-assisted therapy clinical trial at PNI and have other trials in development for patients with depression and grief that we hope will start later this year," said Dr. Kelly. "As we embark on this important work, we are grateful to our supporters, including the Annenberg Foundation, which provided us critical seed funding to create TRIP, and our collaborators Louie Schwartzberg and Usona Institute." The Visual Healing trial is sponsored by PNI Foundation. More information can be found on the TRIP website and at ClinicalTrials.gov. About Pacific Neuroscience Institute Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) is devoted to the comprehensive care of patients with a wide spectrum of neurological and cranial disorders. Dedicated teams of specialists, state-of-the-art facilities and the use of leading-edge treatment along with our collaborative approach ensure that each patient receives the attention they require for successful treatment and recovery. PNI's specialty clinics are located at award winning hospitals Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California. PacificNeuro.org Media Contact: Zara Jethani [email protected] 818-209-4070 SOURCE Pacific Neuroscience Institute If you were among the few who traveled by plane last fall, you probably got a bargain on your tickets. Airlines cut fares to their lowest levels in more than two decades amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal transportation statistics. At San Antonio International Airport, fares dropped by 27 percent in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. Nationally, fares fell by 30 percent. I think every airline out there has offered significant fare sales to try to drive demand, said Brian Pratte, chief air service development officer at San Antonio International. Flying right now is probably the cheapest that it has been in years. Yet San Antonios airport stands out as one of the nations most expensive airfields to depart from, even as the average fare here fell to $260.75 from $357.12 a year earlier. That topped the national average of $244.79 on Sept. 30. San Antonio International ranked 10th costliest for passengers among the countrys top 50 airports, the federal data shows. On ExpressNews.com: Massive remake in the works for San Antonio International Airport, including new Terminal A Prices down, travel up Across the board, low fare prices have lured some passengers back to the skies. But the airline industry is a long way from recovery. Travelers continue to stay home in big numbers, concerned about exposing themselves to the coronavirus. The number of passengers on most days is still 40 to 50 percent of 2019 levels. But higher fares in San Antonio was true even before the pandemic: Its cheaper to fly out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport than the San Antonio airport, the 44th largest U.S. airfield. Austin saw average fares of $244.88, just 9 cents above the national average. The price difference between Austin and San Antonio may only be $15.87 on average, but local residents say it is worth the 90-minute drive up Interstate 35 because they can save hundreds of dollars on some tickets. Abri Guerrero, a San Antonio physical therapy student, said shes paying $400 for a round trip on Southwest Airlines to Hawaii from Austin in May, about $200 less than she would have paid in San Antonio. Guerrero said its the third time in the past several years shes taken a flight from Austin instead of San Antonio. She saved several hundred dollars on her other trips to Las Vegas and Orlando. San Antonio International Airport would be a lot more convenient, the 24-year-old said. But I am a college student and dont have a regular source of income, so I am looking for the best price. San Antonio loses about 7 percent of its potential customers in the metropolitan area to the Austin airport and another 5 percent to Houstons airports, according to an October 2018 report by Seabury Consulting. The other airports often beat San Antonio on price, as well as service to more nonstop destinations. Commissioned by San Antonio airport officials, the report found that the Austin airport had nonstop service to 33 U.S. cities that passengers couldnt reach by direct flights from San Antonio International. On some routes, Austin and Houston offered significantly lower fares than San Antonio, Seabury said. On ExpressNews.com: Southwest Airlines to take on United, American in Houston, Chicago and Miami Cheap seats For example, a one-way ticket booked March 7 for a flight from San Antonio to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., cost $169. The Southwest flight is the only direct service to the Florida city from San Antonio International. Southwests nonstop flight out of Austin to Fort Lauderdale would have cost $53. From Houstons William P. Hobby Airport, the fare would have been $49. A passenger flying from Austin could save even more by choosing Spirit Airlines, whose lowest fare was $42.39. JetBlue Airways offers a $53 ticket. Neither carrier operates out of San Antonio. Local travel agent Yojany Mathis said she typically finds round-trip domestic fares for her clients that are $100 to $150 less at Austins airport than San Antonios. If youre a couple or a family, the savings can be substantial, even with paying for parking in Austin, she said. Mathis, who owns Custom Travel by Yojany, is also a bargain hunter. She took her last three domestic trips, in 2019 and 2020, from Austin because of cheaper tickets. She and her husband saved around $150 apiece on each round-trip fare. I wish we had lower fares here in San Antonio, she said. San Antonio International is more expensive than most other airports because it offers few flights by ultra-low-cost carriers, aviation consultants say. Spirit Airlines, the biggest domestic carrier in the category, makes up 5 percent of the flights at the Austin airport, according to data from aviation data firm Cirium. A carrier like Spirit can make a big difference in lowering fares, said Austin Horowitz, the principal aviation consultant at ICF, a Boston-based industry consulting firm. Horowitz said Spirits lower fares typically force major carriers such as American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest to cut prices to compete. Spirit offered service from San Antonio to three destinations in 2008 but ended the flights the following year due to a lack of passenger demand. Pratte said San Antonio airport officials continue to negotiate with a variety of carriers to add more service. He declined, however, to address questions about why San Antonios average fares were higher than at other airfields. Sister city surges Since the pandemic, San Antonio has lost nonstop service to about a dozen cities, though it still offers direct flights to about 30 destinations compared with about 50 at the Austin airport. Low-cost Jet Blue also flies out of Austin but doesnt serve San Antonio. San Antonio may find it difficult to persuade Spirit to return because its a smaller airport than Austin-Bergstrom, Horowitz said. Austin saw about 8.4 million people board planes in 2019, compared with just over 5 million at San Antonio, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. My strong suspicion is that when you compare Austin and San Antonio, theyre seen as too close together for Spirit, Horowitz said. If you have limited resources, and you can only fly to one destination, youre going to go to the place with more passengers. A Spirit Airlines spokesman declined to say whether the carrier is considering a return to San Antonio. We never comment on plans for future routes, but I can tell you that we dont believe serving Austin precludes us from serving San Antonio again in the future, he said. Its also unclear if JetBlue would consider flights from San Antonio in the future. JetBlue has a history of entering new markets and driving up demand while also lowering fares dubbed the JetBlue effect, a spokesman said. We are always looking to expand and fly to the places people want to go. San Antonio does have a small smattering of low-cost carriers operating out of the airport. Frontier Airlines offers flights once a day to Las Vegas and three times a week to Orlando. Allegiant Air runs two flights a week to Las Vegas, and Sun Country Airlines will fly seasonally twice a week to Minneapolis starting in May. Passengers who use San Antonio International probably wont see more competitive fares anytime soon, said consultant Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group. Airlines pricing models likely have shown that if they lower fares by, say, 5 percent, they wont see 5 percent more passengers, he said. Eight of the nine airports with higher fares than San Antonio International were hubs dominated by one airline, according to the federal statistics. Those airports offer hundreds of flights a day to many destinations. But when passengers start their journey in a hub city, they often only have one airline to choose from if they want to fly nonstop. The curse is they can charge what they want to get you there, Horowitz said. Washington Dulles International Airport, which is dominated by United, had the highest average fare at $302.17 as of Sept. 30. And thats with the airport having seen a 50 percent plunge in the average ticket price from a year earlier. Salt Lake City International Airport, where Delta Air Lines is the main carrier, had the second-highest average fare at $288.43, down 22 percent. Two hub cities in Texas also had higher fares than San Antonio. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston came in eighth place with an average fare of $266.47. Houstons other airport, William P. Hobby Airport, which is dominated by Southwest Airlines, offered a regional relief valve for passengers. Its average fare in the period ending Sept. 30 was $226.47. Meanwhile, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport saw an average cost of $260.18, making it the ninth most expensive airport in the U.S. for departing passengers. Metroplex residents, however, have a second choice: Dallas Love Field, where Southwest is the dominant airline. Its average fare as of Sept. 30 was $215.23, making it the 13th cheapest U.S. airport and the least expensive major airfield in Texas. In the Washington, D.C., area, Dulles is dominated by United Airlines, which controls 70 percent of departing airline seats, according to Cirium. United also dominates George Bush Intercontinental Airport with 76 percent of the seats. At DFW, American Airlines controls 87 percent. The lowest fares among the top 50 airports were at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an average fare of $117.15. Chicago Midway International Airport followed with an average ticket price of $185.29. The San Juan airport has strong competition from a number of carriers. In Chicago, Southwest dominates Midway, but fares are moderated by the airlines competition with American and United, which operate hubs at OHare International Airport. Competition between carriers is usually a winning formula for lower fares, consultants say. Southwest, American, United and Delta run 90 percent of flights from San Antonio, according to Cirium. In Austin, the four airlines account for 80 percent of the seats. It doesnt sound like a lot, but that could be the tipping point for why San Antonio is less competitive, Horowitz said. Airlines are attracting passengers at the Austin airport, so they add more flights. In turn, more passengers head to Austin-Bergstrom, including some from San Antonio, because of it offers more and often cheaper options. At the end of the day, its kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, he said. If people go to Austin for cheaper fares, then cheaper fares will be offered at Austin. randy.diamond@express-news.net Firm announces investments in LandSpire Group and VamosVentures, as well as a partnership with the NAIC; together with Harlem Capital, these companies form the inaugural TPG NEXT portfolio TPG, a global alternative asset firm, announced today the launch of TPG NEXT, a newly branded initiative designed to back diverse talent. TPG NEXT will provide flexible growth capital and operating resources to seed, support, and scale the next generation of diverse investors and entrepreneurs including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+. "There is a self-selecting bias in the market that fundamentally disadvantages diverse talent. These structural dynamics will continue unless we push ourselves to step outside of our traditional circles and invest behind people, ideas, and networks that are different," said Jon Winkelried, Co-CEO of TPG. "Through TPG NEXT, we believe we can bring the right combination of capital, operating resources, and expertise to help expand the traditionally narrow path to success in our industry and create and scale a differentiated category of diverse investing." TPG NEXT will seek to reshape and expand the alternatives marketplace, introducing new and flexible avenues to strategic capital to develop, launch, and propel the next generation of diverse investors and entrepreneurs. Empowering a more diverse group to become capital allocators will help to increase investment into diverse-led businesses, creating a positive ripple effect across the industry. In conjunction with the launch of the initiative, TPG has announced a series of new investments and partnerships that, together with Harlem Capital, form the inaugural TPG NEXT portfolio. Investments TPG has partnered with LandSpire Group, a 100 percent Black-owned real estate firm focused on investment and development in secondary markets across the U.S. As part of the partnership, LandSpire co-founders Josh Childress and Justin Davis and internal legal counsel Treana Allen have formally joined TPG's real estate team for the next year as TPG NEXT's first Investors-in-Residence. Following a successful residency, TPG will make a strategic investment in LandSpire and its flagship fund, which is expected to launch in the first half of 2022. TPG has made a strategic minority investment in VamosVentures, an early-stage venture firm that invests in companies led by diverse teams, with a special focus on the Latinx community. VamosVentures was founded in 2016 by investor and entrepreneur Marcos Gonzalez. The partnership will provide VamosVentures with access to additional working capital and operating resources to help grow and scale its business. In 2019, TPG made a non-controlling strategic investment in Harlem Capital, a diversity-focused venture capital firm. The investment provided the firm with working capital and access to resources from across the TPG platform. Harlem Capital closed its inaugural fund in December of 2019 with more than $40 million in capital commitments. Partnerships In addition to its GP seed commitments, TPG has partnered with the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC). Formed more than 50 years ago, the NAIC is known today as the largest network of diverse-owned alternative asset managers, with a membership base of more than 115 firms who collectively manage more than $200 billion in assets. The partnership will build on the organizations' shared commitment to addressing the industry's pipeline challenges through curated events, training, and other engagement opportunities. Justin Nunez, a Business Unit Partner in TPG Public Equity Partners, and Liz Stiverson, a Principal and Chief of Staff in TPG's Executive Office, will oversee the day-to-day management of the initiative in partnership with a group of executive sponsors, including Winkelried, Jim Coulter, Kelvin Davis, and Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri. TPG NEXT partners will have access to the firm's complete ecosystem, including its investment professionals, business development and capital formation functions, and services teams. TPG's Longstanding Commitment to Diversity, Equality Inclusion The launch of TPG NEXT builds on the firm's commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture within the firm and its ecosystem, and to using the influence and scale of this network to drive sustainable, long-term change across the industry. Over the past three years, the firm has made several enhancements to its recruiting and talent management processes and has invested in health and family benefits for parents, women, and LGBTQ+ employees. In 2017, TPG launched an initiative to increase the gender diversity of its portfolio company boards. Since then, TPG's portfolio companies have added more than 100 women directors. At the end of 2019, TPG expanded the effort to focus on race and ethnicity and sexual orientation. The firm has developed an internal database of more than 1,500 diverse director candidates with a breadth of sector and functional expertise. About TPG TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $91 billion of assets under management and offices in Beijing, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, and Washington, DC. TPG's investment platforms are across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, impact investing, real estate, secondaries, and public equity. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its investors while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio. For more information, visit www.tpg.com and on Twitter @TPG. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005579/en/ Contacts: Media Luke Barrett media@tpg.com 415-743-1550 BLACKPINK Lisa, IU, EXO Sehun, GOT7 Jackson, and more truly captivated the luxury world as they topped TMI News's newly released rankings! On March 17, Mnet's "TMI News" unveiled the BEST7 "Idols picked by luxury brands." The broadcast was hosted by Jeon Hyunmoo and Jang Doyeon, along with intern reporters iKON Booby and broadcaster Joo Woojae. BLACKPINK Lisa Topped TMI News "Luxury Brands' Pick Idols" Rankings In the rankings, the no. 1 K-pop idol who caught the attention of most luxury brands is none other than BLACKPINK Lisa! BLACKPINK Lisa is currently working for French luxury goods Celine's Ambassador, along with top international stars Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie, who are also selected as the top three Muse of Celine. In particular, BLACKPINK's Lisa drew attention after being chosen by Bvlgari, an Italian luxury brand. Among the costumes presented at an official ceremony, the price of jewelry is equivalent to most foreign cars. TMI News said, "Earrings are 4.1 million won, rings are 7.5 million won, bracelets are 23 million won, watches are 34.1 million won, and total prices are 68.7 million won." BLACKPINK Lisa, who topped the rankings is set to release the second edition of her photobook, "0327," a gift to fans to commemorate her birthday. You Can Also Read: K-pop Idols Who Are Chosen as Ambassadors and Model for Top Luxury Brands IU, EXO Sehun, GOT7 Jackson & More: TMI News "Luxury Brands' Pick Idols" Top 7 Along with BLACKPINK, Lisa, IU, and Bewhy also entered the rankings at second and third places.IU wore 5.4 million won coat, 3.6 million won for the dress, 600,000 won for earrings, 1.1 million won for shoes, and 4.8 million won for the bag, and the total cost of the Gucci ensemble costs 15.51 million won! As for Bewhy, the rapper showed colorful outfits with Gucci bags, and the total price cost 23 million won. Meanwhile, Sehun of EXO, who has been receiving love calls from numerous brands, starting with Louis Vuitton, ranked No. 4. Currently, the male idol is also the ambassador for Dior, and one of his projects with the luxury brand is the Dior x Air Jordan sneakers which were originally sold for 3 million won with limited available pairs of 13,000. However, the price of reselling rose gradually, and according to 'TMI NEWS,' the maximum resell price was about 10 million won. This indicates a 330 percent increase from the original price. The youngest on this list is ITZY Lia, who ranked fifth place. The bag price from a well-known luxury brand she introduced for her airport fashion costs 4.4 million won, and the same brand jacket worn by the young female idol was 3.2 million won, with a total price of 7.6 million won, proving her young and rich image. The sixth place in the rankings goes to GOT7 Jackson, who is deemed to be a fashion influencer. The idol is the face of top-notch brands Cartier and Armani. Aside from these, he also proved his global popularity when he managed to sell all stocks for the limited edition "Fendi x Jackson Wang" capsule collection. Lastly, Na Hoon-a ranked no. 7, who boasted a 990,000 won knitwear from Givenchy. For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Eunice Dawson Vladimir Golovatyuk, Moldova's ambassador to Russia, on Thursday accepted parliamentary majority's nomination to the post of prime minister, the embassy told Sputnik MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2021) Vladimir Golovatyuk, Moldova's ambassador to Russia, on Thursday accepted parliamentary majority's nomination to the post of prime minister, the embassy told Sputnik. Earlier in the day, Ernest Vardanyan, a member of the Party of Socialists, said that the parliamentary majority nominates Golovatyuk and 53 lawmakers are ready to support his candidacy. "The ambassador agreed to the proposal of Chairperson of the Parliament Zinaida Greceanii ... The proposal was made yesterday, and the ambassador agreed," the embassy said, adding that Golovatyuk is in Moscow now. On February 23, Moldova's constitutional court ruled that Prime Minister Maia Sandu must hold consultations on cabinet formation with lawmakers. On Tuesday, five out of six parliamentary parties were in favor of forming a cabinet, while Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity kept insisting on parliament dissolution and snap elections. Sandu nominated Igor Grosu, the leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, as the candidate for prime minister, but the Party of Socialists challenged the move in court. President Akufo-Addo must ask any minister who has the ambition of becoming a presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to resign, Kwadwo Mpiani, a chief of staff in the government of President John Agyekum Kufuor has said. Speaking on Asaase Radio on Thursday (18 March), Mpiani said, The ministers are there because the president appointed them to help him rule the country. So if they have decided to become candidates and not ministers at this stage, sure, he [Akufo-Addo] has every right to ask them to go and pursue their ambitions. So that he can appoint somebody to do the work which has been entrusted to him by the people of Ghana. I think that is the legitimate thing for any president to do, he added. Mpiani was speaking on the scramble among cabinet ministers to succeed President Akufo-Addo, describing it as a very worrying development in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The former chief of staff advised ministers rather to rally behind the president to perform well in his second term. Look, if you dont put the party on sound footing, if the government doesnt do well, you may even want to put Jesus Christ there [but] I dont think He can win. So lets support the government to do well, he said. You see, the government is in a very unfortunate situation now, because of this COVID-19 and all. The economy is not doing well and it is something universal, Mpiani said. So, our attention should be on how to perform well, so that when we put up a candidate he will not have too much of a problem. Instead of doing that, when the government is not even in place, we are thinking of who will take over from Nana Addo. Its a misplaced priority. Leadership failure The former chief of staff did not mince his words, describing the infighting as the product of a lack of discipline and failure on the part of the leadership of the New Patriotic Party. Mpiani said, I believe the current leadership is not doing well. Thats my candid opinion. He mused on the cause, saying: I dont know why, but maybe [its because of] overambition, or maybe lack of discipline in the party [the NPP]. I think it is so wrong. He recounted how the party carried out research to identify which candidates were viable after 17 candidates expressed an interest in the race for the partys flagbearer position in 2006. The move, Mpiani said, led to the party placing limits on the number of candidates who could run for the leadership of the NPP. Source: asaaseradio 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 Christian mass shooter Robert Long was tired of temptation posed by massage parlors: police Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian mass shooter Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police he was addicted to pornography and was trying to eliminate temptation when he shot up three massage parlors in the Atlanta area, killing eight people who were mostly Asian women Tuesday evening, and was planning to shoot up more parlors in Florida. We did interview him last night. He is currently in our facility at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said at a press conference Wednesday. He made indicators that he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction, and may have frequented some of these places in the past. Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said Long, who attended Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, a Southern Baptist congregation, did take responsibility for the shootings and dismissed reports that his actions were racially motivated. He does claim that it was not racially motivated. He apparently has an issue with what he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places. Its a temptation for him he wanted to eliminate, Baker said. Those are comments that he made. Baker explained that investigators handling the case said Long understood the gravity of his actions on Tuesday. He was pretty much fed up and kinda at the end of his rope, and I guess it was a really bad day for him and this is what he did, Baker said. "These locations, he sees them as an outlet for him, something he shouldnt be doing. He had an issue with porn and he was attempting to take out that temptation. He added: It may be targets of opportunity. We believe that he frequented these places in the past and may have been lashing out. Authorities say four people died in Longs shooting spree during his first attack at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, which was reported around 5 p.m. A Hispanic man was also injured there. Atlanta police officers then responded to what was reported as a robbery at Gold Spa (open 24 hours a day) in the northeast part of the city at 5:47 p.m., where they found the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. While officers were at that scene, they received a call about shots fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street, where they found another woman's body. Police confirmed Wednesday that two of the eight people killed are white. As police shared the new details on Longs motives, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, we certainly will not begin to blame victims. We dont know additional information on what his motives were, but we certainly will not begin to blame victims. And as far as we know in Atlanta, these are legally operating businesses that have not been on our radar, not on the radar of APD, Lance Bottoms said. Baker said Long, who appeared to have used a 9mm firearm in his attack on the massage parlors, told police he was on his way to Florida to shoot up more massage parlors. Thanks to the help of his family, they were able to track him through his cellphone and stop him before he was able to take more lives. We are really appreciative of the family. Without them, this would not have happened as quickly as it happened. They are very supportive and certainly, this was difficult for them, Baker said. Long, who was twice baptized at Crabapple First Baptist Church, most recently in 2018, previously attended services with his mother, father and younger sister. Police said that at the time of the shootings, Long was not living with his parents. Minutes from a meeting of the elders at the church showed that, in 2018, Long was one of 11 people who served as members of Crabapple First Baptist Churchs Student Ministry Team, which exists to see students receive Jesus Christ as Lord, and walk in Him, being rooted in the faith. Jerry Dockery, the lead teaching elder at the church, prayed last Sunday that God would use his church to have leaders in various areas of the public and private sector drawn toward you. We pray that Lord, our leaders, our first responders, our teachers, our business leaders to have their eyes and hearts drawn toward you. Youd make Yourself known in this community in a very powerful, personal way. We ask that you use Crabapple Church to bring this to pass, he said. Asked by The Christian Post on Wednesday to share his thoughts on Longs faith and any possible explanation for what could have driven Long to carry out the shootings, Dockery said: We are grieved to hear the tragic news about the multiple deaths in the Atlanta area. We are heartbroken for all involved. We grieve for the victims and their families and will continue to pray for them. Moreover, we are distraught for the Long family and pray for them as well. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Egyptian political activist Sanaa Seif was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for spreading "false information" relating to Covid-19, her sister and lawyers said Cairo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Mar, 2021 ) :Egyptian political activist Sanaa Seif was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for spreading "false information" relating to Covid-19, her sister and lawyers said. Seif's brother is jailed activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent figure in the Arab Spring uprising that unseated longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The 27-year-old, a film editor who worked on the Oscar-nominated documentary The Square, which covered the political crisis in Egypt from 2011, was arrested in June 2020. Seif and members of her family were arrested outside the public prosecutor's office, where they had gone to lodge a complaint after they were allegedly assaulted outside a Cairo prison complex seeking news of Fattah the day before. Prosecutors in June had accused Seif of disseminating "false news on the deterioration of the country's health situation, and the spread of the coronavirus in prisons." Human rights lawyer Nabih al-Ganadi said Wednesday Seif had been handed 18 months in jail, including "one year for 'spreading false information' and 'using an account on social networks to commit a crime', and six months for 'defaming a public official'. " Seif's sister, Mona Seif, said she had been charged for spreading false information "about coronavirus". "This dreadful country is determined to steal the lives of my brother and sister in their rotten prisons," Mona Seif added. Fattah was arrested in September 2019 following rare demonstrations against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The arrest of Sanaa Seif came after she stood outside the prison where Fattah was held hoping for news of him, amid fear of the spread of Covid-19 inside jails. Rights groups estimate about 60,000 political prisoners are being held in Egyptian jails, in a crackdown on dissent under way since Sisi took power in 2014. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. (Natural News) On Tuesday, March 16, European Medicines Agency (EMA) Executive Director Emer Cooke said that experts were assessing the possibility that the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus (COVID-19) jab contributed to the blood clots and other possible adverse reactions suffered by certain patients who received the vaccine. The experts will meet again on Thursday to come to a conclusion and to advise whether there are any further actions that need to be taken, Cooke said at an online news conference. But she noted that there was no evidence that the incidents had been caused by the vaccine at the moment. A situation like this is not unexpected when you vaccinate millions of people, she said. Cooke stressed the need to take the time to evaluate every reported case and come up with a science-based assessment. The benefits continue to outweigh the risks, but this is a serious concern and it does need serious and detailed scientific evaluation. This is what we are involved in at the moment, Cooke said. Sweden joins growing list of countries that have halted distribution of AstraZeneca jab Some 24 countries have temporarily halted, or promised to halt, distribution of the AstraZeneca jab with Sweden becoming the latest European country to join them on Tuesday. No cases of severe blood clots had been reported in Sweden, but neighboring Norway and Denmark had each reported one death. (Related: Eight European nations pause AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccinations after reports of serious blood clot.) Thailand, on the other hand, initially suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine, but the countrys health authorities later decided to go ahead with it. The World Health Organization (WHO) criticized the decision to halt vaccinations because it could potentially undermine global perceptions of vaccine safety. But Frances Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher didnt agree with the WHO in her statement before Tuesdays online news conference. She said that that the countries had acted in an effort to help protect public confidence. It is important that there is no distrust in the population, Pannier-Runacher said. If you see decisions being made in other countries, the risk is that a mistrust of the vaccine could develop. Our intention is to be perfectly transparentand [show] that every time that there is an alert, we treat it as professionally as possible. Later on Tuesday, the EUs health ministers held a video call where they shared information about their concerns on the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Following the online news conference, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron said they were ready to restart AstraZeneca jabs as soon as Europes top medical regulator officially declared its safety review to be over. Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) Director Nicola Magrini earlier told an Italian newspaper that the decision by Germany, France and Italy to suspend the shots after reports of dangerous side effects was a political one. We got to the point of a suspension because several European countries, including Germany and France, preferred to interrupt vaccinationsto put them on hold in order to carry out checks. The choice is a political one, Magrini said. Magrini insisted the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and that the benefit-to-risk ratio of the jab is widely positive. There have been eight deaths and four cases of serious post-vaccination side effects in Italy. Meanwhile, in Germany, a meeting of state and federal leaders where the countrys vaccine strategy was due to be discussed had been moved to Friday. This is one day after the experts are expected to wrap up their safety review of the AstraZeneca jab. Rare side effects are not exactly rare with AstraZeneca vaccine The AstraZeneca vaccine has been heralded as a critical success in the fight against COVID-19 because it is cheap to develop, ship and store and it is using the adenovirus vector technology that has long been used for vaccines. But its trial phase didnt go smoothly and featured a number of rare side effects. At one point last year, the United States halted its trial for a whole month. (Related: First DEATH reported in AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial, but human experimentation will continue anyway.) Last week, Denmark reported highly unusual symptoms in a 60-year-old citizen who died from a blood clot after receiving the vaccine. In Norway, three health workers were treated in a hospital over the weekend for bleeding, blood clots and a low count of blood platelets after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. One of them died. Their cases were labeled unusual symptoms by health authorities. No such cases had been found yet in the Netherlands, but the country still suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will not be used until at least March 29 as a precaution, the Dutch government said in a statement. We cant allow any doubts about the vaccine, Dutch health minister Hugo de Jonge said. We have to make sure everything is right, so it is wise to pause for now. Follow Immunization.news to learn more about the possible side effects of the coronavirus vaccines. Sources include: Reuters.com ZeroHedge.com Globalnews.ca HONOLULU, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION STEVEN A. MULLEN, Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. WELLS FARGO & COMPANY, C. ALLEN PARKER, TIMOTHY J. SLOAN and JOHN R. SHREWSBERRY, Defendants. Case No.: 3:20-cv-07674-WHA CLASS ACTION The above-captioned consolidated action (the "Wells Fargo Securities Class Action") alleges claims against Defendants Wells Fargo & Company ("Wells Fargo" or the "Company"), the Company's prior Interim Chief Executive Officer C. Allen Parker, the Company's prior Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. Sloan, and the Company's prior Chief Financial Officer John R. Shrewsberry (collectively, "Defendants") under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, on behalf of a proposed class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Wells Fargo between October 13, 2017 and October 13, 2020, both dates inclusive (the "Proposed Class"). On March 15, 2021, the Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S.D.J. entered an Order: (1) consolidating two previously pending and related actions on behalf of Wells Fargo investors as the Wells Fargo Securities Class Action; (2) appointing Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (the "ERS") as Lead Plaintiff for the Proposed Class, with Elmira Tsang, Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, as the ERS's case manager; and (3) inviting applications for Lead Counsel of the Proposed Class. A copy of the Court's Order may be obtained electronically through the Court's CM/ECF system, or by request from the Lead Plaintiff using the contact information below. Any candidate wishing to be considered for selection as Lead Counsel for the Proposed Class must submit to the ERS a proposal, no later than April 22, 2021 , that includes: (1) the candidate's track record in securities and class action litigations; (2) the particular lawyers to be assigned to the case; (3) the candidate's ability and willingness to finance the case; (4) the candidate's proposals for the prosecution of the case; (5) any issues or concerns the Court may have should the ERS seek the candidate's appointment as Lead Counsel, including but not limited to any fee-sharing agreements the candidate may have with third parties and the nature of any fee-sharing agreements; (6) whether the candidate has ever been subject to court sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11; (7) the candidate's fee proposal; and (8) completion of the following chart: Estimated Range of: To the Class: Claimed Losses (as appearing in an amended complaint) $_________ to $_________ Gross Settlement / Judgment $_________ to $_________ Gross Recovery Rate (of Claimed Losses) ________% to ________% Attorneys' Fees $_________ to $_________ Costs $_________ to $_________ Net Settlement / Judgment $_________ to $_________ Net Recovery Rate (of Claimed Losses) ________% to ________% Any candidate wishing to apply to be considered for the role of Lead Counsel should submit its application by both mail and email, both to be received by the ERS no later than April 22, 2021, at: Employees' Retirement System for the State of Hawaii c/o Department of the Attorney General 425 Queen Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 and [email protected] SOURCE Employees Retirement System of the State of Hawaii 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. [March 18, 2021] Deloitte and Quantexa partner to tackle global illicit finance and economic crime risk Global professional services leader and the pioneer in Contextual Decision Intelligence enable enterprises to connect data at scale uncovering hidden risks, more accurately and efficiently. LONDON and NEW YORK, March 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantexa, the data and analytics software company pioneering Contextual Decision Intelligence, announced today it has partnered with Deloitte as part of its global illicit finance and economic crime initiative, to enable the contextual monitoring of criminal activities. The move will help enterprises establish a robust framework against organised crime, and a powerful defence against the rise of illicit finance, economic crime and the fraud epidemic . Deloitte will utilise Quantexa's Contextual Decision Intelligence (CDI) platform to enable its clients to leverage technology and analytics as part of robust Economic Crime Governance and Risk Management Frameworks, to effectively monitor payment flows and gain a more accurate picture of the holistic risks presented from customers and associated third parties, legitimate and otherwise. Economic crime constantly evolves as criminals seek newer, more sophisticated techniques to evade detection in the increasingly interconnected and digital world. Opportunities for bad actors have only increased with lockdown as digital transformation accelerated and proven compliance processes adapted to increasingly remote transactions. Quantexa's contextual monitoring software provides a single view of data with analytics capability that enhances the efficiency, effectiveness and consistency of operational investigations and monitoring. In the hands of Deloitte's experts, CDI is a powerful weapon to help financial institutions, insurers, the private and the public sector to foil the global illicit finance and economic crimewave. Andrew Oates, Partner at Deloitte commented, 'Working with Quantexa, Deloitte clients are developing sustainable and future-focused contextual monitoring capabilities. CDI provides what is fast becoming the new standard for fighting illicit finance and economic crime. Our deep economic crime subject matter expertise, combined with Quantexa's technology and advanced analytics, enables our clients to identify trends, monitor known risks and detect new threats more effectively - it is the next evolution of illicit finance and economic crime monitoring.' Vishal Marria, CEO of Quantexa said, 'We're delighted to be partnering with Deloitte, whose proven global expertise in compliance and governance is the perfect fit for our CDI technology. New risks demand new technology and techniques. Organisations need to rethink the use of traditional rules-based approaches to monitoring activity, which are inflexible and incapable of dealing with the complexity and scale of today's enterprise data demands.' ABOUT QUANTEXA Quantexa is a data and analytics software company pioneering contextual decision intelligence that empowers organizations to make trusted operational decisions by making data meaningful. Using the latest advancements in big data and AI, Quantexa's platform uncovers hidden risk and new opportunities by providing a contextual, connected view of internal and external data in a single place. It solves major challenges across financial crime, customer intelligence, credit risk, fraud and throughout the customer lifecycle. The Quantexa platform enhances operational performance with over 90% more accuracy and 60 times faster analytical model resolution than traditional approaches. Founded in 2016, Quantexa now has over 250 employees and thousands of users working with billions of transactions and data points across the world. The company has offices in London, New York, Boston, Belgium, Toronto, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney. For more information, contact Quantexa here or follow us on LinkedIn . SOURCE Quantexa [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Like an immature child who has discovered a very destructive toy, the woke Left has found that it can ruin people's careers and reputations by depicting them as "racists" for merely disagreeing over issues such as "white privilege" and "systemic racism" or irresponsible actions under color of Black Lives Matter. This is simply age-old trash from a brand-new dumpster. Similar dangerous charlatans in past centuries could ruin people's reputations and even get them burned alive or lynched (think the Salem Witch Trials) by calling them witches, sorcerers, and/or heretics. Evidence, let alone proof beyond a reasonable doubt, was not required; the accusation was sufficient. Failure to support an accusation made the one who remained silent complicit in witchcraft or heresy, a lot like "silence is violence" today. Joe McCarthy and his associates similarly ruined countless reputations and careers during the 1950s by denouncing people as communists. That monster turned on its own creators, however, when the word "McCarthyite" began to depict those who engaged in this practice. The label "canceler" can and should similarly close doors in the faces of those who bring social media and blog disputes into workplaces, whether their own or others. Two important principles apply, and I shall explain each beginning with a quote: "For your own reasons turn into your bosoms/ As dogs upon their masters, worrying you." If you have ever circulated or signed a petition to get a student expelled or forced to withdraw from college because you didn't like something he or she posted on a blog or social media, or to pressure an employer to fire somebody for the same reason, you might be upset at the prospect of your target and/or others branding you a canceler to limit your own employment and career opportunities. Please read King Henry V, Act 2, Scene 2, to understand why you have this coming. Three English knights urged King Henry to execute or punish severely a man who had railed against the monarch while drunk. This was a crime known as lese-majeste (disrespect for the monarch) and technically punishable by death. King Henry realized, however, that if he executed every drunk in his army, he would kill more of his own men than the French managed to kill at Agincourt. He forced the man in question to sleep off his drinks in the brig or its equivalent instead, and released him once he was both sober and respectful. Then, however, he discovered that the same three knights had conspired with the enemy to murder him. He hinted at their fate with the words, "If little faults proceeding on distemper shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye when capital crimes, chewed, swallowed, and digested, appear before us?" When their treason was exposed, they asked for clemency to which King Henry replied, You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy, For your own reasons turn into your bosoms, As dogs upon their masters, worrying you. Men who had urged the King to execute or punish harshly a drunk who had insulted him could hardly expect mercy when proven guilty of a plot to not only murder the King but also betray their country during time of war. A canceler cannot similarly complain about becoming an unemployable pariah for trying to harm another person's career or livelihood over a social media disagreement. "You May Follow Your Custom. And Then We Will Follow Ours." This was General Sir Charles Napier's response to certain inhabitants of British India who excused suttee (widow-burning) as their ancient custom. He replied that Britain's custom was to hang men who burned women alive, and concluded, "You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours." It is similarly up to each person's judgment as to whether he or she wants to hire a canceler, work with a canceler, or attend a university that participates in cancel culture. Christians on the political Left might be O.K. with Hardin-Simmons' decision to discipline a student for posting disrespectful but accurate material about Black Lives Matter. Conservative commentator Terrence K. Williams has made similarly accurate commentary about this movement. The unpleasant truth is that BLM does remain largely silent about any violence except white-on-Black violence, and also violence by people of any race against Black police officers, aka "pigs" and even the N word to some BLM and Antifa demonstrators. When I last heard, BLM is not saying retired police captain David Dorn's name, either. Conservative Christians of all races might however regard Hardin-Simmons' action as an immediate disqualifier and select the less expensive (for in-state students) Texas State University instead. My own recommendation would be to not even consider a university that might interrupt your studies in this manner regardless of whether it is in its rights to do so, but that's just my opinion; you may feel otherwise. My position on hiring cancelers is meanwhile similar to the one expressed in the Book of Exodus: But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. This ancient law carries over into modern laws that impose civil and even criminal liability on owners of dangerous dogs who fail to control them. Employers should know a canceler is wont to push with his or her horn by bringing social media and similar outside disagreements into a workplace. That is not something I would personally want under my roof because it could create morale issues and even legal liabilities, e.g. if the canceler were to write somebody a poor performance appraisal not because of poor job performance but because of something the other person posted or liked on social media. If I was a hiring manager, and a search on an applicant's name and affiliation (e.g. school and year of graduation) showed that he or she was involved in trying to "cancel" a faculty member or another student, I would drop that applicant from further consideration. That is my opinion and my custom; others might be O.K. with taking a chance on a canceler. The best course of action is to not be a canceler. While "canceling" is associated primarily with the "woke" Left, it is not acceptable from the political Right either; the same rules must apply to all. If somebody posts on social media that it is O.K. for demonstrators to infringe on the rights of others by blocking roads, then disagree with them on social media but don't bring it into their workplace. The same goes if they wear a BLM hat or t-shirt; maybe they are just supporting BLM's non-controversial positions, with which all decent Americans agree, on equal rights and equal treatment for people of all races under the law. Even if they support some of BLM's controversial agendas, their workplace is not the right place to address this. The custom of suttee ended quickly when Napier told the widow-burners, "You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours." We must similarly make it unequivocally clear to the cancelers that, if your custom is to try to get other people fired or expelled because you don't agree with what they post on blogs or social media, don't complain when doors close in your face because their owners don't want to risk you bringing similar behavior into their organizations. Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter. Image: Ted Eytan, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0 Texas Announces New Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts Related to Illegal Border Crossings Efforts to be included in 'Operation Lone Star' to address border crisis Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced new efforts to stamp out human trafficking related to illegal border crossings amid a surge in apprehensions, including of unaccompanied minors, at the southern border. The anti-human trafficking efforts will be included in the states Operation Lone Star, a mission launched at the start of the month to address the smuggling of people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas. As part of the new efforts, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers and agents, as well as the Texas Rangers, will interview unaccompanied minors who crossed the border, to identify victims of human trafficking and gather information to help arrest traffickers. Abbott has requested that the Biden administration allow the Texas DPS to have access to the unaccompanied minor holding facility in Dallas and other facilities under federal purview in Texas for the interviews. At a press conference announcing the changes, Abbott criticized the recent actions of the Biden administration. President Bidens reckless open border policies have created a humanitarian crisis that is enriching the cartels, smugglers, and human traffickers who often prey on and abuse unaccompanied minors, he said, according to a release. Texas Gov Greg Abbott speaks during a news conferenced about migrant children detentions in Dallas, Texas, on March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero) Americans deserve to know what the Biden Administration is doing to investigate the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the border and to protect those who are victims of human trafficking. That is why we are expanding Operation Lone Star to include anti-human trafficking efforts, such as interviewing unaccompanied minors to learn if they are victims of human trafficking. This will help us gain information to keep these children safe, root out human trafficking or other criminal activity, and prevent more children from being trafficked and abused. Whether its securing the border or fighting human trafficking, the state of Texas will always step up to fill the gaps left by Washington. Asylum seeking unaccompanied minors from Central America are separated from other migrants by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft in Penitas, Texas, on March 14, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) According to Abbotts office, there are 1,000 Texas DPS troopers, agents, and rangers involved in Operation Lone Star. The new efforts will be handled by the governors Child Sex Trafficking Team and other organizations and agencies who work to combat human trafficking in Texas. Previously, Abbott issued a statement that alleged that the Biden administration has no plan in place for the children being held in Texas facilities. The Biden Administrations reckless open border policies have created a humanitarian crisis for unaccompanied minors coming across the border. With no plan in place, the administration has created heartbreaking and inhumane conditions for children who are being held in Texas, he said on March 15. We have no idea if these children are being reunited with their families through DNA testing or other means, or if they have been victims of human trafficking. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Biden administration for comment. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on March 15 acknowledged that there is a big problem at the southern border, adding that the administration will be exhausting its efforts to solve the problem. Illegal migrant families and unaccompanied minors from Central America take refuge in a make shift U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center under the Anzalduas International Bridge after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Granjeno, Texas, on March 12, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) We recognize this is a big problem. The last administration left us a dismantled and unworkable system. And like any other problem, we are going to do everything we can to solve it, she said. Republicans say the surge in immigrants is due to Bidens reversal of former President Donald Trumps immigration and border policies, including halting border wall construction and reinstating catch and release, in which illegal immigrants are allowed into the country while waiting for their asylum claims to be heard. Republicans also alleged that cartels are exploiting the loosened border policies by transporting unaccompanied minors and other immigrants across the border. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told a reporter on Capitol Hill on March 16 that the Biden administration in effect, issued an invitation for unaccompanied children to come to this country. That has resulted in an enormous surge of unaccompanied minors being handed over to the custody of human traffickers who are violent transnational criminals, who engage in physical abuse and sexual abuse of those kids, he said. The distinctly Filipino pili nut found its champion in two women. The duo of Mary Jane Ong and her mother Rosalina Tan built the independent beauty brand Pili Ani just a few years ago, making pili and elemi oils at the core of everything they create, from essential oil blends to facial creams. During our video call interview, Ong urges Pili Anis marketing manager Hannah Felipe to bust out one of their newer offerings: a volcanic face mask infused with pili and elemi oil. And of course, tayo lang again [may] Mayon Volcano ash, Ong adds, saying that they are sourcing the ash from a town that gained more livelihood opportunities because of the mask. The Pili Ani Volcanic Exfoliating Mask retails at 1,200 on their website, and comes in a sleek teardrop-shaped jar and an ornate pyramid-shaped box, inspired by a photo of Bicols famous volcano. That Pili Anis new product is inspired by a volcano in flux says a lot about where the brand sees itself: in motion, despite a pandemic that has made skin care and beauty purchases feel more like luxuries than ever before. In a time when the Philippine beauty industry has become so democratized, with more small- and medium-sized brands vying for space on our vanities, Pili Ani has set its sights on an overseas market: the consumers of the Home Shopping Network in the United States. To expand into home shopping T.V. feels like an unorthodox move; for a Filipino brand to do so is even more unusual. The local beauty industry has grown exponentially in the last half decade, and Filipino consumers are now able to adopt beauty trends much quicker than they did just a few years ago. From an industry dominated by international (mostly American) drug store brands like LOreal and Maybelline and a handful of luxury labels distributed in swanky department stores like Rustans and Adora, local players and indie brands are now able to command cult followings of their own. Pili Ani Deep Detox Volcanic Mask. Photo courtesy of PILI ANI Beauty became one of the easiest products to market beyond traditional channels the rise of beauty vlogger content has been able to humanize the experience of using these products. Instead of looking at supermodels whose job it is to have perfect skin, potential consumers began to rely on the reviews of everyday individuals who disclose their skin types, issues, and personal experience with the product. Forget beauty awards; when an influential vlogger declares that a product is their holy grail, theres a high chance that it will sell out. Pili Ani was aware of the playing field, but Ong knew that they were competing with a lot of different voices who were creating their own beauty products using local and natural ingredients. The brand prides itself on extracting oil from two distinctly Filipino ingredients in all their products: pili, a highly caloric nut with a hard shell exterior, and elemi, the resin from the pili tree. Both pili and elemi are known for their healing properties and are prized for their high nutritional value, known to restore moisture in the skin. To illustrate just how precious a commodity it is, it takes about 1,500 pili fruits to make a liter of pili oil. They source directly from farmers all over the Bicol region. Although pili can be found in some parts of the world with similar climates, the Philippines is the only place where you can source pili in commercial quantities. Ongs mother Rosalina Tan, happened to visit Bicol often because Ongs first business (as a distributor of Ginebra San Miguel) was based there. It was there that Tan, keen on educating people on how to properly grow organic produce, encountered farmers who had been selling elemi oil, to a French luxury brand that had been using it as an ingredient of one of their (now discontinued) skin care products. Its one of their active ingredients for [one of their] creams, na [about] 12,000. They werent really buying it from the farmers, but they were buying it from a trader. And that trader was just buying it from the farmers, and the price was okay, Ong says. When my mom found out about it, the problem there was during those times, farmers didnt know how to tap the tree naman talaga. Since may buyer, what happens is that some of [the trees] died. Actually maraming namatay. Rosalina Tan, founder of Pili Ani and Mary Jane Tan Ong, CEO. Photo courtesy of PILI ANI This prompted Tan, an advocate of organic farming in the last two decades, to work with the farmers to extract the oils properly and sustainably. Ang pinaka importante [sa Pili Ani] ang being sustainable, because we are buying at a fair market price," Ong said. From working so closely with the raw material, they learned that it wasnt just the pili and elemi oil that could be transformed into finished products. There were by-products that were being locally made from the pili tree, such as massage oils for hilot or sometimes for food. But it clearly had great potential to be developed into something that was globally covetable. Ong and her mother invested in turning the brand into Pili Ani, which in Filipino means chosen harvest. They wanted pili to be the star of their marketing strategy, in the way papaya extract became synonymous for skin brightening among Filipinos, or how moringa oil (malunggay) has been praised on the pages of Vogue and Allure for its hydrating and antimicrobial properties. Pag narinig mo pili, ano sasabihin mo sa kin? Asan na yung mani? Ong says with a laugh. Wheres my marzipan, wheres my pasalubong? Its never on skin care. Its so hard to introduce. While Pili Anis a frontliner was a bankable asset, their initial strategy had been to do what most local brands did: without a physical store (available in multi-brand stockists such as Lanai and Kultura), they amplified their messaging online and relied largely on word of mouth testimonials. After gaining a steady following locally, it became clear to Ong that it was no longer enough to have a groundbreaking product with the hope that it would stand out. Come 2020, we wanted to relaunch. [The] pandemic came, and then na-realize namin na Oops, ang dami nating kulang. We had to regroup, rebrand, and we had to form a new team na like-minded ang goals, Ong explains. Not just for the sake of making money. We had to rebuild. To do this, Ong was determined to a) position the brand as something sustainably and locally made, and b) compete against other luxury skin care brands in the market. The United States became a viable option for Ong, who had lived there previously, and especially after the Home Shopping Network (HSN) announced The Big Find. Launched in July 2020 as a purely virtual event, the two-year-old competition seeks out the best products across a number of categories that HSN and QVC (a partnership between the two channels) sell in. More than 2,400 entries were submitted last year, and Pili Ani was among 23 winning brands and according to The Big Find, two-thirds of their winners are women- and/or minority-owned. I didnt think twice about submitting. If they think you are a good fit, you get a golden ticket and move on to the next level. In late February, their first product, the Ageless Serum Anti-Aging Beauty Treatment premiered on the network and retails for $62. Joining The Big Find was more than submitting a well-packaged product. Ong explains that they were required to invest in clinical studies to prove the effectiveness of their wares. According to Ong, their clinical studies on pili oil proved that it can increase skin moisture by 38% in just five days. By comparison, argan, abyssinian and rosehip natural oils that are renowned for their hydrating properties are able to moisturize skin within the same timeframe by 36-37%. For a product (and an ingredient) that has the capacity to disrupt the beauty industry, Pili Ani could certainly set itself up to be the next holy grail product, with a price tag that comes with that reputation. But for Ong and her team, breaking into HSN isnt a way to legitimize Pili Ani as a high-end brand anytime soon. Actually, were not luxury eh. When you say luxury, yan yung mga $200 cream. Thats luxury, Ong says. She asks Pili Anis marketing manager Felipe to explain their specific category, and Felipe calls themselves masstige. Were mid-priced, Felipe explains. Were not exactly [luxury], but the feeling is luxurious with our products. Ong shares that they are also communicating with big beauty stores in the U.S. to stock Pili Ani on their shelves. The sales were okay, but could be better, Ong candidly shares at the press conference after the launch. But theyre not slowing down anytime while theyre largely known in the Philippines for their essential oil, Pili Anis venture into skin care in the U.S. is part of their strategy to be a full-fledged beauty brand from the Philippines. In the next few months, they plan on launching a full skin care line under the Pili Ani brand, gentle enough for sensitive skin. Ong explains that after their experience with HSN, she realizes the importance of investing in clinical studies and cruelty-free testing to ensure quality beyond beautiful packaging and strong marketing copy. This, for Ong and her mother, is how they are evangelizing to their new audience: by letting the product speak for itself. Meron kaming products that we will pull out of the shelves, if we think its not really okay. And things we bring out, lalo na ngayon, very careful na kami. I test it myself. Ako, wala ako masyadong [skin care] routine, kaya kung ako nagka-allergies or sila [the Pili Ani team], pull out agad, Ong says about the rigorous process. We want to make sure that we love it, and we are able to explain how it works [by using it] on us. New Delhi, March 18 : With the pandemic disrupting the work-from-office culture, a new survey on Thursday revealed that 59 per cent employers in India are not in favour of remote working. According to a survey conducted by job site Indeed, 67 per cent large and 70 per cent mid-size Indian firms as opposed to their global counterparts (60 per cent large and 34 per cent mid-size) are not in favour of a post-pandemic, remote working set-up. Even digitally agile startups indicated they will revert to an in-office model post the pandemic with 90 per cent saying they would not like to continue remote working once a solution for the pandemic was in place. "Remote work has served as an equalizer, pushing companies to reimagine and reorganize their work models, encouraging workers to adapt to new concepts of flexibility and productivity," Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India, said in a statement. More than 45 per cent employees also said reverse migration is temporary and 50 per cent employees said they were willing to shift back to a metro from their native place if the job demands it. They attributed a future return to aspects like availability of work from home (WFH) options (29 per cent) and bringing the pandemic under control (24 per cent), with only 9 per cent saying they will stay on in their native places permanently. According to the survey, that included 1200 employees and 600 employers, only 32 per cent said they are willing to take any form of pay cut even if it means finding a job in their native place. The willingness to take a pay cut in order to work from their hometowns decreases with hierarchy -- 88 per cent senior-level employees say they were unwilling to take a pay cut and 50 per cent say they would shift back to a metro if their job demands it. The pandemic has hit boomers harder than millennials in terms of job prospects and nearly twice as many boomers (44 per cent) than millennials (25 per cent) say it will be difficult to find a job in their native place. Also, 61 per cent boomers are unwilling to take a pay cut to work from their hometowns. The Parks Commission is mullings ways to prevent homeless people from camping in city parks. Pittsfield Parks Commission Begins Draft Plan to Empty City Parks PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Parks Commission on Tuesday endorsed a draft plan to evacuate and prevent homeless folks from overnight camping in Pittsfield parks. Actions include installing new signage and increased awareness of park rules, cleaning abandoned sites and monitoring for new ones, leaving "friendly written reminders" of the overnight camping rules at sites, and circulating community reminders on the best ways to direct goodwill to those in need. This plan will be reviewed by local service providers and the Homelessness Advisory Committee and the commission will be accepting feedback. "I think it's important to understand that there are other others that will be reviewing this," Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager Jim McGrath said. "We really want to make certain that there is agreement around this plan, and that everyone is so to speak, 'playing from the same rules.' So, our effort over the next several weeks is to get that input, and then to, again, bring to the commission, an update of where we're at our next meeting and subsequent meetings as we move through the spring and into the summer with updates on what we're seeing in the parks." In the summer of 2020, an influx of folks began camping in city parks after the closing of ServiceNet's emergency COVID-19 shelter at the former St. Josephs High School. Because of pandemic circumstances and the closing of the shelter, the city was "compassionately tolerant" of temporary park residents. In mid-November, the commission revoked the "compassionate tolerance" and voted to resume camping bans in city parks on December 1. In a statement, The Parks Commission said allowing park camping was a "sufferance and courtesy" of the panel. Reportedly, its aim is to encourage folks to utilize the reopened St. Joe's shelter with temperatures dropping. As the winter progressed, no enforcement seemed to take place and the topic was not discussed again until Tuesdays meeting. "At no time did the city or Parks Commission order an evacuation of encampments. In November 2020, the Parks Commission amended their earlier direction which voiced tolerance for those using city parks for sheltering during the summer, to reinstate adopted park rules effective Dec. 1, 2020," Director of Community Development Deanna Ruffer said in a February email when queried about the park evacuations progress. "As further directed by the Commission, city staff in cooperation with ServiceNet and other service providers worked on a one on one basis with those sheltering in city parks to help them understand why camping is not allowed in city parks as well as connecting them with the resources available to find housing. This compassionate approach is how the city has always approached those who have sheltered in city parks. As a result of this work, all but one known encampment have been removed from city parks. At this point in time, we believe this encampment is no longer being used for overnight sheltering and the individuals are working with various service providers and non-profits to secure alternative housing." Compton College Supporting the Health, Wellness, and Educational Needs of our Community While fulfilling my duty as president/CEO of Compton College, which is to ensure students are prepared for their future, I am also aware of my responsibilities to our community. Making sure the college is a good community steward by supporting the health, wellness, and educational needs of all those we serve is a priority. New challenges in student enrollment After a year of experiencing many challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face new obstacles in meeting previously set achievement goals pertaining to student enrollment, success, and retention. Starting with enrollment: In my opinion, Compton College enrollment has been impacted more than any other community college in Los Angeles County due to the number of COVID-19 cases and the percentage of COVID-19 related deaths in our community; and the low rate of vaccination of our residents. While we remain focused on the health and safety of our students and employees and continue to offer classes primarily in a virtual format, we realize that many students face extreme difficulties when trying to pay for online classes and other expenses such as housing and food, while also finding time for school among work and family obligations. ADVERTISEMENT How are we facing these challenges? How can we help? I think about this question every day. After students are enrolled, how do we support students so they can be successful and complete their studies? For the past year, we have created plans and programs that enhance academic and student services, such as online tutoring, counseling, and workshops. Our support extends outside the boundaries of schoolwork, with the goal of eliminating barriers to their education. This past fall, we registered 288 new students for laptop loans, serving a total of 574 students in this program. Our Wi-Fi hot spot loan program logged similar numbers. Students rely on this technology to participate in virtual classrooms and to complete their coursework. We also provided free food delivery to students, including over 5,150 Everytable meals and 510 UberEats vouchers. More than 80 students accessed Edquity emergency grants this past fall, and 711 students received Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act emergency grants. In total, for the past year, we have distributed $1.3 million in emergency grants. As we begin to receive the additional funding from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, we will utilize half of those funds to provide emergency grants and additional support to address our students housing and food insecurities. We anticipate disbursing $8 million in emergency aid to Compton College students through September 30, 2023. COVID and vaccines in our community In the news and numerous research studies, we also see how our Compton community faces a higher risk of COVID-19 infections and complications from the disease. A recent report further highlights the deep inequities in Los Angeles Countys COVID-19 vaccine rollout and shows Compton among the very lowest rate of those vaccinated. In Compton, records showed that only 5% of residents had received the first dose of the vaccine compared to 25% in areas such as Beverly Hills. How are we responding to COVID and vaccines in our community? ADVERTISEMENT In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and distribution of vaccines, we are providing a safe and healthy environment, from offering ongoing COVID-19 testing for employees and students to making the COVID-19 vaccine available to community members. This opportunity was provided in partnership with Jim Mangia, president & CEO, St. Johns Well Child & Family Center, and Holly J. Mitchell, Los Angeles County Supervisor for the Second District. St. Johns Well Child & Family Center is using our on-campus health center as a vaccination pod, offering 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine each week to all groups in Phase 1A, as well as all groups, Phase 1B, Tier 1, according to Los Angeles Country COVID-19 vaccination distribution guidelines. We are sharing vaccine information to the mailboxes of all district residents via postcards that also promote our spring 2021 second-eight-week session, which begins on Saturday, April 17, 2021. By providing the COVID-19 vaccine at our on-campus health center to our community, we are addressing the inequities. How can you help? Compton College has a rich history of providing services to students throughout Los Angeles County, many of you attended Compton College, or a family member or a friend attended Compton College. We need your help letting others know about Compton College and the many opportunities and supports that are available to Compton College students. We have courses available for the spring 2021 second-eight-week session, which begins on Saturday, April 17, 2021. Help us tell our story, consider enrolling at Compton College, tell family members, your neighbors, and your friends about enrolling at Compton College. For more information on Compton College and to register for classes, please visit our website at www.compton.edu. Closing This is important work, and it is my honor to serve our community and our students. By offering our support on several levels, we can contribute to the health and safety of all. Please encourage individuals to register now for Compton College classes to begin or complete their educational journey. Dr. Keith Curry is the President of the Compton College and CEO of the Compton Community College District. Compton College is the 114th California Community College. Dr. Curry is responsible for overseeing all departments and functions of Compton College and the District and serves as secretary for the CCCD Board of Trustees. He brings an abundance of energy and innovative ideas to Compton College, along with a wealth of experience as a postsecondary education administrator. Dr. Curry earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, Irvine, and a bachelors degree in American studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Curry is an adjunct faculty member for the College of Educational at California State University, Fullerton. BOOK OF THE WEEK DOSTOEVSKY IN LOVE: AN INTIMATE LIFE by Alex Christofi (Bloomsbury 20, 238 pp) The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth, said Fyodor Dostoevsky. As we discover from Alex Christofis luminous biography, he certainly remained true to his word. I have never experienced happiness. I have always been waiting for it, was another of the novelists cheerful pronouncements. They always made a meal of things, the Russians. Bigger beards, longer novels, more frightful afflictions. During a typical 15-day period, Dostoevskys haemorrhoids were so bad he could neither sit nor stand. What did he do? Float? Alex Christofi has penned a new biography exploring the life of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsk (pictured) Christofi informs us of his subjects anxious and unhappy existence the way 19th-century Russia was a huge network of thieves and how the average lavatory was a hole in a plank under which the filth lay thick and slippery. If Dostoevsky, in his feverish books, wrote about the humiliated, the sick and the silenced; if he examined the psychology of the drunken man, the dissolute man, the man marked for death, then this was because everything, in a sense, was autobiographical. Dostoevsky himself, an exasperating man, was constantly on the dangerous brink of physical and mental ruin. He was born in 1821, the son of an impoverished doctor. He was an energetic, curious child, constantly talking to strangers. Fyodors mother died from TB when he was 15. His father was found dead in a ditch soon after whether killed by his serfs or from an accident always remained a mystery. Dostoevsky was sent by relatives to the Military Engineering Institute in St Petersburg, where he studied fencing, dancing, singing, military drill, geometry and field cartography. He enjoyed reading medical textbooks and mugged up on mental illnesses and the nervous system. In his spare time, he began writing short stories. A promising literary career was impeded when a newspaper critic, Valerian Maikov, who was planning to bring out an article that would make Dostoevsky the most significant writer of his generation, went for a walk in the countryside, caught sunstroke and died. Everyone Dostoevsky met seems a bit cartoonish, for example Rafael Chernosvitov, an ex-army officer turned Siberian gold prospector with a wooden leg. In 1849, Dostoevsky was arrested and charged, along with a bunch of poets and clubmen, with the distribution of printed works directed against the government. Dostoevsky was given a thick grey prison robe and stockings and the door was shut. He spent eight months in solitary confinement, before being led out to be executed. Dostoevsky was arrested and charged with the distribution of printed works directed against the government in 1849. Pictured: Prison life He was shown a cart, on which lay a coffin covered with a cloth. Dostoevsky was tied to a pillar; the soldiers took aim and, at the very last minute, it was announced the Tsar had granted a reprieve. Instead of a bullet, he was to receive four years hard labour. It was an experience that would drive most people off to the asylum. Dostoevsky, however, only suffered from haemorrhoids and nervous throat spasms. The prison regime was nevertheless hell, with no washing facilities or sanitation, and the food was cabbage soup, thickened with an immense number of cockroaches. The guards were sadists: If you put one foot out of line the lash! Finally released, he lived in Omsk, a town later used by the Soviets as a nuclear-testing facility. Here, the novelist fell heavily for the wife (soon widow) of a local excise officer. Madame Isaevas rebuffs only prompted Dostoevsky to reflect that the joy of love is great, but its sufferings are so intense, it would be much better never to love at all. You cant fault his reasoning. Especially as, when he did marry Maria Isaeva in 1857, he got as far as the bedroom on their wedding night then had an epileptic fit, falling on the floor, his body pulsing to an imperceptible rhythm, racked into unholy forms. Were this not tragically off-putting enough, sexually speaking Dostoevsky liked kissing feet and caressing stockings and shoes. The epilepsy scared my wife to death and, as Christofi says, the marriage never really recovered after that first night. It was a relief to all concerned when she died of consumption. Dostoevsky (pictured) returned to St Petersburg to resume a literary life, after being discharged from the army in 1859 Discharged from the army in 1859 on account of his haemorrhoids, Dostoevsky returned to St Petersburg to resume a literary life. Notes From A Dead House, his novel about the harshness of Siberian prison life, was a popular success and, suddenly in funds, the novelist was able to travel. He was unimpressed by Paris (an exceedingly boring city) and he said of London, Everyone is in a hurry to get blind drunk, which is still true today in my circle. It was at the gambling tables of Wiesbaden that he met his nemesis the rolling of the dice, the turning over of the card. Convinced hed mastered a system combining luck with logic, Dostoevsky lost the modern equivalent of 27,500 in a single evening. He borrowed heavily, pawned his possessions, got his friends to pawn theirs. He was obsessed, his behaviour and mood dramatically surging between joy and despair. The odd win only encouraged him to make further losses. Freud probably wasnt being helpful when he said addiction to gambling is a substitute for masturbation, but when Dostoevsky married his stenographer, Anna, in 1866, she may have wondered if the old Viennese witch-doctor had some kind of a point, as regards the dissipation of energies. DOSTOEVSKY IN LOVE: AN INTIMATE LIFE by Alex Christofi (Bloomsbury 20, 238 pp) Playing for high stakes, Dostoevsky dug himself into vast pits of debt. He was always begging Anna for forgiveness, saying he was not worthy of her yet then immediately expecting her to pawn her wedding ring and the furniture. He couldnt pay restaurant or hotel bills or train fares. He squandered the advances for unwritten books on crazy bets. There was often nothing left in the house but wooden spoons. On the sexual front, Dostoevsky again had a fit on his honeymoon night and screamed in pain for the next four hours. When he came to, he could speak only in German. By some means, nevertheless, Dostoevsky fathered children, but when Anna went into labour, he was the one emitting awful animal cries. The midwife had to throw him out. Christofi says Dostoevsky had what today is called Geschwind Syndrome, a neurological condition explaining the mania for writing or gambling, the volubility the way everything was over-intensified. This is the atmosphere of Crime And Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, The Devils, and so forth: lurid stories about ghosts, imposters and assassins, full of repetitions and digressions, like Charles Dickens if hed gone round the bend. Anna sorted the finances, helped her husband find publishers, edited the tangled texts and was responsible for the organisation of Dostoevskys final years, which were blighted by bladder infections, emphysema and nose bleeds. In Russia, he was hailed as a national prophet and the Tsar invited him to dinner at the Winter Palace not bad for a former convict. When he died in January 1881, thousands thronged the streets to watch his funeral procession. My favourite detail in this quick-moving book: Dostoevsky and Anna kept a cow in their upstairs apartment, so their children could have fresh milk. FARMINGTON A probate court judge will not need to declare Jennifer Dulos dead in order for her estranged husbands estate to access his individual retirement account, according to an agreement signed this week by her family. Jennifer Dulos five children and the guardian ad litem assigned to represent the missing mother in probate proceedings have waived their interest in the $194,000 IRA account, which was owned by Fotis Dulos before he died in January 2020. The best interests of her children were paramount to Jennifer Dulos, said Peter Jay Alter, the guardian ad litem assigned to represent the New Canaan woman who vanished May 24, 2019. Further considering the unfortunate publicity and stress that would be imposed on her children if the court requires extensive evidence to be given to determine if Jennifer Farber Dulos did in fact predecease her late husband, the undersigned on behalf of Jennifer Farber Dulos and acting in her best interests, irrevocably waives any interest in the IRA, Alter said. The estate of Fotis Dulos had requested Farmington Probate Judge Evelyn Daly to declare Jennifer Dulos dead in order to access the money since he did not name a beneficiary. Bank regulators had determined the estate could not use the money unless his spouse had predeceased him. Fotis Dulos died from a suicide in January 2020 while facing murder, kidnapping and other charges in his estranged wifes death and disappearance. He was accused of attacking her in the garage of her New Canaan home when she returned from dropping off their children at school the morning of May 24, 2019, according to arrest warrants in the case. While her body has never been found, police said Jennifer Dulos is presumed dead based on blood and other evidence found in her garage, arrest warrants state. Fotis Dulos estate has been in limbo since December when Daly said she did not have enough evidence to declare Jennifer Dulos dead. Daly had called for another hearing, which was scheduled for April when more evidence was supposed to be presented. But attorney Christopher Hug, the appointed administrator of Fotis Dulos estate, brokered a stipulation agreement that was signed Tuesday, allowing the couples five children and the guardian ad litem for Jennifer Dulos to withdraw any claim to the IRA. The $194,000 is one of the few assets that Fotis Dulos had left after bruising divorce proceedings, litigation filed against him by his mother-in-law and the criminal charges in his estranged wifes death. All of the properties owned by Fotis Dulos and his high-end real estate development company, Fore Group, have gone through foreclosure proceedings since his death, including the Farmington home where he attempted suicide. But the impasse over declaring Jennifer Dulos dead had stalled probate proceedings. Hug had submitted police arrest warrants and a document signed by an attorney representing her mother, Gloria Farber, and her five children that stated the family believed she was dead. Farber has been caring for the children since their mothers disappearance. In October, Daly said the documents were not enough to surmount the states required seven-year period before a missing person could be declared dead. Daly will need to approve the agreement reached this week before the estate can access the money in the account. Police have staged massive searches for the remains of Jennifer Dulos since she was reported missing. In recent months, state police hired a New Hampshire man known as Bone Finder to search one of Fotis Dulos Farmington properties with ground-penetrating radar. Fotis Dulos ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his former attorney and longtime friend, Kent Mawhinney, have each pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder charges. Troconis has also pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges. The prosecution has said Mawhinney will likely testify against Troconis if her case goes to trial. Troconis is scheduled to next appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on May 25 one day after the two-year anniversary of the disappearance. Mawhinney is set to appear on June 21. Singapore: Indonesian girls and women have frequently been ordered to wear Muslim dress regardless of their religion in what has been described as a breach of their human rights. A report produced by advocacy organisation Human Rights Watch examines discrimination confronted by girls who under local government regulations have been required to wear the hijab at school against their wishes and by women in the public service who risk losing their jobs if they do not comply with demands about their clothing. President Joko Widodos Indonesian government last month banned schools across the archipelago from forcing students to dress in religious attire, with Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim saying it was an individuals right for students and teachers to choose whether or not to wear the Islamic head covering and not the schools decision. The joint ministerial decree followed public outrage about the case of a 16-year-old female Christian student who was pressured to wear the hijab to her public school in Padang, West Sumatra, prompting her parents to film a meeting with school officials and post it online. Advertisement Germany, France and Italy are among ten European countries to have announced the resumption of AstraZeneca Covid vaccines in a humiliating u-turn after medical chiefs ruled the jab was not dangerous. EU leaders were forced to make the humiliating climbdown after the European Medicines Agency said in a press conference that the AstraZeneca jab is not linked to blood clots. After the EMA's announcement a raft of European countries said they would soon resume vaccinations, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. However, despite the report, both Sweden and Norway have decided to keep a ban on the jab in place for a few more days. Despite the widespread u-turn, Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, said the decision to pause use of the Oxford jab in some European countries was likely to 'translate into many, many lives lost due to Covid'. He told Times Radio: 'Because of this delay, and because of the uncertainty now of the vaccine in some people's minds...I think it will probably run to thousands of lives that have been lost.' In Italy, there are fears the AstraZeneca row could strengthen opposition to the campaign in a country where so-called anti-vaxxer sentiment was already widespread. A survey published Wednesday asked respondents if the affair had damaged their confidence in vaccines, to which 49 percent answered yes. Government sources also revealed that the suspension of the AstraZeneca jabs meant around 200,000 fewer vaccinations this week. Italy became the first nation to announce a humiliating u-turn following the EMA's report, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi announcing this evening that it will be restarting the use AstraZeneca vaccines tomorrow afternoon. Draghi said in a statement today: 'The administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine will resume tomorrow. The government's priority remains to carry out as many vaccinations as possible in the shortest possible time.' However, Sweden and Norway will keep the ban for the time being despite the report. John Carlson, of the Swedish Public Health Agency, said: 'The Public Health Agency needs a few days to analyse the situation and how the AstraZeneca vaccine can be used in Sweden. Next week we will say the position we are taking on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.' The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said it 'took note' of the EMA's ruling, but it was 'premature' to draw conclusions and it would announce its own opinion by the end of next week. Emer Cooke, the chief of the EMA, told a press conference on Thursday: 'This is a safe and effective vaccine. When you vaccinate millions of people, it's inevitable that rare or serious instances of illnesses will occur in the time immediately following the vaccination.' The agency said that it had not uncovered any issues with specific batches of the AstraZeneca jab and that incidences of blood clots reported after vaccination were lower than would be expected in the overall population. The British watchdog just hours earlier said that after a 'thorough and careful review' it had found no evidence that blood clots were occurring at a higher rate among those that had received the vaccine compared to the normal rate in the population. The EU's blood clot fiasco has added to the bloc's vaccination chaos after supply problems, bureaucratic health systems and stashes of unused AstraZeneca shots left the bloc languishing behind Britain in the vaccine race. The European Medicines Agency press conference this afternoon, at which the Executive Director Emer Cooke (left) announced: 'This is a safe and effective vaccine' French leader Emmanuel Macron, pictured on a visit to a Paris hospital on Wednesday, has said that AstraZeneca jabs should resume immediately if EU regulators give the green light on Thursday A man gets his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday in Belgium, one of the countries which has resisted the rush to suspend the jab over sporadic cases of blood clots The UK is still streets ahead of EU countries in distributing vaccine doses, with Hungary outperforming some of its neighbours after breaking away and buying its own shots from China and Russia The EU's slow progress on vaccinations is putting countries at risk of devastating third waves, with nations including Germany, Italy and France all seeing infection rates climb again this month This picture emerged from a German vaccination centre where there were reports of tears as 41 AstraZeneca doses were discarded following the government's decision to suspend injections AstraZeneca's product was already struggling for popularity in Europe after top officials feuded with the firm in a post-Brexit row over supplies and then cast unfounded doubts on its efficacy in over-65s. The EU is threatening to block shipments to Britain as it plays hardball over supplies, prompting anger in Whitehall with cabinet minister Robert Jenrick saying today he was 'surprised and disappointed' by Brussels' stance. But Europe is struggling to shift the jabs that it does have - with former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb claiming that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. Now, the blood clot suspension has led to 200,000 fewer shots this week in Italy despite infections surging to their highest levels since early December, while Paris is also on the brink of a new lockdown. Emmanuel Macron blamed the 'famous British variant' for the rising third wave in France, warning that 'it's going to be very hard until mid-April' as PM Jean Castex prepares to announce new measures for the capital. The EMA this afternoon said they could not definitively rule out a link between blood clot incidents and the vaccine in its investigation into 30 cases of a rare blood clotting condition. But she said in a briefing the 'clear' conclusion of the review was that the vaccine 'benefits in protecting people from COVID-19 with the associated risk of death or hospitalisation outweighs the possible risks.' The agency will however update its guidance to include an explanation about the potential risks on both the patient leaflet and in the information for healthcare professionals, she said. Sabine Straus, chair of the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) which investigated the blood clotting cases, said: 'A number of thromboembolic events after vaccination is lower than the expected in the general population and PRAC has concluded that there is not increase in the overall risk of blood clots with this vaccine. 'Moreover, because the vaccine is effective in preventing Covid-19 disease, which in itself is a cause of blood clots, it likely reduces the risk of blood clots overall.' Macron and Italian premier Mario Draghi have both vowed to 'promptly restart the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine' if the AstraZeneca jab was cleared by regulators today. But the head of a Spanish vaccinology group warned that the suspensions have already caused 'fear and panic', telling El Pais that 'we will have to move heaven and earth to recover the credibility of this vaccine'. Ursula von der Leyen has told Britain to hand over doses of AstraZeneca vaccine or else risk seeing jab exports from the continent blocked, despite the fact that most of Europe has halted its use Figures from AstraZeneca and the European Medicines Agency show the number of blood clot-related conditions from 17million doses dished out in the UK and Europe up to March 13 Macron is under fire in France with opponents saying that 'when you hit the emergency brake, with a weekend lockdown for example, it's because you've failed with all the rest'. Virus hotspots around Nice and Calais are already under weekend lockdowns, and the French government says the same restrictions are 'on the table' for the Paris region and its 12million people. 'Let's be clear, we're in a third wave mostly down to the rise of this famous British variant,' Macron said on Wednesday after a day of talks with medical staff and local mayors in the Paris area. The French president had previously been criticised for rubbishing the AstraZeneca vaccine as 'quasi-ineffective' in older people in what was seen as an act of post-Brexit ill will. England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam weighed in to defend the vaccine on Wednesday, saying that the jabs 'don't save lives if they're in the fridge'. Van-Tam said there was 'a lot of evidence emerging now that is reassuring, that there is no overall excess signal or increased risk' of blood clots or related events. The World Health Organization also said on Wednesday that it was better to take the AstraZeneca vaccine than not - adding that it was looking into available data on the shot. The cases which have surfaced include a handful of people taken to hospital in Norway, an Austrian nurse who died soon after the shot and a specific type of blood clot which Germany says is happening more than usual. But none of these have been proven to result from the vaccine, and both UK and EU scientists have said the number of blood clots overall does not seem to be higher than in the general population. Panic set in amid reports of blood clots after AstraZeneca's vaccine, but data shows the same number of clots occurred after Pfizer vaccines - which Europe continues to use - and that none of the clots are actually linked to the shots This chart shows that deaths during the UK's second wave (in red) have come down more rapidly than the first (blue), hinting at a visible effect of Britain's rapid vaccination campaign In Germany there were reports of people breaking down in tears at a vaccination centre in Duisburg as 41 doses of AstraZeneca's jab had to be discarded after the ban was announced. Dr Stephen Griffin, a medical professor at the University of Leeds, said that 'even in the worst-case scenario' if there were found to be a link, the benefits of using the vaccine would still 'likely vastly outweigh' the risks. 'It should also be noted that nationwide gestures such as this are bound to fuel hesitancy, or more extreme anti-vaccine sentiment, further undermining the vaccination effort,' he said. Scientists say that the likelihood of 'random clotting-related events' might be higher because mainly older and clinically vulnerable people have been given the jabs so far. As doubts continue over Europe's AstraZeneca campaign, calls have continued for the EU to turn to Russia for its Sputnik V jabs in what would amount to a major propaganda coup for the Kremlin. Three state premiers in Germany - all from the former East Germany where Russian-made vaccines were commonplace - have this week voiced support for Sputnik V, which has not yet been ruled on by EU regulators. Meanwhile, Czech president Milos Zeman has blamed his country's high death toll on the failure to use non-Western jabs such as Sputnik V and the Chinese-made Sinopharm option, according to Czech media. Italian health minister Roberto Speranza said on Wednesday that European countries were waiting for the EMA's verdict to resume the AstraZeneca campaign - despite the panel already saying that jabs should continue. Speranza told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that it is Italy's hope 'to have by tomorrow answers from EMA that will enable the relaunching without hesitation of the vaccine campaign'. He said the Italian government 'has utmost trust in EMA' as well as in Italy's medicine agency, adding: 'We insist on the utmost safety and we are paying the utmost attention to what has happened'. Only around two million Italians have so far received the necessary two vaccine shots, out of a population of about 60 million. 'We have to speed up!' the government's new pandemic commissioner, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, said on RAI public television on Sunday. One German medic, Dr Dirk Heinrich, said he hoped AstraZeneca vaccines could return as soon as Thursday - though he said some patients due to get them on Wednesday had managed to get Pfizer jabs instead. Amos Garcia, president of the Spanish Vaccinology Association, said it will be difficult for governments to rebuild trust in the overall coronavirus vaccination program, no matter what the EMA announces. 'The problem when a vaccine is put in doubt is not that it affects that vaccine, but that it affects the whole vaccination world,' he said. 'Possibly there has been an excess of zeal' among governments like Spain's that suspended vaccinations, he said, while Spanish health minister Carolina Darias defended the decision to put a hold on the shots. The AstraZeneca row comes amid fury at EU chief Ursula von der Leyen over her threat to ban vaccine exports to countries such as Britain which have made more progress than the 28-member union. Von der Leyen was rebuked by UK ministers after airing frustration over a lack of deliveries from AstraZeneca plants in Britain and saying that 'all options are on the table'. 'We are in the crisis of the century, and I'm not ruling out any anything for now, because we have to make sure that Europeans are vaccinated as soon as possible,' the German former defence minister said. Health secretary Matt Hancock said Britain had a legal right to doses of the vaccine that it helped develop in the UK. 'We set up the supply chain, not just here in the UK but indeed, we helped set up the supply chain in the EU,' he said at a Downing Street news conference. 'We legally signed a contract for delivery of the first 100 million doses here for people in the UK, as you would expect, both to ensure that people in the UK can get their jab and also because this is a UK-funded, UK-delivered vaccine.' The Department of Health and Social Care said 25,273,226 in the UK have received their first dose of AstraZeneca of Pfizer vaccine between December 8 and March 16 A researcher working on the AstraZeneca vaccine in a laboratory at Oxford's Jenner Institute, which helped to develop the shot - leading Britain to say that it has a right to the doses it ordered despite the EU's threat to block exports Foreign secretary Dominic Raab accused the European Commission of brinkmanship, calling on von der Leyen to explain her comments. 'I think it takes some explaining because the world's watching... It also cuts across the direct assurances that we had from the Commission,' Raab said. 'We expect those assurances and legal, contracted supply to be respected. He said von der Leyen's comments contradicted assurances he had been given by Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis and by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. 'We were reliably informed that they weren't aware of any plans to restrict lawfully contracted supply to the UK,' Raab said. 'Keeping supply chains open, keeping trade and vital supplies of medical equipment and vaccines is critically important,' he said. 'We've all been arguing for this'. EU leaders were accused of playing politics after a series of governments suspended the AstraZeneca jabs in quick succession, with Italy admitting that the move was a political one. German health minister Jens Spahn was accused by the opposition of caving in to political pressure by announcing the stoppage on Monday, which another German MP described as a potential 'catastrophe'. 'If AstraZeneca were completely dropped, that would be a catastrophe for Germany but also for the EU... there's no other vaccine that can replace it before the summer,' said epidemiologist-turned-politician Karl Lauterbach. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, a German doctor and council chair of the World Medical Association, warned: 'The bottom line is that this good and effective vaccine is hardly going to gain higher acceptance as a result of this kerfuffle and the suspension in many countries'. At a Downing Street press conference last night, Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured) said Britain had a legal right to doses of the vaccine that it helped develop in the UK In France, a medical union condemned Macron's move to suspend vaccinations on Monday, accusing him of 'giving in to panic' and failing to consult doctors. The syndicate of private doctors 'believes that the subject of vaccination and the fight against Covid-19 is too serious to be left in the hands of politicians', it said. 'No clear instructions are given to doctors, who find themselves in the greatest embarrassment in the face of patients who are made more sceptical every day by the government's multiple communication errors'. Meanwhile the head of Italy's medicines authority contradicted the government in Rome, which also suspended the shot, by saying that 'the choice is a political one' and declaring that the vaccine is safe. Nicola Magrini said there had been eight deaths and four cases of serious side-effects in Italy - which has suffered 103,432 confirmed deaths from Covid-19 - but no link to the AstraZeneca shots has been proven. 'We got to the point of a suspension because several European countries, including Germany and France, preferred to interrupt vaccinations... to put them on hold in order to carry out checks. The choice is a political one,' Magrini said. The EU's lack of progress means that while Britain moves closer to lifting restrictions, many European countries face the prospect of lockdowns being tightened again in the coming weeks. France recorded its highest daily caseload in nearly four months on Wednesday with 38,501 new infections counted, taking the daily average to its highest level since a November lockdown. Authorities in France are set to announce new measures affecting 18million people, including a possible weekend lockdown for the hard-hit Paris region. 'We are in a worrying and critical situation and, clearly, measures of the type that have been used in other parts of the territory are on the table,' prime minister Jean Castex said. Macron has tried to fend off a third lockdown by imposing a nationwide curfew and tougher regional measures, but said on a visit to a Paris hospital that 'we will take the decisions that need to be taken'. In Germany, plans to re-open the economy are at risk with cases moving steadily upwards again despite a long lockdown which has drained public confidence in Angela Merkel's government. Dirk Brockmann, an epidemiologist at Germany's Robert Koch diseases institute, told ARD television that the third wave is being driven by an easing of restrictions just as the feared British variant spreads out of control. 'It has been totally irrational to loosen up here. It is just fuelling this exponential growth,' Brockmann said, after reports that city authorities in Berlin had called a halt to any more loosening. Merkel is under pressure after her centre-right party took a kicking in regional elections on Sunday and slumped to its lowest poll ratings for a year ahead of a general election in September which will decide her successor. Meanwhile in Ireland, St Patrick's day celebrations were dampened for a second year running with the country still facing restrictions - after the first wave of anti-virus measures shut the party down last year. 'It's a year on now and... we seem to be back where we started,' said publican Tom Cleary, perched on a barstool in Dublin next to a Guinness tap fashioned in the shape of the Celtic harp. 'It's sad there's no end in sight,' he told AFP. 'I mean, will we be here next St Patrick's Day with the same problems?' The rebranding reflects the company's evolution and its goal to help others age ably. SALT LAKE CITY, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SeniorLeaf has a new name and a new look. Now referred to as Agibly (pronounced age-ih-blee), the free service continues to connect older adults and their caregivers with resources and professionals in their local area through its online directory, call center and live events. At the heart of the new name is the community of older adults, caregivers and professionals Agibly is comprised of. The new name better encompasses them and embodies their collective goal for the future: aging ably. "With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day for the next 10 years, Agibly is prepared to help a new generation of older adults and their caregivers make this life transition with confidence and delight," says Samantha Pero, the company's senior director of product management. Agibly is now visually represented by a blue umbrella. Its domed top symbolizes wisdom and protection, while the curved handle represents a combination of strength and support. Blue has long been seen as calming and committed a color with an air of trustworthiness. "Our new identity is only the beginning of our roadmap to create new experiences and reimagine the future of aging," continues Pero. A redesigned website makes it easy to find resources and information on everything from housing options to volunteer opportunities and healthcare choices. Older adults and their caregivers can also search for Trusted Providers using the online directory, or call 1-833-MY-SENIOR to speak with a Care Advisor. Highly qualified, Care Advisors are able to offer advice on a specific issue or create a Comprehensive Care Plan. Travis Lucas, a Utah resident whose family has used Agibly to help their father (a Korean War veteran), had nothing but praise for the Care Advisor they spoke with. "Mom had racked up some costs by making the house more accessible for him as his Alzheimer's progressed. We had no idea Dad had the veterans benefits he did, but our Care Advisor knew all the details. Without Agibly we would have had to find other means for some of his care. It was and is basically a miracle to have that money accessible." Story continues Everyone who uses Agibly has their own set of challenges physical, financial, environmental and emotional. "There is no one-size-fits-all approach to helping older adults," says Matt Casperson, Agibly's director of growth and operations who has 15 years of experience in the industry. "Our Care Advisors know which questions to ask and the manner in which to ask them. They use a holistic approach and truly get to know the person they are creating a Comprehensive Care Plan for." CCPs begin with the goals of the individual in mind and continue up to 30 days after passing. Agibly empowers older adults and their caregivers to make informed decisions so they can live comfortably, capably, sociably now and in the future. About Agibly Agibly is the singular source of information for all things related to aging from housing to healthcare, finances to final wishes. It is a free service and does not require registration to search its online directory or use its call center. The company's Care Advisors are trained to create Comprehensive Care Plans based on the unique goals of older adults and/or their caregivers. For more information visit www.agibly.com . Businesses or non-profit organizations interested in becoming an Agibly Trusted Provider, participating in our live events or advertising in our Silver Lining magazine should email sales@agibly.com. Media Contact Kirk Koenen Senior Marketing Manager 801-589-4271 marketing@agibly.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seniorleaf-changes-name-to-agibly-unveils-new-logo-301249799.html SOURCE Agibly Photo: (Photo : Roberto Nickson / Unsplash ) Parents have a lot on their plate. They barely have time for self-carewhich they have to pencil in on top of their laundry list of To-Dos. But why should they make an effort to make adult friends, reconnect with good old friends, and maintain deep positive relationships? Well, if for nothing more than our physical and mental health, we should make friendships a priority. The Loneliness Epidemic More than a third of Americans over 45 years old suffer from chronic loneliness. Such data led Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General, to declare a public health epidemic in 2017. When it comes to parents and loneliness, researchers from the Family and Childcare Trust found that more than half of parents with children under the age of 5 feel lonely. Even before the pandemic, parents already felt isolated and left out. These feelings were even more apparent with parents in the lowest income brackets. Those are the statistics, but what is the result? INC reported that lonely people are at a 50% higher risk of premature death than people with healthy social connections. It was even more lethal than smokinglonely people are at as much risk as those who smoke 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness also reduces immunitywhich we all need the most during the pandemic. Loneliness can increase the risk of inflammation and, therefore, diseases and chronic health conditions. ALSO READ: How to Be a Godparent to Your Friend's Child? Realizing the Importance of Adult Friendships "We Need to Hang Out" author Billy Baker discussed the importance of reviving old friendships as well as making new friends. While it can be more challenging to maintain friendships as people agedue to careers, family, and businesses, neglect of friendships can result in dire consequences. Baker realized this when his editor assigned him to write a story on loneliness among middle-aged men. It never struck the author that he was affected by loneliness. He first rationalized that being a middle-aged man with a wife and kids meant it was not unusual not to get time to see friends. But then it hit him, those he has not seen, those he considered his best friends in years. He also came to realize that the cure to loneliness is friendships, WPR noted. There was one barrier that, fortunately, the author was able to get out of the way-reaching out to old friends. "For some reason, we think saying something like, "Hey buddy, miss you. We should hang out' is not a thing to do." But when he reached out, he realized his closest friends from a long time ago was thinking the same thing. ALSO READ: Woman Serves as Surrogate for High School Friend Whose Chemo Treatment Could Affect Baby Long-Term Health Benefits of Deep Relationships with Adult Friends Why consider reconnecting with good friends or making new friends and developing healthy relationships when you become parents? As busy as our lives are, we parents cannot overlook the benefits of relationships with friends our age. A 75-year study conducted by Harvard found that good relationships keep people healthier and happier. A lack of social relationships results in a significant health risk factor. They found that isolation is toxic and loneliness kills. The researchers then recommended that the essential kind of friendship is an enriching relationshipquality over quantity. Disappointing or negative social interactions with friends and family resulted in poorer health. Meanwhile, healthy social connections are linked to the relief of harmful stress levels, boosting the immune system, and insulin regulation, among others. When the participants aged, those with solid relationships stayed in better moods even when they were dealing with physical pain from old age. Further, a Swedish study on people over the age of 75 reported that people with a variety of satisfying friendships and relationships had the lowest risk of dementia, Harvard Health said. ALSO READ: Child With Heart Disease Receives Life-Saving Medicine Thanks to Man who Drove Through Icy Road "Today's users don't want advertisements targeted at them based on demographic data or the limited understanding of algorithms." Terry Cane, COO of SEOHost.net (https://www.seohost.net), believes Google's decision to phase out support for third-party cookies isn't as bad as some have made it out to be. The search giant announced last January its intent to remove support for cookies in its Chrome browser within the coming two years. Earlier this month, the company further clarified its plans in a blog post from Director of Product Management for Ads, Privacy, and Trust David Temkin. It will no longer rely on any identifiers to target its advertisements, nor will it support brands that do. "We realize this means other providers may offer a level of user identity for ad tracking across the web that we will not," Temkin wrote. "We dont believe these solutions will meet rising consumer expectations for privacy, nor will they stand up to rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions, and therefore arent a sustainable long-term investment. Instead, our web products will be powered by privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers." "People shouldn't have to accept being tracked across the web in order to get the benefits of relevant advertising," he added. Some have predicted that Google's decision to become more privacy focused could, when taken in tandem with Apple's changes to ad blocking, destroy the advertising industry. According to Cane, this is hyperbole. Although it has in some camps been painted as catastrophic, she feels that it is likely to change very little. "Targeted marketing and advertising were already on life support," says Cane. "Between regulations like the GDPR and a general lack of trust towards paid advertisements, the format has been stagnant for years. Today's users don't want advertisements targeted at them based on demographic data or the limited understanding of algorithms." "What they want," she continues, "is experiential marketing in which a brand connects with and relates to them on their own terms. They want to be treated like people, not prospects. That's something old-school advertising has consistently struggled with, and which traditional marketing cannot adequately fulfill." "For anyone who's been paying attention to the privacy sector for the past several years, Google's decision should not come as a surprise," Cane concludes. "We've all seen the writing on the wall. Some of us simply chose to ignore it." About SEOHost.net: Located in Orlando, Florida with locations all around the world, SEOHost.Net provides a wide range of services in both the U.S. and the E.U., including domain registration, SSL Hosting for SEO, as well as VPS, dedicated, and A Class IP hosting. The company offers exceptional service with a strong service level agreement, multiple geographic locations, and free migration. For more information, visit https://www.seohost.net. Photo: Netflix The inherent gall of social media is its ability to take something whole and break it up into tiny unrecognizable pieces. Sometimes its a gas (Real Housewives woman yells at cat), sometimes abhorrent (Cuties). This is not the case with the 36-second clip from Netflixs Ginny & Georgia that went viral last week, featuring a no-holds-barred throwdown between two teenage lovers, the titular Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her boyfriend, Hunter (Mason Temple), in which they fling racial stereotypes at each other in an attempt to injure. Unfortunately for the actors and everyone else involved in this exasperating high-school theater, what you see is what you get. Upon the utterance Oppression Olympics: Lets go! I felt an embarrassment so acute that my spirit snapped away from my body only to realize upon reentry that its just a Netflix show. Anyway, seeing is believing: If you wish to live an unspoiled, decontextualized life, you should stop reading at this point and go forth with those four words Oppression Olympics: Lets go! pinging around merrily inside your skull alongside other lines of contemporary poetry such as We were all rooting for you! and Prostitution whore! You will not be poorer for not knowing the journey that leads to Oppression Olympics: Lets Go!: one that includes slam poetry and a personal-essay contest. More information will not necessarily yield greater clarity, and in fact may muddy the pure waters of Oppression! Olympics! Lets! Go! To recap, the scene comes at the climax of episode eight, Check One, Check Other, which begins when Ginny and Hunters AP English teacher, Mr. Gitten, gives the students an assignment for the National Junior Pulitzer Contest (this does not appear to be a real thing); they must write an essay response to the prompt Where do you feel you most belong? Ginny, feeling behind her overachieving friends, wants to win to help fluff up her future college applications. At first, she sets about writing something hokey on how much she loves this Stars Hollow facsimile of a town she and her mother have moved to. Her father, sensing derivative schlock, takes her to a poetry cafe in Boston to hear some real artists talk about real things. (Also derivative schlock but syncopated.) Ginny course-corrects and writes something in the rhythm of slam poetry. In the end, the racist Mr. Gitten deems her essay too unconventional, and Hunter wins. Narratively, this is fine. After all, I watched three seasons of The Bold Type with the suspended disbelief that Jane Sloan is the feminist writer of her generation. The last line we hear of Hunters essay Thats the place that most defines me, my home with my family and my guitar is absolutely the writing of a simp, so obviously Ginny deserved to win. Anyway, later in the bedroom, Ginny wants Hunter to admit that she was robbed of the award because their teacher is racist. Its at this point that the conversation begins to veer. Heres the windup: Hunter: If you care so much about what he thinks, why are you always causing drama in his class? Ginny: I have to speak up because Im a person. I have a voice. Hunter: Okay. Ginny: Youre an artist, you should get this. Hunter: Yeah, exactly. I didnt do a song. Its all about survival. I keep my head down. I do the thing thats asked. Ginny: And youre proud of that? Hunter: Why cant I just be who I am? Ginny: Because youre half Taiwanese. Hunter: Exactly. Im not full white, so Gitten cant be full racist. Ginny: Not in the same way Im not full white. Asians get to be stereotyped as talented geniuses and prodigies. Black women are stupid, lazy, angry. Brodie doesnt fist-bump you. Hunter: Do you know what it means to be Taiwanese? I have to serve in the military when I turn 19 because Im a guy, or I can relinquish my citizenship because Im lucky Im also American but then Im a draft dodger and just another soft American pussy. Im sorry, soft American what? The fight continues to devolve: Each accuses the other of not being Black or Asian enough, including a line in which Hunter says he doesnt see Ginny pound back jerk chicken. The weird specificity of this dialogue catches in the ear. According to Gentry, the ugliest lines of the scene came from the actors themselves. Mason and I were invited to dinner with Sarah [Lampert, the creator], and we just sat on her couch and talked about our experiences, she tells TVLine. She shared some of the things white people would say to her because she has a Jamaican mother. The things that I say to him I wouldnt know to say to him because I hadnt experienced that, she explains. So he had to give me the material to throw at him, and then I had to give him the material to throw at me. The interview frames the scene as a collaborative process between the shows writers and its young actors. But adults should know better. Grafting autobiographical experiences onto larger character arcs with little explanation is not only unearned but exploitative: a fig leaf of authenticity to cover up for bad writing. These actors were not co-writers of the episode, and up until this point, neither Ginny nor Hunter was developed enough as a character to say the things they say. The scene is as out of context on the show as it is on Twitter. Up until this point, Hunter hasnt done much of anything other than tap-dance for Ginny in the school hallways (yes, this also happens, and it is also embarrassing). As Ginnys other love interest, Marcus (Felix Mallard), a Skeet Ulrich type, wryly notes, Hunter has a ponytail instead of a personality. In her review, our critic Kathryn VanArendonk compares Ginny & Georgia to Guy Fieris Trash Can Nachos. Ginny & Georgia tries to be a million shows for a million different people (or, should I say, taste clusters), so much so that its wide tonal swings induce constant emotional nausea. The randomized violence of this scene is indicative of the shows Frankenstein quality, as are its forays into race and assimilationism. The ideas arent baked in so much as tacked on. Hunter and Ginnys nuclear showdown is mostly a plot device to clear the path for Marcus to become Ginnys main love interest a narrative move that highlights the role of one Black character, Bracia (Tameka Griffiths), who exists with the sole purpose of being Ginnys Black friend at school. Oppression Olympics: Lets go! inadvertently recalls another clip that made the rounds from Tyler Perrys The Haves and Have Nots, in which a Black woman and an Asian man sling food stereotypes at each other. But while that show at least has the hard-candied gloss of camp to save it, the earnestness of the Ginny & Georgia actors pushes the scene into cringe comedy. In a better world, both characters would have been fully realized beings instead of race-baiting puppets. Until then, Oppression Olympics: Lets go! will live in our hearts forever. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Judge Mher Petrosyan of the Administrative Court ruled in favor of temporarily "securing the suit" filed by Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan in his lawsuit requesting to invalidate his dismissal, according to court documents. When the government declared that Gasparyan is dismissed from duties by virtue of law, the general filed a lawsuit claiming his dismissal is unconstitutional. However, the defense minister then appointed another general as acting chief of the general staff. The administrative court ruled that there is no legal relationship envisaged for the conditions in which Gasparyan was sacked. After the documents were reported, the Prime Minister's Office issued a statement, noting that this ruling doesnt reinstate Gasparyan, and that under Article 139, paragraph 2 of the Constitution the dismissal is in force. Correction: The original version of this article was updated with the PMO's comment. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan American theologian Albert Mohler, one of the leading voices advocating religious freedom, said that the Equality Act "represents the greatest present threat to religious liberty in the United States." In his written analysis published on Public Discourse, Dr. Mohler detailed how the Equality Act inched its way to the Court, its negative impact on religious freedom, and the long term consequences once approved. "Beyond the direct legislative reach of the bill, the Equality Act would send a clear moral message throughout the culture, with both national and international consequences," wrote Mohler. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president said that more than the "moral message," the Equality Act is also "a draconian threat of legal, political, financial, and cultural coercion" which does not recognize the "sacred rights of religious congregations and denominations." This means that the bill's cultural coercion will not just disadvantage Christians but also citizens of other religious convictions. "Evangelicals and Catholics, Orthodox Jews and Muslims, Seventh-day Adventists and Mormons all understand the radical theological differences that separate us. But the factor common to all is the claim of an authoritative scripture," noted Mohler. "Those religious texts are incompatible with the normalization of LGBTQ identities, behaviors, relationships, and gender confusions." This, according to Mohler, is "the central fact" why "moral revolutionaries" are using "the coercive powers of the state" in the guise of protection and economic equity. Mohler warns that more than bending the law in its favor, in practice, the bill will also expand its claims against "religious schools, ministries, non-profits, and all religious institutions" in the name of protecting the constitutional rights of the LGBTQ+ community. "The Equality Act would not only establish Bostock as federal law; it would also expand the reach of the law far beyond the text of the Court's decision." Mohler added that the bill would transform the United States into an "anti-theological state," prioritizing the interests of LGBTQ liberation at the expense of religious freedom. "This means the threat of the state directed against any claim of divine revelation that contradicts the new morality, the newly minted definition of marriage, and the newly constructed 'rights' of the LGBTQ revolution",Mohler pointed out. "Visible before our eyes is the threat of an anti-theological state and the end of authentic religious liberty in America," said Mohler in his essay conclusion. According to Christian Headlines' report, the bill H.R. 5, known as Equality Act, "would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - a law that was passed to confront racial discrimination - by adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of protected classes for public places, education, housing and employment." The pain comes when individuals or groups are deprived of their first liberty as citizens because the bill, as worded by The Christian Headlines, "explicitly forbids individuals from using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to sue based on classes covered by the Equality Act." Furthermore, the "burden of proof" will fall on the shoulders of the concerned institutions or business owners acting on their religious conviction This, back to Dr. Mohler, leads to "the effective death of religious liberty." 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. Luis Suarez was the man who was supposed to lead Atletico Madrid's Champions League comeback. But, in the end, Los Rojiblancos went out of the competition without scoring a single goal in their last-16 tie against Chelsea. And it wasn't that they came close, with limited scoring opportunities across the two legs and Suarez the main culprit. It wasn't just Chelsea that Suarez failed to score against either, as the Uruguayan departed the competition without a single goal in nearly 500 minutes of action. Though the 34-year-old has 18 strikes in LaLiga Santander this season - helping Atleti to the top of the standings - he couldn't replicate that form in Europe's premier club competition. In fact, that's the first time in his career he has ever recorded a blank across a Champions League campaign. It's also now 25 away games in a row that Suarez has failed to score in the competition, the first striker to hold that dubious 'record'. Despite his poor performance against Thomas Tuchel's Blues, it was still a surprise when Diego Simeone decided to remove Suarez when needing two goals. The ex-Barcelona man gave out a wry smile when he saw his number go up, and no doubt he was angry to have been removed from the fray. Suarez was not the only one responsible for Los Rojiblancos' failure to score on Wednesday though, with Moussa Dembele and Angel Correa contributing just as little off the bench. Joao Felix was arguably the best of Simeone's forwards on show, at least trying to find a goal, even if ultimately it didn't come. China's aesthetic beauty market expands in smaller cities People's Daily Online) 16:55, March 18, 2021 China's medical cosmetology market has seen rapid development as more people are willing to go under the knife to improve their looks, including those from smaller cities and even rural areas. Chen Shanshan, a white-collar worker in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, saw a notably increased level of acceptance of medical cosmetology among young people in small townships when she returned to her hometown in the rural area of central China's Henan province during the Spring Festival holiday. A participant performs an eyelash extension procedure during an international skill competition, held in Shanghai on June 3, 2018 (Photo/Xinhua) Chen's cousin, whom she hadn't seen for two years, had received intradermal injections and Botox injections at a private cosmetic studio at the county seat, in order to improve her facial skin. Chen also found that plastic surgery were no longer something only urban or rich people could afford. Public hospitals in northwest Chinas Gansu province have been conducting an increasing number of plastic surgeries in recent years. The Second Provincial People's Hospital of Gansu performs over 40 plastic surgeries every month. Wang Yongxiang, who was previously a doctor specialising in treating burns, has become the chief plastic surgeon of the hospital. Before, we doctors from public hospitals considered plastic surgery to be sidelined," Wang recalled. He said that in the past, aesthetic medicine-related academic conferences held in bigger cities, such as Beijing, saw few attendants, but nowadays it is possible to see them attended by more than 1,000 industry insiders. Men seeking to improve their looks have also been making up an increasing proportion of China's medical cosmetology market in recent years. During the "Double 11" online shopping festival in November 2020, the number of aesthetic medicine-related orders rose seven times from the same period the previous year, with about 30 percent of them coming from male customers, according to statistics from Tmall, Chinese internet giant Alibaba's online marketplace. A report on the consumption behavior of Chinese white-collar workers indicated that 72.73 percent of men had undergone facial treatment, while 58.8 percent of them had received plastic surgeries such as intradermal injections and Thermage, a technology that uses heating and cooling to tighten the skin and reduce wrinkles. Medical beauty consumption has also reached both ends of the age spectrum. Middle school students generally choose to get nose jobs or double eyelid surgery, while the elderly often opt for skin resurfacing or spot-fading surgeries, said Wang Wenjun, an official with the health commission in Gansu. Despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, 5,150 new cosmetic surgery clinics were established in China last year, with a total value of 197.5 billion yuan ($30.39 billion), 17 percent of the global total. Many Chinese cities are now looking to aesthetic medicine as a driving force for economic growth. Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, looks to reap revenues of 100 billion yuan from its medical cosmetology sector by 2025 and 200 billion yuan by the end of 2030. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Uyghurs protest to urge the European Union to call upon China to close "re-education centers" in Xinjiang, Brussels, April 27, 2018. European Union members have agreed to impose sanctions on four Chinese officials and one entity over Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), European diplomats were quoted as saying Wednesday. Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved the XUAR measures, which would be the first imposed on China by Brussels since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, as part of a package of human rights sanctions that also target individuals in Russia, North Korea and others, AFP news agency reported. The sanctions, which require formal confirmation by EU foreign ministers meeting on March 22, follow a raft of U.S. sanctions in 2020 on Chinese entities and officials in Xinjiang, and tighter scrutiny on exports from the XUAR over concerns over forced labor. The individuals and entity have not been named. The sanctions decision came during a stalemate in talks with China to arrange a visit by EU ambassadors to Xinjiang to probe reports of abuses there, including the detention of up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps since early 2017, forcible sterilization of women and forced labor. The talks on the EU trip to the XUAR stalled over Brussels request for access to jailed Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti, an economist jailed for life on separatism charges in 2014, AFP reported, quoting diplomatic sources. China's ambassador to the European Union, Zhang Ming, told an online discussion hosted by the European Policy Centre in Brussels Tuesday said "almost everything had been arranged" for EU member states' ambassadors to visit Xinjiang, but it had gotten bogged down over "unacceptable requests. "They insist on a meeting with one criminal convicted by Chinese law," he said. "This is unacceptable, I'm so sorry." Zhang also condemned and threatened to retaliate against sanctions over Chinas actions in the western Xinjiang region. "Sanctions based on lies could be interpreted as deliberately undermining China's security and development interests," said Zhang. Uyghurs protest at the White House to demand a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at a rally joined by Tibetans and Hong Kongers, in Washington, March 17, 2012. Credit: RFA Dolkun Isa, president of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress, said his exile group is deeply pleased and grateful for the European Union, which consists 27 member states, to come to the agreement to sanction Chinese officials responsible for the Uyghur genocide. This action, in a way, is a symbolic example of the EUs recognition of the Uyghur genocide being committed by China, after the U.S determination, he said, referring to the Trump administration ruling in January that the treatment of Uyghurs amounted to genocide. This action also showcases that the international community will hold China accountable for committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur and other indigenous peoples in East Turkestan," Isa added. The Trump administration slapped sanctions on several top Chinese officials deemed responsible for rights violations in the XUAR, including regional party secretary Chen Quanguo, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The move, which marked the first time Washington had sanctioned a member of Chinas powerful Politburo, followed Trumps enactment in June of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (UHRPA). The legislation highlights arbitrary incarceration, forced labor, and other abuses in the XUAR and provides for sanctions against the Chinese officials who enforce them. U.S. customs authorities have also blocked imports of wigs and other products believed to be produced by forced labor in the region. Reported and translated by Alim Seytoff for RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert. The controversy over the inappropriate portrayal of children in the series Bombay Begums has highlighted once again the basic truth that India desperately needs some final and transparent regulation for that transcend narrow political concerns, writes Vir Sanghvi here Here are the other views today: Somasekhar Sundaresan examines the conflicting policy choices over perpetual bonds and their implementation in the Indian regulatory landscape. Read it here A national is a welcome move but the focus should be on an equitable policy offering a level playing field to all players, the top edit argues. Read it here The Bill enhancing the Lieutenant Governors power weakens the states elected legislature, says the second edit. Read it here Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A federal judge decided Thursday that immigrant detainees at a facility in Batavia can receive vaccinations for Covid-19 at public vaccination sites, chiefly in Western New York but potentially anywhere in the state. U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. Vilardos order applies to about 85 detainees who could now make their own appointments in New York if they were not being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. Vilardo, who has said its a constitutional violation to prevent the detainees from being vaccinated, told an assistant U.S. attorney during a court hearing Thursday that ICE has delayed for too long. Ive given you lots of time already, and you havent gotten any shots in arms, Vilardo said, adding later, Im really at the end of my rope. The judge on Feb. 25 ordered ICE to come up with a plan to vaccinate its vulnerable detainees. Groups that were pushing for the order called it the first in the nation affecting immigrants in ICE custody. Health Minister Robin Swann said: "As has been the case since the programme began, the number of vaccinations carried out over time will vary due to supply." (Yui Mok/PA) Northern Ireland health officials are considering the implications of a reduced coronavirus vaccine supply in the UK. NHS in England has said the amount of vaccines available in April could be seriously reduced. The Health Minister Robin Swann said on Twitter that he remains optimistic, due to the fast pace of Northern Ireland's vaccine rollout so far. "As has been the case since the programme began, the number of vaccinations carried out over time will vary due to supply," he said. "However, the vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is presently ahead of schedule and, as ever, we will be able to adapt to any changes in circumstances as they arise." Justice Minister Naomi Long told BBC Good Morning Ulster: "Our latest information from the executive was that would we be continuing to roll this out. I think we have to balance what Matt Hancock's concerns are against the fact that AstraZeneca and Pfizer are saying they can meet the supply. "We have rolled it out faster than was anticipated so that's always going to be challenging but I think that we're still well on course to meet the target that was set - that we would have the majority of people vaccinated by June/July this year," she added. The Health Minister has also confirmed that community pharmacies will be to start vaccinating people later this month. It's reported that a delay in the delivery of five million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in India is partly to blame for the upcoming reduction to the UK's vaccine supply. Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC that the UK's goal of administering a first dose to every adult in the UK by the end of July was still on schedule. We are experiencing some supply issues so it does mean the vaccine rollout will be slightly slower than we may have hoped, but not slower than the target we set ourselves," he said. Were going to move forward as quickly as we possibly can but it wont be as fast as we might have hoped for a few weeks, but then we have every reason to believe that supply will increase in the months of May, June and July. SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grassroots political organization National Police Support Fund released a strong statement and video rebuking the Illinois Police Reform bill last week after the Governor officially signed it into law. Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzer signed HB 3653 into law at the end of February, which covers a large array of police and criminal justice reform measures from eliminating cash bail to a ban on all police chokeholds as well as new guidelines for "decertification" of police officers, among other changes. Most provisions go into effect on July 1, and cash bail is expected to be fully eliminated by January 2023. "This legislation sets the stage for more drastic reforms like this to sweep the country," said Executive Director Simon Lewis. "These new standards will endanger police officers and citizens of Illinois. The new systems in place will be abused by criminals and citizens with anti-cop beliefs. The anonymous complaints that will be allowed on officers will be weaponized without a doubt. Careers and lives can and will be ruined by this new system." National Police Support Fund is committed to promoting the interests and well-being of American police officers within the public policy process through grassroots political action. The organization was founded as a response to the rise of an increasingly violent anti-police sentiment across the country. "Not only did police unions and other associations oppose and condemn this bill before it came into law, a survey found that most Illinois citizens also don't approve of these new measures," continued Mr. Lewis. "It is clear that this bill was not widely supported and the issues surrounding the proposed changes are well known. Governor Pritzker should be reminded that his elected position is as a means to serve the citizens of Illinois. By signing this controversial- and frankly unpopular- bill into law, he is signifying that the will of the people is inconsequential." For more information and to get involved, visit www.nationalpolicesupportfund.com National Police Support Fund is a national political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. Contributions made to National Police Support Fund are not tax-deductible. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. SOURCE National Police Support Fund Related Links http://www.nationalpolicesupportfund.com WKND! And Orchard Heights Cannabis brands growing dramatically in Oklahoma Product line consists of pre-rolls, vape pens and cannagars New CEO exploring opportunities in the cannabis space What Weekend Unlimited does: Weekend Unlimited Inc ( ) (OTCQB:WKULF) is a North American recreational cannabis and CBD wellness company, developing and launching premium branded products in the US and producing and extracting certified organic hemp CBD in northern British Columbia, Canada. Founded in September 2017, the Vancouver-based group focuses on building and facilitating the growth of a diversified portfolio of assets and cannabis consumer products. Weekend's flagship WKND! lifestyle brand has developed proprietary blends and formulations for branded pre-rolls, cannagars and vape pens. In June 2020, the company said that its WKND! And Orchard Heights Cannabis brands were growing dramatically in Oklahoma and that it was redirecting the 2020 operational budget from its Northern Lights Organics subsidiary to the revenue-generating Oklahoma operations. That month the company announced record monthly revenues of C$331,886 and record gross profits of C$31,395 reflect sales of WKND! and Orchard Heights branded cannabis products in Oklahoma and of WKND! Wellness CBD and health products. Weekend Unlimited said it had determined that the risk of further pursuing Northern Lights Organics operations in 2020 were not in the best interest of the company and its investors. It noted that the business model to plant, harvest, dry, and transport hemp from 40 acres was impacted by a significantly decrease in the wholesale cost of distillate as volume flooded the market making profitability uncertain. Additionally, the 2020 operational plans to dry harvested biomass called for several employees to work in small enclosed greenhouses with industrial-sized dryers circulating air which it said would be contrary to safe and recommended coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention measures. At the same time in June, Weekend Unlimited said it had strengthened its cash position through the sale of its facility and equipment in Wenatchee, Washington state for a total of US$400,000, How is it doing: Investors last heard from Weekend Unlimited back in July 2020 when the company said its board had decided not to continue with a planned acquisition of the intellectual property of Oklahoma cannabis edibles company Ruby Maes LLC. Weekend Unlimited told shareholders that the company had decided not to proceed after both parties could not negotiate satisfactory final terms. However, CEO Charlie Lamb said then that the Vancouver-based company was exploring alternative opportunities in the cannabis space. Part of the proposed transaction had included a non-brokered private placement of 6,467,500 subscription receipts priced at C$0.08, which closed on August 4 2020 for aggregate gross proceeds of C$517,400. The subscription receipts were to automatically convert into units of Weekend Unlimited when the transaction was completed by September 30, 2020. Weekend Unlimited confirmed it would return the aggregate proceeds of the private placement to the subscribers as part of the terms of the subscription receipts. In addition, the group said it would consolidate its shares on a 5:1 basis effective September 30, 2020. Its 57,873,914 shares currently issued and outstanding were to be reduced to about 11,574,782 shares. Lamb took over from previous CEO Chris Backus in July 2020, The company said Backus had resigned for personal reasons and named recently appointed COO Lamb as his successor. It noted that Lamb had more than a decade of experience at an international law firm in New York, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions; public and private offerings; broker deals; and corporate governance. Inflection points: News on the exploration of alternative opportunities in the cannabis space Further strategy news from new CEO What the boss says: In the July 2020 statement announcing the termination of the Ruby Mae assets acquisition plans, Weekend Unlimited CEO Charlie Lamb said: "After a thorough review of the proposed terms of the transaction, and after discussions internally with the Board of Directors, I feel it is in the best interests of our shareholders, our business and our long-term growth to allocate the cash and stock required to complete the transaction elsewhere." He added: Events over the last several months, including the COVID 19 virus, have resulted in a steep discount in company valuations and prices and present some excellent alternative opportunities. We look forward to exploring and pursuing these opportunities further. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com After about two months that saw cases of COVID-19 steeply decline in Worcester, the week-over-week totals have started to plateau. Weve essentially had a situation where the numbers have plateaued not just locally in Worcester but across the country at a level where most of the epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists are still worried about a potential of another flare up, Worcester Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh said. City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said Worcester experienced 274 new cases this week, which was down by nine over the previous week. However, the number was still 11 more than two weeks ago. Overall, the weekly case totals remain higher than the cases seen over the summer. The numbers were even higher when expanded across Central Massachusetts. Hirsh said the region is seeing four deaths a day and 170 new cases per day. Thats worrisome still, Hirsh said. We want to see that number drop way down. We may just be in that were in that phase where vaccinations havent ramped up quite enough to see that result. The citys death toll during the pandemic remained at 413 with no new deaths reported this week. The number of hospitalizations at the citys two hospitals - St. Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care - were caring for 50 patients this week, down from 75 last week. The number of patients in the ICU was down five from last week to 14. Augustus also said that no new healthcare employee at either facility tested positive for the virus this week. I think thats the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that we were able to report that, Augustus said. As of Thursday, Augustus said more than 37,000 Worcester residents have been vaccinated, equating to about 19% of the citys population thats received at least one dose. Augustus also said that about 60% of the citys senior population has received at least one dose. The concern arrives from the variants now in Massachusetts. Earlier this week, the Department of Public Health confirmed the detection of the P.1 COVID variant that originated in Brazil. The case stems from Barnstable County. Hirsh said the efficacy rates the vaccines against the P.1 variant are about 50%. It still prevents a lot of serious illness and hospitalizations but enough of that gets into the unvaccinated population, we could still see a surge, Hirsh said. Hirsh said the vaccines respond much better to the variants originating from London and South Africa. On Thursday, the state announced that more than 997,000 residents in the state have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Hirsh said on Thursday, regardless of efficacy rate, vaccines are still the best way to combat the virus and return to a new normal. The more pressing issue now is supply. Its like getting water out of a stone, Hirsh said. " You have to get enough supply in order to really make a dent into these threats. Related Content: Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) for the implementation of the African Union Trusted Travel Pass to make continental travel easier and safer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press release of the airline, the Trusted Travel Pass Program will ensure that country regulations regarding COVID-19 travel requirements are met with minimal room for error and hassle to the traveling public. Africa CDC has mobilized a broad multi-stakeholder public private partnership with the help of its strategic partners, the PanaBIOS Consortium and Econet, and with the objective of addressing current challenges posed by citizens and institutions difficulty in accessing accurate health information, high costs and inconveniences in cross border travel, and poor data for health policy and bio-security planning. Customers of Ethiopian Airlines will now enjoy hassle free travel experience with their travel pass helping them verify whether their medical information meets various COVID-19 regulations of their destination, the release added. It is to be recalled that Ethiopian Airlines has been the pioneer in introducing new technologies to make travel contactless and convenient in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic and restore passengers confidence in air travel. Statement of the airline stated that the partnership considerably deepens this longstanding tradition by boosting the safety of passengers and nations alike, and reaffirms Ethiopian's strong commitment to being a major part of the African pandemic recovery effort. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Travel By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We are offering new digital opportunities to our passengers so as to fully and safely restore air travel. We are pleased to have introduced a digital platform that will be pivotal in increasing the number of passengers while making air travel safer," Ethiopian Airlines Chief Information Officer Getnet Tadesse said. The trusted travel pass solution will help to validate test and vaccination certificates and verify that they are sufficient for their route and share testing or vaccination certificates with airlines and authorities to facilitate travel, it was learned. The solution will also avoid fraudulent documentation and make air travel more convenient. Africa CDC Director, Dr. John Nkengasong welcomed Ethiopian's pioneering spirit and underscored how such partnerships are critical in the present context. Gandhinagar: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Gujarat on Thursday (March 18, 2021) announced that all schools in eight major cities of the state have suspended classes from March 19 to stop spread of the coronavirus. All classes which were being held in school premises in - Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar and Junagadh will now not be held till April 10, as per a PTI report. According to a statement released by the government, the decision was taken by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani during a high-level meeting held on Thursday with Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Chief Secretary Anil Mukim. All primary, secondary and higher-secondary schools in eight major cities will not provide offline education at their premises between March 19 and April 10, said the release, adding the teaching through online mode will continue. Presently, students from Classes 6 to 12 have been given the option of attending online classes or going to their respective schools for it. While primary schools from Classes 1 to 5 were providing education through online mode only. Schools situated in areas other than these eight cities will continue to impart offline education at their premises for the students who have opted to physically attend the classes, Chudasama said. The minister said that these decisions will be applicable to all the government as well as private universities. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Minister of emergency situations Andranik Piloyan received Ambassador of Georgia to Armenia George Saganelidze, the ministry told Armenpress. During the meeting the minister has touched upon the implementation of programs within the framework of several cooperation agreements signed between the Armenian and Georgian governments. He said these programs were mostly delayed in 2020 due to the pandemic and the recent war, but noted that this year there is a need to boost the partnership. The Georgian Ambassador in his turn expressed readiness to contribute to the development of mutual partnership between the two countries. A number of issues relating to the Armenian-Georgian bilateral cooperation were discussed. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Town of New Shoreham Joins the Rhode Island Purchasing Group by BidNet Direct The Town of New Shoreham invites all potential vendors to register online. The Town of New Shoreham announced it has joined BidNet Directs Rhode Island Purchasing Group and will be publishing and distributing upcoming bid opportunities on the system. The Rhode Island Purchasing Group connects participating agencies from across Rhode Island to a large vendor pool and streamlines the bid and vendor management process. BidNets Rhode Island Purchasing Group provides notifications to registered vendors of new relevant solicitations, as well as any addenda and award information from participating agencies across Rhode Island, and can be accessed at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/rhode-island. The Town of New Shoreham joined the purchasing group in March, and will utilize the system to publish and distribute upcoming bid opportunities. The Rhode Island Purchasing Group is a single, online location that manages sourcing information and activities and provides local government agencies throughout Rhode Island the tools needed to minimize costs and save time throughout the purchasing process. We are always looking to increase our vendor pool and competition, says Shirlyne Gobern, Administrative Assistant for the Town of New Shoreham. We hope the Rhode Island Purchasing Group will help us extend the reach of our solicitations, and it can help our vendors find more local opportunities, and allow electronic responses, she continued. Registered vendors can access all open bids, related documents and files, additional addenda and award information. In addition, the Rhode Island Purchasing Group offers a value-added service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda and advance notification of expiring term contracts. Registered vendors have access to not only the Town of New Shoreham bid opportunities, but all participating agency bids. Vendors may register on the Rhode Island Purchasing Group at: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/rhode-island. BidNets vendor support team is available to answer any questions regarding the registration process or the bid system at 800-835-4603 option 2. Other local government agencies in Rhode Island looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the Rhode Island Purchasing Group for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution. About the Town of New Shoreham: The Town of New Shoreham is a unique year-round island community characterized by breathtaking ocean views, picturesque stone walls, beach roses, more than 300 fresh water ponds, two man-made harbors, over 30 miles of walking trails and over 17 miles of coastal beach. The Town, working in collaboration with community organizations, has been very successful in conserving open space and preserving the communitys natural and cultural heritage. Reachable by ferry and by air, the islands population swells in summer months with visitors from all over the world. About BidNet Direct: BidNet Direct, powered by mdf commerce, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. BidNet Direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the Rhode Island Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chopra Global, the leading whole health company founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra, today announced the final release of the wildly popular 21-Day Meditation Experience titled "Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life," led by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. March 2021 marks one year since the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed daily life, with many people remaining "stuck" at home. The free, 21-Day program begins today and will help participants cultivate presence, tap into potential and unlock creativity to release stagnation and improve mental health. Getting Unstuck artwork Getting Unstuck phone app image Registration also includes access to an exclusive talk with Deepak Chopra reflecting on these challenging times and offering meditation and tools for cultivating mindful awareness. The program and talk are designed to help people tune into the power of the present and find joy and fulfillment in the everyday. "Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life," offers a 20-minute audio meditation each day and a series of thought-provoking reflection questions designed to anchor the teachings with a centering thought and mantra. The meditations are easily accessible from a tablet, computer, or Chopra Global's new Meditation and Well-being App available in the Apple App Store and on Android. "For the past eight years, Oprah Winfrey and I have joined forces to offer the 21-Day Meditation Experience programs. Now, we invite you to join us one last time to develops tools to guide you through these challenging times and create a limitless life in mindful awareness," said Deepak Chopra. "Getting Unstuck: Creating a Limitless Life" follows "Creating Peace from the Inside Out, which was re-released in November 2020. The 21-Day Meditation Experience series featuring Deepak and Oprah Winfrey first launched in 2013, and has since become a global phenomenon, with millions of participants and meditation groups around the world. The franchise currently features a catalogue of 18 different programs and features beautiful soundscapes, mantra-based meditations, and centering thoughts. For a limited time, the full library is still available for purchase at chopra.com/oprah. Below is an overview of what participants can expect throughout this experience: Week One: Creative Living is Here and Now Week One will focus on expanding awareness of living in the present moment, which, in itself, is renewal that brings new possibilities to the surface. By actualizing the present moment, the eternal "now," we see ourselves in the limitless place where thought, feeling, and action can emerge in unique creation. Week Two: Activating Your Creative Potential Week Two is about expanding our participation in being alive by expanding our daily awareness of our own existence. The expansion of awareness holds the key to living from the creative source. Instead of struggling to change your life, you allow a growing awareness to create the change you want to see. Week Three: Living the Complete Spirit of Creativity The third week focuses on allowing newly awakened creativity to impact our lives at every level. Then, having awakened our fuller potential, we share the spirit of creative awareness and spread the energy of "getting unstuck" to the people around us. The key is closing the gap between the self we see in the mirror and the true self. When those two are merged, anything becomes possible. About Chopra Global: Chopra Global is a leading whole health company that is empowering personal transformation for millions of people globally to expand our collective well-being. Anchored by the life's practice and research of Dr. Deepak Chopra, a pioneer in integrative medicine, Chopra Global's signature programs have been proven to improve overall well-being through a focus on physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Chopra Global has been at the forefront of health and wellness for more than two decades with a portfolio that includes an editorial archive with more than 2000 health articles, meditations, masterclasses, teacher certifications, live events and personalized retreats. By providing tools, guidance and community, Chopra aims to advance a culture of well-being and make a healthy, peaceful and joyful life accessible to all. For more information, interact with the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About Deepak Chopra, M.D. DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, is founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and of Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. For the last thirty years, Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution and his latest (and 91st) book, Total Meditation (Harmony Book) helps to achieve new dimensions of stress-free living and joyful living. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as "one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century." www.deepakchopra.com Media Contact: Kristen Marion 623-308-2638 [email protected] SOURCE Chopra Global Related Links http://www.deepakchopra.com A former municipal judge who had the aspiration of becoming the indigenous city's next mayor and two other people, including his son, were shot dead and set on fire by a group of armed men in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas. Pedro Gutierrez was driving his Nissan pickup truck in the town of Chilon on Wednesday around 4am local time when the gang opened fire. The 50-year-old mayoral hopeful was forced to drive off the road and crashed into a 98-foot deep ravine, his wife told authorities. The assailants then shot Gutierrez, his eight-year-old child, Kevin Gutierrez, and another man identified as Jorge, 31, before they torched the vehicle. Gutierrez's wife ran out of the vehicle during the attack and managed to hide behind the bushes. A pickup truck belonging to Pedro Gutierrez, a candidate for mayor of Chilon, Mexico, was burned by armed men Wednesday morning. Gutierrez, his eight-year-old son, Kevin Gutierrez, and a 31-year-old man identified as Jorge, were shot and set on fire during the attack. No arrests have been made Authorities and residents in Chilon, Mexico, gather at the site of Wednesday morning's attack where the town's mayoral hopeful, Pedro Gutierrez and two people, including his eight-year-old son, Kevin Gutierrez, were executed by an armed gang Smoke rises from a pickup truck that was driven by Pedro Gutierrez, a candidate for mayor of the southern Mexican indigenous city of Chilon, and set on fire on Wednesday. Gutierrez, his son and an adult male were shot and set on fire as well before the armed gang escaped Pedro Gutierrez, a former judge in the southern Mexican city of Chilon who was running for mayor, was shot dead and burned along with his eight-year-old son, Kevin Gutierrez, and another man after his pickup truck was attacked by an armed gang Wednesday Local Mexican online portal Chiapas Pararelo reported that the woman recognized two of the shooters, who she identified as Miguel and Alberto, residents of the respective towns of Gualeasil and Mapil. Gutierrez was running for mayor under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement party. He had previously served as a judge in Chilon and had denounced the government of the sitting mayor, Carlos Jimenez, which he had accused of corruption and threats. The Chilon city council released a statement on its Facebook page indicating that authorities would 'reach the last consequences to find the perpetrators of this unfortunate event for the municipality, of which the causes are unknown although they could be the results of old quarrels.' The Chiapas State Attorney General's Office said that it 'continues to provide the necessary evidence to clarify the facts and find the alleged perpetrators.' Lee Lee and the Traveling Merry-Go-Round: an edifying account that teaches the readers to follow and live by the Golden Rule. Lee Lee and the Traveling Merry-Go-Round is the creation of published author Shirley L. Wong, a native Bostonian who has always had a desire to write and publish a book she can share with the people around her. Wong writes, Lee Lee is a six-year-old girl who lives with her mom, her dad, and her little four-year-old sister, Danae. Lee Lee remembered from the previous summer that every summer, Mr. Warren drives through their neighborhood in a truck that pulls a traveling merry-go-round on the back of the truck that children can ride for a quarter. Danae wanted to ride on the horses too, but Lee Lee told her sister that she was not tall enough and old enough to ride by herself. Because she had to wait two more days for her special ride, Lee Lee would ask her Mom every morning if the day has come for her special ride yet. Lee Lee was very excited when the day finally came that Mr. Warren and the traveling merry-go-round would come to their neighborhood. All of the children screamed with joy when they saw the truck turn the corner onto their street and they lined up for their ride. Lee Lee selected a horse that had her favorite color on it. She smiled from ear to ear every time she saw her mom and Danae and would wave to them. When the music stopped and it was time for Lee Lee to get off the horse, she pouted at first and wouldnt get off the horse. Then she looked out at all of her friends who were looking sad because they didnt think they would be able to get a chance to ride on the horses. But Lee Lee remembered the scripture that her mom always taught her: Treat other people the way you want them to treat you. When she got off her horse, all of her friends screamed, Yay! This story was a lesson for Lee Lee to learn to treat others the way she wants them to treat her. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Shirley L. Wongs new book provides young readers a life-changing lesson that may help them become better people as they grow older and realize that what goes around comes around. Through the story of Lee Lee, the author hopes that children will realize that there is more to life than what is around them, and that they can make innocent and happy memories to share with their children and treat others the way they want to be treated. View a synopsis of Lee Lee and the Traveling Merry-Go-Round on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Lee Lee and the Traveling Merry-Go-Round at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Lee Lee and the Traveling Merry-Go-Round, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. With extensive experience partnering with world-class suppliers, Certain Supply consistently delivers hard-to-acquire safety and protective gear for the world. While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly increased the demand for gloves, the US Nitrile glove market is projected to be worth well over $2 billion dollars in 2021, a 34% increase from 2020 when there were widespread glove shortages. Establishing a safe, consistent, and high-quality nitrile glove supply chain like Tranquilus' nitrile glove portfolio will offer additional health and safety options for Certain Supply's customers. "We are thrilled to secure an exclusive channel partnership and distribution rights with Tranquilus brand gloves," stated David Aquino, Founder of Certain Supply. He continued, "Certain Supply is committed to providing the community with access to innovative, affordable health, hygiene and PPE solutions without compromising quality. Partnering with the Tranquilus brand will propel our mission of providing improved, reliable, and affordable PPE solutions for our customers." With glove use being an essential part of daily life for many professionals and industries, high quality gloves such as Tranquilus' reduce hand contamination by 70 to 80 percent. Tranquilus gloves will be available for purchase from Certain Supply's reseller partners and beyond starting March 17th, 2021. ABOUT CERTAIN SUPPLY Certain Supply is a leading Health, Hygiene and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) manufacturing and distribution company founded in Irvine, CA in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain Supply offers high-quality, certified, and tested products globally to healthcare workers, businesses, and individuals. With a deep expertise in supply chain operations and sourcing, Certain Supply is committed to fair pricing on all available products across Protective Apparel, Home and Personal Hygiene categories. Certain Supply has already earned the trust of over 260 companies and sold millions of units of PPE in its first year of operations. For further information, please visit www.certainsupply.com . MEDIA CONTACT Megan Johns [email protected] 310-616-3049 SOURCE Certain Supply Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. On Thursday, March 18, Ukrainian sailors from the crew of the vessel Volgo Balt 179, accompanied by employees of the Ukrainian Embassy in Romania, arrived at the border crossing point of Reni (Ukraine). "After registration of entry to the territory of our state, Ukrainian citizens are to go in an organized manner to Odesa, where they will be met by representatives of the operator of the sunken ship Volgo Balt 179," the press service of the Embassy informs. The state of health of all ten rescued sailors is satisfactory. It is noted that during their stay on the territory of Romania, the sailors were provided with everything necessary and underwent appropriate medical and preventive procedures to organize their safe transportation to Ukraine. As reported, the Volgo Balt 179 with 13 Ukrainians onboard sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. Ten sailors were rescued, two sailors died. One sailor is considered missing. Toronto, Ontario, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recognizing and appreciating contemporary Black artists, craftspeople, curators and critics who for so long have been under-represented in Canadian culture is the focus of the Centre for the Study of Black Canadian Diaspora being launched today by OCAD University. Established and led by associate professor, art curator and scholar Dr. Andrea Fatona, the centre will for the first time in Canada comprehensively showcase in a single, central platform the artistic creations of contemporary Black visual artists and craftspeople in this country whose works have historically been under-recognized or ignored altogether. Anti-Black racism has shaped the way in which Blackness has been present in Canada, and also incredibly absent. So, this project is about rectifying that erasure or minimal exposure, and achieving formal recognition of Black folks who have contributed to the sphere of fine arts in Canada, says Dr. Fatona, whose work is the focus of her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Canadian Black Diasporic Cultural Production, which was announced last December. The centre is the next chapter of three decades of work by Dr. Fatona to rectify the absence of Black visual fine artists, media artists and craftspeople who, due to decades of pervasive systemic racism, have been excluded from the Canadian art worlds official record: catalogues, galleries and reviews. This absence has extended to the contributions of Black art curators and critics, whose work has also generally been relegated to the margins of the sector. Dr. Fatonas groundbreaking work will help advance visibility and equity in the fine arts while allowing all of us to engage more actively and meaningfully with the works of Black contemporary visual artists, says Ana Serrano, OCAD Us President and Vice Chancellor. OCAD University is proud to champion artistic research and practice that enriches the field and aligns with our institutional values of inclusion and diversity. The Centre for the Study of Black Canadian Diaspora will launch today at 6 p.m. at The State of Blackness: Revisited. This free public event will feature a conversation between scholar Rinaldo Walcott and artist Camille Turner on shifts in the sphere of Black Canadian cultural production. About the Centre for the Study of Black Canadian Diaspora The centres main initiative is developing an online State of Blackness platform that will serve as a repository of all visual artworks by Black Canadians from 1987 when the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was first proposed, before becoming law the following year to the present day. It will simultaneously provoke reflection on our countrys track record regarding representation of Black cultural producers during official multiculturalism, and achieve long-overdue formal recognition for these artists and craftspeople. To carry out this work, Dr. Fatona and her team are conducting extensive research to identify and then digitize visual artworks produced by Black artists and craftspeople over this time period. The process involves liaising with art galleries and artist-run centres across Canada to identify Black-produced artworks in their collections. The goal is to add these works to the platform and include links to the original gallery webpages or digital catalogues. Critically, Dr. Fatonas team will contextualize each artwork to better reflect its cultural aspects and significance by augmenting existing descriptions. They are also creating new, culturally relevant metadata categories and search algorithms to increase how findable these artworks are in web searches. To guide the work of the centre, an advisory committee has been created with experts including artists, scholars, curators and writers. The Centre for the Study of Black Canadian Diaspora will launch today at 6 p.m. at The State of Blackness: Revisited. This free public event will feature a conversation between scholar Dr. Rinaldo Walcott and artist Camille Turner on shifts in the sphere of Black Canadian cultural production. About OCAD University (OCAD U) OCAD University is Canada's university of the imagination. Founded in 1876, the University is dedicated to art, design and digital media education, practice and research, and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. -30- 404 For the second edition of the Auteurs series, which celebrates the work of the most important film directors in history, we delve into the Sight & Sound and Monthly Film Bulletin archives to tell the full career story so far of one of the greatest living filmmakers, Martin Scorsese, via classic features, iconic images and incisive reviews. Martin Scorseses career stretches over half a century and spans many different genres beyond the gangster films for which he is so well known. He has dedicated his life to the cause of cinema not only to making lms, but to watching them, learning, teaching, writing, talking and making documentaries about them, promoting them, preserving them and restoring them. This selection of features and reviews from the archives of Sight & Sound and Monthly Film Bulletin gathers together analysis by many of Scorseses most eloquent and insightful critics and historians and includes many interviews with the maestro himself. Part 1: New York, New Yorkwhere the story begins Mean streets: the sweetness of hell Half a year after Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed Boxcar Bertha, the first Scorsese feature released in Britain, Sight & Sound ran its first feature on a promising new talent. David Denby had seen Mean Streets and was duly impressed. Whats a Nice Girl like You Doing in a Place like This? reviewed by Jonathan Romney Its Not Just You, Murray! reviewed by Jill McGreal Whos That Knocking at My Door reviewed by Kate Stables The Big Shave reviewed by Richard Combs Boxcar Bertha reviewed by Tom Milne Mean Streets reviewed by Tom Milne Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore reviewed by Richard Combs Gods lonely man In 1999, Amy Taubin, author of a then imminent BFI Classic on Taxi Driver, took the opportunity to look back at a remarkable film: the circumstances of its making, its relationship to earlier movies, and its treatment of racism and masculinity. Taxi Driver reviewed by Richard Combs New York, New York reviewed by Tom Milne Italianamerican reviewed by Tom Milne American Boy reviewed by Tom Milne American boy The earliest interview with Scorsese in S&S was conducted in 1977 by Richard Combs and Louise Sweet during a break from editing The Last Waltz and American Boy. The Last Waltz reviewed by Tom Milne Raging Bull reviewed by Steve Jenkins Part 2: new directionsa time for experiment Martin Scorseses still life Upon its release The King of Comedy struck many as strikingly different from Scorseses previous films. Even the director felt he was starting all over. Terrence Rafferty spoke to him and examined the film within the context of his work to date. The King of Comedy reviewed by Steve Jenkins After Hours reviewed by Richard Combs The Color of Money reviewed by Steve Jenkins From the pit of hell Making The Last Temptation of Christ was a labour of love for Scorsese, with a decade and a half passing between reading the novel and finally completing the film. Steve Jenkins chronicled the complex and troubled history of the production. The Last Temptation of Christ reviewed by Pam Cook New York Stories reviewed by Richard Combs GoodFellas reviewed by Tom Milne GoodFellas to the end From its release GoodFellas enjoyed a reputation as one of its directors most iconic movies, an archetypal Scorsesean mix of underworld content and virtuoso cinematic style. In 2017, in an examination of the films ending, Trevor Johnston considered its enduring appeal. Cape Fear reviewed by Angela McRobbie Sacred and profane Cape Fear was seen by some as a deliberate attempt at a commercial hit, by others as a radical reworking of J. Lee Thompsons original film. J. Hoberman compared the two movies and came to his own conclusions. Part 3: new horizonsexploration and consolidation Dread and desire When it was announced that Scorsese would film an Edith Wharton novel, many were astonished. But in considering The Age of Innocence, Amy Taubin found the director and the writer had more in common than one might expect. The Age of Innocence reviewed by Pam Cook Martin Scorsese: between God and the goodfellas For the BFI-produced Century of Cinema TV series, Scorsese directed the three-part A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies. Raymond Durgnat looked at what the documentary revealed about the directors tastes in film. Martin Scorseses testament Though set in the desert oasis that is Las Vegas, Casino was in some respects a return to the concerns and style of GoodFellas. Ian Christie interviewed Scorsese about its relation to real-life events, its making and its many cultural references. Casino reviewed by Jonathan Romney The road not taken/Everything is form To many, of all Scorseses surprise projects, a biography of the Dalai Lama felt the most unlikely. But Amy Taubin found Kundun both deeply personal and formally audacious, and spoke to the director about his motives and methods in making it. Kundun reviewed by Andrew OHehir Bringing out the Dead reviewed by Kevin Jackson Manhattan asylum Three decades after Scorsese first read Herbert Asburys book, he finally completed the enormously ambitious Gangs of New York. Ian Christie spoke to him about his abiding fascination with the subject matter and the films problematic production history. Gangs of New York reviewed by David Thompson Part 4: forever youngsongs of innocence and experience Tales of a fly guy The Aviator, about billionaire industrialist, filmmaker and aviation nut Howard Hughes, was Scorseses first feature to deal directly with the movie business. Ian Christie visited the set and was struck by the scale and ambition of the project. The Aviator reviewed by Kevin Jackson No Direction Home: Bob Dylan reviewed by Rob White The Departed reviewed by Nick James Shine a Light reviewed by John Lewis Island of lost souls Shutter Island, an adaptation of Dennis Lehanes bestselling novel, allowed Scorsese to explore his protagonists mental turmoil by drawing on his deep knowledge of film history. Graham Fuller surveyed his homage to Hollywoods genre cinema. Shutter Island reviewed by Jonathan Romney The illusionist Hugo was Scorseses first feature adapted from a childrens book, but it was also a foray into the world of early cinema. Ian Christie, himself an expert in the field, elucidated the films affectionate tribute to the pioneering director Georges Melies. Hugo reviewed by Andrew Osmond The Wolf of Wall Street reviewed by Nick Pinkerton Birth of a salesman In making The Wolf of Wall Street Scorsese was again capturing the American zeitgeist. But, as Ian Christie noted, this time the tone was different, with Leonardo DiCaprios performance perfectly pitched for a darkly comic social satire. Part 5: matters of life and deaththe story so far An activist in the archives Scorsese is famous not only for making films but for devoting his life to cinema. Ian Christie lauded his work as an archivist, historian, educator and conservationist, who has often focused on forgotten and neglected films from around the world. Martin Scorsese: Catholic tastes It took Scorsese nearly three decades to fulfil his dream of turning Endo Shusakus novel Silence into a film. Philip Horne spoke to him about making the movie, religious faith and his love of Japanese cinema. Silence reviewed by Richard Combs Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese reviewed by Matthew Taylor The Irishman reviewed by Graham Fuller Three and a half hours with Scorsese Though The Irishman was a return to American gangsters and reunited him with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel, it also, as Philip Horne discovered in a lengthy interview, saw the director still looking for fresh ways to create cinematic magic. Filmography Last words Will there be another lockdown in Karnataka? No says BSY India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Bengaluru, Mar 18: Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa has ruled out a lockdown in. Bengaluru as well as in any other part of the state. He also said that there will not be curfew. We have decided to open up. 3 COVID-19 care centres in Bengaluru to address any eventuality and medical emergency keeping in mind the rising number of cases. He however said that the the BBMP and the health department would decide on the location of these centres. He further said that the state had sought permission from the centre to take up vaccination drives in apartment complexes, old age homes and terrains that are inaccessible across the state. Amidst rise in COVID-19 cases, Pune mayor says complete lockdown not needed Yediyurappa also said that there is no cause for panic as the state government is taking all measures to contain the spread of the virus. The CM was part of the review meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Anjelina Jolie makes shocking accusations against Brad Pitt| Oneindia News Bengaluru, March 18 : Four-members of a gang that was involved in creating fake profiles on social media sites -- Facebook, Instagram and dating apps -- and blackmailing victims, have been arrested, the Cyber Crime Division (CCD) of the Karnataka Police said here on Thursday. The have been identified as Sahun, Sharukh Khan, Nasir and Shahid Anwar, all are residents of Bengaluru, police said. The CCD police said that the four arrested persons were not the main culprits but played a significant role in assisting a gang that is involved in such fraudulent activities. "Most of the gang members are absconding at the moment as they have come to know about our action after we picked these four persons," the police said. The gang used to pick its victims only from its known friends circle on the social media platforms. "The arrested four members have played a role in identifying such victims. They used to gather information about the victim's economic conditions. They ensured that their cover was never blown to victims," the police said. The police added that after identifying their victims they used to create fake profiles impersonating as 'women in need' of help or a highly fashionable woman. "Initially the gang ensured that their chat revolved around common subjects, then the gang would send feelers about the woman was okay with online flirting, from flirting to intimate chat to sex chat. Here the gang ensured that victim send his nude pictures and video clips especially asking him to record his 'needs' in romantic gestures. Once the gang felt that they have gathered enough 'evidence' to blackmail him, one of the male members used to call him by identifying as either the elder brother or husband and then start blackmailing the victim. The chain of blackmailing continued for multiple times, until the victims went broke financially," the police explained. The police said that one such victim mustered courage and lodged a complaint with the CCD police. When the police caught the four persons, the victim was shocked to know that one of the arrested had befriended him during a common friend's marriage party. "It was he who had introduced him to dating apps through which he had become a victim," the police said. TOKYO, Mar 18, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (MMTh), a manufacturing and sales company of MITSUBISHI MOTROS CORPOLATION (MMC) in Thailand, has reached cumulative production of six million units.Exporting vehicles to more than 120 countries throughout the world, MMTh has exported 4.4 million out of the six million units abroad. The milestone of six millionth was a TRITON one-ton pickup truck."Thailand is an important hub for us, and MMTh has become our largest export base in the ASEAN region with the support from the Royal Thai Government," said Takao Kato, chief executive officer of MMC. "MMTh produces popular TRITON, MIRAGE, and so on, and we have started production of OUTLANDER PHEV, a premium plug-in hybrid electric SUV with high performance but eco-friendly vehicle that attracts global attention, in the end of 2020. We are willing to offer even more attractive products to our customers."MMC commenced operations in Thailand in 1961 and celebrates 60th anniversary this year. It reached the milestone of one million total units produced in 2003, two million in 2010, three million in 2013, four million in 2015, and five million in 2018.MMTh will continue driving MMC's growth as a production and export hub in the critically important ASEAN region.About MITSUBISHI MOTORSMITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has a competitive edge in SUVs and pickup trucks, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The company launched the i-MiEV - the first mass-produced electric vehicle in 2009, which was followed by the OUTLANDER PHEV in 2013 - a plug-in hybrid market leader in Japan and Europe. Mitsubishi Motors has 30,000 employees and a global footprint with production facilities in Japan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia. Models, such as the PAJERO SPORT/MONTERO SPORT, TRITON/L200, OUTLANDER, ASX/OUTLANDER SPORT/RVR and XPANDER play a major role in achieving its growth. The global sales volume in fiscal year 2019 was 1,127,000 units, and the net sales of Mitsubishi Motors for fiscal year 2019 was 2.27 trillion yen. Mitsubishi Motors is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.Source: Mitsubishi MotorsCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. For the second time, LTG has been recognised in Financial Times FT 1000: Europes Fastest Growing Companies annual special report. LTG has placed great focus on expanding our business through growing recurring revenue and strategic acquisitions that further strengthen our leadership in the talent and learning systems market. These allow us to offer best-in-class solutions globally. Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG), the provider of services and technologies for digital learning and talent management, has been identified as one of the Financial Times FT 1000: Europes Fastest Growing Companies in its fifth annual 2021 report. The report ranks Europes highest-growth companies with technology businesses achieving impressive growth and dominating the ranking in terms of entrants. The report, compiled with Statista, ranks European companies that demonstrated the highest compound annual growth rate between 2016 and 2019. To be included, they must also operate independently, and demonstrate primarily organic revenue growth, among others. LTG, which is headquartered in London, is celebrated for its rapid, sustainable growth in the three consecutive years observed. LTG also appeared on the 2019 fast-growing companies report. Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive of LTG, said: We are proud to be included in FTs fifth annual special report recognising European companies that have achieved high growth for three consecutive years. We have placed great focus on expanding our business through growing recurring revenue and strategic acquisitions that further strengthen our leadership in the talent and learning systems market. These allow us to offer best-in-class solutions globally. We are excited to continue our progress at a time that has called for steadfast resilience. In addition to recently announced full-year trading results for the year ending 2020, LTG continues to expand its portfolio of learning technology and talent management companies. The Group completed five acquisitions in 2020, including Open LMS, eCreators, eThink, JCA Solutions and Patheer. This momentum has continued into 2021 with three additions to date, including the January 2021 acquisition of Reflektive, a performance management software provider specialising in engagement and analytics tools; PDT Global, a leading provider of online Diversity and Inclusion solutions; and Bridge, a learning, performance and skills development platform for mid-enterprise organisations. For more information on the report, visit here. The in-depth report and analysis is set to be published on March 22, 2021. About Learning Technologies Group Learning Technologies Group is a leader in the high-growth workplace learning and talent industry. The Group offers end-to-end learning and talent management solutions ranging from strategic consultancy, through a range of content and platform solutions to analytical insights that enable corporate and government clients to close the gap between current and future workforce capability. LTG is listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (LTG.L) and headquartered in London. The Group has offices in Europe, the United States, Asia-Pacific, and South America. LTGs businesses, including LEO Learning, Gomo, PRELOADED, Rustici Software, PeopleFluent, Affirmity, Watershed, VectorVMS, Instilled, Open LMS, and Bridge are at the forefront of innovation and best-practice in the learning technology and talent management sectors, and have received numerous awards for their exceptional performance. Our portfolio of brands represents the best of breed and they are acknowledged throughout the industry as market leaders. For more, visit ltgplc.com. Principal magistrate, Mark Ngegbe at Pademba Road Court No.1 has on Monday 15th, March remanded one Babatunde Decker alias Boiko to the Male Correctional Centre for alleged robbery with aggravation. The accused person was arraigned before magistrate Ngegbe on five counts of conspiracy, wounding, wounding with intent and other related offences. According to the charge sheet on count 1 ,the accused on Friday 18th December 2020, at No.20 Elizabeth Lane off Milton Margai College, Goderich, Freetown, conspired with other persons unknown to commit a felony to wit robbery with aggravation. It was also alleged that the accused on the same date and place, being armed with offensive weapons, robbed Abdulai Barrier of one (1) Samsung S9 mobile phone valued six hundred and seven Euros (E607) equivalent to six million five hundred Leones, one Samsung S10 mobile phone valued six hundred Euros (E600) equivalent to six million Leones, Dell laptop computer valued four million Leones and other properties all to the to the total of thirty one million six hundred and ninety thousand Leones. On count 3,4, and 5 he maliciously wounded the complainant, Abdulai Barrie and Saio Jalloh. Testifying in court, Alimamy Bankay recognised the accused and recalled on Friday 18th December,2020, while he was at home sleeping around 3:30am one Mr Jalloh-a next door neighbour woke him up and informed him that he is hearing voices from Barrie's compound. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sierra Leone Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Bankay continued that they went into Barrie's compound and they saw many armed men who were holding cutlasses,cutters and other harmful weapons. "They threatened that we were not the one they were looking for. We were frightened and so we went into hiding. After a while, we saw them leaving the compound and Jalloh urged us to go after them. Three of us ran after the armed men. We flashed the touchlight at them and one of them was almost hit by a car," the witness said. He further explained that Jalloh advised them to split the team and chased the accused persons. He said while chasing them Jalloh fell down and he heard one of the armed men saying that they should cut Jalloh into pieces. " After hearing that I diverted my movement to save Jalloh where I was stabbed in the process,"he said. He said the robbers fled and later went to the Adonkia police station and reported the matter. Meanwhile Magistrate Ngegba remanded the accused and adjourned the matter to Monday 22nd March, 2021. The Connecticut Legislatures Insurance & Real Estate Committee held a public hearing this week on what is believed the countrys first bill requiring insurance companies to disclose the premiums they receive from fossil fuels. The bill, Senate Bill 1047, could potentially affect all insurers operating in the state. SB 1047 would require that insurance companies disclose how much they receive annually in fossil fuel premiums and how much they invest in the fossil fuel industry, as well as the climate risk associated with those investments. The bill also calls on the states Department of Insurance to report this information and to report on the departments efforts to integrate climate risks into the regulation and supervision of insurers. States are the leaders in insurance regulation and state insurance commissioners have no choice but to lead in addressing climate risks in insurance, Connecticut State Sen. Matt Lesser, co-chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said in a statement. In Connecticut we are looking at standardized disclosure as a powerful tool to understand the industrys investment and underwriting risk. The insurance industry is on the front lines of the climate crisis. Climate activists argue that since insurance is a requirement for coal, oil, and gas projects to be built and operated, by providing that insurance, U.S. companies enable the industries driving climate change. The insurance industry is currently operating with a level of secrecy that no other actor in our financial system has. This makes it impossible to truly understand the scope of their involvement in the climate crisis. That has to changeand thats exactly what this bill aims to do, said Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, one of over a dozen organizations that signed a letter of support for the bill. National Law Review The markets have been active in terms of setting sustainability goals among insurers and other financial firms, but U.S. insurance regulators have not been as active publicly, according to an article this week in the National Law Review. The article reports that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Climate Change and Resiliency Task Forces Disclosure Workstream met this month and said they would not recommend to its parent task force that the NAIC change its climate risk survey format for 2021. Insurers can continue, however, to submit either the NAIC survey or a Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures report. The New York Department of Financial Services has promised to give guidance on the approaches that insurers are taking to manage the financial risks from climate change by April 1. The National Law Review article notes there has been an extraordinarily high volume of climate change news that impacts the insurance industry: The range of developments has been broad to say the very leastfrom fund managers announcing new offerings said to be green and sustainable, to critics denouncing fund managers falling short on sustainability, to Aviva, Citibank and Generali (and others) publishing sustainability achievements or new targets to achieve net-zero emissions, to advances by developers and providers of climate change standards and metrics (e.g., the Geneva Association, Moodys), to China reiterating goals to reduce its emissions over the next five years, to the politically charged debate within the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as to which comes firsta new global framework of common metrics and standards to help regulators analyze climate change risk disclosures or stepped-up enforcement effort. Securities Regulator The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pledging to crack down on companies and funds that mislead investors over climate change risks, but that may be easier said than done, according to an article from Reuters published in Insurance Journal. The SEC has set up a 22-person task force to police public companies that fail to disclose risks from climate change, such as potential depreciation of fossil fuel assets or supply chain disruption caused from flooding or wildfires. The task force will also scrutinize investment advisers and funds touting sustainable products for so-called greenwashing. With a record $51 billion flooding into sustainable U.S. funds last year, according to Morningstar, investors need to be better informed, the SEC says. The commission is responding to investors growing concerns about materially misleading statements and omissions about companies climate-related risks and activities, acting deputy enforcement director Kelly Gibson, who is leading the taskforce, told Reuters. However, the SEC has rarely brought enforcement actions for climate-related disclosure misconduct, and the U.S. has no formal climate-specific disclosure rules, according to the article. CFTC Rostin Behnam, the acting chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, this week announced that he is establishing a unit to focus on the role of complex financial derivatives in understanding and pricing climate-related hazards. That follows a request SCE for public input on how to require companies to best disclose climate change risks to investors (see above). Climate change poses a major threat to U.S. financial stability, and I believe we must move urgently and assertively in utilizing our wide-ranging and flexible authorities to address emerging risks, Behnam said in a statement to The Washington Post. The CFTC action is one of several taken across President Joe Bidens administration, and it could shift investment decisions across the nation by signaling to markets that it is costlier to invest in fossil fuels, while these policies could make it easier to finance clean energy and other efforts aimed at addressing climate change, the Post reported. Past columns: Lendlease has secured the backing of heavyweight Canadian investor Ivanhoe Cambridge to develop a $650 million life sciences project in Boston, marking the latest win in the US for the ASX-listed global developer. The property group, under the helm of the outgoing chief executive Steve McCann, last year relaunched its strategy to connect with more deep-pocketed investment partners in a bid to get its $110 billion global pipeline up and running. The life sciences building will rise on one the last sites left in the Boston Landing urban regeneration project. Credit: The deal with Ivanhoe Cambridge, a global real estate investor with $US80 billion ($A102 billion) under management, is the first partnership struck under that strategy and the planned development will add to Lendleases other Boston project at Clippership Wharf. This project is further evidence of the strength of our integrated platform and end-to-end capabilities, said Lendlease Americas chief executive Denis Hickey. A Sky News presenter has opened up about the horrifying moment a deluded stalker smashed seven windows at her parents home - because he thought he was in a relationship with her. Ashleigh Gillon was speaking with Tom Connell on Thursday morning about former South Australian MP Nicolle Flint who claimed on Wednesday that she was intimidated, stalked and abused online during an election. Ms Gillon said any woman in the public eye 'has a lot of sympathy' for Nicolle Flint because it is likely that they have experienced similar abuse, before she divulged her own terrifying experience. Pictured: Sky News presenter Ashleigh Gillon, who said she was stalked by a man who thought they were dating 'I've had a stalker in the past - a man turned up at my parents house and broke seven windows demanding to see me,' she said. 'He thought he was in a relationship with me, and that is a really stressful time.' In an emotional speech in parliament on Wednesday, Ms Flint said her electorate office was vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute' by left wing group GetUp during the 2019 election. Ms Flint, who recently announced she is quitting politics due to ongoing intimidation and bullying, attacked the Labor Party for failing to speak out and fostering an environment 'in which hate could flourish'. Ms Gillon (pictured) said any woman in the public eye 'has a lot of sympathy' for Nicolle Flint Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has slammed senior Labor figures over the sick harassment and abuse she suffered at the hands of left-wing activists In a message to Labor leader Anthony Albanese, she said: 'I will not be lectured by you, or by anyone on your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place. 'I ask, the Leader of the Opposition, where was he, and where was his predecessor, and where were all the senior Labor women, when the GetUp, Labor and Union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead up to the 2019 election? 'Where were they when their supporters posted comment after hateful comment on twitter and on my Facebook page? 'Where were they when I was stalked by a creepy old man who worked hand-in glove with GetUp?' Ms Flint was intimidated and stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute' When speaking on Sky News on Wednesday, Ms Gillon said she had worked as a political reporter for 15 years and was familiar with the type of abuse Ms Flint referred to. 'I know what it's like to have random trolls on social media accusing you, often in really vulgar terms, of sleeping with a politician or sleeping with a male colleague,' she said. 'These are accusations that people have just dreamed up - there is zero basis for them.' Ms Gillon said women didn't speak about ongoing harassment because they didn't want to make waves or 'be seen as drama queens'. Anthony Albanese condemned the behaviour against Ms Flint, telling Radio National: 'It shouldn't have happened. Full stop. I condemn it. I stand with Nicole Flint' 'We don't want to be judged on our looks, we want to be judged on our work, but now women around the country are saying - are saying loudly - that enough is enough.' She congratulated Ms Flint for speaking publicly about her ordeal. Anthony Albanese condemned the behaviour against Ms Flint, telling Radio National: 'It shouldn't have happened. Full stop. I condemn it. I stand with Nicole Flint.' Senator Wong said the campaign was 'utterly unacceptable' but said Ms Flint was being 'unfair' in blaming Labor politicians. 'I'd say to Ms Flint, I agree with you, let's work together to make this a better place for women,' she said. It comes as Labor continues to attack the government over the treatment of women following the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, which he has denied. Credit unions have always focused first and foremost on serving their members needs. But since the onset of COVID-19, member expectations have dramatically shifted, reflecting changes to the industry we are sure to see over the next few decades. Todays credit unions must serve their members where they are, instead of forcing them to use traditional face-to-face channels of engagement. Digital technology is the locomotive that will drive all future member relationships. It is the key to enhancing the member experience without forgoing the human touch oftentimes a critical differentiator for credit unions. The digital train is leaving the station, and the worldwide public health emergency has only accelerated its progress. Credit unions cannot expect to remain competitive or relevant in a digital-first world unless they fully commit to serving their members. Many leading credit unions are well on their way and the pandemic seemingly hasnt slowed them down. According to Larry Perino, Manager of Business Development at Navy Federal Credit Union, during the week of January 18, 2021, Navy Fed onboarded the highest number of new members in its history, with more than 500 joining the credit union in a single day. Another example lies within Canadas largest community credit union, Vancity, who successfully transformed their digital offerings to enhance their commercial loan origination process, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, simultaneously empowering their employees to work remotely while also enhancing service to their members. Such results wouldnt be possible without a concerted effort to reshape both the front end to allow for fully remote member interactions for onboarding, lending and deposit account opening, as well as the back office by eliminating manual, redundant and paper-intensive processes. Staying on Track Through the Pandemic These are undoubtedly challenging times for credit unions. Cooperatives confront lower performance ratios even as the larger economy begins to recover from the pandemic-related downturn. According to CUNA, the industrys return on average assets ratio ended 2020 at 0.65%, down from 0.93% in 2019. CUNA also predicts a further deterioration to just 0.50% for both 2021 and 2022. With the lingering shadow of economic uncertainty and lower earnings hanging over the sector, many institutions are being more selective in their technology investments and may be looking for opportunities to cut costs while continuing to enhance their digital capabilities. Yet, necessity is the mother of invention, and some credit unions are learning they dont have to tackle a major digital overhaul all at once. By taking a staged, or station-to-station approach to digital transformation, credit unions can stay on track while still managing their budget and capturing some quick wins. In fact, according to a recent Forbes article backed by research from Cornerstone Advisors, around 25% of credit unions expect to add a new or replacement consumer digital account opening system in 2021. By tackling quick technology upgrades through such micro-transformations, credit unions can remain competitive and member-focused in a financial services marketplace that is rapidly shifting to the virtual world. All of this is achievable while still ensuring you are meeting your institutions regulatory and compliance needs, whether by implementing new technology to help with certain areas your examiners are focusing on, or by utilizing an outside vendor for their technical expertise, regulatory knowledge and security requirements. These early successes can build the momentum for a longer-term digital transformation and help drive the organization toward the full embrace of a culture of innovation a step that is crucial to effectively meeting the needs of its members well into the future. Employee Experience and Member Experience are Linked The pandemic has also shone a light on the financial industrys deep-rooted back office inefficiencies. Although employees have demonstrated remarkable resiliency during the crisis, some have struggled with working remotely during this challenging time. When working from home, many employees have limited or no access to paper documents housed back at the main office and some may also need additional training in the lost art of interacting with members over the phone. While it is well-established that digital technology represents the future of member engagement, what may be less obvious is how digital enhancements can help elevate the back office, as well. By utilizing the power of the cloud on their internal operations, credit unions can automate manual processes, reduce redundant data entry and eliminate the need for cumbersome paper files. By allowing employees across the enterprise access to a secure central repository, the organization will realize improved operational efficiency. In addition, streamlined processes allow the team more time to develop relationships with current members or proactively prospect for new members. The pandemic has demonstrated that improvements to the back office reach well beyond an organizations four walls. With an enhanced focus on the digital channel, credit unions can foster a deeper employee to member connection and enable even higher levels of service and responsiveness. By focusing on improving and deepening the experience of both employees and members, credit unions will succeed in fostering a positive internal culture while continuing to serve all their members needs. Building the Tracks for the Future As the world recovers from a historic and devastating pandemic, credit unions have a rare opportunity to grow and enhance their member relationships through the deployment of technology. The emergence in recent years of innovative cloud banking solutions have laid the tracks for comprehensive digital transformation. Todays credit unions are ready to embark on their journey, enabled through a staged and manageable station-to-station approach. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 An image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is projected on a screen during a night-time demonstration by protesters against the military coup in Yangon on March 13, 2021. AFP-Yonhap Myanmar faced growing isolation on Thursday with increasingly limited internet services and its last private newspaper ceasing publication as the military built its case against ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi was overthrown and detained in a Feb. 1 military coup that triggered mass protests across the country that the security forces have struggled to suppress with increasingly violent tactics. The total documented number of people killed in the unrest stood at 217 but the actual toll was probably much higher, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group said. Western countries have condemned the coup and called for an end to the violence and for the release of Suu Kyi and others. Asian neighbours have offered to help find a solution to the crisis. Large parts of an economy already reeling from the novel coronavirus have been paralysed by the protests and a parallel civil disobedience campaign of strikes against military rule, while many foreign investors are reassessing plans. The U.N. food agency warned this week that rising prices of food and fuel across the country could undermine the ability of poor families to feed themselves. "Whatever happens in Myanmar over coming months, the economy will collapse, leaving tens of millions in dire straits and needing urgent protection," historian and author Thant Myint-U said on Twitter. Authorities have restricted the internet services that protesters have been using to organise, with access to WiFi in public areas largely shut off by Thursday. Demonstrators gather along barricades during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, 17 March 2021. EPA-Yonhap Residents of some towns, including Dawei in the south, reported no internet at all. The private Tachilek News Agency in the northeast published photographs of workers cutting cables it said were the fibre links with neighbouring Thailand. Reuters could not verify the report. A junta spokesman did not answer telephone calls seeking comment. Information within the country is becoming increasingly difficult to verify. Some 37 journalists have been arrested, including 19 who remained in detention, the U.N. human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday. While authorities have ordered some newspapers to shut, others have apparently been forced to close for logistical reasons. The last private newspaper stopped publishing on Wednesday. State-run media has not been effected. Payments State television reported on Wednesday evening that Suu Kyi was being investigated for bribery in connection with accepting four payments worth $550,000 from a prominent businessman. Property developer Maung Weik, in comments broadcast in a state television news bulletin, said he had given Suu Kyi four payments, ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 in 2019 and 2020, when she headed the first civilian-led government in decades. Protesters try to give first aid to fellow protester Phay Thein Kyaw after he was shot in the head during a crackdown for an anti-coup protest at Hlaing Township in Yangon, Myanmar March 17, 2021. REUTERS-Yonhap 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. Los Angeles-based Canyon Partners Real Estate acquired a $45 million preferred equity position in Drewery Place, a 27-story apartment tower at 2850 Fannin St. in Midtown. The building, developed by Melbourne-based Caydon Property Group, contains 357 units and 11,000 square feet of retail space. JLL Capital Markets arranged the transaction. First Continental Mortgage leased 22,128 square feet at One Oak Park, a 150,000-square-foot office building at 6002 Rogerdale in Westchase. The company, which had previously occupied space at One Oak Park, will occupy the fifth floor. Matt Pruitt and Christian Canion of JLL represented the landlord, Clarion Partners. Adam Strauss and Cassie Crabtree of New Regional Planning represented the tenant. The building is 85 percent leased. Axiom Space signed a 32,389-square-foot lease to expand its headquarters at 1290 Hercules Ave. in the Clear Lake area. With the expansion, Axiom will occupy the entire 63,716-square-foot building. Matthew Seliger, Doug Little and Louann Pereira of Transwestern Real Estate Services represented the landlord, Capital Commercial Investments. Noah Kruger and Derrell Curry of Savills represented the tenant. Element Critical, a provider of tailored data center services, acquired Skybox Datacenters' Houston One facility at 22000 Franz Road in the Energy Corridor. The Skybox team will continue to provide support services. Lee & Associates has been awarded the leasing and management assignments for office buildings at 10700 Richmond, 12946 Dairy Ashford in Sugar Land, 2180 N. Loop West and 2190 N. Loop West. Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. renewed a 28,235-square-foot lease at 1415 Lousiana in downtown. Philip Price of Newmark represented the tenant. Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, 1415 Louisiana LLC. Harris County Flood Control District announced the purchase of a 267.35-acre site near Kingwood Park High School in Montgomery County for future stormwater detention. The $14 million purchase from Figure Four Partners Ltd. was made in partnership with the City of Houston, which contributed $3.8 million for the use and ownership of 73 acres. Miner Ltd. renewed a lease for 24,392 square feet of industrial space at 11533 S. Main St. Jack Gaffney of Finial Group represented the landlord. Eric Summers represented the tenant. The Downtown Redevelopment Authority broke ground on Trebly Park at 1515 Fannin St. in the southern part of downtown. The park will include Tout Suite cafe, two dog runs, seating areas, an event lawn and a rotating public art program. Structura is the general contractor. Lauren Griffith Associates developed designs for the park and Gensler designed the cafe and other structures. Gandy2 Lighting Design, Henderson Rogers, T&D Engineers and Kuo & Associates are also working on the project, which is scheduled for completion in March 2022. Innovative Geotechnology leased 3,789 square feet at 5151 Mitchelldale St. Justin Harrity represented the landlord, Hartman Income REIT. Tecama purchased a 5,500-square-foot building at 447 Heights Blvd. to house its architecture firm. Gary Loh of Loh & Co. represented the buyer. Ryan Neyland of Davis Commercial Real Estate represented the seller, Pecan Tree Investments. Turner & McKiernan purchased 11.9 acres at 9711 FM 2920 in Tomball for the development of Tomball Commercial, a business park with 10 freestanding buildings. Patrick McKiernan of First Houston Properties represented the buyer. The seller was Chana Interests. Hopkins Centrich Winkelman & Drucker leased 4,933 square feet at 8701 New Trails, The Woodlands. Greg Usher of Cypressbrook Co. represented the landlord, Vista Woodlands Partners. George Montes, also of Cypressbrook, represented the tenant. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser A new special police force for fighting violence at Greek universities has sparked uproar and a fierce debate in a country where police entering campuses is a highly sensitive issue. Condemned as undemocratic by some critics, student groups have flouted virus restrictions to hold regular protests against the policing plan for weeks. With memories of student beatings and killings by security forces during Greece's military dictatorship still raw, university staff are worried that stationing police on campuses is not the answer and may even inflame the problems. For decades, strikes, protests, clashes, violence against staff, sit-ins against cutbacks and reforms as well as crime have disrupted university life. In the most recent case, riot police were sent in to break up the occupation of administrative offices at Aristotelio University in the second city, Thessaloniki. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the new police patrols are necessary to usher in a "cool breath of freedom, until now kept out by the smoke of firebombs". Addressing MPs last month when the plan was approved, he said that "historical buildings (are) vandalised, infrastructure pillaged, people threatened, girls raped and drugs sold" on university grounds. Professors, he said, were "intimidated" and "taken hostage" by student hardliners. But, at Athens Polytechnic, deputy rector Evangelos Sapountzakis said there were "doubts" whether the police force was up to the task. Sapountzakis, a Polytechnic graduate himself, also told AFP he was concerned that students would see police on campus as a "provocation" and fight back. Under the current conservative government, there have been recurring reports of heavy-handed police tactics against protesters. Until now, abuse complaints were rarely investigated. - Vandalism, break-ins, drugs - Under the plan, around 1,000 specially-trained police will be deployed at Greece's main universities from September, a police source told AFP. Story continues They will not carry firearms. In the meantime, policing at some major universities will be stepped up from next month, the public order minister has announced. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Polytechnic professor said the university's sprawling campus in the Athens district of Zografou had a host of problems, ranging from vandalism and graffiti, to drug dealing. "The worst problem we have are break-ins and thefts of equipment it could take a year to replace," he said. "The lab next door has been burgled half a dozen times. "Most people here believe these things need to be kept in check, but we disagree on how to do it." The local police station is usually "too afraid" to intervene, the professor added. - Slashed funding - Historically, universities have sought to keep the police at arm's length after its role in brutally crushing a 1973 student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic. Sapountzakis, its deputy rector, insists that the university could better manage its own security if its state funding had not been drastically slashed during the decade-long economic crisis. "In 2009, our budget was 9.36 million euros. This year, it's 3.8 million euros ($4.5 million). "The electricity bill alone costs approximately two million euros," Sapountzakis told AFP, in his office overlooking the badly run-down campus. An online petition against the measure has garnered hundreds of signatures from academics around the world. - 'Afraid to speak out' - In December, the conclave of Greek university rectors said it "recognised the need" for a "realistic" security initiative and called for more details from the government. Some have criticised them for failing to take a stronger stand against the violence blighting campuses. "It's costly, not to mention occasionally dangerous, to raise a voice, let alone to act, against this state of affairs," said Stathis Kalyvas, who has spent most of his career teaching abroad and is currently an Oxford University professor of government. However, it is often anti-establishment protesters, not part of the university, who are behind the violence. In October, the rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) was assaulted in his office by a group of hooded youths, who put a sign around his neck that read "Solidarity to sit-ins". The AUEB did not respond to requests for comment. But a faculty member told AFP: "Our university has major problems with crime, petty or not, mainly carried out by non-students." Staff and students "are afraid to speak out on the record because they could be targeted," the staffer said. Rectors and professors at other universities have also been blockaded in their offices by students opposing reform plans. Some have had cars and offices damaged. Outside an Athens Polytechnic laboratory, a large graffito of a pig wearing a policeman's cap has been sprayed on the wall. But structural engineering professor Xenofon Lignos, who has spent both his student and teaching career at the university, says the outward image of dysfunction belies the solid research being done by his students, much of which is commissioned by European industries. "I am proud of these kids," he says. jph/kjm/mjs Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO. Pratteln, Switzerland, March 18, 2021 - Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) announces that its shareholders have approved all proposals by the Board of Directors at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held today at the Company's domicile in Pratteln, Switzerland. In total, 5,878,667 shares equaling 28% of the Company's share capital were represented. "We are truly grateful to Santhera's shareholders for their strong vote of confidence," said Elmar Schnee, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Our shareholders have paved the way for a restructuring of Santhera's outstanding bond and we encourage bondholders who have not yet cast their vote to do so during the current extension period. We plan to raise additional capital, subject to a successful restructuring of Santhera's outstanding bond, in order to prepare for a launch following a positive top-line study readout with vamorolone in the second quarter." All motions by the Board approved As announced in the recent corporate update, Santhera's Board of Directors had called the EGM mainly to propose to the shareholders the authorization and issuance of the shares required to implement planned financing activities, the restructuring of its CHF 60 million 5% Convertible Bonds due 2022 (2017/22 Bonds) and for future use by the Company. Today, the shareholders supported all motions by the Board and approved an ordinary capital increase by CHF 312,000, an increase of the authorized capital to the statutory limit of 50% of the issued share capital and an increase of the total of the two conditional capitals to the same 50% limit (including an increase of conditional capital for employee participations of CHF 1,850,000). The shareholders also endorsed a both time- and performance-based equity instrument for Executive Management in the form of performance share units (PSU). Shares for envisaged bond conversion approved - extension period for casting votes ongoing Santhera intends to use part of the approved new capital for restructuring its 2017/22 Bonds as outlined in the invitation to the bondholders' meeting of March 8, 2021. Although 89% of the bonds represented at that meeting, equaling 58% of the total bonds outstanding, voted in favor of the resolution, these votes did not meet the required threshold of 2/3 of all outstanding Bonds (or CHF 40 million) for the resolution to be passed. Santhera has determined that a restructuring of the Bonds is required to enable Santhera to raise additional financing, if the pivotal VISION-DMD readout expected for Q2-2021 is positive, and is therefore also crucial to preserve the Company as a going concern until after such subsequent financing. Bondholders who have not yet cast a vote may still do so until May 8, 2021, unless the Company would decide on a shorter period to apply. The agenda for the EGM can be viewed here , where the minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting 2021 will also be available from the end of next week. Related Documents Forms to cast bondholder votes are available here . Press release "Santhera Announces Corporate Update and Proposal to Strengthen Capital Structure": Link . Accompanying documents for Bondholders' Meeting Corporate calendar April 27, 2021 Publication of annual results and Annual Report 2020 June 22, 2021 Annual General Meeting About Santhera Santhera Pharmaceuticals. Raxone is a trademark of Santhera Pharmaceuticals. For further information please contact: public-relations@santhera.com or Eva Kalias, Head External Communications Phone: +41 79 875 27 80 eva.kalias@santhera.com Disclaimer / Forward-looking statements This publication is not intended to constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or invest in securities of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG in any jurisdiction. The securities referred to in this publication, including in connection with the contemplated transaction described in this publication, may not be publicly offered, directly or indirectly, in Switzerland within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act ("FinSA"). Neither this communication nor any other information material relating to the securities referred to in this publication constitutes advertisement within the meaning of the FinSA or a prospectus pursuant to the FinSA, and no such prospectus has been or will be prepared for or in connection with the transaction described in this publication. This publication does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities in the United States. The securities of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG to which these materials relate have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will not be a public offering of securities in the United States. This publication may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG and its business. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. # # # Attachment Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG Prospects are dimming in the legislature to employ a rarely used, emergency tactic so voters can decide this spring whether survivors of decades-old sexual abuse should have a chance to sue the perpetrators and institutions that covered up the crimes. The state House of Representatives left the Capitol on Wednesday without a final vote on a measure that would have resurrected the hard-fought referendum on whether to give those survivors, who are time-barred under the statute of limitations, a two-year reprieve to pursue civil litigation. That question was initially set to be decided by voters in the May primary. But in a stunning admission last month, Gov. Tom Wolfs administration acknowledged that it had failed to take the proper administrative steps to get the referendum on the ballot, devastating survivors and their advocates who have waited years for a resolution. The mistake forced the resignation of the states top election official and prompted an investigation by the states inspector general. In an effort to correct the problem, the House last month said it would pursue an emergency constitutional amendment to get the referendum back on track. But in recent weeks, Republicans who control the chamber have split on whether the emergency route is appropriate or even legal, dashing hopes that it can pass in time. To appear on the May ballot, the legislature would have to approve the emergency amendment by March 24, according to state officials. House GOP leaders late Wednesday positioned the bill for a potential final vote next week, after Democrats publicly lambasted them for refusing to take action. A spokesperson for House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R., Centre) made no commitments that the measure would be brought up for a vote when the chamber returns to session Monday. When pressed by a reporter Wednesday afternoon on whether a vote will take place, Benninghoff replied: Well, we have a lot of things on the agenda, and we are continuing to work on these. They have absolutely no courage to do the right thing, said State Rep. Mark Rozzi (D., Berks), a survivor of child sexual abuse who has been at the forefront of efforts to pass the two-year reprieve. I dont believe these politicians deserve to be in this building. Responding to criticism from Democrats, Benninghoff said its his Republican caucus that has pushed this initiative through. And I think weve shown time and time again that we are committed to this issue, he said. Even if the House negotiates a deal in the coming days, the measure still has to pass the Senate. Republican leaders there have not committed to backing it, although a key Senate committee earlier this week gave it a first approval. Still, some GOP senators raised concerns during the hearing about whether creating the two-year reprieve in the statute of limitations amounts to an emergency. Emergency amendments can be used in situations where the safety or welfare of the commonwealth requires prompt change, according to the state constitution. Unlike traditional constitutional amendments, which require the legislatures approval in two consecutive sessions, an emergency amendment needs to be voted on only once in both chambers (though it requires two-thirds, rather than majority, approval). Legislative staff noted that its been used only three times since the 1970s, each time to address disastrous floods. In an interview Wednesday, Rozzi said the legislature has the ability to determine what constitutes an emergency. Survivors, he said, have waited more than 15 years for a resolution on creating a two-year reprieve. Over that time, some have turned to alcohol or drugs. Others, he said, have died by suicide. State Rep. Jim Gregory (R., Blair), a child sexual-abuse survivor who has also championed the two-year reprieve, said getting so close to the finish line, only to have it undone by human error, created a fresh wave of desperation in the survivor community. He himself, he said, felt the pain when it became clear earlier this week that the emergency constitutional amendment was in peril. He said he decided to attend Wednesdays voting session remotely because he was so upset by the decision not to bring the measure to a final vote. The toll this has taken, he said, his voice trailing off. I didnt realize it until we couldnt get it done. The push to allow a temporary legal reprieve for older survivors has been decades in the making. It gained momentum after the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General released a scathing grand jury report in 2018 that documented how top Roman Catholic leaders in Pennsylvania covered up decades of child sex abuse involving more than 1,000 victims and hundreds of priests. The report led to a tense debate in the state Capitol over the best way to help child sexual-abuse survivors who were too old, under the states statute of limitations, to sue over the long-ago abuse. Many Republicans in the state Senate opposed opening a two-year window through traditional legislation, saying they believed that route would violate provisions in the Pennsylvania Constitution that prevent retroactive punishment. Ultimately, the legislature agreed to push the measure through as an amendment to the state constitution, with Republicans arguing that it would be legally sound and hard to overturn in the courts. The legislature passed the measure in the 2019-20 session and was on track to pass it again last month when Wolf acknowledged the administrative error. WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Continued downpours brought some flooding in the Chattanooga area and initially closed a number of roads.. A Flood Warning continues for South Chickamauga Creek until Friday afternoon. At 9:15 a.m. on Friday the stage was 21.7 feet and falling. Flood stage is 18 feet. At 21 feet, Mack Smith Road and Lovell Field Loop become impassable. Water begins to come onto Airport Road, just north of the terminal complex. West Chickamauga Creek increases to near a half mile wide in places, becoming hazardous to adjacent travel in East Ridge. At 22 feet, Airport Road is closed to traffic. At that level, a couple of homes are slightly flooded near the intersection of Mack Smith Road and May Street. Flooding becomes extensive around the north end of the airport. This crest compares to a previous crest of 19.8 feet on Feb. 25, 2016. A Flood Warning continues for the West Chickamauga Creek near Fort Oglethorpe from Thursday morning to late Friday night. At 7:45 a.m. on Friday the stage was 12.6 feet. It is set to fall below flood stage early Sunday morning. Between 11 and 12 feet, minor flooding begins of woodlands and fields near the creek upstream and downstream from the gauge on the Georgia Highway 146 or Cloud Springs Road bridge. Minor flooding of the creek can also be expected further downstream as it crosses the Tennessee border into the south East Ridge area. A Flood Warning continues for Lookout Creek near New England until Friday evening. At 9 p.m. on Thursday the stage was 14.8 feet and falling. Flood stage is 12 feet. Minor flooding is occurring and is forecast. At 15 feet, minor flooding continues to expand along Sells Lane in Trenton, Mason Road near Rising Fawn and Creek Road near New England. These roads and other roads with creeks flowing into Lookout Creek will flood causing the roads to be closed. The water will be a few feet deep on portions of these roads. Also minor flooding will continue to expand downstream as the creek crosses the Tennessee border into the Tiftonia area. POSCO Hydrogen Business Office Head Cho Ju-ik, center, poses with Korea Institute of Science and Technology Director-General Han Jong-hee, left and Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology Environmental Energy Research Center chief Hwang Gye-soon, during a signing ceremony for their hydrogen business partnership at POSCO Center in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of POSCO By Nam Hyun-woo POSCO signed a number of partnerships with research institutes and an energy company to improve its business capabilities for green hydrogen, which refers to hydrogen produced without fossil resources. The steelmaker said Thursday that it signed a trilateral partnership with Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST) on strengthened cooperation in hydrogen research projects. "Through the partnership, we seek to commercialize the technology of extracting hydrogen from ammonia, thus helping the expansion of green hydrogen in Korea," POSCO Hydrogen Business Office Head Cho Ju-ik said during the signing ceremony. Currently, hydrogen liquefaction, ammonia synthesis and a number of other technologies are being researched to transport hydrogen. Of them, ammonia synthesis is considered the most efficient method because of the low loss rate. Also, it can be transported using the existing logistics network, thus lowering the overall cost. The technology to synthesize hydrogen into ammonia is already in commercial use, but the reversal technology is still in its infant stage. Through the partnership, POSCO, KIST and RIST will jointly work on developing technologies to mass produce hydrogen from ammonia. Last year, KIST developed a technology to extract high purity hydrogen from ammonia, and the institute seeks to develop catalysts to improve extraction efficiency through the partnership. RIST will be focusing on scaling up the hydrogen extraction process to commercial level, POSCO said. Through this research, POSCO seeks to establish a green hydrogen business model. When electricity is generated from renewable energy sources, it will be used for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen will be synthesized into ammonia for transport and then extracted as hydrogen for power fuel cell systems. As part of this initiative, POSCO signed an agreement with Australian power firm Origin Energy earlier this month. Currently, Origin Energy is working on a project to generate 70,000 tons of green hydrogen annually from a 500 megawatt hydropower plant in Tasmania. POSCO and Origin Energy will run a feasibility test of this project until the end of this year. Through the agreement, POSCO seeks to import green hydrogen produced in Australia. The United States and European Union have reiterated their condemnation of Russia's increasing repression of independent media, including RFE/RL. Courtney Austrian, the U.S. charge d' affaires to the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on March 18 that Russia's new requirements for outlets branded "foreign media agents" were in some cases technically impossible and were being "used against entities and individuals associated, sometimes only tangentially, with U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, funded programming in Russia." The assault on USAGM outlets, including RFE/RL, "reflects a broader crackdown on independent voices and civil society," Austrian said during a meeting of the Permanent Council on behalf of the United States and Canada. "The new regulations are aimed at impeding RFE/RL's media operations in Russia and reducing its growing audience share." Austrian added that, while USAGM outlets were the first foreign media to be targeted by Russia, media from any OSCE state could be next. The new regulations include requirements that entities and individuals designated by Moscow as "media foreign agents" must note the designation in material published in Russia with a prominent, state-mandated disclaimer. In some cases, such as tweets, the requirement was technically impossible because the disclaimer had more characters than allowed by Twitter, Austrian noted. Austrian noted that Russia's media regulatory body, Roskomnadzor, has opened 260 cases against RFE/RL for violations of the regulations, with potential fines of $980,000, since January 14. "We reiterate our call on the Russian government to end its repression of independent journalists and outlets, including RFE/RL and its affiliates," Austrian wrote. "The people of Russia deserve access to a wide range of information and opinion and a government that respects freedom of expression in keeping with Russia's international obligations and OSCE commitments." False Equivalence In a later "right of reply" statement delivered to the Permanent Council in Vienna, Austrian said that the Russian delegation to the intergovernmental organization "has repeatedly tried to create a false equivalence between the draconian measures taken against RFE/RL in Russia and the legal framework within which RT and Sputnik operate in the United States." Those Russian outlets are required to register with the U.S. Justice Ministry as "foreign agents" under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). However, Austrian said, "we will repeat what we have stated before: there is no equivalence between U.S. FARA legislation and Russias 'foreign agent' law." Austrian noted that while the U.S. law does not impose restrictions on how foreign outlets print and broadcast their stories and opinions, "Russia uses its 'foreign agent' law to restrict, intimidate, prosecute, and shut down civil society organizations and independent media." The European Union on March 18 also issued a statement to the OSCE Permanent Council expressing "our serious concern about the worsening situation of media freedom in Russia." In its two-page statement, the 27-member bloc said that Russia's adoption in December of stricter measures under its "foreign agents" and other legislation had "enabled the authorities to exercise online censorship." "The EU reiterates its longstanding position that the so-called 'foreign agent' law contributes to a systematic infringement of basic freedoms, and restricts civil society, independent media, and the rights of political opposition in Russia," the statement read. "It goes against Russia's international obligations and human rights commitments." The EU statement also described the opening of cases against RFE/RL regarding alleged violations of the labeling requirement as "systematic targeting" and "a blatant attempt to silence independent media and to eventually cease RFE/RL's activities in Russia." 'Orders To Intimidate' Russia's so-called "foreign agent" legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits. Later modifications targeted foreign-funded media. In 2017, the Russian government placed RFE/RL's Russian Service on the list, along with six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time, a network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. At the end of 2020, the legislation was modified to allow the Russian government to add individuals, including foreign journalists, to its "foreign agent" list and to impose restrictions on them. In December 2020, authorities added five individuals to its "foreign agent" list, including three contributors to RFE/RL's Russian Service. All five are appealing their inclusion on the list. Roskomnadzor last year adopted rules requiring listed media to mark all written materials with a lengthy notice in large text, all radio materials with an audio statement, and all video materials with a 15-second text declaration. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has called the regulations "orders to deface our content platforms and intimidate our audiences" and says RFE/RL will continue "to object, protest, and appeal these requirements." The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Lightfoot also lowered the threshold for giving speed camera tickets, making it so people caught on video going 6 mph over the limit receive $35 tickets in a move expected to bring in millions. The mayor said it was a safety issue, but critics have pointed out Lightfoot ran for mayor on a pledge to reduce the load of oppressive city fees and questioned whether theres a better way to make streets safer. Sorry! This content is not available in your region New Delhi, March 18 : The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021, even as the Congress members staged a walkout from the House. The Bill seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938 to raise the limit of foreign investment allowed in Indian insurance companies. It proposes to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent. Replying to the debate over the Bill, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that it will promote competition in the market which will benefit the consumers. "This enabling amendment is only to allow them to receive some money, but not exceed 74 per cent," she said, adding that it is up to the companies to decide how much FDI they want. "The FDI limit is not a compulsion, as the Bill only sets the upper limit. Increasing the limit doesn't mean automatic foreign investment to that level to all the companies. Every company will decide for themselves, whether they want that money, to what extent and so on," she said. Sitharaman added that the policyholders' money that will be collected will have to be invested within India only. The opposition wanted the Bill to be sent to a standing committee, but the proposal was rejected by the government. Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the government should answer the concerns of the people as insurance is related to the common man. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday declared the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe and effective for use against the virus. This followed an investigation into reports of blood clots and possible deaths from the usage of the vaccines, prompting more than a dozen nations to suspend its use, the BBC reported. The agencys safety committee said the vaccine is safe but it would continue to study possible links between very rare blood clots and the vaccine. We still cannot rule out definitively a link between these cases and the vaccine, Emer Cooke, the agencys Executive Director said at a press conference. Ms Cooke added that the regulator would raise awareness of the possible risks. Safety Concerns About two months ago, South Africa rejected about 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical-trial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious virus variant that was first seen in the country. Several countries including Germany, France, Spain, Australia, Italy, and Sweden recently paused their rollouts of the vaccine citing blood clotting difficulties and a suspected death arising from the usage of the vaccine. Health authorities in these countries said their decision to restart the use of the AstraZeneca shot rests with the EMAs conclusion. Earlier this week, EMA reiterated that there was no indication that AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine causes blood clots and said it remained firmly convinced that the benefits of the shot in preventing coronavirus disease outweighed the risks. The World Health Organization (WHO) also backed the vaccine and urged countries to keep their inoculation campaigns going, pending its full review. AstraZeneca said on Sunday a review of safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the UK and the European Union had shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. These figures were much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed COVID-19 vaccines, It said. Vaccines roll out Having received 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines, the Nigerian government on Monday assured its citizens of the safety of the vaccines. The Nigerian authorities have tested and authorized the use of the vaccines because it is safe and efficacious, the chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), Boss Mustapha, said at its briefing. Nigeria commenced vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccines on March 5 with Cyprian Ngong, a medical doctor, becoming the first person to receive the jab in Nigeria. The rollout started with healthcare workers who are often at the risk of exposure to infections being the first responders to patients. President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo also received jabs of the vaccines one day after. The presidency later released a statement saying Mr Buhari felt no major side effect from the vaccine while urging Nigerians to allow themselves to be vaccinated. Over 8,000 Nigerians have since been vaccinated. The AstraZeneca vaccine is important especially to the COVAX arrangement, a WHO programme that promises access to vaccines for up to 20 per cent of participating countries population. ADVERTISEMENT Because it is relatively cheap, easy to make, and store, the AstraZeneca vaccine is regarded as the most suitable for developing countries like Nigeria. About 38 African countries have received more than 25 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility and 30 have started vaccination campaigns, Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa said on Thursday. Ms Moeti also said nearly seven million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the Africa region. You would think Joey Reed cringes at every new development in the increasingly tense series of cyber aggressions by Russia toward the United S Hong Kong: Free-flow tolling system proposed The Free-Flow Tolling (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021, which seeks to provide legal backing for the implementation of a free-flow tolling system (FFTS) at government tolled tunnels and the Tsing Sha Control Area, will be gazetted on March 19. The FFTS is a technology-based solution that enables payment of tunnel tolls without requiring a vehicle to stop at a toll booth, mainly by making use of the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with the support of the automatic number plate recognition technology. The use of a government tolled tunnel or the Tsing Sha Control Area by a vehicle will be detected by the boothless tolling facilities through reading of a toll tag, which is a self-adhesive RFID sticker, affixed on the vehicle's windscreen. The Transport & Housing Bureau said the FFTS is a major Smart Mobility initiative which will bring convenience to motorists by enabling them to pay tolls remotely with toll tags and facilitating a smoother traffic flow, thereby improving the traffic near the tunnels. The existing toll booths at toll plazas will be demolished, freeing up space for other transport-related purposes such as enhancement of existing bus stops, which may also benefit commuters. The Government consulted the Transport Advisory Committee and the Legislative Council Panel on Transport on the proposal in December 2020 and January this year. Members of the two parties generally supported the proposal. It also liaised with the transport trades and other stakeholders through various channels to canvass their views. The community at large supports the introduction of the FFTS. The bill will be introduced into LegCo for first and second reading on March 24, with a view to implementing the FFTS at various tunnels from the end of next year. After the bill's passage, the Transport Department will work with relevant departments to complete the other necessary preparatory tasks, including engagement of a toll service provider, continued development of the FFTS backend system, procurement of the boothless tolling facilities, and collection of vehicle owners' email addresses or mobile phone numbers. It will also step up publicity efforts through various channels to enhance community awareness of the FFTS to secure vehicle owners' support to use toll tags. This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Goods imports from Great Britain fell by over two-thirds in January 2021, compared to a year earlier, as Brexit and Covid-19 hit traders. The Central Statistics Office said imports from England, Scotland and Wales fell by 906m (65pc) to 497 million compared to January 2020. Exports to Great Britain held up better, falling just 14pc (149m) compared with January 2020, with chemicals exports actually up by 56pc. According to figures published by the CSO on Thursday, food and live animal imports from Great Britain were down 75pc (62m) and mineral fuels were down 71pc (57m) on January 2020. There were also large decreases in the imports of chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, the CSO said. At a global level, Ireland's total imports fell by 20pc while total goods exports decreased by 12pc compared to January 2020. Traders reported that a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from Great Britain in January 2021, said Orla McCarthy, Senior Statistician with the CSO. These included the challenges of complying with customs requirements. Other factors identified by traders were stockpiling of goods in Q4 2020 in preparation for Brexit, substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions throughout January. The UK has suspended most paperwork and physical checks on imports from the EU as it gets its IT systems up and running. The new rules. originally intended to be phased in from 1 April, have been delayed until at least October. Under the 2019 Brexit deal, Northern Ireland is part of the UKs customs territory but effectively remains within the EU Single Market. Irish hauliers are still reporting difficulties with imports from the UK as companies get to grips with new customs formalities. The UKs Office for National Statistics said this week that exports to the EU were down more than 40pc in January. However, the UKs Brexit point man, David Frost, urged caution in interpreting the figures, saying that much of the reduction in exports could be down to Brexit stockpiling last year and the Covid-19 lockdown. He said the dip in trade was starting to unwind and that overall freight volumes between the UK and the EU have been back to their normal levels since the start of February, a fact that UK hauliers have disputed. Biden's Democrats Don't Want to Free the Serfs In a speech in 1987 to Conservative members of Parliament, Margaret Thatcher quoted Russian philosopher Konstantin Leontievs 19th-century prediction that socialism will be the feudalism of the future. The chief of general staff of Irans armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, issued a fresh warning March 16 against Israel. Iran has acquired what it takes to blow up the Zionist regime, Bagheri said. He said the potential removal of the child-killing, malicious, fake regime from the political geography of the region is no illusion, but rather a genuine power that Iranian forces have gained with resolve and faith. The statement was in apparent response a strong threat earlier this month by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who told Fox News that his country was updating plans to strike Irans nuclear facilities. We must stand independently and we must defend ourselves by ourselves, Gantz warned, saying this would be the case if the world is unable to curb the Iranian nuclear program, which Israel has long considered as the top existential threat to its security. In a 2013 speech, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in response to Israeli threats of military strikes that the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv would be razed. The same command has turned into a project and will be put into operation, Defense Minister Amir Hatami said March 7. The departure of US President Donald Trump from the White House and the prospects of talks between Tehran and the Joe Biden administration have fueled worries among Israeli officials that Tel Avivs top ally could be soon engaging with its top adversary. The Biden White House, nevertheless, has publicly defended Israels security, staying in close contact with Tel Aviv over any rapprochement with Tehran. However, Israeli concerns have not been allayed. Earlier this month, an Israeli official said Iran might be guilty of environmental terrorism following an oil spill in Israels Mediterranean waters. While the spill is thought to have come from a Libyan tanker, some Israeli officials put the onus on Iran as they believed the tanker was carrying Iranian oil to Syria. Following Trumps departure from office in January, Israel has intensified airstrikes in Syria, targeting military positions it says are run by pro-Iran forces. These airstrikes, despite having been conducted frequently during the past several years, have not yet triggered any direct response from the Islamic Republic. In November, top Iranian nuclear scientist and missile expert Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was gunned down in an intricate ambush outside the capital, Tehran. Israel neither denied nor confirmed its role in the killing. The Islamic Republic was quick to point the finger at Israel and warned of a severe revenge which has not yet been taken. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated following his recent visit to Brussels that the EU top officials have reaffirmed Georgias 2020 parliamentary elections were free and competitive and that the demands of the Georgian opposition parties for repeat elections have no grounds. He has expressed hope that the ruling party and the constructive part of the opposition will come to an agreement in the coming days in the EU-mediated talks. Garibashvili has described his meetings in the EU and NATO as 'very successful and stated that Georgias democratic progress has been recognised and praised in Brussels, Agenda.ge reported. EU officials and the document released after the 6th EU-Georgia Association Council meeting on March 16 say that the October 31, 2020 Georgian parliamentary elections, as well as the second round of the elections in November 2020, were competitive. The view contradicts the position of most of the Georgian opposition parties which have won seats in the 10th convocation of the state legislature, which have refused to take up their mandates and have been demanding repeat elections since the race. Christian Danielsson, who is the EU mediator in the talks, held the first joint meeting with the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition yesterday. Danielsson, who arrived in Georgia on March 12, has held separate meetings with the parties in previous days. The talks will continue today. ALBANY The city is no stranger to political scandal see Cuomo, Andrew M. But New York's capital will soon serve as the location for a retelling of the crime that's synonymous with political corruption: the burglary at the Watergate complex. President Richard Nixon's "plumbers" are getting their own five-episode limited series on HBO, and a casting company is looking for extras for location filming slated to take place here in the late summer and early fall. Grant Wilfley Casting Inc., describes the premise of "The White House Plumbers" in a release: "Set in the early 1970s, the series will tell the true story of how Nixons own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, accidentally toppled the presidency they were trying to protect." The show is being being made by the producers of HBO hits "Veep" and "Succession," the latter of which has also used locations in Lake George and Albany for filming. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux HBO vets from "True Detective" and "The Leftovers," respectively will star as Hunt and Liddy, who coordinated the 1972 break-in at Democratic Party headquarters. Both men eventually served prison time, and the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign the presidency on Aug. 8, 1974, rather than face impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both of the protagonists have connections to New York: Hunt was born and is buried in the town of Hamburg in Erie County; Liddy was born in Brooklyn, attended Fordham University, served as a prosecutor in Dutchess County and ran unsuccessfully for Congress from a Hudson Valley district. The new HBO show isn't Albany's first connection to Watergate: Before he moved to Albany in 1978 to take over as editor of the Times Union and its sibling the Knickerbocker News, Harry M. Rosenfeld oversaw Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of Watergate in the Washington Post. It is at least the second HBO show expected to start shooting in the region this summer: Production of "The Gilded Age" is set to resume later this spring in Troy. The political thriller will apparently feature smoke-filled rooms: The casting notice says extras must be OK working around smoke. Natural hair color and a willingness to have locks cut into a 1970s style are also musts. Anyone who wishes to be considered for the "The White House Plumbers" can register at www.gwci.app/talent. Lucknow, March 18 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, which completes four years on Friday, will organise week-long celebrations under the theme of 'Reform, Perform, Transform'. Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary R.K. Tiwari has issued directions to all districts on the programmes that are to be organised during the celebrations. Each day will be dedicated to a separate segment of society, like women, traders, farmers, etc, where officials will talk about various initiatives taken by the government. On March 19, chief minister Yogi Adityanath will release a song and a book on development of the state and a film will also be screened. This will be followed by similar programmes in all district headquarters. Following the celebrations, pension for widows and destitute women, transfers under PM Jan Aarogya Yogna, tool kits and loans and tricycles to differently abled persons will also be distributed. Ministers in charge of various districts have been asked to address meetings in their respective areas. In places where ministers are not available, MPs and MLAs have been asked to step in. On March 20, meetings will be held in all assembly constituencies. The chief minister will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of tourism-related projects and inaugurate various other local projects. Booklets on development of each assembly constituency will also be released. The Mission Kisan Kalyan will be rolled out in rural areas on March 21. The block-specific programmes will see farmer welfare fairs and other events to discuss various schemes for farmers. In urban areas. Mission Vyapari Kalyan for traders will be also be held. Programmes will be organized at local body level where schemes like PM Mudra Yojna, Start-Up scheme, ODOP, CM Swarozgar Yojna, Vishwakarma Shram Yojna, etc, will be publicised. Traders will also be felicitated during the event. On March 22, programmes under Mission Shakti will be held at assembly constituency level where events on women security, empowerment, self-defence and anti-Romeo squads will be held. On March 23, programmes under Mission Rozgar will be held in each district panchayat. The next day will be dedicated to Mission Shramik Kalyan. The chief secretary has said that all district magistrates will have to nominate a nodal officer of the level of chief development officer or additional district magistrate for the events. The nodal officers will have to ensure proper organization of events and coordinate with public representatives who will attend them. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text LAKEWOOD, Colo., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, one of the nation's greenest and fastest-growing carpet cleaning franchises, looks to expand the brand in Boston and surrounding communities. Oxi Fresh plans to be operating in cities including Quincy, Newton, Medford, and more. "We have 10 exceptional carpet cleaning franchise territories available in Boston and neighboring areas," said Matt Kline, Director of Franchise of Development. "We'd love to see those territories in the hands of qualified, talented entrepreneurs within the next 12 months." With nearly 450 locations in the U.S. and Canada, having available territories in the Greater Boston area is a unique opportunity for people that want to own their own business with an industry-leading carpet cleaning franchise company. Brand expansion in the metro area would coincide nicely with the city's expected growth of 15-17 percent by 2030. New Oxi Fresh locations could bring jobs, innovation, and an eco-friendly carpet cleaning process to eastern Massachusetts. The carpet cleaning franchise has, since first opening in 2006, stood out in its industry due to its green process which doesn't rely on carpet saturation like a steam cleaner. Oxi Fresh requires around 95% less water than more traditional cleaning methods. Oxi Fresh can achieve quality results while using less water due to the company's suite of green carpet cleaning solutions and powerful equipment. "Our green concept is powerful," said Mr. Kline. "We've created a revolutionary cleaning system that combines the best equipment with the highest quality products. Through our extensive network of franchise owners, customers get effective cleanings that are safe for kids, pets, and the planet as a whole. Plus, Oxi Fresh has a lot to offer first-time and multi-unit franchise owners in terms of systems and support." 2020 saw the carpet cleaning franchise brand's strongest week in terms of the number of appointments booked. Despite the pandemic, the company also regularly had higher numbers of appointments booked per week in the second half of 2020 when compared to the second half of 2019. This increased demand exemplifies the brand's excellent position for even further expansion in 2021. Promoting this growth is Oxi Fresh's advanced support system, including its centralized Scheduling Center and innovative marketing programs. These tools provide Oxi Fresh's carpet cleaning franchisees the opportunity to focus on business development rather than mere daily tasks. "With almost 450 locations open throughout the United States and Canada, we want to keep pushing forward to continue our mission of providing communities with access to high quality, eco-friendly carpet cleaning services," said Founder and CEO, Jonathan Barnett. "We are eager to surpass the 500 unit mark in 2021 and further strengthen our presence." About Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning Through innovative products and modern technology, Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning offers green carpet cleaning and exceptional results through a unique, low-moisture process. The company's powerful combination of knowledgeable people, innovative technology, and strong processes has landed the brand in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500, ranked in Inc. magazine's Inc. 500|5000, and saw them named as one of "America's Best Franchises to Buy," by Forbes magazine. Oxi Fresh has nearly 450 locations throughout the United States and Canada with more locations currently in development. For more information, visit oxifresh.com. SOURCE Oxi Fresh Related Links http://oxifresh.com Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Once again, people across the country and in California are shocked and upset about violence against people of Asian descent this time because of killings in Georgia. On Tuesday night, a gunman opened fire at three spas in the Atlanta area, killing eight people. Police said Wednesday that the white man charged with murder in the attacks, Robert Aaron Long, told them he had a sexual addiction and had attacked the massage parlors to eliminate his temptation. Authorities said they did not believe that there was a racial motive for the shootings but had not ruled it out. However, six of the victims were women of Asian descent, raising fears among Asian Americans that they are being targeted for attacks because of their ethnic heritage. Nationwide, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were the targets of nearly 3,800 hate incidents over the past year, according to a report this week by Stop AAPI Hate, a group that has been collecting data about discrimination against Asian Americans. In San Francisco, which has experienced a rash of recent attacks against Asians, Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that police would step up patrols in predominantly Asian neighborhoods. Two attacks occurred just this week, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. We have seen a rise of hate crimes against our elderly Asian community, and I want to make it clear that we wont tolerate it, Breed said at a news conference. San Francisco will continue to support and uplift our Asian community. Across the Bay, emotions were still raw over the death last week of Pak Ho, a 75-year-old Oakland resident who was punched hard during a robbery, fell and incurred severe brain injuries. Some community members were planning a rally against anti-Asian hate for Saturday. On Wednesday, a group of state lawmakers and local officials representing Asian and Pacific Islander communities in California called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to choose an Asian American or Pacific Islander to be the states next attorney general a call that they said had taken on new urgency. We need leadership across our state and the nation to take action, David Chiu, a member of Californias state Assembly, said at a virtual news conference Wednesday. We need to stand up against these hate crimes. The call comes as Californias current attorney general, Xavier Becerra, is awaiting Senate confirmation as President Joe Bidens secretary of health and human services. Jesse Melgar, Newsoms spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday that the governor was waiting for Becerra to be confirmed before announcing his pick to replace him. He is considering a range of qualified candidates and will announce his decision when one is made, Melgar said. Newsom, in a statement on Twitter, said, The attack in Georgia and the racist attacks that have been happening all across our country are abhorrent. Our hearts are with the families of all the victims of this horrific act and the entire AAPI community tonight. The governor recently signed a bill allocating $1.4 million to support Stop AAPI Hates research. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Bay Area, also condemned the attacks. The killings in Georgia are the latest in a growing list of high-profile attacks that Asian American elected leaders and activists have cited in a broad push to address anti-Asian harassment and violence. In California, much of the recent outpouring of pain has come after attacks on elders in Asian neighborhoods. While some community leaders have demanded increased police presence in those neighborhoods, others have said that simply adding law enforcement officers who might wrongly target Black people is not a solution. Chiu said Wednesday that having an Asian American top cop would have to be part of a broad slate of efforts, including the creation of a racial bias task force that would bring together relevant state agencies to better serve Asian Americans and other Californians of color who need mental health help or other aid. But experts said that Asian Americans occupy something of a racial middle ground, making the conversation around fixes more difficult. Kyeyoung Park, a professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at UCLA, said that Asian immigrants had long been treated as migrant laborers and less than human. In the case of the spas in Georgia, she said, racial capitalism is intertwined in a damaging way with the sexual exploitation of Asian women over many decades particularly Korean women. These women, in many cases, were at the bottom of the hierarchy, she said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Company Q&A - Coro Energy chairman James Parsons provides insights into the company, energy transition and 'ESG energy'. Q: So much seems to be happening globally around the energy transition at the moment, from big companies such as the oil majors to the micro-cap space. How do you see the transition at the moment? It has been an exciting time to be involved in the industry! I think we shall look back at this period at some point in the future and realise we were living through a rather unique part of our history, especially in terms of the energy space. There is undoubtedly growing momentum in the transition/clean tech/renewable arena this year already, and increasing investor interest, too. Just as two examples which I am close to we raised 4.5m last week in Coro Energy as we deepened our renewables footprint through a second SE Asia-focused clean tech developer acquisition. At we also recently raised funds to help progress our Burwell Energy Storage project in the UK, one of our key battery storage assets supporting the UKs push for electrification. So whilst you inevitably see rather aggressive greenwashing by the bigger players, attempting to cover the fact that they inevitably still have their roots firmly in fossil fuels, the smaller, more nimble players are able to adapt much quicker (and follow the money!). My sense is this is an irreversible trend with companies looking to future-proof themselves and increase their relevance to increasingly ESG focused investors. Q: You were one of the early adopters in transitioning micro caps over to the clean energy space. It looks like this started with your role at plc, a Battery Metal explorer and developer, in 2019 and has been further re-inforced with Coro Energy initiating a pivot to renewables last year and Ascent plc recently announcing an ESG Metals strategy. I guess this all reflects your own personal belief in the carbon transition. But do you see any future for Oil and Gas? There is, to my mind, no doubting the remaining importance of hydrocarbons to the energy mix, and their necessity for some time to come, especially existing developments or producing assets where the hard work to find them has been done, and their deployment provides time for other energy technologies to mature. This is particularly true for gas, which remain an obvious bridging fuel for near term gains in low carbon energy, and as a back up for intermittent solar and wind power. I am however personally very clear that oil and gas now have a finite place in the forward provision of energy, and we must all engage in the progression of alternatives as practically, economically and quickly as possible if we are to deliver on targets to ameliorate the impact on the climate. Q: How quickly can you build scale with firms like Corcel, which clearly have an interesting platform on which to grow? Corcel is, in my view, one of the yet to be recognised early leaders of the energy transition in the micro-cap space. We operate at the intersection of battery metals mining and its end-use in energy storage with a portfolio focused on first acquiring battery metal resources prior to the widely expected structural price hike and secondly generating low risk cash flow from energy storage and trading via batteries. If we were directing a movie of the 2020/21 energy landscape, I would suggest a suitable working title to be The Rise of Batteries. Corcel is right in the middle of that space and looking forward to playing its part! Since 2019 we have focused on sorting out the inherited legacy issues, and then turned our attention to building the strategic foundations for the future this is swan paddling stuff, with lots of work going on unseen but we are really making progress now. The focus at the moment is on achieving shovel ready status at Burwell, the battery storage site in Cambridgeshire, on securing a Mining Lease at Mambare, our first PNG Nickel deposit, and on unlocking Wo Wo Gap in conjunction with RMI (an ASX listed company where Corcel has a significant debt position). So, scaling up is critical and that will come as we both broaden and deepen the portfolio however, I really want to see some of the inherent NAV we have already created reflected in our valuation before we make the next big move. I dont expect that to be too long! Q: Tell us about your views on mining. Following the pivot of Ascent to ESG Metals, it seems to play an increasingly important and strategic part in your work, doesnt it? It absolutely does and mining was a relatively new space for me, so it has been hugely interesting to get up to speed on the industry and particularly to dovetail it with my own ESG agenda. At Ascent, we have now formalised our ESG Metals strategy as one of the emerging special situations. We see huge opportunities in reclassifying, through highly efficient recovery techniques, stockpiled surface mining waste (previously viewed as a liability for mining companies) as a valuable asset for reprocessing and commercial sale. The larger producers have historically seen tailings as sub-commercial so our opportunity here is to provide strong cash returns without exploration risk and with only a modest upfront capital outlay, all whilst supporting a key ESG objective of materially lowering global waste. Q: It is fascinating to watch both the companies you are involved with and you personally plot the course through the energy transition. Do you think investors can still expect to see the multi bagger type returns in the ESG energy space? The beauty of the extractive industries has always been the binary nature of the outcomes and the resulting risk / reward balance (ie if you strike it big investors can see immediate significant returns). It is absolutely true that clean energy technology normally has a much lower risk and more modest return profile. However, there are still ways to secure the upside exposure, such as being a first mover (eg as Ascent is in ESG Metals) or taking strategic bets on the macro fundamentals and forecast supply crunches (eg Corcels positioning with significant Nickel deposits in PNG). Im very pleased with the ESG portfolio I am involved with and excited about where these micro caps will be a few years from now. (Natural News) Before boarding Marine One early on Wednesday, fake president Joe Biden made a rare live appearance before the press or at least his digital avatar did. While speaking through his face mask, China Joe was seen waving his hands around, one of them moving behind one of the microphones apparently being held by a reporter. Even though Bidens image was clearly standing several feet away, his hand mysteriously moved to the reporters side of the mic, suggesting that some kind of green screen or superimposed imagery was used to create the fake footage. Biden, who appeared flummoxed while briefly answering questions, appears to phase through a microphone when his hands, which are in focus, somehow move just in front of a seemingly out of focus microphone, reported National File. You can watch the bizarre footage, hosted at Brighteon.com, below: The image of Biden was asked about the migrant crisis at Americas southern border, to which it responded that it has no plans to visit the area. The inexplicable footage quickly circulated social media where it was picked up by multiple independent news outlets. It is now gaining so much attention that the Biden regime could be forced to address it, or else face widespread speculation that the Biden being presented to America is nothing more than a deepfake. Look at Bidens hand and the reporters fuzzy microphones in the foreground at 0:10, wrote America First host Nick Fuentes in an article about the anomaly. This footage has been digitally altered. Will the real Joe Biden please stand up? After watching the footage several times, this writer believes that the Biden image, and not the microphone, was digitally spliced into the footage. At first glance, it seemed as though the mics were superimposed, but if you look more closely you will see that the mics, the background, and really everything else in the frame has the same grain level, while Biden appears to be clearer and sharper than everything else, suggesting that his image was superimposed. The following screenshot tweeted by Jack Posobiec illustrates this, showing very clearly Biden hands in front of very grainy mics. Because of how clear Bidens image appears compared to everything else, the background scenery behind him looks like a green screen. [T]he microphones at 0:09 and 0.10 are obvious greenscreen but if you look his feet are cut out the whole time too (because they couldnt get the shadows right), speculated one Twitter user. Blake Marnell, who famously dons a brick-patterned suit that is supposed to represent President Donald Trumps border wall, also tweeted about the obvious fakery used in the video. HOLY GREEN SCREEN BATMAN! Marnell wrote above two close-up shots of Bidens hand. Resident Bidens right hand appears to move IN FRONT of the microphones! What is going on here? he added, jokingly calling him Resident Biden to imply that he belongs in a nursing home. A clearer version of the video depicts the anomaly even more visibly, along with green screen reflections in the mics at 9 seconds in, tweeted commentator and columnist Ian Miles Cheong. Not another angle, but clearer footage: I dont understand this video. Look at the microphones https://t.co/LGaaOZfCRN pic.twitter.com/8I6CcuvK2f Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 17, 2021 Cheong then asked his followers if they knew of any other footage of Bidens appearance captured from a different angle that might suggest simple weirdness with the lens and angle. He received what he asked for and tweeted it, offering further proof of foul play: Another angle. It just looks weird I dont know what to say. pic.twitter.com/Z9SsnG2C9O Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 17, 2021 As you will notice, Bidens hand does the exact same thing even from this different angle. It moves in front of a microphone that appears unnaturally large and extra grainy, suggesting digital superimposition. More related news about the Biden presidency can be found at Faked.news. Sources for this article include: Infowars.com Brighteon.com NaturalNews.com It's here, San Antonio. In January, NPR's Tiny Desk Concert filmed San Antonio R&B artist Xavier Omar at Rosella Coffee Co. (the 203 E. Jones Ave. location), according to Facebook and Instagram posts from the production company. The concert was released on YouTube on Monday. The local artist performs "Like I Feel," "Blind Man," "SURF" and "So Much More." Check it out below: RELATED: Rosella Coffee Co. hosted NPR's Tiny Desk Concert for R&B artist and San Antonian Xavier Omar Omar's career began in Christian music under the moniker SPZRKT, before he moved into secular R&B and hip-hop. In October, Omar released his latest album, "if You Feel," with RCA Records. On the album, you will hear songs like "SURF" and "More Than Less." According to okayplayer.com, Omar said his new content is consistent with his feelings and the inner self-work he's built his entire artistry upon. READ MORE FROM PRISCILLA: Here's when San Antonio Redditors knew COVID-19 would change their lives Despite being born in California, Omar told Texas Monthly he never felt like he truly belonged anywhere until he got to Texas. "Once I got to San Antonio, that's where I started making my music, and that is where I have some of my deepest friendships, he told Texas Monthly. "Though I haven't been here all that long, this is home for me now." Filming his NPR shoot in San Antonio seems fitting as the city was listed for the third consecutive time as one of MovieMaker's best places to live and work as a moviemaker in 2021, according to a January news release from the City of San Antonio's Department of Arts & Culture. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre New Delhi: The government is considering the proposal of Election Commission on linking electoral roll (voter id) with Aadhaar. "The Election Commission of India (ECI) has proposed to link the electoral roll with the Aadhaar ecosystem with a view to curbing the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person at different places. This would require amendments in the elections laws. The matter is under the consideration of the Government," Minister Of Law And Justice, Communications And Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Lok Sabha. The minister replying to further questions said that the government has not received any instructions from the Supreme Court regarding the issue of linking Aadhaar with Voter ID. On question regarding the manner in which the Government proposes to protect the data linked with Aadhaar and Voter ID from being misused, Prasad said, "The ECI has stated that it has taken multiple measures for the security and the safety of the electoral roll data platform. Electoral roll database system does not enter into the Aadhaar ecosystem and the system is used only for the authentication purpose keeping a tight air-gap between the two systems. These measures effectively prevent theft interception and high jacking of the voter system." Lockdown has given rise to all sorts of bizarre practices, the latest of which is cow hugging. Those forbidden from cuddling their fellow human beings have begun looking for comfort elsewhere. In Holland, where the practice originated, they apparently call cow hugging 'koe knuffelen', which has an appropriately snuffly sound to it. Over in the U.S., farms are charging anything up to $75 an hour for cow-hugging sessions. At the Mountain Horse Farm in Naples, New York, visitors pay to hug cows called Bella and Bonnie, though of course these might not be their real names. Their owner, Suzanne Vullers, reports that the coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge increase in demand; Bella and Bonnie are booked solid for the first few weeks in May. Let's hope they are on a percentage of the take. A customer at the Mountain Horse Farm in Naples, New York, where visitors pay to hug cows Aimee's Farm Animal Sanctuary in Queen Creek, Arizona, also reports a boom. Owner Aimee Takaha told a reporter from the Washington Post that her nine cows, among them Moonicorn, who has only one eye and one horn, all love being cuddled by strangers. One visitor, Renee Behinfar, 43, said that she cried when Sammy the cow lay her head in her lap and fell asleep. I would cry, too, if an 1,800lb cow decided to catch 40 winks while plonked on top of me, but Ms Behinfar insists that hers were only tears of gratitude. There are all sort of biological reasons why cow cuddling is said to be good for you. They say it promotes positivity by boosting oxytocin, the hormone released in social bonding. Sadly, this does not tally with my own experience. Where I live in Suffolk, cows tend to be more stand-offish, or, worse, stand-on-ish. Walking through the meadows near our house, I often look over my shoulder, only to discover anything up to 50 cows behind me, indulging in a particularly perverse form of grandmother's footsteps. They might call it social bonding: I prefer to call it stalking. Suzanne and her husband, Rudi, offer hour-long sessions several days a week from May through October for $75 Vullers said it's a particular draw for city dwellers who have been cooped up and are seeking to immerse themselves in nature to de-stress. A customer of the service pictured I try to tell myself they are just being curious, but there comes a moment when curiosity turns to vengeance, and they ramp up their pace from a stroll to a charge. At this point, only a Dutchman would say: 'Fancy a cuddle?' The rest of us take to our heels. Do any animals really welcome a hug? Fish never seem particularly touchy-feely. The moment anyone tries to hug them, they wriggle about, clearly wishing they were somewhere else. People sometimes come back from holidays with photographs of members of their family hugging dolphins. I suppose they want to show how well our two different species can rub along. But there is always something awkward about these slippery embraces. Both the humans and the dolphins look a little pained, sporting fixed smiles, rather as if the Princess Royal had just put her head around the door. When it comes to hugging, most animals are a no-go area. Who would hug a bat, for instance, or a porcupine? I would also give frogs, sharks, snakes, jellyfish and seagulls a wide berth. As a child, I attempted to hug a racoon in Chessington Zoo, and it bit me. Rushed to the first aid tent, I was admonished for putting my hands through the bars: there was no talk of social bonding, or increasing my oxytocin levels. The farm books up quickly; a few weekends in May are already booked solid. Customers of the service pictured People are signing up to hug cows at sanctuaries across the country, many desperate for affection as the nation approaches a full year of social distancing during the pandemic Cats and most dogs are huggable, though personally I wouldn't chance a bull-terrier or a rottweiler with anything beyond a paw-shake. Children like to hug hamsters, but I have noticed that the hamsters seldom look as though they're enjoying it. Instead, they just quiver with apprehension. After all, hamsters are so much smaller than children: to them, it must be rather like being cornered by a bulldozer. An exhibition at the British Museum a few years ago included a picture by 19th-century Japanese artist Hokusai. Called The Dream Of The Fisherman's Wife, it shows a woman hugging an octopus and vice-versa. The octopus is all hands. This activity might not be everybody's cup of tea, but both woman and octopus certainly seem to be enjoying the experience a little too much, some might say. Though Hokusai's picture was hugely popular in its day, octopus-hugging never really caught on, or today there would be queues around the block at the London Aquarium, and Channel 4's ghoulish Naked Attraction programme would regularly feature a naked octopus in its creepy line-ups. 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. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Intelligent virtual assistant market is anticipated to reach $21.52 Billion by 2026 according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. In 2019, the BFSI segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period. The growing need to improve customer service, streamline enterprise communication, and increase productivity has boosted the adoption of intelligent virtual assistants. The rising penetration of mobile devices, and integration of virtual assistants with smart home appliances further support the growth of this market. Additionally, the increasing demand of intelligent virtual assistants from small and medium enterprises has supported market growth over the years. Increasing investments by vendors in technological advancements coupled with growing need to improve customer experience would accelerate the adoption of intelligent virtual assistants. However, lack of awareness is expected to hinder market growth. Growing demand from emerging economies is expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years. Get Sample Copy @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/intelligent-virtual-assistant-market/request-for-sample The use of digital assistants and bots is expected to increase in the coming years. Computer programs in the form of bots simulate conversation with users through chat windows and voice calls. They have the ability to perform a number of different automated tasks such as scheduling meetings, managing finances, and others. They also assist in successful use of unified communication tools. These bots could be used as an automated attendant monitoring the interactions and offering instructions to users. Intelligent virtual assistants are gradually replacing traditional interactive voice response systems. Use of intelligent virtual assistants is proving effective by enhancing customer and brand experience, and providing a consumer-friendly environment. The virtual assistants also offer a platform for convenient communication within businesses through voice, text, and other channels. North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2019, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The presence of established telecom and cloud infrastructure in this region, and growing trend of BYOD drive the market growth in the region. The growing demand of mobile devices, and technological advancements further support market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to growing demand of virtual assistant technologies in the developing countries of the region. Get Discount on this Research Report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/intelligent-virtual-assistant-market/request-for-discount-pricing The end-users in intelligent virtual assistant market include healthcare, education, retail, BFSI, government, and others. In 2019, the BFSI segment accounted for the highest market share owing to increasing need to offer enhanced customer services, and improve productivity. The demand for intelligent virtual assistants has increased from organizations operating in this sector to improve workforce collaboration, client interaction, and reduce costs. The well-known companies profiled in the report include Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Google, Nuance Communications, IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, [24]7.ai., Speaktoit Inc., CodeBaby Corporation, Next IT Corporation, Intel Corporation, and Clara Labs among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers. President Joe Bidens steps to bring the US back to centre stage on global health, on climate and on human rights have been praised by the Taoiseach. Micheal Martin met Mr Biden virtually on St Patricks Day. The Taoiseachs traditional visit to the White House and shamrock presentation was cancelled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Today @JoeBiden & I welcomed a new poetic partnership between our nations. To mark the occasion, here is a special recitation of one of the Presidentas favorite poems by three gifted young Irish and American students: Brayden Harrington, Jessica Militante & Michael Tient. pic.twitter.com/SFVwz9atUy MicheAl Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 17, 2021 Earlier, Mr Martin also had virtual meetings with US Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mr Biden said he hopes the traditional visit and shamrock ceremony can take place at the White House next St Patricks Day. He thanked the Taoiseach for a bowl of shamrock which had been delivered to him, and said the White House will be lit up green to celebrate the deep, deep affection that we Americans have for Ireland and the people of Ireland. It includes millions of Americans like my great-great grandfather, my great grandfather and my grandfather, all of whom were Irish-Americans, on both sides of the family, he said. Mr Biden said Ireland and the United States have a robust agenda, including combating Covid-19, strengthening global health security, discussions on economic co-operation and Irelands leadership on the UN Security Council. He also restated his support for the Good Friday Agreement, adding it was critically important it was maintained. The political and economic stability of Northern Ireland is very much in the interest of all of our people, he said. Mr Biden also referred to the two countries working together on cancer research. Everything between Ireland and the United States runs deep our joys, our sorrows, our passion, our drive, our unrelenting optimism and hope, he said. Responding, Mr Martin told Mr Biden that the people of Ireland are so proud of your election as a proud son of Ireland. It feels strange to have to celebrate apart. As you know well, Irish people love to come together to celebrate our heritage and culture with song, with dance, with parades, with poetry and with pride, and this year because of the pandemic it just simply isnt possible, he said. I greatly look forward to you being able to visit Ireland as you have done so many times and so memorably before. I also hope it will not be long before I can visit the United States again. For now, the bowl of shamrock in front of you is a symbol of the undying friendship between our two countries, a symbol of the good times we have shared and the challenges we have endured, always at each others side. Mr Martin went on to tell Mr Biden that the policies of their respective countries are closely aligned on the big challenges the world faces. He also told him that the world has rightly taken great heart from the steps you have already taken to bring the US back to centre stage on global health, on climate and on human rights. Earlier, US Vice President Kamala Harris told Mr Martin that her countrys commitment to Ireland remains steadfast and strong. Delighted to meet @VP @KamalaHarris. Good discussion on the issues facing our interconnected world and the need to work together - Covid 19, economic recovery, climate change and democracy. Ireland and the U.S. - partners as well as friends. pic.twitter.com/vLZWZMgm7w MicheAl Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 17, 2021 Ms Harris spoke of her regret that they were not able to meet in person and expressed hope that next year they will share a good breakfast together. I will tell you that our commitment to Ireland remains steadfast and strong, she said. Mr Martin told Ms Harris that the ties between their two nations were rich and deep. He also congratulated her on becoming the first female US vice president, adding: You may be the first woman in your role, but you will not be the last. I hope that I will have the opportunity to welcome you to Ireland too during your time as vice president. I look forward to our discussions but, most of all, I am delighted to have this opportunity to get to know you and to wish you a very happy St Patricks Day. Mass shootings in Atlanta which saw eight people killed were mentioned. Ms Harris described the incident as tragic, adding she and Mr Biden were grieving for those lost. Mr Martin expressed his condolences to the president and vice president, the American people and the grieving families of those killed and injured. Why South LAs Mental Health Matters Now More Than Ever South Central, also known as Black Los Angeles, is home to a kaleidoscope of tones, textures, features, dialects, beliefs, and stories especially stories colored by the multitudes of resilience. It is when we peel back the layers of these parables illuminating the cyclical patterns of plight, triumph, trauma, and victory, we arrive at the core issue of systemic oppression. Historically, South Los Angeles has been a focal point in the fight against social injustice, racial discrimination, police brutality, socioeconomic inequalities, and health disparities. Resilience embedded in the DNA of the Black community seems to also have inadvertently perpetuated a stigma around mental health and its validity, though mental health is now marginally becoming a topic of discussion. With the pandemic acclivity in 2020 resulting in higher rates of underemployment, displacement, and health inequities for African-Americans, it is now, more than ever, imperative that advocacy for mental health programs in South Los Angeles become a priority. Opening mental health facilities in South Central is a solution for closing the health gap and redefining the meaning of resilience outside the scope of trauma caused by systemic oppression. In 2020, Coronavirus was not the only public health crisis. Racism was declared an official public health crisis as Blacks contracting the virus died at twice the rate of white counterparts without the distribution of resources at their aid. The overcrowded geography of South Los Angeles with citizens still counting on public transportation to provide for their families, living in congested housing accounted for the disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases compared to the richer, whiter neighborhoods. Digital divides due to financial insecurities prohibited Black South Angelenos from accessing mental health resources such as telehealth or online information of available emergency funding. COVID-19s traumatic events that exposed the horrors of systemic racism will have a lasting effect on the psyche and souls of Black folk; it is only an honest and fair prediction to proclaim the need for mental health facilities and access to mental health care now more than ever. Only one in three Black people who need mental health services receive treatment. According to the Health Equity Scorecard from 2008, South Los Angeles encapsulates the consequences of unfavorable health outcomes compared to other parts of Los Angeles County, such as West Los Angeles. Lack of equality in the distribution of income, access to healthy foods, and services contributing to well-being is astronomically disturbing compared to geographical counterparts. For every seven mental health facilities in West Los Angeles, there is one for the vulnerable populations of South Los Angeles. The Black community is not a priority when it comes to access to mental health care. ADVERTISEMENT Reports show that a $3 billion budget for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health in 2020 can elicit programmatic interventions alleviating mental health disparities for South Los Angeles as a means to recover from the impact of COVID-19. There are still billions of dollars left unspent from the inception of Proposition 63 the Mental Health Services Act nearly fifteen years ago. Funding from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health can grant social workers and mental health advocates the financial resources to build an environment that is dedicated to the healing, development, and well-being of Black Angelenos. Deeply embedded stigmas of shame and embarrassment around mental health in the Black community provide an opportunity for community leaders to create relatable, palatable, and easily accessible safe spaces of resource. Programs dedicated to mental health, such as group therapy, wellness-centered curriculums, trauma-informed modalities, and mindfulness courses can all be used to destigmatize and destabilize the bias surrounding mental health resources. South Los Angeles is an ecosystem of tones, textures, features, dialects, beliefs, and stories especially stories colored by the multitudes of resilience. Catastrophic effects of COVID-19 prove that now is a critical time to close the health gap with mental health facilities to advocate for the well-being of Black South Angelenos. By establishing an ecosystem of mental health resources in South Los Angeles, we cultivate the normalization of telling Black people that their mental health is a priority. Self-actualization and economic progress for Black communities is contingent upon the health of individual persons. By campaigning for the allocation of funds towards mental health facilities in South Los Angeles, it becomes a momentous step in creating an ethos that shifts the paradigm from subjugation by oppression to one of personal and collective empowerment. It says to Black South Angelenos: your mental health, your existence, and your well-being is a priority; your story can be celebrated and reiterated for future generations for reasons outside of how you existed in this world, instead of how much you had to fight to endure. Chief minister on Thursday reviewed the Health Information Management System (HIMS) project and instructed officials to ensure its completion within the stipulated timeline. The system is targeted at improving the delivery process by bringing services like patient care, hospital administration, budgeting and planning, supply chain management, and back-end services under under a single umbrella, which will be extended to private hospitals in the future, a statement from the Delhi government said. "We should expedite the process of floating tenders and proposals, along with expediting the process of approvals. Ensuring the good health of the people is our priority. The project should be completed within its due timeline," the statement quoting Kejriwal said. To enable citizens to avail information themselves on a single platform, particularly in emergency cases, the entire system will be on "the cloud and digitized", making Delhi "the only state to have a cloud-based health management system," the statement said. The project is expected to be operational within a year, it added. Under this project, health cards will be issued in the names of all the residents of Delhi, ensuring availability of benefits of government services to every resident of the city. Post issuance, the health card will be integrated with the HIMS, it said. Features such as a web portal, and a mobile app, will also be launched to store a database of the health information of the residents of Delhi. "We need to ensure that all the residents of Delhi are issued e-health cards. We will provide health cards to every household in Delhi so that they can obtain hassle-free treatment," said the statement quoting Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who attended the meeting along with senior officials. (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.) Fatiha Serour, United Nations High Commissioner in Somalia and UOC course instructor Dr Fatiha Serour, the United Nations High Commissioner in Somalia, has started this year as course instructor for the UOC-UNITAR Master's Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy, one of the two master's degrees that the University offers jointly with the United Nations. The other is the Master's Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security. Born in Algeria, she has built a successful career in the field of conflict management, human rights, equality and inclusion. In this interview, she gives some ideas about how to settle the instability that still persists in Africa and the role of civil society within this framework. What are your expectations and feelings as new course instructor of the UOC Master's Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy? I have been very pleased to join the UOC. I see it as an opportunity, not just to share my theoretical knowledge about Africa and international politics but also to gain practical experiences that can transform this theoretical framework into reality. I see it as an opportunity for mutual exchange and learning. What role does civil society play in Africa and is its empowerment driving change on this continent? Today, the role played by civil society is vital for political and socioeconomic transformation. In the past, civil society led the struggles for independence in all parts of Africa and it succeeded. Although there have been setbacks in the last four decades because of authoritarian regimes, it is stronger now, as shown by the civil movements that call for participatory democracy, campaign against corruption and are in favour of inclusive, transparent, accountable justice systems. African civil society performs the role of watchdog when it calls on governments to give account. There are examples of recent civil uprisings in Gambia, Sudan, Algeria, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, etc. Being so diverse politically and socially, one cannot view civil society as a homogeneous bloc. However, even so, the movements usually share a common goal: the fight for social justice and equal opportunities. So, civil society is a motor for change, as recent examples have shown, such as the civil movement in Sudan, which has brought about a change of government (2019). Another good example could be the movement in Gambia, in 2017. As you say, leadership is one of challenges facing Africa. What role do women play in this leadership and can women's empowerment lead to positive changes in leadership on the continent? Leadership is often associated with positions of high rank, such as president, CEO, etc., but I think that it can exist at all levels. It is related with inborn qualities: a leader is a visionary, a leader has the ability to inspire others to share and engage with their vision. This can happen at all levels, from senior positions to small communities. In Africa and, in fact, everywhere women have shown leadership ability, but institutions and "cultural" practices hamper their visibility and eclipse them. Women usually reach positions of leadership by their own merits rather than by using coercion or corruption. Actually, I don't think that it's about "empowering" women: they already are powerful, resolute and resilient. It's more about removing the obstacles that block women's visibility and allow them to develop their full potential. African women are a powerful force for good: in politics, in business, as community leaders, peace activists, etc. This power must be optimized, giving them visibility in both public and private spheres. The burden of colonialism is still felt in Africa. Are there now new players who want to play a major role in politics and economics? The simple answer is: yes, of course! As well as the former colonial powers, Africa is now coveted by China, Russia and the United States, as well as the "meddling" by the Arab Emirates, Turkey, etc. The narrative hasn't changed since the revolts of 19th century: raw materials, deregulated markets for cheap/unsafe manufactured products, trade routes, mining industries that use cheap labour bereft of any social protection... These still dominate foreign countries' vision of Africa. As well as economic interests, foreign powers also have "political" motivations in their antiterrorist programmes, and also in the war against transnational crime, including piracy in the Sahel, in East and West Africa. In spite of this, the war against transnational crime has not put an end because it's not expedient to illegal arms traffic and the presence of mercenaries. They are a source of worry because they endanger Africa's stability (Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, etc.). To summarize, the presence of foreign powers in Africa has not changed very much since the end of the Cold War and the wars for power. Now, they have re-emerged in other scenarios that include new players such as mercenaries, private security companies and new state players (Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, etc.). One of the obstacles to peace and stability are the large numbers of mercenaries who "earn their living" by taking part in different conflicts in Africa. How can this challenge be addressed? This is one area where African leaders must show and exercise firm, credible leadership. The growing numbers of mercenaries and security agencies give serious cause for concern because of their magnitude and constant flux. I remember when I was sent to Somalia with the responsibility of enforcing the law and I found that the mercenaries had infiltrated themselves into the offices of international organizations and national authorities. They operated without any control or monitoring and answered to no one (except to their security agencies, outside states or non-state players). The mercenary problem cannot be solved without genuine commitment on the part of African leaders to negotiate their departure from the continent. We need a plan for gradual withdrawal under the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations Security Council. An attempt was made to do this in Libya last autumn. The conflict led by General Haftar had further divided the country and caused a humanitarian crisis, forcing the Russian, French and Turkish mercenaries to leave the territory. This type of dialogue can only achieve its goals if the countries involved give priority to stability instead of their own (political and economic) interests. It's a very difficult balance, but it's a vision we must aspire towards... The importance of personal contact in diplomacy As you have said, some of the international organizations that are working for stability and peace on the continent aren't getting to the root of the conflicts. What would be necessary for this to change? We urgently need an analysis of the conflict from a transformative vision of Africa. That way, the analysis could be taken away from the elites (normally located in the country's capital) and moved to the communities involved in the conflict or which suffer its consequences. By including them in the dialogue, the aim is to identify why the conflict started and how it could be addressed through solutions that are designed and implemented jointly. This would empower the communities to progress toward stability by taking the responsibility for peace and social transformation to them. Regardless of whether the root of the conflict is a dispute about water, ownership of the land, ethnic or religious intolerance... All of this should be at the heart of the analysis and the solutions, so that the conflict is eradicated at source, before it grows. And, lastly, a conflict signalling mechanism should be included in any conflict transformation strategy. We are living in the age of digital communication: social media have a strong influence on world politics that is not always positive. How have these technologies changed diplomacy and how can they have a positive influence in this field? It is true. Digital communication is a powerful tool for informing, "educating" and influencing. A good example is the impact of social media when the Arab Spring erupted: for the first time, North African youth connected with young people in the Near and Middle East in organizing protests. It was a powerful, positive process that broke communication barriers. However, there is a less positive part, which is social media's inability to control and regulate themselves precisely, as we have seen in recent political events. So, I would be careful about using these technologies for "diplomacy". Diplomacy travelling and evaluating the conditions for negotiating a peace agreement can only be done "face to face", where interpersonal skills play a key role in building a relationship based on trust. Furthermore, some of these negotiations must be held "secretly" in order to protect the people who take part in them. So, a balanced approach needs to be taken when considering the use of social media in diplomatic affairs. For example, they can be used for information and basic education, including peace education, and this can contribute to the diplomatic process (albeit indirectly). What are your wishes for the students who are taking the Master's Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy? How do they think that they can contribute to settling conflicts in Africa and the rest of the world? Many of the students taking this course have an enormous potential intellectual potential as well as interest in and commitment to the course. However, not all of them would like to work in diplomacy (which requires specific skills). So I advise them to explore their interests to decide what their passion is, to identify exactly what they want to do and where. I suppose not all of them want to "settle conflicts in Africa", but perhaps they are interested in other political aspects of the continent. So I would suggest they talk with their tutor and/or with me to explore together whether they want to be diplomats in their governments, in the African Union, in the United Nations, or whether they want to work in research and teaching, etc. Whatever path they follow, they will definitely contribute to transforming conflicts into peace and stability in Africa. I mistakenly thought that the San Francisco School Board was the best example of small-minded thinking, but now we find that Marin County Board of Supervisors and other Marin towns may also have small minds on their boards. The urge to rename the 43-mile Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is the latest attempt to remake the world as a perfect place by rewriting or destroying history. History cant be destroyed or changed even though we may not like some of it. The history of our grand country is filled with the brave works of imperfect people. The explorers, the immigrants, the founders, the slaves and people who followed, risked their lives to build and sustain this great countryall were imperfect people. Many were abusers, enslavers, killers, racists and thieves at the same time that they were creating our history. Now, some want to clean this past history by renaming, destroying and remaking our past. When the name Drake is removed from that 43 miles of Marin road, what can replace it? Any name will immediately or eventually tarnish. The roads and streets could be numbered. We could number the streets and then number the counties, then number the states and countries and even the planets and stars. Finally, there would be no stigma or disgrace to our numbered lives. Our existence would be that more perfect, knowing nothing of our past. Wiping clean our history would give us all such relief. (Newser) Russia has recalled its ambassador to the US following the release of US intelligence showing President Vladimir Putin intervened in the 2020 US presidential election to hurt Joe Biden's chances. The declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, released Tuesday, is the first official government finding of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential campaign, per the Wall Street Journal. It finds Putin approved various intelligence operations meant to support former President Trump's re-election while Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved a scheme meant to impede Trump. The report didn't indicate how this affected results. President Biden told ABC News on Wednesday that Putin would "pay a price" for his meddling. He added he'd told Putin to "be prepared" during a phone call in January. story continues below Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied any truth to the intelligence report, which he said would harm relations between the countries. The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was summoned to Moscow a day after the report's release. A rep for Russia's foreign ministry said there would be discussions on how to rectify US-Russia relations but blamed Washington for bringing them "to a blind alley." The Biden administration announced sanctions against Russian officials earlier this month in response to the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It's also reviewing how to respond to alleged bounties on US troops in Afghanistan and the SolarWinds hack of the Treasury and Commerce departments, per the Journal. The BBC reports new sanctions in response to the intelligence report could come as soon as next week. (Read more Russia stories.) The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Nothing like some Irish dance to put a little smile in everyones eyes on St. Patricks Day. The OGrady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance put on a short performance for Allentown Fire, Police, EMS, and Health Bureau personnel on Wednesday, March 17, to say thanks to the first responders on St. Patricks Day. The performance was held 5 p.m. at the Mack South Fire station in Allentown. Since the pandemic started, the OGrady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance has been going around the community performing Shamrock grams in the hopes to bring smiles to peoples lives during this difficult time. We are just trying to spread some Irish smiles and cheers around the Lehigh Valley on St. Patricks Day, and thank everyone for their hard work all year long, said Maureen OGrady, an instructor at OGrady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance. Twenty-four dancers with OGrady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance, ages 5-18, performed to seven songs. Check out the gallery above to see some of the moments caught during their performance. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Saed Hindash may be reached at shindash@lehighvalleylive.com. Eternity, a new girl group comprised of AI members, is set to bring virtual idols to the next level, following K/DA and aespa. On March 16, iT DongA announced the launch of a new girl group named "Eternity" on March 22, under Pulse9 and Deep Real AI. All About Eternity, A New AI-based group Created by Pulse9 and Deep Real AI In particular, Pulse9 CEO Park Jieun "Jenny" Park is set to establish a new world for virtual idols with the rookie group Eternity, a project group of their Deep Real AI, which is a deepfake-based virtual imaging technology. The group is set to kick off with their first single, "I'm Real," along with a music video that will be released through the AiA-fab YouTube channel at 6 p.m KST. In commemoration of their debut, Eternity Pop-up Showcase will also be held in Yoho Seoul, Eulji-ro from March 22 to March 26. New Virtual K-pop Group Eternity: Background, Members, and Teasers Different from most K-pop groups that were created through a music agency, Eternity will be launched by an artificial intelligent brand company. The 11-member group comprised of Minji, Seoa, Sujin, Dain, Yeoreum, Yejin, Jaein, Jiwoo, Hyejin, Sarang, and Chorong were all AI members, and none of their faces were based on real people's faces. This is the aim of the company, as Pulse9 introduces it as a "smart AI service that creates a real-life virtual image, synthesizes it with direct images, and produces content," and "digital imaging technology that produces realistic images as if they actually exist." Indeed, there are concerns that this technology might make the sexual harassments towards existing female idols with the use of deepfake, but Pulse9 clarified that this is totally different from the existing Deepfake because it is not a synthesis of the face of the real person, but a new design of the fictional character, and the result is more sophisticated. Meanwhile, the faces of the members were chosen via "AI.DOL CHALLENGE," wherein netizens participated with the pitching of synthesized idols and were downsized through a voting system in 2020. Though the members were not real, Pulse9 affirmed that they had created girls with perfect looks, different charms, and worldviews that K-pop enthusiasts should anticipate. On the other hand, Pulse9 has posted Eternity's teaser content on its YouTube channel. At first glance, appearance, movement, and facial expressions are very similar to real people. It can be seen that the public worked hard not to feel the unpleasant atmosphere. Eternity, a new girl group composed of AI members, will debut on March 22 with their first single, "I'm Real," and people were focused if they will also receive the same criticisms, feedbacks, and acceptance as the current K-pop groups with virtual members including K/DA and aespa. For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Eunice Dawson Pakistan's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Saad Khattak on March 15, 2021, intervened in the internal affairs of the country and commented on the ban on wearing burqa and niqab in the country, and the imposition of strict regulation on unregulated Islamic schools. Khattak took to his official Twitter handle and wrote, "The ban on the niqab in Sri Lanka is hurting the feelings of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims and Muslims around the world." "The burqa has a direct impact on national security" Sri Lankan Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara had on Saturday asserted that a ban would be put on full-face covering worn by Muslim women. Reasoning the ban on the burqa, he had said," The burqa has a direct impact on national security. In our early days, we had a lot of Muslim friends, but Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa." Calling it a sign of religious extremism, he vowed to ban it. However, the Foreign Secretary of the country Jayanath Colombage went on to call it 'just a proposal' and said no decision has yet been taken in relation to the ban. As per reports, the Parliament will have a discussion on the ban, after which voting will take place, and if maximum parliamentarians vote for the ban, Sri Lanka will be one of the handful of non-muslim countries where the piece of clothing will be banned. In 2010, when France had barred Muslim women from wearing anything that covered their faces and heads, the United Nations Human Rights Committee had opined that the ban imposed was a direct violation of human rights but the ban persisted and even branched out to other Europen nations, including Belgium, Bulgaria among others. Similar demands keep coming up every once in a while even in the United Kingdom. The ban The proposal to ban the burqa came right ahead of the 2nd anniversary of the Easter Sunday attacks, which comprised six suicide attacks at churches and hotels in Colombo and led to the death of approximately 260 people. A Presidential Commission was set up to investigate the attack, and that committee submitted the report, which was studied by cabinet ministers and thereafter, a ban on the burqa and the shutting of almost 1,00 madras were proposed. (Inputs from ANI) Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has called for a parliamentary party meeting of the ruling CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist) ) on March 18, as the rift between the two warring factions of the party widened. Nepal PM Oli's parliament meet call comes after Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal organised two-day national cadres meet on March 17 where around 2,000 leaders and cadres representing all wings of the party were expected to participate. As per Bishal Bhattarai (member of Nepal Communist Party and party's chief whip), the CPN UML parliamentary meet will take place at Baluwatar, the official residence of the Prime Minister, who is also the Chairperson of the party. Bhattarai said that all the party leaders who won elections with the symbol 'Sun' have been invited to the meeting. 'Disciplinary action against those taking part in national cadres meet' Before the start of his rival group's national gathering, Nepal PM Oli had warned to take disciplinary action against those taking part in Madhav Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal's two-day national cadre meet. Still, the rival faction said they would go ahead with the program as planned. Lashing out at Nepal and Khanal's 'anti-party' activities, PM Oli had said that he heard they are going to organise a national cadres meeting on Thursday where they will also pass a report. I can no longer tolerate anti-party activities. Apart from Nepal PM Oli, CPN UML General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel had also directed the party leaders and cadres not to attend the factional gathering, arguing that the UML had not organised any such event. Rift intensified after demand for Nepal PM Oli's resignation The rift between the CPN-UML faction intensified after the rivals Madhav Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal demanded Nepal PM Oli take back his March 12 decisions that deprived leaders close to them of key responsibilities in the party. The central committee meeting dominated by the Oli-led faction on March 12 nominated 23 new members to the partys Central Committee (CC). It also nominated 23 former Maoist leaders who joined the UML as CC members. Nepal PM Oli's dissolution of the House of Representatives in December sparked a political crisis in the country. It led to Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda"-led CPN-Maoist Centre (MC) to split from the ruling NCP. Nepal and Khanal had also sided with Prachanda in seeking Oli's resignation as Prime Minister. However, the Supreme court of Nepal last month reinstated the lower house of Parliament. Recently, the Supreme Court also nullified CPN-MC's merger with CPN-UML which worsened the political scenario of Nepal. The CPN-MC's and CPN-UML had merged in May 2018 to form a unified Nepal Communist Party following the victory of their alliance in the 2017 general elections. By Denis Slattery | New York Daily News New York Gov. Cuomo, facing mounting calls for his resignation and mounting sexual harassment allegations, flashed a thumbs-up Wednesday after getting vaccinated against COVID and receiving glowing praise from former Rep. Charlie Rangel. The governor got a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a pop-up clinic at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, where Rangel and others rallied around the embattled governor. When people start piling up on you... you go to your family and you go to your friends because you know that they are going to be with you, the 90-year-old retired lawmaker said. Due process and hearing is basically what we believe in in this country. Rangel, at times raising his cane in emphasis, applauded Assemblywoman Inez Dickens (D- Harlem) for supporting the governor and summarized a statement she issued that said back off until youve got some facts. Multiple women have made allegations of sexual harassment or unwanted advances against Cuomo, leading to an independent review being conducted by Attorney General James office and an impeachment investigation in the Assembly. Many of Cuomos own Democrats have questioned whether he can continue to lead the state through the remainder of the COVID crisis and ongoing budget negotiations as he faces several scandals at once. The governor is also facing criticism and a federal probe over the states handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic and questions about the structural integrity of the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge. The Harlem appearance, which was closed to press and had the air of a campaign event, included several Black clergy members and African-American leaders. Hazel Dukes, the president of the New York chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, repeatedly referred to Cuomo as her son and even displayed a photo of his father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, at one point. Thank you, governor, for all you have done. We stand with you, she said after the group wished her a Happy Birthday. As Cuomo, 63, rolled up his sleeve to receive his dose some in the crowd shouted dont cry. The governor became eligible under state rules last week when the threshold was lowered from 65 to 60 for older residents. While the harassment and nursing home scandals have swirled, Cuomo has made several appearances at state-run mass vaccination sites as he encourages minorities and communities hardest hit by the pandemic to get immunized. The communities that suffered the most should be first on the vaccine line, he said. They all work, theyre all safe. Dont try to pick one over the other. Take whatever vaccine you can get. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough lashed out at Donald Trump's former attorney general William Barr for "lying through his teeth" about foreign interference in the 2020 election. Scarborough, co-host of Morning Joe, said that Mr Barr should have been charged with perjuring himself when he was giving testimony to Congress. The host's criticisms come on the heels of a recently declassified intelligence report that determined Russia attempted to undermine Joe Biden's campaign prior to the 2020 election, and that Iran attempted to do the same to Mr Trump. However, it said there was no indication China attempted to interfere in the election, despite Mr Trump and his administration's insistence that the country had meddled. "The lying and politicisation of intel was just breathtakingly dangerous," Scarborough said. "You have Bill Barr, [National Security Adviser Robert] O'Brien and [Director of National Intelligence John] Ratcliffe who all lied and said this is Ratcliffe pre-election, quote 'China is using a massive and sophisticated influence campaign.' He knew that was a lie, O'Brien knew that was a lie. Barr said, 'Oh, I looked at the intelligence,' and he lied through his teeth." Mr Barr publicly equated China with Russia and Iran in terms of the threat level they posed to election security. During an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Mr Barr said China was more of a risk than Russia, and when asked why he thought that, he justified his analysis by saying: "I've seen the intelligence." Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who has been a scathing critic of Mr Trump, said the former attorney general had lied just to score political points with the then-president and help his chances in the 2020 election. "The attorney general of the United States, going out of his way to lie through his teeth about intel, all for political purposes, all for political purposes," he said. "Now we find out this week that not only were they being liars at the time, but you had people in the intel community who were nervous about the fact that they were going to use their work, go out, twist it out of its proper context, and start spreading lies for Donald Trump's re-election campaign and that's what the attorney general and the head of the intel community and trump's national security adviser, all three, did. Deeply shameful, deeply dangerous." The host openly wondered why Mr Barr was never held accountable for his alleged lies. "He took the Mueller report, in the words of William Rehnquist, he wrenched their words from their proper context, he lied in front of the House and the Senate, committed perjury," Scarborough said. "I never really figured out why they didn't try to charge him for that." Scarborough said Mr Barr was the worst attorney general to ever hold the position. "He claims to have seen intelligence and lied about it, spread lies about what the intel community had found along with Ratcliffe and O'Brien, saying that China was basically trying to do the same thing that Russia was doing," he said. "We found out that Iran was doing it. Why did they feel like they had to lie about China? Here's Bill Barr, again, Bill Barr again showing why he's the worst attorney general ever. John Mitchell looks like Atticus Finch compared to Bill Barr." It began with $10,000 in a coffee cup. A former Morris County freeholder candidate tied to an ongoing New Jersey pay-to-play corruption investigation was sentenced to probation Thursday over campaign contribution she took from a tax attorney who allegedly had been looking to lock-down lucrative municipal contracts. Mary Dougherty, the wife of the current mayor of Morristown, originally had been charged with bribery, but pleaded guilty to reduced charges in February of falsifying a campaign finance report. The plea means she will not face prison. She was also required to forfeit the $10,000 contribution. The charges against Dougherty, 60, were part of a wider case brought by the New Jersey Attorney Generals office that is still playing out in court. She was among five public officials and political candidates charged more than a year ago with taking tens of thousands in bribes disguised as campaign contributions in return for steering legal work to an unnamed tax attorney. He has since been identified in court proceedings as Matthew ODonnell, who reportedly served as an undercover informant for the state. Prosecutors say that the officials took more than $70,000 in bribes, including cash stuffed into envelopes and paper bags, delivered in restaurants, parking lots, a political fundraiser, and a campaign headquarters. They said checks were also delivered from illegal straw donors individuals reimbursed to write checks to the defendants campaigns in amounts that complied with the legal limit on individual donations. Charged in the case with Dougherty was Sudhan Thomas, the former Jersey City school board president; Jason ODonnell, a former state Assemblyman and a former Bayonne mayoral candidate (and no relation to Matthew ODonnell); John Cesaro, a former Morris County freeholder, and John Windish, a former Mount Arlington council member. Elizabeth Valandingham, the law partner of Matthew ODonnell, was also later charged with falsely claiming that her firm had not made any reportable contributions to candidates in two towns where the firm had been vying to provide legal services when in fact it had. In her plea, Dougherty admitted that during her unsuccessful campaign for Morris County freeholder in 2018, she received a $10,000 in cash from Matthew ODonnell. In court before Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor in Morris County, Doughertys lawyer noted that the money had been handed to her by ODonnell in a cup, and said she had not immediately realized what it contained. At the end of a meeting they had together, he handed her a coffee cup you couldnt see through. As soon as she saw what was inside, she called him and said she couldnt take it, said attorney Matthew Beck of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi in West Orange. She subsequently returned the money and was given four $2,500 checks within the states individual legal campaign contribution limit that were made out in the names of different individuals, according to prosecutors. Those contributions were later reported on her campaigns reports with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Beck said the offense did not define her. She has lived a remarkably honest, decent and charitable life, he told the court, noting all the community service she has done over the years. The judge did not impose additional community service as part of her sentence. None of the others charged in the case have pleaded out. Last month, Thomas, Cesaro, Windish and Jason ODonnell who were all initially charged through criminal complaints were indicted by a state grand jury. Thomas, charged with soliciting $35,000 in bribes, was arraigned on Monday in Superior Court in Hudson County and pleaded not guilty. He is also facing separate federal charges of embezzling $45,000 from the Jersey City Employment and Training Program he headed. __ Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Kosta Eleftheriou, who earlier asked Apple to take action against the fake ratings and reviews on iOS App Store, has now filed a lawsuit against the company. The developer is accusing Apple of exploiting its monopoly power over the distribution of iOS apps. Eleftheriou, the developer of the popular Apple Watch app FlickType, has sued Apple for exploiting its monopoly over iOS apps distribution. The developer says he has sued the company because Apple makes billions of dollars in profits at the expense of small application developers and consumers. Back in February, Eleftheriou asked Apple to take action against the increasing number of fake reviews on the App Store. He said that many apps had copied his app but were allegedly paying reviewers to leave a good rating on the App Store. Good ratings left his app rank lower in the search, and the copycats were making money out of it, he said. He says that Apple didnt do enough to combat the scam, even though some of the apps were removed after his complaint. The lawsuit has been filed in the name of his company, KPAW LLC, at the Santa Clara County court. In the lawsuit, the developer claims that Apple has allegedly tried to acquire his app, FlickType, after he faced roadblock after roadblock to sell his app on the App Store. The developer says that Apple intentionally chose not to take action against the scam, in an effort to force him to sell his app to Apple. Apple systematically flexes its monopoly muscle against potential competition through the App Store and profits from rampant fraudulent practices. If Apple cannot buy a desired application from a developer on the cheap, Apple attempts to crush that developer through exploitive fees and selective application of opaque and unreasonable constraints against the developer. Along with the accusation of Apple trying to buy apps for cheap, he says that the company pushes these scams so it can earn profits from their sales. He says that he was approached by Marsden, who expressed interest in having Apple acquiring his software. After the negotiations fell off, he claims, no future version of the app was approved by Apple. Yet, he says, copycat apps which were using his technology were approved. Apple permits other developers that Apple does not view as real competition to peddle similar, inferior products because Apple profits from their sales. At last, he accuses Apple of holding its device users and developers hostage. He says that the company justifies its monopoly by claiming that it is necessary to protect its users from unscrupulous conduct. In truth, Apple turns a blind eye to rampant fraud and exploitation to make an easy profit, Eleftheriou says. Eleftheriou isnt the only one whos not happy with Apples malpractices. Fortnite developer Epic Games is in an ongoing battle with the company. The hearing of Epic Games vs Apple is slated to start on May 3. [Via The Verge Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in China and former President Donald Trump referred to as the China virus, members of the Asian American community have faced increased racism. But anti-Asian prejudice isnt new either, he said. Now, as people are finally listening, Chicago and the rest of the U.S. must come together to condemn what he described as an act of terrorism. An Ulster family have spoken of their sadness after their beloved kitten was killed in a crossbow attack. Eight-month-old Tigger was a ginger tomcat owned by the Davidson family in Kells, Co Antrim. The family have since forwarded a 500 award for anyone who can give them information helping to identify the person who killed their pet. It is understood the cat was shot at some stage on Tuesday, with the crossbow bolt puncturing the animal's heart. The son of the couple who owned the cat, Michael, said the family had got the pet for his father who had recently suffered a stroke, so that the animal could help him with his recovery. He said Tigger brought his father "a bit of joy". Michael said that his father had contacted him at about 5 o'clock on Tuesday to say the cat had come home with a serious injury after being hit by a bolt. Read More He added: "My mother was in hysterics and took him to the vet straight away, but there was nothing that could be done except put him to sleep because the bolt had pierced his heart. "Words can't describe how I feel about this. An innocent kitten can't even go outside without getting shot with a crossbow. My parents and I are absolutely distraught and heartbroken." He added that there would be 500 available to anyone who helps identify the perpetrator of the attack, so that he and his family can "get justice for this poor animal". The PSNI said: "Police attended a call today in the area of Connor whereby a young cat 'Tigger' has lost his life. This was as a result of being shot by a bolt. The young cat returned to his home address today at around 5pm after being let out at 12pm. "Police are requesting for any information to assist with an ongoing investigation into this matter. Should anyone from the Kells and Connor area feel the information they have may be useful, please contact the police on 101 quoting CC 1746 16/03/21." In the last period for which figures are available, 2018 to 2019, there were 121 convictions recorded for animal cruelty offences in Northern Ireland. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region By Donna Boen, editor of Miamian alumni magazine Devoted to his alma mater for more than 50 years, Doug Wilson (Miami 64 MA 69) died March 5, 2021, at his home in Francesville, Indiana, at age 79. He lived a life of Love and Honor. Following graduation, Wilson served for 13 years as Miamis alumni secretary and director of alumni affairs. After a stint at the University of Oregon, he returned in 1982 to succeed John Dolibois (Miami 42) as vice president for university relations. Dougs greatest strength was encouraging his staff to Think Big, said Mike Macechko (Miami 65 MS 71), who, during his own Miami years 1973-1988, knew Wilson as his boss, colleague, and dear friend. Recalling all the events they planned together, Macechko said Alumni Weekend had to be the pinnacle. Alumni Weekend was the showcase event that included bringing the Goodyear Blimp and the reigning Miss America, who was a Miami alumna, to Oxford, Macechko said. Doug was the one who envisioned starting a student alumni organization that became the Miami University Student Foundation (MUSF), which, in turn, raised scholarship dollars and developed the 20/20 Bike Race. That latter vision brought me back to Oxford to begin what would become a 39-year career in alumni work. Wilson was also well-known for his organizational skills. He was organized beyond belief and passed that trait on to everyone with whom he worked. I believe he invented the checklist, Macechko said. His 12-page Alumni Weekend guide was legendary and sustained many of us who succeeded him at Miami and other universities. Miami recognized Wilsons talents and achievements in 1980 with the A.K. Morris Award, which honors those who carry on a tradition of service to Miamis alumni family and the alumni association. The accolade was special to him as his father, Charles (Miami 26), received the same award in 1964 while Miamis provost under Presidents John Millett and Phillip Shriver. Always the professional with a kind and courtly way about him, Wilson encouraged his staff to think beyond their personal interests and consider Miamis best interests, according to Ray Mock (Miami 82 MS 83), who began in Miami's alumni office in 1986 as director of MUSF and Senior Challenge. He was a major influence in the early development of my career, and in my commitment to Miami's history and traditions, said Mock, who retired in 2017 as the alumni association's assistant vice president and executive director. Doug truly bookended my Miami career. He was there on that first day, and I was deeply touched 31 years later when Doug and his wife, Kathy, returned to Oxford during Alumni Weekend to help celebrate my retirement. When Wilson announced in 1988 that he was leaving to become vice president for university relations and external affairs at Indiana University, he offered the following advice to his Miami friends and colleagues: As we have grown to love these red bricks, the springs of magnolias and dogwoods and the autumns of red maples and golden oaks, so must we understand and encourage those who strive to be the best they can be, and through their accomplishments, reflect the glory of the Miami reputation. Leaving was not easy. Oxford was where he and his late wife, Sue (Miami 64), bought their first house and where their daughters, Hilary and Haley, were born. Both daughters returned for college. However, he was practicing what he always preached think big. In recent years, Wilson, who retired in 2003, served on the Miami University For Love and Honor Campaigns Graduate School Committee. He was also a class agent and reunion committee member, and, in 2014, participated on his 50th class reunion planning committee. Doug loved his alma mater for more than 50 years no matter what campus he served Miami, Oregon, or Indiana, said Macechko, who left Miami about the same time as Wilson to become executive director of the University of Arkansas alumni association and associate vice chancellor of advancement. Mock agreed with Macechko, adding, He was the epitome of Love and Honor throughout his career and his life. He will be missed by his immediate family and by his Miami family as well. Wilson's family obituary is online here. A former New Jersey teacher who alleged her bosses conspired to blame her for editing a Donald Trump T-shirt out of the school yearbook will receive a $325,000 settlement from the district. Susan Parsons, who has since retired from the Wall Township School District, sued the school system in 2019 saying she was scapegoated and received death threats over the controversy that made national headlines in the summer of 2017. Parsons, then the school yearbook adviser, insisted a secretary who was a proxy for the principal ordered her to edit the Trump Make America Great Again shirt. Though Parsons voted for Trump in 2016, she dutifully made the student appear as though he were wearing a plain navy blue T-shirt, she said. The Wall Board of Education approved the settlement agreement Tuesday night, and the district made no admission of wrongdoing or liability, according to a copy of the agreement obtained through an open records request. The payment will be made by the districts insurance carrier, according to the agreement. Christopher J. Eibeler, Parsons attorney, declined to comment. Parsons told NJ Advance Media in 2019 that fallout from media coverage made her feel akin to some scourge and turned her into a nervous recluse, too afraid to leave her home in the township. She was flooded with hate mail and voice messages, her lawsuit alleged. My life has not been the same she said then, and I dont think it ever will. Susan Parsons, the former Wall Township High School yearbook adviser, claims she was forced to censor a Donald Trump campaign T-shirt in the yearbook and was scapegoated when the story made national headlines. District Superintendent Tracy Handerhan, hired in 2020, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The settlement agreement punctuates a controversy that infuriated many parents in Wall Township, where Trump won nearly 63% of the vote in 2016 and 58.5% in 2020. Parsons will receive about $204,000, and the remainder of the settlement will cover attorneys fees, according to the agreement. She previously received a $25,000 settlement from a lawsuit challenging a district media policy that she said forbid her from telling her side of the story without obtaining permission from the district. The school system made no admission or wrongdoing in that settlement, which was approved in 2019. Parsons said the district routinely forced her to edit yearbook photos to alter anything that could be controversial. Her lawsuit says she was specifically told to edit a junior students TRUMP Make America Great Again shirt in the 2017 edition, the year Trump took office. That has to go, the suit claims Parsons was told by a school secretary who reviewed the pages on behalf of the principal. Cindy McChesney, the secretary Parsons said ordered the censorship, has since retired. Former Wall Superintendent Cheryl Dyer defended the handling of the censorship controversy in 2019. Im confident that when the full facts come to light, all of the actions of this office and the Board of Education will be found to be wholly appropriate, she wrote then in a statement to NJ Advance Media. Grant Berardo, the student in the yearbook photo, said in 2017 that he wore the T-shirt because it was a historic statement. His father has named all his children after United States presidents, and he thought it was pretty cool that Trump was running at the time the photo was taken. If there was a problem, somebody could have just told my mom, Grant said. They had a re-take day. But no one said anything. Parsons, a veteran teacher, claims she regularly complained about being forced to alter photos, saying the yearbook should reflect reality. What hurts most about the experience is that her character has been damaged, Parsons told NJ Advance Media in 2019. Even though this information is coming out, not everyone is ever going to be told the truth, Parsons said. Most people dont care. Theyll just remember That woman, that nutcase, who did she think she was? Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com. Have a news tip or a story idea about New Jersey schools? Send it here. STOCKHOLM, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sandvik AB Annual Report 2020 is from today available at our website https://www.annualreport.sandvik/en/2020 The Annual Report has been printed in a limited edition and will be distributed to shareholders that have ordered the report. The Annual Report is available, and can be ordered, at home.sandvik/investors Sandvik AB This information is information that Sandvik AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication at 10:00 CET on March 18, 2021. For further information please contact Johannes Hellstrom, Press and Media Relations Manager, Sandvik AB, phone: +46 79 098 26 70, email: [email protected] or Louise Tjeder, Vice President Investor Relations, Sandvik AB, phone: +46 70 782 63 74, email: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/sandvik/r/sandvik-ab-annual-report-2020,c3308905 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/208/3308905/1388761.pdf Sandvik AB Annual Report 2020 SOURCE Sandvik A man has been arrested and charged over allegations he stole $16,000 by selling fake puppies online. The 26-year-old from Albury was arrested on Wednesday around 6pm after alleged victims reported spending thousands on designer dogs that never arrived. New South Wales Police believe there are more people who paid for corgi, toy poodle, dachshund, and cavoodle puppies to come forward and beg the public to stop buying animals through websites and social media. A man (pictured right) has been arrested and charged over allegations he scammed dog lovers at least $16,000 by selling them fake pups through a website A 26-year-old (pictured right) was taken to Albury Police Station on Wednesday at 6pm after alleged victims went to police when they spent thousands on designer dogs that never arrived The man was charged with nine counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception. The alleged fraudster has been granted conditional bail and is due to face court on April 12. Potential pet owners have been warned against purchasing pets through the internet by Murray River Police Detective Mick Stoltenberg. 'We have seen a rise in online scams in recent times, with scammers taking advantage of the recent pandemic,' he said. 'Victims are less likely to travel to see the item they wish to purchase in person [because of the pandemic].' He advised potential victims to immediately contact their bank and police if they believe they have been scammed. 'Always remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,' he said. Australia's top consumer corruption body has previously cautioned against paying for puppies on buy and sell websites or from social media advertisements. 'The safest option is to only buy or adopt a pet you can meet in person and if you cannot do that ... consider putting the search on hold,' the deputy chair of Australia's consumer commission Delia Rickard warned last year. Fake puppy advertisements will display photos of designer dog breeds and scam watch recommends doing a google image search San Francisco, March 18 : A mobile app developer has filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its monopoly power over iOS apps, the media reported on Thursday. The lawsuit filed by Kosta Eleftheriou in the state of California alleged that Apple made "billions of dollars in profits at the expense of small application developers and consumers." The lawsuits accuses Apple of "false advertising, unfair competition in violation of California's business and professions code and breach of good faith". Apple was yet to comment on the lawsuit, reports The Verge. The developer last month went to Twitter to complain about App Store and its policies. He tweeted: "The App Store has a big problem. You: an honest developer, working hard to improve your IAP conversions. Your competitor: a $2M/year scam running rampant". Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has also targeted both Apple and Google with antitrust lawsuits over the removal of the battle royale game for use of an alternative in-app payment system. Eleftheriou's complaint said that this is evidence of Apple "flexing its monopoly muscle against potential competition": He alleged that even after his app became the No 1 paid app on the App Store after it was approved, earning him $130,000 in its first month of release, "he had to face down a wave of scam apps and copycat software that targeted his FlickType app after its visible success". National Guard soldiers patrol outside the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 5, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Congressman Proposes Sending Troops Stationed at the Capitol to the Southern Border National Guardsmen stationed at the Capitol building should instead be sent to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, a Republican congressman said Tuesday. The Guard Our Border Act would reassign 95 percent of the National Guardsmen stationed at the Capitol building to the southern border since the U.S. Capitol Police said Monday that there are no known, credible threats to the complex, North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy said in a statement. Our National Guard were formed to respond to states of national crisis in this country. The Capitol Police have acknowledged that there is presently no credible threat to our nations Capitol Building. Yet, because of this administrations new policies, there is a national security and public health threat at our southern border, Murphy said in the statement. Around 2,300 National Guard troops are scheduled to remain in Washington, D.C. through May 23 despite that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is struggling to manage the increasing number of arrivals, according to Murphy. Over 100,000 migrants were encountered by CBP in February, including nearly 20,000 immigrants traveling as a family and over 9,000 unaccompanied minors, according to the agency. The Biden Administration has refused to acknowledge this crisis but have asked for assistance from FEMA. Even civilian volunteers have been requested. Keeping the National Guard in D.C. is a misdirection of their mission purposed by political posturing and a complete waste of taxpayer money, Murphy said. If our men and women in the National Guard are going to be deployed to provide assistance with a domestic issue, then the real issue is at our southern border and not in D.C. Congress should direct them immediately to help secure our border and provide humanitarian aid to those in custody, Murphy added. Over 4,200 migrant children remained in CBP custody Sunday, including 3,000 who were held over the legal limit of 72 hours, according to Murphy. The Capitol Police and CBP did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundations request for comment. By Kaylee Greenlee From The Daily Caller News Foundation UPDATE: The fire was under control and emergency responders were beginning to leave the scene as of about 8 a.m. The Perry County Coroners Office is at the scene of an active Thursday morning house fire in Liverpool Township that sent three people to the hospital, dispatchers said. County dispatch said the fire began just after 4 a.m. on the 400 block of Wildcat Trail. Three burn victims were taken to Holy Spirit Hospital, dispatchers said. The fire remained active as of 6:30 a.m. Pennsylvania State Police were not immediately available to provide additional information. READ MORE: Texas truck driver fatally shot in Harrisburg dreamed of owning his own company Drag queen provides comic relief during coronavirus: If you cant laugh Manipur: The Khengjang- Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone : An ecological initiative by Fr Paul Lelen Haokip March 18,2021 | Source: The Sangai Express Introduction Against the backdrop of deteriorating environmental conditions, creation care is a relevant option for sustainable behaviour. Creation care can manifest in different ways. One such care is The Khengjang-Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone project under Chandel district of Manipur, India. This unique project is positioned in the Eastern Himalayas, which is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. The unique topography of these mountains, combined with the southwestern monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal promotes a multitude of diverse flora and fauna. It has been learnt that due to severe exploitation of freshwater ecosystems in this biodiversity hotspot, nearly 14% of the fish species are considered threatened, while 9% are near threatened. While the Wildlife Protection Act ofIndia (1972) offers a legal shield to terrestrial and some of the aquatic animals and marine mammals, unfortunately, less emphasis has been accorded to freshwater fish biodiversity(Sarkar et al., 2008). This project is an initiative to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and western scientific ecological knowledge (WSEK) looking forward to co-creation, integration and co-management arrangements (Bussey et al., 2016). The Christian perspective that human beings are the pinnacle of creation and lord of all creatures stands against environmental safeguard measures. It is time that biblical values and scientific expertise work together hand in hand for environmental care. The secular and sacred divide is fading. Today, all disciplines of research deal with ecological issues. Aim of the project This project has been initiated to conserve fish resources through a community-based fishery management model called Fish Conservation Zones. This is aimed to educate the local population regarding the depletion of fish and involve them in fish conservation community responsibility. Empowerment of the locals to be aware of their surroundings for a proactive stance is the priority. Ecological conservation Ramachandra Guha, in his book Environmentalism: A Global History, highlights natural resource conflicts of the 1970s and 1980s emphasizing the rights of plants, animals, habitats where human activity should be curtailed (Guha, 2014). The fish may like to speak or make a sound but as soon as it opens its mouth, it is filled with water. Perhaps those elements outside the river ecosystem could mitigate the extinction of fish, and improve their habitat. Care for creation is evident in the Biblical narratives which began with creation and end in a new creation (Moo & Moo, 2018). Saving the voiceless inmates of this earth is a scientific work as much as a Biblical calling. A recent freshwater biodiversity assessment in the eastern Himalayas potentially list two endangered species namely Schisturakangjupkhulensis and Schistura reticulata. In the above project areas, nearly 20 species of fish were consumed earlier, but now only four or five are available in small quantities. Other studies also have pointed out the critically endangered and endangered freshwater finfish species such as Horabagrusbrachysoma, Tor mussullah, T. putitora, T. tor, Pangasius pangasius, Osteobramabelangeri, Om-pokpabda, Chitalachitala and Chacachaca (Sarkar et al., 2008). Protection and conservation are imperative. Protected area The Khengjang-Yangoulen Fish Conservation Zone project falls under the larger project titled Saving the fish from the Mekong to Meghalaya funded by The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Bangalore, India wherein Bashida Massar (a Zoology Professor at St Anthonys College, Shillong) and James Haokip (a Professor of Anthropology at Sikkim University) are principal researchers. From the conventional rearing of fish in ponds and tanks, these two researchers are trying to conserve fish in their habitat. This project research has pointed out that while Fish Conservation Zones are a novel project for the Indian context, the same has been successfully implemented in Laos and Myanmar where communities directly manage their local resources. They do this by identifying an area where the conservation of fish species is needed,and they typically close this area to all fishing activities. Rules for the same are imposed by official authorities and the area is monitored by members of the community, providing a haven for fish. Realizing the imminent need to conserve for the survival of almost extinct species of fish and enhancing local availability of the species for consumption, this project has been initiated to conserve fish in their habitat through a community-based fishery management model called Fish Conservation Zones. Conservation activities Through this Fish Conservation Zones, the researchers have carried out the following activities: (1) Transfer and sharing of knowledge about fish (2) Conservation zones and capacity building of communities across multiple hotspots (3) Identifying areas that are critical for long term survival of fish (4) Recording diversity of species and characteristics of the river (5) Creating a plan for long-term regulation and monitoring of fishing activities (6) Implementation of the plan and periodical reviews. Outcomes of the project The initial project has found these useful pieces of data (1) Generation of information on the diversity of fish in the Tuivang river, as well as their breeding seasons and locations, (2) Establishment of the first-ever community based and managed fish conservation zones in India which can become one of the pillars of river conservation strategies for State Governments in North-East India, (3) Civil society organizations, local community members and local researchers, will be trained in establishing community-based fish conserva- tion zones, fish taxonomy, biology and stream hydrology, (4) Promote public appreciation for fish conservation and the requirement of ecological flows in rivers. Conclusion Each human being is a co-creator, not a destroyer. As much as humans try to preserve their lives, so also must we preserve and conserve the lives of other beings around us. This project is an initiative towards sustainable local conservation and consumption of fish. Depletion of fish is one area of the ecological crisis that threatens the survival of those living nearby. It is also fitting to analyze the causes of such an ecological crisis. While analyzing the causes, the pro-active task of conservation is profoundly fitting. Community support is imperative for the safeguard of ecological resources. While sustenance-based harvest of resources is unavoidable, destructive exploitation of terrestrial and aquatic habitats greatly harm the ecosystem. Hence the need for conservation and sustainable use of non-renewable resources. 2021 The Sangai Express. DALLAS, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates announced today that Comcast Business, Bitdefender, Alarm.com, Cox Communications, Johnson Controls, and Synamedia will participate in Smart Products - Serving the SMB Market, the opening session for the 25th annual CONNECTIONS: Premier Connected Home Conference on Wednesday, March 24, 12:30 p.m. CT. Event sponsors include Bitdefender, Alarm.com, Calix, Cox Communications, Tuya, Plume, and Airties. Parks Associates Parks Associates: Likelihood of Purchasing Smart Devices for Business Locations The international research firm will present its latest data on consumer demand in the SMB market, including opportunities for service providers, device and system makers, and IoT solution providers. The research firm reports 52% of SMBs are concerned about cybersecurity regarding employees' home networks, while 21% report an increase in need for products and services to protect or monitor the physical safety of the business. "One-third of SMBs have already increased spending on solutions such as voice and video conferencing services, internet access, IT devices, and support, and 37% are likely to purchase cybersecurity services over the next six months," said Jennifer Kent, VP, Research, Parks Associates. "Managing and securing networks, and supporting the ever-growing portfolio of end-user devices are top priorities, and they are increasingly turning to ISPs for Wi-Fi management, network security, and other value-added services." Smart Products - Serving the SMB Market keynote speaker Christian Nascimento, VP of Product, Comcast Business, will explore the increased importance of connectivity services to SMBs, followed by an Executive Q&A session with Razvan Todor, Director of Connected Home Security, Bitdefender, and an interactive panel: Andrew Goldberg , VP of Strategic Planning & Analysis, Cox Communications , VP of Strategic Planning & Analysis, Cox Communications James Reno , Sr. Director - Commercial Business, Alarm.com , Sr. Director - Commercial Business, Alarm.com Peter Suica , Director of National and Strategic Accounts, Johnson Controls , Director of National and Strategic Accounts, Johnson Controls JT Taylor, Product Marketing Lead, Synamedia "The 'not much to steal' myth, common among SMBs owners is not confirmed in the real life. They have less secure networks, easier to breach. Hackers will always go for the 'low-hanging fruit' rather than investing time for a big target that in the end might not be breached," said Razvan Todor, Director of Connected Home Security, Bitdefender. "To keep pace with these threats, SMBs need to find a solution that will allow them to employ enterprise-grade inspection and filtering technologies tailored for their network environment without the overhead of a dedicated security department." "Start-ups and small and mid-size businesses are increasingly seeking complex, customized technology solutions that rival large enterprises and equip them to operate more efficiently, provide higher levels of service to their customers, and thrive in a competitive market," said Andrew Goldberg, VP of Strategic Planning & Analysis, Cox Communications. "To meet evolving customer requirements, Cox has moved beyond connectivity to managed software, infrastructure and devices, cloud solutions, remote healthcare, and more that define and support the smart working environments that businesses demand today." "There's a growing need for business owners to remotely administer employees," said James Reno, senior director of commercial business at Alarm.com. "Combining intrusion, access control, video surveillance, and more on a single platform and managing it all through one interface means business owners can multitask more efficiently and virtually be in more places at once without stepping foot out their door." To request data or an interview, contact Rosey Ulpino, [email protected], 972-490-1113. About CONNECTIONS Parks Associates' 25th annual CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference features multiple virtual sessions hosted throughout 2021. For information, visit www.connectionsconference.com. Media Contact: Rosey Ulpino Parks Associates 972-490-1113 [email protected] SOURCE Parks Associates ADVERTISEMENT The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded an explanation from the federal government on how the $3.5 billion allegedly meant to purchase arms for the country was expended. The opposition party stated this in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Thursday. It said with the fresh $2.5billion arms scandal reportedly involving the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, who himself had earlier claimed that $1 billion meant for the purchase of weapons under the immediate past service chiefs could not be traced, the Buhari-led APC administration oozes with corruption. It also called on the National Assembly to conduct a joint open inquest into the funds and other monies drawn purportedly for the security of our nation under President Muhammadu Buharis watch. Below is the full statement: Fresh $2.5bn Arms Scandal: Buhari Presidency, APC stink The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the revelation of another $2.5bn arms purchase scandal in which officials of the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration were named is another ugly testament of the stench of corruption oozing out from the Buhari Presidency and the APC, as a party. The party alerts that with this fresh $2.5 billion arms scandal, reportedly involving the National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen. Babagana Monguno, who had earlier revealed that $1 billion also for arms cannot be traced, an alarming $3.5 billion (N1.3 trillion) meant for purchase of weapons to secure our country under the Buhari administration has been looted. The PDP stressed that the exposed barefaced contract scam in the $2.5 billion scandal as well as the outright disappearance of the $1billion as earlier revealed by the NSA, show the level of corruption and unscrupulousness among APC leaders and their agents, who are stealing funds meant for arms while our citizens are daily marauded, pillaged and murdered by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers. In fact, the unending exposure of sleaze in the security architecture of the Buhari-led administration has further heightened apprehensions in the public space that the security situation has been turned into a huge racket for corrupt enrichment of sneaky APC leaders and the cabal in the Buhari Presidency. It is more distressing that instead of standing on the side of the people to demand for a clean-up of the system and recovery of the stolen funds, the APC, as a party, is rather desperate to justify acts of corruption, because its leaders and officials of its government are involved. Our party demands that the Buhari Presidency should come clean and offer explanations on both the $2.5 billion and $1 billion. Furthermore, the PDP restates its call to the National Assembly to conduct a joint open inquest into the funds and other monies drawn purportedly for the security of our nation under President Muhammadu Buharis watch. Signed: Kola Ologbondiyan National Publicity Secretary March 18 : Shraddha Kapoor is currently enjoying the sand and sea of the mesmerising beach destination Maldives. The actress is holidaying with her parents Shakti Kapoor and Shivangi Kolhapure, while missing her brother Siddhanth Kapoor who couldnt make it to the trip with them. The Stree actress has been sharing pictures and videos on social media, giving a glimpse of her island vacation with her parents. Today, the actress shared a gorgeous click on her Instagram profile and in the selfie, the actress can be seen posing with the sea in the background. Shraddha can be seen wearing a white floral dress as her tresses can be seen blown away by the breeze. The Baaghi 3 actress started her Maldives trip on Wednesday, and shared a boomerang video on her Instagram story. The video captured the stunning blue ocean. And we are here! Fam time with mommy and baapu Shakti Kapoor. Miss you so much bro @siddhanthkapoor, Shraddha captioned the video. Image Source: Instagram/shraddhakapoor Shraddha Kapoor shared on her Instagram story In another post, the actress wrote that she has spotted a shooting star. In the picture shared on her Instagram story, Shraddha shared a glimpse of the starry night sky. Saw a shooting star! This starry sky, she wrote. Recently, before this trip, Shraddha was in the Maldives with her parents to attend her cousin Priyaank Sharmas wedding. Her rumoured boyfriend Rohan Shrestha also was with her at the wedding. Image Source: Instagram/shraddhakapoor Shraddha Kapoor shared on her Instagram story Meanwhile, on the work front, Shraddha Kapoor started shooting for Luv Ranjan's film with Ranbir Kapoor in January this year. The actress will also be seen in the role of a icchadhari naagin in Vishal Furias film Nagin. While we are seeing encouraging signs of the COVID-19 global health crisis starting to slow, we are not out of the woods yet. While the economy in the U.S. and globally is as much of a crisis as the pandemic, innovators and entrepreneurs are developing solutions that are keeping businesses operating, and not just in the obvious Zoom way. For essential industries and other sectors which require in-person labor, innovation in the form of IoT technology has allowed companies to return to job-sites and factories and to enable automated monitoring, management, and maintenance, using various sensors, monitors, and other things to improve efficiency, increase safety, and help business bottom lines. This includes ensuring compliance in the drug and pharmaceutical industry. IoT solutions are also fundamental to ensuring social distancing and contact tracing. Zoetis, an American livestock drug provider and the largest drug company in the world employing nearly 10,000 individuals, has resorted to IoT technology to help keep their Japanese plants operating. Zoetis recently partnered with Actility, a French IoT solutions company, to implement Actilitys LoRaWAN-based Detection and Contact Tracing Solution for COVID-19. According to an announcement distributed earlier this month for Zoetis, the technology offers them reassurance that they are unlikely to be shut down by the Public Health Department, which reserves the power to request all employees stay home for 14 days. The resultant supply chain security benefits Zoetis and its partners around the world as the risk of productivity losses is hedged. Zoetis needed a solution to show the Public Health Department objective data evidence to minimize the amount of people staying at home and consequently avoid temporary shutdowns of their business, said Hideo Kato, Director, Customer Service and Operations at Zoetis Japan. With the Actility LoRaWAN Safety Solution, Zoetis was able to automate the monitoring of new safety policies while empowering employees as part of the new normal in business operation. As we continue to adapt to our new normal, Covid policy surrounding the in-person return to work and schools revolves around two concepts: the enforcement of adherence to social distancing guidelines and contact tracing. Each employee is outfitted with an Abeeway Proximity Sensor, which enables efficient and easy monitoring of interactions between employees. Upon detection of a protocol violation, an alarm will alert the employees, and data on proximity will be recorded. Later, this data will ensure that any contaminated groups will be traced, halting the spread of the virus. Instant contact tracing, achieved through the use of these devices, is significantly more effective as the system is real-time compared to the average 3-day delay associated with traditional human contact tracing. This compliance solution protects workers by ensuring?secure social distancing, but it is also protecting the continuity of corporate operations and by avoiding costly full shutdowns- provides instant ROI, said Takashi Matsubara, Asia Region Sales Director at Actility. Using LoRa Technology, Actility is able to offer IoT devices with both long-range capabilities and a long battery life. These devices are equipped for deep penetration of ground, concrete, and steel, geolocation, public or private networks, and various other features. Using IoT devices offered by Actility Zoetis can keep factories open while also being prepared for any future epidemics or pandemics, complying with regulations, and improving safety for workers. The global LoRaWAN market is projected to reach U.S. $5557 million, growing at a very high compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47.2% between2019 to 2027, according to market research firm InForGrowth. There are several differentiators for LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol that have driven in its widespread adoption, including long-range connectivity, battery lifetime, security, network architecture, and network capacity. LoRaWAN uses 868 MHz/ 915 MHz ISM bands which are available worldwide and generally have a coverage range of about 3 miles in urban areas and 9 miles in suburban areas. This networking protocol consumes less power and lengthens the duration of battery life. With a simple architecture, it is simple to deploy and is widely used for M2M/IoT applications and supports three different types of devices (Classes A-C). Edited by Maurice Nagle DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Industrial Microbiology Market: Focus on Products, Applications, End Users, Country Data (13 Countries), and Competitive Landscape - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global industrial microbiology market was valued to be $5,604.2 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $13,181.2 million by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 8.36% during the forecast period 2020-2030. The market growth can mainly be attributed to the growing research in the field of industrial microbiology, increasing awareness among researchers about new strains of microorganisms, rise in preference toward consumer products, increase in research and development as well as collaborations in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and use of rapid sterility testing methods for pathogen detection. The global industrial microbiology market has witnessed high growth in the last decade. The increase in demand for industrial microbiology products can largely be attributed to factors such as increase in the significance of industrial food and safety, growing awareness among researchers about new strains of microorganisms, increasing demand for pathogen testing in food products, growing research initiatives in different fields of industrial microbiology, increasing automation in products, and rising number of collaborations among companies. Furthermore, the companies are investing huge amount toward innovations of industrial microbiology products. Key strategies followed by the companies include new product launches and mergers and acquisitions for geographical expansion and strengthening of product portfolios. For instance, in February 2019, bioMerieux SA acquired Invisible Sentinel, a U.S.-based company specialized in food and beverage molecular testing, to add the VERIFLOW platform to its industrial microbiology product portfolio. It is an innovative molecular biology solution for the detection of pathogens and spoilage organisms in food and beverages, wine and beer. Within the research report, the market is segmented based on product type, application, end-user, and region. Each of these segments covers the snapshot of the market over the projected years, the inclination of the market revenue, underlying patterns, and trends by using analytics on the primary and secondary data obtained. Competitive Landscape The global industrial microbiology market is currently dominated by Thermo Fisher Scientific, followed by bioMerieux SA. The market dominance of Thermo Fisher Scientific can be attributed to a large product portfolio for automated microbial detection systems. bioMerieux SA held the second largest market share in the industrial microbiology market, attributed to its significant contribution in the field. The company offers a wide range of products to be utilized for industrial procedures in the biopharmaceutical, food and beverages, and water industry. Merck KGaA holds the third largest share, owing to its diverse range of product offerings in consumables (including media, detection kits, and accessories) and detection systems. Other prominent players, namely, 3M, BD, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bioMerieux SA, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Pall/Danaher Corporation, Merck KGaA, and Eppendorf, collectively hold a large market share of the total global industrial microbiology market in 2019. Based on region, North America is the leading contributor to the industrial microbiology market in terms of revenue. The fields such as commercial quality assurance and biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies are expected to progress at significant rates, and the substantial investments made in these fields are consequentially promoting the growth of the North America industrial microbiology market. However, the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions, constituting several emerging companies contributing to industrial microbiology, are expected to register the high CAGR during the forecast period of 2020-2030. Growth Drivers Growing research and development activity in different industry Technological advancements for commercial quality assurance Growing demand for safety in food and pharmaceutical industry triggers the market growth Market Challenges Dearth of skilled professional in industrial microbiology laboratories High cost of industrial microbiology process Market Opportunities Growing demand for innovative analytic techniques Technological advancement in real-time environment monitoring Key Companies Profiled 3M Company, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bioMerieux SA, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Danaher Corporation, Eppendorf AG, HiMedia Laboratories, Hy Laboratories Ltd, Merck KGaA, Novamed, QIAGEN N.V., Sartorius AG, Solenis, Sysmex Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Key Questions Answered in this Report: What is industrial microbiology? How did the industrial microbiology market evolve, and what is its scope in the future? What are the major market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the global industrial microbiology market? What are the key developmental strategies that are being implemented by the key players to sustain this market? What is the patent landscape of this market? What will be the impact of patent expiry on this market? What is the impact of COVID-19 on this market? What are the guidelines implemented by different government bodies to regulate the approval of products to be used in industrial microbiology? How is industrial microbiology being utilized for the development of therapeutics? How will the investments by public and private companies and government organizations affect the global industrial microbiology market? What was the market size of the leading segments and sub-segments of the global industrial microbiology market in 2019? How will the industry evolve during the forecast period 2020-2030? What will be the growth rate of the industrial microbiology market during the forecast period? How will each of the segments of the global industrial microbiology market grow during the forecast period, and what will be the revenue generated by each of the segments by the end of 2030? Which product segment and application segment are expected to register the highest CAGR for the global industrial microbiology market? What are the major benefits of the implementation of industrial microbiology strategies in different field of applications including pharmaceutical industry, food and beverage industry, cosmetic industry, water industry, biotechnology Industry and other industry? What is the market size of the industrial microbiology market in different countries of the world? Which geographical region is expected to contribute to the highest sales of industrial microbiology market? What are the regulatory and biosafety framework for the industrial microbiology market in different regions? What are the key strategies incorporated by the players of global industrial microbiology market to sustain the competition and retain their supremacy? Key Topics Covered: 1 Market Definition 1.1 Inclusions and Exclusions 1.1.1 Inclusions 1.1.2 Exclusions 2 Research Scope 2.1 Key Questions Answered in the Report 2.2 Target Audience 3 Research Methodology 3.1 Industrial Microbiology: Research Methodology 3.2 Primary Data Sources 3.3 Secondary Data Sources 3.4 Market Estimation Model 3.5 Criteria for Company Profiling 4 Global Industrial Microbiology Market: Overview 4.1 Market Introduction 4.2 Utilization of Industrial Microbiology 4.2.1 Pharmaceutical Industry 4.2.2 Food and Beverage Industry 4.2.3 Cosmetic Industry 4.2.4 Water Industry 4.2.5 Biotechnology Industry 4.2.6 Other Industries 4.3 Industrial Microbiology: Market Footprint and Future Potential 4.4 Impact of COVID-19 on Industrial Microbiology Market 5 Global Industrial Microbiology Market, Industry Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Framework 5.1.1 Regulation and Biosafety in the U.S. 5.1.1.1 Pharmaceutical Industry 5.1.1.2 Food and Beverages Industry 5.1.1.3 Biotechnology Industry 5.1.1.4 Cosmetic Industry 5.1.1.5 Water Industry 5.1.2 Regulation and Biosafety in Europe 5.1.2.1 Pharmaceutical Industry 5.1.2.2 Food and Beverage Industry 5.1.2.3 Biotechnology Industry 5.1.2.4 Cosmetic Industry 5.1.2.5 Water Industry 5.1.3 Regulations and Biosafety in Asia-Pacific 5.2 Patent Analysis 5.2.1 by Country 5.2.2 by Year 5.3 Cost and Pricing Trends in Industrial Microbiology 6 Market Dynamics 6.1 Overview 6.2 Impact Analysis 6.3 Market Drivers 6.3.1 Growing Research and Development Activity in Different Fields of Industrial Microbiology 6.3.2 Technological Advancements for Commercial Quality Assurance 6.3.3 Growing Demand for Safety in Food and Pharmaceutical Industry Triggers the Market Growth 6.4 Market Restraints 6.4.1 Dearth of Skilled Professional in Industrial Microbiology Laboratories 6.4.2 High Cost of Industrial Microbiology Process 6.5 Market Opportunities 6.5.1 Growing Demand for Innovative Analytic Techniques 6.5.2 Technological Advancement in Real-Time Environment Monitoring 7 Global Industrial Microbiology Market: Competitive Insights 7.1 Key Strategies and Developments 7.1.1 Synergistic Activities 7.1.2 Regulatory Accreditations, Recognitions, Investments, and Expansions 7.1.3 Product and Service Launch 7.1.4 Acquisitions and Mergers 7.1.5 Approvals 7.2 Market Share Analysis 7.3 Growth Share Analysis 8 Global Industrial Microbiology Market (by Product), $Million, 2019-2030 8.1 Overview 8.2 Consumables 8.2.1 Media 8.2.2 Rapid Detection Assays 8.2.3 Reagents and Supplements 8.2.4 Accessories 8.3 Equipment and Systems 8.3.1 Filtration Systems 8.3.2 Microbial Detection Systems 8.3.3 Incubators and Culture Systems 8.3.4 Air Monitoring Systems 8.3.5 Sterilization Systems 8.3.6 Others 9 Industrial Microbiology Market (by Application), $Million, 2019-2030 9.1 Overview 9.2 Pharmaceutical Industry 9.3 Food and Beverage Industry 9.4 Cosmetic Industry 9.5 Water Industry 9.6 Biotechnology Industry 9.7 Other Industries 10 Global Industrial Microbiology Market (by End User), $Million, 2019-2030 10.1 Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies 10.2 Commercial Quality Assurance 10.3 Food and Beverage Companies 10.4 Research Institutions 10.5 Regulatory and Environmental Agencies 10.6 Other Industrial End Users 11 Global Industrial Microbiology Market (by Region), $Million, 2019-2030 11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Global Industrial Microbiology Market (by Region), 2019-2030 11.2 North America 11.2.1 North America Industrial Microbiology Market (by Application), 2019-2030 11.2.2 U.S. 11.2.3 Canada 11.3 Europe 11.3.1 Key Dynamics 11.3.2 Germany 11.3.3 France 11.3.4 U.K. 11.3.5 Italy 11.3.6 Spain 11.3.7 Rest-of-Europe 11.3.8 Europe Industrial Microbiology Market (by Application), 2019-2030 11.4 Asia-Pacific 11.4.1 Key Dynamics 11.4.2 Japan 11.4.3 China 11.4.4 Australia 11.4.5 India 11.4.6 Rest-of-APAC 11.4.7 APAC Industrial Microbiology Market (by Application), 2019-2030 11.5 Latin America 11.5.1 Key Dynamics 11.5.2 Brazil 11.5.3 Mexico 11.5.4 Rest-of-Latin America 11.5.5 Latin America Industrial Microbiology Market (by Application), 2019-2030 11.6 Rest-of-the-World 12 Company Profiles 12.1 Overview 12.2 3M Company 12.3 Becton, Dickinson and Company 12.4 Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. 12.5 bioMerieux SA 12.6 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. 12.7 Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. 12.8 Danaher Corporation 12.9 Eppendorf AG 12.10 Sartorius AG 12.11 HiMedia Laboratories 12.12 Merck KGaA 12.13 Hy Laboratories 12.14 Solenis 12.15 Novamed Ltd. 12.16 Sysmex Corporation 12.17 QIAGEN N.V For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ic6pvk Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com March 18, 2021 Comment deadline set for April 18 The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment for a proposed indoor public shooting range in Ontonagon County. The purpose of the project is to develop a new shooting range and meeting facility at the existing Lake Superior Sportsman's Club indoor-outdoor range location, which is situated along M-64, west of Ontonagon and east of Silver City. The current indoor facility is no longer suitable for public use. "The property is DNR-managed public land and developing a new, indoor facility that goes above and beyond Americans with Disabilities Act requirements provides hunters with the opportunity to increase firearm proficiency and safety and allow recreational shooters to practice their sport in a safe, accommodating, indoor environment that expands use potential beyond the summer months," said Lori Burford, DNR shooting range specialist. The purpose of the environmental assessment is to look at the feasibility and potential for environmental consequences associated with the development alternatives considered. The DNR has asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a modification to a Statewide Shooting Range Grant to approve the construction of the new facility. Public comments will be accepted for a 30-day period, which ends April 18, 2021. Written comments or questions may be sent to Burford via email at burfordl@michigan.gov. The proposed shooting range project will consist of: Renovating an existing access drive. Installing a new septic system, water lines and a universally designed concrete pathway that extends from the parking area to the building. Constructing a new gravel parking area with two van-accessible, concrete parking spaces. Constructing a new, indoor, six-lane shooting range, including three lanes that will be ADA compliant. Building a new meeting space-clubhouse that will be attached to the indoor shooting range to include: Meeting space for 40 people, indoor restrooms, a closed office, storage, a warming kitchen, range viewing area and outdoor landscaping and informational panels. The draft environmental assessment was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, which applies to the actions of all federal agencies. This project is proposed by the Michigan DNR for funding through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The draft environmental assessment is available for review on the DNR website. In addition, copies of the draft environmental assessment or more information on funding for the range project and design may be obtained from Lori Burford, DNR shooting range specialist at 989-600-9114. Written comments or questions may be sent to Burford via email at burfordl@michigan.gov by April 18, 2021. Neil Lennie is regarded as one of the most gifted educators in the land. He is also one of the nation's most brazen fraudsters. On Thursday, the now 72-year old narrowly avoided being jailed for a scam that dated back to 1976 when Lennie scored his first teaching job off the back of a lie. Neil Lennie used his dad's teaching qualifications to earn a career in teaching Mount Scopus had been duped by Lennie back in the 1970s when all one needed was a certificate to teach Lennie would act as principal at Caulfield Grammar School for a period between the 1980s and 1990s Back then, Lennie had dropped out of every tertiary course he had ever began. In reality, he had never completed any studies beyond year 12. He was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a suspended jail term and community corrections order after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception over the life-long scam. Using his dad's teaching qualifications to score his first teaching job, Lennie would enjoy an illustrious career that saw him teach at Victoria's Mount Scopus Memorial College, Haileybury College and Overnewton Anglican Community College. Lennie even spent six years as a headmaster at the prestigious Caulfield Grammar School for a period between the 1980s and 1990s. He eventually came undone in 2009 when The Victorian Institute of Teaching, which conducts annual audits of teacher and school records to ensure staff are qualified, exposed him as a fraud. They had discovered discrepancies with Lennie's records when he sought to renew his registration. It was promptly cancelled that year. In 2014, the institute charged him over another role as headmaster at a different school, again without qualification. He was fined $8000 and the following year the institute referred him to police before criminal charges were laid in May 2020. Busted, Lennie admitted his dodgy deeds had netted him $843,567 in wages up until 2000. Neil Lennie arrives at the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Lennie also worked for a stint at Overnewton Anglican Community College (pictured) Though it was worryingly easy for Lennie to make his way to the top of the educational tree, authorities have assured the public such a brazen scheme could never happen today. Back when Lennie first worked in schools all that was required was a teacher registration number. Mount Scopus - Lennie's first target - had not seen his tertiary qualifications and took him at his word that he was a registered teacher. Despite the lie, Lennie won praise as actually being a very good teacher, or at least better than he was as a student, or a fraudster. Former colleagues and students sang his praises in letters referred to the court during his prosecution. Leading infectious diseases expert and inaugural Doherty Institute director, Professor Sharon Lewin AO, said Lennie had taught her physics and described him as one of the most outstanding teachers she'd ever had. 'I often credit Mr Lennie with my enduring love of science, pursuit of academic excellence and self-belief in my own capabilities in science,' she wrote in a letter to the court. 'I remember him very clearly telling me that I was capable of doing anything in life and to shoot for the stars. 'As a young woman in the 1970s, I now understand that this kind of encouragement for women in science was most unusual.' Neil Lennie is chased down the road by reporters after an earlier hearing in Melbourne Neil Lennie faked his way through a teaching career that began in the 1970s Notwithstanding his lies, Ian Hill QC said Lennie was an outstanding teacher who earned the respect of students and staff. Prosecutor John Dickie said the case was not about whether Lennie had been a good or bad teacher, but about him lying about his qualifications and fraudulently obtaining money meant for legitimate teachers. Lennie had enrolled in various science, maths, arts and business degrees and diplomas, but did not complete them or obtain any relevant qualification. Lennie felt he'd found his calling and was driven by a misguided sense of vocation and Christian ideals instead of greed. The court heard he was sorry for lying and felt he'd been publicly disgraced. He wanted people to know that 'anyone I've harmed feels justice has been done', the court was told. Judge Patricia Riddell sentenced Lennie to three months jail, which will be wholly suspended if he behaves over the next 12 months. He was also given a 12 month community corrections order. TOKYO, Mar 18, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced it has concluded a comprehensive collaborative research agreement with National Cancer Center Japan. The joint research will center on exploring ways that real-world data(1), including medical information from electronic records, can be leveraged to contribute to the development of new drugs, clinical trials, and preventive medicine in pharmaceutical companies.Through its joint research with the National Cancer Center, Fujitsu aims to create new value through a wide range of information and analysis services by creating an anonymized personal health record scheme(2) (PHR), which includes case study information and health information on patients visiting the National Cancer Center Hospital East. Fujitsu additionally seeks to create a platform for providing pharmaceutical companies with data that can be used for drug development and preventive medicine. Fujitsu will establish a new model to process medical information from electronic medical records into highly secure statistical data to improve the efficiency of clinical trials and supports active participation in international joint clinical trials by promoting the adaptation of clinical trial data in Japan to global standards.(3)With an eye to contributing to the wellbeing of people in society, Fujitsu will work to improve the development speed and quality of pharmaceuticals and other products that promote the health of consumers. In turn, Fujitsu will play a role in resolving issues such as the time required for clinical trials and costs, create a variety of services that contribute to areas such as preventive medicine and individualized cancer medicine, and implement these services by the end of fiscal 2021.BackgroundIn recent years, real-world data has been attracting increased attention in the healthcare field, and it is beginning to be used in a wide range of fields globally--from drug approval applications to the development of medical devices and preventive medicine. A variety of different data types are being used to these ends, ranging from patient electronic medical record information and medical examination information, to daily measurement data such as weight and body composition monitors(4), as well as vital information such as temperature and blood pressure that can be obtained from smart devices.Despite the potential for such data, however, challenges remain around extracting useful information from unstructured sources like doctors' notes, etc., and it has become necessary to develop new platforms and data extraction technologies to effectively and securely streamline the use of valuable medical data. To this end, Fujitsu has concluded a comprehensive agreement with the National Cancer Center with the ultimate goal of contributing to the speedy development of pharmaceuticals and clinical trials by pharmaceutical companies that promote the health of consumers and will start joint research in this field.About the Joint Research1. OverviewIn collaboration with the National Cancer Center, Fujitsu is implementing three projects to utilize real-world data at the National Cancer Center Hospital East.Verification of utilization of real-world data (real-world data share)- In addition to medical information from the electronic medical record systems, which has been difficult to use until now, information on case studies and information on the health of local patients (PHR) is processed into a format that is easy for pharmaceutical companies to handle and provided as secure, high-quality data. The effectiveness of using real-world data in developing new AI technologies to support diagnoses and treatment will also be verified.Establishment and validation of new clinical trial service models (DX for Clinical Trial Operations)- Natural language analysis technology will be applied to the analysis of medical information in the electronic medical record system in order to establish a new clinical trial service model that can automatically identify appropriate clinical trial patients with overwhelming speed and accuracy. This process is presently performed manually with reference to medical information in the electronic medical record system (clinical trial patient recruitment). Through this study, the effectiveness of the system in significantly reducing the cost and duration of clinical trials, including improving the efficiency of in-hospital operations will be verified.- Fujitsu will promote efforts to adapt clinical trial data in Japan to global standards and support active participation in international clinical trials.Establishment of a platform for safe and secure use of medical data (common platform)- In order to carry out these two verifications, Fujitsu will develop a platform that can safely and securely utilize medical data by converting medical information recorded as text data in the electronic medical record system into a format that can be utilized as data. This platform utilizes technology developed by Fujitsu Laboratories, Ltd., as well as data extraction technology that is being newly developed.2. Role of Fujitsu, National Cancer CenterFujitsu- Development of technologies and platforms needed to utilize real-world data- Verifying streamlining of clinical trial operations with patient recruiting function- Coordination with national policies for the utilization of PHRs (5)National Cancer Center- Provision of medical data at National Cancer Center Hospital East- Provision of know-how on clinical practice, clinical research, and clinical trials- Verification of the contents of joint research3. Period of Joint ResearchMarch 16, 2021 ~ March 31, 20234. LocationNational Cancer Center Hospital East and Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial CenterFuture PlansIn the future, Fujitsu will not only collaborate with pharmaceutical companies, but also consider working with various companies that provide wellbeing-related products and services to consumers in Japan and throughout the world. Based on the results of this joint research, by the end of fiscal 2021 Fujitsu will develop platforms and services that enable the safe and secure use of real-world data and provide wellbeing to consumers. Through the provision of these platforms and services to pharmaceutical companies, Fujitsu aims to contribute to the streamlining of drug development and clinical trials.(1) real-world data:Data generated by daily medical care and personal health management.(2) PHR:A system in which individuals collect and manage their own medical information and other health-related information. Refers to information that can be subject to disclosure control at the discretion of the individual.(3) international joint clinical trials:A clinical trial conducted simultaneously in multiple countries or regions.(4) weight and body composition monitors:a measuring instrument that measures weight and body fat percentage and visceral fat levels etc.(5) National policies:For example, policies led by Data Health Reform Promotion Headquarters of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare such as "Health, Medical, and Nursing Care Information Utilization Study Group".About FujitsuFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 130,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.9 trillion yen (US$35 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.Source: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. ELKHART, Ind. (AP) A recreational vehicle manufacturer announced plans Tuesday to expand production of luxury RVs at its northern Indiana campus and create up to 650 new jobs by 2023. Alliance Recreational Vehicles said it will invest $33 million to expand its Elkhart campus, which opened in 2009 in the city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Chicago. The company plans to create up to 650 new jobs by the end of 2023, and said it has already hired 75 new workers. If Alliance RV reaches its job-creation goal, it will receive up to $9.3 million in tax credits, pending the approval of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The IEDC, which oversees Indianas business recruitment efforts, has also offered the company up to $1.7 million in additional tax credits, while the city of Elkhart has also approved incentives. Alliance RV currently has three manufacturing and office facilities totaling 254,000 square feet (23,600 square meters) in Elkhart. It plans to add two more, totaling 120,000 square feet (11,148 square meters) by December, to support increased production of its line of luxury fifth-wheel RVs. Alliance RV serves 150 RV dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Increased demand for RVs throughout the pandemic has driven the companys growth, adding to Elkharts reputation as the RV capital of the world, the Indianapolis Business Journa l reported. More than 80% of the RVs in the United States are manufactured in Indiana, mostly in the Elkhart area. SEOUL President Joe Bidens top national security officials, speaking after meetings with their South Korean counterparts early Thursday, condemned the spate of murders targeting Asian Americans in Atlanta this week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his outrage and grief over the deaths of eight people, including four of Korean descent, during a joint press conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their hosts. We stand with the Korean community and everyone united against violence and hate, Blinken said. Austin also condemned what he dubbed a horrific crime. I am saddened by the horrific attacks in Atlanta, Ga., yesterday, where we believe several women of Korean descent were killed, said the first Black Pentagon chief. Our deepest sympathies go out to all those affected by this horrific crime and especially the families of those who were killed. I share my colleagues view that violence of this or any other type has no place in our society. After dropping off flowers Jesus Estrella, left, and Shelby S., right, stand in support of the Asian and Hispanic community outside Youngs Asian Massage parlor where four people were killed, Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in Acworth, Ga. A white gunman was charged Wednesday with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors in an attack on Tuesday that sent terror through the Asian American community thats increasingly been targeted during the coronavirus pandemic. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) The South Korean ministers of foreign affairs and defense also expressed their regrets about the attack. Eight people, all but one of them women, were killed at three Atlanta spas on Tuesday in a shooting spree believed to be carried out by Robert Aaron Long, who has been charged with eight counts of murder. Longs motivations are not yet clear, but the victims backgrounds have raised fears that racial bias may have come into play. Violence against Asian Americans has been high in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, Long told investigators the killings were not racially motivated. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also condemned the attack on Wednesday and acknowledged the ethnicity of the victims. We know [violence against Asian Americans] is an issue that's happening around the country; it is unacceptable, it is hateful, and it has to stop, she said. Long was arrested Tuesday night about 150 miles south of the city. New Delhi, March 18 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear on March 25 a plea seeking immediate release of detained Rohingya refugees in Jammu. Advocate Prashant Bhushan contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde that detained Rohingyas may be deported to Myanmar, which is currently under Army's control and also seeing violence. The bench also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian said the court will hear the Rohingya matter on the coming Thursday. A plea was moved in the Supreme Court seeking immediate release of detained Rohingya refugees in Jammu and also a direction to the Centre to expeditiously grant refugee identification cards through the FRRO for Rohingyas in the camps. The application filed by Rohingya refugee Mohammad Salimullah, through Bhushan, sought a direction from the top court to the government to refrain from implementing any orders on deporting the Rohingya refugees who have been detained in the Jammu sub-jail. The plea said the refugees faced an imminent danger of being deported vide the government circular which directs the relevant authorities to identify and expeditiously deport illegal Rohingya refugees. "It (petition) is filed in the public interest, in order to secure and protect the right against deportation of the petitioner refugees in India and to protect Constitutional guarantees under Article 14 and Article 21, read with Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India, against the deportation of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in India after escaping widespread violence, bloodshed and discrimination against their community in their home state of Myanmar," said the plea. The plea urged the top court to direct the UNHCR to intervene and determine the protection needs of the Rohingya refugees not just in the Jammu but also in camps across the country and complete the process of granting them refugee cards. The plea said according to news reports in this month, nearly 150-170 Rohingya refugees in Jammu are being detained. The petitioner argued that this follows Union Minister Jitendra Singh's statements two months ago that the Rohingyas wouldn't be able to secure citizenship. "In India, no legislation has been passed yet that specifically refers to refugees. Hence, it has, in practice, often clubbed Rohingya refugees with the class of illegal immigrants who may be deported by the government under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Order, 1948," it said. Julie Su and for that matter, Californias embattled unemployment system were sharply criticized this week by Senate Republicans, who wanted answers as to how the state dealt with billions of dollars in widespread fraud.The Republicans werent satisfied with the answers.I was surprised not to get a legitimate answer to very direct questions, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Senates most centrist Republican.President Joe Biden has nominated Su as deputy labor secretary, a longtime advocate for worker rights with strong support from the AFL-CIO and strong opposition from some business groups. She is currently the secretary of Californias Labor and Workforce Development Agency , which oversees the beleaguered Employment Development Department Su is expected to be confirmed by the Democratic-run Senate. During a two-hour, 15-minute confirmation hearing Tuesday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Democrats did not challenge her explanations of the agencys troubles. Chair Patty Murray, D-Washington, called Su qualified.Some Republicans werent so sure.It is true that all states struggled, but Californias struggles swamp everyone. And none of their (other states) secretaries of labor are here today seeking a promotion, said Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, the committees top Republican. So, while you may not be personally responsible for every case of fraud that happened, the fraud did happen on your watch.California officials have estimated that about $11 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims have been paid so far. Estimates are that another $19 billion in claims are suspicious.Burr said Su bears responsibility.The buck stops with you as labor secretary in California, he said.He noted, You ordered the agency to eliminate some important safeguards to speed up payments, which led to even more fraud. On April 23 , Su issued a directive that temporarily suspended the requirement to certify eligibility usually required for claimants every two weeks before a payment can be made. At the time, the agency was overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of unemployment claims following the states coronavirus stay-at-home order.A press release from the labor agencys Employment Development Department added, though, that Claimants, however, remain required to notify the EDD immediately if they return to work during this time period.The department said the suspension would allow the state to expand its ability to improve the system.These are extraordinary times calling for extraordinary measures, and it is our job to do everything we can to get these critical benefits into the hands of Californians, Su said at the time.Operational problems persisted, and in July, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a strike team to study and revamp the EDD systems. It issued its report in September and the agency began implementing its recommendations.Su explained at the hearing that the fraud problem was unusual and part of a criminal conspiracy that reached well beyond California. She said most of the fraud has occurred in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, a program created by Congress a year ago to provide benefits to those who traditionally dont qualify for regular coverage, such as independent contractors and small-business owners.Collins was not pleased with the answers.There can be no excuse for the kind of rampant fraud that has been so prevalent in California, she said, and the problem also seems to be directly related to directives that you issued.Su noted that shes had widespread experience dealing with fraud, and has implemented a number of safeguards and reforms. As deputy labor secretary, who usually serves as the agencys chief operating officer, I would bring that experience of having dealt with the fraud.Su has been the target of strong criticism from the California Business and Industrial Alliance, which last week issued a scathing 31-page report on its analysis of her record as secretary.Now more than ever, we need an official at the Department of Labor who can act as a steady hand to guide us out of the pandemic. Julie Sus track record in California shows she is not that person, said Tom Manzo, the alliances president and founder.Burr and Collins could not say whether Su will be confirmed, but Democrats did not challenge her performance as secretary.She has strong backing from AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, who said Tuesday, As labor secretary of California, the worlds fifth-largest economy, Su enacted a sweeping pro-worker agenda that is a progressive model for all of America. The governor of New York has been in the news for two reasons: first, his obvious incompetence in managing the pandemic in his state, which has had the most deaths and hospitalized per capita, and second, his serial abuse of women on his payroll. For these, the #MeToo movement remained relatively silent, proving how much they really care about the welfare of women. Meanwhile, Cuomo was awarded an Emmy for his performance running for higher office at CNN in the guise of COVID briefings that lasted hours, wasting the nation's time. Liberals regularly award other liberals Tonys, Oscars, Emmys, Nobels, Pulitzers from progressives, by progressives, and only for progressives. There's only one qualification for these: one has to be progressive. In 2013, behind smoke-filled doors, in the middle of the night, with no debate or dissent allowed, Governor Andrew Cuomo told the People of New York, "I'll make you an offer you can't refuse!" He did, first by depriving New Yorkers of their First Amendment rights to dissent or debate about gun rights and, more importantly, the opportunity to vote against Cuomo's obvious tyranny. That same night, against the will of the state's majority, the thug deprived the people of their Second Amendment rights by outlawing common firearms, which women home alone can no longer use to defend themselves and their children meaning against the violent perps not earlier prosecuted for gun crimes by Cuomo's staff. These are the ones who would kick in their rear doors wearing FORWARD! lapel pins. The governor then gloated about his malevolent acts against his state's citizens. In the half-century before Cuomo forced through the New York Safe Act in the middle of the night with no debate allowed, no children were ever killed by AR-15s, the weapons that Cuomo outlawed. Since the bill was passed almost a decade ago, no children have been killed by the same AR-15s Cuomo outlawed. You see the improvement? We have no way to know how many assaults, rapes, robberies, and murders committed by violent felons could have been prevented with the threat of armed self-defense. In 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo's little brother Chris, a talking head at CNN, daily promoted his brother's presidential aspirations on the same news channel that called Donald Trump a thug daily. Earlier, Chris threatened Republicans with more than "losing the elections" that his news organization rigged with other news organizations, social media, and businesses that profited from the massive international corruption at taxpayers' expense. Last year, the then-COVID-infected Chris Cuomo, always looking after the interests of New York's people, put at risk the whole of Eastern Long Island. He appeared unannounced in New York's elite Riviera, the Hamptons. On his unnecessary day trip, the loudmouth, highly opinionated thug, a weightlifter, threatened a passing bicyclist who objected to the news anchor's ignoring social distancing guidelines, his traveling just for pleasure, and not wearing his mask. Having no choice, the threatened bicyclist then wisely filed a police report to defend himself from a potential future Cuomo threat. Shortly after, Cuomo infected the rest of his family with COVID-19, including his children. The bottom line of this story? A thug is a thug is a thug, no matter whether his name is Andrew Cuomo or Chris Cuomo. Their dad, a progressive icon, was the same. And then the fruits from his tree fell. Image: Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New Yorkvia Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:30:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SANAA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia said they attacked the Abha international airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Thursday, using a bomb-laden drone. "The drone hit a military target in the airport accurately," the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement by the militia's military spokesman Yehya Sarea as saying. "The attack was in response to the aggressor's military escalation and blockade," the spokesman said, referring to the Saudi-led coalition that has intervened in the war in Yemen since 2015. The Houthis have stepped up cross-border attacks against Saudi cities and oil facilities recently. Most of the attacks were foiled by the Saudi-led coalition forces. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of several northern Yemeni provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem Press Release March 18, 2021 Hontiveros urges gov't to set 'serious' timeframe for healthcare worker vaccination Senator Risa Hontiveros has urged the government to commit to a deadline to finish healthcare worker vaccination after the National Taskforce against COVID-19 (NTF) reported that only 12.7% of the 1.7 million health workers have been vaccinated so far. Hontiveros said that, while the country is waiting for the rest of its supply, the government should set a 'serious timeframe' for the inoculation of health workers as COVID-19 infections soar. The Philippines is reportedly the only country in Southeast Asia with an infection spike. "Our vaccination roll-out is paced without any urgency given the infection surge. By when will we finish giving out the first dose of all our available supply? Kailan ba ang goal date para matapos ang pagbabakuna ng mga health workers? Surprise ba o bahala na lang? Kailangan ng genuine commitment from the NTF. We cannot take our sweet time with vaccination. We have to have real deadlines and concrete goal posts so there is no room for failure," she remarked. The NTF earlier said it would begin vaccinating the general public by April or May. They also said that they plan to 'eliminate COVID' by 2022. More than two weeks into the program, not even half of the initial targeted 562,800 healthcare workers have received their first dose, Hontiveros noted. She said the slow pace was painting a 'worrisome prospect' for vaccination of bigger sectors in the priority list. "Currently, the NTF is vaccinating 14,400 health workers a day. This is a far-cry from their aspiration of 450,000 individuals per day by next year. It is mid-March already. At this rate, it will take us around 4 months to finish vaccinating just 1.7 million people. I wonder how the NTF plans on crunching that period down to 4 days by the 2nd quarter. I hope we are not using these vague goals as press releases just to subdue the frustration of the people," she said. Hontiveros said the government should set 'higher standards' for itself to 'fulfill its ambitions', because it has failed to reach any timeline it has drawn so far. She added that, despite the several Senate hearings on the vaccination program, the NTF has continued to make "irresponsible or half-baked statements". She again repeated the urgency of the vaccine tracker she proposed to manage the pace of vaccination and to help the public hold the NTF accountable to its statements. "The COVID vaccine tracker I proposed and which will be rolled-out soon is a good first step. Makikita natin dito ang mga bakunang nakarating at naipamahagi. Umaasa ako na dadagdagan nila ng updates tungkol sa mga bakunang parating pa lang. Kapag sinabing sa ganitong petsa darating, walang excuse para di makapagsabi ng date kung kailan matatapos ang bakunahan for HCWs," she said. "The administration has a toxic relationship with the Filipino people because it has no real sense of the word 'commitment'. Seryosohin natin yung timeframe ng pagbabakuna natin ng health workers. Late na nga ang allowance, the least we can do is commit to their immediate vaccination. Wag natin iwanan sa pagmumuni-muni yung pangarap natin makabangon sa pandemya," she said. Agriculture has a huge economic potential in Africa to create wealth and produce enough food to feed her people, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Nanono, has said. This is contained in a statement on Thursday by Eno Olotu, Deputy Director, Information, in the ministry of agriculture. Mr Nanono, made this known when he received a delegation from Course 36 of the Kenyan Defence Staff College on a courtesy visit. It is important to create and sustain an economy in the sector, to widen our perspective in the continent, he said. Mr Nanono, who expressed delight over the visit, said: as Africans, we can learn a lot from each other and create a huge market amongst us both in the higher and lower levels. The wealth is in Africa; we must take our destiny in our hands to secure the future. In spite of the challenges faced by the continent, we must explore the over 60 per cent arable land domiciled in the continent as an advantage to ensure deliberate government policies that will drive the actualisation of food sufficiency and security in the continent. We must lay our cards very well, if not we can become slaves in our country, he said. The minister informed the delegation of the large scale intervention and focus by the Nigerian Government in the sector. He said these include: the creation of platforms for the development of the food value chain both at the micro and macro levels and from the levels of production to processing. It also includes the training of more extension workers to provide extension services for smallholder farmers and livestock development. Others, he said, are mechanisation, strengthening of the research institutes for quality and improved seeds, provision of rural infrastructure for ease of access to the markets by the farmers. The minister disclosed that the ministry was working hard to create the needed synergy between the agricultural and the industrial sector for the industrialisation of the sector through mechanisation in line with international best practices. In Nigeria, we produce what we eat and eat what we produce. This catchy phrase has helped in promoting the local rice farmers especially during the lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic and has subsequently increased local rice production in the country. He said the youth were also mobilised through the universities to participate in agriculture as the country seeks to explore its export potentials, adding that more youth were being encouraged to go into farming. In his remarks, the leader of the Kenyan Defence College delegation, David Samoui, said they were in the ministry to seek information on how Nigeria was running its agricultural policies. He said that the country was amazed at how Nigeria could feed its over 200million population whereas Kenya was struggling with food security with just a population of 40 million people. ADVERTISEMENT Nigeria is a good destination to study and to know how agriculture is contributing to the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mr Samoui also said that the students from the college were expected to develop the best strategies for Kenyans after the study tour. The delegation, on a regional study tour, were in the ministry to seek knowledge on Nigerias agricultural policies to help rejig the Kenyan agricultural policy. (NAN) Monrovia Dr. Cassell, is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Pennsylvania, USA, a Licensed Clinical Drug and Alcohol Counselor (LCADC) in New Jersey and the President/Founder of the Kwenyah Professional Health Services based in the United States. He is also the President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Dr. Cassell's Foundation, and the Kwenyan Security Firm in Liberia. The amount presented to the aggrieved LWSC employees is equivalent to L$1,922,700. It can be recalled that aggrieved employees at the LWSC site in Robertsport recently staged a go slow action by shutting down operations at the facility in demand of their over five months salary arrears owed them by the corporation. Their action prevented the supply of water for cooking, drinking and other purposes to thousands of residents of the county. Dr. Cassell made the presentation of the amount when he visited the striking workers in the county on Tuesday, March 16. Making the presentation, the Liberian humanitarian disclosed that the gesture was intended to bring some level of relieve to the striking workers and citizens of the county who trekked long distances to fetch water from nearby creeks and other areas. He added that the streams are not safe for citizens to fetch water for cooking, drinking and other purposes. He noted that despite the current situation between authorities of the LWSC and the aggrieved employees, it was prudent to make an intervention to alleviate the constraints the citizens and employees were faced with. Dr. Cassell described water as "life" but blamed the strike action on the delay by government to find an amicable solution to the issues raised by the aggrieved employees in an adequate and timely manner. He maintained that the situation imposed suffering on the citizens in that area since in fact; the wells and streams are not conducive for fetching water. "This was brought to our attention by our County Chair last night and so, we feel a sense of commitment to our people of Robertsport for the simple fact that they have been out of water for a week now due to some situation between the management and the government. We thought it wise to come and intervene to help resolve the problem. Despite what may be going on internally, it is our citizens who are suffering". Gardai estimate the value of suspected cocaine found in an operation in Milford, Co Donegal on Tuesday to be worth 2.8m. The 41kg haul was found following an examination of a van in an intelligence-led operation by the Milford district drugs unit. In a statement, the Garda press office said investigating gardai at Milford are liaising with the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the investigation. Superintendent David Kelly of Milford Garda district said:This significant seizure has reduced the supply of illegal drugs in our community thereby increasing community safety. It is understood the suspected drugs were found concealed in the panels of a van with a UK registration. The sudden announcement this month that a century-old womens college in rural Virginia called Sweet Briar will go out of business this summer has shocked students, faculty and others in the shrinking world of single-gender liberal arts colleges and raises questions about the future of its Bay Area counterpart, Mills College in Oakland. The pending closure of the Virginia school makes us very, very sad, said Alecia DeCoudreaux, president of Mills, founded in 1852. Fifty years ago, there were 230 womens colleges. Were now at 41 with the closure of Sweet Briar. But Mills, like Sweet Briar, is in a precarious financial state, as it was in 1990 when Mills students and alumnae famously protested the trustees decision to go coed as a way to attract more money and students and won. Male undergraduates were kept out, Mills president quit in defeat, and the college found other ways to stay afloat. Today, however, declining enrollment and deficit spending have led Moodys credit-rating service to downgrade Mills to its lowest investment-grade rating, Baa3, a negative outlook. A hiring freeze is on at Mills, and the college laid off 11 employees last fall, kept 13 positions vacant, and restructured operations while cutting salaries across the board. Yet DeCoudreaux says she has no intention of sending Mills down the path of Sweet Briar. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle We want to make sure we have a structure in place to sustain the college well into the future, she said. Im working my fanny off to achieve that. These are challenging times no question about that. The idea that womens colleges might be a thing of the past, a remnant of finishing-school days, is quickly dismissed. The purpose of a womens college is to empower marginalized individuals, said Cheyanne Young, 21, a junior studying English literature who wants to teach high school or go into politics. Shes a vice president in campus government. For Young and others, Mills is the intellectual home for a new generation that is tired of being marginalized: individuals who dont fall along the gender binary, said Young, referring to students who identify as neither male nor female. Last summer, Mills became the first single-sex college in the country to adopt an admissions policy welcoming transgender and gender fluid applicants. But keeping the unique school alive rests on a critical, elusive equation: more students plus more money from sources other than tuition. Annual tuition and fees are $42,918, up 18 percent from 2009 less than half the 34 percent price hike of the University of California in the same period. But with housing and health plan, Mills cost approaches $60,000. That soaring price tag and reduced financial aid California cut Cal Grant awards for private schools last year by 5 percent, to $8,056 has also meant fewer students willing to enroll. (The state restored the aid this year, but its due to drop again.) Several out-of-state students also quit after enrolling. Those factors led Mills to miss its enrollment target by 36 students this year, which sounds small. But at 16 percent of the expected first-year class, it alarmed Moodys analysts. Gloomy forecast Mills small size and narrow market niche as an undergraduate college for women adds vulnerability in an extremely competitive market, they reported, and predicted continued operating deficits. Applications to Mills have held steady at about 2,500 a year for five years. But only 13 percent of admitted students actually attend, down from 17 percent in the same period. Our entire undergraduate enrollment strategy is focused on admitting the right type of student who is most likely to graduate, said Brian ORourke, vice president for enrollment management at Mills. He characterized such students as serious about their studies and interested in social activism. On the positive side, Moodys credited Mills with historically strong fundraising support and said its total financial resources top $200 million. Its endowment, at $189 million, is more than double that of Sweet Briar, though both carry restrictions in how the money can be spent. Young called Mills financial troubles difficult and jarring for students. She cited the abrupt departure of the campus chaplain, a much-loved counselor to students of all backgrounds who was caught up in last summers layoffs. Students want the administration to be more transparent about the problems, she said. Theres a huge push from students who are saying, 'Let us help you out! We want to fundraise! A perceived failure to include students, faculty and staff in the conversation about how to keep Mills going is a common complaint across campus. Tough questions We want to know why students who are accepted to Mills dont come, said Diane Ketelle, an education professor and spokeswoman for the Dissenting Faculty Working Group that emerged last fall as a small but growing collection of tenured faculty asking hard questions about the budget. What data are we collecting around students who leave? Is there enough social life and activities on campus? The administration should share that information. Other professors cited strengths that differentiate Mills from Sweet Briar. Its in an urban area where people want to live, for example, while Sweet Briar, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is 30 minutes from a Starbucks, said its president, James Jones Jr., on March 3, the day he announced the school would close. Upbeat note Sabrina Zirkel, who chairs Mills Faculty Executive Committee representing tenured professors, said Mills practice of enrolling transfer students; older, returning students; and graduate studentsmen and women is also likely to help Mills stay vibrant. All of those things have helped us stay out of the really severe kind of position that other colleges have gotten into, Zirkel said. On Friday, graduate student Alex Holy, 26, of Minnesota attended the schools yearly conference on socially responsible business. She said she enrolled at Mills because its one of the few schools to offer a joint masters degree in public policy and business. Its the perfect combination, said Holy, who works in microfinancing. Some of my most successful clients had what would traditionally be called a bad credit rating but they were ultimately successful. Holy said she expects Mills to do the same. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said its political correctness gone mad to rename the Kerryman newspaper to a more gender-neutral title. Mr Healy-Raes comments come after Minister of State Josepha Madigan discussed the need for more gender neutral language, using the regional newspaper as an example. The Kerry TD defended the paper, saying: The Kerry newspaper in Kerry is comparable to the Bible as far as Im concerned. He went on to discuss his issues with the general use of gender neutral language, saying: Where are we going to stop with this political correctness and nonsense? On every road in Ireland, there is a thing called a manhole, where there is a hole going down into the ground, he said on RTE Radio One's Today with Claire Byrne. Is it an insult to anybody so to call it a manhole, or do we have to call it a person-hole? Will we have to give up the days of looking at a horse and saying: well thats a nice mare or thats a nice stallion, in case wed insult anybody? Will we have to really change the language that comes out of our mouth in case we insult anybody? The minister defended her position, saying the Kerryman newspaper is just one example of a gendered title, and that this is a broader issue. Theres going to be resistance to changing names, and Im not saying that they have to, but I think we have to ask ourselves honestly why theres such resistance sometimes, she said. Because I think discussing ways to build sort of greater equality in our society is not something to should shy away from, I feel, and I think the language we use impacts the way we see the world. However, Mr Healy-Rae restated that his issue with the debate extends beyond just the newspapers title. I have an issue with this whole debate, because you could keep talking about it forever, he said. I cannot believe were actually having this conversation when there are so many real problems and issues out there, that both the minister and I, and everybody else, should be dealing with. On a final note, Ms Madigan added: Really its just about equality as far as Im concerned, and having a word around it that reflects that equality. Covering an area of over 12,000 km2, the Gulf of Guayaquil is a large estuarine ecosystem that is situated on the Pacific coast of Peru and Ecuador in the northwestern part of South America. The gulf was named after Guayaquil, Ecuadors largest and most populous city and also its chief port. Where Is the Gulf of Guayaquil? Map of Gulf of Guayaquil The Gulf of Guayaquil is located just to the south of the equator and is bordered by the countries of Ecuador in the north and Peru in the south. The Ecuadorian city of Santa Elena marks the northern limit of the gulf while the fishing village of Cabo Blanco in Peru marks its southern limit. The Gulf serves as an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Geography Many geological faults that are capable of generating some of the worlds most dangerous earthquakes are positioned underneath the Gulf of Guayaquil. A large number of both Ecuadorian and Peruvian rivers drain into this gulf. These include the Guayas, Jubones, Tumbes, and Zarumilla rivers. The freshwater from these rivers meets the salty seawater creating a unique ecosystem in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The Gulf of Guayaquil area is also characterized by extensive mangrove forests that provide critical habitats for a range of birds and other marine species. Wildlife A bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Peru. The Gulf of Guayaquil forms one of the most productive fishing grounds in Ecuador due to its estuarine composition. The important fish that are found here include tuna, sardines, anchovies, etc. Locally known as Bufeos, groups of bottlenose dolphins are found in the Gulf of Guayaquil. Numerous invertebrates like crabs, shrimps, and mollusks are found in the root systems of the mangroves. Some of the notable faunal species that are found in the mangrove forests along the gulfs shores include crab-eating raccoons, crocodiles, mantled howler monkeys, Mexican otters, pacas and northern tamanduas. Some of the marine birds that are found here include the horned screamer, rufescent tiger-heron, and wood stork. The Justice Department under President Donald Trump said that Congress cannot revive a proposed constitutional amendment after the deadline for its ratification has expired. Supporters would have to start over and follow Article V of the Constitution, which requires support from two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and ratification from three-quarters of the states before an amendment is added to the Constitution. "The Lord of the Rings" let go of Tom Budge after working with him for a few months, and the real possible reason behind this decision has been revealed. On Sunday, Budge confirmed that he will no longer be part of "The Lord of the Rings" series. The news is quite surprising, though, as the film's first season is still underway in New Zealand. The series is also yet to receive a final and official release date, so losing an actor while the production is still on-going truly shocked their fans. On the actor's Instagram account, he wrote a lengthy message to his fans, revealing the reason why he has to depart the TV series. "After recently seeing the first episodes shot over the last year Amazon has decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying," he penned. He still took his time to thank the creative team for letting him try to portray something "new and exciting." The actor also convinced himself that some things are not meant to happen at all. He attached a video of a black-and-white TV scene of Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire" which was co-written by his wife, June Carter Cash. From the moment he arrived until he departed, the real identity of his character remained unknown. But according to Budge's post, Amazon decided to end his contract due to the performance he showed as he tried to play the character. Still, his fans sent him words of encouragement and assured him that they will keep on supporting him. One fan said, "Love you mate....greater things destined for your incredibly talented and soulful self! X." "I hope a role just as wonderful or more so is in your future Tom," another one added. One Instagram user penned, "You're one of the best budgie. I have a feeling what you did would have been unique and beautiful. Big love. Xxxx." Most fans were left disappointed, though, as Amazon already hyped people with the synopsis which includes Budge's participation. "Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," TheOneRing.net said in an article in January. Tom Budge's Departure Not Surprising? While his departure is too sudden, recasting the actors and actresses is no longer new to the franchise. For what it's worth, the "Lord of the Rings" film franchise originally hailed Stuart Townsend as Aragorn. However, Viggo Mortensen appeared and stepped in to take the role instead of Townsend. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles New Delhi, March 18 : With a vision to expand its reach to the consumers, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd. (DBSIL) on Thursday announced the launch of its packaged sugar under the brand name "Dalmia Utsav". In the initial phase of the transition from B2B to B2C segment, DBSIL plans to launch Sulphur Free White Crystal Sugar & Natural Brown Sugar in branded packets & sachets across markets including Delhi/NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar and West Bengal. The products will also be available on top E-Commerce platforms like Amazon, Big Basket & Flipkart, and in offline stores. Going forward, the company plans to have a PAN India presence and introduce new sugar variants such as Icing Sugar along with other core FMCG products. The production of Sulphur Free White Crystal Sugar & Natural Brown Sugar is being done at the Nigohi Unit of DBSIL in Uttar Pradesh. The company plans to produce and dispatch the projected quantity of approx. 250- 300 tonnes of sugar till March'21. To support production, the unit has set up Ion Exchange Facility for better quality/sulphur free sugar grain. The company has also commissioned a state-of-the-art integrated production line for branded/specialized sugar. Speaking on the launch, B.B. Mehta, Whole Time Director, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited said, "We are extremely excited at the launch of 'Dalmia Utsav' which signifies "Celebrating Purity". We aim to provide high-quality sugar to consumers by using a world-class and eco-friendly production process in line with Dalmia Bharat Group's commitment towards Quality and Sustainability. With this launch, our mission is to achieve sustainable sugar production, creating value for farmers, consumers, and business partners." This transition will accelerate the company's evolution from commodity to brand space, transforming the DNA of the business that would in turn enhance value for all the stakeholders, a company statement said. Through this move, DBSIL will drive the growing awareness, easier access, and changing lifestyles of the consumers, it added. Lee Dong Wook looks handsome as ever as he poses for Elle Magazine Cover! Being one of the A-listers in the Korean showbiz, actor Lee Dong Wook never ceased to keep his fans updated on his projects. Lee Dong Wook's Stunning Photos for ELLE Magazine Cover His recent pictorial in fashion magazine ELLE Korea surely captivates fans with his alluring gaze as he showed off a jewelry pictorial with model Kim Seong Hee. In the first photo, he is wearing white and knitted short sleeves highlighting the bold silver rings and chained bracelet. Also, it is matched by model Kim in her checkered sleeveless dress as she wears a silver necklace, chain earrings, rings, and bracelet. The deep expression in their eyes is certainly tantalizing. In another photo, the actor is seen wearing a black t-shirt which is most unlikely to be seen him wearing in a photo. He kind of look youthful with this type of outfit as he looks very casual. His charm cannot be avoided by his overall look. We seldom see him casually wearing a T-shirt and in a skeleton design. Coupled with a black chain necklace with a cross pendant, a bracelet with a black chain, and rings that resemble gothic designs. According to a statement released by the fashion magazine, Lee Dong Wook exhibits diversity as he modeled from a chic formal look to a casual day-to-day look at the shooting location. Not only that, he was able to pull off great chemistry with model Kim Seong Hee. The crew also mentioned that the model has but only never-ending admiration for the actor. The cover April issue of Elle Accessories, which will be decorated by Lee Dong Wook will be published on March 19 and the fashion film will be released on the evening of March 17 on ELLE Korea's official Instagram account. Lee Don Wook even quoted "I always enjoy wearing chrome hearts jewelry," and added that through this shoot, he seems to be more immersed in the charm of the jewelry." Fans couldn't help but get stunned by the awesome visuals of the actor. Also Read: Lee Dong Wook Graces The Cover of Nylon Magazine Details on Lee Dong Wook's Upcoming Movie 'Single in Seoul' In the meantime, Lee Dong Wook's movie "Single in Seoul" is slated to be released soon. The movie will circle a popular essay instructor Young Ho, played by Lee Dong Wook. He will most of the time be talking about his single life on social media and because of it, he received a recommendation to write "Single in Seoul" which was openly accepted. Joining him in the movie will be Lim Soo Jung, who will play the role of Hyun Jin. She is a chief editor of a publishing company and is great at her work. However, though she may be successful at her career her dating life is the opposite. To be able to publish "Single in Seoul" she will then have to me Young Ho. "Single in Seoul" began filming last November 14, 2020. The movie is helmed by director Park Bum Soo. If you missed watching him on the small screen here is a list of drama series, you may consider or reconsider watching again. "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God ", "Touch Your Heart," "Search: WWW, and the recent drama "Tale of the Nine-Tailed". KDramastars owns this article. Written By Liza Parker Mediators in Moscow on Thursday urged the Taliban not to launch a spring offensive, as international efforts for a peace deal intensify ahead of a deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. The conference in Moscow came as part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States to negotiate Washington's exit nearly 20 years after US troops invaded the country in response to the September 11 attacks. Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan appealed for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan and to the warring sides to avoid deaths in order to "create a favourable atmosphere for achieving a politico-diplomatic settlement". "We call on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reduce the level of violence in the country and the Taliban Movement not to declare a spring-summer offensive campaign," they said in a joint statement. The international mediators also said the two sides should reach an agreement "as soon as possible" that would "bring an end to over four decades of war in Afghanistan". The US is supposed to complete a withdrawal of its military from Afghanistan by May 1 as part of a deal with the Taliban -- a deadline US President Joe Biden said Wednesday would be "tough" to meet. Washington also wants to jump-start the peace process and get the Taliban and Afghan government to agree to some form of power-sharing. The Kremlin, which pulled Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 after a bruising occupation, last week threw its weight behind Washington's initiative for an interim government that included the Taliban. "In a degrading military-political situation, further delays are unacceptable," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said while opening the conference on Thursday. Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told the Moscow conference that Afghans "should be left to decide their own fate", a Taliban spokesman said. Story continues "The world should take into account the Islamic values, independence and national interests of the Afghan people," the spokesman said in a tweeted summary of Baradars speech, given behind closed doors. - Curtain-raiser for Turkey negotiations - In a show of support for the international efforts, the head of the Afghan government's reconciliation council, Abdullah Abdullah, said Kabul wanted to speed up negotiations and for "the two sides to start their talks and discussions in a different atmosphere". Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- a famed anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s who joined the government's delegation to Moscow -- said Thursday's talks had broken the "stalemate" in Doha, according to his spokesman. The so-called "butcher of Kabul", who was accused of killing thousands of people in the capital during the countrys bloody civil war in the 1990s, was seen casually lunching with leading members of the Taliban negotiating team. The visiting Afghan delegation included a large spectrum of personalities from the past four years of conflict, including members of the current negotiation team in Doha, a former president and two warlords accused of grave war crimes. Critics also lambasted the lack of women invited to the summit. Negotiations to end the conflict initiated in Qatar last September have made little progress and their outcome is uncertain. Meanwhile urban centres in Afghanistan are in the grip of a bloody campaign in the form of attacks targeting politicians, civil servants, academics, rights activists and journalists. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Thursday that a military helicopter that crashed in the volatile Wardak province had been shot down, killing four crew and five members of the security forces. "The perpetrators of the incident will be seriously punished," he said at a ceremony at the presidential palace. The United States, despite tensions with Russia, has welcomed Moscow's role and also consulted fellow rival China as diplomacy steps up. Pakistan -- which holds the most outside influence over the Taliban -- is also represented in Moscow. Analysts have said the Moscow conference is largely a curtain-raiser for an even bigger gathering to be held in Turkey next month. burs-ecl-jbr/acl/har A three-year-old boy is killed after two dogs attack him and his mother (NBC News New York) A three-year-old boy was killed and his mother was severely injured after they were attacked by two of their neighbour's dogs. The incident occurred at a home in Carteret, New Jersey, around 4.30pm on Tuesday, according to local officials. Eyewitness accounts from neighbours said that the young boy was playing in his backyard with his mom when the two dogs living next door, identified as pitbulls, were able to crawl underneath a fence that separated them from him. Neighbours called 911 after they heard screaming, ABC7 reports. When first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered the three-year-old was so severely injured that they decided to airlift him to a nearby hospital. He later died from his injuries. His mother was transported to a hospital in an ambulance. Her condition was not currently known. Read more: Police have yet to release the names of the mother or deceased child. One neighbour described the pitbulls as menances to the community, alleging that the animals have previously bit other people, ABC7 reports. "Those pitbulls bit people all in this area," one neighbor told the publication. "I'm aware of certain houses, so I try to walk a different path when I know that they're on that block." It was not clear if the neighbours would face charges after the incident. Town officials said that municipal records showed that the animals were not registered, which was against city laws. It was later confirmed that both animals were euthanised following the incident, NBC New York reports. The Mayor of Carteret, Dan Reiman, tweeted his condolence towards the family on Tuesday night following the incident. "Our prayers are with the family affected by a dog attack at a private residence on Laurel St. Thank you to the first responders who rushed in to attend to the victims, who are being transported by helicopter for emergency medical care. That's all the info we have at this time," Mr Reiman wrote. The investigation is still ongoing. The company's newest retail store is located in the City of Winnipeg and is scheduled to open on March 18, 2021 The company said it plans to have up to 20 Delta 9 Cannabis retail stores open this year and has a long-term vision of opening many more Delta 9 branded retail stores across Canada ( ) (OTCQX:DLTNF) has announced the grand opening of its eleventh Delta 9 Cannabis retail store, and eighth cannabis store in the Province of Manitoba. The company's newest retail store, located in the City of Winnipeg, is scheduled to open on March 18, 2021. Were pleased to bring Delta 9 and our many brand partners to the residents of North Winnipeg and surrounding areas with a brand-new retail store at Bunns Creek." said John Arbuthnot, CEO of Delta 9 in a statement. Delta 9s welcoming retail cannabis concept, combined with a focus on convenient and high traffic shopping destinations have been a successful part of the Companys overall vertical integration strategy. Our retail strategy is to offer the best selection of cannabis products at the lowest prices from the most popular cannabis manufacturers in Canada. Delta 9 now has eight stores open servicing Manitobans and eleven in total across Canada. The company said it plans to have up to 20 Delta 9 Cannabis retail stores open this year and has a long-term vision of opening many more Delta 9 branded retail stores across Canada. Located in one of Winnipegs most vast and established communities, North Kildonan on the corner of Henderson Highway and Bonner. The new location enjoys a traffic counts of over 35,000 cars a day and is well appointed to service over 54,000 people living nearby with an average household income of $100,000 per year, Delta 9 said. The new store is located at 2001 Henderson Highway as part of the Bunns Creek mall. The location offers plenty of free parking spaces and easy access from the street. The new store offers customers a modern shopping decor, highly trained staff and a wide range of products, including dried cannabis flower, cannabis oil, edibles, drinkables, vape pens, concentrates, the company added. Delta 9 Cannabis is a vertically integrated cannabis company focused on bringing the highest quality cannabis products to market. The company sells cannabis products through its wholesale and retail sales channels and sells its cannabis grow pods to other businesses. Delta 9's wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc., is a licensed producer of medical and recreational cannabis and operates an 80,000 square foot production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Delta 9 owns and operates a chain of retail stores under the Delta 9 Cannabis Store brand. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com Washington, March 18 : Democrats from both the House of Representatives and the Senate have condemned the exacerbating anti-Asian violence in the US in the wake of the Atlanta massage parlour shootings that claimed the lives of eight people, including six Asians. On Wednesday, Rodney Bryant, acting chief of the Atlanta Police Department, told a news briefing that the probe was still in the "very early" stage, and that investigators cannot determine at the moment that the shooting spree was a hate crime, although multiple calls received by the police department sought to confirm that conclusion, reports Xinhua news agency. Police on Tuesday evening arrested the suspect, 21-year-old white man from Georgia, Robert Aaron Long, who during an interview with law enforcement at the night claimed responsibility for the shooting incidents at three massage parlours in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Long claimed that the attacks were not racially motivated, and that he had a "sexual addiction" and saw the massage parlours as a "temptation" that he wanted to "eliminate", according to authorities, adding that Long, when caught, was on the way to Florida, where he planned to commit similar crimes. The carnage added to the already high tensions around violence and discrimination targeting the Asian American community during the coronavirus pandemic. While condemning Tuesday's carnage, the Congressional Democrats also warned of a surge in similar hate-crimes. On Wednesday, Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman Ted Lieu, both of whom are of Asian origins, accused the Donald Trump administration of stoking racial discrimination and fanning the flame of hatred toward Asian Americans by using ethnic identifiers like "China virus", "Wuhan virus" and "Kung Flu" in describing the coronavirus. "As a result, the anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents increased exponentially," said Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She said research has found that the amount of anti-Asian Twitter traffic increased by 900 per cent in the first few months of Trump's usage of the slurs. "And what we saw yesterday, is the result of that." The House has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on rising incidents of hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans. Meanwhile, Richard Blumenthal, a Senator from Connecticut, tweeted that the shooting on Tuesday "reflects a sickening trend that must be stopped". "America must unite to fight the stomach-turning surge in violence against the Asian-American community," he said. In a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, former President Barack Obama said the identity of those killed in Tuesday's shooting rampage "underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end". He called for ridding the country of gun violence, which he said is a "longer-lasting epidemic" compared to the coronavirus pandemic. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The Lviv Armored Plant, a part of State Concern Ukroboronprom, handed over a new batch of 10 modernized T-64 and T-72 tanks to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. "The tanks underwent major repairs and deep modernization. We took into account all the wishes of the customer. The equipment was delivered in full combat readiness. It is equipped with state-of-the-art communication and fire control systems, day and night vision devices, rear view cameras, grenade-launching smoke screen systems and dynamic protection from high-explosive hollow charges," said the plants director Viktor Androshchuk, the press service of Ukroboronprom informs. As noted, the plant continues to send on-site repair crews to the Joint Forces Operation area and to the locations of armored vehicles. Over two months of this year, 12 combat vehicles were restored. The day before, on March 16, ten of them were handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the end of February 2021, the Kyiv Armored Plant overhauled five T-72 tanks and handed them over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. ol China urges U.S., Japan to stop interfering in China's internal affairs Xinhua) 09:19, March 18, 2021 Photo/Ministry of Foreign Affairs BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the recent U.S.-Japan joint statement, which maliciously attacked China's foreign policy, seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and attempted to damage China's interests, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop forming "small cliques" targeting China. Zhao made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on a U.S.-Japan joint statement, which was issued after "2+2" talks on Tuesday between the foreign and defense ministers the United States and Japan. The joint statement expressed the two countries' concerns over multiple issues related to China. "We have lodged solemn representations separately with the United States and Japan," Zhao said. First, he emphasized that the international system with the United Nations (UN) as its core is the only system in the world, and that the only set of rules in the world is the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes of the UN Charter. "The United States and Japan have no right to unilaterally define international relations, let alone impose their own standards on others," Zhao said. Second, China has always been an important force in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, he said. China has established partnerships with 112 countries and international organizations, joined more than 100 inter-governmental international organizations, signed over 500 multilateral treaties, and is the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The United States has always followed double standards, applying international laws and rules when they suit its own interests and abandoning them when they don't, according to Zhao. The United States has not been at war for only 16 years of its nearly 250-year history, and it has hundreds of military bases worldwide. "The international community will have a fair judgement on who is the biggest threat to world peace," Zhao said. Third, China's position on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear, and China is firm in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests. China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, and over the Diaoyu Islands and adjacent waters, Zhao said. Issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are China's internal affairs, and brook no foreign interference, Zhao said, adding that the joint statement made by the United States and Japan ignored facts and truth, acting as further proof of collusion between the two countries, interfering in China's internal affairs, and an unpleasant example of slandering and discrediting China. Fourth, the United States and Japan are sticking to the Cold War mentality, deliberately engaging in group confrontation and trying to create an anti-China encirclement. "It is completely going against the trend of the times," Zhao said, pointing out that the move by the two countries is against the common expectations of the vast majority of countries, both in the region and globally, for peace, development and cooperation. "Their move will only bring chaos or even conflict to the region, revealing the truth to the world that it is the U.S.-Japan alliance that undermines peace and stability in the region," he said. Fifth, in order to satisfy its own interests in deterring China's rise and rejuvenation, Japan is willing to rely on others and act as a strategic vassal of the United States. "It is shameful and repugnant for Japan to betray its promises and undermine China-Japan relations; and betray the overall interests of the region by inviting wolves into its house," said Zhao. Sixth, China strongly urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop forming "small cliques" targeting China and stop undermining peace and stability in the region. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," Zhao said. Aedes aegypti are the primary vector for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, however the effects of climate change-related weather anomalies on mosquito populations is not well understood. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Cameron Nosrat at Stanford University, United States and colleagues suggests that early interventions may prevent disease transmission even as extreme climate events may increase the abundance of Ae. aegypti populations. Temperature and rainfall have significant impacts on Ae aegypti abundance, and climate change will likely intensify the frequency of extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, heat waves and cold waves. To better understand the specific effects of weather anomalies on the dynamics of vector-borne disease transmission, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the impact of extreme rainfall and temperature on mosquito abundance and the risk of dengue infections in Kenya. Using satellite-derived climate data, the authors classified extreme climate events rainfall and temperatures as in the upper or lower 10% of historical averages. The researchers then monitored Aedes aegypti abundance using trapping methods and new dengue fever cases via blood samples collected from a cohort of 7,653 children. Flood seasons contributed to significantly higher Ae. aegypti egg and adult abundance. However, extreme climate events and greater Ae. aegypti abundance did not correlate to an increased number of confirmed dengue fever cases. Human behaviors can modify the relationship between mosquito abundance and disease transmission, and influence infection risk. Preventative measures in the study sites may have contributed to reductions in dengue transmission. A major limitation of the study was the lack of long-term Kenya climate data; however, the authors believe their study effectively examines the influence of weather anomalies on various life stages of Ae. aegypti abundance. According to the authors, "Dengue is the fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease in the world, and as climate change accelerates, many vulnerable populations will continue to be disproportionately impacted by this virus. Having shown floods to result in significantly increased dengue vector abundance, we hope to encourage actionable interventions to limit infection risk in light of these extreme climate events." ### Peer-reviewed; Observational study; Animals, People In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: http://journals. plos. org/ plosntds/ article?id= 10. 1371/ journal. pntd. 0009182 Citation: Nosrat C, Altamirano J, Anyamba A, Caldwell JM, Damoah R, Mutuku F, et al. (2021) Impact of recent climate extremes on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Kenya. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 15(3): e0009182. https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1371/ journal. pntd. 0009182 Funding: This research was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R01AI102918 (ADL). The Stanford REDCap platform (http://redcap. stanford. edu ) is operated by Stanford Medicine Research IT team. The REDCap platform services at Stanford are subsidized by a) Stanford School of Medicine Research Office, and b) the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through grant UL1 TR001085?. JMC was supported by a Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment - Environmental Ventures Program grant. The funders had no role in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Inventory Management Software market will register an incremental spend of about USD 1.23 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 9.10% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Inventory Management Software sourcing can unlock several opportunities for buyers. This report also offers market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download free sample report Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Inventory Management Software Market Procurement Research Report Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Get a free sample report for more information Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers: Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Inventory Management Software market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Inventory Management Software pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives. For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, Click here. Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth: The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers. Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 2.00%-4.00%. Identify favorable opportunities in Inventory Management Software TCO (total cost of ownership). Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes. Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities. Some of the top Inventory Management Software suppliers listed in this report: This Inventory Management Software procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Microsoft Corp. SAP SE Oracle Corp. Blue Yonder Group Inc. Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. Revel Systems Inc. Dubai Holding LLC Unleashed Software Ltd. 3PL Central LLC Vend Ltd. To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment, Subscribe Now for Free. Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix Get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights to our digital procurement platform- Contact Us. About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more: https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? We Hub Partners with University of Bolton to help scale its start-ups to UK region Hyderabad, Mar 18 (UNI) WE HUB, Indias first and only state-led incubator by the Government of Telangana to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start-up, scale-up and accelerate with global market access, on Thursday announced its partnership with the University of Bolton, one of UK's top educational institutes to help scale its start-ups to the UK region. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by WE HUB CEO Deepthi Ravula and University of Bolton Deputy Vice-Chancellor Kondal Reddy Kandadi, in the presence of Telangana Minister for IT and Municipal Administration K Taraka Rama Rao, and Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State of the United Kingdom for the Commonwealth, the United Nations and South Asia, WE HUB said in a release here. The partnership for two years will enable cross-channel expansion of WE HUBs women entrepreneurs into the UK markets. It will also open communication with relevant ecosystem players for both parties for future collaborations, the release said. Mr Deepthi Ravula, said, Through this partnership, we would like to create a roadmap of how Women Entrepreneurship can be scaled across countries and gives entrepreneurs access to expand to international markets and tap into resources with dedicated support from University of Bolton in the UK and WE Hub in India. Kondal Reddy said, Initiatives like WE Hub are investing great effort towards increasing the women participation in entrepreneurship. This partnership will enable knowledge exchange between the UK and India with a specific focus on developing women entrepreneurs and leaders for industry. The selected start-ups will get access to evaluate the business growth opportunities, market understanding and access to clients in the UK region. They will also derive benefits from both ecosystems enabling them to globalize their innovations rapidly. The partnership will also focus on industry development through policy interventions to encourage and support women entrepreneurs and business leaders. Lord Tariq Ahmad, who visited WE HUB and interacted with six start-ups, addressed the WE Hub team and start-ups, part of the incubation program, on how innovation is opening doors across the globe and how to break barriers even when the world is telling you cannot do something. UNI KNR CS 1749 The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says the Kwara government should be held responsible for the hijab crisis rocking the state. ... The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says the Kwara government should be held responsible for the hijab crisis rocking the state. In a statement, Joseph Daramola, CAN general secretary, said the swift reopening of the schools is responsible for the resurgence of the religious crisis. He said the state government failed to address the underlining issues before taking the decision, and asked the federal government to intervene into the matter. We learnt that the State Government has ordered the reopening of the closed schools without resolving the crisis, CAN said. Consequently, churches and mission schools are being vandalised with impunity by the hoodlums banking on the state governments support in the pretext of enforcing the policy. Some innocent Christians are being violently abused and attacked under the watch of the Governor who is playing ostrich. Because it was his pronouncement on the issue of hijab wearing in violation of the court directive on the matter to maintain status quo until the matter is finally resolved by the court that led to this trouble. If any damage is done to any church or anyone is injured on this matter, the Governor of Kwara State will be held responsible. It is disheartening and unfortunate that a government that was installed democratically will become insensitive to the plight and the yearning of the people. As if the governor was voted into the office primarily to protect his own religion. This is unfair, ungodly and reprehensible. There are public schools and schools that belong to some Islamic organisations where those who wanted to be wearing hijab can be attending without causing the ongoing needless crisis rocking the state. In the past few weeks, the state has been embroiled in controversy over the use of hijab in public schools, especially those that are referred to as grant-aided missionary schools. On February 19, the state government ordered the closure of 10 schools over a dispute on the use of hijab by Muslim female students. The controversy degenerated into violence on Wednesday in Ilorin, where Christians and Muslims engaged in a confrontation following the decision of the state government to reopen 10 schools earlier closed. The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had accused CAN of instigating the clash between the two religions in the state. The state later clarified that the use of hijab in public schools is not mandatory, but Muslim schoolgirls who are willing can put on the headgear. Goodbye Pennsylvania Avenue. Hello Pennsylvania. The four-story, 50-ton marble tablet engraved with the First Amendment that graced the former Newseum in Washington, D.C., has been donated to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. "Symbolically and in reality, this is the place where the text of the First Amendment was meant to live in perpetuity," said Jeffrey Rosen, center's president and chief executive. "It's extraordinarily meaningful to gaze out through this window to see the place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted. And now the words of the First Amendment will be there." A gift from the Freedom Forum, the foundation dedicated to the First Amendment and the Newseum's primary funder, the text engraved in pieces of pink marble will be reconfigured to fit in the second-floor atrium at the center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and engaging visitors about the U.S. Constitution. The fate of the landmark facade has been uncertain since January 2019, when the Freedom Forum announced it would sell the building at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue to Johns Hopkins University for $372.5 million. "The National Constitution Center obviously has a mission that is complementary to ours," Jonathan Thompson, chief outreach officer of the Freedom Forum, said. "It was important to us that it was on public view. It was part of the Newseum experience here in D.C., and now it will be part of the experience there." Displaying the text of the First Amendment is especially important now, as the freedoms it promises are under attack in a fractured world, Rosen said. "In this polarized time in America, the text of the Constitution and the First Amendment in particular are the words that unite us," he said. "We may disagree about politics, but we are united in our devotion to the Constitution and the First Amendment." The vertical tablet will be removed in pieces over the next several weeks, and will be reconfigured in a horizontal space at the center. The cost of the project has not been finalized, Rosen said, but it is being underwritten by J. Michael Luttig, a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, and his wife, Elizabeth Luttig. Rosen described the judge as "an old friend of mine and a new donor to the center." The project is expected to be completed by the fall. Jan Neuharth, the Freedom Forum's chair and chief executive, joined the Constitution Center's board of trustees after making the gift, Rosen said. The two nonprofit organizations are considering ways to continue working together. "We will be collaborating closely with Jan and the Freedom Forum, including our hope to create a First Amendment gallery, which may include loans from the Newseum," Rosen said. Originally located in a modest space in Arlington, Va., the Newseum opened its lavish building in Washington in 2008, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. But with its paid admission in a city filled with free museums, the Newseum struggled with perennial budget deficits and relied on the Freedom Forum for almost $500 million over its 20-year history. The financial troubles got so bad that in 2017, the foundation said it would consider selling the building. It announced the deal with Johns Hopkins in January 2019. When the museum closed on Dec. 31, 2019, Freedom Forum officials said they planned to reopen in a smaller space in the future. Thompson said those plans haven't been abandoned, although the pandemic has presented challenges. "I don't think we ruled it out but we haven't advanced that conversation into anything concrete," he said. "Partnerships like the one we're entertaining with the Constitution center have a lot of promise. We want our collection to be visible and accessible. We are excited to hear the center is considering putting in a First Amendment gallery. That's the kind of opportunity we're looking for and excited about." Sororities and fraternities can keep their Greek letters hurricanes will no longer use them. The World Meteorological Organization, which maintains the rotating list of hurricane names and retires storm names when appropriate, has decided to stop using the Greek alphabet for naming storms. These letters were designated for especially active seasons when the list of 21 names was exhausted. Timeline: A look at 2020s record-breaking hurricane season Last Atlantic hurricane season, with a record 30 named storms, used nine letter names from the Greek alphabet. It was only the second time the Greek alphabet was used to name storms. According to the World Meteorological Organization, this caused several issues. Pulling out the Greek alphabet garnered a lot of attention perhaps more attention than the storms themselves. The pronunciation of several Greek letters (Zeta, Eta, Theta) is similar. It can be confusing when storms with similar sounding names occurring simultaneously. There can also be confusion when translating these names into other languages. But perhaps the biggest issue is how to handle Greek alphabet names that need to be retired. There was no formal plan for retiring Greek names, and during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season both Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota made landfall in Nicaragua as Category 4 storms. Hurricane Iota was the strongest storm at landfall in 2020. James Franklin, former chief of forecast operations for the National Hurricane Center, suspected the Greek alphabet would be addressed by the Hurricane Committee, which serves North America, Central America and the Caribbean. He said ditching the Greek alphabet previously came up after the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, the other year these names were required, but those storms weren't as strong or damaging as Eta or Iota. I think it will come up again now that Eta and Iota were very, very powerful landfalling storms," Franklin previously told the Chronicle in a November 2020 interview. "Whether the committee will be any more amenable to the suggestion this year than they have in the past, I dont know." It appears the Hurricane Committee was more amenable this time. Committee members decided to retire the names Eta and Iota, which caused extensive flooding in Nicaragua, Honduras and other adjacent Central American countries and resulted in at least 272 fatalities and more than $9 billion in damage losses, according to the news release. They also retired Laura and Dorian (Dorian was in 2019). Laura was the Category 4 hurricane that skirted Houston and made landfall near Cameron, La. It was responsible for 47 direct deaths in the U.S. and Hispaniola and caused more than $19 billion in damage. Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane, was the strongest hurricane to hit the northwestern Bahamas in modern records. It caused $3.4 billion in damages, mainly in Abaco and eastern Grand Bahama Islands. The Inter-American Development Bank, an agency which the government of the Bahamas asked to conduct a study of Dorian, stated that the hurricane left 29,500 people homeless and/or jobless, according to the news release. Another change for 2021: Hurricane outlooks to start earlier this year after recent uptick in storm activity Hurricanes are named using a rotating list thats recycled every six years. Dexter will replace Dorian on the list of names in 2025, and Leah will replace Laura on the list of names in 2026. There have been 93 names retired from the list since 1953, when the current naming system began. As for the Greek alphabet, Hurricane Committee members will create a supplemental list of names A-Z (excluding Q, U, X, Y and Z) that would be used for the next hurricane season when 21 names is just not enough. andrea.leinfelder@chron.com twitter.com/a_leinfelder The companys successful exploration program has resulted in it meeting the expenditure requirements of the earn-in agreement with First Mining Gold Corp for 51% of the project two years ahead of schedule. The project hosts an independent JORC 2012 inferred mineral resource of 1 million ounces at 11.3 g/t gold. Auteco Minerals Ltd ( ) ( ) has completed the Stage 1 earn-in expenditure requirements for the Pickle Crow Gold Project in Canada and is set to lift its stake in the project to 51% as per the terms of the agreement announced on January 28, 2020. The requirements were met as a result of the expenditure incurred in the companys highly successful exploration program, which delivered an independent JORC 2012 inferred resource of 1 million ounces at 11.3 g/t gold in September 2020. Drilling has since returned a host of high-grade results from outside this inferred resource, with further assays pending and results expected to be published shortly. Significant milestone for Pickle Crow Auteco executive chairman Ray Shorrocks said: The 1-million-ounce inferred resource we have established, and its tier-1 location demonstrate that the Pickle Crow Gold Project is a superb gold asset with immense growth potential. We are delighted to have completed the Stage 1 expenditure requirements, as it marks a significant milestone in the development of this exciting project, and we look forward to unlocking further value. Completing the stage 1 earn in The company will now issue 100 million ordinary shares to First Mining Gold Corp ( ) (OTCMKTS: FFMGF) ( ) subject to shareholder approval, to complete the stage 1 earn-in. Once the shares are issued, Auteco will have earned a 51% equity interest in . - First Minings wholly-owned subsidiary that currently owns the Pickle Crow Gold Project. Full details of the proposed issuance of shares will be included in the company's notice of meeting which will be provided to shareholders shortly. The company anticipates that the meeting will be held in late April or early May 2021. Surface plan showing selected Auteco intersections to date from the Pickle Crow Gold Project. Drilling program underway Auteco is undertaking a 45,000-metre drilling program at Pickle Crow to expedite resource growth. Five rigs are now on-site at the project and in parallel to the near-mine program, the company also plans to test several regional opportunities including the Springer Shaft (2 metres at 37 g/t), SW Powderhouse (6 metres at 7 g/t), F Vein (4.6 metres at 9 g/t), Tarp Lake (36 metres at 1.5 g/t), and Metcalf (1.8 metres at 70 g/t and 1.8 metres at 29 g/t). The project has a strong operating history (producing 1.5 million ounces at 16.1 g/t) with the company confident there is potential for further discoveries. A university student stole nearly 7000 from his newsagent employer to help pay for his Masters course in dispute resolution, a Dublin court has heard. Eoram Dobnam De Lima (26) regularly voided transactions while working on the till in a Centra store, before taking that amount in cash at the end of his shift, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday. De Lima, with an address in Newport Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of stealing property from Centra in Charlemont Street between November 1, 2019 and January 15, 2020. He stole a total of 6,936 in cash over 742 voided transactions, the court heard. Garda Tao Yu told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, the owner of the store, Robert O'Leary, was alerted to some irregularities in voided transactions by a till security system. He and the shop manager investigated the time of the transactions and matched them with CCTV footage, where De Lima could be seen carrying out the voided transactions and making a note of them. The court heard De Lima would tot up the amounts of the voided transactions at the end of the day before taking that amount in cash out of the till. When confronted by his managers, De Lima immediately confessed to taking the money. He also admitted to taking money from the shop in September 2019, but CCTV footage did not go back that far so there was no available evidence, the court heard. Gerardine Small BL, defending, said De Lima is originally from Brazil but has been living and studying in Ireland for the last three to four years. He has no previous convictions. He used the money to pay for college fees, Ms Small said. He is doing a Masters in Dispute Resolution. Ms Small said De Lima was extremely remorseful and wished to pay the money back, but his passport has been surrendered as part of his bail conditions and he cannot renew his work visa. He is currently on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), she said. Ms Small agreed with Judge Melanie Greally that De Lima is still studying and is still financing his Masters course. It might have been better directed to making good the loss to Mr O'Leary than financing his education, Judge Greally said. He may not be in a position to enjoy the benefits of that education as a result of this offence. The judge adjourned the matter for six months to get a number of reports and to allow De Lima to save money as restitution for Mr O'Leary. The breach of trust is a very significant one, the judge said. Mr De Lima is going to have to put his best foot forward on all fronts if he is to avoid some element of custody on the next occasion. The matter will return to court on October 5. Making sure the coronavirus vaccine is rolled out to whoever needs it is a manufacturing and logistical exercise of a scale never before attempted. With a world population heading for 8 billion, a virus cutting a swath through dozens of countries, and most vaccines requiring two doses, it is no surprise that every nation is scrambling to secure sufficient supply. Some are doing better than others. Israel leads the pack. It has already vaccinated close to 50 per cent of its population with jabs from Pfizer after it agreed to share extensive medical data with the pharmaceutical giant. In sheer volume, America is ahead, having given more than 110 million people at least one dose and, after a slow start, it is managing to vaccinate nearly 2.5 million people a day. Victorian GPs were swamped with calls from people wanting to book in their COVID-19 vaccine. Credit:Getty Images But there are plenty of countries, including Australia, that have got off to a slow start. Only five with a population of more than 1 million have managed to vaccinate 10 per cent of their population or more. The urgency of the situation has not abated. While the global number of new daily infections has dropped since the high in mid-January, there are still almost half a million people testing positive each day, mostly in Europe, the Americas and India. But even in nations that have low infection rates, such as Australia, there is a growing realisation that unless a sizeable proportion of the global population is vaccinated, there will be little chance of reopening borders and returning life to some form of normality. A Northwest Side Walmart was evacuated Thursday after two juveniles allegedly connected to a nearby shooting ran into the store, San Antonio police said. At around 11:40 a.m., police responded to the area of Vance Jackson Road and Interstate 10 for reports of shots being fired from vehicles. Police then received calls that the vehicles suspected of being involved in the shooting stopped at the Walmart at 1603 Vance Jackson Road and multiple people with guns ran inside the store to hide. Police later said there was never a gun inside the store. One of the two juveniles who ran inside dropped his weapon outside, police said. Walmart customers, however, were evacuated as a precaution. Police arrested the two juveniles but are still looking for two others who may have been involved in the incident. According to police, a woman noticed her car, which was stolen on Monday, was up for sale online and contacted the seller as a potential buyer. The woman and a male relative met with the juveniles in the 1600 block of Wildwood. At some point, the juveniles realized it was the woman's car and fled in the stolen vehicle, police said. The woman then chased the juveniles. Police said there were shots fired during the chase but do not know who they came from. The chase ended at the Walmart after the suspected stolen vehicle broke down. Police said the two individuals they are looking for may be armed and are asking nearby residents to report anyone who may look suspicious. The two individuals in custody may face possible charges of unauthorized use of a vehicle and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said. The Walmart will remain closed for several hours as police continue their investigation. SAPD spokesperson Chris Ramos said the woman put herself in a dangerous situation by taking the law into her own hands. If you find stolen property being sold, dont set up a buy and dont meet with the seller, Ramos said. Call police and we will take care of it. Its not worth your life or putting yourself in danger. Vietnam must keep on pursuing the twin goals of effectively combating COVID-19 and boosting economic growth in the new normal, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in a meeting on March 17 morning. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs a virtual meeting among the governments standing members, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and 63 cities and provinces to look back on COVID-19 response over the past year. (Photo: VNA) Chaired by Phuc, the virtual meeting was held among the governments standing members, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and 63 cities and provinces to look back on COVID-19 response over the past year. Vietnam has accurately assessed how dangerous the COVID-19 was since the outset of the pandemic, activated the national disease prevention system in time and swiftly adopted solutions suitable to the pandemic development and the nations capacity, the PM said. The successful containment of COVID-19 has strengthened peoples confidence in the Partys sound leadership and the States policies, he added. He expressed his sincere thanks to all Vietnamese people, both at home and overseas, and all-level Party organisations and administrations for collective efforts in overcoming hardship and fighting COVID-19. The Government leader moved on to highlight lessons learned from the COVID-19 response, with international cooperation deemed as very important. Vietnam has actively proposed initiatives and responsibly engaged in the international communitys collaborative endeavour in addressing global challenges, he noted, citing as an example the United Nations General Assemblys endorsement of Vietnams initiative of making December 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. The PM asked all ministries, governmental agencies and provincial-level Peoples Committees to continue rigorously enforcing orders made by the government and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control alongside instructions by the Ministry of Health and keeping up guard against the novel coronavirus. Welfare assistance must also continue to be given to affected enterprises and people, he said. Phuc urged the Ministry of Health and localities to provide safe COVID-19 vaccination to people, consider imports of COVID-19 vaccines from different sources, and speed up domestic vaccine production. Vietnam must roll out a home-grown COVID-19 vaccine in 2022 at the latest, he said. Vietnam confirmed 2,560 COVID-19 cases as of March 17 morning, of which 2,186 cases, or 85.4 percent, had been given the all-clear, while 339 are under treatment and 35 were dead, according to the Ministry of Health./. VNA Photo: TEEAM A branch of a helicopter-based rescue service that caters to resource-based industries could be ready to fly out of Prince George by the early summer. Miles Randell, president of Squamish-based Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical, says he has nearly 20 people signed up to take the training this April and aims to have the branch take to the sky by sometime in June, if not sooner. He said what TEEAM provides differs from B.C. Ambulance Service in that a crew will be able to reach remote locations, and differs from search and rescue in that each flight will carry two members capable of providing advanced life support. In the three years it has been operating out of Squamish, Randell said the non-profit has attracted strong support from the forest industry in general and treeplanting companies in particular. "It's financed in part through what we call a patronage program which is based on the model they use in Switzerland," Randell said. "It's kind of like a membership, so you pay an annual fee to be a patron of our program and that sort of helps us keep the lights on and pay our bills. And then we offer an insurance-based program that covers the cost of rescues when you do need a rescue." He said patrons in need of help contact TEEAM directly. "Our air-ops will answer the call and dispatch the appropriate resources," Randell said. TEEAMS also works with the Canadian Armed Forces' joint rescue centre on an as-needed basis. Likewise, he said TEEAMS can also respond to calls from the RCMP whenever there is a need for a higher-level of medical care or mountain rescue that a traditional search and rescue group cannot provide. Including Prince George, he said TEEAM is in the process of establishing in five more communities across the province. It was launched after Randell and TEEAM vice president Jordan Lawrence lost a friend to cardiac arrest while in the backcountry. "I kind of found myself on a journey with a crew of other guys that were involved in trying to fill that gap," Randell said. "We've travelled to Switzerland to see how they do it. They're 53 years ahead of us in Switzerland. We travelled to New Zealand where they're 50 years ahead of us. "We're behind, but we're catching up quickly and we've already made a huge difference in patient care which is first and foremost with our program. But there's also the financial benefit to the financial system and to WorkSafe from the service that we provide." The Prince George branch will rely on a helicopter provided by Bailey Helicopters on a pay-as-you-go basis. About $350,000 has been budgeted to outfit the staff, who will be paid on a per-mission basis. Motor vehicle assembler Isuzu East Africa has clarified the reported political gimmick by Deputy President William Ruto in which he donated a bus to Kianjai Secondary School in Meru County. According to media reports, Isuzu repossessed the Sh3.5 million bus over unsettled payments. But in a statement Wednesday, Isuzu East Africa Communications Manager Duncan Muhindi refuted these claims saying the bus was fully paid for in December 2020. Kianjai Girls Secondary School from Tigania West, Meru County placed an order with Isuzu East Africa for a 46-seater bus in September 2019. The payment was completed in December 2020. Subsequently, a chassis was allocated and bus body fabrication commenced, said Muhindi. He said the initial letter of repossession that was widely circulated online was fake and had not originated from Isuzu. The letter indicates that this action was taken because of delayed payment during the purchase process. We have noted that the letters misleading contents also appeared in a story published online by one of the leading daily newspapers, said Isuzu. Muhindi also explained that the bus was taken back to the Isuzu Assembly plant to complete a formal handover process. The bus had recently been completed and number plates issued. We expect to make delivery of the bus to the school next week, said FOND DU LAC, Wis., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caravel Autism Health will host a ribbon-cutting event today to celebrate the grand opening of a new autism therapy center in Fond du Lac, WI. The center is designed to meet the needs of children ages 2 to 18 who may be on the autism spectrum. Located at 51 West Scott Street, the center is led by professionals who specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of autism. Founded in Wisconsin, Caravel Autism Health has been helping families living with the challenges of an autism diagnosis for more than a decade. "As an organization, we are committed to leveraging the deep clinical experience of our team to deliver better outcomes for the families we serve," explained Chris Wilkins, BCBA, APSW, regional director for Caravel Autism Health in Wisconsin. "Our experts create customized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatment plans for each child. We use positive reinforcement to help them develop skills, create connections, and gain confidence." "ABA therapy is research-based treatment that gives a child the greatest chance for living a happy and independent life," according to Abby Amacher, BCBA, Caravel's clinical director in Fond du Lac. "Until now, most of this therapy has been done on an in-home basis. Our new center gives families another option. We can deliver this life-changing treatment in a colorful, welcoming space that's specially designed to meet the needs of kids who are on the spectrum." "Caravel Autism Health is investing in communities to expand access to high-quality autism health services," said Caravel's CEO Mike Miller. "In too many places, there's a shortage of providers and families face long wait times. With each new center we build, we make it easier for families to find the expert help they need." Caravel Autism Health invites parents and others with questions about autism diagnosis and ABA therapy to call 920.581.3180 or visit caravelautism.com. About Caravel Autism Health Founded in 2009, Caravel Autism Health is devoted to helping families navigate the challenges of childhood autism. Caravel's team of autism health experts specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of children on the autism spectrum. Caravel's research-based programs help children with autism reshape their development and embrace new ways of interacting with the world. SOURCE Caravel Autism Health [March 18, 2021] Public Invited to Free Livestreamed Lectures by Latest Kyoto Prize Laureates, March 24-25 (PDT) The Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Symposium Organization today announced a detailed schedule for the 20th annual Kyoto Prize Symposium, featuring unique educational events with two university co-hosts - University of California San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University. Dr. Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of QUALCOMM, this year assumes the role of honorary chairman emeritus of the Symposium, which begins with private media interviews with the latest Kyoto Prize laureate hosts by appointment (for details call 858-576-2674). A virtual benefit gala and opening ceremony honoring the laureates will occur March 23, PDT-6:30pm (prelude at PDT-6:00pm), presided by Gala Chair Mr. Kazuo Koshi, Executive Chairman of MUFG Americas Holdings and its U.S. subsidiary, MUFG Union Bank. The evening will culminate in the presentation of the 2021-2022 Kyoto Prize scholarships, valued at up to US$10,000 or MXN100,000 each, to seven outstanding high school seniors from the San Diego/Baja region. No admission fee will be charged to view the livestream; please register HERE (https://kpsgala.eventbrite.com) in advance. Anyone interested in supporting the event with a voluntary tax-deductible contribution can become a sponsor by calling (858) 733-0323. Free Public Lectures with Latest Kyoto Prize Laureates The Kyoto Prize Symposium's March 24-25 lectures are also free and open to the public. Reservations are required - please register HERE (http://kyotoprizesymposium.eventbrite.com) for lecture events: Wednesday, March 24, 2021, PDT-3:30-5:00pm Mrs. Ariane Mnouchkine, University of California San Diego will virtually host world-renowned stage director Mrs. Ariane Mnouchkine. This unique occasion is the third time in the past 50 years for her to share her personal life experience and performative work with a U.S. audience. Mrs. Mnouchkine joins the program from Paris. The event will be moderated jointly by Professor of Theatre Allan Havis, UC San Diego; and Robert Marx, President of the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation in New York. Marx previously served as director of the National Endowment for the Arts Theatre Program in Washington, DC. Their conversation with Mnouchkine will highlight previously unpublished insights into the iconic artist's career. No admission fee; please register before March 24 at http://kyotoprizesymposium.eventbrite.com to get log-in instructions well before the event. Mnouchkine is founder and director of the Theatre du Soleil in Paris. Since 1964, she has produced masterpieces with historical and political themes referring to traditional performances of both the East and the West. She started her theater in a transformed factory outside of Paris, where it embodies the ideal of "public theater." Theatre du Soleil often uses physicality, inspired by Japanese Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku, Indian Kathakali and Western works, including Shakespeare. Mnouchkine has been innovating theatrical expressions through her collaborative creations based on the methodology of her unique theatrical organization, which eschews hierarchical order. She holds honorary doctorates from the University of Oxford and Roma Tre University, and was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007 by the Venice Biennale, as well as the 2019 Kyoto Prize. Thursday, March 25, 2021, PDT-2:00-3:30pm Dr. Ching W. Tang, University of California San Diego will virtually host Dr. Ching Tang, a chemist and revolutionary innovator in the field of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Tang is a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Professor Emeritus at University of Rochester. His achievements include studying light emission processes in electrically-driven organic materials and inventing a new device structure in which two carefully-selected materials are stacked, allowing for high efficiency light emission at low drive voltages. This pioneering work has led to the practical development of OLED technology and its widespread application in displays, smartphones, televisions and lighting. Dr. Tang is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has received dozens of awards and honors, including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the IEEE (News - Alert) Noble Award for Emerging Technologies. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2019, he received the Kyoto Prize. No admission fee; please register before March 25 at http://kyotoprizesymposium.eventbrite.com to get log-in instructions well before the event. Thursday, March 25, 2021 PDT-4:00-5:30pm Dr. James E. Gunn, latest Kyoto Prize Laureate in "Basic Sciences" University of California San Diego will virtually host Dr. James E. Gunn, a world-leading astrophysicist. Gunn serves as Professor Emeritus of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. His achievements include leading the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) from its inception in 2000. SDSS has produced a three-dimensional digital cosmic map encompassing a vast portion of the observable universe. Dr. Gunn played a vital leading role in the project, including conception, planning, instrument development and data analysis, and contributed to the elucidation of the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time. He has also published many pioneering astrophysical theories, contributing significantly to our understanding of the universe. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Gunn has received many awards and honors, including the Crafoord Prize in Astronomy, Gruber Prize in Cosmology, and National Medal of Science, as well as the 2019 Kyoto Prize. No admission fee; please register before March 25 at http://kyotoprizesymposium.eventbrite.com to get log-in instructions well before the event. "It is always an honor and a pleasure to welcome world-leading thinkers to San Diego," said Ray McKewon, chair of the Kyoto Symposium Organization. "We are delighted to host these Kyoto Prize laureates, and to introduce this year's Kyoto Prize scholarship recipients, whose high school achievements already foretell great promise for the next generation." The Kyoto Prize The Kyoto Prize is presented each year by Japan's non-profit Inamori Foundation to individuals and groups worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the betterment of society, in "Advanced Technology," "Basic Sciences," and "Arts and Philosophy." The prize consists of academic honors, a gold medal, and a cash gift of 100 million yen (more than $900,000) per category, making it Japan's highest private award for global achievement. The Inamori Foundation The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in Kyoto, Japan, in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera Corp. and KDDI (News - Alert) Corp., and honorary adviser to Japan Airlines. Inamori created the Kyoto Prize in reflection of his belief that people have no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of humankind and society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between scientific progress and spiritual depth. The Kyoto Symposium Organization The Kyoto Symposium Organization is a San Diego-based 501(c)3 non-profit established to support the Kyoto Prize Symposium and Kyoto Scholarship programs with the Inamori Foundation and co-hosts, University of California San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University. Since 2004, the Symposium has generated more than $3.5 million for scholarships, fellowships and other educational opportunities in the San Diego/Baja region. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005238/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Duty, Honor, Dirty Soldier: They Tried to Murder Me: a real-life story of how some ex-military soldiers and retirees, as well as members of their families, become some of the most successful criminals in modern-day history. Duty, Honor, Dirty Soldier: They Tried to Murder Me is the creation of published author Willie McIntyre, an ordained minister and ex-military officer who grew up in some of the richest farmland in Mississippi. McIntyre writes, This is the true day to day account of how I have prayed and continuously survived the daily evil acts committed against me by an organized crime car gang run by Americans finest (soldiers). Being a member of the United States Armed Forces is not for everyone. Once you enter the military and take part in its elite training and mission, you gain a sense of pride and honor in your duty to serve. This book shares how some of my comrades, African American Drug Dealers, and their families have betrayed that sacred trust by trading in their duty and honor for money, and using their military skills to commit crimes against their fellow Americans and me. In pursuing their thirst and greed for money and power, they have continuously violated my civil rights by trying to harm me, follow me 24 hours a day, and burn my body over and over again with some form of chemical agent that I believe they learned to develop while they served in Afghanistan. Follow my journey from beginning to modern times as God allows me to use prayer, my military training, and what my mother taught me to survive their daily attacks. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Willie McIntyres new book addresses the issue inside of a military camp and exposes how these military officers become successful criminals of today. Through this book, the author reveals how God showed her the power of prayer in making things possible. View a synopsis of Duty, Honor, Dirty Soldier: They Tried to Murder Me on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Duty, Honor, Dirty Soldier: They Tried to Murder Me at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Duty, Honor, Dirty, Soldier: They Tried to Murder Me, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Webquake Group Keeping Clients Businesses On Track, No Matter What. To ensure high availability around the clock for its clients, outsourcing, colocation, backup, security, and consulting group Webquake upgraded its hosting infrastructure to Lenovo ThinkAgile MX Certified Nodes for Azure Stack HCI. Seeing HCI as the data center architecture of the future, they hoped it would bring flexibility, scalability, and simpler management, when compared to a more traditional set up. Read this case study to learn the impact that Lenovo & Microsoft had on Webquake, including how HCI helps keep the company on track, no matter what. Lucknow, March 18 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's credentials as an able administrator may be discounted by his critics and the opposition parties, but there is no denying the fact that the monk-turned-politician has emerged as the strongest Hindu leader in the past four years. The chief minister has firmly re-established his credential as a Hindu leader and makes no bones about being 'fashionably secular'. Barely two months in office, he had refused to visit the Eidgah on Eid-a tradition followed by all his predecessors. "I am a Hindu and I do not celebrate Eid," he had said when questioned about his decision. The chief minister, in the past four years, has made a concerted bid to promote religious tourism in the state. He started by organizing a 'Deepotsav' programme in Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali in 2017 and a record of sorts was created by lighting 1.76 lakh earthen 'diyas' on the banks of Saryu river. The event that is now an annual feature, has grown in size and grandeur with each passing year. The chief minister also announced a massive development package for Ayodhya - from the renovation of the railway station to construction of a new airport. The Supreme Court verdict in favour of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in November 2019 acted as a catalyst and Yogi Adityanath has speeded up the development projects in the holy city. He personally monitors the progress of the projects and the idea is to make Ayodhya suitable for national and international tourists. The state government is pushing for completion of projects before the completion of the Ram temple. Apart from Ayodhya, Yogi Adityanath has also paid equal, if not more, attention to the development of Varanasi, which is a major religious centre, apart from being Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency. Work on the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, renovation of Ghats and beautification of the heritage city is on in full swing and likely to be completed before the next assembly elections. The Yogi Adityanath government celebrated the Kumbh Mela -- which was actually Ardh Kumbh -- in Prayagraj in 2019 and set up a Prayagraj Mela Authority which will be a permanent body to oversee the event. The Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted global attention and earned accolades for the state government. Bedsides, Yogi Adityanath has set up the Brij Pilgrimage Area Development Council to ensure development of Mathura-Vrindavan. The chief minister has also set up the Naimisharanya Teerth Kshetra Vikas Parishad, Vindhya Teerth Kshetra Vikas Parishad, Shukradham Teerth Vikas Parishad, Chitrakoot Teerth Kshetra Vikas Parishad and the Devipatan Teerth Vikas Parishad to ensure development of the five shrines in these areas. Though he has focused on development of Hindu shrines, Yogi Adityanath has not ignored other shrines in the religious circuit. Shravasti, Kapilvastu and Kushinagar in Buddhist Circuit are being developed and other sites connected with Mahabharat including Hastinapur are also being given a makeover. It is the chief minister's spectacular emergence as an icon of Hindutva that has enhanced his popularity to such an extent that he is now a much sought-after star campaigner from Kerala to West Bengal. In all his campaigns in non-Hindi-speaking state, Yogi Adityanath begins and ends his speeches with 'Jai Shri Ram' which is appropriately reciprocated by the crowds. For the BJP, his popularity is a boon but it has also turned him into an invincible leader in the party -- one who cannot be ignored. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region [March 18, 2021] CureApp and Jichi Medical University Collaborate on a Hypertension Therapeutics App: Primary Endpoint Met in Phase III Clinical Trial in Japan CureApp, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kohta Satake; hereafter "the Company") has completed a Japanese Phase III multicenter randomized controlled trial of their digital therapeutics ("DTx") app to treat hypertension, which was jointly researched by a team led by Professor Kazuomi Kario at Jichi Medical University. Results of this study showed a statistically significant difference in average systolic blood pressure*1 over a 24-hour period - the primary endpoint of this study, demonstrating a hypotensive effect. Moving forward, the Company will seek regulatory approval based on the results of this study. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005504/en/ CureApp and Jichi Medical University collaborate on a hypertension therapeutics app: Primary endpoint met in Phase III clinical trial in Japan (Graphic: Business Wire) Summary of the clinical trial and efficacy of the hypertension therapeutics app Commencing in December 2019, this trial*2 evaluated the efficacy and safety of the DTx app when used with patients with essential hypertension who had not received oral treatments using antihypertensive drugs. For this comparative study, subjects were divided into two groups. This included a control group that only applied lifestyle changes based on the Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension 2019 (hereafter, "the Guidelines")*3, and an intervention group using the DTx app in addition to the lifestyle changes proposed in the Guidelines. As a result, the intervention group showed a statistically significant difference from the control group in the "deviation from the baseline in the average systolic blood pressure over a 24-hour period as measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)*4 in the 12th week of the study" - the primary endpoint. This demonstrates that the DTx app had a marked effect in treating hypertension. The results from this study will be presented in detail at conferences and in papers at a later date to be notified separately. The potential of therapeutics for hypertension Hypertension is the highest risk factor for cerebral and cardiovascular diseases (stroke and heart disease). An estimated 100,000 people*5 die of hypertension-induced cerebral and cardiovascular diseases every year. In Japan, hypertension is found in some 43 million people*3, and medical costs associated with hypertension have ballooned to around 1.7 trillion yen*6. Despite this, only around 10 million people*7 are said to receive continuous treatment for hypertension, less than one-quarter of the total affected. While lifestyle improvements are vital for treating hypertension, maintaining such changes is dependent on a patient's values and motivation, their workplace and home environment, and other factors. This presents challenges for effective intervention by medical institutions. There is also a subset of patients that wish to avoid medication who struggle with reducing their blood pressure. In response to these issues, this DTx app automatically delivers treatment guidance personalized to the individual (optimal nutritional, exercise, and sleeping advice based on an IoT blood pressure monitor and lifestyle habit logs, and notifications prompting behavioral changes) directly to the patient. This form of treatment helps reduce hypertension without the use of medication by encouraging changes in mindset and behavior, and aiding patients in adopting appropriate lifestyle habits *1 Systolic blood pressure: High blood pressure measured in blood pressure measurements. *2 Kario K. Nomura A. Satake K. et al. A multicenter clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the digital therapeutics for essential hypertension: Rationale and design of the HERB-DH1 trial. J Clin Hypertens. (Greenwich) 2020;22(9):1713-1722 https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.13993 *3 Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension 2019 [JSH2019]; The Japanese Society of Hypertension (2019) https://www.jpnsh.jp/guideline.html *4 Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM): Continuous blood pressure measurements taken at predetermined intervals over a 24 hour period during the course of one's daily life. This helps determine variations in blood pressure (variation patterns over the course of a day). This is important due to the various factors which may alter one's blood pressure. *5 "Vital Statistics Summary"2019 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/jinkou/kakutei19/dl/15_all.pdf *6 "Medical Care Expenditure Summary" 2018 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/k-iryohi/18/index.html *7 "Patient Study"2017 Study (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/kanja/17/dl/05.pdf Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Jichi Medical University Professor Kazuomi Kario The fact that the world's first hypertension therapeutics app was able to produce a hypotensive effect with relation to the average systolic blood pressure over a 24-hour period - a key evaluation item of this Phase III clinical study (trial) - represents a significant step forward for hypertension treatment. When treating hypertension, reducing the risk of serious complications through therapeutic intervention and reducing blood pressure at an early stage is vital. Treatment is based on reducing salt intake and maintaining a proper weight, getting sufficient exercise and sleep, and other lifestyle changes. The digital hypertension treatment that this DTx app provides through the use of an advanced bidirectional algorithm represents a new field for hypertension treatment, and is expected to play a pivotal role in providing medical care tailored to the individual, and in promoting drug-free treatments that do not rely on medications. CureApp, Inc. Kohta Satake, CEO and Practicing Doctor We have expanded our focus to encompass algorithm development to provide personalized healthcare advice based on medical evidence. The more data provided by the patient, the more the advice given is specifically tailored to the patient's condition. We view the popularization of digital therapeutics for hypertension as having the potential to alter hypertension treatments for the better, as well as greatly contribute to reducing medical care expenses. Following our nicotine dependency therapeutic app "CureApp SC", which was the first app of its kind to be covered by insurance in Japan, we also look to receive regulatory approval and insurance coverage for our hypertension therapeutics app. About CureApp, Inc. CureApp, Inc. is a MedTech venture that conducts research and development into the creation of medical device programs which apply advanced software technology and medical evidence to treat illnesses, with the intent of manufacturing and distributing them. We are hard at work developing "digital therapeutics" - apps used to treat illnesses - in order to become the first in Japan to establish a new healthcare service centered on "creating new therapeutic effects through technology." In August 2020, the nicotine dependency treatment app and CO checker, "CureApp SC," became the first therapeutic app to receive regulatory approval in Japan, and prescriptions began as a treatment covered by insurance in December of the same year. In addition to the hypertension therapeutic app, we are currently pursuing research and development into various other digital therapeutics apps. These include a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) therapeutic app jointly developed and currently undergoing clinical trials with the University of Tokyo Hospital, joint research on an app with the National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center, and a patient support app for cancer patients being jointly developed with DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED. We also draw upon the knowledge accumulated through the development of these therapeutic apps for medical institutions to provide the "ascure Smoking Cessation Program" for corporations that have been implemented at over 200 companies, health insurance associations and local municipalities. Moving forward, we will look to sequentially roll out this Japanese-developed digital therapeutics solution worldwide. [CureApp, Inc. Company Profile] Representative Director and CEO: Kohta Satake Head office: Kodenma-Cho YS building 4F, 12-5, Nihonbashi Kodenma-Cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Business description: Development of medical device programs, mobile health-related services URL: http://cureapp.co.jp/ [Jichi Medical University Overview] Name: Jichi Medical University Representative: Director, Toshio Oishi Address: 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan URL: http://www.jichi.ac.jp/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005504/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media BRIDGEPORT One person was shot following an argument late Wednesday night near a city club, according to police. Officers responded to the area of Barnum and Ridgefield avenues around 11 p.m. after two ShotSpotter gunfire activations for six rounds fired in the area. Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via Reuters Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington, DC, for urgent talks about US-Russia relations. Biden has taken a tough line on Russia, angering it by assessing Putin as a "killer" in an interview. The US has sanctioned Russia over its treatment of Alexei Navalny and its election interference. See more stories on Insider's business page. Russia recalled its US ambassador from Washington, DC, after President Joe Biden said in a TV interview that he believed President Vladimir Putin was a "killer." Asking an ambassador to leave is a diplomatic snub meant to express annoyance with the host country. A statement on Wednesday from Russia's foreign ministry did not explicitly refer to Biden or his comments but said the ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, was coming back to prevent "an irreversible deterioration in relations." In an interview that aired Wednesday, Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he agreed Putin is a "killer" and that Russia would "pay a price" for attempting to meddle in the 2020 US election. He also described Putin as having no soul. Russia is expected to release a formal reaction to Biden's interview on Thursday, Reuters reported. A report from the National Intelligence Council published on Tuesday found that Russia had attempted to push "misleading and unsubstantiated" lines about Biden to close associates of President Donald Trump. The report also said that Russia "laundered" anti-Biden and conspiratorial narratives through some elements of US media. Soon after the ABC News interview, Russia took the highly unusual step of removing Antonov for what its foreign ministry's statement described as "consultations in order to analyse what needs to be done in the context of relations with the United States." Biden's interview went down badly in Moscow. Artur Chilingarov, a pro-Putin lawmaker, called for a "tough reaction," Reuters reported, while Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, called it a "very bad comment." Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Parliament's upper house, demanded an apology from Biden, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Western nations have condemned Russia's imprisonment of the dissident Alexei Navalny in January. The US intelligence community has said it has "high confidence" that Russia was behind the politician's poisoning last year. The US has called on Russia to release him, and it imposed sanctions earlier this month. Asked about Russia's diplomatic snub on Wednesday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said the Biden administration would "take a different approach in our relationship to Russia than the prior administration," a reference to Trump's largely uncritical stance on Putin. "We are going to be straightforward," Psaki said, "and we are going to be direct in areas where we have concerns." Read the original article on Business Insider Bond Reduction Approved for Paducah Murder Suspect By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - A woman charged in an August double-murder was in court Wednesday for a bond hearing.According to the McCracken Circuit Court Clerk, 22-year-old Alexis Graham's $1 million cash bond was reduced to $550,000. A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 21.Graham and 23-year-old Mykweze Cox were arrested following an August 22 shooting at Lone Oak Manor apartments on College Avenue. The shooting resulted in the deaths of 23-year-old Justice Hicks and 31-year-old Victor Moore.Graham faces two counts of murder, first-degree burglary, and first-degree robbery. Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Corporation") announced today the closing of its previously announced bought deal public offering of units (the "Units") of the Corporation (the "Offering"). Pursuant to the Offering, Talon issued 57,500,000 Units at a price of $0.60 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for aggregate gross proceeds of $34,500,000, which includes the issuance of 7,500,000 Units pursuant to the full exercise of the over-allotment option by the Underwriters (as defined below). Each Unit consists of one common share of Talon (a "Common Share") and one-half of a Common Share purchase warrant (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a "Warrant") of Talon. Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.80 until March 18, 2022. The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of underwriters with TD Securities Inc. as sole book runner and including Paradigm Capital Inc., Sprott Capital Partners LP and Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (collectively, the "Underwriters"), pursuant to the terms of an underwriting agreement entered into between the Corporation and the Underwriters. The Offering was made in all provinces of Canada (excluding Quebec), pursuant to a short form prospectus dated March 11, 2021 (the "Prospectus"). The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for advancing work related to its planned exploration and development program at the Tamarack North Project in Minnesota, and for general working capital purposes, as set out in the Prospectus. A copy of the Prospectus is available under the Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The securities offered in the Offering have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. "United States" and "U.S. person" are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. About Talon Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in Minnesota, USA, comprised of the Tamarack North Project and the Tamarack South Project. Talon has an earn-in to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Project. The Tamarack Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101; identifying additional high-grade nickel mineralization; and developing a process to potentially produce nickel sulphates responsibly for batteries for the electric vehicles industry. Talon has a well-qualified exploration and mine management team with extensive experience in project management. For additional information on Talon, please visit the Corporation's website at www.talonmetals.com or contact: Sean Werger President Talon Metals Corp. Tel: (416) 361-9636 x102 Email: werger@talonmetals.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Corporation based on information currently available to the Corporation. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the anticipated use of the net proceeds from the Offering. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Corporation. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77686 Australias scientific research should not just end as academic writing but lay the groundwork for innovative products to benefit the nation. Thats the focus of Australias new chief scientist Cathy Foley, who has on Wednesday given her first major address in the role. Foley worked on indium nitride for her PhD, finding the chemical was responsive to the right spectrum for creating white light. She published her research in a paper and left it at that, but a Japanese team later progressed the findings and won a Nobel Prize as it laid the groundwork for LED lights. With the benefit of hindsight, you might describe that as a brutal lesson in lost opportunities, Foley told the National Press Club. Not only for me, but for Australia. As chief scientist she is determined for researchers to branch out into commercialising their work. This is the task of building connections and collaboration to advance the adoption of Australian science, technology and innovation, Foley said. To take our science to impact. I will be strongly focused on thison making sure the baton is passed smoothly. Foley said Australia was responsible for about two per cent of the worlds research, emphasising the need to continue collaborating with partners like China, Europe, and the United States. In order to make sure you make the most of the brilliance around the world, you need to collaborate with the best. The physicist took the reins as chief scientist from Alan Finkel in December. Foley had spent the past two years as the CSIROs chief scientist and is the second woman appointed to the role. She worked at the national science agency for 36 years. Foley has four key focus areas. The first is to utilise the fast-changing tools of science, namely artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Her second focus is on new ways of teaching to increase science literacy for Australians. Her other focuses are improving access to academic research to boost diversity in science and technology. More women in science, engineering, and technology is only part of the diversity equation, Foley said. It shouldnt need saying that we are more likely to succeed if we use our full human potential. If we call on as many different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds as we can, including the knowledge base of Indigenous Australians. Foley is considering developing an open access strategy, which would allow scientific research to be freely read. Access to information is the great enabler for innovation and for research commercialisation, she said. Lack of access to information is a real roadblock, and hinders our ability to compete internationally. This is a significant challenge for practitioners such as pharmacists, teachers and nurses, or people in business wanting to keep up with latest research in their field. By Rebecca Gredley in Canberra Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday highlighting the country's shifting focus to geo-economics with central emphasis on peace, development and connectivity, invited Kuwait to benefit from the vast and profitable investment opportunities in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ):Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday highlighting the country's shifting focus to geo-economics with central emphasis on peace, development and connectivity, invited Kuwait to benefit from the vast and profitable investment opportunities in Pakistan. He expressed these views during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of Kuwait Dr Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah here at the Foreign Office. Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed his counterpart on the economic potential of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in particular its Special Economic Zones. Upon arrival at the Ministry, Foreign Minister Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah, who was accompanied by senior officials from the Kuwaiti Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, and Trade and Commerce, planted a sapling at the premises upholding a long-standing tradition followed by visiting dignitaries. Thereafter, the two Foreign Ministers held delegation-level talks. Foreign Minister Qureshi congratulated him on his reappointment as the Foreign Minister of Kuwait, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said. During the meeting, the Foreign Ministers reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation in political, economic, defence, trade and investment sectors, and manpower export, and discussed ways to enhance people-to-people linkages between the two countries. The resolve to continue close collaboration in multilateral fora, in particular the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was reaffirmed. The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Pakistan's strong commitment to further strengthening and diversifying bilateral cooperation with Kuwait in all fields. Expressing satisfaction at the recently held Bilateral Political Consultations (January 2021), he reiterated the resolve to work together towards achieving mutually agreed goals. It was agreed to convene the next (5th) Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission as soon as possible. The need for facilitating travel between Pakistan and Kuwait to provide impetus to bilateral trade was also emphasized. In this regard, the two sides resolved to achieve tangible results in the near future. The Foreign Minister of Kuwait appreciated the positive contribution of more than one hundred thousand expatriate Pakistanis towards the development of Kuwait. He thanked Pakistan for support and cooperation during the global pandemic, in particular in the health sector and food security of Kuwait. Foreign Minister Qureshi assured him of Pakistan's continued cooperation. The two Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed his counterpart on the situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), in particular the serious human rights violations and attempts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory. He stressed that peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, was indispensible for durable peace and security in South Asia. The Foreign Minister also briefed on Pakistan's efforts in support of the Afghan peace process and stressed that the Afghan parties must seize this historic opportunity to secure an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement. Foreign Minister Qureshi acknowledged and appreciated the role of the Kuwaiti leadership in promoting regional peace and harmony, in particular the efforts of His Highness the Emir of Kuwait that helped in bridging differences among the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). He reaffirmed Pakistan's support for all efforts aimed at enhancing solidarity and unity within the Muslim Ummah. The Foreign Minister of Kuwait is visiting Pakistan at the invitation of Foreign Minister Qureshi. During the visit, he will call on Pakistan's leadership and the senior officials accompanying him will meet their respective counterparts in Pakistan. Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Jan. 20 by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. COVID Cases Continue to Decline in Kentucky By West Kentucky Star Staff FRANKFORT - On Wednesday, Governor Andy Beshear announced the state's positvity rate has declined to 3.73 percent."While our new cases have decreased dramatically since their peak in the commonwealth, these numbers are still too high," said Gov. Beshear. "We are close to the finish line but we can't let up yet. Keep masking up, keep social distancing and get vaccinated when it's your turn. Let's see this through to the end of the fight."Beshear reports 963 new cases and 27 deaths. The deaths include 1 in Caldwell County, 1 in Calloway County, 1 in Fulton County, and 1 in Hickman County.There are currently 441 Kentuckians hospitalized with the virus, with 60 on a ventilator. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The largest group representing exiled ethnic Uighurs has written to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to demand that Beijing close its internment camps in the Xinjiang region in talks on Thursday. Activists and U.N. experts say that more than 1 million Muslim Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims are being held against their will in harsh camps in the remote western region. China rejects U.S. charges that it has committed genocide against ethnic and religious minorities, and says the camps provide vocational training to help stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism. Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are to meet China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi in Alaska, in the first face-to-face meetings between the rival powers since Joe Biden became U.S. president. Blinken has already accused China of coercion and aggression at home and around the region. Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, told Blinken: "First and foremost, it is imperative that China immediately and unconditionally ends the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in East Turkestan. "This includes that China closes all internment camps and unconditionally releases all those arbitrarily detained," he said in the letter from his group's base in Munich, Germany. The exiles call Xinjiang "East Turkestan", and the group uses a different spelling for the word Uighur. Isa said China must also end the use of forced labour in Xinjiang and other regions and allow U.N. monitors to investigate. Chen Xu, China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday: "Today, Xinjiang and Tibet enjoy prosperity and stability ... It cant be more absurd to pin the 'genocide' label on China, and this attempt will not go anywhere." On Wednesday, European Union countries agreed in principle to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, according to diplomats. Story continues China has said allegations of forced labour and human rights violations in the region are groundless, and that there are no "detention camps". It has also said all those who have attended the complexes in question have "graduated" and gone home. Access is restricted and it is not possible to verify Beijing's assertions independently. (Removes redundant word 'China' in first paragraph. Deletes paragraph 11, which repeated activists' description of camps.) (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Program to deliver innovative, consistent end-to-end solutions to its customers SCHILLER PARK, Ill., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Encore, a leading global event production company, announced the expansion of its hybrid meeting program to best serve customers integrating remote and in-person audiences. Under the new Hybrid+SM banner, Encore combines its more than 2,000 venue global footprint and end-to-end solutions with an industry-first sales certification program to set the standard for hybrid meetings and events. Shaped by proprietary customer research and subsequent experience delivering thousands of recent hybrid events, the program offers customers and venue partners an industry-leading event experience. "We are witnessing the restart of the industry. Effective hybrid solutions will accelerate the recovery as a key format for how events take place and people rebuild connections," said Ben Erwin, President and CEO. "We are excited by the opportunity for our team members to leverage Hybrid+ to assist our customers in finding the best solution for their event, whether a small hybrid meeting connecting an individual team or an end-to-end customer solution connecting an entire community. Hybrid events combine the innovations of digital solutions over the last year with the unparalleled benefits of in-person connections to increase engagement, expand audiences, and deliver more value." Hybrid+ is the realization of Encore combining digital platforms, production and on-site technology, complimented by event strategy, creative, and design capabilities, to deliver enhanced experiences and engagement for all participants. Key elements of the program include: Hybrid+ Sales Certification: The program tests knowledge of hybrid events, including how to create content and engaging tools using six key drivers that work in concert with various meeting scenarios and solutions. The Hybrid+ Certificate is awarded to individuals who successfully complete this assessment. Innovative Hybrid Event Solutions: Expanding on the 'Hybrid Event Handbook' from Encore, best practices, continued investments in new technologies, and the development of defined solutions ensures consistent delivery across Encore's footprint for events of all types and sizes. This includes Chime Live, the Company's proprietary, hybrid-designed platform as well as production services designed to support third-party platforms while still offering customers a single provider to manage the entire event experience. Alignment with Venues: Leveraging Encore's on-site presence at its more than 2,000 global venues, the program adds confidence with infrastructure checklists and solutions designed appropriately for the meeting space, assurance the local team is operating with MeetSAFE protocols from Encore in place, and hybrid meeting overviews are completed with the venue partner's staff. "Having produced hybrid and virtual events for more than a decade, we are uniquely qualified to capitalize on the exciting innovations of the last year by investing in hybrid offerings that bring even more value and improved ROI to our customers," said Annette Moody, SVP, Product Management. "We have long enjoyed the opportunity to support our customers' in-person events and see the ability to offer them one provider to manage the hybrid meeting experience as valuable to their journey back to a world post-pandemic." "Encore was the ideal partner as we entered into an unknown situation. They helped us shift from what historically had been an in-person event to a successful hybrid outcome with as little stress as possible," said Judy Riley, Education Director, Heart of America Eye Care Congress. "We had to adjust our approach several times during the planning phase and the Encore team provided a high level of creativity to ensure we met our original meeting goals despite the drastic change in direction. This was particularly true as it pertained to keeping all attendees engaged, and Encore's Chime Live platform was definitely the right solution for that. The team not only answered all our questions, but they helped identify the questions we needed to address. Our board was so encouraged by the outcome of this event that we are considering a hybrid approach again next year, even if we aren't required to do so." Visit https://encoreglobal.com/hybridplus to learn more about Encore's hybrid event solutions, and access tools and resources such as the Hybrid Event Handbook. About Encore Encore creates memorable experiences that engage and transform organizations. As the global leader for event technology and production services, Encore's team of creators, innovators and experts deliver real results through strategy and creative, advanced technology, digital, environmental, staging, and digital solutions for hybrid, virtual and in-person events. Encore operates in more than 20 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Asia Pacific. Encore is the trusted partner of choice for leading hotels and venues worldwide and was named to the Forbes 2018 and 2019 America's Best Employer list. The company is headquartered in the Chicago metro area in Schiller Park, Ill. Media Contact Bob Niersbach Director, Communications bob.niersbach@encoreglobal.com www.encoreglobal.com (847) 385-3619 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1397008/encore_Logo.jpg Kate Abbott can be reached at KateAbbott@btwberkshires.com and through her Berkshire website at By the Way Berkshires (btwberkshires.com ). Acting Features Editor Jennifer Huberdeau is the acting features editor. Prior to The Eagle, she worked at The North Adams Transcript. She is a 2020 New England First Amendment Institute Fellow and a 2010 BCBS Health Care Fellow. At 25% of capacity, some of the larger venues will be able to do some programming, if they so choose, said Deb Clapp, executive director of the League of Chicago Theatres. I dont think it will be as useful for commercial venues since they wont be able to cover their costs. Overall, though, we are delighted to have clearer numbers and happy that Gov. Pritzker and his teams are thinking about theaters and other arts organizations. A man who earned instant fame for being President Uhuru Kenyatta's look-a-like has reportedly checked himself into rehabilitation as he seeks to fix a long-standing alcohol addiction problem. Michael Gitonga, popularly known as Uhunye wa Umo (The Uhuru of Umoja) is said to have finally agreed to get treatment for the addiction that had become a major challenge in his life. Nairobi News understands he has checked in at the Serenity Rehabilitation Center where he will be based for the next three months. Gitonga transformed into an Internet sensation last year following a striking resemblance to the Head of State. At the time, a number of brands offered to help him, promising him a car, house, and holiday. It was not to be, as he now claims he was 'used' by these companies as he was kicked out of the house he was given. There have been unconfirmed reports Gitonga has separated from his first wife and family. 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. DMK's alliance with Maruthalai Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) is a well thought out strategy as the former is a political outfit which gains by fanning the Tamil nationalism. Its leader Vaiko has always been open in his sympathies towards the Tamil political movements in Sri Lanka and has supported the cause of a separate Tamil Eeelam in his writings, speeches and actions. Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which has not been in power since 2011 in Tamil Nadu is fighting the April 6 assembly polls plugging loopholes as it stiches political alliances taking into consideration all socio-political, religious and regional parameters. In the election manifesto released by the MDMK on Wednesday, the party has promised to put pressure on the incumbent government to lift the ban on LTTE in India. It has also promised to support the case against the Sri Lankan Army officers who are facing trial at the International Court of Justice(ICJ). R.R. Muruganayakam, MDMK state office bearer, told IANS: "Tamil issues have always been the priority for the MDMK and we have never compromised on our cause. We believe in supporting the Tamil cause in whatever manner we can and there is nothing wrong in our manifesto. People of Tamil-origin have our sympathies for their cause and the DMK led front will get that support." The DMK leadership knows that with MDMK in the party alliance and with that party supporting the Tamil cause, the DMK is certain that the huge sympathy votes will be in favour of it. DMK leader and Chennai city secretary, Santhanagoplam while speaking to IANS said: "DMK is a political party which has clear views and its an ideology driven party not like political outfits which come up like mushrooms. "Of course MDMK is our alliance partner and we have a certain common minimum issue wherein we can join together and that's the reason for the alliance. DMK is certain for a huge victory in this election." With the DMK led front supporting the Tamil cause openly, other parties will have to rethink strategies. Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has called for the upward review of the current 13 per cent derivation formula to the oil-producing states. Mr Obaseki made the call on Tuesday shortly after inaugurating the Effurun-Otor-Ovwor-Olomu Bridge and the rehabilitated 34 km Otu-Jeremi-Okwagbe Road in Ughelli South Local GovernmentArea of Delta State. The governor said the current 13 per cent allocation by the Federal Government was inadequate for the development of the Niger Delta region. The governor said the terrain in the South-south had made it quite expensive to develop infrastructure, especially roads. Mr Obaseki commended his Delta counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, on the number of projects being executed in the state. He said Mr Okowa would do better, if more funds were made available to the state. Mr Obaseki said the inaugurated bridge and road projects would enhance the economy of the communities and also connect them to other parts of the state. He described Mr Okowa as a brilliant leader who understood the importance of roads and other infrastructure in the economic development of the communities. Governor Okowa has moved up from road master to bridge master. He is a champion of modern day democracy and represents the ideals of great leadership, particularly with the quality of work he does with the derivation funds. Okowa is not only building physical bridges but also social, economic and community bridges, he said. Mr Obaseki pledged the sustenance of the age-long relationship between Delta and Edo, assuring that he would invite Mr Okowa to inaugurate projects in Edo State very soon. In his remarks, Governor Okowa said the Effurun-Otor-Ovwor Bridge was one of the major demands of the people when he visited the communities in 2015. He said the vision of his administration was to connect Delta communities with roads, bridges and other basic amenities. Mr Okowa added that his administration had awarded no fewer than 500 road projects, with many already completed. The governor commended the contractor handling the projects, Obakpor Engineering Limited, and assured that he would deliver on the Ovwor Hospital project in 2022. Today, I believe that my joy knows no bounds because we have truly brought joy to the people of Ovwor-Olomu/Effurun-Otor. We are currently continuing on the Trans-Warri road with several bridges and it is our hope that we will complete that project leading to Ode-Itsekiri in the course of our tenure. ADVERTISEMENT The Ayakoromo Bridge is still undergoing construction, the Orere Bridge in Ewu kingdom has just started, he said. A traditional ruler, the Okobaro of Ughievwen Kingdom, Matthew Egbi, Ohwahwa 11, thanked Governor Okowa for transforming the communities of Otu-Jeremi, Eyara, Imode, Oginibo, Okwagbe and other communities in Ughelli South. Ughievwen Kingdom is an investors haven, a major contributor to the nations oil and gas assets, the traditional ruler said. Also speaking, Orovworere of Effurun-Otor Kingdom, Johnson Duke, described Mr Okowa as a listening governor, who would always act on genuine demands of the people. (NAN) Maputo Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi declared on Tuesday that the new leadership of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM) must act so that the terrorists operating in parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado "regret ever having dared attack our country". He was speaking in Maputo after swearing in Joaquim Magrasse as Chief of the FADM General Staff. Magrasse steps into the place made vacant by the sudden death from illness of Eugenio Mussa in February. "It is the mission of the FADM to eliminate all kinds of threats to our democracy, including terrorism", said Nyusi. But the FADM's targets are not restricted to the jihadist terrorists in the far north. With the new military leadership, "We are not going to tolerate Nhongo's group", said Nyusi. He was referring to Mariano Nhongo, leader of the self-styled "Renamo Military Junta", which has been staging armed attacks in the central provinces of Manica and Sofala, although as from January the attacks seem to have stopped. Nhongo should leave his bush hideout", Nyusi said, "because we are not going to allow him to continue disturbing the normal course of life in our country". The tone of these remarks was altogether tougher than the President's earlier approach to Nhongo and the Junta. In the past he had offered Nhongo a truce but the Junta leader spurned such conciliatory moves. In his latest interview Nhongo again demanded that the government negotiate with him. But Nyusi has already signed a peace agreement (in August 2019) with Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, and he clearly has no intention of negotiating a separate agreement with Nhongo. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mozambique Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Key lieutenants have abandoned Nhongo in recent months, and dozens of Junta fighters have accepted the demobilisation package negotiated between Nyusi and Momade. "We are counting on you to maintain a climate of peace and security in the country", Nyusi said. The FADM leadership must ensure appropriate logistical planning, including "the complete, opportune and uninterrupted supplying of the forces involved in operational missions". The President also wanted to see "a spirit of rational and careful management" of all the FADM's resources, and exemplary punishment for anyone found stealing military equipment. Nyusi also urged the FADM to be better prepared to face threats. "The FADM should never be taken by surprise", he said. "It must have information in advance, allowing deep operational knowledge". Also sworn into office were the new commanders of the army (Cristaovao Chume), of the Air Force (Candido Tirano), of the Presidential Guard (Tiago Nampele), of the Military Academy (Francisco Mataruca) and of the Civic Service (Messias Niposso). "We demand that each commander know in detail the resources at his disposal", said Nyusi. "In the case of the army, we want to guarantee opportune deployment of ground troops in the operational theatres". As for the air force, it should be "ever more present on missions to support ground and naval forces, and to support humanitarian operations, and search and rescue missions in the event of natural disasters", he added. In an effort to allow those with high-risk medical conditions to jump the COVID vaccine line, advocates say the state may have pushed people in vulnerable communities to the back of the line. Kenyatta Thompson, director of organizing for the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said the states shift from a strictly age-based rollout is a step in the right direction, but how high-risk patients will be identified is a question she said needs to be answered. Gov. Ned Lamont announced this week that everyone age 16 and over would be eligible on April 5, with prioritization for people with medical conditions that put them at a higher risk of COVID complications. But questions persist if high-risk individuals would need a doctors note or medical records to get priority. There are communities where access to a primary care physician is difficult, and I think to ignore that would be disingenuous, Thompson said. There are people right now who dont have access to a primary care physician. Answers to questions like that will be key, advocates say, if high-risk patients living in vulnerable communities wont be left behind. Even though they are high risk, they might not be prioritized in this plan, Thompson said. State officials said Tuesday that vaccine providers would be in charge of the logistics and details. According to Ohm Deshpande, of Yale New Haven Hospital, those details are not yet fleshed out. There is no clarity yet, he said. The goal is to not have an inequitable process. Any sort of construct that we come up with will have to be equitable. The difficult question is determining what puts someone at higher risk of a severe COVID-19 infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of medical conditions that increase a patients risk of a severe reaction to the coronavirus infection, but there has been no agreement yet among Connecticuts vaccine providers if that list will be followed, and how a patient might prove they are at greater risk. People with pulmonary disorders, obesity, or who smoke cigarettes are considered at risk, according to the CDC, but Thompson noted that people of color have borne the brunt of the pandemic from the start, dying at greater rates from the virus than their white neighbors. I dont even think we can take race out of this, she said. This is not a race-neutral issue. Kathy Flaherty, executive director of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, said she was not in favor of the states initial age-based rollout, but this weeks shift without any specificity has raised some ire. Going back and forth with no guidance, no specificity about what any of that means, she said. I have people asking me what that means, and Im like, I have no clue, go ask the governor. Flaherty said she expects any system designed to help people at risk because of a disability, a medical condition or race to be exploited. We have laws to protect us that people with privilege will use to their advantage, said Flaherty, who advocates for people with disabilities. People of means will always figure out a way to manipulate a system to their advantage. As for how it will work, Deshpande said, The simple answer is, I dont know yet, though equity will be at the top of our list of priorities. Just because you have a PCP (primary care physician) should not give you a leg up, he said. There have been efforts to prioritize ZIP codes in the state with a resident population considered vulnerable, those that fall high on the CDCs social vulnerability index, and those goals continue to be a strategic imperative, Deshpande said. But as providers now are structuring a system in which people more at risk have easier access to vaccines, those efforts will have to be redoubled, he said. Requiring access to a primary care provider is one way a system could exacerbate existing health care inequities, Thompson said. People should not be hindered by the fact that they dont have a regular PCP. She and Flaherty suggested a sort of honor system, where a patient would schedule their own vaccine appointments and not be required to prove that they have a high-risk condition. What you could have done and what they did in other places is, you literally have people attest, Flaherty said. Will some people cheat? Yes, because some people always cheat. Jerry Smart, a community health worker in New Haven working with patients recently released from prison, said that lack of trust is also a concern. The Black and brown community really dont trust the health care system, he said. There are issues accessing physicians and transportation, but people like Smart and Latoya Benton, a Bridgeport-based community health worker, often bridge that gap between patient and doctor. If you already have a doctor, its easy to prove what you have because its all in the records, Benton said. Another problem is finding those people who fall through the cracks, who have lost trust in the health care system or have no fixed address, and making sure they know they can get vaccinated sooner if they have a preexisting condition. Right now theyre trying to get the word out, Benton said. Its harder for the community to know where to get the vaccine, and what days to get the vaccine. The solution, according to Smart, is not to ask people to go get a vaccine, but to send vaccines where the people are. Some people just dont have cellphones. Some people dont have addresses, he said. You have to get your troops out there, meet the people where theyre at. Thats how you have to do it. "I have known John for many years as a client and a colleague, and I believe he will be a great board member for STV. He joins our board at the perfect time, as the national emphasis on infrastructure regains momentum," said Greg Kelly, P.E., STV's president and chief executive officer. "I'm excited to work with John, along with the rest of the board, to help us realize STV's full potential." "We are fortunate to have someone of John's character joining our board," said Dominick M. Servedio, P.E., STV chairman. "I, too, am excited to have John on our team and am looking forward to working closely with him as we chart STV's future." "I am thrilled to be joining STV's board," said John Porcari. "STV has a long-standing track record of working on transformative public works programs that is well-positioned to implement America's renewed commitment to infrastructure." Porcari is president of Axilion Smart Mobility USA, which delivers AI-based transit and traffic solutions that reduce emissions and congestion and improve safety. Porcari served as founding Executive Director of the Gateway Project Development Corporation, a joint venture of Amtrak, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and NJ TRANSIT, dedicated to the construction of the first new passenger rail tunnel into New York City in 110 years. He simultaneously led the Advisory Services group at a global engineering firm, building a vertical of over 500 financial, environmental, public administration, and planning professionals. He also served as principal-in-charge for the Moynihan Train Hall project at Pennsylvania Station, which opened December 30, 2020. As a board member of Vantage Airport Group, Porcari is a key member of the public-private partnership that is delivering a new world-class LaGuardia Airport terminal. Porcari served as deputy secretary of the United States Department of Transportation (2009-2014) for the Obama-Biden administration. In this role, he led the department's highly successful implementation of the $48 billion transportation component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, TIGER grants, and loan and credit programs. As a member of the President's Management Council, Porcari was part of the core team developing policies, procedures, and budgetary priorities for the Executive Branch. Porcari has worked directly with mayors and governors across the country to accelerate local community-serving infrastructure projects. His prior public sector leadership positions include twice serving as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (1999-2003 and 2006-2009), America's only state-level DOT that incorporates statewide transit, highway, port, aviation, bridge and tunnel authority, and motor vehicle licensing functions. Porcari has also served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the University of Maryland and in economic development and environmental planning positions at the local and state levels. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton and his master's degree in public administration from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Public Transportation Association, the World Trade Center Institute, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. He and his wife reside in Prince George's County, Maryland. Porcari joins another industry leader new to the STV board, Jane Chmielinski, who became a board member in April 2020. About STV: Founded more than 100 years ago, STV is a leader in providing engineering, architectural, planning, environmental, and program management and construction management services for transportation systems, infrastructure, buildings, energy, and other facilities. The firm is ranked 32nd in Engineering News-Record's Top 500 Design Firms survey and is 8th in its transportation category. For more information, visit the firm's website at www.stvinc.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. Contact: Jill Bonamusa, Corp. Comm. [email protected] Tel: 212-614-3354 SOURCE STV Related Links http://www.stvinc.com 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. She revealed last Friday that she had suffered a neck injury that had left he in 'excruciating' pain. And on Wednesday, Katherine Heigl updated her fans via Instagram after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in her neck. 'Well...I am now bionic!! Two titanium disk now inhabit my neck and I can probably stand on my head for like hours...Im not gonna try it just yet but give me a few months and Ill blow your mind!!' she shared. 'I am now bionic!' Katherine Heigl posted this photo to Instagram on Thursday in which she's wearing a neck brace after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in her neck The former Grey's Anatomy star, 42, had traveled from her home in Utah to Los Angeles to seek specialist medical help for her injury, She posted a photo of herself wearing a neck brace alongside some green balloons for St. Patrick's Day and also shared an image of a x-ray which showed the location of the titanium discs. While she has not revealed how she just herself, the actress did thank the doctors for their expert care which had 'saved me from the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced and blessed me with a new pain free lease on life!' No more 'excruciating' pain: The actress also shared a snap showing her post-surgery and another of a x-ray in which the two titanium discs she'd had implanted are visible She went on: 'Heading into surgery and hospital stays is always a bit scary and you guys could not have made me feel more comfortable or taken care of! Thank you thank you thank you!!' Heigl then wished her social media followers a Happy St. Patrick's Day. 'Clearly Ive been blessed with the luck of the Irish today!' she added. Couple: Heigl was accompanied to LA by her musician husband, Josh Kelley. The couple, who married in 2007, are raising their three children on a ranch in Utah Heigl was accompanied to LA by her musician husband, Josh Kelley. The couple, who married in 2007, are raising their three children on a ranch in Utah. The couple adopted adopted daughter Naleigh, 12, from South Korea when she was nine months old, and daughter Adalaide, eight, at birth in the U.S. They welcomed their biological son Joshua in 2016. Back on the small screen: Heigl has been promoting her new Netflix series Firefly Lane this month (pictured with co-star Sarah Chalke) Lucknow: The UP government on Monday said that no action will be initiated on the basis of the FIR lodged against the CMO and CMS of the Farrukhabad district hospital in the case related to deaths of scores of infants there. The way things have been presented is not that has happened. No action is, therefore, being initiated on the basis of the FIR registered against the CMO and the CMS in Farrukhabad last night, principal secretary health Prashant Trivedi told reporters at a hurriedly convened press briefing. For us it is a report, we will examine it for further action, he said. To a question on removal of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Umakant Pandey and Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) Akhilesh Agarwal, Trivedi said, They have been removed for the simple reason that the DM is the head of administration in a district and they should have co-ordinated with the DM. If there were any issues, then the same should had been brought to the notice of the administration. What happened actually - medically or technically - will be clear in probe. On whether the deaths were due to lack of oxygen, he said, Oxygen is not an issue in the entire episode. I think, of late, we are generating undue sensitivity to oxygen. It has become more of a buzzword. He also said that no official can elicit the views of a person over telephone. This is not the right way to conduct a magisterial probe, Trivedi said, commenting on the city magistrate contacting over telephone the parents and relatives of the infants who had died. Principal secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi, who was also present, said, Everything will be brought forth... There seems to be some co-ordinational issue among the officers. All the three officersDM, CMO and CMShave been removed. DG Health will send a specialised team to investigate. No death took place due to lack of oxygen. The matter should not be blown out of proportion. On the FIR, he said it was lodged and it very clearly seems to have been lodged when the DM, it seems, did not get the report from the health department... For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. If theres one thing that Greys Anatomy fans love to do, its re-hash old relationships and were here for it. Its part of what makes the long-running medical drama so binge-worthy and one of the reasons fans love to go back and rewatch old episodes. One old relationship that continues to pop up in current Greys Anatomy discussion forums is Teddy Altman and her deceased husband, Henry. Fans recently took to Reddit to talk about what made Teddy and Henrys love story one of their favorites. Greys Anatomy: Teddy and Henrys love story was an unexpected treat KIM RAVER | Ron Batzdorff via Getty Images RELATED: An Unexpected Greys Anatomy Actor Also Voiced a Star Wars Character Henry Burton first appeared as a patient in the 10th episode of season 7 Adrift and at Peace. Teddy became involved in his case when he admitted to her that his insurance had capped out a long time ago, but he was still in need of ongoing treatment. Instead of sending him home to die, Teddy proposed that they get married, so he could use her insurance. As with many television romances, Teddy and Henry developed feelings for each other in the most unconventional way. After marrying her for her insurance, Henrys health began to decline more, and this resulted in Teddy comforting and taking care of him away from the hospital. The two ultimately fell in love and fans got to watch as Teddy became happily in love for the first time, until Henrys death in season 8. Fans are still discussing it as one of their favorite storylines Recently, fans took to Reddit to discuss Teddys recent relationship with Tom Koracick, and her relationship with Henry was brought up in the comment section. One user simply wrote RIP Henry :( and others chimed in with their own opinions all of which were in agreement that they missed Teddys short-lived relationship with her hottie husband. One commenter stated that they thought Henry was perfect for Teddy, and another user replied with, Agreed. Unexpectedly turned out to be one of my favorite storylines of the show. I was heartbroken when he passed, and those scenes between Cristina and Teddy after the fact were so sad. While part of the reason fans love the Teddy-Henry storyline so much is their romance, another part is the fact that it was Cristina who operated on Henry when he ultimately died. To avoid stressing her out, the staff hid Henrys face and name from Cristina while she was operating. When she found out it was Teddys husband on the table, Cristina broke down. Teddy went on to test Cristinas knowledge about her actions in the operating room for many episodes following, as a way to process her own grief; this conclusion is something that fans continue to appreciate for its amount of closure. Who is Teddy with now? After Henrys death, Teddy departed from the show in season 8 after being offered another position in Germany, and she defended her decision to leave with the fact that she would be escaping the place where her husband died. She was brought back, however, in the shows 14th season, when Owen went to Germany to see her. Teddy then returned to Seattle and began working at Grey Sloan once again, with the intent of raising her child with Owen. As with most Greys Anatomy relationships, things werent that simple. Teddy bonded with Tom Koracick and the two began an affair while Teddy was engaged to Owen. The wedding was ultimately called off after Owen found out about the affair, and Teddy is currently not seeing anyone much to the relief of many fans who arent into the love triangle angle of Teddys story arc. One thing is clear: Teddy and Henry were truly one of the great Greys relationships, and neither Owen nor Tom measure up. 3 1 of 3 Rick Fontana / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NEW HAVEN An explosion in a compartment of a truck in a tunnel beneath the Knights of Columbus and Gateway Community College Wednesday has been determined to be an accident, according to city police. Lt. Nicholas Marcucio, head of the departments emergency services unit, said at Thursdays Compstat intelligence sharing meeting that criminal activity was not suspected in the incident, which also brought firefighters and the FBI to the scene. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! United and other airlines policies have evolved, and will continue to do so, with the pandemic. With 2021 well underway, Consumer Reports and U.S. PIRG, a public-interest advocacy nonprofit, called on 10 domestic airlines last week to ensure their vouchers can be used into 2022. In addition to the official rules, Mr. Keyes said, Most airlines have had informal policies to grant extensions to customers who called in and proactively asked for one. Though you shouldnt be a jerk about it honey attracts more flies than vinegar you should be proactive, explain why youre not comfortable traveling under the current circumstances and ask. CRUISE LINES When the pandemic hit, most air travelers fell into two camps: Those whose flights had been canceled by the airline, and those who voluntarily canceled their tickets. Cruisers were given no such choice: The industry came to an all-out halt last March, after several coronavirus outbreaks were linked to cruises. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a no-sail order, and most ships have been bobbing emptily ever since. Cruisers, in turn, got either cash refunds or future cruise credits, the industrys version of vouchers or merchandise credits. Although the C.D.C. order was lifted in October, cruising still remains largely on pause, and most major cruise companies have preemptively canceled their sailings well into this year while they get their health-and-safety protocols up to snuff. In the meantime, policies about future cruise credits remain flexible. Weve seen the concept evolve since the start of the pandemic, and cruise lines are giving people a fairly long lead in terms of expiration dates, said Colleen McDaniel, the editor in chief of Cruise Critic, a leading cruise news and planning website. Theyre leaving room for people to sail when theyre comfortable. It also helps navigate the continued pause in the industry with no definitive end date and cruises continuing to be canceled, it leaves some leeway. On Carnival Cruise Line, an industry powerhouse with a fleet of 24 ships, travelers who opted to receive a credit, rather than a cash refund, have through April 2023 to sail. New Mexico Senate Confirms Three to New Mexico Tech Board of Regents march 17, 2021 Armijo appointed to his fourth term, student Espinoza to her second, Dr. David Lepre to his first. New Mexico Senate Video from Saturday's Confirmation Hearing: Click Here SOCORRO, NM -- The New Mexico State Senate voted Saturday to confirm Governor Michelle Lujan Grishams three nominees to the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents. The Senate Rules Committee, which is responsible for background checks on gubernatorial nominees for high-level jobs, considered the candidacies of all three during the Saturday-morning hearing. Then the full 42-member Senate confirmed all three nominees without dissent. Returning for his fourth appointment to the board is Jerry A. Armijo, and Student Regent Veronica Espinoza will return for her second two-year term. NMT also has a new regent in Dr. David Lepre, who the governor appointed to fill the vacancy left by the conclusion of David Gonzales term. At the conclusion of this term, I will have had the remarkable opportunity to serve on the board for 24 years, which is especially humbling and endearing to me as a native of Socorro, Armijo said. My tenure as regent has given me the opportunity to work directly with faculty, students, and staff, and I am constantly amazed at the talent and passion these folks exhibit on a regular basis. At Tech, we are the gold standard for academic and research programs in the nation, and it is because of our people. Student Regent Espinoza completed her first two-year term on the board this past year and received a rare second appointment once she elected to pursue her graduate studies at NMT. I'm so excited and honored to continue my work on the board, Espinoza said. I get the opportunity to serve the student body again and be an advocate for them on the board. It shows me that student leadership has continued to entrust me with this responsibility, and I greatly appreciate it. Dr. David Lepre brings over 40 years of education experience to the board. He began his career as a high school Social Studies teacher and moved on to work at the New Mexico Research and Study Council, New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Legislative Finance Committee, and Council of University Presidents before retiring in 2017. For nearly three decades of state-level higher education analysis and advocacy, I have observed that New Mexico Tech is, without question, our state's leading institution for high quality educational opportunity and research, Lepre said. The value of this precious resource cannot be overstated. I am proud to join four experienced regents in support of the institution's talented administration, faculty, staff, and students in preserving and expanding what is a well-established legacy of exceptional quality and value in the New Mexico higher education landscape. John Abraham is currently getting ready for the release of his gangster drama titled Mumbai Saga. The actor recently said that Mumbai Saga was always meant for the big screen and as a producer, he would choose to release films on the big screen over OTT platforms. Talking about the general notion about feature films releasing on OTT platforms he said that there is a "general consensus that actors are palming off their not-so-good films" on OTT. "There are few actors who see their films and realise it is best to go on OTT directly to save from the embarrassment of coming on the big screen... Films are judged on every medium," said the actor and added that fans "are ripping apart films on OTT". However, the actor believes, "The OTT platform is a great avenue and an option. But for me, it has always been about the big screen, being a big-screen hero. I won't be available for subscription fee," he added. The actor-turned-producer added that the industry needs to instil confidence in cinema owners, as theatres are reopening with COVID-19 safety protocol. "For me, the joy is reaching out to common people through my films because we are here to entertain them. I want to make good films. I don't care about success and failure," Abraham told PTI in an interview. Talking about wanting to entertain people, he added, "I like to succeed in reaching out to more people. I want the audience to have that big-screen experience. We lost that sense of big screen, heroism in films and Mumbai Saga will bring that back." Apart from Mumbai Saga, he will also be seen in action-dramas like Satyameva Jayate 2 releasing on Eid, followed by Attack releasing on Independence Day. ALSO READ: John Abraham Gets Brutally Honest; Says Almost 90% Of Films That Opted For OTT Release Were Bad ALSO READ: Satyameva Jayate 2: John Abraham's Double Role Revealed In New Poster; Film To Clash With Radhe On Eid 2021 The rapid suppression of the new COVID-19 outbreak in late January 2021 has helped maintain Vietnams positive outlook for economic recovery this year, the World Bank (WB) has said. browser not support iframe. In its latest Vietnam Macro Monitoring report, the WB said, looking ahead, special attention should be paid to how the COVID-19 vaccinations will be rolled out domestically and globally as they will impact the pace of Vietnams economic growth. Further fiscal and monetary policy interventions may be needed to support recovery of private demand. According the WB, the Vietnamese government quickly introduced strict but targeted measures to suppress this new outbreak of COVID-19 in Hai Duong, the epicenter, including during the Tet holidays. As a result, the number of new cases started decreasing, and restrictions were partly eased in the second half of the month. In the meantime, Vietnam has approved three types of vaccines. The government also approved a resolution to purchase a total of about 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and prioritized recipient groups. The WB noted that industrial production slowed as factories closed in observance of the Tet holidays. Industrial production index dropped by 7.2 percent year-on-year in February 2021. This decline is mainly reflecting the cross-year difference in the timing of the Tet holidays, when factories shut down for a week. The two-month moving average still registered an increase of 8.8 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2021. Metals production, and electronics, computers and optical products continued to grow by 8.6 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively in February, thanks to strong external demand. Despite the new COVID-19 outbreak, retail sales in February grew by 0.3 percent month-on-month and by 8.3 percent year-on-year due to higher consumption demand associated with the Tet holidays. While lower than pre-COVID-19 performance, this growth suggests that the governments targeted response to the outbreak mitigated the spillover of the negative impacts of anti-COVID stringency measures on economic activities to provinces outside the epicenter. Vietnams merchandise exports fell by 4.2 percent year-on-year while imports grew by 11.8 percent year-on-year in February 2021, resulting in the first month of trade deficit since April 2020. Preliminary data show that exports to the US and China rose while those to EU, ASEAN, the Republic of Korea, and Japan decreased. The increase in imports was driven by a doubling of imports from China in February 2021 compared to the same period last year, mirroring January 2021 import patterns. In January 2021, imports of phones, computers, electronics and their parts, and machinery accounted for half of total imports from China and grew by over 75 percent year-on-year. This reflects both Vietnams heavy reliance on imported inputs in manufacturing. In the first two month of 2021, the Vietnamese government collected 286.7 trillion VND of revenues, which is 0.6 percent higher than the same period last year. This good performance the first time that government total revenue is increasing since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis a year ago reflects the ongoing recovery and the elimination of most tax incentives that were adopted in April 2020. The Ministry of Finance proposal for a second round of tax and land rental deferrals is being discussed by the cabinet. The total size of the package was estimated at 115 trillion VND (5 billion USD). If approved and implemented well, it is expected to help businesses and households maintain their economic activities, particularly in tourism, which remains depressed. VNA Vietnams bright economic outlook in 2021 Experts have been optimistic about Vietnams economic growth in 2021 based on the latest situation, as well as the sound decisions and policies adopted by the Party and Government. Freeman releases the highest grade intercept ever drilled at Lemhi from the remaining 20 diamond drill holes of the 2020 35-hole drill program Highlights include: 2.5 g/t Au over 151m , including 25 g/t Au over 8.7m (FG20-017C); 1.2 g/t Au over 42.6m (FG20-012C); 0.9 g/t Au over 72.4m , including 2.1 g/t Au over 21.1m (FG20-026C); and 1.4 g/t Au over 48.4m , including 2.1 g/t over 22m (FG20-032C) (FG20-017C); (FG20-012C); (FG20-026C); and (FG20-032C) As a result of the 2020 drill program and increased drill density the maiden resource estimate will include drill assay results from both historical (355 holes approx. 70,000 metres) and new drilling (35 holes 7,200 metres) CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE: FMAN SALMON, Idaho, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Freeman Gold Corp. (CSE: FMAN) (OTCQB: FMANF) (FSE: 3WU) ("Freeman" or the "Company") is pleased to provide assay results of core from the remaining 20 diamond drill holes of the 35 hole 2020 program on Freeman's 100% owned Lemhi Gold Project located in Idaho. The objective of the 2020 Phase 1 drill program was designed to confirm historical mineralization and allow the use of over 355 historical drill holes in a maiden National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate. The drill program focused on infill and step-out drilling within the known mineralized body to increase confidence and maximize the potential resource. The drilling completed by Freeman successfully confirmed historically defined mineralization and provided valuable infill drilling to increase confidence levels of the upcoming resource estimate. All holes drilled to date have intersected high-grade shallow oxide gold mineralization. Drill hole FC20-017C intersected 2.5 g/t Au over 151m, representing the highest gold content in any single hole drilled at Lemhi based on a gold times core length metric (grams Au x total mineralized length = 377.5). Selected highlighted results from the 13 holes are 2.5 g/t Au over 151m, including 25 g/t Au over 8.7m (FG20-017C); 1.2 g/t Au over 42.6m (FG20-012C); 0.9 g/t Au over 72.4m, including 2.1 g/t Au over 21.1m (FG20-026C); and 1.4 g/t Au over 48.4m, including 2.1 g/t over 22m (FG20-032C). Drill sections can be found on our website at https://freemangoldcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2020-Drill-Sections-March-2021.pdf or by clicking here. Table 1 Significant Drill Results Drill Hole ID Azimuth, Dip (degrees) Total Depth (m) Depth (m) Interval (m) Average Grade (g/t Au) From To FG20-012C -90 360 264 56.9 99.5 42.6 1.2 including 56.9 70.0 13.2 2.5 and 139.6 234.5 94.9 0.4 including 139.6 150.0 10.4 2.1 including 143.7 148.1 4.4 4.2 FG20-017C 270 -75 203 29.0 180.0 151.0 2.5 including 29.0 33.1 4.1 4.9 including 45.0 48.0 3.0 14.5 including 74.0 82.7 8.7 25.0 including 121.0 137.0 16.0 3.4 including 127.0 131.0 4.0 8.3 including 175.0 177.0 2.0 5.3 FG20-018C 360 -90 178 12.0 47.0 35.0 0.3 and 112.3 163.0 50.7 0.4 including 112.3 124.0 11.7 1.0 FG20-019C 360 -90 170 52.0 56.0 4.0 1.2 including 78.0 127.1 49.1 0.9 including 78.0 81.0 3.0 2.3 including 101.9 105.0 3.1 2.9 FG20-020C 360 -90 201 75.0 110.0 35.0 0.3 including 83.0 84.0 1.0 4.2 including 109.0 110.0 1.0 3.6 FG20-021C 360 -90 170 32.9 57.9 25.0 0.6 including 32.9 34.0 1.1 3.1 including 47.0 53.0 6.0 1.7 and 129.1 133.0 3.9 1.3 FG20-022C 360 -90 223 4.0 34.1 30.1 1.0 including 22.0 28.0 6.0 4.6 and 198.0 203.3 5.3 1.1 FG20-023C 360 -90 212 2.1 26.6 24.5 0.5 including 24.9 26.6 1.7 3.5 and 95.0 98.1 3.1 0.9 and 120.3 122.8 2.5 1.1 and 174.5 194.4 20.0 0.6 FG20-024C -90.0 360.0 222.0 143.0 215.0 72.0 0.4 including 180.0 181.0 1.0 10.2 including 205.1 208.0 2.9 1.4 FG20-025C 360 -90 238 17.8 69.0 51.3 0.3 including 26.0 28.0 2.0 1.9 and 116.0 127.0 11.0 0.6 and 189.6 206.0 16.4 0.5 FG20-026C 360 -90 227 21.3 38.1 16.7 0.8 and 101.0 173.4 72.4 0.9 including 139.0 160.1 21.1 2.1 including 141.0 149.9 8.8 4.1 including 171.3 173.0 1.7 5.0 FG20-027C 360 -90 235 9.0 72.5 63.5 0.5 including 63.0 72.5 9.5 1.9 including 68.0 72.5 4.5 2.8 and 192.1 212.0 20.0 0.5 FG20-028C 360 -90 197 20.0 21.0 1.0 2.0 and 76.0 77.0 1.0 1.2 and 95.0 192.0 97.0 0.5 including 149.0 174.0 25.0 1.1 including 155.0 156.0 1.0 10.9 FG20-029C 360 -90 249 48.0 66.0 18.0 1.1 FG20-030C 360 -90 214 4.0 123.0 119.0 0.4 including 73.0 95.0 22.0 1.0 including 75.8 78.1 2.3 2.9 including 109.2 123.0 13.9 1.1 and 145.0 150.9 5.9 1.0 and 167.0 173.1 6.1 0.9 FG20-031C 360 -90 228 39.0 87.2 48.2 0.4 including 71.2 74.0 2.8 2.4 and 180.0 188.1 8.1 2.1 FG20-032C 360 -90 70 Lost hole FG20-033C 360 -90 199 112.3 161.0 48.8 1.4 including 116.0 138.0 22.0 2.1 including 155.8 160.3 4.6 4.0 FG20-034C 360 -90 182 102.3 110.0 7.6 2.3 and 132.0 141.0 9.0 1.5 including 133.0 135.0 2.0 4.0 FG20-035C 360 -90 199 8.7 189.0 180.4 0.5 20.0 23.0 3.0 3.9 50.0 53.0 3.1 2.7 128.5 167.0 38.5 1.1 149.5 153.0 3.5 6.6 *Intervals are core-length. True width is estimated between 90-95 percent (%) of core length. Will Randall, President and CEO, commented, "The 2020 diamond drill program at Lemhi not only confirmed the vast and comprehensive historical database, but also added confidence. This gives us an excellent basis upon which to complete our maiden compliant resource estimate, with the joint objective of maximizing the resource count, increasing the resource confidence categories, and identifying areas for future growth. Our team is working on the interpretation and modelling and we will have further updates as these results come in. Geologically, the Lemhi Gold Project lies within the Idaho-Montana porphyry belt, a northeast-trending alignment of metallic ore deposits and mines related to granitic porphyry intrusions. These extend north-easterly across Idaho and are related to the Trans-Challis fault system, a broad (20-30 km-wide) system of en-echelon northeast-trending structures extending from Boise Basin more than 270 km into Montana. At Lemhi, gold mineralization is hosted in Mesoproterozoic quartzites and phyllites within a series of relatively flat-lying lodes consisting of quartz veins, quartz stockwork and breccias and is located along the western edge of an intrusion. Mineralized lodes are associated with low angle faults, folding and shear zone(s). The mineralized zones have varying amounts of sulphides (pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite, molybdenum, and occasionally arsenopyrite) where free gold is common. Gold mineralization at Lemhi is open at depth and on strike in all directions. All drill core and rock samples were sent to ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada, an independent and fully accredited laboratory (ISO 9001: 2008) for analysis for gold by Fire Assay and multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (select drill holes). Freeman has a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control ("QA/QC") program where at least 10% duplicates, blanks and standards are inserted into each sample shipment. Drill hole FG20-035C was a PQ hole drilled primarily for metallurgical testing. Subsequently a portion of the samples from hole FG20-035C were analyzed at SGS Canada Inc., Burnaby, B.C., Canada, an independent and fully accredited laboratory (ISO 9001: 2008) for analysis for gold by Fire Assay. Core photos and drill sections can be found at www.freemangoldcorp.com. The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, P. Geo., the VP Exploration of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. About the Company Freeman Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of its 100% owned Lemhi Gold property (the "Lemhi Project"). The Lemhi Project comprises 30 square kilometers of highly prospective land. The mineralization at the Lemhi Project consists of shallow, near surface primarily oxide gold mineralization that has been identified from 355 historic drill holes and is open at depth and in multiple directions. The Company has completed an initial Phase 1 diamond drill program which will form the basis for a maiden National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate. On Behalf of the Company William Randall President and CEO Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to statements relating to its future business plans. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Freeman Gold Corp. Related Links https://freemangoldcorp.com/ Former Queensland councillor Jess Glasgow has been fined more than $4000 over his offensive appearance on reality-television show The Bachelorette. Mr Glasgow was booted from the program in 2019 after appearing in just two episodes, in which he donned fake mayoral robes and indicated he would kiss women without their consent. Former Noosa councillor Jess Glasgow during his controversial appearance on The Bachelorette. Credit:Ten Play The Councillor Conduct Tribunal on Thursday found the former councillor from Noosa Shire, on Queenslands Sunshine Coast, recklessly engaged in misconduct during his appearance on the TV show and in subsequent media interviews. In handing down its decision, the tribunal found Mr Glasgows behaviour was so unacceptable it would have recommended his dismissal or suspension had he still been in office. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said there is no question that the Trump administrations damaging rhetoric has led to elevated threats against Asian Americans. I think theres no question that some of the damaging rhetoric that we saw during the prior administration blaming, calling COVID the Wuhan virus or other things led to perceptions of the Asian American community that are inaccurate, unfair and has elevated threats against Asian Americans, Psaki said during a press briefing. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The press secretarys comments came one day after a Tuesday-night shooting spree at three Atlanta-area spas that left eight people dead, including six Asian-American women. However, officials said Wednesday the attack may not have been racially motivated as previously thought. Shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long took full responsibility for the shootings, police said, adding that while the rampage was initially believed to be part of a rising number of hate crimes against Asian Americans, Long allegedly opened fire at the spas because he saw them as an outlet for him to feed a sex-addiction temptation that he was trying to eliminate. Psaki noted that while authorities have said it is too early to say whether the attacks were a hate crime, that doesnt change the fact that this news is horrific and, broadly speaking, there has been an increase in attacks and crimes and hate crimes as well in other circumstances against Asian Americans. She noted that the Department of Justice is conducting listening sessions with members of the Asian American community to determine how that should impact policies moving forward. Psaki added that there is an ongoing review of domestic violent extremism that is wide-ranging. A November FBI report revealed hate crimes in the U.S. rose to the highest level in more than a decade in 2019, a year that also saw the highest number of hate-motivated killings since the FBI began collecting that information in the early 1990s. Story continues In 2019, there were 51 hate crime murders, including the deaths of 22 people who were killed in a shooting that targeted Mexicans at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Authorities say the El Paso shooters intention was to attempt to scare Hispanic people into leaving the U.S. The perpetrators of a number of racially motivated massacres, including the El Paso shootings, as well as the 2015 killing of nine members of the historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, have left behind manifestos detailing their motivations. Editors Note: A previous version of this article said that eight women were killed in the shootings in Atlanta on Tuesday, when in fact seven women and one man were killed in the shootings. We regret the error. More from National Review The Queen is 'sad but not angry' after Harry and Meghan's bombshell Oprah interview where they accused a senior royal of racism, according to insiders. The shocking interview saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claim a royal had raised concerns about their son Archie's skin colour. The revelation sparked a frenzy with royal watchers speculating about the identity of the family member who made the comment. Now, sources say the Queen was not angered by the interview and instead has privately pledged to stand by Harry. The Queen has ordered a private family investigation into Harry and Meghan's claims of racism Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed a royal had raised concerns about their son Archie's skin colour An insider told the Sun: 'She is not angry, she is just sad. They have always worried about him (Harry) and the Queen feels very protective about him. 'They always tried to support him when Meghan came along. They all worried less about him when Meghan was on the scene as he seemed so happy.' It comes after Prince William said the royals are 'not a racist family' with the Queen ordering a private family investigation into the claims. The Queen ordered a private family investigation into the claims which included accusations a unnamed member of the family raised 'concerns' about the skin colour of their children. Buckingham Palace did not comment. It comes amid reports that Prince William is 'deeply distressed' that private conversations with his brother will be 'plastered over American TV' after broadcaster Gayle King revealed William had taken part in an 'unproductive phone call with Prince Harry'. The revelation - which the CBS presenter delivered live on air - has reportedly made William wary of engaging further with the couple, fearing that any talks with his brother will be leaked to American television networks. Sources told Vanity Fair there was concern within the family that the Sussexes 'want to keep fuelling the soap opera'. This also comes as a royal author claims William is supporting his wife after Meghan Markle claimed the two women had a tearful confrontation days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 2018 wedding. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on a visit to an ambulance station in east London amid the Meghan and Harry fallout Meghan accused the royal family of racism, but also said the institution failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts. Mental health has been at the forefront of William and Kate's royal duties for a number of years, with the couple launching the Heads Together initiative with Harry. But Harry told Oprah Winfrey he was ashamed of admitting to his family that his wife needed help, adding: 'That's just not a conversation that would be had.' Kate is said to have found it 'mortifying' that allegations over her alleged row with Meghan Markle re-emerged two years ago after first being reported in 2018. Royal biographer Penny Junor told People: 'For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse [for Prince William] than being attacked himself.' She added: 'William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry.' And royal expert Katie Nicholl told OK! magazine: 'Kate has never wanted any suggestion of a rift with Meghan to come out in the press, so for this story to be circulating is very hard.' Earlier this week Gayle King revealed Harry, 36, had spoken to William, 38, and their father Prince Charles for the first time following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Despite the Sussexes insisting their explosive tell-all would be their 'final word' on royal affairs, Ms King, 66, said the couple had told her about Harry's phone calls with his family over the weekend. Yesterday she spoke out again, claiming the pair had a deal with CBS and ITV to postpone their bombshell interview if Prince Philip, 99, had died during his month-long stay in hospital. "Vaccine nationalism" benefits no one By Yan Yu (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 09:10, March 18, 2021 Pakistani President Arif Alvi receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine produced by the China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, March 15, 2021. (Photo/Official Twitter account of the Pakistani government) It is an urgent task facing countries to promote COVID-19 vaccination as the epidemic is still spreading across the world and threatening the lives and health of people from all countries. At such a critical moment, however, "vaccine nationalism" creeps in. While certain high-income countries are hoarding COVID-19 vaccines, many low-income economies are denied access to vaccines. To make matters worse, some Western media outlets have tried to defend "vaccine nationalism" and hinder global anti-pandemic cooperation. "Vaccine nationalism" mainly refers to the fact that the governments of some high-income countries have signed agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers to ensure that these companies will first supply vaccines to their populations before providing vaccines for other countries. The seemingly justifiable move is in fact selfish and narrow-minded, and is very likely to impose the law of the jungle upon the global fight against the virus. The truth is that these high-income countries have ordered vaccines much more than needed by their populations, which has not only resulted in a relative surplus of vaccines in these countries, but put many poor countries into a predicament of not being able to obtain the COVID-19 vaccines in time. More than 39 million doses of vaccine have now been administered in at least 49 higher-income countries. Just 25 doses have been given in one lowest-income country. Not 25 million; not 25 thousand; just 25, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in January at the opening meeting of the 148th session of the WHO Executive Board. He expressed concern that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. As a matter of fact, "vaccine nationalism", which is pursued by those with the "me first" mindset, will benefit no one. The pandemic that has lasted for more than a year has taught the world that the lives and health of people in all countries have never been so closely connected as they are today. Virus is the common enemy of mankind, and the only way to defeat it is to pull together with solidarity and cooperation. If some high-income countries blindly hog COVID-19 vaccines, and make poor countries unable to access or afford the vaccines, the virus will continue to rage across the globe, and it will be more difficult for countries, including high-income countries, to defeat the epidemic. "Vaccine nationalism" would slow progress in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and could erode economic growth for all countriesrich and poor, warned Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Vaccines are a powerful weapon against the virus and bring hope for saving lives. They should serve the entire world and benefit all humanity, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a press conference in March. At the opening of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly held in May, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping solemnly pledged that COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good, and this will be China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. China is a firm believer in making COVID-19 vaccines a public good as well as a committed front-runner in promoting international vaccine cooperation. As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution, the country has taken concrete actions to oppose "vaccine nationalism". China has joined the COVAX of the WHO, under which it has undertaken to provide an initial 10 million doses for emergency use in developing countries. So far, China has donated or is donating COVID-19 vaccines to 69 developing countries in urgent need, and is exporting vaccines to 43 countries. Responding to an appeal of the United Nations (UN), the country has donated vaccines to peacekeepers from various countries. Only when countries work together to reject "vaccine nationalism", promote fair and reasonable distribution, especially in developing countries, can they secure a final victory in the global fight against the virus. Human beings live in a global village, and countries are increasingly interdependent and share a common future. Only by abandoning "vaccine nationalism" and erasing "immunity gap" can humankind jointly defeat the virus and build a beautiful home. Australians who live in Sydney are more likely to be owed unclaimed superannuation - with average lost savings of more than $7,000. During the last financial year, $13.8billion worth of retirement savings had been misplaced, the Australian Taxation Office revealed on Thursday. Younger workers doing a series of casual jobs were more likely to have lost super as new default accounts were opened on their behalf whenever they switched to new, insecure employment. Those who had changed their name or address or forgotten to update their details in recent years were also more at risk of losing their super - a vital source of retirement income. Australians who live in Sydney are more likely to be owed unclaimed superannuation - with average lost savings of more than $7,000. The 2000 postcode, taking in the city centre and harbour-view suburbs like The Rocks and Barangaroo, had $63.6million owed among 8,301 accounts - or an average of $7,665 per person Unclaimed super hot spots by postcode 1. Sydney (2000): $63,628,141 owed, 8,301 accounts 2. Cairns far north Queensland (4870): $40,293,494 owed, 10,963 accounts 3. Bondi, Sydney's east (2026): $38,484,269 owed, 6,641 accounts 4. Concord West, Sydney's inner west (2138): $38,058,252 owed, 4,164 accounts 5. Darlinghust, Sydney's east (2010): $37,607,666 owed, 6,194 accounts 6. Casula, Sydney's south-west (2170): $37,373,976 owed, 11,259 accounts 7. Mackay, north Queensland (4740): $36,606,452 owed, 8,173 accounts 8. Toowoomba, south-east Queensland (4350): $36,558,421 owed, 9,675 accounts 9. Werribee, Melbourne's west (3030): $33,483,251 owed, 7,690 accounts 10. Campbelltown Sydney's south-west (2560): $32,265,752 owed, 8,728 accounts Source: Australian Taxation Office data for June 2020 Advertisement Sydney was the capital of unclaimed super, being home to six of the ten worst postcodes. The 2000 postcode, taking in the city centre and harbour-view suburbs like The Rocks and Barangaroo, had $63.6million owed among 8,301 accounts - or an average of $7,665 per person. The area also includes Haymarket near Chinatown, which is home to a larger proportion of international students. A short bus ride away, Bondi was home to an unclaimed pool worth $38.5million, averaging out at $5,794 for every individual. In nearby Darlinghurst and Surry Hills, average lost super stood at $6,071 - with $37.6million spread among 6,194 lost accounts. On the other side of Sydney, in the outer south west, 11,259 workers in Casula and surrounding areas including Liverpool and Mount Pritchard, were owed $3,319 on average. A short drive away, lost super balances in Campbelltown stood at $3,697. Queensland had three spots on the top ten list of shame, with $3,675 on average owed in Cairns among 10,963 lost accounts. By comparison, $4,479 on average was owed in Mackay and $3,778 in Toowoomba, on average. Victoria took out one spot on this list, with $4,354 owed on average at Werribee in Melbourne's west among 7,690 accounts. The $13.8billion in lost super as of June 30, 2020 was $7billion less than a year earlier. Superannuation Minister Jane Hume said workers unsure about their unclaimed super could check with the tax office. 'There remains around $13.8 billion in unclaimed super, I encourage all Australians to take a moment to log in to the ATO via MyGov and check if it's yours- it only takes a moment,' she said. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia recommended a single Australian have $535,000 tucked away to live in style during their old age while couples needed $640,000 for an equivalent lifestyle. In nearby Darlinghurst and Surry Hills, average lost super stood at $6,071 - with $37.6million spread among 6,194 lost accounts Many Australians are a long way from achieving that savings goal with official data showing average super balances of just $286,800 in the final decade before retirement. Even by retirement, average superannuation rose to just $402,600 for those in the 65 to 74 age group, the Australian Bureau of Statistics household income and wealth data showed. To have enough for a comfortable retirement, ASFA recommended an Australia have $219,000 by the age of 45. Those reaching 40 needed to have $164,000 in super while Australians aged 35 needed to aim for $112,000, itself a big jump from the $68,000 figure recommended for 30-year-old workers. The trajectory needed to see a worker reach the $285,000 target by age 50, $360,000 by 55 and $449,000 by 60. Since the advent of compulsory superannuation in 1992, growth-orientated balances had delivered average annual returns of 7 per cent, a SuperRatings analysis showed. Victoria took out one spot on this list, with $4,354 owed on average at Werribee in Melbourne's west among 7,690 accounts Super accounts are forecast to have shrunk by 5.9 per cent in the year to February, during a period covering the Covid shutdowns and the first recession in 29 years. But this decline is still much less severe than the 12.7 per cent decline in 2008-09 during the Global Financial Crisis. From July 1 this year, compulsory employer superannuation contributions are rising from 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent for adults who earn at least $450 a month. They are rising to 12 per cent by July 2025 with incremental half a percentage point increases at the start of each financial year until then. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Gibraltar has become the first nation in the world to fully vaccinate its entire adult population. Speaking in the House of Commons today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the British territory hit the milestone on Wednesday. Gibraltar is home to 33,000 people and has had 4,263 cases as well as 94 deaths. Mr Hancock told the Commons: 'I am delighted to be able to tell the house that yesterday, Gibraltar became the first nation in the world to complete its entire adult vaccination programme. Gibraltar is home to 33,000 people and has had 4,263 cases of coronavirus as well as 94 deaths 'I want to pay tribute to all Gibraltarians for their fortitude during this crisis and the kind words of first minister Fabian Picardo, who said yesterday 'the United Kingdom has played a blinder on vaccinations and we are among the beneficiaries in the British family of nations'. 'I agree, the vaccination programme has been a success thanks to a team spirit across the British family of nations.' Chief Minister Fabian Picardo thanked the UK government for its support of the island's vaccination drive. He said: 'We have felt the real support of the United Kingdom in the provision of PPE, testing and the sovereign guarantee for our Covid spending. 'But, perhaps, most importantly with the provision at no cost to Gibraltar of the Covid vaccine in quantities that enables me to say today that Gibraltar will be the first nation to complete a whole nation vaccination programme.' Mr Hancock added: 'Throughout the crisis, we have provided Gibraltar with PPE, testing and a sovereign guarantee for their Covid spending. Speaking in the House of Commons today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed Gibraltar had vaccinated all adults 'We have also provided Gibraltar with vaccines, as we have with all other British overseas territories.' Gibraltar's success comes amid vaccine chaos in next-door Spain and the rest of Europe. Supply problems, bureaucratic health systems and stashes of unused AstraZeneca shots left the EU languishing behind Britain in the vaccine race. The EU is threatening to block shipments to Britain as it plays hardball over supplies, prompting anger in Whitehall with cabinet minister Robert Jenrick saying today he was 'surprised and disappointed' by Brussels' stance. But Europe is struggling to shift the jabs that it does have - with former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb claiming that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. Cembra releases 2020 Annual Report and publishes invitation to Annual General Meeting 2021 Zurich - Cembra Money Bank AG today published its Annual Report 2020 detailing comprehensive information about the Group's financial performance, risk management, sustainability, governance and compensation in 2020. An online report and a business review are also available. In addition, Cembra published the invitation to the Annual General Meeting 2021 .As announced on 19 February 2021, a dividend of CHF 3.75 per share will be proposed. As announced previously, the Board of Directors proposes that Susanne Kloss-Braekler and Martin Blessing be newly elected to the Board of Directors, and that Prof. Dr Peter Athanas and Katrina Machin will not stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting 2021. Urs Baumann has reconsidered his decision not to stand for re-election, and the Board of Directors now proposes Urs Baumann to be re-elected for another one-year-term of office. All other members of the Board of Directors will also stand for re-election. The Annual General Meeting 2021 will be held on 22 April in Zurich. Due to Covid-19 and the federal restrictions in place, shareholders will not be able to attend the meeting in person. Cembra therefore asks all shareholders to vote at the Annual General Meeting 2021 by the independent proxy. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region In a nutshell: Have you ever walked up to an ATM and reached for your card, only to discover you left it at home? It's a frustration many of us have experienced, but some banks are adding facial recognition to their machines as a card-free method of identification. Singapore-based OCBC Bank has enabled facial biometric security on eight ATMs within the island city-state, including the bank's main branches in Tampines, in the Central Area, and at a convenience store, reports ZDNet. Users will only be able to use the technology to check their account balances initially. The ability to make cash withdrawals will be added "progressively," though OCBC never specified a timeline. After this option arrives, other features will land next year, including cash deposits, funds transfers to other banks, cashcard top-ups, and credit card bill payments. OCBC said that account balance inquiries and cash withdrawals were the most-used ATM services, accounting for almost 8 out of 10 ATM transactions in Singapore. The company uses Singapore's National Digital Identity infrastructure, SingPass Face Verification, to verify users against a national biometric database containing over 4 million residents' images and identities. While facial identification at ATMs will doubtlessly bring security concerns, the system has "liveness detection capabilities" to detect and block the use of photographs, videos, and masks. Users also need to enter an identification number before the process begins. This isn't the debut of ATMs that use facial recognition verification. China unveiled the first machine to include the technology back in 2015, and Spain's CaixaBank started rolling them out in 2019. Its use is especially relevant in Covid-19 times when technology such as this 'Kinetic Touchless' elevator button is reducing the need for physical contact with surfaces. Image credit: Singapore News Live Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Monrovia One of Liberia's leading humanitarians and top radio personalities, Ambassador Karishma Pelham-Raad has announced her intention to contest as Representative for Montserrado County District #10. The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Yekeh Y. Kolubah of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP). Ambassador Pelham-Raad, a member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is a prominent resident of the district and the Chief Executive Officer of 'Her Royal Highness (HRH) Charity Foundation'. Declaring her intention at a well-attended press conference held at her residence on Wednesday, Amb. Pelham-Raad said her decision is based on her desire to serve her people. She said for far too long, she has heard the cries of the people of the district, especially the young people and was coming to work with them and the women to make use of the 'glorious' opportunities that have been eluding them over the years. "As CEO of HRH Charity Foundation, I, Karishman Pelham-Raad want to officially pronounce my declaration of intent to contest for Representative of Electoral District#10 Montserrado County," she announced. She continued: "This might be a shock to the traditional political fanatics but to me, it is an establishment of a new progressive journey in my life as a person that will be rocky and tedious, but my quest to prioritize the ordinary masses will make this pronouncement here today a historic one in years to come. As an eminent citizen of District #10, I have listened to the people remonstrance, I have watched many glorious opportunities passed by us and our underprivileged young people, but we are here to work on these issues and to focus more on youth and women's empowerment." She said her intention to contest for Representative of District #10 is predicated upon solving those challenges collectively, adding "I believe together through the overwhelming support of the residents of District #10, we can make our District a prosperous one." Speaking further, she disclosed that her charity organization was founded five years ago in a bid to render support to the less privileged and disadvantaged population of the society. She acknowledged that it has been a hectic and challenging process for the HRH Charity Foundation, but despite the odd, the foundation continues to assist and inspire hundreds of citizens to work together and change the negative narratives of Liberia. "To be honest with you, it has been a hectic and challenging process for the HRH Charity Foundation but we have passionately accepted our position and managed to assist and inspire hundreds of citizens to enlighten them that yet, though there are multiple obstacles, but when we unite collectively as a people for a common good, in disregard to limited resources but with genuine love and commitment to impact society positively, we can change the negative narratives of our dear country and its people. With this solemn creed of impacting and assisting our people, we have been operating as an institution." Going forward, she pledged the HRH Charity Foundation's commitment to keep engaging the people of District #10 through meaningful adventures until 2023 and beyond, adding, "We cannot continue to sit and watch underachievers lavish luxury opportunities that can better the life of our people. We are coming to national government to represent the people and not ourselves. District #10 deserves the very best and collectively with the people, we will make the dream possible. She then made a rallying call on "all partners, both at home and in the diaspora, the religious community, youth & student community, the market women, Penpen riders, friends, fans and supporters to stand with us whatever way possible in this new political beginning. I can assure you that with your merger support, success is very sure!" Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Meanwhile, Amb. Pelham-Raad's declaration two years earlier to the 2023 polls has confirmed earlier prediction of a rough and heated electoral process. Montserrado County District #10 is one of the most politically-charged electoral districts in the county. No lawmaker has won re-election in the district since 2005. The first uphill task of Amb. Pelham-Raad is to convince her party, the CDC that she is the suitable candidate to take on the incumbent lawmaker, Rep. Kolubah if he desires to run again. When asked if she would accept to participate in a future CDC primary, the humanitarian-cum-politician affirmed that she was willing to go through any democratic process instituted by the party if that what it will take. Credit: CC0 Public Domain In response to the recent freeze-inspired power outages in Texas, some politicians blamed the historic blackouts on wind turbines. The dubious, and largely dismissed, claims nevertheless spotlighted an intriguing fact: Texas, the land made famous by oil derricks and wildcatters, now gets a significant portion of its electricity from clean, renewable sources, most notably wind, but also from water and solara troika of sustainability known collectively as WWS. "Texas gets about 20 percent of its electricity from wind alone," says Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, who is author of a new study appearing in the journal Smart Energy looking at the future of smart grids. Jacobson used computer models to show that wind turbines, averaged over large regions, actually ramp up their power during cold snaps, when demand for home and business heating is the greatest. Furthermore, he concludes that windwhen combined with solar and water power, various energy storage systems and incentives for people to shift the time of some of their electricity usecould meet not only all electricity needs worldwide, but all energy demand in total, every minute of such crises. Jacobson's research investigated the ability of low-cost networks of renewable sources to meet demand worldwide, including in the United States, through the coldest of times so as to avoid blackouts. In particular, he wanted to answer a critical question: Can renewables do it all through the worst weather? According to his model, there is a direct connection between cold weather and wind power output. That is, winds tend to increase as the weather grows colder, precisely as demand for heat increases. Jacobson says that wind generation doesn't simply hold its own through the coldest days, but actually rises to the moment when it is needed most. As the weather turns coldest, wind heats up. Applying those findings to the real world, Jacobson thinks that, had all of the wind turbines in Texas been properly winterized, or protected from extreme cold, during the February 2021 freeze, they would have provided critical power to Texans throughout the cold snap and helped to prevent blackouts from occurring. The study also investigated issues revolving around output stability. Winds don't blow continuously, and cloud cover and nightfall limit the reliability of solar power. But according to Jacobson, wind and solar output are, in fact, correlated in an inverse and advantageous way. On the whole, when the wind is not blowing, the sun is usually shining during the day. Conversely, at times when the sun's rays are blocked by storm cloud cover, winds tend to pick up, sending the turbines spinning. Jacobson's models show that, when averaged over a large area, wind and solar energy generation are complementary to one another during the day. One fills in when the other is lagging. In the last part of his paper, Jacobson tackles what may be the biggest lingering concern about renewables, whether they can singularly meet total global demand in the coldest or hottest weather. The answer to this question gets to the heart of whether renewables might someday prove reliable enough to supplant fossil fuels altogether. To answer this question, Jacobson considered 24 large renewable-only (WWS) grid regions across 143 nations throughout the world. He found low-cost solutions everywhere he looked. In large cold regions, such as in Canada, Russia, Europe, the United States and China, the increased demand for heating was frequently accompanied by rising wind energy output. In most other regions, only moderate correlations were found, but they were still enough to meet demand. The findings have implications not only for energy security but also for climate-change mitigation strategies and public health. Seven million people, including about 78,000 in the United States, die each year from air pollution largely the result of fossil fuel consumption, Jacobson points out in the paper. These deaths can be avoided by transitioning to WWS energy. "In most climates, these models shows that wind energy can help meet rising seasonal heat demand, even through the coldest of times, and it can do it while reducing the cost of energy, saving people's lives and creating millions more jobs than lost worldwide," Jacobson said. Explore further Transition to renewables will change when security of supply risk occurs More information: Mark Z. Jacobson. On the Correlation Between Building Heat Demand and Wind Energy Supply and How it Helps to Avoid Blackouts, Smart Energy (2021). Mark Z. Jacobson. On the Correlation Between Building Heat Demand and Wind Energy Supply and How it Helps to Avoid Blackouts,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.segy.2021.100009 H-E-B continues to make headlines for its decision to not enforce masks on customers. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal released an article about the San Antonio grocery chain, titling it "Texas Grocer H-E-B Is Caught in the Middle of Mask Divide." In the article, an H-E-B employee told the newspaper he saw 38 people without face masks in about five hours during one of his shifts last week, which is when Gov. Greg Abbott's mask lift began. The employee remained anonymous and was from an H-E-B in the Bryan-College Station area. According to the report, the employee said they wish H-E-B would take a stronger approach when it comes to enforcing masks but added he understands why it would be difficult to police. H-E-B released a statement after Abbott's announcement, saying they urge customers to wear them in stores. READ MORE FROM PRISCILLA: H-E-B partners call on grocery giant to enforce face mask policy for shoppers Earlier this month, H-E-B President Scott McClelland told Chron.com the company wouldn't enforce it because of belligerent customers who caused nearly 2,000 in-store incidents involving masks at Houston stores alone. This isn't the first time an employee has spoken out against H-E-B's new mask policy. Last week, a partner who also chose to remain anonymous, told MySA.com a face mask requirement for shoppers would help protect the employees from the novel coronavirus. The employee and other partners created a Facebook page, Community for H-E-B, shortly after H-E-B released its statement. The page launched an event days later where they asked the public to call corporate and demand a change. While H-E-B is taking a lot of heat from its decision, it is not the only company that isn't enforcing masks on customers. Whataburger, another Texas favorite, released a statement that it encourages customers to wear face masks. It did not, however, say it was required. MySA.com reached out to H-E-B for a comment on the report from the Wall Street Journal. The company declined to provide one. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre Reports have circulated in the Moroccan media that Egypt will soon inaugurate a consulate in Laayoune, one of the largest cities in the disputed Western Sahara, the scene of decades of conflict between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front. Moroccos Le360 news site reported Dec. 21 that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced plans to dispatch Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to Rabat, where he will coordinate the opening of an Egyptian consulate in Western Sahara with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita. The Polisario Front, a pro-independence movement established in 1973, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1976 and joined the African Union in 1984. The group is seeking the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, which has controlled over 80% of the vast desert since the Spanish withdrawal in 1975 and considers it an integral part of its territory. The Polisario Front and its Algerian ally, which hosts Sahrawi refugees, are campaigning for a referendum on Western Saharan independence. Morocco is betting on foreign consulates opening in Western Sahara, Bourita says. During the opening of the Bahraini Consulate in the disputed territory on Dec. 14, Bourita said the international community is convinced that the dispute can only be resolved within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the United States would also open a consulate in Western Sahara Dec. 24. President Donald Trump's administration recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the territory, the only Western country to do so, when Rabat agreed to normalize relations with Israel. US President-elect Joe Biden, who is set to be sworn in Jan. 20, will have to decide whether to uphold the US agreement with Morocco. Morocco views the opening of foreign diplomatic representations in Western Sahara as affirmation of its sovereignty over the territory while the Polisario Front and Algeria condemn the openings as a violation of international law. The number of diplomatic missions in Western Sahara hit 18 after Bahrain and Haiti opened their consulates in the territory in December. The United Arab Emirates was the first Arab country to open a consulate in Laayoune on Nov. 4, and Jordan has expressed its intention to do the same. Rakha Hassan, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said that Egypt will not open a consulate in Western Sahara. He told Al-Monitor via phone, Egypt has no interest in this territory. Hassan questioned the accuracy of the Moroccan press reports, saying, Egypt's position has remained unchanged on the Western Sahara issue so far, and this position will not change overnight. He added, Egypt's position on the Western Sahara issue is the same and in line with UN resolutions that call for a referendum allowing the Western Sahara citizens to decide either to be part of Morocco or to be independent. After the truce agreement signed between the Polisario Front and the Moroccan government in 1991 under the UN, a referendum was set to be held on the Western Sahara dispute. Yet as the sides failed to agree on voter eligibility, the dispute has remained unsolved. The Western Sahara crisis has long been a reason for tense relations between Egypt and Morocco, particularly since Sisi took office. The Moroccans feel that Egypt is biased toward Algeria, the main supporter of the Polisario Front. On Dec. 15, Egypt called on Morocco and the Polisario Front to exercise restraint and respect the UN Security Councils resolutions, including the 1991 truce agreement, and to refrain from taking any provocative actions that would harm economic and trade interests in this region. The Egyptian call came amid fears that the two sides would resume military operations in one of Africas oldest disputes, after recently breaching the UN-brokered truce agreement that ended years of fighting. Moroccan forces launched a military operation Nov. 13 in the buffer zone of Guerguerat in southern Western Sahara to clear a road that has been blockaded by the Polisario Front since Oct. 21. The road leads to Guerguerat, the gateway to Mauritania. Polisario chief Ibrahim Ghali ended his groups commitment to the truce in a Nov. 14 decree. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a Nov. 15 statement the need to commit to dialogue and resume the political process to resolve the crisis and bring about stability, protect all parties interests and abide by international law, especially state sovereignty. Egypt has been neutral regarding the tension in the buffer zone of Guerguerat while Gulf and other Arab states, including Cairos allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, support Morocco against the Polisario Front. Egypt fears that recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara might jeopardize its Algerian relations, which are stronger than its ties with Morocco. Algeria was one of the first Arab countries Sisi visited less than a month after assuming power in June 2014. That December, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum announced a deal to import natural gas from Algeria at half price, as part of efforts to overcome Egypt's energy and economic crises following the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013. Algeria has backed Egypt during several other crises. In October 2016, after Saudi Aramco suspended petroleum shipments to Egypt, Algeria sent Cairo more than 30,000 tons of diesel fuel. Egypt and Algeria routinely work together in the fight against terrorism and illegal migration and share common visions on the conflict raging in neighboring Libya. Yasmine Hasnaoui, a Moroccan researcher on the Western Sahara conflict, told Al-Monitor, There is nothing official regarding the opening of an Egyptian consulate in Western Sahara. If Egypt decides to open a consulate, it is because it sees that Morocco is becoming an important partner to several big states, notably the United States. Hasnaoui went on, If this move happens, it will bolster Egypts economic partnership not only with Morocco but with many other countries in Europe and Africa on several levels. She continued, International relations are not based on feelings, but rather partnership, and Morocco is gaining momentum regarding the Western Sahara issue. HOUSTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) won two contracts worth more than $100 million to provide sustaining base operations services at U.S. military installations throughout the Middle East. KBR's critical logistics and operations support is a part of a strategic, ongoing effort for the U.S. Navy and Air Force in this region. KBR received a $67.4 million contract from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic to provide key services to four Navy facilities in the United Arab Emirates. The contract has one base year and seven option years. As part of this new work, KBR will integrate digital solutions into its operations by utilizing market-leading asset management software and data analytics. KBR's responsibilities will include management and administration; logistics; equipment maintenance; force protection; facility support and transportation. KBR also won a task order with an estimated value of $35 million from the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center to perform power production services at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Under the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order, KBR will provide resources necessary for power generation for the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing and partner forces. The Air Force awarded this two-year task order through the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program V. KBR provides critical, sustaining base operations services to the U.S. armed forces throughout the Middle East. Guided by its "Zero Harm" program, KBR promotes a culture of safety and sustainability on all of its projects to protect people and the planet. "These wins are indicative of KBR's commitment to deliver readiness and sustainment solutions to the defense and intelligence communities," said Byron Bright, KBR's Government Solutions President. "We are excited to continue to grow our presence in the Middle East as we harness the power of technology to meet the unique requirements of military operations." For decades, KBR has helped keep bases and other facilities operating efficiently so deployed troops and government personnel can execute their missions without distraction. KBR provides a full spectrum of engineering, operations, maintenance and logistics services to defense and civil agency customers around the world. About KBR We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 29,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in 40 countries. KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long- term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver. Visit www.kbr.com Forward Looking Statement The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the significant adverse impacts on economic and market conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic; the company's ability to respond to the challenges and business disruption presented by the COVID-19 pandemic; the recent dislocation of the global energy market; the company's ability to realize cost savings and efficiencies relating to the streamlining of its Energy Solutions business; the company's ability to manage its liquidity; the company's ability to continue to generate anticipated levels of revenue, profits and cash flow from operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and any resulting economic downturn; the outcome of and the publicity surrounding audits and investigations by domestic and foreign government agencies and legislative bodies; potential adverse proceedings by such agencies and potential adverse results and consequences from such proceedings; the scope and enforceability of the company's indemnities from its former parent; changes in capital spending by the company's customers, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the company's ability to obtain contracts from existing and new customers and perform under those contracts; structural changes in the industries in which the company operates; escalating costs associated with and the performance of fixed-fee projects and the company's ability to control its cost under its contracts; claims negotiations and contract disputes with the company's customers; changes in the demand for or price of oil and/or natural gas; protection of intellectual property rights; compliance with environmental laws; changes in government regulations and regulatory requirements; compliance with laws related to income taxes; unsettled political conditions, war and the effects of terrorism; foreign operations and foreign exchange rates and controls; the development and installation of financial systems; increased competition for employees; the ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions; and operations of joint ventures, including joint ventures that are not controlled by the company. KBR's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that KBR has identified that may affect the business, results of operations and financial condition. Except as required by law, KBR undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. SOURCE KBR, Inc. Related Links http://www.kbr.com remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on Sunday to take part in the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen, China. He hoped this would support the agenda for a stronger partnership among the member countries, amid a strain in Sino-India ties over a host of issues. In a statement yesterday, the prime minister said he was looking forward to productive discussions and positive outcomes at the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa)Summit in Xiamen city, building upon the results of last year's Goa Summit between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit comes days after India and China managed to end the 73-day-long Dokalam standoff. From Xiamen, he will travel to Myanmar on August 5 before returning to the country on August 7. A possible meeting between Modi and Chinese leader Xion the margins of the Summit will be a major focus at a time when ties between the two major powers have divided over a number of issues including the Dokalam stand-off. "I look forward to building upon the results and outcomes of the Goa Summit. I also look forward to productive discussions and positive outcomes that will support the agenda of a stronger BRICS partnership under the chairmanship of China," the PM said in a statement. The Summit meeting will take place tomorrow. The prime minister said he will have the opportunity to meet leaders bilaterally on the sidelines of the BRICS meet. PM said he was looking forward to engaging with leaders of nine other countries, including BRICS partners, in an Emerging Markets and Developing Countries Dialogue, being hosted by Xi on September 5. "We will also interact with the BRICS Business Council represented by captains of industry from all the five countries," he said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Justice for Courtney is not over, she said. This is what we want, for her voice to be heard, how she got to be there and the systemic failures. Ms Antoniou has previously spoken of her daughters struggles with mental health issues and a serious drug addiction as a young adult. Courtney Herron with her mother Maxie. Ms Herron had struggled with depression and anxiety since she was a teenager and had been in and out of hospital for several years prior to her death. When she was killed, she had been returning to her partners house after spending time couch-surfing. Her mother said she hoped an inquest could examine how flaws within the mental health and bail system had failed her daughter. Loading It could make fundamental changes to the whole system and people and the processes will be held to account, she said. Thats the most important thing out of the whole process. Ms Antoniou, who worked in welfare services for a decade, said she believed the system was broken. All we have now is a Band-Aid system. Its overcrowded, people go for acute care, there arent enough beds, then there is a whole circle of not enough beds, and they are pushed out into society and there is nowhere to live, no proper housing. It is mandatory for a coroner to hold an inquest if a person dies in custody or care, if a persons identity is unknown or if the coroner suspects homicide and no one has been charged in relation to the death. A coroner can also hold an inquest if they determine there is public interest in doing so. Hammond had been released from jail just weeks before Ms Herrons murder. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Court documents show that he successfully appealed a 10-month jail sentence he had received for threatening to kill his ex-partner by waving a knife in her face, choking and punching her, fracturing her eye socket. His lawyer argued his sentence had been manifestly excessive and Hammonds parents, from NSW, told the court they would help pay for some temporary accommodation if he were released. He was assessed as suitable for a 12-month community corrections order on the condition he received drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, supervision and judicial monitoring. Seven weeks later he was back in jail, charged with murder. On Wednesday, Victorian Supreme Court judge Phillip Priest ordered Hammond spend 25 years in a mental health facility. The court had been unable to do that during previous hearings due to a lack of beds at the hospital. Henry Hammond. Hammond appeared via video link with thick facial hair. He did not speak except to confirm he could hear proceedings. His lawyer asked for a review period for the order to be set, arguing that Hammond didnt have the resources or the understanding to request one himself. However, Justice Priest said he did not believe a review date needed to be set. I cant see things changing before I retire, he said. The family of Courtney Herron, who was killed in Parkville at a memorial to mark one year since her death. Credit:Jason South The order was backdated to the date of Hammonds arrest on in May 2019. The pair met after Ms Herron gave Hammond a cigarette after he approached her in the CBD on May 24, 2019. They travelled to Fitzroy where they smoked cannabis and methamphetamine, before having dinner together at Vegie Bar on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. She paid for Hammonds meal, and they returned to the friends apartment. At 3.30am, the pair left the apartment and entered the grounds of Royal Park from Elliott Avenue about 4.30am. Courtney Herron was buried beside her grandfather. Credit:Jason South While walking through the park, Hammond picked up a branch. Courtney was scared and asked him, Are you going to kill me? before he struck her on the head with the branch. A man sleeping in the park heard screams and estimated Hammond bludgeoned the body with the branch for 50 minutes. Loading Hammond then tied her feet together with black material and dragged the body to a clearing near a tree and some logs. He covered her with leaves, a tree branch and put a piece of concrete on her face. Hammond was arrested the next day. He initially made no comment during an interview and denied knowing Ms Herron, but in a second interview, he said he had been walking through Royal Park and had recognised her treachery towards him and her family and said the trees had dropped sticks for a reason. He told police he recognised Ms Herron from a past life when he was happily married and had everything, and admitted to hitting her with a stick and punching her. Ms Antoniou said the details of her daughters death haunt her. She doesnt want it to happen to anyone else. 1.20pm - JCB Triumph Hurdle The drying ground should see TRITONIC (3/1) to best effect for Alan King and Adrian Heskin. The Irish juveniles are strong in the shape of Quilixios and Zanahiyr but the manner in which Tritonic scooted clear of rivals in the Adonis at Kempton last time out really caught the eye on identical ground to this week. Even on soft with a touch of heavy on his prior start, he stayed on well to catch Casa Loupi at Ascot, the same horse he beat by 10 lengths in Kempton. There isn't much between the Irish pair based on form but I would lean towards Quilixios based on the way he finished out his race at Leopardstown, beating Saint Sam and Busselton, in February. 1.55pm - McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle I wouldn't have a strong opinion on this race this year but I am tempted to have an eachway nibble on GOWEL ROAD (16/1) for Nigel and Sam Twiston-Davies. He's won his last two starts quite easily and I like his form behind Bear Ghylls who ran well to be fourth behind Bob Olinger in the Ballymore here on Wednesday. Gowel Road finished just one and a half lengths behind Bear Ghylls at Ffos Las last November. 2.30pm - Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle I'm going for STREETS OF DOYEN (20/1) who is proven over course and trip and has plenty to offer at a big price. He ran a stinker at Naas last time out wearing cheekpieces but I am hoping he can bounce back. Prior to that blip, he had put together four wins on the spin, including at Cheltenham last October when he beat Minella Encore by three and a half lengths on similar ground. That was over the same trip as today (2M 7F) and he even won over three miles on good ground in Gowran last year where he beat Flooring Porter by five lengths. Based on that, even though he got plenty of weight from his rival, there is more to come from him and he could still be on a decent mark. He is overpriced at 16/1 and can hopefully give a good account again. 3.05pm - Wellchild Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase AL BOUM PHOTO (5/2) will aim to emulate Arkle and Best Mate in winning three Cheltenham Gold Cups. I genuinely hope he does it for Willie Mullins who waited until this horse's win in 2019 to get his hands on the Gold Cup. He is the quintessential Gold Cup horse now and so lightly raced for that very reason; to have him primed for Prestbury Park. He is going into the race this year with an identical prep to last year. In 2020, he beat Acapella Bourgeois at Tramore on New Year's Day before going to Cheltenham and winning the Gold Cup in March. Again in 2021, he raced and won at Tramore on New Year's Day; he even beat the same horse in Acapella Bourgeois, only this time by further. It will take something special to stop him. The story for the UK contingent will be the horse named after AP McCoy and trained by Nicky Henderson. CHAMP (9/2) was dead and buried, fully 10 lengths behind the leaders jumping the last in the RSA last season, but somehow managed to reel in and beat Allaho and Minella Indo on the line. The field couldn't run down Al Boum Photo up the hill in the last two years but if one horse can, it's Champ, and what a story it would be for AP McCoy and owner JP McManus. A Plus Tard represents the powerful Henry De Bromhead/Racheal Blackmore pairing but I was disappointed with his run in defeat to Min in last year's Ryanair. I can't make a strong enough case for anything else at the minute and 5/2 is a nice price for Al Boum Photo, perhaps the most under-celebrated horse in training. 3.40pm - St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Chase I think Billaway is the most likely winner of this race for Willie Mullins. He was second to the reopposing It Came To Pass in this last year but has been more consistent since. For me, 3/1 is too short and the Hunters chase is a race for an eachway bet for me. The winner was 66/1 last year to that will show you that anything can happen in this race. I am going for a bit of a risky one with MR MANTILLA (25/1). He was been picking up wins on the Irish point-to-point scene most recently beating Bellow Mome from the Willie Mullins yard at Stradbally in December. He beat Rewritetherules in November and the same horse was 6th behind Billaway at Down Royal a month later. It's not exactly a clean line to run through the form but I'm willing to take a risk that Mr Mantilla is good enough to get involved here. The Hunters chase is always a fascinating race. Don't discount the Enda Bolger runners either. He won this race in 2015 and 2016 with On The Fringe. 4.15pm - Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase I think ELIMAY (5/4) has a touch of class about her and can get the better of this field for Willie Mullins, JP McManus and jockey Mark Walsh. She has won three out of her four chase starts with her only defeat coming at the hands of stablemate Allaho. She beat Shattered Love easily by five lengths at Naas last time out and a step up in trip and drying ground is all in her favour. I'd be surprised if she isn't odds-on before the start, particularly after Allaho's exceptional win on Thursday. 4.50pm - Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle Gentleman De Mee is the favourite for Willie Mullins but I'm going for GALOPIN DES CHAMPS (13/2) from the same stable. This one is very interesting based on his run behind Appreciate It at Leopardstown. He was just nine lengths behind Tuesday's runaway winner of the Supreme and looking through the field, that was a very hot race. Ballyadam, second in the Supreme a few days ago, was second that day in Leopardstown while Blue Lord, who would have been second on Tuesday had he not fallen at the last, was third. The selection here was only a couple of lengths off that pair in Leopardstown and could be suited by the step up in trip here to 2M 4F. SELECTIONS AT A GLANCE: 1.20 - Tritonic - 3/1 1.55 - Gowel Road (EW) - 16/1 2.30 - Streets of Doyen (EW) - 20/1 3.05 - Al Boum Photo - 5/2 3.40pm - Mr Mantilla (EW) - 25/1 4.15pm - Elimay - 5/4 4.50pm - Galopin Des Champs - 13/2 SUGGESTED TREBLE Tritonic, Al Boum Photo and Elimay - ALL TO WIN - 28/1 Can Nigeria ever be put together again? This is the question that concentrated my mind as I watched the tragi-comedy of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, shutting down a petition by some Nigerians in the Diaspora during plenary last Thursday. I must admit that there are die-hard optimists and it is good to be sanguine. In any case, given the circumstance we have found ourselves, if you remove hope, what else is left? Optimism oils the wheels of everyday living in Nigeria. As I noted in my New Year article, "2021: Beyond hope", it helps when a people are having a rough patch, as Nigerians are right now, to look on the sunny side of life. That is where hope, which simply means being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness around us, comes in. But utterances of some political leaders push majority of Nigerians into the dark hole of despair. No matter how hard one tries to be buoyant in spirit, the truth is, whatever side of the political spectrum you decide to pitch your tent right now, it is tough to be happy about the current state of the union where uppity and sense of entitlement have stymied national unity. Every issue is viewed from the primordial prism of ethnicity. The consequence is that each day the chasms of division become gorges of prejudice and tragically, we all watch as the country spirals into hate-filled rhetoric. [ALSO READ] South-South leaders, NDDC at war over governing board Anyone who dares complain is accused by those who claim to love Nigeria more than others of being a hater. Yet, Nigeria has never been more divided than it is today. Political leaders have become angrier and more intolerant as political skins become thinner. That was exactly what played out on the floor of the House on March 11, when a lawmaker, Mark Gbillah, representing Gwer East-Gwer West federal constituency of Benue State, attempted to submit a petition on insecurity in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba filed by a group of Tiv indigenes living in the United States under the umbrella of Mzough U Tiv Amerika, MUTA. The Deputy Speaker, who presided, shot down the petition even before it was presented on the laughable ground that Nigerians in the Diaspora have no right petitioning on issues happening in Nigeria. In his desperation, Wase threw parliamentary caution to the winds asserting, without the backing of the 1999 Constitution, that Nigerians who sit in their comfort zones abroad are not eligible to file petitions against the Federal Government on issues pertaining to insecurity. That was scandalous. Gbillah had hardly finished explaining what the petition was all about when Wase brusquely cut him short, asking rather condescendingly: "Honourable Gbillah, did you say Tivs in America? What do they know about Nigeria? What is their business? They can't sit in their comfort zones and know what is happening in Nigeria." Then he self-importantly thundered: "I am not convinced that we have to take that petition", and ordered a fellow lawmaker who represents his constituents to sit down. It was surreal. How can a lawmaker say that Nigerians automatically lose their citizenship when they decide to live abroad? When the man who made this claim is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, it becomes even more tragic. But make no mistake about this. Wase knew what he was saying. Implied in his submission is the subtle use of prejudice tropes in protection of ethnic privilege. Expectedly, Nigerians - home and abroad - are outraged. A former chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, captured the mood of the majority when he tweeted: "So, the House of Representatives can so blithely strip Nigerians outside the borders of the country of their citizenship and rights?" Odinkalu wondered whether it was "ignorance or bias or biased ignorance that drives this presiding officer in this piece of inspired parliamentary silliness", and concluded thus: "The same ninnies who pull this kind of nonsense habitually will show up tomorrow and tell you how Nigeria's unity is not negotiable when they themselves have made it a tradeable commodity." Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, has also protested. In a petition to Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, signed by Dr. Bashir Obasekola for Nigerians in Diaspora, Europe; Obed Monago for Nigerians in Diaspora, Americas; Prof. E. C. Ejiogu for Nigerians in Diaspora, Asia; Gary Linus Unamadu for Nigerians in Diaspora, Oceania; and Dr. Obinna Kingsman for Nigerians in Diaspora, Africa; the group demanded that Wase should fully retract his statement and offer unconditional public apology to the diasporans. They also insisted that Gbillah be allowed to re-present the petition. If this is not done within 14 days, they threatened further actions, which might include but not limited to calling out Nigerians in the Diaspora to withhold further home remittances with immediate effect. Of course, they cannot do that because nobody living abroad will stop sending money to his aged parents at home, for instance, because of the indiscretions of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. But Wase's injudiciousness has exposed how wide the national fault lines of ethnicity and religion have become because of the deliberate policies, particularly the Fulani supremacist agenda of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency. Those who think that Wase just misspoke don't get it. And it was not a question of ignorance of the law, either. He knew what he did. His body language in the video that went viral said it all. He was visibly angry at the audacity of the petitioners. To appreciate what happened, we have to put certain things in context. Wase, who represents Wase Federal Constituency, Plateau State, is a Fulani and a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Gbillah, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as the petitioners are Tiv. Those who have been chased out of their ancestral homes in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa and living in poorly serviced IDP camps are Tiv. Those who attacked, maimed, killed and chased them away from their ancestral homes are Fulani. Simply put, Wase is using his office which is paid for with tax payers' money to protect ethnic privilege. While those who own the ancestral lands, most of them farmers, are languishing in IDP camps, bandits, most, if not all, of them Fulani have taken over their property and the government is looking the other way. In order to be politically correct in the Buhari era, we often twist ourselves into "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" pretzels to be called patriots and nationalists. If that petition was written by the Fulani in the Diaspora, Wase wouldn't have shot it down. He wouldn't have bothered to know if the group was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. Political and ethnic colouration Gbilla's opening remarks that: "I have a petition from the Mutual Union of the Tiv in America against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the issue has to do with the ancestral land of the Tiv people that seems to have been possessed in recent times through various attacks and the fact that they are languishing in IDP camps till date without any intervention", was what made Wase fly off the handle. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Of course, seeing the backlash, he has tried to walk back his comments, albeit unsuccessfully. He claims that the trending video, showing him preventing Gbillah from laying the petition, had been "doctored, slanted and bent to give political and ethnic colouration to an event that was otherwise strictly based on parliamentary procedures". That is not true. When government officials claim that Nigeria is safe, they duplicitously fail to acknowledge that many Nigerians living in IDP camps have nowhere else to go because what used to be their ancestral homes have been taken over by bandits. They have become refugees in their own country. The Nigerian State under Buhari's watch knows that and is doing nothing about it. Instead, they are preaching peace and forgiveness. Despite the pockets of agitations for secession, majority of Nigerians would love to live together in a united country. But that country must be one where equity, justice and equal rights trump bigotry, nepotism and ethnic supremacy. Peace will always be a mirage in a milieu where justice is an anathema. Buhari has used six years of his presidency to bring out the animal in us. There is every reason to believe that it will get worse in the remaining two years. Putting Nigeria together again after the Buhari presidency will be the challenge of the millennium. Vanguard News Nigeria JACKSON, MI City managers in Jackson earned thousands more than their base salaries in 2020, mostly through benefits. City Manager Jonathan Greene and former City Manager Patrick Burtch were among the top earners in city government in 2020, according to information obtained by MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot through a Freedom of Information Act request. Greene led the payroll at almost $174,500. His base salary was increased from $124,000 to $140,000 in April, two months after he became the interim city manager when Burtch resigned to take a job in Ohio. Greene was promoted to permanent city manager in August. Related: Overtime costs bring public safety employees to the top of Jacksons payroll in 2020 Gross salary for both city managers show how benefits contribute to their total earnings. For instance, Greene received about $18,570 in holiday, vacation and sick time pay; an education stipend of $3,000 for student loans and a residency stipend of $1,800, which is offered to city employees to encourage living within the city, an earnings summary shows. The bulk of his additional gross wages came from deferred compensation, a stipulation in his contract that places an extra 15% of his regular pay into a retirement account. Greenes base salary is in line with other cities of similar sizes. In Port Huron, for example, the city manager earns a base salary of $139,000. Burtch, on the other hand, left his position in February 2020, but was the ninth-highest paid city employee in the same year. He earned $126,450, though only about $29,000 paid to him in 2020 was for hours worked. The rest of his gross salary was paid through unused sick time that neared $59,000, and two payments of about $13,760 each, his earnings summary shows. Once was for a vacation time balance from 2019 paid in 2020, and the other was for the unused 2020 vacation time, City Spokesman Aaron Dimick said. All contracted city employees get sick and vacation time paid out when they leave, Dimick said. The non-union pay scale didnt change in 2020 and no raises are planned in 2021. In total, the city spent $15.3 million on payroll in 2020, records show. Thats in line with the personnel costs in 2019. Dimick said officials dont expect the costs of two city managers on the payroll last year to affect the citys budget. Right now, we do not anticipate any kind of budget impact from increases in payment, he said in an email. These are things we expect to happen and can easily account for them. If it is a problem in the future, we will have to further review the city budget and make changes. MORE JACKSON NEWS: Jackson County man sentenced in fatal crash: I wish every day that it was me Michigan reports no additional coronavirus deaths, 3,164 cases on Wednesday, March 17 Gourmet pizza vending machines coming to Jackson [March 18, 2021] VMware to Present at the UBS Virtual Summit on Cloud & Infra Security Convergence VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced that Sanjay Poonen, VMware's chief operating officer, customer operations will present at the UBS Virtual Summit on Cloud & Infra Security Convergence (News - Alert) on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 9:45 a.m. PT/ 12:45 p.m. ET. A live webcast will be available on VMware's Investor Relations page at http://ir.vmware.com. The replay of the webcast will be available for two months. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto (News - Alert) , California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html Additional Information VMware's website is located at www.vmware.com, and its investor relations website is located at http://ir.vmware.com. VMware's goal is to maintain the investor relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about VMware, all of which is made available free of charge. The additional information includes materials that VMware files with the SEC (News - Alert) ; announcements of investor conferences and events at which its executives talk about VMware's products, services and competitive strategies; webcasts of our quarterly earnings calls, investor conferences and events (archives of which are also available for a limited time); additional information on VMware's financial metrics, including reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures; press releases on quarterly earnings, product and service announcements, legal developments and international news; corporate governance information; and other news, blogs and announcements that VMware may post from time to time that investors may find useful or interesting. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005199/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Three advocacy groups have filed a criminal complaint against Russian private military contractor Wagner Group over the torture and death of a detainee in Syrias civil war. "This litigation is a first-ever attempt by the family of a Syrian victim to hold Russian suspects accountable for serious crimes committed in Syria," the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression and the Russian group Memorial said in a joint statement on Monday, which noted that Russian law allows the state to investigate crimes committed by Russian citizens abroad. The criminal complaint filed in Moscow alleges that six Russian mercenary soldiers took part in the 2017 killing of Muhammad Hamdi Bouta Taha al-Abdullah in Syrias Homs governorate. Originally from Syria's eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, Abdullah had fled to neighboring Lebanon during the civil war, but upon his return to Syria in 2018 he was arrested and forcibly conscripted into the Syrian army. He reportedly defected and was then captured by the Russian paramilitaries. The NGOs legal action comes after open-source investigators identified Wagner Group contractors in gruesome video clips that showed Russian-speaking men torturing and beheading Abdullah before setting fire to his body at the al-Shaer gas plant near the Syrian city of Palmyra. Mazen Darwish, director-general and founder of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, called on the Russian government to take responsibility for the actions of its paramilitaries in Syria, where Moscow's intervention in 2015 helped turn the tide of the war in President Bashar al-Assad's favor. We know that the networks of political and economic relations of such groups are complex," Darwish said. Nevertheless, it is simply not permissible to regard the blood of Syrians as cheap and think of lost civilian lives as mere collateral damage. The Russian government denied any involvement in Abdullahs killing in Syria, and in general denies using the Wagner Group's mercenaries in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and other conflicts. The Wagner Group case is the latest to seek justice in courts outside of Syria for crimes committed in the war-torn country. Last month, a German court convicted a former Syrian intelligence officer of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison. Similar cases against former members of Assads regime are ongoing in European countries with broad universal jurisdiction laws that allow for trying heinous crimes committed abroad. Anwar Raslan, a former colonel in the Syrian army accused of torturing opposition activists, is currently on trial in Koblenz, Germany. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! UK dairy exports to the European Union fell a staggering 96 percent in January from year earlier levels, according to figures. While overall consignments of UK food and live animals fell by 63.6% - worth 0.7 billion - it is the dairy sector that took a significant hit. The uncertainties around the EU-UK trade deal meant most businesses took measures to avoid shipping in January, according to analysis by the AHDB. To compensate for this, shipments were elevated in the run up to the UK's exit from the bloc. Patty Clayton, AHDB lead analyst for dairy, said the 96% nosedive for dairy exports was 'much less dramatic' when exports in the last quarter of 2020 were included in the total. Over the 4 months from October 2020 to January 2021, exports of all dairy products to the EU were 23 percent lower, she noted. The largest drop in exports was seen in the buttermilk and yoghurt and whey products categories, which fell by 42% and 49% respectively. Cheese exports in the 4-month period were also down significantly, falling by 14% (7,500 tonnes) year on year. "This drop in trade will partly be the result of added difficulties and costs associated with trading with the EU, particularly for fresh milk and cream," Ms Clayton said. "However, lower demand due to the pandemic, combined with issues around availability of shipping containers, has been the main reason for lower shipments. "This can be seen in the drop off in exports to non-EU markets, which were down 27% over the same 4-month period. "Here, milk powder and butter exports were most affected, with volumes down by 6,700 and 3,200 tonnes respectively." LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Drye & Warren LLP announced today that Becca Wahlquist has joined the firm as a partner in the Litigation practice group. Based in Los Angeles, Becca expands the firm's litigation capabilities in California and in its core areas of expertise. Known nationally for defending cases brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and other consumer protection statutes, Becca has a wide-ranging, complex commercial litigation practice defending Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 businesses in federal and state courts throughout the country. She specializes in class action defense, and also practices in the fields of appellate litigation, contract and business tort disputes, and commercial and appellate arbitrations. Becca has represented major American corporations as lead counsel in defending against individual and putative class-wide TCPA claims, including companies in the banking and finance, manufacturing, satellite and cable, insurance, mortgage lending, restaurant, retail, automotive, and real estate industries. "We are excited to welcome Becca to the firm," said Michael Lynch, chair of the Kelley Drye Litigation practice group. "Becca is an intellectual force with deep commercial litigation experience throughout the country. She will deepen our litigation bench in California and be an invaluable resource to clients facing complex class action claims." A frequent commentator on a variety of legal issues, Becca has testified on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before the Senate Commerce Committee and a House Judiciary subcommittee about the TCPA's impact on American businesses. She is also known for her pro bono work, including a twelve-year appeals effort for an Alabama death row inmate. After her final oral argument before the Alabama Supreme Court led to a 7-2 order finding that her client was entitled to a new trial, in June 2019, her client was released from prison. "For many years, I worked in conjunction with a team of Kelley Drye attorneys representing a co-defendant in a Multi-District Litigation class action litigation, and I was highly impressed with their work ethic and the quality of their advocacy," said Becca. "I'm looking forward to joining a team rich with experience in complex class actions, and having the ability to collaborate with Kelley Drye's top-notch regulatory lawyers." Becca received her J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, and she has a Masters in Literature from UCLA, as well as a Masters in Literature from Brigham Young University. Becca received her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in English from Brigham Young University. She was recognized by California Lawyer with the 2008 California Lawyer of the Year Award. Becca is a member of the California bar and is admitted to practice in California state and federal courts, and various U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. For more than 180 years, leading companies around the world have relied on Kelley Drye litigators to guide them through the thorniest business litigation. Litigation partners are all courtroom-tested trial lawyers who have tried significant and challenging cases in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and administrative bodies around the country. About Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Founded in 1836, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP is home to skilled practitioners in the areas of litigation, trade, regulatory, government relations, real estate, corporate, and more. A powerhouse firm with the heart of a boutique, the firm's attorneys provide legal counsel carefully connected to their client's business strategies. Among the firm's recent awards: Named to the BTI "Client Service A-Team"; recognized by CLOC for "Legal Innovation and Design Excellence in Legal Operations"; Chambers USA identified seven practice areas as "Leaders in Their Field"; Law360 named the Consumer Protection Practice Group as Group of the Year; and Kelley Drye was named one of "America's Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firms, with a "Tier 1" national ranking in Communications, Environmental Law, Environmental Litigation, Information Technology, Trusts & Estates, and Real Estate. www.kelleydrye.com SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Related Links http://kelleydrye.com When an employee of India's second-largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank, goes to a retail or a corporate customer for sourcing business, he offers the entire range of products and services from savings account to mortgage to credit cards. When a customer reaches out to any employee (including HR or legal team) at any branch or the corporate centre, he gets to experience the full bank. This is part of a huge business transformation under way at ICICI Bank for aligning nearly 1,00,000 employees with the new strategy of organising itself around the customer ecosystem. The new HR strategy has been woven around 'One ICICI, One KPI and One ROE.' The seeds of this new strategy were sown two-and-a-half years back when Sandeep Bakhshi took over as MD & CEO. The bank was facing headwinds due to the vacuum created by the exit of Chanda Kochhar, forcing it to rejig its overall business strategy to focus on operating profits, risk management and strengthening the balance sheet. As a first step to align HR policies to a common goal, the bank decided to move from grade-based organisation structure to role-based (head of asset, liabilities, etc.) designations and empowered teams at the zonal and branch level. This immediately crashed the hierarchy or department structure and helped in faster response time. The results are reflected in India's Coolest Workplaces study where the bank has made it to the Top 5 in the list. The bank is working towards its goal of collaboration, working together and removing departmental and product boundaries. T.K. Srirang, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, is the man tasked with the transformation. But these kinds of changes do not happen overnight. It requires mindset change and competency building. Employees have to keep abreast with product details, processes and build new skills. So, as part of the transformation, there is now a common goal sheet for the top leadership team. "Today, they all get assessed based on that one common criteria," says Soumendra Mattagajasingh, Head - HR (Retail Banking Group and Employee Relations) at ICICI Bank. The bank has been focusing on bolstering its work culture. The old workspace system has been replaced by open offices. This goes well with the young workforce. The average age of employees is 30 years. The need to learn has come back as an important aspect of the value proposition, says the bank. The focus on technology and digitisation helped the bank during Covid. Some three to four years ago, it switched from physical to digital town hall meeting through its iStudio model. This facilitated two-way communication and connected employees across locations. iStudio was extensively used during demonetisation when communication had to be fast and to all branches together. "iStudio came in very handy during Covid," says Soumendra. All 5,000-plus branches were e-visited by the senior management team. Every day some communication had to be delivered. We had to reach out to employees, and employees had to reach us," says Soumendra. While Covid -19 taught organisations to be nimble, ICICI Bank started the journey to dismantle departments and hierarchy ahead of time. The in-house app, Universe on the Move, which started as an HR app, became a mother app for ICICI Bank last year. It is a single point for business applications, HR applications and even lead generation. To align business goals, the bank has built a new training and learning architecture. It has also identified certain must have and 'future' skills. First is "Relationship Management", a fundamental tool for the ICICI banker. "We covered skills around understanding data. Then we built a third aspect around Technology. And fourth was Design," says Amitabh Kumar Singh, Head - (Business HR, People and Leadership Capability). The bank layered the learning programme with its customer offering ICICI Stack, -- a digital product suite. In the initial months of the lockdown, the bank did around 1,000 sessions to get employees acquainted with ICICI Stack. On talent acquisition, the bank has gone completely digital via advanced AI- and ML-based platforms, online screening and a seamless interviewing platform. "So, a candidate can come in, upload his application on our site, and it goes through an AI-based algorithm which looks at his suitability. Based on that, he gets intimation for an interview. The interview is done on the iStudio app," says Kumar. "Our pace of hiring engineers has doubled compared to last year," says Kumar. The bank is hiring more engineers from IITs and other institutions and putting them not only in data analytics but also risk management. Over the years, the bank has a build a pipeline of leaders across levels. Internal candidates fill up roles whenever there is a vacancy or sudden exit. Bakhshis return from the life insurance subsidiary to the bank was seamless. Succession planning is done across levels from the board down to branch manager or even branch sales manager. The bank believes in giving opportunities to people ahead of time. And we have always seen that people measure up to responsibilities very quickly, it says. And that shows up in the leadership position across the groups businesses where in-house leaders are managing large businesses independently. @anandadhikari RC drilling has returned broad intersections of mineralisation which are expected to increase the confidence of the resource estimation within the deposit in areas of sparse historical drilling. The company has commenced a 6,000-metre aircore program to the southeast of the deposit to further target the strike potential in this area. s ( ) (FRA:GR2) new broad results from recent RC drilling at Tabakorole Gold Project in southern Mali are expected to enhance the 910,000-ounce mineral resource and grade within the existing strike of the deposit. Results have been received for eight reverse circulation (RC) drill holes with best intersections of: 40 metres at 1.0 g/t gold from 86 metres including 7 metres at 2.2 g/t from 86 metres; 33 metres at 1.1 g/t from 84 metres including 10 metres at 2.3 g/t from 84 metres; 31 metres at 1.1 g/t from 146 metres; and 10 metres at 2.0 g/t from 49 metres. Samples for 20 RC drill holes for 2,760 metres are at the laboratory, with assay results expected shortly. Enhancing size and grade of resource Several of the reported results returned very broad intersections of mineralisation which are expected to increase the confidence of the resource estimation within the deposit in areas of sparse historical drilling. Marvel managing director Phil Hoskins said: We are pleased with the consistent widths and grades in this south-eastern part of the deposit. Many of the holes drilled in this program within the existing strike have exceeded expectations and are expected to enhance the size and grade of the resource. These holes continue that theme. We look forward to reporting the remaining assay results, which were drilled to test the northwest strike extension. Plan view showing additional Tabakorole drill results. Emerging as significant deposit" Hoskins said: "Excellent metallurgical test results and continued exploration success have seen Tabakorole emerge as a significant deposit, with results of recent drilling expected to grow the mineral resource beyond one million ounces. We are committed to expanding the existing mineral resource and since concluding the RC drilling, have completed a five-hole diamond drilling program in the southeast of the deposit, with the results expected to be reported in April, and recently commenced a 6,000-metre aircore program to the southeast of the deposit to further target the strike potential in this area. In addition, we have also undertaken an extensive geochemistry program across the Tabakorole licence area and at adjacent tenements, Sirakourou and Solabougouda, as part of a systematic approach to identifying targets for follow up. STEPANAKERT, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Artsakh Artur Tovmasyan received independent MPs of the Armenian parliament Anna Grigoryan and Taguhi Tovmasyan. During the meeting the Speaker of Parliament has touched upon the recent war, stating that Turkey, rather than Azerbaijan, has won the war. He stated that Artsakh in fact has fought with Turkey. More than 5000 mercenary terrorists were involved, and the most disturbing is that all these has taken place under the silent consent of the international community, he said. He said losing the war doesnt mean to lose the negotiations. Mr. Tovmasyan expressed hope that with the activation of the role of the OSCE Minsk Group the negotiation process will continue. The Armenian lawmakers shared the view of the Speaker of Artsakh Parliament that the OSCE Minsk Group is considered the only acceptable format in the negotiation process. The parliamentarians also discussed the necessity of protecting the rights of the displaced persons. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Check out news you should not miss today: Society -- More than 24,000 people have got COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam while the countrys tally stood at 2,567 with no new case reported on Thursday morning, according to the Ministry of Health. -- Local authorities in the northern province of Hai Phong are searching for a suspect who allegedly used homemade mines in an attempt to rob a jewelry shop in Hong Bang Districts Quan Toan Ward on Wednesday night. -- Foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided financial aids worth more than US$220.7 million for Vietnam in 2020, including over US$6.5 million for COVID-19 response, heard a national teleconference on Wednesday, according to the Vietnam News Agency. -- Police in Thu Duc City early this week detained 8 kg of cannabis along with many tools and equipment to grow marijuana plants while inspecting the house of Doan Cong Danh, 26, on Long Thuan Street in Long Phuoc Ward. -- Police in Can Loc District in the northern province of Ha Tinh on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Hoang Ba Lan, 57, to investigate a case in which he was accused to have sex with a 13-year-old girl by the girls family. -- Police in Ho Chi Minh Citys Cu Chi District are searching for Chinese Yang Gui Bin who had illegally entered Vietnam and escaped on Monday after being discovered and sent to quarantine at Cu Chi field hospital. Business -- According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, the citys index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 6 percent in the first two months of the year, despite a fall of 24.6 percent in February as businesses ceased operation for the Lunar New Year holiday, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday. -- Local authorities in the northern province of Nam Dinh on Wednesday discovered an over-500-square-meter warehouse at Dai Lai Hamlet, Vinh Hao Commune in Vu Ban District where they detained 20,000 to 30,000 counterfeit products of luxurious brands such as Hermes, LV and Chanel. Lifestyle -- 53 percent of Vietnamese travelers are keen to taste and indulge in local cuisine while traveling, with 45 percent wanting to eat out more often with the money they have saved from not traveling abroad due to the closure of borders, Booking.com revealed in its Future of Travel research conducted in July 2020. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday Snap Inc., the company behind the popular Snapchat app, has announced the acquisition of Fit Analytics, signaling a shift in the apps focus from being just a photo capturing and sharing app, to offering e-commerce and shopping capabilities. Fit Analytics is a startup company based in Berlin, Germany that develops technology to help online shoppers find and pick the right-sized clothes and footwear from online retailers. The company also has developed the capability to match clothing using uploaded images from customers. It is unclear as to what Snapchat plans to do after the acquisition is complete. They could possibly integrate Fit Analytics shopping technology into the Snapchat app itself, or Snapchat could be looking to diversifying their revenue portfolio. The exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In a blog post, Sebastian Schulze, CEO and Co-Founder of Fit Analytics said: By leveraging Snaps scale and capabilities, we will not only continue to service our existing clients, but also deepen our relationships and offerings with our brand partners and retailers. Our main focus going forward will be to scale the Fit Analytics business and work with Snap to grow their shopping platform, leveraging our technology and expertise. Via University students engagement with their lessons plummeted last year, with those at Macquarie, Sydney and the University of NSW struggling the most amid months of crowded online tutorials, staff cuts and uncertainty about the future. Data from a government-commissioned satisfaction survey reflected complaints from unhappy students about remote classes, with learner engagement falling by at least 14 per cent at most Sydney universities compared with the previous year. UTS usually has higher learner engagement than its neighbours but fell by almost 22 percentage points to 47 per cent. Engagement at Macquarie fell by 14.5 percentage points, Sydney by almost 16 percentage points and UNSW by almost 14 percentage points to 42 per cent. University students felt deeply disengaged with their studies last year. Credit:Fairfax Media Students at Melbourne University were among the most unhappy, with engagement falling by almost 25 percentage points. Burma Civil Servant on Strike Dies of Torture by Myanmar Security Forces Ko Tun Htet Aung, a 24-year-old forestry worker and member of the CDM died after being arrested and tortured by Myanmars military regime. / supplied A striking civil servant who joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) in protest at the military regime has died of injuries sustained from torture and brutal beatings by soldiers and police while being detained in Sagaing Regions Monywa. Ko Tun Htet Aung, a 24-year-old forestry worker, was the youngest member of his family and was affectionately called Phoe Nge (little boy). He was arrested at around 11 AM on March 15 after he left home to join an anti-coup protest. He died from internal bleeding in his head at 3:10 AM on Thursday at a Mandalay hospital, less than twelve hours after he was released from detention. Before Ko Tun Htet Aung was released, security forces had kept him at Monywa General Hospital where he had not received proper medical treatment, according to his family. His family was also not allowed to visit or communicate with him. His brother told The Irrawaddy that they were only allowed to send clothes and some food which was returned to them the next day without having been touched or eaten. Our mom begged them at least to allow us to talk with him over the phone to know his real condition. But we were not allowed to speak with him and were told that his condition was not bad and that he had only minor bruises, the brother said. But when the family received him back after they had signed a confession saying that he would return to his work after recovering, Ko Tun Htet Aung was unable to walk, his eyes were a bluey-purple color and he was conscious only for short periods before he passed away. The family transferred him to a Mandalay hospital for treatment. When he was conscious in his hospital bed, Ko Tun Htet Aung spoke of the need to continue the fight against the junta, which has killed almost 220 people and detained over 2,100 since their Feb.1 coup. He told me, his big brother, that we have to have guns to battle against them. He said please allow me to fight back against them. I must fight them. They are so violent. They kneed me in the face and head. Ko Tun Htet Aung is the first CDM member to be killed by the military regime in Monywa, where ten people were previously shot dead in crackdowns on anti-coup protests. It hurts me so much to think that my young brother was brutally beaten and had to suffer in pain for two and a half days without treatment, his brother said. We have lost hundreds in this revolution. I dont want to see anyone else get killed, I only want to achieve our goal as we have enough martyrs already in this revolution. Two National League for Democracy members in Yangon have also died after being arrested and tortured by the security forces. Their families were only informed the following day when they were told to pick up their bodies for the funerals. A number of other people have reportedly died after being tortured while detained, or have not received medical treatment after being shot and dragged away by soldiers and police. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Police Search Villages After Outpost Raid More Civilians Flee as Fighting Between Myanmars Military and Kachin Rebels Continues Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - New Oroperu Resources Inc. (TSXV: ORO) ("New Oroperu" or the "Company") has filed an independent technical report (the "Report") prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") on the Tres Cruces Project in Peru. The Report has an effective date of March 16, 2021, and is titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report & Resource Update for the Tres Cruces Project, North Central Peru." The Report was prepared for New Oroperu by the following independent geological consultants; Jeffrey Rowe, James Gray and Ruperto Castro Ocampo. There are no material differences in the Report from those results disclosed in the Company's press release dated February 1st, 2021. The Report is available for review on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), and the Company's website (www.oroperu.com). Highlights of the Tres Cruces Technical Report: Leachable Resources: 425,000 ounces of gold in oxide material at 1.37 g/t in the Indicated category, contained in 9.64 M tonnes, using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off (Table 1) 205,000 ounces of gold in leachable sulfide material at 1.12 g/t in the Indicated category, contained in 5.71 M tonnes, using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off (Table 1). Total leachable resources: 630,000 ounces of gold in the Indicated category contained in 15.34 M tonnes grading 1.28 g/t. Total Mineral Resource : 2.474 million ounces of gold at 1.65 g/t in the Indicated category, contained in 46.5 M tonnes of oxide and sulfide material (Table 1) 104,000 ounces of gold at 1.26 g/t in the Inferred category, contained in 2.56 M tonnes of oxide and sulfide material All estimated resources are 100% pit constrained : Currently defined oxide mineralization demonstrates the potential for an economic standalone heap leach operation, with expansion allowing extraction of leachable sulfides Potential to increase the size and confidence of the resource through additional drilling, particularly in areas where holes ended in mineralization and in areas immediately adjacent to or below the pit outline, including targeting deeper parts of the mineralized system. Potential for additional resources provided from recoverable silver which is expected to enhance project economics New Oroperu's President and CEO, Wayne Livingstone, commented "The filing of the NI 43-101 Updated Mineral Resource Estimate Report marks an important milestone for the Company. This break-out of leachable resources suggests that a standalone development may be a very viable scenario for Tres Cruces. There are additional opportunities to identify more leachable gold resources which could enhance project economics. The Tres Cruces heap leachable oxide mineralization, and the immediately underlying leachable sulfides can provide the foundation to develop the deposit as an initial heap leach operation, which could then transition to the exploitation of the sulfides. We will proceed with advancing the project towards a production scenario and further evaluate economic options for the Tres Cruces project." Table 1: Categories of Estimated Resources and Cut-off Grades Resource Classification Oxide (0.3 g/t Au Cut-off) Leachable Sulfide (0.3 g/t Au Cut-off) Sulfide (0.9 g/t Au Cut-off) Total Tonnes (1,000s) Au g/t Oz Au (1,000s) Tonnes (1,000s) Au g/t Oz Au (1,000s) Tonnes (1,000s) Au g/t Oz Au (1,000s) Tonnes (1,000s) Au g/t Oz Au (1,000s) Indicated 9,636 1.37 425 5,707 1.12 205 31,132 1.84 1,844 46,475 1.65 2,474 Inferred 487 0.75 12 361 0.60 7 1,713 1.55 85 2,561 1.26 104 Note: CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. Totals may not agree due to rounding. A range of cut-off grades are shown in Table 2 to quantify sensitivity. The 2021 Tres Cruces Mineral Resource is highlighted. Table 2: Sensitivity Table of Estimated Resources and Cut-off Grades Oxide & Leachable Sulfide Resources Sulfide Resources Cut-off (g/t Au) Resource Classification Tonnes (1,000s) Au (g/t) oz Au (1,000s) Cut-off (g/t Au) Resource Classification Tonnes (1,000s) Au (g/t) oz Au (1,000s) 0.2 Indicated Inferred 15,738 939 1.25 .64 633 19 0.7 Indicated Inferred 43,692 2,185 1.56 1.38 2,139 97 0.3 Indicated Inferred 15,343 848 1.28 .69 630 19 0.8 Indicated Inferred 36,292 1,962 1.70 1.46 1,985 92 0.4 Indicated Inferred 14,729 659 1.31 .78 622 17 0.9 Indicated Inferred 31,132 1,713 1.84 1.55 1,844 85 0.5 Indicated Inferred 13,562 502 1.39 .89 605 14 1.0 Indicated Inferred 26,844 1,476 1.99 1.64 1,714 78 Discussion of Resources: There is a simple layering of the estimated resources with the 630,000 oz Au of leachable material blanketing the underlying 1.84 million oz Au sulfide resource. Figure 1 identifies the geology, drill hole locations and proposed pit outlines. The leachable resources are contained within the sulfide pit outline. Oxide mineralization is present in varying thicknesses in most of the drill holes, lying above areas of sulfide mineralization. Figures 2 and 3, below, demonstrate some of the thicker oxide and sulfide intervals. Figure 2 demonstrates the proposed oxide pit (blue line) that could extract gold bearing oxide mineralization and the immediately underlying leachable sulfides. The main sulfide resource sits immediately below the heap leachable mineralization. Figure 1. Geology, Drill Hole Locations & Proposed Pits with Mineral Zone Names To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5414/77714_c77b3611f4e779a0_001full.jpg Figure 2. Main Oxide Pit Geology and Gold Graphs Section 1990N, Viewed Looking North To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5414/77714_c77b3611f4e779a0_002full.jpg Figure 3. Sulfide Pit Block Grade Gold Section 101, Viewed Looking Northeast To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5414/77714_c77b3611f4e779a0_003full.jpg In summary, the Tres Cruces heap leachable oxide mineralization, and the immediately underlying leachable sulfides would provide the foundation to develop the deposit as an initial heap leach operation, which could then transition to the development of the sulfides. The tabular geometry of the oxide mineralization, when extracted, would then expose some of the higher-grade areas of sulfide mineralization. Many of the drill holes on which the sulphide resource was estimated bottomed in mineralization, indicating that the deposit is open for potential expansion below the current pit limits. In addition, there is potential for mineralization in a deep feeder zone. A baseline recovery of about 82%, or better, of the contained gold has been established for heap leaching of oxide mineralization, and 65% for heap leaching of low sulfide mineralization. Testing has indicated that greater than 88% recoveries are possible for sulfide components of the mineralization using flotation followed by pressure oxidation and carbon in leach ("CIL"). Signed by Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101 standards: James N. Gray, B.Sc., P.Geo. Advantage Geoservices Limited, Resource Geologist Jeffrey D. Rowe, B.Sc., P.Geo., Independent Consultant; and Ruperto Castro Ocampo, B.Sc., P.Geo., Independent Consultant About New Oroperu Resources New Oroperu is a junior exploration company based in Vancouver, B.C., which owns the Tres Cruces gold project in Peru. The Tres Cruces gold project currently hosts a mineral resource estimate of 2.474 million ounces of gold at 1.65 g/t in the Indicated category, which includes 630,000 ounces of leachable gold resources. Jeffrey D. Rowe, P.Geo. and James N. Gray, P.Geo., Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101, have reviewed and approved the technical content used in this News Release. For further information, please contact Ms. Christina McCarthy, V.P. Corporate Development, at (416) 712-6151, email christina@oroperu.com or K. Wayne Livingstone, President, at (604) 638-1408, email kwl@oroperu.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "K. Wayne Livingstone" K. Wayne Livingstone President (See Notes and Disclaimer below) Note 1: Reference is made to the January 5, 2021 News Release of the Company wherein it announced that the option previously held by Minera Barrick Misquichilca S. A. ("MBM") to acquire an interest in the shares of the company's subsidiary, Aurifera Tres Cruces S. A., ("ATC"), holder of the Tres Cruces property, expired unexercised on December 31, 2020, (the last day for exercise expressly set out in the option as a condition of exercise) and accordingly, MBM and its affiliates, including Barrick Gold Corporation, ("Barrick"), had no further interest in the ATC shares or the Tres Cruces property. The Company requested certain assurances from Barrick and MBM in connection with the expiration of the option. In response, Barrick stated it believed the Company misstated MBM's rights going forward. The Company has carefully considered its position and stands by its conclusion that any right MBM previously held has expired. Note 2: Forward-looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements")." Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the terms of the Company's option agreement with Barrick, the Company's plans for a mineral resource update and its planned oxide mineralization studies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company's expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Disclaimer: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77714 By Michelle Nichols NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned an escalation in fighting in Yemen's Marib, calling for the Houthis to end an offensive on the government's last northern stronghold, and pushing for the government to allow fuel into Hodeidah port. In a statement, the 15-member council also condemned cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and said the escalation in Marib "threatens efforts to secure a political settlement when the international community is increasingly united to end the conflict." A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the countrys government from the capital Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system. Since taking office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden has made Yemen a priority and appointed special envoy Tim Lenderking to help revive stalled U.N. efforts to end the conflict. Lenderking said on Friday that a ceasefire plan was before the Houthi leadership and urged them to respond. The U.N. Security Council, which was briefed on Yemen on Tuesday, "stressed the need for de-escalation by all, including an immediate end to the Houthi escalation in Marib." U.N. Yemen mediator Martin Griffiths warned on Tuesday that the war in Yemen was "back in full force." Both Griffiths and U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock also said that commercial fuel imports into Hodeidah port had been blocked since January and urged the government to allow deliveries. The Security Council on Thursday "expressed concern over the dire economic and humanitarian situation, and emphasized the importance of facilitating humanitarian assistance as well as the movement of fuel ships into Hodeidah port." (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 State Hundreds of new migrants still being expelled to Mexico as Joe Biden keeps one of Donald Trump's controversial policies Paul Ratje/For The Texas Tribune Migrants that were flown from Brownsville and deported to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico waited at the Juarez Migrant Assistance Center on Wednesday. CIUDAD JUAREZ As he stood on the international bridge that connects this border city with El Paso Tuesday afternoon, Javier Leyva had to be told where he was. The 30-year-old Honduran paid $6,000 to travel from his country through Mexico and eventually to the Rio Grande Valley, where he planned to seek asylum in the United States after illegally crossing the Rio Grande. Leyva said violence and economic uncertainty in Central America were the main reasons he decided to make the dangerous trek north. Instead, he found himself 800 miles away and back in Mexico, clutching only his few belongings in one hand and his 6-year-old daughters palm with the other as a freak dust storm descended on the borderlands. The pair was part of a group of several dozen migrants flown to El Paso by federal officials to alleviate some of the pressure on immigration officials in other parts of the Texas-Mexico border. They didnt tell us anything, they just dropped us off here. I thought I would get a permit [to stay] but they didnt tell us anything, he said, referring to U.S. Border Patrol agents. Leyva was one of about 200 migrants who have been deported to Ciudad Juarez since Monday under a controversial policy started by the Trump administration and continued under the Biden administration that quickly returns undocumented immigrants apprehended between the ports of entry without allowing them the chance to apply for asylum. The policy, generally referred to as Title 42 restrictions after a provision in the United States Code, was announced in March of 2020 as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Although the Biden administration has scaled back several of the Trump administrations border and immigration policies, including the construction of the border wall and the Migrant Protection Protocols, the Department of Homeland Security insisted Tuesday the border is not open and the Title 42 returns will continue in most circumstances. Families from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries are expelled to Mexico unless Mexico does not have the capacity to receive the families, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement Tuesday, referring to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Families from countries other than Mexico or the Northern Triangle are expelled by plane to their countries of origin. Exceptions can be made when a family member has an acute vulnerability. Bidens attempt to balance campaign promises to reestablish a more compassionate immigration system while keeping some Trump restrictions in place have the administration maneuvering through a public relations minefield. The president is a frequent target for Texas Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who have repeatedly used the term crisis to describe the monthslong increases in apprehensions that began before Biden took office. More than 100,000 people were either apprehended by or surrendered to federal immigration officials in February, including about 9,460 unaccompanied minors and more than 19,240 family units. Those are increases of more than 60% and 35%, respectively, when compared with Januarys figures. Mayorkas conceded in his Tuesday statement that apprehensions could reach their highest levels in 20 years. He also ordered FEMA to establish a presence on the border for three months to help receive and shelter unaccompanied minors after they cross the border. The agency has set up shelters in Midland and Dallas to temporarily house immigrant minors. The facilities can hold up to 700 and 2,300 people, respectively, the Washington Post reported. It is a humanitarian crisis, it is a national security crisis and it is a health crisis that are all unfolding, and it is the direct result of policy mistakes and decisions made by the Biden administration, Cruz told conservative news outlet Newsmax Tuesday evening. Cruz and Cornyn are also hosting a Senate delegation in the Rio Grande Valley next week. Meanwhile, immigrant rights groups are also hammering Biden to end the immediate expulsions, arguing the policy was illegal under Trump and remains illegal today. The National Immigrant Justice Center and 100 organizations have called for these expulsions to end as have leading public health experts and epidemiologists who found no basis in the governments specious public health reasoning, wrote Azadeh Erfani and Nefertari Elshiekh, two policy analysts at the NIJC. NIJC strongly condemns these unlawful expulsions which have already sent countless migrants back to certain harm or death. Mexican officials are also watching the situation in hopes they wont see a repeat of what happened in 2019 under Trump. The former presidents policies forced tens of thousands of migrants back into Mexico, which filled shelters in border cities like Ciudad Juarez and stressed social service agencies who help migrants. As he stood with his team at the foot of the international bridge on Tuesday, Enrique Valenzuela, director of Ciudad Juarezs Centro de Atencion a Migrantes, a migrant transition facility, said shelter space is a major concern again. Its fair to say they are about to be crowded so we have to develop capacity, he said. When asked what he tells migrants who want to know when theyll be let into the United States, he said he has to be honest. The only thing I can say is that we have no idea. It could be 15 days or 15 months, he said. But they have to know its a health policy and not a migrant policy. For Jennifer, a 27-year old Salvadoran who came to the border hoping to be reunited with her children in Atlanta, its back to square one. She had tried to cross into the U.S. through Ciudad Juarez before, but was sent back. She thought shed have better luck joining other migrants crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley under the Biden administration, but found herself back in Mexico with the others after the U.S. government flew them to Ciudad Juarez Tuesday. I do still have some faith, but more than anything I am worried about my kids. They need me, she said. I dont know how they cant understand that parents need to be with their kids. Leyva, the asylum seeker from Honduras, said his mind was made up just minutes after being returned to Mexico. Id rather they just send me back to my country, he said. I dont know this city and I dont want to be here, especially with my daughter. Los Angeles, March 18 : Actress-filmmaker Angelina Jolie has filed papers as evidence in the court in support of domestic abuse allegations against her former husband, actor-filmmaker Brad Pitt. The 45-year-old actress has filed documents in the court that indicate she and her children are willing to offer "proof and authority in support" of their claims against Pitt. Jolie has agreed to provide testimony, along with the "testimony of minor children", a report in US Weekly said. "If Angelina has more documentation to prove domestic violence towards her or the children, she can submit it as a supplemental offer to prove in trial," an American family law expert told the publication. "She can say these are the documentation in addition to what she already presented. This could mean it's a more recent instance (of domestic violence), or further documentation related to what was presented before," the expert added. The report further stated that all six of the former couple's kids -- Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, and Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12-- could freely speak in court in their divorce hearings. Meanwhile, a source close to Pitt told US Weekly that the filing is nothing but an attempt to merely "hurt" the 57-year-old actor. "Over the past four and a half years there have been a number of claims made by Angelina that have been reviewed and not substantiated. The children have been used by Angelina to hurt Brad before and this is more of that behavior. This leaking of documents by her fourth or fifth set of lawyers has been done to hurt Brad," the source said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / CopperBank Resources Corp. ("CopperBank" or the "Company") (CSE:CBK) announces that it has granted an aggregate of 210,000 incentive stock options (the "Options"), with an exercise price of $0.65, to consultants of the Company. The Options can be exercised for a period of three years from the date of grant, are subject to the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange and contain vesting provisions whereby 25% of the Options will vest six months from the date of grant and 25% vesting every six months thereafter. About CopperBank CopperBank is a Canadian exploration mining company focused on energy related metal exploration in The United States of America. The Company trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange - CSE- under the symbol "CBK". On behalf of CopperBank Resources Corp. "Gianni Kovacevic" Address: Suite 1500, 409 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2 Tel: 604-889-0852 E-mail: gk@copperbankcorp.com Website: www.copperbankcorp.com Advisory Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information in this release constitutes forward looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws and necessarily involves risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable law, CopperBank does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management of CopperBank's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's ongoing review of its existing portfolio, the involvement of CopperBank in any potential divestiture, spin-out, partnership or other transactions involving the Company's portfolio assets, and the ability of the Company to complete any such transactions, the ability of CopperBank to enter into transactions that will ultimately enhance shareholder value, and potential future work or activities in respect of the Pyramid project or the Contact project. Although CopperBank believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements have been based on factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate. Those factors and assumptions are based upon currently available information available to CopperBank. Forward-looking statements are based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information. Such factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to identify and complete one or more transactions involving the Company's portfolio assets that enhance shareholder value as part of management's ongoing review of strategic alternatives in the current market conditions. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the risk that the Company will not be able to identify and complete one or more transactions involving the Company's portfolio assets that enhance shareholder value as part of management's ongoing review of strategic alternatives in the current market conditions. Although CopperBank has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For more information on CopperBank and the risks and challenges of its businesses, investors should review the continuous disclosure filings that are available under CopperBank's profile at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: CopperBank Resources Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636323/CopperBank-Grants-Incentive-Stock-Options PLAYA VISTA, CA - March 18, 2021 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Breaking CBD / Water stock news at Investorideas.com Newswire - American Premium Water Corporation (OTC: HIPH) (the "Company") announces its 'Kit' of products that will be launched as part of the Cali Bear joint venture announced last month. Cali Bear (www.calibear.life) is a performance lifestyle CBD brand that embodies sport, beach, and surf culture. The following products will be sold under the Cali Bear brand produced by the Company at launch: 16oz Nano CBD Water utilizing the Company's proprietary nanotechnology to ensure proper hydration during competitive activity 2oz Nano CBD "Chill" Shot utilizing the Company's proprietary nanotechnology designed to be used after competition to relax and recover CBD infused Lip Balm which is intended to be used on and off the court to protect against chapping and blistering CBD infused pain relief cream used during and after competition to relieve pain and muscle soreness CBD infused gummies to be used anytime to stay "Cali Cool" anywhere and on the go All of the products are part of the Company's plan to create a performance lifestyle 'Kit' that will give consumers the tools to maintain a fun lifestyle while achieving exceptional performance. Ryan Fishoff, CEO of American Premium Water, commented, "I am excited to announce the slate of products the Company will be launching as part of our Joint Venture with Cali Bear. The products selected embody performance lifestyle and are designed to support athletes on the court and appeal to non-active consumers. We have spent a lot of time developing a collection of high quality products that will fulfill a broad range of consumer needs. I believe our product 'Kit' provides a complete CBD solution under one brand, while appealing to diverse demographics. I am excited to begin the rollout next month with the Cali Bear Team. The athletes are great brand ambassadors and spokespeople for the brand and the products. Having an active group of athletes in international competition will be a huge asset moving forward and the Company looks forward to leveraging the content and awareness created from these events to drive sales. The full CBD Kit we have developed will help tell the story of how CBD products can be a part of consumers health and wellness routines. "The Company is excited to begin selling products online and in stores. We announced a few weeks ago our first distribution partner to service over 2,000 smoke shops in the northeastern corridor. We are in discussions with other retailers and distributors. Things are moving very quickly; I look forward to the coming months as we begin the marketing campaign behind the Cali Bear CBD product launch and the rollout begins into stores. I expect this will have a positive effect on topline revenue, and I do believe that these initiatives will help increase shareholder value. I look forward to keeping investors and our community informed in the coming weeks with further developments on additional retail distribution of the Company's CBD products," concluded Mr. Fishoff. About American Premium Water Corp. American Premium Water (OTC: HIPH) is a diversified luxury consumer products company focused on businesses in the health and beauty and biotech sectors. The company is focused on harnessing the powers of Nano technologies paired without cannabidiol (CBD) to treat health disorders and enhance quality of life. The company's portfolio includes the LALPINA Hydro and LALPINA CBD brands (www.lalpinahydrocbd.com),\Cali Bear (www.calibear.life) Vanexxe (www.vanexxe.com) plant + body essentials (www.plantbodyessentials.co). Safe Harbor Notice Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). American Premium Water Corporation cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. American Premium Water Corporation undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release. Additional details of the Company's business can be found in its public disclosures as a reporting issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") EDGAR database. This press release is issued on behalf of the Board of Directors of American Premium Water Corporation. Investor Relations 888-983-0054 info@americanpremiumwater.com Paid News -Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. 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About Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/About/ Sign up for free stock news alerts at Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp A barrister who dealt in the chemsex pills that killed his teenage boyfriend said he represented a client while banned because his dog fouled on another lawyer's trousers. Henry Hendron, 40, is facing 18 charges of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards Board in relation to behaviour which followed an earlier suspension. In 2015, Hendron bought 1,000 of mephedrone and GBL, a drug similar to GHB, from BBC producer Alexander Parkin, 42, to deal 'in bulk' on to the gay party scene. He gave detailed instructions to his Colombian boyfriend Miguel Jimenez, 18, on how to use and package the drugs to which Miguel replied: 'Blimey, and I'm the Colombian.' Hendron woke up to find Mr Jimenez lying dead next to him in bed at his exclusive flat in London's Temple - the collection of chambers where Britain's top lawyers and judges are based. Hendron admitted dealing the drugs at the Old Bailey in 2016 and in 2017 was suspended from the bar for three years - but was not struck off all together. Henry Hendron, 40, (pictured) is facing 18 charges of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards Board in relation to behaviour which followed an earlier suspension Hendron gave detailed instructions to his boyfriend Miguel Jimenez (pictured right), 18, on how to use and package the drugs. He woke up to find Miguel lying dead at his flat in 2015 He has since been accused of appearing before a High Court judge, continuing to advertise his services as a barrister, referring to to himself as a barrister with clients, providing legal advice and serving legal documents - all while he was suspended. He today told the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service that he had no choice but to represent the client because his dog fouled on another lawyer's trousers. Hendron - who is also accused of using inappropriate or threatening language in email correspondence and of failing to inform a client of his recent criminal conviction - is facing 18 charges of misconduct before the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service. Giving evidence today, Hendron said he had instructed a qualified barrister to appear at the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court in March 2017. But then disaster struck when his dog relieved himself on the lawyer's leg at the last moment. He said: 'So on the morning of the hearing I pitched up at the High Court. I wasn't meant to go. 'I think we had agreed the barrister Luka Maxted-Page would go and I would be there. 'I pitched up and I seem to recall that at a point outside of the High Court - it sounds odd - that my dog had excreted over Luka's trousers. 'Luka was in a fuzzy moment, all over place. I took the view at that point that perhaps it was best that I did it. 'Because I knew what I was doing at that hearing, I knew the case.' Panel chair, retired judge James Meston QC, asked: 'So it was decided that because his trousers had a mess on them you would do it?' In 2015, Hendron bought 1,000 of mephedrone and GBL, a drug similar to GHB, from BBC producer Alexander Parkin, 42, (pictured) to deal 'in bulk' on to the gay party scene Hendron replied: 'I just knew it felt uncomfortable, he was in a daze, I didn't want to. 'The client was there, Mrs Wu, she had paid me the 10,000. I did not want to show ourselves up by having Luka splatter his way through what was a simple hearing. 'I needed not to screw it up, not make a bad impression. 'When I left the flat that morning I wasn't expected to be the advocate. I did say to the Master that I was a barrister. 'I regretted that straight away. That I was a qualified barrister. 'Maybe it was a status thing, I came out with it, probably because of insecurity. 'I regretted it, I wasn't passing myself off as a barrister. 'I knew the problem was that matters would be reported back, they knew that I was suspended.' Mr Jimenez suffered a lethal overdose of a combination of mephedrone - known as 'meow meow' - and GBL in January 2015. During a search, police recovered 60 self-seal bags of mephedrone and found Hendron's fingerprints on the jars and envelopes containing the drugs at his flat above 6 Pump Court - unrelated to Pump Court chambers. The lawyer - who charged up to 1,750 per day for his legal services - at first denied buying and supplying the drugs, but admitted using them with Mr Jimenez. But Hendron admitted dealing the drugs in 2016 and was given a 140 hour community work order on May 9, 2016. He was suspended by the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service in 2017 for three years following the drug revelations - and for not running his chambers adequately. But he escaped a striking off order and is now facing a further string of misconduct charges - all of which he denies. Hendron is accused of behaving 'in a way which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in the profession' and 'in a way which could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine his integrity. In 2017 at the Old Bailey (pictured above), Hendron was sentenced for supplying drugs and handed a community order with 18 months' supervision and 140 hours unpaid work The charges - between 2016 and 2019 - relate to Hendron conducting litigation, online advertisements, and referring to himself as a barrister, all while suspended from professional practice. He also denies using inappropriate or threatening language in email correspondence on four occasions between May and July 2017. Hendron today claimed he was unable to remove the online advertisements after he wiped the company's laptop that controlled the website during an HMRC raid on his homes in 2016. The wiped laptop was the only means to control the website, he said. He also said he was distracted from taking down the online advertisements when he 'went off on one' after receiving the surprise email that he had been interim suspended from practice by his professional body. He said: 'I told the head of Strand Chambers about the interim suspension on the train back to London and the reception when I got back in London that afternoon was just... 'He was another man, I might as well have been the bogey man, yesterday everyone was nice and sweet but now [the head of Strand Chambers], because of his saying so I wasn't allowed in chambers. 'I took it badly, still, f*** it actually, I hadn't had any drugs at that point since April 2015, and then I just went off on one. 'A, because I had nothing to do, B, because I was shocked by just how cruel I thought David [the head of Strand Chambers] was, to go from God-like figure to a demon. 'I did ask Andrew Radlett [Hendron's paralegal] to erase the Macs at eight in the morning when HMRC decided to bag up everything.' He said he did it because he 'had had my flat gone through, with all my computers taken when I was raided in January that year', adding: 'I found it was an invasion of my privacy too far'. He said: 'It was erased erroneously, and it had that software and apparently they couldn't find it elsewhere. 'So they couldn't touch the website, that was how I understand it, however if they couldn't do it I couldn't do it either.' He called his disgruntled former client Charanpal Matharu 'cheapy' and a 'liar' claiming the allegations of threatening language were made maliciously. Mr Matharu has previously told the tribunal he had engaged Hendron to represent him in a civil court claim for a fixed fee of 2,400, but he failed to do so. Hendron said today: 'The cheapy clients are always the worst. He was a low-value client, he certainly got his money's worth in my point of view. 'What I found when they were throwing their toys out, the plan was they would be really rude but when I got them got on the phone they would be nice as pie. 'I said to Mr Matharu that my brother was setting up a law firm and that the firm was going to take over all cases including yours, what was happening to me would have almost no effect because my brother was taking on your case. 'Mr Matharu's evidence was malicious and untrue.' He said Mr Matharu knew of his arrest and 'was always googling me and was fully aware of matters', adding: 'I didn't lose the ability to do work that was non-regulated or as a representative of a legal entity.' He is also charged with sending client Jon Wood threatening or inappropriate messages. Email subjects included 'don't screw your lawyers,' and 'you have been warned,' which he said was just putting it 'in stern language'. He also sent an email threatening to apply for freezing orders on Mr Wood's bank accounts. He said he 'was off my face' when sending the emails, explaining: 'I don't recall, that's in context of me being off my face, I was a daily addict, I was injecting throughout the day just to get by. 'I became semi-functioning as it happens, I could hold a conversation if I had just injected what I was taking at that time. 'That year it was disastrous, I was fighting everyone in my life.' He added: 'I think back and almost shudder at fear of what I was at that point. 'In hindsight would I have written those emails? No I wouldn't have. 'If I were to advise myself, yes I would say they were inadvisable. 'But the caveat is Jon was slippery, he said in evidence that if he could avoid paying then he would have. 'He was playing myself and brother off on each other. I told Richard and said 'listen he'll basically run away with all the money.' Judge Meston said: 'It's the tone of the emails, whether or not you were justified, it's the tone you used.' Hendron replied: 'Jon was really in my view trying to screw me out of all the fees. Henry Hendron was suspended in 2017 after his conviction for drug dealing the previous year 'It's inappropriate but in the context I don't know if it warrants charges. '"Don't screw your lawyers" and "you have been warned", it was just putting it in stern language.' Hendron went before the tribunal in 2019 for the decision on whether he harmed public confidence in the profession after failing to pay a debt of 850. The lawyer was instructed by Yvonne Hobbs in July 2015, but he was unable to represent her in a hearing and was required to reimburse her the 650 when alternative counsel was employed. Hendron wrote her a cheque in June 2016 but when she attempted to cash it in July of the same year it was returned unpaid and she brought the matter before the Legal Ombudsman. In March 2017 the Legal Ombudsman made a preliminary decision saying that Hendron owed the amount plus 200 in compensation. A final decision exactly matching the terms of the preliminary decision was made in April 2017. Hendron was ordered to pay the sum of 850 to Mrs Hobbs by May 16, 2017, but failed to repay the money and was brought before the professional tribunal. Beirut, March 18 : Lebanese President Michel Aoun has urged Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to step down if he is not capable of forming a cabinet immediately. "I ask the Prime Minister-designate to immediately form a cabinet capable of saving Lebanon from further collapse or step down and pave the way for other candidates to form a government," the President said in a televised address on Wednesday. Hariri was assigned to form a new cabinet on October 22, 2020, but he failed due to disagreements over distribution of key ministerial portfolios. Lebanon has witnessed a political deadlock since the resignation of Hassan Diab's government in the wake of the Port of Beirut blasts on August 4, 2020, which claimed the lives of 190 people, injured at least 6,000 others and left some 300,000 homeless.. Over a month later, former Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib announced of his failure to form a new government. Hariri was named the country's new premier in October 2020 to form a cabinet, a year after the eruption of nationwide anti-government protests that led to his resignation. The Beirut blasts and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have exacerbated the country's economic situation, driving thousands of companies out of business while leaving thousands of people unemployed. Figures released by the World Bank showed that over 50 per cent of the Lebanese people have become "poor". This year, the Central Bank of Lebanon also tightened regulations against the country's banks, which compelled some of them to close branches and lay off employees to stay afloat. The national currency has slipped to a new low of 10,000 Lebanese pounds per $1. Scroll Down Your Face Is Not Your Own When a secretive start-up scraped the internet to build a facial-recognition tool, it tested a legal and ethical limit and blew the future of privacy in America wide open. In May 2019, an agent at the Department of Homeland Security received a trove of unsettling images. Found by Yahoo in a Syrian users account, the photos seemed to document the sexual abuse of a young girl. One showed a man with his head reclined on a pillow, gazing directly at the camera. The man appeared to be white, with brown hair and a goatee, but it was hard to really make him out; the photo was grainy, the angle a bit oblique. The agent sent the mans face to child-crime investigators around the country in the hope that someone might recognize him. When an investigator in New York saw the request, she ran the face through an unusual new facial-recognition app she had just started using, called Clearview AI. The team behind it had scraped the public web social media, employment sites, YouTube, Venmo to create a database with three billion images of people, along with links to the webpages from which the photos had come. This dwarfed the databases of other such products for law enforcement, which drew only on official photography like mug shots, drivers licenses and passport pictures; with Clearview, it was effortless to go from a face to a Facebook account. Listen to This Article To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android The app turned up an odd hit: an Instagram photo of a heavily muscled Asian man and a female fitness model, posing on a red carpet at a bodybuilding expo in Las Vegas. The suspect was neither Asian nor a woman. But upon closer inspection, you could see a white man in the background, at the edge of the photos frame, standing behind the counter of a booth for a workout-supplements company. That was the match. On Instagram, his face would appear about half as big as your fingernail. The federal agent was astounded. The agent contacted the supplements company and obtained the booth workers name: Andres Rafael Viola, who turned out to be an Argentine citizen living in Las Vegas. Another investigator found Violas Facebook account. His profile was public; browsing it, the investigator found photos of a room that matched one from the images, as well as pictures of the victim, a 7-year-old. Law-enforcement officers arrested Viola in June 2019. He later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child and producing images of the abuse and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. (Violas lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) At the time, the use of Clearview in Violas case was not made public; I learned about it recently, through court documents, interviews with law-enforcement officials and a promotional PowerPoint presentation that Clearview made. The case represented the technologys first use on a child-exploitation case by Homeland Security Investigations, or H.S.I., which is the investigative arm of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. (Such crimes fall under the agency because, pre-internet, so much abuse material was being sent by mail internationally.) It was an interesting first foray into our Clearview experience, said Erin Burke, chief of H.S.I.s Child Exploitation Investigations Unit. There was no way we would have found that guy. [ Read takeaways from this piece: what we learned about Clearview AI and its secret co-founder. ] Few outside law enforcement knew of Clearviews existence back then. That was by design: The government often avoids tipping off would-be criminals to cutting-edge investigative techniques, and Clearviews founders worried about the reaction to their product. Helping to catch sex abusers was clearly a worthy cause, but the companys method of doing so hoovering up the personal photos of millions of Americans was unprecedented and shocking. Indeed, when the public found out about Clearview last year, in a New York Times article I wrote, an immense backlash ensued. Facebook, LinkedIn, Venmo and Google sent cease-and-desist letters to the company, accusing it of violating their terms of service and demanding, to no avail, that it stop using their photos. BuzzFeed published a leaked list of Clearview users, which included not just law enforcement but major private organizations including Bank of America and the N.B.A. (Each says it only tested the technology and was never a client.) I discovered that the company had made the app available to investors, potential investors and business partners, including a billionaire who used it to identify his daughters date when the couple unexpectedly walked into a restaurant where he was dining. Computers once performed facial recognition rather imprecisely, by identifying peoples facial features and measuring the distances among them a crude method that did not reliably result in matches. But recently, the technology has improved significantly, because of advances in artificial intelligence. A.I. software can analyze countless photos of peoples faces and learn to make impressive predictions about which images are of the same person; the more faces it inspects, the better it gets. Clearview is deploying this approach using billions of photos from the public internet. By testing legal and ethical limits around the collection and use of those images, it has become the front-runner in the field. After Clearviews activities came to light, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote to the company asking that it reveal its law-enforcement customers and give Americans a way to delete themselves from Clearviews database. Officials in Canada, Britain, Australia and the European Union investigated the company. There were bans on police use of facial recognition in parts of the United States, including Boston and Minneapolis, and state legislatures imposed restrictions on it, with Washington and Massachusetts declaring that a judge must sign off before the police run a search. In Illinois and Texas, companies already had to obtain consent from residents to use their faceprint, the unique pattern of their face, and after the Clearview revelations, Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley proposed a version of Illinoiss law for the whole country. California has a privacy law giving citizens control over how their data is used, and some of the states residents invoked that provision to get Clearview to stop using their photos. (In March, California activists filed a lawsuit in state court.) Perhaps most significant, 10 class-action complaints were filed against Clearview around the United States for invasion of privacy, along with lawsuits from the A.C.L.U. and Vermonts attorney general. This is a company that got way out over its skis in an attempt to be the first with this business model, Nathan Freed Wessler, one of the A.C.L.U. lawyers who filed the organizations lawsuit, in Illinois state court, told me. It seemed entirely possible that Clearview AI would be sued, legislated or shamed out of existence. But that didnt happen. With no federal law prohibiting or even regulating the use of facial recognition, Clearview did not, for the most part, change its practices. Nor did it implode. While it shut down private companies accounts, it continued to acquire government customers. Clearviews most effective sales tool, at first, was a free trial it offered to anyone with a law-enforcement-affiliated email address, along with a low, low price: You could access Clearview AI for as little as $2,000 per year. Most comparable vendors whose products are not even as extensive charged six figures. The company later hired a seasoned sales director who raised the price. Our growth rate is crazy, Hoan Ton-That, Clearviews chief executive, said. Clearview has now raised $17 million and, according to PitchBook, is valued at nearly $109 million. As of January 2020, it had been used by at least 600 law-enforcement agencies; the company says it is now up to 3,100. The Army and the Air Force are customers. ICE signed a $224,000 deal in August; Erin Burke, of the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, said she now supervises the deployment of Clearview AI for a variety of criminal investigations at H.S.I., not just child-exploitation cases. It has revolutionized how we are able to identify and rescue children, Burke told me. Its only going to get better, the more images that Clearview is able to scrape. The legal threats to Clearview have begun to move through the courts, and Clearview is preparing a powerful response, invoking the First Amendment. Many civil-liberties advocates fear the company will prevail, and they are aghast at the potential consequences. One major concern is that facial-recognition technology might be too flawed for law enforcement to rely on. A federal agency called the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) periodically tests the accuracy of facial-recognition algorithms voluntarily submitted by vendors; Clearview hasnt participated. In 2019, the agency found that many algorithms were less accurate in identifying people of color, meaning their use could worsen systemic bias in the criminal-justice system. In the last year, three cases have been unearthed (none involving Clearview) in which police officers arrested and briefly jailed the wrong person based on a bad facial-recognition match. All three of the wrongfully arrested were Black men. Theres also a broader reason that critics fear a court decision favoring Clearview: It could let companies track us as pervasively in the real world as they already do online. A majority of us, members of some religious groups excepted and pandemic notwithstanding, go around showing our faces all the time. We post selfies on the internet. Walking down the street, we are unwittingly photographed by surveillance cameras and as happened to Andres Rafael Viola by strangers we inadvertently photo-bomb. Until recently, weve had little reason to think deeply about the fact that each of our faces is as unique as a fingerprint or a Social Security number. Behind the scenes, though, a quiet revolution has been afoot to unlock the secrets of our faceprints. It has been powered by an enormous influx of A.I. expertise into Silicon Valley in recent decades, much of it drawn out of the computer-science departments of elite universities. These experts have been put to work on a number of long-term projects, including language translation and self-driving cars, and one particularly intense area of research has been facial recognition. By 2010, this effort was far enough along for Facebook to introduce a feature called tag suggestions that suggested the names of friends who appeared in photos uploaded to its platform. Similar features began proliferating in consumer technology: You could unlock your smartphone by looking at it and then sort all the photos on the device by face. Googles Nest camera could tell you which neighbor was at the door. As technology advanced, policymakers didnt keep up. In the absence of robust regulations, the only thing that kept companies like Facebook and Google from going beyond those basic features wed grown accustomed to was their own restraint. Deploying facial recognition to identify strangers had generally been seen as taboo, a dangerous technological superpower that the world wasnt ready for. It could help a creep ID you at a bar or let a stranger eavesdrop on a sensitive conversation and know the identities of those talking. It could galvanize countless name-and-shame campaigns, allow the police to identify protesters and generally eliminate the comfort that comes from being anonymous as you move through the world. Companies like Facebook and Google forbid scraping, or the automated copying of data from their sites, in their terms of service. Still, by encouraging billions of people to post photos of themselves online alongside their names, tech companies provided the ingredients for such a product to succeed, were anyone audacious enough to violate the platforms boilerplate legalese. In artificial intelligence, the more data you have, the better your product usually is. It was precisely because of Clearviews brazen collection of images from popular platforms that it was able to become its industrys leader. The main federal law discouraging Clearview from doing that is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, passed by Congress in 1986, which forbids unauthorized access to a computer. The law was intended to prevent hacking, but some prosecutors have interpreted it as forbidding the violation of a sites terms of service, including by scraping. Clearviews executives, like many entrepreneurs who have come before them, built a company around the gamble that the rules would successfully be bent in their favor. Their bet was partly validated in the fall of 2019, when a federal judge in the Ninth Circuit ruled in a high-profile case which LinkedIn had filed against a start-up that was scraping its users profiles that automated online copying of publicly available information does not violate the anti-hacking law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil-liberties group, called the ruling a major win for research and innovation, because it meant journalists, academics and researchers could automatically collect information from websites without fear. But it was also an excellent precedent for Clearview and its growing database of publicly available photos. (The E.F.F. has since called for federal protections to prevent biometric identification like what Clearview sells.) The biggest remaining legal hurdle for the company, absent some sudden congressional action, is Illinoiss Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a state law from 2008 that offers the strongest protection in the country for peoples faces. The law says that private entities must receive individuals consent to use their biometrics a fancy word for measurements taken of the human body or incur fines of up to $5,000 per use. In 2015, five years after introducing its facial-recognition-based photo tagging, Facebook was hit with a class-action lawsuit in Illinois for violating the law. It settled the suit last year for $650 million. Clearview is now fighting 11 lawsuits in the state, including the one filed by the A.C.L.U. in state court. In response to the challenges, Clearview quickly removed any photos it determined came from Illinois, based on geographical information embedded in the files it scraped but if that seemed on the surface like a capitulation, it wasnt. It could galvanize countless name-and-shame campaigns, allow the police to identify protesters and generally eliminate the comfort that comes from being anonymous. When I started reporting on Clearview AI in November 2019, the company avoided me. For more than a month, its employees and investors mostly ignored my emails and phone calls. Clearviews then-sparse website listed a company address just a few blocks away from the Times Building in Midtown Manhattan, so I walked over to knock on its door only to discover there was no building with that address. (The company later told me it was a typo.) I had trouble even finding out who was behind Clearview. Once the company realized I was not going away, it hired Lisa Linden, a seasoned crisis-communications expert, to help deal with me. In January 2020, Linden introduced me to Hoan Ton-That, Clearviews chief executive, and we met and talked over lattes at a WeWork in New York. Ton-That and I kept in touch. Last March, after I told Clearview I wanted to write about how the company was dealing with the challenges, legal and otherwise, coming its way, he agreed to have phone calls with me every few weeks, under the condition that I not write about them until the publication of this article. In September, Linden invited me to observe a meeting between Ton-That and one of the most accomplished lawyers in the country, Floyd Abrams. Abrams is a lion of First Amendment law, renowned for defending The New York Timess right to publish the Pentagon Papers 50 years ago. Clearview had hired him, along with a national-security lawyer, Lee Wolosky of Jenner & Block, to defend itself in the Illinois lawsuits. Because of the pandemic, Abrams hadnt been spending much time at the offices of Cahill Gordon & Reindel, the corporate law firm where he is a senior counsel. So on a summery Friday morning, Ton-That met with him instead at Abramss Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan, where visitors are greeted by photos of Abrams shaking hands with Barack Obama and posing with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In his light-filled home office, Abrams wearing gray slacks, a blue button-up shirt and a black mask sat down in a low-slung lounge chair. Six feet away, by the window, was Linden, in a black ensemble and floral-print mask. Ton-That walked in a minute late, dressed in a paisley jacket, a red bandanna functioning as his mask. At 32, Ton-That, who has an Australian mother and claims descent from Vietnamese royalty on his fathers side, is tall, slender and elegant. With long black hair and androgynous good looks, he briefly considered a modeling career. He set his gray laptop bag on the floor and reclined in a chair that seemed too small for his lanky body. He came across as serene, without the anxiety you might expect from a person whose company was facing an existential crisis in the courts. He has a performers ease from years of playing guitar. Abrams immediately brought up the A.C.L.U. lawsuit in Illinois. The A.C.L.U. said Clearview had violated Illinoiss prohibition on using peoples faceprints without their consent. Abrams and Ton-That were working on a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the prohibition violates the companys constitutional right to free speech. While Floyd Abrams and the A.C.L.U. might not seem like natural enemies the A.C.L.U. itself being known for defending the First Amendment Abrams is embracing free speech more radically than the A.C.L.U. is comfortable with, given its concern with civil liberties other than freedom of speech, including individuals right to privacy. In Abramss view, Clearview is simply analyzing information in the public realm, an activity the government should not curtail. Abramss position also reflects a career shift, from primarily defending the constitutional rights of journalists to supporting those of corporations. After the 2008 financial meltdown, he argued that AAA ratings by Standard & Poors of debt that turned out to be junk were simply the companys opinion and therefore worthy of protection like any citizens. He represented Mitch McConnell in the 2010 Citizens United case, in which the Supreme Court found that limiting corporations political spending violated their free speech. The A.C.L.U. doesnt object to Clearviews scraping of photos, but it says that creating a faceprint from them is conduct and not speech and thus isnt constitutionally protected. Abrams disagrees with that and plans, he said, to argue that analyzing publicly available information (online photos, in this case) and sharing the findings (photos of one particular person) is protected by the First Amendment. Arguing that search results are speech is not without precedent: In 2003, Google won a federal case on similar grounds, after an advertising company accused Google of intentionally lowering its ranking in search results. Clearview had also gathered images from across the web and made them searchable. Google lets you search by name; Clearview lets you search by face. Abrams saw the Google case as a useful precedent. Were citing a case that says that a search engines First Amendment rights would be violated if it were compelled to speak in a manner that the plaintiff wanted, he said to Ton-That. He wanted to write in the motion to dismiss that Clearviews app makes similar judgments about what information will be most useful to its users. Then Abrams, who is 84, hesitated: Is that the way one describes what an app does? he asked the chief executive. Does one say the app makes judgments? I wouldnt say we make judgments but provide information, Ton-That said. Then he paused. Well, I guess we do make judgments in whats similar, but we dont tell them its a final judgment about who someone is. Provides information, Linden suggested. On a technical computer level, its the computers judgment, Ton-That added. But we dont want that to be the final judgment when someone is arre- He stopped himself there. There is no documented case of Clearviews use resulting in the misidentification of a criminal suspect, but Ton-That was clearly aware that a bad match is possible. The company says that its algorithm is far superior to anything else on the market a claim that police officers who have used it attest to though it hasnt submitted its algorithm to NIST for accuracy testing. (Law-enforcement officers told me they would never arrest someone based on facial recognition alone and that a match is only a clue that should lead to further investigation.) The primary goal of free speech ought to be protecting the ability to generate knowledge through mechanical means or any means. In Abramss home office, Ton-That did a demo of Clearview. He signed into the app on Abramss computer, then searched using a photo of Abrams. Usually results appear instantly, but there was a delay, some kind of technological hiccup. Ton-That laughed nervously. Maybe this is less dangerous than people think, Abrams quipped. But when Ton-That searched instead for Abramss son, Dan Abrams, a legal correspondent at ABC News, the app performed beautifully: The screen filled with a grid of photos of the younger Abrams from around the web, with the source of each identified in tiny type under the photo. Ton-That clicked on one of the photos, where he was standing with a woman, then clicked on the woman, which brought up numerous photos of her as well. Those who support Clearview in its legal wranglings are worried that a loss would stifle innovation. The primary goal of free speech ought to be protecting the ability to generate knowledge through mechanical means or any means, Jane Bambauer, a law professor at the University of Arizona who wrote an amicus brief in support of Clearviews position, told me. On the other side are those who believe that a ruling in favor of Clearviews methods could usher in a future in which facial recognition is commonplace. Jameel Jaffer, a former A.C.L.U. lawyer who is now the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, points out that most people who put their photos online over the last two decades very likely didnt realize their faceprint could be derived from them. He offered the example of going to a hairdresser who also collects your trimmings and sequences the DNA. If you dont think that activity is protected by the First Amendment, you have to ask what about Clearviews activity is different, Jaffer said. The cases against Clearview are still in early stages and will probably take years to play out. The company can continue to operate while they do. If it loses this first battle, Abrams plans to appeal, and to keep appealing as many times as needed. He predicts at least one of the cases will eventually make it to the Supreme Court, a place he has argued 13 times in the past. In recent cases, the Supreme Court has limited the governments use of new technologies to track people en masse, ruling that the police need a warrant, for example, to collect data about peoples movement from cellphone companies. But the rights of private entities whether individuals or companies have been treated differently. In 2011, the Supreme Court heard a case involving a Vermont law that prohibited the sale of information about the drugs doctors were prescribing. Some companies sued, saying the law was unconstitutional because they had a free-speech right to buy and sell that information. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the companies. Clearview and the A.C.L.U. will appear before a judge in April to discuss the motion to dismiss. The fact that Clearviews database is made up of public photos is the core of Abramss defense. Were saying that where information is already out, already public, Abrams said, that the First Amendment provides enormous protection. During the year Ive been reporting on Clearview, one mysterious subject has been the exact details of the companys origins. According to Ton-Thats version of events, he and a man named Richard J. Schwartz founded Clearview AI together. But the pair always struck me as an odd match. Ton-That moved to San Francisco from Canberra in 2007 at age 19 to chase the tech gold rush, spinning up moderately successful Facebook games and iPhone apps and attending Burning Man, but then eventually decamped for New York in 2016. Schwartz is a grizzled New York politico who worked for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in the 90s, edited the New York Daily News editorial page and did communications consulting. He is 30 years older than Ton-That and seems to come from an entirely different world. So, last year, I asked Ton-That how they met and came to found the company together. Ton-That said he encountered Schwartz in 2016 at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, during a book event. He said they talked for an hour and decided to meet again for coffee the following week. That time, they chatted for three hours, including about technology and public policy. And it went from there, he said. Schwartz later told me he was intrigued by the idea of joining Ton-Thats brilliant mind and exceptional technical skills with my experience, relationships and know-how. When the company was first registered in New York in February 2017, using Schwartzs apartment on the Upper West Side as its business address, it was called Smartcheckr LLC. The name changed to Clearview AI the following year. Ton-That was vague about what happened in those early years, declining to name others involved beyond Schwartz. In Ton-Thats telling, the company just kind of stumbled into facial recognition. That story never satisfied me. Clearview is a radical new entrant to the technological scene. It dared to contravene a taboo that Google and Facebook not generally known for their privacy-respecting ways saw as exceedingly unwise to cross. For the last year, I have tried to figure out the exact genesis of that iconoclastic development and learned that the companys origin story is more complex than Ton-That made it out to be. After I broke the news about Clearview AI, BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post reported that Ton-That and his company had ties to the far right and to a notorious conservative provocateur named Charles Johnson. I heard the same about Johnson from multiple sources. So I emailed him. At first, he was hesitant to talk to me, insisting he would do so only off the record, because he was still frustrated about the last time he talked to a New York Times journalist, when the media columnist David Carr profiled him in 2014. Back then, Johnson was a 26-year-old blogger who would try to poke holes in big stories that were popular with progressives. When a police officer killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Johnson sued unsuccessfully to obtain Browns juvenile records and published photos from Browns Instagram account that he claimed showed a violent streak. Later, Rolling Stone wrote about a University of Virginia student named Jackie who claimed that she was gang-raped at a fraternity, and Johnson called the story a hoax; after the magazine acknowledged discrepancies in Jackies story, Johnson posted what he said was her last name, along with photos of her. Rolling Stone later retracted the story altogether. Carr criticized Johnsons attack-dog tactics and noted factual errors, calling Johnson a troll on steroids, but pointed out that he had gotten some notable scoops and was not without some talent. Johnson found his tactics and political leanings suddenly becoming more mainstream during the Trump administration, and he began to accumulate real influence. Forbes reported that he helped the White House vet political appointees. Johnson says he eventually decided to talk to me on the record because he regrets some of his decisions and the notoriety that has haunted him since. He wanted to correct what he feels are mistaken impressions of him by revealing that he helped start a company whose product is now being used to save children from sexual abuse. Johnson claims that he met Ton-That in 2016, introduced him to Schwartz and considers himself a third co-founder of Clearview. I was skeptical at first, given Johnsons reputation as a peddler of disinformation. In a statement, Ton-That acknowledged that he met Johnson in 2016 and that Johnson had introduced people to the company. But he said Johnson was not a founder and never had an operational role. Johnson, however, provided email and legal documents that, along with other sources, strongly support his claims; indeed, the company might not exist without his contributions. According to Johnsons version of events, which Clearview disputes, it all began in May 2016, when Ton-That emailed Johnson, saying he was an admirer of Johnsons work and asking to join a Slack group that he ran for fans of his right-wing takes. The next month, Johnson visited New York, and Ton-That met him for the first time in person. They hung out for at least 10 hours straight and became fast friends, according to Johnson and associates of Ton-That at the time. The people who knew Ton-That said he had always been contrarian, but it surprised them when he came out as a Trump supporter in early 2016. They worried about his new relationship with Johnson, given his extreme views and associations. Ton-That recently described himself as confused at that time in his life. He went on: People get radicalized into things. Its crazy to see it. I got sucked in for a while. That summer, the new friends attended the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where Donald Trump was being crowned the partys presidential nominee. Johnson had rented a big group house on Airbnb. Am I still allowed to crash? Ton-That wrote in an email to Johnson, which Johnson provided to me. Ill bring my guitar, can chip in for accommodations. Yes, of course, Johnson replied. Want to meet Thiel? Of course! Ton-That wrote back. Thiel, of course, was Peter Thiel, one of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley though he no longer lives there, having moved to Los Angeles. (A spokesman for Thiel did not respond to requests for comment.) He famously turned an early $500,000 investment in Facebook into a billion dollars and became a founder of Palantir, a data-gathering juggernaut. Thiel was in Cleveland because he had come out in support of Trump and was giving a prime-time speech at the convention. Johnson sent me a photo taken of him and Ton-That on the floor of the arena: Both men are smiling, with Thiel visible on a screen behind them. While Johnson and Ton-That hung out at the rental house, they mused about discredited sciences that could be explored in the modern age with new technologies. At one point, the conversation turned to physiognomy, the pseudoscientific judgment of a persons character based on their facial features. Hoan played music, Johnson said. We all drank a lot. He added, That was where a lot of ideas that became Smartcheckr, and then Clearview, began. Johnson told me he also arranged a meeting between Thiel and Ton-That at a home in Shaker Heights that week. Johnson says he was the one who brought in Schwartz, because of Schwartzs deep political connections in New York including at the N.Y.P.D. and because he offered an inroad to Trump as a former Giuliani lieutenant. Two days after the convention ended, Johnson emailed Ton-That and Schwartz, introducing them. Within a week, they made plans to meet, according to an email thread that Johnson forwarded to me. Seven months later, in February 2017, Schwartz emailed draft formation documents for a company called Smartcheckr LLC to Johnson, which granted equal ownership to Schwartz, Ton-That and Johnson. It was a name that would seem to have Johnsons fingerprints all over it he previously founded start-ups called WeSearchr and FreeStartr though the company claims the name was Schwartzs idea. I am very excited about our new company and look forward to the great work you, Hoan and I will be doing together! Schwartz wrote. Ton-That says the LLC was not intended for the purpose of developing facial-recognition technology, and it conducted no business. Johnson claims the plan from the beginning was to make an app to identify faces. In June 2017, Ton-That emailed Schwartz, Johnson and another person a link to a Scientific American article about Caltech researchers who had shed new light on how the brain identifies faces. Schwartz responded, Sounds like Caltech is a year behind you. In July 2017, a director at Thiel Capital, an investment firm founded by Thiel, emailed Ton-That to say that Thiel was interested in investing $200,000. Ton-That forwarded the email to Johnson. Thiel soon did invest. Johnson was living on the West Coast, dealing with a new child and a disintegrating marriage, and while he was introducing the company to potential funders and clients, he was not involved in day-to-day operations. In August 2017, Smartcheckr registered as a corporation in Delaware. This time, Schwartz and Ton-That were listed as the only directors. That fall, perhaps trying to keep some money coming in while improving its facial-recognition technology, Smartcheckr pitched itself to political candidates as a consulting firm. A person close to the company in its early days said the founders wanted to dig up dirt on liberals, which the company and Johnson deny. Paul Nehlen, a far-right Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin, publicly claimed the company had sent him a brochure about enriched voter profiles, microtargeting of voters and extreme opposition research. (Nehlen didnt respond to requests for comment.) When I asked the company about his claims last year, it told me it never actually offered such services and that the email came from a rogue contractor. But I found out that it was not a one-off nor was the outreach limited to Republicans. Schwartz offered the same Smartcheckr services, in October 2017, to a Democratic newcomer to politics named Holly Lynch, a communications consultant who was running for a congressional seat in New York. According to Lynch, he told her he had a great guy who could be very helpful with voter data, called the Prince a reference to Ton-Thats royal ancestry. Lynch said Schwartz didnt mention facial recognition, only unconventional databases. Lynch ultimately chose not to work with Smartcheckr and soon ended her campaign. It appears Smartcheckr decided against pursuing political consulting. The facial recognition it had been working on had improved. It wasnt clear it would work until April 2018, when the accuracy part really kicked in, Ton-That said. Two months later, the company changed its name to Clearview AI. That summer, it pitched itself as a security start-up and conducted pilot facial-recognition projects with branches of TD Bank and Gristedes Supermarket in Manhattan, according to a document provided to a potential investor. (Gristedess owner, John Catsimatidis, confirmed its project; TD Bank said it does not have a business relationship with Clearview AI and does not use any of Clearview AIs products.) Another investor who was approached by the company said that the product was impressive but that the ties to Charles Johnson scared him off. (He did not want to be named, fearing retribution from Johnson.) During the course of 2018, Clearviews database grew to a billion faces from 20 million. At the end of the year, the founders dissolved the LLC they formed in New York and asked Johnson to sign a wind-down and transfer agreement, which converted his one-third ownership in Smartcheckr LLC into a 10 percent stake in Clearview AI. The contract also entitled him to a 10 percent sales commission on any customers he introduced to the company, though Johnson hasnt been paid a commission. The wind-down agreement, which Johnson provided to me, requires him not to publicly disclose the existence of this agreement, his indirect ownership of the shares or his prior provision of services to the company. It is signed by Johnson, Ton-That and Schwartz. (In early March, Clearview amended its incorporation documents such that any shareholder who breaches any confidentiality obligations can have his or her shares bought back at 20 percent of market value. When I told Johnson about this, he responded, Thats probably not good for me.) Johnson said in February that he was willing to break the agreement, both because hes upset about having been erased from Clearviews past and because he thinks the company should have gone further than it has in making the technology available. Johnson believes that giving this superpower only to the police is frightening that it should be offered to anyone who would use it for good. In his mind, a world without strangers would be a friendlier, nicer world, because all people would be accountable for their actions. I think Clearview should be in the hands of the moms of America, he said. No matter its parentage, Clearview was inevitable. All the building blocks were there; it was just a matter of picking them up and putting them together. But it makes sense that Thiel, who seems to see personal data as a resource to be mined for riches, and Johnson, who made a career of digging up dirt on people, were part of the companys origins. Our faces are crucial to linking the digital data thats been accumulated about us with our identities in the real world. That is valuable not just to law enforcement but also to companies, advertisers, journalists and, yes, the moms of America. The fact that this superpower is not yet available to us all may just be a fluke of history. Suppose it had been Charles Johnson, not Hoan Ton-That, who ended up at the companys helm. Or suppose even before Clearview began that an influential executive at Google or Facebook had successfully pushed for using the photos and algorithms they already had to let people search for faces as easily as we now search for text. In some countries, facial recognition is already becoming as mainstream as other once-unimaginable technologies now taken for granted. In 2016, a Russian company called NTechLab developed a facial-recognition algorithm used in an app called FindFace, which matched photos of strangers to profiles on VK essentially Russias Facebook. Within months of its release, it was reported that people were using the app to identify sex workers, porn stars and protesters. NTechLab shut down the public FindFace app but still provides its algorithm to governments and corporations. In 2019, the technology was placed in Moscow surveillance cameras, providing a live log of who passed the cameras and when. Meant to be used to find criminal suspects, it was repurposed to enforce lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. In March, a man who was supposed to be quarantining went outside his apartment to take out the trash; 30 minutes later, the police were at his door. In China, facial recognition aids in surveilling the population and in enforcing both the law and social norms. In Suzhou, local authorities have deployed it to name and shame people wearing their pajamas in public. Other uses are quite a bit more sinister, including automatically flagging the faces of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities and tracking their comings and goings. In 2018, Chinese police officers began testing out facial-recognition glasses that would let them more easily ID the people they interact with. When The New York Times analyzed a copy of the computer code underlying the Clearview AI app, a data journalist at the paper found that it, too, was designed to be able to run on augmented-reality glasses. (The company says it has experimented with this function only in its lab.) Facial recognition would of course look different in the American context, where the states reach is significantly more curtailed by both laws and norms than it is in China or Russia. The more society-changing aspect of facial recognition in the United States may be how private companies deploy it: Americans right to privacy is relatively strong when it comes to the federal government but very weak when it comes to what corporations can do. While Clearview has said it doesnt want to make its app available to the public, a copycat company could. Facebook has already discussed putting facial recognition into augmented-reality glasses. Within the last year, a mysterious new site called PimEyes has popped up with a face search that works surprisingly well. Retail chains that get their hands on technology like this could try to use it to more effectively blacklist shoplifters, a use Rite Aid has already piloted (but abandoned). In recent years, surveillance companies casually rolled out automated license-plate readers that track cars locations, which are frequently used to solve crimes; such companies could easily add face reading as a feature. The advertising industry that tracks your every movement online would be able to do so in the real world: That scene from Minority Report in which Tom Cruises character flees through a shopping mall of targeted pop-up ads John Anderton, you could use a Guinness right about now! could be our future. The more society-changing aspect of facial recognition in the United States may be how private companies deploy it. And imagine what you would do with a face-identifying app on your phone: a Shazam for people. You would never forget someones name at a party again. If that pseudonymous troll on Twitter who said something nasty to you had ever tweeted a selfie, you could find out who he or she was. You could take a photo of the strangers at your poker table and know if theyre pros or not. It might just be your new favorite app. Alvaro Bedoya, a former congressional staff member who started a privacy center at Georgetown Law School, told me widespread facial recognition could both empower the government and transform civilian life outcomes that he called equally pernicious. He thinks, for example, that ICE could start searching out visa overstayers for deportation by using the photos taken when they entered the country and scanning surveillance-camera feeds for them once their documentation expires. And anonymity could be eradicated in day-to-day life. When we interact with people on the street, theres a certain level of respect accorded to strangers, Bedoya told me. Thats partly because we dont know if people are powerful or influential or we could get in trouble for treating them poorly. I dont know what happens in a world where you see someone in the street and immediately know where they work, where they went to school, if they have a criminal record, what their credit score is. I dont know how society changes, but I dont think it changes for the better. Its impossible, of course, to perfectly predict how novel technologies will ultimately be used and how they will reshape our world. On the day the Capitol was stormed by pro-Trump rioters in January, Ton-That was at work in his Chelsea apartment. Then his phone began to buzz with text messages and phone calls from friends and colleagues, predicting that Clearview AI would be critical for identifying participants; despite the pandemic and the seemingly obvious incentives to conceal their identities, most of the rioters faces were exposed. One of Ton-Thats salespeople called because a police officer wanted free access. I said we could because it was an emergency situation, Ton-That said. And in fact, the next day, the company saw a surge in searches from law enforcement. The F.B.I. wouldnt discuss whether Clearview AI was being used for its investigation of the riot, but detectives in Alabama and Florida who collaborate with the bureau at real-time crime centers said they had identified possible rioters using Clearview and sent them to the F.B.I. We are up to six potential matches, an assistant Miami Police Department chief, Armando R. Aguilar, told me a week after the riot. The following week, the number was 13. It was a remarkable turn of events. The relationships behind Clearview had germinated at an event celebrating Trump, at least according to Johnson; now, four years later, the app was being deployed in a domestic crackdown on lawbreaking Trump supporters. There had been a time when public opinion seemed set firmly against facial recognition. But suddenly with people showing their faces while rampaging through the Capitol Clearview and similar products seemed quite appealing. Ton-That and I talked on the phone just a couple of days after the riot. He sounded tired and spoke hurriedly he was pressed for time, he said, because of the incoming demand from law enforcement. He didnt seem to harbor any remaining allegiance to Trump, calling the attack tragic and appalling and declaring that the transition of power should be peaceful. While he was clearly taken aback by the events unfolding in his adopted country, he also seemed keenly aware it could demonstrate the utility of his companys product, and perhaps sway those on the fence if it played a role in finding and punishing the people involved. You see a lot of detractors change their mind for a somewhat different use case, he said. Were slowly winning people over. Federal Department of Justice and Police Bern, 18.03.2021 - Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter is attending the event on 23 March in the Nigerian capital Abuja to mark the tenth anniversary of the migration partnership with Nigeria. The partnership has become a model for success in Switzerlands foreign policy on migration. The working visit also serves to further strengthen cooperation between Switzerland and Nigeria. The partnership is an important pillar of bilateral relations between the two countries. In the last few years it has provided a framework for closer cooperation on the return and reintegration of asylum seekers and for combating irregular migration and human trafficking. Under the partnership, numerous projects have been implemented in areas such as migration governance and management, vocational education and training, and preventing and combating the causes of irregular migration. Over the last ten years, the number of asylum applications from Nigerian nationals has continually fallen in Switzerland, from 2,746 applications in 2012 to 172 in 2020. Last year, Nigeria ranked twelfth among the principle countries of origin of asylum seekers. Exchange on bilateral relations The Nigerian minister for humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter will attend a ceremony in Abuja on 23 March to mark ten years of migration partnership. Discussions will focus on the achievements so far and on future cooperation. Ms Farouq and Ms Keller-Sutter will also open a touring exhibition aimed at raising awareness among the Nigerian population of the dangers of human trafficking. During the working visit Ms Keller-Sutter will also attend further meetings to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. Migration partnerships with six countries The bilateral dialogue on migration between experts will take place at the same time as Ms Keller-Sutter's visit. This annual meeting of the technical committee takes place alternately in Bern and Abuja and provides an opportunity to discuss cooperation and the progress of various migration projects. Switzerland has concluded migration partnerships with six countries to date. These partnerships are part of a comprehensive approach by Switzerland to expand international cooperation that acknowledges both the challenges and the opportunities of migration. Switzerland and its partners hold a regular dialogue on migration issues and are committed to implementing joint intiatives and projects in this field. Address for enquiries Communication Service FDJP, T +41 58 462 18 18, info@gs-ejpd.admin.ch, Twitter: @EJPD_DFJP_DFGP Publisher Federal Department of Justice and Police http://www.ejpd.admin.ch State Secretariat for Migration https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home.html A Meghan Markle lookalike who makes up to 300 per appearance has admitted she fears for her future following the Duchess' explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. Sarah Mhlanga, 38, who lives in North West England with her husband, Jabu, 40, and their children, Josiah, 10, and Mimi-Raie, eight, said she has been subjected to 'hurtful' trolling from people 'using her as a punchbag' to vent their rage at Meghan, 39. Their bombshell interview saw the Sussexes accuse an unnamed member of the Royal Family of racism, while Meghan claimed she was given such little support by the Palace that she suffered suicidal thoughts. While her work has been on hold due to the pandemic, Sarah now fears she may have to quit her lucrative career when lockdown eases, fearing that people won't want to hire her. 'There are some people who feel like [Meghan is] waging a war on the royals, and people can't access Meghan so they're using me as their punchbag,' Sarah told Closer magazine. Sarah Mhlanga, 38, said she has been subjected to 'hurtful' trolling from people 'using her as a punchbag' to vent their rage at Meghan. Pictured in 2018 with Harry lookalike Rhys Whittock Sarah now fears she may have to quit her lucrative career as she worries people won't want to hire her - after the Sussexes accused an unnamed member of the Royal Family of racism and Meghan claimed she was given such little support by the Palace that she suffered suicidal thoughts The mother-of-two's striking similarity to the duchess, 38, was first remarked on when Meghan was engaged to Prince Harry in 2017 'I get messages saying I'm attention-seeking and that I should be ashamed to represent Meghan. It's so hurtful.' She added: 'I love Meghan, but now, after this interview, I'm worried people won't want to hire me.' Sarah told how she began receiving cruel messages on social media after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping down as senior royals in January last year. Since their sit-down with Oprah, she said the abuse has stepped up, with one troll telling her she shouldn't be a lookalike for Meghan because she's 'the most hated woman in the world' and that she 'deserves the same abuse' if she pretends to be her. Sarah told how she began receiving cruel messages on social media after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping down as senior royals in January last year. Pictured with a Harry lookalike as 'pregnant Meghan' Despite the abuse she receives on social media, Sarah said she will continue to stand by and support Meghan and hopes the royal rift can be mended Sarah admitted it 'baffles' her that people can feel such venom towards a person they've never even met, and worries she'll now be 'forced out' of her job. She started out as Meghan's doppelganger in August 2017, after a cashier at IKEA remarked on their resemblance. 'I didn't think much of it until a month later when Meghan and Harry got engaged,' she previously told Mail on Sunday. 'I was featured in a newspaper article and the floodgates opened. Offers of work came rolling in, from royal-themed parties to walkabouts, promotional work and TV appearances. 'It's all been a bit bonkers I had no idea that looking like someone could be a thing. But over time being Meghan became second nature to me. Sarah lives in North West England with her husband, Jabu, 40, and their children, Josiah, 10, and Mimi-Raie, eight Sarah started out as Meghan's doppelganger in August 2017, after a cashier at IKEA remarked on their resemblance The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant Sarah, pictured, who is also an actress, is unable to do her usual public appearances as the Duchess 'I've got a wardrobe full of "Meghan" clothes and I've studied footage so I can incorporate her facial expressions and the little tics she has like playing with her hair into whatever I'm doing. I've been told I'm the No 1 Meghan lookalike in the UK.' Up until the UK went into lockdown in March last year, Sarah said her schedule had been rammed. 'In the run-up to the Royal Wedding I was doing one or two Meghan bookings a week and the phone was ringing off the hook to the extent that I was thinking about giving up my day job,' she admitted. But the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant Sarah, who is also an actress, is unable to do her usual public appearances as the Duchess. While watching Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah, which aired on the US network CBS on March 7, Sarah said she felt very emotional and now has more sympathy for the couple While watching Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah, which aired on the US network CBS on March 7, Sarah said she felt very emotional and now has more sympathy for the couple. 'She's been through such a huge ordeal and it was time she had her voice heard,' she told Closer. Sarah added that hearing Meghan talk about racism in the UK struck a chord with her, as a mother of mixed-race children who have been bullied because of their heritage. Despite the abuse she receives on social media, Sarah said she will continue to stand by and support Meghan and hopes the royal rift can be mended. Iowa House Passes Bill to Let Residents Buy, Carry Guns Without Permits Iowas House of Representatives approved a measure on March 17 that would allow Iowans to purchase and carry firearms without a permit, sending the measure to the Senate for consideration. House File 756 passed 6037, with all Republicans voting for it, along with Democratic state Rep. Wes Breckenridge. Republicans have a majority in the Senate and previously passed a similar piece of legislation through a committee. Iowans currently must get a permit to buy a handgun, even if the sale is private. Under the proposal, that requirement would be annulled. Individuals would still have to follow federal law and go through an instant background check to buy from licensed sellers each time they purchase a gun. They could choose to get a permit instead, which is issued by sheriff departments and is good for five years. Sales between individuals wouldnt require a background check. Additionally, to carry a weapon, people wouldnt need to have a permit. These proposals recognize that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right, not a privilege, and that Iowans should not be required to get a permission slip and pay a fee in order to purchase a firearm and practice their fundamental Second Amendment rights, state Rep. Steven Holt, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said on the House floor before the vote. Iowa is one of 22 states, along with the District of Columbia, that requires residents to pass a background check before buying a gun, according to state Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat. Background checks are the foundation of any effective effort to reduce gun violence and keep guns out of the wrong hands, she added. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, also came out in opposition to the bill. This bill would repeal the laws that help keep handguns out of the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers, and other people with dangerous histories who cant legally have guns. Lawmakers voted to put our communities in danger today, Katie Albrecht, a volunteer with Iowa Moms Demand Action, said in a statement. Holt countered that the legislation contains provisions that would actually strengthen laws that prevent criminals from gaining access to guns. Mark Olivia, director of public affairs at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told The Epoch Times that laws restricting gun ownership have dubious origins. The history of gun control laws really has its roots in Jim Crow-era racist laws that are designed to deny people their rights, he said. Your permit is your Second Amendment right. The idea of having to get a permit to be able to exercise your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is antithetical to what your rights are as an American at birth. While Mannion is opposed to this bill, he reiterated his support for other criminal justice reforms. He noted that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has made some changes to how solitary confinement is administered. A 2019 report released by the department, which details the changes made as part of a settlement between inmates and the state, revealed that there was a 42% decrease in the number of incarcerated individuals who were placed into special housing units, or solitary confinement. The report also mentions "SHU-alternative programs" that were created or in development. Advocates and lawmakers have been pushing the state to do more to address solitary confinement. In 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo reached an agreement with state legislative leaders to limit the use of solitary confinement in prisons. But the new rules haven't been adopted. Mannion thinks that the use of solitary confinement is needed to isolate dangerous incarcerated individuals. And while he agrees that long-term solitary confinement is "inhumane," he's concerned about the legislation's effects. "Some of the new restrictions, I'm afraid, may put other people in (the incarcerated population) and certainly corrections officers and other staff in a less safe environment," he said. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Burma Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Anti-regime protesters in Yangon in February. / The Irrawaddy Myanmars military regime is launching a second corruption probe against the countrys ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, accusing her of accepting more than US$500,000 (704.79 million kyats) from a local businessman. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained by the military regime since the Feb. 1 coup. Since then, anti-regime protests have erupted across the country, calling for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others arrested by the junta. The latest accusation follows last weeks allegation by the regime that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted $600,000 and more than 11.43 kg of gold from detained Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein between December 2017 and March 2018. On Wednesday, the military and state-owned television channels announced that U Maung Waik, the owner of local developer Say Paing Company, gave the State Counselor a total of $550,000 from 2018 to 2020. If found guilty on both counts, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, would face combined prison terms of 30 yearsmeaning she would spend the rest of her life behind bars. In a video clip aired on the military-owned Myawaddy Channel, the businessman said he gave the money to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on four separate occasions. There were no witnesses in those cases, U Maung Waik said in the video. However, he stated there were two people present when he first gave her a separate $1,000,000 in a paper bag in 2018. At that meeting it was stated that the money was for the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity founded by Daw Aung Suu Kyi in memory of her late mother. Apart from the alleged corruption probes, the junta has filed four charges against the State Counselor since early last month ranging from incitement to using a walkie-talkie without a license to breaching COVID-19 restrictions. The charges carry a total of nine years imprisonment upon conviction. Probes into Daw Khin Kyi Foundations finances The military regime launched an investigation into the finances of the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation last month. The move has raised fears that it could be a pretext to file more charges against the countrys de facto leader. On Wednesday, the junta announced via the Myawaddy Channel that from January 2013 to January 2021 over $7.9 million flowed into the foundations three foreign currency accounts, including donations from foreign NGOs, INGOs and companies from the UK, China, the US, Japan and elsewhere. During that period, a total of over 36.7 billion kyats donated by 51 donors at home and abroad flowed into the foundations 13 Myanmar currency accounts. Of that amount, over 30.6 billion kyats were withdrawn, and over 6.04 billion kyats remain deposited. The junta also claimed that the foundations use of the money deviated from its stated objectives. Further extensive investigations are being conducted into the Daw Khin Kyi Foundations cash flow, expenditure and savings, the statement said. You may also like these stories: Six More Shot Dead in Myanmar by Juntas Security Forces Myanmar Junta Suspends 212 Central Bank Staff on Strike Lee, 86, disappeared from his home in the area of County Roads 100 South and 600 West early the morning of Nov. 9, 2019. Family members said at the time that Lee had been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease about eight years before that. A large number of Australian organisations, including Western Australias parliament, were hit by a cyberattack earlier this month, allegedly by the Chinese. The attacks came in the middle of election campaigning in Western Australia, which was conducted on March 13 to elect the new members of the parliament. According to ABC, Western Australias parliamentary email server was hit during the attack, following which lawmakers received an alert message from the Department of Parliamentary Services. 'No data breach' After Western Australia's Parliamentary Services Department detected the attack, they shut down the server until the next morning. The department later concluded that no data was stolen during the attack. According to the Australian governments cybersecurity centre, the hack occurred due to vulnerabilities in systems using Microsoft Exchange software. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) also issued an alert asking organisations using Microsoft Exchange to fix the problem urgently to avoid compromise. The ACSC has identified a large number of Australian organisations are yet to patch vulnerable versions of Microsoft Exchange, leaving them vulnerable to compromise. The ACSC urges these organisations to do so urgently. The Australian Signals Directorates Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) advises organisations using Microsoft Exchange to urgently patch certain Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), ACSC said in a statement. The Australian government has not blamed any particular state for the attacks but they reportedly believe China may have played a role, according to ABC. Chinese Embassy has dismissed the allegations of cyberattack, calling them deplorable and accused Australian media of running a misinformation campaign to defame China. Last year, a massive hack hit Australian government organisations and businesses. Australian government blamed the attack on sophisticated state-backed hackers. The Republican-led Michigan Legislature took additional steps Wednesday to send $652 million in proposed COVID-19 response spending previously vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer back to her desk over objections from most Democratic lawmakers, one of whom described the process as the definition of insanity. Taken together, Senate Bills 29 and 114 include a $150 million general fund deposit into the Unemployment Insurance Agency fund, $405 million in property tax and fee relief for businesses, about $87 million in funds for non-public schools and $10 million for a summer school grant program. The funding in question was included in an overall COVID-19 relief package signed by Whitmer last week. She line-item vetoed the proposed measures, citing problems in the bills and a lack of negotiation between the Legislature and her administration on the measures. Shortly after those vetoes and after an attempt to override them outright the House voted out two different bills containing the same vetoed spending, with Republicans pitching it as a way for her to fix her mistake. Related: Michigan House tries again on spending vetoed by Whitmer Republicans in the Senate followed suit Wednesday, approving slightly amended versions of both the school and general fund spending bills in 20-15 votes. The House concurred in the amendments later Wednesday afternoon and the bills are back in the Senate for enrollment before they head to Whitmers desk. Senate Appropriations Chair Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said on the Senate floor that hes ready for the invitation from the governor to take input from the Legislature on COVID-19 response so they can work through issues more effectively. But Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr., D-East Lansing, said Republican efforts to push through bills to make a political point isnt cutting it for Michigan businesses and residents who could use the help. Senate Democrats took a difficult vote against the legislation as a message of protest against the process and are prepared to withhold giving immediate effect to bills that we know dont solve problems, he said. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, Hertel said, later adding, I ask, I request, I demand that we get in the room, sit down, negotiate, and solve these problems. Stamas countered that the definition of insanity is a governor who continues to take on a pandemic without including all branches of the government. Weve continued to try to govern and be an effective body, yet this body has been shut down with bipartisan legislation over and over and over again, Stamas said. Wednesdays votes were the latest development in an ongoing dispute between Whitmer and legislative Republicans over how best to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those tensions have bled into the process of allocating billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 aid available to the state. The gulf between the two sides continues to widen amid clashes over the proper extent of executive authority, threats of another legal challenge from the Senate if spending tied to vetoed policy bills is touched and a standstill on negotiations between legislative Republicans and the states budget office. Related coverage: Whitmer signs bulk of coronavirus aid package, but vetoes limits on executive authority Whitmer signals vetoes likely on parts of COVID-19 relief plan that limit executive powers COVID-19 aid, confidentiality agreements, guns and LGBT rights: The week in Michigan politics Michigan House clears $4.2B COVID-19 spending plan, ties some funds to limits on health departments authority Michigan Senate approves $1.9 billion for vaccine distribution, direct care worker payments, school aid Whitmer vetoes bills that would limit public health orders and repeal governors emergency powers Newly Sworn-In Sen. Sydney Kamlager Assigned to Serve on Eight Committees The same day Atkins announced that she has also appointed Kamlager to eight committees in the upper house of the State Legislature. ADVERTISEMENT I was pleased to swear in our newest senator, Atkins said. Sen. Kamlager is a dedicated public servant who has long fought for criminal justice reform, civil rights, womens rights, and the planet. I look forward to the addition of her passionate voice on the Senate floor. In her new role, Kamlager represents the states 30th Senate District. It stretches from downtown Los Angeles to South Los Angeles County and covers sections of Crenshaw, sections of Inglewood, Ladera Heights and Culver City. With her new Senate appointments, Kamlager will be serving on six standing committees. They are Appropriations; Budget and Fiscal Review; Governmental Organization; Human Services; Public Safety; and Rules. Atkins also assigned Kamlager to the Budget Subcommittee #4 on State Administration and General Government and to the Joint Committee on Rules. ADVERTISEMENT As I move forward to the Senate, I take with me the valuable perspectives of my Assembly colleagues & their districts, Kamlager tweeted. And I promise to continue to be a partner in equity, fairness, discussion, & debate, without judgement or polarization, for all Californians. Kamlager also thanked her former Assembly colleagues for their support over the last two years and for welcoming her when she was first elected to serve in the lower house of the State Legislature in 2018. California Senate Major leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) congratulated Kamlager and welcomed his newest colleague. Looking forward to seeing more of this dynamic leader in action, he said. Representation matters, Kamlager said earlier this month when she won a special election to become a state senator. We know what happens when we dont have a seat at the table. Policies and budgets fail us. Having a Black woman a working mother in the State Senate is critically important for perspective in the fight for recovery, justice, and equity. Assemblymember Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Ray), who is now the only Black woman in the California Assembly after Kamlagerss resignation and the only other African American woman in the State Legislature wished her friend and fellow California Legislative Black Caucus member well. Burke posted and captioned a photo she took with Kamlager on the Assembly floor. Congratulations, Senator, Burke tweeted. @SydneyKamlager and me in the assembly; last two Black women standing! Artist, poet, and childrens book creator Joan Walsh Anglund, widely known for her instantly recognizable delicate images of sweet-faced, dot-eyed children, died on March 9 at her home in Connecticut of natural causes. She was 95. Anglund was born January 3, 1926 in Hinsdale, Ill., to Thomas and Mildred Walsh, both artists. In our family we illustrated everything, she said in a 2001 interview for World of Hibernia magazine. In the kitchen we had a large porcelain table where we would write notes to each other accompanied by little drawings and then wipe them off later. I didnt realize it then, but it was really a work of art. She remembered spending long hours squirreled away in the familys attic when she was a girl, reading favorite books over and over again, and lightly drawing pictures and writing stories in the margins, erasing her work before dinner each day so she could start anew. Her parents and her beloved paternal Irish grandmother Cookiea wonderful storyteller, Anglund recalledfilled her early childhood with books and stories. Your family stories become a part of you; theyre a precious treasure to pass on, Walsh told World of Hibernia. By 1944, Anglund had begun her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. She continued her art education at the American Academy of Art in 1945 and became an apprentice to Chicago commercial artist Adele Roth. Then, in 1946, Joans brother-in-law introduced her to actor and playwright Bob Anglund, a student at the Goodman Theater. It was love at first sight, she said. The pair were married in 1947 and soon moved to Pasadena, Calif., where they hosted a popular radio variety show. The Anglunds welcomed daughter Joy while in Pasadena, then relocated to Evanston, Ill., where their son Todd was born. By 1956 the family had settled in New York City, a move that proved difficult initially. Anglund was profoundly lonely in New York and her husband traveled frequently for work. Missing their life in the Midwest, she began putting words and drawings in a notebook. The small-town feel of Illinois inspired by writing, she said. I would look at the huge buildings around me and imagine that behind every window was someone who had the potential to be a friend. Her illustrations were inspired by her own two children as well as her observations of kids on the playground. The result was the seed of what became her first childrens book, A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You (Harcourt, 1958), which was selected as one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Books that year. That debut titles journey to publication is a story in itself. Bob Anglund came across his wifes notebook in a desk drawer, and without telling her, showed the work to several publishers. After a few rejections, the manuscript landed on editor Margaret McElderrys desk at Harcourt Brace. She called Joan and delivered the news, I think we have a book here. A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You, Brave Cowboy (Harcourt Brace, 1959), and Love Is a Special Feeling (Harcourt Brace, 1960) were among the earliest of her more than 120 books, many of which became international successes. In total her books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Over her career, Anglunds artwork has been featured on Hallmark greeting cards and licensed for figurines and dolls, among other items. Collectors of her work and merchandise have formed fan clubs, and some of her notable admirers have included Queen Elizabeth II and Eleanor Roosevelt. Filmmaker and musician Tim Jackson, a longtime family friend of the Anglunds, produced the feature documentary Joan Walsh Anglund: Life in Story and Poem in 2015. Family has always been a strong inspiration for and a theme within Anglunds art and writing. Her granddaughter, Emily Anglund-Nellen, remembered Joan as such a big part of our everyday lives. Weve always been a very connected and close family and she was always in the mix keeping up with all of us. My grandfather died in 2009 and my twin daughters were born in 2011. I was living in New York City at the time, and she and my mother were such a big help with the newborns. For the past 10 years, Joans been able to spend a lot of time with the girls and was devoted to them. And she passed on her love of poetry to the girls. Joan would recite Emily Dickinson poems for any appropriate occasiona sunrise, or a cloudy dayand my daughters would then memorize and recite them, too. She continued to write poems and always had her journal by her side. She loved time outside and being in nature. One of her favorite things was going for long rides in the country; it was very important for her to get outside every day. She would say I need to see the beauty. My brother Thaddeus was able to spend a lot of time with her in Connecticut this past year, playing music, taking her on rides, and just being together. She was so appreciative of even the simplest things. Brein Lopez, manager of Childrens Book World in Los Angeles, offered these words of tribute to his friend: I met Joan 20 years ago when I curated a retrospective of her illustrations at Every Picture Tells A Story Gallery in Los Angeles. We became friends instantly, sharing memories, meals, and conversation over a shared love of art, music, words, and nature. She taught me the importance of always observing life around me with empathy and humanity and to appreciate and enjoy moments alone or with loved ones. I will miss her mischievous laugh and her innate sense of wonder at the world we live in. What my role was is a community representative to meet people in the community to encourage people to come together and talk about what their concerns were as far as the fair housing law, Reid said. There were some people who felt the law only applied to Black [residents]. We encouraged people to have block parties and encouraged realtors to show homes in the community to people of different colors. Realtors had a pattern of showing homes to Black [homebuyers] in one section of town and white [homebuyers] in another section, in other communities. We did not want that to happen here. The French dance band Justice sent a 'cease and desist letter' to Justin Bieber for his logo for his new album called Justice, Rolling Stone reported. Justin's album is set to be released on Friday, March 19 with merchandise, featuring the title Justice with the T stylized to resemble a crucifix. After Justin revealed the artwork on February 26, Justice's label Ed Banger Records claimed their were similarities between his and the band's own logo. The latest: The French dance band Justice sent a cease and desist letter to Justin Bieber for his logo for his new album called Justice, Rolling Stone reported. Justin's album is set to be released on Friday, March 19 with merchandise featuring the title Justice with the T stylized to resemble a crucifix Justin's album is set to release Friday and has merchandise for it, including a sweatshirt with a giant cross on it and also the word Justice with the stylized T. Initially, Ed Banger Records joked about the similar logos after Justin's February unveiling. The outlet reported that the band Justice's counsel sent a 'cease and desist letter' dated March 10th to Justin's lawyer and management. The band, which has two Grammys to their name, asked the star to stop using the word 'Justice' with a 'cross element,' which is a 'Mark' they trademarked in France in 2008 and in the European Union in 2014, per Rolling Stone. The letter, obtained by Rolling Stone, said: 'Your use of the Mark is illegal. You have not received permission from Justice to utilize the Mark. Morever, Bieber's work is in no way affiliated with, supported by, or sponsored by Justice.' The logos: After Justin revealed the artwork on February 26, Justice's label Ed Banger Records claimed their were similarities between his and the band's own logo February: Initially, Ed Banger Records joked about the similar logos after Justin's February unveiling 'Such use of the Mark is not only illegal, but likely to deceive and confuse consumers,' per the outlet. It also reportedly said 'Through your illegal co-opting of the Mark, you are now subject to immediate legal action and damages including, but not limited to, punitive and injustice relief.' 'Not only was Bieber's team actually aware of Justice's use of the Mark, they sought to use the same artist to essentially duplicate it for the Album. This is textbook bad faith and willful infringement,' the letter obtained from Rolling Stone said. Legal: The band, which has two Grammys to their name, asked the star to stop using the word 'Justice' with a 'cross element,' which is a 'Mark' they trademarked in France in 2008 and in the European Union in 2014, per Rolling Stone; the band seen February 10, 2019 at the Grammy Awards in LA In addition, the 'cease and desist letter' also included an email dated April 29, 2020 from Justin's team to the band Justice's management. Per the outlet, Justin's management team was allegedly asking the band's management about connecting to the designer who made their band logo. The email sent by Justin's team had reportedly said: 'We're trying to track down the designer who did the below logo for Justice. Was hoping you could help point me in the right direction.' Coming soon: Justin's album is set to release Friday and has merchandise for it, including a sweatshirt with a giant cross on it and also the word Justice with the stylized T After the designer connected with the band's logo designer, an email from the designer reportedly said they were free to discuss logo design the following week, but Justin's team stopped communicating, per the magazine. The band Justice's co-manager John Scholz at Jet Management said after that 'there was attempts to set up the introduction' but that 'never happened.' John said when Justin announced his new Justice album, it was 'a shock.' Explaining to the outlet: 'Given that we have received emails from team where a member of [Justin'] management team specifically attached the Justice logo and asked to connect with the Justice logo designer; they mentioned it was to work on a Justin Bieber.' He added they never disclosed it was for an album Justin was making called 'Justice' or the idea of using a logo with that word. The lawsuit also cited previous trademark cases to make the point of 'trademark dilution' and infringement. The outlet reported that Justin's management team allegedly rejected the 'cease and desist letter,' with the argument that his logo and merch 'did not infringe' on the group's trademark. The band did not respond to Rolling Stone magazines request for comment, citing pending legal action. The band Justice is made of up Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay; the French electronic duo originated in 2003. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. military is focusing on identifying extremist organizations in the United States that are trying to recruit members from within the armed forces. A top official compared the recruitment effort to that undertaken by international terrorist groups trying to lure the support of servicemembers. Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramon Colon-Lopez said Thursday that the Defense Department is talking with federal law enforcement agencies as they develop databases on domestic extremists groups, in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Military leaders are intent on developing training for troops that makes clear they should not get involved with such groups. We do know that our force is being made aware of those organizations that are out there that are actively recruiting people, said Colon-Lopez. And we need to make sure that they stand clear from them. Its not good for the department and its not good for the image of the military. The military has long been aware of small numbers of white supremacists and other extremists in its ranks. But Pentagon leaders launched an all-out effort to root out extremism in the force after it became clear that a significant number of military veterans and some current military members were present at the January insurrection in Washington, D.C. More than 300 people have been charged so far in the riot that resulted in the deaths of five people, and at least 100 more are expected to be charged. Of those, as many as 33 individuals had military backgrounds, including 31 veterans and a member of the National Guard and a member of the Army Reserves, according to the Program on Extremism, which is based at George Washington University. Speaking to a small number of reporters at the Pentagon, Colon-Lopez said he is not aware of any specific coordination that has started between the Defense Department and law enforcement. But, he added, theres communication going back and forth, especially in light of 6 January, about who do we need to pay attention to and so on. Story continues He said the Pentagon has to take the threat seriously, noting that the Islamic State and other terror groups in the Middle East used social media to recruit followers. We've seen this movie play before, he said. They were geniuses about making sure that they target certain populations to go ahead and get that membership. A recent Pentagon report noted that members of the military are highly prized by these groups as they bring legitimacy to their causes and enhance their ability to carry out attacks. In early February, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed commanders and supervisors at every level of the military to conduct a one-day stand down a pause in normal business by early April to discuss extremism in the ranks. As the discussions have gone on, Colon-Lopez said troops have expressed confusion about various groups and questioned why those involved at the Capitol are different than those involved in the racial protests in Seattle, for example, in the wake of the death of George Floyd. He said young troops particularly question, why is it that youre looking at this group but youre not looking at this group? His response, he said, is that it's not about a particular group, it's about the behavior. The answer for us is pretty simple, regardless whether theyre far right or left, if its an organization that is actually imposing harm, threat, destruction, criminal activity and so on, then we dont condone that kind of behavior, said Colon-Lopez. He said one goal of the stand-down is to make sure service members know that their military oath requires that they remain apolitical and be good stewards of society. And, as time goes on, he said that with more education, service members will identify and report extremist activities and comments more frequently. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, represented by Minister Vladyslav Krykliy, and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania, represented by Minister Marius Skuodis, have agreed to cooperate in the development of passenger and freight rail transportation, as well as in the development of digital solutions for the exchange of permits for international road transportation. The signing of the agreements took place within the framework of the official visit of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda to Ukraine, according to the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. "Increasing the volume of container traffic and further liberalization of bilateral and transit road transportation are among our key priorities for cooperation. I am glad to welcome the signing of relevant agreements that will significantly expand and consolidate this cooperation," Krykliy said. According to him, this will contribute to a further increase in the volume of container freight traffic by the combined transport trains Viking and Containerships Train, as well as to increase competition in the transportation of goods by the North-South transport corridor. In addition, cooperation between the two countries in the development of digital solutions for the exchange of permits for international road transportation will make it possible to analyze the legal and technological possibilities of obtaining such permits in an electronic format. HELSINKI (AP) Finlands domestic security agency said Thursday that the cybergroup APT31, which is generally linked to the Chinese government, was likely behind a cyberspying attack on the information systems of the Nordic countrys parliament. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, known by the abbreviation Supo, said it had identified a cyber espionage operation targeted in 2020 against parliament with the aim of intruding into parliaments IT systems. The agency added that according to Supo intelligence, APT31 was responsible for the attack. It didnt mention China by name or the groups alleged links to the government in Beijing. The statement posted also on the agency's Twitter site in English. Finlands National Bureau of Investigation, NBI, said late December that it had started an investigation into suspected gross hacking and espionage attacks on the information systems of Eduskunta, the Finnish legislature. Among other things, some lawmakers' email accounts were compromised. Parliament has since upgraded the systems' security features. NBIs Tero Muurman, who is in charge of the investigation, said Thursday his agency was probing further Supos allegation of APT31s involvement. He said the breach likely aimed to acquire information for the benefit of a foreign nation or to harm Finland. FireEye, one of the worlds major cybersecurity firms, and other data security firms have linked APT31 to the Chinese government or operations conducted on its orders. APT is an abbreviation for advanced persistent threat, a general term to describe an attack in which an intruder or intruders establishes an illicit and usually long-term presence on a network to acquire highly sensitive data. Earlier this month, Supo said that the intelligence services of foreign powers have expanded their cyber espionage operations in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic through either directly targeting Finnish organizations or using Finnish infrastructure. Story continues The agency has earlier named China and Russia as being the most active countries spying on Finland. Arctic issues is an area of particular interest to China in the Nordic countries. The Finnish public broadcaster YLE reported earlier March that the state-funded Polar Research Institute of China attempted in 2018 to buy or lease an airport near the small northern town of Kemijarvi in the Lapland area, Finlands Arctic region, for research flights over the North Pole and other Arctic regions. The Finnish military, however, blocked the deal on security concerns. as the airport is close to a military area. The parliament of Norway, Finlands Nordic neighbor, was hit by a cyberattack last year that the countrys domestic security agency said was probably done by the hacking group APT28, which has been linked to Russias GRU military intelligence agency. Frankfort, KY (40601) Today Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 64F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 64F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. In making the case against a union at its warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., Amazon has touted its compensation package. The company notes that base pay at the facility, around $15.50 an hour for most rank-and-file workers, is more than twice the local minimum wage, and that it offers comprehensive health insurance and retirement benefits. But to many of Amazons Bessemer employees, who are voting this month on whether to unionize, the claims to generosity can ring hollow alongside the demands of the job and local wage rates. The most recent figure for the median wage in greater Birmingham, a metropolitan area of roughly one million people that includes Bessemer, was nearly $3 above Amazons pay there, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you go into certain rural areas in the South, where wages are suppressed and theres no industry, that may seem attractive, said Joshua Brewer of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, who is the campaigns lead organizer. For our folks here in Bessemer and Birmingham, its barely enough to keep the lights on. To tote it in front of them like its something to be prized is mildly offensive. It is common for employers facing a union vote to emphasize the generosity of their wages and to suggest that workers could be worse off if they unionize. But the message takes on added resonance in the South, where incomes are lower and jobs with good pay can be harder to find. As a result, organizers say, employers and their surrogates in the region often use such tactics more aggressively. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 16:20:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has strongly condemned Monday's attack by unidentified gunmen in the Tillaberi region of Niger that left at least 58 civilians dead. "Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attacks in Tillaberi region of the Republic of Niger that resulted in loss of so many precious lives. The government and people of Pakistan extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," a Foreign Ministry statement said on Thursday. In the statement, Pakistan reiterated its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations and reaffirmed its support and solidarity with the government and people of Niger. Unidentified gunmen attacked villagers returning from market day in the volatile western Nigerien region that borders Mali, killing at least 58 people. In early January in the same region, armed groups massacred at least 100 villagers. Enditem Although her family, including four adult children and eight grandchildren, had been eager for her to retire, they understood when she postponed her plans. After all, some of them also are essential workers a nurse, a sheriff. Her husband, who watches their grandchildren and was eager to have them all together throughout the day, was ready for her to retire. But he supported her decision to stay. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 03:26:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon registered on Thursday 3,757 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 430,734, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus in Lebanon went up by 73 to 5,609. The tally of recoveries from the virus in the country climbed by 2,642 to 337,975. Lebanon has so far vaccinated over 100,000 people with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and it is expected to receive 92,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine next week. Moreover, Malia Group's Chairman Jacque Sarraf announced on Thursday that his company has imported 1 million jabs of Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which will arrive soon in the country to speed up the vaccination process in Lebanon. Enditem Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The World Health Organization on Thursday renewed a call for countries to continue the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, shortly before expected assessments by EU and UN agencies. The call came as several European countries have halted the use of the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company's vaccine over reports of blood clots related to the vaccine. The WHO's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) created in 1999 to address safety issues related to vaccines of potential global importanceis due to publish the conclusions of its assessment of the safety of AstraZeneca's vaccine on Friday. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is also expected to announce its decision on the continued use of the vaccine on Thursday. But as of now, "the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh its risks and its use should continue, to save lives," the WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told a press conference. "In vaccination campaigns, it is routine to signal potential adverse events. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to the vaccination," Kluge said, repeating calls from the WHO to continue the use of the vaccine while the issue is investigated. "As of now, we do not know whether some or all of the conditions have been caused by the vaccine or by other coincidental factors. WHO is assessing the latest safety data, and once completed, the findings will be made public," Kluge said. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP (Photo : Renu Bio's OsolumioTM is Latest Breakthrough Innovation in Bacteria and Virus Killing) Vancouver, BC: March 7, 2021 - Vancouver health care company Renu Bio Life Ltd. is to launch the world's first portable non-UV device for the home that can kill up to 99.9% of bacteria & viruses on surfaces and in the air. OsolumioTM - the latest breakthrough in sanitation technology - utilizes certified Fusion Light Technology, a perfect replacement solution for commonly found hand sanitizers and UV-C sanitation lights which can cause multiple issues, such as skin irritation. Environmentally-friendly and sustainable thanks to its long-lasting and energy-efficient LED modules, Fusion Light Technology possesses germicidal effects without the side-effects of conventional disinfectants. Entirely safe for family and pets, OsolumioTM has dual lighting modes - sterilization and regular light - and can be used anywhere and everywhere in the home as it comes with mounting holders, enabling the user to power the device via a micro USB port using a portable battery pack or an AC adapter. The technology has been certified by multiple national institutions, such as UL Certification, IC Certification, FCC Certification, and KC Standard. It was proven by Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR) to be effective against Coronavirus 229E and many other common bacteria found in daily life. Renu Bio Life Ltd. said OsolumioTM would be available in three sizes, so users can conveniently install and use the light. Beta tester Sheryl Tripp confirmed: "I want to recommend this to my family and friends because it's way safer than other products. It works well and easy to use! I love it!" The company is launching a crowdfunding campaign Tuesday, March 23. This is to encourage early backers to take advantage of a special promotion, with various perks and specials on a first-come, first-serve basis, including special pricing, prior to official launch. Website: www.osolumio.com For the original news story, please visit https://www.prdistribution.com/news/osolumio-launch-lights-personal-sanitation-innovation-for-the-home-2.html 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court has received new lawsuits to appeal against presidential decree No. 64/2021 on the imposition of sanctions against MP of Ukraine from the Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk, the Supreme Court said. "The Administrative Court of Cassation within the Supreme Court has received new statements of claim, which are appealing against presidential decree No. 64/2021 dated February 19, 2021," the Supreme Court said in a statement. Thus, according to the court's information, on March 17, a lawsuit was filed, which appealed against the third clause of the first Appendix to the NSDC decision enacted by this decree, which imposed sanctions against the plaintiff, a citizen of Ukraine Natalia Lavreniuk. "On March 16, 2021, a claim was filed to appeal against the fifth clause of the first Appendix to the NSDC decision, in accordance with which sanctions were applied to the plaintiff, citizen of Ukraine Oksana Marchenko," the Supreme Court said in the statement. According to the court, on March 15, the Cassation Court received a claim to appeal against the first clause of the second Appendix to the NSDC decision, in accordance with which sanctions were imposed to the plaintiff of the EVIRER LTD international commercial company (UAE). "On March 16, by the decision of the Supreme Court, proceedings were opened [...] on this claim. The case is scheduled for consideration in court session on April 7, 2021 at 09:30," the Supreme Court said in the statement. TORONTO - David Lobo has been named interim president and chief executive of Ontario's cannabis distributor. David Lobo, director of corporate affairs, policy and partnerships at Ontario Cannabis Store, is photographed during a product briefing in Toronto on Friday, January 3, 2020. The president and chief executive of Ontario's cannabis regulator, Thomas Haig, is stepping down this month. Lobo will take over Haig's role on an interim basis beginning March 24. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin TORONTO - David Lobo has been named interim president and chief executive of Ontario's cannabis distributor. Lobo has been with the Ontario Cannabis Store since its inception and most recently served as its chief merchandising officer. The OCS says he will replace Thomas Haig, who will leave his interim leadership position when his contract expires on March 23. Lobo will takeover the job on an interim basis beginning March 24. The OCS says in a release that it will begin a search for a new president and chief executive while Lobo leads the organization. The OCS has had at least six interim or non-interim presidents since it was founded ahead of Canada's 2018 move to legalize recreational cannabis. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. A New York nursing home administrator has revealed staff were 'petrified' at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's order to send Covid patients to care facilities rather than hospitals last March. Michael Kraus from Staten Island said he raised his concerns but they were 'shot down' by state officials. Thousands of people have died in New York state nursing homes and long-term care facilities from the virus and many have blamed the high toll on Cuomo's order, which was rescinded in May 2020. Michael Kraus has revealed nursing home staff were 'petrified' at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's order to send Covid patients to care facilities Kraus told Fox News: 'Many facilities vocalized it. They were petrified, but they were more petrified of the Department of Health. 'We can't be doing this, it's just not right for the residents. 'I did vocalize it but once it was shot down, I never spoke again.' In March last year, Governor Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept Covid-19 patients into their facilities, despite many struggling with staffing issues and large numbers of Covid cases. Critics say the order forced vulnerable patients into a virus hotbed, causing the deaths of at least 15,000 people. But as recently as January, the state reported only 8,500 deaths amid accusations of a cover-up. Thousands of people have died in New York state nursing homes and long-term care facilities from the virus and many have blamed the high toll on Cuomo's order The numbers, while accounted for in the full state death totals to the state, were not ascribed to nursing homes for residents who died in hospitals rather than within the facilities. Cuomo claimed that 98 percent of the care homes already had COVID-19 in their buildings before the sick patients were sent back there - and that he was not responsible. But recent study claimed that Cuomo's nursing home policy may have led to the deaths of 1,000 vulnerable people from COVID-19. Cuomo and his administration are in increasingly hot water for allegedly hiding the amount of nursing home deaths early in the pandemic, and a study by the Empire Center for Public Policy validates the concerns around the numbers reported. In the study, which was obtained by the New York Post, Cuomo's original strategy that told nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients from the hospital is linked to 'several hundred and possibly more than 1,000' deaths. The study said: 'The findings contradict a central conclusion of the state Department of Health's July 6 report on coronavirus in nursing homes, which said, among other things: 'Admission policies were not a significant factor in nursing home fatalities,' and 'the data do not show a consistent relationship between admissions and increased mortality.'' Mike Lawler, a Republican assemblyman representing Rockland County, is among those calling for Cuomo to resign. 'Its very clear the Cuomo admin understood their March 25th order had contributed to the death toll & they wanted to cover it up to avoid political fallout, plain and simple,' he tweeted. 'They had the data & they hid it. This was a coordinated criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice.' Cuomo reversed his order on May 10 and insisted on a negative COVID test before return to a nursing home - but by that point, more than 9,000 people had returned to nursing homes. He insists that he was following federal guidelines. His health department say that the vast number of COVID outbreaks in nursing homes were traced back to members of staff, rather than returning residents. Anna Ruch (left) and Ana Liss have both accused Cuomo of inappropriate sexual behavior Karen Hinton (left), a press aide, and Jessica Bakeman accused Cuomo of inappropriate actions Top aide to Cuomo Melissa DeRosa admitted recently that the administration was hiding the numbers of nursing home deaths. There have been calls for Cuomo to resign or be prosecuted. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez called for a 'full investigation' into Cuomo's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes. 'I support our state's return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19,' she said in a statement. 'Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic. Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governor's remarks warrant a full investigation.' Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, came out in December with allegations against him she further detailed her experience in a February post to Medium Charlotte Bennett, 25, accused Cuomo of propositioning her in his office in June The FBI and US Attorney's Office have begun investigations into Cuomo's handling of the nursing home deaths and any potential cover-up. A majority of New Yorkers claimed in a recent survey that Cuomo did not do a good job handling the nursing home crisis. The concerns come amid a separate scandal for the embattled governor over allegations of sexual harassment and calls for resignation. Cuomo has denied all the misconduct allegations against him but promised to cooperate with an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Following heated social media discourse, San Antonio restaurant owner Lisa Wong was granted the green light by the Historic and Design Review Commission to build a new location of Rosario's in Southtown. The restaurant will demolish parts of El Mirador, purchased by Wong in 2018, but preserve a small kiva room inside the structure, along with the King William Garden House. The HDRC had previously given Wong conceptual approval in an earlier meeting. During the March 3 meeting of the commission, neighbor restaurateur and Acenar business partner Peter Selig, objected to the new design. Selig, who represented his team with Maverick Texas Brasserie in the meeting, called to attention the new building's 20-foot wall that would sit 6-inches from Maverick's inset patio on the north side of the property line. RELATED: Petition launched to stop Rosario's new Southtown location. Here's some background. A petition was launched previous to Selig's objection, and San Antonians were asked to call and write in support of Maverick and "save" their patio. In total, more than 2,000 signatures were collected. HDRC also shared that a total of 600 calls were made regarding the new Rosario's, with 375 in support and 217 opposing; along with 20 support letters and four general comments on the matter. Public comments were heard from Selig, artist Andy Benavides and Lavaca Neighborhood Association's Cherise Rohr-Allegrini. "We're advocating for the neighborhood as a whole, not just one person," Selig said. For her part, Lisa Wong pointed to Rosario's success in the neighborhood. "The neighborhood has been a major part of the success of the restaurant. When I started the plans, never in my wildest thoughts would I think Id been in the center of a social media war," Wong said. In a call earlier this week with MySA.com, Wong pointed to meetings she initiated as part of the design process with members of the King William Association, the Conservation Society, the office of Historic Preservation and the Lavaca Neighborhood Association, which the restaurant is in. She also pointed to stipulations placed by the HDRC during the conceptual approval process, which Wong and Douglas Architects have resolved. The commission voted to approve Wong's design, with six of the eight commissioners present voting for the project. In his commentary, commissioner Scott Carpenter pointed to Maverick's Hail Mary approach to the issue saying, "This comment is coming way too late in the process for me to have a great deal of sympathy for it. [The project] has gone through a conceptual approval process...There's plenty of examples of tight urban courtyards that can be delightful....I don't think it's a reasonable request to make at this time." Commissioner Anne Marie Grube also echoed Carpenter's sentiments, but noted how the hot topic resonated with many. "This had more controversy than the Alamo. I've never seen a petition done for this type of process," she said. Commissioners J. Maurice Gibbs and Curtis Fish were the only dissenters. In a statement following the approval, Wong shared her excitement for the progress. "We are happy that the Historic and Design Review Commission has approved the architectural design plans for the build of Rosarios permanent home in Southtown. The Rosarios Southtown location will pay homage to the historic elements of the site and incorporates guests new dining needs within the fabric of the distinctive neighborhood. The designs address the historic features of the property in a sensitive way that preserves its history and beauty for years to come. The new restaurant will also include expanded guest experience options with indoor and outdoor dining areas, a rooftop terrace, various court spaces, and niches within the development that provide flexible gathering spaces. I have worked to be a good neighbor and employer in Southtown for almost three decades and will continue to respect local neighbors, businesses, and long-time guests with the new location." During her comments to the commission, Wong did stress one thing. "The point is that Rosario's and Lisa Wong should be pulled out of it. If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else, developers out of California that could afford a multi-level development," she said. *The story was updated to reflect support letters for Rosario. Jess Elizarraras is the managing editor for MySA.com. Send pitches, memes, story ideas to jess.elizarraras@mysa.com. Follow her at @JessElizarraras. Ex-judge Cheri Beasley to run for U.S. Senate, advisers say View Photo RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Coming off a narrow election defeat in 2020, North Carolinas first Black woman to serve as chief justice on the state Supreme Court will soon enter the 2022 U.S. Senate race, two advisers familiar with her deliberations said Thursday. Democrat Cheri Beasley, who lost her chief justice election bid by just 401 votes out of nearly 5.4 million ballots cast in the statewide contest, will be announcing her intentions to run in early April, the advisers said. Beasley will join a growing field of Democratic candidates looking to fill an open seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Beasley began considering the Senate bid after her November loss and has since assembled a small team to assess her chances. Kara Hollingsworth, a close friend of Beasleys who works as a North Carolina-based political consultant and managed Beasleys first statewide campaign in 2008, said she spoke with Beasley on the phone Wednesday. She said Beasley will declare her candidacy next month. Shes in the process of putting together a team, and I feel comfortable confirming that shes in for this race, Hollingsworth said. Conen Morgan, a Raleigh-based political consultant, said he has lent a helping hand to Beasley as a political operation develops, though he has no official paid role. He has a personal friendship with Beasley, confirmed the April timeframe and said he has spoken with Beasleys friends and family about the prospective run. Chief Justice Beasley has the intent of putting together her team in early April and she has taken the necessary time to assess the landscape and looks forward toward the opportunity to better serve the people of North Carolina, Morgan said. The news of Beasleys planned entry was first reported by the Raleigh News & Observer on Thursday afternoon, though other outlets have previously noted her interest in a possible run. Beasley will enter the race with a clear advantage, having been the only contender ever elected to statewide office. Beasley won an appellate court race in 2008, was appointed as an associate justice to the state Supreme Court in 2012 and retained that seat after a successful 2014 election. Gov. Roy Cooper named her as chief justice in 2019. Irene Godinez, founder and executive director of Poder North Carolina Action, works to elect Latinx leaders and individuals who will will support racial minorities, gay rights and access to abortions. State and federal campaign finance filings show the group spent more than $372,000 in the previous election cycle in support of Democrats, including Beasley, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden and unsuccessful Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham. Godinez plans to support Beasleys candidacy and believes the former chief justice will have a financial and competitive edge over the Democrats shes looking to beat. Shes already proven to North Carolinians that she is guided by her values and convictions of equity, Godinez said. When I think of the role that she held previously, she won that statewide race, and last time, got super close to winning. Shes clearly a really proficient fundraiser. Just two Black women have ever served in the U.S. Senate. With California Sen. Kamala Harriss departure from the chamber to become Bidens vice president, there are currently no Black women senators. Former state Sen. Erica Smith has entered the 2022 Democratic primary and is also looking to change that. Joan Higginbotham, the third Black woman to go into space, is considering entering the race. A group that works to support candidates with science, technology, engineering and math backgrounds is pushing her to run. State Sen. Jeff Jackson and virologist Richard Watkins are also seeking the Democratic nomination. Former GOP Congressman Mark Walker is the only declared candidate presently competing for the Republican nomination. Lara Trump, former President Donald Trumps daughter-in-law, is mulling a run, and former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has previously expressed interest in filling Burrs seat. ___ Follow Anderson on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BryanRAnderson. ___ Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. A new MIT study claims that the coronavirus is vulnerable to the vibrations generated by ultrasound. The researchers explained that the virus could be neutralized using the frequencies of ultrasound vibrations, which are usually used in medical diagnostic imaging. According to SciTech Daily's latest report, the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Department of Mechanical Engineering's researchers was able to develop computer simulations and modeled the virus's mechanical response to vibrations across a range of ultrasound frequencies. To give you more idea, here's what the medical experts discovered. How effective is ultrasound against COVID-19? Technology Networks stated the vibrations between 25 and 100 megahertz triggered the spikes and shell of coronavirus. These vibrations caused them to collapse and start to rupture in less than a second. MIT researchers also explained that this effect was seen on the viruses that are in the air and water. However, the study's results are still in preliminary progress and based on limited data. This means that the collapsing spikes and shell of COVID-19 still don't have strong proof. Also Read: Pfizer vs Moderna: Comparing Two COVID-19 Vaccines from Side Effects to Storage Requirements Although this is the case, medical experts claimed that their finding is a first hint that an ultrasound-based COVID-19 treatment could be possible in the future. If this is true, this innovation could help fight the pandemic alongside vaccines. "We've proven that under ultrasound excitation the coronavirus shell and spikes will vibrate, and the amplitude of that vibration will be very large, producing strains that could break certain parts of the virus, doing visible damage to the outer shell and possibly invisible damage to the RNA inside," said MIT professor Tomasz Wierzbicki, via SciTech Daily. How MIT researchers came up with the idea MIT researchers explained they set out to simulate COVID-19's mechanical response to ultrasound vibrations by using simple concepts of physics and mechanics of solids to construct a computation and geometrical model of the virus's structure. They also used previous studies to map out the general structure of COVID-19. Right now, there is no confirmation yet if the new ultrasound treatment would be a possibility. For more news updates about coronavirus innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: COVID-19: Europe's AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine Suspension Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Giuliano de Leon 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Reinfection with COVID-19 in people who've already had the illness is very rare, and most people are protected against reinfection for at least six months, a new report finds. However, immunity appears to drop sharply in those aged 65 and older, researchers found. Reporting Wednesday in The Lancet, a team of Danish scientists looked at reinfection rates among 4 million people during the second surge of COVID-19from September through Dec. 31and compared this to infection rates during the first surge between March and May. Of the 11,068 people who tested positive during the first surge, only 72 tested positive again during the second. But age mattered. The older age group had only about 47% protection against repeat infection, compared to younger people who seemed to have about 80% protection from reinfection, the team discovered. Less than 1% of those under 65 were reinfected, while 3.6% of people 65 and older suffered a second bout of COVID-19. The finding does not come as a complete surprise, since people's immune systems weaken as they age. "Given what is at stake, the results emphasize how important it is that people adhere to measures implemented to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had COVID-19," study co-author Dr. Steen Ethelberg, of the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, said in a journal news release. "The take away is that the elderly must continue to practice mitigation measures such as wearing masks and social distancingalong with getting vaccinatedeven if they have been previously diagnosed with COVID-19," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician who's cared for many patients with the illness "Rapid vaccination is our single best weapon against the continued spread of COVID-19," said Glatter, who practices at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Amesh Adalja is an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore. He said that second bouts of COVID-19 might not turn out to be as severe as a first encounter, at least. "We've known that with other coronaviruses, reinfection is common after a several months-long period of timewhich appears to be the case with SARS-CoV-2 as welland they are are generally mild," he said. "It is important to know what severity of clinical symptoms and level of contagiousness these rare re-infections are associated with." In a commentary that accompanied the study, immunologists Dr. Rosemary Boyton and Daniel Altmann, of Imperial College London, called the variation in reinfection rates "relatively alarming." "Only 80% protection from reinfection in general, decreasing to 47% in people aged 65 years and older, are more concerning figures than offered by previous studies," they wrote."These data are all confirmation, if it were needed, that for SARS-CoV-2 the hope of protective immunity through natural infections might not be within our reach and a global vaccination program with high-efficacy vaccines is the enduring solution." Edwards noted that, "There's a reason why people over 60 have to get extra vaccines to boost their immunity to various infections, because we know that the immune system starts waning in later life." One reassuring thing about the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna is that the vaccines do seem to overcome some of the immunity concerns among older people because they produce such robust protection. A limitation of the study is that it looked at infections before there were a lot of the variants in circulation, so it's unclear what impact that could have on future reinfection rates. That's something scientists will have to look at going forward. "With the rise of variants, especially B117, which is not only more infectious but deadly, we must continue to vaccinate as fast as possible in order to prevent them from becoming dominant," Glatter said. States expand COVID vaccine eligibility States are rapidly expanding eligibility for coronavirus vaccines as they race to meet President Joe Biden's deadline to have shots for all American adults by May 1. At the beginning of the vaccine rollout, COVID-19 vaccines were available only to the most vulnerable Americans and some essential workers. Now, three statesMaine, Virginia and Wisconsinalong with Washington, D.C., have said they will open eligibility to their general population by May 1, The New York Times reported. At least six other statesincluding Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Utahhope to do so this month or next. Meanwhile, anyone aged 16 or older can now get a vaccine In Mississippi and Alaska, while Arizona and Michigan have made the vaccines available to all adults in some counties, the Times reported. With three coronavirus vaccines now in use, Biden has set a lofty goal that many states intend to reach. Several have already been expanding eligibility for vaccinations. In Ohio, vaccines will open to anyone 40 and up as of Friday, and to more residents with certain medical conditions, the Times reported. Indiana extended access to people 45 and older, effective immediately. Coloradans age 50 and up will be eligible for a shot on Friday, along with anyone 16 years and older with certain medical conditions, the Times reported. And Wisconsin said on Tuesday that residents aged 16 and up with certain medical conditions would be eligible a week earlier than initially planned. On Monday, Texans age 50 and older and Georgians over 55 became eligible for vaccines. In New York, residents aged 60 and older are eligible to receive a vaccine, and more frontline workers will become eligible on Wednesday, including government employees, building services workers and employees of nonprofit groups. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to announce how or when the state will open eligibility to all adults. Since vaccinations began in December, the federal government has delivered more than 147.6 million vaccine doses to states and territories, and more than 77 percent have been administered, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country is averaging about 2.4 million shots a day, compared with well under 1 million a day in January, the Times said. As of Thursday, 65.4 percent of the country's seniors had received at least one vaccine dose, with 37.6 percent fully vaccinated. At the same time, coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations are significantly down from the peak levels reported in January, the Times reported. But progress has slowed noticeably since the beginning of March, with continued drops in some states offset by persistent outbreaks in other parts of the country, especially the Northeast. Biden weighs national face mask standard for workplaces The Biden Administration is deliberating on a nationwide face mask standard for workplaces, although it has already missed its own deadline for a decision. On Jan. 21, Biden told the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to determine by March 15, if such a standard is needed, CBS News reported. An emergency temporary standard on face masks in the workplace is expected to be issued soon, but the analysis has not yet been completed, three people familiar with the process told CBS News.The nationwide temporary standard for face masks in the workplace would impact millions of workers and would likely last six months. Public health and workplace safety experts told CBS News the emergency temporary standard could provide valuable social distancing advice for workers and safety guidance for face masks, since they vary in their protective abilities. OSHA workplace standards typically take years to implement, so an emergency temporary standard has sometimes been used to counter "grave dangers" facing workers, CBS News reported. The last time an emergency standard was used was in 1983 to limit asbestos exposure in the workplace, according to the Congressional Research Service. The rule was eventually struck down in court. Without a nationwide standard so far during the pandemic, several states have enacted their own standards, CBS News reported. Dr. David Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labor for OSHA who served on Biden's presidential transition team, explained to CBS News the technical aspects of any emergency temporary standard must be balanced with the urgent need to protect workers from the spread of COVID-19. "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been working diligently, as appropriate, to consider what standards may be necessary, and is taking the time to get this right," a Labor Department spokesperson told CBS News on Monday. This official did not offer any timeline for their decision. A global scourge By Thursday, the U.S. coronavirus case count passed 29.6 million while the death toll passed 537,000, according to a Times tally. On Thursday, the top five states for coronavirus infections were: California with over 3.6 million cases; Texas with more than 2.7 million cases; Florida with nearly 2 million cases; New York with more than 1.7 million cases; and Illinois with over 1.2 million cases. Curbing the spread of the coronavirus in the rest of the world remains challenging. In Brazil, the coronavirus case count was nearly 11.7 million by Thursday, with nearly 283,000 deaths, a Johns Hopkins University tally showed. India had nearly 11.5 million cases and over 159,000 deaths as of Thursday, the Hopkins tally showed. Worldwide, the number of reported infections passed 121 million on Thursday, with nearly 2.7 million deaths recorded, according to the Hopkins tally. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak More information: Christian Holm Hansen et al, Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study, The Lancet (2021). Journal information: The Lancet Christian Holm Hansen et al, Assessment of protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 among 4 million PCR-tested individuals in Denmark in 2020: a population-level observational study,(2021). dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00575-4 Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Spout Copper Deposit Resource Updated Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - David H. Brett, President & CEO, EnGold Mines Ltd., (TSXV: EGM) ("EnGold" or the "Company") reports that the Company has received mineral resource estimates from SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK") for the G1 Copper Deposit ("G1") and the Spout Copper Deposit ("Spout") located on the Company's 100% owned Lac La Hache Property in the Cariboo region of BC. The maiden G1 inferred resource estimate consists of 1.71 million tonnes grading 1.65% CuEq containing 21,400 tonnes of Copper (47,178,440 pounds), 354,400 ounces of Silver, 10,200 ounces of Gold and 529,100 tonnes of Magnetite. At Spout, the mineral resource estimate includes a potentially open-pitable indicated mineral resource of 6.5 million tonnes grading 0.48% CuEq and an inferred mineral resource of 7.66 million tonnes grading 0.39% CuEq, containing 21,000 and 20,400 tonnes of Copper respectively (46,296,600 pounds Cu & 44,973,840 pounds Cu respectively). Also at Spout, an additional 390,000 tonnes of inferred mineral resources grading 1.19% CuEq is included with potential for underground mining extraction. Please see the images, data table and notes below for full results including cutoff grades and other important assumptions. "With copper prices on the rise recently, these resource calculations are a significant step forward for EnGold," said EnGold President & CEO David Brett. "In addition to the replacement-style copper mineralization at G1 & Spout, which we hope to expand, Lac La Hache also hosts significant porphyry copper/gold potential." Deposit Category Mt Tonnes Grade Metal Content CuEq Cu Ag Au Mgt Cu Ag Au Mgt % % g/t g/t % 000's t 000's oz 000's oz 000's t Spout (OP) Indicated 6.5 0.48 0.33 1.34 0.05 11.62 21.0 277.0 10.6 749.8 Inferred 7.66 0.39 0.27 0.99 0.04 9.50 20.4 242.9 10.0 727.8 Spout (UG) Inferred 0.39 1.19 1.00 2.58 0.13 10.33 3.9 32.3 1.6 40.3 G1 (UG) Inferred 1.71 1.65 1.25 6.45 0.19 30.94 21.4 354.4 10.2 529.1 N otes: 1) Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability 2) Open pit mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.2% Cu Equivalent 3) Underground mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.7% Cu Equivalent 4) Cut-off grades are based on USD metal prices of $3.00/lb Cu, $21/oz Ag, $1600/oz Au and $87/t Magnetite, and metallurgical recoveries of 80% Cu, 45% Ag, 55% Au and 80% Magnetite Figure 1: Section view looking north shows grade shell for the maiden underground Inferred category Mineral Resource Estimate for the G1 Copper-Magnetite-Gold-Silver Zone. The resource lies within the Main Zone (upper polygon) and does not include the lower, much thinner zone shown. Similar to the Spout Deposit, the G1 Deposit is formed by semi-massive magnetite and chalcopyrite replacements within carbonate-rich sedimentary strata within the Nicola volcanosedimentary host rocks. Extensions to the G1 Deposit may exist to the northeast, east and southeast, based on 2020 drill results. The 1800 m gap lying between Spout and G1 remains largely untested. In addition, continuation of the host strata and intrusions across the Project provides potential for discovery of similar, CRD-style deposits. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2268/77693_1f2d43a104b1dafc_002full.jpg Figure 2: Section view of Spout North Zone looking north shows a conceptual open pit shell (includes Inferred and Indicated categories) and underground (Inferred category) mineral resource included in the updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Spout Deposit. Although significant copper grades were intersected in the lowermost mineralized zone (for example, DDH SL18-181 intersected 3.3% Cu over 8 m core length), there is insufficient drilling to include that zone within the Mineral Resource. However, results suggest additional drilling is warranted to in-fill and extend the deeper mineralization at Spout North along strike and to depth, possibly offering significant resource expansion. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2268/77693_1f2d43a104b1dafc_003full.jpg "Our exploration model successfully predicted the 2017 G1 CRD discovery and indicates excellent potential for discovery of additional copper CRD deposits required to grow our resource," said EnGold VP of Exploration Rob Shives, P.Geo. "Future exploration will focus on several untested targets, on extension of existing deposits at Spout North (in-fill and deeper drilling), at G1 (to NE and SE) and the 1800 m gap between these deposits." The large porphyry copper system on the Lac La Hache Project displays many features common to porphyry copper deposits and producing mines elsewhere in the Quesnel Trough, and some additional characteristics which further enhance exploration potential. These include gold-enriched-alkalic copper bearing porphyry intrusions (hosting several copper porphyry prospects on the Property), hydrothermal breccias & quartz veins/silicification containing visible gold and copper sulphides (Aurizon Gold Deposit, new Road Gold Prospect, others) and carbonate-rich horizons within the Nicola rocks. The latter offer demonstrated potential (Spout, G1, Nemrud) to form carbonate replacement deposits (CRD) containing copper, magnetite, gold and silver. About EnGold EnGold (www.engold.ca) is focused on exploring its 100% owned mineral property located near the town of Lac La Hache in BC's prolific Cariboo mining region. EnGold's corporate philosophy rests on three interdependent pillars: Environment, Engagement and Gold. Through sound environmental stewardship, commitment to transparent engagement with local communities, the Company is dedicated to driving shareholder and stakeholder value by discovering and developing mineral resources. Rob Shives P.Geo., VP Exploration and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. Engold Mines Ltd. Per/ David Brett, MBA President & CEO Contact: David Brett, 604-682-2421 or david@engold.ca Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry and failure to obtain regulatory approval in a timely manner. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding plans to raise financing for operations, future exploration programs and operation plans and anticipated timing for completion of the next tranche of the financing. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. EnGold disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77693 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will send a letter to AstraZeneca as part of efforts to resolve a dispute with the Anglo-Swedish company over its supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to the bloc, a spokesman for the EU executive said on Thursday. The company is required under its contract with the EU to deliver 300 million doses by the end of June, but it said last week it aimed to ship only 100 million, due to production problems and export restrictions. "We plan to send a letter to AstraZeneca that will allow us to begin a dialogue with the company as part of a process to resolve the dispute," the spokesman told a news conference. He said the letter was being prepared and would be discussed with EU governments before it was sent. A second spokesman said the letter was in line with article 18.5 of the EU contract with AstraZeneca. Under that article, in case of a dispute, the two parties agreed to first try to solve the conflict through informal discussions triggered by a letter. The same article also says that Brussels courts would be responsible for settling any dispute not resolved with informal talks. Asked about whether the letter could be the beginning of a possible legal case against AstraZeneca, the Commission's chief spokesman said: "Today we are taking a specific step. We will see where that leads us." (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Giles Elgood) The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. A special police regiment in Russia's North Caucasus region has urged President Vladimir Putin "to protect" them from "defamation" by the Moscow-based independent investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta after it published a report about alleged extrajudicial killings and torture by law enforcement in the region. The regiment's personnel issued a video statement on Instagram on March 17, in which its representatives called Novaya Gazeta, which was co-founded by former President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993 and is one of the few Russian media outlets critical of the country's leadership, "a fake periodical," and its reports 'defamatory attacks." The statement also said that the regiment's members were "ready to carry our any order of the Supreme Commander." One officer says on the video that the regiment feels "compelled to have one of us take responsibility to stop the insults targeting" 16,000 law enforcement officers in Chechnya. The statement came two days after Novaya Gazeta published an interview with a former police officer of the regiment, Suleiman Gezmakhmayev, who confirmed the torture and killing by police of at least 13 Chechen men in January 2017. Earlier reports from Novaya Gazeta alleged that police in Chechnya illegally detained, tortured and killed 27 men. After Novaya Gazeta's March 15 article, Chechen Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev and Regional Information and Press Minister Akhmed Dudayev publicly called the report "a lie." On March 18, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Chechen police regiment's statement addressed to Putin was wrong as such complaints must be adjudicated by the legal system. "The president of the Russian Federation is not a judicial organ, cannot make judicial decisions, and cannot accept complaints against the newspaper's editors," Peskov said. Rights groups and critics have long accused the Kremlin-backed authoritarian leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his paramilitary forces of serious rights abuses, including the widespread use of kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial murders. With reporting by TASS and Interfax New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh on Monday will witness maiden run of the Lucknow Metro on the occasion of Teachers Day. It will be flagged off by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Union Minister, who represents the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat, will flag off the first train, whereas the Chief Minister will do so from the Transport Nagar metro station. However, it will be available for public services from September 6. The part 1 of the project, which is 8.5-km-long will cover Transport Nagar to Charbagh. It will be operational for the public from 6 am to 10 pm everyday. Earlier, the trail run on the same stretch was flagged off by former CM Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Yadav in December 2016. ALSO READ: Delhi Metro loses 50 lakh passengers after May fare hike However, the Union home ministers presence at the event is a strong signal from the BJP that it was the Narendra Modi government at the Centre which contributed the bulk of the funds to the project. The BJP continuously attacked the Akhilesh government during the assembly election campaign for not running metro trains in the city. As the matter got embroiled in politics, Akhilesh had shot back saying it was due to the delay in obtaining clearance from the commissioner, Metro Railway Safety, and had blamed the Centre for it. The clearance finally came through recently, paving the way for commercial operations to begin. The Centre had recently cleared a new Metro Rail Policy too, mandating private investment in such projects, in order to speed up future metro projects. BSP leader Mayawati had criticised the policy. (With PTI inputs) ALSO READ: Nine cities to get additional 313 km on metro rail connectivity by March 2019 "I am looking forward to serving as Chairman of Xometry," Hornig said. "It is the capstone of my career to help Xometry grow from inception to the unique custom, on demand manufacturing platform it is today. Given the $260 billion size of the addressable global market, Xometry has a tremendous opportunity to continue its growth, including the introduction of additional services like cash flow financing and supplies. Moreover, Xometry's thousands of manufacturing partners are largely small manufacturing businesses, so it makes me proud to be part of a company that helps these companies thrive." "George has been an outstanding Director and advisor to Xometry since our founding," said Randy Altschuler, Xometry's CEO. "His guidance has helped Xometry become the largest marketplace for on demand manufacturing. We're thrilled for him to lead Xometry's Board as we continue to grow our business." Hornig is an experienced global financial industry executive having held leadership roles at PineBridge Investments, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Deutsche Bank, Wasserstein Perella & Company (where he was a co-founder), and The First Boston Corp. Before entering financial services, he practiced law with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom. Hornig holds an AB, MBA, and JD from Harvard University. About Xometry Xometry is the largest marketplace for on demand manufacturing, connecting customers with optimal manufacturing solutions through patented AI technology. Xometry provides on-demand manufacturing, industrial supply materials, and financing solutions to a diverse customer base, ranging from startups to small manufacturers to Fortune 100 companies. Xometry's global network of thousands of partner manufacturing facilities enables us to maintain consistently fast lead times while offering a broad array of capabilities, including CNC machining, 3D printing, sheet metal fabrication, injection molding, and urethane casting. Xometry's customers include BMW, Dell Technologies, General Electric, Bosch, and NASA. Additionally, Xometry offers its supplier network an array of financing solutions to improve cash flow and achieve better growth and efficiency. For more information, visit xometry.com or follow @xometry. SOURCE Xometry Related Links http://www.xometry.com 12 Shares Share I am grateful that I work in a small rural hospital that is like a family. I am grateful that my organization has done everything in its power to protect us but I hope we can do better. I hope medical workers have enough left within them to give their all for the coming months. Now we are in November with cases on the rise throughout the country: I hope we are more prepared. As the medical community, we do everything we can to protect our patients, our loved ones, and ourselves. Life in the emergency department during COVID has been some of the most emotionally and physically taxing of my career, but I remain optimistic that there is hope. Andrew Tisser is an emergency physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, Life in the emergency department during COVID: a rural physicians perspective. Did you enjoy todays episode? Please click here to leave a review for The Podcast by KevinMD. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get notified when a new episode comes out! Do you know someone who might enjoy this episode? Share this episode to anyone who wants to hear health care stories filled with information, insight, and inspiration. Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have asked the government to intervene over the future of workers facing redundancy in Limerick. Some 37 workers with disabilities are to be let go from its facility in the Raheen Industrial Estate, after the company was hit by the global Covid-19 pandemic. But there have been concerns raised at the level of redundancy these staff members could receive. Siptu organiser Jim Fuery said: Siptu members and their families are deeply concerned about the impact the threat of redundancy is having on workers in Rehab Enterprises, Limerick, many of whom have challenging disabilities. Siptu and ICTU have jointly written to the government about our concerns and we await a response from the Tanaiste and Minister for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar. The workers and their families are seeking continuity of their employment at Rehab Enterprises, Raheen, Limerick as their preferred outcome from any talks on their future. Union representatives will attend a Workplace Relations Commission conciliation conference on March 22, in relation to the situation and is calling Rehab to ensure employment continues until the matters arising from the threat of redundancies are resolved. Mr Fuery said these matters include the prospect of continuity of employment and/or redundancy entitlements as outlined in the collective agreement which Siptu members have with the firm. We also expect that management will act in accordance with the States dispute resolution procedures. We are asking the Minister to ensure that our members continue in employment until all matters relating to this situation have been processed, including a review of employment options, he concluded. [March 18, 2021] GENETWORx Pooled Testing Program Scaling to 60 Million COVID Tests per Month Enabling K-12 Schools to Re-Open Immediately GLEN ALLEN, Va., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today GENETWORx, a national diagnostic molecular laboratory headquartered in Glen Allen, VA, announced the launch of a COVID-19 pooled testing program specifically aimed at helping millions of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade return to the classroom for in-person learning. GENETWORx stated that it has capacity to perform COVID-19 tests on millions of schoolchildren each day and up to 60 million tests a month with its K-12 testing program. Risk is not an option anymore and with our cost-effective K-12 testing programs, schools have ability and data to help keep students and teachers safe. The pooled COVID-19 testing program offered by GENETWORx provides a comprehensive managed platform to take the pressure off school districts as they reopen. The company, which specializes in COVID-19, infectious disease, and pharmacogenomic testing, has extensive expertise and success in school testing programs nationwide at the college and university level as well as with assisted living facilities, state and emergency management organizations, and businesses. Pooled testing provides school and public health officials with a surveillance detection system for the presence of the COVID-19 virus in large student populations at a significantly reduced cost. With pooled testing, individual swabs or samples are "pooled" together and run as one sample test at the lab. Unless a positive test occurs in the "pool," individual tests are not performed thus lowering costs for schools. The GENETWORx pooled testing solution is unique in that school districts and businesses also have the option of collecting a second sample at the same time in case the "pool" contains a positive test result. The second swab allows for a timely read of individual results when needed. For more information, visit schooltesting.genetworx.com. "Pooled testing works like an insurance policy for schools and parents," said Matthew J. Beckman, Ph.D., GENETWORx Director of Laboratory Services. "Millions of school children can be tested in smaller groups of multiswab collections or "pools" at regular intervals during the school year to help schools create "safe zones" for in person learning. In order for schools to reopen safely, they need fast, accurate, and low-cost precision testing to help prevent the spread of the virus. We created the GENETWORx K-12 testing solution specifically to assist school districts right now as they implement protocols to keep students and teachers safe while in the classroom," explained Beckman. President Biden has stated that his number one priority for education is to reopen schools. Ten billion dollars in federal funding has been allocated to school districts for a "massive expansion of testing" that would include increased use of rapid tests, expanding lab capacity to process tests faster, and aid to schools and local governments to carry out testing programs. "American children in kindergarten through twelfth grade have been among those hit the hardest by the pandemic's shutdown of normal life," said Beckman. "We are committed to assisting schools in returning these students to classrooms. Safe classrooms are possible both during the pandemic and post-pandemic with sequential testing programs that alert school officials of potential outbreaks. Risk is not an option anymore and with our cost-effective managed K-12 school testing programs, schools will have more ability and data to help keep large student populations and teachers safe," he explained. Under the K-12 school testing program, GENETWORx can work with school districts to determine the best testing approach for their populations. Self-administered testing at home for faculty and staff 18 years and older is offered using GENETWORx FDA authorized anterior nasal test kit. Test results are delivered in 24 hours from receipt at the lab. The K-12 testing program helps create "safe zones" by utilizing a software platform called Aura that is user friendly, can be accessed on phones or computers, and ties together all aspects of the testing program in an end-to-end digital management system. The Aura app provides an easy way for administrators to monitor student populations during the sequential testing process, expedite testing, and assist with verified school entry. The app also alerts schools as well as parents when a positive result occurs so that outbreaks can be minimized or prevented altogether. With GENETWORx investment during the past year in laboratory infrastructure to meet American testing needs during the pandemic, the company has significant capacity to assist school districts nationwide. It has performed over 5 million COVID-19 tests since the pandemic first began. In January,2020, alone, GENETWORx delivered nearly 1 million COVID-19 PCR test results to colleges, emergency and government organizations, physician groups, assisted living facilities, pharmacies and media chains. GENETWORx is a fully integrated CAP/CLIA certified high complexity molecular diagnostic laboratory. In addition to COVID-19 testing, the company also provides pharmacogenomic DNA genotyping and infectious disease testing. The laboratory offers an all-in-one combination influenza/COVID-19/RSV test , a PCR saliva test, and antibody testing for the COVID-19 virus. Please visit Genetworx.com for further information and follow us on Linked In . For media interviews contact: Terri C. Malenfant at tmalenfant@recoverycoa.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genetworx-pooled-testing-program-scaling-to-60-million-covid-tests-per-month-enabling-k-12-schools-to-re-open-immediately-301249931.html SOURCE GENETWORx [March 18, 2021] GoodFirms New Research Reveals 23 Integrations to Upgrade the Shopify Store - 2021 WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- These days ecommerce is trending; from budding businesses to established companies are investing massively to attract and retain customers through online portals. The Top eCommerce Development Companies are assisting several industries in building and running their online stores successfully. GoodFirms unveils 23 integrations to automate and boost the Shopify Stores Ecommerce has many platforms, but most businesses with different sizes are relying on the Shopify platform. It provides various tools and services to the sellers, allowing them to enhance and expand their business efficiently. Today, Shopify has become popular to help industries manage their multiple eCommerce stores with its powerful SEO Shopify techniques. It offers the Shopify store owners the foundation for a successful ecommerce marketing strategy. More and more businesses are powered by the Shopify platform but are in a dilemma to pick the most valuable integrations to streamline their online store. The Shopify integrations bring on several opportunities to the table. It can work wonders to transform your store, increase sales, and enhance the marketing efforts across different channels. Shopify integrations are ready to use with the click of a button. However, there are hundreds and thousands of Shopify integrations available. Thus to successfully optimize the online store, it is vital to identify excellent integrations. Therefore, to make it effortless for the Shopify store owners, GoodFirms unfolds the recent research " 23 Integrations to Optimize Your Shopify Store ''. In this study, GoodFirms has highlighted how many integrations a Shopify store needs, what kind of Shopify integrations do experts use to build, run, and maintain the online store. The several Shopify integrations are defined here for sorts of categories. It includes selling, store design, marketing, sales & conversion, order management & shipping, trust & security, finances, and dropshipping. GoodFirms surveyed 132 Shopify store owners and eCommerce experts worldwide to be familiar with the most effective and helpful Shopify integrations for the smooth running of online business. Internationally, GoodFirms.co is a leading B2B research, reviews, and ratings platform. It helps the service seekers to associate with the best partners that fits in their budget. The analyst team of GoodFirms analyzes each agency through a number of methodologies. It includes three main criteria that are Quality, Reliability, and Ability. Further, these components are subdivided into categories such as verifying past and present portfolio, years of experience in their domain area, online market penetration, and client reviews. Thus, focusing on these overall research processes GoodFirms provides a set of scores to all the firms. Hence, considering these points every service provider is listed in the catalog of top development companies, best software and other organizations from varied sectors of industries. Here at GoodFirms the businesses can select the Best Ecommerce Software to get assistance in developing, operating, marketing, and managing an online store to sell their products or services. Additionally, GoodFirms supports the various industry service providers by asking them to take part in the research process and present the projects done by them successfully. Therefore, obtain a chance to Get Listed in the catalog of top companies. Securing a place at GoodFirms will help you spread your business globally, attract customers and new prospects as well as enhance the productivity. About GoodFirms: GoodFirms is a Washington, D.C. based research firm that aligns its efforts in identifying the most prominent and efficient companies and software that delivers results to its clients. GoodFirms research is a confluence of new age consumer reference processes and conventional industry-wide review & rankings that help service seekers leap further and multiply their industry-wide value and credibility. Rachael Ray (360) 326-2243 rachael@goodfirms.co View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goodfirms-new-research-reveals-23-integrations-to-upgrade-the-shopify-store---2021-301250269.html SOURCE GoodFirms [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Haiti - Insecurity : Fantome 509 releases by force 4 police officers imprisoned at the Delmas 33 police station Wednesday on the sidelines of the Port-au-Prince demonstration, https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33264-haiti-flash-violence-vandalism-and-looting-in-port-au-prince.html more than a hundred individuals claiming to be part of the "Fantome 509" group, some hooded and heavily armed, accompanied by uniformed "police offciers" and members of the PNH unions, radical opposition activists and sympathizers, went to the Delmas 33 police station to demand the release of 4 police officers arrested, according to them unjustly, on the sidelines of a demonstration in Miragoane in January 2021. The demonstrators visibly ready for anything, issued an ultimatum for the release of their colleagues, maintaining tension for nearly an hour between the demonstrators and the police entrenched in the police station... suggesting to the media that they could become violent if they did not get their releases... They burned tires on the yard of the police station and vandalized a State vehicle Finally, armed individuals from the "Fantome 509" group, accompanied by "police officers" in uniform, broke into the police station and released their 4 colleagues without encountering any resistance from the police officers at the police station. A release applauded by protesters and many shots in the air. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33264-haiti-flash-violence-vandalism-and-looting-in-port-au-prince.html S/ HaitiLibre Customers complained of netbanking not working on the day stimulus cheques were supposed to be credited (Getty Images) Wells Fargo bank has issued an apology after its website crashed and mobile app stopped responding on Wednesday, following the huge surge of users checking whether their Covid-19 stimulus had arrived. "We apologise to our customers who may be experiencing issues with our online banking this morning," the bank said in a tweet. "This does not affect stimulus payments with a 17 March effective date which were credited to accounts today. Thanks for your patience. " After 7 hours, by around mid-afternoon, the bank in another tweet informed its customers that all services have been restored. It again said sorry. We apologise for any inconvenience today and want you to know all access to your accounts through online and mobile banking are restored, the bank said. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The US treasury department released the third round of Covid-19 stimulus cheques, worth $1,400 each, to millions of people on Wednesday, taking the total issued to more than $242bn. Another 150,000 cheques worth about $442m were sent by mail, the Treasury Department said in a statement. Last week, Joe Biden signed through a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, which aims to provide as many as 85 per cent of US households direct payments of $1,400 per person, with individuals earning less than $75,000 considered eligible for the relief. Read more: The federal government began processing and distributing the first tranche of the third-round stimulus cheques last week, but exactly when the customers would receive the money in their accounts depended on their banks policy. Several banks, including Wells Fargo, said the money would be credited to accounts by 17 March. As soon as the customers began logging in to their net banking to find out if their stimulus cheques have arrived, the site and the app couldnt take the load and crashed. Many customers took to social media to report the problem as banks got swamped with queries. Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The anger from Wells Fargo customers intensified as it became clear several other banks had successfully credited the payments to their customers. The Treasury Department said the remaining batches of payments are set to be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a cheque or debit card. The vast majority of all Economic Impact Payments will be issued by direct deposit, it said. Hong Kong: Job programmes make progress Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau today said the Future International Talent (FIT) programme and the Telecommunications Opportunities Programme (TOP) have made very good progress. The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau announced that five more international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong will join its FIT programme and are ready to provide more job opportunities for young people apart from the six existing partner chambers. The five chambers of commerce are the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong & Macao, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. In January, the bureau launched the FIT programme and TOP in collaboration with six international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) respectively to create full-time entry-level job opportunities for young people in the creative industries and telecommunications sectors. Under the two programmes, the Government provides monthly salary subsidies under the Job Creation Scheme funded by the Anti-epidemic Fund at $5,610 per fresh graduate or to-be graduate with no work experience and $10,000 for young people with no more than five years of work experience, for a maximum of 12 months. Mr Yau said: FIT and TOP provide much-needed job opportunities for our young people at this difficult time, offering them global perspectives and wider exposure through work. Thanks to the support and collaboration of the participating partner chambers and the HKFYG, the two programmes are proceeding well and making very good progress. I am delighted to have five new partner chambers on board for FIT. I am confident that their comprehensive networks and knowledge of the trade will add to the success of the programme. Currently, 92 member companies of the existing partner chambers have offered a total of 160 job and internship positions. The companies are now preparing for their recruitment exercises. For the new participating chambers, the bureau has opened a second round of applications for their member companies ending on March 31 with a view to announcing the results by mid-April and commencing recruitment thereafter. Regarding the TOP, the bureau said the smooth execution by the HKFYG and support from over ten telecommunications-related companies have created about 120 job vacancies in the telecommunications sector. Participating companies are now conducting recruitment exercises and interns are expected to commence work from April, it added. This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Louisville Metro, Ochsner Health, Penn State Health, Piedmont Healthcare and the State of California are using Salesforce technology to help manage their vaccine programs SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce, [NYSE: CRM], the global leader in CRM, today announced that more than 150 international, federal, state and local government agencies, and healthcare organizations, are using Salesforce technology for vaccine management and COVID-19 tracking. Salesforce (PRNewsFoto/salesforce.com) (PRNewsfoto/Salesforce) "As global COVID-19 vaccination campaigns accelerate, supporting the 'last mile' of the vaccination journey is a very critical step," said Dr. Ashwini Zenooz, Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce. "This is a logistical, supply chain and accessibility challenge that technology is helping to solve and so far, we've been able to help millions of people get vaccinated." Vaccine Cloud helps governments, public and private healthcare organizations, businesses, educational institutions and nonprofits design, build and manage vaccine programs at scale quickly. This includes delivering personalized communications campaigns and notifications, self-service registration and scheduling in multiple ways (such as online or over the phone), inventory management and administration, and public health outreach to help ensure equitable distribution. Salesforce technology is being used to help support organizations that reach more than 130 million people in the United States, and has helped drive the success of vaccine rollouts globally, such as: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: In mid-December, Salesforce and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance , announced they would collaborate to help Gavi in its efforts to provide equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines. The distribution effort, powered by Salesforce, has already started with Gavi well on its way to delivering at least two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021, including at least 1.3 billion doses for 92 lower- and middle-income countries around the globe. Details of the first round of allocations can be found here . Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness is using Salesforce technology to power its LouVax platform to help efficiently manage the vaccination rollout for its 750,000 residents. Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage, Interim Medical Director from Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness, recently explained how critical these platforms can be: "My team stood up the LouVax program from conception to reality in the space of eight work days. Salesforce technology has been invaluable in allowing us to provide vaccines at an efficient pace. Our average utilization here at LouVax has actually averaged over 100 percent every week since we've opened." Ochsner Health is using Salesforce to innovate and create a patient-centric approach for its COVID-19 vaccine communications. As Louisiana's largest nonprofit healthcare system, Ochsner Health is leveraging real time data and key interactions to create one-on-one conversations at scale and help establish patient trust. Using Salesforce to help fill vaccine appointments across the state, Ochsner is able to provide critical vaccine supply updates to over 20,000 patients weekly and keeps patients engaged throughout their entire vaccine journey. Penn State Health is using Salesforce technology for vaccine management to provide real-time registration, scheduling, vaccine administration, and vaccine inventory management. With Salesforce, Penn State Health is better able to understand how effective their efforts are at combating the COVID-19 virus throughout communities they serve across 29 counties in central Pennsylvania. Piedmont Healthcare quickly developed call scripts and dashboards that enabled nurses and agents to guide patients through a series of questions focused on COVID-19 risk, exposures and active symptoms. Within five hours of going live, over 150 calls were logged and patients were appropriately triaged to the right level of care. Now, Piedmont is innovating further by using Salesforce to help schedule vaccines for their employees and community members, as well as answer critical patient questions that come into their contact center. The State of California is standardizing its vaccination efforts via Myturn.ca.gov , an end-to-end vaccine management system powered by Salesforce, Accenture and Skedulo. To date, the State of California has now administered over 12 million vaccines to its residents. The Tableau COVID-19 Data Hub lets government agencies monitor COVID-19 spread and vaccine distribution for more than 245 million people in the United States. The Hub is designed to help give governments, businesses, humanitarian groups and other organizations the in-depth data visualizations they need to make effective decisions when it comes to COVID-19 management and vaccine distribution plans. Story continues ABOUT VACCINE CLOUD Vaccine Cloud is part of Salesforce's COVID-19 response technology solutions, which include vaccine inventory management, appointment scheduling, walkup registration, outcome monitoring, public health outreach and more with a single implementation. Vaccine Cloud is built to support the scale and speed that organizations need to effectively vaccinate their communities and was built consistent with Salesforce's ethical and humane use and privacy principles to ensure technology is applied equitably. Learn more about Vaccine Cloud here . ABOUT TABLEAU COVID-19 DATA HUB The Tableau COVID-19 Data Hub offers free, publicly available data and other resources designed to help people see and understand the pandemic's impact. People across the world and leaders from all sectors rely on the Hub's daily Global Tracker and real world solutions to make data-driven decisions that best serve their organization, communities, and families. Explore Tableau's COVID-19 Data Hub here . ABOUT SALESFORCE Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies of every size and industry to digitally transform and create a 360 view of their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information, please visit https://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/salesforce-vaccine-management-now-used-by-more-than-150-government-agencies-and-healthcare-organizations-301249954.html SOURCE Salesforce All 77 BJP MLAs in Bengal to have central security cover West Bengal assembly polls 2021: ISF fields candidates from across religions, castes India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Mar 18: The ISF, led by Furfura Sharif's influential cleric Abbas Siddiqui, has fielded candidates cutting across religions and castes for the West Bengal assembly elections, in a bid to prove its secular credentials. The BJP and the Trinamool Congress have accused the newly floated political outfit of being a party playing the minority card. Of the 21 candidates the Indian Secular Front has so far announced as part of its share of seats in the alliance with the Left Front and the Congress, 10 are either Hindu or belong to Adivasi communities, while the rest are Muslims. Simul Soren, president of the ISF, said the party represents the interests of the Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, irrespective of their religious beliefs. The BJP and the TMC alleged that the Left Front and the Congress have shed their secular credentials by entering into an alliance with the party floated by the 34-year-old cleric of Muslim shrine Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district. West Bengal Assembly Election 2021: Suvendu Adhikaris father likely to quit TMC Denying that the ISF is a communal party, a CPI(M) leader said, "The Siddiqui-led outfit has pledged to fight for the rights of the backward and downtrodden people of the society." He asserted that his newly floated political outfit will prove to be the ''kingmaker'' in the state which roughly has 30 per cent Muslim voters. Siddiqui had rejected as baseless the accusation that he has entered the electoral arena to cut into the TMC''s Muslim vote base, assiduously nurtured by Mamata Banerjee. "In the last 10 year, the TMC government has only fooled the Muslims and Dalits. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has done nothing for them," Siddiqui had told PTI in a recent interview. "We are not here only to seek Muslim votes but also backward community votes," the ISF boss said. Soren is contesting from Haripal, while the party has fielded Milan Mandi, Bikram Chatterjee, Gauranga Das, Sanchay Sarkar and Anup Mandal among the Hindu and Adivasi candidates. Sirajuddin Gaji, Sheikh Sabbir, Faisal Khan Abbasuddin Khan, Pirzada B Amin and Md Mostaquim are among the 11 ISF candidates from the Muslim community. The party has fielded Siddiqui''s younger brother Naushad Siddiqui from Bhangar constituency in South 24 Parganas district. The Left Front has given the ISF 30 seats from its kitty, while the Congress has agreed to offer it seven constituencies from which the grand old party fought in the 2016 elections. Polls to the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2. Julie Gentry from MTVs The Real World: New York broke the fourth wall during The Real World Homecoming: New York and asked producers to stop filming during a dramatic moment. Becky Blasband and Kevin Powell had just gotten into a heated dispute about racism, which left Blasband feeling frustrated and upset. Powell tried to make a point, but Blasband struggled to receive his message, continuously interrupting him to prove she was not racist. Eventually, Norman Korpi got involved and actually told Blasband to shut up in an effort to do damage control. Blasband retreated to her room, which is when Gentry followed her. Blasband felt ganged up on and battered for simply trying to share her story. The original cast of The Real World: New York | Photo courtesy of Paramount + Julie Gentry tells producers to back off While the rest of the cast were left looking shocked, Gentry wanted to comfort Blasband. I feel really used, Blasband is heard whispering to Gentry from behind closed doors. Its not even like an ego thing it was just hurtful. The conversation moved beyond a dispute about race and into elitism. Cast members noticed that Blasband touted her travels to Europe and her home in France. I dont think Im that much of an arrogant person, Blasband continued. Gentry said, Youre not RELATED: The Real World: New York: Kevin Powell and Becky Blasband Have the Same Dispute About Race From Season 1 However, Korpis comments stuck with Blasband. Korpi and Blasband remained in touch after the 1992 series wrapped and formed a very close bond. Norman was yelling at me, Blasband shared. Gentry spied a camera operator coming into the bedroom. Yeah, were not, she said to the production crew, waiving them away. You gotta stop. Were not. You really do have to stop. A stationary camera captured the camera operator walking away from the room and back into the main part of the loft. Becky Blasband ultimately leaves the show Although cameras backed off, audio still picked up Blasbands despair. I dont want to do this, she is heard sobbing. Im sorry Julie. Your presence here though is so important, Gentry said. But Blasband held onto Korpis words when he told her to stop speaking during the dispute. Korpi reminded Blasband that footage of the conversation is going to appear months later and it would not look good for her. It really hurt me, Blasband whispered. Gentry asked Blasband what she wanted to do. Do you wanna pull mics off? The women seemingly remove their microphones because the rest of their conversation was not captured on audio or video. RELATED: Whoopi Goldbergs Life-Changing Advice Stayed With Heather B. Gardner From The Real World: New York Forever While they may have had a heartfelt conversation, Blasband ultimately decided to leave the show. She suddenly showed up with her bags packed and with no warning, started marching for the door. Now it was Korpis turn to feel hurt as he expressed his shock in a confessional. I figured were gonna get through this, Korpi said in a confessional. Were a strong cast. And then the next thing I knew, like bags were coming out. She was walking to the door. And it hurt me. Does Blasband return to finish the reunion? Stay tuned. The Real World Homecoming: New York is currently streaming on Paramount +. Elliot Daly will make his first England start at outside centre for almost five years after Henry Slade was ruled out of Saturdays Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland due to a calf injury. Daly last appeared in the 13 jersey against South Africa in 2015 and one round after being ousted at full-back by Max Malins, the versatile Lions back is restored to the starting XV. Arriving as a second-half replacement in the 23-20 victory over France, Daly made an impact with two eye-catching runs to rebuild confidence after a drop in form. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Slade was injured in training on Monday and despite Englands optimism that he would be fit for the climax to the Six Nations, he has failed to recover in time. Dalys return is the only change to the team that ended Frances Grand Slam march at Twickenham last Saturday. The vacancy created on the bench by Dalys promotion is filled by Joe Marchant, who was called into the squad as cover for Slade. Daly has been preferred at outside centre to Ollie Lawrence, who is also included among the replacements, and Paolo Odogwu, who will not have played a minute of the tournament. Elliot Daly starts at outside centre for England against Ireland (Adam Davy/PA) England conceded the title with their round three defeat by Wales in Cardiff and having topped favourites France they are looking to continue rebuilding by prevailing at the Aviva Stadium. This is our most important game of the tournament and we want to finish well, head coach Eddie Jones said. Were anticipating a hard, tough game against Ireland and weve picked this team to cope with that. We want to take it to Ireland physically and play the rugby we want to play. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Illegal aliens cross the Rio Bravo to get to El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Feb. 5, 2021. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images) Over 100 Percent Monthly Rise in Illegal Border Crossings by Families and Unaccompanied Children: CBP Border Patrol agents continue to encounter large groups of people illegally crossing from Mexico into South Texas, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announcing a more than 100 percent month-over-month increase in February in two categories of illegal aliensfamily units and unaccompanied minors. CBP said in a March 17 release that border agents apprehended four large groups between Monday and Wednesday, which followed an earlier announcement of two large groups of illegal aliens crossing the border into the United States over the weekend. On Saturday morning, agents responded to a report of a large group of illegal aliens near Las Lomas, Texas, apprehending a total of 134 people. CBP said that 128 family members were identified within that group, which consisted of nationals from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Hours later, agents were notified of another large group of illegal aliens crossing near La Grulla, Texas. That group of 113 illegal aliens consisted of both family unit aliens and seven unaccompanied alien children. While most of the members of that group were from Central America, 17 people were identified as Romanian nationals. Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation, CBP said in a statement. On Monday, agents working near Mission, Texas, responded to a report of a large group of illegal aliens crossing the Rio Grande, with responding agents taking into custody 110 illegal aliens. After they finished screening those people, agents received reports of another large group preparing to cross the river into the United States. Agents responded to the same area, and again observed several inflatable rafts full of adults and children crossing the river, CBP said, noting that a total of 105 illegal aliens were apprehended as part of the second group, which consisted of 35 family units and 24 unaccompanied children. CBP statistics show that, in February, agents apprehended a total of 100,441 illegal aliens along the southwest bordera 28 percent increase compared to January. It comes as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned Wednesday that the number of people illegally crossing Americas southern border will continue to surge. This is just the very beginning of whats going to be a massive expansion of the number of people coming across the border. It will grow tenfold and a hundredfold, especially because of the way the Biden administration has handled this, Abbott, a Republican, said in an appearance on Fox News Hannity. Remember during the presidential campaign when all of the candidates said, We want open borders? Well guess what? Biden has provided those open borders. Hes inviting everybody in and the floodgates are now open and Texas is at the forefront of it, Abbott added. President Joe Biden promised during his presidential campaign to roll back key Trump-era orders and rules and has done so since taking office, including winding down the Remain in Mexico program that made asylum seekers wait for their claims to be heard outside the country, and lessening how many illegal immigrants are expelled under Title 42. Biden administration officials have pushed back against claims that their policies have led to reduced border security. The border is secure and the border is not open, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told members of Congress during a Wednesday hearing, adding that Title 42 powers are still being used to expel single adults and families, just not unaccompanied minors. Were not going to send a 10-year-old back across the border. That was the policy of the last administration. Thats not our policy here, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the White House as she defended the administrations policy reversals. Republicans have repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for its immigration policies. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) recently told Sean Hannity in an interview that policy shifts around immigrationaway from former President Donald Trumps tough approachare a disaster in the making and the worst is yet to come. This border insecurity is a great way for terrorists to come into our country, Graham said, adding that, unless the Biden administration restores some Trump-era policies, the rush on the border will only intensify. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. LOS ANGELESAward winning lubricant manufacturer Award winning lubricant manufacturer Wicked Sensual Care on Wednesday introduced the Retail Employee Spotlight, designed to honor extraordinary retail staff employed in the pleasure industry. The Retail Employee Spotlight will include an interview in the WSC newsletter, a social media spotlight, and recognition across all Wicked Sensual Care platforms. Beginning today, store managers, owners and employees are invited to nominate their super stars who go above and beyond and deserve the utmost recognition. Do you work with someone who shines not only in sales performance, but as an educator or customer service specialist, someone who always goes that extra mile? Thats a retail SUPER STAR. To nominate your retail super star, please email their name, store name, location/city, social media handles, as well as a brief paragraph about why you believe they deserve to be a Superstar (photograph optional!) to [email protected] . Super stars may also self-nominate. Cassie Pendleton, marketing director at Wicked Sensual Care explains, Our retail partners play such a vital role in our industry. From educating customers to making product recommendations, these people are on the front lines every day." She continues, The Retailer Employee Spotlight is our way of showing our gratitude to these essential folks who we appreciate so, so much. Thank you all for sharing Wicked Sensual Care with your customers and being such an integral part of our growth." Johnny Depp is bidding to appeal against the ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard (PA) Johnny Depp must wait to find out whether he can bring an appeal against a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard and left her in fear for her life. Following a three-week trial in July last year, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Hollywood stars libel claim against the publisher of The Sun, finding that an April 2018 column calling Mr Depp a wife beater was substantially true. The judge ruled Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times. The actor is now asking the Court of Appeal to grant permission for him to challenge the ruling, with the aim of having its findings overturned and a retrial ordered. Neither Mr Depp nor Ms Heard attended the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday. At the hearing, Mr Depps lawyers asked the court to consider fresh evidence relating to what they said was Ms Heards claim that she gave her seven million US dollar (5.5 million) divorce settlement to charity. Expand Close A poster in support of Johnny Depp was hung outside the court ahead of the hearing (Yui Mok/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A poster in support of Johnny Depp was hung outside the court ahead of the hearing (Yui Mok/PA) His barrister Andrew Caldecott QC told the court that claim was a calculated and manipulative lie. After the couple divorced in 2016, Ms Heard said she would split the seven million US dollars between the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). But, Mr Caldecott said, the hospital wrote to Mr Depps business adviser in 2019 to say Ms Heard had not made any payments. The court heard she gave just 100,000 dollars (72,000) to the hospital and 450,000 dollars (322,000) to the ACLU, although she claims she made a further 500,000-dollar (358,000) donation to the second charity anonymously. Mr Caldecott said the claims had given Ms Heard a considerable boost to her credibility as a person, and had tipped the scales against Mr Depp from the very beginning. In November, Mr Justice Nicol rejected Mr Depps contention that Ms Heard was a gold-digger, saying in his ruling: Her donation of the seven million US dollars to charity is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger. But Mr Caldecott argued that if the truth about the charity claim emerged at the trial, it would have materially affected Mr Justice Nicols consideration of Ms Heards evidence as a whole. He said the fact Ms Heard publicly donated her divorce settlement to charity was relevant to the likelihood of her being a victim of grave domestic violence. Mr Caldecott said the donation was a wholly remarkable act of philanthropy, if true, adding it was also a potent subliminal message: I want him to pay, but I do not want to keep a dime of his money because of the way I have been treated. He told the court: In the context of this case, it implies revulsion at the way he has treated her physically. Expand Close Amber Heard made a statement on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the final day of the trial (Victoria Jones/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amber Heard made a statement on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the final day of the trial (Victoria Jones/PA) Mr Caldecott also said Mr Justice Nicol had a very favourable starting point of Ms Heard and was not particularly interested in evidence adverse to her. But Adam Wolanski QC, representing The Suns publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said the new evidence Mr Depp wanted to rely on would not have had any impact on the result of the trial. He said the issue of donating the settlement to charity was only of relevance to the so-called gold-digger thesis, and that was of course a thesis that was expressly abandoned by Mr Depps legal team during the trial. Mr Wolanski added: The labelling of Ms Heard as a gold-digger was a misogynistic trope. The gold-digger theory was hopeless. He also rejected Mr Depps contention that Ms Heard had lied about donating her divorce settlement to charity, saying: The information does not demonstrate that Ms Heard lied. Mr Wolanski added that Ms Heard had paid in total, some 950,000 dollars to the ACLU and 850,000 dollars to the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. At the conclusion of Thursdays hearing, Lord Justice Underhill sitting with Lord Justice Dingemans said the court would give its ruling at a later date. He said: We are not going to reach an immediate decision today we will make it very shortly. Expand Close Johnny Depps barristers, Andrew Caldecott QC, left, and David Sherborne arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday (Yui Mok/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Johnny Depps barristers, Andrew Caldecott QC, left, and David Sherborne arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Depp sued NGN in June 2018 over the column by The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to overwhelming evidence he attacked Ms Heard. In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicol concluded 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN in its defence of the actors claim did occur. The judge also found Mr Depp put Ms Heard in fear for her life on three occasions, including one the actress described as a three-day hostage situation in Australia in March 2015. Just days after the ruling in November, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts the very role which prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be genuinely happy Mr Depp was cast in the film. Mr Depp is embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name. The actors 50 million dollar (35 million) US case against Ms Heard was recently delayed until April 2022. Nicholas Burns and his family lost out on $150,000 last year as one of the many vendors and operators that were unable to do business at the Brimfield Flea Market due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to take a loan out, Burns said, adding that prior to the pandemic his family was expecting to finally pay off the field they had purchased. It was just a rough year. The fate of the market, which typically happens on dates in May, July and September, is still undecided for this year and thats not the only hurdle. Many vendors and field operators are opposing proposed bylaw changes by the town that include specific fines ranging from $25 to $200. Can you throw any more bull at a bunch of small business owners after the year that weve had? asked Cara Marcoux, owner of Juniper Vintage. Maybe wait a little bit longer. Maybe dont try to push anything through without input because we need someone to throw us a bone. Brimfields Board of Selectmen met Monday night and discussed the bylaw changes. One of the additions to the bylaws would be adding that failure to display the vendor permit will result in a $25 non-criminal fine issued to the vendor. Another change adds a $50 fee if it is determined that an owner/operator has allowed the subletting of one space for multiple vendors. Further, if that action continues the field operator could lose their license. The bylaws might seem simple but those involved in the show say theyre not. Sometimes, Marcoux said, things get lost or misplaced, and adding to the anxiety by adding fees or possibly losing their license isnt helping. Imagine youve moved 50 banana boxes full of antiques and you hardly slept the night before and then youve got to set up a tent and a whole entire booth in the next field in three hours, Marcoux said. Do you know where a three-by-six piece of paper is? Vendors and field operators worried about lack of discussion During the meeting, Rusty Corriveau, owner of Brimfield Winery & Cidery, was called upon to speak on the bylaws as part of the Flea Market Advisory committee. He asked the selectmen to take a vote to ask the advisory board to review the bylaws, something that wasnt done at the previous meeting, and required before the committee can meet on it. Soon after, the discussion changed from waiting on the committees suggestions to putting it on the town warrant. Selectman Paul McCarthy voted no on the bylaws, adding that he thought they were too strict. The other voting selectmen voted to move forward with them. Selectman Ryan Olszta said the move was simply a placeholder. The flea market advisory committee was asked to review them already, however, failed to do so when two field owners questioned if it was their job to or not, despite having been directed by the board to do so, he said in an email to MassLive. But as Corriveau pointed out during the meeting on Monday, the selectmen did not previously take a vote to ask the advisory board to review the bylaws. Additionally, the lack of discussion or use of the advisory committee has some vendors and field operators worried. Eric Schultz, operator of the Brimfield Barn, was also at the meeting Monday night and said he watched the Board of Selectmen push it through without any discussion amongst the people in the audience, and then acknowledge the people in the audience and then shut them down. Klia Ververidis, another operator, joined Corriveau at the front of the room during the meeting hoping to speak on the issue. After waiting near the microphone and raising her hand, she was never called on. At one point she went to the microphone and began speaking. Ververidis was asked to stop and even told if she continued shed be removed. The states Open Meeting Law does not give the public a right to participate or comment during open meetings. As a matter of practice, however, public bodies often allow members of the public to comment during public meetings, the law states. No one may address a public meeting of a public body without permission of the presiding officer. The town does, however, allow the public to speak during a public comment session. Ververidis has also started a Facebook group The Society for the Preservation of the Historic Brimfield Antique Shows, which has more than 1,000 members. The Brimfield Antique Flea Market has recently come under attack by a number of issues including the pandemic and a number of proposed overly burdensome bylaws which will make it difficult for the shows to operate, the groups statement reads. It also uses the hashtag save Brimfield, which has grown as businesses post their own photos using the hashtag talking about the importance of the Brimfield Flea Market. Its given me my Brimfield Family, my second home in the Mahogany Ridge Fashion tent, wonderful customers who have become dear friends, and allowed me to have invaluable time with my mother/partner in crime, Swift and Faire Vintage Clothing wrote on Instagram. Who pays for the show? The Board of Selectmen said ending the show is not their intent. I think unequivocally nobody on this Board of Selectmen wants to see the show end. And it is not the intent to cancel the show or to make the show end, Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael Doyle said at the start of Mondays meeting. Doyle said there are benefits to having the show in town, although he and McCarthy, added that it depends on the definition of benefits. Certainly theres a cultural value to it, McCarthy said. But, he said, there are expenses, specifically on safety and protocol, adding that those are typically offset by the vendor permits. The trouble is, theres an increase on one side, and theres not a dramatic increase on the other side. Olszta shared the last few years expenses and receipts for the show on his Facebook page. The page has since been deleted. The documents show the expenses and payroll from the shows. It also includes a continued $50,000 that gets rolled over every year as well as the profits. Theres been a profit every year as well, and that profit rolls over into the general fund, Ververidis said. A lawsuit in 2011 led to establishing the revolving fund to cover municipal expenses. That year, Selectman Diane M. Panaccione said the law will simplify the finances for the towns role in providing police, fire and emergency medical services during the market. MassLive previously reported that prior to the lawsuit, the town paid for the roughly $150,000 worth of expenses and overtime for the events with money from the general budget. But the show owners who filed the lawsuit alleged that the dealer permit fee paid by the individual antique dealers and an emergency services fee, paid by the owners of the fields, amounted to more than the expenses. Plus, Ververidis added, their fields have their own tax formula, which can be up to double what others might pay for a similar area. The show pays for itself, she said. Embracing the flea market These issues arent new and date back even before the 2011 lawsuit, multiple people told MassLive. Its the same thing the towns been doing since my parents bought their field in 1986, said Schultz. Theres a section of the town that just doesnt like the flea markets. Many of the field owners and vendors want the town to embrace the event. A 60-year landmark show thats internationally known famous, and they dont even have a website, like a town-sponsored website, Ververidis said. And then they could have a website where you sell ads, they could sell T-shirts, they have their own fields with vendors on it. Multiple people told MassLive they enjoy supporting local businesses during the show by staying at local hotels, Airbnbs and eating at nearby restaurants. Most of the time we would order places and were talking like 8 to 10 people getting the order together, Kurt Patzlaff said. He highly recommended Francescos Restaurant in Brimfield, his favorite place when he and his friends feel like sitting down and eating. But Doyle said he doesnt really see the town benefiting from this its mostly the neighboring communities. Its the neighboring communities who benefit through hotels and meals and everything else that we dont have here in Brimfield, he said. Were not benefiting in that way. We dont have any active hotels per se. We dont have very many restaurants. The communities from Worcester to Springfield all benefit greatly from our show. Thats why Schultz thinks its important to take a step back to look at the impact. Id love to see that town spend some of the hard-earned money that they make on the permits and use for the police, fire and ambulance that they rolled over every year spent on an impact study, Schultz suggested. Something that you can use to benefit the town rather than keep hindering the markets and trying to destroy the markets. Past police presence The town and those operating the show, however, cant work together with the way the vendors and field operators are currently treated, they said. The Board of Selectmen talked about the importance of keeping the large crowds safe, which attracts over 50,000 people, according to the website. But the vendors and field operators say they are seeing a different side of the police. The police are the ones enforcing the bylaws, including the possible changes. Marcoux said she was in her husbands tent one day before the show started. She said police told her they needed to fix the tent, which she said they were in the process of doing. As I began to respond that it was my husbands tent, he told me, Shut the f*** up, she said. Burns said his dad was arrested by Olszta, who is a police officer in addition to being a selectman, three years ago for sticking up for one of our vendors. He got arrested, put in jail and nobody knew, he said. Im like how do you get arrested for disorderly conduct and not a single person knew that he got arrested. Burns said the dispute was over a new parking rule. Before the show started one of the vendors moved the parking sign so he could get through to unload his truck, rather than parking it on the street, Burns said. Thats when police got involved. The charges were later dropped, he added. As far as complaints regarding the police, they are baseless and lack credibility, Olszta said. The town recently started to enforce the bylaws that were pushed to the side. He said the first couple of years was nothing but education and trying to spread the word that the bylaws would be enforced. He also said he arrested a different field owner a couple of years ago because he was screaming profanities down the roadway and disturbing the peace. The field owner was placed under arrest without incident or injury, he said. That field owner pled guilty to those charges and paid a fine. Others confirmed to MassLive they have been involved with or witnessed similar events described by Burns and Marcoux, although they were not comfortable using their names. This is not a rare occurrence by any means, Marcoux said. They are wildly verbally abusive to vendors and shoppers alike. MassLive reached out to the police department for comment which was not answered before publication. Some are also worried about the ethics of Olszta both discussing, voting on and helping enforce the bylaws, as his role as both police officer and selectman. During Mondays meeting, Corriveau pointed out the conflict of interest. Selectman Suzanne Collins self-selected to not vote, as she said she had a conflict of interest. But Olszta said he has always followed the ethics law and made sure I was above board when it comes to anything related to that, adding that hes followed the advice of an attorney. He did not share any specifics of the advice with MassLive when asked. Were all grown-ups, Doyle said at the meeting, stating that each selectman is allowed to decide for themselves if they are ethics concerns. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission law states that anyone is allowed to hold both positions as long as they follow a few exemptions. One of those exemptions is staying out of matters that employ them. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission does not comment on specific cases that have not been resolved. Some say police presence is still necessary. I always felt super safe because they always, even in the nighttime, as we would be camping out, they always patrolled, Patzlaff said, adding that it was also their product that was safe. Marcoux also said she wants that friendly neighborhood patrolmen. Its such an anxious week for us already. Weve put so much money, time, effort into it, and then all of a sudden your blood pressure is raised by them yelling at you for no reason, she said. I do not condone overstepping by any means or verbal abuse. And thats what she fears will continue with the additions to the bylaws. Multiple selectmen, however, told MassLive theyre just helping clarify things. The bylaws that are being changed are changes that just firm up existing bylaws that cut out a lot of the gray areas, McCarthy said. Its clerical, Doyle added. But for many that are part of the show, its a lot more than that. Thats them saying its fine, theyre not paying it, Marcoux said. Theyre not the owners of the fields that could potentially lose their licenses for silly things. Priyanka tweets collage of PM Modi, Gadkari in khaki shorts to take a dig over 'ripped jeans' remark Why didn't you produce more children to get extra ration: Rawat to people U'khand CM says 'ripped jeans' pave the way for 'societal breakdown', Navya Nanda asks Change your mentality India oi-Madhuri Adnal Dehradun, Mar 18: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat expressed his shock over a woman, who he met during a flight, wearing ripped jeans and was a social worker by profession. Holding parents responsible for westernisation of young children, Rawat said, "Showing bare knees, wearing ripped denim and looking like rich kids- these are the values being given now. Where is this coming from, if not at home? What is the fault of teachers or schools? Where am I taking my son, showing knees and in tattered jeans? Women are not any much less, displaying their knees. Is that good?" Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat compares PM Modi with Lord Ram; Opposition fumes The CM's remarks have drawn flak from many online users including activists and celebrities for his comments. Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda has come down heavily on Rawat for questioning women's lifestyle choices. Taking to Instagram, Navya shared photos where she is wearing ripped jeans and also gave her response to the statement. She wrote, "Change your mentality before changing our clothes because the only thing shocking here is the message comments like this send to society." However, she later deleted her Instagram stories. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 22:01:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GENEVA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged the United States to take the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as an opportunity to stop human rights violations in all forms and take effective measures to prevent its human rights situation from further deterioration. In a statement on behalf of the Chinese delegation at the adoption of the outcomes of the UPR of the United States, Jiang Duan, minister of the Chinese mission to the United Nations in Geneva, regretted that the country did not accept most of the recommendations proposed by China at the latest UPR process. "China is deeply concerned about (the) deterioration of human rights situation in the U.S.," said the diplomat. He added that the United States has failed to take effective measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic, causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Meanwhile, U.S. politicians have been passing the buck and shifting the blame. The United States has been pursuing vaccine nationalism and stockpiled a disproportionate quantity of COVID-19 vaccines that far exceeds the need of its population. It has also refused to provide vaccines to other countries, including its allies, said the statement. It stressed that racial discrimination and police brutality remain devastating in the country, with perpetrators still at large. Muslims, refugees and immigrants are facing discrimination and xenophobia. "Armed interventions by the U.S. resulted in tremendous deaths of civilians in other countries. U.S. military personnel slaughtered innocent civilians and conducted torture in their overseas operations," said the statement. The statement also mentioned that the United States has imposed on some developing countries unilateral coercive measures, which seriously violated international law and caused severe human rights and humanitarian crises. "The U.S. neither apologizes for its evil past of genocide nor provides reparation to the victims. Instead, it, distorting facts, maliciously slanders other countries out of political motivation," concluded the statement. Enditem Dutch voters headed to a disco to cast their ballots Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands A cultural center wanted to encourage young voters to take part in the general election Polling station staff handed out wireless headphones to let queuers take part in a silent disco and enjoy dancehall and techno beats before casting their ballots (SOUNDBITE) (Dutch) ART STUDENT FROM AMSTERDAM, JUKE SAMWEL, 21, SAYING:"I went through the candidates to try and find a woman to vote for. I ended up picking number 33, D66 candidate Joan Nunnely. I found this woman of color very inspiring. So that's who I went for. Very nice to tune in here in the sunshine and with music. New experience, it is very nice like this." Video Transcript [LAUGHTER] - [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] [MUSIC PLAYING] JUKE SAMWEL: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] INTERPRETER: I went through the candidates to try to find a woman to vote for. I ended up picking number 33, Joan. I found this woman of color very inspiring, so that's who I went for. Very nice to tune in here in the sunshine and with music. New experience, it is very nice like this. Over the past day, March 17, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in Donbas nine times. In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group East, the occupiers fired grenade launchers of different systems and heavy machine guns near Pisky (11km north-west of Donetsk) and Hnutove (20km north-east of Mariupol), the press center of the JFO Headquarters informs. In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group North, the enemy fired 82mm mortars banned under the Minsk Agreements, hand-held antitank grenade launchers, grenade machine guns and tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns in the suburbs of Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk); heavy machine guns and tripod-mounted man-portable antitank guns near Svitlodarsk (57km north-east of Donetsk); under-barrel grenade launchers outside Novotoshkivske (53km west of Luhansk). The Armed Forces of Ukraine sustained no losses. Ukrainian troops fired back in response to the enemy shelling. As of 07:00, March 18, no ceasefire violations were recorded. The Ukrainian servicepersons continue to control the situation in the JFO area and adhere to the ceasefire agreements. ol Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union BROADALBIN A man was saved and is being treated at Albany Medical Center Hospital after he threatened to light himself on fire and ran at police officers with a butcher knife in hand, authorities said. On Tuesday night, police received a call for a distraught man at Indian Village mobile home park who had poured kerosene or another accelerant on himself. Police said they were told he had been using drugs for several days and was having a possible severe psychotic episode. AGI AGI - La scarcerazione di Giovanni Brusca e, dal punto di vista morale, un abominio. Fa male pensare ai familiari delle vittime dello scannacristiani che sono i veri condannati all'ergastolo. Fa male, provoca turbamento, scuote le nostre coscienze. La reazione a caldo, sull'onda degli eventi, ci deve pero ricordare che le mafie esistono e sono purtroppo tutt'altro che sconfitte. Una convinzione che dovremmo maturare nella quotidianita e non solo in momenti come questi. Convinzione alla quale siamo arrivati (anche) grazie alle collaborazioni con la giustizia di macellai come Brusca. Fa male, ma senza ipocrisie va accettato. Ed allora chiariamo che il termine pentiti e un'ottima invenzione giornalistica ma poco reale rispetto alle persone di cui spesso trattiamo. Uccidere una donna incinta, scannare un bambino e scioglierlo nell'acido, piuttosto che far saltare un pezzo di autostrada sono fatti che non hanno bisogno di ulteriori commenti. E il cortocircuito fra pentimento (invenzione giornalistica) e collaborazione con la Giustizia (intento reale). E di questo cortocircuito che trattiamo in queste ore, nel caso della scarcerazione, dopo oltre 25 anni, di Giovanni Brusca. Il boss di San Giuseppe Jato, fedelissimo di Toto Riina, era stato arrestato il 20 maggio 1996 in una villetta vicino ad Agrigento, con il fratello boss Enzo e le loro mogli. Ieri ha terminato la sua detenzione dopo 9.142 giorni che equivalgono a 25 anni e 11 giorni. Non "pentiti" ma collaboratori di giustizia Ma com'e possibile che un boss del suo calibro che, per sua stessa ammissione ha fatto piu di cento omicidi ma meno di duecento, sia ritornato in liberta per fine pena? La spiegazione sta nella sua collaborazione con la Giustizia, iniziata nel 2000. E Maria Falcone, sorella del giudice Giovanni, a spiegare: Umanamente e una notizia che mi addolora, ma questa e la legge, una legge che peraltro ha voluto mio fratello e quindi va rispettata. Una legge che, in molti, in queste ore stanno commentando come ingiusta, folle, vergognosa. Ma che, va sottolineato, ha permesso di conoscere alcuni dei segreti di Cosa nostra. Senza i collaboratori di giustizia avremmo conosciuto molto meno di cio che sappiamo sulla mafia e sui brandelli di verita dei rapporti fra mafiosi e pezzi dello Stato. Il qui pro quo' sta proprio su questo punto, nella lettura che diamo dei collaboratori di giustizia. Ne ho conosciuti tanti nella mia esperienza giornalistica, troppo pochi si erano realmente pentiti. E d'altronde il pentimento non puo essere imposto, e un percorso intimo che si raggiunge se si raggiunge con il tempo. La verita e giuridicamente non c'e nulla di male e che i mafiosi che collaborano con gli inquirenti non sono affatto pentiti di cio che hanno fatto, bensi iniziano a collaborare per avere degli sconti di pena. I cosiddetti benefici della collaborazione: non sta a chi scrive comprendere se quella di Brusca sia stata reale e piena, ma e lecito domandarselo. Brusca ha ottenuto lo status di collaborante nel 2000, dopo non poche polemiche. Dal suo arresto nel 1996 e stato condannato a pene complessivamente ammontanti a trent'anni di reclusione (si chiama cumulo giuridico ed e, ai sensi dell'articolo 78 del Codice Penale, il massimo di pena temporanea cumulabile) e li ha scontati, al netto della liberazione anticipata ottenuta (45 giorni ogni semestre di pena espiata). Urgente una legge sull'ergastolo ostativo Fa male moralmente, molto male, vedere un pluriomicida che si vantava della sua ferocia in liberta (ancorche vigilata per almeno altri 4 anni). Ma cosa sarebbe della lotta alle mafie senza la premialita per chi collabora con la Giustizia? Senza ipocrisie, vorrei che rispondessimo a questa domanda cruciale. Magari evitando di mettere insieme (talvolta in malafede per disarcionare le residue possibilita di avere collaboratori che riferiscano fatti vari ma scomodi) la questione della certezza della pena con l'indispensabile collaborazione con la Giustizia. Perche esiste il tema dei fin troppo facili sconti che vengono dati a chi si e macchiato di reati gravissimi, come mafia o terrorismo. Cosi come esiste la madre di tutte le battaglie, quella su cui non arretrare un millimetro, ovvero l'ergastolo ostativo (e il carcere duro). Come ha detto Salvatore Borsellino, se non ci fosse piu l'ergastolo ostativo (cioe la norma che permette ai mafiosi e terroristi di non commutare la pena in 26 anni senza la fattiva collaborazione con la giustizia) avremmo visto "tra un certo numero di anni Brusca libero senza neanche aver collaborato con la giustizia e fatto arrestare tanti altri criminali come lui". E questo pericolo, dopo il pronunciamento della Corte Costituzionale, e tutt'altro che scampato. Allora si agisca subito, se necessario anche sull'onda emotiva di questa scarcerazione, per mettere in salvo con una nuova legge approvata dal parlamento gli strumenti dell'ergastolo ostativo e del carcere duro (il cosiddetto 41 bis) per i mafiosi. Ora, subito. Chi legifera si dia il limite del 19 luglio, giorno della commemorazione della strage di Via D'Amelio. In quei 57 tragici giorni tra il 23 maggio e il 19 luglio del 1992, la mafia e uomini infedeli dello Stato hanno realizzato due stragi, questo Parlamento puo approvare una legge che ponga in salvo i veri capi saldi del doppio binario della lotta alle mafie voluti dal dottor Falcone. E troppo facile soffiare sul fuoco dell'indignazione e girarsi dall'altra parte sulle proprie responsabilita di legislatori. Allora si che potremo rassicurare i familiari delle vittime, dicendo loro che lo Stato non arretra davanti alle mafie. E magari accettare che le leggi ci sono e vanno rispettate, anche quando la loro applicazione ci piace molto poco, come in questo caso. A man checks the ID of a voter before giving them a ballot at an early voting location in Fairfax, Virginia, on Sept. 18, 2020.(ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) 75 Percent of Americans Support Voter ID Laws: Poll Rasmussen Reports released a new poll on Wednesday showing that 75 percent of Americans support voter ID laws, including 60 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans. The poll found that three out of four likely American voters believe a photo ID should be requiredsuch as a drivers licensebefore being allowed to vote. A majority of unaffiliated voters, 77 percent, also voiced support for voter ID requirements. Support for voter ID laws across ethnicities remained high: 74 percent of whites, 69 percent of blacks, and 82 percent of other minorities said they were in support of requiring voter ID. Support for voter ID requirements has mostly run in the mid-to-high 70s in surveys since 2006, according to Rasmussen. This years 75 percent support is higher than the 67 percent in 2018 and 70 percent in 2017, but lower than the 82 percent support seen in 2010. The survey also asked participants whether they believe voter ID laws discriminate against some voters. Leftists have been claiming that voter ID laws and other voter restrictions discriminate against minorities. According to the survey, 60 percent of Americans said that voter ID laws dont discriminate, while 31 percent say such laws discriminate, with 10 percent saying they are not sure. Democrats made up the most of the group concerned about minority discrimination, with 51 percent saying such requirements are discriminatory. Meanwhile, 79 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of unaffiliated voters said that requiring identification at the polls is not discriminatory. Rasmussen Reports conducted the national telephone and online survey of 1,000 likely voters on March 14 and 15. The sampling error margin is 3 percentage points above or below with a 95 percent level of confidence, according to the poll. The poll was conducted as H.R. 1 passed the Democrat-controlled House and headed to the Senate for consideration. H.R. 1, which has been dubbed by Democrats as the For The People Act of 2021 (pdf), permits the use of sworn written statement to meet identification requirements. States would no longer be allowed to require ID for voting and would be forced to accept signed statements from individuals claiming to be who they say they are. Democrats have framed the bill as a crucial step against voter suppression. Our democracy is in a state of deep disrepair, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after re-introducing the bill in January. During the 2020 election, Americans had to overcome rampant voter suppression, gerrymandering, and a torrent of special interest dark money just to exercise their right to vote. Hans von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commissioner and currently a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Epoch Times last week that voter suppression argument is a ridiculous claim. Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at the Heritage Foundation, at an immigration event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Oct. 17, 2017. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times) Theres no voter suppression going on. In fact, we have seen turnout in U.S. elections consistently go up in the last few elections that weve had, while the states have been doing things like putting in voter ID laws. Public intellectual Dinesh DSouza, an author and filmmaker, has criticized the Democrat argument that ID requirements suppress voters. Requiring an ID for airline travel doesnt suppress travel. Nor do ID requirements for marriage licenses suppress marriage. So why does the Left insist ID requirements for voting suppress the vote? DSouza challenged on Twitter. Democrats are pushing for removing or reforming the filibuster to pass H.R. 1 in the Senate because the filibuster currently requires 60 votes to pass legislation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatened that if Democrats eliminate the filibuster, Republicans will fight back, and the Senate would be like a 100-car pileup with nothing moving. Tom Ozimek contributed to this report. Mauricio Guim (Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) - Law School) & Michael A. Livermore (University of Virginia School of Law) have posted Where Nature's Rights Go Wrong (Virginia Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There is an increasing push by environmentalists, scholars, and some politicians in favor of environmental rights stated in very general terms, sometimes referred to as rights of nature or natures rights. A milestone victory in this movement was the incorporation of rights of nature into the Ecuadorian constitution in 2008. However, there are reasons to be skeptical that general environmental rights will have the kinds of transformative effects that are anticipated by their most enthusiastic proponents. From a conceptual perspective, a number of difficulties arise when rights (or other forms of legal or moral consideration) are extended to non-human biological aggregates, such as species or ecosystems. There are two very general strategies for conceiving of the interests of such aggregates: a bottom-up model that grounds interest in specific aggregates (such as particular species or ecosystems), and then attempts to compare various effects on those specific aggregates; and a top-down model that grounds interests in the entire biotic community. Either approach faces serious challenges. Natures rights have also proven difficult to implement in practice. Courts in Ecuador, the country with the most experience litigating these rights, have had a difficult time using the construct of natures rights in a non-arbitrary fashion. The shortcomings of natures rights, however, do not mean that constitutional reform cannot be used to promote environmental goals. Recent work in comparative constitutional law indicates that organizational rights have a greater likelihood of achieving meaningful results than even quite concrete substantive rights. Protection for the role of environmental groups within civil society may, then, serve as the most effective way for constitutional reform to vindicate the interests that motivate the natures rights movement. Highly recommended. AN email outage at Limerick City and County Council has, this week, forced the cancellation of two public meetings. The metropolitan district meeting and a special meeting on the future of the Bank of Irelands branches in rural Limerick have been deferred as result of the IT problems. Both were due to take place virtually on Monday but could not proceed. Meetings of the council are expected to resume later today. Meanwhile, local representatives were not able to respond to emails for a number of days as a result of the issue with many taking to Twitter and other social media platforms to advise constituents to send queries to their personal emails or by phone. In an SMS to councillors, the local authority has confirmed it was among the public bodies affected by a global attack occurring through vulnerabilities on the Microsoft Exchange email server. As you can appreciate, we have to take the time to ensure our system is safe and not compromised, the council said. In a statement posted on social media it confirmed: Our ICT department is working to restore the service; however, it will be at least 48 hours before the system is back up and running. Due to level 5 Covid-19 restrictions, the councils offices are closed to the public with meetings taking place virtually through the internet. Kashmir Hill, a technology reporter for The New York Times, is taking over the On Tech newsletter today to share what she learned after a year reporting on the facial recognition company Clearview AI. You can sign up here to receive On Tech on weekdays. Clearview AI has done something no other company ever has and its testing legal and ethical boundaries in doing so. The start-up, based in New York, gathered billions of photos available online to create an app that searches peoples faces to help identify who they are. The company operated out of public view for more than two years, before I wrote about its work in January 2020. The backlash was intense, and it seemed possible that Clearview would be sued, legislated or shamed out of existence. But not only did the company not implode, more customers in law enforcement flocked to its technology. For the last year, Ive been reporting on Clearview and how it was dealing with these challenges for a story for The New York Times Magazine. Here are five revelations from my reporting: A troll played a pivotal role BuzzFeed and HuffPost previously reported that Clearviews founder, a technologist named Hoan Ton-That, and his company had ties to the far right and to a notorious conservative provocateur named Charles Johnson who ran a few short-lived investigative news sites that seemed designed to troll liberals. Johnson was banned from Twitter in 2015 and mostly disappeared from the public eye for the last few years. Mr Matthew was seen in a viral video allegedly masturbating in a commercial vehicle on March 13 The police in Lagos said they are on the trail of a man who was videoed allegedly masturbating and assaulting a lady in a public bus. In a statement by the state police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police said the man, identified simply as Mr Matthew, was not a police officer as he claimed in the video. The statement warned that Mr Mathew's act constituted an offence under the law and would not be tolerated. "The Commissioner of Police has ordered the Gender Unit of the Command to expedite action on the case, arrest the suspect and commence proper investigation so as to maintain sanity in the society," Mr Adejobi added. Mr Matthew was seen in a viral video allegedly masturbating in a commercial vehicle on March 13. He had been caught in another video, about two years ago, masturbating inside a shop. The police said the suspect, who assaulted the lady, one Olajumoke Okeyemi, for correcting his actions and act of sexual harassment in a public vehicle, was a driver. According to him, he is employed by GTC Laundry Services, situated on Channels TV Road, Isheri, Lagos, and only impersonated a policeman during the "drama" in the video, the police said. Mr Matthew was in a commercial bus from OPIC Estate Isheri to Mowe with the lady when the suspect resorted to verbal abuse and attempted to physically assault the lady. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He was angry at the lady for recoding his criminal and indecent act on her phone. Mr Adejobi said the police, in collaboration with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, have started an investigation into the matter and intensified efforts to arrest the suspect. "Incidentally, the suspect has also been identified by some other women who had similar experiences with him in previous years and on the same route. "The concerned women have made series of comments on the social media which will assist the police in their investigation. "The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu has condemned such inhuman, immoral and criminal act of Mr Matthew. "Mathew's careless and unguided utterances had dragged the name of the Nigeria Police Force in the mud, the commissioner has said," the police spokesman stated. (NAN) Netflix and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) have announced a R28-million partnership to fund the production of South African micro-budget feature films. The agreement will see both partners contributing R14 million each in support of the production of local films. All of the movies funded through the partnership will premiere on Netflix. In addition to supporting the production of South African films, the NFVF and Netflix said that the initiative will help support the recovery of the film industry after the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and government lockdowns around the world. In total, six South African films will be funded. The funding is categorised into two streams: Stream 1 (R16 million total) 4 Feature films by emerging filmmakers, capped at R4 million. Stream 2 (R12 million total) 2 Fictional feature films by established filmmakers, capped at R6 million. Makhosazana Khanyile, the CEO of the NFVF, said that the organisation appreciates Netflixs investment in local content. The incorporation of digital platforms into our traditional processes can only benefit the industry further. We hope this is simply the start in what will no doubt be a long and fruitful relationship, Khanyile stated. The NFVF is an agency of the South African Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. The past year has been incredibly difficult with the pandemic hitting so many industries around the world, said Netflixs director of content in Africa, Ben Amadasun. The creative community, that we are a part of, has supported us through the good times so we want to help them continue to create the stories our members love through the $1 million Covid Relief Fund contribution we started last year in collaboration with SASFED and IPO to help below-the-line workers in South Africas creative industry and now, were excited to take this a step further with this joint fund with NFVF for above-the-line talent. How to apply for funding The NFVF announced that the submission portal for funding will go live on 1 April 2021. We encourage all filmmakers in accordance with the eligibility criteria to apply by visiting https://nfvf.praxisgms.co.za/ from the 1st of April 2021, the organisation stated. More details will be available at www.nfvf.co.za or @nfvfsa on all social media platforms. Now read: What the SABC must do to get Netflix and DStv to collect TV licence fees Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Police investigating the brutal bashing of a grandmother outside a church in Melbourne have made a significant breakthrough in the case. A man, 36, was arrested and is currently assisting police in Victoria with their inquiries. He is expected to be charged with a string of assault and theft offences. Police will allege the Box Hill man assaulted Penelope Katsavos, 78, outside the St Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in South Yarra early last Saturday morning. He then stole the elderly woman's shopping trolley containing personal items about 6.15am before fleeing the scene. Penelope Katsavos, 78, was left lying on the steps of the church (pictured) where she was found 30 minutes later by a street cleaner who then called police The grandmother-of-six flashed a brave smile as she read from a bible in hospital, where she is receiving treatment for her injuries Earlier this week, police released CCTV footage of a man they believed could assist with their inquiries after Katsavos was brutally bashed. Mrs Katsavos was opening Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church in South Yarra at 6am on Saturday, as she had done every week for the past 30 years. As the 78-year-old approached the entrance, a man punched her in the face, pushed her to the ground and started kicking her, before he took her belongings and fled the scene. Victoria Police then shared CCTV vision of a man they wish to speak to as part of their investigation. The image showed a man dressed in a maroon shirt, black pants and shoes wheeling a trolley as he walks past a female pedestrian. The man is white, has dark hair, a moustache and is of a thin build. Police allege the woman's attacker stole her shopping trolley, which contained personal items, before dumping it in a nearby street. 'Investigators have released images and CCTV of a male they believe may be able to assist with their inquiries,' a police statement read. On Tuesday morning, Ms Katsavos' heartbroken son Evri and daughter-in-law Erin said the elderly woman's 'body is hurting' but her 'heart and soul are stronger than ever'. 'She is a very religious person and she is strong, and that is getting her through this,' the young mum told Sunrise. Penelope Katsavos' face was covered in massive purple bruises, trailing from her right eye down to her chin (pictured left after the attack and right in hospital) 'She is praying and she has complete faith that God has a plan for her.' Ms Katsavos was left lying on the steps of the church where she was found 30 minutes later by a street cleaner who then called police. Her face was covered in massive purple bruises, trailing from her right eye down to her chin. She suffered a broken wrist, a fractured pelvis and bleeding on the brain in two places. Despite her extensive injuries, her son said her condition improved over the weekend to the point she can now move around. 'She's got full use of her left and right hands, although one of them is in a plaster, but the doctors and nurses are very happy with her progress,' he said. 'As long as she continues to improve then we'll be happy.' Pictured: Erin and Evri Katsavos. Evri's mother Penelope was bashed by ruthless thugs outside a church on Saturday A photo taken in hospital shows the brave elderly woman flashing a smile as she reads from a bible, her reading glasses shielding a swollen black eye. Her family said they were more shocked than angry about the vicious attack, which Ms Katsavos believes was carried out by someone who was 'drug-affected', and pleaded with the attacker to come forward. 'Turn yourself in,' Mr Katsavos said. 'In time, you will be caught so, you know, do the right thing.' Ms Katsavos is the full-time carer for her husband Thomas, who has dementia - prompting fears she may not be able to care for him following the attack. Evri Katsavos, her son, told 7 News on Monday that he is saddened to 'think about the pain that she actually went through'. '[It's] just real gutless to hit anyone, let alone an elderly person... defenceless.' Ms Katsavos has been opening the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church in South Yarra (pictured) every weekend for 30 years The Arizona Cardinals have lost their second free agent of the offseason. After linebacker Haason Reddick agreed to a one-year deal with the Carolinas Panthers, now cornerback Patrick Peterson is moving on. According to ESPNs Adam Schefter, he will join the Minnesota Vikings on a one-year, $10 million deal. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Peterson leaves the Cardinals after a decade with the team. He was drafted fifth overall in 2011 and began his career being selected to the Pro Bowl eight times and named an All-Pro three times. His play slipped a bit over the last couple of seasons but was the Cardinals best cornerback still. He expressed a desire to return but apparently they were not willing to pay Peterson the money he wanted. His departure now leaves a gaping hole at cornerback that the team has only sort of addressed, having released and re-signed Robert Alford. The Cardinals will host the Vikings in 2021 so Peterson will have a homecoming. List 2021 Cardinals free agent tracker: Additions, departures, re-signings, tenders, trades Listen to the latest from Cards Wires Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Latest show: Previous shows: and The finds made it possible to understand that these herbivorous dinosaurs were sedentary, ate very solid food, changed teeth quite often, did not suffer from caries, and also had more complex jaw movements than previously thought. Powerful and squat stegosaurs are now one of the most recognisable dinosaurs: they are easily identified by the spines on the tail and the bony plates on the back - osteoderms. The representatives of this group lived about 165-125 million years ago, during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. They were five to seven metres long and had a disproportionately small head. Their teeth were therefore quite small - about a centimetre in height and about the same in width. Palaeontologists from St Petersburg University worked together with colleagues from: the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the University of Bonn; and the Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research materials were collected during a series of expeditions to the Republic of Sakha in 2012 and 2017-2019. On the banks of the Teete stream, not far from the small Yakut town of Suntar, there is a large, but not yet fully examined locality of dinosaurs. In the Cretaceous, these territories were located close to the North Pole, which means that they can shed light on the life of polar dinosaurs. Was the local fauna different from that of the southern regions? What was the climate here? How were animals affected by the polar day and polar night? The scientists are trying to find answers to these questions, including by studying the teeth of ancient creatures. 'We have found teeth of animals of different ages - both adults and cubs,' said Pavel Skutschas. 'This suggests that the polar stegosaurs are most likely to have been sedentary: they multiplied and raised offspring on the same territory all year round. Additionally, almost all of the finds are extremely eaten away: many of them have two or three facets - worn edges from contact with adjacent teeth.' This feature prompted the researchers to believe that second dentition in polar stegosaurs could occur sufficiently quickly. The scientists therefore investigated 'temporary rings' - the so-called von Ebner lines, which can be used to calculate the number of days required for odontogenesis. It took Yakut stegosaurs only about 95 days to complete this task, although in other dinosaur species the process usually lasted 200 days or longer. These Yakut inhabitants are most likely not to have suffered from caries since it takes much more time for it to appear. 'The fact that teeth formed quickly, grinded quickly and changed quickly is highly likely to indicate that the stegosaurs from Yakutia ate some kind of tough food. We cannot yet say with 100% certainty that we have found polar adaptation, since there is, in principle, very little information about the teeth of stegosaurs. However, their teeth, found in more southern areas, usually have only one wear surface. In a word, this is a new question for palaeobotanists - what was the hard plant growing in the polar regions that the Yakut stegosaurs ate?' noted Pavel Skutschas. Another remarkable thing made it possible to take a different view on the structure of the jaws of these animals: on the surface of the teeth abrasion, the scientists were able to spot curved micro gouges. Palaeontologists used to assume that very simple jaw movements were characteristic of stegosaurs - up and down, like scissors. However, now, thanks to the patterns of gouges on the facets, it became clear that jaw movements were more complex and included a longitudinal phase. Another conclusion turned out to be associated with the wavy structure of the enamel. It used to be thought that it was unique to the younger Late Cretaceous dinosaurs, which had a complex dentition, such as the hadrosaurids. However, the palaeontologists saw this feature in stegosaurs from Yakutia and decided to examine the teeth of another Early Cretaceous dinosaur, a primitive relative of Triceratops - Psittacosaurus. This unique feature turned out to have been prevalent among dinosaurs in general. 'Stegosaurs are one of the most recognisable and popular dinosaurs that are often seen on T-shirts and various pictures. However, we still know little about them. This research has raised many new questions that can be solved without setting out on an expedition, but by studying materials that have been stored in museums for hundreds of years. We have managed to show what features the polar stegosaurs had. But what is an "ordinary", "benchmark" stegosaurus? This has yet to be investigated,' stressed Pavel Skutschas. ### Gaborone Government has launched a plan which seeks to provide mechanisms for informal sector businesses to respond to the effects of COVID-19. Launching the plan on March 16, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame said it sought to develop sustainable measures to overcome challenges facing the sector. She explained that the plan rested on two strategic goals, establishment of informal sector facilitation structures and economic revitalisation of the sector. "The proposed interventions provide for an investment in the future capability of the informal sector and are aligned with the country's National Entrepreneurship Policy and Vision 2036," she said. Ms Serame said the plan called for the establishment of a high capacity agency to facilitate engagement with informal sector participants and to manage all government's interventions for the sector. Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) had been assigned to take on the role, she stated. The minister noted that relief was already being provided for the sector through the Industry Support Facility with a P1 000 grant per business. "Parallel to the disbursement of the grant, phase two is the development of infrastructure that will ensure decent work hubs/ markets and market-access centres for informal sector business clusters and services, said Ms Serame. She said projects would be prioritised according to their ability to benefit a broad spectrum of informal sector enterprises, and the number of jobs they could support. The ministry, she said, would work with other stakeholders to undertake projects such as in the agriculture and service-related areas. Ms Serame said the launch was meant to create awareness among the key stakeholders which included government, private sector, civil society and development partners. It should translate into actual review of strategies to facilitate the informal sector in districts, regions and communities, she said. Ms Serame said the ministry was in the process of reviewing SMME guidelines, policies and relevant strategies to facilitate informal sector development. For her part, UNDP resident representative Ms Jacinta Barrins said her organisation had pledged support for the plan's implementation with seed funds amounting to over P2 million already availed. Activities earmarked for support included engagement of technical advisor, setting up of business intelligence system, promotion of digitisation of business operations and commissioning of a feasibility study on a social insurance scheme for the sector, she said. Another speaker, Botswana Informal Sector Association chairperson, Mr Thatayaone Ramasu pleaded with authorities to allow sector participants' voices to be heard. The sector played a major role in the country's economic development and therefore deserved to be given audience, he said. He however said with the launch of the recovery plan, hope was in sight for the sector. Chief Executive Officer Business Botswana, Mr Norman Moleele said his organisation attached a lot of importance to the informal and micro enterprise sector which he described as the foundation of most businesses. He said the organisation had incorporated a number of activities and interventions for growing and supporting the sector in its 2018-2023 strategic plan. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Botswana Business Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The activities include conducting nationwide campaigns to encourage businesses to graduate from informal to the formal sector and working with the ministry of finance for additional incentives for business transitioning, he said. Mr Moleele said Business Botswana, with the help of other stakeholders, had developed a market intelligence information system, e-market place and Covid market place, where informal sector participants could be listed in order to gain market access not just locally but internationally as well. He said the organisation was currently working with South African Trade Hub to provide financial literacy to SMMEs particularly those with the potential to benefit from AGOA. Source : BOPA The Washington Post reports that the Chinese government is scrubbing evidence of its clampdown on Uighurs in Xinjiang amid an international debate as to whether China is committing genocide. The article explains: As Western governments assess whether the crackdown on Uyghurs and other minorities in Chinas Xinjiang region constitutes genocide, Beijing has slowed the information flow from the area to a trickle, obscuring conditions. The restriction of information coupled with inaction by intergovernmental organizations has left individual countries to make determinations as best they can. Surveillance and censorship have long hindered a full view of conditions in Xinjiang. But last year Beijing locked down borders, citing the coronavirus; expelled foreign journalists who reported on Xinjiang; and scrubbed information off websites across the region. Regimes committing these kinds of crimes typically try to prevent damaging information from getting out, said Deborah Mayersen, an Australian expert on genocide. China has more than the typical incentive to clamp down on the flow of damaging information. For one thing, the government isnt just seeking to retain power. It hopes to dominate the world stage. For another, as the Post notes, evidence of genocide could galvanize European nations to join the United States in imposing economic sanctions and fuel calls to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Its not a surprise, then, that China is blocking the flow of information about its treatment of the Uyghurs and other minorities. What may (or may not) be surprising is the degree to which Western experts are assisting China in this regard. Richard Bernstein of RealClearInvestigations has the details. He notes, for example, that when the BBC interviewed several Uighur women who graphically described the horrific treatment they received while detained in one of the concentration camps, John Ross, a British journalist and academic, parroted Chinese government claims that the BBC is largely controlled by the British intelligence service MI5. This was typical of the way China makes use of Western experts, according to Bernstein: China often turns to foreign experts such as Ross to supply credibility for its persistent complaint that the Western media is anti-China and in cahoots with foreign governments, especially the United States. Ross is one of several foreigners, generally attached to Chinese universities or research institutes, who have emerged as apologists for Beijing, especially as it has come under intensifying criticism for its human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong and its ever tighter control of opinion across the country. Bernstein also cites Mario Cavolo, an American identified as a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing which, according to its website, promotes Chinese wisdom for the world. Cavolo has said: More and more foreigners living in China are openly stating that they have more true freedom in todays China than they do in todays U.S. or European countries. The Uighurs were unavailable for comment. The Chinese government made sure of that. A French writer, Maxime Vivas, describes reports of genocide in Xinjiang as fake news promoted by those with links to the CIA. Apparently, he bases this assessment on two state-sponsored trips to Xinjiang in 2016 and 2018. But, as the Post reports, in 2019, China closed its borders (citing the pandemic) and expelled foreign journalists who reported on Xinjiang. In addition, only a handful of Uyghurs have been able to leave China or even communicate with the outside world. We know enough to conclude that Chinas treatment of the Uighurs constitutes at least crimes against humanity. The international human rights community is clear about that. The open issue is whether Red Chinas actions are genocidal, i.e., based on an intent to destroy Uighurs as a group. The Chinese government is doing its best to prevent the access that would assist in that determination. It wouldnt be unreasonable to draw an adverse inference from Chinas efforts in this regard. The Chinese government is aided in its coverup by Western experts, who, as Bernstein observes, reflect an old phenomenon of outside elites finding much to like in authoritarian systems communist, fascist or even Nazi while downplaying or ignoring their faults. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the Indian economy is out of the Covid-19 crisis and it will grow upward from here. He said the government's investment push in the private sector will start to show impact but the country needs to be prepared for rising coronavirus graph. "The large capital expenditure announced by the government will support economic activity and investment. It is expected to crowd in private investment. From now on, the economy is expected to move only in one direction - that is, upwards," Das said, reported The Economic Times. Also read: Liquidity stance continues to remain accommodative: RBI He said rising bond yields across the world are posing challenges in economic recovery but the RBI was confident to manage these crises smoothly. He said the RBI will continue to support the market while ensuring the central borrowing programmes go through smoothly. The Reserve Bank of India has pegged the GDP growth rate for the next financial year at 10.5 percent, though a tad lower than the government's projection of 11 per cent. The projection is in line with the estimates in the Union Budget 2021-22 presented in Parliament last month. The Centre has projected the economy will grow at 11 per cent, up from an estimated historic decline of 8 per cent in 2020-21, on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. After contracting for two consecutive quarters, India's GDP grew 0.4 per cent in October-December quarter. Also read: RBI keeps repo rate unchanged, maintains accommodative stance -- Around the time of the spring equinox, a major season for farming in China, farming activities are in full swing across the country, from the north to the south. -- To complement the use of large agricultural machinery and even drones, Chinese researchers have developed a number of high-tech products to help farmers get better access to agricultural know-how, use intelligent management platforms, and better control pests and plant diseases. -- China reaped a bumper harvest last year despite the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, typhoons, floods and droughts, with an annual grain yield of 669.5 million tonnes. The country has shown the capability to feed its population and withstand threats to grain production. by Xinhua writers Han Yu, Liu Fangqiang, Sun Xiaoyu and Li Baojie HEFEI/HARBIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Luo Yingdi, 50, has been busy spraying pesticide in wheat fields for over a month, covering about 67 hectares of land per day with the help of his agricultural spraying tractors. "I have six agricultural sprayers and two drones to spray pesticide and herbicide. Seven employees from my agricultural service company do the spraying work," said Luo, who has been farming for 21 years in Yingshang County, east China's Anhui Province. Besides looking after his own 53 hectares of farmland, he also provides the spraying service to other farmers. Tractors spray pesticide in the wheat fields in Wanggang Town, Yingshang County of east China's Anhui Province, March 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan) The spring equinox, or Chunfen in Chinese, the fourth solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on March 20 this year. After the spring equinox, the days get longer, the weather becomes warmer, and plants start to grow fast. Around the time of the spring equinox, a major season for farming in China, farming activities are in full swing across the country, from the north to the south. In northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Li Fuqiang, 38, has stored enough fertilizers and soybean seeds for the upcoming spring plowing. Li, who was awarded the title of "Soybean Master" in the province in 2018 for planting quality soybeans, plans to plant 3,333 hectares of non-GMO quality soybean this year. Heilongjiang is China's largest soybean-producing region, accounting for about half of the country's total soybean acreage. The soybean acreage in the province exceeded 4.66 million hectares in 2020 and will remain stable this year, according to the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs. UPGRADING AGRICULTURE To complement the use of large agricultural machinery and even drones, Chinese researchers have developed a number of high-tech products to help farmers get better access to agricultural know-how, use intelligent management platforms, and better control pests and plant diseases. "I learned how to make better use of fertilizers and herbicides by watching an agricultural livestreaming show. I'm confident that I'll have a good harvest this year," said Jiang Deying from Baoqing County of Heilongjiang Province. On Hongwei Farm of Heilongjiang Province, the use of an intelligent agriculture platform supported by a monitoring system can increase the rice yield by about 5 percent while also reducing the use of fertilizers by about 7 percent, said He Peixiong, director of the farm's agriculture department. A farmer uses a drone to spray pesticide in the fields in Huagang Town, Feixi County of Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi) In Changfeng County of Anhui Province, a group of researchers rummaged through every inch of a wheat field, holding a selfie stick-like device upside down to look for pests. The early identification and control of pests and plant diseases is critical to guaranteeing crop growth. Agricultural scientists developed the pest recognition tool to help farmers handle pests more precisely. A camera is installed on one end of the device to capture images of pests and plants' growing conditions. There are also sensors that record the real-time temperature and moisture of the field. All the data is uploaded to and processed in the background server, so as to evaluate the potential damage from pests and thus offer related solutions to farmers. "We developed pest-recognition software to analyze pictures the device takes in the fields and then tell farmers what kinds of pests they have to deal with," said Du Jianming, a researcher of the Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After nine years of data collection, over 1 million pictures of various pests and crop diseases have been captured. The tool can be applied in different crop fields including wheat, rice, corn and soybean, with an accuracy rate of up to 85 percent. So far, it has been adopted in more than 10 provinces, according to the institute. ENSURING FOOD SECURITY In a bid to identify the ideal rice varieties for Heilongjiang, a team headed by Nie Shoujun, from the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted a series of experiments. After years of efforts, a number of high-quality varieties featuring high yields and better resistance to disease and lodging have been cultivated. "Cultivating high-quality varieties with independent intellectual property can help enhance China's agricultural competitiveness, so as to ensure the country's food security," said Nie. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, many countries have restricted grain exports, putting the global food supply chain at great risk. The number of people suffering from hunger is on the rise. China reaped a bumper harvest last year despite the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, typhoons, floods and droughts, with an annual grain yield of 669.5 million tonnes. The country has shown the capability to feed its population and withstand threats to grain production. A staff member of an eco-agriculture cooperative checks the automotive driving apparatus on a tractor in Jiaoyi Village, Taishan City of south China's Guangdong Province, March 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Deng Hua) This year marks the beginning of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has urged all provincial-level regions to either maintain or increase their crop planting area to make sure the country's total grain output stays above 650 million tonnes a year. Heilongjiang Province plans to add 100,000 hectares of crop acreage this year, according to the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs. China has secured a bumper harvest for 17 years in a row, with its annual grain output exceeding 650 million tonnes for six consecutive years, boosting the country's confidence in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and developing the economy, said Li Guoxiang with the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. By meeting its domestic grain demand and reducing grain imports while moderately increasing the exports of wheat and rice, China is making a contribution to the world in terms of reducing global food security risks, Li said. [ Editor: WXL ] How the Green New Deal Is a Trojan Horse for Totalitarian GovernmentInterview With Hayden Ludwig The US Congress is looking to pass a new infrastructure bill, which contains elements from the Green New Deal. And as the Biden administration continues to push for its policies to remake Americas energy grid, and implement its provisions of no carbon emissions, there are growing concerns over what this actually entails, and what the cost to the country will be. To learn more about this we sat down for an interview with Hayden Ludwig, Senior Investigative Researcher at the Capital Research Center. These stories and more in this episode of Crossroads. Crossroads is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube. Support Crossroads: https://donorbox.org/crossroads Join Patreon to Support Crossroads: https://www.patreon.com/Crossroads_Josh WASHINGTON The U.S. Army is preparing to select an existing field artillery battalion to receive the first Extended Range Cannon Artillery system, according to Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of the services long-range precision fires modernization efforts. Fielding will take place in 2023, but the Army will have to announce the unit with enough time to carry out a yearlong operational assessment, he said at the Association of the U.S. Armys Global Force Next virtual event on March 16. The assessment will be critical for working through the operational concept for how we fight with general support artillery fires and a division, he said. At the same time, the Army is synchronizing the delivery of ammunition to include propellant and course-correcting fuses for the operational assessment, he added. The service plans to deliver real-time soldier feedback to the engineers who are working on the next battalion set of ERCA systems. The Army will also evaluate concepts of sustainment during the assessment because this really will impact a divisions ability to sustain and especially the fires war-fighting function, which we have already put a lot of pressure on our sustainment and logistics partners, Rafferty noted. The ERCA cannon hit a target 43 miles away or 70 kilometers on the nose at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in December 2020 using an Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell. The Army is racing to extend artillery ranges on the battlefield to take away advantages of high-end adversaries like Russia and China. The ERCA weapon, when fielded, should be able to fire at and destroy targets from a position out of the range of enemy systems. The ERCA system takes an M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management howitzer chassis and replaces the 39-caliber gun tube with a 58-caliber, 30-foot one. Combined with Raytheon-made Excalibur munitions and an XM1113 using supercharged propellant, the Army has been able to dramatically boost artillery ranges. Story continues The path to fielding ERCA at this point, Rafferty said, is not without risk. But our team we work together every single day to knock these problems down. Things like the rotating band the copper rotating band on our traditional artillery projectiles works great for a 20-foot gun tube, but when you add 10 feet to that gun tube, we found that that was causing excessive wear and getting some engraving on the side of the projectiles, he said. The Army team acknowledged the issue, according to Rafferty, and developed a new rotating band in pretty short order. Rafferty said he anticipates the road ahead will still feature these types of hurdles but that the team is prepared to work through them. Following the big shot in December, Rafferty said the coming year will be full of decisions, during which the Army needs to start snapping the chalk line on a few things. We will snap the chalk line on the propellant, we will snap the chalk line on the projectile design and begin to look towards manufacturability, towards production. The Army will continue its soldier-centered design effort to ensure the configurations for the propellant and charge are things the soldiers can handle and that they dont affect the rate of fire, he added. The configuration of projectiles and propellant also has to be optimally stowed in a howitzer to maximize the number of kills onboard. As the ERCA program transitions to a fielded system, Rafferty said, the Army will move the system from Army Combat Capabilities Development Command at the Armament Center to the program manager for self-propelled howitzers. As I told the chief of staff of the Army recently, its kind of symbolic, right? But its an important step to transition it, but really we go to that supportive, supporting relationship, Rafferty said. The Armament Center and industry partners will continue the process of testing and fixing all the way to delivering the ERCA cannon in 2023. The Army is also working on a government-designed autoloader for ERCA and plans to host a live-fire test for that at Yuma Proving Ground at the end of March. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Just a short drive down the road from Houston, forested suburb The Woodlands has now earned the prestigious distinction as the No. 1 Best City to Live in America, according to Niche.com. "We have been in the Top 10 for a number of years, and today, it's with great honor to receive the news we're ranked #1," The Woodlands Township Chairman Gordy Bunch stated in a press release. "The Woodlands is a dynamic hometown within a natural forest and is known for its balance between man and nature." SPRING BREAK DEALS: These are the spring break deals for every kind of Texas traveler Niche.com recently released its 2021 Best Place to Live rankings. It's no easy feat to win this No. 1 title. The Woodlands took the coveted No. 1 spot out of 228 cities and 18,516 towns and neighborhoods listed nationwide. "I think truly because of the pandemic and the ability to work remotely and not having to commute have to be factors of that No. 1 ranking," Boulevard Realty owner Billy Baldwin told Chron. "The tremendous amount of growth in retail, professional space give opportunity for people to truly not leave that ZIP code very far." So, why do so many people call The Woodlands the most desirable place to live in the U.S.? It's that connection to parks and nature that give it a special allure. The suburb boasts 140 parks and is linked by more than 220+ miles of hike and bike trails. Tucked near Sam Houston National Forest, The Woodlands is home to more than 118,000 residents and over 2,000 businesses. "This master-planned community took into account living in harmony with nature. That's the most desirable thing about it," Bill Baldwin told Chron. "For those who want the master-planned livable forest, that's an excellent choice for them. Its been the community of choice for many people for decades." The rankings are derived by using data from the U.S. Census, FBI, BLS, CDC as well as millions of resident reviews, according to Niche.com. To assess the No. 1 ranking, the company weighs factors including the local housing market, neighborhood diversity, affordability, area public schools and walkability. Here are the 2021 Best Cities to Live in America, according to Niche.com: The Woodlands, TX Arlington, VA Naperville, IL Overland Park, KS Cambridge, MA In addition to landing the top spot on the Best Cities to Live list, The Woodlands made it in the top 10 for these rankings in 2021, according to Niche.com: Best Cities to Buy a House in America (#2 of 228) Best Cities to Raise a Family in America (#2 of 228) Cities with the Best Public Schools in America (#6 of 228) Cities with the Best Public Schools in America (#6 of 228) In 2021, only two other Texas cities showed up in the top 20: Plano at No. 7 and Richardson at No. 12. Dumfries and Galloway farmer David Yates has been presented the John Dennison Lifetime Achievement award for his contribution to the dairy industry. Born in 1931 to a second-generation farming background, David Yates, from Castle Douglas, established renowned Holstein herds which his sons now run. Harrison & Hetherington (H&H), which issued the award as part of the Borderway UK Dairy Expo, said he had an international reputation and his achievements were an inspiration to future generations. This highly acclaimed award, established in memory of Cumbrian farmer John Dennison, recognises a dairy cattle breeder who is judged to be a high achiever. It is given to those who demonstrate a combination of ability, sportsmanship, integrity, and character within the UK dairy industry. Glyn Lucas, H&H auctioneer and one of the judges, said Mr Yates' career stood out as an 'outstanding example of exceptional work ethic'. "He is an inspiration to his family, and to others, and presenting him with the award was a special honour," he added. Throughout his life, Mr Yates has shown and judged shows across the UK, and his passion still inspires others to this day. At first, he was farming two farms by himself: he purchased his first, East Logan, in 1971, and the second, Firthhead, in 1989. In 1996, he handed the farms to each of his two sons, who continue to manage them today. Tom Lomas, who nominated Mr Yates for the award, said he was 'a perfect candidate, because everything it represents is exactly what he is about'. "He has had his own success within the industry, but also encouraged the next generation to progress and to take the business forward," he said. "Talking about his farming life today, David says that he wishes he could still do these things, but that his body just will not allow it anymore. "To me, this really sums up how great this man is - that even at the fine age of 87, he still wishes to get up, get out, and see the cattle world for how great it really is. David was initially a Dairy Shorthorn breeder but seeing that these were in decline, he decided to move onto Holsteins. By the mid 1990s he had converted to 100% Holsteins. He established strong links with Canada, having first visited in the 50s when he helped export nine bulls across the Atlantic from the Perth Bull Sales. In 1982, he established the pattern of an annual visit to Canada, where he had built relationships with Claud Picket of Pickland Holsteins and Peter Heffering of Hanoverhill Holsteins. Regular imports of cows have continued, with the early ones by direct flights into the nearby Prestwick Airport. Today, the East Logan and Micklefirth herds are built on cows that Mr Yates bought or had shares in from North America. On being presented with his award, he said: Im highly honoured to receive the award. Ive seen a lot of prominent people win it, and never dreamt it could be me. "I cant see what Ive done to deserve it. It really is a great honour. The coronavirus vaccines being rolled out in Britain work better against the Brazilian variant (pictured) than first feared The coronavirus vaccines being rolled out in Britain work better against the Brazilian variant than first feared, research suggests. An Oxford University study found its vaccine and the jab made by Pfizer perform just as well against the P.1 strain that first emerged in Manaus as they do against the Kent variant. The vaccines, already in the arms of 25million Britons, have shown to be highly effective against the UK dominant Kent strain, reducing deaths and hospital rates by more than 85 per cent. Scientists initially feared the P.1 variant would be resistant to vaccines because it has a number of worrying mutations on top of the ones it shares with the Kent strain. There have so far been 12 cases of the Brazilian variant in the UK nine in England and three in Scotland. All of the patients had either direct or indirect travel links to Brazil. The study exposed blood samples from vaccinated people to various Covid variants and monitored their antibody responses. It found the vaccines produced nearly three times less antibodies against the Kent and Brazil variants when compared with the original strain. The researchers said this was still more than enough to neutralise the viruses. However, the jabs stimulated up to nine times less antibodies when exposed to the South African variant, which has been detected in hundreds of people in the UK. But antibodies are not the only part of the immune response to Covid white blood cells also play an important role, meaning even if vaccines don't produce a strong antibody response, they should still prevent severe illness. More than 25million Britons have had at least one dose of either Oxford University/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine Daily coronavirus deaths in Britain are falling at a faster rate than they did when the first wave began to tail off, according to official data which provides even more evidence the vaccines are saving live Vaccine makers have previously said the jabs will still stop the vast majority of people from falling sick with that strain. They claim in the few vaccinated people who still go on to catch it, their symptoms will be reduced to 'the sniffles'. Professor Gavin Screaton, a medical expert who led the research, said: 'This study extends our understanding the role of changes in the spike protein in escape from the human immune response, measured as neutralising antibody levels. Early signs of vaccine effect as Britain's daily Covid deaths fall faster now than during first wave Daily coronavirus deaths in Britain are falling at a faster rate than they did when the first wave began to tail off, according to official data which provides even more evidence that vaccines are saving lives. Figures from No10's Covid dashboard show that fatalities in the second wave peaked higher and fell further in the following seven weeks than during the same time period last spring. For example, daily Covid fatalities hit 1,362 on deadliest day of the pandemic on January 19. This had fallen to 138 seven weeks later on March 8, the most recent snapshot available a drop of 90 per cent. By contrast, the first wave peaked at a lower 1,073 on April 8 and fell by 80 per cent to just 213 in the same amount of time. The early signs of the vaccine effect come as the Government announced more than 25million Britons have had at least one dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford University/AstraZeneca jabs. The milestone, which means almost half of all adults in the country have been inoculated, was hit exactly 100 days after the mammoth rollout launched. Latest figures show 25,273,226 Brits have received the first injection, while 1,759,445 of them have had their second dose. Boris Johnson said the vaccine milestone represented '25million reasons to be confident' about a post-lockdown Britain. Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the achievement as a 'national mission'. Advertisement 'The results suggest that P1 might be less resistant to vaccine and convalescent (Covid infection) immune responses than B1351 (South Africa), and similar to B117 (Kent).' The study used blood samples from people who have natural antibodies generated from a Covid-19 infection and from those whose antibodies were induced by the Oxford or Pfizer vaccines. It found a nearly three-fold reduction in the level of virus neutralisation by the antibodies generated by the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines for the Kent and Brazil variants when compared to an original strain. 'These data suggest that natural and vaccine-induced antibodies can still neutralise these variants, but at lower levels,' the university said. 'Importantly, the P1 'Brazilian' strain may be less resistant to these antibodies than first feared.' The vaccines struggled more with the South African variant, with between a seven-fold reduction in the level of virus neutralisation from the Oxford vaccine and a nine-fold reduction for Pfizer's. Professor Andrew Pollard, chief investigator on the Oxford University vaccine trial, said: 'These further efforts to investigate the relationship between changes in the virus and human immunity provide new insights that help us be prepared to respond to further challenges to our health from the pandemic virus, if we need to do so.' Cases of the Brazilian and South African variants have been found in the UK, with surge Covid testing employed to help prevent their spread. Public Health England data shows there have been 344 cases of the South African strain and 12 cases of the Brazilian version. The agency has six variants 'under investigation' - including strains from the Philippines and Antigua and several which spawned in the UK. It has four more which it describes as 'variants of concern'. They are: the current dominant Kent strain (B.1.1.7); one imported from Brazil (P.1), the South African variant (B.1.351), and one version of the Kent strain that has evolved further that cropped up in Bristol. Despite new variants cropping up in the UK and around the world more often, top scientists have warned against becoming 'obsessed' with mutant viruses. All the of the big vaccine-makers say they are confident their jabs will be highly effective against all emerging strains. Oxford University researchers have said it is unlikely a single strain will make the vaccines significantly weaker in the next year. Instead, they say there is more chance that a series of evolution over the space of many months or even years could eventually make the current crop of jabs less potent. But vaccines can be modified in a matter of weeks and regulators in the UK, US and EU have passed laws which means new booster vaccines can be fast-tracked to approval. Google's co-founder Sergey Brin is shifting his focus from technology to aviation, with plans to build the world's largest airship to assist with disaster relief worldwide. The billionaire's company LTA Research and Exploration is reportedly aiming to build a massive 656-foot-long craft powered by an 'equally record-breaking' hydrogen fuel cell. Brin initially envisioned it as a luxurious 'air yacht,' but is now using the $150 million it will cost to construct a floating ship for humanitarian efforts that is intended as a zero emissions aircraft. LTA is said to have constructed a working prototype dubbed 'Pathfinder 1' that could take to the skies over Silicon Valley as soon as this year, Tech Crunch reports. According to a 2019 registration of Pathfinder 1 with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airship will be powered by 12 electric motors and the ability to transport 14 people inside. Scroll down for video Google's co-founder Sergey Brin (pictured) is shifting his focus from technology to aviation, with plans to build the world's largest airship to assist disaster relief worldwide News of Brin's idea first surfaced in 2017, but the airship was initially for him and his family to jet set around the world. But it seems Brin has had a change of heart and will use his resources, and money, to help save the world when natural disasters strike. LTA states that it will use the airships 'to improve humanitarian aid delivery and reduce carbon emissions, while providing economic opportunity and new jobs to Americans.' And the firm's goal is to create a fleet of the airships. The billionaire's company LTA Research and Exploration is reportedly aiming to build a massive 656-foot-long craft powered by an 'equally record-breaking' hydrogen fuel cell. Pictured is an image from a registration of the airship with the FAA According to a 2019 registration of Pathfinder 1 with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airship will be powered by 12 electric motors and the ability to transport 14 people inside Not only can the design ship goods nearly anywhere, it produces 80 to 90 percent fewer emissions than traditional planes. Sources told The Guardian this month that it is 'going to be massive on a grand scale,' along with sharing it could be about 650 feet long and could cost the billionaire up to $150 million to complete but Brin's net worth currently sits at around $86 billion. Brin's airship would be the world's largest present-day aircraft, but falls short of the infamous Hindenburg Zeppelin from the 1930s that measured 804 feet. The Pathfinder 1 does pulls inspiration from Zeppelin, with similar components in its passenger area. But unlike the ill-fated Zeppelin that went up in flames in 1937, Brin's prototype uses non-flammable helium for its lifting gas, according to TechCrunch. Brin's airship would be the world's largest present-day aircraft, but falls short of the infamous Hindenburg Zeppelin from the 1930s that measured 804 feet. But unlike the ill-fated Zeppelin that went up in flames in 1937, Brin's prototype uses non-flammable helium for its lifting gas Brin initially envisioned it as a luxurious 'air yacht,' but is now using the $150 million to construct a floating ship for humanitarian efforts (stock) A job posting on LTA's website reveals plans to build a 1.5-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, which combines fuel cells with hydrogen and oxygen to produce water and electricity, and are often compared to batteries. Pathfinder 1 will use hydrogen fuel cells that Professor Dr. Josef Kallo says will allow it to travel nearly 1,000 miles. 'Functionality wise, there is no showstopper to using a hydrogen fuel cell,' Kallo said. 'The challenge is to find someone who can afford not to look at the business case, because I don't think it works out from an economic perspective. Maybe Sergey Brin can afford to do that.' Although LTA has yet to share images of its Pathfinder 1, SF Gate suggests it is about the same size as the 246-foot-long Zeppelin NT that was used to transport tourists around Germany and Switzerland. Britain expects to seal a financial services cooperation pact with the European Union shortly, a senior finance ministry official told a conference on challenges from market fragmentation. The City of Londons ties with the bloc were severed after Britain left the EUs single market on Dec. 31 and the prospect of a pact has raised hopes in some quarters of at least a partial resumption of direct access to the continents financial markets. Katharine Braddick, the finance ministrys head of financial services, said both sides were committed to agreeing an MoU on regulatory cooperation by the end of March. I dont see any reason why we are not going to be able to deliver on that commitment, Braddick said, echoing comments this week from the EU. Braddick said talk about the pact has been exuberant and in practice it would only be an administrative vehicle for dialog. She was speaking at the launch of a report on financial market fragmentation from the International Regulatory Strategy Group, a think tank backed by the City of London and TheCityUK. It calls on the G7, G20 and the COP26 climate change summit in November to renew commitments to integrated financial markets made during the financial crisis in 2009, to avoid spiraling compliance costs as economies recover from COVID-19 and tackle climate change. Fragmented Markets Antony Manchester, managing director at BlackRock, said it was a delicate time for finance as international trade is being questioned and Brexit fragments markets in Europe. A call for coherent regulation is not the same as a call for less or no regulation, Manchester said. Global investors also face the prospect of different systems in China, the EU, United States and Britain for disclosing and labeling environment-friendly investments for tackling climate change, said Tamara Cizeika, a lawyer at Allen & Overy. Countries are further fragmenting markets by restricting the flow of cross-border data between financial firms, added Toshiyuki Miyoshi, deputy commissioner for international affairs at Japans FSA regulator. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) Topics Europe Uk PITTSFIELD Firefighters took to the city streets Wednesday for a procession in honor of Mike Polidoro, a former deputy chief of the Pittsfield Fire Department. The procession, which circled through Polidoros neighborhood, was led by the departments honor guard, and it included dozens of vehicles and hundreds of firefighters from Pittsfield and other local departments. They greeted Polidoro and members of his family, who had gathered on the front lawn. Polidoro, who retired in 2016, after serving 28 years in the department, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrigs disease. In 2019, the department dedicated a new vehicle, Pittsfield Fire and Rescue Engine No. 6, in his honor, dubbing it Polys Pride. In prepared remarks released to The Eagle on Wednesday, Fire Chief Thomas Sammons hailed Polidoro as a Firemens Fireman who has been a mentor to many in the department. He has always been a teacher and most calls turned into a teaching moments, he said. We learned teamwork as it applied to the fire service and his confidence on the fireground brought calm to any call. I am fortunate to have learned from him and to call him friend. Around 200 ground workers from Frankfurt Airport took part in Tuesdays rally in Wiesbaden in front of the Hesse state assembly to protest against their arbitrary dismissal. The service company WISAG is using the pandemic as a pretext to throw 260 experienced, long-serving workers out on the street in the foulest way. The workers have already been fighting against this for three months and, as well as numerous demonstrations and rallies, held a hunger strike for eight days in Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport. We publish here the speech delivered at the rally by Marianne Arens, a candidate of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) for the Bundestag (federal parliament) elections. Marianne Arens speaking at the WISAG rally Good afternoon, my name is Marianne Arens and I am an executive committee member of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party). This rally is very important because it highlights the anger and resistance that is building up in the working class. Those who thought workers would accept mass layoffs and be led like lambs to the slaughter were wrong. The workers who are demonstrating here at the Hesse state assembly are fighting like lions for their jobs. They have been demonstrating and fighting for three months, and they even held a hunger strike at the airport for eight days. They are determined not to give up. This demonstration is an indictment of the WISAG group and its allies in the political system. The WISAG corporation is using the pandemic to fire hundreds of long-serving workers and make a buck for itself. It is cold-bloodedly throwing workers out on the street who have carried out backbreaking and professional work at the airport for decades. WISAG is even throwing out workers who have toiled at the airport for forty years, ruining their health, and replacing them with temporary staff, thus depressing the general wage level for everyone. With their resistance, the WISAG workers have shown the world the unvarnished face of capitalist society. In the past weeks, they have experienced that not a single establishment party, no public authority and also none of the big trade unions are on their side. The service union Verdi at the airport has not lifted a finger for them! The parties here in the Hesse state parliament gave WISAG access to the airport. The Green Party Minister of Economics, Tarik Al-Wazir, has publicly defended WISAGs takeover of the concessions at the airport. All parties have actively supported the orgy of deregulation at the airport introduced as part of the single European aviation market. They created the legal basis to destroy secure and well-paid jobs. It was the Social Democratic Party-Green Party government of Gerhard Schroder and Joschka Fischer that opened up a huge low-wage labour market with the Hartz laws. It used to be a dream job to work at the airporttoday it is a nightmare. For all the establishment parties, from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the Left Party, the profit interests of German big business come first and far ahead of securing the lives of working people. This can be seen particularly blatantly in their policies on the coronavirus pandemic: share prices are rising at the same rate as the piles of corpses of COVID-19 victims. 2.7 million people have died from coronavirus and a hundred million have lost their livelihoods. The World Bank estimates that about 120 million people worldwide have lost everything because of the pandemic. WISAGs naked policy of exploitation is the new business model! Everywhere the pandemic is used to enforce massive social attacks. At the airport, mass dismissals are also being imposed at Lufthansa, Fraport, Airbus and everywhere. In production, especially in the car industry, half a million jobs are on the line in Germany alone. The WISAG workers have chosen their slogan of struggle wisely: Today its ustomorrow you! Workers everywhere face the same problems, and in many places strike action is being prepared. WISAG and its owners the Wisser family claim it is their right to do what they want with workers jobs. But they are wrong. Workers no longer accept this. For them, work is the only source of income and the basis of their existence. Their lives and needsand those of their families!stand higher than the profit interests of the corporations and the super-rich. I have spoken to many WISAG workers recently and the question came up: What is this actually about? It quickly became clear, its not about handouts. Workers are not beggars. Workers have rights! And the right to work and a decent wage is a fundamental right! But to enforce this, we need a clear political perspective. A few days ago, we celebrated the 150th birthday of Rosa Luxemburg. The great Marxist and internationalist was also often here in Hesse and spoke at crowded workers meetingsfor example in the Titania in Frankfurt Bockenheim. Rosa Luxemburg always and repeatedly emphasised that the problems of the workers cannot be solved within the framework of the capitalist system of exploitation. And the question she dealt withSocial reform or revolution?this question has been finally decided today! The best proof of this is the anti-social, arrogant, aggressive behaviour of WISAG and its owners the Wisser family. The time of supposed social partnership is irrevocably over. All the talk about improving conditions through co-determination has been clearly refuted. The works councils sit on the supervisory boards and act as co-managers in the interests of the corporations. Rosa Luxemburg would say: You must see your industrial struggle in a wider political context. The profit interests of the ruling class are irreconcilably opposed to the life interests of the workers. There is no way to reconcile the two. Therefore, a socialist perspective and an international strategy are necessary. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei stands in this Marxist tradition. We do not put our hopes in the parties in the state assembly or the federal parliament. We know that they are responsible for the conditions that are destroying our lives. They have made the laws that allow oligarchs like Wisser to exploit and disenfranchise workers in such a way. We can also do without crocodile tears and feigned solidarity. We are fighting to extend the industrial action of the WISAG workers. For this, it is necessary to build up independent rank-and-file committees and to prepare a European-wide general strike. The aim must be to expropriate the big corporations and to reorganise social life according to the needs of the people. Here in front of the state assembly and the state government of Hesse, we cant help but also think about the fascist murders the Christian Democrat-Green Party state executive is covering up and hiding: the murder of Walter Lubcke, the Hanau murders and the threatening emails from Frankfurt police officers to the lawyer Seda Basay-Yldz that just wont stop. This government has locked away its archive data on the relations between the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) with the secret service over the course of the last 30 years, instead of making it available to the public. This same government deports people mercilessly. Only recently, a 60-year-old woman was deported who had lived and worked here for 35 years and raised five children, one of them disabled. Every week, people are deported, even if they have lived and worked here for decades and are fully integrated into society. This state government may express regret for the layoffs at WISAG, but it will do nothing to give the airport workers back their full rights and jobs. It has proven that it will walk over dead bodies. The alternative is, as Rosa Luxemburg said, socialism or barbarism. And whoever decides against barbarism today must first support the struggle of these workers against arbitrary dismissals and wage theft. That is the appeal we are making today to all workersat all WISAG sites, at all airports and throughout production. Above all, we are also addressing the metalworkers who are currently participating in protest strikes. The industrial action of the WISAG workers is a turning point. It must be the launchpad for a broad political movement against exploitation. That is our only way into the future. Thank you. FILE PHOTO: The Honda logo is displayed at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co will temporarily suspend production at its plants in Mexico beginning on March 18 due to supply chain problems related in part to pandemic disruptions, a company spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson said in a brief statement that it was unclear how long the pause will last, describing the suspension at Mexican plants as a coordinated North America-wide stoppage. Carmaking makes up large part of Mexico's manufacturing sector which hosts many of the globe's top auto companies. "We continue to manage a number of supply chain issues related to the impact of COVID-19, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather in recent weeks," the spokesperson for Honda's Mexican unit told Reuters. Late on Tuesday, Honda said supply chain issues will force a halt to production at a majority of U.S. and Canadian auto plants for a week, but made no mention of its Mexican plants. (Reporting by Sharay Angulo; Editing by Anthony Esposito and David Gregorio) Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced today that private equity funds managed by Blackstone have agreed to acquire DESOTEC (the "Company"), a leading European environmental service company, from EQT. This investment aligns to Blackstone's core private equity strategy which is designed to hold investments in high-quality, market-leading companies for longer periods than traditional private equity. Based in Roeselare, Belgium, DESOTEC's mission is to help protect the planet through innovative circular filtration solutions, enabling clean water, air, and soil. The Company was founded in 1990 and is focusing on mobile purification solutions mainly based on activated carbon technology. DESOTEC's fleet of approximately 2,700 mobile filters is the largest of its kind in Europe and it serves a broad range of industrial applications, including air emission, biogas, remediation, wastewater, and chemicals. The Company's mobile filters enable its customers to comply with environmental regulations and sustainability requirements, through its closed-loop, "Filtration-as-a-Service" rental solution. Jurgen Pinker, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: "We are proud to invest in an innovative, mission-driven environmental leader like DESOTEC. The company is a perfect fit for our core private equity strategy, which seeks to identify exceptionally high-quality businesses with strong tailwinds at their backs and support them for the long term. As the focus on environmental responsibility continues to increase globally, we believe DESOTEC is poised for significant further growth and look forward to partnering with DESOTEC's management team in the years ahead." Mario Hertegonne, CEO of DESOTEC, said: "Today's investment marks the beginning of a new chapter for DESOTEC as we continue our mission to better protect the planet. Together with Blackstone, we plan to accelerate our pan-European growth strategy and further expand our leading market position. We are excited about partnering with Blackstone to the benefit of our customers, employees and all stakeholders involved." About Blackstone Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $619 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005629/en/ Contacts: Giles Croot Giles.Croot@Blackstone.com +44 (0) 7881 749614 For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. Two members of a U.S. Marine Corps Female Engagement Team patrol a town in Afghanistan during 2010. Credit: U.S. Marine Corps, Wikicommons. The introduction of gender-neutral restrooms into public and private spaces is a departure from more than a century of policies put in place to ostensibly "protect" women in business, schools and the military. New University of Kansas research shows a stark divide between men and women in the military in their attitudes about the existence of gender-neutral bathrooms and what they mean for gender-based stereotypes and discrimination. In 2013, the Department of Defense lifted a policy banning women from combat positions. KU scholars conducted a series of surveys and focus groups with soldiers who are part of Army special forces, commonly known as Green Berets, about their thoughts on integration. The research was conducted from October 2013 to February 2014 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Less than one-third of men said they would be open to sharing bathrooms with women, while nearly two-thirds of women said they had no objection to it. Those results came from research that didn't originally ask about bathroom policies. "We weren't focused on bathrooms originally, but they kept coming up, more than 300 times," said Shannon Portillo, associate professor of public affairs & administration and associate dean for academic affairs at KU's Edwards Campus. "We were focused on larger questions of military integration, but we saw a stark gender difference on this topic. The results clearly showed men were concerned about continuing a sex-separated atmosphere." Portillo co-wrote the study with Alesha Doan, professor of public affairs & administration and in the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and KU alumna Ashley Mog, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The study was recently published in the journal Armed Forces and Society. "When a male-dominated organization makes positive policy changes to reduce gender inequity, it can simultaneously trigger pushback from the rank-and-file men, who may react by attempting to 're-gender' the organization by doubling down on the existing sexist culture," said Doan, noting they found that exact dynamic in their research. While policies such as the rescinding of a ban of women in combat positions has led to integration, results of the 27 focus groups of special forces membersmany deployed to sites such as Iraq and Afghanistanshow there is still resistance and efforts to maintain gender segregation, the authors wrote. Men frequently cited privacy, risk and hygiene as factors they felt warranted separate facilities. In terms of privacy, however, they only stated they needed privacy from women, not from other men, or to be able to use facilities by themselves. In terms of hygiene and risk, men were focused on menstruation and showed misunderstanding of and revulsion about the topic. Drawing on gender stereotypes, the authors wrote, many men claimed women needed to shower more often or would be emotionally unstable during menstruation and therefore unreliable in their positions. Women also dispelled the assumption that more financial resources would be necessary to accommodate them as part of special forces and combat units. They dismissed the idea that they needed new bathroom or shower facilities, noting they could use stalls for both toilets and showers, cover with towels when necessary or put a sign on a door that a facility was in use. Others said unisex bathrooms were not an issue as they have used them in other areas of life. While men commonly said they did not oppose integration of combat forces, their assumptions about bathrooms and women, and statements about needing to protect women from risks, belied a misunderstanding about bathroom policies, how they have been used to keep women out of certain spaces and to continue gender separation and privilege they have grown accustomed to, the authors wrote. "The men in the focus groups held on to the idea of bathrooms not being neutral. They made clear they were not trying to be sexist but did acknowledge bathroom policies that have kept women out of certain public spaces for decades," Portillo said. "Women are trying to access a space that has been exclusively male and are willing to adapt to do so. Men said they were OK with it but were not willing to open certain spaces." The authors also shared a history of American bathroom policy, pointing out how gendered restrooms were first put in place in public in the late 19th century as more women were entering the workforce and a lack of women's restrooms had been used to justify not hiring women, among other discriminatory practices. The study is the third part of a larger research project Doan and Portillo have undertaken about the integration of combat forces. They previously published a study on cultural aspects of a male-dominated military and a book on how "organizational obliviousness" has allowed entrenched gender stereotypes to slow integration. And while President Joe Biden recently lifted a ban on transgender individuals openly serving in the military, the studies focused only on cisgender individuals, as the ban was in place at the time of the research. The findings illustrate how toilets were a focal point for special forces members to attempt to re-establish gender segregation in a changing military atmosphere. That reflects not only what is happening currently as policies are debated to prevent gender-neutral facilities in schools and public places, but the long history of bathrooms being used as a way of keeping women out of certain professions such as policing, Congress, firefighting and others, based on assumptions about privacy, risk and hygiene. "This is not just something that is contained in the military. There has been a long history of bathroom politics in the workplace," Portillo said. "It's also being discussed in schools, and it all shows us just how much bathrooms are a part of public life. They have been and are being used as a way to maintain segregation." More information: Shannon Portillo et al. Maintaining Male Exclusivity: Porcelain Privilege in the Military, Armed Forces & Society (2021). Shannon Portillo et al. Maintaining Male Exclusivity: Porcelain Privilege in the Military,(2021). DOI: 10.1177/0095327X21992369 Feature Article Two-week summer physics camp for young women in New Mexico DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Learn from the women scientists and engineers of Los Alamos National Laboratory at the 2021 Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, a free, virtual experience including hands-on experiments you can do from home. Last year's participants hailed from Acalde, Chimayo, Espanola, Los Alamos, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and White Rock. LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 17, 2021--New Mexico students are encouraged to apply for the free, two-week, virtual Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, taught primarily by women scientists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Campers will receive materials for conducting hands-on experiments at home, as well as a stipend upon completion. With strong engineering and coding components, this year's camp will teach students the skills to build and program their own robots, or to design and build their own solar-powered model homes. Approximately 35 campers will be selected for the 2021 camp, which takes place June 7-18, 2021; application deadline is April 9, 2021. Last year, campers were from Acalde, Chimayo, Espanola, Los Alamos, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and White Rock. The 2021 virtual format will allow campers to attend from more communities in the state. Presenters include approximately 80 scientists, engineers, and other professionals from Los Alamos National Laboratory, 75 percent of whom are female. Eligibility requirements: Young women attending New Mexico schools Completion of Algebra 1 or higher-level math class. Note: Acceptance is not based on GPA. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMwE82K6pe1imuuvPb8tQYDLQJktTuYft5Z0Frl1uPDUl-Iw/viewform Camp sessions also cover professional-development skills such as resumes, interviews, college opportunities in New Mexico, the importance of professional societies, and internships and careers at the Laboratory. ### For more information: lanl-physics-camp@lanl.gov or contact Josefina Salazar (505) 695-4030. About Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns. What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday Smart Communications, Inc. is blazing a trail of 5G innovations in the country as it has launched Rocket WiFi, the countrys first and fastest 5G Pocket WiFi. Powered by Smart 5Gs superfast speeds and ultra-low latency, Rocket WiFi enables subscribers to enjoy next-level digital experiences at home or on the go from streaming HD videos seamlessly, playing action-packed mobile games without lag, making crystal-clear video calls without buffering, and uploading and downloading heavy files in an instant. Specially designed for sharing and multitasking, Rocket WiFi can connect up to 15 WiFi-capable smartphones, tablets, or laptops, making it simpler and easier for more users to experience the lightning speeds of Smart 5G on a wide range of devices. Rocket WiFi also enables users to enjoy all-day connectivity with its heavy-duty 5,000mAh battery. Were very proud to launch the Rocket WiFi, the countrys first-ever 5G-powered Pocket WiFi, as part of our thrust to simply bring the latest technology and cutting-edge innovations in the hands of Filipinos, said Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart. With the Rocket WiFi, our subscribers have front-row seats to new and exciting digital experiences that can only be made possible by Smart 5G, the most extensive 5G network in the Philippines, she added. The Rocket WiFi is available with Signature Data Plan S for Php1,324 per month for 36 months, with a one-time cashout of Php5,300. Data Plan S comes with 20GB per month to cover all online activities. It also comes with the Data Rollover feature, so all unused data from the previous month will be carried over to the next month. To sign up for a new Smart Bro 5G Rocket WiFi Plan, customers can visit the Smart Online Store or head to select Smart Stores in Metro Manila. Women's Volleyball March 18, 2021 Fresno State at Colorado State March 19 Volleyball Match Canceled COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Due to delayed COVID-19 testing results, Fresno State was unable to travel to Fort Collins today. Therefore, tomorrows match between the Bulldogs and Colorado State has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. Saturdays match is still scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. MT and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network. COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa On May 26, my husband and I were in Norfolk to pick up a dog. We were to meet the seller at the main entrance to Ta-Ha-Zouka Park. We arrived and I did not think we were at the right entrance. I flagged down a young man and he told me where the right entrance was, and The Aer Lingus Regional contract operated by Stobart runs until the end of 2022 Another potential suitor has entered the fray to buy Aer Lingus Regional operator Stobart Air, the Irish Independent has learned. Isle of Man-based Ettyl, a start-up virtual airline, is understood to be circling the Dublin-based carrier. But its pitted against other suitors for Stobart Air, including seasoned aviation executive Ian Woodley. Ettyl is headed by Jason Scales, a young entrepreneur who founded the business last year. He also heads a shared office centre called The Hubb on the Isle of Man. He is listed in company documents as being the sole shareholder in Ettyl when it was founded this time last year. Gary Chambers Jr. and Karen Carter Peterson expressed support for a broad range of progressive policies Wednesday night during the only televised debate in the congressional campaign to replace Cedric Richmond. The two Democrats mostly differed in style on WDSUs Hot Seat, with Peterson emphasizing her experience and deep knowledge of government after 21 years as a state legislator she is currently a state senator and eight years chairing the Louisiana Democratic Party. Chambers emphasized his outsider status as a Baton Rouge community activist and first-time candidate for federal office. Election day for the special election is Saturday for a House district that includes most of New Orleans and that snakes up the Mississippi River through the west bank of Jefferson Parish, the River Parishes and into north Baton Rouge. State legislators drew the district a decade ago to favor Black Democrats. As debate host Travers Mackel noted at the beginning of the 30-minute broadcast, state Sen. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, one of the presumptive front-runners, declined to participate. Carter said he thought the debate should include other candidates, citing Desiree Ontiveros, a Democrat and small business owner in New Orleans, and Claston Bernard, a small business owner in Gonzales who has the endorsement of the Louisiana Republican Party. One of the senators skipped out on tonights debate because he didnt want to come to the job interview, Chambers said at one point. +5 Where's Troy Carter? New Orleans state senator pulls out of WDSU congressional debate Gary Chambers Jr. and Karen Carter Peterson are knocking Troy Carter for pulling out of the only televised debate scheduled during the congres WDSU said it invited Carter, Peterson and Chambers in part because a poll released by New Orleans-based Edgewater Research showed Carter with 35%, Peterson with 24%, Chambers with 11%, the other 12 candidates dividing 16% and the remaining 15% undecided. Throughout the debate, Peterson showed a greater fluidity of the issues than Chambers. She also spoke past the time allotted by Mackel on nearly every question. Both candidates voiced support for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour from the current $7.25 per hour. If you live in the wealthiest country in the world and work 40 hours a week, nobody should have to work two or three jobs to put food on the table and have a roof over their heads, Peterson said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up +3 Karen Carter Peterson calls Troy Carter attack ad 'a lie' in congressional campaign Only days before Saturdays primary, Karen Carter Peterson is calling foul on Troy Carter for a television ad that slams her and her husband o Both candidates supported the Medicare for All proposal that aims to make health care universal in the U.S. Both said they believed President Donald Trump incited the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and said they would have voted to impeach him. Both candidates said they support President Joe Bidens moratorium on drilling in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico and supported Bidens plan to push a major infrastructure bill through Congress. Mackel asked Peterson about her gambling addiction, which WWL-TV disclosed in 2019 when it reported that she had violated a self-imposed ban on entering Louisiana casinos. Peterson said the only money she gambled away was her own and added that she regularly attends meetings. +6 In the race to replace Cedric Richmond, see who has the biggest campaign warchest State Sen. Troy Carter continues to pace the field in fundraising in the congressional race to replace U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, according to Addiction is the result of mental health challenges that many people face, she said. This is one of the reasons why I fight so hard to get quality health care. Its so personal to me. Mackel asked Chambers whether he could adequately represent a New Orleans-centric district by living in Baton Rouge. It doesnt matter your geography, Chambers said. It matters what you are going to get done for the people. We got two career politicians here who served 20 and 30 years. Our state still ranks No. 50. That means dead last. The research has been published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports Access to pasture may induce more positive emotional wellbeing for dairy cows than full-time housing, new research indicates. Over the past year, much research has shown the psychological damage that lockdown can have on human wellbeing. Now research led by Queens University Belfast has found that livestock lockdown may also damage emotional wellbeing in dairy cows. The research has been published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. In humans, negative moods are linked to pessimistic judgements about ambiguous stimuli, for example, depression and anxiety sufferers tend to expect fewer positive outcomes in life. By contrast, happy emotions and moods are linked to more optimistic judgements. This study is the first of its kind to investigate whether dairy cows also have this judgement bias, and whether optimistic judgements can be used as an indicator of psychological wellbeing, which is important for animal welfare. Dr. Gareth Arnott, senior lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at Queens University and principal investigator on the research, explains: Animal welfare scientists and dairy consumers have long been concerned that depriving dairy cattle of pasture access harms their welfare. Pasture access can promote natural behaviour, improve cows health, and cows given the choice spend most of their time outside. However, the effects of pasture access on dairy cows psychological wellbeing have been poorly understood that is what our judgement bias study intended to measure. The study To conduct their study the researchers, as part of a collaboration with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, gave 29 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows 18 days of overnight pasture access (which previous studies suggest improves wellbeing)and 18 days of full-time indoor housing (which previous studies suggest harms welfare). Each cow was then trained to approach a food rewarded bucket location, but not approach another, unrewarded bucket location. After learning this task, to test judgement bias, the researchers presented cows with buckets in between the trained locations. Approaching these intermediate buckets would reflect an expectation of reward under ambiguity an optimistic judgement bias, suggesting positive emotional states. The researchers found cows kept indoors full-time were faster to approach the known rewarded bucket location. Andrew Crump, a postdoctoral researcher from the School of Biological Sciences at Queens and lead author of the paper, said: Increased reward anticipation suggests that an animal has fewer rewards in its life, so our results indicate that pasture is amore rewarding environment for dairy cows, which may induce more positive emotional wellbeing than full-time housing. Britain and Ireland have mostly resisted the trend towards housing dairy cows indoors full-time. We hope that our research encourages farmers, retailers, Government and consumers that pasture access is important for cow welfare, and should be protected. "In countries where full-time housing is common, we hope that ours and other welfare studies challenge this trend. The Agri-Foodand Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Hillsborough hosted the study. This work was funded by Northern Irelands Department for the Economy, as well as a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Worship is set to resume in churches across Northern Ireland in time for Easter Worship is set to resume in churches across Northern Ireland in time for Easter. The announcement follows ongoing consultations between religious representatives and public health officials and comes a day after Stormont agreed "cautious but optimistic" relaxations to coronavirus regulations. Northern Ireland's Catholic bishops have announced a "cautious return" to public worship ahead of Holy Week and Easter. In a statement, the bishops said individual parishes and Covid-19 support teams must carry out a "thorough risk assessment" before returning to public worship from next Friday, March 26. However, they said that some parishes may decide their particular circumstances dictate it is not possible to return to in-person masses until a later date. "Every person should consider carefully if returning to collective worship is the safe and appropriate step for them at this time," the bishops added. Church of Ireland bishops have also confirmed the resumption of in-person worship from Good Friday, April 2. Attendances will continue to be limited for the time being because of the need for social distancing and congregations will have to wear face coverings. The bishops say their decision is "simply permissive rather than instructive" and the return to in-person gatherings in church should be "cautious and careful". A similar approach is being adopted by both the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In a statement, the Methodist Church said it looked forward to a careful return to in-person services from Good Friday. "This will allow time for preparation to celebrate the major Christian festival of Easter, with its theme of hope emerging from suffering and death," it added. A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church said: "We very much welcome and rejoice at the fact that we will be returning to in-person services in the lead-up to Easter, the most significant time for Christians. "When to return will be up to each of our congregations and would be in the context of all necessary mitigations and safeguards being in place, with the safety of everyone involved being of utmost importance." In-person gatherings for worship were voluntarily suspended in early January in response to the latest lockdown but some churches have already resumed public worship, including the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in north Belfast. New Delhi: About a year after the first nationwide lockdown imposed in the country after the CVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the same situation is beginning to arise again. In many states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab strict measures such as partial lockdown and night curfew have also been imposed. Amid rapidly rising COVID-19 cases in the country, the school authorities in some states have started closing down physical classes again. The second wave of COVID-19 infections in Maharashtra has been confirmed. To curb the rising cases, many restrictions have been put in place by the state government in the state. The district administration of Palghar in Maharashtra has ordered the indefinite closure of all schools and colleges from Thursday till further notice amid a spike. The Telangana authorities are also due to take a decision on whether to shut down schools across the state for a second time in view of rising COVID-19 cases. The authorities decided to contemplate the situation after over 140 students and teachers have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last couple of days in Telangana. The Punjab government in view of handling the situation have announced night curfew in many areas. The Punjab School Education Board on March 15 announced the postponement of the final exams of classes 10th and 12th due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. The 12th examination will start from April 10 instead of March 22. At the same time, the 10th examination will be held from May 4 instead of April 9. Meanwhile, over 28,903 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Wednesday (March 17). The death toll stands at 1,59,044 including 188 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, over 3,50,64,536 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the country Live TV DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market Outlook for Key Devices (CPEs, Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops & PCs, Computer Accessories, AR/VR Headsets, Wireless Camera, Gaming Devices, Smart Home Devices, Automobile, Mobile Robots, Drones, Wearables, M2M Communication) - Global Forecast Till 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, is the sixth generation of Wi-Fi with enhanced capabilities to effectively handle increasing traffic demands, capacity, coverage, and network intelligence. It is expected that there will be more than 13 billion cumulative devices shipment enabled with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E by 2026 with a growth rate of around ~26% between 2020 and 2026. Also, it is expected to have around 3.5 billion devices just in 2026 with an annual opportunity worth $17.5 Billion. Increasing number of connected devices and high bandwidth applications such as high-resolution video streaming, gaming, AR/VR, and large media file transfers has resulted in demand for an efficient Wi-Fi network. Key Drivers High usage of applications which require greater bandwidth and lower latency such as video, telemedicine, and navigation systems has resulted in faster growth of internet traffic than the number of connections. In 2019, video accounted for nearly 61% of total downstream volume worldwide, followed by web traffic at 13.1%, gaming at 8.0%, social media at 6.1% and file sharing at 4.2%. Lockdowns round the world due to COVID-19 has led to global shift to remote work and online learning resulting significant change in internet usage pattern. COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected network usage around the world, with many operators experiencing 100% growth in traffic volume as usage shifts from enterprise and education networks to primarily consumer broadband networks. Wi-Fi 6 advantages over previous generation in network speed, capacity and responsiveness to drive its adoption in smartphones. Wi-Fi 6 has data rates beyond 1gbps because of 1024-QAM modulation scheme and uplink resource scheduling mechanism. Wi-Fi 6 also enhances user experience in dense environments and address emerging high-bandwidth, low-latency use cases. Target Wake Time feature of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E is very effective in orchestrating network traffic and minimizing unnecessary chatter will significantly improve smartphone's battery life. Wi-Fi 6 delivers higher speeds per user enabling more data-intensive applications including 4K UHD video streaming, real-time immersive gaming and mobile augmented reality (AR). Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market - Highlights Public Wi-Fi hotspots is likely to reach 628 million by 2023 and it is expected that Wi-Fi6 hotspots will contribute nearly 11% of all public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2023. Major use cases of Wi-Fi6 hotspots include airports, public transportation, retail, healthcare, smart cities, and stadiums. Smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6 & 6E to account for more than 90% of the total smartphone market in 2026. Currently, Wi-Fi 6 is mostly limited to premium smartphones. However, this trend is set to change as companies such as Qualcomm and MediaTek are likely to come up with chipsets supporting W-Fi 6 more mid and low-end smartphones. Around 780 million smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6 & 6E are expected to be shipped in 2021. Apple, Asus, Honor, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, RealMe, Samsung, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE are some of the major smartphone manufacturers who have launched smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6. Qualcomm has announced several mobile platforms such as Snapdragon 865, 888, and 690 chipsets with Wi-Fi 6 capability. More than 60 million Wi-Fi 6 & 6E chipsets are expected to be shipped for automobile by 2026. Wi-Fi 6 is expected to offer enhancements that are essential for a seamless wireless experience for the growing number of use cases both in a vehicle. The sensors used for autonomous driving generate a significant amount of data around 4TB per day that needs to be uploaded for processing and analysis. Major benefits of Wi-Fi 6 in a vehicle include less congestion, longer range, lower power with target wake time (TWT) to let the access point schedule, OFDM, MU-MIMO and 1024-QAM to increase throughput, improve the upload data rates by up to 80% for networks with multiple users. Gaming Devices supported by Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are expected to grow by 40% CAGR between 2020 and 2026. Sony Play Station 5 launched in August 2020 (supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity) is designed to improve speed, increase efficiency and reduce congestion in heavy bandwidth usage scenarios. A wired connection is considered to be ideal for gaming as it has low latency, reliable connection and low lag. 20 to 40 ms is considered to be optimum latency for gaming that can be provided by Wi-Fi 6. Other advantages of Wi-Fi 6 includes flexibility and support for a greater number of devices at the same time. Wi-Fi 6 increases throughput by up to 25% because of higher quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) resulting in more data transmitted per data packet. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market with nearly 50% share in 2026. Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in Asia Pacific is expected to reach USD 8,559 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 25.6% between 2020 and 2026. Consumer devices such as smartphone, tablets, laptops & PCs are expected to be major contributors. China, Japan, South Korea, and India are expected to be the major contributors of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in Asia Pacific. North America is expected to be second largest market with 25% share in 2026. The US is expected to be contributor of Wi-Fi 6 & 6E market in North America. North America is expected to witness higher adoption of Wi-Fi 6 supporting CPEs followed by Europe during the forecast period. Wi-Fi 6 vs 5G Wi-Fi 6 and 5G have entered the market around the same time and both are technologically superior to their predecessors (4G LTE and Wi-Fi 5). Both the technologies are more energy-efficient, and capable of supporting a greater number of devices simultaneously. While Wi-Fi 6 will support indoor or local area deployments, 5G is more suited for applications that require highly reliable, low-latency connectivity and wide-area deployment. However, there is overlap in some areas such as a large event, hospitality, stadium, smart city projects, and large campuses may consider both the technologies. Based on deployments of previous generations of cellular and Wi-Fi technology, it has been observed that cellular has been favourable for large-scale deployments, while Wi-Fi has been preferable for small-scale deployments. When professionally installed and managed, a sizeable Wi-Fi 5 deployment is on a par with a 4G deployment in terms of Total cost of ownership. However, OPEX is higher for Wi-Fi and CAPEX is higher for cellular. Wi-Fi will continue to be the preferred technology as it has a lower cost to deploy, maintain, and scale at home and business environments where access points serve a greater number of devices. Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be or Wi-Fi EHT) Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the certification for Wi-Fi 6E, or Wi-Fi 6 Extended, which refers to the ability for Wi-Fi to leverage the 6 GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi operation. But When compared to Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7 will also use multi-band/multi-channel aggregation and operation and deliver higher spectrum and power efficiency, better interference mitigations, higher capacity density and higher cost efficiency. The seventh generation of Wi-Fi is also referred to as Wi-Fi Extremely High Throughput as result of its projected ability to support up to 30Gbps throughput, roughly three times faster than Wi-Fi 6. There are a number of proposed features for the Wi-Fi 7 standard, but direct enhancements over Wi-Fi 6 include support of 320 MHz transmissions, which is double the 160 MHz of 802.11ax, the use of higher modulation orders, optionally supporting 4096-QAM - up from 1024-QAM in 802.11ax - and the allocation of multiple resource units, such as groups of OFMDA tones. Key Questions to be answered through this study: What is the market size and forecast of the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market? What are the driving factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market during the forecast period? Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market? What is the competitive strategic scenario for opportunities in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market? What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Market? What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Wi-Fi Hotspot Market? Key Topics Covered 1 Introduction 1.1 Wi-Fi Evolution 1.2 Wi-Fi 6 1.3 Wi-Fi 6 Capabilities and Benefits 1.3.1 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) 1.3.2 Multi-user MIMO 1.3.3 Long Symbol Duration and Guard Interval 1.3.4 Dual Carrier Modulation (DCM) 1.3.5 Extended Range 1.3.6 Target Wait Time 1.3.7 Spatial Reuse 1.4 Wi-Fi 6E 1.4.1 Spectrum comparison 1.4.2 Spectrum allocation status 1.5 Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be or Wi-Fi EHT) 2 Key Drivers 2.1 Rapid growth in internet traffic 2.2 Growth in number of connected devices 2.3 Wi-Fi: Key to digital resilience 3 Wi-Fi 6 vs 5G - What to choose? 3.1 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G adoption trends 3.2 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G cost comparison 3.3 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G interoperability 3.4 Wi-Fi 6 & 5G for private networks 4 Wi-Fi 6 & 6E for IoT 4.1 IoT Wireless Technologies Comparison 4.2 Bandwidth and latency requirements 5 Use cases 5.1 Healthcare 5.2 Education 5.3 Stadiums and venues 5.4 Enterprise 5.5 Airports 6 Total Cost of Ownership 6.1 Airport 6.2 Factory 6.3 Port 6.4 Mining 6.5 Warehouse 7 Market Size, Shipment and Forecast by Devices 7.1 CPE 7.2 Smartphones 7.3 Tablets 7.4 Laptops & PCs 7.5 Computer Accessories 7.6 AR/VR Headsets 7.7 Wireless Camera 7.8 Gaming Devices 7.9 Smart Home Devices 7.10 Automobile 7.11 Mobile Robots 7.12 Drones 7.13 Wearables 7.14 Machine-to-Machine Communication 7.15 Others 8 Regional Market Analysis & Forecast 8.1 Drivers of connectivity maturity by country 8.2 Economic value of Wi-Fi by country North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Rest of Europe) APAC (China, Japan, South Korea, Rest of APAC) South America & Middle East 9 Competitive Landscape 9.1 Wi-Fi 6 Ecosystem 9.2 Value chain analysis 9.3 Patent analysis 9.4 Wi-Fi 6 & 6E chipset suppliers and Market Ranking 10 Company Profiles 10.1 Broadcom Inc. 10.1.1 Overview 10.1.2 Solutions offered 10.1.3 Key developments 10.2 Qualcomm 10.3 ON Semiconductor 10.4 Intel 10.5 NXP Semiconductors 10.6 Skyworks Solutions, Inc. 10.7 Qorvo 10.8 MediaTek 10.9 Celeno Communications 10.10 Nordic Semiconductor 10.11 Realtek Semiconductor 10.12 Huawei 10.13 Nokia 10.14 Samsung 10.15 Apple 10.16 Asus 10.17 NETGEAR 10.18 TP-Link 10.19 D-Link 10.20 Cisco 10.21 Linksys 10.22 Dell 10.23 Lenovo 10.24 HP 10.25 Sony 10.26 Acer 10.27 LG 10.28 Fujitsu 10.29 HPE - Aruba 10.30 CommScope 10.31 Extreme Networks 10.32 H3C Technologies 10.33 Juniper Networks 10.34 Cambium Networks 10.35 Ubiquiti 10.36 Calix 10.37 EnGenius Technologies 10.38 Fortinet 10.39 Verizon 10.40 Zyxel Communications 10.41 Xiaomi 10.42 DrayTek Corporation 10.43 Access Networks 10.44 Tenda 10.45 Arista Networks 10.46 Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise 10.47 Belkin 10.48 Senscomm Semiconductor 10.49 Silicon Labs 10.50 Micro-Star Int'l. Co. Ltd. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dvseyx Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Malik Halfacre, 25, was charged on Thursday with murder stemming from the shooting deaths of four of his ex-girlfriend's family members, including her 7-year-old daughter in Indiana An Indianapolis man was formally charged with murder on Thursday in the killings of three adults and a young girl he allegedly shot to death after he and a former girlfriend got into a fight because he wanted a share of her $1,400 federal COVID-19 relief money. Malik Halfacre, 25, faces four counts of murder, one count each of attempted murder, armed robbery, auto theft and other charges in Saturday's killings, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. Halfacre allegedly shot Jeanettrius Moore, who is the mother of his 6-month-old daughter, critically wounding her, and fatally shot four of her relatives inside a home where officers found the bodies of Anthony Johnson, 35, Dequan Moore, 23, Tomeeka Brown, 44, and 7-year-old Eve Moore. Jeanettrius, Halfacre's ex-girlfriend, told police that Eve - identified in court documents as 'E.M.' - was her daughter, that Tomeeka was her mother, Dequan was her brother, and Johnson was her cousin, according to a probable cause affidavit. Mears said that while the case 'breaks your heart' the toughest part for him as a father of two young children is Eve Moore's killing. Scroll down for video Police said Halfacre opened fire inside the Indianapolis home of Jeanettrius Moore (pictured left), who is the mother of his six-month-old daughter. Moore's seven-year-old daughter from a past relationship, Eve (left and right) was among the four people shot dead The bodies of the victims were found inside a home on Randolph Street in Indianapolis on Saturday 'I think everyone asks the same question about the 7-year-old: Why? She didn't have anything to do with the stimulus check, she didn't have anything to do with the money and she lost her life. And if that doesn't break your heart I dont know what will,' he said at a news conference. Mears said that the night of the killings Halfacre allegedly had 'a very spirited discussion over stimulus money' with a woman his office said he is believed to have once been in a relationship with before he left the home and then returned armed with a firearm and the argument resumed. 'During the course of this argument that continued over the stimulus money there is an allegation that he did begin to remove money from our victim's purse and during the course of this an altercation occurred which resulted in people being shot,' Mears said. Jeanettrius' family members said Halfacre had come to the home a night earlier demanding half of her check. 'She said, 'No, you don't deserve any of this. I work. I take care of our child. You don't do anything',' Moore's cousin Wendy Johnson told WXIN. Moore eventually said Halfacre could have $450 but he allegedly told her 'I'm gonna get that money' before leaving. When he returned the next day demanding money, Wendy Johnson said, retelling Jeanettrius' account, her brother Dequan tried to protect her and pushed Halfacre away. 'He shot Dequan first. He shot Anthony. He turned around, and he shot my Auntie Tomeeka. My Auntie Tomeeka said, "Malik!" and he shot her again,' Johnson recounted. 'He came back and shot Dequan for the second time and somewhere between little baby Eve got hit somewhere and she was screaming, she was screaming.' Jeanettrius's mother, Tomeeka Brown, 44 (left), and her brother, Dequan Moore, 23 (right), were among the victims in Saturday's shooting Jeanettrius Moore's cousin, Anthony Johnson, 35 (above) was also shot and killed at her home According to a probable cause affidavit, Halfacre, who was arrested Sunday after being found in the attic of a friend's home in the 6200 block of Eastridge Drive, told officers that after shooting everyone in the home, he took the money, Jeanettrius's purse and her car, and left the scene with their 6-month-old daughter Malia. The baby was later found unharmed at the home of Halfacre's sister, according to the affidavit. The woman said her brother admitted to killing four people and shared details of what had happened with her. Halfacre appeared for an initial hearing Thursday morning, where a judge advised him of his rights, ordered him held without bond and appointed a public defender for him. Halfacre's attorney, Laura Pitts, said she had no comment Thursday on her client's behalf. At the time of the shootings, Halfacre was the subject of a restraining order barring him from having contact with his ex-girlfriend, or visiting the home where the shootings occurred, according to court documents. After the shooting, Halfacre's ex-girlfriend said she realized she had been shot and, fearing that he would kill her, told him, 'Take me to the hospital"' and they both left the house, the affidavit states. When Halfacre reentered the home, she said she fled the scene and found someone who called 911. Halfacre was arrested on Sunday after being found hiding in a friend's attic Officials and family members said Halfacre opened fire after asking Jeanettrius to hand him over half of her $1,400 stimulus payment, and she refused After police arrived, she was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where Mears said she told police about the shootings and that there were other victims in the home. 'We were very fortunate that she was able to escape and survive what occurred,' he said. Mears said the case is eligible for the death penalty because there were multiple victims, a robbery allegedly occurred and a child was killed. He said his office would be meet with the victims' relatives to discuss that option before a decision is made on whether to pursue the death penalty. The Bachelor ended on March 15, and ABC is already moving on to Katie Thurstons cast of The Bachelorette by releasing the mens pictures and bios. The Facebook page for The Bachelorette shared the images and brief information about the men who might appear on Katies season looking for love. And fans were vocal immediately on who stood out to them. [Spoiler alert: The following article contains possible contestants on next season of The Bachelorette.] Katie Thurston and Michelle Young on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose | Craig Sjodin via Getty Images Katie Thurston ended The Bachelor after a memorable season The next lead was memorable from the moment she stepped out of the limousine to meet Matt James at Nemacolin in Pennsylvania. The star showed Matt her sex toy that she brought to the resort, which sparked conversations on whether she was ready for an engagement. Katie shut down that notion immediately, reinforcing her sex-positive ideals and embracing her sexuality. She also tried to keep the peace in the resort by speaking to Matt when there was bullying going on amongst the women. Katies connection with Matt didnt make it past their one-on-one date, when the lead sent her home. But many called for Katie to lead her own season, and ABC granted those fans wish. ABC announced Katie Thurston and Michelle Young as bachelorettes RELATED: The Bachelorette: 2 Leads in a Season Is More Common Than You Think After Reality Steve correctly predicted that ABC would have two separate seasons of The Bachelorette, the show announced both Katie and Michelle Young as the next leads. ABC made the announcement on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose. Guest host Emmanuel Acho said, The choice was more difficult than ever before. Ultimately, it came down to two strong, deserving women. Acho informed viewers that Katies season will be first. She expressed what she thinks about her upcoming journey on The Bachelorette. Im ready to find love and not just the temporary kind, Katie said. Im talking forever, my husband. And Im in a place in my life where I feel like Im the best version of me. Honestly, Ive seen it work before. Why cant it work for me? Only a few days later, ABC shared just who might be in the running for Katies heart soon enough. And yes, fans already have a favorite. Who is possibly in Katie Thurstons cast of The Bachelorette? ABC shared pictures and brief bios on Facebook of more than 30 men who might make an appearance on The Bachelorette. The albums caption read, We are giving you an early look at the men who may be on this season of The Bachelorette. Fans on Reddit immediately took to Bao, a 36-year-old from Concord, New Hampshire. His picture on the Facebook album has more than 2,000 reactions and over 400 comments. Bao wow, one person wrote on the Reddit thread. Another said: First impression looks wise is Bao and it aint even [close]. Bao is at the top of the list for me, someone else expressed. [First impression rose] material. A different fan commented: Bao is so hot like that jawline please. And then there was someone whos already thinking beyond The Bachelorette: Bao for the next bachelor! Well have to see what Katie thinks about that, since shell have her chance to possibly date him first. Any larval salamander, like the one above, has to make a number of decisions as it hunts prey and avoids danger. A new study by UChicago scientists analyzes these decisions from a computational perspective. Credit: Mark Bernard/Shutterstock A new study by researchers from the University of Chicago and the French National Centre for Scientific Research shows how organisms filter information from their environment differently for a wide range of biological processesfrom visually tracking the motion of objects to immune cells responding to pathogensand then select the most useful inputs to respond accordingly. Organisms constantly process information from the world around them to make predictions about the future. An animal like a larval salamander, for example, tracks the movements of small insects and crustaceans swimming around nearby. Using what it sees about how fast the prey is moving and in what direction it's heading, the salamander can gauge when and where it should strike for its next meal. But any biological system has constraintsthe salamander can process only so much visual information at once, so it makes tradeoffs about which data are most important to help it catch its prey, and which data it can filter out. Using this "information bottleneck" problem as a starting point, the researchers developed a series of equations that show how organisms weigh different variables and calculate sensory inputs to make predictions about the future most efficiently. "All biological systems are constrained. They don't have infinite time, or infinite amounts of energy they can burn to do these calculations," said Assoc. Prof. Stephanie Palmer, a neuroscientist at UChicago and senior author of the study, which was published on March 8 in PLOS Computational Biology. "We know predictions happen at many different time scales in many different organisms, with many different mechanisms. So, what we're doing here is figuring out what the filtering or encoding should look like for a biological system trying its darndest to predict the future." The study, led by UChicago biophysics graduate student Vedant Sachdeva, is a collaboration with biophysicists Thierry Mora and Aleksandra Walczak from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the largest governmental research organization in France. The project grew out of an ongoing partnership between the two institutions to foster opportunities for research, education and scholarly engagement across a range of scientific fields. The agreement, the first of its kind between a U.S. university and the French National Centre for Scientific Research, funds other collaborations in such areas as molecular engineering, physics, computer science, mathematics, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology and the social sciences. Vedant and colleagues studied how the visual system and adaptive immune system filter information to make predictions under the information bottleneck framework. They first used the movements of an oscillating weight attached to a spring and bouncing around in a viscous medium, inspired by previous work by Palmer on how the salamander retina responds to a visual stimulus moving around in the same manner. As expected, position and velocity are the most important variables to predict future movements, but how much each should be weighted depends on the movements themselves. The dampening in the system, i.e. the amount "bounce" the object has in response to random kicks and changes in direction, determines how important position is versus velocity. For example, in an overdamped system, where that bounciness is tightly constrained like a car with stiff shock absorbers, position is a more important predictor of future movements. In an underdamped system, like a car where the shocks are completely shot that bounces all over the place, both position and velocity are needed to predict future movements accurately. The researchers also considered other biological systems that rely less on short-term, adaptive processes like early vision does. The immune system has a long-term memory of sorts to keep track of pathogens. The adaptive immune system can make predictions about the genetic evolution of pathogens by comparing different versions it encounters, and projecting what future versions may look like to mount an appropriate response. In this case, the immune system seems to favor preparing for a broad range of possible antigens versus trying to anticipate an exact match for the next virus. The team also looked at how historical information on the distribution and rate of genetic mutations can be used to predict evolution in a population over time. Much of how an organism makes predictions in these different systems is hardwired evolutionarily, over time. The salamander knows a general set of rules for how different prey and predators in its environment tend to move. The immune system is adapted for certain types of pathogens that behave in predictable ways. But how do these systems adapt when conditions change in the real world? Palmer said the team is working on that part of the problem next, taking what they've learned about how organisms make predictions and trying to understand how those systems adapt to new stimuli. In doing so, they hope to find some underlying rules that help explain predictions at a larger scale, across many different systems and time scales. "We know prediction is broad and relevant in all these different contexts, and that the filters are a bit different depending on the problem," said Palmer, who is appointed in both the Department of Physics and the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy. "Now we can look at how they adapt in real time to changes, which I think will reveal things that are general and shared across these different systems." Explore further Learning to help the adaptive immune system More information: Vedant Sachdeva et al. Optimal prediction with resource constraints using the information bottleneck, PLOS Computational Biology (2021). Journal information: PLoS Computational Biology Vedant Sachdeva et al. Optimal prediction with resource constraints using the information bottleneck,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008743 Researchers from Arizona State University, New York University, and Northwestern University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how marketers can fuel positive WOM without using explicit incentives. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "How Marketing Perks Influence Word of Mouth" and is authored by Monika Lisjak, Andrea Bonezzi, and Derek Rucker. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is arguably the most influential means of persuasion and can be a critical driver of a company's growth. For this reason, many companies offer consumers incentives to encourage them to generate WOM. Classic examples of this practice are referral and seeding programs, whereby a company literally "pays" current customers to generate positive WOM and attract new customers. Despite its intuitive appeal, however, this practice can backfire. Ironically, incentivizing WOM sometimes can hamper, rather than increase, consumers' willingness to engage in WOM. This research shows that commonly used marketing perks--e.g., gifts, benefits, and rewards--can effectively foster WOM without being used as explicit incentives. Their effectiveness at boosting WOM, however, depends on how they are framed and therefore perceived by consumers: Marketing perks are more effective at fostering WOM the less they are perceived to be given out of contractual obligation. The term "contractuality" refers to the degree to which a perk is perceived to be given to consumers in exchange for engaging in specific behaviors dictated by a company, such as filling out a survey or making a certain number of purchases. Lisjak explains that "We demonstrate that marketers can influence the perceived contractuality of a perk with easily implementable pivots. Consumers can perceive the exact same perk, say a free coffee, as more or less contractual simply based on how it is framed." As one example, the perceived contractuality of a perk can be lowered by giving consumers a free item after a set number of purchases, but not making the number of purchases salient to the consumer. As another example, the same perk could be accompanied by a thank you note, as opposed to a note that highlights all the effort a customer had to put in to earn the perk. In both instances, companies do not have to change the offering, only how consumers perceive it. Interestingly, however, perks lower in contractuality can sometimes backfire against companies. This is more likely to occur when a perk characterized by low contractuality comes from a disliked or distrusted company. Under such circumstances, consumers become wary of the company's intentions and then interpret the perk as a manipulative act of persuasion driven by ulterior motives. When this happens, perks lower in contractuality in fact hinder rather than fuel WOM. To illustrate, many consumers do not like utility providers or financial institutions. To the extent that such dislike prompts consumers to make hostile attributions of benevolent gestures, such companies might be better off using perks that are higher in contractuality. Finally, contractuality can entail a trade-off. Despite being more effective at fostering WOM, low contractuality perks might be less effective than high contractuality perks at inducing compliance with a direct request. For example, if a company wants consumers to complete a customer satisfaction survey, offering a high contractuality perk can be more effective and efficient than offering a low contractuality perk. Simply put, when brands have a specific action other than WOM that they would like consumers to take, perks higher in contractuality might serve as better incentives because they make behavior-reward contingencies clear and salient. Bonezzi summarizes the study by saying "Our findings suggest that marketers could nudge consumers to generate positive WOM by providing them with perks that have fewer strings attached. Of note, this could be achieved at a similar cost to perks that come across as highly contractual." ### Full article and author contact information available at: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 0022242921991798 About the Journal of Marketing The Journal of Marketing develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. Published by the American Marketing Association since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline. Christine Moorman (T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University) serves as the current Editor in Chief. https:/ / www. ama. org/ jm About the American Marketing Association (AMA) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force has approved the use of COVID-19 saliva test for tourists visiting Boracay Island. We proposed together with the LGU Malay that the saliva test should also be considered as part of the testing protocol of the province of Aklan and LGU Malay and we are happy to report that in this meeting, the proposal for the use of the saliva test has been approved, Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores said in a briefing on Thursday. He noted that tests done by the Philippine Red Cross and other facilities accredited by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration will be honored. An advisory will be issued regarding this to inform airlines of the immediate implementation of the new protocols, he added. In October, Boracay reopened its doors to visitors from general community quarantine areas, but they have been required to go through strict health protocols, including obtaining a negative swab test result 48 to 72 hours before travel and pre-booking accommodation. Since then, Miraflores said the number of visitors has increased to around 1,000 a day from only 40, who mostly come from Manila. He added that they hope to welcome foreign tourists within the year and implement a travel bubble, especially with their top markets South Korea and China, subject to travel protocols of all parties involved. Indianapolis, IN (46208) Today Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. He is best known for playing Tyler Moon in EastEnders from 2011 to 2013. But Tony Discipline has turned his back on acting to become a firefighter for the London Fire Brigade. The 31-year-old, who has tackled a fire in a block of flats, at a bakery and a waste disposal plant, said there have been occasions where he has been spotted by fans while on the job. Rescue me! He is best known for playing Tyler Moon in EastEnders from 2011 to 2013. But Tony Discipline has turned his back on acting to become a firefighter for the London Fire Brigade He told The Sun: 'I was once walking back to the fire truck and someone walked past and said, "Oh my god what are you filming?" I said, "No, Im a firefighter" and he said: "No, what is it? What show's it for?". 'Another time a guy's shed was alight, I was trying to put it out and mid-job he suddenly went: "Weren't you in EastEnders, mate?". Tony, who was working at Billingsgate Fish Market when he landed the part of Alfie Moon's cousin, joked: 'I always knew the attention was because of the show, when I was down the fish market I wasn't getting that attention.' Time on TV: Tony was working at Billingsgate Fish Market when he landed the part of Alfie Moon's cousin (pictured on the soap with Matt Lapinskas and David Essex) Impressive: The 31-year-old has tackled a fire in a block of flats, at a bakery and a waste disposal plant, but said there have been tasks where he has been spotted by fans The actor applied for the job in 2019 and said the idea of becoming a firefighter appealed to him because he could help the community and be part of something he was 'proud of', but said it is 'quite dangerous'. Tony's character Tyler left Walford on 6 August 2013 to work on a cruise ship with his brother Anthony. Speaking to Inside Soap in 2017, Tony said he was open to returning to the long-running show. He said at the time: 'When it was time to leave the show, I didn't want to go however, there were no more storylines for Tyler. Time to say goodbye: Tony's character Tyler left Walford on 6 August 2013 to work on a cruise ship with his brother Anthony, leaving Whitney devastated (pictured) 'The best thing to do was have him go off on that cruise, but it's been a blimmin' long holiday. I think it's time he came back. 'When I got the call for EastEnders, it was like winning the lottery. I was working at Billingsgate Fish Market in the day and going to acting classes at night, it was so surreal to go from selling sea bass to being stopped in the street and asked for a picture.' Tony previously dated Jacqueline Jossa but the couple split in 2013. Regulatory News: Europcar Mobility Group (Paris:EUCAR): Europcar Mobility Group, European N1 of vehicle rental, announces the appointment of Wolfgang Neumann as Managing Director of Europcar Mobility Group Germany, covering all the activities and brands of the Group in this country. Wolfgang Neumann is taking over from Stefan Vorndran, who has decided to leave the Group, after 3 years at the head of the German perimeter of the Group. Wolfgang Neumann is an experienced leader, with more than 20 years spent in various industries (audit, consulting, telecommunications and rental industry) in senior management positions, mainly in international environments, where he had the opportunity to manage turnarounds and transformations. He spent 10 years working for Avis Europe plc, where he held Finance and Managing Director positions in their German business, as well as the Group Sales and Marketing Director position. More recently, he supported the transformation of companies in the logistics business and the data science business. As the new Europcar Mobility Group Germany Managing Director, Wolfgang Neumann's roadmap will be to accelerate the Group's "Connect" plan's deployment in Germany, responding to the new customer needs and expectations that have been reinforced by the Covid-19 crisis and are now part of the "new normal". He will also leverage the power of all brands in Germany (including the Europcar and the Buchbinder brands) in domestic and outbound businesses. In the coming months, Wolfgang Neumann and his teams will focus on profitable growth, relying on the Group's assets and service offerings, notably a brand new range of subscription offers, allowing fully flexible vehicle rentals for B2B customers, and a recognized vans and trucks offer. All this while maintaining flexible rental conditions in the leisure travel segment to accommodate the current changing environment and providing all customers with safety, peace of mind and a hassle-free experience. Commenting on his appointment, Wolfgang Neumann said: "Germany has always been a key country for the Europcar Mobility Group and it is tremendously exciting to take the lead of this perimeter, in order to open a new chapter of its transformation and business development. A lot has been accomplished by the teams over the last months, including the first chapter of the transformation of the business, marked by the integration of the Buchbinder business acquired in May 2017. In a still challenging and complex environment, we will now leverage the Europcar Mobility Group's new strategic framework, the rich portfolio of brands that we have, with distinctive value propositions, as well as the new service offerings of the Group, in order to fully benefit from the market restart and grow profitably in the years to come. The Group has the ambition to become a major player of flexible, sustainable, digital and connected mobility and I strongly believe it should start with Germany!" About Europcar Mobility Group Europcar Mobility Group is a major player in mobility markets and listed on Euronext Paris. The mission of Europcar Mobility Group is to be the preferred "Mobility Service Company" by offering attractive alternatives to vehicle ownership, with a wide range of mobility-related services and solutions: car rental and light commercial vehicle rental, chauffeur services, car-sharing and private hire vehicle (PHV rental to "Uber like" chauffeurs).Customers' satisfaction is at the heart of the Group's mission and all of its employees and this commitment fuels the continuous development of new services. Europcar Mobility Group operates through a diversified portfolio of brands meeting every customer specific needs and use cases, be it for 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week or longer; its 4 major brands being: Europcar the European leader of car rental and light commercial vehicle rental, Goldcar the low-cost car-rental Leader in Europe, InterRent 'mid-tier' car rental and Ubeeqo one of the European leaders of round-trip car-sharing (BtoB, BtoC). Europcar Mobility Group delivers its mobility solutions worldwide solutions through an extensive network in over 140 countries (including wholly owned subsidiaries 18 in Europe, 1 in the USA, 2 in Australia and New Zealand completed by franchises and partners). Further details on our website: www.europcar-mobility-group.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005963/en/ Contacts: Europcar Mobility Group Press relations Valerie Sauteret valerie.sauteret@europcar.com Vincent Vevaud vincent.vevaud@europcar.com Publicis Consultants Judith Grandcoing judith.grandcoing@publicisconsultants.com Since July 27, 2020, when a new ceasefire regime began, the Russian armed formations in Donbas have committed 882 ceasefire violations, killing 16 Ukrainian soldiers and wounding 69 more. In total, from 27 July 2020 to 10 March 2021, the Russian forces violated the ceasefire regime 882 times, 94 of which with the use of Minsk-proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars. As a result of the ongoing armed aggression of the Russian Federation, 16 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 69 were wounded. The Russian occupation forces opened fire on the residential areas 8 times, Nataliia Kostenko, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on March 17. Over the past two weeks, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire regime by shelling the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 122 occasions with extensive use of Minsk-proscribed weapons, 120mm and 82mm mortars, different grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms, including sniper fire, and distance mining with POM-2 landmines. As noted, the main purpose of such actions remains to provoke the Armed Forces of Ukraine to open fire in response in order to plot false accusations of ceasefire violations by the Ukrainian side. In some instances, the adversary shelled Ukrainian positions simultaneously making a request for a regime of silence due to the alleged shelling conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is also done to accuse the Armed Forces of Ukraine of shelling the residential areas and civilian sites on the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas, Kostenko said. The Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine underscored that those deliberate actions are aimed at keeping tensions high at the contact line and promote Russian propaganda narratives claiming alleged systematic ceasefire violations and preparation for an offensive operation by the Ukrainian side. In particular, the disinformation campaign intensifies as the TCG meetings approach, in order to disrupt its work in an attempt to put forward an alternative agenda. As reported, on July 22, the Trilateral Contact Group agreed on additional measures to strengthen the ceasefire in Donbas. The first paragraph of the TCG decision, which came into force on July 27, provides for a "ban on offensive, reconnaissance and sabotage operations, as well as a ban on the use of any type of aerial vehicles of the parties." ol Advertisement The Georgia massage parlor shooter brought a Bible with him to school every day and had developed a deep sense of 'shame' over his addiction to porn and sex which he sought treatment for in rehab, his friends and former roommates have revealed. Robert Aaron Long, 21, murdered eight people including six Asian women on Tuesday at three different parlors in a three-hour killing spree in Georgia. Because the majority of the victims are Asian, the murders are being widely treated as another attack on the Asian community after a spike in violence against Asian Americans thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Police won't rule out racism as a factor yet but they said on Wednesday that Long had told them he wasn't racist, but was driven by his desire to 'eliminate' sexual 'temptation'. He said he is a sex addict who frequented the spas and blamed them for his addiction. Now, friends are sharing more details of his intensely religious life. His father is a youth minister and he is an enthusiastic member of a South Baptist church which, after the shootings, said it was 'heartbroken'. It has also been revealed that he sought treatment at Maverick Recovery, a treatment center in Atlanta, for sex addiction at the end of 2019 and early 2020. Tyler Bayless, 35, told Reuters that he spent several months living at the Atlanta halfway house for recovering addicts with Robert Aaron Long, 21, who was charged on Wednesday with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in the Tuesday night shootings. Bayless, who says he was being treated for drug addiction, said he was in a halfway house named Maverick Recovery with Long in late 2019 and early 2020, and last saw Long last February. It's unclear if he was in rehab before that or if he just sought treatment there. The center has removed all of its websites and social media pages and is not taking any inquiries. He said Long had been treated for sex addiction and that he frequented massage parlors for 'explicitly sexual activity.' Bayless said Long was 'deeply religious' and would become 'very emotionally distraught that he frequented these places.' 'In the halfway house he would describe several of his sexual addiction "relapses" as he called them. He would have a deep feeling of remorse and shame and say he needed to return to prayer and to return to God,' he said. Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that he has a sex addiction and viewed the parlors as an 'outlet' and 'temptation' that he wanted to remove. He confessed to the killings after police rammed his car off the road at 8pm on Tuesday night. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks. He has been charged with four counts of murder and aggravated assault in Cherokee County, where the first salon is that was targeted. He hasn't yet been in charged in Atlanta Robert Aaron Long was in a halfway house called Maverick Recovery in Atlanta, Georgia, in late 2019-early 2020. It's unclear if he was in rehab before that or if he just sought treatment there. The center has removed all of its websites and social media pages and is not taking any inquiries Pictured is Long's home in Woodstock, Georgia. Officers say they found Robert Aaron Long, 21, thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information. Cherokee County sheriff Frank Reynolds said cops then used that information to track and find him, adding: 'Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension' Jessica Lang pauses and places her hand on the door in a moment of grief after dropping off flowers with her daughter Summer at Youngs Asian Massage parlor where four people were killed Another friend told DailyMail.com that he was known in school as 'country boy'. A woman who gave her name as Amber graduated from Sequoyah High School in 2016, a year before Long. She knew him, but not well, and said he was quiet. 'He was a country boy. Everyone called him "country boy" because he had this southern look to him and wore cowboy boots, blue jeans and a Carhartt jacket. 'Amber', who attended high school with the shooter He did occasionally get into fights when people made fun of the way he looked and dressed, she said. 'He was a country boy. Everyone called him "country boy" because he had this southern look to him and wore cowboy boots, blue jeans and a Carhartt jacket. 'He was just quiet. Back in the day, I never would have thought he would go kill eight people in a spa. He did get in fights, though, fist fights with random people he had issue with. Some people made fun of him for the way he looked. 'I remember having (suspension) with him and hed test the teacher. He was talking on his cell phone, purposefully doing this to get kicked out. The teacher called the school cops on him,' she said. Long went on a three hour rampage that left eight dead at Georgia massage parlors was caught after his parents spotted him in surveillance pictures released by police and called 911, authorities said Wednesday. Officers say they found Robert Aaron Long, 21, thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information. Cherokee County sheriff Frank Reynolds said cops then used that information to track and find him, adding: 'Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension.' Police Captain Jay Baker said: 'We are really appreciative of the family. Without them, this would not have happened as, well, as quickly as it happened. They were very supportive, and certainly this was difficult for them.' God-fearing gunman Long targeted the locations - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - because he'd visited them before and blamed them for his sex addiction, cops revealed on Wednesday morning. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta, police said. Officers rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody where he is said to have confessed to the killings. Georgia police comments sparked an angry reaction from some online who branded them an example of white privilege in action Atlanta police on Wednesday released 911 calls made during the shooting. In one a woman inside the Gold Spa whispers as she tells the operator she is hiding and that a robbery is in progress. Ten minutes later in a second call regarding the Aromatherapy Spa a caller says: 'They said some guy came in. We heard a gunshot and, you know, the lady's passed out in front of the door. And everybody is scared and everybody is hiding.' Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived. Friends of Yaun say that she and her husband were there for a couple's massage. He escaped but she was killed. Not all of the victims were staff. Yaun's friends say she was a paying customer who was in the parlor to get a couple's treatment with her husband. Initially, police said they were probing whether race was a factor in the attacks because six of the eight victims were Asian women. But on Wednesday morning, they said Long told them that was not why he carried out the attacks. Instead, he said he is addicted to sex and porn, and wanted to remove the 'temptation' of the parlors. He told police that he saw the parlors as an 'outlet' for his sex addiction. Detectives have not clarified if he had ever engaged in sex acts with any of the staff there. Long has been charged with killing eight people. The gunman bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage, police said. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks when he was caught. The Florida locations were somehow connected to pornography, police said on Wednesday without revealing more details. 'He claims that it was not racially motivated... he has an issue that he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places... it's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said at a Wednesday press conference. Baker added that it had been a 'very bad day' for the suspect, and said: 'He was at the end of his rope'. He didn't elaborate on what had happened earlier in the day. Those comments sparked an angry reaction from some online who branded them an example of white privilege in action. Hari Kondabolu said: 'The fact he sees ASIAN WOMEN as 'temptations' for his sex addiction is racial motivation. Not seeing this as racist IS racist. #StopAsianHate.' Qasim Rashid tweeted: 'Retweet if you've had a bad day during this pandemic or ever in life and didn't mass murder 8 people. Apparently that's where the bar is now. White supremacy is a helluva drug.' But Tim Willcutts defended Capt. Baker, writing: 'He wasn't apologizing for him. He was attempting to explain why this happened.' Alicia Gibbs said: 'He's relaying what the investigators said. He wasn't apologizing.' Another Twitter user, Shannon Hillis, said: 'Not everything is about race.' Greg Rook tweeted: 'Two of the six shot outside Atlanta were not Asian. What would you say if he shot mostly WASPs, that he was a racist hating on white people? BTW, I am a very progressive, liberal democrat, but I'm tiring of this constant virtue signaling. Not everything is about race or racism.' Three shootings at spas and massage parlors around Atlanta left eight people dead and police on the hunt for those responsible People with the medical examiner's office wheel out a body on a stretcher from the Gold Spa massage parlor where three people were shot and killed on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia Bodies are wheeled out of Gold Spa in Atlanta where a man opened fire. Two other massage parlors were targeted The shootings occurred on Tuesday afternoon around the Atlanta area. A body is seen being wheeled out of Gold Spa VICTIMS OF GEORGIA MASSAGE SPA SHOOTINGS Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33- DECEASED Delaina was at Young's Asian Massage for a couple's treatment with her husband when friends say she was killed. The mother-of-two's husband survived. Paul Andre Michels, 54 - DECEASED Xiaojie Yan, 49 - DECEASED Daoyou Feng, 44 - DECEASED Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz, 30 - INJURED Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz Elcias was shot in the throat, forehead, lungs and stomach. He survived but he is in critical condition in the hospital. Before he lost consciousness, he called his wife to tell her he'd been injured. His wife, Flor Gonzalez, 27, told The Washington Post that he was likely on his way to a store next door to send money back to his family in Guatemala when he was attacked. Doctors say they expect him to survive, despite the severity of his injuries. Advertisement Long's family - including his youth minister father - are 'devastated' by his actions and are cooperating with the investigation. A classmate who attended high school with Long earlier told The Daily Beast anonymously: 'He was very innocent seeming and wouldnt even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didnt seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. 'He was big into religion.' Long is believed to have first opened fire at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, a city about 32 miles northwest of Atlanta, at 5pm. Four people were killed in that shooting. Then, Long is accused of driving to Atlanta and opening fire in Gold Massage Spa, killing three women. When police were there, they received reports of more shots across the street at Aromatherapy Spa, where the eighth victim was found. Long went on the run after the shootings and was eventually arrested after police rammed his Hyundai off the road. He was arrested some 150 miles southwest of Atlanta in Crisp County. While police say his sex addiction is the motive, many have pointed to the fact that the attacks happened during a period of heightened violence against Asian Americans. President Joe Biden will be briefed over the phone by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray on the shootings later Wednesday morning, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The president is scheduled to travel to Atlanta on Friday to promote his America Rescue Plan as part of his sales pitch on COVID relief but that trip will likely be altered to acknowledge the deadly killings. Biden said at an afternoon press conference that he was making 'no connection at this moment' between the killings and race. But he added: 'I'm very concerned, because as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple months, and I think it is very, very troubling.' Incidents of bias against Asian people have spiked in recent months after the coronavirus was tied to Wuhan, China, and former President Donald Trump took to calling it the 'China Virus'. Biden said: 'I am making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer as the investigation proceeds from the FBI and from the Justice Department. I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed.' The president had already condemned the increased number of hate crimes against Asians in his primetime speech last week, saying they have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated because of the coronavirus pandemic. Its wrong. Its un-American, and it must stop, he said. Atlanta police on Wednesday released 911 calls made during the shooting. In one a woman inside the Gold Spa, pictured, tells the operator she is hiding and that a robbery is in progress Memorial flowers were placed outside Young's Asian Massage salon, scene of four shooting deaths Tuesday Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, a minister, said this kind of violence is driven by hate even if the suspect said that was not his motive. Anybody who takes precious lives in that manner is driven by hate, he told reporters on Capitol Hill. This kind of violence happens too often in America. And we weep with those who weep. But we got to do everything we can in terms of addressing bigotry and hate in our country, he said. Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted: 'Our hearts break for the 8 victims of the Georgia shootings last night, 6 of Asian descent. 'While we await details from Georgia, this much we do know: Hate crimes against Asian Americans have soared during COVID. And it must stop. 'NY will always stand up against bigotry & hate.' At a press conference on Wednesday, the Mayor of Atlanta said that while these killings do not seem to be have been driven by racism, there is a problem with anti-American-Asian hatred. 'Whether it is senseless violence that we've seen play out in our streets, or more targeted violence like we saw yesterday, a crime against any community is a crime against us all.' The suspect was captured by surveillance video pulling up to Young's Asian Massage around 4:50pm, just minutes before the shooting The suspect was captured pulling away from the business in a black Hyundai SUV after the shooting had occurred in Cherokee County near Bells Ferry Road north of Atlanta Many believe the racist attacks were fueled by President Donald Trump referring to COVID as the China virus as it was first seen in Wuhan, China. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in South Korea meeting with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, mentioned the killings during an opening statement. 'We are horrified by this violence which has no place in America or anywhere,' he said, noting that four of the women were believed to be of Korean descent. In a 2018 video on his church's website, Long said: 'As many of you may remember, when I was 8 years old I thought I was becoming a Christian, and got baptized during that time. 'And I remember a lot of the reason for that is a lot of my friends in my Sunday school class were doing that. And after that time, there wasnt any fruit from the root that is our salvation.' The church has taken its website offline. It said on Tuesday that elders would be releasing a statement on the attacks. Georgia governor Brian Kemp said last night that 'our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence', while Sen. Raphael Warnock said that 'my heart is broken after the tragic violence' in Atlanta. 'Once again we see that hate is deadly. Praying for the families of the victims and for peace for the community,' Warnock said. Cops had initially responded to reports of a robbery in progress, but detectives believe nothing was stolen. Details had yet to emerge about the victims. But Adriana Mejia, the niece of one of those injured, said the family was 'devastated' after her uncle was shot and that they were praying for his recovery. 'We never know when we're at the wrong place at the wrong time because this was so all of a sudden,' she said. Two residents of the Atlanta neighborhood, Piedmont Heights, described the stretch where the shootings took place to the New York Times as the 'red-light district' of the local community. After his car was seen pulling up to the Acworth parlor shortly before the shooting, police said footage showed the same vehicle in the area of the Atlanta spas about the time of those attacks as well. That, as well as other video evidence, 'suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County's, who is in custody,' Atlanta police said in a statement. Long was taken into custody after a 'brief pursuit' about 150 miles from Atlanta in which state troopers caused the the suspect's Hyundai to 'spin out of control' until Long was stopped and detained. South Korea's foreign ministry said diplomats in Atlanta have confirmed from police that four of the victims who died were women of Korean descent. A Korean consulate was working to confirm their nationality. Authorities investigate a fatal shooting at Young's Asian Massage where a gunman opened fire before targeting two other businesses Law enforcement officials confer outside Gold Spa following a shooting on Tuesday A police official stands in front of Aromatherapy Spa after a series of shootings on Tuesday At least eight people were reported dead following a string of shootings at three metro Atlanta massage parlors. The proximity of Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa can be seen in this photo NYSE American Symbol UEC CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC, the "Company" or "UEC") is pleased to report that it has secured 800,000 pounds of additional U.S. warehoused uranium, consisting of 500,000 pounds for April delivery and 300,000 pounds for December delivery. Including the previously announced acquisition of 400,000 pounds, UEC has now entered into contracts to purchase a total of 1,200,000 pounds of U3O8 at a volume weighted average price of $28.94 per pound. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors to purchase an aggregate of 10,000,000 common shares of the Company (each, a "Share") at a purchase price of $3.05 per Share and for gross proceeds of approximately $30,500,000 in a registered direct offering (the "Offering"). The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about March 19, 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Amir Adnani, President and CEO, stated: "We are successfully executing and expanding upon our physical uranium strategy. This initiative will support three objectives: 1) strengthens our balance sheet as uranium prices appreciate; 2) provides strategic inventory to support future marketing efforts with utilities that could complement production and accelerate cashflows; and 3) increases the availability of our Texas and Wyoming production capacity to pursue specific opportunities for uranium of U.S. origin, which may command premium pricing due to the scarcity of domestic uranium production. Following the closing of this offering and delivery of contracted drummed uranium, UEC will have approximately $95 million of cash, equity and inventory holdings, including approximately $35 million of U.S. warehoused uranium." The Company is offering and selling the Shares pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement dated March 16, 2021. The Company anticipates that the net proceeds from the Offering will be used for additional uranium purchases and for general corporate and working capital purposes. H.C. Wainwright & Co., Haywood Securities Inc. and TD Securities Inc. are acting as placement agents for the Offering. The Shares are being offered by the Company pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the Company's effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-236571) previously filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and became effective March 3, 2020. The Offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus that form a part of the effective shelf registration statement. A prospectus supplement relating to the Offering will be filed by the Company with the SEC. Electronic copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the Offering may be obtained, when available, from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, or from H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022 by e-mail at:[email protected] or by telephone at: (212) 856-5711. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state or jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority, nor has any such authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the prospectus supplement, the prospectus or the Company's shelf registration statement. About Uranium Energy Corp Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. As a leading pure-play American uranium company, UEC is advancing the next generation of low-cost and environmentally friendly In-Situ Recovery (ISR) mining uranium projects. In South Texas, the Company's hub-and-spoke operations are anchored by our fully-licensed Hobson Processing Facility which is central to our Palangana, Burke Hollow, Goliad and other ISR pipeline projects. In Wyoming, UEC controls the Reno Creek project, which is the largest permitted, pre-construction ISR uranium project in the U.S. Additionally, the Company's diversified holdings provide exposure to a unique portfolio of uranium related assets, including: 1) major equity stake in the only royalty company in the sector, Uranium Royalty Corp; 2) physical uranium warehoused in the U.S.; and 3) a pipeline of resource-stage uranium projects in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Paraguay. In Paraguay, the Company owns one of the largest and highest-grade ferro-titanium deposits in the world. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining. Stock Exchange Information: NYSE American: UEC WKN: AJDRR ISN: US916896103 Safe Harbor Statement Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans, "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "forward-looking statements". Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, market and other conditions, risks that the Offering will not be completed, failure to satisfy the conditions to closing of the Offering, the actual results of exploration activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation or realization of mineral resources, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release. Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. SOURCE Uranium Energy Corp Related Links http://www.uraniumenergy.com/ 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. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category New Delhi: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Sunday took dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after JD(U) leaders were not inducted in the Union council of ministers. Lalu took a potshot at the JD(U) leaders , saying that a few of them had even got stitched "new kurta-pyjama and bundi" for the event. "Some JD(U) leaders had got new kurta-pyjama and bundi (Nehru jackets) stitched for the swearing-in ceremony, but the invitation did not come," he said. On Saturday, Nitish Kumar had said his party had not been invited to join the Modi government nor was it consulted about the recast its recast. "Why should Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP chief Amit Shah consult Nitish Kumar when they know his character," the RJD boss, who has been unsparing in attacking Kumar ever since he walked out of the 3-party 'Grand Alliance' in Bihar and formed government with the BJP, said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Canadian father jailed after publicly objecting to minor daughter taking testosterone Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A father who has long objected to his minor daughter taking testosterone as part of an experimental gender transition has been jailed in British Columbia for contempt of court. Robert Hoogland was arrested Tuesday after a warrant was issued by a judge earlier this month for telling the public his name and showing his face, according to sources close to the situation. He will reportedly remain in police custody pending a decision on his release to be made at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver. Sources told The Christian Post this week that at the Friday hearing, Hooglands attorney will ask that the arrest warrant be voided and that he be released on the basis that the detention is unlawful. Hoogland has been outspoken in his opposition to what is now known as gender-affirming medical care in hopes of preventing his daughter from undergoing irreversible harm. Hooglands ex-wife, who is supported by the Canadian medical and legal system, is proceeding with their child's transitioning against his wishes. The father discovered that his daughters school had been showing gender identity education materials called SOGI 123, The Post Millennial reported Tuesday. His daughter had several complex problems, but they were all attributed to gender dysphoria. When his daughter was in seventh grade, her yearbook showed her being referred to by a different name as the school counselor changed her name without informing her parents. The school decided to do so on its own after having received input from psychologist Wallace Wong, a known gender ideologue, according to The Post Millenial. Wong reportedly advised Hooglands daughter to take testosterone and referred her to an endocrinology unit at a nearby hospital. When Hoogland contested the matter in court, the judge at the time held that his consent was not relevant and that if he did not affirm her as a male, he would be implicated in the criminal offense of family violence. I had a perfectly healthy child a year ago, and that perfectly healthy child has been altered and destroyed for absolutely no good reason, Hoogland told The Federalist in a gag order-breaking interview from February 2020, referring to it as state-sponsored child abuse. She can never go back to being a girl in the healthy body that she should have had. Shes going to forever have a lower voice. Shell forever have to shave because of facial hair. She wont be able to have children Hoogland stated that sometimes he wants to scream so that other parents and people will jump in, understand whats going on. Theres a child and not only mine but in my case, my child out there having her life ruined, he said. Hooglands attorney is now petitioning the court to adjourn the trial on the criminal contempt of court charge until after judgment on a similar issue in a proceeding Notice of Application previously scheduled for a hearing on April 12. The attorney working on behalf of the attorney general of British Columbia responded, both in open court and on the record, advising Hooglands attorney approximately 10 days earlier that there was never any intention to proceed with a trial in respect to the arrest and criminal contempt charges of and against Hoogland. Hoogland is referred to as CD in court documents and is arguing that the provincial governments move to arrest him and hold him in custody with the foreknowledge that a trial will not be held is an abuse of his liberties under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically the legal rights listed in the Constitution Act of 1982. The law states that when a person is arrested or detained by police, they have the right to be promptly informed of the reasons therefore and can retain and instruct counsel without delay. They also have the right to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful. Regarding proceedings in criminal and penal matters, the law also provides that anyone charged with a criminal offense has the right to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence and be tried within a reasonable time. Sources told CP that Hooglands attorney maintains that the conscious decision to violate his charter freedoms is the very definition of arbitrary and for law enforcement to obtain a warrant from a Supreme Court justice without advising there was no intention to have a trial, is to mislead the court. Thus, the warrant issued in this case in such a manner is therefore a nullity, and the arrest following upon the nullity warrant is therefore a false arrest, a source said. Former Limestone County Superintendent Tom Sisk now plans to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge related to a federal indictment on school funding fraud. Sisk initially pleaded not guilty on March 4. His attorney filed the paperwork on the plea change on Thursday. The conspiracy charge was the one Sisk faced in the federal indictment regarding the scheme. Five others also face charges. Sisk left Limestone County Schools in September 2019 for a job in Bristol, Tenn. He has since left that job. Get more details on the alleged crime in our previous coverage below: The former superintendents of the Athens City and Limestone County school systems have pleaded not guilty to charges they face from a federal indictment. Trey Holladay, the former Athens superintendent, is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and identity theft. Tom Sisk, the former Limestone County superintendent, is charged with conspiracy. Those charges stem from alleged misappropriation of school funds. (Learn more about the charges and 4 other defendants HERE and HERE) The U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, U.S. Department of Education and Alabama State Department of Education all were involved in a more than two-year-long investigation into an alleged scheme, ultimately stealing money from taxpayers, officials have said. Sisk and Holladay entered the not guilty pleas Wednesday when they waived their rights to appear at arraignments, according to court records. Holladay was fired from Athens City Schools in October. He was placed on administrative leave in June of 2020 after the FBI raided his home as part of this investigation. Sisk left Limestone County Schools in September 2019 for a job in Bristol, Tenn. He has since left that job. Deborah Rose /Hearst Connecticut / New Milford Public Schools will be placed on remote learning April 19 through April 23, with all students at all schools returning in-person, April 26. The districts data shows that having a week of remote learning after a school vacation has been very successful as a mitigation strategy for New Milford Public Schools, Superintendent of Schools Alisha DiCorpo said. President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered seven-day national mourning for fallen Tanzanian President John Magufuli. The President also directed that the Kenyan flag and that of the East African Community be flown half-mast to honour Magufuli who died on Wednesday. In a statement issued from State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta ordered that both flags should be flown at half-mast at all public buildings and public grounds from Thursday to sunset on the day of Magufuli's funeral. He further directed that flags in all public places in the country and at all of Kenya's Diplomatic Missions abroad should also fly at half-mast. 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. In the days and months of the worst pandemic this country has suffered in modern times, AT&T has pulled the rug out from most of its retirees. The corporation that prided itself on being the leader in the marketplace has determined it is better to be further down the ladder. We are referring to the recent decision to reduce and, in some cases, eliminate life insurance plans that have been in place for over 20 years for most of their older retirees. AT&T, when expressing this elimination of this benefit for retirees, stated that it was being done to manage their investments in new benefits. Those new benefits cited in the letters would only be applicable to current employees. The announcement also stated retirees would be given a one-time opportunity to purchase life insurance at lower rates in the fall. Benefit managers and insurance agents cite group buying, but discounted rates for life insurance have been around for years. There is no way that many folks will now at this time of life with preexisting conditions be able to afford to purchase new plans, no matter the discounts. Life insurances along with other health benefits were part of overall total compensation while employed, for both union and management employees, a company position often used when discussing, raises, benefits, vacation time, etc., when we worked. You may say sour grapes well, of course there is, especially when AT&T has determined that union retirees life insurance should be capped higher than management retirees. When asked why, we heard complete silence on that telephone line in Texas. And now as we enter our later years, they reduce the life insurance provisions along with the ongoing reductions in health care coverage. Again, it was part of our total compensation packages. AT&T can say health plans and life insurances are not protected under ERISA all they want. But when is your word your bond, AT&T? The corporation has made many bad business decisions over the last several years. So the plan now is to recoup some revenue from the backs of retirees. Has the board of directors taken a reduction in fees, benefits and life insurance plans? No, because AT&T indicates the need to have highly qualified folks on their board to have good direction and make good business choices. How has that worked out? We dont know of any business or residential consumer who called a board of director for a dial tone or for a telephone number back in the day. And now the board can rehire and afford to pay the former CEO & Chairman Randall Stephenson an additional $1 million for 12 months of consulting on top of his retirement provisions and stock options that are obscene. AT&T needs to reconsider this decision for their retirees (who are also referred to company ambassadors) because these ambassadors are starting to pull the plug on AT&T. JoAnn Alix-Gagain, president, SNET Retirees Association Monte Baggs, president, Telco Retirees Association (Pac Bell) Jane Banfield, vice president, Telco Retirees Association (Legacy AT&T) When she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Obama administration, Vanita Gupta, Joe Bidens nominee for Associate Attorney General, opposed sentencing Dylann Roof to death. Roof is the white supremacist who mass murdered Blacks at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Guptas opposition to seeking the death penalty for Roof was reported by the Washington Post. She explained her opposition in a memo. In that memo she argued that, in Roofs case, extenuating factors outweighed aggravating ones, and that, accordingly, Roof should not be sentenced to death. This was an absurd and astonishing position, given the undisputed facts. At her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gupta boasted that Dylann Roof was convicted and sentenced to death under my watch. In view of Guptas recommendation that the Justice Department not seek the death penalty for Roof, this statement was grossly misleading. Sen. Lindsey Graham followed up on these matters in post-hearing written questions to Gupta. Not surprisingly, Gupta refused to answer Grahams questions. Graham asked Gupta: Did you at any point oppose the death penalty for Dylann Roof? Did you at any point author a memorandum or other document or communication expressing opposition to the death penalty for Dylann Roof? Anticipating that Gupta would assert a claim of privilege, Graham added: If you believe you can only partially answer this question because of a privilege, please explain why it is fair for you to say that the Roof death penalty was obtained under [your] watch, but not fully explain your role in obtaining that penalty. a. If you opposed the death penalty for Dylann Roof, do you believe it is fair to say that Roof received the death penalty under [your] watch? Gupta claimed privilege in declining to answer the first part of the question, regarding her position on the death penalty for Roof. As to how she fairly could claim credit for the imposition of the death penalty in Roofs case, Gupta was silent. (What could she say?) Her entire answer to Grahams question and its subpart was: Justice Department deliberations are confidential and it would not be appropriate for me to discuss internal deliberations in connection with this or any other matter I worked on during my prior government service. The honest answers to Grahams questions are: (1) Gupta did oppose the death penalty for Roof and (2) it wasnt fair for her to say that Roof received the death penalty under her watch without further explaining her role. Graham also asked Gupta: Your signature, along with the then-US Attorney for South Carolina, appears on the indictment of Dylann Roof. The indictment lists aggravating factors in his case: premeditation, vulnerable victims, and multiple killings. Interestingly, the indictment you signed did not list as an aggravator terrorismexpressly available as an aggravating factor under 18 U.S.C. 3592 (c) (9). a. Roof authored racist manuscripts, targeted Mother Emanuel because it serves African Americans, and intended to incite a race war. Why do you not believe Roof is a domestic terrorist? b. If you now believe Roof is a domestic terrorist, why didnt you include terrorism as an aggravating factor in the indictment? Gupta refused to answer, claiming again that it would not be appropriate for me to discuss internal deliberations in connection with this or any other matter I worked on during my prior government service. The Senate should reject Guptas nomination to be Associate Attorney General, the number three job at the DOJ, because (1) she recommended leniency for Dylann Roof based on the preposterous and offensive view that extenuating factors outweighed aggravating ones in the premeditated massacre of Blacks at a church and (2) she tried to mislead the Senate about the matter. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Brands, the leading provider of cloud-based software for schools, associations, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations, today announced two of its brands, TADS Financial Aid and School and Student Services (SSS), will come together on a single software platform to create greater access for families seeking to afford a private or independent K-12 education. Schools can select to use either the TADS needs-based approach or the SSS methodology, developed and maintained by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), to calculate need in alignment with their philosophy and mission, but the single experience increases families' access to schools and aid with one application. Community Brands becomes the only financial aid provider in the market to offer a modern, innovative financial aid platform that also is part of a single technology suite, including the full enrollment experience across admissions, enrollment, financial aid and tuition management. To achieve this unparalleled offering, the Community Brands team built a brand-new TADS Financial Aid portal on the commercially available Salesforce platform, the same software platform that has supported the SSS financial aid solution for the past seven years. Previously, families applying to schools using both TADS and SSS would have to complete two separate applications and pay duplicate application fees. With this new single-platform approach, TADS and SSS further advance their mission of making private education accessible to all families by requiring that families only pay a single application fee to apply for aid. "At Community Brands, our core mission is to help families find, apply for and afford a private or independent school education. By bringing our two financial aid assessment solutions onto the same powerful Salesforce platform, we're able to make our partner schools more accessible to those families who may not otherwise have access to private education," shared Bethany Little, Managing Director of Education and Non-Profit at Community Brands. "It is more important than ever to engage families with education options, particularly as we continue to manage through COVID-19. Schools that use our financial aid platform will extend their reach and also could capture first-time applicants to private school, potentially increasing their enrollment during a time of uncertainty." With the adoption of a single application for families also comes the ability for all schools, whether they use SSS or TADS, to offer the Means-based Waiver (MBW), a truly unique fee waiver that has been exclusive to SSS for the past six seasons. This revolutionary program has been proven to quickly and discretely help the families who need it most. The MBW automatically identifies families who meet certain criteria (including qualifying for free lunch) and then automatically waives the application fee for those families. And schools that want to grant extra fee waivers at their own discretion will have the ability to purchase additional fee waivers directly through the SSS and TADS portals. In addition to reducing the financial burden, the new and improved TADS Financial Aid portal makes the application process much easier for new and returning families with built-in help text, how-to tools, carry-forward functionality, and easy access to world-class support. Schools utilizing the new TADS Financial Aid portal will gain tremendous benefits from the modern, innovative tools made possible by the move to the Salesforce platform including: A proven, automated, and lightning-fast document verification process that harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to provide schools verified documentation within just 48 hours. Powerful self-serve functionality that will give schools greater access and control over their data and applications. The ability to adjust applications and settings and run various scenarios whenever and however they like, without needing to pick up the phone or wait for a support team member. Access to a team of financial aid experts, resources, and professional development throughout the financial aid process to improve the quality of their financial aid assessments. A seamless integration with TADS's best-in-class Tuition Management offering that will let schools apply financial aid awards to families' billing accounts with just the push of a button. About TADS TADS has been helping schools for nearly 50 years deliver a better experience for administrators and families by automating the most critical school management functions. Schools and organizations large and small across the nation use TADS to manage their admissions, enrollment, aid assessment, billing and much more. From Archdioceses to the smallest rural schools, TADS schools realize cost savings and service levels that are simply not available elsewhere. About SSS For more than 50 years, School and Student Services (SSS) has helped connect hundreds of thousands of students with an exceptional education. SSS provides a comprehensive need-based financial aid solution for schools to collect the data they need with a time-tested, fair, and equitable approach, so they can reach the families that most need help. SSS integrates directly with Community Brands' leading admission and enrollment solution, Ravenna. Learn more about Community Brands and its Association Solutions , Nonprofit Solutions , K-12 Solutions and Faith-based Solutions . About Community Brands Community Brands is the leading provider of cloud-based software and payment solutions to associations, nonprofits, K-12 schools and faith-based groups. Through innovation and technology, the company empowers more than 120,000 clients and partners to succeed faster, grow stronger and achieve social good. Organizations adopt Community Brands software to manage memberships, career centers, learning, accounting, mobile giving, peer-to-peer fundraising, donations, admissions, enrollments and events. Using these engagement platforms, customers of all sizes create meaningful and lasting experiences for their members, donors, volunteers and families. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, Community Brands serves the social good community in nearly 40 countries. To learn more, visit communitybrands.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn . Media contact Brad Bennett 8175179965 [email protected] SOURCE Community Brands Related Links http://communitybrands.com At 5:47 p.m., the Atlanta Police Department received a 911 call from a woman who, speaking very softly, said that there had been a robbery at Gold Spa, and that a white guy had a gun, according to audio recordings of 911 calls released by the police. The woman said she was hiding and did not know whether anyone had been hurt. Police soon arrived at Gold Spa, a battered beige storefront with a bright neon marquee, to find that three women had been shot. Ten minutes after that call, another woman dialed 911, saying that she had been told by a friend at Aromatherapy Spa, which sits roughly across the street, that a man had arrived with a gun. Everybody heard the gunshot and some lady got hurt I think and everybodys scared and theyre hiding, the woman said. There, the police found another victim. By then, the authorities had seen a man climbing into a black Hyundai Tucson in video surveillance footage from Youngs Asian Massage. Cherokee County sheriffs deputies shared images from the video on social media and within two hours, Mr. Longs parents had contacted the department and identified the man as their son. Theyre very distraught, Sheriff Frank Reynolds said. But, he said, they were very helpful in this apprehension. A little over two hours after the first shooting, Mr. Longs car was spotted heading south on the interstate in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. Mr. Long would later tell the authorities that he was driving to Florida to commit similar violence against some type of porn industry, Captain Baker said. The authorities said he was found with a 9-millimeter handgun. If youre an independent writer or journalist, Facebook would like you to know that it wants to help you. With what? Just about everything: it wants to give you easy to use writing and publishing tools, so you can create websites and newsletters, and publish them in multiple places (including on Facebook, of course), and it wants to help you connect those sites and newsletters you create to groups that it will also help you create (on Facebook, naturally). And it wants to give you tools to attract subscribers to your writing, and other ways of generating revenue (i.e., ads), and all kinds of other non-specific helpful advice. We know all this because Campbell Brown, Facebooks head of news partnerships, and Anthea Watson Strong, the companys product manager for news, wrote a blog post in which they described all of these features and the ways in which they want to empower independent writers, helping them reach new audiences and grow their businesses. But the part that really caught the attention of those in the media is that Facebook says it is going to jump-start this new program by paying a small subset of independent writers. Nowhere in this long statement of intent does anyone mention Substack, which is probably not surprising, because what Facebook is offering sounds like a carbon copy of what Substack provides to independent writers and journalists: a platform for their posts and newsletters, one in which Substack not only provides back-office support for subscriptions, but also pays a select group of writers in order to convince them to try out the platform. This Substack Pro program has been the source of some controversy recently, as the writers it has chosen to fund such as Scott Alexander and Frederik de Boer and others who use its platform, including Glenn Greenwald and Graham Linehan, have been criticized for some of their views. Substack co-founder Hamish Mackenzie said in a blog post that who the company decides to pay isnt based on what they write, but merely on whether they are likely to be successful (i.e., generate revenue for the company) and that therefore these are not editorial decisions. Critics have pointed out that these are exactly the kinds of editorial decisions traditional media outlets often make. In any event, several writers and journalists have said they are leaving Substack, because they dont want the revenue they generate from subscriptions to be used to fund opinions they disagree with. In response, Substack co-founder Chris Best tweeted defund the thought police (Substacks founders have since tried to clarify that the Pro program supports a wide range of authors, including trans writers and writers of color). ICYMI: Adbusters and the roots of the contemporary left Its unclear whether Facebook created its new program as Substack was starting to come under fire, or started it after the company became popular. The social network has become notorious for copying successful products and services developed by others, including Snapchat and Twitter (which, coincidentally enough, recently announced its own Substack-style subscription newsletter offering). Regardless of how it came to be, Facebook likely sees an opportunity to appeal to writers and journalists with its own slate of similar offerings, and it has a number of features that Substack cant offer. For example, Facebook doesnt need to generate any revenue at all from its new platform unlike Substack, which needs to justify the $17 million or so it has raised from Silicon Valley venture capitalists by producing significant financial returns. And Facebook can offer tools that allow writers who use its platform to reach a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people, something critics say Substack lacks (although it offers some writers health insurance and legal protection, neither of which are mentioned in Facebooks blog post). Whether writers and journalists should hitch their star to this particular Facebook wagon is a much more complicated question. On the one hand, being paid to write is arguably a good thing regardless of who is doing the paying, especially if you are scraping by as an independent. On the other hand, Facebook has siphoned off and/or controls so much of the marketplace for writing and journalism already that even the most desperate journalist might feel loath to increase its dominance any further. Facebook has also tried in the past to offer tools that would help writers reach their audiences, and the number who have successfully done so is still relatively small perhaps in part because a giant company like Facebook often gets distracted by other things, and its previous initiatives fall by the wayside. Some may take the social network up on its generous offer, but doing so may not be the guaranteed road to riches that they are hoping for. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Heres more on Facebook and Substack: Substack recreates media : In a piece written for CJR, Clio Chang writes that instead of creating a more equitable media system, Substack may have just replicated the flaws of the old one , by promoting and paying primarily white men who already have large audiences. In general, will Substack replicate the patterns of marginalization found across the media industry, or will it help people locked out of the dominant media sphere to flourish? To a large extent, the answer depends on whether or not Substacks founders believe theyre in the publishing business. When we spoke, they were adamant that Substack is a platform, not a media companya familiar refrain of Silicon Valley media ventures. Substack defends itself : In a follow-up blog post on the Substack Pro system, the three founders of the company Mackenzie, Best, and Jairaj Sethi said that contrary to some of the criticism the service has received , it is not promoting anti-trans viewpoints. More than 30 writers have now signed Pro deals, they said, and they cover a range of issues including politics, climate change, pop culture, sociology, feminism, history, health, literature, art, sports, and music. More than half of those being paid are women, Substack said, and more than a third are people of color. The company also said that the Pro program is not funded out of the contributions from other Substack subscriptions. Facebook ruins media : Jacob Silverman writes for The New Republic that Facebooks entry into the subscription content business is not likely to bode well for journalism . Imagine Facebookwith its data-driven, amoral attitude toward publishing, where everything truly is just content coming down the production linedeciding to give deals to some of its most popular media personalities. If Facebooks building out a content operation, it would only be logical to cement business ties with right-wing personalities Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino, whose postschock-full of hateful disinformationare often among the most shared. Some writers get rich : In a December piece for the New York Times , media writer Ben Smith revealed that the highest-earning individual writer on Substack was Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of 19th century American history at Boston College. According to Smith: By my conservative estimate based on public and private Substack figures, the $5 monthly subscriptions to participate in her comments section are on track to bring in more than a million dollars a year. Richardson said that she tries not to think too much about the size of her audience because that would be paralyzing. Other notable stories: ICYMI: NPRs tale of two crises at the Capital Gazette Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Lets start with silver linings: During my pandemic year of travel, I saw more of Ohio than I have in years, from new-to-me state parks, an overnight safari and a bike trail through Amish country. I didnt get to Ecuador, but the treehouses in Toledo were pretty magical. I know that Im lucky I got to travel at all. Many Clevelanders have been hunkered down at home for the past year, traveling not much farther than their neighborhood Heinens store. Despite my relative good fortune, its been a challenging year, travel wise, negotiating quarantines and restrictions, mask mandates and takeout meals. Im very much looking forward to a more normal year of travel in 2021, as the coronavirus continues to wane (fingers crossed). As much as Id like to look forward, I cant help but look back and reflect on the past year as a writer and a traveler. Its been a difficult, frustrating 12 months. A year ago this week, the travel industry came to a screeching halt, in Ohio and across the globe. Millions remain out of work as the industry slowly begins to recover. For the first two months of the pandemic, I stayed home, as instructed by my elected leaders. By May, I was ready to venture out. Initially, I was conflicted about my decision to travel. For more than a year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised Americans against non-essential travel to stem the spread of the disease. State and county health departments in Ohio affirmed that message, issuing stay-at-home advisories for some regions. I traveled anyway. Why? Partly because its my job, but also because the businesses were open hotels, restaurants, museums and gift shops and they needed our support. I also wanted to demonstrate that travel could be done safely and responsibly. Travel has been targeted during this pandemic as a primary means of virus spread. I dont doubt the science, but I do question whether it has to be that way. Early this year, I interviewed a local doctor who was advising against leisure travel. I asked her what it was about travel that made it dangerous, because it seemed to me that people who rent a condo on the beach or a cabin in the woods are as safe as I am in my house on any given day. She said travel seemed to give people license to break the rules by not wearing masks, drinking in bars, gathering in large groups, etc. Photos from Miami Beach this past week confirm her fears, with large groups of unmasked spring break revelers gathering in the streets. It doesnt have to be that way, though. And I set out to prove it. If people were going to travel, I wanted to give them ideas on places they could go safely and responsibly. With a handful of exceptions, I stayed within a three-hour drive of Cleveland, highlighting primarily outdoor destinations. I wrote a series of stories on Ohio state parks, visited a national park in Michigan and pedaled a few dozen miles on the Holmes County Trail in Amish country. Among the highlights: a first trip to Lake Hope State Park in Southeast Ohio, an overnight at Cannaley Treehouse Village near Toledo and a ski trip to Michigan with my daughters. I put thousands of miles on my car, wore down the tread on my hiking boots and ate way too many meals out of cardboard boxes in hotel rooms. Metroparks Toledo's Cannaley Treehouse Village at dusk. Fun in the water at Lake Hope State Park. The view from the end of the Empire Bluffs Trail at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The experiences werent uniformly positive. Among the irritations: dining outside in frigid temperatures and strangers who invaded my personal space in hotel hallways and on tight hiking trails. I paid attention to COVID infection rates, mask mandates and travel restrictions, primarily those in New York, which was essentially closed to Ohioans for much of the past year. (Yes, I know many people didnt abide by the rules, but I figured I should, at least when I was representing the Plain Dealer and cleveland.com). I missed the serendipity of connecting with fellow travelers at the end of a long day of touring, the casual conversations with locals at a neighborhood bar, the joy of experiencing a new culture for the first time. But I did not get COVID (at least I dont think I did), which I attribute as much to good luck as cautious behavior. A year ago this week, I was supposed to be leaving for Ecuador, where my daughter was studying. It would have been my first trip to South America. That trip, like so many others, was canceled as COVID-19 spread across the globe. I have a several thousand dollar credit for a resort in the Amazon that I dont know if Ill ever use. Yet I tell myself and I mean it that if the price of that canceled trip is the biggest cost to me during this deadly pandemic, then I consider myself very lucky. My younger daughter, too, had a study abroad trip canceled due to COVID. She was scheduled to study in Copenhagen last fall, a trip that has been rescheduled for this summer. However, Denmark, like most of Europe, remains closed to most visitors, as COVID numbers across the Atlantic surge. Will it be reopen by summer? I dont know. Im not sure Denmark knows. But I sure hope so, because I am hoping to travel there, too. Oh, how I yearn for a return to some kind of normal travel season this summer. If not, there are a few places left in Ohio I have yet to explore. Read more: Exploring Mohican State Park, a longtime fall favorite, with an unexpected discovery More Americans are driving to Florida: Dispatches from the road A handcuffed spring breaker escaped a patrol car and led cops on a chase across a Florida - as his fellow beachgoers cheered him on. TikTok video showed a crowd of spring breakers surrounding the cop car on the beach in Clearwater, Florida. At that moment, someone in the crowd opened the back passenger door and the handcuffed suspect, who was shirtless and wearing just his swimming shorts, climbed out and ran for it. Footage shows him running across the beach, with the cheering crowd chasing after him. The video cuts and opens again with a cop appearing to pull a gun on the handcuffed man and taking him back into custody. Suspect Dominic Glass was charged with escape, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence, Clearwater police confirmed in a tweet. A handcuffed spring breaker escaped a patrol car and led cops on a chase across a Florida - as his fellow beachgoers cheered him on. Dominic Glass is seen fleeing the cop car handcuffed Clearwater Police also confirmed they have identified the person who opened the car door and his arrest is pending. The handcuffed fleer is not the only unruly spring breaker in Florida. Last weekend Miami Beach Police arrested more than 100 people for crimes including a 'bottle-throwing attack on our police'. The large numbers of tourists and big crowds on the beach have raised concerns about the spread of COVID. The state's leading industry, tourism in Florida took a hit last spring break due to COVID restrictions. A large crowd is seen surrounding Dominic Glass after he was initially arrested until a beachgoer opens the door for him Glass, who was shirtless and wearing just his swimming shorts, climbed out and ran for it Footage shows him running across the beach, with the cheering crowd chasing after him On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health reported 6,004 new cases of COVID, the highest in 2 weeks. Clearwater Beach, the site of the handcuffed getaway, is a favorite location for spring breakers across the country. The TikTok recorded what appears to be a violation of Clearwater Beach COVID safety guidelines- which ask that beachgoers abide by the CDC recommended six feet of distance or more between beach attendees and those who are not in their family or group, as well as the Beachgoers should avoid congregating in groups larger than 10 people. Bradley Cooper seems to have perfected the art of co-parenting with ex Irina Shayk. And the eight-time Academy Award nominee's fathering skills recently earned some praise from the model. He served cool dad vibes Wednesday in a hoodie and cargo pants, as he enjoyed a day with their daughter Lea, while stepping out to run some errands in New York City. Dad vibes: Bradley Cooper served cool dad vibes Wednesday in a hoodie and cargo pants, as he enjoyed a day with their daughter Lea, while stepping out to run some errands in New York City The 46-year-old stayed bundled up in a snug black hoodie, zipped up to his neck, with some grey joggers. He finished the look with a pair of round tortoiseshell Persol sunglasses, some Riccardo Tisci x Nike Air Force 1s and a black face mask. Cooper carried his daughter for part of their walk, before holding her hand and letting her walk on her own. Lea, who turns four this month, was cute and cozy in a pink teddy hoodie, a red knit scarf and a matching beanie with a black pom pom and the word 'LOVE.' Casual outing: The 46-year-old stayed bundled up in a snug black hoodie, zipped up to his neck, with some grey joggers Cool kicks: He finished the look with a pair of round tortoiseshell Persol sunglasses, some Riccardo Tisci x Nike Air Force 1s and a black face mask Daddy's girl: Cooper carried his daughter for part of their walk, before holding her hand and letting her walk on her own Pretty in pink: Lea, who turns four this month, was cute and cozy in a pink teddy hoodie, a red knit scarf and a matching beanie with a black pom pom and the word 'LOVE' Cute look: Her look was finished with a pink face mask and a white peasant skirt, layered over brown knit stockings with furry boots Her look was finished with a pink face mask and a white peasant skirt, layered over brown knit stockings with furry boots. Cooper co-parents his growing girl with ex Irina Shayk, 35, whom he dated from April of 2015 to June of 2019. The Russian model recently told Elle that Lea's father is 'the most amazing dad,' while taking issue with the term 'co-parenting.' Co-parenting goals: Cooper co-parents his growing girl with ex Irina Shayk, 35, whom he dated from April of 2015 to June of 2019 (pictured in January, 2019) Best dad ever: The Russian model recently told Elle that Lea's father is 'the most amazing dad,' while taking issue with the term 'co-parenting' (pictured in January, 2019) 100 percent: She said: 'I never understood the term co-parenting. When I'm with my daughter, I'm 100 percent a mother, and when she's with her dad, he's 100 percent her dad. Co-parenting is parenting' She said: 'I never understood the term co-parenting. When I'm with my daughter, I'm 100 percent a mother, and when she's with her dad, he's 100 percent her dad. Co-parenting is parenting.' Shayk and Cooper have been spotted stepping out with their daughter on a few occasions since their split, most recently taking her to a Russian class. According to TMZ, the couple has joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, and they didn't even bother with a formal custody agreement. Scoring an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine takes patience and, in many cases, some tech savvy. Demand continues to outstrip supply, although President Biden has promised there will be enough vaccine for all American adults by the end of May. But even for the impatient and those without Internet, there are work-arounds. So far, 25% of Michigan adults age 16 and older have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, and 14% are fully immunized. Here are some tips to get an appointment. Make sure you are eligible. Those currently eligible for vaccine appointments includes anybody age 65 and older, those age 50 to 64 with a disability or medical condition that makes them vulnerable to COVID complications, and caregivers of any age for special-needs children. (Click here for a list of eligible medical conditions.) The eligible list also includes essential workers employed as health care workers, long-term care workers, first responders, corrections workers, childcare and school staff, staff in congregate care facilities, mortuary service workers, workers in food processing and agricultural settings. As of March 22, eligibility will expand to anyone age 50 and older, regardless of health condition, and those age 16 to 49 with a pre-existing condition. All Michigan residents will become eligible for a vaccine starting April 5. Register in multiple places. Most vaccines are being administered by hospitals, local health departments, pharmacies and federally qualified health centers. For the most part, doctor offices are not yet offering the vaccine. Sign up for whatever waitlists are available in your area, recognizing that not all providers have waitlists. However, do NOT schedule multiple appointments. Once you get an appointment, either show up or cancel; dont be a no-show. Heres a link to a federal Centers for Disease Control website that shows which pharmacies in your area are offering the vaccine. For those unwilling or unable to hunt for an appointment online The key here is registering at places that have waitlists. Check with your local hospitals and your health department. Meijer also uses a waitlist system. The advantage with waitlists is theyll contact you when appointments are available. The disadvantage is that it make take longer to get an appointment. How to register with a pharmacy. At this point, retail pharmacies are the No. 1 provider of vaccines to those starting the process. However, many places are only scheduling appointments a week or two in advance because of uncertainty about how many doses they will have available in a given week. The major retailers that are providing vaccines: Meijer is creating waitlists and will text you an invitation to schedule a vaccine clinic. Heres the link to is creating waitlists and will text you an invitation to schedule a vaccine clinic. Heres the link to the website to register. One downside: You can only register for a waitlist at one store. Rite-Aid isnt doing waitlists, but the advantage is that you can check availability at multiple locations. Heres the isnt doing waitlists, but the advantage is that you can check availability at multiple locations. Heres the website to schedule an appointment. Walgreens also is not doing waitlists. Heres also is not doing waitlists. Heres their website for scheduling an appointment, and you also can sign up for updates on availability. Krogers also is not doing waitlists. Heres the also is not doing waitlists. Heres the link for scheduling an appointment. Walmart is offering vaccines in some locations; the is offering vaccines in some locations; the link for scheduling an appointment. Some independent pharmacies also are offering vaccines. Check the CDC vaccine finder website to see a list of those pharmacies near you, as well as the contact information for those stores. How to register with your health department and/or local hospital. Some health departments and hospitals are creating waitlists and others are releasing blocks of appointments at specified times. Heres a link to contact information for local health departments. To check vaccine availability at your local hospital, Google COVID vaccine and the hospitals name. Most hospitals will require you to create an online account or download an app to get on a waitlist. Mass vaccine site at Ford Field. The state and federal governments are setting up a mass vaccination clinic at Ford Field in Detroit, where 8,000 people will be vaccinated a day, beginning on March 24. The site will operate from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. seven days a week through mid-May. Sign-up is available through these three options: Online at meijer.com/register/CL2021 Text EndCOVID to 75049 Call the MDHHS COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is expected that the call center will have long wait times, so calling is recommended only people who cannot register online or by text. After the registration process is completed, people who have registered will receive an invitation either by voice or text when its their turn to schedule the appointment. Vaccine appointments will be scheduled a few days in advance. State hotline is available for those who cant register online. Residents who dont have access to the Internet or who need assistance navigating the vaccine scheduling process can call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136 (press 1) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you have the time ... Almost all vaccination providers in Michigan require appointments. That said, if you show up at a retail pharmacy at the end of a vaccination clinic, its possible they will have extra vaccines because of no-shows and you might be able to get your first vaccine that way. Read more on MLive: Michigans coronavirus numbers are going up, but will vaccinations blunt the impact? COVID brides and industry professionals consider how the pandemic could change future weddings COVID-19 pandemic still teaching Michigan schools lessons a year later 9 things we got totally wrong about COVID-19 a year ago Bengaluru, March 19 : Continuing its war against drugs consumption, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday asserted that the government will shutdown Hookah bars in the state. During an elaborate discussion between members of Legislative Council while replying to a question by the BJP Member and chief whip, Mahantesh Kavatagimath in Legislative Council during the question hour, Bommai said. It was Leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council, S.R. Patil who drew the Home Minister's attention towards Hookah bars. In response to this, Bommai conceded that Hookah Bars are the main culprits in promoting drug consumption in a big way among youngsters. "We have information that some of the hookah bars have become drug supplying dens, we will act tough on them soon," he said. "Few hookah bars operate as part of restaurants while some are standalone in cities such as Bengaluru and Mysuru. Youngsters throng these places. We are seriously thinking to ban hookah bars," the minister maintained. He added that Bengaluru Civic Body being the licencing authority, there is no control over the mushrooming of these bars. "Already I am under tremendous pressure not to close down these jaunts, but I assure here that I will close them down," he said. Recently, Google deployed an addition to its excellent line-up of offerings - The Free Booking Link Program (hereinafter referred to as 'FBL'). With Google FBL, travel companies and hotels will be able to have their exclusive presence on the booking links' list. Properties will be able to showcase their real-time booking rates and availability on Google hotel search and maps, enabling them to have: Direct, commission-free bookings: Since the organic listing now features individual property's booking link, it strengthens the chances of receiving direct bookings. Better reach: FBL improves online presence by appearing on Google search and maps to reach potential customers. Revenue growth: Better reach will result in improved online visibility, and in turn, uplift revenue generation opportunities. Furthermore, Google FBL indirectly impacts: User engagement: The organic appearance of a property through FBL will play a significant role in acquiring a new user-base. By having an active presence, the accommodation providers will engage users by keeping their business positioned where customers are. Brand recognition: Hotels' appearance on the #1 search engine will attract relevant traffic onto the website, making visitors stay and explore the property. As a result, prospects online will be aware of the property. There's no reason why hotels wouldn't want to subscribe to FBL. It attracts 100% organic traffic to the websites and drives bookings. Additionally, it would be imperative for hotels to have a fast, responsive, and mobile-friendly website to cater to online traffic effectively. By placing suitable offers, a gallery of the property, enlisting amenities and perks, hotels can influence users to book rooms directly on the website and record commission-free bookings. To promote participations, Google has partnered with a few cutting-edge hospitality tech-providers for its launch of the FBL. Hotels and accommodation providers can now collaborate with one of the authorized partners through booking engines to register for FBL and seize advantages associated with it. eZee is one of the initial FBL integration providers. As a Google FBL authorized integrator, eZee has further consolidated its dedication to delivering value-oriented solutions to hotels and other hospitality providers. Some of eZee's enrolled customers have recorded a rise in direct bookings through Google FBL and are affirmative about further revenue impact. BRG Budget Stay has acquired astonishing 161 direct bookings, 10% bookings growth in a single month. The Strabon Hotel, Mexico , has received 14 direct bookings from FBL and is confident that FBL will represent 9-10% of the annual revenue. Travelers across the world are hopeful in 2021: According to Travel Pulse , 70% of their travel survey participants want to travel in 2021. The world is gearing up for a change, so should the hospitality industry, and that change is Google FBL. Google has crafted a path to provide hotels with a fair chance to enhance visibility, augment business opportunities, achieve profitability, and sustainability. According to some key travel agency statistics , it is estimated that 700 million people will be booking their hotel rooms online by 2023. Google FBL also facilitates travelers to have a superior booking experience. Moreover, it presents the hotel tech-providers with an opportunity to introduce service variations and expansion of their offerings to accommodate FBL integration. For the selected FBL partners like eZee , this effort from Google stands as a means of extending the booking engine software to a colossal customer base, making them eligible for the FBL enrolment and revenue enhancement. Initially, booking links were a part of Google Hotel Ads only which had fees ranging from 10-20% of the booking amount. Now, with FBL, hotels will be organically listed at zero cost, expanding their online reach. It's a never-before moment for hospitality businesses to associate with Google and encash the scope of revenue generation through FBL. About Aeijaz Sodawala Aeijaz Sodawala is a Chief Executive Officer at eZee Technosys - the global leader in hospitality technology. His roles and responsibilities at the organization involve making strategic decisions, managing the company's overall resources as well as operations, and being the voice of the company. Aeijaz joined eZee in 2008, and in a short span, developed a sharp understanding of hospitality business processes. He started his journey at eZee in customer support and gradually participated in sales, marketing, partnership and business expansion activities. He has contributed greatly to the formation of Indian as well as international sales teams at eZee. Aeijaz holds a track record of successful entrepreneurship in the South-East Asian market acquiring vast experience in start-up establishments. He has been a key driver in creating the foundation for the hospitality software business of eZee outside India. He worked on multiple projects in Thailand where he discovered immense opportunities for eZee solutions in the ASEAN hospitality market. Aeijaz is an intuitive leader. He is a resourceful decision-maker, skilled at identifying and successfully solving organizational problems. He has strong analytical, organizational, and long range planning abilities. Website link- ezeetechnosys.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459024/Google_FBL_eZee.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459023/eZee_Technosys_Logo.jpg SOURCE Aeijaz Sodawala Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Advertisement Newly colorised images of the brave women who fought for equal rights in America bring fresh life to powerful photos of the suffrage movement in the early 20th century One photograph shows a group of women waving banners while stood in front of the Lafayette Statue in Washington in September 1918, while another figure is seen torching a piece of paper containing a speech by President Wilson in a bid to get the last vote in the Senate before June 4, 1919. As was the case in several western so-called democracies at the turn of the century, American women found themselves fighting for their right to vote throughout the early 1900s. In 1890 the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed, with the goal of achieving equal rights for women - and 30 years later women were finally given the right to vote in a US election. The fascinating photographs date between 1875 and 1938, but were mostly created between 1913-1922. They depict the inspired tactics used by the British and American suffrage movement during this time, such as hunger strikes and demonstrations which have helped secure a better future for women today. Suffrage protesters hold banners and while one woman holds a burning piece of paper containing a speech by President Wilson in a bid to get the last vote in the Senate before June 4, 1919 A suffrage demonstration at the Lafayette Statue in Washington DC in September 1918 is among the colorised images featured in the newly surfaced collection. The fascinating photographs date between 1875 and 1938 but were mostly created between 1913-1922 and depict the inspired tactics used by the British and American suffrage movement during this time A group of women assist Mrs Lawrence Lewis on her release from jail after five days of hunger striking in August 1918. Lewis became involved in the suffrage movement as a wealthy widow from Philadelphia and was one of the earliest supporters of Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, but began working for the cause with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She was among those suffragists who endured the 'Night of Terror' in November of 1917, subjected to brutality at the hands of prison guards after being taken to the Occoquan Workhouse to serve a sentence for 'obstructing the sidewalk'. Lewis and Lucy Burns led the other imprisoned women in a hunger strike A particularly striking image shows Helena Hill Weed serving a three day sentence in prison for carrying a banner which read: 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.' Ms Weed was a prominent member of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the National Woman's Party, and was one of the first pickets arrested on July 4, 1917. She was arrested for applauding in court in January 1918 and sentenced to 24 hours in jail, and received another 15 day sentence when she was arrested for taking part in the Lafayette Square meeting. When she died in 1958, aged 83, TIME Magazine described her as a 'kinetic suffragette who crisscrossed the nation crusading for the right to vote'. Elsewhere a shot showcases a group of protesters outside Cameron House Headquarters in 1917, holding up picket banners directly addressing the president. Their messages include statements such as: 'Mr. President you say "liberty is the fundamental demand of the human spirit"' and questions including: 'Mr. President what will you do for woman suffrage?'. And in one image, a female police officers arrests two demonstrators in the center of Delaware after they refused to give up their banners in June 1917. One snap shows Susanna Morin Swing - a member of the National Woman's Party - holding up a banner reading: 'Democracy should begin at home,' while another reveals two organizers of a demonstration tying a banner to a car parked outside the New Jersey Congressional Union brand headquarters, in preparation for a drive-by protest. A particularly striking image shows Helena Hill Weed serving a three day sentence in prison for carrying a banner which read: 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed'. Ms Weed was a prominent member of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the National Woman's Party, and was one of the first pickets arrested on July 4, 1917. A colorised image of Susanna Morin Swing, a member of the National Woman's Party, holding a banner that reads: 'Democracy Should Begin at Home' in June 1917. America's involvement in the First World War was instrumental in women winning the right to vote. With the men overseas in Europe fighting, women were left to do many of the jobs which it was commonly assumed they were unable to do, such as working in manufacturing and engineering professions A shot showcases a group of protesters stood outside Cameron House Headquarters in 1917, holding up picket banners directly addressing the president, with messages including 'Mr President, what will you do for woman suffrage?' Pictured right: A woman's suffrage meeting at a coffee house in New York in March 1915, while Joy Young holds up a banner during a memorial service at the US Capitol in December 1916 (left). Ms Young was assistant editor of The Suffragist, a weekly organ of the Woman's Party and the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage A policewoman arrests two demonstrators in the center of Delaware after they refused to give up their banners in June 1917. The suffragist in the center, Annie Arniel, was among the first of the suffragists arrested for protesting at the White House and served eight jail sentences In this aerial shot, taken in 1917, a group of suffrage prisoners are escorted from DC Court House and taken to prison. One of the most notable things about the women marching for equal rights in the early 1900s was their willingness to be arrested for the cause, portraying themselves as political prisoners rather than criminals From 1900 onwards the NAWSA led many campaigns and protests across the country, demanding the attention of politicians and the public through relentless lobbying, clever publicity stunts, civil disobedience and nonviolent confrontation. NAWSA's first President was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with one if its leading and most famous figureheads being Susan B Anthony. The suffragettes constantly lobbied the government, organizing marches and protests to gain maximum attention and put pressure on lawmakers to make an amendment to the constitution to allow women the right to vote. The group drew their inspiration from other civil rights groups from around the world, such as the British women's suffrage movement and the antislavery campaigns of the pre-civil war era. One of the most notable things about the women marching for equal rights in the early 1900s was their willingness to be arrested for the cause, portraying themselves as political prisoners rather than criminals. And their approach worked, with the White House unhappy with the level of negative publicity being created by the protesters constant lobbying of the government. America's involvement in the First World War was instrumental in women winning the right to vote. With the men overseas in Europe fighting, women were left to do many of the jobs which it was commonly assumed they were unable to do, such as working in manufacturing and engineering professions. The National Woman's Party was founded in 1913 as part of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, which pushed for an agreement towards the 19th amendment - which prohibited the state from denying the right to vote based on gender in the United States. To attract attention to the protest, members of the National Woman's Party were asked to submit photographs of themselves to gain worldwide attention, meaning there is a rich archive of photographs. In 1915 a suffrage bill was brought to floor of the House of Representatives but was defeated, lacking any real support from the President or the Democratic Party. The bill was voted on again in 1918, where it was defeated in the Senate by just two votes, and once more in February 1919, when it was defeated by a single vote in the Senate. President Wilson was determined to have the vote passed, though, with many other western countries having already given women the right to vote. The issue was again put to a vote in May 1919, this time one called especially by the President, was finally passed as the 19th amendment to the United States constitution. It was then finally ratified in August 1919, making the 1920 election the first in which women were able to vote. Two demonstrators pin a banner demanding the 19th amendment on a car in front of the New Jersey headquarters in 1916. In 1915 a suffrage bill was brought to floor of the House of Representatives but was defeated, lacking any real support from the President or the Democratic Party. The bill was voted on again in 1918, where it was defeated in the Senate by just two votes, and once more in February 1919, when it was defeated by a single vote in the Senate. President Wilson was determined to have the vote passed, though, with many other western countries having already given women the right to vote. In May 1919 it was finally passed as the 19th amendment to the United States constitution Women from an equal rights group call on Governor Smith in a bid to urge the legislative program in March 1924. Al Smith, Governor of New York, was a candidate for President of the United States in the 1928 election. His run was notable in that he was the first Catholic nominee of a major party, he opposed Prohibition, and he enjoyed broad appeal among women, who had won the right of suffrage in 1920 Four wage-earning working women walk with pickets and suffrage banners during a march in February 1917. To attract attention to the protest, members of the National Woman's Party were asked to submit photographs of themselves to gain worldwide attention, meaning there is a rich archive of photographs (Natural News) Prosecutors in Italy are launching a probe into the sudden death of a music teacher who died just hours after being injected with the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. According to reports, Sandro Tognatti, 57, was jabbed in his hometown of Biella on Saturday afternoon and very quickly developed a high fever. Simona Riussi, his wife, says her husband still had a high fever the next morning, prompting her to call the paramedics. An ambulance arrived and took Tognatti away, however the clarinetist died not long after. Attorneys in the northern Italian region of Piedmont where the incident occurred have since launched a formal investigation into the matter, using the term manslaughter to describe what appears to have occurred. AstraZenecas Chinese virus injection clearly killed Tognatti, and prosecutors want answers as to what will be done to hold the company, as well as Oxford, accountable for his death. Nearly 400,000 doses of the jab from the same batch as the one that killed Tognatti have also been seized for analysis. Italy and at least a dozen other European nations have halted all administration of the AstraZeneca jab until further notice. Government officials claim that there is no evidence of a direct link between the injection and Tognattis death. This is why prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation so they can be completely sure that Tognattis death cannot be attributed to the above-mentioned inoculation. Tognattis wife says people should still get vaccinated, despite her husbands death According to AstraZeneca, its Wuhan flu shot is completely safe. The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees. However, the nations of Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, and Thailand all disagree. The evidence would appear to show that many people who receive the AstraZeneca jab end up developing deadly blood clots. Tognatti just so happens to be one of the many fatality cases that is making global headlines. Here in the United States, regulators have not yet approved the use of AstraZenecas Chinese virus vaccine. Emergency approval is expected to happen before the end of the month, however. Amazingly, Riussi still thinks that people should get jabbed with the AstraZeneca injection, despite her husbands death. My husband believed in the vaccine and we must continue to believe in it because it is the only way that can free us from this situation, Riussi said in a statement to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Sweden has since joined the European cohort of nations that is refusing to administer any more AstraZeneca vaccines, at least for now. Most of its neighbors have done the same out of an abundance of caution, which has angered the WHO. Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine, announced WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris. There is no indication to not use it. The WHO has set up a special advisory panel to look at the vaccine more closely. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is also converging to decide what actions, if any, should be taken to protect Europeans against the dangerous injection. Until then, the agency is claiming that the benefits of being stabbed with an AstraZeneca needle outweigh the risk of possibly developing blood clots and dying. Vaccines are the devils handiwork and if you let them inject Satans concoction in your veins, dont be surprised if you are put through hell, wrote one of our own commenters. I hope that there are some doctors around who know how to repair or reverse DNA damage, wrote another, referring to the experimental gene therapy aspect of the jabs. To learn more about the injuries and deaths resulting from Chinese virus injections, visit ChemicalViolence.news. Sources for this article include: NYPost.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com NYDailyNews.com but the vaccine zealots accuse him of being a murderer VEENDAM, The NetherlandsEDC Wholesale announced it has expanded its team with two new membersKim Maes and Nerea Quintana Alvarezto serve the French and Spanish markets. The Holland-based wholesaler wants to grow internationally and in March launched a new platform called ONE-DC with multiple language options. To support our international customers we welcome two new members to the sales team," said Lennard Honebecke, head of sales at EDC Wholesale. Kim will serve our French customers and Nerea our Spanish and Portuguese customers. We are very excited to welcome these two ladies to the team and we are looking forward to serving our customers in their own language. "We believe that this will add value to the service we offer our customers in French and Spanish markets. Nerea Quintana Alvarez, a native Spanish, is from Bilbao. She brings a masters degree in international communication and many experiences working in different countries across the globe. Honebecke said she is a skilled networker who is always ready to add value by finding the most convenient solution. The key to success for Nerea is open and kind communication, he added. I feel very lucky to be able to work with clients from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries," Quintana Alvarez said. Living in the Netherlands and speaking English most of the time sometimes makes me 'forget' my mother tongue languages (Spanish and Basque), so its very nice being able to include Spanish in my work life. "I think the added value I can offer to our customers is that I am always going to be ready to help them and find the most convenient solutions for them. I will always communicate with kindness and honesty. Kim Maes is the first point of contact for French B2B customers. Thanks to her open way of communicating and extensive experience in sales, she is instrumental with any request, order and product-related questions. Honebecke said due to Maes' successful period at EDCs customer service department she gained a lot of product knowledge and has became well-versed in the customer and B2B area. He added that for Kim, open communication is crucial both within EDC Wholesale and in contact with other companies. Im very excited to take on this new challenge within EDC," Maes said. "The colleagues and the work environment are remarkable. Im proud to get the chance to include my language skills in my job. Its interesting to see that the customer is central at all levels of the company at EDC Wholesale. This, in combination with an open and diverse working atmosphere, motivates me to bring my new job position to success. Kim and Nerea will introduce themselves personally to the French and Spanish customers but if customers cant wait to meet them, they can send an email to [email protected] or [email protected]," added Honebecke. Retail customers can now go to one-dc.com or contact [email protected]. One day after seven women were killed in attacks across three massage parlours in Atlanta, Georgia, the US House of Representatives voted to reauthorise the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The act, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), creates and supports comprehensive, cost-effective responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. The act was originally authored by the now-president Joe Biden, but had lapsed two years ago. Representatives voted 244 to 172 in favour of the bill, largely along party lines, though 29 Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting its passage. NNEDV, in a press release, said that it applauds the bills lead sponsors, Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and all those who voted for VAWAs passage. Deborah Vagins, president of NNEDV, said it was a vote to support survivors... that both maintains established protections and resources and expands VAWA to address ongoing gaps in the law. Read more: The pandemic continues to reveal deep racial and gender inequalities that impact survivors lives and jeopardise their safety, she added. The VAWA addresses the needs of historically marginalised survivors in a number of critical ways, she said. According to The Hill, among other things, the act will end the so-called boyfriend loophole, where spouses convicted of domestic violence are banned from owning guns but non-married partners and ex-partners are not. Ms Vagins said the bill builds on the progress that has been made for survivors, but acknowledges there is much more to be done to prevent violence, address abuse, and ensure safety. The bill takes a comprehensive approach, addressing the complex realities of survivors lives. We celebrate the House bill and urge the Senate to swiftly pass it. One user on Twitter also thanked lawmakers who voted for the VAWA reauthorisation. My daughters ex-husband was financially abusive to her during their marriage. Shes fortunate that she had a godfather & extended family who could support her as she left the marriage. Obviously, not all women are that blessed. So, TY for your advocacy, she said. While the bills passage in the House was celebrated, there was also a widespread reaction to the fact that so many lawmakers chose to vote against the bill. One social media, Jake Lobin, whose bio identifies him as a devout Democrat, tweeted 172 Republicans voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act today because they see no problem with violence against women. Another user blasted the Republicans for having no redeeming qualities, and others accused the party of not caring for the safety of women in the country. Many also celebrated the reauthorisation of VAWA. President Biden welcomed the bills passage, adding: I urge the Senate to follow their lead to renew and strengthen this landmark law. Writing and passing VAWA is one of the legislative accomplishments of which Im most proud. VAWA has transformed the way our country responds to violence against women, he said. Counselling notes of sexual assault victims are only used to discredit victims in court, the CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said today. Ms Noeline Blackwell noted that counselling notes are used in cases of sexual assault victims, unlike in other cases of physical abuse. She discussed the case of Sarah Grace, a solicitor and survivor of sexual violence, who revealed that her counselling notes were used as evidence in her trial. Were only doing this to discredit the victim, Ms Grace told Claire Byrne on RTE Radio One. All of my notes kind of lined up with what I was saying, so they werent used to kind of back up my evidence. But if there was any discrepancy or anything I had mentioned in there where I said: maybe he didnt quite do that, but I think he did, anything like that, that would be used to discredit me, and the defence would use that to discredit me. In addition, Ms Grace was not warned that these notes could be used in the trial. Ms Blackwell said its not the case that counselling notes are used as evidence in other trials dealing with physical assault. In other trials though, the questions that are asked are based on what somebody told the gardai, and then based on what they said in court, Ms Blackwell said on Today with Claire Byrne. It is only in areas of sexual violence that they are asked for this extra, private information in relation to their counselling notes. If I go and say Ive had a physical assault, nobody is going to ask for my therapist notes. She added that counselling is supposed to be a safe place where people can heal and talk through their trauma. That is the place that the person should be able to say whats important, she said. Ms Blackwell also discussed how many people may feel like if they pursue romantic endeavours after their assault, it could be used against them. That is one of the things that people feel awful about, if they go on a date afterwards, she said. Or say for instance, even before it, if theyve been on dates with three different people beforehand in the previous month, is someone going to accuse them of being sluttish or promiscuous? Ms Blackwell added: Very often, defence will ask for notes that they dont use. It is used as a way of intimidating, it is used as a way of reducing peoples capacity to access counselling. And Sarah raises a really, really good point in saying: why do you ask for extra corroboration in this area, where you wouldnt ask for it if someone was a victim of a physical assault. Its a question of disbelieving victims of sexual violence. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article you can contact the Rape Crisis Helpline (1800-778888). Jasmin Cigarroa, 24, was last seen on Monday near 28th Avenue and Roslyn Street in Denver's Central Park neighborhood after going out with friends, but never returned home, police said. Health officials has issued a warning over social mixing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Infection rates in the Republic have fallen, but a senior expert expressed concern that case counts and some other indicators of the disease are static or have plateaued. Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said the relatively constant case count can be traced to an increase in mobility, congregation and social mixing. Expand Close Professor Philip Nolan (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Professor Philip Nolan (Brian Lawless/PA) He described the current estimation of the R number as being between 0.8-1.1, and an average of around 500 new cases of the virus a day. Its not clear to any of us what is going to happen next, if people have cut back on their level of social contact and mobility over the last week or fortnight, then we might expect case numbers to decline, if we havent then case numbers could remain stable or increase, he told the Nphet press conference. Dr Mai Mannix, director of public health at HSE Mid-West an area which includes Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary, gave examples of how people simply meeting for a cup of tea or attending funerals or wakes have in some cases spread the virus. Expand Close Dr Mai Mannix (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dr Mai Mannix (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland) She described a multi-household community outbreak in recent weeks which had been traced back to people visiting each other. She said it was a non-student population and not related to a party. Its basically what happens when people visit each other for cups of tea, or a beer or even a chat and arent adhering to social distancing or wearing masks, she said. We had six households, there was a community outbreak because of mixing between the households of at least 20 cases. Then subsequently one of the households brought it into their workplace where they caused an outbreak within the workplace of five cases and one of those subsequently brought it home resulting in a family outbreak. You can see how easily it spreads in this scenario and its a situation weve seen on a number of occasions over the past number of weeks. It feels very unnatural to us because I think the Irish do funerals well but I think none of us would want that our particular family funeral would be the source of more cases, or possibly serious illness for others. Dr Mai Mannix She also gave an example of the virus spreading at a funeral. Its been an extremely difficult time but the message is that we still need to be very careful around the time of a funeral, she said. It feels very unnatural to us because I think the Irish do funerals well but I think none of us would want that our particular family funeral would be the source of more cases, or possibly serious illness for others. In particular the wake house, thats a very traditional Irish thing but at the moment thats something that people really need to be careful about. Gardai seized a crossbow and other potentially dangerous weapons during a raid on a house in north Dublin on Wednesday. A spokesperson wrote on the official Twitter account: Gardai in Ballymun carried out a search today and seized a crossbow and arrows, fireworks and a F900 airsoft pistol. They added that no arrests had been made and that investigations were "ongoing. Read More A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana told sundayworld.com that officers attached to the Street Crime Unit in the Ballymun District conducted a search under warrant of a residence in Dublin 11 yesterday (March 17). During the course of the search, a small quantity of suspected cannabis herb was seized along with a crossbow and seven arrows, an airsoft pistol and fireworks, they said, adding: Investigations are ongoing. Dutch prime minister Mark Ruttes conservative party powered to a fourth consecutive election victory in a vote held during a nationwide lockdown and dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, near-complete results indicated. The feat puts Mr Rutte in pole position to begin talks to form the countrys next ruling coalition, most likely with another big winner the centrist, pro-European D66 party led by former diplomat Sigrid Kaag, who danced on a table when an exit poll showed her party recording one of its biggest-ever ballot box victories. Mr Rutte said voters had given his party an overwhelming vote of confidence and it is humbling. It is also forcing us to do everything we can to make a success out of it. The agenda ahead of us is enormous, Mr Rutte said. In the coming weeks and months, we have to lead the Netherlands through the corona crisis. Expand Close Votes are counted in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Peter Dejong/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Votes are counted in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Peter Dejong/AP) Moves to form a new coalition were to start on Thursday afternoon with the leader of the lower house of parliament meeting party leaders. The splintered political landscape in the Netherlands, 16 parties were forecast to have won at least one seat, could make coalition talks difficult. Mr Rutte, for one, wants a quick formation process so that a new government can continue battling the pandemic that has killed more than 16,000 in this country of more than 17 million people. Mr Ruttes victory came two months after his last coalition resigned amid a scandal involving the countrys tax office wrongfully labelling thousands of families who claimed child welfare benefits as fraudsters. His party was forecast to win 35 seats, two more than the last election, in the 150-seat parliament, while D66 gained five seats to take its bloc to 24, according to the prognosis by national new agency ANP, based on nearly 80% of votes counted. The other big winner of the night was the far-right populist Forum for Democracy, which rose from two to eight seats after its flamboyant leader Thierry Baudet campaigned around the country on a pledge to end the countrys coronavirus lockdown. Mr Baudet, normally hyperactive on social media, made no reaction and was conspicuous by his absence on election night. Hans Smolders, a newly elected Forum for Democracy politician, had a simple explanation: Thierry Baudet was totally exhausted, he told the Good Morning Netherlands current affairs show. It was something of a political resurrection for the party that imploded late last year amid reports of anti-Semitic text messages circulating among members of its youth wing. Despite the gains for Mr Baudet, the far-right populist bloc in the Netherlands is unlikely to take part in any new coalition. Expand Close A woman votes at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (Peter Dejong/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman votes at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (Peter Dejong/AP) Anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom lost three seats and is now the countrys third-biggest party, said he would again lead the opposition in parliament. The political left also looks likely to be out of power after parties lost seats or failed to gain ground after four years in opposition to Mr Ruttes outgoing centre-right coalition. The Green Left party, which was a big winner in the 2017 election, was forecast to lose half of its 14 seats. The election, just months after Britains Brexit divorce settlement with the European Union came into full force, saw gains among pro-EU parties. Big winner D66 has long been a staunch defender of the 27-nation bloc and among new parties in the lower house of parliament was outspokenly pro-European party Volt, which was forecast to win three seats. Ms Kaag, a former diplomat who served as minister for foreign trade and development cooperation in Mr Ruttes last coalition, had campaigned as a viable alternative to Mr Rutte as national leader in a country that has never had a female prime minister. I have always believed and that has been confirmed this evening, that people in the Netherlands are not extreme, but moderate and appreciate a positive attitude, she said after her party tweeted a photo of Ms Kaag standing on a table cheering her partys big gains. European Union officials say they are ready to invoke emergency powers, not used since the 1970s, to ban coronavirus vaccine exports and to seize factories in Europe making the vaccines. Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, said Wednesday she was no longer prepared for vaccines made in the EU to be exported to Britain and other countries which have been markedly quicker rolling out inoculation programs. The threat took non-EU diplomats based in Brussels by surprise and risks inflaming tensions with several countries, including Britain and Australia. The EU recently blocked an Australia-bound shipment of AstraZeneca doses. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded by asking Brussels to release a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to help Papua New Guinea overcome a dangerous outbreak authorities fear may spread to other parts of the region. "We've contracted them. We've paid for them and we want to see those vaccines come here," Morrison told reporters in Canberra. The threat has also surprised U.S. officials, who told VOA they are seeking clarification from Brussels. U.S.-owned Pfizer is producing millions of doses of its BioNTech vaccine in Germany and Belgium, although most of those doses are destined for the EU market. Von der Leyen has instructed her officials to prepare to invoke article 122 in EU treaty law that would place the bloc on a war footing. It would permit the EU to seize factories, waive intellectual property rights and override patents and impose export bans. The article hasn't been used since the oil crisis in the 1970s. With EU countries engulfed by a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and with less than a tenth of the bloc's 450 million population vaccinated, Von der Leyen accused AstraZeneca -- which developed its vaccine with Britain's Oxford University -- of having "underproduced and under-delivered" to the EU. Von der Leyen plans to discuss with EU national leaders the export ban proposal at a summit next week as heads of state and government of the bloc's 27 members would have to approve the proposal before it can go ahead. She said at a press conference -- "It is hard to explain to our citizens why vaccines produced in the EU are going to other countries that are also producing vaccines, while hardly anything is coming back." The EC president added -- "We are in the crisis of the century and I'm not ruling out anything for now because we have to make sure Europeans are vaccinated as soon as possible." She warned she was "ready to use whatever tool we need" to ensure "Europe gets its fair share." Chandigarh, March 18 : Making it clear that his government was totally opposed to the Centre's Farm Laws, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Government of India not to make an ego and prestige issue out of it. Instead, immediately scrap the legislations and bring in new laws after fresh discussions on the issue with the farmers. The Chief Minister also declared that "we will go to the Supreme Court if the President does not give assent to the state amendment Bills", which unfortunately the Governor is still sitting on instead of forwarding them for presidential approval, even though the Vidhan Sabha had unanimously passed the Bills, with all parties voting for them. It was tragic, however, that the Akalis and AAP had later started playing political games on the issue, he added. Addressing the media on the completion of four years of his government, the Chief Minister declared he could not see any middle path to break the stalemate between the farmers and the government of India. The Centre should scrap the farm Laws, sit with the farmers and make new legislations in their place, he said. "What's the use of making it a prestige issue?," he remarked, asking the Centre, "How many more farmers do you want to kill (with your adamant stand)?" There are poor farmers sitting out there, with women and elderly, he pointed out, adding that Punjab alone has lost 112 farmers' lives since the agitation began. "The Constitution has been amended more than 100 times in the past, so why can it not be done again to scrap these laws?" he asked. The Chief Minister said he failed to understand why the Central government was trying to break the age-old time-tested relationship between farmers and arhtiyas. The new laws are not an improvement on the existing system but will destroy the farming sector, he said, asking where the poor farmers (comprising 75 per cent of Punjab's farmers) would go in case of need once the arhtiyas or commission agents are replaced by big faceless corporates. Delhi does not understand agriculture, he further remarked, in response to a question on the new FCI policy of direct payment to farmers, which he said he was not in favour of. In any case, said the Chief Minister, agriculture was a state subject and the Centre had no right to legislate on the matter. He flayed the Central government for trying to destroy the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution by encroaching on state powers. On the Governor still sitting on the state Bills, the Chief Minister asked, "Are we a democracy or not?" Punjab took a unanimous decision and the Governor had no business to sit on the files, which it was his duty to forward to President for assent under Article 254 (2) of the Constitution. He recalled that in the matter of the Land Acquisition Act, the BJP-led Gujarat government had also similarly passed amendment Bills, which the then President had consented to. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt expressed concerns over President Nana Akufo-Addo's free water and electricity supply, claiming Ghanaians will payback next year. According to him, Ghanaians should not be too enthused about Akufo-Addo government's giveaways because they are not free. "We should not forget the fact we're going to pay for it. Why am I saying we'll pay for it? Where is the money coming from? Is it not from our taxes? We'll surely payback," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi. 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. Featured Video A Rank-and-File Committee for Safe Education in Turkey held an online meeting last Sunday entitled, Close schools and non-essential workplaces until the pandemic is contained! featuring speakers from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. A recording of the livestream is available here. Like other the rank-and-file safety committees globally, it advanced a scientific analysis and international program for the working class against the capitalist governments murderous response to the pandemic. The banner of the online meeting on March 14 reads: Close schools and non-essential workplaces until the pandemic is contained! In his opening remarks, Ulas Atesci, a writer for the World Socialist Web Site and a member of Sosyalist Esitlik Grubu (Socialist Equality Group) and the Rank-and-File Committee for Safe Education, underlined the international character of the meeting. He explained that the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and the WSWS spearheaded rank-and-file committees founded in the US, UK, Germany, Sri Lanka, Australia and Canada in particular after the pandemic began last year. The committees raised the urgent and vital demand of today. Close schools and non-essential workplaces until the pandemic is contained! Full income support should be provided to all workers and small business owners affected by these measures. With a worldwide vaccine campaign, other social distancing measures such as widespread testing, contact tracing and quarantines should be implemented. Although this is the only scientific and viable response to the pandemic, the obstacle to this solution was the global capitalist system, oriented not to the needs of society but to private property and profit. He said, Therefore, the struggle against the pandemic and capitalism is inseparable, and this struggle has to be global in nature. He then explained on what basis educators, students and parents have created their committee amid the pandemic and school reopenings in Turkey. Growing numbers of cases in schools in Turkey have vindicated the warnings made last month by the Rank-and-File Committee for Safe Education in a statement, No to school re-openings in Turkey before the pandemic is contained! He explained that the main purpose of reopening schools for in-person education in Turkey and internationally is to get children out of their homes, so their parents can be sent back to work to produce profits for the corporations. He concluded his remarks with the global necessity of rank-and-file committees organized independently from the pro-capitalist trade unions and all establishment parties to defend the interests and lives of the working class. Evan Blake, a member of the Socialist Equality Party (US) who writes on education for the World Socialist Web Site, also spoke at the meeting. Blake plays a leading role in the organization of rank-and-file safety committees among educators in the US. He began his remarks by stating that the founding of the rank-and-file committee in Turkey as part of committees all over the world was a highly significant development for educators and workers in Turkey and internationally. Blake explained that these committees are critical weapons in organizing the entire working class on a global scale and to popularize a program to close all schools and nonessential workplaces, while providing full economic security for all workers affected. However, this necessary program will only be implemented through the conscious struggles of the working class in opposition to capitalism and imperialism, which place profits and the national interests of the capitalists in each country above all the social needs of workers. Explaining the continuity between the Trump and Biden administration policy on the pandemic, Blake cited Bidens economic advisor Brian Deese, who bluntly stated the reason for back-to-school campaign: We need to get the schools open so that parents can get back to work. He explained the reactionary role played by the teachers unions in this campaign, in particular, in Chicago where the Chicago Teachers Union rammed through a deadly deal last month to reopen schools in the third largest district in the US, setting a precedent for other cities. Blake pointed out that changes had taken place in mass consciousness globally after this world historic tragedy. There is an enormous radicalization taking place in the working class in America, the center of world capitalism, Wall Street, and American imperialism. In conclusion, he emphasized the fact that the pandemic has shown, above all, the need to unite workers all over the world, which only the International Committee of the Fourth International and the World Socialist Web Site are fighting to realize. The next speaker was Tania Kent, a special education teacher and writer for the World Socialist Web Site. Kent is also a member of the Socialist Equality Party and chairperson of the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee in the UK. Kent explained the recent school reopenings across the UK and the joint campaign launched by media, political establishment and trade unions on the so-called safety of schools. In fact, schools were the key vector for the transmission of the virus and the single most significant cause of some 80,000 deaths from September to January in Britain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson made two things clear in late February: that more deaths will follow and that he and, in fact, the entire ruling class would not tolerate another lockdown. She underlined that it was in the UK that the policy of herd immunity pursued by the worlds governments was first publicly admitted. The ruling class was able to pursue this policy only due to the criminal role played by the Labour and trade union bureaucracy. Kent summarized the struggles and experiences of educators and workers against the back-to-school campaign since the pandemic began. She recalled, When schools were forced to close on March 23 last year, it was due to a mass rebellion of teachers and workers who refused to send their children to school. She concluded her remarks by declaring, From these common experiences in every country, workers internationally must draw the same conclusion: Building a new political leadership is a life-and-death question. The final speaker was Gregor Link, a writer for the World Socialist Web Site and a member of the Socialist Equality Party and Network of Action Committees for Safe Education in Germany. He began by stating that an independent intervention of the international working class is absolutely indispensable to finally put an end to the pandemic. Although Germany was hailed internationally as a role model for how to cope with the pandemic a year ago, These times are over. In December and January alone, 40,000 people died of COVID-19 in Germany, while 4,000 people died in Europe each day. Though scientists agree that if mass testing capacities are not in place, retail stores, schools and day care centers must remain closed. On behalf of the German and European bourgeoisie, all parliamentary partiesfrom openly right-wing parties to the pseudo-leftare pushing through a murderous agenda of profit before lives. Link pointed to the WISAG workers struggle in Frankfurt against sackings. While the mainstream media and the major unions entirely abandoned and ignored them, the Socialist Equality Party is fighting to extend their struggle, and the coverage of WSWS is increasingly reaching a mass audience. He reported the enthusiasm among the WISAG workers when they have heard the solidarity statements from rank-and-file committees internationally, including in Turkey. It was met with enormous resonance and circulated widely. Link spoke of the widespread opposition among youth against the school reopenings, pointing to the school strikes by working class youth in Bavaria in February and student struggles in Bremen. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality is fighting to unite these struggles of students with the opposition of teachers, parents and the greater struggles of the international working class. In conclusion, he stated that this meeting had shown that educators, students, parents and workers internationally face the same political tasks. We aim to mobilize workers, teachers and students across all national borders against the horrors of capitalism in its death agony. This first online public meeting of the Rank-and-File Committee for Safe Education in Turkey made clear that the only way forward against the ruling classs deadly response to the pandemic and to save lives is through the independent political mobilization of the working class internationally against capitalism. By Brendan J. Lyons | Times Union, Albany Albany, N.Y. Despite the state attorney generals ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, senior aides to the governor said they are also conducting their own parallel review of a female aides recent account of being groped by Cuomo at the Executive Mansion late last year. We have our own inquiries ongoing, a senior aide to the governor told the Times Union. We have an obligation to investigate any claim of sexual harassment. And we, after reporting (the female aides allegations) to the (attorney general), were directed to continue our own inquiry. ... So there are multiple inquiries. Officials with the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who has assigned two private attorneys to lead the investigation, did not respond to questions about the parallel inquiry being conducted by Cuomos office. But a source in the office with knowledge of the matter denied that anyone from the attorney generals office had directed the governors office to conduct a parallel inquiry. Its absurd. Why would you be doing that? said the attorney for the woman who has accused Cuomo of groping her. Its not appropriate, and obviously were concerned with the ramifications and the effect on witnesses and the quest for the truth. He characterized it as a shadow investigation. The attorney, whose client has not filed a formal complaint against Cuomo, asked that his name be withheld out of concern that revealing it would tend to reveal her identity to the general public. She remains employed in the governors office. Her allegations were reported to Cuomos senior aides on March 8 by at least one of her colleagues. The womans coworkers became aware of her claims on March 3 when she became emotional at work as they were observing Cuomo during a press conference in which he was denying ever touching any women inappropriately. When they asked her what was wrong, she told them about her alleged encounter with Cuomo at the governors mansion. Beth Garvey, the governors acting counsel, issued a statement late Wednesday: We fully informed the (attorney generals) office of the required process with this type of allegation and they said to follow it. The matter was referred to GOER ( Governors Office of Employee Relations) and (we) informed local law enforcement and that is the full extent of the action. Previously, the governors administration has distanced itself from GOER, contending it is a separate office that conducts sexual harassment and other employee investigations without involvement from the Executive Chamber. Last June, the governors office handled the sexual harassment allegations of another female aide, Charlotte Bennett, without referring the matter to GOER. The attorneys enlisted by the attorney general to conduct the investigation of multiple sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo are Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, and Anne L. Clark, who has extensive experience in sexual harassment cases. The separate investigation by the governors office into the womans groping allegations is unfolding as other staffers were recently informed that an attorney could be made available to accompany them if they are interviewed by the attorney generals investigators. The Executive Chamber staffers also were instructed that an attorney would be available to meet with them ahead of those interviews, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. That has unsettled some staff members, according to the person, because they are concerned about the implications of relying on an attorney provided by the Executive Chamber to potentially sit in on their interviews with the attorney generals investigators. After this story was published online Wednesday evening, another senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigations, said: It was also explicitly said that you can hire your own attorney if you dont want to use (the attorneys retained by the governors office). Two spokesmen for the governors office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. On March 10, in response to the Times Unions questions about the womans groping allegations, Cuomo issued a statement to the newspaper: As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. I am not going to take any questions or have any comments on the review, Cuomo said Wednesday. Let the lawyers do their job and conduct the review and then we can talk about it when we have facts established ... but other than that Im going to respect the review and I wont comment on it or related matters. On the call with reporters, Cuomo mentioned the attorney generals probe and the Assemblys impeachment inquiry, but did not mention his offices internal investigation. The disclosure by Cuomos office that its conducting an inquiry of the womans groping allegations comes after Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said last week that the decision by Cuomos acting counsel to refer the potential sexual assault allegation to the citys police department was highly unusual. She said the incident is alleged to have occurred on state-owned property the Executive Mansion and would normally be handled by the State Police. No one can recall the Albany Police Department being contacted with a complaint of this type that happened on state property, Sheehan told the Times Union last week. Cuomos counsel reported the incident to Albany police on March 10 hours after the Times Union published new details of the female aides account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor after she was called to the mansion late last year. As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department, Beth Garvey, the governors acting counsel, said in a statement last week. If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation. On March 1, the governors office issued a referral letter empowering the attorney general to commence an investigation of allegations at that time that the governor had sexually harassed at least two former female staff members. That referral does not authorize the attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation or to subpoena witnesses before a grand jury. The governors administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Bennett, one of the former Cuomo aides who has made allegations against him, to the Governors Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during a news conference about the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) House Reauthorizes Violence Against Women Act The House of Representatives on March 17 passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a bill designed to protect women from domestic violence. The bill passed the chamber by a vote of 244172, with 29 Republicans joining Democrats. President Joe Biden had introduced the original VAWA in June 1990 when he was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. A subsequent version of VAWA was included in the sweeping crime bill in 1994 signed by then-President Bill Clinton. Congress has reauthorized the act three times sincein 2000, 2005, and 2013. Biden on March 17 issued a statement in support of the bills reauthorization. He urged the Senate to also pass the bill and said the matter shouldnt be a partisan issue. Its instead about standing up against the abuse of power and preventing violence. The bill aims to reduce domestic and sexual violence and improve the response to it through a variety of grant programs. The original act established the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice. The office was responsible for implementing the law and, along with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), providing grant programs to state and local governments, nonprofits, and universities. Such grants helped fund initiatives to address domestic violence and child abuse, including funding the investigation and prosecution of alleged violent crimes against women, shelters, and rape prevention and reeducation programs. Supporters said the reauthorization would also boost spending for training law enforcement and the courts, according to The Associated Press. The legislation also would prohibit people who were previously convicted of misdemeanor stalking from possessing firearms. The provision had generated opposition from the NRA, which continues to oppose the bill today. The NRA did not score the legislation until last Congress because it never impacted Second Amendment rights, Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement to media outlets. However, Speaker Pelosi and anti-gun lawmakers chose to insert gun control provisions into this bill in 2019 to pit pro-gun lawmakers against it so that they can falsely and maliciously claim these lawmakers dont care about women. This is Washington at its filthiest. Its proof that anti-gun lawmakers care more about smearing opponents than passing meaningful legislation. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (R-Texas) threw support behind the provision on guns. [The bill] is based on prevention and intervention and protecting those against the perpetrators with guns who are their intimate partners and the dating violence, it does not have to be intimate. We do everything we can to give security and protection, she said at a March 17 press conference on VAWA. The legislation expired at the end of 2018. The House passed the bill to reauthorize VAWA in 2019, with 33 Republicans joining Democrats, but it wasnt taken up in the majority-Republican Senate due to partisan disputes in Congress over issues related to extra provisions introduced to the bill, including on the gun control matter. Most Republicans voted against the measure in the last Congress. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) questions Rep. Debra Haaland, (D-N.M.), President Joe Bidens nominee for secretary of the interior, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 24, 2021. (Leigh Vogel-Pool/Getty Images) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told a reporter on Capitol Hill: I think its fair to say that there is a good strong interest in trying to advance VAWA. Ive talked to both Republicans and Democrats here in the Senate, about how were moving, what were all working on VAWA. Last year, things got derailed with VAWA because of gun control. I really hope that the effort will try to find the level of support. I think its critically important that we advance VAWA, she said, adding that she is working on a portion of the bill concerning Native American tribes. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told reporters on Capitol Hill that senators are working on a version of VAWA thats different from the House bill. We have Lisa Murkowski now, who is working on the tribal portion. And so she will be ironing out some of the difficulties we had last year so well get it introduced and well see the House version come over, Ernst said. What were hoping to show is that we have enough Republican support on our bill and that were willing to work with Democrats on this. And hopefully by combining forces we can come up with the 60 votes needed and pass a good, modernized bill that will work for the Senate hopefully [more] than the House bill does. She noted of the VAWA bill in the last Congress: We ran into hiccups with some of the gun issues and thats a big one for a number of usstripping away peoples constitutional rights is not something that we should be doing. So why dont we just kind of backtrack a little bit and figure out where we can agree? The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ramallah, March 18 : Palestine has warned Israel that its unilateral measures in the Palestinian territories would not bring peace or stability to the region. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, said in a statement on Wednesday that Palestine condemns "the endless Israeli assaults against the Palestinian people", adding that these measures "won't bring peace to anyone", reports Xinhua news agency. "The Israeli measures undermine the two-state vision which is backed by the international community and will destroy any opportunity to make peace throughout talks based on the legal international resolutions," he said. The latest assault against the Palestinians was the Israeli court's verdict to demolish 100 Palestinian homes in Silwan neighbourhood in East Jerusalem and seize dozens of homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in the city, according to Abu Rudeineh. He also mentioned the Israeli measures of demolishing Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley, bulldozing lands in the village of Ras Karkar west of Ramallah, and uprooting olive trees south of Nablus in the West Bank. "The Israeli measures of demolishing homes and continuing the settlement activities are all unilateral actions that aim at undermining any international effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said. Abu Rudeineh called on the UN Security Council and the Middle East Quartet to exert pressure on Israel to stop these measures. The quartet comprises the UN, the European Union, the US, and Russia. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that the Israeli government has recently intensified its unilateral measures in Area C in the West Bank, mainly settlement activities. Under the Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1990s, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A under Palestinian control, Area B under joint Palestinian-Israeli control, and Area C under full Israeli control. The Oslo Accords were supposed to expire after a five-year interim phase, after which the entire West Bank area should be returned to Palestinian control. However, Israeli settlement activity there continued and crippled the final status peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. In the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, the UKs Government has reaffirmed its commitment to continue working with Ukraine to strengthen its Armed Forces. In particular, the strategy includes commitment to continuing to work with Ukraine to build the capacity of Ukraines Armed Forces as well as strong support to the OSCEs Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook. As noted, this comprehensive document sets out the UKs national security and international policy objectives until 2025. Find out more about the Review at this link. ol Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Town of Ohio, NY A 49-year-old woman has been charged with second-degree murder after police said she shot and killed her husband in Herkimer County. Connie L. Powers was arrested following the homicide reported about 11 p.m. Wednesday at 1827 State Route 365 in the town of Ohio, according to New York State Police. Troopers said Powers killed her 64-year-old husband, Timothy J. Powers. after a domestic dispute. State Police were assisted on the scene by the Herkimer County District Attorneys Office and Kuyahoora Ambulance. No further information was available at this time. Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime at 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted raids at the premises of Cadbury India Ltd in Haryana and Himachal, and also lodged an FIR against the company for alleged irregularities and corruption in obtaining licence for its HP factory in 2009-10. The raids were also conducted at the residential and official premises of officials in the two states. The CBI said Cadbury conspired with central excise officials between 2009-11 and availed excise benefits to the tune of Rs 241 crore for its new unit in Himachal Pradesh, which was manufacturing 5 Star and Gems chocolate. Those named as accused are Nirmal Singh, Superintendent, Jaspreet Kaur, Inspector of the Central Excise Department, and 10 others, including Cadbury India. Also read: CBI arrests Standard Chartered bank official for demanding bribe from borrower The anti-corruption unit of CBI, Shimla, conducted these raids on the allegation that Mondelez Foods (earlier known as Cadbury India Limited) paid bribes, misrepresented the facts and manipulated the records to fraudulently avail area-based exemptions benefits on excise duty and Income Tax. In its enquiry, the CBI found Cadbury India expanded its existing production units to avail the duty benefits. The unit, which was functional since 2005 and manufacturing Bournvita, was prohibited for manufacturing any other commercial products. As per the rule, Cadbury India should have opened a new manufacturing unit instead of expanding the existing unit. The FIR has been registered under Section 420 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Meanwhile, a Mondelez India spokesperson said in 2019, the company settled a potentially protracted litigation through the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019. "We are yet to receive any formal communication in the matter from the authorities," the company said. Also read: Extradition verdict against Nirav Modi vindicates efforts to curb corruption: CBI Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The House on Wednesday passed a bill to award congressional gold medals to U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C.s Metropolitan Police Department for protecting the Capitol and members of Congress during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Before any medals can be awarded, the House version of the measure, passed 413-12, will need to be reconciled with a Senate-passed bill that would award a congressional gold medal to Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who led rioters away from the Senate chamber. The congressional gold medal is the highest honor Congress can bestow on an individual or institution. Congress first started commissioning the medals during the American Revolution to honor citizens who participated in the war, according to the House historian. Later, Congress broadened the scope of the award and started giving medals to a variety of individuals whom lawmakers considered worthy of recognition, including actors, authors, musicians, astronauts, scientists, doctors, athletes, humanitarians and public servants. House and Senate rules require congressional gold medal bills to have at least two-thirds of the respective chamber co-sponsoring the measure before it can be considered. Sponsored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the bill had 333 cosponsors heading into the vote. The measure would commission three gold medals: one each for the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department to display at their respective headquarters, and one for the Smithsonian Institution to display with a plaque that lists the other law enforcement agencies that aided in protecting the Capitol on Jan. 6. Some Republicans who didnt co-sponsor the bill said they had concerns about the language, including the use of the term insurrection and calling the Capitol a temple. A dozen ended up voting no. Capitol Police officers stationed outside the chamber during the vote were overheard questioning which members voted against the bill. Its just offensive that we literally logrolled recognition of the Capitol Police, Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the no votes, told CQ Roll Call. We didnt give it its own dignity. We had to combine it with these editorial comments about the Jan. 6 sequence of events, and then we had the logroll it with this exhibit at the Smithsonian, and that was a little much for me. Rep. Thomas Massie told CQ Roll Call he voted against the bill because it used the term insurrection and the implication codifying that description of Jan. 6 could have on prosecutions of individuals in the Capitol that day. If we give weight to the word insurrection that then that comes up in somebodys prosecution, so thats a concern of mine, the Kentucky Republican said. Also calling this a temple is a little too sacrilegious for me. This is not a religion here. This is a government. We separate our religion from our government. Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy also took issue with the phrase in the bills findings section that calls the Capitol the temple of our American Democracy, saying, Its neither a temple, nor is it a democracy. However, he ended up voting for it. Other Republicans who voted against the bill were Texans Michael Cloud, Louie Gohmert and Lance Gooden, Georgians Andrew Clyde and Marjorie Taylor Green, Arizonian Andy Biggs, Virginian Bob Good, Marylander Andy Harris, Tennessean John W. Rose and Floridian Greg Steube. Exemplify the heroism Pelosi had been gathering co-sponsors on her bill when the Senate on Feb. 12 passed a bill via voice vote to award a congressional gold medal to Goodman. That bill, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, has 72 cosponsors. Goodman is among only a handful of officers who have received public recognition, but hundreds of officers fought back the insurrectionists on Jan. 6. Huffington Post reporter Igor Bobic captured video of Goodman leading rioters away from the Senate chamber, where lawmakers and staff were still being evacuated. The video went viral, and Goodman was widely praised as a hero. The praise quickly translated to calls for Goodman to be awarded the congressional gold medal, with Van Hollen, D- Md., introducing a Senate version of the bill and Rep. Charlie Crist, D- Fla., introducing a House version. Crists bill has only 165 cosponsors, short of the two-thirds needed to be considered. Van Hollens bill cites Bobics video footage as it notes Goodmans selfless and quick-thinking actions doubtlessly saved lives and bought security personnel precious time to secure and ultimately evacuate the Senate before the armed mob breached the Chamber. Officer Goodmans actions exemplify the heroism of the many men and women who risked their lives to defend the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the bill says. Although Pelosis bill provides for a broader award in commissioning the gold medals, it names Goodman and compliments him for his courage. Her bill also names the three officers who died: Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of injuries suffered in the attack, and Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood and D.C. Metro Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who both died by suicide after the events of Jan. 6. A Pelosi spokesperson said the speaker wanted to make sure all officers who fought the rioters and protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 received recognition. The topic of Goodman being just one of many heroic officers who fought back rioters came up during a recent New York Times interview with Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. People fought their asses off. Eugene was great. He did his job. He did it heroically, literally, in the face of danger. So many people did that that day. So many freaking people, Dunn said. Weve got officers who suffered concussions and got attacked. So many people fought so bravely. There were so many Eugene Goodmans that day. Everybody I saw fought their asses off. And theyre heroes. Its not clear how the House and Senate plan to reconcile their bills. A Pelosi spokesperson said those discussions would occur after passage of the House version. Van Hollen told CQ Roll Call last week that hed like to see both measures passed into law but that Goodman deserves his own medal because he played a particularly special role in defending the Senate. Weve been in communication with [the House] and our hope is that they will pass both, he said. I understand that their plan is to pass the gold medal for all the officers, which I support. Delayed vote The debate on the House gold medal bill was originally scheduled for last week, but it was delayed along with a dozen other bills scheduled to be brought up under suspension of the rules, a fast-track process that requires two-thirds support for passage. A majority of suspension bills pass on voice vote, but Roy and Greene planned to ask for roll call votes on all 13 suspension bills scheduled to be debated last week. Democratic leaders decided to pull the suspension bills from the schedule because of the floor time it would have taken roughly 45 minutes per vote due to COVID-19 voting groups that allow for more social distancing that would have cut into the time needed to debate other scheduled legislation. Some Republicans, not the Republican leadership, but some Republicans, had threatened to ask for a vote on each one of those 13 bills, which would have taken some 10 hours of voting, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer told reporters last week. The Maryland Democrat specifically mentioned Republicans protest delaying consideration of the gold medal bill for Capitol and D.C. police, saying, Its a shame that that was not passed. The gold medal bill was one of only five suspension bills Hoyer put on the schedule this week, anticipating Republicans may again request roll call votes on each one, which they did. Out of an abundance of caution and trying to avoid, you know, a confrontation on this, I pulled all but five, Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. These five are very important to get done. Chris Cioffi and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report. ___ (c)2021 CQ Roll Call Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC [March 18, 2021] New Solution Provides Students with Personalized Career Maps During Enrollment Process KIRKLAND, Wash., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AstrumU , a Seattle-based startup that is pioneering the use of machine learning to forecast the value of educational experiences in the labor market, today announced the release of its new Enrollment Marketing Toolkit. The new application is designed to help colleges quantify the value of education experiences for prospective students at the front end of the enrollment process, providing them with personalized ROI estimates for specific degrees, majors and courses based on each student's unique background and goals. The Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, which offers three rapidly growing online graduate programs that appeal to learners with a wide range of career experiences and goals, is one of the first to pilot the new program. "At a time when so many students and families are facing significant financial and economic hardship, colleges and universities have an imperative to not only focus on the affordability of the degree, but to provide clear and actionable informationearly in the application processon how each academic experience translates into an economic opportunity," said Kacie Jones, associate director of admissions and recruitment for Gies College of Business' online programs. "With AstrumU, we have the data to show prospective students how our programs can help them get where they want to go at a more personalized, granular level than traditional employment reports. With a clear path to their career goal, prospective students can apply with confidence." In the wake of the pandemic, colleges and universities across the country are experiencing steep enrollment drops. Overall higher education enrollments dropped 2.5%, with particularly steep declines among low-income, first-generation and minority sudents. In response, institutions are increasingly focused on demonstrating that their programs are not just affordable, but also offer a strong connection to in-demand careers and a positive return on investment in the labor market. Research shows that career relevancealong with costis the primary motivation for a majority of college students in choosing a program. The Enrollment Marketing Toolkit is powered by AstrumU's Translation Engine to demonstrate the ROI of higher education programs to prospective students. Using the toolkit, institutions can easily integrate insights on career outcomes into their existing enrollment efforts, increasing the effectiveness of student-facing outreach, marketing and communication. Colleges and universities can differentiate programs by sharing real alumni outcomes and demonstrating the impact of academic experiences for the career prospects of each learner. Currently, ten U.S. graduate business programs, including the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, have plans to pilot the Enrollment Marketing Toolkit, enabling prospective students to simulate how their programs can help them increase their salaries, switch career paths, or gain specific skills required by high-demand career paths. A total of twenty universities will form an initial cohort of pioneering institutions who will gain early access to the tool to boost student enrollment and retention using insights from the platform's analysis of millions of student educational and career journeys. "Despite the challenges created by COVID-19, the research is clear that the value of a college degree has never been higher, but students need better information on how programs pay off in an uncertain labor market in order to enroll with confidence," said Adam Wray, founder and CEO of AstrumU. "With our Enrollment Marketing Toolkit, colleges and universities can provide students with personalized maps to their career goals, showing how specific courses and programs will prepare them for success in the workforce." An upcoming webinar will provide a detailed overview of AstrumU's Enrollment Marketing Toolkit. To learn more about increasing your recruitment funnel conversion rates through demonstrating personalized ROI for every prospective student, register for the webinar here. About AstrumU: AstrumU translates educational experiences into economic opportunity. We are on a mission to quantify the return on education investment for learners, education providers, and employers. We help institutions measure the value created for incoming and returning students, while assisting them in securing industry partnerships that lead students seamlessly into high-demand career pathways. Institutions partner with AstrumU to drive enrollment and increase alumni and corporate engagement, while extending economic mobility opportunities inclusively to all learners. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-solution-provides-students-with-personalized-career-maps-during-enrollment-process-301250140.html SOURCE AstrumU [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:09:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Wednesday condemned the latest wrong move by the U.S. Department of State under an update to the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act", which continued to put 24 officials of the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR on a sanctions list. "We are extremely disappointed that the current U.S. administration, instead of rectifying the blatant mistake made by its predecessor, has chosen to pursue the same wrongful path of disregarding international norms and interfering in HKSAR affairs, which are internal matters of the PRC (People's Republic of China)," said a spokesman for the HKSAR government. "We deeply regret that the U.S. administration has clearly not taken heed of the collective voice of some 70 countries which had spoken in support of the PRC in respect of two key decisions to uphold the principle of 'one country, two systems' at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council," he said. The spokesman said that HKSAR's high degree of autonomy is guaranteed under "one country, two systems", but foreign entities have repeatedly ignored this fundamental principle and the correct relationship between "one country" and "two systems". The HKSAR is an inalienable part of the PRC and is directly accountable to the Central People's Government. National security and political structure are matters within the purview of the central authorities. "As the highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC) has the constitutional authority to make the decisions to improve the electoral system and safeguard national security in the HKSAR in March 2021 and May 2020 respectively. Taking into account the actual situation in Hong Kong, both decisions are timely and necessary," the spokesman said. In respect of the national security legislation, its positive effect, in restoring peace and stability and safeguarding individual rights and freedoms, has been felt throughout Hong Kong, by Hong Kong residents as well as expatriates living and working in Hong Kong, the spokesman said. "The NPC's recent decision to improve the electoral system in the HKSAR is to ensure 'patriots administering Hong Kong'. No country would allow its governance power to be vested in people who are not patriotic and who will endanger the interests of the country." Events in the past years clearly revealed that there were people who had exploited existing loopholes in the electoral system to enter the political institutions and used that platform to advocate for the so-called "Hong Kong independence," engage in acts of subversion, and even collude with external elements to endanger national security. They posed huge risks to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, the spokesman said. "To countries that consider national security to be of paramount importance on their own soil yet threaten officials of other countries for acting to defend their territory, the adoption of double standards is evident. Any claim that the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy and freedoms have been undermined by the NPC's decisions is also totally groundless." "The U.S. 'sanctions' will not create an obligation for financial institutions under Hong Kong law. Our financial institutions and our financial system as a whole are robust and resilient. They will continue to operate normally and smoothly despite any undue pressure from the U.S." "The chief executive and the HKSAR government officials who have been targeted by the U.S. administration over the past year will not be intimidated by these hostile acts of hegemony. They will continue to discharge their duty to safeguard 'one country, two systems' and national security in HKSAR in accordance with the law without fear or anxiety," the spokesman said. Enditem Im scared. Im an Asian American, a Vietnamese American, the child of a Vietnam War refugee and nail technician who operates a nail salon with family. Im scared the next time my mother walks out our front door and heads off to work with my aunt and uncle Ill receive a text or call that a quarter of my family has been shot dead by a white supremacist. I was scared when Noel Quintana, a 61-year-old Filipino man, was slashed across the face on a subway in Brooklyn. I was scared when Vichar Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai grandfather, was pushed onto the pavement in San Francisco and died because of his injuries. I was scared when Bawi Cung, a Burmese man, and his two sons were stabbed inside a Sams Club in Midland; and Ill continue to be scared until we confront the anti-Asian roots of our country. We must support the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and organizers with anti-racist agendas to begin to heal. The recent shooting in Atlanta, which resulted in the murder of eight, six of whom were Asian women, has rocked the AAPI community to its core. The incident is the latest in a series of reported attacks against the AAPI community. With Houston being home to over 150,000 Asians, anti-AAPI sentiment must be addressed or the city risks becoming the next destination for a targeted shooting that ends in the death of more Asians. According to StopAAPIHate, a national coalition founded to address anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, 3,292 anti-AAPI incidents, ranging from verbal to physical harassment against Asians, occurred in 2020. So far, three months into 2021, the organization has received over 500 reports of similar incidents. We do not need police to make excuses for white supremacist behavior. We need to instead redirect funds from police to organizations that address racism and the issues underlying violence. The police did not help Angelo Quinto, a Filipino man, who died three days after his family alleges they knelt on his neck for five minutes. Police did not help Tommy Le, a Vietnamese man, after they fatally shot him twice in the back for allegedly holding a pen thought to be a knife. Calls for additional policing could harm more than help us, so we must instead invest in community-led efforts. Local leaders such as Black Lives Matter: Houston founder Ashton P. Woods and organizer Brandon Mack have demanded an end to AAPI racism. Woods said in a recent Facebook post, The AAPI community is under attack from racist, xenophobic... domestic terrorists. Call it what it is! People have been MURDERED. Similarly, Mack shared a post decrying anti-immigrant sentiment and voiced his solidarity with the AAPI community. Activists like Woods and Mack are already doing the work to dismantle racism in Houston, and we must support them. But to end anti-AAPI sentiment, we must get to its roots. Many have said that recent attacks are due to the pandemic and Donald Trump, who referred to COVID-19 as the Chinese virus or Kung Flu. Although Trump has inflamed anti-AAPI rhetoric in America, racism toward Asians started long before the pandemic and will continue long after unless we as a country reckon with our anti-Asian history. The United States has a long history of marginalizing and targeting Asians. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers, and from 1942 to 1945, the U.S. government forced Japanese Americans to relocate to internment camps after the WWII Pearl Harbor bombing by Japanese soldiers. We must acknowledge how anti-Asian sentiment in the states is connected to how the U.S. treats Asian countries abroad. Echoes of the U.S. colonization of the Philippines, the forced annexation of Hawaii and the Vietnam War still affect how the U.S. treats Asians. While movies like Crazy Rich Asians portray a luxurious lifestyle and promote the model minority stereotype, reports of Chinese women earning 4 cents for every $45 Disney doll they make and Apple ignoring labor laws to exploit its workers arent unusual. Asian lives, especially womens, are still not valued. We can start to help the AAPI community by uplifting and listening to Asian voices and supporting Asian organizations such as StopAAPIHate. By relearning U.S. history, reflecting on how we have internalized racist sentiments, and by committing ourselves to ending white supremacy, perhaps we can prevent another shooting and racist attack from happening. As an Asian American woman, I want to be recognized and treated with respect as a human being in the U.S. I dont want to be scared anymore. Hoang is a staff reporter for OutSmart Magazine and a communication assistant at the University of Houston College of Education. BEIRUT - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is calling for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Yemen, as the attacks constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. MSF is a humanitarian organisation that for years has been providing aid to civilians in the ongoing war in the Arab country located between the Arab peninsula and the Horn of Africa. In tweets posted in recent hours, MSF's head of mission in Yemen, Raphael Veicht, condemned the attack that was carried out Wednesday on civilian residential areas in the disputed port of Hudaydah, on the Red Sea. The news spoke of artillery attacks without specifying those responsible for the bombings, in an area where pro-Yemen forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates operate against Houthi insurgents considered to have ties to Iran. In the specific attack, a woman and her four children were injured and taken to Mocha Hospital, managed by MSF. Another child was seriously injured together with his mother and they were taken to the southern port of Aden. The conditions of the other two children are stable, MSF said. Ministers suffered a damaging defeat yesterday as peers voted to protect leaseholders from the crippling costs of the cladding and building safety scandal. It means Boris Johnson faces a fresh rebellion against his plans to resolve the crisis, which would see the vast majority of families living in fire-trap flats barred from crucial funds. More than 30 Tory MPs are threatening to rebel over a 'betrayal' of hundreds of thousands of leaseholders. Tory MP Stephen McPartland, a vocal critic, said the Lords' vote was 'brilliant news'. Ministers suffered a damaging defeat yesterday as peers voted to protect leaseholders from the crippling costs of the cladding and building safety scandal. Pictured: Royal Artillery Quays in London, whose residents have criticised the Fire Safety Bill The Government has set aside 5billion to fix dangerous cladding in high-rise blocks. But leaseholders in buildings below 18 metres (60ft) face bills of 600 a year for repairs while there is still no support for families facing average costs of 25,600 to pay for non-cladding related defects, such as missing fire breaks. The Fire Safety Bill currently allows building owners to pass on average repair bills of 50,000 to leaseholders. But peers passed an amendment by 326 votes to 248 to stop this happening. The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, who tabled the amendment, said the Government's approach was 'morally wrong'. He added: 'Leaseholders are the innocent party they purchased their properties in good faith, believing them to be safe. 'And if this Bill passes unamended, it is they who will pay. Not the cladding providers, not the developers, but hard-working, ordinary people.' The Grenfell Tower, which caught fire in 2017 in a disaster that killed 72 people Ministers were accused of a 'cop out' last month after denying MPs the chance to vote on a similar amendment. But yesterday's defeat means the Bill will return to the Commons and a vote will be held. Fire minister Lord Greenhalgh acknowledged the anguish of leaseholders but said further amendments would delay strengthening rules in England in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster which killed 72 people in west London in 2017. Property lawyers wrote to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on Tuesday urging him to make building owners pay to end the crisis. John Clay, of the Society of Licensed Conveyancers, said not doing so 'will create a major problem in the housing market' as thousands of flats were rendered 'unsaleable'. The Mail is campaigning for justice for victims of the scandal calling on ministers to fix Britain's dangerous buildings by the middle of next year and spare leaseholders the crippling financial burdens. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Sonoma County officials say they will add artificial intelligence technology to help fight wildfires with a 24-7 monitor to track fire outbreaks. Officials said Thursday that the system would be added to its network of wildfire detection cameras, many posted on radio technology towers. The AI sensors would allow fire officials to monitor outbreaks 24/7 without a human having to watch. The system would send a text or email to emergency crews when a possible fire is spotted. This month the county awarded a $300,000 contract to South Korea-based Alchera Inc. In 2017, a blaze destroyed more than 5,000 homes and killed 24 people in the heart of Northern California wine country. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. BALTIMORE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Terbium Labs, the premier Digital Risk Protection (DRP) company, today announced a strategic investment from Jefferson Health and Thomas Jefferson University. Terbium will use the new funding to accelerate product development of Matchlight's third-party, healthcare-focused integrations, enabling automated and secure monitoring of PHI, employee records, and confidential medical research. With cybercriminals continuing to exploit the healthcare industry during the global pandemic, research shows a 45% increase in cyberattacks since November of 2020 against the healthcare sector. Attack vectors include distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, social engineering, botnets, phishing, and ransomware. Furthermore, according to the HIPPA Journal 2020 Data Breach Report, there was a 25% increase in breaches from 2019, which included 642 large data breaches reported by healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearing houses and business associates of those entities. "To help protect our PHI and PII, we needed a secure and proactive solution, one that can integrate into our existing systems ranging from our HR management platform to our research data management platform to our patient portal ensuring we are monitoring all of our valuable assets, while staying compliant with regulations tied to this type of data. With its digital fingerprinting technology, Terbium's Matchlight is the only solution on the market that has the ability to legally handle our most critical data. With the strategic investment, we are excited to collaborate with Terbium Labs in the development of Matchlight's third-party integrations, which will allow us to automate the fingerprinting process with our key systems", said Mark Odom, Vice President and CISO at Thomas Jefferson University & Jefferson Health. After being introduced to the Matchlight solution, and supportive of its potential, Mr. Odom approached Jefferson's Strategic Ventures group about exploring something more strategic than simply a vendor-vendee relationship. "Mark approached us and said not only is this a really interesting solution, but we believe we can help them," says Jason Bowne, VP of Investments, and who directly supports Jefferson's venture and Innovation efforts. "Both sides were excited to engage in something deeper, and this was exciting for our office because while we receive immense support from our IS&T colleagues, this is our first strategic investment into digital security and a terrific opportunity to allow them front and center, leveraging IS&T's subject matter expertise." Offering the only private DRP solution in existence that has the ability to monitor highly-regulated, sensitive data, Matchlight's patented digital fingerprinting technology creates a one-way digital signature of any type of data, enabling Thomas Jefferson University & Jefferson Health to automatically ingest and monitor for its sensitive information without revealing it to anyone not even Terbium. Delivering zero false positives, vetted alerts, and curated reports, Matchlight helps the Thomas Jefferson University & Jefferson Health security teams to continuously evaluate the organization's risk profile, including where its data can be found across the open, deep, and dark web, how its risk evolves over time, and what can be done to remediate any exposure. "As of 2020, the global average total cost of a data breach is $3.86M, with healthcare leading the highest cost at $7.13M. We're also seeing the average time to identify and contain a breach landing at around 280 days, but by shortening that lifecycle to under 200 days, organizations can save around $1M in damages" said Pat Clawson, CEO and President of Terbium Labs. "The healthcare sector faces greater external risks from cyber-attacks and information security incidents than any other global institution due to the valuable information they hold everything from PHI, to employee data, to medical research IP. Research hospitals like Thomas Jefferson University & Jefferson Health need a DRP solution like Matchlight to first, safely and legally get their most sensitive, highly-regulated data under monitoring and second, notify them immediately of data exposure in order to shorten data breach detection times that lead to incident response delays." About Terbium Labs Terbium Labs empowers organizations to reduce the risk of inevitable data exposure. Matchlight, the company's comprehensive digital risk protection (DRP) platform features continuous digital asset monitoring, robust analytics, and actionable intelligence, to quickly identify and minimize the impact of exposed data across the Internet whether it's the open, deep, or dark web. Featuring its patented data-fingerprinting technology that ensures private data stays private, unique fusion of data science and machine learning, and dedicated analysts, Terbium Labs provides pinpoint accuracy for early detection and remediation of data exposure, theft, or misuse across the digital landscape. Learn more about Terbium Labs' unique approach to DRP by visiting terbiumlabs.com or on Twitter @TerbiumLabs. About Jefferson Jefferson, located in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 30,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients, preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st century careers, and discovering new treatments to define the future of care. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 160 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,100 students. Jefferson Health serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence) and over 40 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. SOURCE Thomas Jefferson University Related Links http://www.jeffersonhealth.org Are there Bad Guys in the church? Are there people who claim Christianity and yet look nothing like Christ? One glance at a newspaper gives us the obvious answer: yes. How do these people get into a church community that supposedly follows the way of Jesus? These people know enough about the community to gain access. Perhaps they know how to speak persuasively about particular Christian values. Or maybe they have a photo-op with a Bible in hand. Or perhaps they use a Christian tagline for their business or political campaign and that gets their foot in the door. Regardless of how they gain entry, they do not alter their life to take on the values of Jesus. Instead, they intrude on the community and proclaim their own path to freedom. Jude and 2 Peter paint us a picture of these intruders. Jude points out false teachers corrupting the local church. They teach; however, their influence is not from God. Jude calls them blemishes because they pervert grace and turn it into immorality. In so doing, they deny Jesus as Lord.[1] Jesus (Jude 4) and God (Jude 24-25) are the source and sustaining power for the moral order of the universe. Jude declares that Jesus acts as judge for the immoral who rebel against divine authority (Jude 8, 14).[2] In 2 Peter, we learn of more false teachers who deny Jesus (2 Peter 2:1) and exploit believers for greed. These teachers harm the reputation of Jesus followers and deny that Jesus will return to judge evil. They deny Jesus sovereignty because the world is the same way its always been, but the author assures the audience that God is not idle.[3] Throughout this letter, the author speaks about judgement of false teachers who believe in pursuing a pleasure-filled life, free from concerns about immorality.[4] In the midst of this situation, the true believers are to await Jesus judgment of rebellious false teachers by living blamelessly. Their waiting is an active trust in Jesus future return which will set right all the evils of the world.[5] In 2 Peter they are to make every effort to pursue goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. These are the results of truly following Jesus (2 Peter 1:5-8). The believers are called to realize that they cannot force false teachers to believe the truth (Jude 10). They are to continually point towards the true faith they inherited (Jude 3) and remember that false teachers were predicted by Jesus apostles (Jude 17). Their lifestyle and adherence to Jesus message acts as a rebuke to the false teachers. Leadership is accountable for teachings that reflect faith in Jesus. When teachings do not align with Jesus, leadership is to realign the church with truth. The desire for a pure believing community is not left for them to forcibly fulfill but remaining faithful will require effort on their part. This active faithfulness trusts in Jesus ultimate judgement of false teachers and requires discernment in local churches today. Churches must acknowledge that there will always be wolves hunting among the faithful sheep, but they are not hopelessly resigned to this fact. They are called to boldly declare their pursuit of faithful teaching and goodness. Holding to the faith and living in goodness function as a purging agent for the church. The pursuit of Jesus shines a light into the darkness of evil, even when that evil is in the church. Churches that follow Jesus should open the door to transparency of their leadership and teachings, showing how goodness functions among them. All members of the community must work towards the character of goodness described in 2 Peter. By our faithfulness we honor Jesus and trust in the power of his return, when all things are made new. Bibliography Neyrey, Jerome H., Petrus, and Judas. 2 Peter, Jude: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 1. trade paperback ed. 2004, [Nachdr.]. The Anchor Bible 37C. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2008. Perkins, Pheme. 2 Peter. In Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation, edited by David A Sanchez, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Margaret P Aymer, 147152. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016. Accessed February 13, 2021. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1370555. . Jude. In Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation, edited by David A Sanchez, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Margaret P Aymer, 171176. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016. Accessed February 13, 2021. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1370555. [1] Pheme Perkins, Jude, in Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation, ed. David A Sanchez, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Margaret P Aymer (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016), 174, accessed February 13, 2021, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1370555. [2] Jerome H. Neyrey, Petrus, and Judas, 2 Peter, Jude: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, 1. trade paperback ed. 2004, [Nachdr.]., The Anchor Bible 37C (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2008), 38. [3] Ibid., 125. [4] Pheme Perkins, 2 Peter, in Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation, ed. David A Sanchez, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Margaret P Aymer (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016), 148, accessed February 13, 2021, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1370555. [5] Neyrey, Petrus, and Judas, 2 Peter, Jude, 91. The notice stated that Narayana was A-2 (second accused) in the Amaravati assigned lands scam and should appear at the CID office in Vijayawada at 11 am on March 22 for an inquiry. (DC Photo) VIJAYAWADA: After N. Chandrababu Naidu, it was the turn of former Telugu Desam minister Ponguru Narayana to receive notice from the AP crime investigation department (CID) in the Amaravati assigned lands scam, on Wednesday. Simultaneously, the CID also issued notice to YSR Congress MLA of Mangalagiri Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, under section 160 CrPC, to report to it for inquiry at the CID regional office here on Thursday. It was based on his complaint that it issued notices to TD leader Chandrababu Naidu and ex-minister Ponguru Narayana to face investigations. CID officials knocked at Narayana's house in Hyderabad on Tuesday, but he was unavailable. They handed over the notice to his wife Rama Devi. The notice stated that Narayana was A-2 (second accused) in the Amaravati assigned lands scam and should appear at the CID office in Vijayawada at 11 am on March 22 for an inquiry. CID officials also conducted searches on the residence of Narayana and his educational institutions at Nellore and other places. The CID said it has registered cases under Section 120 B (conspiracy) and Sections 166, 167 and 217 of the IPC, read with Prohibition of Assigned Lands Alienation Act of 1977 and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, and issued notices to Narayana. The TD leader's name was marked as A2. The notice stated that legal action would be taken if he did not attend the CID hearing. Narayana played an important role in organising the lands for the Amaravati capital city project under land pooling scheme (LPS), in his capacity as vice-chairman of APCRDA. The then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was chairman of APCRDA. According to the reports, 444 acres of assigned lands changed hands. Of these, 338.8 acres were grabbed by TD men at throwaway prices. Later, the TD government issued orders granting relaxation of norms to offer the assigned lands to APCRDA, under LPS in lieu of a package of annuity, involving both residential and commercial plots. After the YSRC government took charge in 2019, it appointed a cabinet sub-committee to go into the land deals. In its report to the government later, the committee exposed a big scam in the assigned lands of Amaravati. Now, the CID, after receiving a complaint from YSRC Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, issued notices to Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday and Narayana on Wednesday. According to sources, both Naidu and Narayana were consulting legal experts to approach courts against the CID notices. RAIDS: The CID conducted searches at the Narayana educational institutions, as also the offices and residence of the former minister. Cops did not allow anyone into the home during the searches, which were conducted simultaneously at Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Nellore. NOTICE TO YSRC MLA: The CID called the complainant Ramakrishna Reddy to come to it for an inquiry. The CID cyber cell DSP, A Lakshmi Narayana Rao, sent notice to Reddy based on his complaint on February 24, filed under sections of SCs & STs (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989 & Section 7 of AP Assigned Land (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977. The case has been registered in CID Police Station, Mangalagiri and it is under investigation. The notice stated that the CID inquiry officer believes that the complainant is acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case. The notice further stated that Ramakrishna Reddy should appear in person at CID Regional Office, Vijayawada, for an examination of the facts and circumstances of the case without fail at 11am on Thursday. A court has ruled that Priti Patel was wrong to remove British citizenship from two British-Bangladeshi women and one man said to have travelled to Syria to join ISIS. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that ISIS bride Shemima Begum cannot return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. The women, who were born in the UK and are known only as C3 and C4, had their British citizenship removed in November 2019 on the grounds of national security. C7, a man born in Bangladesh who became a British citizen at birth, also had his British citizenship revoked in March 2020 on the basis that he had 'aligned' with IS and was a threat to UK national security. All three appealed against the removal of their British citizenship at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) - a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone's British citizenship on national security grounds - in November. The Home Office argued that all three were dual British-Bangladeshi nationals at the time their British citizenship was removed, and so the decision did not render them stateless. But their lawyers said all three lost their Bangladeshi citizenship when they turned 21, meaning the decision by the Home Secretary did leave them stateless and was therefore unlawful. A court has ruled that Priti Patel was wrong to remove British citizenship from two British-Bangladeshi women and one man said to have travelled to Syria to join ISIS In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said: 'C3, C4 and C7 have persuaded us that, on the dates when the decisions and the orders in their cases were made, they were not nationals of Bangladesh or any other state apart from the UK. 'This means that orders depriving them of their British citizenship would make them stateless.' The judge added: 'The Secretary of State had no power to make orders with that effect. 'For that reason - and that reason alone - the appeals against the decisions to make those orders succeed.' Maya Foa, director of human rights group Reprieve, said: 'This ruling confirms that in the Home Secretary's rush to abdicate responsibility for these women she broke domestic and international law by rendering them stateless. 'Reprieve has established that many people from Britain currently detained in north-east Syria fit the definition of trafficked persons. 'The Government was wrong to remove citizenship from these women. 'Now that it has been restored, the Government should repatriate them so that the British justice system can address the full complexity of their cases, including the real possibility they are victims of trafficking.' Meanwhile, Begum has revealed how she wanted to kill herself when her three children died in Syria as she begged Britain to give her a 'second chance' in a documentary about her life in a Syrian refugee camp. She said she hoped British people would have an 'open mind about why I left and who I am now as a person' and urged the government to allow her to return home. The 21-year-old, who was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State, accused the British government of 'making up' stories that she worked for the ISIS morality police as an excuse to keep her out of the country. In the film she cries when talking about losing her three children during the Syrian war and says that she wanted to kill herself because of the grief. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that ISIS bride Shemima Begum cannot return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship Timeline: How Shamima Begum's dream of becoming a jihadi bride saw her stripped of her British citizenship for joining ISIS 2015 February 17 - Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum leave their east London homes at 8am to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, from Gatwick Airport. Begum and Abase are reported missing by their families later the same day. - Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum leave their east London homes at 8am to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, from Gatwick Airport. Begum and Abase are reported missing by their families later the same day. February 18 - Sultana is reported missing to the police. - Sultana is reported missing to the police. February 20 - The Metropolitan Police launch a public appeal for information on the missing girls who are feared to have gone on to Syria. The Met expresses concerns that the missing girls may have fled to join ISIS. - The Metropolitan Police launch a public appeal for information on the missing girls who are feared to have gone on to Syria. The Met expresses concerns that the missing girls may have fled to join ISIS. February 21 - Four days after the girls went missing, police believe they may still be in Turkey. - Four days after the girls went missing, police believe they may still be in Turkey. February 22 - Abase's father Abase Hussen says his daughter told him she was going to a wedding on the day she disappeared. - Abase's father Abase Hussen says his daughter told him she was going to a wedding on the day she disappeared. March 10 - It emerges that the girls funded their trip by stealing jewellery. 2016 August 2016 - Sultana, then 17, is reported to have been killed in Raqqa in May when a suspected Russian air strike obliterates her house. 2019 February 13 - Begum, then 19, tells Anthony Loyd of The Times that she wants to return to the UK to give birth to her third child. - Begum, then 19, tells Anthony Loyd of The Times that she wants to return to the UK to give birth to her third child. Speaking from the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria, Begum tells the paper: 'I'm not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago. And I don't regret coming here.' February 15 - Home Secretary Sajid Javid says he 'will not hesitate' to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join IS. - Home Secretary Sajid Javid says he 'will not hesitate' to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join IS. February 17 - Begum gives birth to her third child - a baby boy, Jarrah - in al-Hawl. Her two other children, a daughter called Sarayah and a son called Jerah, have both previously died. - Begum gives birth to her third child - a baby boy, Jarrah - in al-Hawl. Her two other children, a daughter called Sarayah and a son called Jerah, have both previously died. February 19 - The Home Office sends Begum's family a letter stating that it intends to revoke her British citizenship. - The Home Office sends Begum's family a letter stating that it intends to revoke her British citizenship. February 20 - Begum, having been shown a copy of the Home Office's letter by ITV News, describes the decision as 'unjust'. - Begum, having been shown a copy of the Home Office's letter by ITV News, describes the decision as 'unjust'. February 22 - Begum's family write to Mr Javid asking for his help to bring her newborn son to Britain. Shamima's sister Renu Begum, writing on behalf of the family, said the baby boy was a 'true innocent' who should not 'lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country'. - Begum's family write to Mr Javid asking for his help to bring her newborn son to Britain. Shamima's sister Renu Begum, writing on behalf of the family, said the baby boy was a 'true innocent' who should not 'lose the privilege of being raised in the safety of this country'. Late February - Begum is moved to the al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria, reportedly because of threats to her life made at al-Hawl following the publication of her newspaper interviews. - Begum is moved to the al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria, reportedly because of threats to her life made at al-Hawl following the publication of her newspaper interviews. March 7 - Jarrah dies around three weeks after he was born. - Jarrah dies around three weeks after he was born. March 19 - Begum's lawyers file a legal action challenging the decision to revoke her citizenship. - Begum's lawyers file a legal action challenging the decision to revoke her citizenship. April 1 - In a further interview with The Times, Begum says she was 'brainwashed' and that she wanted to 'go back to the UK for a second chance to start my life over again'. - In a further interview with The Times, Begum says she was 'brainwashed' and that she wanted to 'go back to the UK for a second chance to start my life over again'. May 4 - Bangladesh's foreign minister Abdul Momen says Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to the country, adding that Bangladesh had 'nothing to do' with her. - Bangladesh's foreign minister Abdul Momen says Begum could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to the country, adding that Bangladesh had 'nothing to do' with her. September 29 - Home Secretary Priti Patel says there is 'no way' she will let Begum return to the UK, adding: 'We cannot have people who would do us harm allowed to enter our country - and that includes this woman.' - Home Secretary Priti Patel says there is 'no way' she will let Begum return to the UK, adding: 'We cannot have people who would do us harm allowed to enter our country - and that includes this woman.' October 22-25 - Begum's appeal against the revocation of her British citizenship begins in London. Her barrister Tom Hickman QC submits the decision has unlawfully rendered her stateless, and exposed her to a 'real risk' of torture or death. 2020 February 7 - SIAC rules on Begum's legal challenge. - SIAC rules on Begum's legal challenge. July 16 - Court of Appeal rules on the case and finds in Begum's favour. - Court of Appeal rules on the case and finds in Begum's favour. November 23 - Supreme Court hears case. 2021 February 26 - Supreme Court denies her right to enter UK to fight for British citizenship. Advertisement But she does reveal some good news and says the father of the children is alive and sent her a birthday card wishing her well. She also revealed how she 'pines for a foot-long meatball Subway' if she returns. Begum was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join ISIS in February 2015. Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. Begum challenged the Home Office's decision to remove her British citizenship and wanted to be allowed to return to Britain to pursue her appeal. The Court of Appeal ruled in July 'the only way in which she can have a fair and effective appeal is to be permitted to come into the UK to pursue her appeal'. The Home Office challenged that decision at the Supreme Court in November, arguing allowing her to return to the UK 'would create significant national security risks' and expose the public to 'an increased risk of terrorism'. Last month, the UK's highest court ruled Begum should not be granted leave to enter the UK to pursue her appeal against the deprivation of her British citizenship. It means she can still challenge the removal of her citizenship, but will have to do it from abroad - likely the al-Roj refugee camp where she is being held. Begum was 'angry' and 'cried' after hearing of the ruling, Darin Issa, a Kurdish translator and fixer, told MailOnline via WhatsApp. 'She does not talk to usshe was in her tentshe does talk to us or any other journalist,' Issa added. Roj camp, which is located in north east Syria near the town of Al-Malikiyah houses most of the Western women whom joined ISIS and is considerably more developed than the Al-Hawl camp where she was initially taken after the collapse of ISIS caliphate. Reacting to the ruling, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'The Supreme Court has unanimously found in favour of the Government's position, and reaffirmed the Home Secretary's authority to make vital national security decisions. 'The Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.' Downing Street said it was 'pleased' with the decision, with a spokesman adding: 'As we've said before, the Government's priority is maintaining our national security. 'Decisions to deprive individuals of their citizenship are not taken lightly. We'll always ensure the safety and security of the UK, and will not allow anything to jeopardise this.' Sajid Javid, who as home secretary at the time took the decision to revoke Begum's British citizenship on national security grounds, also welcomed the ruling. But human rights groups claimed it sets 'an extremely dangerous precedent' and accused the government of abandoning jihadi brides in 'a legal black hole'. Announcing the decision, President of the Supreme Court Lord Reed said: 'The Supreme Court unanimously allows all of the Home Secretary's appeals and dismisses Ms Begum's cross-appeal.' He said: 'The right to a fair hearing does not trump all other considerations, such as the safety of the public. 'If a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be fairly heard then the courts cannot ordinarily hear it. 'The appropriate response to the problem in the present case is for the deprivation hearing to be stayed - or postponed - until Ms Begum is in a position to play an effective part in it without the safety of the public being compromised. 'That is not a perfect solution, as it is not known how long it may be before that is possible. But there is no perfect solution to a dilemma of the present kind.' He also slammed the Court of Appeal's decision to allow her to return, saying there were four principal errors in its judgment. Lord Reed said it wrongly 'made its own assessment of the requirements of national security and preferred it to that of the Secretary of State, despite the absence of any relevant evidence before it'. The judge said: 'The Court of Appeal's approach did not give the Secretary of State's assessment the respect which it should have received, given that it is the Secretary of State who has been charged by Parliament with responsibility for making such assessments, and who is democratically accountable to Parliament for the discharge of that responsibility.' Lord Reed continued: 'There was no evidence before the court from the police, the Crown Prosecution Service or the Director of Public Prosecutions as to whether it was either possible or appropriate to ensure that Ms Begum was arrested on her return and charged with an offence. 'Nor was it known whether, if she were arrested and charged, she would be remanded in custody: that would be a matter for the courts.' The judge also said there was 'no evidence, nor any submissions, before the Court of Appeal as to whether or not a Tpim [terrorism prevention and investigation measure] could or would be imposed on Ms Begum, or as to the effectiveness of any such measure in addressing the risk which she might pose.' He concluded: 'The Court of Appeal also appears to have overlooked the limitations to its competence, both institutional and constitutional, to decide questions of national security.' Former Home Secretary Mr Javid said he 'strongly welcomed' the Supreme Court's ruling. He said: 'The Home Secretary is responsible for the security of our citizens and borders, and therefore should have the power to decide whether anyone posing a serious threat to that security can enter our country. 'There are no simple solutions to this situation but any restrictions of rights and freedoms faced by this individual are a direct consequence of the extreme actions that she and others have taken, in violation of government guidance and common morality.' But human rights lawyers immediately hit out at the decision. Rosie Brighouse, a lawyer with Liberty, said: 'The right to a fair trial is not something democratic governments should take away on a whim, and nor is someone's British citizenship. 'If a government is allowed to wield extreme powers like banishment without the basic safeguards of a fair trial it sets an extremely dangerous precedent. 'The security services have safely managed the returns of hundreds of people from Syria but the Government has chosen to target Shamima Begum. 'This approach does not serve justice, it's a cynical distraction from a failed counter-terror strategy and another example of this Government's disregard for access to justice and the rule of law.' Bulgaria has announced it will close kindergartens, schools, restaurants, and shopping malls for 10 days as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 infections that have stretched its hospitals, RFE reports. Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told reporters on March 18 that theaters, cinemas, and gyms will also be closed from March 22, while indoor gatherings of more than 15 people will be banned. The center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was taking all necessary health safety measures for national elections to be held on April 4, he said. Earlier in the day, Bulgaria reported 4,201 new coronavirus cases, with 7,804 people in hospitals, including 609 in intensive care. Overall, health authorities have reported more than 290,000 infections and over 11,000 related deaths since the start of the pandemic. A top North Korean diplomat has acknowledged the recent United States initiative of reaching out to Pyongyang and the U.S.-North Korea relations on Thursday. However, the U.S. attempt was blasted by North Korea and considered a 'cheap trick' that would never be answered until Washington will drop hostile policies. North Korea calls US contact attempt a 'cheap trick' The statement from the first vice minister of foreign affairs for North Korea, Choe Son Hui, was the first formal rejection of Pyongyang regarding the tentative approaches by the new U.S. administration under President Joe Biden. Biden started his office in January after winning the November 2020 Presidential Election. According to Reuters, the first formal rejection came after U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited South Korea. The visit was the first overseas trip by top-level members of the administration of Biden. Moreover, the first vice minister of foreign affairs for North Korea shared in a statement that state news agency KCNA carried, that the attempts made by the U.S. in contacting Pyongyang were via e-mails and telephone messages sent in various routes, including a third country. Son Hui called the U.S. attempts a 'cheap trick' to gain time and build up the public's opinion. Florida Baby, First to Be Born with COVID-19 Antibodies Son Hui also shared that what has been heard from the U.S. since the start of the new administration is the only lunatic theory of 'threat from North Korea.' The North Korean official added that they were just rhetoric with no grounds, referring to the total denuclearization. Earlier this month, the White House said that it had reached out to Pyongyang; however, they did not receive any response and did not elaborate on the attempted contact. The top-level members of Biden's administration, Blinken and Austin, will be extending their stay in South Korea as they will still have meetings with South Korean leaders on Thursday before flying to Alaska for the first talks of the Biden administration with Chinese officials. The North Korea standoff is expected to be discussed during the U.S.-China meeting in Alaska, The Strait Times reported. The U.S.-initiated talks with other countries aim to reduce the tensions with North Korea as they continue to persuade Pyongyang to give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, which have been stalled since 2019, after numerous historic summits between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Stimulus Checks Availability Enrages JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Customers The first vice minister of foreign affairs for North Korea also criticized the U.S. for their continued military drills in the South and for maintaining sanctions aimed at putting pressure on Pyongyang. She also emphasized that no possible dialogue will happen until the United States roll back its hostile policy towards North Korea, and both parties will be able to exchange words on an equal basis, Global Times reported. Also from HNGN: Stimulus Check Dispute Leads to Four Deaths in Indiana North Korea to Test Intercontinental Missile @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi, March 18 : In a major judgment on gender-related crimes, the Supreme Court on Thursday stressed that courts should not suggest marriage or compromise between the accused and the victim in rape cases. A bench comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Ravindra Bhat said: "The courts while adjudicating cases involving gender-related crimes, should not suggest or entertain any notions (or encourage any steps) towards compromises between the prosecutrix and the accused to get married, suggest or mandate mediation between the accused and the survivor, or any form of compromise as it is beyond their powers and jurisdiction." The top court emphasised that court should avoid discussion about the dress, behaviour, or past "conduct" or "morals" of the prosecutrix, and such things should not enter the verdict granting bail. Bail conditions should also not mandate, require or permit contact between the accused and the victim, it said. "Such conditions should seek to protect the complainant from any further harassment by the accused.. In all cases where bail is granted, the complainant should immediately be informed that the accused has been granted bail," it said. The top court said bail conditions and orders should avoid reflecting stereotypical or patriarchal notions about women and their place in society. "Sensitivity should be displayed at all times by judges, who should ensure that there is no traumatisation of the prosecutrix, during the proceedings, or anything said during the arguments," it said. The top court said the courts should desist from expressing any stereotypical opinion, in words spoken during proceedings, or in the course of a judicial order, to the effect that (i) women are physically weak and need protection; (ii) women are incapable of or cannot take decisions on their own; (iii) men are the "head" of the household and should take all the decisions relating to family; (iv) women should be submissive and obedient according to our culture; (v) "good" women are sexually chaste; (vi) motherhood is the duty and role of every woman, and assumptions to the effect that she wants to be a mother; (vii) women should be the ones in charge of their children, their upbringing and care; (viii) being alone at night or wearing certain clothes make women responsible for being attacked; (ix) a woman consuming alcohol, smoking, etc may justify unwelcome advances by men or "has asked for it"; (x) women are emotional and often overreact or dramatise events, hence it is necessary to corroborate their testimony; (xi) testimonial evidence provided by women who are sexually active may be suspected when assessing "consent" in sexual offence cases; and (xii) lack of evidence of physical harm in sexual offence case leads to an inference of consent by the woman. The observations were by the top court while setting aside July 30, 2020 bail condition imposed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which granted bail to a sexual offender on the condition that he ties a rakhi on the woman whose modesty he allegedly outraged. Two days after Pratap Bhanu Mehta, former vice chancellor and professor of political science, resigned from Ashoka University, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian, a professor of economics at the university, also resigned on Thursday. Describing Mehta's resignation as "devastating" and "troubling", Subramanian, in his resignation letter to Vice Chancellor Malabika Sarkar, said that even Ashoka, with its private status and private capital backing, was no longer being able to provide "a space for academic expression and freedom" was "ominously disturbing". Following the two high-profile exits, through a joint statement around 100 faculty members urged Sarkar and the university founders to ask Mehta to rescind his resignation. Meanwhile, in his resignation letter, Subramanian wrote: "Above all, that the University's commitment to fight for and sustain the Ashoka vision is now open to question makes it difficult for me to continue being part of Ashoka." In his letter, where he expressed "deep regret" and "profound sadness" over his resignation, Subramanian said he had come to with the aim of teaching students and building a centre for economic policy to shape national capacity for high-quality research, analysis and communication. In the statement to Sarkar, the universitys faculty members expressed anguish" at Mehta's resignation and wrote that his departure raised "urgent questions about the universitys commitment to academic freedom as well as its internal processes". Describing Mehtas resignation as devastating, Subramanian, in his resignation letter, said that Ashoka was no longer being able to provide a space for academic expression and freedom In the joint statement issued on Thursday, the faculty members said it seemed "plausible" that Mehta's resignation was a direct consequence of his role as a public intellectual and critic of the government. "We are greatly troubled by this scenario. Even more troubling is the possibility that our university may have acceded to pressure to remove Professor Mehta or to request, and accept, his resignation. This would fly against the principles of academic freedom on which has been set up and which Professor Mehta, in his time as Vice Chancellor and University Professor, has so scrupulously fought to defend. It would also set a chilling precedent for future removals of faculty, curtailing our sense of who we are as researchers and teachers," read their statement. Arvind Subramanian An email to from Business Standard did not elicit any response till the time of going to press. Senior university officials could not be contacted despite several messages and phone calls made to them. Subramanian, too, could not be reached despite repeated attempts. Funded entirely by donations, the liberal arts and sciences university at Sonepat in Haryana was founded by a group of over 70 entrepreneurs and industry leaders in 2014. The university was recently awarded diamond rating by QS I.GAUGE, an India-specific rating agency for London-based Quacquarelli Symonds, on seven parameters including teaching and learning, faculty quality, research, employability, faculty diversity and facilities. With the resignation of Mehta, seen as a long-time critic of the ruling government, questions are being asked of the universitys ability to weather political pressures. An article in The Edict, an independent student newspaper of Ashoka University, implied that "there was more to Mehta's resignation than meets the eye". In their letter, the Ashoka faculty also asked the vice chancellor to clarify the internal protocols of faculty appointment and dismissal, and reinforce the universitys institutional commitment to the principles of academic freedom. "We stand fully in support of Professor Mehta and all academics who risk their personal and professional well-being by speaking truth to power," read the joint statement by the Ashoka faculty. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Vice Chancellor Sarkar spoke to Mehta asking him to consider withdrawing his resignation. However, this could not be independently verified from the university. An anonymous French proverb posits the following wine hierarchy: Burgundy for kings, champagne for duchesses, claret for gentlemen. Its unlikely even genteel wine lovers have guests so lofty stopping by, but translated for contemporary life, the precept points to the benefits of having the right wine on hand no matter the pedigree of the guests or the circumstances. Having a good wine cellar puts you in a position to run downstairs and grab something at a moments notice, or you can be more formal and plan a whole menu of wines to go with dinner, says Fred Tregaskis, owner of Ridgefield-based Summit Wine Cellars, who has been designing and creating residential and commercial wine cellars for nearly three decades. Tregaskis said the bottom line is have fun, enjoy [fine wine]. Share it with your friends and family a wine cellar is a conduit for that. Serendipity put Tregaskis on his journey designing wine cellars from Maine to California, from Bangalore to Buenos Aires, sometimes for folks so famous hes not allowed to share their names. It started when Tregaskis was asked to recommend someone to design and build a 28,000-bottle wine cellar for the acclaimed Lespinasse Restaurant at the former St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. With a college degree in fine arts and experience in design, woodworking and construction, Tregaskis suggested himself, got that marquee job, and a business was born. The wine community is a gregarious, sharing community, Tregaskis said of his experiences with the wine trade. As a fellow wine person, you get greeted as part of a fraternity, and people are looking for an excuse to share their bounty. When you have the wine cellar, you become a host in the fraternity of wine lovers. You become a patron of that sharing philosophy. Like many true wine lovers, Tregaskis said hes not a snob. One day his wine adventure might involve drinking history as part of a jacket-and-tie tasting of 100-year-old red Bordeaux wines (aka claret) in New York, and a week later he might be on a fly-fishing trip in Ontario with his brother, drinking wine that comes in a cardboard box out of tin cups. How to be wine wise Think quality control: Avoid exposing wines to ultraviolet (UV) light, which causes a chemical reaction that destroys the tannins in wine, leading to premature aging and oxidation. Vibration may also cause unwanted chemical reactions in wine. Don't forget security (locks and motion detectors) to help prevent theft, pilfering and accidental breakage. Don't neglect insurance: Home insurance policies don't typically cover collections of wine, which can be damaged from extended power outages and catastrophic events like earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes. Seek out specialty insurers that offer tailored coverage for wine collections and wine cellars. What type of wine cellar do you want?Wine Spectator describes four principal types of wine collections - The "Balanced Cellar" involves a mixture of vintages, prices and drinking windows; the "Instant-Gratification Cellar" focuses exclusively on fine wines that are ready to drink right away; the "Tasting Cellar" is constructed as a learning tool; and the "Investment Cellar" focuses on profit potential. Collect wines with a strategy: Ben Wallace, owner of Cellaraiders, a fine and rare wine broker that sources and stocks older wines, warns against buying wines you've never tried based on critics' reviews. Instead, try an "off-vintage" example of a wine that's ready to drink. If you like it, then buy the wine in volume from age-worthy vintages. Go to wine tastings, and try everything to help discover what you like best. And stage your cellar by buying wines for different drinking windows. Keep track of inventory:Catalogue and index the wines in your cellar to keep track of the collection. Bottle tags are a great tool. Use a "cellar book" to document the bottles going in or out of the cellar, and make notes in the journal as you drink wines to create a database of observations that will help determine when wines are optimal to enjoy. See More Collapse Whether a wine lover is a snob or not, creating a wine cellar in your home is expensive, with most residential projects ranging from $25,000 to $45,000. The average cellar Tregaskis designs, and has fabricated at a dedicated manufacturing facility in Connecticut, holds 1,250 to 1,500 bottles. Many factors go into the cost, with labor the greatest expense. The price per bottle can go down quickly at a certain point because of cost economies once the labor is out of the way. A 1,000-bottle cellar, for example, might cost about the same as a 500-bottle cellar. Materials chosen and how much room preparation has to be done are other principal cost determinants. Consider the room itself that will become the wine cellar, Tregaskis said: What is the scope of the electrical work that needs to be done? What about the amount of insulation necessary, the vapor barrier, and the details of the rooms finished surfaces? Climate control is another major cost, as there are many options for providing proper temperature and humidity levels to keep wine safe. To maintain integrity and allow wine to grow deeper in flavor and intensity as it ages, a collection should be stored at roughly 55 degrees Fahrenheit, with the relative humidity ranging from 55 to 70 percent. Less, and corks dry out, allowing oxygen into the bottle, spoiling the wine. Too much humidity attracts mold or mildew. Finally, the cost varies for the wine-racking system depending on size, materials and finishing touches, and this is where Tregaskis gets to have fun, especially as adventuresome clients increasingly embrace contemporary design materials like metal, glass and innovative lighting all hallmarks of a contemporary cellar Tregaskis created for a client in Ridgefield. That design includes Plexiglas, brushed stainless wine racking, and gray oak cabinetry that complements natural concrete floor and walls. Recessed low-voltage LED lighting creates a dramatic effect. Other clients prefer timeless designs inspired by the European wine cave tradition, and an increasingly popular third stream involves a blending of traditional and contemporary design and materials that Tregaskis calls transitional say, mixing metal with wood in the design. This article originally appeared in Connecticut Magazine. You can subscribe here, or find the current issue on sale here. Sign up for the newsletter to get the latest and greatest content from Connecticut Magazine delivered right to your inbox. On Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal Going back to school during a pandemic means there are more questions on parents' minds than whether kids remembered their lunch: Will there be enough hand sanitizer? What type of air filtration is in place? What if the windows are jammed and can't be cracked? Albuquerque Public Schools has launched a dashboard for teachers, students and families to get those answers and see how their school building has been prepped for campuses to reopen April 5. Under the COVID-19 update link on the home page of APS.edu, a safety measures tab houses a spreadsheet with every APS school listed. There's a checklist that includes an overview of what HVAC preparation has been done, whether a fire marshal has inspected the school for COVID safety and if the school has the personal protective equipment it needs, such as face masks and hand sanitizer. That checklist also highlights the schools that are fully ready to go and the buildings that still need attention in the next few weeks before schools reopen a handful need window repairs. We're physically going out to check all of the schools for windows that do open so that's why that one is taking the longest period of time, said Gabriella Blakey, interim chief operations officer. For example, windows at Whittier Elementary School needed to be fixed after having been painted shut. Blakey anticipates everything will be completed by April 5. But if there are any outstanding issues on that day, classes would be held in a different space. The spreadsheet, which will continue to be updated, also has information on specific areas of a school, spelling out details from the type of HVAC units in place to whether windows and doors can be opened. Since circulating the air is a big priority to mitigate COVID-19 spread, the district is encouraging students to dress in layers and bring jackets, which are available through the APS Community Clothing Bank for students who need them. APS's website also links to documents from the fire marshal school visits. Over 1,500 work orders have been completed to prepare our classrooms and we continue to prioritize repair and maintenance on our school buildings. Any room that does not meet our stringent safety standards will not be used for instructional purposes unless it is repaired or remediated, district officials wrote on the web page. APS is getting ready to open its doors to all students who opt into in-person learning after pressure from the state Public Education Department. Blakey said as of late Wednesday every APS employee who has asked for a vaccine had at least an appointment and about 30% of staff had received their second vaccine. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ CALGARY, AB, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Sylogist Ltd. (TSXV: SYZ) ("Sylogist" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce the acquisition of Municipal Accounting Systems, Inc. ("MAS"), a highly regarded, Oklahoma-based provider of student information management and accounting solutions to K-12 public school districts. Pursuant to the transaction, which closed on March 17, 2021, Sylogist, through its subsidiary Sylogist USA Inc., acquired all of the shares of MAS for cash consideration of $37.8M (CDN), subject to working capital adjustments, 50% of which was paid from cash on hand and the remainder drawn under its existing credit facility. MAS was founded in 1985 and has grown to serve nearly 85% of the Oklahoma K-12 public education market with its integrated Wen-GAGE platform. The modern SaaS solution includes advanced budgeting and accounting, comprehensive student information tracking, grading and scheduling, and lunchroom administration. In its last fiscal year (ended December 31, 2020), MAS generated revenues of approximately $7.4 million (CDN) and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $4.3 million (CDN) while serving approximately 500 school districts. Bill Wood, Sylogist's President and CEO stated: "We are delighted to welcome MAS customers and its team to Sylogist. MAS is highly complementary to our existing SaaS K-12 solution and we have identified value-add capabilities within each platform that can integrate with the other. We are excited to offer a more feature-rich, scalable and flexible solution to customers and new school districts throughout North America. Further investments in our go-to-market strategy will greatly benefit from the leverage this larger scale and breadth of offering provides. As a testament to the strength of its products, great customer service, and disciplined management, MAS has operated very profitably and we expect it to be immediately accretive for Sylogist, growing both our top line revenue and adjusted EBITDA run rates by approximately 20%. This strategic acquisition demonstrates our ability to execute on our commitment to accelerating growth. We identified MAS as a valuable, strategic target that was under the radar and efficiently negotiated a win-win transaction," Mr. Wood concluded. Pam Humphrey, MAS' founder stated: "I am very happy to see MAS join Sylogist. Although we weren't looking to sell the company, after we began discussions with Bill and his team, it quickly became clear that the companies were a natural fit and the timing was right. I am very comfortable that the business is in good hands with Sylogist and I'm confident this provides the right mix of continuity, stability and potential new product advancements for our customers, which is very important to me." Sylogist Expands Credit Facility Concurrently with the acquisition, Sylogist announces that it has entered into a binding term sheet with its existing lender to expand its current credit facility from $40 million (CDN) to $75 million (CDN), on substantially the same terms as its existing credit facility. Bill Wood commented, "Not to be lost in the exciting news related to acquiring MAS, an expanded credit facility provides additional resources to readily pursue other strategic and transformative acquisitions." Conference Call Sylogist will be holding a webinar to discuss the MAS acquisition, expansion of its credit facility, and other recent developments at 9:30 AM (Mountain Daylight Time) on Tuesday, March 23rd. Those interested may register at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E7cEGAYoSSunu51T1i2ZOA About Sylogist Sylogist is a software company that, through strategic acquisitions, investments and operations management, provides comprehensive, mission-critical ERP and CRM solutions, including fund accounting, student information systems case management, grant management and payroll, to public service organizations. Sylogist's customers include all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions as well as public compliance driven and funded companies. The Company delivers highly scalable, multi-language, multi-currency software solutions, which serve the needs of an international clientele. Full financial statements together with Management's Discussion and Analysis are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com The Company's stock is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SYZ. Information about Sylogist can be found at www.sylogist.com . Forward-looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These statements typically use words such as expect, believe, estimate, project, anticipate, plan, may, should, could and would, or the negative of these terms, variations thereof or similar terminology. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements with respect to integrating technology, benefits to Sylogist's go-to-market strategy, MAS' expected contribution to Sylogist's financial performance and growth, and the Company's expanded credit facility providing the resources for it to execute on strategic acquisitions. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. It is therefore possible that the beliefs and plans and other forward-looking expectations expressed herein will not be achieved or will prove inaccurate. Although Sylogist believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it provides no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including headwinds from COVID-19 and economic turmoil, customer delays and the availability of strategic and transformative acquisitions. Additional information regarding some of these risks, uncertainties and other factors may be found under in the management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended December 31, 2020, and other documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Material assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include Sylogist's ability to attract and retain customers and to realize on its investments. Although Sylogist believes that the material assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur. Sylogist disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Certain information set out herein may be considered as "financial outlook" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The purpose of this financial outlook is to provide readers with disclosure regarding Sylogist's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities for the periods indicated. Readers are cautioned that the financial outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA is defined as: profit for the period before stock-based compensation, share-based payments, foreign exchange gains or losses, interest expense, bargain purchase price on acquisition, income taxes, acquisition-related costs, depreciation and amortization. This news release makes reference to certain non-GAAP measures. These measures are not recognized measures under Canadian GAAP, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian GAAP and are therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These measures are provided as additional information to complement measures under GAAP by providing further understanding of the Company's expected results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, such measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company's financial information reported under Canadian GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is provided to investors as alternative methods for assessing the Company's operating results in a manner that is focused on the Company's ongoing operations and to provide a more consistent basis for comparison between periods. These measures should not be construed as alternatives to net profit (loss) or cash flow from operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Company's performance. For further information regarding non-GAAP measures used by the Company, please refer to the management's discussion and analysis of the Company, copies of which are available on Sylogist's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. - Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release - SOURCE Sylogist Ltd. Related Links http://www.sylogist.com/ 18 March 2021 Type Newsletter Information and updates from the Grass10 team Download Publication (PDF) The key messages in this weeks newsletter are: PastureBase data for the week & Elodie Ruelles MoSt Grass Growth Prediction Model. Weather forecast looks good and grass growth set to double this week! Weather forecast looks good and grass growth set to double this week! Tomas O Brien, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork discusses his grazing plan for the remainder of the 1 st rotation to ensure correct Average Farm Cover in early April. rotation to ensure correct Average Farm Cover in early April. An update from Nicky Byrne & Donall Fahy on the Dairy Calf-to-Beef trial from Teagasc Grange Co. Meath. Spring Grazing Update from Grassland Farmer of the Year cattle (non - suckling) category winner Pat Collins, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork. Watch Tomas O Briens video where he discusses his grazing plan for the next 3 weeks here: http://bit.ly/TomasG10 Tens of thousands of borrowers who attended for-profit schools like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute that defrauded students will have their student loan debts eliminated after the Education Department rescinded some changes made during the Trump administration that gutted a relief program. Borrowers deserve a simplified and fair path to relief when they have been harmed by their institutions misconduct, said Miguel Cardona, the education secretary. We will grant them a fresh start from their debt. The change will eliminate around $1 billion in student loan debt owed by around 72,000 borrowers, the department said. Most of them attended ITT and Corinthian, institutions that abruptly shut down years ago. The relief program, known as borrower defense, allows those who can demonstrate that they were substantially misled by their school to have their federal student loans forgiven. Once little-used, the system was flooded with claims during the Obama administration after a series of large for-profit chains collapsed following a government crackdown on schools that saddled their students with high debts for a low-quality education. Zondo Town was a scene of jubilations last Saturday, when ground was broken for the construction of an elementary school in the area. Children, adults and elderly were seen dancing when pastor Joah and his delegation started an exuberant parade in the town. The parade before the official ground breaking ceremony was led by predominantly old women and men followed by students and parents of the SOLTIAMON Christian School System. Alice Kpue- a mother of six children including other women of Zondo Town could not hold back their joy as they sang their traditional songs thanking God for directing pastor Joah to their town to have a school constructed there. Old lady Kpue said "the coming of an elementary school will bring relief to the lives of children growing up in that remote part of Grand Bassa County. She was overcome with joy as she emphatically stated, "I am happy until I do not know what to say. Our town is now on the way to development. "More schools School will be built here and our children will not have to leave from this town to travel to Buchannan City or to the capital city of Monrovia for schooling." Ma Alice, Another elderly lady sadly stated, "My parents did not send me to school, but I said to myself when I become a full grown woman, I will make sure that all my children go to school." Ma- Nonmah Gragar, an old resident of the town, believed to be in her 80s faintly joined others to dance as the jubilant crowd approached her. "I am very happy for what I am hearing" she said through an interpreter. As she danced leaving her walking stick on the ground, old-lady Gragar started raining praises on the vision bearers of the institution. In her speech, the wife of Pastor Joah, madam Tiangay Saba Koon Joah said, she and her husband saw the pressing need to have a school constructed in the village that gave birth to the education of her husband many years back. She said they thought that it was a great thing to give back to town the means to empower less fortunate kids whose parents do not have the financial might to have them travel to Buchanan City or Monrovia for higher education. She indicated that the project Titled" Giving Back To Zondo" will have elementary, junior, senior high school and a collage constructed on a space of 10 acres of land provided by the community. Mrs. Joah said that the four projects [elementary, junior, senior high school and a collage] will be carried out progressively, starting with the elementary school. "As this first phase is going on, we will come and break ground for the junior high on two lots of land and we will move on this other side and break ground for the senior high on two lots of land" she said with a smile across her face. Mrs. Joah indicated that the projects when completed will have a foster home that will to enable children to go through fostering as was done with her husband when he started kindergarten at Zondo mission at age 16. She stated that all the community will have to do is to help with man power for the project to come to completion." Mrs. Joah rallied the efforts of the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) to help them in paving the roads and to provide safe drinking water for the kids and their parents in the town. Additionally, she said that it is expected that the first project [elementary school] which is estimated at 65-80 thousand United States Dollars will be completed by September of this year, Pastor Solomon Joah said it is a dream that has come through for him and his family to have made such an impact on the lives of the ordinary people of Zondo. As an assurance, Pastor Joah said his schools are based on Christian principles adding that indecent dress codes, same sex marriage and other negative habits that tend to damage society will not be accepted or tolerated on the campus. "We are modern people, but traditional remains" he said. Additionally, Pastor Joah said the classes will be eighteen by eighteen with good ventilations for the kids. All the lawmakers who were invited to the event failed to attend with the sole exception of Senator Karnga-Lawrence whose contribution to the building project was presented through her proxy at the event. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Education Religion By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The event was attended by representatives of LAC as well as Atty. Mmonbeydo Joah who happens to be the daughter of the vision bearers of the SOLTIAMON Christian School System. Recounting the hard days of her parents, Atty. Joah said" imagine a person sitting in kindergarten at age 16. That is the story of my father" She recounted that after her father, after learning to read when he reached 6 grade, the missionaries supported him through high school at Ricks Institute where he met his wife, Joah. "Together, they built a legacy. It was tough - those days. You can see it in our names. He named my brother, Monbladyu, meaning, "hunger time child; my name is Mmonbeydo, which means, "I am one of you" my mother did not want another child after my brother. Five years later, my sister came. My father named her, Mmonyuenjay - "I am the reason" and they stopped having kids" she said with a laughter on her face. She said she has an obligation to ensure that her parents dream does not die, but lives on to have more of such impacts on ordinary kids. 0 19 Share | By Jena Frick On March 8, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) partnered with the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) and the University System of Maryland (USM) to bring together a panel of experts from across the country to discuss health literacy as a social determinant of health. In the midst of a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color, this topic is a critical discussion point and the focus of this years Presidents Symposium and White Paper Project. A patient who is well informed and health literate can become an active decision maker for his or her own health as well as the health of his or her family, Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, the president of UMB, said in his opening remarks. Denise V. Rodgers, MD, FAAFP (top left), Cynthia Bauer, MD (top middle), Steven W. Chen, PharmD, FASHP, FCSHP, FNAP (top right), Jay A. Perman, MD (bottom left), Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS (bottom middle), and Dean Schillinger, MD (bottom right), gather virtually to discuss health literacy as a social determinant of health. This years panel was held virtually over a Webex video conference and was hosted by USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD. Prior to becoming the fifth USM chancellor, Perman served as president of UMB for nearly a decade and still teaches in UMBs Presidents Clinic. During the panel, he explained that he often emphasizes the importance of health literacy to his students and that their work does not end with a diagnosis. If you think that by making the correct diagnosis and prescribing the correct therapy you have served the patient and youre done, then you are fooling yourself. You are not done, he said. Far too many of our patients and families come with a broader context. They may have limited understanding of what we assume they know, or what we assume they understand and that's on us. That's for us to fix. One of the panelists, Steven W. Chen, PharmD, FASHP, FCSHP, FNAP, associate dean for clinical affairs at the University of Southern California, expanded on Permans point with an anecdote about a diabetes patient who was not responding to his insulin treatments. Chen decided to make a home visit to see how the patient was administering his insulin treatments and found that the patient was living out of a camper behind a gas station. It was then that Chen realized that the insulin doses were being stored in a broken refrigerator during the summer. The warm temperatures were causing the insulin to not work effectively in the patient. This anecdote drove home the point of why its so important for physicians and health care providers to work together to keep their patients actively informed about their health. Once a patient leaves your office or clinic or hospital, it's the Wild West, Chen said. You did the best you could in clinic, you hope that things work out, and sometimes they don't. As a pharmacist, health literacy about medication management is critical because the pharmacy is the last chance to get things right before the patients go off to their homes. This is why I am a big advocator for team-based care. I think everybody wins when the health care team is aligned, and you have everyone doing the right jobs. The other experts on the panel included Cynthia Bauer, MD, endowed professor at UMCP and the director of the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, Dean Schillinger, MD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and Denise V. Rodgers, MD, FAAFP, vice chancellor for interprofessional programs at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) and the RBHS chair of Interprofessional Education at Rutgers. They all echoed Chens sentiment that the way to increase health literacy is to implement team-based care and have a foundational understanding that health care does not end when the patient leaves the doctors office. Teams are a key to the solution to this health literacy problem, said Rodgers. One of the things we want to do is provide care in the context of highly effective, collaborative teams, and make sure that we're all on the same page in terms of messaging. Then, we can reinforce those messages with our patients. Rodgers went on to explain that medical providers can start by making a concerted effort to engage their patients so that they can take an active role in their own health. She encourages health care providers to ask their patients three questions: What is my main problem? What do I need to do? Why is this important for me to do? The Presidents Fellows plan to address and expand upon all of these points in their White Paper Project. The President's White Paper Project engages nine students from the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work from UMB and UMCP on a yearlong research project. Past White Paper Projects included topics such as Global Literacy, Gun Violence, and Implementing Core Values. This year, the key question that the fellows are asking is, What is the university's role in teaching our students, as well as we, the faculty and staff, about this topic? Jarrell explained. In doing this, we can improve the relationship between the provider and the patient, which is certainly an important part of our mission. The fellows will be presenting their findings in a culminating, virtual event on April 6. (View event on The Elm.) Pro-life groups slam House vote to remove ERA deadline Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pro-life groups rebuked members of the U.S. House for voting to remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment, which they argue would enshrine the right to abortion on demand into the U.S. Constitution. The House voted 222-204 to remove the 1979 ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment Wednesday, which is billed as a necessary measure to ensure equal rights for women in the U.S. Four Republicans joined all Democrats in voting to nullify the ratification deadline: Reps. John Curtis, R-Utah, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Tom Reed, R-N.Y. Pro-life groups quickly reacted unfavorably to the vote. "The so-called 'Equal Rights Amendment' may as well be called the Abortion Rights Act, as it would usher in extreme policy implications by enshrining a 'right' to abortion in the U.S. Constitution alongside the foundational principles of our great nation," warned Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List. "Abortion is the greatest violation of human rights in our day the clear antithesis of equality." In an interview with The Christian Post, Mallory Quigley, vice president of communications for SBA List, elaborated on the implications of the ERA: "What's most concerning about the ERA is that it has the power to negate every single federal and state law limiting abortion because it would do this on the basis that pro-life laws are allegedly discriminatory against women because women are the only ones who can undergo an abortion and are therefore impacted disproportionately by pro-life laws." "The ERA would have disastrous consequences for the pro-life movement if it were to pass," she added. Quigley predicted that even if the measure did pass, litigation would quickly follow "because this is something that the court, most recently ... a federal district court judge said a few weeks ago that ... the efforts by Virginia, Illinois, (and) Nevada to ratify the ERA are beyond the deadline and ... as a matter of law, impossible." Quigley contended that the pro-life movement and opponents of the ERA have the compelling argument in any potential litigation, citing the facts that "enough states didn't ratify it within the deadline" and that "several states that have rescinded their ratification in hindsight." She slammed "pro-abortion extremists" for "trying to change the rules" in order to secure the enactment of the ERA. A coalition of pro-life activists, led by Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America Action, submitted a letter to House and Senate leaders of both parties urging them to oppose removing the ratification deadline. Hawkins suggested that the acronym ERA actually stands for the "Everything Related to Abortion Act." The letter cited comments from the National Abortion Rights Action League asserting that "the ERA would reinforce the constitutional right to abortion by clarifying that the sexes have equal rights, which would require judges to strike down anti-abortion laws because they violate both the constitutional right to privacy and sexual equality" as evidence backing up that claim. Other signatories included Lila Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, and Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who has become an outspoken pro-life activist. The House had previously voted to remove the ratification deadline for the ERA in 2020, with all Democrats and five Republicans voting in favor. The effort did not materialize, as the Senate was in Republican hands at the time. With Democrats in control of the Senate, the upper chamber will likely vote to remove the ratification deadline. However, as Quigley mentioned, such an action "would most likely require the Senate to get rid of the filibuster," which requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass. Two of the 50 Democrats in the Senate, accounting for one-half of the members, have vowed to oppose any effort to eliminate the filibuster. While Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has cosponsored a Senate resolution that would remove the ERA ratification deadline, the effort is unlikely to secure the support of 10 Republican senators. By the time of the ratification deadline, 35 of the 50 states had ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, three short of the three-fourths majority required for the amendment to take effect. Five states have since rescinded their ratifications. In recent years, as Quigley mentioned, three additional states ratified the proposed constitutional amendment, meaning that 38 states have at one point or another voted in favor of the ERA. This has led the amendment's proponents to argue that they have secured enough support for the amendment's addition to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment. Many conservatives attribute the defeat of the ERA to the efforts of the late conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, who died in 2016. As political commentator Ann Coulter noted in an obituary she wrote about Schlafly: "When Schlafly turned her attention to the E.R.A., no reasonable person would have supposed that the amendment could have been stopped. In 1971, the House passed it by 354 to 24. The next year, the Senate had passed it by a vote of 84 to 8." "Thirty states had approved it in the first year after it was sent to the states for ratification. Only eight more states were needed, within the next seven years. There was little question that the E.R.A. was about to become our next constitutional amendment," she recalled. According to Coulter, one of Schafly's strongest arguments against the ERA was that it would "end the female exemption from the draft." A former Queensland councillor who was booted off dating show the Bachelorette for a string of sleazy comments has been fined by the state regulator. Jess Glasgow lasted only two episodes on the 2019 season, before he was ousted by reality TV star Angie Kent. The Noosa councillor, who was on leave to participate in the show, promised the keys to the city, but ended up delivering a series of inappropriate remarks instead. Former Queensland councillor Jess Glasgow (pictured) $4000 for his conduct on the 2018 Bachelorette season with Angie Kent During one of the group dates, Glasgow was dressed as a horse and Ms Kent was asked to sit on his back (pictured) where he made sleazy comments about his 'wandering hands' During the group date with Kent, Glasgow also made a sleazy comments about him being the 'first person she gets to ride' Queensland's Councillor Conduct Tribunal on Thursday fined Mr Glasgow $4000 for his conduct, saying had he still been a councillor, he would be sacked. During one of the group dates, Mr Glasgow was dressed as a horse and Ms Kent was asked to sit on his back. Mr Glasgow was seen making lewd gestures including attempting to bite and lick parts of Ms Kent's body. 'Damn, I'm gonna be the first person she gets to ride,' he is filmed saying. 'Don't mind me if I get some wandering fingers alright.' 'Jesus, what is wrong with you?' Ms Kent replied. Controversial Bachelorette contestant Jess Glasgow (pictured, right) was booted off the show after only two episodes Mr Glasgow was seen making lewd gestures to reality start Angie Kent (pictured) including attempting to bite and lick parts of Ms Kent's body during a group date The then-councillor's 10 days inside the Bachelorette mansion prompted public outcry and several complaints to the mayor and council, the Tribunal said. It rejected his claims the episodes had been 'edited' in some way detrimental to him. He recklessly breached the trust placed in him, and was entirely indifferent to the possibility it would reflect poorly on him and the council, the Tribunal concluded. The fact that he did not publicly apologise to the council, and did not resign his post until he failed to be re-elected in 2020, were aggravating factors. Along with the $4000 fine, Mr Glasgow must reimburse the council $1000 for its costs. Mr Glasgow intends to appeal the decision, he told the ABC Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Drilling has returned significant PGE (Platinum Group Element) grades of 47 meters at 2.6 g/t Pd_Eq, including 12 meters at 4.2 g/t Pd_Eq. (Hole LK21-045), defining a high-grade core at Kaukua South on the Lantinen Koillismaa ("LK") PGE-Ni-Cu project in Finland, said Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (FSE: 7N11) (OTCQB: NKORF) ("Palladium One" or the "Company") today. Thus far, 34 holes have been drilled as part of the 17,500-meter Phase II Resource Definition drill program at Kaukua South, including today's results 22 have been released, while results for 12 holes are pending. Drilling has been strategically undertaken to define mineralization from surface to a depth of 200 metres, leaving mineralization open at depth, across the known 4-kilometer strike length of Kaukua South. In total 6,404-meters have been drilled to date as part of the Phase II program at Kaukua South, while an additional 860-meters (6 holes) of regional exploration has been undertaken. Derrick Weyrauch, President and CEO of Palladium One said, "Drilling at Kaukua South continues to intersect impressive grades and widths, thereby proving up the known four-kilometer strike length of Kaukua South. Induced Polarization (IP) surveys have been started to expand the Kaukua South strike length by up to three kilometers. With robust drill results thus far and the potential to increase the Kaukua South strike length to seven kilometers we are optimistic that, in addition to our existing Kaukua National Instrument 43-101 pit constrained resource, a new multi-million ounce resource is well within our reach." "In addition to our Phase II Kaukua South drill program and to take advantage of winter drilling conditions, 2,000 meters (12 holes) were recently drilled on the Haukiaho zone. This drilling represents completion of the infill campaign that was launched in February 2020 and suspended in March 2020 due to Covid-19. The drill program was designed to provide additional data in advance of a NI 43-101 resource estimate. Assay results are pending," said Weyrauch. Highlights Drilling continues to demonstrate continuity of near surface open pit grades and widths at Kaukua South. Core zone of 11.6 meters grading 4.21 g/t Palladium equivalent ("Pd_Eq") within 47.4 meters grading 2.59 g/t Pd_Eq. in hole LK21-045, starting 123 meters down hole. ("Pd_Eq") within in hole LK21-045, starting 123 meters down hole. Core zone of 16.5 meters grading 2.52 g/t Pd_Eq, within 52.7 meters grading 1.53 g/t Pd_Eq in hole LK21-046, starting 66 meters down hole. within in hole LK21-046, starting 66 meters down hole. 2,000 meters of drilling completed on the Haukiaho Zone to upgrade the historic resource to National Instrument 43-101 standards. Kaukua South Infill Drilling Kaukua South infill drilling continues to demonstrate consistent near surface open pit grades and widths. A total of 22 holes from the Phase II infill drill program on Kaukua South have now been released with intersections such as 53 meters at 2.1 g/t Pd_Eq, in hole LK20-028 (see press release January 18, 2021) and 33 metres grading 2.0 g/t Pd_Eq in hole LK20-034 (see news release March 11, 2021). These 22 holes cover approximately 1.3 kilometers of the Kaukua South Zone and have returned similar widths and grades to those in the Kaukua NI 43-101 Open Pit resource estimate. (Figure 1 and 2). IP Survey Underway Induced Polarization ("IP") surveys have proven to be highly successful at outlining palladium-rich disseminated copper-nickel sulphide mineralization on the LK Project. The discovery of Kaukua South in an overburden covered area with no previous drilling was a direct result of the Company's 2020 IP survey. The current IP survey is well advanced, with the western grid anticipated to be completed within the next week. The Company believes there is potential to extend the currently Kaukua South IP chargeability anomaly from the currently defined four to over seven kilometres of strike length (Figure 1). Figure 1. Greater Kaukua area plan map, showing current NI 43-101 Kaukua Deposit conceptual pit outline (dashed yellow), Kaukua South and Murtolampi IP chargeability anomalies, and Palladium One drill hole locations. Holes labels in red form part of this release. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/77689_d2649b15542ec8be_001full.jpg Figure 2. Kaukua South long-section looking north, holes labelled in red form part of this release. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/77689_d2649b15542ec8be_002full.jpg Figure 3. Cross Section showing Kaukua South infill holes LK20-027, 028, 045, looking west. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/77689_d2649b15542ec8be_003full.jpg Haukiaho Drill Program The Haukiaho Zone is located 15 kilometers to the South of Kaukua. In late February and early March 2021, the Company completed 2,000 meters (12 holes) of infill drilling to enable the historic Haukiaho resource to be upgraded to NI 43-101 compliant standards. The Haukiaho Zone which hosts the historic Haukiaho deposit, is part of a 17-kilometre-long trend (Figure 4.), and prior to the discovery of the Kaukua South Zone had a top priority for the Company and it remains a significant asset of the greater LK project. In March 2020, before being forced to shut down due to the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Company completed 3 holes on the Haukiaho Zone returning a core zone of 34.2 metres grading 2.09 g/t Pd_Eq. within 83.3 metres grading 1.27 g/t Pd_Eq. in hole LK20-010 (see news release September 15, 2020). In February 2020, the Company completed an IP survey covering five-kilometres of the Haukiaho Trend (see news release May 7, 2020). This survey identified three strong chargeability anomalies, one of which is associated with the core of the historic Haukiaho deposit, however the other two are in areas of sparse historic drilling. The eastern most of these three anomalies was prospected by the Company in 2019, returning up to 3.3 g/t Pd_Eq. (0.51% Cu, 0.33% Ni, 0.56 g/t Pd, 0.18 g/t Pt, and 0.21 g/t Au), (see news release August 12, 2019). Historic Haukiaho Resource Estimates In 2013, Finore Mining Inc. completed a non-pit constrained NI 43-101 historic resource with a 0.1 g/t Pd cut-off at Haukiaho comprising 23.2 million tonnes grading 1.51 g/t Pd_Eq (0.31 g/t Pd, 0.12g/t Pt, 0.10 g/t Au, 0.21% Cu, and 0.14% Ni) (See news release August 12, 2019 and May 7, 2020). This resource encompassed widely spaced drilling with a focus on maximizing tonnage, not grade. An earlier historic resource estimate completed by Outokumpu in the 1980's covered a much larger part of the Haukiaho trend and was focused more on grade and used a 0.7% Cu_eq cut-off (defined as Cu% + 2 x Ni%) and returned 7 million tonnes grading 0.38% Cu and 0.24% Ni, however importantly, no PGE assays were conducted. Figure 4. LK Project location map showing 43-101 compliant Kaukua deposit and historic Haukiaho resource along with 2020 IP grids (blue lines) and current 2021 IP grid areas (black boxes). Yellow lines represent Exploration Permits, red lines represent Exploration Reservations held by the Company. To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/77689_d2649b15542ec8be_004full.jpg Figure 5. Haukiaho IP chargeability and 2020 DDH location map. To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/77689_d2649b15542ec8be_005full.jpg Table 1: Phase II infill drill results to date on Kaukua South Zone Hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Pd_Eq g/t* PGE g/t (Pd+Pt+Au) Pd g/t Pt g/t Au g/t Cu % Ni % Kaukua South LK20-027 103.4 155.0 51.6 1.98 1.07 0.72 0.27 0.08 0.17 0.15 Inc. 105.6 113.0 7.4 2.58 1.34 0.90 0.31 0.13 0.26 0.18 And 149.5 155.0 5.5 3.12 1.96 1.34 0.52 0.10 0.27 0.17 Inc. 153.5 155.0 1.5 6.14 4.09 2.79 1.15 0.15 0.56 0.28 Kaukua South LK20-028 42.6 95.5 52.9 2.06 1.44 1.00 0.36 0.08 0.11 0.11 Inc. 46.9 72.0 25.1 2.92 2.08 1.44 0.52 0.12 0.17 0.14 Inc. 50.5 60.0 9.5 3.56 2.52 1.75 0.61 0.16 0.23 0.16 Kaukua South LK20-029 37.5 62.9 25.4 2.57 1.87 1.30 0.46 0.11 0.15 0.11 Inc. 47.0 62.0 15.0 3.16 2.36 1.65 0.58 0.13 0.17 0.13 Inc. 56.5 62.0 5.5 4.34 3.36 2.36 0.82 0.18 0.20 0.16 Inc 56.5 57.7 1.2 6.15 4.97 3.54 1.26 0.17 0.25 0.21 Kaukua South LK20-030 26.4 86.5 60.1 1.88 1.00 0.68 0.24 0.07 0.17 0.14 Inc. 47.0 68.0 21.0 2.44 1.43 0.98 0.35 0.10 0.21 0.16 Inc. 53.0 54.5 1.5 3.94 2.69 1.78 0.78 0.12 0.28 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-031 17.9 61.5 43.6 1.94 1.12 0.76 0.27 0.09 0.16 0.13 Inc. 17.9 55.5 37.6 2.17 1.25 0.85 0.30 0.10 0.19 0.14 Inc. 24.5 35.0 10.5 2.81 1.60 1.09 0.39 0.11 0.27 0.18 Kaukua South LK20-032 60.3 108.3 48.0 1.81 0.84 0.57 0.21 0.06 0.16 0.16 Inc. 61.4 75.0 13.7 2.12 0.90 0.58 0.23 0.09 0.22 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-033 41.3 85.0 43.7 1.76 0.87 0.58 0.21 0.07 0.18 0.14 Inc. 42.7 56.3 13.7 2.33 1.21 0.83 0.28 0.10 0.21 0.18 Kaukua South LK20-034 86.9 119.5 32.7 2.05 1.16 0.81 0.26 0.09 0.16 0.15 Inc. 88.5 112.5 24.0 2.26 1.32 0.93 0.29 0.10 0.17 0.15 Inc. 88.5 97.5 9.0 3.06 1.98 1.41 0.45 0.12 0.20 0.17 Inc. 94.5 96.0 1.5 4.20 2.94 2.15 0.66 0.14 0.25 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-035 66.0 118.0 52.0 1.32 0.63 0.44 0.15 0.04 0.11 0.11 Inc 67.5 69.0 1.5 3.49 2.44 2.10 0.27 0.07 0.23 0.15 And 95.5 104.7 9.2 2.04 1.23 0.80 0.32 0.11 0.17 0.13 Kaukua South LK20-036 245.3 280.0 34.6 1.05 0.39 0.25 0.11 0.03 0.10 0.11 Inc. 259.0 260.5 1.5 1.72 0.86 0.62 0.16 0.07 0.15 0.14 Kaukua South LK20-042 115.5 158.9 43.4 1.41 0.77 0.53 0.19 0.05 0.09 0.12 Inc. 118.5 123.0 4.5 2.29 1.23 0.82 0.32 0.09 0.14 0.19 Kaukua South LK20-043 131.5 162.3 30.8 1.24 0.55 0.36 0.15 0.04 0.11 0.12 Inc. 133.0 136.0 3.0 2.05 1.16 0.82 0.32 0.02 0.05 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-044 156.8 173.8 17.0 1.38 0.62 0.41 0.14 0.06 0.14 0.12 Inc. 166.0 169.5 3.4 2.10 1.07 0.73 0.25 0.08 0.20 0.16 Kaukua South LK20-045 122.8 170.2 47.4 2.59 1.74 1.20 0.42 0.11 0.17 0.14 Inc. 152.0 170.2 18.2 3.64 2.55 1.77 0.62 0.15 0.23 0.17 Inc. 155.0 166.6 11.6 4.21 2.92 2.03 0.72 0.18 0.27 0.20 Inc. 156.0 160.6 4.6 5.09 3.67 2.57 0.89 0.21 0.33 0.21 Inc. 156.0 157.5 1.5 7.18 5.18 3.67 1.23 0.28 0.44 0.31 Kaukua South LK20-046 65.9 118.6 52.7 1.53 1.05 0.73 0.26 0.06 0.09 0.08 Inc. 73.0 89.5 16.5 2.52 1.79 1.23 0.44 0.12 0.13 0.13 Inc. 73.0 79.0 6.0 3.31 2.42 1.69 0.60 0.12 0.18 0.15 Kaukua South LK20-047 36.0 58.0 22.0 1.77 1.11 0.75 0.29 0.07 0.12 0.11 Inc. 40.5 43.5 3.0 3.15 1.85 1.23 0.49 0.13 0.27 0.20 And 53.5 56.0 2.5 2.89 2.25 1.61 0.54 0.09 0.12 0.11 Kaukua South LK20-048 80.0 93.0 13.0 1.08 0.55 0.35 0.15 0.05 0.09 0.09 Inc. 89.0 91.3 2.3 1.91 1.13 0.73 0.31 0.09 0.18 0.12 Kaukua South LK20-049 16.2 27.0 10.8 1.18 0.52 0.33 0.13 0.06 0.13 0.10 Inc. 23.5 27.0 3.5 1.53 0.87 0.57 0.21 0.09 0.16 0.09 Kaukua Recon LK20-050 no significant values Kaukua South LK21-051 118.8 145.0 26.2 1.46 0.55 0.36 0.13 0.06 0.16 0.15 Inc. 133.2 145.0 11.8 1.87 0.77 0.49 0.18 0.10 0.21 0.17 Kaukua South LK21-052 53.0 62.7 9.7 1.04 0.36 0.22 0.10 0.04 0.09 0.12 Inc. 54.5 57.0 2.5 1.75 0.75 0.48 0.22 0.06 0.12 0.19 Zone 147.5 172.0 24.5 1.67 0.79 0.55 0.17 0.07 0.18 0.13 Inc. 147.5 152.0 4.5 2.17 0.91 0.65 0.20 0.06 0.38 0.14 Inc. 147.5 148.0 0.5 6.44 1.03 0.79 0.20 0.05 2.45 0.24 And 164.0 165.5 1.5 3.35 2.31 1.70 0.49 0.12 0.21 0.16 Kaukua South LK21-053 60.0 63.0 3.0 1.20 0.51 0.33 0.13 0.06 0.11 0.11 Zone 93.9 101.4 7.5 0.77 0.25 0.15 0.07 0.03 0.05 0.10 * Reported widths are "drilled widths" not true widths. ** Orange shaded values previously released (see press release January 18, 2021 and March 11, 2021). *Palladium Equivalent Palladium equivalent is calculated using US$1,100 per ounce for palladium, US$950 per ounce for platinum, US$1,300 per ounce for gold, US$6,614 per tonne for copper, and US$15,4332 per tonne for nickel. This calculation is consistent with the calculation in the Company's September 2019 NI 43-101 Kaukua resource estimate. QA/QC The Phase I drilling program was carried out under the supervision of Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company. Drill core samples were split using a rock saw by Company staff, with half retained in the core box and stored indoors in a secure facility, in Taivalkoski, Finland. The drill core samples were transported by courier from the Company's core handling facility in Taivalkoski, Finland, to ALS Global ("ALS") laboratory in Outokumpu, Finland. ALS, is an accredited lab and are ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 17025:2005). PGE analysis was performed using a 30 grams fire assay with an ICP-MS or ICP-AES finish. Multi-element analyses, including copper and nickel were analysed by four acid digestion using 0.25 grams with an ICP-AES finish. Certified standards, blanks and crushed duplicates are placed in the sample stream at a rate of one QA/QC sample per 10 core samples. Results are analyzed for acceptance at the time of import. All standards associated with the results in this press release were determined to be acceptable within the defined limits of the standard used. Qualified Person The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Palladium One Palladium One Mining Inc. is an exploration company targeting district scale, platinum-group-element (PGE)-copper nickel deposits in Finland and Canada. Its flagship project is the Lantinen Koillismaa or LK Project, a palladium dominant platinum group element-copper-nickel project in north-central Finland, ranked by the Fraser Institute as one of the world's top countries for mineral exploration and development. Exploration at LK is focused on targeting disseminated sulfides along 38 kilometers of favorable basal contact and building on an established NI 43-101 open pit resource. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Derrick Weyrauch" President & CEO, Director For further information contact: Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO Email: info@palladiumoneinc.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to a few assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Statements regarding listing of the Company's common shares on the TSXV are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions and general business conditions. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those set out in the Company's annual information form dated April 29, 2020 and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77689 Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? The findings raises challenges for the Nepali government in relation to sex selective abortion. Credit: Dr Mahesh Puri Detailed new analysis published this week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open highlights significant concerns about a growing issue of sex-selective abortion of girls in Nepal. Drawing on census data from 2011 and follow-on survey data from 2016, the social scientists estimate that roughly one in 50 girl births were 'missing' from records (i.e. had been aborted) between 2006-11 (22,540 girl births in total). In the year before the census (June 2010June 2011) this had risen to one in 38. For certain areas of the country, the practice was more widespread. In Arghakhanchi, the most affected district, one in every six girl births were 'missing' in census data. In the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal's main urban center, around 115 boys are born for every 100 girls. Without sex selection we would expect only 105 boys born for every 100 girls. It has been widely acknowledged over many years that sons have been preferred to daughters in Nepal. Whereas boys are seen economic and social assets, in some parts of the country girls are more often regarded as a financial burden, requiring a dowry and leaving their family home upon marriage. However, it is only since abortion legislation in 2002 and the widespread availability of ultrasounds from 2004 onwards that there has been the potential to selectively abort female fetuses. There has been growing concerns about this practice over recent years, but to date little empirical research about the scale of the issue. Importantly, abortions due to the results of sex determination tests are both illegal and carry prison sentences in Nepal. But, the researchers writing in the BMJ-Open, suggest that these laws are not effectively enforced. It is estimated that more than half of abortions carried out in 2014 were illegal, so direct legislation only has limited scope to solve this issue. Deeper analysis by the team found that sex ratios were skewed, with women who were richer and more highly educated more likely to undertake sex selective abortion. They also found that, in districts where more sex-selection occurred, girls were more likely than boys to die by age five, indicating discrimination both before and after birth. Lead author, Dr. Melanie Channon from the University of Bath's Department of Social & Policy Sciences explained: "As fertility falls and urbanization increases, there is more access to prenatal sex identification technology in Nepal. Our study shows some of the impact this has had over recent years, and we expect there will be a 'trickle-down' of ability to select the sex of a baby from the wealthiest and most educated as the technology becomes more widely available and more affordable. Put simple and starkly, without concerted effort, there will be an increase in sex-selective abortions in Nepal. "It is important to stress that the solution to this growing issue is not to ban abortion or ultrasound tests during pregnancy. Many lives have beenand continue to besaved by these policies. The only lasting solution is to dismantle the deeply rooted gender inequity found across the country in order that people no longer wish to selectively abort female fetuses. The government in Nepal needs to take a lead on this, combining media campaigns with legal and political measures which address the issue of gender equity across a range of themes in the country." Second author of the paper Dr. Mahesh Puri from the Center for Research Environment Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) in Nepal, added: "In view of the easy accessibility to prenatal sex-determination technologies, religious and socio-economic values given to sons, coupled with lack of focussed policy and program to address gender inequality and weak enforcement of law relating to sex determination tests, the practice of sex selective abortion could further increase in the future. "Targeted interventions to enable gender equality, increase value of girls, as well as social and economic incentives for vulnerable girls, such as conditional cash transfer schemes and effective enforcement of the law would be required." The team behind the report urge the Nepali government to recognize this issue and adapt a multi-sectoral national strategy to combat it. Explore further India has 21 million 'unwanted' girls More information: Melanie Dawn Channon et al, Prevalence and correlates of sex-selective abortions and missing girls in Nepal: evidence from the 2011 Population Census and 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, BMJ Open (2021). Journal information: BMJ Open Melanie Dawn Channon et al, Prevalence and correlates of sex-selective abortions and missing girls in Nepal: evidence from the 2011 Population Census and 2016 Demographic and Health Survey,(2021). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042542 Spain had legalised euthanasia, becoming the fourth country in Europe to do so. Parliament voted 202 in favour, 141 against with two abstentions to pass the law on Thursday, after public pressure drove prime minister Pedro Sanchez to vow reform. Spain now joins Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg in fully decriminalizing the procedure. Switzerland permits some forms of assisted suicide. Canada is the only country outside of Europe to have a law allowing euthanasia. Spain has passed a bill that will legalise euthanasia, making it the fourth country in Europe to pass such a bill (pictured, people celebrate after the vote passed) Support for Spain's law had garnered huge support following several high-profile cases including that of Ramon Sampedro, a fisherman and writer who became paralysed from the neck down after hitting his head while diving. He campaigned for the right to end his life for 29 years, before eventually dying from potassium cyanide poisoning in 1998. Sampedro, who was unable to kill himself due to his disability, was forced to devise an intricate method of suicide that involved multiple steps each carried out by a different person so that no one individual could be blamed for his death. Ramona Maneiro, his close friend, was arrested shortly after his death and charged with assisting his suicide, but eventually released due to a lack of evidence. Speaking out in 2008, when the statute of limitations on the charge had expired, Maneiro admitted giving Sampedero a drink laced with cyanide and a straw to drink it with, saying she did it 'out of love'. Portugal's parliament passed a similar law in January, it was blocked this week by the Constitutional Court. 'Today we have become a country that is more humane, fairer and freer. The euthanasia law, widely demanded by society, has finally become a reality,' Sanchez tweeted just minutes after the vote. 'Thanks to all the people who have fought tirelessly for the right to die with dignity to be recognised in Spain.' It comes after high-profile cases including that of Ramon Sampedro, a fisherman who paralysed himself from the next down while diving and campaigned for decades to end his life (pictured with friend Ramona Maneiro who helped him end his life in 1998 and was arrested) The Spanish legislation will permit euthanasia in which medical staff intentionally end a life to relieve suffering, and assisted suicide in which it is the patient who carries out the procedure. Various other countries permit assisted suicide as well as 'passive euthanasia' in which life-saving medical treatment is halted. Maneiro hailed the move as a victory 'for those who can benefit from it' and 'for Ramon'. Backed by leftwing and centrist parties, the legislation allows anyone with a 'serious or incurable illness' or a 'chronic or incapacitating' condition to request help dying, thereby avoiding 'intolerable suffering'. But the patient must be a Spanish national or a legal resident and must be 'fully aware and conscious' when they make the request, which must be submitted twice in writing, 15 days apart. A doctor can reject the request if the requirements have not been met, and it must also be approved by a second medic and by an evaluation body. Any medic can withdraw on grounds of 'conscience' from taking part in the procedure that would be available through Spain's national health service. The move has been hailed by patients and right-to-die campaigners. 'It doesn't make any sense that people... would choose to live an undignified life,' said Sofia Malagon, 60, who has Parkinson's and worries what will happen if she gets dementia. Parliament voted 202 to 141 to approve the bill, with two abstentions, though opponents said they would appeal the vote to the constitutional court But the move has been roundly rejected by the Catholic Church and Spain's right and far-right opposition, and some medics have raised questions about its implementation. Euthanasia 'is always a form of murder since it involves one man causing the death of another,' said the Episcopal Conference that groups Spain's leading bishops. 'Life cannot be left in the hands of the authorities,' said Lourdes Mendez Monasterio, an MP for the far-right Vox party which has vowed to appeal to the Constitutional Court. 'We will not rest until ensuring that at the end of life, a person can die with dignity without pain and without being killed,' she told the chamber. Another high-profile assisted suicide case in Spain was that of Luis Montes, an anaesthetist accused of causing the deaths of 73 terminal patients at a Madrid hospital. A court dropped the case against him in 2007. More recently, pensioner Angel Hernandez was arrested in 2019 and is awaiting trial for helping his wife end her life after decades suffering from multiple sclerosis. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:35:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Yoo Seungki SEOUL, March 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a "two-plus-two" meeting with their South Korean counterparts here on Thursday, attempting to solidify a trilateral security cooperation with their Asian allies, South Korea and Japan. The meeting, the first held in about four and a half years since October 2016, came after Washington's "two-plus-two" meeting with Tokyo, during the first cabinet-level overseas trip by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration members. Reflecting Biden's diplomacy, the joint statement, announced after the meeting in Seoul, said Blinken and Austin, and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook affirmed the importance of South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation. They pledged to continue promoting mutually-beneficial, "forward-looking" cooperation to promote peace, security and prosperity in the region. However, there are obstacles to the trilateral cooperation because of the underlying historical issues dating back to Japan's colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The historical grievance came to the forefront again in 2018 when the South Korean top court ordered some Japanese firms to pay reparations to South Korean victims who were duped or forced into harsh labor without pay during World War II. By the late 1930s, a militarist Japan began to force people on the Korean Peninsula to work in factories and mines or enlist them as soldiers in preparation for the Pacific War. Hundreds of thousands of Asian women, mostly those from the peninsula, were kidnapped, coerced or duped into sex slavery for Japanese military brothels during the war. The court order triggered a trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, leading Japan to tighten control over its exports to South Korea of three materials in July 2019. The materials are vital to making memory chips and display panels, the mainstay of South Korean exports. In the following month, the two Asian nations removed each other from their respective whitelists of trusted trading partners. Citing the export curbs, South Korea decided in August 2019 to terminate its military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, called the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) that was signed in November 2016 to share military intelligence on nuclear and missile programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The GSOMIA was considered key to the trilateral security cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. South Korea eventually suspended the GSOMIA termination on the back of what some of South Korean media estimated to be pressure from the United States. "Military cooperation between South Korea and Japan is only an ideal," Kim Jong-dae, a visiting professor at Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul, said in his contribution to the East Asia Foundation. "South Koreans will not support trilateral military cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan," said the former lawmaker of the minor progressive Justice Party who referred to the Seoul-Tokyo territorial dispute over the Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan. Japan's territorial claims over the islets have angered South Koreans as they are seen as Tokyo's denial of atrocities committed by Imperial Japan during the colonial era. In January this year, a South Korean district court ruled that Japan should pay reparations to the South Korean sex slavery victims for the first time, leading to Japan's protest against it and worsening the already frayed bilateral ties. Japan claimed that the 1965 treaty, which normalized diplomatic ties between Seoul and Tokyo, resolved all colonial-era issues, but South Korea said the individual right to damages had yet to be resolved. Enditem An Irvinestown man who harassed his ex-partner after their relationship ended, was able to obtain her new phone number, shift patterns and other details from her workplace, after claims were made the information was required by police. Nathan McDonagh (21) from Kesh Road admitted pursuing a course of conduct amounting to the harassment of the victim on dates between April 3 and 17 last year. Omagh Magistrates Court heard she attended with police to report and excessive number of calls to her phone from a withheld number. Enquiries confirmed these were averaging 45 calls per day and the victim believed they were from McDonagh, having answered several times and recognised his voice. On these occasions she asked him to refrain from contacting her, but he continued to do so. She then changed her mobile phone number to prevent further harassment, but it transpired her workplace had received a call from a male purporting to be a police officer. Claiming to be a Constable Fox, requests were made for the victims new contact details and shift pattern. These details were provided in the belief the request was genuinely from a police officer. McDonagh was arrested on April 18, 2020, and a mobile phone was seized. A page containing written notes was recovered from his person during a search. These contained information relating to the victim, including her shift pattern, vehicle details, home address and new phone number which she had only obtained the previous day. The note also contained the line: Constable Fox from Enniskillen Police and a reference number which doesnt exist on PSNI computer systems. It was established no police officer with the name Fox was responsible for contacting the victims workplace. McDonaghs phone number was found to have been used to make the repeated calls. The victim also advised police on June 24, 2020, while driving toward Trillick, when she saw a white Transit van on the opposite side of the road and recognised McDonagh at the wheel. The van turned, caught up with her and drove closely behind her car for about two miles. During interview, McDonagh made no admissions and declined to account for the information found on the note. He was originally also charged with impersonating a police officer, but this was withdrawn on the basis harassment was accepted and the facts would reflect the call from the fictitious Constable Fox. A defending barrister told the court: It is quite clear there was an inability to let go of a relationship that had come to an end My client now accepts it is over. There has been no contact at all since the arrest. Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers told McDonagh: When I heard the facts it was my instinct only immediate custody would address the seriousness of this offending. I hope you understand just how close youve come to that. These matters were aggravated by the fact they went on for some time and obviously upset the victim considerably. The suggestion of enquiries coming from police is a very unsettling aspect. She imposed a three month prison, term suspended for two years. McDonagh was also placed under Restraining Order for the same duration, banning contact by any means with the victim. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A Senate bill aimed at ensuring Indianas public schools receive full funding for all students during the coronavirus pandemic is headed to the governor after lawmakers fast-tracked its passage Tuesday. The bill redefines what constitutes a virtual student and ensures schools receive full funding for all students, regardless of whether they are receiving instruction virtually or in the classroom due to the coronavirus pandemic. A twice-yearly count of students attending schools is used to determine how much money the state allots to each facility. According to the Senate bill, students will not be counted as virtual in the most recent fall and spring counts, even if most or all of their learning takes place online. Without that change, an estimated $160 million would be on the line for schools using hybrid formats or offering instruction online only as a means to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19. Current state law caps per-pupil funding for students who take at least half their classes virtually at 85% of full in-person student funding. The proposal prompted criticism from virtual learning supporters who questioned why the 85% rule exists at all, noting that the legislation exempts regularly fulltime virtual schools. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ryan Mishler additionally argued that the bill encourages kids to stay home and receive virtual education, which he said causes them to fall behind. Most Indiana schools offered both in-person and online options this school year, though some have gone fully virtual at times during periods of peak coronavirus spread. Still, the bill is a temporary fixes because they would expire at the end of the spring 2021 semester. While Democratic lawmakers requested extensions in addition to language that would always exempt brick-and-mortar schools from the 85% reduction in funding Rep. Tim Brown, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said lawmakers would wait to make decisions about future school funding until after larger state budget models are discussed. State officials in September approved a similar method to maintain full funding for school districts during the fall semester. Legislators are now the ones tasked with finding a funding solution for the second half of the academic year. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb is expected to sign the legislation. He has maintained that hes committed to not cutting education funding even as other state agencies have reduced budgets. He also promised school leaders last summer they would receive 100% of state funding for each of their students, no matter how they receive their instruction. ___ Casey Smith is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The authorities of 21 American states have filed a lawsuit against the administration of President Joe Biden they demand to cancel the decision to stop the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the United States. The statement of claim was filed with the federal district court for the Southern District of Texas, according to its electronic database, TASS reported. Biden signed at least 15 decrees since taking office in January. Among them was an order to cancel the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The plaintiffs insist that the new American leader exceeded his authority when he made the decision. They demand that the corresponding decree be declared unconstitutional and canceled. The initiators of the filing of the claim are the Attorneys General of the states of Texas and Montana. They noted that due to the cancellation of the pipeline construction, at least 12,000 people in the states of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas will not be able to get jobs. The governments of many states will be deprived of potential profits. According to the plaintiffs, the question of the construction of Keystone XL should have been agreed with the US Congress. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has earlier said that Ottawa is disappointed with Biden's decision regarding Keystone XL. The pipeline was supposed to allow delivering more than 800 thousand barrels of oil per day from Canada to refineries in the American states of Texas and Louisiana. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says the number of vaccines being given to states and territories is being ramped up as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the state would not complete the rollout in time without more doses. About 150,000 doses will be given to the states next week, while another 150,000 will be distributed through GP clinics and Commonwealth clinics as the country prepares to start vaccinating the six million people included in phase 1b of the rollout. Mr Hunt released the list of Commonwealth-run respiratory clinics on Thursday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The state allocation is up from the almost 50,000 doses states and territories received in week two of the rollout, and the roughly 140,000 those jurisdictions got this week. Bookings for the 100 Commonwealth respiratory clinics open on Friday, and doses have already been delivered to 870 general practices and respiratory clinics. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Kevin Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of GR0 Miller has found it imperative to attempt to provide content that Google can insert into its People Always Ask results. Co-Founder and CEO of Los Angeles digital marketing agency GR0, Kevin Miller, has just released his newest guide in digital brand building in 2021, this time focusing on SEO and effective content strategies. He breaks down what licensed tools can provide for you and your agency, and which ones offer the most bang for their buck, allowing you to automate processes and extract the most value out of every piece of content. With these helpful tips and tools, you too will find yourself improving your Google ratings and establishing yourself as a trustworthy source of information on the web. Firstly, Miller recommends conducting extensive keyword research using Ahrefs.com, which is an extremely comprehensive SEO toolset. This keywords explorer includes a database with over 7 billion unique keywords based on ten different search engines, including places like Amazon and YouTube. Not only that, but their tools also provide you with metrics regarding how many clicks you get, and breakdowns for return rates, percentages of paid clicks, and more. By using this tool, you can crucially identify keywords not only based on their search volume, but also with information about how difficult it might be to rank yourself within that keyword. This comprehensive package gives you the information to work smarter not harder, as well as get the most out of your efforts. Secondly, in his time at GR0, Miller has found it imperative to attempt to provide content that Google can insert into its People Always Ask results. These are Google-featured results that are designed to predict what else a user might want to know, and so it inserts a trustworthy source amongst their search results and even clips out a section of your article to embed right in the page. By working to build outlines on your pages that are detailed and thorough, Google may surface your page and offer keyword rankings based on the natural value of your information and not just your ad spend. Next, while building and evaluating content on your own is an important means to crafting a message, you can get a lot of value by utilizing a content grading system. These systems work to evaluate the content youve generated and monitor it for readability and SEO by highlighting and suggesting relevant terms. It also suggests how your content will compare to other articles in the same category. Primarily, Miller found value in both Clearscope and MarketMuse, the former offering great insight into the construction and language of the content itself, while the latter excels at offering difficulty scores and comparing your brand to its peers. In continuing to improve SEO for his clients, Miller has also found it immensely important to utilize a system to evaluate your content briefs like Content Harmony. This software utilizes data and online search results to analyze your briefs for search volume, SEO difficulties, and the length of content to help your writing team compose the most valuable drafts. While these are all things that your agency can do on its own, the value Content Harmony offers in automating these systems is immense, and it can help streamline your content pipeline to offer consistency and stability to it. Nothing is more important to your SEO than using links, but its important to use them intelligently and not over do it. In his experiences writing, Miller has found that the ideal number of internal links to be four to five per article, and that it is imperative that these feel natural. Google may detect if your backlinks are haphazardly stuffed into a body text and reject them, so ensure that these links flow well within your narrative. Additionally, providing verifiable information requires links to external sources, of which Miller recommends three to four of per article. As long as the information is cited properly, you will increase your own credibility by offering accurate information, even if it isnt originally produced by yourself. Finally, to keep in line with Google requirements you should be sure to include an Author Box on your article, which simply includes the authors name, photo, and a bit of information about them. This works to help you meet Googles standards as a source of information with E.A.T; Expertise, Authority, and Trust. In pulling for search results and other placements like People Also Ask and Snippets Google makes sure that it is providing users with the highest quality information, so if you want that to include yourself, you need to build your own online identity as a trusty source. If youre just starting out and want to have the maximum impact, you can also have your blog fact checked by an expert and include information about them in the article, to borrow some of their credibility and transfer it onto yourself. Developing a content strategy with SEO in mind is no easy feat, and there are a lot of different aspects that require planning and attention. By utilizing a keyword tool like Ahrefs, you can find which keywords will offer you the most value and which you can rank the highest within to find your proper mark. Then, you can optimize the brief for your content team using software like Content Harmony, which prepares briefs with SEO in mind and even offers suggestions on length to get the most out of your first draft. With that, you can optimize your articles using Clearscope and MarketMuse to properly place and site your targeted keywords and provide content that will appeal to a broad audience. Having all of that prepared, you can manually dress the article up by inserting properly sourced links, citations, and an author box to help establish credibility and land yourself in Googles People Also Ask section as a verified source. These steps work together to provide content that not only engages readers, but helps your brand gain recognition through increased search engine results and more prominent placement without solely relying on ad spends. Additional information on GR0 is available at https://gr0.com/, or on Instagram at @gr0agency, Twitter, and Facebook. Who Was Joseph of Arimathea? The Bible has a way of repeating itself. All of Scripture is worthy of deep study and meditation, and the reader should take special note of everything in it. There are no wasted words in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) each have accounts of the life of Jesus while He wore flesh on earth. The four Gospels dont share all the same reports, but Joseph of Arimathea and his role related to the burial of Jesus is mentioned in each. What does the Bible have to say about Joseph of Arimathea? He is described as: -From the Jewish town of Arimathea (Luke 23:50). Arimathea is said to have been located about 20 miles Northwest of Jerusalem. The name, Arimathea, means heights. Joseph was (and is) a common name. Without a last name, people who had common names were given an identifier such Joseph (of Arimathea) had. -A rich man (Matthew 27:57) A rich man in that day would have had wealth and means far above the common or middle-class person. -A disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:57, John 19:38). A disciple is defined as one who is a follower, a believer in the principles of another. As such, Joseph would have intimate knowledge of much Jesus taught. He would have believed in Him as he spent time with Him. -A man who feared the Jews (John 19:38). The ruling body of the Jews sought to kill Jesus (John 7:1). After the crucifixion, however, the disciples were persecuted by the Jews (on Jesus behalf). To have been aligned with Jesus would have been cause for fear. -A respected member of the Council (Mark 15:23, Luke 23:50). The Council was that of the Sanhedrin, who acted as the religious ruling body for the Jews. They also maintained civilian and criminal dominion over the Jews. Because Joseph was a respected member, he was given access to Pilate due to the charges made by the Jews, that Jesus claimed to be King of the Jews, which would seek to supersede Caesars rule. -Looking for the kingdom of God (Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51). As a disciple of Jesus, Joseph would be familiar with the Lords teaching on the kingdom. -A good and righteous man (Luke 23:50). To be described as righteous in Scripture is high commendation, putting Joseph of Arimathea in the company of Abraham (Romans 4:3), Job (Job 1:1, where his description of being blameless and upright are tantamount to being righteous), and Noah, (Genesis 6:9). Thats a formidable group in which to be included. Get your FREE Easter Guide here. Have encouragement delivered straight to your inbox! What Was He Known for in the Bible? Joseph of Arimathea came in the evening of the day of Jesuss crucifixion and deaththe day of Preparation, which was the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42-43). He served as a respected member of the Sanhedrin, and yet was a secret disciple of Christ, for he feared the Jews (He hadnt consented to the religious leaders decision or action with what the council wanted to do about Jesus). Joseph bolstered his courage (Mark 15:43), asked Pilate for, and received the body of Jesus after He died on the cross (Matthew 27:58 Mark 15:43, Luke 23:52, John 19:38). What greeted Joseph and Nicodemus at the cross would probably cause even the staunchest heart to falter. Isaiah describes Jesus as having an appearance so disfigured as to not even look like a manhis form not even resembling a human being (Isaiah 52:14 CSB). Disciples grow to know and love their teacher. Its hard not to imagine their horror at the sight of their Master, the One who explained their longed-for kingdom of God. After Joseph and Nicodemus took down the body of Jesus from the cross, they covered it in a clean linen shroud and anointed the body with 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, as is the burial custom of the Jews (John 19:39). To remove one from such a form of crucifixion, a man had to climb up behind the cross and get the nails out that affixed the crucified person to his cross. Illustrations show a long piece of cloth used to gently lower the body of the corpse to the ground. The Lord had not been dead so long that the blood would have dried, so these two men would have been in contact with His fresh blood. The two men placed Jesus body in a new tomb owned and cut by Joseph himself (Matthew 27:57) and then rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away (Matthew 27:60, Mark 15:46). Do We Know What Happened to Him after Easter? There is nothing mentioned in the Bible about Joseph of Arimathea after the account given in the Gospels about his actions following Jesus crucifixion and death. Legend has him becoming the first Christian missionary to Britain and, according to the BBC, he carried the Holy Grail there and founded the Glastonbury Abbey. The only reliable, documented accounts of Joseph of Arimathea are found in the Bible, and Joseph would probably agree, that is enough. Why Is Joseph of Arimathea Important for Easter? Joseph of Arimathea is important for this holy day because of his reverence for Jesuseven for His body after death. Jesus was not left to hang dead on the cross nor be thrown into a pit with all the criminals. Joseph belied Jewish beliefs about the unclean nature of a corpse when he and Nicodemus touched Jesus dead body. Also, his stature as a rich man enabled him to wrap Jesus corpse in the traditional long strips of clean linen treated with a mixture of spices. Had the body been left to the Romans (slaves of the empire, rather) to dispose, it would have been left to the elements and animals to clean up the remains. It then would have been tossed into the valley of Hinnom along with those bodies the people of the day considered rabble. A dusting of lime was thrown over the piles to keep the smell at bay. This, the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, was used in Old Testament times as a place of defilement, where people did detestable things (2 Chronicles 33:6, Jeremiah 7:31). During the time of Jesus, it was called Gehenna, which is likenedbut not in the literal senseto the word, hell. Joseph of Arimathea, along with Nicodemus, showed (and modeled) utmost respect for and worship of the Lord with what they did and how they treated His body. Another important fact about Joseph was he was part of how God fulfilled prophecy (Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:25-28). Jesus would not see corruption (the word used for corruption here means the pit, or ditch, grave). Joseph saw to it that Jesus body was kept as pristine as possible and, together with Nicodemus, laid him in his own unused tomb. Joseph then rolled the large stone over the front of the tomb, ensuring no man or animal could enter it and defile his body. Matthew 27:62-66 recounts the narrative of how the Jewish religious leaders went before Pilate and reminded him of what Jesus said, that He would rise after the third day. They asked that the tomb be sealed and guarded. The seal was a soft, moldable substance, probably clay, that was imprinted with the Roman imperial seal and attached to the stone with a rope. Breaking the seal would incur the Empires wrath if someone could get past the guards (Ligonier Ministries). As we know, the only way in (or out) was through a supernatural act of God, and two of His angels were there to greet Mary the next morning John 20:1-18). While there is not much written in the Bible about Joseph of Arimathea, what he did speaks volumes. Photo credit: GettyImages/LindaJohnsonbaugh Lisa Loraine Baker is a rock & roll girl who loves Jesus. She and her husband, Stephen, inhabit their home as the Newlyweds of Minerva with crazy cat, Lewis. Lisa is co-author of the non-fiction narrative, Someplace to be Somebody (End Game Press, spring 2022). She has also written for Lighthouse Bible Studies, and CBN.com, Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Figure 1. Adjusted Mean Number of Completed Primary Care Quarterly Visits. Credit: Nwadiuko et al., JAMA Network Open, 2021. The 2016 presidential campaign saw a dramatic rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric. The sudden, high-profile change was associated with a substantial decline in utilization of health care services by undocumented adults and their children. That's the takeaway message from a new study in JAMA Network Open by former LDI associate fellow Joseph Nwadiuko and colleagues. The authors compared primary care visits, emergency department use, and inpatient discharges from 2014 through 2017 for more than 20,000 patients in the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS), drawing from The Access Partnership (TAP) program. TAP cares for low-income patients who are ineligible for Medicaid, in large part due to immigration status92% of TAP participants are undocumented. The authors compared utilization and outcomes to Medicaid patients in eight Medicaid plans in Maryland. From the announcement of Donald Trump's candidacy in June 2015 through May 2018, there was a 43.3% relative decrease in primary care visits for undocumented children and a 34.5% relative decline in undocumented adult primary care visits. Emergency department use increased for undocumented children, and there was a relative decrease in hospitalizations among undocumented adults. The decreases stabilizedbut did not reversein the fall of 2016, suggesting a bottoming out of the effect. However, the authors note that no-show rates continued to fall after 2016, suggesting the chilling effect may have continued in other ways. This study aligns with similar research from Illinois in Houston and builds a case that sustained anti-immigrant rhetoric may have raised fear of discrimination and deportation when encountering health care systems. Notably, undocumented persons have high rates of posttraumatic stress, which often presents as hypervigilance. Furthermore, the lack of changes in use by Hispanic and Latinos patients with documentation suggests the effect is specific to the undocumented population. Explore further Immigrant statements in Trump's presidential campaign linked to US Latinos feeling unsafe More information: Joseph Nwadiuko et al. Changes in Health Care Use Among Undocumented Patients, 2014-2018, JAMA Network Open (2021). Journal information: JAMA Network Open Joseph Nwadiuko et al. Changes in Health Care Use Among Undocumented Patients, 2014-2018,(2021). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0763 LONDON (dpa-AFX) - PPL Corp. (PPL) announced Thursday that it has entered into definitive agreements to sell its U.K. utility business, Western Power Distribution or WPD, to National Grid plc (NG.L, NGG) for 7.8 billion pounds. The all-cash transaction is valued at 14.4 billion pounds, including the assumption of approximately 6.6 billion pounds of debt. The company expects the U.K. sale to result in net cash proceeds of approximately $10.2 billion. In a separate deal, PPL would acquire National Grid's Rhode Island utility business, Narragansett Electric Co., for $3.8 billion. The transaction is valued at $5.3 billion, including the assumption of approximately $1.5 billion of Narragansett Electric debt. The company plans to use a portion of the proceeds from the sale of WPD to finance this acquisition. The deals are expected to strategically reposition PPL as a high-growth, U.S.-focused energy company, strengthening its balance sheet and supporting long-term earnings growth. PPL expects U.K. sale to close within four months and U.S. acquisition to close within a year. PPL in August last year had announced plans to sell WPD, which comprises four distribution network operators serving 7.9 million customers in central and southwest England and south Wales. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:57:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) on Thursday arrested six al-Shabab militants in an offensive in Lower Shabelle, Somalia's southern region, a military officer confirmed. The army conducted the operation in villages in the region including Busley, Warta Mursal and Harbiga, and captured a number of militants, said Ali Abdullahi Halac, commander of SNA's 64th Unit division. "During the operation, we apprehended six al-Shabab militants with their weapons and we destroyed bases used by the militants in the region," Halac told journalists. He added the army will maintain the operations against al-Shabab cells in the region. The latest incident came amid sustained operations by government forces against al-Shabab in southern regions where the militants are still holding swathes of rural areas, conducting ambushes, and planting landmines. Enditem Scott Stafford has been a reporter, photographer, and editor at a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News and The Berkshire Eagle. Scott can be reached at sstafford@berkshireeagle.com, or at 413-496-6301 and on Twitter at @BE_SStafford. The Baker administration is easing its COVID-19 travel restrictions, replacing its order with a travel advisory starting Monday. The travel advisory encourages, not requires, that residents entering or returning to Massachusetts quarantine for 10 days if they have been out of the state for 24 hours or more, according to a news release. The Baker administrations order exempts travelers who tested negative for COVID-19 up to three days before entering the Bay State and travelers who were fully vaccinated at least two weeks ago, as well as workers who commute into the state or leave the state for work. The latest travel guidance comes as Massachusetts moves into Phase 4 of its reopening plan, allowing Fenway Park to reopen to some fans in time for Opening Day. Stadiums and other large venues can reopen at 12% capacity limit after submitting a plan to the state Department of Public Health. In addition to stadiums, overnight camps and dance floors at weddings can resume starting Monday. Other sectors of the economy, such as bars, breweries, wineries, distilleries and saunas, must remain home. Amusement parks, theme parks, steam rooms, overnight camps and wineries or breweries that were not already selling food are allowed to reopen under Phase 4, according to the states reopening plan. Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, praised the move to Phase 4. Whether you are planning a delayed wedding, hoping to attend a Red Sox game, planning to travel in the region or looking forward to visits to your favorite stores and restaurants, we can all be encouraged about how far we have come in recent weeks, Hurst said in a statement. The narrative has changed for all of us from one of pessimism to hope, and that bodes well for our economy in the coming months. The state will also relax gathering limits for public events, allowing up to 100 people indoors and 150 people outdoors at a time. Events in private homes and backyards are restricted to 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors, according to the Baker administration. When Gov. Charlie Baker announced plans to move to Phase 4, he cited drops in COVID-19 hospitalization numbers. Bakers plans to move forward with reopening has drawn criticism from public health advocates, who call on the governor to hold off on starting Phase 4. Moving to the next stage of reopening before sufficient numbers of people have been vaccinated is both premature and reckless, said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. We implore the governor to be patient and to prevent more avoidable illness and loss of life by delaying any changes related to indoor venues for a minimum of four weeks. The MPHA and the Task Force on Coronavirus & Equity urged Baker in an open letter to pause the reopening plans, citing the risk of COVID-19 variants and the impact community spread could have on Black and brown workers. Instead, local public health officials and advocates urged state officials to prioritize opening schools rather than indoor venues. AxiomSL RegCloud Platform Delivers Comprehensive Approach to Country-Specific Regulatory Reporting Requirements for Region's Largest Retail Bank LONDON, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AxiomSL, the industry's leading provider of risk and regulatory reporting solutions, today announced that it has been selected by Nordea Bank, the leading Nordic universal bank, to support the bank's risk and regulatory reporting requirements in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Nordea Bank will implement AxiomSL's RegCloud, a fully managed, cloud-based risk and regulatory reporting platform used by financial institutions to source, enrich, calculate, and reconcile large volumes of disparate data to comply with complex and evolving regulatory requirements. Nordea will be able to map their data once and comply with FINREP, COREP, AnaCredit, and Securities Holdings Statistics Group (SHSG) reporting requirements by leveraging the platform's adaptable data-dictionary and end-to-end automated processes. In addition, RegCloud will aggregate multiple data sources and rapidly process massive data volumes while delivering trusted information to meet regulatory mandates across the European Banking Authority (EBA) and National Central Bank (NCB). Part of Nordea's RegTech project initiative was to transform its legacy regulatory reporting processes; AxiomSL will help the bank re-architect and future-proof its risk and regulatory systems to drive down efficiency ratios and achieve performance, reliability, and compliance outcomes. Nick Livingstone, Head of Financial Reporting and Control, Nordea Bank, stated: "Earning our customers' trust and fulfilling our commitment to them is always a priority. Therefore, investing in a reliable, secure, and transparent regulatory platform that is constantly updated is paramount. With RegCloud, we can extend collaboration on rapidly changing regulatory initiatives across the enterprise and achieve operational efficiencies a critical element for bolstering business continuity during turbulent times. Working as a team with AxiomSL has been a very positive experience and our goal is to ensure we continue developing this relationship". "It is an immense pleasure to have Nordea on board with us," stated Claudia Thurner, AxiomSL's Chief Revenue Officer. "We are excited to partner with this progressive bank as it innovates to achieve its operational objectives" Thurner added. "I am confident that this strategic RegCloud implementation will accelerate Nordea's time to market, reduce implementation costs, and insulate the bank against both technology and regulatory change. We look forward to contributing to Nordea's successful regulatory reporting outcomes and continued growth". RegCloud ControllerView in the cloud is a highly secure platform that enables financial firms to harness the power of the cloud and future-proof their risk and regulatory compliance. Fully managed, it quickly addresses all regulatory-driven changes, including technology and software updates, enabling on-time regulatory compliance across jurisdictions. Armed with confidence in the platform's powerful monitoring and analytic dashboards, drill-down transparency, and operational support, financial firms can focus on business goals and achieve total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits for the enterprise. About AxiomSL AxiomSL, a leading global provider of solutions and managed services, delivers efficient risk and regulatory data-management and reporting outcomes for financial institutions. Clients leverage AxiomSL's solutions across financial, liquidity, capital and credit, shareholding disclosure, trade and transaction, and tax mandates. Its single, fully managed, audit-empowered offering, RegCloud AxiomSL's ControllerView platform in the cloud, futureproofs clients against technology and regulatory change. AxiomSL's client base spans national, regional, and global financial institutions. These comprise banks with $45 trillion in total assets including 80% of G-SIBs; investment managers with $13 trillion in assets under management; and 30% of the top 60 US broker-dealers representing $44 billion in shareholder equity. It covers 110 regulators across 50 jurisdictions. AxiomSL ranks in the top 20 of the Chartis RiskTech100. Website: https://www.axiomsl.com About Nordea Bank Nordea is the largest financial services group in the Nordic region and one of the biggest banks in Europe. We want to make a real difference - for our customers and for the communities in which we operate - by sharing our broad expertise based on 200 years in the banking business. We are a full-service universal bank and the third largest corporation in the Nordic region and one of the top 10 financial services companies in Europe based on market capitalisation. We are present in 17 countries, including our four Nordic home markets which together constitute the 10th largest economy in the world. As demand for digital services increases, we're continuously working to become your future digital bank by improving the products and services we offer, such as new online banking platforms, mobile payments and analytics tools, to name a few. The shares of Nordea Bank AB (publ) are traded on the Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen stock exchanges. Website: https://www.nordea.com/en/ Press contacts: Shamira Alidina Media Relations Director, Dina Communications Tel +44 (0) 7801 590718 Email: [email protected] Francine Gittins Global Head of Marketing and Communications, AxiomSL Tel: +1 212 248 4188 Email: [email protected] Related Links https://www.axiomsl.com SOURCE AxiomSL NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Streambank (www.HilcoStreambank.com) announced that it is seeking offers to acquire the intellectual property and other personal property assets, including postquantum cybersecurity encryption software and patent portfolio, of Secure Channels Inc. (www.SecureChannels.com). A sale of the assets of Secure Channels is being conducted by CHOL Inc., as secured lender, pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Bids are due on April 8, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (U.S.), and a public auction will be held on April 14, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (U.S.). Secure Channels offers data encryption, cryptographic protocols, access control, privileged access and user authentication technologies in the form of licensable tools, end-user platforms and purpose-built solutions. It provides software and application developers, hardware OEM and device manufacturers, and enterprise organizations with risk reduction and operational performance benefits. This allows them to replace, augment, or introduce new cryptography into their products or environments, providing material and measurable cybersecurity protections, risk reduction and data breach mitigation. "The post-quantum cryptography market is on the rise as computer software ramps up in an effort to withstand the threats of public-key cryptography by quantum computers," remarked Hilco Streambank CEO Gabe Fried. "Secure Channels designs lightweight encryption tools and platforms that offer software developers, hardware manufacturers and enterprise organizations more ways to leverage advanced encryption." Parties interested in learning more about the assets should visit www.hilcostreambank.com/SecureChannels, or contact the Hilco Streambank representatives identified below directly. The sale of the Property will be conducted on an "as is, where is" basis, without representations and warranties. Gabe Fried Chief Executive Officer [email protected] 617.458.9355 Richelle Kalnit Senior Vice President [email protected] 212.993.7214 About Hilco Streambank: Hilco Streambank is a market leading advisory firm specializing in intellectual property disposition and valuation. Having completed numerous transactions including sales in publicly reported Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, private transactions, and online sales through IPv4.Global, Hilco Streambank has established itself as the premier intermediary in the consumer brand, internet and telecom communities. Hilco Streambank is part of Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco Global, the world's leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization and advisory solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate and strategic capital equity investments. For media and Press: Gary C. Epstein EVP Chief Marketing Officer Hilco Global [email protected] 847-418-2712 SOURCE Hilco Streambank Related Links http://www.hilcostreambank.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A 21-year-old man from Queens has been arrested by police in connection with a crash nearly a year ago that claimed the life of a Staten Island husband and father. Galib Dervisevic, of 78th Street, faces charges that include criminally negligent homicide in the crash last March 23 at about 8:45 p.m. on the eastbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) near Queens Boulevard in Queens, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. Jesse McCalip, 35, of St. George, a beloved veterinary technician, was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens after responding officers found him unconscious behind the wheel of a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. He suffered severe body trauma in the crash, police said. Dervisevic also has been charged by police with reckless driving and speeding. The NYPD Highway Districts Collision Investigation Squad determined that McCalips car was stopped in the right lane near the shoulder of the eastbound BQE. Dervisevic was driving a 2017 Dodge Charger eastbound in the far right lane when McCalip attempted to merge his Hyundai into the far right lane, police said. The front end of the Dodge then hit the rear of the Hyundai, causing McCalips car to slide along the concrete wall on its passenger-side fender before rotating clockwise, police previously said. The Hyundai came to a rest facing west in the eastbound travel lanes. McCalip was pinned inside the vehicle and had to be extracted by FDNY personnel. Dervisevic remained at the scene and was not injured, according to police. At the time of his death, McCalip was three months away from earning a college degree and launching a new career fixing airplanes, according to family and friends. McCalip, also known by family and friends as Malcolm and Dolce, was on his way to work as a veterinarian technician at Elmhurst Animal Emergency Hospital in Queens at the time of the crash, his wife, Detonia McCalip, told the Advance/SILive.com last year. He worked full time and went to school, she said. He was always in good spirits. A former manager at the animal hospital said the entire staff was heart broken. He was like family, said Leslie Perez, who hired McCalip about 14 years before he died. Our clients loved him...when he was there, we didnt have to worry. US Lawmakers Voice Support for Sanctions on Chinese, Hong Kong Officials U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the State Departments decision to sanction 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijings continued clampdown on Hong Kongs freedoms. The timing of the announcement sends a clear signal that the U.S. government remains serious about holding the Chinese government accountable, said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), who lead the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, on March 17. We will continue to speak in defense of the Hong Kong people against the oppression of an authoritarian system. Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) announces markup for the impeachment resolution in Washington on Oct. 30, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the sanctions reflect Washingtons deep concern about Hong Kongs autonomy, after Chinas National Peoples Congress approved a draft plan earlier this month to change Hong Kongs electoral system. The planned changes to Hong Kongs electoral law give a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of Hong Kongs lawmakers. The move will reduce the proportion of those who are directly elected and ensures that only those determined to be truly loyal to Beijing are allowed to run for officeeffectively shutting opposition figures out of the political process. The plan has since drawn international criticism that it will further cement Beijings control over the territory by reducing Hong Kongs democratic representation. Among the 24 officials sanctioned are Wang Chen, a member of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) 25-person Politburo, the Chinese regimes top ruling group; and Tam Yiu-chung, the only delegate from Hong Kong sitting on the standing committee of the National Peoples Congress. The standing committee was responsible for drafting the CCPs draconians national security law, which has allowed the pro-Beijing Hong Kong government to intensify its crackdown on local activists and opposition figures. A total of 14 vice chairs of the standing committee were sanctioned, including Cao Jianming and Zhang Chunxian. Additionally, several officers from Hong Kongs National Security Division were sanctioned, including Li Wai-wah, a superintendent of the division. Edwin Lau, a deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force and the head of the division, also was sanctioned. The 24 officials joined 10 who were sanctioned in October 2020, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and Xia Baolong, who heads the State Councils Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. The latest sanctions represent an update to the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which was signed into law by former President Donald Trump in July last year. The law serves to punish individuals or companies responsible for restricting Hong Kongs freedoms, as well as banks that do business with them. Also on March 17, Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), the original co-sponsors of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, said the latest sanctions were a necessary step to support the freedoms of the Hong Kong people. The State Departments action under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act yesterday has put foreign financial institutions on notice. Should these institutions maintain relationships with the 24 officials named in the report, they too must face strong financial penalties from the United States, the senators stated. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) took to Twitter to say that the Biden administration should do more after sanctioning the 24 officials. Riot police detain a man as they raise a warning flag during a demonstration against the new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) In response to the sanctions, the Hong Kong government accused the United States of interfering in the citys affairs. In a daily briefing on March 17, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the sanctions were a grave interference in Chinas internal affairs. Zhao warned that China has taken necessary countermeasures. Chinas hawkish mouthpiece Global Times warned in an editorial published on March 17 that the United States will run up against a stone wall in bilateral talks if it refuses to change its attitude. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi and senior foreign policy diplomat Yang Jiechi in Anchorage on March 18. The meeting marks the first in-person meeting between top officials of the two countries since Biden took office. U.S. lawmakers have called on Blinken and Sullivan to be tough when they meet with the Chinese officials. BATON ROUGE, La., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives of Performance Contractors, Inc., a full-service industrial construction company, announced today that the company is opening a new regional office in Corpus Christi, Texas. The official opening date is set for March 29, 2021. The new regional office, located at 1599 N. Lexington Blvd., will be overseen by Vice Presidents Jason Williams and Chad Courville. The office will also serve as a workforce development evaluation center. Each employee will be evaluated, tested, and trained in his or her craft prior to stepping foot on a jobsite. "We are thrilled to establish a permanent presence in Corpus Christi," said Williams who previously served as a Business Development Manager for the company. "We've been doing business here for years and look forward to continued investment in the local communities and building strong relationships with new and existing customers in the Coastal Bend area." Performance Contractors, Inc. currently employs approximately 400 people in South Texas. The company has identified growing its team through local recruitment efforts as a top priority. "We are fostering relationships with local trade associations, Vo-Tech colleges and high schools, and military programs to provide craft training and job opportunities," said Courville. "This is especially important to our company as communities and families work to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. As an employee who has benefitted directly from training opportunities over the course of my career, being able to offer these opportunities to others is also of great importance to me personally." The company has several upcoming events planned to celebrate the grand opening of the Corpus Christi office. A company representative said more details will be shared in the coming weeks. About Performance Contractors Performance Contractors, Inc. was founded in December 1979 to provide the Gulf South with world-class industrial construction, pipe fabrication, turnaround and maintenance services. Performance has grown rapidly since then, now serving clients nationally with more than 7,000 employees across the country. Clients work with Performance because of its commitment to safety and excellence in all areas. Contact: Kelsey Amato Phone: 225-215-8248 Email: [email protected] www.performance-contractors.com SOURCE Performance Contractors, Inc. Related Links http://www.performance-contractors.com Commemorative quarters are special. Houston deserves its own. The U.S. Mint pressed dozens of commemorative quarters honoring sacred and beloved national historic sites throughout the country, a decade-long program that started in 2010 once the last of the state and territory quarters were minted. TRANSPO VIGILANTES: Houston cyclists paint bike lanes where the city won't The sites included places from each state, like Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico and (finally) the Tuskegee Airmen's site at Moton Field in Alabama the last of the series. Texas's honors went to the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, a 2019 quarter that features an homage to old Spanish colonial coins. San Antonio is a vibrant city with a rooted history and deserves to have this recognition. But can Houston get a shout-out sometime? The U.S. Mint is hushed about what plans are in the works for another quarter program. But it's easy to guess that a new program could come down the pipe soon. And when it does, Houston should be featured. You heard it here first. Here's what Houston places should be on the next series: Johnson Space Center Space City. Enough said. The Astrodome The Eighth Wonder of the World deserves the George Washington treatment. Food! Houston is a world-renowned food town. It's time we got recognized for it. Katy Freeway The Katy Freeway's 26 lanes is an homage to our love of the automobile, oil and gas (it might be time for a breakup). Screwed Up Records & Tapes So the world can know DJ Screw and his mark on the music industry, as well as Houston's deep roots in rap and hip hop. What did I miss? Let me know on Twitter: @JayRJordan. 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. Now that we are allowed to meet one person for a picnic, the empty spaces in our diaries are starting to fill: chats on park benches, coffee catch-ups beneath the cherry blossom and from March 29, groups of six can meet outside too. As well as an opportunity to dust off our rusty conversational skills, its also a chance to wear something more exciting. Suddenly, repeat-wearing our favourite outfit is no longer an option. So, what makes a great alfresco look? Jumpsuits or trousers, or a midi/maxi hemline are wise, so you dont have to worry about flashing your knickers when sitting on the grass. Pictured left: Jacket, 155, reiss.com; jumpsuit, 250, lkbennett. com; sunglasses, 165, aspinaloflondon.com; bottle and bottle bag, 135, londonvelvet.co.uk; shoes, 45, marksandspencer.com. Pictured right: Dress, 189, hobbs.com; belt, 75, reiss.com; shoes, 90, dunelondon. com; flask, 25, fortnumandmason.com Pictured left: Dress, 195, seraphinalondon. com; shoes, 85, boden.co.uk; Two-person picnic hamper, 275, fortnumand mason.com. Pictured right: Jacket, 395, and trousers, 225, thefoldlondon. com; bag, 75, lkbennett.com; shoes, 195, russelland bromley.co.uk Speaking of which, if your picnic blanket took a battering last summer, consider a top-notch replacement, such as the Fortnum & Mason check rug with a leather carrier (third from right). Its not yet warm enough to go sleeveless, but a fresh, bright palette sunny yellow, pale pink, crisp white, sky-blue gives your outfit a spring-like lift, even if youre quite covered up. Take Hobbss long, buttoned-up shirt dress in daffodil yellow (second from left), for instance. Park bench picnics demand a touch of whimsy, with woven bags, broderie anglaise, floaty florals and gingham. If you want to wear checks in a grown-up way, the lightweight Italian wool jacket and matching trousers from The Fold (middle) hit the right note. Just add gold hoops. Blouse, 59, hushuk. com; trousers, 205, essentielantwerp. com; shoes, 80, dune london.com; picnic rug, 70, fortnumandmason.com And if youre after good-quality dresses with a difference, try Seraphina Londons striped style with a bib front (third from left), or Lily and Lionels silk floral print (second from right). For nippier days, youll want a denim jacket, such as Reisss mid-blue wash style (far left). A trench is another spring staple I love the pastel colour-blocking twist on Paloness design (far right). With the world starting to open up, everything feels more hopeful, and even choosing what to wear to sit on a park bench is a thrill. So fill a flask with coffee or grab paper cups for some rose and pray the weather stays fine. Pictured left: Dress, 360, lilyandlionel. com; headband, 7.50, marksand spencer.com; shoes, 80, dune london.com. Pictured right: Coat, 145, palones official.com; blouse, 49, monsoon. co.uk; skirt, 195, chinti andparker. com; bag, 550, aspinal oflondon. com; shoes, 69, hobbs. com Jewellery worn throughout: earrings, 22, and bangles, 25, orelia.co.uk; ring, 99, daisy jewellery.com; bracelet, 320, monicavinader.com Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 U.S. President Joe Biden is touring the country to pitch his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as he seeks to help Americans return to normalcy, both in life and in how they view the presidency. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. The Biden administration has not exactly been rolling out the red carpet for this meeting. Yesterday it announced subpoenas against top Chinese companies suspected of threatening national security, and last week Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he believed the Chinese government was committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. What does this tell us about how the administration plans to approach diplomacy toward China? It tells you that the Biden administration is, so far, sounding a lot tougher on China than many expected. That should be no surprise. While the Republican talking point during the campaign was that Biden would give away the store to the Chinese, the history of Biden and his top foreign policy aides, Blinken and Sullivan, suggests a very different approach. They are focused on the technological competition with China, the threat of continuing cyberattacks (and China is believed to be behind one of the biggest in recent weeks, aimed at Microsoft systems), and new forms of military competition. As Sullivan pointed out in an essay published last year, its possible that China is looking to follow the American model from 130 years ago, building up its navy and expanding its reach, to push us farther and farther east in the Pacific. But it is equally possible that its strategy is to deploy its 5G networks around the world, make nations dependent on its aid, its infrastructure projects and its vaccines, and spread influence that way. Or it may try both. In any case, we now have a full-scope competitor an economic and technological competitor and a military adversary. The subpoenas that Bidens Commerce Department served to the Chinese companies were sent out under a Trump administration policy, which allows the executive branch to intervene on sales of foreign-made communications equipment if national security is seen as at risk. Would you say U.S.-China relations represent a rare area in which Biden is not seeking a hard break from his predecessors policies? Certainly the Biden team has not walked away from the instruments of power exercised by Trump; I think it realizes that Trump accurately identified the importance of addressing the China challenge. The Biden camp just believes he confronted it the wrong way. Trump thought he could ban Chinese technologies, and impose sanctions on the country until it came to the bargaining table. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 22:19:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SEOUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs reaffirmed the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization during their talks on Wednesday, according to the South Korean defense ministry. South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook talked in Seoul with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who arrived here earlier in the day following his trip to Japan together with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Suh and Austin reaffirmed the South Korea-U.S. common goal of the peninsula's complete denuclearization and the permanent peace settlement, the Seoul ministry said. They also reaffirmed the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States, to which Seoul and Washington agreed in 2006. South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the U.S. forces after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. South Korea won back its peacetime operational control in 1994. Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with Blinken to discuss the issues of mutual concern, such as the South Korea-U.S. relations, the peninsula issues, and other regional and global issues, according to the South Korean foreign ministry. Chung and Blinken made an in-depth discussion on ways to cooperate between the two countries for substantive progress in the complete denuclearization of and the lasting peace settlement on the peninsula. The diplomats agreed to continue consultations in order to hold a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden as early as possible. The U.S. officials are scheduled to hold a so-called "two plus two" meeting with their South Korean counterparts on Thursday. Enditem Amobee and InfoSum say they will jointly offer their respective clients access to leading identity and media buying solutions through InfoSums decentralised customer data ecosystem, and Amobees cross-screen, programmatic and broadcaster-centric advertising platform. Maria Flores-Portillo, general manager of EMEA for Amobee, said: While most competitors are focused on the replacement of third party cookies through alternative identity solutions, Amobee is differentiating itself by also betting on ecosystems not reliant on these forms of cookieless identifiers. We believe the decentralisation of data will play a key role in the future of identity, with Amobee and InfoSum together empowering advertisers to understand and reach their audiences in environments where traditional identity markers are no longer scalable. With future-proofed identity solutions at the core of both companies roadmaps, Amobee aims to centralise data across paid and owned properties with purpose-built tools to discover, plan, activate, optimise and measure across both the addressable ecosystem, in addition to planning and measurement solutions that span both opt-in and opt-out environments, like Google and Safari. These solutions, coupled with InfoSums ability to offer advertisers advanced audience analysis, segmentation and measurement between decentralised data sets from premium media publishers, mark a strategic, complementary offering for brands, agencies and broadcasters. Richard Foster, chief revenue officer at InfoSum, said: The media industry is going through a shift in the way advertisers and media owners collaborate to deliver better data-driven customer experiences, but through this new partnership with Amobee, companies can access a future-proofed approach to identity. As identity becomes increasingly disparate, an agnostic approach to identity is needed to engage consumers wherever they are, across whatever content they are consuming. By using InfoSums decentralised identity infrastructure and Amobees converged media platform, brands and media owners are empowered to deliver high-performing marketing campaigns that prioritise the privacy of their customers, and the security of their data. Sadness, anger and fear were coursing on Wednesday through Stephanie Cho, a day after a gunman's attack on spas in the Atlanta area killed eight people -- most of whom were Asian women. Police have said suspect Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man, has so far denied a racist motive for the three shootings in the southern US state of Georgia. But Cho, the executive director of advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, fiercely disagreed. "White supremacy is literally killing us," she said amid a spike in violence targeting Asian-Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Violence against Asian communities has been under the radar... for many years," she said adding that despite her pain over the shootings, she also feels "resilience." Bouquets of flowers were laid Wednesday in front of the doors of two of the targeted spas, located across the street from each other in northeast Atlanta, where four of the victims were killed and one man wounded. At Aromatherapy Spa, where one woman was killed, the "Open" and "Welcome" signs were still lit. And at Gold Spa, in a brick building across the street where three women were killed, a scrolling marquee still advertised jacuzzi and sauna services -- available seven days a week. It was at another spa, Young's Asian Massage, in an Atlanta suburb, that four other people were killed and two wounded in a shooting only hours earlier. - 'A hate crime against Asian Americans' - The manager of Studio 219 Ink tattoo shop, Anthony Smith, told AFP in the five years he has been in the area near the Gold and Aromatherapy spas he has never seen the kind of violence that befell the neighborhood Tuesday night. Police said suspect Long told them he had a sex addiction and wanted to "eliminate" a "temptation", but denied that the attacks were racist. The violence comes at a time of extreme tension for the Asian American community. Story continues The number of attacks and hate crimes against Asian Americans has exploded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to anti-extremism groups. Activists lay some of the blame for that increase at the feet of former president Donald Trump, who repeatedly referred to the coronavirus as the "China virus". "It's a bit scary," Sam, a 20-year-old of Chinese origin who did not want to give his full name, told AFP in Atlanta, where he works at a smoothie bar. "Before it did not really affect me, but now that they are targeting Asians, it's scary," he said. "We should take security measure, for self-defense." Georgia residents of Asian origin make up about 4.1 percent of the state's population, or about 500,000 people, most of them Korean or of Korean descent. For Sarah Park, president of the Korean American Coalition - Metro Atlanta, the racism involved in the spa attacks is clear. "Yes it is a hate crime against Asian Americans," she said, criticizing what she sees as authorities' reluctance to go after violence that targets women working for low wages and who often speak little to no English. "We have a right to protect our community and they will protected if everybody do their parts," she said. cyj/caw/jm On March 15, healthcare workers at two separate clinics at the site at, 418 E Main Street in Moncks Corner, administering the first shots of the Moderna vaccine. The release of this issue of HBCU Research marks the 103rd anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The disparities that were observed over a century ago are still being observed today, with people of color disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The issue reports on several engaging topics including: When Race is a Pre-existing Condition, which offers, from the Black perspective, a comparison of the 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19 which offers, from the Black perspective, a comparison of the 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19 The Big Pivot, highlighting the twists and turns HBCUs have had to make in order to prevail during this pandemic highlighting the twists and turns HBCUs have had to make in order to prevail during this pandemic COVID-19 Heroes , which showcases champions in science and medicine who are making countless contributions to attack the Coronavirus which showcases champions in science and medicine who are making countless contributions to attack the Coronavirus Smart Money, covering the flow of funding that HBCUs have received over the past year from government, corporations, and private institutions. "HBCUs have a long legacy of research innovation that provides answers to pivotal questions and provides solutions to problems that ail not just 'minority' populations, but ultimately, the human race. I am proud to be a part of the HBCU community and excited about having a publication like HBCU Research that increases the visibility of the work at HBCUs." -Dr. James E. K. Hildreth, President of Meharry Medical College and Member of the White House COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force HBCU Research Magazine is published by SLA Worldwide, founded by Sandra Long, former Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce. As the first African American woman to be appointed to the position, she understands the importance of bringing attention to the accomplishments of the Black community. "Our community is not always talked about, documented, or acknowledged, which is why HBCU Research Magazine is such a necessary publication," says Long. The issue is available at HBCUresearch.com. Single copy price is $14.99 in the United States and $15.99 in Canada. ABOUT HBCU RESEARCH MAGAZINE HBCU Research is the premier magazine dedicated to highlighting scientists, innovative research, and students in the HBCU community. Written in an informative and engaging format, the magazine is designed to help facilitate collaborations between academia, government, industry, and the community. #HBCUResearch? SOURCE HBCU Research Related Links http://HBCUresearch.com We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form An Indianapolis man has been arrested for shooting the mother of his child and killing four of her family members, including her 7-year-old daughter, following a dispute over the US coronavirus stimulus check. The man, Malik Halfacre, 25, was arrested on Sunday, March 14, a day after the shootings, and is expected to face murder, robbery, and attempted-murder charges, according to the police and Indiana jail records. After 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, police received a report of a person shot in a home on North Randolph Street. There, the police said, officers found a woman who was taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds. That victim told the police that there were additional victims at another home, also on North Randolph Street. At the second home, the police found four gunshot victims whom they identified as Eve Moore, 7; Daquan Moore, 23; Anthony Johnson, 35; and Tomeeka Brown, 44. They were all pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical workers, the police said. The woman who was shot at the first house was identified by the police as Jeanettrius Moore. She told the police that Mr. Halfacre was her boyfriend and that after the shooting, he had taken the couples 6-month-old child, Malia Halfacre. It was not clear how Mr. Halfacre knew the people in the second house. Mr. Halfacre dropped off the child, unharmed, at the home of his sister, who told the police that her brother had confessed to her to killing four people, according to the police affidavit. Mr. Halfacre then went to the home of a friend, where members of a SWAT team later found him hiding in the attic. He gave up without incident, Officer Genae Cook of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told reporters. Wendy Johnson told WXIN that her cousin, Jeanettrius Moore, and Halfacre, the father of Moores 6-month-old daughter, had argued Friday about the $1,400 stimulus check issued as part of the federal governments COVID-19 relief package. She had just gotten her money, and he wanted half of her money, Johnson, who is familiar with Moores account of the incident, told the news station. After Moore offered him $450, Halfacre left, vowing to get that money, Johnson said. Following his arrest, Mr. Halfacre confessed to the crime to detectives, according to the affidavit. Mr. Halfacre said he and J.M. were arguing because he wanted some of her stimulus check, it said. He also admitted to shooting the four people in the second home and taking money, it said. Michael Leffler, communications director for the Marion County Prosecutors Office, said Mr. Halfacre was not expected to be formally charged before Thursday as the shooting is still being investigated. 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 Vardhman Health Specialities (VHS) will enter adult immunisation by investing Rs 100 crore over the next year on technology, warehouse infrastructure and research, said the company. The company has launch Immugard, a management solution that works from manufacturing, warehouse to end consumer. VHS will launch a product called VHS LogiTech that will reach out to education campuses, corporates and homes administration for direct, end consumers. VHS said it is in talks for distribution and increase of easy access of the Covid-19 vaccine, joining hands with Association of Healthcare Providers (AHPL) and with providers to increase awareness and access to vaccines for influenza, typhoid, Hepatitis A & B, measles and other diseases. The company is in talks to select a Covid-19 The COVID 19 pandemic has in a very unexpected and sharp manner brought the spotlight to lack of awareness of the importance and availability of adult vaccines in India. We are happy to be leveraging our experience and expertise in this industry to pioneer this effort and increase adult immunisation for some of the fast-growing diseases in India, said J B Chowhan, chairman of VHS Group, Indias first WHO-certified pharma distribution company. VHS earned Rs 500 crore as revenue in FY21 and it plans to double it to over Rs 1,000 crore in the next three years at least, with the adult immunisation division contributing a significant 30 per cent of this. VHS has a pharma storage capacity of 30,000 square feet units in 18 places in India. This includes cold chain storage for pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines that need to be stored -20-25 degree Celsius. ROME, MAR 18 - The administration in Italy of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab will resume on Friday after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) pronounced it safe and effective after a review Thursday, saying there was no causal link with blood clots, Premier Mario Draghi said. "The Italian government welcomes EMA's pronouncement on the AstraZeneca vaccine," he said. "The government's priority remains that of achieving the highest number of vaccinations in the shortest time possible". (ANSA). The management of the Ghana School of Law has provided justifications for compelling the school's SRC President Philemon Laar to resign with immediate effect. Mr. Philemon Laar reportedly stepped down after the Ghana School of Law management withdrew its recognition of him as the Students' Representative Council (SRC) President. He contends there are unjust reasons for his removal, according to a publication by Kasapa FM Online. "The decision to resign was occasioned by the apparent deadlock between the SRC and Management of the Ghana School of Law on whether or not an administrative fiat should be the basis to withdraw recognition for me as a democratically elected executive of the SRC. ''I was unsuccessful in the October 2020 PLC examinations. Like several other students displeased about their results, and convinced that the examination results did not reflect their industry and performance, I applied to have my scripts remarked. Results of the said remarking are yet to be released. "Based on the above facts, Management of the Ghana School of Law communicated their unwillingness to engage with the SRC if I remain President. They have also refused to release any funds to the SRC for the same reason. "I disagree with this position by Management because this singular action is an affront on the constitution of the SRC and represents undue interference in the affairs of students. The withdrawal of recognition of me as President, and the accompanying actions prejudices the outcome of my application for remarking which in itself has delayed unduly contrary to the timelines provided in the students handbook," Mr. Laar argued. But the management has provided basis for its actions. In a communique sighted by Peacefmonline.com, the school says Mr. Laar's was asked to resign because he failed his examinations. "This decision has been premised or based on the fact that Mr. Philemon Laar was not successful at the recently held PLC Part 1 Exams and has to repeat Part 1. Consequently, he cannot hold himself out as President of the SRC. He is hereby advised to resign," the communique read. The school further mandated the Executive Council to "conduct a by-election to elect a new SRC President. Until then Management will not be in any position to deal or engage with the SRC with Mr. Laar as President. Further investigations by Peacefmonline also indicate that the management acted in accordance with the constitution governing the school. A constitutional provision on the removal from office states; "A member of the Executive Council shall be deemed to be unable to perform the functions assigned to that member when that member [c] is repeated or disqualified to continue academic study by the Ghana School of Law by reason of poor academic performance; [d] resigns or is removed from office." Ghana School Of Law Letter Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video 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 bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Illinois, would correct what he said was an error in the 2021 federal appropriations act and protect funding for rural health clinics, including those in Illinois. The Rural and Underserved Small Hospital or RUSH Protection Act would update the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Because of a drafting error, the appropriations act left many rural health clinics affiliated with critical-access hospitals and larger health systems facing potentially significant Medicare payment cuts. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:50:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga (L, Front) receives the vaccine at Wilkins Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, on March 18, 2021. Chiwenga received his second Sinopharm dose here on Thursday. (Photo by Wanda/Xinhua) HARARE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga on Thursday received his second Sinopharm dose at Wilkins Hospital in Harare. The VP was the first Zimbabwean to receive the jab on February 18 as the country began its rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program. Chiwenga said vaccination was the best weapon against the virus, adding that the government was hiring retired health workers to speed up the pace of inoculation. "We are engaging them because if we are to achieve the 60 percent herd immunity, we have to do it faster and we have to have enough manpower on the ground," he said. Zimbabwe has so far received two batches of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China, and an additional batch of Sinovac doses which were purchased from the Asian country. At least 37,000 people have been vaccinated in Zimbabwe, against a targeted population of 10 million, since the inoculation program started a month ago. Enditem Mar. 18A federal judge has refused to release former Dayton restaurant owner Eva Christian from the Butler County Jail, ruling that Christian's claim that she has severe asthma and thus a heightened risk of dying from COVID-19 while behind bars was unsubstantiated. Christian, the former owner of Cafe Boulevard in Dayton's Oregon District and of Cena Brazilian Steakhouse in front of the Dayton Mall in Miami Twp., has been incarcerated at the Butler County Jail since September 2020, after she had just completed an eight-year sentence in state prison for her conviction on multiple insurance fraud-related charges. Although she has lived in the U.S. for decades, Christian is not an American citizen. She was born in Croatia and raised in Germany, and has German citizenship. Because of her felony convictions, she is being held in the Butler County Jail by order of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, possibly until a federal immigration judge decides whether she will be deported or allowed to stay in the U.S. In her request to be released from jail immediately filed by Dayton attorney Karen Denise Bradley on Christian's behalf Christian, 52, said she had been diagnosed with chronic asthma and had been treated for the condition since 2014. She said her confinement in the Butler County Jail increases her likelihood of contracting COVID-19, which, due to her asthma, could lead to "severe injury or death," Bradley wrote in her petition to U.S. District Court. Her incarceration and increased risk of disease and death means that her Fifth Amendment rights of due process are being violated, and she should be released immediately, according to Christian and her attorney. But in a decision handed down Friday, March 12, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz rejected the request, ruling that Christian "has not established that she has an enhanced risk of death of severe illness from COVID-19. Story continues "While she pleads that she has severe asthma," Merz wrote, there was no evidence submitted to support the claim. In addition, Merz said in his ruling, Christian "has not established that being confined in the Butler County Jail has significantly increased her risk of contracting the disease." Christian was convicted in May 2012 of five criminal counts after masterminding a scheme to hire others in 2009 to set her Dayton Mall restaurant, Cena, on fire, and later trying to set it on fire herself, and of staging a break-in at her Washington Twp. residence, all in order to collect insurance money. Christian founded and owned the now-defunct Cafe Boulevard (later Boulevard Haus) for nearly 15 years in Dayton's Oregon District, in space that now houses Lily's Dayton. Even if she is ultimately released from her immigration-related incarceration, Christian still owes restitution of more than $73,000 to two insurance companies, and may be subject to post-release control by the state parole board, according to now-retired Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Barbara Gorman, who presided over Christian's state-court trial and sentencing. The appointment process of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) interim chairperson looks appalling, an Oireachtas Committee has heard. Rose Hynes, the former chairperson of the Shannon Group, was appointed as the interim chairperson at the IAA by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan in January. She will carry out the duties of a chairperson until the Air Navigation and Transport Bill is enacted, which will split the IAA into two separate boards. Read More Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transport Fintan Towey confirmed that Ms Hynes is currently chairing IAA meetings, taking executive decisions and being remunerated. He said that there were no other expressions of interest in the interim chair role and that internal discussions took place between Minister Ryan and Department officials, in which three people were considered for the role. Fianna Fail Senator Timmy Dooley told Mr Towey, who took questions on Ms Hynes appointment at the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, that the process used to appoint her looks appalling. Two or three people sat in a room, tossed around a few names, and did an eenie-meenie-minie-mo and picked an individual, Mr Dooley said. That doesnt look good for transparency at the level that were dealing with. Quite frankly, it looks appalling, he said. Ms Hynes will be able to apply for the position of chairperson for either of the two new boards which will be created once the Bill is enacted. Does that not cast on the interim chair a level of favouritism because youre giving them a level of access to intimate knowledge that nobody else will have access to in a competition for the new positions? asked Senator Dooley. You have opened up a route that does not look good. He said that he is not questioning the capacity or capability of Ms Hynes but the process surrounding the appointment. I just think that it is a major lapse in good governance by a department around something that is so serious, he said. Senator Dooley said that it was absolutely flabbergasting why nobody on the IAA board was approached for the position of interim chair. Mr Towey said that the process used is recognised in guidelines set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The process to be applied by the Public Appointments Service is dependent on the recruitment process which is carried out in accordance with the Public Appointment Service procedures, he added. Mr Dooleys Fianna Fail colleague TD Cathal Crowe said that the process is a little out of sync with that I've seen happen with other appointments. ALBANY Parents who wished to opt out of vaccinating their children for measles under a former exemption on religious grounds lost their appeal Thursday at the states second-highest court. Appellate justices in Albany unanimously upheld the states 2019 elimination of the exemption and a lower ruling by acting Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman, which was rendered just months before the COVID-19 pandemic exploded in New York. "Under the well-settled case law and the facts presented here, the repeal easily survives rational basis review," Appellate Justice Stanley Pritzker said in authoring the ruling by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court's Third Department. "Most parents, no doubt, are well aware of the speed with which a virus can sweep through a classroom," Pritzker said in a ruling supported by Presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry and Justices Michael Lynch, Sharon Aarons and Molly Reynolds Fitzgerald. The states public health law requires children between the ages of two months to 18 years old to be immunized for certain diseases, including measles. It previously contained two exceptions: one for medical reasons, the other for religious grounds. In June 2019 -- following a measles outbreak in 2018 which impacted concentrated areas of people in Brooklyn and Rockland County -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law to repeal the religious exemption. The legal battle ensued. Fifty-five families in New York sued the state, alleging that the repeal was unconstitutional and motivated by active hostility to religion. The parents had argued that the state Legislature failed to act in the height of he outbreak, that no public hearings were held and that the animosity toward religion was reflected in comments by lawmakers, one of whom allegedly called the parents "anti-vaxxers." The parents said it also was "suspiciously under-inclusive" that exemptions were still allowed for students with medical exemptions, students over 18 and adults employed by schools, but not for religious purposes. On Thursday, the Third Department upheld Hartman's decision, rejecting the arguments by the parents' Goshen-based attorney, Michael H. Sussman. Pritzker said the exemption for children for medical reasons was clearly distinct. There are many arguments to be made as to how children formerly subjected to the religious exemption may also be detrimentally impacted, however, documented concerns as to the physical well-being of children with medical exemptions is a sufficient basis upon which to distinguish the two groups," Pritzker said. "Indeed, it would be irrational to sacrifice the physical health of some children in the pursuit of protecting public health." The judge said the Legislature was permitted to exercise broad discretion required for the protection of public health. Kerrville, TX (78028) Today Scattered thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely late. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely late. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The chief executive of Rupert Murdochs News Corp is a man transformed. After cash-for-journalism deals with Google and Facebook, Robert Thomsons accusations of smugness from Big Tech have made way for compliments. Thomson lauded Google boss Sundar Pichai for his thoughtful commitment to journalism following an agreement with News Corp last month. Praise was also saved for Mark Zuckerberg on Monday when Thomson credited the Facebook chief for helping fashion the future of journalism through a pay deal in Australia. The latest agreement with Facebook may have cooled tensions between Murdochs media dynasty and Silicon Valley in their long-running battle for influence and power but questions remain. It is unclear as to whether these deals can lay the foundations for an everlasting accord that benefits all news publishers, or whether such agreements will wither with time. The 60-year-old boss of News Corp, which owns News UK, the publisher of The Times and Sun, believes the dial has shifted. Thomson told last months Morgan Stanley TMT Conference that the terms of trade for content are changing fundamentally. It isnt just about News Corp, he added. Its also about providing some negotiating leverage for smaller publishers. Not everyone is in agreement. Lord Rothermere, chairman of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), made his opinion clear through a letter in the Financial Times last month. As long as the platforms persuade enough desperate news publishers to sign take-it-or-leave-it deals, there will now be no fair, independent arbitration. Google and Facebook made A$4.3bn (pounds 2.6bn) and A$700m in advertising revenues in Australia respectively, according to official filings. At one stage News Corp argued it was owed up to A$1bn by the tech giants for its news stories. Australias major publishers are said to have secured deals worth A$150m with Google last month, according to the Australian Financial Review. News Corps new deal with Facebook covers newspapers such as The Australian, the Herald Sun and Australias Daily Telegraph, with a parallel agreement for Sky News Australia. It followed a bitter stand-off between Facebook and the Australian government. Facebook enforced a seven-day blackout that prevented Australian users from seeing news stories in their feeds, or Australian publishers being available anywhere on the social network. That ended when the Australian government agreed to amend legislation forcing Facebook to pay news organisations. It included a looser deadline for negotiating with publishers and assurances they could pull out of news in the future. News Corps recent deals are scant on detail, but one key piece of information stands out: the time frame. The contracts with Google and Facebook are for a three-year period, suggesting the tech companies could roll back terms, or mount fierce renegotiations, within a short period. Can these deals really claim to be the starting point for long-lasting agreements with publishers, or are they merely short-term tests for the tech firms? Douglas McCabe, chief executive of Enders Analysis, says News Corps deals were tactical victories and it had done an impressive job of keeping this issue front of peoples minds. But the strategic question remains in place, he added. How to improve the incentives for independent, quality news origination in the digital age, assuming we all agree that plays a critical role in a healthy democracy. We hope the UKs Digital Markets Unit will deal with such strategic questions. Concerns from the UKs regulators and politicians have only intensified following Australias dust up with Facebook and Google. Two years after the Cairncross review into the future of journalism, the UK is now on the verge of launching a unit to tackle techs dominance. Damian Collins, the Conservative MP, says: Letting publishers and tech firms come to an agreement is the best way to go, but that will be much harder if there is no compulsion and the tech giants can just walk away. Whether the UK will go the whole hog and lump Facebook and Google with a blanket threat of paying for news is less certain. Facebook and Google have both already agreed to launch news products in the UK, which see them investing in deals with select publishers. The CEO of Rupert Murdochs News Corp is a man transformed. After cash-for-journalism deals with Google and Facebook, Robert Thomsons accusations of smugness from Big Tech have made way for compliments. Thomson lauded Google boss Sundar Pichai for his thoughtful commitment to journalism, following an agreement with News Corp last month. Praise was also saved for Mark Zuckerberg on Monday when Thomson credited the Facebook chief for helping fashion the future of journalism through a pay deal in Australia. The latest agreement with Facebook may have cooled tensions between Murdochs media dynasty and Silicon Valley in their long-running battle for influence and power but questions remain. It is unclear as to whether these deals can lay the foundations for an everlasting accord that benefits all news publishers, or whether such agreements will wither with time. The 60-year-old boss of News Corp, which owns News UK, the publisher of The Times and The Sun, believes the dial has shifted. Thomson told last months Morgan Stanley TMT Conference that the terms of trade for content are changing fundamentally. It isnt just about News Corp, he added. Its also about providing some negotiating leverage for smaller publishers. Not everyone is in agreement. Lord Rothermere, chairman of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), made his opinion clear through a letter in the Financial Times last month. As long as the platforms persuade enough desperate news publishers to sign take-it-or-leave-it deals, there will now be no fair, independent arbitration. Google and Facebook made A$4.3bn (3.6bn) and A$700m (453m) in ad revenues in Australia respectively, according to official filings. At one stage News Corp argued it was owed up to A$1bn by the tech giants for its news stories. Australias major publishers are said to have secured deals worth A$150m (97m) with Google last month, according to the Australian Financial Review. News Corps new deal with Facebook covers newspapers such as The Australian, the Herald Sun and Australias Daily Telegraph, with a parallel agreement for Sky News Australia. It followed a bitter stand-off between Facebook and the Australian government. Facebook enforced a seven-day blackout that prevented Australian users from seeing news stories in their feeds, or Australian publishers being available anywhere on the social network. That ended when the Australian government agreed to amend legislation forcing Facebook to pay news organisations. It included a looser deadline for negotiating with publishers and assurances they could pull out of news in the future. News Corps recent deals are scant on detail, but one key piece of information stands out: the time frame. The contracts with Google and Facebook are for a three-year period, suggesting the tech companies could roll back terms, or mount fierce renegotiations, within a short period. Can these deals really claim to be the starting point for long-lasting agreements with publishers, or are they merely short-term tests for the tech firms? Douglas McCabe, chief executive of Enders Analysis, says News Corps deals were tactical victories and it had done an impressive job of keeping this issue front of peoples minds. But the strategic question remains in place, he added. How to improve the incentives for independent, quality news origination in the digital age, assuming we all agree that plays a critical role in a healthy democracy. EU parliament members working on two landmark draft European digital regulations, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), last month told the Financial Times that their forthcoming regulations could be amended to include aspects of the Australian reforms. These include the option of binding arbitration for licensing agreements and requiring tech companies to inform publishers about changes to how they rank news stories on their sites. But media companies hope things will go further than behind-closed-doors agreements that see small subsidies for newsrooms. A News Media Association spokesman says: The deals that news publishers are reaching with the tech platforms are a welcome acknowledgement of the principle that journalism has to be paid for. "This does do not however diminish the requirement for a robust regulatory framework underpinned by legislation to level the playing field. In the US, the narrative around Big Tech and journalism has undergone a rapid shift. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, appeared before politicians on Friday saying his company would agree to pay for news even if it hit their bottom line. Anna-Sophie Harling of NewsGuard Technologies and an adviser to Ofcom, says: We have seen a 180 turn from the US being proud of its tech platforms to deciding something must change. It is a bipartisan issue. Americas Journalism Competition Preservation Act would give Facebook and Google a four-year window to come to a deal with publishers. David Cicilline, a Democrat representative, said the Bill will give hardworking local reporters and publishers the helping hand they need right now. NewsGuards Harling believes another challenge is making sure smaller publishers are not left behind. The UK is less likely to present a nuclear option to US tech platforms - for one thing there is a trade deal to negotiate, she adds. Smaller publishers are worried that the focus will be on massive news organisations. Will they be left out? News Corps Thomson has won ground in his decade-long tussle with the tech giants, but heaping praise on Google and Facebook may be a move he comes to regret. Facebooks talks with the Australian government have shown the social media firms propensity to lash out when at the negotiating table. Thomson will be hoping history does not repeat itself when his Australian agreement with Facebook is up for renewal in three years time. Read More Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] 2021-03-17 Maeci On 17 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio held telephone talks with the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Aureliu Ciocoi. The topics discussed included bilateral relations between Italy and the Republic of Moldova, the fight against Covid-19 and the vaccination campaign, relations between Europe and the Republic of Moldova, and the Eastern Partnership. DETROIT - Ford Field opens up as a vaccine site for Michigan residents starting on Wednesday, March 24. State leaders including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and more introduced the program formally at a Thursday, March 18 press conference. The goal is to vaccinate up to 6,000 residents a day through the Ford Field program, which receives its vaccine supply through a federal outreach program. Read more: Ford Field vaccine site a symbol of hope for southeast Michiganders, officials say That goal will be reached through two clinics located on opposite ends of the Detroit Lions stadium, as well as 1,000 shots a day through mobile sites. Heres what you need to know about where to go, how to sign up and more. 1. Who is eligible? Anyone across Michigan is able to register right now, according to the Protect Michigan Commission. However, the states vaccine prioritization guidance will restrict the first wave of doses to residents 50 and older, as well as those between 16-49 with pre-existing conditions. Starting on April 5, all Michigan residents 16 and older will be able to receive the vaccine. You do not need to pay or have insurance to receive a dose. Though the program takes place in Ford Field in downtown Detroit, residents fro anywhere in Michigan can make the drive to get a shot in the arm, once an appointment is scheduled. You must bring a form of identification to the registration desk inside the stadium. 2. How do you sign up for an appointment? The Ford Field sites registration will be handled by Meijer, and is currently open. There are three ways to sign up for an appointment: You visit the online portal at clinic.meijer.com/register/CL2021 You text EndCOVID to 75049 Call the states COVID-19 hotline at 888-535-6136 and press 1. The Protect Michigan Commission warns this could be the slowest option and should only be used by those without internet access. Read more: Registrations open for COVID-19 vaccines at Ford Field in Detroit Registered applicants will be notified when their vaccine appointment is scheduled, and can choose a text or phone notification. The first messages for the Ford Field clinic went out at 11 a.m. Thursday, said Kerry Ebersole Singh of the Protect Michigan Commission. The messages contain further instructions on getting the appointment scheduled, including if the applicant needs transportation or disability accommodations. These messages will be sent out about four to seven days before an applicant will get their appointment scheduled. Meijer was selected to help with registration due to prior success with signup options, said Rick Keyes, president and CEO. Our Meijer pharmacy and store teams have administered 225,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Michiganders and a total of 350,000 vaccines to people and communities we serve throughout the Midwest, he said. Weve been able to do that by leveraging an online registration effort that to date has allowed us to register more than 1.8 million people for vaccines. Appointments will take place between 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every day, and are initially scheduled to last until mid-May. 3. Where is the vaccine coming from? Pfizer will be the vaccine type used for the first six weeks of the program, followed by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the final two weeks. The Pfizer vaccine requires two shots for full immunization, while the J&J one is done after a single dose. Infectious disease experts have told MLive that neither one is superior to the other in terms of protecting an individual from COVID-19. Read more: No, the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is not inferior, Michigan doctors say First doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be offered at the site for the first three weeks of operation, while those vaccinated during that timeframe will be scheduled to receive their second doses during the fourth, fifth or sixth weeks. The supply for the vaccine comes from the federal allotment, meaning that any potential shortages from the statewide supply would not affect the Ford Field program. Supply shouldnt be an obstacle going forward, said Singh. Were turning the bend on supply and really ramping up, she told MLive. Were going to have more access points, more vaccine...Those communication tactics being deployed to help motivate folks to get their doses (will be important). 4. What do you do on the day of your appointment? There are different means of transportation available for those coming to Ford Field. For those with personal vehicles, there are able to park at two different lots for free. The first area of free parking is located near Gate A of Ford Field in the Gem Theater Parking Garage, 1910 Brush St. Those guests must enter through Gate A. The other area for parking is in the Ford Field Parking Deck, 1902 St. Antoine. Those guests must enter through Gate G. For individuals with disability or accessibility concerns, you can request accommodations when you are scheduling the appointment. Details will be emailed to the individual once the appointment is scheduled. Free transportation will be provided to residents requiring it in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, as well as Detroit. This can also be requested during the scheduling process. Once you arrive at Ford Field, you enter the gate youre told to go through in the scheduling email. Staff will conduct a health screening and non-contact temperature checks before you sign-in at the registration desk. Between the two clinics at Gate A and Gate G, there are 40 stations where the vaccine will be administered. There are chairs set aside in waiting areas that are socially-distanced while you wait. 5. Who made this clinic possible and why? The effort was a collaborative effort between the federal government, the state, the Protect Michigan Commission, Meijer and the Henry Ford Health System. Many alluded to vaccine disparities along racial lines and how initiatives like these fill equity gaps. Read more: Michigan officials hope vulnerability index, Ford Field clinic will help address vaccination disparities Kevin M. Sligh Sr., a regional administrator for FEMA, said the Department of Defense will also provide assistance, including 220 staff to help with the vaccination efforts. He applauded the private-public partnership and added as an African American, this clinic makes him happy on a personal level. My grandmother, my mother, my twin sister, my uncle and several of my cousins over the past year have contracted COVID-19, he said. It was a trying time for the family. We were lucky. Every last one of them made it through, but it made me think, as an African American myself with three comorbidities, to really think hard about getting a vaccine. Well, I chose to get (it). Wright Lassiter, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health, said his health system is involved to help with best practices to fight vaccine hesitancy in minority communities. Our mobile vaccination efforts are serving communities of color with vaccine hesitancy, as well as essential workers and populations that may have technology barriers and other barriers to access to schedule appointments, he said. Educating Detroit and other Michigan residents of color about the vaccine is part of the Protect Michigan Commissions role, Singh said. Folks want to understand the vaccine information to be educated about whats in the vaccine, how it came to be, to get comfortable to take the vaccine, she said. Our role...we want to make sure that were meeting people where they are, providing them the information they need and then motivating them to get vaccinated. Read more from MLive: Michigans coronavirus numbers are going up, but will vaccinations blunt the impact? COVID brides and industry professionals consider how the pandemic could change future weddings COVID-19 pandemic still teaching Michigan schools lessons a year later 9 things we got totally wrong about COVID-19 a year ago (Natural News) Members of the United Teachers of Los Angeles union were warned in a private Facebook group not to post vacation pictures on social media. According to a report, the warning came as the union continued to seek a safe return to in-person instruction amid the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Based on a screenshot taken by Fox 11 of Los Angeles from a Facebook group called UTLA FB GROUP- Members Only, the teachers were urged to keep spring break photos off social media because it could hurt the unions argument that its currently unsafe to return to the classroom. Friendly reminder: If you are planning any trips for Spring Break, please keep that off of Social Media. It is hard to argue that it is unsafe for in-person instruction, if parents and the public see vacation photos and international travel, the post read. The teachers were not advised to avoid going on vacation or socialize while continuing to advocate for schools to remain closed. Warning comes after union members voted against a return to classrooms According to UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz, the warning came after union members voted overwhelmingly to reject what they called an unsafe return to classrooms unless certain demands were met. Over five days of voting, 24,580 ballots were cast, with 91 percent, or 22,480, voting yes and only 9 percent, or 2,100, voting no. The screenshots from the Facebook group were taken by critics of the vote who called out the fact that the union was allowing teachers to go on vacation even while it rejected a return to in-person instruction. The unions decision to condone international vacations while keeping students and educators from returning to classrooms is so hypocritical you would think [Gov.] Gavin Newsom thought of it himself, John Burke, the communications director for Kevin Faulconer for Governor, said to Fox News. Our spineless governor refuses to stand up to them and do whats right for our students. Its time to recall Newsom. To return to classrooms, the UTLA is demanding that L.A. County move out of Californias purple tier. This is the states most restrictive tier and moving out of it would require that the county maintain certain metrics for a week. In addition, the union also wants the county to ensure that entire staff be either fully vaccinated or be provided access to full vaccination, and that certain coronavirus safety measures be enacted on campuses. The UTLA vote came at about the same time that Gov. Newsom stated that he signed a $6.6 billion package to accelerate the safe return of students and teachers to classrooms across the state. While the package does not force schools to reopen, those that fail to do so by April 1 will lose one percent of eligible funds for every day they miss the deadline. Union distances itself from Facebook post, but the damage has already been done In response to the leaked screenshots, the UTLA stated that it did not control what its members said on Facebook. We have a diverse membership and they are able to post their views on personal Facebook pages and in this Facebook group however, UTLA does not monitor nor is responsible for the content, the unions stated to Fox News. We do not want to discourage a robust dialogue for members in the public square of opinion. But the damage has already been done. Local parents were outraged to learn of the post telling teachers to keep their vacations out of the public eye. It was extremely frustrating, as a parent, to see [that], hey, vacations are planned as usual for teachers, just dont put it out in public because we need to negotiate. Its horrible, said Renee Bailey, who has two children in the district, to Fox News. When I see that post, it tells me that community spread and the safety of the teachers isnt the real concern. Follow EducationSystem.news for more on how schools across the country are reopening in the middle of the pandemic. Sources include: ThePostMillennial.com Twitter.com FoxNews.com NBCLosAngeles.com DailyMail.co.uk Vietnam needs to make its fishing practices more sustainable by Xu Xiaodong March 18,2021 | Source: Sustainability Times Vietnam was issued a yellow card in October 2017 by the European Commission (EC) because of rampant illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities by Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels. Since then, following its carding system, the EC have conducted several reviews of Vietnams fisheries and seafood-related policies and efforts to determine whether the yellow card would be maintained or rescinded. However, all results disappointed both sides. The failure of Vietnams efforts in removing the yellow card should be ascribed to Vietnams limited progress in improving fisheries governance and curbing IUU fishing. In other words, Vietnam has not effectively enacted all recommendations raised by EC, including: (1) Revising the legal framework to ensure compliance with international and regional rules applicable to the conservation and management of fisheries resources; (2) Ensuring effective implementation and enforcement of countrys revised laws; (3) Strengthening the effective implementation of international rules and management measures; (4) Increasing the traceability of its seafood products; (5) Preventing sales of IUU products. However, the Vietnamese government thought it was wronged. As Vietnamese officials have repeatedly stated, the Vietnamese government has taken strict measures and made significant progress in recent years to fulfil ECs requirements, such as (1) Amending the fisheries law and strengthening the legislation; (2) Creating a legal framework for a gradual transition to commercial, responsible and sustainable fisheries; (3) Reducing the number of Vietnamese fishing boats operating illegally in other countries; (4) Downsizing the fishing fleet; (5) Strengthening education and information so as to raise awareness of our fishermen not to violate other countries waters. But why is there such a difference between Vietnams intention and reality? A direct answer is that the effectiveness of Vietnams implementation of the relevant policies to curb IUU fishing is far from expected. From an economic perspective, Vietnam has suffered vast losses because of the yellow card status and thus has a strong need to remove the yellow card. Recent statistics show that Vietnams export of fishery products relied considerably on European (EU) market, which is one of the biggest export markets of Vietnams fishery products with a value of $1.3 billion in 2019, accounting for 15.1 per cent of the total seafood export value of Vietnam. However, the EU has many strict technical regulations on food safety, environment and sustainable development. Vietnamese businesses should meet the requirements of food safety and hygiene to access the market and quality is paramount and key to Vietnams development strategy for seafood exports. Due to the yellow card for Vietnams seafood products, Vietnams exports to the EU fell by 6.5 per cent to US$390 million in 2018 and by 11.5 per cent to $345.2 million in 2019 according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam. Nevertheless, economic concerns have not given a strong impetus to Vietnams full commitment to curbing IUU fishing. The reasons are multifold. First, fishing operations by Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats, either legal or illegal have been acquiesced as a necessary mean by the government to safeguard its maritime rights. The Vietnamese government hence hesitates to exert all efforts to regulate fishing activities, despite evoked strong protests from neighboring countries. Second, exhausting fishery resources and unsuccessful fishery industrial transition and upgrade failed creating new employment opportunities for local fishermen, who are forced to take the risk of conducting illegal fishing activities as a matter of survival. Third, the regulatory authorities sometimes lack the ability in monitoring IUU fishing attributed to both financial and technological factors. In short, the Vietnams combat with IUU fishing lacks motivation, either politically or socio-economically. Facing past unsuccessful experiences and current pressure, Vietnam needs to have new thinking. First, divert the orientation of policies from unilateral activities to multi- and bilateral cooperation. IUU fishing has long been a source of contention in regional disputes and flare-ups between regional states. Curbing IUU fishing hence cannot be conducted unilaterally. One precondition for effective cooperation is the consensus of maintaining the stability at sea. It is thus important for Vietnam to abandon the idea that encroaching into disputed waters by Vietnamese fishermen is a mean of safeguarding maritime sovereignty. Maritime disputes can only be solved through negotiation under international laws. Based on this, there is possibility to jointly establish an IUU fishing combat network in the interest of regional states around the South China Sea. Second, pursue innovative approaches in improving the living standard of fishermen to reduce their dependence on illegal IUU. More than half of Southeast Asias inhabitants (including the Vietnamese) rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. Due to constantly exhausted fishery resources, it is rather understandable that local fishermen will continue using illegal methods to increase their catch. The policy-makers have to consider how to diversify their income sources. Deep-sea farming and aquaculture industry shall be encouraged. Based on this, advanced processing industries can be established to upgrade the export structure with value-added fishery and seafood products aiming for EU market. Third, introduce high technology to optimize existing monitoring system. Although Vietnam has made great efforts in installing fishing vessel monitoring systems based on the ECs recommendations, only about thirty percent of the Vietnamese fishing boats have been equipped with such facilities. Moreover, future IUU fishing trace and suppression need the Vietnamese government to apply high-tech facilities and infrastructure, such as IT-driven risk management system, big-data analysis, wireless sensor networks, etc. This requires the Vietnamese government to allocate more funds and resources for research and development. Of course, all parties shall bear in mind that curbing IUU fishing is a time- and resource-consuming process. Some scholars have argued that regional states efforts to combat IUU fishing are seldom fully evaluated. Some research institutions also emphasize too much on the status quo, reducing the interest of the EC and other countries in making positive progress in practice. Nevertheless, to remove the yellow card, Vietnam has to insist on co-operation, transparency and honesty in providing and exchanging information regarding curbing IUU fishing. Only by this can Vietnam harvest extensive environmental, economic and diplomatic benefits. 2020 Sustainability Times Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. Denton, TX (76205) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait emerged top winners at the 2020-2021 World Branding Awards, the ultimate global brand recognition accolade being constituted by the World Branding Forum (WBF), a registered global non-profit organisation. Now in its 12th edition, the World Branding Awards saw over 400 brands from more than 45 countries named 'Brand of the Year' in the 2020-2021, nominated by over 250,000 consumers across the globe. National Tier winners from Kuwait include Al Salam International Hospital (Healthcare Hospitals), Aqua Gulf (Water), and Gulf Insurance Group GIG (Insurance), amongst others. National Tier winners from Saudi Arabia include, Almarai (Dairy Products Milk), Nahdi (Healthcare Pharmacies), Rubaiyat (Luxury Retailer), and Suntop (Beverages Juices), amongst many others. Amongst the top tier brands listed as Global Tier winners are Beijing Tong Ren Tang, CoCo, Faber Castell, Fender, Heinz, Ikea, Lego, Lurpak, McCain, Netflix, Pilot, Spotify, Yakult, and Yamaha, amongst others. Regional Tier winners include Anchor (New Zealand), Cotton On (Australia), Elkjp (Norway), LuLu (UAE), Isetan and Uniqlo (Japan), amongst others. Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum said: "This is a celebration of the best marketers from across the globe. The Awards are an acknowledgment of the tireless effort of the teams that build and maintain their brand presence in an ever-changing market." Winners are uniquely judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and public online voting. Seventy percent of the scoring process comes from consumer votes. "To be a winner at the Awards, a brand has shown that they have built themselves up to such a degree that they are placed amongst the best brands in the world," said Danny Pek, Chief Executive of the World Branding Forum. The voting and nomination had taken place amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic whilst many countries were faced with restriction measures that had greatly disrupted the economic landscape. The awards celebrates the innovative and creative ways these successful brands have managed to remain distinct and relevant to their consumers over the past year, he added.-TradeArabia News Service Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A bumper European summer holiday season is in peril as a slow vaccine roll-out and rising Covid cases bite, says an investment bank. Europe could suffer another lost summer season, according to Morgan Stanley. A slow rebound in tourism would threaten the economies of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece, which are relying on a summer holiday season, the bank said, reports Reuters. Europe's high cases and slow vaccine drive could lead to a late reopening, putting a second summer at risk, which would exacerbate the north-south divide and could trigger further policy easing. Last year, without a vaccine, Europe was able to save some of its summer season with the help of restrictions and seasonal weather dynamics that lowered transmission rates from spring. But we are somewhat sceptical that this can happen again this year, given the emergence of new strains, which appear to be more transmissible and dangerous, and have driven an acceleration in cases recently in the Euro area, e.g. in France and Italy. Read more: It comes as a handful of European nations have announced firm opening dates for British tourists. Portugal said it would welcome British travellers from 17 May, the same date that international travel could be allowed to restart in England. Iceland, Greece and Cyprus have all signalled they will welcome British travellers with proof of vaccination, while France last week relaxed its entry restrictions for Britons. Currently, all leisure travel is banned in the UK. E-government sets up success for businesses, illustration photo At the meeting to review the two-year development scheme of Vietnams e-government on March 10, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the upcoming tasks will be the completion of the legal framework, acceleration of public e-services, creating and deploying an effective national database so that paperwork in administrative procedures can be eased. Important tasks were set out for ministries, agencies, cities, and provinces. Specifically, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has to fast-track the development of a national database on land by July. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security develops a national database on the population in the same timeframe. Regarding the e-government platforms, ministries, agencies, cities, and provinces must fully complete IT security measures and propose solutions to effectively use integrated platforms and promote database sharing. Moreover, they have to build and deploy schemes on their digital transformation in the new development period. The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is issuing decrees to complete the legal framework on electronic identification and authentication and personal data protection while also announcing the strategy on e-government development towards digital government development in 2021-2025 with a vision towards 2030. The MIC will study the revision of the laws on e-transactions and the digital economy, build a decree on the management of digital platforms and the development of the digital economy, and submit a scheme on digital economy development by 2025 with a vision towards 2030, and on supporting and promoting digital transformation in key businesses and sectors. Vietnam currently ranks 86th among 193 member states in the United Nations E-Government Survey 2020, up two ranks from 2018. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, and the Philippines scored higher and some regional countries even made great headways (Thailand ranked 57th, up from 73rd, and Indonesia climbed to 88th from 107th). A countrys higher e-government index also means a higher business environment, competitiveness, and innovation indexes, making it a strong rival to others in investment attraction, trade, and services, which prompts most Southeast Asian nations to take actions and improve. With the future orientation, domestic and international businesses can expect several positive spillovers. According to the UN and World Bank reports, a good business environment attracts high-quality investors, facilitates technology transfer and exchange of management practices, and enhances transparency and reduces corruption. The National Digital Transformation Programme aims to promote the development and widespread use of e-commerce platforms in enterprises and the community. It also aims to give greater incentives and support for startup development and encourages large companies to make use of new technologies and commercial activities. Therefore, further investment incentives for science and technology-related firms are expected in the coming years. E-government development has also been attracting attention from the international business community in Vietnam. Virginia B. Foote, chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that the digital economy in general, and e-commerce, e-banking, fintech, modern cloud computing, and e-government in particular, come out of the necessity to reduce face-to-face transactions, and can enhance Vietnams goal to reduce the use of cash overall. She attributed that, We need accelerated use of e-government, e-commerce, e-banking, fintech, hyperscale cloud computing, and the overall reduction of paper and cash for all businesses. Replacing Vietnams technical standards in clouds in state agencies with internationally recognised certifications and compliance mechanisms, as well as adopting cloud-first policies, will enable the government to choose the best technologies, strengthen digital resilience, and develop a robust e-government technology ecosystem. Accelerating the implementation of these objectives can permanently reduce administrative costs and burdens for both the government and all businesses, and will attract new investors looking for global standards and ease of doing business. It will provide the foundation for smart city infrastructure and services, she noted. Similarly, Tetsu Funayama, a representative from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam said the implementation of digital transformation has been determining the rise and fall of companies and businesses. Although there is a trade-off with national and corporate security, digital transformation ahead of other countries will bring benefits to Vietnam. We would like to ask for support for foreign companies to contribute to Vietnam in these fields as well, he recommended. Vietnams e-government development has achieved results in technical infrastructure, database sharing, use and development of platforms, and network security in 2016-2020, especially in the last two years. Dr Joyce Yu, co-founder of education company Consent Labs, said she was glad Mr Fuller was talking about sexual assault in the media but disappointed by the suggestion. Lawyer Adair Donaldson, who has represented sexual abuse victims, said an app would have the potential to be protecting the accused by making convictions even more difficult than they already are. However, Ms Contos, consent educators and some lawyers criticised the idea, saying it did not address the social causes of sexual assault or respect for women. He said police should consider the role technology could play a role in keeping people out of the justice system. If that question [on the app] just stops someone from one moment... If I can save one woman, would I say this is worthwhile? Id say it is. If an app only records consent at the beginning, it discounts the very important point that consent can be withdrawn at any time... It does not consider that people could be coerced or forced to provide consent via the app, she said. Signing an app at the beginning of any sexual activity does not alleviate you of the responsibility to be aware of the other persons communication and non-verbal cues if they are not comfortable. Ms Contos said it could also make sexual assault victims internalise blame, if they had materially consented but changed their minds. The same societal forces that mean girls are often guilt-tripped in doing sexual acts will be replicated. Until we empower girls on how to say no, we cant put them in a situation where they have to answer in an app, she said. I do appreciate the sentiment. But were at a pivotal moment were about to create serious change so we have to seriously consider how to do it. Every solution will have backlash. We have to look to best practice [and] any decision has to be sustainable and as forward-thinking as it can be. Mr Fuller said he was OK with the public criticism of his idea on Thursday, and that he understood there was no overnight fix. Theres a range of things Id like to come out with this. The app is not necessarily one of them, he said. [March 18, 2021] Nokia speeds up transformation to improve profitability Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 18 March 2021 at 8:00 EET Nokia speeds up transformation to improve profitability Capital Markets Day 2021 Company sets out a three-phased journey to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and technology leadership. Reiterates its financial outlook for 2021 and provides outlook for 2023. Anticipates comparable operating margin to increase to 1013% in 2023 and to grow faster than the market in full-year 2023. Launches new company purpose and ways of working. Capital Markets Day presentations will update on key market opportunities, focus areas and long-term trends. Today Nokia is holding its Capital Markets Day 2021 and providing an overview of long-term market trends, how it is setting itself up for value creation, detailed plans for each of its business segments, its financial outlook and its updated dividend policy. Nokia is repositioning itself to deliver sustainable, profitable growth, adapting our business to lead in an increasingly digitalized world. We have a clear and detailed plan for how we will reset the business, accelerate competitiveness and scale up our lead in the markets we choose to play in. This plan will enable us to deliver double-digit comparable operating margins in 2023, says Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia. We have moved away from end-to-end as a cornerstone of our equity story and have instead put in place four fully accountable, empowered business groups, arranged according to how customers buy. Each of these business groups has solid strategies and targets to grow market share and margins through enhanced technology leadership, he continues. Nokia sees a number of major trends impacting the industry over the next few years, with 5G and resulting technologies at their core and creating opportunities for CSPs, enterprises and webscales. These trends include next-generation access with fiber-to-the-home and optimized transport technologies delivering a seamless experience for consumers in homes and workplaces, enabling a gigabit society when combined with mobile 5G. In addition, connected digital enterprise will drive massive productivity, efficiency and safety gains across industries. A result of this will be significant growth in the Enterprise market. 5G is still in its early phase. We estimate that the peak of the 5G market will last roughly twice as long as it did with 4G. So these trends of next generation access and digital connected enterprise still have a long way to run. I want Nokia be able to shape them, delivering best-of-breed products, services and connectivity that allow our customers to deliver constantly improving performance, says Lundmark. New company purpose The world is changing rapidly and facing fundamental challenges. Pressure on the planet is increasing, productivity is stalling and access to opportunity remains stubbornly unequal. Nokia believes technology is central to the solution. Technology can help to respond to climate change through more efficient use and re-use of the worlds resources. It can be essential for restoring productivity growth by digitalizing physical industry, and it can help provide more inclusive access to work, healthcare, markets and education. With that in mind, our new purpose at Nokia is to create technology that helps the world act together. With our customers, we create the critical networks that bring together the worlds people, machines, and devices. And everything we do in our business will contribute to this aim Lundmark continues. To deliver on its refreshed purpose, Nokia will strengthen its position as a trusted partner for critical networks, which underpin more and more mission-critical functions for businesses and across societies. In addition, Nokia focuses on technology leadership in each of its businesses and captures the value shift to cloud and new business models as critical networks evolve. Nokia also creates value with long-term research and intellectual property which provide both the technology and the financial platform for the company to be successful over the long term. In addition, Nokia is refreshing its ways of working and promoting a culture where its people are open to continuous development, fearless to experiment and empowered to act with clear accountability. Reset, Accelerate, Scale three phases to delivering above market growth To deliver on its targets for sustainable growth Nokia has set out a three-phased approach. First, an ongoing reset, with focus on securing technology leadership; implementing the new operating model to reduce complexity and increase accountability; securing full portfolio competitiveness in Mobile Networks; resetting its cost base; and renewing the ways of working. From 2022 onwards the company will accelerate competitiveness and aims to grow margins through enhanced technology leadership, digitalization of own operations, automation and capturing emerging opportunities. It then plans to scale up to drive growth in new use cases and business models including in enterprise and private wireless in order to grow faster than the market. Market development 2020 to 2023 Nokias total estimated addressable market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 1% from 2020 to 2023, comprising of the following estimates: Mobile Networks estimated 2020 2023 addressable market CAGR, excluding China, of approximately 1%; Network Infrastructure estimated 2020 2023 global addressable market CAGR of approximately 2%; Cloud and Network Services estimated 2020 2023 global addressable market CAGR of 2%. Financial outlook for 2021 and 2023 Today, Nokia reiterated its financial outlook for 2021 and provided its outlook for 2023. Outlook Full year 2021 Full year 2023 Net sales, adjusted for currency fluctuations1 EUR 20.6 billion to EUR 21.8 billion Grow faster than the market Comparable operating margin2 7 to 10% 10 to 13% Free cash flow3 Positive Clearly positive Comparable ROIC2,4 10 to 15% 15 to 20% 1 Assuming continuation of 2020 year-end EUR/USD rate of 1.23. 2 Comparable measures exclude intangible asset amortization and other fair value adjustments, goodwill impairments, restructuring related charges and certain other items affecting comparability. 3 Free cash flow = net cash from/(used in) operating activities - capital expenditures + proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets purchase of non-current financial investments + proceeds from sale of non-current financial investments. 4 Comparable ROIC = (Comparable operating profit after tax) / (Average total equity + average interest-bearing liabilities average total cash and current financial investments). Providing transparency to Nokias four new business groups In addition, regarding the underlying assumptions of Nokias financial outlook, Nokia updated its outlook assumptions for its four new business groups and Group ommon and Other in 2021, and provided new outlook assumptions for 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, each business group is expected to contribute to shareholder value creation. Each business group is focused on driving improved focus on capital allocation and technology leadership in 2021, positioning Nokia to grow profitably in 2022 and beyond. Over time, each business group is expected to generate a return on capital employed (ROCE) greater than Nokias weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 7%. Comparable operating margin Outlook assumptions Full year 2021 Full year 2023 Mobile Networks -1% to +2% 5 to 8% Network Infrastructure 7 to 10% 9 to 12% Cloud and Network Services 3 to 6% 8 to 11% Nokia Technologies >75%* >75%* *Although we are now providing our outlook assumption for Nokia Technologies in terms of comparable operating margin, we continue to maintain our expectation for Nokia Technologies to deliver a slight improvement in comparable operating profit in full year 2021, relative to full year 2020, and stable performance over the longer term. Group Common and Other primarily consists of support function costs. Where possible, we have now embedded support function costs directly into our business groups. Therefore, we expect the net negative impact of Group Common and Other to decrease, relative to previous levels, to approximately 200 million in 2021 and 2023. Sustainability Nokia strongly believes that connectivity and technology will play a key role in helping to solve many future challenges. Its sustainability strategy is focused on areas it believes will have the greatest impact on sustainable development and on its business. To improve peoples lives, it is focusing on climate, integrity and culture: On climate, Nokia recently announced that it is targeting to reduce emissions by 50% across both its own operations and products in use between 2019 and 2030. Its new recalibrated Science Based Targets fulfil its commitment to align with a 1.5C global warming scenario. On integrity, Nokia has been recognized as one of the worlds most ethical companies by the Ethisphere institute and intends to continue to strengthen its position. On culture, Nokia wants to prioritize greater inclusion and diversity. As one example, it is targeting an increase of female hires in global external recruits. Updated dividend policy Today, Nokia also updated its dividend policy. It is target recurring, stable and over time growing ordinary dividend payments, taking into account the previous years earnings as well as the companys financial position and business outlook. As previously announced, Nokias Board of Directors did not propose a dividend or dividend authorization for the financial year 2020. After Q4 2021, the Board will assess the possibility of proposing a dividend distribution for the financial year 2021 based on the updated dividend policy. Speakers and webcast details Nokias webcast for investors and analysts will begin on 18 March 2021 at 14:00 EET (Helsinki) / 8:00 EST (New York). Full program and a link to the webcast is available on the event webpage http://nokia.ly/CMD . Note: The proposed organizational changes referenced in this release may be subject to consultation with employee representatives in certain jurisdictions and are not considered final until such processes are completed. About Nokia We create technology that helps the world act together. As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. Investor Enquiries: Nokia Investor Relations Tel. +358 4080 3 4080 Email: investor.relations@nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Katja Antila, Head of Media Relations Forward-looking statements It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect Nokia's current expectations and views of future developments and include statements regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to our strategies, growth management and operational key performance indicators; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, our supply chain and our customers businesses) and any future dividends including timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholds associated therewith; C) expectations and targets regarding financial performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, cost savings, product cost reductions and competitiveness, as well as results of operations including targeted synergies, better commercial management and those results related to market share, prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in organizational and operational structure; E) expectations regarding competition within our market, market developments, general economic conditions and structural and legal change globally and in national and regional markets, such as China; F) our ability to integrate acquired businesses into our operations and achieve the targeted business plans and benefits, including targeted benefits, synergies, cost savings and efficiencies; G) expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or to business collaboration agreements or patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration or partnership, agreement or award; H) timing of the deliveries of our products and services, including our short term and longer term expectations around the rollout of 5G, investment requirements with such rollout, and our ability to capitalize on such rollout; I) expectations and targets regarding collaboration and partnering arrangements, joint ventures or the creation of joint ventures, and the related administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions, as well as our expected customer reach; J) outcome of pending and threatened litigation, arbitration, disputes, regulatory proceedings or investigations by authorities; K) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, including our current cost savings program; L) expectations, plans or benefits related to future capital expenditures, reduction of support function costs, temporary incremental expenditures or other R&D expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products, including 5G, ReefShark and increased digitalization; M) expectations regarding our customers' future actions, including our customers capital expenditure constraints and our ability to satisfy customers needs and retain their business; and N) statements preceded by or including believe, expect, expectations, deliver, maintain, strengthen, target, estimate, plan, intend, assumption, focus, continue, should", "will or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are based on managements best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to them. These forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our strategy is subject to various risks and uncertainties and we may be unable to successfully implement our strategic plans, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business groups, correctly identify or successfully pursue business opportunities or otherwise grow our business; 2) general economic and market conditions, general public health conditions (including its impact on our supply chains) and other developments in the economies where we operate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and our ability to successfully capitalize on that deployment; 3) competition and our ability to effectively and profitably invest in existing and new high-quality products, services, upgrades and technologies and bring them to market in a timely manner; 4) our dependence on the development of the industries in which we operate, including the cyclicality and variability of the information technology and telecommunications industries and our own R&D capabilities and investments; 5) our dependence on a limited number of customers and large multi-year agreements, as well as external events impacting our customers including mergers and acquisitions and the possibility of our customers awarding business to our competitors; 6) our ability to maintain our existing sources of intellectual property-related revenue through our intellectual property, including through licensing, establishing new sources of revenue and protecting our intellectual property from infringement; 7) our ability to manage and improve our financial and operating performance, cost savings, competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing around our ability to recognize any net sales and our ability to implement changes to our organizational and operational structure efficiently; 8) our global business and exposure to regulatory, political or other developments in various countries or regions, including emerging markets and the associated risks in relation to tax matters and exchange controls, among others; 9) our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits, synergies, cost savings and efficiencies of acquisitions; 10) exchange rate fluctuations, as well as hedging activities; 11) our ability to successfully realize the expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration, partnership, agreement or arbitration award; 12) Nokia Technologies' ability to protect its IPR and to maintain and establish new sources of patent, brand and technology licensing income and IPR-related revenues, particularly in the smartphone market, which may not materialize as planned, 13) our dependence on IPR technologies, including those that we have developed and those that are licensed to us, and the risk of associated IPR-related legal claims, licensing costs and restrictions on use; 14) our exposure to direct and indirect regulation, including economic or trade policies, and the reliability of our governance, internal controls and compliance processes to prevent regulatory penalties in our business or in our joint ventures; 15) our reliance on third-party solutions for data storage and service distribution, which expose us to risks relating to security, regulation and cybersecurity breaches; 16) inefficiencies, breaches, malfunctions or disruptions of information technology systems, or our customers security concerns; 17) our exposure to various legal frameworks regulating corruption, fraud, trade policies, and other risk areas, and the possibility of proceedings or investigations that result in fines, penalties or sanctions; 18) adverse developments with respect to customer financing or extended payment terms we provide to customers; 19) the potential complex tax issues, tax disputes and tax obligations we may face in various jurisdictions, including the risk of obligations to pay additional taxes; 20) our actual or anticipated performance, among other factors, which could reduce our ability to utilize deferred tax assets; 21) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 22) disruptions to our manufacturing, service creation, delivery, logistics and supply chain processes, and the risks related to our production sites; 23) the impact of litigation, arbitration, agreement-related disputes or product liability allegations associated with our business; 24) our ability to re-establish investment grade rating or maintain our credit ratings; 25) our ability to achieve targeted benefits from, or successfully implement planned transactions, as well as the liabilities related thereto; 26) our involvement in joint ventures and jointly-managed companies; 27) the carrying amount of our goodwill may not be recoverable; 28) uncertainty related to the amount of dividends and equity return (if any) we are able to distribute to shareholders for each financial period; 29) pension costs, employee fund-related costs, and healthcare costs; 30) our ability to successfully complete and capitalize on our order backlogs and continue converting our sales pipeline into net sales; 31) risks related to undersea infrastructure; and 32) the scope and duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financial markets as well as our customers, supply chain, product development, service delivery, other operations and our financial, tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economic recovery following the pandemic as well as the risk factors specified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 4, 2021 under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Union Minister on Wednesday said New India is moving with a New Energy towards a bright future, and and Venture Capitalists are our partners in this New Journey towards a New Horizon. Speaking at the Indian and Association Annual Conclave 2021, he said that we are happy to work in the true spirit of partnership so that investors, start-ups, and funds enjoy working in India. According to an official release, stating that the Prime Minister talks about changing the mindset of the nation, "Soch Badlo, Desh Badlo", Goyal said that we can change the destiny of the nation if we change the mindset of our people. The Minister called upon all investors to stick to the spirit and ambit of the law and not try to find loopholes in the policies or laws. He said that despite our best efforts to provide a predictable and stable policy environment, some of the investors have been trying to circumvent and misuse the provisions through ingenuity and innovations. He said that this leads to the government trying to plug the loophole and bring in changes. Goyal said that things will never go wrong if people follow the law honestly. "International investors are important for Startup funding and are welcome in the country but having their own limitations. Domestic investors can possibly penetrate much deeper into the hinterland and smaller towns and cities where there is a lot of innovation and potential waiting to be tapped. Domestic investors chasing good Startup ideas can even bring confidence and comfort level among the international investors," he said. Goyal said the Prime Minister is very clear that it is the start-up ecosystem that has the strength, ability, and agility to move things forward. Our government is willing to strengthen the startup ecosystem and are open to new ideas, he added. He said that recognising the strength of our Startup ecosystem, the Government is giving Startups priority, giving them exemption in various taxes, and providing support through preferential procurement. "We have an open mind, and our doors are always open to fresh ideas & thinking. We are happy to work in the true spirit of partnership," the minister said. Inviting the investors to take India's '3D advantage': Demand, Democracy & Demographic dividend, he said that collectively we can do good for the largest set of people, who are aspiring for a better quality of life. "If you look at INDIA, the IN is our Innovation DI is our Disruption A stands for Asia. We are the innovators and disrupters in Asia and we can define the progress & prosperity for a large section of society. New India today is moving with more energy and excitement about the future. We can see before us a bright future, a billion people aspiring for a better quality of life and that is what provides opportunities to look at innovative solutions to the day to day problems", he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iraq's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced Feb. 5 the launch of the rehabilitation project for Mustansiriya Madrassa, a historic school building established in the capital Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate in 1230. The ministry refutes the news of restorations in the historical structure that may harm its historical value. Recent photos had spread of four sewage pipes penetrating the complexs external wall overlooking the Tigris River and surrounding Mustansiriya Madrassa from the back. The building seems to disappear in a corridor surrounded by a multitude of shops and markets with narrow, winding alleys, most notably the Khaffafin and Saffaren markets. Mustansiriya Madrassa is one of the oldest universities in the world, and one of the greatest works of Islamic civilization. The university taught the sciences of the Quran, medicine and mathematics, at the hands of senior sheikhs and scientists in Iraq and the Levant. Only bright students were admitted to this university, which was home to 80,000 books. Al-Monitor spoke to Iyad Mohammed Hamzah, director general of the Department of Maintenance and Preservation of Antiquities at the Ministry of Culture. Mustansiriya Madrassa and the Abbasid Palace have been nominated to join UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list since 2014, he said. The modernization works and restorations are conducted in a scientific manner and within UNESCO conditions to boost Mustansiriya Madrassas chances in the global list. Regarding the details of the development work, Hamzah explained, Efforts focus on eliminating the groundwater danger threatening the structure. The water level of the Tigris River, adjacent to the madrassas backyard, greatly affects the foundations, especially when water levels are high. Hamzah refuted what was published in the media about violations to the original madrassa building, asserting that all works in the minutest detail involve the use of the same original materials, with the developments being documented to identify the original and the new parts. Hamzah noted that the last maintenance process of the madrassa was in 2013, within the scope of the project of Baghdad as the capital of Arab culture. The new maintenance operation is being carried out according to a schedule set by the Directorate of Maintenance and Preservation of Antiquities, which includes the interior yard, the roof, inscriptions, doors, windows, rain drainage network and the external fence. This operation also includes rehabilitating a laser lighting network, treating water leaks in the structure and stopping moisture from creeping into the foundations. He explained that the environmental pollution resulting from traffic is the most important risk threatening the madrassa at the present time. The madrassa is located in an area with heavy traffic. The complex seems to be lost amid raucous commercial chaos, with stores concealing its true value as an archaeological landmark," he noted. Hamzah confirmed the ministry will address the shortcomings to transform the madrassa into a tourist and cultural landmark. Mustansiriya Madrassa consists of a square structure, and in the middle of it is a large yard that leads to tiled corridors toward about 80 side rooms surrounded by arches. These rooms were used as classrooms in the Abbasid era and had windows for ventilation. The former governor of Baghdad, Salah Abdul-Razzaq, who wrote several books and held seminars on the history of Baghdad, told Al-Monitor, The madrassa was neglected during the Ottoman era and used as a warehouse for the customs department. Many of its features, decorations and inscriptions adorning its walls and doors were lost. The Directorate of Antiquities regained the ownership of Mustansiriya Madrassa in 1940, and inevitably sought to rehabilitate it. Abdul-Razzaq said the first maintenance operation took place in 1960 and focused on solving the underground water problem as the level of the school courtyard was lower than the level of the neighboring market. The courtyard was rehabilitated using yellow bricks. After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the madrassa was looted and sabotaged. It became a den of thieves and outlaws. In 2005, a UNESCO delegation and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq visited it to inspect its conditions. To keep the name of Mustansiriya Madrassa alive, the Iraqi government established in 1963 a modern university Mustansiriya University. Ghaith Salim, professor of ancient history and civilization at the university, said the madrassa was included in the World Heritage List as the historical center of Baghdad, which includes multiple sites. Salim expects Mustansiriya Madrassa to successfully join the UNESCO list after the restoration works have finished. He told Al-Monitor, This cultural landmark carries a religious heritage that tells the history of the Islamic schools that used it nearly 798 years ago, since the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah, who built the school from puddled clay. The head of the Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Committee in the Iraqi parliament, Sumaya al-Ghalab, summarized the national policy regarding Mustansiriya Madrassa and other archaeological monuments. There is an emphasis on meeting all conditions to make sure the madrassa and other nominated sites make it to the World Heritage List, she told Al-Monitor. The committee calls for providing the necessary financial allocations and logistical support and exerts all possible efforts to prevent any harm to the monuments that document the history of the inheritance of Muslims. This is why it seeks to make sure all maintenance works are based on scientific and professional practices in line with international specifications and conditions. Tariq Harb, an activist who has written several books on the history of Baghdad, believes previous restoration works have hidden the traces of the Abbasid era and its architectural style. Violations and urban sprawl continue to threaten the madrassa, he told Al-Monitor, noting that the Mongol royals, the descendants of Hulagu Khan, who conquered Baghdad in 1258, would pray in this historical edifice whenever they came to Baghdad, before going to government headquarters. Despite Mustansiriya Madrassas location in the commercial heart of Baghdad, which affects its cultural value, may be turned into its favor with good planning. The complexs surroundings may be developed and turned into a profitable investment tourism project and a cultural and artistic hub. The madrassa itself may be turned into a historical museum that showcases the most beautiful eras of Baghdad. ROME - Alarm Phone announced on Twitter Thursday that a boat was on fire off the coast of Libya. "Alarm Phone was alerted during the night to about 70-100 people close to the Libyan coast off Zuwara. They are in panic as their boat seems to have caught on fire. Authorities are informed. Waste no time, help is urgently needed!" COLOMBO Sri Lankas government said Tuesday it would take time to consider a proposed ban on the wearing of burqas, which a top security official called a sign of religious extremism. The minister of public security, Sarath Weerasekara, said Saturday he was seeking approval from the Cabinet of Ministers to ban the outer garment worn by some Muslim women covering the body and face. The burqa has a direct impact on national security, he told a ceremony at a Buddhist temple, without elaborating. In our early days, we had a lot of Muslim friends, but Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa, Weerasekara said, according to video footage sent by his ministry. It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We will definitely ban it. However, government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said a ban was a serious decision requiring consultation and consensus. It will be done in consultation. So, it requires time, he said without elaborating, at the weekly media briefing held to announce the cabinet decisions. The wearing of burqas in Sri Lanka was temporarily banned in 2019 soon after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 260 people in the Indian Ocean island nation. Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group were blamed for the attacks at six locations: two Roman Catholic churches, one Protestant church, and three top hotels. Earlier, a Pakistani diplomat and a UN expert expressed concern about the possible ban, with Pakistani Ambassador Saad Khattak tweeting a ban would only injure the feelings of Muslims. The United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, tweeted that a ban was incompatible with international law and the rights of free religious expression. Separately Tuesday, Sri Lankas Foreign Ministry said the government would take the time to consult with all parties concerned and reach a consensus. Sri Lanka also has plans to close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas because they are unregistered and accused of not following national education policy. The proposal to ban burqas and madrassas is the latest move affecting the Indian Ocean island nations minority Muslims. Muslims make up about 9 percent of the 22 million people in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists account for more than 70 percent of the population. Ethnic minority Tamils, who are mainly Hindus, comprise about 15 percent of the population. Regarding the proposals, the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) told CT the group favors freedom of religion or belief. We believe it is a womans right to decide what she wears, said Godfrey Yogarajah, NCEASL general secretary. Also, if she has grown up wearing the burqa for religious reasons, then for the state to try and regulate is a violation of religious freedom. Regarding security concerns, Yogarajahalso the World Evangelical Alliances ambassador for religious freedomnoted that the suicide bombers in Sri Lanka have all been men dressed in normal attire. He also noted how Sri Lankans are currently required to wear face masks as they go about daily life. In this context, to propose a ban on Muslim women wearing burqas is not prudent, he said, and discriminatory. Additional reporting by Jeremy Weber of CT. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. ADVERTISEMENT The Katsina State House of Assembly is investigating a petition accusing two Customs Service officers of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old girl. The Chairman of House Committee on Public Petition, Abduljalal Haruna-Runka, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Katsina. He said that the petition was brought by an NGO, Queen Dijah Women and Children Awareness Initiative. Mr Haruna-Runka said the petition was read at plenary, after which, the Speaker, Tasiu Musa-Maigari, mandated the committee on public petitions to investigate the matter. He revealed that the committee would invite the suspects and the victim during investigation. According to him, the committee would submit its findings after the house resumes sitting in April. The petition was signed by the organisations president, Khadija Saulawa. In the petition addressed to the Speaker, the NGO called for discreet investigation over aggravated sexual assault, rape and impregnation of a teenage girl. It said the crime was allegedly perpetrated in Rijiyar Hamza village, Katsina Local Government Area by the two suspects, (names withheld), who were claimed to be officers of the Nigeria Customs Service. Ms Saulawa stated in the petition that the two men allegedly came with a Hilux vehicle with tinted glasses, lured and had sex with the victim inside the vehicle. According to the petition, the victim revealed that the duo sometimes gave her N200 after sex for the six months the relationship lasted. It is our observation that the suspects took undue advantage of the poverty and humble background of the said teenage girls family. It is with heavy heart and great consternation that we inform you that the victim has delivered a baby boy three months ago. We became aware that a purported amicable settlement was made between the suspects and the parents/relatives of the victim, whereby at the end of every month, each of the suspects contributes N15,000 for feeding of the pregnant teenage girl. However, after the transfer of the suspects from Katsina, they started abdicating their responsibility, which we found incongruous, because the gravity of the offence is not the one that can be settled, hence this petition. We urge you to investigate the issue so that the culprits will be brought to book. (NAN) President Moon Jae-in poses with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during their courtesy visit at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap By Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in has said he will seek to improve ties with Japan in order to revive South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation that the Joe Biden government sees as critical in promoting regional stability, during a meeting with core members of the new U.S. administration. Moon had his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, and discussed key issues regarding the alliance and North Korea. Ahead of their visit to the presidential office, the two U.S. secretaries held talks with their Korean counterparts Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook and announced a joint statement with the focus on strengthening the alliance. "President Moon said he will continue to make efforts to restore bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan as they are very important for peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia as well as for the solid foundation for South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation," presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a briefing after the 50-minute meeting. "The U.S. side evaluated our government's willingness and efforts to improve Korea-Japan relations, and said that the U.S. side also expects progress." Moon also underlined the need for a common strategy on the Korean Peninsula issue. "President Moon evaluated the frequent consultations and communication between South Korea and the U.S. for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establish lasting peace, and stressed the need for Seoul and Washington to come up with a joint comprehensive strategy for North Korea. The U.S. side also said it would continue to communicate closely with its ally South Korea in an open manner during the process of reviewing its North Korea policy," Kang 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. Regulatory News: The Board of Directors of Total SE (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT) met on March 17, 2021 under the chairmanship of Mr. Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and decided to convene the Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting, to be held on May 28, 2021. The legal notice of the meeting will be published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires ('Mandatory Legal Notice Bulletin') on March 31, 2021 and will be available on the Company's website. 1) Energy transition of TotalEnergies towards carbon neutrality The Board has made several important decisions in support of the transformation of Total into a broad energy company, its commitment to the energy transition and its climate ambition to get to net zero as announced in May 2020: As stated on February 9, 2021, and to be consistent with this ambition, the Board of Directors will propose to shareholders that this transformation should be anchored in the by-laws by changing the company name to TotalEnergies SE. The Board will present a resolution for an advisory vote on the Company's ambition for sustainable development and energy transition to carbon neutrality and its 2030 objectives. This resolution is based on the joint statement issued with the global investor initiative Climate 100+ in May 2020, on the strategy and objectives announced to shareholders by Total in September 2020 and in February 2021, and finally on the work of the Board of Directors on the TotalEnergies Company's ambition. The Board of Directors is thus giving shareholders the opportunity to express their view on the strategy for the transition to net zero that it has set for the Company, taking into account certain expectations expressed in this regard as well as the inadmissibility of a draft resolution relating to this strategy that would be presented by shareholders as it is an area of competence specific to the Board of Directors. From 2021, a new criterion regarding the reduction in indirect (Scope 3) emissions related to the use of the Group's energy products by its customers in Europe will be introduced for the allocation of performance shares to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and to all Senior Executives. Moreover, the weight of the criteria related to the company's transformation strategy in variable compensation has also been increased. 2) Organization of the Shareholders' Meeting of May 28, 2021 Given the declaration of the state of health emergency due to the epidemic of Covid-19 until June 1, 2021 and the extension of the exceptional measures applicable to shareholders' meetings until July 31, 2021, the Company Annual Shareholders' Meeting will be held without the physical presence of the shareholders and of other members and persons entitled to participate, in order to avoid exposing shareholders to health risks and to ensure equal access to the Meeting. The Shareholders' Meeting will be streamed live in full on the Company's website (www.total.com). It will therefore not be possible to ask oral questions but, in order to promote shareholder dialogue, shareholders will have the possibility to ask questions on the dedicated transmission platform which will be accessible four days prior to the Shareholders' Meeting, i.e. as from May 24, 2021, as well as the day of the Shareholders' Meeting. The Board of Directors has chosen the "Total Actionnariat France" FCPE and Amundi, shareholders of the Company, from among the ten shareholders with the largest number of voting rights of which the Company is aware and having accepted this duty. The Board of Directors approved the documents which will be submitted at the Shareholders' Meeting on May 28, 2021, including the Management Report. This Report is included in the Company's Universal Registration Document, which will be available on its website. The document includes notably a description of the main risks to which the Company is exposed. 3) Corporate governance Upon the proposal of the Governance and Ethics Committee, chaired by Ms. Marie-Christine Coisne-Roquette, Lead Independent Director, the Board of Directors has decided to propose to the Shareholders' Meeting to renew for a period of three years the terms as Directors of Ms. Anne-Marie Idrac and Mr. Patrick Pouyanne, whose existing terms expire following the Shareholders' Meeting. Subject to the renewal of his Director's mandate by the Shareholders' Meeting, the Board of Directors decided to renew the terms as Chairman of the Board and as Chief Executive Officer of Mr. Patrick Pouyanne, for the duration of his new term as Director, i.e., until the Shareholders' Meeting of 2024, at its meeting that will take place on May 28, 2021 following the Shareholders' Meeting. In view of the rules on directors' independence under the Afep-Medef Code to which the Company adheres, the Board has decided not to propose the renewal of the term of Mr. Patrick Artus, who was appointed on May 15, 2009. The Board thanked Mr. Patrick Artus, a renowned economist, for the quality of his contribution to the work of the Board of Directors and its Committees. To replace Mr. Carlos Tavares, who wished to stand down from the Board in 2020, the Board of Directors decided to propose to the Shareholders' Meeting the appointment of Mr. Jacques Aschenbroich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Valeo, as Director for a period of three years. Mr. Jacques Aschenbroich will bring to the Board his knowledge in transportation, a key sector in terms of evolution in energy demand, and his experience at the head of a large industrial company. In order to keep an economist on the Board and to strengthen the presence of international profiles within its ranks, especially from the United States given the size of the Company's shareholding in the country, the Board of Directors decided to propose to the General Shareholders' Meeting the appointment of Mr. Glenn Hubbard, an American economist, for a period of three years. 4) Compensation of the executive director The Board approved the financial resolutions which will be proposed at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting, particularly those related to the approval of the compensation of its Executive Director for the fiscal year 2020. This compensation has been reduced by 34% compared to 2019, due notably to the decision of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer to voluntarily reduce his fixed compensation by 25% from May 1, 2020, in view of the exceptional economic context. A part of the process for the renewal of the executive director term, the Board also updated the compensation policy of the Executive Director unchanged since 2016, through a planned raise of both its fixed-salary and the long-term component of his compensation linked to new performance and retention obligations to support his long-term commitment. About Total Total is a broad energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is more affordable, more reliable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major. Cautionary Note This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL SE directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL SE has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total", "Total Group" and Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005341/en/ Contacts: Total Contacts Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@total.com l @TotalPress Investor Relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@total.com When restaurants last year were forced by the state to close their dining rooms, the forecast for long-term survival was so dismal that owners fixated on the tiniest crack in the black cloud hanging over them: With fewer restaurants, they reasoned, hiring would be a cinch. The good news is almost every Charleston area restaurant has thus far withstood the crisis, with only nine downtown restaurants closing permanently in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. (Another dozen restaurant groups gave up their downtown leases to focus on other stores, leaving the landscape change well within the normal range. In 2019, 20 downtown restaurants shuttered.) And while its a stretch to describe anything related to the radical shift in industry fortunes as bad news, owners now have to contend with a staffing shortage thats more severe than the one they faced before the pandemic. Faced with demand thats surged faster and higher than anticipated, restaurateurs across Charleston are hustling to rebuild their skeleton crews. Local food-and-beverage social media accounts are now crammed with pleas for applications. Its a significant struggle, said Trudi Wagner, co-owner of goat.sheep.cow. We are back at that stage (when we) were just pulling our hair out, like everyone else, hiring anyone who showed up just for showing up. I didnt care what your resume looked like. Wagner recalls saying to co-owner Patty Floersheimer, 'I cant wait until we have our pick of people. Thatll be great.' Instead, Wagner and Floersheimer have scaled back hours at their Church Street shop and continued to operate their North Meeting Street location exclusively as a retail store. Prior to the pandemic, it housed a full-service cafe. At the start of the pandemic, some business owners were worried that the expansion and extension of unemployment benefits would shrink the labor pool. Those fears were reawakened by the recent passage of the American Rescue Plan, which extends federal bonus payments of $300 a week. But Charleston area restaurant owners say they dont believe that hospitality employees are at home collecting checks. While their evidence is purely anecdotal, they maintain that people drawn to the food-and-beverage business arent the type to enjoy doing nothing. Most of the people on our team love to work, said Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary. They wouldnt look for a chance to freeload. Theyre excited to be in the kitchen and be part of the culinary team. In fact, restaurant owners speculate that former employees interest in being productive may help explain why theyre having trouble scaring up prospective hires. Many longtime restaurant professionals used the downtime following the suspension of on-premise dining to take tentative steps down other career paths. Notably, the booming real estate market beckoned to workers who werent sure when dining would get back to normal. South Carolina has issued 4,901 new real estate licenses since March 15, 2020, or 240 fewer than it issued between March 15, 2019 and March. 15, 2020. Of course, those statistics dont reflect how many of the new licensees previously worked in Charleston area restaurants. Its the rare hospitality worker who doesnt know at least one former colleague whos talked about studying for real estate credentials. Lata isnt concerned by the purported rush on real estate licenses. He remembers plenty of hospitality workers bolted for home sales in the mid-2000s, only to return to restaurants after the 2008 financial crisis. People will come back to restaurants because theyre cool places, Lata said. Sign up for our food & dining newsletter. We publish our free Food & Dining newsletter every Wednesday at 10 a.m. to keep you informed on everything happening in the Charleston culinary scene. Sign up today! Email Sign Up! Ben Towill of Basic Kitchen and Post House said the notion of restaurants as fun places where people come together is particularly seductive after a very lonely year. Among his new employees are hospitality first-timers who explained, I just want to see people and meet people because Ive been on my own. As uncertainty surrounding the industry fades, Lata predicts even more people will jump at the jobs it offers. Ultimately, I think people are afraid to start new jobs until restaurant work settles into a predictable rhythm, he said, suggesting a feeling of security is even more valuable to potential employees than a robust paycheck. At Charlestons best-known restaurants its not uncommon for line cooks to earn upward of $40,000 a year. Servers earn much more. While calls surfaced during lockdown for the service industry to rethink its compensation model, Lata doesnt feel like it needs an immediate overhaul. Towill agreed, saying, I feel like weve just come through a big hurricane and now is not the time to change everything. But well learn from what we went through and then have a good debrief with hindsight. Like many restaurateurs, he plans to apply a similar strategy to what diners see, sticking to the same food and service styles that were in place before the pandemic. Wagner suspects some food-and-beverage professionals will stay away from the sector so long as masks are required. While she and Floersheimer are adamant about mask enforcement, she appreciates that strict rules and social distance are at odds with what many workers like about hospitality. People are still hiding out and waiting for it to settle down, she said. Customers, though, have no such qualms. Whats made the staffing crunch so acute is overwhelming demand for local restaurant tables. Several restaurants in March reported record-setting weekends, a development thats exhilarating for business owners who at one point assumed theyd have buried their lifes work by now. If there is a difference between the pre- and post-pandemic staffing shortages, its found in restaurateurs attitudes. Nobody is in the mood to grumble about a huge influx of diners, as Towill terms it. According to OpenTable, the number of diners seated at restaurants across South Carolina on March 14 was off just 9 percent from the comparable day in 2019. By contrast, New York came up 56 percent short. I think we have blue skies ahead on all fronts, Lata said. Were all just trying to (staff) for what we hope is the Roaring 20s. Still, Lata is attuned to the threat of burnout associated with racing to make hay while the sun shines. For various reasons, including his employees quality of life, The Ordinary has started closing on Tuesdays. Trying to do more with less might be another casualty of the pandemic, which gave food-and-beverage professionals the chance to experience and enjoy something approximating work-life balance. People accustomed to working 80 hours a week discovered dinners at home and back-to-back days off. Among them were Wagner and Floersheimer, who arent in any rush to reopen the cafe portion of goat.sheep.cow North. I hate to honestly tell you. We kind of like our lives without a restaurant, Wagner said. As for the people who had hoped to make or serve French onion soup there: Between March 15 and March 17, another 48 Charleston restaurants posted openings on Craigslist. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) At least 137 out of more than 240,000 Filipinos who got their first COVID-19 shot experienced serious adverse effects, the Food and Drug Administration bared Thursday. In a briefing with the Health Department, FDA Director General Rolando Domingo said 83 reported serious side effects after receiving the CoronaVac vaccine by China's Sinovac Biotech while 54 were from those who received the first shot from British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca. Serious adverse reactions reported by both set of vaccinees include chest pain, nasal congestion, and allergic reactions. According to Domingo, adverse reactions experienced after vaccination are only considered serious if they meet any of the following criteria: - Results in death and life-threatening situation - Requires in-patient hospitalization or results in prolongation of existing hospitalization - Results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity - Is a congenital anomaly/birth defect - Is a medically important event or reaction Common minor side effects after inoculation include an increase in blood pressure, pain in injection site, rashes, headache, and nausea. At least 240,297 vaccinees mostly health workers already received their first dose, based on the government's cumulative data as of Wednesday, March 17. Of this number, 167,798 Sinovac doses were administered while 72,499 are from AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, medical authorities stressed that the recent report on the local health worker who died after getting her first dose of CoronaVac cannot be related to the vaccine, as CoronaVac is a chemically inactivated virus vaccine. "The patient died from COVID infection. We all know that the vaccine is inactivated," said Dr. Rommel Lobo, member of the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee. He added that the patient had comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and bronchial asthma "that put her at risk for getting infected." RELATED: COVID-19 vaccine did not cause local health worker's death DOH Director Beverly Ho of the Health Department's Health Promotion Bureau and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau said there is no reason to stop the country's vaccine rollout as "benefits still outweigh the risks" of getting inoculated against COVID-19. Meanwhile, Domingo noted that Sinovac has already been informed about the incident and they will give an update on whether similar incidents in other countries were reported. "We must keep in mind na kapag nabakunahan tayo, yung first few weeks, wala pang proteskyon na nabibigay against COVID-19," Domingo also reminded. [Translation: We must keep in mind that once we get vaccinated, we are not yet fully protected against COVID-19 in the first few weeks.] Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. previously said more CoronaVac vaccines will be administered next month as the brand provides a shorter time interval of four weeks between the administration of the two doses. The Department of Health said CoronaVac is still 100% effective against moderate and severe symptoms and can reduce morbidity and mortality despite previous warning from the FDA that it has a low efficacy rate of 50.4% among health workers. Medical frontliners currently have the freedom to decide whether or not they would take this vaccine. Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV)(YBB.FF) is focused on acquiring and exploring high quality and advanced exploration and development projects prospective for strategic minerals associated with the electric vehicle battery sector and other new-age disruptive technologies, as well as nickel, gold and precious metals. Carnavale Resources completes $2.1 million placement to fund Barracuda Platinum-Palladium-Nickel-Copper Project acquisition Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) (FRA:YBB) has completed its $2.1 million placement with the allotment of 300 million ordinary fully paid shares at $0.007 per share to high net worth overseas, sophisticated and professional investors. Funds will be used to acquire the Barracuda Platinum-Palladium-Nickel-Copper Project Project, around 60 kilometres east of the gold mining town of Mt Magnet in WA, as well as fund the initial exploration work and provide working capital. The initial exploration program will include an airborne EM survey and detailed review of the project geochemistry and aeromagnetics followed by subsequent drill testing of any defined targets. Shares were issued under the company's existing placement capacity under Listing Rule 7.1A (200 million shares) and Listing Rule 7.1 (100 million shares). Acquisition terms Carnavale is buying E58/551 from Corporate & Resource Consultants Pty and Bruce Legendre. It paid a $10,000 non-refundable deposit, with the balance of $40,000 in cash and 20 million fully paid ordinary shares in the company, payable at settlement to the vendors. Settlement will occur five business days after Ministerial consent has been granted for the transfer and the vendors have transferred the title of E58/551 to Carnavale. Carnavale will also grant the vendors a 0.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on minerals produced from the tenement. The BBC will today announce a dramatic overhaul of the corporation in a bid to make it less London-centric. It is expected to see many episodes of the Today programme and other flagship shows broadcast outside the capital. Last night there was even speculation that Radio 3 could be moved to Salford as part of the sweeping changes, but the corporation refused to comment on these claims. Insiders predicted that hundreds of jobs will be moved out of London, and many new roles also be created outside the capital even though its overall headcount will be cut, with hundreds of job losses announced. Broadcasting House, the BBC's headquarters in central London. The BBC will today announce a dramatic overhaul of the corporation in a bid to make it less London-centric The moves will reflect director general Tim Davie's strategy to tackle claims that the BBC is dominated by a 'metropolitan' mindset and does not represent large parts of the UK. It is understood a major part of tackling this perceived London-centric view will be to broadcast flagship news programmes from locations outside of the capital for a significant amount of the time. As well as the Today programme, which sources suggested could be aired from different locations for about 100 programmes a year, other shows like Newsnight and PM are also likely to vary where they air from. But BBC staff criticised the moves, saying people were 'dreading' the announcement after hundreds of job cuts were previously announced. A senior BBC source said: 'Tim says he is determined to get more diversity, including more class diversity with people from non-London and non-Oxbridge backgrounds. And I think he is pretty serious. 'Although some people will simply sell their houses and move, a lot won't and therefore there will be a lot of openings and opportunities for people to join outside London.' The moves will reflect director general Tim Davie's strategy to tackle claims that the BBC is dominated by a 'metropolitan' mindset and does not represent large parts of the UK Another said jobs being relocated to 'other parts of the country' felt like 'more redundancies by the backdoor'. They said: 'It's a de facto compulsory redundancy. Because people can't up sticks and their whole lives necessarily. Everyone is so exhausted of the fighting. 'I know that it is going to be a proper restructuring. It will really put the cat among the pigeons.' Other measures could see a large number of new video reporters in places where the BBC has traditionally not had a strong presence. One insider said they also expected the number of productions made outside London to increase significantly. Last September, Mr Davie said: 'If we are going to get closer to our audience we need an organisation based more across the UK.' Last year Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told the BBC to do more to get in touch with the 'whole of the United Kingdom'. A BBC spokesman said: 'The BBC needs to offer value to all licence fee payers no matter where they are and that's something we all agree we can do more of.' March 23 is the day when the All India Muslim League under the prudent leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah set a direction to translate the dream of Allama Muhammad Iqbal of an independent state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent into reality, passing a unanimous Lahore Resolution-1940, commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :March 23 is the day when the All India Muslim League under the prudent leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah set a direction to translate the dream of Allama Muhammad Iqbal of an independent state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent into reality, passing a unanimous Lahore Resolution-1940, commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution. "All India Muslim League on this significant day pledged to initiate a movement for a separate land for the Muslims of the sub-continent to end their miseries," renowned scholar Prof Fatah Muhammad Malik said while talking to APP. He said in his famous Allahabad address, Iqbal made it clear that islam had its socio-economic system and, to implement it, a separate, independent political entity was a must. Guided by Iqbal's vision, the Quaid began working to muster the full support of Muslims realizing the importance of having their own homeland. An independent state for the Muslim minority was the need of the hour as it was facing untold miseries and disgrace at the hands of British rulers and their Hindu subordinates, coupled with growing social and economic disparity between the two nations. A crisp spring day in 1940, under the shadow of the Badshahi Mosque, in a city that has been at the heart of the Muslim subcontinent for centuries, leadership of All India Muslim League headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah resolved to create a separate homeland for their people. Flanked by leaders of the All-India Muslim League and the Khaksars, Muhammed Ali Jinnah took to the stage in Minto Park to address the thousands in attendance, laying down the unequivocal demand for Pakistan. The Quaid had said "The Lahore Resolution of 1940 (known as Pakistan Resolution) is the result of what may be considered one of the most significant political movements in recent world history." It led to the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. This homeland was destined to survive and thrive despite being plagued with innumerable conspiracies and intrigues hatched in rapid succession by ill-wishing forces. It proclaimed self-perceived nationhood for the 80 million Indian Muslims who had been contented with being a minority for almost 80 years since the 1860s. Prof Fateh Malik observed that Pakistan could achieve progress and prosperity only by pursuing the path set by our founders leader Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal. "It is the day to reaffirm our commitment to correct the mistakes made in the past and hold ourselves accountable to steer the country on road of progress and prosperity," he asserted. He said March 23 proclaimed the birth of a nation and the launch of a struggle to carve out a territorial base in India's body politic. This, in short, is the prime significance of Pakistan Day, which commemorates that landmark resolution. The resolution was moved in the second open session on the afternoon of March 23. The first session on March 22 had been taken up by, among others matters, Jinnah's extempore two-hour presidential address in which he argued for the most part the Muslim case for separate nationhood in sociological and political terms and called for "their homelands, their territories and their state" so that they could "develop to the fullest our spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way we think best, and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people". Moved by Premier Fazlul Haq of Bengal and seconded by Choudhry Khaliquzzaman (UP), this lengthy resolution comprising some 450 words was supported by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan (Punjab), Sardar Aurangzeb Khan (NWFP), and Sir Abdullah Haroon (Sindh) before the session was adjourned till the next day. On March 24, when discussion on the resolution was resumed, it was supported by Mohammad Ismail Khan (Bihar), Qazi Mohammad Isa Khan (Balochistan), Abdul Hamid Khan (Madras), Ismail Chundrigar (Bombay), Syed Abdur Rauf Shah (CP), and Dr. Mohammad Alam (Punjab). Prof Fateh Mailk said Pakistan came into existence seven years after the resolution of March 23, 1940 is a wonder in itself. It was created in the wake of sharp ideological divides that were exacerbated by the prejudiced conduct of the Hindu leadership, whose sole aim was to subdue the Muslim population after India's independence from British colonial rule. Inspired by the sagacity and farsightedness of philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal and founder of the nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muslims of the subcontinent soon realized that they risked becoming a permanent minority if India remained undivided after Independence. This realization was not based on apprehension alone but on solid calculations. In the emerging, post-independence scenario, it was likely to become nearly impossible for Muslims to protect their fundamental rights under the umbrella of the Hindu majority, whose leaders and elite had already started exhibiting hegemonic attitudes. Jinnah's address to the Lahore Conference motivated multitudes of Muslims to launch a sustainable, unwavering movement for freedom. With unflinching resolve and great sacrifices rendered by Muslims of the sub-continent under the dynamic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947 and appeared on the world map as a sovereign state. Since then, Pakistan defended its independence and faced all problems and challenges bravely, failing all the sinister designs of enemies on every front; besides laying a solid foundation for sustained progress towards its cherished goal. Every year, the nation celebrates March 23 as Pakistan Day with a renewed pledge to make the country the strongest by all means, especially on economic and defence fronts so that no one could even think of casting an evil eye on the motherland. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser said March 23 had a great significance in the national history and he believed it was the day when "we celebrate our independence in a befitting manner." The present government, he said, was taking far-reaching steps to transform the country into a state in line with the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam . Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan highlighted background and objectives of the Pakistan Day, raising a number of poignant questions about reasoning behind creation and meaning of Pakistan, its justice, social and economic systems. Now, it is the time of doing something practical, not raising mere emotional slogans. That is why this nation has chosen Imran Khan as its prime minister for practical work," he said. The minister underlined the need for promoting the culture of self-accountability in the society. \395\932 More good vibes as Company signs lease for its sixth dispensary location in Salinas, California Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Vibe Growth Corporation (CSE: VIBE) (OTC: VBSCF) (FSE: A061) (the "Company" or "Vibe"), a vertically integrated California cannabis enterprise, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a lease agreement for a commercial property (the "Property") in metro Salinas, California, entitled by Monterey County to allow for a retail cannabis dispensary. Vibe anticipates its newest dispensary will open in the third quarter of 2021, once required licenses and approvals have been obtained, and will become Vibe's sixth dispensary location. The Company's recently closed financings totaling $15.9 million, including a $13.8 million bought-deal that was upsized from an initially announced $8 million. Vibe is positioned to further execute its growth strategy of rapidly expanding its retail dispensary portfolio and scaling its business in California. Vibe's new Salinas dispensary will serve the 435,000 residents of metropolitan Salinas, and join the Company's existing locations in Sacramento, Stockton, Redding, and Ukiah, California, and Portland, Oregon. The Vibe management team continues to actively explore expansion opportunities as it looks to add both new dispensary and cultivation assets to its portfolio and meet the growing demand for its Vibe By California and Hype Cannabis Co. products. "Monterey County was a primary expansion target of ours," stated Mark Waldron, CEO of Vibe. "We are excited about opening the Salinas dispensary, upon final licensing and approval, and are proud to say that Vibe looks forward to providing its customers with the largest selection of premium cannabis products grown right in the Salinas Valley." About Vibe Growth Corporation Vibe Growth Corporation and its cannabis retail brand, Vibe By California, is a trusted, vertically integrated California cannabis enterprise with retail dispensaries; cannabis greenhouse cultivation; premium indoor cultivation; commercial cannabis distribution; brand sales and marketing; e-commerce platform; home delivery; and Hype Cannabis Co. marijuana and Vibe CBD products. In California, Vibe is focused on maximizing shareholder value through accelerating organic growth, opportunistic acquisitions, distressed workouts, and new license applications. The Company operates retail and e-commerce under its iconic Vibe By California brand. To learn more about Vibe, please visit: www.vibebycalifornia.com Cautionary Note Regarding Product & Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the parties' current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events, and may be impacted as a result of general economic conditions or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Company's expectations of revenue, EBITDA profitability and adjusted funds flow, higher sales volumes, and the company's retail operations. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the parties are not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Risk factors related to the Company are described in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis, a copy of which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any State securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws. Unlike in Canada which has Federal legislation uniformly governing the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of medical cannabis under the Cannabis Act (Federal), readers are cautioned that in the U.S., cannabis is largely regulated at the State level. To the knowledge of Vibe Growth Corporation, there are to date a total of 33 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legalized cannabis in some form. Notwithstanding the permissive regulatory environment of medical cannabis at the State level, cannabis continues to be categorized as a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act in the U.S. and as such, cannabis-related practices or activities, including without limitation, the manufacture, importation, possession, use or distribution of cannabis are illegal under U.S. federal law. Strict compliance with state laws concerning cannabis will neither absolve Vibe of liability under the U.S. Federal law nor will it provide a defense to any Federal proceeding, which may be brought against Vibe Growth Corporation. Any such proceedings brought against Vibe may adversely affect its operations and financial performance. Company Contact Michal Holub, CFO Phone: +1 833-420-VIBE x102 Email: ir@vibebycalifornia.com Website: www.vibebycalifornia.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77709 Milipol Qatar 2021, the leading international event dedicated to homeland security and civil defence in the Middle East, saw a visitor turnout of 7,924 and an on-site declared sales tally worth QR390 million ($107.11 million). The three-day show at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre was held under the patronage of H.H the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani who visited Milipol Qatar 2021 on Tuesday. Milipol Qatar 2021 was a watershed in the events history in that it was held against a background of strict health, safety and hygiene protocols implemented to combat the spread of Covid-19. Nevertheless, the show, attracted 150 exhibitors from 17 countries and five national pavilions representing Brazil, France, Germany, the UK, and USA. 54% of the exhibitors were new to Milipol Qatar. The exhibitor line-up was a showcase of advanced technology include breakthroughs in the fields of robotics, biometrics, trace and detection technologies, communication, and control systems as well as counter-drone systems, big data, smart sensors, 5G, and AI-based cybersecurity and video analytics. The exhibiting turnout was largely attracted by industry forecasts which predict the Middle Easts homeland security market will grow to be worth $19.7 billion by the end of 2022. Milipol Qatar was one of the industrys first opportunities to meet face-to-face since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic. The pandemic has super-charged the industrys response to a rapidly changing world. National security are focusing on protection from and response to cybercrime, pandemics, humanitarian crises, and climate change, said a spokesman. These changing priorities were in evidence amongst the highly sophisticated technology on display at Milipol Qatar 2021 and which will find its way into the industrys newly formed mainstream. The show which was inaugurated by Qatars Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, along with other dignitaries from 30 countries which included Ministers from Ukraine, Moldovia, Pakistan, Lebanon and Iraq. Some 257 delegates also attended the two-day Milipol Qatar seminar series which was addressed by 16 experts who explored the future of the industries and a pathway to a safer world focusing on cyber security, civil defence and mega events security. Milipol Qatar was organised by Qatars Ministry of Interior in partnership with Paris-based international event organiser Comexposium, acting on behalf of the GIE Milipol headed by Civipol, the technical implementer of the French ministry of the Interior. The event meets a large part of the security objectives of the State of Qatar in line with the countrys National Vision 2030, while also addressing wider regional needs. Milipol Qatar 2022 is now scheduled to be held from May 24-26. Milipol Qatar 2021 has secured Barzan Holdings, the Qatar organisation which is helping to revolutionise the countrys defence and security sector as the events strategic sponsor. Other main sponsors include Abdullah Abdelghani & Bros and Eshhar Security Services while Outbox, Ooredoo and Al Hazm are Diamond Sponsors. Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Co. is the events Platinum sponsor while Gold sponsors are Huawei, Stork Motors, Notification, and the Jaidah Group. Silver sponsors are MSC and Dell Technology while Bronze sponsors are Mannai Corporation, Nuctech and Salam Technology. Qommunications is the events official social media sponsor with Milaha being the official freight forwarder and Qatar Airways as the official carrier. -- Tradearabia News Service The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) says South Africa has 80% volume of water in its reservoirs for use until the next summer rains. According to the latest weekly report on dam levels released by the department on Wednesday, the amount of available water is likely to sustain the country through the dry conditions, provided South Africans continue to save water. "Last month, large parts of the country received heavy downpours that resulted in most dams reaching their full capacity and others spilling. In Gauteng, DWS officials had to open five sluice gates to release water at the Vaal Dam to avoid possible floods," the department said. Despite the absence of any significant rainfall at the moment, the report said there has not been any significant change in dam levels since last week. The dams are currently at 85.5%, an almost 20% improvement compared to the same period last year when they were at 66.2%. Although dams in the Free State have dropped by 1% from last week, to 98.8%, they remain the highest in the country in terms of actual volume. The province boasts some of the biggest dams in the country, including Gariep and Sterkfontein. The smaller Gauteng dams retained their full capacity of 100.6%. The Vaal Dam, within the Integrated Vaal River System, is at 104.9%, slightly lower from last week's 105.2%. South Africa's second largest dam, Vanderkloof Dam in Northern Cape, is at 100.5%. Dam levels in Mpumalanga have registered 88.4%, a 14% improvement compared to the same period last year when they stood at 74.9%. "Although the Usuthu-Inkomati Water Integrated Scheme dropped slightly because of the lack of rain, the average provincial dam level suggests that the province will have sufficient water in its reservoirs to sustain it through the dry winter," the department said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance Infrastructure By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Despite a slight drop to 87.5% this week, Limpopo compares favourably with the country's best performing dams. KwaZulu-Natal dams have maintained last week's level of 72.1%, with the Umgeni River Integrated System contributing immensely to the water situation in the Natal Midlands and eThekwini regions. The Umgeni Water Supply System continues to recharge the cities of UMgungundlovu and eThekwini with sufficient water supply, despite the absence of rain in the past week. The South African Weather Service has predicted 80% rainfall for the province between Wednesday and Thursday. North West dams registered a 1% drop from last week, to 81.6% this week. However, parts of the province, including Madibeng, Ngaka Modiri and Bojanala, continue to experience water challenges as a result of poor infrastructure and the lack of rain. Eastern Cape dams levels dropped from 55.8% last week to 55.1% this week. "The Nelson Mandela Bay region, which includes the City of Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, is among the worst affected by dry conditions. The two water supply systems in the province - Algoa and Amathole - are struggling to cope with the rising water demands," the department said. Western Cape dams have also dropped to 56.6% this week. However, the department said that with the end of a dry summer hydrological season in sight, the winter rains are expected to boost the province's dam levels to higher levels. The department has commended water users for heeding the message to use water sparingly and urged them to continue doing so to survive the looming dry winter season. Concertina wire sits at the base of a steel barrier wall separates the United States from Mexico in Calexico, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Border Agents Arrest Illegal Immigrants Convicted of Rape, Sexual Assault, in California and Texas Border agents recently arrested several illegal immigrants in California and Texas who were previously convicted of rape or sexual assault, one of whom was previously deported from the United States. In California, the U.S. Border Patrol of the Yuma Sector on March 15 around 11:30 p.m. arrested a Mexican illegal alien who is a convicted rapist. Aurelio Sandoval-Valdivia, 54, was part of a group of 18 who illegally crossed the southern border into the United States and was arrested near Andrade, California, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on its website. After conducting record checks, agents discovered that one of the individuals, Aurelio Sandoval-Valdivia, had a felony conviction for rape, according to the CBP. Sandoval-Valdivia also had misdemeanor convictions for willful cruelty to a child and driving while intoxicated, and was previously deported from U.S. Aurelio Sandoval-Valdivia, a convicted rapist arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on March 15, 2021. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) Separately, border patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas arrested three illegal aliens with prior convictions of rape or other sexual offenses, according to a Wednesday CBP release. Two of the arrests took place on March 15. One of the illegal aliens, Jose Estuardo Martinez, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by Brownsville Border Patrol Station agents in Texas on the afternoon of March 15. Record checks during processing showed that Martinez was arrested in 2013 for indecency with a child (sexual contact) by the Hopkins County Sheriffs Office in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was later found guilty and sentenced to 8 years probation. That same day, a Mexican illegal alien was arrested by border agents working near Falfurrias, Texas. Record checks showed that the unnamed man had been arrest in 2015 for rape by the Sandy Springs Police Department in Sandy Springs, Georgia. He was later found guilty and sentenced to 20 years confinement, of which he served just 5 years. The third illegal alien, Tony Canales-Velasquez, a Honduran national, was part of a group of nine illegal aliens arrested Wednesday by Rio Grande City Border Patrol agents near Fronton, Texas. Agents found during processing that Canales-Velasquez had a prior arrest by the Potter County Sheriffs Office in Amarillo, Texas, for indecency with a child. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to five years probation. Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation, the CBP said in its release. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Rocks believed to bear the carved initials of Ferdinand Magellan and other members of his expedition were vandalized in Homonhon Island, Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to historian and UP professor Rolando Borrinaga, cement partially covered the rock with Magellan's initials, while another rock with the initials of Martin de Ayamonte and Cristobal Rabelo bore the word "Calbayog." Borrinaga noticed the vandalism during a visit to the site where the rocks were located. He said nothing could be done now for the vandalized rocks except to make a cast replica of the old inscriptions. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines is planning to install a new marker on the site. In 1952, a marker was placed in the area but was later destroyed in the 1970s by treasure hunters who believed there was gold buried in the site. On Tuesday, the NHCP unveiled a marker in Suluan Island to commemorate Magellan's arrival 500 years ago. It is one of three markers erected by the NHCP in Guiuan for the year-long quincentennial celebration of Christianity in the Philippines. Magellan, a Portuguese explorer sailing under the Spanish flag, was the first European to reach the islands and credited with introducing the religion to the country. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. They literally stormed Kericho town and took charge, leaving their male colleagues gasping for breath as they blazed the trail for fellow women folk in leadership. In a historic feat, seven women candidates took over senior positions at the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) in Kericho County, in an election held two weeks ago. Leading the charge was former branch chairperson Ms Mary Rotich who was resoundingly elected as the branch executive secretary garnering 1,148 votes to beat her closest rival Mr John Korir who got 338 votes and the incumbent Mr Julius Mibei who managed a paltry 294 votes. Ms Korir was picked alongside six others - Ms Clara Chebet Kenduiywo, vice-chairperson, Ms Mercy Langat the organising secretary, Ms Beatrice Mitei, assistant treasurer, Ms Priscah Cheruiyot - secretary in charge of tertiary, Ms Mercy Cherono secretary for secondary and Ms Florence Koech secretary gender. They did not get it on a silver platter; they literally had to fight their way up, discarding the name tag flower girls that others before them had been reduced to as a matter of tradition and deep rooted culture. The iron women of Kericho as they have come to be known, travelled the breadth and width of the county convincing fellow teachers to rally behind them in the competitive poll. "It was not an easy task with the challenges that were placed on our way as we sought the support of teachers across the county to entrust us with influential leadership positions," said Ms Rotich. She added: "The election is behind us and it is time rubber meets the road as we serve our members, who are of both genders, without discrimination." The women's success in the election is a testimony of a case of setting targets, having a clear focus, determination and going flat out to deliver it. "It is important for women to seek elective positions as opposed to waiting for nomination slots in the name of gender parity. Women have the numbers and men are willing to support the opposite gender for positions as has been demonstrated by our case," said Ms Rotich. So engaging is the task she has at hand that an interview slated for midmorning on Friday was pushed 7pm as she was engaged in handing over the office. Engaging face to face with the elected leaders, gives one a sneak preview of the resolve and determination that drives them to deliver on their mandate with high expectation from the members with myriad of challenges facing them in their workstations. "Our election to office has brought down the gender barrier in leadership and a clear demonstration that indeed, women have the ability to perform equally as men in the socio-economic and political front," said Ms Rotich. It also demonstrates that the Kipsigis community is increasingly becoming a liberal lot in picking their leaders, with more women taking on their male counterparts in polls. Ms Rotich's journey to the top started when she took over from Ms Florence Bore, the current Kericho Woman Representative, as the secretary gender, before becoming chairperson in 2016, and eventually being elected as the county secretary on February, 27 this year. "I am humbled by the fact that teachers did not consider gender and went ahead to elect seven women out of 10 top officials in the county. It is a big statement and clear demonstrations of the trust teachers have on our team," said Ms Rotich, who was an English and Literature teacher at Keongo Secondary School in Ainamoi Sub-county, before taking up the leadership mantle. She says women should not wait for nomination to senior positions but come out, battle it out for elective posts and add flavour to the contest. Top on their agenda in the five-year period is to improve welfare of the teachers in the county and lobby the head office to take welfare of teachers seriously, engage the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) so as to improve their (teachers) working conditions, fast track promotions and increase pay. "The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that Kuppet signed with TSC is lopsided in favour of administrators and not classroom teachers. This is a matter that must be cured in the next CBA" said Ms Rotich. Due to cultural barriers, women remain the minority in union leadership in the country despite their numerical strength in the workforce. "Most of the male teachers encouraged us to gun for the elective positions in the union and backed us all the way. It was a very rigorous exercise traversing all the six sub-counties in a vast county," said Ms Kenduiywo, a trainer of poems. It was a delicate balancing act between work, family and campaigns for the female candidates, but in the end, the effort they put in bore fruit. "The contest was tough, long and hectic especially for me who successfully fought to retain the position. I am lucky to have been the only one who survived the election among the former office bearers," said Ms Cheruiyot, the secretary in charge of tertiary institutions. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Kenya By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. To succeed, however, the iron ladies of Kericho will have to depend a lot on moral and professional support from both female and male teachers as union leadership requires a lot of consultation. "It is not that it will be an all women affair, we are there to balance the scale as men. But what clearly came out in the poll is that teachers have confidence in women leaders," said Mr Johna Korir who was elected the branch chairman. Mr Korir said: "It is our responsibility to give the moral support to branch secretary Ms Rotich and her team in the five years we will be in office," "The high number of female teachers elected to positions is not for the simple reason of their gender, but because they have strong leadership qualities," Mr Hillary Rotich, the assistant executive secretary said. It remains to be seen how the trendsetting poll outcome will reflect on Kuppet's national election with the top positions being male-dominated. nenyonn@gmail.com Barely two weeks after his impeachment as the Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Oludare Kadiri has headed to court to... Barely two weeks after his impeachment as the Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Oludare Kadiri has headed to court to challenge his removal. It had earlier reported that Kadiri was removed over alleged gross misconduct and insubordination. But, the lawmaker, who has since been replaced by Hon. Akeem Balogun, debunked the allegations, saying his removal did not follow due process. Kadiri in a suit marked FHC/ AB/ FHR/ 35/ and dated March 10, dragged the Assembly before a Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, asking the court to quash his removal. The embattled lawmaker also requested for a sum of N1.5billion as damages. In the suit, Kadiri listed the Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo, as the first respondent, while the House of Assembly was the second respondent. According to the court paper signed by his counsel, Idowu Adepeju, Kadiri is seeking a declaration that his right to fair hearing under section 36(1) of the Nigerian constitution had been violated by the respondents in the process of his removal from office. He is also seeking an order declaring his impeachment and the process as null, void and of no effect. Kadiri is requesting for an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the respondents and their agents from taking any further step or doing anything that will deny him his right as the Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly. KABUL, Afghanistan Nine security personnel were killed after an Afghan military helicopter was downed, likely by militia forces, in eastern Afghanistan early Thursday, signaling a drastic rift between the Afghan government and the regional forces supposedly under its control. The fighting occurred in Wardak, a mountainous province that borders Kabul in the countrys east. There, militia forces led by Abdul Ghani Alipur, a local warlord with a spotty rights record, have been engaged in a tense, sometimes violent, standoff with government troops since January. The latest clashes have pushed the uneasy relationship to its breaking point as the country moves toward an uncertain future. There was fighting, helicopters were targeting us, and when the helicopter was firing rockets, we had to shoot at it, Mohammad Hussain Tawana, an aide for Mr. Alipur, said of the attack that occurred in Hisa-e-Awal Behsud district. He added that it wasnt clear whether the crash was caused by the shooting or by technical problems. Moscow, March 19 : Russia, China, the US and Pakistan signed a joint statement here on Thursday, calling on all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reduce the level of violence, and urging the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive. The statement on a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan was released by the Russian Foreign Ministry after a regular meeting of the four countries, or the extended "Troika," with the participation of representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban, the Xinhua news agency reported. Russia, China, the US and Pakistan in the 10-point statement asked all Afghans to ensure that terrorist groups and individuals do not use Afghan soil to threaten the security of any other country. The four countries called on participants in the intra-Afghan negotiations to engage immediately in discussions on fundamental issues to resolve the conflict. "At this pivotal moment, our four states call on the parties to negotiate and conclude a peace agreement that will bring an end to over four decades of war in Afghanistan," the statement read. Members of a youth initiative in Belfast have been praised for handing out free tea and coffee to health workers at the Mater Hospital. Members of a youth initiative in Belfast have been praised for a kind-hearted gesture of providing free tea and coffee to health workers in the Mater Hospital. The R City project is based in north Belfast between the Shankill and Ardoyne communities, working with young people to help them develop leadership skills. Senior manager Alan Waite explained the young people from R City Youth CIC had wanted to plan a social action project to thank the "amazing" Mater staff for their work during the pandemic. "They provided coffee hut serving free hot drinks all morning and also supplied everyone with lots of merchandise. It really lifted the spirits of the Mater staff and a great positive vibe was felt through out," he said. aiai Unbelievable morn spent showing thx to the amazing medical staff @ Mater hospital The MY CHOICE lads organised & planned this event as part of social action project super day all around thx to @eb_emmabrowne for partnership once again #RCITY #BEHAPPY pic.twitter.com/uVuqvkyRX5 Rcity Youth CIC (@Rcitybelfast) March 18, 2021 Respiratory doctor Emma Keelan commented: "Massive thank you to @Rcitybelfast & the gold cup for the free treats & coffee for Mater staff this morning! Great to have such support from the local community & brings a smile for #WorldHappinessWeek." Massive thank you to @Rcitybelfast & the gold cup for the free treats & coffee for Mater staff this morning! Great to have such support from the local community & brings a smile for #WorldHappinessWeek pic.twitter.com/OvkfnVvcam Emma Keelan (@eb_emmabrowne) March 18, 2021 U.S. special forces are training troops in Mozambique as the country deals with a violent insurgency that's displaced hundreds of thousands of people. CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta joins "CBSN AM" with the latest. Video Transcript ANNE-MARIE GREEN: US Special forces have launched a mission to train troops in Mozambique who are dealing with a violent insurgency in that country. The conflict has already killed more than 2,000 people. Debora Patta reports. DEBORA PATTA: It's been swift and brutal. [SHOUTING] An insurgency in Northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado that's taken everyone by surprise. In the past year alone, militants that American officials say are linked to ISIS have captured huge swaths of territory and beheaded hundreds of civilians. As the conflict rapidly accelerated near some of the world's biggest gas reserves, villagers were cleared out, at least 2,000 civilians killed, nearly 700,000 people displaced. Those who managed to escape are growing increasingly frantic. Food is running out, says a desperate [INAUDIBLE]. - I'm very angry. I have been three days without eating nothing. DEBORA PATTA: And still they continue to flee the terror in droves, often in boats, setting up makeshift camps in the hope of evading militants with a taste for butchery. These traumatized children were forced to run for their lives. Their uncle, [INAUDIBLE] holds up his brother's ID card. He was beheaded along with six others. - [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] DEBORA PATTA: We have nothing left, he said. The men who attacked our village told us, "We kill as we please." [INAUDIBLE] can only guess what happened to his 14-year-old granddaughter. - [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] DEBORA PATTA: I don't know if they took my granddaughter to marry her or kill her. Stories of sickening acts of violence against children abound. Some as young as 11 have been beheaded, according to human rights organizations, turning this once idyllic island paradise into a place of terror hidden in a remote corner of the world so often forgotten and ignored. Story continues ANNE-MARIE GREEN: We want to bring in Debora Patta to talk more about this story. Debra, these details are heartbreaking and stomach churning. I want to start where you ended. Children as young as 11 being beheaded? What do we know about these horrific crimes? DEBORA PATTA: Indeed, Anne-Marie. As if things couldn't get any worse for Mozambique, now this report from Save the Children detailing horrific crimes against very, very young children. They managed to get into displaced camps where refugees have been streaming people who've been forced out of the area by militants and talk to them about their experiences. What they found was that these children, some as young as 11, have been beheaded. One mother said that she tried to run away with her children and that she was intercepted by these militants who grabbed one of them. She hid while she watched her 12-year-old son being murdered. Another woman said her son was just 11 years old when he was beheaded for this group. And it seems that it's mainly males who are being beheaded, young male children, whilst the young girls are apprehended, abducted, and taken into captivity and then forced to marry these jihadists. That's a euphemism, basically, for rape. They're forced to become sex slaves. And as the director of Save the Children said that this is very traumatic and it sickens them to the core to learn about these kinds of things. Anne-Marie? ANNE-MARIE GREEN: It is sickening. What on Earth is the country's government doing? How are they responding? DEBORA PATTA: Well, frankly, Anne-Marie, the Mozambican government is battling. They are not winning this war against this insurgency. The northern part of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado, has been home to a festering insurgency actually for just over three years. But over the past year, it has escalated rapidly. And that rapid acceleration of the crisis has really taken everyone by surprise, everyone from US officials to diplomats to Mozambican counter-terrorism units, as well. So they are deeply concerned about what is going on, but battling to suppress this insurgency. Think about this. In 2017, towards the end of 2017, there were a couple dozen fighters in that area. Now they number over 800. And experts say they have the capacity to launch attacks in neighboring Tanzania, that they perhaps are linked to criminal networks in those countries, looking at things like animal trafficking and the like. So certainly a very dangerous group that's grown. To give you a sense of how that conflict has escalated, if you look at some of the displaced camps that have arisen as people have fled from the area, in the past three months alone, some of those camps have actually doubled in size. The Mozambican troops are beset by divisions within their own ranks. That's made suppressing the insurgency difficult. Then about two years ago, a Kremlin-linked Russian group, the Wagner Group, came into the country. Over about 150 of these contractors came. But the Wagner Group also had to leave with their tails between their legs. They were beaten roundly in battle by this ISIS group. And in fact, about seven of these contractors were killed. And so then the Mozambican government turned to South Africa, specifically to South African mercenaries. But just recently, Amnesty International brought out a report accusing those mercenaries of gross human rights violations and of blatantly killing civilians. And it seems to me that either way, those mercenaries had no real capacity to end the violence in Mozambique, either. Anne-Marie? ANNE-MARIE GREEN: So Debora, we talked about the fact that the US is sending special forces troops to train in Mozambique. How does the US regard this growing insurgency? DEBORA PATTA: With deep concern, Anne-Marie-- so much so that last week they actually labeled ISIS in Mozambique as a foreign terrorist group, which is a strong designation. It's known locally as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama. And they've put sanctions on its leader, Abu Yasir Hassan. So very strong condemnation there from the US. But as you said, they've also sent troops to train Mozambican forces in some very basic training. But there is ongoing talks with the Mozambican government specifically looking at the Minister of Interior to try and look at perhaps training to set up counter-terrorism units within the police force and other civil military types of training. And specialist training is being spoken about. We spoke to a senior US state official who told us that it would seem to me that they are very, very clearly linked to ISIS and that they have garnered this information when they've looked at the battlefield tactics. Those have developed. Their capabilities have grown over the past few years since they first started there three years ago. So that's something that they're looking at. And also what they're actually doing on the ground-- it would seem to be, according to this US state official, that in fact, the aim seems to be territorial expansion, areas that they regard as of value to them. But other than that, not a lot is actually known about this group. But one thing is at the center-- the absolute butchery and brutality of this group. The same US state, officials said, they are driving women. They're driving men. They're driving people out of the area, killing people with horrific violence. And the words that were used was violence that is "grimly remarkable." Anne-Marie? ANNE-MARIE GREEN: Debora, thank you so much for joining us. This is a story that more people need to know about. I really appreciate it. A Carbondale man was sentenced to more than a year of probation for hitting an elderly man with his Jeep last year while intoxicated and fleeing the scene. Christopher M. Lasavage, 34, 254 Dundaff St., appeared virtually Wednesday before Lackawanna County Judge Vito Geroulo. For the past year, all I can think about day and night is how this terrible incident occurred, Lasavage said. It kills me because I cant remember. I made a mistake and Im taking responsibility. I just want to be able to put this behind me and move on with my life. Lasavage struck William Clark, then 80, on March 7, 2020, around 1:55 a.m. after leaving a bar. Clark suffered four broken ribs and a broken elbow and needed stitches on his head. Police charged Lasavage with aggravated assault by vehicle, failure to stop and render aid and related charges. He pleaded guilty to DUI and recklessly endangering another person, both misdemeanors, on Dec. 17. Lasavages attorney, Gerard Karam, said during talks with attorney Christopher Munley, who is representing Clark, the victim asked that Lasavage accept responsibility for what happened but he did not want him to lose his job or experience any significant life-altering changes because of the charges. A paraprofessional, Lasavage was terminated from the Carbondale Area School District in September. The Carbondale Area Education Support Professionals Association reached an agreement with the district to change Lasavages termination to a suspension, said Karam. After sentencing, hopefully he will be able to go back to work and hes anxious to get back to work, he said. He has to walk a very, very tight line in order to keep his job and hes aware of that. Geroulo acknowledged Lasavage took a severe beating in a 2019 incident and suffered subsequent psychological trauma. He further noted Lasavages alcohol consumption increased between the time of the beating and the hit-and-run last year. The judge also sentenced Lasavage to six months probation for the DUI charge, a one-year probation for the reckless driving charge, a $300 fine and $139.72 in restitution to Clark. He also ordered Lasavage to continue alcohol rehabilitation treatment. The Prime Minister says that Corpus Christi, also known as the "Day of Wreaths", is set aside on the Christian calendar to honour the Holy Eucharist which was observed at the last supper before Christ was crucified. Just three weeks after the premiere of Married At First Sight's eighth season, several cast members have already been awarded 'blue tick' verification on Instagram. And this development has enraged outspoken season five groom Nasser Sultan, who infamously lobbied for years to get a blue tick before being granted one. In an exclusive video for Daily Mail Australia, Nasser, 52, said he was furious the 2021 participants had been verified by Instagram so quickly. 'I had to campaign for two years to get my blue tick': Married At First Sight star Nasser Sultan, 52, is furious the 2021 participants were verified by Instagram so quickly 'I'm highly disappointed and very, very angry today,' he said. 'I had to campaign for two years to get my blue tick, and even crashed the Blue Tick Office [Facebook's Australian headquarters] and demanded my blue tick. 'I even did community service by [taking] one-dollar selfies, shaking hands and kissing babies.' Good start: Just three weeks after the premiere of Married At First Sight 's eighth season, several cast members have already been awarded 'blue tick' verification on Instagram Verified: As of Thursday, Coco Stedman (pictured), Cameron Dunne, Samantha Harvey, Beth Moore, Russell Duance and Booka Nile have been verified on Instagram He added: 'Knowing, this morning, that these infidels that have been on TV for five minutes have already started to get the blue ticks, gets me very, very angry.' Nasser, who made headlines in 2018 for his desperate attempt to get a blue tick, then called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to investigate the matter. As of Thursday, Coco Stedman, Cameron Dunne, Samantha Harvey, Beth Moore, Russell Duance and Booka Nile have been verified on Instagram. Booka was the only participant to have a blue tick before signing up to the dating show, thanks to her career as a popular musician. Corruption: Nasser, who made headlines in 2018 for his desperate attempt to get a blue tick, has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to investigate the matter Being verified on Instagram comes with a host of algorithmic benefits, as also makes an account more attractive to potential advertisers. While several 2021 cast members do have blue ticks, they won't be able to cash in with sponsored posts for the time being because Nine's publicity department has control of their accounts. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine [March 18, 2021] Telstra to sell Spacetalk devices Highlights Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company, to sell Spacetalk Adventurer devices in Australia Adventurer to be placed on Telstra's core wearable device range, and sell across Telstra's national footprint of branded retail stores and online channels Target launch in April 2021 . Exhaustive device testing and certification by Telstra in final stage of completion Available for outright purchase or on a Telstra hardware repayment option Strong endorsement by Telstra of the customer need for Spacetalk devices, our leading market share and continuing strong sales growth SYDNEY, March 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spacetalk Ltd. (ASX ticker: SPA, https://www.spacetalkwatch.com/), developer of innovative technologies that keep families safe and connected, is pleased to announce that Telstra Corporation Limited ("Telstra") is to commence selling Spacetalk Adventurer devices across all Telstra retail stores and online channels in Australia, with a target launch in April 2021. Telstra is Australia's largest Mobile Network Operator ("MNO"), with a market-leading 19 million retail mobile services, the largest footprint of company branded bricks and mortar retail stores in Australia, and a strong online retail presence. Telstra will range Spacetalk Adventurer across its entire retail store network in Australia and Telstra online channels. Telstra Retail and Regional Executive Fiona Hayes said: "Smartwatches are the fastest growing market for wearables globally and the additon of Spacetalk will strengthen Telstra's connected smartwatches offering. Spacetalk is a market leader in Australia in connected smartwatches for children and seniors, providing a practical solution for families to stay connected." Spacetalk Adventurer will be placed on Telstra's core wearables device range post completion of the final stages of exhaustive device testing and certification with Telstra, ensuring Adventurer is optimally configured for Telstra Australia's network frequency bands. Spacetalk's range of all-in-one smartphone GPS watches for children (Spacetalk Kids and Spacetalk Adventurer) and seniors (Spacetalk Life) are purpose built with tailored features, design qualities and best practice data encryption, security and privacy technologies, for families to stay confidently connected. Fun, fashionable, secure and technologically advanced, Spacetalk devices deliver confidence for the child and senior wearer, enhanced controls for the guardian, and engaging functionalities for the whole family to stay connected. The Spacetalk App is designed to provide a family environment for fun, engaging and secure media consumption beyond its device control functionalities for the guardian. Every linked contact parents, grandparents, extended family members and friends regardless of whether they are Android or iOS users, can interact with linked Spacetalk devices and each other through the Spacetalk App. Go-to-market planned by Spacetalk and Telstra for the launch will include: Joint marketing involving PR, influencer activity, digital marketing and eDM's Spacetalk being included in the Telstra Champions program, involving approximately 100 self-nominated staff members, trained as experts on Spacetalk who will help to drive product knowledge and sales in retail stores High impact retail digital displays and billboards at Telstra's icon stores in Sydney and Melbourne . Spacetalk Adventurer devices will initially be available for outright purchase or on a Telstra hardware repayment option where Telstra customers with a new or existing Telstra service (mobile plan, ADSL, NBN) can add a Spacetalk device to their Telstra account and pay for the Spacetalk devices on their bill over 12 or 24 months. Telstra is working with Spacetalk towards building a compelling monthly SIM service plan specifically for Spacetalk devices which will simplify the offering for Spacetalk customers and allow Telstra to add new mobile service subscribers to their network. Spacetalk CEO Mark Fortunatow said: "We are delighted by the ranging of Spacetalk Adventurer with Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company. This is a very strong endorsement of the quality of Spacetalk devices, with Adventurer to be placed on Telstra's core wearable device range. It is also a recognition by Telstra of the growing market and customer need for Spacetalk devices, and our leadership in the category of kids connected smartwatches. Needless to say, we are extremely excited by the enhanced brand recognition and sales growth we expect from extending our customer reach with Australia's largest MNO." Spacetalk was founded in 2001 and listed on the ASX in 2003 as MGM Wireless Limited, which developed the world's first SMS student absence notification platform for schools and went on to become Australia's most successful school messaging company. On 12 November 2020 the Company changed its name to Spacetalk Ltd (ASX ticker: SPA). To learn more about the Spacetalk devices and app platform, and the Company, please visit: https://www.spacetalkwatch.com/. Investor Centre: https://investors.spacetalkwatch.com/. SOURCE Spacetalk Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] CLEVELAND, Ohio - In the television show Mad Men, a character points out during a critical time for the advertising agency that being stable is a step backward between success and failure. It was the heart of the question for Don Draper and Co., and it is equally applicable to bars and restaurants during the pandemic. COVID-19 restrictions almost immediately caused economic instability in the restaurant business. Then the closures started. A year in, with the dust not settled, about 110,000 restaurants around 17% of eateries have shut down. But not everyone is down for the count. While many restaurants shifted to takeout to exist as best they could, some owners are moving forward in a variety of ambitious ways. Restaurateur Rick Doody is expanding and shifting his focus at his existing places. Brandon Chrostowski said even before Ohios initial stay-at-home order took root that those nascent days of the pandemic were a great time to consider expansion. And Laurie Torres recently made changes at her downtown Cleveland restaurant, Mallorca, to position her for the future. A lot of it came out of motivation you didnt have much choice, said Doody, who owns Lindeys Lake House, 17 River Grille, Cedar Creek Grille and recently took over the now-shuttered Bull & Bird spot in Chagrin Falls. When COVID hit, our sales dropped. It made us evaluate businesses based on How good are you really? You ask yourself some tough questions. The tough questions include whether to expand or shift focus entirely. Weve been working on Bull & Bird for a long time, he said. We are not even sure of the name. The truth of the matter is I dont even know what the name is going to be yet, I need to come up with that. Hyde Park Restaurant Group opened Bull & Bird in 2018 in the old Gamekeepers Taverne at 87 West St., Chagrin Falls. Doody is mulling various ideas for a new concept. The back restaurant would be its own concept a courtyard restaurant with its own wood-burning grill, kind of Argentine-style, he said. The other restaurant would be what Id like it to be is a cool bar-chophouse, fresh pasta. Think of a really cool upscale bar, said Doody, who said he is investing a lot of money to energize the bar area. I always thought the bar was too small. Its only about 10 or 12 seats. He added: The back patio is quite small. We added the outdoor cooking element, looks like were going to have 16, 17, 18 tables - not a lot. Same bar. It was always Gamekeepers bar. In the interior restaurant, honestly, I dont know how big its going to be yet. Im not looking to do big restaurants; its not my style. If the inside had more than 20, 25 tables Id be surprised. I like the food (Bull & Bird). We used to go a lot. If it had any misses, people didnt understand the story. Related coverage: About Bull & Birds storyline The storyline was themed through its decor with scores of photographs on the walls that told the story of a couples travels. Their journeys traversed the years and over thousands of miles, jet-setting the world and finding adventure. The catch: The places and events were real; the couple was fictitious. The chef will be Rob Records, who worked at Johnnys Bar on Fulton in Cleveland, said Doody, who tossed around the name JoJos, derived from a French bistro owned by famed restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York, but it is far from set in stone. Its focus would be fresh pasta, veal chops and steaks. It was Doodys business partner at 17 River Grille, Joe Saccone of Hyde Park Restaurant Group, who suggested a deal for Bull & Bird. I love Chagrin Falls, Doody said. I grew up there, I spent a lot of years there. I believe the city is only going to get better in the next 25 years. Its well run. We wanted to sort of be in that area ourselves for a long time, especially in the summer. The summer is busy in Chagrin. Theres an added bonus, he said. My wife is a designer; her office is right across the street, so I can actually get her to show up on a job pretty easily. Rick Doody is converting the Lindeys Lake House in Beachwood to Bar Italia. Covid has taken us way out of our normal operating mode Bull & Bird isnt the only project Doody has undertaken during the pandemic. He converted Lindeys Lake House in Lakewood to Bar Italia and is doing the same to the Lindeys in Beachwood. Were really, really pleased how thats been performing, he said. Its only been opened six to seven weeks. Its doing way more business than it ever did as a Lindeys Lakehouse. When I say Covid forced us to reevaluate our business it forced us to re-evaluate this. Even Cedar Creek Grille, his restaurant with a slightly older clientele that is adjacent to Lindeys in Beachwood, is not spared from his evolutionary touches. Tweaks are continuing there, too, with menu changes and the addition of new chairs. Also, the old dividers are out and new glass partitions are in because we think COVID is here to stay. Cedar Creek does great. Its probably our most successful restaurant, he said, adding that it did take a hit during COVID. Were very optimistic about the future of Cedar Creek, and now with Bar Italia next door we hope its going to be even busier. Italian is a concept near to Doodys heart and business sense. And he sees an opening for Italian restaurants in the area. So we believe Italian is underserved, he said, saying Bar Italias menu will include fresh pastas, starters, salads and a few specialties. The other thing we learn is we stand for something with the concept, he said. Being a pasta house thats what we own, that what we stand for. COVID has taken us way out of our normal operating mode. He also has employed a trio of red Fiats for delivery. Thats the new-world order of COVID dictating how people want to eat in a restaurant, how they want to use your product, said Doody, who added whatever the changes, two principles remain priorities: Keep people safe and be creative. I think every crisis creates creativity, he said. Uber came out of the 08, 09 economic crisis it forced companies to be more creative. We evaluated businesses that were just on standby or hanging in there, shuffling the deck. Then we said, How do we do best in class? I dont want to do another chain. But Bar Italia, what appealed to me the fresh pasta, homemade sauces, On the Rise bread. You start with those products and you focus on that as best you can, and hopefully youre doing something right. We just want to be the best of what we do. Laurie Torres has invested in her sole restaurant, Mallorca in Cleveland.Marc Bona, cleveland.com Thinking long-term is a must Torres, who owns Mallorca on West 9th Street, always aims to bring out the best her restaurant can be by embracing the concept of family. She considers customers as well as staff family who create the restaurants soul. Instead of turtling during the pandemic she expanded not physically, but financially. She recently bought out her two minority-share partners. Its pretty exciting, Torres said. Complacency is not a word that describes Torres, who bought Mallorca in 1997. When it comes to survival or thriving you have to really be thinking outside the box. A lot of restaurants got used to I provide the food, I provide the service, and people come get it. You cant do that during a pandemic. You have to think I have something, how can I get it to them? " To that end, she created a one-night special menu for limited delivery areas outside of a DoorDash radius of her restaurant. Her approach: " Hey, how about if I give you a special menu, and on one night I will bring you Mallorca food, then you can eat something different? That took off like gangbusters. The first time I put that out to a neighborhood I got 40 orders in 15 minutes. You have to think, Where do they need food that they dont have food? I have always thought long term with Mallorca. Her aggressive approach to keeping her business running also meant bringing back her entire staff and maintaining the menu. I wanted this to be a place where people felt, even during a pandemic, I can go to Mallorca and it still feels normal, still feels joyful even though theres PPE (personal protective equipment) there. I can still see the same people there, " she said. That sense of calmness was really, really important, said Torres, who said many customers have thanked her for not paring the menu to just a handful of items. Her restaurant focuses on Spanish and Portuguese cuisine with a strong seafood emphasis. I think that maintaining that long-term vision for your business (is important) as opposed to just thinking How am I going to provide today how is that going to impact my brand in the future? " Edwins Too opened in November. Chrostowski always has his eye on the future. He quickly concluded its a buyers market. He opened Edwins Too a few hundred feet from his flagship French fine-dining restaurant, Edwins. He took a short-term lease to try out the venture, which focuses on prix-fixe menus. It opened in November. Whatever happened during the pandemic had to follow a certain compass, he said. Thats what was the driver behind all this: Theres opportunity everywhere. The driver for me is serving a community. That community is twofold for Chrostowski. It means constantly looking at expansion to help his workers and graduates of Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute, which hires and trains recently incarcerated individuals to work at the French restaurant, his butcher shop or bakery. It also means serving the parts of town where his businesses are in, like the Buckeye neighborhood. From the moment the pandemic hit, Chrostowski looked out, not in. He considered a location near the Cleveland Clinic since healthcare work and research was ramping up. He mulled another building, but permit issues cropped up. He is in the process of seriously considering Detroit for a to-be-determined expansion of his program. It was all about that compass, he said. The compass said, Hey, heres the opportunity to serve. Thats whats going to take us. Whether the foresight Doody, Torres and Chrostowski has shown will pay off might be aided by what some see as pent-up demand from a customer base itching to get out and dine and drink on a regular basis again. But all the pivoting, planning, foresight, expanding and crystal-ball gazing comes down to one simple, age-old thing, Doody said. I dont know if its smart yet, he said. Time will tell, right? I am on cleveland.coms life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, heres a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. And tune in at 8:05 a.m. Fridays for Beer with Bona and Much, Much More with Munch Bishop on 1350-AM The Gambler. Twitter: @mbona30. Get a jumpstart on the weekend and sign up for Cleveland.coms weekly In the CLE email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Just click here to subscribe. All cleveland.com newsletters are free. Today, were looking at the wide world of brandy, from innovative Cognacs, yes such things do exist, to English apple-based spirits. Theyre all delicious neat or perfect if youre looking beyond gin, whisky and rum when making cocktails. So here are our favourite brandies under 50. Before there was whisky and gin, there was brandy. Brandy was the original cocktail ingredient in drinks like the Sour and Old Fashioned. When Scotch whisky was thought too strong-tasting for southern palates, the English were knocking back vast quantities of brandy. The Royal Navy originally drank brandy, not rum. And yet despite its rich mixing heritage, brandy still has an after dinner image, drunk from enormous glasses by red-faced old men. To introduce you to this exciting world, weve rounded up some of our favourite brandies under 50. Naturally weve included a few bottles from the big two, Cognac and Armagnac, but weve also included a couple of belters from South Africa and Armenia, and some apple-based wonders from Normandy and Somerset. So, whether youre making a Brandy & Soda, a Sidecar or just fancy something tasty to sip, you cant go wrong with one of these bottles. There are some young Turks shaking up the rather staid Cognac category. One such producer is Bache Gabrielsen, a company of Norwegian descent. For this unconventional offering, the team has used American oak cask layering the classic Cognac flavours with vanilla, coconut and toffee. Imagine if bourbon and Cognac had an affair, this would be the result. What does it taste like? Creamy coconut, chocolate and vanilla, with toasted nuts and raisins. This would be brilliant in a Harvard, essentially a Manhattan made with brandy. Another maverick Cognac producer, its Master of Malt blog regular Alexandre Gabriel. Hes delved into the history books and discovered that it was once common to use wine barrels to age the spirit. The Sauternes casks give this a subtle honeyed sweetness. No wonder its proved such a hit with bartenders. What does it taste like? Honey, shortbread and citrus fruits. If you use this, you will never have a better Brandy and Soda, especially with a dash of orange bitters. Its a French brandy so is it a Cognac or an Armagnac? Well, its both and neither. This brandy is aimed squarely at bartenders and blended for maximum flavour to pound ratio using brandies from Cognac and Armagnac, as well as French spirits from outside those illustrious regions. Its one of the very best brandies under 50. What does it taste like? Toasted fruitcake, with walnut, black pepper, almond and a little chocolate. Use in place of rye in a Sazerac or put it into the booze soup that is the Vieux Carre. While Cognac is made in vast quantities by multinationals, Armagnac is often made by farmers. Consequently, there arent really any big brands. In Britain, Baron de Sigognac is probably the best distributed. Luckily, its excellent across the board including rare vintages, a super 20 year old built for sipping and this VS which offers incredible richness for money. What does it taste like? Big and spicy, with cooked apple fruit, creme brulee notes, and a long finish. Makes a great Brandy Sour but its also good enough to appreciate on its own. Calvados, apple brandy from Normandy, is one of Frances lesser known spirits and yet theres a quiet revival going on in the region. Sales are climbing steadily and new producers are getting involved. If you want to see what the fuss is about, this three year old version from one of the regions stalwarts is a great place to start. What does it taste like? Pear drops and honey, with fresh green apples, mint and pine nuts. Its got the character to work in a Diamondback, a mixture of rye, apple brandy and yellow Chartreuse. Somerset cider maker Julian Temperley (see header) revived the great English tradition of making apple brandy in the 1980s. He used traditional Calvados equipment, in this case a 70 year old continuous still called Josephine, but made with West Country cider apples and ages them in small oak casks to make something distinctly English. What does it taste like? Delicate fresh fruity notes fade into a rich, nutty finish. This would be a great one to with the cheeseboard especially if youve got a nice piece of farmhouse cheddar. Brandy de Jerez is a bit of a misnomer as its usually made from Airen grapes grown outside the sherry region and then aged in Jerez. Lepanto in contrast is made by Gonzalez Byass from Palomino sherry grapes, fermented and then double-distilled within the city of Jerez before ageing in used sherry casks. Its lighter and more fragrant, closer to a Cognac in style, but with a distinctive nuttiness. What does it taste like? Fruity and floral with flavours of apricot, chocolate and orange. Makes a great Old Fashioned especially if you use a PX sherry to sweeten it. This is more of a typical Brandy de Jerez, and has something of a cult following. Its made by top sherry producer Sanche Romate, distilled from Airen grapes and then aged in a solera for an average of 15 years. Before bottling, its sweetened with sherry and the result is something like a cross between a brandy and a sweet oloroso. What does it taste like? Rich and sweet with flavours of raisins, figs and brazil nuts. Wonderful with an espresso on the side or even made into an Espresso Martini in place of vodka. Armenian brandy was once so revered that the French made it an honorary Cognac. And its still known in Russia as konjak. Its made using the classic Charentais double distillation techniques but using indigenous Armenian grapes and aged in East European oak. This ten year old is a great place to explore these wonderful spirits. What does it taste like? Chocolate, burnt orange and vanilla. Do as they do in Armenia and drink with chocolate and other sweets. South Africa has a long viticultural roots, back to the 17th century, and considering the Dutch pretty much invented brandy, the word comes from brandewijn, burnt wine, it wont surprise you that the country is home to some fine examples. This is made from a Cognac grape, Colombard, with another French grape, Chenin Blanc. What does it taste like? Apples and cinnamon, creamy, smooth, long and layered. One of the very best non-French brandies. Try it in a Sidecar. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Le ministere des Affaires Etrangeres a publie un communique pendant la matinee du 17 mars 2021 encourageant, voire demandant aux Mauriciens qui se trouvent a letranger pour diverses raisons de rester dans leur lieu actuel dhebergement en suivant les consignes sanitaires en vigueur la bas. Ceux qui veulent revenir devront rester en contact avec leur agence de voyage afin davoir des opportunites pour leurs voyages de retour a Maurice. As from 11 March 2021, the scheduled weekly passenger flights being operated by Air Mauritius and Emirates have been suspended until further notice in view of the strict sanitary protocols being implemented owing to the prevailing precarious COVID-19 related conditions. In the circumstances, Mauritian nationals currently abroad are strongly encouraged to remain in the countries where they are presently located and take all necessary precautionary measures to stay safe. Mauritian nationals wishing to travel are advised to stay in contact with their travel agencies in view of availing of travel opportunities whenever possible. The helpdesk at the Ministry may be contacted on 405 2576 during office hours and email queries directed to mfaconsular@govmu.org . Mauritian nationals abroad may also contact our Embassies and High Commissions the contacts of which are available on the Ministrys website (www.foreign.govmu.org). Autre lien pour les numeros des missions diplomatiques. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn For the first time in the country's history, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday allotted 1,008 flats and 500 houses for poor workers and widows on low-cost mortgage in a bid to uplift the weaker segments of the society ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :For the first time in the country's history, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday allotted 1,008 flats and 500 houses for poor workers and widows on low-cost mortgage in a bid to uplift the weaker segments of the society. The Prime Minister performed balloting at the site of affordable residences constructed in the suburbs of Islamabad, under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project carried out by Workers Welfare Fund and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the project was in line with the vision of facilitating the lower class which faced hardship in owning a house particularly in the urban areas. "Naya Pakistan is in fact a vision of empowering weaker segments of the society through economic emancipation and provision of basic necessities of life," he said. The Prime Minister said under mortgage system, the rent paid would be converted into the installments of the total cost of the house or flat. He said the government would give Rs 0.3 million subsidy on each house and would also ensure that the markup rate did not exceed by five percent. He lauded the efforts of team of Workers Welfare Fund for reviving the project that lingered on for last 25 years and regretted that previous governments never gave priority to working class. Imran Khan acknowledged that without the support of banks, the project could not be accomplished. The passage of new foreclosure law for banks took two years to get approval by the courts, he added. He said in first phase, over 1,500 flats and houses would be distributed and the same number would be replicated in second phase as well. The project will be expanded to other parts of the country as well, he added. Imran Khan said owning a house was a big dream in one's life, adding that even rich countries could not give away houses free of cost but on mortgage. He said the government gave concessions to the construction industry during pandemic that resulted in a boom, including increase in demand of cement. He said the construction industry would generate massive employment opportunities, expressing hope that the step would lead to wealth creation and strengthening of economy. The Prime Minister inspected the constructed houses and flats and also planted a sapling in the premises. PM's Special Assistant for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfikar Bukhari said the keys of houses and flats would be handed over at payment of 10 percent of the total cost, while 90 percent of the rest of installments could be paid in a period of 20 years. He said the concept to uplift poor was in line with the ideals of islam's first socio-welfare State of Madinah. Senator Faisal Javed said the project was reflective of the fact that for Prime Minister Imran Khan, the emancipation of lower class was a priority. SALT LAKE CITY, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Extra Space Storage Inc. ("Extra Space") (NYSE: EXR), a leading owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the United States and a member of the S&P 500, today announced that it will issue and sell 1,600,000 shares of its common stock in a public offering. Citigroup and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering. Extra Space will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 240,000 shares. Extra Space intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to fund potential acquisition opportunities, to repay amounts outstanding from time to time under its lines of credit, and for other general corporate and working capital purposes. The shares will be issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, copies of which, when available, may be obtained from Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 (Tel: 800-831-9146 or email to: [email protected]), or from Wells Fargo Securities, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 500 West 33rd Street, New York, New York, 10001, at (800) 326-5897 or email a request to [email protected]. A prospectus supplement related to the offering will also be available free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. About Extra Space Storage Inc.: Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, and a member of the S&P 500. As of December 31, 2020, Extra Space owned and/or operated 1,921 self-storage properties, which comprise approximately 1.4 million units and approximately 149.2 million square feet of rentable storage space offering customers conveniently located and secure storage units across the country, including boat storage, RV storage and business storage. Extra Space is the second largest owner and/or operator of self-storage properties in the United States and is the largest self-storage management company in the United States. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain information set forth in this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning the terms, timing and completion of the proposed offering of securities by Extra Space. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "estimates," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates," or "intends," or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in or contemplated by this release. Such risks and uncertainties include without limitation those associated with market risks and uncertainties and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions for an offering of securities, as well as the risks referenced in the "Risk Factors" section included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. SOURCE Extra Space Storage Inc. Related Links http://www.extraspace.com Templeton said the woman surmised the man who shot at her house had been her ex-husband, Fredres. She called her parents, who lived about 3 or 4 miles away, but got no answer. She then phoned a neighbor of her parents, who went to the home and made a gruesome discovery when he or she looked through a window and saw a woman on the ground, bleeding. The fourth concert in Memorial Presbyterian Churchs Lenten Concert Series featured Brenda Hayden, director of music ministries at Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland. A native of Nova Scotia, Hayden earned a bachelor's of music degree in organ performance at Mount Alison University in New Brunswick. She also holds a master's degree in church music from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. At Trinity Lutheran in Midland, she directs adult and childrens choirs as well as the hand bell choir. She also serves as associate organist. Hayden played a varied program with music from the Baroque period to the present day. She opened with Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee (English translation) by J.S. Bach followed by "Ciacona in D" by Johann Pachelbel. Moving then to more recent works she played two hymns in jazz style, Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart and Just a Closer Walk With Thee arranged by Joe Utterback. These were followed by liturgical pieces by Dan Locklair. The program was closed with Festival by Healey Willan. Lenten concerts are scheduled at 12:15 p.m. each Friday through March 26. To access the concerts, search for Memorial Presbyterian Church on Facebook or on mempres.org/livestreaming. On the livestreaming page scroll down to the current video. The Lenten Concert Series is part of Memorial Presbyterian Churchs outreach to the community. It is produced by the church organist Adrienne E. Wiley. For more information, call the church office at 989-835-6759. Former CEO of Jet Airways and GoAir, Vinay Dube, plans to launch a new airline in the country in 2021. Dube has partnered his former colleagues Praveen Iyer and Nikhil Ved for starting the airline and has held initial talks with aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, Business Standard reported. "A lot of ground work has been done and the team is looking for investors to raise funds," a source was quoted as saying. The venture has also applied for getting a 'no objection certificate' from the Civil Aviation Ministry. The venture plans to start operations with five aircraft before the end of 2021. Dube quit the defunct Jet Airways in May 2019. He also served as the CEO of Wadia group-promoted GoAir during February-August 2020. Also read: Jet Airways resolution: No deemed approval for slots, say MoCA, DGCA Also read: 4 passengers de-boarded from flight for not following DGCA's Covid protocols Southampton's Takumi Minamino and eight other Europe-based players were Thursday named in Japan's squad for next week's friendly against South Korea in Yokohama. Minamino, who has scored two goals in six games since joining Southampton on loan from Liverpool in January, is part of a 23-man squad to take on the Koreans on March 25 in Japan's first home game since the coronavirus pandemic began. South Korea have named a full-strength squad that includes Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min. But club manager Jose Mourinho has cast doubt over whether he will be released for the game, after the forward limped out of Sunday's north London derby defeat to Arsenal with a hamstring injury. Japan are looking for a meaningful workout against top-level Asian opposition before they resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against Mongolia on March 30. The fact it is their first friendly against arch-rivals South Korea in 10 years adds an edge. "People watch Japan v Korea games with a different feeling from other games," said Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu. "We want to be ready to play with spirit." Japan won 3-0 when the two teams last played a friendly in August 2011, but they have met four times in international competition since then. The two nations co-hosted the World Cup in 2002. Moriyasu handed eight players their first international call-ups, all from the domestic J-League. "They're still inexperienced, but being part of the national team set-up will be an incentive for them when they go back to their clubs," said the manager. "I hope they can use this experience when they go back to their clubs and go on to improve from there." Japan's under-24 Olympic team, which Moriyasu also manages, will face Argentina in two home friendlies on March 26 and 29. Moriyasu is set to announce his squad for those two games on Friday. amk/sah/dh The emptiest language in the entire argument is the platitude that all sides want the same thing and nobody should play politics with such an important issue. But this is not a game. It is political because it is important. Suffragette Vida Goldstein knew this a century ago. Perhaps some of those in todays Parliament can learn the same. Shadow Education Minister and Shadow Minister for Women Tanya Plibersek (far right) with colleagues tables a petition from the March 4 Justice protest in the House of Representatives. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Morrisons critics could not be happier. He just doesnt get it, said Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek. Labor and the Greens are telling voters to give up on a Prime Minister who will never understand the problem, let alone fix it. That risks ignoring a more recent history lesson. Morrison proved two years ago that he was a quick learner on how to win an election. It would be foolish for Labor and the Greens to underestimate him again. Raised on politics by a dad who ran for local council, Morrison does not ignore groups that wield big numbers. He is a smart politician, and his self-interest lies in heeding the message from this weeks protests. What happens next will be all about politics. The government thinks a defamation will resolve the Christian Porter matter but the claims, which he has strongly denied, will be remembered for years. Credit:Getty On Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, the government acts as if she can return to work in two weeks despite calling Brittany Higgins a lying cow and failing to tell the Prime Minister of an alleged rape in her own office. On the fate of Attorney-General Christian Porter, the government pretends a defamation trial can settle questions when the rape claim against him, which Porter vehemently denies, will last for years. His portfolio will be sliced into pieces to avoid conflicts of interest, almost to the point at which he holds that job in name only while being Industrial Relations Minister. Morrison cannot go to the next election carrying too much baggage when he governs with a majority of one and is likely to lose ground in the redistribution of seats in Victoria and Western Australia (which could see Porters own seat of Pearce abolished, raising questions about whether he would stay in Parliament). Loading Can Morrison carry Porter and Reynolds all the way until polling day? No matter how much he defends them, they are political liabilities. Leaders often survive by making tough calls to cut their losses. Not that the protesters or the viewers at home should care. They did not mobilise about the fate of Morrison or his ministers inside Parliament House. They want change in the world outside. The next steps for Morrison are rational and obvious. One of them is to stop stalling on the Respect@Work report into sexual assault in the workplace, delivered one year ago. Morrison also has to put more meaning, and money, into his words about stopping violence against women. He has done this before, with a $328 million package to counter family violence two years ago, so he can point to real measures in the past. Even so, that money has to be topped up with a new national plan next year. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit:The Sydney Morning Herald The head of the Womens Legal Service in Queensland, Angela Lynch, has a list of what to do next. She wants an education campaign on consent (something Liberal backbencher Fiona Martin spoke up for this week), reform to evidence rules in rape and sexual assault cases, a trial run for a specialist sexual violence court and more funding to help women fleeing violence and seeking justice in court. Lynch estimates there are between 20,000 and 40,000 rapes and sexual assaults each year but only 6500 charges laid and only 300 convictions. That is a conviction rate of 1.5 per cent at best. Loading Lynch also wants an urgent summit with federal and state leaders to end violence against women and children. She is not alone. In a move that shows this issue crosses old political divides, Liberal MP Russell Broadbent called for something very similar on Thursday. Women will drive this change. I hope more men will join them, said Broadbent, the member for Monash in regional Victoria and one of the wisest souls in the Parliament. Antoinette Braybrook, chairperson of the National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum, has other ideas. She wants more funding for support that helps First Nations people, such as in regional and remote areas. She wants measurable targets in the national plan that is meant to start next year. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Advertisement Every week our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the leg-work so you dont have to. This week: Britains best outdoor pools. The turnstiles at Englands outdoor swimming pools will hopefully spin again from March 29 as lockdown rules ease. Pools in the rest of the UK are planned to reopen soon afterwards. However, numbers of swimmers will be limited to ensure social distancing, so to book a session as soon as they become available sign up now to your chosen pools website or app. On your marks: General admission tickets for Jubilee Pool in Penzance, above, are on sale now via its website The first lido off the mark is Jubilee Pool in Penzance. Jump in and swim surrounded by the beautifully restored Cubist-style architecture of the complex. Move fast and you can also buy the last few limited-edition T-shirts produced to celebrate the pools 85th anniversary last summer (jubileepool.co.uk). Serious swimmers in East London can head to Hackney for 50m laps at the Olympic-sized London Fields Lido. Built in 1932, steam rises from the heated water while the jaunty reds, blues and yellows of the poolside lockers add a nautical flavour. London Fields Lido, pictured, in Hackney, East London, is where swimmers can complete 50m laps Jump to it: Book early for pools such as Charlton Lido, above, as social distancing rules will limit numbers Book swims at better.org.uk where there are also details of the 50m heated Charlton Lido, south of the Thames in Greenwich. Egypt is in the air in Bristol where motifs from the countrys temples are set amid the restored Victorian grandeur and modern extension of the citys lido buildings. Bristol Lido was opened in 1850 and in the 1930s was the first in the country to be heated by electricity. As the lockdown rules relax, spa treatments will also be offered. Find out more at lidobristol.com or go to the pools sister site thameslido.com for heated outdoor swims in Reading. Holidaymakers heading to the Peak District this summer could pop along to Hathersage, known as the little village with the big attraction the attraction being a 30m heated pool complete with a nearby bandstand that dates back to 1936. Bristol Lido, pictured, first opened in 1850 and in the 1930s became the first in the country to be heated by electricity The 30m Hathersage open-air swimming pool in the Peak District, which dates back to 1936 In previous years, managers arranged special events, including dive-in movies where you watch films from a lilo, and aim to announce some for 2021 soon. Details of the reopening are at hathersageswimmingpool.co.uk. By the sea in Plymouth, watch boats, yachts and ships sail by as you swim in the semi-circular Tinside Lido, another Art Deco gem from the 1930s. The salt-water pool is not heated, but regulars say its rich blue tiles make it feel like the French Riviera (its regularly voted one of the most stunning in Europe) and compensate for any chill. Book swims at everyoneactive.com. Tinside Lido in Plymouth is regularly voted as one of the most stunning in Europe, even though it's a little chilly The 33m Portishead Open Air Pool in North Somerset, which attracts close to 50,000 visitors each season Its not just swimmers who are waiting patiently until Chesham Moors 25m heated pool reopens staff are getting ready to restart their popular aqua fitness classes at the same time. Its not all noisy fun though the pool is surrounded by trees where red kites nest and fly overhead. Bookings for swims and fitness classes will be taken from March 22 at cheshammoorfitness.org.uk. A few weeks later, Portishead Open Air Pool in North Somerset, which is run by a charitable trust, is set to reopen after an extended break for maintenance. The water in the 33m pool is heated by a biomass boiler, and attracts close to 50,000 visitors each season. Swims can be booked soon at portisheadopenairpool.org.uk. Blac Chyna wore an all-white outfit Wednesday while stepping out for dinner as her ex-fiance Rob Kardashian celebrated his 34th birthday. The 32-year-old model sported a white jumpsuit for her meal at an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, California. Chyna had long blonde hair parted down the middle and down in soft curls around her shoulders. Dinner outing: Blac Chyna wore an all-white outfit Wednesday while out for dinner as her ex-fiance Rob Kardashian celebrated his 34th birthday She completed her outfit with grey Nike high-tops and also wore a black face mask amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Chyna and Rob started dating in January 2016 and announced their engagement on Instagram after dating for three months. They welcomed daughter Dream in November 2016 and announced their split on social media in December 2016. Rob received well wishes from his famous sisters and mother via social media in honor of his St. Patrick's Day birthday. White jumpsuit: The 32-year-old model sported a white jumpsuit for her meal at an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica, California Hair down: Chyna had her long blonde hair parted down the middle and down in soft curls around her shoulders 'Happy Birthday Robbie! Weve made so many amazing memories this last year that will fill my heart for a lifetime,' older sister Kim Kardashian, 40, captioned a photo on Instagram of the pair dancing on a recent family beach trip. 'Ill never forget this night a few months ago dancing the night away (yes people I danced) and our boat & whale and even shark adventures LOL,' Kim continued. 'The way our daughters are besties warms my heart so much! I love you more than anything and am always here for you! I am so tempted to screenshot just some of our group family chat to give people a glimpse of the crazy funny insane person you are!! I LOVE YOU @robkardashianofficial,' she concluded. Former fiance: The model went out while her ex-fiance Rob Kardashian received messages on social media from his famous family Former couple: Chyna and Rob started dating in January 2016 The ex files: The former couple dated from early 2016 until February 2017 and share daughter Dream, four, together (pictured in 2016) Kourtney Kardashian, 41, and Khloe Kardashian, 36, also paid tribute to their brother on social media. Kris Jenner, 65, posted a video montage of classic Rob moments from Keeping Up With The Kardashians for his big day. 'Happy birthday to my funny boy @robkardashianofficial who is the light of our lives!!! You make us laugh constantly and are always so loyal and supportive to us all,' she wrote alongside the clip. 'Rob you are the greatest daddy, son, brother, uncle, grandson and friend!!! You are the kindest most thoughtful, generous soul I know and I am beyond blessed to be your mom. Im so proud of the man you have grown into and I am in awe watching you as a Dad... you are truly the best most incredible daddy to Dream. You are such a huge part of my heart and I love you. Have a magical day,' she ended the caption. Actual soulmate: Kourtney Kardashian, 41, called Rob her 'actual soulmate' while wishing him a happy birthday ?Capelle aan den IJssel, The Netherlands - 18 March 2021 -GeoJunxion (GOJXN.AS) is pleased to announce the closing of a substantial contract with a global tech company for a bespoke Location Intelligence Service project. After the successful completion of several pilot projects in the USA and Europe, the global tech company recently granted GeoJunxion a larger contract to research, create and deliver a dataset containing more than 1,000 unique and bespoke neighborhoods, covering selected cities in Europe, the USA, Asia, and the Middle East. The initial contract value has the potential to grow significantly over the coming months, with the inclusion of more countries and cities into the scope of the project. Premium location aware content and service is at the core of GeoJunxion's new strategy. Location Intelligence Services give tech companies access to the knowhow we have built over 25 years, creating and publishing global digital maps. It is targeted at companies within the location and mapping industry, which require support in creating and maintaining bespoke and authoritative location enabled data. The key success factors are agility, speed of execution and quality of the outcome. According to latest market research(1), the rise of the Hyperconvenience Economy is increasing customer expectation in the digital customer experience. Consumers, in this context, are looking for mobile solutions to deliver hyperlocal relevance in their applications. One relatively new element is linking experiences or events to the local neighborhoods which in turn increases its relevance to the user's community. This is where GeoJunxion steps in with its Location Intelligence Service, we are going the extra mile to create that necessary hyperlocal information. Thierry Jaccoud, GeoJunxion CEO stated: "This major contract conveys once more our ability to adapt to customer needs and demonstrates our value as a bespoke content supplier. It is also a testimony to our new strategy in which we leverage our legacy by focusing on location intelligence services and the creation of high value and unique dynamic datasets." Ends About GeoJunxion GeoJunxion is the crossroads where fundamental, location-aware content connects with superior, customised intelligence and highly focused innovations to empower exceptional experiences. With an emphasis on safety and sustainability, we are constantly expanding our portfolio to meet the demands of a diverse and fast-evolving market. Building on decades of experience in mapping, the company focuses on high value, dynamic content and building environmentally conscious applications, which enrich safety in everyday life. With location-aware content at our core, we know where our strengths lie and have the know-how and technology needed to offer unrivalled, intelligent products and services. GeoJunxion NV is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam, under the symbol GOJXN.AS. GeoJunxion Press Contact Caroline Bombart, Head of Marketing Tel: +31 (0)10 885 1200 Email: caroline.bombart@geojunxion.com (mailto:caroline.bombart@geojunxion.com) [March 18, 2021] How Cobwebs Technologies' WEBINT Platform Helps Enterprises to Face the Rising Tide of Security Risks Emerging From the Dark Web NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cobwebs Technologies announced today that several enterprises have deployed its AI-powered WEBINT platform for dark web monitoring to gain insight into emerging threats, or clues to breaches or attacks already in progress, aimed at them. Sites and content on the dark web reside on overlay networks (darknet) that require specialized web browsers for access. The dark web is known as a place where stolen information from data breaches is sold and bought, paid for with cryptocurrency. Functioning as a black market, all kinds of illicit and stolen goods and services are for sale, including malware, ransomware, hacker toolkits, financial info, and personally identifiable information (PII) related to fraud. For threat actors, who know how to get on the dark web, the dark web is a way to interact online while remaining anonymous. Stolen personal and corporate information, data breach leaks, and ransomware demands are major concerns for enterprises. The fallout can result in fines under privacy and data protection regulations, interruption of business operations, and brand damage. On dark web forums, threat actors can discuss topics that relate to ransomware, including breaches, cryptocurrencies, and extortion, while remaining anonymous. "In contrast to threat actors, it is very difficult for analysts and investigators to access the dark web, since it requires a special browser. Even if they would know how to access the dark web, exploring it to e.g., investigate criminal activities, requires a dark web search engine. Furthermore, by accessing the dark web themselves, analysts nd investigators could be vulnerable to the scrutiny of threat actors related to the investigation. Our WEBINT solution is able to detect, collect, and analyze OSINT data from the surface, deep, and dark web, including threats, aimed at or related to an enterprise," stated Shay Attias, Co-Founder & CTO of Cobwebs Technologies. "With our solution, an enterprise can monitor the dark web-based on specific search terms or phrases without the need for its staff to access the dark web using a dark web browser to visit dark web websites, forums, and social networks. The AI-based dark web monitoring technology connects the dots in a visual graph and gives actionable insights in the form of automated reports that can be used for follow up by the enterprise itself and for law enforcement to take action." In general, dark web monitoring tools help investigators and analysts to identify threat actors, follow the cryptocurrency money trail, map connections between threat actors, their affiliates, and group members to solve and prevent crimes such as cyber threats. Dark web monitoring tools are also useful for detecting and preventing insider threats. Such dark web monitoring software can scan for direct mentions of a specific organization or specific assets that could indicate either being targeted or a potential breach. The dark web monitoring services also allow investigators to launch a cybercrime investigation with any small piece of digital forensics information, such as a threat actor's name, location, IP address, or image. www.cobwebs.com info@cobwebs.com Related Images dark-web-monitoring.jpg Dark Web Monitoring Related Links Cobwebs Technologies - Automated Web Investigation Visualizing Key Connections - Cobwebs Technologies View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/how-cobwebs-technologies-webint-platform-helps-enterprises-to-face-the-rising-tide-of-security-risks-emerging-from-the-dark-web-301249283.html SOURCE Cobwebs Technologies [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFCs top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC on ESPN 21. UFC on ESPN 21 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2. Derek Brunson (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) Staple info: Height: 6'1" Age: 37 Weight: 185 lbs. Reach: 77" Last fight: TKO win over Edmen Shahbazyan (Aug. 1, 2020) Camp: Sanford MMA (Florida) Stance/striking style: Southpaw/muay Thai Risk management: Fair Supplemental info: + Regional MMA titles + Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt + 3x Division II All-American wrestler + 12 knockout victories + 3 submission wins + 14 first-round finishes + KO power + Dangerous left kicks and crosses + Hard right hook + Strong pressure against the fence ^ Strikes well off of the breaks + Excellent wrestling ability ^ 100 percent takedown defense + Underrated grappling ^ Transitions and strikes well from topside Kevin Holland (21-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) Staple info: Height: 6'3" Age: 28 Weight: 185 lbs. Reach: 81" Last fight: Knockout win over Ronaldo Souza (Dec. 12, 2020) Camp: Travis Lutter BJJ (Texas) Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing Risk management: Fair Supplemental info: + Regional MMA titles + Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt + Amateur MMA accolades + Kung fu black belt (2nd degree) + 11 knockout victories + 6 submission wins + 11 first-round finishes + KO Power + Accurate shot selection ^ Dangerous right hand + Diverse kicking attack + Improved clinch striking ^ In and out of the breaks + Solid transitional grappling +/- 6-0 against UFC-level southpaws Point of interest: Southpaw vs. 'Smack Man' The main event in Las Vegas features a fun middleweight matchup that pits a slugging southpaw veteran against a fast-talking prospect who averages more words than punches per minute. A self-proclaimed "smack man," [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] has no problem stepping into the spotlight and attempting to steal the show. That said, there is a lot more to Holland than meets the eye, as the six-year pro seems to be steadily stringing things together. Holland still shows nods to his kung fu roots with the way in which he attacks the lower leg using sidekicks or crossover-knee kick variations, but primarily likes to punctuate things in the boxing department. Although one could reasonably ask for more jabs in his approach, Holland still seemingly does well when it comes to setting up his vaunted right hand. Holland has also been making steady upgrades to his clinch striking since losing to Curtis Millender at welterweight on the regional scene, taking more muay Thai bouts, as well as moving up to 185 pounds. But considering that Holland's opponent is also well-versed in these ranges, I will be curious to see how the native Texas-based fighter approaches [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]. From his time spent with Jackson Wink MMA to his specialty training with muay Thai legend Manu Ntoh, Brunson has become a lot more than just an All-American wrestler who can throw his hands. Whether Brunson is stalking opponents down with Thai march variations or his shuffle-steps into space, the 11-year pro will put himself in prime position to land shots from the power side of his southpaw stance. Having a knack for placing powerful kicks, Brunson also has improved his hands over the past few years, being particularly dangerous when punching his way in or out of the pocket. However, despite Brunsons previous improvements, his brawling instincts have proven to sometimes get the better of him, either costing him emphatic counters in defeat or lackluster affairs that have resulted in close decision losses. Since suffering his last defeat at the hands of now-champion Israel Adesanya, Brunson has finally gotten himself back under the care of a big camp, hooking up with Henri Hooft and company at Sanford MMA. In the subsequent time, we have seen Brunson bring a much more measured and balanced approach to his pressure en route to his recent victories, displaying the ability to fight at a decent pace for three rounds. Though Im sure that experience likely will serve Brunson well on paper, I suspect that hell need to successfully layer his threats with offensive wrestling if he means to properly get his game going. Next point of interest: Wrestling warfare Story continues Point of interest: Wrestling warfare Considering that Holland has suffered defeats from being stuck underneath bigger men, I will be curious to see how long it takes before Brunson starts looking for takedowns. Despite having a lower takedown percentage than one might expect, Brunson does a deceptively good job of using his initial shot to force his opponents to the fence, chaining off his attacks from there. Whether he is hitting reactionary double-legs or snatching up singles, the former All-American wrestler wields a serviceable and diverse takedown game that could pay serious dividends if Holland gets lackadaisical in the clinch or against the cage. Nevertheless, should Holland end up in any negative positions, he does have a serviceable scrambling ability and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black under Travis Lutter to fall back on. Sure, his loss to Brendan Allen may not be the best look for his grappling game, but Allen is an incredibly talented black belt, himself not to mention the fact that Holland took that fight on short notice coming off a shoulder injury sustained in the fight prior. Still, I doubt that Holland will want to grapple much less be on the bottom of Brunson for extended periods of time. Brunson may not have a game over type of ground attack, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt can transition well with strikes from topside and plays positions when he needs to. Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction Point of interest: Odds and opinions While the veteran fighter opened as a slight favorite, public money has flipped the betting lines, listing Holland -170 and Brunson +150 as of this writing. Despite my official pick (which is admittedly a reluctant one), I believe that there is some value in Brunson at these odds. Brunson might not be the biggest middleweight by todays standards, but he carries proven one-punch knockout power that can instantly change the course of a fight. More importantly, Brunson carries a wrestling edge and grappling style that could easily stymie Holland's offensive efforts. That said, I still find myself siding with Holland regardless of the "trap fight" feels. Holland had yet to be stopped by strikes and sits pretty at 5-0 against UFC-level lefties (6-0 if you count two-time Dana White's Contender Series alum Victor Reyna). The Texan native has also only been submitted by black belt specialists, as I believe that Brunson will have to apply a couple of rounds of cooking pressure prior if he means to create that kind of opening. Should this battle go the way of grappling, then it could come down to who has the better gas tank, given that neither man has seen championship rounds. However, I suspect that Holland's mental warfare and gamesmanship will continue to prove useful in pandemic MMA, as I see him finding his spot for his patent cross between rounds one and three. Prediction: Holland inside the distance 1 1 For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. Argos launches Soluciones Verdes 18 March 2021 Argos officially launched its Green Solutions portfolio 'Soluciones Verdes' following a webinar on 17 March. The Colombian cement producer outlined how it will produce more environmentally-friendly products and services building towards a more sustainable future. The initiative aims to provide actions, products and services to reduce carbon emissions, adapting to natural phenomena, contributing to the circular economy and promoting well-being and comfort solutions. Green cement will be a major part of the new portfolio of products. It is a gray cement for genral use that generates 35 per cent less CO 2 emissions that OPC. Type I cement. Bogota will see the first introduction of green cement distributed from the Sogamoso plant. The Ricoclaro in Colombia and the Piedras Azules plant in Honduras will complete the first three plants introducing Argos green cement that will have green technology certification. Other products in the cement and concrete segment of Soluciones Verdes include durable low permeable concrete, high strength concrete, concrete for pavements, pervious concrete and the green sacks programme. The complete portfolio will initially be available in Colombia, and it will gradually be introduced to the other geographies where Argos has a presence. Argos has put sustainability at the forefront of everything it does and the green solutions will work closely with the companys commitments to Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). "The Sustainability Development Goals are key for the green portfolio in the company's contribution to managing climate change," said Carlos Gomez, Argos' technical advisor. "This is a testament towards our commitment to curbing greenhouse gases and the effects of climate change. We are becoming allies with different stakeholders across our value chain to curb climate change." Juan Esteban Calle, Argos CEO, also outlined the origin of Argos commitment towards transforming the cement industry and what motivates Argos in reducing carbon emissions: "At Argos, we are aware of the great importance of managing climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, and we understand that to achieve this goal, we must work together. That is why we are providing the Green Solutions portfolio to our clients, a set of products and solutions aimed at strengthening our value chain and mitigating the impact of our operation from the production process to the final disposal of our products. We are convinced that Green Solutions will allow us to continue positioning ourselves as a strategic ally for the design and construction of projects with sustainable characteristics." Published under The district attorney is sifting through millions of pages of his tax records. The state attorney general has subpoenaed his lawyers, his bankers, his chief financial officer - even one of his sons. And that's just in New York. Former president Donald Trump is also facing criminal investigations in Georgia and the District of Columbia related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. And Trump must defend himself against a growing raft of lawsuits: 29 are pending at last count, including some seeking damages from Trump's actions on Jan. 6,when he encouraged a march to the Capitol that ended in a mob storming the building. No charges have been filed against Trump in any of these investigations. The outcome of these lawsuits is uncertain. Trump has raised more than $31 million for his post-presidential political action committee, which he could tap to pay legal fees. But the sheer volume of these legal problems indicates that - after a moment of maximum invincibility in the White House - Trump has fallen to a point of historic vulnerability before the law. He has lost the formal immunities of the presidency and the legal firepower of the Justice Department, but he is also without some of the informal shields that protected him even before he was president: his reputation for endless wealth and his clout as a political donor in New York. Now, prosecutors roam free in his financial records. New lawsuits keep arriving. Some of his key lawyers have quit. A man who once used the law to swamp his enemies, overwhelming them with claims and legal bills, is finding himself on the other side of the wave, unable to control what comes next. Until recently, "at his level, there was no such thing as being in 'legal trouble,' in the way that ordinary people think about it," said Michael D'Antonio, who wrote a 2015 biography of Trump. He said Trump usually had something he could hold over the head of his opponents: withholding donations, bad press or a messy countersuit. Today, D'Antonio said, in the urban and liberal jurisdictions where Trump is facing the most peril, "nobody needs him now." "What does he have to offer anybody? And in fact there's every incentive to crush him," D'Antonio said. In recent U.S. history, the closest parallel is Bill Clinton. In his post-presidency, Clinton faced a four-year Justice Department investigation into pardons he had granted during his last days in office. That investigation ended with no charges, but - along with congressional investigations of the same pardons - it forced Clinton to pay substantial legal fees. Trump and his company did not respond to questions for this article. His attorneys have largely declined to comment. Trump is facing the lawsuits and investigations at a time when his company is under unusual stress, caused by both the coronavirus pandemic and backlash against Trump's polarizing presidency. Several of his hotels and resorts reported sharp downturns in 2020. At Trump Tower in Manhattan, one major commercial tenant - Tiffany & Co. - is planning to vacate its space. Another, Marc Fisher Footwear, stopped paying rent in November, according to a lawsuit the Trump Organization filed against the footwear company this month. The company owes more than $1.4 million in back payments, according to the suit. The Trump Organization is a private business, which provides little data about its financial standing. Trump still appears to own the company, but it's not clear what role he is playing in its day-to-day management. In fact, the lawsuit against Marc Fisher Footwear still lists Eric Trump, his son, as the president of the subsidiary that runs Trump Tower. The Washington Post identified at least six ongoing investigations that could involve Donald Trump, as well as the 29 lawsuits in which he or one of his companies is named as a defendant. Of the investigations, the oldest and broadest appear to be two in New York: a criminal probe begun by Manhattan Democratic District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. in 2018, and a separate civil inquiry begun by Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James in 2019. Trump has faced official inquiries in New York before: A previous attorney general, Democrat Eric Schneiderman, sued him for defrauding customers of Trump University, winning a $25 million settlement. In 2018, Schneiderman sued him again, for misusing money entrusted to a charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The charity case ended with Trump paying a $2 million penalty. But if those inquiries each targeted a single aspect of Trump's life, the current probes take a wide-ranging look at his financial decisions in the years before he ran for president. The New York attorney general has focused on two properties for which Trump claimed $46 million in tax deductions by using "conservation easements" - giving up some of the value of his land by declaring he would not develop it. The federal tax breaks were based on the value Trump gave up. James's investigators want to know whether that was exaggerated. In addition, James's investigators have asked about Trump's Chicago hotel, probing whether Trump paid the proper taxes when a lender forgave more than $100 million in debt he owed on the property, according to court filings. And she has asked whether he misled potential lenders for his 40 Wall Street tower and other properties by sending them "Statements of Financial Condition" that exaggerated his assets and underplayed his debts. She has taken depositions from both Trump's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, andEric Trump. "My office's investigation remains ongoing, as we continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead," James said in a statement Tuesday. Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, has indicated interest in the same issues in New York and Chicago - and requested records from Trump properties as far away as Miami. He also has sought information about Weisselberg, with the goal of "flipping" him into a witness against Trump, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The person, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss legal proceedings. Now, Vance has a tool no investigator has ever had before: the former president's tax returns, which also contain voluminous information about his businesses. Vance obtained them last month after years of litigation. Tax experts say they should allow investigators to see years' worth of data, on dozens to hundreds of Trump subsidiaries. Vance has obtained the records under grand-jury secrecy rules, which means they cannot be shared with James. "The level of review is unprecedented in Trump's corporate history," said Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime fixer and attorney, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes in 2018 after paying off women who said they'd had affairs with Trump. Cohen has spoken with Vance's investigators seven times - with an eighth discussion planned for Friday, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Searching for a more urgent metaphor, he called Vance's inquiry "a proctological exam of the highest order." Cohen has his own pending lawsuit against Trump, alleging that Trump owes him $3 million for legal bills. Neither Vance nor James has formally accused Trump of wrongdoing. Vance, like James, declined to comment on the specifics of the cases. After the Supreme Court ruling that allowed him access to Trump's tax returns, Vance tweeted only a brief statement: "The work continues." He has said he will retire after this year, meaning that any case he brings against Trump would probably have to be finished by a successor. In addition to the two New York investigations, Trump faces three probes related to his efforts to overturn his loss to President Biden. Two are in Georgia, where Trump, in a phone call, pressured Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to let him win. In Atlanta, Fulton County Democratic District Attorney Fani Willis announced plans in early February to investigate the Trump call and other "attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia general election." Willis said her investigation was a criminal one and would examine whether Trump violated state laws against "solicitation of election fraud," conspiracy, racketeering, or making threats related to the election administration. So far, her investigation is in its earliest stages, according to people familiar with it. Separately, Raffensperger's office is also investigating Trump's actions - and, by law, could refer the case to state or federal prosecutors. In Washington, D.C., Democratic Attorney General Karl A. Racine has also opened a criminal investigation into Trump's actions on Jan. 6, when supporters of the president sacked the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying Biden's win. A spokesman said Racine was investigating whether Trump violated a district law against "inciting or provoking violence." Because of the limits of district law, however, Racine could not charge Trump with a felony - only a misdemeanor. And, because of limits on Washington D.C.'s extradition powers, Trump, if charged, could be arrested only if he entered the city. Racine also has sued Trump's company for allegedly misusing money donated to his 2017 inauguration. In that case, Washington D.C. investigators have already deposed two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. - and now also want to depose Weisselberg, the chief financial officer, according to a new filing this week. The Justice Department,in the meantime, is conducting a broad investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The department declined to answer when asked whether it might investigate Trump's role in the insurrection as well. "We are not going to comment on any individual(s), but our ongoing investigation of the events of January 6, which has already resulted in criminally charging over 300 individuals, is being guided at every stage by the facts and the law," Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said in a statement. Among the 29 lawsuits Trump is facing, about 18 result from disputes with his properties: slip-and-fall suits, an allegation about bedbugs at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, a suit alleging that his Chicago hotel sucked out river water without a permit. These are the kinds of suits Trump might have faced whether or not he was president. But his single term may still hamper his ability to fight them: The law firm Seyfarth Shaw, which represented Trump in some of these disputes, quit in reaction to the events of Jan. 6. His lawyers in the Chicago River suit have also quit, though they declined to say why. The rest of the suits seem to have been brought on by his presidency: They focus on Trump's actions or on long-hidden business practices that were revealed while he was under the presidential spotlight. In Washington, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, filed a suit accusing Trump of conspiring to intimidate and block Congress's certification of the 2020 election. Thompson's case relies on the Ku Klux Klan Act, enacted after the Civil War in 1871 to bar violent interference in Congress's constitutional duties. It seeks unspecified monetary damages from Trump, Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani and two far-right militant groups whose affiliates have been charged in the Capitol assault, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. (Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, has filed a similar suit against Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who also spoke to his father's supporters before the Capitol riot.) In another suit, the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and the NAACP have alleged that Trump violated the Voting Rights Act by pressuring Republican election officials not to certify the results of the 2020 election, particularly in Wayne County, Mich. The plaintiffs say Trump violated a law forbidding the intimidation of voters, those aiding voters and election officials. The county seat, Detroit, is predominantly Black. Those plaintiffs, too, have not specified the damages they want Trump to pay. Trump's attorney in both of those cases, Alexandria, Va.-based Jesse Binnall, issued a statement saying that Trump's actions were protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. "The government and courts don't get to go and punish people for engaging in political discourse," Binnall said. He said that Trump's position as president did not limit his right to free speech: "The core First Amendment protections are available for him, just the same as for you and me." Trump is also fighting defamation lawsuits in New York from two women, E. Jean Carroll and Summer Zervos, who allege Trump sexually assaulted them. Both filed their suits while Trump was president, but they say the assaults took place years earlier. One of the most unusual legal sagas involving Trump has to do with a group of former and current tenants in Trump buildings, who allege that Trump and his late father illegally raised their rents by using phony invoices to inflate their maintenance costs. Their case is based on a plan revealed in 2018 by The New York Times. In that case, plaintiff's attorney Jerrold Parker said, they got stuck at the first step: To sue Trump, first they had to serve him. When Trump was still in office, they tried to serve the lawsuit papers to him at the White House. The Secret Service didn't want to take them. But process servers used a trick perfected on New York doormen: hand over the papers and flee. "Our process server said, 'Here it is. I'm out of here. Goodbye!' " Parker said. So far, the former president has not responded. Parker said that doesn't matter. "He's sued," Parker said, whether Trump accepts it or not. - - - The Washington Post's Alice Crites, Jonathan O'Connell, Tom Hamburger, Ann Marimow and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report. New malware is currently targeting Apple Mac developers. Security researchers explained that this new computer virus uses the coding platform's scripting features to install malicious backdoor codes onto the affected Apple devices. According to Apple Insider's latest report, the new malware called XcodeSpy is attacking Xcode developers. It affects the Xcode integrated development environment or IDE on macOS. This is currently a serious issue since Xcode files are important to Apple developers. They are currently using these files to develop Apple Store applications for MacBooks, iPhones, and other gadgets. Sentinel Labs' researchers were the first experts to discover the new malware on Mar. 18. To give you more idea, here are other things that the security experts found. How dangerous is the new Xcode malware? Researchers at Sentinel Labs explained that the new computer virus exploits the Run Script feature in the IDE to infect Apple developers' gadgets using their shared Xcode projects. Here are other things they discovered: Also Read: 'Dark Patterns' Ban Now Approved in California - Users Are Now Safe from Tricky Design That Influence Their Consumer Decision XcodeSpy is a malicious Xcode project that installs a custom variant of the EggShell backdoor on the developer's macOS computer along with a persistence mechanism. The XcodeSpy infection vector could be used by other threat actors, and all Apple Developers using Xcode are advised to exercise caution when adopting shared Xcode projects. The backdoor has functionality for recording the victim's microphone, camera, and keyboard and the ability to upload and download files. How to avoid the new Apple malware The security experts said that Apple developers should now be extra careful when opening third-party Xcode projects. They added that since this is a new computer virus, the future victims would more likely be the new or inexperienced developers. They suggested that developers should practice caution. This means that they should check for malicious Run Scripts when using third-party Xcode projects. Aside from these, the Apple Mac developers should also inspect individual projects for malicious Run Scripts in the Build Phases tab. If you want to know further details, all you need to do is click here. For more news updates about Apple and its new security issues, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Apple M1 Is Vulnerable Against First-Browser Side-Channel Attacks, Security Researchers Say This article is owned by TechTimes. Written by: Giuliano de Leon. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A medical worker holds a vial of Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca against a file with name and address of a person that is about to get vaccinated in Hanoi, March 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy. Not a single recipient has developed blood clots after being administered the AstraZeneca vaccine since the launch of a mass inoculation program in Vietnam, and thus it will be continued. The Ministry of Health said it has been keeping track of all developments related to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, globally and nationally, after the nation rolled out a mass vaccination program on March 8. So far, the country "has not recorded any blood clotting case in people injected with the vaccine and the ministry has directed all healthcare facilities chosen for the inoculation program to continue the task," health minister Nguyen Thanh Long said at a regular government meeting Wednesday. As of Thursday morning, 24,054 medical staff and frontline workers in 12 localities including Hanoi and HCMC had received the first dose of the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish company in collaboration with Oxford University. Of these, more than 4,000 reported normal side effects and five had minor complications, with six suffering from anaphylaxis and three others developing diarrhea, allergies and low pulse pressure. Just one person suffered serious anaphylaxis. Eight hours after getting the shot, the person, whose identity has not been disclosed, showed symptoms of third-degree anaphylaxis like fever, shivering, convulsions, and numbness in the hands. All six people have been treated in hospitals and are in stable health now. Long said that the person that developed third-degree anaphylaxis did not get the emergency first-aid as guided by the ministry. "We have sent experts over to this health facility where the shot was given to remedy the situation and ensure that the process will be carried out properly in the future," he said. The ministry has requested that all facilities tasked with the administering the vaccine keep a close eye on all recipients in order to make careful, accurate assessments. Professor Dang Duc Anh, director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and head of the national Expanded Program on Immunization, made a similar statement last Friday about Vietnam would continue with AstraZeneca vaccination program after no case of blood clot was recorded. The institute said Monday that the number of people experiencing side effects after receiving their Covid-19 shots in Vietnam was "within the expected level." At least 17 countries including France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Indonesia, and Thailand have suspended or delayed using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after reports of blood clots in people who received the shot. The World Health Organization has called on governments around the world to continue their vaccination campaigns. The European medicines regulator, which is reviewing the issue, will announce its findings Thursday after assessing whether the vaccine contributed to blood clotting in recipients. It said it continues to believe that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, Reuters reported Tuesday. Vietnam has ordered 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The first batch of 117,600 doses arrived late last month and is expected to be used by this month. The country will receive another 4.1 million AstraZeneca doses under the Covax facility by April. It is also negotiating supply of Covid-19 vaccines with manufacturers in the U.S., Russia and China. Credit: CC0 Public Domain UC Santa Cruz researchers published a new studyin collaboration with UC Water and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Mercedthat suggests covering California's 6,350 km network of public water delivery canals with solar panels could be an economically feasible means of advancing both renewable energy and water conservation. The concept of "solar canals" has been gaining momentum around the world as climate change increases the risk of drought in many regions. Solar panels can shade canals to help prevent water loss through evaporation, and some types of solar panels also work better over canals, because the cooler environment keeps them from overheating. Pilot projects in India have demonstrated the technical feasibility of several designs, but none have yet been deployed at scale. California's canal network is the world's largest water conveyance system, and the state faces both a drought-prone future and a rapid timeline for transitioning to renewable energy. Solar canals could target both challenges, but making the case for their implementation in California requires first quantifying the potential benefits. So that's exactly what researchers set out to do in their paper published by Nature Sustainability. "While it makes sense to cover canals with solar panels because renewable energy and water conservation is a win-win, the devil is in the details," said Brandi McKuin, lead author of the new study and a UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral researcher in environmental studies. "A critical question was whether the infrastructure to span the canals would be cost-prohibitive." Canal-spanning solar panels are often supported either by steel trusses or suspension cables, both of which are more expensive to build than traditional support structures for ground-mounted solar panels. But McKuin led a techno-economic analysis that showed how the benefits of solar canals combine to outweigh the added costs for cable-supported installations. In fact, cable-supported solar canals showed a 20-50 percent higher net present value, indicating greater financial return on investment. In addition to benefits like increased solar panel performance and evaporation savings, shade from solar panels could help control the growth of aquatic weeds, which are a costly canal maintenance issue. Placing solar panels over existing canal sites could also avoid costs associated with land use. Now that the new paper has provided a more concrete assessment of these benefits, members of the research team hope this could lead to future field experiments with solar canals in California. "This study is a very important step toward encouraging investments to produce renewable energy while also saving water," said Roger Bales, a coauthor on the paper who is a distinguished professor of engineering at UC Merced, the former director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and a director at UC Water. Bales was part of the original group that got the project started in 2016, when San Francisco-based social impact agency Citizen Group partnered with UC Solar and UC Water to develop the concept. From there, the research grew into a collaboration between UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz. Lead author Brandi McKuin started working on the project while completing her Ph.D. at Merced, then continued with help from senior author and UCSC professor Elliott Campbell, the Stephen R. Gliessman Presidential Chair in Water Resources and Food Systems and a fellow Merced transplant. UC Merced professor Joshua Viers and researcher Tapan Pathak advised on the project, and graduate students Andrew Zumkehr and Jenny Ta contributed to analysis. Zumkehr led a complex hydrological analysis using data from satellites, climate models, and automated weather stations to model and compare evaporation rates at canal sites across the state, with and without shade from solar panels. McKuin then used this information in her assessment to calculate the financial benefits of reduced evaporation. Ultimately, it was the cost savings of many combined benefits that made solar canals financially viable, rather than benefits from reduced evaporation alone. But the study also notes that benefits from deploying solar canals could extend beyond immediate financial impacts. For example, every megawatt of solar energy produced by solar canals in California's Central Valley has the potential to replace 15-20 diesel-powered irrigation pumps, helping to reduce pollution in a region with some of the nation's worst air quality. And senior author Elliott Campbell says the wide range of benefits identified by the paper is, in itself, an important lesson to carry forward. He sees the findings as not only an assessment of solar canals, but also a clear illustration of the interconnections between urgent global issues like air quality, energy, and water conservation. "What we're seeing here is actually some surprising benefits when you bring water and energy together," Campbell said. "Sometimes it leads to a smoother landing in how we transition to better ways of making energy and saving water." Explore further 20 overlooked benefits of distributed solar energy More information: Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels, Nature Sustainability (2021). Journal information: Nature Sustainability Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00693-8 Ellen DeGeneres has inked an exclusive multi-year deal with the Discovery Channel to produce natural history documentaries, according to Deadline. The 63-year-old star, who faced accusations from both current and former employees that she fostered a toxic workplace last year, is slated to narrate and executive produce a documentary titled Endangered. Endangered, which will be released on Earth Day, April 22, on Discovery+, will follow a 'dedicated wildlife conservationists across the globe' as 'they compile the latest version of The Red List.' 'Ellen's dedication to the environment and her love for all animals, including the most endangered creatures who call our planet home, is unmatched,' Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery and Factual told the outlet. New project: Ellen DeGeneres has inked an exclusive multi-year deal with the Discovery Channel to produce natural history documentaries, according to Deadline; seen in 2020 She continued: 'We welcome Ellen and her team to the Discovery family as she brings her humor, her voice, and her ability to inspire to these important passion projects.' Meanwhile, DeGeneres exclaimed she was 'excited to partner with Discovery' and looks forward to learning 'about incredible animals.' DeGeneres' partnership is not surprising as her organization The Ellen Fund, founded by her wife Portia de Rossi in 2018, was created to support global conservation efforts for endangered species. Over the summer, she was plagued by reports surrounding her daytime talk show, which was hit with its worst ratings in its 17-year history. Moving on: The 63-year-old star, who faced accusations from both current and former employees that she fostered a toxic workplace last year, is slated to narrate and executive produce a documentary titled Endangered; seen in 2015 Longtime animal activist: Endangered, which will be released on April 22, will follow a 'dedicated wildlife conservationists across the globe' as 'they compile the latest version of The Red List' (pictured in 2018) According to The Wrap in August, the daytime talk show only garnered a 1.0 Live + Same Day rating through the week ending July 26, which was 29 per cent down on the same time in 2019, and nine per cent down on the previous week. During her premiere episode, Ellen addressed the scandal and apologized to her viewers. 'As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show and then there was an investigation. I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,' Ellen told viewers during her opening. 'I take that very seriously, and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected,' she said. 'I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.' Over it: Neilsen Media Research, the firm that measures audience size, reported that for Ellen's September 21 season 18 premiere, the show averaged a 1.2 Live+Same Day household ratings - a 29% drop from her 2019 premiere She added: 'Being known as the 'be-kind lady' is a tricky position to be in. The truth is I am that person you see on TV. I am also a lot of other things. Sometimes I get sad, I get mad, I get anxious, I get frustrated, I get impatient. And I am working on all of that.' A record number of people tuned in for her first episode back since the scandal - it was her highest-rated premiere since 2016 - but those viewers quickly dropped off. It is notable that, according to Nielsen, viewership for daytime talk shows was down pretty much across the board with a few exceptions. Live With Kelly and Ryan and Tamron Hall saw a slight uptick in ratings. Curiosity: A record number of people tuned in for her first episode back since the scandal to see her address the controversy making the episode the highest-rated premiere since 2016 - but those viewers quickly dropped off Over the summer Ellen did a lot of damage control with both employees and fans to rehab her damaged 'be kind' image. She and top producers on her show were first hit with rampant accusations of workplace misconduct in a July Buzzfeed News article. The article revealed claims made by one current and 10 former employees of Ellen's talk show saying they experienced racism, fear and intimidation while working on the long-running series and accusing producers of bullying. Turned off: The steep decline in viewership of the once popular show suggests that claims from staffers of bullying and harassment from top producers and diva-like behavior from the host pushed fans away The show then faced additional accusations about sexual misconduct in a second BuzzFeed News article on July 30, in which dozens of men and women accused three executive producers of sexual harassment, misconduct or assault. The report sparked an internal investigation into the allegations by WarnerMedia and as a result of that inquiry those three executive producers, Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman, were let go. During a virtual meeting with staff, Ellen announced the firings and apologized to the 200 people on the call. Be kind? Over the summer Ellen has been doing damage control with both employees and fans to rehab her damaged image following dozens of employees saying they experienced racism, fear and intimidation while working on the long-running series and accused producers of bullying She also reportedly revealed that the show would be increasing benefits for staffers, including more time off and a better policy for medical leave. The measures include 'increased paid time off and a liberal medical leave policy' and are already having the desired effect of boosting morale, the insider said. During that call DeGeneres also addressed several of the other accusations leveled against her and other higher-ups on the show, including the rumor that no one is allowed to look her in the eye. 'Please talk to me. Look me in the eye,' Ellen allegedly told staff in the call, adding that she didn't know where the 'crazy' rumor came from. The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation into claims Armie Hammer violently raped a young woman. On Thursday, the 24-year-old woman - identified only as 'Effie' - went public with her accusation, alleging Hammer raped her during a terrifying four-hour ordeal on April 24, 2017. Speaking at a press conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred, Effie claimed that Hammer, who was married at the time, 'repeatedly slammed her head against a wall' during the encounter, leaving her with bruises to her face. 'During those four hours, I tried to get away but he wouldn't let me. I thought that he was going to kill me,' she sobbed. Effie alleges Hammer also whipped her feet with a crop - an act that left her in pain for a week. 'He left with no concern for my well-being. During and since this attack, I have lived in fear of him,' she stated. Allred confirmed that her client has handed over evidence to investigators, but said no charges have been filed. In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the LAPD told DailyMail.com: 'We can confirm that Armie Hammer is the main suspect in an alleged sexual assault investigation that was initiated on February 3.' The Hollywood star has vigorously denied Effie's accusation, describing it as 'outrageous' in a statement released by his own lawyer. At the time of the alleged rape, Hammer was married to TV personality Elizabeth Chambers. She filed for divorce in July 2020. Hammer hit headlines in January of this year after social media account HouseOfEffie started sharing screenshots of disturbing text messages the actor had allegedly sent to several of his exes. Allred would not confirm whether her client was behind the HouseOfEffie account. Effie currently lives at an undisclosed location in Europe. On Thursday, a woman identified as 'Effie' claimed Armie Hammer violently raped her in Los Angeles on April 24, 2017. The pair are pictured together in a photograph taken sometime prior to the alleged incident Speaking at a press conference, Effie claimed that Hammer 'repeatedly slammed her head against a wall' during the incident, leaving her with bruises to her face Effie says she first came into contact with the Hollywood actor on social media back in 2016, when she was just 20 years old. The pair purportedly commenced a romantic relationship, despite the fact Hammer was married to Chambers at the time. In a bid to discredit Effie's claims, Hammer's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, shared screenshots of explicit messages the accuser sent to the actor last year - three years after the purported rape. Brettler told TMZ that Effie had sent Hammer 'sexual texts as recently as July 18, 2020'. 'Helplessly horny and I just need to tell you cuz it's been sooo long since last time,' one of the texts read. Hammer responded: 'I am not going to be able to engage in you in that specific way right now. It never ends well. We can talk and be friends but I can't do that.' Hammer's lawyer released a screenshot of a conversation he said between Effie and the actor. The screenshot was released from Hammer's team after Effie's press conference Hammer (pictured in 2020) has been accused of 'violently raping' Effie Full statement from Armie Hammer's accuser I met Armie Hammer on Facebook in 2016 when I was 20 years old. I fell in love with him instantly. The relationship progressed rapidly and the emotions from both sides became really intense. Looking back, it is now clear to me he was employing manipulation tactics in order to exert control over me, until I started to lose myself. He would often test my devotion to him, slyly removing and crossing my boundaries, as he became increasingly more violent. He abused me mentally, emotionally, and sexually. On April 24th, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent. For example, he beat my feet with a crop so they would hurt with every step I took for the next week. During those four hours, I tried to get away but he wouldn't let me. I thought that he was going to kill me. He then left with no concern for my well-being. I was completely in shock and couldn't believe someone I loved did that to me. I tried so hard to justify his actions, even to the point of responding to him in a way that did not reflect my true feelings. During and since this attack, I have lived in fear of him and for a long time I tried to dismiss his actions towards me as a twisted form of love. Now that he no longer has any power over me, I have come to understand that the immense mental hold he held over me was incredibly damaging on many levels. Advertisement Full statement from Hammer's lawyer Effie's own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations. As recently as July 18, 2020, Effie sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her. Mr. Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her. The screenshot below is just one of hundreds Effie sent to Mr. Hammer. 'It was never Mr. Hammer's intention to embarrass or expose Effie's fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference. With the truth on his side, Mr. Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight. 'From day one, Mr. Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with Effie and every other sexual partner of his for that matter have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory. Effie's attention seeking and ill-advised legal bid will only make it more difficult for real victims of sexual violence to get the justice they deserve.' - Andrew Brettler, attorney for Armie Hammer Advertisement Brettler, told TMZ: 'It was never Mr. Hammer's intention to embarrass or expose [Effie's]'s fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference. 'With the truth on his side, Mr. Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight.' On January 11, Hammer began trending on Twitter after HouseOfEffie shared the alleged screenshots between the actor and his exes dating back to 2016. They purported to expose his sick fantasies. In one text, Hammer allegedly wrote that he 'wanted to cut off' his girlfriend's toe and 'keep it in his pocket' In another he allegedly wrote: 'I am a 100% cannibal. I want to eat you.' Brettler issued a statement about the allegations at the time, saying that all sexual experiences were 'consensual.' In the wake of the texts, Hammer was subsequently dropped by his talent agency WME and his personal publicist, and was also fired from two high profile films - Shotgun Wedding and The Offer. The actor reportedly complained that he was being 'kink shamed'. Hammer separated from his wife of 10 years, Elizabeth Chambers, in June last year - six months before the HouseOfEffie account started sharing his kinky messages. In the wake of that scandal, Chambers said on social media: 'I am shocked, heartbroken, and devastated.' She also offered her support to any victims of 'assault or abuse', and added: 'I didn't realize how much I didn't know.' Hammer and Chambers share two children - Harper, six, and Ford, four. Meanwhile, one of Hammer's exes, Paige Lorenze, 22, spoke with DailyMailTV last month after her 'deeply traumatic' relationship with the movie star, describing how it left her emotionally and physically scarred. The couple briefly dated last year. 'Cannibal': He reportedly confessed to one woman via DM that he was '100% a cannibal' Hammer separated from his wife of 10 years, Elizabeth Chambers, in June last year - six months before the HouseOfEffie account started sharing messages The Instagram model provided DailyMailTV with an exclusive image of a sickening scar just millimeters away from her private parts that was left when Hammer allegedly carved his first initial 'A' into her skin during a kinky sex game. She also claimed that Hammer used mannequins, which he stored in the basement of the $5.8 million home he shared with his estranged wife in Los Angeles, to practice tying up women. Lorenze claimed that Hammer talked about wanting to strangle his dog, a Welsh Terrier named Archie. 'He would get angry at his dog and say like: 'I'm going to kill this dog, I would have strangled him if you weren't here,'' she said, noting that she does not believe he ever hurt the animal. Lorenze is pictured with Hammer in a photograph taken last year Armie Hammer's 'HouseOfEffie' Scandal: A Timeline July, 2020: Hammer's wife of 10 years, Elizabeth Chambers, files for divorce. The couple share two children. January 11, 2021: Hammer starts trending on social media after an account named 'HouseOfEffie' starts sharing graphic messages allegedly sent by the actor to various women. The texts were sent between 2016 and 2020 - while Hammer was married. In one message, Hammer allegedly described himself as '100% a cannibal' and tells a woman 'I want to eat you'. January 13, 2021: Hammer drops out of filming the romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding. He was set to star in the film opposite Jennifer Lopez. Josh Duhamel is announced as his replacement. January 13, 2021: Hammer breaks his silence followed intense interest in the 'HouseOfEffie' account. He states: 'I'm not responding to these bullst claims, but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot, in good conscience now, leave my children for four months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I'm grateful to them for that.' January 14, 2021: A friend of Hammer's estranged wife, Elizabeth Chambers, speaks to DailyMail.com, saying her pal is blindsided by allegations he was unfaithful and engaged in violent sex. 'Armie had a whole other side to him that she wasn't aware of. Whether it was always there and he kept it hidden, or something happened that changed him completely, she doesn't know.' January 15, 2021: A secret social media account belonging to Hammer is unearthed. It includes a video of a woman he claims is 'Miss Cayman' sitting on a bed in lingerie. Hammer later denies that the woman is a beauty pageant contestant. 'I am genuinely sorry for any confusion my foolish attempt at humor may have caused. My deep sympathies to Miss Cayman, who I don't know, and to the entire organization, as I had no intentions of implying she was actually Miss Cayman,' Hammer states. January 29, 2021: Hammer drops out of the Paramount Plus drama series, The Offer. February 3, 2021: LAPD opens a sexual assault investigation into Armie Hammer. The police department does not publicly announce the probe until March 18. February 6, 2021: Hammer is dropped by William Morris Endeavor agency as well as his personal publicist. March 10, 2021: A friend tells Vanity Fair that Hammer's wife Chambers filed for divorce after learning of his infidelity partway through last year. The magazine quotes the friend as saying Hammer 'mistakenly sent a raunchy text message meant for someone else to his estranged spouse. Elizabeth filed for divorce shortly after'. March 16, 2021: Hammer is spotted out with a mystery blonde in the Cayman Islands. Advertisement Lorenze said Hammer often tied her up, hit her with paddles and planned out 'high protocol nights' of painful sexual moves, which often left her covered in bruises. She said her lover - 12 years her senior - was 'sweet and kind' but 'manipulative'. 'I think he definitely loved it that I was younger. He always had me wear lingerie and tied me up,' she said. 'I just kind of agreed to it and let it happen, I was just trying to please him. 'He would say things like: 'I want to bite a piece of your skin off and eat it,' he would bite me so hard. Sometimes it would basically break skin.' A lawyer for Hammer has categorically denied the allegations against him, 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,' Hammer's attorney said in a statement to DailyMail.com. press release Five years ago, today, European leaders announced the EU-Turkey deal. Every single day since then, families have been trapped in 'hotspots' on the Greek islands, their lives put on hold. The EU and Greece created these 'hotspots' following the EU-Turkey deal. The EU's aim to keep asylum-seekers on the Greek islands was to speed up their return to Turkey has resulted in appalling living conditions, violent border control practices and immense delays in asylum procedures. Despite overwhelming evidence of these failed policies, the EU migration pact seeks to copy this approach. Today, Oxfam joins eight prominent NGOs calling on EU decision-makers to learn from past failures and to make urgent changes to the EU migration pact and plans to build new reception centres on the Greek Islands. Raphael Shilhav, Oxfam EU migration expert said: "In the five years since the announcement of the EU-Turkey deal, news from the Greek islands has gone from bad to worse. The EU's sustained push to block refugees on their path to safety has resulted in a humanitarian crisis with people forced to live in dehumanising conditions, sleeping in unheated tents or containers with limited access to running water and electricity. Women, in particular, tell us they do not feel safe, and that they are exposed to violence, harassment and exploitation. European decision-makers need to open their eyes to the reality on the Greek islands and deliver on their obligations to protect human rights. Instead of duplicating failed policies across Europe, they must guarantee the safety and dignity of refugees and other migrants." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Europe and Africa NGO By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In their joint statement, NGOs demand the EU and its member states to ensure: 1. No one is detained simply for seeking asylum: the new plans for reception centres on the Greek islands are akin to a detention-like facility. This is not suitable for people seeking safety. The proposal also fails to take into consideration the specific needs of people, particularly women and girls, who arrive to Europe following long and perilous journeys. 2. Asylum seekers should be able to live in dignified conditions: the EU cannot circumvent its own human rights obligations through the creation of a 'pre-entry phase' where EU asylum law does not fully apply. Asylum-seekers entering Europe must be protected by EU and national laws - no exceptions. 3. Asylum seekers have access to legal assistance and support: the asylum process is complicated and asylum seekers must not be cut off from information and legal aid from NGOs and the UNHCR. The EU's attempt to speed up asylum procedures through accelerated 'border procedures' side-lines these organisations, and infringes on the rights of asylum seekers. 4. There is effective independent oversight: reception centres cannot be closed to outside scrutiny. The EU and member states must allow for external monitoring and reporting by parliamentarians and NGOs, and put in place clear, independent and effective monitoring and complaint mechanisms. The Wu-Tang Clan has once again proved they most definitely aren't nothing to eff with after a Florida man pretending to be one of their members was sentenced to federal prison for defrauding several businesses out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Monday, 29-year-old Aaron Barnes-Burpo was sentenced to seven years behind bars and ordered to pay approximately $300,000 to 19 different businesses after pleading guilty to committing wire fraud, David Estes, The Acting U.S. Attorney For Southern District of Georgia, told the Washington Post. For several weeks, these men defrauded multiple businesses by posing as famous musical artists and their retinue, Estes explained to Atlanta's ABC affiliate, WSB-TV of Barnes-Burpo and Walker Washington, a co-conspirator who has yet to be sentenced. "Thanks to an alert hotel clerk, their phony hit parade came to an abrupt halt. Continue Reading Below Advertisement According to testimonies and court documents, the not-so-famous duo say they falsely portrayed themselves as affiliated with the Roc Nation production company and the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan as early as September 2019, and used those fictitious representations along with fraudulent and stolen credit cards to rent luxury limousines and defraud hotels, caterers and production studios of thousands of dollars in goods and services in multiple cities, primarily in the Southeast," WSB-TV reported. Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The President of the Transition in Mali, Bah N'Daw, has decreed a three-day national mourning from Thursday, 18 March for soldiers who were killed in clash with terrorists on the axis Lelehoye-Tessit, in the region of Gao, northern Mali, a statement from the Malian Presidency announced Police are investigating a fire at a unit in Melbournes south-east that has killed a man and put a woman in hospital with minor injuries. Emergency services were called to Chesterfield Road in Highett about 7.50pm on Thursday night after reports that a building was on fire. The matter has been referred to Arson Squad detectives. Credit:Paul Rovere Crews extinguished the blaze and found the man dead inside the unit. Paramedics took a woman in her 70s to hospital with minor injuries. CLARK LAKE, MI The pain is like a carousel for Michelle Burt. Its ever present, and each moment is a slightly different type of pain. That carousel hasnt stopped spinning since Nov. 5, 2019 the day her 15-year-old son, Johnathan Huizar, died from suicide, hours after his release from a psychiatric hospital. His death could have been prevented, Burt said, as Johnathan told her he wasnt ready to leave. With him saying he wasnt ready; I was concerned, said Burt, of Clark Lake. I know he was concerned. When I questioned that, they told me that I had to come get him, they were discharging him. This was a preventable situation. The hospital, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, 300 68th St. SE in Grand Rapids, told her there was no medical reason for Johnathan to stay, and if she did not pick him up, she would be charged with child abandonment, Burt said. Johnathan was in Grand Rapids because it was the closest hospital with an open bed, she said. Pine Rest declined to comment on Johnathans specific case because of Michigans Mental Health Code and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 regulations, Communications Manager Matt Hiskes said in an email. Pine Rest is saddened by any loss of life and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the individual involved in your media request, Hiskes said. I knew that he was in trouble Johnathans stay at Pine Rest started after he told his outpatient therapist he had put the barrel of a gun to his head and that he needed help, Burt said. She and her son spent the night in the Henry Ford Allegiance Health emergency room, and he was taken to the Grand Rapids psychiatric hospital by ambulance early the next morning. He would have known exactly what it meant to put the gun to his head because he was an avid outdoorsman, Burt said. For my son to stop and say that, I put something to my head that I know what the end result is, I knew that he was in trouble, she said. Johnathan spent 13 days at Pine Rest before he was sent home. He was more concerned about the other patients than himself, Burt said, and left a three-page letter for the residents when he died, in addition to a letter for his family. He was staying at his grandmothers house in Jackson County so he could adjust to leaving the hospital before returning to the house with his siblings. Burt said they checked the house for weapons and thought it was clear. Theres no way my son meant for this to happen, Burt said. He was not the type of person who wanted everyone to hurt. He hated when people cried. It physically hurt him. You would see him get emotional with that person. He never would want to hurt anyone like this. He just wasnt able to see past that day. New law is bittersweet Johnathans death was never investigated by the state of Michigan. Now, though, similar deaths will be investigated once a new law goes into effect March 24. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs must investigate all patient deaths that happen within 48 hours of release when the cause of death is unknown or a suicide, according to the law. Its bittersweet to be honest, she said. I actually spoke in front of the committee on that multiple times because I think that should have been a staple from day one. This is not new. There are so many kids every single day. There are people every single day who are not minors that are dying. The law is just the start of the changes Burt wants to see. I think its a fantastic start in bringing everything to light, she said. The issue is, yeah they can do the investigation but unless they do something with what they find, were going to have the same pileup that they have now. Burt hopes to see a bill introduced to overhaul credentialing for mental health professionals and treatment facilities. It would help regulate which specialists work with patients at what time. Basically, making sure the absolute best professional is being put in the absolute best position to help patients the most, Burt said. Slowly healing Burt, her husband and kids are slowly healing and living their lives after Johnathans death. They spend time talking about the happy memories they have of him because its all they can do, Burt said. Its a moment by moment, she said. A lawsuit against Pine Rest will be filed in the next few weeks, attorney Leon Walsh Jr. said. The family has records showing that Johnathan said he would kill himself if he was released, Walsh said. Mental health treatment facilities have self-serving interests, so the state investigations will be helpful, Walsh said. It just doesnt seem right, Walsh said. Somebody is voicing that theyre going to kill themselves, day after day and then all of the sudden, Oh, hes fine. I dont think thats what happened. I think they were frustrated with Johnathan. Hed been in there long enough and they wanted to get him out and told Michelle, Hes just seeking attention. Ignore it. Pine Rest does not comment on pending litigation, Hiskes said. I dont want an apology letter, Burt said. Thats a slap in my face. Change the treatment for the next child, the next John that doesnt meet whatever cookie cutter care they have going. I want them to change that treatment plan. I want them to survive. There doesnt need to be another loss. But thats not going to change if we dont hold them accountable when they fail. Anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, which is a 24/7 service. IRVINE, Calif., March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LoanScorecard, the leading provider of non-agency automated underwriting systems (AUS) announced today that Quontic has selected its non-agency AUS, Portfolio Underwriter, as its non-QM Scenario tool. Founded in 2010, Quontic is a digital bank and wholesale lender headquartered in New York, NY, with a rapidly growing non-QM business which currently accounts for approximately 60% of its volume. Along with a suite of competitive non-QM offerings, the lender offers a full range of loan products ranging from jumbo, government, and reverse mortgages, as well. Quontic is using LoanScorecards technology to equip their broker clients with the tools they need to provide a high-tech, easy-to-use, answer-driven borrower experience. The benefits of using LoanScorecards technology are two-fold: Empowering our broker clients and increasing our operational efficiency. With LoanScorecards technology, our brokers are more in control of the mortgage process. Using the AUS, they can pre-approve their borrowers faster; submit more complete files; and ultimately speed up the overall closing process, said Peter Pavlakos, VP / Product Manager of Quontic. In addition, from an operational standpoint, the technology is assisting our underwriters by eliminating manual processes and making the approval faster and more consistent. As more lenders, like Quontic, enter the non-QM market and develop innovative programs they need the right technology and partners by their side to help them remove inefficiencies from the manual, time-consuming origination and underwriting processes, said Raj Parekh, Managing Director of LoanScorecard. Portfolio Underwriter provides Quontic the ability to deliver immediate feedback of eligibility, pricing and guideline analysis to significantly improve the broker and borrower mortgage experiences and results. About Quontic Quontic is the adaptive digital bank that empowers its customers financially while embracing their diverse circumstances. Quontic's disruptive banking platform reimagines traditional banking with adaptive lending and innovative deposit products. Quontic's mission to break the system for financial empowerment stands in the face of big banks and proves there is a better and more equitable way to put the customer first. The bank focuses on truly understanding and serving the underdogs, entrepreneurs, gig-economy workers, immigrants, and more with a curated banking experience as opposed to a one-size-fits-all banking approach. Quontic is a privately held company based in New York, New York. Learn more at Quontic.com. About Loan Scorecard LoanScorecard is the leading provider of non-agency automated underwriting, pricing and loan-loss reserve solutions designed to meet today's regulatory challenges and capitalize on market opportunities. LoanScorecard helps institutions address CFPB regulations, compliance and fair lending, and supports banks and credit unions preparing for the upcoming impacts of CECL. For more information, visit loanscorecard.com or call 800-617-0892. Contact: Campbell Lewis Communications Amanda Gonzalez 212.995.8058 amanda@campbelllewis.com Now Open 18 March 2021 Sandpiper Hospitality - the Virginia-based hotel management experts in the extended-stay segment - is pleased to announce that the new WoodSpring Suites Atlanta - Newnan is now open and enjoying high occupancy rates that began on the first night. The property is owned by Atlanta's Turnstone Group. With rates starting at $392 per week, the modern new WoodSpring Suites Atlanta - Newnan offers 125 suites all featuring a full kitchen, a flat-screen TV and a workspace. Amenities at the pet-friendly hotel include a fitness center, free Wi-Fi and guest laundry and vending machines. The hotel is located close to the Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Cancer Treatment Centers of America, The Ashley Park shopping center and Historic Downtown Newnan Square. For more information or to make a reservation, please visit www.woodspring.com. This is the first WoodSpring Suites development for the Turnstone Group, a highly-disciplined, value driven real estate investment and development firm based in Atlanta with a national footprint. Dallas, TX, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, is proud to announce that seven Associa team members completed the required training to earn the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation from the Community Associations Institute (CAI) in the last year. The PCAM designation is the highest professional recognition available to managers who specialize in community association management. The certification process to earn the PCAM designation is open to individuals looking to be recognized among an elite class of the most experienced managers in the nation. To obtain this highly sought-after industry achievement, community managers must accomplish rigorous milestones, including completing five years of direct community association management experience, successful completion of all six M-200-level courses, and passing the CMCA examination administered by the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB). This years PCAM recipients are among industry leaders from several Associa branches, including Associa Hawaii, Community Management Corporation, and Equity Management & Realty Services. Earning the PCAM designation takes true commitment and steadfast determination, stated Debra Warren, Associa vice president of development. Associa focuses on encouraging our employees to further their education and industry knowledge, so we are very proud of each of these team members for this outstanding accomplishment. We are especially proud to see so many team members who persevered in such an unprecedented year to earn their PCAM designation, stated John Tsitos, Associa Community Management Corporation president. This is an extremely high honor for each employee, and we are excited to celebrate their achievement. The PCAM recipients are: Neil RossAssocia Hawaii Diana TringaliAssocia Community Management Corporation Quinn OdorizziAssocia Community Management Corporation Cheryl Butler-WalkerAssocia Community Management Corporation Nicole Mandi SpeighelhalterAssocia Equity Management and Realty Services Sara PaganiAssocia Community Management Corporation With more than 200 branch offices across North America, Associa delivers unsurpassed management and lifestyle services to nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise and trailblazing innovation. For more than 40 years, Associa has provided solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com. Stay Connected: Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa All playfully follow the Racine Art Museums mission. We want the public to see what artists can do with something familiar to them, Pepich says, of Peeps work and contemporary craft. Hundreds of unusual teapots are a favorite subset of the museums permanent collection of 9,500 curated items. The Art of the Cup, through Aug. 7, will exhibit vessels with unconventional materials, purposes and styles. During his March 10 press conference, Emmanuel Levacher, CEO of Arquus, reported that various contracts with African and Middle-Eastern countries were successfully completed in 2020 while other ones will be in 2021. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link Arquus Sherpa Light Scout 4x4 APC (Picture source: Arquus) In December 2020, Arquus delivered the last Sherpas ordered by Kuwait in different versions. The Sherpa family includes four base models: the Sherpa Scout, an armored vehicle for liaison and reconnaissance seating 4 or 5 soldiers, also available in a Station Wagon version; the Carrier, fitted for troop or communication systems transport; the APC, for protected troop transport; and the Sherpa Special Forces, designed for missions behind enemy lines. The Sherpa is in service with the armed forces of Chile, Lebanon and Kuwait. The Sherpa Light is a family of 4x4 tactical and light armored vehicles. The vehicle was unveiled in June 2006 during the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris. The Sherpa Light Scout can transport 4 to 5 soldiers. It can be fitted with an open-top turret or a remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS) armed with weapons of up to 12,7 mm caliber. The hull of the vehicle can be fitted with armor plates to provide protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters. The roof of the vehicle can be fitted with a manually-operated turret or a remotely operated weapon station armed with a machine gun of up to 12.7mm caliber. The vehicle can be motorized with a Deutz 1013 or Renault MD5 4-cylinder Diesel engine coupled to a 6-speed automatic transmission. It can reach 110 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 800 km. Arquus Bastion (Picture source: Arquus) In 2020, Arquus delivered 50 Bastions in Africa and the G5 Sahel. The key role of the Bastion, notably in Africa, where it constitutes the backbone of numerous armies. To better meet its partners needs, Arquus keeps upgrading the Bastion and offers it in 2020 in a new version, fitted with a 270hp engine. It is a major milestone for the Arquus factory in Saint-Nazaire, which has been writing its history with the legendary VLRA (Vehicule Leger de Reconnaissance et dAppui, Liaison, Reconnaissance and Support Vehicle), and keeps writing it with the new VLRA and the Bastion. To answer its clients specific demands, which requested a robust and highly mobile armored vehicle, Arquus developed in 2012 the Bastion, now one of the most renowned vehicles of the African theaters. By fitting a mecano-welded hull on the new VLRA chassis, Arquus created a simple, robust, and hardy solution, ready to industrialize, easy to support and offering a wide commonality with all existing VLRA fleets all over the world. Well protected against ballistic and mine threats, the Bastion can host a full 8-soldier combat group, as well as comprehensive equipment thanks to its large internal volume. Already in service in several African armies, where it is renowned for its simplicity of use and ruggedness, as well as for its versatility, the Bastion has recently been chosen by the G5 Sahel to equip some of its members armies in their fight against armed terrorist groups. Taking into account these latest orders, the Bastion reaches 500 units currently in service worldwide and asserts itself as the armored vehicle of choice for the African theaters. As part of the evolution of Arquus range, the Bastion is now offered in a new version, with a four-cylinder, 270hp engine. This power increase grants the Bastion with new capabilities in terms of speed and obstacle crossing, thus upgrading its performance on all theaters of operations. This new version complements the classic 180hp version. It illustrates Arquus ability to optimize its vehicles performance, depending on the armies needs and feedback from the field. Arquus VLRA 2 family (Picture source: Arquus) A large order, 300 VLRA 2s will be delivered to the Moroccan armed forces in 2021. VLRA 2 is a family of light tactical vehicles sharing the same all-wheel-drive chassis specifically designed for military requirements. The successor to VLRA 1 (12,000 of which have been sold worldwide), VLRA 2 retains the latters ruggedness, no-electronics versions, range and low gooseneck chassis. The new VLRA 2 TDN-TDE, heir of 60 years of experience in driving forces in the most challenging terrain, integrates up-to-date technologies. This new range keeps the concept ACMAT 100% Military proven in the most extreme environments: drop-frame and welded rigid chassis, cold-stamped HEL steel, standardization of the components, modularity to support troops, weapons and fire support systems. The new VLRA TDN-TDE meets the whole tactical and operational requirements of armed forces and special forces, with more mobility, payload and protection.The VLRA 2 family comprises a wide variety of 4x4 and 6x6 logistics and troop carriers. A Special Forces version, the Torpedo, has also been sold. VLRA is already in service in numerous countries across the world and is employed in the most demanding theatres of operations. After more than fifty years of good and faithful service, more than 600 VLRAs are still in service in the French army, in more than 75 different versions, which prove the vehicles endurance and high versatility. In its command car version, the VLRA is notably used by the French President on the French National Day. A new VLRA version was presented by Arquus in 2009. This version increases the payload by more than 1 tonne, optimizes the cabin ergonomics, thus creating a third forward seat, and reduces the turning radius. The Bastion is built on this versions chassis. In total, more than 1,000 chassis have been produced by Arquus for the new VLRA or the Bastion since 2009. Arquus VLRA 2 (Picture source: Arquus) The dangerous sneak thief that is COVID-19 has again infiltrated Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home. The dangerous sneak thief that is COVID-19 has again infiltrated Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home. On Wednesday, Revera the Ontario-based owner of Heritage Lodge announced a resident had tested positive for the highly contagious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. A positive case of the novel coronavirus had been confirmed with a staff member March 10, and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority declared an outbreak. The next day, all residents on the first floor of the two-storey facility were to be tested. Two days later, the results public health officials most feared came back: the staff member was positive for the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom. It's not the Winnipeg care home's first outbreak: on Sept. 23, 2020, a resident, who was asymptomatic, tested positive. Before the outbreak was declared over Jan. 15, 22 residents and 16 staff members had tested positive. Six residents died. This time, most residents not only have an ace up their sleeves but in their arms they've already received the required two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Heritage Lodge long-term care home, which is once again shut down to visitors after a staff member tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant, in Winnipeg on Wednesday. "I have the vaccination," said Marjorie Tyler, 95, on a phone call while isolating in her room. "I was one of the first to get the vaccine here because I'm 95. And I've already had it twice. I do feel good about it. And, because of the vaccine, I feel very comfortable even with the outbreak here. "I can't understand why anyone wouldn't want (the vaccine), but I know some said they didn't want it." Most Heritage Lodge residents agreed to be vaccinated by provincial teams visiting the facility, but not everyone. Meanwhile, according to Revera in a statement Wednesday: "Vaccinations for staff are ongoing." It's not known whether the resident who tested positive for the U.K. variant had been vaccinated. The WRHA told the Free Press that 24 residents at Heritage Lodge were retested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, after their initial results came back negative. A spokesman said the retesting was planned even before the U.K. variant was found, because public health recommended they be screened again 10 days after the potential exposure. Results are pending. The spokesman said officials are closely monitoring staffing levels at the 80-bed facility, and a pool of nurses is on standby to fill in any gaps, if needed, through a central staffing office. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Heritage Lodge long-term care home. "The facility has implemented appropriate infection control and outbreak measures," he said. "A WRHA clinical lead continues to support the site, and the situation currently remains stable." Tyler, who is now an isolation veteran at the care home, having already spent the better part of four months in her room starting last September, said the first outbreak occurred on the second floor of the facility. This one is on the main floor, where her room is located. "(However) I feel very safe," she said. "This is a wonderful place. "Right now, I am isolated. I can't go out of my room. I have my meals in my room. I have to wear a mask when someone comes here." Staff members visit Tyler twice a day just to monitor for COVID symptoms, as per public health protocol. If Tyler was able to leave her room, she would see other changes in place now that the facility is back in outbreak status. Staff are being screened for the virus at the start and end of work shifts, getting an antigen test every week. They have to wear a face mask and eye protection on duty, and enhanced cleaning protocols are in effect. Residents on both floors are currently confined to their rooms. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Revera the Ontario-based owner of Heritage Lodge announced a resident had tested positive for the highly contagious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. For the time being, Shared Health has told the Winnipeg care home to cancel general visits, while essential visits for palliative residents and from designated family caregivers will begin again once contact tracing is completed. Tyler's daughter, Theresa Hooper, says she feels much more relieved this time around, knowing her mother has been vaccinated. "It makes me feel better," Hooper said from B.C. "And they are very good at keeping family informed. They inform us by email and by phone call. And, during the outbreak (announcement), there was a taped call that went to everyone at 5 p.m. "It is a variant, so I'm a little concerned but I'm not as concerned as I was before she was vaccinated." A local union representing personal care home workers, including those at Heritage Lodge, said Revera needs to make the safety of residents and staff a priority. "Now that a new COVID variant is present in our community, we need to continue being extremely vigilant and ensure every precaution is taken to avoid a repeat of last fall," Shannon McAteer, CUPE health-care co-ordinator, said in a statement to the Free Press. COVID-19 outbreaks were also declared Wednesday at two other Winnipeg personal care homes: River East and Extendicare/Oakview Place. Both are managed by Extendicare; a representative for the company didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. For a few short weeks in between outbreaks at Heritage Lodge, Tyler said she could go out of her room and eat in the cafeteria, on rotation. "We could go down every other day," she said. Tyler said she is in a two-bedroom suite, but has been its lone occupant for months. "I had a roommate, but she died months ago. It wasn't anything to do with COVID." Meanwhile, Tyler said she is grateful to the people who are working hard to keep residents safe. "I don't know what I'd do without the staff," she said. "They are all very friendly. I can't say enough about them especially with what they are going through now." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Katie May Reporter Katie May reports on courts, crime and justice for the Free Press. Read full biography ADVERTISEMENT The Debt Management Office (DMO) Thursday dual-listed the N162.557 billion FGN Ijarah Sukuk with a seven-year tenor at a rental rate of 11.20 per cent on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the FMDQ Securities Exchange. The third Sovereign Sukuk was issued last June to fund countrywide rehabilitation and development of roads of key economic importance. It is due in 2027. At the completion of the debt issuance in 2020, the Sukuk was overwhelmingly subscribed to the tune of N669.124 billion or 446 per cent, and the proceeds were intended to be ploughed into 44 economic road projects in the six geopolitical zones making up Africas biggest economy. With the listing, investors who are already holding the SUKUK can trade them while new investors have an opportunity to buy the SUKUK in the secondary market, said Abuja-based debt office in a press release. Africas largest economy has been heaping up debts to bridge a yawning gap in its road and rail infrastructures as well as in other critical amenities. Its network of ramshackle roads, which are death-traps at the best of times, and poor power supply have stood in the way of growth and held back its potential for large-scale industrialisation. Infrastructure in Nigeria is significantly behind other emerging market peers, with about $3 trillion needed over 30 years to close the gap, global risk assessment firm Moodys Investors Service said in a report published in November. That leaves the minimum infrastructure spend at around $100 billion every year over three decades, roughly three times the size of the countrys 2021 budget, standing at $35.66 billion (N13.58 trillion). President Muhammadu Buhari gave the go-ahead for the establishment of a $2.6 billion infrastructure company with a seed capital of N1 trillion that will run on a public-private partnership even though that commitment is just a drop in the ocean. The DMO said it had succeeded in raising N362.57 billion in less than three years for road renovation and construction across Nigeria by way of the Sovereign Sukuk initiative. Nigerias cumulative public debt ballooned to N32.915 trillion at the end of last year, the DMO said on Monday. The country spends 83 per cent or more than four-fifths of its revenue on servicing debt even though the government said the total public debt to gross domestic product as of last December was 21.61 per cent and has restated its resolve to up the limit to 40 per cent in order to borrow more, defying analysts warning that the nation might be sinking beyond trace below its heap of debt. Oakland police arrested a suspect who was seen punching a 76-year-old man in the face on camera this week, authorities announced Thursday. The suspect was arrested Wednesday, a day after punching the 76-year-old man in the face on the 400 block of 7th Street, the Oakland Police Department announced on Twitter. Authorities said the case will be presented to the Alameda District Attorneys office for review and charging. Hero Chris ODonovan pictured on Wednesday next to the pond where he was involved in the rescue of three-year-old Crystal ODriscoll on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Bill Browne A Fermoy man has been hailed as a hero after he saved the life of a young child who had become trapped in a deep pond near her home. Chris O'Donovan, who lives near the pond, was out for a walk with his dog on Tuesday March 9 when the dramatic rescue took place. Crystal O'Driscoll, a three-year-old girl who lives with her family nearby, had become trapped when she followed a ball that she was playing with strayed into a deep section of the pond. While she had gone out of her depth, she was able to perch herself on a rock to keep her head barely above water. Chris was almost at the exit to the area when he saw Crystal's brother running around frantically. He went to investigate and saw Crystal trapped. Speaking to The Corkman, Chris detailed how the rescue unfolded. "I live local to the area. I'm only around 500 yards from it. I was taking my dog for a walk, and I was approaching the exit near the ponds when I noticed a young boy that was hopping around the place on the other side of the pond. Expand Close Crystal ODriscoll ( right) pictured with her sister, Lisa Marie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Crystal ODriscoll ( right) pictured with her sister, Lisa Marie "It's a big pond too, they are not little duck ponds, they are fairly big. I could see this young boy hopping around and so I went to take a look, and as I got closer, I could see this small blonde head of a young girl inside in the middle of the pond," Chris said. "She was motionless. There was no hysterical crying or anything. I shouted out to her and I asked her if she could stand up but she shook her head so seeing that, I just jumped into the water without a second's thought, I went straight in. "I got out to her as quickly as possible, and the water was up to my waist when I got to her. I have to say, she was very clever, she had managed to sit herself on a rock underneath the water to keep her head above the surface. Now, she couldn't go back or forward or sideways, so she knew that she was in trouble," Chris continued. Upon reaching the girl, Chris said that he asked her to put her hands up in the air, and he then picked her up. Chris said that "she locked onto" him and wouldn't let go until they were back on dry land. "She wrapped her legs around my chest and she held my hands so tight. She was just locked onto me. I had a fleece, and I wrapped it around her because she was just absolutely ice cold, the poor thing." Chris quickly got Crystal home to her parents, where her father had been out looking for her and her brother, and they quickly got her to the doctors. Chris said that he checked in on them on Wednesday and that Crystal was doing well. "We could have been waking up to different headlines in Fermoy today but, thankfully, it's a positive story in the end," Chris added. Meanwhile, speaking on C103's Cork Today Show, Crystal's mum, Emma, said her children were playing ball together and the ball must have wandered. "We're more than grateful that Chris was there and acted so quickly because the outcome could've been an awful lot worse. "We'll never be able to thank him enough for it," she added. This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Tennessee's Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey confirmed the state's first case of the new coronavirus. (NIAID-RML via AP) About three-quarters of Berkeley County seniors those 65 and older have yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19, the chief operating officer of Roper St. Francis Healthcare told members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging during a hearing March 18. That's considerably higher than the statewide average. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 58 percent of seniors 65 and older across the state aren't fully vaccinated yet. To address this disparity, Roper St. Francis Chief Operating Officer Anthony Jackson told U.S. senators that the hospital system he runs in the Lowcountry set up a pop-up drive-thru vaccine clinic in Berkeley County this week. "Vaccine drive-thru centers can play an integral role in expanding our vaccination campaign beyond urban areas to reach a population that is often left behind," Jackson said. "Communities and states must be proactive and creative to reach residents who cannot get vaccinated through more traditional visits to hospitals and doctors' offices, and our drive-thru vaccination site would be a great model for others to follow." Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! His remarks were made during a Senate hearing on "COVID-19 One Year Later: Addressing Health Care Needs for At-Risk Americans." Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a ranking member of the committee, thanked Jackson for his "continued efforts" in making the coronavirus vaccine accessible to residents in rural parts of the state. Scott acknowledged that vaccine uptake among Black and Hispanic populations is "lower than we want them to be," and rural residents need better access to the shots. Former Commonwealth solicitor-general Justin Gleeson, SC, will head the legal team defending the ABC against a Federal Court defamation suit filed against it by Attorney-General Christian Porter, in a major coup for the broadcaster. Mr Gleesons appointment adds significant firepower to the ABCs defence team, which also includes experienced Victorian defamation barrister Renee Enbom, SC, who acted for actor Rebel Wilson, and Sydney barrister Clarissa Amato, who is well-versed in acting for media defendants including Nine and the ABC. Attorney-General Christian Porter at a March 3 press conference. Credit:Trevor Collens The team will be overseen by in-house lawyer and former Minter Ellison partner Grant McAvaney, the broadcasters head of disputes and litigation. Under a timetable set by the Federal Court on Wednesday, without a hearing but with the agreement of the parties, the ABC has just over six weeks to file its written defence to the lawsuit. The court appears to be fast-tracking the case, which was filed on Monday. In your garage or driveway sits a machine with more lines of code than a modern passenger jet. Todays cars and trucks, with an internet link, can report the weather, pay for gas, find a parking spot, route around traffic jams and tune in to radio stations from around the world. Soon theyll speak to one another, alert you to sales as you pass your favorite stores, and one day theyll even drive themselves. While consumers may love the features, hackers may love them even more. And thats keeping many in the auto industry awake at night, worried about how they can stay one step (or two or three) ahead of those who could eventually play havoc with the worlds private transport systems. Hackers seemingly cant wait for the opportunity to commandeer vehicles. In 2019, the automotive cybersecurity company Karamba Security posted a fake vehicle electronic control unit online. In under three days, 25,000 breach attempts were made, and one succeeded. The best-known vehicle takeover occurred in 2015 when security researchers on a laptop 10 miles away caused a Jeep Cherokee to lose power, change its radio station, turn on the windshield wipers and blast cold air. Jeeps parent company, FCA, recalled 1.4 million vehicles to fix the vulnerability. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Three people were tied up in their own home during a burglary in Co Clare earlier this week. Gardai are appealing to the public for any information in relation to the aggravated burglary that took place at a house in Drumullen, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge, on Sunday, March 14. At around 4.30pm, three men armed with what is believed to be a knife and an iron bar, entered the house and tied up three of the occupants. One occupant of the house was assaulted during the incident. As well as that, a number of personal items were taken from the property. Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have information in relation to this incident to come forward. Gardai are also appealing to anyone who was in the area of Drumullen, Kilmurry, between 4.00pm and 5.15pm on March 14, to contact them. Any road users who were in the area at this time and who may have camera (including dash cam) footage is asked to make it available to investigating Gardai. Any person who may have observed any unusual activity in the area is also asked to contact Gardai in Ennis Garda Station on 065 684 8100, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station. Google has released the second Developer Preview for Android 12 after its first release in February 2021, this time featuring new tweaks and updates such new rounded corners APIs, improved picture-in-picture (PiP) APIs, better companion device management and more. Similar to earlier Developer previews, Google has added a number of small improvements with the 2nd Android 12 Developer Preview. Picture-in-picture (PiP) now has better animations when transitioning from the app to PIP mode on up-to-home and apps can now enable seamless resize to let the system resize the PIP Activity when needed. Developers now have more control over managing their apps on companion devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers. There are new APIs that allow developers to code their apps better for displays with rounded corners and another API that allows more control over when overlays can be shown over app content. Other updates include improved methods of applying common graphics effects to app Views and rendering hierarchies, bandwidth estimation improvements, extended security for lockscreen notification actions and access to app digests. Just as before, the Android 12 Developer Preview 2 can be flashed on to the Pixel 3/3 XL, Pixel 3a/3a XL, Pixel 4/4 XL, Pixel 4a/4a 5G and the Pixel 5. Users who are already running the first Developer Preview will receive the Developer Preview 2 as an OTA update. To check out all the new changes in detail, click here. Israeli archaeologists said they have discovered about 80 new pieces of ancient writings known as Dead Sea Scrolls in a desert cave south of Jerusalem. The writings are the first new scrolls to be found in 60 years. The writings are religious in nature. They have lines written in Greek. They are believed to have been hidden during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 1,900 years ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority says, based on the writing style, they likely come from the first century. The new discovery adds to a larger group of Dead Sea Scrolls - a collection of Jewish writings first found in desert caves in the West Bank near Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the scrolls date to over two thousand years ago. They include the earliest known copies of biblical writings and documents explaining the beliefs of a little understood Jewish group. The roughly 80 new pieces were found in a place known as the Cave of Horror. It has the name because 40 human skeletons were found there during digs in the 1960s. The cave is about 40 kilometers south of Jerusalem. The scrolls were found during an operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The goal was to find scrolls and other ancient objects to prevent possible stealing. The writings are believed to have been part of a scroll put in the cave during the Bar Kochba Revolt. This was an armed Jewish revolt against Rome during the time of Emperor Hadrian in the years between 132 and 136. Oren Ableman is a Dead Sea Scroll researcher with the Israel Antiquities Authority. He noted a difference between the newly discovered writings and other known writings in Hebrew and Greek. Joe Uziel is head of the Authoritys Dead Sea Scrolls group. He said some of those differences are important. Uziel added, Every little piece of information that we can add, we can understand a little bit better how the biblical writing came into its traditional Hebrew form. In 1961, Israeli archaeologist Yohanan Aharoni led a dig in the Cave of Horror. His team found nine pieces of writing belonging to a scroll written in Greek. Since then, no writings have been found during archaeological digs. But many have been sold in illegal markets. They were apparently taken from the caves. For the past four years, Israeli archeologists have launched a major campaign to examine caves in the Judean Desert. The aim is to find ancient objects before people damage the area, destroying important information in search of objects to be sold illegally. The authority said since the beginning of the operation in 2017, there have been almost no antiquities stolen in the Judean Desert. Im John Russell. Ilan Ben Zion reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story archaeologist n. a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones, tools, etc., of ancient people scroll -- n. a long piece of paper that rolls around one or two cylinders and that usually has something written or drawn on it antiquities plural n. objects from ancient times biblical -- adj. relating to, taken from, or found in the Bible ALBANY Lawmakers approved long-sought legislation Thursday limiting the use of solitary confinement in New York prisons and jails. The bill, called the Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement Act, or HALT, passed the Senate days after sailing through the Assembly. If signed by Gov. Cuomo, the measure will limit any form of isolation exceeding 15 days and ban solitary confinement for vulnerable populations altogether. Prolonged segregated confinement can cause permanent harms and does not properly address the root causes that lead to the punishment, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said. These reforms are morally right, fiscally responsible, and will improve outcomes at jails and prisons. Theres currently no limit on how long someone can spend in solitary, with some incarcerated people reporting months-long stints in isolation. It is no secret that the use of solitary confinement is inhumane, unethical, and constitutes torture under international law if it extends more than fifteen days, said Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn), the chair of the Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction. It must be discontinued immediately. Advocates have fought for the measure for years, bristling in 2019 when the governor essentially squashed the bill and announced a policy change that fell short of the stricter limits set by the legislation. Supporters of the bill point to research showing solitary confinement can have devastating physical and mental impacts, leading to psychosis and health issues. The Cuomo administration, and the governor himself, have argued that the changes outlined in the bill, such as implementing alternative rehabilitative measures and creating Residential Rehabilitation Units, would be too expensive to implement. Jerome Wright, a statewide organizer with the #HALTsolitary Campaign and a survivor of solitary confinement, applauded the Legislature for finally taking up the bill. Story continues For many years, survivors of solitary confinement and families who have lost loved ones in solitary have led a campaign to end this torture and replace it with safer and more effective interventions, he said in a statement. Freedom from torture is the most basic of human rights, and yet every year tens of thousands of New Yorkers are subjected to it in the form of solitary confinement for weeks, months, years, and even decades. Under the bill, solitary confinement can not be used as punishment for anyone with a disability or is under 21 or over 55 years of age. It is also barred for women who are pregnant, up to eight weeks postpartum, or caring for children in a facility. Anyone in solitary can not be denied basic services, treatment, or needs such as clothing, food, and bedding as punishment, according to the legislation. The State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will also be required to publish monthly reports on its website with semi-annual and annual cumulative reports of the total number of people in segregated confinement. The NYC Correction Officers Union slammed legislators for passing the bill, arguing it will lead to an increase in violent attacks in prisons and noting that an officer was sent to Mt. Sinai for stitches Wednesday after attempting to break up a fight between two inmates at a Rikers Island jail. The officer was punched and slashed above the eye with a box cutter. There is nothing humane about subjecting our brave men and women to brutal assaults that send them to the hospital every week to be treated for broken noses, broken eye sockets, and gashes across their limbs that often require many stitches, said COBA President Benny Boscio, arguing that attacks on officers are up 23% and stabbings and slashings continue to rise. The Governor should put safety first and refuse to sign this reckless piece of legislation that is only going to further jeopardize the lives of our essential Correction Officers, he added. Enough is enough. 7 day print subscribers enjoy unlimited access to yakimaherald.com Enter the LAST NAME and the 7 DIGIT phone number on your print subscription account to connect your print subscription to your yakimaherald.com account. Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and IDEXX Recently published findings demonstrate children in dog-owning households experience lower peer problems, lower conduct problems, and higher prosocial behaviors than children from non-dog-owning families. The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and IDEXX held a virtual lecture on the impact of pet ownership on young childrens physical activity and development. Todays lecture marks the third in the IDEXX-sponsored series to highlight impactful scientific research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds. This lecture titled, The Health and Developmental Benefits of Companion Animals for Young Children, features Dr. Hayley Christian, BSc, PhD, Principal Research Fellow at the Telethon Kids Institute, National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow, and Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia, discussing her ongoing HABRI-funded study, The Health and Developmental Benefits of Companion Animals for Young Children: Advancing the Evidence Base, including recently published findings which demonstrate that children in dog-owning households experience lower peer problems, lower conduct problems, and higher prosocial behaviors than children from non-dog-owning families. With HABRI, IDEXX is proud to be delivering this virtual content to pet owners, families with young children, and animal health professionals to help strengthen and promote the human-animal bond, said Kerry Bennett, Corporate Vice President, IDEXX. Results from Objective 1 of Dr. Christians HABRI-funded study were published in the journal Pediatric Research in July 2020. The aim of this objective was to investigate if active play and walking with the family dog facilitates improved developmental outcomes in young children. Results indicate that children of dog-owning families had lower peer problems, lower conduct problems, and higher prosocial behaviors than children from non-dog-owning families. In addition to benefitting from the presence of a dog in the home, even a small to moderate commitment to involving young children in time spent walking with the family dog may provide important social and emotional benefits for young children. Objective 2 of the study consists of a pilot test of strategies and interventions aimed at increasing the amount of time children spend active with their family dog for improving health and developmental outcomes. Dr. Christian also leads the Play Spaces and Environments for Childrens Physical Activity and Health (PLAYCE) program of research, a multidisciplinary team focused on turning challenges into opportunities to make a positive difference in childrens health and wellbeing. The HABRI-IDEXX Lecture Series is a wonderful educational opportunity for pet owners and veterinarians to learn about ongoing research investigating the benefits of the human-animal bond for everyone from young children to older adults, said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. We are grateful for the continued support of IDEXX of this series, which has helped bring HABRIs scientific research program to a broader audience than ever before. Professionals who viewed this session live will be eligible to receive RACE-approved Continuing Education (CE) credit through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). The lecture will remain available on-demand at http://www.habri.org/HAB-Lectures. The previous lectures in the Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series, The Efficacy of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD and "The Impact of a Feline Fostering Program for Older Adults Living Alone are also available on-demand at http://www.habri.org/HAB-Lectures. About HABRI HABRI is a not-for-profit organization that maintains the worlds largest online library of human-animal bond research and information; funds innovative research projects to scientifically document the health benefits of companion animals; and informs the public about human-animal bond research and the beneficial role of companion animals in society. For more information, please visit https://www.habri.org/. About IDEXX IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is a leader in pet healthcare innovation, serving practicing veterinarians around the world with a broad range of diagnostic and information technology-based products and services. IDEXX products enhance the ability of veterinarians to provide advanced medical care, improve staff efficiency, and build more economically successful practices. IDEXX is also a worldwide leader in providing diagnostic tests and information for livestock and poultry, tests for the quality and safety of water and milk, and point-of-care and laboratory diagnostics for human medicine. For more information, please visit https://www.idexx.com/en/. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. VANCOUVER - A B.C. Supreme Court judgeaskedwhy border officers didn't question Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou more rigorously if their exam was actually a covert criminal investigation, as her lawyers say. Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Meng Wanzhou leaves her home in Vancouver, Thursday, March 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward VANCOUVER - A B.C. Supreme Court judgeaskedwhy border officers didn't question Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou more rigorously if their exam was actually a covert criminal investigation, as her lawyers say. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes said Thursday that some questions asked by border officials involved topics that her lawyers say were relevant to an investigation in the United States, but the exam was hardly "grilling." She posed the question during a hearing called to determine if Meng was subjected to an abuse of process during her arrest. If proven, Meng's lawyers say it should prompt a stay in the extradition case. Meng is wanted on fraud charges in the United States. Both she and Huawei deny the allegations. Meng's team accuses Canadian and American officials of co-ordinating the collection of evidence for the U.S. fraud case against her under the guise of a routine border exam. "If this was all as you're suggesting, would the officers not have done a more concerted job of questioning Ms. Meng?" Holmes asked. "There were a few questions touching on the topics you've outlined, but it's not exactly a grilling examination or even a very vigorous one or detailed." Tony Paisana, one of Meng's lawyers, replied that in the course of his criminal defence career, he has sometimes asked himself, "Surely my client isn't that dumb," but that's the first and most obvious answer. "The fact that they didn't do a great job of violating her rights doesn't mean they didn't violate her rights," he said of Canadian officials. It'slikelythey asked questions in a "roundabout" way because they didn't want to tip her off to their true intentions, he said. The true purpose of the covert probe may well have been to obtain passcodes for Meng's electronic devices for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he added. Officials with the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency denied that they abused their powers during an evidence-gathering hearing in autumn. The court has heard that Meng was held by border officers for three hours before she was arrested and informed of her rights, but Meng's team has largely focused on the final seven minutes, when a border officer asked about Huawei's activity in Iran. Paisana said there was no reason Canadian border officers should have been concerned about Iran. Canada does not have sanctions against the country and the officer professed to be concerned about national security, he said. "Why not ask about her products in Canada? Why was he focused exclusively on sales of telecom products in Iran?" Paisana said. Meng is accused in the United States of misleading HSBC to believe Huawei no longer had control over technology company Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Her team claimed border officers acted outside of their statutory authority when they seized Meng's devices. Paisana also accused a border officer of lying to the court. CBSA officer Scott Kirkland testified that he had a "heart-wrenching" realization that he had accidentally given passcodes to Meng's devices to RCMP in the pile of her electronics. Paisana called that a "complete fabrication," and pointed to contrary testimony from an RCMP officer who said he took the devices from a desk and Kirkland handed him the paper. Meng's case is unfolding at the same time that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians detained in China, are facing abruptly announced trials. Kovrig and Spavor were arrested in 2018, days after Meng, and their detention is widely seen as retaliation. Global Affairs Canada only learned Wednesday that Spavor's court hearing would proceed on Friday, one day after closely watched high-level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska. A hearing for Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, has been scheduled for Monday. China's Foreign Ministry denied any wrongdoing Thursday, attributing the timing of their trials to little more than coincidence. Spokesman Zhao Lijian told media the cases have been handled "in accordance with the law." Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau disagreed, calling their detention arbitrary and accusing China of a lack of transparency. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. Fires that stemmed from the burning of various automobile junkyards from Nuevo Laredo have already reached the riverbanks of the Rio Grande and are inching closer to crossing the border into El Cenizo, around 15 miles south of Laredo. According to City of El Cenizo City Administrator Jaime Montes, the situation began around 4 p.m. The Webb County Sheriff Department, the City of El Cenizo Volunteer Fire Department and the City of Rio Bravo Fire Department arrived at the scene where smoke and fire could be seen across the border. Though most of the current fires near the riverbanks are close to El Cenizo from the river, various others have also briefly crossed the border into the area of the Hereford Ranch, which is adjacent to El Cenizos southside. But the fire was quickly halted by members of the El Cenizo Fire Department. Since then and throughout Wednesday night, members of the Webb County Fire Department have also arrived on the scene to help control the situation. "El Cenizo and Rio Bravo Volunteer Fire Departments along with the Webb County Sheriffs Office are monitoring the situation along the riverbanks," Montes said. "We are confident we will be able to contain it on this side but will have to be vigilant to make sure the fire doesnt cross to the American side. At this point, the City is not in danger of any potential loss of property or life. However, the City Officials will be monitoring the situation through the night. At this moment, everything is fine as the firefighters are on standby for anything that could happen. Montes said it is important for the community of El Cenizo to not feel panicked about the situation, as there have been many reports of incorrect information which has said the fire has already crossed to the American side and was ravaging the area. The fire continues to be on the riverbanks but on the Mexican side as of just after midnight Wednesday. In a post made by City of El Cenizo Mayor Elsa Degollado on social media, she stated that the situation is under control and that people should not panic. This includes the individuals that live along the streets Jimenez, Hernandez and Rosales that have homes alongside the riverbanks. Now is not the time to panic, but we will make sure to keep the community updated at all times about what happens, Degollado said. The fire has been under control for the majority of the day. The only fire reported to have crossed the border was earlier in the day but was easily contained. This was also confirmed by one of the citys commissioners who thanked to the continued efforts of local firefighters in the area. (Thanks to) the El Cenizo and Rio Bravo volunteer fire departments for attending the call to private property, City of El Cenizo City Commissioner Salvador Hernandez said. The ECVFD has been on standby and monitoring the area since 5 p.m. just in case the fire crosses over. Hernandez stated that the fires stemmed from not just one location in Nuevo Laredo but rather various ones. The exact cause of their origins has not yet been disclosed. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com Senior Congress leader on Thursday hit out at Centre for "failing miserably" in rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination for Indians. "I share the pride that India exported 5.9 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines. At the same time, I am disappointed that we have administered only 3 crore doses to Indian citizens," Chidambaram tweeted. "The central government has failed miserably in rolling out the vaccination to Indians. Is there any wonder that the number of infections is rising rapidly every day?" he added. The former Union Minister also pointed out the need to allow walk-in, on demand vaccination and get rid of the bureaucratic hurdles, including pre-registration. "Government should allow walk-in vaccination on demand and get rid of bureaucratic hurdles including pre-registration," he further tweeted. The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination has crossed 3.64 crores coverage, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday. According to the official data, a total of 3,71,43,255 vaccine doses were administered in the country, as per the provisional report till 8 am on Thursday. The second phase of the vaccination drive started on March 1 in which doses are being administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The G7 group of nations has marked the seventh anniversary of Russias forcible annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula by reaffirming their unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. In a joint statement on March 18, the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, as well as the EU's foreign policy chief, unequivocally denounce Russias temporary occupation of Crimea and its violations of human rights on the peninsula, particularly of Crimean Tatars. They said they also firmly oppose Russias continued destabilization of Ukraine, especially in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests. Russias annexation of the Black Sea peninsula and Moscows involvement in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has prompted the EU, the United States, and other countries to impose a variety of sanctions on Russian entities and individuals. In their statement, the G7 and EU called on Russia to immediately release all those who have been unjustly detained during what rights groups and Western governments call a campaign of oppression targeting activists, journalists, members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority, and others who questioned the annexation. On March 17, the U.S. State Department denounced the recent arrest in Crimea of Vladislav Yesypenko, a freelance contributor to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, for allegedly spying on behalf of Kyiv as another attempt to repress those who speak the truth about Russia's aggression in Ukraine. The G7 statement called on Moscow to implement its commitments to the Minsk peace agreements aimed at putting an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, insisting that Russia is a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not a mediator. It said Moscow should stop fueling the conflict by providing financial and military support to the separatists and by granting Russian citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens. The statement noted that a cease-fire implemented in July 2020 has significantly reduced violence, while also deploring recent military escalations by Russian-backed armed formations at the line of contact. More than 3,000 graduate student workers at Columbia University in New York City are on an indefinite strike, demanding higher wages, better health care coverage and improved working conditions. The students confront the bitter opposition of the university administration, which has already taken action to punish strikers. Columbia has made clear its intentions to retaliate against striking student workers by docking their pay and making students repay portions of their stipends. The administration has created an online daily work-reporting system to identify all workers on strike and has even sent an e-mail to the student body asking students to report striking workers to their academic departments. The claim by the university that there is no money to meet the demands of students is absurd. Columbia has an endowment of over $11 billion. The school is the largest private owner of real estate in New York City with more than 200 properties, twice the number owned by the next largest private property-holder, New York University. Graduate student workers at Columbia are up against powerful political interests. The schools Board of Trustees is a conglomerate of millionaires with deep ties to Wall Street, corporate America and the Democratic Party. The president of Columbia University is Lee Bollinger, former president of the University of Michigan (19962002). Bollinger is a director of Graham Holdings Company (formerly the Washington Post Company). From 2007 to 2012, he was a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he also served as chair from 2010 to 2012. Bollingers annual salary is a staggering $4.7 million. Lisa Carnoy, a co-chair on the Board of Trustees, is also a corporate turnaround specialist formerly from Merrill Lynch-Bank of America. Students, however, have powerful allies. The struggle at Columbia is part of a series of struggles at other universities. More than 1,200 graduate students at New York University are on the verge of initiating similar strike action against deteriorating working conditions and benefits. At the University of Chicago, graduate student workers are demanding an extension of health insurance eligibility and emergency COVID-19 relief grants. At Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, grad students have authorized a strike to fight against unfair employment policies and practices. Other efforts are underway at Illinois State University, University of Maryland, Indiana University, University of New Mexico and many more campuses. The conditions facing student-workers cannot be resolved on the campuses. There must be a turn to the mobilization of the entire working class against the ruling elite and the capitalist system. The past year has demonstrated the political, economic and moral bankruptcy of capitalism. The ruling class responded to the pandemic by organizing a historically unprecedented bailout of the rich. The transfer of trillions of dollars to Wall Street was sanctioned by the nearly unanimous vote of both Democrats and Republicans for the so-called CARES Act, adopted last March. Amid mass social misery and death, US billionaires have increased their wealth by $1.4 trillion over the past year. The handout to the rich has been accompanied by a homicidal policy to force workers back on the job and students back in the classrooms so their parents can work. While Biden claimed that his administration would listen to the science, the Democrats have continued Trumps reckless policies in relationship to the pandemic, forcing schools and businesses to reopen before the vaccine is widely distributed. Now, more than 500,000 people are dead in the US. Millions have joined the ranks of the unemployed or underemployed. Tens of thousands of workers have been evicted, are drowning in debt or have been thrown into poverty. The response of the ruling class to the pandemic has produced enormous anger among workers. In fact, it was the wildcat walkouts by autoworkers that shut down the auto industry at the start of the pandemic. Educators, who have been at the forefront of the fight against the unsafe reopening of schools, have waged countless work actions, sick-outs, and other protests to demand an end to in-person learning. Just this week, teachers in Oakland, California, rejected an effort to reopen schools for in-person learning at the end of this month. A united fight of the working class requires the development of new organizations of struggle, and workers have begun forming a network of rank-and-file committees to coordinate action. The so-called unions have done nothing to mobilize workers against the reckless and deadly policies of the ruling elite. Rather, they have worked systematically to suppress opposition and isolate struggles wherever they have broken out. The union at Columbia University, the Graduate Workers of Columbia University (GWC), has affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW). However, as every auto worker knows, the UAW is a bribed tool of corporate management. The complete integration of the UAW with the auto companies has been well documented through the years-long exposure of a massive corruption scandal engulfing the entire leadership. As for its role at Columbia, in 2018, UAW negotiated a secret deal with the Columbia University administration, unbeknownst to the members of the GWC, to block any strike actionthe most powerful tool at workers disposaluntil April 6, 2020. Columbia is again seeking a no strike clause for the current contract in negotiation. As the March 15 strike deadline approached, the UAW began conceding on all the main demandsdemands that clearly had wide support among student workers. These concessions included lowering the demand for stipend increases from 15 percent in October to 5 percent only three days before the strike. There is no doubt that the UAW will make further concessions. Control of the strike cannot be left in the hands of the UAW, whose interests are directly tied to the same corporations and political establishment that control Columbia University. The development of a powerful counter-offensive by the working class, organized independently of the corporatist unions, must be guided by a clear socialist program and perspective. This requires a break with the Democratic Party, which controls New York City and now the White House, and all those organizations that claim that the interests of workers can be advanced through this right-wing party of Wall Street and militarism. The Democrats, no less than the Republicans, are terrified of the growth of opposition from below. Their relentless promotion of the politics of racial and gender identity, so prevalent on the campuses, is aimed at dividing workers and blocking a unified struggle. However, the entire experience of the last year has demonstrated the correctness of the principle of Marxism that it is class that is the fundamental division in society. It is not to the Democrats and the union executives that students should turn, but to teachers, auto workers, service workers, health care workers and the entire working class. This means the strike must be expanded. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality calls on striking graduate students to join the Educators Rank-and-File Committee, which is fighting to unify educators with other sections of the working class in a common struggle against the ruling elite. This must be combined with the development of a powerful political struggle against both corporate-controlled parties and for socialism. Join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and take up the fight for socialism! Sorry! This content is not available in your region A March 4 candlelit memorial in Fountain Valley, Calif., pays tribute to victims of anti-Asian hate crimes amid the pandemic A March 4 candlelit memorial in Fountain Valley, Calif., pays tribute to victims of anti-Asian hate crimes amid the pandemic Credit - Leonard OrtizMediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images It was heartbreaking and horrifyingbut to many, it wasnt a surprise. The news that eight people, six of them Asian-American women, were killed at businesses in the Atlanta area on March 16 came after a year of intense anti-Asian racism in the U.S. On the platforms where news arrives first, and quickly attaches to feelings, emotions were already raw. This mass shooter was targeting Asian women and their businesses. This isnt an isolated incident. There have been 500+ hate crimes targeted at Asian people this year alone, social media specialist Mark Kim wrote on Twitter. This Atlanta tragedy lies at an intersection of race, gender, class and the legacy of Americas history of colonization and violence in Asia, journalist Elise Hu said on the site. I dont have the words. Im just despondent. Protect Asian women, solidarity with sex workers, #StopAsianHate. And as posts went viral, with comments affirming their calls for change, the news kept coming. Atlanta shooting suspect told investigators that killings of Asian women werent racially motivated, police say, said a Washington Post news alert. A quote from a Daily Beast story described the alleged shooterwho was charged on March 17 with eight counts of murderas the son of a pastor who was very innocent seeming. Meanwhile the victims remained nameless. Later in the day, four were identified: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Additionally, Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was injured in the attack. (Officials from the Atlanta police department are not naming the other victims until their families are notified.) By the time their names were made public, the suspect would already be accounted for by a member of the Cherokee County sheriffs office who, in a video that was widely circulated, said: Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did. Story continues In the dissonance was confirmation of what many Asian Americans already knew: the violence that has long targeted their community is rarely seen for what it is. Since the start of the pandemic last spring, Asian Americans have faced racist violence at a much higher rate than in previous years. Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting database created at the beginning of the pandemic as a response to the increase in racial violence, received 3,795 reports of anti-Asian discrimination between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021; women reported hate incidents at 2.3 times the rate of men. After his capture, the police noted that the shooter said he was seeking to address a sexual addiction and was not racially motivated. But for Asian women, racism and misogyny are deeply intertwined. A 2018 report from the American Psychological Association outlined the ways in which Asian-American women are exoticized and objectified in media and popular culture, depicted as faceless, quiet and invisible, or as sexual objects. The survey said these stereotypes contribute to experiences of marginalization, invisibility and oppression for Asian-American women. On March 16, America saw that reality manifest in the most brutal way. Artwork by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya From the time the first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived as laborers in the U.S. in the 1850s, Asian Americans have always been subject to racist violence. As a source of cheap labor to build railroads, Asian immigrants came to be seen as threats to white jobs and scapegoated as dirty and disease-ridden. The yellow peril ultimately led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first time the U.S. had ever barred a specific ethnic group from the country. The brutality runs through more than two centuries of U.S. history, from the incarceration camps of World War II, when over 100,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up and imprisoned because of xenophobic fears, to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, who died after being beaten by white men in a racially motivated attack in Detroit. Yet while racial violence has been an undeniable part of the history of Asian Americans in the U.S., the pervasive model minority myth has helped to obscure it. That false idea, constructed during the civil rights era to stymie racial-justice movements, suggests that Asian Americans are more successful than other ethnic minorities because of hard work, education and inherently law-abiding natures. Racial-justice educator Bianca Mabute-Louie emphasizes the connection between this damaging stereotype and the violence weve seen on the newsvideos featuring Asian-American elders shoved to the ground. This contributes to erasing the very real interpersonal violence that we see happening in these videos, and that Asian Americans experience from the day-to-day, things that dont get reported and the things that dont get filmed, she says. Because the myth suggests upward mobility, it creates a fallacy that Asian Americans dont experience struggle or racial discrimination. In reality, the community is Americas most economically divided: a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center found that Asian Americans experience the largest income-inequality gap as an ethnic and racial group in the U.S. The current surge in anti-Asian hate crimes was exacerbated by the xenophobic rhetoric of former President Donald Trump, who has continued to refer to COVID-19 as the China virus, blaming the country for the pandemic. Trumps choice of words followed a long American history of using diseases to justify anti-Asian xenophobiaone that has helped to shape perception of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners. Theres a clear correlation between President Trumps incendiary comments, his insistence on using the term Chinese virus, and the subsequent hate speech spread on social media and the hate violence directed toward us, says Russell Jeung, a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. Anti-Asian racism also surged during the pandemic in Britain and Australia, with incidents of discrimination and xenophobia reported last summer by Human Rights Watch in Italy, Russia and Brazil. The news from Atlanta landed hard in Asian communities already feeling extraordinarily vulnerable. Were all feeling a collective trauma at the moment, says Mai-Anh Peterson, co-founder of besea.n (Britains East and South East Asian Network). We know that this isnt just a problem for North America. President Joe Biden has sought to undo the damage wrought by his predecessor. Shortly after taking office in January, he signed an Executive Order denouncing anti-Asian discrimination. During a March 11 speech on the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that hate crimes against Asian Americans are un-American and that they must stop. Five days later, the gunman started shooting. A March 4 candlelit memorial in Fountain Valley, Calif., pays tribute to victims of anti-Asian hate crimes amid the pandemic Leonard OrtizMediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images The President was not alone. One day before the shootings, Dr. Michelle Au, a state senator of East Asian descent in Georgia, spoke out on the imminent danger faced by the Asian community during the pandemic. Asian Americans are part of our countrys plurality, she said. Recognize that we need help, we need protection, and we need people in power to stand up for us against hate. What form that protection takes has been part of a heated debate among Asian Americans, particularly in the wake of a national reckoning over systemic racism and police brutality after the killing of George Floyd in May. During a recent surge in physical violence ahead of Lunar New Year, actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu shared on Twitter a video of a 91-year-old man being pushed down in Oakland, Calif., Chinatown. They offered a $25,000 reward to anyone who could provide information about the attacker, who had also pushed down a 60-year-old man as well as a 55-year-old woman, who was left unconscious from the attack. Kims tweet brought up mixed feelings within the AAPI community: his attempt to raise awareness tapped into a longtime grievance of many Asian Americansthat violence against them has often been downplayed or ignored. At the same time, the offer of a rewardparticularly in a situation where the alleged attacker was a Black manunderscored the difficulty of tackling anti-Asian violence without relying on law-enforcement institutions that have historically targeted Black and brown communities. (The Oakland police charged 28-year-old Yahya Muslim with assault, battery and elder abuse.) This looks a lot like a bounty on a Black person funded by Asian-American celebrities, wrote writer and consultant Kim Tran. I have major, major doubts. Rather than turning to additional policing, community leaders have stressed the importance of grassroots organizing at this time, as well as the need for cross-community solidarity. We know that this is an issue that affects all our communities, and we have to break the cycle of violence, says Jeung, the Stop AAPI Hate co-founder. Additional policing doesnt pose a threat just to Black and brown communities; people of Asian descent have also suffered disproportionately at the hands of law enforcement. In the aftermath of the March 16 killings, many were reminded of the 2017 death of Yang Song, a massage-parlor worker who fell to her death while trying to escape a police raid in Flushing, Queens: Dont tell me increased police presence will save us, tweeted writer Mia Sato. For activists, stories like Songs are a reminder of the need to build solidarity across racial, economic and social lines. Asians with power and visibility should be appalled that white men are targeting our most vulnerable groupspoor, immigrant women, writer and activist Roslyn Talusan said on Twitter. Protecting and advocating for Asian sex workers should be the founding pillars of any movement for racial justice in Asian communities. Details of the Atlanta crimes are still being gathered. But at ground level, the impact was immediate.Were closed today because everybody is afraid, Grace Wang, manager of a local Atlanta spa, says. All employees are worried to come to work, and customers too and we decided to close until we find out what happened. There are no quick solutions to racial violence. What Biden calls un-American is, after all, deeply rooted in American history. Ending anti-Asian racism in the U.S. means confronting centuries of discrimination, violence and oppression, and recognizing how it manifests in the present day. As Au noted in her statements this week, This is a new chapter in a very old story. In order to write a new story, we have to acknowledge the ugly past that brought us here. With reporting by Suyin Haynes/London and Paulina Cachero, Andrew R. Chow, Leslie Dickstein, Sanya Mansoor, Kat Moon, Simmone Shah and Francesca Trianni/New York Correction: The original version of this story misspelled the name of one of the victims. It is Xiaojie Tan, not Xiaojie Yan. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Mito District Court ruled on Thursday that Japan Atomic Power Co should not be allowed to resume operations at its Tokai Daini nuclear power plant, public broadcaster NHK reported. Operation of the plant in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, has been suspended since a major earthquake in March 2011, NHK said. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christopher Cushing) If the women voters of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu vote the way they have voted in the past, it would give an edge to these two parties in the respective states. (Representational Photo: PTI) Of the many issues that may decide the fate of the West Bengal polls, one factor which may be critical in deciding if Mamata Banerjee is going to win her third election or there would be a change in West Bengal will be how women voters vote in that state. It is important to note that during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, of the total 42 candidates, Ms Banerjee fielded 17 women candidates, and of the total 22 victories of the Trinamul Congress, nine women got elected to the Lok Sabha. In these constituencies, the TMC polled 48 per cent votes, compared to its state average vote share of 43 per cent. Even those women contestants who lost polled more than 35 per cent votes. Evidence from the surveys conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) also indicates women voting for Ms Banerjee in very large numbers in West Bengal. In the current Assembly election, the Trinamul Congress has fielded 50 women candidates out of the total 294 seats, keeping an eye on the womens vote. If the women vote for the TMC as they had voted for it in earlier elections, it could be advantage TMC, but a shift among women voters can put the TMC in a difficult situation. In Tamil Nadu, this was true for the AIADMK as well when Jayalalithaa headed the party. One might think that the only explanation why women were voting for the TMC and AIADMK in large numbers was because these two political parties were headed by women leaders; but that may be too simplistic an explanation as the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere could never get womens support in such large numbers despite Mayawati heading the party. There must be other factors too that attracted women voters to these parties than just that they were led by women. While the womens vote hasnt swung towards any other party as decisively as it has in favour of the TMC or AIADMK, Indian elections have seen a noticeable shift in the past decade. Women voters are turning out to vote in large numbers both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The local body elections, especially those to elect panchayats, have also seen a high turnout of women voters. Looking at this trend, discussion have begun on whether women have emerged as a new voting bloc for parties in India. It is true that women are voting in bigger numbers now compared to the past, but more important, there is also evidence of more women taking voting decisions on their own compared to the past. However, the voting pattern of women doesnt suggest that, except for Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, women are emerging as a new social voting bloc in the rest of India. There is clear evidence to suggest that more women are turning up at the polling booths than ever before. Data of the turnout across genders released by the Election Commission provides clear evidence for that. The men-women gap in turnout, that used to be around 9-10 per cent in the 1980s and 1990s, and much wider in the 1950s-60s, has not only narrowed down significantly, as seen in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls; in many states, the number of women voters surpassed men, which is a big turnaround in Indian elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls there were six states where womens turnout was higher compared to men, and in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls the number of sates on this list increased to 16. The pattern of a rise in womens turnout is not only visible in the Lok Sabha polls, it can be noticed even in the Assembly polls held in various states since 2014, including in the recent Assembly polls in Bihar in 2020, despite Bihar not being one of the states with a very positive gender gap in favour of women. It was also the first state to have witnessed this trend during the 2015 Assembly polls. However, an increased turnout among women voters does not indicate that women are emerging as a vote bank in Indian elections, with their vote still divided between various political parties. Women voters tend not to vote en bloc like voters belonging to other social blocs often do, though some political parties do get more votes from women. A series of survey data collected during various Assembly polls in different states by Lokniti-CSDS suggests that the womens vote has remained more or less equally divided between different parties in different states though with a few exceptions. The data from these surveys indicates that women seem to vote more in favour of the BJP in states like Uttarakhand and the Jammu region of the erstwhile state of J&K, more in favour of the United Democratic Front in Kerala, for the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and for Ms Banerjees TMC in West Bengal. While womens turnout has risen in many Hindi heartland states, there is hardly any indication of their showing any preference or voting for any specific party. If the women voters of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu vote the way they have voted in the past, it would give an edge to these two parties in the respective states. But one should not forget that there is no Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu now, and Ms Banerjee is up against a formidable BJP and is also facing a decade of anti-incumbency. A vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready for use at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Britain is facing a shortfall in COVID-19 vaccine supplies that may delay the start of shots for people under 50 after deliveries from two suppliers were curtailed due to production and testing issues. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the delays as the inevitable consequence of a complicated program. But he acknowledged that in the short term, the country would receive fewer vaccines than planned a week ago, in part because of a shortfall from India's Serum Institute. "That is because of a delay in a shipment from the Serum Institute, who are doing a Herculean job in producing vaccines in such large quantities, and because of a batch that we currently have in the U.K. that needs to be retested as part of our vigorous safety program,"' he told reporters Thursday at a Downing Street news conference. Johnson's comments came a day after the National Health Service told doctors that vaccine supplies would be "significantly constrained" beginning March 29. As a result, people under 50 shouldn't be inoculated for the time being, unless they have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk from COVID-19, the NHS said in a letter to public health officials. The news damped the hopes of the U.K. beginning to vaccinate younger people next month. This next phase of the vaccination program is likely be pushed back until May, said Dr. Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Pharmacy Technician Katrina Bonwick draws a does of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready for use at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) "It was disappointing news when we heard yesterday that the supplies weren't going to be available during April," he told the BBC. "It's a massively successful program overall, and this is a bit of a setback." Despite the supply constraints, the government still expects to meet its target of delivering a first vaccine dose to everyone over 50 by mid-April and to all adults by July 31, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. He also said no vaccination appointments would be canceled and everyone who has had a first shot will get their second shot on schedule. Britain is using vaccines developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Anglo-Swedish rival AstraZeneca, with vaccine deliveries from Moderna expected to start soon. More than 25 million people across the U.K.almost 38% of its populationhave received at least one dose of vaccine so far. Pharmacy Technician Katrina Bonwick administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) The nation's medicines regulator on Thursday recommended that people continue to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite concerns about blood clots raised in some European countries. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said a "rigorous review" of all the data available found no evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine caused clots in veins. Another review of five U.K. cases involving a rare type of clot in the brain is under way. This type of clot, which can occur naturally, has been reported in fewer than 1 in every million people vaccinated and no causal link to the vaccine has been established, the MHRA said. "The benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 continue to outweigh any risks and that the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so," the agency said. A vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ready for use at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Underlining the vaccine's safety, Johnson told reporters that he would receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. The prime minister had a serious case of COVID-19 last spring. "Let's get the jab done!'' he said. COVID-19 has killed some 126,000 people in Britain, the highest toll in Europe. The government had previously said the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, would supply Britain with 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this month. But the Serum Institute said Thursday that there were no "stipulated timelines" for delivery of the vaccine. The company said 5 million doses have already been delivered "and we will try to supply more later, based on the current situation and the requirement for the government immunization program in India." India's foreign ministry says vaccine exports would be calibrated to domestic production, "as well as requirements of our national vaccine program." COVID-19 is linked to more than 159,000 deaths in India, the world's fourth-highest death toll. A woman at the Wheatfield surgery is given a 1st shot of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine by Dr Christian Owusu-Yianoma in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Discarded in the safe disposal box are used syringes, that were used to give patient their 1st doses for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) A vial and syringes ready for use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Dr. Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said the disruption in U.K. vaccine supplies is more than just a "bump in the road." It could have knock-on effects that last for months, including potential delays in lifting COVID-19 restrictions, he said. Johnson has announced plans to slowly lift a national lockdown in England, though some measures are expected to remain in place until late June. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have also begun to ease restrictions. With the lockdown expected to last past Easter, Britons have been looking at summer holidays as a way to make up for months of living under heavy restrictions. "By pushing back the under-50s first doses, their second doses are also being pushed back," Clarke said. "If full vaccination becomes required for holidays abroad or even more mundane things like going to the cinema, millions of younger people may end up being excluded from participating for the whole summer." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. New Delhi: More than a dozen of bombs were hurled near BJP MP Arjun Singh's office-cum-residence, `Mazdoor Bhawan`, in North 24 Parganas by allegedly Trinamool Congress goons. Arjun Singh alleged that bombs have been hurled at around 15 places by three people and their associates in Jagaddal area of Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas. The BJP MP told ANI, "We are informing the police that criminals are roaming around with arms. The police are doing nothing. Bombs have been hurled at around 15 places and CCTV cameras installed by police have been broken by three people and their associates. Three persons suffered injuries, one has been admitted to hospital. The police are inactive. We will also complain to Election Commission." Taking to Twitter, Singh said, "This evening, more than dozens of bombs were hurled at nearby my office-cum-residence `Mazdoor Bhawan`. This attack was done by Trinamool Congress goons. The local residents are in fear. The administration should ensure the safety of the citizens." "After the bombing incident in the evening near my office-cum-residence, when I returned in the night, a bomb was hurled targeting my vehicle and that too in presence of West Bengal Police. Serious condition of lawlessness in the area. Where is administration?" he added in another tweet. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) AP Choudhury informed that three people including a child suffered injuries in the incident. BJP party national vice president Mukul Roy on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will approach the Election Commission regarding the incident. He told ANI "We will approach the Election Commission regarding the incident (which took place in Jagaddal, North 24 Parganas)." When asked if he would be contesting Assembly polls, Mukul Roy said, "This has not been finalised yet. The candidates` list will be released by Friday." BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said the situation in West Bengal is very bad, adding "TMC is synonymous with violence politics. Despite the Model Code of Conduct, goons are hurling bombs and firing in front of police. This is a very bad situation. The Election Commission should take this as a warning. We are doubtful if polling will be held peacefully." Commenting on the bombing incident, BJP leader Rajib Banerjee said, "This is not good. The culture of West Bengal is against this." Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. A meeting of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda with the core group of the party`s West Bengal unit took place at the party headquarters in which Mukul Roy, Kailash Vijayvargiya, and Rajib Banerjee were present. Live TV A meeting of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda with the core group of the party`s West Bengal unit took place at the party headquarters in which Mukul Roy, Kailash Vijayvargiya, and Rajib Banerjee were present. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will address three rallies today in the state. She will address a really in Garbeta at 1 pm, another rally at Keshiyari and Kalaikunda by 2 pm and 3 pm respectively. He lost an election, then his Twitter bullhorn, but the previous president has not lost his grip on the party. While some Republicans would like to move along, others in Trump World believe the last war is the one still worth fighting even when its among themselves. A messy, but telling, internal conflict has ensued. The latest chapter involves Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a pro-Trump political action committee, and allegations that the Illinois Republican lobbied the last White House for a plum position for his wife -- before turning around, months later, to lead a lonely charge against the outgoing president. Senate RINOs are calling it quits! the Senate Conservatives Fund blasted in an email that tried to fundraise off news that Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey would be retiring. The mainstream media believes these departures are a loss for the Republican Party, the group wrote, but they actually create a unique opportunity to replace weak Republicans next year with strong conservatives who will truly fight for our principles and values. Toomey likely could not care less as he heads toward the exit in 2022, but Kinzinger took offense that his more moderate Senate colleague was being lambasted as a "Republican in Name Only. So he tweeted that those attacking Toomey for being less than ideologically pure need to learn what a conservative is. Cuz it aint the Senate Conservative Fund, its Toomey. Mary Vought, president of SCF, fired back by calling the six-term congressman a RINO himself, someone who hates the MAGA movement and voted to impeach Donald Trump. It was seemingly a little online dust-up, but enough for those in the MAGA orbit to take notice. The congressman had voted for impeachment, one of just 10 House Republicans to do so. Infamy followed on the right the La Salle County GOP voted to censure their congressman for that action, and some family members publicly disowned him. Newfound respect, this time on the left, also followed as Kinzinger became, the New York Times noted, a ubiquitous figure on cable television. He was skyping with Bill Maher on HBO one night, talking turkey with David Axelrod on that Obama alums podcast the next. It was a rare walk in the mainstream sun for a member of the GOP. Some took Kinzinger at his word that he really was trying to end the poisonous extremism that has overtaken American politics. Others griped that he was just trying to raise his profile, cashing in by criticizing his party during the second Trump impeachment saga. It is true that Kinzinger, who represents a more moderate district than many of his party colleagues do, often disagreed with Trump. But not always. A lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, Kinzinger had lobbied for a nomination from the president he publicly criticized, telling Fox News in 2019 that he would be willing to serve as secretary of the Air Force and that it would be an honor to be considered. He didnt get the job, and the next year, another hiring decision allegedly led to more strife. Adams just mad that The White House didnt hire his big push and recommendation (well leave who, between us) in the comms shop back in April 2020, tweeted former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino last December when Kinzinger again criticized Trump. Why werent they hired, and brought on the team!? Bingo! Because they were close to him, and honestly, hes a TOOL! Embarrassing! The tweet was a public taunt that Trump World privately understood. When the congressman tangled with the Senate Conservatives Fund though, it resurfaced. According to three former White House officials, Kinzinger had pushed hard last spring for his wife, Sofia Boza-Holman, then a press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, to join the presidents communications team. Scavino stopped the hire. Its 100% true. We completely shut it down when Kinzinger lobbied the White House to hire his wife in the Communications Department because hes a complete a------, a source with knowledge of the process told RealClearPolitics. Kinzinger lobbied everyone and his wife wanted nothing more than to work in the White House, the source added. But nope, we didnt allow it to happen. The snub was enough to inspire Kinzingers anti-Trumpism, according to former White House officials. In their telling, his so-called principled stand against the 45th president is just sour grapes. Kinzinger spokeswoman Maura Gillespie calls that charge absurd. Sofia was employed by the Trump administration from 2017-2020. Their implication that she wasnt capable of getting a job on her own is false and deeply misogynistic, she told RCP, adding that the whole episode was sad, petty, and shows how low they'll go to try and score political points. They know theyre lying, but theyll spread this garbage anyway. Its disgraceful. The alleged lobbying by Kinzinger also didnt happen, according to Alyssa Farah, who served as Trumps last communications director. I tried to recruit Sofia to White House Comms because I know shes the best at what she does. We served together for Vice President Pence, and before that when she was on the White House communications team, Farah told RCP. No one ever lobbied me on her behalf. They didnt need to; I knew how good she was, as did many in the White House, Farah added. I was the one who tried to convince her to come on board, but she ultimately decided not to take the position. These kinds of staffing squabbles are rare in 2021 as the new occupants of the West Wing have either kept palace intrigue to a minimum or kept it from public view. But on the right, Republicans are grappling with their next moves, a question inextricable from Trump himself. The old war will bleed into the future so long as the former president remains a force, and conservatives judge between good and bad Republicans based on their loyalty to him. When asked during a Tuesday interview on Fox News if he would consider another bid for the Oval Office, Trump told Maria Bartiromo, Based on every poll, they want me to run again, but we're going to take a look and we will see. Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. Photo: The Canadian Press White supremacist propaganda reached alarming levels across the U.S. in 2020, according to a new report that the Anti-Defamation League provided to The Associated Press. There were 5,125 cases of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages spread through physical flyers, stickers, banners and posters, according to Wednesday's report. Thats nearly double the 2,724 instances reported in 2019. Online propaganda is much harder to quantify, and it's likely those cases reached into the millions, the anti-hate organization said. The ADL, which was founded more than a century ago, said that last year marked the highest level of white supremacist propaganda seen in at least a decade. Its report comes as federal authorities investigate and prosecute those who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, some of whom are accused of having ties to or expressing support for hate groups and antigovernment militias. As we try to understand and put in perspective the past four years, we will always have these bookends of Charlottesville and Capitol Hill, group CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. The reality is theres a lot of things that happened in between those moments that set the stage, he said. Christian Picciolini, a former far-right extremist who founded the deradicalization group Free Radicals Project, said the surge in propaganda tracks with white supremacist and extremist recruiters seeing crises as periods of opportunity. They use the uncertainty and fear caused by crisis to win over new recruits to their us vs. them narrative, painting the other as the cause of their pain, grievances or loss, Picciolini told the AP. "The current uncertainty caused by the pandemic, job loss, a heated election, protest over extrajudicial police killings of Black Americans, and a national reckoning sparked by our countrys long tradition of racism has created a perfect storm in which to recruit Americans who are fearful of change and progress." Propaganda, often distributed with the intention of garnering media and online attention, helps white supremacists normalize their messaging and bolster recruitment efforts, the ADL said in its report. Language used in the propaganda is frequently veiled with a patriotic slant, making it seem benign to an untrained eye. But some flyers, stickers and posters are explicitly racist and anti-Semitic. One piece of propaganda disseminated by the New Jersey European Heritage Association included the words Black Crimes Matter, a derisive reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, along with cherry-picked crime statistics about attacks on white victims by Black assailants. A neo-Nazi group known as Folks Front distributed stickers that include the words White Lives Matter. According to the report, at least 30 known white supremacist groups were behind hate propaganda. But three groups NJEHA, Patriot Front and Nationalist Social Club were responsible for 92% of the activity. The propaganda appeared in every state except Hawaii. The highest levels were seen in Texas, Washington, California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to the report. Ryan Reynolds is among the many celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday with his favorite drink of choice, but he's also adding even more 'green.' The 44-year-old actor sat down and watched his 2011 superhero bomb Green Lantern, apparently for the first time ever, to help celebrate both St. Patty's Day and the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League on Thursday. Reynolds has consistently bashed his own Green Lantern movie for years, taking shots at it in his Deadpool movies and on social media, but it seems he's never watched the film in its entirety, which he did Thursday with the help of his own Aviation Gin brand. Green day: Ryan Reynolds is among the many celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday with his favorite drink of choice, but he's also adding even more 'green. 'Excited to see the Snyder Cut. But ahead of its debut and with the aid of a good amount of #AviationGin - tonight at 6pm EST Ill do something Ive never done: actually watch Green Lantern. Happy #StPatricksDay,' Reynolds said in the first tweet of a rather massive thread. He also shared a photo for a green drink he calls Lantern's Light, which is made with 1.5 oz of his own Aviation Gin, 1 oz Apple Pucker, 1/2 oz Lemon Juice and top with ginger ale. With his drink menu in place, Reynolds then learned that Green Lantern is, 'apparently the only f***ing movie in existence thats not streaming anywhere so youre SOL if you want to watch along. But Im going deep. #GinnerAndAMovie #AviationGin.' Excited: 'Excited to see the Snyder Cut. But ahead of its debut and with the aid of a good amount of #AviationGin - tonight at 6pm EST Ill do something Ive never done: actually watch Green Lantern. Happy #StPatricksDay,' Reynolds said in the first tweet of a rather massive thread He even tweeted out a $5 coupon for Drizly for fans who want to make their own Lantern's Light cocktails. Once the movie go under way, he tweeted, 'Starting GL now. First time ever. Too early to ask for a #SnyderCut of this f***er?' The actor added, 'I only ever read my parts of the script so this is genuinely exciting for me to watch,' while joking, 'This protagonist seems reckless but likable.' Reckless: The actor added, 'I only ever read my parts of the script so this is genuinely exciting for me to watch,' while joking, 'This protagonist seems reckless but likable.' He also gave a shout-out to actor-director Taika Waititi, who played Tom Kalmaku in the superhero adventure, adding, 'I swear Im drinking to Grammy winner and international ambassador of joy, @TaikaWaititi. Not to numb any pain I might be in.' He also joked, 'Hey @BlakeLively is in this movie!!,' referring to his wife of nearly eight years, who he met on the Green Lantern set. Reynolds also shared a snap of his character, Hal Jordan, sharing a moment with Lively's Carol Ferris, adding, 'This was not bad foreshadowing for my life as a dad.' Blake: He also joked, 'Hey @BlakeLively is in this movie!!,' referring to his wife of nearly eight years, who he met on the Green Lantern set Shout-out: He also gave a shout-out to actor-director Taika Waititi (left), who played Tom Kalmaku in the superhero adventure, adding, 'I swear Im drinking to Grammy winner and international ambassador of joy, @TaikaWaititi. Not to numb any pain I might be in.' He also shared his love for co-stars Stanley Tucci and Angela Bassett, adding, 'Honestly, this cast is incredible.' The actor shared a brief video of him pouring another drink, adding in the caption, 'Beware my power,' which is part of the Green Lantern oath. He also added, 'Do you have any idea how weird it is to act while being attacked by invisible space energy?' Cast: He also shared his love for co-stars Stanley Tucci and Angela Bassett, adding, 'Honestly, this cast is incredible. The actor has consistently bashed the special effects in the movie, though he shared that he kept the ring from the film. Reynolds went on to share more photos from the film, joking, 'See if you can spot the CGI, while adding, 'Goddamn I miss Michael Clarke Duncan,' who passed away in September 2012, a year after the film's release. He also bashed the villain Parrallax, adding he, 'thought he was so bad. He had no clue 2020 would make him look like a f***ing Beanie Baby. Go back to space, a**hole.' Kept the ring: The actor has consistently bashed the special effects in the movie, though he shared that he kept the ring from the film Reynolds added a GIF of Peter Sarsgaard's character Hector Hammond hugging Carol at an event, stating, 'We are all Hector.' He took another stab at the Green Lantern suit visual effects, adding, 'They spent 6 hrs each day turning Peter Sarsgaards head into an over-inflated beach ball. But the GL suit is a onesie made from old Frogger pixels.' The actor made a dig at his 'Christian Bale superhero voice,' adding, 'E True Hollywood Story should do a where are they now piece on Hectors mustache. I genuinely wonder what its been up to.' Hal and Carol: Reynolds added a GIF of Peter Sarsgaard's character Hector Hammond hugging Carol at an event, stating, 'We are all Hector' He also joked that Hector threw his father into a 'giant tornado of fire,' adding, 'Thats exactly how my dad died.' Reynolds added, 'Theres a lot of heavy hitters in the movie. Not always used in the right way... but still... heavy hitters,' but when it all was said and done, the experience wasn't as bad as he thought. 'Maybe its the Aviation Gin talking, but #GreenLantern was nothing to fear! Hundreds of incredible crew and cast members did amazing work and while its not perfect, it aint a tragedy. Next time I wont wait a decade to watch,' he added. Heavy hitters: Reynolds added, 'Theres a lot of heavy hitters in the movie. Not always used in the right way... but still... heavy hitters,' but when it all was said and done, the experience wasn't as bad as he thought The actor concluded his tweetstorm with a photo of an empty Aviation Gin bottle with his laptop showing the end of the Green Lantern credits sequence. 'Happy #StPatricksDay and good luck to the #SnyderCut on @HBOMax!' Reynolds concluded. Green Lantern earned just $219.8 million worldwide, from a massive $200 million budget during its theatrical run in 2011. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Overseas social media matrix expands the impact of the event. Jiangsu overseas social media account Visit Jiangsu planned and conducted an online activity -- Pick Your Favourite Chinese New Year Show. It invited overseas users to select the most anticipated show on the 2021 Happy Chinese New Year Gala and conducted the gala premieres. The result showed that Kun Opera The Peony Pavilion was the most popular program, with nearly 120,000 views. The total engagement reached 1,057,272. During the holiday, the total number of viewers was 793,511. Through interactive and participatory activities, it celebrated the Chinese New Year with international fans. Technology makes classical more popular. As the first large-scale original 3D magical acrobatics show in China, Golden Cudgel combined the traditional acrobatics skills with the naked eye 3D technology to set off an extraordinary "acrobatics + magic" show. It's become one of the most popular programs of the 2021 Happy Chinese New Year activity, making Journey to the West even more popular globally. Intangible cultural heritages show the Charm of Jiangsu. The Jiangsu Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition was held in Sydney at the end of January. Featuring VR technology, it displayed many representative showcases of Jiangsu intangible heritage, such as Nanjing Yun Brocade, Su Embroidery, Qinhuai Lantern Festival, Kun Opera, and Jinling Paper Cutting. It presented the traditional customs and cultural connotations of the Chinese New Year celebrations to Australians. Visitors to the exhibition could feel the happiness, harmony, and sharing of the Chinese New Year from the exquisite artworks. Cultural exchanges enhance youth friendships. Nanjing Little Red Flower Art Ensemble, a unique name card in cultural exchanges, specially rehearsed and filmed the entire performances, and participated in online Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand, the UK, the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. In this way, it jointly celebrated the new year online with people from all over the world, especially teenagers. SOURCE Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism The Kremlin has accused U.S. President Joe Biden of not wanting to improve bilateral ties after unprecedented comments in which he said believed Vladimir Putin is a killer. Already tense relations between Moscow and Washington were strained further after Biden, who has spent more than four decades in politics, said "I do" when asked by ABC News on March 17 if he believed the Russian president was a killer. In the Kremlin's first comments since Biden made the remarks, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such statements are unprecedented in the history of Russian-U.S. relations and he warned that Russia's response to these remarks would be "absolutely clear." "These statements from the president of the United States are very bad. It is clear that he does not want to get the relationship with our country back on track, and we will proceed from that," Peskov told reporters. Putin, however, appeared to be more sanguine over the comments. When asked about them at a news conference on March 18, he said he wished Biden "good health" and that people tend to see others as they really see themselves. He added that Moscow will continue working with the United States if the conditions benefit Russia. Washington's relations with Moscow are at post-Cold War lows, strained by issues including Russia's alleged meddling in elections in the United States and other democracies, the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, cyberattacks from Russian hackers, and the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny. The Biden interview came on the heels of a report by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that assessed that Putin had authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President [Donald] Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States. The Kremlin immediately denied the findings of the report, saying they were absolutely unfounded. Biden also said he had come to know Putin "relatively well" over the years and that he doesn't believe Putin has a soul. He also sent a warning that Putin will soon "pay a price" for trying to interfere in November's presidential election. Within hours of the comments, Russia summoned its ambassador to the United States back to Moscow for consultations. The reverberations continued the next day when a senior Russian lawmaker and Kremlin ally said Biden owes the country an apology. This is a watershed moment. This gross statement sends any expectations from the new U.S. administration's new policy toward Russia down the drain," Konstantin Kosachyov, the deputy chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house, wrote in a Facebook post on March 18. "Recalling the Russian ambassador from Washington to Moscow for consultations is a prompt and adequate reaction, the only right one in this situation. I suspect that it will not be the last [step] if the American side does not offer its explanation and apology," he added. Despite strained relations, Biden noted that it was possible to "walk and chew gum at the same time for places where it's in our mutual interest to work together." Russia has dismissed U.S. comments on Navalny and Ukraine as unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs. With reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and TASS A man has revealed his dying wife encouraged him to track down his former flame that he hadn't seen for 40 years because she didn't want him to be lonely - and the reunited pair are now married. Scottish Bob McLaren, 69, first met DeeDee Zweibel, 72, who now live together in Los Angeles, California, in 1974, when they both worked on a cruise ship as part of the band, and as a magician's assistant, respectively. Despite believing they were soulmates, the pair lost contact after DeeDee refused to move to Scotland to be with Bob, and he went on to marry first wife Helen and have four children. Sadly, Helen died of leukaemia after 31 years of marriage and further tragedy was in store for Bob when he also lost his second wife, Jo, to cancer in 2015. But fearing he'd be lonely, she encouraged him to find DeeDee, the actress from LA he often talked about. Speaking on This Morning today, DeeDee revealed that the 'connection was still so strong' when first meeting Bob in person in 2016 after more than 40 years apart - with the pair having since tied the knot on 13 March last year. Scroll down for video Scottish Bob McLaren, 69, first met DeeDee Zweibel, 72, who now live together in Los Angeles, California, in 1974, when they both worked on a cruise ship (pictured together on This Morning) 'I recognised DeeDee,' admitted Bob after revealing he'd searched for her on Facebook following his second wife's passing. But the actress confessed: 'I didn't recognise Bob. My reaction when I saw Bob on Facebook was "that's not him"'. After talking on Skype, Bob visited DeeDee in person, recalling: 'It was just as if we were carrying on from 1974 as we walked along talking to each other. We just carried on from where we'd left off.' DeeDee added: 'The connection was so strong and I didn't expect that after all these years. It was very strange.' Despite believing they were soulmates, the pair (pictured) lost contact after DeeDee refused to move to Scotland to be with Bob, and he went on to marry first wife Helen and have four children Bob confessed that for his family in the UK, his new relationship and life in the US 'took a bit of getting used to', while DeeDee said her 'family adore Bob'. After meeting in their early 20s on the cruise ship, the couple spent three more months at sea, performing for tourists and stepping ashore at hot spots including Barbados, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. But their whirlwind romance came to a crashing end after DeeDee revealed she couldn't follow Bob to his home country of Scotland, as they had originally planned. Bob, who became a civil servant, went on to enjoy a happy family life with his wife Helen and their four children - until sadly, his first wife passed away after 31 years of marriage from leukaemia. Sadly, Helen died of leukaemia after 31 years of marriage and further tragedy was in store for Bob when he also lost his second wife, Jo, to cancer in 2015. But fearing he'd be lonely, she encouraged him to find DeeDee, the actress from LA he often talked about. Pictured, Bob and DeeDee on This Morning The father-of-four was hit with further tragedy when his second wife, Jo, was diagnosed with cancer just two weeks after their honeymoon in 2009. Jo died in 2015, but before leaving her husband, she urged him to carry on with his life and have another relationship. She asked her husband to reconnect with old friends and even suggested former flame DeeDee. Bob and DeeDee, who now live in the US, tied the knot on 13 March last year, with the wife admitting: 'That was the only way we could be together, was to get married, because of the visa situation.' TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Terre Haute Police Department Merit Commission held their March meeting Wednesday, which was open to the public. Many Terre Haute residents showed up to the meeting ready to ask questions. The majority of the questions that were asked centered around the Merit Commission the effect they were able to have on the Police Department. Mark Hassler is the attorney, he said it is not the commission's job to micromanage the department. "I think that's a false characterization of what the public is suggesting they do," said Emma Crossen, one of the residents that came to the meeting. Residents were calling for the commission to get involved in the disciplinary actions that were taken against Sergeant Brad Newman. Newman was suspended for six days in January after posts on his Facebook called for the United States to bomb China. Terre Haute Police Chief Shawn Keen says he understands that people are frustrated; however, he asks that people understand there are certain steps that have to be followed. "When I hear people talk about contacting these Merit Commissioners and telling them to direct a verdict before the hearing, that's what frustrates me," said Chief Keen. EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning View Photo LONDON (AP) The European Unions drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesnt increase the overall incidence of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. France, Italy and Germany promptly announced they will start using the vaccine again on Friday. Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands said they will do so next week, though Spain said it might exclude certain groups to minimize any danger. More than a dozen nations around the world had suspended their use of the vaccine over the past week following reports of clots in a few dozen of the millions of people across Europe who have gotten the shot. The question was whether the vaccine had anything to do with the clots and whether any action needed to be taken. The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency has come to a clear scientific conclusion, the head of the EMA, Emer Cooke, announced. This is a safe and effective vaccine. She added: If it were me, I would be vaccinated tomorrow. However, she said the agency still cannot rule out definitively a link between certain rare types of blood clots and the vaccine. The EMA recommended adding a description of these cases to the vaccine leaflets. The debate raised fears that the safety questions would seriously undermine public confidence in AstraZenecas vaccine, which is key to efforts to immunize some of the worlds poorer countries, and further slow the lagging vaccination drive across the 27-nation EU at a moment when infections are rising at an alarming rate. Europe also relies on Pfizers and Modernas vaccines. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said he would be getting an AstraZeneca shot on Friday to show we can have complete confidence in it. Clots that form in the arms, legs or elsewhere can break free and travel to the heart, brain or lungs, causing strokes, heart attacks or other deadly blockages. In its findings Thursday, the EMA said the overall number of clotting events of various sorts reported since the rollout is lower than what would be expected in the general population. But those very common clots arent the kind causing concern. Instead, the EMA said it will continue to look closely at two rare types of blood clots. It cited seven reports of a type that appears in multiple blood vessels and 18 reports of a kind called cerebral venous thrombosis, which occurs in a vein that drains blood from the brain. Thats out of the 20 million people who have received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Britain and the EU. Most of those cases were in people younger than 55 and the majority were women, the EMA said. Experts said it will be critical to uncover if something predisposed those people to these rare clots. For example, before the pandemic, the brain-related clots almost always occurred in people with certain risk factors such as taking birth control pills, or any of a list of underlying conditions that affect clotting. Sabine Straus, head of the EMAs safety committee, said birth control pills are a distinct possibility that will be investigated. She also said experts found no evidence of a quality or a batch issue linked to any particular manufacturing site. Ann Taylor, AstraZenecas chief medical officer, welcomed the EMAs findings and added: We trust that, after the regulators careful decisions, vaccinations can once again resume across Europe. The World Health Organization previously said it saw no evidence the vaccine was to blame for the clots. AstraZenecas vaccine is central to COVAX, the U.N.-backed project to supply COVID-19 shots to poorer countries around the world. AstraZeneca is expected to apply in the coming weeks for U.S. authorization for its vaccine. The U.S. now relies on vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Britain was not among the countries that suspended use of the vaccine. On Thursday, ahead of the EMAs announcement, Britains drug regulatory agency said there is no evidence the formula causes clots, and it urged people to continue getting the shot. Like the EMA, however, British regulators followed its counterparts on the continent in urging people to seek medical attention if they suffer headaches that last for more than four days after vaccination or bruising beyond the injection site after a few days. The pause in vaccinations with AstraZenecas formula comes as tens of thousands of new daily cases have prompted new lockdown measures in Italy, caused hospitalizations in France to spike and led German officials to announce a third surge of COVID-19 has begun. Rarely has an immunization program been more important to the well-being of a population, said Pauline Paterson, co-director of the Vaccine Confidence Project team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In yet another setback, however, British officials said the country is facing a shortfall in vaccine deliveries that may delay the start of shots for people under 50 in the coming weeks. The EU has an estimated 7 million unused doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Clinical trials are typically done in tens of thousands of participants. As a result, extremely rare side effects often arent detected until a vaccine has been used in many millions of people, long after the product has reached the market. For example, it took nearly a year after vaccination campaigns began against the 2009 swine flu pandemic for European officials to notice an increase in narcolepsy in children and teenagers who got the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine. Its right to investigate any potential signals of problems, but you can do that while you continue immunization, said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton. If we pause the vaccine rollout every time theres a possible signal, it wont be much of a rollout. Head cautioned that there are costs to going slowly: The longer the coronavirus is allowed to circulate widely, the more chance it has to mutate into a deadlier version. People may well be more hesitant to take an AstraZeneca vaccine when immunization resumes, he said. And this is at a time when we need to stop the virus circulating to the reduce the chances of further variants emerging. ___ Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard in Washington; Elaine Ganley in Paris; Danica Kirka in London; and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed. ___ Follow APs pandemic coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine, and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. By MARIA CHENG and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press What does Chinas 14th five year plan mean for climate change? Posted on 18 March 2021 by Guest Author This is a re-post from Carbon Brief This week, at the annual two sessions political gathering in Beijing, the Chinese government approved a key policy document that will heavily influence the nations economic development and climate policies over the next decade and beyond. Following a week-long meeting, the National Peoples Congress (NPC) of China yesterday formalised the outline for the 14th five year plan and long-term targets for 2035. In short, the five year plans outline sets a 18% reduction target for CO2 intensity and 13.5% reduction target for energy intensity from 2021 to 2025. For the first time, it also refers to Chinas longer-term climate goals within a five year plan and introduces the idea of a CO2 emissions cap, though it does not go so far as to set one. These new targets have triggered widespread discussion about Chinas ambition to tackle its rising emissions. Some have expressed scepticism which questions the five year plans shortfall relative to its longer-term climate pledges. Others say China has a history of overachieving its targets and this needs to be taken into account. In this in-depth Q&A, Carbon Brief explains the wider context behind the release of the plan, as well as what it might mean for Chinas efforts to tackle climate change. Gathering together the reaction of various China experts, the Q&A also explains how the outline agreed this week is just a foretaste of the range of regional and sectoral plans due to be published over the next year. What are the two sessions? Two sessions is a collective term for two major national political meetings held in China every spring. Known as liang hui in Mandarin, they are the plenary sessions of the National Peoples Congress (NPC), Chinas top legislative body, and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the countrys top political advisory body. It is worth noting that the CPPCC does not hold any legislative power. With thousands of attendees each year, the two sessions normally open on 3-5 March in Beijing with the CPPCC taking the lead and run for 10-12 days. There have only ever been two exceptions to their opening dates, both due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the sessions were postponed to May, while this year their duration was shortened to six-and-a-half days. Why are this years two sessions important? During the annual conferences, the leadership of Chinas ruling party the Communist Party of China (CPC) sets out its vision for the next 12 months. The central government reviews and approves national economic and social development plans and receives reports of the implementation of previous plans. Thus, the two sessions are considered the most important annual political gatherings in China. This years two sessions carry extra significance because they also oversaw the approval of the nations next five year plan the 14th in a series stretching back to 1953. They were also held just months after Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced Chinas new ambition to enhance its climate pledge for 2030 its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. This year, Chinese leaders gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to cast their gaze on the nations post-coronavirus economic growth. They have also set key energy and climate targets that will guide the country over the next five years, in addition to setting long-term prospects for 2035. This provides policymakers with a direction of travel for what they have to deliver over the next 15 years. Owing to Xis pledge last September, CO2 emission peak and carbon neutrality were two of the most popular topics among the sessions participants this year. For example, influential participants from energy companies, heavy-industry manufacturers and technology firms introduced a series of proposals at the two sessions on ways to reduce the nations emissions. What is a five year plan? A five year plan, or FYP, is a comprehensive policy blueprint released by China every five years to guide its overall economic and social development. The system was first used by the Soviet Union in 1928 under Stalins rule and later adopted by the Communist Party of China to set out economic quotas for a newly founded Peoples Republic of China. Chairman Mao Zedong led the drafting of the countrys first five year plan, which ran from 1953 to 1957 and was officially approved in 1955. Since then, China has released and implemented 13 of these guidelines, which are made up of a series of documents at national, sectoral, provincial and regional levels. At this weeks two sessions, the NPC reviewed and approved the outline for the 14th five year plan for economic and social development and long-range objectives through the year 2035 (shortened as outline), which had been in the making since 2018. The outlines preparation and formulation involved several key government organs, including the State Council, Chinas highest administrative authority led by the premier, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), a political body comprising top leaders. (A recent Carbon Brief article gave more explanation about Chinas governance structure.) The drafting of the 14th outline began in late 2020 after the CCCPC had conducted relevant research and deliberation, before presenting its assessment of the countrys situation in a formal opinions document to the State Council. The council then drafted the outline, after receiving this opinion document. Over the years, Chinas FYPs have evolved beyond their initial functions of economic roadmaps. The official document now covers all important issues, from national security through to carbon emissions. Xi calls the plans an important way for our party to govern the country The outline is commonly referred to in media reports outside of China as if it is the 14th five year plan. Importantly, however, the outline serves as an overarching guideline for the successive forumulation of more detailed planning for 2021-2025, which includes sector-specific planning such as on the cement industry, and thematic planning such as on national security, as well as administrative planning at all levels, from central, provincial, municipal down to county level. These plans are due to be published later in 2021 and in early 2022, to break down the targets set in the outline at sectoral and administrative level, and to provide detailed action plans for implementation, evaluation and reporting. For the 14FYP, they will include plans on peaking CO2 emissions by 2030 and on energy saving and emission reduction formulated by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), on energy, renewable energy, coal, electricity development forumuted by the National Development and Reform Council (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA), and on energy intensive industrial sectors such as iron and steel, cement, aluminium and chemicals formulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). What does the 14FYP say about energy and climate? The 148-page outline of the 14th FYP gives an insight into the main goals for China in the period 2021-2025, as well as its longer-term goals for 2035. Energy and climate indicators are included under new progress of ecological civilisation, which is one of the six overarching economic and social development goals of the 14th five year plan. This section appears in the text after the goals on economic reform and society and before those on public welfare and governance. More broadly, energy is at the heart of the 14FYP outline, appearing 59 times throughout the document. The papers authors dedicate an entire section, titled Establishing a modern energy system (see below), to map out a plan for this transition. Furthermore, energy appears in a dozen other chapters, such as ecological planning, green economy, environmental protection and resource conservation, national economic security and energy and resource safety strategy. In comparison, the word energy is mentioned six times more frequently than climate in the text. The terms climate and climate change appear just nine times, mainly in the section titled actively responding to climate change (see below). The top section is the outlines text on new progress of ecological civilisation, one of six overarching goals for 2025. Below this, two separate sections are dedicated to energy and climate, namely Establishing a modern energy system (bottom left) and Actively responding to climate change (bottom right). Source: Screenshot from the draft for adoption of the 14FYP published by the NPC (2021). In total, the 14FYPs outline devotes four of its 20 indicators on economic and social development to energy and climate change (see table below), including half of the binding targets. This means that the central government is determined to achieve them as part of its political key performance indicators (KPIs). Four out of 20 main economic and social development indicators in the 14FYP concern energy and climate targets. They are: Reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP(%); Reduction of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP (%); Forest coverage rate (%); and Comprehensive energy production capacity. All four of the energy- and climate-related indicators are labelled as binding. Source: Screenshot from the draft for adaptation of the 14FYP published by the NPC (2021). Specifically, as shown in the table above, the outline requires an 13.5% reduction in the nations energy consumption per unit of GDP also known as energy intensity during the 2021-25 period and a 18% cut in its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP, also known as CO2 emissions intensity. (just below the table of indicators). The outline calls for an improvement of the forest coverage rate from 23.4% in 2020 to 24.1%. Moreover, it expects the countrys total energy production to reach more than 4.6bn tonnes of coal equivalent from coal, petroleum, natural gas and non-fossil energy. Previous five year plans had set a cap on energy production rather than a minimum level. The first three of these binding energy and climate goals are considered green ecology targets, while the fourth, on energy production, is categorised as security-related. The 14FYP outline proposes to increase the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption to around 20% by 2025, up from 15.8% in 2020. Yet, this is not labelled as an indicator, which means it is neither indicative nor binding by nature. The percentage proposed is in line with the political pledge made by Xi in December 2020 on increasing the ambition level of Chinas NDC for 2030. Xi promised that China would increase the share to around 25%. To date, China has not officially submitted an enhanced NDC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), despite the deadline being the end of 2020. As for climate change, the 14FYP outline reaffirms the implementation of the NDC for 2030 without listing specific new targets. It also demands that the nation formulates an action plan on how to peak CO2 emission before 2030, as soon as possible. In describing the long-term prospects for 2035, it repeats Xis political pledge in December, that CO2 emissions steadily decrease after peaking. Xi used exactly the same words when describing Chinas carbon neutrality goal before 2060. Meanwhile, the 14FYP outline presents a list of construction projects for the modern energy system. It covers six key areas of energy development, including the construction of eight large-scale clean energy bases, coastal nuclear power, electricity transmission routes, power system flexibility, oil-and-gas transportation and storage capacity. The geographical distribution of the key projects is illustrated in the map, below. The 14FYP outline proposes the construction of eight major clean energy bases across China (orange areas outlined by dotted lines). It also maps out a programme to transfer clean energy from these bases to eastern China where the nation's most prosperous provinces and industrial bases are situated through so-called power transmission routes (tunnels). The blue arrows represent the projects to be constructed and put into use during the 14FYP period. The red arrows represent those planned by the 13FYP due to go into operation during the 14FYP period. The grey lines stand for the main power transmission lines that have already been constructed. Major power generation centres are illustrated by fuel, as follows: hydropower (blue water turbine), offshore wind (blue wind turbine), fossil-fuelled thermal power (red), nuclear (brown), onshore wind (green wind turbine) and solar power (black). Source: Screenshot from the draft for adaptation of the 14th FYP published by the NPC (2021). The 14FYP outline proposes the construction of eight major clean energy bases across China (orange areas outlined by dotted lines). It also maps out a programme to transfer clean energy from these bases to eastern China where the nation's most prosperous provinces and industrial bases are situated through so-called power transmission routes (tunnels). The blue arrows represent the projects to be constructed and put into use during the 14FYP period. The red arrows represent those planned by the 13FYP due to go into operation during the 14FYP period. The grey lines stand for the main power transmission lines that have already been constructed. Major power generation centres are illustrated by fuel, as follows: hydropower (blue water turbine), offshore wind (blue wind turbine), fossil-fuelled thermal power (red), nuclear (brown), onshore wind (green wind turbine) and solar power (black). Source: Screenshot from the draft for adaptation of the 14th FYP published by the NPC (2021). Experts interviewed by Carbon Brief say that more detailed targets on climate actions, such as the total CO2 emission control target (the CO2 emission cap), are most likely to be disclosed in the 14FYP on greenhouse gas emission control and prevention. Similar to 12FYPs and 13FYPs, experts expect more detailed targets for the energy sectors, such as the coal consumption and production, renewable energy development and utilisation, and electrification rate and electricity power structure, to be announced in sector specific plans issued by NDRC and NEA in the coming year. Additionally, the MEE has launched the formulation of the action plan for peak emission by 2030 which requires provincial governments to formulate a provincial peak emission action plan by April 2021. According to the technical guidelines, this will include a series of detailed indicators shown in screenshot below such as total energy consumption, energy mix, share of fossil fuel in total energy consumption, and dual CO2 emission caps intensity and absolute emissions on industry, building, transport, agriculture and homes. A table showing some of the core indicators required to be compiled and calculated for the draft provincial peak emission action plan. They are due to be submitted to the MEE by April 2021. Source: Screenshot from the Guidelines for compiling on provincial carbon dioxide emissions peaking action plan issued by the MEE. What are the unanswered questions? The 14FYP outline has left many unanswered questions concerning Chinas energy transition and its efforts to tackle climate change. For example, the outline stresses that the nation should implement a cap system that is based primarily on carbon intensity control, with the absolute carbon cap as a supplement. Yet, the outline does not give an exact number on the CO2 emission cap. In response to some international observers comments on the outline being conservative, or lacking strict measures, Chinese experts interviewed by Carbon Brief say they expect such details to be clarified in the 14FYPs forthcoming sector-specific and regional plans. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) will set targets for nationwide greenhouse gas emission controls between late 2021 and early 2022. Some of the international coverage of the outline has drawn on analysis suggesting the plan could allow Chinas emissions to continue increasing at the rate of 1-1.7% per year until 2025. Such analysis shows the energy and CO2 intensity targets could still be met, even as overall emissions increase, depending on the rate of GDP growth over the plan period. Notably, however, the 14FYP outline drops a five year GDP growth target in favour of year-by-year goals, meaning such emissions calculations are uncertain. The table below is taken from analysis published by Lauri Myllyvirta at the Centre for Research and Clean Air, which shows what could happen to a variety of targets, according to three different levels of GDP growth. GDP growth, 2022-2025, per year 5% 5.5% 6.0% Energy intensity reduction 2020-2025 -13.5% -13.5% -13.5% Total energy consumption growth, 2021-2025, per year 2.3% 2.7% 3.1% CO2 intensity reduction 2020-20 -18.9% -18.9% -18.9% Coal consumption growth, 2021-2025, per year 0.1% 0.5% 0.9% Oil consumption growth, 2021-2025, per year 2.7% 3.1% 3.5% Gas consumption growth, 2021-2025, per year 5.2% 5.6% 6.0% Non-fossil fuel energy production growth, 2021-2025, per year 7.1% 7.5% 7.9% CO2 emissions growth, 2021-2025, per year 1.0% 1.4% 1.7% Indicative calculations of Chinas energy consumption and CO2 emissions trends until 2025 under the five-year plan targets, depending on the GDP growth rate. Source: Screenshot from analysis published by Centre for Research and Clean Air (CREA). Similarly, some observers and media have expressed disappointment about the lack of clear language regarding the phasing out of coal. For example, the share of coal in the energy mix is missing, as is the total coal consumption control target (coal cap). The latter, first introduced in the 13FYP on energy development published in 2016, was a binding indicator, which required the percentage of coal consumption in total energy consumption to drop from 64% to 58% over five years. Min Hu, executive director of the Innovative Green Development Program (iGDP), points out that an energy consumption cap already existed in previous energy planning for the 2030 energy revolution, which sets a total control target for total energy consumption at no more than 6bn tonnes of standard coal by 2030. She adds that coal consumption will need to slightly decline over the 14FYP period, if the forthcoming plan on energy development incorporates the advice such as from Energy Research Center of Chinas State Grid to steadily reduce the share of coal consumption in primary energy down from 57% in 2020 to around 50% by 2025. However, this still represents 100-200 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-plant capacity. Dr Fuqiang Yang, a distinguished researcher of the Institute of Clean Energy at Peking University, underlines the superior political priority for the Chinese government of achieving an emissions peak and, ultimately, carbon neutrality. He believes that, as a result, a coal cap for 2021-2025 will eventually be announced in the subsequent FYP on energy development and coal development, which the National Development and Reform Council (NDRC) and National Energy Administration (NEA) are now formulating. He adds that the outlines binding indicators on energy will still have an actual effect on restricting coal consumption and its share in the energy mix even without an explicit coal cap. He explains to Carbon Brief: Based on current targets, by 2025, non-fossil energy will definitely reach 20%. Natural gas steadily increases by 3% every five years, so we can assume that it will reach 11.5% in 2025 and oil may account for 18.5%. Under the [non-fossil energy] target, the share of coal in the energy mix must [therefore] be reduced to at least 50% or below and I think itd be very likely to drop to 48%, in comparison to 56.8% in 2020. Despite the absence of the coal cap and CO2 emission cap, Min Hu still thinks the outline sends out a very important signal. She tells Carbon Brief: When China added CO2 intensity to the existing energy intensity-based control targets in the 11FYP, many people also thought it would purely be a maths exercise. But that was a big turning point the 14FYP outline, too, for climate actions in China. It has been a very difficult journey to achieve this step. After all, there is still much opposition within the system. Professor Ji Zou, chief executive and president of the NGO Energy Foundation China (EFC), agrees that these targets do not come easy. He says, until early 2020, there was still much debate among policymakers and their advisors on whether incorporating low-carbon development targets would bring a big shock to the economy. The economic slowdown after the Covid-19 lockdowns made the decision even more difficult. He tells Carbon Brief: The debate was very fierce: one side pushed for incorporating more low-carbon indicators and more ambitious and stringent targets, while the other side insisted on reducing binding targets for deepening the reform towards a market economy. The hesitation continued until the end of last summer and momentum was finally achieved under the strong political determination on furthering decarbonisation. In the autumn, the top leadership set the tone for the 14FYP: the plan is to not only continue the path on low-carbon development, but also to accelerate the transition, in particular, to incorporate the carbon-neutrality target into the planning. In addition, the 14FYP outline specifies that China should strive to increase the storage and production of oil and gas and accelerate the construction of natural gas network pipelines. This is consistent with Chinas national policy on coal-to-gas in the 13FYP under the dual pressure of air pollution control and prevention, as well as energy and CO2 intensity reduction. Most recently, the No1 central document, which was co-issued by the CCCPC and State Council in 2021, also lists promoting natural gas to enter rural areas as part of the clean energy infrastructure project. Dr Jiang Lin, a China energy expert at the University of California-Berkeley, tells Carbon Brief that natural gas has been at the centre of the debate on energy transition. The discussion is partially caused by natural gass role as a form of transitional energy to replace coal. It is also spawned by the potential danger of a high-carbon lock-in due to the fact that natural gas is a fossil fuel. He adds: Natural gas has a positive contribution to reducing air pollution and to meet the peak demand for power in certain situations. However, if we want to arrive at a net-zero future, we have to also bring down the emission from natural gas to zero. [Continuing to develop natural gas] is not 100% aligned with the carbon neutrality goal in the long-term. Will the 14FYP keep China on track to meet its climate pledges? Leading Chinese energy and climate experts interviewed by Carbon Brief say China is on track to fulfil its promise of peaking emissions by 2030, although many say more efforts would be needed for China to meet the carbon neutrality target by 2060. Prof Zou says he is totally confident that China will achieve the peak emissions target before 2030. A study from December 2020 reviewed the available scenarios under which China could reach net-zero emissions by 2060. It concluded that an 18-20% reduction of CO2 intensity during the 14FYP period would put the country on the trajectory towards carbon neutrality by 2060 and would be consistent with a 1.5C temperature rise globally. The research was published by EFC and written by a group of Chinese and international climate scientists, including advisors to the State Council and National Development and Reform Council (NDRC), as well as three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) co-chairs and lead authors. Prof Zou adds that when the 14FYP is evaluated in a few years, there is a very big chance that the actual reduction will surpass 20%. He explains: The current target (18% of CO2 emission intensity reduction in 14FYP) is at the lower end of the range [needed to be consistent with a 1.5C pathway], which means its already aiming for an ambitious goal. Besides, we also need to look at the possibility of overachievement: if you break down the 2% into five years, it means a mere 0.4% of additional reduction [each year]. Prof Zou says appeals from international colleagues for more stringent climate targets and ambitious policies are sensible, but they also reflect a general misunderstanding about Chinas political process and its overall strategic objectives for the next four decades. He tells Carbon Brief: Its too early to say whether the 14FYP is ambitious enough for carbon neutrality in 2060. We are standing at the beginning of a five year plan. We cant simply conclude whether China could achieve the goal in 40 years based on its performance in five years, which is only one-eighth of the length up to 2060. We have to look at the trajectory forward. Dr Lin, who has carried out several modelling research projects into Chinas decarbonisation scenarios, says based on the research findings, it is highly possible for China to peak its emissions by 2030. He also thinks the countrys decarbonisation transition would stimulate economic growth and bring a series of additional benefits, such as creating more jobs. China exceeded the CO2 intensity reduction targets of the previous two five year plans, as shown in the chart below. China first introduced the five year CO2 intensity reduction control target as a binding indicator of its five year plans in 2011. To date, a total of three targets have been announced, namely, the 12FYP (2011-2015), 13FYP (2016-2020) and 14FYP (2021-2025), as shown in dark blue. In reality, China overperformed on this target twice in row, as shown in red. CO2 intensity targets (blue) in the 12FYP (2011-2015), 13FYP (2016-2020) and 14FYP (2021-2025) versus actual performance (red). For the 14FYP, a projection of expected performance is shown in pink. Source: State Council (2011, 2016, 2021) and Tsinghua ICCSD (2020). Produced by Carbon Brief using Highcharts. For the current 14FYP period, China is expected to once again overachieve with an estimated 19.4% reduction in CO2 intensity, according to research by 18 leading climate science institutes in China, led by Tsinghua Universitys Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD). This reduction would put China on a path to overachieving the CO2 intensity target in its NDC for 2030, the research suggests. Min Hu says that it would not be a fair judgement of Chinas climate action if people only look at the binding indicators made in the 14FYP outline or any FYPs without acknowledging Chinas past overachievements of its targets. Looking back, most of the targets from renewable energy installed capacity through to CO2 intensity were overperformed. We cannot calculate the trajectory simply based on the targets illustrated in the 14FYP outline and say that they will not be sufficient for [the 2060 climate neutrality pledge]. Dr Yang, who has spent the past four decades working on energy and climate policies in China, has a different view. He says he fully understands the conservative considerations from the top policymakers, who usually do not make promises they cannot fulfill a logic that is deeply rooted in Chinas political culture. Nevertheless, Dr Yang calls for more ambitious targets and daring thinking from the nations leaders, due to the urgency of climate change. He tells Carbon Brief: How about raising the target to 19%? Even if it wouldnt be fully achieved say, at 18.5% its still not a bad deal. Many developed countries have published strict targets that they could not eventually meet, but they provided a clear direction for efforts. According to Prof Zou, expected improvements in CO2 intensity mean that most provinces in China could reach peak emissions, or come close to it, during the 14FYP period, based on a yet-to-be-published study compiled by the Energy Foundation China. With provinces and cities that contribute around 80% of Chinas emission having peaked or expected to peak before 2025, he believes achieving nationwide peak emissions during the 14FYP is a low-hanging fruit. Why does the 14FYP not set a carbon cap? The lack of a formal cap on carbon emissions is, perhaps, one of the most confusing parts of the 14FYP outline. Even though the outline does not set a carbon cap, it does say that China will implement a system based primarily on carbon-intensity controls, with the carbon cap as a supplement. Given that China has not proposed a carbon cap, how can it be used to supplement the plan? Some China experts have told Carbon Brief that they believe the government has a willingness to introduce emission caps soon. However, such targets would be difficult to enforce at present because of two issues. First, a top-down approach would not address the reality faced by local officials. Second, China does not currently have enough detailed research on how to achieve carbon neutrality in order to support the government in coming up with an overall carbon cap. In the past, the central government has used mandatory top-down instructions to resolve issues surrounding energy consumption and energy intensity. But there have been substantial disadvantages and setbacks, such as cutting of power supplies to meet targets. Dr Fuqiang Yang from Peking University says the Chinese government has learned from this experience with regard to setting a carbon cap. During the 13FYP, China introduced a dual-control policy, demanding that energy consumption per unit of GDP energy intensity be reduced by 15% by 2020 compared with 2015. The policy also required that total energy consumption remained under 5bn tonnes of standard coal equivalent (tce). The State Council then divided the national dual-control goals into goals for individual provinces. However, Dr Yang says: With only a few employees in the National Energy Administration, how can the goals be reasonably broken down [and implemented]? He adds that many provinces were unsatisfied, saying the goals were unrealistic, which caused serious consequences. For example, Zhejiang province, which is just south of Shanghai, resorted to limiting electricity consumption and even cutting off electricity at the end of 2020 to achieve its goal. This forced many factories to halt production and left a large number of residents without heating in winter. Dr Yang says that the plan to use the carbon cap as a supplement demonstrates that a cap will eventually be set up during the 14FYP period. But he believes that the formulation of the cap will not be top-down, but rather bottom-up, which means that the central government will not set an overall cap and then send individual targets to the provinces. Instead, each province and sector would determine its own targets and those would then be aggregated into a national carbon cap. He says this is a more reliable plan. Ma Jun, the director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), an environmental research NGO based in Beijing, agrees with Dr Yang. Ma says that there are also some technical reasons for China not to mention a carbon cap in the 14FYP. For example, there is little research to date into how China can best achieve its new carbon neutrality goal. Ma says the goal of achieving carbon neutrality is more important than peaking emissions. Research by IPE finds it is actually very easy to reach the emissions peak, which could tolerate the building of carbon-intensive projects. Ma calls this a low-quality peak. But such a measure does not help achieve carbon neutrality over the longer term. In fact, it can make the goal even harder. Ma Jun tells Carbon Brief: High-quality peaking is the key to provide favourable conditions for subsequent carbon neutralisation. However, the current research on high-quality peaking is still insufficient. Cap: Will a bottom-up approach lead to loopholes? But would a change from top-down to bottom-up planning, in which each province sets its own carbon cap, lead to looser emissions goals? Yes, according to China experts. Dr Jiahua Pan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said at a conference in January 2021: Recently, a local official told me that carbon peaks are not difficult to achieve. If we built a batch of high-carbon projects during the 14FYP and 15FYP periods and then stopped afterwards, wont we easily achieve a carbon peak that way? Dr Jinnan Wang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the Environmental Planning Institute of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, makes a similar point. He said in an interview with China Energy News, a state-affiliated media, in January: Many provinces believe that the use of fossil energy can continue to be substantially increased before 2030. They are even planning to first reach a new and higher peak of carbon emissions during the 14FYP and will only consider the decline after reaching the new peak. Cap: How can loopholes be closed? Dr Yang says that any targets informed by local governments could indeed be very loose, but the final say still lies with the central government. Not only will the central government closely review the targets proposed by local governments, it will also use them as benchmarks to appraise the performance of local officials. He says carbon intensity is viewed as a binding indicator for provincial leaders. So, if a governor fails to meet this goal, they will lose their job. By comparison, a carbon peak is a guiding indicator. So, if two governors have both met their carbon intensity goals, then the one who is deemed to have performed better in peaking carbon emissions may get a promotion. Dr Yang says this is similar to how international climate agreements have worked. The Kyoto Protocol was a top-down, compulsory allocation of targets to countries and some have argued that it was not successful. Now, under the Paris Agreement, it has changed to a bottom-up approach, with countries putting forward their own NDCs every five years under the so-called ratchet mechanism. Otherwise, negotiations may still be ongoing, he says. The bottom-up approach is closely related to Chinas unique governance system, especially the tussle of power between the central and local governments. Dr Min Hu says it is important to encourage regional authorities to draw up targets that are stricter than those set by the central government. She says that only when the local goalposts are higher can those policies from the central government be realised. She adds: Take the peaking of emissions as an example, everyone is expecting China to peak by 2025. If all provinces set 2025 as their goal, even though the central government does not announce such a timeline, it is still possible for the whole country to hit the target in advance. But Ma hopes the loopholes can be closed using another method. IPE is cooperating with the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences to study the establishment of a carbon peaking/neutrality index, which as an effort to restrict misleading self-reporting uses key indicators to measure progress and monitor all provinces and industries to ensure they would peak their emissions in a responsible and so-called high-quality way. Cap: How can high-quality peaks be achieved? Ma believes that a peaking timeline should be brought forward: The timing of peaking is very important. The sooner the peak is reached, the more that later carbon emissions can be restricted. Prof Zou at the EFC believes achieving the required emission reductions needs many structural changes involving multiple sectors, including power, heavy industry, transport, building and land use. All of these changes require time. For example, it will be relatively slow to reduce power consumption and increase non-fossil energy sources initially. This will all require massive technical and financial investment on various issues, such as grid flexibility and energy storage. But once past the tipping point, carbon emission will drop at accelerated speeds, says Prof Zou. He adds: This is similar to changing of direction for a giant ship. It will be slow for the ship to overcome inertia and turn around, but once its turned around, it will speed up. Compared to establishing goals, he says it is more important to consider the levels of policy enforcement, infrastructure construction and technological support. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 12:37:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Wednesday demanded that Ethiopia withdraw from all Sudanese territories. "During the past two weeks, Ethiopia has sent forces to Baraka area, which is unjustified escalation and a hostile act against the country. We demand Ethiopia to withdraw from the Sudanese territories," said Al-Burhan when addressing the country's officers and soldiers on Wednesday. "Unless there is recognition that this land is Sudanese, there will be no negotiation with the Ethiopians," added Al-Burhan. He expressed regret over Ethiopia's claims of its ownership of the disputed lands, saying "the border with Ethiopia is known and planned since 1902." In February, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Ethiopia reserves the right to self-defense if the aggression of the Sudanese army isn't reversed, accusing Sudan of invading land "that is part of Ethiopia's territory." Al-Burhan, meanwhile, stressed Sudan's keenness to build natural ties with its neighbours, saying "our relations with our neighbours stand on mutual respect, understanding and trust, and we are seeking to resolve all our issues through peaceful and friendly means." Since September 2020, the Sudan-Ethiopia border has been witnessing rising tensions and deadly skirmishes between the two sides. Sudan accuses Ethiopian farmers, backed by armed forces, of seizing Sudanese lands at Fashaga area along the border and cultivating them since 1995. Enditem Last summer there was a massive increase in complaints about fireworks. Individuals and families looking for some peace and quiet on spring and summer evenings often experienced little of both. In New York City there were more than 1,300 fireworks complaints over a two-week period. In the same period a year earlier, there were 25 complaints. In the first week of June last year, Boston police received 1,445 fireworks complaint calls, which was a 2,300 % increase from the previous year. The trend was similar in Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke and other cities throughout the region. A Springfield City Councilor is already getting calls. Councilor Jesse Lederman said, Were not talking about a couple of nights around the fourth of July, were talking about continuous, ongoing, real disruption to the quality of life and safety of neighborhoods across the city of Springfield. On Monday, The Springfield City Council approved a home rule bill that would allow police to immobilize or tow vehicles owned by people who havent paid fines for possessing illegal fireworks. The bill would need approval from the state Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker before it can take effect. Last year, the council approved imposing a non-criminal $300 fine for fireworks violations. Residents have complained of M-80 fireworks and bottle rockets exploding at all hours of the night every night of the week. In addition to simply being aggravating, loud explosions can be terrifying to family pets. Loud unexpected noises can also have a serious negative impact on individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Especially war veterans. Fireworks also interfere with Springfields ShotSpotter system that detects the sound of gunfire. Officers have been known to race to an area in which gunshots are reported only to find it was a firecracker. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation with a full ban on all consumer fireworks. They are legal to purchase in Maine and New Hampshire. The reason for the increase in use of fireworks varies. Canceled summer events and boredom from quarantine are often mentioned. If youre bored, think of this before lighting the fuse: according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2019, along with 17 deaths, fireworks were involved in an estimated 10,000 injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms. Springfield is correct to take aggressive measures to stem the tide of this nuisance from our streets. Along with illegal dirt bikes, setting off fireworks in residential areas and city streets is a detriment to our quality of life and a serious threat to public safety. Related: Advertisement Johnny Depp branded his ex-wife Amber Heard a 'scumbag gold-digger' and a 'f***ing wh***' who he 'wouldn't touch with a Hazmat suit on' after their marriage ended four years ago, the Court of Appeal in London heard today, The Pirates of the Caribbean star lashed out in a 2016 text to his nurse after Ms Heard said she would hand her entire 5.5million ($7million) divorce settlement to charity. Mr Depp wrote at the time: 'No Way she'll give a dime to anyone!!! Thank f*** she's gone!!! Makes me sick to think of how hard I tried to make it work... Now... Honestly, I wouldn't touch that f***ing wh*** with a Hazmat suit on!!! What scum. I f***ing hate her!!!' Mr Depp's rant emerged today after his lawyers accused Amber of giving away 'a fraction' of the huge sum as part of a 'calculated and manipulative lie' to make herself look better. The Hollywood actor, 57, is trying to overturn a damning High Court ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife, 34, and put her in fear for her life, and is asking the Court of Appeal to order a retrial of his libel claim against The Sun after he was called a 'wife-beater'. After the couple divorced in 2016, Ms Heard said she would split the 5.5million ($7million) between the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Mr Depp's QC Andrew Caldecott said today that there was 'fresh evidence' she never gave all the cash away - but her claim had given Ms Heard 'a considerable boost to her credibility as a person' and 'tipped the scales against Mr Depp from the very beginning' of last year's libel trial. But Adam Wolanski QC, representing the Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), asked the court to reject the appeal demanding a re-trial, claiming the actor has brought the application to 'promote his position' in the US where he faces a separate libel battle with his ex-wife, who he is suing personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece she wrote about domestic abuse. Mr Wolanski also said that Mr Depp 'or his legal or business advisers' knew four years ago that Ms Heard's donation would be paid in instalments rather than a lump sum and 'suspected that she would not make the payments'. He gave an example of a text message the actor sent to his nurse in August 2016 which referred to Ms Heard as a 'scumbag gold-digger'. The text read: 'She won't donate ONE PENNY!!!! Did you notice that it was a non disclosed charity??? She's been pushing Art of Elysium for years!!!! And, what about battered women???'. Mr Wolanski also rejected Mr Depp's assertion that 'fresh evidence exposes a calculated and manipulative lie' by Ms Heard in relation to donations made to charities with her divorce settlement money. Following a three-week trial in July 2020, Mr Justice Nicol ruled that Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in 'fear for her life' three times. The judge found that an April 2018 column calling Mr Depp a 'wife beater' was 'substantially true'. He said 'a recurring theme in Mr Depp's evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an 'insurance policy', and that Ms Heard was a 'gold-digger'. But he added: 'I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard.' As Mr Depp's lawyers fought for a second trial of the century, the court heard: Amber Heard is accused of donating a seventh of the $7million divorce payout she received from Johnny Depp, despite saying she gave away all of it; Star's lawyers also claim last year's judgment against him was 'flawed' because it failed to take into account audio of Ms Heard saying: 'I can't promise I won't get physical again'. Actor's QC Andrew Caldecott also claims judge failed to give weight to Depp's recorded claims to his ex-wife: 'You f****** haymakered me'; He said the judge had 'glibly' accepted Ms Heard's evidence without 'proper forensic examination' of its truthfulness Sasha Wass QC, representing The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said Mr Depp's complaint was that the trial judge was 'favourable' to Ms Heard's evidence but 'unfavourable' to the actor's. She said: 'The judge did find that, on multiple occasions, that Mr Depp had lied'; Hollywood star Johnny Depp, pictured, has gone to the Court of Appeal over his recent High Court defeat over allegations that he had assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, who he branded a 'scumbag gold-digger' and a 'f***ing whore' in a text made public today The High Court libel case heard a string of claims about the nature of Depp's relationship with his ex-wife Amber Heard, left, and was nicknamed the trial of the century The High Court in London was told that Amber Heard, pictured last July, was in fear of her life. Mr Justice Nichol found a story that claimed Depp had assaulted his ex-wife was 'substantially true' Johnny Depp's barrister, David Sherborne arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, and was followed into court by Sasha Wass QC, Lawyer for Amber Heard's legal team During the trial Heard showed bruises she claimed were inflicted by Depp as he allegedly smashed her iPhone in her face at her LA home in May 2016 - a month after Depp claimed Heard 'defecated' in their marital bed after her 30th birthday Today the actor's legal team was back in court to claim the star 'did not receive a fair trial' and is applying for permission to appeal against the ruling at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday. Neither Mr Depp nor Ms Heard were present in court. Mr Depp's barrister Andrew Caldecott QC's demand for a re-trial centres on an application for permission to rely on 'fresh evidence' that Ms Heard did not donate her entire divorce settlement to charity, claiming it was 'a fraction' of what she said. After the couple divorced in 2016, Ms Heard said she would split the 5.5million ($7million) between the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). But Mr Caldecott told the court Ms Heard gave just $100,000 to the hospital and $450,000 to the ACLU, although she claims she made a further $500,000 donation to the second charity anonymously. The QC said that the claims had given Ms Heard 'a considerable boost to her credibility as a person' and had 'tipped the scales against Mr Depp from the very beginning' and that last year's ruling was 'deeply flawed'. He also claimed that judge in last year's three-week trial had a 'very favourable starting point of Ms Heard' and unfairly rejected 'evidence adverse' to her. He said Ms Heard was 'the key witness' at the libel trial, adding: 'They (NGN) would have had no defence without Ms Heard. There were many other witnesses, but she was on any view centre stage.' He added that Ms Heard's witness statement said that 'the entire amount of my divorce settlement was donated to charity'. Mr Caldecott said that statement 'means what it says ... 'I have not kept a cent' and that was clearly how the judge understood it'. The barrister said: 'There were two charities that received money from Ms Heard: the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union. On August 18 2016, Ms Heard publicly stated that the seven million dollars would be equally divided between them.' But Mr Caldecott said that 'the only donation' to the hospital that has been made is one of '100,000 dollars, not the 3.5 million dollars which we say the court was led to believe was the true position'. Mr Caldecott said, the hospital wrote to Mr Depp's business adviser in 2019 to say Ms Heard had not made 'any payments'. In written submissions, Mr Caldecott said the pledges 'strengthened Ms Heard's credit in an exceptional way'. But, he added, that was a 'calculated and manipulative lie, designed to achieve a potent favourable impression from the outset'. Amber Heard was never asked whether or not she had donated all of her divorce settlement during last summer's libel trial, the Court of Appeal heard. Supporters of Johnny Depp, one dressed as Edward Scissorhands played by Depp in the Tim Burton 1990 film of the same name, stood outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London today Lord Justice Dingemans (left) and Lord Justice Underhill heard the appeal. They said the court would give its ruling at a later date Lord Justice Underhill said: 'We now know what the truthful answer would have been, but (Ms Heard) was never given the opportunity to say 'I have paid a comparatively small sum but I've made a pledge to both (charities) and I will be paying over X number of years'.' Trial of the century judge failed to take full account of audio where Amber admitted 'getting physical' with Depp, his QC claims Mr Depp's legal team has argued that the trial judge erred in not attaching much weight to recordings in which Ms Heard appeared to admit to assaulting her ex-husband. In the recordings, which the couple were using as a form of therapy to help mend their relationship, Ms Heard says: 'I can't promise I won't get physical again.' She also apparently admits hitting Depp but denies punching him. Mr Caldecott, for Mr Depp, said: 'Self-evidently, if in a contemporary consensual tape recorded conversation with a clear audio and more than enough length for proper context and alleged victim admits to assaulting the alleged perpetrator on more than one occasion - we would say several occasions on a fair view of the recording - and says she can't promise she won't get physical again, and when it's her case she has never been violent to the perpetrator, the evidence requires the most careful consideration by the judge.' Andrew Caldecott said Ms Heard's 'promise about future conduct suggests that this is not necessarily a one-off'. He added: 'Be it two occasions (of violence by Ms Heard towards Mr Depp) or more, it is a fundamentally important check against the reality of Ms Heard's case, that she was never an aggressor and always a victim.' Mr Caldecott said the judge needed to 'carefully' consider the importance of the recording, but 'he does not do that exercise at all'. The barrister said both sides agreed that Mr Depp and Ms Heard would record their arguments for 'a therapeutic purpose'. But he added: 'It is hard to imagine any therapist advising a couple to lie to each other.' Mr Caldecott also referred to Ms Heard telling Mr Depp on the recording: 'You are such a baby. Grow the f*** up.' The barrister told the court this showed Ms Heard was not concerned about provoking Mr Depp, as she had claimed. He said: 'That response, 'you are such a baby, grow the f*** up', is not the statement, we say, of someone who is worried about provoking Mr Depp.' Mr Caldecott told the court that this recording undermined Ms Heard's evidence about a 'very, very serious allegation in the confidential judgment'. He said a judge 'would be very uneasy' about finding that confidential allegation had been proved once a witness has shown themselves 'plainly liable to exaggerate'. Mr Caldecott also referred to a second recording of Mr Depp and Ms Heard in San Francisco in July 2016, made without Mr Depp's knowledge, after they had split and Ms Heard had obtained a restraining order against the actor. On the recording, Mr Depp can be heard to say 'you f****** haymakered me', referring to an incident after Ms Heard's 30th birthday party at the couple's LA penthouse on April 21 2016. Mr Caldecott said: 'She, unbeknownst to him, is recording this conversation. There is no denial by her of that and the obvious inference is she knew if she denied it that he would have persisted.' Advertisement Mr Caldecott said it was a 'perfectly reasonable decision by an advocate not to challenge a clear statement that she had donated it all'. He argued that Ms Heard had been unequivocal in her claims that the entirety of the seven million dollars she received from Mr Depp had already been donated. In November, Mr Justice Nicol rejected Mr Depp's contention that Ms Heard was a 'gold-digger', saying in his ruling: 'Her donation of the seven million US dollars to charity is hardly the act one would expect of a gold-digger.' Mr Caldecott argued that the if 'the truth about the charity claim emerged at the trial, it would have materially affected Mr Justice Nicol's consideration of Ms Heard's evidence as a whole'. He said: 'The evidence presented a wholly exceptional act of philanthropy, which would have deeply impressed any reasonable person. 'Her public statements expressly stated that the ACLU donation had victims of domestic violence specifically in mind. 'The subliminal message of the charity claim was in any event clear: Ms Heard would not wish to keep any of Mr Depp's money, because he had subjected her to serious violence. The evidence presented, and was obviously intended to present, her in the strongest terms as both virtuous and a victim.' Andrew Caldecott said the trial judge last year, Mr Justice Nicol, had a 'very favourable starting point of Ms Heard' and unfairly rejected 'evidence adverse' to her. He told the court: 'If you look at the judgment, material of a similar type against Mr Depp is time and again acted on.' But, Mr Caldecott said, evidence adverse to Ms Heard was not given the same weight. The barrister said: 'The judge had a very favourable starting point of Ms Heard and really was not particularly interested in this adverse evidence.' He added that 'the disparity of approach to the evidence of Ms Heard and Mr Depp' caused Mr Depp 'substantial unfairness'. Mr Caldecott said Mr Depp 'had his suspicions about Ms Heard's evidence' at the time of the trial, 'but he had no evidence to support them'. The barrister added: 'Ms Heard took every available step to suppress the evidence.' Sasha Wass QC, representing The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said Mr Depp's complaint was that the trial judge was 'favourable' to Ms Heard's evidence but 'unfavourable' to the actor's. Ms Wass said: 'The obvious inference to be drawn from that state of affairs is that the judge found Ms Heard to be a compelling witness on the one hand and Mr Depp to be a witness who lacked credibility on the other hand.' She added: 'It is suggested ... that the judge failed to explain his reasons. 'We say this is wrong. Furthermore, the suggestion that no witness is found to have lied ... the judge did find that, on multiple occasions, that Mr Depp had lied.' She said the judge 'did not use the word', but repeatedly said he did not accept Mr Depp's evidence. Ms Wass said the change in the date on which Ms Heard claimed an assault in March 2013 took place was 'a genuine mistake by a complainant who was the subject of long-term domestic abuse who has muddled up one incident with another'. She also referred to an incident on a flight from Boston to LA in May 2014, when Mr Depp was found to have kicked Ms Heard 'on her back or bottom'. Ms Wass said: 'The response (to that allegation) by Mr Depp at first was that he was entirely lucid during the course of the journey and no such incident occurred.' But she added that text messages which were disclosed by Mr Depp showed 'firstly that Mr Depp had apologised to Ms Depp for his behaviour'. She said the texts also showed that 'he had consumed large amounts of alcohol ... pills and drugs, which he accepted was a reference to illegal drugs and he accepted that he had blacked out'. Ms Wass argued that those facts 'would have enabled any judge to say that the account given by Ms Heard was preferable'. Heard's team showed the court photos of a separate incident showing bruising to her face after Depp allegedly headbutted her. The trial heard evidence about 14 altercations from their time together. The court believed Heard that he did hit her After last year's libel trial of the century Mr Justice Nicol said he accepted 12 of Heard's 14 allegations that Depp had beaten her for three years beginning in 2013 Amber's 'volte face' on he actor husband 'slapping her' after 'teasing him about his tattoos', court told Johnny Depp's legal team say Amber Heard performed a 'volte face' in the days before last summer's libel trial by claiming that her ex-husband had assaulted her several times in March 2013, rather than just the once she had originally alleged. She alleged he had slapped her three times after she made a joke about one of his tattoos. Andrew Caldecott QC, for Mr Depp, pointed to Ms Heard's initial claim the March 2013 incident was a watershed moment, saying: 'This incident was unlike anything I had experienced with (Mr Depp) up until that point - I didn't realise it was a sign of what was to come.' Mr Caldecott said Ms Heard had been inconsistent about the date of the incident, initially claiming it had occurred on March 8, and then later alleging it had been March 23 and that there had been multiple incidents of violence over the course of that month. In his ruling, the trial judge accepted Mr Depp 'inflicted a number of assaults on (Ms Heard), only one has been pleaded but I accept that's why Ms Heard's account is confused'. Mr Caldecott said: 'This ignores the fact that it was her allegation that this was the first time something of this gravity had happened.' He said the judge had 'glibly' accepted Ms Heard's evidence without 'proper forensic examination' of its truthfulness. Advertisement Adam Wolanski QC, representing the Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN), said in written submissions that Mr Depp's 'fresh evidence' was said to support 'a theory that Ms Heard was a 'gold-digger''. But, he said, 'the evidence is not 'fresh' at all, since it could have been obtained with reasonable diligence for (the) trial'. Mr Wolanski added: 'The 'fresh' evidence - which the respondents accept is apparently credible insofar as it shows that Ms Heard has not yet finished making her pledged payments to the charities - only goes to a highly peripheral and unpleaded matter and is of no relevance to the pleaded issues, i.e. the 14 assaults, that Mr Justice Nicol had to decide. 'The evidence would have had no impact on Ms Heard's credibility had it been before the trial judge, since it does not demonstrate that Ms Heard or any of the respondents' witnesses lied.' She told the court: 'The application to admit the evidence should therefore be refused ... (and) the application for permission to appeal should be dismissed.' Mr Depp sued NGN in June 2018 over the column by the newspaper's executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to 'overwhelming evidence' he attacked Ms Heard. In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicol concluded that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN in its defence of the actor's claim did occur. The judge also found Mr Depp put Ms Heard in 'fear for her life' on three occasions, including one the actress described as a 'three-day hostage situation' in Australia in March 2015. But Mr Depp's legal team claims Mr Justice Nicol 'failed to examine the competing accounts of each incident, or to explain whether he found them proved and, if so, on what basis'. They also argue 'the judge should have analysed the extent to which Ms Heard's evidence undermined her credibility in relation to her allegations of physical assault/injury'. Just days after the ruling in November, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts - the very role which prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be 'genuinely happy' Mr Depp was cast in the film. Mr Depp is currently embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name. The actor's $50million (35million) US case against Ms Heard was recently delayed until April 2022. At the conclusion of Thursday's hearing, Lord Justice Underhill - sitting with Lord Justice Dingemans - said the court would give its ruling at a later date. He said: 'We are not going to reach an immediate decision today ... we will make it very shortly.' In November Depp accepted an award from Camerimage, a film festival in Poland, for Minamata, in which he plays the war photographer W Eugene Smith. He sent a photograph of himself standing behind bars in what appeared to be his private island in the Bahamas. Depp severed the top of his finger (pictured) when he smashed a vodka bottle during a row with Heard over his drug-taking while he was in Australia in March 2015 filming Pirates of the Caribbean With all eyes on the first in-person official dialogue between China and the new U.S. administration in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday, tough stances from each side indicate the high-profile meeting will not be a first step towards a reset of the icy bilateral relationship. Instead, it will be the precursor of a new round of tense competition and confrontation, with limited cooperation between Beijing and Washington that could last a decade. The meeting will take place as scheduled between Politburo member Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and their American counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The meeting point, Anchorage, is located approximately halfway between the two countries capitals. The two sides have already been in conflict over the nature and principle of the talks. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said last Thursday that the meeting will be a strategic dialogue, which would focus on cooperation, manage differences, and bring the China-U.S. relationship back to the right track of sound and steady development. On the same day, Secretary Blinken made a statement that was in direct contrast with Zhaos characterization of the talks. He told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee: This is not a strategic dialogue. Theres no intent at this point for a series of follow-on engagements. Those engagements, if they are to follow, really have to be based on the proposition that were seeing tangible progress and tangible outcomes on issues of concern to us with China. Moreover, in a Tuesday preview for the press, a senior U.S. official echoed Blinkens statement that the Alaska meeting is one-off and not the resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process. In other words, the meeting is only for getting to know each other, not for detailed negotiation. But after four years of bitter confrontation between China and the U.S. under the Trump administration, there isnt much room for the two sides, particularly Beijing, to make concessions. China has already laid out its bottom line. Its ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, who arrived in Anchorage ahead of the meeting, explicitly told the U.S. to give up their unrealistic expectations or illusions that China would compromise on issues involving the countrys core interests, such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan. In Beijing, Wang Yi issued a warning on Mar. 7, during the countrys annual national political gatherings, that accused the U.S. of willfully interfering in other countries internal affairs in the name of democracy and human rights. Last week, the foreign ministry also urged the U.S. to view China and China-U.S. relations in an objective and rational manner, reject the Cold War and zero-sum game mentality, respect Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests, and stop interfering in Chinas internal affairs. On the U.S. side, the White House said it would not rush out its China approach until finalizing a comprehensive review of the former administrations China policy. But in early February, President Biden used his first foreign policy speech to label China as the most serious competitor. In March, Blinken also made it clear that: Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be. The U.S. sides statements reveal that Washington has no plan to roll back Trumps confrontational approach. Its obvious that except for potential collaboration in limited areas, such as pandemic response and climate change, being competitive and adversarial will be the future theme of China-U.S. relations. Nothing ambiguous anymore. Thus, no matter what results can come from the Alaska meeting, the worlds most consequential relationship will only get more systematically stressed. And no matter whether Democrats or Republicans win the U.S. presidential elections in 2024 or 2028, we are going to see at least 10 years of frosty ties between Beijing and Washington. So, lets hope that military conflicts between the two sides dont happen, either in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea. The challenge of managing the current relationship is immense and unprecedented. Neither side will willingly disengage from the ongoing competition in areas such as cyber technology and the arms race across the Asia-Pacific. The old way of compartmentalizing China-U.S. relations, or relying on any single so-called stabilizing force to avoid sinking the whole ship will not work anymore. All compartments are interlinked. If one catches fire, the only solution is to put it out as fast as possible. Otherwise, it will spread through the whole system, just as happened during the Trump administration. At first, it was an argument about the bilateral trade deficit, then it became a trade war, and then it spread to tech decoupling, expulsion of journalists, visa wars, scholar prosecutions and tit-for-tat sanctions. As Chinas prominent U.S. scholar Wang Jisi perfectly put it, the real issue now for Beijing and Washington is not about how to rebuild mutual trust, but how to prevent political distrust from growing to the point that it leads to more decoupling in social, economic, and technological terms, and turns into a head-on confrontation. Lu Zhenhua is a senior editor at Caixin Global. The views and opinions expressed in this opinion section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of Caixin Media. If you would like to write an opinion for Caixin Global, please send your ideas or finished opinions to our email: opinionen@caixin.com Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database. 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. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), under the Ministry of Defence, has called for applications in a prescribed format from qualified and experienced Indian nationals for filling Nine (09) vacancies to the post of Project Engineers, Sr. Engineers and Trainee Officers in BEL's Pune unit in Maharashtra, India on a fulltime basis. The offline application process towards the same started on March 17, 2021 and closes on April 7, 2021. CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Project Engineers, Sr. Engineers and Trainee Officers posts in BEL Organisation Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) Educational Qualification B.E/B.Tech/B.Sc/AMIE/GIETE in Electronics, Mechanical, Chemical & Electro Chemical/ Electro -Chemical engineering disciplines; MBA in Finance Experience Zero to four years in the concerned area Job Responsibilities null Skills Required null Job Location Pune Salary Scale In the pay ranging from Rs. 25,000 up to Rs. 1,50,000 per month as per the post Industry Ministry of Defence Application Start Date March 17, 2021 Application End Date April 7, 2021 BEL Recruitment 2021: Age Criteria And Fees Candidates interested in applying for BEL Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 must not be more than 28 years (Project Engineer), 25 years (Trainee Officer) and 32 years (Sr. Engineer) with relaxation (upper age limit) up to 3 years (OBC) and 5 years (SC) respectively as specified in the BEL Notification 2021. Candidates must pay a prescribed amount of Rs. 500 (Project Engineer and Sr. Engineers) and Rs. 200 (Trainee Officer) respectively as application fee for BEL Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 in the form of a Demand Draft (DD) drawn in favour of "Bharat Electronics Limited" payable at Pune as mentioned in the BEL Notification 2021 given at the end of the article. Also Read: Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 For 1,382 UPSI, APSI, IO And UASI Posts. Apply Online Before March 31 On OJAS BEL Recruitment 2021: BEL Vacancy 2021 Details Post Name No. Of Vacancies Project Engineer - I 04 Sr. Engineer 03 Trainee Officer - I 02 Total 09 BEL Recruitment 2021: Education And Eligibility Desirous candidates applying for BEL Engineer Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 must possess a B.E/B.Tech/B.Sc/AMIE/GIETE in Electronics, Mechanical, Chemical & Electro Chemical/ Electro -Chemical engineering disciplines; MBA in Finance from a recognised University/Institute with zero to four years of experience in the concerned area as detailed in the BEL Notification 2021. BEL Recruitment 2021: Selection And Pay Scale The selection of candidates to BEL Engineer Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 will be done through Shortlisting, Written Test, Post Qualification Experience and Interview as notified in the BEL Recruitment Notification 2021. Candidates selected as BEL Graduate Apprentice Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 will be paid remuneration in the pay ranging from Rs. 25,000 up to Rs. 1,50,000 per month as per the post. Also Read: DRDO Recruitment 2021 For 30 ITI Apprentices Posts In DMRL Hyderabad, E-mail Applications Before March 31 BEL Recruitment 2021: How To Apply Candidates applying for BEL Engineer Jobs 2021 through BEL Recruitment 2021 must fill the application form post-download from the BEL website from the BEL Careers section and send the same to the "Sr. Dy. General Manager (HR&A), Bharat Electronics Limited, N.D.A.Road, Pashan, Pune- 411021 Maharashtra" along with relevant supporting documents on or before April 07, 2021. Download BEL Notification PDF Application Form for BEL Engineer Jobs Download BEL Notification 2021 for Project Engineers, Sr. Engineers and Trainee Officers posts DeFeo (pictured being led away by a cop in 1974) was sentenced to 25 years to life for each of the murders and, after repeatedly being denied parole, remained behind bars in New York state for the rest of his life On the evening of November 13, 1974, Ronald Butch DeFeo rushed into a bar in the quiet Long Island town of Amityville, and set in train what would become one of the most successful horror stories in Hollywood history. He told the bars startled occupants that he had just found his parents shot dead. When several of them accompanied him back to his familys six-bedroom Dutch Colonial-style house, they found not only the bodies of Ronald DeFeo Sr and his wife Louise, but also those of their four other children Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 11, and John, nine. The adults had both been shot twice while the children each just once, in the back. They were all face down in their beds. DeFeo, 23, a thief and drug addict with a reputation as a hard-drinking brawler, initially told police that his family had been killed by the Mafia. However, he soon admitted that he was responsible, going room to room with a rifle shortly after 3am. Once I started, I just couldnt stop, he told investigators. At his trial, DeFeo offered an insanity plea, saying he had killed his family in self-defence after hearing mysterious voices telling him they were plotting to do the same to him. Prosecutors were never able to explain how the defendant was able to kill every one of them without any signs of a struggle, nor the neighbours hearing any sounds of gunfire DeFeo did not have a silencer on his high-powered rifle. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for each of the murders and, after repeatedly being denied parole, remained behind bars in New York state for the rest of his life. Ronald DeFeo died aged 69 in custody last Friday, all but forgotten by the outside world. But the house in which he slaughtered his family survives and it remains a macabre testament not just to mass murder but to bone-chilling stories of evil and the paranormal. It became the haunted setting of The Amityville Horror, a best-selling 1977 book by American author Jay Anson based on the terrifying experiences claimed by the family who moved into the house a year after the killings. The book was adapted into the 1979 horror film of the same name starring James Brolin, Rod Steiger and Margot Kidder, and gained international notoriety. Suddenly, no one wanted to go down to the basement alone. For years, the gruesome story has been subject to challenges and even lawsuits over its veracity. But this has only fuelled interest in the grisly events inside 112 Ocean Avenue dubbed Long Islands creepiest mansion. The book was adapted into the 1979 horror film of the same name starring James Brolin, Rod Steiger and Margot Kidder, and gained international notoriety Tales of angry spirits trapped inside the clapboard house quickly circulated among local people after the murders, ensuring it remained empty for more than a year before a young couple, George and Kathy Lutz, bought it for a song. They moved in with their three young children and a dog in December 1975. The pair, both 32, had heard about the fate of the DeFeos but, given the $80,000 (40,000) bargain price of the waterfront property, which came with its own large boathouse and heated swimming pool, they were not going to let a family massacre and talk of ghosts put them off. The house which had a statue of St Joseph holding a baby Jesus on the front lawn was named High Hopes, although Deep Despair would have been nearer the mark. The Lutzes stayed there for just 28 days before apparently fleeing in abject terror, taking little more than the clothes they were wearing. According to them, they had not even unpacked their belongings before a plague of flies appeared, which was hardly usual for December. They encountered strange cold spots in certain rooms and hallways, odd smells of perfume or excrement and jolting sounds that would disturb the family at night. George Lutz apparently became increasingly volatile and kept waking up at 3.15am, the approximate time that DeFeo shot his family. And they all started sleeping face down just as the DeFeos had been found. Other developments were even more frightening: walls, stairs and keyholes oozed with green slime; objects suddenly flew across the room; mysterious forces ripped off a garage door and smashed windows; and a crucifix turned upside down on the wall and could not be put straight. Down in the basement, George found a hidden, red-painted room, which their labrador-cross, Harry, refused to go anywhere near. One night, George said he had once seen the glowing eyes of some demonic, pig-like creature at a window. A terrible face appeared burned into a fireplace wall. The couples young daughter, Missy, began speaking to an imaginary, perhaps demonic, entity named Jodie, and Georges wife Kathy claimed to have levitated above her bed, awakening from the disturbance with welts on her chest. Suddenly, $80,000 didnt seem such a bargain. The Lutzes werent the only ones to encounter this unholy phenomenon. A friend persuaded them to ask a local priest to bless the house. When he arrived, he distinctly remembered hearing a voice ordering him to Get out! and something slapping him in the face. It was a nightmarish tale that had everything Hollywood could wish for, and it is little surprise that it has since spawned 29 films, including a 2005 remake starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George. However, even before the first movie came out, the wheels were coming off the Lutz ghost train. For William Weber, Ronald DeFeos lawyer at his murder trial, said he had dreamt up the demonic story with the Lutzes over many bottles of wine, and they had later regaled their concoction to writer Jay Anson for the Amityville Horror book. William, who admitted he had fallen out with the couple over money, said he had passed them detailed information about the DeFeo murders and that they had spun them into their hoax story. I told George Lutz that Ronnie DeFeo used to call the neighbours cat a pig, he said. George was a con artist; he improvised on that and in the book he sees a demon pig through a window. The Lutzes stuck largely to their story and passed a lie detector test. The expert who conducted it said they had appeared genuinely terrified. They conceded parts of the horror story had been exaggerated but blamed most of this on the retelling in the book and original film. The tiny red room in the basement a sort of gateway to hell and source of the evil that George found behind shelves, for example, hadnt been a secret. The houses previous occupants said they had used it for storage. The lavatories hadnt overflowed with hellish black sludge, as they had in the film, the Lutzes recalled. There was also confusion about the identity of the priest who had blessed the house. The man widely assumed to have been him insisted he had never visited the property. Ronald DeFeo died aged 69 in custody last Friday, all but forgotten by the outside world. But the house in which he slaughtered his family survives and it remains a macabre testament not just to mass murder but to bone-chilling stories of evil and the paranormal. Ronald DeFeo is pictured with his siblings whom he killed The Lutzes sued William for invasion of privacy, with George saying: Were tired of being called liars. The lawyer then countersued them for fraud and breach of contract. In court, George admitted he had earned $100,000 (50,000) from the book and the same amount from the film. The judge said it appeared to him that the Amityville Horror novel was a work of fiction. He threw out the Lutzes case while Williams claim was settled out of court he had demanded $60 million (30 million) but agreed to accept just $2,500 (1,250). Others continued to pick holes in the Lutzes account. They questioned why the couple had failed to gather any evidence of the paranormal happenings not even a drop of that gelatinous green slime, for example. Local police wondered why they never reported the damage to their house, while the Amityville Historical Society contradicted Georges claim that it told him the house had been built on a cursed Native American burial ground. Even so, it appeared they werent completely wrong about the house being odd. The police confirmed that there had been reports of awful smells and an infestation of flies in the house that dated back to when the DeFeos lived there. The Lutzes moved to San Diego and later divorced. Kathy died in 2004 and her ex-husband two years later, both from natural causes. Events were further complicated when Ronald DeFeo changed his story in a newspaper interview from prison. People look in my eyes, that Im possessed or something, he complained. Im sick of it. He sensationally tried to overturn his conviction in court, claiming his lawyer, William Weber, had insisted he claim insanity at his trial to make the story more attractive for possible book and film deals. The whole thing was a con, DeFeo said, except for the crime. He claimed the lawyer had assured him that he would have me out in a couple of years and I would come into all that money. He added: He said it would be The Godfather and . . . The Exorcist all in one. I said, I got enough problems already. The lawyer told the court that the Lutzes had been interested in developing the demonism aspect of the case. Providing more insight into the couples supposed creative powers, he said hed told them that Ronald DeFeo Sr had once hit his wife as she was carrying a plate of spaghetti, sending her tumbling down the basement stairs. The tomato sauce splashed the walls and in The Amityville Horror became the green slime that seeped out of the walls. The lawyer admitted he had quickly realised that the sensational murders would make a great film or book, but insisted that it had never influenced his defence of DeFeo. Here the bizarre tale might have ended were it not for a final chapter. In 2013, the Lutzes son Daniel who was ten when they lived in the house insisted he really was menaced by spirits there and that their time there had ruined his life. Daniel, who left home at 15 and later experienced periods of homelessness, blamed his stepfather George, whom he claimed had dabbled in the occult and opened a gateway to dark forces. Georges beliefs and practices triggered what was going on in the house, he told a documentary. It was like a magic trick gone bad that you couldnt shut off. Although few people now believe the Lutzes really were the victims of the sustained demonic attack they claimed, Daniels assertions suggested an alternative explanation. If George already believed in the occult, he would have been more likely to convince himself that whatever happened inside the house was supernatural. What is undeniable is that if there was ever something dark in the house, it left with them. It no longer has its sinister-looking quarter-moon windows and its street number has been changed to deter gawkers. And while it may remain competitively priced, no subsequent occupants have run screaming from it with tales of green ooze and devil pigs. (Alliance News) - The European Commission plans to launch the dispute settlement process in its coronavirus vaccine contract with pharma giant AstraZeneca PLC, EU spokesmen said Thursday. Chief spokesman Eric Mamer said Brussels is waiting for the go ahead from EU member states to write to the firm to demand talks on its alleged failure to honour its contract. Mamer said the letter "will allow us to start a dialogue with the company as part of a dispute settlement process." By its own admission, the Anglo-Swedish company has fallen well short of promised deliveries, and this shortfall has slowed Europe's troubled vaccine roll-out. The dispute has also triggered an international row, with European officials furious that AstraZeneca has delivered on its UK contract while falling short in the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen singled out the UK on Wednesday when she warned that Brussels was seeking a way to ensure "reciprocity" in shipments. This was taken as a threat to prevent EU vaccine exports to Britain while UK-based suppliers are not shipping to Europe. The letter would be the first formal measure by the EU since the row erupted and activates a clause in the supply contract between Brussels and the firm. This could lead to legal action if AstraZeneca is not able to assure European officials it has met its obligation to make its "best efforts" to ship the promised doses. Commission health spokesman Stefan de Keersmaeker said that, once the letter was sent, the firm would have 20 days to arrange a senior level meeting with EU officials. "The aim of that process is to arrive at a solution which resolves the conflict in good faith ... in a way that is satisfactory to all parties," he said. AstraZeneca had been expected to deliver 90 million doses of vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, but will likely only be able to supply 30 million, after production delays at its EU plants. In the second quarter it hopes to deliver 70 million, many fewer than the 180 million initially promised.A Brussels has, however, worked to accelerate production at plants operated by other drugs firms and still hopes to vaccinate 70% of European adults before the end of summer. A source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. City officials fear a delay in funding the $1.8-billion upgrade to the north end sewage treatment plant could thwart development and lengthen the timeline of the massive project. City officials fear a delay in funding the $1.8-billion upgrade to the north end sewage treatment plant could thwart development and lengthen the timeline of the massive project. A city report says the projects headworks and biosolids facility, the first and second phases of the three-phase project, face new risks because the provincial and federal governments have not yet promised to help pay for the work. The city applied for tri-government Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program funding for the two phases in October 2019, but is still waiting for approval. "The delay is of tremendous concern, concerning one of the most significant infrastructure priorities and projects in Winnipeg right now," said Mayor Brian Bowman. The city asked Ottawa to pay $321 million, and the province to cover $268 million, toward the $909-million tab for those two phases of sewage plant upgrades, while the city would cover the rest. Councils water and waste chairman said the delay is odd, since all three governments have publicly supported the project. "All the politicians seem to want to get going and we cant seem to get this thing lined up lets get the money on the table," said Coun. Brian Mayes. City staff asked council to delay spending $15.3 million on a detailed engineering design for the biosolids facility, until the funding commitment is made. Councils executive policy committee approved that move Wednesday, as well as a call to settle a dispute over how the biosolids project should be delivered, before the spending occurs. Both measures still require council approval. The staff report warns the potential biosolids delay raises the risk Winnipeg could run out of its finite ability to treat sewage, potentially preventing new developments from being approved. The city was already concerned about the issue, since it expects its existing biosolids facility could reach capacity within the next five to nine years, while it would take seven or eight years to build a new one. Water and waste director Moira Geer said the city and province have not yet come to an agreement over how the biosolids project should be conducted. Geer said the province wants to explore options for a private-public partnership, but the city fears the most privately focused version of that model would lead an outside agency to become involved in the complex operations of essential city sewage service. "Its just not feasible," said Geer. The report argues the city risks wasting any money it spends now to design the biosolids project, if the province later forces it to pursue a P3 project instead. "If the city is required to pursue a P3 model, the proponent would complete their own design work and the $15 million would be (thrown) away," the report notes. Since the citys plan assumed funding decisions would have been made by the end of 2020, officials warn the city could lose an entire construction season and possibly pay penalties to pre-qualified bidders, if the matter isnt sorted out soon. A spokesperson for Manitoba Central Services said the provinces call for a different construction model shouldnt be blamed for holding up the project and is meant to help control the cost and schedule of the upgrade. "The assertion that the provinces desire to fully explore a P3 model is delaying the project or will lead to cost escalation is false," the spokesperson wrote in an email. An Infrastructure Canada spokesperson said the federal government received a request from Manitoba to fund the upgrades first phase in November 2020. The federal government "has been working diligently with the Province of Manitoba on its review," said Lama Khodr, in an emailed statement. An $828-million third phase of the sewage treatment plant upgrade, which would reduce algae-promoting nutrients that flow out of the plant and wind up in Lake Winnipeg, is not yet part of a funding request. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga Hot take on Hamas, elections and a possible US reset toward the Palestinians: The worlds eyes are on the Israeli elections next week, March 23, the countrys fourth national poll in three years, and whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can extend his reign as Israels longest-serving prime minister. But theres another election next door that will play vitally into both Israeli politics and to the Biden administrations plan for a reset in US policy toward the Palestinians: elections for the Palestinian legislature on May 22, and then for the presidency on July 31. The scrum ahead of the March 31 filing deadline, a key benchmark for the elections, is dizzying, and Hamas, which the United States considers a foreign terrorist organization, is well-positioned as a spoiler. Hamas holds unity card: The divisions and potential alliances within Palestinian politics are, as always, on full display. Yet there also is buzz that the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the Palestinian Authority and the areas under its administration in the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamic resistance party that governs Gaza, could form a unified bloc in the elections. This is not yet a done deal and may never be but if so, it would represent the most unified Palestinian front in decades. But heres the catch: If the two geographies and factions were united, with Hamas integrated into a combined bloc with Fatah, US-brokered peace talks with Israel could get harder. Not only does the United States consider Hamas a terrorist group, but Hamas very reason for being is resistance, not peacemaking. And dont forget about the small but influential Islamic Jihad, based in Gaza and backed by Iran, which is weighing whether to support the Hamas slate in the elections. Fatah divisions: There is reportedly discontent with Abbas, but its hard to gauge how deep it is. Breakaway former Fatah leaders with high name recognition might peel off votes Mohammed Dahlan (backed by the UAE); Salam Fayyad (former prime minister) and Nasser al-Kidwa (former Palestinian ambassador to the UN and nephew of late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Marwan Barghouti (who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison) backs Fatah in the legislative elections, but he may not support Abbas in the presidential elections. Our take: The safe money is on Abbas, but its too soon to tell, given the politicking ahead of elections. Well know more after March 31. Whatever the extent of discontent with his leadership, like Bibi, Abbas benefits from a divided opposition. The wild card is Hamas. If the Palestinian leadership comes out more united under Abbas, with Hamas on board, his internal position would be stronger than ever but the role of Hamas could be complicating. Although Abbas and Fatah would be in charge, the prospects for peace, especially if Netanyahu wins, could be distant as ever. And if there is no Fatah-Hamas deal, the whole process could collapse in disunity, before, during or after the elections, leaving the Palestinian political picture even messier than when it started. Read more: Daoud Kuttab, Aziza Nofal, Rasha Abou Jalal and Adnan Abu Amer have the scoops on Palestinian politics and the elections. Five quick takes from Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and the Gulf 1. Whats behind the spat between Israel and Jordan? Osama al-Sharif has the back story on why Amman scuttled Netanyahus trip to the United Arab Emirates last week. In short, Jordans King Abdullah II was fed up with Netanyahu trying to make an election issue out of custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Plus, Ben Caspit has this scoop from Jerusalem: Netanyahu and Abdullah have only spoken once or twice since they last met in June 2018. 2. COVID-19s economic toll accelerates economic trends in the Gulf Karen Young explains that the Gulf regions economic policy response to COVID-19 is an acceleration of trends that were underway before the pandemic hit. COVID-19 is speeding things along, and we see now a wider aperture across the GCC on tax policy, labor market regulation and immigration policy, she writes. 3. Turkeys Kurds not wooed by Erdogan Amberin Zaman takes us inside a Turkish government-run marriage class in the predominantly Kurdish town of Bismil. The lesson plan? Islamic piety for soon-to-be newlyweds. Officially, the mandatory schooling is meant to raise healthy generations of new married couples. But critics say President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party has been rolling out religious initiatives to woo sought-after Kurdish voters. Zaman looks at whether those efforts are paying off. 4. US-supported Afghan talks a gift to Ankara The planned intra-Afghan summit in Istanbul next month could give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the chance to rebuild some ties with Washington, writes Fehim Tastekin. Relations between the two NATO allies are strained, to say the least. Nearly two months into President Joe Bidens tenure, Erdogan has yet to receive a call from his new American counterpart. 5. Egypt and Somalia get cozy Relations between Egypt and Somalia are on the mend, as evidenced by the new Somali ambassador to Egypts meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week. One theory for Cairos recent outreach is Mogadishu's membership in the Arab League and African Union, both of which could sanction Ethiopia for building and filling the colossal Nile River dam Egypt opposes. One cool thing: West Bank palaces get a facelift The West Bank town of Arraba is working to renovate a set of palaces belonging to one of Palestines most powerful families in the 18th and 19th centuries, Ahmad Melhem reports. Check out the palaces and learn more about the family who built them. What were listening to: Healing Iraqs lost generation Sherri Kraham Talabany, president and executive director of the Iraqi Kurdistan-based SEED Foundation, talks to Amberin Zaman about her work rehabilitating young Yazidi boys in Iraq who were brainwashed and deployed as child soldiers by the Islamic State. ICYMI: The demise of Israeli democracy? Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, tells Ben Caspit that a decade of legislation targeting Israels rule of law, separation of powers, and system of checks and balances has undermined democracy in the Jewish state. Weve weathered the storm, Plesner says, but a Benjamin Netanyahu victory in next weeks election could change that. What were reading: Syrias war through the lens The camera was my way of breathing, writes Aboud Hamam, one of 16 Syrian photographers selected for this harrowing photo essay published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to mark 10 years since Syrias uprising. Hard Landing The last time I flew was a double to London on March 22 last year thats over and back twice. There were only ten passengers but I had no idea this was to be my last flight. I was told I would be laid off for April. This was extended and I remember thinking what am I going to do with myself for May? I had no idea my industry would be destroyed. I feel robbed. CityJet went into examinership and I was officially made redundant in August. I adored my job as chief instructor and had been busy putting together a course which I managed to get over the line with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) three weeks before everything went to pot. Some of my colleagues have already retrained but my flying career is my passion; I dont want to hang up my wings. Head in the clouds I grew up in Portmarnock, Dublin right in the flight path and perhaps there was something in that because I had an interest in flying from a very young age. I remember the flying lesson I got for my 15th birthday. It left from Knock to fly over my grandparents house in Mayo and they came out and waved. When I turned 16 I also got a flying lesson and I took more interest then in how to work the controls; I was hooked. I wanted to apply for the Aer Lingus cadetship but my mam told me to go to college so I would have something to fall back on. I went to Trinity to study medicinal chemistry where professor Luke ONeil kept 300 of us enthralled. I enjoyed my course but had no desire to work in a lab. The dream of becoming a pilot was niggling but first I needed to save money so I took a job as receptionist in a property development company in 2005. When an assistant property manager left, I took her role. I was gathering rent and dealing with the maintenance team. I liked it but was constantly looking up flight schools. Expand Close Grounded: Sarah Louise Gibbons, pilot and former chief instructor at CityJet / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Grounded: Sarah Louise Gibbons, pilot and former chief instructor at CityJet Flight paths cross in Tamangos One night in May 2006, I bumped into a college friend, Norman, in Tamangos nightclub and he told me he was heading off to South Africa to become a pilot. I pumped him for all the information and the next day rang the Dublin office of Sigmar Aviation. In March 2007, I headed off to Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape to do their jet pilot programme. I took to it right away and returned to Ireland a year later to get the rest of my qualification by flying in an European airspace. By the end of the year I had a job with CityJet. Norman was ahead of me in their training program and gave me advice for the interview. I was petrified but focused on the task at hand and kept in mind its a skills-based job. Shift work My rota was six days on and three days off. I would leave on day one and it could be one night in Florence, another in Edinburgh, in Paris and Zurich. Sometimes I didnt leave the hotel but often I would get in on a late flight and might take an early the next day so could end up in Paris or Florence and be finished at 10am with the day to explore. I was in my mid twenties and loving it. The shift work meant I needed to look after myself to stay balanced to eat and sleep well and be prepared for the day ahead. I keep those points in mind today. I always liked to say goodbye to the passengers. There was a generational reaction you would get. Younger people did not bat an eyelid but sometimes I would get an older woman saying good girl yourself or an older man saying was that really you driving this thing but it was all in jest. Training Days In 2015 I moved from first officer to captain this was always my goal and in 2016 I got involved in the training of new and existing pilots. For my last three years I was the chief instructor responsible for all the training pilots on my fleet and I adored figuring out the clearest way to pass on my knowledge. It was a real challenge and brilliant work. I did still fly but rarely did overnights for my last three years. This suited me as my dad, Paddy, was sick in 2019 and for the last six months of his life I could be around in the mornings and evenings which meant a lot to me. A typical week could be carrying out training on Monday and Tuesday, on Wednesday I would fly to London and the rest of the week might have meetings in the office. On a training day I would head to the simulator building at Dublin airport and meet the crew, usually a captain and first officer. Briefing takes an hour and a half. Then we are in the simulator for four hours where all sorts of emergency situations are thrown up. Afterwards, theres a 30-minute debrief. I have had a few technical issues in my time, a couple of engine failures, but I was so well rehearsed. There is a backup for everything the electricity, hydraulics, there are four engines - it is rarely going to turn out disastrous so you need not panic. Knowing the drill which is why training in the simulator twice a year for all pilots is crucial. Freefalling These days I set my alarm for 8.30am and do yoga with my online group two friends of mine, my friends sister and her sister-in-law who I have yet to meet in person; we are like a little community. We did the 30 days of yoga with Adrienne in January, February and March. I do the 20-minute videos and make sure I get my 10,000 steps in. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks, bake sourdough and grow veg. I do a bit of DIY all the jobs Ive been putting off are done. I visit my mum in Portmarnock twice a week. I always considered myself a positive person and now I know I am one but its so difficult. There is a term in flying called holding you dont have all the information, the destination ahead is closed, youre not sure where you are going and have no plan. This is what my life feels like. It feels like suspended living and there are so many people in my industry like me. Air travel has been demonised but its so much more than buckets and spades my brother came back from London for my dads two-year anniversary mass last year, two friends of mine went abroad for medical treatment recently. Its great the Government set up the unemployment payments to get people out of a mess but its not enough to pay my mortgage and bills. We need a recovery plan and I need to know how long I have to stay in the holding area. Do I need to be knocking on doors looking for a different job? If I am not working as a pilot, am I still a pilot? The Lawrence County Sheriffs Office says it has arrested a Hartselle man on child pornography charges. Jordan Pace, 21, was arrested Wednesday and is being held in the Lawrence County jail without bond. He is charged with possession of child pornography. According to court records, investigators found explicit images of a 16-year-old in Paces possession, in addition to images of himself that had been transmitted to her. The arrest came as a result of a collaborative investigation with the countys district attorneys office. The investigation is continuing, the department said in a statement. Sheriff Max Sanders thanked Lawrence County District Attorney Errek Jett and the Colbert County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Boris Johnson tonight revealed he will get the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine tomorrow as he attempted to calm fears about the jab's link to a rare type of blood clot in the brain. The Prime Minister insisted it was 'so important' that people get their injection as soon as they are invited, adding that the British-made vaccine was 'safe and effective'. He said it was 'reasonable' for people to want reassurance on vaccines, but pointed to findings from drug regulators in Britain and Europe which today confirmed the benefits of the jabs 'far outweigh any risks'. Mr Johnson told tonight's Downing Street press conference: 'It's so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes - and as it happens, I'm getting mine tomorrow... The Oxford jab is safe, the Pfizer jab is safe, what isn't safe is catching Covid.' More than a dozen EU countries - including France, Germany, Spain and Italy - have suspended the use of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine after reports of some people suffering blood clots after being vaccinated. The chief of Britain's medical regulator, Dr June Raine, who joined the PM at the podium tonight, said there was no evidence the vaccine is behind the cases. After the EMA's announcement a raft of European countries said they would soon resume vaccinations, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. However, despite the report, both Sweden and Norway have decided to keep a ban on the jab in place for a few more days. Italy became the first nation to announce a humiliating u-turn following the EMA's report, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi announcing this evening that it will be restarting the use AstraZeneca vaccines tomorrow afternoon. Draghi said in a statement today: 'The administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine will resume tomorrow. The government's priority remains to carry out as many vaccinations as possible in the shortest possible time.' Germany looks set to follow suit with the premier of the western region of Rhineland-Palatinate saying it is ready to resume administering the jab as soon as the Berlin gives the green light. Latvia and Lithuania will restart administering vaccinations Friday also, though Ireland will not be deciding its resumption schedule until tomorrow. The UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ruled today that only five vaccinated people in Britain have developed the blood clot, which affects the veins in the brain, out of 11million given the jab. One man died. But the regulator said there still isn't any proof of a link between the two and the risk of dying of Covid is at least 1,000 times higher for most people, meaning getting the vaccine is still the safest option by far. Medical bosses said the clots might have even been caused by Covid-19 itself but they didn't know. The risk of developing the condition, known as cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT), after vaccination appears to be one in 2.2million people. For comparison, the risk of being hit and killed by a meteorite is about one in 700,000, according to astronomer Professor Alan Harris, from the University of Leeds. CSVT is so rare, the MHRA said, that experts aren't even sure how common it is in the general population but none seem to be happening unusually often. The report also found that about one in a million people vaccinated so far in the UK have developed less serious blood clots, but said the rate was 'no different' when compared to unvaccinated people. The MHRA finding came as the Government was accused of 'overpromising' on the vaccine rollout after Matt Hancock finally admitted a delayed shipment from India is behind a shortage set to hit the UK. Frustrated Tories said No10 had got 'carried away' talking up an impending surge in supplies, with the Health Secretary having hailed the prospect of 'bumper' numbers of Britons being jabbed. Hopes of the scheme being extended to under-50s before May now seem to have evaporated. Meanwhile, Britain's daily coronavirus deaths have almost halved in a week and cases have dropped by seven per cent week-on-week, official figures revealed today. Department of Health data showed 95 Covid fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, which was a 47 per cent dip compared to the 181 registered last Thursday. And infections also dipped week-on-week after health chiefs announced a further 6,303. For comparison, there were 6,753 announced at the same time last week. Boris Johnson tonight revealed he will be get the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine tomorrow as he attempted to calm fears about the jab's link to blood clots More than a dozen EU countries have suspended their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while others including Austria have black-listed a particular batch over blood clot fears which the EMA has already played down even ahead of its final verdict Dr June Raine (left), MHRA chief executive, said there was 'no evidence that that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine' Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures Labour leader Keir Starmer (left) and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar meet staff outside a vaccine centre at the EICC in Edinburgh today. The Labour leader got the jab a few days ago European heavyweights Germany, France and Italy are now under pressure to immediately resume AstraZeneca jabs to restore confidence and attempt to salvage the EU's woeful vaccine roll-out. Scientists and regulators around the world including the World Health Organization have blasted the 'disorder' Europe has kicked up around the cases and say that the blood clots are probably just coincidence. With tens of millions of people getting vaccinated around the world, health problems were always certain to pop up and they are unlikely to be caused by jabs. The five people who developed clots were men aged 19 to 59 who experienced a clot together with low blood platelet count. One of the five has since died. In Europe medics had claimed the risk was higher for young women but no women are recorded in the UK's data, bolstering proof there is no direct link and the cases happen at random. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was looking at the reports but stressed the clotting events were still 'extremely rare'. It said people had less than a one in a million chance of developing one of the conditions. The fact they found five cases in 11million people suggests that if the cases were ever linked to the vaccine the risk was more like one in 2.2m, with one in 11m ending up fatal. So if the whole adult population were vaccinated, five people could die. The risk of dying of Covid-19 for someone in their 40s, by comparison, was around one in 1,000, the MHRA said the risk is higher for older people and lower for younger. So if all adults caught Covid with that as the average risk level, 55,000 people would die. The MHRA concluded that any link between the jab and clots is unproven and the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risks. Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: 'There is no evidence that that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine. EU TO GIVE VERDICT ON OXFORD JAB BLOOD CLOT FEARS EU leaders are poised to perform another vaccine U-turn today when safety experts who have backed the AstraZeneca product deliver their final verdict on the jab, after more than a dozen countries suspended shots over sporadic reports of blood clots. Countries including Germany, France and Italy will face pressure to immediately resume AstraZeneca jabs and revive the EU's floundering jab roll-out if the European Medicines Agency gives the green light again on Thursday. The EMA has already made clear that it believes the benefits of protecting millions against Covid-19 outweigh the risks of a handful of people developing blood clots which have no proven link to the AstraZeneca jab. But Thursday's decision will be a final ruling after a full investigation of the blood clot cases that have caused panic in EU capitals. The WHO and UK scientists have maintained that the vaccine is safe. The blood clot fiasco has added to the EU's vaccination chaos after supply problems, bureaucratic health systems and stashes of unused AstraZeneca shots left the bloc languishing behind Britain in the vaccine race. AstraZeneca's product was already struggling for popularity in Europe after top officials feuded with the firm in a post-Brexit row over supplies and then cast unfounded doubts on its efficacy in over-65s. The EU is threatening to block shipments to Britain as it plays hardball over supplies, prompting anger in Whitehall with cabinet minister Robert Jenrick saying today he was 'surprised and disappointed' by Brussels' stance. But Europe is struggling to shift the jabs that it does have - with former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb claiming that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. Now, the blood clot suspension has led to 200,000 fewer shots this week in Italy despite infections surging to their highest levels since early December, while France is teetering on the brink of a new lockdown. Advertisement 'We have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot in the cerebral veins (sinus vein thrombosis, or CSVT) occurring together with lowered platelets soon after vaccination. 'This type of blood clot can occur naturally in people who have not been vaccinated, as well as in those suffering from COVID-19. 'Given the extremely rare rate of occurrence of these CSVT events among the 11 million people vaccinated, and as a link to the vaccine is unproven, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, continue to outweigh the risks of potential side effects. 'You should therefore continue to get your jab when it is your turn.' She said the MHRA was continuing to investigate the issue. The type of clot cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) prevents blood from draining out of the brain. It is this type of clot that led Germany to halt its rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, prompting other countries across Europe to follow. Officials in Germany received six reports of CVST associated with low platelets all in younger to middle-age women. Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccine safety lead, said the blood clots were 'extremely rare' whereas vaccines were 'highly effective' in preventing death and hospital admission from Covid-19. 'Where we are now is that no proven causal association with what is still an extremely rare medical event has been proven for the AZ (AstraZeneca) vaccine, but we do know that these are highly effective vaccines,' he said. 'We still have a huge burden of Covid disease in the population. So right now the balance of benefits and known risks of the vaccine are favourable.' The MHRA said its overall review of all types of blood clots 'does not suggest that blood clots in veins (venous thromboembolism) are caused by Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.' It said a detailed review into the five cases of the blood clot in the cerebral veins occurring together with lowered platelets was ongoing. Dr Raine said while investigations were ongoing, as a precautionary measure, anyone with a headache that lasts for more than four days after vaccination, or bruising beyond the site of vaccination after a few days, should seek medical attention. 'However, please remember that mild flu-like symptoms remain one of the most common side effects of any Covid-19 vaccine, including headache, chills and fever,' Dr Raine said. 'These generally appear within a few hours and resolve within a day or two, but not everyone gets them.' Meanwhile, Matt Hancock today finally confirmed a delayed shipment from India is behind a Covid vaccine shortage that will hit the UK in April and lead to first doses being all but halted in Britain. Health Secretary Matt Hancock today confirmed India delayed a 'scheduled' UK delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Boris Johnson will hold a press conference at Downing Street today from 5pm (pictured, the PM on a visit to his constituency) Although the Serum Institute agreed to supply 10million doses of vaccine to the UK, Britain gets most of its AstraZeneca supplies from factories within the country. Most manufacturing is done in Keele and Oxford, with the finishing process completed in Wrexham in North Wales The Serum Institute of India's CEO, Adar Poonawalla, is pictured with No10's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in February, before news emerged of the deal that it would supply the UK with 10million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine HOW VACCINE TARGETS HAVE SHIFTED OVER TIME January 26 AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot predicted the UK would have vaccinated all over-50s by the end of March. February 5 Health Secretary Matt Hancock says all over-50s were expected to be vaccinated by early May. February 21 No10 announces a target of April 15 to have all over-50s vaccinated. March 9 Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says 'bumper weeks' of supply would accelerate the rollout in March. March 12 Senior Government sources say the vaccine rollout is ahead of schedule and over-40s would be offered a vaccine as early as April 4. March 17 Matt Hancock acknowledges a fall in supply of the vaccine but insists over-50s will still be vaccinated by April 15. Advertisement The UK was expecting another 5million doses of the Oxford-made vaccine from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, to complete its order for 10m but a 'scheduled' delivery of over 4m has been pushed back. Narendra Modi's government in New Delhi is in control of exports and blocked the shipment, the Serum Institute's CEO Adar Poonawalla said, to keep them for their own citizens with the country facing the prospect of a second wave. Mr Poonawalla said the company has committed only to helping the UK 'as and when it can'. Last month Mr Poonawalla asked other countries to 'be patient' and said it had been asked to 'prioritise the huge needs of India' and poorer nations. Coronavirus cases in India are currently at about a third of their peak 2020 levels and the foreign minister said in parliament this week that 'adequate availability at home' was top of its priority list, the Financial Times reported. Mr Hancock who last night dodged questions about the source of the shortage and insisted it was a 'standard' warning told the House of Commons today: 'We have a delay in the scheduled arrival from the Serum Institute of India.' And he said a further 1.7million doses of vaccines had been held up because experts had to 're-test its stability', although he did not say which vaccines this affected, nor when the delay happened or how long it was. Whitehall insiders have denied India purposely delayed the shipment in response to British criticism of allegations of Mr Modi's Government using force on farmers staging peaceful protests over proposed plans that workers fear would hurt their incomes. Panic about the UK's lockdown plans erupted last night when NHS officials wrote a letter to vaccine teams saying there would be a 'significant reduction' in supplies and they must all but stop giving out first doses next month. In the UK, a bump in AstraZeneca's vaccine was set to give ministers room to continue the roll-out and move onto jabbing over-40s, with pre-ordered supplies of AZ and Pfizer's jabs reserved for second doses. But the NHS is now not expecting to have any jabs to dish out to first-timers, stalling the rollout that has reached a massive 25million people already. A member of the UK's vaccine advisory group the JCVI, Professor Adam Finn, suggested the roadmap could be impacted by the hold-up. He said on Radio 4: 'The next phase phase two may kick off slightly later than we'd optimistically hoped.' Ministers have been desperate to reassure people this won't happen, however. Matt Hancock last night insisted the UK remains on track to hit its target of getting at least one dose to all adults who want one by the end of July. And Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sky News today: 'This isn't anything that people should be worried about. We are still on course to meet our targets... Nobody who has an appointment should be concerned, you are still going to get your second vaccine, all those appointments will be honoured.' The shortage came as Brussels issued a string of extraordinary threats to grab 'Europe's fair share' of vaccines from Britain. Whitehall sources were adamant, however, that any disruption to the UK's supply had nothing to do with the EU row. It comes as EU leaders are poised to perform another vaccine U-turn today when safety experts who have backed the AstraZeneca product deliver their final verdict on the jab, after more than a dozen countries suspended shots over sporadic reports of blood clots. Britain's drug regulator today revealed it has received five reports of a specific brain blood clot in people who had had the AstraZeneca vaccine but cautioned that no causal link has been found and there is no evidence blood clots are occurring more often than expected. The MHRA insisted the benefits outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so. ANN ARBOR, MI - Darryl Johnson asked members of the Ann Arbor School Board one by one, Will you demand transparency? Johnson was representing Ann Arbor Public Schools Black Parent & Student Support group at the Wednesday, March 17 board meeting, in his plea that board members and the district commit to making public the full results of an ongoing investigation into the racial climate at Pioneer High School. Several board members stressed they will demand transparency once results of the investigation are ready to be made public. This includes Trustee Susan Baskett, who said the report will finally provide the district with documentation about an allegedly racially hostile climate she has heard stories about for years. Baskett stressed those impacted by the climate should be willing to tell their stories to give the district an accurate picture of what that climate is like for Black students. This is the opportunity to finally document the happenings that have allegedly been happening in our district for years. I mean years, Baskett said. Until we get things documented, we cant address what we dont know. And if people are very sincere in wanting to address this, they will share their story. Johnson shared he was representing a number of community organizations who also are demanding the investigations results be made public. The investigation was initiated after a Black high school student filed a complaint in August 2020 with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights alleging she and other Black students face a racially hostile environment at Pioneer High. The complaint was filed in conjunction with a 14-page letter describing in detail the alleged racism the student and other Black students have faced at the school, and how it has interfered with their education. Another complaint was filed by a Pioneer student with the U.S. Department of Education alleging a teachers violations of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The student is represented by the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Michigan Law School, which interviewed numerous current and former Black Pioneer High students and students of color before filing the complaint on Aug. 24. Because AAPS hired a law firm, rather than a civil rights organization to conduct an investigation and make recommendations for change, Johnson said making the investigations results public is an important step in assuring the community a thorough investigation has been conducted. We ask that the redactions be limited to those necessary to ensure privacy and protection for sources who request privacy, Johnson said. I have to say as I read over the articles and the commentary from many students of Pioneer High, it brought me to tears. We do want you to know that the community is paying attention. In the 14-page letter, the student and other Pioneer students detail alleged racism experienced at the school, including how one specific teacher: Insulted Black students and their parents in front of the class. Humiliated Black students who are struggling in math by putting their grades on a Smart Board for all to see in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Is hostile to students who are members of the Black Student Union as well as its faculty advisers. Uses coded language against Black students, calling them criminals and delinquents. Refused to bring her class to the Black History Month assembly because it was a waste of time and complained that it didnt focus enough on how white people made contributions to Black people Touched Black students in a hostile manner without their consent. In February 2020, students petitioned the teacher be removed at Pioneer, arguing shes created an unsafe environment. Some Pioneer High School students were unhappy the teacher was allowed back in the classroom after a student was grabbed by the arm while trying to retrieve an assignment she missed, leading the teacher to being temporarily put on leave. Despite a police investigation that resulted in no charges being authorized by the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office, students believe the incident was an example of the teachers inappropriate handling of a Black student in the classroom. The district is taking an in-depth approach regarding the investigation and that the district will process this with the community in the appropriate way, Superintendent Jeanice Swift said. Our commitment is to ensure that every student - those students at Pioneer High School and every student in the district - has a safe and welcoming and warm environment to learn in, where they feel valued and respected and celebrated, Swift said. That includes every child in this district. Board President Bryan Johnson urged that the community remain patient as the district goes through the process of a thorough investigation. Like Baskett, Johnson asked that those who have a story to share about the racial climate at Pioneer High speak out. We understand that there are issues in Ann Arbor Public Schools and have been pretty open about our desire to work on those, Johnson said. People have to show up and speak out about anything that happened. READ MORE: Black student alleges racially hostile environment at Ann Arbor high school in civil rights complaint Community asks investigation into racially hostile environment at Ann Arbor high school be made public Students raise issue with Pioneer High School teacher who grabbed students arm Gofer Ice Cream Gofer Ice Cream is burrowing" deeper into Connecticut with the announcement of its eighth location. Gofer Franchise Systems LLC. announced in a release that it will be opening a new location on 407 Main Street in Ridgefield. The location is expected to open in the early summer of 2021. A group of principals from the Special Schools Leadership Group are co-designing the programme (Peter Byrne/PA) Rapid Covid testing is to be introduced to all special schools in Northern Ireland, the Education Authority has confirmed. It follows a successful pilot scheme which has been running in five schools since the start of February, and the testing will continue until the end of June. The non-invasive saliva-based LAMP (Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) test is designed to find asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases so they can be isolated, along with their contacts, as quickly as possible, therefore reducing the risk of transmission of Covid-19 in schools. The programme is sponsored by the Department of Health and the Department of Education and the Education Authority (EA) and the Public Health Agency (PHA) are working in partnership with Queens University, Belfast to deliver the testing programme to all special schools. A group of principals from the Special Schools Leadership Group are co-designing the programme and representing the views of the schools in the programme management structures. Dr Joanne McClean, Consultant in Public Health Medicine with the PHA, said the sacrifices made during this lockdown are now making a difference, and the scheme will arrive at a time when infection rates have dropped significantly. That combined with the roll out of the vaccination programme provide many reasons to be hopeful, but testing and following the public health advice remains as important as ever if we are to have better times ahead, she said. The roll out of testing across special schools will help find pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic cases who can then be advised to isolate at home to reduce the risk of spread in the school, so providing protection for others. Regular testing will continue to be important as the rollout of vaccination continues because, while the vaccine offers excellent individual protection from the virus, no vaccine is 100% effective so a proportion of vaccinated individuals may remain vulnerable. In addition, while the vaccine may stop a person becoming sick, it is possible that a vaccinated individual may still become infected and spread the infection without realising they have it. Finding and isolating people who test positive in a timely manner allows us to quickly provide advice and support to these individuals and anyone they may have been in contact with. Regular testing is an additional measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19. It does not replace all the other measures that are in place to reduce transmission, Dr McClean continued. Covid-19 is still a threat and we need everyone to play their part in helping to stop the virus spreading. Stay at home and reduce your contacts, maintain social distancing when possible, wash your hands regularly, wear a face covering when required and get tested if you display any symptoms of coronavirus even if you are taking part in regular testing programmes. If you receive a positive test result or have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, you will be contacted by the PHAs Contact Tracing Service and will be required to self-isolate. The advice is simple, but it is there for a reason to help keep us and those around us safe. Dont take unnecessary risks, exercise common sense, and take every step available to help protect yourself, your loved ones and the community. Kim Scott, assistant director at the Education Authority, said that while the scheme will be voluntary, all staff, and pupils will be encouraged to take part. In special schools there is a high ratio of teachers to pupils and social distancing cannot be adhered to, because of the specialised hands on support pupils need. Weekly rapid testing will be a vital tool to keep special schools open and functioning effectively for the rest of the school year. The programme will give staff in special schools more confidence in providing face to face teaching and improve pupil attendance levels, she said. The benefit children and families get from special school is very significant. There are a range of therapies that are only available in school, which support childrens access to educational provision. The routine of regular attendance at school is also a protective factor for many children. Many special schools across Northern Ireland have been operating on a part-time basis to ensure the safety of staff and pupils. Despite the Department guidance that hey should remain open for pupils to attend. How the test works Because children and young people in special schools have a range of complex needs a non-invasive saliva-based test called LAMP (Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) is being used. The test is highly effective in identifying positive Covid-19 cases, even in asymptomatic cases and results can be given in a matter of hours. How the testing process works: Pupils will receive a testing kit to take home consisting of a sample container with a barcode and two clear plastic bags. Pupils spit a small amount of saliva into the container and parents put the container into the two bags. Some pupils may have difficulty in providing a saliva sample in this way, so a small pipette is also provided. This can be used to take a small amount of saliva from inside of cheek. The samples are brought back to schools on a designated testing day. They are then transported by EA to the laboratory in the QUB School of Pharmacy. Test samples are only identifiable by a barcode. If your test is negative, you will be informed by the school each week that Covid-19 was not detected in your test result. If your test is positive you will be contacted by your school principal. You and your close contacts will need to self-isolate for 10 days and your details will be passed onto PHA contact tracing service, which is standard process of any positive Covid-19 case. Ethiopian Refugees Crossing - Hamadayet Border The Hamadayet border crossing, where refugees from Ethiopia cross the river into Sudan. New arrivals take whatever belongings they can carry with them, some have their livestocks and others left with nothing. ADDIS ABABA - The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy has reaffirmed second round filling of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in the coming rainy season and refuted the unfair claim of monopoly over the Nile waters. Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister, Engineer Sileshi Bekele (Ph.D) said that Ethiopia is negotiating for equitable and reasonable water utilization without causing significant harm to the downstream countries as unfair claim of the entire Nile waters and protecting the status quo would cause significant harm on its effort for development. Sileshi further noted that the repeated narrative of Egypt and Sudan claiming that Ethiopia unilaterally filled the dam in the rainy season of 2020 is superficial. He added that the three countries have agreed as the stage-based construction of the dam is inseparable from the stage-based filling of the dam. The second round filling of the dam retaining 13.5 billion meter cube will proceed in the coming Ethiopian rainy season. The dam fulfills all safety standards and is appreciated by experts of the downstream countries, he noted. Ethiopia is committed to conclude the trilateral negotiation under the auspices of the African Union. The project has significant economic value for the East Africa by resolving the shortage of power supply and generating notable income. GERD facilitates regional economic integration in power pool and build trust among the riparian countries. GERD Manager Engineer Kifle Horo on his part indicated that 78.8 percent of the project has been completed. The second round filling and energy generating trial are next milestones of the project. The Ethiopian herald march 18/2021 Posted by Jay on at 10:31 AM CST Marvel has sent out solicitations for their June 2021 titles, including 6comics and 3 trade paperbacks!(of 5)Charles Soule (W) STEVE McNIVEN (A/C)VARIANT COVER BY LEINIL FRANCIS YUVARIANT COVER BY PEPE LARRAZVARIANT COVER BY SARA PICHELLIWRAPAROUND VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLIPRIDE VARIANT COVER BY BABS TARRACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERTRADING CARD VARIANT BY JOHN CASSADAYAT WAR FOR THE GREATEST PRIZE OF ALL: HAN SOLO!THE HUNT BEGINS! Nobody. Steals. From BOBA FETT! The notorious bounty hunter will not stop until he gets whats rightfully his. For the thief, no corner of the galaxy is safe. Good thing for them that the REBEL ALLIANCE, THE EMPIRE and every bounty hunter in the galaxy is standing in Bobas way. With a last-page reveal that will blow this Death Starsized story wide open, Issue #1 is just the beginning. The biggest crossover in STAR WARS history will continue raging through the pages of the WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS event miniseries and tie-in to STAR WARS, DOCTOR APHRA, DARTH VADER and BOUNTY HUNTERS through October. Only one hunter will be left standing, and the STAR WARS galaxy will never be the same!40 PGS./Rated T $4.99ETHAN SACKS (W) PAOLO VILLANELLI (A)COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLIPRIDE VARIANT COVER BY TBALUCASFILM 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSETHE WOOKIEE ALWAYS WINS! Hot on the trail of BOBA FETT, VALANCE and DENGAR run into a rather large obstaclethe mighty CHEWBACCA! Will TONGA escape the trap set by a mysterious organization out to upend the underworld? And who is the figure in the shadows hunting them all?!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99CHARLES SOULE (W) RAMON ROSANAS (A)Cover by CARLO PAGULAYANPRIDE VARIANT Cover BY TBALUCASFILM 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT Cover BY CHRIS SPROUSEVARIANT COVER BY JAVIER RODRIGUEZACTION FIGURE VARIANT Cover BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERWAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS TIE-IN! The REBELS finally have a lead on the location of HAN SOLO! Its time to save the captain of the MILLENNIUM FALCON from his frozen carbonite tomb! A general, a Jedi and a Wookiee will mount a desperate rescue mission... But they have no idea what actually awaits them.32 PGS./Rated T $3.99GREG PAK (W) RAFFAELE IENCO (A)Cover by AARON KUDERPRIDE VARIANT COVER BY TBALUCASFILM 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSEDARK LORD VS. DARK DROID! DARTH VADER and OCHI OF BESTOON embark upon a search for the carbonite-frozen body of HAN SOLO. Get ready for intrigue, betrayal and action in the heart of HUTT SPACE with the explosive reappearance of EVERYONES FAVORITE ASSASSIN DROID, IG-88! And a shocking cliffhanger brings the shadows to life!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99ALYSSA WONG (W) MINKYU JUNG (A)COVER BY SARA PICHELLILUCASFILM 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSEPRIDE VARIANT COVER BY TBAMYSTERIES ABOUND ABOARD A DURGE-ANGED SHIP! DOCTOR APHRA and SANA STARROS discover an eerie abandoned ship while on a new mission from DOMINA TAGGE. But on board they will come face-to-face with a nightmarish horror not seen in the galaxy for untold eons. And then theres .THE FEARSOME BOUNTY HUNTER DURGE!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99CAVAN SCOTT (W) GEORGES JEANTY (A) Cover by PHIL NOTOVARIANT COVER BY PEACH MOMOKOPRIDE VARIANT COVER BY JAVIER GARRONHEART OF THE DRENGIR! The REPUBLIC FRONTIER in crisis! The JEDI of STARLIGHT BEACON join forces with their most feared enemy to face the terror of the unstoppable DRENGIR horde. AVAR KRISS and her new allies fight nightmarish creatures on a harsh lava world. Can young Jedi KEEVE TRENNIS save her former master from the darkness? And, who or what is the GREAT PROGENITOR?!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99Written by ALYSSA WONGPenciled by RAY-ANTHONY HEIGHT, ROBERT GILL & MINKYU JUNGCover by JOSHUA SWAY SWABYThe sinister Domina Tagge has put a price on Doctor Aphras head! Now Aphra finds herself running for her life, trying to shake every bounty hunter on her tail. But one of those hunters is Aphras angry ex Sana Starros and for Sana, its personal! Aphra cant outthink Domina or outrun Sana so what choice does she have left? Perhaps locating a mysterious piece of tech that could shift the balance of the galactic civil war? Aphras desperate hunt takes her to Corellia but unfortunately for her, thats right on Sanas doorstep. And our roguish doctor isnt the only one with an eye on this prize! Now, with the Unbroken Clan on their tails, Aphra and Sana are on a collision course with another of the galaxys deadliest bounty hunters! Collecting STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA (2020) #6-10.112 PGS./Rated T $15.99ISBN: 978-1-302-92305-1Trim size: 6-5/8 x 10-3/16Written by SCOTT ALLIE, MIKE KENNEDY, RYDER WINDHAM, RANDY STRADLEY, JAN STRNAD, RON MARZ, HENRY GILROY, TIM TRUMAN, MARK SCHULTZ & MOREPenciled by MAHMUD ASRAR, LUCAS MARANGON, RAMON BACHS, DAVIDE FABBRI, ANTHONY WINN, JOHN NADEAU,JAN DUURSEMA, RODOLFO DAMAGGIO, STEVE CRESPO, GALEN SHOWMAN, ROBERT TERANISHI, MARTIN EGELAND & MORECovers by RAMON BACHS & HUGH FLEMINGThe road to The Phantom Menace! Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn has a close encounter with the Dark Side while trying to prevent a civil war! And can Qui-Gon and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi deal with an out-of-control cloud cruiser and the lawless world of Ord Mantell? As Mace Windus Jedi Knights face the deadly threat of the Yinchorri, Darth Maul strikes from the shadows cutting down all obstacles in his mysterious masters way! And meet teenage Queen Padme Amidala and young Anakin Skywalker a boy with a dark destiny! Collecting STAR WARS: JEDI THE DARK SIDE #1-5; STAR WARS: QUI-GON & OBI-WAN THE AURORIENT EXPRESS #1-2; STAR WARS: QUI-GON & OBI-WAN LAST STAND ON ORD MANTELL #1-3; STAR WARS: JEDI COUNCIL ACTS OF WAR #1-4; STAR WARS (1998) #0-6; STAR WARS: DARTH MAUL (2000) #1-4; STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE #1/2 and #1-4; STAR WARS: EPISODE I ANAKIN SKYWALKER, QUEEN AMIDALA, QUI-GON JINN and OBI-WAN KENOBI and material from STAR WARS TALES #1, #3, #5, #7, #9-10, #13-14, #20 and #24.1000 PGS./Rated T $125.00ISBN: 978-1-302-93209-1Trim size: 7-1/4 x 10-7/8Written by CHARLES SOULE, CHRIS ELIOPOULOS & CHUCK WENDIGPenciled by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, CHRIS ELIOPOULOS & LEONARD KIRKCovers by MIKE DEODATO JR. & GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLILord Vader rise! In the wake of Revenge of the Sith, follow Vader as he ascends to power as a Dark Lord of the Sith! Having lost everything dear to him and now more machine than man, Vader takes his first steps into a darker world beginning by eradicating the galaxys remaining Jedi! But librarian Jocasta Nu is making a desperate effort to preserve the Jedi legacy, and the stirrings of a rebellion have begun in the Mon Cala system! To ensure the Emperors grip on the galaxy is absolute, Vader must deal swiftly and brutally with any uprisings but he has a goal of his own. And as darkness rises above Mustafar, the scene of Vaders greatest defeat, will the man once called Anakin Skywalker realize his true destiny? Collecting DARTH VADER (2017) #1-25 and ANNUAL #2..624 PGS./Rated T $100.00ISBN: 978-1-302-93173-5Trim size: 7-1/4 x 10-7/8 President Joe Biden plans to act soon to boost the number of refugees admitted into the country, his chief of staff told progressive lawmakers Wednesday. Chief of Staff Ron Klain made the commitment in a White House meeting with members of the House Demoratic Progressive Caucus, who hold a strong hand in the narrowly divided chamber, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's majority trimmed to just three votes. Klain told the lawmakers he would boost the cap soon, Politico playbook reported, while also telling them more needs to be done at the border, according to CPC chair Rep. Pramila Jaypal (D-Wash.). The administration is rushing to get new facilities online amid a crush of unaccompanied children at the border. White House chief of staff Ron Klain met with progressive lawmakers Wednesday and told them a boost to the number of refugees allowed into the country would be announced soon President Biden and his team have blamed the Trump administration for dismantling the nation's immigration system during the previous four years. 'They want to speed that up. They want to more quickly work on a solution, and we all understood the importance of that,' she said. Biden plans to boost the annual cap on refugees to 62,500 for the current fiscal year, Reuters reported in early February. That is a boost from just 15,000 set by Trump. Broken down by region, that would make spots for 22,000 refugees from Africa, 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 6,000 from East Asia, 4,000 from Europe and Central Asia, and 13,000 from South Asia plus 12,500 unallocated spots. Others attending the confab included Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), and Barbara Lee (Calif.), according to the report. Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jaypal received reassurances on immigration and other issues from the White House President Biden is expected to dramatically boost the number of refugee slots allowed each year, but a formal announcement is waiting The number is expected to jump to 125,000 slots for the next fiscal year. But despite sourced reports about the numbers, Biden's team has made no official announcement, as some Democratic lawmakers have noted. 'I think they ought to put out a public assessment of where they are on these issues because people have different views based on different facts,' Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, the Huffington Post reported. The administration's assurances on refugees come as the situation on the border continues to serve as both a severe logistical and political challenge, as the government scrambles to handle the influx. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that advisors who have visited the border have provided President Joe Biden with detailed briefings 'with photos' on the conditions inside government holding facilities at the border. She provided the detail amid an uproar over a flood of unaccompanied children at the border with the government holding more than 3,000 of them beyond the three days set by law inside Customs and Border Patrol facilities. Psaki was asked at her daily press briefing why Biden did not have plans to visit the border amid the immigration surge. 'Because his focus is on action,' said Psaki, a day after Biden said he didn't have plans to go 'at the moment.' She said Biden has been briefed on conditions by his team, including officials who traveled there in recent days. 'He talks to plenty of officials. He also has received a briefing with photos, and directly from his team that went and visited the border,' she said. She then confirmed to DailyMail.com that Biden has specifically been shown photographs from inside facilities where unaccompanied children are being held upon arrival. The administration has confirmed in some cases they are held for more than the three days that federal law limits for such facilities. 'Yes that was part of the briefing he received when his team came back,' she said. Psaki bristled when DailyMail.com asked whether Biden approved of what he saw and if conditions looked okay to him. 'I certainly did not say that. The Border Patrol facilities are not facilities made for children. He is committed to expediting the processing at the border - one of the reasons he wanted a briefing from people who have been in there so he can see himself, what it looks like,' she said. Killeen, TX (76540) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Williams was supposed to serve 48 years in prison for the crime, but he was released three weeks ago after serving just half of his time. He initially moved in with family in the Crystal Lake area but left after residents circulated a petition to force him out. Relatives also reported being threatened and harassed. Page Content Gov. Brian Kemp issued an March 12 Executive Ordereffective through March 31that eliminates many of the requirements for businesses that were present in past executive orders but keeps in place an assortment of the provisions from the executive orders issued the last few months of 2020. What do employers need to know about this new order, and what should you do as you reopen and operate your business? Latest Order Compared to Past Orders The March 12 Executive Order eliminates many of the requirements from past orders as vaccines are rolling out nationwide. For example, bars in Georgia, if licensed according to O.C.G.A. 3-1-2(2.1), no longer have a 50-person or 35 percent limit on occupancy, no longer fall under their own category of COVID-19 mitigation measures, and now must merely comply with the Georgia requirements for restaurants. The March 12 Executive Order also greatly reduces the requirements for restaurants (and bars), eliminating the explicit requirement that employee workstations be six feet apart, the prohibition on handshaking, limits on the number of persons in breakrooms, the emphasis on reservation-only and call-ahead service, and general social distancing guidelines, though seating must still be six feet apart or separated by partitions. Other businesses in an office setting and most other businesses not named in the March 12 Executive Order also see the elimination of distancing requirements between employee workstations. What Should Employers Do? As we advised employers to do when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its COVID-19 guidance, employers should still follow the stricter guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) applicable to their workplaceseven as more workers and members of the public get vaccinated. As discussed in detail here, OSHA just adopted a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on COVID-19. Given the increased resources OSHA will use under the NEP to enforce existing safety standards and the Occupational Safety and Health Act's general duty clause, employers should follow a five-step plan now to prepare for a visit from OSHA, including adopting a written COVID-19 Policy. The model Virginia COVID-19 response plan is a good starting point for preparing a COVID-19 plan that would comply with federal OSHA's guidance. Conclusion Despite Georgia eliminating certain state-specific requirements related to COVID-19 mitigation, the pandemic is not over, and all employers should continue to monitor and improve worker safety as they continue to bring more employees back to the workplace in the coming months. J. Micah Dickie is an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Atlanta. 2021 Fisher Phillips. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission. CAIRO Political relations are rapidly changing in the Middle East and Africa including Egyptian-Somali relations, which seem to have chilled with the neutral Somali position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis. On March 8, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received the new Somali ambassador to Egypt, Ilyas Sheikh Omar. On the same day, Omar issued a statement expressing Somalias willingness to initiate a rapprochement with Egypt. It is a great honor on this historic day to present my credentials to President Sisi, Omar said at the beginning of his statement. He subsequently conveyed his countrys keenness to strengthen relations with Egypt and work in various fields through the activation of the memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries in 2015 and 2019 in the fields of health, education, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, and trade. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued March 5 a statement in which it expressed Egypts condemnation of the suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, that targeted a popular restaurant on March 4 and killed and wounded more than 50 people. The statement stressed Egypts solidarity with Somalias efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in order to restore security. Since 2020, Al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization in Kenya and Somalia, has been intensifying its operations in Somalia against civilians and the Somali army. Many observers believe that Egypts solidarity with Somalia in the efforts to combat terrorism at a time when many Arab and African countries paid no heed is evidence of Egypts intentions to provide support to Somalia in the face of extremist and terrorist groups. Zakaria Othman, a former researcher at the Arab and African Research Center, told Al-Monitor that the transfer of Egyptian expertise to African countries in the field of combating terrorism has become a basic pillar of Egyptian foreign policy. He said the Egyptian support to African countries in their fight against terrorism is becoming more important by the day in light of Egypts progress in that field, as terrorist operations have almost completely disappeared after they had been significantly spreading since 2013." Othman said what proves Egypts keenness to transfer its experience in combating terrorist and extremist groups is its signing of military cooperation agreements with Sudan and strategic and security cooperation agreements with South Africa. However, strengthening cooperation and consolidating relations with Somalia specifically through the transfer of security expertise in the field of combating terrorism or increasing economic cooperation may acquire special importance for Egypt compared to other African countries, given that Somalia overlooks the Ethiopian border. Since 2012, Ethiopia has been engaged in the longest and most complex conflict with Egypt over the conditions for filling and operating the GERD and its impact on Egypts share of the Nile water. Egypt has boosted in recent years its ties with Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Eritrea, all of which border Ethiopia. Media outlets published in 2020 unconfirmed reports that there were Egyptian efforts to establish military bases in South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia. These reports came despite the fact that Sisi has repeatedly stressed that Egypt excluded the military option in dealing with the GERD crisis and emphasized that the crisis with Addis Ababa is a long-term negotiating crisis. For his part, an Egyptian researcher specializing in African affairs at the Democratic German Center (a nongovernmental organization) told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Egypts endeavor to expand its influence among Ethiopias neighbors, including Somalia, is not aimed at using the neighbors lands as military bases or for any military purpose as some might be inclined to think. He pointed out that Ethiopia's neighbors, including Somalia, are members of the Arab League and/or the African Union, and they can support any sanctions against Ethiopia through their membership in the two unions if Ethiopia keeps insisting on filling and operating the dam without an agreement with Egypt and Sudan. He added, Even if Egypt will not succeed in pushing any regional body or countries to impose sanctions on Ethiopia, gaining actionable support from its neighbors for both Egypt and Sudan can impact Addis Ababa's economic and trade ambitions, as Ethiopia is a landlocked country that relies heavily on Somali or Eritrean ports for trade. Also if [Ethiopias] neighbors stop importing electricity from Ethiopia, the dam will lose much of its expected profits, putting another pressure on Addis Ababa, especially since Egypt had announced its intentions to build power stations in Somalia, Eritrea and South Sudan. In March 2020, Somalias Foreign Ministry said in an official statement that Somalia and Djibouti have taken neutral stances regarding the conflict between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the operation and filling of the GERD. The ministry said Somalia is ready to participate in resolving the conflict only as a mediator to calm the tensions between the three countries. In 2020, Egypt managed to have several regional and global official decisions and statements issued against Addis Ababas intention to unilaterally fill the dam. Chief among these was a March 2020 statement by the Arab League. The statement was signed by all members, except for three that included Somalia amid alleged tension between Egypt and Somalia due to rumors whereby Egyptian authorities are establishing contacts with the authorities of Somaliland, which is a separate region from the legitimate government of Somalia. In this regard, Abdul Aziz al-Karsi, a Somali security expert who specializes in Horn of Africa affairs, said in press statements back in April 2020 that both Turkish media outlets and Somali journalists loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood, an ally of Turkey, have played a pernicious role in promoting rumors of Egypts intention to recognize Somaliland with the aim of establishing a military base there. Although he partially agrees on the importance of Somalia for Egypt in the GERD crisis, Karsi believes that by boosting its ties with Somalia, Egypt is mainly seeking to curtail the expansion of Turkish influence in Somalia. Turkey opened one of its largest military bases in Mogadishu amid mounting fears over the secret use of that base to support the Houthis in Yemen to please Iran, which is an ally of Turkey, or the Muslim Brotherhood, which began to approach the Houthi militia, he added. Egypt is seeking to maintain or expand its cooperation with Somalia in the face of Turkish influence in several fields other than the military and economic fields. On Jan. 24, the Egyptian Ministry of Education celebrated the return of its missions to Somalia and the reopening of its schools at a time when Turkey opened many schools in Somalia as well. CLEVELAND, Ohio The Cleveland Institute of Music wont be on the market for a new leader anytime soon. On Thursday, the school underscored its confidence in president and chief executive Paul Hogle by announcing the extension of his contract by seven years, through June 2028. The move comes as the institute, commonly known as CIM, celebrates its 100th anniversary. CIM enters its second century with incredible energy, and in extending president Hogles contract, the board has taken an important step to ensure the institutes future, said Susan Rothmann, chair of CIMs board of directors. In a detailed announcement, Rothmann supported the decision with a lengthy outline of Hogles accomplishments since his arrival in 2016. She and Hogle also were quick to share credit, noting the work of every member of the CIM community and its community partners. During Hogles tenure, the school said, the endowment has grown and annual fund giving has consistently broken records. The school also has maintained a balanced budget, even as it has lowered tuition and increased scholarships. On the academic front, CIM received full accreditation in 2018, launched a Center for Innovative Musicianship, reduced the size of the student body, and made several significant additions to the faculty, including members of the Cleveland Orchestra. Last year, it also completed a highly-visible construction project, a residence hall full of suites and high-tech practice rooms. CIM also has emerged as a leader in addressing the chronic lack of diversity in classical music, making focused efforts to recruit Black and Latinx students and partnering with the Sphinx Organization to find and nurture pre-college students from those communities. Chris Ronayne, president and chief executive of University Circle, Inc., said Hogle has taken CIM to the next level and added so much to the vibrancy of University Circle For his part, Hogle said hes only looking to the future. His vision for school, he said, is to advance down the path its already on and continue serving as an engaged, responsive member of the community beyond CIMs campus. Hogle came to Cleveland in 2016 from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he served as executive vice president. Outside CIM, he has served on the boards of University Circle, Inc. and the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education. With this letter by Jens Spahn, the vaccine disaster in the EU began It is THE central document of the vaccination disaster. A letter proves that the German Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (40, CDU) and his counterparts in France, Italy, and the Netherlands had to hand over the procurement of the life-saving vaccine to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (62). They had to humbly apologize for their efforts to obtain the vaccine. This letter is exclusively available to BILD. BILD has learned that both Chancellor Angela Merkel (66, CDU) and von der Leyen considered it important that the Letter by Spahn and his colleagues should sound as humble as possible. The background is that Spahn and his colleagues had jointly tried to procure a sufficient amount of the vaccine for all Europeans. Merkel, however, wanted to make the procurement, as a big gesture, a matter of the EU. The result is that the EU has failed disastrously to procure enough vaccine in time for all Europeans. Auch Interessant The letter says: Unfortunately, the parallel approach of the Alliance caused concerns. Therefore we believe that it is of utmost importance to have a common single and joint approach towards the various pharmaceutical companies () We also agree that speed is of the essence in this case. So we deem it very useful if the COM [Commission] takes the lead in this process. Of course, we are more than willing to continue our further support and expertise. The first page of the letter, with letterhead Foto: Kein Credit and the second page with the signatures of the four ministers Foto: Kein Credit Almost apologetically, the four Ministers of Health write that they have not started negotiations on the funding agreement of Astra Zeneca so far. Moreover: We would very much welcome if the COM were to take forward these negotiations. BILD has learned that, as early as June 2020, the four ministers had serious doubts about the EUs ability to procure sufficient amounts of the vaccine in time. However, they were urged by their respective governments i.e. in Germany, Angela Merkel to hand over the process to Ursula von der Leyen. What is striking: in contrast to the present claim by the EU, the chancellery, and Spahn, the letter at no point concerns negotiating good prices for the vaccine or preventing any vaccine nationalism. In contrast to the present portrayal of the matter, such considerations apparently played no role in the handing over to the EU. All four ministers signed the letter in person. Then the vaccine disaster took its course Lawmakers have called on the Government and the Police to launch an urgent investigation into the killing incident that took place at Sanyang in Kombo South District, West Coast Region. Sanyang, a village about 43 kilometers away from the country's capital, Banjul, was on Monday the epicenter of violent scenes as a mob, mainly youths, attacked and burned down the village's police station and a Chinese fishmeal company following the death of one Gibril Ceesay. Lawmakers made the clarion call on Wednesday 17th March 2021, while commenting on the statement about the incident issued by the Member for Kiang Central, Bakary Camara. Delivering an oral statement on the unfortunate incident, Camara urged the police through the Ministry of Interior to launch an urgent investigation into the matter. Camara also urged that after the completion of the investigation, the outcome should be made public so that people will know the events and factors that led to such aggravated anger and destruction. He explained that most of the people involved in the incident are youth, which the government should take note of and interest in because they are the cream of the country. The lawmaker stressed that the government should stop, what he described as, 'lip service' to youth empowerment and be committed to creating concrete opportunities for the youth so that they become useful members of society. "Unlawful killing such as the Sanyang incident is becoming common in the country. Just three months ago, three young people were stabbed to death at Joko Night Club in Brikama, and there was another heinous and mysterious killing of individuals in Niamina East. Up till now, nothing concrete has come out of the killings," he said. He said what happened in Sanyang must not continue and that the only way that it can be addressed is to ensure there is justice, adding when the root causes of the incident are adequately addressed, such things would never happen again. Intervening on the statement, Halifa Sallah, Member for Serrekunda, said life is the most precious thing that an individual possess and that when life is loss, the whole world should be concerned. He said the Human Rights Committee of the Assembly should take interest in the matter to establish "what actually is happening and what has happened." "We should not presume because there is always a presumption of innocence when you deal with issue of crimes. But essentially, we should take interest because it went beyond an individual, to deal with community, resources and lives and property. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "So in that regard, we should try to find out what actually happened? Why it was enlarged to such a level and what we can do to address the root cause of the problem rather than just placated?" he said. Kebba Jallow, Member for Jarra Central, said from indications, the Police are on course in their investigations into the matter to bring the culprit into book and ensure that justice is served. He however called on the youth not to take the law into their hands. Sainey Touray, Member for Jarra East, said it is the duty of the government to protect its citizens especially when life is involved. He urged the government not to delay the delivery of justice in the matter, adding justice delayed is justice denied. Omar Ceesay, Member for Niamina East, reminded the national assembly that, three people were killed in his constituency recently and noting has been done about those killings. Nonetheless, he joined his colleagues to call for the government to thoroughly investigate the killing incident in Sanyang and come up with a comprehensive report on the issues as to how justice can be served. Alagie S Darboe, Member for Brikama North, condemned the killing and pleaded for the Police to be fully equipped so that they can be able to put an end to such unlawful acts in the country. Fatoumatta Jawara, Member for Tallinding, while condemning the incident at Sanyang, called on the youth of the village to remain calm and allow the law enforcement authorities to execute their work effectively and efficiently on this issue. Fatoumatta Njai, Member for Banjul South, urged the government to invest in youth empowerment initiatives, saying youth ought to be prioritized in national building process and activities. Russian scientists dropped the one of world's largest underwater space telescope into Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. The experts conducted their latest experiment on Saturday, Mar. 13. Giant Space Telescope Submerged Thousands of Feet Below World's Deepest Lake Baikal, The deep underwater telescope, designed to observe neutrinos, the smallest particles currently known. pic.twitter.com/1TuBjgJGoL evriWorks (@evriWorks) March 16, 2021 According to France 24's latest report, the huge underwater telescope was developed way back in 2015. This gadget is specifically designed to observe the smallest particles called neutrinos. However, the Russian researchers didn't confirm what they saw below Lake Baikal as their main goal is to study the elusive subatomic particles that are extremely difficult to find. The scientists explained that the tiny particles are hard to spot since they usually pass right through matter without leaving a trace. Here are the features of the big underwater space telescope that is helping researchers observe neutrinos to give you more idea. Features of the massive underwater telescope One of the world's largest underwater space telescope is called Baikal-GVD, which is short for Baikal Gigaton Volume Detector. It is a neutrino telescope that measures half a cubic kilometer. Unlike other telescopes, it has a spherical shape covered with wires. Also Read: Scientists Develop Way to Detect Deepfake Videos by Looking at Eye Light It was able to reach a depth of 750 to 1,300 meters or 2,500 to 4,300 feet. This distance is around four kilometers from the lake's shore. According to Gizmodo's latest report, this telescope looks like a crystal ball, with circuitry visible through the clear glass sphere. The Russian experts explained that it has the ability to detect neutrinos about a third-mile away in any direction. Dmitry Naumov, a scientist of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, claimed that they would further improve the huge telescope's capability in the future. He said that they would make efforts to double its scope. "Of course, Lake Baikal is the only lake where you can deploy a neutrino telescope because of its depth," Bair Shoibonov, another researcher of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, via Gizmodo. "Fresh water is also important, water clarity too. And the fact that there is ice cover for two, two and a half months is also very important," he added. Why studying neutrinos is important Experts said that neutrinos are hard to find since they can easily slice through most objects and other matter. You can compare it with slicing a melted butter. However, the researchers said that they sometimes leave evidence when passing through water. On the other hand, they explained that it is important to study the behavior and other characteristics of neutrinos since they can help various experts understand why there is more matter than antimatter. If you want to know more details, all you need to do is click here. For more news updates about the one of the world's largest underwater space telescope and its upcoming experiments, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: This Photog Spends 12 Years Capturing Milky, Thanks to a Legendary Lens! How to Do It Using Smartphone This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Giuliano de Leon. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Prime Minister says that Corpus Christi, also known as the "Day of Wreaths", is set aside on the Christian calendar to honour the Holy Eucharist which was observed at the last supper before Christ was crucified. With additional support by Burnt Island Ventures and individual angels ZwitterCo, a fouling-resistant membrane technologies provider, today announced that it has closed its Series Seed financing of $5.9 million to scale its water treatment and advanced separations solutions. The funding round was led by global filtration and separations technologies leader Mann+Hummel Corporate Ventures in collaboration with R-Cubed Capital Partners, and with additional support from Burnt Island Ventures and individual investors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005186/en/ ZwitterCo provides hydrophilic membranes for water treatment and advanced separations applications in agricultural waste treatment, bioprocessing, food and beverage, and other industries where standard membrane solutions foul and quickly degrade in performance. (Photo: Business Wire) ZwitterCo provides hydrophilic membranes that can filter historically un-filterable process water and wastewater that is rich with fats, oils, proteins and other hard-to-remove organic compounds. The company is targeting applications in bioprocessing, agricultural waste treatment, food and beverage, and other industries where standard membrane solutions foul and quickly degrade in performance. With the new funding, the company will complete final field testing in several key markets, expand commercial production, and continue to support its growing list of customers and channel partners. "There are clear and urgent challenges in water that ZwitterCos solutions can address, including opportunities to expand reuse, solve production bottlenecks, ensure discharge compliance, convert waste streams into valuable products and more," said Alex Rappaport, CEO. "We are humbled that our membranes are providing tangible solutions to these challenges. Our work with Mann+Hummel and our other partners has been critical for scaling quickly and getting our products into these industrial applications." Story continues "Partnering with ZwitterCo demonstrates our commitment to support sustainable membrane innovations," said Michael Adams, Director of Corporate Ventures at Mann+Hummel. "ZwitterCos new membrane technology will unlock new membrane applications that have been un-addressable with spiral elements until now, and significantly reduce the cost for customers in these application spaces." "The disruptive potential of ZwitterCos membrane technology, initially developed at Tufts University, has been evident since day one. Having advised the team along this early-stage path, it is gratifying to see the broader support and recognition of the impact on water that ZwitterCo can have," said Stephen Remondi, Board Member and Managing Director of R-Cubed Capital Partners, as well as and a member of the Board of Advisors for the School of Engineering and the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts University. "ZwitterCo is solving a critical global challenge of reducing industrial and agricultural water consumption and containing environmentally damaging pollutants. This is a very significant early milestone for the company as it prepares to ramp up to full scale commercialization." Since its founding in 2018, after being spun out of Tufts University, ZwitterCo has received recognition and funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the National Science Foundation and others. The company is also an alumnus of the Imagine H2O accelerator program and the Greentown Labs incubator. ZwitterCo is actively demonstrating its technology in seven processing plants across North America while it is preparing to scale operations to support full commercial deployments. About ZwitterCo ZwitterCo is a national industrial membrane provider, delivering patented filtration technologies that are durable and fouling resistant. The company recently closed a $5.9m fundraising round led by Mann+Hummel Corporate Ventures, and has been recognized by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center as a leader among clean water technologies. ZwitterCos cutting-edge membrane chemistry, paired with the companys deep domain expertise, gives industrial processing facilities and their partners a pathway into the next generation of water treatment, precision separation, and resource recapture. For more information, visit https://www.zwitterco.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005186/en/ Contacts Media: Regan Keller 415-977-1933 zwitterco@antennagroup.com Regional Communication Officers caucus of the NDC has asked Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to stay off NDC matters insisting he has no business to pontificate on the current tension between the NDC leadership in parliament and the National Communications Officer. A Press Statement issued by the sixteen Regional Communication Officers said: It is not out of place for one to wonder why Hon Kyei Mensah Bonsu is so much interested in resurrecting a matter that is being carefully managed by the NDCs most respected Council of Elders and all concerned parties. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister says accusations leveled against the leadership of the minority caucus and the Speaker of Parliament by Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the NDC should be considered as an attack on the entire house. According to him, Sammy Gyamfi crossed the line with his abuse of the NDC MPs and the Speaker, Alban Bagbin. If you do something that brings disgrace to any of the senior figures in parliament, it does not bode well for the house. Someone will say its an internal party issue, but though the speaker is an NDC member, he no longer represents the party. He is the third gentleman of the land so must be accorded the needed respect. If someone is attacking the speaker, we must all rise and defend him and the institution of parliament. That is what it must be, he said. But the Regional communication Officers caucus in a reaction said the majority group leaders disposition of crying more than the bereaved in this matter is a calculated ploy aimed at exacerbating discontent within the rank and file of the NDC. Below is the full statement REGIONAL COMMUNICATION OFFICERS CAUCUS OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS. PRESS RELEASE RE: SAMMY GYAMFI CROSSED THE LINE, LEADERSHIP WILL MEET AND DECIDE WHAT TO DO OSEI KYEI MENSAH We the sixteen Regional Communication Officers of the National Democratic Congress have taken note of the impotent threat issued by Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu to our erudite and peerless leader Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi (National Communications Officer of the NDC.) The said threat, in which he gives indication that, the leadership of parliament will meet to decide on what to do with Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi , is published on Ghana Web (Thursday, 11/03/2021) and is purported to have been issued on Kumasi based Hello FM. While we deem the Suame Legislators outburst to be malicious, vicious and to some extend ludicrous, it sounds quiet ridiculous that Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu lurks around hoping to prey on the disagreement within the NDC to settle personal scores with the young brilliant lawyer. As lead voices of the legion of communicators in all the sixteen Regions, we wish to humbly notify our Revered Parliamentary Caucus, particularly the leadership of the NDC front to be wary of Ahithophels like the Hon. MP for Suame who in their treachery, will wish to fun into flames sparkles of fire in the NDC for their own whims and caprices. We are of the firm conviction that, the majority group leaders disposition of crying more than the bereaved in this matter is a calculated ploy aimed at exacerbating discontent within the rank and file of the NDC. It is not out of place for one to wonder why Hon Kyei Mensah Bonsu is so much interested in resurrecting a matter that is being carefully managed by the NDCs most respected Council of Elders and all concerned parties. The climax of our bewilderment at the Majority group leaders outburst is in his hypocritical turn of pretending to show respect and camaraderie for the much Respected Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament. It is trite knowledge that, the night of 6th January, 2021 and early hours of 7th January, 2021 saw Hon. Kyei Mensah betray his long standing friendship with the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, by fighting feverishly to ensure that, Rt. Hon. ASK Bagbin never ascended the throne as Speaker. Though he wielded much experience in parliamentary affairs and exuded more competence than his sole contender, Hon Kyei Mensah preferred imposing President Akufo Addos poodle over parliament in lieu of the Venerable Rt. Hon. ASK Bagbin. We deem his position in this matter as a face saving charade aimed at repairing his fractured ego in the face of his party, which he couldnt lead to win the speakership slot and also, before his age long friend whom he shamelessly back stabbed in the name of party loyalty. We wonder where he had left his voice of moral consciousness when Hon Kennedy Ohene Agyapong described him and all NPP faithful including President Akufo Addo as FOOLISH PEOPLE. It is thus our collective caution to him to mind his own business and learn to, remove the plank from his own eye to enable him see clearly, so that he could remove the saw dust from another mans eye. We appreciate the difficult moment that the Party has been confronted with in the past few days. We however believe the horns are never heavier than the cow that is to carry them. We have outmost confidence in our leaders at the Functional Executive Committee, The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament and our Caucus Leaders in Parliament to work under the supreme counsel of our Highly Respected Council of Elders, to find an amicable resolution to the difficulties that have come our way. If Kyei Mensah Bonsu is concerned about what appears to be the deteriorating dignity of Parliament, he should start by causing a probe into the military invasion of the chamber of Parliament on the night of 6th January and the circumstances of ballot snatching by Carlos Ahenkora during the speakership election instead of wasting time on matters that dont undermine the image and dignity of Parliament in any way. On this note, we humbly appeal to our rank and file and particularly, the masses of our support base to rally our unflinching support for our parliamentary Caucus as they lead the charge to hold the feet of the Akufo Addos regime to the fire of accountability. Thank you. Long live the NDC, Long live Ghana! Signed wnfoba Kwesi Dawood RCO- Central Reg 0246388002 Darlas Ampomah Williams RCO- Eastern Reg 0545295731 Alhaji Saeed Ahmed Tijani RCO- Upper East Reg 0244176429 Sam Jerome Kweku RCO- Western North Reg 0244043482 Puo-Ire Prosper RCO- Upper West Reg 0204852735 Alhaji Abdul- Moomin Alhassan RCO- Northern Reg 0504068549 Hon. Jerry Johnson RCO- Greater Accra Reg 0244670391 Nana Abass Nurudeen RCO- Ashanti Reg 0243919746 Richard Kirk Mensah RCO- Western Reg 0244848891 Charles Akowuah Tuffuor RCO- Bono Reg 0244472659 Imoro Abdul- Razak RCO- North East 0245371809 Malik Basintale RCO- Savannah Reg 0540444414 Mobarak Abdul-Karim RCO- Oti Region 0248690371 Hon. Apraku Lartey RCO- Ahafo Reg 0244122511 Hon. Kwadwo Agyei-Dwomor RCO- Bono East Reg 0200200104 Sorkpa K. Agbleze RCO- Volta Reg 0241221762 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 San Francisco, March 18 : Facebook has announced new measures to prevent its interest-based forums called Groups from spreading harmful content, like hate speech and misinformation. The measures come after the social networking platform faced criticism for its groups being linked to protests that led up to the Capitol riot in the US earlier this year. "We know we have a greater responsibility when we are amplifying or recommending content," Tom Alison, Vice President of Engineering at Facebook, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. These new changes will roll out globally over the coming months, Facebook said. The social networking giant said that when a group starts to violate its rules, it will now start showing them lower in recommendations, which means it is less likely that people will discover them. This is similar to its approach in News Feed, where the platform shows lower quality posts further down, so fewer people see them. "We believe that groups and members that violate our rules should have reduced privileges and reach, with restrictions getting more severe as they accrue more violations, until we remove them completely," Alison said. "And when necessary in cases of severe harm, we will outright remove groups and people without these steps in between." Facebook said that it will start to let people know when they are about to join a group that has "Community Standards" violations, so they can make a more informed decision before joining. "We'll limit invite notifications for these groups, so people are less likely to join," Alison said. For existing members, the platform will reduce the distribution of that group's content so that it is shown lower in News Feed. "We think these measures as a whole, along with demoting groups in recommendations, will make it harder to discover and engage with groups that break our rules," Alison said. Facebook said it will also start requiring admins and moderators to temporarily approve all posts when that group has a substantial number of members who have violated our policies or were part of other groups that were removed for breaking our rules. This means that content would not be shown to the wider group until an admin or moderator reviews and approves it. If an admin or moderator repeatedly approves content that breaks its rules, Facebook will take the entire group down. "When someone has repeated violations in groups, we will block them from being able to post or comment for a period of time in any group," Alison said. "They also won't be able to invite others to any groups, and won't be able to create new groups." The long wait to argue over whether Colorado should get in the health insurance business officially ends Thursday at 11:15 a.m. when Democratic legislators are expected to announce their plans aimed at reducing the price of premiums. Draft of public option bill shows healthcare industry has two years to reduce premiums by 20% Colorado Politics has obtained a copy of the draft bill that could soon become the Colorado Option Health Benefit Plan, and it shows that the 2021 version is drastically different than the version presented in 2020. A Zoom call has been scheduled with the bill's sponsors, Sen. Kerry Donovan of Vail with Reps. Dylan Roberts of Avon and Iman Jodeh of Aurora. The link is available by clicking here. The legislation, which is expected to be one of the session's most significant bills, is a key part of Gov. Jared Polis' promise to save Coloradans money on their healthcare. The state would require insurers to carry the policy on the individual at below-market rates, which is expected to be supported by Medicare-based price caps and other controls. In some Colorado counties, there is little or no competition between insurers. The public option would force health insurers to compete, lowering the price across the board. The announcement comes a little more than a year after a similar bill was introduced, passed one committee hearing then was shelved as lawmakers dealt with the public health and economic crises. A draft of the bill, first reported by Colorado Politics two weeks ago, gives insurers two years to reduce premiums by 20% for the individual group market, before the state would press ahead with a state policy to reduce costs. Skeptics, including the Denver-based Common Sense Institute, point to the experience of Washington, which adopted the first and only state-level public option in May 2019 and has not seen the lower prices advocates promised. The individual and small group market make up about 15% of all insured people in Colorado. To estimate recreational versus commercial crabbing, biologists outfitted crabs with these pink tags, offering a reward to crabbers who found them and reported the catch. Credit: Kim Richie, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center When it comes to recreational crabbingone of the most iconic pastimes along Maryland's shoresthe current estimate of 8% of "total male commercial harvest" runs just a little too low. Biologists, with local community support, found stronger evidence for the underestimate in the first tagging study to estimate the recreational blue crab harvest statewide. "It's such an important cultural activity here to go out and harvest crabs," said Matt Ogburn, a biologist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and co-author of the new report. Once declared a "commercial fishery failure" in 2008 after years of record low numbers, blue crabs have made a somewhat bumpy but steady comeback over the past decade. To keep that recovery going, fishery managers need a clear idea of how many crabs end up in commercial traps and on the tables of recreational crabbers. Commercial crabbers are required to report how many crabs they catch each season. But recreational crabbers have no such obligation. This leaves managers in the awkward position of having to make their best educated guess. "The recreational fishery is a bit of an unknown," said Robert Semmler, a doctoral student at Lancaster University and lead author of the new study, published March 15 in The Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. "And a lot of people are concerned about the recreational fishery. Particularly within the commercial sector, fishers are concerned about how big the recreational fishery is and whether that is possibly impinging on their ability to fish themselves." Tag, Release, Reward Right now, the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee estimates recreational harvest to be 8% of the total male commercial harvest. Since recreational crabbers are not allowed to harvest femalesone of the new regulations put in place in 2008 to ensure blue crabs continue to spawncomparing "total male" harvests in theory offers a better apples-to-apples comparison. But the 8% figure has its skeptics. To get it, managers relied on surveys and other voluntary self-reports from recreational crabbers conducted in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2011. Those surveys suggested recreational crabbing amounted to 5-8% of the total commercial harvest. Some of those surveys suggested a higher figure11.6%of the total male commercial harvest. For managers, estimating recreational crabbing as "8% of total male commercial harvest" seemed like a happy medium. Even so, some people recall seeing far more recreational crabbing in certain parts of the Chesapeake Bay. "If those methods underestimated the amount of recreational fishing, if we keep doing the same thing, we'll always be underestimating it, and we won't know that," Ogburn said. So Ogburn, Semmler and SERC's Fisheries Conservation Lab decided it was time to try a new method to see if the 8% figure would hold up. The project was part of Semmler's master's thesis during his time at the University of Maryland. The biologists used a technique called "mark-recapture." They teamed up with local watermen to mark 6,800 crabs with vinyl tags on their shells. Their tagging effort spanned 15 regions along Maryland's eastern and western shores, including the bay mainstem and several tributaries, giving them a thorough picture of crabbing statewide. SERC biologists Keira Heggie (on boat, red shorts) and Kim Richie work with local watermen to tag and release crabs into the Chesapeake Bay. Credit: Fisheries Conservation Lab, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center The tags contained the lab's phone number and an offer for a reward. Anyone who captured a tagged crab could call the number, tell the scientists where they caught the crab and if they were a commercial or recreational crabber. The assist from the local community was critical. Biologist Rob Aguilar, head technician for the Fisheries Conservation Lab, helped the team find crabbers to let scientists on their boats and tag the crabs. But success truly hinged on having enough crabbers willing to call in their catches. "It's good to have that relationship and to have people in the community know that they can trust the science, because they were involved in it," Semmler said. From there, it became a simple algebra problem. Once the scientists had three variablestotal commercial harvest, number of commercial captures called in and number of recreational captures called inthey could plug them in to find the number they really wanted: total recreational harvest. Moving Targets However, the team did not stop there. They took things a step further to account for crabs moving throughout the bay. Blue crabs do not stay in one place. They move back and forth between the saltier bay mainstemwhere commercial crabbing prevailsto fresher tributaries, where recreational crabbing is more common. Ignoring crab movement could easily skew the team's estimates. Once they took that into account, their results changed. Without crab movement, the team calculated recreational harvest at 4.04 million crabs, or roughly 8.4% of "total male" commercial harvestright in line with the current 8% estimate. But with crab movement in the equation, recreational harvest rose to 5.39 million crabsor 11.2% of "total male" commercial harvest. Shifting to an 11.2% estimate, the authors say, would give Maryland a more accurate picture of recreational crabbing throughout the state. This would also bring the assessment close to the average of 11.6% of "total male" commercial harvest estimated from prior recreational crabbing surveys. By doing tagging surveys in over a dozen regions, the lab also pinned down spots where the recreational take is higher than average. Hot spots of recreational crabbing tended to be in tributaries with clusters of waterfront homes and easy access for recreational boaters. "Depending on where you live, recreational harvest could range from near zero to more than twice the size of commercial harvest in densely populated places like the Severn River," Ogburn said. "That means you might see high recreational harvest of crabs in your local area, but once you average across the entire state, the level of harvest isn't much higher than expected." Explore further Blue crab stock remains within healthy range More information: Robert Francis Semmler et al, The influence of blue crab movement on markrecapture estimates of recreational harvest and exploitation, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (2021). Journal information: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Robert Francis Semmler et al, The influence of blue crab movement on markrecapture estimates of recreational harvest and exploitation,(2021). DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2020-0112 The former president joined "Windy City LIVE" host Val Warner and Chicago Public High School civics students for a student-centered conversation on his new book. Video Transcript {"iserror":true,"errors":{"file_processing":"The resource you selected is not complete"}} President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda signed a Joint Declaration on Ukraine's European Prospect. "The Joint Declaration fixes Lithuania's support for the European prospect of our state," the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state reports. The document stipulates that, in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, Ukraine, like any European state that respects the values enshrined in Article 2 of this Treaty and undertakes to follow them, may apply for membership in the European Union in case of observance of all conditions and obligations. At the same time, the Republic of Lithuania will support Ukraine when it decides to apply for EU membership. President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda is on an official visit to Ukraine on March 18-19. ish In the Advance Peace program, formerly incarcerated community members engage with residents of gun-ridden neighborhoods to stop crime. A UC Berkeley paper has shown the program stops violence and saves cities money. Credit: Advance Peace New research from the University of California, Berkeley has the potential to shift the public debate around police reform, and to reimagine public safety models that rely on policing to reduce gun violence in America's urban cities. Published by UC Berkeley's Center for Global Healthy Cities, the report found that the gun violence reduction program, Advance Peace, has helped to decrease firearm homicides and assaults in several California citiesmost recently by almost a quarter in Stocktonsaving taxpayers millions of dollars in city expenses. The Berkeley paper comes at a time when many city, state and national leaders are examining the structural racism of America's criminal justice system, grappling with a surge in big-city gun violence and questioning how much money is spent on police forces. Advance Peace demonstrates a public health-oriented alternative to typical policing, said the study's lead author, UC Berkeley public health professor Jason Corburn. The nonprofit operates at a small fraction of costs compared to standard law enforcement budgets, and employs formerly incarcerated "Neighborhood Change Agents" to engage offenders at the center of gun violence in communities of color that are often distrustful of police. "These are the hardest to reach people," said Corburn. "The most likely to be 'trigger-pullers." They've almost all been shot, incarcerated and/or traumatized by police. The expectation is they're going back to jail. To turn them around and to give them an alternative to violence is pretty crucial." And the program has consistently shown results. According to the study, after two years of implementation in Stocktonfrom October 2018 through September 2020Advance Peace recruited 34 fellows, interrupted 44 gun-violence conflicts and mediated over 500 community conflicts that prevented escalation into gun violence. That work contributed to a 21% reduction in Stockton's gun homicides and assaults compared to the average rate dating back to 2015. Specific districts within the city saw even more of an impact with over 45% reductions in gun homicides and assaults over that same time period. Citywide, gun homicides alone dropped by 20%. A March 2020 study, also by Corburn, found that Advance Peace had similar results in Sacramento, reducing gun homicides and assaults by 22%, and by 39% in Del Paso Heights, an area in Sacramento known for prevalent gun violence. While the program saved lives in both cities, it saved money as well. Each shooting costs Stockton taxpayers $962,000 and each gun homicide costs $2.5 million, Corburn said, pointing to research that analyzed the costs of police investigations, emergency services, court time and other government services. Corburn said that if each of the potential shootings Advance Peace workers stopped in Stockton resulted in an injury, the estimated city costs saved was $42.3 million. If those same conflicts instead led to homicides, tallied costs would have been $110 million. Funding for Advance Peace Stockton, including six staff and services for fellows, over the study's two-year period, was $891,280. So, for every dollar spent on the program, the public received between $47.46 to $123.42 in return, Corburn found. Advance Peace Sacramento also had positive returns, as that city benefited $18 to $41 for every dollar spent on the program. "This program plays a role that police can't, and never will," said Corburn. "They have credible messengers that are able to disrupt the gun violence, and change the community dynamic by building trust. And that's the beginning of redeveloping neighborhoods in a healthy way. It's a model that works." Becoming a peacemaker For Corburn, the success of the program is intrinsically linked to his interest in public health and racial justice. He has worked with community groups and city officials around the Bay Area for over 10 years to provide a health equity lens to reducing violence in communities of color. In 2008, Corburn met DeVone Boggan, a Berkeley alumnus who directed Richmond, California's Office of Neighborhood Safetythe first city office dedicated to violence prevention in the nation. In an attempt to curb the city's gun violence, Boggan created the Peacemaker Fellowship to empower formerly incarcerated community members to enroll perpetrators of gun violence in the area, as fellows. Over 18 months, those fellowspredominately Black men ranging in age from 13 to 30were given 24/7 adult mentorship, including help with navigating social services, education and employment resources. Neighborhood change agents also mediate violent conflicts, and help fellows cope with anger management. Moreover, to create long-term goals for fellows to sustain beyond the program, monthly allowances, paid internships and/or travel stipends are provided as those goals are reached. That model would become what Advance Peace is today, said Corburn, who has since become the program's lead researcher. Since March 2016, the program has expanded from Richmond and into Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno and Oakland. Most recently, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced they will launch Advance Peace in five precincts this July. While the initiative was initially seen as controversial, Boggan said to tackle gun crimes cities have to be willing to directly engage individuals at the center of that violence. "The closest people to the problem are usually the closest to the solution," he said. Prior to joining Advance Peace, Sam Vaughn, a Richmond native, served time in San Quentin State Prison for a gun assault charge, and became a Neighborhood Change Agent shortly after being released in 2008. Vaughn now serves as program manager for Richmond's Office of Neighborhood Safety, and has contributed to the city's sustained decreases in gun homicides and assaults that have ranged from 55% to 82% over the past decade. Building trust with his fellows has been essential, said Vaughn, something police have lost in his community over the years. "For a police officer, or somebody from outside of the city, to come and tell folks in Richmond how to deal with, or get over, trauma that they never experienced, our fellows would say "I don't trust you, and I don't think you have a clue as to what I'm going through,'" Vaughn said. "There is a level of authenticity we bring because we do this out of love for our community. This is where we're from. And that love is rooted in the relationships we build with them." "Defund fear' While Corburn's research shows the undeniable impact that Advance Peace has had in urban communities in California, he said funding for the work is still sparse compared to police departments that attempt to implement similar initiatives that aren't as successful. "Police often see programs like this as a threat to them, or as something that will take away one of their responsibilities," said Corburn. "And that's just not the case. Advance Peace fills a void in the community that police can't address. And they are doing so on a limited budget." On average, American cities allocate 20% to 45% of their discretionary funds to police, according to a report by The Center for Popular Democracy. While police budgets vary based on the size of their cities and jurisdictions, Boggan said police departments often spend less than 7% of their time responding to violent crimes, meaning police funds aren't sufficiently being used to reduce gun violence. Although former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs was an adamant supporter of Advance Peace when it was implemented in January 2018, and helped to secure independent funding, Brian Muhammad, who manages Advance Peace Stockton, said, "We haven't gotten a dime from the city." "We've had support from private donors and foundations. It has its pros and cons. We don't have to worry about playing politics to retain funds, but we have about a year and a half to go with the funding that we have currently." Advance Peace Chief Operating Officer Khaalid Muttaqi said the cities that do provide funding to Advance Peace often underfund community prevention programs that do a lot of the heavy lifting. In January 2018, the City of Sacramento committed to provide Advance Peace with $375,000 a year, equaling $1.5 million over four years. Sacramento's police department receives $157 million annually, said Muttaqi, which is nearly 50% of the entire city budget. "Funding a 25-member police gang unit can do more harm than good," said Muttaqi. "Because when police come and bust in somebody's house, make an arrest, and people in the neighborhood see them exercising extreme amounts of force, that translates into police brutality. It causes trauma. Any trust that was there between the community and the police goes away." According to data collected by the Washington Post, around 1,000 people are shot and killed by the police in the U.S. each year, and Black men are more than twice as likely to be victims as white men. Following the police killing of George Floyd last summer, the movement to "defund the police," Boggan said, has been misunderstood. "I'd rather say 'defund fear,'" he said. "At the end of the day, that's what needs to happen. The carceral system has scared people into believing that there is no better option than to increase policing to feel safe. But we've now overfunded and made investments into policing, and we've defunded all of the other life-affirming infrastructures that a healthy society needs." Berkeley African American Studies professor Nikki Jones has researched how the criminal justice system and policing of Black people has historically caused trauma in those communities. Jones chronicled her research in her award-winning book The Chosen Ones: Black Men and the Politics of Redemption. In that book, Jones delves into the reasons why violence persists in America's inner cities, despite the presence of substantial funding and resources within policing. The strategy of funding more police to counteract a rise in gun violence and crime in urban communities, Jones said, is not effective, rather, programs like Advance Peace can bring transformative change to the criminal justice system. "It's important to amplify those programs out there that are rooted in ideas of love and the value of empowering communities, as opposed to taking from them," said Jones. "We've supported the idea that law enforcement has a legitimate monopoly on providing public safety. But we have to remember that the police exist to control Black people, and other 'problematic' populations. That's deep in American history." The foundation of that racist structure in American law enforcement, Corburn said, contributes to the underfunding of programs like Advance Peace, as cities have historically been beholden to funding their police departments and police unions over investing in Black communities. "A program like Advance Peace can be somewhat of a litmus test for whether cities really believe Black lives matter," said Muttaqi, who is also a Berkeley alumnus. "We empower Black and Brown men to put the public at the center of public safety. These individuals have turned their trauma into triumph, turned their pain and suffering into strengths and assets. They've become peacemakers." As a field coordinator for Advance Peace Stockton, Maurice Goens said the pandemic has changed the way they engage with their fellows, but "it's still a 24-hour job." Goens and other change agents will often stay up late into the night listening to police scanners to respond to shooting incidents in the city, or deliver supplies and basic needs to their fellows, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck. "You've got to have the passion for it. You've got to do it from the heart," said Goens. "If one of my guys calls me at midnight and needs some help, or somebody to talk them out of a bad situation, I'm not going to turn my phone off because it's after five o'clock." "I'm going to be your brother, your uncle, your father, your cousin: whatever you need, I'm going to be there There may be obstacles in your way, but let me try to help you overcome them. I'm going to do everything in my power to help you push through. That's the job we do." More information: Outcome Evaluation of Advance Peace Sacramento, 2018-19. Outcome Evaluation of Advance Peace Sacramento, 2018-19. www.advancepeace.org/wp-conten aluation-03-2020.pdf 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. After four months at code red, Manitoba's premier plans to lower the COVID-19 pandemic alert level despite a rise in cases, some of which involve highly contagious variants. After four months at code red, Manitoba's premier plans to lower the COVID-19 pandemic alert level despite a rise in cases, some of which involve highly contagious variants. "We're now in a position to consider moving the province to level orange, or restricted, on the pandemic-response system," Brian Pallister told a news conference Thursday, flanked by chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister announces that the possibility of moving to code orange is now being discussed and they are looking for feedback from the public Thursday. "The future is in all of our hands. If we continue to follow the advice of Dr. Roussin and public-health officials... we're going to have more good days ahead." Roussin proposed a suite of alterations to the current public-health orders, allowing more flexible restaurant dining, the resumption of indoor organized sports, opening casinos and movie theatres and changing travel restrictions. Indoor and outdoor gathering sizes at private residences will not change. "The future is in all of our hands. If we continue to follow the advice of Dr. Roussin and public-health officials... we're going to have more good days ahead." Premier Brian Pallister "We know that during our second wave, this was a large driver of transmission," Roussin said. The current public-health order expires March 26 and any new changes would be introduced across Manitoba. Roussin said the province has not yet determined when new regulations will go into effect and acknowledged that gatherings during March break for students, Easter and Passover could result in a spike in cases. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, during the COVID-19 update media conference at the Manitoba Legislative building Thursday. Pallister and Roussin said they want to get Manitobans' feedback on when and how much to ease up on the provincewide code red announced Nov. 10. Meanwhile, the province reported 91 new COVID-19 infections including 33 in Winnipeg and the death of a woman in her 60s connected to an outbreak at Portage and District General Hospital. Since Feb. 1, about a week after the province first started loosening code-red restrictions, there have been 1,252 cases reported in Winnipeg; 69 of them or about 5.5 per cent have been caused by two highly contagious variant strains. As of Thursday, the National Microbiology Lab had confirmed 76 infections in Manitoba were caused by B.1.1.7 (initially detected in the U.K.) or B.1.351 (first detected in South Africa). The B.1.1.7 mutation is responsible for 63 cases, including two at Heritage Lodge Long Term Care in Winnipeg. Northern Health is the lone Manitoba region that has not reported cases involving either of the mutant strains. In Ontario, where the variants have accounted for nearly half of the recently reported cases, health officials have warned the province is moving into a third wave. Infectious disease experts in Manitoba have also urged caution in reopening the economy too quickly and have warned renewed lockdowns could be necessary as early as May, even if variant strains do not become dominant. Pallister acknowledged Thursday he can't be sure that the proposed rollback of restrictions won't trigger a third wave. "One thing is certain in my mind: Manitobans are much more aware now than they were last fall," he said. "I dont think were the same people now. I think were a lot smarter now and, sadly, that took tragedy for that lesson to be learned. "Theres no 100 per cent in this. But I have a lot of confidence in Manitobans being able to keep doing the right things." Changes under consideration: Increasing gathering limits at an outdoor public places to 25 people. Increasing capacity limits at weddings, funerals and other gatherings to 25 people. Expanding capacity at religious services to 25 per cent or 250 people, whichever is lower, with other public-health measures still in effect. click to read more Increasing gathering limits at an outdoor public places to 25 people. Increasing capacity limits at weddings, funerals and other gatherings to 25 people. Expanding capacity at religious services to 25 per cent or 250 people, whichever is lower, with other public-health measures still in effect. Expanding capacity limits for retail stores to 50 per cent or a 500 people, whichever is lower, with other public-health measures still in effect. Allowing people to eat at the same table with others in the indoor area of a restaurant, as long as everyone seated at a table has designated those individuals to visit them in their homes. Allowing organized team games at indoor sporting facilities. Allowing youth to not wear masks while taking part in indoor sporting activities, but requiring mask use in other areas of the facility. Permitting indoor theatres, indoor concert halls, casinos and gaming centres to open at 25 per cent or a 250-person capacity, whichever is lower, with other public- health measures still in effect. Removing the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days for interprovincial or domestic travellers who travel for business reasons and do not have symptoms. Close With more residents being vaccinated every day, Roussin said he is optimistic that even if cases increase, there will be fewer people admitted to hospital than during the fall surge. "The evidence shows that these vaccines are quite good at reducing the severe outcomes," he said, adding caution remains paramount. He said the virus is here to stay "potentially for years to come." "It definitely means we need to continue to learn to live with this virus, find ways to assess and limit our risk without the use of long term lockdowns," he said. "We do expect to see increasing case numbers as we continue to open things. We always want to be taking that least restrictive approach that we can do to try to keep our numbers down." Opposition Leader Wab Kinew told reporters Thursday that provincial contact-tracing resources need to be able to keep up as restrictions are rolled back. Following a report by the Free Press Thursday, Kinew questioned why public health officials did not ask three Winnipeg businesses for their customer contact logs after possible COVID-19 variant exposures. "That's certainly something that should be addressed as we're heading into the reopening," he said. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont was surprised to learn of the government's plan to ease restrictions and turn down the alarm volume. "I cant believe were talking about going to code orange," he said. "Our test-positivity rate is going up. We have more variants going around. Theres a third wave happening elsewhere, and its well known that variants can cause a third wave. "We need to be focused on vaccinating, vaccinating, vaccinating and focusing on getting every single dose into somebodys arm as quickly as possible, and the government isnt doing that." Manitobans can provide feedback to the provincial government about the next phase of reopening at EngageMB.ca. with files from Carol Sanders and Michael Pereira danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Eastern Visayas could be the first region to end communist insurgency, a Cabinet official said Thursday. Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who also serves as Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security in Eastern Visayas, told President Rodrigo Duterte that the region is on track to clearing communist rebels before the end of his term in 2022. "We declare today that our timeline to neutralize and negate the influence and fighting capability of the communist terrorists in Region 8 is achievable and doable within your term, Mr. President," Del Rosario told the meeting of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict with the Eastern Visayas task force. Duterte, chairman of the NTF-ELCAC, attended the event in Tacloban City. Del Rosario said since the implementation of Executive Order No. 70, establishing a whole of nation approach against the communist armed conflict, the military has "neutralized" 71 rebels and "caused the surrender" of 2,428 others in Eastern Visayas. The 8th Infantry Division also rescued eight child warriors, the retired major general said, without disclosing further details. All the six provinces, seven cities, and 136 municipalities in the region have denounced the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People's Army, declaring their members persona non grata or unwelcome in their areas, Del Rosario added. Meanwhile, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. claimed government forces in the region have dismantled six of 11 guerilla fronts, with some 200 barangays "ready for development." Aside from security operations, the government is banking on its anti-insurgency Barangay Development Program, aimed at providing billions worth of support projects to villages deemed cleared of rebels. Officials believe progress in these areas will prevent the return of "NPA influence." The government kicked off the Barangay Development Program early this month with the "symbolic" distribution of over 2.38 billion worth of projects, or 20 million each to 119 barangay captains in Northern Mindanao. All in all, 16.4 billion will be allocated for 822 barangays. In his speech on Thursday, Duterte reiterated his order for soldiers to "kill" armed rebels, saying he would rather face human rights allegations than see his men die. "Sabi ko sa military, patayin mo. 'Pag naghawak ng baril ang rebelde na 'yan, ayaw kong makita ang sundalo ko sa kabaong," he said. [Translation: I told the military, kill. When that rebel holds a gun, I don't want to see my soldier in a coffin.] The President has been criticized for his pronouncements, especially after nine activists in Calabarzon were killed days following his earlier "shoot and kill" order. Groups said the victims were red-tagged, or wrongfully labeled as members of the NPA. But authorities maintained they had search warrants issued by local courts due to the activists' alleged offenses. The executive Anti-Terrorism Council has designated the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations pending court proscription. The communist group maintains it has a "legitimate" national cause, and calls out the Duterte administration for its "campaign of state terrorism and repression" amid the coronavirus pandemic. Even during normal times, students proficiency at certain subjects tends to decline over the long summer recess. Its known as summer learning loss, summer slide or summer setback. Just as for learning itself, a host of variables make it difficult to quantify summer learning loss. Researchers at the Brookings Institution conducted a comprehensive review of hundreds of studies that had been conducted over many decades, and concluded in 2017 that students achievement scores declined during the summer by an equivalent of one month of school learning, declines were greater in math than in English, and the degree of loss was greater at higher grade levels. They also found that the degree of reading proficiency decline was tied closely to the students family income levels. Some experts, however, have found that the loss is equivalent to two weeks of in-school learning, or less. The effect of long absences from in-person instruction, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is even more difficult to assess because the state government has been forced to postpone the standardized testing that attempts to measure proficiency. Given that pandemic-induced school closures have covered large parts of two school years, and that most districts had to figure out how to provide online instruction on the fly, the impact on student learning is likely to be substantial. Now, as schools move cautiously toward in-person instruction, they will be playing catch-up. To aid in that effort, districts in Northeast Pennsylvania should consider using some of the hundreds of millions of dollars they will receive from the American Rescue Plan to extend the school year, establish summer school, or both. This isnt a case of just marking days on a calendar to ensure that districts are in session for the 180 days required by state law, which sometimes happens when instruction days are lost to teachers strikes or bad winter weather. Its about trying to maintain a fundamental educational baseline for students to mitigate their unmeasured but certain losses caused by the shutdowns. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. BP is planning to build the UKs largest hydrogen plant as it ramps up efforts to go green. The FTSE 100 oil supermajor said the proposed facility on Teesside in north-east England could provide energy for local industry and homes by 2027 or even sooner. The plans are a major boost for the region, which has struggled economically after losing heavy industry in the 1980s and is part of the so-called Red Wall where Boris Johnson won Labour-held seats in the 2019 election. BP is understood to be looking at the Teesworks site Europe's largest expanse of brownfield land where the Redcar steelworks once stood as a location for UK's largest hydrogen plant The prospect of further investment comes hot on the heels of Chancellor Rishi Sunaks Budget announcements for a free port in Teesside and a northern outpost of the Treasury in nearby Darlington. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said the area was uniquely placed for BPs plant, adding: This is a huge vote of confidence in our region. BP chief exec Bernard Looney's wants to turn the company into a carbon-neutral green energy giant by 2050 The Government is keen to set up what is described as a clean hydrogen industrial cluster in Teesside. The BP project dubbed H2Teesside could generate one gigawatt (GW) of power by 2030, a fifth of the Governments 5GW target. It is understood that the Teesworks site Europes largest expanse of brownfield land where the Redcar steelworks once stood is being lined up as a possible location. The company will make a final decision on whether to build the proposed plant in 2024. It has not said how much it would cost. Hydrogen is a clean energy source that does not produce carbon when it is burned and is already being used to fuel buses and cars. However, H2Teesside would make so-called blue hydrogen, which is created with natural gas and releases huge amounts of carbon. BP plans to capture these emissions and funnel up to 2m tonnes of CO2 a year into empty areas under the North Sea. It has already agreed to work with chemicals group Venator to see if it could provide power to the companys flagship Teesside factory. Grid shifts from fossil fuel National Grid has struck a 14billion deal to take over Britains biggest electricity producer in its latest shift away from fossil fuels. The company will buy Western Power Distribution (WPD) from its American owner PPL. And National Grid will also put a majority stake up for sale in National Grid Gas, which owns the UKs national gas transmission network. The WPD deal means National Grid is putting itself in pole position for the electric car revolution and the fight against climate change. Electricity generated by renewables is expected to take a far greater role in the network in the coming decades as the UK aims to become carbon neutral with gas gradually being phased out. National Grid will also sell Narragansett Electric Company, its Rhode Island gas and electricity business, to PPL for 2.7billion. Hydrogen is a key pillar of the Prime Ministers strategy to cut Britains carbon emissions and get the country to net-zero by 2050. But critics argue blue hydrogen is only an interim solution at best, and ministers should focus on green hydrogen, which uses renewable power and electrolysis in water and does not produce any carbon. Plans for the site are part of BP chief executive Bernard Looneys wide-ranging strategy to turn the company into a carbon-neutral green energy giant by 2050. It will invest billions of pounds in the coming years and has already made big investments in offshore wind power despite its profits being hammered during the Covid crisis. Looney said: Hydrogen will be a hugely important part of the energy future and today weve announced plans for the UKs largest hydrogen project. This project can drastically cut emissions, support thousands of local jobs and help the UK move towards its net zero goal. Queensland has recorded its highest rise in coronavirus cases in more than two months after an influx in Covid-positive travellers flying into the state from Papua New Guinea. Health officials in the Sunshine State confirmed eight cases of Covid-19 were found in hotel quarantine overnight. Six of those eight cases were returned travellers who had come from Papua New Guinea. The daily rise in cases is the highest since Queensland Health announced nine new infections on January 8. A masked passenger at Brisbane Airport in December. Queensland health officials said six cases have been found overnight among returned travellers from Papua New Guinea The spike comes just a day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced he was suspending flights from PNG to Cairns due to surging coronavirus infection rates in the Pacific nation. 'With six positives from Papua New Guinea, all of the measures announced yesterday are very timely,' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. 'I think that's one of the largest [rises in hotel quarantine cases] we've seen.' Australia will meanwhile send 8,000 coronavirus vaccines to the country to immunise frontline health workers and combat its spiralling outbreak. Mr Morrison on Wednesday announced urgent support for Australia's northern neighbours. The federal government will also request one million doses ordered from Europe for Australian use be redirected to PNG. 'They're our family. They're our friends. They're our neighbours. They're our partners,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra. Papua New Guinea has recorded 2,351 cases of coronavirus since the beginning of January - prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ban flights from the country into Cairns. Pictured are seasonal workers harvesting vegetables in Queensland 'They have always stood with us and we will always stand with them.' The initial 8,000 jabs will come from the Australian-manufactured AstraZeneca vaccines, which are expected to be ready from next week. Since the beginning of January, Papua New Guinea has recorded 2,351 cases of coronavirus and 26 confirmed deaths - with fears this will continue to grow. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the rise in hotel quarantine cases of Covid-19 was 'one of the largest we've seen' Australia will send protective equipment, tents, air conditioning units and 8,000 vaccines to Papua New Guinea to help the country fight the growing Covid-19 pandemic Papua New Guinea Health Minister, Jelta Wong, told Today testing for the virus in the country 'has been an issue'. 'With the complacency of people around the country it forced us to go into isolated lockdown next week to slow down the virus,' he said. Professor Glen Mola head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Port Moresby Hospital said a good indication of community transmission was the fact that one in every ten women coming to the hospital to give birth were carrying the virus. 'So that means there's going to be massive community transmission when one out of every 10 people has got the virus in their respiratory tract,' he said. Since the beginning of January, Papua New Guinea has recorded 2,351 cases of coronavirus and 26 confirmed deaths - with fears this will continue to grow Medical equipment and personnel will also be shipped to the country in the coming days Professor Mola said the virus was also weighing heavily on frontline workers. 'When they test positive of course we have to send them home to isolate, so that takes 10 per cent of our workforce away every week,' he said. 'If this continues then we will lose 50 per cent of our workforce within a month or so, which would take us down to levels where it's almost impossible to continue the service.' From Saturday all passenger flights from PNG into Cairns will be suspended for two weeks, with charter flights also halted except for medevac and other critical routes. Mr Morrison on Wednesday said giving vaccines to the country was the right thing to do and believed Australians would agree. 'I think Australians understand that that is one of our responsibilities and as an advanced nation that has had such incredible success in managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, I think they would be generous in spirit,' he said. 'They're our family. They're our friends. They're our neighbours. They're our partners. They have always stood with us and we will always stand with them.' All passenger flights from PNG into Cairns have been suspended for two weeks Sixteen-year-old Daniela Fernandez sat on a bench flanked by two large suitcases Tuesday afternoon. She scanned the cars that drove past outside Boston Logan International Airport until a gray SUV pulled up to the curb. Thats them, she said. Lorena Fernandez, the girls aunt, stepped out of the passenger seat and walked over to her, pulling the girl into her arms. It was an embrace four months overdue. Lorena and Dani, as her friends and family call her, had flown to Medellin, Colombia in December for a family members funeral. They planned to spend five days. Dani spent nearly four months in Medellin, unable to return because she lost her green card. Only after repeated attempts from her attorney Joseph Molina Flynn, a MassLive story and help from Sen. Elizabeth Warrens office, Dani received help from U.S. consular officials to return to Massachusetts. When you do really want something, you just go for it. No matter what things get in your way, you always gotta fight for it, said Dani, sitting in her aunts living room in Revere. You dont know everything we had to do just to get me here, she added. Two months ago, Dani didnt know when shed be able to return to Massachusetts. U.S. permanent residents who lose their green cards can travel without the document if they get a boarding foil from a U.S. embassy, but the embassy in Colombia remains mostly closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lorena Fernandez and her niece, Dani, pose for a picture together.Courtesy of Lorena Fernandez The U.S. Embassy in Bogota continued to take requests from U.S. citizens, but it was closed for routine services for everyone else. Despite booking an appointment, Dani was turned away by consular officials in January. Right now, nobodys answering at the embassy, Flynn, the familys immigration attorney, told MassLive at the time. While Dani was born and raised in Medellin, she has lived with her aunt since 2016. Danis mother left her when she was a baby, and her father was unable to care for her, court records say. Lorena was designated the legal guardian on March 15, 2017, and Dani obtained Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, a classification for children who are neglected or abandoned by a parent. She obtained her green card in April 2020. Danis initial inability to get a consular appointment was not the result of a travel ban or the Trump administrations efforts to restrict legal immigration, immigration attorneys say, but more likely an unintended consequence of red tape that existed before President Donald Trump and persists under President Joe Biden. Those hurdles are complex and bureaucratic in nature, but they can create additional barriers to immigrants during a crisis, such as a pandemic, attorneys say. When Danis green card went missing, she went with a relative while Lorena flew back to Massachusetts. Lorena feared she would lose her job for missing work, but she never expected Danis return trip to take so long. She also didnt expect Dani to be turned away at the embassy. In February, after Dani was initially turned away, Lorena got a text from Flynn. He made contact with consular officials. I was so happy. I felt so happy because she suffered there, Lorena said in a Spanish-language interview. Dani and a family member flew back to Bogota for a consular appointment on Feb. 22. Within the next two weeks, she received her boarding foil. Dani took an early morning flight to Miami Tuesday and then a second flight to Logan Airport, landing around 3:30 p.m. When they reached the house in Revere, Lorena started making turkey meatballs in the kitchen. Dani told a reporter she had mixed feelings about leaving her family behind in Colombia, but she also missed her aunt and friends. Dani also missed having a quiet place to log into classes. A junior at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School, she studies business management, accounting and several core subjects. Over the past four months, the honors student said she struggled to concentrate in her classes due to a spotty internet connection and noise at her relatives house in Medellin. Sometimes the internet would cut out, causing her to miss a class. She missed her classes Friday and Monday to get a COVID-19 test and prepare for her flight. Then she spent Tuesday on back-to-back flights. Dani has kept her grades up, but she said her assignments piled up at the end of every week. I wouldnt have to do it in one day because I know if I had to do it in one day I would just do it to do it, I wouldnt do it to actually learn and try my best, she said. So I feel like it does, it has affected me. Related Content: NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aliya, a data-driven intelligence company providing automated business solutions to financial institutions, today publicly announced the launch of aSCORE, a regulatory compliant, alternative measurement of borrower credit risk and resiliency and a legacy FICO and Vantage score arbitrage tool. The proprietary technology has been implemented by a top 10 U.S. bank since 2018 and can help financial institutions grow assets while managing risk, acquire and retain a broader range of profitable customers and promote financial inclusion. aSCORE uses high-frequency and more recent consumer attributes to better predict a borrower's ability and willingness to repay a debt. The model runs on anonymized credit bureau data; it does not require the transfer of any personally identifiable information, or any other proprietary data sets of an institution, to Aliya. How it works: Customer applies for loan on financial institution's existing platform; OR financial institution wants to determine whether an existing customer or new lead qualifies for a loan. Financial institution or credit bureau calls aSCORE engine via secure API protocols. aSCORE model runs on anonymized credit data to generate and return the FICO equivalent aSCORE, plus sizing and pricing recommendation. Financial institution's credit policy applied to aSCORE to generate a personalized loan offer, displayed within existing workflow. In a recent case study, Aliya partnered with a top 10 U.S. bank and helped over 200K Americans receive loans. Of those, nearly half were considered non-prime by traditional credit scores. The portfolio performance of the "non-prime" borrowers was in line with a standard prime portfolio. The full case study can be viewed here. "The driving force behind aSCORE is to increase economic opportunities for hardworking Americans who would otherwise be unfairly overlooked and underbanked," said S.P. "Wije" Wijegoonaratna, co-founder and CEO at Aliya. "Now that the model has a proven track record of performance over the last three years, I am thrilled to share aSCORE with more financial leaders looking to implement a next-generation credit scoring solution." aSCORE is SOC-2 (Type II), ISO27001 certified and reviewed by the Federal Reserve, OCC and CFPB for regulatory compliance. To learn more about Aliya and aSCORE, visit https://www.aliya.com/ascore. About Aliya Aliya is a data driven intelligence company that develops transformational solutions to help financial institutions grow assets, acquire and retain customers, manage risk, and optimize capital allocation. Aliya is "Technology Powered, Human Inspired", and is driven to improve outcomes for hardworking Americans who would otherwise be unfairly overlooked. Media Contact: Heather Tidwell [email protected] (949) 777-1333 SOURCE Aliya It would be hard to look back over the centuries of Italy's rich cultural history and reach a consensus over who was the nation's greatest painter, sculptor, or composer. But the most important Italian writer? That's much easier: Dante. This year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, the Tuscan-born writer, poet, and philosopher. And despite the limitations from the coronavirus pandemic, the country is pulling out all the stops to commemorate the event, as it did last year for the 500th anniversary of the death of Renaissance master painter Raphael and the quincentennial of iconic Leonardo da Vinci's death in 2019. Most of the commemorative events will take place later in the year, closer to the actual anniversary of Dante's death on Sept. 14. But the first major event on the calendar will take place next Monday -- the date established as "Dantedi" ("Dante Day)" in Italy -- when Oscar-winning actor and director Roberto Benigni, known for his periodic televised performances from Dante's greatest work, the epic poem "Divine Comedy," will recite a song from the poem from the Quirinal Palace with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance. All told, there will be more than 500 initiatives in more than 100 locations across Italy over the course of the year, including the start of work on a Museum of the Italian Language in Florence, dedicated to Dante; a series of exhibits, workshops, readings, and other events under the "Dante2021" banner; the release of a documentary film on Dante's life; an exhibit of acclaimed photos by Massimo Sestini showing spots important in the poet's life; and free tours of the parts of Florence that appear in Dante's works, set up by the city's "Dante 700" organizing committee. On Sept. 14, the "Viva Dante" (Dante Lives) initiative will start to have performers perpetually read from "Divine Comedy" around the clock, and the year will close with three special symphonic performances led by maestro Riccardo Muti in Verona, Ravenna, and Florence. Aside from the literary merit of "Divine Comedy" -- it is considered by critics and historians to be the pre-eminent work in Italian and one of the greatest works in the western literary canon -- it is significant because it was written in Italian, uncommon in the 14th century when Latin was still the language of learned people. As such, it is considered to be a "unifying" work by Italians. That is a point made by Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini, who said earlier this month that Dante's work "helps us feel we are a national community, giving us confidence during a difficult time for our country struggling with the pandemic." But according to Claudio Marazzini, president of Crusca Academy, the top authority on the Italian language and the organizer of multiple events connected to the anniversary, the anniversary of Dante's death is important for many reasons that go beyond his role in legitimizing the Italian language centuries ago. Marazzini noted that large-scale celebrations for writers are less common than for artists or composers because literature is more difficult to understand and it requires a deep familiarity with the language. He said that Dante is one of a small handful of writers -- William Shakespeare in English and Miguel de Cervantes in Spanish come to mind -- who merit such treatment. "Dante is one of the most important literary figures in any country," Marazzini told Xinhua. "As with most timeless works of literature, it gives us a window into the writer's time, in this case, Medieval Italy. But it also teaches us about ourselves." Amid the challenges of the pandemic, a focus on Dante is particularly adept, according to Domenico De Martino, artistic director of the Dante2021 commemorations in Ravenna, where Dante is buried. Though the great writer died a quarter-century before the bubonic plague began ravaging the Italian peninsula, he lived in a time where outbreaks of disease were common. "Life was fragile in Dante's time, and that is evident in his work," De Martino said in an interview. "He was 56 when he died, which meant he was an old man for that time. Obviously, we are better off now than people then despite the current challenges. But I think Dante helps us look at the fragility we may face with a different perspective." Nearly 2.1 million Michiganders have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which is 25.6% of the states 16 years and older population. There had been 3,225,485 total doses administered as of Tuesday, March 16, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. That includes 2,086,936 first doses and 1,138,549 second doses over the course of three months. Within the last seven days, Michigan averaged 61,943 shots in arms per day. Thats a 20.5% increase from the 51,405 shots in arms per day two weeks prior. State health officials have said there is capacity to administer more shots, but only if the federal government provides more doses. While there is speculation that an uptick in the states allocation is coming, its unclear how big and when. Related: Michigan unsure when it will see boost in COVID-19 vaccine allocation Thus far, residents who are eligible for a vaccine include health care workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, teachers and school staff, corrections workers, first-responders, agricultural workers, caregivers of children with disabilities, residents 65 years and older, and residents 50 to 64 years old with preexisting conditions, disabilities or other medical vulnerabilities. Beginning Monday, March 22, all residents 50 years and older will be eligible, as well as residents 16 years and older with disabilities or medical conditions that put them at higher risk of a serious case of COVID-19. Then on April 5, eligibility will open to all Michiganders 16 years and older. Of the total shots administered in Michigan, 1,687,453 were the Pfizer vaccine, 1,509,654 were the Moderna vaccine, and 28,378 were the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Hospitals and local health departments have been the leaders in shots administered to date, followed by pharmacies. Over the last six weeks, however, pharmacies have administered more doses than hospitals. Residents 65 years and older make up 52% of total doses administered. The next highest age group is the 50 to 64 year old crowd, which has received 23% of the shots to date. The final 25% have been split among the 16 to 49 year old residents. Demographic data by race and ethnicity remains incomplete, according to the states public vaccine data. More than 33% of doses have gone to residents with no data available on their race or ethnicity. Of those with data, about 52% have been white, 5% have been black, and less than 2% each have been Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Read more on MLive: 9 things to know about Michigans expansion of vaccine eligibility to all ages Pandemic isnt over, Michigan officials warn, as COVID-19 numbers surge Previously vetoed spending proposals for COVID-19 response headed back to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer See how much stimulus money your town gets; Michigan splits $10.3B in funding Former ISIS child bride Shamima Begum has revealed that she wanted to kill herself when her three children died in Syria as she begs Britain to give her a 'second chance' in a documentary about her life in a Syrian refugee camp. Begum said that she hoped British people would have an 'open mind about why I left and who I am now as a person' and urged the government to allow her to return home. The 21-year-old, who was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State, accused the British government of 'making up' stories that she worked for the ISIS morality police as an excuse to keep her out of the country. In the film she cries when talking about losing her three children during the Syrian war and says that she wanted to kill herself because of the grief. But she does reveal some good news and says the father of the children is alive and sent her a birthday card wishing her well. She also revealed how she 'pines for a foot-long meatball Subway' if she returns. Shamima Begum, the British ISIS bride, appears in a new documentary due to air today as she begs for people to 'give me a second chance' (file image) Begum no longer wears the black hijab and chandor robe in which she was found, and appeared last month in western dress after losing a Supreme Court hearing to return to the UK Begum says people wrongly 'feel like I'm responsible' for the crimes of ISIS but she now realizes she was 'naive' and rejects its beliefs. She said: 'They just think I knew about these crimes and I supported these crimes but that's not true. 'I would never support something like this, like the things they did'. Begum is one of the stars of a 90-minute documentary 'The Return: Life After ISIS', which premiered this week at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, one of the most high profile film festivals in the world. Begum was 15 when she ran away with two other schoolgirls to Syria to marry a Dutch jihadi in 2015. Last month, the UK's Supreme Court ruled that she cannot return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship. Begum, from Bethnal Green, East London, was last seen in a photograph published in the Daily Telegraph from the Roj camp wearing sunglasses, a striped t-shirt and a tracksuit top having ditched her black niqab and headscarf. In the film, shot over two years from 2019, she is still wearing a head covering and not Western clothes. Much of the footage is from workshops with a group of Western women who joined ISIS and are now stuck because their governments are refusing to allow them to return. The footage of Begum was captured in 2019, shortly after she was discovered at a prison camp in Syria (pictured around the time) as she goes through therapy sessions Shamima Begum was 15 when she ran away with two other schoolgirls to Syria to marry a Dutch jihadi in 2015 (pictured) Life in the camp is basic with refugees living in blue tents, although Begum is seen watching a TV at one point showing an interview with Good Morning Britain. In the background of her tent is what appears to be a couch with cushions on it. Begum says: 'When I was a teenager I was so ungrateful. I was young and naive and I felt like I knew everything. I felt like I was right and everyone else was wrong. 'I said I hated my mum but now I realize I love her and I feel most safe with her and most loved with her. 'I would say to the people in the UK to give me a second chance because I was still young when I left. I would ask that they put aside everything they've heard about me and just have an open mind about why I left and who I am now as a person'. In another part of the documentary, Begum disputes reports she worked for Hisba, or the ISIS morality police. She says: 'It makes no sense how ISIS would let a 15 year old with no Islamic knowledge work for Hisba when I don't speak the language, I don't really have any credentials or anything. So I don't know why I'm being accused of this. I think my government just wants to make me look bad and they couldn't find anything, so they just made it up'. During the documentary viewers see footage of Begum being interviewed by a British journalist and being asked about the children who were killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. She replies that she was 'shocked, but.I didn't know about the kids'. Amira Abase, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Shamima Begum, 15, at Gatwick airport in February 2015 Begum is now living at the Kurdish-run Roj camp in Syria while she fights a Home Office decision to strip her of her passport In the documentary Begum says she had to say such things because she 'lived in fear' of hardline ISIS supporters in the refugee camp 'coming into my tent and killing me and my baby'. She reads a letter she wrote to herself four years earlier in which she begs her younger self not to join ISIS. The letter reads: 'I know you think this is the only option you have to hold on to your religion and escape the problems in your life, but you have your entire life ahead of you to complete your religion and mend broken relationships between everyone in the family. 'Think about mum and how much you it would hurt her to know that her little baby left her and didn't give her a hug and a kiss, knowing that she'll probably never see her again. 'Think about the education you're about to throw away. You worked so hard to get where you are now. Don't Just walk away from it all for something I know you're not even certain about. Begum describes herself as the 'black sheep in the family' growing up who had a difficult relationship with her mother, who didn't make her feel loved. She turned to the Internet and after watching videos of Syrians being bombed 'felt really guilty' and wanted to defend Muslims who were suffering. Begum says: 'It just made me sick to my stomach that this was going on in the world and no one is doing anything about it. 'I always wanted to be part of a Muslim community because when I was young, I felt like I was an outsider in my community. So I just wanted to be a part of something my friends started practicing (Islam) and they helped me come into the religion as well. And it just started with like learning my religion. And then it turned into wanting to come into Syria, wanting to help the Syrians'. Begum admits that she and her two friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana - who both died in the Syrian conflict - were 'really young and naive' and couldn't tell what was ISIS propaganda and what was real. She became really nervous because the plane they took from Gatwick to Istanbul was delayed, meaning that they would land after the time she was due home. By the time the three girls arrived in Syria Begum's mother called her and she just 'went quiet'. Begum says: 'She kept saying my name and (I said) yeah mum I'm here. She was just crying. After that I didn't speak to her again'. Begum was taken to a facility holding women until a husband was selected for her - surprisingly her first impression was 'wow, he's really good looking'. But he was 'shocked' that she couldn't cook, prompting Begum to tell him: 'You married a 15-year-old, it's your own fault'. When Begum was tracked down for the first time in 2019 she was pregnant, widowed and had lost two children. Her third died shortly after birth and in the film Begum cries as she talks about losing all of her babies. Becoming pregnant for the first time with a daughter made her feel like she 'had a purpose in life again'. Soon after she was born Begum became pregnant again but there were constant bombings and a shortage of food and nappies. Her son died first and it 'hit me really hard' but she 'couldn't even mourn over him because I knew I had to take care of my daughter and my baby, I had to get up and keep moving, there was no time to sit and cry about it', she says. Breaking down in tears, Begum says that the following month her daughter died - she doesn't know what the cause of death for either child was. Begum says: 'When she died it was so hard because I just felt so alone and I felt like my entire world was falling apart in front of me and I couldn't' do anything 'I felt like it was my fault for not getting them out sooner. 'When she died at that moment I just wanted to kill myself. I felt like I couldn't even get up to run any more when there were bombings. 'The only thing keeping me alive was my baby I was pregnant with. I felt like I had to do him right by getting him out and giving him a normal life'. Tragedy struck again when her third child died months later and Begum stayed up all night with his body because she didn't want to be apart from him. She says: 'He was my last hope, he was the only thing keeping me alive. I didn't know how. That day I just cried for all my children. I cried for all of them. No-one could help me, no-one could do anything'. Another heartbreaking episode was breaking the news to Kadiza Sultana's mother that she had been killed in an airstrike. Begum says that Sultana's mother demanded to see a picture and didn't believe it but 'there was no way of showing a picture because her body was in pieces'. She says: 'When Amira (Abase) was killed I felt like I have no friends any more because they were everything I had and I'd known them for half my life and now I feel lost and now I don't know who I am anymore without them. Begum says she knew she had to flee ISIS when she realized she 'can't leave'. She realized that the Islamic State was all about 'trapping people' and that if she tried to leave she would be tortured and treated like a spy. Pointing out the hypocrisy of the Islamic State, Begum claimed that she was told even if she didn't like there she should 'just stay and look good for the videos' In a moment of levity during the documentary Begum is asked by another of the Western ISIS brides what she would do first when she got back to the UK. Laughing, she says: 'Eat a nice big Subway, a foot long with meatballs. Just leave me with it'. One piece of good news Begum has received is that the father of her children is alive and that she got a letter from him last summer through the Red Cross. She says: 'He was telling me he's in a good place, he has good friends, he's trying to be patient. He said happy birthday to me, told me to stay strong, be around good women and to have patience'. The film was directed by Spanish filmmaker Alba Sotorra Clua who said in an interview with womenandhollywood.com she was drawn to the subject because she saw the 'human face' of the suffering behind ISIS. She said: 'This is a film about dialogue, understanding, and forgiveness as a way for peace that challenges the viewer to listen without judging. 'I hope the audience, after watching this film, will change their perspective on what is the responsibility of our governments regarding thousands of women and children in detention camps in Northeastern Syria for more than two year'. Clua said that the crew were all female and that the first days of filming were 'tense' because the team didn't want to share food or tea with the ISIS women they were filming. Some even 'feared that the food could be poisoned' and were 'incredulous' with what the women were claiming to them. The ISIS women didn't trust the filmmakers at the beginning either but over time the 'walls of fear and pain fell to make room for an honest dialogue', Clua said. The film was in part funded by Sky TV which will show it in the UK later this year. TEL AVIV, Israel, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybersixgill, the leader in threat intelligence enablement, today announced that Darkfeed will be available through Swimlane's security automation platform. Now, Swimlane users can enhance their threat research and incident response by integrating actionable alerts from the industry's broadest and most comprehensive intelligence collection from the deep and dark web. "Accurate and actionable intelligence is the key to successfully scaling cyber security operations," said Ron Shamir, VP products and technology alliances at Cybersixgill. "With Darkfeed, Swimlane users gain access to an automated stream of threat intel that they can tailor to meet the needs of their organization's risk posture and tolerance. This marks the beginning of a growing partnership with Swimlane." Powered by the broadest automated collection from the deep and dark web, Cybersixgill Darkfeed is a feed of malicious indicators of compromise (IOCs), including domains, URLs, hashes and IP addresses. With Darkfeed, IOCs are automatically extracted and delivered in real-time. It is actionable, allowing Swimlane customers to receive and preemptively block items that threaten their organization directly from the Swimlane platform. "Cybersixgill is a natural partner for us as we continue to help customers identify new ways to automate some of security's most time and resource-intensive processes," said Karen Rhys Wood VP global alliances, at Swimlane. "By integrating Darkfeed directly into Swimlane's extensible security automation platform, which was designed with an automation engine as its core and differentiates our platform from other SOAR solutions out there, security operations teams gain industry-leading threat intelligence while eliminating time consuming, manual tasks." Through this integration, mutual customers are able to automate a response to threats in advance by using a premium, automated threat intelligence solution based on the most comprehensive data sources from the deep, dark and surface web. Users will be able to enhance their threat hunting activities and conduct deep analysis of malware available on the dark web. In addition, they can covertly monitor critical assets and priorities, as well as respond to threats directly from the Swimlane platform. About Cybersixgill Cybersixgill's fully automated threat intelligence solutions help organizations fight cyber-crime, detect phishing, data leaks, fraud and vulnerabilities as well as amplify incident response in real-time. The Cybersixgill Investigative Portal empowers security teams with contextual and actionable insights as well as the ability to conduct real-time investigations. Rich data feeds such as Darkfeed and DVE Score harness Cybersixgill's unmatched intelligence collection capabilities and deliver real-time intel into organizations' existing security systems. Most recently, Cybersixgill introduced agility to threat intel with their CI/CP methodology (Continuous Investigation/Continuous Protection). Current customers include enterprises, financial services, MSSPs, governments and law enforcement entities. To learn more, visit https://www.cybersixgill.com and follow us on Twitter: @cybersixgill and LinkedIn. About Swimlane Swimlane is at the forefront of the growing market of security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) solutions and was founded to deliver scalable and flexible security solutions to organizations struggling with alert fatigue, vendor proliferation and chronic staffing shortages. Swimlane's solution helps organizations address all security operations (SecOps) needs, including prioritizing alerts, orchestrating tools and automating the remediation of threatsimproving performance across the entire organization. Swimlane is headquartered in Denver, Colo. with operations throughout North America, Central America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. For more information, visit www.swimlane.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1447996/Cybersixgill_Logo.jpg Media Contacts: Matt McLoughlin Gregory FCA on behalf of Cybersixgill [email protected] Laurie Ben-Haim Cybersixgill +972-52-7831911 +1-646-300-9549 [email protected] Cole Christy LaunchTech on behalf of Swimlane +1-619-972-9836 [email protected] SOURCE Cybersixgill Related Links https://www.cybersixgill.com New Delhi: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday (March 18) demanded COVID-19 vaccination for the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders against the three contentious farm laws. In an interaction with reporters, Tikait said, We demand that those who are protesting here should be given the COVID19 vaccine. I will also take the vaccine shot. He also said that the farmers will not end protests because of coronavirus fear. He added that the farmers will increase the size of the tents at the protest sites in order to maintain social distancing. This protest is for a cause and we will continue this till the laws are withdrawn," IANS quoted him as saying. The farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at the Delhi borders for more than 100 days now. The protest at the national capital borders commenced on November 26, 2020. India is witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases again with Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu accounting for 79.54% of these new cases. As of March 18, India has 2,52,364 active coronavirus cases with 1,59,216 recorded deaths, Ministry of Health data showed. Meanwhile, more than 3 crore people have been vaccinated in the country during the vaccination drive so far. Urging states to ensure zero vaccine wastage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, "Over 10% vaccine wastage in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Vaccine wastage in UP is almost the same. It should be reviewed in states that why vaccine wastage is happening. Monitoring must be done every evening and pro-active people should be contacted so that there's no wastage in every state." Live TV Health Authorities have on Wednesday 17th March 2021 informed this medium COVID-19 vaccination has officially started as scheduled with the targeted group of the population. The Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Lamin Samateh, who was vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine, has informed the media that the first Covax vaccine received by the government will cater for only 20% of the population, which is about 487,780 people. The Covax vaccine in town will cater for only 20% of the population throughout the country, said Minister Samateh. The allocation will be able to vaccinate all aged 41 years and above including priority groups summing up to 487, 780 based on projected population census 2013, the government said. The outbreak of COVID-19 diseases in 2019 has brought unprecedented and a new way of global health challenges throughout the world overwhelming health systems and disrupting all aspects of life and services throughout the world. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. LATEST March 23, 2 p.m. Less than a week after her harrowing attack nabbed international headlines, 75-year-old Xiao Zhen Xie wants to donate all the proceeds from her GoFundMe to combat anti-Asian racism. Since the attack, the swelling in her eye has decreased and she "is in better spirits," her grandson, John Chen, said. But she plans on donating all the funds raised in her GoFundMe a sum of more than $900,000 "back to the Asian American community to combat racism." "She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than [h]er," Chen said. "This is my grandma, my grandpa and our family's decision. We hope everyone can understand our decision." Ngoc Pham the 83-year-old Vietnamese man who was the other victim in the March 17 attack also has a GoFundMe. March 18, 7 a.m. Xiao Zhen Xie, the 75-year-old woman who fought back her attacker Wednesday morning, told KPIX in an emotional interview that the experience left her traumatized. The right eye still cannot see anything and still bleeding and we have something to absorb the bleeding, she told the news station. Shes also been unable to eat since the attack. Her grandson, John Chen, has set up a GoFundMe to defray medical costs following the attack. It has raised over $60,000 as of Thursday morning. March 17, 3:50 p.m. In yet another attack on vulnerable members of the Asian community in the Bay Area and the United States, two elderly people were attacked Wednesday morning on Market Street, leaving both hospitalized. But one of the victims, a 75-year-old Chinese woman whose identity remains unclear, successfully fought off her alleged attacker. She struck him repeatedly with a stick she was holding, KPIX reported, and he later had to be wheeled away in a stretcher by paramedics. The elderly woman sustained severe bruising and swelling on her face. KPIX reporter Dennis ODonnell recorded footage from the scene at Market Street and Charles J. Brenham Place where the woman, in tears, yells at her attacker. You bum, why did you hit me? she asked him in Chinese, as he was being rolled off. She was leaning on a street pole, she said, when the 39-year-old punched her multiple times before he was detained by a nearby security guard, police said. This bum, he hit me, she told a crowd of onlookers. She was the second victim that day to be attacked by the suspect, police said. An 83-year-old Asian man was first assaulted by the man, police said, and was also hospitalized. Nearly a half-hour before the attack, police told SFGATE in a statement, he was involved in a fight in UN Plaza. Investigators are working to determine if bias was a motivating factor in the incident, a police spokesman told SFGATE in a statement. The random assault comes a day after a series of shootings believed to be perpetrated by a 21-year-old man on three Atlanta massage parlors left at least eight dead, six of whom were Asian women. In the Bay Area, a litany of attackers have targeted elderly Asian people leaving multiple dead and many fearful to be outdoors. Last week, Pak Ho, a 75-year-old man in Oakland, died after a robbery in which he suffered brain damage. This attack happened less than 48 hours after Danilo Yu Chang, a 59-year-old Chinese Filipino man, was left beaten and unconscious. The organization Stop AAPI Hate released its hate crime statistics Tuesday; a majority of the victims reported were women. Editor's note: This story was updated March 17 at 4:20 p.m. to correct the victim's age to 75. A devastated Co Limerick community gathered in a small park yesterday to release balloons in memory of a four-year-old local boy, Mason O Connell, who died at his home last Saturday. Mason passed away after sustaining fatal head injuries in Rathbane, Co Limerick. Gardai are investigating if the injuries are consistent with a fall from a bunk bed and say a post-mortem, due to be carried out either today or Friday, will determine the cause of the boys death. The youngster was rushed to hospital in Limerick and Cork before being brought to Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin, where he sadly passed away on Tuesday. Local councillor Sean Hartigan said family, friends and neighbours had gathered in Scanlon Park near where the boys mother lives in Castleconnell, to release balloons. Read More Cllr Hartigan did not attend the balloon release but said anybody who lives in the estate would have showed their support. Its a great community, Cllr Hartigan said. Its a very settled community and people are very good to each other there and look out for each other. Meanwhile, a fundraising appeal to help the family of Mason, described as a lovely, bright and happy little chap, has almost doubled its fundraising target of 5,000. The GoFundMe page has seen more than 9,000 raised to give Mason "the send off he deserves". The community of Castleconnell, just outside Limerick city where his family is from, is still reeling from the tragedy, Cllr Hartigan has said. You would have seen him out and about with his parents and grandparents and uncles around the village, he revealed. I know the mothers family and theyre all lovely people and well respected in the Castleconnell community. Obviously, everybody is heartbroken, the family is heartbroken and the wider Castleconnell and Limerick community is heartbroken for them. People would have known Mason to see as he went past with his family. He was a lovely, bright, happy little chap who everybody was mad about. Hardly a day would go by when I wouldnt stop and talk to one of the family. Id cycle around every day and meet lots of people connected with Mason. He had a very wide family and there would not be many people in Castleconnell that wouldnt know some relation of Masons. It's absolutely, completely tragic, he added. There are tears being shed every place. The fundraiser is by people that are connected with the family and anything that can be done to help them in this situation I'm sure would be appreciated. The GoFundMe page states: As a lot of you may know, Mason has battled between Cork Hospital and Temple Street since Saturday when he received a life threatening injury due to a fall. Mason has since unfortunately lost his battle at the young age of four. We are helping to raise money to give him the send off he deserves. Times are so tough for people but nothing compares to what his family are going through. Let's all come together and make things that little bit easier for them. Every little helps. She has ditched UK reality TV for a real estate career in Dubai. And Yazmin Oukhellou appeared to be living her best life as she continued to flaunt her luxurious new lifestyle on her Instagram page on Wednesday. The former TOWIE star, 26, showcased her incredible physique as she posed up a storm in a risque black swimsuit, which highlighted her ample assets. Wow! Yazmin Oukhellou appeared to be living her best life as she continued to flaunt her luxurious new lifestyle on her Instagram page on Wednesday Yazmin smouldered for the camera as she showcased her incredible figure in the mirror, while keeping her look glamorous with a full face of make-up. The reality personality appeared to be in the process of getting ready, as she wore her brunette locks in rollers while lounging in her room. It comes after Yazmin has embarked on a new career in Dubai, following the breakdown of her relationship with ex James Lock in February. Pout: The former TOWIE star, 26, showcased her incredible physique as she posed up a storm in a risque black swimsuit, which highlighted her ample assets Glam: Yazmin smouldered for the camera as she showcased her incredible figure in the mirror, while keeping her look glamorous with a full face of make-up She has turned her back on the new series of The Only Way Is Essex because she 'wants to pursue a career in real estate in the United Arab Emirates'. A spokesperson for TOWIE told The Sun: 'Yaz has decided to stay in Dubai to pursue a career in real estate so she wont be starting this series of The Only Way is Essex. 'We support this decision and wish her well in this new venture. As with other cast, the door remains open should she return to Essex.' Yazmin has since posted a number of Instagram posts of her new job, working for real estate brokers Property Hawk, in the office and out on viewings with clients. Fresh start: Yazmin has since posted a number of Instagram posts of her new job, working for real estate brokers Property Hawk, in the office and out on viewings with clients Dubai is on the UK's red list of countries, meaning if Yazmin had decided to return home to star in the next series, she would have to pay 1,750 for a mandatory, 10-day quarantine at a government-mandated hotel. It appears Yaz wants a fresh start after the start of her trip to Dubai was marred by the breakdown of her relationship with co-star James. The TOWIE couple mutually agreed to cut ties after their relationship turned toxic, with James planning to fly home while Yazmin stays in the UAE. A source previously revealed to MailOnline: 'James and Yazmin haven't been in a good place for a while now and living together in Dubai only put further strain on their relationship. Times change: It comes after the reality srat quit TOWIE following her bitter split from James in February with James flying home while Yazmin stays in the UAE 'Arguments between them have intensified and turned nasty, resulting in the couple deciding between them to go their separate ways and this time, for good. 'James plans to return to the UK for TOWIE filming but Yazmin has work in Dubai so is staying put.' A spokeswoman for Yazmin said: 'I can confirm James and Yazmin have split up. It's an amicable split and both of them are certain that it's time to move on with no animosity.' The Essex couple had experienced a tempestuous relationship, splitting up and reconciling on a number of occasions after they first started dating in 2017. All over: Yazmin broke up with her on-off beau, 34, 'for good' last month, while they were staying in Dubai on a 'work trip' They split in 2019 after Yazmin accused James of betraying her by partying with a group of women in a hotel room in Turkey, where the couple were on holiday together. A year after their bitter breakup they got back together, confirming their romance by kissing on a beach in Mallorca. Yazmin eventually took James back after the pair failed to keep their distance from each other amid filming for TOWIE and sharing the same group of friends. Last year, Yazmin said: 'I feel like the things that went wrong in the relationship before, we now know to put right this time. I look at that as a test run and now this is the real run.' UC Santa Cruz researchers published a new study--in collaboration with UC Water and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced--that suggests covering California's 6,350 km network of public water delivery canals with solar panels could be an economically feasible means of advancing both renewable energy and water conservation. The concept of "solar canals" has been gaining momentum around the world as climate change increases the risk of drought in many regions. Solar panels can shade canals to help prevent water loss through evaporation, and some types of solar panels also work better over canals, because the cooler environment keeps them from overheating. Pilot projects in India have demonstrated the technical feasibility of several designs, but none have yet been deployed at scale. California's canal network is the world's largest water conveyance system, and the state faces both a drought-prone future and a rapid timeline for transitioning to renewable energy. Solar canals could target both challenges, but making the case for their implementation in California requires first quantifying the potential benefits. So that's exactly what researchers set out to do in their paper published by Nature Sustainability. "While it makes sense to cover canals with solar panels because renewable energy and water conservation is a win-win, the devil is in the details," said Brandi McKuin, lead author of the new study and a UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral researcher in environmental studies. "A critical question was whether the infrastructure to span the canals would be cost-prohibitive." Canal-spanning solar panels are often supported either by steel trusses or suspension cables, both of which are more expensive to build than traditional support structures for ground-mounted solar panels. But McKuin led a techno-economic analysis that showed how the benefits of solar canals combine to outweigh the added costs for cable-supported installations. In fact, cable-supported solar canals showed a 20-50 percent higher net present value, indicating greater financial return on investment. In addition to benefits like increased solar panel performance and evaporation savings, shade from solar panels could help control the growth of aquatic weeds, which are a costly canal maintenance issue. Placing solar panels over existing canal sites could also avoid costs associated with land use. Now that the new paper has provided a more concrete assessment of these benefits, members of the research team hope this could lead to future field experiments with solar canals in California. "This study is a very important step toward encouraging investments to produce renewable energy while also saving water," said Roger Bales, a coauthor on the paper who is a distinguished professor of engineering at UC Merced, the former director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and a director at UC Water. Bales was part of the original group that got the project started in 2016, when San Francisco-based social impact agency Citizen Group approached UC Solar and UC Water with the concept. From there, the research grew into a collaboration between UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, and Citizen Group, with funding support from NRG Energy and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Lead author Brandi McKuin started working on the project while completing her Ph.D. at Merced, then continued with help from senior author and UCSC professor Elliott Campbell, the Stephen R. Gliessman Presidential Chair in Water Resources and Food Systems and a fellow Merced transplant. UC Merced professor Joshua Viers and researcher Tapan Pathak advised on the project, and graduate students Andrew Zumkehr and Jenny Ta contributed to analysis. Zumkehr led a complex hydrological analysis using data from satellites, climate models, and automated weather stations to model and compare evaporation rates at canal sites across the state, with and without shade from solar panels. McKuin then used this information in her assessment to calculate the financial benefits of reduced evaporation. Ultimately, it was the cost savings of many combined benefits that made solar canals financially viable, rather than benefits from reduced evaporation alone. But the study also notes that benefits from deploying solar canals could extend beyond immediate financial impacts. For example, every megawatt of solar energy produced by solar canals in California's Central Valley has the potential to replace 15-20 diesel-powered irrigation pumps, helping to reduce pollution in a region with some of the nation's worst air quality. And senior author Elliott Campbell says the wide range of benefits identified by the paper is, in itself, an important lesson to carry forward. He sees the findings as not only an assessment of solar canals, but also a clear illustration of the interconnections between urgent global issues like air quality, energy, and water conservation. "What we're seeing here is actually some surprising benefits when you bring water and energy together," Campbell said. "Sometimes it leads to a smoother landing in how we transition to better ways of making energy and saving water." ### Mamata Banerjee terms Central Bill give more power to LG 'surgical strike', extends support to Delhi CM India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 18: Terming a Bill brought by the Centre to give overarching powers to Lieutenant Governor a "surgical strike" on India's federal structure, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal extending him support in opposing it. In her letter to Kejriwal, Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress chief, said she will write to all non-BJP chief ministers and political parties opposing the saffron party to seek their support for him on the issue. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy on Monday. According to the Bill, the "government" in the city would mean the "Lieutenant Governor" in context of any law made by the legislative assembly. The Bill also makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the L-G before any executive action. Banerjee said she was in full solidarity with Kejriwal and his principled opposition to the Centre's "devious, anti-democratic and anti-Constitution move to disempower the Delhi Government and reduce the status of Delhi's chief minister to a subordinate to the Lieutenant Governor". West Bengal elections 2021: Will bring 'parivartan' in Delhi after winning the elections, says Mamata Banerjee "The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which the BJP Government at the Centre has introduced in the Lok Sabha, is a surgical strike on the Federal Structure of the Indian Republic as enshrined in the Constitution," Banerjee said. She added that but for her commitments in the ongoing campaign for the Assembly elections in Bengal, she would have personally come to Delhi to express her support and solidarity with Kejriwal. "I wish you success in your struggle. Your struggle is my struggle," she said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 21:41 [IST] A man charged with the robbery of two iPhones from students at St Mels College in September 2016 has been given a sentence of six weeks in prison to run concurrently with a sentence he is already serving. Oliver Doran, with an address at 25 Cork Street, Dublin, appeared at last weeks sitting of Longford District Court. The court heard that on September 22, 2016, at 4.30pm on the grounds of St Mels College, two youths had their mobile phones robbed by four males. Gardai saw the men entering a shop and were informed by the school principal, who had followed them, that they had just stolen the phones from two of his students and were trying to sell them at the phone shop. Sgt Enda Daly, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Doran had 59 previous convictions, including a conviction for theft at Virginia District Court on January 5 of this year, for which he received a one month prison sentence. Prior to that, he appeared at Cloverhill District Court charged with section 6 public order for which he received a two month sentence, criminal damage, for which he received a four month sentence, and public order. Before that, he appeared in court in Cavan and was disqualified for six years for driving with no insurance and given a four month sentence. On that date, he was also given six months for assault causing harm. He is currently serving his sentences in Castlerea prison and has been in custody since December 3, 2020. On hearing that the accused is 22 years old with three kids and a wife, Judge Hughes noted that Mr Doran had done a lot of living already. The court heard that, after the matters before the court last Tuesday, the only outstanding charge for Mr Doran was a driving without a licence charge after a sergeant from Cavan happened to spot him driving in Achill Island, Co Mayo. Solicitor, Brid Mimnagh explained that her client wasnt the ringleader and that another male was attempting to sell the phone, not her client. For a lad of his age, he has an appalling history. This happened five years ago. When he was 18 years of age, he robbed two phones, said Judge Hughes. Among the 59 previous convictions were ten section 4 theft convictions, two robbery, assault, possession of articles, and unauthorised taking. He is due for release from prison on April 17, the court heard. I have to take into account that this happened so long ago, said Judge Hughes. Detective Garda Clive Glancy explained that numerous efforts were made to bring Mr Doran to court before but gardai couldn't find him. There is an extensive warrant history. Hes taken 43 bench warrants over the last few years and there was an extensive effort by gardai to locate him, said Det. Gda Glancy. Judge Hughes noted that the victims have moved on with their lives and said he hoped the accused could do the same, sentencing him to six weeks in prison, concurrent to his existing sentence as he was trying to avoid adding on to his sentence. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Eligible residents will soon have more opportunities to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Aiken Regional Medical Centers announced Thursday that it will be hosting nine vaccine clinics at USC Aiken's Student Activities Center, 471 University Parkway, over the next month and a half. The first of these clinics will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, with 1,250 Moderna doses available. The second dose will be scheduled for April 21. The second of these clinics will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, with 1,000 Moderna doses available. The second dose will be scheduled for April 28. The clinics are open to residents who are in either phase 1a or 1b of the vaccine distribution, which includes all residents aged 55 or older, residents ages 16-64 with underlying health conditions and frontline workers with increased occupational risk including, but not limited to, school staff and daycare workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers and law enforcement officers. Appointments must be scheduled through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Administration Management System, or VAMS. Appointment availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration instructions for VAMS can be found online at aikenregional.com, clicking the "Read now" button at the top of the page and then scrolling down and clicking the button reading "Complete the vaccine request form." For residents who are already registered in VAMS, the appointments can be found on the system's website. As of March 18, South Carolina has received 1,883,958 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine and has administered 1,546,874. There are currently 657,171 vaccine appointments scheduled throughout the state. A total of 40,116 COVID-19 vaccines, which includes first and second doses, have been administered in Aiken County. The hospital also said Wednesday it has confirmed 1,257 cases of COVID-19 in Aiken County. Of those 1,257 individuals, three are currently receiving care in the hospital and 133 have died. South Carolina health authorities confirmed 12 COVID-19 cases in Aiken County on Thursday. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control confirmed a total of 856 cases and six deaths across the state Thursday. None of the deaths were in Aiken County. The data reported Thursday is for the date of March 16. Thursday's report brings the total confirmed number of COVID-19 cases in Aiken County to 12,376, with 173 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths. Aiken County also has reported a total of 3,901 probable COVID-19 cases and 40 probable coronavirus-related deaths. In neighboring Barnwell and Edgefield counties, one and two virus cases were confirmed, respectively, on Thursday. The total number of individual test results reported to DHEC statewide Thursday was 18,794, and the percent positive was 6.3%. The total number of cases statewide is now 457,217, with 80,281 probable cases, 7,896 confirmed deaths and 1,042 probable deaths. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Update: USA Today: Unlimited Dark Money Available Clark, who founded Columbus lobbying firm Grant Street Consultants, was accused last year of playing a key role in a $61 million scheme to elect Larry Householder to the House Speaker post and pass a bailout for two Ohio nuclear plants. Clark pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The FBI recorded conversations between Clark and Householder as part of their investigation into the bribery scheme. In those conversations, Clark described himself as Householders proxy and the dark money available to them as unlimited. Via: Tampa Bay Times / AP: A longtime Ohio lobbyist who had pleaded not guilty in a sweeping federal bribery investigation has been found dead. In response to a request about information concerning Neil Clarks death, the sheriffs office in Collier County, Florida, where Clark had been living, provided a report describing a mans body being found near a pond Monday morning by a bicyclist. The county medical examiner confirmed to AP it was Clarks body and that a medical investigation and autopsy are underway. When officials reached out to the mans wife, she said the couple was having financial issues and that she had not heard from her husband for a couple of hours, according to the report. Clark, 67, had pleaded not guilty in August over an alleged role in a $60 million scheme in which federal prosecutors say FirstEnergy companies funneled money through a network of dark money entities to then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in exchange for the passage of a $1 billion nuclear bailout bill. saw a new high of daily cases with 989 people contracting the contagion, pushing the caseload to 8.63 lakh while nine more deaths took the toll to 12,573, the health department said on Thursday. The state's daily count of infections stayed above 500 mark since March 5. Recoveries were lesser with 569 patients being discharged, taking the cumulative to 8,44,568 leaving 6,222 active cases, a health bulletin said. Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 394 cases being reported, aggregating 2,40,245 till date. The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,190. All the nine deceased were ailing with pre-existing comorbidity. A total of 72,025 samples were tested on Thursday taking the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 1.85 crore. Chengalpet was behind Chennai with 86 cases, Coimbatore 77 and Thiruvallur 71. As many as 19 districts reported fresh infections in single digits while Perambalur and Sivagangai recorded 'nil' cases. Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate for the Velachery assembly constituency here and former IAS officer Santhosh Babu also tested positive for the virus. "I wish to inform my Velachery voters that I contracted COVID. How unlucky I am. I really want to meet with all of you and seek your blessings and votes. We will be going on a hyper digital campaign and my teams will come and meet with you. Do vote for MNM and me", he said in twitter. Four individuals who returned from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Karnataka were among those who tested positive today. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan in a review meeting on the COVID-19 precautionary measures, directed the health and family welfare officials toset up mini clinics, primary healthcare centres and temporary hospitals to strengthen the vaccination programme. Noting that 761 private hospitals were already engaged in vaccination drive launched on January 16, the Chief Secretary said other private health care institutions that evince interest can be allowed to inoculate people. Officials were also instructed to identify those who qualify for receiving the jab and steps be taken to ensure that the vaccine doses do not go waste. It was also decided in the meeting that a street with more than three COVID-19 positive cases be declared as a "containment zone" and ensure that the residents of the locality and outsiders coming entering the street undergo COVID-19 test. Places where people congregate in large numbers like drinking water distribution centres, public toilets located in the containment zone should be properly sanitised, the release said. Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who inspected a COVID- 19 hospital equipped with 4,580 beds in neighbouring Athipattu on Thursday said the spread of the virus in the state was "not a large scale outbreak" and cases reported were in 'clusters'. "This time it is not a large scale outbreak", he told reporters. He appealed to the public to take extra care to safeguard themselves in the coming days by wearing masks, maintaining social distance and frequently washing hands. (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.) TORONTO - A malicious prosecution lawsuit against securities regulators can go ahead, Ontario's top court ruled on Thursday in remitting the case for a hearing on its merits. The Ontario Court of Appeal is seen in Toronto on April 8, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel TORONTO - A malicious prosecution lawsuit against securities regulators can go ahead, Ontario's top court ruled on Thursday in remitting the case for a hearing on its merits. The ruling overturns a Superior Court finding last April that barred the plaintiffs, who are seeking $100 million in damages, from pressing their action. The case arose in 2015, when the Ontario Securities Commission froze the assets of Xundong Qin, also known as Sam Qin, and his companies, who developed and managed solar-energy projects. Qin raised millions of dollars, including in China, to fund his projects. He also made use of a provincial program allowing those making large investments in Ontario businesses to apply for permanent residence status in Canada. The commission, however, claimed Qin had violated securities legislation because he neither had permission to sell securities nor had he filed a prospectus. After freezing his assets, the regulator began prosecuting him. Qin turned to the courts, seeking release of his assets. However, Justice Laurence Pattillo refused, finding there was a "serious issue" to be tried. In May 2016, a panel of the securities commission threw out the allegations and lifted the asset freeze. Qin sued the commission and three employees for damages resulting from malicious prosecution. In his unproven statement of claim, Qin argues the allegations were false and had no basis. He also maintained the prosecution went ahead even after he had shown full compliance with securities legislation. The commission responded by arguing Pattillo's earlier decision on the asset freeze effectively meant he had found the regulator to have had reasonable ground to prosecute Qin. Essentially, the commission argued Pattillo had already decided the issue, barring the lawsuit. Superior Court Justice Grant Dow in April 2020 agreed with the commission. He struck the claim, something the Appeal Court said was wrong. In quashing Dow's ruling, the higher court noted that Pattillo had properly based his decision on the asset freeze only on a "very limited" assessment of the commission's allegations. While he allowed the freeze to continue, he did not decide whether there were reasonable and probable grounds for the prosecution. "(Pattillo) was not engaged in an assessment of the ultimate merits, which would include any explanations offered by the defence," the Appeal Court noted. "Nothing decided by (him) would preclude the appellants from arguing the OSC did not have reasonable and probable grounds to believe the appellants had breached the act, either when they initiated the freeze order, or when they commenced proceedings." The Appeal Court ordered the lawsuit back to Superior Court to handle. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. 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 Michigan House Oversight Committee chair said Thursday he will seek subpoena power to compel former Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon to testify in person if he doesnt do so voluntarily. After Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon agreed to waive a confidentiality agreement related to his resignation, Gordon in a letter to Oversight Committee Chair Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, hinted at policy disagreements but provided few details on the specifics of his departure. Related: Whitmer, Gordon waive confidentiality agreement after backlash Gordon, who wrote in the letter he was sending it in lieu of testimony, said in the letter extensive policy discussions were one of the reasons Michigans pandemic response was strong, but noted that on occasion there were robust conversations about policy issues where reasonable people could disagree and did. This was healthy: the stakes were life and death, and different people have different roles, he continued, later adding, Governor Whitmer deserves a health director with whom she is comfortable. Gordon wrote that he was honored to play a part in the Whitmer administrations pandemic response and said he is happy now to be a private citizen, see my family, and contribute to our country in new ways. Gordon, who led the department through the first 10 months of the pandemic, departed suddenly in January. In February, the Whitmer administration executed a separation agreement with him, which included a confidentiality clause that barred the parties from speaking about the circumstances around his departure and granted him $155,506 in severance pay. Republicans focused in on the confidentiality clause and decried the deal as hush money. Last week, Whitmer issued an executive directive curbing but not stopping the use of such agreements. Johnson had previously asked Gordon to testify and indicated during a Thursday House Oversight meeting the letter didnt address his questions. He told the panel he plans to introduce a resolution to give the committee subpoena power if thats whats necessary to compel his participation. I still think theres a lot of things wed like to know as to the reasons for the separation, he said. We do not want to have to use that, we would rather it be voluntary. We will continue to work with Director Gordon. But if necessary, we will go down that road. Gordon and Whitmer agreed to waive the confidentiality provision in his settlement agreement Wednesday, Whitmer Communications Director Tiffany Brown confirmed Thursday morning. Whitmer previously defended those types of agreements as common, something experts said was not true in state government or outside of situations where a public body would face litigation risks. In previous interviews, Whitmer has praised Gordon for his service while declining to discuss specifics about his departure. More on MLive: Whitmer said separation agreements like Robert Gordons are used often. In state government, theyre not. Former Michigan health director given $155K severance pay after abrupt resignation Whitmer said separation agreements like Robert Gordons are used often. In state government, theyre not. Whitmer curbs use of controversial separation agreements in executive directive The Reddit-based group of investors who made GameStop a household name earlier this year have ploughed cash into helping save gorillas this week. Reddit's 'WallStreetBets' community has adopted around 3,500 gorillas and ploughed over $350,000, or over 250,000, into the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Last month, Reddit's WallStreetBets community forum sparked a trading frenzy which saw the share price of US-based retailer GameStop soar from $20 to around $350 at its peak. Fresh focus: Reddit's online-based 'WallStreetBets' community has ploughed cash into helping save gorillas this week Speaking to This is Money, David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: 'It appears the hoard of retail investors who went toe to toe with hedge funds over Gamestops have a humane side to them.' Dr Tara Stoinski, president of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund paid tribute to the WallStreetBets forum by adding one of the channel's many catchphrases, 'apes together strong' to the charity's website. She said: 'In a typical weekend, we might get 20 new adoptions. They have made a real difference.' Some of the adopted gorillas were given fictional names like 'Jim Cramer's Tears', aimed at the Reddit forum's recent GameStop-related market upset. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund said: 'The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is surprised, thrilled and appreciative of the grassroots donations that have come our way thanks to a group of investors on Reddit. 'The money these individuals have donated is an investment, not just in the Fossey Fund's mission of 'Helping People, Saving Gorillas', but in our planet's future.' It added: 'We rely on individual donors who give to us year after year because they know we can be relied upon to be careful stewards of their donations, no matter how large or small. 'We thank these new donors for their contributions to the success of our mission because in saving gorillas, we save the planet.' It's not just gorillas the WallStreetBets community has vowed to save. It has also poured cash into the Kenya-based Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which is best-known for its elephant orphan rescue centre. Speaking to This is Money, a spokesman for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, said: 'The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been extremely fortunate to benefit from this community and we saw our online income on 14 March almost triple from a normal day, with an additional $10,000 generated on the day, which can predominantly be attributed to WSB and seemingly their gains from GME.' What's in a name?: Some of the adopted gorillas were given fictional names like 'Jim Cramer's Tears', aimed at the Reddit forum's recent GameStop-related market upset Boost: The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund said it was 'surprised, thrilled and appreciative of the grassroots donations' from the Reddit WallStreetBets community Wow: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has benefited from the generosity of WSB investors Giving back: Elephant orphans having a great time at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust site Reddit's WallStreetBets' latest mission to help endangered wildlife seems to be a far cry from its most recent and best-known foray into the world of video game retailer GameStop. Earlier this year, retail investors on Reddit's WallStreetBets forum piled into heavily shorted names like GameStop to drive up the share price, in essence, to force the shorts out of their positions and 'punish' them with huge losses. As a result of the forum's actions, GameStop's share price jumped over 1,000 per cent to over $350. It is now closer to the $212 mark. A number of trading platforms like TD Ameritrade and Robin Hood ended up blocking all buying and sellers orders for GameStop shares at one point. The likes of Hargreaves Lansdown also still display warnings about the potential dangers of speculative investing on their website platforms alongside GameStop information. Surge: The Reddit WallStreetBets forum sent the share price of GameStop sky-high earlier this year New evidence uncovered by detectives investigating the mysterious disappearance of two elderly campers could prove the secret lovers were ambushed. Police investigating the vanishing of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, from Victoria's Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020 revealed they are 'very close' to cracking the case. Just one car seen in the area at the time - a white ute - remains unaccounted for, along with the couple's sleeping bags, prompting speculation they may have been used as body bags. Forensic testing has also revealed the toilet set up at the couple's campsite was never used, meaning they may have been murdered soon after Mr Hill made a final high frequency radio call to friends, A Current Affair reported. Russell Hill (pictured, left) had been friendly with Carol Clay (right) for decades before they ad an affair Mr Hill's white Toyota Landcruiser was found with minor fire damage at their burnt campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the valley on March 21 Mr Hill, who was married, had been in a decades-long affair with Ms Clay when they vanished during a camping trip in Victoria's high country. This Saturday, March 20, will mark one year since the pair were last seen. Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told A Current Affair there were a number of persons of interest, including the driver of the mystery dual cab ute. The four-wheel-drive was seen in the area on March 20, and Detective Inspector Stamper said it has not been ruled out of the investigation. 'It might seem like only a very small possibility that those in the white ute will have information about Russell and Carol's disappearance but we can't afford to leave any stone unturned,' he said. The vehicle was spotted at a public 'long drop' toilet in the Valley the day before the camping companions last made contact with friends and has remained a mystery despite almost 12 months of meticulous checks. Russell Hill and Carol Clay were last heard from on March 20, with Mr Hill's wife unaware he was travelling with another woman Victorian detectives released this map of an area where a mystery white ute was spotted on the day the campers went missing Detective Stamper also confirmed police were open to the possibility Mr Hill and Ms Clay were shot by deer hunters, and revealed he was increasing the size of the investigation team by 50 per cent. Campers, deer hunters and four-wheel-drive owners are known to frequent the Valley area. Early speculation suggested that Mr Hill and Mrs Clay may have witnessed something they shouldn't have. Detective Stamper said officers are still following multiple lines of inquiry. 'There's a number of scenarios we are looking at,' he said. 'Certainly that's one we can't eliminate. I'm not wedded to any specific scenario.' It has also been revealed a the toilet Mr Hill and Mrs Clay brought to the campsite was never used, suggesting they may have been ambushed soon after arriving. The new development followed recent confirmation a drone found in the area didn't belong to the pair. The drone, though to be a breakthrough in the year-old case, was handed in to Victoria Police at East Gippsland last weekend but officers confirmed it wasn't the DJI Mavic belonging to Mr Hill. Mr Hill's $2,000 drone was missing the scorched scene, along with phones, car keys and bank cards The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne Mr Hill left his Drouin home on March 19, 2020 and collected his Ms Clay from her home in Pakenham in his white Toyota LandCruiser. They travelled through Licola, spending one night at Howitt High Plains before heading into Wonnangatta Valley. Mr Hill was last heard from on March 20 over HF radio, while Ms Clay had told friends she was heading away and was expecting to return by March 29. Authorities found the couple's campsite burned to the ground near Mr Hill's car days later, before it was discovered their their sleeping bags, phones, and his drone were also missing. Theories about what happened to the pair include that the drone witnessed illegal activity, which led to them being murdered. Recently, the bushman's best friend, Rob Ashlin, claimed the pair could have been slain by illegal hunters after the drone - which Mr Hill was flying that day - captured footage it shouldn't have. Mr Ashlin had been camping with Mr Hill (pictured) on a number of occasions, and described his friend as 'cautious' 'The fact that it's been reported that those sleeping bags were missing, makes me feel that those sleeping bags were carted out of there and... used as body bags,' Mr Ashlin told Liz Hayes on Channel Nine's Under Investigation. 'There are a lot of places - the country is very rugged - where they can be got rid of, never to be found again.' High country musterer, Lachlan Culican, who helped police during the search, also believes the pair may have accidentally captured footage of illegal hunters in the area. He was shocked by the the sheer quantity of dead deer in the area where their scorched campsite was found, explaining he saw a new carcass every '200m or 300m'. Mr Ashlin, who was friends with Mr Hill for 30 years, also suggested there might be someone sinister lurking in the mountains. Carol Clay, 73, who was once the President of the Country Women's Association of Victoria, had been in a relationship with Russell Hill for many years in the lead up to their disappearance He had a friend who was hunting deer in the region and set up camp for the night with someone else. As they sat around the fire, they saw a person standing at the edge of the light, staring at them. 'One of them shot over to his vehicle and this person who was standing there just wandered behind the shadow of a tree and was gone,' he said. 'They were being stalked without knowing about it for some time.' Mr Ashlin said the idea that there could be a suspect hiding in the mountains was 'driving' him to search for answers. He also found the image of their burnt campsite, taken by two passers-by a week later, startling because the site was not set up the way Mr Hill arranged his campsites. He said the experienced camper would have known better than to make a campfire close to flammable material such as gas bottles or their tent. The pair were in a secret relationship and didn't tell anyone where they were going. Ms Clay (pictured) just told friends she would be gone for a few days Mr Ashlin went camping with Mr Hill on many occasions, and described his friend as 'cautious'. When he saw the jumble of burnt equipment, he knew something was amiss. 'I knew straight away in my own mind that something really unforgiving had happened,' he said. Fire forensics expert Greg Kelly experimented with tent fibers and ropes to see if an accidental fire could have started, but said the materials burned too slowly and extinguished themselves before a blaze could have properly ignited. There were also no burn marks across the car doors, which were nearby, the tyres weren't melted, and the esky - which was underneath the car - was intact. Mr Kelly said the scene suggested the fire was short and hot, which was likely caused by an accelerant - such as the gas canisters inside the tent. Detectives have believed since December that the potential attackers may have torched their campsite to destroy forensic evidence of a crime. Police are confident the pair did not fake their own deaths and do not believe it is case of murder suicide. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! S-Oil and Dong Kwang Chemical officials inspect byproduct gas pipelines at the former's plant in Ulsan in this undated file photo. Courtesy of S-Oil By Nam Hyun-woo S-Oil said Thursday it signed an agreement with a domestic industrial gas producer to expand the use of byproduct gas generated from S-Oil's refining facilities. The refiner signed the deal with Dong Kwang Chemical agreeing to expand S-Oil's supply of byproduct gas. Under the deal, S-Oil will supply off-gas, which includes a large amount of CO2 emitted during the hydrogen production process at its Ulsan refinery, to Dong Kwang Chemical through pipelines. Dong Kwang Chemical will produce dry ice and liquefied CO2 for industrial and food use after refining CO2 via carbon-capture and utilization technology. The partnership is expected to let the refiner reduce 100,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, S-Oil said. S-Oil has been supplying off-gas to Dong Kwang Chemical since 2016. Dong Kwang Chemical is located close to S-Oil's refinery in Ulsan. The MOU between the two companies will help the gas producer double its annual production capacity to 200,000 tons by the end of 2022. "We forged this alliance as part of our effort to pursue environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management to curb CO2 emissions, as well as to support the growth of a medium-sized enterprise by ramping up the supply of raw materials to expand production capacity," S-Oil said in a statement. S-Oil has been exploring investment opportunities in various business models which are consistent with the intensifying global pursuit of carbon neutrality and reduced emission levels. One of them is investing in the production of blue and green hydrogen. Blue hydrogen is created from fossil fuels and carbon emissions from the process are captured and stored. Green hydrogen is made from non-fossil resources. Also, the refiner has been distributing highly efficient cooking stoves in Myanmar for free since 2019, thereby securing 10,000 tons of emission credits per year. Last year, S-Oil invested in Glory & Tech, a company pursuing Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, and earned 13,000 tons of emission credits annually while at the same time helping to improve the quality of life in Bangladesh. To mainstream moviegoers, Riz Ahmed might still be best known as Bodhi Rook from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But the actor has been slowly building an impressive resume of TV and movie roles. Now Ahmeds profile and net worth are on the rise following his Academy Award nomination for playing a drummer struggling with hearing loss in Sound of Metal. Sound of Metal star Riz Ahmed at The IMDb Studio | Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb Riz Ahmed gave a breakthrough performance in Nightcrawler Sound of Metal now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video might be the movie that finally got Ahmed serious awards attention. But critics have been talking about the actor for years. Even before he joined the galaxy far, far away, Ahmed started as a standout performer in small movies such as 2008s Shifty and 2010s Four Lions before popping in Hollywood. His big breakthrough role came in the form of a supporting turn in 2014s Nightcrawler. Although both he and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal were shut out of the Oscars, Ahmed parlayed the movies success into HBOs The Night Of and bigger movies. In addition to Star Wars, hes appeared in Jason Bourne and Venom. With Sound of Metal, Ahmed officially arrives as a leading man. RELATED: Riz Ahmed Reveals the Cute Way He Met His Wife Now the actor is nominated for an Oscar for his role in Sound of Metal Early on, Sound of Metal felt like the little movie that could. And as awards season progressed, it seemed like Ahmed might not get an Oscar nomination after all. Yet, he found himself on the shortlist alongside past winners Anthony Hopkins (The Father) and Gary Oldman (Mank). Ahmed is one of three first-time nominees in Best Actor and the first Muslim in the category. For fans of his work, Sound of Metal might very well lead to many more Ahmed films. And it will certainly open the doors for the actor to pursue more opportunities in the future. On a personal level, Ahmed and his wife, novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza, stay very private. But the actors career could be about to explode, particularly if he finds himself with a win on Oscar night. RELATED: Sound of Metal Movie Review: Riz Ahmed in a Compelling, Emotional Drama [AFI Fest] So what is Oscar nominee Riz Ahmeds net worth? With all his success so far, Ahmeds fans might wonder what the actors current net worth is. And according to CelebrityNetWorth.com, he is worth an estimated $3 million. Much of that probably comes from his work on major blockbusters such as Rogue One and Venom. After all, those movies are part of ongoing franchises and grossed $1.1 billion and $856 million, respectively. But besides those roles, Ahmed has been working steadily for many years. In the past decade, hes appeared in more than a dozen movies. And thats not even counting his extensive work on television. With Sound of Metal, Ahmeds net worth is only likely to rise. So fans should keep an eye out for how that total changes in the coming years and what projects the actor takes on next. With 607 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the national capital reported the highest number of fresh cases this year, taking the total number of positive cases to 6,45,632, the health department informed on Thursday evening. There are now 2,924 active cases in As many as 48,737 RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 31,516 Rapid Antigen tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, informed the health department. So far, 6,31,759 recoveries and 10,949 deaths have been reported, including one in the last 24 hours. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that all the people of could be vaccinated in three months if the Centre relaxes the parameters of vaccination. "There is a surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital. There was a time when the daily COVID-19 cases were retrained to 100-125. Yesterday, Delhi recorded more than 500 cases," Kejriwal said. "I appeal to everyone, who is eligible, to get themselves vaccinated. 30,000-40,000 vaccines are being administered per day, as of now. We will increase this to 1.25 lakh vaccines per day. In the next few days, we are increasing our capacity," he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Intelligence Officials Believe China Meddled in 2020 Election to Damage Trump: Report A report from the U.S. intelligence community suggests that a minority of intelligence officials believed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did, in fact, attempt to hinder former President Donald Trumps chances in the 2020 election, while reporting that the CCP did not deploy interference efforts. A report from the National Intelligence Council (pdf) released March 10 stated that Russia sought to denigrate President Joe Biden and boost Trump during the 2020 election, and that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, adding: We have high confidence in this judgment. The report further asserted that the CCP sought stability in its relationship with the United States and did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught, while intelligence officials suspected that Beijing probably believed that its traditional influence tools, primarily targeted economic measures and lobbying key individuals and interest groups, would be sufficient to achieve its goal of shaping U.S. policy regardless of who won the election. We did not identify China attempting to interfere with election infrastructure or providing funding to any candidates or parties. But the report also indicated that some U.S. intelligence officials believe the CCP tried to undermine Trump. The National Intelligence Officer for Cyber assesses that China took at least some steps to undermine former President Trumps reelection chances, primarily through social media and official public statements and media, says the report in its minority view section. The NIO agrees with the ICs view that Beijing was primarily focused on countering anti-China policies, but assesses that some of Beijings influence efforts were intended to at least indirectly affect U.S. candidates, political processes, and voter preferences, meeting the definition for election influence used in this report. The NIO agrees that we have no information suggesting China tried to interfere with election processes. The NIO has moderate confidence in these judgments. The short paragraph is referring to the National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for Cyber Issues on the National Intelligence Council, which leads the U.S. intelligence community in its cyber analysis and analyzes challenges to elections. And the assessment termed election influence as activities intended to directly or indirectly affect an election and deemed interference as attempts to target the technical aspects of elections, as noted by the Washington Examiner. We assess that Beijings risk calculus against influencing the election was informed by Chinas preference for stability in the bilateral relationship, their probable judgment that attempting to influence the election could do lasting damage to U.S.-China ties, and belief that the election of either candidate would present opportunities and challenges for China, the majority view stated. Last year, then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that China meddled in the 2020 federal elections, and further alleged that intelligence about Chinas election interference was suppressed by management at the CIA, which pressured analysts to withdraw their support for the view. Also this week, the Department of Justice, including the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security and its cybersecurity agency said in a joint report that they have no evidence that any foreign government-affiliated actor such as Russia, China, or Iran prevented voting, changed votes, or disrupted the ability to tally votes or to transmit election results in a timely manner, altered any technical aspect of the voting process, or otherwise compromised the integrity of voter registration information of any ballots cast during 2020 federal elections. Ratcliffe, meanwhile, said at the time that he supports the stated minority viewbased on all available sources of intelligence, with definitions consistently applied, and reached independent of political considerations or undue pressurethat the Peoples Republic of China sought to influence the 2020 U.S. federal elections. Senior Reporter The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) will identify inmates that qualify for the general amnesty that was approved by Cabinet, with President Mnangagwa gazetting the Clemency Order for their release once the processes are completed. Cabinet approved the general amnesty on Tuesday. The move is expected to decongest the prison population which stands at 20 407, against a holding capacity of 17 000. Section 112 of the Constitution allows the President, after consultation with Cabinet, to exercise the power of mercy to pardon any person concerned in or convicted of an offence against law. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza said there was no time frame for the release of the qualifying prisoners as it was an administrative issue. "The Cabinet's decision will be forwarded to the ZPCS and they will have to identify inmates who qualify for the amnesty because as you may be aware, it's not every prisoner who qualifies for the pardon. "When those processes are complete, the President will then gazette the Clemency Order before the release of the qualifying prisoners," said Mrs Mabhiza. Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, said the amnesty would target prisoners who have served at least three months among other considerations. "The proposed general amnesty is targeted at all prisoners who have served at least one third of their sentences, save for those convicted of specified offences such as the following: murder, treason, rape or any sexual offence, carjacking, robbery, stock theft, and public violence. There shall be full remission of sentence to be granted to all prisoners who would have served life imprisonment for at least 15 years' commutation," she said. She said the overpopulation in prisons poses a health hazard, especially considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the recommended measures to curtail the spread of the disease. The last amnesty was granted in March last year. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday at around 3 p.m. On Thursday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Cantina Mexicana at 140 New Dorp Lane, which is open for indoor and outdoor dining from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. YES, THEYRE OPEN: Cantina Mexicana is open for indoor dining, outdoor dining, pickup and delivery at 140 New Dorp Lane. The hours for indoor dining are Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call 718-351-5455 to contact the restaurant. Posted by Staten Island Advance on Thursday, March 18, 2021 Customers can place orders for pickup and delivery from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Call 718-351-5455 for more information, to place an order or to make a reservation. Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com. WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN? Nurnberger Bierhaus, 817 Castleton Ave. HoBrah, 31 New Dorp Plaza Trackside Bar & Grill, 61 New Dorp Plaza Fig & Vine, 710 New Dorp Lane The Hop Shoppe, 372 Van Duzer St. Golden Ocean Group Limited, or in the link below. The Annual Report is also available on the website of the Commission, www.sec.gov . Shareholders may also request a hard copy of the Annual Report, which includes the Company's complete 2020 audited financial statements, by contacting the Investor Relations department. Golden Ocean Group Limited Hamilton, Bermuda March 18, 2021 Contact Person: Peder Simonsen: Chief Financial Officer, Golden Ocean Management AS +47 22 01 73 45 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Attachment I just wanted to cook some tamales to support my two daughters and pay my rent. I wanted to start working again, like I used to at the bars, Velez said in Spanish through a translator. But Pierre said I couldnt work out of there. He said, Theres no space in the refrigerators. If you try to do work here, Im going to sue you. March 17, 2021 Majority of the business organizations need additional funds to run their business. While most of them raise money from private investors, there are some businesses that opt for loans. This type of loan is known as commercial loans. When a financial institution gives a loan to a company for commercial purposes, it is known as commercial lending. Commercial Lending Process: The commercial lending process is different from other loan processes. Commercial loans are mostly given to business organizations. The loan process is complicated as you have to deal with complex loan requests. Financial institutions have to calculate risks as well as follow all the regulatory compliance. As it is a complicated procedure, most lenders use commercial lending solutions to automate the process. Commercial Lending Software: It is loan management software that helps you in the commercial lending process. If you are into the commercial lending business, you need to use this software. It helps to manage complex and risky commercial loans, increase operational efficiency, speed up the loan process, reduce cost, promote transparency, and automate compliance. Features of Commercial Lending Software: There are different types of lending solutions available in the market. However, before you opt for a commercial lending solution, make sure it has all these features. Automated Loan Segregation: The software must have a loan segregation feature. It will help you to automatically segregate the commercial loans on the basis of loan type, amount, and risk. Loan Origination and Renewal: It should have automatic loan origination and renewal system. It helps clients to instantly get loan approvals and renew the loan process. This feature is mostly used for fast-track loans. Automatic Compliance: When it comes to commercial lending, compliance can be an issue. You need to use software that has automatic compliance. It should fulfill all the loan regulations. Portfolio Monitoring: There should be a portfolio monitoring feature that helps you to monitor the loan portfolio of the clients. It will help you get information about collaterals and check loan documents. Lead Management: This feature helps you to generate leads from loan inquiries and manage the leads. You can easily create leads using lead data and convert it into a loan application. Underwriting and Risk Rating: The software must also include an underwriting feature. It will help you in the advance analysis of the loan and give an accurate risk rating. You can use this feature to mitigate loan risks. Integrated Loan Closing: The loan closing process can be very hectic, but you can easily manage it via this app. This feature helps you to easily process the loan requests, check risks, eligibility, documents, and well as close the loan request by generating a loan package. Online Payment Process: With the help of this feature, you can easily check KYC, AML and process the loan request via a digital platform. Customer Relationships: Apart from the loan management feature, the software must also include customer relations or management features. It will help you to effectively manage the client request and review customer relationships. These are some important features of commercial lending software. Make sure the software you use sports all these features for effective commercial lending. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. New Delhi: Asserting that the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital was not a cause of worry, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced the number of people vaccinated in Delhi each day will be raised from around 40,000 to 1.25 lakh. In the last three days, the number of daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi has increased to over 500, he said, adding that though it was a "negligible" rise, his government has directed officials for stricter tracking, tracing and isolation of cases. Arvind Kejriwal Kejriwal said the number of vaccination centres in Delhi will be doubled and they will open from 9 am to 9 pm. The chief minister, in a press conference, said it did not add up while vaccination was going on cases of viral infection were rising. Appealing to the Centre to open vaccination for all instead of prescribing who were eligible to get it first, Kejriwal asserted that all the people of Delhi can be administered the Covid-19 vaccine in three months if the restrictions were lifted and enough supply of vaccine was ensured. Covid-19 vaccine He appealed to the Centre to decentralise vaccination process so that states can carry out immunisation on a war footing. Kejriwal said that due to a decrease in cases, laxity had crept in the system but now measures like using masks will be strictly enforced. The Delhi government is in consultation with experts of its own and the Central government and taking all possible measures to check the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. A restaurant has created hot cross 'bao' buns just time in for Easter. Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung has unveiled a range of hot cross 'bao' buns, made with pillow-like soft steamed bread - a twist on the Easter classic. The buns are filled with decadent molten chocolate that oozes out when eaten. Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung has unveiled a range of hot cross 'bao' buns, made with pillow-like soft steamed bread - a twist on the regular Easter classic Diners can get their hands on the limited edition Hot Cross Bao at restaurants across Sydney and Melbourne, while stock lasts so hop on over before they sell out. For online orders, foodies can get the buns delivered to their home in a frozen form. The sweet buns are easy to prepare - simply steam in a steamer over boiling water for five minutes or until it's cooked through - or microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. The new dessert comes after the restaurant launched its online delivery service selling frozen dumplings so customers can enjoy their favourite dish at home. The buns are filled with decadent molten chocolate that oozes out when eaten The online store offers a huge range of frozen products such as dumplings, wontons, noodles and bao buns - complete with cooking instructions. Dumpling fans can order online to pick up or have it delivered straight to the door via its contactless delivery service at selected areas around Sydney and Melbourne. The restaurant said its dumplings can last up to two months in the freezer. DETROIT - Ford Field, located in what was once a COVID-19 outbreak epicenter, will become a symbol of hope for the region, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said Thursday. He, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state leaders spoke about the plan to make the Detroit Lions home into a vaccination site to administer 5,000 doses a day. Michigan worked with the federal government to make Ford Field a clinic to continue the states outreach initiatives towards racial equity with the vaccine, Gilchrist said. As a Detroiter, I felt this personally, having said goodbye to 27 people due to this virus, he said at a March 18 press conference inside the stadium. The virus hit our city hard...and today, right here at Ford Field, southeast Michigan becomes a symbol of hope. Gilchrist, chair of the COVID-19 Task Force on Racial Disparities, and Whitmer both thanked the Biden-Harris administration for coordinating with Michigan to make this vaccination site a reality. Im really thrilled that Ford Field was selected to be one of the first federal community vaccination sites in the country, Whitmer said. State government cant tackle this pandemic and vaccination drive alone. Ford Field will have the capacity and supply to administer 6,000 doses daily to eligible residents, according to the Protect Michigan Commission. That includes 5,000 doses on site and 1,000 distributed to mobile clinics throughout Detroit and Wayne County. The Ford Field clinic will be open to any Michigan resident who registers and gets an appointment. When the clinic opens next week, residents age 50 and older will be eligible for vaccines, as well as those between 16-49 with pre-existing conditions. On April 5, eligibility extends to all residents 16 and older. Read more: Registrations open for COVID-19 vaccines at Ford Field in Detroit The clinic is no-cost, no-insurance and runs from March 24 to mid-May. Whitmer said that means more than 330,000 doses can be administered at the stadium in the next eight weeks. The initial vaccine used at the clinic will be Pfizer, Keyes said. To sign up, Michigan residents can text EndCOVID to 75049 to receive a registration link from Meijer, one of the projects partners. Residents may also register online at clinic.meijer.com/register/CL2021 or call 888-535-6136 and press 1. FEMA identified Ford Field as a potential mass vaccination location months ago, said Kerry Ebersole Singh of the Protect Michigan Commission. After that, it was about finding partners to run the logistics of a clinic, which led to collaborations with Meijer, the Henry Ford Health System, Wayne County, the City of Detroit and the Detroit Lions. Meijer was selected due to its vaccine signup system, said Rick Keyes, president and CEO. Our Meijer pharmacy and store teams have administered 225,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Michiganders and a total of 350,000 vaccines to people and communities we serve throughout the Midwest, he said. Weve been able to do that by leveraging an online registration effort that to date has allowed us to register more than 1.8 million people for vaccines. Singh announced that Meijer sent out the first Ford Field appointments on Thursday at 11, and for Michiganders that signed up to check their phones. Her commission is helping the Whitmer administration to reach the states vaccination goals, which she said is speeding up. We have actually had 33 days over the last six weeks with over 50,000 shots in arms, Singh said. On March 11, we hit 90,000 shots in arms on a single day, which is amazing. Kevin M. Sligh Sr., the regional administrator for FEMA, said the Department of Defense will provide more than 200 staff to assist with the vaccination efforts. He applauded the private-public partnership and added as an African American, this clinic makes him happy on a personal level. My grandmother, my mother, my twin sister, my uncle and several of my cousins over the past year have contracted COVID-19, he said. It was a trying time for the family. We were lucky. Every last one of them made it through, but it made me think, as an African American myself with three comorbidities, to really think hard about getting a vaccine. Well, I chose to get (it). Black Michigan residents account for more than 20% of COVID-19 deaths, despite accounting for 14% of the states population. Additionally, only 4% of Michigan residents that have been fully vaccinated are Black, according to state health statistics. Read more: Michigan officials hope vulnerability index, Ford Field clinic will help address vaccination disparities Wright Lassiter, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health, said his health system is involved to help with best practices to fight vaccine hesitancy in minority communities. Our mobile vaccination efforts are serving communities of color with vaccine hesitancy, as well as essential workers and populations that may have technology barriers and other barriers to access to schedule appointments, he said. Educating Detroit and other southeast Michigan residents of color about the vaccine is part of the Protect Michigan Commissions role, Singh said. Folks want to understand the vaccine information to be educated about whats in the vaccine, how it came to be, to get comfortable to take the vaccine, she said. Our role...we want to make sure that were meeting people where they are, providing them the information they need and then motivating them to get vaccinated. Read more from MLive: Michigans coronavirus numbers are going up, but will vaccinations blunt the impact? COVID brides and industry professionals consider how the pandemic could change future weddings COVID-19 pandemic still teaching Michigan schools lessons a year later 9 things we got totally wrong about COVID-19 a year ago SCHENECTADY Former employees of St. Clare's Hospital, which the state forced to close in 2008, are hoping that some of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavius relief bill can be used to fund their broke pension plan. The St. Clare's pension plan was terminated in 2018 amid a $50 million shortfall that led to a majority of the 1,100 beneficiaries former nurses, lab techs, housekeepers and office staff, having their expected retirement benefits canceled. A group of the pensioners has been appealing to state Sen. Jim Tedisco of Glenville to intervene on their behalf. The state had previously paid $28 million into the pension plan to fund benefits owed to retirees, some of whom now work for Ellis Hospital, which absorbed St. Clare's as part of the statewide hospital consolidation program more than a decade ago. More than half of St. Clare's pensioners won't get a dime Tedisco is now focusing his efforts on an $86 billion provision in the pandemic relief bill passed by the Biden administration set aside to bail out other failed pension plans. Tedisco, a Republican, says the St. Clare's plan isn't eligible under the COVID bill because it was not a union pension plan. I find it a serious omission to not include a miniscule fraction of that stimulus relief to help our dedicated former St. Clares Hospital workers who have had the rug pulled out from under them," Tedisco said. Im urging our federal representatives to do the right thing and fix this injustice by helping our shared constituents, the St. Clares pensioners, just as theyve helped the Teamsters. St. Clares Pension Recovery Alliance Chair Mary Hartshorne told the Times Union on Thursday that her group's members have had an extremely rough year. The pandemic shut down the courts where they had been seeking compensation through a lawsuit filed against the pension's board of directors, which is closely aligned with the Catholic Diocese. And those former St. Clare's workers who now work at Ellis and elsewhere had to risk their health trying to save the lives of COVID-19 patients who overwhelmed local hospitals knowing that they ultimately had been denied so much from their retirement years. "It really has been a tough road for all of us," Hartshorne said. "This is just an absolutely disastrous situation for us." The Dean approves Reply Thread Link this better not awaken anything in me... Reply Parent Thread Link ive been watching community for the first time as background noise at night and im feeling things ive never felt for him but also like v conflicted about it bc jeff is the kind of man who makes you hate yourself ;_; i also have a crush on gillian jacobs now so fun times for me all around Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What happened to that recent post, where he was revealed to be a creep? Or did I read that somewhere else? Reply Thread Link make one! i didn't see it here Reply Parent Thread Link Im really annoyed, because now I cant remember. It was definitely something I read about Joel, because I immediately thought the Soup guy is really like that? when I read it. It ruined my image of him. Reply Parent Thread Link his creepiness was revealed in the sony hack when he emailed some exec that broke his foot joel was like did you hit the nurse with your crutches? the exec said no I jerked off in the bathroom. joel replied was it to pictures of gillian (jacobs) cause thats what I would have done. but people talked more about him wanting a discount on a TV than that interaction Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Maybe its about the comments he made regarding Britney in 2007? Reply Parent Thread Link I remember reading something he said recently that definitely turned me off him, but I can't remember what it was either! ETA: I think maybe it was something he said about Britney Spears? It looks like the post was deleted Edited at 2021-03-18 04:59 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link It was here and it was apparently deleted. He and Keith Olbermann had a like 5 minute segment on MSNBC just ripping on Britney and it was revolting. Reply Parent Thread Link that shirt is so tryhard masc lol gotta advertise that i eat MEAT because im a MANLY MAN Edited at 2021-03-18 01:47 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link if i had muscles, i'd display them too. Not lifting to cover that up. Reply Parent Thread Link im talking about his dumbass shirt that advertises to the world that he eats steak as part of the GALACTIC FEDERATION OF CARNIVORES Reply Parent Thread Expand Link joel basically being an irl jeff winger will never stop making me laugh. need pics of his current cake situation to fully complete my observations tho joel basically being an irl jeff winger will never stop making me laugh. need pics of his current cake situation to fully complete my observations tho Reply Thread Link Yes Reply Parent Thread Link By the way, Jeff, I think your shirt is trying to get out of your pants. Reply Parent Thread Link Damn, forgot to include a poll about whether you would do him. oh, well. leave your answers here. Reply Thread Link to answer my own question: yes. Reply Parent Thread Link yes, but I would hate myself afterwards Reply Parent Thread Link oh yes absolutely plus he's 6'4" sign me the fuck up Edited at 2021-03-18 01:48 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link sure would! Reply Parent Thread Link Second poll should be Tall or Hot Reply Parent Thread Expand Link dunno. sometimes he is so nothing to me, but once in a blue moon he looks super good to me Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yes, i'm guessing he has a big dick. Reply Parent Thread Link absolutely, i want him to lift me up and fuck me around like a ragdoll, hell yes, i have a thing for tall men Reply Parent Thread Link No tbh. I understand why people want to, but he's just not my cup of tea. Reply Parent Thread Link fuck no Reply Parent Thread Link No. He reminds me weirdly of my dad. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Absolutely Reply Parent Thread Link Yes Reply Parent Thread Link Nope. He's always the hand-sniffer from What's Your Number to me, I can't get past it. Reply Parent Thread Link no, he's almost 50. probably takes a while to get hard. Reply Parent Thread Link I would and hate myself for it Reply Parent Thread Link Yes Reply Parent Thread Link No, I honestly just dont see it. Reply Parent Thread Link would not do this skinny chicken little and his nonexistant hairline even if he didnt open his mouth Reply Parent Thread Link 100% yes gimme them daddy cum cumz Reply Parent Thread Link I'm straight and I would do Gillian Jacobs before him. He looks like a Funko Pop version of the Joker with no makeup. Reply Parent Thread Link I get why people would but between his stint as a guest judge on drag race & the fact that he looks way too American, it's a solid no from me. Reply Parent Thread Link low-key and surprising hottie you like, ONTD? i'm not low key or surprising and no one on ontd likes me, but i am a hottie...'s chicken. Reply Thread Link Omg I forgot about Shannb. Was she banned or did she just leave out of embarrassment. Reply Thread Link She deleted everything- so, the latter. Reply Parent Thread Link Ah ok. Ty Reply Parent Thread Link Wait, what happened? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link thought it said butt. i knew he was buff but i'm very curious about his bum Reply Thread Link I remember his sad, disappointing, naked butt in "What's Your Number". Reply Parent Thread Link I read his book recently and he said it was a butt double. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it can't be that sad and dis... *googles*...oh... Reply Parent Thread Link More celebs need to see his hair plug doctor because he's really glowed up from the early days of The Soup. Reply Thread Link Yeah, he used to look like a creepy Social Studies teacher. Reply Parent Thread Link He's always been ripped as hell. I'd hit it. Reply Thread Link well not always, but since about 2009 when Community started, before that he was too weirdly shaped, too skinny Reply Parent Thread Link Don't forget that receding hairline. He was really on his way to playing weirdo/creeper/stoner parts for the rest of his career and legit changed his entire life with some plugs and a gym membership. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link He looks straight out of a WarnerMedia animated movie. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Joel and his newest hair installation was on Kelly Clarkson Show today with baby animals and I was Reply Thread Link His vague response to the accusations against Louis C.K made me hate Joel :P Reply Thread Link Hes a bit of a groper, so he cant exactly condemn him. Reply Parent Thread Link Neither surprising nor low-key. He was hot past season 1 of community, and people have been thirsting over him since at least his guest hosting gig on RuPaul's Drag Race. Reply Thread Link always found him creepy and weasel faced. but his surgeon did the thing with them hair plugs. sashay shantay hunny Reply Thread Link Honestly a medical miracle Reply Parent Thread Link his plugs are iconic. steve carell is shaking. Reply Parent Thread Link New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday skipped talking about terrorism, Pakistan-sponsored or not, in his address to plenary session of 9th BRICS Summit being held in China's Xiamen. PM Modi has often used the international forums to galavanise support against Pakistan-bred terrorism but he did not even touch upon the contentious issue, most likley due to China's objections towards it. China, a close ally of Pakistan, had made it clear that talks on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism at the BRICS Summit were not encouraged. And keeping in mind the delicate relations between India and China, perhaps India chose not to stir the dragon. However, it did not stop the Chinese President Xi Jinping from talking about terrorism in his address at BRICS Business Forum on Sunday. Jinping talked about adopting a "holistic" approach of terrorism that includes addressing "symptoms and root causes", but avoided naming Pakistan. Read | PM Modi, Chinese president Jinping display bonhomie on day 1 "I am convinced that as long as we take a holistic approach to fighting terrorism in all its forms, and address both its symptoms and root causes, terrorists will have no place to hide. When dialogue, consultation and negotiation are conducted to create conditions for achieving a political settlement of issues such as Syria, Libya and the Palestine-Israel conflict, the flame of war can be put out, and displaced refugees will eventually return to their homes," Jinping said. The statement indicates China's dual strategy against terrorism, wherein on one side it extends protection to Pakistan while condemning the act at global stage. "The intertwined threats of terrorism and lack of cybersecurity, among others, have cast a dark shadow over the world. The BRICS countries are committed to upholding global peace and contributing to the international security order. BRICS should foster the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and take a constructive part in the process of resolving geo-political hotspot issues and make our due contributions. "The BRICS countries should shoulder our responsibilities to uphold global peace and stability. Peace and development underpin and reinforce each other. The people around the world want peace and cooperation, not conflict or confrontation. Thanks to the joint efforts of all countries, the global peace has reigned for more than half a century. However, incessant conflicts in some parts of the world and hotspot issues are posing challenges to world peace," he added. Follow live updaes on BRICS Summit, day 1 here Meanwhile, BRICS nations on Monday signed a joined declaration deploring terrorism in all its forms: We deplore all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICScountries, and condemn terrorism in all its forms & manifestations wherever committed &by whomsoever & stress that there can be no justification. We express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida & its affiliates including the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP & Hizb ut-Tahrir: BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration Read | Xiamen Declaration: BRICS nations condemn terrorism in all forms, including Pak-based LeT and JeM For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Huron Behavioral Health gave its annual report to the Huron County Board of Commissioners this week, highlighting the efforts done in the past year dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Natlie Nugent, who gave the presentation for the annual report, said their presentation is different than in years past, as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services wanted to know how Huron Behavioral Health dealt with five priority issues during the pandemic. Those five issues are increased mental health concerns, access to telehealth services, outbreaks in AFC or specialized residential communities, increased substance abuse concerns, and psychiatric concerns of those in jail awaiting trial. Some of the initiatives HBH completed in 2020 include: Holding three outpatient sessions for individuals with COVID-related mental health stress. Being active in suicide prevention efforts. Made the pivot toward telehealth by purchasing 30 wireless routers for those who do not have adequate internet. Created an infection control response team that can deal with outbreaks in AFC homes. Engaged in more than 48 collaborative events throughout 2020 for substance abuse concerns. Had nine naloxone training sessions. Overhauled liaison work so that psychiatric evaluations and medications are scheduled in a timely manner. Provided same day access with individuals released from jail. Its been a tough year," Nugent said. "Its been hard on our staff. They have a done remarkable job. Nugent said Huron Behavioral Health had 634 individuals either walk in or telephone for services, of which 622 of them had requested services of some type. This includes initiation of services, crisis contact, or screening or inpatient services. Of those 622 individuals, 367 of them completed an initial assessment for public health. None of them were placed on any waitlists. We do everything we can to make sure all consumers entering our doors or calling in are able to immediately have services, Nugent said. We take pride in making sure people are not waiting for those services. Nugent noted some other details about Huron Countys demographics in 2020 as part of her presentation, including that the countys population in 2020 was at 30,521 individuals, a 6% decline from 2010, there were 5,225 Medicaid enrollees in 2020, a 16.8% increase from 2019, and employment remained steady with 15,297 individuals employed in Huron County in 2020, a 14 person decline from 2019. Homelessness however stood at 40 individuals in Huron County in 2020, an increase from 16 in 2019, with Nugent saying that number is an underestimate and does not take into account those who are couch surfing or staying with relatives or friends. Anthony Ferzo, the chief financial officer for HBH, said their budget for the 2021 fiscal year will be $12.46 million, with the expectation of spending a little under $11 million on consumer services, with them planning on serving 700 Medicaid consumers, 200 Healthy Michigan Plan consumers, 145 general fund consumers, and 15 consumers that apply for their autism benefit. The commissioners voted to accept the budget when Ferzo was done presenting. The 2,286-acre Golden Trend property is comprised of 111 claims is part of the Ore Group led by Stephen Stewart Focused on lower risk assets in Nevada and western United States What American Eagle Gold does: American Eagle Gold, a part of the Ore Group led by Stephen Stewart, is focused on exploring for a world-class gold deposit on its flagship property, Golden Trend, an asset strategically located in a top tier mining jurisdiction in Cortez, Nevada. The companys 2,286-acre (925 hectares) Golden Trend property is located on the Cortez Trend, next door to Barrick Gold and Newmont Minings Gold Rush and Cortez Mine, which host over 27 million ounces of gold. The company plans to drill and advance its relatively unexplored property and continue to focus on acquiring and advancing gold projects in the area. According to the management team, the company is focused on lower-risk assets in Nevada and western United States. The companys strategic philosophy is to have a strong footprint in the Silver State, one of the most prolific and investor-friendly gold jurisdictions in the world. Around three-quarters of all US gold production comes from Nevada. It produces 5.6% of the worlds gold, ranking it as the fourth-largest producer, right after Australia. The company has strong in-house technical and financial expertise. Mining industry veteran and chartered financial analyst Anthony Moreau is the CEO and a director of American Eagle Gold. He is also a director of publicly listed QC Copper & Gold and Orefinders Resources and has previously worked with IAMGOLD. How is it doing: CEO Anthony Moreau has said American Eagle Gold is on track to go public in April 2021. The Nevada-focused explorer is also well-funded with approximately $3.6 million in cash and over $4 million in working capital. One of the important lessons that I have learned is always to leave yourself with a margin of safety and a healthy balance sheet. At any point in time, I plan to have at least one year of cash available, Moreau said in a recent interview with Proactive. In July 2020, American Eagle Gold entered into an agreement to acquire the Golden Trend Project in Nevada from Rubicon Resources Inc. Before Rubicon Resources, Kinross Gold owned the project but only drilled two exploration holes. Despite having numerous owners in the past, the property remains relatively unexplored with next to no historical drilling at depth. The 2,286 acre-Golden Trend property is comprised of 111 claims with well-maintained road access. The project is only a few miles from two major operating mines (Pipeline and Cortez Hills) and two major developing projects (Gold Rush and Fourmile) with full infrastructure developed. The company says adequate power is available, as well as all necessary services. The project is fully accessible by three maintained county roads that either pass through it or nearby on all sides. It is sought after real estate, given it is strategically located within the prolific Battle MountainEureka trend. It lies immediately adjacent to the Goldrush deposit property and southeast of, and along the same structure as Barrick Cortez mine. The company believes Golden Trend shares similar geology to Barrick's Goldrush deposit, however it has seen only limited exploration to date and is therefore considered an early exploration stage opportunity. The company is targeting a high grade, underground deposit in proximity to more than 75 million ounces of known gold resources. According to the company, Carlin-type deposits can be extremely large and high-grade, supporting both open pit and underground operations. The company believes the gold is extremely fine-grained and occurs in disseminated pyrite or hematite (if oxidized). The companys next steps for exploration hinges on defining the relationship between the Northwest-trending and Northeast-trending structures to mineralization. It plans to conduct detailed structural mapping and geophysical surveys (MT, Mag) to delineate deep zones of sulphide mineralization. The geology, geochemistry and alteration at Golden Trend are like that at the nearby, on-trend, Cortez Hills and Gold Rush deposits, so the companys priority target is a clone of these deposits. The mineralization is controlled by structure and rock type, so our 2021 work program will consist of some additional detailed geochemical and possibly geophysical studies to refine our understanding of the structural architecture, followed by drilling of several drill holes focused on projected structural-lithologic intersections that appear to have the highest probability of hosting gold deposits, according to Moreau. Since there appears to be a strong gold-bearing hydrothermal system present at Golden Trend, the company said it also has a secondary target possibility of deposits emplaced in non-reactive rocks that have been structurally prepared by faulting and fracturing. Again, the geochemical and geophysical studies will refine this possibility, and drilling will follow shortly after that. Inflection points: On track to go public in April 2021 Consolidation and acquisition to grow portfolio in Nevada Compiling geochemical, geophysical studies and data to generate high-potential drill targets at Golden Trend What the boss says: In a recent interview with Proactive, American Eagle Gold CEO and director Anthony Moreau said: Big gold systems hang out with big gold systems, and the Cortez is as big as it gets, and we are right on-trend. Being attached to Nevada Gold Mines property makes it a logical takeover candidate if a deposit is found. The further you are away from Barrick and Newmont's property, the less economic it becomes to leverage nearby infrastructure. Our real estate position is quite enviable. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive By Kumar Vikrant While driving your car at high speeds in the prime of summer, have you ever wondered that something is amiss? You are not alone in noticing that the windshield doesn't get plastered with insect carcasses so often, and that one doesn't need to clear off the smeared bugs to maintain a spotless driving experience. People around the world are reminiscing about their childhood and wondering, what happened to all the bugs? Where did they go? If your nostalgia is giving way to worry, you are in for a shock. A recent study demonstrated that the monarch butterfly population has declined 90 percent in the last two decades. Another study found that the population of flying insects has declined by 75 percent in German nature reserves over the last three decades. Similar trends are being observed globally. A 2014 study estimated a decline of 45 percent in insect abundance at globally monitored locations. The bugs are simply not here anymore. One may ask, "Why should we be worried? After all, most bugs are nothing but a nuisance for us." Scientists point out that the global insect population decline could result in unpredictable catastrophes. Bugs are an integral part of several food chains and are the primary food sources for various reptiles, birds, small mammals, and other animals. Several food crops and plant species rely on insects for pollination, while several insect species help degrade organic matter to recycle soil nutrients. Hence, a dwindling insect population could result in global ecological collapse. The exact reasons behind the bug Armageddon remain a mystery and is a question that needs to be answered by further research. The severe loss of insect biomass in nature reserves is particularly worrying as the problem could be worse elsewhere. The proposed drivers include climate change, excessive pesticide use, deforestation, single-crop farming, and environmental pollution. As the bug catastrophe is a relatively unknown subject among the populous (possibly due to fewer studies or being eclipsed by other grander socio, economic, and political issues), it is time for the younger generation to be made aware of the dwindling insect biomass. More youngsters need to develop an interest in the scientific discipline of entomology (a branch of zoology) to further the research needed to solve this critical situation. On a larger level, the world's governments and private bodies should invest more into entomological research to help scientists conduct large-scale and in-depth studies to understand the exact reasons behind the insect catastrophe and what it means for our planet, and the actions needed to alleviate the issue. Although nature is resilient, humans may be knocking on hell's doors. The time is ripe to brainstorm and push the envelope. Let's create a planet full of life so that our younger generations can continue to call it home. Kumar Vikrant (kvikrant071@gmail.com ; https://www.kumarvikrant.com/) is a doctoral student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea. People gather, at the band stand in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard, after an official vigil was cancelled, in London, on March 13, 2021. (Frank Augstein/AP Photo) UK Police Ordered to Record Misogyny as Hate Crime The UK government will instruct all police forces in England and Wales to record suspected misogyny as a hate crime in the aftermaths of the murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month. Home Office Minister Baroness Williams made the announcement on Wednesday in the House of Lords during a debate on an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill which would require police to record cases in which crimes were motivated by hatred of someones sex or gender. Sarah Everard, wearing the coat she wore on the night she went missing. (Met Police) Among all the 43 constabularies in England and Wales, seven already record misogyny as a hate crime and a further four are considering the move, according to The Telegraph. Williams argued that the amendment is not needed, as the necessary powers are already in place to require forces to provide information of this kind. But she said the government agreed that data can be helpful and we know that some police forces like Nottingham are already collecting it. I advise the House that, on an experimental basis, we will ask police forces to identify and record any crimes of violence against the person, including stalking and harassment, as well as sexual offences where the victim perceives it to have been motivated by a hostility based on their sex, she told lawmakers. Everard, 33, went missing as she walked home from a friends house near Clapham Common on March 3. Her body was found several days later in Kent, some 50 miles away. Wayne Couzens, 48, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, has been charged with her murder and will go on trial on Oct. 25. The murder triggered calls for tougher action on violence against women. Campaigners say classifying misogyny as a hate crime would help in the detection and prevention of offences including street harassment, sexual assault, rape, and domestic abuse. This is a simple measure that we could take now to start making sure every woman is safer at home and on our streets, said Baroness Kennedy, who tabled the amendment. But there are concerns about the impact of the proposed measure on free speech. Also speaking in the House of Lords, Baroness Fox urged the Lords to be careful about allowing an emotive tragedy to be exploited in a way which will not help women. We already know that the fear of being accused of prejudice or hate is one key factor in chilling free speech. Being officially counted by the police as a bigot would inevitably affect free expression and close down debate, she said. She also questioned the reliability of the data collected. In the Nottinghamshire pilot on measuring misogynist hate crime that has been mentioned, misogyny can include cat-calling, following, and unwelcome approaches, which can be conflated with flashing, groping, and then more serious assaults. That is all thrown into the misogynist hate-crime category, she said. Under the new rule, a case will be recorded as a hate crime when the accuser perceives it to have been motivated by a hostility based on their sex. That is not a reliable way in which to collect accurate data and will not help us understand perpetrators behaviour as it is based on perceptions, dangerously subjective, and untestable legally, said Baroness Fox. Simon Veazey and Reuters contributed to this report. New Zealand could open its international borders to Australia by mid-April New Zealand could open its international borders to Australia by mid-April as the two countries contemplate introducing a Trans-Tasman bubble. It is believed a paper is currently being discussion in a NZ Cabinet committee around the final form of the bubble, with a decision pending. A historic Trans-Tasman bubble would see quarantine-free travel within New Zealand and Australia, while each country reserved the right to immediately suspend travel if the safety of the wider community is deemed under threat. Airports would also be divided into separate green zones and red zones. Flights from New Zealand to Australia could be reality by mid-April as the two countries consider a Trans-Tasman bubble 'Green zones' would indicate free and open travel, while 'red zones' would be for those travellers coming from other parts of the world to transit or hotel quarantine, according to 9News. New Zealand has already given the green light to flight passengers from the Cook Islands and Niue to enter the country quarantine-free. NZ Covid Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins told Parliament on Wednesday that Auckland airport would require 10 days to be ready for the proposed bubble, while a number of airlines confirmed they would need three weeks to be ready to fly. Other airports across the ditch keen to be a part of the bubble arrangement include Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. The development comes as Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Dan Tehan flagged a three-way travel arrangement with Singapore and New Zealand by the middle of 2021 earlier this week. If the arrangement with Singapore is signed off, more than 40,000 Australians currently stranded abroad could finally return home. A Covid vaccination to travel between the two countries will be a mandatory condition of travel. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the government would also look to expand the travel bubble further to include other countries such as Japan and South Korea. 'As the vaccine rolls out across Australia and elsewhere, we are confident that we will have these travel bubbles. And, who knows, after Singapore maybe South Korea or Japan?' he said. 'Importantly, we (need to) get students back in and returning Australians back in.' Fiji have also expressed their interest in resuming international travel. The only current Australian states allowing quarantine-free travel from New Zealand are Victoria and NSW. Earlier this month, Scott Morrison said New Zealand was free to open its borders whenever they deemed appropriate. After more than 12 months of limited travel internationally, the scenario could change by as early as next month Christchurch Airport is among the NZ airports considering their involvement in a Trans Tasman bubble with Australia from next month 'If the New Zealand government doesn't wish Australians to visit New Zealand and spend money in Queenstown or Wellington or other parts of the country, that's a matter for them,' the prime minister said. 'But if Australians can't go to Queenstown, I'm hoping they will go to Cairns.' On March 11, Australia's federal government announced a $1.2billion support package in a bid to save the struggling tourism industry. The federal subsidy will run from April to July, with lower prices for flights to regions including the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays, Alice Springs, Launceston, Broome, regional Victoria and Kangaroo Island. Some flights, which will feature tickets at half price, will be available to purchase online from April 1. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Gov. Gavin Newsom looks likely to become only the fourth American governor to face a recall election, and its not because he is one of the four worst governors in U.S. history. Its for the same reason half those governors are Californians and the current effort to trigger a recall is the sixth against Newsom alone: The state makes it too easy. Not that Newsom is one of the best governors ever to grace the office, either: His term has been marred by an unevenly managed crisis, and the likelihood of a recall election is a sign of Californians dissatisfaction with the state of the state. But with just a year and change left until the general election when voters would and should have their say on the governors tenure in any case, a recall would be a radical and disruptive remedy. Whether Newsom should be de-elected will probably be up to the voters. Recall organizers submitted petitions with over 2 million signatures by Wednesdays deadline, which should be more than enough to put the question to the electorate later this year. State law requires a relatively small number of signatures to trigger a recall, and a judge gave the organizers of this attempt an extraordinarily long time to collect them on the grounds that the pandemic presented unusual obstacles. The governor also presents a convenient target for Republicans who have endured a string of losses at the national level. But the anti-Newsom campaigns success also reflects broader discontent with the governor. One recent poll showed California voters divided on his performance and only narrowly opposed to a recall. The governors greatest political burden is his handling of the pandemic. Newsom followed Bay Area officials with a nation-leading shelter-in-place order a year ago this week, a wise decision that saved lives. But he has repeatedly reopened the economy too hastily while endlessly tinkering with his own rules, contributing to surges in infections and deaths. The result is that he not only angered business owners and others who opposed the shutdowns but also reaped less of a public health benefit from the economic sacrifice, with a COVID death rate only incrementally better than the national average. The Newsom administration has also struggled with the logistical challenges of the crisis, from testing capacity to unemployment claims to the vaccine rollout, often turning to mega-contracts that yielded mixed results. And the governor handed his opponents a potent occasion for outrage by taking part in a pandemic-incorrect gathering for a lobbyist friend at a fancy Wine Country restaurant. On the states most pressing pre- and post-coronavirus problem, the housing crisis, the governor has failed to make a dent despite lofty promises. Construction has slumped during his term, and the states outsize homeless population has grown. None of this amounts to an enviable record, but the governors opponents have to reach the high bar of convincing voters that he is so unfit for office that he should be expelled from it immediately. And his handling of a once-in-a-century public health disaster unfolded in the context of a thoroughly botched national response. That is one of many ways in which Newsom has benefited from the contrast with former President Donald Trump, who made California a frequent political target. Judging by the messaging of Newsom and his fellow Democrats, which has portrayed the recall as a project of partisan extremists, they hope to weather the threat by reviving some of that old anti-Trump magic. The governor and the state will fare better if he meets the moment, to use a Newsomism, by demonstrating capable and decisive leadership in his own right. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. Under the partnership with ERO, the Company will leverage its statewide distribution infrastructure to serve as the exclusive distributor of ERO's diverse line of finished goods across multiple product categoriesincluding cannabis vape cartridges, concentrates, extracts, pre-rolls, and flowerto Highlanders' rapidly growing customer base of over 200 licensed retailers throughout California. M7 will also sell ERO's products directly to consumers through its growing network of Weden delivery hubs and storefront dispensaries in the state's major metropolitan markets. "We are excited to announce this strategic relationship with ERO," said Pierre Rouleau, Chief Operating Officer of M7. "Over the years, ERO has established a strong reputation as a quality brand that has been at the forefront of the legal cannabis industry's emergence in California. As we embark on the next phase of Highlanders' growth cycle, partnerships with premier brands like ERO will be instrumental in consolidating a robust portfolio of finished goods that we are able to offer to our customers." Highlanders will provide ERO with its comprehensive suite of full-service commercial and compliant services, including long-haul and "last-mile" logistics and transport powered by its newly expanded vehicle fleet; sales, brand development, and marketing support; storage and warehousing; and regulatory and compliance oversight. "We are ecstatic for the opportunity to collaborate with M7 in expanding ERO's presence in the California market through Highlanders' extensive distribution channels and the direct access to end-users provided by Weden," commented Brent Toepper, Chief Product Officer of ERO. "Our partnership with Highlanders demonstrates our joint vision to provide consumers throughout the state with safe, cost-effective finished goods produced with the utmost commitment to product quality and sustainability." About Eel River Organics Eel River Organics ("ERO") is a leading California manufacturer of concentrates and extracts that specializes in both volatile and non-volatile extraction of cannabis oil. Possessing the Sun+Earth certification for holistically, responsibly, and regeneratively grown cannabis, the company sources cannabis grown employing dry farming methods that eliminate irrigation and dramatically reduce water consumption. ERO's products have consistently garnered awards at some of the industry's most prestigious competitions, including serving as the 2019 Emerald Cup winner for best CO2 vape cartridge and a 2018 Emerald Cup finalist for best distillate and best CO2 vape cartridge. About ManifestSeven Holdings Corporation ManifestSeven Holdings Corporation (CSE: MSVN; OTCMKTS: MNFSF) ("M7" or the "Company") disrupts the California cannabis landscape by seamlessly integrating proprietary distribution, retail, and delivery operations into a unified statewide platform that supports compliant and efficient commerce, both for cannabis enterprises and consumers. M7 offers local on-demand delivery through a growing portfolio of delivery hubs and storefront dispensaries in the state's major metropolitan markets through its direct-to-consumer division, Weden. Through its business-to-business division, Highlanders Distribution, the Company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and compliant services to licensed cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers operating throughout California. M7's 1-800-CANNABIS portal ties the Company's integrated cannabis operations together with a centralized gateway through which businesses and consumers can access M7's comprehensive suite of products and solutions. M7 is a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") trading under the ticker symbol "MSVN". Additional information is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit www.manifest7.com . To receive Company updates and be added to the email distribution list, please sign up here , or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or Telegram. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ManifestSeven Related Links http://www.sedar.com Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met March 17 with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who welcomed the level of coordination between the countries on international and regional issues, particularly the confidential dialogue channel established in recent years between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ashkenazi said, "I have a feeling we have an understanding on the level of the heads of states. My prime minister, your president. I think its the fourth or fifth time that we are meeting or talking, and I am fully committed to further enhancing this relationship. It does not mean that here and there we dont have different view perspectives, but I can sincerely say that we have a transparent, honest, professional discussion, as friends should have. Ashkenazi thanked Lavrov for Russias assistance on humanitarian issues, mentioning Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers without offering any details. The Syrian media reported last month that Russia has been searching Syrian cemeteries for the remains of two IDF soldiers missing since 1982. Before the joint session, Ashkenazi laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, where Russia commemorates Red Army soldiers who fought in World War II. It was a moving event for Ashkenazi as an Israeli, Jew and former IDF soldier. We remember the central role of the Russian army in World War II and their liberation of extermination camps throughout Europe, and we will remain eternally grateful for this, Ashkenazi tweeted afterward. Ashkenazi's visit celebrates 30 years of restored Israel-Russian diplomatic relations, with a list of events that will take place in both countries throughout the year. The visit also is taking place against the backdrop of Israels March 23 elections and while the countrys leadership is engaged in diplomatic campaigns against the Iranian nuclear threat and the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation of possible Israeli war crimes. Ashkenazi arrived in the Russian capital only two days after a visit there by the head of Hezbollahs parliamentary bloc in Lebanon, Mohammad Raad, who also met with Lavrov. The Iranian file is probably the most difficult topic between Russia and Israel, who do not see eye to eye on a possible new deal with Tehran. Ashkenazi has personally engaged in the campaign against the ICC probe beginning of February, when the court ruled it has jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Palestinian territories. Since then, and more so since the March 3 announcement by outgoing ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that the court was opening an investigation, Ashkenazi has been calling and meeting counterparts in states considered friendly to Israel, such as Germany, Austria and Hungary. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is currently in Austria in the framework of a three-day trip to Europe also focusing on this issue. Other issues on the Russian-Israeli agenda March 17 in Moscow were Iran's presence in Syria and the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V. According to Syrian state news agency SANA, Israeli jets allegedly hit targets in Syria the night of March 16 after a shipment of arms reportedly arrived at Damascus International Airport earlier in the day. Israeli analysts, who say Israel has been generally careful not to hit targets that could compromise the Russian presence in Syria, estimated that the timing of the reported airstrikes had no relation with the meeting with Lavrov and were not carried out to send any sort of message to the Russians. Also, Russia has been pressuring Israel to recognize Sputnik V vaccinations for COVID-19. Moscow would like Jerusalem to allow those inoculated with the Russian vaccine to enter Israel without being quarantined or having to present an antibody test. Kanpur Dehat : , March 18 (IANS) A man who had allegedly been tricked into marrying a eunuch by his friend, bludgeoned the latter to death with the help of his aide, police said. The eunuch ran away with the gold jewellery gifted in marriage. The incident took place in Ganeshpur village under the Shivli Kotwali police circle in Kanpur Dehat district where the battered body of Kailash Nath was found two days ago. Subsequently, an investigation was launched following an FIR filed by the victim's family. The police have now arrested two persons, including the victim's friend Shiv Narain Pal and his aide Raghuveer Pal in this connection. Shiv Narain lives with his family in Devipur village in Shivli and earned a livelihood by farming. The police said "with family elders pressuring Narain for marriage, he sought help from his friend Kailash Nath, who arranged a match for him in Bihar and told him that the woman comes from poor financial background. He said that her parents need money to host the wedding." Shiv Narain sold off a patch of his land and gave Rs 3 lakh to Kailash Nath and the marriage was solemnised in Bihar recently. While Shiv Narain along with his newly wedded wife was on his way to Kanpur Dehat from Bihar, she ran away along with gold jewellery. Later, Shiv Narain came to know that his bride was a eunuch. Inspector Shivli Pramod Kumar Shukla said, "An angry Shiv Narain asked his friend to return the money and threatened him with dire consequences. Shiv Narain killed him in a fit of rage." The police inspector said that further investigations were underway. The New York Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee stands in solidarity with the Columbia University graduate student-worker strikers. We pledge to do everything in our power to mobilize educators and broader sections of workers to support your struggle. Your fight for health care, a living wage and freedom from victimization by the university administration is familiar to educators everywhere. We are all struggling against powerful corporate and political forces denying us the right to live decently and safely. The university president and Columbia University Board of Trustees are resisting your just demands and are made up of Wall Street executives, real estate moguls and the former head of the Federal Reserve of New York, who have all gotten even richer as grad students and tens of millions of working class people struggle from paycheck to paycheck, if they even get one. Striking Columbia grad student workers (WSWS Media) Your strike is particularly important because it occurs at a time when the Democratic Party, with the full backing of the American Federation of Teachers and other unions, is now opening schools to in-person instruction before the pandemic has been suppressed, including state universities, which have become major vectors of the disease. Mayor de Blasio and the rest of the Democratic Party in New York, following the lead of the Biden administration, are seeking to open nonessential businesses and schools as quickly as possible. On Thursday, New York City public high school teachers, who do not have exemptions for remote teaching, and next Monday, high school students signed up for blended learning, are expected to join the thousands of Pre-K through middle schoolers already attending in-person. Only 10 percent of the citys population has received two doses of the vaccine, leaving the citywide community far below levels needed for so-called herd immunity. On Wednesday, the Situation Room of the New York Department of Education reported over 218 schools closed, along with 784 classrooms in other buildings, because of COVID infections. Citywide the positivity rate fluctuates at around seven percent, with some neighborhoods close to 11 and 12 percent. Alarmingly, 51 percent of new COVID cases have been found to be of the highly communicable and more lethal B.1.1.7 and B.1.526 variants. The rush to reopen schools has nothing to do with helping students. Instead, it is entirely driven by the corporations, which want children back in school so their parents can be sent back to unsafe workplaces to produce profit. The same politicians that are feigning concerns over the academic and emotional needs of young people have spent decades slashing school funding, raising tuition rates and gutting essential public health and mental health services. If grad students stand firm and beat back Columbia University, it will encourage educators, nurses, transit workers, Amazon, gig workers and others to launch a counteroffensive against the reopening of schools and nonessential businesses. Both grad student-workers and public school staff must work together to wage this fight and save lives against Wall Street and its political servants in both corporate-controlled parties. The outbreak of the Columbia struggle reflects a broader resurgence of the class struggle against the capitalist system, which sacrifices every aspect of life, including human life itself, to corporate profit. This includes the recent six-day strike by 1,400 produce workers at the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, as well as the tuition strike at Columbia by more than 1,100 undergraduate and graduate students demanding decreased tuition costs and increased financial aid. Across the world, from Oakland, California to Sao Paulo, Brazil, teachers are opposing the murderous rush to reopen schools. The New York Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee calls on all New York City workers and, in particular, K-12 educators to support the strike by Columbia University graduate teaching and research assistants! Rank-and-file teachers and other workers should send delegations to the Columbia picket lines and organize demonstrations in their support. These actions should be the prelude for the preparation of a general strike throughout the city to defend the working class and fight the pandemic profiteers who have enriched themselves while 2.6 million people, including nearly 550,000 in the US, have perished from the deadly disease. To accomplish this, workers will need to form rank-and-file workplace and neighborhood committees throughout the city. We formed the New York Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee because of the treacherous role the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) played and continues to play in the resumption of in-person classes. Over the last year, the UFT has opposed and worked to isolate teachers and parents who have based themselves on science and the public health needs of the population. Instead the union sided with the mayor and the corporate interests he serves and even violated the few meager standards to open schools the union made with the city. This has been the case across the country, including with unions led by so-called left leaders like the Chicago Teachers Union, which collaborated with Chicagos Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot to open schools last month against widespread opposition among educators. The experience workers have had with the notoriously corrupt United Auto Workers (UAW) has been no less bitter. The auto factories in Michigan, Ohio and other states were only closed last spring because of a wave of wildcat strikes by rank-and-file workers in opposition to the UAW, which kept the factories open despite the spread of infections and deaths in the factories. After a two-month closurethat saved countless livesthe UAW forced workers back into the plants and has helped the auto bosses impose brutal schedules to make up production, including a 12-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week schedule for skilled trades workers in some factories. If the Columbia strike is to be won, graduate student-workers must take the conduct of the fight out of the hands of the UAW and the Democratic Party by building a rank-and-file strike committee to expand the struggle. This committee should appeal to the multimillioned working class of New York City and to workers throughout the US and internationally. We urge graduate student-educators and researchers to join the New York Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee and expand the national and international network of committees fighting to protect lives, stop austerity and put an end to social inequality. SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong, sixth from left, and Korea Exchange (KRX) CEO Sohn Byung-doo, fifth from left, celebrate the KOSPI debut of the vaccine-focused CDMO arm of SK, along with key leaders of the brokerage industry at the lobby of the bourse in Yeouido, Thursday. / Courtesy of KRX Stock price set to rise further due to massive locked-up shares By Anna J. Park SK Bioscience shares made a successful debut on the benchmark KOSPI, Thursday, doubling in value from the initial offering price of 65,000 won ($57.82) to 130,000 won right after trading began. Less than a minute after the opening bell, the stock price of the vaccine contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) company surged to its daily 30 percent limit-up. Thanks to the successful IPO, SK Bioscience's corporate value jumped to 12.9 trillion won, rising to 29th place in terms of market cap among KOSPI-listed firms. The company is hot on the heels of Samsung SDS, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Amore Pacific, as of Thursday, whose market caps are estimated to exceed 14 trillion won. "With the listing, a new chapter has begun for SK Bioscience based on the management principles of transparency and trust," CEO Ahn Jae-yong said during a listing ceremony at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul's Yeouido financial district. After being spun off from its parent company, SK Chemical, in 2018, the bio-pharmacology CDMO has focused on manufacturing various types of vaccines, including AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. The firm is cooperating with global pharmaceutical companies, including Novavax, MSD, CSL and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and also manages cold-chain distribution and storage for coronavirus vaccines. SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong, left foreground, and Korea Exchange (KRX) CEO Sohn Byung-doo, right, celebrate the company's market debut, along with key leaders of the brokerage industry at the lobby of the KRX on Yeouido, Thursday. / Courtesy of KRX A woman who checked a book out from a New York library in 1957 mailed the overdue tome back to the facility with a $500 donation. ADVERTISEMENT Betty Diamond, 74, of Madison, Wis., said she checked out Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, a collection of Paul Bunyan stories by Glen Rounds, from the Queens Public Library in 1957. Diamond said the book ended up lost among her own tomes, and she would occasionally come across it over the years, but was unsure what to do with a book that was so long overdue. Diamond, who now teaches literature at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, said she recently decided to make amends and mailed the book back to the Queens Public Library in Auburndale with a $500 donation to cover any late fees. Nick Buron, the chief librarian of the Queens Public Library, said the donation was unnecessary, but appreciated. He said the library stops charging fees after seven years. Buron said an estimated 11,000 library materials currently in circulation are 7 or more years overdue, but the 63-year overdue book was a once-in-a-lifetime arrival. A book was recently returned to the Cape Breton Regional Library in Nova Scotia, Canada, after an even longer period of time: 82 years. The copy of The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting, was returned by Jordan Muscyscyn, who found it stashed away in the attic while doing renovations on his recently-purchased Sydney, Nova Scotia, home. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:00:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the United States has to take into account Russia's interests and Moscow is capable of protecting them. "Despite that they (the United States) think we are the same as them, we are different people ... and we know how to defend our own interests," Putin said during a meeting with representatives of the Crimean Peninsula via video link. He emphasized that Russia is prepared to work with the United States in fields of mutual interest, but only on terms that are favorable for Russia. "I know that the U.S. leadership is determined to maintain relations with us, but only on issues that are of their own interest and on their terms," he added. Putin made the remarks amid escalating Moscow-Washington tensions after a U.S. intelligence report on Tuesday accused Russia of "denigrating" President Joe Biden's candidacy during the elections to increase support for former President Donald Trump. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that claims of Russia's alleged meddling in the 2020 U.S. elections are baseless and regretful, calling them just another pretext for additional sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov had been summoned back to Moscow for consultations to determine the next steps regarding Russia-U.S. ties. Enditem A man was shot and killed just moments after running back onto jail grounds shortly after his release from a Philadelphia jail. Rodney Hargrove, 20, was gunned down while still on the grounds of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road at around 2am Thursday morning. Blanche Carney, prison commissioner for the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, said that Hargrove had just been released from the jail at around 1.10am, CBS Philly reports. Rodney Hargrove, 20, was gunned down while still on the grounds of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on State Road at around 2am Thursday Hargrove had posted $200,000 bail on Thursday, just a week after he had been detained for several charges which included theft and gun-related offenses. The young man had been waiting for family to come pick him up from the SEPTA bus station, roughly .3miles away from the prison on State Road. Inmates who are recently released are typically dropped off at the stop. The young man had been waiting for family to come pick him up from the SEPTA bus station, roughly .3miles away from the prison on State Road A dark-colored vehicle rolled up on the man, who proceeded to run back to the prison through the security gate. But the car sped past the gate, according to prison officials, and shot Hargrove at least 10 times. It is currently unclear why the gate was up but the prison has launched an investigation into the incident. A guard was on duty at the time, the prison said. Blanche Carney, prison commissioner for the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, said that Hargrove had just been released from the jail at around 1.10am 'It's raised by the correctional officer on that post. For whatever reason, it was raised and the vehicle was able to go through that raised arm,' Carney said. 'We're surveilling our video if we have any and we'll cooperate fully with the police. If we determine there is video we'll share it.' There was no video at the bus stop. 'There are some cameras on the grounds, but they say none of them are in the immediate area where this shooting took place,' Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. 'So according to some of the staff here at the prison, they say there are no cameras that would have recorded anything, based on where the victim's body and where the ballistic evidence is.' News editor's pick centerpiece enterprise St. Patricks Day has some bar owners rolling in the green again STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Dressed in an ornate St. Patricks Day costume, Levi McHale orders a round of drinks at Murphys Irish Pub in Galveston on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. McHale and his family are visiting the island from Corpus Christi. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Hugh Marney pours drinks for customers at Murphys Irish Pub in Galveston on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Crystal Lair, right, helps Cricket McHale with her costume at Murphys Irish Pub in Galveston on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Hugh Marney pours drinks for customers at Murphys Irish Pub in Galveston on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Corpus Christi resident Chris McHale shoots pool at Murphys Irish Pub in Galveston on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. KEMAH Revelers decked out in green took to the bars in Galveston County on Wednesday to celebrate a festival that a year ago marked the very beginnings of a pandemic that would have a swift and sobering effect on the food and drink industry. Many owners and managers hope St. Patricks Day, one of the busiest days of the year for bars and pubs, will mark a reversal of fortune for an industry hit hard by closures. Besides perhaps New Years Eve, St. Patricks Day pours in more revenue than any other day for Mollys Pub, 400 Texas Ave. in Kemah, lead bartender Athena Vince said. The pub already has benefited from a brisk spring break business this week, Vince said. Business has actually been better than I expected, she said. Bars in Galveston were shut down on St. Patricks Day last year, something Murphys Irish Pub bartender Bhuji Garcia vividly remembers. We got shut down last year at 4 p.m., the day of it really just left a bit of a heartache, Garcia said. Last year hurt, but I simply try to strive with the times, Garcia said. Theres no going backwards. This year, the pub, 213 22nd St., was enjoying the luck of the Irish. By 2 p.m., Murphys already was hopping with spring breakers and locals sporting green shirts and shamrock-shaped jewelry. Although some visitors had been going to bars all year, many were just emerging from lockdowns for the first time. Austin resident Karon Henderson, who was born in Galveston, was visiting the island. Having recently been vaccinated against COVID-19, shes beginning to feel more comfortable getting out, she said. To me, it feels like its getting a little bit safer, Henderson said. Im hopeful. Jeff and Jen Arsenault, also visiting from Austin, were taking their first family trip with their five children since the beginning of the pandemic, they said. Jeff Arsenault sat outside Murphys Wednesday afternoon in a green shirt and a large green hat. He and his wife recently got vaccinated. Its awesome to be able to come down here and know were contributing to a local economy, Arsenault said. The Arsenaults got married this summer, a small affair, and had to cancel their planned honeymoon to Turks and Caicos Islands. This is a nice warm-up trip to getting out and traveling, Jen Arsenault said. We feel really safe. While St. Patricks Day typically is the largest single day of business for bars, thats especially so for Irish-themed venues, Garcia said. The city of Galveston, which is home to several Irish-themed pubs, didnt gear up in particular for St. Patricks Day crowds, spokeswoman Marissa Barnett said. The city already had staffed public safety employees at holiday levels because of spring break, she said. Still, some national predictions indicate fewer people planned to spend the holiday out of the house. Only about 10 percent of people surveyed in a recent poll planned to attend a party at a bar or restaurant, compared with 27 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation. More than half, 55 percent, planned to avoid gatherings altogether, according to the retail federation. The past 12 months have been particularly difficult for bars. Although many businesses were allowed to reopen in Texas on May 1, bars were shut down until June 1, then required to shut down again at the end of the month, with fits of openings and closures throughout the rest of the year. The state later issued guidance laying out a confusing and cumbersome process for bars to relicense as restaurants with some food service if they wanted to reopen. Alcoholic beverage tax collections were $86 million for 2020 as of December, down 28.5 percent from the same time in 2019, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Collections from the mixed beverage tax, which is collected at bars and restaurants, dropped to $876 million in 2020 from about $1.13 billion the year before, a 22.8 percent decline, according to the comptrollers office. Weve been shut down multiple times, Garcia said. We spent thousands of dollars to change our license. Weve just been trying to follow the guidelines. With business slow for the beverage industry, Garcia picked up a second job, he said. Some businesses have had to completely adapt. Galveston cocktail bar Daiquiri Time Out, 2701 Market St., introduced canned to-go cocktails and a food truck in the past 12 months, owner Brad Stringer said. We didnt know where the money was coming from, Stringer said. You had to collect more debt to survive. Stringer thinks the changes have made the business stronger, though, he said. Ultimately, we started a whole new business, he said. Still, many bar owners hope sales will increase this year as more people become vaccinated and feel comfortable getting out of the house. Garcia was just glad to be open for St. Patricks Day. Its a great holiday to celebrate and actually take on some culture that you may not know about, Garcia 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. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates After a yearlong investigation, Irans civil aviation agency on Wednesday released its final report on the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane that killed 176 people last year, revealing no new details about the shootdown that has provoked outrage from affected countries and concerns from U.N. investigators. Following three days of denial in January 2020 in the face of mounting evidence, Iran finally acknowledged that its forces mistakenly downed the Ukrainian jetliner with two surface-to-air missiles. In preliminary reports on the disaster last year, Iranian authorities blamed an air defense operator who they said mistook the Boeing 737-800 for an American cruise missile. At the time, the U.S. and Iran were teetering on the edge of war. An American drone strike had killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad and Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles at American bases in Iraq. Several hours after the missile strike, an air defense operator on high alert outside Tehran opened fire on the commercial plane shortly after take-off because of an error in his radar system, Iran said. The countrys long-awaited final report, which foreign governments and victims families hoped would shed more light on the mysterious downing, came to the same cryptic conclusion. The accident aircraft was misidentified by the air defense unit in the suburbs of Tehran and, consequently, two missiles were launched toward it, the report said. The operation of aircraft had not imposed any error to the air defense unit. The 146-page investigation includes details about the timeline of events and analysis of aircraft debris, but does not identify culprits in the shootdown, explain how the chain of command broke down, answer why authorities decided to keep civilian airspace open as regional tensions soared or respond to other key questions. Irans official explanation has left investigators and aviation experts unconvinced, with Canadas special adviser to the prime minister calling Irans narrative difficult to accept and lacking in proof. Last month, Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, went further. She called the series of alleged mistakes unreasonable and said Irans multiple claims and stories create a maximum of confusion. In her report, the result of a six-month investigation, Callamard said she had not found concrete evidence that Iran had intentionally shot down the plane full of its own citizens. However, she said, the reckless nature of the mistakes and inconsistencies in Iran's official explanation have led many to question whether the downing of Flight PS752 was not intentional. One may even question whether there was an order or implicit encouragement by the chain of command," she wrote, to apply lethal force without going through standard procedures and precautionary steps. Iran swiftly pushed back, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh lambasting Callamard's report as immature and her input as unwarranted. Iran insists the downing was a tragic mistake. Compounding concerns over Iran's credibility, outspoken families of victims in Canada have reported harassment by Iranian authorities, ranging from hateful messages and threatening phone calls to suspicious cars tailing them at vigils. Canada has confirmed its police are investigating cases of harassment, intimidation and foreign interference in the country. This article was written by ISABEL DEBRE from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. "The Ambient Christ: The Inside Story of God in Science, Scripture and Spirituality" is an edifying handbook that presents a contemporary model describing the seamless relationship between science and spirituality. The premise of the author's synthesis is that the book of God's Word (Scripture) and the books of God's works (Science) each address different aspects of creation, and can be readily understood as a unified whole. This progressive synthesis is the creation of published author Joseph C. Masterleo, a clinical social worker who has served a half-century in the mental health care field. Specializing in faith-based counseling and psycho-spiritual integration, his subspeciality involves developing a novel paradigm that synthesizes outer and inner worlds, explaining how they coexist as two dynamic facets of one reality in a unified field. Masterleo writes, There is a unified field in the cosmos that holds everything together, and every discipline is a portal to it. Science calls it a field of fundamental forces and elementary particles. Religion calls it God and accepts it by faith as an impenetrable mystery. How can their unbending perspectives be reconciled? In The Ambient Christ, the author proposes a novel paradigm that details their complementarity. This innovative model provides a new story for an ailing and divided planet in the twenty-first century, and a viable solution to the holy grail quest. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Joseph C. Masterleos new book is designed to offer a new variation on an old storyone that denotes the dynamic interbeing relationship between God as creator and his created order. The book is designed to reveal to readers the powerful relationship between two disciplines traditionally considered separate. It does so by proposing a novel, future-looking paradigm whose time has come. From the standpoint of the one God who holds the tension of the visible and invisible worlds together, arguing "creation vs evolution," or "science vs spirituality" makes as little sense as arguing whether it is Uncle Sam, or the United States Government that requires us to pay taxes. View a synopsis of The Ambient Christ: The Inside Story of God in Science, Scripture, and Spirituality on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Ambient Christ: The Inside Story of God in Science, Scripture, and Spirituality at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Ambient Christ: The Inside Story of God in Science, and Spirituality, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Press Release Nokia supports 5G for AT&T customers with five-year C-Band deal AT&T will deploy Nokia's C-Band portfolio to boost network capacity and to support both indoor and outdoor 5G coverage. Deal features Nokia's massive MIMO antenna solutions, macro remote radio heads and next generation AirScale baseband equipment AT&T will begin deploying the first phase of C-Band spectrum towards the latter part of 2021, as it becomes available 18 March 2021 Dallas, Texas - Nokia today announced it has signed a five-year deal with AT&T to deploy the mobile operator's C-Band network in parts of the U.S. By deploying 5G in C-Band spectrum with Nokia, AT&T will be able to better provide cutting-edge 5G services with the right mix of coverage and capacity. The first phase of the C-Band auction opened up 280 MHz of spectrum with 100 MHz of spectrum available for 5G deployments by the end of this year. Nokia's C-Band portfolio includes support for both 5G standalone (SA) networks and non-standalone (NSA) networks, cloud-based implementations and Open RAN products, providing AT&T with flexibility for its 5G deployment. Nokia's C-Band RAN technology will interwork with existing Nokia LTE RAN equipment deployed by AT&T for a powerful user experience. 'Mid-band' C-Band spectrum provides a good balance of both capacity and coverage, while also allowing rapid 5G rollout and fast introduction of services which is vital in all markets. Igal Elbaz, Senior Vice President of Wireless and Access Technology AT&T said: "AT&T is committed to bringing the power of 5G to businesses and communities across the nation, and our C-Band deployments with Nokia will help add 5G capacity where it's needed. Nokia has been our trusted collaborator for more than 20 years as we've rolled out each generation of wireless technology, and its C-Band portfolio brings the right capabilities to help enable AT&T to deliver an exciting and powerful 5G experience that our subscribers have come to expect from us." Ed Cholerton, President of Nokia North America, said: "Nokia is ready to support the launch of 5G services into this valuable new spectrum on our customers' timelines by leveraging our powerful portfolio of C-Band solutions and by being the first to demonstrate a live C-Band network in the U.S. in 2020. Our flexible and comprehensive portfolio will enable AT&T to enhance its 5G services in areas across the nation." Resources: Press Release: Nokia's comprehensive C-Band portfolio ready for 5G build-out in U.S. (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2021/01/26/nokias-comprehensive-c-band-portfolio-ready-for-5g-build-out-in-us/) Nokia's comprehensive C-Band portfolio ready for 5G build-out in U.S. (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2021/01/26/nokias-comprehensive-c-band-portfolio-ready-for-5g-build-out-in-us/) Press Release: Nokia first to demonstrate live C-Band network in the U.S. (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/06/19/nokia-first-to-demonstrate-live-c-band-network-in-the-us/) Nokia first to demonstrate live C-Band network in the U.S. (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/06/19/nokia-first-to-demonstrate-live-c-band-network-in-the-us/) Webpage: AirScale RAN (https://www.nokia.com/networks/solutions/airscale-radio-access/) AirScale RAN (https://www.nokia.com/networks/solutions/airscale-radio-access/) Webpage:Spectrum Auctions Explained (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/articles/spectrum-auctions-explained/) About Nokia We create technology that helps the world act together. As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said India will be benefitted economically by having peace with his country as it will enable it to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory. While delivering the inaugural address at the launch of a two-day Islamabad Security Dialogue, Khan lied that his government after coming to power in 2018 has done everything for better ties with India and now it is time for India to reciprocate. He made no mention, obviously, of the rampant terrorism exported from his country's borders. Imran Khan claims 'Time for India to reciprocate' Stating that this time, India has to take the first step, the Pakistani Prime Minister said, "we cannot do much". He said that India last month had said that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. Highlighting India's statement that now the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility, Imran Khan said, "India has told Pakistan that 'talks and terror cannot go together." Discussing Pakistan's vision of comprehensive national security, Imran Khand spoke at length on the issue of peace in the region, including peace between his country and India, saying "the unresolved Kashmir issue was the biggest hurdle between the two countries". Imran Khan said, "If India gives the Kashmiris their right under the UN (resolutions), it will be greatly beneficial for Pakistan as well as for India and then it can access Central Asia after peace." India-Pakistan ties It is important to note here that Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcating it into two Union territories in August 2019. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was its internal matter. Earlier the Ministry of External Affairs has also underlined that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India, on various forums. On February 25, India and Pakistan had announced that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors. Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on the Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship. The relationship dipped further after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred. Some of the top names in hospitality and retail have come together to launch a blistering attack on the Executive over its Covid-19 exit strategy. Incensed by the apparent lack of action to reopen shops, coffee shops, pubs and restaurants safely, they have once again hit out at the refusal by politicians to provide indicative dates for relaxations. Of course, dates to work towards would be helpful for the various sectors that have been left floundering by the latest lockdown. But, would they really be helpful for a health service that has been left on its knees by the demands of the last 12 months? The briefing document provided to the Executive by the Health Minister earlier this week goes some way to explain the reticence to set out a timetable, even if it isn't a final version. Put simply, Northern Ireland remains in an extremely precarious situation. Yes, daily case rates have dropped significantly from the height of the most recent surge, but the seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 of the population on March 12 provides little comfort. According to Robin Swann's briefing paper, when it comes to the seven-day case rate, Northern Ireland is in a worse position now than it was last September - and we know how that turned out. Fast forward a matter of months - after hundreds of thousands of pupils returned to school at the same time as restaurants, shops, coffee shops and close contact services were open - and Northern Ireland was barrelling its way towards the deadliest wave of Covid-19 to date. This time, pupils are returning to school before any other parts of society are opening up - but with the warning that this will result in a rise of cases. The full impact of children going back to face-to-face learning is not yet known - Professor Martin McKee, a leading public health expert, has said it is preferable to gather data for four weeks and spend a further week analysing the figures before a decision is made on the next step. Slow and steady is very much the strategy when it comes to lifting restrictions and, again, Mr Swann's briefing paper has reinforced how crucial it is that mistakes are not made as Northern Ireland emerges from lockdown. On March 10, there were 19 more people needing an intensive care bed than funded critical care beds in Northern Ireland. At the same time, healthcare staff are traumatised and exhausted. The experts are clear, it would only take a matter of weeks to return to the surge in cases experienced as a result of the relaxations in restrictions over the Christmas period. The Health Minister is the only member of the Executive who has said that the decisions taken in the run-up to Christmas were wrong, yet in private, sources quite openly admit the Executive is terrified of making the same mistakes again. With between 100 and 200 people currently being diagnosed with Covid-19 every day and given the state of the health service after a year of being battered by the pandemic - with demand on critical care capacity described as concerning by Mr Swann - the Executive appears determined to take a tough stance this time around. Unfortunately, the business community is just another victim of the failure by the Executive to make tough decisions in the run up to Christmas. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... FARMINGTON Northern Edge Casino in Upper Fruitland and Fire Rock Casino near Gallup will reopen March 19, a year after gaming operations stopped as part of preventive measures against COVID-19. The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise announced on March 16 that both locations will operate under a soft reopening for two weeks. The enterprise will evaluate operations at the end of the two-week period and possibly reopen its other properties, which include Flowing Water Casino in Hogback and Twin Arrows Casino Resort near Flagstaff, Arizona, according to a press release. For now, Northern Edge and Fire Rock will only be accessible to Navajo Nation residents and operate under temporary protocols, including hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, maximum occupancy at 25%, social distancing enforcement and no food or beverage services. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Customers will be required to undergo temperature screening and provide contact information when entering the facilities. They, along with employees, will be required to wear face masks. Bandanas and neck gaiters are prohibited. Enterprise officials did not respond to follow-up questions, including whether customers will be asked to show proof that they live on the Navajo Nation. Tribal President Jonathan Nez and Navajo Department of Health Director Jill Jim explained that the tribal land remains closed to visitors under public health emergency orders and roads owned and maintained by the tribe are still closed to visitors and tourists under a Navajo Nation Council resolution, known as CMA-16-20. Those documents dictated the phased plan to reopen businesses on the Navajo Nation, Nez and Jim explained during an online town hall on March 17. In the press release, the enterprise stated a dedicated cleaning crew will sanitize frequently touched surfaces. Customers will be able to request crewmembers to clean slot machines by pressing a service button. Additional safety measures include requiring employees to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to work and undergo testing every two weeks or as required. The release also announced a new special access program for people 60 and over. The casinos will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for older adults. Elders may bring two guests each, subject to available capacity based on occupancy limits. Guests of elders do not need to be over 60-years-old, the release states. The tribes health department authorized the reopening of casinos in a public health emergency order on March 10. According to the release, the health department and casino management will review safety procedures, protocols and practices at the end of the two-week period and determine readiness to further expand the phased opening process. We have an extensive reopening and workplace safety plan and it is our hope that after the two-week soft opening period, the NNGE will be in a position to welcome back all of our patrons and also reopen the Flowing Water Navajo Casino and the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, Brian Parrish, the enterprises interim CEO, said in the release. Board Chairman Quincy Natay explained that in order to open again, the enterprise developed a comprehensive reopening and workplace safety plan, which was reviewed by tribal government officials. The top priority of Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise is the health and safety of its team members, patrons and Dine people, Natay said. The release further explains that the enterprises plan is accordant with the reopening plan by the health department and guidelines from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Indian Gaming Commission and state governments. Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at nsmith@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to The Daily Times. This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Northern Edge, Fire Rock casinos to reopen March 19 ___ (c)2021 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. As state lawmakers in Austin wrap up the latest legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday threatened to withhold their pay by vetoing a line item in the states budget because a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities, Abbott tweeted. Should the governor veto Legislature funding? You voted: Vice premier stresses good start of 14th Five-Year Plan period Xinhua) 08:42, March 18, 2021 Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a symposium at the National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Han Zheng on Tuesday stressed an accurate understanding of the new development stage and full application of the new development philosophy to ensure a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a symposium at the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner. Han called for solid efforts in three key tasks including promoting high-quality development, pursuing common prosperity, and firmly establishing the holistic view of national security. More efforts should be made to ensure food security and energy security, promote works on carbon neutrality, and safeguard the industrial and supply chains, Han said. He also stressed efforts to implement major regional strategies, promote coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as push forward the joint building of the Belt and Road with high quality. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The Biden administration has announced it would be allocating $10bn in funding to assist in testing school children and teachers, as the country worked to return students to the classroom. This funding, which comes from the recently passed American Rescue Plan, would be released to states in April, the administration said on Wednesday. Since the funding would be allocated by proportion, states like California and Texas would receive a larger sum compared to smaller states, with their amount being around $800 million each, it was added. In conjunction with the announcement, the Education Department released a state-by-state breakdown of how much of the $122 billion from the American Rescue Plan each state would receive for its schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. States would be able to determine how to use their funding, which can go to measures like purchasing protective equipment, making building improvements, acquiring additional staff members, extending summer school opportunities, and assisting children who fell behind academically during the pandemic. "The extraordinary steps the department is taking to get these resources to states quickly will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom and stay there, and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a news release Wednesday. Read more: Carole Johnson, who heads the Covid-19 federal testing program for the Biden administration, said during a White House press briefing on Wednesday that the additional $10 billion for school testing would "add a layer of protection" for students and staff as more buildings reopen. Story continues When asked about how the administration would measure the success of the testing program, Ms Johnson added that the goal was to assist school districts in providing funding for them to set up their own testing programs. This funding would include regular screening of students, teachers, and staff members so schools could catch when a person becomes infected but has not started to display symptoms. Regular screenings could help to discover asymptomatic individuals so they don't spread the virus within the school. "Covid-19 testing is critical to saving lives and restoring economic activity," acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran said in a statement. "As part of the Biden Administration's National Strategy, HHS will continue to expand our capacity to get testing to the individuals and the places that need it most, so we can prevent transmission of the virus and defeat the pandemic." Providing testing funds was the Biden administration's latest effort to get schools reopened across the country. Mr Biden directed states to prioritise vaccinating teachers this past month in an effort to get more schools to reopen. Although more and more teachers were receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, testing would still be crucial for reopening schools as students under the age of 16 might not be eligible to receive a jab for months as health experts work to better understand if the treatment would be safe for children. Since testing programs would be new to many schools across the country, the CDC said it would work with state and local health departments to help them develop the programs. Technological advances have made it possible for researchers to track the movements of large ocean-dwelling animals in three dimensions with remarkable precision in both time and space. Researchers reporting in the journal iScience on March 18 have now used this biologging technology to find that, for reasons the researchers don't yet understand, green sea turtles, sharks, penguins, and marine mammals all do something rather unusual: swimming in circles. "We've found that a wide variety of marine megafauna showed similar circling behavior, in which animals circled consecutively at a relatively constant speed more than twice," says Tomoko Narazaki of the University of Tokyo. Narazaki's team first discovered the mysterious circling behaviors in homing green turtles during a displacement experiment. They had transferred nesting turtles from one place to another to study their navigation abilities. "To be honest, I doubted my eyes when I first saw the data because the turtle circles so constantly, just like a machine!" Narazaki says. "When I got back in my lab, I reported this interesting discovery to my colleagues who use the same 3D data loggers to study a wide range of marine megafauna taxa." What came next surprised the researchers even more: they realized that various species of marine animals showed more or less the same circling movements. This finding is surprising in part because swimming in a straight line is the most efficient way to move about. It suggests there must be some good reason that animals circle. Narazaki's team reports that some circling events were recorded at animals' foraging areas, suggesting that it might have some benefit for finding food. For example, they note that a total of 272 circling events were observed in four tiger sharks tagged off Hawaii. However, fur seals were found to circle mainly during the day even though they primarily feed at night. Other circling events also appeared unrelated to foraging. For example, they saw a male tiger shark circling to approach a female for courtship, and the evidence in sea turtles suggests circling might play some role in navigation. "What surprised me most was that homing turtles undertake circling behavior at seemingly navigationally important locations, such as just before the final approach to their goal," Narazaki says. It's possible the circling helps the animals to detect the magnetic field to navigate; interestingly, the researchers say, submarines also circle during geomagnetic observations. But it's also possible that the circling serves more than one purpose. The researchers say that studies of such fine-scale movements, including circling, in more marine species might reveal important behaviors that have otherwise been overlooked. In future studies, they'd like to examine animal movements in relation to the animals' internal state and environmental conditions in search of more clues as to why they circle. ### This work was supported by IPEV, a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists, a grant from JSPS, and the Bio-Logging Science, the University of Tokyo. iScience, Narazaki et al.: "Similar circling movements observed across marine megafauna taxa" https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00189-9 ADVERTISEMENT The Kwara State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) has directed the principals, teachers and staff of the 10 schools shut down over the hijab controversy to report at the schools on Friday or face disciplinary actions. The Executive Chairperson of the commission, Bello Abubakar, said the teachers must resume to prepare their final year students for their external examinations. The directive was contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of TESCOM, Amogbonjaye Peter. Mallam Bello said any staff that failed to report to their duty would face the full wrath of the law as the government will not condone any act of insubordination. Alhaji Abubakar also warned all stakeholders against taking law into their hands, stressing that the peace meeting continues between the government and the stakeholders, the statement read. He said the government regretted the inconveniences the shutdown might have caused the students, saying that the action was taken in the interest of peace. For nearly a month, the use of hijab in the grant-aided schools has generated a controversy amongst members of two religious communities in the state which later led to the closure of ten schools. The affected schools are C&S College, Sabo-Oke; St. Anthonys Secondary School, Offa Road; ECWA School, Oja Iya; Surulere Baptist Secondary School, and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others are CAC Secondary School, Asa Dam road; St. Barnabas Secondary School, Sabo-Oke; St. John School Maraba; St. Williams Secondary School, Taiwo Isale, and St. James Secondary School, Maraba. The state government had set up a committee to resolve the misunderstanding and later resolved that Muslim students have a right to use the hijab if they so wish. The government said the grant-aided schools have been declared government-owned by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal. The controversy degenerated into a clash on Wednesday at Baptist Secondary School, Surulere and some other schools. The spokesperson of Muslim Stakeholders in Kwara State, Isiaq Abdulkareem, had told this newspaper that those involved in the clash of Wednesday do not represent the Islamic group. The police spokesperson in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, however, stated that the security agency will not tolerate the reoccurrence of the clash. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 30 Master's in Human Services Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 68 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 68 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 30 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Master's in Human Services Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-human-services-degree-programs/ 2021 Master's in Human Services Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Amridge University Arizona State University Bellevue University California State University, North Ridge Capella University Chadron State College Concordia University, Chicago Concordia University, Saint Paul East Tennessee State University Lenoir-Rhyne University Liberty University Northeastern University Nova Southeastern University Post University Regent University Saint Joseph's College, New York Saint Leo University Saint Mary's University of Minnesota South Dakota State University Southeastern University Southwestern Assemblies of God University University Of Illinois, Springfield University of Nebraska, Lincoln University Of Northwestern, Saint Paul University of Oklahoma Wake Forest University Walden University Western Carolina University Wilmington University Youngstown State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. (Natural News) The wildly popular independent publishing platform Substack is under attack by the failing mainstream media, which continues to lob laughably false accusations at journalists like Glenn Greenwald, formerly of The Intercept, in an attempt to silence them. Because left-wing fake news hacks like Ryan Broderick, formerly of Buzzfeed, have no chance at competing against credible journalists like Greenwald, their only alternative is to attack their competition in mob-like formation. Much like the other children besides Charlie who showcased their spoiled selves in the cult classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the fake news brigade believes that only they should have a voice in media. Failures like Broderick think that journalism revolves only around them. Anything else is assault without consent, which is essentially how Broderick described Greenwalds work in a piece that Broderick wrote attacking him. As it turns out, we did not have to wait long for the initiation of the censorship campaign aimed at Substack, Greenwald writes about his new preferred platform. It has arrived. And amazingly, the trigger for it was my criticism of the work of a front-page New York Times reporter which, as I wrote yesterday, is like all criticisms of journalists in Good Standing and Decent Liberal Society being recast as abuse and harassment and violence in order to justify the banning and outlawing of that criticism. The piece Greenwald wrote that he is referring to specifically called out the Times, CNN, and NBC News for failing to live up to even basic journalistic standards. For saying this, Greenwald was skewered by Broderick. While reluctantly conceding that I did not dox anyone, [Broderick] called the article a vicious screed and said that the danger signs from my critiques of corporate journalists are clear: online harassment is a constantly evolving process of boundary testing.' Far-left journalists are nothing but spoiled, demanding crybabies The irony, of course, is that Broderick is of the stripe that is constantly whining about white privilege and light-skinned entitlement, both characteristics that perfectly fit himself. Imagine demanding, as Broderick and others are, that those who within their own professions say things you prefer not to hear be silenced from the internet and media. Is this not the very definition of fascism? If anyone in the independent media ever made such demands against the corporate media, we would never hear the end about how indy news is literally Hitler. When Broderick does it, though, it is a brave show of virtue signaling for decency in media. Greenwald is also partially famous for exposing MSNBC as a propaganda extension of the CIA. Greenwald hits hard, in other words, which is why he is hated by many of the talking head lightweights who prefer to get their marching orders from the deep state entities that Greenwald is exposing. Unlike Broderick, Greenwald does what journalists used to do, which is dig up the truth and expose. Broderick and his ilk do the opposite by rejecting the truth and exchanging it with lies. They specialize in trying to ruin peoples reputations and wreck their lives not just other journalists but private citizens but the minute someone objects to their journalism or what they say or do, they summon a team of teachers, psychologists, therapy dogs, digital police officers and tech executives to demand that their critics be silenced and their anguish be treated, Greenwald says about these fake journalists. They really do believe that the world should be organized so as to authorize them to attack whoever they want, while banning anyone who criticizes them when they do it. More of the latest news about the establishments attacks on free speech can be found at Censorship.news. Sources for this article include: Greenwald.Substack.com NaturalNews.com Mexico City authorities have launched a manhunt for a police officer who allegedly threw his girlfriend, also a cop, through the window of her fourth-floor apartment. The Mexico City attorney general's office has opened an investigation into the death of Nancy Peralta, 35, and have named her boyfriend, Gustavo Garcia, 27, as a suspect. Surveillance video that has been leaked on social media shows the moment Peralta and Garcia stepped off his motorcycle and walked through the entrance door to her apartment building at 10:10pm on March 3. At 12:58am, a surveillance camera inside the apartment complex showed the tragic moment Peraltas body came tumbling down from her apartment window. Peralta was later found lying on the roof of a vehicle. The same security camera system showed Garcia walking down a flight of stairs a couple of seconds after Peralta dropped from the apartment. He stopped and looked over the railing and continued to walk towards the exit. He subsequently stopped and rubbed his hair in front of an individual. Authorities in Mexico City, Mexico, have launched a manhunt for police officer Gustavo Garcia (front center), who allegedly killed Nancy Peralta (rear), also a member of the police force. Surveillance video leaked on social media shows the former couple on March 3 entering the apartment building where they lived before a second camera captures the moment Peralta fell from her fourth-floor apartment. She died at a local hospital March 12. Her family said she was in love with Garcia and ruled out that she would have committed suicide Surveillance footage from March 3 shows police officer Gustavo Garcia (right) and fellow cop Nancy Peralta (left) entering the apartment building where they had been living together since November 2020. Garcia is sought by Mexico City's police for reportedly tossing Peralta through the window of her fourth-floor apartment that night. She died on March 12 The 35-year-old police officer, who died March 12 from the injuries she suffered in the fall, leaves behind an 18-year-old son A camera then captured him getting on his motorcycle while he was talking to someone on his cellphone and speeding off at 1:01am. Peralta, who also taught at the University of Criminal and Social Sciences, was rushed to a local hospital, where she died March 12 due to the injuries she suffered in the fall. Patricia Romero, Peralta's sister, told Mexican news outlet Telediario that neighbors in the past had heard Peralta and Garcia having heated arguments in the apartment they shared after Garcia moved in with her in November 2020. Witnesses said the former couple argued in the apartment before Peralta, an 18-year member of the police department, was allegedly thrown from the window. Garcia has not reported to duty since the night of the incident and the police have been unable to locate his whereabouts. Peralta also taught at the University of Criminal and Social Sciences Mexico City police officer Gustavo Garcia (left) has not reported for duty since he reportedly tossed Nancy Peralta (right), also a cop, from her fourth-floor apartment's window March 3. She died on March 12 Romero accompanied Peraltas 18-year-old son, Luis Peralta, to the headquarters of Mexico Citys police department to drop off a letter for Omar Garcia Harfuch, the police chief. In the missive, the teen wrote that his mother was deeply in love with Gustavo Garcia and dismissed rumors that she had taken her own life by jumping out the window. 'From the moment we were told that my mother had suffered an accident and we went to see her at the hospital, we knew that it was impossible that she had attempted suicide,' he wrote. 'She loved life, her greatest passion was her work, she had dedicated 18 years to give me the best quality of life. 'A few months ago she had decided to formalize a sentimental relationship with Garcia (her alleged killer) and in this she was very excited, so there is no reason that she could have attempted against her life.' Nancy Peralta had been a member of the Mexico City police department for 18 years Luis Peralta had been living with his maternal grandfather, Antonio Peralta, since the end of January due to differences with Garcia. The family has accused the authorities of not setting up a perimeter to allow the detectives to investigate the crime scene immediately. Relatives have also said the police department has been slow in the search for Garcia, who they believe is being protected by the law enforcement agency and his own family. A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration) Facebook to Add Warnings, Limit Visibility of Groups That Violate Platform Rules Facebook announced on March 17 that it has implemented a number of changes on the social media platform that will reduce the reach of, and in some cases ban, groups that violate its policies. The tech giant said in a statement that it has taken action to curb the spread of harmful content, like hate speech and misinformation, and is making it harder for certain groups to operate or be discovered. When a group repeatedly breaks our rules, we take it down entirely, the announcement from Facebooks vice president of engineering, Tom Alison, stated. As part of the changes, Facebook will notify users who want to join a group if the group has previously approved posts that violate the platforms community standards. Users can then opt to review the group before joining. The social media platform stated it will also remove political and civic groups from all group recommendations. While people can still invite friends to these groups or search for them, we have now started to expand these restrictions globally. This builds on restrictions weve made to recommendations, like removing health groups from these surfaces, as well as groups that repeatedly share misinformation, the company stated. When a group begins to violate the platforms community standards, Facebook will show them lower in its recommendations list, making it less likely that people will discover those groups, Alison said. Group administrators and moderators will also be required by Facebook to temporarily approve all posts when that group has a substantial number of members who have violated our policies or were part of other groups that were removed for breaking our rules. Further, users who repeatedly violate platform rules in groups will be temporarily barred from posting in any group, and will be banned from both creating new groups, and inviting others to groups. The changes come a week before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify at a hearing on misinformation in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Washington on April 10, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny over censorship of its users speech. Facebook has repeatedly claimed its platform doesnt favor one political viewpoint over another. Facebook whistleblower Ryan Hartwig, who lifted the lid on the social media giants pattern of censoring conservatives, told The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program on Feb. 28 that censorship at the company has become outrageous. Hartwig, a former content moderator at a third-party company that provided services to Facebook, made news in June 2020 when he alleged that moderators were told to enforce the social media platforms policies selectively to allow, under certain circumstances, content that demonized the police or white males. I saw that Facebook gave exceptions to, essentially, silence conservatives, he said in an interview during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida. Hartwig, who worked for nearly two years for Cognizant, a firm hired by Facebook to handle part of its manual content policing, said in the interview that Facebook provided guidance on a number of occasions that he said was biased in favor of left-leaning causes and perspectives. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said at the CPAC event last month that censorship by Big Tech is probably the biggest problem that we face right now in this country, as a party. Tom Ozimek contributed to this report. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Built to last in Brotas: The Brazilian water reservoir slab was waterproofed with a topically applied layer of PENETRON and the reservoir walls used PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete. All Penetron crystalline products meet the fundamental requirements for potable water applications they are completely non-toxic and contain no VOCs. The new Brotas Reservoir in Salvador BA, Brazil was completed in late 2020. Both PENETRON and PENETRON ADMIX were specified to ensure a durable and completely non-toxic concrete waterproofing solution to ensure safe drinking water for the city. Brotas is a neighborhood of Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia and the largest city in northeastern Brazil with about three million inhabitants. The neighborhoods new drinking water reservoir was financed and commissioned by EMBASA, the Bahia state company charged with ensuring a constant supply of drinking water for the state. During the planning stage of the Brotas Reservoir project, the architects at ARC Laranjeiras Architects contacted Penetron Brazil for a durable concrete waterproofing solution for the foundation slab and walls of the 8,700 m3 reservoir that was also safe for use in potable water applications. Approved for Potable Water Applications All Penetron crystalline products meet the fundamental requirements for potable water applications they are completely non-toxic and contain no VOCs," explains Claudio Neves Ourives, Executive Director of Penetron Brazil. Our crystalline materials have been tested and certified for potable water applications in Brazil, which are equivalent to USAs NSF-61 certification standards. CCP, the projects general contractor, topically applied a layer of PENETRON, as a slurry, to waterproof the foundation slab. The reservoirs walls were constructed with PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete and PENEBAR SW-55 swellable waterstop strips were installed along the construction joints to ensure a leak-free and durable concrete structure. Permanently Sealing Pores & Micro-Cracks Once added to the concrete mix or applied to a prepared concrete surface, the proprietary chemicals in Penetrons crystalline products react in a catalytic reaction with moisture to generate a non-soluble crystalline formation throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete. The resulting crystalline formation seals pores and micro-cracks, and becomes an integral part of the matrix, making the concrete impermeable. The concrete also has the ability to self-heal newly formed cracks, significantly reducing the maintenance needed over the lifespan of the concrete reservoir. The Penetron System is ideal for waterproofing concrete structures that come into contact with drinking water, adds Claudio Neves Ourives. The treated concrete structure can now withstand the high hydrostatic pressure and has the built-in corrosion protection needed due to the chloride content in the water stored in the Brotas Reservoir. The Penetron Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives and distribution channels. For more information on Penetron crystalline technology solutions, please visit http://www.penetron.com, email: CRDept@penetron.com or contact our Corporate Relations Department at 631-941-9700. Meghan Markle. Hannah Mckay/Pool/Getty Images The Sun hired a private investigator to access information about Meghan Markle. Daniel Portley-Hanks says he gave the outlet her phone number, address, and Social Security number. Prince Harry recently sued The Sun's publisher over separate phone-hacking claims. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Famous private investigator Daniel "Danno" Portley-Hanks was hired by a UK tabloid to dig up personal information about Meghan Markle and her family when she first started dating Prince Harry. A representative for News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun, confirmed to Insider that the UK tabloid paid Portley-Hanks, a private investigator from the US, for information on Markle in 2016. Portley-Hanks gave The Sun a "comprehensive report" on Markle, as reported by the BBC, which contained her Social Security number, phone numbers - including her cell phone number - and addresses. It also reportedly included information on Markle's family members, her ex-husband, and an ex-boyfriend. Meghan Markle. Max Mumby/ Indigo/ Getty Images. The New York Times reported that Portley-Hanks used the service TLOxp to find the information he needed, which is legal to use. However, he later broke US privacy statutes by sharing the information he found with publications, according to The Times. The Sun appeared to use the information from the report for a series of stories published in 2016 that seemed to share intimate details of the couple's relationship. For instance, the publication seemingly used the report to write a story about Harry sending texts to Meghan before their first date in 2016. The Times also reported that Portley-Hanks' investigation led The Sun to track Markle's father, who later leaked private letters from his daughter to UK tabloids. In a statement provided to Insider, News Group Newspapers said it did not request Markle's Social Security number, and it contradicted reporting from Byline and The Times that said Portley-Hanks was paid $2,055 for his services. Story continues "In 2016, The Sun made a legitimate request of Mr. Hanks to research contact details and addresses for Meghan Markle and possible relatives using legal databases which he had a license to use," the statement said. "He was paid $250." "Mr. Hanks was not tasked to do anything illegal or breach any privacy laws - indeed he was instructed clearly in writing to act lawfully and he signed a legal undertaking that he would do so," the statement continued. "The information he provided could not and did not raise any concerns that he had used illegal practices to obtain the information." "At no time did The Sun request the Social Security number of Meghan Markle, nor use the information he provided for any unlawful practice," the statement from News Group Newspapers also said. "The Sun abides by all laws and regulations and maintains strict protocols in relation to the obtaining of information from third parties. Strict compliance is in place to cover all our reporting." On Thursday, Markle and Harry condemned "predatory practices" of some investigative reporting in a statement to Insider. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in December 2017. Chris Jackson/Getty Images "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex feel that today is an important moment of reflection for the media industry and society at large, as this investigative report shows that the predatory practices of days past are still ongoing, reaping irreversible damage for families and relationships," the statement read. "They are grateful to those working in media who stand for upholding the values of journalism, which are needed now more than ever before," the statement went on to say. Prince Harry filed a lawsuit against The Sun over phone-hacking claims in 2019, and he and Markle have both spoken about the harassment and racism Markle has experienced at the hands of the British media. The news comes amid tension between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. During the interview, Markle revealed she was having suicidal thoughts but wasn't allowed to get help during her time as a senior member of the royal family, and Harry said his father "stopped taking" his phone calls before the couple announced their step back from royal duties. Daniel Portley-Hanks did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Insider Premier's present market value suggests that retention of 100% of Zulu is now potentially a better option. Premier African Minerals Limited ( ) said the meteoric rise in its share price this month has improved the prospects of retaining full ownership of the Zulu lithium project. The junior exploration company was formally granted an exclusive prospecting order (EPO) covering the companys Zulu Lithium and Tantalum claims on March 12 but the share price was already shifting higher in anticipation of that award and during March the shares have risen from 0.08p to 0.25p. That, said George Roach, the chief executive officer of Premier, caused the board to rethink assumptions that at some point it would have to surrender some of its ownership of Zulu to a joint venture partner. With both the emerging short supply and simultaneous escalating price and demand for spodumene and the grant of the Exclusive Prospecting Order as announced on 17 March 2021, Premier's prospects are today fundamentally different, Roach said. Premier's present market value suggests that retention of 100% of Zulu is now potentially a better option. The strategy related to the divestment of our Zimbabwe assets may no longer be appropriate. Accordingly, Premier will focus on the development of Zulu and realisation of the potential true value of this asset and proper exploration of the upside potential in the EPO, Roach told investors. The definitive feasibility study (DFS) timeline for Zulu is estimated at 14 months and this is unlikely to change, Roach said. Since the EPO was awarded the company has received several approaches from parties interested in funding the DFS, while it has also had expressions of interest from organisations interested in investing in the project as part of an off-take agreement. In closing, it is worth noting that the Zimbabwean Government's award of the EPO at Zulu and several other EPO applications, is a clear signal that Zimbabwe is truly open for business and is taking steps to achieving their long-term mining goal, Premiers stock market announcement concluded. Meanwhile, Premier and MH Holdings will continue their mutual interests in the operating Otjozondu Manganese Mine in Namibia. Shares in Premier African were trading at 0.25p following the announcement, having closed last night at 0.33p. Further, Hole CLM20-002 intersected 27m of 3.09g/t Palladium (Pd), 3.09g/t Platinum (Pt), 0.78% Copper (Cu) and 0.50% Nickel (Ni) from 93.1 120.0m downhole located in the Bridge Zone area of the Current Lake Deposit, as part of a mini bulk sample drilled with HQ core for bench test flotation metallurgical processing taking place with Blue Coast Research of British Columbia, Canada. The Company has also recently completed a series of property wide geophysical transects using the magnetotelluric ("MT") geophysical method. MT uses natural, low frequency electromagnetic currents to map areas of low resistivity and high conductivity in the subsurface. The survey has identified a series of high conductivity features that were not previously recognized. These are being compiled with stratigraphic and structural data into a number of high priority massive sulphide exploration targets in and around both the Escape and Current magma conduit deposit areas. The inherent fertility of the Escape Lake magma conduit deposit is well illustrated by the recent mineral resource update reported on January 20, 2021 (see Footnote). The Escape Lake Deposit has an overall Indicated mineral resource of 505,369 ounces at 3.67g/t PdEq in 4,286,220 tonnes and is geologically open along trend. With the 2020 investment of CAD$4.5 million into 19,000m of drilling at Escape in 2020, the average cost of discovery and compiling historical drill results was approximately $9.00 per Indicated ounce PdEq. NI 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT AND MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR THE THUNDER BAY NORTH PROJECT, THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, effective date January 20, 2021. Posted to SEDAR March 4, 2021. Prepared by Nordmin Engineering Ltd.- QP Glen Kuntz, P.Geo. Ontario Abraham Drost, CEO of Clean Air Metals stated that "the discovery of Norilsk-style Ni-Cu-Co massive sulphides with substantial Pt and Pd in the Escape Lake Deposit system is a potential game changer for the Company. Early on we recognized the high-level similarities of the magma conduit chonolith system and structural and stratigraphic controls on mineralization at Thunder Bay North with the Talnakh complex at Norilsk, one of the world's foremost Nickel-Copper-PGM deposits. Based on the new discovery of massive sulphides in the Escape Lake Deposit with favorable metal ratios and the recent completion of a structural analysis and MT geophysical surveys, we are well funded to ramp up our exploration efforts in both the Escape Lake and Current Lake magma conduit deposit systems." The Company plans a minimum 30,000m of further delineation drilling at the Escape Lake Deposit at a cost of approximately $6.6 million in 2021. The Current Lake Deposit, itself with an Indicated mineral resource of 1,328,789 oz PdEq at an average grade of 3.44 g/t PdEq in 11,999,177 tonnes (reported January 20, 2021; see Page 1 Footnote) will also receive additional $2.2 million budget for approximately 10,000m of drilling to convert Inferred into Indicated in the Beaver Lake Zone area. A further minimum $1.1 million program of 5000m drilling will be allocated to drilling specific structural/stratigraphic targets both inside and outside the known magma conduit areas, with coincident high conductivity MT geophysical anomalies and high prospectivity for massive sulphide mineralization. Table 1: New Assay Results Update Escape Lake Zone, Thunder Bay North Hole ID Company From, m To, m Length, m Pt+Pd (g/t) Cu+Ni (%) Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Cu (%) Ni (%) ELR20-032 AIR 379.0 414.1 35.1 3.87 1.21 1.64 2.23 0.80 0.41 **incl 395.1 405.1 9.9 6.50 1.96 2.72 3.77 1.29 0.66 ELR21-035 AIR 169.2 170.9 1.8 2.11 0.24 0.97 1.14 0.16 0.08 ELR21-035 AIR 315.0 333.0 18.0 1.31 0.47 0.60 0.71 0.26 0.21 ELR21-036 AIR 200.8 221.1 20.3 2.22 0.65 1.01 1.21 0.43 0.22 ELR21-038 AIR 289.8 298.7 8.9 1.78 0.58 0.81 0.96 0.39 0.19 ELR21-038 AIR 337.7 339.4 1.7 1.95 0.91 0.88 1.07 0.62 0.29 ELR21-041 AIR 337.0 337.5 0.5 14.34 7.16 6.41 7.93 4.76 2.50 CLM20-001 AIR 149.6 166.4 16.8 4.07 0.71 2.06 2.00 0.48 0.23 incl 163.6 166.4 2.8 11.22 1.65 5.71 5.51 1.23 0.41 CLM20-002 AIR 79.2 83.1 3.8 1.96 0.40 1.00 0.96 0.23 0.17 CLM20-002 AIR 88.1 89.9 1.9 2.10 0.43 1.07 1.03 0.24 0.19 CLM20-002 AIR 93.1 120.0 27.0 6.17 1.29 3.09 3.09 0.78 0.50 incl 98.3 114.5 16.1 8.15 1.69 4.04 4.11 1.03 0.66 CLM20-003 AIR 252.0 255.4 3.4 2.00 0.41 1.04 0.95 0.25 0.15 CLM20-004 AIR 145.1 150.9 5.9 1.26 0.29 0.66 0.60 0.15 0.14 CLM20-004 AIR 155.0 166.0 11.0 9.67 1.60 4.96 4.71 1.09 0.51 incl 156.2 166.0 9.8 10.53 1.73 5.40 5.14 1.18 0.55 CLM20-004 AIR 172.0 174.0 2.0 2.23 0.72 1.12 1.11 0.44 0.28 Note: 1) All intercepts are estimated to be >95% of true width based on drill hole inclination 2) Mineralized intervals calculated at 1 ppm Pt+Pd cutoff ** Previously reported composite assay interval on December 7, 2020 on a Rush basis COVID Policy Clean Air Metals has adopted COVID-19 avoidance and personal protection measures for its geological staff, drilling contractor and service suppliers. Personnel are required to maintain physical distance, use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), self-monitor and self-isolate or elect to work from home. Management had previously eliminated plans for a camp setup to service a planned diamond drill campaign on the Escape Lake Project. The Company is aware of Thunder Bay Health Unit guidelines that provide for "mandatory" self-isolation for returning overseas travel. The guidelines also "strongly recommend" self- monitoring and self-isolation as needed after travel into the Northwest region from other areas of the Province and interprovincially. Mineral Exploration and Development has been deemed an essential service in the Province of Ontario (http://www.netnewsledger.com/2020/03/23/ontario-covid-19-business-allowed-to-remain-open-list-march-23-2020/ ). The Company has procured the services of a locally staffed and serviced diamond drilling contractor to complete the diamond drilling program. Qualified Person Mr. Allan MacTavish, P.Geo. a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and VP, Project Manager of the Company, has reviewed and approved all technical information in this press release. Social Engagement Clean Air Metals Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. acknowledge that the Thunder Bay North Project is on the traditional territories of the Fort William First Nation, Red Rock First Nation and Biinjitiwabik Zaaging Anishinabek. The parties together are the Cooperating Participants in a Memorandum of Agreement dated January 9, 2021 and the issue of Warrants, reported January 28, 2021. About Clean Air Metals Inc. Clean Air Metals' flagship asset is the 100% owned, high grade Thunder Bay North Project, a platinum, palladium, copper, nickel project located near the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario and the Lac des Iles Mine owned by Impala Platinum. The Clean Air Metals project hosts the Current Lake deposit and magma conduit and the Company is actively exploring the Escape Lake deposit, a twin structure to the Current Lake deposit. Executive Chairman Jim Gallagher and CEO Abraham Drost lead an experienced team of geologists and engineers who are using the Norilsk magma conduit stratigraphic and mineral deposit model to guide ongoing exploration and development studies. As the former CEO of North American Palladium Ltd. which owned the Lac des Iles Mine prior to the sale to Impala Platinum in December 2019, Jim Gallagher and team are credited with the mine turnaround and creation of significant value for shareholders. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Abraham Drost" Abraham Drost, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including statements regarding the potential of the Thunder Bay North Project and the Escape Lake and Current Lake deposits and timing of technical studies and mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projection. SOURCE Clean Air Metals Inc. Related Links https://www.cleanairmetals.ca/ Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. INDIANAPOLIS, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Woodhouse Day Spa, a high-end day spa brand, announced today the opening of its newest location in the Bottleworks Hotel, marking the company's sixth location in the state of Indiana. Known for approachable luxury, the full-service Woodhouse Day Spa offers guests over 70 rejuvenating spa treatments in a peaceful, luxurious and relaxing environment. Located in the historic downtown neighborhood of Indianapolis, The Woodhouse Day Spa located within the Bottleworks Hotel is the first in the country to include a halotherapy salt room. The microclimate of these rooms is known to offer skin and respiratory benefits, while relaxing in a calming Zen atmosphere. Guests can enjoy Woodhouse's signature services such as its Therapeutic Stone Massage, Organic Seaweed Leaf Wrap, Warm Agave Nectar Pedicure or Lavender Dreams sleep treatment, all within one spa. All treatments begin with a plush robe and reflexology sandals to begin their journey, while gentle music, essential oils and soft lighting work in tandem to promote a sense of calm and relaxation. "I decided to bring The Woodhouse Day Spa brand to the Bottleworks Hotel because the property's unique mix of history and modern luxury provides the perfect setting for the distinctive and transformative experience that Woodhouse provides to each guest," said Terri Smith, owner of The Woodhouse Day Spa Bottleworks. "There is a natural synergy between the hotel's one-of-a-kind atmosphere and our high-end spa brand. We're so excited to be a part of this new property and look forward to providing our signature, award-winning services to both out-of-town guests and Indianapolis residents alike." The Woodhouse Day Spa in the Bottleworks Hotel is owned by multi-unit operator, Terri Smith. Terri opened her first Woodhouse location 14 years ago in Carmel, Indiana, and currently owns two additional locations in Fishers and Zionsville. Prior to becoming an owner of Woodhouse Day Spas, Terri spent 16 years with Estee Lauder in New York City, and was drawn to the passion of the Woodhouse brand and how it aligned with her love for the beauty and wellness industry. The opening of the Bottleworks location marks her fourth Woodhouse in the greater Indianapolis area. Woodhouse prides itself on providing its guests with a tranquil and transformational spa experience with well-appointed amenities, luxurious relaxation spaces, high-end retail and a menu of signature services including massage therapy, skincare, waxing and an array of body treatments. The Woodhouse Day Spa will be open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling 317-981-8888 or visiting https://indianapolis.woodhousespas.com/. To stay up to date on the latest news and promotions, follow The Woodhouse Day Spa on Facebook https://bit.ly/30D6sCT. The Woodhouse Day Spa is a part of Radiance Holdings, a company representing a collection of premier brands in the $64 billion beauty, wellness and self-care industry, including Sola Salon Studios and BeautyHive. With over 65 locations in 21 states such as Texas, Colorado, California, New York, Ohio and Florida, Woodhouse has proven that its concept resonates with consumers around the U.S. ABOUT THE WOODHOUSE DAY SPA Founded in Victoria, Texas in 2001, The Woodhouse Day Spa provides each guest with a tranquil, transformational environment that's both memorable and healthful. From beginning to end, dedicated spa teams ensure that each visit enhances the guest's well-being. With over 65 spas across the country, guests of The Woodhouse Day Spa are guaranteed the same high-quality signature services and luxurious experience regardless of location. For more information, please visit www.woodhousespas.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Nadia Caron Fish Consulting [email protected] 954-893-9150 SOURCE The Woodhouse Day Spa " " Jayne Bigelson compares her experience with maladaptive daydreaming to drinking alcohol. Some people can handle it, but for others it just takes over. Benjiecce/Getty Images There was no label for Jayne Bigelson's unusual habit. For hours a day, she'd weave elaborate storied daydreams in her mind. When she was a child, she did it while walking in circles and shaking a string. When she got older, she learned how to do it standing still. They were pleasant daydreams. She describes them like personal screenings of sitcoms in which she played a starring role. Stories about joining the "Brady Bunch" on a family vacation or hanging out with members of "General Hospital." But they had become all consuming. "At the end of the day, it's kind of like alcohol. A lot of people can drink wine and think it's great. There's nothing wrong with daydreaming in this fashion, either. But for some people, it takes over," she says during an interview. "With me it was all day, every day." The frustrating part was that no one believed her. Her parents and therapists told her there was no such thing as excessive daydreaming, and she should embrace this "special talent." Eventually, Bigelson was prescribed the antidepressant fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) known to help with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The immersive daydreams eventually stopped and Bigelson moved on. But 15 years later, the Harvard Law School graduate began to wonder again whether anyone else suffered from obsessive daydreaming. That was the early 2000s, and the internet was becoming a treasure trove of information. Google eventually led her to Eli Somer, Ph.D.'s 2002 paper, "Maladaptive Daydreaming: A Qualitative Inquiry." Finally, she had validation that her symptoms were real, and proof she wasn't alone. Advertisement What Is Maladaptive Daydreaming? Daydreaming and even mind wandering (a form of off-task thinking about mundane real-life events) is normal, says Somer, an Israeli clinician specializing in trauma and dissociative disorders. Immersive daydreaming is different. Somer describes it this way: "extensive absorptive, fantastical, vivid, and fanciful fantasies that are evoked by repetitive physical movement and by exposure to evocative music." Immersive daydreaming (ID) "is indeed an exceptional trait that generates very pleasurable feelings and therefore may develop into a behavioral addiction," Somer says in an email interview. But when it causes significant distress or impairment to a person's life, then it is considered "maladaptive daydreaming" (MD). Advertisement Discovering the Daydreaming Disorder At the beginning of the millennium, Somer, Professor Emeritus of clinical psychology University of Haifa School of Social Work, discovered something fascinating among several of his patients. They spent an unusual amount of time daydreaming and creating extensive fantasy lives in their minds. The coincidence captured his attention. "I became interested in their inner worlds." Somer's practice had been comprised of trauma survivors and as such, he concluded that that daydreaming was a distraction or soothing activity patients were using as a "dissociative defense mechanism." In 2002, he described this observation and coined the term "maladaptive daydreaming," in the paper he published in the Journal of Contemporary Psychology. At the time, his concept appeared to fall flat with colleagues. With lack of interest within the scientific community, Somer abandoned the idea and resumed his clinical and research activity in trauma and dissociation. A few years later, around the time Bigelson discovered Somer's paper, the term "maladaptive daydreaming" that was non-existent before 2002, had gone viral. Somer began receiving requests to continue his work on the daydreaming disorder. " " Research on maladaptive daydreaming has come a long way since Somer first published his paper in 2002. Nichola Cartwright/Getty Images Advertisement How Has Research Evolved? When Somer discovered maladaptive daydreaming in his patients, most of whom suffered from trauma, he assumed that the two conditions were somehow related. But in the two decades since, he says he knows that's not necessarily the case. "Our research, indeed, shows that there is a statistical relationship between trauma history and MD. However, trauma is not a necessary condition. Individuals with ID can become addicted to this highly rewarding mental experience in the absence of a trauma history," he says. Part of his understanding was influenced by Bigelson, who in 2008, convinced her psychiatrist to write an MD case study on her immersive daydreaming experience. She later spearheaded research to scan the brains of 90 excessive daydreamers. The scans gave even more validation that immersive daydreaming was real. They revealed that the brain's reward center lit up during moments of immersive daydreaming "much like it does in the brains of heroin addicts when they see pictures of drugs," Bigelson says. Bigelson also collaborated with Somer on research and wrote about her disorder in 2015 for The Atlantic to help raise awareness and let others with MD know they are not alone. Advertisement Is Maladaptive Daydreaming a Mental Disorder? Researchers who have extensively studied maladaptive daydreaming believe there is "ample scientific evidence that MD is a reliable mental condition that cannot be explained by any existing psychiatric condition," Somer says. But because the construct of maladaptive disorder is still somewhat new, it is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, also referred to as the DSM-5. The manual, published by the American Psychiatric Association, provides information or guidelines for assessing, diagnosis and treating mental disorders. Nor is it among the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), the global standard for health data, clinical documentation and statistical aggregation. Advertisement What Are the Symptoms of Maladaptive Daydreaming? According to Somer, individuals who meet diagnostic criteria A, B and C could be classified as having a "daydreaming disorder," or "maladaptive daydreaming:" A. Persistent and recurrent fantasy activity that is vivid and fanciful as indicated by the individual exhibiting two (or more) of the following in a six-month period. At least one of these should include criterion (1): While daydreaming, experiences an intense sense of absorption/immersion that includes visual, auditory or affective properties. Daydreaming is triggered, maintained, or enhanced with exposure to music. Daydreaming is triggered, maintained, or enhanced with exposure to stereotypical movement (e.g., pacing, rocking, hand movements). Often daydreams when feels distressed, or bored. Daydreaming intensity and length intensify in the absence of others (e.g., daydreams more when alone). Is annoyed when unable to daydream or when daydreaming is interrupted or curbed. Would rather daydream than engage in daily chores, social, academic or professional activities. Has made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop daydreaming. B. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. C. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition and is not better explained by another disorder. While not a diagnosing criterion, maladaptive disorder also seems more prevalent in people with certain mental health conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), OCD spectrum disorders, autism spectrum disorder and social anxiety. Advertisement How Is Maladaptive Daydreaming Treated? It is important to note that extreme and immersive daydreaming, in children or adults, may not need to be treated, especially if it isn't interfering in the daydreamer's life or causing them distress. For those who want to better control their fantasy life, Somer recommends: Seeking help from a mental health professional specialized in treating habits and behavioral addictions. Keeping a daily diary of your MD can give you better awareness of your daydreaming and may lead to better control and reduction. Meditating or mindful training may help provide the necessary skill for staying present in external reality. Daydreamers can also find support through online support groups, Facebook communities and forums such as Daydream in Blue and Wild Minds Network. Bigelson's case study also identified fluvoxamine as a possible pharmaceutical option. But because MD is not considered a mental disorder, there are no medications specifically for excessive daydreaming. Now That's Interesting Film student Thomas Willem Renckens came across "maladaptive daydreaming" while researching fantasy addiction for his graduation film. In the process, "I must have spoken to over 100 different people, which really allowed me to get a good grasp on what it is exactly and how it can affect people's lives," he says. His film, "The Daydreamers," was released on public television in his home country the Netherlands and has been selected for several film festivals. The film is not yet available online, but the trailer with testimonials from maladaptive daydreamers and comments from Dr. Somer can be seen here. Bankruptcy procedure against lawyer Yakubovsky extended for six months RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 10:30 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) The Moscow Regional Commercial Court has extended an asset sales procedure as part of bankruptcy proceedings against businessman and lawyer Dmitry Yakubovsky until September 5, according to court records. The court has therefore granted an application filed by the debtors bankruptcy receiver Artem Sladkov. Moreover, on April 14, the court will consider Sladkov bid to reclaim keys and other items providing access to residential premises belonging to Yakubovsky. In December 2019, the Tenth Commercial Court of Appeals dismissed Yakubovskys appeal against a ruling of September 2019 declaring him bankrupt. In mid-December 2017, the court initiated a debt restructuring process against Yakubovsky. His 2.2-billion-ruble debt (about $38 million) to a regional inspection office of the Federal Tax Service was added to the creditors list. In late December 2017, Gazprombank lodged a petition with the court seeking to include a 1.1-billion-ruble debt ($19 million) of the businessman. In March 2018, Bank Monolith filed a motion with the Moscow Regional Commercial Court seeking to include a 6.4-billion-ruble debt ($112.4 million) of Yakubovsky in the list of creditors' claims. He acted as a TV host, a lecturer in Moscows Griboyedov Institute of International Law and Economy, a chairman of Presidium of the First Moscow Bar Association. Since 2007, he has run real estate development business. Yakubovsky owns the Swiss company Engelberg Industrial Group. We are honored to be approved to provide technical support to help enhance the digitalization transformation of Haiti. This project is long overdue to support the development of democracy and accountability for improved transparency. Economic Transformation Technologies Corporation (ETT) announced that the Company has received an invitation to support the Institute of Haiti Statistics and Informatics (IHSI), the agency responsible for coordinating public information efforts of Haiti and in charge of coordinating all technologies and digitalization of the country. The collaboration is centered primarily on the reinforcement of the capacities of IHSI especially in the field of human resources for the development of computer technologies necessary for the modernization of the countrys public sector. We are honored to be approved to provide technical support to help enhance the digitalization transformation of Haiti, stated Angelo Viard, ETTs President of International Business Development & Infrastructure. This project is long overdue to support the development of democracy and accountability for improved transparency. The Haitian Government has established a threefold roadmap structure toward digital transformation which includes the renovation of the administrative system, as well as strengthening the coordination of government action and territorial governance, and, lastly, public finance reform and economic governance. ETTs support of IHSI will improve the delivery of public services to users throughout the country by enhancing the interconnection of Government entities at all levels. A results-oriented ecosystem will be implemented through a digitalization process. The outcome will support the deployment of a blockchain strategic approach for civil service and electronic governance. The collaboration between ETT and IHSI will also enhance resource mobilization and governance of local finances by promoting internal digital Gourdes, the currency of Haiti, and minimizing overall budget framework for better allocation and resource usage. Treasury and public accounts will be incorporated with external control and transparency as well. ### About Economic Transformation Technologies: Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT) is an accelerator and integrator of innovative technologies united in the mission of economic transformation and corporate performance. ETT represents a new corporate archetype: a data-centric, multi-disciplined, multi-faceted investment, and operations company driven by the mandates of economic development, corporate performance, and sustainable value. ETT has harnessed a portfolio of sector-disruptive companies that incorporate the value of collaborative innovation that is built to serve turn-key large-scale solutions to sovereigns and multi-national companies as a single one-stop partner. For additional information, please visit http://www.ett.world. The Takeout YouTube eating sensation Raina Huang visited StevOs Pizza n Ribs in Aurora, Colorado, in order to film herself tackling that restaurants OMG 28" eating challenge for her YouTube channel. Huang and a friend planned to conquer a 28" pizza within an hour; the prize was not only a full (and probably sore) belly, but also $100. And of course internet fame. But the owner, Steve Wieand, wasnt buying it. He accused Huang of being a professional competitor and a scammer, and he kicked her out of the r CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's president and CEO Kim Keck issued the following statement: The deadly attack this week in Atlanta is the latest in a surge of violence against the Asian community during the coronavirus pandemic. This increasing violence is painful and traumatic. It's devastating that the more vulnerable populations are being targeted -- youth, elderly and women are experiencing the brunt of the attacks. Racist attacks cannot be tolerated and must be stopped. Everyone has a right to live with dignity and free from fear. Being true to our Pledge to Make Meaningful Change, we at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association stand together to condemn these violent acts of racism and we are committed to creating lasting social change for all Americans. I am proud to be part of a dedicated team who pulls together and builds on the strength of the Blue Cross Blue Shield system to make changes for the better for everyone, especially those who need it most. At Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, we stand with our Asian and Asian American employees and support our member companies that provide coverage and community support to the over one hundred million Americans representing the diversity and strength of our country. About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 35 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog. SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (Photo : Screenshot From Bill Gates YouTube) Bill Gates was Right? Here's Why Bitcoin Consumes Electricity Larger than Most Countries in the World The Bitcoin market currently goes past the $1 trillion mark with its prices ever ricing ten folds per year. The focus now is however shifting towards the massive power consumption that is needed in order to sustain this particular online currency. Bill Gates on the effects of Bitcoin An article by Bill Gates noted in an article by Entrepreneur that Bitcoin requires an alarming amount of electricity just to power up the particular online currency. The total energy consumption needed in the whole bitcoin mining process could reportedly reach 128 TWh, this year alone. The data was provided by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index or CBECI which is also compiled by the Cambridge University researchers. This is reportedly 0.6% of the whole world's total electricity production. This is reportedly more than the entire electricity consumption of Norway. How much energy does bitcoin take? According to George Kamiy in an article by Science Alert, an International Energy Agency analyst, the numbers can really appear quite large when they are compared to some medium-sized countries relying on emerging technologies just like electric vehicles which 80 TWh back in 2019. This is however still smaller when it is compared to the other end-users. Google's entire operation reportedly consumes a whopping 12.2 TWh back in 2019 alone and all of the data now centers in the world, excluding those that reportedly mine Bitcoin, jointly consumes around a whopping 200 TWh per year. A certain economist by the name of Alex de Vries was the person responsible for putting together one of the first ever indices on the particular subject back in 2016. Bitcoin takes a lot of electricity According to Alex de Vries in the same article by ScienceAlert, he believed that the whole recent rise in bitcoin's prices will then intensify its use as well as drive its very own energy consumption beyond that of all of the other data centers combined. Going back to Bill Gates' deduction, he believed that Bitcoin was actually harmful to the environment. As of the moment, it is known that Bitcoin really does take up a huge amount of the world's electricity. The amount of electricity that Bitoin takes up in general was found to be larger than a number of countries. Sometimes even a number of countries combined. Read Article: How to Venture into Bitcoin Trading in 2021 Bitcoin damage to health and environment Bitcoin advocates note that rapid development of renewable energy in the whole power plant sector would then mean that the currency has some sort of moderate effect on the entire environment. Researchers from the University of New Mexico say otherwise. According to the researchers over at the University of New Mexico reportedly estimated that in 2019, before the recent price takeoff, every single dollar of value that was created by bitcoin reportedly generated 49 cents of environmental and health damage towards the United States. This finding puts Bitcoin in the negative light as the general public is still trying to discover whether or not the crypto currency is a good thing. Related Article: Can Bitcoin Mining Be a Source of Livelihood in 2021? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian Buenconsejo 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. West Bengal election 2021: A countdown to the battle for West Bengal has begun. In a bid to emerge victorious on May 2, when the result of election to the 294-seat Assembly will be announced, neither ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) nor Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving anything to chance. Days before national president J P Nadda launched his party's election campaign, Prime Minister himself visited the state and launched a slew of projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore. As we move closer to the start of the eight-phase polling in West Bengal, let's take a look at the projects inaugurated by PM Modi in the month of February, before the Election Commission of India imposed the model code of conduct in the state. February 7, 2021 Prime Minister Modi dedicated four projects, worth around Rs 4,700 crore, in gas, oil and infrastructure sectors, during his visit to Haldia. The projects were: Dobhi-Durgapur pipeline New LPG Terminal Four-lane road overbridge cum flyover Catalytic-Isodewaxing Unit Modi inaugurated the 347-km Dobhi-Durgapur stretch of the Jagdishpur-Haldia natural gas pipeline. The stretch, built at a cost of Rs 2,443 crore, is expected to help supply gas to industries, homes and vehicles in several districts of West Bengal and Jharkhand. The prime minister also inaugurated an LPG import terminal built by Bharat Petroleum in Haldia at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore. The terminal is expected to help cater to the growing cooking gas demand from states in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. The coverage of cooking gas in West Bengal had risen from 41 per cent in 2014 to above 99 per cent now, resulting in increased demand, the prime minister said. Modi also inaugurated a flyway and laid the foundation stone for the second catalytic dewaxing unit at the Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil. February 22, 2021 PM Modi launched projects worth Rs 2,775 crore on February 22, 2021. Besides flagging off the first service on the Noapara-Dakshineswar stretch, he inaugurated a third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram. He dedicated to the nation the doubling of Azimganj to Khargraghat Road section of Eastern Railway, a fourth line between Dankuni and Baruipara and a third line between Rasulpur and Magra. Modi also claimed that the state government had dragged its feet on rolling out PM-KISAN. "If voted to office in the state, the BJPs first Cabinet decision will be to release PM-KISAN grants to Bengals estimated 7 million farmers, including arrears since its launch in December 2018, he said. TMC, too, has left nothing to chance The sprang a surprise by increasing its tally from two seats to 18 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. To halt a saffron juggernaut, the went on an overdrive, announcing new schemes and making sure its previous welfare programmes stayed fresh in the minds of people. Among them, the renewed Swastha Sathi scheme struck a chord with citizens, with millions standing in queues to enrol themselves for the programme that would enable the insurance holder and their family to avail of treatment worth up to Rs 5 lakh. The party also launched the Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep) outreach programme, which covers benefits of 11 state-run welfare schemes. West Bengal election 2021 schedule Voting for Assembly elections in West Bengal will take place in eight phases starting March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. JAMESVILLE, N.Y. New York State Police have released an updated timeline of events leading up to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Judson Albahm on March 4 in Jamesville. Officers were called to a home on Apulia Road to assist a psychiatric mobile crisis team with Albahm, who they said was being uncooperative. According to state police, Albahm pointed what appeared to be a handgun at officers, who fired and struck the teen. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun made to look like a Glock handgun, but state police say the BB gun was still readily capable of causing serious injury or death. The following timeline was put together by state police, the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office and DeWitt Police Department, based on information from interviews with law enforcement, witness and a review of dispatch records. 12:24 p.m. Carissa Albahm, mother of Judson Albahm, called 911 stating Judson Albahm had just taken off in a vehicle from their residence at 4372 Apulia Road, after hitting her vehicle in the driveway and also after the St. Josephs Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program Mobile Outreach Team was there to speak with him. 12:25 p.m. While en route, police units are advised that Albahm does own airsoft guns, but it was unknown if he had any with him. Police units were also advised that it was unknown if Albahm had any weapons on him or if he was impaired by any drugs and/or alcohol. 12:25 p.m. Units advised that Albahm has threatened suicide by cop in the past. 12:27 p.m. Units advised that the caller stated that they believe that Albahm is a danger to himself and that he does have a drug history. 12:40 p.m. 12:45 p.m. Police units begin arriving at the residence to speak with Carissa Albahm. 12:56 p.m. Police observe Albahm running near the rear of a residence on Apulia Road and try to make contact with him. 12:56 p.m. Police observe Albahm at the dead-end of Oschner Road near the train tracks. 12:57 p.m. Police observe Albahm running northbound on the train tracks. 12:59 p.m. Police observe Albahm walking towards the Department of Transportation Building located at 6877 County Garage Road 01:01 p.m. Police locate Albahm in the Department of Transportation parking lot near the dam. 01:04 p.m. - Police observe Albahm holding a black handgun in his hands and begin de-escalation techniques in an attempt to have him drop the gun. 01:07 p.m. Albahm runs away from Police, westbound towards Oschner Road 01:11 p.m. Civilian workers outside of a work truck reported that Albahm pointed a black handgun at them and yelled at them. 01:13 p.m. Police observe Albahm near the intersection of Apulia Road and Coye Road and continue de-escalation techniques while Albahm is still holding the black handgun. Albahm continues to run southbound parallel to Apulia Road, across Coye Road 01:14 p.m. Albahm is observed on another citizens back porch on Apulia Road 01:21 p.m. Albahm is observed behind 4187 Apulia Road 01:22 p.m. Police observe Albahm heading towards Timothy Drive through the woods. 01:23 p.m. 01:25 p.m. Police engage Albahm in a wooded area behind 6414 Hedgerow Lane and continue de-escalation techniques and attempt to have him drop the gun. 01:25 p.m. Albahm threatened officers by pointing the black handgun multiple times at them, which resulted in officers discharging their weapon. 01:25 p.m. 01:45 p.m. EMS was requested to the scene, and Police attempt trauma care and life-saving measures on Albahm. 01:45 p.m. Judson Albahm was pronounced deceased at the scene. The New York Attorney General's Office announed last week it would be investigating Albahm's death. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Endeavour Silver Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell the El Cubo Mine in Guanajuato, Mexico to VanGold Mining Posted by Publisher Internet Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX: EDR, NYSE: EXK) (?Endeavour? https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/endeavour-silver-corp/) announces that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell the El Cubo mine in Guanajuato, Mexico to VanGold Mining Corp. (?VanGold?) for $15 million in cash and share payments plus up to $3 million in contingent payments (all dollar amounts in USD unless otherwise noted). VanGold will pay $15,000,000 to Endeavour as follows: A non-refundable down-payment of $500,000 cash (received). $7.0 million cash payment on closing, anticipated by the end of March 2021. $5.0 million in VanGold common shares on closing, priced at $0.2344 (CAD$0.30) per share for a total of 21,331,058 VanGold shares representing approximately 11.3% of the issued shares. $2.5 million promissory note due 12 months from the closing date. Endeavour has agreed to (a) abstain from voting its shares of VanGold, other than as recommended by VanGold?s management, for a period of two years from the closing date and (b) a 12-month restriction on the resale of any VanGold shares acquired in this transaction. VanGold has also agreed to pay Endeavour up to an additional $3.0 million in contingent payments based on the following: $1.0 million upon VanGold producing 3,000,000 silver equivalent ounces at El Cubo mill, derived from either the El Cubo or El Pinguico project. $1.0 million if the price of gold closes at or above $2,000 per ounce for 20 consecutive days within two years after closing. $1.0 million if the price of gold closes at or above $2,200 per ounce for 20 consecutive days within three years after closing. Endeavour also announces its common shares will be be added to the S&P/TSX Composite and the NYSE Arca Gold Miners (GDX ETF) Indices effective after market close on Friday March 19, 2021, as per their respective Q1, 2021 rebalances, as announced on Friday March 12, 2021. Bradford Cooke, Endeavour CEO, commented, ?Inclusion in these two major indices is a great milestone for the Company, validating our recent success and providing greater visibility to investors. Constituents of these indices receive both an increase in the company profile and inclusion in mutual and pension funds that use these indices as benchmarks.? The S&P/TSX Composite Index is the benchmark index for the Canadian equity market. It is the broadest measure of the S&P/TSX family and tracks approximately 250 companies. For more information, visit: www.standardandpoors.com. The NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index is a modified market capitalization weighted index comprised of approximately 50 publicly traded companies primarily involved in the mining of gold and silver globally, and it is the underlying index to the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX). For more information, visit: www.nyse.com. About Endeavour Silver ? Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that owns and operates three high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Endeavour is currently advancing the Terronera mine project towards a development decision and exploring its portfolio of exploration and development projects in Mexico and Chile to facilitate its goal to become a premier senior silver producer. Our philosophy of corporate social integrity creates value for all stakeholders. SOURCE Endeavour Silver Corp. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and ?forward-looking information? within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding closing of the sale of El Cubo, Endeavour?s anticipated performance in 2021 including changes in mining operations and production levels, the timing and results of various activities and the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on operations. The Company does not intend to and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, production levels, performance or achievements of Endeavour and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include but are not limited to the ultimate impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on operations and results, changes in production and costs guidance, national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Mexico; financial risks due to precious metals prices, operating or technical difficulties in mineral exploration, development and mining activities; risks and hazards of mineral exploration, development and mining; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company?s title to properties; as well as those factors described in the section ?risk factors? contained in the Company?s most recent form 40F/Annual Information Form filed with the S.E.C. and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to:closing of the sale of El Cubo the continued operation of the Company?s mining operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, mining operations will operate and the mining products will be completed in accordance with management?s expectations and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. A day after an FIR was filed against beauty influencer Hitesha Chandranee who had accused a Zomato delivery person of assault, she has reportedly fled Bengaluru. According to a report in The News Minute, Hiteshas home address was leaked online, and in order to keep herself safe, she left the place. Well, the police got to know about it when they reached her place and no one responded. When we went to her house nobody opened the door, said Anil Kumar, Police Inspector, Electronic City Police Station. Another police official told the news website, She feels afraid staying here as people might come to her home to speak with her about the FIR. The official added, We heard from her that she will contact the police today and will give a statement. She might not have left the city to abscond from the police and might contact us. After the news of her fleeing away went viral, people started to bash her and even went on to say that she is perfect for the next season of Bigg Boss. A Twitter user even taunted her saying she should join BJP as the party might provide her Y+ Security. Agle saal k liye big boss ki ek entry abhi se pkki..kyuki bog boss ko aise hi dramebaaj log chaiye hote h hitesha jaise....#zomatoindia #hitesha #standwithkaamraj #Kamraj #zomatodeliveryboy #zomatocase #HiteshaChandranee # Dinesh Kumar (@dineshkbrar1984) March 18, 2021 #HiteshaChandranee Since you are famous now (in wrong ways) join @BJP4India you will get Y+ security like @KanganaTeam and @MithunChakBJP The best place to hide... #ModiHaiToMumkinHai Bambaiya (@RedCard105) March 18, 2021 Is this is equality and women empowerment, oh you simp society? One can easily leave the state, the country after putting false allegations. Just reverse the genders and tell me if this would be allowed for Kamraj? @MensDayOutIndia #SpeakUpMen #feminazisterroristas pic.twitter.com/PIkyRsyu1F RemicsComics (@RemyFernandes15) March 18, 2021 Best way to attract her. Tell her jail mein, ek pe ek large pizza free milega. #HiteshaChandranee #pizzachor pic.twitter.com/zMCM62ZRNp Mayur Lookhar (@mayurlookhar) March 18, 2021 #HiteshaChandranee I want to marry you. I want free food.. Will you marry me.. I dont have ATM. We can use #victimcard to enjoy.#zomatodeliveryboy pic.twitter.com/UHHPCwhX5m SIFFianSameer (@SamSiff) March 18, 2021 Her alleged ex-flatmate has also claimed that she had the habit of taking free food. Some roomate of her claims this . I wonder if that's the case, how many people she has misbehaved & never got caught of this habbit. pic.twitter.com/aGqWZ22WF3 India First (@Khushboosinha19) March 17, 2021 People are supporting Kamaraj, the Zomato delivery person who was accused by Chandranee after he shared his side of the story. In an interview with The News Minute, he had said, "After I reached her apartment door, I handed her the food and I was expecting her to pay me (as she had opted for cash on delivery mode of payment). I also apologized since the delivery was delayed due to traffic and bad roads. But she was very rude from the outset. She asked me Why are you late? I replied apologetically, as there were road blocks due to ongoing civic works and there were traffic jams as well. But she kept on insisting that the order has to be delivered within 45-50 minutes. I am working on this job for more than two years and this is the first time that I have had to go through this kind of an ordeal." He also added, At this point, when I was walking towards the lift, she started using expletives in Hindi. She suddenly threw slippers at me and started hitting me. For my safety, when she was hitting me, I tried to use my hand to shield her blows. When she was trying to push my hand away, she accidentally hit herself with her finger ring on the nose, which led to the bleeding. Anybody who sees her face will understand that this wouldn't be created by a punch. And I dont wear any rings." Kamaraj further mentioned that "the Zomato support system person in Delhi also supported me and offered me empathy after I narrated the ordeal that I had to go through. The problem is there is no CCTV footage to prove my innocence." What do you have to say about the latest revelations in the case? Let us know in the comments section below. Labour has demanded the Government launch a formal public inquiry into its coronavirus response in June when Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown is due to have been completed. Rachel Reeves, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said ministers should start laying the groundwork now for the probe which she insisted must be independent and held in public. Ms Reeves said the inquiry should 'really get started' once the nation reaches June 21 - the date set for the final step in the Prime Minister's lockdown exit strategy. Her intervention came after Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said launching an inquiry now would be 'an extra burden that wasn't necessary'. Boris Johnson said yesterday that 'of course there will be a time for a full inquiry' but the Government is yet to set a date Rachel Reeves, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, has called for the formal inquiry into the Government's coronavirus response to start in June Speaking at PMQs yesterday, Mr Johnson said 'of course there will be a time for a full inquiry to enable us all to understand what we need to do better when we face these problems in the future'. But the Government is yet to set out a timeframe for launching the probe, with Labour adamant it should start in June. Ms Reeves told The Guardian: 'We're supposed to be out of the roadmap by 21 June. 'Let's get ready for it now, and from 21 June this inquiry can really get started and use the summer months where we should be better protected, and the vaccine has been rolled out to most adults.' Ms Reeves said that 'justice is being denied' to bereaved families and 'they can't have closure until they better understand what happened'. The shadow minister has written to her counterpart Michael Gove seeking a formal commitment to hold an inquiry. Mr Van Tam yesterday warned against imminently launching a public inquiry as he suggested the focus must remain on the vaccine rollout and combatting the spread of the disease. He told a Downing Street press conference: 'I think the timing of inquiries is entirely a matter for ministers and politicians, it's not a matter for physicians. Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, yesterday said launching an inquiry now would be 'an extra burden' 'Personally, would an inquiry be an unwelcome distraction for me personally, at the moment, when I'm very focussed on the vaccine programme and the vaccine programme we might need in the autumn? Who knows, I think it would be an extra burden that wasn't necessary. 'Is looking back on what you did and whether you could do things better a function of medicine, in terms of the clinical audit that happens in every GP surgery and every NHS trust up and down the land? Yes, it is. 'Will lessons be learned in due course? I am sure lessons will emerge.' Loading the player... Indian Railways identifies 87 land parcels, 84 railway colonies for asset monetisation Indian Railways has identified 87 land parcels, 84 railway colonies, 4 hill railways and 3 stadiums for asset monetisation so far. In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the government will launch a 'National Monetization Pipeline' of potential brownfield infrastructure assets. CBI files FIR against Cadbury India for illegally obtaining license for Himachal factory The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted raids at the premises of Cadbury India Ltd in Haryana and Himachal, and also lodged an FIR against the company for alleged irregularities and corruption in obtaining licence for its HP factory in 2009-10. The raids were also conducted at the residential and official premises of officials in the two states. 78.27 lakh domestic air travellers in Feb; IndiGo carried most passengers, says DGCA Around 78.27 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in February 2021 which is 36.71 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. While IndiGo carried 42.38 lakh passengers in February, a 54.2 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 9.62 lakh passengers which is 12.3 per cent share of the market Declining demand may lead to layoffs, say TV manufacturers Government's initiatives to fuel growth in local television manufacturing in India is posing challenges for home-grown manufacturers. The rising input cost has resulted in about a 40 per cent price hike in 32 inch and 40 inch LED TVs as compared to last year, resulting in a about 20 per cent downfall in terms of the demand for televisions. Coronavirus spreading rapidly, focus on micro-containment zones: PM Modi tells CMs Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, asked chief ministers of all states and UTs (Union Territories) to take strict action needed to contain India's COVID-19 situation.Interacting with heads of states during a virtual meeting, PM Modi proposed micro-zoning of containment areas instead of imposing a general lockdown. The prime minister also asked heads of states to focus on scaling up testing and contact tracing to contain the spread of coronavirus. Zomato row: Hitesha Chandranee allegedly flees Bengaluru after Kamaraj files FIR Hitesha Chandranee, who accused Zomato delivery boy Kamaraj of attacking her has reportedly left Bengaluru. This came to light after cops contacted Chandranee for questioning following Kamaraj's counter-complaint. Meanwhile, the city police have assured that the investigation will continue. Hitesha has been charged with wrongful restraint, assault, intentional insult, and criminal intimidation based on a complaint by the Zomato delivery man Kamaraj. Packed tables, live music and a sea of socially distanced green. It felt almost normal on Wednesday evening as Winnipeg pubs were able to open for the first St. Patricks Day in two years. Lineups snaked out the door and patios filled up as early as noon at some eateries. Customers who wanted a pint had to order a meal as well, a pandemic regulation that kept people around longer than usual, Toad in the Hole pub manager Sam Matthews said. While acknowledging success in the time of COVID-19 was relative, Matthews noted there was a time in the day when people were waiting outside to get in and customers were excited to return. "The customers are very respectful, more so on this reopening than the first reopening, respectful of the regulations I mean," he said. "Everyone seems to be a little more in line and understanding. The musics not cranked, obviously, but everybodys still having fun and shaking off a bit of the cabin fever." MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Di and Jim McDougal hoist some pints as they celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the King's Head on Wednesday evening. The Toad reopened on Monday, but Matthews said Wednesday marked the first day customers really showed up, adding that advertising for the reopening was low-key. The reopening felt particularly meaningful considering the Toads unfortunate luck a year ago after closing its original Osborne Street location on New Years Eve, the pub was slated to reopen at a new spot down the street on that St. Patricks Day. The pandemic ruined that. Tonight, however, Matthews said he was "thrilled" to be back at it. "I would say its a success. Everyones trying to make the best of it and being respectful," he said. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Even dogs got into the act Wednesday evening as a pup wearing festive clothing walks by the patio at The King's Head. Meanwhile, at Fionn MacCools on Grant Avenue, live music was part of the experience for a full patio. In true D.I.Y. style, one-man band Grant Leutschaft performed cover songs from the back of a truck owned by restaurant owner Jay Kilgours father. On Saturday, the province loosened regulations for patios: up to six people from different households are allowed at a table. The new rules were the perfect opportunity for Kerrine Wilson and her five friends to meet up at Fionns Wednesday evening. All six belong to a jazz enthusiast club, which would meet every Tuesday night pre-pandemic. They werent able to meet virtually "Were older, you know," she joked so the close-knit group hasnt seen each other in months. MIKE SUDOMA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jay Kilgour, owner of Fionn MacCools on Grant Avenue, is happy to see people out on the patio, enjoying their St. Patrick's Day. Wilson, decked out in a green hat and scarf, said shes overjoyed to see her friends again and celebrate one of her favourite holidays. "Im Irish. I just love the energy, the excitement, the food is wonderful. Its great to be with my friends again." Wilsons plan for the rest of the evening? Finishing a Guinness "Of course," she said and potato skins, her favourite. "Its a wonderful place, and its wonderful to be together Im very proud to celebrate with this family, with these people," she said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: malakabas_ Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Yangon, March 18 : New corruption allegations against Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the detained former de-facto leader of Myanmar, were aired on national television on Thursday, as the military seemed to seek to strengthen the case for its February 1 coup against her government. In the broadcast, U Maung Weik, a business owner, is shown explaining how he handed over envelopes full of cash to Suu Kyi or her associates starting in 2017, reports dpa news agency. In all, Weik said he had handed over a total of 375,000 dollars during four separate incidents. A news reader said the businessman has been found guilty of bribery and that the country's anti-corruption commission is investigating. After Suu Kyi was dislodged by the February 1 coup, the military has piled on charges against her, from illegally importing walkie-talkies to sowing disorder by inducing others to commit offences against the state to mishandling the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. When queried by DPA, Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer for Suu Kyi, dismissed the new allegations. "I am here not to tell this as her lawyer, but as a Myanmar citizen. We all believe her character. You can criticise her in many ways but you can not criticise her such as silly ideas of corruption. "I always believe her character. No one believes that she is corrupt," the lawyer told the news agency. The coup was staged as the military alleged massive voting fraud in the 2020 general elections, which saw Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament. In response to the coup, Myanmar has witnessed continued protests demanding the release of the former de facto leader and other senior officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party and also the restoration of the democratically elected government. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group said that at least 38 protesters were killed in Yangon on Sunday, in one the bloodiest days since the coup. In total, more than 200 protesters have reportedly been killed during the crackdown, according to the AAPP. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) removes his mask to speak as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for new COVID-19 relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 1, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Bipartisan Group of Senators Seeks to Ease Partisan Rancor A new bipartisan group of 20 senators convened behind closed doors in Washington on March 17 to discuss a range of issues, including infrastructure, in a bid to avoid the partisan rancor that has bedeviled Congress since President Joe Biden took office. I think it was very valuable for us to get together, and everyone is so very committed to working together on a host of issues, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters after the meeting. I could tell you that we solved all the worlds problems and that we straightened out Congress. But that would be an overstatement. The group is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. While Democrats hold the tie-breaking vote in the 5050 Senate, gridlock is all but guaranteed without agreement from both sides of the aisle to reach the 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster and bring a bill to the floor for a vote. The bloc started late last year when many of the members got together to influence COVID-19 relief negotiations. They succeeded in punching through partisan gridlock; their framework was adopted by Democratic leaders, and stayed mostly intact in the final version of last years $900 billion legislation. We came together because we saw that there was a void, we thought the public was asking for additional COVID relief, and leadership on both sides determined that it wasnt going to happen for different political reasons. And we thought that needed a response, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on March 17. Were here to be problem-solvers. I see this group as having a role potentially in everything that is coming before the Senate. While those in the group largely declined to outline what was discussed specifically during the meeting, they indicated that the conversations will help as the upper chamber tries to hammer out agreements on a new infrastructure bill, whether to alter filibuster rules, and possibly to craft further pandemic relief. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said the group discussed the divisions that have split the Senate, even as the country faces international challenges and climate change. We need to find ways to get to unity, he told reporters. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) walks in Washington on March 5, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key moderate, said earlier this week that the meeting was about relationship building and maintenance. Its not just one and done or itll fall apart, he said, adding that keeping relationships makes it easier to talk about everything. Part of the agenda was to see whether theres a willingness to forge bipartisan compromises or whether the Democratic members feel they have to endorse whatever the White House would say, Collins said before the group met. Biden and the White House have claimed to be open to negotiating with Republicans on key issues but backed the partisan passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Before the passage, he met with some Republican lawmakers, but they described their ideas as being shot down by his chief of staff, Ron Klain. Besides infrastructure and the filibuster, the Senate is weighing proposals on immigration and election reform. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. THE death has occurred of one of Irelands leading residential estate agents. Geralyn Byrne, who passed away unexpectedly at her Dublin home on Monday aged 62, was a director of the 97-branch Sherry FitzGerald Group and responsible for founding, developing and managing its Dublin 6 residential branches. In this market, she transformed the chain into a leader and personally developed, produced and closed some of the highest-grossing Irish home sales of recent decades. Originally from Templeogue, Ms Byrne was also a pivotal player in the setting up and running of the companys private clients division, established to conduct off-market home sales. She became known as an estate agent who would provide a high level of client care. Following heavy snowfall in 2018, she was photographed using a set of skis to ensure she wouldnt miss a viewing. From UCD, Ms Byrne took a property course at the Rathmines College and went to work for Hamilton and Hamilton before joining Sherry FitzGerald in 1987. She co-founded the companys first local branch offshoot in Terenure. The following year, she joined the board of the company to become its first female director. In the 1980s world of Irish estate agency, which was very much dominated by older men, she broke through the glass ceiling and would go on to become an industry leader. Today, estate agency is ahead of other sectors in promoting women to key leadership roles. Sherry FitzGerald Group Chairman, Mark FitzGerald, said: Geralyn lived in a modern world, yet possessed an old-fashioned duty of care. Geralyn was a tenacious advocate for each and every one of her clients, many of whom became her friends. In her understated way, she lit the torch and led the way for women in the auctioneering profession. We, her friends in Sherry FitzGerald, are truly devastated. Geralyn Byrne is survived by her husband Greg, children Jack, Anna and Mike. Mark Keenan SEATTLE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) has met the high standards for registration required by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and is now a member of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. This accreditation further strengthens the MRC's RAPID Edu learning program by facilitating the inclusion of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit standard. Utilizing this standard allows credentialed professionals to acquire specialized knowledge in fraud and payments as well as maintain their certification with RAPID Edu courses. Additionally, professionals can trust that an industry-wide standard backs the MRC education program. MRC -- The Merchant Risk Council is a global membership organization connecting eCommerce fraud and payments professionals through educational programs, online forums, career development, conferences, and networking events. CPE credits can also be earned by participating in qualifying MRC events and webinars, creating additional avenues for payments professionals to further enhance their credentials. NASBA accreditation and the CPE credit standard are designed to certify continued education efforts with universal, quantifiable metrics. These credits can apply to a variety of professional payment and security certifications, including Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs), Certified Information Security Managers (CISMs), and others. The MRC and the RAPID Edu program met strict requirements to earn this accreditation, further exemplifying the organization's commitment to high-quality eCommerce education for all members. "Education is at the forefront of our mission," said Julie Fergerson, CEO of the Merchant Risk Council. "RAPID Edu is a critical component in that initiative. Obtaining NASBA compliance and CPE Accreditation provides tangible benefits to our membership and the entire payments community, while further strengthening our position as the go-to educational resource for payments and fraud prevention professionals. It's an important milestone on our education roadmap." About RAPID Edu: The MRC launched RAPID Edu to create a comprehensive entry-point into the payments and fraud prevention field. The program currently offers three courses; payment essentials, chargeback essentials, and fraud essentials. Additional courses are planned to be added to the product portfolio in the near future. RAPID Edu courses are online programs that allow professionals to undertake learning at their convenience, complete with downloadable lesson plans, knowledge tests, and an accredited certification upon completion. RAPID Edu courses are ideal for hires new to the industry or anyone looking to review their foundational understanding of payments and fraud. "RAPID Edu courses are designed as an introduction to concepts that are at the core of what we do," said Fergerson, reflecting on the creation and evolution of the program. "We've always prioritized educating members and non-members on the essentials of chargebacks, fraud, and payments at conferences, events, and webinars. RAPID Edu is a natural extension of that process, and CPE accreditation only adds more value to this ambitious initiative. We're excited to get these valuable courses into the hands of even more payments and fraud prevention professionals and to continue elevating the standards for learning in our industry." About the MRC: The MRC is an unbiased global community providing a platform for eCommerce fraud and payments professionals to come together and share information. As a non-profit 501(c)6 organization, the MRC's vision is to make commerce safe and profitable everywhere by offering proprietary education, training, and networking opportunities, as well as a welcoming forum for timely and relevant discussions. The MRC was launched in 2000, at the start of the eCommerce boom, by a small group of industry professionals from leading consumer brands, united by the goal of fighting against online fraud. Since its inception, the MRC has also added online payments to its portfolio, expanding its presence further into eCommerce, and continues to be at the forefront of industry evolution and the continued fight against fraud. The MRC is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, but embraces membership from across the globe. Media Contact: Lea Prosenica Telephone: +1 678-593-0391 Email: [email protected] MRC Logo Link: download image RAPID Edu Logo Link: download image SOURCE Merchant Risk Council Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/18/2021 -- A Latest intelligence report published by AMA Research with title Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Outlook to 2026. A detailed study accumulated to offer Latest insights about acute features of the Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation market. This report provides a detailed overview of key factors in the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market and factors such as driver, restraint, past and current trends, regulatory scenarios and technology development. A thorough analysis of these factors including economic slowdown, local & global reforms and COVID-19 Impact has been conducted to determine future growth prospects in the global market. Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Definition: Artificial intelligence in aviation plays a vital role in flight management systems and autopilots. It provides the pilot with the finest possible options for operation, which is difficult for a human being to perform. Artificial intelligence is an ability of a machine to collect all the information and help them in analyzing, processing and responding in a directed way. Increase in investments by aviation companies and PE investors and rising adoption of cloud-based applications in Artificial Intelligence in the aviation market are driving the market of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation. Major Players in This Report Include, Intel (United States), NVIDIA (United States), IBM (United States), Micron (United States), Samsung (South Korea), Xilinx (United States), Amazon (United States), Microsoft (United States), Airbus (France), Boeing (United States), Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/12992-global-and-regional-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market Keep yourself up-to-date with latest market trends and changing dynamics due to COVID Impact and Economic Slowdown globally. Maintain a competitive edge by sizing up with available business opportunity in Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market various segments and emerging territory. What's Trending in Market? Adoption of Cloud-Based Applications and Services in the Aviation Industry Challenges: Issue Regarding the Concerns of Data Privacy and Data Breaching Restraints: The Low Number of Experts who Deals with AI High Set up Cost for Installing AI in Aviation Industries Market Growth Drivers: Rapid Increase of Consumers Travelling Through Airplanes Use of Big Data in the Aerospace Industry Increase in Capital Investments by Aviation Companies Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Segmentation: by Type (Hardware (Processor, Memory, and Networks), Software (AI Solutions and AI Platforms), Service (Deployment & Integration, Support & Maintenance)), Application (Virtual Assistants, Smart Maintenance, Manufacturing, Training, Surveillance, Flight Operations, Dynamic Pricing, Others), Technology Type (Machine Learning, Context Awareness, NLP, Computer Vision) Artificial Intelligence in Aviation the manufacturing cost structure analysis of the market is based on the core chain structure, engineering process, raw materials and suppliers. The manufacturing plant has been developed for market needs and new technology development. In addition, Artificial Intelligence in AviationMarket attractiveness according to country, end-user, and other measures is also provided, permitting the reader to gauge the most useful or commercial areas for investments. The study also provides special chapter designed (qualitative) to highlights issues faced by industry players in their production cycle and supply chain. However overall estimates and sizing, various tables and graphs presented in the study gives and impression how big is the impact of COVID. Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Oceania, South America, Middle East & Africa Country Level Break-Up: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc. Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/12992-global-and-regional-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market: Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation market Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary the basic information of the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market. Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Chapter 4: Presenting the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis. Chapter 5: Displaying market size by Type, End User and Region 2015-2020 Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Artificial Intelligence in Aviation market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries (2021-2026). Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source finally, Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies in decision framework. Data Sources & Methodology The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Global Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Market including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industry's value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects. In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources Postal Surveys, telephone, Online & Face-to-Face Survey were considered to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study. When it comes to secondary sources Company's Annual reports, press Releases, Websites, Investor Presentation, Conference Call transcripts, Webinar, Journals, Regulators, National Customs and Industry Associations were given primary weight-age. For Early Buyers | Get Up to 20% Discount on This Premium Report: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/request-discount/12992-global-and-regional-artificial-intelligence-in-aviation-market What benefits does AMA research study is going to provide? - Latest industry influencing trends and development scenario - Open up New Markets - To Seize powerful market opportunities - Key decision in planning and to further expand market share - Identify Key Business Segments, Market proposition & Gap Analysis - Assisting in allocating marketing investments Definitively, this report will give you an unmistakable perspective on every single reality of the market without a need to allude to some other research report or an information source. Our report will give all of you the realities about the past, present, and eventual fate of the concerned Market. Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Southeast Asia. An Armenian court has decided to let a top general who was sacked in a political crisis remain in his post until a final court decision in his case, his lawyer said on Thursday. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last month dismissed Onik Gasparyan, head of the armys general staff, after the army publicly demanded Pashinyans resignation. Last week the government said Gasparyans sacking had come into force. But his lawyer said that a court was considering a legal challenge to his sacking and that he remained in his post in the meantime, TASS reported. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 03:51:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health said on Thursday that careful tests have proven that the Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are "among the safest." Meanwhile, Turkey recorded 20,049 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily rise this year. The Iraqi health ministry's media office said in a press release that COVID-19 vaccines were carefully tested through a lot of researches and clinical trials in Iraq, and the "Chinese vaccines are among the safest vaccines so far." "The Chinese vaccines are made in the traditional method," it said, adding that there is no need for Iraqi citizens to fear such vaccines. Iraq reported on Thursday 5,443 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 779,458. It also reported 36 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,896, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 3,892 to 702,667. The Turkish Health Ministry on Thursday reported 20,049 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily rise this year, including 902 cases with symptoms. It said the tally of confirmed COVID-19 infections in Turkey surged to 2,950,603, while its death toll rose by 81 to 29,777 and its tally of recoveries soared by 18,615 to 2,770,638. Iran reported 7,530 new COVID-19 cases and 89 more deaths from the virus, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,778,645 and the death toll in Iran to 61,581. A total of 1,521,377 people in Iran have so far recovered from the disease, while 3,866 others remained in intensive care units. Israel's Ministry of Health reported 1,694 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 825,420. The death toll from the virus reached 6,069 with 16 new fatalities, while the total recoveries rose to 797,323, with 4,079 newly recovered cases. Jordan on Thursday reported 9,192 new coronavirus infections and 74 more deaths, taking its tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 514,107 and its total death count to 5,627. The total recoveries in the kingdom surged by 4,584 to 416,971. Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 490,575 on Thursday as 487 new cases were registered, while its death toll climbed by three to 8,748, said the Moroccan Ministry of Health. The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 477,879 after 574 new ones were added, while 420 people were in intensive care units, the statement said. So far, 4,252,723 people in Morocco have received the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 since it launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of China's Sinopharm vaccines. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 2,101 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths, bringing its tally of infections to 434,465 and its death toll to 1,424. The total number of recoveries from the virus in UAE rose by 2,628 to 416,105. Lebanon confirmed 3,757 new coronavirus infections and 73 more fatalities, taking its total confirmed cases to 430,734 and its death doll to 5,609. The tally of recoveries from the virus in Lebanon climbed by 2,642 to 337,975. Palestine recorded 2,077 new COVID-19 cases and 15 more deaths, raising its tally of infections to 218,061 and its death toll to 2,358. The tally of recoveries in Palestine rose by 1,739 to 193,578. The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported 1,394 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 215,067. The ministry also announced eight more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,202, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,276 to 199,549. Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for medicine affairs in the health ministry, said that a new batch of coronavirus vaccines will arrive in the country on March 21. The Qatari health ministry announced 499 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the Gulf state to 172,200. It also confirmed 331 more recovered cases, bringing the overall recoveries to 159,472, while the death toll in Qatar remained at 270 for the second consecutive day. Oman's Health Ministry reported 577 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections in the sultanate to 149,135. It also recorded 327 more recovered cases during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 137,871, while the death toll in Oman rose by three to 1,620. Algeria announced 154 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 124,842. The death toll from the virus in Algeria rose to 3,051 after three new fatalities were added, while the tally of recoveries rose by 128 to 80,407. Enditem On a summers day two years ago, my 14-year-old daughter Clio returned from a walk in our local park in tears. She had met up with a boy the same age as her, whom shed been FaceTiming after theyd met at a mutual friends birthday party a few months before. They got on well. But when, after an hour of chatting, the boy suggested they find a quiet spot to sit down, it became clear he felt the preliminary introductions had gone on long enough. When Clio had to repeatedly say she did not want certain parts of her body to be touched intimately, she remembers noticing how the face of this boy, previously so sweet and well-mannered, changed. It was like he stopped seeing me as a person, but saw me as a thing, she told me. When I kept saying no, he got angry. After ten minutes, I got up and left and he called me a b****. I never heard from him again, except for two messages, which were links to porn videos, so I blocked him. Soma Sara, 22, a former pupil of 40,350-a-year Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire, set up new online platform Everyones Invited (file image) When I tell this story, I am not betraying a confidence. I tell it because Clio, now 16, wants it to be told. She is one of a growing number of young girls already exhausted by and angry about the stream of sexual coercion from boys their own age. Where once we might have expected only adult women to have to deal with such harassment, our daughters now find themselves confronting an aggressive sexual culture when they are barely out of primary school. Gone are the days when young peoples sexuality could develop at a natural pace. Now they are fast-tracked through this phase by pornography. It means that even if, like Clio, they dont view it themselves, it has radicalised the way boys behave towards them. Look no further than the new online platform Everyones Invited. Like Clio, more than 4,700 young people have uploaded their experiences anonymously to the website and social media campaign. Some are as young as 11. The experiences, mainly from girls, range from being drugged and assaulted at parties to being pressured to send nude pictures to older boys. It was set up last June by Soma Sara, 22, a former pupil of 40,350-a-year Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire. She says: In the holidays I grew up in London social circles and sex was a palpable presence throughout my teens. Disgusting behaviour was trivialised. It could be sexual coercion, rape, catcalling, sexual bullying. Sexual abuse didnt just exist. It thrived. As some stories are from pupils from some of the UKs best-known private schools, it is clear that privilege offers no protection. Schools mentioned include Eton, St Pauls in Barnes, South-West London, and Latymer Upper in Hammersmith, West London, which is taking the allegations about male pupils so seriously it has reported them to police. Soma Sara claims as a teenager growing up in London social circles, sexual abuse was trivialised (file image) In a statement, Latymer said: The welfare of our students and alumni is of the utmost importance to us and we take any report or allegation made by a member of our community extremely seriously. Sexual harassment and abuse have no place at Latymer or in the wider world. Such behaviours are completely incompatible with Latymers values and contrary to our ethos of respect for others. Last week, St Pauls School condemned the actions described and said it had also reported Everyones Inviteds allegations to its local councils safeguarding team. Eton said it took any claims extremely seriously, would investigate thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action. Porn has radicalised the way that boys behave As a mother who lives in an area of London popular for its range of impressive independent schools, it seems to me the problem may even be worse in the private sector. One relatives daughter begged her parents to let her leave the mixed sixth form of her 39,000-a-year boarding school. She said teachers refused to take her allegations of rape by a boy with a reputation for sexually assaulting drunk girls seriously because an expulsion might attract media attention and would tarnish the schools reputation. While she left the school, rather than face her assailant every day, he was made a prefect. Anonymous posts on Everyones Invited reveal a generation of young women no longer respected by the young men they have grown up with (file image) But wherever the incidents mentioned on Everyones Invited have taken place, every single story feels like a punch to the gut, especially after the murder of Sarah Everard as she walked home earlier this month. Taken together, the campaign tells the story of a generation of young women no longer respected by the young men they have grown up with. No matter what the incident, the common thread that runs through them is the sense of shame and powerlessness that lingers long after the parties and hook-ups have ended. WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR TEENS Teach consent like table manners. You should bring up the subject of consent in numerous small conversations in which you talk about mutual respect and consideration for other peoples feelings. FOR BOYS Tell them about porn: Even before your son knows what porn is, start the conversation early by talking about loving relationships. When he gets to an age when you think he might see it, talk about how porn is a performance designed to shock, make money and entertain. Tell your sons and daughters that porn is a long way from the shared, mutually enjoyable act good sex should be. Encourage questioning: Help your teen to see that both parties are entitled to ask questions in sexual situations, such as Do you like this? Remind them both parties can always change their mind about any sexual activity at any time. FOR GIRLS Make it clear consent is an ongoing issue: Point out to your teen at a neutral time that if they have sent a sexual picture to a boy, it does not mean they have to deliver on it when they meet face to face. Tell her she is entitled to make a fuss: Unwelcome sexual touching is not a compliment. If a girl rejects it, she has not lost her sense of humour. It is a line trotted out to silence girls. Give girls control over their own bodies: From an early age, ask girls (and boys) whether they want to be hugged or kissed. This will teach them they have rights over their own bodies. Advertisement So what has changed? When I was my daughters age, yes there were times when I was catcalled and flashed by older men. A couple of times when I was at Durham University, I felt pressured to do things that I wish, in retrospect, I had said no to. But this generation of girls are growing up with a generation of boys whose healthy natural curiosity about sex has been turbo-charged by pornography. It means that girls rarely feel completely safe. Of course, girls see porn too. But it is precisely this insecurity at a vulnerable time of their lives that means they are groomed to go along with the sex acts shown and which means they feel less able to stand up to the humiliating sexual expectations some boys impose on them. Wall-to-wall images of female submission encourage boys and girls to believe that its not unusual for a girl to give oral sex before shes even had her first kiss. This week I almost wept with frustration when my older daughter, Lily, 19, showed me a blog by a group of girls at another household-name public school that had been attended by some of her friends. It read more like a collection of crime scenes than school memories. Girls being taken advantage of while drunk, being groped at parties, discovering that their sexual encounters had been filmed without their knowledge and distributed. One girl told how boys at the school made a tier list of girls ranked in order of looks, using a marking system to rate their body parts, like cuts of meat. We dont talk to our daughters about sex and relationships soon enough. And, crucially, we say even less to our sons. Yet at the same time, our children are growing up with a limitless supply of the most violent, misogynistic porn ever created. No wonder our young people are failing when it comes to healthy sexual relationships. So where do we go from here? Yes, relationship education has to be better, given sooner and taught by dedicated experts, not embarrassed members of staff with a bit of free time. We have to keep telling girls and boys when it happens to them too that they are entitled to shout out if they are sexually abused, and that they must also speak up when they see sexual bullying and assault happening to others. Instead of cramming them for exams that we believe will decide their life chances, we would be better off putting one simple life lesson on the curriculum. And that is, whatever messages porn may scream at our sons, every single one of our daughters has the right to be treated with dignity, not as an object on which to try out what they have seen on screen. SHOCKING TALES TO SHAME US ALL Here, six teens reveal their own harrowing stories of abuse. BOYS FILM GIRLS HAVING SEX Georgina, 17, says: Right now, I just dont want to be around boys. It doesnt matter where they are from or how educated or smart they are, rape culture is like a virus in schools and none of them believe that what they are doing is wrong. For teenage boys at my school, it is a flex a way to get their friends respect to have abused, harassed or even been violent towards a girl sexually. Boys dont believe their bad behaviour is sexual abuse, even if they say they do understand why its wrong. Georgia, 17, said teenage boys at her school get their friends' respect by abusing, harassing an even being violent towards girls sexually (file image) I have been sent d*** pics via text and Snapchat. Thats just normal now and boys dont care when you ask them not to. They move on to another girl. Talking to them is useless. There is a teenage boy we all know who films himself having sex with girlfriends without telling them. He has done it with several girls and doesnt stop, even though he has been asked by the girls not to do it. If a girl complains too much, he just dumps her and moves on to the next one. He says he doesnt see what hes doing as sexual assault, even though it is wrong. We have to criminalise all this behaviour. EXS REVENGE PORN MADE MY LIFE HELL Abi, 15, says: My first boyfriend was someone I had known since we went to nursery school together. He went to a weekly boarding school and when we were 13 we used to hang out together at weekends. He started messaging me every evening on Snapchat and asked me to send pictures of myself. Reluctantly I sent him a pic of my boobs. He kept pressuring me for more photos, so I sent pictures of me naked below the waist. He started asking me about oral sex and one weekend he asked me to have sex with him. I didnt really want to but he kept saying he knew what he was doing as hed had sex with lots of girls. Abi, 15, said lots of boys contacted her on social media and came to her house after she had sex with her first boyfriend (file mage) We were only 14 but I thought it was normal if he was already doing it, so I let him. After that, lots of boys contacted me on social media and even came to the house to try to get me to go out with them. My mum gave me advice on how to break up with him. But the weekend we split up, he put the pictures on social media and identified me. It was horrible. There were so many vile comments. My mum called him to tell him to take the pictures down. She then called the boys parents and contacted the headmaster at the school. We agreed not to go to the police if the parents and school dealt with it. ITS NORMAL FOR THEM TO GROPE US Annabel, 16, says: Its just normal among people my age. Boys talk about porn all the time in front of us. It makes me really uncomfortable but I feel like I have to act like its fine with me or they will roll their eyes and call me a feminist which they consider an insult. For a long time some boys I know called me Miss Banana and I had no idea why until one of them told me it was a porn star they thought I looked like. It made me feel objectified but you just learn to laugh it off. Its normal for some of them to grab our bums and boobs but thats considered a joke. Girls are pressured into sending nude photos to boys. Girls my age feel like they have to do it or the boy will stop liking them. Annabel, 16, said some boys called her Miss Banana because they thought she looked like a porn star (file image) Some of the boys share the photos around. They talk about girls like theyre a prize to be won, to be boasted about to their friends. I try to challenge them but every time I bring it up they shoot me down by saying, Its only a joke, shut up! At my friends school, there is a remote corridor that none of the girls will go down on their own because boys will shove their hands up their skirts. Ive had so many rows with boys and in the end its not worth it. The toxic masculinity among young boys is so strong that even the nice ones sometimes get dragged in. RAPE JOKES MAKE ME FEAR FOR SAFETY Olivia, 17, says: Last summer, after months of lockdown and our GCSEs being cancelled, I would hang out in the park drinking cider with girls and boys from five or six different schools. One afternoon, my friend got drunk and passed out. I was really worried about her when a boy came over with his friends and said, Boys, theres another girl for me to rape. I went mad at him but they told me to calm down, like I was overreacting. But I am sick of all the rape jokes these guys make. I dont feel safe. Its part of their everyday conversation or banter, as they call it. Lexi, 15, said she received unsolicited d*** photos from boys after joining Snapchat when she was nearly 14 (file image) On another day, a friend and I were sitting in a group with some friends of friends from a private school. My mate got up to go for a pee in the bushes, and one of the boys put his arm around her and steered her towards a clump of trees. When they came back she looked upset and said she had to go home. When I called her, she said the boy had forced her to make out with him and she didnt know how to stop him. We found out the boys had a list of things they had to tick off, like get a b*** **b from a girl youve just met. I think boys at private schools are taught to be competitive about everything, including sex and its us girls who pay the price. THEY SEND UNWANTED NUDE PICTURES TO ME Lexi, 15, says: I joined Snapchat when I was nearly 14, as its an easy way to connect with people you dont know. Ive got more than 200 followers and, while I dont know all of them personally theres always some connection through a schoolmate. Something I didnt expect, though, was to start getting unsolicited d*** photos from boys. I was shocked and each time Ive blocked the sender. Other boys have contacted me and asked, Do you send? This means do you send naked photos of yourself, and they can be really persistent. Ive never done it as I know what would happen they screenshot the photo so they can keep it and show all their friends. Ive talked to boys I know about this and they say, Oh Id never do that and If anyone did that to my sister Id be furious, yet I heard these same guys discussing a girls boobs from a picture shed sent one of them. Its so normalised in our age group, they just dont think about the damage they are doing or the double standards. BOYFRIEND SHARED SNAP OF MY BOOBS Beth, 18, says: I was at a mixed boarding school that only went co-ed in the past 20 years, so it definitely seemed like a boys school that had a few girls in it. I think the boys felt like the girls owed them something. There was huge pressure on the younger girls to perform sex acts and send nude pictures. You felt like youd lose your boyfriend or get labelled frigid if you didnt. A picture of my boobs got leaked when I was 14. My face wasnt in it but a boy had taken a screenshot and sent it round my whole year saying it was me. It felt like the boys could get away with it because we were at boarding school and not really being monitored the way we would be at home. I was too embarrassed to say anything to the school, so he faced no consequences, whereas I was told I was slutty and asking for it. Names have been changed to protect identities. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), after three days of intensive studies, says it does not see any conclusive evidence linking the unusual blood clots detected in some thirty EU citizens after they had been injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EMAs Committee for the Evaluation of Risks in Pharmacovigilance (PRAC) has urged the ten European countries who have suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca, including Spain, to resume it as soon as possible although their request isnt binding. France, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Bulgaria and the Netherlands have also suspended the use of the formula. The EMAs decision came just minutes after the UK's medicines regulatory authority (MHRA) also decided that vaccination with the AstraZeneca formula should also continue. Spain is investigating three possible cases of blood clots in people who received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine - including the 43-year-old Marbella teacher who died of a brain haemorrhage on Tuesday. The countrys Ministry of Health, which had promised to follow the recommendations issued by the PRAC, has urgently convened a national health system meeting with the autonomous regions for this afternoon - the third this week - to agree how to reactivate the immunisation campaign with the British formula. Spain, until the AstraZeneca vaccination was paused on Monday, had injected a total of 975,661 doses. New Delhi, March 18 : The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings before the Delhi High Court in a suo moto case in connection with prioritising lawyers in the ongoing vaccination drive. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde issued notice on the petitions filed by vaccine manufacturers -- Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India -- seeking to transfer the case in Delhi High Court to the top court. The vaccine manufacturing firms had contended that the High Court is conducting parallel proceedings on vaccine related issues. The firms submitted that these cases should be transferred to the apex court for an authoritative judgment. The bench also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V.Ramasubramanian said: "We are of the view that suo moto writ petition pending before the Delhi High Court be transferred to this court." The top court said the High Court should not proceed in the meanwhile. The firms have contended that different high courts are seeking data on how many vaccines are produced and when they will give vaccines to all. The Delhi High Court had registered a suo moto case for the purpose of vaccinating all persons associated with judicial functioning and treating them as frontline workers. The High Court had sought affidavits from the vaccine manufacturing firms on their capacities. During the hearing, the bench noted that lawyers can't earn livelihood without coming in contact with people. "That's why they want to be vaccinated on priority", added the bench. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted that 'tomorrow journalists may come up with a similar demand followed by bank employees'. The bench said advocates find it very difficult not to meet people. After a brief exchange, Mehta submitted that he will place the representation on the behalf of the legal community before the expert committee. The top court is also hearing a PIL by Arvind Singh seeking vaccination on priority for the legal fraternity. The Centre on Monday made it clear before the Supreme Court that it can't prioritise vaccination on the basis of trade and profession. In an affidavit, the government said it is taking proactive measures based upon rational and justifiable policy in connection with vaccination of people, depending upon their vulnerability to disease, nature of work, age and comorbid health situation. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Westmans first therapeutic riding program has started, and it might be what some people need right now. Westmans first therapeutic riding program has started, and it might be what some people need right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the one-year mark, Phoenix Ranch managing partner Mike Sitko said ongoing restrictions are wearing thin for many people. "Theres an immense number of children right now developing emotional issues that are really complicating life for them," he said. "Theres never been a better time to introduce therapeutic riding to Westman Its very unique." The woman behind the reins is Jessica Lawford, who founded BEND Therapeutic Riding, set to operate in partnership with Phoenix Ranch east of Brandon. BEND, which stands for balanced equine nurtured development, officially kicked off its operations earlier this month when level red restrictions eased up enough. In the Phoenix Ranch barn last week, with mares Rose and Winnie by her side, Lawford said there are other people in Westman who offer equestrian services that aim to echo therapeutic riding, but none headed by an instructor certified through the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association as she is. Alongside classes and examinations, she earned her accreditation through more than 100 hours of volunteer work with certified instructors. "Its fantastic that its gaining traction here now more awareness," she said. "We just need more instructors certified and practising." Therapeutic riding is tailored to individual needs, Lawford said, with some riders who might not have excelled in traditional equestrian classes or activities finding their footing in therapeutic riding. "Traditionally, therapeutic riding began with more physical disabilities, so cerebral palsy for example the movement of the horse simulates the natural walking gait of a human being," she said. "The horse movement, walking around, gives inputs to that riders body as though they were walking a walkers gait." Behavioural and cognitive issues and disabilities are also addressed through therapeutic riding, she said, adding people who have autism are frequent participants. "A lot of these kiddos come in with either a high level of anxiety or an inability to focus, and theyre not successful in completing what task theyre given." Horses, she said, "respond to the feeling state you show," and participants "have to work very hard to regulate themselves and figure out how to work through the grooming process, the tack process whatever we set up for them thats attainable." Lawford grew up around horses and has been riding since she was five. She got her first horse, a gelding named Blue, on her 12th birthday. Self-described as "crazy-obsessed" with horses, Lawford said with a chuckle shed spend every day all day with them and live alongside in a barn if she had the chance. Lawford credits horses with helping strengthen her emotional health by echoing whatever emotions shes displaying, regardless of whether shes conscious of them. In this sense, she said horses have always put up a mirror to her that allowed her to reflect on what shes putting out. "Theyll very quickly tell you that youre not bringing calm, centred energy to it, and that reflected back to me and let me know I had some personal development that I had to do before I teach my partner something. "They have always been incredibly beneficial to me, so for my personal experience and how much Ive learned from horses and was comforted by them, Ive always wanted to find something where I could share that with other people." Lawford, whos still in the process of relocating to Brandon from Winnipeg, plans on testing the waters by hosting sessions one or two days per week for the first while, during which she will be connecting with local health professionals to see whether therapeutic riding might augment their treatments and/or therapy. However it rolls out, Sitko said itll be something positive for the Westman community. "Were going to see kids lives change out of this process thats the biggest goal." More information on the effort can be found online at bendtherapeuticriding.com. tclarke@brandonsun.com Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. NEW ORLEANS, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits: EHang Holdings Limited (EH) Class Period: 12/12/2019 - 2/16/2021 (and on February 16, 2021, only for those who purchased shares at or above the price of $112.00). Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 19, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-ehang-holdings-limited-american-depositary-shares-securities-litigation fuboTV Inc. (FUBO) Class Period: 3/23/2020 - 1/4/2021 Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 19, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-fubotv-inc-securities-litigation Ebix, Inc. (EBIX) Class Period: 11/9/2020 - 2/19/2021 Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 23, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-ebix-inc-securities-litigation-1 MultiPlan Corporation f/k/a Churchill Capital Corp. III (MPLN) Class Period: 7/12/2020 - 11/10/2020 and/or were holders of Churchill Capital Corp. III (Churchill) Class A common stock entitled to vote on Churchills merger with and acquisition of Polaris Parent Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries completed in October 2020. Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 26, 2021 SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-multiplan-corporation-securities-litigation If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact us toll-free (844) 367-9658 or visit the case links above. If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com New Delhi, March 18 : A total of 725 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be deployed in poll-bound West Bengal, CRPF Director General Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday. He said that the operational strength of each company is 72 troopers, and that 495 companies have already been deployed in the state which will go for Assembly polls in eight phases -- March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. Addressing a press conference on the eve of the 82nd anniversary of the country's largest paramilitary force, the CRPF chief said 230 more companies will soon arrive in the state and will be deputed at specific places in West Bengal. He said 350-370 of the total companies are from his force. Singh, a 1986-batch IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, said that deployment in the different phases of elections is being worked out. "It is pre-poll deployment, and the reason behind it is to boost security in the state so that anti-social elements and such activities could not occur," he said. Asked about the threat assessment, the DG said, "We supply support to the state authorities. Threat assessments are done by state authorities. They decide our deployment based on inputs." "State authorities work on intelligence basis. We do not interfere in those matters. We provide support to the state authorities so that peaceful and successful elections could be held under the directions of the Election Commission." The DG said that the CRPF is committed for peaceful, free and fair elections wherever it is deployed by the Central government "The CRPF only provide support to the state authorities in maintaining law and order, we do not gather intelligence inputs." Asked about the VIP security cover being provided to protectees in West Bengal, the DG said a total of 13 people enjoy the facility in the state. Of the 13 protectees, five each enjoy 'Z' and 'Y+' category security, one 'Y' category and two 'X' category cover. Haiti - FLASH : Moise declares a state of emergency in several areas of the country In the official journal Le Moniteur Special N18 Jovenel Moise published a decree adopted by the Council of Ministers, establishing the State of Emergency in the areas of Village de Dieu; Grand-Ravine; of Delmas 2; of Savien, in the Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite and in all the other red zones identified by the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN), for a renewable period of one month "The state of emergency is instituted in gangsterized areas for one month, during which certain rights can be suspended in the neighborhoods concerned in order to allow the PNH to regain control of the situation," said Renald Luberice, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers. The decree defines the state of emergency as "[...] a situation in which a regime applies restricting certain fundamental freedoms and exceptional powers of the executive which are justified by a situation of proven or imminent natural disaster, terrorist attack or serious breach of public order challenging the police and endangering national security and requiring the adoption of urgent measures. The decree specifies that "[...] any terrorist attack, any guerrilla war, any occupation or any control of part of the territory by groups, bands or armed bodies prohibited by the Constitution and by law [...]" is considered as a serious attack public order endangering national security. According to article 6 of the decree, "During a state of emergency, and by derogation from the standards in force, the government is empowered to act under the act establishing the state of emergency. It takes all measures deemed useful, including a call for international solidarity. In the latter case, interventions are carried out in accordance with the rules of international law and national law [...]" This decree also allows the Government to order, among other things, the closure of establishments in the areas concerned and the evacuation of people from all or part of the areas concerned... SL/ HaitiLibre Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:04:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JUBA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan said on Thursday that it is short of cash to speed up graduation of the necessary unified forces to immediately take charge of security during the transitional period. Stephen Par Kuol, minister of peacebuilding said they are financially constrained to complete implementation of the security arrangements that include training and unification of both government and opposition soldiers. "The transitional security arrangement is being implemented with all the difficulties that we know mainly due to shortage of funds. Implementation of the security arrangement is a huge operation that requires a huge sum of money which we do not have," Kuol told journalists in Juba. President Salva Kiir and his five deputies in February promised to graduate the first batch of the expected 83,000 unified forces by the end of March but this has not yet been realized. He disclosed that the parties to the 2018 revitalized peace deal have registered some progress despite challenges like intermittent clashes between soldiers from both the government and Sudan People's Liberation Army-in opposition (SPLA-IO) under Machar. The latest clash occurred last week in Nasir area of Upper Nile State leaving the army to deny the incident, instead accusing a local militia group largely composed of youth from the Nuer community of attacking the soldiers. "We have made progress and regression at the same time, violations here and there have happened, you do not expect implementation of peace agreement without incidents such as these," said Kuol. He also added that the political will from the leaders exists but conceded that lack of resources was holding back progress in the security sector. "This country can be led back to war only by the political leadership. Now we are in one government, nobody is going to take back this country to war. The skirmishes here and there will happen but they will be managed," said Kuol. South Sudan descended into conflict in December 2013 after a political disagreement between President Salva Kiir and his then deputy Riek Machar, leading to a split in the army that led to the death of tens of thousands and displacement of millions of people both internally and externally. Enditem (Natural News) Protecting anonymous sources or covering-up government misconduct? Imagine youre a major media outlet like The Washington Post or CNN. You have a huge platform on the web, in print, or on TV. You publish consequential stories with information from anonymous sources on Trump/Russia collusion, an email Donald Trump, Jr. received about a Wikileaks release, and President Trumps instructions to a Georgia election investigator to find the fraud. Your stories shape agendas and become national news. They fuel conspiracies, divide Americans, and influence elections. (Article by TechnoFog republished from TechnoFog.Substack.com) And then you realize youve been played. Your anonymous sources gave you false information. You have to issue a correction. Why should that be the end of the story? Fake News and Find the Fraud On January 9, 2021 The Washington Post published a story that President Trump ordered a Georgia election investigator looking into 2020 election irregularities to find the fraud in a late December phone call. This purported call was pushed by Washington Post reporters to further allegations of criminal obstruction of justice. A serious crime, if true. The case for impeachment grows by the minute: Exclusive Find the fraud: Trump pressured a Georgia elections investigator in a separate call legal experts say could amount to obstruction @amyegardner https://t.co/ZloXeWLg87 Greg Miller (@gregpmiller) January 9, 2021 House Democrats even cited this reporting in their trial brief: Today, The Washington Post issued a significant and concerning correction. This Washington Post correction was necessitated by the release of an audio recording, which showed that Trumps comments on the call were misquoted based on information provided by a source. This isnt the end of the story, however. Theres still a story and its a good one. It has to do with the anonymous source who lied about Trumps call potentially for political gain. In other words, the question still remains: Who is the source that lied about Trumps call with the Georgia election investigator? The Washington Post doesnt say. Others have suggested the general source of the leak: The Georgia Secretary of States office. The name eludes us. But if Mr. Shafers tweet is true, what a story that would be. The Secretary of States office secretly recorded the conversation, mischaracterized its contents to The Washington Post and then attempted to delete the recording. It was recently discovered in a laptop trash folder as part of an open records search. David Shafer (@DavidShafer) March 15, 2021 Anonymous Sources and CNN This isnt the first time the media has been burned by an anonymous source. Remember the entirety of the Trump/Russia investigation? Granted, that gives us a lot to choose from. Ill be more specific. Back in December 2017, CNN reported that Trump Jr. received an email regarding a Wikileaks release on September 4, 2016. This date 9/4/2016 was material because it was 10 days before the Wikileaks release of the hacked DNC materials. CNN had its smoking gun. It had evidence that Trump Jr, and by extension the Trump Campaign, had advance notice of the hacked DNC documents. Until it didnt. Other outlets, including The Washington Post, NBC News, and The Wall Street Journal cleaned up CNNs mess, reporting that the email was actually sent on September 14, 2016. This was significant because the correct date showed the email to Trump Jr. was sent based on publicly available information. Who burned CNN? According to CNNs own reporting, it was two sources who had seen the email. CNN never disclosed its sources. It made a correction and went on. In doing so, CNN killed an important story: the names of the government officials who lied about collusion. A Pattern Emerges. The public has endured countless stories that were disproven by the medias anonymous sources. These are just two important examples. The infamous September 3, 2020 article from The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg where Goldberg accuses Trump of calling dead American soldiers losers also comes to mind. In that article, Goldberg cited anonymous sources who told him that Trump lied when blaming the rain for a canceled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018. Goldbergs story which was really the story of his anonymous sources fell apart within the first paragraph. Navy FOIA records, obtained by Buzzfeeds Jason Leopold in 2019, showed the visit was actually cancelled due to rain. On that Atlantic Story @JeffreyGoldberg and his "four sources" claim Trump's helicopter flight to the US/French cemetery wasn't cancelled due to weather. FOIA docs prove this to be false. Their "sources" are failing basic fact checks making them essentially worthless. pic.twitter.com/wAa7FrSxoW Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) September 4, 2020 A New Media Standard All this goes to the broader issues within the media: the reliance on anonymous sources without documentary evidence; failures of basic fact-checking; and sources who lie without consequence. The media created this monster. But theres more to it than that. These anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post (and CNN and The Atlantic) are undoubtedly current or former government officials. This informs us of the process. A government official lies to the press. The press publishes the lies and is forced to issue a correction once the the truth is discovered. The failure to disclose the identity of the government official is, therefore, a cover-up of government corruption. This also gives us some perspective. A few years ago, the Washington Post introduced its banal motto: Democracy Dies in Darkness. Well, here is documentary evidence of the darkness. The media knows about it. They know where it is. They just wont tell the public. Update: We asked Washington Post reporter Amy Gardner for comment. Specifically, we asked (1) Why this source wasnt identified; and (2) What are the Washington Post rules for identifying sources who provide false or misleading info. Our email was referred to management. The Washington Post Vice President of Communications responded: Our source had not been precise Not been precise. I thought that was a strange phrase to use. The source quoted Trump with precise words: Find the fraud. The problem isnt imprecision. Its is that those precise words were a misrepresentation. Update 2.0: After the public backlash, the Washington Post has identified its source: Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs. For those stuck behind the paywall, here is a summary: Read more at: TechnoFog.Substack.com and MediaFactWatch.com. 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 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. Community Perspective 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. 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Researchers from the University of Helsinki's Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus and the National Museums of Kenya have discovered four lichen species new to science in the rainforests of the Taita Hills in southeast Kenya. Micarea pumila, M. stellaris, M. taitensis and M. versicolor are small lichens that grow on bark of trees and on decaying wood. The species were described based on morphological features and DNA-characters. "Species that belong to the Micarea genus are known all over the world, including Finland. However, the Micarea species recently described from the Taita Hills have not been seen anywhere else. They are not known even in the relatively close islands of Madagascar or Reunion, where species of the genus have been previously studied," Postdoctoral Researcher Annina Kantelinen from the Finnish Museum of Natural History says. "The Taita Hills cloud forests are quite an isolated ecosystem, and at least some of the species now discovered may be native to the area or to eastern Africa. Our preliminary findings also suggest that there are more unknown Micarea lichen species there." The Taita Hills are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains that range from south-eastern Kenya to eastern Tanzania. The mountains rise abruptly from the surrounding plain, with the tallest peak reaching over two kilometers. Lush indigenous rainforests are mainly found on the mountaintops, capturing precipitation from clouds and mist developed by the relatively cool air rising from the Indian Ocean. Thanks to ecological isolation and a favourable climate, the area is one of the global hotspots of biodiversity. However, the native cloud forests in the region are shrinking year by year as they are replaced by forest plantations of exotic tree species that are not native to Africa. Compared to 1955, the area of indigenous forests has been diminished to less than half. "Planted forests have been found to bind less moisture and be more susceptible to forest fires. Therefore, they can make the local ecosystem drier and result in species becoming endangered. Some lichen species are capable of utilising cultivated forests at least temporarily, but indigenous forests have the greatest biodiversity and biomass," Kantelinen says. The University of Helsinki maintains in the area the Taita Research Station, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. ### Human rights campaigners have slammed Indonesian dress codes which force women of all faiths to wear Islamic head coverings - urging the Australia Government to raise the issue with Jakarta. Christian schoolgirls, government workers and non-Muslim women are being ordered to wear the jilbab - a cloth that covers a woman's head, neck and chest - as increasingly powerful Islamists seek to impose sharia, or Islamic religious law, over everyone, a 98-page report released on Thursday revealed. Human Rights Watch said this is an attack on human rights and the organisation's Australia director Elaine Pearson urged Canberra to speak up for women and minorities in Australia's most powerful neighbour. A woman is whipped in public in Aceh province in 2019. Aceh is the first Indonesian province to be ruled by sharia under semi-autonomy, however sharia rules have been creeping across the rest of the Indonesian archipelago 'Creeping religious conservatism as shown with the rise in abusive dress codes should be deeply concerning for Australians,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday. 'It's in Australia's national interest for Indonesia to be a democracy where all faiths are respected ... it is very worrying to see rising intolerance of religious minorities and discrimination against women and girls based on religion.' Indonesia is Australia's largest neighbour with a population of just over 273million people, more than 86 per cent of which are Muslim. The archipelago is multicultural and Jakarta officially recognises five religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism as well as Islam. A Sharia police officer stops a woman during a sharia law check in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia A woman is whipped in public in Aceh province in 2019. Aceh is the first Indonesian province to be ruled by sharia under semi-autonomy, however sharia rules have been creeping across the rest of the Indonesian archipelago The rights of Indonesia's religious minorities are protected by the country's constitution, but increasingly powerful Islamist groups have been pushing for sharia rules wherever they can across the nation. In 2014, Indonesia issued a national state uniform for school children, which provided two choices, with or without the jilbab. The drawing accompanying the decree only showed the jilbab in the illustration for Muslim girls - prompting most of Indonesia's 300,000 state schools to make it mandatory for Muslim girls. Non-Muslim girls were then pressured by religious teachers to wear the jilbab, and many are mocked and bullied if they don't. Catholic woman 'Daisy', whose identity was hidden for safety, said her 6th grade primary school teacher in Central Java badgered her daily until she wore it. Academic Dewi Candraningrum (pictured) was forced to wear the jilbab to keep her job Indonesian President Joko Widodo (pictured). Indonesia passed a decree banning the forced imposition of jilbabs in February - but it remains to be seen whether it will be enforced 'I was forced to wear the jilbab,' she told Human Rights Watch. 'If I didn't wear a jilbab, I wouldn't have been able to continue my studies.' Another girl, 'Paulia', from West Sumatra, said if she wore a jilbab in any way different to the one her school recommended, her teacher would threaten to cut her hair off. 'Please tuck your hair in or I will cut it,' the teacher would warn her. West Sumatra was the first of 24 Indonesian provinces to introduce mandatory jilbab regulations in 2001, Human Rights Watch said in its report. West Sumatran father Elianu Hia, a Christian, went to a state school in Padang earlier this year to ask his daughter's teacher to stop pressuring her to wear the jilbab. He recorded the meeting on his mobile phone and the footage went viral on Facebook attracting 836,000 views and 18,000 comments since January 21. 'If my daughter has to wear a jilbab, it will breach her [Christian] faith. Where are our human rights? Is it advice or an order?' he asks in the video. 'This is mandatory. This is the school regulation at SMKN2 Padang,' the teacher replied. Indonesian schoolgirls are forced to wear the jilbab in most of Indonesia's 300,000 state schools, no matter their faith. Human Rights Watch has called on Jakarta to end the practice Forcing women to wear an Islamic jilbab when they don't want to is a human rights abuse Many provincial and local governments in Indonesia have adopted hundreds of sharia-inspired regulations in recent years, imposing the jilbab on civil servants, the Human Rights Watch report found. Artist and academic Dewi Candraningrum said she had to follow the mandatory jilbab rule in her workplace because her colleagues would pressure and threaten her, hoping to get her fired until she did. 'Wearing a jilbab became a necessary tool to feed my child,' she said. Ms Pearson said Islamists had been emboldened by the Indonesian government's failure to defend the rights of women and minorities. Human Rights Watch stressed the problem is not that people choose to wear a jilbab, the problem comes when women who don't want to wear it are being forced to wear it 'They are becoming more bold in demanding discriminatory and sometimes abusive reforms. That will only get worse, if there isn't strong action to defend women's rights by the Jokowi administration,' she said. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as 'Jokowi', made moves in February towards reining in the Islamist abuse of minority rights. Last month, the Indonesian government issued a decree requiring local governments and school principals to revoke any mandatory hijab regulations by March 5. Ms Pearson said the new decree was a step in the right direction - if it is enforced. 'Already some Islamist groups are trying to challenge the decree,' she said. Human Rights Watch is calling on Indonesia to enforce its February decree banning mandatory jilbabs, and is asking for Jakarta to protect the right of women to choose for themselves Human Rights Watch has called on the Indonesian government to repeal all national and local laws and regulations imposing the jilbab and other Islamic dress. In Australia, Secular Party president John Perkins said there are also women and schoolgirls forced to wear Islamic 'modesty' dress against their will - but they are publicity-shy and scared to come forward for fear of retribution. 'According to male-dominated Koranic scripture, hijabs, niqabs and jilbabs are supposed to protect women and girls from men,' Mr Perkins told Daily Mail Australia. That implies that uncovered women can be molested by men, he said. 'If women are to be treated as equals and their rights truly respected, this is not acceptable. These garments are hot and uncomfortable and the wearing of them is not truly a free choice.' Daily Mail Australia has asked Foreign Minister Marise Payne for comment. NAIROBI- Ugandan authorities should take immediate steps to end the ongoing abductions by suspected state agents and cease the unlawful detention without trial of opposition supporters, Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued Thursday, March 11. HRW says in its statement that on March 4, 2021, Internal Affairs minister Jeje Odongo presented a list to parliament of 177 people in military detention who had been arrested between November 18, 2020, and February 8, 2021, allegedly for "participating in riots," "possession of military stores," and "meetings planning post-election violence." On March 8, in a public letter to the media, President Yoweri Museveni said that 50 people were being held by the Special Forces Command, a unit of the Ugandan army, for "treasonable acts of elements of the opposition." On November 18, security forces had clamped down on protesters demanding the release of the then-detained opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine. "The recent spate of enforced disappearances has only compounded the intense climate of fear in Uganda following the recent violent national elections," said Oryem Nyeko, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should urgently investigate these disappearances and other abuses and hold those responsible, including members of security forces, to account." In a speech on Sunday night (March 14) broadcast on radio and television, President Museveni said, "I would advise those who have been involved in these crimes to really repent their mistakes. The children who were arrested by security forces, many of them have been talked to and they have given us a lot of information and have been helped to go back to their families." But HRW insists authorities should investigate all cases of enforced disappearances to determine the whereabouts and status of all victims, release all those arbitrarily detained, and prosecute those responsible. Anyone lawfully detained should have immediate access to their family and lawyers, and anyone not yet charged and placed in pretrial detention, should be released in accordance with the law, the statement reads. Between February 17 and March 3, Human Rights Watch spoke with 10 relatives of people abducted, witnesses, opposition members, and civil society members, in Kampala. Witnesses described how armed men picked people off the streets or from their homes and took them away in unmarked vans without numbered license plates; commonly referred to in Uganda as "Drones." Human Rights Watch spoke to victims who said that their abductors beat and detained them in "safe houses" and questioned them about their political affiliation or their role in the protests, then dropped them off at random locations. The circumstances of many others who were abducted and taken to safe houses are unknown. Shadia Nakaweesi said that on November 20, about 20 men in black police uniforms broke into her home, beat her 34-year-old husband, Hassan Mubiru, then drove him away in a black "Drone." Nakaweesi said that when she tried to report him missing at a nearby police station, the officers refused to accept the complaint. Her husband's whereabouts remains unknown. A victim, Alvin Ddamulira, said that six armed men abducted him, his 51-year-old father, John Ddamulira, and three others at their spare parts shop at Kisekka market in Kampala on November 21. The men blindfolded, handcuffed, and beat them, then drove them in a white "Drone" to an unmarked building, where, he said, a man told them, "You people from Kisekka market, stop rioting. The president is not happy about what you are doing." At 1 am the following day, the abductors dumped four of the men in Bweyogerere, 12 kilometres from Kisekka Market. John Ddamulira was not released and has not been heard from since. On November 24, Rose Nakayiza said, she was told by a friend that her husband, Rashid Kalunda, 32, had been taken away in a "Drone" by men in black uniforms, with two others - Fred Jingo and Sunday Mwanje - from Owino market in Kampala. Nakayiza said that her efforts to locate her husband in several police stations and the military intelligence office have so far been fruitless. On March 5, Kyagulanyi's party, the National Unity Platform, said that 423 members and supporters had been abducted and were still missing, and another 41 had been released by their abductors. On February 8, media reported that Ronald Segawa, who had been missing since late January, was found dumped unconscious at the Mulago hospital morgue in Kampala. The next day Kyagulanyi shared pictures of Segawa's scarred body on Twitter during a visit to him in a hospital, saying that he had been burned, electrocuted, and had his fingernails plucked out allegedly for campaigning for Kyagulanyi. The Ugandan constitution, in line with international human rights norms, requires the authorities to produce anyone accused of a crime in court within 48 hours and to ensure the detainees' right of access to a lawyer, and their family and to receive any needed medical attention. An enforced disappearance occurs when agents of the state, or organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the government, deprive someone of their liberty and then refuse to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty; or to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned, placing them outside the protection of the law. The January 14 elections were characterized by widespread violence and human rights violations during which security forces clamped down on opposition members and journalists, violently arresting scores of people, including Kyagulanyi and Patrick Amuriat, another presidential candidate, multiple times. The authorities also shut down the internet for five days, and blocked access to social media websites for a month. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. On February 5, 2020, Uganda's parliamentary human rights committee released a report in which they found that security forces detained and tortured people in unofficial detention facilities across Uganda, commonly known as "safe houses." Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and inhuman or degrading treatment and torture are strictly prohibited at all times under international, regional, and Ugandan law. The prohibition not only obligates governments to comply with the law, but entails a duty to investigate when suspected violations occur and prosecute those responsible. Enforced disappearances and torture may also constitute and be prosecuted as a crime against humanity if they form part of a state-sponsored policy or practice, or are part of a broader attack against civilians by state authorities. "The Ugandan authorities should act immediately to stop the egregious violations that have taken place since the elections, including by releasing those held incommunicado, shutting down all secret detention facilities, and holding those responsible to account," Nyeko said. "The government should respect political plurality and end the harassment of opposition members." Scientists have witnessed bonobo apes adopting infants who were born outside of their social group for the first time in the wild. Researchers, including psychologists at Durham University, UK, twice saw the unusual occurrence among bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa. They say their findings give us greater insight into the parental instincts of one of humans' closest relatives and could help to explain the emotional reason behind why people readily adopt children who they have had no previous connection with. The research, led by Kyoto University, in Japan, is published in the journal Scientific Reports. Researchers observed a number of bonobo groups over several years in the Wamba area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The examples of cross-group adoption were seen between April 2019 and March 2020 before Covid-19 restrictions brought observations to a temporary halt. Chio, aged between 52 to 57 years old, who is thought to be post-menopausal, was seen to adopt three-year-old Ruby who had been part of another unknown group. Marie, an 18-year-old bonobo was also seen to adopt Flora, who is estimated to be two-and-a-half-years-old, after Flora's mother disappeared from a separate group. Neither Chio nor Marie, who had already had their own offspring, had any pre-existing family connections to the adopted infants or any strong social connections with the youngsters' biological mothers, yet both readily adopted the young bonobos. Both adoptive mothers carried, groomed, nursed, and shared food with their adopted young. Ruby and Flora were also both observed suckling at their adopted mothers. In the case of Ruby, she might have been suckling for comfort as Chio is unlikely to have been producing milk. The researchers say this caring nature is evidence of bonobos' strong attraction to infants and high tolerance of individuals, including immature youngsters, from outside of their normal group. Bonobos, along with chimpanzees, are humans' closest relatives and the researchers say their discovery helps us to understand adoption among people. Marie-Laure Poiret, a PhD Research Student, in the Department of Psychology, at Durham University, UK, said: "Usually in wild animals adoptive mothers are related to orphaned infants or sometimes young females will adopt orphans to improve their own care-giving behaviours, which increases the future survival chances of their own offspring. "This means that adoption in non-human animals can usually be explained by the adoptive mother's own self-interest or pre-existing social relationships. "The cross-group adoption we have seen in the cases of both Chio and Ruby, and Marie and Flora, is as surprising as it is wonderful and perhaps helps us explain adoption among humans, which cannot be explained purely by the benefits received by adoptive mothers. "Instead it is fair to say from the examples we have seen in bonobos that adoption in humans can be explained by a selfless concern for others and an emotional desire to offer care to someone who we have no previous connection with." The bonobo groups included in this study have been observed by scientists since the 1970s and researchers have come to know the individuals in each of the groups. Research lead author Nahoko Tokuyama, Assistant Professor in the Primate Research Institute and Wildlife Research Centre at Kyoto University, Japan, who has spent more than ten years studying bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said bonobos "never ceased to amaze". Dr Tokuyama added: "Although cases of adoption were observed in non-human primates, the adoptive mother and adoptees almost exclusively belonged to the same social group. "This may be because adoption is very costly behavior and because non-human primates form stable groups and have a good ability to recognise other group members. "It's well known that groups of bonobos sometimes encounter and associate with each other, and that those belonging to different groups can interact tolerantly. "However, I had never imagined that bonobos could adopt infants from outside of their groups, so these cases were quite surprising." The researchers plan to continue their observations of the bonobo groups once Covid-19 restrictions allow. ### The research, which also included the Research Center for Ecology and Forestry, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the European Research Council, the National Geographic Foundation for Science and Exploration, and The Leading Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science of Kyoto University. ENDS Saudi Arabia wants to buy armed drones from Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday in the latest potential sign of a thaw between the two governments. Ankara and Riyadh all but ceased cooperation on regional matters as ties soured following the state-sanctioned murder of dissident Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside Riyadhs consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Still, Erdogan criticized Riyadh today for taking part in joint military exercises with Greece, Turkeys main rival in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish officials have slammed Saudi Arabias attendance at a forum in Athens in February featuring defense ministers from France, Greece, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Those countries have sought mutual defense and economic cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean in response to Ankaras ambitions regarding hydrocarbon rights there, as well as its involvement in war-torn Libya. Meanwhile, Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalized ties last year with Israel, a country with which Turkey has made little headway in repairing ties. Ankara also recently started talking again with Egypt after years of icy relations following Cairos 2013 coup. Why it matters: As Gulf states look to expand their drone, missile and air defense arsenals amid incessant attacks from Iran-linked groups in the region, Turkeys game-changing technology could provide Ankara with leverage. Qatar already uses Turkeys Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, as do Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and Turkey is looking to sell elsewhere. The unmanned weapons proved devastatingly effective on the battlefields of Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is holding off on advanced arms sales to Saudi Arabia right now, pumping the brakes on hopes fostered by the Trump administration, which opened Gulf state markets to US armed drone manufacturers. Whats next: Theres still a long way to go before any Saudi-Turkish rapprochement. The two countries took opposing sides in Egypts 2013 coup, Libyas civil war and the Gulf Cooperation Councils dispute with Qatar, among other matters. Yet with the GCC rift and Libyas war beginning to wane, opportunities for further cooperation may be budding. Know more: Al-Monitor recaps what may lie ahead for the region if Egypt and Turkey restore their battered relations. Ben Caspit talks this week with Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. Plesner warns that the undermining of Israels democracy may seem unconceivable, but is indeed possible. For Plesner, some eastern European countries where democracy is being eroded are models that Israel should not learn from. "Under certain circumstances we could find ourselves in a similar situation. Its a situation where populist leaders frame their rule as the rule of a strong man representing the people against the elite, undermining free media, professional bureaucracy, civil society and independent judiciary, he says. Apple Inc. plans to announce new iPads as early as April, adding to a product line that has performed particularly well as people work and study from home, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company is planning a refresh to its iPad Pro line, adding a better processor and improved cameras, the people said. The new models will look similar to the current iPad Pros and come in the same 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes. The devices will have an updated processor that is on par with the faster M1 chip in the latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. Apple designs these processors itself and typically has them made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Apple is also looking to include a Mini-LED screen with at least the larger model, which would be brighter and have improved contrast ratios. In testing, the new iPad Pros have used a Thunderbolt connector, the same port on the latest Macs with custom Apple processors. The port doesnt require new chargers, but it would enable connectivity with additional external monitors, hard drives and other peripherals. Its also faster at syncing data than the USB-C technology used in the current models. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. The company has yet to announce its first product launch event of the year, so its plans could change. The iPad generated $8.4 billion in revenue for Apple during the key holiday quarter of 2020, the most since 2014. Sales jumped on demand from people working and studying from home during the pandemic. As employees and students begin returning to offices and schools in coming months, Apple will be betting on the new iPad models to maintain interest in the tablet line. The iPad Pro was last updated in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, adding a tweaked processor, support for the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad case, and a lidar scanner alongside the camera. Apple plans to refresh its cheapest iPad aimed at students with a thinner and lighter design later this year, Bloomberg News has reported. Its also preparing to launch a new iPad mini with a larger screen as early as this year, an increase from the 7.9-inch display used since the first model. The iPad mini was last upgraded in 2019 with support for the Apple Pencil stylus and a faster processor. Apple has several other product updates planned for this year. The company is working on new iPhones and Apple Watches, an accessory for tracking the location of physical objects, and major updates to the MacBook Pro laptop and iMac desktop. [March 18, 2021] Hitachi launches new range of Room Air Conditioners for the new-age consumers: 'One for everyone' - Catering to the rising demand for a smart and comfort driven lifestyle, the super exciting range of ACs for 2021 is inspired by nature and company's Japanese roots NEW DELHI, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The consumer of the new informed world has evolved and is full of energy, passion and positivity. This New Bharat's new-age consumer aspires for innovative product offerings, leading to convenience and comfort. In its endeavor to offer ultimate ease and comfort to the consumer of the new informed world, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. has today announced the launch of its super exciting range of new-age Room Air Conditioners for 2021. Inspired by nature and its Japanese roots, the new aesthetically appealing and premium looking product line-up includes Hitachi Cooling and Heating's first ever Ambience light which allows consumers to perfectly tune-in with their desired temperature and comfort level, a new stunning 'iconic wave design' that is inspired by naturally existing wave form and Hitachi's fusion line which is inspired by the Japanese Kintsugi art. The company also introduced new airCloud Home app for its Wi-Fi-enabled ACs with smart geo fencing feature and voice command and a plethora of other futuristic air conditioning products and technologies. "Consumer is the King and we understand that consumer of the new Informed world is evolving every day and their need for NEW is changing. In our endeavor to meet demands of this aspiring consumer, Hitachi is committed to set new consumer satisfaction milestones with its best-in-class products and solutions. Our innovations are developed keeping consumer needs in mind, because at Hitachi 'New begins with you'. This is the same philosophy which we are going to use in this year's brand communication as well. We are offering a wide range of 30+ models and 90+ SKUs in Room AC category which caters to the ever-evolving need of our customers' in both residential and light commercial spaces for their homes, villas," said Gurmeet Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd. "Energy conservation is our core belief and therefore, we plan on going heavily on inverter technology to help consumers save electricity, money and environment. With Inverter Split AC models ranging between 5, 4 and 3-Star category, almost as high as 80% of our entire Split AC line up is inverter based. As sustainability has become the new norm of the informed world, almost all of our Room AC models are charged with environment friendly Green refrigerant. We are confident that the new lineup of our exciting products will certainly create a comfortable, healthy and perfectly pleasant indoor environment in Indian homes," Mr. Singh further added. In its expanded product portfolio, Hitachi Cooling & Heating India offers innovations that offer unparalleled indoor experience and add comfort to the life. From premium looking, technologically advanced Room ACs, SET-FREE mini (VRF based) & Cassette models for premium residential and smaller commercial spaces, to highly efficient SET-FREESigma (VRF System) & latest Ductable air conditioning type models for large commercial buildings, the company offers pathbreaking products that meet everyone's diverse requirements. Inspired by the ever-changing seasons, company has introduced Hitachi's first ever Ambience light in this year's super exciting product range. Ambience light is an immersive display on the AC which allows consumers to perfectly tune-in with their desired temperature and comfort level. With the Ambience light feature, consumers can easily know their surrounding ambience ranging from cold, comfort to warm. This feature has 3 specific colors- cool blue for cool ambience, comfort green for comfort ambience and warm red for warm ambience. Ambience light offers ultimate flexibility and comfort for consumers to set their preferred ambience easily in just one glance. Most suited to meet the cooling demands of a large room (up to 400 sq. ft), Hitachi Cooling & Heating has also launched its high capacity, heavy performing and truly powerful machines- Takeshi ACs. While, normal AC can throw air maximum at 7 mt. or so, Takeshi can throw up to 15 mt. Available in 1.7 TR / 2.0 TR / 2.5 TR & 3.1 TR., Takeshi's one unit satisfies the cooling needs of a larger spaces perfectly, which otherwise would have required 2 normal capacity models. In recent time with rapid urbanization going around, new constructions often have room sizes of 120 to 135 sq. ft. for which 1.5 TR model is oversized and 1 TR is undersized. To address this challenge, the company has introduced a special category of 1.25 TR, 3- & 5-Star inverter models, which fits in perfectly for this room size. This is apt for markets such as Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Pune, etc. A new compact 1.0 TR outdoor unit with outstanding aesthetics and indoor spit AC unit for lower capacity AC requirements is also one of the latest additions to the new range. For those who want something extra, Hitachi has launched a new series called the X series. Bringing the expandable inverter technology legacy of split air conditioner to window air conditioner, the new product lineup has Shizuka inverter window air conditioner range. It expands its cooling capacity when the temperature goes up in extreme summers and can work up to 52C. Catering to the rising demand for IoT-based products at smart homes, the company has introduced airCloud home along with its exciting range of Wi-Fi connected smart air conditioners. airCloud home allows consumers to control their air conditioner remotely through smartphone or Google Home/Alexa digital device or even voice assistant on their mobile phones. The new product range is also powered by Hitachi air technologies to ensure all round comfort and unmatched indoor experience. The 5 unique features of Hitachi air comprise of auto coil dry technology for odour free air, wave blade design for silent air, big flow deflector for surround air, iClean+ for clean air and iFresh for fresh air. The company is also endeavoring to promote and push 'Made in India' ACs and aims to reduce its component imports to almost to half and increase exports three folds in the next three years. We have a large range of Inverter ACs between 3-5 Star and we plan to sell more than 75-80% of our total volume through inverter models this year. In order to bridge the gap of accessibility of Room AC (RAC) in Tier 2 and 3 towns, the company plans on strengthening its retail outreach (10,000+ retail touch points) and introducing multiple finance schemes and warranty offers. With this new product range and brand communication for 2021, Hitachi Cooling and Heating India is set to address the inherent consumer needs and will be driven by a strong sales & marketing push across the country, brand promotion in local languages and channel advocacy.The new product line-up for 2021 is available across all leading retail stores and on leading e-commerce portals. About Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited is a joint venture company of Johnson Controls, US and Hitachi Appliances, Japan. Through this joint venture, we have combined the rich heritage and innovative technology of Hitachi with the industry-leading expertise and a global network of Johnson Controls. The partnership is aimed at addressing the cooling needs faster, smarter and much more efficiently than ever before. Our customers will stand to benefit from our world-class R&D centres, where our researchers work tirelessly to provide innovative solutions and quality products that are designed to meet every expectation. Johnson Controls - Hitachi Air Conditioning Company has global presence, out of which India unit is called "Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited" Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited manufactures a wide range of products under Hitachi brand, such as room air-conditioners (Split & Window ACs) to commercial air-conditioners including Chiller, Cassette Air conditioners, Ductable air-conditioners & VRF systems. Our company is not just limited to making air conditioners but also, into trading of Refrigerators. Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited's headquarter is situated in Ahmedabad, Gujarat with manufacturing plant in Kadi, Gujarat. Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited is amongst the top air-conditioning companies in India. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1280745/Hitachi_Logo.jpg Media Contact : Suryakant Anand suryakant.anand@jci-hitachi.com ++91 (11) 22717161 AGM Marketing Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] From 6.5 crore to Rs 65.9 crore: How Chidambarams investments multiplied in matter of months ED arrests Thane builder said to be close to Sena MLA in money laundering case Choksi still Indian national, a fit case for deportation, ED will argue in Dominica court ED summons Jorasanko TMC candidate Vivek Gupta in Saradha scam India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Mar 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the money laundering aspect of the multi-crore Saradha scam, on Thursday summoned Vivek Gupta, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Jorasanko assembly constituency. Sources said that Gupta has been asked to depose before ED officials on Monday. Money laundering case: Mehbooba Mufti moves Delhi high court challenging ED summons Meanwhile, businessman Swapan Sadhan Bose who was asked to appear on Thursday in connection with the Saradha scam, is yet to turn up at the CGO complex here, sources said. Former Trinamool Congress minister Madan Mitra has been asked to appear before the directorate in connection with the same scam on Friday, according to sources. Gupta had earlier been summoned by the economic offences wing of CBI in relation to financial transactions which had allegedly taken place between him and the Saradha group. Thousands of investors have been duped by the Saradha group by means of the fraudulent schemes floated by the firm. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 15:55 [IST] President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda pointed out alarming trends in the security situation in eastern Ukraine and a slowdown in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a conversation with the media together with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The President informed that a wide range of issues and priorities of cooperation between Ukraine and Lithuania was discussed at the meeting of the Council of Presidents. Lithuania knows and sees what serious efforts we are making for peace in Donbas and de-occupation of the Ukrainian Crimea. We noted today the alarming trends in the security situation in eastern Ukraine, the increase in provocations and attempts to violate the ceasefire, the lack of progress and, unfortunately, the slowdown in the implementation of the Minsk agreements caused by the Russian Federation. This proves a need for a more decisive reaction of the international community to this behavior, Zelensky said. He thanked Nauseda for Lithuania's position on strengthening international sanctions against Russia, which should be maintained until the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. ol NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Goldman Sachs Group Inc cashes in on a boom in market activity, a group of first-year analysts have warned senior management that they are overworked and will quit within six months unless conditions improve, according to an internal survey circulated online. While Wall Street is notorious for its tough culture, the survey provides a rare insight into just how grueling working conditions can be. In it, the junior bankers said that they worked an average of 95 hours a week, slept five hours a night, frequently faced "unrealistic deadlines," and that their relationships with friends and family were feeling the strain as a result. The survey, which began circulating on social media on Wednesday, was conducted by a group of 13 first-year investment banking analysts among themselves. They presented their findings to Goldman Sachs' management in February, and the bank has since taken steps to address employee burnout, the bank said. "We recognize that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels," Goldman spokeswoman Nicole Sharpe said in a statement on Thursday. "A year into COVID, people are understandably quite stretched, and that's why we are listening to their concerns and taking multiple steps to address them." The bank said it had as of January expedited hiring for new entry-level staff because it is conscious employee resources are stretched thin. But it takes time for new staff to be vetted, hired and to begin working, the bank added. Buoyed by strong equity and debt underwriting, Goldman's investment banking business generated a record high $9.42 billion in 2020. Goldman and other Wall Street banks have played a central role in a recent frenzy of special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, deals. These shell companies raise funds through an initial public offering with a view to later buying assets. Such "blank check" IPOs have already surpassed this year the $83.4 billion the sector raised in all of 2020, according to Chicago-based SPAC Research, which compiles data on such deals. Story continues Wall Street has been criticized in the past for a hothouse culture that can dangerously overwork ambitious young staff. In 2013, an intern at Bank of America's Merrill Lynch's investment bank died after he allegedly worked for 72 hours without sleep. https://reut.rs/30U2sy7 A majority of the Goldman analysts in the survey said they felt they have been victims "of workplace abuse." "There was a point where I was not eating, showering or doing anything else other than working from morning until after midnight," wrote one respondent. (Reporting By Anirban Sen in Bangalore and Elizabeth Dilts Marshall in New York; Additional reporting by Sohini Podder; Editing by Michelle Price and Hugh Lawson) Birth figures in Northern Ireland show that predictions of a pandemic baby boom have yet to materialise. Official figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) have listed monthly registrations of births since 2006, showing a gradual decline each year. This trend appears to have continued since the start of lockdown one year ago, according to provisional figures up to March 11. Assuming the first of the so-called lockdown babies were born towards the end of the year, the figures show that 5,173 babies were born from the start of December 2020 and the end of February this year. This is 291 fewer babies than in the same three month period a year earlier. NISRA have said that all registrations from March 2020 may not yet provide the full picture of births during this time, due to lockdown restrictions preventing some registrations offices from opening. Regardless of whether the recent figures change, the last decade has seen a steady decline in birth rates each year, from 25,315 in 2010 to 22,447 in 2019 and a provisional figure of 20,814 in 2020. In January, the annual economics predictions report by accountancy firm PwC said that 2021 will see the lowest number of births in the UK since records began. The report predicted a baby bust due to the health, social and economic effects of the pandemic causing more families to postpone pregnancies. Professor Neil Gibson , chief economist with EY Ireland, said he believed a declining birth rate was not a cause for concern. There appears no evidence of a baby boom in Northern Ireland resulting from the first lockdown in spring 2020, though perhaps the more recent period under stay at home guidance will see a spike later in 2021, he told the Belfast Telegraph. The absence of children is often considered an economic worry for the longer term. Who will be at work generating the taxes to pay parents pensions? This is, in my view, overstated. Professor Gibson said that the world is never likely to be short of young people, and that migration always provides a solution. If there are jobs to be done there are likely to be willing suitors. Secondly, technology is advancing all the time and looks set to carry out more and more tasks that we currently need people for. Recalling a time that London tried desperately to arrest its falling population he said the market solved the problem by attracting people to the opportunities. Perhaps the famous economist Keynes will finally be right, we will not need to work as long hours in the future, instead spending more time on leisure or with our, potentially smaller, families. There are also arguments that less rapid population growth will ease congestion, pressure on earths resources and make tackling other economic and social ills, such as housing shortages, easier. He continued: Failing to spur a baby boom would be far down the list of worries I would have resulting from the pandemic, though it will be sometime before the full impact on demographics, be that births, deaths, or migration, is fully clear. 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. Teaser of the highly anticipated film Karnan is all set to release soon. If reports are to be believed, the update will be out this week. Though the lead actor of the film Dhanush had promised the teaser release 2 weeks back, the team is said to be waiting for the right time to drop the major update. With several speculations doing the rounds on social media, the excitement of fans is also skyrocketing side by side. Let us tell you that the makers have already released 3 songs from the film, namely, 'Kandaa Vara Sollunga', 'Pandarathi Puranam' and 'Draupathaiyin Mutham'. The songs scored by Santhosh Narayanan have been garnering a major response from the audience, who are now expecting the teaser to be a grand affair. On a related note, actress Lakshmi Priya, who is playing a key role in the film has completed dubbing for Karnan. The actress took to her social media handle today to share the happy news with her fans and followers. Thanking the director Mari Selvaraj for the opportunity, she tweeted, "Can you see how ecstatic I am? This is me feeling all the joy as I finish dubbing for this epic film. I will be saying this a 1000 more times, still, thank you so so much @mari_selvaraj sir for making me a part of this phenomenal creation of yours. #Karnan #KarnanArrivesOnApril9." Can you see how ecstatic I am? This is me feeling all the joy as I finish dubbing for this epic film. I will be saying this a 1000 more times, still, thank you so so much @mari_selvaraj sir for making me a part of this phenomenal creation of yours. #Karnan #KarnanArrivesOnApril9 pic.twitter.com/g4wLJ4RnRI Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli (@LakshmiPriyaaC) March 18, 2021 Also starring Malayalam actress Rajisha Vijayan, the film is slated to release theatrically on April 9. Notably, the film marks the actress' debut in Kollywood. Written and directed by Mari Selvaraj, the action-drama will have Dhanush playing a never-attempted role in his career. Backed by Kalaipuli S Thanu under the banner V Creations, the film also features Lal Paul, Yogi Babu and Master fame Gouri G Kishan. Also Read: Karthi Pens A Sweet Message As He Reveals His Newborn Son's Name Also Read: Vijay And Lokesh Kanagaraj To Reunite For Thalapathy 66: Reports Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Oregon have been on high alert for the past several months, as hate crimes and violence against those communities have increased nationally. Their fears were further realized Tuesday when eight people including six Asian American women were killed in a series of shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area. I am feeling sad and angry, Rep. Khanh Pham, an Asian American legislator who represents the Jade District, said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Im feeling sick to my stomach. I am scared for our community. Pham said Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are carrying a fear of violence and urged elected leaders to acknowledge and address the pattern of attacks against the communities. Im drawing strength from the resilience and strength of our communities, Pham said. We all need to come together to advocate for change. Pham was part of a chorus of Oregonians including Gov. Kate Brown, Portlands Mayor and City Council, Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt who denounced the shootings Wednesday. Portland police, for their part, said patrol officers will offer higher visibility to Asian American communities and business districts, according to an agency spokesman. Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks and reports bias crimes against Asian Americans, tallied nearly 3,800 incidents from March 19, 2020, to the end of last month. Bias crimes against Asian American women comprised 68% of those incidents. Thirty-five percent of them happened in businesses. The report noted 40 racist incidents in Oregon. In January, vandals struck a stretch of Southeast 82nd Avenue thats home to several Asian-owned businesses. Jade District business owners reported more than a dozen such incidents. In the months since the incidents, the regions Asian American communities have rallied to address the issue. AWARENESS IN SCHOOLS Among those who have been trying to raise awareness about racism against Asian Americans are a pair of Portland-area school counselors. Sakura Hamada, an elementary school counselor in the Reynolds School District, said she was spurred to action about a month ago when she heard about Vichar Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai immigrant in San Francisco, who was attacked during a morning walk and later died from his injuries. That really triggered me, Hamada told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Theres a lot of ongoing violence against elderly Asian Americans. Hamada, who is Japanese American, said the increasing attacks against Asian Americans weighed on her and made her think about how to support others in her community. With the support of her union president and principal, Hamada got the districts education association to pass a resolution condemning any type of racial violence or xenophobia. About 7% of the Reynolds School Districts students are Asian Americans and 3% are Pacific Islanders, according to 2019-2020 school data. Hamada also created a presentation to students that addresses hate crimes against Asian Americans and their historical context. Some students approached Hamada afterward and told her they were victims of violence or threats. Having an open conversation with my students was very powerful, and I hope to continue to provide a space for them to talk about their feelings and experiences, she said. Miranda Trullench, a counselor in the Beaverton School District, took a similar approach, sharing statistics about hate crimes against Asian Americans with colleagues during a presentation. About 18% of Beavertons students are Asian Americans, and 1% are Pacific Islanders. Trullench, who is Filipino American, also dispelled to her colleagues a stereotype that Asian Americans dont face the same struggles as other minority groups. And after Tuesdays shootings, she reached out to her colleagues to start a conversation. My first reaction was, How do I take care of myself, especially being part of this community, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive. It was important to let them know that this is a vulnerable time for me too. Both counselors have independently created affinity groups for their Asian American students to have a safe place to talk. OREGON REACTIONS The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, a grassroots social justice organization, said its members were devastated by the attacks and noted they have been alarmed by the recent increase in anti-Asian hate and violence. The tragedy in Atlanta especially points to the radicalized sexual violence Asian women face in this country and globally, the organization said in a statement. Other community leaders and elected officials also decried the attacks. Brown, for example, addressed the states Asian community directly. To the Asian community in Oregon: I feel your pain and I stand with you, she said in a statement. I remain committed to doing the hard work to build a more equitable and just Oregon. The Portland City Council also condemned the shootings and the use of hate speech, including by former President Donald Trump, that members said has fueled the increase in violence. A statement signed by Wheeler and all four city councilors noted an increase in physical attacks on Asian Americans in Portland, as well as the spike in vandalism in the Jade District. Words matter, and the use of hateful language and slurs can fuel racist ideologies, the councils letter said. Wheeler also said separately that Portland has seen a recent increase in hate and bias crimes targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But Lt. Greg Pashley, a Portland Police Bureau spokesperson, said bias crimes detectives have not seen a recent uptick in incidents targeting Asian Americans. The Washington County Sheriffs Office also said they have not seen an uptick in crimes against Asian Americans recently, but noted that hate crimes are widely under-reported. Sgt. Danny DiPietro said the sheriffs office had invited leaders from the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon to join a meeting held by the sheriffs Latino Advisory Commission next month. At least two instances where that does appear to have been the case have occurred in recent months, however. In mid-December, police arrested and charged a man with a bias crime after he asked an Asian American man about his heritage while the two were at a MAX stop, then punched the man in the face. And about a month later, a man kicked an Asian American woman and her son in the shins on a TriMet bus and started shouting racial slurs and racist comments about the coronavirus. He was also arrested and charged with bias crimes. Asian Americans have also been facing increased racism since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon urged its members to continue to support each other and demand their rights and safety. We call on our allies to do the same, the organization said in its statement. To condemn the racism and violence inflicted on API communities, that we know is all too familiar to our BIPOC neighbors and partners. We must care for each other and work together to root out the racism that threatens all of us. Resources to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Georgia and locally include: Stop AAPI Hate APANO Asian American Advocacy Fund Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR EAGAN, Minn., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), the world's leading e-discovery training and certification organization and part of The BARBRI Group, and ARMA International, the leading global information governance and records management leader, announce their strategic partnership today. This new alliance will provide lawyers and legal professionals access to two of the industry's premier online learning resources and top-tier certifications. Through the partnership, ACEDS and ARMA will collaborate on professional development resources and events including co-sponsored and -branded content and webinars. ACEDS' eDiscovery Executive (eDEx) Certificate program will be offered at ARMA.org, and ARMA's Essentials of Information Governance Certificate course will be offered at ACEDS.org. Members of both ACEDS and ARMA will also receive discounted access to each organization's educational programs and events. The powerful combination of ACEDS' e-discovery training and flagship CEDS certification and ARMA's Essentials of Information Governance course and IGP certification will provide members of both organizations the knowledge and confidence to navigate the challenges of information governance and e-discovery. "ARMA's reputation in information governance and records management education is unmatched," ACEDS President Michael Quartararo said. "Given the cross-over between information governance and e-discovery, this relationship offers significant educational value, resources and opportunities for both ACEDS and ARMA members. This is the type of collaboration with the potential for raising the overall level of expertise across our collective communities and improving our profession as a whole." "ARMA International is excited about our new partnership with ACEDS and the opportunities it will offer our combined community of professionals," Jason Stearns, ARMA board president said. "The education and resources available to our members are key to ongoing success." To become an ACEDS member, visit https://aceds.org/membership/ To become an ARMA member, visit https://www.arma.org/page/JoinProfessional Learn more at https://aceds.org/aceds-arma/ About ACEDS The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), part of leading legal education provider The BARBRI Group, is a global association for professionals working in e-discovery, information governance, compliance, and the broader legal community. ACEDS provides training and certification in e-discovery and related disciplines to corporate legal departments, law firms, the government, service providers and institutions of higher learning. The CEDS certification is recognized around the world and used to verify skills and competence in electronic discovery for organizations and individuals through training, certification, and ongoing education. The CEDS credential is held by legal professionals at the largest Fortune 500 companies, Am Law 200 firms and government agencies. ACEDS has 26 chapters, with locations in major U.S. cities, the UK, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, and South Africa. Our goal is to help professionals and organizations reduce the costs and risks associated with e-discovery while helping to improve and verify their skills and advance their careers and overall technology competence in e-discovery and related fields. http://www.aceds.org/ About ARMA International ARMA International is the community of records management, information management, and information governance professionals who harness the benefits and reduce the risks of information. Since 1955, ARMA has been the consistent provider of resources, education, certification, and unparalleled networking opportunities. With members spanning across 50 countries, ARMA sets the standards and best practices that information management professionals leverage to address the full information lifecycle. When it comes to managing an organization's most vital asset information ARMA has the comprehensive resources to secure success. https://www.arma.org/ SOURCE Association of Certified eDiscovery Specialists Related Links https://aceds.org France rebuffs China after Taiwan visit warning Taiwan says it looks forward to welcoming the French lawmakers, as it condemns 'the uncivilised behaviour of the Chinese government'. Image: Shutterstock French Senators are free to meet whomever they wish when they travel, the country's foreign ministry says, after the Chinese embassy in Paris warned against lawmakers meeting officials during an upcoming visit to Taiwan. China's ambassador in February sent a letter to Alain Richard, the head of the Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group, expressing his concern about the visit this summer. He urged that no meetings take place that could harm Franco-Chinese ties. The letter was leaked to French media with various accounts describing how Richard a former defence minister under President Jacques Chirac was outraged after receiving the correspondence. Richard has previously travelled to Taiwan in his existing role. That prompted the Chinese embassy to publish the letter on its website and formally warn the senators about the trip that it said would violate the one-China principle and send the wrong signal to Taiwan's pro-independence forces. "French senators, as members of a French state institution, should of course observe this principle and refrain from any form of official contact with the Taiwanese authorities," it said in a post on March 16. When asked to respond on Wednesday, France's foreign ministry spokeswoman pointed to the separation of powers in the country. "French parliamentarians freely decide their travel and their contacts," she said. Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said they looked forward to welcoming the lawmakers, and condemned the Chinese ambassador's letter. "The uncivilised behaviour of the Chinese government will only deepen the Taiwanese people's antipathy towards China," she said. It is not the first time China's ambassador Lu Shaye in Paris has angered Paris. He was summoned by the foreign ministry last April over posts and tweets by the embassy defending Beijing's response to the pandemic and criticising the West's handling of the outbreak. (Reuters) China mourns Tanzanian President John Magufuli's death Xinhua) 16:35, March 18, 2021 BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday expressed its deep condolences over the death of Tanzanian President John Magufuli. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Magufuli had attached great importance to the development of relations with China and made important contributions to the promotion of China-Tanzania cooperation in various fields. "China expresses its deep condolences for his unfortunate death and sincere condolences to the Tanzanian government and relatives of President Magufuli," Zhao said. Magufuli was an outstanding leader of Tanzania who firmly defended national sovereignty, opposed foreign interference and led the Tanzanian people to actively promote the country's economic and social development and has been supported by the Tanzanian people, Zhao said. He added that China cherishes the profound traditional friendship between the two countries, and the Chinese people will stand firmly with the Tanzanian people at this moment of grief. Magufuli passed away due to heart disease at the age of 61, Tanzania's Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on Wednesday. When Paula Warner was a little girl, she would run to the mailbox to see if her pen pal had written her a letter. Even though she is now 77 years old and bound to a wheelchair, she has that same child-like enthusiasm when she checks the mail. Mixed among the flyers and catalogues are letters from a new friend a new pen pal named MaryAnne. The two were brought together by the Pleasant View Senior Centers pen pal program. Its fun to get letters from and write letters to her because most of my family doesnt live around here, said Warner. With a son in Illinois and a daughter in Florida, most of the personal contact Warner gets is from her son Dennis who, due to COVID restrictions, is limited to occasional half hour visits. The letters from MaryAnne help fill the Coronavirus void. She writes a nice letter. And I enjoy writing back to her. One time she wrote Remember, you are thought of and loved. That meant a lot to me, said Warner. The pen pal program is just getting started, with three volunteers sending notes to four seniors. Joanne Ahladas is a Pleasant View volunteer penning cards and letters to a local woman. Ahladas says she never really enjoyed writing letters, until now. I was never a letter writer. This is something very new to me. I decided to do it because when the pandemic started, we were told to stay in our apartments and dont go out. I thought I have no communication with the outside world, says Ahladas. The Senior Center is closed to the public because of the pandemic so the staff is trying to find inventive ways to help seniors stay engaged with the community and each other. A lot of seniors feel very isolated and one of our biggest goals is to let them know theyre not alone. People are definitely feeling the effects of not being able to go out or be in group settings. Theyre doing their best to hang in there, says Alicia Smith, Pleasant View program and volunteer coordinator. People of all ages have turned their attention to technology texting, emailing and joining video calls. Letter writing has become a lost art. This pen pal program is trying to rekindle it. I like reading her letters because she used to be a teacher, so she has very nice handwriting, says Warner, who was a library assistant in Springfield for nearly 30 years. The pen pal program has grown into more than just letters landing in Ahladass mailbox. Shes developed a real friendship with her pen pal. It has worked out so wonderfully. We have met and had lunch together. Shes become more than a pen pal. Shes become a pal. Its wonderful because Im in the house a lot and this helps me connect with someone, says Ahladas. If youd like to join the pen pal program call Alicia Smith at 413-525-5436 ext. 1406. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Nappies/Diapers/Pants in Saudi Arabiaunder Personal Hygiene category. The Nappies/Diapers/Pants Market in Saudi Arabia is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports. In 2020, nappies/diapers/pants saw a slightly stronger retail volume growth rate than seen since the beginning of the review period. Meanwhile, current value growth was in the double-digits due to the rise in the rate of VAT from 5% to 15%. Nappies/diapers/pants was only slightly affected by the onset of COVID-19 and the change in lifestyle it brought about. With the closure of offices and nurseries, as well as social distancing practices affecting the availability of child care in homes. Nappies/Diapers/Pants in Saudi Arabia report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2016-2020, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market be they new product developments, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change. Product coverage:Disposable Pants, Nappies/Diapers. Request a free sample copy of Saudi Arabia Nappies/Diapers/Pants Market Report @ http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/151069 Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data. Why buy this report? * Get a detailed picture of the Nappies/Diapers/Pants market; * Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change; * Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands; * Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop. Table Of Contents List OF CONTENTS AND TABLES KEY DATA FINDINGS 2020 IMPACT Sales rise despite the falling number of children aged under three Some parents try out disposable pants during home seclusion Baby Joy and Pampers together maintain their dominance RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES Potential launch of reusable products due to lower incomes for some consumers Continued growth, with quality products demanded by parents E-commerce expected to maintain its share growth CATEGORY DATA Table 1 Retail Sales of Nappies/Diapers/Pants by Category: Value 2015-2020 Table 2 Retail Sales of Nappies/Diapers/Pants by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020 Table 3 NBO Company Shares of Retail Nappies/Diapers/Pants: % Value 2016-2020 Table 4 LBN Brand Shares of Retail Nappies/Diapers/Pants: % Value 2017-2020 Table 5 Forecast Retail Sales of Nappies/Diapers/Pants by Category: Value 2020-2025 Table 6 Forecast Retail Sales of Nappies/Diapers/Pants by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COVID-19 impact on tissue and hygiene COVID-19 country impact Company response Retailing shift What next for tissue and hygiene? CHART 1 Retail Tissue and Hygiene Value Sales Growth Scenarios: 2018-2025 CHART 2 Retail Tissue and Hygiene Impact of Drivers on Value Sales: 2018-2025 MARKET INDICATORS Table 7 Birth Rates 2015-2020 Table 8 Infant Population 2015-2020 Table 9 Female Population by Age 2015-2020 Table 10 Total Population by Age 2015-2020 Table 11 Households 2015-2020 Table 12 Forecast Infant Population 2020-2025 Table 13 Forecast Female Population by Age 2020-2025 Table 14 Forecast Total Population by Age 2020-2025 Table 15 Forecast Households 2020-2025 MARKET DATA Table 16 Retail Sales of Tissue and Hygiene by Category: Value 2015-2020 Table 17 Retail Sales of Tissue and Hygiene by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020 Table 18 NBO Company Shares of Retail Tissue and Hygiene: % Value 2016-2020 Table 19 LBN Brand Shares of Retail Tissue and Hygiene: % Value 2017-2020 Table 20 Penetration of Private Label in Retail Tissue and Hygiene by Category: % Value 2015-2020 Table 21 Distribution of Retail Tissue and Hygiene by Format: % Value 2015-2020 Table 22 Distribution of Retail Tissue and Hygiene by Format and Category: % Value 2020 Table 23 Forecast Retail Sales of Tissue and Hygiene by Category: Value 2020-2025 Table 24 Forecast Retail Sales of Tissue and Hygiene by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025 GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT DISCLAIMER SOURCES Summary 1 Research Sources Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/nappies-diapers-pants-in-saudi-arabia/151069 About Us Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 2000 up-to-date reports all researched, analysed and published by top-notch international research firms. Contact us at: Market Reports On Saudi Arabia Tel: +91 22 27810772 / 27810773 Email: info@marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com Website: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com Follow us on : Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn A make-shift memorial is seen outside a business where a multiple fatal shooting occurred (Mike Stewart/AP) A white gunman has been charged with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlours in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community. Investigators are trying to work out what may have compelled 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long to commit the worst mass killing in the US in almost two years. Long told police that Tuesdays attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed to have a sex addiction. Authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation, but those statements spurred outrage and widespread scepticism given the locations and that six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. The shootings appear to be at the intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia, state Representative Bee Nguyen said, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House and a frequent advocate for women and communities of colour. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that regardless of the shooters motivation, it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop. Authorities said they did not know if Long ever went to the massage parlours where the shootings occurred but that he was heading to Florida to attack some type of porn industry. Expand Close Flowers and signs are displayed at a makeshift memorial outside of the Gold Spa in Atlanta (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flowers and signs are displayed at a makeshift memorial outside of the Gold Spa in Atlanta (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Cherokee County sheriffs Captain Jay Baker told reporters: He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places, and its a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate. Captain Baker drew criticism for saying Long had a really bad day and this is what he did. A Facebook page appearing to belong to Baker promoted a Covid-19 T-shirt with racist language about China last year. The Facebook account featured numerous photos of Capt Baker going back months, including one of him in uniform outside the sheriffs office. The account was deleted Wednesday night, and Capt Baker did not immediately respond to voicemails and an email seeking comment. Expand Close Long was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shootings of multiple people at three Atlanta-area massage parlours (Crisp County Sheriffs Office via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Long was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shootings of multiple people at three Atlanta-area massage parlours (Crisp County Sheriffs Office via AP) Meanwhile, Sheriff Frank Reynolds said it was too early to tell if the attack was racially motivated but the indicators right now are it may not be. The attack was the sixth mass killing this year in the US, and the deadliest since the August 2019 Dayton, Ohio, shooting that left nine people dead. The killings horrified the Asian American community, which saw the shootings as an attack on them, given a recent wave of assaults that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States. Covid-19 was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racially charged terms to describe it. Expand Close Police were called to the shootings on Tuesday (Mike Stewart/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police were called to the shootings on Tuesday (Mike Stewart/AP) The attacks began when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlour near Woodstock, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, authorities said. Those who died were 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 44-year-old Daoyou Feng and 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan, who owned the business. Ms Yaun and her husband came to the spa on a date, her mother, Margaret Rushing, told WAGA-TV. She leaves behind a 13-year-old son and eight-month-old daughter. The manager of a boutique next door to the spa said her husband watched surveillance video after the shooting and the suspect was sitting in his car for as long as an hour before going inside. They heard screaming and women running from the business, said Rita Barron, manager of Gabbys Boutique. Jill and I are keeping everyone impacted by the shootings in Atlanta in our prayers. We donat yet know the motive, but what we do know is that the Asian-American community is feeling enormous pain tonight. The recent attacks against the community are un-American. They must stop. President Biden (@POTUS) March 18, 2021 The same car was then spotted about 30 miles away in Atlanta, where a call came in about a robbery at Gold Spa and three women were shot to death. Another woman was fatally shot at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. Long was arrested hours later by Crisp County deputies and state troopers. He refused to stop on a highway and officers bumped the back of his car, causing him to crash, Sheriff Billy Hancock said. US President Joe Biden called the attack very, very troublesome. We dont yet know the motive, but what we do know is that the Asian-American community is feeling enormous pain tonight. The recent attacks against the community are un-American. They must stop, he tweeted. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. U.S. warship on patrol in the Indo-Pacific region in 2014. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman David Flewellyn/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) Pentagon Highlights Role of Allies to Counter China Threat The Department of Defense recently described China as the pacing challenge for the U.S. military and highlighted the need for the armed forces to respond by capitalizing on its alliances in the Indo-Pacific region. A pacing threat refers to an actor who is making significant progress towards challenging the U.S. military. The Chinese regimes actions in the Indo-Pacific are a direct challenge to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Commands mission to provide freedom for commerce, peace, and security in the Asia-Pacific region according to a statement from the Pentagon on March 15. Beijings aggressive military actions in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and Taiwan Strait have drawn rising condemnation from the United States and its allies. It is also rapidly expanding its military to the alarm of U.S. officials. The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] is pursuing rapid, comprehensive military modernization across land, sea, air, space, cyber, and information domains, said Admiral Philip S. Davidson, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in a Senate hearing last week (pdf). China now has the worlds largest navy. As of early 2020, the U.S. Navy had approximately 293 ships compared to the estimated 350 ships that make up Chinas naval force, according to a 2020 Pentagon report (pdf). In 2020, in the midst of all the COVID-related stuff, China still commissioned 25 major new ships, a Pentagon official said, according to the statement. In recent years, China has greatly increased its naval presence in the South China Sea by conducting military exercises and building artificial islands in order to exert dominance over the disputed waters. Chinas claims on the South China Sea contested the claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The South China Sea, which is one of the worlds major shipping routes, has been regarded as among the most volatile areas in the world. The Defense Department also said the best weapon in the militarys arsenal was its network of allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. center of gravity is the friends and allies who want a free and open Indo-Pacific. China and Russia really do not have a network even close to this, the Pentagon said. One partner that could see a growing role in the region is India, particularly after the escalation of its border dispute with China last year, according to the department. India is not going to sign a mutual defense treaty with us any time soon, but they are a major defense partner of the United States and they are trying to become more interoperable with the U.S. military in their military capabilities, their command, and control, their information sharing, a defense official said. Home to 60 percent of the worlds population and some of the largest militaries in the world, the Indo-Pacific has been described by Davidson as the most consequential region for Americas future and remains the Department of Defenses priority theater. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a recent press conference in Japan, that the United States and Japan were united in their vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. We will push back if necessary when China uses coercion or aggression to get its way, Blinken said. More than 3,000 graduate student workers at Columbia University in New York City are entering the fourth day of a strike for living wages, expanded health benefits, and job protections. The corporate media has blacked out the strike almost entirely, concerned that it would find support among wider layers of workers who are confronted with very similar issues as the striking graduate workers: lack of health care coverage, a severe housing crisis, and wages that fail to meet the cost of living. The WSWS spoke to Joanna, a Columbia PhD student in modern Chinese literature who is an elected member of the GWC-UAW bargaining committee. Joanna said, The university is adopting a stance of we refuse to change anything, and we are unfazed by the strike, which we take to be a type of posturing, adding that we will see an impact and nervousness on the universitys part in the coming days and possibly weeks. Joanna There are a lot of aspects of Columbias academic mission that cannot be fulfilled without the essentially cheap labor of teaching assistants and research assistants. A strike has the power to cripple the university to the extent that you need to cripple them in order to get your demands met. Joanna continued, I believe that we can organize towards a very, very long strike if necessary. Joanna spoke about the conditions graduate workers have faced in the past year and the May 2020 rent strike. Grad workers decided to go on strike in the wake of the pandemic because many graduate workers were put into a situation of almost immediate precarity because, for a vast majority of graduate workers, we actually cant afford to pay our rent in New York City for 12 months. The math just doesnt add up for the amount we get for our stipends, especially if youre a nine-month appointment. Rent is basically around 60 percent of our income per year (for shared apartments). For nine-month appointments, which are typical for students in humanities and social sciences, Joanna stated that stipends are around $31,000, sometimes with a summer stipend of $4,000. Columbia owns the neighborhood and has a captured market of graduate students. A lot of us are international students, so we cant actually rent from other landlords because we need to have a financial guarantor or a minimum income, but because our stipends are so low, most landlords dont want to rent to us. Striking Columbia graduate students (WSWS Media) This is where the connection to other issues is so important. Columbia buys up property and land, converts a lot of these buildings into graduate student housing, jacks up the prices, therefore driving out other people in the neighborhood because the whole neighborhood becomes more expensive, and then rents them out to grad workers on a measly stipend, saying we are subsidizing housing for you, though they base this subsidization on Manhattan rates, as opposed to Harlems. Essentially, the way we survive is to disappear from the city over the summer. You go to a place with a lower cost of livingfor international students, that might be a home countryand sublet our apartments. But that just became impossible during the pandemic. So suddenly, we had swathes of people who cannot pay their rent. When you cant pay your rent to Columbia, they put it on your student bill and then you cant register for classes if you have outstanding payments. And for international students like myself, having an outstanding payment and not being able to register for classes means that my student status is threatened, and thus my visa status is threatened. When you have an employer who is also your landlord and also your degree-granting institution, they have total control over all those things. They no longer have control only over work hours, but they basically have control over all aspects of your life. So thats also why I think theres so much at stake in this fight. Joanna also brought up the struggles of teachers, nurses and other essential workers, including strikes, throughout the pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted a kind of crisisthe crisis of capitalismthat is unique because it gets to the issue of a crisis of life itself. This is not only about a problem of labor exploitation; it draws the connection between that and the problem of being able to live at all. I think that these sets of circumstances have led to a lot of these struggles. This kind of collective moment where were seeing these things come up spontaneously is important for us to think about things broadly and together. Carolina, a PhD student in the history department, echoed many of these concerns about housing and a wage that is impossible to live on. I make 30K a year, thats not a living wage she said. They [Columbia] own a lot of property and have made lots of money over the last year. They can afford to pay us a living wage. They are a business; they have their priorities: profits. Pedro, a graduate student worker in architecture research, added: During the summers we teach classes, but this year we didnt have class. So, I didnt get to teach over the summer. I was thinking of going back to Chile. It was complicated because I did stay, but I didnt work, [so] I didnt get any money. He referred to a wave of strikes and protest movements across the Americas, noting, There are strikes going on everywhere. In Chile, weve had the largest upheavals in 40 years. Since the dictatorship. Columbia graduate students on the picket line (WSWS Media) Isabella, an undergraduate student at Columbia who supports the striking graduate workers, said: There was a strike last year too when we were sent home from COVID since they told every grad student they needed to go back home to many different countries that werent allowing travel. A lot of grad students with visas cant stop working because their visas will be taken, but in the one class with the TA the format of the entire lecture has been changed so that the professor actually does all the work. Despite an almost complete media blackout, the strike is being followed and supported by graduate and other workers across the country. Daniel, a PhD physics student at Yale, told the WSWS, I support the strikers in their goals for higher wages and improved benefits. Workers need to unite to create a society where power is more horizontally distributed and cannot be acquired undemocratically through the private possession of capital. Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. In this review article the authors Yingxue Deng, Rui Huang, Songyin Huang and Menghua Xiong from South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, P. R. China and Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, P. R. China discuss how nanoparticles enable efficient delivery of antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of deep infections. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are rarely directly used to treat deep infections due to their systemic toxicity and low bioavailability. The authors summarize recent progress that researchers employed nanoparticles based delivery systems to deliver AMPs for the treatment of deep infections. Nanoparticles-based delivery systems offer a strategy to increase the therapeutic index of AMPs by preventing proteolysis, increasing the accumulation at infection sites, and reducing toxicity. Especially, the development of intelligent nanocarriers can achieve selective activation and active target in the infectious sites, thus improving the therapeutic efficacy against bacterial infection and reducing the toxicity against normal tissues. ### Article reference: Yingxue Deng, Rui Huang, Songyin Huang and Menghua Xiong, Nanoparticles Enable Efficient Delivery of Antimicrobial Peptides for the Treatment of Deep Infections. BIO Integration, 2021, https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 15212/ bioi-2021-0003 BIO Integration is fully open access journal which will allow for the rapid dissemination of multidisciplinary views driving the progress of modern medicine. As part of its mandate to help bring interesting work and knowledge from around the world to a wider audience, BIOI will actively support authors through open access publishing and through waiving author fees in its first years. Also, publication support for authors whose first language is not English will be offered in areas such as manuscript development, English language editing and artwork assistance. BIOI is now open for submissions; articles can be submitted online at: https:/ / mc04. manuscriptcentral. com/ bioi Please visit http://www. bio-integration. org to learn more about the journal. Editorial Board: https:/ / bio-integration. org/ editorial-board/ Please visit http://www. bio-integration. org to learn more about the journal. Editorial Board: https:/ / bio-integration. org/ editorial-board/ BIOI is available on the IngentaConnect platform (https:/ / www. ingentaconnect. com/ content/ cscript/ bioi ) and at the BIO Integration website (http://www. bio-integration. org ). Submissions may be made using ScholarOne (https:/ / mc04. manuscriptcentral. com/ bioi ). There are no author submission or article processing fees. Follow BIOI on Twitter @JournalBio; Facebook (https:/ / www. facebook. com/ BIO-Integration-Journal-108140854107716/ ) and LinkedIn (https:/ / www. linkedin. com/ company/ bio-integration-journal/ ). ISSN 2712-0074 eISSN 2712-0082 Keywords: Antimicrobial peptides, deep infections, drug delivery, nanoparticles. Will Biden revive LBJs strategy of bypassing reactionary state governments? Photo: Getty Images In the wake of the enactment of Joe Bidens COVID-19 relief and stimulus legislation which distributed $1.9 trillion to a wide range of individuals, businesses, and state and local governments it has not gone unnoticed that some beneficiaries are more grateful than others. In particular, some Republican state leaders are resisting the Biden administration and all its works in the bitter aftermath of the 2020 elections and the January 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C. As Ron Brownstein observes, the situation may tempt the Biden administration to bypass recalcitrant state governments and work directly with urban and suburban local governments that are Democratic-run or at least more amenable to the active role the federal government will clearly take on economic, social, and environmental challenges if the new administration has anything to say about it: Cities and their inner suburbs need an immediate lifeline from Washington to stabilize their finances after the devastation of the pandemic. But once those communities regain their balance, they could become crucial allies for Biden. By working with big metros, the president would be aligning federal policy with powerful economic, social, and electoral trends and empowering local officials overwhelmingly sympathetic to his core objectives. If Biden can forge such partnerships, he could both ignite a new wave of local innovation and solidify the Democratic Partys advantage in the fast-growing, diverse, and well-educated metro areas that have become the bedrock of its electoral coalition. Metropolitan local governments need Washington as much as Washington needs them, as Brownstein indicates. And if Biden does try to forge direct fiscal and programmatic links to cities and counties, he will be reviving a strategy deployed most prominently by Lyndon Johnson during his Great Society and War on Poverty initiatives, which worked directly with local governments and in some cases with community organizations it had created for that purpose in lieu of often-reactionary state governors, particularly in the white racist South. Although LBJ was the pioneer in establishing a direct federal-local relationship, the practice reached its apex under his successor, Richard Nixon, who embraced what he called a New Federalism to distribute money and power from Washington to state and local governments. The centerpiece of Nixons initiative was General Revenue Sharing, which distributed what was then a very high level of no-strings-attached aid, with about two-thirds going to cities and counties and one-third to states. This period led to the establishment of the Community Development Block Grant Program, which is today the largest surviving federal program with a component channeling dollars directly to local governments. By the time Ronald Reagan took office, conservative thinking about Federalism focused on devolving government responsibilities to the states, rather than sharing revenues with states and localities. GRS was a frequent target of Reagan-era budget cuts. Even before Reagan took office, Congress had knocked out the state share of the program; it was finally killed altogether in 1986. A bit later, another vestige of the era of direct federal-local assistance, the Urban Development Action Grants, bit the dust. Perhaps these setbacks for a federal-local relationship werent as definitive as they looked at the time. As Brownstein observes, Bidens first elected office was on the New Castle County Council in Delaware, and he often worked with mayors on Obama-administration economic initiatives. More important, in key areas like climate-change policy, urban and suburban governments eager to take action to promote energy efficiency and reduce reliance on automobiles may provide the only partners available to his administration. The growing political alignment of large cities and their inner suburbs makes regional policy solutions more feasible than ever with some help from Washington: What I see is a coalition of business, civic, and philanthropic leaders around the country committing to a set of national goals through local action, [Brookings Institutions Amy] Liu told me. I could imagine CEO circles with mayors in different parts of the country committing to drive those goals in those regions, and the federal government could easily align their resources to help regions meet their goals. If Biden does move in this direction, it will cut against a lot of political traditions and even constitutional arrangements. States clearly have a central role in the Founders conception of Federalism, and, technically speaking, cities and counties are creatures of state constitutions and laws. They also play a large role in the domestic governance of a country in which the central government provides few direct services outside of national defense (e.g., in the huge federal-state Medicaid program, wherein the Supreme Court famously decided states could not be forced to carry out the expansion contemplated in the Affordable Care Act). But the political logic Brownstein writes about for reviving a direct federal-local relationship is compelling, particularly when large states like Florida and Texas are governed by Republicans who would rather resign than do anything to help make the Biden presidency a success. Bidens emulating not just FDR but LBJ is a development that should not surprise anyone. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. 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Libyas arms embargo has been totally ineffective, a panel of United Nations experts said in a report Tuesday describing UN member states' violations as "extensive, blatant and with complete disregard for the sanctions measures." The 550-page report, which covered October 2019 through late January 2020, blasted several UN member states for violating the UN arms embargo that has been in place since the uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. "Their control of the entire supply chain complicates detection, disruption or interdiction ... [making] any implementation of the arms embargo more difficult, the report said. Libya is embroiled in a proxy war between two rival administrations, each backed by foreign governments that have flooded the country with arms and mercenaries. The report lists violations from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Russia, which support Gen. Khalifa Hifters self-styled Libyan National Army, and violations from Turkey and Qatar, which back the internationally recognized Government of National Accord. The report also documented violations from the Kremlin-backed private security firm Wagner Group and former Blackwater head Erik Prince, accusing them both of supporting Hifter's Libyan National Army. The six UN experts concluded that asset freezes and travel bans against designated individuals are an ineffective way to deter violations of the arms embargo. They recommended the UN Security Council consider a mandate to designate aircraft, and impose measures such as flag deregistration, a landing ban and an overflight ban across Libya. A cease-fire reached by the Libyan National Army and the Government of National Accord in October called for the withdrawal of foreign fighters, but as of December, the UN estimated at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries were still present in the North African country. Last week, the UN Security Council again called on outside actors in Libya to withdraw their forces without delay. The UN panel said Turkeys introduction of advanced military technology in the conflict ultimately turned the tide in Tripoli and helped the Government of National Accord drive Hifters forces from the city in June 2020. The report also said Hifters side had enlisted fighters from Sudan and Chad, and in 2019 was supplied aircraft by Prince, a former Navy SEAL and associate of former President Donald Trump. Prince, whose sister, Betsy Devos, was Trumps education secretary, has previously denied violating the arms embargo in Libya. The Wall Street Journal reported that the latest UN report could result in UN sanctions on Prince, including an asset freeze or travel ban. The UN report also named the Wagner Group, which the experts said acted as an effective force multiplier for Hifter, deploying between 800 and 1,200 operatives to Libya in 2019 and 2020. The shadowy Russian paramilitary group is linked to wealthy businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a US-sanctioned member of Russian President Vladimir Putins inner circle. The UN report said a significant number of Syrian fighters is further exacerbating insecurity within Libya. As many as 13,000 Syrians, including 250 minors, were enlisted to fight by the Government of National Accord and the Wagner Group, the report said. As is the case in many countries, new variants of the coronavirus are rapidly spreading in Canada. While all three of the more contagious variants first observed in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil are present in the country, the B.1.1.7 variant responsible for a dramatic surge in cases in the United Kingdom appears to be emerging as the dominant COVID-19 variant. Among the most affected provinces are Alberta with over 700 new variant cases identified as of last week, and British Columbia with more than 575 cases. It needs to be emphasized that only a fraction of the more than 130,000 COVID-19 cases identified nationwide over the past 6 weeks have been tested for the new variants. A member of the Canadian Armed Forces working at a Quebec nursing home. (Canadian Dept. of Defence) In Ontario, which leads the way with more than 1,000 identified new variant cases, they were estimated last week to be responsible for more than 40 percent of all new infections, and as of Monday 49 percent of all new infections. The same trend is happening in Quebec. While the province has so far identified only 343 cases of the variant, nearly 1,850 suspected cases are under investigation. With B.1.1.7 accounting for 15 to 20 percent of new infections, an increase in cases is expected in the coming weeks. According to new projections from Quebecs health institute (INSPQ), if further measures to restrict COVID-19 spread are not taken, the province could see its daily number of new cases rise to 4,000 by next month. The outlook in Ontario is just as bad. The provinces COVID-19 Science Table projects that daily cases will reach 5,800 in early April, driven by the new variants. In a worst-case scenario, the projection sees infections rising to 8,000 per day. Were most definitely in a third wave, commented Dr. Peter Juni, a medical professor and head of the Science Table, last Thursday. We have two pandemics going on. We have the pandemic with the old variants, old-fashioned and slow on the control, and then unfortunately we have the new variants. At the beginning of this week, the Ontario Hospitals Association tweeted that a third wave has begun and that strong adherence to public health measures is urgently needed to prevent overwhelming hospitals. Like the US last summer, Canadas second wave is likely to extend into a third wave as the countrys health care systems have yet to recover from Januarys near-deployment of the triage protocolused to determine who will and will not have access to life-saving treatment when hospitals are overwhelmed. Despite the new variants being known to be more contagious and, in all likelihood, more lethal, governments across the country have rolled back the limited measures deployed at the peak of the second wave in late December and early January, thus allowing the virus to circulate freely in the population. In Alberta, Jason Kenneys United Conservative Party government announced last week the reopening of gyms and libraries, while its counterpart in Manitoba announced relaxations regarding maximum capacity in stores and businesses. Ontario had to impose new lockdowns last week in Sudbury, Thunder Bay and the Simcoe-Muskoka district due to outbreaks related to the B.1.1.7 variant. Yet the rapid advance of this second pandemic, to use Dr. Junis words, did not prevent the Ford government from relaxing measures in seven other regions. In Quebec, the CAQ government of Premier Francois Legault has rolled back lockdown measures across the province, with only the Greater Montreal area and its environs remaining in the red zone. Yesterday, Montreals public health director, Dr. Mylene Drouin, reported that the B.1.1.7 variant has taken root in several Montreal neighbourhoods. Significantly, she also reported that there are currently 35 COVID-19 outbreaks in schools and 43 in daycares. While the Quebec government, like its counterparts across the country, has justified its insistence schools remain open amid the pandemic with the claim schools do not represent a major transmission risk, Dr. Drouin said they are serving as a crucial link in the spread of the new variants. Summarizing her remarks, the Montreal Gazette reported, Public health authorities believe variants are mainly spreading from young children who are getting infected in schools or daycares and then passing the virus on to their parents. Whatever measures remain in place in Quebec and across Canada are grossly inadequate. As the authorities projections point out, governments are doing exactly the opposite of what should be done to staunch a third wave. As it has done throughout the pandemic, the Canadian ruling class is adamantly refusing to put in place any measures that might affect the profits of big business, hence their criminal insistence on keeping open schools and workplacesthe main vectors of transmission. An especially devastating consequence of this policy was shown at Amazons Brampton Heritage Road Fulfilment Centre, where over 250 low-paid and highly exploited workers got infected before the local health authority ordered the warehouse to temporarily close, over management objections, last Friday. As scientific data and studies show, the role of schools in community transmission is no longer in question and this is even more true with the arrival of the new variants. Schools account for some 30 percent of COVID-19 cases, and there are dozens of schools with at least one case of the new variant. In Quebec, more than 20 schools had to close after the discovery of the B.1.1.7 variant, and in Ontario, just in the City of Toronto alone, more than a dozen schools have had to close. While hypocritically citing concerns about the mental health of young people to justify keeping them in school, governments claim that the disease does not represent any physical danger to them. What a lie! Many young people have been hospitalized and there have been deaths among those under 19. Moreover, as is the case with adults, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 infection on children and young people is unknown. The open school policy is part of a broader herd immunity policy, based on abandoning efforts to halt the virus spread and allowing much of the population to get infected with the purported aim of achieving long-term natural immunity. In addition to being anti-scientific and decried by health agencies such as the WHO (World Health Organization), this policy, adopted publicly or behind the scenes by the capitalist ruling elite, has caused the death of more than 2.6 million people around the world, including more than 22,000 in Canada. As evidenced by official projections, if nothing is done, Canada will in all likelihood be engulfed by a third wave, larger and potentially more lethal than the two that preceded it. This perspective is supported by scientific experts such as Raywat Deonandan, a global health epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. According to Deonandan, a third wave is mathematically inevitable because of three factors: the history of epidemics, the arrival of variants and the nature of the measures put in place. If the first two factors underline the need to act to prevent a new deadly wave on a national scale, the third one directly implicates the authorities. Their decisions over the past few weeks demonstrate that they are acting with criminal intent to prevent the implementation of the necessary measures to curb the pandemic. Unlike the corporate elite and their political hirelings, workers want to prevent a third wave and its potential consequences. According to an Ipsos poll of 3,000 people commissioned by Radio Canada, 76 percent of respondents would be willing to go through a new lockdown to limit the impact of the variants. On the vaccination front, despite the approval of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines by Health Canada in the last two weeks, provinces are running out of time to vaccinate enough people to prevent a third wave. Even though vaccination began almost three months ago, only 7 percent of Canadas population has received a first dose, and just 1.6 percent have received both doses. This vaccination fiasco is the result of the policies pursued by the Canadian establishment over decades. While Canada was among the countries with the most advanced pharmaceutical industry in the 1970s, the federal government in the 1980s privatized Connaught Laboratories in Toronto and then in the 1990s cut the budget of the Ministry of Industry by two-thirds, thereby cutting off most public investment in research and development. Companies followed the governments lead during these decades and moved their facilities elsewhere, leaving the government and the public at the mercy of the markets. More broadly, the vaccination fiasco only underscores the inability of the capitalist system to prepare for and manage major crises. Once again, millions of people are at risk not because of a lack of knowledge or scientific advances, but because of the capitalist system where everything is subordinated to private profit. Moreover, access to the vaccine has become a source of great-power competition and conflict. The major powers, led by the United States, are using their control over vaccine production to advance their geopolitical and economic interests. Canada is one of the imperialist powers blocking the temporary lifting of COVID-related patents so as to allow the production of generic vaccines in lesser developed countries, thereby placing tens of millions of lives at risk. Although time is running out, a third wave can be avoided. This requires the complete closure of schools, as well as non-essential industries and businesses, with full financial compensation for affected workers and small businesses. Billions must be invested in testing, tracing and sequencing cases, vaccinating the Canadian population and providing vaccines to people around the world. Additional billions must be invested in hospitals, which have been ravaged by decades of austerity, so they can build up surge capacity and the infrastructure to treat those who develop severe forms of COVID-19. This strategy, the only one capable of stopping the pandemic, requires the independent political mobilization of the working class. Rank-and-file safety committees, independent of the pro-capitalist unions, must be formed in education, health care and industry to demand the immediate closure of non-essential businesses and schools. These committees can appeal to and win support from working people across the country and internationally, as evidenced by the many work stoppages mounted by workers around the world to preserve human life and public health. This program of struggle must be guided by a socialist perspective, that is, the fight for a workers government which will reorganize economic life to meet the social needs of the majority, not produce profits for the few. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) - President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he will distribute another 2,334 hectares of land to agrarian reform beneficiaries. This, the president said, would translate to 1,700 certificates of land ownership award issued to over 1,500 people. He announced the plan in a speech in Tacloban City where he presided over a meeting of the anti-communist task force's national and Eastern Visayas officials. The President said giving out land to the masses, an initiative he noted has long been promoted by the local communist movement, would help quell insurgency. He said the government has so far included some 170,000 new land areas to agrarian reform, adding that his administration intends to distribute more. He also offered homes to former rebels who have surrendered, some of whom were present in the audience. "'Yung walang bahay, gawan kita ng bahay Ilan 'yan sila nag-surrender? We will build you a modest (shelter), just enough to call it a home," he said. [Translation: I will build homes for those without one. How many have surrendered? We will build you a modest (shelter), just enough to call it a home.] In 2019, the Communist Party of the Philippines called Duterte "a peddler of fake land reform," saying he only targets to transform the countryside to foreign-owned plantations or to push for his "graft-ridden, foreign-funded" infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, for those who choose to rebel against the government, the President reiterated his "shoot to kill" order to the military, should they encounter a communist carrying firearms. The President has been criticized for his pronouncements, especially as nine activists in Calabarzon were killed days after he made the same directive recently. According to Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who also serves as Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security in Eastern Visayas, the region could be the first in the country to end communist insurgency. He said the military so far has "neutralized" 71 rebels and "caused the surrender" of 2,428 in the area. READ: Official sees 'NPA-free' Eastern Visayas by 2022 On the night that Carlos Castillo was killed, he had no idea that he'd been lured into a trap, a robbery set up through social media using a 17-year-old girl as bait, authorities said. A surveillance camera partially recorded his last moments in a parking lot behind a Metairie business as one gunman stood at the front of his car and a second at the driver's-side door. Their co-conspirator, the girl whom Castillo likely believed was to be his date for the evening, had already jumped out of the vehicle and run off, according to authorities. Castillo's car rolled forward, maybe in an attempt to drive away, prompting the gunman at front of the car to shoot into the engine through the hood. That's when the other gunman, now identified as a 17-year-old boy, opened fire, shooting into Castillo's vehicle from the driver's side, according to Sgt. Donald Clogher with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. "The shot fired from the driver's side of the vehicle was determined to be the fatal shot," Clogher testified this week during a probable cause hearing held in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court for three of the seven suspects eventually arrested in the scheme. Clogher's testimony revealed a few new details about the robbery crew, most of them teens, who had successfully committed three similar holdups -- on Jan. 14, Jan. 16 and Jan. 18 -- before Castillo's murder on Jan. 22. Metairie robbery crew used teen girls to lure male victims until one holdup turned deadly: JPSO A crew made up mostly of teenagers used social media to set up robberies, targeting men who were tricked into driving to the same Metairie loc Appearing in court via video conference Tuesday were Daniel Eliu Rivera, 20, Mayki Meza Torres, 19, and Wilmer Moreno, 19. Eliu and Meza each face counts of second-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Moreno has been booked with one count of armed robbery. Clogher described Eliu as the getaway driver and the "primary conspirator" who planned the robberies with the 17-year-old girl. She is accused of reaching out to male victims and arranging meet-ups using social media apps including Snapchat and Facebook. Eliu used GPS to track the girl after she met up with the targeted victims and was in contact with her as she made her way to the selected robbery site, the rear parking lot of a medical office in the 3100 block of Houma Boulevard, authorities said. The 17-year-old girl and the 17-year-old alleged triggerman have been booked with second-degree murder and other charges, including armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, authorities said. Neither they nor a 16-year-old girl arrested in the case have been named because they are juveniles. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The seventh suspect, Jesus Rivera Martinez, 18, was extradited from New Jersey and booked March 2 with four counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, arrest records said. The plan was the same in each of robbery, Clogher testified. The girl lured male victims to the back of the business were she would get out of the vehicle and the armed male suspects would steal cash, wallets and cell phones. Moreno and the 16-year-old girl allegedly took part in a robbery that occurred on Jan. 18. She accompanied the 17-year-old girl, and both were picked up from a Metairie apartment by an unidentified victim, according to authorities. The victim, who'd brought along a male friend, drove to Houma Boulevard under the belief that one of the girls planned to buy marijuana from someone there, according to Clogher. The victim in the Jan. 18 holdup identified Moreno as one of the robbers, though Clogher called it a "non-traditional identification." The Jan. 18 victim didn't report the crime until a few days after Castillo's murder. He didn't know the names of the people who robbed him, but he'd found some of their social media accounts, according to authorities. "The victim came in. He provided social medial accounts for those individuals involved, and then we had to work additionally to obtain identities for those subjects." When Moreno was taken into custody in Metairie on Jan. 27, investigators recovered a pistol that was later linked to Castillo's killing through ballistic testing, Clogher said. During questioning, Moreno told investigators Eliu had given him the gun for protection, according to authorities. Moreno admitted to knowing about the robbery scheme, but denied taking part in any of the crimes, Clogher said. Eliu admitted that he was the getaway driver who waited nearby to pick up the 17-year-old girl and the gunmen after each robbery, according to authorities. Meza admitted taking part in the planning and the armed robbery that resulted in Castillo's death, Clogher said. Criminal Commissioner Paul Schneider ruled there was probable cause to continue holding Eliu, Meza and Moreno. He also denied a motion from Moreno to allow him to leave the state and stay with family in Mississippi once he makes bond. All three defendants and Rivera were being held Thursday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. The three juveniles suspects were being held at the Jefferson Parish juvenile detention center in Harvey. 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. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. No unusual cases or acute side effects were recorded among the people who have received the Sputnik-V vaccine in Armenia, the Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan told reporters. She said the vaccination is still carried out in small-scale, only among at-risk people and health workers. Armenia had received 2000 doses of Sputnik-V from Russia as a donation. The process of acquiring more vaccines continues. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Xbox Insiders Can Try Out Dolby Vision For Games on Xbox Series X|S This Week Biden Moots Reprisals against Russia, after Release of U.S. Intelligence Community Report March 17 , 2021 (EIRNS)Mainstream headlines over the past 24 hours screamed Russia, Russia, Russia, all over again: U.S. Intelligence Report Says Russia Attempted to Interfere in 2020 Election (CNN); Putin Targeted People Close to Trump in Bid to Influence 2020 Election, U.S. Intelligence Says (Washington Post); Russia Tried to Help Trump Win 2020 Election (EUobserver). The just-declassified Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal Elections asserts that the IC, as they like to call themselves, has determined, with high confidence, that Russian President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the U.S. On cue, President Joe Biden this morning declared to ABC News George Stephanopoulos that he believes Putin is a killer, but he will pay a price for this. What price? Youll see shortly.... Im not going to announce what Im doing, but hes going to understand that its not free, he replied. Wiser U.S. citizens will recognize this report as another example of how, since the days of Truman, we have elected U.S. governments which come and go, but so far, our British-serving military-intelligence complex continues undisturbed. This IC Assessment just released by Bidens Director of National Intelligence is the declassified version of the classified report produced on Jan. 7, 2021, under the Trump administration, by the same IC which hounded President Donald Trump for his entire administration. Furthermore, the case against Russia is pivoted around the absurd charge that Ukrainian legislator Andriy Derkach was acting as a Russian agent, when he released audiotapes in 2020 of then-VP Joe Biden muscling then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to dump Ukraines Attorney General Viktor Shokin, in order to protect the Ukrainian oil company Burisma for which Hunter Biden worked. In brief, Derkach had gone after a political opponent, Poroshenko, long before the 2020 election, on corruption inside Ukrainewhich Biden was part of. He would have had to censor himself about internal corruption in order to not interfere with the 2020 election. Yet the IC report asserts: What's 2 minutes of work time worth? Depends on who you ask. For employees of a government office in Japan, it tantamounts to a pay cut. The government employees were penalised for leaving work 2 minutes before their scheduled exit time. They were penalised with a pay cut. Funabashi City Board of Education in Chiba Prefecture announced on March 10 that several staff members were disciplined for leaving work 2 minutes early. The board found 316 cases of early departures from May 2019 to January 2021, involving seven staff members, as mentioned in a report by Japan Today. The employees explained that they left 2 minutes early to get on the earlier bus home. They said that they "wanted to go home early" and if they missed the 5:17 pm bus, then they would have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus to arrive at 5:47 pm. The counsellor, in charge of attendance management was also penalised for defrauding timecards. The timecards recorded their departure as 5:15 pm. The counsellor, along with other staff members, were in fact, leaving from work at 5:13 pm to catch the earlier bus home. The director as well as an elderly woman were issued written reprimands for leaving work early. Four others were given stern warning. As per the daily, the counsellor was penalised with a one-tenth pay cut for three months. This is not the first time such a case has taken place in Japan. In 2018, an employee of the waterworks bureau in the city of Kobe was penalised and reprimanded for leaving his desk 3 minutes before his lunch break to buy lunch. Also read: Japan appoints Minister of Loneliness to tackle suicide rates Also read: Want to go to the moon? Japan billionaire seeks crew for space trip U.S. intelligence agencies believe domestic terrorism poses an "elevated threat" to the homeland in 2021, predicting in a new joint report that social and political factors including the coronavirus pandemic and "emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol" will "almost certainly" spur domestic violent extremists to engage in further violence. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued an unclassified summary of a joint assessment of the national security threat posed by domestic violent extremism, Wednesday. The comprehensive threat assessment provided by ODNI, the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to the White House and Congress was produced at the direction of President Biden, who solicited the report in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The full classified report described by an ODNI official as a "fact-based analysis" that may inform strategy and policy development was sent to White House and Congress Tuesday, according to an ODNI official. The report arrived on the same day DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called domestic violent extremism the "greatest" and "most persistent" threat to the homeland. "Newer sociopolitical developments such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the US Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence will almost certainly spur some (domestic violent extremists) to try to engage in violence this year," reads the unclassified summary. The report separates domestic violent extremists into different groups, including racially or ethnically motivated extremists, anti-government extremists, animal rights and environmental extremists and abortion-related extremists. Intelligence agencies found that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and militia violent extremists presented the "most lethal threats." Racially motivated extremists were determined to be the most likely to instigate mass-casualty attacks against civilians, according to the unclassified summary. In contrast, the threat assessment found militia violent extremists typically target law enforcement and government personnel and facilities. Story continues White supremacists built networks of support outside the U.S. in some cases, the unclassified summary revealed, adding a "small number" have travelled abroad to "network with like-minded individuals." Social media platforms, including smaller websites and encrypted chat applications, were pinpointed as emerging tools for recruitment, planning and dissemination of materials that ultimately contribute to violent acts. The assessment also noted that "lone offenders" or "small cells" of domestic violent extremists adhering to diverse ideologies are more likely to carry out violent attacks than organizations espousing a specific ideology. Appearing before Congress Tuesday, Mayorkas warned that lone-wolf extremists expressing "loose affiliation" with ideologies of hate and extremism are "willing to execute on them in unlawful, violent and illegal ways." The full classified assessment was coordinated across the intelligence community and law enforcement, according to an ODNI official, drawing from government and non-governmental organizations, as deemed appropriate. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, underscored in a statement the "transnational element to the threat of domestic violent extremism." "The threat of white nationalism in particular has become a global phenomenon," he said. Schiff called Wednesday's assessment "a good first step" but urged intelligence agencies to publicly release additional details as mandated by Congress, including, "specific information on incidents, investigations, prosecutions, analysis, prioritization, personnel and resources." The full classified assessment was coordinated across the intelligence community and law enforcement, according to an ODNI official, drawing from government and non-governmental organizations, as deemed appropriate. Olivia Gazis contributed to this report. Eye Opener: Violent storms threaten millions of people in deep South CBSN Originals | Do We Still Need the Electoral College? DHS Secretary Mayorkas defends Biden administration's border policy as migrant numbers rise A former Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a schoolboy at a remote parish almost 50 years ago told police the teenager had the 'wrong bloke', a court has heard. Neville Joseph Creen, 80, denies indecently abusing the teenager in Mount Isa, northwest Queensland, where he served as a priest in the 1970s. Asked about the allegations in 2018, Creen told officers he had 'never, ever touched the boy', calling it a 'gross injustice' that he had been accused. 'This is repulsive,' Creen told detectives in the interview played to the Brisbane District Court on Thursday. 'I think he's got the wrong bloke. 'It could be (the victim was referring to someone else) ... Whether it was a Christian brother or one of the other priests or what, but it's definitely not me.' Neville Joseph Creen, 80, denies indecently abusing the teenager in Mount Isa, northwest Queensland, where he served as a priest in the 1970s The alleged victim, who cannot be identified, had just lost his father in a mining accident when he first met Father Creen, crown prosecutor Katrina Overell has told a Brisbane court. The alleged victim says he remembers Creen being at his home when he first learned his father would never be coming home. Creen allegedly put an arm around the teenager's shoulders before promising to see him when he started high school, according to the alleged victim. The alleged victim remembers Creen seeking him out in the schoolyard on his first day, reminding him they had met before. 'He asked (the victim) to accompany him to the chapel, and they sat on chairs in his office,' Ms Overell said. The priest put his left arm around the teen's shoulders, asked him how he was coping and told him he knew many children had lost their fathers in the mines, the alleged victim told court. After that day, the alleged victim says Creen allegedly asked several times for the boy to be sent to his office under the guise of preparing the chapel for Easter and Christmas services. They would go to the priest's office, where he allegedly rubbed the teen's thigh and groin on different occasions, the alleged victim told court. Creen pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecent and sexual abuse at the start of the two-day trial, but one count was discontinued by the prosecution on Thursda After more than 40 years since the alleged incidents, the alleged victim complained to police in 2016. Creen pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecent and sexual abuse at the start of the two-day trial, but one count was discontinued by the prosecution on Thursday. There were significant inconsistencies in the accounts provided by the alleged victim and someone seemed to be giving him information to strengthen his case, defence barrister Debra Wardle told the court in closing. She also said his accounts were not plausible, asking why the boy didn't 'just call out' or walk out the office where he alleged the incidents occurred. 'If this had been happening to you, Your Honour, you'd try and get yourself out,' Ms Wardle added. 'The instinct to protect yourself, you'd at least give it a shot.' She said the man also had a civil case against Creen which was a 'powerful motivator'. But Ms Overell said the man is credible and 'doing his best to tell the truth'. 'Any inconsistencies are attributable to the passage of time and also the number of incidents he was attempting to recall,' she added. Judge Ian Dearden will hand down the verdict in the judge-only trial on Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly plans to fly tomorrow to the United Arab Emirates for a historic first visit and meet with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed. Netanyahus office has not yet confirmed the news. Netanyahu has postponed the visit to the Emirates three times. Originally, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi was set to be the first Israeli minister to visit the Emirates, shortly after the September 2020 signing of the normalization agreement. He was invited to participate at a regional ministerial meeting there but Netanyahu halted the plan, banning any ministerial visits there or in Bahrain before he made one of his own. His office then scheduled a three-day December visit to both countries, where the prime minister was set to inaugurate Israels two new embassies. Since then, the trip has been repeatedly postponed and its agenda shortened. On Feb. 4, Netanyahus office said the expected Feb. 9 visit was delayed for the third time, citing Israels nationwide lockdown and the closure of Ben Gurion International Airport over the pandemic. Tomorrows visit will last a matter of hours and there will be no ceremonial opening of the embassy. Senior Israeli diplomat Eitan Naeh arrived to Abu Dhabi at the end of January and is serving as charge daffaires until a permanent ambassador is appointed. The offices of the embassy opened officially a few days ago. Israel is planning to establish a large embassy there, including several representatives of the Economy and Trade Ministry and a consulate in Dubai. The Israeli Embassy in Manama also started functioning a few weeks ago. There as well, the mission is headed by a charge daffaires as a permanent ambassador has not been appointed yet. According to the Israeli press, some Emirati officials are hesitant about tomorrow's visit, just 12 days before the general elections in Israel. They fear the proximity of the visit to election day could be viewed as political, as if the Emirati regime were supporting Netanyahu in his campaign. Be that as it may, it does appear that Netanyahu informed Defense Minister Benny Gantz about the upcoming visit after keeping him in the dark about previous plans. The press also said that neither Israels national carrier El Al nor the other two Israeli carriers Arkia and IsraAir were invited to operate the flight. It is unclear by what means Netanyahu will travel to Abu Dhabi. On March 2, Netanyahu met with the Emirates' first ambassador to Israel, Muhammad Mahmoud Al Khaja. The ambassador arrived to Israel for a first four-day visit to present his accreditation letter to President Reuven Rivlin. He is expected to return to Israel in the near future to stay. Warmly welcoming Al Khaja, Netanyahu said, We are changing the Middle East; we are changing the world. Upon his arrival, the ambassador opened a Twitter account from which he tweets in Arabic, English and Hebrew. It has already attracted more than 32,000 followers, including many Israelis. Manitoba is expected to receive enough weekly shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government to dole out at least 6,000 doses a day beginning next week. Manitoba is expected to receive enough weekly shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government to dole out at least 6,000 doses a day beginning next week. That doesnt include more than 60,000 doses still on hand in the province's freezers. Manitobas COVID-19 vaccine rollout As of March 17 Total doses received: 192,590 Total doses administered: 124,782 (includes doses administered by First Nations) Percentage of doses received that have been administered: 64.8 per cent Percentage of Manitobans 18 years-plus with at least one dose: 7.1 per cent click to read more As of March 17 Total doses received: 192,590 Total doses administered: 124,782 (includes doses administered by First Nations) Percentage of doses received that have been administered: 64.8 per cent Percentage of Manitobans 18 years-plus with at least one dose: 7.1 per cent On March 9, Manitoba government projected 118,205 doses would be administered over the following 28 days (average 4,222 per day) based on expected supply. Daily doses administered since March 9: March 9 2,032 March 10 2,998 March 11 2,059 March 12 2,631 March 13 2,637 March 14 1,821 March 15 2,944 March 16 3,400 Average daily doses since March 9: 2,565 Doses administered by age: 99+ 851 (0.75 per cent) 90-99 11,790 (10.4 per cent) 80-99 13,636 (12 per cent) 70-79 9,036 (eight per cent) 60-69 15,533 (13.7 per cent) 50-59 19,749 (17.4 per cent) 40-49 17,091 (15 per cent) 30-39 15,670 (13.8 per cent) 20-29 9,662 (8.5 per cent) 10-19 256 (0.23 per cent) Number of doses administered to people over 70: 34,150 (31 per cent) Number of doses administered to people under 70: 75,724 (69 per cent) source: Manitoba government COVID-19 vaccination dashboard Close Despite that, its immunization program continues to roll out at a snails pace, with less than two-thirds of vaccine supply used thus far. A week ago, Manitoba projected more than 4,000 shots/day would be given on average over the following 28 days. Since then, the daily average has been 2,565. Some days have been well below that number; on Sunday, only 1,821 vaccine doses were administered. The province argues most of its vaccine inventory has been allocated. It takes time (sometimes a week) to get doses into arms, including by focused immunization teams (which serve residents in congregate settings) and through pop-up clinics, officials say. However, time is not a luxury Manitoba has right now. A race is on to vaccinate enough high-risk people to avoid another surge in deaths and hospitalizations. With the rapid spread of more contagious variants of COVID-19 (64 combined cases of B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 in Manitoba, as of Wednesday), the urgency to ramp up vaccinations continues to intensify. That level of urgency doesnt appear to be reflected in the provinces immunization plan. Manitoba has received 192,590 doses from the federal government since mid-December 2020. Of those, 124,782 have been administered (including 11,507 doses given by First Nations). All told, 65 per cent of doses received have been administered well-below provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have used more than 80 per cent of their inventories. Provincial officials say part of the reason for the peer gap is not all doses administered by First Nations, or shots given by clinics and pharmacies, are included in the total. Those number are relatively small. First Nations doses are current as of March 11; clinics and pharmacies have only administered 1,500 shots so far. All told, 65 per cent of doses received have been administered wellbelow provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta, which have used more than 80 per cent of their inventories. Johanu Botha, co-lead of Manitobas vaccine implementation task force, claimed Wednesday the province immediately reports when new shipments arrive, whereas it takes longer to report when shots are given. However, the province received 20,500 doses of Moderna vaccine March 12, but didnt report that shipment on its online dashboard until March 16. One of the reasons Manitoba has so much stock is the government decided weeks after most provinces to delay the required second doses. The province built up inventories to ensure it had adequate supply to provide second doses 21 to 28 days after the first, even though there was strong evidence earlier this year the second jab could wait. That slowed the process. The province says it will take time to draw down those reserves. Meanwhile, officials say while focused immunization teams and pop-up sites are necessary to get vaccines to people who can't access "super sites," they have limited capacity. Also, some inventory must be maintained to keep supply flowing through those smaller distribution lines, officials argue. Other provinces, such as Saskatchewan and British Columbia, have found innovative ways of getting more vaccines into arms quicker, such as the use of drivethru clinics something that, so far, is not part of Manitobas plan. However, they had no estimates when asked how much inventory those distribution lines require. They also offered no solutions on how to increase capacity through those modes of distribution, other than by getting more supply from the federal government. Other provinces, such as Saskatchewan and British Columbia, have found innovative ways of getting more vaccines into arms quicker, such as the use of drive-thru clinics something that, so far, is not part of Manitobas plan. Every week, Manitoba continues this slow rollout is another week high-risk people can get infected with COVID-19 and suffer serious outcomes, including death. For a province with the second-highest COVID-19 deaths per capita in the country, there doesnt seem to be much urgency in this vaccine rollout. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca VICTORIA - Police officers, grocery workers, teachers and child-care staff are among more than 300,000 front-line workers being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations in the coming weeks, the British Columbia government announced Thursday. Premier John Horgan looks on during a press conference at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, March 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito VICTORIA - Police officers, grocery workers, teachers and child-care staff are among more than 300,000 front-line workers being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations in the coming weeks, the British Columbia government announced Thursday. Premier John Horgan said they will receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the province's plan to inoculate workers who are most at risk of being infected because of barriers to using personal protective equipment and passing the virus on to others in their communities. "We know this has been an extremely challenging time for front-line workers. While many of us have been able to work remotely or from home, they have gone to work day after day, day after day and they are the true heroes that we want to immunize at this time," Horgan said Thursday. The government said it expects to receive about 340,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of May and plans to administer it using a combination of community pharmacists, existing clinics and mobile clinics at some work sites. Health Minister Adrian Dix said B.C.'s age-based rollout with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is ahead of schedule and with the AstraZeneca supply arriving, the province can protect those working in specific front-line industries. Essential workers in food processing plants and the agricultural sector, for example, including temporary foreign workers employed on farms and living in shared accommodation, are already eligible for early immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine, as are those working in ski resorts such as Whistler, which has experienced ongoing outbreaks. Teri Mooring, president of the BC Teachers' Federation, said teachers, support staff and other education workers have done everything they can to make sure schools are safe, but the virus has still found its way into classrooms. "I join all of my teacher colleagues in expressing huge relief that educators across B.C. will be prioritized in April to receive a COVID-19 vaccine," Mooring said in a statement. B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police president Howard Chow thanked the government for recognizing the unpredictable work of first responders. "Police officers in the field are unable to eliminate the risk of exposure because they cannot always practise physical distancing due to the nature of their work," said Chow, who is a deputy chief constable with Vancouver police. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said specific industries and schools, for example, will be contacted by health authorities to let them know when it's their workers' turn to be vaccinated so they should not be booking appointments through the province's age-based call centres. "We're doing it based on risk in many areas," she said of the plan expected to start early next month. "We know where some of the hot spots are in the Lower Mainland. Some communities are having more challenges than others." She said the acceleration of vaccinations will make everyone safer to the point that restrictions could be lifted so young people can have small graduation ceremonies and gatherings of larger numbers of people are possible. "By the end of June, if we are able to deliver what we are looking at delivering and we're able to keep a third wave from taking off, then we can look at some of those," she said. About 10 to 12 per cent of COVID-19 cases currently include variants of concern, mostly the one first identified in the United Kingdom. Henry said the vaccines are effective for those variants, but a daily average of about 500 cases means there's a smaller margin of error when it comes to individual and group actions that could increase the number of infections. The province reported 622 new cases on Thursday, along with eight more deaths, for a total of 1,419 fatalities since the pandemic began. As restrictions are eased, gatherings of up to 50 people may resume, the same as last fall, but precautions will need to be taken to avoid close contact among those gathering inside, Henry said. "As we get more people protected and as we try, hopefully, to get transmission rates down, which means the probability that any one person will have the virus goes down, we'll be able to have larger groups again. But it'll be in a slow and phased approach so we're safe in how we're doing it." However, gatherings involving international visitors, including weddings, festivals and conferences, will be dangerous this year because vaccines are not available equally around the world, Henry said. Dr. Penny Ballem, who is leading the province's vaccination program, said B.C. residents, pharmacists and doctors will soon be able to access vaccination records online and five call centres will be closed on April 6 as one central online booking system is opened for everyone making appointments. All B.C. residents are expected to get their first dose of a vaccine by July. By Camille Bains in Vancouver. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 18, 2021. Sorry! This content is not available in your region U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, along with Senator Bill Hagerty and Congressmen Tim Burchett, Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green, Diana Harshbarger, David Kustoff and John Rose urged President Joe Biden to designate a state funeral for the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient. Only the president can bestow such an honor.The entire Tennessee Congressional delegation is urging President Biden to honor the last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipient with a state funeral:Honoring the last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipient with a state funeral would serve as a final salute to his gallantry, and to the service and sacrifice of all those who fought during WWII.A state funeral is the highest honor that can be posthumously granted to an American citizen. It is fitting then, that this distinction be bestowed upon a veteran who earned the militarys highest honor while fighting to preserve the freedom on which this nation was founded.There are only two Medal of Honor recipients from WWII that are living today:As you read this letter, only two Medal of Honor recipients from WWII are living today: U.S. Army Technical Sergeant Charles Coolidge of Tennessee, and U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Hershel Woody Williams of West Virginia.Read the full letter below:Dear Mr. President,We write today to request the designation of a state funeral for the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.Between 1941 and 1945, men and women from all walks of life and backgrounds answered the call to serve during the deadliest conflict in human history. Many Americans risked their lives in defense of freedom, but just 472 exceptional men were recognized with the Medal of Honor. Among the Greatest Generation, the actions of these few Americans earned them the highest military distinction.As you read this letter, only two Medal of Honor recipients from WWII are living today: U.S. Army Technical Sergeant Charles Coolidge of Tennessee, and U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Hershel Woody Williams of West Virginia.In 2020, the State Funeral for World War II Veterans presented Mr. Williams with the George Marshall Award, for exemplifying the sacrifice and service of the 16 million women and men who served in our Armed Forces during the Second World War. On March 19 of this year at the Medal of Honor Museum in Chattanooga, TN, the 2021 George Marshall Award will be presented to Mr. Coolidge. As these warriors continue to advance in age, we urge you to take decisive action to honor their heroism.Honoring the last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipient with a state funeral would serve as a final salute to his gallantry, and to the service and sacrifice of all those who fought during WWII. A state funeral is the highest honor that can be posthumously granted to an American citizen. It is fitting then, that this distinction be bestowed upon a veteran who earned the militarys highest honor while fighting to preserve the freedom on which this nation was founded. Myanmars ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces fresh corruption charges from the ruling junta that her lawyer said Thursday were groundless but could ensure she would never be able to return to politics. The February 1 coup that toppled Suu Kyis government has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to confront the generals, who have responded with a brutal crackdown that has left at least 200 dead. The new military regime has already issued several criminal charges against the Nobel laureate since she was detained along with her top political allies. Military broadcaster Myawady aired a video late Wednesday of a Myanmar businessman saying that he gave Suu Kyi $550,000 over several years. Maung Weik said he had donated money to senior government figures for the good of his business. Aung San Suu Kyi committed corruption and (authorities) are preparing to charge her according to anti-corruption law, an announcer said during the broadcast. Suu Kyi already faces other corruption allegations. Last week a junta spokesman said a now-detained chief minister said he gave her $600,000 as well as more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of gold bars. Those accusations are groundless, Suu Kyis lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP. Aung San Suu Kyi may have her defects but bribery and corruption are not her traits, he said. However a bribery conviction in a case against her personal character could see Suu Kyi prohibited from taking part in political activities, Zaw told AFP. A state-run newspaper also reported Thursday a charity foundation, named after Suu Kyis mother, is also under investigation for not paying enough fees on state-owned land that it uses. Night terror Soldiers and police terrorised several battle-scarred Yangon neighbourhoods overnight Wednesday to Thursday as a mobile data blockade, combined with an internet shutdown, pushed scared residents further into an information blackout. Security forces threatened to shoot residents if they did not remove the barricades that demonstrators have built across the commercial capital as they battle authorities, according to a doctor from the South Okkalapa township. They also raided homes and arrested at least 10 people, he told AFP. In neighbouring Thingangyun township, one man said he had heard continuous gunfire for 30 minutes before midnight, and said he put cotton buds in the ears of his two sons so they could fall asleep. Even going out to buy food has become a terrifying ordeal he said, with residents forced to scramble through the streets to avoid facing patrols of trigger-happy security forces. It makes me sad and furious as well its like all our dreams (of democracy) have vanished, he said. Protesters were back on the streets Thursday, with some in Yangon testing a giant slingshot to shoot projectiles, while hundreds of civil servants marched in Mandalay and students and demonstrators rallied in Myangyan. Demonstrators wore conical hats and marched with banners in the streets of Natmauk, the birthplace of Suu Kyis late father and independence hero General Aung San, while protesters also gathered at the World Heritage listed ancient city of Pyu. Bystanders caught in crossfire The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group reporting Thursday that more than 210 people have been killed so far in anti-coup protests. Sunday was the bloodiest day, with the group recording more than 70 deaths across the country. The bulk of the death toll came in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar an impoverished garment-producing township mostly housing Chinese-owned factories where the junta later imposed martial law. Five other townships were also placed under martial law by Monday, putting nearly two million of Yangons 5.5 million residents under direct military control. Any arrests made there will be tried in military courts. The junta has justified the coup by claiming electoral fraud in the November 2020 elections that Suu Kyis party won in a landslide. Crimes against humanity In Geneva, UN Human Rights experts said that states should consider using the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute people in Myanmar responsible for acts that may amount to crimes against humanity. Since February 1 more than 2,400 people have been detained and the whereabouts of hundreds are unknown, experts with the United Nations office of Human Rights Special Procedures said in a statement. The UN officials were especially outraged over a police and military raid last week on a compound housing 960 employees of Myanmar Railways and their families. Many of them were forcibly evicted at gunpoint as punishment for their participation in a nation-wide general strike, the statement read, warning that such actions constitute a gross violation of the right to adequate housing and several other human rights. Flash The Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which runs from Nairobi to the coastal city of Mombasa has boosted local economy, Philip Mainga, managing director of state-owned Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) said on Wednesday. Philip Mainga said that the 480-km railway has continued to play a positive role on the delivery of both passengers and cargo. The passenger train was inaugurated in June 2017 with one train per direction between Nairobi and Mombasa but the service has since improved to three trains in both directions. According to Mainga, from June 2017 up to the end of February, 4,356 passenger trains have moved both directions delivering some 5.2 million passengers and the service has proved popular with on time schedule train arrivals. SGR output has outstripped projections and the freight service that commenced in January 2018 has seen 7,280 trains moved, delivering 726,485 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs). He stated that the SGR operations, flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, have continued to offer employment opportunities both directly and indirectly with many qualified locals playing key roles. He said that given the resilience of and key milestones achieved by the SGR within the last three years, it remains the preferred mode of transport and will continue boosting local economy. March 18, 2021 Open Thread 2021-022 News & views ... Posted by b on March 18, 2021 at 13:06 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Astronomers see a 'space jellyfish' A radio telescope located in outback Western Australia has observed a cosmic phenomenon with a striking resemblance to a jellyfish. Published today in The Astrophysical Journal, an Australian-Italian team used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope to observe a cluster of galaxies known as Abell 2877. Lead author and PhD candidate Torrance Hodgson, from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Perth, said the team observed the cluster for 12 hours at five radio frequencies between 87.5 and 215.5 megahertz. "We looked at the data, and as we turned down the frequency, we saw a ghostly jellyfish-like structure begin to emerge," he said. "This radio jellyfish holds a world record of sorts. Whilst it's bright at regular FM radio frequencies, at 200 MHz the emission all but disappears. "No other extragalactic emission like this has been observed to disappear anywhere near so rapidly." This uniquely steep spectrum has been challenging to explain. "We've had to undertake some cosmic archaeology to understand the ancient background story of the jellyfish," said Hodgson. "Our working theory is that around 2 billion years ago, a handful of supermassive black holes from multiple galaxies spewed out powerful jets of plasma. This plasma faded, went quiet, and lay dormant. "Then quite recently, two things happened--the plasma started mixing at the same time as very gentle shock waves passed through the system. "This has briefly reignited the plasma, lighting up the jellyfish and its tentacles for us to see." The jellyfish is over a third of the Moon's diameter when observed from Earth, but can only be seen with low-frequency radio telescopes. "Most radio telescopes can't achieve observations this low due to their design or location," said Hodgson. The MWA--a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)--is located at CSIRO's Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in remote Western Australia. The site has been chosen to host the low-frequency antennas for the SKA, with construction scheduled to begin in less than a year. Professor Johnston-Hollitt, Mr Hodgson's supervisor and co-author, said the SKA will give us an unparalleled view of the low-frequency Universe. "The SKA will be thousands of times more sensitive and have much better resolution than the MWA, so there may be many other mysterious radio jellyfish waiting to be discovered once it's operational. "We're about to build an instrument to make a high resolution, fast frame-rate movie of the evolving radio Universe. It will show us from the first stars and galaxies through to the present day," she said. "Discoveries like the jellyfish only hint at what's to come, it's an exciting time for anyone seeking answers to fundamental questions about the cosmos." ### MORE INFORMATION ICRAR The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia with support and funding from the State Government of Western Australia. MURCHISON WIDEFIELD ARRAY The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low-frequency radio telescope and is the first of four Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursors to be completed. A consortium of partner institutions from seven countries (Australia, USA, India, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and China) financed the development, construction, commissioning, and operations of the facility. The MWA consortium is led by Curtin University. Publication: 'Ultra-Steep Spectrum Radio Jellyfish Uncovered in Abell 2877', published in The Astrophysical Journal on March 17th, 2021. Multimedia: icrar. org/ jellyfish Available from http://www. Contacts: Prof. Melanie Johnston-Hollitt (ICRAR / Curtin University) Ph: +61 400 951 815 E: Melanie.Johnston-Hollitt@curtin.edu.au Pete Wheeler (Media Contact, ICRAR) Ph: +61 423 982 018 E: Pete.Wheeler@icrar.org Vanessa Beasley (Media Contact, Curtin University) Ph: +61 9266 1811 E: Vanessa.Beasley@curitn.edu.au This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) Committee on the Review of the 2019 General Elections has recommended that the party should allow all aspirants from all parts of the country to contest for its 2023 presidential ticket. The committee, which submitted its report to the leadership of the party on Wednesday, said though many people think special consideration should be given to the North East and South East geo-political zones for the sake of fairness and equity; merit, rather than zonal consideration, should be adopted in the choice of the partys presidential flag bearer. It said the two zones have had the shortest stints at the Presidency. The committee was headed by the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed. Its members were the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, former senator, Stella Omu and Emmanuel Agbo, who served as secretary. The committees recommendation, if adopted, would dash the hope of some of the members of the opposition party who had canvassed the zoning of the presidency exclusively to the south. Last year, the governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, dumped the PDP for the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), because, according to him, the party had no plan to zone the position to the South East. In line with certain unwritten conventions of the nations history, many people think that for fairness and equity, the North-East and South-East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency should be given special consideration in choosing the presidential flag bearer of the party for the 2023 elections, Mr Mohammed said. While we admit that this is a strong argument, we should not lose sight of the fact that Nigeria is endowed with many capable and very experienced leaders in every part of the country. Moreover, the exigencies of the moment demand that nothing should be compromised in choosing the leader with the attributes to disentangle the country from the present quagmire. Therefore, we think that every Nigerian from every part of the country should be given the opportunity to choose the best candidate through a credible primary election, as a way of institutionalising a merit-based leadership recruitment process for the country. While recalling the recent #EndSARS protests organised by some youth in the country, the committee recommended that the PDP should set aside a certain percentage of elective and appointive positions should be reserved for youth and women. It noted that the protests were a testimony that a new generation of young, bold, ambitious and detribalised Nigerians had taken the centre-stage, warning that it would be risky to ignore them. Mr Mohammed said, Cognisant of the generational and gender shifts all over the globe and the emergence of a new generation of Nigerians who are not held down by religion, ethnicity or such other primordial considerations, but who are determined to mainstream the country into global best practices, the party should set aside a certain percentage of elective and appointive offices for the youth and women. The committee asked the party to promote internal democracy and discourage god-fatherism in the choice of candidates, in order to allow the will of the people to prevail. It also asked the party to advocate for genuine restructuring of the polity that fosters decentralisation, engenders national unity, guarantees security of lives and properties of all Nigerians no matter where they reside in the country and which promotes economic prosperity and the overall well-being of all our people. Receiving the report of the committee, the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said the party would set up an implementation committee soon. Relying on the recommendations of this report, the NWC will work with think tank(s), consultants and all critical stakeholders of our great party to enhance the new PDP narratives that will help address the yawning absence of leadership in the country. We will continue to build the party along the line of the recommendations with a view to cultivating a wide support base with utmost urgency towards 2023, Mr Secondus said. ADVERTISEMENT I have no doubt in my mind that your report will form the bedrock of our partys plan ahead of the 2023 general elections. The NWC is going to study and analyse your report meticulously and come up with a position that will be beneficial to the party. But we need to warn that the only thing keeping this country alive today is the fact that APC will be history by 2023. They are aware of this reality and they are trying to use their usual propaganda to create a different image of themselves but Nigeria knows better and cannot be fooled again. Curfew in Ahmedabad extended till 6am on May 21; Night curfew to continue in 36 cities for another 3 days UP: 17-year-old dies after alleged thrashing by police for violating corona curfew; constable suspended Night curfew announced in Sikkim India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Gnagtok, Mar 28: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday announced that night curfew will be imposed in the state from tonight in the wake of a spurt in COVID-19 cases. In addition to the night curfew to be imposed after 10 pm, it has been decided to close restaurants, bars, discos, pubs and gyms at 10 pm throughout the state, Tamang said in a social media post. Vehicles too will be barred from plying in the state after 10.30 pm, Tamang said. Madhya Pradesh: Night curfew in Indore, Bhopal city areas from March 17 The chief minister also appealed to the people of Sikkim to regularly wear masks and continue to follow social distancing norms as per COVID-19 protocol. He issued the instructions in the social media soon after attending the video conference OF Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the chief ministers to review the situation arising out of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases across the country. Anjelina Jolie makes shocking accusations against Brad Pitt| Oneindia News 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. Papua New Guinea will shutter schools, limit non-essential movement and make mask-wearing mandatory, the country's pandemic controller told AFP Thursday, in a bid to stem a Covid-19 surge that has pushed the fragile health system to the brink of collapse Port Moresby, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :Papua New Guinea will shutter schools, limit non-essential movement and make mask-wearing mandatory, the country's pandemic controller told AFP Thursday, in a bid to stem a Covid-19 surge that has pushed the fragile health system to the brink of collapse. "All the schools in the country will shut down at the end of this week following a sharp increase" in cases, Pandemic Controller David Manning said, as part of a month-long strategy of "aggressive interventions". In the capital Port Moresby, people will be asked not to leave home except for "medical, employment and business purposes" and shops will have to close by 8pm. Provincial lockdowns could also be introduced. On Tuesday, the country reported a record 128 new cases and experts fear widespread transmission, as testing levels remain low in the country of nine million. There are ominous signs the surge has already overwhelmed the country's perennially strained health sector. "Just 100 additional patients that need moderate-to-severe care will collapse the health system in Port Moresby," said Matt Cannon of the St John Ambulance, which is helping set up an emergency Covid-19 facility in the capital. "There is also a severe shortage of doctors and nurses," he added, noting that there are fewer than 1,000 doctors in the entire country. Doctors told AFP on Thursday that several major facilities had been forced to close or reduce capacity because staff had tested positive for the virus. Port Moresby General Hospital CEO Paki Molumi said around 70 percent of staff had tested positive while Gerehu Hospital, the capital's second referral hospital, was closed completely. Papua New Guinea rapidly shut its international borders at the beginning of the pandemic, limiting infections to just a few hundred and dodging the worst of the global crisis -- until now. All the provinces of the impoverished South Pacific nation are also "currently experiencing Covid-19 surges," Manning said. - Outside help - Health minister Jelta Wong told AFP on Wednesday the country is braced for a further "spike" in the next two weeks, after a string of well attended memorial services for "father of the nation" former prime minister Michael Somare. To staunch the crisis, Wong called on drug-maker AstraZeneca to urgently divert one million vaccine doses bought by Australia, a request supported by Canberra. The first deliveries of 8,000 vaccines for frontline workers are expected to arrive from Australia on Monday. Papua New Guinea's rough terrain of high mountain valleys, dense jungles and a lack of infrastructure make gauging the scale of the emergency difficult. But Australia's chief medical officer Paul Kelly said there were reports hospitals in the capital Port Moresby were detecting the virus in about half of new patient admissions. "Half of women who are coming in due to pregnancy are positive. We're seeing a large number of healthcare workers on the front lines in Papua New Guinea now coming down with Covid-19," he said Wednesday. The vast Ok Tedi mine in the north of the country on Thursday announced it was closing operations for two weeks in response to the outbreak. The copper and gold mine sits in the remote highlands far from the capital, employs thousands of people and accounts for around seven percent of the country's GDP, according to company figures. New Delhi, March 18 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be in Assam for two days beginning Friday. He will be in Dibrugarh ahead of the first phase of the Assembly elections in the state. On Friday Rahul Gandhi will interact with college students at Lahoal, Dibrugarh, then he will go to a tea estate workers rally at Dinjoy in Panitola Block, Dibrugarh. He will be addressing a public meeting at Town Field, Tinsukia. After him his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is scheduled to visit the state for campaigning. Both of them had visited Assam earlier also. The Congress, which ruled the state for 15 years before losing power in 2016 to the BJP, is hoping for a comeback on the back of a multi-party alliance. The Congress has formed a Grand Alliance in Assam consisting of the AIUDF, Bodoland People's Front, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), the Anchalik Gana Morcha and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. It was formed to fight the upcoming election for the 126-member Assembly against the BJP-led NDA. Polling will take place in three phases -- March 27, April 1 and April 6. Counting of votes will be taken up on May 2. Advertisement Nicola Sturgeon is facing fresh calls to quit after an inquiry sensationally concluded she misled the Scottish Parliament over her handling of sexual harassment claims against Alex Salmond. A committee of MSPs said the First Minister's 'inaccurate' evidence to them amounted to a 'potential breach of the ministerial code', which is generally considered a resignation offence. Ms Sturgeon last night stuck by her testimony to Holyrood's Salmond Inquiry, instead accusing opposition committee members of playing politics and lashing out at the 'partisan leaking' of the report before publication. Sections from the bombshell report leaked two weeks after Ms Sturgeon gave eight hours of evidence about her role in the Scottish Government's botched investigation into Mr Salmond in 2018. Ms Sturgeon had insisted she did not offer to intervene in the complaints process against Mr Salmond during a meeting with him on April 2, 2018. Yet by a slim majority verdict of 5-4, the committee, which voted down party lines, said that this was in 'fundamental contradiction' to testimony from Mr Salmond. They say Mr Salmond's account was corroborated by his legal adviser, Duncan Hamilton QC, who told the inquiry that Ms Sturgeon said: 'If it comes to it, I will intervene.' The report concludes: 'Her [Ms Sturgeon's] written evidence is, therefore, an inaccurate account of what happened and she has misled the committee on this matter. This is a potential breach of the ministerial code'. Stepping up his calls for her resignation, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: 'We cannot set a precedent that a First Minister of Scotland can mislead the Scottish Parliament and get away with it. 'We have to trust that the First Minister will be truthful. We no longer can.' Nicola Sturgeon (pictured during FMQs on Thursday) misled the Scottish Parliament over her handling of harassment claims against Alex Salmond, an inquiry has concluded A successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the investigation being ruled unlawful and 'tainted by apparent bias', with a 512,250 payout being awarded to him for legal fees SNP MSPs make up almost half of committee investigating Sturgeon SNP: Linda Fabiani (convener), Alasdair Allen, Stuart McMillan, Maureen Watt Conservative: Margaret Mitchell (deputy convener), Murdo Fraser Labour: Jackie Baillie Liberal Democrat: Alex Cole-Hamilton Green: Alison Johnstone Advertisement MSPs did not go as far as to say Ms Sturgeon 'knowingly' broke the code, for which ministers are expected to resign, but the findings will put immense pressure on her position. Arriving at her home following the report's leak, Ms Sturgeon said she stood by her eight hours of testimony. She said: 'What's been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up about me before I uttered a single word of evidence - their public comments make that clear. 'So this partisan leak tonight before they've finalised the report is not that surprising.' SNP MSPs account for almost half of the nine-strong committee. They are four in number, while the Conservatives have two, and Labour, the Lib Dems, and Greens just one, broadly reflecting the total number of Holyrood MSPs. Ms Sturgeon submitted written evidence to the Holyrood Inquiry as well as a gruelling eight-hour oral testimony earlier this month. The Holyrood Inquiry was tasked with investigating the Scottish Government's bungled handling of sexual harassment complaints made against the former first minister. A successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the investigation being ruled unlawful and 'tainted by apparent bias', with a 512,250 payout being awarded to him for legal fees. Mr Salmond was also later acquitted of 13 charges following a criminal trial. Ms Sturgeon is also awaiting a report from James Hamilton QC, who will rule specifically on whether she broke the ministerial code. Critics accuse her of breaking the code by misleading Parliament on when she first learnt of allegations against Mr Salmond. Ms Sturgeon previously claimed to have learnt about the allegations when Mr Salmond informed her at her home on April 2, 2018. It later emerged she had had a meeting with Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, on March 29 in her office. Ms Sturgeon claimed to have 'forgot' this meeting and later explained she thought they were talking about harassment in 'general terms'. She is also accused of failing to record crucial meetings, and pursuing the case against Mr Salmond despite lawyers telling her to drop it. Ms Sturgeon gave evidence for eight hours about the Scottish Government's botched investigation into Mr Salmond in 2018 Ruth Davidson today also accused Ms Sturgeon of attempting a 'cover-up' after new evidence emerged of warnings it could look 'shifty' if information continued to be withheld during Mr Salmond's legal challenge Allegations, discussions, denials and a 'forgotten' key meeting between Sturgeon and Salmond November 2017: Allegations regarding Alex Salmond's behaviour are raised with the SNP by Sky News. Nicola Sturgeon said she spoke to him about this and he 'denied it'. No further action was taken. March 29, 2018: Ms Sturgeon meets Geoff Aberdein - Mr Salmon's chief of staff - in her Scottish parliament office where she has admitted they discussed the possibility of a meeting with Mr Salmond. Ms Sturgeon after initially forgetting about this meeting says there was 'the suggestion that the matter might relate to allegations of a sexual nature'. April 2, 2018: Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond meet at the First Minister's home. According to Ms Sturgeon, this is the first time she heard of the complaints made against him. Despite this, she has insisted that the matters discussed were party business. No minutes were taken at the meeting. What she previously said: On January 8, 2019, Ms Sturgeon tells the Scottish Parliament she 'first heard' about sexual harassment allegations against Mr Salmond on April 2. In 2018, Andrew Marr asked Ms Sturgeon: 'Had you heard any stories about him before it broke in the press?' She responded: 'Obviously, absolutely not. Until, well I've said previously Alex Salmond informed me about these complaints in April, that was the first I had known.' And what she later said : In 2020, giving written evidence to the Holyrood into her government's handling of complaints against Mr Salmond, she said she 'forgot' about the March 29 meeting until 'late January/early February' 2019. She wrote: 'From what I recall, the discussion covered the fact that Alex Salmond wanted to see me urgently about a serious matter, and I think it did cover the suggestion that the matter might relate to allegations of a sexual nature.' September 14, 2018: A judicial review is launched after complaints by Mr Salmond over the fairness with how the claims against him were handled. January 8, 2019: The Scottish government conceded defeat in the judicial review a week before it was due to launch. Mr Salmond wins 500,000 in legal fees. The court ruled the probe into Mr Salmond had been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias. January 2019: Ms Sturgeon tells MSPs that Mr Salmond first told her about a probe into him on April 2. March 23, 2020: Alex Salmond is cleared of all sexual assault charges and his supporters demanded a full inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of the scandal. October 7, 2020: Ms Sturgeon claims she 'forgot' about March 29, 2018, meeting with Mr Aberdein. January 24, 2021: Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, Ms Sturgeon denies misleading the Scottish Parliament after 'forgetting' to tell MSPs about her meeting with Mr Salmond's aide on March 29, 2018. February 2021: The High Court in Edinburgh rules Mr Salmond's evidence claiming his former chief of staff met with Ms Sturgeon on March 28, 2018, to discuss sexual assault allegations against the former first minister can be released. Advertisement Pressure has been mounting on Ms Sturgeon in the wake of her testimony before the inquiry. This week Tory MP David Davis used parliamentary privilege to reveal explosive messages which suggest Ms Sturgeon's chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, was 'interfering' in the complaints process over the Salmond case. According to Mr Davis, the messages disclosed by a whistleblower 'demands serious investigation'. The message is alleged to have been sent by Judith Mackinnon to the Government's communications director on February 6 2018, almost two months before the First Minister claims to have first known about the investigation of her predecessor. Ruth Davidson today also accused Ms Sturgeon of attempting a 'cover-up' after new evidence emerged of warnings it could look 'shifty' if information continued to be withheld during Mr Salmond's legal challenge. The Tories' Holyrood leader asked Ms Sturgeon at First Minister's Questions about an email exchange in which the Government was told not disclosing ultimately-damning evidence of prior contact could be 'portrayed as a failed attempt at a cover-up'. According to the note released this week by the Government, external counsel argued it would be 'better, more credible and less shifty-looking' to adjust its defence against Mr Salmond's legal challenge over the Government's handling of sexual harassment complaints made against him. The First Minister has so far refused to preempt speculation of her future and said her priority is dealing with Covid. In his testimony, Mr Salmond - once a mentor and close friend of Miss Sturgeon - accused his successor and senior SNP figures of orchestrating a concerted plot to bring him down. Miss Sturgeon has denied this and insisted she was never out to 'get' Mr Salmond. She told MSPs at the inquiry: 'I feel I may rebut the absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond. That claim is not based in any fact.' 'Alex Salmond was one of the the closest people to me in my life - I would never have wanted to get Alex Salmond. I had no motive intention or desire to get Alex.' The row at the heart of the SNP has reached a crescendo with just months to go before crucial Holyrood elections. Ms Sturgeon is hoping to win a majority to give her a mandate to demand another independence referendum. But while recent polling shows the SNP clearly out in front, the odds of her forming a majority government hang in the balance. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: 'The Committee will publish its findings in the coming days and we will wait for that report. But we have already detailed that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament and for that, she must resign. All we're waiting for is confirmation.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: 'I am not going to prejudge the outcome of the committee report and we await its findings, but if it does conclude that the First Minister has misled Parliament and potentially breached the ministerial code then that is incredibly serious.' A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said: 'The First Minister told the truth to the committee in eight hours of evidence, and stands by that evidence. 'It is clear from past public statements that opposition members of this committee had prejudged the First Minister at the outset of the inquiry and before hearing a word of her evidence, so this partisan and selective briefing - before the committee has actually published its final report - is hardly surprising. 'The question of the First Minister's adherence to the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton and we expect to receive and publish his report soon.' A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said the committee is still considering its report. It is expected to be published in the coming days. Blow by blow, how Nicola Sturgeon's eight-hour evidence before the Salmond inquiry unfolded Earlier this month, Nicola Sturgeon faced eight hours of brutal testimony before the committee investigating the Scottish Government's botched handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond. A lively session at Holyrood saw the First Minister fend off questions from MSPs with varying degrees of success. Here, MailOnline looks back on the key flashpoints from the hearing in the wake of the inquiry concluding she misled Parliament. Sturgeon dismisses Salmond's claim of a plot Ms Sturgeon used her opening statement to rubbish Mr Salmond's claims of a concerted conspiracy to bring him down and remove him from public life. She rubbished the 'absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond'. She said 'that claim is not based in any fact' and she had 'no motive, intention or desire' to 'get' her predecessor. The inquiry into Mr Salmond was launched after a number of women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment. Sturgeon fights for her career: Key quotes at the Holyrood inquiry On Alex Salmond's claims of a conspiracy to bring him down: 'I feel I may rebut the absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond. That claim is not based in any fact.' 'Alex Salmond was one of the the closest people to me in my life - I would never have wanted to get Alex Salmond. I had no motive intention or desire to get Alex .' On Alex Salmond's inappropriate behaviour: 'That he was acquitted by a jury of criminal conduct is beyond question. But I know, just from what he told me, that his behaviour was not always appropriate. 'And yet across six hours of testimony, there was not a single word of regret, reflection or a simple acknowledgment of that. I can only hope in private the reality might be different.' On the meeting at her home on March 29, 2018: The meeting 'did indicate a harassment-type issue had arisen, but my recollection is he [Salmond's chief of staff] did so in general terms.' On the meeting at her home on April 2, 2018: 'It was the detail of the complaints under the procedure that I was given on April 2 that was significant and indeed shocking'. On Mr Salmond telling her about the allegations against him: 'A moment in my life that I will never forget' On the prospect of allegations concerning Mr Salmond being made public: 'The thought of this becoming public, and I would have to comment on it, horrified me. Absolutely horrified me. It made me feel physically sick.' On the handling of complaints against Mr Salmond 'I am deeply regretful, deeply angry and will always feel incredibly bad for, principally, the two women who were let down, and the wider implications in terms of the cost to the taxpayer.' On claims the Scottish Goverment 'delayed, obstructed, obfuscated' the progress of the Holyrood Inquiry: 'I would not accept the characterisation.' On serving as deputy first minister under Mr Salmond 'He was a tough guy to work for. If he was displeased with you, you knew about it.' On a member of her staff leaking the name of one of the complainants to Mr Salmond's former chief of staff. 'I am not accepting that that happened, therefore I am clearly not accepting that was authorised' Advertisement Ms Sturgeon told MSPs the idea that those involved were 'concocting' allegations was false, and they came forward of 'their own free will'. But a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the investigation being ruled unlawful and 'tainted by apparent bias', with a 512,250 payout being awarded to him for legal fees. Mr Salmond was later acquitted of 13 charges following a criminal trial. The Holyrood Inquiry instead puts the spotlight on Ms Sturgeon and her Government's handling of the harassment complaints. Indeed, at points the committee convener ticked off Ms Sturgeon for shifting the focus on to Mr Salmond, saying: 'He's not under trial, your actions are.' MSPs demand Sturgeon provides critical evidence Ms Sturgeon came under mounting pressure to produce evidence relating to the investigation into Mr Salmond. Labour's Jackie Baillie launched a blistering take-down of her failure to provide critical records of meetings and asked why no senior Government figures had resigned for the botched 2018 investigation into Mr Salmond. Ms Sturgeon has also been accused of a cover-up by Scottish Tories, who are forcing a vote of no confidence over claims she broke the ministerial code by misleading Parliament. Ms Baillie said: 'I don't think I have felt quite so frustrated in my 22 years of being on parliamentary committees as with this one,' she said. 'We have waited for information from the Scottish Government, the stuff we have received has been partial and late. 'The legal advice has taken two votes in Parliament and a motion of no confidence in John Swinney before we saw it last night at six o'clock. And there is information missing.' Ms Baillie added: 'We have waited till the 11th hour for the legal advice, we get partial legal advice.' She asked Ms Sturgeon: 'Do you understand the frustration of the committee? Do you understand that it looks as though the Government doesn't want to give us critical information?' Committee deputy convener also said Margaret Mitchell said that that it had 'faced delay, obstruction, obfuscation' from the Government in its requests for evidence, and said some documents remained outstanding. Ms Sturgeon replied: 'I would not accept the characterisation.' Sturgeon says probe into Salmond 'right thing to do' The First Minister said she 'deeply regretted' how the investigation into Mr Salmond was handled but stood by the decision that a probe was necessary. She added that the complaint procedures used to investigate Mr Salmond were drawn up in late 2017, in the wake of the MeToo movement, and were drafted by civil servants, not her. She said: 'The Scottish Government despite the mistake it undoubtedly made, tried to do the right thing. 'As First Minister I refused to let the age old pattern of allowing a powerful man to use his status and connections to get what he wants.' But she added: 'That is not the same thing as saying I wanted this to be in the public domain. 'The thought of this becoming public, and I would have to comment on it, horrified me. Absolutely horrified me. It made me feel physically sick. 'I would have been very relieved if it had never come out into the public domain. 'I had nothing to gain from it and only a lot of pain and grief associated with it.' Sturgeon hits back at claims she broke ministerial code The Scottish Conservative group in Holyrood accuses the First Minister of breaking the ministerial code on three counts. First, she misled Parliament on when she first learned of the allegations; she previously claimed April 2, but Mr Salmond says March 29. Second, Ms Sturgeon failed to record the meetings she had with Mr Salmond concerning the allegations. Third, Ms Sturgeon pressed ahead with the investigation against Mr Salmond despite being warned by her lawyers they would lose the case. Ms Sturgeon said that she was 'relieved' to be appearing before the inquiry to lay out her side of the story. She recalled harassment claims arising on March 29 during a meeting with Mr Aberdein, but said it was spoken about in a non-specific sense - and that she only realised it was in relation to Mr Salmond during a meeting with him on April 2. Describing the April 2 meeting in her home with Mr Salmond, she said while he denied the complaints against him he gave his account of the incident which 'he said he had apologised for at the time'. Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: 'What he described constituted in my view deeply inappropriate behaviour on his part, perhaps a reason why that moment is embedded so strongly in my mind.' She said she did not 'immediately record the April 2 meeting' as she did not want it to become public and risk 'breaching the confidentiality of the process'. She added she had no intention of intervening in the investigation process and did not intervene, saying to do so would have been an abuse of her role. Addressing the judicial review, Ms Sturgeon said there was strong prospects of defending the challenge and as late as December 11, 2018, the advice given was it was 'very clear there was no need to drop the case'. She said she followed the advice of law officers so did not breach the ministerial code, as has been claimed. Labour's Jackie Baillie launched a blistering take-down of her failure to provide critical records of meetings and asked why no senior Government figures had resigned for the botched 2018 investigation into Mr Salmond Withering assessment of Salmond's testimony In her evidence the First Minister said she felt 'sad' she had come to blows with her old political mentor, which has ripped to the heart of the SNP ahead of May's Holyrood elections. She told MSPs: 'In all the legitimate considerations of this, sometimes the human elements of this situation are lost. Alex spoke on Friday about what a nightmare the last couple of years have been for him, and I don't doubt that. 'I have thought often about the impact on him. He was someone I cared about for a long time.' However, she called into question the former first minister's character for not recognising his inappropriate behaviour during his own appearance last Friday. Ms Sturgeon said: 'I found myself searching for any sign that he recognised how difficult this has been for others too. First and foremost to the woman who believed his behaviour to be inappropriate. 'But also to those who had campaigned with him, worked with him, cared for him and considered him a friend and now stand, unfairly accused of plotting against him. 'That he was acquitted by a jury of criminal conduct is beyond question. But I know, just from what he told me, that his behaviour was not always appropriate. 'And yet across six hours of testimony, there was not a single word of regret, reflection or a simple acknowledgment of that. I can only hope in private the reality might be different.' Ms Sturgeon, 50, served for seven years as Mr Salmond's deputy before succeeding him as first minister in 2014. She told MSPs that he 'was a tough guy to work with' and on occasions told him he had crossed a line with his behaviour. Their close relationship and strive for Scottish independence over many years also manifested in a close relationship between their staff. Claims Sturgeon's staff leaked identity of complainer to Salmond's ally Ms Sturgeon said she regarded Mr Aberdein as a friend, but denied claims that one of her staffers had revealed the identity of one of the female accusers to him. Labour's Jackie Baillie pressed the First Minister on the claims and called it an 'extraordinary breach of confidentiality' and, if proven, a 'sackable offence'. But Ms Sturgeon said: 'I am not accepting that that happened, therefore I am clearly not accepting that was authorised.' The First Minister accepted this was a 'matter of contention'. She added: 'Certainly in relation to one of the complainants Alex Salmond was pretty clear he had found out through investigations of Scottish Government social media accounts he had found out who that was. 'And in relation to the other one, and this is the bit I am perhaps speculating on, it must have been the case when he got that letter, because he knew about the incident because he had apologised to the person. 'So my assumption would be that he would have known that without anybody having to tell him. And I know from what he told me he found out the identity of the other one through his own investigations.' A statement from Mr Salmond's spokesperson released as Mr Sturgeon was giving evidence said: 'Mr Salmond has lodged a formal complaint with the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government under the civil service code, on the conduct of the official who is alleged to have breached civil service rules, by disclosing the name of a complainant in the Scottish Government process.' Claims Sturgeon's staff leaked to Daily Record to bury bad press about her Further scrutiny focused on a leak to the Daily Record newspaper that that revealed details of the complaints against Mr Salmond. Ms Sturgeon said: 'I can tell you they didn't come from me, or anyone acting on my instruction or request.' And she said she had no knowledge of claims conveyed by Ms Baillie that the Daily Record was leaked the information to spike an upcoming story on Ms Sturgeon. 'That is a new part of the conspiracy I'm hearing for the first time,' Ms Sturgeon said. Ms Sturgeon was also confronted by Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell about her knowledge of 30 sexual harassment claims against five SNP ministers over the course of 10 years. Responding after Ms Mitchell described the complaints, Ms Sturgeon said: 'Forgive me, I don't know exactly what you're referring to in terms of five SNP ministers.' Maxine Waters Brings Home the Money with American Rescue Plan! Help Is on The Way! Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act. The legislation was sent to President Bidens desk and has been signed into law. The historic American Rescue Plan was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and has reached President Bidens desk and received his signature. I am so pleased that help will soon be on the way for the millions of people struggling to stay afloat during this pandemic. The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion package that I worked on with my colleagues, President Biden and Vice President Harris, that delivers for you, your family, and our community by providing direct cash payments, increased unemployment benefits, emergency rental assistance to help with back rent, support for small businesses, and so much more. The historic nature of this legislation cannot be overstated. ADVERTISEMENT To be specific, this bill provides a $1400 direct payment, expands the child tax credit from $2000 to $3000 per child and directs the Treasury Secretary to issue the credit as an advance monthly payment for some parents, and $130 billion to help safely reopen our nations schools. The bill also provides $300 of federal unemployment benefits per week until September 6. In addition to the $25 billion in emergency rental assistance I secured in the December package, as Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, I also worked extremely hard to secure $27.5 billion in additional assistance for renters and $10 billion in direct assistance to homeowners in this bill. This is going to help people remain housed until our nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides support to all, including mom-and-pop landlords who have been suffering. For all of us, this month marks a year to the date at which life drastically changed. We lost the ability to visit with many of our loved ones, social distancing measures became widespread, and many other normal parts of our lives came to a screeching halt. With this rescue package, we can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not only will your pockets directly benefit from the bill, but there is also substantial funding to help our nation rebuild. The package includes $20 billion to enable more people to get vaccinated quickly, $350 billion for state and local governments to continue important services, $7.25 billion for small businesses and nonprofits to have increased access to the paycheck protection program, and $28.66 billion for a restaurant revitalization fund. From the very beginning of this pandemic, despite Republican obstruction, Democrats have worked every single day to deliver this type of relief that assists you and helps to get our nation on a path to a speedy recovery. Along with President Biden and Vice President Harris, I made getting this type of assistance to you, my number one priority, and I will continue to advocate on behalf of your needs as we move forward. As always, let us remain vigilant and let us follow all of the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and defeat this pandemic. With President Biden having signed the bill, I look forward to relief reaching our communities soon. The Federal Communications Commission plans yet another auction of radio-frequency spectrum suitable for delivering 5G services and continues to scrutinize the security of 5G infrastructure made in China, both of which will affect how quickly 5G services are deployed. The commission says it will seek bids on licensing another 100MHz swath of RF spectrum in the 3.4GHz mid-band range, which lies close to the C-band frequencies that were auctioned off late last year, and will impose stiff build-out requirements on winning bidders in order to get 5G infrastructure up and running quickly. [D]uring the past few years the United States was slow, relative to other countries, to recognize the importance of mid-band spectrum for 5G, said acting FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. So mid-band spectrum has been the critical component that is missing, and our action here helps fix that. This is a continuation of long-standing plans to open more spectrum for 5G use, but ABI Research analyst Leo Gergs said the timing of the announcements marks a subtle shift. What the new administration has done has accelerated these plans, Gergs said. He also noted that the new spectrum is adjacent to Citizen's Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) range auctioned off last summer, some of it to enterprises. [I]t opens up new opportunities to combine that spectrum, so an enterprise could go with an operator that has some of this spectrum and then be able to combine it with CBRS resources to have even more opportunity for higher-bandwidth applications. The new 100MHz of spectrum lies between 3.45GHz and 3.55GHz and will be divided into 10 bands of 10MHz each that will be licensed for each of 4,060 FCC-defined geographic areas. By doing so, its likely biddersparticularly major carriers with deep pocketswill pick and choose which geographies they bid for. We will auction this spectrum in smaller blocks in order to encourage broader participation from smaller providers and create more opportunities to win licenses, said Rosenworcel. Speeding up local approval The FCC may also continue to work towards simplifying the deployment of 5G systems. In comparison to older wireless technology, 5G can work at higher frequencies, which means its base stations have a shorter effective range. As a result, more base stations must be deployed in order to achieve blanket coverage of the same area. That poses problems because simply upgrading existing base stations to 5G wont provide adequate service, so providers will need to seek more local permits to deploy the new technology, a potentially lengthy process. The FCC has previously sought to bar certain types of zoning challenges from cities, in order to let carriers deploy 5G infrastructure more quickly, but those those policies have been challenged in the courts. Adding more mid-band spectrum alleviates some of the need for particularly dense deployments, according to Leigh. Were not trying to hang new radios from every light post, he said, while noting that the commission is still likely to do whatever they can do to help streamline the permitting process. Addressing the digital divide The commissions action to open up more mid-band frequency to 5G could help address the digital divide that separates rural and low-income customers with less access to broadband services from those available to more affluent customers in more densely populated areas. The issue is more pressing because remote learning will remain for many students even after schools reopen. I just saw that T-Mobile expects to have 7 or 8 million home-broadband customers, presumably wireless, by 2026, said IDC research manager Jason Leigh. A lot of thats going to be in areas that are underserved. Foreign-made 5G equipment The FCC has also added two more names to the list of China-based companies whose gear is restricted from use in US public networks: China Unicom and Pacific Networks. Action against those companies began nearly a year ago, with the FCC asking each vendor to show cause as to why its access to the US market should not be curtailed. New action by the FCC signals that its concern about Chinastate ownership of those vendors have not been allayed and bring the FCC one step closer to barring them as it has two other China-based vendors, Huawei and ZTE. Leigh said the FCC is unlikely to change course on major issues in the immediate future, given the current political makeup of the commissiontwo Republicans and two Democratsthat resulted when former chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, resigned in January just before the presidential inauguration. For now, Rosenworcel is acting chair. OpenRAN The commission is seeking public comment on the adoption of open industry standards for carrier radio-access networks, an effort known as OpenRAN. Its goal is to standardize interfaces among the several devices that make up the wireless link between 5G user devices and providers core networks. This would give carriers considerably more flexibility in creating and administering the physical networks that provide 5G services because they would be able to buy the devices from multiple vendors. That would open up providers options for customizing their deployments while keeping their costs low. Since a key component of that idea is to allow more vendors into the RAN marketplace, the FCCs activity on China-made equipment could have a serious impact on the development of OpenRAN in the US. The commission is clearly interested in the possibilities and Gergs thinks its call for public comment represents a subtle shift from the commissions previous stance. Its going to be interesting to see the first FCC meeting on OpenRAN, because the tone around that is changing, he said. The messaging is becoming more positive and favorable. Its unlikely that the FCC will make an about-face on the use of certain vendors equipment in US networks, but the change in tone is encouraging, according to Gergs. 21 States Sue Biden Administration Over Revoked Keystone XL Permit A coalition of states has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration over the presidents decision to revoke a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Led by Texas and Montana, 21 states have jointly filed a lawsuit against Biden arguing that the president didnt have the authority to unilaterally change an energy policy that Congress had set when he revoked the permit on his first day in office. The lawsuit argues that only Congress has the power to regulate interstate and international commerce, including granting or rejecting permits for oil pipelines that cross an international border. Since his first day in office, President Biden has made it his mission to undo all the progress of the previous administration, with complete disregard for the Constitutional limits on his power. His decision to revoke the pipeline permit is not only unlawful but will also devastate the livelihoods of thousands of workers, their families, and their communities, Paxton said in a statement on March 17. This administration continues to tout imaginary green-energy jobs, without any recognition that their actions in the real world will make it impossible for hard-working Americans to put food on the table. The 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which was to be constructed as an extension to an existing pipeline system, was designed by TC Energy Corp. to transport approximately 830,000 barrels of oil from Canada and Montana to junctions in the middle of America and to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The permit to construct a 1.2-mile segment of the pipeline that was revoked had been approved by President Donald Trump in 2019. The oil sands pipelines construction and operation were modeled to create and sustain thousands of jobs and advance the United States energy independence. It was also designed to improve commercial relations with Canada and provide tax revenues to high-poverty areas. In his executive order signed in January, Biden said the revocation was necessary because the pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest. The United States and the world face a climate crisis, the order stated. At home, we will combat the crisis with an ambitious plan to build back better, designed to both reduce harmful emissions and create good clean-energy jobs. Our domestic efforts must go hand in hand with U.S. diplomatic engagement. Because most greenhouse gas emissions originate beyond our borders, such engagement is more necessary and urgent than ever. Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my administrations economic and climate imperatives, Biden added. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen argued that there is no perceived environmental benefit to [Bidens] actions. His attempt to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline is an empty virtue signal to his wealthy coastal elite donors. It shows Bidens contempt for rural communities in Montana and other states along the pipelines path that would benefit from and support the project, Knudsen said in a statement. Other critics have said that the ban wouldnt stop oil from being produced, and that it would be transported by rail or truck instead of through the pipeline. The states argue that Biden hadnt consulted with them before making his decision, nor did he consider the far-reaching consequences his decision would impose on Plaintiffs. The pipeline States, as well as their counties, local communities, and school districts stood to gain tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue from the construction and operation of the Keystone XL. The total estimated property tax from the Keystone XL project in the first full year of operations would be approximately $55.6 million spread across 27 counties in just three StatesMontana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, the lawsuit states (pdf). These revenues would particularly benefit poorer rural areas, providing a much-needed influx of resources to fund important public and community services. Revocation of the permit, the states continued, will cost them and their communities tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue and business and job opportunities for residents. The states are asking the federal court in Texas to declare that the Biden administration had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally when he revoked the permit and seek to block the Biden administration from enforcing its order to revoke the Keystone XL permit. The White House and Justice Department didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. The other states that have joined in the lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:17:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The Chinese delegation to attend the upcoming high-level strategic dialogue between top diplomats of China and the United States arrived in Anchorage, a city in the U.S. state of Alaska on Thursday. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 00:50:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA/LUSAKA/HARARE/KIGALI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, as well as chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday expressed their deep condolences over the death of Tanzanian President John Magufuli. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday announced a seven-day period of national mourning in honor of the late Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli. Kenyatta ordered that Kenyan flag and that of the East African Community to fly at half mast in all public buildings and Kenyan diplomatic missions abroad until sunset on the day Magufuli, who died Wednesday evening due to heart disease, will be buried. The Kenyan leader mourned Magufuli as a champion of pan-Africanism, saying Africa and the world have lost an illustrious leader, whose vision, passion, and immense leadership propelled Tanzania forward, and also steered the East African Community to closer integration and cooperation. "In the passing on of President Magufuli, I have lost a friend, a colleague, and a visionary ally; whom I worked with closely, particularly on our commitment to forging lasting bonds between Kenya and Tanzania," he said in a televised news conference in Nairobi. The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday also expressed condolences over the passing of Tanzania's President John Magufuli. "On behalf of the African Union family, the Chairperson expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the late President Magufuli, and stands in solidarity and mourning with the government and people of Tanzania during this difficult time of loss," an AU statement read. The chairperson of the AU Commission described Magufuli's sudden death as a continental loss. "Africa has lost a valiant champion of regional cooperation in the East African region and a committed Pan Africanist leader. May his soul rest in peace," the statement quoted Mahamat as saying. Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Thursday sent a message of condolences to Tanzania's Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the death of President Magufuli. The Zambian leader said he was greatly saddened by the untimely death of the Tanzanian leader and noted that the late Tanzanian president will be remembered for his immense contribution towards the growth of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) when he served as chair of the regional bloc, adding that Zambia will continue to cherish the friendship shared by the two countries. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sent a message of condolences to the family of Tanzanian President John Magufuli following his death Wednesday at the age of 61. "My deepest condolences to the family of His Excellency President John Magufuli and the people of Tanzania. Africa mourns with you. May his soul rest in peace," Mnangagwa said in a tweet Thursday. As SADC Chairperson, Magufuli supported the regional call for the unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West, Mnangagwa said. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared national mourning for late Tanzanian President John Magufuli. During the period of the national mourning, Rwanda's national flag and the flag of the East African Community on Rwandan territory will fly at half-mast until his burial, said the Office of the Prime Minister Thursday in a statement, pledging that Rwanda, which shares the border with Tanzania, will remain in solidarity with the people of Tanzania and the family of Magufuli. Earlier in the day, Kagame sent his condolences to the Tanzanian people in a tweet, saying Magufuli's contribution to Tanzania and the region "will not be forgotten." Magufuli died Wednesday in a hospital in Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania. Magufuli had been in office since 2015 and was serving his second five-year term until his death. He was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020. The Tanzanian government has announced a 14-day national mourning following the death of Magufuli, who was re-elected the president of Tanzania in October 2020. According to Tanzania's Constitution, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan shall be sworn in and serve the remainder of Magufuli's term. Enditem YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan met with Head of the Armenian Office of Asian Development Bank Paolo Spantigati on March 18. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of Tigran Avinyan, greeting the guest, Avinyan noted that the Government of Armenia greatly values the cooperation with the ADB. He thanked the Bank for supporting Armenia in the fight against the COVID-19. The Deputy PM of Armenia presented the economic response program adopted by the Government of Armenia and its priorities to restore the economic activity, ensure stability of the economic atmosphere and develop medium-term economic policy agenda. The sides discussed cooperation opportunities in the sphere of infrastructures. - It is as if China is two completely different countries, if we look at how they appear in two such different cases as Africa and the Arctic, says Christer Henrik Pursiainen. He is a professor at the Department of Technology and Security at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. According to Pursiainen, it is not just the temperature difference that separates Africa from the Arctic. It also provides a good opportunity to take a closer look at how China adapts to two completely different situations and how they use widely differing methods to gain influence. Together with professors Rasmus Gjedss Bertelsen from UiT and Chris Alden from the London School of Economics, he has published the article "The Arctic and Africa in China's Foreign Policy: How Different Are They and What Does This Tell Us?" in the journal Arctic Review on Law and Politics. Economic growth provides calm China will soon be the world's largest economy and many of the country's 1.4 billion inhabitants are experiencing a real increase when it comes to standard of living. The country's elite want to keep the Communist Party in power and to ensure inner peace and stability, they must ensure continuous economic growth. - This is much of the reason why China is increasing its global presence. To ensure the legitimacy of the Communist Party, economic growth must be maintained. China's worst nightmare is that what happened in the Soviet Union will also happen there, says Pursiainen. To ensure economic growth, China is completely dependent on international trade. They are the world's largest importer of raw materials and energy and are the world's largest trading nation. The vast majority of this trade goes by sea, and therefore it is absolutely crucial to secure and strengthen the transport of goods and services. China therefore, in 2013, started what has gradually become known as the Belt and Road Initiative. As a modern silk road, trade, and the road to becoming the world's largest superpower, will be increased through a massive investment in the development of trade routes and infrastructure across large parts of the world. - China knows very well that they will slowly but surely become the leading superpower for the next 100 years. It can only be delayed by the United States, but I think the chance of this is small. The United States has had its century, says Pursiainen. He points out that China is not in a hurry, and that they may have a different perception of time than politicians in most Western countries. - Chinese leaders are elected for life. And the Chinese look 50-100 years ahead in time and thousands of years back. They know they have been a great power - and will be again, he says. A learning state China gradually began its presence in Africa as early as the mid-1950s. At first modestly, but today China is Africa's largest trading partner, measured at $ 204 billion in 2018. Weak governance and little international control has given China great flexibility in how to position itself in Africa. - China is a learning state and they began their relations with Africa a long time ago. They gradually started investing, and today Africa is a major borrower. China has become a power factor throughout Africa and Chinese companies and migrants have established themselves across the continent in telecommunications, ports, car factories, small farms and shops, says Pursiainen. He believes that one of the reasons why China has gained so much influence and acceptance in the various African countries is that they are open about the intention not to export communism and that they do not in principle interfere in national politics. This has made it easier for heads of state to let them into their countries. Over time, large Chinese investments have led to a relationship of dependence. - It has turned into a relationship where many African countries have become dependent on Chinese support - and more specifically Chinese companies and people, says Pursiainen. Must secure own investments To ensure stability in the areas of Africa in which they operate, and to ensure trade flows and investments, China is choosing a proven method. - They use the same tactics as the United States, with the establishment of military bases, they contribute with peacekeeping forces to the UN and the African Union (AU) and they have a number of "private" security companies, which are subordinate to the Communist Party, says Pursiainen. In 2015, the Chinese established their first, and so far only, military base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. The base has about 10,000 soldiers and is closely linked to a major port project nearby. Although they claim this is primarily a logistics base and for defense against piracy in the area, it gives the Chinese authorities a significant military presence and a full overview of all ship traffic through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. - They claim they are there to help and ensure stability, but this is a way for China to become a global superpower, says Pursiainen. In addition, China has several agreements with various African countries when it comes to arms sales, military exercises and other forms of cooperation. The Arctic As China has gained a stronger voice in international politics in recent years, they have also turned their attention and interest to the Arctic and the opportunities that exist there. The motivation is the same - to ensure economic growth and influence. But the approach China chooses is completely different. While they have been able to gain a foothold due to weak states and a poorly developed system of government in Africa, the situation is quite different in the north. The Arctic is surrounded by developed countries with established laws and regulations and is an area that has far greater international attention. This means that China must seek influence by other means. - Chinese foreign policy is very adaptable and flexible. They are very good at this. China has defined itself as a near-Arctic country. Of course they are not, but still they claim that right. And what we observe is that while China follows existing rules in the Arctic, they are actively working to influence and change them to their advantage, says Pursiainen. China is doing this by engaging broadly in global organizations where they already have an important seat. This applies, for example, to the UN, where they are trying to influence the future use of the Arctic through both the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The same applies to the Arctic Council. After gaining an ad-hoc role as an observer in 2007, China worked purposefully to gain a more permanent role in the Council. Despite the fact that this was first met with skepticism from Canada, Russia and the USA, they eventually gained a permanent place as an observer in 2013. Although this does not give China an active role in the decisions made, they get to legitimately participate in the debate on the future of the Arctic. Important with laws and regulations Although China claims that through increased presence in the Arctic, they can achieve win-win situations for everyone involved, those who are researching this are divided. Some push the alarm button, some are moderate, while others predict a more positive effect of China's entry into the Arctic. While Chinese investment has to some extent been welcomed by the countries around the Arctic, many are concerned about the economic and political influence that may accompany such investments. - If we are to learn from such a comparison between two continents as different as Africa and the Arctic, then that must be that it is important to secure and maintain strong regional and national institutions, based on laws and regulations. This will counteract any negative aspects of increased Chinese involvement, says Pursiainen. He points out that it is crucial to ensure that China does not use its economic muscles to enter into agreements with countries in a vulnerable situation. This will create a dependency relationship, as seen in some African countries, where China gains too much power. - What we are trying to say is that one should be happy that China is investing, also in the Arctic. But, we must be vigilant and not let them establish their own rules, says Pursiainen. ### Nearly six months after major opposition political parties in Pakistan coalesced in a grand coalition to cleanse politics of military interference by pushing Prime Minster Imran Khan out of power, their alliance appears to be disintegrating. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the formal name of the alliance that emerged in September, has postponed its much-touted protest March on Islamabad this week after one major party refused to joined the remaining nine in resigning from the parliament, a move intended to force Khan to relinquish power and spur new elections. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had reservations over the issue of resignations and has asked for some time to consult with its central executive committee, PDM leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman told journalists late on March 16 after a daylong meeting whose deliberations trickled to the Pakistani media, where hardlines screamed of a widening rift and the PPP leader and former President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly argued against resigning from the parliament. We will be awaiting their decisions, but until then the Long March protest planned for March 26 should be considered postponed, said Rahman, leader of Islamist Jamiat Ulma-e Islam (JUI). The development exposed a deep rift among PDM leaders, whose parties recently scored some political victories when they joined forces against Khans in this months indirect Senate elections and won most of the byelections across Pakistan earlier this year. The alliance had postponed the issue of resignations in December after they reportedly accepted Zardaris push to postpone it until after the Senate vote. Rehmans JUI and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) are now unlikely to resign from the parliament or resort to street protests to oust Khan even while claiming that the countrys military rigged the 2018 parliamentary vote to propel him into power. Pakistans powerful military, however, denies interfering in the countrys politics. Has Khan Survived? Khans cabinet members gloated over the PDMs split. The PDM is a collection of political orphans, Fawad Chaudhry, Khans science and technology minister, told journalists. People who have no stake in the [current political] system are clamoring for resignations, he added. The Pakistan Peoples Party is a stakeholder in this system, Chaudhry said. The PPP heads the provincial government in the southern province of Sindh. Its leaders are challenging the election for Senate chairman, an important constitutional position that could see one of its top leaders and former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani head the upper house of the parliament. In recent weeks, the government was rattled when Khans party lost an important vote in the National Assembly. In an upset Gilani defeated his finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. The move forced Khan to seek a vote of confidence to show he still holds a majority sway in the lower house. PDMs unity has disintegrated, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted. While fighting a war for their interested, the opposition parties have fallen out with each other, he added in apparent jubilation over the rift, which is will provide a much-needed respite for Khans administration. Fighting Within Parliament PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is adamant the PDM should focus on removing Khan though a no-confidence vote. The PDMs struggle has entered the final phase as the governments majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament has been exposed, he told journalists on March 15. But the mood within the PDM is less optimistic. In late September, the movement began with great fanfare when its leaders vowed to end the state above the state, which they claimed top army generals had created by controlling the levers of power through installing Khan in a rigged vote. We cannot live in this country as slaves, Rehaman told supports days after the PDM was formally launched on September 20. In their vocal protest across Pakistan, the alliance of 10 parliamentary political parties -- many of whom are also electoral rivals -- showed a united front in promising a new era and vowing not to repeat past mistakes. Competition between the PPP and PML-N defined the 1990s and returned to Pakistani politics following Sharifs efforts to bring down the PPPs government in 2011 after U.S. Special Forces killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a garrison town near Islamabad. What Lies Ahead A key part of the rift within the PDM appears to be a demand by Zardari who asked Sharif to abandon his exile in London and return to Pakistan to lead the PDMs future agitation. The office-holders of the PML-N, its leaders, and its voters do not want to see the life of Nawaz Sharif in danger, Sharifs daughter and heir apparent Maryam Nawaz told reporters as she confirmed the conversation. The people of Pakistan, too, do not want this because we want to have a leader who is alive, she added. Most elected leaders in Pakistan were deposed by force in military coups. Some, like PPP leader and former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, were executed under what his supporters say were fabricated charges. Benazir Bhutto, his daughter and another PPP leader, was killed in a bomb blast in 2007. The high-stakes game between powerful generals and populist politicians has defined Pakistans political history for more than 70 years. In the coming days and weeks, PDM leaders will scramble to bridge their wide differences. Their only hope now seems to be that a population hard done by economic hardship and repression might spark unprecedented protests, which will once more carry them to the corridors of power. [March 18, 2021] Latin America OTT TV and Video Forecasts Report 2021-2026: Five US-based Platforms [Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO] will Account for 90% of Paying SVOD Subscriptions DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "2021 Latin America OTT TV and Video Forecasts" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Latin America will have 116 million SVOD subscriptions by 2026; up from the 53 million recorded at end-2020. Brazil will contribute 44 million to the 2026 total, followed by Mexico with 29 million. Simon Murray, Principal Analyst said: "There will be a wave of major SVOD platform launches in Latin America during 2021. Paramount+ will start in March, followed by HBO Max and Star+ in June. Discovery+ is alo expected expand in the region." Five US-based platforms [Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO] will account for 90% of the region's paying SVOD subscriptions by end-2026. The report comes in three parts: Insights: Detailed country-by-country analysis in a 71-page PDF document Outlook: Subscriber forecasts and bullet points for 19 countries in a visually-appealing 43-page PowerPoint document Forecasts: Excel workbook covering each year from 2010 to 2026 for 19 countries by household penetration, by SVOD subscribers and by OTT revenues for movies and TV episodes. As well as summary tables by country and by platform Companies Mentioned Netflix Amazon Disney+ Apply TV+ StarzPlay Shahid VIP OSN YouTube Facebook Instagram For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pars5y Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/latin-america-ott-tv-and-video-forecasts-report-2021-2026-five-us-based-platforms-netflix-amazon-prime-video-disney-apple-tv-and-hbo-will-account-for-90-of-paying-svod-subscriptions-301250211.html SOURCE Research and Markets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Correction: Despite creating a ballot committee, Decriminalize Michigan announced it does not intended to start an initiative for a ballot proposal regarding the decriminalization of naturally occurring psychedelics. Said Decriminalize Nature Michigan co-Director Myc Williams: Yes, we initially formed as a ballot committee with the state, however we have no intent to bring this issue to the ballot box. We realize it is best we work collaboratively with our leadership toward healing our veterans, elders, and those with mental health needs as one community. Magic mushrooms and other currently illegal naturally occurring psychedelics, like peyote cactus and ayahuasca, are starting down a similar path of another previously banned natural drug: marijuana. Ann Arbor decriminalized marijuana in 1972, long before it became recreationally available in the Michigan. A group named Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor last year helped convince Ann Arbor City Council to similarly decriminalize certain natural psychedelic drugs, meaning police are now instructed not to spend taxpayer money or resources on investigating possession or private production for noncommercial use. Ann Arbor joined Denver, Oakland, California, Santa Cruz, California and Washington, D.C. as cities across the nation that have decriminalized naturally occurring psychedelics sometimes referred to as entheogenic plants and fungi. Oregon voters passed a ballot measure in November that will create a program for medicinal use of psilocybin. Some of the same psychedelic supporters who lobbied Ann Arbor last year have now created a formal committee, Decriminalize Nature Michigan, that is able to collect petition signatures for a ballot proposal; however, the group said it has changed course and now plans to work with legislators to bring forward a bill that would decriminalize certain naturally occurring psychedelics. The legislation may call for prosecutors and police to discontinue prosecution and enforcement of crimes related to possession and use of the drugs. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit has supported decriminalization efforts in Ann Arbor and committed to not prosecuting crimes for use or possession. Related: Why Ann Arbor City Council decriminalized psychedelics In recent years, research conducted at credible institutions has supported beneficial aspects of various natural psychedelic drugs, especially in regard to PTSD and depression. A compound found in so-called magic mushrooms, psilocybin produces visual and auditory hallucinations and profound changes in consciousness over a few hours after ingestion, reads a Johns Hopkins Medicine analysis of recent research on the topic. In 2016, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers first reported that treatment with psilocybin under psychologically supported conditions significantly relieved existential anxiety and depression in people with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Now, the findings from the new study, published Nov. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that psilocybin may be effective in the much wider population of patients who suffer from major depression than previously appreciated. The Ann Arbor decriminalization resolution additionally cited benefits of using natural psychedelic compounds to break addiction to other drugs, such as opiates, heroin and methamphetamines, and the inalienable right to have a direct relationship to nature. The psychedelics likely to be targeted by statewide ballot measure have long histories with documented usage, usually for spiritual and religious ceremony, tracing back to the 19th century and prior. The drugs specifically targeted by prior decriminalization efforts include: psilocybin, which is found in various strains of mushrooms; mescaline, found in San Pedro and peyote cacti; ibogaine, which comes from the iboga plant, an African shrub; and dimethyltryptamine, commonly referred to as DMT, from ayahuasca tea that is made with various South American plants. All are designated schedule 1 drugs by the DEA, which by definition means they are illegal for the public to possess or consume, have no currently accepted medical use, lack of accepted safety standards for use and they have a high potential for abuse. The U.S. made all four hallucinogens illegal in the 1960s during the height of the hippie movement that embraced psychedelic drug use. There is little cumulative public data available regarding deaths and hospitalizations related to the drugs targeted for decriminalization, but they are broadly considered less harmful, due to low toxicity, than other illegal drugs, like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, and are not believed to be physically addictive. More on various types of natural psychedelics below. A vendor bags psilocybin mushrooms at a pop-up cannabis market in Los Angeles on Monday, May 6, 2019. Voters decide this week whether Denver will become the first U.S. city to decriminalize the use of psilocybin, the psychedelic substance in "magic mushrooms." (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)AP Psilocybin, found in various mushroom strains either naturally occurring or harvested, induces a hallucinogenic experience that many compare to LSD. Although medical bodies do not consider psilocybin to be an addictive substance, users can experience disturbing hallucinations, anxiety, and panic from using the drug, according to Medical News Today. Some individuals experience more unpleasant effects than hallucinations, such as fear, agitation, confusion, delirium, psychosis, and syndromes that resemble schizophrenia, requiring a trip to the emergency room. There are also reported risks associated with accidentally ingesting misidentified poisonous mushrooms. A 2016 study conducted by Johns Hopkins found a correlation between reduced anxiety and depression with use of psilocybin. Ibogaine, an African root extract administered to adolescent boys of Gabons Bwiti tribe during coming-of-age ritual initiations since the mid-1800s, has in recent years been ingested by those wishing to end addictions to opiates, including heroin, and other substances, according the 2018 psychedelic neuroscience book named Progress in Brain Research. The plant ... has shown promising anti-addictive properties in animal studies. Ibogaine is also anti-addictive in humans as the drug alleviates drug craving and impedes relapse of drug use, says the summary of a 2015 report entitled, The Anti-Addiction Drug Ibogaine and the Heart: A Delicate Relation. In recent years, alarming reports of life-threatening complications and sudden death cases, temporally associated with the administration of ibogaine, have been accumulating. These adverse reactions were hypothesised to be associated with ibogaines propensity to induce cardiac arrhythmias. A 2012 Journal of Forensic Sciences article cited 19 ibogaine-related deaths between 1990 and 2008. DMT, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, a naturally occurring or synthesized compound referred to by some as the spirit molecule, may be extracted smoked, injected or snorted, which causes a short-lived but intense high that lasts less than an hour; or ingested through ayahuasca tea for a drawn out experience lasting nearly six hours. Ayahuasca tea ceremonies and DMT have become increasingly popular in the U.S., having gained notoriety through experienced shared publicly by celebrities including Paul Simon, Jim Carrey and Joe Rogan. The DEA has attributed the most serious dangers posed by DMT to its ability to cause users to become dangerously unaware of their surroundings. Use may also increase heart rate and blood pressure, which can be dangerous for those with underlying heart conditions, and may worsen preexisting mental health conditions, according to Healthline, a health and wellness media company. Mescaline, a natural psychedelic found in San Pedro and peyote cacti, may cause illusions, hallucinations, altered perception of space and time and altered body image, according to the DEA. While overdose death is unlikely, hallucinogens like Mescaline may cause extremely unpleasant experiences and poses additional risk of serious harm because of the profound alteration of perception and mood these drugs can cause, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. More on MLive: Prosecutor wont charge for shrooms Psychonauts converge in Detroit Marijuana-infused drinks headed to Michigan Homicide detectives investigating the alleged contract killing of Nick Martin have questioned a former Rebels member and once close friend of the bikie boss. Nine News Perth reported the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was held overnight on Wednesday at the Perth Watchhouse in relation to the Perth Motorplex murder, but has not been charged. It comes as forensic officers scoured the Waikiki home of the ex-soldier accused of carrying out the suspected sniper hit for a second time this week after an intruder jumped the propertys back fence. Detectives remained tight-lipped on what the person may have been looking for. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 44 Master's in Educational Psychology Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 193 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 193 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 44 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Master's in Educational Psychology Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-educational-psychology-degree-programs/ 2021 Master's in Educational Psychology Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Adelphi University Andrews University Ball State University California State University, Sacramento California University of Pennsylvania Capella University Eastern Michigan University Edinboro University Florida State University Fort Hays State University George Mason University Georgia State University Indiana University Bloomington James Madison University Marist College National University New Jersey City University North Carolina State University Northcentral University Oklahoma State University Purdue University Global Rutgers University State University of New York, Buffalo Temple University Texas A & M University, College Station Touro University Worldwide University of Alabama University of Arizona University of California, Berkeley University of Georgia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Memphis University of Missouri University of Nevada, Las Vegas University of Nevada, Reno University of North Texas University of Northern Colorado University of Southern Maine University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley University of Virginia University of Wisconsin, Madison Walden University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. Former President Obama on Wednesday called for lawmakers to take "meaningful action" to address gun violence in the U.S., following the fatal mass shootings inside Atlanta-area massage parlors a day earlier. What he's saying: "Even as we've battled the pandemic, we've continued to neglect the longer-lasting epidemic of gun violence in America," Obama said in a series of Twitter posts. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free "Although the shooters motive is not yet clear, the identity of the victims underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end," he continued, in reference to the fact that six of the eight victims killed in the spa shootings were Asian. "Yesterday's shootings are another tragic reminder that we have far more work to do to put in place commonsense gun safety laws and root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society." For the record: Obama has called the failure to pass gun control measures the "greatest frustration of my presidency." He pushed for gun restrictions following the 2012 mass shooting at at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 26 people dead. But the measure failed in the Senate. Overhauling the nation's gun laws is a priority for Democrats and President Biden. The House last week passed a bill to expand gun background checks. But the bill isn't expected to pass in the Senate, where Republicans oppose curtailing gun rights. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Texas' record-breaking February winter storm, Winter Storm Uri, led to large power outages, store closures and a lack of heat in San Marcos. Residents were advised to not drive on the roads due to the inclement weather. McKeon, an Auburn High School alumnus, is a University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law Center graduate. With the exception of a brief period when he was a law clerk for a federal judge and a foreign policy adviser on President Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection, he has been a longtime Biden aide and adviser. He started working for then-Senator Biden after graduating from Notre Dame. He later became legislative assistant for foreign policy and defense, a position he held from 1988 to 1995. McKeon returned to Biden's Senate office in 1997. For 12 years, he was chief counsel for the Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Biden chaired in the early 2000s and again later in the decade before he was elected vice president. When Biden became vice president, McKeon joined his staff. He served as the vice president's deputy national adviser for three years before Obama announced in 2012 that he would become the executive secretary and chief of staff of the National Security Council. In 2014, McKeon was confirmed by the Senate after Obama nominated to serve as principal deputy undersecretary for policy at the Department of Defense. During the final months of Obama's term, he was the acting under secretary for policy. Homeowners on the Gold Coast fear their houses will be taken and their properties devalued by the Queensland government as part of the plan to extend the citys light rail network by widening the highway. Between 200 and 300 people received the notices, which the Department of Transport and Main Roads claims 'provide certainty about property use in this area'. Daily Mail Australia spoke with a number of residents who received the letter, which included an overhead plan showing how much of their property may be needed if the Stage 4 expansion of the rail eventually runs along Gold Coast Highway through Palm Beach and Tugun. 'Some people have been told that 15 to 40 square metres of their property might be needed but in my case, they would need 75 sq m of my front yard,' said Tugun homeowner Rosie Welk. Tugun couple Matt Plummer and Rose Welk in their front yard with children, Finley and August The possible route of the light rail extension would slice through the couple's front yard 'The Gold Coast Highway would be right at my front door if it goes ahead. Plus vehicle access to the highway would be reduced to one lane and I already struggle to get in and out of my property with two lanes.' 'It would make my front yard unusable. The real problem is that with the gentrification of the Gold Coast, if we wanted to move we'd never be able to afford anywhere else.' Ms Welk said a neighbour, who didn't wish to speak to the media, had lived in her property for 52 years and will also have part of her front yard removed under the plan. Rose Welk (right) said she fears not being to afford another property on the Gold Coast should the project devalue their current house in Tugun 'She's a little old lady with an agoraphobic daughter who doesn't go out and has everything delivered, so they are really concerned.' Ms Welk revealed that she had been invited to a meeting with the DTMR to discuss her concerns. Peter Behns has lived and worked in Palm Beach along the proposed route for 32 years and runs a denture clinic from his house. The possible route would remove 60 per cent of the carport and adjacent car park in front of his clinic, which is currently Mr Behns only parking option for clients. Peter Behns fears he will lose the parking in front of his clinic and his house will be worthless Widening the highway for the light rail would take the only parking spots Mr Behns has for clients visiting his Palm Beach denture clinic 'If this goes head Ill have no business and will struggle to sell my house,' Mr Behns said. 'I've worked for myself for nearly 40 years and this business is my superannuation. 'Where's the justice?' Mr Behns' practice caters for many elderly people, including Blue Care and Veterans' Affairs patients, who he said rely on wheelchair access to his property. 'They will have no where to park if I lose the front of my place.' Mr Behns said a nearby friend of his who runs a medical centre would lose 120 sq m of his property under the proposal. Mr Behns in the car spot he could lose, which he said is used by many of his elderly patients Mr Behns with the notice provided to him by the Department of Transport and Main Roads He said locals feel the light rail extension is unnecessary and is being fast-tracked to cater for tourists and the possible influx of international visitors if Brisbane wins the 2032 Olympic Games. 'There are plenty of buses already going past here every day and most of them are empty, ' he said. Mr Behns is currently seeking legal advice on his position. In response to outrage from residents, the DTMR posted to Facebook branding claims that the letters were resumption notices as 'scaremongering'. 'The letters are to make sure our stakeholders who are directly affected by the Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 4 know what's going on *before* we head out to consult with the broader community.' While assuring those affected that the light rail extension remained at the consultation phase, Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey told media last week, 'Sometimes it might only be a sliver of land that is required, other times it might be something larger.' 'Everyone will have the opportunity to participate in the consultation process - to ask questions and give face-to-face feedback,' said the DTMR. 'Any future project decisions will be subject to a detailed business case.' Residents' fears mirror those of the fictional Darryl Kerrigan in legendary Australian film, The Castle, Ms Welk telling 9News: 'It's the modern-day Castle and I just want to tell the Transport Minister that's he's dreaming.' An artist's render of the Palm Beach stop on the planned extension of the rail to Coolangatta The Gold Coast light rail currently runs from Helensvale at the northern end of the city to Broadbeach in the heart of its shopping precinct. Early work on construction of Stage 3, extending the line to Burleigh Heads at a cost of $709 million, has begun, with completion set for 2023. The controversial 13km Stage 4 extension is planned to link Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta via the Gold Coast Airport. The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County hosts a virtual conversation with U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko and a panel of student activists on Climate Change: Solutions from the National to Local Level, from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, moderated by Professor Anne Ernst, Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College. Tonko will discuss the actions and goals of the federal government in regard to climate change in the current administration, followed by a panel of youth activists discussing local initiatives. 2021-03-17 Maeci On 17 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, held telephone talks with his Canadian counterpart Marc Garneau. The talks centred on bilateral and multilateral cooperation, with a focus on the Italian G20 Presidency. The response to Covid-19, the Canadian initiative on arbitrary detention and EU-Canada relations were also on the agenda. Tree-lined streets in Johannesburg, South Africa Credit: Pixabay Six major emerging economiesChina, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and South Africacould collectively cut emissions by up to 96% from key urban sectors (buildings, transport, materials use, and waste) by 2050, leading to $12 trillion in economic returns based on cost savings alone, as well as delivering millions of new jobs, according to a new report published today by the Coalition for Urban Transitions. The report, Seizing the Urban Opportunity, highlights the vital role of cities as engines of national economies and livelihoods. It comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live in cities, underscoring that this is the time to rethink cities' roles and invest in their recovery. The pandemic exposed economies and communities around the world to economic, social and climate challenges, with cities and the urban poor particularly hard-hit. The report makes clear that cities cannot do this on their ownnational governments hold the key to urban transformation, given their scale, access to resources, and control over many policy realms. According to past research by the Coalition, local governments have primary responsibility for less than one-third of urban emissions reduction potential and national or other higher-tier governments have primary authority over the measures required to achieve two-thirds of the global urban emissions reduction potential. Commenting on the findings of the report, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Global Leader, Climate & Energy, WWF International and Coalition Senior Ambassador, said: "The opportunity for cities to be a meaningful part of tackling the climate crisis cannot be understated. This new report, inspired by best in class examples from six countries, shows how national governments everywhere can significantly enhance to their economic and climate goals by investing in low-carbon, resilient and inclusive cities. Ahead of COP26, this must be an urgent call to for governments to ensure cities are included in their national climate plans and long-term strategies." Across the six countries studied, implementation of the report's solutions, using currently available measures, could collectively support: Climate benefits, including cutting annual emissions from key urban sectors (buildings, transport, materials use and waste) by 8796% by 2050 beyond their initial NDC commitments under the Paris Agreement. Economic benefits including economic returns with a net present value of over $12 trillion by 2050, based on energy and material cost savings alone. Development benefits including potentially supporting millions of new jobs in 2030: 15.2 million in China, 8.2 million in India, 2.3 million in Indonesia, 4.5 million in Brazil, 650,000 in South Africa, and 500,000 in Mexico. Nick Godfrey, director of the Coalition for Urban Transitions, said: "Cities need national governments to lead the way by including them in stimulus spending and enacting national policies that make them more resilient. Looking at six major economies, we find it is possible to not only accelerate the required shift to net-zero emissions by focusing on cities, but also to drive shared prosperity." Amina J. Mohammed, U.N. deputy secretary-general, said: "National governments can work with urban leaders to unlock the enormous potential in cities and in the urbanization process. Greater national support for urban action is essential to cut carbon pollution in key sectors including energy, transport, construction and land use." Nigel Topping, high level champion for climate action COP26, said: "The run-up to COP26 in Glasgow represents a critical period for the world to put itself on track for a more prosperous and resilient future. Cities can deliver 58% of the energy-related emission reductions needed to keep the global temperature increase to 1.5C, so they are a vital piece of the climate action puzzle." Sharan Burrow, general secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, said: "National governments must prioritize sustainable urban infrastructure now to create millions of decent jobs in the near and long term as we recover from the pandemic." The report highlights opportunities in each of the six countries and offers recommendations tailored to each nation's specific context. For example: China's economic success story is built on cities, which are home to three-fifths of its population and produce 90% of GDP. While Beijing has taken major steps to build resilience and reduce air, water, and land pollution, its cities still struggle with congestion, pollution, sprawl, and severe climate impacts. Successful implementation of the report's solutions could result in an 89% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from China's cities by 2050, economic returns of $7.7 trillion by 2050, and 15.2 million new jobs in 2030. The report's recommendations include helping smaller cities become more climate resilient and putting sustainable cities at the heart of implementing the nation's recently announced 14th Five-Year Plan. Almost 58 million Indonesians live in low-lying coastal zones, 82% of them in urban or quasi-urban areas. While efforts are being made in several cities to work with local residents to manage flood risks, protect ecosystems, and build capacity for climate adaptation and mitigation, many residents still lack basic services and flood risks remain an urgent concern. Successful implementation of the report's solutions could result in a 96% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from Indonesia's cities by 2050, economic returns of $2.7 trillion by 2050, and 2.3 million new jobs in 2030. The recommendations include restoring and protecting ecosystems such as mangroves and coastal peatlands, which could both reduce land subsidence and flood risks and avoid large amounts of emissions and pollution from fires. Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics said: "By 2030 nearly a billion people will be added to the global urban populationand trillions of dollars will be invested in urban infrastructurein the decade where global CO 2 emissions must be reduced by around half for the target of holding temperature increase to 1.5C. Focusing on compact, connected, and clean citieswhere it is easier to move, breathe and work productively and greenhouse gas emissions can be far lower than in existing urban structureswill be at the heart of achieving climate ambitions and finding a new path to strong, sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth." Explore further The benefits of investing in zero-carbon cities More information: Seizing the Urban Opportunity: How national governments can recover from COVID-19, tackle the climate crisis and secure shared prosperity through cities. Seizing the Urban Opportunity: How national governments can recover from COVID-19, tackle the climate crisis and secure shared prosperity through cities. urbantransitions.global/urban- e-urban-opportunity/ Minister of mineral resources and energy Gwede Mantashe has announced preferred bidders for the governments emergency risk mitigation IPP programme. The Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) was released to the market in August 2020. The aim was to alleviate the electricity supply constraints and to reduce the extensive use of diesel-based peaking electrical generators in the medium-to-long term. Mantashe said the evaluation process has resulted in the selection of preferred bids totaling 1,845 MW. Technologies included in the governments emergency power procurement programme include 3 liquid natural gas powerships, and combinations of solar PV, wind, and batteries. The eight winning bidders announced by Mantashe are: ACWA Power Project DAO Karpowership SA Coega Karpowership SA Richards Bay Karpowership SA Saldanha Mulilo Total Coega Mulilo Total Hydra Storage Oya Energy Hybrid Facility Umoyilanga Energy These 8 projects will inject a total private sector investment amount of R45 billion to the South African economy. Around 3,800 job opportunities will be created during the 18 months construction period and a further 13,500 during the 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) term. The preferred bidders are required to reach financial close by no later than the end of July 2021 and due to the urgency to bring power online, this date is not negotiable. It is envisaged that, first power from these projects will be connected to the grid from August 2022. Powerships for South Africa Karpowership SA was the biggest winner with successful bids for its Coega, Richards Bay, and Saldanha projects. Karpowership will anchor its liquid natural gas powerships at the three coastal towns to provide ship-to-shore electricity. Karpowership South Africa is a subsidiary of Karadeniz Holding and is a registered company with local BEE partners and registered offices in South Africa. Karpowership South Africa spokesperson Patrick ODriscall previously said they can supply enough electricity to stop most load-shedding and do it at a lower cost than Eskom. ODriscall explained that they purchase second-hand cargo carrier ships and convert them into floating power ships. When a country is in need of additional electricity like South Africa they sail these powerships to the area and park them at a suitable location. The power is generated on the ship which has a grid substation which evacuates the power at the allocated voltage. A power line is then taken from the ship to a transmission tower and the transmission towers are integrated into the grid. Karadeniz powerships Powerships are constructed with special technology which can operate both on liquid fuels (HFO/RFO) as well as natural gas. With high efficiency and availability, powerships can provide uninterrupted electricity at various high voltage levels. Operation and maintenance of the powerships are also provided for by the Karadeniz Energy Group. The photos below show examples of the Karadeniz powerships. Pope Francis listens to Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (not pictured) during a mass to mark 500 years of Christianity (Photo : Tiziana Fabi/Pool via REUTERS/Files) The Vatican's directive banning the blessing of same-sex unions has sparked defiance among some priests in Europe and left bishops perplexed on how to minister to gay Catholics. Conservatives praised the ruling, issued on Monday by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but it greatly disappointed gay Catholics, who felt their Church was becoming more welcoming under Pope Francis. Advertisement "I feel vicarious shame for my Church," Johan Bonny, the Roman Catholic bishop of Antwerp, Belgium, wrote in a commentary on Wednesday in the Flemish newspaper De Standard. "I want to apologise to all those for whom this response is painful and incomprehensible... their pain for the Church is mine today ... God has never been stingy or pedantic with His blessing on people," he said. Bonny's response was among the most blunt by a bishop. Others, such as Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, pointed to the challenges the Church now faces. "It's one thing to say we can't bless same-sex unions. Well let's then commit ourselves to grappling with the question about how else we might include same-sex couples," Coleridge said on Wednesday in a webinar with the Catholic magazine The Tablet. "It's just not enough to say 'we can't, we can't'". Father James Martin, a New York Jesuit, said he feared the directive may prompt "some LGBTQ Catholics to leave the church, after years of feeling rejected and unwelcome." In Germany, more than 1,000 people, most of them priests, had by Wednesday signed a petition in which they said they would not refuse to give blessings, according to Burkhard Hose, a priest who launched an initiative calling for "pastoral disobedience". In some countries, parishes and ministers had begun blessing same-sex unions in lieu of marriage, and there had been calls for bishops to institutionalise de facto such blessings, although the practice caused alarm among conservatives. SURPRISE RULING The ruling, which the pope approved, came as a surprise to many in the 1.3 billion-member Church because he has been more conciliatory towards gay people than perhaps any other pontiff. He has held meetings with gay couples and encouraged those who want to raise their children in the Church to do so. In 2013 he made the now-famous remark "Who am I to judge" about gay people seeking God and trying to live by the Church's rules. The Catholic Church teaches homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are. Bill Donohue, president of the U.S.-based Catholic League, which backs conservative views, welcomed the ruling in a statement in which he also criticised bishops in Germany who have expressed support for the blessing of same-sex couples. "It is one thing to say all persons possess equal dignity in the eyes of God; it is quite another to say that whatever they do is acceptable to God. Human status and human behaviour are not identical," he said. Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said the disappointment of gay Catholics was "understandable," and that the Church now had to "redouble our efforts to be creative and resilient in finding ways to welcome and encourage all LGBTQ people into our family of faith." While Coleridge and Cupich, both seen as progressives, appeared to have chosen their words carefully, Tobias Schaefer, the provost of the cathedral in Worms, Germany, did not hide his outrage. "If the Church does not have the power to bless wherever people yearn for blessing, has it not abandoned its most fundamental duty? Blessings are not a way of passing a moral judgement!" Schaefer said on Facebook, adding he would disobey the directive. Khloe Kardashian has revealed doctors have informed her there is an 80% chance she will miscarry if she gets pregnant again. Speaking to sister Kim Kardashian in a new teaser for the Keeping Up With The Kardashians' season 20 premiere, the mother-of-one detailed the complications over having a second child with partner Tristan Thompson. Speaking on the show, which airs on Thursday, she revealed the shockingly high statistic while Kim, who had two of her children via surrogate after suffering her own complications, offered her advice about other ways to have children. Khloe explained that she nearly lost True, who turns three next month, yet she did not realise the complications would be 'a lingering thing'. Fearful: Khloe Kardashian has revealed doctors have informed her there is an 80% chance she will miscarry if she gets pregnant again Khloe sought advice from Kim on what her 'next steps' should be following her sister's own rocky path through her pregnancies. Kim, who has recently filed for divorce from her husband Kanye West, carried two of her children, North, seven, and Saint, five, and had a gestational carrier for her youngest two kids, Chicago, three, and Psalm, 22 months. On her journey so far, Khloe explained: 'I have to wait until the mixing process is done before I know how many embryos I have... 'But I spoke to Dr. A and she was just a little concerned about like, I did a check and blood panels and all this stuff, and she just said that I would be a high-risk carrier for a pregnancy... Worries: Speaking to sister Kim Kardashian in a new teaser for the Keeping Up With The Kardashians ' season 20 premiere, the mother-of-one detailed the complications over having a second child with partner Tristan Thompson She listens: Her sister Kim, 40, takes in the news as she proves to be a good listener Way back when: Khloe is pictured while she was expecting True 'I'm not going to get into specifics on camera, but they said it's an 80 something percent chance that I'll miscarry. I almost miscarried with True at the beginning, but I didn't know that was a lingering thing.' Khloe went on: '[Doctor A] said she would be afraid of if embryos are so hard to create, she would feel terrible putting one in without warning me that most likely I wouldn't be able to carry.' In her VT, she then said: 'This is all really, like, shocking to me. All I'm trying to do is bring more love into my life and into my family and it just I seem to be running into more and more roadblocks and it's really hard for me to digest.' Bad news: In a teaser clip for Keeping Up With The Kardashians' season 20 premiere on Thursday the Revenge Body host shares a doctor informed her that she is a high risk for carrying another baby Just the two of us: Khloe and her mini me True holding hands during Tristan's birthday party WHAT IS A SURROGATE? It's a woman who gets artificially inseminated with the father's sperm. They then carry the baby and deliver it. A traditional surrogate is the baby's biological mother. That's because it was their egg that was fertilized by the father's sperm. Donor sperm can also be used. Gestational surrogates: A technique called in vitro fertilization (IVF) now makes it possible to gather eggs from the mother, fertilize them with sperm from the father, and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate. The surrogate then carries the baby until birth. They don't have any genetic ties to the child because it wasn't their egg that was used. Information courtesy webMD Advertisement Offering her own experiences for advice, Kim said: 'I had the best experience with surrogacy... Youll see that the love that you have for your kids is exactly the same. Theres no difference except that someone else is the carrier.' Back in her confessional, Khloe says she is grateful that there are other options but she loved being pregnant with True. 'It's such a beautiful experience to have. Knowing I'd might never get to feel like that again, it's daunting, it's scary, it's stressful and it breaks my heart,' added the star. True will turn age three on April 12. Khloe says that all this is 'shocking' to her. Speaking to the camera, she then said: 'All I'm trying to do is bring more love into my life and into my family. And it justI seem to be running into more and more roadblocks and it's really hard for me to digest.' Then Kim steps in and says she thinks Khloe may want to try a surrogate. The Selfish author - who is in the process of divorcing husband of seven years Kanye West - says reminds her sister that she had 'the best experience with surrogacy.' And the KKW Fragrance founder added: 'And I think that you know what giving birth feels like. 'I always say, if you can do it like, it's such an amazing experience. 'But you'll see that the love that you have for your kids is exactly the same.' During her first pregnancy in 2012-2013, Kim suffered from preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening complication that can cause high blood pressure and damage to the kidneys and liver. Her eldest was then delivered around six weeks prematurely after being induced into labour to alleviate the condition. She also had placenta accreta, in which the placenta remains attached to the uterine wall and can cause severe blood loss. IVF issues: 'But I spoke to Dr. A and she was just a little concerned about like, I did a check and blood panels and all this stuff, and she just said that I would be a high-risk carrier for a pregnancy,' she said Way back when: During her first pregnancy in 2012-2013, Kim suffered from preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening complication that can cause high blood pressure and damage to the kidneys and liver (pictured in 2015) Earlier this month, Khloe said COVID-19 threw a wrench in her plans to have a second child and it was later claimed that she had become frustrated with the process. Tristan has been busy the past few months playing basketball for the Boston Celtics the past few months but had time to spend with Khloe and True, due to the NBA All-Star game. When the power forward/center turned 30 last week, the source for the weekly said: 'Tristan had a few days off and spent time with Khloe and True. 'Khloe and Tristan are good. They are obviously spending a lot more time apart now since Tristan lives in Boston. They are still moving forward with their plan to have another baby.' She revealed that they have made embryos for a second baby and described the efforts she had taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to expand her family during an interview on Sarah Hyland's Lady Parts. Tough to face: This is when the daughter of Kris Jenner says the doctor relayed she has 'an 80-something percent chance' that she will miscarry WHAT IS PREECLAMPSIA? Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication. It causes high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organs, usually the liver and kidneys. In most women, preeclampsia begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Even a slight rise in blood pressure may be a sign of the condition. Left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious or fatal complications for the mother and her baby. Advertisement The star said: 'We realized that my eggs aren't strong enough to be frozen. They should be mixed immediately with sperm to make embryos. So I actually have made embryos.' She explained how the pandemic put everything on hold: 'And then, with COVID, finding this whole fertility process, if you do need assistance in fertility, it's much more challenging during COVID. 'They say, "If you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans." So the one time I'm actually really trying to plan, God is saying, "Uh uh, you can't make your plans like this!"' Khloe added that she wants True to grow up with siblings like she did: 'My plan was to have kids closer in age. But with COVID and everything, my plan's been a little delayed... 'I definitely do want more kids. I have so many brothers and sisters. I think it's such a blessing especially during these times to have a family member or people that you can play with and rely on and just have a buddy through life.' It comes after the latest teaser for the 20th and final season of KUWTK revealed Khloe and Tristan discussing surrogacy. A source told People last month: 'Khloe and Tristan still want to give True a sibling. It's a big priority for both of them. They really want it to work out.' No one knew: And in a shocking reveal, the Good American designer said she almost miscarried daughter True Thompson early on in her pregnancy The daughter of late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been accused of racially abusing an Asian American couple in Manhattan. Maura Moynihan admitted to radio station WABC that she was the woman captured in a video that has been shared widely on social media, but denies making racist remarks. The footage shows a heated confrontation between Moynihan and Dan Lee, 31, who began filming after he alleges Moynihan told his wife Maria Ha to 'go back to China'. Ha, 25, shared the footage on Instagram, saying the incident happened on Sunday at 1:25pm at First Avenue and East 22nd street, and asking people to help identify the woman. The video came amid a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans and Asians living in the United States. Ha said she had been walking down the street when the woman approached her, coming close to her face and saying: 'You're not from here. Go back to Communist China b****'. The daughter of late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been accused of racially abusing an Asian American couple in Manhattan. Maura Moynihan (pictured) admitted to radio station WABC that she was the woman captured in a video that has been shared widely on social media amid a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans. She denied making racist remarks Moynihan covered her face after she was told she was being filmed and accused Dan Lee, who was recording her from outside the cab' of 'assaulting' her The New York Post reported that Ha said she ran home to get her husband after being shouted at and he arrived as Moynihan was getting into a cab. In the footage, Moynihan repeatedly claims Lee - who is standing recording from outside the cab Moynihan is sitting in - is 'assaulting' her and asks the couple to leave her alone. A furious Lee can be heard saying: 'She said go back to f***ing China' and 'Say that racist s*** again. You said Communist China?' 'Well isn't that where you're from?,' Moynihan replies in the video. The couple told WABC that they left soon after the incident but that Moynihan then opened the cab's window and shouted 'Go back to Communist China!' as they crossed the street. Police said they are investigating the incident. Lee's wife Maria Ha shared the footage of the confrontation on Twitter, asking people to help identify the woman Ha described the encounter, which happened on Sunday at 1:25pm at First Avenue and East 22nd street, in an Instagram post While Moynihan admitted to being the woman in the video, she denied making racist remarks and said the dispute was over a cab. 'It had nothing whatsoever to do with any bias or racism or anti-Asian American prejudice, as has been wrongly suggested,' she said in a statement to WABC. 'I have devoted most of my life to working with and for Asian people, most particularly in the cause of securing basic human rights for the Tibetan people in their continuing struggle against Communist China,' Moynihan said. Moynihan's website describes her as an author, film producer and artist who has 'worked for many years as a journalist and researcher in Asia, specializing in Tibet, China, Nepal, Thailand and India.' She has written several articles criticizing China and the CCCP and her artwork includes collages supporting democracy in Hong Kong and ridiculing US politicians for courting China. From 1998 to 2002 she was Radio Free Asia's Bureau chief in Kathmandu, Nepal, and worked for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1994-5. Her father, Daniel Patrick 'Pat' Moynihan was a Harvard professor and four-term Democratic senator from New York who served as the ambassador to India under Richard Nixon and to the United Nations under Gerald Ford. Monynihan is the daughter of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (left). Pictured: Moynihan with the Democratic candidate for Senate Representative Charles Schumer (right) in New York in 1998 'Just because she's done all these things in the past does not justify what she said,' Lee said. 'What she said wasn't an apology. We don't accept they behavior at all.' 'This is extremely hurtful. Like for me personally I was born in the U.S. my entire life and to be told to leave this country, to go back to Communist China is seriously offensive,' Lee said. 'I was born here, this is my home.' Racist incidents targeting Asian Americans have skyrocketed in the last year. StopAAPIHate, a coalition addressing anti-Asian hate amid the pandemic, said it had received 3,795 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021. According to figures from a report by the group, the majority of incidents happened at places of business, with the second most common site being public streets. Sixty-eight per cent of incidents reported involved verbal harassment, while incidents of coughing/spitting, physical assault, online harassment and avoidance were also recorded. Incidents were reported in all 50 states and affected individuals from a variety of races and ethnicities, the majority of whom were of Chinese descent. Activists have drawn a link between former President Donald Trump's repeated use of the phrase 'China virus' to describe Covid-19 and the increasingly open hostility to Asian Americans. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that there was 'no question' that 'damaging rhetoric' from the Trump administration had resulted in 'perceptions of the Asian-American community that are inaccurate, unfair [and] has elevated threats against Asian Americans' On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki echoed this, saying that there was 'no question' that 'damaging rhetoric' from the Trump administration had resulted in 'perceptions of the Asian-American community that are inaccurate, unfair [and] has elevated threats against Asian Americans.' 'That's why we're seeing that around the country,' she said, referring to the increasing number of reported hate crimes involving Asian Americans. Psaki's comments followed a shooting at three Asian-owned spas in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday in which eight people were killed. The shooting unleashed an outpouring of fear and anger from Asian-Americans and others on social media, who were already reeling from the rise in hate crimes and say that racism against their community is not taken seriously. The anger only increased after a deputy sheriff told a press conference that the shooter had been having 'a really bad day'. 'He was pretty much fed up and had been kind of at the end of his rope,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said on Wednesday. 'Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.' When the authorities made a search in 2017 at the Dutchess County, N.Y., home of a man who had recently been stopped in Georgia with five small sharks in the back of his truck, they found seven sandbar sharks swimming in an aboveground pool in his basement. Then they found the carcasses of two leopard sharks and a hammerhead shark, and the snout of an endangered smalltooth sawfish, the authorities said. The man, Joshua Seguine, 40, of LaGrangeville, N.Y., pleaded guilty this week to a charge of illegal possession of the fish with the intent to sell them and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, the New York attorney generals office said in a statement. The case drew attention to an underground market whose clients include professional athletes, entertainers and others with the means and the desire to keep exotic fish as pets. Mr. Seguine was arrested in July 2017 in Georgia on charges of driving without a license and possessing five small sharks in a tank in the back of his truck, according to the New York attorney generals office. Mr. Seguine admitted at the time that he was planning to take the sharks to New York and sell them, along with other live sharks he had at his home, the authorities said. MILWAUKEE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Circa is pleased to announce its formal partnership with Greenhouse , the hiring software company. More than an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Greenhouse helps businesses become great at hiring with its complete suite of software and services, Hiring Maturity methodology and large partner ecosystem. Patrick Sheahan - CEO, President - Circa Using Greenhouse developer resources and open network, Circa will be able to seamlessly promote customers' open roles to their diversity network of job boards. Once the integration is in place employers' jobs will automatically be mirrored into their Circa account within 24 - 48 hours and posted to Circa's extensive network of 15,500 community organizations and over 600 local employment websites. Through utilization of Circa's automatic, proactive and targeted outreach tools, employers will be in a better position to meet their diversity recruitment goals and/or OFCCP Compliance needs. These outreach, posting and reporting tools provide employees with support to build more diverse, innovative and high-performing teams. Circa provides OFCCP compliance management and recruiting technology solutions to deliver qualified candidates on an equitable playing field for organizations to build high-performing, diverse teams. The company is expanding its product and service offerings through its partnerships as customers are seeking more robust solutions from industry leaders like Circa. "By aligning with industry leaders like Greenhouse, we are able to reinforce our commitment and dedication to building high-performing teams and accelerating our customers' success," said Patrick Sheahan, CEO, Circa. "Working together to enhance our OFCCP and Diversity technology solutions helps companies develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Diversity and inclusion are not only proven to drive employee satisfaction but also increase the bottom line for employers." "Greenhouse is no stranger to helping companies build comprehensive hiring tech stacks to find and hire the right candidates," said Garret Starr, Director of Partnerships, Greenhouse Software. "Entering into this partnership with Circa allows us to continue growing our DE&I tech stack that offers our mutual customers access to a wide-range of tools, resources and information that makes it easier to promote jobs where candidates are located." The Circa integration is now available to Greenhouse customers. To learn more about Circa, visit circaworks.com. To learn more about the Greenhouse Partner Integration Ecosystem visit greenhouse.io/integrations. About Circa: Circa is a catalyst for 21st century companies to build high-performing diverse teams based on research that shows companies want to shift from diversity as a program to diversity as a business strategy. The companies' robust portfolio of software solutions and unparalleled industry expertise give employers the tools and knowledge they need to radically change how they approach talent acquisition and management. The company was founded in 1994, has 5000+ customers, 15,500 community partner relationships and in 2020 posted 5M+ jobs through its network of 600+ online employment websites. About Greenhouse: Greenhouse is the hiring software company. We help businesses become great at hiring through our powerful hiring approach , complete suite of software and services, Hiring Maturity methodology and large partner ecosystem so businesses can hire for what's next. Based in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Denver and Dublin, Greenhouse Software has over 4,000 customers. Some of the smartest and most successful companies like HubSpot, Cisco Meraki, Buzzfeed, J.D. Power and Warby Parker use the Greenhouse hiring software platform to improve all aspects of hiring, helping them to attract top talent. Greenhouse has won numerous awards including Glassdoor #1 Best Place to Work, Forbes Cloud 100, Inc. 5000, Inc. Magazine Best Workplace (2018, 2019, 2020) and Crain's Fast 50. 2021, Greenhouse Software, Inc. All rights reserved. "Greenhouse Hiring Maturity", "Talent Makers", and the G Logo are trademarks of Greenhouse Software, Inc. Media Contact Angel Fischer Product Marketing Manager [email protected] 212.495.9800 Circaworks.com SOURCE Circa Related Links https://circaworks.com Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna said that during the meeting this Wednesday at the Cotroceni Palace, President Klaus Iohannis emphasized the importance of the Health Ministry and Minister Vlad Voiculescu getting full support in the context of the measures that need to be taken against the pandemic. "Of course there may be various points of view on individual subjects, because that's the specific of a ruling coalition. There are various points of view, we debate them and we always make the decision we consider to be the wisest at that moment. This is actually the background for the discussion we had yesterday at Cotroceni with the President, with Prime Minister Citu, with the leaders of the other coalition parties, where the President was very clear: the Health Ministry must get support, he asked us to back [Health Minister] Vlad Voiculescu precisely because the pandemic and the anti-COVID fight are at the top of Romania's current social agenda. Therefore, in this context, the government and the coalition are closing ranks behind this very clear message: Romania needs the citizens' support and understanding that the vaccine is the necessary solution, and until then, distancing measures (...) remain necessary and stay in place," Barna told private broadcaster Digi 24 on Thursday. Asked what his answer will be if, following the job performance assessment, Premier Florin Citu will consider that the Health Minister should be replaced, Barna said that such a possibility was not discussed within the coalition. He also pointed out that the Health Minister has "very consistently" communicated on the subjects on the public agenda, and that the "scandals" reported by the media are actually non-existent. According to him, the request that the Health Ministry should present a weekly activity report in the perspective of preparations for a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is normal. "During yesterday's government discussion, in the broader context where all the activities related to the vaccination rollout should be known for the message to reach the citizens in the best possible way, the Prime Minister requested from the Health Minister a regular report and planning, for the next period, of all the activities related to the pandemic. We agreed on this - I am myself engaged in the coordination of this activity - and we agreed that the Health Ministry should hold a weekly press conference, precisely for making the information about the Ministry's pandemic-fighting activities as accessible as possible to the media and to the citizens," Barna explained. The emptiest language in the entire argument is the platitude that all sides want the same thing and nobody should play politics with such an important issue. But this is not a game. It is political because it is important. Suffragette Vida Goldstein knew this a century ago. Perhaps some of those in todays Parliament can learn the same. Shadow Education Minister and Shadow Minister for Women Tanya Plibersek (far right) with colleagues tables a petition from the March 4 Justice protest in the House of Representatives. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Morrisons critics could not be happier. He just doesnt get it, said Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek. Labor and the Greens are telling voters to give up on a Prime Minister who will never understand the problem, let alone fix it. That risks ignoring a more recent history lesson. Morrison proved two years ago that he was a quick learner on how to win an election. It would be foolish for Labor and the Greens to underestimate him again. Raised on politics by a dad who ran for local council, Morrison does not ignore groups that wield big numbers. He is a smart politician, and his self-interest lies in heeding the message from this weeks protests. What happens next will be all about politics. The government thinks a defamation will resolve the Christian Porter matter but the claims, which he has strongly denied, will be remembered for years. Credit:Getty On Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, the government acts as if she can return to work in two weeks despite calling Brittany Higgins a lying cow and failing to tell the Prime Minister of an alleged rape in her own office. On the fate of Attorney-General Christian Porter, the government pretends a defamation trial can settle questions when the rape claim against him, which Porter vehemently denies, will last for years. His portfolio will be sliced into pieces to avoid conflicts of interest, almost to the point at which he holds that job in name only while being Industrial Relations Minister. Morrison cannot go to the next election carrying too much baggage when he governs with a majority of one and is likely to lose ground in the redistribution of seats in Victoria and Western Australia (which could see Porters own seat of Pearce abolished, raising questions about whether he would stay in Parliament). Loading Can Morrison carry Porter and Reynolds all the way until polling day? No matter how much he defends them, they are political liabilities. Leaders often survive by making tough calls to cut their losses. Not that the protesters or the viewers at home should care. They did not mobilise about the fate of Morrison or his ministers inside Parliament House. They want change in the world outside. The next steps for Morrison are rational and obvious. One of them is to stop stalling on the Respect@Work report into sexual assault in the workplace, delivered one year ago. Morrison also has to put more meaning, and money, into his words about stopping violence against women. He has done this before, with a $328 million package to counter family violence two years ago, so he can point to real measures in the past. Even so, that money has to be topped up with a new national plan next year. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit:The Sydney Morning Herald The head of the Womens Legal Service in Queensland, Angela Lynch, has a list of what to do next. She wants an education campaign on consent (something Liberal backbencher Fiona Martin spoke up for this week), reform to evidence rules in rape and sexual assault cases, a trial run for a specialist sexual violence court and more funding to help women fleeing violence and seeking justice in court. Lynch estimates there are between 20,000 and 40,000 rapes and sexual assaults each year but only 6500 charges laid and only 300 convictions. That is a conviction rate of 1.5 per cent at best. Loading Lynch also wants an urgent summit with federal and state leaders to end violence against women and children. She is not alone. In a move that shows this issue crosses old political divides, Liberal MP Russell Broadbent called for something very similar on Thursday. Women will drive this change. I hope more men will join them, said Broadbent, the member for Monash in regional Victoria and one of the wisest souls in the Parliament. Antoinette Braybrook, chairperson of the National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum, has other ideas. She wants more funding for support that helps First Nations people, such as in regional and remote areas. She wants measurable targets in the national plan that is meant to start next year. A coroner's report has confirmed a black man was killed when he was shot five times in the back by a white Ohio sheriffs deputy last December. The results of a final autopsy released Thursday confirmed statements by the family of Casey Goodson Jr., who said the 23-year-old died after former Franklin County sheriff's Deputy Jason Meade shot him multiple times. The report is only a medical determination and not a legal finding - and it doesn't imply criminal intent. Still, the case remains under criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office with help from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Once the investigation is complete, Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack's office will review the autopsy before deciding whether to charge Meade. Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said the final autopsy released Thursday "doesnt provide all of the facts needed to give us those answers," and that he will wait until the criminal investigation is complete before pursuing any disciplinary action against Meade. Casey Goodson Jr., 23, was killed on Dec. 4, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio, by Franklin County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran officer assigned to the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force Franklin County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jason Meade is on administrative leave. Columbus Police and the FBI are investigating whether Meade was legally justified in shooting Casey Goodson Jr. and whether Goodson's civil rights were violated "I want to be clear that the Franklin County Sheriffs Office use of force policies prohibits any deputy from using deadly force against anyone who doesnt pose an immediate threat to the officer or to others," Baldwin said in a statement. "However, I also want to emphasize that criminal investigations over the years have shown that the physical location of gunshot wounds alone do not always tell the entire story of what happened," Baldwin said. The autopsy report said Goodson was shot five times in the back and once in the buttocks. We have known since the moment we found him on the kitchen floor that he was murdered, Tamala Payne, Goodsons mother, said in a statement. This report says it right there, Jason Meade murdered my son in his own home. The police contended Goodson had a gun, but his family said he was holding a sandwich and opening the door to his grandmother's house when he was killed. Tamala Payne, center, and family attorney Sean Walton, left, participate in a December 11, 2020, protest march over the shooting death of Payne's son, Casey Goodson Jr., in Columbus, Ohio. The final coroner's report released March 18 says Goodson was shot five times in the back "This family and this city have been through enough trauma and our healing cannot begin until Meade is held accountable for this heinous act," Sean Walton, an attorney for Goodsons family, said in a statement Wednesday night. "Jason Meade is a threat to the community and public safety each and every day that he continues to be free," Walton said. The deputy is on administrative leave from the sheriff's office. The Franklin County coroner listed the cause of death as a homicide. The medical determination is used for cases in which someone has died by another's hand, but is not a legal finding and does not imply criminal intent. The shooting occurred in Columbus, Ohio, on December 4 while Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was completing an unsuccessful search for a fugitive as part of a U.S. Marshals Office fugitive task force. U.S. Marshal Peter Tobin said Meade confronted the victim outside his home after Goodson, who was not the subject of the fugitive search, drove by and waved a gun at Meade. A witness heard Meade command Goodson to drop his gun and when he did not the deputy shot him, Tobin said. The office of Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack will review the autopsy before deciding whether to charge Deputy Jason Meade Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin says he will wait until a criminal investigation is complete before pursuing any disciplinary action against Meade The family said Goodson held a sandwich in his hand, not a gun. Even if Goodson had carried a gun, he had a license to do so, his family said. A gun was recovered from the scene, but officials did not provide further details. "My grandson just got shot in the back when he came in the house," Goodsons grandmother told a dispatcher shortly afterward, according to 911 recordings. "I don't know if he's OK." Goodson had just gone to the dentist, she told the dispatcher, and she did not know what happened or who shot him. 'They shot him in his back three times, [Casey] had food in his hands and was unlocking the door walking in. [H]e was in between the screen door and big door when the officer shot,' his mother said in a Facebook post. The shooting took place in northeast Columbus after SWAT officers allegedly spotted Casey Goodson Jr 'waving a gun' and shot him outside his home on Estate Place (pictured). He later died in a hospital Relatives and friends were pictured gathered outside Goodson's home on Estate Place, northeast Columbus, following the shooting Shortly after the shooting, Tobin held a press conference at which he called the shooting justified, a statement he later retracted. While Meade had been working with a U.S. Marshals task force earlier in the day, both the Marshals and the sheriffs office later said he was on his own time when the shooting happened. Goodson's death sparked local demonstrations, with activists demanding officers release bodycam footage of the incident. The Columbus Police Department, which was not involved in the incident nor the task force's investigation, said there was no footage of the shooting because task force officers are not issued body cameras. Sean Walton, center, the attorney for the family of Casey Goodson Jr., stands with Goodson's mother Tamala Payne, center left, and other family members during a protest outside the Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouse on February 5 Casey Goodson Jr.'s brother, center, begins to cry while addressing a crowd during a protest in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, on December 12, 2020. Subway sandwiches were used as a symbolic statement of remembrance for Goodson because his family says he was holding a sandwich when he was killed, and not a gun as police claim A coroner's determination of entrance and exit wounds has no bearing on what actually happened that day, since it does not explain how individuals were positioned at the time, said Mark Collins, a defense attorney representing Meade. The coroner "cant explain how a body was positioned - if they were bent over, if they were standing up straight, or how they were turned," Collins said. A final autopsy report released March 18 says 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. was shot five times in the back and once in the buttocks Casey Goodson Jr.'s family has raised questions about law enforcement's account. Family members say he was shot as he returned home while carrying a sandwich. Police say he had a gun A gun was recovered from the scene, but officials did not provide further details. Even if Goodson had carried a gun, his family says he was licensed to do so. His mother shared a Facebook post of a photo showing her son's license to carry a weapon Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther speaks during a press conference on December 23, 2020 Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said that with the autopsy completed, it is time to move the case forward, WCMH reported. The autopsy results of Casey Goodson, Jr. are the last piece of the investigation prosecutors were waiting for, Ginther said in a statement. It is time for a grand jury to examine the evidence and move toward justice and accountability in this tragic death. Scientists are learning that a lesser-studied region on the pandemic coronavirus is recognized by COVID-19 infection-fighting antibodies. These antibodies were identified in blood samples from previously infected patients, and were found to potently prevent the virus from infecting cells. The coronavirus spike protein is the key that unlocks the door to the cell, and antibodies bind to the spike protein to jam this function. Much attention has been given to studying antibodies that target the receptor-binding domain on the coronavirus spike protein. (The receptor-binding domain of the spike is responsible for triggering the merging of the virus with a host cell to achieve a takeover.) However, some of the recovered patients' antibodies blocked the coronavirus by binding to a different place on the virus spike -- the N-terminal domain. These antibodies were as strong as those that bind to receptor-binding domain, a recent study shows. Using electron cryo-microscopy (cryoEM) to map where these antibodies bound showed that all the antibodies that prevent infection bind a single place on the N-terminal domain. The research published in Cell demonstrated that these antibodies protected Syrian hamsters from SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in people. Additional recent findings indicate that the virus is slowly defying these antibodies that people are acquiring. The virus is adapting to these antibodies by accumulating mutations that help the virus escape these defenses, becoming so-called variants-of-concern. Some of these variants, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, contain mutations that appear to make the virus less vulnerable to the neutralizing power of the N-terminal domain antibodies. "Several SARS-CoV-2 variants harbor mutations within their N-terminal domain supersite," the researchers noted. "This suggests ongoing selective pressure." They added that investigating these neutralization escape mechanisms is revealing some unconventional ways the N-terminal domain on the virus is acquiring antibody resistance, and are why N-terminal domain variants warrant closer monitoring. The senior authors on the Cell paper are David Veesler, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, as well as Matteo Samuele Pizzuto and Davide Corti of Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology. The lead authors are Matthew McCallum of the UW medical school's Department of Biochemistry, and Anna De Marco of Humabs Biomed. The N-terminal domain antibodies in this study were derived from memory B cells, which are white blood cells that can persistently recognize a previously encountered pathogen and re-launch an immune response. N-terminal domain-specific antibodies likely act in concert with other antibodies to wage a multi-pronged uprising against the coronavirus. The N-terminal domain antibodies appear to inhibit virus-cell fusion. In conjunction, another part of the antibody, called a constant fragment, might also activate some of the body's other approaches to eliminating the virus. "This study shows that NTD-directed antibodies play an important role in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and they appear to contribute a key selective pressure for viral evolution and the emergence of variants," said Veesler Continuing research on the N-terminal domain neutralizing antibodies may lead to improved therapeutic and preventive anti-viral drugs for COVID-19, as well as inform the design of new vaccines or the evaluation of current ones. For example, patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and later received a first dose of an mRNA vaccine might experience a boost in their N-terminal domain neutralizing antibodies. Also, a cocktail of antibodies that target different critical domains on the coronavirus might also be a promising approach for medical scientists to examine to see if it provides broad protection against variant strains. The researchers stressed that, although current vaccines "are being deployed at an unprecedented pace, the timeline for large-scale manufacturing and distribution to a large enough population for community immunity still remains uncertain." Antiviral drugs, they explain, are expected to play a role in controlling disease during the ongoing pandemic. They are likely to be particularly helpful, according to the researchers, for unvaccinated individuals and for those who didn't get a strong enough immune response from their vaccinations. Antivirals could also prove vital when immunity from previous infection or from vaccination wanes, or as mutant strains that break through the shield of vaccination emerge. ### Scientists at Beamline 5.0.1 at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory assisted in this research. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Moscow, in response to the words of US President Joe Biden, will not act to worsen bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2021) Moscow, in response to the words of US President Joe Biden, will not act to worsen bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. In his interview with the ABC news, Biden said Putin would have to "pay a price" for alleged interference in the 2020 US presidential election. The US leader was also asked if he considers the Russian president a "killer" and he agreed. "You just said yourself about the inadmissibility of the statements that were made. That is, someone makes inadmissible statements, and we worsen the already stalled bilateral relations? There is absolutely no point in following this logic, to throw sand in the wheels or come up with some kind of intrigue? This is definitely not a Russian strategy or tactic," Zakharova said at a briefing, answering how the statements of the US president could affect the practical interaction of Russia and the United States, including work with US representatives at talks on Afghanistan in Moscow on Thursday. "Getting down to business and doing a lot of work that will be related to revising the state of bilateral relations is another issue. This is what we should do now," Zakharova noted, recalling that Russian Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, was invited to Moscow for consultations for this purpose. EDITORS NOTE: On April 13, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a virtual networking event, featuring professionals in the legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited. Gov. Phil Murphy is likely to change an appointee to New Jerseys Cannabis Regulatory Commission following pressure from Black advocates. Three sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, told NJ Advance Media a switch on the five-member panel is imminent, but its not clear when the announcement will be made. The NAACP blasted the makeup of the commission when Murphy announced its formation last month. It includes only one Black person, but no Black men. Police have disproportionately arrested Black men for marijuana use for decades. Apart from the racial justice gap, the makeup may also violate the law. The legalization law requires at least one member be a representative of a national organization or a state chapter of a national organization dedicated to combating minority historical oppression, past and present discrimination, unemployment, poverty and income inequality, and other forms of social injustice or inequality. Its unknown now who the new appointee will be, but it will not be Todd Edwards, political action chair of the NAACP, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. The organization had put him forward as a possible candidate. One of Murphys picks, Dianna Houenou, most closely fits that criteria, but she has not worked for the ACLU in two years. She will come directly from Murphys administration to the post. Still, Murphys office has said she would satisfy the requirement as a former ACLU employee. Edwards, a Black man who has advocated for racial justice in marijuana legalization and reform and currently works with the NAACP, would have clearly fit the written criteria. Richard Smith, president of the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP, did not return a call seeking comment. There were talks of expanding the commission to include more members at one point, but it seems instead one will be taken off and replaced. A spokesperson for Murphy said the commission has not yet been officially seated, and there is no date for a first meeting. That would make switching out an appointee easier. The commission has six months from the laws enactment or 45 days from when it becomes operational to establish rules and regulations that will guide the new cannabis industry. The law gives it significant autonomy in controlling the licensing of new businesses and directing tax revenue to communities harmed by marijuana prohibition. Missteps that lead to further delays in the commission beginning its work also push back a start date for legal weed sales. No new dispensaries can be licensed until the commissions work is underway. Murphys spokesperson declined to comment on a possible change. During a press conference Wednesday, the Democratic governor said he had nothing new on the commission or his talks with the NAACP. Politico reported Wednesday that Murphy was considering making a change to the panel. Critics have no issues with Houenou, the commissions chair. But they want to see someone else appointed who fulfills the requirement and represents Black men. The commissions four other members include Krista Nash, a social worker, Sam Delgado, a former Marine and Verizon executive, Maria Del Cid of the Department of Health and William Wallace of the United Food and Commercial Workers. NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. COLUMBUS, Ga., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "Aflac will only support solutions that make voting easy and accessible for every eligible voter while maintaining the security and transparency of the voting process. As legislators in Georgia continue to debate these issues, we will remain actively involved in the process to influence positive results that are aligned with Aflac's long history of supporting fairness and justice. Aflac will not support legislation that fails to accomplish these goals." About Aflac Incorporated Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading supplemental insurer by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan where it insures 1 in 4 households. For 15 consecutive years, Aflac Incorporated has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2021, Fortune included Aflac Incorporated on its list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 20th time, and Bloomberg added Aflac Incorporated to its Gender-Equality Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation and transparency, for the second consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com. Aflac | Aflac New York | WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999 Media contact: Jon Sullivan, 706.573.7610 or [email protected] Analyst and investor contact: David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or [email protected] SOURCE Aflac Inc. Any time Im talking with someone and theyre in the beginning stage of a cancer diagnosis, theres so much unknown and so many unanswered questions that they often feel like theyre the only people who have thought about this, wondered about this, been nervous about it, said Kathleen Daly, clinical program director and art therapist at the Center. Any time they can connect with an individual who has walked the same path, you just see the relief on their face. Press Release 18 March 2021 Over the years, various Accor hotels have hosted world-changing meetings and events. Whether it's the signing of the UN Charter of Rights or a speech by first lady Michelle Obama to support her husband's re-election, Accor properties across North America have helped facilitate small meetings that have led to memorable moments. Advertisements As many Americans look to get back to business this year, Accor is making it easier for intimate gatheringscorporate or personalto happen with the new "Big Things Happen at Small Meetings" offer, available across the Group's North American portfolio. For small meetings booked by June 30, 2021, planners receive flexible attrition until 30 days prior to arrival, flexible cancellation, and double ALL Meeting Planner Rewards Points.* In need of inspiration? Here's a look back at some of the most memorable meetings that have taken place at Accor hotels over the years: Photo: Accor Classic in style and contemporary in spirit, Fairmont San Francisco has made history over the years (and continues to innovate in the modern age). Leaders and delegates from fifty nations descended upon San Francisco for the inaugural United Nations Conference on International Organization during the summer of 1945, at the original "Fairmont." Photo: Accor In the spring of 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged the Bed-In for Peace from their bed at Fairmont Queen Elizabeth to rally the world to the cause of peace. The handsome suite high over downtown Montreal was where he recorded his first solo single, "Give Peace A Chance," from the bed, which had been dragged to the windows overlooking Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral and Dorchester Blvd (now Blvd. Rene-Levesque). Photo: Accor On August 13, 1969, less than a month after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the historic first landing on the moon, they and fellow astronaut Michael Collins were guests at an official White House dinner hosted by President Nixon at the Los Angeles Century Plaza Hotel (now Fairmont Century Plaza) honoring the Apollo 11 astronauts. The first and only presidential dinner ever held outside the White House, the Los Angeles Times called it the "Dinner of the Century," and the New York Times said it was "one of the largest, most prestigious, and most publicized state dinners in history." With grand spaces, expansive lobbies and outdoor venues, Accor is committed to keeping guests safe and well during their gatherings. To learn more about the extensive measures Accor is taking to safeguard, protect and care for their valued guests and employees, visit ALLMeetWell.com. To book the special limited time Big Things Happen at Small Meetings offer visit, https://allnorthamerica.com/meetings/. With ALL Meeting Planner, guests earn points every time they organize an event. Not a member? Join now. *Offer only valid for new bookings at participating hotels in North America. Offer must be mentioned at time of booking. Not valid in conjunction with citywide bookings, previously quoted, booked or held meetings or any other promotion or offer. Bookings must be made by June 30, 2021, must include a minimum of 10 rooms on peak night and event must be actualized by June 30, 2021 to take advantage of this offer. All bookings are subject to the hotel's standard terms and conditions. Subject to availability. Blackout dates may apply. * For participating sbe brand hotels, Double ALL Meeting Planner Rewards will be replaced with a complimentary two night stay gift certicate. Group must actualize a minimum of 20 room nights for the two night stay gift certicate to apply. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to a new report published by Polaris Market Research the worldwide Photovoltaic Materials Market is anticipated to reach around USD 44,073 million by 2026. In 2017, the Polycrystalline Silicon segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. In 2017, Asia-Pacific accounted for the majority share in the global Photovoltaic Materials market. The increase in the adoption of renewable energy sources drives the growth of this market. Growing concerns regarding environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and their limited availability support the market growth. There has been an increasing demand of solar technology owing to low operating costs and less maintenance. Governments are increasingly investing in the development of solar technology to accelerate the adoption of renewable sources, thereby supporting market growth. However, high installation costs of solar systems limit the growth of the market. New emerging markets, and declining costs of photovoltaic materials would provide growth opportunities in the coming years. Get Sample Copy : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/photovoltaic-materials-market/request-for-sample Asia-pacific dominated the global Photovoltaic Materials Market during the forecast period. A significant rise in the initiatives taken by governments of China, India, and Japan to promote the use of solar technology to reduce carbon footprint supports the growth of the market in the region. Incentives provided by the governments to the commercial sector industries using solar technology has resulted in high demand of photovoltaic materials in the region. China leads the Asia-Pacific Photovoltaic Materials market during the forecast period. Regions such as North America and Europe export solar cells from Asia-Pacific, thereby supporting market growth in the region. Increasing awareness regarding use of renewable sources and green technologies augments the market growth in the region. Leading global players are expanding their presence in developing nations of India, Indonesia, and Malaysia to tap the growth opportunities offered by these countries. The various types of photovoltaic materials include Monocrystalline Silicon, Polycrystalline Silicon, Cadmium Telluride, and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide among. The Polycrystalline Silicon segment is expected to lead the market during the forecast period owing to affordable manufacturing process and use in varied applications. The Copper Indium Gallium Selenide segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Any Special Requirement | Speak to our Industry Expert : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/photovoltaic-materials-market/speak-to-analyst The well-known companies profiled in the report include DuPont, Targray Technology International, Inc, Shin-Etsu Chemicals Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Material Corporation, Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation LLC, Atecom Technology Co., Ltd., American Elements, Ferrotec Corporation, Topray Solar, Hangzhou First Applied Material Co. Ltd., 1366 Technologies Inc., NovoPolymers NV among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers. Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. The Barrackpore police said on Thursday that both Bharatiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress workers were responsible for the crude bomb attack near BJP MP Arjun Singh's office-cum-residence in West Bengal's Bhatpara, reported news agency ANI. "It's fully political. Both TMC and BJP workers hurled bombs at each other and vandalized locals' houses. Probe underway, culprits will be arrested," Barrackpore Police Commissioner Ajay Nand. Also Read | Why India needs to look east at Taiwan Arjun Singh on Wednesday had alleged that more than a dozen bombs were hurled near his office-cum-residence 'Mazdoor Bhawan' by Trinamool Congress goons. At least three people, including a child, suffered injuries due to the attack. Singh also alleged that bombs have been hurled at around 15 places by three people and their associates in Jagaddal area of Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas. "We are informing the police that criminals are roaming around with arms. The police are doing nothing. Bombs have been hurled at around 15 places and CCTV cameras installed by police have been broken by three people and their associates. Three persons suffered injuries, one has been admitted to hospital. The police are inactive. We will also complain to Election Commission," Singh said. "This evening, more than dozens of bombs were hurled at nearby my office-cum-residence 'Mazdoor Bhawan'. This attack was done by Trinamool Congress goons. The local residents are in fear. The administration should ensure the safety of the citizens," Singh wrote on Twitter. The Member of Parliament also alleged that a bomb was hurled targeting his vehicle after the bombing incident. "After the bombing incident in the evening near my office-cum-residence, when I returned in the night, a bomb was hurled targeting my vehicle and that too in presence of West Bengal Police. Serious condition of lawlessness in the area. Where is administration?" he tweeted. On Thursday, Singh once again targetted TMC for the attack. "Police Commissioner is biased, bomb attack happened in Police's presence. If it was a counterattack, where is the proof? CCTV cameras were broken. When TMC people kill, there's no footage, but if BJP carries out a procession, there's footage," he said. Bengal BJP leader Mukul Roy said that the party will approach the Election Commission over the attack. "We will approach the Election Commission regarding the incident," party national vice president Mukul Roy told news agency ANI. Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from 27 March with the final round of voting taking place on 29 April. The counting of votes will take place on 2 May. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. When Thu Nguyen heard about the deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area spas, she thought first of her mother, a Vietnamese refugee and long-time owner of a Montrose nail salon. That couldve been my mom, said Nguyen, the 25-year-old director of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates. Our community, my family, theyre incredibly shaken up. Theyve been living in fear the past year or so heightened fear because of everything thats going on but this is truly something so deadly that its really shaken our community. Nguyens mother went to work Wednesday, as always, but she and other employees are practicing vigilance: locking doors, turning on lights, opening and closing the salon in groups, coming and going from work together. Eight people were killed Tuesday night in the shootings, the Associated Press reported. Authorities identified the suspect as 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, who is white. Six of the victims were Asian. Officials are investigating whether the slayings were hate crimes. The mass shooting has reverberated throughout Asian American communities in the Houston area, community members and leaders said. The tragedy has created more anxiety among a population that throughout the pandemic has been targeted by politicians and people espousing racist language, spewing verbal harassment and launching physical assaults. What happened in Atlanta yesterday has created a high fear among the local AAPI community, said Chi-mei Lin, chief executive officer of the Chinese Community Center in Houston. Asian women should never be targeted hate crime victims. No woman should. Now Playing: Video: Laura Duclos The organization is working with the Houston Police Department to arrange a town hall meeting, she said. Houston police are increasing patrols in the concerned areas, the agency said Wednesday. They also encouraged residents to be vigilant and report suspicious behavior to law enforcement. Meanwhile, authorities are stepping up patrols in Asian American communities across the region, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. We've asked our patrol deputies to pay close attention to our Asian community in light of yesterday's shootings in Atlanta, said Jason Spencer, spokesman for the agency. He declined to provide further details that could compromise the agency's work. Houston and Harris County officials have recorded no increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans, or any group, in the last year, the agencies said. Still, discrimination and verbal harassment against the population is rampant and national incidents of violence spark worry across the country. There have been nearly 3,800 hate incidents nationwide reported between March 19, 2020 and Feb. 28, 2021 to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization founded last year in response to xenophobia surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Verbal harassment and shunning made up the majority of incidents, while more than 11% were physical assaults. People from all 50 states reported incidents. Women reported hate incidents 2.3 times more often than men, the organization said. "We condemn the hateful discrimination and violence disproportionately aimed at Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic," the Chinese Community Center said in a Monday statement. "To compound these injustices, the reality of painful discrimination that AAPI communities have experienced throughout United States history to the present moment is often invisible and underreported." On Wednesday, many Houston-area elected officials, community groups and leaders have called for an end to the violence against the Asian American population. "We're not going to tolerate any additional acts of hate against our community. Enough is enough," Rep. Gene Wu tweeted. Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis wrote in a Tweet that the news from Atlanta is heartbreaking. "My condolences are with those who lost loved ones to racism and hatred yesterday," he wrote. "I am in solidarity with the vibrant AAPI community here in Harris County and across the country. We see you and we will work with you to #StopAsianHate." In response to the rise in anti-Asian racism during the pandemic, the Houston Coalition Against Hate and OCA-Greater Houston are hosting free virtual bystander intervention trainings via Zoom to educate people and teach them practical skills to stand up to racism. Trainings will take place the third Thursday of each month between March and September. DETROIT Detroit police are investigating after a 13-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed by his older brother, FOX 2 Detroit reports. The 13-year-old was transported to a local hospital while his 15-year-old brother was taken into custody, police said. The weapon was recovered by police. The stabbing occurred Wednesday afternoon during an argument between the teens inside a residence on Detroits west side, police said. An adult was present at the time of the incident, which remains under investigation. READ MORE: Authorities identify, charge nurse accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine doses Teen dead, crashed car in front of Detroit Zoo after near-100 mph chase on St. Patricks Day Man found shot to death in parking lot outside Flint club South Africa: Leaders challenged to pick up King Zwelithinis spear President Cyril Ramaphosa has challenged leaders to pick up King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulus spear and continue the quest to build a better South Africa. Delivering the eulogy during a special memorial service for the late Zulu King, held at kwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in kwaNongoma on Thursday, President Ramaphosa said that one of the things he really admired about His Majesty was that he had faith in his country and its future. He had faith to believe that we, as a people and as a nation, would win the battle for development, progress and social justice. He did believe that we would triumph over poverty, inequality and unemployment. He believed that we will triumph against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). As we say farewell to Bayede, we must remember our responsibilities as leaders to heal this land, President Ramaphosa said. Sharing fond memories, the President recalled how after many years of conflict and turmoil, it was in the course of King Zwelithinis reign, that the Zulu Kingdom achieved the stability and harmony that had so long eluded it. It was during the course of his reign, that his people alongside all the people of our nation realised their dream of freedom from the injustices of colonialism and apartheid, and it was during his reign that the decades of dispossession and the wilful destruction of our knowledge and economic systems, culture and governance institutions, came to an end. Imbube will be remembered for being the staunchest defender of his people. He not only defended and advanced the interests of the Zulu people but advanced their culture, their customs, their traditions and a deep sense of identity and nationhood. He is celebrated across our beloved continent Africa because he valued diversity and respected the cultures of other kingdoms and nations, President Ramaphosa said. He preached peace and unity During the tumultuous period of political transition in the country, King Zwelithini played a significant role in the achievement of democracy. He will be remembered for his role in bringing peace and stability to KwaZulu-Natal during the difficult times in the countrys history. As a leader, he preached peace and unity. He abhorred violence and its consequences. As the country moved towards democracy, he called for an end to political killings, travelling around the country meeting and encouraging people to resort to peaceful means of resolving conflict. His Majesty was a man who believed that the pursuit of violence is ethically and morally wrong. His Majesty was one of our most revered traditional leaders, the President said. As one of the elders, King Zwelithinis advice was regularly sought by leaders of different political persuasions, including the President. I remember with fondness the long and in-depth conversations I had with him on everything, from rearing cattle, agriculture, leadership, culture, including international matters. Being in his presence was a rare privilege. He always exuded warmth, wisdom and love for the people of South Africa and the entire continent. Advocate for better health outcomes The King was an advocate for better health outcomes among his people, leading from the front in the fight against HIV, AIDS and TB. He encouraged young people to be safe from sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse and premature parenthood. He founded the Bayede Trust, which has worked to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS throughout the province. He encouraged responsible behaviour, especially among young people. He challenged the international community to avail more funding against the AIDS pandemic and the South African government to provide treatment to our people. Let it be clearly understood that moral courage was one of his noblest virtues, President Ramaphosa said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Former Watts Business Owner Turns 105, Defeats Two Pandemics Two pandemics have hit the United States and Lucia DeClerck survived them both. In 1918, at the age of two, DeClerck caught the Spanish Flu, yet she overcame and lived. More than 100 years later, at age 105, she tested positive for COVID-19, and shes defeated that virus, too. A brilliant and beautiful centenarian, DeClerck currently resides in New Jersey, but for years, she and her first husband, Henry Nat Laws, Jr., owned the Highway Market, a corner store located at Imperial Highway and Slater Avenue in Watts. According to her granddaughter, Shawn Laws ONeil, the market was a community fixture before being sold to the California Department of Transportation to allow construction of the 105 Freeway. As for her longevity, DeClerck credits her good eating habits and avoidance of junk food. One of her favorite food items to eat is Asian sea weed salad, said ONeil. She prevents some illness, such as arthritis, by eating gin-soaked raisins, drinking an aloe-based home brew and she walked daily until she was 101. Another recommendation for long life that DeClerck advised is to pray, pray, pray. Prayer time is a priority, she insisted, and her faith is extremely important to her. Throughout her life, she volunteered with the Catholic Church and she coordinated Mass at her independent living facility in New Jersey before moving to an assisted living home five years ago. ADVERTISEMENT Clearly, DeClerck has lived an incredible life for more than 10 decades. In addition to beating two pandemics, she persisted in the midst of two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, three husbands, heart failure and a lung infection. She likely inherited such endurance from her family lineage, which includes her mothers family, who emigrated from Belize to Hawaii in 1911, and her father, who left Vigo, Spain to settle in America. The marriage of her mother, Flora Vargas Pereira, and dad, Antonio Vidol Lopez, resulted in DeClercks birth in 1916. She was the familys first grandchild and the first member to be born a U.S. citizen. DeClerck wed Nat Laws in 1943 and from that union, they had three boys Henry III, Joseph (deceased) and Phillip. Also, the family operated Highway Market and faithfully attended St. Leo Roman Catholic Church. Later, DeClerck moved to Hawaii the state where she spent part of her childhood and worked as a home care aide before relocating to New Jersey in 1994 to live closer to her eldest son and his family. Reviewing her many years of living, DeClerck expressed appreciation for witnessing many historical events, however, there are two memorable moments that she will always cherish. The first, she said, was, Barack Obamas election as president of the United States. I was also thrilled to receive a note from President and First Lady Obama for my 100th birthday. DeClerck was equally excited to receive a commendation from Pope Francis for her 100th and 105th birthdays. Apparently excitement is a family trait because many members reflected that quality when explaining what they appreciate the most about DeClerck. Her attention to family, declared Henry and Jean Laws, her oldest son and daughter-in-law. Even at the ripe age of 105 years, she knows the names and location of each family member. She can also recall those that have passed and their relation. Commenting on DeClercks persistence, her youngest son, Phillip Laws, said, My mother has incredible tenacity that is unbelievable, and faithful devotion to her prayer. Sharing similar remarks, her granddaughter, Linda Henderson-Smith shared, I appreciate my grandmothers faith, her wisdom, her love for family, and her resilient rebelliousness. Recalling talking on the telephone with DeClerck, Roz Curry, another granddaughter, remembered, No matter how brief, [the conversations] gave me hope and made me feel loved by her. One of my treasured memories was a conversation with her about how she won $25 from Betty Crocker for her gingerbread recipe. Summing up the outsized personality of DeClerck, her granddaughter, Denise Laws-Jackson, said, My sister, Deanna, cousin Shawn and I spent most of our summers as children with our grandmother and her mother, Lopez. Grandmother Lucia has always been amazing, vibrant and full of energy. She was always teaching us something. She seems to have a bit of knowledge about everything and anything. She made our time with her during the summers as children adventurous and homey. She made every minute of our time in the summer about being together, seeing beautiful things, and knowing that life is a blessing, said Laws-Jackson. ADVERTISEMENT What is amazing and a blessing to us even today is that our grandmother remembers each event, trip, detail of our lives then and now better than any of us. She is our teacher, our history, our heart! Tamara Ecclestone, Jay Rutland and their six-month-old Serena helped Sophia celebrate her seventh birthday on Wednesday. The Formula One heiress, 36, and her husband, 40, took to Instagram to upload cute images from their daughter's big day, with the family visiting a cooking school and a dessert parlour in Dubai. In their sweet posts, the birthday girl looked delighted as she licked chocolate off of a spatula at Mamalu Kitchen, before tucking into a tasty milkshake at Black Tap. Happy birthday! Tamara Ecclestone, Jay Rutland and their six-month-old Serena helped Sophia celebrate turning seven on Wednesday Fifi's doting mother paid tribute to her mini-me as she wrote in an accompanying caption: 'The most amazing few days celebrating our 7 year old. 'Couldnt be more proud of the little lady your becoming. Courageous, kind, loyal, clever and hilarious. Love you so much. Birthday eve was spent @mamalukitchen one of our favourites.' The consulting services entrepreneur added: 'Happy 7th birthday to my baby girl Fifi and a happy 6 months bday to my little Fifi mark II, Riri. The months and years are just flying by in a blink. 'Words cant describe how lucky I feel to have two such happy and healthy girls. May every father be blessed with daughters.' Fun-filled: The Formula One heiress, 36, and her husband, 40, took to Instagram to upload cute images from their daughter's big day, with the family visiting a dessert parlour in Dubai Having fun: The family also practised their culinary skills at Mamalu Kitchen in the United Arab Emirates Wahay! In their sweet posts, the birthday girl looked delighted as she cooked spaghetti and licked chocolate off of a spatula at the cooking school Alongside images of Sophia looking animated with her baby sister, he added: 'Family dinner to celebrate Fifis 7th birthday, at @blacktapdubai. 'Probably should have been in the [photo] but Im better the other side of the camera anyway. Riris face in the last photo. Lovely day, Godbless X' (sic) The family have barely been back to their UK home since last June, with businessman Jay admitting concerns over their protection was one reason they had not been back more. 'The most amazing few days celebrating our 7 year old': Fifi's doting mother paid tribute to her mini-me Unique: The media personalities also treated Sophia to a birthday cake, designed as her stuffed animal 'cuddles' The father-of-two revealed to MailOnline that they have no plans to return to London following the dramatic security lapse that led to a multi-million pound jewel heist at her West London home in December 2019. Previously speaking from Dubai about their intentions, Jay said: 'We do not intend to return to the UK from Dubai. 'There are a host of reasons why we are not going back to London any time soon and security is one of them. The truth is we are playing it month by month and watching how the situation develops.' 'Words can't describe how lucky I feel': Businessman Jay also posted a heartwarming message about Sophia's milestone Celebrations galore: On the same day, baby Serena turned six months old Tender moments: A personalised pillow and PJ set helped the celebrity offspring count down the hours to her birthday Denying they had broken travel restrictions, he explained: 'We have not broken the lockdown rules to come to Dubai, that is not what we have done. At the beginning of the outbreak last year we really stuck to the rules. 'From March to May we locked down and did not leave the house [in London]. We went to Croatia in [June] the summer, but that was only after the rules changed and everyone was allowed to travel. 'From there we went to Switzerland and we stayed there until Christmas when we came here to Dubai.' Guwahati, March 18 : Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with other BJP leaders, are fooling the people through deception and falsehood. Surjewala said that in the name of development, the Prime Minister and the Assam Chief Minister are "serving mendacity to the people of Assam". "Big announcements were made to develop Assam, but the outcomes of the announcements were empty," the Congress leader told the media in Guwahati. He said that when the Congress was ruling the state five years ago, Assam was ranked second in the country in growth index. But the state has been pushed to the 20th spot in the latest rankings, while the per capita income of Assam has also reduced to a large extent, Surjewala said. Claiming that "Assam is now recognised as the most unsafe place for women", Surjewala said that in the last three years, as many as 80,794 cases have filed for crimes against women. "BJP has made Assam the hub of child trafficking. Half of such crimes are reported from Assam only," Surjewala said, as he asked the Prime Minister, "Will you answer about the crimes against women?" The Congress leader said, "Is Modi-ji planning to implement the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) after the Assam Assembly polls? The PM promised to implement the CAA in West Bengal. On the other hand, he said that his government will not implement CAA in Tamil Nadu. Why is Modi-ji silent in the context of Assam? Why this double standard?" Surjewala further said that the Modi-run Centre and the Sonowal-led state government had announced 20 big projects worth Rs 10,860 crore, but these projects are still in the initial stages even after many years of making the announcement. "Modi-ji had promised to the people of Assam that out of 63.25 lakh rural families, 59 lakh families will get water under the 'Jal Jeevan' scheme. But even after three years, as many as 56 lakh families are still deprived of this scheme," he said. Surjewala said that the Modi government had announced in 2017 that on both banks of Brahmaputra river, 1,300 km of expressway would be built at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. "But on February 8, the government informed the Rajya Sabha that there was no proposal to build any expressway on the two banks of Brahmaputra river," he said. Quoting the record of the National Family Health Survey, the Congress leader said that in the last five years, the schemes related to women and children had fallen prey to corruption. "In 2015, 35 per cent children between the age of six and 49 months suffered from anemia, but in 2020 the figures increased to 68.4 per cent," he said. Convicted ex-head of Russias Udmurtia freed from punishment on health grounds udmurt.ru 16:17 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) A court in Russias Udmurtia on Thursday released ex-head of the Republic Alexander Solovyov, who had been sentenced to 10 years in high-security penal colony for bribery, of serving the punishment for health reasons, RAPSI learnt in the courts press service. The court heard a doctors explanations, arguments of a penitentiary representative and a prosecutor, the lawyers speech, examined the submitted documents, including the medical expert report, and granted the defendants motion to free him from punishment. Solovyov was sentenced to prison in mid-October 2020. He was found guilty of bribe-taking on an especially large scale. In addition to the 10-year prison term he was fined 275 million rubles (about $3.6 million at the current exchange rate). In the course of the probe the former official admitted guilt and cooperated with investigators; he presented detailed information about the crimes he had been charged with; nevertheless, he changed his position at the court hearings saying he did not commit bribery, the statement reads. According to the charging documents, in 2014-2016, Solovyov received bribes amounting to 140 million rubles from representatives of organizations behind the construction of bridge crossings over the Kama and Buy rivers in the Udmurt Republic. On April 4, 2017, Solovyov was relieved of his position on decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Eight people of mostly Asian descent were killed and another wounded in a shooting rampage at three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday afternoon. "Four of the people who were shot dead were women of Korean descent," the Foreign Ministry here said. Police arrested a 21-year-old white man identified as Robert Aaron Long and are trying to discover his motive. The first shooting occurred at Young's Asian Massage run by a Chinese American in Cherokee County on the outskirts of Atlanta around 5 p.m. Tuesday. Five people were shot and two of them died on the spot. Two of the others died on the way to a hospital. Two were women of Chinese descent, a third was a white man, and the other a white woman, according to Cherokee County police. Having investments need not trouble your conscience. There has been a surge in so-called responsible funds that promise to ensure that your money is put to good use. You can get a decent return on your savings and use them to back firms with a good record on issues such as climate change; or righteous causes, rather than the oil and tobacco industries that have delivered big profits at the expense of other issues. The amount put into responsible funds trebled to 10billion last year You can get a decent return on your savings and use them to back firms with a good record on issues such as climate change; or righteous causes, rather than the oil and tobacco industries The pandemic has hit many investments, yet most funds that adhere to responsible environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices have provided better returns than mainstream rivals. The FTSE4Good index of ethical stocks has now beaten the FTSE 100 index of leading UK stocks over one, three, five and ten years. The MSCI World SRI Index for socially responsible funds has beaten the MSCI World Index over the same periods. The Baillie Gifford Positive Change fund, which holds 2.3billion of saver's money, has been a best-seller at investment platforms. It invests in firms globally that make a big contribution to solving environmental and social issues and has turned a 10,000 investment into 17,350 in the past 12 months, 22,460 in three years. Much of its success is due to its shares in Moderna - a biotech firm that has produced a Covid vaccine - which have soared by more than 400 per cent in the past 12 months. It also owns Tesla, the electric carmaker, which rose 695 per cent over the year. Hargreaves Lansdown reports that Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustainability is in the top ten most popular funds held by investors with Isa portfolios worth over 1million. This fund backs companies that benefit from and contribute to the sustainable development of the countries they operate in. It has turned a 10,000 investment into 13,455 in a year and 17,738 over five years. A survey found 60 per cent of investors say the 'E' for environmental in ESG is most important when choosing investments. I want my money to make a difference Sarah Quinlan, 56, wants her investments to have a positive impact on the world Sarah Quinlan, 56, wants her investments to have a positive impact on the world. She says: 'I own funds in my Isa and pension that reflect my passion for improving our environment and society. 'I avoid oil, tobacco and fast-fashion firms, for example, due to bad treatment of workers.' The retired banker who lives in Suffolk with her partner, says investing ethically can be hard: 'China is a producer of solar panels which reduce reliance on fossil fuels, for example. But investing in the country is not an ethical choice due to its appalling human rights record.' Sarah, who spends her time running her rental properties, holds the Premier Miton Ethical fund in her Isa. Its top ten holdings include pharmaceutical firms and technology stocks. In the past five years it has turned a 10,000 investment into 16,550. She is also interested in a new fund from her Isa provider, the AJ Bell Responsible Growth. Sarah saves with Triodos bank, which puts profits back into communities. She says: 'Using savings to do some good in the world is important to investors.' Darius McDermott, at Fund Calibre, tips the Ninety One Global Environment fund which only invests in firms that contribute to the decarbonisation of the world economy. It has turned 10,000 into 15,880 in a year. Investors can also choose low-cost tracker funds to access ESG-friendly companies. McDermott tips L&G Future World Climate Change Equity Factors fund and Amundi Index MSCI Global Climate Change. Choosing ethical funds is not just about investing in firms already making moral choices. Fund managers often talk to companies with poor ESG credentials to get them to improve. Where necessary, they can use their shareholder votes to get changes actioned, whether that be more diversity in boardrooms or better sustainable packaging. Some funds just avoid the oil, tobacco or gambling sectors. However, it is important to find out just how a fund invests. Sometimes ESG is used to sugar-coat bad practice or 'greenwashing'. Some investment platforms offer ratings to help with this. The Big Exchange, co-founded by The Big Issue group, only offers funds making a positive difference. Investors, who can save from 25 a month, mostly buy its packages of up to ten funds. Interactive Investor offers the ACE 40 - a list of responsible funds. At EQi, funds are independently rated according to how they tackle ESG factors. Options are included on best-buy fund lists from brands such as AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown. Fund Calibre lists a small number of responsible funds. Myron Jobson, of investment platform Interactive Investor, says: 'The only way to invest in a manner that truly aligns with your core beliefs is to find investments, funds and investment trusts that best align with your own values.' The Young and the Restless has been airing for decades, and plenty of actors have come and gone. Sasha Calle joined the cast a few years ago, and fans became attached to her character. They enjoyed seeing her and another character get together and want them to reconcile. However, their wishes may or may not happen. Calle got cast to play Supergirl in a new DC film that will arrive in 2022. The news leaves questions about her future on the show. (L-R) Jordi Vilasuso and Sasha Calle | Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images Sasha Calle plays Lola on The Young and the Restless RELATED: The Young and the Restless: Doug Davidson, Lauralee Bell, and 3 Other Stars Who Are on Instagram Calle was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1998. She lived in Columbia for a couple of years before moving back to the United States. After high school, Calle went to Los Angeles to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and majored in Performing Arts. At first, Calle had dreams of having a music career but decided to become an actor. However, she still performs music and has released a cover version of Lauren Hills Ex-Factor. The actor has appeared in Socially Awkward, Young Blood, and Rogue Tiger. In 2018, Calle got cast to be in the long-running series titled The Young and the Restless. As of today, she has been in over 200 episodes since her debut and got nominated for a Daytime Emmy. In the show, the actor plays Lola Rosales. Lola is the younger sister of Rey and Arturo Rosales. Calles character moves to Genoa City to live with Arturo and works from a food truck. Later, Lola gets a job as a head chef at Abby and Devons restaurant. She gets into a relationship with Kyle but eventually breaks up with him. However, the two end up getting married. Sasha Calle is the first Latina to portray Supergirl Breaking: Supergirl will be played by Sasha Calle in 'The Flash' film pic.twitter.com/TBRgjKzHBP Fandom (@getFANDOM) February 19, 2021 RELATED: DCs The Flash Movie: Release Date and Cast Announced While starring in The Young and the Restless has been Calles biggest role so far, she is about to play an even more well-known character. According to Deadline, the young actor will star as the DC hero Supergirl. Calle will make her superhero debut in the movie The Flash. About 425 actresses auditioned for the role, but Calle stood out to the directors and producers. Director Andy Muschietti stated. I saw more than four hundred auditions. The talent pool was truly amazing and it was very hard to make a decision, but we finally found an actress who was destined to play this role. Another reason Calle is making headlines is that she will be the first Latina woman to play Supergirl. The first actor to play the character was Helen Slater in 1984. Recently, Supergirl TV star Melissa Benoist shared her support of Calles casting. Sasha Calles future on The Young and the Restless Sasha Calle's reaction to being cast as Supergirl in #TheFlash movie. pic.twitter.com/WcdM7zyYoc Fandango (@Fandango) February 19, 2021 A lot of times, actors cannot appear in a project due to scheduling conflicts with another production. Now that Calle is going to be in The Flash, fans wonder what this means for Lola. Will the actor leave The Young and the Restless behind? According to Soaps, there is speculation that viewers may see less of Calle in future episodes. Her character has her marriage with Kyle fall apart. While she could have had a romantic storyline with Theo, their flirtations did not go anywhere. There even was an opportunity for a potential pregnancy storyline. With nothing keeping her in the show, there is a high chance that Calle will leave The Young and the Restless to film for The Flash. Fans may be sad at the thought of having to say goodbye to Lola Rosales. Many people still are excited to see her performance in the upcoming DC film. A second man has been charged with the murder of an ex-Tory activist's son, who was killed in a 'completely unprovoked' attack as he went to buy bagel. Shiroh Ambersley, from Wembley, north-west London, is the second man to be charged with murdering 22-year-old Sven Badzak in Kilburn on February 6. He is also charged with the attempted murder of the victim's 16-year-old friend. Aspiring lawyer Mr Badzak was stood outside a bagel shop with a friend when he was allegedly approached by several people last month. The pair were chased at around 5.30pm, became separated and Mr Badzak was repeatedly stabbed after falling to the ground. The teenager also suffered multiple stab injuries but managed to escape into a shop in Willesden Lane and is now said to be recovering. Shiroh Ambersley, from Wembley, north-west London, is the second man to be charged with murdering 22-year-old Sven Badzak (pictured) in Kilburn on February 6 Ambersley, 20, is due to appear at the Old Bailey tomorrow after he was in custody at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. Mr Badzak, from Maida Hill, west London was privately educated at Wetherby and Portland Place schools before attending Roehampton University. His mother Jasna Badzak, a former Conservative Party activist, said her son had gone to a shop to get orange juice and then to a bagel shop when he was attacked. 'His death was completely unprovoked,' she said, adding: 'The Waitrose bag with orange juice in that he bought using my card was found at the same place where he died.' His mother Jasna Badzak (above), a former Conservative Party activist, said her son had gone to a shop to get orange juice and then to a bagel shop when he was attacked Sven Badzak met Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a child. He was stabbed to death on his way to pick up some orange juice She previously called on Boris Johnson's help to convict her son's killers, as she believes he was killed in a random attack. The Prime Minister said 'absolutely everything' is being done to tackle violent crime after Ms Badzak, a consultant and financial analyst, asked him to help ensure her son's killers are caught. Rashid Gedel, 20, from Ilford in east London, is also charged with murdering Mr Badzak and is next due to appear at the Old Bailey on June 1. Weatherman Sam Mac is a housewives' favourite on Sunrise - and now we know why. The Channel Seven funnyman revealed a lot more than he bargained for on Thursday while wearing a skintight wetsuit during a live cross. As he chatted to a female surfer at a surf park in Tullamarine, Melbourne, it was hard to ignore his prominent bulge. Eyes up here! Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac revealed a lot more than he bargained for on Thursday while wearing a skintight wetsuit during a live cross from Tullamarine, Melbourne 'I've got to show you the back This is zipless, which is pretty exciting!' Sam told co-hosts Natalie Barr and David 'Kochie' Koch in the Sydney studio. 'We don't want to see the front, that's for sure!' Kochie responded. As the camera zoomed in on Sam's wetsuit, the anchors burst into laughter. 'I can't watch it': As the camera zoomed in on Sam's wetsuit, Sunrise co-hosts Natalie Barr (left) and David 'Kochie' Koch (right) burst into laughter 'I can't watch it,' an embarrassed Kochie said, covering his face with his script. At one point, a producer gave Sam a sign to put over his groin, but this only caused greater amusement back at Brekky Central. 'How good is HD, guys?' he joked, by which point the entire Sunrise team was giggling. Last romance: The segment may well be the perfect advertisement for Sam, who is believed to be single after splitting from girlfriend Elle Whittaker in August last year The segment may well be the perfect advertisement for Sam, who is believed to be single after splitting from girlfriend Elle Whittaker in August last year. The weatherman is regarded as a rising star at Seven, and was even considered as a replacement for Andrew O'Keefe when he was dropped as host of The Chase. This role eventually went to The Morning Show presenter Larry Emdur, however. , Cookies . cookies. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A federal agency said this week there's merit to the State Ports Authority's claim that shipping lines and the waterfront union at the Port of Charleston are illegally trying to stop a new container terminal from operating, setting up a courtroom challenge. The dispute will now be heard by an administrative law judge on May 4. In the meantime, the National Labor Relations Board issued a stipulation that lets the Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston open in the next few weeks pending the hearing's outcome. "The Leatherman Terminal is critically needed right now in view of the considerable congestion existing in U.S. ports today," Jim Newsome, the SPA's president and CEO, said in a statement. "The time has come to begin operations." Kenny Riley, president of the International Longshoremen's Association No. 1422 in Charleston, could not be reached for comment. A regional director for the NLRB said in a March 17 ruling that a contract provision between the ILA and shipping lines violates federal law because it is an illegal third-party boycott of the SPA, which is not a party to the contract. The contract states that any new terminal opening at a state-owned port must use ILA members to operate cranes and other lift equipment. That work is currently done at Charleston's terminals by SPA employees who do not belong to a union. Shipping lines have said they won't use the Leatherman Terminal until the contract issue is resolved. The section of the National Labor Relations Act in question prohibits a union and the union's employer in this case, the shipping lines from entering into any agreement where the employer "ceases or refrains or agrees to cease or refrain from handling, using, selling, transporting or otherwise dealing in any of the products of any other employer, or cease doing business with any other person ..." Sign up for our new business newsletter We're starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email Sign Up! Alan Wilson, South Carolina attorney general, said the ruling "validates the states position that this is an illegal work grab harming state employees in violation of the law." Wilson filed a similar charge against the union and shipping lines in a case that has been consolidated with the SPA complaint. The charges were filed Jan. 7, a day after Riley notified the state and the SPA that shipping lines would be prohibited from using the new terminal if union workers didn't operate the site's cranes. While the ruling is specific to Charleston's port, it could have an impact on the state-owned and operated ports in Savannah and Wilmington, N.C. The contract clause that's being disputed would require an all-ILA workforce at any new terminal at those ports. The Georgia Ports Authority has already said it plans to develop a new container terminal at Hutchinson Island near Savannah. Planning for that expansion is in the early stages. The SPA also challenged the contract on the basis that the Leatherman Terminal is not new. Construction started in 2007 but was interrupted by a sharp drop in cargo at the port. Cargo has since rebounded in the past decade and the $2 billion terminal will double Charleston's capacity by the time it is fully completed in the mid-2030s. It will be the first terminal to open since the TraPac Terminal in Jacksonville in January 2009. The Leatherman Terminal named for state Sen. Hugh Leatherman, one of the SPA's biggest legislative supporters was originally scheduled to open by the end of this month. Newsome said that has been delayed by a couple of weeks. "We're tuning up a few last-minute issues systems-wide," he said, adding the new opening date will be early- to mid-April. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - 58856 new coronavirus cases and 1177 deaths from the disease were reported in the United States on Tuesday. With this, the national total of COVID cases increased to 29607487, according to latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. COVID death toll rose to 538087. One fifth of the deaths - 233 - occurred in California, followed by Texas, which reported 173 deaths. It took the state's total death toll to 47000. New York had the most number of daily new infections - 6582. Speaking at a White House press briefing, Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said nationally, the number of daily cases continues to hover around 50,000 to 55,000, and the most recent seven-day average is 53,000 cases per day. Hospital admissions continue to fall, with the most recent seven-day average just more than 4,700 admissions per day. 'We continue to see declines in the number of deaths from COVID-19, averaging slightly more than 1,100 deaths per day over the last seven days,' she told reporters. CDC announced new funding of $2.25 billion in grants to public health departments to address COVID-19 health disparities and advance health equity among people who are at high risk and underserved. They include racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural areas. More than 100 health departments will get an average of $20 million each in grant. In the same briefing, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced that a National Reopening Summit for schools will be held next week. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will be offering opening remarks. Cardona said she notified all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico that they will be receiving nearly $122 billion from the American Rescue Plan to help them reopen schools safely and quickly. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services is allocating $10 billion for states to do screening and surveillance testing in schools. Dr. Nunes Smith, who is the head of the Biden administration's task force on health equity, said that Eli Lilly's newest monoclonal antibody combination therapy has shown the ability to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by up to 87 percent. The National Institutes of Health and the Infectious Disease Society of America formally recommend the use of this treatment in patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of progression to severe disease. Dr. Smith announced that the Department of Health and Human Services signed a new $150 million agreement to make sure that any individual or community who meets the clinical criteria can have access to these important therapeutics. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. For the second year in a row, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. With deep regret, the Board of Directors of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts announces the cancellation of its July 2021 in person event due to ongoing public health concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, read a statement on the festivals website. While the number of Americans receiving vaccinations is encouraging, ongoing public health guidance makes it impossible to produce the event our community has come to know and love, the statement continued. We must continue to put the health and safety of our audience members, artists, performers, volunteers, and sponsors first. This years festival was initially scheduled for July 7-11 in State College. The cancelation is only the second time since the event was established in 1967 that it has not been held in person, following 2020s cancelation. This was an even more difficult decision to make this year than it was last year in the early days of the pandemic said Renata S. Engel, CPFA board president, in the announcement. The fact is that as exceptional as our staff and volunteers are, our ability to produce an event of this scale with all of the uncertainty that remains about the pandemic is not possible this year. We have heard from so many of you how important the Festival is to our community and that you want it to return to the streets of State College and on our Penn State campus. And we want that too. Were committed to making that happen in the future and creating a virtual festival this year. Our enthusiasm for the arts and their important role in our community has only strengthened during this pandemic. At the moment, the festival still plans to hold a virtual festival in early July, as well as the First Night State College event on Dec. 31 of this year. Details will be announced for both via the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts website. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. -- A small fine art museum in Northwest Lower Michigan is partnering with the nations largest museum system to expand and enrich its offerings in the Traverse City region. The Dennos Museum Center announced Wednesday its new status as a Smithsonian Affiliate, which will open the door to collaborations with the renowned Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. There are more than 200 other Smithsonian Affiliates in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama. The new affiliation gives the Dennos Museum the opportunity to collaborate with the Smithsonian on local public and youth-focused programs and workshops, professional development opportunities, and traveling exhibitions. It also allows for borrowing artifacts and co-hosting public lectures by Smithsonian scholars. We are thrilled to begin building a formal relationship with the Smithsonian Institution and all of its collections and educational resources, Craig Hadley, Dennos executive director and chief curator, said in a statement. While many of us up here in Northern Michigan may have difficulty accessing Washington, D.C., it is our hope that this partnership will help bring our nations largest museum system to Traverse City residents, schools, and visitors in an affordable and collaborative way. Tucked on the wooded campus of Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, the Dennos Museum Center hosts a permanent collection encompassing 10 galleries and nearly 3,000 works of art. These include one of the nations largest collections of Inuit art, and a hands-on Discovery Gallery with interactive installations related to art and science. The museum also hosts a celebrated live concert series, and temporary art exhibits are presented every few months. In addition to its new affiliate status, the museum will soon offer a Smithsonian Affiliate membership upgrade, which will include free admission and discounts in the stores of participating Smithsonian Affiliates, a year subscription to Smithsonian Magazine or six issues of Air & Space Magazine, a 10% discount on all Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and other perks. According to a release, Smithsonian Affiliations were established in 1996 to facilitate two-way relationships among affiliates and the Smithsonian to increase discovery and inspire lifelong learning in communities across America. More information is at dennosmuseum.org. RELATED: Your guide to the ultimate summer vacation in Traverse City 13 Traverse City Airbnbs, some of the best-rated spots in Northern Michigan Sleeping Bear Dunes vacation: 50 unforgettable things to see and do Ask Dr. Jeanette, Success On The Way: Women Take The Lead Resurrecting Revival The Mothers of Gynecology part 1 Revival : A time of awakened interest; reviving what belonged to an earlier time, but now, coming into new importance and significance previously denied for such a time as this. (jp) Michelle Browder passed through Los Angeles this past week-end. She was picking up the sculptures steel armature from a fabricator in Las Vegas, then heading to San Francisco, where she will build out the work. The free event was this past Saturday morning. It is free at North Venice Little League parking lot and inviting all Angelenos to meet her and bring metal objects: brass candlesticks, copper pots and more: spare bicycle parts. They will be melted down as material for the 15-foot figurative sculpture commemorating the Mothers of Gynecology. Michelle Browder is a Montgomery based artist and activist, building awareness for the forgotten Mothers of gynecology and has erected a large scale sculptural monument to the women to be installed in Montgomery. She needs our help! None of these enslaved women gave consent to be operated on. Their suffering has been largely forgottenand overshadowed by Sims (so-called) medical achievements. Discarded objects represent how Black women have been treated in the United States and represents beauty, talent, dignity and what all elsediscarded. That is how I have come up with the name of this article. Their lives are being resurrected and revived through the imagination and artistry of Michelle Browder. A statue of surgeon J. Marion Sims has been taken down from its pedestal in Central Park on Tuesday. A New York City panel decided to move the controversial statue after outcry, because many of Sims medical breakthroughs came from experimenting on enslaved black women without anesthesia. New York City has removed a statue of J. Marion Sims from a pedestal in Central Park (a 19th-century gynecologist who experimented on enslaved black women). The statue will be moved to a cemetery in Brooklyn where Sims, sometimes called the father of gynecology, is buried. A new informational plaque will be added both to the empty pedestal and the relocated statue, and the city is commissioning new artwork to reflect the issues raised by Sims legacy. (I wonder what words will be on this informational plaque? He deserves no credit. He committed atrocious surgeries on Black women slaves without anesthesia!) Sims 1890s statue was installed across the street from the New York Academy of Medicine in 1934, with a plaque praising Sims brilliant achievement. Sims perfected a technique to repair fistulas, which are holes between the vagina and the bladder or rectum and can lead to incontinence, by repeatedly conducting painful experimental surgeries on enslaved black women without using anesthesia. This is awful!(jp) And so painful and difficult to even write about this!) In January, a mayoral commission examining controversial monuments in New York City overwhelmingly recommended that the Sims statue be relocated. (It should be destroyed!(jp) Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed. The Public Design Commission approved the decision unanimously on Monday. [HIDDEN BRAIN Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: [The Mothers of Modern Gynecology]The bible does not condone slavery or abortions. I can discuss this in the next article part 2. Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology. 2017 from Hidden Brainto be continued. Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker, Founder-Superintendent Todays Fresh Start Charter School 323-293-9826 www.todaysfreshstart.org; [email protected]tm tm[email protected] tm Inquiring minds want to know. All rights reservedAskdrjeanetteparker.com tm {ref: American Heritage College dictionary LA Times} ADVERTISEMENT On Friday, the campaign to unionize approximately 5,800 warehouse workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, which is being heavily promoted by the Democratic Party and its media affiliates nationwide, secured what might appear to be an unlikely ally: Republican senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio. Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union organizer at Amazon (AP Photo/Jay Reeves) and Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida (Greg Nash/Pool via AP) Bessemer Amazon workers are currently voting whether to accept representation by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Voting began on February 8 and workers have until March 29 to mail in their ballots. In a column published in USA Today, Rubio announced that he stands with with the RWDSU unionization drive. Rubio wrote that too often, the right to form a union has been, in practice, a requirement that business owners allow left-wing social organizers to take over their workplaces. However, the career anti-communist from Florida reassured his readers: Thats not whats going on here. While Rubio acknowledged that he is generally against adversarial relationships between employers and employees, he provided a right-wing, nationalist justification for supporting the unionization drive in the case of Amazon. Amazon should be punished, he wrote, for allegedly bowing to China. Rubio went on to denounce Amazon for endorsing woke culture, for refusing to publish or distribute certain right-wing tracts, and for putting its own corporate interests ahead of what Rubio perceives as Americas national interests. A company that behaves in this way, according to Rubio, cannot count on conservatives to rally to its defense against a unionization drive. Rubios endorsement should give pause to anyone who has been inclined to throw their uncritical support behind the RWDSU campaign in Alabama. A one-time favorite of the so-called Tea Party movement and the National Rifle Association, and a veteran of local Florida politics long dominated by far-right anti-Castro exiles, there is nothing left-wing about Rubios political career. He has voiced his support for a long line of US invasions and proxy wars, and he has consistently solidarized himself with the drive by Christian fundamentalists to outlaw abortion. Rubio sought the Republican nomination for president in 2016, losing to Trump, and he opposed Trumps impeachment following the January 6, 2021, coup attempt. RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, clearly thrilled by Rubios column, celebrated with a same-day press release: We welcome support from all quarters. Senator Rubios support demonstrates that the best way for working people to achieve dignity and respect in the workplace is through unionization. This should not be a partisan issue. The presentation of the unionization drive by the RWDSU as a bipartisan issue is extremely revealing. What this means is that, as far as the RWDSU is concerned, there will be no demands for social equality. There will be no challenge to the privileges and prerogatives of the billionaires. There will be no political demands for genuinely left-wing policies that challenge the wealth and power of billionaires like Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. There will be no mobilization of workers against the threat of violence from the far-right, as expressed in the attempted coup on January 6. Above all, there will be no challenge to capitalism, the existing social order, or the political status quo. In fact, the RWDSU has not raised any concrete demands on behalf of the Bessemer workers. On Sunday, the World Socialist Web Site sent an e-mail inquiry to the union, asking for a list of the demands the RWDSU has told workers it will fight for if it wins the vote. Chelsea Connor, RWDSU director of communications, responded, That would be during contract negotiations, not during the union campaign. There is no shortage of demands that could and should be raised. Workers want to abolish the oppressive rate system, substantially improve their wages, protect themselves against COVID-19 and unsafe working conditions, and end the surveillance regime that records and logs every second of a workers day. As opposition among Amazon workers finds more and more direct and conscious political expression, it will, in fact, bring forward immediate demands on questions of wages and workplace safetyand it will also necessarily raise challenges across broader social and political questions. Amazon is a company, after all, that reported a record-setting haul of $21.3 billion in 2020 profits, amid a rise in the stock price that added $70 billion to the personal fortune of Bezos and sent the companys market capitalization soaring to $1.4 trillion. With those profits, the company could have given each and every one of its 1.3 million workers worldwide a $16,000 raise and still have had plenty of cash to spare. Amazon workers in the US will necessarily turn outwards to other Amazon and logistics workers around the world, who face a struggle against the same international conglomerate, as well as towards a common struggle with teachers, autoworkers, and other sections of the working class to demand that workers health and safety be prioritized over corporate profits. The fact that the RWDSU has raised no demands only demonstrates that it cannot and will not serve as a vehicle for articulating the massive opposition of Amazon workers. Instead, the unionization campaign has been a top-down operation, supported by Biden and the Democrats and sections of the Republican Party like Rubio. That is because they hope the unions can serve as a labor police force to suppress working-class militancy and the anti-capitalist and socialist sentiments that are growing among workers and young people. With each passing day, it is becoming more and more clear that the full-throated endorsements of the Bessemer unionization campaign coming from sections of the political establishment are not a reflection of the growing opposition in the working class to capitalism, but of an effort to suppress that opposition. This basic function of the unions has been borne out by the whole experience of the global pandemic, during which the unions failed to call any significant strike actions even as 2.7 million people died, including 550,000 in the US. The RWDSU and its parent union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), kept workers on the job when they were literally dying. This included three RWDSU workers at a Tyson poultry plant in Camilla, Georgia, last April. While Amazon workers in the US are not unionized, their co-workers in Europe, many of whom are in unions, fared little better during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the teachers unions in particular are now promoting the murderous lie of a safe reopening of schools, browbeating teachers who insist on the scientific fact that conditions remain unsafe. Whatever the outcome of the vote on unionization, Amazon workers will be confronted with a struggleeither against management directly or against management and its toadies in the union bureaucracy together. Amazon workers in Bessemer and other facilities will have to follow the example of the co-workers at Amazons BWI2 facility in Baltimore, Maryland, who have formed a rank-and-file committee, controlled by workers themselves and independent of the Democrats, Republicans, and unions. Such committees, which have been launched by educators in Alabama, Michigan, California and other states, along with autoworkers in several midwestern states, will be the primary vehicle for articulating and fighting for workers demands, preventing their struggles from being hijacked, and coordinating the struggles of Amazon and other workers throughout the United States and around the globe. The National Trade Union Block (BNS) supports the inclusion of a reporting system to Parliament regarding the implementation of the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR), according to a press release sent on Thursday by the union. "Based on the provisions of the regulations regarding the European Mechanism of Recovery and Resilience, in regards to reporting, monitoring and dialogue for ensuring transparency, BNS proposes for Romania a mechanism based on the European model. In this sense we support the modification of PL-x no. 639/2020 - Draft Law for approval of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 155/2020 regarding some measures for elaborating the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience necessary for Romania to access external repayable and non-repayable funds within the Mechanism for Resilience and Recovery, in the sense of including a system of periodic reporting towards the Romanian Parliament of the way in which implementation of the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience is being carried out, the stage of quantity and quality indicators, as well as modifications brought to the program throughout its implementation period," the BNS press release reads. BNS sent the parliamentary groups a proposal for modifying the normative act, according to the press release. The union appreciates that for the PNRR all relevant political and social actors can contribute, not just the Government. "After benefiting from European support throughout last year through the SURE program, Romania can benefit during the period of 2021-2026, through the PNRR, financial support to up to 30.4 billion Euro, of which 14.2 billion Euro in grants and 16.2 billion in lending on favorable terms. In order to receive this support, Romania needs to present to the European Commission, until 30.04.2021, a National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, with quality and quantity objectives, which follow the six pillars from the regulation, the recent recommendations of the Council and other targets laid out in the mentioned document," the quoted source said. Shows almost over for TV brands in popularity contest At a Dien May Xanh store in Hanois Cau Giay district, typical of most electronics stores focused on television sets, a batch of products are shown in cases of various types, sizes, and specifications. However, customers would now find it hard to locate any TV set from leading Japanese electronics brands like Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba. In the Cau Giay store, Tran Son Tung wanted to buy a TV for his new house and shared his memory about his previous Toshiba TV set. Four years ago I bought a Toshiba fridge, and amazingly I received a 55-inch TV for free after a lucky draw. Today I decided to look for a new Toshiba TV basically as a thank-you but I am failing, as I cant seem to find any. Staff of the Dien May Xanh store said that they had stopped receiving Toshiba sets over the last two years. We presented them in the showroom to try and sell just like the rest of the TVs that other manufacturers sent, said one staff member. But recently, the number we receive is quite low and no-one asks for these brands anymore. So we leave any of the older-model TVs in the warehouse. In fact, sales of large-screen TVs remained at two-digit growth (85, 58, and 29 per cent, respectively) in the periods of 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020. According to the German market research institute GfK, in the first three quarters of 2020, Samsung maintained the leading position with 44.7 per cent of market share, rising by 2 per cent on-year. That of Sony reduced by 6.7 per cent on-year to 25.9 per cent, followed by LG with 17.6 per cent of market share (up 3.8 per cent on-year). The three largest brands make up 88.2 per cent of the whole market share, while the 11.8 per cent left divides for all small players like TCL and Asanzo, brands that are being neglected such as Sharp, Toshiba, and new names like Casper and Mobell, said Le Van Tien, an expert working at a leading TV production facility. In the 10 per cent of market share, TCL is accounting for 5 per cent, while Asanzo is capturing 3 per cent, focusing on customers in rural areas. Quite simply, the space for Japanese brands which used to be popular is going to get much smaller and shrink away, added Tien. In 2015, Toshiba Corporation stopped making and selling TVs in North America, licensing its brand to Taiwanese group Compal after deeming the US market too competitive. This company licensed its TV business in various other markets in an effort to cut costs and launch higher-end televisions, but price competition remains harsh, according to Reuters. Nguyen Quang Huy, head of sales and marketing at Toshiba Vietnam, said that after decades of Toshiba TVs being manufactured in Vietnam, they were then imported from Indonesia. However, even imports eventually ceased. Facing the same woes, Panasonic Corporation transferred its unprofitable Sanyo TV unit in the United States to another company, and decided to stop the production of panels for TVs in 2016. The manufacturer blamed the situation on the unprofitable production of TV displays and increased competition from Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean counterparts. In 2019, Panasonic Corporation announced its decision to stop production of LCD panels. This activity is part of the groups restructuring plan for business operations. All resources of this company such as technology lines and human resources will be optimised to serve other key areas of the Panasonic Group. In Vietnam, the number of TVs manufactured by Panasonic sharply decreased over the last couple of years, according to distributors. Despite still being showcased in some electronics marts, Dien May Xanh has halted display of the brand altogether. In 2019, Panasonic Corporation announced its decision to stop the production of LCD panels at Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd. (Himeji city, Japan) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panasonic Group. This activity is part of the group's restructuring plan for its business operations. All resources of this company such as technology lines and human resources will be optimised to serve other key areas of Panasonic Group, especially the Business to Business (B2B) sector. By stopping LCD panel production, Panasonic aims to focus resources on B2B production and other business lines with the aim of bringing greater value to consumers and society. Moving forward, in Vietnam, Panasonic Vietnam announced the transformation from a general consumer electronics company to a total wellness solutions providing company, defining a new strategic vision to develop technology to better serve the needs of people and for a sustainable Vietnamese society, at the end of 2020, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Panasonics official presence in the country (1971-1921). Panasonic's global production and business activities are always pursuing the business philosophy of Contributing to society set forth by the group's founders more than 100 years ago. Previously, Panasonic focused on the strength of high-quality entertainment products at affordable prices, then with the awareness of urgent social issues in Vietnam such as air and water pollution, food hygiene, and safety, among others, Panasonic has shifted its focus on total wellness solutions for consumers. Specifically, Panasonic Vietnam introduced its Strategic vision, pioneering in human-oriented technology with the mission: Passion for your health & comfort. With that determination, Panasonic focuses on both business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) businesses, presenting Total Wellness Solutions including three suites of solutions: (1) Total air solutions to improve indoor air quality; (2) Total hygiene solutions to improve hygiene quality of living space; (3) Total healthcare solutions to improve peoples health, bringing a balanced body, beauty, and appearance with kitchen products and beauty care equipment. Panasonic provides total air solutions for office buildings, hotels, clinics, and homes for a clean, healthy atmosphere. At the same time, consumers can also access and enjoy outstanding benefits from Panasonic's total healthcare solutions. (Source: Panasonic press release) Panasonic Vietnam declared its new business value proposition: changing from consumer electronics to wellness solutions providing company; and officially launched its total wellness solutions with a commitment of bringing a healthy, safe and convenient life for Vietnamese people. Although Sharp is focusing on its LCD units, after also selling all its TV business and manufacturing facilities in the US in 2015, in Vietnam its TV sets, which used to be imported from Malaysia and Thailand in small quantities, are causing losses. The disappearance of such formerly-popular TV brands is not a new phenomenon. People saw the death of traditional TVs along with such brands as National, Viettronic, and Hitachi in the 1980s and 1990s in Vietnam. Success should be attributed to non-stop innovation and improvement, said Tien. Russias Cabinet approves bill on compensations to foreigners stranded in emergency zones RAPSI 15:43 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) The Government Commission on Legislative Drafting has approved an initiative on granting the right to receive compensation payments to foreign citizens and stateless persons who have found themselves stranded in emergency zones, Chair of the Association of Lawyers of Russia Vladimir Gruzdev informs RAPSI. Foreign citizens and stateless persons stranded in emergency zones are to be entitled to compensation payments if decisions on such compensations are made in relation to Russian citizens so affected. It is planned that the respective provision is to supplement the law on the protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies, Gruzdev said. Foreign nationals are unconditionally entitled to a certain part of the rights granted by law to Russian citizens, for instance those related to the information about risks involved or participation in disaster relief activities, the Association Chair noted. However, foreign nationals will have the right to receive compensation subject to the principle of parity: if such guarantees are provided for Russian citizens in their countries. For this, Russia and foreign states will have to conclude appropriate international treaties. At the same time, it should be emphasized that foreigners are to retain the right to medical care under the procedures established by the legislation of the Russian Federation regardless of the existence of international treaties, Gruzdev observed. At the same time, stateless persons will receive the same rights in the field of protection from emergencies as Russian citizens, according to the Association Chair. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Child care more affordable through innovative, bipartisan cost-sharing program Child care more affordable through innovative, bipartisan cost-sharing program Gov. Whitmer launches the MI Tri-Share pilot program, dividing cost of child care equally between employees, their employer and the State of Michigan March 18, 2021 Media Contact: Beata Kica, 517-614-9773 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the three regional facilitator hub awardees of the MI Tri-Share Child Care Pilot Program (Tri-Share), an innovative approach to increasing access to high quality, affordable child care for working families, while also helping to retain talent and removing one major barrier to employment. Through Tri-Share, the cost of child care is shared equally by an eligible employee, their employer and the State of Michigan, with coordination being provided regionally by a facilitator hub. "Every parent in Michigan deserves access to quality, safe, and affordable child care, and Tri-Share brings us one step closer to achieving that goal," said Gov. Whitmer. "During my time in office, I'm proud of the steps we took to make child care more affordable for Michigan parents, including expanding access to child care for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a mom of two daughters, I know how critical child care is, and I will continue working with our partners, especially leaders in the business community, to ensure every parent has access to quality, affordable child care." Funded with a $1 million appropriation in the FY 21 budget, the program will operate initially in three regions of the state, and will be administered by the Michigan Women's Commission, housed within the Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). The three regional facilitator hubs chosen for the Tri-Share pilot are: Goodwill Industries of West Michigan, serving Muskegon County; Saginaw Intermediate School District, serving the Great Lakes Bay Region; and the United Way of Northwest Michigan, serving a five-county rural region in Northwest Lower Michigan. "As the economy changes, child care must adapt as well. Access to child care supports both present and future generations of the workforce. If we make the investment today, we will ensure the flourishing of the next generation while meeting the needs of working parents and the businesses that seek to employ them," said LEO Acting Director Susan Corbin. A coalition of business and advocacy leaders, led by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and Representative Greg VanWoerkom (R-MI-91), championed funding for the pilot program. "It is a priority of mine to find innovative ideas in addressing affordable and accessible childcare. That is why I am proud to have been a part of an incredible effort to introduce this pilot program," said Rep. VanWoerkom. "Child care keeps Michigan working," explains Rick Baker, CEO of the Grand Rapids Chamber. "Our members tell us child care is essential to having the talent West Michigan needs to thrive. That's why we were vocal supporters of Tri-Share and additional investments in child care." As Tri-Share launches this month, the three regional facilitator hubs will work to ensure a successful pilot phase and partner with the state to work toward long-term sustainability. The role of the facilitator hub is to act as an intermediary between employers, families and child care providers, and to provide overall program management. Tri-Share is the latest step Gov. Whitmer has taken to stabilize the child care industry and make care available and affordable for families. In her budget recommendation, Gov. Whitmer proposed $370 million for the expansion of childcare options providing additional supports for Michigan families by temporarily increasing the income eligibility threshold from 150% to 200% and temporarily waiving out-of-pocket copays through fiscal year 2022, with a 10 percent increase in hourly rates for child-care providers. Gov. Whitmer also proposed continuing the Tri-Share pilot with a $2.2 million investment. "Every family wants their child to be safe, happy, healthy and learning," said Cheryl Bergman, CEO of the Michigan Women's Commission. "But for too many working families, quality child care is simply unaffordable. The MI Tri-Share Child Care program addresses the issue of affordability head-on by bringing employers and the state to the table together as direct stakeholders. It is a critical step in developing more opportunities to help Michigan women successfully enter or re-enter the workforce and secure long-term economic competitiveness for our state." Employees eligible to participate in the Tri-Share pilot must be employed by a participating employer, have an income above 150% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and below 250% FPL, and not otherwise be eligible for the Child Development and Care Program (commonly called the state child care subsidy). Participating employers must agree to identify and recruit eligible employees, provide employer portion of each participating employee's child care costs and maintain communication with the facilitator hub regarding each employee's continued employment and eligibility. The man accused of murdering gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro has been bailed ahead of his trial amid exceptional legal delays forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale said he was satisfied the COVID-19 pandemic had caused such a delay to the case against Vincenzo Crupi, 72, that he granted him bail on Thursday. Joseph Pino Acquaro was gunned down in Brunswick in March 2016. Credit:Paul Rovere Delay alone in this case ... is an exceptional circumstance which would justify the grant of bail, Justice Beale said. Mr Crupi, who the court heard has no criminal history, has been on remand in custody since his arrest in November 2018. The Morrison Government has sensationally dumped the vast majority of its own industrial relations reforms including wage theft penalties. The coalition could only salvage increased rights for casual workers to ask for permanent jobs and a definition of that work type from its original bill. Provisions criminalising wage theft, changes to enterprise bargaining, award simplification and extended long-term pay agreements for major projects were thrown out. The wide-ranging omnibus bill was drafted after months of negotiations between unions, business groups and the government. After it became clear Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff - who held the deciding vote - would back only the casuals and wage theft provisions, the government gutted the package. Scott Morrison has sensationally dumped the vast majority of its own industrial relations reforms including wage theft penalties Prime Minister Scott Morrison blamed Labor for leading opposition to the bill despite his government failing to win crossbench support for the measures. 'There are many in the Senate and the Labor Party in particular who don't share my passion for creating jobs,' he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday. 'I am a practical person, too. That means if this Senate is saying they don't wish to support those measures, then we will have to consider that in terms of how we go forward because I will send them other things to approve.' Senator Griff said he was gobsmacked with the government's decision to scrap wage theft penalties. 'Shame on you all for trashing such an important amendment,' he told parliament. But he voted for the amended bill, sparking a split with lower house colleague Rebekha Sharkie, who accused him of breaking an agreement to oppose anything that small business and unions did not agree on. 'Stirling voted in a manner that I do not support,' she said. 'Where this landed is totally unacceptable.' After it became clear Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff (pictured) - who held the deciding vote - would back only the casuals and wage theft provisions, the government gutted the package Wage theft penalties were supported by all five crossbench senators in a rare consensus on the controversial reforms. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said the government was walking away from nine months of negotiations. 'This is shameful and vindictive reaction to not getting widespread support for other changes that would reduce workers' rights,' she said. The government forced the heavily amended bill through the upper house on Thursday, the last Senate sitting until mid-May. Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter was on leave for the crucial week of negotiation after emphatically denying historical rape allegations. His temporary replacement Michaelia Cash said the watered down bill would provide certainty for small business and casual workers. Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter was on leave for the crucial week of negotiation after emphatically denying historical rape allegations Labor Senate leader Penny Wong said the government was too distracted by other problems to negotiate the passage of its reforms. 'This is a government in crisis,' she told the chamber. One Nation supported the government's package after striking a deal for small changes to rules around converting to casual employment. Independents Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick had proposed dumping all of the bill except for the wage theft penalties. Opposition frontbencher Katy Gallagher described the government's approach as a complete shemozzle. Mayorkas Has Lost Control: Lindsey Graham First Senator to Suggest DHS Chief Leave Office Amid Border Surge Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) became the first GOP senator to suggest that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas resign in the midst of a surge of illegal border-crossers. It is clear to me the Biden Administration has lost control of the border. Under its current leadership, it doesnt have either the will or capability to fix the problem, Graham said in a statement Thursday. It is time for DHS Secretary Mayorkas to change course or change jobs. The situation is bad and only going to get worse, he added. Unless there is immediate and drastic change, the worst is yet to comeby far. On Wednesday, Mayorkas testified in front of Congress about the surge and defended the White Houses response to the situation while refusing to call it a crisis as Republicans and some Democratic lawmakers have asserted. The Biden administration has also been criticized for using mixed-messaging. President Joe Biden told ABC News on Tuesday that the border isnt open, telling potential border crossers, Dont leave on your own. Were in the process of getting set up, dont leave your town or city or community, he said. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Earlier in the weekend, the DHS chief issued a statement saying the United States is now on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years, describing the situation as difficult. But we will not waver in our commitment to succeed. That is our job, Mayorkas also said in his opening statement to lawmakers this week. We will also not waver in our values and our principles as a nation. In the Department of Homeland Security, we can and we will tackle the many challenges we face while complying with our legal obligations and honoring our nations values and principles. Republicans have accused the White House of essentially giving the green light to illegal border-crossers to enter the United States after rescinding a number of President Donald Trumps immigration rulesincluding the Remain in Mexico policy and construction of the border wallduring Bidens first days in office in January. Meanwhile, some have said that Bidens plan to create a pathway for more than 11 million illegal immigrants created an incentive for the surge. But Democrats have countered those assertions with claims that it was Trumps immigration policies that caused the crisis. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said there were more than 100,000 apprehensions in Februarya 28-percent increase from Januarys figures. The Epoch Times contacted the DHS for comment. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:45:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on Wednesday the outcomes of its Universal Periodic Review of the United States, shedding light on the appalling state of basic human rights in the country. During the review, a U.S. representative underscored the country's pride in its human rights records, whereas a series of alarming facts painted a different portrait of the self-proclaimed "leader of the free world." For example, a group of UN recognized NGOs told the council that discrimination and inequality have been long-standing challenges in the country, with incidences of harassment and discrimination accelerating over the past two years. It remains uncertain whether the report could propel change in the world's largest economy, long used to highlighting human rights concerns in other countries. "ALARMING INEQUALITIES" The United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world's population, has logged about a quarter of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases and one fifth of global deaths from the disease. During the periodic review, several countries urged the country to respect right to life and health of Americans and quit politicizing the pandemic. "We would strongly recommend the U.S. government that they establish a public system guaranteeing the right to health for their people who have been decimated because of COVID-19," noted a representative of Venezuela. In a written recommendation, Turkey said the United States should guarantee free health care to all segments of American society during the epidemic. Cuba said Washington should guarantee the right to health, especially in the context of COVID-19, and Singapore suggested the United States continue its efforts to build a more inclusive society and reduce inequalities, including updating its strategic plan to address the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on vulnerable populations. If the United States truly intends to promote and protect human rights, a diplomat in Geneva said, it should take effective measures to cope with the pandemic and prevent the heavy loss of lives in the first place. For UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, what stood behind the widespread protests affecting hundreds of U.S. cities last year were the "alarming inequalities" exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Racial minority populations in the country often experience higher hunger rates linked to poverty, according to review documents. "In the United States, protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd are highlighting not only police violence against people of color, but also inequalities in health, education, employment and endemic racial discrimination," said the UN human rights chief. "BLACK LIVES DO NOT MATTER" Racial discrimination and police brutality illustrate the extent of human rights violations in the United States. Several reports submitted to the working group of the review indicated that racial disparities persisted throughout the U.S. criminal justice system, and African Americans were nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated. For instance, George Floyd, an African American, died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes in May 2020, which soon triggered protests against racism and police brutality across the globe. "Black lives do not matter in the United States of America," said George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, addressing an urgent debate held by the UN Human Rights Council last year. During this round of the review, Professor Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, noted the long-standing structural discrimination on the basis of race, saying the United States remained a segregated society, while several other UN experts warned that racism and xenophobia were on the rise in the country. Mass incarceration, police violence, housing segregation, disparity in the quality of education, labour market segmentation, political disenfranchisement and environmental degradation continued to disproportionately impact Black people, according to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. Institutionalized racism, especially within law enforcement, was another issue raised. India suggested the United States strengthen gun legislation to combat racial injustice and killings. Russia called for effective measures to end racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, and Austria raised the issue of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials. Despite strong evidence of excessive and often lethal force, officers were often not criminally charged or otherwise held accountable, the review showed. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The number of human rights concerns continue to pile up for the United States. Rural communities in the country lack access to basic sanitation, with little political will to rectify the problem through adequate infrastructure funding. De Schutter noted that almost a quarter of full-time workers and three quarters of part-time workers in the country receive no paid sick leave. Punishing and imprisoning the poor were distinctively American responses to poverty. Workers who failed to repay their debts, those who cannot afford private probation services, minorities targeted for traffic infractions, the mentally ill and fathers who cannot pay child support were locked up. A number of questions were raised during the review. Has the United States adopted any measure to redress arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and other human rights violations committed by the CIA and other intelligence agencies overseas? Have those responsible for perpetuating or ordering such violations been held accountable? Does the United States plan to end its military interventions in other countries and stop killing their civilians wantonly? A representative of the Chinese delegation pointed out Wednesday that the United States "neither apologizes for its evil past of genocide nor provides reparation to the victims," but instead "maliciously slanders other countries out of political motivation." A Syrian representative on Wednesday asked that since some recommendations to the United States have been addressed under the banner of national security, does this mean that crimes as a result of U.S. military aggression are legal and justified under its national laws? As a representative from Belarus commented, "the Americans wish to put other people's houses in order in the field of human rights," and that should not serve as justification for a dismissive attitude towards their own problems. Enditem Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 00:50:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA/LUSAKA/HARARE/KIGALI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, as well as chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday expressed their deep condolences over the death of Tanzanian President John Magufuli. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday announced a seven-day period of national mourning in honor of the late Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli. Kenyatta ordered that Kenyan flag and that of the East African Community to fly at half mast in all public buildings and Kenyan diplomatic missions abroad until sunset on the day Magufuli, who died Wednesday evening due to heart disease, will be buried. The Kenyan leader mourned Magufuli as a champion of pan-Africanism, saying Africa and the world have lost an illustrious leader, whose vision, passion, and immense leadership propelled Tanzania forward, and also steered the East African Community to closer integration and cooperation. "In the passing on of President Magufuli, I have lost a friend, a colleague, and a visionary ally; whom I worked with closely, particularly on our commitment to forging lasting bonds between Kenya and Tanzania," he said in a televised news conference in Nairobi. The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday also expressed condolences over the passing of Tanzania's President John Magufuli. "On behalf of the African Union family, the Chairperson expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the late President Magufuli, and stands in solidarity and mourning with the government and people of Tanzania during this difficult time of loss," an AU statement read. The chairperson of the AU Commission described Magufuli's sudden death as a continental loss. "Africa has lost a valiant champion of regional cooperation in the East African region and a committed Pan Africanist leader. May his soul rest in peace," the statement quoted Mahamat as saying. Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Thursday sent a message of condolences to Tanzania's Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the death of President Magufuli. The Zambian leader said he was greatly saddened by the untimely death of the Tanzanian leader and noted that the late Tanzanian president will be remembered for his immense contribution towards the growth of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) when he served as chair of the regional bloc, adding that Zambia will continue to cherish the friendship shared by the two countries. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sent a message of condolences to the family of Tanzanian President John Magufuli following his death Wednesday at the age of 61. "My deepest condolences to the family of His Excellency President John Magufuli and the people of Tanzania. Africa mourns with you. May his soul rest in peace," Mnangagwa said in a tweet Thursday. As SADC Chairperson, Magufuli supported the regional call for the unconditional removal of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West, Mnangagwa said. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared national mourning for late Tanzanian President John Magufuli. During the period of the national mourning, Rwanda's national flag and the flag of the East African Community on Rwandan territory will fly at half-mast until his burial, said the Office of the Prime Minister Thursday in a statement, pledging that Rwanda, which shares the border with Tanzania, will remain in solidarity with the people of Tanzania and the family of Magufuli. Earlier in the day, Kagame sent his condolences to the Tanzanian people in a tweet, saying Magufuli's contribution to Tanzania and the region "will not be forgotten." Magufuli died Wednesday in a hospital in Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania. Magufuli had been in office since 2015 and was serving his second five-year term until his death. He was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020. The Tanzanian government has announced a 14-day national mourning following the death of Magufuli, who was re-elected the president of Tanzania in October 2020. According to Tanzania's Constitution, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan shall be sworn in and serve the remainder of Magufuli's term. Enditem Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small has filed a lawsuit against a political opponent, claiming the man slandered his name in a radio interview last year. Small and his wife, LaQuetta Small, the principal of Atlantic City High School, filed suit on Monday against Craig Callaway over the 2020 interview. According to the suit, Small says Callaways statement that there were children in the mayors home being sexually abused was erroneous, and slanderous. Marty, you and your wife should have been focused on protecting and saving children who were in your home, who were savagely attacked and raped in your home, Callaway said on a local radio show in 2020. During the segment, Callaway said he was referring to Kayan Frazier, LaQuetta Smalls cousin who lived with the Smalls for a period of time and later pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. Small, a Democrat, and Callaway, who has recently begun working for Republicans, have engaged in political battles in the past, including Small filing a complaint over Callaways voting assistance efforts. Political discourse is healthy and encouraged in New Jersey, but the right of political discourse does not carry with it a privilege to make false accusations of criminal conduct against an elected official or a school principal or anyone else, the Smalls lawyer, Edwin J. Jacobs, said at a Wednesday morning press conference. Callaway told NJ Advance Media Wednesday afternoon that he was aware of the lawsuit but had not yet read it. When asked if he stood by his statements, Callaway said, if it wasnt true, I wouldnt say it, later adding that he had proof to support his claims. He declined to provide that proof. Callaway said he plans on filing a countersuit for slander over the voter assistance complaint filed by Small, but had not yet retained counsel. Fraizer was employed as a substitute teacher within the Atlantic City school district while living with the Smalls, the suit says, and worked at schools where LaQuetta Small served as principal. The couple says Frazier left their Atlantic City home in late 2015, several years before he was charged, and moved into a Somers Point apartment where the crimes are said to have taken place. In February 2017, LaQuetta Small said she became aware that Fraizer was having a student sleep over at his home, the suit says. Small said she reported her cousin to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, the agency that hires substitutes in Atlantic City, and the mother of the student Frazier was spending time with, the suit says. Frazier was fired by the Board of Education in April 2017 and was hired later that year by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. In 2019, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office and the U.S. Attorney Generals Office began investigating Fraizer. He was charged by the local prosecutors office with possession of child pornography, and charged by federal prosecutors with receipt, distribution, and production of child pornography. Fraizer pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of producing images of child pornography. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Cement export from Pakistan remains fragile in 8MFY21 18 March 2021 The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) of Pakistan has released cement export and production data for the July 2020-February 2021 and July 2020-January 2021 periods, respectively. It shows mixed trends. Export volumes increased during this period, but revenues declined in dollar terms, reflecting a dwindling global market for cement and clinker. Meanwhile, local output increased. Export Pakistan's cement industry earned US$183.19m of export revenue by delivering 5.469Mt of cement and clinker overseas in 8MFY20-21, compared to US$193.92m from 5.156Mt of exports in the year-ago period. This represents a 5.5 per cent fall in dollar terms but reflects growth of 6.1 per cent in terms of volumes during this period, as reported by FBS. In local currency terms, the export value decreased by 1.3 per cent to PKR29.86bn (US$191.3m) from PKR30.24bn during this 8MFY20-21. Nevertheless, the cost per tonne fell from US$37.61/t in 8MFY19-20 to US$33.49/t in the July 2020-February 2021 period. In February 2021 alone, revenues fell to US$19.52m on the export of 537,452t from US$20.74m with cement and clinker exports of 607,441t in January 2021. This represents a substantial shrinkage of 5.9 per cent and 11.5 per cent in terms of value and quantity, respectively. Production in 7MFY21 The Large Scale Manufacturing Industries Index (LSMI) has continued to surpass pre-COVID levels, with economic recovery continuing to be in full swing. The latest data released by PBS suggests that LSMI output during 7MFY21 witnessed an increase of 7.9 per cent YoY and an increase of 9.1 per cent YoY, during January 2021. Over the period, Pakistani cement production increased by 23.1 per cent YoY to 28.856Mt compared to 23.438Mt a year earlier. The upward trend was also observed in January 2021, when production rose by 38.1 per cent to 4.281Mt versus 3.1Mt in the same month last year. Published under Victorias Aboriginal Affairs Minister says the states systems of government, education and justice are still burdened by ingrained racism and informed by a dark shadow from our past. As the state embarks on a nation-first process to tell the truth about Indigenous suffering, minister Gabrielle Williams has told The Age she believes Victorian society is underpinned by a series of assumptions that continue to harm Indigenous people. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams standing in front of a Moreton Bay fig tree in Carlton Gardens that has significance to Indigenous people. Credit:Simon Schluter I dont think you can look at the data on outcomes for Aboriginal people without it being starkly obvious that there is something wrong in the operation of many of our systems that is greatly discriminating against Aboriginal people, she said, adding many Victorians had a very thin understanding of First Australians daily lives. With a years-long, royal commission-style inquiry the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission set to examine historical and present-day experiences of First Nations people, Ms Williams said the state had something deeply ingrained in our systems which is ultimately failing Aboriginal Victorians. The stars of Channel 4's Gogglebox teared into Meghan Markle as they watched her blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey, joking that she should 'get a job in the gift shop' to pay for her security after it was removed. Many panelists were critical of the Duchess of Sussex, and TV regulator Ofcom has since had 51 complaints about comments made about the Royal Family on the show. However this was dwarfed by the 4,398 complaints about the Oprah interview itself, and 57,121 over Piers Morgan's criticism of Meghan on ITV's Good Morning Britain. Among those reacting to the interview on Gogglebox were Blackpool-based brother and sister Pete and Sophie Sandiford, after it first aired in Britain on ITV on March 8. They commented on claims by Prince Harry that senior royals suggested Meghan Markle should start acting again to cover their security costs after this was removed. Among those reacting to the interview were Blackpool-based brother and sister Pete and Sophie Sandiford. Speaking about Meghan, Miss Sandiford joked: 'Stick her in the gift shop while you're at it. You know, 30 hours a week in the gift shop - that should cover her funds' London-based Mica Ven (right) told Channel 4's Gogglebox of Meghan: 'She thought it was a couple of postcards she might have to be on the front of going like that [waving]' And Miss Sandiford joked: 'Stick her in the gift shop while you're at it. You know, 30 hours a week in the gift shop - that should cover her funds.' Brighton-based hairdresser Stephen Webb added: 'What did they want her to do? Get her a part in EastEnders?' Talking about feeling trapped, Meghan said in the interview that the 'easiest way that now people can understand it is what we've all gone through in lockdown'. But Hull-based Lee Riley said: 'I weren't in a f***ing 14-bedroom f***ing castle.' Talking about Meghan's references to lockdown, Hull-based Lee Riley said: 'I weren't in a f***ing 14-bedroom f***ing castle'. Speaking from her caravan alongside him, his best friend Jenny Newby added: 'We're stuck in here love, you want to try it in here with us' Reacting to Meghan's claims that she couldn't get help for her mental health, Wiltshire-based Mary Killen (right) said: 'I can't believe that if the Queen knew how upset she was, the Queen wouldn't have insisted she had some help' Meghan said she went into marrying Harry 'naively' and had not researched the Royal Family, prompting Derby-based Baasit Siddiqui (right) to say: 'How can you go into it naively though?' Speaking from her caravan alongside him, his best friend Jenny Newby added: 'We're stuck in here love, you want to try it in here with us.' What the Gogglebox stars said about Prince Harry and Meghan On Prince Harry claiming that senior royals suggested Meghan Markle should start acting again to cover their security costs after this was removed. Sophie Sandiford: 'Stick her in the gift shop while you're at it. You know, 30 hours a week in the gift shop - that should cover her funds.' Stephen Webb: 'What did they want her to do? Get her a part in EastEnders?' On Meghan talking about being trapped and saying the 'easiest way that now people can understand it is what we've all gone through in lockdown'. Lee Riley: 'I weren't in a f***ing 14-bedroom f***ing castle.' Jenny Newby: 'We're stuck in here love, you want to try it in here with us.' On Meghan speaking about alleged conversations over concerns about Archie's skin tone before he was born, accusing an unnamed royal of racism. Pete Sandiford: 'I mean, this is going to have massive ramifications now for the Royal Family, because our perception of them is changing.' On Meghan's claims that she couldn't get help for her mental health. Mary Killen: 'I can't believe that if the Queen knew how upset she was, the Queen wouldn't have insisted she had some help.' On Meghan saying she went into marrying Harry 'naively' and had not researched the Royal Family. Baasit Siddiqui: 'How can you go into it naively though?' Mica Ven: 'She thought it was a couple of postcards she might have to be on the front of going like that [waving].' On the statement issued from Buckingham Palace on behalf of the Queen. Sophie Sandiford: 'I wonder if they've actually watched it? I wonder if the Queen has sat down and watched Oprah?' Mica Ven: 'It's a start, but the problem I have is alright, you're going to address it privately, but I kind of feel there's something you might need to let us know publicly.' Advertisement Meghan also spoke about alleged conversations over concerns about Archie's skin tone before he was born, accusing an unnamed royal of racism. And Mr Sandiford said: 'I mean, this is going to have massive ramifications now for the Royal Family, because our perception of them is changing.' Reacting to Meghan's claims that she couldn't get help for her mental health, Wiltshire-based Mary Killen said: 'I can't believe that if the Queen knew how upset she was, the Queen wouldn't have insisted she had some help.' Meghan said she went into marrying Harry 'naively' and had not researched the Royal Family, prompting Derby-based Baasit Siddiqui to say: 'How can you go into it naively though?' And London-based Mica Ven said: 'She thought it was a couple of postcards she might have to be on the front of going like that [waving].' The viewers then watched a BBC News report the following evening, March 9, which shared the statement issued from Buckingham Palace on behalf of the Queen. Miss Sandiford said: 'I wonder if they've actually watched it? I wonder if the Queen has sat down and watched Oprah?' Speaking about the Queen promising to 'address' the claims made by Meghan, Ms Ven added: 'It's a start, but the problem I have is alright, you're going to address it privately, but I kind of feel there's something you might need to let us know publicly.' An Ofcom spokesman said today of Gogglebox: 'We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.' She added: 'The complaints were about comments made about the Royal Family from participants whilst watching Oprah with Meghan and Harry.' The monarchy was plunged into crisis following the shocking allegations of racism made by the Sussexes in their interview with chat show host Oprah. Harry and Meghan accused an unnamed royal, not the Queen nor Philip, of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin tone would be before he was born. Meghan also told of how she begged for help when she was suicidal, but said the institution gave her no support. The show first aired on CBS in the US on March 7. Piers Morgan's comments about the interview led to the highest number of complaints in Ofcom's history. The episodes of ITV's Good Morning Britain on March 8 and 9 sparked 57,121 complaints. A statement from the regulator said: 'We can confirm that this issue has attracted the highest number of complaints since our reporting began.' Morgan responded on Twitter yesterday, writing: 'Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex speak to Oprah Winfrey in an interview first aired on March 7 ITV announced Morgan had left the show on the evening of March 9, shortly after Ofcom said it had launched an investigation under its harm and offence rules after receiving more than 41,000 complaints in two days. It later emerged that Meghan also made a formal complaint to Ofcom about the TV host after he dismissed her account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family. Morgan said on-air that he 'didn't believe a word' of her interview with chat show host Oprah when she laid bare her struggles. Morgan has stood by his controversial comments and said his departure from Good Morning Britain was caused by the 'cancel culture that is permeating our country'. The controversy with Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 was previously the most complained about issue, attracting 44,500 complaints. Emtelle to help Norlys achieve a more digital Denmark Hawick, Scotland, 17 March 2021 ? Emtelle, the leading global manufacturer of pre-connectorised blown fibre, cabling and ducted solutions, has today announced it has been awarded a three-year multi-million-kroner contract. Emtelle has been confirmed as the main supplier of duct, accessories and fibre units to Denmark?s largest integrated energy and telecommunications group Norlys. Running until the end of 2023, this contract is anticipated to be worth a 120 million kroner over the next three years. Following a merger of SE and Eniig, digital services provider Norlys plan to continue fibre roll outs across Denmark as well as contribute to developing new sustainable solutions for its end-users. Emtelle?s longstanding relationship with both SE and Eniig pre-merger has demonstrated the dedication and quality of service Norlys was looking for in its main supplier. Tony Rodgers, CEO at Emtelle said: \It has been a pleasure working with the Norlys team pre and post-merger and we are looking forward to building on what were already strong relationships. Combining our ability to supply quality fibre and duct solutions with Norlys? drive to deliver superfast fibre connections across Denmark, we welcome the opportunity to support Norlys and help it meet its target of a more digital Denmark. As demands from our European customers increase and competition intensifies, it?s great that our dedication to high quality service and customer support is recognised.? Over the next three years, Emtelle will supply Norlys with duct, accessories and fibre units to drive forward its ambitious plans of expanding their digital infrastructure to create a more digital Denmark. Norlys facilitates the expansion, operation and maintenance of fibre infrastructure across 40% of the country. Magnus Just Olesen, Vice President of Norlys Tele said: ?As we continue to meet our targets of delivering a more digital Denmark and ensuring our customers have access to a premium superfast fibre connection, it is key we have the support of partners that are enthusiastic and dedicated to deliver a top-quality product and service. Having worked with SE and Eniig separately pre-merger, Emtelle has already proven its commitment to supporting our success, and it was crucial as we expanded, and increased our roll-outs, that our supply came from a partner that could meet our demand.? ?With its strong European manufacturing presence and responsive Scandinavian sales and support team, Emtelle has continued to demonstrate its dedication throughout the process, and we look forward to continuing our prosperous relationship,? continued Just Olesen. Emtelle?s wide range of fibre optic solutions and constant innovation has proven it is best placed to supply the ideal solution to support Norlys? momentum in reaching its ambitious roll out plans across Denmark in the next three years. Its reputation for first-class customer service and support has been repeatedly demonstrated in the field. With more than 40 years? experience and its manufacturing facility in Sonder Felding, Midtjylland, Denmark, Emtelle has been able to supply solutions to key players across Denmark and Europe. Laila Nygaard Pedersen, Sales Director for DK at Emtelle said: ?In order for us to achieve a competitive edge it is more important than ever for us to place our customers at the forefront of what we do. I am immensely proud of my team and their delivery of excellent customer service, which has led to us winning this contract with Norlys.? For more information about Emtelle, please visit: https://www.emtelle.com/. Researchers from the MDC and Charite have developed a new gene therapy based around a special T-cell receptor that helps the immune system effectively recognize and fight cancer cells. The safety of the novel therapy is now being tested on patients with bone marrow cancer in a phase I clinical trial. A new cancer-fighting gene therapy has been applied in the clinic for the first time after 20 years of preliminary research in the laboratories of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) and Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin. Other initiatives to have emerged from this work include biotech start-up T-knife. A few weeks ago, the first multiple myeloma patient received an infusion of her body's own immune cells (the so-called T cells) that had been genetically modified to enable their receptors to recognize and fight the cancer. Multiple myeloma is one of the most common cancers affecting the bone and bone marrow. Twelve patients are to undergo this treatment over the course of the two-year phase I trial. "The primary concern right now is to make sure this new form of immunotherapy and gene therapy is safe for patients," says Professor Antonio Pezzutto, who is leading the study at the Medical Department, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Tumor Immunology on Charite's Campus Benjamin Franklin. "We believe we will see indications that the principle behind the therapy is effective and hope that the patients will benefit," adds Pezzutto, "but it is in the next clinical phase that the effectiveness of the therapy will be investigated in a large number of people." The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the cooperative project with 4 million. T-cell training T cells monitor our body and protect it from diseases such as viral infections. Infected cells can be recognized by the viral antigens that appear as typical markers on their surface. If a T cell detects an antigen with the help of its receptor, it either destroys the affected cell or triggers a wider immune response. Cancer cells also have special antigens on their surface, but the problem is that the immune system often does not recognize them as malignant and therefore does not fight them. This could all be about to change with the new T-cell gene therapy, which was developed by a team led by Professor Thomas Blankenstein, head of the Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy Lab at the MDC and former director of the Institute of Medical Immunology at Charite. The researchers want to teach the study participants' T cells to identify cancer cells as invaders. "Our preclinical experiments suggest that this should be possible without damaging any healthy tissue in the patients," says Blankenstein. A unique technology platform The research team started out focusing on the antigen MAGE-A1 as a potential candidate for treating multiple myeloma. This protein is a typical distinguishing feature that appears on the surface of cancer cells and is more common in multiple myeloma. The scientists were able to produce a specific T-cell receptor that recognizes this particular antigen, and thus the cell that carries it, as malignant and dangerous. This was possible thanks to a unique technology platform that Blankenstein's team developed for the gene therapy - a transgenic mouse with an exclusively human T-cell repertoire. If the transgenic mouse is immunized with a human antigen, it starts to produce only T cells with matching receptors, which can then be easily isolated. This enables us to obtain the genetic blueprint of receptors of human origin, which cannot usually be obtained from humans. The T-cell receptors are then subjected to a series of safety and efficacy tests, which is very important to ensure the safety of this treatment for patients with bone marrow cancer." Professor Thomas Blankenstein, Head, Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy Lab, MDC and Former Director, Institute of Medical Immunology, Charite How the treatment works The cell products for the entire study are being manufactured at the GMP Facility for Cellular Therapies at the Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint institution of the MDC and Charite that specializes in the production of cell and gene therapies in clean rooms. First, doctors took T cells from the initial patient and handed them over to specialists at the ECRC. Here, the genetic information of the specific receptor was inserted into the patient's own T cells, which were then activated and multiplied. A few days before the treatment, the patient received chemotherapy to eliminate other immune cells in the body. This makes the attack on the cancer cells particularly effective. After being treated with her own genetically modified T cells, the patient was monitored for a fortnight as an inpatient at Charite. She has undergone regular examinations since then, and these will continue into the future. The treating physicians include Matthias Obenaus, who isolated and characterized this T-cell receptor as part of his doctoral thesis. In addition to MAGE-A1, the team has discovered other promising antigens that occur in other cancers. T-knife is currently in the process of manufacturing and testing suitable receptors. If successful, this should enable more and more patients to benefit from the MDC and Charite's new gene therapy in the future. "We are excited to learn the results of the study and hope that this gene therapy will provide us with a new and promising way to better fight cancer in the future," says Blankenstein. University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter announced Wednesday that the Department of Management at the University of Nebraska at Omaha is the recipient of the 2021 Universitywide Departmental Teaching Award (UDTA). The UDTA, one of the Presidents Excellence Awards, is the NU systems most prestigious honor for departmental excellence in teaching. Since 1993, the UDTA has recognized departments or units within the university that have made unique and significant contributions to NUs teaching efforts and demonstrated outstanding commitment to the education of students at the undergraduate, graduate or professional levels. Honored departments are selected by a committee of faculty members from across the university system. The Department of Management will be honored at an event hosted by Carter this spring. At the University of Nebraska, everything we do is about our students. The faculty and staff of the UNO Department of Management bring that commitment to life every day, Carter said. The department is a model of excellence and collaboration in preparing the future leaders of Nebraska. These colleagues bring great benefit to our university, our communities and the entire state, and I am honored to recognize their extraordinary achievements. Chaired by Associate Professor John Erickson and housed in the College of Business Administration under the leadership of Dean Michelle Trawick, Ph.D., the Department of Management teaches undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses in organization management, human resources management and supply chain management. As of the fall semester, more than 500 undergraduate students were pursuing a concentration in one of those areas. The departments faculty also play a key role in teaching core courses required for all UNO business students. I am truly humbled and appreciative for our department to be recognized as this years departmental teaching award winner," Erickson said. "It is one of the true pleasures in my career to work alongside such committed, passionate colleagues who are not just educating our students, but engaging them in experiences, research, and opportunities that are second to none. The departments achievements include: Faculty and instructors in the department contribute to the Capstone Cup, a semester-long competition for UNO business students that places them in the role of a consulting firm and asks them to develop recommendations for complex business problems. Faculty collaborate within and beyond their department to expand opportunities for students and meet workforce needs. For example, recognizing the high demand for students with supply chain management expertise, the department has worked with UNOs Division of Continuing Studies and College of Public Affairs and Community Service to develop logistics concentrations. Management faculty are widely published and are successful in receiving grant funding. For example, faculty have earned grants to support the USSTRATCOM Strategic Leadership Fellows Program, which trains civilian leaders at USSTRATCOM. Faculty are highly engaged in the College of Business Administrations outreach efforts, contributing to non-credit courses and leadership development training for companies like Union Pacific and HDR. Faculty also provide non-credit education to clients of the UNO-based Nebraska Business Development Center, which provides services to businesses and entrepreneurs across the state. Management faculty member Gina Ligon, Ph.D., leads the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology and Education (NCITE) Center, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security center headquartered at UNO that was established in 2020 with a $36 million, 10-year federal grant. The center works to understand, prevent and counteract terrorist violence. "We are so grateful for the faculty and staff in our Department of Management as they are always finding innovative ways to create high quality, applied learning experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students," Trawick said. "The award winning Capstone Cup, which has teams of graduating business students compete on real world consulting projects for local firms, is just one example of making business education come to life. Our Department of Management provides a model for building the business leaders of the future." With 40 Year Track Record, Harrington has Produced over $5 Billion in Global Sales, Launched over 500 Products Addison, TX, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American International Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: AMIH), a diversified holding company dedicated to acquiring and operating health, wellness, infrastructure and technology companies, today announced that iconic businessman, veteran entrepreneur and inaugural Shark Tank investor Kevin Harrington has joined its newly formed Advisory Board. In that role, Mr. Harrington will serve for a two-year term as the Companys Brand Ambassador and Advisor on marketing, promotions, acquisitions, licensing and all other sales and growth initiatives. Mr. Harrington is widely known for being an original Shark investor on the ABC television hit series Shark Tank . He has launched over 20 businesses that have grown to over $100 million in sales each. He has launched over 500 products generating more than $5 billion in sales worldwide with iconic brands and celebrities such as Jack LaLanne, Tony Little and George Foreman. I consider it a privilege to be a part of AMIH, and to contribute to its mission of revolutionizing healthcare and wellness for main street America, Mr. Harrington stated and added, I am eagerly looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and helping foster its growth and to promote its brands to new levels of success. Commenting on Mr. Harringtons appointment to the Companys newly formed Advisory Board, AMIH Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Cohen, said, Were thrilled. Kevin is a legendary entrepreneur with expertise and connections that Im confident will accelerate our growth exponentially over the next couple years. Not only has Kevin agreed to provide endorsements, appearances and other assets to promote our products and services, but I expect his advisory services will be vital to our business development, marketing, acquisitions and other growth initiatives, Mr. Cohen stated and continued, Kevin will be a truly world class asset and addition to our Advisory Board. Story continues Additional information regarding Mr. Harringtons appointment is included in the Current Report on Form 8-K which the Company is filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Advisory Boards mandate is to provide guidance to the Board of Directors regarding business development, marketing, acquisitions, other strategic initiatives and other matters as may be requested. About Kevin Harrington Through his entrepreneurial experiences, Kevin realized his talent for turning underutilized assets into growth opportunities. While watching late-night television, he realized nothing was being broadcast on the Discovery Channel after normal broadcast hours. He seized the opportunity to launch what later came to be called the infomercial. Before long, he had helped make, but wait, theres more, part of our cultural history. Hes launched massively successful products like The Food Saver, Ginsu Knives, The Great Wok of China, The Flying Lure, and many more. He has worked with amazing celebrities like Billie Mays, Tony Little, Jack Lalanne, and George Foreman to name a few. Kevin then built on that success to help pioneer the As Seen on TV brand. After empowering others to achieve success, he recognized the shifting marketplace trends and began to intentionally build his personal brand. His platform-building efforts earned him a seat as an original shark on the hit TV show Shark Tank, where he continued to live out his passion -- empowering entrepreneurs to greatness. As a business shark, Kevin knows how to disrupt the marketplace and orchestrate a killer investment deal, bring the best resources to the table and build thriving businesses from scratch. But his people-first, win-win perspective is at the heart of everything. Like his sales mentor, Zig Ziglar said, You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Kevins been called The Entrepreneurs Entrepreneur and the Entrepreneur Answer Man, because he knows the challenges unique to start-ups and has a special passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed. About American International Holdings Corporation American International Holdings Corp. is a diversified holding company dedicated to (a) acquiring, managing and operating health, wellness, infrastructure and technology companies, businesses and/or brands located both in the United States and abroad; (b) operating and managing an online platform providing customers with access to life and career coaches through LifeGuru, Inc. ( www.LifeGuru.me ); and (c) operating and managing an online telemedicine platform connecting customers to board certified physicians and licensed mental and behavioral health counselors through ZipDoctor, Inc. ( www.ZipDoctor.co ). The Company seeks opportunities to acquire and grow businesses that possess strong brand values and that can generate long-term sustainable free cash flow and attractive returns in order to maximize value for the Company and its stakeholders. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about managements view of the Companys future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Act). Forward-looking statements also may be included in other publicly available documents issued by the Company and in oral statements made by our officers and representatives from time to time. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide management's current expectations or plans for our future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. They can be identified by the use of words such as anticipate, intend, plan, goal, seek, believe, project, estimate, expect, strategy, future, likely, may, should, would, could, will and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to future sales, earnings, cash flows, results of operations, uses of cash and other measures of financial performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others such as, but not limited to economic conditions, changes in the laws or regulations, demand for products and services of the Company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward-looking statements. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, in the Risk Factors sections in its Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs and in its Form 8-Ks, which it has filed, and files from time to time, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. The Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors Relations Contact: Frank Benedetto (619) 915-9422 Flash China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the recent U.S.-Japan joint statement, which maliciously attacked China's foreign policy, seriously interfered in China's internal affairs and attempted to damage China's interests, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop forming "small cliques" targeting China. Zhao made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on a U.S.-Japan joint statement, which was issued after "2+2" talks on Tuesday between the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and Japan. The joint statement expressed the two countries' concerns over multiple issues related to China. "We have lodged solemn representations separately with the United States and Japan," Zhao said. First, he emphasized that the international system with the United Nations (UN) as its core is the only system in the world, and that the only set of rules in the world is the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes of the UN Charter. "The United States and Japan have no right to unilaterally define international relations, let alone impose their own standards on others," Zhao said. Second, China has always been an important force in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, he said. China has established partnerships with 112 countries and international organizations, joined more than 100 inter-governmental international organizations, signed over 500 multilateral treaties, and is the largest contributor of peacekeeping forces among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The United States has always followed double standards, applying international laws and rules when they suit its own interests and abandoning them when they don't, according to Zhao. The United States has not been at war for only 16 years of its nearly 250-year history, and it has hundreds of military bases worldwide. "The international community will have a fair judgement on who is the biggest threat to world peace," Zhao said. Third, China's position on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear, and China is firm in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests. China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters, and over the Diaoyu Islands and adjacent waters, Zhao said. Issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are China's internal affairs, and brook no foreign interference, Zhao said, adding that the joint statement made by the United States and Japan ignored facts and truth, acting as further proof of collusion between the two countries, interfering in China's internal affairs, and an unpleasant example of slandering and discrediting China. Fourth, the United States and Japan are sticking to the Cold War mentality, deliberately engaging in group confrontation and trying to create an anti-China encirclement. "It is completely going against the trend of the times," Zhao said, pointing out that the move by the two countries is against the common expectations of the vast majority of countries, both in the region and globally, for peace, development and cooperation. "Their move will only bring chaos or even conflict to the region, revealing the truth to the world that it is the U.S.-Japan alliance that undermines peace and stability in the region," he said. Fifth, in order to satisfy its own interests in deterring China's rise and rejuvenation, Japan is willing to rely on others and act as a strategic vassal of the United States. "It is shameful and repugnant for Japan to betray its promises and undermine China-Japan relations; and betray the overall interests of the region by inviting wolves into its house," said Zhao. Sixth, China strongly urges the United States and Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop forming "small cliques" targeting China and stop undermining peace and stability in the region. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," Zhao said. A 20-year-old man was shot in the abdomen at Poydras and Camp streets in the New Orleans Central Business District around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The Police Department said at 7:37 p.m. that the victim showed up at a hospital with a gunshot wound. The agency did not release other details. By day, Poydras at Camp is a busy intersection. On its corners are the U.S. District Courthouse, The Whitney hotel, the Pan-American Life Insurance building and a parking lot. Stay with NOLA.com for more updates. This story has been updated with new information. A second post-mortem examination is being carried out on Sarah Everards body after the first proved inconclusive, police have said. The procedure was being carried out in Kent on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of an inquest hearing due to take place on Thursday. Miss Everard, 33, went missing on 3 March while walking home after visiting a friend in south London. Her body was found in woodland near Ashford in Kent a week later, and serving police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, from Deal, also in Kent, has been charged with her kidnap and murder. News of the second post-mortem examination came as searches continued in connection with the case, with officers combing areas of woodland in the county. Large portions of the historic town of Sandwich have been cordoned off, while specialist divers have been called up from Devon and Cornwall to search a small stretch of water. Read more: On Monday, officers were seen searching a shopping trolley shelter outside a Co-operative supermarket and looking under vehicles. Scotland Yard said police have been routinely searching areas of London and Kent as part of the ongoing investigation. Additional reporting by PA Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- While the pandemic created border closures for much of the world, the small nation of the Commonwealth of Dominica quietly strengthened its foreign relations with economic giants like China. According to the Dominican Prime Minister, the two countries are scheduled to sign visa-free travel agreements this year. Dominica's partnership with China has also led to several integral infrastructure projects on the island and initiated a large-scale revamp of the healthcare sector. Earlier this month, China donated the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Dominica. In January, the People's Republic of China became the only G20 economy to post GDP growth for last year, according to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook. Although it was the first country to suffer from the coronavirus, it recovered in time to have its manufacturing capacity up and running while the virus continued to spread across the globe. The demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), computers, and everything else helped power China's economic recovery in 2020 and position the country to continue its strong growth into 2021. When wavier access to China is confirmed, citizens of Dominica will be able to access four out of the world's six biggest economies visa-free. "China does not really allow visa-free [access] for many passport holders, and they have given that privilege to the Dominican passport of all categories. So, it's a major plus. We have also, as a result, expanded our diplomatic presence in many countries," said Prime Minister Dr the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit. "[Dominican citizens] will be able to travel to many of the business hubs across the world," he added. Today, Dominica has visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to almost 75 percent of the world. Foreign investors who prioritise business mobility and international expansion often resort to the nation's Citizenship by Investment Programme. Second citizenship helps eliminate the need for visa processing bureaucracy and rigours in the customs process during international trips. Rated the best in the world for four years in a row, the programme permits vetted individuals to contribute to a government fund or pre-approved real-estate in exchange for citizenship. Being a citizen of Dominica also gives you the right to enjoy its social services to the fullest, including its robust medical care and education system for you and your family. This can be a great advantage, especially in countries where such services are costly for non-citizens. Contact: [email protected] www.csglobalpartners.com SOURCE CS Global Partners Related Links https://csglobalpartners.com The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced that it will start reimbursing families for COVID-19 related funerals next month. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families. At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters. We are dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by the virus. Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020, the agency said on its website. FEMA said it is working to determine the best way to provide the reimbursements that will start in April. Families who have had COVID-19 related funeral expenses should keep any documentation they have including a death certificate that says the death was attributed to COVID-19. To be eligible, FEMA said the death must have occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The person applying must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who incurred funeral expenses after Jan. 20, 2020. The deceased does not have to have been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien. FEMA said it will begin accepting applications in April. Applicants will be required to have an official death certificate that attributes the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19 and shows that the death occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Also required will be funeral expense documents such as receipts and a funeral home contract that includes the applicants name, the deceased persons name, the amount of funeral expenses, and the dates the funeral expenses happened. Applicants also must document money received from other sources such as burial or funeral insurance or financial assistance received from voluntary agencies, government agencies, or other sources. FEMA said it is working to provide toll-free telephone numbers to call to apply. READ MORE SHANGHAI, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 18, Shanghai Jahwa United Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Jahwa, Code: 600315) held its 2021 Strategic Conference entitled "To Beauty of the Future" online. At the event, the company released a new corporate branding video themed "Creating perfection and beauty with a century of craftsmanship". The management team, led by Chairman and CEO Pan Qiusheng, explained the strategic planning for the company's future growth from multiple perspectives, including corporate strategy, brand innovation, channel evolution, corporate culture and digitalization, among others, all of which comprehensively showcased Shanghai Jahwa's new stature as a leader in China's beauty and cosmetics sector. Pan Qiusheng: Reviving Shanghai Jahwa and accomplishing its mission At the conference, Chairman and CEO Pan Qiusheng gave the opening speech at which he provided a broad overview of the company's growth strategy, business policies, corporate culture and ESG engagement. Pan said, "The 123-year-old Shanghai Jahwa has unceasingly provided consumers with quality beauty products created with the utmost of craftsmanship accompanied by service with excellence. Not long ago, the company reimagined the corporate culture model with a new vision, mission, operating principle, values and corporate slogan." Pan gave a detailed presentation on the company's Operating Principle that takes "Consumer-Centricity, brand innovation and channel evolution as the two drivers, culture, system and process, and digitalization as the three enablers". Specifically, with the roll-out of this new approach, the focus will shift to consumers, in tandem with close collaboration with other organizations and big data platforms to gain comprehensive insights into the buying public, in an effort to drive product development to better meet their expectations. As for brand innovation, the company plans to create quality products and services based on insights into consumers, industry trends that look far into the future and big data as well as innovation in marketing and resource investment models. In terms of channel evolution, the company is on track to promote channel innovation through five core initiatives: strategic partnerships, digital empowerment, smart retail, private domain management and business model innovation, while capturing new market opportunities through new channels, new scenarios and new forms of consumption. In addition, Shanghai Jahwa plans to use the three drivers - culture, system and process, and digitalization - to help the company create better value for consumers and provide the greatest support to its brand innovation and channel advancement, Pan added. Pan also said the company will take practical steps to deliver on its commitment to sustainable development of the human destiny community. "Our company has released the first ESG report among listed companies in China's beauty and cosmetics segment this year, fully disclosing the initiatives and achievements of Shanghai Jahwa in fulfilling its social responsibility and promoting sustainable development. To implement China's '3060 Plan' for carbon emissions, we have also established for ourselves a series of more forward-looking goals, aiming to reach peak carbon emissions by 2025 and achieve carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050, setting an example for the entire industry." 2021 marks the 123rd anniversary of Shanghai Jahwa and the 20th anniversary of the company's listing on the A-share market. The company has shown its vitality as a century-old brand that advances with the times in concert with its unlimited development potential. In 2021, Shanghai Jahwa is already well on its way to revival, and looking into the future, the company will remain true to its original aspiration of "Creating perfection and beauty with a century of craftsmanship", to generate the greatest value for consumers, employees, shareholders and society, and to bring China's beauty products to the world. For more information about Shanghai Jahwa Holds 2021 Strategy Conference "To Beauty of the Future", please visit: https://www.jahwa.com.cn/en/activity4 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458934/Shanghai_Jahwa.jpg The release of this issue of HBCU Research marks the 103rd anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The disparities that were observed over a century ago are still being observed today, with people of color disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The issue reports on several engaging topics including: When Race is a Pre-existing Condition, which offers, from the Black perspective, a comparison of the 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19 which offers, from the Black perspective, a comparison of the 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19 The Big Pivot, highlighting the twists and turns HBCUs have had to make in order to prevail during this pandemic highlighting the twists and turns HBCUs have had to make in order to prevail during this pandemic COVID-19 Heroes , which showcases champions in science and medicine who are making countless contributions to attack the Coronavirus which showcases champions in science and medicine who are making countless contributions to attack the Coronavirus Smart Money, covering the flow of funding that HBCUs have received over the past year from government, corporations, and private institutions. "HBCUs have a long legacy of research innovation that provides answers to pivotal questions and provides solutions to problems that ail not just 'minority' populations, but ultimately, the human race. I am proud to be a part of the HBCU community and excited about having a publication like HBCU Research that increases the visibility of the work at HBCUs." -Dr. James E. K. Hildreth, President of Meharry Medical College and Member of the White House COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force HBCU Research Magazine is published by SLA Worldwide, founded by Sandra Long, former Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce. As the first African American woman to be appointed to the position, she understands the importance of bringing attention to the accomplishments of the Black community. "Our community is not always talked about, documented, or acknowledged, which is why HBCU Research Magazine is such a necessary publication," says Long. The issue is available at HBCUresearch.com. Single copy price is $14.99 in the United States and $15.99 in Canada. ABOUT HBCU RESEARCH MAGAZINE HBCU Research is the premier magazine dedicated to highlighting scientists, innovative research, and students in the HBCU community. Written in an informative and engaging format, the magazine is designed to help facilitate collaborations between academia, government, industry, and the community. #HBCUResearch? SOURCE HBCU Research Related Links http://HBCUresearch.com Two weeks have been set aside in late June for a new inquest into Brisbanes horrific Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing in Fortitude Valley on March 8, 1973, that killed 15 people. A pre-inquest hearing will be held next month on April 29 and 30. The remains of Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub on St Paul's Terrace on March 8, 1973. Barristers Stephen Keim and Avelina Tarrago have been briefed as counsel assisting state coroner Terry Ryan by a taskforce of detectives who have gathered evidence for more than three years. Mr Keim received the Human Rights Medal from the Australian Human Rights Commission for his successful defence of Indian-born doctor Mohamed Haneef, who had his visa cancelled in 2007 and was falsely accused of aiding terrorists. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. An arctic walrus was spotted on Valentia Island in Ireland after reportedly napping on an iceberg that transported him to the far country. A father and his daughter sighted the rare creature. A unique discovery was recently made in Valentia Island, Ireland, on Monday when a father and daughter duo who were taking an afternoon walk spotted an arctic walrus washed up on rocks by the beach. According to reports, 5-year-old Muireann and her dad Alan Houlihan were taking a stroll on the beach when the young girl saw the creature lying on the rocks. At first, the little girl thought it was a seal. A photo of an artic walrus. | Photo: Pixy.org However, on having a closer look, they discovered it was a walrus. They saw the animal climb onto a nearby rock and rest there. Speaking about the encounter with RTE News, Muireann said: "It was amazing. A real adventure. We couldn't believe our eyes. It is once-in-a-lifetime stuff." LOUNGING AROUND: A sleepy walrus relaxed on the rocks on an Irish islandfar from its Arctic home. https://t.co/UYJCwBafn8 pic.twitter.com/tpmzVAYwDP ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2021 The creature, two meters in length, is believed to be a young male walrus, given that his tusks only measure about 30 centimeters. He was described to be as big as a bull and looked exhausted while lying on the rock. The Irish Parks & Wildlife Service has since been notified in case the walrus is spotted again. First ever sighting of a walrus in Ireland after it is thought to have drifted across Atlantic after falling asleep on iceberg https://t.co/LKrJinW9un pic.twitter.com/aieS7JEb0c Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) March 14, 2021 Per reports, it is pretty rare to spot a walrus in Ireland. The first one was seen in 1987, and after that, it took almost ten years before another one was seen. Since then, about 20 more of the marine mammal has been seen. Houlihan, who had been fishing all his life, told The Independent that he hadn't seen anything like the creature in Irish water. When he returned to the beach the following day, he, unfortunately, didn't see the animal again. Ireland doesn't have walruses. So Alan Houlihan and his five-year-old daughter Mimi were pretty psyched when they found one. https://t.co/vZ3eZxR6vL pic.twitter.com/XvQPfC2ZjK As It Happens (@cbcasithappens) March 16, 2021 He was unsure how the animal, whose natural habitat is the North Pole's colder waters, found its way to Ireland. Kevin Flannery, director of Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium, believes the walrus napped on an iceberg that melted and transported him. Flannery urged that the animal would be exhausted and tired and suggested that anyone who sights the wild animal should leave him alone to regain his strength and probably transport himself back to his home. Arctic walrus spotted in rare sighting off Ireland's coast https://t.co/d6hXsSzdEX BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 15, 2021 The Irish Parks & Wildlife Service has since been notified in case the walrus is spotted again. In a similar vein, a malnourished seal pup was rescued and taken to the Baltimore National Aquarium. The 1-month-old animal named Eloise was first found in Cape Henlopen, Delaware, on February 12 and, with the help of the Marine Educational Research and Rehabilitation Institute, was rescued. She is reportedly doing well. Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Asian refineries are grappling with whats expected to be a brief period of weak profits as a demand-sapping Covid-19 comeback across the region coincides with a likely surge in oil-product exports from Iran.The virus resurgence in India and other nations apart from China is reducing consumption of products such as gasoline and jet fuel, squeezing the profit margins of refiners. The market is also bracing for the possibility of a boost to Iranian fuel oil supplies into Asia should a nuclear deal be revived.Thats led to complex refining margins in Singapore, a proxy for Asia, falling from $1.65 a barrel at the end of April to as low as 3 cents in mid-May. While its a setback for processors recovering from the pandemic, margins have rebounded slightly and are expected to resume an upward trajectory as soon as the third quarter with accelerating vaccination rates aiding demand.The average profit from converting crude into gasoline in Asia -- the so-called crack spread -- fell in May from April, snapping a three-month gain. Across the region, restrictions in place from Malaysia, Vietnam to Japan have sapped demand for transportation fuel. Oil consultant FGE sees Indias gasoline consumption as the biggest stumbling block to Asias demand recovery, with an estimated 20% fall in April through June versus the previous quarter.See also: Japans April Fuel Stocks Rise Despite Drop in ProductionExport is not a very attractive option, said N. Vijayagopal, the finance director at Bharat Petroleum Corp., Indias second biggest fuel retailer. Refiners across the country are facing a double whammy caused by weaker regional markets and lower domestic consumption thats prompting them to set aside earlier plans to maintain run rates and reduce operations instead.Complex refining margins in Singapore were at 60 cents a barrel on Monday and averaged about 71 cents in May. That compares with $2.41 in the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The profit from converting crude to gasoline in Asia was at $8.85 on Tuesday after averaging about $8.48 in May.Iran FlowsThe restart of some crude processing capacity after seasonal maintenance will boost fuel supplies and offset some of the expected increase in demand, limiting the gains in refining margins, said Victor Shum, vice president of energy consulting for IHS Markit.Most are expecting a flood of crude should the nuclear accord be renewed with Iran, but its the prospect of rising fuel oil flows -- used to power ships and for electricity generation in some countries -- thats raised concerns for Asian refiners, especially as China boosts output of heavy fuel.Margins for very low-sulfur fuel oil dropped below $10 a barrel in mid-May for the first time since December, easing from a high of almost $16 at the end of February. Cracks in May were also at the lowest average in five months. Margins for high-sulfur fuel oil fell as low -$8.80 in May, from -$3.71 in April.Diesel demand, most notably from China, is proving to be the bright spot and has provided a buffer for overall margins. Consumption in Asia during the first three months of the year was at 9.4 million barrels a day, or about 98% of 2019 levels, and is expected to edge higher during the second quarter, according to Yuwei Pei, a consultant at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.Singapores stockpiles of middle distillates -- a category that includes diesel -- fell through the week ended May 26 to the lowest since April 2020. Covid-19 restrictions and the return of refineries after seasonal maintenance may lead to rising Asian inventories, but regional diesel cracks could increase $3 to $4 a barrel to as much as $10 by December, according to Wood Mackenzie.As the Covid-19 situation in Asia stabilizes and restrictions are eased, improvement in cracks of transportation fuels should support both simple and complex refining margins through the third quarter, said Grayson Lim, a senior oil market analyst at FGE(Updates margins and adds analyst comment in seventh paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P. 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. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Hospitality Management Degree for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 184 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 184 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Hospitality Management Degree. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-hospitality-management-degree/ 2021 Hospitality Management Degree featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Appalachian State University Arizona State University Boston University California State University, Long Beach Cornell University Craven Community College Delgado Community College Drexel University East Carolina University Fairleigh Dickinson University Ferris State University Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Florida State University Fort Hays State University Georgia State University Iowa State University Johnson & Wales University Kansas State University Kendall College Michigan State University Missouri State University Norfolk State University North Carolina Central University Northern Arizona University Ohio State University Oklahoma State University Oregon State University - Cascades Pennsylvania State University Purdue University San Diego State University San Jose State University State University of New York, Delhi Temple University Texas Tech University University of Alabama University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College University of Central Florida University of Delaware University of Denver University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Missouri University Of Nevada, Las Vegas University of North Texas University of South Carolina University of the Southwest University of Wisconsin, Stout Virginia Tech Washington State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. Earlier today it became known that an administrative court in Yerevan had accepted Gasparians lawsuit and granted his request to be considered chief of the General Staff before the case is heard in court. The prime ministers office, however, reminded that Gasparian was relieved of his duties on the basis of a March 10 presidential decree that came into force by virtue of law. The constitution does not provide for the possibility of revising an act that entered into force by virtue of this constitutional norm. Consequently, Onik Gasparian was dismissed from the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, and the process of appointing a new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces will continue according to the procedure established by part 2 of Article 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the offices explanation reads. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian moved to dismiss Gasparian shortly after the general and four dozen other high-ranking officers demanded that he and his cabinet step down in a joint statement issued on February 25. They accused the government of putting Armenia on the brink of collapse after last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian rejected the demand as a coup attempt and petitioned President Armen Sarkissian to sign a decree relieving Gasparian of his duties. Sarkissian refused to sign such a decree on February 27, saying that it appeared to be unconstitutional and would deepen the unprecedented political crisis in the country. Pashinian criticized the refusal as unfounded and resent his motion to Sarkissian in another attempt to get him to fire Gasparian. Sarkissian again refused to sign the decree drafted by the prime ministers office. But he made it clear that he would not ask the Constitutional Court to invalidate it, effectively paving the way for Gasparians removal. Under Armenian law, the president can keep blocking the prime ministers decisions only by appealing to the court. The entire process took place amid continuing street protests organized by a coalition of more than a dozen opposition parties called the Homeland Salvation Movement demanding Pashinians resignation over the defeat suffered by Armenian forces in last years war against Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Thousands of opposition supporters blockading a central boulevard in Yerevan voiced their solidarity with the military top brass and support for the generals call for Pashinians resignation. Later, Pashinian named Artak Davtian as a new candidate for the post of the chief of the Armed Forces General Staff. Davtian already occupied the post in 2018-2020. Sarkissian initially also challenged Pashinians new pick for the army chief, but eventually indicated that he would not take the prime ministers draft decree to the Constitutional Court either. Thus, Davtians appointment is due to take effect soon. Gasparians lawyer Artur Hovannisian insisted today, however, that his client is still considered to be in his official capacity after the courts decision. If this decision is not implemented now and someone else is appointed instead of Gasparian, then his right will be violated, he said. Leader of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement Vazgen Manukian issued a statement later today describing the explanation provided by the prime ministers office as a direct call not to obey a courts act, which is a criminal deed. With this step, Pashinian and his administration once again put themselves outside the constitution and laws, delivering another blow to the constitutional order of the country, Manukian stressed. 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. Mohamed M. O. Melad, the newly appointed Charge d'affaires of the Libyan Embassy, has presented his Letter of Appointment to Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Accra. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey congratulated the Charge d'affaires on his appointment and assured him of her support during his duty tour of Ghana. She acknowledged with satisfaction the cordial relations between Ghana and Libya, back to the 1980s; nurtured into cooperation through the African Union (AU) and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) on issues of common interest to the two countries and through the Ghana-Libyan Holding Company (GHALCO), operators of the Golden Tulip chain of Hotels in Ghana. She said the re-opening of Ghana's Embassy in Libya in March 2020 was a further testament of Ghana's commitment to the strengthening of the existing bonds of friendship as well as an opportunity to expand the two countries' commercial interests by exploiting market potentials on both sides and providing visa and allied consular services. She mentioned further the Government of Ghana's commitment towards consolidating existing friendly ties and expanding the scope of economic and technical cooperation between the two countries. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey referred to the fact that this year marked the 10th anniversary of the Libyan uprising and commended the Government of Libya for its prudent measures to address the problem of instability in the country. She expressed the hope that the new Transitional Government would uphold its declared commitment to the organisation of general elections for a peaceful and orderly transfer of power by the end of 2021. The Minister noted with concern, the complexity of the security situation in the Maghreb region and expressed the hope that the new government would put in much efforts to carry out comprehensive disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of all combatants in line with the objectives of the security sector reforms and for national security. She assured Mr Melad of Ghana's preparedness and willingness to support Libya and the international community's efforts to restore peace and order in Lybia, and emphasised that Ghana cherished its fraternal relations with Libya and would always, steadfastly, assist in the return of the country to its former glorious state in the spirit of Pan-Africanism. The Minister said despite the geographical distance between the two countries, Ghana and Libya shared many things in common such as the integration of Africa and the strengthening of the continental body in pursuit of common socio-economic goals. She expressed Ghana's desire to tap into Libya's rich experiences in the oil and gas industry by adopting its best practices to protect water bodies and the environment in the country. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey said the Ghana-Libya Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) had been in abeyance since it was last held in Sirte and Tripoli in May 2010 and expressed regret that most of the signed agreements had not been effectively implemented over the years, impacting negatively on the benefits desired by both countries, and entreated him to pursue the issue with his principals in Tripoli. She reiterated the need for the two countries to deepen further the already cordial bilateral relations existing between the two countries and peoples. Mr Melad said Libya was looking forward to improving and enhancing its relationship with other countries. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Notorious gangster John Gilligan and members of his family have had a case against the State over the confiscation of ill-gotten gains thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Gilligan, his ex-wife Geraldine and children Treacy and Darren claimed their right to a fair trial within a reasonable period was breached due to the length of time it took to conclude proceedings against them under the Proceeds of Crime Act. However, the ECHR ruled today that major delays in the proceedings were in fact caused by the Gilligan family themselves. The court found that the applicants, through their vexatious delaying tactics, had been responsible for the overall duration of the proceedings, the ECHR said in a statement. It said the Gilligans had been re-litigating the same issues repeatedly, in what the Irish courts had found to be an abuse of process. The court was of the view that speeding the proceedings towards a conclusion held little real interest for the applicants. Indeed, their conduct strongly suggested the contrary intention, the ECHR statement said. It said the Gilligans engaged in wrong-headed legal tactics, which seemed more designed to frustrate and delay the proceeds of crime proceedings than to reach a conclusion. The case related to proceedings taken by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) as far back as 1996 in the aftermath of the murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin by the Gilligan gang. In November that year CAB applied to freeze and ultimately confiscate properties belonging to the Gilligans. A 21-day interim order was made by the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Several subsequent orders followed, leading up to a freezing order in July 1997 after the High Court accepted evidence the properties had been bought with earnings from the sale of drugs. Complex, multi-faceted proceedings were then initiated by the Gilligans, who were granted legal aid. When the proceedings began John Gilligan was in prison in the UK having been arrested while carrying Stg300,000 through Heathrow Airport. He was later extradited from the UK to Ireland, where he was convicted of drugs offences and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment, reduced to 20 on appeal. However, he was acquitted of Ms Guerins murder. He was released from prison in October 2013. John Gilligan challenged the constitutionality of the Proceeds of Crime Act before the High Court in 1997 and the Supreme Court in 2001, losing on both occasions. The Gilligans sought by various means to have the freezing order overturned or the proceedings against them struck out. Their challenge to the freezing order on procedural grounds was rejected by the High Court in 2006 and Supreme Court in 2008. The latter court highlighted that the legislation offered several possibilities to correctly challenge a freezing order and described the excuse thatthe applicants had not understood the finality of the freezing order until a High Court ruling in February 2006 as clearly false. Authorities applied for disposal of the properties in December 2004, which was ultimately granted in 2011 following various legal challenges by the Gilligans and finally upheld by the Supreme Court in 2017. The properties included the Jessbrook equestrian centre in Co Kildare. The ECHR said the High Court found the Gilligans had failed to discharge he onus on them to show that the properties in question had not been acquired using the proceeds of crime or that the freezing order was unjust. It noted the High Court described John Gilligans evidence about the source of the funds used to acquire the properties betting on horses, currency exchange and borrowing as untruthful, incredible, without foundation and implausible. The Gilligans appealed against three High Court judgments in relation to property seizures, arguing, among other things, that the court had lacked jurisdiction to examine the matter. In their ECHR proceedings, the main complaint made by the Gilligans concerned claims their property rights and rights to fair proceedings under the European Convention of Human Rights were breached. However, a three-judge ECHR committee found authorities in Ireland dealt with matters diligently and without major delays overall. There had been no logjam of cases concerning the freezing of property suspected of being the proceeds of crime and no systemic delay. As the Gilligans had been permitted to live in the properties during this time, the court found the length of the proceedings had not been unduly prejudicial to them. "Seoul and Tokyo are critical partners for collectively addressing the challenges posed by China and advancing peace in the Korean Peninsula," Kim said. "The fact that Secretaries Blinken and Austin are making their first overseas trip to Japan and South Korea demonstrates the deep importance the United States places on these two allies," Patricia Kim, a senior policy analyst at the government-funded U.S. Institute of Peace, wrote in an emailed statement on Friday. The selection of these two countries for first stops reflects the new U.S. president's security concerns in Northeast Asia, say some observers. Washington's top diplomatic and defense officials will begin their tour of the region Monday with a stop in Tokyo, marking their first overseas travel as representatives of the Biden administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin will meet with allies in Japan and South Korea this week to reaffirm the trans-Pacific partnerships in the face of an increasingly assertive China and silent North Korea. Relations between the world's two largest economies are at a low point due in part to a trade war that former president Donald Trump initiated as well as rising military tensions in areas that China regards as its sphere of influence. Less than two months into his presidency, Joe Biden has signaled that he's in no hurry to relieve some of the pressure that his predecessor placed on Beijing. His administration has maintained import tariffs, voiced support for Taiwan's democratic government and condemned President's Xi Jingping for alleged human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. China's Xinjiang region has been the center of allegations of forced labor and other human rights violations. Last week, the White House released its national security strategy document that described China as "the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system." By dispatching his secretaries to the capitals of two of America's closest partners, the new president hopes to shore up a multilateral counterbalance to China in the region, experts say. "China is our pacing threat," Defense Secretary Austin, a retired U.S. Army general, told reporters while en-route to Asia, the Pentagon said in a statement. "Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans and concepts to be able to offer credible deterrence to China or anybody else who would want to take on the U.S." Despite these remarks, Washington is signaling that it is still open to dialogue with Beijing. Secretary Blinken and White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan are expected to meet later in the week with Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, and chief diplomat Yang Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska -- the first time since last June that officials from both countries have held bilateral talks. Gandhinagar, March 19 : Amid a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state, the Education Department of Gujarat government has decided to shut down all offline education facilities in eight municipal corporation areas with effect from Friday. The decision was taken at the high power committee meeting held on Thursday, which was chaired by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama told the media, "Looking at the rising number of cases in the state, the government has decided to shut down all physical and offline educational activities in eight municipal corporations of Gujarat from Friday. Online education and home learning will continue till April 10. For the rest of the places in Gujarat, offline education for willing students will continue." Online education will continue in all the eight municipal corporations under question -- in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Gandhinagar. The exams for the high schools and secondary schools will be held online in these areas. The government has also cancelled the graduation level exams scheduled from March 19 to April 10. The universities will reschedule the exams and announce the new dates later. NASA took a big step toward sending its Space Launch System rocket to the Moon on Thursday with what appeared to be a successful test of the main engines that will get it there. The space agency test-fired the systems four main engines attached to the core stage of the rocket at its Stennis Space Center for a full-duration 8 minutes. That will give it the data needed to green light approval of the engines for launch. An earlier test this year had to be cut short making this one critical to the schedule. This was actual flight hardware on the test stand and, if the huge core stage and engines look good in post-test review, NASA will take the next big step. It will put the core stage on a barge and send it to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. There, it will be joined with the other parts of the system - twin solid-rocket boosters and the Orion space capsule - in preparation for launch. NASAs plan calls for one launch to circle the Moon without a crew as soon as late this year, a second launch around the Moon with a crew and a final launch to land the first woman and next man on the surface. In the meantime, NASA plans to pre-position support equipment for the astronauts on the lunar surface. The propulsion part of the Space Launch System is managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA had already given the system a public vote of confidence this week after reports the agency is concerned about the programs cost. The space website Ars Technica reported Monday that the Biden administration has started a new SLS review. It is being led by Paul McConnaughey, former deputy center director of Marshall in Huntsville, the report said, and part of the review is assessing whether NASA really needs the SLS rocket at all as part of the Artemis Program, wrote Ars Technica reporter Eric Berger. Critics have derided (SLS) as a jobs program intended to retain employees at key centers, such as Alabama-based Marshall, Berger wrote, as well as those at primary contractors such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Aerojet Rocketdyne. NASA replied by repeating its position that SLS is essential to NASAs human exploration plans in deep space and is currently the only rocket capable of sending crew to the Moon for the agencys Artemis missions. NASA anticipates taking full advantage of the powerful SLS capabilities, the statement said. It said the rockets unprecedented power and volume allow it to carry the largest, heaviest cargo and send astronauts on missions farther from Earth than ever before. The agency concluded by saying, We are committed to using SLS and Orion on Artemis missions, while also ensuring long-term our architecture remains flexible. The new review is the latest twist in a long post-Apollo saga started when the Obama-Biden administration proposed in 2011 to kill the rocket program in development before SLS. It was called Constellation, and critics said it was far behind schedule and way over budget the same criticism now leveled at SLS. Killing Constellation threatened more than 2,000 jobs in Huntsville and thousands more in space states like Florida and Texas and left America with no rocket that could take a serious payload to the Moon. Powerful space state senators including Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas and Bill Nelson of Florida led a fight in Congress then that forced the Obama administration to accept a smaller NASA rocket program that became known as the Space Launch System (SLS). Nelson is now reportedly the top candidate as NASA administrator in the Biden administration. Those senators and others were concerned about jobs in their states, but they also argued that America needed some kind of dependable big rocket for deep space exploration and none was on the horizon in the early days of the commercial space sector. Since then, private companies like SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have been developing large rockets that SLS critics say will be cheaper. NASA acknowledged in its statement this week that it is assessing various elements of our programs to find efficiencies and opportunities to reduce costs, and this exercise is ongoing. However, NASA said reviews like this are common practice and will help with developing, producing and operating NASAs Artemis missions. A serene atmosphere was observed on Tuesday in Sanyang as things returned back to normalcy and people were going about their activities in Sanyang, a village about 43 kilometers away from the country's capital, Banjul. The village was on Monday the epicenter of violence scenes as a mob, mainly youths, attacked and burned down the village's police station and a Chinese fishmeal company. The mob attack came on the heels of a "case of robbery with violence" which resulted in the death of one Gibril Ceesayis currently under police custody. Demonstration didn't ensue on Tuesday as youths stayed at their homes. Only few were spotted on the streets. A source, who pleaded for condition of anonymity, said youths who were arrested yesterday have been released. "PIU officers are guarding here since yesterday to make sure peace prevail," the source said. Sand miners were going about their businesses. Shops and markets were opened and people were conducting their businesses without problem. "Nessim Fishmeal Factory is still burning down. A caterpillar, two pickup trucks, two mini trucks, their main store for the fishmeal, offices and workers' residents, were all burnt down," our source said. Sheikh El-Mostapha, a Mauritanian national and an interpreter at the Nissim Fish-meal company told Foroyaa that the company had lost over D3 million dalasi during the attack. He said their Chinese counterpart had also lost about D1 million. El-Mostapha said he run to save his live when two men armed with cutlass attacked him. He added he was rescued by two residents of Sanyang. "We have lost many millions here. I cannot exactly state the exact amount we lost during the attack, but we estimate it to be more than D3 million," he stated. According to him, senior drug enforcement officers came to inspect the company as they received report that the company was dealing in drugs. "We were questioned and samples were taken away. They discovered that it was not drug," he said. The fish-meal company is now under guarded by the army, who are armed with guns. An electric bike is believed to be behind a huge fire in Sydney that saw more than 20 firefighters attend the blaze and people have to climb off the second floor balcony to reach safety. Emergency services were called to the three-storey flat in the city's east on Friday where they were able to break in and rescue all seven residents of the unit. One resident who was being treated outside the flat told NCA Newswire they believed the inferno was 'caused by an electric bike which was charging'. An electric bike is believed to be behind a huge fire in Sydney that saw more than 20 firefighters attend the blaze Emergency services were called to the three-storey flat in the city's east on Friday where they were able to break in and rescue all seven residents of the unit The incident occurred early on Friday morning on busy Flinders Street in Darlinghurst. Firefighters were forced to break in to the apartment and scour all three levels of the home to ensure everyone had been safely extracted. Some residents were forced to climb down from the second floor balcony while one resident was found around the back of the flat. Residents were treated and spoken to by police, with one anonymous resident suggesting the blaze was the result of a charging electric bike Police refused to confirm the cause of the fire but said they were glad no one was hurt They were treated and spoken to by police, with one anonymous resident suggesting the blaze was the result of a charging electric bike. Police refused to confirm the cause of the fire but said they were glad no one was hurt. Parts of Flinders Street remain closed, causing large traffic issues around the area. (@ChaudhryMAli88) HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2021) Coronavirus-infected Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will remain on home treatment until the end of the week, the cabinet said in a statement. Kallas said Monday she had tested positive for coronavirus. She said she would continue to work from home, run government over the internet, make presentations in parliament and carry out all other actions necessary for the government to work in a crisis situation. "Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who was diagnosed with coronavirus on Monday, will remain on home treatment until the end of the week. Minister of Public Administration Jaak Aab will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of the head of government," the cabinet said. DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canada Life Reinsurance is pleased to announce that it has recently entered into a long-term longevity reinsurance agreement with Athora Netherlands covering 4.7 billion of in-force liabilities and 104,500 in-payment and deferred policies. Jeff Poulin, Global Head of Canada Life Reinsurance, affirms this agreement is another example of Canada Life Reinsurance's strength as a partner for longevity reinsurance transactions globally. "We are pleased to build and grow our relationship with Athora Netherlands with this major reinsurance agreement," says Poulin. "It demonstrates our ability to work together with our partners to meet their reinsurance needs and adapt our solutions to their needs over time." Canada Life Reinsurance offers a range of innovative risk and capital management solutions for life, health and non-life risk to insurers, reinsurers, and pension funds globally. About Canada Life Reinsurance Canada Life Reinsurance provides its clients with reinsurance solutions for life and health, annuity, and property & casualty business through its offices in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Bermuda, and Barbados. Canada Life Reinsurance is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Canada Life Assurance Company is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. To learn more, visit canadalifere.com. About Great-West Lifeco Inc. Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments, and Irish Life. At the end of 2020, our companies had approximately 24,500 employees, 205,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners - all serving our more than 30 million customer relationships across these regions. Great-West Lifeco and its companies have approximately CDN $2.0 trillion in consolidated assets under administration as at December 31, 2020 and are members of the Power Corporation group of companies. Great-West Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol GWO. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.com.? Contact: Eamon Loughnane, Head of European Business Development, Canada Life Reinsurance, Tel: 00 353 1 254 1508, Mobile: +353 86 042 1056, E-mail: eamon.loughnane@canadalifere.ie remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. San Francisco, March 18 : Two coronavirus strains first detected in California have been officially defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as "variants of concern". The variants, dubbed B.1.427 and B.1.429, may be about 20 per cent more transmissible, the CDC revealed on Sunday. Some Covid-19 treatments may also be less effective against the strains, it added. The CDC noted the California variants inflict "significant impact on neutralisation by some, but not all, EUA (Emergency Use Authorisation) therapeutics" and has "moderate reduction in neutralisation using convalescent and post-vaccination era", Xinhua news agency reported. Viruses constantly change through mutation. As expected, multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been documented in the US and globally throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The "variant of concern" was defined by the CDC as there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, increased hospitalisations or deaths, significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures. Currently there are five coronavirus strains classified by the CDC as "variants of concern". Besides the two detected in California, the other three are B.1.1.7, which was originally found in Britain; B.1.351 discovered in South Africa; and the P.1 strain detected in Brazil. A total of 4,855 cases of coronavirus variants has been reported in the US, according to latest data of the CDC. The vast majority of these cases, 4,686, were caused by B.1.1.7. There were 142 cases of B.1.351, and 27 cases of the P.1 strain. Viral mutations and variants in the US are routinely monitored through sequence-based surveillance, laboratory studies, and epidemiological investigations, according to the CDC. Public health officials said protective measures like mask use, physical distancing, hand hygiene and prompt vaccination can help prevent against Covid-19 infections and emerging strains. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks edged lower in cautious trade on Thursday as investors awaited the Bank of England's policy meeting against an improving backdrop. The central bank is likely to keep rates on hold, but may emphasize its high bar for tightening monetary policy. The benchmark FTSE 100 was down about 6 points at 6,756 after losing 0.6 percent the previous day. Oil and gas firm Premier Oil edged down slightly after it posted a loss for 2020 ahead of Chrysaor merger. Ocado lost 2.7 percent despite the online grocer reporting a 40 percent surge in sales in the last three months. Vectura Group jumped 3.4 percent. The pharmaceutical company said it will pay a special dividend of 115mln during 2021 after receiving a big payout from GlaxoSmithKline over a US patent litigation. Public transport company National Express declined 2.4 percent after it swung to a pretax loss for 2020 on lower revenue. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Utility customers in cities that tax their services must pay the full tax amount in their monthly bills, without a reduction for local conservation programs that lower greenhouse gas emissions, a state appeals court has ruled. Lawyers for cities and counties that sued Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison said the ruling, if upheld, would increase annual tax revenues by tens of millions of dollars for more than 100 communities in California while costing customers a few dollars a year in rates. The case involves Californias cap-and-trade program, enacted in 2006, which sets annual limits on emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases and requires companies to obtain permits for each ton of emissions. When businesses have conservation programs that reduce emissions, the state provides credits to their local utility company, which passes the credits along to their customers. The average PG&E customer will receive a $34.40 credit this year, said John Jones, a lawyer for the local governments. The issue in the case was whether a city or county with a utility-users tax could apply the tax to the original utility bill or to the lesser amount after the greenhouse-gas credit. Utilities argued for the lower amount, saying customers should be taxed only on the bills they actually paid, and a Los Angeles County judge agreed. But the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles ruled Wednesday that a local government can apply its tax to the entire amount charged for gas or electric services, before any discounts. A utility users tax is consumption-based, Justice Luis Lavin said in a 3-0 ruling in favor of the city of Torrance (Los Angeles County), which sued Southern California Edison. Electricity users tax base includes both the cost of electricity consumed and the cost of (supportive) ancillary services relating to the delivery of electricity service, and does not include any credits the utility receives for business conservation programs, Lavin said. He said there was no indication the Legislature intended the (global warming law) to impact local utility-users taxes. The ruling allows customers to keep their cap-and-trade bill reduction but requires them, in communities that tax utility services, to pay taxes on the full amount of the bill before the reduction. In San Francisco, which has a 7.5% utility-users tax, the average additional amount for PG&E customers would be $2.48 a year, based on data provided by the lawyers. Michael Colantuono, an attorney for the local governments, said the ruling is a precedent for suits by 38 cities and counties against Edison and a separate suit against PG&E by 16 communities, including San Leandro, Vallejo, Sunnyvale and Monterey. San Francisco has not sued but has filed papers on the issue with the state, Colantuono said. He said nearly 50 other local governments in California also tax their utilities. In a San Francisco Superior Court filing in the PG&E suit, Colantuono and other attorneys for the local governments said the utilitys reduction of customers tax rates based on greenhouse-gas savings allows it to reward its largest customers and to subsidize the price of its service, encouraging more power use in a state trying to conserve. David Song, a spokesman for Edison, said the company is committed to protecting its customers from unnecessary costs that detract from the states goal to reduce harmful carbon emissions and a transition to a clean energy future. The company did not say whether it would appeal the ruling. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Not at all. It just seems like a lot of back-and-forth talk. Yes. I'm growing very worried over what might happen. If it keeps up, I might be a little more concerned. I think there are much larger things to concern us as a country. It's hard to tell; I can't take the leader of either country seriously. Vote View Results The spot oil market for physical barrels in the key demand region, Asia, started to weaken in the middle of this week, as purchases from Chinese buyers are subdued, traders tell Bloomberg. The evidence of the weakness could be found in the declining premiums of spot cargoes loading for Asia in the next two months compared to the official selling prices of the crude grades, according to traders who spoke to Bloomberg. For example, the premium of the Murban crude from Abu Dhabi over the official selling price fell by $0.10 per barrel in a day to a premium of just $0.20-$0.25 per barrel over the OSP. Spot cargoes of the ESPO blend from Russia are also selling cheaper than at the beginning of the week. It looks like Chinese buyers are not currently in a rush to buy spot crude cargoes, which could be a bearish signal for the market as supply may not be as tight as much as OPEC+ and Saudi Arabia would have likely hoped. These signs of slower Chinese oil buying emerged days after a report by Bloomberg suggested that China more than doubled its imports of crude oil from Iran in March to around 856,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be the highest estimated volume of Chinese imports of Irans oil in nearly two years. Despite the U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, some Chinese refiners are buying so much Iranian crude that the ports in the Shandong province, where most independent refiners are based, are experiencing tanker traffic congestions, analysts and traders have told Bloomberg. Higher benchmark oil prices in recent weeks, with Brent above $65, may have also deterred Chinese refiners from buying more oil. In addition, Chinese refiners are set to enter into the planned spring maintenance this month and next, which could further dampen crude purchasing from the worlds top oil importer in the second quarter at prices above $60 a barrel. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: Now is not the time to be socialising - its just too risky. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Professor Philip Nolan said it is concerning that daily Covid cases are static as 582 more cases have been confirmed today and no further deaths. Todays figures bring the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the state to 4,566 and the total number of cases to 228,796. Speaking at a Nphet briefing this evening, Prof Nolan said there is some positive news in that ICU numbers continue to decrease, but daily admissions to hospitals are static. Both our five and seven day average case count have been static at around 500 for a week to 10 days now, he said. Read More The 14 day incidence is also static at around 150 cases per 100,000 people. The numbers in hospital and intensive care continue to decline and week on week the number of deaths that we are confirming here by day is also decreasing- and all of that is welcome news. But, what is of concern is the number of admissions to hospital by day, which is an important indicator, also has been static at between 20 and 25 since the beginning of March. Of the cases notified today 290 are men and 291 are women. The median age is 32 years old and 74pc are under 45 years of age. There are 156 cases in Dublin, 23 in Meath, 19 in Donegal, 15 in Louth, 14 in Kildare and the remaining 198 cases are spread across 20 other counties. As of 8am today, 345 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 83 are in ICU. There were 24 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of March 15, 620,580 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland. 455,182 people have received their first dose and 165,398 people have received their second dose. This comes as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) today announced that it has found the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to be safe for use following an investigation into cases of blood clots among people who received the jab. It paves the way for the resumption of its rollout here but the finding will have to be assessed by vaccination experts and the Department of Health first. The watchdog investigated whether it was linked to a increased risk of unusual blood clots. However, the patient information leaflet is to be revised to create more awareness the potential risk. The EMA's chief Emma Cooke said after days of indepth analysis they cannot rule out a link between these cases and the vaccine. Because of this they will raise awareness around blood clotting events in the information leaflet accompanying the vaccine. General Secretary of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Jantuah has disclosed the intention of her party to carry out an intensive investigation to fish out the people behind the publication of the controversial history textbooks for primary schools. Describing the history textbooks as the mischief of some people to play politics and to further disintegrate the existing cohesion the country has enjoyed from the days of former President Kwame Nkrumah, Nana Yaa Jantuah asserted that the distorted history textbooks are still available in bookshops except that they are out of stock. We have made our mind to investigate this issue and we have gone far with our investigation and we intend to intensify the investigation to get to the bottom of the issue, she disclosed. I deliberately went round to a lot of book shops to find out what is going on and what I heard was that they are out of stock in the various bookshops I visited. They did not tell me that the books are not available but rather the books are finished in their shops . . . it means that the books are available but just that they are out of stock, she hinted. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, the former Public Affairs Director of Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) raised mind-boggling questions as to how the books came out and the authors behind the history books and the authority that sanctioned the publication of the history textbooks. How did the book come out? Who is the author of the book? Who allowed for such a book to be written and published? There are a lot of questions to be asked because it is about content. Who created the content for the publisher? I dont think that if you give a contract to a publisher, he has to create the content of the book. Who proofread the book and gave approval for the book to be published? she raised questions. She added that the process leading to the publication of the history textbooks did not go well; wondering the person or the authority who instructed the authors to write about the tribes of Ghana in that ill manner the book came out with. To her, the country has gone past the level of writing history to primary pupils to poison their minds about certain tribes in the country as we are now engaging in cross marriages and making friends with each other and diffusing that notion of bigotry among tribes. Nana Yaa Jantuah in her attempt to remedy the situation suggested that the school authorities and stakeholders find a way to reorient the children and some youth who have been wrongly fed with these distorted facts about Ghanas history. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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. Featured Video Any foreigner arriving in Israel before the upcoming March 23 election and spending time in the countrys Arab towns and villages would be stunned by all the love being showered on the local residents by a candidate known as Abu Yair. They might think that he's running with one of the Arab parties, but Hebrew letters spelling out MaHaL on the campaign posters mean the Likud party, as he is none other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu! (Abu Yair, of course, means, father of Yair, a reference to Netanyahus eldest son.) Were all with you, Abu Yair! blare the Arabic-language signs plastered in towns like Rahat and Shfaram. Cars covered with the slogan have been making the rounds in Arab towns and villages. The is a new Arabic-language Facebook page, created in early February, and an Arabic-language jingle (sung by a Jewish artist, for anyone wondering). There are also frequent meetings with Arab leaders and incessant visits to Arab towns and villages by Netanyahu and his retinue as they pitch what they present as a new candidate to Arab voters. Anyone who has followed the current election in Israel the fourth in two years will know that two things have changed. There is no head-to-head clash between Netanyahu and another candidate, like there was between Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. The second difference is there has been a drastic change in the way some Jewish parties treat Arab citizens. If the relationship between the Jewish parties and Israels Arab citizens was once characterized as distant, in this election Arabs are the most sought-after electorate by non-Arab parties, even Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu and his party have adopted a new strategy in dealing with the Arab public, rebranding Netanyahu and turning a page on his relationship with the countrys Arab citizens. They hope that Arab voters will forget the old Netanyahu, who frequently incited against them and did everything he could to delegitimize them and boot them out of the political game. He had even said of the Knesset, Arabs are not part of the equation. Will the Arab public connect with Netanyahu's new image and forget about everything he did in the past, now that he is trying to win their votes? During his previous terms in office, Netanyahu made right-wing synonymous with hatred of Arabs to unite his base around him. Now that he sees how the tactic has boomeranged and led to higher voting rates in the Arab public, he is trying a different approach. Researcher and feminist activist Manal Shalabi told Al-Monitor, What began as a gimmick when Arabs on social networking platforms started calling Netanyahu Abu Yair suddenly turned into a successful election campaign for Netanyahu in the Arab public. He is trying to draw closer to the Arab community while attempting to get Arab voters to forget everything he did in the past, including the demolition of homes, the nationality law and more. He is an intelligent man who is trying to distract Arab voters, but it may not work as well as he hopes. We already see him starting to drop in the polls among the Arab sector. Until recently, it gave him two seats, but now polls show Arabs giving him only 1.5 seats. Shalabi pointed out that not only did Netanyahu push for the discriminatory nationality law, he also promoted the law allowing cameras in polling stations for the purpose of suppressing the vote in Arab towns and villages and the Kaminitz law laying out fines for illegal building. His own government admitted that it targeted the Arab population and only later discovered that it affected Jews too. He took steps to advance the muezzin law against the call for prayer in mosques and the acceptance committee law, intended to keep Arab citizens out of Jewish villages, and many other pieces of discriminatory legislation. How could someone who promoted all that now be trying win Arab votes, she asked. Zeinab Samania, a fellow at the Mandel Foundation for Leadership, told Al-Monitor about the dissonance in the Abu Yair moniker. On one hand, it is intended to reflect a sense of legitimacy, identification, readiness to help and acceptability for Netanyahu within Arab society. On the other hand, it is disingenuous and inappropriate. The title speaks to the simple folk, with the goal of gaining their support and winning their votes. Muhammad Zoabi, an LGBTQ activist, told Al-Monitor, With Netanyahu, everything is personal. If he needs to cajole the Arab public just to remain in power, he will do that. So what if he passed the Kaminitz law and the nationality law? So what if he warned that Arabs were heading to the polls in droves? And what about Netanyahu's base, to whom "Arab" has long been a dog whistle to get them to close ranks around him to prevent his government from falling. How will these voters react to this new Netanyahu so cynically courting the Arabs he once attacked? Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has won a clear victory in Wednesdays national election to secure a fourth term in office, with exit polls showing the country may be ready for a more conciliatory relationship with the rest of the Europe Union after the traumas of the pandemic. Ruttes centre-right party, the VVD, was set to win 36 seats in the 150-strong parliament, up from 33 in 2017, with the pro-European group D66 in second place with 27 seats, according to a poll by Ipsos. Wopke Hoekstra, the budget hawk who served as Ruttes most recent finance minister, saw his Christian Democrats win 14 seats, five fewer than in the last parliament. Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks after the release of exit polls in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday (AEDT). Credit:AP With the election process hampered by the pandemic, there were no concrete results by Thursday afternoon (AEDT). The projections set up Rutte, 54, to become the longest serving prime minister in Dutch history. But they also raise questions about whether he can maintain his strategy of resisting common projects with the rest of the EU. The process of putting together a coalition could take months. Hong Kong moved up one place to fourth in the 29th edition of Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI 29) published by the British think tank Z/Yen Group and China Development Institute in Shenzhen on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said, "Hong Kong is one of the top four leading financial centres in the world, rising by one place from the September issue of the index last year. "With the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with other uncertainties in the global environment, financial markets globally have become more volatile over the past year or so. Nevertheless, Hong Kong's financial system has been operating smoothly," the spokesman said. "Hong Kong is the premier listing venue of choice for enterprises around the globe. We have been the second-largest listing venue for biotechnology companies, the world's largest offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub and the second-largest private equity centre in Asia," the spokesman said. The spokesman said that the National People's Congress has just approved the 14th Five-Year Plan, in which Hong Kong's functions in the overall development of the country are recognized. Those in relation to developments of Hong Kong's financial services sector include supporting Hong Kong to enhance its status as an international financial center, consolidating our function as a global offshore RMB business hub, international asset and risk management center, and deepening and widening of mutual access between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the mainland. "Capitalizing on the unique advantages of Hong Kong under the 'one country, two systems' principle, we will continue to enhance our role as the gateway between the mainland and international markets, leverage the vast opportunities presented by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative, and contribute to our country's 'dual circulation'," the spokesman added. The GFCI Report is released in March and September every year since 2007. In the 29th edition of GFCI, 114 financial centers were assessed. Hong Kong came fourth with an overall rating of 741. The Gujarat Police under Home Department, Govt. of Gujarat, has invited online applications from eligible and interested candidates (male and female) for filling Thousand Three Eighty-Two (1,382) vacancies to the post of UPSI, APSI, IO and UASI in Gujarat Police through direct recruitment to be posted across Gujarat in India on a fulltime basis. The registration-cum-application process for Gujarat Police jobs under Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 started on March 16, 2021 and closes on March 31, 2021 by 11:59 pm. Candidates meeting the eligibility criteria can apply for Gujarat Police jobs on ojas.gujarat.gov.in under Gujarat Police Bharti 2021. CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts UPSI, APSI, IO and UASI posts in Gujarat Police Organisation Gujarat Police Educational Qualification Bachelors Degree Experience Freshers can apply Job Responsibilities null Skills Required Physical and Medical Fitness Job Location Across Gujarat Salary Scale As per the Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 norms Industry Home Department, Govt. of Gujarat Application Start Date March 16, 2021 Application End Date March 31, 2021 Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021: Age Criteria And Fees Candidates interested in applying for Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 must have attained 21 years of age and not have exceeded 35 years, with relaxation (upper age limit) for reserved categories as per the Gujarat Police Bharti norms as specified in the Gujarat Police Notification 2021. For details regarding the application fee for Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021, refer to the official Gujarat Police Notification 2021. Also Read: DRDO Recruitment 2021 For Graduate And ITI Apprentices At DRDO NMRL, E-mail Applications Before March 28 Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021: Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 Vacancy Post Name No. Of Vacancies UASI (Male/Female) 983 UPSI (Male/Female) 300 APSI (Male) 72 IO (Male/Female) 27 Total 1,382 Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021: Detailed Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 Vacancy Post Name No. Of Vacancies Unarmed Police Sub Inspector (Male) 202 Unarmed Police Sub Inspector (Women) 98 Armed Police Sub Inspector (Male) 72 Intelligence Officer (Male) 18 Intelligence Officer (Women) 09 Unarmed Assistant Sub Inspector (Male) 659 Unarmed Assistant Sub Inspector (Women) 324 Total 1,382 Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021: Education And Eligibility Desirous candidates applying for Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 must possess a Bachelor's Degree, and meet the Physical and Medical Fitness standards as per the Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 norms as detailed in the Gujarat Police Notification 2021. Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021: Selection And Pay Scale The selection of candidates to Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 will be done through Physical Efficiency Test (PET), Physical Standard Test (PST), Competitive Exam (Prelims and Mains) and Interview as notified in the Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 procedure. Candidates selected to Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 will be paid emolument as per the Gujarat Police Bharti 2021 norms. Also Read: Education Minister Announces Linking Of OTPRMS With DigiLocker, Waives Off Certificate Registration Fee Gujarat Police Recruitment 2020: How To Apply Candidates applying for Gujarat Police Jobs 2021 through Gujarat Police Recruitment 2021 must register online on the official OJAS portal and submit their applications on or before March 31, 2021 by 11:59 pm. Download Gujarat Police Notification 2021 PDF for UPSI, APSI, IO and UASI posts 18 March 2021 Type Event Proceeding On a recent Farm Business Options webinar which took place on Tuesday, 16th March 2021, host Peter Doolan, Teagasc Laois was joined by three local farmers to discuss farm diversification in Co. Laois. The panellists, Michael and Kevin Phelan, Rose Cottage Fruit Farm; John and Edna Phelan, Laois Angling Centre & Thomas and Alan Phelan, Organic Dairy Farmers who all gave an insight into why they diversified their family farms into soft food produce, angling and organic dairying in order to generate additional income. A Q&A session took place after each presentation. View presentations below Watch webinar recording below Find out more about the series or register for future webinars here: Farm Business Options Webinars Washington, March 18 : Indian-American Republican Jitendra Diganvker, who ran for Congress in 2016, announced that he was contesting for the post of Highway Commissioner in a suburb of Chicago, according to a media report. Speaking to the American Bazaar, Diganvker, who immigrated to the US in 1999, said the Commissioner's job would provide him with the right platform to address local issues. Diganvker said his candidacy is important as the Maine Township is home to many minority communities "who are entirely unrepresented". Early voting for the local elections will begin on March 22. Besides Diganvker, the other Indian-American in the race is Smitesh Shah, also a Republican, running for the Maine Township clerk. Regarding the increasing presence of Indian-Americans in US politics, Diganvker told American Bazaar: "Americans are more welcoming to all candidates who come forward to represent them on a local level and they have high regard for Indian Americans." Diganvker said if he goes on to win, it will increase representation for the community. "This will also be our chance to represent our community in local government," he said. On his priorities if he gets elected, Diganvker said: "My first issue would be to make sure all our citizens receive their Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. "Secondly, we had a particularly bad winter this year so I will be on road to review our roads and bridges and do the needful. "With Covid-19 taking a toll on all aspects of life, every family is affected and has somehow lost a loved one. At this time, healing and safety is of paramount importance to me." Effie Asia Pacific is delighted to introduce Michelle Hutton, Vice Chair of Edelman Asia Pacific & CEO of Edelman Australia and Shubhranshu Singh, Global Head Brand and Marketing at Royal Enfield as Heads of Jury for the APAC Effie Awards 2021. As Heads of Jury, they will lead and moderate the judging sessions to assess and honour the best-in-class marketing communications efforts in the region. Michelle Hutton is the Vice Chair of Edelman Asia Pacific and CEO of Edelman Australia, an agency that continues to innovate and disrupt how marketers use creative to earn attention and impact. As a 25-year industry veteran, she has built a reputation for inspiring clients to build brand trust to drive growth. She has led award winning teams and over the years she has worked with clients including Samsung, GSK, PayPal, Unilever and Kellogg. Based in Australia since 2019, Michelle previously held global leadership positions for Edelman while based in London as Managing Director, Global Client Strategy, COO of Europe and Chair of the agency's global brand business. Besides the Effies, Michelle has also served on other global creative and effectiveness juries and PR award shows in Asia, EMEA and Australia, notably as PR Jury President at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Michelle is an active member of Edelmans Global Women in Leadership program, was a founding Board Member of the Global Women in PR network and was previously a Board Director of The Communications Council in Australia serving on its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also an active member of the International Womens Forum and is an Advisory Board Member for Second Bite, one of Australias largest food rescue charities. On her appointment, Michelle said, Im honoured to be invited to be a Head of Jury this year to help select the best of the best work from our region. Never before has demonstrating the impact of marketing been so important as we all step up to steer brands through the global pandemic and beyond. Shubhranshu is the Global Head Brand and Marketing at Royal Enfield. A thought leader and growth catalyst, he has two decades of global brand and category building experience on some of the most admired brands in the world, having held leadership positions in global corporations such as Unilever, Visa, Star-21 Century Fox earlier in his career. Shubhranshu has been instrumental in encouraging path-breaking work, creating much loved IPs, and inspiring large teams to go beyond. He also has the proven, rare ability to marry the worlds of cultural mainstream, storytelling, and technology rather effectively. Based in India, Shubhranshu is a prolific writer and writes a column for several publications particularly on brand building, consumer sociology, technology and trends. Commenting on his appointment, Shubhranshu said, "It is an honour to be a Head of Jury and see cases from across the Asia Pacific region, which is the worlds largest economic bloc as well as its biggest consumer opportunity. I look forward to judging some highly effective work by great brands and businesses. I've always advocated that brand and business are one and the same thing. I am excited to learn from experienced jury members and have rich interactions with them." The APAC Effie Awards is one of the industrys most distinguished accolades for marketing effectiveness. Globally recognised by agencies and clients alike as the gold standard, it continues to lead, inspire and champion the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness. Ukrainian serviceman was killed as a result of shelling attacks from Russian mercenaries near the settlement of Pivdenne in Donbas on Thursday, the operational-tactical group Pivnich (North) said. "Today, on March 18, the armed formations of the Russian Federation once again violated the ceasefire regime and carried out targeted shelling attacks of positions of Ukrainian defenders from artillery and automatic weapons near the settlement of Pivdenne, which is in the area of responsibility of the operational-tactical group Pivnich. One soldier from the Joint Forces Operation received a bullet wound due to the shelling. The soldier was promptly provided with first aid, but unfortunately it was not possible to save his life," the staff said on Facebook. So, in response to the shelling attack of the enemy, the Ukrainian defenders opened fire. "The actions of the armed formations of the Russian Federation were reported to the OSCE representatives through the Ukrainian side of the JCCC," the message says. ADVERTISEMENT An 80-year-old retired lecturer, Muritala Haroon, on Thursday told a Customary Court sitting in Mapo, that his wife, Afsat, still denies him sex. At the resumed hearing in the suit, Mr Haroon, a professor, said: my wife did not abide by the advice given to her by this court to allow peace to reign by agreeing to perform her wifely duties. Mr Haroons wife, Afsat, was absent when she was called and nobody represented her in court. The President of the court, Ademola Odunade, cautioned Mr Haroon to exercise more patience. The court will work with the extended members of the family to resolve the matter amicably, he said. Mr Odunade adjourned the case until May 17 for further hearing. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Haroon, in February, filed for dissolution of his 52-year-old marriage on grounds of sexual starvation and threat to life. In the petition, he alleged that Afsat was fond of locking him out of the bedroom. I can no longer cope with the attitude again. Worst still, she and her relatives want me dead. Afsat attempted to stab me. She is misleading our six children. She has turned them against me, he said. Afsat had, in her reply, rejected the prayer for separation. Prof is promiscuous. I cannot have anything to do with [him] because he slept with his close friends three wives. My Lord, Haroon slept with the three wives of the man who acted as an intermediary whenever we had problems, she said. (NAN) To ensure youre always getting the safest products for yourself and your family, make sure to check the ingredients label. Toxic chemicals are found in more products than youd think and are often times disguised as natural. Earthie Mama is dedicated to helping you live a more balanced life by creating products formulated with familiar, safe and healthy ingredients. Made in the USA, Earthie Mamas products serve as natural ways to enhance your overall health and wellness. Using the highest quality ingredients grown from the earth, their products are safe for the whole family and for the environment. From organic hand sanitizer and bug sprays to healthy immune boosting tonics and sunscreen, Earthie Mama has products available to help keep you healthy in every season. Earthie Mama was founded and created by Alex Du Toit to help people take their health into their own hands, in order to thrive in the most natural ways possible, says Bryan Du Toit, CEO of Earthie Mama. Its been great teaming up with Shark Discoveries to expand the reach of our brand in order to offer more people the choice to live a much healthier lifestyle "Earthie Mama has such a versatile product line," says Lisa Vrancken, Executive Vice President of Shark Discoveries. "Im obsessed with their Master Tonic! They help set you up on a path to thrive." As part of its DRTV campaign with Shark Discoveries, Earthie Mama has appeared in 60 second spots nationwide, featuring the original Shark himself, Kevin Harrington whom has endorsed the natural product line Shark Discoveries is comprised of an award-winning team of producers, writers, videographers, and editors as well as industry veterans dedicated to finding the latest, most innovative products and ideas, and putting them on the BRTV map. 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 Kevin Harrington As the inventor of the infomercial, founder of As Seen on TV, and one of the original Sharks on Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington has worked with some of the worlds biggest celebrities and launched some of the best-selling DRTV campaigns in history. Since producing his first 30-minute infomercial in 1984, Harrington has been involved in over 500 product launches that have resulted in over $5 billion in sales. Now, in his latest venture with Shark Discoveries, Harrington is on the hunt for the best new products and ideas, bringing them to homes everywhere through personalized BRTV campaigns featuring the Shark. For more information on Earthie Mama, please visit http://www.earthiemama.com. If you havn't done it yet,to get one of the fastest volcano news online: PHIVOLCS reported that 20 m high gas-steam plume occurred today at the vents of the Main Crater and extending to the south-southwest of the volcano. ... The seismic network of volcanological observatory PHIVOLCS detectedat less than 1 km depth that lasted in range of 5 to 12 minutes. ... Ongoing elevated seismic activity under the volcano sparked fears that the volcano, which had a massive, devastating eruption little more than a year ago, in January 2020, might erupt again in the near future. It prompted authorities to evacuate residents from Volcano Island, located within the crater lake of Taal volcano in the Province of Batangas, Philippines. ... Not much has changed since the last update, but seismic activity under the volcano has decreased. In the latest volcano bulletin, PHIVOLCS reported: ... The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) noted that the, due to ongoing elevated seismic activity under the volcano during the past three weeks. ... Since the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised the alert level for the volcano to level 2 (increased unrest) on 9 March 2021, a total of 144 volcanic tremors were recorded over the following 72 hours. These include 38 low frequency volcano-tectonic quakes at shallow depths beneath the volcano edifice. On 10 March, the volcano experienced a low-level background volcanic tremor which lasted for 4.5 hours. A total of 1010 tremors were recorded since 13 Feb. 2021. A short-lived 400- to 500-meter-tall white plume was generated at the main crater last 13 March, at 2:11 pm local time. This was caused by a burst of steam-rich gas and lasted for about 2.5 minutes based on seismic records. After the gas burst event, activity at the main crater weakened to emissions of steam-laden plumes rising 50 meters high from active fumaroles located at the northern and eastern walls. 24 hours following this event, emissions of steam-laden plumes from the active fumaroles weakened to 10 meters high. Nyiragongo (DR Congo) has the world's largest and most active lava lake. Enjoy our pictures taken during several expeditions over the past years. Keep up to date about specials, new destinations, tour offerings about our tours and travel news site. Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Weather reports Tsunami alerts Design upgrades Faster responsiveness Earthquake archive from 1900 onwards Additional seismic data sources Improved content in English Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team. We're aiming to achieve uninterrupted service wherever an earthquake or volcano eruption unfolds, and your donations can make it happen! Every donation will be highly appreciated. If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: The Chief Minister hinted at announcing a new financial assistance scheme in the Budget for the empowerment of Dalits, the sanction of new Aasara pensions by reducing the age limit and sanctioning of new ration cards. (Photo: Twitter @TelanganaCMO) Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao hinted that a populist Budget would be presented tomorrow for the financial year 2021-22 the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Replying to the motion of thanks to the Governors address in the Assembly on Wednesday, Chandrashekar Rao said that the government would announce an attractive and respectable PRC for state government employees, for which required funds would be allocated in the Budget. I will myself make a statement on the new PRC in two or three days in the Assembly. Although the state government suffered severe financial losses due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are committed to the welfare of employees. We showed our commitment towards employees earlier by extending 43 per cent PRC fitment in 2015. This time too, we will give a respectable PRC, Mr Rao said. The Chief Minister hinted at announcing a new financial assistance scheme in the Budget for the empowerment of Dalits, the sanction of new Aasara pensions by reducing the age limit and sanctioning of new ration cards. He said finer details will be divulged by finance minister T. Harish Rao in his budget speech. Mr Rao also hinted at allocating funds in the Budget for the implementation of the Rs 1 lakh crop loan waiver scheme, a major poll promise of the TRS in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly polls. However, extending an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 per month for unemployed youth is expected to take some time, going by his remarks. Rao further said that the government was yet to frame guidelines over who should be defined as unemployed. Though funds may be sanctioned for this scheme in the budget, its implementation might take some more time, he added. 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. INHFA says 'equal access and support' must be provided to all farmers willing to transition to organic farming A comprehensive review of the Department of Agricultures Organic Farming Scheme has been called for by the INHFA. It follows a request from DAFM for feedback on the current selection criteria for entry to the scheme which reopened last month again giving market driven priority access to those in the dairy, tillage and horticulture sectors at the expense of drystock farmers. As such, INHFA maintains that addressing selection criteria alone wont be enough to rectify issues related to stocking rates, farm size and farm enterprise Currently the maximum payment rate can only be achieved for livestock farmers if they maintain a minimum stocking rate of 0.5 livestock units per hectare with a significantly reduced payment for farmers that dont achieve this. Speaking following a recent meeting with Pippa Hackett Minister of State for Agriculture INHFA spokesperson Henry ODonnell said: This policy actively discriminates against extensive farming systems many of which are restricted by national and EU law from carrying higher stocking rates such as those farming on Natura 2000 sites This issue was discussed in our meeting with Minister Hackett where we got confirmation from a Department official that the decision to introduce this was made in Ireland and is not an EU requirement, he said. Unfortunately, he says, the minimum stocking rate is not the only issue of concern. Mr ODonnell pointed out how farmers on smaller holdings that are in GLAS "are having to forfeit organic payments in order to comply with GLAS, while at the same time we see additional payments for larger holdings of 50ha or more. Lightyears behind These shortcomings, in addition to the marking system that undermines access to the scheme for beef and sheep farmers, have informed the INHFAs submission to the Department. The EU Farm to Fork Strategy proposes that at least 25pc of the EUs utilisable agricultural area under organic farming by 2030. "In Ireland, with less than 2pc currently, we are lightyears away from this and while we hear talk of progress, farmers that are willing to make the transition are deliberately denied access to the organic scheme. He said equal access and support must be provided to all farmers that are willing to make the transition to organic farming. "New farmers applying must also be given clarity and should not have additional compliance costs with no assurance of entry to the scheme, he said. The Organic Farming Scheme reopened to new entrants earlier this month, with 400-500 new farmers expected to join the scheme due to an additional 4 million secured in Budget 2021. Just over 1,400 farmers participating in the last scheme. Farmers entering the scheme could qualify for yearly payments of up to 220 per hectare during the conversion period and up to 170 per hectare when they have achieved full organic status. The Department said higher payment rates are available for organic horticulture and tillage farmers. Approximately 74,000 hectares are under organic production in Ireland presently. The Taliban have warned of "consequences" if the United States fails to meet a deadline to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, after President Joe Biden said doing so would be "tough" Kabul, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Mar, 2021 ) :The Taliban have warned of "consequences" if the United States fails to meet a deadline to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, after President Joe Biden said doing so would be "tough". The United States is supposed to complete a full withdrawal of troops within six weeks, according to an agreement signed in Qatar with the Taliban. Biden on Wednesday cast doubt on meeting the deadline, saying he was in the process of deciding when troops would leave. "The Americans should end their occupation in accordance with the Doha deal and fully withdraw their forces from Afghanistan by May 1," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. "If they don't do it, be it for any reason and pretexts, then they will be responsible for the consequences," he said, adding that "the people of Afghanistan will make their decision". The deal, which excluded the Afghan government, saw the Taliban pledge in return to hold peace talks with the administration of President Ashraf Ghani. The talks however have made little progress since starting in September, while violence -- which Washington has blamed on the Taliban -- has surged. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. US President Joe Biden told Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev that his administration is willing to work with Baku to address common security concerns and regional reconciliation. In a Nowruz congratulatory message sent to Aliyev, Biden said this time of renewal is an opportunity to reaffirm our cooperation and commitment to peace, according to Trend news agency. My Administration will work with Azerbaijan to address common security concerns and regional reconciliation," the US president said. 'As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, we remain committed to helping the sides find a peaceful and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to promoting reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure a prosperous and peaceful future.' We also support your efforts to diversify your economy and develop energy opportunities in the Caspian,' President Biden said. 'The United States looks forward to exploring new opportunities for economic cooperation. I extend my best wishes to you and the people of Azerbaijan on this new year and new spring. Editing by Stepan Kocharyan When Wolf Creek star John Jarratt was charged with rape, he retained Sydney criminal lawyer Chris Murphy whom he later dubbed the 'Godfather of Law' for his brilliant work. 'He has hearing problems, but so did Beethoven - ears do not affect the brain,' Jarratt said in his affidavit tendered to the lawyer's defamation hearing in the Federal Court on Thursday. 'Chris and his colleagues did most of the groundwork in defending me, and I christened him the Godfather of Law, because he masterfully conducted my case from his office. On Thursday, John Jarratt provided testimony in a defamation case in support of the lawyer who successfully defended him against historic rape allegations 'I won the case against me unanimously - it took the jury 15 minutes to find me not guilty.' The actor was cross-examined about his affidavit at the defamation lawsuit brought by the 72-year-old high-profile solicitor against The Daily Telegraph and journalist Annette Sharp over her October 10 column. She wrote he 'continues to battle with the ravages of age and with it the associated deafness that has kept him from representing his clients in court during the past year'. Mr Murphy's barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC says the article suggested he 'is too old and deaf and can't even get to court' and depicts him as being 'past it, decrepit and over the hill'. She contends it conveyed five defamatory meanings including that he was 'so ravaged by age' he is unfit to practise. When Wolf Creek star John Jarratt was charged with rape, he retained Sydney criminal lawyer Chris Murphy (right) whom he later dubbed the 'Godfather of Law' for his brilliant work Jarratt said after being charged with rape, alleged to have occurred in 1976, he had numerous meetings with Mr Murphy and his colleagues, including Bryan Wrench, before his 2019 acquittal. He thought Mr Murphy was 'a brilliant exponent of the law', who had lost nothing except hearing. But to his observation he can 'hear perfectly well' when using his hearing aids. Mr Murphy had told him he liked to 'orchestrate' every tiny detail of his cases from his office. 'I regularly associate with other actors and other well known people from other professions within the film and television industries,' he said. 'He has hearing problems, but so did Beethoven - ears do not affect the brain,' Jarratt said in his affidavit tendered to the lawyer's defamation hearing in the Federal Court on Thursday 'Amongst those persons, prior to publication of the article, Chris has had a reputation for fearlessly and aggressively defending the rights of his clients.' The Telegraph and Sharp deny the article conveyed the meanings put forward by Mr Murphy, and say it is not defamatory to say someone is deaf. If they were found to be defamatory, they said three meanings were true. Their barrister Dauid Sibtain referred Jarratt to the press conference he gave outside court after his acquittal where he was accompanied by Mr Wrench. He also referred him to a video where he was celebrating his acquittal at a bar with people including Mr Wrench, where he toasted the absent Mr Murphy. The Wolf Creek actor was cross-examined about his affidavit at the defamation lawsuit brought by the 72-year-old high-profile solicitor against The Daily Telegraph and journalist Annette Sharp over her October 10 column Thirdly, Mr Sibtain referred him to Jarratt's own book where he spoke of Mr Wrench having him repeatedly go over his statements and other materials. 'It is correct that Bryan Wrench played an integral role in the preparation of your case,' Mr Sibtain asked. 'Yes, he worked with Chris Murphy,' Jarratt replied. The hearing continues before Justice Michael Lee. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Hungarys opposition parties posted a joint message titled Let there be peace, liberty and concord! on their Facebook pages on the occasion of the March 15 national holiday, citing the 12-point list of demands of the Hungarian revolutionaries of 1848. Speaking first in the video, Agnes Kunhalmi, co-leader of the Socialist Party, said the past 173 years showed that every generation in every society must again and again fight for democracy. Mate Kanasz-Nagy, the co-leader of LMP said that when the nation is not free, what matters is not what makes us different from each other but what connects us. Our common task now is to set aside our minor disagreements and differences so that together we can take up the gauntlet thrown before us, Parbeszed MP Bence Tordai said. Anna Orosz of Momentum said that in the future of Hungary there was no place for censorship, silenced newspapers or radio broadcasters because where the press is not free, the nation cannot be free either. We will not be free without an independent judiciary, prosecutors office and police, MEP Marton Gyongyosi of Jobbik said, adding that everyone should be equal and nobody should be above the law. Hungary should be a country where being European does not only mean that we live on this continent but also that we are not worth less than any other European - whether its about our pay, our pension, our schools or our hospitals, said Olga Kalman, on behalf of the Democratic Coalition. 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. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a protective face covering to combat the spread of the coronavirus, leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on March 17, 2021, to take part in the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images) Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") a leading Nevada focused Gold and Copper exploration company is pleased to announce that it has secured a drill rig for early May 2021 to commence a Phase One 4,000 metre drill program at the Company's flagship Fondaway Canyon Gold Project in Nevada ("Fondaway" or "Project"). "We are extremely eager to return to Fondaway Canyon with the intention of expanding our new, near surface, gold zones discovered during the 2020 drill program," stated Mike Sieb, President, Getchell Gold Corp. "Having access to a dedicated drill rig ensures we can focus on advancing Fondaway Canyon throughout 2021." Fondaway Canyon Gold Project Getchell Gold completed a very successful 6-hole 1,995 metre drill program at Fondaway Canyon in late 2020. The results released in January and February 2021 (see Company news releases dated January 27 and February 10, 2021) from the drilling within the Central Area demonstrated: the identification of thick zones of gold mineralization interpreted as a down dip continuation of surface mineralization; and the prevalence of high-grade mineralized structures with notable widths within the overall mineralizing system. The Company has contracted First Drilling to provide a coring rig for the commencement of drilling at Fondaway Canyon in early May 2021. The Company is in the planning and preparation stage, and will release additional details on the 2021 drill program when they become formalized. Star Copper-Gold-Silver Project Update A drill program is planned for the first half of 2021 at the Star Copper-Gold-Silver Project, located 60 km north of Fondaway Canyon. The geophysical survey results completed at the end of 2020 have been modelled and the Company's technical team is presently finalizing the drill plan for permitting. Once the plans and timing of the 2021 drill program at Star are formalized, the Company will release further details on the 2021 exploration program at Star. Story continues Scott Frostad, P.Geo., V.P. Exploration, is the Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) who reviewed and approved the content and scientific and technical information in the news release. Corporate Update The Company additionally wishes to announce the appointment of Brad Aelicks as an Advisor. Mr. Aelicks has extensive finance experience, and has served as Board Member and Senior Officer in a multitude of public and private companies. He has managed companies and their subsidiaries in North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. In 2004 he founded a company, B&D Capital Partners, and through Private Equity, Public Funding, Off-Take Agreements, and Development Partnerships, he helped B&D clients raise in excess of $600 Million. Mr. Aelicks is currently a Co-Founder and Director of Pyfera Growth Capital, an investment company established to support the commercialization of high growth Series A companies in technology & sustainability. Mr. Aelicks not only brings his financial acuity in support of the Company, but he possesses a wealth of geological and exploration technical expertise. The Company is also pleased to extend Justin Meiklem's consultancy agreement ("Agreement") for Justin's continued assistance in managing and coordinating all marketing, advertising, and other public relations programs implemented by the Company. The Agreement is for a six-month period until September 16, 2021, for which Meiklem will be paid a monthly fee of $7,500. This investor relations agreement as well as the professional engagement fees are subject to CSE approval. "Brad is a highly respected individual with considerable expertise and Justin's substantial efforts are well evidenced in Getchell's heightened market recognition. We fully welcome their guidance and support as Getchell Gold looks to continued strong growth in 2021," states Mike Sieb, President, Getchell Gold Corp. The Company announces that incentive stock options to purchase up to 150,000 common shares of the Company have been granted to a consultant pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The options are exercisable at $0.54 per share for a period of five years from the grant date. About Getchell Gold Corp. The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the CSE: GTCH and OTCQB: GGLDF. Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star and Hot Springs Peak. Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada. The Company reiterates that its near-term strategy to advance its assets is not impacted by the COVID-19 Corona virus. The Company continues to monitor the situation and is in compliance with all government guidelines. For further information please visit the Company's website at www.getchellgold.com or contact the Company at info@getchellgold.com. Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO Getchell Gold Corp. +1 303 517 8764 info@getchellgold.com The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the private placement and the completion thereof and the use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, use of proceeds from the financing, capital expenditures and other costs, and financing and additional capital requirements. Although management of Getchell have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77681 A short time ago, comedian John Oliver, host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," kicked off one of the most memorable feuds in Connecticut history John Oliver versus the city of Danbury. After a series of tongue-in-cheek jabs between former mayor Mark Boughton and Oliver, it was settled that the city of Danbury would rename its sewage plant after the comedian. Sure enough, Oliver came to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and as they say, the rest is history. On March 15, Oliver went on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" and as fate would have it, the sewage plant found its way into their conversation. In an interview that spans almost eight minutes, the comedians talk about the Oprah interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as well as Grumpy Cat. However, the interview got more personal when Fallon brought up Oliver's recent charitable donations to food banks. "I think what we were really doing was money laundering HBO's production budget to food banks over the past year," said Oliver. "Each week, we were trying to come up with different ways to force a donation to a food bank." "Sell us this painting. Name your own sewage plant after me," added Oliver. "The sewage plant was the best," Fallon interjected. In October, Oliver's team donated $25,000 to the Connecticut Food Bank while also issuing a $5,000 donation to ALS Connecticut. Johns gift represents help and hope to the hundreds of individuals living with ALS and their families, who turn to us when ALS becomes a reality, Sandy Tripodi, executive director of The ALS Association CT Chapter, said in an email to Hearst Connecticut. We are truly grateful for his generosity. Resident doctors from the MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital will go on mass casual leave on March 19, i.e., Friday. The hospital's Resident Doctors Association (RDA) has decided to take this step to press for the release of their pending salaries. The RDA has also threatened to go on an indefinite strike from March 22 if their demands are not met. Doctors have alleged that they have not received their salaries since December 2020 along with the previous year's arrears, according to RDA's letter to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Commissioner dated March 17. The letter stated this is an "intimation regarding mass casual leave on March 19, followed by a complete indefinite strike from March 22, if all salaries with arrears are not released along with interest and regular seat vacancies are not issued at the earliest." Doctors working at the Hindu Rao Hospital have been protesting for the past 4 months. Besides, Hindu Rao Hospital, doctors and nurses at hospitals like Kasturba Hospital, Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital, Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis have also been protesting the non-payment of salaries. The NDMC employs around 1,000 senior doctors, 1,500 nursing officers and 500 resident doctors across its five hospitals. With agency inputs Also read: Centre asks states to monitor adverse events of Covaxin, Covishield after reports of AstraZeneca side effects Also read: Delhi reports first case of South African variant of COVID-19; 33-year-old man tests positive A man has been accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl by touching her while she was out shopping with her mother in central Dublin. Mohamed Eldars (28) allegedly put his hand between the girls legs from behind as she was walking through a busy shopping centre. He is facing trial after a judge ruled the allegation was too serious to be dealt with at the Dublin District Court. Judge Bryan Smyth adjourned the case for further directions of the DPP. Mr Eldars, with an address at Clanbrassil Street Upper, Dublin 8, is charged with sexually assaulting the teenager on March 1 last year. Garda Shane OSullivan told Judge Smyth the girl reported that she was shopping with her mother in Dublin city centre when the accused walked behind her and placed his hand between her legs and on her leg. It was more than just a brushing off, and his hand had gone further than that, she had told gardai. She had been facing forward and he walked up behind her, the garda said. It was alleged the accuseds hand went straight to her vagina area and straight back out and there was no allegation that he placed fingers into this area or that he pinched or grabbed her. Mr Eldars was later detained and made certain admissions, telling gardai it was an accident and his hand just brushed off her, Garda OSullivan said. The DPP was directing summary disposal of the case at district court level subject to the issue of jurisdiction being considered, the judge was told. Judge Smyth said he was refusing jurisdiction, based on the outline of the prosecution evidence that he had heard. He said the consent of the DPP was required before the accused could be returned for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Defence solicitor Andrew Broderick said there was consent to an adjournment to a date in April. Mr Eldars was not required to address the court and was remanded on continuing bail. Nairobi The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has adopted a new policy that will ensure principals and deputies of mixed schools are not of the same gender. The commission's Chief Executive Officer Nancy Macharia, in a letter addressed to all the regional directors who are to implement the directive, said the policy is aimed at fostering inclusivity in schools. "Identification and deployment of institutional administrators is premised on career progression guidelines and the policy on appointment and deployment of institutional administrators (2017). The process is underpinned on values and principles of governance which include but not limited to: equity, equality, inclusiveness, non-discrimination and affirmative action," she said. According to Macharia, the regional directors are to liaise with the county directors who are to identify mixed schools that have heads and deputies of same gender and subsequently place the deputies appropriately after the national examinations. The adoption of the policy follows the commission's findings that majority of the mixed schools in the country have heads and deputies of the same gender with Macharia noting that "the scenario neither fosters gender-inclusive learning environment nor provides a supportive atmosphere for all learners". "Accordingly, to ensure a supportive learning environment for learners of both gender the commission's policy is to appoint and deploy administrators of applicable gender to head and deputise learning institutions," she said. Macharia wants the list of the heads and deputies sent to her before April 30 once the placement is completed. Jacob Rees-Mogg was accused of smearing a journalist and was urged to apologise during a row over trade deal remarks made by the Foreign Secretary. A leaked video call, published by the HuffPost UK website, suggested Dominic Raab told officials the UK should strike trade deals with nations that do not meet European standards on human rights. Commons Leader Mr Rees-Mogg claimed the Foreign Secretarys comments had been shockingly distorted by low-quality journalism. We stand by Arj and his journalism. Produce your evidence, Jacob Rees-Mogg, or retract and set the record straight Jess Brammar Speaking with the protection of parliamentary privilege, Mr Rees-Mogg told MPs: Its a very cheap level of journalism, its not a proper way to behave and he was absolutely clear that there are behaviours that mean you cant trade with people, and he said that if only people had bothered not to clip the recording unfairly, improperly and broadly dishonestly. And I think we should look at that type of poor-quality online journalism. Its not the sort of thing that would happen in The Times. HuffPost deputy political editor Arj Singh, the journalist who wrote the article, posted the clip and wrote judge for yourself in response to Mr Rees-Moggs initial criticism. He also wrote on Twitter: Jacob Rees-Mogg has also misled Parliament by accusing HuffPost UK of using a cheat to edit the recording this is not true, we did not edit any recording passed to us and quoted it in full. If the Leader is not prepared to repeat it outside then he must withdraw it and apologise now, otherwise hes casting aspersions on the integrity of a journalist Valerie Vaz HuffPost UK editor-in-chief Jess Brammar tweeted: To use parliamentary privilege to smear a journalist knowing you cant be sued for defamation because you are saying it in Parliament is extremely troubling. We stand by Arj and his journalism. Produce your evidence, Jacob Rees-Mogg, or retract and set the record straight. Labour shadow Commons leader Valerie Vaz later raised a point of order and said of Mr Rees-Mogg: He may have inadvertently misled the House when he used words like cheat and edit the recording about something I raised in relation to the Foreign Secretary. Ive had this from the journalist in question and the HuffPost: We did not edit any recording passed to us and quoted it in full. If the Leader is not prepared to repeat it outside then he must withdraw it and apologise now, otherwise hes casting aspersions on the integrity of a journalist. If the journalist didnt clip it himself, he ought to have known it was clipped. He is either a knave or a fool Jacob Rees-Mogg But Mr Rees-Mogg repeated a Foreign Office statement which claimed the audio containing Mr Raabs remarks had been deliberately and selectively clipped to distort them. He told MPs: If the journalist didnt clip it himself, he ought to have known it was clipped. He is either a knave or a fool. The Prime Ministers press secretary Allegra Stratton refused to say whether No 10 endorsed the Commons Leaders description and said it was a matter for Mr Rees-Mogg whether he chose to repeat the comments outside Parliament, without the protection of privilege. Asked whether No 10 endorsed Mr Rees-Moggs comment, Ms Stratton said: The Foreign Secretarys quotes were selectively clipped. She added that the Prime Minister would encourage all journalists, when running quotes, to make sure that quote fully reflects the audio and the view that the individual is trying to get across. Mr Johnson, while a journalist, was sacked from The Times for making up a quote he later claimed he mildly sandpapered the comment. There is sadly a pattern with this Tory government of undermining the hard work of journalists who challenge them while claiming to support freedom of the press. Jacob Rees Mogg should apologise and retract this slur against @singharj. https://t.co/RRXVO9NbuO Jo Stevens (@JoStevensLabour) March 18, 2021 Shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens said there was sadly a pattern with this Tory government of undermining the hard work of journalists who challenge them while still claiming to support freedom of the press. She said Mr Rees-Mogg should apologise and retract the slur against Mr Singh. The exchange is the latest clash between a Government minister and HuffPost. Expand Close Kemi Badenoch (House of Commons/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kemi Badenoch (House of Commons/PA) Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch was widely criticised for accusing Nadine White of creepy and bizarre behaviour after the then HuffPost reporter sent a standard request for comment to a Government press office. The minister published correspondence between the journalist and officials in launching the attack, which led to an alert about the risk to media freedom being registered with the Council of Europe. The Cabinet Office later dismissed a complaint against Ms Badenoch by arguing her tirade was issued from a personal Twitter account. Earlier this month the Government published the UKs first national action plan aimed at protecting journalists from abuse and harassment. Journalists have reported suffering abuse and attacks, such as being punched, threatened with knives, forcibly detained and subjected to rape and death threats, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said at the time. Commitments in the action plan included training for police officers and journalists, while prosecution services across the UK have reaffirmed their commitment to taking a robust approach to crimes against reporters. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Anne Heckendorff, Research Analyst at European Foundation for South Asian Studies, during General Debate Item 5 at 46th Session of UNHRC. Geneva [Switzerland], March 18 (ANI): Noting the ongoing developments in Myanmar, Anne Heckendorff, Research Analyst, European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) on Thursday said breakdown of rule of law in Myanmar constitutes a severe setback for the stability of the broader region. Speaking during the General Debate of UNHRC, Heckendorff said, "The breakdown of democratic values and the rule of law constitutes a severe setback not only to Myanmar's internal peace and development, but potentially also for the stability of the broader region." "Renewed insurgency, the build-up of terrorist hubs in Myanmar's periphery and subsequent cross-border refugee movements are likely scenarios as ethnic minority groups with decade-long experiences of marginalization are deprived of political means to voice their grievances," she said. Citing the example of other south Asian countries, Heckendorff added, "Bangladesh and the other South Asian states already struggle to provide shelter to more than a million Rohingya refugees, whose hopes to be able to return to Myanmar anytime soon are now more distant than ever." Taking a veiled dig at China, EFSAS Analyst said, "In order to conceal the dismal state of democracy within their own borders, some States called this illegal coup a mere cabinet reshuffle, thereby preventing a unified response from the international community." "This is disappointing, and an insult to the thousands of protesters risking their lives every day in order to defend their rights," she added. Lastly, the EFSAS analyst called upon the HRC to prioritize its mandate of ensuring that nations cooperatively secure peace, stability and human rights over considerations for the political and economic biases of some of its members. As violence continues to intensify in Myanmar with the military using deadly violence against anti-coup protesters, over 200 people have been killed since the takeover on February 1, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told CNN. (ANI) 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. United Nations, March 18 : The UN and its partners have launched the 2021 humanitarian response plan for Yemen that seeks $3.85 billion for urgent, life-saving aid for more than half of the country's war-torn population, a spokesman said. While about 16 million people need urgent help, 20.7 million Yemenis need some humanitarian assistance, including 12.1 million people in acute need, Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying at a briefing on Wednesday. Yemen's currently faces the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The UN estimates Yemen's population at more than 30 million people. "Yemen continues to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis and the largest aid operation," Dujarric said. "Famine is stalking the nation, with more than half the population facing acute food insecurity and record levels of acute malnutrition among children under 5." The spokesman noted that last year's plan was only 56 per cent funded and some critical programs had to be closed as a result. "We are doing everything we can to help, but we need adequate funding as needs continue to rise," he told the briefing. "At the high-level pledging event that took place in early March, donors pledged only $1.7 billion for the response, that's less than half what is required (for 2021). "The Secretary-General said the pledges represent at best a down payment. We urge donors to quickly disburse their pledges and scale up funding for the humanitarian response to save lives. "And if people have not yet pledged, it is never too late to do so," Dujarric added. Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Authorities in New Jersey have arrested a Delaware man and are seeking a second suspect following a shooting and police pursuit in Salem County on Wednesday. Officers responded to Walnut Street in Penns Grove around 2:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired. They learned that a man was shot in the leg and that the suspects took off in a vehicle. Police spotted the vehicle and attempted to stop it, but the driver refused. Officers eventually broke off the pursuit for safety reasons, according to Penns Grove Lt. Jason Spera said. Following an investigation, police arrested Rico Colon, 20, of Bear, Delaware, Spera said Thursday. Colon was charged with kidnapping, terroristic threats, robbery, burglary, attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault and illegal possession of a handgun. He will be jailed pending a detention hearing. Police are still trying to identify the second suspect, who is described as about 5-feet 5-inches tall and 150 pounds. He was wearing a mask at the time of the incident, but was described as having either bad acne or acne scars on his face, Spera said. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 856-299-0055. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. You know, a lifetime ago, I dreamed of being a photojournalist. Joanna Vasquez Arong has been in constant movement since she was 17, leading her to live multiple lives around the globe: from growing up in Cebu, migrating to the States and U.K. for studies, and then moving to Beijing to start her journey as a filmmaker. Since then, shes traveled along with her stories: from attending Berlinale Talents in Berlin and filming traditional life in Zambia, just to name a few, eventually finding her way back to the Philippines. Now, she is the founder of her own company Old Fool Films and of Eskwela Haiyan a scholarship program for students severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). I saw her film Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos (To Calm the Pig Inside) for the first time at Cinemalaya last year. I paused after the first minute, overcome with emotion after seeing the image of children playing in the rain and rubble; their joy a stark contrast to the aftermath of the typhoon around them. It was a scene that many of us who grew up in typhoon-stricken areas knew by heart, whether we liked it or not. But more than the nostalgia, the film mixes memory and myth to make sense of the catastrophe; creating a cinematic language of survival that was both personal and universal. By combining still black and white photographs and colorful childhood drawings with footage and newsreels from the supertyphoon and the political situation, Arong contains the storm and the devastation into a filmic time-capsule readily unleashed with each play. "I need to tell these stories cause these arent coming out," says Arong about why she made the film. "I just wanted to share the stories I had heard." Photo by VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/Courtesy of JOANNA VASQUEZ ARONG The film has been screened around the world and has won several awards such as the special jury prize at last years Cinemalaya and was nominated for Online Video of the Year in the 2021 Digital Storytelling Contest of the World Press Photo contest. The winners will be announced on April 15. I sat down with Arong days after the announcement to speak to her about the nomination, her filmmaking journey, and how she chanced upon one of the most valuable stories in recent Philippine history. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. What was your reaction to finding out about the World Press Photo nomination? Were very honored. I find myself with this film, To Calm the Pig Inside, working with two fabulous photojournalists Veejay Villafranca and Piyavit Thongsa-Ard. It was Veejay who said: I think you should send in the film, and I said Okay why not? I didnt really think about it after that. Then I got the call one night and yeah, Im very pleasantly surprised. Im really happy because I think the images that we have are really strong and poignant, besides the whole story. I mean, its difficult to capture these photos so Im happy that were recognized. I know that you have a background in political science, economics, and international development. Do you think your training in those disciplines informs your filmmaking and the kinds of stories you're drawn to, if at all? Absolutely. They ask me: Do you feel like you wasted your time? I dont think so at all. I feel like all of my experiences are somehow helping me with being an independent filmmaker. As an independent filmmaker, its like youre an entrepreneur. Creatively, its only 25% of the time because Im kind of working a lot of the time on my own. But the other parts of it, are really: the research, which I still consider part of the creativity, or the budget. I was always interested in politics, but its never been my main goal. Im more interested in personal stories. In all of my films, its always framed within a social context somehow. The way I see it, we dont really exist on our own. We kind of are informed by our experiences whether theyre forces we have control over or dont. I think all of my films always have that dynamic or background at the minimum. The filmmaker at Park City, Utah where "Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos" had its world premiere at the Slamdance Festival in 2020. Photo by JM RODRIGUEZ/Courtesy of JOANNA VASQUEZ ARONG You released your first feature-length documentary Neo-Lounge in 2007 and have been making films since. What made you pivot to filmmaking and what was that transition like? I was always interested in stories and films and art. Even in my old jobs, it was always about trying to get the story of someone or something. There was this cinematographer from Hong Kong, and I really loved his work, he was like: If you want to become a director, you really just need to live life and learn from it and somehow translate that. But on the other end of the spectrum, I had friends who said: Okay, but how are you gonna learn how to do a film? In terms of the technical aspects, they had a point. At the time, independent Philippine cinema wasnt really the way it is now. Theres been a huge boom since then. So, I was afraid that maybe if I stayed, Id become a bit more Hollywood or I wouldnt find my style. During this period, I was really in love with Chinese films. What I especially loved about the Chinese films that I knew from directors like Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige was that, when I looked them up, they hadnt really gone to the West. This was really their own voice. Maybe I could learn from that. I decided to drop everything and just do it. You cant have one foot in and one foot out, you just gotta go. From a corporate job with a corporate flat in Manila, I sent everything home. I ended up in Beijing and I didnt have a job. I didnt speak Mandarin and I didnt know anyone in Beijing. The Beijing Film Academy was so famous, where all these fifth generation filmmakers had gone, I said: You know what? Let me see if theres a Chinese course there. One thing I realized, at least with my trajectory, is that I never know where Im gonna end up. So when I went to Beijing, I was only planning to stay maybe 1-2 years. But after eight years of being there, I decided: maybe Ill never be Chinese, maybe its time to go back home and look for stories there. What prompted you to tell this story about Typhoon Yolanda? So as soon as I came back home, I had also wanted to move into fiction so I had written a script that was part of Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde in Cannes. On November 9th, we had to pitch it in France again. My flight was November 8th, which was when Typhoon Yolanda struck. I had already planned to spend a month in France. But, just by chance, I ended up meeting a producer who was looking for a local producer to go back to the Philippines and start shooting. I was from Cebu and everything was going through Cebu. I was already in touch with so many people, so it was easy for me to come back and start scouting for places to shoot. So in a way, I hadnt really initially thought of filming Yolanda, it kind of just happened. I was really there for a foreign film. But because I spent so much time with them and because I was one of the few Filipinos there, people would actually come to me and tell me their stories. That eventually prompted me to start a scholarship program called Eskwela Haiyan, which, again, made me spend more time in Tacloban and Guiuan and hear more stories, etc. Eventually, I said: I need to tell these stories cause these arent coming out. I just wanted to share the stories I had heard. What Ive learned now is that some things just fall into your lap. This has been with me for a long time now and it was supposed to be a small story that I was gonna send out! And then now, it became much bigger than I had thought. The film reminds me of Chris Markers work, specifically the 1962 film La Jetee. I was wondering, what made you tell this story through an experimental short film format? People ask me: Did I ever think to make this a feature? And I say: No. There were a lot of stories I couldve shared, but I didnt think it needed those. It wouldve been more repetitive. Chris Marker was a huge inspiration for this film, particularly his film Sans Soleil. I remember just being blown away because the first few minutes was about nothing but happiness. So for the opening of my film, the first image of those kids playing, thats a direct inspiration from Chris Marker. I wanted to show something more upbeat somehow rather than go into the storm right away. But in all of my films, I actually use photographs. But this was the first time I collaborated with professional photographers. But they really managed to capture what I wanted to express, more so than the videos that I had on hand with me. So there was no question because these photographs were so poignant that Im gonna work around these photographs. The one that has the most photographs is Veejay Villafranca. Most of his photos are actually in black and white and the reason the film ended up being black and white, except for the illustrations, was precisely because of Veejays photos. So we worked around his photos, almost. Even when I was writing the essays, I was looking at the photos. It was a give and take. This film explores something so specific but it seems to have resonated with so many around the world. Why do you think that is? I was actually very nervous at first because I was worried that the story was old or if it was gonna even resonate. When we had the world premiere ago at Slamdance, I remember sitting there and you know it takes so much that you almost forget why you did it. So when I sat in the audience and I was watching the big screen, I had to pinch myself from not crying! Because I was hearing all of the stories again, for the first time. People came up to me from all walks of life. I remember someone from the U.K. coming up to me and saying: I didnt know that was a typhoon! We dont have these really. So I find it so fascinating that different people told me different things. But they found it universal in terms of the whole idea of trauma, of not being heard. This was before the pandemic blew up. I think it also touched a nerve because of what was happening with COVID. It played and resonated in developed and developing countries. Maybe not necessarily because of the typhoon, but because there was some kind of corruption happening and affecting everybody at a local level. In general, they could relate to either the personal story the idea of the whole grandmother or mother or secrets or the typhoon itself because they had gone through something similar. An aerial view of the destruction brought about by Super Typhoon Yolanda as seen in the docushort. Photo courtesy of JOANNA VASQUEZ ARONG What do you hope to do with your filmmaking? I'm always interested in so many different stories. But one thing Im careful of is I dont want to repeat exactly what Ive done in the past. It cannot be exactly the same. You can almost take a formula and apply it to another story, and I dont want to do that. What I will take away from this experience with To Calm The Pig Inside, as cliche as it sounds, is that my most honest films, the ones that took a part of me, are my first film ("Neo-Lounge") and this film. Not that my other films werent honest! But a film reveals a lot about the filmmaker. I do know that Im drawn to stories of cycles and trauma. I didnt realize that until now. Looking back now, with my first film, I ended up in competition at Karlovy Vary! But I was too busy being busy that I didnt appreciate it. Now, many years later, I have no idea whether Ill end up making another film. So, you might as well put yourself in the film or the story. *** Ang Pagpakalma Sa Unos" (To Calm The Pig Inside) is available for viewing on the World Press Photo website until April 17, 2021. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 16:51:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HAIKOU, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China's southern tropical province of Hainan will soon launch a Haikou-Paris air freight route to serve international cargo transport of its free trade port. HNA Cargo Co., Ltd., the cargo transport subsidiary of Hainan-based HNA Group, signed the agreement on the regular air freight service Wednesday in the provincial capital Haikou with Dynamic Parcel Distribution (DPD), a subsidiary of GeoPost S.A., owned by French company La Poste. Under the agreement, a Boeing 787-900 plane will make round trips between Haikou and the French capital of Paris twice a week with the maiden flight scheduled for March 27. The two companies have been committed to deepening cooperation on intercontinental air freight service for duty-free products and cross-border e-commerce logistics. China released a master plan for the Hainan free trade port on June 1 last year, aiming to build the province into a globally influential, high-level, free trade port by the middle of the century. Enditem Gospel artists support Kirk Franklin after audio of him cursing adult son is leaked Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Sixteen-time Grammy Award-winning gospel pioneer Kirk Franklin was at the center of controversy over the weekend after audio of him cursing at his adult son was leaked. Many in the gospel music world have since rallied around him, sending messages of support following his public apology. Franklin issued an apology on Saturday after his 32-year-old estranged son, Kerrion Franklin, leaked a portion of their recent argument over the phone where Franklin can be heard using profane language and physically threatening his son, who also cussed at his father. I will break your neck, (N-word). Dont you ever disrespect me," the 51-year-old can be heard saying before hanging up. Kerrion posted the clip on his Instagram page. The conversation is laced with profane language coming from the gospel legend. The son revealed that the exchange was "recent." Franklin issued a video apology on social media Sunday and revealed that he and his son have a "toxic relationship" and have "tried for many years through counseling, through therapy, to try to rectify this private family matter." He continued: Recently, my son and I had an argument that he chose to record. I felt extremely disrespected in that conversation and I lost my temper. And I said words that are not appropriate. And Im sincerely sorry to all of you. Following his apology, Franklin, who is a household name in gospel music, received several messages of support from his peers under his video apology. Gospel giant Marvin Sapp assured Franklin that he, too, has lost his temper due to complicated family situations. "All of us have blown a gasket when it comes to our children if youre a parent, Sapp wrote. None of us are exempt. Those of us that know you, know your true character and understand. Those that dont and have opinions as believers I want to refer all of you to Galatians 6:1. Spiritual people dont slander they restore considering themselves. Much love Bro. Younger artists such as Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Jonathan McReynolds, Kierra Sheard all sent Franklin messages assuring him that he is "loved" by them. CeCe Winans echoed the sentiment, writing, I Love you Kirk! And Praying for you Kirk and your precious family!! Fred Hammond told Franklin, You got it bro. Worship leader and pastor, Travis Greene sent the musician encouragement. Youre the Greatest. Always forever, he shared. Priscilla Shirer simply wrote, My brother. Hip-hop artist Lecrae maintained, It aint our business. God be with your family bro. Gospel newcomer Koryn Hawthorne added, No apologies needed at all , prayers for your family. While many came to his defense, not everyone accepted Franklins apology. Popular social media preacher Marcus Rogers said Christians who curse should be held accountable. Let me warn you ... stay away from that lukewarm Christianity, Rogers wrote on Facebook. The enemy is using different individuals to water down BIBLICAL Christianity and holiness. We should be set apart from this world. If the world knows cussing is bad and they don't do it in front of kids or in certain places, how is it that a believer can't see it? He added: Furthermore, Jesus wouldn't be walking around cussing. I have seen many folks get saved and the Holy Spirit delivered them from doing drugs. I have also seen the same thing happen with cussing, and there is a reason for that. God wants to transform your life. Remember a mistake isn't the same as a lifestyle of sin and rebellion. Kerrion criticized his dads apology as well and noted that Franklin has yet to apologize to him. He said in a post on Sunday that he was the "only (one) that ever called and tried to go to counseling," with his father. He accused Franklin of playing "mind games" with his supporters. Franklins apology concluded with him saying, "I'm human and I'm going to make mistakes, and I'm trying to get it right. Please keep me and my family in your prayers." Franklin has been very successful as a solo gospel artist along with his choir group Kirk Franklin & The Family. His work has also infiltrated the mainstream markets featuring collaborations with Whitney Houston, Salt N Pepa, Chance the Rapper and Tori Kelly, to name a few. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Mumbai, March 18 : India experienced the largest spike in malware attacks, with the monthly volume more than tripling between September and October, said a new report from cybersecurity firm SonicWall. The country saw more than 25 million malware attacks in December 2020, said the "2021 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report." The pandemic's work-from-home reality resulted in an unprecedented change for organisations as they fought to defend exponentially greater attack surfaces from cybercriminals armed with powerful Cloud-based tools, cloud storage and endless targets. As working environments evolved, so did the methods of threat actors and other motivated perpetrators, as detailed in the report. "2020 offered a perfect storm for cybercriminals and a critical tipping point for the cyber arms race," SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner, said in a statement. "The pandemic -- along with remote work, a charged political climate, record prices of cryptocurrency, and threat actors weaponising cloud storage and tools -- drove the effectiveness and volume of cyberattacks to new highs." The report highlights how Covid-19 provided threat actors with ample opportunity for more powerful, aggressive and numerous attacks, thriving on the fear and uncertainty of remote and mobile workforces navigating corporate networks from home. "There is no code of conduct when it comes to cybercriminals, their methods of attacks and the selection of their targets," said Conner. The findings showed that there was a 62 per cent increase in ransomware globally, and a 158 per cent spike in North America. It suggests that cybercriminals are using more sophisticated tactics and more dangerous variants, like Ryuk, to earn an easy payday. First identified in August 2018, Ryuk did not appear outside of North America, Europe or Asia as late as January 2020. The following month, Ryuk began climbing the charts, eventually overtaking top-ranking Cerber ransomware. With 109.9 million cases detected worldwide, Ryuk was logged nearly every eight seconds in September alone, said the report. The research shows the shift to employees working from home full-time could be directly linked to the increased utilization of Office files and PDFs as malicious vehicles armed with phishing URLs, embedded malicious files and other dangerous exploits. New SonicWall data indicates a 67 per cent increase in malicious Office files in 2020. Once thought to be a dying attack vector after the industry's major mining operation boarded its online service, cryptojacking is back thanks to rising cryptocurrency values and its appeal of concealed payouts. Total cryptojacking for 2020 set records with 81.9 million hits, a 28 per cent increase from last year's 64.1 million total, said the report. Ameen Thabet, 50, choked his 47-year-old partner Najeeba Al-Ariqy, originally from Yemen, at her address in Aston, Birmingham on March 23 of last year after she asked him to divorce his first wife, the court heard A 'cold and calculated' businessman who strangled his 'secret' second wife to death in her own home and then staged it as a burglary was today jailed for life. Ameen Thabet, 50, choked his 47-year-old partner Najeeba Al-Ariqy, originally from Yemen, at her address in Aston, Birmingham on March 23 of last year after she asked him to divorce his first wife, the court heard. Thabet, who runs Linton Metals in Sparkbrook, was convicted of murder by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday. He must remain in jail for a minimum of 18 years before being considered for release. Sentencing, Judge Melbourne Inman QC called the killing 'determined' and 'sustained', and reprimanded Thabet for 'creating a false trail to cover your crime'. The court heard that Thabet was already married when he struck up a relationship with Mrs Al-Ariqy and decided to take her as his second wife - as permitted in Islam. They had a small marriage ceremony, referred to as a Nikkah, in her home in 2019, but Thabet kept it a secret from his first wife. The relationship between the defendant and Mrs Al-Ariqy was turbulent, the court heard. They separated twice that year, agreeing to probation or 'cooling off' periods away from each other for a number of weeks. By early 2020 she agreed to reconcile with Thabet again but on condition that he leave his first wife and publicly marry in a ceremony due to take place that April. It was also said that another man, from Bahrain, was seeking to marry Mrs Al-Ariqy in what was called a 'seriously complicating factor'. But their relationship appeared to go awry again a few days before she died, when doubts emerged over whether Thabet's mother gave her blessing to the union. Thabet had been at the property around midday before leaving and returning later that evening, when he then reported her death to emergency services at 6pm. Thabet had been at the Aston property around midday before leaving and returning later that evening, when he then reported her death to emergency services at 6pm The 50-year-old from Smethwick, West Midlands, was initially treated as a witness before police arrested and charged him with murder. Judge Inman QC said: 'Najeeba was a well-liked, responsible and loving person who did what she could to bring happiness to others. 'It is clear from the evidence that Najeeba was in two minds whether she would remarry you. On 23 March you went to Najeeba's home. 'Najeeba made it clear she would not marry you again unless you were able to divorce your wife. You then strangled Najeeba either with an arm lock or a ligature. 'She had no idea what you intended and you clearly began to strangle her before she could try to escape or defend herself. 'This was a determined killing and you strangled her until you were sure she would die. This was sustained violence and her suffering, knowing what was being done to her, must have been very real indeed. 'This was not a sudden loss of temper. Your actions were cold and calculated and you set about creating a false trail to cover your crime.' David Walbank QC, defending, said: 'The jury was correct in their verdict. He accepts he did commit the offence. When he made his way to Sutton Street he had no intention whatsoever of harming Najeeba. 'The trigger for the tragic events was an argument between them which occurred on his arrival at the property. He accepts that he lost control.' Mr Walbank said Thabet was deeply remorseful and hoped this belated acceptance would help to bring some closure to the victim's family and friends. Exile off Main Street, 1634 Rossville Ave., is a small neighborhood bar selling craft beer that has recently changed ownership for the third time in two years. The partners, Ryan Rothermel and Martin Bohannan, had a severe falling out, said Chattanooga Police Officer John Collins and Mr. Bohannan has asked to be removed from the Chattanooga beer license. Mr. Rothermel now owns 87.5 percent and Rashelle McKee owns 12.5 percent of the business. They have appeared at the last two meetings of the Chattanooga Beer Board attempting to get the beer license changed into their names. At the March 4 meeting, complaints were heard from a neighbor about permits which he claimed were never gotten and about payroll and taxes for its employees. While Mr. Rothermel denied those claims, he said that the business is completely legal and said he was being harassed. Phil Harris, CFO of Chattanooga Brewing Company, spoke on behalf of Mr. Rothermel at the meeting, saying that he had helped to clean up the mess that had been inherited. He told the board that he had assisted with making physical improvements and with issues involving employees. Because of the complaints about the business, Officer Collins said that new fire, electrical, and building inspections had been done which found that most complaints had already been taken care of or were just not true. Captain Chuck Hartung with the Chattanooga Fire Department told the board that he had found very minor issues that could be cleared up easily by the owner himself - moving two propane tanks outside and away from flammable materials, changing placement of extension cords and adding a barrier around a fire pit on the patio. The only problem that needed a contractor was to have a locksmith change a double key deadbolt to a thumb turn lock. He said none of the issues would close the business down and the owners had been given 10 days to make the changes. The lock had been changed the day of the inspection, yet the fire inspector has been unable to return and verify it was done. Because the Beer Board does not grant licenses conditionally, it was unable to approve the new beer permit at the Thursday morning meeting. However, the business will be allowed to continue selling beer under the old license until the next beer board meeting in two weeks when the repair has been verified in person by the fire department. A violation hearing concerning a special gathering permit had been scheduled and the two people involved had been notified by Officer Collins, yet both were no-shows at the beer board meeting. Tim Chatman and his aunt, Courtney McGhee, event organizers, held a party on Sept. 5, 2020 at The Kutt, 3224 Wilcox Blvd., without obtaining a permit from the Chattanooga Police Department regulatory bureau, as required. He has been denied for other special gathering permits that he has applied for, never having been approved for one, said Officer Collins. And other parties that he has held in the past have had to be broken up, said Assistant City Attorney Melinda Foster. The board was told "He does not honor the rules." Since both of the organizers were aware of the meeting, the board proceeded to hear the case. The only penalty that is allowed was given: $50 fines for each and a strike against both of them. They will not be allowed to have another party for one year. The decision can be appealed if they disagree. The beer board members also regulate the wrecker business in Chattanooga. Speaking as members of he wrecker board, a discussion took place about the punishment and rates charged for their services. During a recent hearing about a violation, the board felt they had no discretion in issuing a penalty. The board would like to have an option to give a warning versus a fine, which currently is not allowed. There also has been discussion in the past comparing rates that wrecker businesses are allowed to charge in Chattanooga to other municipalities in Tennessee. Chairman Dan Mayfield said that because the companies have not come to the wrecker board to present their cases regarding the issues, the current regulations must not be too far out of line. The ISF, led by Furfura Sharif's influential cleric Abbas Siddiqui, has fielded candidates cutting across religions and castes for the assembly elections, in a bid to prove its secular credentials. The BJP and the Trinamool Congress have accused the newly floated political outfit of being a party playing the minority card. Of the 21 candidates the Indian Secular Front has so far announced as part of its share of seats in the alliance with the Left Front and the Congress, 10 are either Hindu or belong to Adivasi communities, while the rest are Muslims. Simul Soren, president of the ISF, said the party represents the interests of the Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, irrespective of their religious beliefs. The BJP and the TMC alleged that the Left Front and the Congress have shed their secular credentials by entering into an alliance with the party floated by the 34-year-old cleric of Muslim shrine Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district. Denying that the ISF is a communal party, a CPI(M) leader said, "The Siddiqui-led outfit has pledged to fight for the rights of the backward and downtrodden people of the society." He asserted that his newly floated political outfit will prove to be the 'kingmaker' in the state which roughly has 30 per cent Muslim voters. Siddiqui had rejected as baseless the accusation that he has entered the electoral arena to cut into the TMC's Muslim vote base, assiduously nurtured by Mamata Banerjee. "In the last 10 year, the TMC government has only fooled the Muslims and Dalits. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has done nothing for them," Siddiqui had told PTI in a recent interview. "We are not here only to seek Muslim votes but also backward community votes," the ISF boss said. Soren is contesting from Haripal, while the party has fielded Milan Mandi, Bikram Chatterjee, Gauranga Das, Sanchay Sarkar and Anup Mandal among the Hindu and Adivasi candidates. Sirajuddin Gaji, Sheikh Sabbir, Faisal Khan Abbasuddin Khan, Pirzada B Amin and Md Mostaquim are among the 11 ISF candidates from the Muslim community. The party has fielded Siddiqui's younger brother Naushad Siddiqui from Bhangar constituency in South 24 Parganas district. The Left Front has given the ISF 30 seats from its kitty, while the Congress has agreed to offer it seven constituencies from which the grand old party fought in the 2016 elections. Polls to the 294 assembly seats in will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2. (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.) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says that Ukraine is interested in the experience of economically powerful regions of Germany in restructuring coal regions, the governmental press service said following a meeting between Shmyhal and President of the Landtag of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia Andre Cooper. "The sides discussed issues of strengthening interregional cooperation, in particular in the context of the exchange of experience regarding decentralization and transformation of coal regions. The head of government noted the important role of the German side in consistently supporting Ukraine in the process of important reforms, especially in the decentralization sector," the press service said. In particular, the prime minister said Ukraine is interested in sharing experience with German partners in the restructuring of coal regions, their restoration and transformation into energy efficient settlements. "In October last year, a Ukrainian delegation was in North Rhine-Westphalia, which could in practice review with the process of closing mines and transforming coal regions. I believe that in the near future we will be able to launch specific projects," he said. For his part, Cooper said the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is ready to share its experience with Ukraine in the issue of a fair transformation of coal regions. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 69F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch. Media relations: Florence Lievre Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 71 florence.lievre@capgemini.com Investor relations: Vincent Biraud Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 87 vincent.biraud@capgemini.com Changes to the composition of Capgemini's Board of Directors proposed to the 2021 Shareholders' Meeting, which will be held behind closed doors Paris, March 18, 2021 - The Board of Directors, based on the report of the Ethics & Governance Committee, deliberated on the change in its composition to be proposed to the upcoming Shareholders' Meeting of May 20, 2021. Furthermore, in the evolving context of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Board of Directors decided exceptionally to hold the 2021 Shareholders' Meeting behind closed doors. CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD The Board of Directors decided to propose to the 2021 Shareholders' Meeting the renewal of the term of office of Mr. Patrick Pouyanne and the appointment of Ms. Tanja Rueckert and Mr. Kurt Sievers as members of the Board of Directors for a term of four years, Ms. Bouverot, Mr. Bernard and Mr. Pringuet having expressed their wish not to renew their terms of office. These proposals are in line with the Group's ambition to further the internationalization of its composition, deepen its sector expertise and enrich the diversity of its profiles. Ms. Tanja Rueckert, a German citizen, has acquired throughout her career, solid experience in the software sector as an executive leading business units of international groups and expertise in several fields including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Mr. Kurt Sievers, a German citizen, has management experience in a leading international group in the semiconductor sector, at the heart of the Intelligent Industry's development. He also brings to the Board his expertise in the automobile sector, technology and artificial intelligence, and his knowledge of North America and American corporate governance. The Board of Directors has indicated that Ms. Tanja Rueckert and Mr. Kurt Sievers are considered independent pursuant to the criteria of the AFEP-MEDEF Code to which the Company refers. The Board of Directors warmly thanked Ms. Anne Bouverot, Mr. Daniel Bernard and Mr. Pierre Pringuet for their contribution to the work of the Board and its Committees during their tenure and welcomed in particular the role played by the Vice-Chairman and the Lead Independent Director in the management succession that took place in May 2020. Assuming the adoption of these resolutions by the Shareholders' Meeting of May 20, 2021, the composition of the Board of Directors will decrease to 14 directors, including two directors representing employees and one director representing employee shareholders. 82% of its members will be independent1, 43% will have international profiles and 45% will be women1. SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING HELD BEHIND CLOSED DOORS In accordance with the emergency measures adopted by the French government to slow the spread of Covid-19, the Combined Shareholders' Meeting of Thursday, May 20, 2021 will be held behind closed doors, without the physical presence of shareholders and other individuals entitled to attend. Under these conditions, shareholders will only be able to vote or grant a proxy to the Chairman or a third party remotely and prior to the Shareholders' Meeting. No admission cards will be issued and it will not be possible to vote directly on the day of the Shareholders' Meeting. Shareholders will be informed of the detailed procedures for participating at the Shareholders' Meeting in the Notice of Meeting to be published on March 26, 2021 in the French Journal of Mandatory Legal Announcements (BALO). Finally, in order to encourage participation in this important moment of exchange that is the Shareholders' Meeting, shareholders are invited to participate in the Shareholders' Meeting remotely. The Shareholders' Meeting will be streamed live on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 2 p.m. (Paris time) on the Company's website, with a replay subsequently available. Shareholders will still be able to ask questions, in addition to submitting written questions in accordance with legal provisions. Therefore, as in a normal Shareholders' Meeting, time will be set aside for the Chairman to answer questions that have generated the greatest interest within the period available. Shareholders will be able to ask their questions, from Monday, May 17, 2021, and until Wednesday, May 19, 2021 , the eve of the Shareholders' Meeting, on the Shareholders' Meeting web page: https://investors.capgemini.com/en/event/2021-shareholders-meeting/ (https://investors.capgemini.com/en/event/2021-shareholders-meeting/) , the eve of the Shareholders' Meeting, on the Shareholders' Meeting web page: https://investors.capgemini.com/en/event/2021-shareholders-meeting/ (https://investors.capgemini.com/en/event/2021-shareholders-meeting/) and during the Shareholders' Meeting, directly using the webcast interface, accessible from the same page. Shareholders are also asked to regularly consult the Shareholders' Meeting section of the Company's website for all information regarding the Shareholders' Meeting: https://investors.capgemini.com/en/event/2021-shareholders-meeting/ This section will be regularly updated with details of how to participate in the Shareholders' Meeting and/or changes to these details to reflect subsequent legislative or regulatory developments. *** BIOGRAPHIES Biography of Ms. Tanja Rueckert Ms. Tanja Rueckert, a German citizen, has been President of the Board of Management of Bosch Building Technologies since 2018. Ms. Tanja Rueckert graduated from the University of Regensburg (Germany) with a PhD in Chemistry. She has spent the majority of her career in the digital sector working with the SAP group. Following her roles as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Products & Innovation with SAP SE, in 2015, she became President of IoT & Digital Supply Chain at SAP SE. She has more than 20 years of experience as an executive in the software industry. During her career, she has worked in Germany and the Silicon Valley in the United States and headed up teams across the globe. In her role at Bosch Building Technologies, Tanja Rueckert also acts as an advisor for Bosch Climate Solutions, especially in the areas of sustainable energy, services and software, as well as for the Bosch startup Security & Safety Systems (S&ST). Furthermore, she is a member of the steering committee of "Plattform Lernende Systeme", Germany's platform for Artificial Intelligence and member of the Muenchner Kreis. Ms. Tanja Rueckert has been a member of the supervisory board of SPIE since September 2017 and of Bosch Rexroth since 2019. Biography of Mr. Kurt Sievers Mr. Kurt Sievers, a German citizen, has been President & Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of NXP Semiconductors N.V. since 2020. Mr. Kurt Sievers earned a Master of Science degree in physics and information technology from Augsburg University (Germany). He joined NXP in 1995, and rapidly moved through a series of Marketing & Sales, Product Definition & Development, Strategy and General Management leadership positions across a broad number of market segments. He has been a member of the executive management team since 2009, where he has been instrumental in the definition and implementation of the NXP high-performance mixed signal strategy. Mr. Sievers was influential in the merger of NXP and Freescale Semiconductor, which resulted in creating one of the leading semiconductor companies and a leader in automotive semiconductors. Mr. Kurt Sievers serves on the Board of the German National Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ZVEI) and chairs the Advisory Board of the international trade-fair Electronica. He also serves as a Board member of PENTA and AENEAS, the clusters for application and technology research in Europe and nano-electronics. He serves as a member of the Asia-Pacific-Committee of German Business (APA) and as a member of the Board at the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV), acting as the spokesperson for the Republic of Korea. About Capgemini Capgemini is a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organization of 270,000 team members in nearly 50 countries. With its strong 50 year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2020 global revenues of 16 billion. Get the Future You Want | www.capgemini.com 1The directors representing employees and employee shareholders are not taken into account in calculating this percentage, in accordance with the provisions of the AFEP-MEDEF Code and the French Commercial Code. Attachment As active Covid-19 cases in the state surge, with daily positivity rate climbing to over five per cent, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday extended the night curfew in nine worst hit districts by two hours daily, by advancing it from 9 p.m. onwards. Also he clarified that, if required, he would go for more stringent measures to limit its spread in the days to come. Night curfew will now be in place from 9pm-5am, instead of 11pm-5am, in the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala & Ropar. All these districts are reporting more than 100 cases daily: Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh These nine districts earlier imposed night curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., while other districts have been asked to assess the situation and take action accordingly. "Covid is in very dangerous situation in Punjab again. Yesterday 2,039 positive cases were reported and there were 35 deaths. A day earlier there were 40 deaths in state," the Chief Minister said. At the same time he clarified that he was not in favour of restricting movement of the people at the religious places. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's virtual Covid-19 review meeting with chief ministers of all states, Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Centre to review its immunisation strategy to vaccinate all age groups in selected areas, while announcing a stricter policy to deal with the problem. The Chief Minister also called for occupation-based immunization for school and college students and teachers, judges, bus drivers and conductors, etc., to pave the way for normalisation of crucial activities and check super-spreaders. He advocated early opening of the courts to end the wait for justice for citizens, and also of schools and colleges to bridge the gap between poor and affluent families in terms of education. The daily positivity rate in the state has climbed to more than five per cent in March from a low of less than one per cent in January. So far, 1.99 lakh positive cases have been reported from 54 lakh tests and 6,099 people have died of the infection, he added. On the testing, the Chief Minister revealed that more than 30,000 tests per day were being conducted by the state, of which more than 90 per cent were through RT-PCR and less than 10 per cent Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). Punjab's testing per million has been maintained at higher than national average, he added. --IANS vg/dpb Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday said if the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTC) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTC) elections are concluded at the earliest, the COVID-19 vaccination drive can be executed at a much faster rate effectively. After attending the COVID-19 video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the Chief Ministers/ Lieutenant Governors of other States/Union Territories, Reddy convened a meeting with the officials. He pointed out the need to finish the election process as soon as possible as cases across the country are on the rise. "The election process has become a hindrance to the vaccination drive. The entire official machinery was busy attending election duties. The remaining procedure pertaining to the MPTC/ZPTC election will be concluded in just 6 days. It would have been ideal if the MPTC/ZPTC elections were held immediately after the municipal polls," Reddy said during the meeting, according to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). "If the same is concluded at the earliest, the vaccination drive can be executed at a much faster rate effectively. All the officials should try to finish the election process as soon as possible as cases across the country are on the rise. Otherwise, containing the virus and carrying out tests in those areas where the cases are rising will become very difficult. The officials should appraise the same to High Court and the Governor," he added. The Chief Minister said as a part of intensifying the vaccination drive, Ward/Village secretariats should be treated as the 'units'. "This is highly important, considering the present Covid-19 situation. The officials should prioritise vaccinating citizens residing in the respective jurisdictions of the units (ward/village secretariats)," he said. "Citizens above the age of 45 with comorbidities should be vaccinated at the earliest. The officials should prioritise this. More focus should be on preventing the spread of the virus, rather than providing treatment to the infected, thereby reducing the suffering of the citizens. The number of tests being carried out should be scaled up. 100 per cent RT-PCR tests should be conducted," he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. INDIANAPOLIS (WLFI) Indiana legislators are trying to expand a law designed to protect babies. The Safe Haven Law was passed in 2000, and it allows parents to anonymously give up a baby up to 30 days old without being prosecuted. Now lawmakers want to add more options. House Bill 1230 would allow baby boxes to be placed at any EMS station that has 24-7 staffing. Parents could also legally give up custody of their newborn to medical staff after delivery at a health care facility. In addition, a parent could call 911 and have EMS staff come to take the newborn. Republican State Senator Brian Buchanan has been upfront about his support of the bill. "This is just another way, an avenue where if a new mother has a baby and they feel like there's nowhere else to turn, it gives them an avenue to give up the baby, to surrender the baby," Buchanan said. This law was expanded in 2017 to apply to baby boxes, and again in 2018 to include baby boxes at fire stations. The bill has passed the House and Senate and now goes back to the House for a final vote. 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. Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, has said one in every seven Nigerians is addicted to drugs. Mr Marwa said this when he paid Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Marina, on Wednesday. Mr Marwa is a former military administrator of Lagos State. Mr Marwa, who commended Mr Sanwo-Olus administration for efforts to address drug abuse, called for integrity drug tests for students and politicians, especially those contesting for public offices. Running for public offices is a big responsibility. You shouldnt be in this important assignment for the public and your head is filled up because of drugs, & said the NDLEA boss who, on Tuesday, said about 4.5 million people in the state are into illicit drug business. The drug scourge is now an epidemic in Nigeria. The prevalence is 15 per cent, three times the global average. One in seven Nigerians take drugs. We have found out that there is a nexus between drug use and crime. We felt that Lagos can show the way first with integrity drug test for students because it is our youths that are affected mostly; students, especially those in tertiary institutions, should do drug tests, Mr Marwa said. He also commended the governor for providing effective leadership in Lagos state and for managing COVID-19 in the state. I want to use this opportunity to commend you for the excellent manner you are running the affairs of the state. It is quite a complex assignment and you are doing very well. In fact, it is because of your proactive nature on COVID -19 matter that we are here today. It would have been worse but you picked it up with both hands and dealt with it; now, we are all benefitting. We are grateful for this foresight, Mr Marwa said. Efforts to curb drug abuse in Lagos Meanwhile, the governor said the state is building a full-fledged mental health rehabilitation hospital at Ketu-Ejinrin, Lagos East Senatorial District, to tackle drug abuse effects. Mr Sanwo-Olu said drug abuse was prevalent in the society and the hospital would help to rehabilitate those adversely affected by the abuse. He said the state government would continue to collaborate with NDLEA to address the drug crisis in Nigeria. According to him, the state government has put in place some measures, among which is building a mental health rehabilitation hospital, to tackle the drug crisis in the state. Indeed, we know that drug abuse is prevalent in our society in all forms and shapes. For us as a government, it is not something we are sweeping under the carpet. We are not denying that it is there. ADVERTISEMENT Part of the things we are doing to tackle it, is to ensure that we have functional and working rehabilitation centres, and we are equipping them to identify real caregivers that will take victims through rehabilitation processes. Beyond that, we are actually building a fully fledged mental health rehabilitation hospital at Ketu-Ejinrin in Lagos East Senatorial District. This, we believe, will not only have almost 500 beds but will also have a required expertise, medical and all of the complements, to ensure that different categories of treatments required are available, Mr Sanwo-Olu said. The governor said his administration would collaborate with different commands of NDLEA in Lagos. We will try and strengthen our level of relationships for quicker response. All of us need to have a strong advocacy; parents, religious and traditional leaders need to be true to themselves and let us know that it is only when we speak about it that we can indeed get proper solutions, he said. Mr Sanwo-Olu said the government would not condone criminality coming out of drug abuse because it portends danger to law-abiding citizens. We need to define clearly between people that are just abusing it and people that are supplying it, and be able to deal with them accordingly, he said. North Carolinas Broadband Infrastructure Office released its Digital Inclusion Plan Template and Guide this week to help local governments create plans for closing the state's digital divide According to the department, the guide is a reference for municipalities to design their own plans for managing their tech and infrastructural needs and assets. So far, officials said, 14 communities throughout the state have used the template to formulate initiatives to level the playing field for families who don't have the broadband access and devices necessary for remote work and schooling.As the necessity of the Internet has increased, so have the inequities for people who do not have access to or cannot afford the technologies, tools and skills needed to participate in our digital world, North Carolina CIO Jim Weaver said in a news release. Closing this digital divide and achieving digital equity is critical for our residents and our state to thrive.The guide comes a year after the Broadband Infrastructure Office partnered with the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) to launch its Building a New Digital Economy in NC (BAND-NC) grant program, which funds local digital inclusion plans.We are excited for the official launch of BIOs Digital Inclusion Plan Template and Guide, IEI Director Leslie Boney said in the news release. We hope that communities applying for grants in this upcoming round of the BAND-NC grants will use this resource to create digital inclusion plans to benefit their residents. The Austin-based actor Matthew McConaughey is again making headlines for flirting with a run for Texas governor and this time he says he is serious about the possibility. Belying the hubbub, though, is something activists have increasingly buzzed about: Little is known about McConaughey's politics, or at least his partisanship. State voting records show he hasn't voted in a Texas primary election since at least 2012, which could give some inkling as to which party he supports. He has not made any campaign contributions. And he has declined to say whether he would run as a Democrat, a Republican or something else. There, of course, could be appeal in the lack of political background, and McConaughey has spoken openly about being disillusioned with the current state of politics, suggesting last year that it is a "broken business." He also has criticized the excesses of both the left and the right, and encouraged an "aggressively centric" mindset. MORE POLITICAL NEWS: New bill threatens to bar sports teams from public funding if they don't play national anthem But for partisans looking to suss out McConaughey's true leanings as the 2022 election cycle gets underway, there is not much to go off. That is especially true for Democrats, who are eager to challenge GOP Gov. Greg Abbott over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and winter weather crisis but lack a deep bench beyond Beto O'Rourke. McConaughey has voted twice in Texas since 2012 in the 2018 and 2020 general elections, according to his latest voter history file with the secretary of state's office. He voted early both times in person in 2018 and by mail ballot in 2020. His registration in Travis County goes back to Nov. 25, 2012, and does not preclude the possibility that he was previously registered in Texas and fell off the voter rolls. When it comes to campaign contributions, there is no record of him giving at the state or federal levels. He did not say much about the latest election though he made headlines afterward, when he criticized the "illiberal left" for taking an arrogant view toward the "other 50%." He suggested that view led some in Hollywood a strongly Democratic constituency to deny Donald Trump's win in 2016, and now some Republicans were denying Trump's reelection loss because "they've been fed fake news." McConaughey has been fielding questions about running for governor while promoting his memoir, "Greenlights," which published in October. In the book, McConaughey did include a handful of glimpses at the politics he was around growing up. Early on in the memoir, McConaughey said he came from a long line of rule breakers, describing them as outlaw libertarians who vote red down the line because they believe itll keep fewer outlaws from trespassin on their territory. But he steered clear of discussing politics recent presidents and elections, for example or including details about his personal political views. A publicist for McConaughey did not respond to requests for comment for this story. BILL TO WATCH: The Texas GOP is still furious about Harris County's drive-thru voting McConaughey's' recently released book is not the only thing keeping him in the public spotlight these days. He is organizing a virtual benefit concert for Texans affected by last month's deadly winter storm, set to be broadcast Sunday on his YouTube channel. McConaughey initially sparked rumors he could run for governor last year when he left open the possibility in a November interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. But a day later, after his Hewitt interview received wide media coverage, McConaughey seemed to dial back the speculation about a gubernatorial bid, telling late-night TV host Stephen Colbert that he has "no plans to do that right now." But McConaughey ramped up speculation once again last week, when he said in a podcast interview that running for governor is a "true consideration." He followed it up with an interview with NBC News' Al Roker, from the lawn of Texas Capitol, in which he reiterated he was thinking about a bid. Some interviewers have specifically asked McConaughey if he would run as a Democrat or a Republican or something else and he has not played ball. Questioned Thursday about his partisan affiliation if he runs for governor, he told the Austin American-Statesman he has not "gotten that far yet." In an interview published the same day by the Longview News-Journal McConaughey partly grew up in the East Texas city he also shrugged off a question about partisanship. "I think, going in, to think Democrat or Republican or one of the other, is small thinking now and even becoming unconstitutional because youre supposed to serve the American people or the people of your state," McConaughey said. Independent bids for governor are not unheard of in Texas. In 2006, former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and songwriter and humorist Kinky Friedman both ran as independents. They finished third and fourth in the race behind Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Chris Bell, but combined to bring in more than 30% of the vote. So far, the biggest question hanging over the 2022 gubernatorial race involves a Democrat: O'Rourke, the former 2020 presidential candidate, El Paso congressman and 2018 U.S. Senate nominee. O'Rourke has said he is considering challenging Abbott, while offering harsh criticism of the governor's responses to the pandemic and winter storm. The McConaughey-O'Rourke relationship is one of growing fascination in political circles, if only because they are by far the two most recognizable names being discussed as potential gubernatorial candidates. McConaughey was photographed posing with O'Rourke and two other people while O'Rourke was running for U.S. Senate. As early voting was underway in that race, he tweeted a video of himself in line at a polling place, encouraging people to get out and vote. And about a year later, McConaughey crossed paths with O'Rourke at a 2019 benefit concert for the victims of the El Paso Walmart massacre. Then again, McConaughey has also teamed up with Republicans, albeit on causes that similarly are not overtly political. In 2018, he appeared alongside Attorney General Ken Paxton in a public service announcement about ending human trafficking. More recently, he lent his voice to another PSA, this one released by Abbott's office, that urged Texans to stay home if they could as the pandemic escalated in the state last spring. When it comes to more politically sensitive issues, McConaughey has treaded carefully. Take, for example, the push to "defund the police" last year after the death of George Floyd, the black Minnesota man who was killed after being pinned down by an officer. Asked about Austin's response to the "defund the police" movement, McConaughey told podcast host Joe Rogan in October that it's "almost like it should've been renamed because 'defund the police' does not sound anything like there's been money reallocated to different areas." He said the community and police "need to get back together" and better understand the unique challenges each face. And on police specifically, he said there are "a few of these bad apples [that] need to be removed, but we need to make sure we're training them better." He ultimately landed on a skeptical position, saying his "first gut instinct [about defunding the police] was I don't see how that repairs the relationship between the community and the police force." BACKGROUND: Matthew McConaughey isn't counting out a gubernatorial run "We'll see how it works, but I'm more for saying, OK, instead of taking away your money and your funds, which you can use to train better and work on the relationship of what your job is and what you expect and what communities expect from you I'd rather have done that than pull money from 'em," McConaughey said. In the same interview, McConaughey offered a more direct position on another hot-button issue gun control saying it is "too easy to get a gun sometimes, that there should be that background check." McConaughey has a history of being more outspoken on gun violence than other politically charged issues. In 2018, he spoke at the March for Our Lives rally in Austin, calling for banning assault weapons for civilians, restricting high-capacity magazines and strengthening background checks. "Those are the three main stipulations," McConaughey said at the rally, "and to those three, I can say if you can say it with me all right, all right, all right." Cassi Pollock contributed reporting. Photo: (Photo : Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels) What many thought would be a short-term matter poured over into 2021. Working parents are now trapped in a challenging situation having to make difficult choices between family and career. Regardless of gender or race, they fear being adversely criticized by employers simply because they are parents. As a result, parents are concerned as they try to balance remote learning with full-time employment. It brings many to question how much parents are flailing during the pandemic. More parents are concerned about their capability to keep things going steady without neglecting their kids and their job obligations. Working parents claim they feel bad because they can't adequately care for their children, and some feel guilty because they're not concentrating on their job commitments while tending for their families. In a new study made by the American Psychological Association, those stresses and other factors have made a significant toll on the mental and physical health of parents who have kids under the age of 18 at their own home. READ: Stress Relievers: 11 Extremely Effective Ways to Gain Relief According to the same study, parents whose children were still studying remotely were among those who were struggling the most emotionally, which included over 3,000 participants. According to the survey, 75% of respondents would have preferred more emotional support than they received in 2020. During the pandemic, parents were more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition than non-parents. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 8 out of 10 fathers (80 percent) have registered unwanted weight shifts, compared to 66 percent of mothers. In particular, 55% of fathers said they had gained weight, with an average gain of 45 pounds (median of 20 pounds). On the other hand, 47% of mothers reported gaining weight, with an average of 27 pounds gained (median of 15 pounds). Fathers (87%) were also more likely than mothers (77%) to claim they have slept less or more than they expected since the pandemic began and that they have consumed more alcohol to cope with stress (48 percent of fathers vs. 29 percent of mothers). ALSO READ: Stress Reduction: Pets Help College Students, Study Proves How much parents are flailing may be addressed. Here's how. STAY HEALTHY in three ways. Self-care Throughout the day, practice self-care in 15- or 30-minute intervals and encourage your children to do the same. This may be anything as easy as going for a quick walk, calling a friend, or watching a funny show. Communicate Maintain contact with your family members, as well as your friends and relatives. This will assist you in building emotional maturity so that you can meet your children's needs. Device-free family time Try hosting a family-friendly device-free activity, such as cooking and eating dinner together or playing a board game. When participating in an activity, kids are more likely to talk about their experiences. However, the community recognizes the substantial limitations of self-care, which is inadequate to provide parents with the assistance they need. Parents may mentally "scaffold" themselves, but without clinical support from a therapist, they will not be able to control their exhaustion or self-destructive behaviors. READ MORE: Exercise Could Fight off Psychological Stress, Study Proves Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 08:52:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the National Health Commission said Thursday. Six new imported COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday, said the commission in its daily report. Two new suspected cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported in Shanghai, and no new deaths related to the disease were reported, it added. Enditem Senators were told on Wednesday during the Judiciary Committee hearing that the Equality Act puts religious liberty and thousands of faith-based organizations in danger. "You're not welcome to live your faith in the public square," Ethics and Public Policy Center Mary Rice Hasson told senators, encapsulating the greatest threat the Equality Act poses on people who want to practice their religious beliefs. As per Christian Headlines, Hasson revealed that the Equality Act clearly stipulated in its text that it forbids the use of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act as basis for individuals to sue those covered by the Equality Act. The 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Christian Headlines explained, prevents the government from "substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion" and was signed by President Bill Clinton. Hasson, a Kate O'Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies, gave as example a Jewish charitable outreach that separates men and women who would be subject to a discrimination lawsuit for violating the bill's provision against gender identity. "So it is not true to say that people of faith don't lose anything. We lose everything," Hasson highlighted, "It's a complete, just radical, radical change in the rights for religious Americans." The Christian Headlines reported that Hasson is one of the panelists during the senate hearing. With her is Wall Street Journal Writer Abigail Shrier. Both were asked by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton if they believed that the House Republic Bill 5, more commonly known as the Equality Act, will cause faith-based "charities, clinics, community services, and schools across the country" to shutter or be punished once it is enacted into law. Both affirmed the senator and both emphasized how religious liberty would be gravely affected by the Equality Act. "Any organization or any school," Shrier remarked, "that held to a biological view of sex as part of its religious belief, would come in the crosshairs of this new anti-discrimination law." Shrier, a researcher and an activist against transgender transitioning among the youth as per Washington Blade, is author of the book, "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" that has been awarded by the Economist as "Best Books 2020." "Millions of Americans will be treated as second-class citizens and threatened with lawsuits simply for believing that men are men and women are women," Cotton said before asking the panelists. According to Christian Headlines, the Equality Act that's supported by President Joseph Biden would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects against racial discrimination. The amendment would include to the list of protected classes the addition of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" for accommodations, education, employment, housing, and public places. "Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. But the Equality Act, I strongly suspect," The Daily Signal quoted Justice Committee ranking member Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley during his opening remarks, "would actually dictate what women, girls, schools, churches, doctors, and others must believe." The Daily Signal also reported that there are 4 highlights during the senate hearing on the Equality Act. These are: it is a "Misnamed Act," "We just need to be able to live our lives", women and girls only ones "asked to bear this risk," and "where no federal law has gone before." "Misnamed because although this act supports the prevention of discrimination, it actually causes it by undermining hard-fought protections for women," explained Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. In addition, the Daily Signal said Shrier called the bill a "misogyny in progressive clothing" and that gender ideology is its very core. Shrier called on the general public who care for women's rights that "it would be a good time to call your senator" when she announced in Twitter that that she will be testifying on the Equality Act. Meanwhile, Hasson expressed her gratefulness in Twitter for being able to "speak on behalf of females and persons of faith, in opposition to the mis-named Equality Act" during the hearing. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Credit: Kanyanat Wongsa, Shutterstock.com Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children and young people in the UK. It's a stark reminder of how much work remains to be done, and why Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is making pediatric cancer a priority. We caught up with Professor Christine Harrison to find out about her Cancer Research UKChildren with Cancer UK Innovation Award. Bringing basic research into the real lives of children in the clinic has been a driving force for Professor Christine Harrison over a career of exploring chromosomal abnormalities in children's and young people's cancers. She and her collaborators are one of five teams receiving a Cancer Research UKChildren with Cancer UK Innovation Awardour first dedicated funding scheme for research into pediatric cancer and part of our refreshed research strategy for cancer in children and young people. Alongside her fellow Newcastle University-based collaboratorsmolecular cell biologist Professor Jonathan Higgins and pediatric oncologist Professor Steve CliffordChristine's research aims to understand the mechanisms that cause aneuploidies in children's and young people's cancers. Not only to gain an understanding of how they lead to the disease but also, ultimately, to identify potential therapeutic opportunities, which if applied early enough, may prevent some cancers from developing. Chromosomal conundrum Chromosomal aberrations were one of the early features described in cancer cells, but whether aneuploidya deviation in the number of chromosomesis a cause or consequence of the disease, has long been debated. "It's chicken or egg, isn't it" teases Christine. "I think aneuploidy gives rise to cancer, and that something gives rise to aneuploidy. The question is, really: is there a pre-disposing factor that initiates aneuploidy? That's what we are looking for in this work." The three-year project will bring together Christine's experience in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Steve Clifford's expertise in medulloblastomaboth characterized by aneuploidy. Jonathan Higgins, a mitotic control expert, is entering the pediatric oncology field for the first time. He'll provide essential insight into the causes of aneuploidies, in particular of chromosome 21 (ALL) and chromosome 7 (medulloblastoma). The first order of business will be to identify any genetic factors that confer a predisposition to chromosomal mis-segregationan error in cell division that may provide the genomic link to the cause of aneuploidy. Key to this, says Christine, is an extensive database of sequenced patient samples. "We have collected large data sets from genomic studies, through working closely with colleagues in America, Japan and China who are contributing their data. Mining these data will allow us to drill down on some predisposing factors that we can test." Once the team have identified any predisposing genomic links to aneuploidy, they plan to examine what effect they have on cell division in cultured cellsa leap Christine is clearly excited about: "Rather than just looking for possible predisposing factors, we are going further by observing the differences this makes to cell division, which I don't think anyone has done before." Simple in theory, but there are challenges with this approach. Least of which, says Christine, is the fact that cancer biology is rarely neat and tidy. "We don't think it's a single defective gene on chromosome 21rather a combinationbut we don't know which combination, so if we can take three or four genes and insert them into cells, we can observe how the cells behave." HACking cells So, the trick here is to create these multi-gene expression constructs and then deliver them into cell lines. To do so, the team are turning to human artificial chromosomes (HACs). First developed nearly 30 years ago, HACs are artificially created DNA moleculesin effect, mini-chromosomeswhich allow the delivery and expression of full-length human genes of any size into human cells in vitro. It's this ability to carry a heavy genetic load, including any regulatory elements, that is vital to importing the combinations of candidate oncogenes the team want to examine. As they don't require integration into host chromosomes, HACs also avoid problems of insertional mutagenesis. These advantages over viral vectors will allow the team to create the all-important functional assays to monitor growth and survival of the cell line. "It's all very well finding a relevant genebut we need to know how it operates and what its role is within the cancer," says Christine. "By engineering our predisposing genes into live cells in culture using HACs, we can observe their behavior. It's technically challenging, but I think it's possible." The delivery and expression of candidate oncogenes could reveal the extent to which aneuploidy in these cancersand possibly othersare reliant on multiple driver genes. "If we can show that it isn't a single gene driving the disease, then I think that's probably going to be the case for a large number of cancers," says Christine. "So, if we can achieve this goal for aneuploidy in childhood ALL and medulloblastoma, then I don't see why it won't work in every cancer that has aneuploidy as part of its genetic make-up." And whilst this is bench-based researchas always, Christine is looking towards the clinic. If the team discover the right combination of genes, which cause the aneuploidy seen in these childhood cancers, there is hope this finding will lead to new therapeutic approaches. "Manipulating the cell division of cultured cells based on the genetic make-up of individual cancer patients may make it possible to uncover a preventative mechanism," she says. "If we can find therapies that target these gene combinations, we can potentially eradicate the cells carrying them." When it comes to cancer prevention however, Christine knows ambition needs to be measured with pragmatism. "It's obviously very difficult to envisage prevention of this type of cancerbut if we can begin to understand how it develops, we can at least hope to provide early disease detection." That, of course, is still incredibly impactful. Early detection of cancer is vital to improve patient outcomes. The team hope to be able to refine the classification of both ALL and medulloblastoma to improve risk stratification and, consequently, treatment. Different chromosomal abnormalities can predict how a child will respond to treatment, meaning there is real prognostic value in understanding them. A real challenge ALL in children is a good example of some specific challenges around childhood cancers. Whilst up to 90% of cases can be treatedthat treatment is often toxic with unpleasant long-term side effects. A preventative approach based on Christine's work could lead to life-changing clinical practices for those young patients who are diagnosed with ALLespecially if relapse of patients with aneuploidy can be prevented. If successful, the team will be the first to apply a multi-gene expression model to functional analysis of ALL and medulloblastoma, potentially identifying aneuploidy-specific targets for effective treatment. This research plan is bold. And, like all bold research, it carries with it not only incredible potential but also risk of failure. So, how does Christine stay motivated even through setbacks? "To be a successful research scientist you have to accept disappointments along the way. If I have an idea, I like to be able to push it throughand for this project I have the support of a really fantastic team," she says buoyantly. "If we can find an underlying mechanism causing aneuploidy early in development, or around birth, and if we can then treat itthat would be wonderful." Explore further A new study reveals a vulnerability of cancer cells (CNN) US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris addressed Tuesday's lethal shootings at a series of spas in the Atlanta area, expressing concerns about any violence against Asian Americans. Biden said on Wednesday that brutality against Asian Americans is "very troubling." In her most formal remarks about the ongoing issue of violence against the Asian American community, Harris -- the first person of South Asian descent to hold her office -- said the shooting also spoke to the "larger issue" of violence. Both declined to assign the suspected shooter's motivation until the Justice Department weighs in. Biden said in the Oval Office that he was "very concerned because, as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months." "And I think it is very, very troubling. But I'm making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer from, as the investigation proceeds, from the FBI and from the Justice Department," he said. "I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed." Harris, who has previously spoken about the racism she and her family members in this country have faced, called the shooting "tragic." "Our country, the President and I and all of us, we grieve for the loss," she said. "Our prayers are extended to the families of those who have been killed, and it speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it." Eight people were shot dead at three spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday. Six were Asian women, according to law enforcement officials. The shootings come amid an alarming spike in violence and harassment directed at the Asian American community in recent months. Last week, during a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden condemned hate and discrimination toward the Asian American community. Some public officials and organizations have raised concerns that ethnicity came into play, but Atlanta Police Department Chief Rodney Bryant said Wednesday morning that it is still too early in the investigation to determine if Tuesday's shootings are a hate crime. "I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people," Harris said during a bilateral meeting with Irish officials commemorating St. Patrick's Day. "(K)nowing the increasing level of hate crimes against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate," she added. This story was first published on CNN.com "Biden and Harris condemn deadly Atlanta spa shootings". Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Asian refineries are grappling with whats expected to be a brief period of weak profits as a demand-sapping Covid-19 comeback across the region coincides with a likely surge in oil-product exports from Iran.The virus resurgence in India and other nations apart from China is reducing consumption of products such as gasoline and jet fuel, squeezing the profit margins of refiners. The market is also bracing for the possibility of a boost to Iranian fuel oil supplies into Asia should a nuclear deal be revived.Thats led to complex refining margins in Singapore, a proxy for Asia, falling from $1.65 a barrel at the end of April to as low as 3 cents in mid-May. While its a setback for processors recovering from the pandemic, margins have rebounded slightly and are expected to resume an upward trajectory as soon as the third quarter with accelerating vaccination rates aiding demand.The average profit from converting crude into gasoline in Asia -- the so-called crack spread -- fell in May from April, snapping a three-month gain. Across the region, restrictions in place from Malaysia, Vietnam to Japan have sapped demand for transportation fuel. Oil consultant FGE sees Indias gasoline consumption as the biggest stumbling block to Asias demand recovery, with an estimated 20% fall in April through June versus the previous quarter.See also: Japans April Fuel Stocks Rise Despite Drop in ProductionExport is not a very attractive option, said N. Vijayagopal, the finance director at Bharat Petroleum Corp., Indias second biggest fuel retailer. Refiners across the country are facing a double whammy caused by weaker regional markets and lower domestic consumption thats prompting them to set aside earlier plans to maintain run rates and reduce operations instead.Complex refining margins in Singapore were at 60 cents a barrel on Monday and averaged about 71 cents in May. That compares with $2.41 in the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The profit from converting crude to gasoline in Asia was at $8.85 on Tuesday after averaging about $8.48 in May.Iran FlowsThe restart of some crude processing capacity after seasonal maintenance will boost fuel supplies and offset some of the expected increase in demand, limiting the gains in refining margins, said Victor Shum, vice president of energy consulting for IHS Markit.Most are expecting a flood of crude should the nuclear accord be renewed with Iran, but its the prospect of rising fuel oil flows -- used to power ships and for electricity generation in some countries -- thats raised concerns for Asian refiners, especially as China boosts output of heavy fuel.Margins for very low-sulfur fuel oil dropped below $10 a barrel in mid-May for the first time since December, easing from a high of almost $16 at the end of February. Cracks in May were also at the lowest average in five months. Margins for high-sulfur fuel oil fell as low -$8.80 in May, from -$3.71 in April.Diesel demand, most notably from China, is proving to be the bright spot and has provided a buffer for overall margins. Consumption in Asia during the first three months of the year was at 9.4 million barrels a day, or about 98% of 2019 levels, and is expected to edge higher during the second quarter, according to Yuwei Pei, a consultant at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.Singapores stockpiles of middle distillates -- a category that includes diesel -- fell through the week ended May 26 to the lowest since April 2020. Covid-19 restrictions and the return of refineries after seasonal maintenance may lead to rising Asian inventories, but regional diesel cracks could increase $3 to $4 a barrel to as much as $10 by December, according to Wood Mackenzie.As the Covid-19 situation in Asia stabilizes and restrictions are eased, improvement in cracks of transportation fuels should support both simple and complex refining margins through the third quarter, said Grayson Lim, a senior oil market analyst at FGE(Updates margins and adds analyst comment in seventh paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Pushing forward with its plan to reopen schools this spring, the Biden administration is expanding coronavirus testing for teachers, staff and students and convening a summit for educators to share best practices for returning kids to the classroom. The time is now, and schools must act immediately to get students safely back into school buildings, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday. President Joe Biden, who was inaugurated on Jan. 20, has pledged to have most elementary and middle schools open to instruction by the end of his first 100 days in office. The administration has been promoting the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill recently passed by Congress as a way to accomplish that. As part of that effort, first lady Jill Biden visited a school in New Hampshire on Wednesday. The states will share $122 billion for K-12 schools, with allocations ranging from $285 million for Vermont schools to $15 billion for California, according to the Education Department. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The money can be used to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase personal protective equipment. It also can pay for more nurses, counselors and janitors, and summer school. Also Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $10 billion for states to support school COVID-19 testing programs. Most public schools havent been able to afford the robust testing seen as critical to reopening safely, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. With this investment, help truly is on the way to aid school systems in implementing a testing system that will help keep students, educators and staff safe inside school buildings, she said in a statement. Cardona said a summit scheduled for next Wednesday will give education leaders, teachers and students an opportunity to share their experiences in reopening schools. The Education Department said first lady Jill Biden will deliver opening remarks. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also will speak. We are holding this summit with the goal of sharing best practices and connecting leaders, educators and students from across this country who are navigating this challenge together and finding creative solutions to support our students and bring them back to in-person learning, Cardona said. Jill Biden promoted the relief bill and highlighted reopening strategies during a visit to the Christa McAuliffe School in Concord, New Hampshire, attended by one of the Biden grandchildren. The first lady watched a student perform a series of exercises meant to improve emotional well-being and she chatted with students about distance learning. I think its really hard to learn on Zoom. Dont you? I think its really hard, she said. On a call with reporters, Cardona said he expects schools will fully open in the fall if vaccinations continue as expected, and with guidance from health authorities. What does normal look like? I wish I had a crystal ball. We dont know, he said. What we do know is that this spring were wanting to see schools reopen using the mitigation strategies and giving students an opportunity for that in-person learning. School leaders see the flow of new money as a major factor, along with vaccines for teachers, in getting schools open and keeping them open, said Dan Domenech, executive director of a school administrators group. The Education Department will begin making the money available this month. There are a lot of districts that were desperately hoping that this would happen to prevent them from going into bankruptcy at the end of the year, which school districts are not allowed to do. They have had to borrow in order to supplement their budgets with dollars that they did not have, Domenech said. Schools need money to fill holes blown in their budgets by unanticipated expenses such as the laptops and internet hot spots purchased for remote students, and ventilation systems, PPE and cleaning and distancing protocols for students who have returned to classrooms. Next come the expenses to get students back on track academically. That could mean paying teachers and other staff to keep school going through the summer or continuing remote learning to supplement school days. Cardona, appearing at a White House press briefing, said the department would get reports from states on how they are using the money. Its critically important that we use the funds to support our students, especially those students who have had gaps exacerbated as a result of this pandemic. We know achievement and opportunity gaps have widened, he said. Chicago Public Schools, the nations third largest district, has conservatively estimated a $300 million hit in the budget being written now. The roughly $1.8 billion anticipated from the federal aid package will cover that and allow for new investments in lost learning and students emotional needs, the district said last week. President Biden has ordered states to prioritize teachers in their vaccination plans, and the CDC has released guidelines to help schools reopen. But one of those guidelines that students be seated 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart is already being reevaluated because of the challenges of achieving that. At the White House, Cardona said the department would continue to be guided by health experts, while acknowledging that reducing the distance will provide more opportunities potentially for students to enter our schools. During a congressional hearing Wednesday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is reviewing studies on physical distancing in schools and will update its guidance when it has concise and consistent evidence. Walensky said that studies looking at distancing of 3 feet in schools got under way after it became clear that distancing of 6 feet would be difficult. Whenever there are challenges, thats when science emerges, she said. ___ Associated Press writer Candice Choi in New York contributed to this report. OTTAWA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Dying With Dignity Canada is grateful to see Bill C-7 receive Royal Assent, signed into law last night, by The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada. After months of parliamentary debate, Canadians without a reasonably foreseeable death are now eligible to apply for medical assistance in dying (MAID). We know that an overwhelming majority of Canadians support this amendment to the law. "On behalf of Canadians who were denied access under the existing MAID legislation, we are pleased that they will now be able to exercise their constitutionally-protected right to a peaceful death," said Senator Jim Cowan, chair of the board of directors at Dying With Dignity Canada. We thank parliamentarians who listened to the voices of suffering Canadians and moved this compassionate bill forward. We also commend the work of Justice Minister Lametti and Senators Petitclerc, whose leadership ensured a thorough and extensive debate on the bill and resulted in many thoughtful improvements to the legislation. Passage of Bill C-7 is a result of the support and commitment of the thousands of Canadians across the country who made their voices heard. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this success through letter writing, meetings with their MPs and Senators, education and sharing their personal stories. "While we honour the impact of this decision for Canadians, we know that our work is not done. Now that Bill C-7 has been passed, we'll be turning our attention to both the parliamentary review that will study advance requests, and the expert review of mental illness." - Helen Long, CEO at Dying With Dignity Canada. The parliamentary review will also study the state of palliative care in Canada, the protection of people with disabilities, and access to MAID by mature minors and individuals whose sole medical condition is mental illness. Media Inquiries: Phone: 647-477-0831 Email: media@dyingwithdignity.ca Dying With Dignity Canada is the national organization committed to improving quality of dying and end-of-life choice. SOURCE: Dying With Dignity Canada View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636333/Bill-C-7-Receives-Royal-Assent 404 One of the nation's top policemen has proposed creating an app that determines if lovers have consented to sex - although experts have been quick to dismiss the idea as having no impact on curbing sexual assault in Australia. NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller suggested the introduction of phone app such as Denmark's 'iConsent' would be a good way of establishing whether or not two parties had agreed to sex before it happened. The consent app would require users to enter their name and age, declare they understand what sexual consent is, and then either 'accept' or 'deny' the request before sexual activity begins. The encrypted data would then be stored on the app in case it is needed in criminal inquiries. However, experts have slammed the plan as unrealistic, a waste of money, and likely to create more problems than it solves. How the consent app would work during a sexual encounter between a couple Sexual assault advocate Chanel Contos blasted the consent app proposal as a 'bad Band-Aid' solution to the issue Sexual assault advocate Chanel Contos blasted the consent app proposal as a 'bad Band-Aid' solution to the issue. The former Kambala school student, 22, launched the Teach Us Consent petition on February 18, calling for a review in sexual assault education in Australian schools. Ms Contos, herself a survivor of sexual assault, said Mr Fuller's proposal won't work effectively. 'Consent can be taken back at any time, and an app couldn't account for that,' Ms Contos told the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday. Poll Would you use a consent app before having sex? Yes No Undecided Would you use a consent app before having sex? Yes 5 votes No 58 votes Undecided 8 votes Now share your opinion 'It's very reflective of how consent is seen; as a black and white thing. But consent isn't a single sentence. It's how people interact with each other as a whole.' Monash University Communications and Media Studies lecturer Dr Emily van der Nagel also raised doubts about the effectiveness of the app in real life. 'This app is a bad idea that fails to solve the issues required to appropriately address sexual consent. It's a concept designed to protect men, to alleviate them of blame and guilt,' she said. 'When what we need to be doing is ensuring men don't sexually assault women in the first place.' 'On social media, women are criticising the app as an inadequate response and are identifying many contexts in which it falls short. It's disturbing that NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller doesn't appear to have discussed the app with any women - only the Attorney-General Mark Speakman and Police Minister David Elliott. 'This incident reveals a culture of not listening to, or believing, women. That needs to change.' NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the proposal. 'We need consent law reform, we need holistic consent education, we need to stop men feeling they are entitled to whatever they want, we need an independent complaints process, we need justice. We need equality. WE DO NOT NEED AN APP!!' she tweeted on Thursday. Hayley Foster, CEO of Women's Safety NSW, said while it was 'fantastic' police were acknowledging the need for affirmative consent, she urged Mr Fuller to consider the evidence-based proposals she and her colleagues had been putting forward for years. NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the app proposal, saying Australia needs consent law reforms and 'holistic consent education' 'It's another example of governments not listening to women's safety services, women victim-survivors, women in general,' she said. 'It does feel a little disrespectful of our expertise.' Ms Foster said that unless perpetrators were held to account in the justice system, they will be free to continue offending. She said just 1.5 per cent of sexual predators were now held to account. Dating podcaster and columnist Jana Hocking also slammed the proposal as a waste of money and resources, saying an app creates problems rather than offers solutions. 'What if you fill in the app and change your mind about sleeping with them? Or someone uses intimidation to make you fill in the app?,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'People who rape are already using intimidation.' Ms Hocking said the idea sounds good in theory but claimed there is 'no way it could work in real life'. 'The entire idea is bad because we've all been in positions where at the start you're like 'yeah maybe' and then people sober up and think i don't want to do this,' she said. Dating podcaster Jana Hocking (above) doesn't support the consent app plan His proposal comes a month after Denmark launched its iConsent app which allows users to grant permission for 'one intercourse', which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time How the app could potentially work Enter name and age Declare you understand what sexual consent is Send a request to sexual partner Swipe to accept The app encrypts and stores the digital agreement Advertisement 'Is there a button for changing your mind?' Ms Hocking said that while Mr Fuller's 'heart is in the right place,' she raised doubts over whether the app's information would be admissible in court. 'It could actually make it harder for someone to press charges if in theory they have consented in the app and then changed their mind,' she said. The dating expert also questioned NSW Police for potentially spending money, time and resources on an app instead of focusing on education for children and teens. 'Shouldn't they put that towards teaching [students] what's consent and what isn't, how about we start there,' she said. 'Money would be better spent sending these police officers to schools and unis and chatting to people at the age they are starting to have sex and teaching them the rules [of consent]. Mr Fuller said a consent app could be one of many solutions in curbing sexual violence in Australia. 'If you are online or dating or looking for friendship you have to be up front with that in terms of what your expectations are from the relationship,' he said. 'This app or this concept of implied consent - whether it's on an app or otherwise - it protects everybody. It's not the entire solution but the reality is, consent is by far the biggest issue that we are facing.' Sex assault reports up 10 per cent in NSW SEXUAL ASSAULTS ARE UP * Child victims reporting current sexual assaults - up 21.3 per cent * Historical child sexual assault reports - up 11.2 per cent * Adult victims aged 16+ years - up 4.4 per cent Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Advertisement Mr Fuller said the 'evolution of dating has changed dramatically in the past five years', and hopes the app 'gets conversations started' around the topic of consent, even if it never materialises. 'It's more about starting the conversation around what's acceptable and what you would let your friend do if they're intoxicated,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'The app may never see the light of day but I hope we all talk about consent again.' His proposal comes a month after Denmark launched its iConsent app which allows users to grant permission for 'one intercourse', which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time. The Scandinavian country introduced the app after its parliament passed a new law expanding the definition of rape to include any sex without explicit consent. But the app has met with a frosty reception in Denmark, where one newspaper called it 'as unsexy as another corona press conference'. Developers say the app gives people the 'opportunity to document your consent to intercourse' by allowing lovers to send and receive requests via their phones. But they add that 'consent in the app can never stand alone, and that it is up to you and the other party to secure your consent before, during and after intercourse'. Users can call up their consent history which the app says is 'stored on secure servers' and only shared in the event of a criminal investigation. IEA boosted the number of oil barrels to 100,000-barrels-a-day in its monthly report. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters The price of oil (BZ=F) rose on Thursday, after falling around 1% earlier in the day, staging a slight recovery after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that prices were unlikely to mount a dramatic and sustained rise despite COVID-19 vaccines. On Wednesday, IEA boosted the number of oil barrels to 100,000-barrels-a-day (bd) in its monthly report. This is the amount by which it expects global oil demand to rebound in this year, which is 5.5 million bd. The Paris-based body expects American crude production to fall by 180,000 barrels a day. It expects demand to only be 1.4 million barrels a day short of pre-pandemic levels, in the final quarter of 2021. "Oil's sharp rally to near $70 (50) a barrel has spurred talk of a new supercycle and a looming supply shortfall. Our data and analysis suggest otherwise," it said. Brent Crude, the international benchmark, was up 0.25% to $67.93 on Thursday. It has risen around 80% since the end of October last year. Oil prices recovered slightly on Thursday after dipping more than 1%. Chart: Yahoo Finance Earlier this month, Brent jumped to $71 a barrel after one of Saudi Arabias key oil facilities came under missile and drone attack from hostile forces in Yemen. The storage tank that was targeted at Ras Tanura in the countrys Gulf coast is the worlds largest crude terminal. It is capable of exporting roughly 6.5 million barrels a day, representing nearly 7% of oil demand. WATCH: Saudi crown prince MBS courts a wary Biden The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies also decided this month to mostly maintain their supply cuts for April. An increase of 500,000 barrels a day was widely expected, however, Saudi Arabia agreed to maintain a voluntary 1 million barrels per day cut despite calls from some smaller producers to allow a modest loosening. READ MORE: Oil prices soar above $70 after attack on Saudi Arabia key facilities Russia was allowed a 130,000 barrel a day increase in quota and Kazakhstan 20,000. The group is awaiting a more solid recovery in demand from the coronavirus pandemic despite a recent rally in oil prices in the past two months. Story continues Saudi Arabias oil minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, acknowledged that the market had improved since January, but wanted to urge caution and vigilance, adding that before we take our next step forward, let us be certain that the glimmer we see ahead is not the headlight of an oncoming express train. The next OPEC+ meeting is on 1 April. WATCH: What UK government COVID-19 support is available? In a move that appeared to have shocked members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, on February 16 announced he was joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He was welcomed into the party by five state governors at his Asoludero residence, Sagamu, where he was presented with a broom, the symbol of the APC. The governors who welcomed him were Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and Abubakar Bello of Niger State. Mr Daniels action comes barely two years after he resigned from the opposition PDP, saying he was pulling out from partisan politics. Gbenga Daniels reign in Ogun politics Mr Daniel served as the governor of Ogun State from May 29, 2003, to May 29, 2011, under the banner of PDP. His election in 2003, according to political analysts, remains the biggest electoral victory in Ogun State after securing 449,335 votes against the then sitting governor, Olusegun Osoba, who scored 231,982 votes. His reelection in 2007 was disputed by Ibikunle Amosun who was the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but the states election petitions tribunal in August 2009, dismissed Mr Amosuns petition. Upon handing over in 2011, he returned to his business but did not stop funding many youth development initiatives in the state. With this, he continues to enjoy support among many youth in the state. First exit from PDP and return Following internal squabbles that divided PDP into factions, Mr Daniel dumped the major opposition party. He later joined the Labour Party (LP) in 2013 and many leaders of the party declared their loyalty to the ex-governor. His media aide, Adenekan Seun, quoted ex-governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State to have described Mr Daniel as the biggest stakeholder in the Ogun project. Soon, LP became the most popular opposition party in the state, taking over from the PDP. On May 17, 2014, while speaking at the commissioning of the state headquarters of the Labour Party, located at Onikolobo area of Abeokuta, Mr Daniel said: this is the first time that Im appearing in a political environment since 2011. I want to tell you today that the Labour Party is the right party, he announced formally. After several reconciliation meetings with leaders of the PDP, Mr Daniel re-joined the party in October 2014. I have returned to my party. There is no situation in which there are no differences, these differences have been settled. All the challenges we have in PDP have been settled. If Labour Party is actually strong in Ogun state, can it swallow PDP? It is the big fish that swallows the small fish and today PDP has swallowed Labour Party, he said then. Failed ambitions By December 2014, Mr Daniel declared his ambition to run for the Senate seat for Ogun East district in the 2015 elections but the party eventually chose late Buruji Kashamu. Mr Daniel later announced his withdrawal from the race. According to the then chairman of PDP in Ogun, Dayo Bayo, the ex-governor tendered a letter of withdrawal to the chairmans office but did not disclose the reason behind his action. I can tell you that my leader, the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has submitted a letter of withdrawal for the Senate race to my office and he is not contesting in the primaries, Mr Dayo was quoted. Many months after the election, Mr Daniel told PREMIUM TIMES his reasons for not pursuing the ambition. I was offered the ticket at a price but I rejected it because I could not come to terms morally and in good conscience with purchasing a ticket to contest election to serve. Some people even tried to pay the price but I stopped them. Insiders are fully aware of these details. Just setting records straight with respects, he stated. ADVERTISEMENT I voluntarily declined, as I was engaged to coordinate President Jonathans campaign in the South West for PDP, while supporting most of our cheated candidates who went to PPN at that time. In 2017, he ran for the national chairmanship of the PDP, running some of the sturdiest campaigns at the time, but lost to Uche Secondus at the partys national convention. Even as a member of PDP, he refused to support the party in the 2019 governorship election in Ogun due to his fight with Mr Kashamu (PDP candidate). Instead, he threw his weight behind Mr Abiodun of the APC, who won the election. Leading Atikus campaign In the build-up to the presidential election in 2019, ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar appointed Mr Daniel as the Director-General of his campaign. Mr Abubakar in a statement said the ex-governor has vast knowledge of the Nigerian political terrain and has a wide network of contacts and friends all over Nigeria, and these are a few of the assets he will be bringing to our campaign organisation. I am in no doubt OGD is a very positive and welcome addition to our campaign and I look forward to working with him as he leads our campaign to victory come February 2019, he said with full optimism. Alas! The election did not go as planned for him as President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election under the banner of the ruling APC with 15,191,847 votes to Mr Abubakars 11,262,978 votes. Barely a month after the election, Mr Daniel resigned from active and partisan politics, saying he would concentrate on running his charity and political foundation. The first person to condemn Mr Daniels resignation was Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation who took to Twitter to describe the resignation as sad. For the Director General of Atikus Presidential Campaign Organisation and his closest confidante in the South West to dump the PDP and join the APC even before the conclusion of Atikus election petition, is sad. Mr Fani-Kayode made the remark even though Mr Daniel did not disclose that he would be going to the APC. Unfounded political retirement His resignation came as a shock to many who believed that there is no retirement age for politics. Having understood this fact, both the APC and the PDP tried to lure him. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State visited him in January 2021, appealing to the ex-governor to return to the PDP as the best person in the position to provide leadership for the party in the state. But a month after, Mr Daniel chose to go with the APC. He told his supporters in a statement that the move was in the best interest of our people. Our cause is just, well-considered, not for any personal gain or aggrandisement but in the overall interest of our people. What we all need to do is to be active and proactive with our responses as there will be no time for briefing. We all know what has happened to the intractable problem in the Ogun State PDP over the last decade or more with no end in sight. We can see the unfolding crisis in the SW (South-west) and the national situation does not look any better. The situation in the country also calls for serious engagement across the board. Not that there wont be challenges in the other parties but all considered and the benefit of what I know, this is the best thing to do now. If the dynamics change at any time we will take it as it comes. Regards to all, his statement read. How it would affect PDP, APC in Ogun From that statement, one could tell that Mr Daniels political retirement is not near. The APC in the state welcomed him enthusiastically, saying for now, the ruling party has colonised the state. The partys spokesperson, Tunde Oladunjoye, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES said Mr Daniel was coming to the party to lead them to glorious showings in next elections. Let me start by making clarification on behalf of Gbenga Daniel. He did not defect, he resigned after his work for Mr Atiku and said he was leaving politics. What happened last month was that after several thoughts, he joined the APC and not defected. His coming to APC as it has been seen by many is a big boost for APC because you cannot take away the fact that as a former governor, he has supporters and followers. Having him is a good catch for our party at the national and state levels. He also said Mr Daniels decision was a further demonstration of his love for Governor Abiodun. You will recall that prior to the 2019 election, he told his followers to support Dapo Abiodun. They have been friends for decades and they have to support one another. On the party level, it is clear without sounding victorious, Ogun State is now a one-party state and our party is bound to win subsequent elections. This is the first time in the history of politics in Ogun state to have four governors in a party. We are also having all the deputy governors in a single party not to talk of senators and even former. APC has colonised party politics in Ogun. This is also the first time of having governorship candidates who lost in the election joining hands to work with the incumbent governor. If Governor Abiodun is a lover of noise, he would have called Sunny Ade or Wasiu Ayinde to celebrate the recent activities of the party in Ogun. The top guys are the ones reported in the media but we have many people even at the local level and the ward level joining APC. Today, as far as Ogun politics is concerned, you dont tell a deaf man that the market is over. The opposition can see for themselves. Asked how the party would manage its galaxy of political leaders, Mr Oladunjoye simply said I dont envisage a leadership crisis. As of today, Dapo Abiodun is the leader of the party. There are protocols and there could be issues relating to ambition but I can assure you that there are mechanisms to address differences in the party. The opposition PDP, however, also put a positive spin to Mr Daniels latest movement, saying he is one of the major influencers of crisis in the party since he fell out with some leaders in 2011. A chieftain on the PDP in Ogun, Oyejide Sunkanmi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the exit of Mr Daniel would allow the party to end most of its internal crisis and work towards regaining power in the state, saying big names have no relevance like grassroots politicians. In politics, it is expected that some set of people will say they want to shift ground. Otunba Gbenga Daniel asked his people to follow Dapo Abiodun during the 2019 election, so getting the news that he joined the APC did not surprise us. The PDP Ogun State is different from what people used to know. It is not the PDP of the big names. These leaders are no longer relevant. We respect the opinions of Gbenga Daniel and we are not disturbed because Ogun PDP is capable, he said. He said despite not having any big name in PDP, the party is still a formidable opposition ready to unseat the APC. We are trying to put our house in order and ensure that we sort out our in-house crisis. We are interested in people at the grassroots to unseat the APC. This government has not met the expectations of the people and they (people) want us (PDP) to return. It is not only the PDP that has crisis. Even APC has their crisis. No party is crisis-free. We have our crisis and I am not disputing that fact. Gbenga Daniel who emanated from nowhere and was given opportunity to become governor could not find common ground with other leaders after he left the position as governor The problem we have today emanated in 2011 from Gbenga Daniel but the national leadership of the PDP has set up a reconciliation team and meetings are ongoing. Very soon, you will see all the warring factions come together. We dont really need any big name to achieve results. Internal crisis management to determine the future Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on the development, a political analyst, Jide Ojo, said the way the two major political parties manage their internal crises will determine their future and strengths in the state. It is the right of any politician to join any party of his or her choice and in the case of Ogun, people pay more attention to individuals than parties they represent right from the days of Olusegun Osoba. Yes, big names alone do not win elections and local politicians must also be respected. The normal thing is that people want to migrate to where things are happening. People want where they can get political asylum, contract and many others things. Considering all of these, it lies within their right if they want to defect or quit the party. What matters now is how the PDP reconciles their warring factions and how the APC manages internal crises that may occur. If we want to see better politics in 2023, PDP must get its house together. It is two years to the next general elections, it can put up a good fight. The party needs to do better with reconciliation, Mr Ojo said. Another political analyst, Abass Oyeyemi, said there will always be internal crises but we dont know which party it would affect. All of these guys are people of different political backgrounds. They may not be in the same camp, but they have the same goal. It is expected that if they are not satisfied, they will still defect. PDP in Ogun state is built on crisis. However, APC may also have problems in the future over the structure, leadership and control of the party. If all of these are not properly managed, they may be detrimental to the unity of the party as well. Startek (NYSE: SRT), a global provider of customer experience management solutions, has been honored with a Bronze Stevie Award in the Best Use of Customer Insight category in the 15th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. This recognition was presented to Startek for its successful implementation of analytics and AI-driven solutions for translating client data into effective actions. The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the worlds top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. The Stevie Awards organizes eight of the worlds leading business awards programs, including the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. While our focus is on delivering value to our customers through digital transformation, these awards affirm our commitment to prioritizing a safe and virtual work environment that fosters resilience, innovation and a culture that is oriented towards results and high performance, said Rajiv Ahuja, President of Startek. Through our insights-driven CX and analytics capabilities, we are continuously enabling brands to make the right decisions, shape relationships and drive market growth. With a presence in over 13 countries, Startek provides state-of-the-art, insights-driven CX solutions that empower todays organizations to move from being reactive to proactively identifying issues, thereby allowing them to anticipate new opportunities based on firm facts. Startek switched to a cloud-enabled virtual operating model within a matter of days and enabled over 55 percent of its global workforce to work from the comfort of their homes, ensuring their safety and business continuity for customers. In the toughest working environment in memory for most organizations, 2021 Stevie Award winners still found ways to innovate, grow sales, please their customers, and secure new business, said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. The judges have recognized and rewarded this, and we join them in applauding this year's winners for their continued success. We look forward to recognizing them on April 14. More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes, virtually every industry, and 51 nations, were considered in this years competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 160 professionals worldwide on nine specialized judging committees. About The Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com. About Startek Startek is a global provider of tech-enabled business process management solutions. The company provides omni-channel customer experience, digital transformation, and technology services to some of the finest brands globally. Startek is committed to impacting clients business outcomes by focusing on enhancing customer experience and digital & AI enablement across all touch points and channels. Startek has more than 42,000 CX experts spread across 46 delivery campuses in 13 countries. The company services over 220 clients across a range of industries such as Banking and Financial Services, Insurance, Technology, Telecom, Healthcare, Travel & Hospitality, Ecommerce, Consumer Goods, Retail, and Energy & Utilities. To learn more about Starteks global solutions, please visit www.startek.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005065/en/ Advertisement Britain's daily coronavirus deaths have almost halved in a week, official figures revealed today as yet more data showed cases are still falling across England. Department of Health statistics showed 95 Covid fatalities were recorded today 47 per cent down on the 181 registered last Thursday. And daily infections fell by seven per cent after health chiefs posted 6,303 cases. For comparison, 6,753 were registered at the same time last week. The drop in infection rates has slowed over the past week but experts say this is linked to test capacity being drastically ramped up because of schools reopening in England. But the positivity rate one of the best ways of tracking an outbreak's size when swabbing jumps has fallen in every region despite the uptick in cases, suggesting the second wave is still firmly in retreat even though more cases are being spotted. Public Health England data showed only Yorkshire saw its infection rate plateau last week, while more granular statistics revealed a third of local authorities saw a slight uptick in cases. And separate data from Test and Trace showed there were 39,118 positive cases in the week ending March 10, the latest available, which was a drop of 14 per cent on the previous week. It also showed coronavirus tests had nearly doubled to 5.8million. Department of Health figures on the vaccines roll-out today showed 25.7million Britons have now received their first dose, after a further 460,000 got their shots. Ministers also dished out another 119,609 second doses, amid the looming demand to administer top-up doses to millions of vulnerable residents. It comes after Matt Hancock today finally admitted a delayed shipment from India is behind a vaccine shortage that will hit the UK in April and lead to first doses being all but halted for under-50s. The UK was expecting another 4million doses of the Oxford-made vaccine from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, but the shipment has been held back. And the EU's medicines regulator also sought to put out fears over the AstraZeneca jab today, after it said the shot was 'safe and effective' and that the benefits outweigh any possible risks after a review. Nineteen countries had hit the pause button on using the jab amid unproven fears over blood clots. The UK's medicines regulator also waded into the row today, insisting there was no evidence the vaccine triggers blood clots and only five people in Britain have developed a specific type of clot in the brain out of 11million doses administered the equivalent of one in 2.2million. Department of Health data showed the number of Covid deaths recorded has halved in a week, as the second wave of the pandemic remained in retreat. There were 95 recorded today compared to 181 last Thursday Covid cases also fell seven per cent in a week. There were a further 6,303 cases identified today. For comparison, 6,753 were registered at the same time last week Cases appear to have plateaued over the last few days. Experts insist however that this is linked to testing rates, which have almost doubled over the last two weeks after schools reopened. The positivity rate - one of the best ways to monitor cases when the number of swabs done rises - is still falling in all regions As many as 25.7million people in England have been vaccinated against the virus as the jabs roll-out steams ahead. Almost 470,000 first doses were dished out today, alongside more than 100,000 second doses Separate data from Public Health England showed almost a third of local authorities in England recorded an increase in their infection rates over last week compared to the week before. But this is also thought to be linked to more testing in schools It comes as Matt Hancock today admitted vaccine shortages in the UK were linked to a delay in an order for 5million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India. The Serum Institute of India today said they had been stalled by at least four weeks because the Indian Government was asking for more doses as it faces a second wave FIVE BRITS OUT OF 11MILLION HAVE SUFFERED BLOOD CLOTS AFTER GETTING ASTRAZENECA JAB There is still no evidence that the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots and only five people in Britain have developed them out of 11million, health chiefs say. The MHRA drug regulator today revealed that a handful of the same blood clots causing panic in Europe have been seen in the UK and one man has died. But they said there still isn't any proof of a link between the two and the risk of dying of Covid is at least 1,000 times higher for most people, meaning getting the vaccine is still the safest option by far. Medical bosses said the clots might have even been caused by Covid-19 itself but they didn't know. Some of the clots were so rare, the MHRA said, that experts aren't even sure how common they are in the general population but none seem to be happening unusually often. The European Medicines Agency will announce the outcome of its investigation into a possible link between the jab and clots today after more than a dozen countries panicked and stopped using the vaccine. Scientists and regulators around the world including the World Health Organization have blasted the 'disorder' Europe has kicked up around the cases and say that the blood clots are probably just coincidence. With tens of millions of people getting vaccinated around the world, health problems were always certain to pop up and they are unlikely to be caused by jabs. Advertisement In other Covid news: EU leaders are forced into humiliating climbdown after Europe's medical regulator confirms the AstraZeneca jab is not linked to blood clots; Italy said it would re-start its roll-out of the shots today but Sweden says its pause will stay in place; Matt Hancock warns EU chief Ursula von der Leyen there will be 'very significant consequences' if she bans jab exports to Britain from the bloc; Top holiday company warns summer trips to Spain, Italy and Greece are in doubt over Europe's floundering roll-out; Britain's roll-out is at risk of slowing down after it emerged a delivery of 4million AstraZeneca doses from India has been delayed by four weeks; Microbiologist Dr Simon Clarke warned this may delay lockdown-easing plans and stop millions of under-50s from going on holiday this summer; Oxford and Pfizer's vaccines are more effective against Brazilian variant than first feared, says study. Department of Health data showed 35 local authorities in the country are now recording fewer than 20 Covid cases per 100,000 residents. These were mostly based in the South West of England, although there were also regions in Scotland, Wales, and Norfolk. Corby, in Northamptonshire, has the highest Covid infection rate in the country at 181.4 per 100,000. It is followed by Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, had the second-highest rate at 174.4 per 100,000. And Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, had the third-highest rate at 167.3 per 100,000. Separate data from Public Health England also shows Yorkshire was the only region in the UK nation to see its infection rate rise last week. It also had the highest infection rate, at 107.9 per 100,000, out of the nine regions. The North East has the second-highest rate, at 76.3 per 100,000, and the East Midlands has the third-highest rate, at 76.1 per 100,000. The lowest infection rate was in the South West, at 30.3 per 100,000, followed by the South East, at 34.7 per 100,000, and London, at 36.9 per 100,000. The data also showed, however, that the test positivity rate is still declining in all regions, suggesting Britain's second wave is still firmly in retreat. Ministers have ordered all pupils and teachers to get swabbed for the virus twice a week to avoid outbreaks, which has more than doubled the number of tests being carried out a day. This has meant more cases are being detected and recorded, including asymptomatic infections where someone has the virus but has no symptoms. The South West and the South East had the lowest positivity rate last week (0.3 per cent), followed by the East of England and London (0.4 per cent) and the West Midlands (0.6 per cent). The North West and the East Midlands had the fourth-lowest rate (0.7 per cent), and the North East had the fifth-lowest rate (0.7 per cent). Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest test positivity rate in England (1.1 per cent). Public Health England data showed Covid cases shrunk in every region of England except Yorkshire last week. But the positivity rate - one of the best ways of tracking the size of the outbreak when swabbing increases - dropped in all regions Their report also revealed that Covid infection rates were still falling among all age groups with a marked decrease among the over-80s, which have already received their first dose of the Covid vaccine Covid cases have continued to tumble in England, with NHS Test and Trace seeing a 14 per cent fall in infections despite testing nearly doubling to 5.8million The number of coronavirus tests increased by more than 85 per cent, as children across the country returned to school on March 8 and began regular rapid testing SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN DOUBT AS TRIPS TO SPAIN, ITALY AND GREECE PUT AT RISK DUE TO SLOW EU ROLL-OUT Britons' hopes for a summer holiday abroad were thrown into doubt today as Morgan Stanley warned tourist hotspots are unlikely to open on the same scale as last year. The bank said Europe's slow vaccine roll-out combined with the spread of more-infectious Covid variants means it is 'sceptical' the summer season will go ahead. It said the economies of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece will be particularly hard-hit if businesses are forced to remain closed or partially closed for another year. Europe is presiding over one of the world's slowest jab roll-outs, with EU bureaucracy, supply issues, and most-recently a ban on AstraZeneca jabs meaning only a fraction of its population have been vaccinated. 'Last year, without a vaccine, Europe was able to save some of its summer season with the help of restrictions and seasonal weather dynamics that lowered transmission rates from spring,' the bank said. 'But we are somewhat sceptical that this can happen again this year, given the emergence of new strains, which appear to be more transmissible and dangerous, and have driven an acceleration in cases recently in the euro area.' The warning will spark fears among locked-up Britons who had been given a slew of promising news about holidays in recent days. Greece, Cyprus, France and Portugal have all announced they will welcome back British tourists starting on May 17, provided the government lifts travel bans in this country and they can prevent evidence of a vaccine or a negative PCR test. Advertisement When Public Health England data was broken down by local authorities it showed the Isle of Wight recorded the highest spike in infections last week. Its cases more than doubled by 121 per cent to 21.9 per 100,000. But this was still a very low rate overall - and linked to just 30 cases. It is thought the rise may be down to testing in schools, with local newspapers reporting several new cases have been detected in schools across the island. It was followed by Solihull, outside Birmingham, where they leapt by 57 per cent to 85.5 per 100,000, and Southampton where they jumped by 56 per cent to 91.4 per 100,000. Figures also showed Covid infection rates fell in every age group over 20 last week, with the sharpest drop among the over-80s who have already received their first dose of the vaccine. But case rates jumped among those aged between 0 and 19, with the highest rise among people aged between 10 to 19 (by 36 per cent). Experts suggested this was also linked to testing in schools. Separate data from NHS Test and Trace data show the number of contacts of people who tested positive for coronavirus identified by the contact-tracing system fell to 88,430, continuing the downward trend. Overall, 81 per cent of contacts were reached by call handlers and told to self-isolate, with Thurrock in Essex seeing the most contacts successfully reached (90 per cent). Only 13 areas of the country saw more than 88 per cent of contacts reached, all of which were in the South East or London. They were: Essex, Sutton in London (both 89 per cent), Barking, Bexley, Bromley, Burton in London and Bracknell in Berkshire, Central Bedfordshire, East Sussex, Medway in Kent and Milton Keynes (all 88 per cent). Areas in the North fared worse, with six areas having less than 70 per cent of contacts successfully told to move into self-isolation. Bradford in Yorkshire and Oldham in Greater Manchester had the least, with just 67 per cent of contacts reached by call handlers. They were followed by Newcastle (68 per cent) and Blackburn in Lancashire, Manchester and Nottingham (all 69 per cent). It comes as Britain's regulator said there was still no evidence that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots and only five people in Britain have developed them out of 11million, health chiefs ruled today. More than a dozen EU countries have suspended their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while others including Austria have black-listed a particular batch over blood clot fears which the EMA has already played down even ahead of its final verdict Dr June Raine (left), MHRA chief executive, said there was 'no evidence that that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine' Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures MATT HANCOCK WARNS THERE WILL BE 'VERY SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENCES' IF EU BANS JAB EXPORTS Matt Hancock today warned Ursula von der Leyen there will be 'very significant consequences' if she goes through with her threat of an EU vaccine export ban. The Health Secretary told MPs 'it is vital that we all work together' on fighting coronavirus as he stressed there is a 'need for all countries to respect contract law'. His comments came after Cabinet colleague Robert Jenrick demanded Brussels 'stick to their side of the bargain' as the Government continued its condemnation of Ms von der Leyen for threatening to impose an export ban on jabs. The Housing Secretary said he was 'surprised and disappointed' by Ms von der Leyen's stance as he suggested she was breaking her word after giving a 'very clear commitment' on the issue to Boris Johnson earlier this year. Mr Jenrick said he 'hopes and expects' the EU to allow vaccine manufacturers within the bloc to deliver on the contracts they have signed with the UK amid rising tensions. Meanwhile, Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, claimed that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. He argued that Ms von der Leyen's sabre-rattling was actually an attempt to motivate member states to 'get their act together' and accelerate the rollout of jabs. Mr Stubb said the export ban threat was simply reflecting the 'political reality' as he claimed the EU is 'by far the biggest producer of the vaccines', with companies shipping millions of doses to countries all around the world. Ministers yesterday condemned Brussels' 'brinkmanship' after Ms von der Leyen complained the bloc is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return as she warned of action to ensure 'reciprocity'. Speaking as the EU's vaccine rollout descended deeper into chaos, Ms von der Leyen called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas. Advertisement The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency revealed that a handful of the same blood clots causing panic in Europe have been seen in the UK and one man has died. But they said there still isn't any proof of a link between the two and the risk of dying of Covid is at least 1,000 times higher for most people, meaning getting the vaccine is still the safest option by far. Medical bosses said the clots might have even been caused by Covid-19 itself but they didn't know. Some of the clots were so rare, the MHRA said, that experts aren't even sure how common they are in the general population but none seem to be happening unusually often. EU leaders were today also urged to make a humiliating climbdown after Europe's medical experts ruled the AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to blood clots, after probing the link. European heavyweights Germany, France and Italy are now under pressure to immediately resume AstraZeneca jabs to restore confidence and attempt to salvage the EU's woeful vaccine roll-out. Scientists and regulators around the world including the World Health Organization have blasted the 'disorder' Europe has kicked up around the cases and say that the blood clots are probably just coincidence. With tens of millions of people getting vaccinated around the world, health problems were always certain to pop up and they are unlikely to be caused by jabs. The MHRA finding came as the Government was accused of 'overpromising' on the vaccine rollout after Matt Hancock finally admitted a delayed shipment from India is behind a shortage set to hit the UK. Frustrated Tories said No10 had got 'carried away' talking up an impending surge in supplies, with the Health Secretary having hailed the prospect of 'bumper' numbers of Britons being jabbed. Hopes of the scheme being extended to under-50s before May now seem to have evaporated. The five people who developed clots were men aged 19 to 59 who experienced a clot together with low blood platelet count. One of the five has since died. In Europe medics had claimed the risk was higher for young women but no women are recorded in the UK's data, bolstering proof there is no direct link and the cases happen at random. The MHRA said it was looking at the reports but stressed the clotting events were still 'extremely rare'. It said people had less than a one in a million chance of developing one of the conditions. The fact they found five cases in 11million people suggests that if the cases were ever linked to the vaccine the risk was more like one in 2.2m, with one in 11m ending up fatal. So if the whole adult population were vaccinated, five people could die. The risk of dying of Covid-19 for someone in their 40s, by comparison, was around one in 1,000, the MHRA said the risk is higher for older people and lower for younger. So if all adults caught Covid with that as the average risk level, 55,000 people would die. The MHRA concluded that any link between the jab and clots is unproven and the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risks. Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: 'There is no evidence that that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine.' Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Location: Richland Center - Wisconsin Job Description The Low Voltage Motor Control Center (LVMCC) Application Engineering Department has high commitment to continuous learning with a detailed training and on-boarding program in a fast-paced environment. LVMCC Application Engineering is responsible for providing custom motor control center (MCC) solutions for customer in a wide range of industries. Engineers in this role will be responsible for managing multiple projects at once with varying milestones. They will be collaborating with Sales, Commercial Engineering, Development Engineering, Manufacturing, and Tech Support to solve our customer's problems and support our MCCs throughout their lifecycle. A portion of the time will be spent working with our manufacturing team providing support on orders within Richland Center. The other portion is executing sales orders and completing the electrical and mechanical design, as well as the providing the bill of material (BOM) for manufacturing. This brings critical support for engineers located around the globe. Principal Duties: Review and understand customer specifications and drawings. Interface with the customer on technical, schedule, and commercial aspects of the order. Resolve and document exceptions and questions. Develop a knowledge of Rockwell products and be able to speak to the benefits of them in certain applications. Create and/or modify electrical schematics to provide customers with a custom, best possible solution. Create and/or modify mechanical models of electrical component assembly. Create and/or modify mechanical assemblies to align with custom designs. Provide final factory build documents including Bill of Material (BOM). Collaborate with manufacturing to provide build instructions and to resolve technical issues. Support manufacturing for issues encountered during build process. You will thrive in this role if you: Are able to handle multiple projects and deadlines running in parallel. Are a creative problem solver who likes researching different ways to make our customers lives easier. Are able to see the impact of the decisions you make and be proactive about addressing potential roadblocks. Like working with a diverse, cross-functional group of people and personalities and can communicate your ideas effectively. Enjoy learning new processes and products and are willing to extend beyond your job scope to help issues get resolved. Can make decisions while dealing with conflicting priorities. Are willing to learn both electrical and mechanical disciplines to provide a complete solution for our customers. Are curious about how Motor Control Centers work and contribute to the larger customer solution. Enjoy variety in day-to-day activities. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (see application details). 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. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken adjusts his earphone during the joint press conference after their meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 18, 2021. AP U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that China has a "clear self-interest" and a "critical" role to play in persuading North Korea to denuclearize, stressing Beijing's obligation to "fully" enforce anti-Pyongyang sanctions. Blinken made the remarks during a press conference after the "two plus two" talks in Seoul that involved Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Seoul's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook. Blinken and Austin arrived here Wednesday after a three-day visit to Japan on President Joe Biden administration's first Cabinet-level overseas trip meant to reinvigorate democratic alliances. "Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest in helping to pursue the denuclearization of DPRK," Blinken said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "Because it is a source of instability, it's a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, but China has a real interest in helping to deal with this," he added. Blinken also pointed out Beijing's "unique" relationship and "tremendous" influence over Pyongyang. "I would hope that whatever happens going forward, China will use that influence effectively," he said. Hours before the symbolic meeting, North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Pyongyang will continue to ignore any contact from the U.S. unless Washington ends its "hostile" policies toward Pyongyang. Robert Rapson, Charge d'Affaires ad interim at U.S. Embassy, left sit, and South Korea's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo, right sit, initial as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from left, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, second from right, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook, right, clap during an initialing ceremony for Special Measures Agreement at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 18, 2021. AP On Choe's remarks, Blinken was noncommittal. "I'm aware of them, but what I'm most interested in right now are the comments and thoughts of our allies and partners, which is why we're here, as we complete our review so that's what we're focused on," he said. Emphasizing the Joe Biden administration's commitment to liberal values like human rights and democracy, Blinken made clear that the human rights issue would remain a key matter in Washington's future engagement with Pyongyang. "We are committed to the denuclearization of North Korea, reducing the broader threat the DPRK poses to the United States and our allies, and improving the lives of all Koreans, including the people of North Korea, who continue to suffer, widespread and systematic abuses within the hands of the repressive government," he said. Blinken took a swipe at China's "aggressive and authoritarian behavior," suggesting that China-related issues might have surfaced at Thursday's talks. North Korea says will ignore contact from US unless Washington withdraws hostile policies Blinken emphasizes S. Korea-US alliance to counter China's influence US defense chief calls on Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation "We are clear-eyed about Beijing's consistent failure to uphold its commitments," he said. "And we spoke about how Beijing's aggressive and authoritarian behavior are challenging the stability, security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region." He stressed Beijing's actions make a common approach among U.S. allies "all the more important." "At a time when we're seeing a rollback of democracy and human rights around the world, including in Burma, where the military is attempting to overturn the results of the democratic election by brutally repressing peaceful protesters, it is more important than ever that we stand together for the values and for the interests that unite us," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from left, speaks as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, second from right, and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook, right, listen during the joint press conference after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 18, 2021. AP On the growing speculation about Seoul's potential participation in an expanded version of the Quad forum involving Australia, Japan and India, Blinken said that the U.S. is already working closely with the South on many issues being dealt with within the Quad framework. "I think, as you know it's an informal grouping of like-minded countries that have come together to deepen cooperation on a whole host of issues ... many of these issues, we're also working very closely with the Republic of Korea," he said. Chung said that there was no direct discussion about whether to join the Quad at Thursday's talks. At the press conference, Austin said that the envisioned handover of the wartime operational control (OPCON) would take more time, though the two sides will progress toward that goal. "While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take more time, I am confident that this process will strengthen our alliance," Austin said. Noting that the two sides "continue to make progress" toward the eventual transition, Austin said, "We have a lot to look forward to as together." Hours before the symbolic meeting, North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said Pyongyang will continue to ignore any contact from the U.S. unless Washington ends its "hostile" policies toward Pyongyang. This photo provided by the North Korean government shows missiles during a military parade marking the ruling party congress, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. AP On Choe's remarks, Blinken was noncommittal. "I'm aware of them, but what I'm most interested in right now are the comments and thoughts of our allies and partners, which is why we're here, as we complete our review so that's what we're focused on," he said. After the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement in which they stressed the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programs as their priority and reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the matter. Seoul and Washington also initialed a recently concluded deal on the sharing of the cost for the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea in a symbolic event to highlight the close-knit alliance. Later in the day, Blinken and Austin will pay a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in. This week's Asia trip by the two secretaries caps a weeklong campaign to highlight Washington's efforts to strengthen relations with allies and partners to promote a "free, open rules-based order," which started off in the first leader-level session last Friday of the Quad forum involving Japan, Australia and India. Joe Biden on Wednesday detailed his plan for the biggest tax hike in 15 years - relying on his notes to make sure he announced the correct figures. Speaking to George Stephanopoulos, Biden was unabashed about his tax cheat sheet, which he brought out from his pocket when their conversation turned to tax. 'I brought this with me because I often get asked and I don't want to misquote it,' said the 78-year-old. Peeking at his notes comes as some on the right have suggested that Biden is senile, with former President Donald Trump dubbing him 'Sleepy Joe' during the campaign. Biden's surrogates and Biden himself have hit back hard at that suggestion, but incidents like the tax cheat sheet - and other flubs in recent months - haven't helped his case. Joe Biden in Wednesday's interview brandished his notes on which he had his tax policy Biden said that his plan would see those earning more than $400,000 a year pay more tax In the interview, Biden said that people earning more than $400,000 a year would see their taxes rise. He also intends to raise the corporate income tax, although it would remain below the level in place when Donald Trump took over. Trump reduced the rate from 35 per cent to 21: Biden hopes to raise it to 28 per cent, which he said would add $800 billion to the treasury. The veteran politician has frequently resorted to written notes to help him remember details. He brought out the written details of his tax plan during the presidential debate, and during last week's prime time address to the nation showed how he wrote the daily COVID death toll on the back of his presidential schedule. Biden showed his frustration at Republican resistance to any tax cuts, and to his COVID relief bill, pointing out it would help lift children out of poverty. 'If we just took the tax rate back to what it was when Bush was president, top rate paid 39.6 per cent in federal taxes,' he said. 'That would raise $230 billion. 'Yet they're complaining because I'm providing a tax credit for child care? For the poor, for the middle class?' Biden is seen Wednesday back in the Oval Office, with his notes for a meeting with the Irish PM He said his $1.9 trillion plan, passed earlier this month, would create seven million jobs. 'Increases the GDP by over $1 trillion, actually raises income in America, and diminishes debt in America,' he continued. 'I mean, what are these guys talking about?' Biden, a 30-year veteran of the Senate, said that he was also frustrated by the permanent blockages in Congress. He said, however, that he still opposed removing the filibuster - a mechanism by which members of Congress can prolong a debate, so that a bill is not voted on. The Senate cloture rule has since 1975 required 60 members to end debate on most topics and move to a vote. Biden did not explicitly say whether he wanted to eliminate the 60-vote threshold. He did, however, say he was in favor of a talking filibuster, whereby if someone fails to hold the floor by talking and talking, the business of the Senate moves on. He said that would reduce the number of filibusters that were successfully used to block a bill. Biden, seen on Tuesday before his interview, noted he had only been in the office six weeks A Honduran man in Tijuana is seen on March 1 awaiting his chance to seek asylum in the US A group of migrants ask Biden to let them in on March 2 at the Tijuana-San Ysidro crossing Biden was asked about migration, and said that his message to migrants was that they should not come to the United States. On Andrew Cuomo, the embattled governor of New York - with whom he has had a long and cordial relationship - Biden once again said the investigation into sexual harassment claims should be allowed to proceed. He said that, if Cuomo is found to have done what he is accused of, he should resign. 'I think he'd probably end up being prosecuted too,' he said. Six weeks into his presidency, Biden said that he was pleased with the pace of vaccinations, and spoke of delighting in his new-found freedom. Biden was vaccinated with the first of his two shots on December 21. 'I can hug my grandkids now,' he said. 'They come over to the house. I can see them. I'm able to be with them. I've had the vaccine.' He stressed, however, that Trump's team had hampered their efforts in the vaccination program and on other issues. Biden said that Vladimir Putin, seen on Wednesday, was 'a killer' and would be punished 'It's gonna be, like, Sanskrit to people listening here, but it is the failure to have an orderly transition from the Trump presidency to my presidency, which usually takes place from Election Day to the time you're sworn in, has cost me time and consequences,' he said. 'For example, we didn't realize how bad things were in terms of lack of vaccines. 'We didn't realize because we were not able to get access to this information.' He said that the disorder had also had knock-ons in foreign policy. Biden said that it was causing delays in his Afghanistan plan, because his team was not granted access to the Trump administration's information. The president said he may not meet Trump's May 10 deadline of withdrawing troops, but it would not be 'a lot longer'. He said that he believed Vladimir Putin was 'a killer', and he defended his decision not to sanction Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. 'We have never, that I'm aware of, when we have an alliance with a country, gone to the acting head of state and punished that person, and ostracized him,' Biden said. 'But here's the deal. We said, number one, end the war in Yemen. End the starvation there. 'Number two - and I went down the list of the things we expected the Saudis to do. 'And they're in the process of doing those things. And if they don't, it's a changed relationship. It's a changed relationship we have with Saudi Arabia. There's no blank check.' Indian state refiners are planning to cut oil imports from Saudi Arabia by about a quarter in May, in an escalating stand-off with Riyadh following OPEC's decision to ignore calls from New Delhi to help the global economy with higher supply. Two sources familiar with the discussions said the move was part of the government's drive to cut dependence on crude from the Middle East. Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd are preparing to lift about 10.8 million barrels in May, the sources said on condition of anonymity. State refiners, which control about 60% of India's 5 million barrels per day (bpd) refining capacity, together import an average 14.7-14.8 million barrels of Saudi oil in a month, the sources said. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, imports more than 80% of its oil needs and relies heavily on the Middle East. Hit hard by rising oil prices, India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan has repeatedly called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, to ease supply curbs. He has blamed Saudi's voluntary cuts for contributing to a spike in global oil prices. OPEC+ decided this month to extend most cuts into April. Responding to Pradhan's request, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman suggested India dip into strategic reserves filled with cheaper oil bought last year. India's oil ministry responded by asking refiners to speed up their diversification of crude sources and reduce reliance on the Middle East. Indian refiners could not cut April oil imports from Saudi Arabia as nominations were placed before the OPEC+ decision in early March, the sources said, adding that plans for May were preliminary and final May nominations would be known in early April. Saudi Arabia has cut April oil supplies for some Asian refiners but has maintained average monthly volumes for Indian refiners. The Kingdom has, however, rejected demand from Indian companies for extra supplies. The Middle East's share of India's overall imports has already plunged to a 22-month low in February. In February, the United States emerged as the second biggest supplier to India after Iraq, while Saudi Arabia, which has consistently been one of India's top two suppliers, slipped to No. 4 for the first time since at least January 2006. Two Indian refiners -IOC and MRPL - have also issued tenders seeking oil for delivery in May. "The Oil companies take their own decision regarding purchase of crude," the oil ministry told Reuters. The state refiners did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Also read: US overtakes Saudi Arabia to become India's second biggest oil supplier Also read: India, UAE to strengthen energy cooperation, remain committed despite Covid hurdles: Pradhan COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa On May 26, my husband and I were in Norfolk to pick up a dog. We were to meet the seller at the main entrance to Ta-Ha-Zouka Park. We arrived and I did not think we were at the right entrance. I flagged down a young man and he told me where the right entrance was, and Photo: The Canadian Press David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, delivers a statement during a media availability on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Justice Minister David Lametti is warning the Senate that making further amendments to legislation requiring new judges to take training on sexual assault law could doom the bill to failing for a third time. Bill C-3 is before the Senate legal affairs committee this week, more than four years after former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose first tabled a similar private member's bill in February 2017. Ambrose's bill passed the House of Commons with unanimous support in 2017 but never made it through the Senate before Parliament was dissolved for the 2019 election. Lametti reintroduced it as a government bill in February 2020 with amendments that senators had proposed to Ambrose's bill and then had to reintroduce it again last fall after Parliament was prorogued by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in late August. Lametti says the government has listened to concerns about judicial independence raised by the Senate in 2019 and by the Canadian Judicial Council, which will set up and run the training courses. But he says he is not that open to further amendments because time is of the essence in a minority Parliament that could fall at any time. "I believe that amendments this time around will endanger the bill itself and will possibly result in its dying on the order paper," he told the committee Wednesday. Lametti was responding to a question from Quebec Sen. Pierre Dalphond, a former judge and member of the Progressive Senate Group, who also wondered why the minister believes the current bill intrudes less on judicial independence. Lametti said the bill was altered to leave the development of the judge's training course up to the judicial council. It also now recommends, but no longer requires, the council to table an annual report on how the training is conducted. "I firmly believe we have a good bill," he said. Several senators appeared unconvinced that the judicial independence issue has been resolved. Ambrose introduced her bill following a number of high-profile cases where judges' conduct during sexual assault trials was questioned, including making statements about a victim's behaviour before, during and after the assault. Lametti told the committee the bill is designed to give victims confidence that the judicial system will be fair. "It is to reassure survivors that when they come forward, they will be treated with dignity and respect by judges who have the knowledge, skills and sensitivity to correctly apply what is a very complex and nuanced area of the law," he said. The legislation amends the Judges Act so new judges appointed to provincial superior courts must agree to take training on sexual assault law and social context. The latter refers to awareness training to ensure everyone who is involved in a court case is treated fairly and respectfully, without influence of stereotypes, myths or prejudices. The bill was specifically amended last fall to ensure social context also includes systemic racism and discrimination. Senior Health Reporter Twelve-year-old Anotidashe Njeruza did not join his friends when they went back to school on Monday to prepare for Grade Seven examinations as he has to sit at home with a brain tumour and fluid building up in his brain. He cannot even remember most of what he learnt before June last year when he fell ill but has to bear the splitting headache that has crippled him. Anotidashe started experiencing the headache in June last year, and it persisted until he could no longer attend classes at Njerere Primary School in Mvuma. His mother Fadzai said at first, they thought it was just the normal headache until he started vomiting each time he ate something. "The day I noticed him holding his head while playing with others, I got worried. The next morning he vomited after eating, and he could not keep any food down after that. "That is when we realised that his condition was bad. We took him to the local clinic in Mvuma but the medication he received just made him worse," she said. In August, Anotidashe was referred to a paediatrician in Gweru, where some tests were run and he was given more medication and sent back home. Still, the treatment did not work. One day during the night, his sharp cry woke up his parents who discovered that he had suffered a stroke. His mouth had moved to one side and his left side was paralysed. Anotidashe was rushed to Gweru General Hospital on September 18 where he was admitted to and then transferred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals a day later. "The neurosurgeons at Parirenyatwa said he had a brain tumour and some fluid was building up in his head. They first put in an external draining system to drain the excess fluid then operated on him and an internal one place. "We stayed in the hospital for almost a month and on October 6, we were allowed to go back home," she said. "They didn't know that his legs were giving in. At first they thought he was struggling to walk because of the operation but after three days, they realised that his feet had become paralysed." To make matters worse, Anotidashe's eyesight was also affected and he became partially blind. "The doctors say the tumour is growing and the fluid in his head is also increasing so needs to be drained urgently," said the mother. The family has used a lot of money to get treatment for Anotidashe for the past year and they can no longer afford to have this important surgery for him, which requires about US$6 000. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Health Zimbabwe Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We are appealing to well-wishers to help us raise the money required for his operation. I know if he has this surgery, he can have his life back, he can walk again and he can go back to school and be able to fulfil all his dreams," she said. His class teacher has been supportive and is willing to put in extra effort to help Anotidashe to catch up with the rest of his class. As an A-student, she is optimistic that Anotidashe can make the full recovery and sit for his examination with the rest of his peers. Those willing to assist can contact Mrs Njeruza on +263773272316 or Mr Njeruza on +263 773 858 977. The bank account number is 1004745643, Steward Bank or nostro account number 1037832638, Steward Bank. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. The United States plans to send millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada, the White House said Thursday, a notable step into vaccine diplomacy just as the Biden administration is quietly pressing Mexico to curb the stream of migrants coming to the border. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said the United States was planning to share 2.5 million doses of the vaccine with Mexico and 1.5 million with Canada, adding that it was not finalized yet, but that is our aim. Tens of millions of doses of the vaccine have been sitting in American manufacturing sites. While their use has already been approved in dozens of countries, including Mexico and Canada, the vaccine has not yet been authorized by American regulators. Ms. Psaki said the shipments to Mexico and Canada would essentially be a loan, with the United States receiving doses of AstraZeneca, or other vaccines, in the future. The announcement of the vaccine distribution came at a critical time in negotiations with Mexico. President Biden has moved quickly to dismantle some of former President Trumps signature immigration policies, halting construction of a border wall, stopping the swift expulsion of children at the border and proposing a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the United States. On a cold evening last month, a Chinese man was walking home near Manhattans Chinatown neighborhood when a stranger suddenly ran up behind him and plunged a knife into his back. For many Asian-Americans, the stabbing was horrifying, but not surprising. It was widely seen as just the latest example of racially targeted violence against Asians during the pandemic. But the perpetrator, a 23-year-old man from Yemen, had not said a word to the victim before the attack, investigators said. Prosecutors determined they lacked enough evidence to prove a racist motive. The attacker was charged with attempted murder, but not as a hate crime. The announcement outraged Asian-American leaders in New York City. Many of them protested outside the Manhattan district attorneys office, demanding that the stabbing be prosecuted as a hate crime. They were tired of what they saw as racist assaults being overlooked by the authorities. The artist David Wojnarowicz escaped one American hellscape to find himself smack-dab in the middle of another. In a 1985 short film he made with Richard Kern, You Killed Me First, Wojnarowicz, then in his early 30s, portrays a version of his own alcoholic, abusive father. The grindhouse-style underground movie depicts a real event that father feeding his childrens pet rabbit to them for dinner. Directed by Chris McKim, this exemplary documentary on the artist (which is also a mini-chronicle of the East Village art scene of 1970s and 80s New York) takes advantage of Wojnarowiczs penchant for self-documentation, drawing on the cassette journals he began keeping even before he was a fully formed creator. The documents Wojnarowicz maintained in this period, during which his art became inextricable from his activism, guide the viewer into the second American hellscape Wojnarowicz experienced: the AIDS epidemic. The bills making their way through Congress probably wouldnt have done anything to stop Robert Aaron Long, but just thinking about this tragedy ought to inspire our alleged leaders to do something. Like improve the background check system. The measures now go to the Senate, where the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, says they will absolutely not slide off into a legislative bog, never coming to a vote, or even a debate. This would be the old theory of parliamentary progress, beloved by now-minority leader Mitch McConnell. Put it on the floor. Were going to see where people stand, said Schumer, who believes that the 50 Democrats will all support the measures. But then McConnell or one of his minions will undoubtedly start a filibuster, in which the poor bills will swing haplessly in the wind forever unless supporters can summon 60 votes. We have two very separate questions here, people. One is, what about the gun control bills? The other is, whats with the filibuster? Is that all the Republicans know how to do? You have probably heard 20 or 90 times that opponents of a bill in the Senate can stop action by launching a talking spree. As long as they keep yapping, it takes 60 votes to get them to shut up and move things along. And you dont really have to take the trouble to orate the rule now is that you can register an objection, begin a theoretical filibuster and then wander off to have lunch or visit with constituents. Everything stays shut down until you benevolently agree to go back to real work. And if the Democrats try to abolish his beloved filibuster, McConnell hissed, hell use the other multitudinous postponement methods at his disposal. The Senate, he said, would be more like a 100-car pileup, nothing moving. Well, that would certainly be worth watching, but the best solution here is to just force senators to follow the presumed rules and stand up there and talk until they drop. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut actually did that in 2016 kept talking for nearly 15 hours in order to get a vote on a bill banning people on the terrorist watch list from obtaining guns. While youre shaking your head at amazement at the idea that this could be controversial, I will further stun you by noting that the bill failed. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Texas Rep. Chip Roy is under fire yet again after some critics are accusing him of glorifying lynching in the American south amid the aftermath of recent anti-Asian violence across the United States. The United States House held a hearing on Violence and Discrimination Against Asian-Americans two days after the killing of eight women, the majority of which were of Asian descent, by a white man in Atlanta on Tuesday. On Thursday, Roy, who still can't seem to wear his face mask correctly, said the victims of the shooting deserved justice. RELATED: Julian Castro says Atlanta-area spa shootings 'appears to be driven by hate' But he also chose to go into a slightly off-topic departure, covering everything from free speech to last summer's protests against police brutality, and what he described as a love for justice. He emphasized reigning in "bad guys" and giving them "what they deserve." He did not recommend certain punishments for the perpetrators of racist attacks. "There's old sayings in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys," Roy said. RELATED: 'I can't take that risk': Continued harassment forces Noodle Tree owner to close dining room Actor and author George Takei, who is Asian-American, took to Twitter to attack Roy's comments as "unacceptable," referencing the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles, during which Chinese Californians were attacked, bullied, robbed, and murdered or lynched by a mob of around 500 white residents. In an article for the Huffington Post, writer David Moye pointed out that the tree phrase is not a historical saying in the Lone Star state, but actually from Oklahoma native Toby Keiths 2002 song Beer For My Horses. Roy also spoke on south Texas, describing the area as being "decimated by illegal aliens." "The victims of cartels moving illegal aliens deserve justice. The American citizens that are getting absolutely decimated by whats happening at the border deserve justice." After backlash, Roy told journalist Sarah Rumpf he meant the words he spoke. Apparently some folks are freaking out that I used an old expression about finding all the rope in Texas and a tall oak tree about carrying out justice against bad guys. I meant it. We need more justice and less thought police." Roy also told the writer that America should not turn "into an authoritarian state like the Chinese Communists." Karly Williams is a digital producer for MySA. Follow her @karlyjwilliams Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 This year Thinkst Canary crossed the line to $11M in ARR. That number is reasonably significant in the startup world, where Lemkin refers to it as initial scale. For us; its a happy reminder of Canary's spread into the market. $11M ARR certainly isnt our end goal, but it provides the fuel for us to keep building the company we want to work at. We got here without raising a dime in capital, shipping a hardware/SaaS hybrid, sitting way outside Silicon Valley. Thats different enough from many startups that we figured it was worth a post with some thoughts on how we got here. Bootstrapping To be clear, were not anti-VCs. From the beginning though, we wanted to try bootstrapping. In the past weve spoken on how founder ego can nudge you towards building VC-backed companies (and why you might not need to), but thats less focused on VCs and more aimed at founders. Launch Canary launched in mid-2015, after we worked on it privately for about a year. Our thesis was that security honeypots deployed internally would allow customers to discover when they are breached (without them having to be informed by third parties some 300 days later). The key was that deployment and management needed to be dead-simple. Honeypots have a long history in the security world (pre-dating Canary by decades), but were always painful to install and run. Removing this pain became our North Star. At launch we demoed for Ars Technica who wrote an early article on us. That one article was about the extent of the international press coverage we received, despite actively pitching to a bunch of publications. Whats interesting here is that funded (now defunct) competitors did not seem to have the same trouble getting press. After digging into this, the answer we received from one journalist was forthright: funding is a positive signal for journalists. They have funding, and theyll get the coverage. I mention it because, while it was disheartening at the time, it turns out we didnt really need launch coverage. The product found its market without lots of press, by being something people want (to butcher pgs maxim). For bootstrapped startups, worry less about the coverage and more about whether your product does what you promise. Customers who love you The Canary pitch makes two key promises: We promise we will be super easy to deploy (v1 used to take 4 minutes and now we are down to almost half that); We promise we wont drown you in alerts. We knew that Canaries worked, but also knew how much of a leap of faith it takes to buy a $7,5k security tool over the Internet. We were so crazily grateful for the early customers who took a chance on us, that all 5 of us worked like crazy to make sure we never dropped a promise. This take on being genuinely grateful for our customers and working hard to keep our promises is still baked into everything we do and still guides all our product decisions. Being grateful to our customers guides all our decisions, so our sales will never be spammy, and our legal documents try hard to be in simple English and gotcha-free. Promises are funny things. Its easy to make one and sounds good when you do, but the test only comes up later. In a broken organisation one group makes promises which another must deliver on (and often cant). We recognise that sometimes we make mistakes; perhaps a customer hit a bug, or we sent a poorly worded reply to a customer query, or a service was offline. The key for us is that the promises we make are known through the company, and its everyones job to hold us to them. Anyone in sales, support, or success can raise issues with engineering; Sales folks never promise delivery on requests unless confirmed with the product team. Everyone is aligned on this key point: we exist to give our customers the right alert when it matters. Anything which gets in the way of this must go... We sweat every detail of the product to make sure its simple, does what it says on the tin, and then gets out of the user's way. We dont have trackers around every page-load and arent trying to maximize users time in-app. Is it the simplest it could be? Of course not! Were still sweating those details. Customer focus is the main reason that almost all of our customers from year-1 are still customers today (specific shoutout to Bill from San Diego, you know who you are!). In that time weve never raised our prices, but our customers increased their spend with us (more than 10x in some cases). With that focus on customers, a feedback loop is necessary to judge whether youre doing things right. Our last NPS run came in at 80 (and we once had a customer write us a song). Were also pretty active on Twitter and love interacting with customers or potential customers there. All of this becomes part of our Canary brand, which aims to be low-key, earnest, kinda-humorous, and effective. We still get tweets like this on a regular basis: Twitter is amazing for unfiltered views and we saw lots of chatter about Canary. At some point (early on) we realised this was a kind of virtuous cycle: treat customers well, and they post unsolicited comments on Twitter, which helps us attract more customers. We started a page to highlight some of these unsolicited tweets about our birds and https://canary.love is probably our top sales person today. (This approach works well if customers actually like your product; its a nightmare if theres negativity towards it. Weve seen a few other young security startups try this approach too, with success). RSAC and Trade-Shows One of the joys of building a company our way is that we get to nibble at how things are traditionally done, and still get to add our spin on it. In 2017, we visited the RSA Conference for the first time as attendees and decided to hire a booth in 2018. But just because we were boothing, didnt mean we had to go all the way into booth ridiculousness. Trade shows are one place to spot companies that recently got funding; they make outsized splashes in terms of booth size, staffing levels, swag, and (it seems most importantly) the parties they throw. Conference Parties! In 2017 we attended a bunch of evening functions and most were not really our scene. So in 2018, we rented a venue about a kilometre from the madness for a little gathering of our own. While all the parties and bars were full and loud music was making sure nobody could hear anybody else, we had a quiet location where we bought drinks and pizza as Halvar Flake spoke about his experiences selling his first company to Google. In 2019 we had the same deal with Jon Oberheide talking about how they scaled and sold Duo Security to Cisco. The audience was mostly friends or customers, so this wasnt a sales push. It was our take on an RSA conference event, a quiet collection of smart folks talking about security and how they built their security companies. Its the thing we wanted but hadnt seen: in a week where everyone is selling all the time, an opportunity to mingle without getting a badge scanned or a business card thrust in your face. Learning is one of the reasons we built our company, and if were going to be in SF during RSAC, we might as well learn from some of the smart people in town. Open Source Like most young tech companies, weve cut our teeth on Open Source software. Although we make a living by selling Canary and Canarytokens, we give away Docker images of Canarytokens and build and support the BSD-licensed OpenCanary. (Aside from the time we put into it, our own free software is probably the competitor we bump into most in the marketplace, even if it's not that often). We also get to contribute monetarily. Supporting projects with the proceeds of our growth is a great pleasure, and weve either sponsored or donated to Twisted, OpenBSD, iTerm, Homebrew, Wireguard, and smaller projects. Were also a USENIX benefactor. We don't see these as advertising opportunities, but genuinely think they deserve it and were super glad (and proud) we can play a positive part in the ecosystem. A nice place to work The rush to market in our early days demanded long hours, but weve been able to grow our team over this time so we didnt all have to be on constantly. Today, while still small by sprawling SV standards (we are 22 people all in) we get to work pretty normal hours. (Its still totally normal to see people chatting on Slack in the wee hours of the morning, but this could just as easily be people commenting on recent NFT craziness as it is likely to be because of work.) We get to focus on projects that reasonably stretch each other, we get to work on features we think are important, and we get a chance to ship stuff that doesnt suck. (Its a little bit surprising, but just committing to not sucking is surprisingly rare). Over time it means we get to build a team of smart people who enjoy what they do and enjoy how we do it. Customer Swag/Gifts We hate poor-quality swag. Walk around a typical tech (or security) conference and cheap gifts abound. T-shirts get handed out by the truckload, but often theyre the stiff, scratchy, and not from the supplier's premium range. This is crazy. Uncomfortable apparel will simply not get worn, and gets repurposed as rags around the home. Those weird conference bags get turfed, and the plastic pens go to the bottom of a drawer. Its genuinely strange how many companies dole out cheap-swag for marketing. Its such a huge thing to have someone willingly wear your logo. Theyre publicly associating themselves with the Canary brand weve poured so much effort into building. It makes no sense to give them the cheapest T-shirt/hoodie possible. We spend time designing our gear and then spend time getting it just right because we cant imagine doing it any other way. Incidentally, this is also slightly different from a typical customer acquisition cost where theres a direct spend on non-customers. The biggest recipients of our swag are our existing customers. We dont think its the reason they stay with us, but it does make us smile making our customers smile. No doubt there are people who swing by the RSA booth and grab a T-shirt without knowing who we are, but I choke up when I see customers we love wearing our gear. Last year we grew tired of swag-fulfilment companies messing up the last-mile of our gift deliveries and built our own https://gift.canary.tools/ to handle this end-to-end. Its a tiny site, but gives us flexibility for easily sending anyone around the world a gift. Everyone at Thinkst is empowered to send gifts. Maybe its for a pull request on one of our Open Source projects, or a great idea, or a heads-up on typos in documentation, or even just a happy email. Customers in return love it, so for us, the whole thing is an absolute no brainer. Giving Back The Product, the product, the product One of our core values at Thinkst is that we can do well by doing good. We sit in South Africa which ranks first in the world for income inequality. Last year we were able to cover tuition & accommodation for 3 University students, and over the past 2 years have managed to donate over a million dollars to local charities. We have some cool plans to do a little more in this space, but we will save those announcements for after we have more of those runs on the board. If theres one take-away from this post for young startups, let it be this: The product absolutely matters. Hot takes about how better products don't always win might be able to find examples where it's true, but a great product covers you from lots of other weaknesses. If you can combine a great product with a really low burn-rate you are in fantastic shape for the road ahead (thats particularly true for entrepreneurs outside the Valley). From day-1 weve focused relentlessly on making Canary better, easier to deploy and easier to manage. We constantly research and develop new Canarytokens that can be used to detect badness with high levels of certainty (for small deployment costs). As weve grown, weve been able to hire smarter people so weve been able to continually up our game, from the devices we ship to the infrastructure that makes it all possible. Weve given an entire talk as a keynote at VB2019 titled The products we deserve lamenting the current state of security products (but expressing why we are hopeful for a positive change). What do you miss out on when you bootstrap? It wouldnt be fair to write this post without discussing things we missed out on when choosing to bootstrap. Weve not been completely isolated from VCs; to the contrary weve had lots of open dialogue with a bunch of them. This gives us some insight into what weve missed. Great VCs make good sounding boards for problems you might be having (but great VCs are pretty rare). So founders need to make really careful choices, especially if theyre looking for advisors in their VC. As mentioned previously, early press is easier to come by for funded startups, but we also dont think that that sort of press is super helpful. The journalist who asked about our funding indirectly highlighted the key point: VCs give you credibility and in some ways give you permission to act grown up. One of the challenges when you are tiny is trying to find your place in the world. Are you a CEO when its you and 4 friends building software? (You almost certainly are post a $15M A-Round). Aligned with that is a type of beauty contest; companies funded by tier 1 investors get to hobnob with other successful founders, and then get to act even more grown up. Does that have an impact on the company operations or product development? Tough to measure, but it almost certainly has benefits for exits. Additional funding rounds often lead to more press, but Im dubious of this benefit, at least for products like ours (with bottom-up sales), and it certainly wont lead to more customer love. What now? For us, its absolutely business as usual. We know that were still judged by our next update. That all our previous customer interactions don't matter if we screw up the next one. So we continue to work like hell keeping our promises, growing Canary by making even more customers happy. If that takes us to $100M ARR, well blog again! __ Posts like these can sometimes feel prescriptive (We got here because of these, so you should do likewise), but thats not our intention. Were thrilled to cross that $11M ARR line, and there were many moments along the way. Even with hindsight its hard to know which of these were important, but they were fun. Were not going to dive into numbers, but weve been profitable since year-1 and we continue to grow. We did the show, and documented our experience (and our costs) extensively in a 5000 word blog post . If you are a young company considering a trade-show, its worth a read. (tl;dr: done right, the show was easily worth it for us). Weve since met dozens of startups who told us that the info in that post convinced them to try trade shows too. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department on Wednesday to fight a provision in Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package that prevents states from using the aid to reduce taxes. The big picture: Yost's suit is the first of many efforts expected by Republican attorneys to target the tax mandate in the relief bill, Politico reports. The overall package has seen large bipartisan support, with 72% of Americans in a new Politico-Morning Consult poll in favor of the bill. What he's saying: It's a blatant violation of federalism, Yost told NBC News. Congress is without authority to enact this kind of law. His lawsuit argues that the provision is unconstitutional. Let's say we're talking about an Amazon or an auto parts manufacturer something that's got a lot of other players that are similarly situated, he said, using an example wherein the states tax commissioner would evaluate a tax dispute with a major employer. Under this provision in the Covid bill, he would not be free to decide that question in a way that reduced Ohio's tax revenue." The bottom line: The American Rescue Plan Act prohibits states from using any of the federal aid to "directly or indirectly" offset a "reduction in net tax revenue" caused by tax cuts or a chance in policy that would delay tax increases. Read the lawsuit. Trying to rewrite the January 6th coup attempt There is something amazing going on in Republican Party circles. If I did not know better, I would assume that I was watching a television comedy. Segments of the Republican Party are attempting to tell us that the January 6th coup attempt did not actually happen. Instead, they argue, what we SAW on television was allegedly orchestrated by Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement. There are certain noteworthy things about this argument, the most important being that it is not based on any facts. None. The second is that this line of argument started as soon as the coup attempt had ended. Right-wingers claimed that it was a so-called false flag operation that was conducted by the political Left in order to delegitimize the political Right. There are many problems with this line of thinking, not the least being that many of the alleged perpetrators of the 1/6 coup attempt were avowed right-wingers who conducted this operation in the full view of video. So, what is going on? Simply put, the pro-fascist elements in the Republican Party are attempting to convince a critical mass of the public that what they sawthey did not really see. This is not even equivalent to a magicians trick with the sleight of hand. They are going one step further and asserting that what all of us saw on television or the web, for which many people have been arrested and charged, did not happen or, if it did, it was really conducted by the political Left. ADVERTISEMENT It is important to note that both Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement are networks, at best. There is no one organization called Antifa, for instance, and there are many organizations that operate under the banner of Black Lives Matter. Therefore, the right-wing assertions of an Antifa and BLM conspiracy would not make sense in the best of all possible worlds. But more importantly, there is no evidence to back up such assertions! The pro-fascist element within the Republican Party is attempting several things at the same time. First, to lay the basis for further repression of anti-fascist and anti-racist forces. This is part of the motivation behind an increase in anti-terrorism legislation in various states when the government already has the authority to prosecute terrorists. Second, the pro-fascist element in the Republican Party is trying to obscure both the reality of January 6th but also the antics of Trump. They are simply trying to deny that there was a coup attempt where people were injured and/or lost their lives. There is a famous term for what the pro-fascist element is doing. It comes from an iconic film. The term is gas lighting, i.e., to lead people to believe that what they are actually experiencing or seeing is not really happening. We cannot afford to ignore this. Precisely for these reasons, the fascists and their collaborators need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, thereby demonstrating the danger that they pose to any democratic political system. This is no comedy. Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a past president of TransAfrica Forum and a longtime trade unionist and writer. chief has appointed veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy on and regional issues, authorising him to liaise with regional countries on his behalf to support negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban and implement any agreements reached between them. The appointment of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on and Regional Issues reflects the continued commitment by the United Nations to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said. The Secretary-General has asked Arnault to assist in the achievement of a political solution to the conflict, working closely with the United Nations Assistance Mission in (UNAMA) and regional partners, a statement issued here Wednesday said. Arnault's responsibilities as Personal Envoy include to liaise, on behalf of the Secretary-General, with regional countries with the aim of supporting the negotiations between Afghanistan and the Taliban and implementation of any agreements which are reached. Given the importance of regional cooperation in support to Afghanistan, the Personal Envoy will seek to advance the good neighbourly relations contributing to peace in the country, Dujarric said. The Taliban and the Afghan government are holding direct talks, aimed at ending decades of war that has killed tens of thousands of people and ravaged various parts of Afghanistan. Arnault will work closely with Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons and UNAMA, whose long standing work in support of the peace process as well as regional cooperation will continue, as mandated. As concerns the proposals for meetings in various formats, the Secretary-General remains ready to support initiatives for advancing the Afghanistan peace negotiations. The concurrence of the parties will underpin any progress toward a political settlement, Dujarric said. In addition to working closely with UNAMA, the Personal Envoy will rely on the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). He will report through DPPA to the Secretary-General. The veteran French diplomat has over 30 years of experience in diplomacy focusing on peace settlements and mediation, with extensive background in United Nations missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, including Afghanistan. His most recent assignments included Delegate of the Secretary-General to the Colombia peace talks and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Colombia from 2015 to 2018; and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Bolivia from 2019 to 2020. Moscow will on Thursday host a round of talks on Afghanistan that will bring together representatives of Russia, the US, China and Pakistan, as well as an Afghan government delegation and representatives of the Taliban. Dujarric said the is not sending anyone to the talks in Moscow. The US and the Taliban reached an agreement in February 2020 that called for a permanent ceasefire, peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, and a withdrawal of all foreign forces by May 1. There are about 2,500 US troops currently in the country. The Taliban had their ouster at the hands of US-led troops in 2001. The latest round of peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators that began in January in Qatar has been off to a slow start as concerns grow over a recent spike in violence across Afghanistan. The talks are taking place in Qatar where the Taliban maintain a political office. (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.) 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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Conservative member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, on Feb. 19, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) Conservatives Demand Hearings on Rogers-Shaw $26 Billion Deal The proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers Communications Inc. will likely face hearings from a Commons committee, after a Conservative MP argued that the deal needs to be probed. Some argue the Rogers-Shaw deal means more investment, others that it means less competition, said Pierre Poilievre, Conservative Shadow Minister for Jobs and Industry, in a statement on Tuesday. The only way to know for sure [is] through careful study and intense debate. Conservatives want the Industry Committee to hear from customers, workers, business leaders, engineers, economists, and other experts, to get a complete understanding of the proposed deal. On March 15, Rogers announced an agreement to acquire Shaw in a transaction valued at $26 billion, including debt. The deal will see two of Canadas largest cable companies, as well as their wireless networks combined, leaving the industry with only two remaining competitors, Telus and Bell. In its statement, Rogers said it will invest $6.5 billion in Western Canada to build critically needed 5G networks, connect underserved rural and Indigenous communities, and bring added choice to customers and businesses. The merger will also create up to 3,000 net new jobs across Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Rogers added. But Poilievre argued that Canadas telecommunication sector is not operating in a free market system, which does not benefit Canadian consumers. In most sectors, free enterprise forces businesses to compete for workers with higher wages and for consumers with better products and prices, Poilievre said. Canadas telecommunication sector is an exception. It is not a free market but a protected regulated system, where government agencies try to do what open competition would normally do. That system has not served Canada particularly well and has left us with higher prices and millions of Canadians who cannot access high-speed internet to run their businesses or have their kids participate in online learning, he added. According to a 2019 report from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Canada has the highest or second highest adjusted prices for mobile wireless when compared to the United States, Australia, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. It also said Canadas pricing for higher internet speeds was still on the higher end even as wireless and broadband prices have been declining. Following the Rogers-Shaw deal announcement, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne posted a statement on Twitter saying that his department will review the transaction, while also stressing affordable services for Canadians is crucial among other priorities. We have been clear that greater affordability, competition, and innovation in the Canadian telecommunications sector are as important to us as a government as they are to Canadians concerned about their cell phone bills, Champagne said. These goals will be front and centre in analyzing the implications of todays news. This transaction will be reviewed by the independent Competition Bureau of Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), as well as the department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) and we wont presuppose the outcomes of these processes, he added. The Competition Bureau said that they would assess whether the acquisition of Shaw by Rogers would result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition. It is difficult to say how long a particular review will take, the Bureau said in a press release on Monday. But should the Bureau determine that the proposed transaction is likely to substantially lessen or prevent competition, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action. Former Lackawanna County commissioner Patrick OMalley is challenging incumbent Fran Kovaleskis nominating petitions for the Democratic nomination for county Register of Wills in the May 18 primary, arguing her signatures on the documents are forged. Kovaleski, a Scranton resident seeking her third term, branded the challenge a political stunt intended to call attention to the fact she signed some of the petitions as she worked remotely from Florida while vacationing. Its a political ploy, Kovaleski said. Its old-boy politics, and people are tired of it. They just want good government. The challenge, one of four seeking to prematurely derail the campaigns of prospective primary candidates in the county, will be heard 9:30 a.m. Friday in county court. The judge who will hear the matter had not been assigned as of Wednesday. OMalley, a former two-term commissioner from Scranton, is attempting to return to public office after losing the Democratic nomination for commissioner in the 2019 primary. In asking the court to set aside the nominating petitions Kovaleski submitted to the county Board of Elections to certify her candidacy, OMalley maintains that the incumbents signatures on the documents are forgeries and were improperly notarized. Kovaleski filed her petitions in the county elections office in two batches one with about 750 voter signatures on March 4 and the second with about 800 signatures on March 9. Candidates for county row offices are required to collect 250 valid signatures to secure a ballot spot. OMalley contends Kovaleski could not have signed the candidate affidavits attached to the petitions because she was in Florida, where the former commissioner says the incumbent resides between three and four months of the year. This can only lead to one possible conclusion someone other than (Kovaleski) signed the candidate affidavits, OMalley alleged in court documents. He also argued Kovaleski could not have signed the affidavits in the presence of the notary who witnessed her signatures Kovaleskis twin sister, Marguerite Martin because the candidate was in Florida. This is about being there for the citizens of Lackawanna County, OMalley said Wednesday. Its about the integrity of the signatures and how they were notarized. Almost every argument made by OMalley in his challenge is baseless, Kovaleski said. He says I reside in Florida three or four months a year. That is untrue. I dont know where he gets that information from, she said. Kovaleski acknowledged she signed the affidavits for the first batch of petitions in the presence of her sister, who notarized them, after the petitions were sent to Florida, where both were vacationing. Questions later arose whether that was valid because Martin was not physically in Pennsylvania at the time she witnessed the signatures, she said. When her campaign realized there might be an issue, supporters quickly circulated the second batch of petitions, which Kovaleski said were properly notarized and filed. She noted OMalley did not include copies of those petitions with his challenge. Well see what the judge has to say, she said. The winner of the Democratic nomination for Register of Wills face April Jenkins of Glenburn Twp. in November. She is unopposed for the Republican nomination. In other candidate challenges: Scranton resident Charlie Spano asked the court to set aside the petition of Republican mayoral candidate Bob Bolus, arguing Bolus falsely claims in his candidate affidavit that he is eligible to hold the office of Scranton Mayor. Spano said courts have previously ruled Bolus cannot serve as mayor because of his prior felony conviction. A judge will hear the objection 10 a.m. Friday. Clarks Green resident David J. Rinaldi objected to the nominating petition of Alan F. Hughes, a Democratic candidate for borough council. Rinaldi maintained Hughes lacks the required 10 signatures to appear on the primary ballot after six signers did not sufficiently identify their municipality of residence and the petition was improperly modified to add a 16th line. A hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday. Jefferson Twp. resident John H. Patterson challenged the petition of Republican supervisor candidate Barbara A. Mehne, arguing she failed to file a required statement of financial interest with the township by the March 9 deadline. The court will also hear that 10:30 a.m. Friday. [March 18, 2021] Black & Veatch to Assess Feasibility of World's Largest Green Hydrogen Plant Black & Veatch (News - Alert) will undertake feasibility studies central to the development of the world's largest green hydrogen plant. When operational, Enegix Energy's Base One facility in Ceara, Brazil, will produce more than 600 million kilogrammes of green hydrogen annually. The highly ambitious new-build electrolysis facility will be powered entirely by renewable energy, initially 3.4 gigawatts of solar and onshore wind. Ceara's potential for renewable energy generation, coupled with access to a strategic deep-sea port to facilitate the export of hydrogen, were key to the choice of the scoped 500-hectare site for the US$ 5.4 billion investment. Enegix Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Black & Veatch for the delivery of feasibility studies key to advancing the green hydrogen plant's creation. "Hydrogen project developers and investors need confidence in the quality of the advice they receive. The most complete analysis will come from partners with expertise in hydrogen, renewable energy generation, and the complex interfaces between them that define projects like Base One," said Gary Martin, a Managing Director with Black & Veatch's Oil & Gas business. "Facilities such as the one proposed by Enegix are at the heart of making hydrogen a core component of a zero-carbon global economy; and our integrated approach places us in a unique position to contribute." Hydrogen has the potential to reduce and replace reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation and storage, heating, transport, production of green chemicals and fertilizer. Across the globe Black & Veatch is engaged in developing, designing and constructing decarbonization solutions that fulfil these objectives. "Black & Veatch's team has the capability to assess all aspects of the project, with transferable skills that cover hydrogen production, handling, transportation, storage and distribution; following the highest standards for safety and efficiency. Black & Veatch is well-positioned to provide these type of services, contributing to the transition of fossil fuels to hydrogen," said Wesley Cooke, Enegix Founder and CEO. "As well as new-build undertakings like our MoU with Enegix Energy, Black & Veatch's reputation for execution certainty means we are supporting many projectsto adapt existing power and process infrastructure for a role in the hydrogen economy," Martin added. "In a US first, for example, we are working with Long Ridge Energy Generation to retrofit a 485-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant making it the nation's first large gas turbine plant to transition operations to hydrogen fuel." In January 2021, reflecting its ongoing commitment to decarbonization and further advancing efforts to create a more balanced energy portfolio, Black & Veatch joined the Hydrogen Council - a global initiative of leading energy, transport and industry organizations with a vision for hydrogen's ability to foster the energy transition. Editor's Notes: Base One will be located in Ceara, northeast Brazil, and will provide a strategic location for Enegix's renewable hydrogen production with direct access to international markets via ocean freight. Base One is anticipated to take three to four years to build. In late 2020 Black & Veatch and Golar LNG announced the expansion of their long-standing collaboration, focusing on broadening floating production of blue and green hydrogen and ammonia. The Intermountain Power Agency also selected Black & Veatch as Owner's Engineer in 2020 for its Intermountain Power Project Renewal Project, one of the earliest installations of combustion turbine technology designed to use a high percentage of green hydrogen. About Black & Veatch Black & Veatch is an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries by addressing the resilience and reliability of our world's most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2019 were US$3.7 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005440/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] "I wish him good health" Putin quipped while noting the US president is probably engaged in a bit of psychological projection, according to Russian state sources. "I say that without irony or joking." Here's what Putin said in context: "It takes one to know one," Putin said in televised remarks, using a saying from his childhood. "That's not just a children's saying and a joke. There's a deep psychological meaning in this." "We always see in another person our own qualities and think that he is the same as us." Putin added that he wished Biden, 78, good health. "I'm saying this without irony, not as a joke." "When I was a kid, when we were arguing with each other in the playground, we used to say, 'Whatever you say [about others] is what you are yourself,'" Putin explained. The comments were made on Russian television Thursday, the day after Biden's ABC News interview aired wherein Biden also asserted that Putin "doesnt have a soul". Putin: We always project on others what we are ourselves. US is rooted in genocide against Native Americans and in slavery. That legacy continues, that's why there's BLM today. Oh, and US is only country that used nuclear bombs. (And I'm the killer??) pic.twitter.com/RfffkVxbVj Lucian Kim (@Lucian_Kim) March 18, 2021 Here's the key controversial part of that interview that Putin is responding to: Asked whether he believes Mr Putin is a "killer" in a pre-taped interview that aired on Wednesday, the president responded: "I do." "The price hes going to pay, youll see shortly," he said. Mr Biden recalled meeting Mr Putin, during which he reportedly told him that he "doesnt have a soul": "I wasnt being a wise guy." "He looked back at me and said, 'We understand each other'," Mr Biden said. EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Biden told @GStephanopoulos that he agreed Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "killer" and will "pay a price" for interfering in U.S. elections. https://t.co/rIe2ms8sSv pic.twitter.com/VtAGCvF9hp Good Morning America (@GMA) March 17, 2021 "I know him relatively well," Biden had introduced the comments with, and added that "the most important thing dealing with foreign leaders in my experience... is just know the other guy." Meanwhile amid the rapidly spiraling relations the Kremlin had recalled its ambassador to the United States late in the day Wednesday. When pressed about Biden's "killer" comments about Putin, Psaki tried to play it down: At Wednesdays press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to specify whether the president believes the Russian president, literally or metaphorically, is a killer. "Hes not going to hold back in his direction communications [with Russia]. Hes not going to hold back publicly," Psaki said. And further on the recalling back home to Moscow of Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov, Psaki said the administration "is going to take a different approach in our relationship to Russia than the prior administration. We are going to be straightforward and we are going to be direct in areas where we have concerns." 2021 has started on a positive note with multiple new launches and brands foraying into new segments. One such venture is the Hyundai ALCAZAR. With this model, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) entered the seven-seater, premium SUV category, competing with the likes of Mahindra XUV500, Tata Safari and MG Hector Plus. The Hyundai ALCAZAR grants its customers upscale mobility for business or family travel. The OOH campaign for Alcazar has been executed by Laqshya Media Group. The Hyundai ALCAZAR is inspired from the royal heritage of castles and palaces but also assures reliability, grandeur and spaciousness. This is the perfect choice for sophisticated, innovative and tech savvy customers as it has a combination of versatility and futuristic characteristics. The recent campaign is a teaser to announce the name - Hyundai ALCAZAR. ALCAZAR is a Spanish word and it means PALACE. Thus the creative rendition was focused on the PALACE to depict the grandeur and premium aspect of the car. It is a 30-day campaign in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The main aim was to announce the name with a bang and create curiosity in the mind of the TG for the new SUV model. The outdoor sites chosen for the campaign and innovations done were on large format medias only, to match with the grandness of ALCAZAR. Laqshyas proprietary OOH Planning Tool, SHARP (Strategic Hyperlocal AI-aided Reach Planner) and our experienced media planning team chose strategic sites to create maximum impact and create a buzz around the new launch. Special innovations were done on maximum sites which added to the visibility and created a lot of impact for the campaign. The concept was suggested by Innocean worldwide and executed by Laqshya Media. Mr. Sandeep Malhotra, AVP OOH, Innocean Worldwide India personally monitored the innovations. According to him, This is the first time that Hyundai has gone ahead with an innovation led campaign on key locations across cities. The campaign has already garnered positive feedback from the industry, and we are certain that it will help HMIL reach its campaign objective for the new ALCAZAR. Ms. Anushina Rajesh, AVP Client Services, Innocean Worldwide India explains, In line with Hyundai marketing teams direction, the strategic intent with this phase of communication and the innovation was to arouse curiosity and keep the consumers anticipation piqued for the arrival of this marvel called ALCAZAR. Atul Shrivastava, CEO, Laqshya Media Group said, The power of OOH is undisputable, especially for automobile launches which needs to make a lasting impact and arouse curiosity for the product. Hyundai has always leveraged the power of OOH media to reach their consumers. Traffic is also back to normal levels and this is the most opportune time to utilize the power of OOH. Laqshya is proud to execute this campaign for HMIL. The Laqshya team as always has executed this campaign brilliantly despite restrictions of limited lockdown and safety issues related to Covid. The impact has been felt well in the positive feedback we received from many people in the industry. By KATE BRUMBACK and ANGIE WANG, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) A white gunman was charged Wednesday with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community thats increasingly been targeted during the coronavirus pandemic. Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that Tuesdays attack was not racially motivated and claimed to have a sex addiction, with authorities saying he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. His parents called police after authorities posted his photo, helping lead to his capture. Six of the victims were of Asian descent and seven were women. The shootings appear to be at the intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia, state Rep. Bee Nguyen said, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House and a frequent advocate for women and communities of color. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that regardless of the shooters motivation, it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop. Authorities said they didnt know if Long ever went to the massage parlors where the shootings occurred but that he was heading to Florida to attack some type of porn industry. He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places, and its a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate, Cherokee County sheriffs Capt. Jay Baker told reporters. A day after the shootings, investigators were trying to unravel what might have compelled the 21-year-old to commit the worst mass killing in the U.S. in almost two years. Sheriff Frank Reynolds said it was too early to tell if the attack was racially motivated but the indicators right now are it may not be. The Atlanta mayor said police have not been to the massage parlors in her city beyond a minor potential theft. We certainly will not begin to blame victims, Bottoms said. The attack was the sixth mass killing this year in the U.S., and the deadliest since the August 2019 Dayton, Ohio, shooting that left nine people dead, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. It follows a lull in mass killings during the pandemic in 2020, which had the smallest number of such attacks in more than a decade, according to the database, which tracks mass killings defined as four or more dead, not including the shooter. The killings horrified the Asian American community, which saw the shootings as an attack on them, given a recent wave of assaults that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States. The virus was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racially charged terms to describe it. The attacks began when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor near Woodstock, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Atlanta, authorities said. Four died: 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 44-year-old Daoyou Feng and 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan, who owned the business. Yauns relatives told local news outlets that she and her husband were first-time customers on a date when the shooting began. Im lost, Im confused, Im hurt. Im numb, Margaret Rushing, Yauns mother, told WAGA-TV. Yaun leaves behind a 13-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter. Her half-sister, Dana Toole, said Yauns husband locked himself in a room and wasnt injured. Hes taking it hard, Toole said. He was there. He heard the gunshots and everything. You cant escape that when youre in a room and gunshots are flying what do you do? The manager of a boutique next door said her husband watched surveillance video after the shooting and the suspect was sitting in his car for as long as an hour before going inside. They heard screaming and women running from the business, said Rita Barron, manager of Gabbys Boutique. The same car was then spotted about 30 miles away in Atlanta, where a call came in about a robbery at Gold Spa and three women were shot to death. Another woman was fatally shot at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. Long was arrested hours later by Crisp County deputies and state troopers. He refused to stop on a highway and officers bumped the back of his car, causing him to crash, Sheriff Billy Hancock said. Officers found Long thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information, which they used to track him, said Reynolds, the Cherokee County sheriff. Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension, he said. President Joe Biden said the FBI briefed him and noted that Asian Americans are concerned about a recent rise in violence. He called the attack very, very troublesome. Were not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, said Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian woman in that position. Over the past year, thousands of incidents of abuse have been reported to an anti-hate group that tracks incidents against Asian Americans, and hate crimes in general are at the highest level in more than a decade. While the details of the shootings are still emerging, the broader context cannot be ignored, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta said in a statement. The shootings happened under the trauma of increasing violence against Asian Americans nationwide, fueled by white supremacy and systemic racism. Nico Straughan met Long when he moved to the area in seventh grade, saying Long brought a Bible to school every day and was super nice, super Christian, very quiet. I dont know what turn of heart he might have had, but he went from one of the nicest kids I ever knew in high school to being on the news, Straughan said. I mean, all my friends, we were flabbergasted. The American Psychiatric Association does not recognize sex addiction in its main reference guide for mental disorders. While some people struggle to control their sexual behaviors, its often linked to other recognized disorders or moral views about sexuality, said David Ley, clinical psychologist and author of The Myth of Sex Addiction. These sexual behaviors getting this label are a symptom, not a cause, Ley said. The Prime Ministers working group has made outstanding milestones in the last five years, making a significant contribution to improving the business environment, boosting Vietnams prestige in the international area. Minister and Chair of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 16 presided over an online conference reviewing the 5-year operation of the PMs working group. Minister and Chair of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said the working group was set up to increase efficiency inspecting the implementation of tasks assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister. Dung said the working group is the initiative by the PM, an institutional model under the decision-making authority of the PM, for the first time established in Vietnam. Over the last five years, the working group has marked preeminent milestones in terms of method, manner and outcomes, adhering to priority issues in management, Dung said. After every inspection campaign, the working group reports to the Government and Prime Minister and suggests solutions to solve problems. The working group has reported and made proposals related to 300 tasks, Dung said. The working group has carried out 104 inspection campaigns with hundreds of working sessions with 80 ministries, agencies and local authorities. It has organized 16 working sessions with associations to listen to responses to policies, and to complaints about difficulties in production and business. Every year, it releases specific messages with focus on some issues. Issues include the treatment of over 24,000 containers of scrap imports; the disposal of inventory seafood consignments for people and businesses in four provinces in the central region affected by the sea environmental accidents; the fight against fraud in product origin; and the licensing for river passage dredging. It has also dealt with the problem of having one product under the control of two or three ministries, including the record high number of licenses required for chocolate manufacturing. The quality of these working programs has improved over the last five years. A working group report showed that in the 2016-2021 term, by the end of February 2021, only 12 out of 2,504 plans had not been submitted as scheduled, or just one quarter of that of the previous term. Considerable improvements have been seen in document compilation and promulgation. The number of documents that were slow in issuance decreased to a record low: only three documents were not issued in 2020 as scheduled. Speaking about the lessons learned from the operation of the working group, Dung emphasised seriousness of the work, and fairness and responsibility. The group does not shy away from finding and clarifying problems. Its reports are straightforward and objective, and with convincing evidence. It makes reasonable and legal recommendations, especially when making suggestions about amending legal documents. The cooperation and timely reporting of press agencies has helped increase the transparency and highlight the responsibility of inspecting agencies in implementing commitments, which is an important factor in increasing efficiency of the working groups operation. The cooperation and timely reporting of press agencies has helped increase the transparency and highlight the responsibility of inspecting agencies in implementing commitments, which is an important factor in increasing efficiency of the working groups operation. PMs working group does not try to avoid collisions Speaking at the conference, FPT President Truong Gia Binh said that attention paid to Vietnam and its prestige have increased considerably recently. He noted that Vietnam is leading in both fighting Covid-19 and protecting the economy. Binh said the confidence of people and businesses plays an important role. When exchanging views about the operation of the government of the last term, the word confidence was repeated many times. Of the messages of the 14th-tenure government, Binh said many businesses chose action. Mentioning the role of the head of the working group Mai Tien Dung, Binh said: Dung and I went to Hai Phong to examine Hai Phongs customs agency. He discovered that the computer system got stuck. He gathered a meeting immediately and made decisions right away." Thanks to drastic actions by the government, Vietnam has gained impressive growth, while confidence has been established. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long commented that the working group does not try to avoid collisions with ministries and branches. It closely coordinates with all ministries, branches and localities. The working group has transmitted the spirit of reform and innovation to ministries and branches, requesting to cut unnecessary business conditions to create favorable conditions for people and businesses. Long said the working sessions between MOH and the working group left a strong impression on him, which led to the replacement of Resolution 38 with Decree 15 guiding the implementation of the Law on Food Safety. Long said the resolution placed difficulties for both enterprises and state management agencies, noting the story that a chocolate bar bore 13 different kinds of fees. Long said fiery arguments were seen at many working sessions with the group, but this was aimed at innovation and reform. Noting that the working group has been very effective, he said he hopes that innovative ideas will continue to spread. Tran Thuong - Thu Hang Over 2,800 public administrative procedures go online More than 2,800 administrative procedures have been available on the National Public Service Portal which was launched in December 2019. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Motorists have long been skeptical of the car repair process, typically opting for the minimum required service when they don't have full transparency into their vehicle's needs. To improve motorist transparency, Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVI), paperless inspections allowing shop owners to connect with customers on their smartphone, are an easy way for auto repair shops to bridge the gap of motorist transparency, buying power and trust. DVI is no longer a nice-to-have, but is now an industry standard for automotive repair, leaving many shops unprepared for the changing, digital environment. "AutoVitals empowers shop owners and technicians with an easy-to-use interface," said Jon Belmonte, CEO of AutoVitals. "Our Shop Success Solution, includes DVI, provides visibility, removes paperwork, adds automation, and creates efficiencies that will help a shop owner sell more work and keep customers happy." When Ryan Flattum, independent repair shop owner of RMF Auto Service opened his second auto repair shop in New Richmond, Wisconsin, instead of soaring to new heights, his average repair order (ARO) plateaued at $225. His shop was still using paper inspections and conducting sales by phone, which can be an inefficient way to capture new customers and retain loyal ones. "The digital world demands digital solutions," said Flattum. "I quickly realized that an informed customer is ready to make a buying decision." To reach Flattum's goal of increased ARO and continued expansion, he first needed to develop motorist trust. Flattum worked with industry leader AutoVitals to upgrade to digital inspections at RMF Auto Service. Flattum's new process now empowers his customers to make fully-informed decisions about their vehicles. Technicians take pictures and videos of the vehicle conditions with a tablet, upload their findings and precisely point out the repair needs, adding detailed notes, educational videos from AutoVitals content library where necessary. When the inspection is complete, the service advisor texts or emails the entire report to the customer with services, timing, and costs. RMF Auto Service shop's success now boasts: 2.3x increased ARO 50% increase in weekly revenue 4.8-star rating on Google, with a dramatic increase in reviews and growing customer confidence About AutoVitals AutoVitals is driving profitable growth for the independent auto repair shop owner. Many auto shop management software providers provide digital vehicle inspections (DVI), but AutoVitals is the only complete digital Shop Success Solution with robust workflow management, CRM, and website and digital marketing add-ons that are proven to increase your average repair order (ARO), enhance the utilization of your staff and bays, and ultimately drive higher profitability for your shop. For more information, visit www.autovitals.com. Press Contact: Veronica Britton 9546635446 https://www.autovitals.com SOURCE AutoVitals The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and on American democracy is a searing example of this threat, said Mr. Mayorkas, who added that his agency was also tracking the shooting of eight people, mostly Asian, in Atlanta. The Homeland Security Department announced last month that it would require that $77 million of its grants to state and local agencies be devoted to combating and preventing domestic extremism. Mr. Mayorkas also told the committee that his department would improve its process of disseminating warnings about extremism. He also highlighted the work the Federal Emergency Management Agency has done to roll out vaccines, including the creation of more than 900 community vaccination centers. But the hearing was dominated by the administrations handling of the border. Mr. Mayorkas reaffirmed the administrations use of a pandemic emergency rule to rapidly turn single adults and some families back to Mexico or their home countries. However, the Biden administration has broken from the Trump administration in welcoming unaccompanied minors. The number of those crossings has reached more than 29,700 since Oct. 1 about 400 a day so far in March compared with 17,100 during the same period last fiscal year. The children and teenagers are taken by a border agent first to a detention facility, where they are then supposed to be transferred within 72 hours to a shelter managed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those shelters were operating until recently with restricted capacity because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving around 4,000 minors stuck in jails along the border. Some have been left to sleep on mats with foil sheets, according to lawyers who visited a facility in Texas. A crime scene was declared around in Portlaoise on St Patrick's night after a homeless man claimed that he had been stabbed. Garda received a call in the early hours of March 18 from a man who had been sleeping rough in recent weeks in the environs of County Hall. It is understood that an individual, who has recently returned to the town but is a Laois native, claimed that he had been assaulted by two people and suffered stab wounds during an incident. Gardai sealed off the location on arrival before removing the man to Portlaoise hospital for treatment. While an investigation is underway, gardai have not yet established evidence to confirm that an assault took place and have not ruled out the possibility that wounds the man suffered may have been caused by other means. The individual was himself arrested on public order charge subsequent to his arrival at the hospital following an incident. He was due to appear in court on March 18. Mumbai, March 18 : The action-thriller "Nobody", starring Emmy-winning actor Bob Odenkirk, is set to release theatrically in India on April 9, it was confirmed on Thursday. The date was confirmed by NBCUniversal as their first theatrical release in 2021, post the Covid pandemic. "Nobody" is written by Derek Kolstad, who in the past has written projects such as the "John Wick" franchise, and "The Falcon And The Winter Soldier" among others. The film directed by Ilya Naishuller will be released in English and dubbed in Hindi. "Nobody" tells the tale of a bystander named Hutch, who intervenes to help a woman being harassed by a group of men and eventually becomes the target of a vengeful drug lord. Chennai, March 18 : The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which has not been in power since 2011 in Tamil Nadu is fighting the April 6 assembly polls plugging loopholes as it stiches political alliances taking into consideration all socio-political, religious and regional parameters. DMK's alliance with Maruthalai Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) is a well thought out strategy as the former is a political outfit which gains by fanning the Tamil nationalism. Its leader Vaiko has always been open in his sympathies towards the Tamil political movements in Sri Lanka and has supported the cause of a separate Tamil Eeelam in his writings, speeches and actions. In the election manifesto released by the MDMK on Wednesday, the party has promised to put pressure on the incumbent government to lift the ban on LTTE in India. It has also promised to support the case against the Sri Lankan Army officers who are facing trial at the International Court of Justice(ICJ). R.R. Muruganayakam, MDMK state office bearer, told IANS: "Tamil issues have always been the priority for the MDMK and we have never compromised on our cause. We believe in supporting the Tamil cause in whatever manner we can and there is nothing wrong in our manifesto. People of Tamil-origin have our sympathies for their cause and the DMK led front will get that support." The DMK leadership knows that with MDMK in the party alliance and with that party supporting the Tamil cause, the DMK is certain that the huge sympathy votes will be in favour of it. DMK leader and Chennai city secretary, Santhanagoplam while speaking to IANS said: "DMK is a political party which has clear views and its an ideology driven party not like political outfits which come up like mushrooms. "Of course MDMK is our alliance partner and we have a certain common minimum issue wherein we can join together and that's the reason for the alliance. DMK is certain for a huge victory in this election." With the DMK led front supporting the Tamil cause openly, other parties will have to rethink strategies. The Warren Group on Thursday released its latest market snapshot and reported that sales in February were up nearly 13 percent over February 2020, the last month not marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. LITTLETON, CO / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American:URG)(TSX:URE) ("Ur-Energy" or the "Company") announces that its Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Klenda, will present on March 25, 2021 at the Q1 Investor Summit (Virtual) to be held March 23-25, 2021. Mr. Klenda will provide an overview of the Company's business and the uranium markets during the presentation and will be available to participate in one-on-one meetings with investors who are registered to attend the conference. Ur-Energy's presentation will begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 25, 2021. You may join the webcast at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5bJ6TVBqSSW-rro32K6mRQ. The presentation will be webcast live. The presentation also will be available on our website following the event at www.ur-energy.com. If you would like to participate in the conference, including scheduling a time to meet with Mr. Klenda, please click on the following link to register for the conference https://investorsummitgroup.com/. About Ur-Energy Ur-Energy is a uranium mining company operating the Lost Creek in-situ recovery uranium facility in south-central Wyoming. We have produced, packaged, and shipped more than 2.6 million pounds from Lost Creek since the commencement of operations. Applications are under review by various agencies to incorporate our LC East project area into the Lost Creek permits and to operate at our Shirley Basin Project. Ur-Energy is engaged in uranium mining, recovery, and processing activities, including the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of uranium mineral properties in the United States. Shares of Ur-Energy trade on the NYSE American under the symbol "URG" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "URE." Ur-Energy's corporate office is in Littleton, Colorado; its registered office is in Ottawa, Ontario. Ur-Energy's website is www.ur-energy.com. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Jeffrey Klenda Chairman & CEO 866-981-4588 Jeff.Klenda@Ur-Energy.com www.ur-energy.com SOURCE: Ur-Energy Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636047/Ur-Energy-to-Present-on-March-25-at-the-Q1-Investor-Summit-Virtual INDIANAPOLIS (AP) An Indianapolis man was formally charged with murder Thursday in the killings of three adults and a child he allegedly shot to death after he and a former girlfriend argued because he wanted a share of her federal COVID-19 relief money. Malik Halfacre, 25, faces four counts of murder, one count each of attempted murder, armed robbery, auto theft and other charges in Saturday's killings, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. Halfacre allegedly shot a woman, who is the mother of his 6-month-old daughter, critically wounding her, and fatally shot four of her relatives inside a home where officers found the bodies of Anthony Johnson, 35, Dequan Moore, 23, Tomeeka Brown, 44, and 7-year-old Eve Moore. The ex-girlfriend told police that Eve Moore identified in court documents as E.M. was her daughter, that Tomeeka Brown was her mother, Dequan Moore was her brother, and Anthony Johnson was her cousin, according to a probable cause affidavit. Mears said that while the case breaks your heart the toughest part for him as a father of two young children is Eve Moore's killing. I think everyone asks the same question about the 7-year-old: Why? She didnt have anything to do with the stimulus check, she didn't have anything to do with the money and she lost her life. And if that doesnt break your heart I dont know what will, he said at a news conference. Mears said that the night of the killings Halfacre allegedly had a very spirited discussion over stimulus money" with a woman his office said he is believed to have once been in a relationship with before he left the home and then returned armed with a firearm and the argument resumed. During the course of this argument that continued over the stimulus money there is an allegation that he did begin to remove money from our victims purse and during the course of this an altercation occurred which resulted in people being shot," Mears said. Story continues According to a probable cause affidavit, Halfacre, who was arrested Sunday after being found in the attic of a friends home, told officers that after shooting everyone in the home, he took the money, the surviving woman's purse of and her car, and left the scene with their 6-month-old daughter. The baby was later found unharmed at the home of Halfacres sister, according to the affidavit. Halfacre appeared for an initial hearing Thursday morning, where a judge advised him of his rights, ordered him held without bond and appointed a public defender for him. Halfacres attorney, Laura Pitts, said she had no comment Thursday on her clients behalf. At the time of the shootings, Halfacre was the subject of a restraining order barring him from having contact with his ex-girlfriend or visiting the home where the shootings occurred, according to court documents. After the shooting, Halfacre's ex-girlfriend said she realized she had been shot and, fearing that he would kill her, told him, Take me to the hospital' and they both left the house, the affidavit states. When Halfacre reentered the home, she said she fled the scene and found someone who called 911. After police arrived, she was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where Mears said she told police about the shootings and that there were other victims in the home. We were very fortunate that she was able to escape and survive what occurred," he said. Mears said the case is eligible for the death penalty because there were multiple victims, a robbery allegedly occurred and a child was killed. He said his office would be meet with the victims' relatives to discuss that option before a decision is made on whether to pursue the death penalty. ___ This story has been updated to correct that the prosecutors office says the woman who survived the shooting was a former girlfriend of the suspect, and not a current girlfriend. WENTWORTHVILLE, NEW SOUTH WALES / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Mahinthan Mahathevan, CEO of Wentworthville, New South Wales based BJ Accounting and Taxation Services, is holding a seminar to educate small business owners about the taxation requirements that concern small businesses. BJ Accounting and Taxation Services is dedicated to helping all businesses, whether they are big companies, a family-owned business or a sole proprietor. There are several components to taxation requirements that are expected of small businesses. Payroll reporting is one of them, and as BJ Accounting and Taxation services explains, small businesses that have fewer than 20 employees are required to lodge reports with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) using Single Touch Payroll software (as of 1 July 2019). Then there is the matter of monthly or quarterly business activity and installment activity statements. The business activity statements need to be submitted to the ATO either monthly, quarterly, or annually and will be used to report and pay goods and services tax (GST), pay as you go (PAYG) installments, PAYG withholding tax and other tax obligations. Mahathevan explains that when a small business owner registers for an Australian business number (ABN) and GST, the ATO will automatically send them a BAS when it is time to lodge. The businesses registered for GST simply have to make sure that they lodge a BAS before the due date. Similar to the BAS, an installment activity statement (IAS) does not contain GST and some other taxes. As Mahathevan explains, businesses that are not registered for GST would submit an IAS to pay PAYG installments. Mahinthan Mahathevan also emphasizes that it is important for all small business owners to remember the financial year for tax purposes in Australia runs from the 1st of July to the 30th of June. Businesses need to lodge an income tax return for this period. In the case of sole traders, business owners can declare their business income as part of their personal income tax return. Mahathevan also highlights that business owners are legally required to keep a number of records for at least five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transactions completed (whichever occurs last). These records need to be in English and in a format that is accessible to the ATO. Lack of these records can lead to penalties. Business records that must be maintained are income tax records including income and sales, purchase and expense, year-end records, bank records, goods and services and staff or employee records. Employee records also include the tax file number (TFN) and withholding declarations, records of wages, allowances and other payments, superannuation records and fringe benefit tax (FBT) details. According to Mahathevan, small business owners can and should take advantage of the tool the ATO has developed to assist business owners find out what records they need to keep for their business. Mahathevan and his team at BJ Accounting and Taxation services provide bookkeeping services that many companies take advantage of. He says, "It's hard enough running a business without the stress of keeping track of all the numbers and books. This is why BJ Accounting takes on the burden of accounting so that you can focus on the day to day operations and, ultimately, ensure that your business reaches and exceeds its goals. I've been in this business for a long-time and have developed skills that will ensure that your small business does not find itself leashed by any accounting obstacles." Those who have made use of Mahathevan's services have nothing but praise for his work. On the Google platform, BJ Accounting and Taxation Services has a perfect 5-Star rating. In a recent review, Glenys C. writes, "I had to take my elderly father to an accountant (the first time for him in 25 years), and we found BJ Accounting to be very professional, friendly and honest. We were not overcharged, we were very satisfied with the cost. They made us feel extremely welcome and relaxed. If I lived in Wentworthville, I would use BJ Accounting every time. My father, brother and I left feeling happy and full of praise for this business." Learn more about BJ Accounting and Taxation Services, their history in the field and their wide-ranging services at their official website. Those interested may reach out to Mahinthan Mahathevan or the agency's other accounting specialists to follow up on any further inquiries. Additionally, social media users may follow BJ Accounting and Taxation Services on their preferred platforms in order to stay abreast of their latest activities, announcements and offers. Find them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. For more information about BJ Accounting, contact the company here: BJ Accounting mahinthan mahathevan (02) 9688 4427 mahi@bjaccounting.com.au 5-7 Station St, Wentworthville NSW 2145 SOURCE: BJ Accounting And Taxation Services View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636269/Mahinthan-Mahathevan-Holds-Seminar-On-Small-Business-Taxation-Requirements Washington: The US is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is in the process of finalising efforts to distribute 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a loan. The details are still being worked out. Our first priority remains vaccinating the US population, Psaki said at the daily briefing. But she added that ensuring our neighbours can contain the virus is a mission critical step, is mission critical to ending the pandemic. Pharmacist Barbara Violo shows off a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after providing doses to customers in Toronto. Credit:AP The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been authorised for use in the US but has been by the World Health Organisation. Tens of millions of doses have been stockpiled in the US should it receive emergency use authorisation, sparking an international outcry that lifesaving doses were being withheld when they could be used elsewhere. Ukraine plans to open regular air traffic with Serbia. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has already approved the order on the signing of the relevant intergovernmental agreement, Ukrinform reports with reference to the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry. Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii noted that the Government authorized Chairman of the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine Oleksandr Bilchuk to sign the agreement. "Despite the pandemic and crisis in global aviation, we continue to expand the list of countries with which we cooperate in air transportation, and go through the necessary domestic procedures to conclude future agreements," the minister commented. Kryklii added that the conclusion of this agreement will create a bilateral legal framework necessary for the implementation of regular air traffic between Ukraine and Serbia. This, in turn, will contribute to the activation of bilateral ties, the establishment and expansion of effective bilateral economic relations, as well as allow the liberalization of the air transportation market between the two countries. As reported, on November 5, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada ratified the protocol on air traffic between Ukraine and Qatar. ish The president of the Belleville Historical Society in Essex County on Wednesday said the townships library board violated local and state laws when it loaned a valuable painting to the mayor. This historical and extremely valuable painting on loan to the library by the (historical society) was unlawfully removed from the premises, Michael Perrone said in statement to trustees during a meeting. Landscape of Belleville, painted nearly 200 years ago by Philadelphia artist Thomas J. Natt, was appraised in 2010 at $125,000. Descendants of Belleville founder Josiah Hornblower donated the painting in 1962 to the historical society. The piece was on display for nearly 60 years when the library board passed a resolution in June 2020 loaning the artwork to Mayor Michael Melham. Perrone said that, as president of the library trustees, Melham controls the board and had them pass a resolution loaning him the painting. But since the library doesnt own the painting it was illegal for them to loan it to anyone without the consent of the historical society, Perrone said. Melham told NJ Advance Media this week that he took the painting out of the library to keep it from being damaged by the librarys leaky roof. He said the painting is on display inside his Town Hall office, where its viewed by residents and dignitaries alike. But Perrone said the historical society, Hatch and others in the town want the painting back on display at the library, immediately. Hatch fired off a letter on March 2 to township Police Chief Mark Minichini, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and others, demanding that the painting be returned to the library immediately and safely. For security reasons both the Belleville Historical Society and the Belleville Public Library have always kept the value of the painting strictly confidential, Perrone said in his statement. The irresponsible act of taking the painting from the library and then announcing the value of the painting at a public meeting has made a bad situation worse by creating a major security issue, he said. Melham, who is president of the library board, did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request for comment. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. (CNN) It's been a long year for Disneyland fans, but "The Happiest Place On Earth" is finally set to reopen its doors. The flagship Disney resort, which houses Disneyland and its sister theme park California Adventure, plans to reopen with limited capacity on April 30, the company announced on Wednesday. Disneyland's doors in Anaheim, California, have been closed more than a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. "The day all of us have long been waiting for is almost here," Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort, said in a statement Wednesday. "We're excited to have more than 10,000 cast members returning to work as we get ready to welcome our guests back to this happy place." But "until further notice," only California residents may visit the parks because of state health guidelines, the company said. Safety measures include mandatory masks for guests over the age of 2, social distancing and use of a new ticketing system to help manage capacity. Still, Disneyland's reopening is a major moment as the company attempts to rebound after the coronavirus outbreak hobbled its businesses. Though the company's media empire was hit hard, with blockbuster after blockbuster delayed, it's Disney's lucrative parks and resorts business that was dealt the biggest blow. "It's the final sign that things are getting back to normal for the Disney company," Robert Niles, editor of ThemeParkInsider.com, told CNN Business of the reopening. "Having Walt Disney's original park closed, even with the others being open, was still a reminder that something was amiss." Though Disney World and other Disney parks have been able to reopen, the months of closures led to big layoffs with the company shedding more than 32,000 employees. Disney's resort unit had employed more than 170,000 people around the world, but it has not released updated numbers since the layoffs. The Disneyland reopening is "phased and subject to change" based on evolving guidance from authorities. The reopening date comes after the state of California said earlier this month that it would allow amusement parks to reopen with limited capacity starting on April 1. Disney said the Grand Californian, a hotel located on Disneyland property, will reopen April 29. The resort's other hotels, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel and the Disneyland Hotel, will "reopen at a later date." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Disneyland sets reopening date." The Junta de Andalucia will allocate 100 million euros in direct aid to the tourism sector to mitigate the losses caused by the coronavirus crisis during the last year, the vice president and minister of Tourism, Juan Marin, announced this Thursday (18 March) in the Andalusian parliament. Marin pointed out that this amount of aid is part of the second rescue plan that the Andalusian government is finalising, which will also be destined to hospitality, commerce and other sectors, and which will be added to - and complement - the aid plan also announced by central government. In his appearance at a parliamentary committee, Marin said that there will specifically be five million euros of direct aid to travel agencies, as well as assistance for operators and professionals in the tourism sector, such as hotels, tourist guides, campsites and hostels. Marin said he expects that this plan of aid to tourism can be put forward for approval at the next Cabinet meeting next week, and highlighted that this economic support can be made compatible with the aid announced by the central government. President Aliyev and other representatives of the Azerbaijani government continue to repeatedly raise concerns about the threats to the precarious balance established by last autumns trilateral accord and to subsequent peace initiatives, The Jamestown Foundation writes. The transfer of Armenian forces to the Karabakh region is seen as a particularly formidable threat by the Azerbaijani authorities, as this poses multiple challenges to Bakus security policies. First, these deployments are at odds with the fourth article of the trilateral statement, which commits Armenia to withdraw its military units from the region concurrently with the deployment of Russian peacekeepers. Second, the introduction of additional Armenian military personnel, coupled with Yerevans refusal to acknowledge the results of the war, undermines efforts to establish a durable peace, especially in a region currently under the control of a Russian peacekeeping contingent. Third, the eastward transit of Armenian troops into Karabakh breaches the agreement between the sides concerning the use of the Lachin Corridor only for humanitarian purposes, which is supposed to be supervised by the peacekeepers as they control all movement through the corridor. This all creates an insecure situation that might spiral out of control and risk new armed confrontations in the future. In his letter addressed to the secretary general of the United Nations on March 1, 2021, Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov warned against this threat declaring, According to the credible information available to the Azerbaijani side, which is also validated by the reports of independent mass media sources, members of [the] Armed Forces of Armenia, wearing civilian dress, are transferred to the territory of Azerbaijan through the Lachin Corridor in civilian trucks, including disguised among the construction cargo, in an attempt to escape the control procedures of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Azerbaijan asserts that Russia, as the principal guarantor of the ceasefire established by the trilateral accord, bears the responsibility to counter the attempts to violate the November 9 agreement. This is likely why President Aliyev, in his four-hour-long press conference with the representatives of local and foreign media on February 26, responding to a question about the possibility of the rejection of this accord by Armenia in the future, reminded that there is a signature of the President of Russia on the document, and he [Vladimir Putin] acts as the guarantor of this document. Aliyev reiterated Putins warning against attempts to back out of the ceasefire deal and the Kremlin leaders identification of this possibility as suicidal for Armenia. On March 5, addressing the seventh assembly of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), President Aliyev, who is simultaneously the party chairperson, for the first time talked about another threat to the full implementation of the trilateral accord. Armenia refuses to cooperate [in the opening of regional transportation and communication links]. Now they want to hinder the building of the Zangazur corridor, referring to the ninth clause of the November statement about the opening of a land connection between Azerbaijan proper and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic across southern Armenia. He assured that Yerevan will not be able to prevent this. These threats and challenges to the post-war peace process are exacerbated by the Armenian sides refusal to characterize the Karabakh conflict as resolved. The domestic political instability in Armenia and the pressure posed by more hardline political and military forces to the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan further strain tensions between Yerevan and Baku, necessitating vigilance and intervention on the part of the international community against destructive trends in the region. However, as the last three decades tragically demonstrated, the only way to achieve enduring peace is for all sides of the conflict to accept new security architecture based on the principle of territorial integrity and mutual respect for international borderson the basis of which, minority rights can then be developed. Eliminating the sugar tax and reducing the taxes on beer and wine will have health consequences, according to Steinar Krokstad, a professor of public health at NTNU. Norway's budget settlement between the government and the Progress Party resulted in getting rid of the sugar tax for chocolate and sweets, halving the tax on soft drinks, cutting the taxes on snuff by 25 per cent and on beer and wine by 10 per cent. Steinar Krokstad, who has headed HUNT - the Trndelag Health Study - for many years, knows most everything about Trndelag county residents' health and living habits. The professor is very disappointed with the state budget settlement. Sad, says Krokstad This is just sad. So much time and effort has been put into preparing the ground for a good health policy. Then we watch as important measures are removed with the stroke of a pen to get the state budget passed. The entire scientific basis is ignored," Steinar Krokstad, Professor, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology "It's a well-documented fact that high taxes on these products are beneficial for public health. Higher prices mean less consumption. The public health field is about influencing behaviour, making it easy for people to make good choices and harder to make bad choices," he says. Price is higher than the gain "The boundary between individual freedom and government regulation is an important balancing act, but I can't believe that the possible positive effects we think we'll get from more jobs in Norway and less trade leakage to Sweden will outweigh the benefits of lower sugar intake and lower alcohol consumption," Krokstad says. "I don't see higher taxes on these harmful goods as a threat to individual freedom. For future generations, this matter is also about freedom from experiencing insecurity related to alcohol in the home and weight problems," he says. Science and politics As a researcher, Krokstad finds that sticking your neck out on such a politicized topic poses a dilemma. "As public health physicians, it's easy to be regarded as being too political. But we can't get away from the fact that politics is the most important driver in public health work. So we have to get involved, at the same time as we depend on trust among politicians and on their help to get things done in public health work," he says. "If this is about considering cross-border trade and jobs, politicians have other effective tools in their toolbox. Cross-border trade can easily be regulated by adjusting quotas. The issue has been presented as if reduced taxes are the only solution," says Krokstad. Obesity and intoxication Krokstad points out that in general, economic growth has been beneficial for public health. But when prosperity reaches a certain level, it also creates public health problems. "Not all economic growth and increased consumption are good for public health. We need to stimulate the growth we want, and not what's undesirable and harmful to our health. Obesity and intoxication are perhaps the most critical threats to public health," he says. "During this corona pandemic, we've observed particularly great concern for children in difficult home situations. We know that child welfare cases are strongly associated with drug use. The costs to society of health damage and reduced ability to work due to alcohol are huge," says Krokstad. Getting heavier The HUNT studies show that men in Trndelag county were on average 10 kilos heavier in 2018 than in the 1980s, and women 7 kilos heavier. In the 80s, eight per cent of men were within the obese range, compared to 23 per cent in 2018. For women, the obesity level increased from 13 percent to 23 percent in the same period. Among young people, the proportion within the overweight and obese range increased from 16 per cent to 24 per cent between 1996 and 2017, and from 16 per cent to 25 per cent among girls. Obesity is most prevalent in rural areas and in groups with low socioeconomic status. Even though the curve has flattened out a bit, people in Trndelag are still gaining weight. In violation of the WHO The social health physician believes that the government is acting in violation of clear advice from the WHO and Norway's obligations to help reduce non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization calls obesity the fastest growing health threat, and it is becoming a bigger problem than malnutrition and infectious diseases as the main cause of poor health. Obesity is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some types of cancer, diabetes and a number of other diseases. In addition, people with obesity face prejudice and discrimination - including from health professionals. The Country's number 1 urban radio, Y107.9FM has taken its listeners on a journey into the personal life of the Managing Director (MD) of the Primetime Company Limited, organizers of the National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), Nana Akua Ankomah-Asare. The inspiring force for the youth shared striking aspects of her life from her upbringing, education, family and career with Y107.9FMs Rev. Erskine on the Y LeaderBoard Series. The YLeaderBoard Series is a weekly segment on YFMs Myd Morning radio show with an objective to develop and inspire the youth to achieve greatness. Leaders are hosted weekly to share their life story, journey to greatness and lessons for personal/national growth and development. Born to Supreme Court Judge Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu and being the first of three daughters, Nana Akua was raised to be diligent, pursue excellence and to believe in herself. The Sekondi born moved to the Central Region to pursue her secondary education at her mothers Alma matter, Wesley Girls High School. As a second generation Wey Gey Hey student, she did not allow expectations placed on her to hold her back from enjoying school. Making the most out of her life in school, she joined the schools cadet and field and track team and picked up emceeing along the line. Being appreciative for the training she received at Wesley Girls, she actively participated in the schools alumni activities and was elected President of the Association on more than one occasion, leaving her mark. The multi-lingual who discovered her penchant for languages at a young age is fluent in Spanish and French, also has a beginners appreciation for the Dutch language and speaks flawless Fante. After Wesley Girls, she pursued degrees, B.A French and Spanish and M.A Communication Studies at the University of Ghana before moving to Ohio University to pursue a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs, Communication and Development Studies. The mother of two describes her daughters as smart and my life revolves around them. Using the opportunity to advise mothers, she said, Motherhood has taught me that I need to take care of myself first. If you dont take care of yourself as a mother, you cannot take care of others because you will not have the required energy. To her, family is the most important thing to her and pronounces her family as a close knitted and supportive one taking charge of each other and we have an adopted family hymn. Nana Ankomah-Asare shedding light on how she found her way into her current position, credited her ability to improve upon the NSMQ year after year to her involvement from a young age. I grew up on the National Science and Maths Quiz and we used to go watch it after school. After completing Senior High School, I worked on the show and other television programmes produced by Primetime, she told Rev Erskine. The Primetime MD graduated from watching and working on Primetime to actually running the show, and that is why she is said to have been born on the NSMQ. Her philosophy as a leader has always been to give an equal opportunity to everyone to share their ideas because Ideas come from all sorts of places and has had her staff shoot down her ideas. She insists this philosophy in more ways than one has propelled the NSMQ to its current height. The music lover shared that her all-time favourite in music is the ever-green Kojo Antwi. Stating what makes the musician her favourite, she indicated, he is very poetic and I like the way he plays and romanticizes words. He is also able to keep his lyrics clean and crunchy. Odo Maayea and Odo Ano Wappi are some of her classic favourites from the Hip-Life legend. Programmes Manager of YFM Accra, Eddy Blay, expressing his views on the interview with the exceptional leader noted: Nana Akua Ankomah-Asare has been the driving force behind the success of the NSMQ and she has unapologetically set the standard of Maths and Science education very high. I have no doubt that she has inspired many more youths to succeed. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Los Angeles County Looks to Return Black-Owned Beach Front Land to Descendants of Original Owners Bruces Beach has a historical past, one that is similar to other dark chapters found in the context of the American story. The ocean wave plot was named after the original owners, Willa and Charles Bruce; they were the first Black landowners in Manhattan Beach. They purchased a couple coastal lots in 1912. However, the City of Manhattan found a way to take ownership of their property. Nearly a century later, Los Angeles County is revisiting the prospects of returning proper ownership of the beachfront to the descendants of the Bruce family. ADVERTISEMENT Located on 2600 Highland Ave. in Manhattan Beach, CA, Bruces Beach served as an oasis for people of color looking to enjoy the scenic coast during times of segregation. According to L.A. Times, Willa and Charles Bruce purchased a piece of paradise for $1,225 ($33,034) and eventually bought another lot as well. Other Black families followed suit buying estates alongside them, and a Black community of beachfront property owners was created. The hatred for such growth was not hidden; the L.A. Times reported that the vandalism and sabotage to Black-owned beach properties happened routinely during the Jim Crow era. The goal was to drive Black people out of these areas and have them sell their land. City officials would gradually obtain the Bruces beach, and other Black-owned coastal plots through an ordinant known as eminent domain. Through the eminent domain procedure, certain members of the Manhattan community allotted City officials the power to acquire privately-owned properties and reinvent the lots for public use. The urgent takeover of Bruces land was for a public park. The Bruce family fought for years in litigation; they asked for $120,000 ($3,203,044 ) for loss of property and damages. The Bruces received $14,000, which is $300,000 in present day, and other families received far less than that. According to the source mentioned prior, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn stated, The property that was once the Bruces is now owned by the County and I want L.A. County to be part of righting this wrong. She continued, I am looking at everything from repurposing the property in a way that tells the history of Bruces Beach to actually giving the property back to the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce. One of the direct descendants of the original owners of Bruces Beach Anthony Bruce, told L.A. Times, The first thing we need to get right is the information about the plaque. We need to make sure the plaque tells the exact story about what happened. He continued, That was our property. And they removed it with eminent domain, which was pretty much like using the law to pretty much commit a crime. Californiabeaches.com described the present Bruces Beach as the following, Thanks to its picturesque setting, the well-manicured lawns that overlook the shore are the site of frequent picnics As beautiful as the surface sounds, the story of Bruces Beach is tainted below its depths. The County has recognized the biased decisions that were passed in 1924 by the City of Manhattan Beach, and now they are seeing through a new lens of awareness, and want to work on righting a long-standing wrong. This pain in deception has weighed on the Bruce family for generations; most of the members of the family cannot bring themselves to speak on the topic publicly. There is a deep hurt among them, and it needs a paralleled healing. According to ABC News, the beach that was stripped away from the Bruce family is now worth $75 million dollars, and members of the County are looking for opportunities to return the land to the rightful owners. ADVERTISEMENT A community task force has formed around the subject and has been rallying behind the cause, to bring awareness of the truth behind the beachs covered-up history. However, there have been critiques on the organizations diversity level and lack of working directly with the Bruce family. The goal for everyone involved is to make sure the authentic story of Bruces Beach is told, and the justice is projected over the rights of ownership. The task force is looking to present a course of action later this year to community leadership. The overturn of this land would bring in a new light of equality. seen over the horizon of the California coast. Its past transgression cannot be re-written, but the correction of the injustice will create a new future for the Bruce family. for generations to come. The story of Willa and Charles paints a wider picture of wealth that lived in the Black community, one that is not often talked about. Their pain of that legacy being taken away has lived with the Bruce family through their names sake. A century later and the recognition that is instrumental to the healing has finally come. The US Army refused to return medals for valor to a former Green Beret who was charged with war crimes and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, unsealed documents have revealed. Retired Maj. Matthew Golsteyn was stripped of his medals and his membership in the elite Green Berets after being with charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 shooting death of a suspected Taliban bombmaker in Afghanistan. The trial was canceled after Trump stepped in and pardoned Golsteyn by executive order in November 2019. Golsteyn filed an appeal the following month to restore his Distinguished Service Cross, the military's second-highest honor, as well as his Special Forces tab. But documents obtained by USA Today this week showed the Army rejected the appeal to restore Golsteyn's medals last June - six months after declining to reinstate his Special Forces designation. In a letter disclosing the decision the board cited a letter from the Justice Department which said Trump's pardon did not fully exonerate Golsteyn. 'Presidential pardon is a sign of forgiveness and does not indicate innocence,' the board wrote. The US Army refused to return medals for valor to Maj. Matthew Golsteyn (pictured), a former Green Beret who was charged with war crimes and later pardoned by President Donald Trump Golsteyn was given a Special Forces designation and awarded a Silver Star back in 2011, after it was revealed he repeatedly braved enemy fire, coordinated airstrikes and came to the aid of a wounded Afghan soldier during his 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. The Silver Star was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross before he was stripped of the medal in 2015 after he admitted to shooting an alleged Taliban bombmaker. Golsteyn, who was leading a team of Army Special Forces troops at the time, was accused of shooting the Afghan man in February 2010. The man had been detained and questioned over a bombing that killed two Marines - Sgt. Jeremy R McQueary and Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson - but he was later released because of lack of evidence. Golsteyn later shot him because he believed he was the bombmaker. He said he believed the bombmaker was a legal target because of his behavior. President Donald Trump stepped in and pardoned Golsteyn by executive order in November 2019 Golsteyn confessed to the shooting during a polygraph test that he took for a job interview with the CIA in 2011. The Army Criminal Investigation Command, acting on information from the CIA, looked into the incident but could never find anyone to corroborate Golsteyn's claim. Golsteyn appeared on a Fox News special called 'How We Fight' in 2016 during which he said he killed the Afghan because letting him go would have led to additional problems. His appearance on the show caused the case against him to be reopened and he was charged with premeditated murder by the US military in 2018. Golsteyn had been due to face a court-martial in December 2018 before the pardon came through from Trump. Broadcasting his support for Golestyn, Trump tweeted: 'Mathew is a highly decorated Green Beret who is being tried for killing a Taliban bombmaker. 'We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!' Golsteyn (pictured in Afghanistan in 2010) was stripped of his medals and his membership in the elite Green Berets after being charged with premeditated murder in 2015 Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary (left), 27, and Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson (right), 19, were killed in an explosion in February 2010. Golsteyn believed the Afghan he killed was responsible for their deaths Golsteyn filed an appeal to restore his Distinguished Service Cross, the military's second-highest honor, as well as his Special Forces tab in December 2019 After filing his appeal to have his Special Forces designation and medals reinstated, Golsteyn's attorney Phillip Stackhouse said he believed Trump would be willing to help with the effort. 'What the President has told Matt is he's allowed everything as though this never happened,' Stackhouse told Stripes. Golsteyn decried the board's decision in a statement to USA Today this week, saying the Army 'defied' Trump. 'Clearly, we have seen military departments obey the direction of the Commander in Chief in other cases and, inexplicably, the Army defied the President,' he said. The Distinguished Service Cross (above in a file photo) is the military's second-highest honor for valor in combat The veteran also suggested that the board purposefully didn't release the decision to until after Trump lost the election so that he couldn't seek to overturn it. 'It shouldn't be a surprise the findings of the Army Board were released in November 2020 and not mailed to me for 2 more months, after President Trump left office, so my case could languish in the quagmire of Presidential transition,' Golsteyn said. His attorney, Stackhouse, called the decision 'silly' and said that President Joe Biden should 'honor Trump's commitment' to wiping clean Golsteyn's record. Dwight Mears, the researcher who obtained the record with the decision and turned it over to USA Today, said the Army 'may have dodged a bullet' by releasing it after Trump left office. 'Certainly, the Army had an incentive to avoid antagonizing the president here,' Mears said. 'It's certainly possible Trump could have attempted to overrule the (board), which would be the worst-case scenario for the Army. He could theoretically have ordered them to rule differently, as they are all government employees.' Trump's intervention in Golsteyn's case and that of two other accused war criminals - Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher - sparked tensions within the Pentagon in 2019. The president pardoned Lorance, who had been serving a 19-year sentence for ordering soldiers to open fire on unarmed Afghan civilians, killing two of them, in 2012. He also reversed a demotion for Gallagher, who was convicted of posing with the corpse of an ISIS fighter and acquitted of charges of murder and attempted murder. A long noncoding RNA whose function was previously unknown turns out to play a vital role in mobilizing the immune response following a bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation. This RNA molecule, cataloged in scientific databases simply as Linc00402, helps activate immune defenders known as T cells in response to the presence of foreign human cells, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Michigan Medicine. The investigation, which included samples from more than 50 patients who underwent a bone marrow or heart transplant, suggests inhibiting the RNA therapeutically might improve outcomes for transplant recipients. Their findings appear in Science Translational Medicine. Study lead author Daniel Peltier, M.D., Ph.D., is a pediatric bone marrow transplant physician at U-M. We see a lot of graft-versus-host disease -- or GVHD -- which is a potentially fatal complication that can happen after transplant when T cells in the donor's blood see the transplant recipient's cells as invaders and attack them. Unfortunately, the medicines we use to prevent GVHD suppress the immune system and can raise the risk of a cancer relapse or infection, and they also have other side effects." Daniel Peltier, Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Physician, U-M In taking a deep dive into the biology, Peltier and his colleagues hoped to find a way of targeting just the problematic components of the immune system that cause GVHD. One reason for looking at this particular type of RNA molecule is that they tend to be expressed only by a limited number of tissues in a limited number of contexts, explains senior study author Pavan Reddy, M.D., deputy director of the Rogel Cancer Center and division chief of hematology/oncology at Michigan Medicine. "So, unlike a lot of RNAs, which are expressed in all kinds of cells by all kinds of living things, long noncoding RNAs offer the possibility that we might be able to target them in a relatively unique and disease-specific way," he says. Meaning: If doctors can find a way to zero-in and short circuit just the T cells' tendency to get aggressive in response to the transplant, they may not need to suppress the patient's immune system in a more general way that leaves them susceptible to infection or a regrowth of their cancer. The researchers are hopeful the discoveries could also be used to help predict which patients are most likely to develop GVHD. Finding Linc00402 Very little previous work has been done to examine the role of noncoding RNAs in human T cells, especially in clinically relevant contexts, Reddy says. "Our lab studies bone marrow transplantation, which is a T-cell mediated process," he says. "Knowing more about how T cells work will help us make bone marrow transplants, or any immunotherapy, more efficacious." The research project began with a database of blood samples from a range of patients who had undergone a bone marrow transplant at Michigan Medicine. Some patients had closely matched donors, while others had what doctors call mismatched donors. "The whole idea was: If you take a T cell from one individual and put it into a different individual, what happens to its RNA profile?" Reddy says. Then, using RNA sequencing, the research team looked for patterns across the bone marrow transplant patients. Their findings were validated in two other cohorts of patients using different methodologies. "We wanted to make sure that what we were seeing wasn't just chance or an artifact of one approach," Reddy says. "And that's how we found this particular RNA, Linc00402. It's the one that remained consistent through the various cohorts we examined and the various ways we looked at things." The bone marrow transplant researchers also collaborated with the lab of co-author Daniel Goldstein, M.D., director of the Michigan Biology of Cardiovascular Aging program, to see if the results held true for heart transplant patients. And it turns out they did. "So that really told us that these long noncoding RNAs are unique to T cells that are responding to foreignness, both in the context of bone marrow transplantation and solid organ transplantation," Reddy says. "This is precisely the kind of cross-disciplinary collaboration that can only happen in a place like U-M." Probing the mysteries of Linc00402 Since Linc00402 gets improperly activated in the presence of foreign cells, the researchers also conducted experiments to see if they saw the same response in the presence of another type of invader: a viral infection. But they didn't see elevated levels of the RNA in response to the virus. "This strongly suggests that this dysregulation is a change you only see when you put a T cell from one human being into another," Reddy says. Through a series of experiments, the researchers dug deeper into the RNA and its behavior. They used genetic tools like CRISPR and gapmers to silence the gene that makes it and lentiviruses to amplify it. And this revealed that Linc00402 plays a key role in T cells' ability to respond to a threat by proliferating. In collaboration with the lab of co-author Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, they found that within each cell, the RNA is primarily expressed in the cytoplasm. "This led us to hypothesize that the RNA's normal function is help with cellular signaling following activation of the T cells," Peltier adds. While many long noncoding RNAs are species-specific as well as tissue-specific, Linc00402 is present and regulates the same functions in mice. This surprising detail paves the way for animal model studies that could speed the progress of translating these laboratory discoveries toward the bedside, the researchers say. (The fact that it's conserved between species is another clue to its functional importance, Peltier notes.) As these new details about Linc00402 are coming to light, the researchers are also proposing giving the RNA a more memorable name. In the study, they propose calling it ReLot, for regulatory long noncoding RNA of T cells. "Scientists have only relatively recently started decoding the importance of some of these parts of the genome that don't code for proteins," Peltier says. "It's really only been since the robust sequencing of the transcriptome that we realized that the 80-90% that we thought was 'junk DNA' is definitely not junk." Mamata Banerjee slams Centre, says vaccinating all citizens before December 2021 is just a hoax Faulty ventilators will have to be replaced; won't allow experiments on patients: Bombay high court A mighty scary second wave: Expert on COVID-19 surge in Maharashtra India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Mumbai, Mar 18: The surge in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra in the past few days is not the "ripple in the first wave" but a "mighty scary second wave", a top health official said on Wednesday. Speaking during a discussion on news channel NDTV 24x7, civic-run KEM Hospital''s Dean Hemant Deshmukh said the case numbers were now getting scary. "Of late, we realise that this (surge) is not a ripple in the first wave, but a mighty scary second wave itself, which is starting," Deshmukh told the television channel. COVID-19 likely to become seasonal: UN Deshmukh said the mortality rate was less this time, and it may be because the virulence is low. "A virus is likely to mutate all the time and so this mutation is definitely causing a different kind of coronavirus and a different kind of COVID-19 presentation altogether in March, 2021," he said. However, Om Shrivastav, part of the state government appointed task force on the outbreak, said it was difficult to say whether the recent surge was the onset of the pandemic''s second wave, and coming to a conclusion would require scientific calculations based on several outbreak factors. He told PTI that people must continue to strictly adhere to COVID-19 norms. Anjelina Jolie makes shocking accusations against Brad Pitt| Oneindia News Incidentally, the Centre, in a letter to state chief secretary Sitaram Kunte had said that "Maharashtra is in the beginning of a second wave of COVlD-19 pandemic" and had asked it to plan for a "worst-case scenario" with sufficient lead time. Paralysed from the neck down after suffering a car crash at 19, Rafael Botella, now 35 and in pain, is relieved that the Spanish parliament is set on Thursday to approve a law to allow euthanasia and assisted suicide. Botella thought of ending his life when agonizing pain confined him to his bed six years ago. Though he has since changed his mind, he wants the option to do so legally. Despite opposition from the political right and religious groups, once signed into law, Spain will become the European Union's fourth country to legalise the practice after Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. A similar plan in neighbouring Portugal suffered a setback this week. "If for some reason someone is tired of living, no one has the power to tell him 'no, you will live because my voters or my ideology tell the contrary'," Botella told Reuters in his family home in Simat de la Valldigna, in the eastern Valencia region. Before getting out of bed became too painful, he led an active lifestyle, skydiving, paragliding and going to hardcore techno music festivals abroad in his wheelchair. "I enjoyed life. (The accident) took away my movement but gave me time to do things I could never have done otherwise", such as visiting a motorcycle racing team before a MotoGP race, he said. When the pain became unbearable, he sought help from the Spanish Association for the Right to Die with Dignity, which convinced him to try different medical solutions and keep himself busy with projects. 'Bullet in the Chamber' In the care of his 75-year-old mother, he tries to keep the pain in check by doing brain exercises, is writing a book on his experience and making a short film about the problems faced by a paralysed person against the backdrop of techno festivals. Using his nose, he has learned to mix music on his computer and edit videos, and hosts live DJ sessions via Facebook. Nevertheless, he wants to have all options available: "I want a bullet in the chamber so that if I ever need it, I can use it," he said, in a figurative reference to medically-assisted suicide. "If I don't need it, all the better. We all need that bullet, we can all fall into a very dour situation." Almost 90% of Spaniards are in favour of decriminalising the practice, according to a 2019 opinion poll. But for now, helping someone end their life carries a jail term of up to 10 years. Once the new bill enters into force euthanasia and assisted suicide for people with serious and incurable or debilitating diseases that cause unbearable suffering, will be legal. Euthanasia has long grabbed public attention in Spain, which has the world's fourth-highest life expectancy, and more notably so since paralysed man Ramon Sampedro recorded his assisted suicide in 1998 after being denied that right by courts. His story was taken to the screen in 2004 Oscar-winning film "The Sea Inside". In 2019, Spaniard Angel Hernandez was briefly arrested after helping his terminally ill wife end her life, sparking public outcry. He is awaiting trial, facing a potential six-month prison sentence. "People say it's polemic, but I'd rather consider it an act of love," Botella said of Hernandez's case. Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Asian refineries are grappling with whats expected to be a brief period of weak profits as a demand-sapping Covid-19 comeback across the region coincides with a likely surge in oil-product exports from Iran.The virus resurgence in India and other nations apart from China is reducing consumption of products such as gasoline and jet fuel, squeezing the profit margins of refiners. The market is also bracing for the possibility of a boost to Iranian fuel oil supplies into Asia should a nuclear deal be revived.Thats led to complex refining margins in Singapore, a proxy for Asia, falling from $1.65 a barrel at the end of April to as low as 3 cents in mid-May. While its a setback for processors recovering from the pandemic, margins have rebounded slightly and are expected to resume an upward trajectory as soon as the third quarter with accelerating vaccination rates aiding demand.The average profit from converting crude into gasoline in Asia -- the so-called crack spread -- fell in May from April, snapping a three-month gain. Across the region, restrictions in place from Malaysia, Vietnam to Japan have sapped demand for transportation fuel. Oil consultant FGE sees Indias gasoline consumption as the biggest stumbling block to Asias demand recovery, with an estimated 20% fall in April through June versus the previous quarter.See also: Japans April Fuel Stocks Rise Despite Drop in ProductionExport is not a very attractive option, said N. Vijayagopal, the finance director at Bharat Petroleum Corp., Indias second biggest fuel retailer. Refiners across the country are facing a double whammy caused by weaker regional markets and lower domestic consumption thats prompting them to set aside earlier plans to maintain run rates and reduce operations instead.Complex refining margins in Singapore were at 60 cents a barrel on Monday and averaged about 71 cents in May. That compares with $2.41 in the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The profit from converting crude to gasoline in Asia was at $8.85 on Tuesday after averaging about $8.48 in May.Iran FlowsThe restart of some crude processing capacity after seasonal maintenance will boost fuel supplies and offset some of the expected increase in demand, limiting the gains in refining margins, said Victor Shum, vice president of energy consulting for IHS Markit.Most are expecting a flood of crude should the nuclear accord be renewed with Iran, but its the prospect of rising fuel oil flows -- used to power ships and for electricity generation in some countries -- thats raised concerns for Asian refiners, especially as China boosts output of heavy fuel.Margins for very low-sulfur fuel oil dropped below $10 a barrel in mid-May for the first time since December, easing from a high of almost $16 at the end of February. Cracks in May were also at the lowest average in five months. Margins for high-sulfur fuel oil fell as low -$8.80 in May, from -$3.71 in April.Diesel demand, most notably from China, is proving to be the bright spot and has provided a buffer for overall margins. Consumption in Asia during the first three months of the year was at 9.4 million barrels a day, or about 98% of 2019 levels, and is expected to edge higher during the second quarter, according to Yuwei Pei, a consultant at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.Singapores stockpiles of middle distillates -- a category that includes diesel -- fell through the week ended May 26 to the lowest since April 2020. Covid-19 restrictions and the return of refineries after seasonal maintenance may lead to rising Asian inventories, but regional diesel cracks could increase $3 to $4 a barrel to as much as $10 by December, according to Wood Mackenzie.As the Covid-19 situation in Asia stabilizes and restrictions are eased, improvement in cracks of transportation fuels should support both simple and complex refining margins through the third quarter, said Grayson Lim, a senior oil market analyst at FGE(Updates margins and adds analyst comment in seventh paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P. Imo elders from Owerri zone yesterday, clashed over the ongoing recovery of alleged stolen properties of Imo people from former governor Rochas Okorocha. While the elders led by Chief Marcus Onwanibe called on Governor Hope Uzodimma not to resort to self-help in the recovery of the said properties as the matter was still in court, leaders of thought from Owerri zone led by Chief Henry Njoku and Prince Alex Mbata called on Uzodimma to recover their ancestral lands hijacked from them. Speaking, Onwanibe, said: "Our attention has been drawn to a press statement purported to have emanated from a meeting of a group that tagged itself, Owerri zone leaders of thought few days ago. "After we had extensively and objectively x-rayed the stand of those who met in the name of 'Owerri zone leaders of thought and the current situation in the state', we resolved as follows: "That, His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodimma and his government should pursue peace and ensure peace and avoid any action that is capable of disturbing or distorting the peace of the state. "That the governor should shun any advice to resort to self-help or unconventional methods in resolving the issues with the former governor of the state, His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. "That, we are aware that matters concerning Senator Okorocha and the reports of the panels vis-a-vis the whitepaper are all pending in various courts of our land. It is therefore very important and advisable to allow the courts to decide on the issues before them. That is the most civilized thing to do. Any other approach is self-help and should not be encouraged. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "That those who think they have any evidence against Okorocha should either apply to the courts to be joined or appear as witnesses to the matters in question instead of advocating and calling for actions that could throw the state into an unimaginable crisis." Earlier, stakeholders from Owerri zone had met and issued a communique to newsmen as signed by Chief Henry Njoku, Prince Alex Mbata, Imo lawmakers and traditional rulers. The communique read: "We hereby wholeheartedly, affirm and endorse the resolutions of Imo stakeholders held on Saturday 27February , 2021. We are happy with the development so far recorded by the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma who has in a short time restored the pride of our people by the the recovery of the state and indigenous lands illegally hijacked and appropriated by yesterday's men of power who ruled us wickedly. "We support every policy of Governor Hope Uzodimma, particularly full implementation of the white paper on lands to recover our common patrimony, more so when the land in our state capital is acquired by the state government. "We urge all Owerri people to support and continue in solidarity with Governor Hope Uzodimma's administration," they said. Vanguard News Nigeria The endangered Cycas micronesica as found in the savannas of Southern Guam. Credit: University of Guam Geopolitical boundaries can have a profound effect on the protection of threatened species. A case in point is the native cycads of the United States. A recent review paper written by researchers at the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center at the University of Guam highlights extinction risks of cycad species that occur in U.S. controlled lands and the profound effect geopolitical boundaries has had on the protection of these threatened species. The paper appears in the December 2020 issue of the MDPI journal Diversity. Cycads are the most threatened plant order worldwide. This is due to a combination of factors including habitat loss, poaching predation by invasive species, and lack of appropriate conservation measures. As a native habitat for this most endangered group of plants in the world, the United States has a responsibility to protect members of this group from extinction. Species arise over time via several mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is called allopatric speciation, which is separation and isolation through geological time. The eventual result is a distinct species that is different from the original population. This is especially true for islands where plants and animals are isolated and evolve without defenses from plants and animals that do not occur naturally in their environment. Since the dawn of the Anthropocene, humans have made attempts to classify life based on a hierarchy. Additionally, countries have been established and each country has unique laws pertaining to the conservation of nature. The United States is one such country with a rich history of geopolitical expansion. Over time, U.S. geopolitical changes have altered the number of cycad species that come under U.S. political purview. There are presently five cycad species that come under U.S. jurisdiction: Zamia integrifolia in the Southern United States; Zamia erosa, Zamia pumila, and Zamia potoricensis in Puerto Rico; and Cycas micronesica in Micronesia. The only cycad species endemic to Micronesia, Cycas micronesica, is listed as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Once the most abundant tree in Guam forests, the Cycas micronesica has drastically declined in number since the accidental introduction of several invasive insects to Guam. Additionally, extinction of this cycad would constitute the loss of the only native gymnosperm in the region. Due to the shifting geopolitical designations, this cycad is found within four different political entities. The authors highlight that species were distinct long before geopolitical boundaries were erected. For example, saying that these are "U.S. cycads" is purely a human distinction. Furthermore, the classification of life into a hierarchy is an anthropogenic attempt to understand biology. "As taxonomy changes in light of new morphological and genetic evidence, the need becomes clear to use the best available science to inform conservation efforts. Coordinating conservation measures across multiple governments and countries often presents unique challenges but is necessary to mitigate extinction risks," said Benjamin Deloso, a cycad specialist at UOG. Explore further Anti-transpirant products unnecessary in cycad propagation More information: Benjamin E. Deloso et al, Does Phytogeography Change with Shifts in Geopolitics? The Curious Case of Cycads in the United States, Diversity (2020). Benjamin E. Deloso et al, Does Phytogeography Change with Shifts in Geopolitics? The Curious Case of Cycads in the United States,(2020). DOI: 10.3390/d12120445 An activist holds a copy of the U.S. Constitution during a news conference on womens rights on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 30, 2019. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Resolution Axing Deadline to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment Brazenly Unconstitutional: Rep. McClintock The House on March 17 adopted a resolution that would remove a deadline for states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a move that Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) called brazenly unconstitutional. The resolution to repeal the ERAs ratification deadline passed 222204, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for the measure. The amendment would abridge the U.S. Constitution by adding language that bans discrimination on the basis of sex. But besides substantive debate around the merits of the amendment, there is the question of a deadline for its ratificationone that both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and a federal court have stated has long since passed. McClintock on March 17 cited the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the biggest advocates of the amendment, as saying that it was time to start the process from the beginning and renew the discussion on its merits. This measure is brazenly unconstitutional, McClintock said. If the majority were serious, they would reintroduce the ERA and debate it openly and constitutionally as Ginsburg suggests. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, argued that Congress has the authority to extend or remove any deadlines it chose to set previously. We are on the brink of making history and no deadline should stand in the way, Nadler said. Supporters of the ERA, including President Joe Biden, see it as an important provision to protect womens rights under the Constitution. In a March 17 statement, Biden noted that he supported the ERA when he was a young senator. Nearly 50 years later, it is long past time that we enshrine the principle of gender equality in our Constitution, he said. U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Opponents have raised various arguments against the measure, including that it is superfluous, as the 14th Amendment already affords equal rights to all citizens, which implicitly includes women. Some have argued that the amendment could potentially even weaken protections for women by negating the enactment of laws that benefit only women. Others have argued that, since the amendment doesnt specify women, its language could be used to upset traditional gender norms, and it could pave the way for more permissive laws on abortion. Speaking on the House floor ahead of the vote, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) called the measure a path that has already proven to be a threat to womens privacy, safety, and equality. Dont take it from me. Talk to the nine women in California who were sexually harassed in a womens shelter by a biological male identifying as a woman, Hartzler said. The Equal Rights Amendment would not only codify inequality for women but also destroy the rights of the unborn. ERA advocates have been unequivocal about their support for abortion and using the ERA to overturn pro-life laws. The text of the ERA reads: Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. The fight over the ERA began almost a century ago. The amendment was first proposed in Congress in 1923 and was passed in 1972, where it then went to the states for ratification, according to the Alice Paul Institute. Congress gave the states a seven-year deadline, which was then extended until 1982, but only 35 states had ratified the amendment, falling short of the necessary 38 state ratifications, or three-quarters of the 50 states, as required by the Constitution. In January 2020, the DOJ issued a legal opinion arguing that the deadline to ratify the ERA had already expired despite recent efforts to revive the proposed amendment. Just weeks ago, a federal district judge dealt a further blow to advocates of the ERA, ruling that the deadline to ratify it expired long ago and three states recent ratifications of the amendment arrived too late to count. In 2020, Virginia, Illinois, and Nevada sued the archivist of the United States to compel the publication and certification of the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. The three states recently ratified the ERA, with Virginia claiming to be the 38th state to ratifyand the final one required to meet the threshold for adding it to the Constitution. One of the ERAs opponents, Washington-based pro-life organization National Right to Life, insists that the deadline to pass the amendment expired decades ago and that congressional resolutions that seek to revive it are unconstitutional. Douglas Johnson, National Right to Lifes senior policy adviser, told CNN that the idea that the act has been ratified or is close to ratification is political theater. The Constitution does not empower Congress to employ time travel to resuscitate a 42-year-dead amendment, Johnson told the outlet, adding that the congressional resolution is part of a political-pressure campaign to intimidate the federal courts into permitting them to air-drop the long-expired ERA into the Constitution. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the sponsor of the resolution to repeal the ratification deadline, said, We demand that we be put into the Constitution. Janita Kan and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Canada denied access to trials of jailed Canadians in China View Photo TORONTO (AP) Canada said Thursday that its consular officials have not received permission to attend the trials of two Canadians who were arrested in China two years ago in a move widely viewed as a pressure tactic over Canadas detention of an executive at Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, were arrested in December 2018, days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver, British Columbia. The U.S. wants her extradited to face fraud charges related to her companys dealings with Iran. Kovrig and Spavor face spying accusations, and the Canadian Embassy in Beijing has been notified that court hearings for the two are scheduled to take place Friday and Monday. The official notification received from Chinese authorities indicated that these trials are closed to both the public and the media. Despite several official requests to Chinese authorities, Canadian officials have not yet received permission to attend the trials, Global Affairs spokesperson Christelle Chartrand said. We remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings. China has demanded Mengs immediate and unconditional release, saying the U.S. engineered her detention as part of a drive to contain Chinas growing rise. Canadian authorities say Kovrig and Spavor were arbitrarily arrested to put pressure on Ottawa and say they should be released without charge. Meng, the daughter of the founder of Huawei, remains free on bail and living in a mansion in Canada while her case winds its way through the courts. Little information has been released about the charges against Kovrig and Spavor, or their conditions in detention, although the ruling Communist Party newspaper Global Times this week said the pair were allegedly part of a conspiracy to steal Chinese state secrets. Mengs arrest enraged Beijing, which has also retaliated by restricting various Canadian exports, including canola oil seed, and handed death sentences to another four Canadians convicted of drug smuggling. The legal tussle is expected to be raised at a meeting later Thursday in Alaska between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomats. Blinken has pledged absolute solidarity with Canada in calling for Kovrig and Spavor to be freed. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, called the upcoming trials a very worrisome development. The sentence will be dictated by the Communist Party of China. It becomes a lot more complicated to extract them from China, Saint-Jacques said. In Vancouver on Thursday, Mengs lawyers told an extradition hearing Canadian officials abused their power when they conspired with the U.S. to arrest her. Defense lawyer Tony Paisana said Canadian Border Services Agency officers took Mengs phones, obtained their passwords, then handed to them to Canadian police so the data could be shared with the FBI. Paisana said Meng was never told during questioning that she faced an arrest warrant in the U.S. Had she known, she would have immediately asked for a lawyer. British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes questioned why border officers didnt question Meng more rigorously if their exam was actually a covert criminal investigation, as her lawyers said. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia contributed to this report. By ROB GILLIES Associated Press U.S. President Joe Biden's remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin can be described as "very bad," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "I would refrain from giving a wordy comment on that. I will say one thing: these are very bad remarks on the part of the U.S. president," Peskov said, when asked about the Kremlin's reaction to Biden's remark. The remarks made by Biden in an interview with ABC have become a milestone in relations between the two countries, according to Peskov. "Of course, nothing like that has ever happened before," TASS cited him as saying. When asked whether Moscow will take any steps in response, the Kremlin spokesman noted that "there is nothing to be done." Responding to the question how such statements could affect bilateral relations, Peskov noted that "it is perfectly clear how." However, he refrained from commenting on the issue in more detail. Desineni Venkateshwar Rao is a native of Nagar Kurnool and he took Sai Durga lodge on a rent of Rs 75,000 per mnoth. Representational image Hyderabad: The anti-human-trafficking unit of Rachakonda police busted a sex racket, arrested four of its organisers and rescued four women from their clutches, including a Bangladesh national. The arrested were Desineni Venkateshwar Rao (Sai Durga lodge owner), Sakijan Khatun from West Bengal, and couple Mandla Avinash his wife Guguloth Sujatha. Another accused, Ravi, was absconding. The prostitution racket was based out of Sai Durga Lodge, opposite to Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar. Police conducted a raid on the lodge and rescued the women, police said. Desineni Venkateshwar Rao is a native of Nagar Kurnool. He took the Sai Durga Lodge on a rent of Rs.75,000 a month and ran illegal activities by giving rooms to couples. The gang was collecting Rs. 5,000 for a day from customers and giving an amount of Rs 2000- 3000 to the women. Cardi B. set the record straight about why she does not allow her daughter to listen to her music. On Sunday night, the 28-year-old rapper made headlines when she and Megan Thee Stallion performed their song "WAP" at the Grammy Awards. Transitioning from her hit "Up," Cardi began the performance dancing on a pole before she was joined by Megan and the pair crawled on a bed and danced with their legs intertwined. Social media was abuzz following the performance, drawing praise from fans, including the Recording Academy. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The backlash was just as swift with many criticizing the Grammys for allowing the performance to air. Complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) were even made. However, a spokesperson told TheWrap that the number of complaints were average for the type of event. Even more criticism was directed at Cardi herself, particularly from Candace Owens. During a Monday night appearance on Tucker Carlson's show, the conservative commentator called the "WAP" production "an attack on American values, American traditions" and accused the Cardi and Megan of "actively trying to make children aspire to things that are grotesque." Cardi quote tweeted the clip and wrote, "Yaaaayyyyyyy WE MADE FOX NEWS GUYS !!! Wap wap wap." She went on to add, "Matter fact I'm just going to thank Candy (Owens) She put my performance on Fox News giving it more views that boosted the views on YouTube and is counting towards my streams and sales," the rapper tweeted. "STREAM UP AND WAP .REMEMBER GROWN PARENTS ONLY YOU CAN MONITOR WHAT YOUR KIDS WATCH NO1 ELSE." Cardi further defended herself when a user took to a post on Instagram about the feud to question why she does not allow her 2-year-old daughter, Kulture, to listen to her music. "But how is this she empowering women with her music but doesn't let her daughter listen? Don't you wanna empower your daughter also??" the commenter wrote, referencing a video Cardi previously shared of herself turning off "WAP" when it was playing in front of her toddler. After being questioned why, she responded, "I dont make music for kids I make music for adults. Parents are responsible on what their children listen too or see...Im a very sexual person but not around my child just like every other parent should be." Story continues The rapper replied to the Instagram comment: "My daughter doesn't need to listen to music to be empowered neither should your children. The only way to empower your kids is by talking to them, boost their confidence and making sure they get a good education. I never ever said that WAP was made to empower women, I'm just a freaky person and this is not the first sex song ever made. Stop expecting celebs to raise your kids." Screenshot. (Photo: @balleralert/Instagram) A large majority of commenters agreed with Cardi, citing that she makes music for adults. "If you allow your kids to listen to WAP it's your fault not Cardi's. Be your own child's role model," one person said. "Her music is directed toward women not children," a fan continued. "She said what she said!!! Celebrities aren't meant to raise our children. That's what we are here for! To set examples first and foremost. My kids have never heard the song and that's how I choose to raise them," someone added. Cardi has been open about her parenting style sharing sweet moments between her and her daughter on social media. After recently releasing a limited edition doll in her likeness, she shared the best lesson she has learned about being a mom in an interview with Today. "The biggest lesson I learned is don't take advice from no other mothers, especially the ones on social media, the robot moms, the ones that tell you your kid's supposed to be off Pampers at 1 years old and then on binkies on 1 years old," she said. "Every kid is different, every kid develop different, and not everybody else's child is like my child." She also admitted that Kulture, whom she shares with husband and fellow rapper Offset, is already taking after her mom. "My child is just like me, mixed with her daddy," she said. "She's got a very strong personality, she wants what she want. She knows she's famous." Read more from Yahoo Life: Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. The initiative is part of the continuous commitment of the brand on finding sustainable technologies to protect nature New technology three years in the making repurposes surplus barley straw into packaging material in a circular process Eliminates need to source virgin raw material, uses 90% less water*, less energy, and behaves just like regular paper when recycled Corona today launches a new, circular form of packaging for six-packs as part of its long-standing dedication to protecting the environment harnessing surplus barley straw to create a truly sustainable paper packaging solution. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005586/en/ Corona's new barley straw packaging (Photo: Business Wire) Corona, which has a deep connection with the natural world, is the first global brand to leverage technology and processes three years in development by AB InBev's Global Innovation and Technology Center (GITEC). This ground-breaking technology reimagines how to use barley, giving the essential beer ingredient new life as a sustainable packaging solution. Barley seed will continue to make the beer that consumers know and love. But barley straw, a leftover from farmers' harvests, will now be used through a unique pulping process built to handle its relative fragility. Combined with 100% recycled wood fibers, this process creates a paper board to produce new packaging that is as strong and durable as a regular six-pack, but better for the planet able to carry six cold beer bottles from the store fridge to the beach, but using far fewer resources along the way. Turning barley straw into paper fiber uses 90% less water in its production than the traditional virgin wood process, along with less energy and fewer harsh chemicals. Using leftover barley straw is also far more productive than the equivalent area of woodland, and Corona sees this as one path forward to eliminate the need for virgin trees and raw material from their supply chain in the future. Upon completion of the successful pilot, AB InBev, Corona's parent company and the leading brewer in the world, will review rolling out the technology to other brands thereby increasing the potential positive environmental impact and the ability to influence the whole beverage industry. Felipe Ambra, Global Vice President of Marketing, Corona, said: "Corona is a brand born at the beach. We're deeply connected with nature and appreciate all that it has to offer, so we want to continue to do our part to protect it. Our deep reverence for nature is what inspires our vision to become a sustainability leader in the CPG industry, because we want everyone to be able to keep enjoying paradise. Starting with our own packaging, we assessed where we could make changes within our production and supply chains to make a real difference. We are proud to announce this first step in reinventing the future of packaging for our industry." Keenan Thompson, Director of Packaging Innovation at AB InBev, said: "We're excited to finally launch this new packaging innovation we've been developing over the past three years. At AB InBev we are continually pushing boundaries by developing scalable solutions. Today is a proud moment for us, not only are we providing an opportunity for farmers but we're also delivering a more mindful solution to the consumer." The new packaging will launch today with an initial 10,000 six-packs rolling out as a pilot in Colombia in March, followed by Argentina later in 2021 as Corona looks to scale the new solution globally. Notes to Editor: when compared to traditional virgin wood pulping processes Equivalent area of woodland is calculated with data from Washington State. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005586/en/ Contacts: For further information, please contact Emma Nathan emma.nathan@3monkeyszeno.com +44 20 7009 3100 One further death from coronavirus has been reported in Northern Ireland along with 169 new postive cases. (Liam McBurney/PA) One further death and 169 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours, the Department of Health has said. This brings the total death toll since the start of the pandemic in Northern Ireland to 2,101. Read More A total of 1,152 postive cases have been confirmed in the last week compared to 1,275 in the previous seven day period. A total of 144 Covid patients are currently in Northern Ireland hospitals, including 16 in intensive care and 14 requiring ventilation with hospitals operating at a 99% capacity. On Wednesday, no deaths were reported while another 161 individuals had tested positive for Covid-19. Meanwhile, the Department of Health have promised that all vaccine appointments will be honoured following concerns about a supply shortage to the UK. A statement said the advice remains that those who are eligible should book their vaccine without delay. This can be done by booking in at one of the regional vaccination centres or waiting for your GP to contact you to arrange an appointment. From the end of this month, community pharmacists will also start providing jabs. The head of Northern Ireland's vaccination programme, Patricia Donnelly, said: This month, we were due to receive two large consignments of the AstraZeneca vaccine. "The quantities involved would have been significantly over and above what we had originally expected. The first of these large consignments arrived last week and is playing its part in the current roll-out." She said it had now been confirmed that the second large consignment would be delayed next month. "Such changes to the supply schedule are to be expected and we have always been clear that the vaccination programme was subject to available supplies. The programme is actually currently ahead of schedule and we remain firmly on course to offer vaccines to the entire adult population by the summer." Ms Donnelly promised that existing appointments for first and second doses would be honoured and that more slots remained available. She added: "The delay with this particular consignment does have some implications for what would have been a further acceleration of the programme in April. We are planning mitigations to limit this impact, including further use of our Pfizer vaccine stocks. Everyone is asked to be patient we will get to you. Vaccination centres are now open to those aged 50 and over, anyone who has received a shielding letter because they are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) and anyone who is a main carer of an elderly or disabled person. GPS will be providing vaccines to the over 50s, those who are CEV and patients aged 18 and over with underlying medical conditions. The latter Clinically Vulnerable (CV) group is largely expected to mirror those who receive the winter flu vaccine each year because of their medical conditions. CEV and CV individuals aged 16 and 17 cannot yet receive the vaccine being used in GP practices, but will receive a letter from their GP and are able to book a slot at a vaccination centre. The public are advised there is no need to contact their GP regarding vaccination, as they will be in touch as they work their way through the lists. Those wanting to book a vaccination centre appointment have been asked to so online People wanting to book a vaccination centre appointment are asked to do so online if at all possible, if not appointments can be booked by calling 0300 200 7813. (Natural News) A judge in Michigan ruled that Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson violated the law when she issued new rules regarding absentee balloting. Benson issued an order right before the 2020 election that allowed Michigans clerks to presume that signatures on absentee ballots are valid if they have redeeming qualities. If the signature in the states record bore slight similarities with the signatures on absentee ballots, the counter should decide that the voters signature is, in fact, valid. State Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray said this order was invalid. Benson did not go through the proper rule-making process that would involve the State Legislature when she issued the guidance. How Benson issued the order was in direct violation of the states Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The act requires agencies like Bensons Office of the Secretary of State to not just involve the state legislature but to go through months of public notices, drafts, impact analyses, public comment and public hearings. Once the final version of the rules have been completed, they are submitted to the Michigan Legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. The committee has 15 session days to take action on the rules before they are finalized. Because Benson did not go through this process, clerks no longer need to comply with her rule regarding absentee ballots in future elections. (Related: MI judge orders Democrat Sec of State to release all communications with Dominion, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google.) The presumption is found nowhere in state law, wrote Murray in his ruling. The mandatory presumption goes beyond the realm of mere advice and direction, and instead is a substantive directive that adds to the pertinent signature-matching standards. The Michigan Republican Party and the county clerk for Allegan County, Robert Genetski, jointly filed their complaint regarding Bensons directive prior to the election. The two parties claimed that Bensons very loose signature standards were a gateway for fraud and allowed invalid ballots to be counted. It should be noted that Murray did not rule on whether or not Bensons directive violated state law, only that it violated the process that all new orders must follow when an agency wishes to create new rules. Nowhere in the states election law has the Legislature indicated that signatures are to be presumed valid, nor did the Legislature require that signatures are to be accepted so long as there are any redeeming qualities in the application or return envelope signature as compared with the signature on file, wrote Murray in his ruling. Policy determinations like the one at issue which places a thumb on the scale in favor of a signatures validity should be made pursuant to properly promulgated rules under the APA or by the Legislature. Republicans praise decision, but sad that it came too late to make a difference Michigan Republicans have praised the courts decision, but noted that the decision came too late to make a difference in the election. It was clear from the outset that the Secretary of State had violated election law by unilaterally directing local clerks to ignore their statutory obligation to compare absentee ballot signatures, said Ted Goodman, director of communications for the state GOP. Im glad the court sees Secretary of State Bensons attempts at lawmaking for what they are clear violations of her authority, said Republican State Rep. Matt Hall in a statement. If she wants to make changes like these, she needs to work with the Legislature or properly promulgate them through the laws we have on the books. Unfortunately for the state Republicans, Murray also rejected a request for additional audits to look at what effect Bensons directive had on the election. Murray argued that this is because the state constitution only speaks to election results, not the process by which the election is conducted. The manner by which an audit is conducted is also left to the purview of the secretary of state. There is no support in the statue for plaintiffs to demand that an audit cover the subject of their choosing or to dictate the manner in which an audit is conducted, wrote Murray. Because of Bensons directive, less than one percent of the more than 3.3 million absentee ballots cast in Michigan were rejected by local election clerks, or around 15,300 ballots. For comparison, during the August 2020 primary elections, nearly 11,000 mail-in ballots were rejected. Follow VoteFraud.news for more news and information related to elections and election frauds. Sources include: Breitbart.com DetroitNews.com MLive.com Jessica Thompson looks at the huge contribution Anne Lee has made to county Longford over four decades If theres one person at Longford County Council who will never be forgotten, it is surely Administrative Officer Anne Lee. Exactly one year on from the very last meeting in the council chamber before Covid-19, the Offaly native attended her last ever meeting via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday afternoon, March 10. And, while that meeting was completely different to the one a year earlier, it still ran smoothly and successfully, thanks largely to the support each council member received from Anne herself when the pandemic forced them to engage online instead of in person. Hugs and handshakes were absent as attendees were spread across the county, but the meeting was no less emotional with local group leaders passing on their congratulations and best wishes to their well-loved and highly respected colleague on behalf of their respective parties. As Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Paul Ross, pointed out wed be here all night if all 18 members said their bit - not that it would have been an inconvenience in any way. In fact, Anne has been such a strong force within the council for over three decades that no member of the meeting would begrudge her the time it would take to truly pay tribute to the work she has carried out. Fortunately, she will have the opportunity to read the best wishes of each of the council members who will write letters of thanks and congratulations to Anne Lee before she finishes up at the end of the month. Anne Lee hails from Banagher, Co Offaly and, while she is very proud of her roots, Cllr Colm Murray rightly pointed out that the people of Longford were entitled to lay claim to her now after her many years contributing to the county. She came from a farming background and her parents, Jack and Mary Kirwan instilled a serious work ethic in Anne and her siblings, Pauline, Jim, Eithne, Marian, John and Joe. When Anne first moved to Longford, she initially worked with the Midland Health Board in the County Clinic. Anne herself admits that she only expected to serve a six-month stint in the role but life, as it has a funny way of doing, got in the way and she met a Longford Slashers man, Johnny Lee. They pair got married in 1984 and made a home for themselves in Mullaghavourneen. To say that John has been my rock for the past 37 years is a complete understatement, said an emotional Anne. We were blessed with three fantastic daughters, Catherine, Deirdre and Aine, who have turned into the most wonderful people. John and I are so proud of the three of them, especially for their positivity, resilience, kindness and sense of humour during these difficult times of the Covid pandemic. After working in the county clinic, Anne moved with the Midland Health Board to work in St Lomans Hospital in Mullingar. From there, she returned to Longford where she started working with Longford County Council in 1986. I started in the Church Street Offices. I moved to the Dublin Street offices in 1987 to work for Michael Killeen, the then County Manager, she recalled. I worked in that office for 18 years and all I can say is that I learned from the best. Following my time in the county managers office, I moved downstairs to the newly established cash office and customer service desk at that time. In 2001, I was appointed to the role of Meetings Administrator. I have often said for my sins, I was appointed meetings administrator but that was always in jest. I have so enjoyed the role and my interaction with the members of the council. Michael Killeen was always known to say that the person who puts their name on a ballot paper is a very brave person and, from working so closely with the members, I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. In 2001, Anne also took on the role of communications officer which, in those days, was not the role it is now and she wished recently appointed Denise Canavan every success in her new role as dedicated Communications Officer with the council. As part of her role as meetings administrator, Anne also organised civic receptions on behalf of the members of the council. The first civic reception I organised was in 1992 when the late Albert Reynolds was elected Taoiesach and my last was in January 2020 for the Longford Community Games, which was hosted by former councillor and now Senator Micheal Carrigy, Anne recalled. During those almost 30 years, the council acknowledged a myriad of individuals and groups. It was always so evident how delighted and honoured those groups and individuals were to be recognised by their own county council. It was made clear by all the councillors who spoke about Anne at the meeting, that the well-loved meetings administrator was a pillar in the organisation and one who will be sadly missed. Her organisation skills, her extreme professionalism and her atention to detail were second to none and she has left big shoes to fill - and a standard which Anne Marie McKeon will no doubt meet as she takes on the important role. I know it is always dangerous to single out any one person on an occasion like this but I have to pay tribute to Nora OFarrell who has been my line manager numerous times over the years and has also been a very, very dear and trusted friend since 1987, said Anne. We have soldiered through a lot together, Nora and I, both work-related and personal. Thank you Nora. In her time with Longford County Council, Anne worked with seven sets of councillors and a total of 32 cathaoirligh and was quick to acknowledge the people she had the pleasure of working with over the years who have passsed away. I would like to acknowledge those members of the council who are no longer members for whatever reason or who have passed away and also the staff of the council who have retired or resigned since I started working with Longford County Council. Today I remember especially those colleagues who have passed away while in service, particularly for me my dear, dear friend Nellie Harkin and John Martin and Michael Cooney. Also, Cllr Paddy Belton, who passed away while serving as a councillor, she said. Wishing Anne Marie McKeon every success in her new role as Meetings Administrator, Anne said that she felt very fortunate to have worked with Longford County Council for so long and to be retiring after 40 years in such good health. I am heading into a new phase in my life and I look forward to having time, she said. Time for my own family, for John, Catherine, Deirdre and Aine and, of course, my Offaly family - my brothers and sisters, Pauline, Jim, Eithne, Marian, John and Joe and their families and my dear sister-in-law Brid and her family and, of course, time to make use of all the beautiful new walks developed by Longford County Council over the past number of years. Anne concluded by paying tribute to all of her council colleagues, including elected members and executive members with whom she has felt lucky to work. To Paddy Mahon, John McKeon, John Brannigan and especially Barbara Heslin, thank you for your guidance and support since you took over as the management team for Longford County Council, she said. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you. I wish you, the councillors, the management team and the staff, non-stop success as you continue to promote this county that adopted me in 1980 and that I am very proud to be a citizen of. Go raibh mile, mile maith agaibh go leir, she concluded. The last few months have seen Kazia pass a critical watershed in its development - the transition of paxalisib into a pivotal study for registration, says James Garner. Kazia will be presenting new interim data from the ongoing phase-II study of paxalisib in glioblastoma in April. s ( ) ( ) (FRA:NV9) chief executive officer and MD James Garner has highlighted the companys progress over the course of the year to date in its March newsletter, stating that the focus remains on preparing a new drug application (ND) to the US FDA. While he said the oncology-focused biotechnology company had witnessed a critical watershed in its development with the transition of paxalisib into a pivotal study for registration, Kazia was continuing to collect additional data, refining manufacturing and increasing interactions with FDA. Pathway to approval Paxalisib, Kazias lead program (formerly GDC-0084) was now on the pathway to approval, Garner said, and with it, on to a possible share of a commercial market estimated at US$1.5 billion per annum. In December 2020, the company executed a Letter of Intent with the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) to launch a clinical trial of multiple therapies, including Kazias drug, paxalisib in diffuse midline gliomas including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). The new clinical trial, PNOC022, will employ an adaptive trial design to test several therapies in different combinations and in different subsets of patients. PNOC022 will initially open in the US in the first half of 2021, with expansion to other countries taking place in 2021, with talks ongoing on the potential inclusion of Australian sites. Presenting at American Association for Cancer Research Kazia will present new interim data from the ongoing phase-II study of paxalisib in glioblastoma to the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which will be held virtually from April 10-15 and May 17-21. The focus of the poster presentation will be on pharmacokinetic (PK) data from the study. An important objective has been to understand the right dose for future use, and to establish the difference between taking paxalisib on an empty stomach compared to taking it after food. The AACR poster is expected to discuss these results. In addition, Professor Jim Coward has been invited to give a prestigious oral plenary presentation on the final data from the phase I study of Cantrixil in ovarian cancer. Cantrixil was licensed to Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB of Sweden in March 2021. Looking ahead Garner said he was hopeful the company would provide the first drug for newly diagnosed glioblastoma in more than two decades and, with it, hope to patients around the world. He said: We will have more to say on this soon, but our various regulatory approvals last year show that Kazia can manage the technical elements of an NDA. And our recent partnership with Oasmia for Cantrixil demonstrates the companys capabilities in licensing and business development. The year ahead will not look like last year, but it will be no less important for paxalisib, and for Kazia. Kazia has a market cap of approximately A$162 million and shares today have been as much as A$1.39. In the last 12 months, shares have traded from A$0.37 to A$1.78, a new high of more than five years. In person or by mail Regarding Stop the steal of Texans voting rights, (A16, March 14): Drive-thru voting, extending voting hours to 8 p.m., receiving mail-in ballots, additional voting locations and mobile voting sites all seem to be very allowable means of getting a vote cast. What I want to see is that if you have these types of expanded avenues you must do it in person and show proof of identification. My mother-in-law, who is 93, votes in every voting cycle, and she wants to always make sure that she does this in person so that she and everyone knows that this vote is her vote. She has received multiple ballots on several occasions and worries that someone else may cast her ballots. Having multiple voting methods is great, but voting in person is critical. Norman D Chatman, Jersey Village Dialysis providers were part of the solution Regarding Disaster plan lacking for dialysis patients, (A15, March 10): The Texas weather crisis that impacted many of our patients and staff last month was a failure of infrastructure, not of dialysis providers, contrary to what Drs. Klotman and Winkelmayer asserted in their recent op-ed. Allow us to correct the record on behalf of our thousands of resilient caregivers in Texas and emphasize that dialysis providers were part of the solution. Heres how. In anticipation of potential electrical failure and water system outages, U.S. Renal Care and other dialysis companies put our disaster management and response plans in motion to ensure the continuity of care for thousands of our patients in Texas. We coordinated, together with other dialysis providers, for hundreds of patients to receive their treatment even before the storm touched down. Throughout the storm, our organizations joined together to triage every impacted patient and place them in an operational center. We procured and deployed numerous water trucks and power generators when electrical grid and water systems failed, which allowed most of our centers to remain staffed and operational around the clock. And when local hospitals lacked the resources to dialyze their patients, we provided emergency dialysis to hospital patients in our outpatient centers. While we absolutely agree that the state of Texas should work to improve its municipal infrastructure, we believe that the lesson from this disaster is that when health care providers work in partnership, lives are saved. We are deeply moved by the heroic efforts of our staff who went above and beyond to care for patients in their communities and are proud to provide health care during such an important time in our history. Mary Dittrich, MD, FASN, Chief Medical Officer of U.S. Renal Care; Sreedhar Mandayam, MD, MPH, MBA; Biruh Workeneh, MD, FASN Houston Community Nephrologist ATLANTA - Robert Aaron Long's family had finally had it. Long, 21, was so obsessed with sex - watching hour upon hour of pornography online, visiting the kinds of spas where the customers bought "massages with happy endings" - that on Monday night, his parents kicked him out of the house, according to police and a friend who confirmed the account. The next day, police said, Long bought a handgun. And then, as dusk fell over metropolitan Atlanta on Tuesday evening, Long launched himself on what authorities say was a premeditated trail of terror. He drove to three Atlanta-area Asian spas, where he shot nine people, killing eight of them. He was on a mission, he would later tell police, to stem his addiction to sex. The spas were "a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate," said Capt. Jay Baker, a spokesman for the Cherokee County sheriff's office. That restatement of the confessed shooter's motive was meant to allay fears that Long had embarked on a racially motivated campaign of terror against Asian women, but it instead raised disturbing questions about his animus toward women and the racial attitudes that fueled his decision to target Asian spas. Long was on his way to Florida to continue his massacre when police cornered him on Interstate 75 and arrested him Tuesday night, authorities said. By the time he was captured, Long was the subject of nationwide horror about the killing of eight people - six of them Asian women. Many Americans were already on edge before Tuesday's news; the country remained in the throes of social upheaval resulting from police killings of Black Americans and attacks on Asian Americans that surged after President Donald Trump took to calling the coronavirus the "China virus" or "kung flu." Tuesday's attacks instantly unleashed a gut-wrenching collective anxiety - was this another outburst of racial hatred? Long's journey from membership in a religious social club at his suburban high school to a murderous rampage, ostensibly driven by his addiction to sex, remains fuzzy. What is already clear is that this latest in a seemingly never-ending series of mass shootings hit the country where it hurt most - in its anguished struggles over race, gender and the allure of gun violence. Sometime earlier on Tuesday, Long got into his black 2008 Hyundai Tucson and drove from his hometown of Woodstock, Ga., about 12 miles north to the city of Canton, where he bought a 9mm pistol at Big Woods Goods, a shop devoted mainly to hunting supplies, an attorney for the store confirmed. Even before Long, who is White, left home, the area was on alert for attacks targeting Asian Americans. On Monday morning, state Sen. Michelle Au, a Democrat, had raised the alarm. Speaking to fellow senators at the state Capitol, Au, an anesthesiologist and first-generation Chinese American who was elected last fall, called the jump in crimes against Asian Americans since the pandemic began last year "a new chapter in a very old story." "All I'm asking right now, as the first East Asian state senator in Georgia, is simply to fully consider us as part of our communities," she said. "We need help, we need protection, and we need people in power to stand up for us against hate." - - - Around 4 p.m. on a chilly, damp day in Acworth, a suburb of 20,000 people about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, a man dressed in black pants and a magenta-and-black hoodie parked his car outside Young's Asian Massage. The man - later identified as Long - sat in his car for upward of an hour, according to Alex Acosta, whose wife owns a boutique next door to the spa. The shops are part of a small commercial strip that also includes a vape store, a record shop, a beauty salon and a tool store. About 4:50 p.m., surveillance cameras caught Long entering Young's, according to the Cherokee County sheriff's office. The spa has been open despite the pandemic. A note on the front door set the minimalist rules: "If you have cold or flu symptoms. Wait for your massage at a later time. We are attempting to avoid the spread of any virus. Sorry for any inconvenience and please understand our position with this." At Gabby's Boutique next door to Young's, Rita Barron was helping customers when she heard a "pah-pah-pah" noise and women screaming, she said. "Oh, my God, what is that?" she said. Later she would learn that a bullet had punched through her wall. But in the moment, Barron, 47, didn't think it was a shooting. She thought maybe the spa workers next door had dropped something heavy. Coming out of the bathroom, Acosta, Barron's husband, wondered if perhaps an animal had gotten inside, causing a ruckus. Acosta went outside to check and ran into three spa workers with whom he struggled to communicate. He said they did not speak fluent English and that he is most comfortable speaking Spanish. But a few terrifying words made it through: A man with a gun. People shot. Acosta urged the women not to go back inside. He rushed back into the boutique and told his wife to call 911. At 4:54 p.m., Cherokee County dispatched police to Young's after receiving calls about gunshots and injured people. Yet several owners of nearby shops said they heard nothing and had no idea anything was amiss until police and ambulances swarmed the area. Officers walked into a bloody scene, bodies on the floor and the wounded staggering about. Outside the shop, moments after police arrived, Acosta saw a man who looked like he had been shot in the face: There was blood between his eyes, and he made it only five steps before falling. Authorities carried two Asian women out of the spa and laid them on the pavement, Acosta said. He couldn't tell if they were alive - one was bleeding from her head, the other from her neck or chest. A White man and woman who were shot seemed to be treated inside the spa, he said. One of the bleeding women carried out was the spa's owner, he said. He didn't know her name, though he had once visited her house to do some construction work. The owner, Xiaojie Tan, who would have turned 50 on Thursday, died in the attack. She was a licensed massage therapist, according to Georgia state records. Within minutes, ambulances arrived and hurried the three survivors down Interstate 75 to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where two of them later died. The dead ranged in age from 33 to 54. Two were Asian and two were White, police said. The lone survivor, 30-year-old Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, an immigrant from Guatemala, was apparently outside the spa, near a money exchange shop that he frequented, when he was shot, his wife told The Washington Post. Delaina Yaun, a 33-year-old waitress at a Waffle House, was inside with her husband, Mario, receiving a couple's massage when she was shot and killed, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support her family. Her husband escaped. The other people killed at Young's were Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta, and Daoyou Feng, 44, said police, who declined to say which of the victims were employees of Young's. In Acworth, word spread quickly that the victims included several Asian women. Adrian Lopez, owner of Big Savings Tool & Liquidation, five doors down from Young's, concluded that the attack was racially motivated. Before the shootings, Lopez's big worry was that someone might rob his store. Now, he said, Latinos needed to be on guard and express unity with their Asian neighbors. "I feel as a Spanish man, if that happens to them, we are going to be next," said Lopez, who emigrated from Mexico 18 years ago. Three of the six businesses on the strip are owned by Latino merchants. Shortly after they arrived, police began collecting images of the shooting suspect recorded by nearby surveillance cameras. Acosta shared the boutique's surveillance footage with authorities. He realized that the shooter's car had been parked outside the spa for almost an hour before the man entered Young's. After the shootings, the man who had gone into the spa got back in the Hyundai and sped away. Police posted photos from the surveillance footage online in hopes of crowdsourcing the shooter's identity. It worked with remarkable speed. According to police, Long's father called 911 and said it might well be his son whom they were seeing on TV and on social media. An anonymous second caller said Long had been tossed out of his parents' home the previous evening and warned that he was "emotional," according to a police incident report. Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds drove over to Woodstock to see the family. The parents were, he said, "very distraught and . . . very helpful." The parents described their son as a young man who had struggled with his sex addiction, even spending time in a rehab program. Long had visited massage parlors and "sees them as an outlet for him, something that he shouldn't be doing - an issue with porn," said Baker, the spokesman for the sheriff's office. Tyler Bayless said he lived with Long for five months during 2019 and 2020 at Maverick Recovery, a sober-living facility in Roswell. Bayless was trying to recover from an alcohol and drug addiction, and Long was there for what he called "sex addiction." "He hated the pornography industry," Bayless said. "He was pretty passionate about what a bad influence it was on him. He felt exploited by it, taken advantage of by it." One more thing, the family told the sheriff: Long had a cellphone with him, and its tracking program was turned on. Police took off after the fleeing suspect. As Cherokee County officers zoomed down I-75, back at their headquarters, word arrived from Atlanta. More people had been shot, also at Asian spas. - - - 5:47 p.m.: About 30 miles south of Young's, in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood of Atlanta, a woman who worked at the Gold Spa called 911. For nearly two minutes, the caller, who spoke with a heavy accent, and the 911 operator struggled to understand each other. "Repeat the address," the operator said. "Yeah, we're in a robbery right now, so, can help please come?" the caller replied. "OK, repeat the address. . . . You need police, fire or ambulance?" "Huh?" "Police, fire or an ambulance?" "I don't know. . . . There's a robbery here - that guy, he's like - need police now." They went back and forth about the location, the name of the business and description of the bad guy. "They have a gun," the caller said, sounding strained, almost breathless. "Where is he at in the building?" the operator replied. "This is Gold Spa." "I know," the operator said. "Where is the person who is robbing the spa? Where is he right now?" "I don't know, I'm hiding right now." They established that the shooter was a White man. "What is he wearing?" the operator asked. "I don't know - please come, OK?" the caller replied. Police were dispatched even as the call was ongoing. Gold Spa - and another, Aromatherapy Spa - sit atop a hill on a heavily traveled street where a strip club and several other spas, all on the same block, are open 24/7, coexisting with a Cathedral of St. Philip Thrift Store and a Champ's Chicken. Anthony "Ant" Smith, an employee at Studio 219 Ink, a piercing shop next door to Gold Spa, said Tuesday was especially busy for him. It was Studio 219's weekly special, offering customers basic piercings for $10. Smith said neither he nor his half-dozen customers who had been waiting in the parking lot for their turn heard any gunfire. Instead, his clients "just started coming in saying something must be going on because the police and firetrucks had pulled up," Smith said. By the time Smith finally looked outside, about 5:30 p.m., he saw police searching the area, appearing to be especially interested in the foliage that lines the parking lot behind Gold Spa. "I looked out and saw this mayhem," Smith said. "They had blocked off all of the streets and were searching in the bushes." Smith pulled out his phone and tapped on the Citizen app, which delivers real-time information on police movements. The app reported a possible armed robbery at Gold Spa. Smith returned to his customers. Gold Spa never attracted much attention from its neighbors, shopkeepers said. Occasionally, Smith saw an Asian woman in the parking lot feeding stray cats. Javan Young, a manager at Studio 219, also heard nothing. He was about to take his 6 p.m. break when he saw "all the officers pull up and jump out guns blazing," he said. At night, Young said, the spa usually had an armed security guard on-site, but he had never seen one during the day. 5:49: Responding to the 911 call about a "business robbery in progress" at Gold Spa, Atlanta police found three dead women, all apparently shot and killed. As officers started to document the scene at Gold Spa, at 5:57, a second 911 call came in from just down the road, at Aromatherapy Spa. The 911 caller, a woman named Nina, seemed to have a connection with the spa but wasn't on the premises. She said a friend had called to tell her that a man had entered the spa and now there'd been gunshots, and "the lady's like passed out, in front of the door. Everybody's scared, so everybody's hiding, so I don't know what's going on exactly, but I need the ambulance or something." "I didn't understand exactly," the 911 operator said. "So, what happened?" "Everybody heard the gunshots, and some ladies got hurt," Nina said. The women in the spa were hiding behind desks, in the back of the facility, wherever they thought they might not be found. As the four-minute call continued, police and paramedics made their way to Aromatherapy Spa, arriving at 6 p.m., according to police dispatch records. Inside, officers found another woman dead from gunshot wounds. By the time Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant heard the details of the two homicide scenes in his city, his investigators knew about the similar incident in Acworth. Three Asian spas, eight deaths, and now video footage showing that the same car seen at the Acworth scene was present at the two spas on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. As bulletins flashed across the Internet, Asian American organizations and politicians began raising the alarm about what appeared to be attacks on one already-anxious community. In Atlanta, New York, Seattle and other cities, police fanned out to check on Asian spas and Asian American-owned businesses. And on I-75 south of Atlanta, Long was speeding toward Florida. - - - Shortly before 8 p.m., Reynolds, the Cherokee County sheriff, told his counterpart and buddy in Crisp County, a couple of hours south of Atlanta, that a possible homicide suspect was heading toward his territory. Crisp Sheriff H.W. "Billy" Hancock radioed his deputies: Watch out for a black Hyundai Tucson with Georgia tags, according to an incident report. About 150 miles south of Atlanta, Crisp deputies and state troopers saw the Hyundai. A state trooper moved into position to execute a PIT - "precision immobilization technique" - a controversial method of stopping a suspect's car by using the police vehicle to bump against it, forcing it to spin out. Long came to a halt and gave up without a fight, police said. He was placed in the rear of a state trooper's car and handcuffed. Police said they found a 9mm firearm in Long's car. By 8:30 p.m., Long had been booked into the Crisp County Detention Center and changed into a jail uniform. As he waited to be put in a cell, he "asked if he was going to be here for the rest of his life," according to the police report. Long was taken to a padded cell and placed on suicide watch, the report said. Investigators from the Cherokee County sheriff's office arrived and interviewed Long. They said he confessed to the shootings and insisted that the killings were not racially motivated. Rather, he said that the spas were a temptation to him. "We believe that he frequented these places in the past," Reynolds said, "and may have been lashing out." Long told police he had been heading to Florida, where he intended to attack more spas. "This could have been significantly worse," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, said. At 9:55 p.m., the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus tweeted that its members were "horrified by the news coming out of GA at a time when we're already seeing a spike in anti-Asian violence. #StopAsianHate." Across the country, Asian American advocates called for the shootings to be investigated as hate crimes. Four of the slain women were of Korean descent, according to a statement from South Korea's Foreign Ministry. - - - On Wednesday morning, Long was transported back to Cherokee County and placed in its detention center. He was charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in the killings in Cherokee County and then four homicide counts in the bloodshed in Atlanta. If convicted, Long could face the death penalty. A scheduled hearing for Long in Cherokee County was canceled when he waived his right to an initial appearance, according to his attorney's law firm. He is being held without bail. On Wednesday afternoon, five bouquets of flowers rested at the front of the door of Young's Asian Massage in Acworth. It was St. Patrick's Day, and someone also left a basket of shamrocks, along with a handwritten note that said, "From people who care. Woodstock Acworth." The note ended with the only sentiment so many could muster: "I'm so sorry." - - - Craig reported from Atlanta; Berman, Knowles and Fisher reported from Washington. The Washington Post's Missy Ryan in Washington and Alex Kellogg and Jonathan Krohn in Atlanta contributed to this report. (Newser) The coronavirus pandemic and Capitol attack not only may have played a role in ending Donald Trump's presidencythey've also taken a toll on his fortune and his brand. Bloomberg reports that, per its Billionaires Index, the former president's net worth was at around $3 billion when he moved into the Oval Office, but it's since dropped to $2.3 billion. Tapping into income and valuation numbers from Trump's financial disclosures and figures in the index, the outlet found that Trump's hotels, resorts, and office buildings took a revenue hit due to COVID, while lenders and brokers started giving Trump the side-eye after the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol. Meanwhile, nearly $600 million in loans, more than half with Trump's name personally attached, will come due over the next four years. story continues below Bloomberg gets into the specifics for each of Trump's individual properties and the income changes for each from 2015 to 2020. The BBC notes the criminal investigation currently being carried out on Trump and the Trump Organization by New York prosecutors, which could also put a crimp in his overall brand. Still, Bloomberg isn't counting Trump out just yet, pointing out he "has bounced back before." The outlet notes, "A post-pandemic economic recovery could reinflate the value of his properties. He could continue his run of bestsellers, pivot back to television, or start a rival to the social media platforms that have shunned him." Check out the details on his properties, fleets, book deals (a "total disaster" for him over the past few years), and other income here. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, centre, addresses attendees at a press conference to announce the launch of the Canadian Energy Centre at SAIT in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Dec. 11, 2019. (Greg Fulmes/The Canadian Press) Alberta Premier Defends Campaign Against Netflix Film Bigfoot Family Alberta Premier Jason Kenney defends a government-funded energy campaign against a Netflix movie, labelling it as anti-oil propaganda. The Belgian-French adventure animation, Bigfoot Family, takes place in Alaska, where a family of mythical Bigfoot creatures take on an antagonist oil mogul who prepares to detonate a pristine valley to excavate its oil resource. The movie premiered on Netflix in February. Kenney described the film as an anti-oil and gas propaganda on Tuesday, saying that its a Hollywood production that depicts oil companies as wanting to murder children to oppose environmental progress. Kenneys United Conservative Party had established an oil and gas energy war room, officially known as the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), to push back against alleged misinformation about Albertas fossil fuels sector. As part of the effort, the war room launched a campaign last week against Netflix, claiming its production is hurting workers and the oil sector. It villainizes energy workers and disparages the industrys record on and commitment to environmental protection, CEC stated in a Facebook post last week. The war rooms funding and its campaign operations were a focus of questioning during a committee meeting to examine the Energy Departments budget on Tuesday. Albertas Energy Minister Sonya Savage defended the campaign against the streaming giant, saying that the dialogue in Bigfoot Family are quite offensive. Not everybody is going to agree with every single tactic of the Canadian Energy Centre. I dont either, Savage told the committee. We have to find a way to counter the kinds of campaigns and the kind of narrative and the significant misinformation that is targeted at our energy sector, and discredits the hard-working men and women of Alberta who work in it, she said. While Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the United Conservative is making the province a laughingstock, Kenney, in turn, accused Notley of supporting those who would deride Albertas critical industry. I know the NDP hates oil and gas. Theyve always despised this provinces largest industry and Im sure theyre cheering on the propaganda in that Netflix story, but were correcting the record as we should, Kenney countered. UCP MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane Peter Guthrie also supports the campaign, saying that the movie had leaped to the top of the viewing charts following the CEC campaign, which demonstrates the war rooms success. They [opponents] claim that the CEC doesnt work. But next they highlight that the CEC had the ability to take obscure movies created to present misinformation about the energy sector and boost these obscure movies to the top of the charts, Guthrie said. I think thats pretty awesome if they have that kind of ability. With files from The Canadian Press Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, along with 19 other states, are suing the Biden administration in Texas federal court for revoking the 2019 presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing the president cant change energy policy set by Congress. On his first day in office, Biden revoked the permit on the 1,700-mile pipeline that was to transport more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf. Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my administrations economic and climate imperatives, Biden said at the time. The Department of Justice, which represents the White House in court, declined to comment about the case. In Paxtons lawsuit, he argues that only Congress has the authority to regulate interstate and international commerce, not the president. TEXAS V BIDEN: Texas Republicans lead the charge against Biden on oil, immigration, guns It marks Paxtons second major suit against the Biden administration in what hes promised will be an ongoing campaign. Since his first day in office, President Biden has made it his mission to undo all the progress of the previous administration, with complete disregard for the constitutional limits on his power, Paxton said. His decision to revoke the pipeline permit is not only unlawful but will also devastate the livelihoods of thousands of workers, their families, and their communities. Keystone XL President Richard Prior in January said over 1,000 jobs, the majority unionized, would be eliminated. The pipeline has come to represent the larger national debate over climate change with Democrats and environmentalists arguing that the carbon pollution it would cause would be too great. Republicans, on the other hand, tout its job creation and say it will help reduce dependence on overseas oil. The pipeline expansion was first proposed in 2008. The project has been on hold as different administrations reviewed it and litigation was filed. The Obama administrations State Department rejected it in 2015, but President Donald Trump brought it back four years later. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox In the 46-page suit, the states suing the Biden administration argue that Congress in December 2011 attached a provision to a tax bill that forced Obama to approve the pipeline within 60 days or explain why it wasnt in the national interest. If he did not, Congress would grant the permit. The Obama administration said that was not enough time to review the application and about a month later rejected the permit, though officials said the developer TransCanada Corporation was free to reapply. The suit claims that Obamas rationale for rejecting the pipeline was not based on the conclusion that Keystone XL disserved the national interest and therefore, Congress decision to approve it stands. It also argues the president lacked the authority to regulate oil pipelines and the decision was unlawfully arbitrary and capricious. Essentially, the president purports to unilaterally shutter Keystone XL to send a climate-friendly signal to the international community and secure a stronger negotiating position in his efforts to combat climate change, it states. Congress has never allowed the president to encroach upon its powers over international and interstate commerce in order to facilitate the presidents pursuit of such vague objectives. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Early College Pathways flyer View Photo Angels Camp Some Calaveras County students will not only get their diplomas on graduation day but a college degree as well and for free. San Joaquin Delta College is now offering an Early College Pathway program where Calaveras families can save on the expense of the first two years of college while students get a jump start on education or employment, depending on their pathway of choice. Dr. Jessie Graza-Roderick started the program 21 years ago, and current enrollment is 3,500 students. It has been operating at college for the past eleven years. This program helps students start making their own educational decisions earlier, said Dr. Garza-Roderick. In the years that we have been providing this pathway, it has become apparent that it provides educational opportunities to students who would not have had them otherwise. Recruitment for the virtual program begins in eighth grade and students who enroll can complete an Associate Degree in Math and Science at the same time they are earning their high school diploma. School officials say it is catered to each students educational and vocational goals with a support system in place for them and their parents, which consists of a counselor assigned to assist the student throughout the entire process. Superintendent of Schools Scott Nanik shared, We are now able to provide programs to students in Calaveras County that have traditionally only been available in more populated areas. We want Calaveras students to have those same opportunities, and now we are even closer to achieving that goal. Students must begin the program their freshman year of high school to complete the four-year track with an Associate Degree. Students work the program on their own time, which still allows them time for extra-curricular activities, like sports, according to school officials. Interested parties can get details on the program and upcoming information sessions by emailing their name, email, phone number, and high school name to calaverasearlycollege@deltacollege.edu Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, a team of astronomers have directly measured winds in Jupiter's middle atmosphere for the first time. By analysing the aftermath of a comet collision from the 1990s, the researchers have revealed incredibly powerful winds, with speeds of up to 1450 kilometres an hour, near Jupiter's poles. They could represent what the team have described as a "unique meteorological beast in our Solar System". Jupiter is famous for its distinctive red and white bands: swirling clouds of moving gas that astronomers traditionally use to track winds in Jupiter's lower atmosphere. Astronomers have also seen, near Jupiter's poles, the vivid glows known as aurorae, which appear to be associated with strong winds in the planet's upper atmosphere. But until now, researchers had never been able to directly measure wind patterns in between these two atmospheric layers, in the stratosphere. Measuring wind speeds in Jupiter's stratosphere using cloud-tracking techniques is impossible because of the absence of clouds in this part of the atmosphere. However, astronomers were provided with an alternative measuring aid in the form of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 , which collided with the gas giant in spectacular fashion in 1994. This impact produced new molecules in Jupiter's stratosphere, where they have been moving with the winds ever since. A team of astronomers, led by Thibault Cavalie of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux in France, have now tracked one of these molecules -- hydrogen cyanide -- to directly measure stratospheric "jets" on Jupiter. Scientists use the word "jets" to refer to narrow bands of wind in the atmosphere, like Earth's jet streams. "The most spectacular result is the presence of strong jets, with speeds of up to 400 metres per second, which are located under the aurorae near the poles," says Cavalie. These wind speeds, equivalent to about 1450 kilometres an hour, are more than twice the maximum storm speeds reached in Jupiter's Great Red Spot and over three times the wind speed measured on Earth's strongest tornadoes. "Our detection indicates that these jets could behave like a giant vortex with a diameter of up to four times that of Earth, and some 900 kilometres in height," explains co-author Bilal Benmahi, also of the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux. "A vortex of this size would be a unique meteorological beast in our Solar System," Cavalie adds. Astronomers were aware of strong winds near Jupiter's poles, but much higher up in the atmosphere, hundreds of kilometres above the focus area of the new study, which is published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Previous studies predicted that these upper-atmosphere winds would decrease in velocity and disappear well before reaching as deep as the stratosphere. "The new ALMA data tell us the contrary," says Cavalie, adding that finding these strong stratospheric winds near Jupiter's poles was a "real surprise". The team used 42 of ALMA's 66 high-precision antennas, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, to analyse the hydrogen cyanide molecules that have been moving around in Jupiter's stratosphere since the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9. The ALMA data allowed them to measure the Doppler shift -- tiny changes in the frequency of the radiation emitted by the molecules -- caused by the winds in this region of the planet. "By measuring this shift, we were able to deduce the speed of the winds much like one could deduce the speed of a passing train by the change in the frequency of the train whistle," explains study co-author Vincent Hue, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in the US. In addition to the surprising polar winds, the team also used ALMA to confirm the existence of strong stratospheric winds around the planet's equator, by directly measuring their speed, also for the first time. The jets spotted in this part of the planet have average speeds of about 600 kilometres an hour. The ALMA observations required to track stratospheric winds in both the poles and equator of Jupiter took less than 30 minutes of telescope time. "The high levels of detail we achieved in this short time really demonstrate the power of the ALMA observations," says Thomas Greathouse, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in the US and co-author of the study. "It is astounding to me to see the first direct measurement of these winds." "These ALMA results open a new window for the study of Jupiter's auroral regions, which was really unexpected just a few months back," says Cavalie. "They also set the stage for similar yet more extensive measurements to be made by the JUICE mission and its Submillimetre Wave Instrument," Greathouse adds, referring to the European Space Agency's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer, which is expected to launch into space next year. ### ESO's ground-based Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), set to see first light later this decade, will also explore Jupiter. The telescope will be capable of making highly detailed observations of the planet's aurorae, giving us further insight into Jupiter's atmosphere. More information This research is presented in the paper "First direct measurement of auroral and equatorial jets in the stratosphere of Jupiter" published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics (doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140330 - https:/ / www. aanda. org/ 10. 1051/ 0004-6361/ 202140330 ). The team is composed of T. Cavalie (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux [LAB], France, and LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University [LESIA], France), B. Benmahi (LAB), V. Hue (Southwest Research Institute [SwRI], USA), R. Moreno (LESIA), E. Lellouch (LESIA), T. Fouchet (LESIA), P. Hartogh (Max-Planck-Institut fur Sonnensystemforschung [MPS], Germany), L. Rezac (MPS), T. K. Greathouse (SwRI), G. R. Gladstone (SwRI), J. A. Sinclair (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA), M. Dobrijevic (LAB), F. Billebaud (LAB) and C. Jarchow (MPS). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world's largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA. Links * Research paper - https:/ / www. eso. org/ public/ archives/ releases/ sciencepapers/ eso2104/ eso2104a. pdf * Images of ALMA - https:/ / www. eso. org/ public/ images/ archive/ category/ alma/ * For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research - http://eso. org/ sci/ publications/ announcements/ sciann17277. html Contacts Thibault Cavalie Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux Bordeaux, France Tel: +33 (0)5 40 00 32 71 Email: thibault.cavalie@u-bordeaux.fr Bilal Benmahi Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux Bordeaux, France Tel: +33 (0)5 40 00 32 76 Email: bilal.benmahi@u-bordeaux.fr Vincent Hue Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, TX, USA Tel: +1 (210) 522-5027 Email: vhue@swri.org Thomas Greathouse Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, TX, USA Tel: +1 (210) 522-2809 Email: tgreathouse@swri.edu Suzanna Randall (astronomer who did not participate in the study; contact for external comment and questions on ALMA) European Southern Observatory Garching bei Munchen, Germany Email: srandall@eso.org Barbara Ferreira ESO Media Manager Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6670 Cell: +49 151 241 664 00 Email: press@eso.org Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Washington, March 18 : The Senate has unanimously confirmed Katherine Tai as the new US Trade Representative (USTR), making her the first Asian-American and the first woman of colour to hold the position. The evenly-split Senate confirmed Tai's nomination by a vote of 98-0 on Wednesday, reflecting rare bipartisan support, reports Xinhua news agency. Tai, 47, had served as the chief lawyer on trade for the US House Ways and Means Committee. She led the Congressional negotiations for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed last year, and also had several years of experience at the Office of the USTR. Tai is expected to review former President Donald Trump's trade policies, including tariffs, and will likely face challenges as President Joe Biden's top trade negotiator amid trade disputes with the country's trading partners, including the European Union and China. When announcing the nomination in December 2020, Biden described Tai as "a tested trade expert", and a "dedicated public servant who knows government and who has spent her career levelling the playing field for American workers and families". Biden's economic team also includes former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who was sworn in as first female Treasury Secretary in January. Earlier this month, Gina Raimondo, then Rhode Island Governor, was confirmed by the Senate as the new Commerce Secretary, and Princeton University economist Cecilia Rouse was confirmed as head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Former President Donald Trump, who fought against rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election, was vindicated by a Michigan Court ruling that said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson broke the law when she allowed sending absentee balloting to registered voters, a report said. A report by Breitbart said Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray ruled that Benson violated the Administrative Procedures Act of the state on the absentee ballot applications and other unilateral orders for the 2020 election together with releasing a "guidance" on how to evaluate the said absentee ballots. Breitbart said Benson instructed through the "guidance," which is actually entitled "Absent Voter Ballot Processing: Signature Verification and Voter Notification Standards," that "slight similarities" in signatures should lead to a decision by the counter "in favor of finding that voter's signature as valid". In the 16-page court ruling entitled, "Genetski v. Benson" with no. 20-216-MM, Murray sided with the plaintiffs in complaining that Benson has violated the state's laws because of three reason. These are: Benson's "characterization of the standards at issue," non-compliance to the laws of the state for mandatorily instructing clerks to presume a signature's validity, and that Benson's argument on her decisions for the conduct of elections "is too generic to support her positions" as it did not comply to APA rules. "While defendant Benson undoubtedly has discretion under MCL 168.31 to issue guidance or to instruct local clerks regarding signature validity requirements, the implementatio of her discretionary decision can still be subject to the APA's requirements," Murray said in the ruling. "In sum, the standards issued by defendant Benson on October 6, 2020 with respect to signature-matching requirements amounted to a "rule" that should have been promulgated in accordance with the APA. And absent compliance with the APA, the 'rule' is invalid," he added. The plaintiffs were County of Allegheny Clerk Robert Genetski and the Michigan Republican Party who filed the case last year. Breitbart added that Genetski sued the Secretary of State along with State Director Elections Jonathan Brater in for making it a "mandatory directive requiring local election officials to apply a presumption of validity to all signatures on absent voter ballots" -- something Judge Murray pointed out as non-existent in the state's election law. "Nowhere in this state's election law has the Legislature indicated that signatures are to be presumed valid, nor did the Legislature require that signatures are to be accepted so long as there are any redeeming qualities in the application or return envelope as compared with the signature on file. Policy determinations like the one at issue--which places the thumb on the scale in favor of a signature's validity--should be made pursuant to properly promulgated rules under the APA or by the Legislature," the ruling said. Breitbart explained that Benson put emphasis on the absentee voting due to the ongoing pandemic. The outlet cited a May 2020 interview of Benson with NBC 25 where she explained that it was a matter of Michiganders choosing between "their health and their right to vote." As per Breitbart, the Michigan Court ruling gives strength to the Trump Campaign's claims that the 2020 election procedures needed to be challenged and, thus, undercut the Democrat narrative. In a statement posted at the Michigan GOP website, State Representative Matt Hall expressed appreciation that the court sided with the plaintiffs and declared Benson's acts as unlawful--"a clear violation of her authority". Hall explained that Benson would have to pass through the legislature to implement changes that are beyond the Administrative Procedures Act because it is not her "role" as Secretary of State to craft laws. UNDER fire in the legislature over alleged education spending cuts and its intent on doing away with school boards, the Progressive Conservative government lashed out at an NDP MLA for promoting a demonstration earlier this week outside Premier Brian Pallisters Wellington Crescent home. UNDER fire in the legislature over alleged education spending cuts and its intent on doing away with school boards, the Progressive Conservative government lashed out at an NDP MLA for "promoting" a demonstration earlier this week outside Premier Brian Pallisters Wellington Crescent home. Cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen said hed never heard of an MLA protesting in front of another MLAs house. "To organize or participate or promote a protest in front of a private residence of another MLA is not only disgraceful, but I believe unprecedented" he told a raucous question period on Wednesday. The target of Goertzens wrath was Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw, a former Winnipeg School Division trustee, who had risen in the legislature to question Education Minister Cliff Cullen about the governments planned education reforms. Goertzen first attacked Wasyliws record as a school trustee, then accused him of participating in the protest, which largely consisted of a train of honking vehicles looping in front of the premiers home Monday evening. Wasyliw, standing on a path on the crescents median, shot a 45-second video of the event and posted it on Twitter. Speaking to reporters outside the legislature on Wednesday, the NDP MLA denied having anything to do with organizing the event. He said he is a neighbour of Pallisters and was out walking his dog. "I was there for five minutes," he said. "It was a peaceful and lawful protest." Wasyliw said he has "absolute sympathy" for the protesters, who were expressing their concern that the PC government plans to do away with democratically elected school boards. Earlier in question period, the NDP tabled a ministerial briefing document, obtained through freedom of information legislation, that indicates total school division funding for the current fiscal year will be $4.2 million less than last year. NDP Leader Wab Kinew said a lack of provincial funding has forced school divisions to cut teaching positions and nutritional programs. Cullen later told reporters the government has committed to a 0.5 per cent increase in funding to school boards for the 2020-21 fiscal year. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Wilson was convicted of rape in 2019 though there was no physical evidence that a rape occurred Albert Wilson is getting a new trial. Read More: Lansdowne student accepted into 18 colleges with $2 million in scholarships The former University of Kansas student was accused of raping a teenager in 2016 by a mostly female and all-white jury. He was initially sentenced to 12 years behind bars but on Tuesday a Douglas County District Court judge ordered a new trial. The story made headlines due to the help of celebrities like Meek Mill and Kim Kardashian tweeting about it, per WOL news. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. No forensic evidence that a rape even happened but the testimony from a white girl to a Black kids word is a case closer by far in America! Somebody help this kid thats a shame! tweeted Meek. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Wilson and the alleged victim met at a campus bar in Lawrence, Kansas, though both were underage. Wilson was 20 and unbeknownst to him, the young woman was 17. Witnesses say they saw them kissing in the bar then they left together for Wilsons place. There, she alleged he forcibly raped her and afterward walked her back to the bar. The girl claims the couple had sex despite forensic evidence that no semen was found in her vagina, though that does not always mean a rape didnt occur, prosecutors argued in the first trial. The unnamed teen went to the hospital to report the rape the next day. During the trial, Wilson claimed he was innocent and said they never had sex, but was ultimately convicted. Wilson was able to get a new trail based on ineffective assistance of counsel by his trial attorney, Forrest Lowry, per LJ World. Wilsons next court date is March 23. Judge Sally Pokorny agreed to the new trial due to thousands of text messages that had not been used as evidence that could have impacted the jury. The courts confidence in the jurys verdict is undermined by Mr. Lowrys failure to review text messages, said Pokorny. It is my firm belief that if a jury knew of the information contained in the 2,000 text messages taken from the victims phone, there is a substantial likelihood the outcome of this case would have been different. Story continues As Wilson looks forward to a new trial, former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin is requesting a trial delay. As reported by theGrio, in the wake of the announcement that the city of Minneapolis has settled the civil suit filed by the family of George Floyd, lawyers for former officer Chauvin have asked for a trial delay. Attorney Eric Nelson told the court he is gravely concerned that the announcement of the $27M settlement is incredibly prejudicial. Its amazing to me, they had a press conference on Friday, where the mayor of Minneapolis, on stage with city council, and theyre using very, what I would say very well-designed terminology. The unanimous decision of the city council, for example. It just goes straight to the heart of the dangers of pretrial publicity, he said in court. Nelson asked for a delay of the trial or the opportunity to re-question jurors. Judge Peter Cahill said he would call back the seven people already selected to serve on the jury to allow Nelson to question them about their opinion on the settlement. Its unfortunate, and I wish they hadnt done it, but I dont sense any evil intent on the timing, Cahill said, echoing the sentiment of the prosecution, which pushed back against the defenses delay tactics. Read More: UC Davis offers $75 for students to stay on campus for spring break The evidence that the settlement may have influenced potential jurors was evident Monday morning when one juror said that she almost gasped when she heard the amount, according to a report by CNN. Additional reporting by Biba Adams Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today! The post Former KU student Albert Wilson to get new trial in rape case, judge rules appeared first on TheGrio. DANDONG, China - China on Friday put on trial one of two Canadians held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canadas arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive. FILE - In this file image made from a March 28, 2018, video, Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. The Canadian government says China will begin trials in March 2021 for two Canadians, Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were arrested in 2019 in apparent retaliation for Canadas detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. (AP Photo/File) DANDONG, China - China on Friday put on trial one of two Canadians held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canadas arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive. Canada said its consular officials were refused permission to attend the proceedings against Michael Spavor, who is accused by China of stealing state secrets. Jim Nickel, the Canadian Embassys deputy chief of mission, said the hearing ended at noon Friday after two hours. No verdict has been announced. Nickel declined to give other details, citing rules on protecting Spavors privacy. In a statement posted on its website, the Intermediate Peoples Court of Dandong in the northeastern province of Liaoning Province said it had held a closed-door hearing against Spavor on charges of spying and illegally sending state secrets abroad. It said Spavor and his defence lawyers were present for the proceedings and the court would pronounce a sentence at a date determined in accordance with law." A police officer stands outside a court building in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, Friday, March 19, 2021. China was expected to open the first trial Friday for Michael Spavor, one of two Canadians who have been held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive. (AP Photo/Ken Moritsugu) Fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig is due to go before a court on Monday. The two were detained in December 2018, days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested at the request of the U.S. at the airport in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both are charged with spying. The entrance to the courthouse was roped off with police tape and journalists were kept outside, although not detained or told to leave, as often occurs during sensitive legal cases. Police cars and vans with lights flashing passed through the gate to the court complex, located beside the Yalu River that divides China from North Korea. Earlier, Nickel had knocked on a court door seeking entry but was refused. Another 10 diplomats from eight countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, stood on the street opposite the courthouse in a show of support. International and bilateral treaties required that China provide Canadian diplomats access to the trial, but the court said Chinese law regarding trials on state security charges overrode such obligations, Nickel said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted Beijing for holding the trial in secret without access for consular officials. Their arbitrary detention is completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings, Trudeau said in Ottawa. In this image taken from video, security officers stand guard as a police van, left, arrives at a court building in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning Province, Friday, March 19, 2021. China was expected to open the first trial Friday for Michael Spavor, one of two Canadians who have been held for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive. (AP Photo) China needs to understand that it is not just about two Canadians. It's about respect for the rule of law and relationships with a broad range of Western countries that are at play with the arbitrary detention and the coercive diplomacy that they've engaged in. Trudeau said he was heartened and touched to see diplomats come out to support the Canadians in Dandong Canadian authorities say Kovrig and Spavor were arbitrarily arrested to put pressure on Ottawa in the case of Meng, who is sought by the U.S. on fraud charges related to the telecom giant's dealings with Iran, which is under American financial sanctions. The two Canadians have been held ever since, while Meng has been released on bail. They were charged in June 2020 under Chinas broadly defined national security laws. Spavor, an entrepreneur with North Korea-related business, was charged with spying for a foreign entity and illegally procuring state secrets. Kovrig, an analyst and former diplomat, was charged with illegally receiving state secrets and intelligence in collaboration with Spavor. Prosecutors have not released details of the charges and national security cases are routinely held behind closed doors. The state-owned Global Times newspaper said Kovrig was accused of having used an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig. Meng's case has infuriated China's government, which has promoted Huawei as a global leader in mobile communications technology. In Vancouver on Thursday, Mengs lawyers told an extradition hearing that Canadian officials abused their power when they conspired with the U.S. to arrest her. Defence lawyer Tony Paisana said Canadian Border Services Agency officers took Mengs phones, obtained their passwords, then handed to them to Canadian police so the data could be shared with the FBI. Paisana said Meng was never told during questioning that she faced an arrest warrant in the U.S. and would have immediately asked for a lawyer if so informed. British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes suggested border officers would have questioned Meng more rigorously if their exam was actually a covert criminal investigation, as her lawyers said. China has demanded Mengs immediate and unconditional release. It also has restricted various Canadian exports, including canola oil seed, and handed death sentences to another four Canadians convicted of drug smuggling. Outside the courthouse, Nickel said Canada still held hope that Spavor and Kovrig could be released through joint efforts with the U.S., whose Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are currently holding their first face-to-face talks with China's top diplomats in Anchorage, Alaska. The China-U.S. dialogue got off to a rocky start Thursday, with the U.S. accusing the Chinese delegation of grandstanding and top Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi accusing the American side of hypocrisy and taking a patronizing attitude. On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said there was a strong smell of gunpowder and drama at the talks that was entirely the fault of the Americans. In Canada, Spavors family issued a statement saying he had been granted very limited access and interaction with his retained Chinese defence counsel, according to Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. At this time, we feel it is necessary to speak out and call for his unconditional release. His continued unjust detention depriving him of his liberty is both unfair and unreasonable, especially given the lack of transparency in the case, the newspaper quoted the statement as saying. Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report. A Milan court yesterday acquitted energy companies, Eni and Royal Dutch Shell, along with some of their past and present managers, including Eni Chief Executive, Claudio Descalzi, in one of the oil industry's biggest corruption scandals. The judgment read out in court by Judge Marco Tremolada, came more than three years after the trial first began and after a total of 74 hearings. The judge said the companies and defendants had been acquitted as there was no case to answer. Reuters, which monitored the court proceedings, reported that rulings in Italy can be appealed and only become enforceable once they are final. The long-running case revolved around the $1.3 billion purchase by Eni and Shell of the Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 offshore oilfield in Nigeria in 2011 from Malabu Oil and Gas, a company owned by a former Nigerian oil minister, Mr. Dan Etete. Prosecutors alleged that just under $1.1 billion of the purchase price was siphoned off to politicians and middlemen, including Etete, a convicted money launderer who served as oil minister under Nigerian military ruler, the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Prosecutors had called for Eni and Shell to be fined and for some past and present managers from both companies, including Descalzi, to be jailed. The defendants all denied any wrongdoing. Reuters, however, quoted an unnamed Nigerian spokesman as saying that the country was disappointed with the outcome and would consider its position once it had read the written judgment. "The Federal Republic of Nigeria will continue to hold those responsible for the OPL 245 fraud accountable, not only to ensure the people of Nigeria benefit from this valuable resource, but also to make clear its commitment to rooting out corruption in all of its forms," said a spokesman for the Nigerian government based in London. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Corruption Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The defendants said the purchase price for OPL 245 was paid into a Nigerian government account and subsequent transfers were beyond their control. The exploration licence for the field, some 150 km (95 miles) off the Niger Delta, has not been revoked but it has not been converted into a mining licence and no oil has been produced. Prosecutors had also asked that $1.092 billion, the equivalent of the alleged bribes, be confiscated from all the defendants. In a swift reaction, the Italian energy company, Eni, in a statement yesterday, welcomed the judgment. "After almost three years of trial, the judgment by the court has finally established that the company, the CEO, Claudio Descalzi, and the management involved in the proceedings have all behaved in a lawful and correct manner," Eni said in the statement from Italy. The statement added that Eni has throughout maintained its full confidence in the court's fair and balanced investigation. "Today, Eni expresses its gratitude for the trust placed by its stakeholders throughout the course of the trial, particularly in upholding the company's management and the conduct of its business, and respecting its reputation," the statement added. New York: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer edged closer to a US Open semi-final blockbuster as controversial Italian Fabio Fognini was kicked out for a vile, misogynistic tirade at a female umpire. Nadal, 31, saw off Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, taking his record over the worldnumber 59 from Buenos Aires to 4-0. He will face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, against whomhe is 6-2, for a place in the quarter-finals. Five-time champion Federer brushed aside 31st seedFeliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to take his career record against the Spaniard, playing a 63rd successive Grand Slam, to 13-0. Next up for Federer is Philipp Kohlschreiber, who heleads 11-0. Nadal had dropped the first set of his second-round match against Japan's Taro Daniel before winning in four. Saturday was almost a carbon copy with the 15-time major winner unable to convert any of six points in the opener. But the match turned in the 10-minute seventh game of the second set when, on his 14th break point of the encounter, Nadal finally smashed through. "It was tough. It took 14 break points -- that's not a good figure. But I was there mentally and fought a lot at theright moments," said Nadal under the Arthur Ashe roof as rainfell outside. Also Read | US Open 2017: Federer prevails in 5-set marathon over Mikhail Youzhny Federer had needed back-to-back five-setters to defeat Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny in his first two rounds. However, on Saturday, he swept past Lopez to reach thefourth round for the 16th time. "I'm very happy to get through. It's a great feeling to play out here," said Federer. "I struggled in the first two rounds but tonight I playeda very clean match." Kohlschreiber, the German 33rd seed, eliminated Australia's John Millman 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem defeated France's Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to make the last 16 for thethird time in four years. Thiem next faces 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who put out Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3,6-4. Russia's Andrey Rublev became the second teenager in the last 16 when he beat Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Rublev, just 19, faces Belgian ninth seed David Goffin, who progressed when 2016 semi-finalist Gael Monfils retired with a right knee injury. Meanwhile, Fognini was kicked out of the tournament formaking foul-mouthed comments to female umpire Louise Engzellduring his first-round loss to Stefano Travaglia. Also Read | US Open 2017: Federer clinches 5-set marathon against Tiafoe Fognini and compatriot Simone Bolelli had reached thethird round of the men's doubles but tournament organizersaxed him from the event. Fognini, the world number 26, was also fined $24,000. Pliskova saves match point Women's top seed Karolina Pliskova saved a match point to defeat China's Zhang Shuai, hanging on to her world number one spot in the process. Top seed Pliskova, the runner-up in 2016, triumphed 3-6,7-5, 6-4 but was forced to save a match point in the 10th game of the second set and recover from a break down in the decider. "I was match point down and I thought I haven't tried many forehand winners down the line. That's what I did. I maynot have got another chance," said the 25-year-old, who will next face Jennifer Brady of the United States. Brady has just seven wins on the tour this year, but all have come at the Slams. Had she lost on Saturday, Pliskova would also have been guaranteed to lose her world number one ranking to either Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza or Elina Svitolina. Also Read | Cincinnati Masters: Nadal defeats Ramos to seal quarter-final berth Ukraine fourth seed Svitolina stayed in contention with a6-4, 7-5 win over Shel by Rogers of the United States. Russia's Daria Kasatkina reached the last 16 of a majorfor the first time by seeing off French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, the 12th seed, 6-3, 6-2. The Police Commissioner suggested an app could be used to prove consent (Chris Radburn/PA) A senior Australian policeman suggested a phone app could be developed to document sexual consent in a bid to improve conviction rates in sex crime cases. New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Muller said dating apps have brought couples together and the same technology could also provide clarity on the question of consent. He said: Technology doesnt fix everything, but it plays such a big role in people meeting at the moment. Im just suggesting: is it part of the solution? Responses to the consent app suggestion have been largely negative or sceptical. Mr Fuller said the number of sexual assaults reported in Australias most populous state was increasing while a prosecution success rate of only 2% stemming from those reports showed the system was failing. Consent cant be implied, he wrote in News Corp newspapers, adding: Consent must be active and ongoing throughout a sexual encounter. Mr Fuller said his suggestion could gain popularity in time. He said: To be honest with you, the app idea could be the worst idea I have in 2021, but the reality is in five years, perhaps it wont be. If you think about dating 10 years ago, this concept of single people swiping left and right was a term that we didnt even know. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian congratulated Mr Fuller on taking a leadership position on having the conversation about the sexual assault problem, but declined to share her opinion on the app. Fundamentally what we are now having a reckoning with is the fact that there is a very small minority of men in this society who are opportunists, who make the decision to sexually assault women Catharine Lumby, a Sydney University specialist in ethics and accountability Lesley-Anne Ey, a University of South Australia expert on harmful sexual behaviour involving children, said she did not think the app would work. She told the ABC: I dont think theyre going to interrupt the romance to put details into an app. Catharine Lumby, a Sydney University specialist in ethics and accountability, described the app as a quick-fix that misunderstood the circumstances of sexual assaults. She said: Fundamentally what we are now having a reckoning with is the fact that there is a very small minority of men in this society who are opportunists, who make the decision to sexually assault women. They dont care where, how or why they do it. They will take the opportunity and Im sure they are more than capable of manipulating technology. Expand Close A rally in Sydney was one of several across Australia calling out sexism, misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures (Rick Rycroft/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A rally in Sydney was one of several across Australia calling out sexism, misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures (Rick Rycroft/AP) More than 100,000 women protested in rallies across Australia on Monday demanding justice while calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures. The public anger erupted after the Australian attorney general denied an allegation that he raped a 16-year-old girl 33 years ago, and a former government staffer alleged that she was raped two years ago by a colleague in a ministers Parliament House office. A consent app similar to Mr Fullers proposal was launched in Denmark last month, but the app has not been widely adopted, with fewer than 5,000 downloads, according to mobile intelligence site Sensor Tower. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. (HealthDay)From 1999 to 2019, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths increased in urban and rural counties, with rates generally higher in urban counties, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. Holly Hedegaard, M.D., and Merianne Rose Spencer, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used the most recent mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System to examine urban-rural differences in drug overdose death rates for all drugs. The researchers found that the rate of drug overdose deaths increased from 6.4 to 22.0 per 100,000 in urban counties and from 4.0 to 19.6 in rural counties from 1999 through 2019. In California, Connecticut, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia, rates in rural counties were higher than in urban counties in 2019. From 2004 through 2017, rates of drug overdose deaths involving natural and semisynthetic opioids were higher in rural than urban counties, but were similar in 2018 and 2019. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential was 1.4 times higher in rural than urban counties (6.7 versus 4.8 per 100,000) in 2019. "Rates for drug overdose deaths involving heroin or cocaine were consistently higher in urban than in rural counties over the entire period," the authors write. Explore further Heart failure-related death rates higher in rural versus urban US counties Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Malin Akerman showcased her toned figure in a black turtleneck and a pair of raw-edge ripped jeans as she ran errands in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The 42-year-old Billions star looked ready to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, while toting a green shamrock balloon with a leprechaun hanging on to it. In addition to picking up some festive party decor at the supermarket, she carried a single bag of groceries and wore a cheetah-print Henry face mask. Malin Akerman showcased her toned figure in a black turtleneck and a pair of raw-edge ripped jeans as she ran errands in Los Angeles on Tuesday She styled her chic $75 Numi top with a pair of black booties, a light grey crossbody bag and her blonde hair in loose waves. Akerman's purchase was most likely a surprise for her seven-year-old son Sebastian Zincone, who she shares with ex-husband Roberto Zincone. The Swedish-American actress, who was raised in Canada, recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary with husband Jack Donnelly. The 42-year-old Billions star looked ready to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, while toting a green shamrock balloon with a leprechaun hanging on to it Refreshments: She was also seen picking up a coffee and some takeaway as the day wore on She completed her stylish ensemble with a pair of black booties, a light grey crossbody bag and her blonde hair in loose waves The happy couple exchanged vows in a ceremony at the Mexican resort of Tulum in 2018. Donnelly is close to Akerman's son and the blended family is often seen on trips together, including a snowy getaway last month for Valentine's Day. The beauty shared a sweet snap from the trip on her Instagram showing the trio making their way up a ski lift. Snow day: The Swedish star shared a sweet snap from a family Valentine's Day trip on her Instagram showing the trio making their way up a ski lift 'A perfect VDay for three. Sending love to you all from the great outdoors,' she captioned the photo along with the hashtags 'happy' and 'valentinesday.' The crew sported their best skiwear as they shouted with joy on their way up the mountain. In December, Akerman shared the family's matching holiday ensembles on her social media accounts as they posed in front of their Christmas tree. Family celebrations: In December, Akerman shared the family's matching holiday ensembles on her social media accounts as they posed in front of their Christmas tree MOSCOW, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A Russian-German research team has created a quantum sensor that grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in qubits. The study by NUST MISIS, Russian Quantum Center and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, published in npj Quantum Information, may pave the way for quantum computing. In quantum computing the information is encoded in qubits. Qubits (or quantum bits), the quantum mechanical analogue of a classical bit, are coherent two-level systems. A leading qubit modality today superconducting qubits based on the Josephson junction. That is the kind of qubit IBM and Google used in their quantum processors. However, scientists are still searching for the perfect qubit the one that can be precisely measured and controlled, while remaining unaffected by its environment. The key element of a superconducting qubit is the nanoscale superconductorinsulatorsuperconductor Josephson junction. A Josephson junction is a tunnel junction made of two pieces of superconducting metal separated by a very thin insulating barrier. The most commonly used insulator is aluminum oxide. Modern techniques do not allow to build a qubit with 100% precision, resulting in so-called tunneling two-level defects that limit the performance of superconducting quantum devices and cause computational errors. Those defects contribute to a qubit's extremely short life span, or decoherence. Tunneling defects in aluminum oxide and at surfaces of superconductors are an important source of fluctuations and energy losses in superconducting qubits, ultimately limiting the computer run-time. The more material defects occur, the more they affect the cubit's performance, causing more computational errors, the researchers noted. The new quantum sensor grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in quantum systems. According to Prof. Alexey Ustinov, Head of the Laboratory for Superconducting Metamaterials at NUST MISIS and Group Head at Russian Quantum Center, who co-authored the study, the sensor itself is a superconducting qubit, and it allows the detection and manipulation of individual defects. Traditional techniques for studying material structure, such as small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), are not sensitive enough to spot small individual defects, therefore using those techniques won't help to build the best qubit. The study may open avenues for quantum material spectroscopy to investigate the structure of tunneling defects and to develop low-loss dielectrics that are urgently required for the advancement of superconducting quantum computers, the researchers believe. Link: https://en.misis.ru/university/news/science/2021-03/7259/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/955872/NUST_MISIS_Logo.jpg SOURCE The National University of Science and Technology MISiS Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 13:45:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a so-called "two plus two" talks about the Korean Peninsula and regional issues in Seoul, South Korea, March 18, 2021. (South Korean Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) SEOUL, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Defense and foreign ministers of South Korea and the United States held the so-called "two plus two" talks in Seoul on Thursday about the Korean Peninsula and regional issues. The meeting, the first held in about four and a half years since October 2016, was attended by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook of South Korea, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The joint statement, released after the meeting, said the two sides reaffirmed that the South Korea-U.S. alliance serves as the "linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region." The two sides also reaffirmed a mutual commitment to the defense of South Korea and to the strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, consistent with the South Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. Following the meeting, chief negotiators from the two allies initialed a tentative deal on the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a South Korea-U.S. pact to share the upkeep cost for about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, with the observation of the four ministers. The SMA, requiring a respective internal process, such as parliamentary approval, to be formally signed, was reached earlier this month in Washington. Under the deal that will last until 2025, South Korea will raise its burden to share the military cost in accordance with the growth rate of the country's annual defense budget. The "two plus two" meeting statement said the SMA is a symbol of the shared commitment to the South Korea-U.S. alliance. The statement repeated the two sides' firm commitment to the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States, to which Seoul and Washington agreed in 2006. South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the U.S. forces after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. South Korea won back its peacetime operational control in 1994. The ministers emphasized in the statement that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance, reaffirming a shared commitment to address and resolve the issues. They also affirmed the importance of South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation, pledging to continue promoting mutually-beneficial, forward-looking cooperation to promote peace, security and prosperity in the region. The statement reiterated the resolve of the two sides to continue to work together to create "a free and open Indo-Pacific region" through cooperation with South Korea's New Southern Policy. Blinken and Austin came here Wednesday after visiting Japan on the first cabinet-level overseas trip by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration members. Enditem Last week he was seen filming action-packed mid-air stunts with Priyanka Chopra. And Richard Madden was seen getting to work on set alongside his co-star Ashleigh Cummings on Monday, as the pair filmed at Rewley Road Fire Station, in Oxford. The actor, 34, was seen wearing a firefighter shirt that showed off his toned muscles while he filmed scenes alongside the Australian actress, 28. To work! Richard Madden donned a firefighter shirt to film scenes with co-star Ashleigh Cummings as they got to work on set of Amazon's new spy show Citadel in Oxford on Monday Richard looked dapper in his uniform which paired his blue top with matching cargo trousers and black trainers. Ashleigh, meanwhile, looked casually chic in an oversized red fleece jumper that she wore over a pair of skinny denim jeans and black boots. Her auburn locks were swept back into a messy bun and she wore a light palette of make-up for the scene. While filming, Richard and Ashleigh were seen conversing with one another while she was in her car before he reached down to give her a kiss. Stylish: The Australian actress and Richard filmed at Rewley Road Fire Station, in Oxford, and Ashleigh looked casually chic in an oversized red jumper and jeans Hunk: Richard's attire showed off his toned muscles during the scene And, action! While filming, Richard and Ashleigh were seen conversing with one another while she was in her car Smouldering: Richard was seen getting into character on set The crew were seen stood around the pair as they filmed their scene, and all of them were wearing masks to adhere to strict coronavirus restrictions. During a break from filming Richard was seen chatting to a member of the crew before setting up the scene again. Citadel, which also stars Stanley Tucci, is described as an 'action-packed spy series with a compelling emotional centre'. Sweet: During the scene, Richard reached down to give Ashleigh a kiss Dramatic: Citadel, which also stars Priyanka Chopra Stanley Tucci, is described as an 'action-packed spy series with a compelling emotional centre' Under wraps: It is not yet known what characters Richard and Ashleigh play in the series Conversing: Richard and Ashleigh were hard at work on set at the fire station The series is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the brothers behind several hit Marvel films, including Avengers: Endgame, and will feature a number of spin-off productions. The plot for Citadel has been kept tightly under wraps, but it will include several productions in countries like Italy, India and Mexico for the spin offs. Earlier this month, Priyanka promoted the shoot while posing with a bouquet of flowers for a picture posted on Instagram, and she wrote: 'Day 1 on #Citadel. Thank you team for a sweet welcome! Let's goooooo!' Attire: Richard looked dapper in his uniform which paired his blue top with matching cargo trousers and black trainers Safety first: The crew were seen stood around the pair as they filmed their scene, and all of them were wearing masks to adhere to strict coronavirus restrictions Exciting: The series is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the brothers behind several hit Marvel films, including Avengers: Endgame, and will feature a number of spin-off productions Sabarimala issue pending in Supreme Court, nothing to be debated now: CM Pinarayi Vijayan India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Malappuram, Mar 18: Seeking to put the Sabarimala issue on the back-burner in poll-bound Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said there was nothing to be discussed or debated now as the review pleas against allowing women in 10-50 age group into the hill shrine are before the Supreme Court. "Whenever the court pronounces the final verdict,and if it concerns the devotees in any manner, then at that time the government will hold discussion with all the sections of the society and take necessary steps", he told reporters in response to a question. His remarks came amid demands by the opposition Congress, BJP and others that he clarify his position in the wake of contradictory views expressed by a minister and the CPI-M top leadership over the issue. Vijayan was responding to a query on CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury rejecting state Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran's expression of regret over the incidents witnessed in the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in 2018. Sabarimala and several other parts of the state were then rocked by protests against 'hasty' decision of the LDF government to implement the apex court verdict allowing women of all age groups to enter the Lord Ayyappa shrine. The issue has come back into focus during the campaign for the April 6 assembly elections with Congress and BJP attacking the ruling front. TN elections 2021: DMK's Stalin slams AIADMK for 'not fulfilling' previous poll promises "The incidents that took place in Sabarimala in 2018 was something which had pained all of us. It should never have happened.It has pained everyone...it has pained me also," Surendran told television channels last week. He had also said the the final verdict of the Supreme Court would be implemented only after consultations with believers, political parties and the general public. Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Tuesday, Yechury hadsaid he was not aware of the reason why Surendran expressed regret. "The party stance on the matter remains the same. It was the apex court which pronouncedthe verdictallowing women of all age to enter the temple and the state government was duty-bound to implement the verdict," he had said. Ahead of upcoming Assembly elections, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh backs ballot papers instead of EVMs Union Minister V Muraleedharan said the chief minister should respond to Yechury's stand. Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress accused Vijayan of deceiving the devotees of the state and said he should stop fooling people. "Has he (Pinarayi) got the guts to stand by his earlier stance on Sabarimala? I challenge him. If he has got any decency, he should apologise to the people of the state saying his stand was wrong," he told reporters in Haripad, his constituency from where he was elected for the fourth time in 2016. Nair Service Society general secretary Sukumaran Nair said the government and the Chief Minister have a moral responsibility to clarify their position on the Sabarimala issue. Dr SS Lal, the UDF candidate from Kazhakootam, where Surendran is also contesting, wanted to know if the latter would reject the statement of Yechury. West Bengal elections 2021: Will bring 'parivartan' in Delhi after winning the elections, says Mamata Banerjee On the allegation by BJP leader, R Balashankar that there was a "deal" between thesaffron party and CPI(M) in various constituencies,including Chengannur and Konni, Vijayan described it as an internal matter of the BJP. "I don't know whether he was expecting a seat or he had demanded a seat from the party. It does not affect us. We just want to make it clear once again that we don't need the support of any communal parties to win the election," he said. The voters understand that development was the agenda of this election and nothing else, he added. The chief minister alleged the BJP and the Congress have hatched a conspiracy to torpedo the development aspects of the state. The BJP has termed Balashankar's remarks as an emotional outburst of a person disappointed over denial of a seat. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 20:51 [IST] After fourteen months of engagement, Tinsley and I have ended our relationship, and we have been living independently for the last few months, Kluth told People in a statement Thursday. This was an incredibly difficult decision, but it is one that I believe is best for both of us. I will always care about Tinsley and I sincerely wish her happiness and success in all that she does in the future. March 18 : Bombay High Court today refused to stay the release of John Abraham starrer film Mumbai Saga on March 19. A petition was filed by under trial accused gangsters Ravi Bohra, also known as D K Rao, Aswhin Naik, and the wife and daughter of the murdered businessman and alleged gangster Amar Naik, who was the brother of Aswhin Naik. Ravi Bohra and Aswhin Naik had filed the petition against the director of the film Sanjay Gupta, the producer T-Series as well as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Besides John Abraham, Mumbai Saga also stars Emraan Hashmi, Suniel Shetty, Kajal Aggarwal, Mahesh Manjrekar, Prateik Babbar, Rohit Roy, Anjana Sukhani, Samir Soni, Amole Gupte and Gulshan Grover. Set in the 1980s and 1990s, Mumbai Saga showcases the changing faces of Mumbai people by closing mills and making malls and high rise buildings in their places. The film is slated to hit the big screens tomorrow, March 19, 2021. The lawyers for Ravi Bohra and Aswhin Naik sought a stay on the release of the film as they argued that it will violate their clients right to privacy and fair trial. A High Court bench consisting of Justices Amjad Sayed and Madhav Jamdar said the petitioners had come to the court at the last minute, and refused to entertain their plea for an urgent ad-interim relief to stay the release of the film. During the hearing on Thursday, March 18, the High Court asked the petitioners, Why have you come at the last minute?" The court also pointed out that Aswhin Naiks family was aware that the film was being made as they had sent notices to the makers in 2019. The petition also pointed out that Mumbai Saga will tarnish late Amar Naiks reputation as he was into vegetable vending business and was falsely implicated in several cases by his business rivals. The petition also said that though the film claims to be inspired by true events" it violates Ravi Bohras right to fair trial and right to privacy guaranteed under the Constitution of India. (Newser) For the first time, President Biden will send some of the coronavirus vaccine supply the US has bought to other countries in need. About 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be sent to Canada, and 2.5 million will go to Mexico, Reuters reports. The shipments are loans, expected to be repaid in vaccine later this year, per Axios. The deal hasn't quite gone through. "It is not fully finalized yet, but it is our aim," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday. The two countries, which have to import vaccines, trail the US in vaccination rates. Only China has manufactured more vaccine than the US, which has produced 27% of the global supply. China has sold more than half of its supply to other nations, while the US has not exported any, instead focusing inward. story continues below Pressure has been building on the US to share, especially its AstraZeneca stockpile. That product hasn't been approved for use in the US, so million of doses are piling up. Other countries do allow AstraZeneca doses to be administered. A Biden administration official said this deal won't affect the nation's vaccine supply or hurt Biden's effort to make doses available to everyone in the US by the end of May. With this precedent set, other nations needing vaccine could come knocking at the door of the US. Several European nations had suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations over concerns about blood clots, but the European Union's medical agency announced Thursday it still endorses the vaccine's use. (Read more AstraZeneca stories.) A community organization has 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and this weekend plans to start distributing them to underserved communities in the Lowcountry. Palmetto Palace, a mobile health unit and nonprofit focused on community health, will host two events this weekend, one each on March 20 and March 21. The first distribution will be 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center. The following day's event will be on Wadmalaw Island at the New St. James Bethel AME Church from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Any resident of rural communities can call 833-MBL-HLTH and leave a message to schedule an appointment. Palmetto Palace has been deliberately and methodically reaching out to church pastors and leaders in our rural areas to raise confidence in the vaccine and bring residents out on the weekends so that they can get this critically important shot, Dr. Yolanda Gibbs, Palmetto Palace's CEO, said in a statement. We are grateful for our religious leaders in reaching their flocks and spreading the positive word of the vaccine, she said. Fetter Healthcare, a community health center based in Charleston, is also hosting vaccine clinics in the area in the days to come. One will take place at the Arthur W. Christopher Community Center on Fishburne Street on March 24 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Another one will take place at the Baxter Patrick Library on Grimball Road on March 25 from 1-4 p.m. Fetter will distribute the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine at both events; no appointment is required. Go to fettercovid19screening.org/vaccine-clinic for more information. Statewide numbers New cases reported: 856 confirmed, 357 probable. Total cases in S.C.: 457,217 confirmed, 80,281 probable. Percent positive: 6.3 percent. New deaths reported: 6 confirmed, 1 probable. Total deaths in S.C.: 7,896 confirmed, 1,042 probable. Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! Percent of ICU beds filled: 69 percent. How does S.C. rank in vaccines administered per 100,000 people? 41st as of March 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hardest-hit areas In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville County (124), Charleston County (104) and Richland County (84) saw the highest totals. What about the tri-county? Charleston County had 104 new cases on March 18, while Berkeley had 20 and Dorchester had 16. Deaths One of the new confirmed deaths reported was in someone age 35 to 64, and five were patients 65 and older. Hospitalizations Of the 568 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of March 18, 137 were in the ICU and 64 were using ventilators. What do experts say? After a short pause, regulators in the European Union decided March 18 to continue giving out the vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, which has not yet been green-lighted for use in the United States. The global news wire Reuters reported on March 12 that AstraZeneca, based in the United Kingdom, will seek authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration either this month or early next. Once announced, the results of the trial in the U.S. may help to further alleviate concerns about blood clots reportedly found in a small number of the vaccine's recipients. AstraZeneca said March 14 it reviewed information from 17 million recipients of its vaccine and found "no evidence of an increased risk" of the clots. In Europe, the company has recorded 37 of the events, "much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population." AstraZeneca has a stockpile of about 30 million doses available to distribute across the U.S. if and when it is authorized by American regulators. The World Logistics Passport (WLP), a unique loyalty programme established to increase trading opportunities between emerging markets, is expanding in South America with Uruguays Ministry of Foreign Relations signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). More than 10 countries are now part of the major policy initiative trading nations include India, South Africa and Indonesia, amongst others. In addition, major multinational corporations including UPS, Pfizer, Sony, Johnson & Johnson, and LG are also engaged with the WLP. As one of the first South American countries to engage in the programme, the announcement follows the registration of Montevideo Free Airport and solidifies the countrys standing in the WLP. Uruguays location offers the WLP a connection to targeted gateway countries including Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile. The region will also benefit significantly from the infrastructure and logistics expertise of Dubai-based WLP partners, such as DP World and Emirates Skycargo, who will play an important role in advancing Uruguays trade with the rest of the world. The MoU was signed by Francisco Bustillo, Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai's Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), signalling a clear commitment from the government of Uruguay to grow the countrys trade volumes. Minister Bustillo commented: We understand that the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding contributes to the formation of relevant business alliances for the international economic insertion of Uruguay and, above all, capitalizes on the credentials and prestige that our country has garnered internationally. It is also positive in as much as it facilitates the transit of goods, favoring a possible reduction in freight costs, which if it happens, could favor our export sector and the entire economy. In addition, this memorandum of understanding will provide a constant exchange of knowledge and commercial experiences, which will be extremely beneficial for public and private agents. Mike Bhaskaran, CEO of the World Logistics Passport, said: Since its launch, the World Logistics Passport has been welcomed by governments and business around the world for the numerous benefits it delivers to local economies, traders and homegrown business. Our rapid and continued inclusion of new members and partners underscores the importance of increasing trading opportunities between emerging markets. We now stand together in a club of 11 trading nations demonstrating how it is possible to build a resilient trade ecosystem and reimagine how goods and services move around the world. The WLP creates opportunities for businesses around the world to improve existing trading routes, and develop new ones, through the worlds first logistics loyalty program for freight forwarders and traders. It overcomes non-tariff trade barriers by incentivising increased trade through more efficient and cheaper trade processes. -- Tradearabia News Service A helluva lot happened around the Melbourne Cricket Clubs heavyweight committee table on Tuesday night if president Michael Happells update to members is anything to go by. Former Tabcorp chief executive Paula Dwyer tipped as a potential director at Crown Resorts has joined the committee, as has MCC Netball chair Kalpana Ramani. The two appointments were inked on Tuesday night in a bid to plug holes left by a slew of resignations. Ad man and 3AW breakfast host Russel Howcroft resigned after less than two years a nanosecond inside the buttoned-up and famously change-resistant MCC. No wonder Happell was keen to explain why their much-loved media man was splitsville. Russel joined the committee prior to taking up hosting duties on breakfast radio, and has unfortunately decided he simply does not have the time, Happell said. Curiously, he made no mention of Howcrofts other Very Time Consuming engagement sitting as partner inside his former PwC boss Luke Sayers Sayers Group (and no doubt spruiking the Dees chances for the year ahead against Carlton director and footy tragic Sayers). Howcroft isnt the only one heading for the door. South32 chair Karen Wood has resigned as a vice-president after almost 12 years on the committee. Goldman Sachs Australian chairman Christian Johnston will take Woods position as vice-president, and has handed his treasurers post to the good-with-numbers Geoff Roberts, Seeks group financial officer. Front row The Reserve Bank is inching towards tighter regulation of buy now, pay later (BNPL) operators such as Afterpay as the popularity of these services surges and larger players enter the sector. After the Commonwealth Bank announced its upcoming foray into the booming BNPL sector this week, the RBA on Thursday provided added detail on the discussions it was having with the industry about potential rules on surcharging. The RBA said there may be one day case for tighter regulation of BNPL operators, including Afterpay, but it had not been made yet. Credit:Attila Csaszar Currently, operators such as Afterpay do not allow retailers to add a surcharge to purchases made through BNPL systems. This often makes these purchases cheaper for customers than paying on a credit card. The RBA last year considered banning these no surcharge rules at some point, but decided there was not a case for such action yet because BNPL players are still relatively small and it did not want to stifle innovation. 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. Connecticut is on the verge of ending Catholic school choice for inner-city high school children in the Archdiocese of Hartford for good. This would require inner-city Black and Hispanic students to find transportation or be bused to white communities to find a Catholic school education. Just imagine, if the states public schools denied inner-city children (Blacks and Hispanics) the opportunity to get an education but allowed students from white communities the opportunity to get an education the entire nation would be up in arms. Now imagine the villain in this scenario is a very unlikely institution, the Catholic Church and their Catholic schools. They are allowing their white communities to have an opportunity at a Catholic school education with neighborhood high schools while denying the same opportunity to Blacks and Hispanic students by closing all their inner-city Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford and leaving only one open in all of Connecticut. Both examples would be called discriminatory. Over a short period of time, the approach was done largely by closing the feeder Catholic Middle Schools that were in proximity to the inner-city Catholic High School. This allowed for a self -fulfilling prophecy with the inner-city Catholic high school on a predictable course to have a declining enrollment. Then, we had COVID which hurt those in urban areas extremely hard. This is what occurred in Waterburys Sacred Heart High School, my alma mater. A school that gave me an opportunity to go to Yale University and become the first Black from an Ivy League undergraduate school to become a member of Congress. The record is clear. With the exception of Kolbe Cathedral in Bridgeports Archdiocese all other Catholic High Schools would be in affluent white communities. They have a right to segregate themselves like the schools in the South did in the 20th Century which prompted the Brown vs Board of Education decision, but like Bob Jones University in the 1980s who also condoned discriminatory practices they cannot be allowed to receive federal funding, and in most states state funding. I am pleased the Waterbury chapter of the NAACP is seeking to halt this atrocity. They must use the judicial system to get justice. They must stop the government support for those who break Civil Rights laws and maybe even seek retribution. The graduation rates at Catholic high schools in Connecticut are much higher than in most inner-city public schools. The prospects for college scholarships are much better from Catholic high schools, and the values that a Catholic high school education offers are superior as well in my opinion. For example, Blacks and Hispanics make up a majority of all the abortions in America, I would think that number would be much lower for those who attend a Catholic high schools. The crime committed by inner-city students in public school is much higher than those students who attend a Catholic high school. Yet, the Catholic high schools for inner-city children in Connecticut are on the verge of extinction, a memory and thing of the past, nearly ending school choice for high school inner-city kids. The Sacred Heart High School Alumni and Community has done fundraising, has a plan to increase the number of students, and are developing a long-term solution. The federal governments COVID relief fund, U.S. Department of Education funding that can go to private Catholic Schools and the COVID Governors Emergency Education Relief funds as well as other funds can help keep the school alive. More COVID relief is coming soon. Ironically, to keep schools (public and private) open. I pray and trust that the white, Black, and Hispanic communities will rise and support fairness and a society with equal opportunity for all. If the Catholic Church is too powerful or if the will of the people is not there or simply apathetic, then we will all deserve what we get in the future. May God soften the hearts of the Catholic school administrators. Gary A. Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticuts 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New Englands first Black member of the House. He is host of the podcast We Speak Frankly. @GaryFranks 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. Gardai have issued a number of fines after discovering several people drinking in a suspected shebeen in Co Offaly today. Officers searched the private premises in Edenderry earlier today as part of Operation Navigation due to suspicions that the site was in breach of liquor licensing legislation. During the search, gardai discovered a number of people on the premises consuming alcohol in a fully-operational bar. A significant amount of alcohol, including six beer kegs, were also seized during the operation. Expand Close Suspected shebeen. Photo: An Garda Siochana / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Suspected shebeen. Photo: An Garda Siochana The offenders will all be issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for an alleged breach of Regulation 4 of the Health Act 1947 Regulations, Restriction on the Movement of Persons. A file is in the process of being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Expand Close Suspected shebeen. Photo: An Garda Siochana / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Suspected shebeen. Photo: An Garda Siochana A Garda spokesperson said: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Siochana continues to appeal to all citizens to comply with Public Health Guidelines and Regulations in order to save lives. The Prime Minister's father today gave him a 'B-plus or maybe A-minus' grade for his handling of the pandemic, but deducted marks because of the more than 100,000 people who have died with coronavirus. Former MEP Stanley Johnson, 80, praised the Government's 'remarkably successful' vaccine rollout and defended No10's repeated use of lockdowns and 'social measures' to try to suppress the disease. He called the pandemic 'really unprecedented' and said 'it will be easy to cast aspersions one way or the other' over the response to Covid-19 at a public inquiry - which Labour is demanding should take place in June. In an interview with TalkRadio, Mr Johnson Sr said a formal 'lessons learned' inquiry should not be taking place now, adding: 'We've not been confronted with this situation before, who knows what was the right thing to do'. The former Eurocrat also accused Brussels of 'going beyond its powers here in trying to interfere with a legal contract this country [Britain] may have with AstraZeneca in Belgium' and urged 'huge caution' on both sides. Former MEP Stanley Johnson (left), the Prime Minister's father, gave him a 'B-plus or maybe A-minus' grade for his handling of the pandemic, but deducted marks due to the 100,000 toll More than a dozen EU countries have suspended their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while others including Austria have black-listed a particular batch over blood clot fears which the EMA has already played down even ahead of its final verdict Asked to give Boris Johnson a grade, his father gave a 'B-plus or maybe A-minus' rating and predicted a return to normality in 'a month or two'. But he told show presenter Ian Collins: 'There's no doubt about it, 100,000 people who lost their lives, you cant be A-plus.' The Prime Minister's father has received both doses of the Covid jab. Speaking about the vaccine rollout, he said that 'the proof is in the pudding'. 'A month or two from now I think we'll be saying to ourselves, 'well, it worked. Yes, there's been a cost in lives, there's been a cost in terms of the economy, but faced with an unprecedented, really unprecedented situation... we have, or we will have, got through it',' Mr Johnson Sr said. However, he refused to speculate on how the Prime Minister has rated his own performance, saying: 'I'm not privy to anyone's innermost thoughts.' Supply figures for the coronavirus vaccines were expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January Britain gets most of its AstraZeneca supplies from factories within the country. Most manufacturing is done in Keele and Oxford, with the finishing process completed in Wrexham Describing when his son was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in London with Covid-19, Mr Johnson Sr said: 'When roughly in early April last year... I think that certainly did bring back home to me, if it needed to be brought back home to me, that this was a really serious, serious issue that needed to be handled seriously.' He also took aim at Brussels, as UK ministers accused the EU of 'brinkmanship' after threatened to block exports of jabs to Britain. Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday said the Government 'fully expects' all of its contracts with vaccine manufacturers to be delivered on time. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had complained the bloc is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return as she warned of action to ensure 'reciprocity'. Mr Johnson Sr told TalkRadio: 'I suspect that the EU is going beyond its powers here in trying to interfere with a legal contract this country may have with AstraZeneca. 'I think this is a very, very delicate area, and I think everyone needs to proceed with huge caution at this point, and I don't think the EU is handling this in the right way.' Seoul, March 18 : A top North Korean official has vowed to ignore the US' attempts to establish contact until Washington has met Pyongyang's conditions, state media reported on Thursday. "We don't think there is need to respond to the US delaying-time trick again," North Korea's First Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui was cited as saying in a report issued by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). She accused Washington of adopting hostile policies and using "cheap tricks", dpa news reported citing KCNA. Choe said no contact or dialogue of any kind was possible unless the US rolls back what she called its "hostile policy" towards North Korea. "In order for a dialogue to be held, an atmosphere for both parties to exchange words on an equal basis must be created," she said, adding that Pyongyang would also disregard future Washington attempts to take up contact. With Choe's statement, North Korea confirmed for the first time that the administration of President Joe Biden has been trying to get in touch. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had announced that efforts in this direction had so far been unsuccessful. The goal is to rely on diplomacy and reduce the "risk of escalation", it said. But the following day, Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, threatened to scrap a peace agreement with South Korea as she slammed Seoul for conducting military exercises with the US. She also warned the new US administration against any provocative acts, saying "if it wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step". Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, had initiated talks with Kim Jong-un about Pyongyang's nuclear programme and also met him personally. Despite two high-profile summits, little progress was made on the issue of reducing or dismantling the disputed North Korean nuclear arsenal. The low ice at northwestern Greenland Camp Century completely melted at least once during the previous million years and was filled with vegetation, moss, and possibly trees, according to a paper released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Examination of This Remarkable Sediment University of Vermont's Department of Geology and the Gund Institute for Environment researcher Doctor Andrew Christ disclosed that ice sheets usually dissolve and destroy everything in their way. But what they found out was fragile plant patterns - flawlessly conserved. "They're fossils, but they seem as if they withered yesterday. It's a time pill of what used to live on Greenland that they would not be able to locate anywhere in the world." Dr. Christ and colleagues examined sediment at the core of the Camp Century ice core, gathered 75 miles (120 km) from the shore in northwestern Greenland. They clarified that the subglacial sediment from the Camp Century ice bottom was obtained in 1966. The sediment was kept frozen, first from 1966 at the University at Buffalo, until it was transmitted in 1994 and 1996 to the Niels Bohr Institute. The sediment, frozen below almost 0.9 miles (1.4 km) of ice, hold well-conserved fossil biomolecules and plants gotten from at least two ice-free mild intervals in the few previous million years. ALSO READ: Scientists Find Huge Canyons Hidden Under Ice In Antarctica The Camp Century Ice Core The scientists explained that they utilized a sequence of highly analytical methods - none of which were readily accessible to scientists 50 years ago - to study the sediment, the waxy coating, and fossils of leaves discovered at the ground of the Camp Century ice sheet. For instance, they assessed ratios of unique isotopes of both the element beryllium and aluminum that shape in quartz only when the floor is revealed to the sky and can be struck by cosmic rays. The additional examination used unusual patterns of oxygen, discovered in the ice inside the sediment, to demonstrate that precipitation must have declined at much lower peaks than the height of the present ice sheet, revealing the ice sheet is missing. The authors determined that the Greenland Ice Layer continued over much of the Pleistocene but reformed and melted since 1.1 million years ago, at least once. Dr. Christ explained that their research indicates that Greenland is a lot more susceptible to normal climate warming than believed - and they already understand that society's out-of-restraint warming of the earth greatly outperforms the normal rate. Looks Can Be Deceiving "Greenland may appear far away, but it melts easily, pouring plenty into the oceans that Miami, Dhaka, New York - pick your state - will go inside water" explained by scientist in Rubenstein School of the environment and Natural Resources at the University, the Gund Institute for Environment of Vermont in the department of geology. The finding aids in substantiating a recent and unsettling perception that the Greenland ice has melted off altogether during previous warm periods in the world's history -- those periods such as the one presently generated with human-created climate change. RELATED ARTICLE: Oldest Ice in Earth: The Hidden Glacier Ice in McMurdo Dry Valleys For more news, updates about plant fossils and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! A cold war is brewing between the United States and China. We outmatch them in most measurescontrary to many scaremongers, they do not pose an imminent military threatbut theyve been playing the Great Power game more cleverly than we have, and it seems they might outmaneuver us again when two of President Bidens top officials meet on Friday, in Anchorage, Alaska, with their Chinese counterparts. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have run hot and cold for more than a half-century, but in the past decade, under President Xi Jinpings reign, China has assumed a more ambitious and aggressive posture. It has built up military power in the South China Sea (violating accepted boundaries of international waters), embedded its technology and supply chains in trade deals around the world, stepped up intellectual-property theft targeting the U.S. and other democracies, and imposed authoritarian rule on Hong Kong, violating a treaty that guaranteed the former British colony autonomy until 2047. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elizabeth Economy, an Asia scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, sees these moves as pieces of a strategy to replace the United States as the preeminent power in the Asia Pacific and, ultimately, to achieve a transformation of the world order. Though President Trump lambasted China more loudly than some of his predecessors (except when he was lauding Xi as a great friend and leader), the actions he took either had no effect on Beijings power or strengthened it. His entire response to Xis unfair trade practices was to wage a trade war, which hurt American farmers and manufacturers at least as much as it did Chinese enterprises. More damaging still, he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnershipan trade treaty among Asian and North American allies that would have formed a potent bulwark against Chinese economic expansionand alienated those allies and many others, in every other way imaginable, giving Beijing wide leeway to fill the vacuum with its own overtures. Advertisement Biden is focused on correcting Trumps errors. This week, as a prelude to Fridays meeting in Anchorage, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to South Korea and Japan to assure those allies of U.S. solidarity. More important, Biden himself met virtually with the leaders of India, Japan, and Australiawhich, with the U.S., is known as the Quad, a coalition designed to contain China in the Indo-Pacific regionto outline joint policies to appeal to developing countries, including the supply of millions of doses of the most effective vaccines against COVID-19. (Beijing has also been practicing vaccine diplomacy, but with its own, less effective vaccine.) Advertisement Just as Biden hopes that tangibly helping victims of the pandemics economic downturn will sway Americans to vote for him and other Democrats in future elections, so he hopes that the same sort of assistancedemonstrating the tangible benefits of an alliance with the U.S.might sway foreign countries away from a nexus with China. Advertisement Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who will be attending the Anchorage meeting, have said that they do not plan to hold negotiations with their Chinese counterparts. Instead, they will treat the session as an airing of grievances about Chinese misbehaviorand suspect that the Chinese will reciprocateto demonstrate that Bidens private words match his public words: in short, to demonstrate Americas seriousness. However, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday afternoon that China has decided to throw a wrench in the works by proposing that the U.S. suspend the Trump-era tariffs against Chinese goods, offering to suspend its own tariffs against American goods in return. If Blinken and Sullivan dont accept the offer, Chinese diplomats will tell the world that the Americans are obstructionists, hellbent on conflict and turmoil. Many will believe the claim. Beijing will thus trap the American diplomats in their own rhetoric. The Chinese understand this game very well, says Daniel Sneider, a lecturer at Stanford University and a longtime observer of Asian politics. They can play it with the best of them. Advertisement Advertisement Maybe Blinken and Sullivan, having no doubt read the Journal piece, are altering their own game plan, to allow for some accommodationa relaxation of tensions, however slight. Doing so might strengthen their wider effort to coordinate a tougher China containment policy, which might be more credible and effective if it isnt dogmaticif opportunities for cooperation, when its in both sides interests, are pursued as well. Biden has long said that the only way to beat China is to do so with allies, but there are limits to this approach. Some U.S. allies, in Asia and elsewhere, dont want to get confrontational with China because they dont see China as a direct threat, they rely too much on China for markets and cheap labor, or both. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, has said she doesnt want to be roped into an America-led cold war with China. The South Koreans dont want to upset Xi because they see China as crucial to a peace deal worked out with North Koreaand they want such a deal much more avidly than Washington does. (It is telling that the joint statement, released Thursday after Blinken and Austins meeting with South Koreas foreign and defense ministers, said nothing about the denuclearization of North Korea or about China.) Advertisement Advertisement There is also some risk in portraying the contest with Chinaas Biden and Blinken have sometimes doneas one of democratic values vs. authoritarian rule. Some of our Asian and European allies are drifting away from democracy, not least India, a member of the Quad. Even some of Chinas less clever diplomats could call Hypocrisy! on that line; they might even invoke recent cases of voter suppression and gerrymandering in the United States. Nor is it clear that this sort of pressure would work. Asked at a Senate hearing this week about Chinas crackdown on Hong Kongs democratic protesters (for which Biden recently sanctioned 24 Chinese officials), Elizabeth Economy said, On core sovereignty issues, Im not certain any amount of sanctions will change China. It could make them hunker down. Advertisement However, Economy said, speaking out on human rights and democracyeven making it a central element of U.S. policyis not only a good thing to do but could also improve our standing with developing countries. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has supplied loans for investment throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin Americain exchange for which these countries support China. We need to make inroads with these countries, in part for its own sake, in part to dry up global support for Beijing. If China finds they have no support, theyll feel the heat, she said. Advertisement Advertisement In this arena, the U.S. has many potential strengths and China has vulnerabilities. The Belt and Road Initiative is hitting roadblocks, as the partnering countries are growing frustrated with the punitive terms of Chinas loans and the shoddy quality of its infrastructure projects. The United States could step in and offer its own terms and supplies as an alternative. Many countries would welcome the overture. Trump did nothing in this arena; he shrank the budgets for foreign aid and investment; Biden could make huge advances if he scaled them up. Advertisement Trump wasnt the only president who miscalculated on China. Many of Bidens officials, who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations, now realize that they erred in thinking that drawing China into the global economy would turn the country into a rules-abiding democracy. Its now clear that Chinacertainly under Xiis more intent on reshaping the world to their own interests. But Xi has overplayed his game. His aggressive behavior and belligerent rhetoric have backfired. Countries, once happy to benefit from Chinese markets and cheap goods in exchange for a bit of dependence on its political demands, are bristling at the arrangementanother reason Biden could step in, offer an alternative, and reopen wide avenues for U.S. influence. Advertisement Advertisement China also lags well behind us in high technology. Seif Khan, research fellow at Georgetowns Center for Security and Emerging Technology, testified in Senate hearings this week that China is heavily dependent on the U.S. and other countries for semiconductor chips, jet engines, space technology, and quantum computing. Meanwhile, though, U.S. military officers and defense contractors are taking advantage of the fears and turbulence, using the China Threat as the rationale for building a lot more ships, airplanes, and missiles. (When Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., proposed shifting $1 billion of seed money away from a new nuclear missile to help combat COVID-19, Rep. Liz Cheney denounced him as a shill for China.) Not just U.S. commanders in the Pacific are getting into the act. Earlier this month, Adm. Craig Fuller, the head of Southern Command, which controls U.S. forces in Latin and South America, told Congress that his area is the new front line in the competition with China. (China is making diplomatic and economic inroads in South America, but has no military presence there.) Advertisement Defenses do need to be shored up in Asia, but China is not 10 feet tall. Its navy and air force, though growing, are not yet capable of sustaining military operations even a little bit away from its shores. (A new book of speculative fiction, dramatizing a world war between the U.S. and China, is titled 2034not 2024, much less 2021.) Advertisement True, the U.S. and much of the West is also dependent on China for many supply chainsin manufacturing, medicines, and consumer electronics. Bidens team is trying to create new supply chains within the United States or with dependable allies, at least for vital economic sectors. It will take years to reverse this trend, and we probably wont ever climb out of it entirely. (Does anyone want a $5,000 iPhone?) However, the biggest challenge facing Biden is to figure out not so much how to counter China but how to reshape U.S. foreign policy broadly in a fast-changing world where the precepts of the Cold Warand even of the decade or so after the Cold War endedhave less and less relevance to measures of power and prosperity. Blinken and Sullivan have said that the United States main advantage over China is that we have allies and they dont. But the U.S. needs to focus on more than just allies, many of which are allies on some issues, less so on others. We have to have our own view of what the world should look like in 2049 and our place in it, Elizabeth Economy said at this weeks Senate hearing. Rather than merely react to Chinese moves, she added, we need a Belt and Road Initiative strategy of our own, with a clear statement of what the U.S. can bring to the table. (Newser) There wasnt much to laugh about Wednesday as late night hosts took on the Atlanta-area shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women. The Daily Show's Trevor Noah noted his frustration at the shooter's claim that he wasn't motivated by racism. "Your murders speak louder than your words," he said. "This guy blamed a specific race of people for his problems, then murdered them because of this. If thats not racism, then the word has no meaning." More: "What makes it even more painful is that we saw it coming," Noah said, per the Washington Post. "People in the Asian community have been tweeting, saying: 'Please, help us. We're getting punched in the street. We're getting slurs written on our doors. We're getting people coming up to us to say, Thanks for Covid.'" And "we've seen this happening." Noah added "America is a rich tapestry of mass-shooting motivations" but only "wants to fight the symptoms and not the underlying conditions that cause those symptoms to take effectracism, misogyny, gun violence, mental illness," per the New York Times. Noah also noted police would never say a Black suspect had "a really bad day" and was "at the end of his rope," as Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Capt. Jay Baker said of the white suspect. The spokesman was later found to have promoted shirts claiming the coronavirus was an "IMPORTED VIRUS FROM CHY-NA," per the Post. story continues below "Police are reporting the guy who admits he did it says it had nothing to do with race. But why should we believe him? He's the murderer," said Late Show host Stephen Colbert. "The fact is six Asian women are dead at a time when that community is already living under a cloud of fear," he added, calling on people "to recognize our common humanity." James Corden described a crisis and called on "all of us to address the hate." "When you think about the casual racism thats been pervasive over the past 12 months, then we can start to see the link between language and action," added the Late Late Show host. "There are real consequences to repeatedly hearing hateful speech. People get hurt and people die." Full Frontal's Samantha Bee said it was "a terrifying reminder of the dangers women, and especially women of color, face just for living their lives." She dedicated a portion of her show to the murder of Sarah Everard in the UK. "By shutting down peaceful vigils and instructing women to stay in their homes, the Metropolitan Police appear more interested in restricting women's freedom than in stopping men's violence," she said. The hosts did manage to draw a few laughs on St. Patrick's Day. "It is the day Irish people say, 'Kiss me, I'm Irish,' and people say, 'No, you're not, Governor Cuomo, stop that,'" quipped Noah. Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon asked "are we really celebrating when I can't see a subway grate blow a kilt over a man's head?" He added "instead of Pfizer and Moderna, people just stayed home and did shots of Jameson." (Read more Atlanta stories.) Advertisement Good Morning Britain lost a further 100,000 viewers yesterday as it recorded its joint lowest ratings over the past month with the show having now lost nearly 40 per cent of its audience since Piers Morgan sensationally quit. The ITV morning programme attracted roughly 800,000 viewers yesterday, which was the joint lowest recorded by ratings service Overnights.TV over the previous four weeks along with the Fridays of February 26 and March 5. The audience was also 700,000 below the 1.49million who watched BBC Breakfast at the same time yesterday, and it comes after GMB pulled in roughly 900,000 viewers this Tuesday and Monday, and 850,000 last Friday. The GMB audience is now down by 500,000 from the 1.29million who tuned in on Tuesday of last week which was the first time the ITV broadcast had beaten its long-time rival BBC Breakfast, which had 1.25million. That episode of GMB turned out to be Morgan's final programme before he quit the show after claiming he didn't 'believe a word' Meghan Markle said during her Oprah Winfrey interview, first broadcast on CBS on March 7. The changing figures over the past week suggest GMB has lost hundreds of thousands of viewers who would either not normally be watching breakfast TV, or who had switched from watching BBC to ITV in the morning. But sources at ITV pointed out that the comparison was being made in the context of last week having the two highest-rated shows since GMB launched in 2014, on the Tuesday and Wednesday. The latter was presented by Ranvir Singh and Susanna Reid. The sources added that all GMB audience figures are still up year-on-year. Yesterday was also the 14th time this year that the GMB audience has been below 800,000. A GMB spokesman told MailOnline today: 'In real terms GMB share of viewing continues to grow. This week so far is up 7 per cent when compared to the same days last year, and year to date share of viewing is up 18 per cent when compared to the same period in 2020.' Meanwhile ITV's share price today was up by 1.3 per cent or 1.55p to nearly 1.24 on the FTSE 250 index in London this morning, having fallen to just above 1.22 at the close yesterday. More than 254,000 people have now signed three separate Change.org petitions demanding Morgan should be brought back to GMB, with the totals this morning standing at 51,763, 153,553 and 49,125. GMB was hosted yesterday by Reid and Ben Shephard, who was mocked for urging the Royal Family and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to 'share their truth' and 'hopefully start healing' after private talks were leaked. ITV's Good Morning Britain has now lost nearly 40 per cent of its audience since Piers Morgan sensationally quit last week Piers Morgan is pictured near his home in West London last Wednesday, the morning after he quit Good Morning Britain ITV presenter Ben Shephard (left) was mocked by his Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid (right) on yesterday's show The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in conversation with Oprah Winfrey in their interview which first aired on CBS on March 7 Shephard, who added that it was important for all parties 'to be honest with each other', was accused by Reid of 'sounding like a Californian therapist' while Ranvir Singh joked that he needed to get his 'teeth whitened'. Morgan's comments about the Duchess of Sussex's interview last week led to the highest number of complaints in the TV regulator's history. The episodes of GMB on March 8 and 9 sparked 57,121 complaints to Ofcom. Victoria Derbyshire becomes external frontrunner to replace Piers Morgan on GMB Bookmakers have now made Victoria Derbyshire the external frontrunner to replace Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. The BBC journalist has seen her odds of hosting GMB cut from 10/1 to just 4/1 after reports suggested ITV bosses were keen on signing her up. The latest odds from Ladbrokes are: Adil Ray - 2/1 - 2/1 Ben Shephard - 5/2 - 5/2 Ranvir Singh - 7/2 - 7/2 Alex Beresford - 4/1 - 4/1 Victoria Derbyshire - 4/1 - 4/1 Eamonn Holmes - 5/1 - 5/1 Charlene White - 5/1 - 5/1 Charlotte Hawkins - 5/1 - 5/1 Richard Madeley - 6/1 - 6/1 Robert Rinder - 6/1 - 6/1 Sean Fletcher - 6/1 - 6/1 Kate Garraway - 7/1 - 7/1 Bill Turnbull - 8/1 - 8/1 Jeremy Kyle - 8/1 - 8/1 Rylan Clarke-Neal - 10/1 - 10/1 Jeremy Clarkson - 16/1 - 16/1 Steph McGovern - 12/1 - 12/1 Tina Daheley - 14/1 - 14/1 Alison Hammon d - 20/1 Advertisement But Morgan responded on Twitter yesterday, writing: 'Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come upand congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me.' ITV announced Morgan had left the show on the evening of March 9, shortly after Ofcom said it had launched an investigation under its harm and offence rules after receiving more than 41,000 complaints in two days. It later emerged that Meghan also made a formal complaint to Ofcom about the TV host after he dismissed her account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the Royal Family. Morgan said on-air that he 'didn't believe a word' of her interview with chat show host Oprah when she laid bare claims of her struggles. She raised concerns with the broadcaster about the effect Morgan's comments may have on the issue of mental health generally and those attempting to deal with their own problems - and not about his attack on herself. After a clip aired of Meghan discussing her issues with mental health and suicidal thoughts and royal officials' knowledge of them, Morgan said during Monday's programme: 'I'm sorry, I don't believe a word she says. I wouldn't believe her if she read me a weather report.' Morgan's final episode of the show saw him walk off the set after a heated exchange with co-star Alex Beresford, in which Beresford accused Morgan of 'trashing' Meghan. Morgan has stood by his comments and said his departure from GMB was caused by the 'cancel culture that is permeating our country'. The complaints about Morgan's comments far exceed those made about about Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 when ex-Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett alleged she had been assaulted by fellow housemate Ryan Thomas, which prompted 25,327 complaints. Ofcom received around 24,500 complaints about Diversity's performance on Britain's Got Talent last year, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The controversy with Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 was previously the most complained about issue, attracting 44,500 complaints. Bookmakers have made BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire (pictured) the external frontrunner to replace Morgan on GMB Piers Morgan with his wife Celia Walden in Los Angeles last year. He quit Good Morning Britain on Tuesday of last week It comes as Morgan slammed American broadcaster Gayle King for acting as a 'PR mouthpiece' for the Sussexes to 'facilitate their ongoing public trashing of our Royal Family'. Three petitions urging ITV to bring back Piers A petition launched after Piers Morgan quit GMB, found here, said he had been treated 'appallingly'. A second petition titled 'Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life' is seen here. Another set up to 'Save Piers Morgan from being sacked from GMB' said a decision to remove him would be 'an absolute farce.' It can be found here. Advertisement Morgan told the CBS This Morning presenter last night to do her 'job as a journalist and ask them about all the lies they told' in their interview with Oprah. He added in a tweet: 'America should hear THE truth.' Among the claims proven wrong were that Archie had a birthright to be a prince, he wouldn't get 24/7 security because he wasn't a prince and that Meghan had not seen her half-sister Samantha Markle in almost 20 years. It comes after Miss King, 66, backed ITV's stance over Morgan's departure from GMB after he refused to apologise for his comments about Meghan, which led to the highest number of complaints in TV regulator Ofcom's history. She told her SiriusXM radio programme last Thursday: 'Piers Morgan is no longer with a job. He stormed off the air after saying that I don't believe that she had mental illness, I don't believe she was suicidal. 'They got over 41,000 calls of people weighing in to say that is not OK, that is not cool. And by the next day, he was out of a job. He said he resigned. I find that a little hard to believe when you had 41,000 calls.' Miss King also referred to Beresford, who was involved in the moment that saw Morgan walk out last week. She said: 'And kudos to his co-anchor, they said it was the weather guy. I wonder if he was the weather guy, but they described him as a weather guy, who spoke out and really let Piers have it on the air, and then Piers stormed off, and now Piers is no longer on the air there.' There are stories that we tell. And there are stories that we keep, until we cant. Keli Burns, 36, is a college administrator and married suburban Chicago mom. Online she posts about her sons bowling skills and, for her daughter, reminders about Girl Scout cookie season. When Burns mentions her father, she describes herself as a daddys girl until he passed away suddenly when she was 18. What she thought shed never share is that in 2002, a Minneapolis police officer compressed her fathers neck until he died, less than two miles from where a different police officer pressed George Floyd into the pavement nearly 20 years later. The medical examiner ruled her fathers death a homicide. There was no trial. Ive been contemplating if I was going to post this or not, Burns wrote on Instagram in May 2020 as footage of Floyds death became public. She was sharing what only her husband and a few others knew. But this one hit hard! This isnt the first time Minneapolis police have done this!!.My father Christopher Burns died, just like this innocent Black male, killed in the hands of [Minneapolis,] Minnesota police in 2002. Read more: George Floyds Death and the Long History of Racism in Minneapolis As the world awaits the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former officer charged with killing Floyd, some, like Burns, know that more often than not, justice eludes the families of those killed by police. Criminal charges for police officers are rare, and convictions extraordinary. In a typical year, about 1,000 people are shot to death by police in the U.S. From January 2005 to March 11, 2021, just 138 law-enforcement officers had been charged with murder or manslaughter for on-duty shootings, according to an analysis prepared for TIME by Philip Stinson, a professor of criminal justice who also directs the Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database at Bowling Green State University. Of the 138 officers, 44 have been convicted. Stinson identified at least 10 additional officers charged because of choke-hold deaths between January 2005 and February 2021. One was convicted of civil rights violations and another of falsifying reports. Story continues Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and third-degree murder, a charge that was reinstated on March 11 after it was initially dismissed. Prosecutors have argued the additional charge will increase the odds of conviction, but it carries a shorter prison term than second-degree murder. Jury selection began March 9, and opening statements are scheduled for March 29. In the Burns case, police were responding to a loud argument at the apartment where Burns girlfriend was staying. Officers said they forced their way into the house after Burns insisted they werent needed. Lisa Burns, who was 3 years old, was in the room when her father died. Christopher Burns in a 1990s family photo with his mother, two sisters and daughter Keli, front Courtesy Keli Burns Lisa said, and she doesnt remember this [today],They killed my daddy. They killed my daddy,' Keli Burns recalls. Before the funeral, she says she learned that two of Burns teeth had been knocked out and bones in his neck broken. As she would in multiple cases involving Black men killed by police in Minneapolis, Hennepin Countys then chief prosecutor, now Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, declined to use her power to indict. A grand jury also refused to indict. Its not an unusual scenario, and one reason may be that American juries often dont look much like America. Patrick Bayer, an economist at Duke University, studies racial inequality and segregation. In his latest research, Bayer and his co-authors examined data from 2,400 felony trials conducted from 2005 to 2012 in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. They found that people from predominantly white and affluent suburban neighborhoods were overrepresented in jury pools, resulting in juries that looked little like the people living in and around the nations fourth largest city. They were more likely to receive jury summonses by mail because many didnt move as frequently as lower-income renters, whose jury notices often went to outdated addresses. Overrepresentation from those suburban ZIP codes increased the median sentence handed down to Black defendants by more than 50%, the research concluded. "I have to pray that justice will be done for any other case that comes up, for anybody else that has to go through this." In Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, white Americans made up 68% of residents according to the most recent Census data, but 80% of the jury pool in fiscal year 2020. Black residents were 13.8% of the population but 8.2% of the jury pool. Finances also contribute to the racial disparity, says Andrew Gordon, a defense lawyer in Minneapolis and deputy director of Community Legal Services at the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit law firm. Jurors get $20 a day for their service, and most states, including Minnesota, dont require employers to pay workers on jury duty. It doesnt put food on the table and it doesnt pay rent, Gordon says of the daily stipend. If you have ever been to downtown Minneapolis, that may not even cover your parking. Chauvins lawyers have a difficult challenge. They must explain Chauvins refusal to remove his knee and render first aid. There is also Chauvins flat affect during Floyds final moments. Read more: Society Is Paying the Price for Americas Outdated Police Training Methods Prosecutors face an arguably more complex task. To convince 12 jurors that Chauvin acted unreasonably or with insufficient regard for Floyds life, they must also accomplish what the video of his death did for those who protested: get the white people on the jurywho are more likely to describe their encounters with police as positiveto sympathize with a large Black man rather than the officer confronting him. Those are skills they [prosecutors] dont necessarily have, says trial consultant Diane Wiley. They are usually on the side of police. Wiley is president of the National Jury Project, a firm founded after she and colleagues consulted on a 1974 trial involving Native American activists Russell Means and Dennis Banks, who occupied Wounded Knee, S.D. (A judge eventually dismissed the charges.) Wiley has seen few prosecutors who can get white jurors past stereotypes about danger and race. In the Chauvin trial, even though Floyd is the victim, it will be no small task. In this country, says Gordon, part of the constructs and narratives of being a Black man is that you have superhuman strength. You are capable of hurting people not because you are fighting or resisting, but Black. Gordon doubts the defense will say that so plainly. Floyds drug use, criminal record and size will be the story told. No one on the defense has to say it, says Gordon. They can let it [the stereotypes] do their unconscious work. Read more: How George Floyds Killing Highlighted Americas Police Reform Failures In police trials, dueling expert testimony is often presented. In the Chauvin case, there are autopsies with different findings, and the disputed concept of excited delirium has already surfaced in pretrial paperwork. The condition and its ability to cause sudden death in agitated people is often the basis of officers claims that overwrought individuals had to be restrained with great force, for their own good. For Christopher Burns 82-year-old mother Ann Burns, the Floyd case is just like a nightmare reappearing. The experts said Christopher Burns, 44, was combative and violent, and had to be contained. The family was told her handcuffed son reached for an officers gun, prompting them to put him in a choke holda maneuver Minneapolis police finally banned last June. To her, the police version made no sense. It still doesnt. It is among the reasons Keli Burns began talking to her son about policing and racism when he was just 8 years old. Ann Burns house is sprinkled with pictures of Christopher: graduating from high school, in his 20s holding baby Keli, at family gatherings in his 30s and 40s. He was a reliable son and a certified nursing assistant who helped care for his father after a stroke, his mother says. He was a dad who taught Lisa how to ride a bike and drive a car, she says. The last time she saw him, he was boarding a bus in Chicago, where hed been living, taking Little Lisa back to her mom in Minneapolis. Minneapolis paid Burns family $300,000, but it wasnt the justice they wanted. The officer involved in Burns death, Lucas Peterson, is still on the force. He has been named in at least 12 other excessive-force settlements. Thats why I have to pray, says Ann Burns. I have to pray that justice will be done for any other case that comes up, for anybody else that has to go through this, and for peace of mind so that I will be able to sleep at night. With reporting by LESLIE DICKSTEIN In this Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 photo, rescue workers search the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Canada's Transportation Safety Board says it will comment this morning on a report from Iran on the downing of a passenger jet by its military in January 2020. The final report blames "human error" as the reason why Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 minutes after it took off from Tehran on Jan. 8 last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ebrahim Noroozi GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Rangebound as BoE is Expected to Walk A Tightrope The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate held steady today ahead of the Bank of Englands (BoE) announcement of its latest outlook for the economy. The pairing is currently fluctuating around AU$1.78. Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, said that the BoE is now expected to walk a tightrope by avoiding a too hawkish message. Earlier this week saw a glimmer of optimism from the BoE, however, in the form of Governor Andrew Baileys comment that he was now more positive about the outlook for the UK economy. As a result, the Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate has held steady today, with hopes that the BoE could strike a more hawkish tone than before, thanks to the Governments rapid rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. However, news that Englands coronavirus vaccines for the under-50s have been delayed has caused some concern over the nations Covid-19 situation going forward. How that weve opened up to the 50 and overs then were going to really focus on getting the vaccine to those who are the most vulnerable, and of course we have a whole load of second doses that we need to deliver. Vaccine supplies are always lumpy and we regularly send out technical letters to the NHS to explain the ups and downs of the supply over the future weeks and [Wednesdays letter] is a standard one of those letters. Consequently, UK markets are becoming more cautious as this could prove an obstacle to the reopening of the nations economy further down the line. Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates Steady Despite Better-than-Expected Australian Jobs Report The Australian Dollar (AUD) benefited overnight owing to a better-than-expected Australian jobs report, which fell to a post-pandemic low of 5.8% last month. Robert Carnell, the Regional Head of Research, Asia-Pacific, at ING, commented on what this might mean for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) going forward: Looking at the employment side of the release, full-time jobs look to have regained all the ground lost as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Everything from here on in will eat away at any slack the RBA believes still exists in the labour market. And the faster that happens, the sooner we can expect them to have to concede that their policy stance is no longer appropriate. However, investors have become more cautious around the risk-sensitive Aussie following a dovish US Federal Reserve policy announcement. Now that the outlook for the US economy, which is the largest in the world, is more uncertain, investors are more hesitant to invest in risk-correlated currencies like the Australian Dollar. GBP/AUD Forecast Australian Dollar (AUD) traders will be awaiting tomorrows publication of Februarys Australian Retail Sales report. Any signs of improvement in the Australian economy would be AUD-positive. Risk sentiment, however, will continue to drive the AUD/GBP exchange rate this week. As a result, rising Covid-19 cases in and across Europe would limit the appeal of riskier assets like the Aussie. The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate could head higher tomorrow if the UKs GfK Consumer Confidence figure for March shows a marked improvement in the outlook for the economy. Abattoir workers have been among the first people to receive the coronavirus vaccine under an early start to the phase 1b rollout in Victoria as the federal government remains adamant that the number of shots being delivered was ramping up. The Australian Lamb Company in Colac confirmed that 56 meat workers had been among the first group of employees to receive their vaccinations. However, the vaccine is only trickling through to GP clinics who will begin offering the AstraZeneca doses from Monday to people eligible for the jab in the 1b phase. Vaccinations have already begun for workers at the Australian Lamb Company in Colac. Credit:Jason South One meatworks paused the program because a fair percentage of its workers had experienced side-effects from the jab. The 1b phase of the national program includes healthcare workers who did not receive their vaccines in phase 1a, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 55 and over, other Australians aged 70 and over, younger adults with a qualifying underlying medical condition or disability and disability carers, and critical and high-risk workers, including those in defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing. On Tuesday, a gunman killed eight people at three different spas in AtlantaYoungs Asian Massage, Gold Spa, and Aromatherapy Spa. Six of the eight victims were Asian women, making it difficult not to connect the killings to the anti-Asian attacks that have consumed the country over the past year due in part to racist rhetoric around the coronavirus pandemic. Asian women and elders have suffered the brunt of the violence. Local officials charged Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man, with four counts of murder and one count of assault on Wednesday, and he is the main suspect. Advertisement To get a sense for how the Asian American community in Atlanta has been responding to the shootings, I spoke with Bianca Jyotishi, Georgia organizing manager for the National Asian Pacific American Womens Forum. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Aaron Mak: What can you tell us about the Asian American population in Atlanta? Bianca Jyotishi: Fulton County, Gwinnett County, and DeKalb County have the largest communities of AAPI residents, and Fulton County is where at least one of the shootings happened. Theres a lot of people, and theres a significant number of immigrant communities in these counties. Our people have really been shaken up by this, just because its so close to home. Its 10 or 15 minutes away from where I live. This is a place where so many of us have been for so long, so for it to hit so close to home is just really scary. Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. What has the reaction to the shootings looked like in these AAPI communities? Theres a lot happening right now. When we first heard the news, a lot of us were just shocked and shaken and angry and confused and frustrated. More so than anything, the most resonating emotion that we felt has actually been fear, fear for our safety and fear for our families. We have several members who actually have experiences in, and whose parents have worked in, similar types of services. A lot of our people are working-class. In a moment of crisis, were grieving and trying to send love and life to the families of the victims who are impacted. In the same moment of grief, were also planning to take action, not having processed our grief fully. Its definitely been a mix of responses of trying to find time to mourn and take action as well. Were in the process of working with a coalition to organize a vigil. Advertisement Advertisement Prior to the shooting, had Atlanta been experiencing the wave of anti-Asian attacks that the nation has faced over the last year? Yeah, even before COVID, weve been seeing instances of anti-Asian hate for so long, and COVID has really just amplified that. Weve had so many community members, a lot of whom dont speak English or speak English as a second language and are working-class immigrants, who have been really afraid to go outside of their homes to even get basic amenities, groceries. You have this overwhelming fear to even walk down your street, to get the mail. And theres already a sense of having to hide ourselves in order to not draw attention. Weve seen community members having experienced racist comments and racial slurs as well. In this moment, a lot of our community members have also experienced the intersection of race and gender, where a lot of them have been fetishized. A lot of our community members have been exoticized and made to be sexual objects, rather than just being seen as human beings. Advertisement You did a lot of outreach to Asian women in the Atlanta area during the most recent Senate races. Was any of this outreach directed at the women who work in these neighborhoods where the shootings occurred, and who work in spas and similar service industries? Advertisement We did get-out-the-vote work in both the general and runoff elections this past year. The majority of the people that we reach out to are directly impacted by the issues that we work on. They are nontraditionally educated. They are not English speakers. They are working-class immigrants and typically arent politically engaged. Our chapter operates in 15 different AAPI languages so we can cover the breadth and the scope of AAPI identities and ethnicities across the state. Advertisement What do you know about the lives of this population of women who work in places like Youngs Asian Massage and Gold Spa? A lot of the ethnicities that were seeing right now are Korean and Vietnamese. A lot of our members and their parents work in some of these fields. What weve noticed from them is that it hits really close to home, because theyre just trying to go about their day and just live their lives, provide for their families, and earn a living for themselves. What were hearing is that so many of our Asian community members go to these types of placeswe go to Asian-specific restaurants and grocery stores and establishments because we feel safer there. We feel that those are our people, and we know that theres already an automatically established trust with those people because theyre ours. They look like us and speak our languages. For this to happen specifically at our places, its really scary. Thats our space, and thats been violated. Advertisement Advertisement Would you say that there are a lot of Asian Americans working in these service industries in Atlanta, and if so, how do they come into those jobs? There are definitely pockets in Georgia where youll see higher populations. Our office is in a very high-AAPI population area. When youre driving down this one highway youll see a bunch of ramen places, a bunch of East-meets-West kinds of restaurants. Theres pockets of DeKalb that are very wealthy, and then theres pockets that are considered less affluent, specifically because there is a large immigrant population there. These areas where the businesses [involved in the shooting] were, theyre very traditionally Asian. Its very visible that theyre Asian businesses. Advertisement I think sometimes those are the jobs we can get when we come. A lot of our degrees are not useful in the United States. If our people are getting degrees in other countries, theyre not seen as credible here in the U.S., and going [to school] here is particularly expensive. A lot of our immigrants when they come here are also past the age of going to school. Sometimes its really just out of economic need. We have to take those jobs because those are all we can get. Other times its an inherited family business. Its really just about continuing family practices. Advertisement Advertisement While we still dont know a lot about the suspect, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds seemed to downplay the possibility that these shootings were racially motivated in a Wednesday press conference. What do you make of those statements? Advertisement Obviously, there are still a lot of unknowns, and a lot hasnt been confirmed yet. But its very clear to me that six Asian women were killed, and there were specific Asian businesses that were targeted. I cannot stress enough how pervasive this fear has been. Were afraid to go in public and go to our jobs. Just simple day-to-day living has been compromised in the past year. Yesterday really solidifies that. Have you personally felt unsafe or uneasy over this past year? Its definitely hard for me. I live alone, and I live on the first floor of my apartment. I am constantly in fear of my safety. Its been hard because, in a moment like this, you want to be surrounded by your people. You want to be surrounded by your community and the people that can uplift you and support you in this moment of crisis and hurt. Were in a pandemic, which makes that close to impossible to do in a safe way. Were forced to deal with pain and grief in a really isolating way. Its taken a toll on my mental health. The requirements for those with health conditions applies to Chicagoans 16 and older, and will follow the Illinois Department of Healths guidelines that include cancer, lung disease, heart conditions and other ailments that put individuals at greater risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. Unlike the rest of the state, however, Chicago will not include smokers in that category and will expand to additional conditions such as HIV/AIDS, liver disease and schizophrenia. Essential jobs will be defined as industries such as restaurants, construction, finance, media and other categories. 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. Convincing and credible In her 2019 report, Ms Bryant-Smith found Ms Frederes testimony convincing and credible. She accepted four of Ms Frederes seven allegations as proven and concluded a further three allegations had elements that could be substantiated but were not sufficient to classify them as proven. Ashley Frederes The investigation also found Professor Lopez raised concerns about Ms Frederes job performance with her superiors after the alleged incidents in 2015. But Ms Bryant-Smith found it could not be proven that Professor Lopezs comments about her performance were linked to her rejecting his alleged advances. Ms Bryant-Smith, a former workplace relations lawyer at Clayton Utz and Allens, formed workplace consultancy Worklogic in 2017. She is a former editorial board member of the Melbourne University Law Review. Professor Lopez, 69, was awarded a companion of the order of Australia in 2016 for his service to public health. He has more than 75,000 citations to his research and was chief epidemiologist for the World Health Organisations tobacco control program during the 1990s. Ms Frederes told The Age and Herald she had been motivated to speak publicly because of the apparent lack of action by the university despite the adverse findings. I realised that people in positions of authority aim to indoctrinate us in the lies that we are too weak to stand up, she said. There is power in revealing the truth and I hope others will feel empowered to stand up for themselves and say enough. University of Melbourne student union president Jack Buksh said the university had yet to deliver on a promise to introduce a stand-alone policy to protect students and staff from sexual harassment and assault and hasnt had that leadership that is required to deal with those issues. Its been more about the cover-up, Mr Buksh said. National Tertiary Education Union president Alison Barnes said the union viewed sexual harassment as not only a workplace health and safety issue, but one of gender inequality. Where complaints are substantiated, the Universitys response must be fair and proportional, enacted without delay, and with the well-being and wishes of the complainant first and foremost, she said. You are going to be a distraction In October 2015, Ms Frederes and Professor Lopez flew to Shanghai to meet senior Chinese health officials as part of an international data for health project involving the University of Melbourne, the World Health Organisation and John Hopkins University. Professor Lopez was one of the leaders of the project, which was designed to improve the cause of death reporting in low to middle income cities and was funded in part by the Australian Government and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The US-based Ms Frederes, who was then 27, was a program officer for another project partner, the US-based health organisation, Vital Strategies. Ms Frederes told the investigator that on the night they arrived she and Professor Lopez met in Professor Lopezs room because the hotels meeting rooms were closed. When Ms Frederes went to leave, Professor Lopez stood between her and the door. He was physically blocking me from leaving and thats when he went in to hug me, and I just went to hug back to make it quick and leave, Ms Frederes alleged in written and verbal accounts. But thats when he didnt let go, and when he started moving his hands over my body and putting his face down closer, leaning in like he was going to kiss me, I froze, because I was very afraid and uncomfortable. Ms Frederes, another colleague, and Professor Lopez on the Shanghai trip. She said she pushed Professor Lopez away and left. She did not raise the incident with Professor Lopez the next day, and nor did she report anything to her employer or the University of Melbourne because she feared it might jeopardise her involvement in the project, she told the investigator. Professor Lopez told the investigation he denied any physical contact with Ms Frederes, save for perhaps European-style cheek kissing. He was also adamant that he had never had her in his hotel room. I firmly and absolutely deny ever having touched or intimidated her in the manner which she alleges: none of the actions she described happened then, or on any other occasion, he said in response. The next morning Ms Frederes arrived at breakfast dressed in black business dress, black blazer and with her hair and make up done in preparation for a meeting. According to her account, Professor Lopez came to breakfast where he said she looked stunning, sexy, and beautiful and would be a distraction for all the men. Professor Lopez denied the account, saying: Those who know me know that I would never tell, nor have I ever told, a female colleague what I am alleged to have told Ms Frederes. That would simply be unprofessional, disrespectful and dismissive. Ms Bryant-Smith accepted Ms Frederes account of both incidents. His breath on my neck A few days later, Professor Lopez was on the verge of returning to Melbourne and he and Ms Frederes had one drink in the lobby to reflect on the past few days. As she left, Professor Lopez followed her into the lift. He was standing in the corner of the elevator, so his back to the corner, and I was sort of standing next to him, but then I turned to say, Goodnight, because we were approaching my floor, and so thats when he went in to hug me again, and this time mostly groped my butt and my waist, sort of moving his hands around my hips and my butt and touching my waist, she alleged to Ms Bryant-Smith. Hes over six feet tall and Im about five-foot-three, so he would just bend his head down and have his sort of mouth very close to my ear and my neck, like I remember feeling his breath on my neck. Ms Frederes said she froze, then pulled away and ran to her room. She contacted a co-worker and friend. Then, according to her complaint, she cried in the shower. Ms Frederes friend and colleague confirmed to the investigator that she did receive a call from the young American about the alleged encounter. She remembered Ms Frederes being upset but composed and saying she did not want to pursue legal action because she feared for her career. Ms Frederes also reported the incident to two other female friends. Another senior female academic working on the project told the investigation how she had detected tension between Ms Frederes and Professor Lopez after the 2015 overseas trips. Professor Lopez again denied, verbally and in writing, any physical contact with Ms Frederes, except for possibly kissing her on the cheek three times. Ms Frederes said she also complained about Professor Lopez to her US boss at Vital Strategies, Philip Setel. Project funder Bloomberg Philanthropies was also made aware about the alleged harassment. Vital Strategies said in a statement that it supported Ms Frederes and her participation in the Melbourne University investigation. We do not condone harassment of any kind, it said. The statement said Mr Setel had agreed to participate in the investigation but was delayed in providing responses. Ms Bryant-Smith accepted Ms Frederes account and rejected Professor Lopezs claim that the young woman had invented the harassment allegations to deflect attention from his criticisms of her job performance in 2017 and 2018. Ms Bryant-Smith also accepted Ms Frederes claims that Professor Lopez had talked in a suggestive and inappropriate manner about his past sexual relationships and body parts during their Shanghai trip. But Professor Lopez told the investigator he could not recall any discussion with Ms Frederes about matters involving his personal life and said he had never before heard of the supposed correlation between a large shoe size and large penis. Ms Frederes produced to the investigation an email sent to her late at night by Professor Lopez during a work trip to Peru a month earlier in which he asked her to join him for a late night drink just the two of us. Ms Bryant-Smith said the email was suggestive but Professor Lopez was not to know at that point that it was unwanted by Ms Frederes. Deciding to come forward It took almost three years after the alleged incidents for Ms Frederes to lodge a formal complaint with the university in August 2018. She said she had been was prompted by the momentum of the #MeToo movement. Loading In 2015, you either quit your job or accepted the fact that misogyny is rampant in all workplaces. When ... other high-profile cases started garnering attention, I felt like it was safe and the right time to file a complaint with the university, she said. But the universitys investigation process was slow. Professor Lopez did not provide a written response to Ms Frederes allegations until May 2019. The general counsel for Ms Frederes employer, Vital Strategies, was moved to complain to the university about the sluggish pace. A Queensland woman who operated illegal and unsafe budget accommodation for backpackers has been fined more than $60,000, having previously been penalised more than $70,000 for fire safety offences. Gatton woman Mayla Patterson pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to display signs in accommodation units, five counts of failing to maintain prescribed fire-safety installations and two counts of failing to prepare a fire-safety management plan within one year at her Gatton and Atkinsons Dam properties, west of Brisbane, in May 2018. Mayla Patterson failed to install the required smoke alarm systems. Credit:John MANGAN Offences included failing to install the required smoke alarm systems, emergency lighting, fire-safety management plans, evacuation signage and compliant door hardware. On Wednesday, Ms Patterson was fined $60,000 for the offences. London: Lawyers for Hollywood actor Johnny Depp said his ex-wifes claim she had donated her divorce settlement to charity was a calculated lie, as they sought permission to appeal a London High Court ruling which upheld that he was a wife beater. Judge Andrew Nicol ruled last November that Depp had violently assaulted Amber Heard during their tempestuous five-year relationship, at times putting her in fear for her life. Johnny Depp, left, is seeking permission to appeal a London High Court ruling which upheld that he beat his ex-wife Amber Heard, right. Credit:Getty Images, AP He rejected Depps claims the allegations were a hoax and his portrayal of his ex-wife as a gold-digger. That decision came after three weeks of hearings during which the court heard claims and counter-claims from Depp, 57, and Heard, 34, who accused each other of violent outbursts. Photo: BIV The Meng Wanzhou extradition hearings returned to court today with the defence getting into the meat of its argument that Canadian authorities abused its arrest process to assist the United States in securing evidence. Defence lawyer Tony Paisana told the court this morning that the actions of the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency during the arrest of the Huawei Technologies CFO on Dec. 1, 2018 in Vancouver created a constellation of facts that build upon one another to create an irrefutable case for abuse of process. These actions, Paisana said, started as soon as Meng stepped off her plane from Hong Kong. The CBSA immediately seized [Mengs] electronic devices, Paisana said, referring to testimony made by CBSA officers in November. They were then placed in Faraday or Mylar bags to prevent remote tempering... it was so unusual that they [CBSA] didnt even have the bags. They had to get them from the RCMP. Paisana added that the CBSA did not open the bags to examine the devices themselves- a step that should have been standard for a border officer looking at Mengs criminality concerns as a potential factor in assessing her eligibility to enter Canada. The lawyer also noted border officers did not examine Mengs luggage closely or question her on the large amount of prescription drugs she had with her during the CBSA examination. These facts, Paisana contends, demonstrated the CBSAs chief concern - assisting the RCMP and in turn U.S. authorities in securing evidence. Presiding judge (and Associate Chief Justice) Heather Holmes, however, said she found that portion of the argument unconvincing. Surely, some border exams focus on one thing versus others focusing on another aspect, Holmes said. ... theres a vast range a border exam covers. Given the evidentiary context, I dont see this [argument] going very far. The hearings continue through the end of the week. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? The two local patients, both male, aged 8 and 48, had come into close contact with previously confirmed Covid-19 cases. They are being treated at the Hai Duong General Hospital. Among the 333 active cases, 118 have tested negative for the novel coronavirus at least once. The northern province of Hai Duong Province, epicenter of Vietnams latest Covid-19 outbreak that has spread to 13 cities and provinces, has recorded 724 local cases since late January. Vietnam has recorded 2,570 Covid-19 cases so far with 35 deaths. The imported case, a 30-year-old woman from HCMC, landed March 7 at the Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa Province from the Philippines and was quarantined on arrival. After testing positive for the virus Wednesday, she is being treated at the Ninh Thuan provincial general hospital. Vietnam began a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign March 8, prioritizing frontline workers in the pandemic fight. As of Thursday, over 24,000 had received their first shots of the vaccine produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. Vietnam has ordered 30 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. The country will receive over five million additional AstraZeneca vaccine doses through global access mechanism Covax, UNICEF and other contracts by April. The country expects around 60 million AstraZeneca doses this year. Negotiations with other vaccine manufacturers in the U.S., Russia and other countries are ongoing. Vietnam is also developing its own Covid-19 vaccines, with one beginning the second phase of human trials last month and another beginning its first phase Monday. Huntington, WV (25701) Today Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Ghanaian publishers, Badu Nkansah Limited and Golden Publications have come under intense criticisms after publishing textbooks containing offensive contents against the Ewe ethnic group in Ghana and the country's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. After the textbooks were exposed, there have been numerous calls on the publishers to render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians. The publisher, Badu Nkansah Limited has apologized for their "offensive description" of Ewes in the publication saying we sincerely regret this which wont happen again. Their statement read; Unfortunately, while undergoing the review, a limited quantity of the unpublished draft found its way into the market. We have seen certain snapshots on social media which has generated justified public uproar due to their offensive tone. Though it is not a deliberate attempt to berate such a huge section of our society, we wish to unreservedly apologize for the slip. Our brand stands for national unity, and we currently employ workers who originate from all parts of the country. Once again, ours is a brand that values National unity. We apologize to all those affected and we apologize to all Ghanaians that such thing will never happen again. But Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs is not satisfied with the apology. Speaking on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Allotey Jacobs said; "They have apologized but their apology is not enough." He found the publishers' act well-deserving of condemnation saying ''this is an absolute mischief. You're trending on the emotions of a certain race, clan or a tribe knowing how Africans rule by themselves. If this had happened in another country, guns would be blazing by now...Just give Nigeria as an example. If you say some things against a tribe in Nigeria, you're in big trouble''. He continued; ''Everybody has his/her style and system of governance in his/her tribal area or traditional area that the person feels that is what will better the lives of the people...Respect them for it! That's one thing and that is how a nation is built''. "In fact, this apology is not enough!", he reiterated. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video MILL CITY, Ore. Deputies have arrested a man accused of attacking someone with a machete-like weapon in a 7-Eleven parking lot in February. Deputies responded to a Lebanon home Wednesday at 1:35 a.m. after learning suspect Klint Wise, 37, of Mill City was at the location. He was found in the bathroom of the residence and was taken to the Linn County Jail. Wise faces charges of second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. Albany Police assisted Linn County deputies in the arrest. The victim of the attack was taken to Salem Hospital for treatment. His injuries were not life-threatening. Hot take on Hamas, elections and a possible US reset toward the Palestinians: The worlds eyes are on the Israeli elections next week, March 23, the countrys fourth national poll in three years, and whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can extend his reign as Israels longest-serving prime minister. But theres another election next door that will play vitally into both Israeli politics and to the Biden administrations plan for a reset in US policy toward the Palestinians: elections for the Palestinian legislature on May 22, and then for the presidency on July 31. The scrum ahead of the March 31 filing deadline, a key benchmark for the elections, is dizzying, and Hamas, which the United States considers a foreign terrorist organization, is well-positioned as a spoiler. Hamas holds unity card: The divisions and potential alliances within Palestinian politics are, as always, on full display. Yet there also is buzz that the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the Palestinian Authority and the areas under its administration in the West Bank, and Hamas, the Islamic resistance party that governs Gaza, could form a unified bloc in the elections. This is not yet a done deal and may never be but if so, it would represent the most unified Palestinian front in decades. But heres the catch: If the two geographies and factions were united, with Hamas integrated into a combined bloc with Fatah, US-brokered peace talks with Israel could get harder. Not only does the United States consider Hamas a terrorist group, but Hamas very reason for being is resistance, not peacemaking. And dont forget about the small but influential Islamic Jihad, based in Gaza and backed by Iran, which is weighing whether to support the Hamas slate in the elections. Fatah divisions: There is reportedly discontent with Abbas, but its hard to gauge how deep it is. Breakaway former Fatah leaders with high name recognition might peel off votes Mohammed Dahlan (backed by the UAE); Salam Fayyad (former prime minister) and Nasser al-Kidwa (former Palestinian ambassador to the UN and nephew of late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Marwan Barghouti (who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison) backs Fatah in the legislative elections, but he may not support Abbas in the presidential elections. Our take: The safe money is on Abbas, but its too soon to tell, given the politicking ahead of elections. Well know more after March 31. Whatever the extent of discontent with his leadership, like Bibi, Abbas benefits from a divided opposition. The wild card is Hamas. If the Palestinian leadership comes out more united under Abbas, with Hamas on board, his internal position would be stronger than ever but the role of Hamas could be complicating. Although Abbas and Fatah would be in charge, the prospects for peace, especially if Netanyahu wins, could be distant as ever. And if there is no Fatah-Hamas deal, the whole process could collapse in disunity, before, during or after the elections, leaving the Palestinian political picture even messier than when it started. Read more: Daoud Kuttab, Aziza Nofal, Rasha Abou Jalal and Adnan Abu Amer have the scoops on Palestinian politics and the elections. Five quick takes from Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and the Gulf 1. Whats behind the spat between Israel and Jordan? Osama al-Sharif has the back story on why Amman scuttled Netanyahus trip to the United Arab Emirates last week. In short, Jordans King Abdullah II was fed up with Netanyahu trying to make an election issue out of custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Plus, Ben Caspit has this scoop from Jerusalem: Netanyahu and Abdullah have only spoken once or twice since they last met in June 2018. 2. COVID-19s economic toll accelerates economic trends in the Gulf Karen Young explains that the Gulf regions economic policy response to COVID-19 is an acceleration of trends that were underway before the pandemic hit. COVID-19 is speeding things along, and we see now a wider aperture across the GCC on tax policy, labor market regulation and immigration policy, she writes. 3. Turkeys Kurds not wooed by Erdogan Amberin Zaman takes us inside a Turkish government-run marriage class in the predominantly Kurdish town of Bismil. The lesson plan? Islamic piety for soon-to-be newlyweds. Officially, the mandatory schooling is meant to raise healthy generations of new married couples. But critics say President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party has been rolling out religious initiatives to woo sought-after Kurdish voters. Zaman looks at whether those efforts are paying off. 4. US-supported Afghan talks a gift to Ankara The planned intra-Afghan summit in Istanbul next month could give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the chance to rebuild some ties with Washington, writes Fehim Tastekin. Relations between the two NATO allies are strained, to say the least. Nearly two months into President Joe Bidens tenure, Erdogan has yet to receive a call from his new American counterpart. 5. Egypt and Somalia get cozy Relations between Egypt and Somalia are on the mend, as evidenced by the new Somali ambassador to Egypts meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week. One theory for Cairos recent outreach is Mogadishu's membership in the Arab League and African Union, both of which could sanction Ethiopia for building and filling the colossal Nile River dam Egypt opposes. One cool thing: West Bank palaces get a facelift The West Bank town of Arraba is working to renovate a set of palaces belonging to one of Palestines most powerful families in the 18th and 19th centuries, Ahmad Melhem reports. Check out the palaces and learn more about the family who built them. What were listening to: Healing Iraqs lost generation Sherri Kraham Talabany, president and executive director of the Iraqi Kurdistan-based SEED Foundation, talks to Amberin Zaman about her work rehabilitating young Yazidi boys in Iraq who were brainwashed and deployed as child soldiers by the Islamic State. ICYMI: The demise of Israeli democracy? Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, tells Ben Caspit that a decade of legislation targeting Israels rule of law, separation of powers, and system of checks and balances has undermined democracy in the Jewish state. Weve weathered the storm, Plesner says, but a Benjamin Netanyahu victory in next weeks election could change that. What were reading: Syrias war through the lens The camera was my way of breathing, writes Aboud Hamam, one of 16 Syrian photographers selected for this harrowing photo essay published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to mark 10 years since Syrias uprising. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Contributed photo Now that Connecticut residents ages 55-years-old, and older are eligible for, and receiving the coronavirus vaccine, travel ideas are beginning to seem much more realistic. Many older people are excited to spend time with their children, and grandchildren, while others may dream of swinging in a hammock under a palm tree. Putin Challenges Biden to Live Debate Following Killer Remark Russian President Vladimir Putin challenged President Joe Biden to a debate following a fracas over comments made by Biden earlier this week in agreeing that the Russian leader is a killer. Ive just thought of this now, Putin told Russian state TV. I want to propose to President Biden to continue our discussion, but on the condition that we do it basically live, as its called. Without any delays and directly in an open, direct discussion. It seems to me that would be interesting for the people of Russia and for the people of the United States. His comments come days after Biden told ABC News George Stephanopoulos he agreed with this assertion that Putin is a killer. Biden said, Yes, I do. The next day, on Wednesday, a Russian embassy spokesperson said that Moscow would be withdrawing its ambassador to the United States, although the reason for the recall was not disclosed. After making the challenge, Putin said he would debate with Biden as early as Friday. I dont want to put this off for long. I want to go the taiga this weekend to relax a little, Putin told reporters. So we could do it tomorrow or Monday. We are ready at any time convenient for the American side. Earlier Thursday, Putin directly responded to Bidens remark by saying: I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard with each other we used to say: it takes one to know one. He added, I wish you health. I say that without any irony or joke. U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded by saying that discussion was unlikely to occur, saying Biden is scheduled to travel to Georgia on Friday. Psaki also reporters that Biden does not regret making the affirmative statement to Stephanopoulos killer question. Ill have to get back to you if that is something were entertaining. I would say that the president already had a conversation with President Putin, she told reporters. The president, of course, will be in Georgia tomorrow and quite busy, Psaki added. The Russian embassy in Washington D.C. told news outlets that its ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, would leave Saturday and would discuss ways to rectify Russia-U.S. ties that are in crisis. The tit-for-tat comments between the two leaders came in the backdrop of a U.S. intelligence report that alleged Moscow engaged in efforts to spread disinformation to influence the 2020 election and undermine Bidens campaign. The Kremlin denied the report. The White House this week ordered sanctions against top Russian officials for the alleged poisoning and jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is currently in a Russian penal colony. The European Region of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Spain that, like the rest of European countries, it is at risk of a rebound in coronavirus infection cases, and has called for the measures agreed by the health authorities to be complied with. After highlighting the "efforts" that Spain has made to reduce the number of infections since the coronavirus pandemic began, WHO has reminded that more contagious variants of the virus - such as the British one - are circulating. "Controlling these variants can be more challenging, so all possible efforts must continue, especially in the face of next Easter," said the WHO European Region body and urged the population to continue complying with health measures that have proven to be effective in preventing infections. The regional director for Europe of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Hans Kluge, has warned that European countries have had three consecutive weeks of increases in the transmission of Covid-19. He detailed that the current situation is more worrying in the European areas that controlled infections in the first six months of 2020. It is in Central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic States where cases, hospitalisations and deaths are now experiencing the highest rates in the world," he warned. Kluge reported that last week more than 1.2 million new coronavirus infections were registered in Europe, and that each week more than 20,000 people die as a result of Covid-19. He stressed that some 48 of the 53 European countries or territories have reported a "worrying" increase in the British variant, which is already becoming predominant in the European WHO region. United Nations, March 18 : The UN has expressed concerns over the UK's decision to increase its nuclear weapons arsenal, as part of the country's foreign policy overhaul. The UK's decision is contrary to its obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying at a briefing on Wednesday. It could have a damaging impact on global stability and efforts to pursue a world free of nuclear weapons, he said. "At a time when nuclear weapon risks are higher than they have been since the Cold War, investments in disarmament and arms control is the best way to strengthen the stability and reduce nuclear danger," Dujarric was quoted as further saying. The UK government on Tuesday announced its plan to increase the number of nuclear warheads to not more than 260, reversing its previous policy of reducing its overall nuclear warhead stockpile ceiling to not more than 180 warheads by the mid-2020s. Outlining the strategy to MPs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK would have to "re-learn the art" of competing against countries with "opposing values". But he added the UK would remain "unswervingly committed" to the NATO defence alliance and preserving peace and security in Europe. Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Beatrice Fihn, head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, described the UK's decision to change its nuclear provision as "outrageous, irresponsible and very dangerous". She said it went against international law and did not address the real security threats faced by the UK such as climate change and disinformation. Plans are afoot to establish skill or training centers in regions across the country, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology (MOHERST) informed members of the national assembly on Wednesday. The minister of the aforesaid ministry said they plan to establish training centers in Sandu and other regions, especially in Central River Region (CRR) and Upper River Region (URR) North, depending on the availability of funds. Minister Joof made this statement in response to a question raised by the Member for Sandu, Muhammed Mahanera, who asked him to tell the Assembly whether his-led ministry has plans to establish a skill training center in his constituency. Member for Serrekunda, Halifa Sallah, asked Minister Joof whether there exist a comprehensive and concrete plan to establish skill centers all over the country. Minister Joof responded in the positive, saying it is part of the strategic overall sector plan of both MOHERST and basic education ministry (MoBSE). He said both ministries in fact have an Inter-Ministerial Meeting every Thursdays and Fridays. He said in terms of skill center mapping in regions, they will take into consideration the local skills that are required. Omar Darboe, Member for Upper Nuimi, asked the minister how soon they will implement the aforesaid plan. Minister Joof said the timeline for the implementation of the plan would depend on the availability of resources which they are working on, both internally and externally. Ousman Touray, Member for Sabach Sanjal, asked the minister the specific village targeted in Sandu for the establishment of the skill center. Minister Joof responded that: "When the funds are available, we would have to consult and dialogue with the people of Sandu, including the Member for Sandu since they have better knowledge of the area and based on the (agreement) at the constituency level, we will position the skill center at the appropriate place." Chandigarh, March 18 : Warning of several more tough measures and restrictions over the next few days, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced two-hour extension in the night curfew in the state's nine worst Covid affected districts. Night curfew will now be in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m, instead of 11 p.m to 5 a.m., in the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar. All these districts are reporting more than 100 cases daily. The announcement came as Punjab's daily cases shot up to 2,039 cases with 35 deaths on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference to mark the completion of four years of his government, the Chief Minister said the Covid situation in the state was critical and he was going to be tough. Several stringent measures, including restrictions on gatherings, will be announced after discussions with the state government's expert Covid team over the next couple of days, he said. Whether these will include restrictions on political gatherings was also something that will be decided as per the medical expert team's advice, he added. "I won't be easy on the people. People may not like it, but it's my duty," he said, adding that he hoped the daily case load won't cross 3,000, as projected by some experts. He also expressed the hope that all Punjabis will cooperate and adhere to the restrictions. "For god's sake, save the lives of Punjabis," he urged citizens. With 283 Covid patients in high-dependency units on oxygen and another 27 on ventilators, the situation is dangerous, said Amarinder Singh, urging people to go to the doctor and get themselves tested even if they feel slightly unwell. The problem was people were going to hospitals too late, he said. He appealed to all citizens to wear masks and maintain social distance, warning that penalties may also be enhanced if required. While his government was taking all possible measures to check the spread of the virus, the Chief Minister hoped the Centre would accept his suggestion submitted at the Prime Minister's meeting yesterday on opening up the vaccination to younger people in the worst hit areas and also to all those in public dealing. To a question on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's statement seeking curbs on people coming in from Punjab for pilgrimage and religious purposes, Amarinder Singh said he was not in favour of restricting religious movement. But the Covid problem needs to be controlled, and an appropriate decision will be taken when he gets a formal letter from the Chief Minister of the neighbouring state on this issue. Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh disclosed that he had called up SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has tested positive for Covid and was then in Fortis Mohali, to offer any help in his treatment. Sukhbir was subsequently shifted to Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon. The Chief Minister hoped Sukhbir would recover soon, as would several of his own Cabinet colleagues, party MLAs and officials. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Pennsylvania has upgraded its map of locations that provide COVID-19 vaccine, although officials also said it remains a work in progress, with additional improvements planned. The map has shifted to the Google maps platform, which an official predicted will work better for people who have previously struggled with the map, and will work better on mobile devices. The new map also allows people to type in their location and receive information about nearby sources of vaccine. While the new map connects people with data about how much vaccine the provider has received, it doesnt say whether appointments are available. However, Keara Klinepeter, the executive deputy health secretary, said information about openings will eventually be added. The map will be further upgraded for use by non-English speakers. The changes being introduced today may be considered incremental improvements. However, this map platform allows more flexibility to develop more robust features that will help connect people to vaccine providers who have doses, she said. Klinepeter also said Thursday the state has updated its COVID-19 vaccine data site with additional information including listing providers that will receive first doses each week, which she said will allow the public to know which providers will be scheduling appointments. Joe Biden has said he will not take sides in Britain's row with the EU over the Northern Irish border in a boost for Boris Johnson. The PM enraged Brussels by announcing he would delay agreed checks on goods between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland, saying it was to avoid chaos to businesses and ease sectarian tensions. Ireland and the EU had hoped to persuade the US president to criticise the move after the 78-year-old held St Patrick's Day talks with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin yesterday. But the White House took a neutral stance, with a spokesman saying: 'We view that as a trade issue to be resolved between the UK and the EU. We hope that both sides are able to return to the table and discuss the implementation of the agreement.' The PM (left) enraged Brussels by announcing he would delay agreed checks on goods between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland. However, President Biden (seen yesterday on his video call with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin) refused to way into the dispute Mr Johnson has provoked the ire of Brussels by unilaterally extending a series of 'grace periods' designed to ease trade between the mainland and Northern Ireland which remains in the EU single market for goods. Fears have been rising about sectarian tensions with unionists saying the EU is imposing unnecessary checks and demanding the arrangements are abandoned altogether. What is the EU-UK border row about? The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the EU and UK as part of the Brexit divorce deal and it is designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods, with regulatory checks and inspections now required on agri-food, such as fruit and vegetables, produce moving into the region from the rest of the UK. The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration. Earlier this month the UK Government unilaterally decided to extend post-Brexit grace periods on certain trade checks in Northern Ireland. That prompted the EU to accuse the UK of breaching international law as the bloc launched formal legal action. The UK has insisted the move was lawful but officials in Brussels said the Government had effectively decided without agreement to impose an 'open-ended extension' to the light-touch regulatory periods, which were due to end this month but will now be extended for some sectors until October. Advertisement As President Biden held a virtual meeting with Mr Martin on St Patrick's Day, he underscored his support for the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Mr Martin issued a coded denunciation of Mr Johnson's unilateral move to change the Brexit treaty, which the EU has called a breach of international law and is challenging through the European Court of Justice. 'With a new trading relationship now in place between the European Union and the United Kingdom, and a protocol that protects peace and avoids a hard border on this island, I want to move forward with a positive relationship with the United Kingdom,' Mr Martin said. 'That means standing by what has been agreed and working together to make a success of it.' The EU believes there are legal grounds in the Withdrawal Agreement to ensure European judges have jurisdiction over the row despite Britain having left the bloc. The dispute has rekindled tensions in Ireland more than two decades the Good Friday Agreement largely ended violence between Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries. This month, armed loyalist groups said they were temporarily withdrawing support for the 1998 peace agreement due to concerns over the Brexit deal. The groups said they believed Britain, Ireland and the EU had breached their commitments to the peace deal. President Biden also attended a separate virtual meeting that Vice President Kamala Harris had scheduled with Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill. The pair were invited to Northern Ireland when public health conditions allow. It comes as US lawmakers piled the pressure on Mr Johnson to resolve the border dispute, warning a trade deal with Washington could be at risk. A bipartisan group of US senators has issued a resolution demanding the 'full implementation' of the Northern Ireland Protocol, as well as the Good Friday Agreement and Stormont House Agreement. Mr Martin (seen yesterday in the call with President Biden) issued a coded denunciation of Mr Johnson's unilateral move to change the Brexit treaty, which the EU has called a breach of international law and is challenging through the European Court of Justice The resolution warns against the return of a 'hard border' on the island of Ireland and states that the UK meeting its obligations must be 'taken into account' if and when trade talks between Number 10 and the White House resume. The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the EU and UK as part of the Brexit divorce deal and it is designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods, with regulatory checks and inspections now required on agri-food produce moving into the region from the rest of the UK. The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration. Earlier this month the UK Government unilaterally decided to extend post-Brexit grace periods on certain trade checks in Northern Ireland. Scores of National Assembly Members have on Tuesday said skin bleaching has adverse negative impact and implications on the health of those involved in the act. The lawmakers make the comments while debating on the skin bleaching prohibition bill. Some of them argued that bleaching the skin is against the dictates and teachings of Islam. Muhammed Mahanera, Member for Sandu, said: "Skin bleaching is against norms and values. International obligation is one thing, but obligation to the Creator is also another thing and as such I will not support repealing of the bill". Sainey Touray Member for Jarra East said: "I rise to express my strongest condemnation towards this skin bleaching bill. We pride ourselves when we are referred to as fair colored and one is not happy when he is referred to as being black or dark". Touray said it is ironical and that it is high time for Africans to value themselves, saying life is not about putting on beautiful dresses but it's premised on values and Africans should respect their own values. He said during the course of his stay in America, he has never seen a white man or woman applying cream that would make him or her to look black. Thus, he urged the people to desist from skin bleaching because it has health implications on human body and it is against the Islamic religion. "The issue of ski n bleaching is a cause for concern and if need be a national conversation be held so as to deal with the pros and cons of the matter," he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Health By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Saikouba Jarjue, Member for Busumbala, said: "I still maintain my position in the first reading of this bill that I will never support this bill. In other reports that we have discussed they have listed so many institutions that they have consulted on those issues. But in the skin bleaching bill, it is only the argument of the Child Protection Alliance (CPA). "I am against the repealing of this bill on skin bleaching and I will always be against the repealing of it at any level", said Hon Jarjue. Momodou Camara, Member for Foi Bintang Karanai, said the bill was initially debated and rejected by the assembly as such asked for the executive to tell the Assembly the motive behind bringing the bill back to the legislature. "I don't know why they want us to repeal this skin bleaching. From submission of the Member for Sandu, skin bleaching contravenes the dictates of Islam and repealing the bill means we are opposed to the color given to us by Allah", he said. He said the chemicals used in the production of bleach are hazardous to the health of the human being and as such, he implored his fellow lawmakers not to encourage and support the repealing of the skin bleaching law. Saikou Marong, Latrikunda Lawmaker, said: "Skin bleaching should just be a matter of choice for those who want to do it and that there needs not be any legislation to dictate penalties for being engaged in the application of bleach". Advertisement Coronavirus cases and deaths continue to make a slow but steady decline in the U.S., but public health experts say the nation is in a race between vaccinating the population against the coronavirus and a surge in cases following spring break. On Wednesday, the U.S. recorded 58,480 new infections, a 16 percent drop over the last month, and 1,173 deaths. However, over the last week or so, seven-day rolling averages have plateaued around 55,000 cases and 1,400 fatalities, according to a DailyMail.com analysis. What's more, at least 14 states have seen a rise in cases, with increases of at least 10 percent compared to the week prior, Johns Hopkins University data show. In northeastern states such as New York and New Jersey, new cases per 100,000 people are at least double the national average. 'We are really in a race here,' former acting Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr Richard Besser told CNN. 'We're in a race to get the population vaccinated. At the same time, we're fighting people's exhaustion with the restrictions that public health has put in place and we're fighting the move by so many governors to remove the restrictions that are keeping us all safe.' On Wednesday, the U.S. recorded 58,480 new infections and 1,173 deaths, with seven-day rolling averages plateauing at 54,000 and 1,500, respectively The former acting director for the CDC said the U.S. is in a race to get people vaccinated as many people experience COVID-19 fatigue that could lead to a spike in cases At least 14 states have reported 10% increases including states where restrictions have been rolled back such as Michigan, Montana and Alabama (above) Several states are seeing are now seeing a rise in cases after weeks of plateauing or declining rates. According to Johns Hopkins data, Michigan has seen the biggest increase with a 50 percent surge this week in comparison with last week. Dr Jennifer Morse, the medical director for the Mid-Michigan District Health Department, told CNN that several factors are contributing to dramatic rise. Among them are a rolling back of restrictions. Earlier this month, Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer increased capacity limits at restaurants and businesses and pushed back curfew. Morse says people have also stopped wearing masks and that there are more cases of the UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, in Michigan than any other state aside from Florida. 'My one hope is that we have been really aggressively vaccinating and have been working through the different categories for vaccination quite well,' Morse told CNN. 'And my hope is that that will help to keep [cases] from climbing as rampantly as [they] did back in the fall.' Michigan has seen the biggest increase in new infections with a jump 50% this week in comparison with last week In Montana, health experts attribute the spike in cases to more variants being identified, including the UK, California and New York variants Cases have risen by about 20% in Alabama as Gov Kay Ivey kept a mask mandate in place but rolled back other restrictions such as restaurant capacity Johns Hopkins data show that states including Alabama, Delaware, Montana and West Virginia are also seeing cases increase. The Montana Department of Health says one reason for the increase in the state could be the rise of variants. According to the Billings Gazette, there are 19 cases of variants in the state, including 11 of the UK variant, as well as cases linked to teh Califrornia and New York variants. 'Montana continues to submit both random and suspect COVID-19 samples to the CDC for testing,' Adam Meier, director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, told the newspaper in a statement. 'As more surveillance and testing continues, it's not surprising to find more confirmed variant cases in Montana and the U.S.' Last month, Republican Gov Greg Gianforte also rolled back restrictions, including the end of the state's mask mandate. But Meier urged residents to keep wearing masks, practice social distancing and get themselves vaccinated. Cases have also risen by about 20 percent in Alabama. Although Governor Kay Ivey extended the state's mask mandate through April 9, she also also lifted restrictions such as the number of people who can eat at a single restaurant table. Dr Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, said these increases - coupled with easing restrictions - are predictors of another surge. 'I think we are going to see a surge in the number of infections,' Wen told CNN. 'I think what helps this time though is that the most vulnerable - particularly nursing home residents, people who are older - are now vaccinated. And so we may prevent a spike in hospitalizations and deaths.' In Connecticut, the test positivity rate skyrocketed to nearly 5% this week after spending weeks at roughly 2% to 3% New York and New Jersey are reporting double the number of new infections per capita than seen at the national level. However, the trends of upward cases are not occurring in just southern or western states. The Northeast is also seeing worrying trends. In Connecticut, the test positivity rate skyrocketed to nearly five percent this week after spending weeks at roughly two percent to three percent. Meanwhile, in New Jersey's the seven-day rolling average in confirmed coronavirus cases increased 12 percent from one week ago. Additionally, New York and New Jersey are reporting double the number of new infections per capita than seen at the national level. The current national average is 16.4 cases per 100,000 people, a DailyMail.com analysis finds. Comparatively, New York State is reporting 36 cases per 100,000 people and New Jersey is reporting 48 cases per 100,000 residents. Doctors believe the reason behind New York City's struggle to lower cases may be the new variant. City data shows the test positivity rate has not fallen below six percent in months. But the best way to beat back the variant is to mask up and get vaccinated when it's your turn, they add. 'Every single person that we can get vaccinated or every single person that we can get a mask on is one less opportunity that a variant has,' Dr.Stephen J Thomas, Upstate Medical University's chief of infectious disease, told The New York Times. Spring breakers walked in Miami Beach, Flroida without masks, prompting fears of a surge Photos have emerged of people in states such as Florida not wearing masks or practicing social distancing Cyber safety experts are warning parents about a little-known feature of popular social media app Snapchat after the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl. The feature allows users to track their friends' locations, and was reportedly used by teenagers who allegedly gatecrashed a party and then assaulted a young girl in Melbourne last month. A leading cyber expert has warned the live-tracking feature may enable revenge porn, cyber-bullying, stalking and domestic violence. Cyber safety expert Jordan Foster (pictured) has warned parents about a little known feature of the popular social media app Snapchat after the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl The feature allows users to track their friends' locations. Pictured: This reporter is able to see the location of two friends on their Snap Map A zoomed in screenshot of this reporter's Snap Maps displays the exact location of a friend, whose bitmoji is not displayed for privacy reasons Snap Maps lets operators show their live location to their Snapchat friends, meaning they can identify someone's exact address. It also displays images and videos posted by strangers from around the world, which are shown on a map. A group of boys allegedly used the feature to gatecrash a party in the wealthy Melbourne suburb of Brighton in February, the Herald Sun reported. A young girl was then allegedly assaulted by one of the 'out of area' teens. Cyber safety expert at ySafe Jordan Foster told Daily Mail Australia users can find parties using Snap Maps by identifying congregations and viewing videos or photos which show a party is happening. She added young people often have contacts on their phone or social media who they do not know very well. A leading cyber expert has warned the live-tracking feature may enable revenge porn, cyber-bullying, stalking and domestic violence among young people. Pictured: A public image on Snap Maps shows children on a playground and displays their location The feature shows images and videos posted by strangers from around the world which are shown on a map. Pictured: An image posted to Snap Maps shows children in a schoolyard speaking to a teacher, and the location of that image is publicly available worldwide 'If strangers or the public are posting videos of this party, you will see where the actual houses or the location is and you can also see how long ago the post was put up,' she said. 'So strangers can just arrive and rock up and know exactly what's going on and where.' The feature allows users to see random content posted by strangers by clicking on parts of the map. Snapchat told Daily Mail Australia the precision of the heat spots is degraded by up to 4 kilometers, depending on the volume of Snaps in an area and the age of the poster. Ms Foster (pictured) does not recommend Snapchat for under-14s and cautioned parents against using it to track their children 'Now some of the content is completely innocuous, but a lot of this content is quite dark and ominous,' she said. 'There are videos of people being intimate with themselves and posting that content for others to see or being intimate with each other. 'You don't get a preview for that content, so you get exposed to it immediately but also where that particular action is happening.' This can be used to film sex acts without consent or cyberbully someone, which Ms Foster said is particularly sinister on Snap Maps because you can see a victim's exact location. 'That person is not only on camera shown in an intimate act, which is what we call image based abuse, but it's also tracking their location and showing where they are.' A cyber expert said Snap Maps can be used to film sex acts without consent or cyberbully, which she said is particularly sinister because you can see a victim's exact location (Stock) Young people said they use the feature to locate friends, connect with them on a night out and see if they were online to chat. 'I use [Snap Maps] just to see where my friends are if we have made plans and if they are on there way to where we are going,' high school student Alex Cimino said. 'I also just use them to see if someone is active on Snapchat and if they're replying or ignoring messages.' Ms Foster said the concern is some young people start to use the app to control their friends or partners. 'The sheer amount of information can be used in a really manipulative, in toxic relationship type of way,' she said. To turn off location sharing, head to settings and check who can see your location, and then turn on Ghost Mode (pictured) Ms Foster, who was Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 2020, said she does not recommend the app for under-14s and cautioned parents against using it to track their children. She said if teenagers are using the app, they should use Ghost Mode and turn off location sharing in settings. Amber Kelly, 18, said she uses Snap Maps to check if friends are around when she's goes out, but turns on Ghost mode when she gets home. 'I don't get worried about people following me, however, I do get uneasy knowing that people can locate me very easily,' the high school graduate said. 18-year-old Amber Kelly (pictured) said she uses Snap Maps to check if friends are around when she's goes out, but turns on Ghost mode when she gets home A spokeperson for Snapchat told Daily Mail Australia the software was designed with privacy and security at front of mind. 'Location sharing via the Snap Map is off by default, and Snapchatters who do decide to share their location on the Map will only be able to see and be seen by mutual friends,' they said. 'We have zero tolerance for any sort of bullying or harassment and ask that Snapchatters report abuse or any other safety concerns in app.' BOSTON Gov. Charlie Baker has tapped Dana Doyle, a Western Massachusetts attorney with more than two decades of experience helping survivors of domestic violence navigate the legal system, to serve as associate justice on the Probate and Family Court. Praising her wide-ranging background in legal aid and in her own private practice, Baker on Wednesday selected Doyle to fill Judge Elizabeth Crawfords seat on the Franklin Probate and Family Court. Doyle since 2017 has worked as a staff attorney at Community Legal Aid in Pittsfield, where she represents low-income domestic violence survivors in family law matters. A graduate of the State University of New York at Potsdam and Western New England College School of Law, Doyle began her career in 1998 as an Americorps attorney and then staff attorney at Western Massachusetts Legal Services. She joined Gobel & Hollister in Pittsfield in 2002, then Cianflone & Cianflone in 2005, representing clients in civil matters at both firms. From 2012-17, she ran her own private practice as a family law attorney, mediator, conciliator, guardian ad litem and parenting coordinator. She serves today as president of the Berkshire County Bar Association. Doyle also previously led the Elizabeth Freeman Center, which offers services to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors in Berkshire County, and chaired the Berkshire County Probate Court Bench-Bar Committee. The eight-member elected Governors Council will review Doyles nomination and decide whether to confirm her to fill Crawfords seat. Chris Lisinski/SHNS ALL FOR NAUGHT: The pipes which were in the Oyen area which were ready to be put in the ground for Keystone pipeline project during the summer of 2020. With Texans 50 and older now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, there are plenty of new questions about the efficacy and side effects of immunization. More than 5.1 million Texans have received their first dose of the vaccine, or one in six residents, according to state data. This week on the Houston Chronicles COVID Help Desk, find out about the chances of getting sick if living with a vaccinated essential worker, more on Johnson & Johnson vaccine side effects and whether you can drink while waiting for your COVID-19 shot to kick in. Where can I get a COVID vaccine without booking an appointment? Very rarely is that possible. Almost all vaccine providers require you to book an appointment so they can monitor traffic flow and ensure they have an adequate supply of COVID-19 shots. INTERACTIVE MAP: Where you can get vaccinated in Houston A few people have had luck waiting for wasted doses, which may be available at some pharmacy and hospital locations at the end of the day if there are missed appointments or opened vials. However, the only way to know is by calling your local vaccine provider and asking if they have a wasted dose list. Your chances of vaccination are much higher if you go through a registration system. In the event of unused doses in our pharmacies, our pharmacy teams will evaluate how to most efficiently vaccinate eligible individuals with remaining doses, said Monica Prinzing, a spokesperson for CVS Health. This includes outreaching to eligible patients in their communities, as our pharmacies maintain patient profiles with information that can help identify who is eligible to be vaccinated. How much risk is involved for an unvaccinated family member living with a vaccinated family member who works in a healthcare setting? Plenty of people live in mixed-vaccination status households. For doctors and nurses who have spent day-in and day-out stripping off their PPE, washing scrubs and getting COVID tests, a vaccine is a relief. Those who live with an essential worker are fairly safe from getting the virus, especially if the household member is more than two weeks past the second Pfizer or Moderna dose or four weeks past the Johnson & Johnson shot, said Dr. Melanie Mouzoon, managing physician of immunization practices at the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. The CDC even said healthcare workers who are exposed at home for example, a nurse who has a child who caught COVID at school don't need to quarantine, she said. The protection is really good. A family member or roommate should be treated with the same precautions as an unvaccinated person if they've just received their first dose, but the chances of catching COVID-19 or spreading SARS-CoV-2 diminishes rapidly by the time they get their second dose, Mouzoon said. I would like to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Where can I register to get that specific vaccine in Houston? Is it better for people 65 and older? While most COVID-19 vaccine providers do not offer the choice, you can sign up on one of the Houston Health Departments waitlists for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at https://www.cureminder.com/openenroljnj. The agency offers a different waitlist for the Pfizer and Moderna series. The appeal of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that its only one dose, meaning no second trip for another shot. For homebound seniors and people who dont have stable transportation or housing, this removes hurdles in the race for herd immunity. It is less likely to cause severe side effects, although older people usually feel fewer side effects from most vaccines anyway, Mouzoon said. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 66 percent effective against COVID-19 infection. Researchers say it isnt accurate to say its less effective than the Pfizer and Moderna options because the single dose vaccine was tested on three variants of the virus, whereas the other two were tested on the original strain.But its similarly effective to Pfizer and Modernas vaccines at preventing severe illness and death from the virus, at 85 percent efficacy. If you're in need of a vaccine, you should take the first vaccine you're offered, Mouzoon said. But you certainly shouldn't worry that it's less beneficial to get the Johnson & Johnson versus a mRNA vaccine. Ive had my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine and my second is scheduled this month. However, I had to get a shot for another condition in between my doses. Did I do something to reduce the effectiveness of my shots? Should I still get the second dose? Vaccine providers have asked patients to avoid scheduling shots between vaccination doses to isolate whether symptoms such as fever and fatigue are from the COVID-19 vaccine or another treatment. VACCINE BASICS: Everything you need to know about getting your COVID vaccine in Houston For someone who has received, say, a steroid shot for rheumatoid arthritis in the weeks since their first shot, there may be some problems that can dampen the immune system response, Mouzoon said. But local injections, such as a shot for back pain, likely wont do that. As long as its not going to suppress your immune system, its OK, Mouzoon said. Go ahead and get the second shot, she said. If youre anxious, consult your primary care doctor. Can you drink after getting a COVID-19 vaccine? Experts say theres no research indicating alcohol reduces the ability of the immune system to form antibodies, the proteins that fight off infections. So if you want to celebrate with an IPA a few hours after your vaccine appointment, you can. People who have alcoholism have reduced immune system function, which may be a concern, Mouzoon said. But those recovering from alcoholism should be fine. Have COVID questions? Ask the Chronicles COVID Help Desk. gwendolyn.wu@chron.com twitter.com/gwendolynawu ISTANBUL Pushing forward with the normalization drive introduced March 1, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said lighter COVID-19 restrictions would remain in place throughout much of the country amid a rise in national infection rates early Tuesday. "Normalization can be possible by following the measures," Koca said on Twitter, sharing a map of the latest coronavirus data by province in Turkey. At the start of the month, the Turkish government implemented a national tier system that lifted social distancing measures in lower-risk provinces while maintaining weekend curfews and other restrictions in areas with higher contagion rates. When the system was launched, daily coronavirus cases hovered near 10,000 nationwide, but since then Turkish Health Ministry data has reported a gradual increase in infection rates, logging over 15,500 new cases Monday. Despite the recent rise in cases, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the current measures would remain in place following a Cabinet meeting Monday, noting that the number of COVID-19 patients being hospitalized or placed in intensive care units had not increased. We decided to continue the current practice in our cities in todays meeting and to closely follow the developments, Erdogan said in Ankara Monday, later adding, God willing, by acting much more consciously and carefully from now on, we will overcome this issue altogether. The news comes as Turkish health officials continue a vaccination campaign launched in mid-January. Over the last two months, more than 11.5 million doses of Chinas Sinovac vaccine have been administered in Turkey, according to government figures. About 8 million people received the vaccines first shot, and nearly 3.6 million citizens have been fully inoculated with the second dose. Turkey currently ranks sixth globally in total vaccination dose distributions, with about 13% of its population of 83 million having received at least one shot. Speaking Friday, Erdogan said Turkish officials were in discussions to secure a shipment of 50 million Sinovac vaccines while separate negotiations are ongoing regarding shipments of other vaccines, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Meanwhile, medical experts continue to raise concerns over the accuracy of the Health Ministrys pandemic data. During an online press conference on March 11, the one-year mark since Turkeys first official COVID-19 case, Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, chair of the Turkish Medical Association, said more transparency was needed to curb new cases and safeguard health workers. Our major recommendation is data transparency, Fincanci said via video stream Thursday. We know that when data is not transparent, it is not possible to get through this. During the press event, Fincanci also said 385 Turkish health workers had lost their lives to the virus in the first year of the pandemic. To date, the total pandemic death toll in Turkey stands at nearly 30,000, with about 2.9 million cases recorded over the last year, according to Health Ministry data. With the vaccine roll-out underway and some restrictions eased under the tier system, Koca urged caution among citizens last week, noting more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19 variants have been recorded in Turkey. The variant originally identified in the United Kingdom was predominant among new strains in Turkey, Koca said Wednesday, while a small number of variants from South Africa, Brazil and New York have also been recorded. The most recent pandemic data shows the nations most concerning infection rates remain along Turkeys northeastern Black Sea coast, with the province of Samsun logging the highest number of new cases last week, followed by neighboring provinces such as Sinop, Giresun and Ordu. In the same set of data, Turkeys southeastern provinces recorded some of the lowest new case rates, including Siirt, Sirnak and Hakkari. The southeast regions largest city, Diyarbakir, has also seen lower infection rates in recent weeks after a spike in the summer that left some hospitals scrambling for bed space. Dr. Elif Turan, chair of Diyarbakir Medical Chamber, said the province was recording lower numbers of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks due to the combined impacts of both the summer outbreak and a decline in test numbers. In our city, almost half of the population contracted this disease after June 1, 2020, Turan told Al-Monitor. In a study by the Health Ministry last December, an antibody positivity rate of 38-40% was detected in Diyarbakir citizens, which might be contributing to lower rates presently. Turan said heightened awareness and reduced movement in the winter months may have also reduced new infections, but she noticed a large decrease in test numbers administered in Diyarbakir. Testing was taken from contact persons upon complaint only, Turan told Al-Monitor. Since the number of tests decreased, the number of positive results also decreased. She said the easing of measures after March 1 was a source of anxiety and said she feared case rates would rise once again, as they did after a normalization drive in June last year that led to a spike in new infections. A school with links to Edward Colston has unveiled its new logo after its old one resembled the politician's family crest. The Dolphin School in Bristol changed the design from two of the aquatic mammals either side of an anchor to two jumping over a wave. Staff said the new badge will allow them to 'move forwards with a clear identity' after using the original symbol since it opened in 2012. A consultation was launched in September for parents, pupils and staff to learn about the links between the school and the 18th century slave trader. A total of 460 voted in the internal poll and were given three options - to keep both the name and the emblem, change the emblem but keep the name, or change both. Almost half - 46 per cent - voted to keep the name but change the emblem, which matched a public poll showing 46 per cent picking the 'middle' option. The Dolphin School in Bristol changed the design from two of the aquatic mammal either side of an anchor to two jumping over a wave Staff said the new badge will allow them to 'move forwards with a clear identity' after using the original symbol (pictured) since it opened in September 2012 A consultation was launched in September for parents, pupils and staff to learn about the links between the school (pictured) and the 18th century slave trader The new logo was developed by the founder of Iconic Black Britons Michele Curtis, with input from pupils. Students and staff over the last week voted for their favourite of four designs the local artist created. Vice Principal Kate Jenkins, said: 'This has been an exciting journey for the whole school and we are really proud to reveal our new emblem which allows us to move forwards with a clear identity. 'The children loved working with Michele on the design process and they were brilliant at articulating their ideas and justifying their opinions. 'Our new dolphin emblem represents the curious, intelligent and responsible nature of our diverse school community.' The decision to change the logo came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that rocked Bristol. A bronze memorial to Colston - a philanthropist and 17th century slave merchant - was ripped down by demonstrators on June 7 and dumped in the city's harbour. A bronze memorial to Colston - a 17th century slave merchant and philanthropist - was ripped down by demonstrators on June 7 (pictured) and dumped in the city's harbour People cheered after the statue to the 17th Century slave trader was dumped into the water during a Black Lives Matter protest last summer as tensions grew over Britain's colonial past Pictured L-R: Milo Ponsford, Rhian Graham and Jake Skuse, who earlier this month appeared at Bristol Crown Court charged with criminal damage over the toppling of the statue. They pleaded not guilty Sage Willoughby arrives at Bristol Crown Court earlier this month ahead of entering a not guilty plea Four people charged with criminal damage following its removal entered not guilty pleas in court earlier this month. It was attacked amid tensions around Britain's colonial past, sparked by a global outcry following the death of George Floyd in the US. How is the dolphin linked to Edward Colston and why is it an issue for the school? Dolphin School was set up in 2012 by the Society of Merchant Venturers as a primary school next door to Colston's Girls' School. The dolphin has long been associated with Edward Colston, and the family emblem of two dolphins facing each other appears on the plinth beneath the statue of the slave trader. A legend told over the centuries in Bristol has it that one of Colston's ships was damaged at sea and a hole appeared beneath the water line. The ship was about to sink, but a dolphin wedged its body into the hole to stop up the leak and the ship managed to reach port. As one of the key figures in the running of the Royal Africa Company in London in the 17th century, Colston's own ships transported 80,000 enslaved African people across to the plantations of North America and the Caribbean, and almost 20,000 died or were killed in the crossing. As a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers in Bristol, Colston opened up the lucrative slave trade to Bristol's merchants and developed the specialised boats that effectively industrialised the transatlantic route enabling millions of people to be transported. After moving from Bristol to London at the age of ten, he never returned to live in the city, but left a slice of his fortune to charitable projects, although only those who agreed with his religious views were generally allowed to receive alms or education. When three charitable societies were set up in Victorian times to further the philanthropic work of Colston and the Society of Merchant Venturers, they were named Grateful, Anchor and Dolphin. Advertisement Ms Curtis said: 'The Dolphin School pupils are natural collaborators, they have so many great ideas which they feel confident to share, but they are also skilled and patient listeners, taking on board ideas and feedback from their classmates. 'Together we explored what the symbol of a dolphin means. The children wanted the emblem to show more than one dolphin because in the wild, dolphins live in pods to support each other, just as the members of The Dolphin School community support each other. 'However, the children also wanted the emblem to represent diversity so the circular shape represents our global community and the waves represent the diversity found in our oceans, reflecting the diversity of the school community where 46 different languages are spoken.' Year 4 pupil Suhana, who has been working on the project since September, added: 'Being able to vote on big decisions about the future of our school was exciting. 'I feel really proud of our new school emblem and I enjoyed helping to design it. Dolphins are curious, which is one of our school values.' Three schools closely linked with Colston - that were still run by the Society of Merchant Venturers - last year announced consultations on the future of their names. Colston's Girls' School said it was going to change its name, while Colston's School launched a consultation. Chair of Governors at The Dolphin School Lynn Robinson said: 'The entire name-change process has provided the school community with so many positive opportunities. 'Through the public consultation the school has further strengthened its relationship with the local community and the children learnt the importance of listening to a range of different opinions. 'The ''what's in a name/emblem?'' workshops in school encouraged pupils to consider the meaning of symbols, to explore Edward Colston's connection to Bristol and the role he played in the transatlantic slave trade, and also to think about what a future emblem might say about them and the school. 'Pupils experienced democracy first-hand by voting to change the emblem in October and now by selecting their new emblem. 'They've also had the incredible opportunity of working collaboratively with a nationally respected artist. 'Revealing our new emblem might sound like the conclusion of this journey, but it is in fact the beginning of an exciting new chapter for all of us.' The Dolphin School will remove the old design from buildings and the school uniform from September. Page Content Effective immediately, New York State employers must provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off per COVID-19 vaccination. The new law sunsets on Dec. 31, 2022. The new law provides that: All New York employees must receive a paid leave of absence for "a sufficient period of time" not to exceed four hours per vaccine injection. In other words, employees may be entitled to up to eight hours of paid time off if receiving a two-injection COVID-19 vaccine. This leave must be paid at the employee's regular rate of pay. Employers cannot require employees to use other available leave (such as sick leave or vacation time) before providing this leave. The new law applies to both public and private employers, with potential carveouts for employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement. In addition to the paid time off requirement, the new law prohibits discrimination or retaliation against any employee who exercises their rights under the law. The new law is silent as to any retroactive effect, if any. It is also silent as to the types of documentation employers can request from employees seeking this leave. While some employers already voluntarily provide paid time off to employees for COVID-19 vaccination, New York employers should: As a best practice, ensure policies are updated to reflect this additional leave entitlement, although the law does not have a policy or specific record-keeping requirement. Confirm that no one is required to use available time off under company policy before using this leave. Communicate this paid time off entitlement to employees. Decide whether to request proof of vaccination, keeping in mind confidentiality and privacy issues. Ensure managers are aware of this leave right and the relevant non-discrimination and retaliation provisions. Jenifer M. Bologna, Richard I. Greenberg and Henry S. Shapiro are attorneys with Jackson Lewis in New York City. Sarah R. Skubas is an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Hartford, Conn. 2021 Jackson Lewis. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission. HARRISBURG, Pa., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A sizable chunk of healthcare premiums in America is spent on communications aimed at misleading the public. That's the conclusion of Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive and author of the eye-opening book Deadly Spin. In an interview in PATIENT SAFETY, Potter shares his inspiration for the book, the ways in which the public is being deceived, how to tell if a news story is just propaganda and what to do if you are having difficulty with your insurance provider. Potter is a leading advocate for reform of the healthcare system. Who's really pulling the strings in healthcare in America? Author and former health insurance executive turned whistleblower, Wendell Potter shares insights in PATIENT SAFETY. "Even if people have insurance, there are several barriers that insurance companies have erected to make it more difficult and more expensive to get the care they really need," Potter explains. "If you are denied care, you should appeal it right off the bat. Ask your physician to appeal it also. Be your own advocate but find someone else who can help advocate for you." Among his suggested actions are to reach out to your state legislator, your member of Congress, your senator, and the media. "I know from years of experience in the insurance industry that when that happens, your case gets elevated to what they refer to as a 'high profile case.' And that gets special consideration." Other topics in the March issue of PATIENT SAFETY include: Bridging the Gap in the Vaccine Divide: An infection preventionist, psychologist, and mother of a son with autism share tips to recognize how anxiety can cloud our judgment and ways both sides of the vaccine debate can have a productive conversation. Patient Safety Events Related to Inaccurate Patient Height: In this analysis, the Patient Safety Authority reviews events in Pennsylvania , highlights the relationship between height and medication dosing, and the discusses the potentially fatal consequences if that calculation is performed using an incorrect height. Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures Still Carry Risks: Generally considered safe, complications can include readmission, return to the OR, and conversion to a more invasive surgery. PATIENT SAFETY is the peer-reviewed journal of the Patient Safety Authority. A scientific publication, PATIENT SAFETY humanizes patient harm with stories, opinion pieces, and magazine-quality design. It has a readership of more than 40,000 people in 160 countries. SOURCE Patient Safety Authority Related Links http://patientsafety.pa.gov/ At the end of February, the Vestnik Kavkaza film crew visited the liberated territories of Azerbaijan - Aghdam, Fizuli, Jebrayil and Zangilan, on the Iranian and Armenian border, filming the scale of the destruction carried out by the occupying Armenian Armed Forces. Vestnik Kavkaza presents the first film shot during this trip by TV and radio journalist Gia Saralidze. "The Karabakh conflict is the oldest in the post-Soviet space. In Russia, only experts know about the causes, course and results of the war, and their opinions are sometimes dramatically different. When the Second Karabakh war began last autumn, the opinions of journalists, experts, commentators were also based not on facts and analysis, but on emotions and personal preferences and ethnicity," Saralidze says. According to him, one of the most unknown topics for the general public was the issue of seven regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia: The lands that have never been part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and make up more than 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan have been occupied by Armenian forces for almost 30 years. Little was known about the fate of these cities and villages, so when the opportunity to visit these regions arrived, our film crew went to Azerbaijan." The first stop of our trip was the Aghdam region. Aghdam, which is located on the former contact line of the opposing sides, is translated as "white roof", but not a single roof remained in this city, just as the city itself was only left in ruins. From the roof of the mosque, which was used to keep the cattle, the ruins of a hotel, a drama theater, a bread museum are clearly visible. The whole city was plundered, buildings were taken apart for materials. Both grape fields and villages are empty. Dead land, a lot of ruins, not a single normal house, no animals, no people - it's like "Caucasian Hiroshima". PITTSFIELD Adoptions are up, but donations are down. In the age of social distancing, the Berkshire Humane Society has seen an uptick of adoptions 48 animals went to new homes over Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. (TSXV: DHR) (OTC Pink: DCHRF) (FSE: 4GW) (the "Company" or "Discovery Harbour") is pleased to announce that Mr. Patrick Merrin was elected to the Company's Board of Directors at the annual general meeting held today. Directors re-elected were Richard Gilliam, Andrew Hancharyk, Rodney Stevens and Mark Fields. Mr. Merrin has had increasingly senior positions in mining operations over the past 25 years. He recently served as Chief Operations Officer of The Washington Companies, a multi-billion dollar private conglomerate of heavy industrial businesses, including mining, located within Canada and the United States. Previous to that he was Senior Vice President of Canadian Operations of Goldcorp Inc. (now called Newmont Corporation) and held various senior positions with Hudbay Minerals Inc. Mark Fields, the Company's President and CEO, states, "I am very pleased to welcome Pat to Discovery Harbour's Board of Directors. Pat's comprehensive experience as a senior executive with large mining companies will be a welcome addition as Discovery Harbour advances its two Nevada properties, Caldera as well as the recently announced agreement with Newcrest on our Fortuity 89 property. I would also like to thank Jason Cubitt, who did not stand for re-election, for his contributions and guidance over the past years." The Company also announces that it has allocated 300,000 stock options to a director of the Company that are exercisable at $0.065 per common share for a five year term. The stock options are subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.discoveryharbour.com. About Discovery Harbour Discovery Harbour is focused on sourcing, exploring and developing mineral properties in mining-friendly jurisdictions. Its current primary focus is to undertake a drill program on Caldera, a low sulphidation epithermal gold project in Nevada. Additionally, Discovery Harbour has an agreement with Newcrest Resources, Inc on its Fortuity 89 property in Nevada. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DISCOVERY HARBOUR RESOURCES CORP. "Mark Fields" Mark Fields, P.Geo., B.Comm.(Hon.) President and Chief Executive Officer Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. Tel: (604) 681-3170 Fax: (604) 681-3552 Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of Discovery Harbour, such as statements that Discovery Harbour intends to pursue the Caldera Project. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Discovery Harbour's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) exploration results, (iii) permitting requirements or (iii) the financial position of the Company. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, Discovery Harbour does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77707 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that the US plans to stick to 2019 and 2020 legislation instructing the administration to introduce sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He added that the Department of State is monitoring the efforts to finalise the pipeline and the entities involved in these efforts. "The Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks US sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline", Blinken said, Sputnik reports. Berlin has promised the US that it will extend extra support to Ukraine if this prevents the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from facing additional sanctions from Washington, Germanys Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing anonymous government sources. Germany reportedly admitted that Ukraine's economic fate is tightly linked to the trans-Baltic pipeline, as Russian gas transit payments make up a significant part of Kiev's budget. The newspaper explains that Ukraine's economic success is a vital goal of Chancellor Angela Merkel. One the one hand, Berlin believes Kiev will be important for weathering the "confrontation" with Russia. On the other, Germany is saving Ukraine a spot in its plans for 100% green energy generation by 2050, with the East European state expected to deliver as much as 7.5 gigawatts of green hydrogen energy by that year. Moscow previously addressed concerns that Nord Stream 2 might strip Ukraine of its lucrative gas transit business. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Russia will continue to use the Ukrainian gas transit system as long as it remains economically viable. According to the media outlet, Berlin made the offer during talks that it has been conducting with the US for months in an attempt to save the megaproject from a new round of American sanctions. The Defence Authorisation Bill, adopted by the US Congress in 2020, stipulates that the country should slap Nord Stream 2 with new economic penalties in order to stop it from being completed. The first round of sanctions has so far failed to stop the pipeline's construction. One year ago today something happened in Southeast Texas for the first time: A resident was diagnosed with the new ailment known as COVID-19. No one knew how this would affect our region, or the nation. Sadly, the next 365 days would be far worse than almost anyone could have imagined. Southeast Texas has now seen more than 17,000 cases of this disease and nearly 300 deaths. The nationwide total is approaching 30 million cases, with more than 536,000 deaths. Its a staggering toll, and the effects of the coronavirus have not been limited to the medical realm. Our schools have been closed for much of this time even as on-campus instruction now becomes the rule rather than the exception. Virtually all experts say academic and social losses to our students over prolong periods of online learning will take a long time to recover. Many businesses were closed on and off over the past year, and too many of them have permanently locked their doors and handed the keys to a landlord or real estate broker. Countless Southeast Texans have lost jobs and careers. Some of them most, we hope will be able to bounce back and continue building their dreams. But some will not recover. The only bright note in this gloom is that the yearlong pandemic is finally starting to end. Vaccines are being distributed and COVID totals are finally on the decline. Jefferson County is starting to see fewer that 40 new cases each day. Hospitalizations are down too, with just 14 cases in intensive care in area hospitals. If this trend continues, the spring and summer will be immeasurably better than last year. But even though all the numbers are heading in the right direction, doctors are worried about a possible rebound in virus cases. Mandatory mask rules are being dropped in many states and businesses, with individuals being advised to take whatever precautions they think are needed. The Evadale ISD even inexplicably dropped the requirement for social distancing on campus. Were all for freedom of choice, but the coronavirus doesnt respect anyones good intentions. If you havent been vaccinated, wearing a mask in public and distancing among strangers should still be part of your daily routine. If it isnt, you could still be infected and sickened. Doctors are especially worried about new variants of the coronavirus, which can be spread more easily than the original strain and make victims even sicker. Were all feeling better about our future now, but think of how bad wed feel if virus numbers shot back up again and our ICUs became packed with people gasping for air. It is within our power to dramatically reduce the chance of something like that happening. All we have to do is keep taking the same precautions, at least for a little longer until the threat of a resurgence has receded. We are beating this virus, but we havent beaten it yet. Your health and safety are too important to take any chances. DOUGLAS CITY, Calif. Three people were arrested in Douglas City during a search warrant at a home that had received several complaints of drug activity. The Trinity County Sheriffs Office and several allied agencies said they served a search warrant at a home on Steiner Flat Road after receiving several complaints regarding illicit drug activity. Investigators said they seized evidence of meth sales and heavy narcotics use. Richard Llewellyn of Douglas City, Rachel Woodcock of Douglas City, and Sherie Ray of Oregon were arrested and booked into the Trinity County Jail. Authorities said two had outstanding warrants out of Trinity County and Oregon. I couldnt help but smile when the Gilligan family received a dressing down from the European Court of Human Rights today having gone there to complain about how badly they had been treated by the Criminal Assets Bureau. With swift and steady justice, they were told they were time wasters and that they were guilty of creating the delay that had denied them their human rights and not the Bureau who they had blamed. The decision to go to Europe spectacularly backfired. The Court described the Gilligans "vexatious delaying tactics" as being responsible for the overall duration of the proceedings against them and not the CAB. The proceedings in question were drawn out over 21 years since the Bureau first identified assets accrued through drug dealing including the Jessbrook Equestrian Centre. Read More Few will be surprised by the findings but it is nice to see the true principles of law upheld. Its nice to see the good guys get a win. They say there is no honour amongst criminals and nothing could be truer when it comes to the Gilligans who have repeatedly rejected ordinary society in favour of Factory Johns abhorrent criminality but who have also sought to use the institutions of the State for their own means. The fact is that the Gilligans want it both ways They want to take with one hand while holding up two fingers with the other. I remember the time John Gilligan put his name on the state housing list and signed on for job seekers allowance after losing his case against the Criminal Assets Bureau. He felt wholly entitled to get free accommodation and state handouts for the rest of his days, courtesy of you and of I, the taxpayers. The same mans gang murdered a journalist to silence reporting on organised crime, had cost the state millions in the trials which followed and had spent his days in prison pouring over legal books to find ways to thwarth the Proceeds of Crime legislation brought in as a direct result of his actions. He didnt get a council house or his social welfare but only because of an intervention by the diligent officers of the CAB who should have been worn out with him by the time they interviewed him on March 22, 2017 at Blanchardstown Garda station regarding his application for welfare. Read More Gilligan knew how to use the system but so did the officers. They asked him why he hadnt applied for the payments in the three years since his release from jail but he wouldnt answer saying he wasnt a rat. In the meantime he went to Spain where he was caught running a cannabis and pills network using the postal system to supply customers in the UK and Ireland. He remains before the courts and any assets he has accrued there will now be identified. Daughter Treacy was named in the case taken to Europe too. She once told an undercover Sunday World team that she lived most of the year in Ireland because the free education system was better than the one in Spain and she wanted to avail of it. Then she tried to flog us the family pub for the black money so she wouldnt have to pay any taxes on it. Her brother Darren Gilligan has never worked a day in his life and instead has been the recipient of social welfare payments for decades. He was arrested with his father late last year when cops burst into a Spanish villa to find him surrounded with cannabis and tablets. He also remains before the Spanish courts. Wife Geraldine once told me that she would only leave her beloved Jessbrook Equestrian Centre, which had been identified by the Bureau in its proceeds of crime case, in a coffin as she was entitled to it. The courts found it had been bought with drug money but for 21 years, as the family used the courts to challenged every aspect of the CAB case against them, she enjoyed the privacy of the five bed bungalow rent free. When they had sucked all they could from the Irish courts and reached the end of the road here they went to Europe begging for their hardships to be recognised and ultimately seeking compensation from the Irish State. Like most things in life you just actually cant have it both ways no matter how hard you try. Today the European Court of Human Rights laid the blame for the delays with the Gilligans' themselves and the "wrong headed legal tactics they used to frustrate and delay the system rather than reach a conclusion. The court also found that when the Gilligans had finally sought to explain the source of the funds used to acquire the properties in question, the evidence had been emphatically rejected by the Irish courts, which had considered John Gilligan to be untruthful. The Irish courts had described their tactics as an abuse of process, the European Court of Human Rights said, with the family litigating and re-litigating the same issue over and over again. This decision is final and cannot be appealed. In laymans terms; good riddance, to bad rubbish. Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia and Armenia Alexey Overchuk and Mher Grigoryan held a working meeting in Moscow, according to the Office of the Armenian Deputy Prime Minister. "The sides discussed the current issues on Armenian-Russian trade and economic cooperation and touched upon the joint activities within the scope of the Eurasian Economic Union," the statement reads. News Microsoft Guide Describes Exchange Server Indicator of Compromise Testing Tools The Microsoft Security Response Center team on Tuesday issued "Guidance for Responders," which provides more advice on how organizations can respond to the recent attacks that are leveraging Exchange Server zero-day flaws. The attacks, attributed to a "Hafnium" nation-state attacker, are exploiting four vulnerabilities (CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26858, CVE-2021-26857 and CVE-2021-27065) in Exchange Server products. Microsoft issued patches for them back on March 2. Plenty of advice from Microsoft and others has subsequently poured out since that March 2 patch release. Microsoft's "Guidance for Responders" post is perhaps most noteworthy for including consolidated information on how to check for indicators of compromise. Organizations have to check for these indicators of compromise because Microsoft's most current patches don't fix already compromised systems. The attackers sometimes dropped Webshells to further exploit compromised networks. Security researchers have found that anti-malware solutions weren't detecting these Webshells. Forensics Tools Microsoft is recommending the use of its Microsoft Defender for Endpoint tool to conduct the forensics, but it also released a few PowerShell tools for organizations lacking that solution or lacking other forensics tooling. One of those PowerShell investigative tools is the Exchange On-Premises Mitigation Tool. It's for organizations that aren't patch-savvy and are OK with Microsoft's tool making changes. It's also a tool for organizations that may have patched their systems but didn't check for adversary activity. This tool requires an Internet connection to work, though, and it just checks for the CVE-2021-26855 vulnerability, but it also will attempt to repair compromised systems. It's the tool that Microsoft seems to recommend the most, although deemed a temporary mitigation. For organizations that don't want their systems connecting to the Internet, Microsoft has an alternative tool that checks for indicators of compromise called the "ExchangeMitigations.ps1" script. However, this tool doesn't take any actions to fix things when indicators of compromise are spotted. A third PowerShell investigative tool is "Test-ProxyLogon.ps1," formerly known as "Test-Hafnium." (ProxyLogon is the name used by some researchers to refer to the use of all four vulnerabilities in attack scenarios.) The Test-ProxyLogon.ps1 script will check Exchange Server and IIS logs for possible activity by an attacker across all four vulnerabilities. Microsoft also offers a script file (http-vuln-cve2021-26855.nse) for use with Nmap, which can be used to check if a "specified URL is vulnerable to the Exchange Server SSRF Vulnerability (CVE-2021-26855)." Nmap is a free, open source tool for "network discovery and security auditing," per its description page. Attack Scope There were about 82,731 vulnerable Exchange Server implementations as of March 11, according to data from cybersecurity firm RiskIQ. That number is down from 400,000 vulnerable servers on March 2. RiskIQ has been working with Microsoft on estimating the exposures. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that 1,200 Exchange Servers in the Netherlands likely were compromised by the attacks. [March 18, 2021] Advisor Team Joins Ameriprise in Search of Personalized Support and Freedom to Set Their Own Goals Southern Indiana Advisors, a wealth management practice managing $130 million in client assets, joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial, LLC (NYSE: AMP) from Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. in Jasper, Indiana. The team is led by financial advisors Jeff Schneider, AAMS, CRPC, Jennifer Wilkerson, and Karen Lively, and includes office assistant Jan Kleinhelter. The team was seeking more personalized support to reach their practice goals amid the constantly changing environment, and found Ameriprise delivered what they were looking for. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005855/en/ Southern Indiana Advisors, a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial, LLC (Photo: Business Wire) "We chose Ameriprise for their approach to supported independence," said Wilkerson. "We wanted the freedom to design our own practice goals and the personalized support to help us reach them. Ameriprise stood out for their practice management expertise, which will help us plan for clients' fuures as well as the future of our practice. We saw how client expectations are evolving, and we extensively researched how various firms could help us deliver the service experience we want for clients today and tomorrow." The team began evaluating their options a year and a half ago and paid close attention to how firms navigated the persistent disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They were impressed with the level of care Ameriprise provided to clients and advisors. "Jennifer, Karen, and I have 40+ years of combined experience bringing guidance and support to Main Street investors," said Schneider. "Ameriprise fits our team culture and supports our mission of making the sometimes complicated and confusing world of investing understandable and accessible to our clients. Additionally, Ameriprise has a complete product platform, which was important to us because we value clients having access to a full breadth of financial solutions to help meet their unique investment and insurance needs." Schneider founded Southern Indiana Advisors in 2008. Jennifer Wilkerson joined the team in 2015 and Karen Lively joined in 2018. They are supported locally by Ameriprise senior franchise field vice president Trish Moll. More than 4,300 financial advisors have joined Ameriprise since 2008.1 To find out why experienced financial advisors are joining Ameriprise, visit ameriprise.com/why. About Ameriprise Financial At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive advisory, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. 2021 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Company data as of Q2 2020. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005855/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A recent market study published by Future Market Insights (FMI) on the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market including global industry analysis for 2015-2019 & opportunity assessment for 2020-2030, delivers a comprehensive assessment of the most important market dynamics. After conducting a thorough research on the historical as well as current growth parameters of the market, growth prospects are obtained with utmost precision. Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market: Segmentation The global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market is segmented in detail to cover every aspect of the market and present a complete market intelligence approach to the reader. Product Type Hyperspectral Imaging Systems Accessories Application Medical Diagnosis Tissue and Cell Biology Drug Discovery Others Technology Visible Hyperspectral Imaging Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Ultraviolet Hyperspectral Imaging Short-Wave Infrared Imaging Mid-Wave Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging End-User diagnostic centres hospitals research & academic centres pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies Geography North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania Middle East and Africa Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-12369 Report Chapters Chapter 01 Executive Summary The report initiates with the executive summary of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market, which includes a snapshot of key findings and statistics. It also includes market size and revenue distribution of market segments of the market. Chapter 02 Market Overview Readers can find the detailed segmentation of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market in this chapter, which will help them understand the basics of the market. Chapter 03 Key Market Trends This chapter highlights the key trends impacting the growth of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market over the forecast period. It also helps reader to understand both - supply side and demand side trends of the market. Chapter 04 Market Context This section highlights the key contexts of the market such as product adoption/usage analysis, product USPs/ features, regulatory scenario, key strategies by the leading manufacturers, supply-chain analysis, which will help readers to gain extensive knowledge about the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market. Chapter 05 Market Background This chapter explains the key macroeconomic factors, drivers, restraints, and opportunity analysis along with current COVID-19 impact that are expected to influence growth of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market over the forecast period. Moreover, in-depth information about the market dynamics and their impact on the market have been provided in the successive section. Chapter 06 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Demand (Volume Units) Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast, 2020-2030 This section explains the global market value analysis and forecast for the market during the forecast period along with the historical market and opportunity analysis of the future in terms of volume. Chapter 07 - Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Pricing Analysis This section highlights the global market pricing analysis. It helps readers to understand the pricing variation of the market in various geographies. Chapter 08 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Demand (in Value or Size in US$ Mn) Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast, 2020-2030 This section explains the global market value analysis and forecast for the market during the forecast period along with the historical market and opportunity analysis of the future. Chapter 09 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, By Product Type This section explains the global market value analysis and forecast for the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging during the forecast period. It includes a detailed analysis of the historical Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market, along with an opportunity analysis of the future. Readers can also find the absolute $ opportunity for the current year (2020), and an incremental $ opportunity for the forecast period (20202030). Chapter 10 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, by Application Based on application, the market is segmented into medical diagnostics (ophthalmology, wound diagnostics, oncology, GI Diseases, others)), tissue and cell biology, drug discovery, others. In this chapter, readers can find information about the key trends and developments in Medical Hyperspectral Imaging and market attractiveness based on application. Get Full Report Buy Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/12369 Chapter 11 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, by Technology Based on technology, the market is segmented into Visible Hyperspectral Imaging, Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging, Ultraviolet Hyperspectral Imaging, Short-Wave Infrared Imaging, and Mid-Wave Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging. In this chapter, readers can find information about the key trends and developments in Medical Hyperspectral Imaging and market attractiveness based on technology. Chapter 12 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, by End-User This chapter provides details about the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market based on end-user, and comprises diagnostic centres, hospitals, research & academic centres, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies. The readers can understand the market attractiveness based on end-user. Chapter 13 Global Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, by Region This chapter explains how the market will grow across various geographic regions such as North America, Latin America, Europe, South Asia, East Asia, Oceania, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Chapter 14 North America Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter includes a detailed analysis of growth of North Americas Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market, along with a country-wise assessment that includes the U.S. and Canada. Readers can also find the regional trends, and market growth based on the application and countries in North America. Chapter 15 Latin America Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter provides the growth scenario of the market in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and the Rest of Latin America. Along with this, assessment of the market across target segments has been provided. Chapter 16 Europe Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter provides the growth scenario of the market in Germany, the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Russia, and the Rest of Europe are included in this chapter. Chapter 17 South Asia Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter provides the growth scenario of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and rest of South Asia. Chapter 18 East Asia Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter highlights the growth of the market in East Asia by focusing on China, Japan & South Korea. This section also help readers understand the key factors that are responsible for the growth of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market in East Asia. Chapter 19 Oceania Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter highlights the growth of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market in Oceania. It also helps readers understand the key factors that are responsible for the growth of the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market in Australia and New Zealand. Chapter 20 MEA Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This chapter provides information about how the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market will grow in GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey and the Rest of MEA during the forecast period. Chapter 21 Key and Emerging Countries Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030 This section delves deep into Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market for key and emerging countries. Readers can understand the market value and volume by product type, application, technology, and end-user for key countries. Request for Report Ask A Question @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-12369 Chapter 22 Market Structure Analysis This chapter highlights the tier structure analysis, market concentration analysis, and company share analysis along with sales footprint analysis of key players operating in Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market. Chapter 23 Competition Analysis In this chapter, readers can find a comprehensive list of all the prominent stakeholders in the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market, along with a detailed information about each company, which includes company overview, revenue shares, strategic overview, and recent company developments. Some of the market players featured in the report are IMEC, Norsk Elektro Optikk, Galileo, Gilden Photonics, Resonon, XIMEA, Gooch & Housego, Chemlmage, Applied Spectral Imaging, Cubert, EVK DI Kerschhaggl, Headwall Photonics, and FluxData. Chapter 24 Assumptions and Acronyms Used This chapter includes a list of acronyms and assumptions that provides a base to the information and statistics included in the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market report. Chapter 25 Research Methodology This chapter helps readers understand the research component methodology followed to obtain various conclusions as well as important qualitative and quantitative information about the Medical Hyperspectral Imaging Market. Help India! Prof Rajmohan Gandhi (Research Professor, University of Illinois), who is the grandson of Father of the Indian nation, delivered an online lecture on Does the Arc of History bend towards Justice? Some Reflections, organised by the Sir Syed Academy, Aligarh Muslim University under the AMU Centenary Celebrations Lecture Series. Aligarh, Mar 17: National independence is not enough alone as Mahatma Gandhi saw it as a means of empowering the individual Indian to express dissent fearlessly. He was against coercion in religious matters and in June 1947 two months before freedom, Gandhi said if someone comes to me and forces me not to utter Ram Naam, I will utter Ram Naam even at the point of the sword. I will defend my faith and conviction with my life, said Prof Rajmohan Gandhi (Research Professor, University of Illinois) while delivering the online lecture on Does the Arc of History bend towards Justice? Some Reflections, organised by the Sir Syed Academy, Aligarh Muslim University under the AMU Centenary Celebrations Lecture Series. Support TwoCircles The Programme was presided by Prof Tariq Mansoor, Vice-Chancellor, AMU. Prof Rajmohan Gandhi, who is an eminent historian, a political philosopher and grandson of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, referring to the distant and near past socio-political upheavals in different regions of the world said, Mahatma Gandhis fight for Indias freedom must be remembered along with his fight for the freedom of the individual Indian to think, to speak, and to believe. In August 1942 Gandhis famous Quit India call was overwhelmingly endorsed, but 13 people voted against the resolution. Right after the voting and before his arrest Gandhi spoke to the Mumbai Assembly and said, I congratulate the 13 dissenters who voted against the resolution. Three years later after Germany and Japan were defeated Quit India Movements imprisoned warriors were released from the prison. Meanwhile in February 1946 in Mumbai, all over-enthusiastic patriots insisted the people to shout Jai Hind. Gandhi Ji promptly objected to it by saying in as much as a single person is compelled to shout Jai Hind or any popular slogan, a nail is driven into the coffin of Swaraj. Delineating the struggles for justice in the American Civil War, Prof Gandhi said, one of the fighters for justice and human dignity was Theodore Parker who died in 1860 just one year before the start of the Civil War. He said, Parker Rejected conventional Christianity and preached about God and the human conscience. In Parkers time, slavery was legal in the United States. He and some others demanded its abolition. In the late 1840s, Parker also denounced Americas war with Mexico. In one of his speeches, Parker said, I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight, I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. According to Prof Gandhi, Parker in his own way was saying Khuda ke ghar me der hai andher nahi (in Gods home there is a delay but no denial). Repeating the remark more than a century later Dr Martin Luther King Junior often spoke of the arc of the moral universe bending even if slowly towards justice, said Prof Gandhi. Presenting examples of Nigeria as a case study, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said, Nigeria is to Africa what India is to South Asia. With over 210 million living on its soil, Nigeria is Africas most populous country. More than 100 ethnicities exist there. Since 1960 after independence from British rule, oil-rich Nigeria has practised a political compromise. The countrys presidency has alternated for much of the time between the Muslim inhabitants of the North and the largely Christian inhabitants of the South. Sadly, Nigeria has also alternated with depressing regularity between elected rule and army rule. A constant Nigerian cry is usually raised quite soon after a change from one to the other: misrule and that state is not respecting its citizen and there is corruption. They have a deep longing for lasting improvement. Wo Subah Kab aaegi (when the morning will dawn) is a very Nigerian question too. Presenting the case of Lebanon, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said, Recently Lebanon seemed to have enjoyed economic success. Lebanon has the ethnic linguistic diversity of India and Nigeria. Like India, Lebanon has practised electoral democracy. Like Nigeria, Lebanon accommodates competing communities in its governance. The system of power-sharing in Lebanon at the top has sadly been accompanied by bitter and repeated civil war. Moreover, Lebanon has a large number of Palestinian and Syrian refugees. Regarded for long as a free democracy, in the year 2013 Lebanon was designated partly free by Freedom House Institute that has been measuring democracy in different nations, he said. Prof Gandhi added that in August last year with the Lebanese people longing for change to arrive what arrived was an immense explosion at Beirut port destroying scores of buildings, devastating the economy, taking the lives of hundreds and the limbs of many more. Quoting another example Prof Gandhi said Sorrow of Afghanistan is perhaps even greater than that of Nigeria or Lebanon. Without a pause for more than 41 years explosives from the Soviet Union, from the United States, from fellow Afghans have been blasting there; and every night men, women and children dream of a Rahat ki subah. With or without words they cry in pain and yet despite endless disappointments they also cry with a droplet of hope which is mixed into their anguish. Talking about the life and struggles of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said, I was 10 when I saw this towering figure for the first time. In 1945 Frontier Gandhi and his elder brother were staying for a couple of days in our home in New Delhi. My father Devdas, Gandhi Jis youngest son had known Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan from the year 1930 when they were in prison together in the town of Gujrat, north of Lahore. Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said, When I last met Frontier Gandhi in 1987 when he visited India for the final time, in Mumbais Raj Bhawan he told me that patience was prescribed again and again in the Holy Quran, and patience and non-violence were very close to each other. Life gave Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan tragedies and disappointments. Much of his life was spent behind bar. He did not want India divided. After 1947 he wanted autonomy for Pakistans Pakhtuns. He did not get it. Yet until his last breath, he continued to respect fellow human beings. At every tough moment, Frontier Gandhi said, what pleases God pleases me. He seemed to believe that one-day justice would come. Recounting events of hate and conflict between communities in the past and present, Prof Gandhi said, whenever Mahatma Gandhi went to restore peace between divided communities he spoke out against compulsion. We can say that Gandhi believed in free speech, frank speech yet his favourite songs give a hint that he thought that history, in the end, would side with justice. One of his favourite prayer songs said that a good person was the one who understood the pain of the stranger. Another song praised those who are ready to walk alone for the truth, said Prof Rajmohan Gandhi. Prof Gandhi added there has been a change in the world in the last decade or two. Earlier the world practised liberty, equality and fraternity, and these were seen as desirable norms of society and for nations; and countries enshrined these goals in their constitution. Now however the emphasis is different. Loyalty is the new priority, and loyalty is interpreted in particular ways and we are asked to worship nationalism, again interpreted in certain specific ways. People are asked how authentic is your Americanness?, How sincere is your Chineseness? How true is your Myanmar blood? How true is your Indian blood? Prof Gandhi said that, We should ask what is it that makes an Indian an Indian. Is there unique Indian blood that makes you and me an Indian? Is there a specific Indian gene? a particular skin colour? A special religion?, a language that every Indian speaks? In Gandhis understandings, Indians are Indians, not because they share a common religion which they do not, nor because they share the same blood. They are Indian because they belong to one another because they drink the same water, they breathe the same air, they eat the produce of the same soil, and because they share the same space, emphasized Prof Gandhi. Talking about the recent Presidential elections in the US, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi emphatically said, it is not the President who holds America together, nor is it the Supreme Court or the two Houses of the Congress or Political parties, or even the Constitution. Individual Americans keep their country going and keep their leaders within bound, he said. Discussing the relevance of Sir Syed in todays world and his vision, Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said, It has been AMUs distinction to attract students from all over the world. Sir Syed died in March 1898, almost 123 years ago but he lives, not only in Aligarh but in the hundreds of the places on our planet where AMU alumni live. We honour Sir Syeds life, his legacy, his fearlessness, his farsightedness; and it was my privilege to write and publish about his life and work, he said. Reiterating to promote thinking, dialogue, conversation with fellow being, with ones own mind and conscience; Prof Rajmohan Gandhi said honest and truthful dialogue may have a connection to the arc of history. Presiding over the lecture, Prof Tariq Mansoor, Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, said education and justice are two pillars of any civilization to live in peace and flourish. We owe a lot to our founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who realized this and advocated for modern scientific education, said Prof Mansoor adding that God also commands that we should be just and fair in our deals. Deliberating upon the violence and conflict in countries like Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan Prof Mansoor said the world can learn a lot from the European Union which been by and large a success after two world wars. Earlier Prof Ali Mohammad Naqvi, Director, Sir Syed Academy, AMU welcomed the guest speaker. Talking about the AMU Centenary Lecture series, Prof Naqvi said that Sir Syed Academy under the patronage of the Vice-Chancellor has successfully organised several thought-provoking lectures. Dr Mohammad Shahid, Deputy Director, Sir Syed Academy proposed a vote of thanks. The proceedings were conducted by Dr Syed Husain Haider. Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Zaheeruddin and others were present on the occasion. Highlights Realme Narzo 30 may launch as the cheapest 5G phone in India. The Realme Narzo 30 will cost less than the Narzo 30 Pro. Realme India boss Madhav Sheth has confirmed Narzo 30 will arrive soon. Realme launched the Narzo 30 Pro earlier this month. It arrived as the most affordable 5G phone in India. The Narzo 30 Pro costs just Rs 16,999, which is by far the lowest price you will end up paying for a 5G phone. But Realme does not want to stop here. In the latest episode of AskMadhav series on YouTube, Realme India and Europe CEO Madhav Sheth confirmed that the company will soon launch Narzo 30 and it will have a 5G variant with a lower price than Narzo 30 Pro's. Sheth said that Realme will launch a cheaper 5G handset and it is going to be the Narzo 30. We know the Narzo 30 series has only two handsets, for now, that was launched earlier this month. Realme launched Narzo 30 Pro and Narzo 30A while Narzo 30 was still awaited. While it was a mere hint earlier, the latest YouTube episode confirms the Narzo 30 will be launched soon. But apart from the fact that Narzo 30 will be both 4G and 5G, there is no other detail known about the Narzo 30 smartphone. In the video, Sheth said the Narzo 30 has reached the end of the testing and development phase. And, according to him, since the demand for 5G smartphones is high, Realme has decided to bring a 5G phone alongside a 4G variant. This means that Realme will launch both 4G and 5G smartphones in India, wherein the latter will emerge as the cheapest 5G phone with a price point lower than that of the Realme Narzo 30 Pro. But Sheth is not giving a launch date. All he mentioned in the video was "soon" that he used for the launch of the Narzo 30. Realme's phone strategy for the Indian market involves the democratisation of 5G, which the company made abundantly clear when it launched the Narzo 30 Pro right after the debut of the X7 series. The Narzo 30 Pro not only goes big on 5G, it brings some interesting features such as a 120Hz LCD that is rare to find around the price of Rs 16,999. And if this price somehow seems a little high, Realme is giving a discount of Rs 1,000 on the Narzo 30 Pro in the ongoing Flipkart Electronics Sale. The Narzo 30 Pro also features a 5000mAh battery with 30W fast charging. It has a triple camera setup including a 48MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor on the back. From improving the balance sheet to correcting defects at the Kusile and Medupi power plants, Deputy President David Mabuza says the task team on Eskom is pleased with the progress the recently-appointed transformation management office at the power utility has made. "In line with achieving operational efficiency, five units at Medupi and Kusile power stations that had design defects have been corrected, and this will contribute to sustainable energy provision by our new build programme. "For instance, Kusile Unit 2 has added 720 megawatts to the national grid since its commercial operation in October 2020. Major defects at Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme, have been addressed and each of the four units are now performing at full capacity of 331 megawatts from previous 245 megawatts. "Further, transmission network performance has returned to expected levels, and distribution performance remains stable," he said. The Deputy President said with regards to efforts to improve the utility's income statement, Eskom has realised savings of four billion Rands that was declared against a target of R3.1 billion. This will further be complemented by a tariff increase of 15 percent for the 2022 financial year which has been granted to Eskom. In terms of employee costs, the second round of voluntary severance packages are underway, and net savings are expected to be realised in the 2022 financial year. The Deputy President said efforts are underway towards ensuring that procurement savings are delivered on. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Energy Infrastructure By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Deputy President Mabuza said, meanwhile, that in relation to strengthening the balance sheet, a savings of R7.5 billon has been realised in terms of capital expenditure. Processes are also underway to dispose non-core properties. As far as the restructuring of Eskom into three divisions is concerned, the Deputy President said the division of the power utility was completed by March 2020 as the first step towards business separation, with functional separation to be completed by March 2021. The establishment of a separate Transmission subsidiary is still targeted for completion by December 2021, with Generation and Distribution by December 2022. He said the finalisation of this process will create the required certainty for prospective investors in generation capacity, in turn ensuring that bids are fairly adjudicated, relative to Eskom generation. "As the Political Task Team on Eskom, we are comfortable with the notable progress in Eskom's recovery of its operational performance that has been made thus far," he said. SPRINGFIELD When the fall semester begins at Western New England University students will find classrooms with desks that are not distanced six feet apart. University President Robert E. Johnson announced the decision in a letter to students, faculty and staff on Tuesday. The decision to return to campus in this way has not been made lightly or without a great deal of planning, Johnson said, adding that detailed feedback and support from University administration along with guidance from state and national health experts has led to this decision. Of the roughly 3,000 colleges and universities tracked by the College Crisis Initiative, Western New England University was one of just 27% of schools nationwide that resumed primarily in-person teaching last fall that continued throughout the spring through careful adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols, university administrators said. We know that we have incredible students and faculty who are inspired by the unique exchange of knowledge and ideas that take place through face-to-face classroom contact. We are also aware that there are certain courses that can be taught very well in an online or hybrid format, Johnson said. We know we have students and faculty who appreciate these important new ways to collaborate and learn and I am confident that the fall 2021 schedule will allow for more of these well-organized and innovative types of courses to be made available while still maximizing in person learning. Social distancing will not be required, but the university will abide by whatever the Centers for Disease Control advises in terms of mask wearing. In terms of masks, social distancing, and cleaning protocols of course we will be following whatever CDC guidelines are in place, says Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing Bryan Gross. At this point we are anticipating masks. We are planning for no social distancing, but have multiple well thought out contingency plans when and if needed to adjust to comply with CDC and state guidelines. Johnson said the fall re-opening, which is set for Aug. 30, will hopefully mean many people are vaccinated. I am cognizant of the dichotomies of planning for a brighter fall when a significant portion of our campus will have been vaccinated, while also being immersed now in the serious task of making sure everyone knows that the pandemic is not over, he said. He said detailed contingency plans are in place if the university needs to revert to classrooms with social distancing. We will be ready to execute our plan in a quick and organized manner that will reduce class sizes and add more hybrid options to the course schedule, he said. Most Massachusetts universities and colleges have not announced their plans for the fall semester. The University of Massachusetts Amherst eased up on its strictest restriction in February after a surge in COVID-19 cases. The sharp rise in positive COVID-19 cases caused the university to raise its status to high-risk on Feb. 7, but was reduced to elevated on Feb. 20. The school has not announced fall semester plans, though President Martin Meehan said Tuesday the UMass system is working toward what he called near normal operations this fall, with students returning to campus for in-person instruction, and employees returning to their jobs. Around the country universities like the University of Virginia, and several campuses of the University of Pittsburg have eased restrictions allowing for more in-person learning, but still prohibiting large lecture classes to be in-person. Related content: Lloyd Austin's India visit will signal the importance of the bilateral defence and security partnership, which has grown over the past decade, a top American defence expert has said. Austin, the first-ever to include India on his maiden foreign trip, is scheduled to meet his counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Security Advisor Ajit K Doval during his New Delhi visit from March 19 to 21. Coming on the heels of the historic Quad summit, the visit of Austin to India is reflective of the significance the new Biden administration attaches to its ties to the Indian government amid China's aggressive behaviour and coercive economic policies. US President Joe Biden on Friday opened the first Quad Leaders' Summit held virtually and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The administration is signalling the importance of the US-India defence and security partnership just by having this visit, according to Vikram Singh, senior advisor on aerospace and defence at the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF). During his confirmation hearing, Austin had told members of a Senate Committee that he said wanted to elevate the relations with India. Singh, who previously worked at the Pentagon and the State Department under the Obama administration, said that he expects that Austin's visit is going to be intended to highlight all of the significant progress that has been made between the two countries and that they are extremely close partners now, sharing intelligence and a lot of weapons systems and hardware. The United States has sold over USD 21 billion worth of military equipment to India. It's generally become India's largest military supplier and partner," he said in a Twitter video post of the USISPF. He said India and the US are strategically aligned on issues, especially managing the rise of China and defending free and open transit of goods and services to people through the region. Singh acknowledged that the challenges between the two nations in the security sector are centred around India's plan to purchase the S-400 Air Defense System from Russia. In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. In 2019, India made the first tranche of payment of around USD 800 million to Russia for the missile systems. The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. The US had imposed sanctions on Russia under the stringent provisions of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA. The law also provides for punitive action against countries purchasing defence hardware from Russia. Singh said one of the questions for the leaders to address is how to make sure that India doesn't run afoul of those sanctions laws in the United States. On Wednesday, Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a letter to Austin urged him to raise the issue of India's plan to purchase S-400 missiles from Russia. India, Singh said India is not like Turkey or a lot of other countries. "It (India) is a longtime Russian part military partner and it's moving more and more in the direction of the US and its allies. But it still has a long-standing security relationship and a lot of dependency on Russia for a number of its most important systems," Singh said. The USISPF has urged the Biden administration to manage sanctions risks under CAATSA and support US defence industry efforts in India, including efforts to win contracts for offensive platforms like fighter jets. The US recognised India as a "Major Defence Partner" in 2016, a designation that allows India to buy more advanced and sensitive technologies from America at par with that of the US' closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation into the future. Last week, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers that the Biden administration is looking at deepening its military and technical cooperation with India by not only providing it with arms and equipment but also helping New Delhi develop its own defence industrial base so that it can produce equipment to service their needs and to be able to work with America and others around the region. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:44:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (3rd R) holds a video meeting with China's Sinopharm in Belgrade, Serbia, March 18, 2021. Serbia on Thursday signed a contract with China's Sinopharm to purchase more of its COVID-19 vaccines, the Serbian president's office informed in a press release. (Serbian Presidential Palace/Handout via Xinhua) BELGRADE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Serbia on Thursday signed a contract with China's Sinopharm to purchase more of its COVID-19 vaccines, the Serbian president's office informed in a press release. The contract was signed at an online meeting attended by President Aleksandar Vucic, several members of the government, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, and Sinopharm's management. Serbia has managed to spearhead inoculation efforts with three batches of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. Vucic reiterated at the meeting that the largest number of citizens in Serbia were vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine and that Serbian experts spoke highly of its quality and safety. He also thanked the Chinese government as well as Sinopharm for their "help in supplying vaccines at the most difficult moment." Sinopharm's chairperson Liu Jingzhen thanked Vucic and the Serbian people for trusting the Chinese vaccine. "Serbia is the first European country to approve the Sinopharm vaccine ... We appreciate the trust of citizens in our product and we are happy that we can provide the necessary support to the people in Serbia in the fight against the virus," Liu said. Serbia started the vaccination of high-risk groups in mid-December last year and engaged in mass vaccination with the Sinopharm vaccine in mid-January. Enditem The city of Covington finance and utilities billing departments remain severely hampered by a March 11 cybersecurity breach that affected tens of thousands of Microsoft email customers across the U.S., from retail outlets and credit unions to health care providers and municipal governments. Covington Mayor Mark Johnson said it could be weeks before the extent of the breach is known, adding that investigators handling the Covington case indicate its difficult to predict a time frame to fix the problem, or even what the solution is. Time is on their side, Johnson said of the hackers who crippled Covingtons municipal computer system. The breach was discovered early on March 11, and it shut down digital systems at the citys Police and Fire departments, as well as the public works and recreation departments. Johnson said within four hours, cybersecurity experts with the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Secret Service were in Covington breaking down machines as the investigation began. Their first order of business was to restore services to first responders, which has been accomplished. The police are on the parish 911 network and the fire dispatch is handled by St. Tammany Fire District 1 in Slidell, so they were able to rely on those systems which werent affected by the hack, Johnson said. And at public works, they still print all their work orders. So when the computers went down, they grabbed the copies from the supervisors inbox and went to work. Computers at the finance and billing departments, which rely heavily on computers to crunch numbers, are a different story, however. People can come to City Hall with cash or check to pay a bill, Johnson said. Theyre logging everything by hand in those offices. Since January, hackers have targeted a weakness in a Microsoft email service to breach municipal and business accounts across the U.S. The number of attacks increased as the company worked to patch the vulnerable software and more hacks are expected to be revealed in coming days. Microsoft said earlier this month it suspected the Chinese government likely sponsored the cyberattack, a claim that government has soundly rejected. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Johnson said investigators working locally told him a ransom note often follows attacks such as these. Were absolutely expecting a ransomware offer, the mayor said, but the diagnostics on what they may have stolen hasnt been identified yet. Though it's too soon to tell what data could have been compromised during the Covington breach, it's likely that any information on file with the city could have been stolen. Covington had computer problems in January 2020 when a downed email server prevented city council members from being able to send or receive messages on their municipal accounts for a week. IT personnel were installing a new server at the time, and Johnson said then that digital upgrades were needed. The two issues are not related, but Councilman John Botsford said both should serve as wake-up calls to the vulnerability of computer systems and for vigilance to protect them. There are a lot of questions to be answered, Botsford said, noting that residents he's spoken with are confused and concerned by the security breach. Were letting the experts figure it out, but my question is How much is this going to cost the city?" he said. "A citys cybersecurity is usually a bit more robust than the average Joe on the street. But we all need to rethink how strong our anti-virus software is, and we need to look at who we authorize to have our data. Johnson said residents should continue to call 911 for all emergencies. To reach the Covington police for nonemergencies, text CPDLA, then a space and then your message to 847411. Advertisement Coronavirus cases fell by 14 per cent in England last week and dropped in almost every region of England, two official reports revealed today. Only Yorkshire saw its infection rate stabilise in the week ending March 14, according to a Public Health England report but 51 out of 149 local authorities (34 per cent) saw cases rise. But this came in the face of a massive increase in the number of tests carried out because of schools reopening. Test and Trace data showed 5.8million swabs were conducted in the week ending March 10 up from 3.1million during the previous seven-day spell. Despite the massive spike in tests, cases fell by 14 per cent to 39,000. PHE's data on positivity rates which shows whether a spike is down to increased testing still fell in all regions, echoing swathes of data that shows the second wave is still firmly in retreat. Official Government today also revealed daily Covid deaths almost halved in a week, with 95 fatalities. Cases also fell by 7 per cent to 6,303. Public Health England data showed Covid cases shrunk in every region of England except Yorkshire last week. But the positivity rate - one of the best ways of tracking the size of the outbreak when swabbing increases - dropped in all regions Their report also revealed that Covid infection rates were still falling among all age groups with a marked decrease among the over-80s, which have already received their first dose of the Covid vaccine Covid cases have continued to tumble in England, with NHS Test and Trace seeing a 14 per cent fall in infections despite testing nearly doubling to 5.8million It comes as Matt Hancock today admitted vaccine shortages in the UK were linked to a delay in an order for 5million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India. The Serum Institute of India today said they had been stalled by at least four weeks because the Indian Government was asking for more doses as it faces a second wave FIVE BRITS OUT OF 11MILLION HAVE SUFFERED BLOOD CLOTS AFTER GETTING ASTRAZENECA JAB There is still no evidence that the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots and only five people in Britain have developed them out of 11million, health chiefs say. The MHRA drug regulator today revealed that a handful of the same blood clots causing panic in Europe have been seen in the UK and one man has died. But they said there still isn't any proof of a link between the two and the risk of dying of Covid is at least 1,000 times higher for most people, meaning getting the vaccine is still the safest option by far. Medical bosses said the clots might have even been caused by Covid-19 itself but they didn't know. Some of the clots were so rare, the MHRA said, that experts aren't even sure how common they are in the general population but none seem to be happening unusually often. The European Medicines Agency will announce the outcome of its investigation into a possible link between the jab and clots today after more than a dozen countries panicked and stopped using the vaccine. Scientists and regulators around the world including the World Health Organization have blasted the 'disorder' Europe has kicked up around the cases and say that the blood clots are probably just coincidence. With tens of millions of people getting vaccinated around the world, health problems were always certain to pop up and they are unlikely to be caused by jabs. Advertisement Yorkshire had the highest infection rate in England (107.9 cases per 100,000 people), according to the report from Public Health England, while the North East had the second highest (76.3 per 100,000) and the East Midlands had the third highest (76.1 per 100,000). The lowest case number was in the South West (30.3 per 100,000), followed by the South East (34.7 per 100,000) and London (36.9 per 100,000). But the test positivity rate declined in all regions even as Covid swabbing doubled because of the return of schools. The Government has said all pupils and teachers must test themselves for the virus twice a week in order to avoid further outbreaks. Ministers hope the policy should also root out asymptomatic infections - where someone has the virus but suffers no symptoms. The South West and the South East have the lowest positivity rate (0.3 per cent), followed by the East of England and London (0.4 per cent) and the West Midlands (0.6 per cent). The North West and the East Midlands had the fourth-lowest rate (0.7 per cent), and the North East had the fifth-lowest rate (0.7 per cent). Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest test positivity rate in England (1.1 per cent). In terms of local authorities, the Isle of Wight recorded the highest spike in infections in the country when the rate spiked by 121 per cent to 21.9 per 100,000. But this was still a very low rate overall - linked to 30 cases. It is thought these may have been thrown up by testing in schools, with local newspaper the County Press reporting new cases have been detected at several schools on the island. It was followed by Solihull, outside Birmingham, where they leapt by 57 per cent to 85.5 per 100,000, and Southampton where they jumped by 56 per cent to 91.4 per 100,000. Figures also showed Covid infection rates fell in every age group over 20 last week, with the sharpest drop among the over-80s who have already received their first dose of the vaccine. But case rates jumped among those aged between 0 and 19, with the highest rise among people aged between 10 to 19 (by 36 per cent). Experts suggested this was also linked to testing in schools. NHS Test and Trace data show the number of contacts of people who tested positive for coronavirus identified by the contact-tracing system fell to 88,430, continuing the downward trend. Overall, 81 per cent of contacts were reached by call handlers and told to self-isolate, with Thurrock in Essex seeing the most contacts successfully reached (90 per cent). Only 13 areas of the country saw more than 88 per cent of contacts reached, all of which were in the South East or London. They were: Essex, Sutton in London (both 89 per cent), Barking, Bexley, Bromley, Burton in London and Bracknell in Berkshire, Central Bedfordshire, East Sussex, Medway in Kent and Milton Keynes (all 88 per cent). Areas in the North fared worse, with six areas having less than 70 per cent of contacts successfully told to move into self-isolation. Bradford in Yorkshire and Oldham in Greater Manchester had the least, with just 67 per cent of contacts reached by call handlers. They were followed by Newcastle (68 per cent) and Blackburn in Lancashire, Manchester and Nottingham (all 69 per cent). The number of coronavirus tests increased by more than 85 per cent, as children across the country returned to school on March 8 and began regular rapid testing New Delhi: Pakistan on Sunday violated ceasefire in Krishna Ghati sector along Jammu and Kashmir. Also, in the morning hours, ceasefire was violeted in Mankot sector of Poonch and along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. There are no reports of any casualties. "The Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing on Indian posts along the LoC in Karnah sector in Kupwara, an army official said. He said the Pakistani troops fired upon the Indian posts at midnight and continued the firing till early hours of the morning. "The firing was effectively retaliated by the troops, the official said. More details are awaited on this. Earlier on August 30, Pakistani troops targeted forward posts and villages in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Indian troops guarding the LoC retaliated and the exchange of fire between the two sides was going on when last reports came in. Officials said the firing by Pakistani troops from across the border was reported in Nowshehra sector of the districta round 10.35 am. There was no immediate report of any casualty. Nowshera along with other sectors in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch have witnessed sharp increase incease fire violations by Pakistani Army this year. Several thousand border residents of Nowshera sector are living in government set-up relief camps at safer places since July after being displaced by cross-border shelling. On August 27, five persons were injured when Pakistani troops opened firing in Shahpur sector of Poonch district. Till August 1, there have been 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army while in 2016, the number was significantly lessat 228 for the entire year, according to Army figures. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By Orooj Hakimi and Charlotte Greenfield KABUL (Reuters) - As envoys gathered in Russia's capital for a shake up of the Afghan peace process, Afghan women wondered - what about us? Just one woman, rights advocate and politician Habiba Sarabi, was on the 12-member delegation of Afghan government and political leaders attending Thursday's summit in Moscow. The 10-member delegation sent by the Islamist Taliban had none. On Thursday, Sarabi addressed a vast circular table of male counterparts at a Moscow hotel, calling for a ceasefire. "Why should (I) be the only woman in the room? We have not been part of the war, we can certainly contribute to peace," she said, according to a tweet from a fellow negotiator that she shared. "Fifty-one percent of people should not be ignored." With just six weeks left before a deadline for foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, Shaharazad Akbar, who leads Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, said it was unacceptable that only one woman attended the meeting. It was also a worrying sign for the future: "It's setting the tone for things to come in terms of inclusivity," she said. WARLORDS The Moscow summit was the start of a series of international meetings reflecting a shift in focus by Washington, as a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops looms, and negotiations between the government and Taliban in Doha have been stalled. Diplomats say Washington wants support from regional powers to push Afghans to form a power-sharing government. At the talks in Moscow, the United States was joined by Russia, China and Pakistan in calling for an Afghan ceasefire. Women's rights activists fear that the shift will further dilute the role of the few women involved in the peace process, in favour of traditional male political figures. In many cases, the regional powers owe their influence in Afghanistan to ties with warlords who held sway throughout four decades of conflict, all of them men. Story continues "A number of our colleagues in the international community are going to...the same leaders, who ruled Afghanistan twenty years ago," said Fauzia Koofi, one of just four female negotiators among the 42 representing the Afghan sides in Doha. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said Washington wished there had been more than one woman in the Moscow delegation. The United States would advocate for "meaningful participation" by women in upcoming gatherings. "Women, girls, and minority groups in Afghanistan have made extraordinary gains...and preserving those gains is a high priority for the Biden Administration," the spokesperson said. A spokesman for Afghanistan's presidential palace did not immediately respond to request for comment. During their 1996-2001 rule, the Taliban enforced an interpretation of Islamic law that was among the harshest towards women's rights on earth. Women were required to fully cover their bodies and faces in a burqa, and barred from education or work, or from leaving the house without a male relative. The Taliban say they have changed but many women remain sceptical. Since the Taliban were driven from power in 2001 by U.S. air strikes, the international community has poured billions into Afghanistan's development. Gains for women and girls in access to education and public life are repeatedly touted as one of the major successes of two decades of foreign involvement. "It's...ridiculous to expect a single woman, in a room full of not just men, but in many cases men with long track records of abusive attitudes and conduct toward women, to carry all women's rights on her shoulders," said Heather Barr, Interim Co-Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, who nevertheless said Sarabi would do all she could. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad and Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; Additional reporting by Gabrielle Farber-Tetrault in Moscow; Editing by Peter Graff) American lawmakers have urged United States President Joe Biden to support the move by India and South Africa before the World Trade Organization for an emergency temporary waiver of some Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) rules to enable greater production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests. This comes after India and South Africa, along with several other countries, urgently went to the WTO seeking a time-limited waiver of the TRIPS agreement. At a news conference on Wednesday, the lawmakers, Rosa DeLauro, Jan Schakowsky, Earl Blumenauer, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, and Andy Levin, urged President Biden to support the emergency temporary waiver at the WTO as requested by countries led by India and South Africa. The lawmakers said more than 60 US representatives would collectively write to Biden to announce support for the TRIPS waiver proposed by India and South Africa at the WTO. Nancy Pelosi in support of the waiver Previously, Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky had even said that the waiver is supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She said that the speaker has said so many times that she has talked to the administration and she is fully in support of this waiver. Schakowsky added that with so many voices, she is optimistic that the right thing can be done by the US. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the General Council next week is not expected to make any decision on the TRIPS waiver but will receive a status update from the chair of the TRIPS Council on the state of the talks. Advocates are urging the Biden administration to use that opportunity to lift the US opposition and allow WTO members to proceed to text-based discussions in the council. Along with the US, the European Union, Canada, and Japan have so far opposed the waiver, arguing that intellectual property is critical to innovation and that existing TRIPS flexibilities are sufficient to address any IP-related concerns. The proponents, on the other hand, have maintained that the waiver is needed to allow those with the capacity to ramp up production and ensure poorer countries have equal access to vaccines. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A 52-year-old man has arrested by detectives investigating the New IRAs bomb-making activities. The arrest in Creggan in Derry was part of an operation targeting the dissident groups bomb making as well as its storage of explosive devices and equipment. A forensic examination of a house in Derry was also undertaken. PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, who is head of Serious Crime Branch, described Thursday mornings police operation as a significant development. Journalist Lyra McKee was murdered by the New IRA in April 2019 (PSNI/PA) It was a stand-alone operation, codenamed Ledging, as part of the PSNIs wider investigations into the New IRA, which is named Operation Arbacia. Mr Murray said the search and arrest was conducted by the PSNIs terrorism investigation unit. This a discrete, stand-alone strand of Operation Arbacia, looking specifically at the New IRAs bomb making activities as well as the groups storage of explosive devices and equipment, he said. A 52-year-old man was arrested in Creggan this morning under the Terrorism Act and will be questioned in Musgrave serious crime suite by detectives. A detailed forensic examination of a house is currently under way at that location as part of the investigation. Operation Ledging is one of a number of ongoing investigative elements relating to the activities of the New IRA. Todays arrest and examination of a house is a significant development, in a long-term inquiry, into this aspect of the gangs activities. The New IRA continues to pose a very real danger, most especially to the communities in the areas where they construct and store their bombs and guns. Previous investigations have shown time and time again that the New IRA has a callous disregard towards who it might hurt or what it destroys. We have witnessed on numerous occasions that they are willing to put the lives of local people at risk in their reckless haste to carry out bombings and shootings. Most starkly they have a chilling indifference to hiding lethally dangerous weapons and bombs in places where local people can easily stumble across them, unaware of the potential horrific consequences of touching them. We have witnessed this all too often in recent times when they have left explosives and weapons near to childrens play-dens and in the middle of housing areas places that should be sacrosanct and safe. Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray (Liam McBurney/PA) Mr Murray noted that the operation came ahead of the second anniversary of the New IRA murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Creggan. The approaching anniversary of the heartless murder of Lyra McKee and the self-serving justification of it by those who were involved in it, underscores the risks that the New IRA pose to those going about their lawful business, he said. Our focus is on keeping the community safe and protecting them from the threat of these violent groups but we need the help of the public. Our chances of success are vastly improved by support and information from the community in relation to their activities. We have previously stated that Operation Arbacia is a longer term investigation that will look into every aspect of the activities of the New IRA in its entirety. Todays search and arrest is evidence that we have various operations complementing Operation Arbacia and today does not mark the end of them but rather a continuance. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:09:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins on Thursday urged the members of his cabinet to focus on the further development of the country's financial sector. He made the appeal as the government adopted a development plan for Latvia's financial sectors for the 2021-2023 period, which the Finance Ministry drafted in collaboration with other institutions and non-governmental organizations representing the sector. Karins said that the supervision of the sector is now well-organized and that the time has come to focus on its development. Latvia's financial regulator and its banks now have clear rules regulating their operations, so they know what is expected of them, Karins said. Citing the development strategy, the Finance Ministry said that the government intends to promote the financial sector's competitiveness and digital development for the benefit of Latvia's overall economic growth. The measures included in the plan are aimed at supporting the development of an innovative and accessible financial sector based on three priorities: affordability of finance and investment opportunities; digitalization and availability of innovative services; and sustainable finances. The plan provides for promoting sustainable lending, developing the capital market and promoting financial literacy, as well as building an innovation-friendly ecosystem and ensuring accessible infrastructure. Enditem New York, March 18 : US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is on his way to New Delhi for discussions on deepening strategic ties between the two democracies, affirming India's role as a key partner in President Joe Biden's focus on the Indo-Pacific to meet China's challenge. During his visit -- the first by a member of Biden's cabinet -- that starts on Friday, he is to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Austin will come to India after visiting two US treaty allies, Japan and South Korea, on the frontlines of Chinese aggressiveness at sea in the region, and the military headquarters of the Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii. Last week Biden held a virtual summit with other leaders of the Quad, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi of India, Scott Morrison of Australia and Yoshihide Suga of Japan, at which they discussed security issues in the face of Chinese aggressive actions. It was his first multilateral summit indicating his priority to the region. Outlining Austin's agenda in India, Acting Assistant Defence Secretary for Indo-Pacific, David F. Helvey, said that he will "discuss operationalising the major defence partnership that we have with India, including through enhanced information sharing, regional security cooperation, defence trade, and cooperation in new domains". The Indian Defence Ministry said that Singh and Austin "are expected to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and exchange views on regional security challenges and common interests in maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region". "Discussions regarding defence cooperation would also focus on how both countries could consolidate military-to-military cooperation and defence trade and industry cooperation." India and the US have signed several important agreements to enhance defence cooperation and US arms sales to India reached $20 billion last year. While India is not a treaty partner of the US, it was designated as a major defence partner by the US in 2016 allowing it access to some defence hi-tech that would normally be available only to allies. This will be the first major interaction with India for Austin, who retired as a four-star general after a 41-year career in the US Army during which he had not served in Asia. In discussing Pakistan and Afghanistan with India, Austin will bring special insights as he had headed the US Central Command that covered those two countries. While Biden is concerned about the dangers from China to the US and to the region, others in his party have their own agenda for India. Bob Menendez, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has written to Austin raising the farmers' agitation, Kashmir, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and intimidation of journalists and government critics. He characterised the CAA, which gives expedited citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Sikhs fleeing religious persecution, and the abrogation of Kashmir's special status as "anti-Muslim". In what amounts to an ultimatum to India, Menedez wrote in the letter posted on his committee's website that Austin should make clear to India that "security cooperation, the US-India partnership must rest on adherence to democratic values". He warned of sanctions if India went ahead with the Russian-made S-400 Triumf missile defence system. It "will clearly constitute a significant, and therefore sanctionable, transaction with the Russian defence sector under Section 231 of CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act). It will also limit India's ability to work with the US on development and procurement of sensitive military technology". CAATSA imposes sanctions for dealing with some Russian companies and India will need an exemption for the S-400 deal. But he also acknowledged that "getting the US-India partnership right is critical to addressing 21st century challenge". (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The dismissal of Colonel General Onik Gasparyan remains in force, the Prime Ministers Office said in response to reports that an administrative court ruled in favor of Gasparyan in his lawsuit asking for temporarily securing the suit and invalidating his dismissal. Gasparyan had filed two lawsuits, one asking to invalidate his dismissal and another asking to secure his lawsuit. The court approved the latter, thus prompting news reports that Gasparyan could get temporarily reinstated. However, the Prime Ministers Office said in a statement that this ruling of the court cannot reverse Gasparyans dismissal because it has come into effect by the force of the constitutional norm, citing Article 139, paragraph 2 of the Constitution. The Constitution does not envisage the possibility of reversing a decree that has come into force pursuant to a constitutional norm, the Prime Minister's Office said. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday told the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) that it would have to challenge the Bombay High Court order granting bail to actress Rhea Chakraborty in a drugs-related case if it wanted to assail adverse remarks made in the judgement. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde took note of the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for NCB that the probe agency was not pressing against the grant of bail to the actress. Rhea Chakraborty and Sushant Singh Rajput The law officer said the high court made certain very wide-ranging observations about the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and they will make it very difficult for the agency to prosecute and ensure conviction. You cannot challenge the bail order observations without challenging the bail order itself, said the bench which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. Mehta then said the NCB would amend the petition and challenge the bail order as well. Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik The high court had granted bail to the actress on October 7 last year and directed her to deposit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. It had however rejected the bail plea of her brother Showik Chakraborty, also an accused in the case, and alleged drug peddler Abdel Basit Parihar. Postal services provider TTPost yesterday shut its branches in Port of Spain and San Fernando after dozens of people rushed to collect senior citizen pension and public assistance grants and would not adhere to physical distancing rules. Eventually, police were called to disperse the crowds. Several elderly people at the St Vincent Street branch in Port of Spain complained about not being able to collect their pension cheques because other unruly ones refused to socially distance and abide by the law amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Stella Griffith, 68, of Diego Martin, said she was adhering to rules of social distancing, but there were other people who came for their public assistance and disability grants and were refusing to listen. President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized that Ukraine's accession to the European Union is not a dream out of science fiction", but a strategic goal that the Ukrainian authorities are striving to achieve as soon as possible, UNIAN reports. Speaking at a joint press conference with President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda in Kyiv, Zelensky noted the importance of Lithuania's support for Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, an UNIAN correspondent reports. "Today we have coordinated actions to update the Association Agreement and further integrate Ukraine into the European Union. To this end, a very important document was signed the Declaration on Support for Ukraine's European Prospects," Zelensky said, quoting its last sentence saying Lithuania will support Ukraine when the country decides to apply for EU membership. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Flying Tiger Copenhagen, the world's leading variety retailer, is launching MishiPay's mobile self-checkout solution, which offers the potential for the revitalisation of the high street after a tough retail year. Using MishiPay's new "Scan & Go" technology, customers at 30 Flying Tiger Copenhagen stores in Denmark, Norway and Sweden can now scan and pay using their smartphones, leaving them free to exit the store without having to wait in line at a conventional checkout. It's technology that could change the way we shop forever. Revitalising the in-store experience with a faster, safer shopper journey The global pandemic has accelerated the adoption of mobile-based checkout solutions. By eliminating the need for shoppers to touch store hardware and simultaneously avoid needing to wait in line, MishiPay's innovative mobile self-checkout system can help to keep both customers and staff safer. What's more, the technology can be integrated quickly and seamlessly into existing payment and order management systems, without the need for investment in any additional hardware. MishiPay thus creates a game-changing customer experience that also frees staff from the checkouts to help customers on the shop floor and assist with operations elsewhere in the store. Speaking about the launch, Martin Jermiin, CEO of Flying Tiger Copenhagen, said: "All of the products in our stores are designed to make people happy, but we recognise that the checkout experience sometimes makes it a somewhat less happy experience. MishiPay helps us in this respect by removing the need to wait in line to pay. Also, we are excited to see the impact the technology can have on the operation and customer experience of our stores by enabling our store teams to focus on serving and advising customers rather than staffing checkouts." Flying Tiger Copenhagen is the latest retailer to partner with MishiPay following the award-winning British tech company's recent launches with MUJI, Spar, Londis and Decathlon Deutschland. MishiPay founder and CEO Mustafa Khanwala said: "Bringing our technology to Flying Tiger Copenhagen's customers is another exciting step in the MishiPay journey, and we are delighted to play a part in helping their retail stores bounce back following the pandemic. It has been a privilege to work alongside their motivated team who are so focused on delivering improved experiences for their customers and increased efficiency for their store teams. We are aiming to bring this technology to customers in the hundreds of Flying Tiger Copenhagen stores around the world." Related Links https://mishipay.com SOURCE MishiPay WASHINGTON - The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday. President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON - The U.S. is planning to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday. Press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is in the process of finalizing efforts to distribute 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a "loan." The details are still being worked out. "Our first priority remains vaccinating the U.S. population," Psaki said at the daily briefing. But she added that "ensuring our neighbours can contain the virus is a mission critical step, is mission critical to ending the pandemic." AstraZeneca's vaccine has not been authorized for use in the U.S., but the company is expected to share results of its late-stage U.S. study and apply for clearance in the coming weeks. The World Health Organization, European regulators and dozens of countries have OK'd the shots based on studies done in the U.K. and elsewhere. Tens of millions of doses have been stockpiled in the U.S. should it receive authorization, sparking an international outcry that lifesaving doses are being withheld when they could be used elsewhere. Over the past week several nations suspended their use of the vaccine following reports of clots in a few dozen of the millions of people across Europe who have gotten the shot. On Thursday, Europes medicines regulator said the shots do not increase the overall risk of clots and the benefits far outweigh the risks. Still, the debate raised fears that the safety question would undermine confidence in AstraZenecas vaccine, which is key to immunization efforts in several countries. Psaki said multiple nations have requested access to the U.S. vaccines, but she didn't have anything to add on further distributions. Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said via Twitter that Mexico was receiving the vaccine as a result of the conversation between President Joe Biden and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador earlier this month. "Good news!" he wrote. "God bless America they are coming to our rescue," said Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canadas most populous province. He thanked Biden for his willingness to share the vaccines. "And once I get them I will call you a champion, but I need to get the delivery first, so thank you. I appreciate it. Weve been waiting. Thats what true neighbours do. They help each other in a crisis," he said. "We will take all the vaccines you can give us, so thats fabulous news." The Biden administration has said that once U.S. citizens are vaccinated, the next step is ensuring Canada and Mexico are able to manage the pandemic so the borders can reopen. Although Canadas economy is tightly interconnected with the U.S., Washington hasnt allowed any of the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses made in America to be exported until now, and Canada has had to turn to Europe and Asia. The vaccine supply chain difficulties have forced Canada to extend the time between the first shot and the second by up to four months so that everyone can be protected faster with the primary dose. The hope is to get all adults at least one shot by the end of June. Canadian regulators have approved the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but acquiring them has proven difficult. Canada ranks about 20th in the number of doses administered, with more than 8% of the adult population getting at least one shot. That compares with nearly 45% in the U.K. and nearly 30% in the U.S. Mexico ranks about 10th in the number of doses administered, with 3.3% of the total population getting at least one shot. AstraZeneca is among the vaccines that have received emergency approval in Mexico, and Mexico already has 870,000 doses of that vaccine. It also has Pfizer, SinoVac and Sputnik V for a total of more than 8 million doses. One million doses of SinoVac arrived from Hong Kong on Thursday. The U.S. stockpiling of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been controversial with other allies as well. The 27-nation European Union had found it difficult to approach Biden on sharing supplies of the vaccine so the disease could be stopped overseas, which would not only help save lives but also improve global economic growth. Sherman reported from Mexico City and Gillies from Toronto. Young people will once again take to the capital's streets on Friday afternoon to march in protest against climate inaction. In 2019, Youth for Climate Luxembourg mounted a series of protests in conjunction with young activists around the world to demand action against climate change from the Grand Duchy's government. On Friday 19 March, protestors will once again take to the streets of the capital, albeit under pandemic restrictions. In a press release, the environmental group said: "Youth climate activists all around the world are gearing up on March 19th to demand immediate, concrete, and ambitious actions from world leaders in response to the ongoing climate crisis. As the world is heating up every year, we must treat the climate and ecological breakdown as an emergency which means immediate action and #NoMoreEmptyPromises from our governments. In order to respect the sanitary measures during our action, we will be limiting the number of activists by not calling for a mass mobilisation. We have invited climate organisations and activists from Votumklima, United for Climate Justice and many more to join us on March 19th. We are organising a Human Chain at 16:00 on the Place dArmes after a chalk action (if the weather allows it)." Further information on the protest and its cause can be found at www.youthforclimate.lu. NEWTOWN - A homegrown nonprofit that has become one of the leading voices in the country against gun violence decried the massage parlor shootings in Georgia Tuesday that left eight people dead. Mass shootings are appallingly common and we must put a stop to this epidemic, said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, whose son was among the 26 first-graders and educators slain in the Sandy Hook massacre. [W]edemand that Congress take immediate action to address the record levels of gun violence were experiencing. Barden was referring to a deadly attack at three Atlanta-area massage parlors. Six of the eight murder victims were of Asian descent, prompting some lawmakers and leaders in the Asian American community to link the violence to an increase in hostile rhetoric directed against people of Asian descent during the coronavirus crisis. We stand with the grieving families and Asian community in America, devastated by the atrocious shooting spree across Atlanta, Barden said in a prepared statement. To create safer communities for our children, we must unite in condemnation of hate, racism, misogyny, and bigotry, and reject racism, xenophobia, and nativism in all their forms. Police arrested a 21-year-old man in the attack, who said the shootings were not racially motivated, the Associated Press reported. The attack was the deadliest mass killing in America since the August 2019 Ohio shooting that left nine people dead, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. According to the FBI, our nation has seen more hate crimes in recent years than we have had in a decade. And with millions more guns in U.S. homes than ever before, we must take meaningful steps to prevent further violence, Barden said. Together, we can fight fear and hatred with our commitment to look out for one another and speak up to get help when we see potential violence and injustice in any form just like Sandy Hook Promises Know the Signs programs are teaching millions of children to do. Sen. Richard Blumenthal agreed, calling Tuesdays shootings in Georgia part of a sickening, despicable trend of anti-Asian Americanviolence that has terrorized the American Asian community over the recent months. Hate crimes are a growing scourge. The numbers are surging, whether it's against Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Black Americans, Blumenthal said on the Senate floor Wednesday. When it is against Americans, it is against America. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 Ned Hodkinson didnt need to be asked twice if he wanted to buy an interest in Our Majordan A. Hodkinson was familiar with the pacer from watching races from Australia, and had a horse he once owned, My Alpha Rock N, compete against him. I made my mind up in 30 seconds, Hodkinson said with a laugh. Hodkinson and Milton Leeman each bought an interest in Our Majordan A when owners Gordon Banks and Marc Hanover of Florida-based Enviro Stables decided to bring the horse to North America last spring and turn him over to trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. Our Majordan A won 30 of 94 races and $370,543 during his career Down Under. His six wins in 1:50 or less were an Australasian record, and his final win in Australia came in a track-record performance in the Group 1 Newcastle Mile. Last year in the U.S., he won four of 14 races and $105,957. His top victory came in the $123,100 consolation division of the William R. Haughton Memorial, which he captured in a lifetime-best 1:47.3 at The Meadowlands. On Saturday, the nine-year-old gelding will make his 2021 debut in the $22,500 Open Handicap at Miami Valley Raceway. Our Majordan A, with Brett Miller driving, is the 5-2 morning-line favourite in the field of 10. If you observed him (in Australia) you would have thought that he would acclimate to our style of racing, Hodkinson said. Hes got unbelievable gate speed and hes acclimated relatively well. When he came over here, he was kind of a nervous, high-strung horse. Virgil found a routine that really suits the horse. As time went on, he put weight on, and going the miles he was going, that normally doesnt happen. He really adapted well. He was in fine shape when we stopped with him. Our Majordan A competed in several Grand Circuit stakes last year and is being staked again to some events this season. The 59-year-old Hodkinson, an insurance agent who has enjoyed success as an amateur driver, trains a small stable of horses at Morgans training center in central Ohio and gets to see Our Majordan A regularly. Hes a professional, Hodkinson said. He trains well every time he trains, no matter how fast you go. I dont see all the training sessions, but Ive seen probably 80 percent, and hes always the same. He likes his work. Im pretty sure hes the first horse Ive ever had to win in sub-1:50, he also said. Ive had some nice horses, but Im the odd man out in this partnership. Milt has had way more nice horses than me and Enviro has had Breeders Crown winners. This is the nicest horse Ive ever owned. Seeing him going to the gate every time, particularly if he has a decent chance of winning, is very exciting. The Open Handicap is Race 12 on Saturday (March 20) at Miami Valley. GD Western Joe, trained by Ron Burke, is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line with Chris Page in the sulky. The six-year-old stallion has finished worse than second only once in eight starts this year, winning four. Racing begins at 4:05 p.m. (EDT) at Miami Valley. (USTA) Char Magaro is counting down the end of an era. The owner of Chars Tracy Mansion in Harrisburg announced today she is retiring this spring along with the restaurants chef Ron Canady. The last day for business at the 1829 N. Front St. restaurant along the Susquehanna River is May 13. Im ready to go but it has been very emotional, Magaro said. I sat down with all of my employees on Saturday because they deserve to know before the public. It was very hard. I admit I broke down a few times. Magaro said she is selling the restaurants real estate including furnishings and kitchen equipment. Her daughter, glass artist Ona Magaro, created the chandeliers and lights in the restaurant. The liquor license is also available for sale as a separate transaction. Char's at Tracy Mansion in Harrisburg pictured in 2016. Owner Char Magaro announced she is retiring and closing the restaurant on May 13. File photo by Daniel Zampogna, PennLive In an email blast to regular diners today, Magaro shared the news: Chef Ron and I are announcing our retirement. We do so with the hope we will see you, our wonderful guests and friends, at Chars Tracy Mansion in the months leading up to the day. The two have worked together since 2002 when Magaro opened her first restaurant, Chars Bella Mundo in Shipoke. She recalls hiring him on a phone call to Montana where he was vacationing. It doesnt seem that long. Its like a blur of an eye, Canady said. The two have worked through two major floods including Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, which shut down the restaurant and prompted Magaro to relocate to midtown Harrisburg. The closing has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, Magaro said, adding Canady always told her when he turned 60, a milestone he recently marked, he would retire. In addition, she said she turned 70 last year. We just kind of put these marks in the sand, Magaro said. Chars opened in 2012 on the first floor of the historic mansion, a stately Tudor revival. The mansion is owned by Harrisburg Redevelopment Group, LLC, except for the 6,500 square foot portion Magaro owns. The building was completed in 1918 and named after David Edward Tracy, a Harrisburg philanthropist who served as vice president of Harrisburg Hospital and assisted in the planning and construction of St. Patrick Cathedral. READ MORE: I physically built this because I felt Harrisburg wanted it but, more importantly, I wanted a place where you come come and feel special, Magaro said. The upscale casual restaurant is renowned for its ambiance and service and has been called everything from a crown jewel of the Capitol to first class operation. Canadys American menu includes rack of lamb, grilled filet mignon and fish of the day. Five years ago, Magaro announced she was selling the restaurant but didnt close the doors. She said the space could continue to operate as a restaurant or be used by another business or group. The incentive is because its so large with the veranda. Youve got that going for it, she said. It was built incredibly well. Its like brand new. As she eyes retirement, Magaro said she plans to extend her work with PennFuture, a statewide environmental organization of which she served on the board for 16 years. Through the years, Magaro has worn many hats including caterer, jewelry designer and editor of the former City Beat magazine. Im going to pursue the only thing Ive consistently been doing all my life - climatism, environmentalism and activism, she said. Thats what I want my legacy to be. I want it to be my contribution. Canady said he will take some time off and is considering a job in another field, perhaps as a handyman. I wouldnt be here if it werent for Ronnie, Magaro said. He is so loyal and has had my back. Weve become really good friends. The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Phone is 717-213-4002. "We are excited to welcome Cereal Ingredients, Inc., to the state of Missouri," Governor Mike Parson said. "The company's decision to invest and create new jobs in Missouri is a testament to the hard-working men and women who call our state home. We look forward to working together as Cereal Ingredients Inc. grows and succeeds." CII develops and markets unique, new food ingredients. The company holds multiple worldwide product and process patents. "Cereal Ingredients, Inc. is excited to open a state-of the-art food manufacturing facility in St. Joseph," said Robert Hatch, CEO of CII. "The goodwill we have built with our customers has allowed us the opportunity to expand. We appreciate all the help provided from the City of St. Joseph, the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, Buchanan County, State of Missouri, Newmark Zimmer and all of the other participants who helped finalize this project. We look forward to a completion date in the first quarter of 2022." CII is investing $24 million and plans to hire nearly 50 employees. The community is thrilled to welcome the company to the region. "We are very pleased to have Cereal Ingredients, Inc. select St. Joseph for its first expansion outside of their campus in Leavenworth, Kansas," said R. Patt Lilly, President and CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Partnership. "Cereal Ingredients is an established company providing innovative and quality products for the food industry. We appreciate the confidence of the company's leadership team to select and invest in St. Joseph and create such excellent jobs." CII's new Missouri facility will be located on 8 acres of land in Eastowne Business Park. About Missouri Partnership Founded in 2007, Missouri Partnership is a public-private economic development organization focused on attracting new jobs and investment to the state and promoting Missouri's business strengths. Since its founding, Missouri Partnership has worked with partners across Missouri to attract companies that have created more than 25,000 jobs, more than $1.3 billion in new annual payroll, and more than $2.8 billion in capital investment. Contact: Janelle Higgins (314) 541-4911 [email protected] SOURCE Missouri Partnership Related Links www.missouripartnership.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") a leading Nevada focused Gold and Copper exploration company is pleased to announce that it has secured a drill rig for early May 2021 to commence a Phase One 4,000 metre drill program at the Company's flagship Fondaway Canyon Gold Project in Nevada ("Fondaway" or "Project"). "We are extremely eager to return to Fondaway Canyon with the intention of expanding our new, near surface, gold zones discovered during the 2020 drill program," stated Mike Sieb, President, Getchell Gold Corp. "Having access to a dedicated drill rig ensures we can focus on advancing Fondaway Canyon throughout 2021." Fondaway Canyon Gold Project Getchell Gold completed a very successful 6-hole 1,995 metre drill program at Fondaway Canyon in late 2020. The results released in January and February 2021 (see Company news releases dated January 27 and February 10, 2021) from the drilling within the Central Area demonstrated: the identification of thick zones of gold mineralization interpreted as a down dip continuation of surface mineralization; and the prevalence of high-grade mineralized structures with notable widths within the overall mineralizing system. The Company has contracted First Drilling to provide a coring rig for the commencement of drilling at Fondaway Canyon in early May 2021. The Company is in the planning and preparation stage, and will release additional details on the 2021 drill program when they become formalized. Star Copper-Gold-Silver Project Update A drill program is planned for the first half of 2021 at the Star Copper-Gold-Silver Project, located 60 km north of Fondaway Canyon. The geophysical survey results completed at the end of 2020 have been modelled and the Company's technical team is presently finalizing the drill plan for permitting. Once the plans and timing of the 2021 drill program at Star are formalized, the Company will release further details on the 2021 exploration program at Star. Scott Frostad, P.Geo., V.P. Exploration, is the Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) who reviewed and approved the content and scientific and technical information in the news release. Corporate Update The Company additionally wishes to announce the appointment of Brad Aelicks as an Advisor. Mr. Aelicks has extensive finance experience, and has served as Board Member and Senior Officer in a multitude of public and private companies. He has managed companies and their subsidiaries in North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. In 2004 he founded a company, B&D Capital Partners, and through Private Equity, Public Funding, Off-Take Agreements, and Development Partnerships, he helped B&D clients raise in excess of $600 Million. Mr. Aelicks is currently a Co-Founder and Director of Pyfera Growth Capital, an investment company established to support the commercialization of high growth Series A companies in technology & sustainability. Mr. Aelicks not only brings his financial acuity in support of the Company, but he possesses a wealth of geological and exploration technical expertise. The Company is also pleased to extend Justin Meiklem's consultancy agreement ("Agreement") for Justin's continued assistance in managing and coordinating all marketing, advertising, and other public relations programs implemented by the Company. The Agreement is for a six-month period until September 16, 2021, for which Meiklem will be paid a monthly fee of $7,500. This investor relations agreement as well as the professional engagement fees are subject to CSE approval. "Brad is a highly respected individual with considerable expertise and Justin's substantial efforts are well evidenced in Getchell's heightened market recognition. We fully welcome their guidance and support as Getchell Gold looks to continued strong growth in 2021," states Mike Sieb, President, Getchell Gold Corp. The Company announces that incentive stock options to purchase up to 150,000 common shares of the Company have been granted to a consultant pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The options are exercisable at $0.54 per share for a period of five years from the grant date. About Getchell Gold Corp. The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the CSE: GTCH and OTCQB: GGLDF. Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star and Hot Springs Peak. Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada. The Company reiterates that its near-term strategy to advance its assets is not impacted by the COVID-19 Corona virus. The Company continues to monitor the situation and is in compliance with all government guidelines. For further information please visit the Company's website at www.getchellgold.com or contact the Company at info@getchellgold.com. Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO Getchell Gold Corp. +1 303 517 8764 info@getchellgold.com The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the private placement and the completion thereof and the use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, use of proceeds from the financing, capital expenditures and other costs, and financing and additional capital requirements. Although management of Getchell have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77681 South Korean man turns himself in for murder of Vietnamese wife, probe on South Korean police stand guard near police buses that are parked surrounding the Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Photo by Reuters. South Korean police are investigating the death of a 33-year-old Vietnamese woman who was allegedly killed by her Korean husband on March 6. The victim was identified as Nguyen Thi Bup from the southern province of Ca Mau, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Vietnamese embassy in the East Asian country. She went to South Korea in 2010 and married Lee Jae-dong, 52, the murder suspect. Two years later they divorced. In January last year the victim returned to South Korea and remarried him, but the couple reportedly constantly quarreled. They lived in Gumi town in Gyeongsangon Province, and on March 6 he repeatedly stabbed her in the abdomen with a knife. Though she was hospitalized, Bup succumbed to blood loss. Lee turned himself in at a local police station. Bups ashes are at Vien Ngo Pagoda in central Korea, awaiting completion of procedures to be brought to Vietnam. Vietnam has overtaken China as the country with the largest number of brides in South Korea, according to the South Korean embassy in Hanoi. Around 6,000 Vietnamese women have been marrying South Koreans every year for the last few years. Many Vietnamese women from poor rural families marry South Korean men in the hope of finding a better life in the wealthy nation. But it is not always a fairytale ending, and there have been a number of reports of suicides and fatal beatings, often due to conflicts from language and cultural barriers. 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. By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day My heavens! #COVID19 At reader request, Ive added this daily chart from 91-DIVOC. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. I feel Im engaging in a macabre form of tape-watching. If we are in in the eye of the storm , we are still in the eye of the storm. Vaccination by region: Having engorged a ginormous data artifact, vaccination is now back on trend. Early in February, I said a simple way to compare Bidens performance to Trumps on vaccination would be to compare the slopes of the curves. If Biden accelerated vaccine administration, post-Inaugural slopes would get steeper. They have not. The fragmented, Federalized, and profit-driven lumbering monstrosity that we laughingly call our health care system has not responded to energy in the executive, but has continued on its inertial path. Case count by United States regions: The curve has definitely been flattering for the last three weeks, and in the last two days seems to have flattered entirely (remember I use one-week averages to flatten out data artifacts). Thats not good, and when we look at the Northeast, its flattered entirely. Before we break out the champers, we would do well to remember that cases are still well above the peak New York achieved early in the crisis, then regarded, rightly, as horrific. Big states (New York, Florida, Texas, California): New York leads, and is now hardly decreasing at all. Not good news, especially since an average of 16,584 cases per day, now felt to be normal, isnt all that less than 20,526 at New Yorks peak a year ago, then regarded as horrific. CA: Coronavirus strains first detected in California are officially variants of concern, CDC says [CNN]. [The variants] are officially called B.1.427 and B.1.429. Scientists have been monitoring the strains closely in California over the past few months. The variants may be about 20% more transmissible, the CDC said, citing early research. Some Covid-19 treatments may also be less effective against the strains. Still, the CDC didnt say that vaccines would stop working against them. No coronavirus variants currently rise to the US governments highest threat level, variant of high consequence. Coronavirus strains shown to significantly reduce vaccine effectiveness would fall under that category. variant of high consequence. First time Ive heard that jargon. Test positivity: Having declared victory, are we just not testing anymore? Hospitalization: Hospitalization data is the best data we have, because hospital billing is a highly functional data acquisition system (ka-ching). That said, hospitalization is discretionary; they may also be reducing their admissions rate relative to cases we cannot see in this data! to preserve future capacity; or because hospitals have figured out how to send people home. Case fatality rate (plus deaths): Good to see those deaths dropping. The fatality rate in the West is where it was last May. * * * Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune They had learned nothing, and forgotten nothing. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord More to come. lambert Biden Administration You Furnish the Poverty Statistics, Ill Furnish the War [Seth Ackerman, Informer]. In the mouths of the bills promoters, [cutting poverty in half] has a majestic ring to it, conjuring breathtaking vistas of reform on the scale of a Great Society or New Deal. And from a PR perspective, thats the intended effect. But the rhetoric is misleading, of course. As anyone who follows the news will know, the bills cash-dispensing provisions including the child tax credit expansion and expanded unemployment insurance are scheduled to end after just one year. In that respect, the closest historical parallel to Bidens ARPA isnt Roosevelts Fair Labor Standards Act or his Old Age Insurance plan, or Lyndon Johnsons Job Corps or Medicaid. Those were permanent programs. The closest historical parallel to the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi plan is the Trump-McConnell-Pelosi COVID package of 2020, also known as the CARES Act. And: Heres how the two measures compare in terms of poverty reduction: Overall, the 2021 Biden-Schumer-Pelosi plan lifts 12.3 million people out of poverty, reducing the poverty rate by 3.8 percentage points The 2020 Trump-McConnell-Pelosi CARES Act lifted 11.5 million people out of poverty, reducing the poverty rate by 3.6 percentage points. Brutal. Worth reading in full. UPDATE Biden defends his dog: Major did not bite someone and penetrate the skin' [The Hill]. But he is a sweet dog, Biden said. Eighty-five percent of the people there love him. All he does is lick them and wag his tail.' I blame the owner. And there are few things I like less than being licked by a dog while the owner looks on approvingly, expecting me to take it and like it. UPDATE Putin, in state TV quip, wishes Biden good health after U.S. president calls him killer [Reuters]. Obama: Turns out Im really good at killing people. Didnt know that was going to be a strong suit of mine. Democrats en Deshabille Ohio lobbyist named in bribery probe found dead in Florida [The Hill]. An Ohio lobbyist who faced charges in connection with a federal bribery investigation was found dead in Florida, authorities announced Tuesday. Looks like suicide. And for what? This Fertilizer King Funneled Cuomo $1 Millionand Got a New York Health-Care Empire [The Daily Beast]. Cuomos camp insists the Ukrainian-born Rovts donations had nothing to do with his rise in New Yorks tightly regulated health-care market. Political donations have zero bearing on policy, asserted spokesman Jack Sterne. Realignment and Legitimacy Why the Third Way Failed [Ruy Teixeira and Brian Katulis, The Liberal Patriot\]. Pretty sloppy writing, with no clear distinctions between liberal, progressive, center-left, and left. For example: The fascination of the left with slicing and dicing national populations into ever-smaller identity groups, which all then have their place in a hierarchy of oppression (or privilege) must be jettisoned. It is toxic to a majoritarian and sustainable progressivism. If you define the left, as I do, as the political tendency that puts the working class first, then identity politics is not left at all; its liberal. In ten years, the DNC is going to be tattooed and look like America. So will the donors. And those will be the only differences. Its also pretty rich that Teixeira, the inventor of the (mythical, except with respect to billable hours) coalition of the ascendant now decries identity politics. His (ever-shifting) identity groups were just bigger, thats all! The article concludes: These three fundamentals, advancing a new, inclusive national identity, putting forward a :smarter economic plan to lift everyone up in society, and maintaining a balanced focus on protecting the country from threats old and new, are key ingredients for building a more stable political foundation for the center-left. What a bowl of steaming mush. Bipartisanship Has Sailed [The Baffler]. Not a single Republican in Congress voted for the current relief bill. But its much worse than that: the GOP has an ironclad policy against voting for anything that comes from Democratic leadership. Thats the story of the Obama administration. This kind of rigid partisanship is deplored by Democratic centrists. Yet they never seem to do anything about it, other than to bow to Republican rigidity. You didnt see Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema, for example, making any headway in convincing Senators Mitt Romney or Susan Collins to show some bipartisan unity on the pandemic relief legislation. Why couldnt Manchin convince his friend Rob Portman to vote for it? Portman has already announced hes not even running for reelection. But still, he wouldnt break ranks.. If there is such a thing as ethical partisanship, isnt there also a tendency among some Washington Democrats to promote an unethical, unworkable, and one-sidedwhich is to say fraudulentbipartisanship? I Accidentally Joined A Playgroup Full Of QAnon Moms. Heres What Happened. [HuffPo]. One afternoon, I met a friend at a local park where she went on to tell me children in America were no longer safe due to the prevalence of sex trafficking. She mentioned a few moms I should follow to learn more about sex trafficking in the United States, and for a while I thought #savethechildren was a hashtag campaign for the nonprofit organization Save the Children. It wasnt until a few months later that I learned about QAnon, and that the far-right conspiracy theory movement propelled theories that Trump was secretly fighting an underground child sex-trafficking scheme run by Democratic leaders like Hillary Clinton and other elites. I also learned that these infamous QAnon conspiracy theories were often propagated through the mommy blogging community on social media. Stats Watch Employment Situation: 13 March 2021 Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Average Improves Again [Econintersect]. The four-week rolling average of initial claims is 220 % higher than one year ago (versus the 251 % higher last week). Manufacturing: United States Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index [Trading Economics]. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index in the US jumped to 51.8 in March of 2021 from 23.1 in February, beating market forecasts of 23. The reading pointed to the strongest growth in factory activity in Philadelphia in nearly 50 years. (!!) * * * Finance: New York stays top in finance as London loses ground, index shows [Reuters]. New York kept the top spot in the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), with London clinging on to second place in the face of competition from Shanghai and other Asian centres. The Bezzle: Revealed: seafood fraud happening on a vast global scale [Guardian]. A Guardian Seascape analysis of 44 recent studies of more than 9,000 seafood samples from restaurants, fishmongers and supermarkets in more than 30 countries found that 36% were mislabelled, exposing seafood fraud on a vast global scale. Many of the studies used relatively new DNA analysis techniques. In one comparison of sales of fish labelled snapper by fishmongers, supermarkets and restaurants in Canada, the US, the UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, researchers found mislabelling in about 40% of fish tested. The UK and Canada had the highest rates of mislabelling in that study, at 55%, followed by the US at 38%. The Bezzle: Buying a Tesla in Bitcoins cancels 4 times the CO2 savings for its whole lifetime [Medium]. This is how insanely bad Bitcoin is for the environment : If you buy a Tesla car (around 40 000 $) in Bitcoins, the impact of the mining of those bitcoins is around 80 tons of CO2. This is 4 times more than the saving of CO2 you can expect from this car (compared to a gasoline one) on its entire lifetime (around -20 tons). In 2020, the carbon impact for mining bitcoins is 36 millions of tons of CO2, for 18 billions $ of revenues for miners. Hence, 40 000 $ value of bitcoins represents 80 tons of CO2. As readers know, arithmetic is not my strongest suit. Tech: Why Amazon, Google, and Microsoft Are Designing Their Own Chips [Bloomberg]. By 2025 data centers are expected to consume 15% of the worlds electricity, up from about 2% last year, according to Applied Materials, the biggest maker of chip manufacturing equipment. Keeping power consumption down is becoming more important than the cost of the chips themselves for the data center owners. Holy moley! Tech: Gene name errors are widespread in the scientific literature [Genome Biology]. From 2016, still germane. The Abstract: The spreadsheet software Microsoft Excel, when used with default settings, is known to convert gene names to dates and floating-point numbers. A programmatic scan of leading genomics journals reveals that approximately one-fifth of papers with supplementary Excel gene lists contain erroneous gene name conversions. This is so, so bad. Tech: Facebook shows off mind-reading technology it hopes to use one day with smart glasses [CNBC]. The wrist device is capable of reading neurological signals sent from a users brain down to their hands. It could theoretically read these signals to get a sense of what a user wants to do and replicate the action in a virtual or augmented reality environment. You actually have more of your brain dedicated to controlling your wrist than any other part of your body, probably twice as many neurons controlling your wrist and the movement of your hands than is actually dedicated to your mouth for feeding and for speech, said TR Reardon, director of research science at Facebook Reality Labs. Kill them with fire. Transportation: Can Shared Mobility Survive the Pandemic? [Bloomberg]. Betteridges Law. ]T]he pandemic made the idea of piling into a car full of strangers a lot less appealing. In March 2020 Uber and Lyft both put their pooled products on pause, where they largely remain. Worth reading for the lizard-like public relations efforts of the ride-hailing companies. The Fed: Fed sees U.S. economic growth surging to 6.5 percent this year [Politico]. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday projected the U.S. economy will grow 6.5 percent this year, the fastest pace in four decades, fueled by growing vaccination rates and nearly $2 trillion in new federal spending. Central bank officials upgraded their growth forecast from a 4.2 percent estimate in December, adding that they now expect the unemployment rate to drop to 4.5 percent by the end of 2021. * * * Todays Fear & Greed Index: 58 Greed (previous close: 58 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 56 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Mar 18 at 11:57am. One year ago: 5 (Extreme Fear). Health Care Your Unvaccinated Kid Is Like a Vaccinated Grandma [Emily Oster, The Atlantic]. Deck: Parents should bet on vacations with their kids this summer. More; Children are not at high risk for COVID-19. Weve known since early in the pandemic that they are much less likely to fall ill, especially seriously ill. Although scientists dont quite understand why, kids seem to be naturally protected. Oster, an economist, seems not to have given consideration that infected children might be asymptomatic and transmit the virus to others. CDC reviewing rule that students, staff stay 6-feet apart in COVID hotspots [ABC News]/ I saved this link because to my recollection no time to look at the Wayback Machine the accompanying photo showed one child with their mask below their nose. Not good practice when masks are the CDCs first line of defense. Now this picture appears, with different problems: One more for your School Board: Check here for a Step-by-Step guidance how to choose an ionizer or a UV+catalyst device. Follow these simple 3 steps for proper selection! pic.twitter.com/uPY3X4CVSI Marwa Zaatari (@marwa_zaatari) March 17, 2021 How To Get A COVID-19 Shot In Wisconsin: Vaccine Hunters Share Tips [Wisconsin Public Radio]. The deck: Tired Of Waiting, Some Eligible Wisconsinites Take Action Or Find Help To Nab Vaccine Appointments. More: But Davis wasnt sure how to book an appointment. The signup websites she found failed to demystify the process. Thats when she saw a about a Facebook group called Milwaukee & WI Area Vaccine Hunters and Angels, where Wisconsinites share tips for snagging appointments. The fast-growing Facebook group has helped many Wisconsinites navigate the states COVID-19 vaccine bureaucracy. Wisconsin is among the nations leaders in distributing inoculations to those who want them, but demand still outpaces supply, and some eligible residents still struggle to find appointments. The Facebook group is among dozens popping up nationwide in which members share insights for booking vaccinations. Some, like Orech, even schedule appointments for others. They are known as angels.' On the one hand, good ol American ingenuity. On the other, we built a system thats so bad its begging to be gamed. What does that say about the operational capacity of our State? Could have been much worse: How it started/how it's going, one year apart: pic.twitter.com/4GI1WKdwo1 Benjy Renton (@bhrenton) March 17, 2021 Covid: Slow walkers more likely to die, study finds [BBC]. Health researchers based in Leicester concluded slow walkers with a normal weight were 3.75 times more likely to die from the virus than brisk walkers. The project used data collected from more than 400,000 middle-aged people. Lead researcher Prof Tom Yates said self-reported walking pace could be used to predict whether someone was at higher risk from the virus. The study, run by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, was designed to explore links between body mass index (BMI) and self-reported walking pace with the risk of contracting severe Covid-19 and mortality. It used self-reported data from 412,596 people who participate in UK Biobank, a biomedical database and research study. Too bad about the self-reporting. Video interlude: . Oh, I thought you said slow talkers! The Biosphere Plummeting sperm counts, shrinking penises: toxic chemicals threaten humanity [Erin Brockovich, Guardian]. A new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, finds that sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swans research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045. Zero. Let that sink in. That would mean no babies. No reproduction. No more humans. Forgive me for asking: why isnt the UN calling an emergency meeting on this right now? The chemicals to blame for this crisis are found in everything from plastic containers and food wrapping, to waterproof clothes and fragrances in cleaning products, to soaps and shampoos, to electronics and carpeting. Hard to believe ova arent being affected as well. Our Famously Free Press Heres why Substacks scam worked so well [The Hypothesis]. Substack is not merely an app. Its actually a publication. Why do I say that? Because Substacks leadership pays a secret, select group of people to write for the platform. They call this group of writers the Substack Pro group, and they are rewarded with advances that Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie calls an upfront sum to cover their first year on the platform [thats] more attractive to a writer than a salary, so they dont have to stay in a job (or take one) thats less interesting to them than being independent. In other words, its enough money to quit their day jobs. They also get exposure through Substacks now-considerable online reach. By doing this, Substack is creating a de facto editorial policy. Their leadership lets call them editors are deciding what kinds of writing and writers are worthy of financial compensation. And you dont know who those people are. Thats right Substack is taking an editorial stance, paying writers who fit that stance, and refusing to be transparent about who those people are. Viscerally, I agree with this. On the other hand, is Substack more like a newspaper, or more like a newsstand? Wikimedia Foundation to offer communitys free content via paid-for Enterprise API [The Register]. In a blog post on Wednesday, Liam Wyatt, program manager for WikiCite at Wikimedia Foundation, explained that the forthcoming Wikimedia Enterprise API will provide a way for commercial companies to reuse content from projects like Wikipedia in their own services. [C]ompanies that prefer to ingest project data via an open source API for faster, more reliable repurposing will soon have a way to pay for premium service, complete with a service-level agreement. Hmm. I wonder what content sources this will kill off. The Agony Column Australia: Sex consent app proposal sparks backlash [BBC]. Australians have derided a suggestion by the New South Wales (NSW) police commissioner that an app could be used to register sexual consent. On Thursday, Mick Fuller championed the idea of an app where people could digitally record their mutual agreement to have sex. He said the technology could be used to establish positive consent. But many people have criticised the proposal as short-sighted and potentially open to abuse. Concerns have also been raised about whether it could be used for state surveillance. I dont see the need for an app when a written, witnessed contract would be enough. Not tonight, darling: how the world lost its libido and how it can get it back [Guardian]. In research conducted by the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University last year, nearly half of the respondents reported a decline in the frequency of sexual behaviour, including masturbation (although one in five people said they had tried something new in their sex life, such as different positions or sexting). Its definitely affecting people, says Kate Moyle, a psychosexual therapist and the host of the podcast The Sexual Wellness Sessions. Generalised anxiety is at a higher level: there are threats to health, wellbeing, jobs, education or medical treatments. Were not seeing friends or family. That increased anxiety can affect us inside the bedroom: people are reporting being more distracted, or that they find it harder to be in the moment, that they have more intrusive thoughts or more negative automatic thoughts. For some people, though, sex may have increased during this period, she says, as a form of stress relief. Lots of interesting detail, but what a bleak landscape. Perhaps the pagans did it better. Zeitgeist Watch Hanlons Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Comment: Hanlon's Razor simply suggests that these people are few and far between. It is the glass half full. It says that humans are inherently well intentioned, so to make decisions and judgments accordingly. It is a powerful heuristic for viewing the world in a more positive light. Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 17, 2021 Class Warfare News of the Wired Im trying to imagine the Soviet version of this: Skippy-Racer Scooter (1933) designed by Harold van Doren & John Riedout for American National Company of Toledo, OH pic.twitter.com/OUwm1Y0j6h Midwest Modern (@JoshLipnik) April 23, 2020 Why did it take so long: *rubs hands together* Zoom Escaper lets you sabotage your own meetings with audio problems, crying babies, and more https://t.co/Y7SENEtths Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) March 18, 2021 Dad. *phone rings* danny boy: hello? the pipes: hey man whats up Andrew Huang (@andrewhuang) February 3, 2021 * * * Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (Carla): Carla writes: Still-life with home-grown pumpkin Sept. 2020. What did the Dutch masters know of pumpkins? * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the recently concluded and thank you! successful annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated. If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you! Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:46:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Estonian Center Party Chairman Juri Ratas (C) is elected speaker of the 101-seat Riigikogu, the country's parliament, in Tallinn, Estonia, March 18, 2021. (Erik Peinar/Parliament of Estonia/Handout via Xinhua) TALLINN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Estonian Center Party Chairman Juri Ratas on Thursday was elected speaker of the 101-seat Riigikogu, the country's parliament. Ratas, who resigned as Estonian prime minister in January, was supported by 63 parliament members in the election of the President of the Board of the Riigikogu, said a Riigikogu press release. The mandate of the Board of the Riigikogu, consisting of a president and two vice-presidents, lasts for one year. The parliament members elect a new board from among themselves every spring. Enditem The Taoiseach met US President Joe Biden at a virtual summit between Washington and Dublin yesterday with Brexit, protecting the Good Friday Agreement and Covid-19 all up for discussion. The two men spoke for an hour and 20 minutes, during which Mr Biden again voiced his support for the Good Friday Agreement. The leaders also discussed investment and US immigration reform, along with global issues. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said his online meeting with Mr Biden had been warm, upbeat and lengthy. Hes wishing to come to Ireland and, as he said himself, his family will not forgive him if he doesnt get to Ireland at some stage as resident. Hes eagerly looking forward to arriving here, Mr Martin said. He said the two men had focused on the strong relationship between the countries and their economic ties. Irish emigration had had a sustained influence on American politics, he said. Obviously we discussed Brexit, and he reiterated his strong commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and to peace, and he received from me an update, two months on, about the current situation on Brexit, and the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol and so forth, Mr Martin said. The Taoiseach said they discussed Covid-19 in general terms, with the US unsure where it will be with its vaccination programme by summer. He went through, in quite some detail, the efforts he has had to make as president, in terms of pulling it all together logistically. He made it clear that he would be led by the science, and also the logistics of the vaccination programme itself. Mr Martin said: As we move into the second quarter of 2021, we expect the volume of vaccine production to increase globally. And I think that would give more space for countries to deal with this, and more collectively. We discussed the EU and US economic stimulus packages to enable our economies to reopen and that will enable us to do that. And he will be delighted to come here. On that he is very clear. He said they also discussed Irelands role on the UN Security Council and the role it could play in relation to Iran, Ethiopia, Syria and other world problems. Mr Martin said he also had very good meetings with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and US Vice-President Kamala Harris. The speaker, president and vice-president were all committed to comprehensive immigration reform, he said, while Ireland had raised the issue of an extension of the E3 visa programme to Ireland. Mr Martin noted that Ms Pelosi had made time to visit Ireland in 2019 with the Friends of Ireland and knew the importance of underpinning the Good Friday Agreement in the context of Brexit. The meeting with Ms Harris saw the inspiring introduction of the Frederick Douglass scholars, a number of young students from minority backgrounds in the US who will come to Ireland in the autumn to study, Mr Martin said. But they also discussed a range of issues, from immigration reform to Brexit to climate change, climate security and Irelands work on the UN Security Council. As the United States grapples with the difficult task of getting American school children back into classrooms, President Joe Biden's administration directed $10 billion from the recently passed stimulus package to increase COVID-19 testing in schools to accelerate school reopening. Biden wants to accelerate school reopening The Biden administration stated that the funding, which was a portion of the stimulus package, will go out in April and be awarded directly to states. The administration also mentioned that since the funding will be allocated proportionally, huge states like California and Texas will be receiving more than $800 million individually. According to NBC News, the Biden administration is also designating $2.25 billion specifically to the COVID-19 testing of individuals among underserved populations to address health disparities. Also, another $150 million will be provided to help underserved communities get COVID-19 treatments, and these are the latest effort of the administration of Biden in accelerating school reopening. Biden directed states this month to prioritize teachers for vaccinations, and all states have now established the inclusion of teachers in the priority group. The administration also allotted $650 million this month for the testing of schools under the K-8 program and those underserved congregate settings just like homeless shelters. Biden Promise: Vaccines and Checks in 10 Days The Biden administration is encouraging schools to utilize the testing to identify symptomatic and asymptomatic students and work with local health departments and the Centers for Disease Control in setting up the said programs. Carole Johnson, the White House COVID-19 testing coordinator, shared that they know that school districts want to reopen. But up to this point, many lack the resources to set up COVID-19 screening programs for students, educators, and staff in keeping COVID-19 out of their schools in the U.S., and she emphasized that all of it will change. Norris Cochran, the acting Health and Human Services Secretary, shared that coronavirus testing is critical in saving lives and the restoration of economic activity. Cochran also added that as part of the Biden Administration's National Strategy, HHS would continue their expansion and their capacity to get the testing to individuals and the places that need it the most so they can prevent transmission of the virus and defeat the pandemic, CNBC reported. But despite the growing number of teachers who were able to get the vaccination, testing will still be crucial as younger students will not be eligible to get the vaccine until early next year as pharmaceutical companies and vaccine makers are still waiting for the results of their expanded safety and clinical trials. Educators have been pushing for expanding the testing in schools, specifically with less expensive rapid tests for asymptomatic students, Spectrum News reported. Stimulus Check Dispute Leads to Four Deaths in Indiana Meanwhile, schools are now required to get a waiver before using every rapid test on a student who is not displaying symptoms. The White House COVID-19 testing coordinator shared that they continue working on the said process to accelerate school reopening. Also from HNGN: Stimulus Checks Availability Enrages JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Customers Biden Warns Putin Will 'Pay the Price' for Attempting To Sabotage 2020 US Presidential Election @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. WASHINGTON The Senate confirmed Xavier Becerra as health and human services secretary Thursday, filling a key Cabinet post as the Biden administration works to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. Becerra, who is the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was confirmed in a 50-49 vote, with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine the only Republican to vote in favor of his nomination. Republicans largely opposed Becerra, saying he lacked experience to lead the department amid a global pandemic. They also slammed his pro-abortion views and his past support for "Medicare for All." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor that the GOPs arguments against Becerra almost verge on the ridiculous. He noted many Republican senators complained loudly that Becerra, California's attorney general since 2017 and a longtime member of Congress, had no experience as a medical professional but they had voted to confirm Alex Azar, a pharmaceutical executive, for the role in the Trump administration. Mr. Becerra, by contrast, has decades of standing up for working-and middle-class Americans in Congress, fighting to protect and expand Medicare, Medicaid, and working to safeguard our health care system from attacks by the Trump administration, Schumer said. As the Biden administration works to defeat this pandemic, the president deserves to have his Cabinet confirmed, especially a post as important as HHS secretary. At one of his Senate confirmation hearings last month, Becerra said he understood the enormous challenges facing the U.S. with regard to health care. A member of the Biden confirmation team said at the time that they were focused on pushing Becerras "decades of experience with health care policy" as a member of Congress, his work on drug prices and confronting opioid manufacturers and his fight to protect the Affordable Care Act in court. As California's attorney general, Becerra had challenged many of the Trump administrations policies in court, and previously served in Congress for more than two decades, including as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. 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. I couldnt fix this, she told a courtroom. As a parent, you try to fix things for your children, she said in her victims impact statement Thursday in Crown Point. A church friend called for days to pray with her. She would scream. Until the third day when she sounded different, her friend said. MELBOURNE, Australia, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 21st century has seen a massive switch from traditional power sources to more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. Indeed, there has been a large push to urge government bodies to fight against and demand progression away from using limited natural resources for energy supply in the past year alone. This has spawned a growing popularity for solar panels in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and across the country. Australians are eager to make the switch to renewable power and are starting at home. Solar Panels Melbourne Clean energy alternatives such as solar power and wind power had a record year for adoption in 2020, showing that people will not abandon this new ideal even amongst the hectic unforeseen changes in circumstance brought on by the global pandemic. Companies such as Sunrun Solar, a solar panel installer in Melbourne, have reiterated the solar power benefits for residential and commercial properties as growing even stronger during the past year. Touting quality products that are reliable and affordable, the roadblocks to converting to solar energy are getting fewer and fewer. Gas power consumption has been in a steady decline for the past decade. This is a direct result of the changing preference of Australians across the country. While most homeowners in Australia have turned to traditional power sources such as gas for their at-home energy, there is a big change in mindset around accepting the status quo and venturing out into unknown territory. As Australia boasts a massive number of sunlight days per year, it's one of the best places to embrace solar-powered systems and early adapters are proving the benefits. With solar power in Melbourne having been around for many years, it has proven itself as a reliable way to produce power for households and businesses. Sunrun Solar has seen many homeowners in recent years make the switch due to incentive programs and positive word of mouth. As gas prices rise, so too does the demand for renewable alternatives. While some Australians have waited to assess these solar systems' efficacy, now seems to be the time where many are ready to take the jump. As there is less demand for gas power every year, it seems that Australia may have officially turned a corner towards achieving a big change in outlook surrounding the solar energy industry. Related Images solar-panels-melbourne.png Solar Panels Melbourne Solar Panels Melbourne Related Links Solar Panels Melbourne Solar Installers Melbourne SOURCE Sunrun Solar Accounting Solutions When we consider the year that 2020 was, this honor is even more important as testimony that our teams and our organization can weather a storm and still sustain positive growth. Accounting solutions experts and 4-time Inc. 5000 honorees announced today they ranked No. 119 on the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas list for 2021, Inc. magazines ranking of the fastest-growing, private companies in Texas. AcctTwo qualified for the ranking with a two-year, revenue growth rate of 112%. The Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas list represents the fastest-growing, Texas-based, private companies. This prestigious list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Texas economys most dynamic segment, its independent small businesses, and was born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise in 2020. This recognition is an achievement that would be amazing in any year and we are certainly proud and honored to be on the list. When we consider the year that 2020 was, this honor is even more important as testimony that our teams and our organization can weather a storm and still sustain positive growth. I feel even more confident in our AcctTwo team because were stress tested and thriving, said AcctTwo Founder and CEO Marcus Wagner. This list proves the power of companies in Texas no matter the industry, said Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. In September 2020, AcctTwo, the finance-as-a-service, managed accounting experts announced their ranking on the Inc. 5000 List. AcctTwo was ranked No. 2317 on the national Inc. 5000 list, the fourth year the company earned the honor. According to Inc., the companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in Texas. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 210 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 44,000 people and added more than $9 billion to the Texas economy. Companies based in the largest metro areasDallas, Houston, and Austinbrought in the highest revenue overall. Methodology: The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/texas. About the Inc. 5000: The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. About AcctTwo AcctTwo is focused on delivering the future of finance and accounting to its customers. AcctTwo has three main solutions Cloud Accounting Software, Finance-as-a-Service outsourced accounting, and Software Development, all built around Sage Intaccts best-in-class financial applications. Our dedicated team of more than 100 people has helped more than 1,000 organizations optimize finance and accounting through software implementations, accounting outsourcing, and consulting. AcctTwo has been recognized by Inc. 5000 four times, the Sage Intacct Partner of the Year seven consecutive years running, and by our customers as a leader in overall satisfaction and popularity through their reviews on G2. AcctTwo is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information about accounting software customization, please visit https://www.accttwo.com or call 713-744-8400. An intensified crackdown has made a war zone out of suburbs of Myanmars largest city, which were put under martial law early this week, with soldiers shooting protesters on sight and workers facing starvation, witnesses and aid workers said Wednesday as the regime pulled the plug on the countrys last independent newspaper. Security personnel have started an intimidation campaign in six of Yangons satellite townships North Okkalapa, North Dagon, South Dagon, Dagon Seikkan, Hlaingthaya, and Shwepyitha where martial law was declared March 14, and phone and Wi-Fi services have been blocked, locals said. Police and soldiers are opening fire randomly in residential areas and at individual residences, clearing areas street by street, and beating and arresting all suspects, while thousands of people are fleeing the violence and shortages of food and drinking water, they said. Police and soldiers even stop and search motorbike riders and bicyclists, said one township resident who did not provide his name. If they find anything that looks like a weapon, like slingshots, they will make an arrest. Another resident said that when security forces stopped cars and motorbikes in one area of the township, they asked drivers to pay bribes to get their confiscated vehicles back. A lot of people in our street came back on foot this morning because their cars were seized, he said. With phone and internet services cut off in the area, RFA could not confirm reports on social media that said police took away some people and forced them to serve as porters. Drinking water and food are growing scarce in Hlaingthaya township because of transportation disruptions, residents said. Tens of thousands of migrant workers from other parts of Myanmar are leaving the area a major factory zone where dozens of Chinese-funded factories were destroyed this week in a clash that killed more than 50 protesters to return to their hometowns. A Myanmar anti-coup protester uses a fire extinguisher to provide cover for others as security forces approach their encampment in Yangon, March 17, 2021. Credit: Associated Press People cannot gather in groups Protesters in North Dagon, South Dagon, North Okkalapa, Dagon Seikkan, and Shweypyitha townships refrained from rallying on Wednesday because police and soldiers begin shooting the moment they see any groups of people, residents said. They are no more protests on the streets at all. People cannot gather in groups, said a Shweypyitha resident. Protesters are all lying low because of the brutal violence the other day. Military vehicles are moving around and nobody can be seen on the streets, though we have heard frequent gunfire since around 7 p.m. A North Dagon resident said that soldiers fired randomly about 9:30 a.m. in one of the township wards, including shooting into houses and forcing people inside to take cover. There were many military trucks driving around and shooting at random, he said. I dont know whether anyone was hit or not. Myanmar researcher Manny Maung at Human Rights Watch said that the situation has become so bad in Hlaingthaya township that residents cannot leave or enter the area because security forces have closed all the roads. The military coup has intensified the hardships [of migrant workers] as more and more factories have closed, he said. The people are short of cash, and the stores have run out of groceries. I was informed that there is widespread starvation, and some people are living on only one meal a day. Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist and researcher based in Germany, compared the martial law declaration and subsequent crackdown in Hlaingthaya township to the militarys clearance operation in northern Rakhine state in 2017, which left thousands of Rohingyas dead and forced more than 740,000 others to flee to Bangladesh. It is the same light infantry division that executed the operation in Rakhine state, he said, adding that he received information that soldiers have tried to destroy evidence of their violent acts and the bodies of people killed in crackdowns. But he said he could not verify the reports with mobile internet service now shut down. RFA could not reach military regime spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment. A Myanmar anti-junta protester with a makeshift shield watches smoke rise from debris set on fire to prevent security forces from approaching along a main road in Yangon, March 17, 2021. Credit: Associated Press Huge loss for freedom of information In a major blow to the free flow of information during the crisis, Myanmars last privately owned independent newspaper, The Standard Time Daily, stopped publishing Wednesday putting an end to a brief eight-year period in which independent journalism was allowed after decades of military rule since 1962. Private newspapers had not been permitted since a military coup in 1962, but they reemerged in 2013 after the ban on independent media was lifted as part of the countrys now-aborted transition to elected, civilian rule. The paper had to stop publishing because of difficulties in getting news stories during the martial law period and concerns over the safety of its reporters, said a Standard Time Daily staffer who did not want to be named for safety reasons. In early March, the military government banned 7Day News, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Myanmar Now, and Khit Thit Media from publishing, broadcasting, and transmitting messages via social media. Myint Kyaw, a former member of the Myanmar Press Council, called the regimes forced shutdowns of newspapers a huge loss for freedom of information. The news reports have given encouragement to the people and more support to the protesters, he said. Thats why they [the military] are intimidated by the news media. Thats why they have cut off internet service. Sithu Aung Myint, a Yangon journalist, said the closure of independent newspapers has created a news blackout under which the junta is putting pressure on the media to cover up the unlawful crimes committed by the military council. The news media have become a target because they [the military] have committed all these unlawful military crimes, and they dont want them to be recorded, he said. Now without the news media, they will do anything they want to. Authorities have arrested nearly 40 journalists since the Feb. 1 coup, charging some of them with defamation and incitement, while releasing others. There has been no further information about some of those still being detained. A journalist in Yangon said that some reporters and editors now are working clandestinely. The problem is we can be arrested by the military, and at the same time we are afraid of people who think we are informers because we have cameras, he said. The Standard Time Daily, 7Day News, The Voice, Eleven Myanmar, and the Myanmar Times were the most popular news publications in the country. The Myanmar Times ceased publication on Feb. 21. Though The Voice stopped publishing on Feb. 24, it is still presenting news reports on its Facebook pages. Myanmar Buddhist monks display placards during a protest march supporting the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a shadow parliament formed by lawmakers elected in the November 2020 vote, in Mandalay, March 17, 2021. Credit: Associated Press Religious council wants end to violence In a sign of impatience with the six-week-old coup, Myanmars highest Buddhist council on Tuesday urged authorities to stop the killings and brutal crackdowns on peaceful civilians, and said it would halt its normal operations until the countrys situation was back to normal. The government-appointed State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee also called for an end to arrests and torture and the holding of a national dialogue to find a solution to the political crisis in a follow-up statement issued Wednesday. In an effort to build a coalition of opponents of the military regime, the Committee Representing Phyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a shadow parliament formed by lawmakers elected in the November 2020 vote that the junta claims was marred by fraud, announced the removal of all ethnic armed forces from a list of groups organizations deemed illegal and terrorist. The gesture toward ethnic minority regions followed the juntas announcement that the Arakan Army was no longer an official terrorist group. In the statement published on the CRPHs Facebook page, the lawmakers also condemned the arrests and detentions of civilians under the Section 17(1) of Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly having links to ethnic armies, calling such arrests illegal. The CRPH previously said it was in talks with the ethnic armies to oppose the current military dictatorship. Protests continued in several cities Wednesday despite the crackdown, with five protesters killed in Yangon and in the town of Kalay in northwestern Sagaing region. The number of deaths since the coup began on Feb. 1 now totals 186, according to an RFA tally. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a watchdog group, said that as of Wednesday, 2,191 people had been arrested, charged, or sentenced in relation to the military coup, with 1,872 still being held or with outstanding warrants. Human rights groups denounced the intensified crackdowns, with Nickey Diamond of Fortify Rights saying that the military regime has stooped so low, committing all kinds of human rights violations just to hold onto power. They are using extreme violence to instill fear among the population, but the people are not afraid to defy them, and thats why they are stepping up the violence, he told RFA. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane, Ye Kaung Myint Maung, and Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. The Tanzanian government confirmed today that President John Magufuli has died. It is sad news. Our beloved president passed on at 6 p.m. this evening, said Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who per the East African nations constitution will now become its first female president. We have lost our courageous leader. All flags will be flown at half mast for 14 days. What officials did not confirm was weeks of speculation by opposition leaders and regional media that the 62-year-old had contracted COVID-19. The official cause of death: heart complications. However, the situation echoed the chatter in neighboring Burundi last June, when President Pierre Nkurunziza died of COVID-19 at age 55, as both leaders drew criticism for their approach to the pandemic. During a recent prayer service at Rugombo Pentecostal Church in the Cibitoke area of Burundis capital, Bujumbura, more than 100 worshipers followed pastor Joseph Ndayizeye as he led them in prayer. He addressed the ongoing pandemic, stating that God is punishing human beings for their sins. It is not normal for the virus to invade the country and even kill the president, prayed Ndayizeye, referring to Nkurunziza. God punished us with the coronavirus pandemic because of our sins. Let us repent our sins and ask God for forgiveness and our prayers will be heard. His prayer is mirrored across the country of almost 12 million people. Many religious leaders in Burundi are reminding their congregants that God is angry with mankind for constantly sinning without repenting. Ndayizeye noted that Burundian authorities have continued to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians and detainees with impunity. You cannot kill innocent people and promote evil like same-sex marriage and go unpunished, he warned. But our God is merciful. When we pray to him, theres nothing impossible. He will defeat the coronavirus and we will be free. Burundi has recorded about 2,500 coronavirus cases, with 3 fatalities. In response, many citizens have intensified prayers and sought divine intervention in the fight against the deadly virus. Although the landlocked country has closed its borders as new measures against the pandemic, officials said they have no plans to accept COVID-19 vaccines after the health minister, Thaddee Ndikumana, expressed reservations. Since more than 95 percent of patients are recovering, we estimate that the vaccines are not yet necessary, said Ndikumana, noting the nation will focus on prevention measures. Pascal Nyabenda, a politician who served as president of the National Assembly of Burundi from 2015 to 2020, has claimed that the virus was brought by God to punish the nation for its sins and urges churches to continue praying so that citizens will be safe from the pandemic. Only God can save this nation as we continue to observe the health protocols laid down by the ministry of health. Let us pray and ask for forgiveness from God, he recently said at a Pentecostal church in northern Burundi. However, pastor John Bigirimana has warned religious leaders and government officials about misquoting Bible verses and using them out of context to misinform the public about the pandemic. He said being born again does not mean that people should stop thinking and act brainwashed as in a cult. Instead, he urged Burundians to protect themselves from the virus and to embrace vaccines, saying Christians should have faith in both science and God. People should realize that COVID-19 is alive and seek medication and even get vaccinated, said the pastor of Buterere Pentecostal Church in Bujumbura. Theres nowhere in the scriptures where God commands Christians not to seek medical assistance. This is a pandemic all over the world. Its not only to Burundians. Lets not be cheated, unless we all want to die. Across the border, Magufuli on several occasions insisted that his country of 60 million, with a population roughly two-thirds Christian and one-third Muslim, had long defeated the virus through prayers. Before he was hospitalized, the president urged Tanzanians to pray for three days to defeat the new coronavirus variants amid warnings that the nation was seeing a deadly resurgence in COVID-19 infections. Maybe we have wronged God somewhere. Let us all repent, Magufuli, who was a Catholic, told mourners at a funeral for his chief secretary, John Kijazi, on February 19. God has never forsaken this nation. Lets pray and fast for three days, I am sure we will win. We won last year, we will win this year and years to come. The Tanzanian president never locked down his nation to prevent the spread of the virus. Markets, churches, sport events, bars, and restaurants have remained open since the country confirmed its first case of COVID-19 a year ago. Authorities stopped updating virus cases last year when there were 509 cases and 21 deaths. Magufuli also rejected COVID-19 vaccines for being promoted by foreign companies and countries, and had refused to embrace face masks and social distancing measures. But the latest surge in COVID-19 deaths has left religious leaders and residents who initially believed in the power of prayer worried and concerned about their safety. Tanzania lost 10 other prominent citizens to coronavirus-like symptoms in recent weeks. Among them was Seif Sharif Hamad, the vice president of the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar, whose infection with COVID-19 had been announced by his political party. Tanzanian pastor Joseph Mayala Mitinje said that although God heals virtually every known disease, it was time for Christians to understand that God often uses medicine to accomplish his healing. I dont believe that theres any disease that God cannot heal. He has given us the authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness, said Mitinje, an evangelical pastor who ministers at Africa Inland Church Tanzania in Arusha. But God has filled men and women with the spirit of healing. Some go through medical college, and others God just fills them with the spirit of intelligence, knowledge, skills, and understanding like Bezalel and Oholiab [Exodus 31]. We should all understand that healing comes from God either through prayers or medical knowledge, because thats a gift from God for the benefit of the public, he said. Jesus has healed a lot of people with coronavirus, but its not being reported because not everyone with COVID-19 is dying. Earlier this month, Tanzanias Catholic church publicly acknowledged the reality that the virus was spreading. The leaders announced that the church had lost 60 nuns and 25 priests in the past two months who had shown symptoms. Priests are dying and sisters are dying, but this number within two months has shocked us especially considering the government has strengthened better health systems," said Father Charles Kitima, secretary of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, in a statement in Dar es Salaam. Please continue taking precautions against this disease by following the instructions of the Ministry of Health. As COVID-19 continues to ravage the globe, with about 121 million confirmed cases and more than 2.6 million related deaths, the debate among East African Christians over the role of faith and prayer in fighting the disease continues to escalate. Can God heal a person from coronavirus? The answer is both yes and no, said Erick Onzere, a Pentecostal pastor with the Assemblies of God in Kenya. To those who believe in the name of the Son of God will obviously receive any kind of healing because there is power in the name of Jesus. But its difficult to receive healing or anything from Christ if we dont believe he can give it to us. God heals in response to faith. However, Damaris Parsitau, a senior lecturer at the department of philosophy, history, and religious studies at Egerton University in Kenya, said no amount of prayers or faith can cure the virus. She believes only science and medicine are a reliable solution to the pandemic. African Christians have been praying for a cure for AIDS/HIV and Ebola for decades, but not a single person has certainly been cured of these dangerous viruses. The same logic should apply to COVID-19, she wrote in an article for The Elephant. Faith and science should not be in contradiction with each other. Each plays important and significant roles in our lives, she wrote. Faith and prayers hold us together in hope and community while science tackles the virus in scientific and practical ways. Meanwhile, back in Burundis capital, Ndayizeye said even countries that have strictly followed health protocols laid down by the government have lost thousands of people to the virus. The Pentecostal pastor urged his congregation to repent and turn to Godciting the example of the Israelites begging Moses for help receiving forgivenessto avoid imminent deaths. We have no choice right now but to trust God, he said. Repentance would bring healing. Additional reporting by Religion News Service Burma Four Ethnic Chin Protesters Killed by Myanmar Security Forces Protesters use burning tires to block roads in Kale on March 17. Yangon Four ethnic Chin protesters were killed and at least 10 others wounded as police and soldiers used live rounds on anti-regime protesters in Kale Township, Sagaing Region, on Wednesday, according to residents. Protests in Kale began on Feb. 7, six days after the coup. The security forces started to use force on March 2, shooting an 18-year-old dead. He was the first protester to die in Kale. And four more were killed on Wednesday, said Kale resident U Kyaw. The March 2 incident has since forced anti-regime protesters to march separately rather than in one group. On Wednesday, protesters from Tar Han village, which is majority Chin, were surrounded by the security forces upon their arrival in Myo Hla in Kale. Around 30 protesters were trapped and others managed to escape. Firing reportedly started when an ambulance tried to rescue the protesters. The first victim was a man who came to rescue his younger sister. Two people died in the morning. One was shot in the head and another in the chest. People burned tires on some bridges to block roads, said a resident. On Wednesday afternoon, ethnic Chin protesters, angry about the mornings violence, blocked roads in western Kale. Two more protesters died when the military opened fire. Both of them were shot in the head, said a Kale resident. At least 10 injured protesters were taken to private hospitals and clinics. None of them are in a critical condition, he said. One of the four victims was a 20-year-old man who died on the spot after a bullet penetrated his shield and hit him in the head. He was hit by a live bullet as he withdrew with other protesters, said the victims brother, Do Chin Meng. He said was unable to remove his brothers body and was trying to retrieve it from Kale Hospital, he told The Irrawaddy. All the victims were men, he added. Around 10 people were also arrested on Tuesday and residents used burning tires to block roads in western Kale. Despite fatal shootings, residents gathered to march on Thursday morning and dispersed when more military trucks arrived. The security forces showered Aung Thitsar in Kale on Sunday with live rounds and rubber bullets. At least three civilians were hit by rubber bullets and one of them remains in a critical condition, said residents. The security forces clamped down on Aung Thitsar on Sunday evening. Residents were holding a candlelit vigil and shouting anti-regime slogans. They banged pots and pans when the soldiers came. The security forces withdrew but returned later and fired for no reason, said a resident. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, by Thursday 217 civilians have been killed at anti-regime protests since Feb. 1 the coup. You may also like these stories: More Civilians Flee as Fighting Between Myanmars Military and Kachin Rebels Continues Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denton, TX (76205) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Thousands of airline employees out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be given $500-a-week as part of a government support package. The allowance for 8,600 staff is part of the federal government's $1.2billion aviation and tourism support payment that aims to help airlines stay afloat until international travel is up and running. Qantas boss Alan Joyce unveiled the details of the payment which will likely go to staff working on international flights from Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin, on Thursday with the package set to run until borders open at the end of the year. Australian employees stood down are the only workers expected to receive the payment, The Australian reported. Around 8,600 airline employees out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be given $500 a week as part of a government support package (pictured Qantas crew) The payment is expected to last for around seven months and will end once the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out fully and international travel is back on. The wage is the same rate as the JobKeeper payment but the government has denied it is a continuation of the scheme which is due to finish at the end of the month. As part of the government's support package around 800,000 discounted tickets will also be offered to help boost travel. Pilots, crews and engineers will also be given training as part of their preparation when they return to work. It's unclear how the $500 payment will apply to airline staff if they return to work before October. Mr Joyce earlier said he expects 22 of 25 Qantas international routes to restart in October alongside all 13 Jetstar routes - but he's prepared to start earlier or wait longer depending on the Covid-19 situation. 'This support is fantastic news for aviation and for the thousands of businesses, big and small, that rely on the tourism industry,' he said when the support package was announced. The payment is expected to last for around seven months and will end once the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out fully and international travel is back on (empty check in area at Sydney Airport) Michael Kaine, Transport Workers Union national secretary, questioned why domestic airline staff were not able to receive the payment plan. 'We welcome wage support for aviation workers who through no fault of their own cannot return to their jobs because of pandemic restrictions. But it is a disgrace that this wage support will help some workers while leaving others unable to pay their bills and support their families,' he said. 'We want to know how the federal government expects domestic workers at Qantas, Virgin and the many aviation service operators to survive without a wage support.' Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (Photo : REUTERS/Chris Radburn) Britain's Prince Harry has spoken to his elder brother William for the first time since he and his wife Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview but the talks were "not productive", a friend of the couple said on Tuesday. During the interview aired by U.S. television network CBS on March 7, Meghan said one unnamed member of the royal family had asked how dark their son Archie's skin might be when he was born, while Harry said his father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had let him down and that he had felt trapped. Advertisement At an engagement last Thursday, Prince William said he had not yet spoken to his brother but intended to do so, telling reporters: "We're very much not a racist family." Gayle King, the co-host of CBS This Morning, said she had spoken to Harry and Meghan at the weekend and that a conversation between the brothers had taken place. "It's true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too, and the word I was given was that those conversations were not productive, but they are glad that they have at least started a conversation," she said. William's office Kensington Palace had no comment on King's remarks. Harry and Meghan's interview plunged the British monarchy into its biggest crisis since the death of William and Harry's mother Princess Diana in 1997. 'A TEACHABLE MOMENT' It came after Buckingham Palace said it was investigating allegations of bullying made against Meghan by aides before she and Harry gave up their royal roles to move to California last year. "I think what is still upsetting to them is that the palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately yet they've all these false stories coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan," King said. "I think it's frustrating for them to see that it's a racial conversation about the royal family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant." Queen Elizabeth, 94, has said the royals were saddened by the challenging experiences of her grandson Harry and his wife. "The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately," Buckingham Palace said in a March 9 statement. Earlier, former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama said Meghan's recollections about a remark made about the possible colour of her son's skin were no surprise and she hoped Meghan's experiences would be a lesson for the world. Obama told NBC News: "Race isn't a new construct in this world for people of colour, and so it wasn't a complete surprise to hear her feelings and to have them articulated," she said. "I think the thing that I hope for, and the thing I think about, is that this, first and foremost, is a family. I pray for forgiveness and healing for them so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all." (This story corrects paragraph on Michelle Obama to say she said comments were not surprising instead of heartbreaking) A giant asteroid, believed to be as wide as the Empire State Buildings height, will be zipping toward the Earth this weekend. But experts say theres no reason to freak out, even though its technically classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid. There is no threat of a collision with our planet now or for centuries to come, officials from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement issued earlier this month. Despite its designation as a near-Earth asteroid, this massive space rock known as 2001 FO32 will be streaking at a super-fast speed about 1.25 million miles away from our planet on Sunday, March 21, NASA noted. Thats more than five times greater than the distance between the Earth and the moon. We know the orbital path of 2001 FO32 around the sun very accurately, since it was discovered 20 years ago and has been tracked ever since, said Paul Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which is managed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. There is no chance the asteroid will get any closer to Earth than 1.25 million miles. However, in astronomical measurements, that is considered a close call. A large asteroid known as 2001 FO32 will be speeding toward the Earth this weekend, making its closest approach on Sunday, March 21. Experts say theres no threat of a collision with our planet.Photo illustration by Buddy Nath | Pixabay Where asteroids come from Asteroids are solid, rocky objects that orbit our sun. They are remnants left over from the formation of our solar system, NASA explains. They can be about as wide as a car to about as wide as the state of Utah. (In case youre wondering, Utah is about 270 miles wide and 350 miles long.) Most asteroids that are flying around in our solar system originate from a rock-filled region called the Asteroid Belt, NASA says. This vast, doughnut-shaped ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter contains hundreds of thousands of asteroids maybe even millions. The Center for Near Earth Object Studies, known as CNEOS, uses telescopes on Earth and in space to keep tabs on all the asteroids and comets that are streaking around the universe and to look for new ones that havent yet been identified. Its their job to determine whether any of those space objects could pose a risk to our planet. At its closest approach to Earth on Sunday, the asteroid known as 2001 FO32 will be traveling as fast as 77,000 miles per hour. NASA says this space rock will not return to our region of the solar system until 2052. When it was discovered in March 2001, the asteroid was estimated to be about 3,000 feet wide. A later analysis calculated its width at somewhere between 1,300 to 2,230 feet. By comparison, the Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall, including its tip. The Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan stretches 1,776 feet high. A large asteroid known as 2001 FO32 will be speeding toward the Earth this weekend, making its closest approach on Sunday, March 21. Experts say theres no threat of a collision with our planet.Photo illustration by Frantisek Krejci | Pixabay How to see the giant asteroid Even though this asteroid is huge, astronomy experts say it will be tough to see especially from the northern United States and other parts of the northern hemisphere. This is not going to be an easy thing for us to see in New Jersey, or most of the USA, said Amie Gallagher, director of the planetarium at Raritan Valley Community College in Somerset County. For New Jersey observers, the asteroid will only be about six or seven degrees above the southern horizon at its highest altitude. Its also not going to be very bright, Gallagher noted. Youll need an 8-inch-diameter telescope or larger to observe the asteroid. This will be more easily observed in the southern hemisphere or lower northern hemisphere latitudes. The big asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at about noon on Sunday, but Gallagher said the best time for skywatchers to look for it would be when the skies are dark, around 3 a.m. Sunday. She said the asteroid will be in front of the stars of the constellation Lupus, which is next to Scorpius. If you dont live in the right geographic region or you dont have a high-powered telescope, you have another option for seeing the giant asteroid. You can check out a live video feed that is being planned by the Virtual Telescope Project, an online observatory based in Rome. The Virtual Telescope Project says it will show the asteroid for a few hours early Monday morning, when the space rock will be finishing its fly-by past the Earth. The video feed is scheduled to start at 4 a.m. UTC, which is midnight Sunday for us folks in the Eastern Daylight Time zone. The asteroid will be brightest while it moves through southern skies, Chodas, the man who heads the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, said. Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere and at low northern latitudes should be able to see this asteroid using moderate-size telescopes with apertures of at least eight inches in the nights leading up to closest approach, Chodas said, but they will probably need star charts to find it. You may have seen headlines about an #asteroid that will safely fly by Earth on March 21. While this asteroid, known as 2001 FO32, is large, it will safely zip past Earth at a distance of 1.3 million milesfive times further away than the Moonand poses no risk of hitting Earth. pic.twitter.com/oZZG5UaFsf NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 8, 2021 Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. A Northern Ireland film-maker has taken the unusual step of casting for someone with congenital facial abnormalities to star in his companys latest production. Michael Costello, from Apex Pictures, is in the throes of producing, along with colleague Carleton Rodgers, a short film, which has been funded by Northern Ireland Screen, about a young woman struggling with confidence issues about the way she looks. And, for authenticity and equal opportunity purposes, the Belfast man is hoping to cast a person in the role of Frankie who actually lives with the condition, rather than using an actress with make-up. Their industry advert features a montage of women who have congenital facial abnormalities. We have searched acting agencies around the island of Ireland, north and south, and, so far, have been unable to locate anyone affected by this, said Mr Costello, who has been producing movies for 14 years. Weve now decided to look further afield for someone to play Frankie. Acting experience is not essential. According to the films up-and-coming director, Josh Lynas, Frankie tells the story of a woman, aged between 18 and 22, who was born with the condition. Expand Close Casting call ad / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Casting call ad Angry and frustrated at the world, she hides herself away from society, until one night she is forced to reveal her true self. The film, which is currently in pre-production, will be mostly shot in Portrush and Belfast. Mr Costello said he is aware that the unusual casting request may raise a few eyebrows but added: I dont really see why it should. Its all about equality of opportunity. Why, for instance, should anyone cast an able-bodied actor in the role of person with a disability when someone who actually has a disability is available? Or have a white person playing someone of a different ethnicity, such as Alec Guinness playing an Asian man in A Passage To India and regretting it for the rest of his life? The 29-year-old producer added: This film is providing a voice for a minority of people affected by this condition. For that reason, wed like to offer someone this opportunity. Meanwhile Mr Lynas, who also wrote the script, said he wanted to challenge the negative stigma and combat peoples pre-existing prejudice. He said he also wanted to create a conversation, to give a voice to the under-represented in todays society. It would be a disservice to just cast an actor and use prosthetics. We are hoping people will come forward and believe in the film, said Mr Lynas. The main message is to celebrate people for who they are inside regardless. It is an important message that people need to hear. The 20-year-old added: As the writer and director, I am so excited for the short film and thankful to NI Screen for funding it. Frankie will be the second film to be directed by Mr Lynas and funded by NI Screen. His previous project, Lost in Transit, about a young girl in pursuit of her long-lost father, won the Best Narrative award at last years Fresh Film Festival. They are particularly keen to hear from actors from underrepresented ethnicity groups. Craniofacial abnormalities are birth defects of the face or head. Some, like cleft lip and palate, are among the most common of all birth defects. Others are very rare. Most of them affect how a persons face or head looks. Anyone interested in applying for the role should send a photograph and resume to michaelcostello@apexpicturesltd.com Staffers of San Franciscos famed bean-to-bar chocolate maker Dandelion are trying to unionize, another high-profile worker effort among popular local food and drink businesses. They want higher pay, a safer work environment and more transparency at the company, which has grown from its original Mission District cafe to also operating a massive nearby chocolate factory, a retail space in the Ferry Building and multiple branches in Japan. The workers will likely hold an election in several weeks to decide whether to join International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The effort follows the successful unionization effort at Anchor Brewing in 2019 and the still-contested attempt at Tartine Bakery in 2020. Though some staffers at Dandelion started looking into unionization before those bids became public, the idea that several local companies specializing in craft products can unionize has been galvanizing, said Christine Keating, a lead chocolate educator who has worked at Dandelion for seven years. The union is important because it empowers more amazing, passionate, smart people to have more of a voice and to make this company better, Keating said. If I want to stay at this company the next seven years, I would really need that. About 50 Dandelion workers are in the proposed union unit, although a total of 84 work in San Francisco. While the chocolate company maintains a post in Japan, its managed through a separate entity. Despite recent local movement around organizing, the food industry maintains one of the lowest rates of unionization in the U.S. at 3.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dandelion founder Todd Masonis was still processing the news on Wednesday and said he plans to educate himself on unions to understand the responsibilities, legally and morally. The union effort was first reported by Mission Local. It sounds like theres a desire for change, and it sounds like a lot of people at the company are really excited about creating positive impact, Masonis told The Chronicle. I think that part is really good, so now we need to figure out what it means. Dandelion staffers say they want more of a say in how the workplace is run. Chocolate maker Tim Ryan pointed to the Valencia Street chocolate facility, where staffing was significantly down but production goals remain high. When employees asked to hire more people, Masonis responded by shutting down the operation entirely, employees said. (While no longer producing chocolate, the Valencia cafe remains open.) Masonis said after hearing worker concerns, he offered employees similar roles at the larger factory on 16th Street, which has more efficient machinery. But Ryan said they felt blindsided by the decision and were told there were no guarantees they would be placed in similar roles with the same pay. The chocolate makers told management that they preferred to work in the Valencia Street facility. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. We voiced our needs. They used it to justify shutting down the factory, Ryan said. Pay transparency and career development is also at issue, they said. Employees have yearly reviews, but they cant ask for raises during the reviews, Keating and Ryan said. Keating, who makes $50,000 a year, said she hasnt received a raise in three years and its unclear how to talk to a manger about getting one. Ryan said theres not a clear path forward for promotions for his role, either. He knows of one chocolate maker who was promoted in a couple years, while another still hasnt been despite more than five years in the role. We want a more democratic workplace. Right now, we feel a lot of decisions get made for us by management, Keating said. Our voices and our solutions arent really heard in favor of solutions that are easier for management. We want to have a seat at that table. Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Serena Dai is a San Francisco Chronicle senior editor. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com, serena.dai@sfchronicle.com The number of coronavirus patients in Louisiana's hospitals reached a record low on Thursday as Gov. John Bel Edwards announced expanded vaccine eligibility to a slew of essential workers, including employees at restaurants, bars, grocery stores, colleges and universities. The new rules go into effect Monday and apply to anyone 16 or older. To qualify, patients will need to bring an employee ID badge, paystub or some other form of evidence to their appointment proving they work in an eligible occupation. +2 Louisiana expands COVID vaccine eligibility to include essential workers; here's a list Gov. John Bel Edwards said that beginning Monday, more than two dozen categories of essential workers will be eligible for the coronavirus vac With a significant shipment of vaccine doses expected in April, Edwards said the state could soon near a "tipping point" in its fight against the virus. Still, he cautioned there's no guarantee the state doesn't backslide and urged the public to get vaccinated to avoid doing so. "It's because of the vaccines that we can look forward to more normalcy on the horizon, but the vaccine by itself just sits in the freezer, we have to have people's arms to put them into," Edwards said. There were 414 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon the lowest in nearly a year and a number that has steadily declined since the state reported a pandemic-high of 2,069 patients on Jan. 7 following a deadly post-holiday surge in cases. The Touro Infirmary in New Orleans for the first time Wednesday admitted zero new coronavirus patients and its parent operator, LCMC Health, recorded just under two-dozen patients across its six-hospital system. That's down from a high of around 450 hospitalizations following the first surge in March, according to Dr. Jeffrey Elder, an LCMC Health executive overseeing vaccine distribution at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. "We're not out of the woods yet. This is the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to do the basics like wearing a mask and socially distancing so we don't see another surge before reaching herd immunity," Elder said. To reach herd immunity and return to some semblance of normalcy anywhere from 75-90% of the population needs to be vaccinated. About 21% of the states total population has received at least the first dose of the two-dose vaccine regimens available, according to state health department data. Nearly 569,000 people have been fully inoculated. Louisiana ranked 40th among states in the percentage of its total population that had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In addition to the record-low hospitalizations, Louisiana this week also reported its lowest rate of positive coronavirus tests, at 2.9%, as well as the lowest number of new cases identified among nursing homes residents. Still, Dr. Joe Kanter, the state's health officer, said he remains concerned about trends in the Lake Charles area, which as of Wednesday, had 77 confirmed or suspected cases of the more transmissible U.K. variant, the highest in the state. COVID variant on the rise in a recovering Lake Charles; demand for vaccinations slackens An increase in cases of the more transmissible U.K. coronavirus variant in southwest Louisiana has added urgency to vaccination efforts there. Vaccination efforts in the region which includes Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes have stalled in the meantime, as residents focus on the grueling task of rebuilding following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Laura nearly seven months ago. "I know COVID is not always first of mind, and there's a lot of fatigue, but I've got to encourage people, particularly in the Lake Charles area, please just hold on a little bit longer," Kanter said, adding that that state is sending vaccination strike teams to the region to help bolster lagging inoculation efforts. Louisiana last week took the extraordinary step of opening up eligibility to anyone 16 and older with certain health conditions. Those categories were broadly defined, and included smokers and those who are definitionally "overweight," a blunt metric covering roughly 70% of the state's adult population. That expansion came after vaccine providers reported "slack" in available appointments. Kanter said appointments in recent days were again filling up slower than usual, making it a good time to once again expand eligibility. President Joe Biden set a May 1 goal for states to open up eligibility to the general population, though Edwards said he expects Louisiana to reach that goal much sooner and said the next announcement he makes on eligibility will likely make that leap. The state expects to receive a flat shipment of around 112,200 vaccine doses next week and plans to add another 14,700 doses leftover from its long-term care facilities to that pile. The full list of newly eligible workers includes: Another 5,758 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,274,579, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The country also reported another 141 coronavirus-related fatalities, taking the national death toll to 125,831. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported. More than 25.2 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of a vaccine, according to the latest official figures. According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, almost 50 per cent of all British adults have received a jab, while 90 per cent of those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and 95 per cent of over-65s have been vaccinated. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "This latest milestone is an incredible achievement, representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society." Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the rollout is ahead of schedule as the country aims to vaccinate all adults by the end of July. He urged everyone who is eligible for a jab to come forward. On February 22, Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. The March 8 reopening of schools was the first part of the four-step plan which is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June. Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Northern Ireland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions. --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.) By Umar Farooq PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is planning to build two hydroelectric-powered pilot "mining farms" to capitalise on a bullish global cryptocurrency market, a minister overseeing a new government crypto policy told Reuters on Wednesday. The announcement comes as cryptocurrencies are gaining mainstream acceptance, with Bitcoin's price reaching record levels as investors such as Elon Musk pour funds into it, and the first big U.S. bank, Morgan Stanley, offering its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds. Crypto mining farms involve large investments in computer data centres which require vast amounts of power. Pakistan has formed a federal committee to formulate a new crypto policy, even as neighboring India is planning to ban cryptocurrencies entirely. The cost of the mining project has yet to be determined. "People have already been approaching us for investment, and we want them to come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, earn some money and have the province earn from that as well," Zia Ullah Bangash, advisor to the provincial government on science and technology said. Both mining and trading in cryptocurrencies currently exists in a legal grey area in Pakistan, though, and federal authorities would have to provide a clear path towards legalizing the sector before it could be formally opened to investors. In 2018, the State Bank of Pakistan said cryptocurrencies were not legal tender and the regulator had not authorized anyone to deal in them in the country. Pakistan also is currently on the global Financial Action Task Force grey list, and one of the areas the global money laundering watchdog has asked Islamabad to better regulate is cryptocurrencies. Still, mining and trading in cryptocurrencies thrives in Pakistan, with apps like Binance and Coinbase among the most popular downloads in the country, according to web analytics company SimilarWeb. "It's really just our government that is not participating right now, people all over Pakistan are already working on this, either mining or trading in cryptocurrencies and they are earning an income from it," Bangash said. "We are hoping to bring this to a government level so things can be controlled and online fraud or other scams can be prevented. (Reporting by Umar Farooq; Editing by Kim Coghill) Alaska currently has the nations lowest state motor fuel tax, at 8 cents per gallon. The state gas tax has not changed since 1970. 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 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. Community Perspective 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. 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If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. ROCKVILLE, Md., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: RGRX) ("the Company" or "RegeneRx"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on tissue protection, repair and regeneration, announced that the ARISE-3 Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating RGN-259 eyedrops for the treatment of dry eye syndrome did not meet its primary outcome measures. However, efficacy was seen in the improvement of ocular grittiness, one of the pre-specified secondary symptom endpoints in the trial. The statistically significant improvement was seen at one and two weeks after treatment, and post-exposure in a controlled adverse environment after two weeks of treatment with RGN-259 compared to placebo (p=0.0104, 0.0307, and 0.0046, respectively). RGN-259 continued to demonstrate safety in treatment of dry eye syndrome consistent with previous clinical trials. In the ARISE-3 trial, there were no serious adverse events with only mild to moderate adverse events in both the active and placebo arms. The most common ophthalmic adverse event was mild ocular pain upon instillation (RGN-259 6.6% vs. placebo 4.6%). Based on preliminary post-hoc analyses by GtreeBNT using all of the patients in the three phase 3 trials, the population compromised by a corneal sum fluorescein staining score showed significant improvement in sign efficacy parameters such as fluorescein staining scores in the central, corneal sum, conjunctival sum, and total sum after two weeks of treatment. Additional analyses are being conducted to define efficacies in various sign and symptom parameters using the pooled data of the three phase 3 trials. Comprehensive results will be released when all the data analyses are completed. Data analysis is expected to be focused on the fast on-set and multifunctional effects of RGN-259 that were shown in all three clinical trials. Based on these results, GtreeBNT and RegeneRx will explore the prospects of a pre-BLA meeting with the FDA using the pooled data or discuss a detailed plan for additional clinical studies, if needed. "While the trial did not meet its primary outcome measures, there was a statistically significant symptom effect in favor of RGN-259 in a short period of time in addition to its safety. Statistically significant clinical improvements in various signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome have now been observed in all three phase 3 clinical trials, ARISE-1 -2 and -3, and further analyses are ongoing. We look forward to completing the analyses, reporting results, and meeting with the FDA as soon as practicable," stated J.J. Finkelstein, RegeneRx president and chief executive. About RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. RegeneRx is focused on the development of novel therapeutic peptides, including Thymosin beta 4 (T4) and its constituent fragments, for tissue and organ protection, repair, and regeneration. RegeneRx currently has three drug candidates in clinical development for ophthalmic, cardiac/neuro and dermal indications, four active strategic licensing agreements in the U.S., China, and Pan Asia (Korea, Japan, and Australia, among others), and the EU, and has patents and patent applications covering its products in many countries throughout the world. Forward Looking Statements Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made under the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, information on phase 3 trial results, competitive products, statements from us, or our U.S. joint venture partner, GtreeBNT, Ora, Inc. and its biostatistics affiliates, or derived from independent market research reports regarding strategic and research partnerships, status of clinical trials, reclassification of our drug candidates from drugs to biologics, regulatory applications and approvals, the development and value of our drug candidates, and the use of our drug candidates to treat various conditions. All forward-looking statements are expectations and estimates based upon information obtained and/or calculated by the Company or its joint venture partner and its affiliates at this time and are subject to change. Moreover, there is no guarantee any clinical trial will be successful or confirm previous clinical results. Please view these and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including those identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings it makes with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this shareholder letter represent the Company's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update this information, as a result of future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. For RegeneRx: Lori Herman 301.208.9191 [email protected] SOURCE RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Related Links http://www.regenerx.com CANBERRA, Australia (AP) A senior Australian policeman suggested on Thursday a phone app be developed to document sexual consent in a bid to improve conviction rates in sex crime cases. New South Wales state Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said dating apps have brought couples together and the same technology could also provide clarity on the question of consent. Technology doesnt fix everything, but ... it plays such a big role in people meeting at the moment. Im just suggesting: is it part of the solution? Fuller said. Fuller said the number of sexual assaults reported in Australias most populous state was increasing while a prosecution success rate of only 2% stemming from those reports showed the system was failing. Consent cant be implied, Fuller wrote in News Corp. newspapers. Consent must be active and ongoing throughout a sexual encounter. Responses to the consent app suggestion have been largely negative or skeptical. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian congratulated Fuller on taking a leadership position on having the conversation about the sexual assault problem, but declined to share her opinion on the app. Lesley-Anne Ey, a University of South Australia expert on harmful sexual behavior involving children, said she didnt think the app would work. I dont think theyre going to interrupt the romance to put details into an app, Ey told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Catharine Lumby, a Sydney University specialist in ethics and accountability, described the app as a quick-fix that misunderstood the circumstances of sexual assaults. "Fundamentally what we are now having a reckoning with is the fact that there is a very small minority of men in this society who are opportunists, who make the decision to sexually assault women, Lumby said. They dont care where, how or why they do it. They will take the opportunity and Im sure they are more than capable of manipulating technology, Lumby said. More than 100,000 women protested in rallies across Australia on Monday demanding justice while calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures. Story continues The public anger erupted after the Australian attorney general denied an allegation that he raped a 16-year-old girl 33 years ago, and a former government staffer alleged that she was raped two years ago by a colleague in a ministers Parliament House office. Fuller said his suggestion could gain popularity in time. To be honest with you, the app idea could be the worst idea I have in 2021, but the reality is in five years, perhaps it wont be, he said. If you think about dating 10 years ago, this concept of single people swiping left and right was a term that we didnt even know. A consent app similar to Fullers proposal was launched in Denmark last month. But the app hasnt been widely adopted, with fewer than 5,000 downloads, according to mobile intelligence site Sensor Tower. Egyptian, U.S. navies hold joint exercise in Red Sea Xinhua) 08:58, March 18, 2021 CAIRO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian and the U.S. naval forces have conducted a drill in the Red Sea, Egypt's armed forces said in a statement on Wednesday. The training was held with the participation of an Egyptian frigate and a U.S. amphibious transport dock ship, according to the statement. Training on maritime security procedures in the areas of operations in the Red Sea have also been carried out, the statement said, adding that such exercises effectively contribute to preserving maritime security and stability in the region. Egypt regularly holds joint military exercises with other countries to boost military collaboration and exchange military expertise. The Quad was created in the aftermath of the tsunami of 2004 and then deepened by President Obama as central to his pivot to Asia. But it did not take off until the U.S. administration of Donald Trump began to rely upon this grouping to tighten pressure on China. by Vijay Prashad On March 12, the heads of government of four countries, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and the United States President Joe Biden, met for a virtual meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the Quad. Modis opening remarks illustrate the emptiness of the public agenda; he called the Quad a force for global good with no details beyond a list of areas of collaboration (vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies). There was no direct mention of China during the meeting. In the details relating to the launching of an ambitious new joint partnership that is going to boost vaccine manufacturing, a more disturbing agenda reveals itself: the vaccines are meant for Southeast Asia, which is a core area of U.S. contest against China, and the emerging technologies refers to the U.S. desire to substitute products from its own high-tech firms and supplant the attractiveness of the Chinese high-tech industry. The goal of the Quad is to deepen the military and economic pressure against China. The Quad was created in the aftermath of the tsunami of 2004 and then deepened by President Obama as central to his pivot to Asia. But it did not take off until the U.S. administration of Donald Trump began to rely upon this grouping to tighten pressure on China. It is for that reason that in late 2020, Trump gave the heads of government of Australia (Morrison), Japan (Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of the country) and India (Modi) the highest U.S. military decoration, the Legion of Merit. These three partners are key players in the U.S. governments pressure campaign against China. U.S. Primacy in the Region In early January 2021, the U.S. government declassified a 2018 document prepared for the Trump administration. This document is called U.S. Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. The text clearly states that the U.S. objective in Asia is to [m]aintain U.S. primacy in the region. The idea of primacy has a long history in U.S. foreign policy, going back to the early days after World War II. The United States government, in a series of documents, stated that it would seek to be the leading power in the world, and it would shape the creation of global institutions to benefit the United States above all else. This is the meaning of the word primacy. The drafters of the 2018 policy from the U.S. National Security Council noted that the threat from China was not from its military. Rather, the United States worried about Chinese developments in cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and bio-genetics. The U.S. governments objective, according to the document, was to [m]aintain American industrys innovation edge vis-a-vis China, which does not mean only to enhance U.S. industry, but also to prevent China from getting access to technology and finance. The war in the Pacific promoted by the U.S. is not irrational. As this document further points out, Loss of U.S. preeminence in the Indo-Pacific would weaken our ability to achieve U.S. interests globally. President Joe Bidens administration, which inherits this document, will not set it aside. All signs show that Biden will continue to push the general line that the U.S. must undermine Chinese scientific and technological development; this goal will be achieved not by the encouragement of U.S. industry but by military threats and by the attempted use of U.S. alliances to exclude Chinese firms from doing business in other countries. At the Quad discussions, the governments formed a Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group. The point of this group is for the four countries to collaborate on telecommunications and on tech standards. This working group is tasked with convening dialogues on critical technology supply chains, which is a direct reference to the attempt to shut out China from any technology or raw materials that would have dual civilian and military usage. It has also been set up to [e]ncourage cooperation on telecommunications deployment, diversification of equipment suppliers, and future telecommunications. The use of the word diversification is a direct reference to the U.S. attempt to cut out Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE from supplanting Western telecommunications companies, which have less sophisticated 5G tools that are also far too expensive. Be Prepared to Fight Behind all this rhetoric on vaccines, climate change, and technology lies an even uglier story. On March 9, Navy Admiral Philip Davidson, who heads the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His statement before the committee was based on a report on the Indo-Pacific Commands Pacific Deterrence Initiative. That report asked the U.S. Congress to double its outlay to $4.68 billion for 2022 ($22.69 billion for 2023 to 2027). Admiral Davidson said that this money was essential because the U.S. absolutely must be prepared to fight and win should competition turn to conflict. He further said that the trade war could easily accelerate into war sooner than 2050. A week before Davidson made these remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a wide-ranging speech about the Biden administrations priorities. He listed the names of several countries that present the U.S. with serious challenges, including Russia, Iran, North Korea. But the challenge posed by China is different, he said. China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system, Blinken said, referring to the world order set up to the advantage of the North Atlantic countries. He was very explicit about who benefits from this system, saying that the systems rules and values make the world work the way we want it to, because it ultimately serves the interests and reflects the values of the American people. China threatens this, so Blinken said, the U.S. must engage China from a position of strength. This is the real purpose of the Quad, not to advance solutions to the great challenges of our time (the pandemic, climate change, war, hunger), but to pressure China to cease its technological advance. If China does not surrender, the U.S.with the Quad in towis prepared to go to war. This article was produced by Globetrotter. Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is the chief editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest book is Washington Bullets, with an introduction by Evo Morales Ayma. A woman has gone viral after sharing a harrowing video showing the dangers women face while travelling alone. British TikTok user Molly May Brissett shared a video to the social media platform where she acted out scenarios about going home, followed by newspaper articles showing how women had been attacked in those scenarios. The video quickly racked up 950,000 views while it was later shared to Twitter where it got 2.4million more views. 'Dont ever question why a female feels unsafe in this world, when these are the types of people we share it with,' Molly May wrote. She starts the video by saying she'll walk home, before a headline from Cambridgshire Live flashes up showing a story from earlier this week about a 39-year-old man being found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl in Peterborough. Next she adds, 'never mind, I'll get the bus,' before flashing a headline from BBC News about the hanging of four men who gang-raped and murdered 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus in 2012. 'No worries, I'll get a taxi,' Molly May adds, and then flashes a screenshot of a story about a taxi driver who has been jailed for six years after raping drunk passenger on an isolated country road in Inverness. She starts the video by saying she'll walk home, before a headline from Cambridgshire Live flashes up showing a story from earlier this week about a 39-year-old man being found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl in Peterborough Next she adds, 'never mind, I'll get the bus,' before flashing a headline from BBC News about the hanging of four men who gang-raped and murdered 23-year-old student on a Delhi bus in 2012. Moving on, Molly May then says, 'I heard Uber is meant to be safe, I'll get one of those.' She then flashes a story about a 19-year-old in New Zealand who was raped by her Uber Driver. 'I could get the train?' Molly May says and shrugs. She next flashes a picture of a story from The Independent about a teenage girl who was raped in Birmingham train station. 'I mean, I could call the police and ask for a lift,' Molly then suggests as she flashes a New York Times story about a police officer raping a woman. 'No worries, I'll get a taxi,' Molly May adds, and then flashes a screenshot of a story about a taxi driver who has been jailed for six years after raping drunk passenger on an isolated country road in Inverness. Moving on, Molly May then says, 'I heard Uber is meant to be safe, I'll get one of those.' She then flashes a story about a 19-year-old in New Zealand who was raped by her Uber Driver. Giving up, Molly May then says 'I guess I'll just stay the night and walk home in the morning,' before showing her final headline reading 'teenage girl raped in broad daylight as police launch manhunt for man in his 40s'. Sharing the video to Twitter, one social media user wrote: 'Its really this deep.' 'Honestly so happy this is getting some sort of attention because yes, everyone needs to see this and understand the reality of it because this world needs a big change and we must start somewhere! 'I could get the train?' Molly May says and shrugs. She next flashes a picture of a story from The Independent about a teenage girl who was raped in Birmingham train station. 'I mean, I could call the police and ask for a lift,' Molly then suggests as she flashes a New York Times story about a police officer raping a woman. 'And yes we get its not all men but nobody said it was?? Rather than being offended by this for no valid reason, raise awareness, stand up for these suppressed females or even just stop laughing with your friend when he does things like this.' The videos have become a TikTok trend with others sharing similar content following the murder of Sarah Everard. Ms Everard went missing on March 3 as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south London. Her body was found hidden in Kent woodland last week. Her murder has caused a global conservation about male acts of violence against women, with women sharing ways men can help them to feel safer on the streets. Frustration with the ongoing closure of churches for public worship may spur some Catholics to cross into Northern Ireland for Easter ceremonies when churches there reopen at the end of the month. The Catholic bishops in the North yesterday announced a cautious return to public worship from March 26, in time for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter at the beginning of April. Guidelines for Easter liturgies are to be issued to parishes in the North over the coming days. However, south of the Border churches will remain closed for the second Easter in a row. The divergence on church opening on the two sides of the Border prompted the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin to call for an all-Ireland approach to public worship, in which churches south of the Border operate in line with churches in Northern Ireland. Speaking to Newstalks Hard Shoulder programme on St Patricks Day, Archbishop Dermot Farrell called for churches here to be allowed to reopen for public worship when Level 5 restrictions are expected to be eased on April 5. He also called for more than 10 people to be allowed to attend funerals. He described the current funeral restrictions as very cruel and very sad and explained that there are churches in Dublin with a capacity for 2,500 people in which just 10 people are allowed to attend a family funeral. In some cases, brothers and sisters of the deceased are not able to attend the service due to the cap on the number of mourners. This is tolerable only in the most extreme circumstances, and for the shortest possible period, Dr Farrell said in his message for St Patricks Day, which he delivered at St Patricks Church in Dublins Ringsend yesterday morning. The bishops in Northern Ireland voluntarily took the decision to close church doors to public worship at the height of the third wave of the coronavirus after Christmas. Their decision to reopen at the end of the month prompted Dr Farrell to warn that this difference on public worship between churches in Northern Ireland and churches in the Republic is going to cause problems because five Catholic dioceses straddle the Border. We have many parishes that straddle the Border. You are now going to find parishes along the Border where one church is open at one end and another church at the other end is not open, Dr Farrell explained. I am asking that worship be looked at on an all-Ireland basis, he said. A spokesperson for the gardai told the Irish Independent that Covid-19 regulations place certain restrictions on travel outside the home except with reasonable excuse, and that a breach of these travel regulations could incur a 100 fine. In his message for St Patricks Day, Archbishop Farrell also referred to the right to public worship which is protected by Article 44 of the Constitution. He said the number who are allowed to worship cannot be randomly determined as if it were some mathematical formula. "This is about people: the protection of peoples health, and the fostering of peoples wellbeing. He said that while a balance must be struck, easing restrictions on worship has a better-founded statutory claim than other activities which may be pressed by powerful commercial interests. He added that, whenever public worship was permitted, Catholic parishes have been diligent in operating within guidelines, with great commitment by staff and volunteers to stewarding, sanitising and managing attendance. Maputo Mozambique's National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE) has expressed its increasing concern at the violations, of the presidential decree enacted to stop the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease across the country. Addressing on Tuesday INAE's fortnightly media briefing, Rita Freitas, the INAE General Inspector, said the concern comes after INAE raided on Sunday a night club in downtown Maputo, where over 100 people were partying in a clear violation of the curfew, and of the ban on bars and similar establishments selling alcoholic drinks. INAE invited the media to accompany the raid, and so it was splashed across the news on the main television stations. The Maputo curfew lasts from 21.00 to 04.00. The owners of the illegal night club, known as the "Lexus Club", had devised a scheme whereby party-goers had to arrive before 21.00, and were not allowed to leave before 04.00. The club was fairly sophisticated, with music and a light show, and a variety of drinks on sale. As the INAE inspectors and the police entered the club, some participants managed to escape but many were briefly detained and the police took down details of their identity. "The club manager is under police custody and on Monday he appeared before a judge", said Freitas. "After this he will come to INAE to show the paperwork, if he has got any, for subsequent procedures in the case." Freitas said that, over the past fortnight, INAE had inspected 799 establishments, a good number of which, including bars, were found to be operating illegally. "Across the country, 200 establishments were closed, of which 100 were violating the presidential decree against Covid-19", said Freitas. What the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan Means for Californians Last Friday, President Joe Biden signed the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, into law. The broad scope of this stimulus package covers a wider range of national and state priorities as compared to previous federal government relief efforts. This one is aims to both prepare the country logistically to emerge from the pandemic and to recover from the economic strife of the past year. This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, the people who built this country, a fighting chance, President Biden said March 12. ADVERTISEMENT Lawmakers and policy analysts alike have shared their thoughts about the legislation, and how it will affect multiple areas of need for Californians. In his statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom focused on the aid that the state will receive from the legislation. Together, California state and local governments are set to receive over $40 billion dollars. With this infusion of federal stimulus, California can make faster progress on responding to COVID, supporting small businesses, putting money in peoples pockets, and bolstering K-12 and higher education. All of these pandemic responses add up to a brighter future for California, said Newsom. The governor says he looks forward to working with partners in the Legislature to identify key shared priorities such as equity, housing affordability, education, and infrastructure, and to chart a path for the state to come out of this pandemic as a stronger and more inclusive California. Direct aid to Californians includes one-time $1,400 stimulus payments for people earning less than $75,000 and $300 supplemental weekly unemployment benefits through Sept. 6. The first $10,200 in unemployment benefits will also be nontaxable for households that earn under $150,000. The American Rescue Plan also provides aid for families with children through an expansion of the child tax credit. The one-year expansion increases the credit to up to $3,600 per child, distributed in monthly installments. According to projections by the Urban Institute, the child credit tax expansion will cut child poverty in half. ADVERTISEMENT It is unacceptable that in the richest country in the world, millions of children continue to go to bed hungry and are deprived of basic resources they need to succeed. As co-chair of the Majority Leaders Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, I applaud this long overdue effort to dismantle the systemic inequality that keeps kids and families at the bottom of the economic ladder, says U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13). The American Rescue Plan also includes nearly $130 billion in grants to state and local educational agencies, along with $39 billion in grants to higher education institutions and $15 billion to childcare facilities, to assist with safe school reopening. The package also provides increased funding for programs that help low-income earners. $25 billion will go to emergency rental assistance, with $5 billion set aside for emergency housing vouchers for unhoused people and survivors of domestic violence. Also, a provision in the package increases the value of cash vouchers for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants and Children (WIC). For business owners, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will receive $25 billion for a new grant program for restaurants, bars and other food and drinking establishments, with $5 billion targeted for businesses with lower revenue. Also, an extra $1.25 billion is set for the SBAs Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, which supports live music and performance venues. In an online briefing held by Ethnic Media Services on Mar. 13, the panelists spoke about how the legislation could serve as a blueprint for future permanent legislation. I should emphasize that all of the almost all of these are short term provisions, they are not permanent. But they provide guidance about the kinds of policies we might want to be enacting going forward on a permanent basis, said Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 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. As China's increasing aggressiveness to undermine European unity through a 'divide and rule' policy continues, the Central and Eastern (CEE) member countries have responded by accepting their own way to deal with the increasing threat of Beijing's influence, known as the 'Sinatra Doctrine'. The doctrine would be based on two pillars: continuing cooperation with in regards to address global challenges such as climate change, combating COVID-19 and regional conflicts, while also strengthening the European Union's (EU) strategic sovereignty by protecting technological sectors of its economy, according to EU Reporter. This 'Sinatra Doctrine' is being seen by scholars as a threat and a blowback to China's growing influence in the CEE. Democracy News Live writes for EU Reporter that China's ambition to undermine European unity was fuelled by levaraging the regional platform to extract political favours in exchange for economic benefits. However, China's credit-based offer in a neo-colonial fashion has proven ill-suited for the CEE members of the EU. Moreover, Chinese investments in the 12 EU member states participating in the 17+1 initiative between 2010 to 2019 has been approximately 8.6 billion euros, whereas China's investment over the same period in Finland has been 12 billion euros or in the Netherlands has been 10.2 billion euros, which remained a major turn-off for these member countries. This mismatch between Beijing's economic promises and ultimate outcome has been a major reason for the discontent that the CEE member countries share with China, writes The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some of the weaknesses in the relationship between Europeans and the communist nation, as highlighted by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in the 'Sinatra Doctrine', which calls for building a united front and EU's response against a more assertive, expansionist and authoritarian China's assertiveness is seen in its attempt to claim what considers its rightful place in The "China Dream" proposed by President Xi Jinping is seeking to fill the power vacuum left by the recent US withdrawal from the sphere, says EU Reporter. According to Borrell, China's aim is to transform the order into a selective multilateral system with Chinese characteristics, in which economic and social rights would take precedence over political and civil rights. He calls the new Chinese foreign policy as the "wolf warrior diplomacy". Under this approach, China is unambiguously and unconditionally safeguarding its own interests, most notably by imposing tariffs on Australian exports and displaying its nuclear arsenal. "In recent years, we have witnessed with concern a rise in human rights abuses in China, increased repression of human rights defenders, journalists and intellectuals, and the violation of basic rights of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang," said Borrell, while also pointing out the deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong. The foreign policy chief also expressed EU's serious concern over the adoption of the draconian national security law in Hong Kong, which is contrary to the principle of "one country, two systems" and China's commitment to the international community. China has drawn global ire for passing the new security law in Hong Kong and its repression of ethnic minorities by detaining over two million Uyghurs in internment camps in Xinjiang. (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.) U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 17, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) US Manufacturers Call on Biden to Be Tough on China Trade Issues A Washington-based trade group representing the U.S. manufacturing sector has urged President Joe Biden to adopt a tough China policy to ensure a level playing field for U.S. businesses. For manufacturers, China has long been a hub for unfair industrial subsidies and government-fueled overcapacity in areas like steel and aluminum that distort global markets, the National Association of Manufacturers stated in a letter sent to Biden on March 17. China continues to promote discriminatory industrial policies, forced technology transfer, and intellectual property theft that harm manufacturers and workers in the United States. In the past decade, Chinas communist regime has created large state-owned enterprises in several industries such as aluminum, steel, and solar panels through hefty government subsidies. At the same time, Beijing has resorted to espionage to steal U.S. trade secrets and also job-recruitment programs to facilitate the transfer of technology to Chinato fulfill its ambitions to be a technology powerhouse. Former President Donald Trump, in an effort to tackle Chinas unfair trade practices, imposed tariffs on a long list of Chinese imports, including aluminum and steel, which sparked the U.S.China trade war. The two sides signed a phase one trade deal in January 2020, requiring China to buy an additional $200 billion in U.S. goods and services during 2020 and 2021, compared to 2017 levels. However, a report published in January found that China has bought just 58 percent of what it promised under the deal. The new strategy must include all available tools, including targeted bilateral engagement, assertive U.S. leadership in global institutions, and close, coordinated engagement with allies and partners, the group wrote. Strategic use of legislative and enforcement tools will be critical to pressure China to change its economic behavior and to level the playing field for manufacturers and workers in the United States. The group has several recommendations, one of which was for the United States to apply clear, consistent pressure on China to fulfill its trade and economic commitments under the phase one trade agreement. Assertive global leadership to ensure that the United Statesnot Chinais writing the rules for the post-pandemic global economy and trading system to benefit manufacturers and workers in America, the group wrote. The group also called on Biden to actively talk to trusted trading partners in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, to strengthen supply chain ties and address human rights and labor concerns. In response to the groups letter, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) took to Twitter to say that any discussion between Biden and Beijing should address Chinas theft of intellectual property. In January, a Chinese professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was arrested and charged for failing to disclose his work with entities tied to the Chinese Communist Party. In the same month, a senior NASA scientist pleaded guilty to lying about his ties to a Beijing-backed talent program. The groups letter comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior foreign policy diplomat Yang Jiechi in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 18. The meeting marked the first in-person meeting between top officials of the two countries since Biden took office. On March 12, Sullivan said that he didnt expect the phase one trade deal to be a major topic of conversation in Anchorage. U.S. lawmakers have called on Blinken and Sullivan to be tough on the Chinese officials. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE With time running out on this years 60-day legislative session, the Senate is set to take a monumental vote on a bill that would make New Mexico the latest state to legalize recreational cannabis for adult users. A full chamber vote had been scheduled for late Thursday night, but was pushed back to Friday in order to give the bill sponsors more time to prepare. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ A spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the Democratic governor was increasingly confident the marijuana legislation measure would beat the clock and make it to her desk before the session ends Saturday at noon. Well be following the Senate floor debate closely, said Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett. But were very glad its moving forward and very optimistic it will get done in time. The House-approved legalization bill, House Bill 12, has picked up steam at the Roundhouse after emerging as the preferred choice of top-ranking Democrats. It reached the Senate floor after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-4 early Thursday morning after more than three hours of debate that stretched well past midnight in favor of a retooled version of the bill. This will be a very interesting experiment for the state, Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the committees chairman, said at one point during the hearing. He joined the panels three Republican members in voting against the proposed law, saying it was not ready due to perceived contradictions and legal issues. The legislation calls for legal cannabis sales in New Mexico to begin in April 2022. It was amended during the late-night committee hearing to include a provision that would limit cannabis plant counts for producers for three years in order to give smaller operators time to create a market niche. The plant caps would be set by the states Regulation and Licensing Department, which would establish the limits based on population density and other states rules. Our biggest fear is not theres going to be too much (cannabis), but that there would be too little and businesses would crash, said Linda Trujillo, the superintendent of the agency that would be in charge of overseeing the states legal cannabis industry. The Senate committee, which derailed a cannabis legalization proposal during last years session, also adopted amendments requiring independent testing and barring producers from stacking licenses by acquiring them under different business names. In its current form, this years marijuana legalization bill would tax legal cannabis sales at about 20%, depending on the location. Specifically, it would set an excise tax of 12%, with revenues split between state and local governments. The states gross receipts tax would also be levied on cannabis purchases, though medical cannabis sales would be exempted from that tax. The vote to advance the House-approved bill came despite objections from GOP senators who criticized social justice provisions like expungement for cannabis possession convictions and a community grant fund to pay for education and other outreach efforts. They argued such provisions should be kept separate from the issue of cannabis legalization. These two issues combined are like water and oil, said Senate Republican floor leader Greg Baca of Belen. They need to be addressed separately. At one point during the late-night hearing, Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, even tried to substitute his proposed cannabis legalization bill, Senate Bill 288, for the House version. But that attempt was rejected on a party-line vote, with majority Democrats voting to table it. While New Mexico lawmakers debate the issue, other states are moving ahead with legalization measures, as Virginia is on the verge of becoming the 16th state to legalize recreational marijuana. New Mexico already has a medical cannabis program with more than 100,000 enrolled members. In addition, Lujan Grisham signed into law a 2019 bill that made possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana a civil offense punishable by a $50 fine. But legalization supporters have argued its high time for New Mexico to take the next step and join the ranks of legal-cannabis states after years of debating the issue. And Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, recently said there are enough votes to pass a cannabis legalization bill on the Senate floor if a bill could get there. Meanwhile, theres already funding to implement cannabis legalization in New Mexico, as a $7.4 billion budget bill nearing approval at the Roundhouse would allow for up to $2 million to be transferred to the Taxation and Revenue Department from a state savings account to help cover the administrative costs of such a law. We start the morning by noticing promo for a controversial brand amid a deluge of community news, pop culture and top headlines. Crooks Plague Kansas City Scammers targeting people looking for COVID-19 vaccine (CBS) - The distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is growing, but scam artists see a growing opportunity. When the vaccine came out, Janice Gach gave her contact information to the Florida Health Department hoping to get an appointment for the shot. Survivor Story Shared 'Still Here' But Exhausted: A Kansas City Nurse's Coronavirus Pandemic Diary It's hard to faze Sarimar Gascot. The 26-year-old nurse has spent the last three years working in the emergency room at Truman Medical Centers. Being an ER nurse means she sees just about everything. She clocks in for her 12-hour shift at 7 p.m. and gets home as the city wakes up. Po-Po Save Pupper Kansas City Police Return Stolen Puppy After Stand-Off March 17, 2021 Thanks to the work of a dog-loving police officer, a stolen puppy is back with its rightful owner after a stand-off. A resident of the Marlborough neighborhood came home from work March 6 to find her 13-week old pit bull puppy, Piglet, missing from his kennel. Old School Pr0n Star Speaks Out Against Hateration Mia Khalifa speaks out after eight women die in US massage parlour shootings Mia Khalifa has spoken out about the shocking spate of massage parlour shootings in the US that left eight people dead. Many of the victims were women of Asian descent and police said the shootings happened at a massage parlour in Acworth, a suburb north of Atlanta, Georgia, and two spas in the city itself. Progressives Target Suspected Haters After Tragedy Unsettling questions surround the motive behind three Atlanta-area spa shootings as Asians in the US face increased hate Through hushed tones, a woman called 911 from an Atlanta spa Tuesday to say that she believed a man with a gun was going to rob them. KERRY UNMASKED!!! John Kerry caught maskless on flight, American Airlines 'looking into' apparent COVID violation Climate czar John Kerry was caught not wearing his mask while reading a book on an American Airlines flight in lieu of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate requiring masks on flights. Border Crisis Vote Threatens To Bring Down Prez Trump Wall House to take up immigration bills amid influx of migrants crossing US-Mexico border House Democrats are expected to vote on two separate bills on immigration Thursday, marking the first time Congress will vote on a pathway for citizenship for undocumented immigrants since Democrats won slim majorities in both chambers of Congress with President Joe Biden in the White House. Former Prez Tells All Trump set to do at least 12 book interviews in the coming weeks In the coming weeks, Trump is expected to meet with several reporters who spent years tracking his political ambitions or covering his presidency and quest for reelection. Fancy That: American Hero Reimagined Marvel Reveals its First Gay Teen Captain America Fischer is described as "the Captain America of the Railways - a fearless teen who stepped up to protect fellow runaways and the unhoused. Marvel Comics is proud to honor Pride Month with the rise of this new LGBTQ+ hero." Work In Captivity We're Hiring: Kansas City Zoo has more than 30 open jobs KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Zoo has more than 30 job openings right now, many for part-time and seasonal positions. While there are jobs available working with animals, zoo officials say they get a lot of applicants for those jobs. Bike Help Wanted RideKC Bike is now hiring Operations Associates Operations Associates are experts and technicians who promote active transportation and recreation. Duties include checking bikes for safety, ensuring bikes are parked properly, and some basic bicycle maintenance. Read the full job description and learn how to apply here: Thursday Forecast Your Storm Track 5 Daily Forecast There is a Storm Track 5 Weather Alert posted for this morning. We are tracking a 60% chance for rain and snow showers for the early part of the morning rush. Most roads will stay wet with better chances for snow south and east across our area. The Donnas - Take It Off (Acoustic) is the #TBT song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. Advertisement Piers Morgan has slammed American broadcaster Gayle King for acting as a 'PR mouthpiece' for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to 'facilitate their ongoing public trashing of our Royal Family'. The former Good Morning Britain host told the CBS This Morning presenter last night to do her 'job as a journalist and ask them about all the lies they told' in their interview with Oprah Winfrey after it aired on March 7. Morgan, 55, who quit GMB last Tuesday after claiming he didn't 'believe a word' Meghan Markle said during the conversation with the US chat show queen, added in a tweet last night: 'America should hear THE truth.' Among the claims proven wrong were that Archie had a birthright to be a prince, he wouldn't get 24/7 security because he wasn't a prince and that Meghan had not seen her half-sister Samantha Markle in almost 20 years. It comes after Miss King, 66, backed ITV's stance over Morgan's departure from GMB after he refused to apologise for his comments about Meghan, which led to the highest number of complaints in TV regulator Ofcom's history. She told her SiriusXM radio programme last Thursday: 'Piers Morgan is no longer with a job. He stormed off the air after saying that I don't believe that she had mental illness, I don't believe she was suicidal. 'They got over 41,000 calls of people weighing in to say that is not OK, that is not cool. And by the next day, he was out of a job. He said he resigned. I find that a little hard to believe when you had 41,000 calls.' Former GMB host Piers Morgan (left, in West London last week) has slammed CBS This Morning broadcaster Gayle King (right) Morgan criticised Miss King in a tweet last night, in which he accused her of 'acting as your Sussex friends' PR mouthpiece' Miss King also referred to GMB weather presenter Alex Beresford, who was involved in the moment that saw Morgan walk out last week. She said: 'And kudos to his co-anchor, they said it was the weather guy. 'I wonder if he was the weather guy, but they described him as a weather guy, who spoke out and really let Piers have it on the air, and then Piers stormed off, and now Piers is no longer on the air there.' More than 250,000 people have now signed three separate Change.org petitions demanding that Morgan - who also presented a show on CNN in the US from 2011 to 2014 - should be brought back to GMB. During the same SiriusXM show last Thursday, Miss King, who is friends with both Meghan and Oprah, claimed the Sussexes had a deal with CBS and ITV to postpone their 'bombshell' interview if Prince Philip had died. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in conversation with Oprah Winfrey in an interview first aired on CBS on March 7 ITV's Good Morning Britain has lost nearly a third of its viewers since Piers Morgan left on Tuesday last week It comes as Miss King sparked a new row between Meghan's supporters and Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after revealing the Sussexes had told her that Harry had held talks with his brother Prince William and father Charles which 'were not productive'. Piers Morgan's Meghan comments draw most ever complaints to Ofcom Piers Morgan's comments about the Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey have led to the highest number of complaints in the TV regulator's history. The episodes of ITV's Good Morning Britain on March 8 and 9 sparked 57,121 complaints to Ofcom. A statement from the regulator said: 'We can confirm that this issue has attracted the highest number of complaints since our reporting began.' Morgan responded on Twitter, writing: 'Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me.' ITV announced Morgan had left the show on the evening of March 9, shortly after Ofcom said it had launched an investigation under its harm and offence rules after receiving more than 41,000 complaints in two days. It later emerged that Meghan also made a formal complaint to Ofcom about the TV host after he dismissed her account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family. Morgan said on-air that he 'didn't believe a word' of her interview with chat show host Winfrey when she laid bare her struggles. The complaints about Morgan's comments far exceed those made about about Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 when ex-Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett alleged she had been assaulted by fellow housemate Ryan Thomas, which prompted 25,327 complaints. Ofcom received around 24,500 complaints about Diversity's performance on Britain's Got Talent last year, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The controversy with Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 was previously the most complained about issue, attracting 44,500 complaints. Advertisement The Duke of Cambridge is now said to be wary of engaging further with the couple for fear of their private conversations becoming 'plastered on US TV'. And Miss King's revelations about the couple's arrangements for the death of Harry's grandfather will add further fuel to the fire amid claims the palace is unhappy at the Sussexes revealing a private conversation over the weekend. The Duke of Edinburgh, 99, was released from King Edward VII's Hospital in London on Tuesday after a month being treated for an infection and having heart surgery. During their interview on March 7, the Sussexes accused an unnamed royal - not the Queen or Philip - of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin tone would be before he was born, and Meghan also claimed she begged for help while suicidal. And Miss King, 66, who is also close friends with Oprah, revealed on SiriusXM: 'Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Phillip went into the hospital. 'And if something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time. But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point.' But there appear to be inconsistencies in her story. On the day that Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital, Miss King went on air to say that Oprah had been working on her questions 'all weekend' and had been told by Meghan that 'nothing was off limits', intimating the interview had yet to be filmed. This was backed by industry sources, who told ITV that the interview would be filmed later that week. It was shown on CBS in the US on March 7 and on ITV in the UK the following evening. Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital on February 16, before moving two weeks later to another hospital in the City of London, St Bartholomew's, where he had a successful heart operation on March 3. Two days later he was transferred back to King Edward VII's to recuperate and continue his treatment, and left on Tuesday before being driven to Windsor Castle where he was reunited with the Queen after a month apart. The Sussexes had faced calls to postpone the interview while Philip was in hospital out of respect for him. Miss King, speaking last Thursday on her radio programme Gayle King In The House, during which she was interrupted by a FaceTime call from her best friend Oprah, added: 'I think that Harry and Meghan both have been through so much for the past three years and they really have tried to work it out privately. They really have tried to get help, and nothing was working. 'So I think they wanted people to have some understanding about why they made the decision that they made and what they've been going through, and I do think that they accomplished that. I do. I think it was very brave of her and Harry to reveal what they did. It's unheard of, and it certainly has been a 'bombshell', is the word. Prince William, Charles, Harry, Camilla, Kate and Meghan follow the Queen at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020 'There were six or seven that night. I stopped counting at six. It was bombshell, after bombshell, after bombshell, but I do believe it was an honest conversation. I'm hoping it will lead to change.' It comes as it emerged GMB has lost nearly a third of its viewers since Morgan sensationally quit last week. The ITV morning show has pulled in less than 900,000 viewers for its past three days significantly down from the 1.29million who tuned in on Tuesday last week for what turned out to be Morgan's final programme. That figure represented the first time the ITV broadcast had beaten its long-time rival BBC Breakfast, which had 1.25million, but GMB has since lost 400,000 viewers in just a week to fall well behind in the morning ratings war. On Tuesday, GMB brought in 890,000 viewers with an audience share of 23 per cent, compared to the 1.57million tuning into the BBC with a 42 per cent share. The BBC's peak saw 2.34million watching at 8.15am. On the same day last year - Monday, March 16, 2020 - GMB had an average audience of 900,000 compared to the BBC's 1.81million. The Queen with Harry and Meghan at the Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in June 2018 The changing figures over the past week suggest GMB has lost hundreds of thousands of viewers who would either not normally be watching breakfast TV, or who had switched from watching BBC to ITV in the morning. It is also having a knock-on effect on programmes following after, with 1.1million people tuning in for Lorraine on ITV at 9.15am this Tuesday, compared to 1.39million for Morning Live on BBC One in the same time period. These figures are significantly down for ITV compared to the same time period on Tuesday last week, when 1.29million tuned in for Lorraine - but there was a roughly equivalent 1.36million watching Morning Live. GMB had a dramatic programme yesterday which saw actress Patsy Palmer shut down her interview after being billed as an 'addict to wellness guru', and Susanna Reid scolded by former MP Edwina Currie who told the presenter she is 'not Piers Morgan' during a heated conversation about the Government's coronavirus response. Meghan and Harry's sensational claims fact-checked: How friend contradicted Meghan's claim she never Googled Harry, the truth about that secret wedding and whether Archie really should have been a prince By Jack Elsom For Mailonline and Rebecca English and Sam Greenhill for the Daily Mail Meghan and Harry unleashed bombshell after bombshell in their Oprah interview that sent shockwaves pulsing through the heart of the monarchy. They made jaw-dropping claims of brazen racism and delved into difficult conversations of family rifts. Although much of the interview was an outpouring of emotion, many of the claims can be stood up - or knocked down - with facts. Here, MailOnline drills down into some of the central claims of the interview. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have insisted their interview with Oprah Winfrey would be the 'last word' on them quitting as senior royals Meghan never researched the Royal Family prior to joining Meghan said: 'I didn't do any research about what that would mean,' she said. 'I never looked up my husband online.' Fact check: Unlikely Meghan's claim that she never researched Harry, nor the Royal Family, before entering into the relationship is at odds with claims made in the couple's biography. Although the Sussexes maintain they did not contribute to Finding Freedom, it was written by friendly journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who say the book was impeccably well-sourced by those closest to the couple. Prior to their first date at Dean Street Townhouse in 2016, the authors write: 'Naturally both participants in this blind date did their homework with a thorough Google search. Harry, who scoped out Meghan on social media, was interested.' A friend is also claimed to have impressed on Meghan the attention she would command for dating Harry, saying: 'This could be crazy...you will be the most wanted woman'. The duchess said she 'didn't do any research' into the monarchy, 'didn't fully understand what the job was', and did not grow up 'knowing much about the Royal Family'. Friends of the duchess have painted a different picture, revealing that she was fascinated by the royals in her youth. Ninaki Priddy, who was Meghan's maid of honour at her first wedding to Trevor Engelson, said her friend was 'always fascinated by the Royal Family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0'. She added: 'She had one of Princess Diana's books [Diana: Her True Story] on her bookshelf, and even when she was with Trevor she told me she wanted to go and stay in London for at least a month. I know she used to love The Princess Diaries films.' The mother of Suzy Ardakani, one of the duchess's high school friends, has described how she taped Diana's wedding and would watch it with her daughter and Meghan years later. Meghan Markle is seen heading to a hotel to meet up with some friends in Toronto, Canada, in November 2016 Harry and Meghan were actually secretly wed three days before the Windsor ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury Meghan said: 'You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that... We called the Archbishop and we just said, 'Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.' Fact check: Unlikely Church of England marriages require at least two witnesses and the public must also have unrestricted access to the building during any marriage ceremony to allow for valid objections against the marriage. At the time the couple were living in the grounds of Kensington Palace, and their residence is off limits to the public. A couple who are already lawfully married cannot choose to re-marry each other, unless there is some doubt as to the validity of the earlier marriage. Reverend David Green, Vicar of St Mary's, West Malling and the Rector of St Michael's, Offham, said it was impossible to have had two weddings, adding: 'I think the Archbishop needs to clarify what did or did not happen three days before.' This means that one of the two ceremonies was more likely just an exchange of vows rather than a legally recognised wedding. 'I was silenced' Meghan said she was 'silenced' by the institution. 'Everyone in my world was given very clear directive, from the moment the world knew Harry and I were dating, to say 'No comment'. Fact check: Contested On the day they announced their engagement, Meghan and Harry gave a lengthy interview to the BBC's Mishal Husain, although the duchess reportedly complained afterwards that the journalist had not been 'warm enough'. On their tour of South Africa, they granted interviews to ITN's Tom Bradby, when Meghan memorably told him: 'Not many people have asked if I'm OK.' Royal insiders have stressed that it was very much the case that Harry and Meghan themselves 'called the shots' when it came to publicity, deciding which charities to support, which engagements to go on, and which media to grant interviews to. Secret: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have revealed that they were married in secret three days before their royal wedding on May 19, 2018 Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared candid footage of Archie playing on a beach during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey Archie has a birthright to be a prince Meghan said: 'Idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be... It's not their right to take it away' Fact check: False Archie did not have a birthright to be a prince, but could potentially become one when Charles accedes to the throne. That William and Kate's children have the HRH title and are styled as prince and princesses - and Archie is not - stems from a ruling more than 100 years ago. In 1917, King George V issued a written order that only royal offspring who are in the direct line of succession could be made a prince and receive HRH titles. The Letters Patent read: '...the grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.' Under the rules, only Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge's eldest son Prince George - as a great-grandson of the monarch down the direct line of succession to the throne - was originally entitled to be a prince. The Queen stepped in ahead of George's birth in 2013 to issue a Letters Patent to ensure all George's siblings - as the children of future monarch William - would have fitting titles, meaning they were extended to Charles and Louis. Under the George V rules, Archie would be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when his grandfather Charles, the Prince of Wales, accedes to the throne. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex introduce their baby son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019 Archie wouldn't get 24/7 security because he wasn't a prince Meghan said: 'In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we (had) the conversation of he won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title.' Fact check: False Being a prince or princess does not automatically mean royals have police protection. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's security is no longer paid for by the taxpayer. Harry and Meghan no longer receive British police protection, and are understood to be paying for private security. Help for mental anguish Meghan says she begged in vain for the Palace to help her mental state Feeling that she 'just didn't want to be alive any more' in January 2019, Meghan said she 'went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help', but was refused because it 'wouldn't be good for the institution'. The duchess claimed: 'I went to human resources, and I said, 'I just really I need help',' but HR could not do anything because she was not a paid member of staff. She longed to check herself into a hospital or similar clinic but 'you can't just do that... I couldn't, you know, call an Uber to the Palace'. Fact check: Difficult to verify Meghan was not asked by Miss Winfrey why she went to HR rather than simply ask her GP to make a referral or seek advice from a mental health clinician herself, in the same way she might have done for any other ailment. One insider pointed out that HR exists for Palace employees while the royals themselves have a private office to help arrange everything from booking a holiday to fixing a medical appointment. Harry, meanwhile, said he was ashamed of admitting to his family that Meghan needed help, and so he did not talk to them. The duke, who is passionate about the mental health campaign he launched, called Heads Together, and has himself sought therapy in the past, said that with his wife he 'had no idea what to do'. The Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte and other bridesmaids arriving at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018 Kate made Meghan cry before her wedding to Harry Responding to claims that she reduced Kate to tears, Meghan said: 'No, no. The reverse happened'. Fact check: Contested Reports of a pre-wedding clash between the duchesses first emerged in November 2018, when sources claimed Meghan had been left displeased with a 'stressful' dress fitting for the flower girls. Accounts differed as to the source of the row. Some said it was a disagreement on whether the bridesmaids should wear tights - Meghan reportedly believed they should not. Other reports said it stemmed from Princess Charlotte's dress not fitting, meaning another had to be scheduled. A source said at the time: 'Kate had only just given birth to her third child, Prince Louis, and was feeling quite emotional.' But during the Oprah interview Meghan flatly denied the reports and claimed it was Kate that left her upset. Couple witnessed racism inside the monarchy Meghan said: [There were] concerns and conversations about how dark his [Archie's] skin might be when he's born' Fact check: Almost impossible to verify Harry and Meghan said they will never reveal the person who made these comments. However Oprah revealed that Harry confirmed it was not the Queen nor Prince Philip. While currently not commenting on the contents interview, Buckingham Palace are almost certain to push back on suggestions of institutional racism. They could launch an investigation - as they have done with claims of bullying. Harry was financially cut off from the royals Harry said: 'My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us' Fact check: They wanted to be financially independent When Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back from being senior royals, they said they wanted to be 'financially independent'. Before cutting ties, 95 per cent of their money came from Prince Charles's income from the Duchy of Cornwall, and 5 per cent from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant. Princes William and Harry received most of a 13million fortune left by their mother Princess Diana. Harry is also thought to have had millions left to him by the Queen mother. Meghan has not seen Samantha Markle in almost 20 years Meghan said: 'The last time I saw her must have been at least 18, 19 years.' Fact check: False During the interview Meghan distanced herself from her half-sister Samantha, who she said she hardly knows and she grew up 'an only child'. A photograph from 2008 - 13 years ago - shows Meghan with Samantha at her graduation. Samantha last night slammed the royal's interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying 'the truth was totally ignored and omitted' while providing photos and documents to disprove each of the Duchess of Sussex's claims about her. The pregnant Duchess of Sussex told Oprah, 67, that Samantha 'doesn't know' her, claiming she was raised as 'an only child' - but her half-sister has now insisted that couldn't be further from the truth. 'I don't know how she can say I don't know her and she was an only child. We've got photographs over a lifespan of us together. So how can she not know me?' she told Inside Edition, while sharing images of the two women together at different stages throughout their lives - most recently in 2008, just 13 years ago. The Duchess also claimed that Samantha only changed her surname back to Markle after Meghan struck up a romance with Harry - but Samantha insisted that this claim was wholly inaccurate, and shared further evidence to refute it. 'Lost' father who staged photos Meghan said the Press 'created' news about Meghan's father 'to create drama' Fact check: False Meghan Markle's estranged father Thomas today denied his daughter's claims he had 'betrayed' her before branding his son-in-law 'snotty' and declaring: 'We all make mistakes - but I've never played naked pool or dressed like Hitler like Harry did'. Mr Markle says that he's apologised '100 times' for doing a deal with a paparazzi photographer before the royal wedding in 2018 and urged the couple to see him now they only live '70 miles away' from his Mexico home in Los Angeles. He also denied the Royal Family - or Britain - is racist, calling Meghan and Harry's claims 'bulls**t' and saying if it is true a royal asked about how 'dark' Archie's skin would be, it was probably just a 'dumb question'. Mr Markle spoke to Good Morning Britain in the UK after watching the Oprah interview with his daughter and her husband. In it Meghan said she cannot fathom hurting her son Archie in the way her own father 'betrayed' her, admitting she 'found it hard to reconcile' with Thomas after he insisted that he had not been speaking to the media. She said: 'I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child'. Mr Markle said that while he did let her down, she had 'let me down too' by cutting him off after heart surgery almost three years ago. He said: 'The bottom line is she didn't lose me, she made a statement saying she lost me, she didn't lose me, I would've always been there for her, I'm there for her now if she wants me'. He added: 'We all make mistakes - but I've never played naked pool or dressed like Hitler like Harry did'. Mr Markle was referencing Harry's trip to Las Vegas where he stripped off in a hotel to play pool and once wearing a Nazi uniform to a party when he was 20. Describing his last phone call with Harry he said: 'Harry had said to me if you had listened to me, this wouldn't have happened to you. Me, laying in a hospital bed after a having procedure, I had a stint put here and put here and that was kind of snotty so I hung up on him.' But Mr Markle also used the rare interview to urge his daughter to reach out to him. He said: 'I'd like to say again. I'm sorry for what I've done. This was two years ago. But I've tried to make it up to her. I'm now only 70 miles away. I've never stopped loving her. I don't agree with all the things that my children they do. But I will always love them. And I certainly love Meghan'. A photograph from 2008 - 13 years ago - shows Meghan with her half-sister Samantha Markle at her graduation Meghan had to turn over her passport, keys and driving licence to royal aides Meghan said: 'When I joined that family, that was the last time I saw my passport, my driving licence, my keys - all of that gets turned over.' Fact check: Difficult to verify Senior royals are often pictured driving themselves and it is believed there have never been prior claims of a royal having keys and passports held. Harry and Meghan received police protection, meaning their travel was meticulously planned by officers. Meghan's press team didn't defend her when 'things weren't true' Oprah asked Meghan about stories that she made Kate cry, saying: 'So, all the time the stories were out that you had made Kate cry, you knew all along, and people around you knew that that wasn't true.' Meghan replied: 'Everyone in the institution knew it wasn't true.' And Oprah then said: 'So, why didn't somebody just say that?' Meghan said: 'That's a good question.' Fact check: Contested Making a wider point, Mail on Sunday royal correspondent Emily Andrews has said that Meghan's press team did in fact defend untrue stories, saying this was 'just not right'. Ms Andrews said that she interacted with a press team who defended the Sussexes 'again and again and again, told me things were wrong - so didn't publish - and indeed tried to stop me when true.' Palace lied to protect other members of the Royal Family Meghan said: 'I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.' Fact check: Contested There was clearly frustration felt by the couple, with some justification, towards the Palace PR machine, which was sometimes reluctant to 'fight every little fire', as one source put it. But the Palace did robustly stand ground on many other stories that the couple insisted were not true, resulting in the media not running them. The Palace pursued at least one national newspaper all the way to press regulator IPSO over a story about their Frogmore home, and won a decisive victory for Harry and Meghan. The duchess complained that she was 'not protected', but Palace sources have hit back at the idea the duchess was left to fend for herself, suggesting it was her own aides who needed protection from her bullying ways something she strenuously denies. Meghan was banned from going out for lunch with her friends Meghan: 'I remember so often people within The Firm would say, 'Well, you can't do this because it'll look like that. You can't'... so, even, 'Can I go and have lunch with my friends?' 'No, no, no. You're oversaturated. You're everywhere. It would be best for you to not go out to lunch with your friends.' I go, 'Well, I haven't left the house in months.' Fact check: Contested Meghan appears to be talking about a four-year period, and it is likely the situation varied. She was spotted enjoying outings on numerous occasions, including a pub lunch with Harry, going for facials near their Kensington Palace home and shopping trips. Every British newspaper declined to buy photographs of these trips. No member of staff would dare tell Meghan where she could go. Newspaper held story about Thomas Markle until Sunday before Meghan's wedding Meghan: 'If we were going to use the word betrayal, it's because when I asked him, when we were told by the comms team, this is a story that was going to be coming out, which, by the way, the tabloids had apparently known for a month or so and decided to hold until the Sunday before our wedding because they wanted to create drama, which is also a really key point in all this.' Fact check: False Meghan claimed 'the tabloids had apparently known for a month' that Thomas Markle had staged paparazzi photos before the wedding but 'decided to hold till the Sunday before our wedding... to create drama,' adding: 'They did not report the news, they created the news.' She suggested she had 'lost' her father forever as a result. In truth, far from sitting on the paparazzi story, the Mail on Sunday, which broke it, published within 24 hours of getting the proof. NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Champignon Brands Inc. ("Champignon" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: SHRMF). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Champignon and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On February 17, 2021, Champignon announced that "the Company has determined to withdraw and refile its condensed interim consolidated financial statements and management's discussion & analysis ('MD&A') for the three and six month periods ended March 31, 2020". The Company advised investors that "[f]or the three and six month periods ended March 31, 2020, the Company previously recognized intangible assets in connection with the acquisitions of Artisan Growers Ltd., Novo Formulations Ltd. and Tassili Life Sciences Corp. (the 'Acquisitions') that aggregated approximately $12 million," but that subsequently "management determined that the financial statements needed to be restated to correct the accounting for the Acquisitions as the assets do not meet the definition of intangible assets for the purposes of international financial reporting standards and as result will be recorded as transaction costs in the Company's statement of loss and comprehensive loss." The Company also announced that "it was determined that a shareholder and contracted consultant (the 'Consultant') of the Company was a related party with respect to the Acquisitions." On this news, Champignon's stock price fell roughly $0.08 per share, or 10.78% to close at $0.69 per share on February 17, 2021. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Related Links www.pomerantzlaw.com Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. New York City Ivy League school Columbia University announced its intentions of holding separate graduation ceremonies for students based on their race, income level, and sexual orientation, among other categories. In a strange move to be more "inclusive," New York City's Columbia University is set to hold six segregated graduation ceremonies for groups of different ethnicities, income levels, and sexual orientations. The decision comes from the school's "multiculturalism" initiative, which will "[complement] the school- and University-wide graduation ceremonies." According to Faithwire, the university is set to hold ceremonies such as the "Latinx Graduation," "Black Graduation," "Asian Graduation," "FLI Graduation" for "first-generation and/or low-income community" students, "Native Graduation" for Native-American students, and "Lavender Graduation" for members of the LGBT community. These ceremonies are set to be held online due to coronavirus restrictions. FOX News reported that Columbia University took to Twitter to clarify that these graduation ceremonies "exist in addition to, not instead of, University-wide commencement" and are voluntary for students. They explained that such events are "important, intimate and welcoming spaces for students aligned with these groups to come together to celebrate their achievements if they wish." Graduates from Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, General Studies and Barnard College were announced to be welcome to the events. However, these separate graduation ceremonies based on ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, and more, have drawn criticism from conservative leaders. According to Newsweek, The Centre for Social Justice senior researcher Mercy Muroki took to Twitter to show her disgust on Columbia University's separate graduation ceremonies based on ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, and more. She wrote, "Racially and sexually segregated graduation ceremonies...The cheek of calling them 'Multicultural Graduation Ceremonies' when they are literally based on singular 'cultures.' If you want to know what going backwards looks like, this is it." Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas also took to Twitter to express his outrage on Columbia University's separate graduation ceremonies based on ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, and other categories. He wrote, "The endpoint of critical race theory: segregation. Critical race theory is the belief that people have value based on the color of their skin, and that our race defines everything about us. It's not just false-it's dangerous." Sen. Cotton argued that Columbia University was acting as a "woke" university that sees and accepts discrimination. He warned that critical race theory is an agenda that's being pushed by corporations and taught to America's young minds. The senator also accused the Biden administration of "[embracing] it under the guise of 'racial equity.'" In 2019, the Washington Examiner reported that 76 out of the 173 schools that were examined by the National Association of Scholars were hosting segregating graduation ceremonies based on race. Such schools included Harvard, Universities of California San Diego, Irvine, Berkeley, and LA, Yale, Stanford, and Arizona State. NAS described the separate graduation ceremonies based on ethnicity as an example of "neo-segregation" that encourages students to "cling to a victim identity at the expense of becoming a positive member of the larger community" and condemned it as "a breeding ground of racial conflict in American society." We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she is ready to take action regarding the movement of vaccines. Photo: John Thys /Pool via Reuters The European Unions chief executive warned yesterday that the EU would not hesitate to take action, including possible export restrictions, to ensure it receives the supplies of coronavirus vaccines the 27-nation bloc was promised. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU has approved the export of some 41 million vaccine doses to 33 countries in the last six weeks and believes that it stands at the forefront of international vaccine-sharing efforts. We are exporting to countries that are themselves producing vaccines, and we think this is an invitation to be open, so that we also see exports from those countries coming back to the European Union, Ms Von der Leyen said. Open roads run in both directions, she said. We want to see reciprocity and proportionality in exports, and we are ready to use whatever tool we need to deliver on that. Read More Ms Von der Leyen did not name any countries, but her warning appeared to be a veiled threat to the UK. Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, expressed surprise at the warning, saying that the world is watching. Weve, all of us, including with our European friends, been saying throughout the pandemic that youd be wrong to curtail or interfere with lawfully contracted supply, Mr Raab said. He said senior EU officials recently told him that they werent aware of any plans to restrict lawfully contracted supply to the UK. We, like our European friends, are keeping supply chains open. Keeping trade and vital supplies of medical equipment and vaccines is critically important. We all (have) been arguing for this. And we expect those assurances and legally contracted supply to be respected, Mr Raab added. Ms Von der Leyen said: AstraZeneca has unfortunately under-produced and under-delivered, and this painfully, of course, reduced the speed of the vaccination campaign, she said. Ms Von der Leyen did acknowledge that she trusts the companys vaccine. which some countries have suspended the use of while the EU regulators and the World Health Organisation investigate whether AstraZenecas product has the potential to cause blood clots in recipients. Ms Von der Leyen said the company originally pledged to deliver 90 million doses in the first three months of 2021 but later said it could only provide 40 million doses and more recently, only 30 million. For the second quarter of 2021, AstraZeneca will only deliver 70 million doses, less than half of the 180 million it was contractually obliged to deliver, she said. Two production sites in the UK figure into the EUs advance purchasing agreement with AstraZeneca, Ms von der Leyen said, adding: Were still waiting for doses to come from the UK. Read More The maskless Uber passenger who berated her driver and coughed on him has been booked and charged in connection to the alleged assault that went viral. Arna Kimiai, 24, was booked into the San Francisco County Jail on Sunday on an arrest warrant for robbery, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code after the altercation with driver Subhakar Khadka. She was ultimately charged with felony attempted robbery and assault on a hired transportation driver, along with misdemeanor battery on a transportation driver and violation of a COVID-19 health order. Kimiai had expressed interest in turning herself in just hours after fellow passenger 24-year-old Malaysia King was apprehended in Las Vegas in connection to the wild altercation. Scroll down for video Arna Kimiai was charged with felony attempted robbery and assault on a hired transportation driver, along with misdemeanor battery on a transportation driver and violation of a COVID-19 health order Robbery and conspiracy charges against Kimiai were ultimately dropped, prosecutors told CBS SF. Local outlets report that Kimiai has since posted bail and has been released, pending her upcoming court date. Kimlai first received national attention after the viral video showed her cough on Khadka while transporting her and two friends through San Francisco's Bayview District last Saturday. The three women can be seen sitting in the back seat of Khadka's car - with Kimiai not wearing a mask. When Khadka asked her to cover her face, she coughed in his direction and the three friends could be heard saying: 'F*** the masks.' As the women continued to shout at Khadka, Kimiai then tried to grab his cellphone before ripping off his face mask. The three women can be seen sitting in the back seat of Subhakar Khadka's car - with Kimiai not wearing a mask When Khadka asked her to cover her face, she filmed herself coughing in his direction As the women continued to shout at Khadka, Kimiai then tried to grab his cellphone before ripping off his face mask Uber driver Khadka, right, is pictured without his face mask after it was ripped off by Kimiai Khadka told CBS: 'I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way. I don't hit people, I am not raised that way, so they were not getting out of my car.' He said the altercation began when he asked the woman to put on her face mask. When she refused, he said he pulled into a gas station so she could buy one. That's when he says the insults and racial slurs began. Khadka - who moved to the US from Nepal eight years ago to support his family - added: 'You guys are animals to treat other human beings like this. 'She pepper sprayed inside my car, from the passenger window that was open little bit, that was the only window open in my car. 'If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them. The moment I opened my mouth to speak, they realized I'm among one of them, so it's easy for them to intimidate me.' He told the women: 'Since you were born and raised here in the United States, don't think the other person is less human.' Uber said in a statement: 'The behavior seen in the video is appalling. The rider no longer has access to Uber.' They have given Khadka $120 in cleaning funds. Kimiai defended herself in an Instagram video (pictured) and threatened to sue Uber because Khadka kicked her out of his car. Dressed only in her underwear, Kimiai claimed the driver forced her to get out of his vehicle on a freeway and refused to wait for another Uber to arrive, which she argued was unsafe because it was 'in the hood' Kimiai later defended herself in an Instagram video and threatened to sue Uber because Khadka kicked her out of his car. Dressed only in her underwear, Kimiai claimed the driver forced her to get out of his vehicle on a freeway and refused to wait for another Uber to arrive, which she argued was unsafe because it was 'in the hood'. Kimiai suggested the driver was 'lucky as hell' she didn't beat him up. 'He lucky as hell I ain't have nothing on me... Cause if we would've played with me, bruh, it would've been a whole different story,' she said. '75 percent of people I know would have smacked the s**t out of him. 'All I did take his mask off and cough a little bit but I don't even have corona.' She stopped short of apologizing, saying instead: 'I ain't gonna lie, that was disrespectful as f**k. I was dead a** wrong for that'. Khadka moved to the US from Nepal eight years ago to support his family, pictured She insisted the whole ordeal could have been avoided if the driver had just waited and made sure she and her friends were safe. Kimiai said in the Instagram video that she preferred rival Lyft anyway. 'F**king stupid a** Uber bruh, that's why I take Lyft,' she said. Both Uber and Lyft have since banned Kimiai from using their ride-sharing services. In response to her Instagram Live video, Lyft tweeted: 'Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community.' Khadka, the driver, told ABC's Good Morning America last Thursday that the ordeal was 'unbearable' and he believes it was racially motivated. 'She started taunting me, cursing me... they were making fun of my race,' Khadka said. 'It was unbearable. It was threatening, I was scared for my life.' Fellow passenger King allegedly deployed a chemical believed to be pepper spray at Khadka and was arrested in Las Vegas last Thursday. King was charged with assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code on Thursday, the Las Vegas Police Department said. Meanwhile, Kimiai is facing a civil suit from a woman who accuses her of negligent driving and 'failing to keep a proper lookout for other vehicles,' according to legal documents obtained by TMZ. Kimiai allegedly made an unsafe turn and hit her car in Los Angeles, causing the woman to suffer severe injuries. She is being sued for damages, medical expenses and loss of earnings. In a separate video revealed by the outlet, Kimiai allegedly filmed herself driving a McLaren sports car at 122 mph while blasting the song Aktivated by Sada Baby. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. (BPT) - Adolescence isnt easy on anyone. The physical, psychological, social and emotional changes are difficult for young people since many do not have the tools to deal with the whirlwind of feelings that come with growing up. Thats why parents and educators are increasingly focused on teaching emotional regulation. These are the skills that help us to manage emotions and behavior despite negative circumstances. Children who understand and self-regulate their emotions are better able to control impulses, be flexible when things change unexpectedly, and manage behavior when feeling angry or upset. Emotional regulation is especially important for todays kids. Everything from social media pressures to distance learning during a pandemic has added complexity and uncertainty to adolescence. Young people in low socioeconomic circumstances often face additional stressors such as abuse, neighborhood violence, hunger or housing insecurity. Given how psychologically vulnerable kids are at this age, schools are redoubling their efforts to build these skills in their students. Any parent will tell you that this is easier said than done. However, a growing body of research indicates that mindful practices like yoga help children develop the tools to better manage their emotions. More and more studies indicate that yoga promotes and improves emotional self-regulation along with other positive psychological outcomes in adolescents. The latest of these studies was published in February in the Journal of Child and Family Studies by a team of researchers from Duke University, University of North Carolina and Harvard Medical School. They examined the psychological impact of the Kundalini Yoga-based Y.O.G.A. for Youth after-school program on students in North Carolinas Chapel Hill-Carrboro public school system. Since its inception in 1998, Y.O.G.A. for Youth has provided schools, juvenile detention centers and other youth-oriented organizations with customized yoga programming tailored to address the behavioral, emotional and physical needs of children. Y.O.G.A. for Youth programs are designed to foster confident, healthy, emotionally stable individuals with higher levels of scholastic aptitude and expanded behavioral management skills. Students with academic or behavioral challenges were offered an after-school program free of charge, either the Y.O.G.A. for Youth program or an alternative activity. The students who chose yoga participated in 12 40-minute classes over a period of six weeks. Each class consisted of the mindfulness practices found in Kundalini Yoga: mantras, breath practice, physical warm-ups, a kriya (a specific sequence of physical postures that incorporate specific breath patterns, eye focus and hand positions), meditation and relaxation. Both the yoga group and the comparison group completed written surveys before and after the six-week study period that measured emotional regulation, depression, anxiety, stress and mindfulness. Students who participated in yoga also completed a short mood measure survey before and after each class. Researchers analyzed the results and found that students in the yoga program reported a significant improvement in emotion regulation across the six-week program. They also found that students reported significant decreases in anger, depression and fatigue after one single Y.O.G.A. for Youth class session. There is still more research to be done, but these results have important implications for the positive impact of school-based yoga programs. The initial evidence suggests that the emotional self-regulation and mind-body awareness skills provided by yoga in education settings can help adolescents cope with lifes challenges more effectively and help them grow into healthy adults. It offers additional support for integrating yoga into daily routines to give students the critical emotional skills theyll use the rest of their lives. Not every school system has yoga available as an after-school program, so its important to note there are other ways to help your children or students benefit from yoga and mindfulness practices. For ideas on how to incorporate Kundalini Yoga practices at home, visit 3HO.org or yogaforyouth.org. This sponsored article is presented by Brandpoint. She and others sued the city of Chicago last summer over allegations that they routinely denied suspects access to phones. Her office took steps to improve representation of immigrant clients, and she has been an outspoken advocate for bond reform and other policy changes. Campanelli herself came to the Leighton Criminal Court Building last year to urge a judge to speed up pretrial release for detainees as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. 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. Rashami Desai, who is known for her roles in Uttaran and Dil Se Dil Tak, has been very open about her personal and professional life. Her relationship with Badho Bahu actor Arhaan Khan was the most-discussed topic when they were in the Bigg Boss 13 house. The duo broke-up after she got to know about Arhaan's past. Previously, she was married to actor Nandish Sandhu. The couple got divorced in 2016 after nearly four years of being married. They now share a cordial relationship. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Rashami opened up about her divorce with Nandish and revealed how the entire process was stressful, as people judged and doubted her. She said, "Honestly, when I was in that process, the entire process was stressful. I couldn't deal with it. Hence, I wasn't being myself and was trying to be someone who I was not. When I was standing in front of anyone, I would make sure the other person did not realize what I was going through at that moment." Rashami added, "I was always upfront, but during that phase, everyone was doubting me. People judge you independently and not as a couple. They don't understand that it was between two people. There must be a reason right? We got separated and the partner has moved on and I am doing good." She revealed that she was judged on her character and behaviour; and added that there was nobody to take care, and there used to be numbness in her. She was in depression and no one understood her or acknowledged her issue. She further added that her childhood was troubled but she was thankful that her professional life was good. Rashami said her personal life was messy but she realised that she was not answerable for anyone but herself. The moment she realised this, she said it became easier. Also Read: Rashami Desai Says Influential People Get Better Projects; It's Humiliating & Insulting Also Read: Asim Riaz Opens Up On Viral Ad With Shah Rukh Khan; Says It Was His Bread & Butter New Delhi: Banks in India have been incessantly warning people against scamsters, urging customers to never share their banking details, ATM pin details, credit card numbers etc. Despite these warnings, if customers still fail to adhere to the basic precautionary norms and fall prey to fraudulent schemes or activities, they will not be able to hold the banks responsible for it. A report in the Times of India said that the Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission in Gujarat's Amreli district refused to accept compensation claims of victim on the grounds that he was duped because of his own negligence. The case pertains to a retired teacher named Kurji Javia. On 2 April 2018, somebody posing as a State Bank of India (SBI) manager sought Javias ATM card details, which the later shared. Next day when his pension of Rs 39,358 was deposited in his account, simultaneously Rs 41,500 debited. Alarmed, Javia called the bank but did not get any response. In his complaint, Javia pleaded that his loss would have been prevented if the banks responded hastily and thus sued SBI for the lost amount and Rs 30,000 for harassment. The consumer court however ruled that since Javia shared his banking details despite the banks repeated warnings on not sharing the same, his complaint will not stand a chance. RBIs guidelines to Banks for customer notification The RBI had in its 2017 circular said that Banks must ask their customers to mandatorily register for SMS alerts and register for email alerts, for electronic banking transactions wherever available. RBI said that banks must mandatorily sent the SMS alerts to the customers and email alerts wherever registered. Live TV #mute Banks must also advise the customers to notify their bank of any unauthorised electronic banking transaction at the earliest after the occurrence of such transaction, and informed that the longer the time taken to notify the bank, the higher will be the risk of loss to the bank or customer. (Newser) Electricity customers in Texas who received astronomically high bills after last month's devastating blackouts won't have to worry about paying them, and those who have already paid all or part of the bills might be getting some money back, officials say. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says electricity company Griddy, which filed for bankruptcy this week, has agreed to forgive more than $29 million in unpaid bills from around 24,000 customers in return for his office dropping a lawsuit against it, NBC reports. Negotiations are ongoing "to address additional relief for those Griddy customers who have already paid their storm-related energy bills," Paxton said. One woman got a bill for more than $9,500. story continues below Earlier this week, Paxton said his office was suing Griddy for "debiting enormous amounts from customer accounts as Texans struggled to survive the storm," CNN reports. The company, however, blames the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for the sky-high billsand the destruction of its business. Griddy sold electric plans tied to the price of power on the grid, which rose from a normal price of around $25 to $30 per megawatt-hour to $9,000 during the crisis, reports the Dallas Morning News. "ERCOT made a bad situation worse for our customers by continuing to set prices at $9,000 per megawatt-hour long after firm load shed instructions had stopped," says Griddy CEO Michael Fallquist. "Our customers paid 300 times more than the normal price for electricity during this period." He says Griddy did not profit from the crisis. (Read more Texas stories.) Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out offering Australians a vote to enshrine the Indigenous Voice into the constitution, saying his governments priorities remain focused on practical areas such as improving health, education and domestic violence. Indigenous leader Noel Pearson put constitutional recognition back on the agenda in a stirring address to corporate and community leaders on Wednesday night, saying the decades-long push from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders was not a project of woke identity politics but was Australias longest-standing and unresolved project for justice and inclusion. Noel Pearson said Indigenous recognition was not a project of woke identity politics. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The trailblazing activist has pleaded with the Morrison government not to abandon long-held ambitions for a national referendum on the issue, warning as long as Indigenous peoples remain unrecognised then Australia would be an absurdity. But Mr Morrison said it had never been the governments policy to stage a referendum on the Voice, which it is currently co-designing with Indigenous communities. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Rain likely. Low 59F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Rain likely. Low 59F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Close Rep Grace Meng blasts Chip Roy at hearing on Asian American hate crimes The House Judiciary Committee heard from Asian American leaders and activists about the rise in discrimination and violence against their communities since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Advocates have blamed former president Donald Trump for stoking discrimination against Asian Americans with his inflammatory rhetoric while in office. The hearing comes just days after the shooting spree that claimed the lives of eight people at three spas in the Atlanta area six of them Asian women. In shocking moments early on in the proceedings, Representative Chip Roy defended his use of the term Chicom, railed against the Chinese Communist Party, and appeared to glorify lynching. His comments were noted by several with Representatives Grace Meng and Ted Lieu calling him out during their remarks. Ms Meng gave particularly emotional testimony rebuking the GOP for putting a bullseye on Asian Americans backs with their rhetoric. Lawmakers joined experts on hate crimes in giving testimony. The actor Daniel Dae Kim, known for roles on Lost and Hawai Five-O, also appeared. Mr Kim has been outspoken about the problem of violence against Asian Americans. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: St. Paul, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM) (NYSE American: PLM) today reports it has filed its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020 and provides a first quarter 2021 business update. "During the past year I've been inspired by how our employees continued this vital work despite the global pandemic and other challenges," said Jon Cherry, chairman, president and CEO. "We continue to progress through an extensive litigation process. Despite these challenges, we remain confident that we can sustain this progress and execute on our goal to build a responsible and sustainable mining project in Minnesota." In addition to successfully defending legal challenges to its permits during 2020, the company continued its focus on optimization and engineering efforts to improve the project, while maintaining full compliance with all operating permits, Cherry said. The following is a brief summary of recent developments associated with key state and federal cases where various aspects of permit decisions are being challenged: In February 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in PolyMet's favor and overturned a decision by the Court of Appeals that had remanded the air permit back to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The court returned the case to the Court of Appeals to resolve a limited number of items the lower court did not specifically address in its original decision. Resolution of this case is anticipated during the second or third quarter of this year. Oral arguments were held in early October 2020 at the Minnesota Supreme Court after the company had successfully petitioned the court to review a Court of Appeals decision remanding the Permit to Mine and dam safety permits to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for a contested case hearing. A decision is pending. The Environmental Protection Agency this month sought and received a voluntary remand to conduct a 90-day review of downstream water quality under section 401(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act. Because EPA's downstream water quality determination is a prerequisite for PolyMet's federal section 404 wetlands permit, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers on March 17 notified the company it had suspended the permit for the duration of EPA's review. The company is participating fully in this review, as appropriate. To date, PolyMet has received favorable decisions in all six cases that have reached final conclusion - four federal and two state. Key Balance Sheet Statistics (In '000 US dollars) December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Cash $ 3,554 $ 7,401 Working capital (15,241) (3,043 ) Total assets 460,714 457,315 Total liabilities 91,075 73,175 Shareholders' equity $ 369,639 $ 384,140 Key Income and Cash Flow Statement Statistics (in '000 US dollars, except per share amounts) Year ended December 31, 2020 Year ended December 31, 2019 General & administrative expense $ 20,077 $ 7,870 Other (Income) expenses: Finance income & other (1,330 ) (947 ) Non-cash rehabilitation accretion 2,083 2,072 Non-cash asset impairment - 47,168 Non-cash loss on debenture modification - 2,004 Loss for the period: 20,830 57,903 Loss for the period ($/share) 0.21 0.86 Cash used in investing activities $ 8,592 $ 19,740 Weighted average shares outstanding 100,663,439 67,209,105 Loss for the year ended December 31, 2020, was $20.8 million compared with $57.9 million for the prior year. The decrease was primarily due to a non-cash asset impairment in the prior year related to project delays associated with legal challenges to permits partially offset by additional studies related to engineering and further evaluation of the mineral resource. Capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2020, was $8.6 million compared with $19.7 million for the prior year. The decrease was due to lower capitalized spend following receipt of permits in March 2019 as the company awaits resolution of legal challenges to permits. The financial statements have been filed at www.polymetmining.com and on SEDAR and EDGAR and have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. All amounts are in U.S. dollars. Copies can be obtained free of charge by contacting the company at 444 Cedar Street, Suite 2060, St. Paul, MN 55101, or by e-mail at info@polymetmining.com. Project developments described above are derived from these documents and should be read in conjunction with them. * * * * * About PolyMet PolyMet is a mine development company that owns 100% of the NorthMet Project, the first large-scale project to be permitted within the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota, one of the world's major, undeveloped mining regions. NorthMet has significant proven and probable reserves of copper, nickel and palladium - metals vital to global carbon reduction efforts - in addition to marketable reserves of cobalt, platinum and gold. When operational, NorthMet will become one of the leading producers of nickel, palladium and cobalt in the U.S., providing a much needed, responsibly mined source of these critical and essential metals. Located in the Mesabi Iron Range, the project will provide economic diversity while leveraging the region's established supplier network and skilled workforce, and generate a level of activity that will have a significant effect in the local economy. For more information: www.polymetmining.com. For further information, please contact: Media Bruce Richardson, Corporate Communications Tel: +1 (651) 389-4111 brichardson@polymetmining.com Investor Relations Tony Gikas, Investor Relations Tel: +1 (651) 389-4110 investorrelations@polymetmining.com PolyMet Disclosures This news release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning anticipated developments in PolyMet's operations in the future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "potential," "possible," "projects," "plans," and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will," "may," "could," or "should" occur or be achieved or their negatives or other comparable words. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding the ability to receive environmental and operating permits, job creation, and the effect on the local economy, or other statements that are not a statement of fact. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements due to risks facing PolyMet or due to actual facts differing from the assumptions underlying its predictions. PolyMet's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and PolyMet does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations and opinions should change. Specific reference is made to risk factors and other considerations underlying forward-looking statements discussed in PolyMet's most recent Annual Report on Form 40-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and in our other filings with Canadian securities authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Annual Report on Form 40-F also contains the company's mineral resource and other data as required under National Instrument 43-101. No regulatory authority has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77798 Oregon is moving forward with a voluntary road-usage fee program as a potential means of shoring up the diminishing highway funding normally gathered through gasoline taxes.The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently signed an agreement with Azuga , a connected vehicles technology provider, to serve as the account management provider for an upcoming six-month pilot project. The project will be managed by OReGO , an arm of ODOT which handles the states road-usage fee program.This is a first in the nation, road-usage charge program, said Michelle D. Godfrey, education and outreach coordinator for OReGO. At least 16 other states have explored road-usage fees in various capacities. Utah recently passed similar legislation allowing EV owners to participate in the states road-usage fee program, in lieu of paying a flat fee at registration.Road-usage fees are viewed as a replacement for the gas tax, as cars increasingly consume less gas, or in the case of EVs, no gas at all.Oregon began exploring the concept in 2001. The Legislature established a road user fee task force from members of the public and private sectors to study the issue and explore solutions to make up the funding gap that will, no doubt, start occurring, said Godfrey.And just in the past year or so, it has started occurring, she added.Oregon DOT conducted a pilot project in 2006-07, and another in 2012-13, which created the OReGO program, which officially launched in July 2015.The voluntary program includes a registration fee waiver for high gas-milage vehicles enrolling in the program. As of March 1, OReGo includes 2,014 vehicles, with participants paying 1.8 cents for each mile traveled in the state.[The gas tax] really is a Band-Aid on a gaping wound thats getting worse, said Nate Bryer, executive vice president for road usage charging at Azuga, remarking on the highway funding shortfalls many states are encountering.While other regions are eyeing the road-usage fee technology, Azuga is in project development talks with states like Hawaii, California, Colorado and others.So yeah, many, many states are involved in looking at this. Oregon is the first state to actually start collecting actual money, said Bryer.The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration also recently announced it has awarded more than $18.7 million in grants to eight pilot projects focused on exploring user-based funding approaches for highways and bridges.The technology in Oregon works by drivers attaching devices to their cars which collect the milage and location data. The location data is needed to ensure drivers are only charged for miles driven in Oregon.All we do is we aggregate the data, differentiate the miles, and then tell the state how much is owed, explained Bryer. And then we collect the money, and pay the money on behalf of the customer.There has been some concern on the part of motorists around the notion that cars are being tracked.Thats been a concern since the concept was developed and introduced. People have the misperception that government is going to follow them on their trips That is not the case. The location data is never shared with ODOT, said Godfrey.The data is used entirely for calculating the road charges, she said, adding, state law then requires that the data be destroyed after 30 days.Even though the Oregon road-usage fee program is the first in the nation to actually collect money, the program is still largely in the development and rollout phase, say state officials.Its a nominal, Godfrey said of the money collected so far. Its a voluntary program, so were not really looking at the revenue being generated. But over time, the program is expected to close the highway funding gap.We have had a number of economists look at the road-charging scenarios, and determine that this system can get us back on track, over time, she added. The sooner we implement it, the better. New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of arriving with cash during polls to lure voters and loot votes. Addressing an election campaign rally at Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal, Banerjee alleged that ahead of elections, BJP leaders "arrive here in choppers and planes from outside with bagful of cash to lure voters and loot votes". Admitting there were lapses in the relief efforts carried out when Cyclone Amphan hit the state, the West Bengal CM said, Thousands of crores of rupees were doled out by the TMC government for the cyclone-affected. There could have been one or two exceptions... But we rushed to be on the side of people. Where were BJP leaders then? At the time of human miseries, they are always absent. The TMC supremo also assured that if voted to power, her party will not allow the exercise of National Population Register (NPR) to be implemented in the state. She claimed, "The BJP will omit names of voters if they are not found at home during the visit of enumerators. They will just evict you (people). But we would not allow them to update the register here." "Not a single member of any family, no citizen of the country can be evicted from Bengal," Banerjee was quoted as saying by PTI. Meanwhile, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, TMC released its manifesto on Wednesday with the aim to 'sustain Bengal as one of the leading states in India'. The polls to 294-member West Bengal Assembly seats will be held in eight phases starting from March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (With PTI inputs) Live TV Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media ANSONIA Police are asking for information after a complaint Thursday morning about a person impersonating a police officer and trying to pull drivers over in the city. Police responded to a complaint about an unmarked vehicle with blue and red flashing lights trying to pull vehicles over in the area of Wakelee Avenue and Franklin Street, Lt. Patrick Lynch said. An advocacy organization for Black city workers filed a state discrimination complaint this week alleging disparities in discipline, pay and raises. The Black Employees Alliance and Coalition Against Anti-Blackness filed the complaint Monday with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and alerted the citys Ethics Commission. The group also laid out its grievances, based on city data from 2012 to 2020 obtained via public records, in a letter to Mayor London Breed, the Board of Supervisors and department heads that said San Francisco should be ashamed. Its an injustice, said Jessica Brown, a Black manager with the city who is on the Black Employees Alliances leadership team. We really want the city to move into action. The city disputed the claims about disparities in raises in the groups complaint, citing pay data, but has acknowledged racial gaps in discipline and pay in the past that San Francisco is addressing. The Department of Human Resources takes any claim of discrimination or unfair treatment of any employee very seriously, spokesman Mawuli Tugbenyoh said in a statement. We have implemented focused strategies to address any inequities that we have on many occasions openly discussed and reported on. The state will meet with the Alliance in May to determine whether to accept the complaint for investigation. Black people make up 12% of the citys 36,000-strong workforce. The Black Employee Alliance consists of around 410 members. The groups state complaint follows a trio of racial discrimination lawsuits against the city and a human resources scandal last year over a forged discrimination settlement. The city has admitted racial disparities and founded an Office of Racial Equity, requiring each department to produce a racial equity action plan and taking steps to reduce bias in five main areas of hiring and work practices. We have a lot of work to do, but it is very valid that Black employees are paid less in certain roles, are not promoted proportionally and that they are the subject of disproportionate disciplinary actions by city departments, Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton said in a statement, reacting to the state complaint. This has to change. Andy Lynch, a spokesman for the mayor, said she has met with the Black Employees Alliance in the past and is always willing to listen and work with city employees who feel they are not treated fairly. The city takes all claims of discrimination seriously, Lynch said. The Alliances complaint highlighted city data that showed Black employees are disproportionately disciplined. Last fiscal year, Black employees were the subject of 21% of corrective actions and disciplines, although they make up only 12% of the workforce. Numbers had improved from the previous fiscal year. This is still unacceptable to the department, but is a step in the right direction, Tugbenyoh said. The city improved training, increased awareness and publicized data about disparities, he said, and is finalizing guidance and training on disciplinary processes to make sure theyre equitable across departments. Dante King, a leader with the Black Employees Alliance, said the problem persisted and the city hasnt done enough to fix it. He referred to a two-page outline with questions managers should ask when meting out discipline as insufficient guidance and accountability. That does not go far enough, he said. The Alliances complaint also alleged pay and bonus disparities between white and Asian versus Black managers based on a small sampling of data. Managers who are at the top of their salary level can nominate themselves for annual raises. They can also get wage increases throughout the year for a number of reasons, including promotions and job reclassification. San Francisco has been allowed to show favor to who they want to, said Irella Blackwood, a board member of the Municipal Executives Association and a Black manager who has worked for the city for 10 years. The city pointed out that data shows last fiscal year, Black managers, who made up 11.26% of the payroll, received 12.08% of annual raises. Asian managers, who are 17.61% of payroll, received 18.72%. White managers, who were 54.72% of the payroll, received 52.28%. Managers of each race received around 17% of wage increases outside of annual bonuses in the past five years. The complaint also took issue with the budget for annual raises for white managers that swelled to over $1 million last fiscal year. The city provided data that showed that while the budget for white manager bonuses increased by 51% over the past five years, the amount for Black managers increased by 65% during the same time period. The City does not vary how it pays its employees by race for performing the same work, Tugbenyoh said. To the extent that pay varies by race, it is because of the jobs people are employed in. Despite disputes over disparities in raises, the city has admitted in the past to racial pay gaps. A report last March documented that Black employees held lower-paying jobs, were less likely to be promoted and were more frequently disciplined and fired. In response, the city launched a diversity recruitment team, removed some information about job applicants to try to limit implicit biases in the interview process, expanded trainings in departments and posted workforce demographic data on its website. The city also hired an independent consultant to examine its Equal Employment Opportunity complaint process. The Board of Supervisors is waiting for a report from the Mayors Office before holding a hearing, Walton said. The result could be possible legislation and a charter amendment to change practices and try to eliminate bias in how complaints are evaluated and ignored. Chronicle staff writer Jessica Flores contributed to this report. Mallory Moench and Jessica Flores are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com, jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench, @jesssmflores 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 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. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. New Delhi: A new study launches a warning for those struggling with sleepless nights as it might increase the risk of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Around 75% of children and adults are reported to be affected by the disorder. What is ADHD? ADHD is a biological condition that makes it hard for many children to sit still and concentrate and now the extensive research shows that people with ADHD also tend to exhibit sleep problems, according to Sandra Kooij, Associate Professor at VU University Medical Centre in Netherlands. Sleep patterns and ADHD Earlier thought as separate issues, many sleep-related disorders like restless-leg syndrome, sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disturbance and delayed sleep phase syndrome are now seen to be associated with ADHD. As per the results shown at the 30th ECNP Congress in Paris, the association is because the day and night rhythm is disturbed, the timing of several physical processes is disturbed, not only of sleep, but also of temperature, movement patterns, timing of meals. "If you review the evidence, it looks more and more like ADHD and sleeplessness are two sides of the same physiological and mental coin", Kooij said. Read more: Breastfeeding may decrease risk of asthma in children, says study Researchers are working to confirm this physical-mental relationship by finding biomarkers such as Vitamin D levels, blood glucose, cortisol levels, 24 hour blood pressure and heart rate variability, which may help "to treat some ADHD by non-pharmacological methods, such as changing light or sleep patterns and prevent the negative impact of chronic sleep loss on health", Kooij said. "We dont say that all ADHD problems are associated with these circadian patterns, but it looks increasingly likely that this is an important element", Kooij added. Morning Show Host KMAland Broadcasting, LLC is seeking a highly-motivated individual to join our team as a morning show host, covering southwest Iowa, northwest Missouri and southeast Nebraska. The ideal candidate would have a big personality with the ability to connect with listeners and guests. Having a genuine curiosity in a wide variety of topics is a big plus. KMA includes our two radio stations 960 AM and 99.1 FM, as well as one of the most visited websites in the region with KMAland.com. Interested candidates should contact rmatheny@kmaland.com. Salary is TBD. It is the policy of KMAland Broadcasting, LLC to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age or sex in all personnel actions including recruitment, evaluation, selection, promotion, compensation, training and termination. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, age or sex is prohibited. If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, you may notify the Federal Communications Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or other appropriate agency. Multimedia Journalist KMAland Broadcasting, LLC is seeking a highly-motivated individual to join our powerhouse news team, covering southwest Iowa, northwest Missouri and southeast Nebraska. The ideal candidate would have the ability to report on stories over a variety of topics, using video, audio and written forms of communication. Experience in radio is a plus, but a candidate who has worked in any other form of media would be considered. Excellent time management skills are important for this position. Interested candidates should contact rmatheny@kmaland.com. KMA includes our two radio stations 960 AM and 99.1 FM, as well as one of the most visited websites in the region with KMAland.com. It is the policy of KMAland Broadcasting, LLC to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified individuals without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age or sex in all personnel actions including recruitment, evaluation, selection, promotion, compensation, training and termination. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, age or sex is prohibited. If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, you may notify the Federal Communications Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or other appropriate agency. Quercus completes its first transaction since the sale of its Luxembourg fund platform creating a seed portfolio in a key strategic market LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quercus Real Assets Limited (Quercus), a London based specialist focusing on international investments within the Energy Transition, has advised a Luxembourg affiliate on accumulating a sizeable portfolio of PV development projects in Spain. This portfolio, approaching a capacity of 800MW, has been built through a series of acquisitions. The first assets will be ready to build at the end of 3Q 2021 with energisation occurring approximately 12 months later. The milestone marks an important step towards an ambitious growth plan for the benefit of investors and the development of clean energy infrastructure in the region. Quercus is currently exploring strategic options for this portfolio, which represents one of its Southern European development initiatives. Diego Biasi, the Chairman of Quercus, said: "We are delighted with our progress in expanding our presence in Spain - a promising and growing market for investments that meets our strategic objectives. This transaction represents our first announcement since the exit of our 1bn fund platform and furthers our objective of placing long-term environmental and social capital through sustainable investments." For further information, please visit www.quercusrealassets.com. Note to Editors About Quercus Real Assets: Quercus Real Assets is an impact investment firm specialising in energy transition investments regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Since creation in 2010, our strategies have been founded on the belief that the creation of long-term environmental and social capital underpins and strengthens investors' and shareholders' returns. We are committed to investing responsibly for sustainable income and capital returns while contributing to a carbon-neutral future. Quercus' founders, Diego Biasi and Simone Borla, also established a Luxembourg Fund which grew to be one of the top 10 largest European independent funds specialized in utility scale renewable energy investments. The Fund successfully completed over 1bn in gross investments since inception and in October 2019 was sold in the largest Pan-European renewables transaction of the year. For Quercus, the sale completed a 10-year Phase One of its European investment strategy. In January 2020, Quercus' Chairman, Diego Biasi, embarked on Phase Two by joining forces with Marco D'Arro, founder of the Real Asset Group, a capital advisory firm having advised and arranged 3.6bn of gross investments since its inception in 2013 and became Quercus Real Assets. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457499/Quercus_Real_Assets_Diego_Biasi.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457497/Quercus_Real_Assets.jpg Zac Efron is busy filming the new season of his Netflix series Down To Earth around Australia. And on Thursday, he shared photos from his trip to Kangaroo Island, in South Australia, which he noted in his Instagram post. In the first photo, the 33-year-old smiled down as he cradled an adorable little joey in his arms. Cute! Zac Efron cuddles up to an adorable kangaroo as he continues filming his Netflix series Down To Earth The sweet marsupial gently nibbled the Hollywood actor's nose, and he clearly had no problems with it. Zac's second photo featured him beaming alongside his younger brother Dylan, 29, carrying the joey. Zac is currently travelling around Australia with wellness expert Darin Olien for their Netflix series Down To Earth. The Netflix series will follow their search for healthy and sustainable ways to live, as well as embracing the local food, culture and customs of the country. Family fun: Zac's second photo featured him beaming alongside his younger brother Dylan, 29, carrying the joey Search for alternatives: The Netflix series will follow Zac and Darin in their search for healthy and sustainable ways to live, as well as embracing local food, culture and customs in the country It comes after Australian model and filmmaker Ben Waddell claimed Netflix stole his idea for Zac Efron's Down to Earth documentary series. Waddell said the eco-travel show is an almost exact copy of the concept he shopped around the US in 2018. American producers balked at the idea because they wanted a celebrity as the host, and Waddell returned to Australia to shoot a local version. Then suddenly Efron's show appeared on the streaming platform last year without him even realising it was in production. Claims: It comes after Australian model and filmmaker Ben Waddell (right) claimed Netflix stole his idea for Zac Efron's (left) Down to Earth documentary series. Waddell said the eco-travel show is an almost exact copy of the concept he shopped around the US in 2018. 'I was sitting on my couch during lockdown and turned on Netflix and it was trending as the second-biggest show in the US,' he told Daily Mail Australia from New York. 'I fell out of my chair, I was shocked. It was brutal, gut-wrenching. 'Now they're making a season 2 in Australia just to kick me when I'm down.' The Australian presenter and production partner Whitney Smith shot a pilot for 'Down to Earth with Ben Waddell' at an eco-retreat in Mexico in July 2017. Ceremony: Filming kicked off last week, when Zac shared photos of himself and Darin during a Welcome To Country ceremony lead by an Aboriginal Elder on Instagram After it was not picked up in the US, he began plans to shoot in Australia but had to shut down discussions with Channel 10 after seeing the Efron version in June. Waddell, through his production company Ghost Donkey Media, is now suing Netflix and Down to Earth makers The Nacelle Company. Filming kicked off last week, when Zac shared photos of himself and Darin during a Welcome To Country ceremony lead by an Aboriginal Elder on Instagram. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Netflix and The Nacelle Company for comment. Higher education faculty and staff are not included in the groups currently eligible to receive the vaccine. This, combined with the current plan to return to a normal schedule in the fall, concerns UGA employees. ALBANY Despite the state attorney general's ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, senior aides to the governor said they are also conducting their own "parallel review" of a female aide's recent account of being groped by Cuomo at the Executive Mansion late last year. "We have our own inquiries ongoing," a senior aide to the governor told the Times Union. "We have an obligation to investigate any claim of sexual harassment. And we, after reporting (the female aide's allegations) to the (attorney general), were directed to continue our own inquiry. So there are multiple inquiries." Officials with the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who has assigned two private attorneys to lead the investigation, did not respond to questions about the parallel inquiry being conducted by Cuomo's office. But a source in the office with knowledge of the matter denied that anyone from the attorney general's office had "directed" the governor's office to conduct a parallel inquiry. "It's absurd. Why would you be doing that?" said the attorney for the woman who has accused Cuomo of groping her. "It's not appropriate, and obviously we're concerned with the ramifications and the effect on witnesses and the quest for the truth." He characterized it as a "shadow investigation." The attorney, whose client has not filed a formal complaint against Cuomo, asked that his name be withheld out of concern that revealing it would tend to reveal her identity to the general public. She remains employed in the governor's office. Her allegations were reported to Cuomo's senior aides on March 8 by at least one of her colleagues. The woman's coworkers became aware of her claims on March 3 when she became emotional at work as they were observing Cuomo during a press conference in which he was denying ever touching any women "inappropriately." When they asked her what was wrong, she told them about her alleged encounter with Cuomo at the governor's mansion. Beth Garvey, the governor's acting counsel, issued a statement late Wednesday: "We fully informed the (attorney general's) office of the required process with this type of allegation and they said to follow it. The matter was referred to GOER (Governor's Office of Employee Relations) and (we) informed local law enforcement and that is the full extent of the action." Previously, the governor's administration has distanced itself from GOER, contending it is a separate office that conducts sexual harassment and other employee investigations without involvement from the Executive Chamber. Last June, the governor's office handled the sexual harassment allegations of another female aide, Charlotte Bennett, without referring the matter to GOER. The attorneys enlisted by the attorney general to conduct the investigation of multiple sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo are Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, and Anne L. Clark, who has extensive experience in sexual harassment cases. The separate investigation by the governor's office into the woman's groping allegations is unfolding as other staffers were recently informed that an attorney could be made available to accompany them if they are interviewed by the attorney general's investigators. The Executive Chamber staffers also were instructed that an attorney would be available to meet with them ahead of those interviews, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. That has unsettled some staff members, according to the person, because they are concerned about the implications of relying on an attorney provided by the Executive Chamber to potentially sit in on their interviews with the attorney general's investigators. After this story was published online Wednesday evening, another senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigations, said: "It was also explicitly said that you can hire your own attorney if you dont want to use (the attorneys retained by the governor's office)." Two spokesmen for the governor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. On March 10, in response to the Times Union's questions about the woman's groping allegations, Cuomo issued a statement to the newspaper: "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, Cuomo said that he would no longer be commenting publicly on the allegations. He also would not comment on the state Assembly Majority's selection of a Washington, D.C., law firm to lead that chamber's impeachment investigation of the governor. Cuomo and his aides have consistently used the words "review" and "inquiry" to describe the investigations by the Assembly and attorney general's office. "I am not going to take any questions or have any comments on the review," Cuomo said Wednesday. "Let the lawyers do their job and conduct the review and then we can talk about it when we have facts established but other than that Im going to respect the review and I wont comment on it or related matters." On the call with reporters, Cuomo mentioned the attorney general's probe and the Assembly's impeachment inquiry, but did not mention his office's internal investigation. The disclosure by Cuomo's office that it's conducting an inquiry of the woman's groping allegations comes after Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said last week that the decision by Cuomo's acting counsel to refer the potential sexual assault allegation to the city's police department was "highly unusual." She said the incident is alleged to have occurred on state-owned property the Executive Mansion and would normally be handled by the State Police. "No one can recall the Albany Police Department being contacted with a complaint of this type that happened on state property," Sheehan told the Times Union last week. Will Waldron/Albany Times Union Cuomo's counsel reported the incident to Albany police on March 10 hours after the Times Union published new details of the female aide's account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor after she was called to the mansion late last year. As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department, Beth Garvey, the governor's acting counsel, said in a statement last week. If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation. On March 1, the governors office issued a referral letter empowering the attorney general to commence an investigation of allegations at that time that the governor had sexually harassed at least two former female staff members. That referral does not authorize the attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation or to subpoena witnesses before a grand jury. The governor's administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Bennett, one of the former Cuomo aides who has made allegations against him, to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order. blyons@timesunion.com The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. (Alliance News) - Germany will resume vaccinations with AstraZeneca PLC's Covid-19 jabs from Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, after the European regulator EMA assessed it was "safe and effective" to use. "The common aim of the federal government and all 16 states is for vaccinations with AstraZeneca to start again already tomorrow," said Spahn. The health minister took pains to justify the decision to suspend use of the vaccine on Monday for the EMA to examine a handful of cases of cerebral vein thrombosis that emerged. "The course of events this week shows that citizens can trust that they will be informed transparently and they can trust that careful checks will be carried out," added Spahn. Doctors would have to inform patients about the possible blood clotting risk before giving them the jabs, he said.A Critics had complained that the decision to halt use of AstraZeneca's vaccine over the last days only served to fuel mistrust over the jabs and further delay Germany's already stuttering inoculation campaign. source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Second Purchase Order with Deposits for Two TORS Devices Along with Previously Announced Initial Three Device Order Fulfills Annual Purchase Commitment to Tokata Oil Recovery Dallas, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Principal Solar, Inc. (OTC Pink: PSWW) ("Principal" or "the Company"), a strategic investor in and acquirer of organizations and technologies that support next-generation opportunities in traditional, renewable, and clean energy sectors as well as an investor in and acquirer and operator of undervalued petroleum-producing properties, today announced that the Company has placed a purchase order and paid deposits for two TORS devices from Tokata Oil Recovery Systems. This purchase order and deposit are in addition to the three-device initial order and deposit announced earlier this month (March 2021). "Principal's order now totals five TORS machines and fulfills our annual purchasing commitment to Tokata Oil Recovery," said K. Bryce "Rick" Toussaint, CPA, MBA, Chairman and CEO of PSWW. "Our commitment expands our R&D efforts as well as creates the conditions for what we believe to be the near-future commencement of petroleum production in Oklahoma." Principal Solar is currently in negotiations with landowners regarding an investment in an additional field upon which the initial TORS devices are expected to be deployed. Details regarding Principal's investment in the new field, plans for installation and operation of the TORS devices, and commencement of oil production are expected to be released as they become available. About Principal Solar Principal Solar is a strategic investor in and acquirer of organizations and technologies that support next-generation opportunities in traditional, renewable, and clean energy sectors as well as an acquirer and operator of undervalued petroleum-producing properties. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.pswwenergy.com. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 The statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts may be "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. For example, statements that describe PSWW' hopes, plans, objectives, goals, intentions, or expectations are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this news release. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond PSWWs' control, will affect actual results. PSWW undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. This news release should be read in conjunction with PSWWs' most recent financial reports and other filings posted with the OTC Markets and/or the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission by PSWW. Principal Solar Contact K. Bryce "Rick" Toussaint, CPA, MBA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer kbt@pswwenergy.com 214.885.0032 Investor Relations Contact Michael Briola invest@pswwenergy.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77727 OSM establishes office in Copenhagen to strengthen chemical tanker market position OSM Maritime establishes a strategic technical management vehicle in Copenhagen for chemical tanker owners and operators and aims for a high-quality fleet of 30 vessels within three years. Leading ship management company OSM Maritime launches OSM Chemical Tanker Management in Copenhagen, a fit for purpose structure dedicated to the technical management of chemical tankers with a focus on reliable and safe operations. Establishing OSM Chemical Tankers in Copenhagen is a strategic business move for OSM to provide bespoke and unique technical management solutions in a well-known and expertise rich location for chemical tankers. We look forward to grow our presence in Copenhagen and welcoming new customers to our platform. Tommy Olofsen, OSM CCO and President. Copenhagen as a location is selected due to the physical proximity to ship owners, commercial and OSM technical management to enhance the performance and maintenance of chemical tankers. Important shipping cluster OSM Chemical Tanker Management is led by Steffen Tunge, an industry veteran within the chemical tanker management and he is joined with a strong and highly competent team in Copenhagen. We have already taken over several chemical tankers and from conversations with our key customers and potential new ones we expect to grow the fleet to about 30 vessels over the next three years. Our Copenhagen office has already attracted excellent industry specialists and we look forward to welcoming more talents onboard. Tommy Olofsen. OSM, as one of the worlds leading technical management companies within tanker management, is looking to establish the well known OSM quality operation in the shipping cluster of chemical tankers that Copenhagen represents. Establishing a strategic technical vehicle in Copenhagen is an exciting new opportunity for IMO ii/iii chemical tanker owners and operators to choose a ship manager with an owners approach in Copenhagen. Tommy Olofsen. OSM is today involved in management of more than 600 vessels. This is only made possible with a high-quality and competent crew pool which through their work onboard is closely connected with a shore fleet team support organization with deep competence. Fuel efficiency tools The global shipping industry is facing massive challenges when it comes to environmental solutions to the global operations of vessels. In line with this, OSM is taking active steps to support customers with fuel efficiency tools and reporting allowing for solid decision making. The team in Copenhagen will have a direct access to these initiatives and systems to drive this forward with OSMs customers. One of the initial and important customers to OSM Chemical Tankers is the Copenhagen based Navig8 Chemical Tankers. Houston police are now intensifying patrols in Asian communities around Houston in the wake of Tuesday's Atlanta massage parlor murders. Houston-area state representative Gene Wu urged authorities to step up security and take cautionary measures. "Houston Police, Harris County Sheriff, and both International and SW Mgt Districts will all send additional patrols to Asian American community areas," Wu posted on Twitter. "We're not going to tolerate any additional acts of hate against our community. Enough is enough." RACIST ATTACKS: Texas restaurant covered in racist graffiti after owner goes on CNN Former Houston police chief Art Acevedo stated Wednesday that Houston hasn't seen any threats to Asian Americans. "To our Asian community, @houston police is closely monitoring threat environment, and currently there are no specific threats. We all need to combat the scourge of violence," Acevedo tweeted. Outrage and fear have now spread across the nation after eight people were killed and one was wounded in the Tuesday massage parlor attacks. Six of those eight people killed were women of Asian descent, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Henry Hollis, Ahaddi Abuaid and Alexis Stevens The accused 21-year-old gunman in the massage parlor attack, Robert Aaron Long, allegedly told investigators the crimes were not racially motivated, but admitted to an "addiction to sex." Since the pandemic began, authorities have seen an uptick in Anti-Asian hate crimes across the country. In fact, there have been 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes in 16 of the nation's top citiesa rise of almost 150 percent over the 2019according to data compiled by California State University's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, reports VOA News' Masood Farivar. When asked about what steps and legislative measures would help stem the violence, Wu said that the change needs to occur at the community level. "Hate crimes already exist. But, we can't pass laws for people to be decent to each other, that requires a societal change," Wu told KVUE's Gloria DeLeon. "And, that requires recognition by the public, that Asian-American communities needs help and [are] deserving of help and [are] deserving of protection. According to the nonprofit group, Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate, there were nearly 3,300 reports of racist incidents in 2020, and 503 incidents already reported in 2021. HPD released this statement on Twitter about the crimes targeting Asian Americans, reassuring Houstonians of increasing patrols. The union that represents front-line electrical workers at Manitoba Hydro has declared a general strike effective Wednesday night. The union that represents front-line electrical workers at Manitoba Hydro has declared a general strike effective Wednesday night. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 2034, which represents 2,300 employees, said it took the action after the Crown corporation failed to respond to its demand that it be presented with a "final offer" that it could present to its members for a vote. In recent days, the IBEW had conducted limited rotating strikes and staged a protest at the Manitoba Legislative Building. Talks between Hydro and the union broke down March 4, IBEW said in a news release late Wednesday. Wages have been the main stumbling block. The workers have been without a contract for more than 26 months. "Its extremely unfortunate that Manitoba Hydro has left IBEW with no alternative but to take this strike action," the union's business manager, Mike Espenell, said. "In order to get a fair agreement for our members, it appears that Hydro is prepared to inconvenience and put Manitobans at risk. We find that completely irresponsible." Hydro has offered zero per cent increases for 2019 and 2020, and a 0.75 per cent wage boost for the current year in line with government guidelines for the bargaining of new public-sector contracts. The union said it is also angry its members were forced to take three unpaid days off or face layoffs. It wants those paid days restored, as well as wage increases similar to those paid to other company employees (1.5 per cent in 2019 and 1.25 per cent in 2020). Espenell said Hydro, which expects to post a $111-million profit for the current fiscal year, can afford to pay the increases. The general strike will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Manitoba Hydro said Wednesday evening it had tabled a final offer to the union. "Its hoped the IBEW leadership takes the offer to its membership for a vote," said Jay Grewal, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. "We understand this is a difficult time for everyone involved. We find ourselves in a position that no one wants to be in. We believe our offer is fair." Grewal said she wants Manitobans to know the utility has contingency plans to ensure it can continue to provide its essential and emergency service to customers. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Evaluation of the work of the National Police in 2020: the results of the sociological survey Ihor Klymenko, The Head of the National Police of Ukraine, Police General of the second rank, PhD (Psychology) I would start with the main line: the level of the public trust in the Ukrainian police is 40.8 %. For comparison in the European countries this indicator ranges from 39 % in Hungary to 94 % in Finland. Of course, we still have a lot of work to do, but we are going in the right direction if we refresh our memory that the trust in the police in 2014 did not exceed the statistical error. Now in more detail about this survey and its results. Why, for what and on what basis does the National Police conduct a sociological survey? Because the level of the public trust was identified as the main criterion for assessing the effectiveness of the police bodies and units. Actually, it is written in the Law of Ukraine "On the National Police". To research and determine the level of the trust, a mechanism was developed, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on February 07, 2018 No. 58 "On approval of the Procedure for assessing the level of the public trust in the National Police." In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement", the State Institution "Service Centre for Departments of the National Police of Ukraine" initiated a procedure of determining the sociological service and prepared the tender documentation for procurement of the public opinion polling services in assessing the level of the public trust in the National Police through the open tenders. On October 06, 2020 on the website www.dzo.com.ua the National Police announced the purchase of services. The tender was won by the 4service UA Sales LLC, with which a corresponding agreement was concluded on November 13, 2020. Methodology, terms, representativeness of the sociological survey Survey method: structured face-to-face interview at the respondent's place of residence. Survey geography: the survey was conducted in 24 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv (excluding the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine). The selection of the survey is 15 thousand respondents, calculated in compliance with the principle of representativeness for the population of Ukraine over 18 years old (excluding the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine). The following age intervals were used in the analysis: 18-29, 30-54 and older than 55 years. The selection design is based on the distribution of the population aged 18 and over by the regions, types of settlements, sex and age according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine as of January 01, 2020. General conclusions 1. The highest valuation of the effectiveness of the work for the last year the police received in the Zakarpattia, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Donetsk and Poltava regions. The respondents in Zhytomyr, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv regions named a police work as "inefficient". 2. The territorial police units of Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Ivano-Frankivsk regions are leading in the levels of trust. The lowest level is in Luhansk region, Kyiv city, as well as in Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr and Dnipropetrovsk regions. 3. In general 35 % of Ukrainians valuate the crime rate as "low". In 2020 the number of people who perceive the crime rate in the country as "high" decreased from 21.7 % to 12.8 %. According to the opinion about half of the population (52.5 %) the crime rate in the country is at the "average" level (as in the last year). 4. The list of the main fears of the Ukrainians in 2020 remained unchanged in comparison with 2019. What we are afraid the most: to become a victim of a traffic accident 37.4 %; to become a victim of any crime at all 22.5 %; to become a victim of theft from our own home 21.7 %. 5. For the last year the number of citizens willing to help the police has increased from 34 % in 2019 to 37.4 % in 2020. 6. The level of politeness and friendliness of the police officers during communication with people have increased almost by 10 % in comparison with 2019. 62.3 % of Ukrainians who contacted with the police officers last year said that they were polite. 7. 1.5 % of the respondents indicated that in 2020 they were intentionally beaten, ill-treated or tortured by the police. I hope that the introduction of the "Custody Records" video recording system in the police sub-units will remove this issue from the agenda! 8. In general, only 3.8 % of all respondents complained about the police actions. Dynamics in comparison with 2019 Due to the fact that in 2019 the sociological survey was conducted according to a different method, it is impossible to make a full comparison of the indicators. Therefore I publish the data on those parameters that can be compared correctly. 1. In 2020 the percentage of those who perceive the crime rate in the country as "high" decreased from 21.7 % to 12.8 %. 2. In comparison with the last year the level of the citizens` satisfaction on how the police responded to their appeals or statements increased from 27 % to 33.4%. 3. The cases of the rude treatment by the police officers almost halved (from 20.2 % to 9.6 %). The results of the sociological survey will be available on the official website of the National Police of Ukraine in the near future. by Francis Khoo Thwe A businessman says he gave her a $ 500,000 bribe. Lawyers prohibited from meeting the "Lady". House-to-house night raids to track down protesters. Residents forced to dismantle the barricades. More than 210 dead and 2200 arrests. Yangon (AsiaNews) - The military junta has laid another charge against the democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who could now face up to 15 years in prison. State television released a video in which builder Maung Weik says he gave the "Lady" - as she is called by the population - a $ 550,000 bribe to facilitate her projects. He himself says that there were no other witnesses. She is now charged with corruption as well as possession of some foreign walkie-talkies (violation of export laws); having violated the anti-Covid rules; having held incitement rallies against the state; using funds to help a foundation build a professional start-up center in Naypyidaw, paying for the land at less than market value. In an attempt to destroy the image of the Democratic leader, whose party swept the November elections, the authorities also banned lawyers from meeting Aung San Suu Kyi. The "Lady" has been under house arrest since the first day of the coup. But in all the demonstrations that are sweeping the country - against the bans and curfew imposed by the military - her release and that of all political prisoners is demanded. Meanwhile, the general strike and civil disobedience continue throughout the country, with banks, offices, shops closed. And the junta is stepping up violence and repression. Especially in Yangon, security forces carry out door-to-door raids threatening to kill people in the house and arresting hidden protesters. Barricades have been built to block the charges of the police in several cities. The army has given orders that the residents of each neighbourhood clear the streets of obstacles. Some neighbourhoods have begun dismantling, but many refuse and leave the barricades in the middle of the streets. According to human rights associations, the military has so far killed more than 210 protesters and made 2,200 arrests. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy this evening then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 20:07:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's health ministry reported 7,530 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,778,645. The pandemic has so far claimed 61,581 lives in Iran, up by 89 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing. Of the newly infected, 673 were hospitalized, said Lari. A total of 1,521,377 people have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals, while 3,866 remain in intensive care units, she added. According to the spokeswoman, 11,976,428 tests for the virus have been carried out across the country by Thursday. According to Iran's health ministry, during the upcoming Iranian New Year holidays starting March 21, gatherings in hotels, restaurants, reception halls, weddings and funeral ceremonies, market places, and inter-city transports can be serious causes of disease transmission. Iran's National Coronavirus Headquarters has prohibited travels to and from high-risk cites in the following days, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19, 2020. Enditem 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. BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) today announced it has been awarded a certificate of need to build a freestanding, 39-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Fort Mill, South Carolina, to be named Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Fort Mill. The hospital will be located at the northeast corner of Pleasant Road and Vista Road. Complementing local acute care services, the future hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies, and 24-hour nursing care, to restore functional ability and quality of life. It will care for patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. The medical staff will be comprised of physicians experienced in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as other specialties such as internal medicine, cardiology, infectious disease and nephrology to assist in the medical management and support a complex patient population. The hospital will feature all private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, cafeteria, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard. The planned hospital, once opened, will become part of Encompass Health's national network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. The Company's South Carolina footprint currently includes seven inpatient rehabilitation hospitals as well as one hospital under construction in Greenville, which is expected to begin serving patients this summer. About Encompass Health As a national leader in integrated healthcare services, Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) offers both facilitybased and homebased patient care through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. With a national footprint that includes 137 hospitals, 241 home health locations, and 82 hospice locations in 39 states and Puerto Rico, the Company provides highquality, cost-effective integrated healthcare. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to the likelihood, timing and effects of the completion of this hospital project, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against the Company; the possibility this project will experience unexpected delays; the ability to successfully complete and integrate this project consistent with Encompass Health's growth strategy, including realization of anticipated revenues, cost savings, and productivity improvements arising from the related operations and avoidance of unforeseen exposure to liabilities; the continued spread of COVID-19, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; the actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in the regulation of the healthcare industry at either or both of the federal and state levels; competitive pressures in the healthcare industry and Encompass Health's response thereto; the hospital's ability to maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems; Encompass Health's ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages and the impact on Encompass Health's labor expenses from potential union activity and staffing shortages; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020. Media Contact: Hillary Carnel | 205 970-5912 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Crissy Carlisle | 205 970-5860 [email protected] SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. Related Links http://www.encompasshealth.com A masked student performs a balancing exercise during recess on the playground of Medora Elementary School in Louisville, Ky., on March 17, 2021. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) Most K-12 Parents Want Schools to Reopen: Poll The majority of parents of K12 students want schools to reopen, with Republicans overwhelmingly in favor and most Democrats and independents agreeing, according to a recently released poll. Some 94 percent of Republican respondents to a Gallup survey of parents said they support providing in-person schooling to K12 students. They were joined by 80 percent of independents and 62 percent of Democrats. Parents who were working were particularly supportive of reopening schools for in-person instruction. Among that group, 82 percent want schools to reopen, versus 71 percent of those who were not working. Among those working, 13 percent said they opted for reduced work hours to help their children learn online. Seven percent said they either quit or took leave from a job to assist their kids. A full 9 out of 10 respondents living in the Northeast wanted schools to welcome students back, as well as 83 percent of those in the Midwest, 78 percent of those in the South, and 72 percent of those in the West. The findings are from Gallups COVID-19 probability-based web panel survey, which was conducted between Feb. 14 and Feb. 21. The random sample included 860 adults with K12 students. The margin of sampling error was plus/minus 5 percentage points. The survey was conducted shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance on how schools should go about reopening. Some critics, including researchers whose research the agency used, said the CDCs recommendations were too strict. In one example, the CDC said six feet of social distancing should be maintained whenever possible, even though its director had last year told her local school district that three feet was sufficient. Third grade literacy instructor Katelyn Battinelli (L), speaks with students about their pandemic-related fears on the first day of in-person learning for five days per week at Stark Elementary School in Stamford, Conn., on March 10, 2021. (John Moore/Getty Images) Newly published research indicates that three feet is fine, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said over the weekend. More schools have been reopening in recent weeks. Nearly half of American K12 students were in traditional five-day-a-week, in-person instruction as of March 14, according to research-tracking organization Burbio. Another 30 percent were attending hybrid schools, where students attend in-person but not every day of the week. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told reporters in Washington on March 17 that he is convening a National Reopening Summit next week. Officials will be hearing about the best practices from across the country on how to do this safely and how to do it quickly, because we know there are great examples out there, he said. We know students learn best from students, teachers learn best from teachers, and states will learn best from states on how to safely reopen schools quickly, he said. As a parent and as an educator, I know the value of in-person learning. And for those of you that are parents here, you know theres no substitute for in-person learning. So Im excited to get to work making sure we can safely reopen our schools as quickly as possible. Kolkata, March 18 : West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress supporters were involved in a violent clash with their arch rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists in East Midnapore's Nandigram on Thursday. The BJP alleged that Trinamool-backed assailants carrying lathis launched the attacks on their party workers in which one BJP worker received serious injuries. The incident of violence took place near Sonachura Chawk in Nandigram when a group of Trinamool supporters allegedly attacked BJP workers with sticks, barely a few meters away from the public meeting site of Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP's Nandigram candidate and a Trinamool turncoat Suvendu Adhikari. The injured BJP worker was taken to the nearest hospital by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. An official complaint was also lodged by the East Midnapore district BJP unit with the local police station. "Mamata Banerjee must fight elections democratically. One of our Yuva Morcha leaders was attacked here in front of me. A group of Trinamool workers attacked our supporters after Suvendu Adhikari's 'roadside' meeting started in Nandigram," said Pradhan. The Union Minister said that he would appeal to the Election Commission (EC) to deploy paramilitary forces in the region to restore peace and normalcy during the elections. "In a democratic set up anybody can contest an election and do the political campaigns freely," Pradhan said, dubbing the incident as "unfortunate". .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal The Albuquerque City Council has finalized the details of a $140 million infrastructure plan that will go to voters in November, including major investments in an East Central fire station, a southeast area public safety project and a West Side multigenerational center. But the package passed without complete consensus as the council remained divided over process, a proposed sound wall project and what some saw as insufficient support for affordable housing. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The council approved Klarissa Penas capital improvement legislation 6-3 Monday after two hours of debate and multiple amendments. The package features more than 100 line items, but it will go to voters this fall in the form of about a dozen broadly framed general obligation bond questions. (See the accompanying box for some of the plans biggest-ticket items.) Pena, the councils budget chairwoman, contended that her plan addressed community concerns about affordable housing by pulling in additional dollars from the citys federal COVID-19 relief funding. The bond package includes $3.3 million for affordable housing, but the legislation earmarked another $3.4 million more from federal relief money, plus $3.3 million to help homeowners fix code violations. The councilor also said her plan supported projects in all nine city council districts. I didnt create complete, across-the-board equity, but I worked to achieve balance, Pena said of her proposal, which itself was a revised version of a plan Mayor Tim Keller proposed to the council in January. Keller also celebrated the councils decision, saying the projects it prioritizes will help make Albuquerque a place where hard-working families can get ahead and kids can grow up safely. Were moving from pandemic survival to recovery, he said in a statement. While Council President Cynthia Borrego complimented Pena for her efforts trying to get everybody (on council) together a process Borrego likened to herding cats the legislation failed to win complete support from the council. Pat Davis, who joined Isaac Benton and Diane Gibson in voting against the package, said he was concerned that the plan diverted money from citywide pots such as those for roadwork into a couple of City Council districts. The council, for example, removed $2.9 million from Kellers proposed citywide street/signal/median allocation, but added $1.75 million for specific projects on the West Side. Benton, meanwhile, said he thought the council acted too quickly. By ordinance, the council has until its first April meeting to approve a package. It was rushed out of the (councils budget committee) and it was rushed out of the council, Benton said in an interview. It was a really, really, really bad process. The pace, he said, undermined a two-project proposal he introduced during Mondays meeting. Benton suggested an amendment to shift $2 million from other sources toward 12th Street roadway/pedestrian upgrades and toward a new sound wall to protect the San Jose neighborhood from railroad noise something he called an environmental justice issue in an under-served area. Councilor Lan Sena asked Benton to split his proposal into two amendments so the council could consider each project separately. Benton said rules prohibited him from doing that until the next meeting and proposed that the council delay the infrastructure vote until it reconvened on April 5. But only Davis and Gibson supported the postponement and his two-project amendment ultimately failed. Gibson said she voted against the whole $140 million package in part because she thought Benton should have had time to tweak his proposal. The sound wall in San Jose in particular would improve the quality of life for the residents, she said in a statement to the Journal. Benton and Davis also struck out in their bid to increase affordable housing beyond what Pena and Keller proposed. We can and should have done more for housing, Davis said. Projects included in Albuquerques 2021 GO bond package $7 million for a new fire station near Juan Tabo and Central $7 million for a public safety complex at San Mateo and Kathryn SE $6 million for the Cibola Loop Multigenerational Center $5 million to renovate/expand the Albuquerque Police Departments Southeast Area Command $4.5 million for a community facility in Southwest Albuquerque $4 million to develop the Walker property redevelopment in Wells Park $3.5 million for Westside Community Center Phase II construction $3.3 million for affordable housing $3 million for a North Domingo Baca swimming pool The company said the new identity is to "better reflect the company's strategic focus of working towards supplying green, clean (environmentally safe) elements for the Lithium Ion battery market" "The electrification of the world is occurring, and the Quebec government is behind the process and wants to ensure Quebec is a global leader in the development of the strategic commodity supply chain," said CEO Tom Yingling ( ) (FRA:BK2P) has said its shares will begin trading under the name Green Battery Minerals Inc on Monday, March 22 after the group received the green light for the change from the TSX Venture Exchange. There is no change to its trading symbol, the company said, noting that the new identity is to "better reflect the company's strategic focus of working towards supplying green, clean (environmentally safe) elements for the Lithium Ion battery market". The firm holds an advanced graphite project in northern Quebec, in which it has invested over $6 million proving out a resource. It has also contracted ProGraphite of Germany to build test batteries to prove that its graphite can be used in making batteries. "The electrification of the world is occurring, and the Quebec government is behind the process and wants to ensure Quebec is a global leader in the development of the strategic commodity supply chain," said Goldcore CEO Tom Yingling. "Quebec is blessed with the minerals needed for Lithium Ion Batteries and the Province is located proximal to the North American car manufacturing industry. In addition the St Lawrence seaway provides direct access to global seaborne trade." Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com Using molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the University of Arizona and Illumina, Inc., estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December 2019. Writing in the March 18, 2021 online issue of Science, they also note that their simulations suggest that the mutating virus dies out naturally more than three-quarters of the time without causing an epidemic. "Our study was designed to answer the question of how long could SARS-CoV-2 have circulated in China before it was discovered," said senior author Joel O. Wertheim, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "To answer this question, we combined three important pieces of information: a detailed understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 spread in Wuhan before the lockdown, the genetic diversity of the virus in China and reports of the earliest cases of COVID-19 in China. By combining these disparate lines of evidence, we were able to put an upper limit of mid-October 2019 for when SARS-CoV-2 started circulating in Hubei province." Cases of COVID-19 were first reported in late-December 2019 in Wuhan, located in the Hubei province of central China. The virus quickly spread beyond Hubei. Chinese authorities cordoned off the region and implemented mitigation measures nationwide. By April 2020, local transmission of the virus was under control but, by then, COVID-19 was pandemic with more than 100 countries reporting cases. SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic coronavirus, believed to have jumped from an unknown animal host to humans. Numerous efforts have been made to identify when the virus first began spreading among humans, based on investigations of early-diagnosed cases of COVID-19. The first cluster of cases -- and the earliest sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes -- were associated with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but study authors say the market cluster is unlikely to have marked the beginning of the pandemic because the earliest documented COVID-19 cases had no connection to the market. Regional newspaper reports suggest COVID-19 diagnoses in Hubei date back to at least November 17, 2019, suggesting the virus was already actively circulating when Chinese authorities enacted public health measures. In the new study, researchers used molecular clock evolutionary analyses to try to home in on when the first, or index, case of SARS-CoV-2 occurred. "Molecular clock" is a term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of genes to deduce when two or more life forms diverged -- in this case, when the common ancestor of all variants of SARS-CoV-2 existed, estimated in this study to as early as mid-November 2019. Molecular dating of the most recent common ancestor is often taken to be synonymous with the index case of an emerging disease. However, said co-author Michael Worobey, PhD, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at University of Arizona: "The index case can conceivably predate the common ancestor -- the actual first case of this outbreak may have occurred days, weeks or even many months before the estimated common ancestor. Determining the length of that 'phylogenetic fuse' was at the heart of our investigation." Based on this work, the researchers estimate that the median number of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 in China was less than one until November 4, 2019. Thirteen days later, it was four individuals, and just nine on December 1, 2019. The first hospitalizations in Wuhan with a condition later identified as COVID-19 occurred in mid-December. Study authors used a variety of analytical tools to model how the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have behaved during the initial outbreak and early days of the pandemic when it was largely an unknown entity and the scope of the public health threat not yet fully realized. "These tools included epidemic simulations based on the virus's known biology, such as its transmissibility and other factors, developed by study co-author Niema Moshiri, PhD, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego. In just 29.7 percent of these simulations was the virus able to create self-sustaining epidemics. In the other 70.3 percent, the virus infected relatively few persons before dying out. The average failed epidemic ended just eight days after the index case." "Our approach yielded some surprising results. We saw that over two-thirds of the epidemics we attempted to simulate went extinct. That means that if we could go back in time and repeat 2019 one hundred times, two out of three times, COVID-19 would have fizzled out on its own without igniting a pandemic. This finding supports the notion that humans are constantly being bombarded with zoonotic pathogens." Wertheim noted that even as SARS-CoV-2 was circulating in China in the fall of 2019, the researchers' model suggests it was doing so at low levels until at least December of that year. "Given that, it's hard to reconcile these low levels of virus in China with claims of infections in Europe and the U.S. at the same time," Wertheim said. "I am quite skeptical of claims of COVID-19 outside China at that time." The original strain of SARS-CoV-2 became epidemic, the authors write, because it was widely dispersed, which favors persistence, and because it thrived in urban areas where transmission was easier. In simulated epidemics involving less dense rural communities, epidemics went extinct 94.5 to 99.6 percent of the time. The virus has since mutated multiple times, with a number of variants becoming more transmissible. "Pandemic surveillance wasn't prepared for a virus like SARS-CoV-2," Wertheim said. "We were looking for the next SARS or MERS, something that killed people at a high rate, but in hindsight, we see how a highly transmissible virus with a modest mortality rate can also lay the world low." ### Co-authors include: Jonathan Pekar, UC San Diego; and Konrad Scheffler, Illumina, Inc. MOSCOW Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States and unleashed a storm of derision aimed at President Joe Biden after he said in a television interview that he thought President Vladimir Putin was a killer. Russias Foreign Ministry said late Wednesday that it had summoned its envoy in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, to Moscow in order to analyze what needs to be done in the context of relations with the United States. We are interested in preventing an irreversible deterioration in relations, if the Americans become aware of the risks associated with this, the Foreign Ministrys spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement. Zakharova did not specify whether a specific event had prompted the decision to recall Antonov, but the rare move came as Russian officials reacted with fury to an interview with Biden aired by ABC News. In the interview, when asked whether he thought Putin was a killer, Biden responded: Mmm hmm, I do. Dmitri Peskov, Putins spokesman, described Bidens comments as very bad. He clearly does not want to improve relations with our country, and we will be proceeding based precisely on this, Peskov told reporters Thursday. Despite Bidens long-running criticism of Putin, some Russian analysts had voiced hope that the Kremlin could forge a productive working relationship with the White House on areas of common interest. While Biden told ABC that he would continue to look for places where its in our mutual interest to work together with Russia, some officials in Moscow responded by dismissing the possibility of any cooperation. This is a watershed moment, Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Russias upper house of Parliament, wrote in a post on Facebook on Thursday in reference to Bidens interview. Any expectations for the new U.S. administrations new policy toward Russia have been written off by this boorish statement. Kosachev warned that Russia would respond further, without specifying how, to Bidens comments if explanations and apologies do not follow from the American side. On state television, news programs devoted extensive airtime to describing Biden as confused and out of touch, while politicians lined up to voice their anger and threaten a response. Pyotr Tolstoy, the deputy chairman of the lower house of Parliament, thundered that the only language that Americans understand is, unfortunately, the language of force. Another senior lawmaker, Andrei Turchak, described Bidens utterance as a challenge to our entire nation. Russian officials did not immediately make specific threats. But an escalation of tensions with the West has often accompanied domestic crackdowns by the Kremlin, which claims that the United States is secretly backing opposition politicians in Russia in order to weaken Putin. For instance, Russias internet regulator warned this week that it was preparing to block access to Twitter in the country entirely starting in one month, after restricting access to the American social network last week. Some Western officials accuse Putin, among other things, of ordering the assassination attempt of his most vocal domestic critic, Alexei Navalny, by a military-grade nerve agent in Siberia last year. Putin has denied playing any role in that near-deadly poisoning, quipping in December that if Russian agents had wanted to kill the opposition leader, They would have probably finished the job. The Russian government has also been linked to attacks on foreign soil, including the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, in 2018 and the shooting death of a former commander of Chechen separatists in Berlin the following year. Putin signed a law in 2006 legalizing targeted killings abroad legislation that Russian lawmakers said at the time was inspired by American and Israeli conduct. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. The BGSU difference The BSN program includes a proactive approach designed to address a pervasive challenge facing todays nursing workforce. To meet that challenge, BGSU has introduced two courses specifically focused on building clinical judgment that are unique to BGSUs nursing program. We have found that its simply not enough to tell students that they need to think like a nurse while caring for patients, said Dr. Shelly Bussard, director of BGSUs School of Nursing. We have to provide more practical instruction that they can carry with them into clinical settings. I believe these new courses will give our students a distinct edge with established clinical judgment skills. The School of Nursing has also been working with health care partners in the community to provide meaningful learning opportunities in clinical settings. These crucial clinical opportunities are rich and varied, located in rural and urban settings, community settings, telehealth and much more. Facilities of the future The new home to the School of Nursing at BGSU is taking shape in the heart of main campus, with comprehensive renovations underway in the former College of Business annex, now known as Central Hall. The facility will feature the new, state-of-the-art skills lab and simulation center, which is slated to open in late spring, well in advance of the 2021-22 academic year. The 23-bed lab complex has benefited from a generous donation from the Wood County Hospital Foundation and features computerized manikins that simulate patient scenarios that are realistic, helping students to develop clinical judgment skills. The lab space will have a full complement of audio/visual equipment to assist students in guided reflection and debriefing sessions, and will be open to students any time of day to practice skills learned in the classroom. Meeting the demand for nurses Industry and U.S. labor statistics show the nursing field remains one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. Registered nursing (RN) is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2016-26 employment projections, which projected the field to grow by more than 438,000 jobs over that 10-year period. The bureau also projects the need for an additional 203,700 new RNs each year through 2026 to fill newly created positions and to replace retiring nurses. Recent estimates suggested that the country needed approximately 550,000 new RNs to enter the workforce in 2020 and 2021 to address the shortage of 1.1 million RNs in 2022. Nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demand for registered nurse and advanced practice registered nurse services, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Though AACN reported a 3.7% enrollment increase in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing in 2018, this increase is not sufficient to meet the projected demand for nursing services. According to Bussard, BGSU is stepping into this gap with new programs, new facilities and a renewed commitment to create public good. BGSU has long played a pivotal role in preparing future nurses through innovative pre-nursing courses, Bussard said. With excellent faculty, leadership and stakeholders, we will move BGSU into a new era of preparing registered nurses to care for individuals, families and communities. The Michigan House once again made its stance clear on an ongoing effort to include lawmakers and the governor in open records laws Thursday, voting unanimously on a 10-bill package aimed at improving the states bottom-of-the-barrel transparency laws. The 10-bill package approved by House lawmakers Wednesday would subject the governor, lieutenant governor and their staff to the states Freedom of Information Act and establish a separate Legislative Open Records Act albeit with an array of broad exemptions on what types of documentation could be requested by the public. Its by no means a new concept. The Michigan House has voted through similar iterations of the bills for several sessions in a row with broad bipartisan support. The matter has never been taken up for a floor vote in the Senate, although the Senate Oversight Committee is poised to report its own version of the package to the Senate floor next week. House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, has said improving government transparency is his top priority this term. In a Thursday statement, he said he was confident the time has come to get the bills to the governors desk. One of our top priorities is to regain the trust of the people of the state and this is a strong start, Wentworth said. They deserve access to the records of their elected officials, and we intend to give it to them. Related: Open records expansion poised to advance in Senate committee as group tees up ballot initiative Currently, Michigans FOIA law requires publicly-funded bodies like cities, police departments, state agencies and schools to provide information upon request. But lawmakers, the governor and lieutenant governor arent required to disclose any of their communications or documents pertaining to how big decisions affecting Michigan residents are made. That makes Michigan an outlier compared to the rest of the country when it comes to who is covered under FOIA. Its one of the only states in the nation to not subject their state-level officials to some form of open records laws, and Michigan ranked last in a nationwide 2015 government transparency report from the Center for Public Integrity. As elected public servants we answer and are accountable to the residents who have given us the privilege of serving them in office, said Rep. Pat Outman, R-Six Lakes. None of us are above the law. And its an embarrassment to our state government, that we cannot get this passed. House Democrats said they were glad to see unanimous votes on the package, but are hoping lawmakers ultimately go further and change the chambers rules to start applying provisions in the package pertaining to the Legislature immediately instead of waiting until 2022. The house can independently adopt a rule and apply what we just voted on today, because theres strong bipartisan support for this, said Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit. We believe this House should open up the records and be more transparent as soon as possible. As currently written, the legislation pending in the House and Senate includes an exemption for all communication between legislative and governors offices and their constituents so long as the constituent is not a registered lobbyist or state employee. Any documents created or used by legislative caucuses and records pertaining to ongoing internal or legislative investigation are also included in the exemptions. Non-exempt documents would not be considered a public record for 15 days, and the bills arent retroactive, meaning no records created prior to Jan. 1, 2022 would be considered public if the package is signed. A major distinction between FOIA and the LORA proposal is the lack of judicial review for appeals if a records request is denied. The legislation as written would send any appeals for denial of a records request to the administrator of the Legislative Council instead of the judicial review process allowed under FOIA. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has previously expressed support for expanding public records laws but stopped short of voluntarily subjecting her own office to FOIA when rolling out an executive directive to update the process for state agencies. She said in 2019 shed prefer the legislative package get passed so this isnt just a policy for the Whitmer administration and has a wider reach. When it comes to the current bills, the Whitmer administration has concerns with the lack of an independent mechanism to compel the production of a legislative record under LORA and the broad exemption that would allow lawmakers in either party to deny a record simply by distributing it to their caucus. Progress Michigan, a progressive organization thats long advocated for transparency reform, pulled its support for the package this session over exemptions they say applies a lower standard of disclosure to the Legislature than any other public body subject to public records laws. I would encourage any members (of the Legislature) that value true transparency to take a look at those bills long and hard, and what they actually provide for, because it isnt transparency, and it isnt accountability, Lonnie Scott, the groups executive director, said in a Tuesday press conference. It is a lot of additional loopholes. Progress Michigan on Tuesday released the language of a ballot proposal the group hopes to get on the November 2022 ballot, although Scott said the group is holding off on collecting signatures pending results of their lawsuit on signature gathering rules. Theyd need just over 340,000 valid signatures to make the ballot. Asked about the ballot drive and Progress Michigans concerns, House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, said she believes the Legislature needs to pass the existing package but would support a vote of the people if it doesnt happen. We need transparency, we need accountability, and House Democrats have stood by those values for years now, she said. Read more on MLive: Whitmer curbs use of controversial separation agreements in executive directive Whitmer said separation agreements like Robert Gordons are used often. In state government, theyre not. New ad from pro-GOP nonprofit hits Whitmer on transparency, hush money Michigan Legislature had its own series of confidential staff separation agreements Michigan House Speaker requiring ethics training for lawmakers as part of government transparency push Is 2019 the year Michigan officials can agree to open their records to the public? Progressive group to launch ballot initiative for FOIA reform in Michigan House bills: - House Bill 4383 - House Bill 4384 - House Bill 4385 - House Bill 4386 - House Bill 4387 - House Bill 4388 - House Bill 4389 - House Bill 4390 - House Bill 4391 - House Bill 4392 Senate bills: - Senate Bill 232 - Senate Bill 233 - Senate Bill 234 - Senate Bill 235 - Senate Bill 236 - Senate Bill 237 - Senate Bill 238 - Senate Bill 239 - Senate Bill 240 - Senate Bill 241 Nestled in the southernmost mountains in Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan province, Mudixi village is a picturesque paradise with the lush woods, clean streams and distinctive stilted houses built by local ethnic Miao people. But the village was not well-known until A Land So Rich in Beauty -- a popular TV series which recently ended its first run on Hunan Satellite TV and the streaming Mango TV service -- made it an online sensation. With the major shooting taking place in the village, the 33-episode drama has raised its profile, bringing it a tourism revenue totaling more than 30 million yuan ($4.61 million), said the producers at a recent seminar held in Beijing. The drama starring stars Luo Jin and Yuan Shanhan has also been released overseas via the international broadcasting network of Hunan Satellite TV, making it a window to help foreigners to know more about China's effort to get rid of poverty, said Ding Cheng, deputy head of Hunan Broadcasting System, the parent company of Hunan Satellite TV. Receiving critical praise at home, the drama has so far accumulated 10 billion clicks online and obtained 7.8 points out of 10 on the popular review site Douban. Scriptwriter Wang Chenggang, a former veteran journalist, said the show is inspired by true stories of Hunan, a province which saw 56,000 grassroots cadres consisting up of 12,000 teams dispatched to far-flung areas to battle poverty. "When we trekked into the mountains to conduct interviews, I was surprised to see that many of the cadres are born in 1980s or 1990s. It made me realize the drama could be more relatable to young audience if the protagonists are set as young people," said Wang. Gao Changli, director general of the TV series department with National Radio and Television Administration, said the series deeply reflects the "miracle" of China's fight against poverty. "One of the biggest social values created by the drama is that it has seized attention of youngsters, making it possible to encourage more young people to return to their hometowns to help develop local economies," added Gao. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, currently in South Korea after visiting Japan, continued to push their anti-China agenda in talks with their South Korean counterparts. The fact that two of President Bidens top officials are making their first overseas trip to US imperialisms two military allies in North East Asia underscores the determination of the new administration to ratchet up the confrontation with China begun under Obama and escalated under Trump. Blinken and Austin outlined the purpose of their trip in an op-ed entitled Americas partnerships are force multipliers in the world published in the Washington Post on Monday. After reiterating Bidens declarations that his administration would reengage with the world and revitalize alliances, their deliberate use of military language makes clear that partnerships are being strengthened in preparation for war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, right, pose for the media before their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. After Tokyo, President Joe Bidens top diplomat and defense chief are traveling to South Korea after North Korea made sure it had their attention by warning the United States to refrain from causing trouble amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool) Our alliances are what our military calls force multipliers, the comment stated. Were able to achieve far more with them than we could without them. No country on Earth has a network of alliances and partnerships like ours. It would be a huge strategic error to neglect these relationships. After once more accusing China of challenging the international rules-based orderthat is, where the US sets the rulesthe two officials declared: Here again, we see how working with our allies is critical. Our combined power makes us stronger when we must push back against Chinas aggression and threats. Yesterday in a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Blinken again lashed out at Beijing for using coercion and aggression to systematically erode the economy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Tibet and assert claims in the South China Sea. Washington has hypocritically used denunciations of human rights for decades to vilify its opponents and justify coups and criminal wars of aggression, while turning a blind eye to the abuses and atrocities of its allies and partners. Also under discussion was the highly unstable situation on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump touted his diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a success, but talks broke down in 2019, resulting in a tense stand-off that resolved none of the underlying issues. North Korea stopped its nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests but gained little in returna halt to major US-South Korean war gamesand is still subject to crippling UN and unilateral US economic sanctions. Blinken also chose to play the human rights card in relation to North Koreaa step that can only heighten regional tensions. He denounced the North Korean regime for its systematic and widespread abuses against its own people and declared that its nuclear and missile programs posed a threat to the region and to the world. His comments, which followed a warning by Kim Jong-uns sister, Kim Yo-jong, to the US on Tuesday to refrain from causing a stink at its first step, were a calculated slap in the face to Pyongyang. Blinken affirmed that the US alliance with South Korea was unwavering and iron clad. While in Tokyo, he said Washington had reached out to North Korea through various diplomatic channels since mid-February, but had received no response. He said the Biden administration was engaged in a review of policy toward North Korea that would be finalised in coming weeks, adding that the US was examining both additional pressure measures and diplomatic paths. Like Blinken, Austin restated the US commitment to the defence of South Korea. Prior to talks with South Korean Defence Secretary Suh Wook, Austin said: You and I can both agree that military readiness is a top priority, and that our combined readiness must ensure that we are ready to fight tonight, if needed. Austin touted a recent agreement under which Seoul will pay an extra 13.9 percent toward the upkeep of 28,500 US military personnel and bases in South Korea. The deal was aimed at mending relations strained by Trumps demands that South Korea pay as much as 400 percent more. No deal, however, has been reached to finalise arrangements for the handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea. If a war broke out today, South Koreas large military forces would be under the overall command of the Pentagon, not the countrys government and generals. In comments on the OPCON handover cited in the South China Morning Post, Professor Yang Moo-Jin at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul said: The US now appears to be hesitating to do so as it apparently wants to use the US troops in the South as part of its deterrence against China. The trip by Blinken and Austin takes place against the background of the first ever leaders meeting last Friday of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quada grouping of the US, Australia, India and Japan directed against China. While the US has not formally asked its military ally, South Korea, to join the grouping, Seoul has been reluctant to do so out of concern over relations with China, its largest trading partner, and the potential for further heightening tensions with North KoreaChinas only formal military ally. South Koreas hesitation underscores the fact that the Quad is a quasi-military alliance that is part of the US war preparations against China. Last weeks summit was a significant step in further consolidating this bloc, which already includes two formal US alliesJapan and Australiaas well as India, which has a strong strategic partnership with the US, including basing arrangements, technological collaboration and arms sales. In their comment in the Washington Post, Blinken and Austin referred to the central point of Bidens foreign policy speech last month, writing: As the president has said the world is at an inflection point. A fundamental debate is underway about the futureand whether democracy or autocracy offers the best path forward. Washingtons war drive against Beijing has nothing to do with democracy in China or anywhere else in the world, including in the US where a fascist coup attempt was made on January 6. Rather, the decade-long US build-up to war against China is aimed at subordinating what Washington regards as the chief threat to its continued global domination. Austin and Blinken are engaged in consolidating Washingtons force multipliers in the regionin the first place Japan and South Korea. The two top officials are due to sit down today with their South Korean counterparts in their first formal 2+2 talks for five years. Blinken will then fly to Alaska where, having set the stage for a fiery confrontation, he and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will hold their first talks with their Chinese counterparts. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:39:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Less than a week before the fourth general election in two years, the political landscape in Israel seems to remain unclear. Polls show that no candidate is likely to form a coalition government, raising the chances for another referendum. The last election was held a year ago at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a coalition with his political rival and the leader of the Blue and White party Benny Gantz. It was a short-lived alliance and came as no surprise that the alliance was eventually dissolved late last year. As with the previous elections, the upcoming one is largely about Netanyahu. As Israel's longest-serving prime minister, he has found himself caught up in a corruption trial which has led even some of his ideological supporters to oppose him. "There is a very clear voice from within the right wing ... that says no more to Netanyahu," said Gayle Tal Shir from the department of Political Science at the Hebrew University. But this election differs from the last three ones because right-wing voters now have alternatives to Netanyahu within the bloc. His two main rivals are Gideon Saar, a former member of Netanyahu's Likud, and Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina party. In Israel, a parliamentary democracy, the party with the largest number of votes gets the first chance to form a coalition of at least 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament. Polls show Netanyahu's Likud is steadily the largest party with around 30 seats. Polls project Netanyahu will not have the majority of seats in parliament to garner a coalition, but none of his rivals do either. Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, is shown by polling to be the second largest party. Appearing to be Netanyahu's main rival, he does not have the support of many of the parties, making him an unlikely candidate for the premiership despite his increasing popularity. "We are facing a very complex negotiation between the other partners because they have no ideological unity," Tal Shir told Xinhua. There are currently four parties on the brink of the electoral threshold, three to the left of Netanyahu and one on the far right. Any of these parties, whether they enter the parliament or not, will have a dramatic impact on the election results. "If none of those cross the electoral threshold, that will greatly increase the chances of a government led by Netanyahu that relies on the ultra-orthodox," explained Jonathan Rynhold, a professor of the Political Studies Department at Bar Ilan University. Up until now, Netanyahu has relied on the Jewish ultra-orthodox parties as his steadfast coalition partners. Polls show they are also shrinking in size, as support for the parties has apparently decreased with their electorate unhappy with their handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The previous three elections in Israel had a surprisingly high turnout. However, many experts believe that this time, people are not only tired of repeated elections but also worn out during the pandemic, let alone many who are still undecided about their vote. "For those who are undecided, for those who will determine the elections, I think the issue is what kind of leader Netanyahu is and what kind of coalition it will be, whether the ultra-orthodox or not," Rynhold told Xinhua. Enditem CARTARET, New Jersey Two dogs identified as pit bulls managed to get past a fenced-in backyard and kill a 3-year-old boy who was playing behind his home, according to reports. The boy, who authorities have not identified, was flown to a hospital after the attack Tuesday but he died of his injuries, nj.com reports. The boys mother was seriously injured in the attack and remains hospitalized, authorities say. According to nj.com, the two dogs were not registered and came from a home about two blocks away from where the attack occurred. The dogs have been euthanized. As a small community, our Carteret family mourns the heart-wrenching loss of our young neighbor and we pray for this young mother and family in this time of unimaginable grief, Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman said in a statement. Neighbors tell ABC 7 that the dogs were known to be aggressive and that other people had been bitten in the past. Those pit bulls bit people all in this area, a neighbor tells ABC 7. Im aware of certain houses, so I try to walk a different path when I know that theyre on that block. Police have released few details on the attack, reports say, and the incident remains under investigation. Donations for the family can be made through Carterets non-profit charity at https://carteret-charity-trust-fund.square.site. Just two years earlier, none of the three main protagonists taking the most difficult decision of a generation could have imagined doing so. Running fourth in the polls, Pedro Sanchez came to power through an unexpected no-confidence motion against then prime minister Mariano Rajoy of the conservative Popular Party (PP). Salvador Illa, a member of the Catalonia Socialist Party (PSC) and a philosophy graduate, never thought the Health Ministry was for him; and Fernando Simon, a high-ranking PP appointee, had kept to the wings since the Ebola crisis. But in mid-March, 2020, there they are; all three know what is at stake and know they must take action. The coronavirus figures are getting worse by the hour. A complete lockdown and a state of alarm has been on the cards for days at least since the evening of March 8, when the number of positive cases shot up in Madrid and the Basque Country, prompting both regions to shut down schools. Sanchez is wavering. On Tuesday, March 10, he is still torn between the opinion of highly politicized ministers, such as Transportation Minister Jose Luis Abalos and Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, who are pressing for a state of alarm to be declared, and those in the economic sphere such as Finance Minister Maria Jesus Montero and Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, who want to exercise caution. The Spanish government led by a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos has taken all kinds of measures to try to avoid this situation. Two Cabinet meetings have focused on coming up with alternatives flights to Italy are stopped, the number of people allowed at events and social gatherings is cut, then cut again, teleworking is enforced and citizens are asked not to travel anything to avoid the economic collapse that would result from declaring a state of alarm and ordering everyone to stay at home. But the pandemic sabotages everything. Every decision taken is seen within hours to fall short of what is required. The number of deaths and the incidence rate are multiplying. Simon, who has spent days analyzing the scenarios with Illa, does not usually speak categorically. He tends to lay out both the pros and cons, leaving it to the politicians to decide. But this time he gives it to Sanchez straight. The virus is getting out of control. Prime minister, based on the data showing how the pandemic is evolving, with the models we are working on, and looking at countries with similar experiences, especially Italy, we have to reduce the mobility of the population as far as possible in order to bring this under control and not have a very serious healthcare crisis. There is no other choice. There is a long silence in the room. All eyes are on Sanchez. The prime minister leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath. Okay, lets do it. Lets work out how. This conversation took place one year ago. From this point on, the political and administrative machinery is set into motion. Sanchez multiplies the number of calls he makes and consults with the most loyal members of his team: Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, PSOE congressional spokesperson Adriana Lastra, chief of staff Ivan Redondo, and ministers Montero and Abalos. All aspects of the decision have been looked at by Thursday evening, March 12. That is the day Spain overtakes France as the second country in Europe with the highest number of coronavirus cases; it is also the day the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recommends activating measures to alleviate the pressure on healthcare systems. Several regions are already pushing for a complete lockdown. Even Portugal, with far fewer cases than Spain, has decreed a state of calamity. It is increasingly evident that Sanchez is lagging behind. There is no time to lose. Sanchez calls Felix Bolanos, his right-hand man, to prepare the state of alarm decree with Calvos team. The decision has been made, but he wants to listen to then Health Minister Illa, who will be a key player in the coming weeks. He calls him to find out what hes thinking. It is already Friday, March 13, one day before the decree is approved. Salva, how do you see the state of alarm? I think it is necessary. It is the most appropriate course of action. Why? Because coordinating the measures among the regions is going to take more time than we can afford, and it is essential to react quickly. There is no margin to make any deals; every hour is vital. Is the Health Ministry in a position to manage the entire healthcare system? No. The regions must continue to be responsible if we want this to work, but we have to be able to make decisions on matters of public health and freedom of movement. Everything is done in a rush. At mid-morning Sanchez calls a videoconference with his then four deputy prime ministers Calvo, Iglesias, Nadia Calvino and Teresa Ribera. Also present are Abalos and Illa, who are joined by two senior health officials, Secretary General Faustino Blanco and Undersecretary Alberto Herrera. The management of the crisis depends on expert advice, but the big decisions continue to be politically charged. There is no longer any discussion. The state of alarm is given the green light and will be approved in a Cabinet meeting on March 14. At 3.30pm, Sanchez appears on television. After the stalling of previous weeks, a new narrative emerges: We will stop this virus together, he says in an almost bureaucratic proclamation in which emotional messages combine with war-like rhetoric. (l-r) Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska; Health Minister Salvador Illa; Defense Minister Margarita Robles and Transportation Minister Jose Luis Abalos during a press conference on the coronavirus pandemic on March 15. EFE Former Health Minister Illa recalls that after this speech, Sanchez gives him a call. You are doing a good job, he tells him. The then-minister replies: Thank you for your personal concern, but it is not necessary: lets get to work. Echoing a quote by Irish poet and playwright, Seamus Heaney, Illa observes: I thought: If we get through this winter we can summer anywhere. But its going to be a long winter. And it certainly was. One year later, many of those involved in the decision to call a state of alarm now torture themselves with the idea that they were late in doing so. But when reviewed now in public and private, the reason for the delay is understood: based on the data at the time, the decision could not have been taken earlier. Given what we know now, of course, we should have approved the state of alarm on February 20. But the information was very poor, and besides, nobody would have accepted it at that time, says one member of the government. You only have to look at the newspaper archives. Nobody wanted to close the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. And on March 10, Valencia did not want to cancel Las Falles fiestas. Andalusia said that Easter was sacred. And nobody asked about the coronavirus in the Senate the week before the state of alarm. But what about that last week? Could the explosion of cases have been avoided if the state of alarm had been imposed a week earlier? There is a lot of doubt on that question, particularly because one pivotal decision took longer than expected: suspending flights to and from Italy, where most of the cases were coming from. The flights were stopped on Tuesday, March 10, but by then the pandemic was already widespread. Both Abalos and Illa considered stopping the flights earlier several times. But as a European ally, Italy resisted being cut off and pleaded its case with Germany, Spain and France in Brussels the previous Friday. In the end, Spain acted unilaterally. The seven-hour-long Cabinet meeting that approved the state of alarm was a harbinger of the battle that is still raging between the two elements in the government: those who lobby for maximum restrictions and propping up the economy at whatever cost, and those who prefer to maintain economic activity as far as is possible and avoid excessive debt. Broad brush Keynesianism versus broad brush orthodoxy, observes one government advisor drily. The conflict between the economy and health which the government always denies has been at the center of all the major discussions since that first day when two annexes were set to be approved: one listing prohibited activities and the other, permitted activities. In the end, the former was eliminated to prevent confusing the public. But the government itself is aware that the precarious balance supposedly sought between health and economy has been harmful to both. Even the state of alarm was not enough to curb transmission and ministers remember the following days as the worst of their lives. In the ghostly city of Madrid, only the sounds of ambulances could be heard from their offices, a frequent reminder of the dimensions of the tragedy. Some recall with horror the day when the army entered senior residences and revealed a Dantean scenario of abandoned corpses and elderly people without medical care. Illas voice became choked with emotion the day he left Cabinet to stand as a candidate in the Catalan regional election and recalled the moment he had to tell the public they could not be there at the burial of their loved ones to avoid further transmission. But worst of all: none of these efforts seemed to stop the spread of the virus. When the state of alarm was declared, Spain had 292 known Covid deaths. One week later, that figure increased fivefold; and two weeks later, it rose twentyfold, with more than 6,200 deaths recorded. The first mistake of the crisis was to underestimate it; to consider the coronavirus not so different from the flu; to think that the only thing to be feared was fear itself. The second mistake appeared when the government became aware that it had not done enough and was forced to make up for it. On Thursday, March 26, Illa appears before Congress. It is a difficult moment for the government. The regions are beginning to complain that the central government has taken over their responsibilities. Criticism from the opposition, which had supported La Moncloa up to this point, intensifies with reports that question the governments response to the pandemic. That same Thursday, EL PAIS reports that the rapid coronavirus tests purchased from China by the Health Ministry are faulty. Illa sidesteps the issue, but that afternoon he receives an alarming message from his team: the data has got completely out of hand. Healthcare staff at the intensive care unit at Madrids La Paz hospital on March 30 Andrea Comas Illa repeats the warnings from Fernando Simon and his second in command, Pepa Sierra, and Miguel Hernan, a leading Harvard epidemiologist recruited by the government. There have already been reports from several scientists, among them virologist Antoni Trilla, in which everything is laid out in black and white for the first time, namely, the possibility that intensive care units (ICUs) could be pushed to breaking point. With data from Facebook and a specially created mathematical model, it is clear that if mobility is not reduced by 60%, intensive care units will be overwhelmed in less than 15 days. A decision must be taken: hibernate the economy, a strict lockdown, a Middle Ages model. And it has to be taken now, says Illa. Illa contacts Sanchez and the prime minister calls a virtual meeting the following morning, but at the same time he asks Illa to compare the data with the figures from Telefonica the Spanish communications giant and validate the model used by the epidemiologists with Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva. The results are even more alarming: Mobility had to be reduced by around 75% or 80% to prevent ICUs from collapsing in less than 15 days, Illa recalls. That was the most delicate moment in the whole crisis. Hernans message to Sanchez is unequivocal and leaves the prime minister with no choice. After such a forceful intervention, there is no prime minister who could not make the decision to hibernate the economy, says one of those present. And the prime minister takes that decision. Stop everything that has to be stopped, and stop it now. Once again, the battle between economy and health starts to rage. Every businessman with clout who has access to a minister makes that call: the captains of the Basque Countrys heavy industry crank up the pressure. Some sectors go directly to Sanchez. Employers are outraged. A countrys production cannot be stopped. This is ruinous! This message is issued by everyone from Antonio Garamendi, leader of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), to businessmen at the highest levels who call all their contacts. Several ministers then try to save some sectors. Politics is the art of withstanding pressure. But this time it is different. There is an offensive being launched from all sides. The businessmen are flagging up the fact there are thousands of jobs at stake; and the loss of jobs is one of the biggest blows for a minister. The labor minister, Yolanda Diaz, is drafting a decree with Felix Bolanos that will use the formula of recoverable paid leave to paralyze the countrys economy a kind of forced vacation at Easter after which employees will gradually return to their work stations, though all the ministries are asking for exceptions to be made. Arriving at a Cabinet meeting, the next day, Sanchez explodes. Enough is enough. We are all getting calls from businessmen. The same people who are calling you are also calling me. Were going to stop everything except what is essential. After a period of hibernation a kind of induced coma for the economy the curve very gradually starts to flatten. But further down the road, there will be a second wave, and a third. And the tension between the economy and health continues while a fourth wave looms. A year later, the invisible enemy has yet to be vanquished. Major crises make the impossible possible. The coronavirus turned the world upside down: just one year ago, democracy and capitalism were suddenly put on hold. The whole of Europe passed emergency laws, lawmakers stayed at home, demonstrations were banned, elections were delayed and opposition parties, at least in civilized countries, made strange pacts of national unity with governments, driven by a mixture of fear and responsibility in the face of the deadly enemy. Spain was no exception. Psychologists say that we only remember situations in terms of the beginning, middle and end: the problem is that in the case of the pandemic, 12 months on, there is still no end in sight. When spring 2020 was about to start, a health crisis of extraordinary dimensions flourished; now as spring 2021 has begun, that crisis is still with us. The first thing that the plague brought to our town was exile, notes the narrator of Albert Camus The Plague. Over the past year, we have managed to get a fairly accurate idea of what he was referring to. The writer George Perec, in Life A Users Manual, has a character who dedicates himself to burying dead words: he collects them, arranges them, declares them officially defunct and entombs them in careful lists. There is still a long, long way to go before coronavirus and Covid-19 will be subjected to the same fate. English version by Heather Galloway. -Call for probe Frustrated business owners whose business houses gutted fire on early Monday, 15 March at the Vamuyam Conneh general market in the commercial district of Vai Town suspect hidden hands are behind the destruction of their business entities. They want government to speedily investigate the matter. Though the victims did not point accusing fingers at any particular person, they disclosed how in recent time there had been confusion between some members of the Conneh market regarding the land on which the market situates. Madam Kofadee Thomson, Dorothy Washington, Samuel Kollie, and Francis Lawson believe that their business houses may have been set ablaze by one of the aggrieved parties based on the manner in which the incident happened. There have been no independent confirmation from the Conneh family in connection with the fire incident. Mr. VamuyamConneh represents the Via Town district in the House of Representatives. According to them, what was so astonishing to them is that if the fire was as a result of an electrical problem onthe market premises, it should have affected several businesses situated in the same environment, but thta was not the case. According to them, it is not possible that the fire could burn their stores but a big warehouse that is very close to the affected business structures was never affected by the blazing fire which started around 3:00 AM Monday into daylight without spreading to other parts of the market. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We strongly believe that this fire wasn't caused by electrical shock. What we know is that someone is responsible for this ugly and frustrating nightmare that left all of our business houses completely destroyed. Why should they target us who have nothing to do with their conflict", they aggrieved marketers lament. They not to until they find out who set their business entities on fire to avoid a repeat at the Conneh general market where low income Liberian entrepreneurs are struggling to support their families. The marketers wondered where they are going to source funding from to restart their businesses at the time the country is going through economy constrains and that no bank will be prepared to provide loans to the affected businesses without guarantors. On Monday, 15 March 2021, while owners of business houses operating at the Conneh general market in Vai Town were at their respective homes, fire attacked scores of business houses, leaving at least over US$1M properties and goods destroyed. The owners of the affected business entities did not had the opportunity to take penny out of their business establishments during the fire outbreak.Up to now, authority of the Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS) are yet to establish cause of the fire incident that left many Liberians in tears. BANGALORE, India, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Industrial Cyber Security Market is Segmented by Type (Network Security, Application Security, Endpoint Security, Wireless Security, Cloud Security, Others), by Application (Power, Energy & Utilities, Transportation Systems, Chemical and Manufacturing, Others), Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2026. This report is published on Valuates Reports in the Computer Security Category. The global Industrial Cyber Security market size is projected to reach USD 19220 Million by 2026, from USD 12000 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 6.9% during 2021-2026. Rising investment by key players to develop and launch advanced industrial cybersecurity solutions that help protect zero day malware attack etc & prevent huge losses. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-14N2387/global-industrial-cyber-security TRENDS INFLUENCING THE INDUSTRIAL CYBER SECURITY MARKET The increasing risk of cyberthreats for industries is expected to fuel the industrial cybersecurity market size. Cyberattacks have cost companies millions of dollars through the disruption of services and critical operations. It's essential to improve industrial cybersecurity to keep critical systems running and protect the financial data and reputation of any organization. The growing investment by key players to develop and launch advanced industrial cybersecurity solutions that can protect against zero-day malware attacks is anticipated to drive the industrial cybersecurity market size. A zero-day attack exploits an unpatched vulnerability and could adversely affect organizations and bring forth huge losses. Until a patch becomes available, it is often a race between threat actors trying to exploit the flaw and vendors or developers rolling out a patch to fix it. Furthermore, the increasing adoption of the internet of things (IoT) solutions in industrial control systems and cloud security applications is expected to fuel the growth of the industrial cybersecurity market size. Get Free Sample: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-14N2387/Global_Industrial_Cyber_Security_Market INDUSTRIAL CYBER SECURITY MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS On the basis of type, network security held the largest market share in 2017. The increasing number of web-based applications and the growing number of security breaches targeting industrial infrastructure and plant operations are driving the network security market share. Based on application, the market for transportation Systems is one of the fastest-growing segments in the industrial cybersecurity market. Road, rail, and metro networks are physically integrated with each other. Industrial control systems are used in the surface of all these modes of transportation, including roads, aviation, marine, and surface transportation pipelines. Based on region, the APAC is expected to hold one of the major industrial cybersecurity market shares. China and India are major countries in the APAC region. These countries have a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which collectively employ more than 70% of the country's total population. Vendors in the industrial cybersecurity sector who offer solutions and services to customers in the manufacturing, transportation, and energy industries may benefit from these SMEs. By Region North America United States Canada Europe Germany France UK. Italy Russia Nordic Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China Japan South Korea Southeast Asia India Australia Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Mexico Brazil Middle East & Africa Turkey Saudi Arabia UAE Rest of Middle East & Africa . Inquire for Regional Data: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-14N2387/Global_Industrial_Cyber_Security INDUSTRIAL CYBER SECURITY MARKET SEGMENTS Industrial Cyber Security Breakdown Data by Type Industrial Cyber Security Breakdown Data by Application Power Energy & Utilities Transportation Systems Chemical and Manufacturing Others. The following key players are covered in this report: IBM (US) Honeywell (US) ABB ( Switzerland ) ) Cisco (US) Schneider (France) Rockwell (US) Dell (US) McAfee (US) Symantec (US) Kaspersky Lab ( Russia ). 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The main companies in the market include Cisco, Palo Alto networks, Fortinet, check point, Broadcom (Symantec), Deloitte, ey, PwC, KPMG and IBM. - The Internet Security Market is Segmented by Type Network Layer Security, Internet Protocol Security, Multi-Factor Authentication, Security Token, Electronic Mail Security, Firewalls, by Application Government, BFSI, ICT, Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare and by various regions . - Automotive Cybersecurity Market size is projected to reach USD 2705.5 Million by 2026, from USD 440.6 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 29.6% during 2021-2026. ESCRYPT Embedded Systems was the largest company in 2018, which had a market share of 10%. The top 10 key players occupied 59% market. - Information Security Market is Segmented by Type PSIM+, PSIM, PSIM lite, by Application Critical Infrastructure, First Responders, Commercial, Others and by various regions. - Network Security Market is Segmented by Type Software Product, Hardware Product, by Application Bank, Government, Enterprise, Others and by various regions. - Application Security Market is Segmented by Type Machine learning, Image processing, Speech recognition , Natural language processing , by Application BFSI, IT & Telecom, Aerospace and Defense, Healthcare and by various regions. - Endpoint Security Market size is projected to reach USD 17870 Million by 2026, from USD 12860 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 4.8% during 2021-2026. - Cloud Security Market size is projected to reach USD 16230 Million by 2026, from USD 4322.2 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 20.7% during 2021-2026. - Railway Cyber Security Market size is expected to grow from USD 5,806.54 Million in 2019 to USD 9,941.99 Million by the end of 2025 at a CAGR of 9.37%. - Security Awareness Training Software Market is Segmented by Type Cloud Based, Web Based, by Application Large Enterprises, SMEs and by various regions. Click Here to See Related Reports On Industrial Cyber Security Market ABOUT US Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources CONTACT US Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Follow us Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Follow us Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Follow us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg SOURCE Valuates Reports BEIRUT - Following Lebanese nurses, on Thursday Lebanese pharmacists also went on strike to protest against the worrisome lack of medicine supplies as part of the serious economic and financial crisis that Lebanon has been facing for a year and a half. In recent days the crisis worsened with the value of the local lira dropping even further against the US dollar. Beirut media said on Thursday morning that most of the pharmacies in Beirut, Tripoli, Sidone, Nabatiye, the Bekaa Valley and Mount Lebanon were on strike. The order of nurses launched a similar alarm on Wednesday, declaring a "state of emergency" and crossing their arms in protest for some hours. Dozens of pharmacists also organised a sit-in on Thursday morning in front of the health ministry in Beirut, calling on authorities to adjust their profit margins to compensate for the devaluation of the local lira and to find a solution to the inability of wholesalers to import medicines from abroad paying in hard currency. "Our pharmacies are empty and we are now nearly unemployed," said one of the protesters cited by the daily L'Orient-Le Jour. The pharmacists said subsidies provided by the State are insufficient. Outgoing head of state Hassan Diab in recent days warned the entire political system of the risk of no longer being able to spend resources to keep subsidies active for medicines, flour and other essential goods. DOVER, DE / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. (the "Company" or "PGTK", (OTCQB:PGTK)) announces that it has entered into an exclusive agreement to develop up to 1,100MW of battery energy storage systems ("BESS") in the United Kingdom ("UK") sourced by TUPA Energy Limited ("TUPA"). As part of the TUPA agreement, the Company has also today acquired the rights to 100MW of BESS in Kent, UK, and plans to conclude the remaining 1,000MW by 2023. The acquisition follows PGTK's acquisition of Innoergy Limited and the framework agreement with Shanghai Electric Gotion New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("SEG"). The Company is now well placed to become a leader in the UK BESS market and plans to scale up its BESS projects across the world. TUPA's team have considerable expertise around renewables, land and grid solutions in the UK. The team also has unrivalled knowledge of interconnector systems between the UK and Europe. Such a broad spectrum of knowledge enables the TUPA team to originate projects that are development-ready across the UK and beyond. Scott Poulter, PGTK's Chief Executive commented: "We are witnessing tremendous growth in the energy storage sector as renewable energy continues to gain momentum. The agreement with TUPA complements and enhances our expertise to build our energy storage platform in conjunction with PowerChina and Shanghai Electric. Together we have the technical expertise and manufacturing capacity to rival the global leaders in the market as designers, developers and manufacturers while being very entrepreneurial in our approach." Chris Atherton, Chairman of TUPA, commented: "We are excited to be part of Pacific Green's ambitious entry into the UK battery energy storage market. As Pacific Green has demonstrated its ability to scale up in the marine sector building and delivering an order book of USD$250m, dynamism and scalability were key to our decision to go exclusive with Pacific Green. We are delighted to be part of Pacific Green's growth." PGTK has continued to expand its technologies through its acquisition of ENGIN in 2019 and Innoergy in 2020, so that its portfolio now includes Concentrated Solar Power, Flue Gas Emission Control Systems, Water Desalination and Battery Energy Storage Systems. PGTK continues to actively seek complementary technologies to add to its Cleantech portfolio. Scott added: "Pacific Green has identified and is now targeting specific industries and sectors where its technology enhances the growing industry of Cleantech solutions. As well as having the capability and resources to carry out large scale projects, Pacific Green will continue to develop and produce new cutting edge products as we expand into new sectors and begin to develop renewable assets." PGTK's joint venture with PowerChina SPEM, one of the world's largest engineering, procurement and construction companies with annual revenues of around $50 billion, combines elite technical expertise with unrivalled production capabilities in China, ensuring PGTK can scale efficiently in each industry sector. PGTK's framework agreement with Shanghai Electric further enhances PGTK's position in the Cleantech space. SEG is a joint-venture between Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Electric") and Guoxuan High-tech Co., Ltd., and operates among the largest and most advanced production and supply-chain management centers in the world. Shanghai Electric (SHA: 601727), which has 70,000 employees and over US$20billion in operating revenue, provides a strong industrial backing and decades of experience in power equipment manufacturing and integration. PGTK will continue to adhere to a high-quality development strategy, implement improved processes in all disciplines, and provide state of the art professional and efficient products and services for its customers. About Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. Pacific Green Technologies Inc. is focused on addressing the world's need for cleaner and more sustainable energy. The Company offers Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), CSP and PV energy solutions to complement its marine environmental technologies and emissions control divisions. For more information, visit PGTK's website: www.pacificgreentechnologies.com About POWERCHINA SPEM Co. Ltd POWERCHINA SPEM is a subsidiary of POWERCHINA, the largest power equipment manufacturer in the PRC. With abundant resources, expertise, strong manufacturing capacity, domestic sales channels and rich experience, POWERCHINA SPEM is in a strong position to deploy PGTK technology throughout the PRC. About SEG SEG is a joint-venture between Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Electric") and Guoxuan High-tech Co., Ltd., and operates among the largest and most advanced production and supply-chain management centers in the world. Shanghai Electric (SHA: 601727), which has 70,000 employees and over US$20billion in operating revenue, provides a strong industrial backing and decades of experience in power equipment manufacturing and integration. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things,?the ongoing effects of the pandemic on delays and orders regarding Pacific Green's emission control system, potential business developments in India and future interest in our solar and desalination technologies. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, general economic and political conditions, the continuation of the JV with POWERCHINA SPEM, the framework agreement with SEG, delivering the projects with TUPA and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Scott Poulter, Chairman & CEO Pacific Green Technologies T: +1 (302) 601-4659 SOURCE: Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636092/Pacific-Green-Enters-Exclusive-Agreement-to-Develop-11GW-of-UK-Based-Battery-Energy-Storage-Projects Outcry against anti-Asian violence erupts amid ongoing investigation into Atlanta shootings Xinhua) 08:29, March 18, 2021 People take part in a rally against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, California, the United States, on Feb. 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) The carnage added to the already high tensions around violence and discrimination targeting the Asian American community during the coronavirus pandemic. President Joe Biden said anti-Asian violence is "very troubling." Vice President Kamala Harris offered her support for and solidarity with the Asian American community in light of the tragedy. WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Joe Biden administration and congressional Democrats on Wednesday condemned the exacerbating anti-Asian violence in the United States in the wake of a series of shooting incidents in Atlanta on Tuesday that killed eight people, many of whom were Asians. Rodney Bryant, acting chief of the Atlanta Police Department, told a news briefing that the investigation was still in the "very early" stage, and that investigators cannot determine at the moment that the shooting spree was a hate crime, although multiple calls received by the police department sought to confirm that conclusion. Police on Tuesday evening arrested the suspect, 21-year-old white man from Georgia, Robert Aaron Long, who during an interview with law enforcement at the night claimed responsibility for the shooting incidents at three massage parlors in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Eight people, six Asians and two Whites, were killed. Long claimed that the attacks were not racially motivated, and that he had a "sexual addiction" and saw the massage parlors as a "temptation" that he wanted to "eliminate," according to authorities, adding that Long, when caught, was on the way to Florida, where he planned to commit similar crimes. The carnage added to the already high tensions around violence and discrimination targeting the Asian American community during the coronavirus pandemic. President Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he has been briefed on the shootings by the attorney general and the FBI director, and that even as he reserved his comments on the possible motive behind the acts due to an ongoing probe, he found anti-Asian violence in the country "very troubling." Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Feb. 19, 2021 shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden speaking in Washington, D.C. during a virtual event with the Munich Security Conference in a video provided by the U.S. State Department. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "The investigation is ongoing and the question of motivation is still to be determined. But whatever the motivation here, I know Asian Americans ... are very concerned, because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months and I think it is very, very troubling," the president said in the Oval Office before meeting virtually with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. "I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed," Biden added. Vice President Kamala Harris offered her support for and solidarity with the Asian American community in light of the tragedy. "But knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate." Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate condemned anti-Asian violence in the aftermath of Tuesday's shootings while warning of a surge in similar crimes. Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman Ted Lieu, both of whom are of Asian origins, accused the Donald Trump administration of stoking racial discrimination and fanning the flame of hatred toward Asian Americans by using ethnic identifiers like "China virus," "Wuhan virus" and "Kung Flu" in describing the coronavirus. "As a result, the anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents increased exponentially," said Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She said research has found that the amount of anti-Asian Twitter traffic increased by 900 percent in the first few months of Trump's usage of the slurs. "And what we saw yesterday, is the result of that." (L-R) Temple University professor Xiaoxing Xi, National Weather Service hydrologist Sherry Chen, lawmakers Judy Chu and Ted Lieu attend a press conference in Washington D.C., the United States, Nov. 17, 2015. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) The House has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on rising incidents of hate crimes and discrimination against Asian Americans. Meanwhile, Richard Blumenthal, senator from Connecticut, tweeted that the shooting on Tuesday "reflects a sickening trend that must be stopped." "America must unite to fight the stomach-turning surge in violence against the Asian-American community," he said. In a series of morning tweets on Wednesday, former President Barack Obama said the identity of those killed in Tuesday's shooting rampage "underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end." He called for ridding the country of gun violence, which he said is a "longer-lasting epidemic" compared to the coronavirus pandemic. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka. Monday, March 15 11:57 p.m. An unknown woman driving a red Dodge Dakota left a Greendale Township gas station without paying for her $46.01 in fuel. The store wished to press charges if the woman was identified. City of Midland Police located the suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop when the vehicle began to flee. The chase ended in Bay County. 8:41 p.m. Officers responded to a vehicle crash causing injuries in the area of Wackerly Street and Sturgeon Avenue. 4:30 p.m. Deputies assisted the Midland Police Department with a domestic assault complaint in the City of Midland. 2:37 p.m. A 37-year-old Midland woman was arrested for a valid fugitive warrant at her residence in Clare County by the Clare County Sheriff Department. Midland County deputies responded to a location on U.S.-10 and took custody of the woman. Deputies later transported her to the Midland County Jail. 12:44 p.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Hope Township address for a stolen vehicle complaint. The complainant, a 31-year-old Midland man, reported his truck was taken from a Hope Township residence. The vehicle was entered into the Law Enforcement Information Network as stolen and an alert was put out to surrounding counties. An unknown female suspect was last seen driving the vehicle in Bay County. The investigation is still open. 11:34 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to South 8 Mile Road in Lee Township for two dogs running at large and chasing neighbor's horses. Deputies made contact with the owner and discussed steps they may take to keep their dogs from running. 10:55 a.m. A 24-year-old Mount Pleasant man was arrested on a fugitive warrant out of Saginaw County following a traffic stop in Lee Township for speeding. The 24-year-old was issued a citation for the speeding violation and was turned over to Saginaw Police. 8:33 a.m. Officers responded to a hit-and-run crash in the 2800 block of Ashman Street. 7:44 a.m. Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of North Saginaw Road and West Main Street. 2:54 a.m. Officers responded to an intoxicated driver in the area of East Buttles and Haley streets. Sunday, March 14 10:23 p.m. Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Homer Township. 9:31 p.m. Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Lee Township. 8:16 a.m. Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Lincoln Township. 12:53 a.m. A 18-year-old Mills Township man reported he was assaulted while attending a bonfire in Hope Township. Deputies spoke with both parties involved. The man did not suffer any injuries, and a report will be forwarded to the Midland County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Saturday, March 13 8:57 p.m. Deputies responded to a car-deer crash in Larkin Township. 8:27 p.m. Deputies responded to a vehicle crash in Porter Township. 3:40 p.m. A deputy was dispatched to a Mount Haley Township residence in reference to a domestic assault. The 75-year-old man told Midland County Central Dispatch he was physically assaulted by his 21-year-old grandson. He said his grandson had left the residence driving a black Ford F-150. As the deputy was enroute to the residence, he spotted the F-150 driving northbound on North Meridian Road. The deputy stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as the 21-year-old suspect. The deputy later spoke with the 75-year-old victim, and arrested the grandson for domestic assault. 12:31 p.m. A 31-year-old Merrill man was arrested for operating while intoxicated after a traffic stop in Lee Township. 10:30 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Mount Haley Township residence for a destruction to property complaint. A 49-year-old man reported a vehicle drove through his front yard and damaged his lawn. There are no suspects at this time and the incident is under investigation. 10:09 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Midland Township location for a 68-year-old man reporting his mailbox had been run over by an unknown vehicle during the night. The estimated damage to the mailbox was approximately $100. There are no suspects at this time and the incident is under investigation. 1:58 a.m. A deputy investigated a traffic crash where the driver had left the scene. The 44-year-old male driver was later located and transported to the MidMichigan Medical in Midland for treatment. Friday, March 12 10:54 p.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Geneva Township residence in reference to a suspicious situation. The complainant, a 28-year-old woman, reported her ex-boyfriend pulled into her driveway and revved his engine. The woman said he recently slashed her tires and was concerned he might do something again. Deputies searched the area, but did not locate the man. 10:46 p.m. A 23-year-old woman reported hearing someone walking outside her residence in the backyard. The deputy checked the area, but nothing was found. She was encouraged to put up a security camera. 9:41 p.m. A 60-year-old Ingersoll Township man reported he received a check for $112,000 from a woman he met on a dating website. The man said the woman wanted him to purchase items for her with the check she sent, and return the left over money. The man said he did not send any money and wanted to talk to the police before he did anything. Deputies told the man it was a scam and explained the person he was talking to from the dating website was most likely not the person he thought. Deputies encouraged the man to block the woman and to throw away the check. 8:51 p.m. A deputy assisted Midland Police with a stolen vehicle complaint. A 22-year-old man is suspected of stealing a vehicle in the City of Midland. The vehicle was recovered and towed to the owner's residence per their request. 8:03 p.m. Deputies responded to a car-raccoon crash in Edenville Township. 12:42 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to an Edenville Township residence for a report of a missing person. A 40-year-old Edenville Township man reported his 35-year-old wife was possibly experiencing mental health issues and had left the house. The investigation is ongoing. 12:24 a.m. Deputies were dispatched to Larkin Township regarding a suspicious four-door sedan driving and stopping throughout the neighborhood. Deputies checked the area. The suspicious vehicle was not located. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. ST. PAUL, Minn. 13 Minnesotans have been accused of a multi-million dollar Medicaid fraud conspiracy. They were indicted Thursday in U.S. District Court. The 13 were involved with Live Better, a patient services company with offices in Roseville and Minneapolis, and Multicultural Counseling Clinic, a counseling clinic with offices in St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, and Burnsville. Federal prosecutors say the defendants would submit fraudulent claims through their respective employers for services purportedly provided to Medicaid recipients. Investigators say in reality, neither no such services were provided. Some defendants allegedly participated in this scheme for nearly three years. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the State of Minnesota says this conspiracy cost the Medicaid program more than $5.4 million. Those indicted are: Okach Okwayoo Kwot, 51 of Columbia Heights, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 3 counts Elijah S. Kollie, 62 of Robbinsdale, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Abdirahman Yonis, 33 of Bloomington, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Alphonso Vasco Johnson, 58 of Oakdale, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Ilyas Abdi Farah, 38 of St. Louis Park, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Anab Artan Awad, 50 of Plymouth, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Ayan Ali Mohamud, 41 of St. Paul, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Elifaa Henry Kinyaiya, 45 of Brooklyn Park, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Varbar B. Kanneh, 30 of New Brighton, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Eskender M. Yousuf, 39 of Maple Grove, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Hodan Abdi Hashi, 52 of Woodbury, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Omar Ali Osman, 28 of Eagan, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts Ubah Hassan Hagi, 43 of Eagan, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 1 count, and wire fraud, 2 counts 18.10 - "Watchdog Written by Brendan Fehily and David J. North Directed by Diana Valentine Reviewed by KathM The episode was unbearably sad. When the team investigates a case of oops, we didnt secure the missile properly and it nearly fell completely out of our truck when we stopped quickly, Sir, in the middle of nowhere, Gibbs looks for the dog the men said they may or may not have hit that caused the accident by running in front of their truck. Not too far from where the truck crashed he finds a frightened, scarred pit bull who has been shot. Gibbs and Torres take the dog to the vet, who removes the bullet and says that the dog should survive. She does, however, have a number of old injuries that lead her to believe that the dog has been seriously abused and possibly used in dog fighting. There have also been two other dogs brought in recently, but they didnt make it. The bullets were all from the same gun, though. Anybody angry yet? Gibbs and the gang go back to the area where they found the pit bull, who Kasie has decided to call Lucy (good choice). He talks to a woman who says that she owns most of the land around there, except for the guy over there in the camper. You know, that guy. The guy who is obviously the Bad Guy just because thats how it works. She says he fishes in her stream sometimes, she doesnt like it so she puts up a fence which he just pulls down. Gibbs investigates the stream and finds what looks like a tether for a fishing net, so he pulls it up. What comes out of the stream is a dog carrier containing a dead, drowned dog. At that moment the Obviously Bad Guy comes out of his trailer and Gibbs reacts. He sees only anger. He sees only pain and something who hurts those who cant defend themselves. Now, finally, he can let all of his anger and pain go and begins to beat the crap out of the man before even opening his mouth to question him. Bishop tries to pull him off, only to have Gibbs shove her to the ground. It takes McGee, Torres, and Bishop to get him off of the guy, who is then taken to the hospital. The problem is that they have no evidence against the subhuman, Stana, to prove he did anything. And so when Inspector General Coyle comes to arrest Gibbs for assault, he calmly tells his agents to tell the truth, and is led away. The gang try to cover for Gibbs, but this one is too big. Theres He tripped and fell, and theres what Gibbs did. Which resulted in broken bones and cuts and scrapes and while the audience is no doubt setting up a Go Fund Me for Gibbss bail the stream is drained and it comes to light that there were eight more drowned/dead dogs Stana had killed. Meanwhile Gibbs sits in the prison interview room, silent and staring into space, almost as if he were empty. And that may not be far from the truth. Gibbs has been stewing for a long time, and the pot has finally boiled over. He shot McGee and nearly killed him, and didn't take any time off. Sloane left, and he seemed to compartmentalize it. He and Fornell worked hard to find the dealer who was importing deadly faux opioids into the country, only to have Emily Fornell relapse weeks later and die. Again, he takes no time off. Instead he stews and stews, thinking no doubt of the people hes lost or that he didnt protect or both, and the person he cares for that is too far away for him to protect at all. Gibbs internalizes it all, he takes care of everyone as best he can and all thats happening is that he is being rained on with failure. But he seeks no outlet, because he is Gibbs and Gibbs doesnt falter. This time, Gibbs is the one who tripped. McGee tries to get Gibbs to open up, to fight the charges. Vance hires an ambulance chaser in the lobby to try and give Gibbs some time to, what? Come up with a convincing story? Gibbs has no story, only the truth. He was defending someone weaker than himself, because that is what he does. Coyle wants Gibbs bad, and does everything he can legally to make sure that none of his team can help save their Boss and mentor. It doesnt matter that Stana had steroids to give the dogs to make them better fighters, or that his gun was used to shoot the tree animals who were lucky enough to have made it to the vet, even if two of them did die. Stana had that gun stolen about a year ago, but he forgot to report it. Coyle doesnt care about any of it, only the assault. Everything else goes to the State Police to handle, and NCIS can no longer investigate or act against Stana in any way. When he finally sits down Gibbs offers up himself if Coyle drops any of the charges against his team for lying, because of course they lied for him. Even before McGee tries to reason with him, even before he tells them to tell the truth, Gibbs knew they'd lie for him. Not because they were expected to, but because they loved him and thought he was right. Gibbs knows that deep inside, but I dont think that part of him is reachable right now. Finally Stana is found releasing his remaining pit bulls so he can take a runner with the cute, fluffy dog he truly adores (as much as someone like that is capable of caring for anything) and is arrested by the State Police with the concerned citizens of NCIS and Coyle in attendance. Yay. Gibbs takes Lucy home because duh. His team has bought him liquor and doggie treats to celebrate. As he sits on the couch alternately feeding Lucy treats and cuddling her, Vance arrives to tell him that Coyles report is vague enough that Gibbs is pretty much out of legal danger, and also that hes suspended indefinitely. But Gibbs doesnt care, barely pays attention to his superior and friend. He has someone new to focus on, someone who needs him and who he can care for. And I think hes fine being suspended for as long as Leon wants. There has been a lot of speculation that Mark Harmon is leaving NCIS, and that this is his swan song. If so, its one that makes sense. I have a feeling that hell be in the dog house (ha!) for some time, and may result in the character appearing less in the series. Thats okay with me, as long as we get to see Gibbs more from time to time. It would be interesting to see the team get used to a new boss, particularly McGee, who hasnt known another boss while hes been at NCIS. Im glad he had a chance to let his anger out, albeit on a human-like potential suspect, and actually hope this gives himself time to get right with himself. His real-life wife, Pam Dawber, will be appearing later this season (which is now just over half over) as an investigative reporter Gibbs meets at his diner. Will his no doubt becoming part of whatever shes investigating give him the energy and interest to return to NCIS, or could it push him in another direction entirely? What I want, and will never get, is a show with only Dr. Grace (who appeared briefly) and Gibbs working through his stuff about all that has happened recently and even in the past. But this episode has put the whole team on interesting roads for now, and I hope they lead back to each other. Close With the new Apple Maps update developed by Boston Children's Hospital, users can now search the nearest COVID-19 vaccine locations available. On Tuesday, March 16, Apple rolled out the Maps update that displays facilities that offer vaccines against the coronavirus. Users can key their inquiry in the Apple Maps app, or they can ask Siri, "Where can I get a COVID vaccination?" ALSO READ: Nanotechnology to Fight Against Coronavirus: A Review of Techs and Studies Against COVID-19 COVID-19 Vaccine Info At Your Fingertips Aside from location pins indicating each available location, these indicators will also include the facility's operating hours, their exact address, contact numbers, and a link to the vaccine provider's website whenever available. Its Tuesday update has already included more than 20,000 locations, and Apple said that it would add more sites in the following weeks. With these new features, Maps users can learn more about what vaccines are available and even book their own appointments. The new service comes from VaccineFinder, a free online service developed by Boston Children's Hospital that aims to increase awareness regarding the latest COVID-19 vaccine availability for eligible individuals - provided by care providers and pharmacies across the United States. Aside from the data gathered by VaccineFinder and provided to Apple Maps, the tech giant also announced that other healthcare providers, laboratories, or other relevant businesses could register their businesses - and submit data for their COVID-19 testing - on the Apple Business Register website. Once Apple has validated these submissions, it will display its testing/ vaccination locations to its customers through services like Apple Maps and Siri. Apple's Technology-Driven Response to the Pandemic In its newsroom release, Apple explains that the VaccineFinder collaboration is the tech giant's latest effort to help its user base "navigate the pandemic" and take the right steps in protecting their own health. Since last year, Apple has updated its Maps app to display COVID-19 testing locations in other countries aside from the United States, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, The Netherlands, Taiwan, and Thailands. Apple continues to team up with these countries' health agencies and various tech startups to provide accurate and real-time information about the pandemic and relevant statistics. Additionally, it has collaborated with its fellow tech giant, Google, to develop a contact tracing technology designed to work with their respective systems - the iOS and the Android - through a compatible API and OS-level techs that would streamline contact tracing. Additionally, Apple Maps now include COVID-19 modules on its covered business place cards for about 4,400 locations. This feature allows businesses to convey additional related information to their customers, such as special hours. Apple has also updated Siri to better help users find testing and vaccine sites and find available outdoor dining options or restaurants that can provide takeout meals. With Siri Audio Briefs, users receive the latest news and updates about the coronavirus pandemic, relaying short podcast episodes from reliable sources. Also, Siri can answer most COVID-related queries with responses direct from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Users can ask questions such as "How do I know if I have coronavirus?" RELATED ARTICLE: Here's What You Need to Know About Apple's Face Mask Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times. New York, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market Research Report by Product, by Technology, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06036856/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. 1. The Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market is expected to grow from USD 128,596.27 Million in 2020 to USD 219,569.17 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market is expected to grow from EUR 112,755.65 Million in 2020 to EUR 192,522.42 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market is expected to grow from GBP 100,240.02 Million in 2020 to GBP 171,152.85 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market is expected to grow from JPY 13,724,480.63 Million in 2020 to JPY 23,433,594.32 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market is expected to grow from AUD 186,738.88 Million in 2020 to AUD 318,843.63 Million by the end of 2025. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Product, the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market studied across Ground Mounted and Rooftop. Based on Technology, the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market studied across Concentrated Solar Power and Photovoltaic. Based on Application, the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market studied across Commercial, Industrial, Residential, and Utility. Based on Geography, the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market including Abundant Solar Energy Inc., Adani Group, Akuo Energy SAS, ALSA Solar System LLC, Bechtel Corporation, BELECTRIC GmbH, Canadian Solar Inc., Citizen Solar, Conergy Inc., Enerparc AG, Enviromena Power Systems LLC, Farella Braun + Martel LLP, First Solar, Inc., GreenSpark, Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd, Hild Energy Private Limited, juwi AG, Kaval Power Private Limited, Plethora Power Pvt. Ltd, Saur Energy, Sterling and Wilson Pvt. Ltd., STRATA SOLAR, LLC, SunPower Corporation, Swinerton Builders, Inc., TBEA Co., Ltd., Topsun Co., Ltd, Trina Solar Limited, and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd.. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Solar Engineering, Procurement & Construction Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06036856/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Species of turtle, shark, penguin, seal and whale swim in circles, new research shows but scientists aren't sure why. Japanese researchers examined high-resolution 3D movements of the various marine animals, gathered from biologging technology. Biologging uses using small instruments mounted on an animal to track their movements over long periods of time. They revealed circling 'events' where animals consecutively circled more than twice at 'relatively constant angular speed'. This finding is surprising in part because swimming in a straight line is the most efficient way to move about. At first glance the behaviour may appear random, but it could serve several similar purposes, including foraging, social interactions, and navigation. This artist's impression shows the circling behaviour of various large marine creatures WHAT IS BIOLOGGING? Biologging is the practice of logging and relaying of physical and biological data using animal-attached tags. They track movements of large ocean-dwelling animals. Biologging technologies have become available within the last couple of decades and are advancing rapidly. Animal-attached tags are being applied to a wide range of animals. In marine environments, it is otherwise difficult to directly observe individual animals over extended periods. Attaching biologgers is crucial to monitoring animal behaviour beneath the water surface or in the open ocean. Advertisement 'We've found that a wide variety of marine megafauna showed similar circling behaviour, in which animals circled consecutively at a relatively constant speed more than twice,' said study author Tomoko Narazaki at the University of Tokyo. Narazaki's team first discovered the mysterious circling behaviours in homing green turtles during a displacement experiment. They had transferred nesting turtles from one place to another to study their navigation abilities. 'To be honest, I doubted my eyes when I first saw the data because the turtle circles so constantly, just like a machine!' said Narazaki. 'When I got back in my lab, I reported this interesting discovery to my colleagues who use the same 3D data loggers to study a wide range of marine megafauna taxa.' Researchers then realised that various species of marine animals showed more or less the same circling movements. Narazaki's team reports that some circling events were recorded at animals' foraging areas, suggesting that it might have some benefit for finding food. For example, the team observed a total of 272 circling events in four tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) tagged off Hawaii. Sharks circled somewhere between two to 30 times at wide-ranging depths (between about 2.5 feet to 455 feet) but maintained relatively constant depth during each circling event. Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) swimming over the reef. The species could circle to find food (stock image) Narazaki's team first discovered the mysterious circling behaviours in homing green turtles during a displacement experiment (stock image) Meanwhile, Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) were found to circle mainly during the day even though they primarily feed at night suggesting another purpose. Other circling events also appeared unrelated to foraging. For example, they saw a male tiger shark circling to approach a female for courtship. And a Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) circled during ascent from foraging at mesopelagic depths (more than 700 metres down). The whale started circling when it returned to shallower depths and continued until it reached the sea surface. An image from the paper shows how a Cuvier's beaked whale circled during the final ascent phase of a deep dive Evidence from green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) suggests circling might play some role in navigation. It's possible the circling helps the animals to detect and use the geomagnetic field as a source of directional information. A number of other animals are known to have sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field, including blind mole-rats, whales and even bees. 'What surprised me most was that homing turtles undertake circling behaviour at seemingly navigationally important locations, such as just before the final approach to their goal,' Narazaki said. Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella, pictured) were found to circle mainly during the day even though they primarily feed at night The team pointed out that their study lacks information about the surrounding environment such as landscapes, landmarks, and presence of other individuals of the same or other species, which could give further clues. 'Simultaneous analysis of high-resolution 3D movements and animal-borne video recordings would be useful to examine circling movements in the context of social interactions and/or prey capture,' they say in their paper, published in iScience. In future studies, the team plan to examine animal movements in relation to the animals' internal state and environmental conditions to find more clues as to why they circle. Biologging studies of fine-scale movements, including circling, in more marine species might reveal important behaviours that have otherwise been overlooked. leader will interact with college students and meet tea estate workers as part of his poll campaign in Assam on Friday, the party said. Gandhi will be on a day-long tour to the poll-bound state where the is seeking to wrest back power from the BJP. The former chief will be interacting with college students in Lahoal in Dibrugarh on Friday morning and then attend the tea estate workers rally in Dinjoy in Panitola block of Dibrugarh later, the party said. He will also address a public meeting in Town Field in Doom Dooma in Tinsukia district of Assam, it said. This is the second time Gandhi would be campaigning in Assam. Earlier, his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also campaigned for the party in the state and met tea estate workers. Assembly elections in Assam are slated in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 6, to elect the 126 member house. The results will be out on May 2. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vault, a performance healthcare technology platform and leader in saliva at-home COVID-19 testing, as well as vaccine administration and distribution, has announced their latest hires Ron Massey, Chief People Officer, Jordan Oelschlager, Vice President of Product Management, and Melissa Reed, Vice President of Government Affairs. "Our company has aggressively grown in the last year, so we are thrilled to have Ron, Jordan, and Melissa join the team at Vault. Their impressive backgrounds and strong leadership experience will advance our medical group and clinical offerings, while strengthening our relationships with governments for greater implementations of Vault beyond our current COVID testing and vaccine partnerships. Ron will enhance our talent recruiting and development, people operations, and diversity and inclusion innovations, while bringing a global perspective to our leadership," said Vault Health Founder and CEO Jason Feldman. These hires follow the recent appointments of Steve Shi, Chief Technology Officer (formerly Virgin Pulse) and Chris Goldsmith, Chief Operating Officer (formerly Landmark Health). Ron Massey Ron Massey, Chief People Officer, has vast experience with establishing world-class people programs with global organizations that scale rapidly through both organic and inorganic growth that will help navigate Vault through their tremendous growth and trajectory post-COVID. Ron joins Vault from Solera, a global leader in data, applications and services for the insurance and automotive industries, where he was Chief People Officer responsible for all people practices for the global organization. Ron has 20+ years of experience in human resources, having built global businesses through enterprise-wide transformation programs, change, and organizational design. Prior to Solera, Ron served as Chief Human Resources Officer for BT Americas, responsible for the end-to-end HR functions for the telecommunication and technology business in North, Central and South America. Ron also served in various roles in human resources with Capital One Financial and CarMax as those organizations grew quickly. Jordan Oelschlager As Vice President of Product Management, Jordan Oelschlager will lead the design, development, and launch of organic products leveraging Vault's national medical group, operations infrastructure, and robust clinical platform. Jordan joins Vault from Envision Healthcare, a $7B national healthcare firm that focuses on delivering quality care to patients in their homes and at hospitals. Jordan has 10 years of healthcare experience in both operations and finance. In his role at Envision, Jordan was responsible for managing over 500 doctors operating in 85 different facilities across the west coast. Before Envision, Jordan served in multiple roles at OptumHealth including product management, operations and strategic finance. Melissa Reed Melissa Reed, Vice President of Government Affairs will oversee Vault Health's federal, state, and local government relations and public policy efforts. Melissa is a veteran government relations professional with over 20 years experience leading complex legislative, public policy and intergovernmental challenges. Melissa joins Vault from Park Street Public in Saint Paul, MN where, as SVP of State and Local Government Affairs, she created government relations strategies, crafted legislation and developed coalition efforts for nonprofit organizations, public entities and business interests at all levels of government. Melissa served the City of Minneapolis for over a decade, providing government relations leadership on all issues that make cities tick including tax policy, capital investment, public safety and criminal justice reform, jobs and economic development, public health and transportation finance. About Vault Health The Vault Health platform provides a robust and flexible technology stack at the foundation of a multimodal healthcare service ecosystem. The platform features a powerful suite of digital healthcare tools designed to tackle a broad scope of modern medical use cases, including individual care, population health, and clinical trials. The Vault digital healthcare toolkit includes on-demand telehealth consultations and sample supervision, patient and provider communications, in-person and remote appointment management, longitudinal care management, and beyond. Vault gravitates to opportunities and partnerships that empower them to share and expand their platform's capabilities and impact. To learn more about Vault Health, visit www.vaulthealth.com . Media Contact: Factory PR [email protected] SOURCE Vault Health 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 father of a five-year-old girl who was holding her mother's hand when she was mowed down by a van at a pedestrian crossing is 'broken-hearted'. Alannah was killed when hit by a Toyota Tarago at a crossing on Rooty Hill North Road, western Sydney, at 7.20 on Wednesday night while heading to a restaurant. While her uncle Saxon Manaena said he has been struggling to deal with the loss of his niece, the young girl's father Jake Sobolewski is inconsolable. Emergency services were called to Rooty Hill Road North, Plumpton, about 7.20pm on Wednesday (pictured) to reports two pedestrian had been hit by a car 'She was the most beautiful little girl, she was my top girl, I knew her very well, she was so kind hearted, it's not right,' Mr Manaena told The Daily Telegraph. 'Her father is just broken-hearted, Jake is lost for words.' He said the family live in the area and know how busy the junction is, having crossed that road 'a million times' together, and that Alannah always held her mother's hand. The impact shattered the glass on the front windscreen and created a dent on the front bonnet Police have set up a crime scene as they continue to investigate the circumstance surrounding the incident Mr Manaena called on authorities to add traffic lights to the area to make it safer for families to cross. Two critical care paramedic units and a number of ambulances rushed to the scene where they tried to save the youngster before rushing the pair to Westmead Hospital. Alannah died soon after, while her 25-year-old mother suffered leg and pelvis injuries. Photos of the horrific crash show a team of paramedics desperately working to stabilise the mother and daughter. A 37-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter were rushed to hospital, where the child later died The impact shattered the front windscreen on the Tarago and left a large dent in the front bonnet. Local resident James Camilleri said there were many road accidents in the area and the traffic lights near the scene were not working. 'We heard a thud then all of these sirens going off,' he told TNV. 'Just a year ago my brother was here, got t-boned by a truck. He had a heart attack and they brought him back to life. 'Something definitely has to be done about this road.' The 64-year-old male driver of the Toyota Tarago sustained no injuries and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing The 64-year-old male driver sustained no injuries and was taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing. Detective chief inspector Sean Gabin said the driver was in shock. 'Anyone who goes to a scene where someone has died is obviously distressing,' he said. 'It's more distressing when you see a small child.' Local resident James Camilleri said there were many road accidents in the area and the traffic lights near the scene were not working. Pictured: The crossing where the tragedy unfolded He confirmed the tragedy was an accident, but would not say whether police were considering laying charges on the motorist. Detectives will consider speed and wet weather conditions in their investigation. Chief inspector Gabin urged motorists to be extra cautious when driving in wet weather. 'NSW is going to go through some inclement weather for a prolonged period. This may mean that you drive below the posted speed limit,' he said. Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or has dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800-333-000. The SLS core stage engines fire on the test stand, March 18, 2021. NASA TV NASA fired the core stage of its new moon rocket for eight minutes on Thursday, simulating a launch. Now NASA is poised to ship that stage to Florida and finish building its Space Launch System. The mega-rocket could launch on its first moon mission, Artemis 1, as early as October. See more stories on Insider's business page. NASA put the core stage of its new mega-rocket through its most grueling test yet on Thursday. In what's known as a "hot fire" test, the four RS-25 engines roared to life at 4:37 p.m. ET, producing about 2 million pounds of thrust. They continued roaring for more than eight minutes - the length of time required to deliver an upper-stage rocket and spaceship into orbit. A cloud of smoke churned out from the test stand, and when the engines finally burned through the fuel and cut off, test controllers applauded. "There's a lot of data now that's going to have to be analyzed," Bill Wrobel, the manager of the testing program, said during NASA's live broadcast. "But I think the applause says a lot about how the team feels. They got through the test and it looks pretty good right now." As long as the data doesn't reveal any hidden issues, Thursday's success clears the way for NASA to integrate the core stage into the agency's new moon rocket, called the Space Launch System (SLS). The system is a cornerstone of the agency's Artemis program, which aims to put boots on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972 and lay the groundwork for a space station that would orbit the moon. But first, SLS has to fly to the moon and back without a crew. With the hot fire done, NASA could launch that mission, called Artemis 1, before the end of the year. In a press conference about two hours after the test, SLS program manager John Honeycutt said that the core stage "got an A+ today." The only abnormality NASA has identified so far came from cork insulation that caught fire around one of the engines. That wouldn't happen during flight, because the rocket won't sit in its own engine heat as it soars through the skies, Honeycutt said. Story continues The world's most powerful rocket stage Smoke billows from the Stennis Space Center test stand as the SLS core stage fires its engines, March 18, 2021. NASA TV The rocket's core stage is the biggest piece of SLS and its structural backbone. It's also the world's largest and most powerful rocket stage, according to NASA. On Thursday, the 212-foot-tall stage stood vertical, strapped into a test stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Six barges carried 733,000 gallons of cryogenically chilled propellant to the stand and, over several hours, the fuel was pumped into the rocket stage's tanks. The engines burned through all that fuel in the expected timeframe. "It's been several years since I experienced the vibration and the sense of the power and the feeling of a rocket like this. And it literally just gives me cold chills whenever I get to experience that," Honeycutt said. This final development test suggests that the stage's engines can survive the journey from a launchpad to Earth's orbit. If data from the test leads to the same conclusion, NASA will ship the core to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the rest of SLS waits. The agency plans to make that shipment in mid-April, according to Julie Bassler, who manages the SLS stages. The final product is designed to stand 365 feet tall, with twin rocket boosters strapped to the core stage and NASA's Orion spacecraft secured on top of it. A NASA-provided rendering of the Space Launch System. NASA via Associated Press The system could launch to the moon as early as October. If that mission happens on schedule and goes smoothly, NASA would then be on track to realize its goal of ferrying astronauts to the moon sometime in the mid- to late-2020s. Eventually, NASA has said, SLS could even carry humans to Mars. An artist's illustration shows the Orion spacecraft rocketing to the moon on the Artemis 1 mission. NASA NASA tried a hot-fire test in January, but it was cut short NASA has spent about $18 billion developing SLS. Boeing built the core stage, and Aerojet Rocketdyne supplied the RS-25 engines, which were also used on NASA's fleet of space shuttles. The hot fire is the eighth and final step in a program the agency designed to thoroughly test each part of the core stage before launch. This was NASA's second hot fire. The first was in January, but the engines suddenly shut down just one minute in. An SLS engine burns propellant (left), then abruptly shuts down (right) during the hot fire test on January 16, 2021. NASA TV It turned out that a flight computer had automatically aborted the test because a system controlling the engines' movements had exceeded the limits NASA set ahead of the hot fire. The limits were intentionally conservative, NASA said, because the agency doesn't want to push the rocket so hard that it gets damaged during testing. But in the two months since, NASA has adjusted the test parameters to be less conservative. If the system had exceeded the prior limits during an actual launch, the agency later said, the rocket would have continued to fly. Crews at Stennis Space Center lift the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System into place on January 22, 2020. NASA The January test's abrupt ending meant that the SLS team only had enough data to verify three of 10 design requirements. That's why they redid the hot fire on Thursday. In preparation for the second hot fire, the team also repaired a valve for the engines' liquid-oxygen tank that was not opening properly. The next moon flight could launch as early as October None of the prior issues seemed to arise during Thursday's hot fire, which burned for eight minutes and 19 seconds. SLS program managers had previously said they would need at least four minutes of data in order to verify the rest of their design requirements. "We did twice as good as we needed," Bassler said. The Space Launch System's twin rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 3, 2021. NASA/Isaac Watson Now, the SLS team will comb through data from the test and finish the necessary verifications to certify the core stage for flight. It will take about a month to refurbish the hardware so that it's ready to fire the engines again on launch day, according to Tom Whitmeyer, who leads the NASA program that develops new systems like SLS. NASA has tentatively set the Artemis 1 launch date for November, but SLS program managers have said the rocket could lift off as early as October. "We're still on path to have an opportunity to launch this year, but we recognize also that there are things that can come up, like weather and COVID and some first-time operations," Whitmeyer said ahead of the second hot fire. "So the plan is to launch this year, but we'll continue to provide progress as we go through the year and we'll certainly let you know how we're doing." This post has been updated with new information. It was originally published at 5:05 p.m. ET on March 18, 2021. Read the original article on Business Insider Observed in vivo the collective movement of nanorobots Nanobots are machines whose components are at the nano-scale (one millionth of a millimetre), and can be designed in such a way that they have the ability to move autonomously in fluids. Although they are still in the research and development phase, very significant advances are being made to make nanorobots a reality in the field of biomedicine. Their applications are very varied: from the identification of tumour cells, to the release of drugs in specific locations of the body. Nanorobots powered by catalytic enzymes are among the most promising systems because they are fully biocompatible and can make use of "fuels" already available in the body for their propulsion. However, understanding the collective behaviour of these nanorobots is essential to advance towards their use in clinical practice. Now, in a new study published in the journal Science Robotics, researchers led by ICREA Research Professor Samuel Sanchez and his team "Smart Nano-Bio-Devices" at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), together with the group Radiochemistry & Nuclear Imaging Lab from CIC biomaGUNE lead by Jordi Llop and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), have managed to observe in vivo, using radioactive isotope labelling, the collective behaviour of a large number of nanorobots designed at IBEC to have autonomous movement inside the bladder of living mice. "The fact of having been able to see how nanorobots move together, like a swarm, and of following them within a living organism, is very important, since millions of them are needed to treat specific pathologies such as, for example, cancer tumours", declares Samuel Sanchez, principal investigator at IBEC. "We have demonstrated for the first time that nanorobots can be monitored in vivo through Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a high-sensitive non-invasive technique used nowadays in the biomedical environment" explains Jordi Llop, principal investigator at the Radiochemistry & Nuclear Imaging Lab from CIC biomaGUNE. To do this, the researchers first carried out in vitro experiments, monitoring the nanorobots through optical microscopy and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Both techniques allowed them to observe how the nanoparticles mixed with the fluids and were capable of migrating, collectively, following complex paths. The nanorobots were then administered intravenously to mice and, finally, introduced into the bladders of these animals. Since Nanorobots are coated with an enzyme called urease, which uses the urea from urine as a fuel, they swim collectively inducing fluid flows inside the bladder. Collective movements similar to flocks of birds or schools of fish The team of scientists found that the distribution of nanodevices in the bladder of the mice was homogeneous, which indicates that the collective movement was coordinated and efficient. "Nanorobots show collective movements similar to those found in nature, such as birds flying in flocks, or the orderly patterns that schools of fish follow", explains Samuel Sanchez, ICREA Research Professor at IBEC. "We have seen that nanorobots that have urease on the surface move much faster than those that do not. It is, therefore, a proof of concept of the initial theory that nanorobots will be able to better reach a tumour and penetrate it", says Jordi Llop, principal investigator at CIC biomaGUNE. This study demonstrates the high efficiency of millions of nanoscopic devices to move in a coordinated way in both in vitro and in vivo environments, a fact that constitutes a fundamental advance in the race of nanorobots to become the key players in highly precise therapies and treatments. Future applications in medicine of these nano-scale devices are promising. It has also been demonstrated "that the movement of these devices can be monitored using imaging techniques that can be applied to the in vivo environment, in other words, they can be applied in test animals and offer the potential for transfer to humans," adds Cristina Simo, one of the first authors of the study and a researcher in the CIC biomaGUNE group. "This is the first time that we are able to directly visualize the active diffusion of biocompatible nanorobots within biological fluids in vivo. The possibility to monitor their activity within the body and the fact that they display a more homogeneous distribution could revolutionize the way we understand nanoparticle-based drug delivery and diagnostic approaches", says Tania Patino, co-corresponding author of the paper. "Nanobot swarms" could be especially useful in viscous media, where drug diffusion is often limited by poor vascularization, such as in the gastrointestinal tract, the eye, or the joints. "In fact, as different enzymes can be incorporated into the tiny motors, nanorobots could be tailored according to the part within the organism, adapting the device to the accessible fuel in the environment where they must move", concludes Professor Sanchez. ### About IBEC The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is a CERCA centre, twice recognized as Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence, and with the TECNIO seal as a technology developer and facilitator to companies. IBEC is a member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence on the frontier between engineering and life sciences to generate knowledge, integrating fields such as nanomedicine, biophysics, biotechnology, tissue engineering and information technology applications in the field of health. IBEC was created in 2005 by the?Generalitat?of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Polytechnic University?of Catalonia (UPC). About CIC biomaGUNE The Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials CIC biomaGUNE, member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), conducts state-of-the-art research at the interface between Chemistry, Biology and Physics devoting particular attention to studying the properties of biological nanostructures on a molecular scale and their biomedical applications. It was recognized in 2018 as a "Maria de Maeztu" Unit of Excellence for meeting requirements of excellence, which are characterized by a high impact and level of competitiveness in its field of activity on the global scientific stage. Reference article: Ana C. Hortelao, Cristina Simo, Maria Guix, Sandra Guallar-Garrido, Esther Julian, diana Vilela, Luka Rejc, Pedro Ramos-Cabrer, Unai Cossio, Vanessa Gomez-Vallejo, Tania Patino, Jordi LLop, Samuel Sanchez. Monitoring the collective behavior of enzimatic nanomotors in vitro and in vivo by PET-CT. Science Robotics, 6, eabd2823 (2021); DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abd2823. This story has been published on: 2021-03-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - 9 Capital Corp. (TSXV: NCPLP) ("9 Capital" or the "Company") announces that due to changes recently announced by the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") to its Capital Pool Company program and changes to the TSXV's Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies, which came into effect as of January 1, 2021 (the "New CPC Policy"), the Company intends to implement certain amendments to further align its policies with the New CPC Policy. Pursuant to the New CPC Policy, in order for the Company to align certain of its policies with the New CPC Policy it is required to obtain the approval of disinterested shareholders of the Company. As a result, the Company will be seeking such approval at its upcoming annual general and special meeting of shareholders scheduled to be held on April 8, 2021 (the "Meeting"), for the following matters: (i) to remove the consequences of failing to complete a qualifying transaction ("QT") within 24 months of the Company's date of listing on the TSXV (the "Listing Date"); and (ii) to amend the escrow release conditions and certain other provisions of the Company's Escrow Agreement (the "Escrow Agreement"). These proposed amendments are described in further detail below. Removal of the Consequences of Failing to Complete a QT within 24 Months of the Listing Date Currently, under the TSXV's Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies (as at June 14, 2010) (the "Former Policy") there are certain consequences if a QT is not completed within 24 months of the Listing Date. These consequences include a potential for the Company's common shares (the "Shares") to be delisted or suspended, or, subject to the approval of the majority of the Company's shareholders, transferring the Shares to list on the NEX board of the TSXV and cancelling certain seed shares held by non-arm's length parties to the Company. The New CPC Policy has removed these consequences assuming disinterested shareholder approval is obtained. The Company intends to ask disinterested shareholders to approve the removal of such consequences at the Meeting, as it believes that it will afford the Company greater flexibility to complete a QT that is beneficial to all interested parties. Amendments to the Escrow Agreement The Company intends to ask disinterested shareholders to approve the Company making certain amendments to the Escrow Agreement, including allowing the Company's escrowed securities to be subject to an 18-month escrow release schedule as detailed in the New CPC Policy, rather than the current 36-month escrow release schedule in the Former Policy. About the Company The Company is a CPC within the meaning of the policies of the Exchange that has not commenced commercial operations and has no assets other than cash. Except as specifically contemplated in the CPC policies of the Exchange, until the completion of its Qualifying Transaction, the Company will not carry on business, other than the identification and evaluation of companies, business or assets with a view to completing a proposed Qualifying Transaction. Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a CPC is considered highly speculative. For further information please contact: 9 Capital Corp. Mr. Ben Cubitt, President and Chief Executive Officer Tel. (416) 479-5048 The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the approval of disinterested shareholders of matters under the New CPC Policy at the general and special shareholder meeting and the future business of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "is expected", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases; or terms that state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "could occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on, a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to the timing of obtaining the necessary approvals of the shareholders and the TSXV. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77794 Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu informed on Thursday that, until March 16, a number of 135,000 (38%) education employees were vaccinated against COVID, the percentage of immunized teachers being almost 50%, according to AGERPRES. "As of Tuesday, we had 135,000 vaccinated education employees. That is over 38%. If we refer to the vaccinated teachers, the percentage is close to 50%. (...) This process will continue," the minister said within the event "Remedial education for vulnerable children - direct interventions in response to current needs," organized online by Save the Children Romania. According to Cimpeanu, some parents did not give their consent for the pupils to be checked with quick tests to detect the infection with the new coronavirus, motivating that these are "invasive" especially in the case of the small children. He recalled that three weeks ago, the Ministry of Health reported that of the 1,150,000 rapid antigen tests distributed to test pupils and education staff, only 5,000 had been used, and that was "more than worrying". In his opinion, one solution would be to use non-invasive saliva-based tests that are used in many schools in European countries. According to the minister, sanitary health rules are observed in schools "the most". Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A woman, called Elsa by UK-based aid group Save the Children, stands with her family in a displacement camp in the northern Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado A new Save the Children statement reveals shocking crimes perpetrated towards children in Mozambique, including the beheading of children as young as 11 in the countrys norther Cabo Delgado. By Francesca Merlo Children as young as 11 are being beheaded in the Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado as conflict continues to displace thousands. The Save the Children statement, released on the Save the Children website notes that the childrens agency recently spoke to displaced families who reported the horrifying scenes of murder and grief and the loss of loved ones. Elsa's story One mother told the agency she had to watch as her 12-year-old son was killed in this way close to where she was hiding with her other three children. Using pseudonyms, Save the Children quotes the mother, Elsa, as recounting: that night our village was attacked and houses were burned. When it all started, I was at home with my four children. We tried to escape to the woods, but they took my eldest son and beheaded him. We couldn't do anything because we would be killed too. 4 years of conflict Nearly 700,000 people are now displaced inside Mozambique due to an Islamist insurgency that began in 2017 in Cabo Delgado. The militants are linked to the so-called Islamic State. Since 2017, more than 2,500 people have been killed. In search of safety Another woman said her son had been killed by militants while she and her other three children had been forced to flee. "After my 11-year-old son was killed, we understood that it was no longer safe to stay in my village," she said. "We fled to my father's house in another village, but a few days later the attacks started there too." Al-Shabab The insurgents are known locally as Al-Shabab, although they have no known links to the Somali jihadi group of the same name. They have publicly sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. IS says it has carried out a number of attacks in Mozambique, though the group has rarely given any indication about its motive, leadership or demands. The Pope and Mozambique Pope Francis donated $121,000 to support the victims of terrorist attacks in Mozambique's northern province of Cabo Delgado on Monday, December 6. The funds were given in response to the Bishop of Pemba, Luis Fernando Lisboas appeal for assistance to the insurgency victims who were displaced from their homes due to the recent attacks by the Islamist militants. After his Sunday Angelus on 24 August, Pope Francis referred to the suffering in Cabo Delgado. The Pope briefly recalled his visit to Mozambique in August 2019, praying for the many people in Cabo Delgado who are suffering due to international terrorism. By Kim Bo-eun Questions are being raised over why tech giant Kakao decided to pull out of the race to acquire eBay Korea, after applications for the preliminary bid were filed on March 16. As Kakao has been seeking to scale up its e-commerce businesses, thoughts were that it would join the race, with company officials acknowledging its intent to participate in the bidding process. Against earlier expectations, Shinsegae, Lotte, SK Telecom and private equity fund (PEF) firm MBK Partners made the cut in the preliminary bid. Regarding Kakao's "departure," sources said the decision was aimed at focusing on its KakaoTalk-based commerce model. Simply put, it has its own strengths to successfully manage digitally driven business models. The mobile messenger-based model has immense growth potential with over 45 million monthly active users. Gift services on Kakao have become widely popular, securing 20 million users as of the end of last year. Kakao is also offering live commerce services and services under which KakaoTalk users can purchase certain products at discounted prices in the case they gather more buyers. Annual transactions under Kakao's commerce business was amounting to 4.6 trillion won, but this falls largely short of its competitors given it is a late entrant into the e-commerce market. EBay Korea operates open market platforms Gmarket, Auction and G9. Kakao also has previous experience of partnering with an open market, which did not see much success. It swapped shares worth 300 billion won with SK Telecom in 2019, and enabled KakaoTalk users to access SKT's open market 11 Street in June the same year. But the service was scrapped shortly, after it failed to attract attention. Means of access to open markets are also seen to have swayed Kakao's decision. Naver, as the dominant portal site on which most online shoppers search for items, serves as the platform that connects consumers to vendors on various open markets. This means if an online shopper purchases an item on one of eBay Korea's open market platforms, they pay a commission fee to Naver. Acquiring platforms that entail paying a commission to its rival portal would not be in Kakao's interest. Kakao would likely have taken into account the costs and effects of acquiring eBay. The company has presented its worth at 5 trillion won. Kakao said it could not comment on the preliminary bidding for eBay Korea. "Kakao operates its own platform when it comes to e-commerce. Given it has taken recent measures such as opening a separate shopping tab on KakaoTalk, Kakao is set to implement a differentiated model," an industry official said. Data from Statistics Korea showed eBay accounted for 12 percent of the total e-commerce transactions worth 161 trillion won here last year, while generating sales of 1.3 trillion won and an operating profit of 85 billion won from commissions collected from items sold on its open market platforms. EBay Korea's sales account for 11 percent of eBay's overall revenue, and eBay Korea's performance has shown steady growth since 2015. Sales surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time in 2019, up from 799.4 billion won in 2015. EBay's Korean unit is owned 100 percent by eBay KTA the U.K. subsidiary of the e-commerce company, which in turn is wholly owned by eBay. SK Telecom could become the No. 1 player in the e-commerce market if 11STREET takes over eBay Korea. With the acquisition, SK Telecom is estimated to take up 18 percent of the market, with 30 trillion won in annual transactions. MBK Partners acquired offline discount chain Homeplus in July 2015. The private equity firm appears to be seeking an online shopping channel to create synergy with Homeplus. Shinsegae is seen as less likely to carry out the deal, given its recent partnership with Naver, under which the entities swapped 250 billion won in shares. They are seeking to work together in online and offline retail and sales. Lotte is seeking ways to boost its online shopping channel, as it existing e-commerce unit Lotte On has been struggling, but chances are low for Lotte to end up with the bid as the group's overall financial soundness isn't that strong or stable. BOGOTA, March 17 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp has submitted a proposal to carry out a pilot project for hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - in Colombia, the oil company and the Andean country's national hydrocarbons agency (ANH) said on Wednesday. ExxonMobil applied to carry out fracking investigations in Colombia's Valle Medio del Magdalena basin, the ANH said. ExxonMobil confirmed in an email it had submitted a proposal to the ANH, but did not elaborate. If the Platero investigative project is approved, ExxonMobil will join Colombia's majority state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol , as the second company to begin a fracking pilot project in the country. "Colombia continues progressing in making the possibilities of extracting gas and oil from non-conventional fields viable with this proposal from ExxonMobil, which has extensive experience in this type of project," ANH President Armando Zamora said in a statement. Following ExxonMobil's proposal, the ANH will have until March 29 to evaluate the plan. Development of non-conventional energy deposits - including fracking for shale gas and coal bed methane - is highly polarizing in Colombia and commercial development of such deposits is currently not permitted. Fracking pilot projects in Colombia are intended to acquire sufficient scientific information so that decisions about the future development of non-conventional energy deposits can be made. While energy companies have long maintained that fracking and other non-conventional hydrocarbon sources are important for Colombia's economy and energy self-sufficiency, environmental activists warn it will damage the environment and threaten communities. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Peter Cooney) We have a tiny bird thats been making a nest in the birdhouse outside our kitchen window and trilling loudly when hes done for two years in a row. I went online and searched for tiny brown bird hoping to get it identified, but I couldnt find any photo of a bird that looked like it. I re Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has admitted that some illegal migrants have been released into the United States without being tested for COVID-19 at the border - but he can't say exactly how many. Mayorkas was grilled by lawmakers during a congressional hearing on Wednesday about the surge of migrants illegally crossing the border, how many of them have been tested for COVID-19 and whether they are spreading the virus in the US. He could not confirm exactly how many migrants have been released into Texas without being tested for the virus. Mayorkas also couldn't immediately say how many of the illegal migrants who have been tested have actually come back positive. DailyMail.com has asked Homeland Security for the exact figures. It came as lawmakers raised concerns that Americans returning to the US via plane from other countries have to show a negative COVID test - under a new Biden policy - but those crossing the border illegally don't have to. Alejandro Mayorkas was grilled during a congressional hearing on Wednesday about the surge of migrants illegally crossing the border and, how many have been tested for COVID-19 Georgia Rep. Andrew S. Clyde said that meant those crossing illegally were being held to a 'more lenient standard' than US citizens. Faced with repeated questions about whether illegal migrants are spreading the virus, Mayorkas said it was the Biden administration's 'policy' to test for COVID at the border but admitted they are falling short. He said improvements are being made to ensure testing for anyone in Customs and Border Protection custody and quarantine for anyone with the virus. Mayorkas - who refused to concede the current border situation was a crisis - did not say when, or if, those improvements have already been implemented. 'There have been times when we have not met our responsibility as well as we should have. Those instances are brought to the attention of leadership, and they are addressed and we improved based on the mistakes made,' he said. 'There were instances in which individuals were released.' US authorities are still turning most people away under a public health order issued at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. But the Biden administration, reversing Trump, opted to allow unaccompanied teenagers and children to enter the country. Under a court order, the minors must be removed from Customs and Border Protection custody within 72 hours and then moved to shelters run by the Health and Human Services Department until a relative or other approved sponsor can claim them. A U.S. Border Patrol agent instructs asylum-seeking migrants as they line up along the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft on Wednesday Asylum-seeking families and unaccompanied minors from Central America walk towards the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande river into the US from Mexico on Wednesday Migrants stand in line after being released from Customs and Border Protection custody at a bus station in Brownsville, Texas on Wednesday Mayorkas said the COVID policy so far has been to allow migrants to be tested at local and non-profit facilities when they are released from custody. Those facilities are able to be reimbursed by the federal government for the cost of testing migrants. When asked how often that policy is held up, Mayorkas responded that the department is 'doing the best we can'. 'If they're not tested at the Border Patrol stations as I outlined earlier, there are different capabilities upon which we are relying on the testing of individuals before they are released,' he said. As part of the improvements, Mayorkas said they are establishing a third party vendor to test those in border protection custody for when those other resources aren't available. He also said that Homeland Security has expanded an effort to vaccinate Border Patrol members. They have covered about 25 percent of front-line border personnel. It comes after it emerged earlier this month that at least 108 illegal migrants had tested positive for COVID before being released into Texas by Border Patrol over a five week period. A spokesperson for Brownsville, the Texas border city where the tests were administered, disclosed the figures to Fox News. The 108 individuals who tested positive accounted for 6.3 percent of the more than 1,700 migrants who received rapid tests at a Brownsville bus station before being released into the state since January 25. The spokesman said those who tested positive were advised to quarantine, but officials don't have the authority to force them to do so or to stop them from traveling elsewhere in the US. A migrant from Central America gets his COVID-19 test after he is dropped off by the US Customs and Border Protection at a bus station in Brownsville, Texas on Monday Faced with repeated questions about whether illegal migrants are spreading the virus, Mayorkas said it was the Biden administration's 'policy' to test for COVID at the border but admitted they are falling short. Pictured is a migrant camp in Tijuana, Mexico on Wednesday The number of people caught attempting to cross the border has been rising since April and last month surpassed 100,000, the highest level since before the pandemic and on track to hit a 20-year high The number of people caught attempting to cross the border has been rising since April and last month surpassed 100,000, the highest level since before the pandemic and on track to hit a 20-year high. So far this fiscal year, which began on October 1, Border Patrol has recorded more than 396,000 migrant crossings compared to 201,600 during the same period last year. Republicans are accusing Biden of opening the country's doors to illegal border-crossers and sparking a 'crisis' on the US-Mexico border. They have argued, in part, that Biden's easier approach toward immigrants will exacerbate COVID. A Border Patrol chief said on Wednesday that the flood of immigrants currently trying to cross into the US is at 'crisis' levels. Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Fox News that the situation has become an emergency over the past week - even though the White House is maintaining it is just a 'big problem'. 'A week ago I would not have called this a crisis. Today it meets the definition. We are overwhelmed. We do not have the resources to stop the cartels from bringing in illegal aliens, from bringing in drugs, therefore we are in fact in a crisis,' he said. During his testimony, Mayorkas refused to concede the situation was a crisis or even much different from what the two previous administrations faced. 'We have a very serious challenge, and I don't think the difficulty of that challenge can be overstated,' Mayorkas said. 'We also have a plan to address it. We are executing on our plan and we will succeed.' Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The FBI has arrested four prominent members of the Proud Boys stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, law enforcement officials told the New York Times. Why it matters: Taking the latest conspiracy indictment into account, more than a dozen members of the Proud Boys face charges. The group has come under scrutiny as authorities work to determine who instigated the siege that left five people dead. Details: Prosecutors allege in the indictment that Charles Donohoe, a leader of the Proud Boys from North Carolina, and Zach Rehl, the president of the groups Philadelphia chapter, conspired "to interfere with law enforcement officers at the Capitol and obstruct the certification of President Bidens electoral victory," the Times writes. "Two other high-ranking Proud Boys who were already facing similar charges ... were also implicated as part of the conspiracy." Axios has requested comment from the FBI on the charges and arrests. Natasha Maharaj is a commercial brand crafter with global experience in Fortune 500 consumer goods companies. Her career path has taken her from South Africa to Switzerland and Singapore, and exposed her to a range of brands, cultures and markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe. With over 16 years experience in marketing and a demonstrated track record of developing and executing integrated marketing plans end to end, Maharaj is strong at generating profitable growth through innovation and the development of portfolios anchored on consumer preference and segmentation. Natasha Maharaj, marketing director at Distell What excites you most about your role as marketing director at Distell? What are some of your most recent brand campaigns and the rationales behind them? Amarula - "A Little Something Something" Savanna - "Savatical" All these social media challenges are a lot. You need rest, bafo. So why not take a Savatical today. Purchase any crisp Savanna Dry, Light, Angry Lemon or Jean, dial *120*1538#, enter your unique undercap code and you could win 3 months salary. #SavannaSavatical Ts & Cs apply. pic.twitter.com/VqjktK9B5T SavannaCider (@SavannaCider) March 15, 2021 Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar Siyavanna South Africa! Bernini Glow Getter Tell us about your most successful marketing campaign. Distell, a global business with roots in South Africa, produces and markets a diverse portfolio of award-winning alcoholic brands. What other sectors impact on your industry? Upstream SA grape / wine farming, apple juice and glass. Downstream Advertising agencies, including macro and micro influencers. With the Covid-19 pandemic, what are the biggest challenges when it comes to marketing? In your opinion, what do you think are the most successful channels for getting your brand message out there? When it comes to marketing efforts, what can brands no longer ignore? Maharaj shares some exclusive insights into Distell's brand campaigns and more...At its core, marketing is about understanding and using science and consumer psychology to find creative ways to get consumers to adopt a new idea or behaviour. It really is about selling ideas. What is so exciting is that the industry is dynamic and continuously evolving so one is always learning. It allows you the balance between commercial left-brain thinking and creative right-brain thinking the perfect blend for me. Most importantly, the role allows me the platform to make a positive difference in all our stakeholders lives (colleagues, teams, consumers) and create purposeful brands.The enigma of Africa is hard to define. A continent with many significant characteristics and a rich history, offering unique experiences and memories to those lucky enough to set foot on its soil it is undeniable that there is something very special about Africa. It can be something we feel, smell or taste, in the stories we tell, the human connections we make, the clothes we wear, something we say or something we create.Amarula Cream Liqueur is a unique offering from South Africa that has traditionally been known as an after-dinner treat reserved for special occasions. But when considering the flavour and taste of Amarula and Africa there is no single occasion or box to put it in. Distell recently launched a new campaign to bring to life and showcase not only the versatility of Amarula but also #ALittleSomethingSomething about Africa.We started right at the beginning and challenged ourselves to think about the essence of Africa, what it means to us. When we started to try and explain it to each other it became apparent that there are no simple descriptions to explain Africa to one another. The one thing we could all agree to is that we all feel something when we think of Africa, we all remember something when we think of Africa and we all love something dearly about Africa. At this point we had to agree that #ALittleSomethingSomething will be the only way to describe Africa and to tap into our target audience and to enable them to recall something for themselves.We introduced our newest Siyavanna (South Africa we get you) campaign Savatical. We love to connect with local societal norms and to reward their talented originators, and after spending many days and nights we have found and credited the originator of this South African meme to bring Savatical to life:. We are in close touch with our audience and understand their need for rest, whether by taking some time out, or just taking the load off in terms of a secured income for three months.All over social media platforms, South Africans have been talking about the need to just slow down and get the chance to take a break. Experts are all warning against burn out and the importance of taking time out. But, in typical South African style, people have not been offering advice in the form of breathing exercises or the latest spa specials they have been showcasing their empathy by simply sharing rests own cultural moment with each other:. Savatical by Savanna allows you to win three months salary to rest after the last hectic year.Savannas insight was that 2020 was a tough year. With a global pandemic, lockdowns and bans, it was easy to take life too seriously in those tough times. South African consumers were looking for a light-hearted, witty perspective that allowed them to laugh.The Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar came to life during lockdown Level 5 in order to show its continued support for South African comedians. Covid-19 forced us to think on our feet, find different ways to show our support to the comedy industry, and ways to entertain our fans when they were feeling isolated from family, friends and fun. Savanna continues to aim to uplift a nation through humour, as laughter truly is the best medicine.A term originally coined by a social media fan has become the basis of the new campaign for the brand. Siyavanna means we get each other/we see you. Known for its crisp and witty perspective, Savannas communication generally highlights keen observations about the realities and nuances of South African life. South Africans sense of humour has always been admirable in the sense that they can laugh at themselves and the misperceptions that are bound to pop up in a multicultural society. Humour is their super power!The insight behind the Bernini work is that we know that as a woman getting ahead in todays world is tough. Its even tougher when your confidence is undermined and you dont have the necessary support.Bernini, the natural sparkling grape Frizzante, launched its intuitive 'Glow up on our way up' campaign, stepping up to support the brand's 'glow-getters' - strong, confident and glamorous young women. Bernini has always been a brand that champions female progress and empowerment, and supports the close connections between women and the support they get from their circle of friends - their squad. Bernini is about women helping women.The 'Glow up on our way up' campaign launched two platforms over the months of the Covid-19 lockdown. The Bernini Squadcast Series provided a platform for confident strong, empowered young women to openly engage in conversations about serious issues relevant to young women, while the Girls Night In series focused on the glamour that is integral to the glow-getter lifestyle - inviting glow-getters to 'glow up' at home together.The digitally-led Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar. It came to life during lockdown Level 5 to show its continued support for the SA comedy industry. During this time, the Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar lived on Savannas social media channels and due to restrictions, no production or filming could take place. As a result, fans followed a YouTube/Facebook link on Thursday nights to receive their weekly dose of laughter when they needed it most. With a line-up featuring much loved SA comedians, the show didnt disappoint. Consequently, the Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar will now be moving to Comedy Central where it will live for the foreseeable future.We realised over the first lockdown that no matter what level of lockdown we found ourselves in, there was no ban on serving unrestricted laughter. Covid-19 just forced us to think on our feet, find different ways to show our support to the comedy industry and ways to entertain our fans when they were feeling isolated from family, friends and fun.Alcohol responsibility messaging. Its key to first state when consumed responsibly, alcohol can form part of a balanced lifestyle. However, maintaining this balance can be challenging for a small group of consumers, leading to health and social problems. We acknowledge the prevalence of misuse and do work to help solve these challenges.The industry as a whole promotes responsible drinking and harm reduction through the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (Aware) as well as brand lead initiatives.We are working hard to educate especially at-risk groups about the dangers of binge drinking, drinking and driving, underage drinking and to develop a responsible drinking culture.Omnichannel approach digital marketing which is targeted, e.g. social media, web and email marketing combined with traditional channels of communication which is still important in SA. Television and radio are still reach media and not as fragmented yet in SA as some other markets.Purpose-led marketing, which has been accelerated as a result of Covid, is a buzzword amongst marketers today. A brand is said to be purpose-led when it puts its core values at the heart of everything it does. Purpose-led brands lead beyond just the bottom line. It is focused around shared value and its consumer need, and champions a particular cause, mission, purpose or vision at its centre (e.g. Savanna Virtual Comedy Bar bringing comic relief to a nation during lockdown). Brands these days should be leading social change to some degree, finding a social cause that resonates with its target consumers. Good food and the comfort of being able to stay awhile with folks you know have made PeeWees Place a popular spot in Crescent Springs for years so it might not be surprising to find out that it found ways to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Illinois Announces $721,500 in Boat Access Area Grants SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Governor JB Pritzker today announced 2021 Boat Access Area Development grants totaling $721,500 have been awarded to five communities. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Natural Resources Advisory Board reviewed grant requests totaling more than $1.4 million and recommended awarding funding for the projects. As we look towards spring with warmer weather ahead, Im proud that these Boat Access Area grants will help local communities improve public boat and canoe access areas on Illinois lakes and rivers, said Governor JB Pritzker. These critical investments will help residents and visitors alike explore everything that Illinois has to offer. The Boat Access Area Development Program provides financial assistance to local government agencies for the acquisition, construction, and expansion or rehabilitation of public boat and canoe access areas on Illinois lakes and rivers. The program provides up to 100 percent of approved project construction costs and 90 percent of approved land acquisition costs. There is a limit of $200,000 per project per year. Im excited that the Rockford Park District will be receiving this grant allocation from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. This money will be used not only to revitalize our riverfront-but also increase the footprint of Rockfords downtown which helps our small businesses in the area, said Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford). Revenue for this program is derived from marine motor fuel tax and boat and canoe registration fees. Download the Boat Access Area Development Program Manual at this link: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/AEG/Pages/BoatAccessAreaDevelopmentProgram.aspx A list of this years Boat Access Area Development grants and project information is below: FY21 Boat Access Area Develop Projects City of Carbondale Cedar Lake Boat Launch (Jackson County) This project will receive $120,000 to construct a new accessible floating dock on the north side of the existing boat launch; install a small removable floating dock for canoe and kayak use; remove the current restroom facilities and install new accessible facilities at the parking lot level. The project will also construct a picnic pavilion to serve as a location for weigh-ins during fishing tournaments. City of Chester Water Street Boat Launch Improvements (Randolph County) The project will receive $197,200 for the addition of a concrete parking lot to the existing Water Street public boat launch accommodating eight parking spaces. City of Golconda Golconda Boat Ramp Development (Pope County) This project will receive $142,100 to redevelop an existing boat launch area, including upgrades that will help attract local and out-of-town boaters. The improvements will include an extension of the boat launch area, parking areas, a second concrete ramp, a wheelchair ramp with accessible dock, a fishing pier/floating dock, new lighting, erosion control, new picnic area, and landscaping. The development will improve ease-of- access for boat traffic and will also allow ample parking spaces for kayak, canoe, and non-towing traffic. In addition, the new floating dock an improved area for fishing. Rockford Park District Mercyhealth Sportscore One Boating Area Development (Winnebago County) This project will receive $200,000 for the repaving and restriping of the parking lot and boat stalls; install light poles and LED fixtures for the parking area, and painting of the restroom building interior and exterior. The project will also install a new water supply pressure tank, vanities, accessible drinking fountain, and LED lights for the restrooms. Sterling Park District Oppold Marina ADA Boat Accessibility (Whiteside County) This project will receive $62,200 to install two new accessible parking stalls; remove the existing sidewalk and improved pavement; install new concrete paths from the accessible parking areas to the sidewalk that connects to boat dock; install block retaining wall; and, install a new 40 x 5 ADA boat dock and a 10 x 5 boat slip. 946 COVID-19 cases, 8 fatalities in Tamil Nadu India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Chennai, Mar 18: Tamil Nadu on Wednesday recorded 945 new COVID-19 infections and eight deaths. With this, the caseload to 8,62,374 while the fatalities took the toll to 12,564, the Health Department said. The state has been reporting new infections above 500 since March 5 while recoveries have been remaining low. India records biggest spike in Covid-19 cases in 100 days | Oneindia News Recoveries were lesser today as against the new infections with 576 patients being discharged, taking the cumulative number to 8,43,999 leaving 5,811 active cases, a health bulletin said. Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 395 cases being reported, aggregating 2,39,878 till date. A mighty scary second wave: Expert on COVID-19 surge in Maharashtra The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,187. Among the eight fatalities, Chennai accounted for five while Chengalpet, Vellore and Thiruvannamalai recorded one each. A 30-year-old woman ailing with diabetes mellitus was among the deceased due to COVID-19 pneumonia, the bulletin said. A total of 71,888 samples were tested today, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 1,84,85,460. Chengalpet and Coimbatore reported new cases in triple digits with 103 and 107 people contracting the contagion respectively. Perambalur was the lone district to clock nil fresh cases while active infections were at seven. Seven individuals, who returned from the West Bengal, Kerala and Bihar were among those who tested positive today, the bulletin said. Earlier in the day, Chief secretary Rajeev Ranjan and senior officials representing health and family welfare, revenue and police, among others, took part in an online video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the pandemic situation and ongoing vaccination drive. Later talking to reporters after reviewing the COVID-19 ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, Health secretary J Radhakrishnan said the government has requested the Centre to decrease the vaccination age- limit from the current 60 and above to 50 years and above to cover a larger section of people. "We have requested the Centre to reduce the age-limit from 60 to 50 years to get vaccination.We appeal to those engaged in public activity and are above the age of 45 with co- morbidity to get vaccinated", he said. What medical experts have identified is that there is a laxity among the public since the fresh cases have come down while fatality was also below 10 a day, he said. COVID-19 likely to become seasonal: UN "In February, there were weddings, birthdays and funerals and in March there is increased political activity. However, people while taking part in those functions tend to avoid wearing masks and maintaining social distancing," he said. The appeal from the government is that it is a virus and can affect anyone. People who are part of gatherings should follow the government laid down standard operating procedures, he said. Districts like Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpet, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Tiruppur, Thanjavur were posing a challenge in containing the spread of virus, he said in reply to a query. Samsung has announced the hero members of its Galaxy A mid-range line for 2021 yesterday - the A52 and A72 (and A52 5G). But the company is apparently not done with the A-series for the moment, as it's also working on launching the Galaxy A82 at some point in the near future. The Galaxy A82 skips a generation and follows in the footsteps of the Galaxy A80 from 2019, and that phone had a very innovative way to let you use the main cameras for selfies - by swiveling to the front. Or popping up to the front. Whatever you want to call the system, it's not something we see very often. Galaxy A80 It's still unclear if the A82 will use a similar setup, but according to a new rumor its main rear camera sensor will have 64 MP resolution, just like the A52 / A52 5G / A72. That said, the sensor used for the A82 is from Sony not Samsung itself, and it may be the IMX686. A past benchmark run revealed that the Galaxy A82 is most likely using the Snapdragon 855+ chipset from two years ago. A high-bin version of this might get rebranded as the Snapdragon 860 and sold this year as the highest performing 4G chip in Qualcomm's stable, although the 860 still isn't official. The Galaxy A82 looks likely to initially arrive in South Korea, and it's still unclear if it will get a global release after that. In Korea, expect it to have a quantum random number generator chip inside, just like the Galaxy A Quantum launched over there last May. Source (in Dutch) On paper, former Gov. Bobby Jindal and Missouri's U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley have a few things in common. Both came to elective politics as young, impeccably credentialed insiders with degrees from prestigious universities and big jobs on their resumes, Jindal as a state health secretary, university system president and assistant cabinet secretary, and Hawley as a U.S. Supreme Court clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts. Both recast themselves as anti-establishment culture warriors. Both, it is obvious to pretty much everyone, have at times looked into a mirror and seen a future president staring back. Theres one more thing they have in common: a guy named Timmy Teepell on the payroll. One of Hawleys hometown papers recently published a deep dive on Teepell, the Louisiana-bred consultant and Jindal chief of staff who was generally regarded as the former governors political guru, right up until the time his 2016 presidential campaign crashed and burned. In the headline, he was cast as the man behind the curtain for Hawley, who gained notoriety in January as the first U.S. senator to challenge what should have been a routine certification of Joe Bidens repeatedly verified presidential win. In an instantly iconic photo, Hawley was captured raising a fist in solidarity with the crowds who descended on the Capitol, at former President Donald Trumps urging, to stop the certification. After some of those protesters violently invaded the building where Congress was trying to do its constitutional business, he kept right on raising doubts about the elections validity despite the absence of evidence of widespread irregularities. If the goal was respectability, it hasnt gone well for Hawley, who lost a book contract (only to have it picked by a conservative publishing house) and who faced recriminations from folks such as John Danforth, the retired Missouri senator who had once sung his praises. But his radicalism has positioned him as a great defender of the not-insignificant GOP faction that still buys into the Big Lie. From the start of the ugly episode, veterans of the Jindal era in Baton Rouge have sensed Teepells fingerprints. And while the new story in The Kansas City Star doesnt delve into how the strategy itself came to be, it does point to Teepell as a key architect: "As Hawley eyes a 2024 presidential candidacy, Teepell remains a behind-the-scenes figure unknown to most Missourians. He rarely speaks publicly and declined an interview request for this story. But his advice has placed Hawley, like Jindal, on a path to potentially run for president. 'Josh does not talk to a big circle,' said a source involved in Missouri GOP politics. 'Id put his wife in there and Timmy.' " The writers describe Teepells efforts to use Hawleys former job as Missouri attorney general to position him for bigger things. There was controversy at the time over the mix of politics with state business, and the consultants involvement in public activities. During Hawleys 2018 Senate campaign, managed by former Jindal aide and current Hawley chief of staff Kyle Plotkin, even party elders such as Danforth had to pitch ideas through Teepell, the story says. Observers interviewed back in Baton Rouge said they recognize Teepells M.O. They painted him as the go-to guy for those hoping to get to Jindal, as well as the person most responsible for the strategy of using the governors office as a springboard. Noted Jindal critic Bob Mann, who was spokesman for Jindals Democratic predecessor Kathleen Blanco and is now a communications professor at LSU, described what he viewed as a "campaign operation disguised as a governors office." An unnamed Jindal staffer made a similar observation about how the administration responded to the 2010 BP spill. "Timmy ran it more like a political campaign. BP was not moving as fast as it should have on the response side. Timmy did a good job getting us national attention," the staffer said. Well, thats one thing that apparently hasnt changed. Williamson, WV (25661) Today Mostly cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Thirteen people have been killed in Afghanistan in two separate suspected Taliban attacks in the space of 24 hours. Four people were killed and several others injured after a roadside bomb ripped through a bus in Kabul on Thursday. The blast hit a bus hired by the Afghan Ministry of Information and Technology and was carrying some of its employees, officials said. It was not immediately clear if any of the deceased were government staff. The Taliban has denied responsibility but government officials, civil society figures and journalists have blamed the extremist group for other recent attacks. Read more: Thursday's killings came on the day the Afghan government, Taliban and key countries including the United States and Russia gathered in Moscow to push for a reduction in violence to propel the Afghan peace process forward. On Wednesday, nine members of the security forces died when their helicopter was shot down, in another suspected Taliban attack. Afghanistan's president, Ashraf Ghani, told reporters on Thursday that the helicopter had been shot down and the perpetrators would be arrested and punished. "Today was a very hard day," he said. Two sources said the helicopter was hit by a rocket during takeoff in central Maidan Wardak province. It was not clear who fired the rocket and there were no immediate claims of responsibility. The defence ministry said it was investigating the crash, which killed the helicopter's crew members as well as members of the special forces on board. An air force source said the helicopter had been on a supply mission that included transporting the body of a soldier and wounded members of the military. Additional reporting by Reuters Iran is now enriching uranium with a new type of advanced centrifuge at its Natanz nuclear facility, according to a UN atomic watchdog report obtained by news agencies. On 15 March 2021, the Agency verified that Iran began feeding the cascade of 174 IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium hexafluoride at its underground facility, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report submitted to member states on Monday. The IR-4 centrifuges are Irans latest violation of the nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which curbed Tehrans nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Under the agreement, Iran is only permitted to enrich uranium using IR-1 centrifuges, but the IAEA reported last November that Iran had begun operating the more advanced IR-2m machines at Natanz. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is used for peaceful purposes only. The administration of President Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the JCPOA, from which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018, but only if Iran first resumes full compliance under the deal. The United States announced in February it was open to attending informal talks with the JCPOAs original signatories, but Iran rejected the invite. With Washington and Tehran at an impasse over who should back the first move to restart diplomacy, Iran has ramped up its violations. Last month, Iran suspended short-notice inspection of its nuclear facilities under a compromise reached with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. Grossi expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday that the Biden administration could hash out a deal despite Iran's insistence that the United States lift all sanctions before it makes any moves to reenter the deal. Of Irans position, Grossi said, It takes two to tango. They want to come back, he said of the United States. But of course there are a number of issues that still need to be clarified. So it's not impossible. It is difficult, but not impossible. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned this week that time is of the essence. Iran is due to hold elections in June that could see Iranian President Hassan Rouhani replaced by a hard-liner less willing to negotiate with the Americans. It is advisable for the United States [to] move fast and moving fast requires them not be shy, but takes measures that they need to take, Zarif said. Macroom celebrated St Patricks Day with a difference this year with the production of a viral video. Cities, towns, and villages across the whole country celebrated St Patricks Day a little differently this year. St Patrick's Day became a virtual event with many Cork towns putting out all the stops to make it as special as possible. Macroom enjoyed its own celebrations Wednesday, marking the national holiday with a beautiful video showcasing the towns most popular spots, its people and the towns response to the pandemic. Macroom Fire Brigade members who took part in Macroom's St Patrick's Day video. The video, posted to Macroom St Patricks Day Virtual Celebration 2021 Facebook page, has gained over 600 likes and over 500 shares since being uploaded on Wednesday. The idea was the brainchild of local An Post staff Jerry Murphy and Ann OConnell who were inspired by the recent Jerusalema challenge and wanted to see what moves the people of Macroom had. They decided to get Cllr Eileen Lynch, Deirdre OSullivan of OSullivan School of Irish Dancing and John OSullivan of Event Videography on board and put the wheels in motion to turn an idea into a reality. The group then linked up with the Lee Valley Enterprise Board who were very impressed with their idea and fully got behind the initiative. The group then got the Local Lee Valley Enterprise Group to support them and the wheels were put in motion. The video shows resilience among many business owners, with the towns shop fronts decorated in green confetti and flags, despite their continued closure. Cork Marts staff who took part in Macroom's St Patrick's Day video. It also showed Erin and Eoin OReilly making their grandmother a St Patricks Day poster and visiting her through the window. Staff members from various grocery stores, including Aldi, Lidl, OLearys SuperValu, and Dunnes Stores, and staff from Macroom Community Hospital, Cahereen Nursing Home, and Care Choice Macroom, took part in a dance routine for the video. Members of An Garda Siochana and the National Ambulance Service (NAS), and Macroom Fire Brigade also got involved in the action, as did the staff working on the N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Development, Cork Marts and Macroom Tidy Towns. Shopowners stood at their doors holding signs with the lyrics of Picture This Things Are Different, the message that the video portrays: Just because things are different, dont mean anything has changed. I know the worlds on fire but there is beauty in the flame. And we dont know how much longer but were gonna come back stronger. SuperValu staff who took part in Macroom's St Patrick's Day video. Speaking about how the idea for the video came about, Jerry Murphy said: "We got notification in An Post about a version of the Jesusalema challenge and it made me think about doing something similar here in Macroom, with our own twist on it. I got Ann on board and we reached out to Eileen and Deirdre and it grew from there. I wanted to put something together to give a bit of a lift to the people of Macroom and I hope we have done that. Cllr Lynch said that the support received while making the video has been phenomenal". The essential workers of the town were delighted to participate and so obliging. "We decided to run videos on our Facebook page all through the day of past St Patrick's Day events and greetings, including from the Mayors of Bubry, France and Marcallo Con Casone, Italy; the two towns Macroom is twinned with. Something to entertain people at home when we should be out together celebrating and meeting friends, but hopefully, the Macroom parade will be back next year, bigger and better than ever, she said. government on Wednesday urged the Union Health Ministry to allow it to include journalists, electricity and water supply and airport workers and priests of Lord Jagannath Temple and Lingaraj Temple in the frontline workers category for COVID-19 vaccination in the state. Additional Chief Secretary of Health Department wrote to the Union Health Secretary seeking Centre's nod. "It is suggested that the following categories may be included as FLWs (frontline workers). Journalists and other personnel of print and electronic media. Staff engaged in the maintenance of essential services like electricity and water supply. Staff engaged at airports, railways and seaports. Sebayats (priests) of Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri, Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar," the letter said. Vaccination drive was started in the country on January 16 for healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 in which doses are being administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities. (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.) American Catholics are signaling a dramatic surge in concern about the persecuted church. And prayer, alone, is no longer good enough, as more say money and arms are needed too. Asked their opinion about Christian persecution worldwide in the fourth annual survey by Aid to the Church in NeedUSA (ACNUSA), 67 percent stated they were very concerned. Last year, only 52 percent said the same. Similarly, 57 percent stated the level of persecution suffered by Christians is very severe. Last year, only 41 percent said the same. The increase is heartening, said George Marlin, ACNUSA chairman. Christian persecution around the world is very grave, he said. [Catholics] want both their church and their government to step up efforts to do more. They have already been praying: 7 in 10 stated prayer is a very important initiative to helpthe same share as last year, and up from 64 percent in the first survey in 2018. But now, 62 percent say it is very important to donate to agencies that support the persecuted, up from 53 percent last year. Half say they are very likely to do so, up from 35 percent. And 61 percent say they gave within the last year, up from 53 percent in 2020. And while about half believe Pope Francis is very engaged on the issue of persecution (52%, up from 47%), they believe their local bishop lags behind. Only 3 in 10 (30%) find him very engaged, marginally improved from the perception of 27 percent the year before. The local parish seems to them similarly disconnected, with only 28 percent perceiving it to be very engaged, up from 22 percent last year. It is not enough, per American Catholics: 2 in 3 said raising awareness at the parish level is very important (67%, vs. 59% last year). Other church priorities have fallen a bit behind the persecuted. The half of Catholics who said it is very likely they will give to church aid to the persecuted is matched by the 50 percent who will financially support missionaries. Commitments are lesser, though still strong, to donate toward church buildings (46%), Bible distribution (43%), and the training of priests (44%) and nuns (42%). But as they desire the churchs concern, American Catholics also increasingly want Washington to help. Diplomatic pressure on persecuting governments is a very important measure for 65 percent of Catholics, up from 55 percent a year ago. Economic sanctions are favored by 62 percent, up from 53 percent. Emergency asylum received 60 percent support, up from 52 percent, while 55 percent want the US to provide financial aid, up from 48 percent. Militant options also grew in favor: Fifty percent said outside military intervention to protect persecuted Christians was very important, up from 46 percent, while 48 percent said the same for the provision of arms and training to communities facing genocide, up from 40 percent last year. In the secular media, there is still not enough coverage, Joop Koopman, ACNUSA director of communications, told CT, speculating on the reason behind the increases from the 2020 survey. But in Catholic media, the news is out there, and I believe the effect is cumulative. The parish bulletin is the most trusted source of Catholic news, according to the survey, while CNN is most favored for secular news. So while the ISIS-led persecution of Middle East Christians has faded from immediate memory, Nigeria and India have captured Catholic attention. Also significant, Koopman said, was this months visit of Pope Francis to Iraq. Though the survey took place in February, just before the trip, there was significant media attention on the preparations and highlighting the nations declining Christian population. Overall, American Catholics identified China, North Korea, and Pakistan as the worst persecutors of Christians today. These nations rank No. 17, No. 1, and No. 5, respectively, on Open Doors 2021 World Watch List of nations where it is hardest to follow Jesus. China has received much attention from the Vatican as it negotiates the recognition of bishops in the underground church. A 2018 deal was controversially extended last October, against objections by the United States. Catholics once represented a substantial portion of North Korean Christians. And Asia Bibi, a Catholic, attracted worldwide attention over her death sentence for blasphemy before being acquitted in 2018 and fleeing Pakistan one year later. But according to ACNUSA, American Catholics lack awareness of many details: Only 41 percent know that being a Christian in North Korea can warrant the death penalty. Only 37 percent know of the abduction of underage Christian girls in Pakistan, who are then forced into marriage and converted to Islam. Only 35 percent know that Mass attendance in China is subject to digital surveillance. Only 36 percent know of the thousands killed for their faith in Nigeria. Only 28 percent know of the hundreds of incidents of persecution in India. And less than half (46%) correctly identify Christians as suffering half or more of religiously based attacks around the world. Researchers with Under Caesars Sword, a $1 million Templeton Religion Trust study, found that Christians experience 6080 percent of the worlds religious discrimination. (More of it is experienced by evangelicals than by Catholics.) Even so, that 9 in 10 American Catholics who find overall Christian persecution at least somewhat severe has stayed steady since 2018. The poll shows the great need to inform the public regarding specific instances of Christian persecution, said Marlin. US bishops and organizations like our own must step up our educational efforts. Devotionally, however, the church has been more successful. Almost half of American Catholics (48%) now label themselves as very devout, up from 42 percent last year and 38 percent in 2018. Only 13 percent today say they are not devout. But church attendance has not kept up with the trend. Only 38 percent attend Mass weekly, though thats an increase from 33 percent last year. The increase in reported devotion is accompanied by a shift toward the Democratic Party. The 28 percent who called themselves Republican has held steady since 2018. But the third who called themselves Independent or other has declined to a quarter, while Democratic identity has increased to 47 percent, up from 39 percent. And while the percentage of American Catholics very concerned about persecution has dramatically risen, it still falls behind other global issues. Human trafficking (78%) and poverty (71%) have held steady among top concerns, occupying first and second place in the yearly list. Persecution now ranks third, though concern for climate change (62%) and the refugee crisis (61%) have also risen (from 57% and 55%, respectively). Last year, Christian persecution ranked last. However, a new question about COVID-19 displaced all but human trafficking, with 77 percent of Catholics very concerned. The survey drew from 1,000 Catholics, with a margin of error of about 3 percent. In the sample, 58 percent were white, 34 percent were Hispanic, 4 percent were black, and 3 percent were Asian. Across the board, they want more than prayer for the persecuted church. It is my hope that leaders around the world embrace the fundamental human right of religious freedom, said Marlin, and promote a society that respects ethnic, cultural, and especially religious diversity. SLC Management will also announce 2025 objectives of $225 billion in assets under management (AUM), $225 million of underlying net income and an operating margin of 30-35%. "Since our inception seven years ago as a start-up Canadian asset manager, SLC Management has truly become a global organization of scale," said Steve Peacher, President, SLC Management. "In 2016, we set a target of reaching $100 billion in AUM by 2020. Today, SLC Management, including its investment managers, BentallGreenOak, InfraRed Capital Partners and Crescent Capital, manage $145 billion in assets for over 1,300 institutional Clients around the world. In this low-rate environment, we are poised to continue to deliver yield, total return and diversification to meet our Clients' financial objectives." SLC Management reached a milestone earlier this year with the addition of Crescent Capital, rounding out their set of alternative investment solutions for Clients. Since 2014, Sun Life has acquired six firms that have been added under the SLC Management umbrella, building a leading alternatives and fixed income asset manager. Now, SLC Management will focus on maximizing the capabilities that the firm has built and acquired over the past several years, while creating new strategies for Clients. Sun Life's ability to co-invest in SLC Management's solutions is a key part of their growth strategy and a point of differentiation for the firm. "From the beginning, our goal was to create an asset manager that offered to its institutional Clients the same types of investment strategies that we utilize in our General Account at Sun Life," added Peacher. "We view this as a win-win-win, as it allows us to create alignment with our Clients, provide additional sources of return and diversification for Sun Life, and spur the growth of new solutions at SLC Management." Sustainability is also a key component of SLC Management's strategy. SLC Management, BentallGreenOak, InfraRed Capital Partners and Crescent Capital are all signatories to the Principles of Responsible Investing. BentallGreenOak has consistently been recognized as a global leader for its sustainable practices in developing, owning and managing commercial real estate, and InfraRed Capital Partners is a leading investor in renewable energy and other climate-friendly infrastructure projects. For 12 consecutive years, Sun Life has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World by Corporate Knights*. The credentials and capabilities of SLC Management continue to bolster Sun Life's sustainability efforts. To learn more about SLC Management's growth and strategy, please view the Investor Day presentation and webcast here. About Sun Life Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2020, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1,247 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. About SLC Management SLC Management is a global institutional asset manager that offers institutional investors traditional, alternative and yield-orientated investment solutions across public and private fixed income markets, real estate equity and debt and infrastructure. SLC Management is the brand name for the institutional asset management business of Sun Life Financial Inc. ("Sun Life") under which Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) LLC in the United States, and Sun Life Capital Management (Canada) Inc. in Canada operate. BentallGreenOak, InfraRed Capital Partners (InfraRed) and Crescent Capital Group (Crescent) are also part of SLC Management. BentallGreenOak is a leading, global real estate investment manager and a provider of real estate services. InfraRed is an international investment manager focused on infrastructure, managing equity capital in multiple private and listed funds. One of the longest tenured credit managers in the industry, Crescent is a leading global investor in mezzanine debt, middle market direct lending in the U.S. and Europe, high-yield bonds and broadly syndicated loans. As of December 31, 2020, SLC Management has assets under management of C$303 billion (US$238 billion) including both third-party assets and Sun Life's general account. For more information, please visit slcmanagement.com. Medium-Term Financial Objectives SLC Management's medium-term financial objectives are forward-looking non-IFRS financial measures. Our ability to achieve those objectives is dependent on our success in achieving growth initiatives and business objectives that are described in the Investor Day presentations, which are based on certain key assumptions, including but not limited to, growth of existing and successive funds, demand for our products, achievement of performance targets, and limited change to fees for products. Although considered reasonable by SLC Management , we may not be able to achieve our medium-term financial objectives as the assumptions on which these objectives were based on may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual results could differ materially from our medium-term financial objectives as described in this news release and the Investor Day presentations. Our medium-term financial objectives do not constitute guidance. Non-IFRS Financial Measures Assets Under Management (AUM), operating margin, and underlying net income are Non-IFRS financial measures. We report certain financial information using non-IFRS financial measures, as we believe that these measures provide information that is useful to investors in understanding our performance and facilitate a comparison of our quarterly and full year results from period to period. These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning and may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies. For certain non-IFRS financial measures, there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with IFRS. Additional information concerning these non-IFRS financial measures and reconciliations to the closest IFRS measures are included in the Annual MD&A and the Supplementary Financial Information packages that are available on www.sunlife.com under Investors Financial results & reports. All factors discussed in this news release and the Investor Day presentations that impact our underlying net income are also applicable to reported net income. Forward-Looking Statement In this news release, "we", "our" and "us" refer to SLC Management and its investment managers, BentallGreenOak (BentallGreenOak includes BentallGreenOak (Canada) Limited Partnership, BentallGreenOak (U.S.) Limited Partnership, their worldwide subsidiaries, and the real estate and commercial mortgage investment groups of certain of their affiliates), InfraRed Capital Partners and Crescent Capital Group. Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements (i) relating to our growth strategies and strategic objectives, (ii) relating to our anticipated sustainable investment commitments, (iii) that are not historical or that are predictive in nature or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and (iv) that include words such as "intends to", "will", "targeted" and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour provisions" of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements in this news release represent our current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events as of the time of this news release and are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and are based on key factors and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Some of these assumptions and risks and uncertainties are described further in Sun Life's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020 under the heading "Forward-looking Statements", in the risk factors set out in Sun Life's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020 under the heading "Risk Factors", in the other factors detailed in Sun Life's annual and interim financial statements and in Sun Life's other filings with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators, which are available for review at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Footnotes *Corporate Knights applies a data driven approach, and assesses roughly 7,000 companies against global industry peers on a suite of up to 17 quantitative key performance indicators covering resource, employee and financial management, green revenue and supplier performance. Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc. Related Links http://www.sunlife.com House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and George Floyd Family To Receive the NNPA Fund 2021 Newsmaker of the Year Award The National Newspaper Publishers Association Fund (NNPAF) BLACK PRESS WEEK will honor the George Floyd Family and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) with the Newsmaker of the Year Award for Leadership during its two-day virtual conference on Thursday, March 18, at noon. The NNPAF is honored to recognize the George Floyd Family for their collective effort for social justice, and their leadership on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Majority Whip James E Clyburn, a former publisher and the highest-ranking African American in Congress, will be awarded the Newsmaker of the Year Award for his pivotal role in galvanizing the Black vote across America. NNPA Fund Chair Pluria Marshall Jr., CEO of the Wave Publications, based in California, stated, These two awardees are dedicated to advancing the progress of Black people. The Black Press of America is honored to recognize their achievements and express our gratitude for their heroic efforts to improve the quality of life of all Americans. ADVERTISEMENT This years virtual Black Press Week theme is BLACK BUSINESS Challenges, Responsibilities, and Opportunities Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic. The two-day conference will be held Thursday, March 18, and Friday, March 19, from 11:00, am (EST) to 1:00 pm (EST). Reportedly, 40% of Black-owned businesses have closed their doors permanently as a result of the pandemic. The challenge now is to sustain the remaining 60% struggling to survive during these uncertain times. Black newspapers are Black businesses that are experiencing similar obstacles created by COVID-19. Because of this shared burden, the NNPA Funds first workshop on Thursday will feature U.S. Congressman and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and U.S. Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA), a member of the Small Business Committee and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic, Growth and Capital Access. The two high-ranking legislators will address the plans Congress is developing to help Black-owned businesses cope with various economic issues. On Friday, the second workshop will concentrate on alternative funding for Black newspapers, including representatives from digital companies including Google, Facebook, and Borealis, that invest in non-profit and for-profit media organizations. The cornerstone of Black Press Week is the Enshrinement Ceremony. This year, Carter Walker Wesley (1892-1969), an American lawyer, newspaperman, and political activist from Houston, Texas, will be enshrined in the Black Press Archives and Gallery of Distinguished Black Publishers housed at the Moreland Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. Black Press Week is held annually to honor the nations first Black-owned newspaper Freedoms Journal first published on March 16, 1827. Previous NNPAF Newsmakers of the Year include Attorney Ben Crump, Civil Rights Activist Al Sharpton, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Barack Obama, the Trayvon Martin family and many more. ADVERTISEMENT To attend Black Press Week activities, go to: https://virtualnnpa2021.com/. Credit: Kaique/Pexels Nineteen years ago, a group of international researchers met in Budapest to discuss a persistent problem. While experts published an enormous amount of scientific and scholarly material, few of these works were accessible. New research remained locked behind paywalls run by academic journals. The result was researchers struggled to learn from one another. They could not build on one another's findings to achieve new insights. In response to these problems, the group developed the Budapest Open Access Initiative, a declaration calling for free and unrestricted access to scholarly journal literature in all academic fields. In the years since, open access has become a priority for a growing number of universities, governments, and journals. But while access to scientific literature has increased, access to the scientific data underlying this research remains extremely limited. Researchers can increasingly see what their colleagues are doing but, in an era defined by the replication crisis, they cannot access the data to reproduce the findings or analyze it to produce new findings. In some cases there are good reasons to keep access to the data limitedsuch as confidentiality or sensitivity concernsyet in many other cases data hoarding still reigns. To make scientific research data open to citizens and scientists alike, open science data advocates can learn from open data efforts in other domains. By looking at the evolving history of the open government data movement, scientists can see both limitations to current approaches and identify ways to move forward from them. The three waves of open government data The term open data did not appear until 1995, but the movement to open government data has a longer history. With roots in mid-century freedom of information legislation, open data emerged first as an attempt to push the boundaries of transparency and accessibility. This approach, part of the "first wave of open data" centered on removing secrecy in response to specific inquiries. While it had value it was also limited. It primarily benefited journalists, lawyers, and activiststhose with the time, resources, and expertise needed to regularly query the government with specific requests. As the Internet moved into the Web 2.0 era of the 2000s, new approaches began to emerge. Open government data came to be seen not just as a way to ensure accountability but a way to improve the processes of government itself. This second wave of open data prioritized problem solving. It was, as former deputy chief technology officer for open government Beth Noveck once noted, "not about transparent government. Simply throwing data over the transom doesn't change how government works. It doesn't get anybody to do anything with that data to change lives, to solve problems, and it doesn't change government. [] It's not even producing accountability as well as it might if we took the next step of combining participation and collaboration with transparency to transform how we work." This conception allowed open government data to benefit a broader cohort, one that included civic technologists, governments, corporations, and start-ups. New York activists, for instance, used open government datasets to reveal improper ticketing practices by the New York Police Department. In Brazil, open datasets supported critical anti-corruption work. In Ghana, open data helped smallholder farmers sell their crops at better prices. Yet, this approach too had its limitations. Data could be released without a clear sense of how others would use it, leading to a large number of datasets about issues unimportant to the public. Meanwhile, the desire to release datasets often led to a focus on assets that already existed, which benefited large institutions (often national governments) over smaller ones with less resources (such as local governments). Recognizing these limitations, a third wave of open data has begun to emerge. This wave involves data holders across sectors and regions adopting a purpose-driven approach to making data accessible to the benefit of community-based organizations, NGOs, academics, and small businesses. It seeks not just to open data for the sake of opening but to use collaborations to re-use assets that will be impactful. By paying as much attention to the demand for data as the supply, it concerns itself with the broader context within which data is produced and consumed. What's more, it asks how data held by businesses and other stakeholders can supplement those assets held by governments through data collaboratives.. This approach to data is still emerging but can be seen in many of the responses to COVID-19, which have relied heavily on collaborative methods. Efforts such as the NYC Recovery Data Partnership have combined public and private data assets on a local level to address public needs. Much as the open government data movement has come to accept demand-driven, collaborative methods, so too can the movement to open science data. By recognizing the value of responding to more than just the "usual suspects," advocates can open the possibility of new and innovative research on pressing issues in their fields. They can allow professionals in other fields and domains the chance to build on their research. Where to start Advocates of open research data can learn from the open government data movement. As the last three decades show, opening data requires credible action on behalf of researchers, data providers, and intermediaries to foster a data ecosystem that sustains and nurtures collaboration. It requires organizations to make real commitments to openness. While these efforts will not be easy, our research at The GovLab points to several actions that organizations can take to foster an ecosystem that encourages openness. As we argue in our recent report, The "Third Wave of Open Data," open data can flourish if organizations focus collectively on: Fostering and Distributing Institutional Data Capacity: In the public sector, data science capacity has often been relegated to small teams within organizations. This tendency has meant that attempts to use data are often ad hoc and isolated, with work siloed according to the field or skills. Much like those government organizations that have embraced the third wave, open research data advocates can try to build a culture of learning in their institutions, encouraging professional development and training programs that help low-ranking and senior researchers alike (re)use data in their daily operations. Articulating Value and Building an Impact Evidence Base: In earlier waves of the open government data movement, advocates often started and ended their calls for open data by emphasizing the norms of transparency or accountability. While not wrong, these arguments tended to be less compelling to officials and members of the public who wanted to understand the tangible ways open data would improve their lives. Learning from this experience, open science data advocates can compile clear and specific uses for open science data to demonstrate the ways it strengthens existing research methods. Creating New Data Intermediaries: Collaborating with outside organizations can be costly in terms of time, resources, and labor. Organizations like Open North, BrightHive, and StatsNZ's Data Ventures have emerged to address these costs. These organizations help public-facing organizations engage with possible collaborators by ensuring data is interoperable, providing mechanisms to securely share assets, and building trust between parties. Similar organizations could prove useful for sharing open science data. Establishing Governance Frameworks and Seeking Regulatory Clarity: A recent MIT survey found that 64% of business executives in the United States are reluctant to embrace open data because of regulatory uncertainty. This statistic is telling Though a lack of regulation is often seen as offering organizations flexibility, the decades-long failure to develop policies around data reuse has instead disincentivized sharing. Just as organizations like the European Union have recently tried to develop strategies to organize the reuse of public and private data stores, open science data advocates might develop similar policies, plans, and procedures laying out expectations concerning the data they use. Creating Technical Infrastructure for Reuse: In many countries, open government datasets are facilitated by open data portals. Sites like data.gov commingle various institutional datasets and allow users to browse, filter, search, and download data to their machines. While this approach can be used for open science data, additional technical infrastructure is likely for data users and suppliers to improve institutional capacity. As John Wilbanks of Sage Bionetworks has argued, institutions might explore ways to subsidize computing capacity among target users and demographics, especially in fields where the datasets in question are prohibitively large and complex. Fostering Public Data Competence: Open government data advocates in places like Taiwan have sought to encourage data competence among the public. These leaders argue that anyone should be able to participate fully in data projects, not just as consumers but producers of data-driven solutions that can improve their lives. To encourage public involvement in scientific research and foster new and innovative applications of data, open science data advocates might seek out ways to engage with the public, such as through research challenges and participatory agenda-setting. Tracking, Monitoring, and Clarifying Decision and Data Provenance: Decision provenance entails identifying decision points impacting data's collection, processing, sharing, analysis, and (re)use to determine which parties influence it. As third wave advocates have come to understand, awareness of these decision points is crucial in proactively identifying gaps and biases, both of which can undermine project goals. As such, open science data practitioners might create processes that allow others to understand the context from which data emerged and the harms that might result from inadvertent use. Creating and Empowering Data Stewards:Finally, a core aspect of open government data work amid the third wave has been acknowledgement that data sharing and collaboration needs leaders who can champion it. These data stewardsresponsible data leaders empowered by organizations to identify opportunities for data sharing and seek new ways of creating public valuealready exist in a number of public sector institutions, civil society organizations, and companies. To encourage the creation of similar leaders in research spaces, open science data advocates might create training courses and professional networks that encourage data stewardship skills. Conclusion Almost two decades since the Budapest Open Access Initiative, our understanding of science data has changed profoundly. As we enter a new decade, these changes can continue so long as they are shepharded by advocates committed to expanding access. We at The GovLab encourage researchers, institutions, and others to look toward the example provided by the open data movement in government to transform the way they work. By learning from others and adopting their practices, open research data can be a possibility for any field. Explore further African countries need more air quality dataand sharing it unlocks its benefits This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. State officials have recorded more than 21,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Illinois since the outset of the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 19,893 deaths through the end of February in Illinois in which COVID-19 was listed among multiple causes. Of those deaths, about 1,830, or 9.2%, had COVID-19 listed as the sole cause of death. That percentage is higher than it was in September, when the rate was about 6%. But a county coroner is calling for a full audit after reviewing some of the deaths in his county. My concern is, Ive reviewed several cases, (of 100 cases) about 10 of them here in Monroe County, that the state has deemed COVID-related deaths and none of them have had underlying conditions or contributing factors to COVID, Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill said. So my concern is no matter when the person was tested positive, the state is automatically giving them a death classification as related to COVID. He said one case in January was an accidental drug overdose, but the person had tested positive for COVID-19 in October. As soon as that death came across to the state, they went ahead and classified and put a statistic as a COVID death, Hill said. The Illinois Department of Public Health said coroners with questions about death classification information should contact state officials. Once IDPH has a chance to further investigate the data, connect with local health departments about specific cases, review death records, and conduct other quality assurance measures, the data may change, a department spokesperson said. A confirmed or probable COVID-19 case will be considered if: Death is within 30 days of symptom onset, among other factors, the department said. Hill said that has not been the case in Monroe County. Were seeing people on the list that theyve put as a COVID death that have tested positive nine months ago that have since recovered that have died from other issues unrelated to COVID, Hill said. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state has been in an emergency. All these numbers, look, weve been in an emergency, weve been in a pandemic, Pritzker said Wednesday at a stop in Lincoln. Everybody is trying to do the best they can. Theres no desire on anybodys part to record more or less deaths, theres just a need to record whats being given to us as data from the counties. Hill called for an audit. Dont automatically put a statistic out there of a (COVID) death when it hasnt been confirmed what the cause is, Hill said. Pritzker said he expects some second-guessing of the states data. Im sure over time as we get past this pandemic people are going to want to look back and see well how were they recorded and did they do a good job in his county, for example, Pritzker said. . Total cases in west-central Illinois counties as of Wednesday, according to individual county health departments, were: Brown County 675 total, 659 recovered, seven deaths Cass County 1,906 total, 1,868 recovered, 33 deaths Two new cases. Greene County 1,370 total, 1,313 recovered, 47 deaths Jersey County 2,505 total, 2,444 recovered, 47 deaths Macoupin County 4,588 total, 4,208 recovered, 108 deaths Eight new cases. Morgan County 3,730 total, 3,598 released from restrictions, 101 deaths Two new cases and one additional death, that of a man in his 70s. Pike County 1,698 total, 1,637 recovered, 47 deaths Sangamon County 16,471 total, 227 deaths 23 new cases. Schuyler County 660 total, 640 recovered, 16 deaths Scott County 453 total, 450 recovered, one death Statewide, 1,655 new cases of coronavirus disease and 17 deaths were reported Wednesday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. There have been 1,213,765 cases and 20,988 deaths in Illinois. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 00:26:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Thursday condemned the escalation in Yemen's Marib governorate and called for a nationwide cease-fire. In a press statement, the members of the Security Council condemned the escalation in Marib, which places 1 million internally displaced persons at grave risk and threatens efforts to secure a political settlement when the international community is increasingly united to end the conflict. They also condemned the cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, and expressed concern about military developments elsewhere in Yemen. The council members stressed the need for de-escalation by all, including an immediate end to the Houthi escalation in Marib. They condemned the use of child soldiers in Marib. They called on all parties to come together and work with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to negotiate, without preconditions, a nationwide cease-fire and a Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned, inclusive, political settlement. The council members expressed concern over the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen, and emphasized the importance of facilitating humanitarian assistance as well as the movement of fuel ships into Hodeidah port. They expressed concern that a lack of progress in the peace process could be exploited by terrorists in Yemen. They called for accountability for human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law. They reiterated their support for Yemen's sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity. The press statement came after Tuesday's Security Council meeting on Yemen. Enditem HCC is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and the most common type of primary liver cancer, with more than half a million new global cases diagnosed annually. i The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 32,000 new cases of HCC will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2021. ii It is most often treated through surgery, liver transplantation, chemotherapy or embolization, including both chemoembolization and radioembolization also commonly referred to as selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). TheraSphere treatment, a type of SIRT with low toxicity, is comprised of millions of microscopic glass beads containing radioactive yttrium (Y-90), which are delivered directly to liver tumors via catheter and result in minimal exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. Approval of TheraSphere was based on results from the LEGACY study, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the therapy for the treatment of early and advanced HCC. The study analyzed data from 162 patients and met both primary endpoints of objective response rate and duration of response rate (72.2% at four weeks and 76.1% at six months, respectively).iii, iv,v,vi Data demonstrated 100% complete or partial patient response up to two TheraSphere treatments disappearance of all lesions or >/= 30% decrease in target lesion diameter and a 93% overall survival rate in patients with transplant or resection following treatment at three years. "I am honored to have spearheaded the LEGACY trial in which we found that patients with early and advanced HCC exhibited very high response rates as well as clinically meaningful durations of response and survival, establishing TheraSphere as a standard treatment for this patient population," said Riad Salem, M.D., M.B.A, interventional radiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and principal investigator of the LEGACY trial. "The trial results, which have been accepted for publication in Hepatology, produced one of the most comprehensive databases for TheraSphere, empowering physicians to make informed, data-driven decisions for their patients." Treatment with TheraSphere does not require hospitalization and is typically performed as an outpatient procedure in as little as an hour, potentially alleviating pressure on healthcare systems in an increasingly complex care environment. Recognition of the benefits of SIRT both to patients and hospitals were reflected in recently issued guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) when they recommended the use of TheraSphere for the treatment of patients with HCC through the National Health Service (NHS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. "The FDA approval and the recent NICE recommendation will expand access to TheraSphere, which has demonstrated improvement in both survivability and quality of life through 20 years of clinical trials and real-world outcomes in the more than 70,000 patients globally," said Peter Pattison, president of Interventional Oncology, Peripheral Interventions, Boston Scientific. "We expect to continue to focus our efforts on bringing this treatment to more patients, both by planning a randomized trial to study the combination of TheraSphere and immunotherapy in patients with HCC not eligible for curative treatments, as well as further investigating the therapy for different cancer segments, including prostate and brain." For more information on TheraSphere, visit www.therasphere.com. About Boston Scientific Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 40 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit and connect on Twitter and Facebook. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our business plans, clinical trials, product launches and product performance and impact. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document. CONTACTS: Karin Dalsin Media Relations (763) 494-1914 (office) [email protected] Susie Lisa, CFA Investor Relations (508) 683-5670 (office) [email protected] i Mittal S, ElSerag HB. Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma: consider the population. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2013; 47(suppl): S2 S6. ii Cancer Facts & Figures 2021. American Cancer Society. Available at https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-fact-and-figures/2021/cancer-facts-and-figures-2021.pdf. Accessed: January 30, 2021. iii Complete Response (CR) and Partial Response (PR) within the treatment area according to localized mRECIST iv Duration of Response (DoR) According to localized mRECIST v Objective Response Rate defined as CR or PR using localized mRECIST (defined as the response within theY-90 glass microsphere treatment area) with confirmation of response (>4 weeks) vi Duration of Response using localized mRECIST SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation Related Links http://www.bostonscientific.com President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the government and people of Republic of Tanzania in mourning the passing of President John Pombe Magufuli. Mr Magufuli died on Thursday at the age of 61. In a condolence message by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday, Mr Buhari believed that Mr Magufulis legacy of patriotism and dedication to the African course would continue to resonate across the continent. The president said the late Tanzanian Presidents courage and love for his country inspired various reforms that generations would continue to celebrate. He said such reforms included the challenging decision to reduce size and cost of governance, insistence on a people focused budget, with clear priorities on education and health, and consistently fighting profligacy and frivolities in public expenditures. Mr Buhari affirmed that the former Tanzanian leader spent most of his life serving the country and humanity, with a rich pedigree of working as a school teacher, and rising steadily in public service as Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Works and Minister of Works. Mr Magufuli was also Minister of Lands and Human Settlement and Minister of Livestock and Fisheries. The president extended condolences to the family of the late visionary leader of Tanzania, his friends and associates, and all citizens of the country, trusting God to comfort them. He prayed for repose of the soul of the deceased. Also former President Goodluck Jonathan has condoled with the government and people of Tanzania over the death of Mr Magufuli. Mr Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Ikechukwu Eze, in Abuja on Thursday, described the late Mr Magufuli as a true patriot who did his best to advance his country. He said Today, a bright star has been plucked from the African continent. President Magufuli of Tanzania was a man I knew quite well, due to my frequent visits to Tanzania for the advancement of democracy in Africa. I found in him a true patriot who loved his country and did his best to steer the ship of state away from the brink and to the bank of the river of peace, progress and prosperity. Mr Jonathan noted that Tanzania had been blessed in the area of leadership and had enjoyed consistent stability because of men like Julius Nyerere and his worthy successors. He expressed hope and prayed that the beautiful and determined nation would continue with the tradition. He condoled with the family of the deceased, especially First Lady Janeth Magufuli, their children, as well as the government and people of Tanzania. He prayed to God to grant the late Magufulis soul eternal rest and comfort the grieving nation. My thoughts go out also to his party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi. ADVERTISEMENT May God grant his soul repose, and may He comfort the grieving nation, he said. (NAN) WASHINGTON It took President Joe Biden all of six weeks to spark a slew of fights with Texas Republicans over oil, immigration, guns and more. Even as the president this week touted major early victories for his administration including accelerating COVID vaccinations and a $1.9 trillion stimulus new battles are brewing on several fronts as Biden took executive action or threw his support behind legislation aimed at expanding voting rights, bolstering unions and restricting gun purchases. Meanwhile, Texas Republicans including Gov. Greg Abbott headed to the border to pin a migration surge there on the presidents new approach to immigration. It sure feels like President Biden is targeting Texas, said U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, a Republican from The Woodlands who pointed to Bidens moves to end the Keystone XL pipeline and pause drilling on federal lands. Biden is out of control, Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted earlier this week as he railed against a Biden order on voting access. HOW TO CASH IN: Everything you need to know about the stimulus child tax credit Paxton has already stopped one White House policy with a lawsuit filed two days after Bidens inauguration. The state sued over Bidens order halting certain deportations for 100 days, which a judge blocked in an early victory for the state. But Paxton has threatened to challenge other Biden priorities, including a Democratic bill that would essentially establish a national election code. Turning up the heat on a Democratic president early isnt a new playbook for Republicans and its one that has worked well for the party before. The GOP openly obstructed many of the priorities of former President Barrack Obama, starting as he took office in 2009. Then they won control of took the House in the midterms the next year. Democrats took the same approach with President Donald Trump in 2017 and saw the same results in 2018. Keeping this in the forefront with the base supporters is a good strategy look at what the presidents doing, making Biden the bad guy and bringing up how everything he is doing is so counter to Texas values, said Renee Cross, senior director at the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs. Thats going to play extremely well with the Republican base. Cross said its especially important for Republicans as Biden has racked up some big victories early in his term. The president this week declared all Americans will be eligible for COVID vaccines by May and signed the stimulus package set to boost incomes of many Texans, which polling shows is widely supported, even by many GOP voters. You dont want your opposition to seem to be winning at everything, Cross said. LIVING HELL: A failure of government oversight produced a housing system across the U.S. that hurts the people who need it the most Republicans say the stimulus, which Democrats passed without a single GOP vote, is a sign of how little Biden and his allies in Congress care about working across the aisle, even as Biden has stressed he wants to unify the nation. I know the national narrative for Americans is that were all taller, smarter and better looking since Joe Biden became president, but the truth is, this is the most partisan White House that Ive seen, Brady said. I dont know why they went their own way, but I dont think its going to get any better. Texas Democrats, meanwhile, have united behind most of Bidens priorities, even as some moderates in the Texas delegation have balked at Bidens moves on oil and immigration. His Texas allies are working to frame Bidens early days as focused on fighting for the working class, pointing to aid for the 3.9 million Texans living in poverty included in the stimulus. This administration did not give up, did not give in, U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston said as he voted for the stimulus this week. This administration has become now a symbol of hope and help for working class people. Trouble on the border The border has been at the center of Texas Republicans earliest and most sustained battle with the Biden administration so far. Paxtons successful lawsuit challenged one of Bidens first immigration actions. Republicans have blamed his administrations shift from the restrictive policies of the Trump White House for creating a migrant surge there now though the surge began late in Trumps term. Border Patrol this week reported more than 100,000 encounters with migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico in February, a 28-percent jump from the month before. The Biden administration has said its focus is establishing an orderly and humane way of handling the surge of immigrants, largely Central Americans fleeing violence, poverty and political upheaval. But newly minted immigration officials in Bidens cabinet say theyre having to build that system from the ground up after the Trump administration didnt just neglect our immigration system, they intentionally made it worse. At least three Texas Republicans Abbott, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Houston and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn made high-profile trips to the border to highlight what they say is the first major crisis of the Biden administration. Democrats representing Texas border communities have joined them in warning of a looming crisis as theyve urged the administration to take stronger action. Texans held press conferences in D.C. and went on conservative news shows to blame the presidents policies as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said he would take a trip to the border himself on Monday. The reason theyre coming now is the reason they came when Barack Obama was president, which is because theyve been promised amnesty, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said on Sean Hannitys Fox News program. Joe Biden is telling them, If the kids come, they can stay. Order on transgender students Biden on Monday signed an order making it the policy of his administration to protect students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It was a step in part toward undoing Trump administration policies on Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, and returning to Obama-era efforts to protect transgender students by allowing them to use the bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identities. Paxtons response was almost immediate. He called it the most insidious of all Bidens orders so far in a letter to the president, in which he threatened: If you take any further measure I will stop you. The exchange made it clear that Texas will again sue to stop federal rules on this matter from taking effect, as it did in the Obama years. Voting rights fights Paxton has been fighting the Biden presidency since even before his inauguration. Paxton led a failed lawsuit to overturn election results in four battleground states as Texas Republicans supported Trumps baseless claims that the election was stolen from him. Texas Republicans have used similar unproven claims of widespread fraud to justify making the states voting laws among the nations most restrictive. Now Biden and Democrats in Congress have those restrictions in their sights. The House last week passed a voting rights bill that would ban voter ID laws, institute automatic and same-day voter registration and would expand mail-in and early voting options. And it would take redistricting out of the hands of the states lawmakers just as theyre gearing up to redraw political boundaries. The president this week also signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for Americans to vote, which the White House described it as an initial step to protect the right to vote and it was a relatively small one. It directed federal agencies to work harder to register voters and said the Biden administration would look for ways to make it easier for federal employees and those in federal custody to vote. Paxton, on the other hand, said it showed Bidens intent to steamroll state-run elections. Hes already threatened to sue if Biden ever gets a chance to sign the voting bill into law. Guns and unions Biden has also thrown his support behind bills the Democratic House passed this week that would expand background checks on gun purchases and undermine so-called right-to-work laws in states like Texas that weaken unions. Texas Republicans opposed both measures, and the state is likely to sue if either becomes law. Texas GOP Chairman Allen West this week was fundraising off the gun bills, which would require background checks for all gun buyers. The bill would also close the so-called Charleston loophole that gives the FBI only three days to conduct a background check by extending that window to 10 days. It is crucial that we secure Texas as a Second Amendment safe haven NOW especially with the Biden administration preparing to wage war on our responsible gun owners like you and me, West wrote in an email to supporters. Biden, meanwhile, has been vocal about his support for unions and has acknowledged they helped him win the presidency, saying in a recent White House meeting with labor leaders that these are the folks that brung me to the dance. Hes backing a Democratic bill aimed at bolstering unions by strengthening federal labor laws and making it easier for employees to organize. The bill would allow bargaining agreements to require all employees pay union dues, something Republican lawmakers in Texas have banned in an effort to weaken unions. Youre seeing these very extreme policies, said Brady, pointing to the unions bill. These arent the priorities for the country right now, in my view. ben.wermund@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 21:16:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GABORONE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Being able to think on a galactic scale, looking millions of years into the future, creating new worlds, new cultures, and new languages feels very spiritual for Cheryl Ntumy. "I don't like being limited by reality. With speculative and science fiction, all of time and space is your playground. There's nothing you can't do, nowhere you can't go. You can rebuild existence. It's the most extraordinary thing," she says. The 38-year-old celebrated fiction writer based in Gaborone has been writing since she was a little girl, but she likes to say her writing career began when she was in high school. "That was the first time anyone paid me to write something," she explains. When Ntumy started out, all the science fiction writers she knew were white, most of them men. She read what she could get her hands on, and it was really limited. What she found frustrating was that when international publishers sought African voices, they had specific stories in mind. Stories she had no desire to write. This is because for an exceedingly long time, African writers were associated with literary fiction, often politically charged. "Those stories are important, but not more important than any others. It felt like the world only wanted to hear us sing one song," decries Ntumy. Nonetheless, she says things have since changed for the better. What still irks her is that when working with publishers overseas, she is often expected to change her work to accommodate "an international market" because apparently, they can't "relate". Ntumy views this as absurd and untrue. "If I can relate to their work, they can relate to mine," she says. Despite these industry challenges, Ntumy has published several works locally and abroad, inclusive of the Conyza Bennett trilogy (Entwined, Unravelled, Crowned), a ghost story novel called Crossing, and a collection of short stories. "My latest book, self-published, is called They Made Us Blood and Fury. It's a multiple-POV fantasy set in a fictional world loosely based on Ghana," she shares. In this new book, a young woman discovers that her clan put a warrior spirit in her body. Faced with possible extinction, the clan wakes the warrior spirit, unleashing terror at the same time that other mysterious forces start to rise. Post COVID-19, Ntumy's greatest desire is for Africans to develop an industry of their own that is not dependent on Europe or the United States. Moreover, she would love to see more South-to-South partnerships. Other than Ntumy, Tlotlo Tsamaase is another popular speculative and science fiction writer who shares Ntumy's sentiments concerning the challenges of the writing industry. Her latest novella called The Silence of The Wilting Skin was published in the United States. Her other popular works include novelettes such as District to Cervix: The Time Before We Were Born, and Eclipse Our Sins. She also has numerous short stories such as Who Will Clean Our Spirits When We are Gone. Enditem Remote communication solutions provider Pivotel has launched two new 4G community networks in the Wickepin and Mount Barker regions of Western Australia, providing "vital connectivity to farming families not serviced by reliable mobile coverage." The solution uses Pivotels 4G ecoSphere technology, a customised LTE network for sites or properties that allows users to maximise safety and optimise operational efficiency, providing secure telephony, data, video, tracking and monitoring connections for on-site and remote assets and personnel - mainly used for rural and remote Austarlia where existing 4G LTE networks are unavailable. Pivotel says the networks have been built with support and grant funding from the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). Were told the networks are made up of largely solar powered mobile towers that employ the latest Nokia small cell technology, providing an energy efficient and cost-effective way to solve the communication and connectivity challenges experienced by farmers across the country. The networks provide high speed fixed and mobile coverage to a combined area of 4,572km2. The farms served by these networks are able to connect their homesteads and outbuildings to a low latency internet service, enabling farmers to connect their tablets and mobile phones from nearly any location on their property while deploying IOT technologies for video monitoring and sensors. Pivotel has collaborated with WA grower groups Stirlings to Coast Farmers and Facey Group for the duration of the project and a number of local farmers have participated in the successful trials across both the Wickepin and Mount Barker regions. According to Pivotel Group CEO Peter Bolger, such collaboration is critical, stating: Community networks, such as the Mt Barker and Wickepin networks, would not come to fruition without the support and engagement of the grower groups, farmers and local government, as well as the financial contribution from the State Government. Stirlings to Coast Farmers CEO Nathan Dovey said connectivity is an ongoing issue for farmers and regional communities: "The biggest challenge for regional farmers is reliable internet and decent data speeds. Existing network coverage in the region comes with issues such as limited data usage and latency issues which can make voice or zoom calls lagged. At a productivity level, its just very hard to do anything. Now weve got farmers who are probably getting internet speeds 20 times faster than their original network connection was. It is that consistency of internet connection that is a really big win on the Pivotel network. Our farmers are using the network to look at weather stations, rain gauges, soil moisture, probes from anywhere, whether at the shed or in the house. Were also seeing the network being used to monitor tank water usage to make sure that livestock have enough water and putting on condition, and also for property security measures to monitor vehicles coming in and out. Im excited about this technology that is enabling our farmers to have better knowledge of what is going on in their paddocks and ways to improve productivity in real-time, Dovey concluded. Local Mount Barker farmer Nathan Crosby became involved in the Pivotel trial during 2019 and reiterated the importance of regional connectivity for the future of farming: "Our fourth-generation family farm is a broad acre cropping farm. Weve historically struggled with connection across the entire farm with black spots for phone signals. The network is making our operations a lot safer. We often have workers working more than 10 kilometres away from anyone, and if something goes wrong, theyve now got phone signal and can call for help which is quite a big win for us. Weve been able to set up weather stations, which are really handy from a wind and rainfall point of view. Its quite easy to jump on your phone and have a look on the app and see what the wind is doing outside of the cab which can help us make decisions based around spreading and spraying, added Crosby. Focusing on improving safety, reliability and business efficiencies in industries across rural Australia, Pivotel Group CEO Peter Bolger said the ecoSphere service targets the vast land mass of Australia that is not covered by the major mobile telecommunication companies. Pivotel is committed to improving connectivity for individuals, businesses and communities based in regional Australia. Weve invested in developing technology and infrastructure that provides cost-effective network coverage in places that other telcos wont go. Improved and reliable network coverage has the power to unleash significant agricultural innovation in regional areas of Australia, empowering farmers to work smarter, lower costs, increase productivity and yields, and importantly, improve safety. Its with great pride that we launch these two networks and embark on a journey to continue to deliver the connectivity needs of these communities today and into the future, Bolger concluded. Voice calls and messaging over the 4G network is supported using Pivotels purpose-built voice and SMS over IP service, PATT (Pivotel App for Talk and Text). More information on Pivotels network services is here. Massachusetts reported a total of 19,036 COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, down slightly from the 19,791 confirmed over the prior 14-day period. But the monthlong decline of COVID cases in Massachusetts and across the country has slowed considerably, with some states reporting increases in recent days. The percent positivity in Massachusetts has remained flat over the past four weeks at 1.83%, according to the latest community-level data from the Department of Public Health. If you are having trouble viewing this chart, click here. There are now 20 cities and towns at high risk for COVID spread, according to the latest data from the Department of Public Health. Last week, the number of communities at high risk was down to 14. The latest community totals and risk designations are based on data analyzed between Feb. 28 and March 13. The cities and towns now at high risk incude: Barnstable, Chicopee, Dighton, Douglas, Fall River, Freetown, Hanson, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, Millis, Plymouth, Revere, Rutland, Southwick, Sterling, Sutton, West Bridgewater and Yarmouth. State health officials confirmed another 1,857 new COVID cases and 27 virus-related fatalities on Thursday. The state also saw the number of COVID cases in in-person public schools rise in the past week. There were 669 cases compared to 523 last week. The number of new daily cases has leveled out after several weeks of steep declines. Last week saw new cases rise by more than 300 over the previous week. More than three million doses of COVID vaccine have been shipped to Massachusetts to date, including shots that the federal government sends directly to pharmacies through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Program, according to the weekly vaccine dashboard. Over the last seven days, 349,877 doses have been administered in Massachusetts, data shows. Related Content: Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:42:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a symposium at the National Development and Reform Commission in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Vice Premier Han Zheng on Tuesday stressed an accurate understanding of the new development stage and full application of the new development philosophy to ensure a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a symposium at the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner. Han called for solid efforts in three key tasks including promoting high-quality development, pursuing common prosperity, and firmly establishing the holistic view of national security. More efforts should be made to ensure food security and energy security, promote works on carbon neutrality, and safeguard the industrial and supply chains, Han said. He also stressed efforts to implement major regional strategies, promote coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as push forward the joint building of the Belt and Road with high quality. Enditem YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh issued a statement on the occasion of the visit of the Azerbaijani president to the occupied territories of Artsakh, focusing on the fact that Aliyev personally tasked the officials accompanying him to have medieval Armenian inscriptions removed from the walls of churches and monuments. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Artsakh, the statement runs as follows, ''In a blatant disrespect for the continuous efforts to find a lasting solution to the Azerbaijan -Karabakh conflict, President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan, accompanied by his wife and First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva and other high-ranking state officials, has visited the occupied Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh. During the visit, President Aliyev personally instructed accompanying officials to have medieval Armenian inscriptions removed from the walls of churches and monuments in the occupied territories. Such official visits are nothing but a manifestation of anti-Armenian and militaristic policy of Azerbaijan and an insight into its future aggressive plans. The Republic of Artsakh has alerted the international community on numerous occasions about Azerbaijans state-orchestrated cultural terrorism, its efforts to erase Armenian cultural heritage in territories that are under its military occupation further advancing its genocidal expansionist policy. This genocidal policy is a crime against humanity, a gross violation of international norms, conventions, resolutions and agreements, and a threat to the entire civilized world. We call on the relevant international organizations to take all the necessary measures to prevent the eradication of Armenian cultural heritage as well as to resolutely condemn the genocidal policy of Azerbaijan. Inaction and indifference are fraught with unpredictable consequences''. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions Highlights Redmi TV X series is the first from Redmi in India. The smart TV comes in three screen sizes. All models support Dolby Vision and HDR 10+. Expectations can be dangerous. Who knows this better than Xiaomi! The electronics maker is expected to disrupt every category and segment it enters in. That often goes against it - something that applies to the first ever Redmi TV in India. Those who follow the television industry closely would be aware that Xiaomi has been selling smart televisions in India under its more premium branding. It is now looking to target a fresh set of customers with the Redmi TV. At least the first attempt fails to differentiate itself from the already existing Xiaomi TVs. Launched in three sizes - 50 inches, 55 inches, and 65 inches with all 4K HDR LED panels on all variants, the Redmi TV sits in between good and great. Before we talk about any of that, let me just put out a disclaimer that we have spent less than 24 hours with the new Redmi TV and this is just the first impression. The Redmi TV is priced at Rs 32,999 for the X50, Rs 38,999 for the X55, and Rs 57,999 for the X65 variant. All the variants have exactly the same features, just in different sizes. We had the last for review purposes and it is huge. Finding a corner for the 65-inch variant in your house won't be easy and the 55-inch variant should be enough for most viewers. The latter also offers an excellent value. There is a significant gap in the pricing of 55-inches and 65-inches models. Also, several brands including Nokia, Motorola and Kodak are selling the 65-inches models under Rs 55,000. Even Xiaomi's Mi TV QLED is selling around the same mark. Even though it has a 55-inch screen size, the display quality is better than that of the Redmi TV. Having said that, the television sector has seen a surge in overall price with hike in customs duty, a rise in the cost of input material like copper, aluminium, and steel and an increase in ocean and air freights charges. So, Xiaomi hasn't done that bad either. It's just that the price doesn't feel as disruptive as it usually does with company's products. All three televisions come with support for the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats for high dynamic range content. They feature Reality Flow and Vivid Picture Engine for better viewing experience. I watched Ford vs Ferrari, an episode of WandaVision, and played few games of FIFA 21 on the Redmi TV. The high-quality content looks stunning on the Redmi TV. Anything shot in 4K or with Dolby Vision (as in case of WandaVision) is a delight but low-resolution videos appear uglier because of pixelation. The bezels have been kept thin. The overall body is also sleek. Redmi TV features 30W speakers with support for Dolby Audio. It also supports Dolby Atmos pass-through over eARC. The sound is pretty clear and loud. For connectivity, you get three HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.0. The television runs on Android 10 with stock Android TV launcher. It also features Xiaomi's PatchWall UI which lists selected content for users. The interface is easy to understand for anyone who have used a Xiaomi TV in the past. Others will take some time to get used to multiple windows and content suggestions. There is also Google Chromecast built in which comes in handy. This will also Xiaomi's first TV to have the Mi Home app for IoT products supported on the TVs. Redmi TV is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Mediatek processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage for apps. There is also auto low-latency mode (ALLM) for better performance with gaming. The Redmi TV remote control is very similar to the remote control that comes with the Mi Box 4K. It has dedicated hotkeys for Netflix and Prime Videos. Redmi TV X65 quick review: First impression Overall, the Redmi TV is a good attempt by Xiaomi. It has decent picture quality, good audio output and several impressive features. Yet, this series is an interesting case where the middle variant seems like a far better option than other two models despite having exactly the same specifications. The 65-inch variant is too big for a usual household and has the highest competition among all. It would have been a great option had Xiaomi priced it closer to the Rs 50,000-mark. We will be testing the television over the next few days and bring a detailed review of the same on India Today Tech. Till then, Stay tuned! Johnny Depp's bid to overturn a damning ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard and put her in fear for her life will be considered by the Court of Appeal this morning. The Hollywood star wants the court to order a retrial of his libel claim against The Sun over an article calling him a 'wife beater', which a High Court judge found was 'substantially true'. Following a three-week trial in July last year, Mr Justice Nicol ruled that Mr Depp, 57, assaulted Ms Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in 'fear for her life' three times. The actor is now challenging that ruling and his application for permission to appeal against it will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today. It is not known if Mr Depp or Ms Heard will be in attendance. Johnny Depp's (left) bid to overturn a damning ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard (right) and put her in fear for her life will be considered by the Court of Appeal this morning Mr Depp sued The Sun's publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) over a 2018 column by the newspaper's executive editor Dan Wootton, which referred to 'overwhelming evidence' he attacked Ms Heard. Following the high-profile trial, Mr Justice Nicol ruled against Mr Depp, but the actor claims he 'did not receive a fair trial'. In documents filed with the Court of Appeal, Mr Depp's barrister David Sherborne has asked the court to 'set aside the judgment and order a new trial', claiming Mr Justice Nicol's judgment is 'plainly wrong'. Adam Wolanski QC, representing NGN, argues Mr Justice Nicol conducted 'a painstaking analysis of the evidence', adding: 'There is no basis to conclude that the judge failed to examine the evidence or provide reasons for his findings.' In a court order issued in February, Lord Justice Underhill said an application by Mr Depp's lawyers to rely on new evidence, which was not heard at the trial, would also be dealt with at today's hearing. In his judgment, Mr Justice Nicol concluded that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN in its defence of the actor's claim did occur. The judge also found Mr Depp put Ms Heard in 'fear for her life' on three occasions, including one the actress described as a 'three-day hostage situation' in Australia in March 2015. But Mr Depp's legal team claim Mr Justice Nicol 'failed to examine the competing accounts of each incident, or to explain whether he found them proved and, if so, on what basis'. They also argue 'the judge should have analysed the extent to which Ms Heard's evidence undermined her credibility in relation to her allegations of physical assault/injury'. Mr Sherborne said Mr Justice Nicol 'took little or no account of the striking examples of Ms Heard's willingness to lie or commit wrongdoing'. The actor is now challenging that ruling and his application for permission to appeal against it will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today In his response, however, Mr Wolanski said the trial judge's ruling was 'long and thorough, with each conclusion of fact supported by a detailed analysis of the relevant oral and documentary evidence'. He also argued that Mr Justice Nicol 'explained his assessment of the witnesses' especially Ms Heard's credibility in considerable detail'. Just days after the ruling in July, Mr Depp announced he had been asked by Warner Brothers to resign from his role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts the very role which prompted Mr Wootton to ask how JK Rowling could be 'genuinely happy' Mr Depp was cast in the film. Mr Depp is currently embroiled in a separate libel battle in the US, having sued Ms Heard personally over a 2018 Washington Post opinion piece in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse but did not mention the actor by name. The actor's 50 million dollar (35 million) US case against Amber Heard was recently delayed until April 2022. The Court of Appeal hearing begins at 10.30am and will be livestreamed on the court's YouTube channel. It is yet not known if Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Dingemans will give a ruling today, or reserve their decision to a later date. By Liu Yinuo BEIJING, Mar. 18 -- The Chinese Ministry of Veterans Affairs (MVA) and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (CFIC) signed an inter-ministerial cooperation agreement to boost higher-quality employment of veterans on March 16. According to the agreement, an information docking mechanism will be established to promote the precise matching of recruitment information with job application information between private enterprises and veterans. Banking on the private enterprise survey system on the CFIC website, the two parties will collect information on veteran employment and entrepreneurship, and jointly carry out statistical investigation and analysis of the veteran employment in private enterprises. At the same time, they will continuously guide large-scale private enterprises and chambers of commerce to get involved in the employment of veterans, expand job supply for veterans, promote veterans to get employed or start businesses in related industries, and jointly organize recruitment month activity with a section specially set for veteran recruitment. An official of the MVA stated that employment is vital to the peoples livelihood and a top priority among veteran affairs. Following the signing of the agreement, the two parties will push forward cooperation in scheming collaboration methods, and strengthening information and data docking and sharing, in a bid to boost more stable and higher-quality employment of veterans. Amid a surge in COVID infections, Greeces Health Minister on March 17 said that unless at least 200 private doctors volunteer to help the public health services battle against the virus, he will recommend the Prime Minister order the requisitioning of their services. According to AP, Vassilis Kikilias said that the country registered a new daily record of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic, despite lockdown related measures in place since early November. He further informed that the country registered nearly 3,465 new infections and 56 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to just under 230,000. With the rising number of cases, the health minister urged private sector pathologists, respiratory specialists and general practitioners to assist the public health service. He called the fight against the pandemic a battle for human life and added that it is honouring the Hippocratic oath. Our citizens need you, Greece needs you, Kikilias said. Meanwhile, Greek healthcare system is reportedly reaching its limits. Earlier this month, the average daily admissions were almost half. According to reports, occupancy at intensive care units and regular wards for Covid-19 patients has increased at alarming levels, officials and experts said. COVID-19 scenario in Greece Further, the health expert said that if at least 200 doctors from the aforementioned specialities do not respond to his appeal within the next 48 hours, he will recommend to Prime Minister Kyrakos Mitsotakis to order the requisitioning of their services, essentially forcing them into working in the public sector. The country has been struggling to overcome a surge in infections and deaths since the fall, despite lockdown measures that have largely shuttered the retail sector and only allow people to leave their homes for specific reasons and with either a self-written declaration or an SMS. Recently, the authorities in Greece also announced that the police will target people making false exercise claims to bypass stay-at-home orders as restrictions were tightened due to the surge in cases. Despite the four months of lockdown, cases continue to experience a surge. Most of the residents can only leave their homes using a number-categorized permission system. Kikilias said that more private and military hospital facilities would be used in greater Athens. This will be done to free up more beds in the National Health System for the treatment of the deadly virus. (Image: AP) Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A year ago, as the coronavirus pandemic was ramping up in the U.S., news reports showed crowds of spring breakers hitting Florida beaches and nightclubs, even as public health experts warned they were risking everyones health for a good time. Now, it feels a bit like deja vu. Earlier this week, photos showed college students crowding beaches, partying together in hotels and congregating in huge crowds near Miami Beach nightclubs. Local officials begged them to wear masks and take other precautions, but news reports show many did not heed their advice. Its exactly the kind of scenario that led most of New Jerseys colleges and universities to cancel spring break entirely this year. The concern is that traveling during break and then returning to campus will increase the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission post-break, said Corey Basch, chair of William Paterson Universitys public health department. The activities typically associated with spring break generally do not include social distancing and mask use, which further intensifies the concern. Basch said that research from 2020 suggests that student travel last spring caused increased spread of the virus, not just on campuses, but in the surrounding communities. The goal is to avoid duplicating such outcomes, but it may be easier said than done, Basch said. Approximately 60% of colleges have eliminated spring break this year, according to research by the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College. The move was even more popular among schools in New Jersey though likely not among students who enjoy a week off mid-semester. Almost all of the states four-year public and private colleges and universities canceled spring break this year, and some chose to instead spread the five days off throughout the semester to give students a break without encouraging travel. Of course, continuing to hold classes does not necessarily prevent students from traveling, given so many of them are attending classes remotely anyway. Students from the University of Georgia in Miami Beach told NPR this week that they log into their classes from their hotel and then get back to partying when class is over. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, spring breakers return to South Beach and walk along Ocean Drive, which is closed to traffic on March 12, 2021. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS)TNS Bojana Beric-Stojsic, director of the Master of Public Health program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said you cant totally prevent students from traveling, but a colleges decision to cancel spring break should send a strong message to students about the behavior they expect. She said she wasnt surprised to see news of spring breakers back on the beach this month, given the unevenness of pandemic restrictions and messaging in some states and institutions. Schools or communities that had a lot of students travel should expect to see cases rise, she said. I cannot wait to be able to travel. I think everyone feels the same, Beric-Stojsic said. But this is something that is really still very pressing. We dont have enough immunized people. We dont have enough vaccines to provide immunization to control the spread of the virus. In New Jersey, new cases are actually trending up slightly, something Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said may be due to the spread of the more contagious variant from the U.K. The New Jersey institutions that opted to have spring break as usual include Rutgers, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey City University, Bloomfield College, Felician University and Georgian Court University. Princeton University shortened its spring break to just a few days to discourage travel. Many tried to discourage travel and are reminding students of their quarantine and testing requirements if they do leave the state. At Rutgers, all students were required to fill out a mandatory form, telling the university whether they would remain on campus or travel. Any student who does travel out of state, with the exception of border states, will have to live in quarantine housing for ten days after their return to campus, the university told students. Rutgers spokeswoman Dory Devlin said that of the roughly 3,400 students living on the three campuses, about 60% are staying on campus and most others went home to places in the approved tri-state area. Less than three dozen went out of state; they will quarantine when they return, she said. At NJIT, students did get a spring break. Spokesman Matthew Golden said the university made the decision after weighing the mental health benefits and assessing the situation which includes that case numbers at the school have remained relatively low. As a 90% STEM university, our students experience a challenging and intense curriculum. Many use time during spring break to get ahead or catch up after devoting significant time to preparing for midterm exams and projects, Golden said. So, taking away spring break and moving continuously into classes and the next wave of assignments could have proved very challenging and negatively impacted the academic performance of students. The school has about 1,500 students living on campus and about 4,000 people on campus for classes and work each day, he said. New Jersey City University in Jersey City said the decision to have spring break was based on students needs and the fact that 75% of classes are already virtual. Many of our students traditionally work throughout the year, and particularly during the spring break period, rather than traveling, and we did not want to impact them financially by eliminating the week of spring break, said spokesman Ira Thor. The pandemic has been especially difficult on our low-income students and those from communities of color, and canceling spring break could have become yet another financial stressor. Fairleigh Dickinson University is one of several schools that is replacing spring break with five individual days off spread throughout the semester. Beric-Stojsic said those days off provide a nice break each month, even though most people would prefer to get a usual spring break. Everybody misses that. And the sooner we get to that point, the sooner we will go back to our regular travels and spring break and all of that, she said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi, March 18 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said setting the tying of a rakhi as a condition for bail, thus transforming a molester into a brother by a judicial mandate, is not unacceptable as it has the effect of diluting and eroding the offence of sexual harassment. A bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and S. Ravindra Bhat said the law criminalises outraging the modesty of a woman, as it criticised the July 30 order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where a man accused of molestation was asked to get a 'rakhi' tied on him by the victim as a condition for bail. "Granting bail, subject to such conditions, renders the court susceptible to the charge of re-negotiating and mediating justice between confronting parties in a criminal offence and perpetuating gender stereotypes," the bench said in its 24-page order, setting aside the bail condition in the High Court order. In the judgement, the top court passed seven key directions which need to be adhered to while passing bail orders in sexual offences cases. Noting that gender violence is most often unseen and is shrouded in a culture of silence, the bench said: "The causes and factors of violence against women include entrenched unequal power equations between men and women that foster violence and its acceptability, aggravated by cultural and social norms, economic dependence, poverty and alcohol consumption, etc." The top court said judges can play a significant role in ridding the justice system of harmful stereotypes. "They have an important responsibility to base their decisions on law and facts in evidence, and not engage in gender stereotyping," it noted. The bench also added the judges should identify gender stereotyping, and identify how the application, enforcement or perpetuation of these stereotypes discriminates against women or denies them equal access to justice. "Stereotyping might compromise the impartiality of a judge's decision," it observed. Men, perhaps more than women, have a duty and role to play in averting and combating violence against women, it said. Noting Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had suggested steps that should be taken to sensitise all stakeholders, especially courts, while dealing with offences against women, the bench said: "On gender equality and gender sensitisation, the Attorney General argued that to achieve the goal of gender justice, it is imperative that judicial officers, judges, and members of the bar are made aware of gender prejudices that hinder justice." The top court said if judges falter, especially in gender related crimes, they imperil fairness and inflict great cruelty in the casual blindness to the despair of the survivors as it passed a slew of direction on the aspect of gender sensitisation in the legal fraternity. "As far as the training and sensitisation of judges and lawyers, including public prosecutors goes, this court hereby mandates that a module on gender sensitisation be included, as part of the foundational training of every judge," it said. The bench asked the National Judicial Academy to prepare a module for training of young judges with respect to gender sensitisation. It also asked the Bar Council of India should consider topics on sexual offences and gender sensitisation be mandatorily included in the syllabus for the All-India Bar Examination. The top court order came on a plea filed by advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other women lawyers against the bail condition in the High Court order. Eden Dally shared a special tribute to his girlfriend Cyrell Paule to celebrate their two year anniversary. The former Love Island star shared a photo of them cuddled up to each other at a park, in an Instagram post on Thursday. He wrote in the caption: 'Two years with my partner in crime love this fiery girl who never holds back always speaks her mind and is always there for me.' 'I'm lucky to call you my best friend': Love Island's Eden Dally shared a special tribute to his 'fiery' girlfriend Cyrell Paule on their two year anniversary on Thursday 'I'm lucky to call you my best friend, love you,' he added. Cyrell replied to his post: 'Aaaahhh shucks!!! Love u too Hurricane Eden. 'Even though u leave bbq sauce stains everywhere around our house,' the Married At First Sight star jokingly added. She also took to her Instagram to share a poetic tribute to her beau, along with a selfie of them. 'Love u too Hurricane Eden': She joked in her response: 'Even though u leave bbq sauce stains everywhere around our house' Rap queen in the making! Cyrell also took to her Instagram to share a poetic tribute to her beau, along with a selfie of them. She showed off her rhyming prowess, writing: 'They said we wouldn't make it. They said we wouldn't last. I'd be the girl u slept with. A fling from the past' The reality TV star showed off her rhyming prowess, writing: 'They said we wouldn't make it. They said we wouldn't last. I'd be the girl u slept with. A fling from the past. 'They said we were a stunt and money we needed so. They said we were so desperate, and our baby was for show. 'They all made bets. And had their say. On YouTube and on podcasts. But what they didn't know... or did not expect, was the impossible forecast. 'People were against us. They hoped that we would fail. They didn't think we'd make it. And they prayed that you would bail. Still going strong: No matter what you comes our way I'll fight by you side. Against all the odds I'll be Cyclone... The Crazy MAFs bride. I love you Eden, my partner in crime,' she wrote 'So to the people that laughed and mocked us. To the people that had a lot to say. Guess we're still together, 2 years to this day. 'No matter what you comes our way I'll fight by you side. Against all the odds I'll be Cyclone... The Crazy MAFs bride. I love you Eden, my partner in crime,' she wrote. Cyrell added: 'I'll love you forever through the test of time. Happy two years my baby daddy, let's practice making another baby.' Doting parents: The reality TV star couple welcomed Boston, their first child together, in February last year The reality TV star couple welcomed Boston, their first child together, in February last year. The couple met in March 2019 after Cyrell's 'marriage' to Nic Jovanovic on Married At First Sight ended when they decided they were better off as friends. Cyrell and Eden began dating officially within a matter of weeks, and she later moved into his Sydney home. They announced they were expecting their first child together in August 2019. NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the past few months millennial traders have dominated and controlled a large portion of the publicly traded market. Trading and retailing investing for millennials is at an all time high. Although most are not the same investors as those of WallStreetBets. In comes "The Stonk CEOs" who have streamlined into the world of investing with the common idea of financial freedom, for the common man. The Brand of "The Stonk CEOs" was launched in December, 2020. Founders Jon Melillo, 21 years old of Cape Cod Massachusetts and Alex Johnson, 26 years old of Las Vegas, Nevada. Since launch the brand has seen exponential growth due to hard work and pure dedication to financial freedom for the millennial generation. "The Stonk CEO's" is an investing community with an overwhelming following. Gaining much of their audience as well as current members through social media platforms, primarily TikTok, with over 100k followers. The main question many people may be wondering is how do "The Stonk CEOs" operate? This leads to the main form of chat communication, trade alerts, and chat rooms. Discord is the primary source for members/clients of "The Stonk CEOs", with nearly 10k members. The Discord contains 10+ channels with stock and trading alerts as well as the reason/why behind the trade. Full time analysts within the company dedicate their day to research and analysis when executing a trade, as well as being present to help members 24/7. There are also education, trading, trader, questions, and free chatrooms for members to take advantage of. As well as the latest addition to the server "Girls Talk Stocks". "The Stonk CEOs" offers anyone to join the movement of financial freedom, free of charge for general free chat. Although gaining access to potentially life changing alerts and chat rooms with one of their premium memberships known as "Prime" is well worth the small monthly fee. Additionally premium members gain essential knowledge from education services provided to become better and more successful investors. Statement From "The Stonk CEOs" The Stonk CEOs prides itself in the community we have built. A community that not only welcomes different levels of financial experience but is diverse within its members. We are proud to expand on our diversity by creating a group where women can come together to talk investments, collaborate on projects, and get to know one another. "Girls talk Stocks" is that channel. We are proud supporters of the women in our community and provide them with their own space to grow as investors." The future of "The Stonk CEOs" is something you will not want to miss out on. In the past 5 months the company has grown from an idea to a national brand. The vision of the company is to be the next Barstool Sports. Barstool is seen as one of the largest Pop culture comedy brands, with merchandise, podcasts, and daily videos. "The Stonk CEOs" envision to be the Barstool of the finance investing world for the current generation and common man. As quoted by the founder Jon Melillo "We can create a massive movement that makes an entire young generation savvy and have a huge advantage in their futures. Create this idea and mentality that ANYONE can become a Stonk CEO". The Brand of "The Stonk CEOs" has an executive leadership team consisting of Jon Melillo -founder, Alex Johnson- founder, Luis Lopez- daily operations, and Nate Tringali- marketing and growth. A quote that founder Alex Johnson lives by is "At some point in our lives, we will worry about money. Money is merely a tool. It is how we utilize that tool that will make us all financially free. Our idea is to increase everyone's mindset to a more intelligent outlook". The Stonk CEOs marketing team led by Nate Tringali & Scott Lubofsky have an organized plan to bring this brand to new heights and disrupt the entire space. Granting them a large presence to their audience through YouTube, podcasts, college universities, and all other social media outlets educating on financial literacy, giving motivation to millennials to want to achieve financial freedom. Consider joining the movement with The Stonk CEOs today. https://discord.gg/jHkPy7ZTUw Disclaimer: The news site hosting this press release is not associated with The Stonk CEOs. It is merely publishing a press release announcement submitted by a company, without any stated or implied endorsement of the person, information, product or service. Press Contact Alex Johnson 7024693129 https://www.thestonkceos.com/ SOURCE The Stonk CEOs Related Links http://www.thestonkceos.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 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 View Results Local Investigation launched, police officers suspended after local business owner detained TUPELO The Tupelo Police Department has launched an internal investigation and suspended two of its police officers without pay after they detained a local businessman, according to a statement from Mayor Jason Shelton. Wesley Wells, a prominent businessman and community volunteer who is Black, was walking near the ring road at the Mall at Barnes Crossing Tuesday night when he was detained for a time by TPD officers. UPDATE: Following Wesley Wells incident, Lee County NAACP calls for Tupelo police reform Shelton said police officers were dispatched to the mall to investigate a pair of alleged shoplifters. One of the individuals involved in the alleged incident was detained by mall security, and the other individual fled on foot while wearing a white hat, white shirt and dark pants Shelton said. The mayor said Wells was wearing clothing that matched the description of the individual who fled from the mall, but insisted at length that Wells is not suspected of any wrongdoing. On behalf of the City of Tupelo I want to publicly apologize to Mr. Wesley Wells for the unfortunate incident which occurred, Shelton said. Again, Mr. Wells is completely innocent of any unlawful behavior and is a longtime community volunteer and local business owner. Sheltons statement comes after Wells uploaded a video to Facebook on Tuesday night after the incident occurred, offering his account of the incident. In the video, Wells said that when the police officers stopped him, they asked him to identify himself because he matched the description of the person who fled the mall. But because he was exercising outside, Wells did not have any form of identification on him, but identified himself to the officers. He even told them they could check with the general manager of the mall, with whom he is friends, to verify his identity. I dont give a damn who you know, Wells recounted an officer saying. He accused the officers of being overtly rude, refusing to wear masks after he asked them to do so to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and placing him in handcuffs in the back of a patrol car for approximately 15 minutes. If theyre going around treating citizens like this, there needs to be some changes immediately, Wells said in the video. Im sorry, I cant let this go. I mean, I was just robbed of every little piece of dignity I had tonight. The video, which has been viewed at least 3,000 times on Facebook, prompted local business leaders, clergy and elected officials to respond to the video, criticizing the actions of the officers and defending Wells character. Sheltons statement said that Wells detention is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Division within the police department. Pending the internal investigation, two of the officers involved have been suspended without pay, one has received a verbal counseling and all three officers have been ordered to attend sensitivity and de-escalation training. The statement does not release the names of the officers involved. Wells wrongful detention is the latest event in a long line of controversies surrounding the tactics and methods of Tupelos police department. In 2016, a white police officer fatally shot Antwun Ronnie Shumpert, a 37-year-old unarmed Black man. The shooting prompted a wave of protests in the community and was linked to wide distrust of local law enforcement by Black citizens. A grand jury failed to indict the Tupelo police officer who was involved in the shooting. A civil suit over Shumperts death was dismissed in federal court and the U.S. Supreme Court later declined to intervene. Since then, former police officers have filed suits against the department alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination within the workplace. All of them have been settled outside of court. After George Floyd died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last year, hundreds of citizens expressed concern that Tupelo should take proactive steps to ensure that something similar does not happen in Tupelo and that efforts should be made to make the Tupelo Police Department more transparent. After many community protests, several municipal politicians pledged to listen to concerns of citizens and work together to make potential reforms of local law enforcement. 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. Myanmar security forces gather behind a burning barricade during a crackdown on protests in Yangon against the military coup, March 17, 2021. Indonesias military chief expressed deep concern Thursday about increasing violence in Myanmar, following futile efforts by officials from his government to influence the crisis through diplomacy. Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto made the remarks at a virtual meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense chiefs, including from Myanmar. I would like to convey my profound concerns about the situation in Myanmar. As conveyed by the president and the foreign minister, the security and safety of the Myanmar people are paramount, Hadi told the 18th ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting. The TNI [Indonesian Armed Forces] is always ready to provide assistance and share its experience in building professional armed forces in the context of a democracy, Hadi said, according to a transcript obtained by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Top military officials from host Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam also attended the meeting, the Indonesian military said in a statement. An official at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta said the meetings joint statement would not be released to the media. The defense chiefs adopted a two-year work plan, while Brunei the current ASEAN chair tabled a working paper on how regional militaries can enhance security, interoperability, and capacities through integrated cooperation, the Brunei Ministry of Defense said on its website. A war zone Protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi have been met by military violence that has left 186 dead in Myanmar, according to a tally compiled by Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews. The crackdown has made a war zone out of suburbs of Myanmars largest city, Yangon, which were put under martial law early this week, with soldiers shooting protesters on sight and workers facing starvation, witnesses and aid workers said on Wednesday. Indonesia, under the leadership of former Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the countrys first directly elected president, played a significant role in Myanmars democratic transition about a decade ago. Yudhoyono helped mediate conflicts between the Myanmar government and ethnic minorities, provided input on drafting democratic laws, and invited officials to learn about democratic institutions. But those interactions waned under President Joko Jokowi Widodo, analysts have said. Shortly after the coup, Malaysia and Indonesia led calls for a special ASEAN meeting on Myanmar, but it failed to reach a consensus on demanding the immediate release of Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the military. Instead, ASEAN merely called for a halt to violence in Myanmar and urged dialogue to end the crisis. In the first known face-to-face meeting between Myanmars military government and foreign diplomats, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told the juntas envoy in late February that it must listen to Myanmars people, refrain from violence, and allow a democratic transition process. Since then, close to 200 civilians have been killed and the junta has closed all independent media outlets. More than 2,000 people have been arrested, charged, or sentenced, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group. Impotence In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, six senior Southeast Asian politicians criticized the impotence of ASEAN and demanded the bloc discard its non-interference principle, calling it an obstacle to ensuring democracy and protecting peoples rights in the region. All ASEAN governments must unite and send an unequivocal message to the Myanmar military junta to immediately free all political prisoners, to restore the political situation in Myanmar to that prior to the 1st February 2021 coup and to respect the peoples votes in the November 2020 general election, the politicians statement said. They also demanded that all those responsible for the killing of innocent people in Myanmar be brought to justice. Failing which, all other ASEAN governments must unite and suspend Myanmars membership of ASEAN and thereafter impose targeted trade and economic sanctions against the military junta and their associates, the statement said. The statement was signed by Sam Rainsy, an exiled Cambodian opposition leader, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian lawmaker Fadli Zon, Philippine Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, former Singapore Deputy Speaker Charles Chong, and former Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. 'Didi bole khela hobe', BJP bole 'vikas hobe', says PM Modi in Purulia India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Mar 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public rally at Purulia on Thursday to bolster the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign ahead of the crucial assembly polls in West Bengal. While addressing a rally in Purulia, Modi said, ''Fortunate to be here in Bengal. '' Launching a scathing attack on Mamata Banerjee, PM Modi said, ''TMC's governance has led to an acute water crisis in Purulia. Water shortage is so rampant here that farmers and Adivasis don't even get enough water to do farming. Women here have to travel far and wide to get drinking water. 'Didi' has to account for all this.'' ''This land is a witness to Lord Ram and Goddess Sita's exile. This land has Sitakund. It is also said that when goddess Sita was thirsty, Lord Ram got water from the ground by hitting it with an arrow...It is an irony that Purulia faces water crisis today, " Modi said. Modi further claimed that with the help of a double engine govt, Bengal will be only strive towards development. West Bengal elections 2021: Mamata Banerjee releases TMC manifesto Mamata Banerjee's heartless govt has led to the creation of a sect of Maoists who have plundered the lands, wealth etc of the poor people of the state, says PM Modi The Priminister said,"Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole chaakri hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole vikas hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole shiksha hobe....Khela shesh hobe, vikas aarambh hobe." ''BJP will improve the road connectivity of Purulia. After May 2, the infrastructure will be developed, Those involved in handicraft will also get their due,'' says PM Modi. ''Bengal made up its mind long back. It's been saying 'Lok Sabha mein TMC half aur iss baar poori saaf'. Seeing this determination, didi is taking out her frustration on me. But for us, she's a daughter like crores of daughters of India. Respect for them is part of our culture. That is why we were concerned when didi got injured. I pray to God that her leg injury heals soon,'' Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Purulia. Sheryl Underwood was caught on camera defending comedian George Lopez after he called a black woman a 'b***h' and joked that the number one rule in the Latino community is 'don't marry somebody black', DailyMail.com can reveal. The controversial comedian made the comment during a foul-mouthed on-stage rant during a show in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2017. He then lashed out at an audience member for reacting negatively to his joke. In an episode of The Talk screened four days later, Underwood came to his defense telling co-hosts: 'I would have said, "b***h, that's why nobody's going to marry you cause you talking in my show.' Underwood, 57, is currently embroiled in a very public spat with co-host Sharon Osbourne, 68, after the veteran British star came to Piers Morgan's defense after he said he didn't believe a word Meghan Markle said during her Oprah interview. Scroll down for video Sheryl Underwood came to George Lopez's defense on The Talk in 2017 after he was heckled by a black woman who took offense to his racist joke Lopez, 59, lashed out at the woman, calling her a 'b***h' and booting her out of his Phoenix show four years ago after she flipped him off from the crowd when she became offended by his joke Days later, Underwood discussed the incident with her co-hosts and suggested the audience member was in the wrong During an angry exchange on the March 10 show, a tearful Underwood said she believed Morgan's 'dismissal' of Markle's claims was racist. The show has now been put on hiatus until next Tuesday pending an investigation by CBS bosses. However, sources told DailyMail.com that they found watching Underwood angrily attack Osbourne for defending Morgan 'hypocritical' given her past defense of Lopez. Lopez made his outburst during a show on February 4, 2017, after telling the crowd: 'There's still two rules in the f***ing Latino family: Don't marry somebody black and don't park in front of our house.' He was then heckled by the audience member who had taken offense to the racially charged joke. In response, the comedian screamed: 'You paid to see a show, sit your a** down. [If] you can't take a joke, you're at the wrong motherf***ing place. 'Sit your f***ing a** down or get the f*** out of here.' Sources told DailyMail.com that they found watching Underwood angrily attack Osbourne for defending Morgan 'hypocritical' given her past defense of Lopez The clip has resurfaced as Underwood's spat with co-host Sharon Osbourne continues to make waves. Osbourne was accused of being racist for defending her friend Piers Morgan in the wake of his Meghan Markle comments Four days after the incident, Underwood came to his defense during an episode of The Talk screened on February 8, adding: 'See, that is why we don't want to be recorded inside of the venue. Because if you just look at the outside in, you think: "Oh, he's attacking this black woman," but once you throw up the bird twice and you are in the first few rows, you have now inserted yourself into the show and it depends on the mood of the comic on how they handle it.' Underwood said that jokes at stand-up shows 'seem to be more racial, more sexist', but audience members have to 'expect what happens in the house.' 'He who holds the mic, or she who holds the mic, runs the house,' she added. She then went on to say: 'I am pro-black female, but if you put yourself into it, you gon' get lit up. I would've said: 'b***h, that's why nobody's going to marry you cause you talking in my show.' A source told DailyMail.com that Underwood who became visibly upset during her on-air row with Osbourne last week is also having anger management classes after allegedly bullying producers on the show. The insider said: 'In July of last year three producers from The Talk went to HR about Sheryl Underwood's constant bullying. Osbourne (far right) and Underwood (second from left) got into a heated exchange over Osbourne's support for her friend Piers Morgan (third from left), who has come under fire for comments he made about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Morgan posted this photo in February 2020 of the show's former panel from last year. From left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Underwood, Morgan, Marie Osmond, and Osbourne Sharon Osbourne tells DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that she never called Julie Chen a 'wonton' and those claims are 'crap, all crap' 'Sheryl threw a producer out of her dressing room. He became terrified of her. She was later brought into HR and told that she had to go into anger management. 'However, she only recently started the anger management program because of Covid. It's well known on set that Sheryl is very volatile.' DailyMail.com has contacted Underwood and CBS for comment. The newly resurfaced clip emerged as the row between Underwood and Osbourne continues to make waves, with Osbourne fighting back in an interview with DailyMail.com. She told DailyMail.com that she was blindsided and believes the debate was 'a set up' by CBS bigwigs who ordered Underwood to attack her over her defense of Morgan after fellow co-host Elaine Welteroth refused. She said: 'I found out later on, they'd asked Elaine to start off the segment and she said, no I'm not doing it. 'She kept saying, "where's the evidence that Piers is a racist? Where's the evidence? Show me". Of course, they couldn't show her anything because there wasn't anything.' In the interview, Osbourne asked: 'But why is it that because I supported a long-time friend and work colleague of mine for years that everybody goes, if you support him, then you must be racist because he's racist? 'This is the situation. You tell me where you have heard him say, educate me, tell me when you have heard him [Morgan] say racist things. Educate me. Tell me.' A tearful Underwood replied: 'It is not the exact words of racism. It is the implication and the reaction to it. 'To not want to address that, because she is a black woman, and to try and dismiss it or to make it seem less than it is. That's what makes it racist.' Osbourne has also faced further accusations of racism leveled by former co-stars Julie Chen, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete. Both Robinson Peete and Remini claim they were described as 'ghetto' by Osbourne, while Chen claims the 68-year-old referred to her as a 'wonton'. Speaking to DailyMail.com, Osbourne angrily denied the claims and said the spate of claims amounted to a pile-on. She said: 'Everyone's got an opinion or a story like the wonton story. It's like f*** off with your f***ing wonton story. F*** off! The Talk was initially put on hiatus until Wednesday while executives investigated. Following the Chen and Gilbert allegations, CBS issued a statement saying it had extended the broadcast suspension until next Tuesday 'Everybody's got an opinion and everybody's got a voice it's fine. It's about knowing somebody's been called out for something and then somebody else is like, "yes!! I'm going to add something too". 'Of course, it's a pile on. People want to add fuel to the fire and it comes with the territory and that's fine. I can say f*** you all.' Asked if she had ever called Chen a wonton or referred to Remini as ghetto, she added: 'It's all crap. It's all crap. 'In situations like this, you're always going to get people who you've had disagreements with in the past, people who've got axes to grind, who come out of the woodwork and they'll come out with their BS and that's it. It doesn't surprise me at all. It doesn't surprise me.' She added: 'Being accused of racism is no joke. Now they get their sweet revenge. I can't even address it because it's kids in a schoolyard. 'Coming out with stupid, childish comments it's like really? That's all you've got?' James Levine, the legendary conductor of New York's Metropolitan Opera who was ousted in disgrace over sexual abuse accusations, has died in California at the age of 77, his doctor said Wednesday New York, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Mar, 2021 ) :James Levine, the legendary conductor of New York's Metropolitan Opera who was ousted in disgrace over sexual abuse accusations, has died in California at the age of 77, his doctor said Wednesday. Levine "died on March 9 in Palm Springs of natural causes," his doctor Len Horovitz told AFP, confirming a report in The New York Times. The Met Opera sacked its maestro of four decades in March 2018 after finding "credible evidence" that he sexually abused younger musicians. Levine was one of the most prominent artists to see his career ended in the #MeToo era, first triggered by the furor over alleged abuse by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The conductor was accused of preying on a string of vulnerable music students when he was a charismatic visiting instructor, with most cases dating back to decades ago. It marked a spectacular fall from grace for Levine, who took the reins of the Met's orchestra in 1976 and guided it for 40 years. Struggling with Parkinson's disease, he had retired at the end of the 2015-16 season -- but stayed on in a role of music director emeritus and led a youth artist program. A legend in the opera world as the Met sought a wider public audience, Levine notably conducted some of the "Three Tenors" concerts that brought together Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. His final Met appearance was conducting Verdi's "Requiem" in December 2017. The Met acted quickly to move past the taint of Levine, appointing as his successor the youthful French Canadian Yannick Nezet-Seguin. The owners of the three businesses where the shootings occurred could not be reached for comment. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, told the police that he suffered from sexual addiction and viewed the spas as a temptation. The Atlanta police said on Thursday that Mr. Long had been a customer of the two spas that were targeted in the city. In 2020, Street Grace, a faith-based anti-trafficking organization, used a popular website used by those who frequent such spas to identify 165 illicit massage businesses in Georgia, more than three quarters of which were in the greater Atlanta area. The organization set up cameras outside the shops and reviewed the comments on the review website, RubMaps, to estimate that the illicit massage industry in Georgia has more than 1,000 customers a day and an estimated annual gross revenue of more than $42 million. Yvonne Chen, an advocate for sex trafficking victims who works with Asian women who work at massage businesses, said not all of them are willing to provide sex to their clients, but those who refuse are often attacked by their customers. I dont think theres enough discussion of the violence that comes from the buyers, she said. Customers often go on membership-only review websites where they describe in detail what sexual services employees at a given spa are willing to provide. The two spas targeted in the attacks in Atlanta, Aromatherapy and Gold Spa, have dozens of comments on RubMaps. Law enforcement agencies across the country frequently conduct raids and occasionally shut businesses down, but nimble spa owners frequently set up shop elsewhere, according to law enforcement officials and anti-trafficking advocates. The spa owners generally run as a loose network, with women often spending only a few months at one spa before moving to another state to work at another, they said. Owners often hold on to employees passports and require them to pay rent as live-in workers. SALEM, Ore. Governor Kate Brown on Thursday ordered that all flags at Oregon public institutions be flown at half-staff until sunset on Monday in honor of the victims of the shootings in the Atlanta metropolitan area this week. "The violent attack in Georgia and the rise in racist hate crimes against Asian communities including in Oregon are absolutely unacceptable and must stop, said Governor Brown. Dan and I send our condolences to the families and friends of the eight individuals who were killed. To the Asian community in Oregon: I feel your pain and I stand with you. I remain committed to doing the hard work to build a more equitable and just Oregon. Authorities arrested 21-year-old Robert Long on Wednesday afternoon after shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area. Long is suspected of killing eight people and wounding a ninth. Many of the victims were Asian women. Brown's declaration follows a similar one from the White House earlier in the day ordering flags be flown at half-staff at federal institutions across the country. "As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 16, 2021, in the Atlanta Metropolitan area, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, March 22, 2021," President Joe Biden said in a proclamation. Russia on Thursday urged Afghan officials and the Taliban during talks in Moscow to reach an accord to end years of violence ahead of a deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. The conference in Moscow is part of intensifying negotiations between the Afghan government, the Taliban and the United States in Qatar to negotiate Washingtons exit nearly 20 years after US troops invaded the country in response to the September 11 attacks. The United States is supposed to complete a withdrawal of its military from Afghanistan by May 1 as part of a deal with the Taliban a deadline US President Joe Biden said Wednesday would be tough to meet. Washington also wants to jump-start the peace process and get the Taliban and Afghan government to agree to some form of power-sharing. The Kremlin, which pulled Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 after a bruising occupation, last week threw its weight behind Washingtons initiative for an interim government that included the Taliban. In a degrading military-political situation, further delays are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said while opening the conference on Thursday. Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told the Moscow conference that Afghans should be left to decide their own fate, a Taliban spokesman said. The world should take into account the Islamic values, independence and national interests of the Afghan people, the spokesman said in a tweeted summary of Baradars speech, given behind closed doors. Warm discussions In a show of support for the international efforts, the head of the Afghan governments reconciliation council, Abdullah Abdullah, said Kabul wanted to speed up negotiations and for the two sides to start their talks and discussions in a different atmosphere. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a famed anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s who joined the governments delegation to Moscow said Thursdays talks had broken the stalemate in Doha, according to his spokesman. The so-called butcher of Kabul, who was accused of killing thousands of people in the capital during the countrys bloody civil war in the 1990s, was seen casually lunching with leading members of the Taliban negotiating team. The visiting Afghan delegation included a large spectrum of personalities from the past four years of conflict, including members of the current negotiation team in Doha, a former president and two warlords accused of grave war crimes. Critics also lambasted the lack of women invited to the summit. Negotiations to end the conflict initiated in Qatar last September have made little progress and their outcome is uncertain. Meanwhile urban centres in Afghanistan are in the grip of a bloody campaign in the form of attacks targeting politicians, civil servants, academics, rights activists and journalists. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Thursday that a military helicopter that crashed in the volatile Wardak province had been shot down, killing four crew and five members of the security forces. The perpetrators of the incident will be seriously punished, he said at a ceremony at the presidential palace. The United States, despite tensions with Russia, has welcomed Moscows role and also consulted fellow rival China as diplomacy steps up. Pakistan which holds the most outside influence over the Taliban is also represented in Moscow. Analysts have said the Moscow conference is largely a curtain-raiser for an even bigger gathering to be held in Turkey next month. burs-ecl-jbr/acl/lc Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Victoria recorded 21 days in a row without a new local coronavirus case on Friday, as European countries resumed the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Just two active coronavirus cases remain across the state. No new COVID-19 infections were reported in hotel quarantine. There were 16,426 test results received on Thursday. The figures come after Europes drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), declared that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in combating COVID-19 outweighed the risk of side effects. Hungary's ruling nationalist Fidesz party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban has quit the main pan-European center-right bloc, two weeks after leaving its grouping in the European Parliament. "It's time to say goodbye," Fidesz Vice Chairwoman Katalin Novak wrote on Twitter, posting a brief letter signed by the party's leaders which said it "no longer wishes to maintain its membership in the European People's Party (EPP), thus resigns." The move marks Fidesz's definitive break with the EPP, which brings together Europe's main center-right parties and is the biggest single voting bloc in the European Parliament. It is the party of both Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Fidesz's decision to quit the parliament grouping earlier this month came immediately after the conservative bloc voted for a change of rules that allows it to suspend Fidesz over its alleged repeated democratic backsliding. EPP President Donald Tusk reacted with relief to the news on March 18, but added that he would have liked to have seen this step by Fidesz much earlier. "Fidesz has left Christian Democracy. In truth, it left many years ago," he tweeted. Orban has called for the creation of a new European right-wing force for "our type of people." Orban's nationalist policies have been seen as a better fit with smaller European blocs to the right of the EPP, such as the Euroskeptic ECR, which includes Poland's ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS), or the right-wing ID, which includes France's National Rally and Italy's far-right League. Orban has said he was in talks with "the Poles," referring to PiS, as well as Italian right-wing politicians. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa The European Union has halted its plans to blacklist higher-level executives of Turkey's state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), Reuters reported, citing four diplomats. EU leaders in December proposed an asset freeze and travel ban in connection with Turkey's unauthorized drilling activities in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, although they did not identify specific individuals. The EU also agreed to weigh in on tougher economic sanctions against Turkey at the March 25-26 summit. But Erdogan's more constructive tone this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for a more conciliatory approach, and the first direct talks between Turkey and Greece in five years have all helped to change the mood. The new administration of US President Joe Biden has also called on Brussels not to impose sanctions at a time when Turkey, a NATO ally and an EU candidate country, appears to be more inclined to compromise, European and American diplomats said. Work has stopped on additional blacklistings of Turkish individuals, and we are not talking of economic sanctions anymore, one EU diplomat said. The second diplomat noted that the work did not start yet, and the third said that the diplomatic direction is a priority. The EU diplomatic service declined to comment. Diplomats say a videoconference between Erdogan and the head of the European Commission on January 9, followed by personal talks between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the EU foreign policy chief and NATO secretary-general, marked a change in Turkish rhetoric. In February 2020, the EU blacklisted two TPAO executives, including its Vice President Mehmet Ferruh Akalin. Following the December decision by EU leaders, the EU was supposed to impose sanctions on more board members, including TPAO chairman Melih Han Bilgin. Ankara denies any wrongdoing and considers the proposed sanctions biased and unfair. Greece and Cyprus, firmly supported by France, wanted to punish Turkey for oil and gas exploration by Turkish ships in disputed waters. The EU also accuses Erdogan of destroying democracy and independent courts and media. But Merkel, who is expected to step down later this year, supported an approach that prioritizes EU investments in Turkey, with Macron and Greece joining her, diplomats said. The EU leaders' report on relations with Turkey, which was originally supposed to list differences over energy, human rights, and migration issues, will now be neutral in tone, they said. A Turkish prosecutor's request to ban the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party is unlikely to revive any talk of sanctions, although the EU could discuss it, one diplomat added. Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin met with French and German political advisers in Ankara last week. It is also expected that on Friday Erdogan will hold a videoconference with the heads of the EU Council and the EC. Ankara wants progress on Turkey's visa-free travel rights to the EU, renewal of its trade agreement, and recognition of its hydrocarbon claims. The EU is also expected to provide new funds from 2022 for the 4 million refugees that Turkey is hosting. The warmer sentiment, however, does not mean something has been decided, EU diplomats said, adding that Turkey must meet the required goals to make progress. The EUs top foreign affairs official for Turkey, Angelina Eichhorst, said the bloc needed to manage Ankaras expectations. Some may think that because of a few actions, we can go high again, she said last month. We have to calibrate this, because there are processes that do take time. [March 18, 2021] OpenEye Scientific Incorporates Mcule Compound Library in Orion Platform to Accelerate Screening of Molecules SANTA FE, N.M., and PALO ALTO, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenEye Scientific and Mcule a leading online marketplace for drug discovery today announced that OpenEye's Orion molecular design platform now can greatly enhance the ability to search and screen molecules through Mcule's purchasable compound library. In drug discovery, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies may find large-scale virtual screening (LSVS) of large numbers of molecules to be computationally demanding. These companies also may find it challenging to identify sufficiently diverse compound databases. OpenEye's Orion molecular design platform uses the power of hundreds of thousands of CPUs at Amazon Web Services to provide fault-tolerant computational capacity required to meet high LSVS demands. Also, Mcule's large and diverse library of purchasable compounds, now available in Orion, can help provide faster and more efficient screening of these molecules, which can be easily purchased afterwards. "This collaboration between Mcule and OpenEye Scientific is a win-win for everyone involved," said Matthew Geballe, Vice President of Product at OpenEye Scientific. "OpenEye customers can not only screen 2D and 3D molecules from Mcule's databases at high speed due to Orion's powerful search methods and computational resources, but hey're also able to identify more hits and leads and get these compounds synthesized and delivered from Mcule in record time." Mcule developed its ULTIMATE database a high-quality purchasable compound library in collaboration with major pharmaceutical partners. Their ULTIMATE database currently contains more than 120 million molecules, 96% of which are not available from other marketplaces. "We are excited to collaborate with OpenEye Scientific," said Robert Kiss, CEO of Mcule. "They have sophisticated tools and sufficient computational power to help scientists select the right compounds from large databases. The required samples can then be conveniently sourced in an assay-ready format via Mcule's aggregation services." About Mcule Mcule operates chemical marketplaces for drug discovery with services based around small-molecule compound sourcing. While the traditional Mcule database aggregates a wide variety of supplier catalogs, Mcule ULTIMATE database contains novel, synthetically accessible compounds. Mcule SynthAgora is a custom synthesis marketplace that enables our clients to receive offers conveniently for structures that are not available in any catalogs in the world. Mcule also provides solutions for sample preparation, solubility inspection, and independent QC analysis. About OpenEye Scientific OpenEye Scientific is an industry leader in computational molecular design, based on decades of delivering rapid, robust, and scalable software, toolkits, and technology and design services. Our scientific, physics-based approach to molecular design historically focused on molecular shape and electrostatic potential to inform and guide molecular discovery and optimization. OpenEye now has integrated its applications and toolkits into Orion, the only cloud-native, fully integrated molecular design platform. Combining unlimited computation and storage with powerful tools for data sharing, visualization and analysis in an open development platform, Orion offers unprecedented capabilities for the advancement of pharmaceuticals, biologics, agrochemicals, and flavors and fragrances. Founded in 1997, OpenEye is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Fe, N.M., with offices in Boston, Mass.; Cologne, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, go to www.openeye.inc . Contacts: Marshall Poindexter OpenEye Scientific +1.617.849.8670 marketing@eyesopen.com Benjamin Kovats Mcule +36.1.781.5983 bkovats@mcule.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/openeye-scientific-incorporates-mcule-compound-library-in-orion-platform-to-accelerate-screening-of-molecules-301250172.html SOURCE OpenEye Scientific [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. Paxton, IL (60957) Today Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. The German Government has again urged people not to travel unless its absolutely necessary and said the Airlines are increasing the number off flights to Mallorca at Easter to make money. "I can only repeat the appeal to people not to go on holiday, said Executive Deputy Spokesperson Ulrike Demmer. Non-essential travel, including tourism will increase the number of contacts people have, so it would be better not to travel. As for expanding the offer of flights to Mallorca, those are business decisions," she added, and reiterated her call to give up non-essential travel. "The absence of a travel alert is not an invitation to travel," said Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Adebahr on Monday, but acknowledged that it was a personal decision. When the Robert Koch Institute of virology updated Germanys coronavirus risk list on Friday, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja and Murcia were removed. "The listing or exclusion of risk areas, including tourist regions, depends on the accumulated incidence rate in those places," said Government Spokesperson Steffen Seibert, who has appealed to German nationals several times, not to travel unless its essential. Demand for flights to Mallorca went through the roof as soon as the Balearic Islands was removed from Germany's coronavirus risk list. Press Release March 18, 2021 Nasaan ang Bakuna? Lacson Says Filipinos Deserve Lowdown on Vaccines Amid Loans More at: https://pinglacson.net/2021/03/18/nasaan-ang-bakuna-lacson-says-filipinos-deserve-lowdown-on-vaccines-amid-loans/ As culled from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank records and further articulated in a series of official statements from the Department of Finance, we may now have some P126.75 billion in approved loans for COVID vaccines, but the question remains: Where are the vaccines? Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson raised this question Thursday as he stressed the Filipino people deserve a lowdown from the government on the situation. Lacson also reiterated his call to the government to treat the private sector as a partner and not as a competitor in the procurement of the much-needed vaccines. "Magpakatotoo sana, doon muna sa basic. Sabihin lang ang totoo. So long as the concerned authorities do not recognize the problem, we cannot come up with a solution. Bigyan talaga ang lowdown sa Pilipino at maging decisive sana," he said in an interview on SMNI. Lacson stressed that he is not asking where the funds from the loans are, since as explained by the DOF during the Senate hearings, the money from the loans can only go to the intended purpose or straight to the suppliers. Earlier, Lacson noted the World Bank, ADB and AIIB had approved loans to the Philippines for vaccines, including: * April 20, 2020: US$100M * May 28, 2020: US$500M * Dec 16, 2020: US$600M * Mar 12, 2021: US$500M * March 2021: US$400M * March 2021: US$300M * P10B - DOH Bayanihan budget "Nasaan ka bakuna?" Lacson said on his Twitter account. But he added that while the Department of Finance has smartly anticipated the "crowding" for loans - and taking advantage of the high credit rating of the country before the coronavirus hit us, so they booked to get ahead of the rush - those in charge of the vaccine procurements did not seem to do their part early enough. "Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had repeatedly said we have enough funds and the DOF should be commended for having the foresight in taking the initiative to negotiate for the loans much ahead of time. However, no matter how efficient the DOF team is, why did the other team not act early?" he said. On the other hand, Lacson expressed hope, no matter how improbable the claims of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., that inoculations could go up to 450,000 a day starting April. "Let's make this happen and I will spearhead the adoption of a Senate resolution hailing those in charge of the country's vaccination program as modern day heroes," Lacson said in a separate tweet. Yet, he said the government's track record suggests otherwise. "It would be better if our authorities refrain from giving such statements because it is government's credibility that suffers, and the people will doubt them all the more because they know when they are being taken for a ride," he said. Lacson also warned anew against over-regulation, saying the private sector should be tapped as a partner to get better deals. He recalled that when he was Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR), the private sector greatly helped in the rehabilitation of areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, while bureaucratic procedure slowed the government. He also said that while both the government and the public deserve some blame for the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, government should have a bigger share of the blame. "Kung hindi sana nag-overregulate sa pag-procure ng vaccines kasi may pera namang available mula sa approved loans that DOF having the foresight to anticipate the 'crowding' took the initiative to negotiate as early as March or April. Sayang," he said. He also stressed the need for drastic and innovative steps to address the COVID threat, citing the setup in the United States where federal and state authorities partnered to set up vaccination centers, at the rate of one vaccine per 10 seconds. "Unless some drastic and innovative steps are undertaken, we might all die waiting," he added. This day five years ago, the EUs migration deal with Turkey was agreed, setting out strategies of containment and deterrence for desperate people trying to reach safety and a better life in Europe. The EU-Turkey deal hasnt stopped people trying to reach Europe, but it has caused immense harm to the tens of thousands of people who have been trapped in inhumane and oppressive refugee camps on five islands in Greece. For 18 months I worked as a doctor on one of these islands, Lesvos, with people contained in Moria refugee camp and its replacement camp after the fire. What I witnessed there was systematic dehumanisation and cruelty in which the EU, and by extension its citizens, are complicit. We have much in common with the people trapped in these camps. They have a diverse range of skills, professions and rich identities. They have the same basic human needs to love and be loved, to feel safe, to feel valued and respected. They care deeply for their families and they feel pain when they see their family members in pain. The fire that destroyed Moria camp in September 2020 left masses on the street without food, water or shelter. Picture: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images Having fled war and persecution, crossed hostile borders and seas, they have shown bravery, tenacity and resilience. Yet in spite of all they have been through, in my experience they are kind. The fire that destroyed Moria camp in September 2020 left masses on the street without food, water or shelter. It was a humanitarian catastrophe but there was hope that Europe might finally understand the breaking point that had long been reached on Lesvos. Surely now a system that had pushed many to the edge and beyond would end, and European countries would show solidarity by evacuating refugees from the island. As the spotlight fell on the EUs migration policies, commissioner Ylva Johannson even pledged that there would be "no more Morias". Sadly, in the months that followed this has not been the case. In keeping with the inhumane containment logic of the EU-Turkey deal, a new temporary camp has instead been built, with arguably worse conditions than Moria. Situated on a low-lying ex-military shooting range, this new camp is very exposed to the elements and prone to flooding. There is an incessant forceful wind, necessitating shouting, and whipping lead-infested dust into eyes and lungs. Other striking features include high metal fences, barbed wire and a heavy oppressive police force restricting freedoms even more than had been the case in lockdown-era Moria. During the weeks after the fire, I mentally catalogued people I met who really shouldnt be in this new camp: The four-year-old child and his traumatised, at-risk mother sleeping outside, unsheltered in the biting wind, with only a blanket to cover him. The elderly man with metastatic cancer who couldnt breathe. The newborn baby with a cardiac condition and her distraught parents. A woman holds her baby as she runs to avoid a small fire in a field near Mytilene town, on Lesbos. Thousands of asylum-seekers had to sleep in the open after successive fires destroyed the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp in September 2020. Picture: AP /Petros Giannakouris The torture survivor whose body was so broken that his physical pain actually outweighed his psychological pain. The heavily pregnant hypertensive woman who required an urgent C-section but was not allowed to leave by police at the gate. I recall one child being carried by stretcher to the medical area, her overwrought grandfather shuffling hurriedly behind her. Tears were streaming down his face, as the girls guardian, her medical papers were clutched to his chest. Eight years old, an orphan and from Syria, this girl was having a severe panic attack. Her attacks had started over the course of the year that she had been in Moria camp and had worsened after the fire and move to this new camp. Like many children there, she was not able to access the support or care she needed, let alone the most important intervention prompt removal from the camp. The truth is, Europe should not be forcing anybody to live in this camp. As with Moria, it is not fit for purpose unless that purpose is to dehumanise and cause suffering. Everybody in the camp has what is known locally as an Ausweis (an identity card). Based on the unique number of their card, the Greek authorities allow people out of the camp for three hours each week on a rotational basis. There is a heavily guarded police checkpoint at the gate and an intimidating police barricade within the camp between the area where people are accommodated and an inadequate, under-resourced and difficult-to-access medical/administrative area. Not being allowed beyond this internal barricade, even after waiting in a long queue was an issue frequently reported by my patients. As a doctor, I went many times to collect some who happened to be on my radar, and witnessed police yelling at and intimidating others who were asking for medical care. This is but one example of the pervasive oppression and injustice upon which these camps are built. The issue goes far beyond squalid conditions and inadequate shelter. After five long years, the treatment of people in these camps feels intentional from their basic human needs not being met to the shamefully inadequate protection of vulnerable groups, from the confusing asylum process to the deplorable lack of legal advice and aid, from substandard medical care to almost no education. Migrants flee from the fire in Moria refugee camp. Picture: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris It has created a toxic environment on the island, whereby for many of the locals, police and some working within the camp, the only way to tolerate what is happening or to do their jobs is to other and dehumanise the people who are trapped inside. It has enabled an atmosphere that culminated in violent attacks by locals and far-right groups against migrants and NGO workers, including a number of Irish GPs, in 2020. One of the things that makes these camps so intolerable for people is the human intent whether by active neglect or worse behind their suffering. The hurt my patients expressed around this issue was often more difficult to hear than stories of war because as a European citizen I feel complicit in their pain. I frequently listened to people in the camp say they wish they had died with their families or on the journey that some things are worse than death. I have had multiple patients ask me, without a trace of irony, why they are being treated in a way that they would never have treated their own animals. This is the situation that EU countries have created on the Greek islands through their migration policies and the 2016 deal with Turkey. What is happening in this and other similar camps at Europes external borders is so clearly wrong, and a group of Irish healthcare professionals and medical organisations have come together calling on our Government to show humane leadership on this issue. We are calling on the Government to promptly relocate the 50 people they have already agreed to take from this camp, and we are reiterating the call of the 400Welcomes campaign to relocate 400 people from the camp to Ireland urgently. We stand in solidarity with these brave people who have been forced to make impossible choices. We say welcome. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2021 in Rajya Sabha for passing on Thursday, March 18. The bill aims to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent. The Union Cabinet had approved the amendments listed in the Insurance Amendment Bill, 2021, on March 10. It aims to amend FDI provisions under the Insurance Act, 1938. Presently, the FDI limit in life and general insurers is capped at 49 per cent, with only Indians allowed to hold ownership and management controls. The bill, once approved, will pave the way for increasing this limit to 74 per cent. This would be the second hike in the FDI limit for the insurance sector. In 2015, this limit was revised to 49 per cent from the original 26 per cent. The Centre states the purpose of the amendment is "to achieve the objective of Foreign Direct Investment Policy of supplementing domestic long-term capital, technology, and skills for the growth of the economy and the insurance sector, and thereby enhance insurance penetration and social protection, it has been decided to raise the limit of foreign investment in Indian insurance companies from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent". The new structure allows the majority of directors on the board and management to be resident Indians. Of these, at least 50 per cent of directors should be independent. The companies must retain a specified percentage of profit as a general reserve. The Centre also proposes to bring in a charter for investor protection. As per the data, India is still way behind in terms of life insurance and general insurance penetration. Life insurance premium as a percentage of GDP is 3.6 per cent in the country, while the global average is 7.13 per cent. Similarly, in the case of general insurance, it is even worse at 0.94 per cent of GDP in India against the world average of 2.88 per cent. Global ratings agency Moody's had earlier lauded the government's decision to hike the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies. Moody's said the potential for higher foreign ownership will increase insurers' financial flexibility by offering additional opportunities to bolster solvency. Also read: Cabinet nod to amendments in Insurance Act to allow 74% FDI limit Democrats are divided on who to blame for the escalating conflict at the southern border. Vice President Kamala Harris declined to comment on the issue, saying she has not been updated on the situation. Democrats are divided on the border crisis Progressives are opposed to the use of migrant detention facilities and have voiced their frustration with President Joe Biden. The liberal Democratic leadership has tended to blame the situation on former President Donald Trump's policies. As of Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing by the president, telling MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that "the president has been in office not even two months." The top House Democrat continued, noting that they are all impatient to reunite children separated from their parents at the border. According to NY Post, Pelosi refused to blame the new White House occupant for the situation afflicting the southern border, although she did admit that it was a crisis. Meanwhile, at his weekly Wednesday press conference, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries said, "The facts on the ground have made clear that the beginnings of a rise in young people arriving at our southern border began prior to Joe Biden's victory." Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, refused to categorize the situation as a crisis. He added, "I wouldn't call it a crisis, but it sure is a problem." But Rep. Ro Khanna, a staunch Democrat, told MSNBC over the weekend that Biden's treatment of the case was "morally unacceptable" and that "human rights abuses" were occurring. Meanwhile, Vice President Harris reported that she was not aware of the situation and refused to comment on Wednesday. After being asked if she was concerned about the children on the border, Harris made the admission to reporters before boarding a plane to Joint Base Andrews. President Biden unleashed a wave of Central American and Mexican illegal migrants at the U.S. border, including thousands of unaccompanied minors, by undoing former President Donald Trump's border measures. In his first month in office, Biden completed Trump's signature border wall and continued to implement Trump's "Remain in Mexico" scheme, which saw over 71,000 Central American asylum seekers wait for decisions in Mexico. Democrats Pressure Biden on Taxes in Infrastructure Bill Biden loses messaging battle with migrants As the Biden administration continues to resist labeling the border situation a crisis, Democrats have begun to recognize the issue's scope. The White House's losing messaging struggle with Central Americans willing to enter the country, as per Newsweek. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who serves a border district and has been outspoken about his disapproval of the Biden administration's immigration policies, told Newsweek about his visit to the Carrizo Springs detention facility in Texas on Friday. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that "the situation at the southwest border is complicated" and that the department is working around the clock to control it. At briefings protested by Texas Democrats, Mayorkas and Roberta Jacobson, the White House coordinator for the southern border, expressed the message that migrants should not come now but should come later until the system for legitimate asylum requests for Central America is in place. Biden's Border Policies Cause Smuggling of People Officials say Biden is wrong not to acknowledge migrant 'crisis' According to the Biden administration sources, the president and his subordinates were wrong in not calling the border situation a "crisis." Meanwhile, in the middle of a border crisis and overburdened infrastructure, President Biden said Tuesday that he has no intentions to fly to the southern border "at the moment." Republicans have criticized Biden for the surge despite reversing several Trump-era immigration restrictions that he considered inhumane, including ending the "Remain-in-Mexico" program and reintroducing "catch-and-release." For 11 million undocumented immigrants, Biden's immigration policy requires a road to citizenship. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas characterized the border issue as "difficult" on Tuesday but avoided using the word "crisis," as the White House has, Fox News reported. Is President Biden To Blame for Gasoline Price Hikes? @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Five men accused of sexually assaulting and trafficking a 10-year-old girl have remained free for months after police failed to fully investigate the crimes and pass details to prosecutors. The men allegedly committed heinous acts against the child, and despite having DNA evidence in three of the cases the Chicago Police Department did not pass any of the evidence to the State's Attorney's office. Police arrested suspect Samuel Brown, 37, one day after the failures were revealed in a bombshell local news report by CBS2, but four of the alleged offenders remain at large. The network broadcast an interview last week with Jennifer Coleman, the first assistant at Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who claimed the CPD had failed to provide her office with evidence that could lead to charges against the men. Police reports detailing assaults by the men were uncovered by the network, which revealed at least three rape kits were performed in these five cases. However, the State's Attorney's office had not been able to charge the men because police had not provided them with any of the kits. Police arrested Brown the day after the interview with Coleman aired. Brown is alleged to have met the 10-year-old girl on a dating app last May before sexually assaulting her in a Chicago-area garage. Police allegedly had DNA evidence linking him to the rape since November, but had not even investigated the case. Samuel Brown, 37, has been charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl after initially being released by police The girl, who has suffered abuse since the age of seven, has reportedly been in a psychiatric hospital since December. Brown is a registered child sex offender after he was charged with sexually assaulting a minor in Iowa in 2003. CBS 2 also obtained disturbing details about two other attacks against the same girl in which the girl was allegedly trafficked for sex. Last year, the girl was taken to a room at the Grand Motel, a $55-a-night establishment in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, where she was allegedly assaulted by a 47-year-old Chicago man. Motel workers contacted police but officers who attended the scene failed to arrest the man or investigate the allegations properly. In a separate incident, a 22-year-old man is alleged to have taken the girl to the neighboring state of Indiana, where he is accused of committing sex offenses against her over a period of several days. Police have not provided the State's Attorney with any evidence to mount a felony case against the 22-year-old. Instead, they charged him with misdemeanor offenses of harboring a runaway and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The ages and identities of the other two suspects are not known. The 10-year-old girl was taken to a room at the Grand Motel, above, a $55-a-night Chicago establishment, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted Concerned motel staff called police to room 324 on the top floor of the Grand Motel, but they failed to properly investigate allegations she'd been sexually assaulted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is demanding the lead detective on the case be held accountable. Lightfoot says 'systemic failure' by police and social services to protect the girl was 'simply unacceptable'. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has also launched an internal investigation into why the suspected pedophiles were allowed to go free. Lightfoot, who recently came to the defense of her under-fire police chief Superintendent David Brown for his handling of George Floyd protests last summer, demanded to know why the investigation had been so badly mishandled. 'As a woman, a mother and simply as a human being, I am outraged and horrified at how many ways this child has been failed for years by those around her. This is simply unacceptable and no child in Chicago or anywhere should endure what this child has,' she said in a statement. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is demanding the lead detective on the case be held accountable, and blasted 'systemic failure' by police and social services to protect the girl State's Attorney Jennifer Coleman aired her concerns over the Chicago Police Department's investigation in an explosive interview last week The state's child protection agency, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), is also in the firing line for neglecting the girl. It had been monitoring her since she was seven, and had more than a dozen reports about her being abused, but waited five months to provide her and her family with counseling and parental training. Mayor Lightfoot continued: 'This systemic failure is particularly disgraceful given the seemingly extensive contacts that the State's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and other providers have had with this child and her family over the past 4 years. 'Of course, the detective involved in failing to act on a DNA hit, must be held accountable.' She said her office would work with the CPD to office to overhaul policies involving the sexual abuse and trafficking of minors. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) placed the girl in a psychiatric hospital in December. She was cleared to be transferred to a residential care facility in January, but to the dismay of Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, remains locked away. 'This girl has been in a locked psychiatric hospital for a month after shes been ready for discharge because DCFS has nowhere to place her a long standing problem,' Golbert told CBS 2. Golbert said her case was 'one of the very worst' he had ever seen. In a statement, the Chicago Police Department admitted it 'must do better' 'The Chicago Police Department is deeply concerned with the unacceptable delays of this investigation and is conducting a complete audit of the lead detective's work, including an investigation into any violations of the Department's investigatory policies and procedures. 'Immediately upon learning of the concerns regarding this investigation, the case was reassigned to a new detective, and the offender was promptly arrested on Friday, March 12 and charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 on Saturday, March 13. 'The additional cases remain under investigation, pending the return of forensic results from the Illinois State Police Forensics Lab. 'We must remain steadfast in ensuring that all victims, especially children that have been subjected to criminal sexual assault, receive the proper protections and services immediately following and throughout the criminal investigation. 'We are revisiting our policies and practices, in addition to meeting with advocates, to prevent any unnecessary investigative delays from happening again.' GALVESTON, Texas An Oregon woman who was recorded on police body camera video refusing to wear a mask at a Texas bank last week was arrested Wednesday after declining to wear a mask inside another Texas business. Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, already had a warrant out for her arrest after she refused to wear a mask in a Bank of America branch in Galveston, Texas, last Thursday. On the video, she taunts the officer, asking if hes going to arrest her. Police arrested Wright on Wednesday after she entered the Office Depot in Texas City and said she would not cover her nose and mouth to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said. She was arrested on Galveston warrants for trespassing and resisting arrest, Bjerke said. Wright was taken into custody without incident, Bjerke added, noting that she was not charged for trespassing at the office supply store and that no additional charges were expected. Gov. Greg Abbott last week lifted statewide orders requiring people to wear face masks in public in Texas, declaring businesses should decide for themselves which COVID-19 precautions to take on their properties. Many businesses have kept their own mask rules in place. In the widely seen video of Wrights confrontation with the officer at the Galveston bank, Wright stands in the banks lobby, surrounded by other customers, all of whom were wearing masks. The officer asks her to go outside or put on a mask. She refuses. What are you going to do, arrest me? she asks. He replies: Yes, for intruding on premises. Thats hilarious, she responds. As the officer took out handcuffs, she pulled away and began to walk toward the door. The officer stopped her and forced her to the ground to handcuff her. Wrights bond was set at $3,000 on the misdemeanor charges, police said. She was held in the Galveston County Jail on Wednesday afternoon. --The Associated Press Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has already kickstarted the party's election campaign. Mamata Banerjee will conduct three rallies on Thursday (March 18) in the state. Mamata Banerjee, despite her injury, is campaigning for the state assembly elections. TMC chief will be conducting three rallies today. Mamata Banerjee will address a rally in Garbeta at 1 pm. She will be in Keshiari for a rally at 2 pm and a 3 pm rally will be taking place in Kalaikunda. Mamata Banerjee unveiled the party's manifesto for the assembly polls on Wednesday (March 17). The manifesto promises a monthly Universal Basic Income for all families, a credit card scheme for students to pursue higher studies and the formation of a task force to examine the inclusion of several backward communities under the OBC category. The BJP, however, termed the manifesto as a "jumla" (false promise) to fool the people of the state ahead of the elections. Mamata Banerjee is campaigning in various parts of the state in a wheelchair after being injured while campaigning at Nandigram after filing her nomination on (Wednesday) March 10. She had claimed that she was attacked by four to five people. Polling for 294 assembly seats in West Bengal will take place in eight phases from Saturday (March 27). Live TV 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. Massachusetts city becomes 2nd to legally recognize polyamorous relationships Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is home to Harvard University, has officially recognized polyamory, making it the second city in the state to do so. Last week, the Cambridge City Council approved an ordinance amending the citys existing statute so that domestic partnerships are not limited to only two people. The city of Sommerville, Massachusetts, the community just north of Cambridge, implemented a similar change last summer. A domestic partnership in the city that is home to Harvard University is now defined as the entity formed by two or more persons who are not related and "consider themselves to be a family. They must file a registration stating that they are in a relationship of mutual support, caring and commitment and intend to remain in such a relationship." The revised policy removes the requirement that everyone in the partnership must live together and also scraps a section that makes domestic partners submit proof of their familial relationship to the city. "Polygamy was foreseeable because the arguments in support of same-sex marriage always had broader implications, said Joseph Backholm, a senior fellow at the Christian conservative activist organization Family Research Council, wrote in an email to The Christian Post Thursday. Those fighting to redefine marriage refused to discuss those implications because they were more concerned with getting what they wanted. Those who were concerned about the long-term implications of same-sex marriage were called bigots and fear-mongers. Now, it turns out, they were simply correct. Tweeting on the Cambridge policy change last week, Andrew Walker, a professor of ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, mused sarcastically that the polyamory ordinance was no biggie though, because the revolution is happening with great amounts of winsomeness and $1,400 checks, referring to the recently-dispersed stimulus funds from the federal government. The recently formed Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition (PLAC), which gave input concerning the change in Cambridge, said in a statement that they hoped that it will be a wave of legal recognition for polyamorous families and relationships in 2021. Among those in the new coalition who praised the move were members of the American Psychological Associations Committee on Consensual Non-Monogamy. As CP reported in July 2019, no date was given as to when this particular APA division was formed. But a Facebook page for the task force is dated April 2018. The work of this APA task force expressly aims to reduce "stigma" on practitioners of polyamory. Other advocates backing the change likened the embrace of polyamory to other kinds of families. Non-nuclear families such as single parents supported by relatives, step-families, open adoption families, multi-generational families, multi-parent families, and polyamorous families have changed the landscape of American society, and yet, many of these diverse family structures are not protected or recognized by the law," Alexander Chen of the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic said in a statement. The policy change comes on the heels of other recent developments on family law. Last month, a California judge permitted all three members of a gay male throuple to be listed as the parents on two children's birth certificates. It was really important to be recognized as the family that we are, and thankfully we live in California, which is a state that, after some teeth pulling and fighting, actually did then allow us to do that, so that was amazing," one of the men said in an interview with an Australian talk show. Rep. Greg Murphy introduced legislation to relocate the National Guard to the US-Mexico border. As migrants continue to slither uncontrollably into the United States, chaos ensues. Rep. Greg Murphy Authors Bill to Send National Guard to US Border Unwise policy removals were carried out against the advice of Trump administration officials. Later, Democrats claimed that their failure was to blame. Murphy, a Republican in the House, introduced legislation last Tuesday that would send 95 percent of the guards to assist at the border. Guardsmen have been stationed at the capital since January 6, which Republicans have criticized. According to Epoch Times, the bill fulfills part of their mission of assisting in a humanitarian crisis. Democrats have kept the Guard Troops on standby for far too long in the face of no real threats. The Republicans have challenged Pelosi and the Democrats why they need the Guardsmen. No real and credible threats exist in the capital after a statement from Capitol Police. This counters why the Guard should stay in the D.C. area despite DEMs refusal. Murphy's Guard Our Border Act (pdf) acknowledges the severity of the chaos. Biden acted rashly without consideration of what an open border policy will cause. A few Democrats and the entire GOP were alarmed at the refusal of the administration to admit error. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in February this year nabbed 100,441 aliens alone. They flouted border policies claiming Biden invited them. Worse is the presence of criminals among illegals skirting border laws. Increased activity with 173% from 2020 is significant. Rep. Greg Murphy said in his prepared statement why the bill is relevant. Saying the National Guard needs to be at the border to assist. Stressing the Capitol Police are telling that threats are zero, none exist. White House Still Denies Surging Border Crisis He made statements that called attention to the threat it has created. He blamed Biden for the failed policy by removing work in Trump's administration. The goal of stationing the Guardsmen at the southern border is two-fold. One is to secure the US border decisively, help migrants with humanitarian needs. So far, the response of the White House is too late despite the warning that it ignored. After the January 6 that ended in the Capitol Breach, there were 20,000 troops stationed on the inauguration after White House@45. Top Democrat and Republican of the House Armed Services Committee said it costs to keep them in Washington. They should be sent back to home states with costs of $500 million in tax dollars. Lt. Col. Robert Carver said any extension would cost half a billion dollars more. According to him, from January to March will cost $482.8 million to $410 million. Extending their stay will be $521 million is expensive-the expenses for COVID-19 compound this and its management. The Pentagon ignores the extra costs to taxpayers and will keep the guard until May 23. The Capitol Police asked for support despite earlier statements. About 2,300 guardsmen are in Washington until further notice. It is just 50% less than the current support force. Republicans are scouring Biden for undoing Trump's policies and putting his own. Ignoring how it will affect Americans that irked conservatives. While liberals approve of these wayward decisions that he cannot defend. Rep. Greg Murphy said the National Guard is needed at the border. Safeguarding the border is more important than staying in Washington. Biden Promises Migrants Entry at the Border Ranchers to Biden: 'Do the Right Thing' about Mexico Border Migrants at the US-Mexico Border Wear Shirts Pleading Biden to Allow Entry into the US @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The annual student-led Farmer Week at the Farmer School of Business has taken on a new goal for 2021 helping to bring together the communities that make up Oxford, Miami University, and FSB, wherever they are. We're trying to encompass some of those feelings of belonging with the people who are so scattered now, whether it be in different countries or away from campus, Business Student Advisory Council executive vice president Sam Graziano said Were trying to get everybody involved in some sort of event or initiative to celebrate the fact that we are in Farmer and celebrate the mission of the Farmer School. Farmer Week is April 5-8 this year. Weve focused on mental wellness, relationships, identity, and community. So with each of those, we've tried to integrate both an in-person and an online option, Graziano said. Monday is Mental Wellness Day, with plans for putting uplifting notes around the Farmer School building, creating a sticky note station for student to share their own statements, and an email chain for students to share with other students they know. Tuesday, Relationships day, will use Instagram to encourage students to share their personal stories, and include in-person games in front of the Farmer School. Wednesday is about Identity, with displays to show where FSB students are from and Instagram prompts where students describe themselves and their own identity. Thursday is Community day, and will have a small farmers market set up in front of the FSB building, with several local businesses participating. Throughout the week, business student organizations will compete to see who can collect the most canned goods for the Talawanda-Oxford Food Pantry, and a walkathon will take place for FSB students and faculty to join from wherever they are located, with proceeds going to the Oxford Family Resource Center. BSAC member Will Bauer has spent this school year at his familys farm in western Ohio, so the online aspects of the week hit home for him. We want to make sure that we're connecting with students who might live in California or China. I think this is really a really cool opportunity to do that, especially with some of the virtual things we have planned, he remarked. BSAC committee member Hannah Newball said that she hopes Farmer Week will help students who havent had a chance to have the traditional Farmer experience feel more at home. Give students that feeling of being a part of Farmer, even though they might not have had the same experience that I did. Freshmen aren't going to have the same exact experience that I had. But I'm hoping that Farmer Week will serve to give them an idea or a glimpse of what that looks like, she said. I think that this year it's more important than it's ever been given the climate that we find ourselves in. "We're thrilled to give back to the community and engage with one another during this time of physical separation. Many members of our community have struggled and we're looking forward to spreading some positivity! Graziano remarked. Learn more about Farmer Week events When we set out to create TBH Strategies, we did so with the popular phrase To be Honest heavily in mind. We have strived every day to live by that motto and bring about meaningful and effective change to the areas we work in. It is disheartening to now learn that one of our founders was less than truthful to both party officials and media outlets, Hagen said in a statement, adding he was unaware of Bohm falsifying portions of his professional and educational resume. The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is working to secure a bargaining certificate to push for better conditions of service and decent remuneration for journalists, the President of the GJA, Mr Affail Monney, has hinted. He said the association had already secured a union certificate which offered it the legal power to serve as an intermediary between its members and their employers. He said plans were afoot to obtain a bargaining certificate, and that in the absence of a bargaining certificate, the GJA could only intervene but could not dictate how much journalists should be paid at the end of the month. Mr Monney made the remarks in an interview with the Daily Graphic at the opening of a two-day regional stakeholder forum on Media and Democratic Governance in West Africa, organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in Accra yesterday Bargaining certificate In response to the poor conditions in which journalists work, the GJA went in for a union certificate so that the association becomes a union. What it means is that the association now has the legal power to serve as an intermediary between members and their employers. But we also need a bargaining certificate that will empower us to dictate how much journalists should take home at the end of each month, Mr Monney said. He gave the assurance that the GJA would continue to engage the government to provide stimulus packages for media institutions hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the working conditions of journalists had worsened due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the finances of media institutions in the country. Our strength lies in unity so lets come together and leverage our strength to fight for bargaining power so that journalists will receive compensation commiserate with the nature of their work, he said. Forum The forum was attended by media practitioners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders. They discussed issues affecting the media, governance and issues on democracy in West Africa. The participants were from Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia, Cote dIvoire and other West African countries. The meeting will develop an action plan to serve as a guide for engagement with the Economic Community of West African States for the strengthening of press freedom, media development and democratic governance in West Africa. Democratic issues The Executive Director of the MFWA, Mr Sulemana Braimah, said the gains made in safeguarding media freedom and democratic development in West Africa were fast eroding. He said journalists in the West African region continued to suffer repression and attacks, making their work more difficult and dangerous. State institutions are being bastardised, freedom of expression is not in the best of shapes, as journalists continue to exhibit fear. Those who suffer violations are left without justice, he said, and called on all stakeholders to come on board to tackle the problem. 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 Food4Lives is an organization that works to bring free meals, basic necessities and free education to the unhoused communities. To fulfill this mission, the Athens' branch of Food4Lives will host its Love Sick Yard Sale as a fundraiser for local unhoused communities on Feb. 12-14. Mumbai, March 18 : Maharashtra registered a new high of Covid-19 cases with 25,833 new patients on Thursday, surpassing the previous single-day peak of 24,886 registered on September 11, 2020, health officials said here. Simultaneously, the fatalities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have surpassed the 20,000 mark to reach 20,009 with 14 deaths in the past 24 hours - making it the worst-hit in the country. The latest developments came a day after Maharashtra total deaths zoomed past the 53,000 mark, exactly a year since the first Covid-19 fatality was recorded on March 17, 2020. With 58 deaths on Thursday, the state toll stands at 53,138, with a fatality rate of 2.22 per cent while the recovery rate has dropped to 90.79 per cent now. As stated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Health Minister Rajesh Tope earlier, the death rate is low in the current wave although the high number of cases poses a serious concern in the state. The burden of cases and fatalities is heavy in Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur circles, with Aurangabad and Latur circles also recording increasing figures in recent weeks. Of the 58 deaths, Mumbai and Nagpur led the state with eight each, while there were six fatalities in Jalgaon, five in Yavatmal, four each in Satara and Wardha, three each in Raigad, Pune, and Amravati, two each in Nashik, Ahmednagar, Nanded, and Washim, and one each in Palghar, Solapur, Beed, and Chandrapur. With the sharp spike in cases even in Mumbai, at 2,877, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation has now started reopening its shut Covid-19 centres and hospitals in anticipation of the fresh surge, and similar measures are underway in Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and other regions. The country's two worst-affected regions continue to be Mumbai Circle and Pune Circle with the highest number of cases and fatalities. Adding 5,190 fresh cases, the MMR or Mumbai Circle saw its progressive total shoot up to 776,579, besides 20,009 deaths till date. Pune Circle ranks next with 5,583 new cases taking the total to 577,369 and the death toll at 11,895. The number of people sent to home quarantine shot up from 671,620 to 813, 211, while the figure of those in institutional quarantine increased from 6,738 to 7,079 on Thursday. Despite the Covid-19 vaccination drive underway all over Maharashtra, several districts and cities are already clamped with some or the other forms of restrictions since the past few days. However, the government has broadly indicated that a second total lockdown may not be possible in the current scenario and given the public sentiments. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) 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 annual Great British Beef Week is back next month, with this year set to have a particular focus on the UK beef industry's environmental credentials. The weeklong initiative, to take place this year between 23 to 30 April, champions British beef and the farmers who produce it. Ladies in Beef a group of more than 150 female beef farmers from across the UK will be spearheading it. This year, the focus will be on the environment with an emphasis on what farmers do to make British beef highly sustainable. Figures show that UK beef production boasts a carbon footprint of just less than half the global average. Jilly Greed, who co-founded Ladies in Beef with NFU president Minette Batters, said the food industry was 'constantly evolving'. "This year we wanted to demonstrate how the beef sector is progressive and wanted to demonstrate its environmental sustainability credentials. "By doing this, our aim is to reassure consumers that by continuing to buy and enjoy beef, they are acting responsibly and sustainably. She said managing land in a sustainable way was a 'fundamental responsibility' of the modern-day farmer. "This includes farming regeneratively, improving grasslands and paddock grazing, planting trees, maintaining wildflowers for the bee population, harvesting and giving cattle rainwater to drink." Ladies in Beef says further information will be released in the weeks leading up to Great British Beef Week 2021. Residents are hitting the polls in the citys third-ever special election under the new ranked-choice voting system to choose a replacement for Rep. Ritchie Torres in City Council District 15. Like the special election in the neighboring 11th Council District, early voting began on March 13, and Election Day is Tuesday, March 23. The winner is expected to take office in early April and then, soon after, will have to defend their seat in the regularly scheduled June Democratic primary. Its a fascinating special election with a crowded field, dueling super PACs, and one candidate who could make history. Here are five things to know about the District 15 special election. The Bronx Dems are staying out Out of the 10 candidates on the ballot, four have earned outside endorsements and shown real fundraising ability: Ischia Bravo, Elisa Crespo, Oswald Feliz and John Sanchez. The other candidates are Kenny Agosto, Latchmi Devi Gopal, Bernadette Ferrara, Jose Padilla, Ariel Rivera-Diaz and Altagracia Soldevilla. But even though the Bronx Democratic Party has endorsed a candidate in every other one of the boroughs nine Council seats including Eric Dinowitz in the concurrent special election in District 11 the county party is staying out of this race. Party leaders say they just couldnt reach consensus, and thats not too surprising. Crespo and Bravo have been splitting institutional support, with, for one example, Crespo winning 1199 SEIUs endorsement and Bravo, the United Federation of Teachers. And, its worth noting, Crespo is not related to former Bronx Democratic Leader Marcos Crespo. New York could have transgender City Council member Crespo, an education liaison in the Bronx borough presidents office, is hoping to become the first openly transgender lawmaker in New York City. She would also likely be the first lawmaker to speak about her past employment as a sex worker. Winning an election with that biography might have been unthinkable in the past, but Ritchie Torres has won in the district as an out, gay man, and Queens residents elected two out, transgender district leaders last year. Democratic socialism is on the ballot Crespo is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group thats had a mixed record in the Bronx. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district somewhat overlaps with this one, has won twice. But a DSA-endorsed candidate, Samelys Lopez, finished fourth in the 2020 Democratic primary in Congressional District 15, which also somewhat overlaps this Council district. Crespo is not officially endorsed by NYC-DSA, but Adolfo Abreu, who is running in the neighboring Council District 14 in the June primary is, and will surely be watching this race closely. Of course, Crespo is not the only candidate in the race with progressive politics. In a candidate forum co-hosted by City & State and the Bronx Young Democrats, Sanchez, Gopal and Crespo all said they would have voted no on the city budget last year, if they were in the Council, because the cuts to the New York City Police Department were not deep enough. Bravo and Feliz both said they would have supported the budget. Will outside spending have an impact? Money is flowing into the race, with nearly $163,000 in reported spending so far going to help elect Sanchez, a community board district manager running on a pro-development platform. Half is from an independent expenditure group funded in large part by a major real estate development family, the other half is from a pro-charter school group funded primarily by WalMart heiress Alice Walton. Other candidates are getting some help, but the reported spending on mailers and ads is much smaller. Labor unions 32BJ SEIU and LiUNA have spent about $9,000 supporting Bravo so far, and New York Women Lead, which helps support female candidates, has reported spending just over $6,000 on Bravo. And Our City, a progressive organization that supports taxing the rich, has spent just over $7,000 on a mailer praising Crespo, Bravo and Gopal and opposing Feliz and Sanchez. Low turnout is expected District 15 covers neighborhoods like Belmont and East Tremont which have very low median incomes, and the vast majority of residents are Black and Latino. Special elections almost always have low turnout, and this district has a low voting rate to begin with. These are the exact voters who critics of ranked-choice voting raised concerns about being disenfranchised, as they feared that outreach and education regarding the new system wouldnt reach them. Still, ranked-choice voting in this years two previous special elections has gone relatively smoothly, with no major hiccups reported. And an exit poll by a pro-RCV group found that 95% of those polled thought that filling out a ranked-choice voting ballot was either very or somewhat simple. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Page Content Atlantic regions are facing the consequences of Brexit in fisheries, trade and transport while also suffering from the impact of COVID-19 on maritime links, tourism and logistics chains The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has put forward a set of proposals to strengthen cooperation between EU Atlantic regions to better tackle the impact caused by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU's assembly of cities and regions calls for the creation of an Atlantic macro-region that defines common strategies to boost blue economy priority sectors, including fisheries, commerce, tourism and transport. EU Atlantic regions are located in four Member States: France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The CoR proposals can be found in an opinion led by the Spanish region of Cantabria, to be adopted at this week's plenary session . The Spanish region of Cantabria has presented the opinion 'A new approach to the Atlantic maritime strategy Atlantic action plan 2.0' . It includes a list of concrete proposals to strengthen cooperation between EU Atlantic regions, amongst which is the creation of an Atlantic macro-region. Paula Fernandez Viana (ES/Renew Europe) , regional minister for the Presidency, Home Affairs, Justice and External Action of the Government of Cantabria, said: "Atlantic regions are facing a twofold economic crisis. Firstly, the yet to be quantified consequences of Brexit for fisheries, tourism, trade and transport. Secondly, the impact generated by COVID-19, which includes a drastic reduction in mobility with specific effect on infrastructure, maritime links, logistics chains and the tourism industry. The creation of an Atlantic macro-region would greatly strengthen the alliance between Atlantic regions in order to better face the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and Brexit. The macro-region is an essential tool to compete for funds of the EU's new Multiannual Financial Framework and to develop common strategic projects in the blue economy. Regions must take an active role in the governance of the Atlantic. That is the reason why we firmly defend an effective multilevel governance respecting the institutional framework of each Member State." The opinion gathers concrete measures including: The creation of an Atlantic macro-region according to the multi-level governance model of the Alpine macro-region. The inclusion of fishing, shellfish and aquaculture as a pillar in the Atlantic Action Plan (APP), since the supply of seafood products is a Green Deal priority. priority. The extension of scope of the sea motorways in the Atlantic, allowing new connections between ports, emphasizing its strategic value in connecting Ireland with the continent in the post-Brexit scenario. The development of a specific economic and budgetary tool for the Atlantic Strategy. The adoption of regional strategies for the methodological development of the blue economy at local and regional levels. The elaboration of an inventory of blue economy activities in each region by the CoR to create a real map of blue economy development within the EU. The reinforcement of transnational cooperation between Atlantic regions to meet the objectives of the new AAP. The creation of the conditions to foster work in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams and to align interests and agendas. The harmonization of public funding in research and innovation so that available resources are allocated more efficiently. The CoR opinion welcomes the renewable energy pillar of the new APP, considering it as an unmissable opportunity to boost offshore renewable energy production in the EU. The EU's assembly of cities and regions nevertheless regrets that key blue economy activities are excluded from the AAP, such as naval and maritime construction, transport industries, recreational boating, ancillary industry and sustainable tourism activities relating to the marine environment, including water sports, cruise tourism and ferries. Neither fisheries, shell fishing nor aquacultures are dealt as subjects in their own right in the AAP, the CoR opinion recalls. The CoR proposes that the new Atlantic macro-region focuses on a number of sectors that have large transnational capacity like maritime energy, fishing, environmental protection, climate change, transport and scientific and technological research. The opinion led by region of Cantabria supports the development of the "Atlantic rail motorway" and of rail port connections as well key "last-mile" connecting roads, both between existing infrastructures and between TEN-T corridors and other routes in the Atlantic area. The CoR regrets that none of the AAP pillars are related to tourism and cultural heritage, 'a sign of identity of the European Atlantic area'. Cantabria's draft opinion received the unanimous support of the Members of the NAT commission on 19 January 2021. The final opinion is to be officially adopted Friday 19 March 2021 following the publication of plenary votes. Background: The 19 regions involved in the project of an Atlantic macro-region are the following: France : Normandie, Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine : Normandie, Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine Ireland (all): Northern and Western, Eastern and Midland, Southern (all): Northern and Western, Eastern and Midland, Southern Portugal (all): Norte, Centro, Alentejo, Area Metropolitana de Lisboa, Algarve (all): Norte, Centro, Alentejo, Area Metropolitana de Lisboa, Algarve Spain : Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Pais Vasco, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia, Andalucia, Canarias Read here the interview with Paula Fernandez Viana (ES/Renew Europe) on the Atlantic maritime strategy (published 15 March 2021). In 2011, the European Commission adopted the Atlantic maritime strategy in response to repeated calls for more ambitious, open and effective cooperation in the Atlantic Ocean area. In 2013, an Atlantic action plan was introduced to implement the strategy and in July 2020, the EC adopted an updated action plan for a sustainable, resilient and competitive blue economy in the EU Atlantic area, covering France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The blue economy refers to economic activities in oceans, seas and coasts. It represents 5.4 million jobs in the EU and generates a gross added value of 500 billion a year (EC) . Blue economy sectors particularly suffer from the current crisis, especially tourism, the largest sector of the Atlantic blue economy generating EUR27 billion and employing almost one million people. Green Deal Going Local (GDGL) is a new initiative by the European Committee of the Regions, which aims to place cities and regions at the core of the European Green Deal, ensuring that both the EU's sustainable growth strategy and the COVID-19 recovery plans translate into direct funding for cities and regions and tangible projects for every territory. Green Deal Going Local was launched on 15 June 2020 with the creation of a specific Working Group composed of 13 members . Read the press release here. Discover 200 Green Deal best practices in our online map. Press contact: Berta Lopez Domenech Berta.LopezDomenec@cor.europa.eu David Crous Duran david.crous@cor.europa.eu By Bob Savic, Advisor to Dezan Shira & Associates The multi-award-winning British film, Slumdog Millionaire, fired up interest among British movie goers, about a decade ago, to explore the parallels between British and Indian societies in the twenty-first century. The films reality-based grittiness mixed in with the fairy-tale saga of a poor Mumbai orphan seeking fortune on an Indian TV gameshow purposely reminiscent of its real-life counterpart in the UK left a lasting impression on Britons views of life in India. One could say it partially re-made British conceptualizations of India, formerly idealized as a country intertwined with a sprawling colonial and ancient history, into a modern state grappling with the contradictions of debilitating rural and urban poverty juxtaposed beside tech-driven super wealth. Ongoing warm UK-India ties bolster practical intergovernmental cooperation It would be a stretch to say the recent Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) (see India, UK Agree to Immediate Enhanced Trade Partnership) agreed between the Liz Truss, UKs International Trade Secretary, and Piyush Gopal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, would leave a similar impression, as the film, in shaping British perceptions of India. The UK government statement accompanying the agreement certainly gives it a try, though. Its description of the ETP as an important part of the governments plan to deepen links with major economies of the present and future beyond Europe that will help the UK build back better, greener and stronger from coronavirus invokes aspirations not wholly removed from the films main character who seeks an escape from his surrounding stagnant economic and social circumstances! Brushing aside the spin, the centerpiece of this statement is an arguably more grounded and accurate reflection of where economic relations between the UK and India are headed, namely, in the form of creating more trade and investment in strategic industries like science, tech and services . Indeed, the overall trend in relations has been highly constructive no matter which governments have been in power, in either country, especially over the last couple of decades. This has been backed by various intergovernmental diplomatic and commercial initiatives. Most prominently, in 2004, bilateral government relations were upgraded to a strategic partnership, then elevated further to an enhanced partnership in 2010. During those years, the UK and India set up the Joint Economic & Trade Committee (JETCO) to advance cross-border business interests and dismantle barriers to trade and investment. Fast-track mechanisms were also introduced by Indias government to identify and resolve issues faced by UK companies, from 2015 onwards. Both governments have intensified joint development efforts in various industry sectors. This was kick-started in 2013 involving cooperation in education and safety in nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological facilities. Further cooperative spinoffs arose from broader programs for co-development of industrial research and development. A couple years later, the UK governments National Investment and Infrastructure Fund supported British business investment into Indian infrastructure projects, followed by a joint government-backed scheme entitled, Access India Program. This enabled UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the Make in India program set in motion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Over 2018-19, an official UK-India tech alliance was created to develop technology cluster partnerships involving cooperation in artificial intelligence and digital healthcare in India, in addition to a UK-India start-up platform bringing together entrepreneurial and technology talent in sharing ideas and resources. These examples show how the UK-Indian relationship has shifted relentlessly towards greater tech and science-based cooperation. To top it all, the British and Indian governments have cooperated closely on tackling the global coronavirus pandemic. In this regard, the Serum Institute of India was granted the license to manufacture the UKs Oxford vaccine, being also one of the two vaccines currently used in the country, including meticulously studying and reporting of data on the vaccines roll-out and side-effects. Perhaps what was missing from this long history of official constructive on-the-ground co-development has been an overarching free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides? This ongoing lacuna was addressed during the 14th intergovernmental JETCO meeting, in July 2020, when agreement was reached on the ETP as an interim agreement in providing immediate preferential trade benefits being an important step forward in concluding a longer-term comprehensive FTA. The ETP will be officially launched during the UK Prime Ministers visit to India, scheduled for end-April this year. Bilateral trade flourishing despite no FTA UK-India trade has been rising steadily since 2000, as the two countries have continued successfully trading on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms since their respective accessions to the trade body in 1995. India is the UKs 29th largest export market in the world and its 25th biggest source of imports. Total bilateral trade has exceeded US$12 billion per annum, over 2015 to 2020, and rising consistently to reach an all-time high of about US$16 billion in 2018. UK exports to India have been growing in tandem with these expanding trade flows, albeit dropping about a third from US$6.6 billion, in 2018, to US$4 billion, in 2020, mainly attributable to the global pandemic. Britains largest yearly exports have been manufactured machinery and mechanical appliances, typically valued around US$1.2 to US$1.5 billion a year. The other export commodity with a recurring annual value exceeding US$1 billion has been precious stones and metals, catering for Indian households insatiable appetite for jewelry and gold. Other top exports by value include electrical machinery and equipment; iron, steel, and aluminum products; chemicals, optical equipment; aircraft and parts; and pharmaceutical products. No doubt Indias export market potential for UK goods and services should be significantly boosted once a modern, detailed, and comprehensive FTA is agreed. Presumably any such FTA would include essential coverage of digital and financial services, e-commerce, and other high-end tech services where the scope for future trade expansion is greatest, alongside appropriate data protection. Certainly, British companies and investors will keep a close eye on how these deliberations fare over the near term and beyond. Two-way direct investment has been particularly strong In recent years, India has been the UKs second largest inward direct investor. Most of the investment has come from Indian private companies looking to expand into the UKs transparent and open market economy. The interest by UK plc for investments in India has been no less robust, becoming the second fastest growing G20 investor since 2010. In fact, from April 2000 up to December 2020, UK equity investments in the country have more than doubled. All told, they have amounted to a cumulative total of nearly US$30 billion for that period, according to Indias inward investment agency, and totaling over 400 companies employing close to a half million workers. The UK is also Indias sixth largest direct investor accounting for nearly six percent of total inflows into India over the last 20 years. About half of UK companies invested there are exporters, of which 56 percent are in the manufacturing sector and 44 percent in services. The latter is a relatively high proportion for any foreign direct investment in a developing country, but it reflects the uniquely high-level government interaction in supporting science and technology-related ventures in the commercial space. Some of the top science-based industries for UK direct investment have been in life-sciences, healthcare, and telecommunications infrastructure sectors. Investment in telecoms was famously started by Vodafones majority stake in Indian telecoms company Hutchison Essar, in 2007. Since that time, the UK and Indian governments have become more involved in agreeing to enhanced cooperation in the field of ICT and telecoms. As a result, British companies have been exploring more opportunities for joint work with Indian counterparts, in not only servicing the Indian market, but also third countries, through their Indian bases, in areas such as 5G technology, Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, and security of telecoms services. Further, major sectors attracting UK direct investments have been chemicals, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, food processing, tourism, and services. Each industry has benefited from the Modi governments liberalization policies; enabling 100 percent foreign ownership, which has been extended to manufacturing in sectors, such as aviation, automobiles, capital goods, textiles, and medical devices. Accordingly, about 80 percent of UK companies in India are majority UK-owned subsidiaries and about 20 percent are joint ventures with local companies. A British company taking advantage of these reforms and investing in Indias burgeoning car market, in January 2021, where over three million passenger vehicles were sold in the same month, has been Johnson Mattheys development of a new automotive components manufacturing plant, in addition to further supporting an existing one. Other key sectors involving direct UK-India government relations have been defense, healthcare, and biotechnology now benefiting from about three-quarters ownership thresholds being open to foreign investors. An example of defense cooperation is evident in UKs Thales and Indias Bharat Dynamics partnership, which in January 2021 began to develop the STARstreak Air Defence System that is backed by both governments. Tax and investment protection treaties with India UK investment into India is often facilitated by intermediary jurisdictions acting as holding company venues for layers of subsidiary entities in the country. Some of the more popularly used holding company jurisdictions having favorable tax treaties with India, such as for purposes of repatriating profits, repayment of interest on debt, and sales of businesses or assets are the Netherlands, Mauritius, and Singapore. Indias double tax agreements with the latter two have been upgraded to incorporate the latest OECD tax convention provisions targeting profit-shifting and tax avoidance. New measures on business substance requirements have therefore been put into place when using these effectively low tax jurisdictions for investments into India. Even with the revamped treaties, investors utilizing such intermediary tax jurisdictions should do so with caveats attached, as the Indian tax authorities actively continue challenging benefits flowing from these treaties. In some instances, as in the Vodafone Hutchison tax case, the Indian government amended its income tax laws to retroactively capture previously court-adjudicated situations in favor of international companies against the Indian tax office. An alternative route into India could be the UK India tax treaty, which has also been updated by a multilateral protocol. The new version of the tax treaty still provides for generous tax sparing credits against UK taxes, concerning tax liabilities arising down the overseas ownership chain. The tax sparing provision, which entails credits even where tax deductions or exemptions are provided in the overseas host country, are typically only available in select UK treaties with partners having developing country status, such as India. UK investors also typically consider the benefits of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) in protecting their investments in India. This has been complicated by India unilaterally revoking up to 58 of its BITs. This included Indias BIT with the UK, which was terminated in 2017, although certain sunset clauses will remain in place for a period. Meanwhile, India will seek to negotiate a new BIT with the UK based on Delhis 2015 BIT model. In terms of the above-mentioned jurisdictions commonly interfacing with India in supporting investment structures from a tax planning perspective, Indian BITs with the Netherlands and Mauritius have also been terminated, subject to their respective sunset clauses, while a BIT with Singapore was never concluded. From an investment protection perspective, therefore, it may be a case of watch this space! Favored Indian locations for UK investors According to Indias investment agency, just over one-third of UK companies are invested in western Indian states, such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. The remainder are mainly split between two southern states Karnataka, hosting 38 percent of UK investments and Tamil Nadu with 29 percent. These latter states are the countrys principal technology hotspots and received a record two-thirds of cumulative UK investment over 2017 to 2018. Bengaluru (previously Bangalore) is the capital of Karnataka and as the epicenter of Indias high-tech industry, it is fast becoming the countrys wealth capital. The Knight Frank Wealth Report states that Bengaluru had 33 billionaires in 2018. This figure is expected to increase 40 percent by 2023, making it the fastest growing cohort of billionaires of any city in the world. Consequently, the gold rush by UK companies into the city hasnt just been led by tech companies, but a diverse range of operators supplying the booming domestic consumer and industrial markets, including Tesco, Aon, Diageo, Rolls Royce, Rapyd, Kerry Group, Weir Group, Meggit, and many others. Should another British filmmaker decide to make Slumdog Millionaire the Sequel, in a southern rather than west Indian state, then Bengaluru may represent the new face of modern India for Britains gameshow-viewing public to reflect on. Related Reading Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 17:08:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A health worker takes a swab sample from a vegetable vendor to test for COVID-19 at a vegetable market in Mumbai, India, March 18, 2021. (Photo by Fariha Farooqui/Xinhua) by Peerzada Arshad Hamid NEW DELHI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Five Indian states including Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report high numbers of daily COVID-19 cases, officials said Thursday. According to the federal health ministry, 35,871 new cases were registered across the country and 79.54 percent of the new cases are from these five states. Maharashtra reported the highest daily new cases at 16,620, accounting for 63.21 percent of the daily new cases, followed by 1,792 in Kerala and 1,492 in Punjab. The ministry said a rising trajectory of daily new cases is visible in eight states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana. However, the ministry said Kerala has reported a consistently declining trend over last one month. India's total active caseload on Thursday reached 252,364, as it has progressively maintained a low case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.38 percent compared to the global average. During the last 24 hours, 172 deaths were reported across the country. "Five States account for 84.88 percent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties of 84. Punjab follows with 35 daily deaths and Kerala reported 13 deaths in the last 24 hours," the ministry said. India's cumulative recoveries stand at 11,063,025 on Thursday. "The national Recovery Rate is 96.41 percent," the ministry said. "During the last 24 hours, 17,741 recoveries were registered." On Wednesday Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an interaction with chief ministers of several states over the COVID-19 situation, expressing concern about the high test positivity rate in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Modi urged to put an end to this emerging second peak of COVID-19 immediately and warned of a likely country-wide outbreak, stressing the need to take quick and decisive steps at the regional level. "He warned that the confidence which came from our achievements in the battle against COVID-19 should not turn into negligence," a statement issued by Modi's office said. India began its inoculation drive against COVID-19 on Jan. 16, targeting healthcare and frontline workers. The second phase of vaccination started on March 1 for people above 60 years and those above 45 years of age with co-morbidities. The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 11,474,605 on Thursday. Enditem Founder and leader of the opposition Ethiopian Democratic Party Lidetu Ayalew was banned from travelling to the United States yesterday evening. This is the second time Lidetu was prevented from travelling to the US to get medical treatment related to heart problems. Previously he was banned from travelling due to the charges he was facing. Again he was prevented from leaving the country despite showing the evidence of acquittal by the court. Oromia Supreme Court, East Shewa Permanent Bench has freed Lidetu of charges related to attempting to dismantle the constitutional order by force. Lidetu's lawyer, Mohamed Jima told Addis standard "They denied him travel because of his court case. But yesterday he showed them the court letter showing that all charges against him are dropped." Lidetu was told to wait a little while at the airport according to Mohammed, moments later he was told that he cannot leave the country because 'there are orders that came from the top.' On March 9, 2021, Lidetu announced on his official Facebook page that he is temporarily withdrawing from politics due to concerns about his health. He stated that he received instructions by his doctors to attend to both his mental and physical health. Addis Standard's attempts to contact Bole International Airport Security office were not successful. AS 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). Washington, Mar 17 (UNI) The United States will impose sanctions against financial organisations conducting transactions with 24 more Chinese and Hong Kong officials whose actions reduced Hong Kong's autonomy, the US State Department said in a statement. "Todays update identifies 24 PRC and Hong Kong officials whose actions have reduced Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy, including 14 vice chairs of the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee and officials in the Hong Kong Police Forces National Security Division, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and the Office for Safeguarding National Security," the statement said. "Foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct significant transactions with the individuals listed in todays report are now subject to sanctions," it said. First statewide tagging study to estimate Maryland's recreational take finds it amounts to 11% of the male commercial take When it comes to recreational crabbing--one of the most iconic pastimes along Maryland's shores--the current estimate of 8% of "total male commercial harvest" runs just a little too low. Biologists, with local community support, found stronger evidence for the underestimate in the first tagging study to estimate the recreational blue crab harvest statewide. "It's such an important cultural activity here to go out and harvest crabs," said Matt Ogburn, a biologist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and co-author of the new report. Once declared a "commercial fishery failure" in 2008 after years of record low numbers, blue crabs have made a somewhat bumpy but steady comeback over the past decade. To keep that recovery going, fishery managers need a clear idea of how many crabs end up in commercial traps and on the tables of recreational crabbers. Commercial crabbers are required to report how many crabs they catch each season. But recreational crabbers have no such obligation. This leaves managers in the awkward position of having to make their best educated guess. "The recreational fishery is a bit of an unknown," said Robert Semmler, a doctoral student at Lancaster University and lead author of the new study, published March 15 in The Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. "And a lot of people are concerned about the recreational fishery. Particularly within the commercial sector, fishers are concerned about how big the recreational fishery is and whether that is possibly impinging on their ability to fish themselves." Tag, Release, Reward Right now, the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee estimates recreational harvest to be 8% of the total male commercial harvest. Since recreational crabbers are not allowed to harvest females--one of the new regulations put in place in 2008 to ensure blue crabs continue to spawn--comparing "total male" harvests in theory offers a better apples-to-apples comparison. But the 8% figure has its skeptics. To get it, managers relied on surveys and other voluntary self-reports from recreational crabbers conducted in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2011. Those surveys suggested recreational crabbing amounted to 5-8% of the total commercial harvest. Some of those surveys suggested a higher figure--11.6%--of the total male commercial harvest. For managers, estimating recreational crabbing as "8% of total male commercial harvest" seemed like a happy medium. Even so, some people recall seeing far more recreational crabbing in certain parts of the Chesapeake Bay. "If those methods underestimated the amount of recreational fishing, if we keep doing the same thing, we'll always be underestimating it, and we won't know that," Ogburn said. So Ogburn, Semmler and SERC's Fisheries Conservation Lab decided it was time to try a new method to see if the 8% figure would hold up. The project was part of Semmler's master's thesis during his time at the University of Maryland. The biologists used a technique called "mark-recapture." They teamed up with local watermen to mark 6,800 crabs with vinyl tags on their shells. Their tagging effort spanned 15 regions along Maryland's eastern and western shores, including the bay mainstem and several tributaries, giving them a thorough picture of crabbing statewide. The tags contained the lab's phone number and an offer for a reward. Anyone who captured a tagged crab could call the number, tell the scientists where they caught the crab and if they were a commercial or recreational crabber. The assist from the local community was critical. Biologist Rob Aguilar, head technician for the Fisheries Conservation Lab, helped the team find crabbers to let scientists on their boats and tag the crabs. But success truly hinged on having enough crabbers willing to call in their catches. "It's good to have that relationship and to have people in the community know that they can trust the science, because they were involved in it," Semmler said. From there, it became a simple algebra problem. Once the scientists had three variables--total commercial harvest, number of commercial captures called in and number of recreational captures called in--they could plug them in to find the number they really wanted: total recreational harvest. Moving Targets However, the team did not stop there. They took things a step further to account for crabs moving throughout the bay. Blue crabs do not stay in one place. They move back and forth between the saltier bay mainstem--where commercial crabbing prevails--to fresher tributaries, where recreational crabbing is more common. Ignoring crab movement could easily skew the team's estimates. Once they took that into account, their results changed. Without crab movement, the team calculated recreational harvest at 4.04 million crabs, or roughly 8.4% of "total male" commercial harvest--right in line with the current 8% estimate. But with crab movement in the equation, recreational harvest rose to 5.39 million crabs--or 11.2% of "total male" commercial harvest. Shifting to an 11.2% estimate, the authors say, would give Maryland a more accurate picture of recreational crabbing throughout the state. This would also bring the assessment close to the average of 11.6% of "total male" commercial harvest estimated from prior recreational crabbing surveys. By doing tagging surveys in over a dozen regions, the lab also pinned down spots where the recreational take is higher than average. Hot spots of recreational crabbing tended to be in tributaries with clusters of waterfront homes and easy access for recreational boaters. "Depending on where you live, recreational harvest could range from near zero to more than twice the size of commercial harvest in densely populated places like the Severn River," Ogburn said. "That means you might see high recreational harvest of crabs in your local area, but once you average across the entire state, the level of harvest isn't much higher than expected." ### The number of coronavirus patients in Louisiana's hospitals reached a record low on Thursday as Gov. John Bel Edwards announced expanded vaccine eligibility to a slew of essential workers, including employees at restaurants, bars, grocery stores, colleges and universities. The new rules go into effect Monday and apply to anyone 16 or older. To qualify, patients will need to bring an employee ID badge, paystub or some other form of evidence to their appointment proving they work in an eligible occupation. +2 Louisiana expands COVID vaccine eligibility to include essential workers; here's a list Gov. John Bel Edwards said that beginning Monday, more than two dozen categories of essential workers will be eligible for the coronavirus vac With a significant shipment of vaccine doses expected in April, Edwards said the state could soon near a "tipping point" in its fight against the virus. Still, he cautioned there's no guarantee the state doesn't backslide and urged the public to get vaccinated to avoid doing so. "It's because of the vaccines that we can look forward to more normalcy on the horizon, but the vaccine by itself just sits in the freezer, we have to have people's arms to put them into," Edwards said. There were 414 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon the lowest in nearly a year and a number that has steadily declined since the state reported a pandemic-high of 2,069 patients on Jan. 7 following a deadly post-holiday surge in cases. The Touro Infirmary in New Orleans for the first time Wednesday admitted zero new coronavirus patients and its parent operator, LCMC Health, recorded just under two-dozen patients across its six-hospital system. That's down from a high of around 450 hospitalizations following the first surge in March, according to Dr. Jeffrey Elder, an LCMC Health executive overseeing vaccine distribution at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. "We're not out of the woods yet. This is the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to do the basics like wearing a mask and socially distancing so we don't see another surge before reaching herd immunity," Elder said. To reach herd immunity and return to some semblance of normalcy anywhere from 75-90% of the population needs to be vaccinated. About 21% of the states total population has received at least the first dose of the two-dose vaccine regimens available, according to state health department data. Nearly 569,000 people have been fully inoculated. Louisiana ranked 40th among states in the percentage of its total population that had received at least one vaccine dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 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 In addition to the record-low hospitalizations, Louisiana this week also reported its lowest rate of positive coronavirus tests, at 2.9%, as well as the lowest number of new cases identified among nursing homes residents. Still, Dr. Joe Kanter, the state's health officer, said he remains concerned about trends in the Lake Charles area, which as of Wednesday, had 77 confirmed or suspected cases of the more transmissible U.K. variant, the highest in the state. COVID variant on the rise in a recovering Lake Charles; demand for vaccinations slackens An increase in cases of the more transmissible U.K. coronavirus variant in southwest Louisiana has added urgency to vaccination efforts there. Vaccination efforts in the region which includes Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis parishes have stalled in the meantime, as residents focus on the grueling task of rebuilding following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Laura nearly seven months ago. "I know COVID is not always first of mind, and there's a lot of fatigue, but I've got to encourage people, particularly in the Lake Charles area, please just hold on a little bit longer," Kanter said, adding that that state is sending vaccination strike teams to the region to help bolster lagging inoculation efforts. Louisiana last week took the extraordinary step of opening up eligibility to anyone 16 and older with certain health conditions. Those categories were broadly defined, and included smokers and those who are definitionally "overweight," a blunt metric covering roughly 70% of the state's adult population. That expansion came after vaccine providers reported "slack" in available appointments. Kanter said appointments in recent days were again filling up slower than usual, making it a good time to once again expand eligibility. President Joe Biden set a May 1 goal for states to open up eligibility to the general population, though Edwards said he expects Louisiana to reach that goal much sooner and said the next announcement he makes on eligibility will likely make that leap. The state expects to receive a flat shipment of around 112,200 vaccine doses next week and plans to add another 14,700 doses leftover from its long-term care facilities to that pile. The full list of newly eligible workers includes: Nairobi Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has opened a new Medical Centre in Mountain View, as part of its strategy to increase access to quality healthcare services to its patients. This becomes the 50th outpatient medical centre operated by the Hospital in East Africa. The Chief Executive Officer of UAP Old Mutual Group, Arthur Oginga, who was the chief guest at the ceremony commended AKUH for expanding the access of quality and specialized medical care in the region. "We are excited about the opening of this clinic. The expansion of healthcare facilities by The Aga Khan University hospital gives our customers convenience in accessing the services they require, which is a vision we both share" said Oginga. He also noted that the AKUH has provided support to the Group's digital products which were launched last year in the wake of the pandemic. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Rashid Khalani, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan University Hospital, said that the new clinic will offer both general consultation and specialized clinics, in line with the Hospital's new strategy of taking specialized care closer to patients. "Through this strategy our specialists are now conducting regular clinics within our outreach medical centres enabling our patients to receive quality specialized care in their neighbourhood. In this clinic for example, we are already running the paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, dental and ENT clinics," he said. Khalani added that the strategy is supported by mobile laboratory service and the home delivery of medications, both offered at no extra cost. "Our team is committed to ensure that the specialized clinics, the mobile laboratory and the home delivery of medication services are available across all our 50 outreach medical centres," he said. https://flv1.gmw.cn/soby/sobey/20210318/1616055362905_High.mp4 Central authorities held over 60 symposiums in Hong Kong from Mar. 15 to Mar. 17 to solicit opinion from Hong Kong society about implementing the decision of the National People's Congress (NPC) on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Officials of the central authorities' departments, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, and Zhang Yong, deputy head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee attended the meetings and participated in the activities. More than 1,000 representatives from political, commercial, financial, professional and labor sectors, as well as the HKSAR government and social organizations, gave specific suggestions on improving the electoral system and called for efforts to expedite the legislative process. The participants agreed that it is imperative and urgent to improve the electoral system of the HKSAR and remove related deficiencies and risks at the state level for the comprehensive implementation of the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle, for Hong Kong's political stability and security, for the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems", and for Hong Kong's long-term stability. [ Editor: WXY] File photo Connecticut has a trash problem. Soon, Connecticut will export nearly half of its trash to landfill in other states, like Ohio, making our trash somebody elses problem. In New York, more than 80 percent of its waste is hauled out of state to landfill. This is not the fate we want for Connecticut. Certain areas like Westchester County are aggressively tackling food waste and Connecticut needs to follow its lead and soon, especially in Bridgeport. The Hartford incinerator closure will place a disproportionate burden on Bridgeport, which houses the second largest waste-to-energy plant in the state. As long as trash capacity is tight, the Bridgeport plant will run at capacity. In Black Rock, were trying to do our part to reduce the waste we send to incineration. Last spring, a small team of volunteers began a pilot program to collect food waste from community members to make compost. The Black Rock pilot uses standard food scrap collection tools a countertop vented pail and a breathable compostable bag liner. This system makes food scrap separation virtually odorless and keeps scraps from leaking in the kitchen or on the journey to disposal. So far, weve collected 10,000 pounds of food waste from about 65 households. Vegvo Technology (VT), a Gambian US-based company, has on Saturday 13 March donated twenty-five thousand dalasi (D25, 000) to Inspiring Young Star of The Gambia at a ceremony held at Sen FM office, Westfield. The financial support to the youth group is intended to support its poetry project. The gesture came following the youth group's request for financial support from the international company in a bid to launch a poetry project. The youth group budgeted fifty thousand dalasi for the project, but VT provided half of the budget. Vegvo Technology specializes on television mounting, satellite installation, solar installation, cell phone repair, and so on. The company has its headquarters in New York City, USA and has branches across the world, including the Gambia. Presenting the cash on behalf of the national coordinator for Vegvo Technology, Ousman Gomez, the public relation officer, Aboulie Bah, expressed thankInspiring Young Star of The Gambia for the initiative. "This is exactly what we want our African youth to be engaged in. In fact, you are demonstrating good examples that other young people should emulate," PRO Bah said. Bah said his company is greatly delighted to provide the youth group with financial support to implement the project, saying the youth group is a serious and development-oriented organization. Bah added that neither the manager nor the company would subject the young organization to any form of scrutiny as they trust them. "Vegvo Technology's branch in Gambia is ready to give full support in various forms and dimensions, and not just about finance. Our goals and priorities are to provide aid in any form to the organization," he said. Alagie Ndow, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Inspiring Young Star, expressed gratitude to Vegvo Technology for the remarkable gesture. He assured that his organization will utilize the money for the intended purpose. Commentary: U.S.-Japan cooperation should facilitate regional stability Xinhua) 17:13, March 18, 2021 TOKYO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Japan's collusion to interfere in China's internal affairs and malign China after their top diplomats and defense chiefs' "2+2" meeting in Tokyo reflected a typical hypocrisy and arrogance of the alliance. The ministers -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of Defense Kishi Nobuo -- accused China of "aggressive and coercive behavior," and "expressed serious concerns about recent disruptive developments in the region, such as the China Coast Guard Law," according to a joint statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee on Tuesday. To start with, China's coast guard law is only a piece of domestic legislation and does not target any specific country, which is also totally in line with international law and practice. China loves peace. Settling maritime disputes through friendly consultation and without the use or threat of force has been the consistent position of the Chinese government. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China has been holding dear peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and upholding its fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development. The United States, however, as the world's most powerful nation, has long been the top threat to world peace and security. In the nearly 250-year history of the United States, there were only 16 years that the country was not at war, not to mention its hundreds of military bases around the world, and the endless chaos and bloodshed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria that were related to U.S. involvement. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States takes advantage of its cooperation with Japan, trying to meddle in the Asia-Pacific's regional affairs and engage in creating an anti-China "encirclement." Such an evil intention would risk stoking regional turmoil and goes completely against the trend of the times. What's more, Japan's behavior exposed its selfishness to contain China's rise and revival. To this end, Japan was willing to serve as a strategic vassal of the United States and invite the wolf into the house, at the cost of undermining China-Japan relations and betraying the overall interests of the region. The tricks of muddying the waters can neither change nor bend the truth, and the despicable behavior of smearing China cannot win the heart of the international community. Instead, the United States and Japan should render their cooperation more conducive to peace and stability in the wider Asia-Pacific region. Andre De Ruyters first year in office was a baptism of fire. South Africa experienced the worst load-shedding in history, he battled corruption and incompetence and was accused of racism. De Ruyter took the reins at Eskom on 1 January 2020 after a six-year stint as the chief executive of Nampak. He did not have an easy time at Nampak. Under his watch, the companys share price plummeted because of problems he inherited from the previous management and board. Even this disastrous period at Nampak could not prepare De Ruyter for what was waiting for him at Eskom. With 10 chief executives in 10 years, the top job at Eskom is seen as the toughest job in South Africa. And without any previous experience at Eskom, De Ruyter was in for a rough ride. The former Nampak CEO suddenly had to deal with corruption, incompetence, a broken company, and a politically charged environment. It soon became clear De Ruyter had a lot to learn. In May 2020 he told South Africa the outlook for the winter season showed little to no load-shedding expected. He proudly announced the country could expect only three days of stage 1 load-shedding, which would occur late in July. Less than a month later he used up his three strikes and things rapidly deteriorated from there. 2020 turned out to be the worst year for load-shedding South Africa has ever experienced. 2021 did not start any better. Dr Jarrad Wright, principal engineer at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said although we have gone through only 20% of the year, we have already load-shed around 40% of the levels of 2020. Unless De Ruyter pulls a rabbit out of a hat, 2021 is set to be even worse for load-shedding than 2020. With the misguided information he received and the poor performance of power plants, De Ruyter did what any CEO should do hold top managers responsible. In September 2020, Eskom announced it has suspended the managers of two of its biggest generating plants because of sustained poor performance. A few months after the high-profile suspensions, however, the two managers have been re-appointed at top positions at Eskom power stations. In February 2021, De Ruyter repeated this action by suspending chief procurement officer, Solly Tshitangano, following allegations of poor performance. Tshitangano hit back, accusing De Ruyter of side-lining black suppliers and displaying racism when dealing with them. Earlier this month the Eskom announced it will investigate the veracity of the allegations made against De Ruyter. De Ruyter said that he would cooperate fully with the investigation, adding that he would not tolerate corruption. The Black Management Forum (BMF) has now called for the immediate suspension of De Ruyter amid an investigation into the racism allegations. It is clear that it is not easy to get rid of someone at Eskom. Unlike the private sector, it is a highly political state-owned enterprise where connections, instead of competence, carry weight. Amidst all of this, the Eskom CEO also has to slash primary energy costs, reduce debt, improve efficiency, cut staff, and increase maintenance. It is a near-impossible job. Turning Eskom around requires excellent management skills, political savvy, grit, and a very strong constitution. It is part politics, part business, and part human resource management. Unless you can handle severe pressure from all quarters, you are in for a very unpleasant tenure. De Ruyters predecessor, Phakamani Hadebe, for example, stepped down after just one year due to health reasons. It remains to be seen whether De Ruyter has a stronger constitution than Hadebe and is willing to battle just to do the right thing. For most executives, it is a step too far. De Ruyter may be the exception. Webinar HVS, in conjunction with our friends at Bird & Bird (lawyers), AlixPartners (restructuring specialists) and EP Business in Hospitality (publishers) are pleased to invite you to our webinar, which will highlight global performance trends (including those emanating from the USA, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions) and how these are likely to impact the European hotels market. The event will feature a presentation by David Eisen of HotStats, who will provide RevPAR and other performance data across different global regions and highlight emerging trends. Russell Kett of HVS will then provide a global overview and suggest where recovery should be coming from. These presentations will be followed by a lively panel discussion featuring Jonathan Falik (JF Capital Advisers), Jan Hazelton (Kerzner International), Tim Helliwell (Barclays Bank), Asli Kutlucan (Cycas Hospitality), Graeme Smith (AlixPartners) and Simon Vincent (Hilton), moderated by Karen Friebe (Bird & Bird). We hope you will join us. Please register and add a reminder to your calendar using the buttons above. Russell Kett, Chairman, HVS Karen Friebe, Partner, Bird & Bird Chris Sheppardson, Chief Executive Officer, EP Business in Hospitality Graeme Smith, Managing Director, Alix Partners Global Performance and its Impact on the European Hotel Sector is organized by At low temperatures, concrete tends to set unevenly which can lead to a collapse. A team of engineers from RUDN University suggested using infrared light and adding silicon and ash to concrete to solve this issue. Credit: RUDN University At low temperatures, concrete tends to set unevenly, which can lead to a collapse. A team of engineers from RUDN University suggested using infrared light and adding silicon and ash to concrete to solve this issue. The technology can be used for cast-in-situ construction. The results of the study were published in the Fibers journal. Keramzit and basalt fibers are often added to concrete to improve its qualities. Keramzit makes concrete lighter and increases its heat conductivity, while basalt fibers make the material less fragile. Both additives help concrete set more evenly even at low temperatures. However, in winter it is still not enough, as freezing and thawing cycles cause concrete to deform and split. To avoid this, extra additives and new setting technologies are required. To solve this issue, a team of engineers from RUDN University developed a new type of concrete and suggested heating the mix during setting. "Concrete casting in winter is an extremely complex process with many technical peculiarities that require additional research. We suggested thermal processing of concrete load-carrying structures used in cast-in-situ construction. Our knowledge of this type of concrete shows that infrared light is able to secure the setting," said Makhmud Kharun, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor at the Department of Construction, Engineering Academy of RUDN University. Working together with their colleagues from Russia and Nigeria, engineers from RUDN University added microparticles of silicon and ash to the keramzit concrete mixture, thus increasing its compressive strength up to 20 Mpa (i.e., making the concrete able to withstand the pressure of 200 atmospheres). After that, the team added basalt fibers to the mix at the ratios of 1:0, 1:0,0045, 1:0,009, and 1:0,012. Then they grouped the samples of the new concrete by 120 and treated each group with infrared light for 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, or 24 hours. To secure even and efficient heat distribution and moisture levels, the concrete was covered with three layers of a transparent PE-terephthalate membrane. Samples of concrete were analyzed 30 min, 4, 12, and 24 hours after heating and compared to control samples that did not undergo thermal treatment. After the experimental data were processed using statistical methods, the team found out that heating for seven hours increased the strength of the concrete by about 55%. When subject to heat for a longer period of time, concrete continued to become more durable, however, the improvement was not that dramatic. The increase in strength reached 70% after 11-13 hours of heating and remained unchanged after 24 hours. The engineers also identified the most effective distance between a heating element and the surface of concrete: 1.2 meters with a possible deviation of 15 cm. Additionally, they found out that the improvement of mechanical properties of keramzit concrete by basalt fibers directly correlated with their quantity. "Experiments with the use of infrared thermal treatment and PE-terephthalate membranes have proven this technology effective for cast-in-situ construction during the cold season, namely, for creating favorable conditions for the setting of concrete. The mathematical models suggested by us help predict the quality of keramzit concrete setting in actual structures," added Makhmud Kharun from RUDN University. Explore further Recycled concrete could be a sustainable way to keep rubble out of landfills More information: Makhmud Kharun et al. Heat Treatment of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Expanded Clay Concrete with Increased Strength for Cast-In-Situ Construction, Fibers (2020). Makhmud Kharun et al. Heat Treatment of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Expanded Clay Concrete with Increased Strength for Cast-In-Situ Construction,(2020). DOI: 10.3390/fib8110067 NEW HAVEN An explosion in a compartment on an HVAC service truck in a tunnel beneath the Knights of Columbus and Gateway Community College Wednesday brought the New Haven Fire Department to the scene, along with the FBI and a number of other agencies, authorities said. One minor injury was reported. The HVAC truck, which belonged to Mulvaney Mechanical the same company involved in a Nov. 13 explosion at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System West Haven campus sustained major damage, said Rick Fontana, the citys emergency operations director. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... PHOENIX A former CEO at a now-closed Goodyear charter school has been sentenced to four years in prison in a fraud case. State prosecutors said Daniel Hughes also was ordered to pay restitution for his role in the theft of more than $2.5 million from the Arizona Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Communications Commission. The Bradley Academy of Excellence abruptly closed its doors in January 2018. Authorities then discovered the K-8 charter school had falsified its attendance records and Hughes was the architect of a scheme reporting fake students to the Arizona Department of Education to increase funding. Prosecutors said Hughes along with school Principal Harold Cadiz and Vice Principal Joanna Vega reported 191 fake students during the 2016-17 academic year and 453 more during the 2017-18 academic year. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Hughes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of theft before being sentenced last Friday. Cadiz and Vega both were sentenced in 2020 with Cadiz getting nearly four years in prison and Vega getting four months in jail. The three defendants have been ordered to pay more than $2.5 million together in restitution. Dundalk TD Ruairi O Murchu has once again urged the Minister for Housing Daragh OBrien to examine the serious problems that Louth County Council has in maintaining its housing stock. The Sinn Fein deputy was speaking in the Dail recently during a debate on the governments Land Development Agency Bill which Sinn Fein TDs voted against. Deputy O Murchu said: "Louth County Council has a huge number of land banks that were bought at very expensive prices. "I know that the Minister O'Brien has dealt with the council in this regard. "The council bought these land banks under instruction from the Government back at the height of the boom. "I know that Louth County Council has met with the Minister and applications will be going in for housing developments that could deal with some of this. However, the entire problem must be dealt with. "I do not want to hear anything about the local property tax and an increase there because that would barely deal with the cost that Louth County Council is facing. "The other issue is that we are dealing with a maintenance budget that has been absolutely hammered. "It is the case that no transfers, or very few, where people need them from a medical perspective, are happening in the likes of Louth County Council. Nothing is happening in relation to proper maintenance works. "That is not down to Louth County Council and its employees. "It is just that the finances are not there. "What Louth County Council has been promised, and what we need information on, is a retrofit scheme or another mechanism for local authorities, which would deal with some of the issues as basic as windows and doors." The Dundalk TD said he had engaged with Minister OBrien and was aware of the 967,000 allocated to the council for a small retrofit scheme which would only cover 36 houses, but far more is needed in order to carry out planned maintenance. He said: "We are talking about the long-term erosion we have seen of the powers of local authorities in being able to deliver for the people who live within those local authority areas. "There has been comment here on compulsory purchase orders of particular properties. "Louth County Council has been excellent at times in doing this, particularly finding properties that had fallen to rack and ruin and putting them back in play at knock-down prices, which is beneficial both to the people who get the houses and to the finances of Louth County Council and of the State. We need to see more of that happening. It is as simple as that. "No matter what Minister O'Brien, says, we have no difficulty giving normal people, regular people, the ability to buy and own their own houses and the opportunity not to be completely screwed over with the extortionate rents they have to pay in places such as Dundalk. A new dipping process using a sulfolane additive creates high-performing perovskite solar cells. The method is inexpensive and well-suited for scaling up to commercial production. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory A new, simpler solution process for fabricating stable perovskite solar cells overcomes the key bottleneck to large-scale production and commercialization of this promising renewable-energy technology, which has remained tantalizingly out of reach for more than a decade. "Our work paves the way for low-cost, high-throughput commercial-scale production of large-scale solar modules in the near future," said Wanyi Nie, a research scientist fellow in the Center of Integrated Nanotechnologies at Los Alamos National Laboratory and corresponding author of the paper, which was published today in the journal Joule. "We were able to demonstrate the approach through two mini-modules that reached champion levels of converting sunlight to power with greatly extended operational lifetimes. Since this process is facile and low cost, we believe it can be easily adapted to scalable fabrication in industrial settings." The team invented a one-step spin coating method using sulfolane, a liquid solvent. The new process allowed the team, a collaboration among Los Alamos and researchers from National Taiwan University (NTU), to produce high-yield, large-area photovoltaic devices that are highly efficient in creating power from sunlight. These perovskite solar cells also have a long operational lifetime. "We are excited about this achievement," said Prof. Leeyih Wang, the principal investigator of the NTU group and one of the corresponding authors, "this is a new synthetic route that is widely applicable in the rich perovskite material family." Hsin-Hsiang Huang, a graduate student at NTU and the first author of this paper, said, "We have implemented new chemistry to push it towards a technologically relevant demonstration." Perovskite photovoltaics, seen as a viable competitor to the familiar silicon-based photovoltaics on the market for decades, have been a highly anticipated emerging technology over the last decade. Commercialization has been stymied by the lack of a solution to the field's grand challenge: scaling up production of high-efficiency perovskite solar cell modules from the bench-top to the factory floor. The research paper shows a new route to fabrication by introducing sulfolane as an additive in the perovskite precursor, or the liquid material that creates the perovskite crystal through a chemical reaction. As in other fabrication methods, that crystal is then deposited on a substrate. Through a simple dipping method, the team was able to deposit a uniform, high-quality perovskite crystalline thin film covering a large active area in two mini-modules, one of about 16 square centimeters and the other nearly 37 square centimeters. Fabricating uniform thin film across the entire photovoltaic module's area is essential to device performance. The mini modules achieved a power conversion efficiency of 17.58% and 16.06%, respectively. Those efficiencies are among the top achievable efficiencies reported to date. The power conversion efficiency is a measure of how effectively sunlight is converted into electricity. For other perovskite fabrication methods, one of the major roadblocks to industrial-scale fabrication is their narrow processing window, the time during which the film can be laid down on the substrate. To get a uniform crystalline film that's well bonded to the layer below it, the deposition process has to be strictly controlled within a matter of seconds. Using sulfolane in the perovskite precursor extends the processing window from 9 seconds to 90 seconds, forming highly crystalline, compact layers over a large area while being less dependent on the processing conditions. The sulfolane method can be easily adapted to existing industrial fabrication techniques, which helps to pave the path toward commercialization. A perovskite is any material with a particular crystal structure similar to the mineral perovskite. Perovskites can be engineered and fabricated in extremely thin films, which makes them useful for solar photovoltaic cells. Explore further Scientists develop perovskite solar modules with greater size, power and stability More information: Hsin-Hsiang Huang et al, A simple one-step method with wide processing window, Joule, March 18, 2021. Journal information: Joule Hsin-Hsiang Huang et al, A simple one-step method with wide processing window,, March 18, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2021.02.012 New York, March 18 : An Indian descent cybersecurity expert has been charged in a US federal court with cyberstalking five people, including a deputy prosecutor and a police officer investigating him, and sending them threatening messages, according to Acting Attorney for the Western District of Washington Tessa Gorman. A grand jury, which is a citizens' panel that determines if there is a prima facie case, indicted Sumit Garg on the cyberstalking charges on Wednesday, she said. He was detained in a federal detention centre on Monday and will be produced before a judge on March 25. According to court documents, he also sent threatening emails to local judges with an implied threat of assassination in a list of judges and prosecutors killed. He used email and social media platforms, including some under fake identities, to cause "reasonable fear of death and bodily harm" and "substantial emotional distress" to various people over a year, the documents revealed. Garg's problems started with a woman who shared a room in the house he lived in with his wife. He had allegedly looked at her diary and noted information about her health and previous relationship and later used them to intimidate and threaten her, according to the complaint. Following an outburst by Garg, she moved out of the house and later he signed an agreement to not have contact with her but was later charged in a local court with cyberstalking the woman, her boyfriend and her uncle who is her lawyer, the complaint said. In an alleged campaign of harassment, the complaint said he made death threats against the woman and rape threats against her and the lawyer's wife, the complaint said. He also threatened to mutilate the lawyer, the complaint said. Garg also allegedly sent emails under the identities of various people to create problems for the woman with her employer and others. Some of the threats were directed against the relatives of the victims. According to the court documents, he had earlier told the woman that he suffered from "intermittent explosive disorder", a psychological condition. Princess Eugenie's son August may be only five-weeks-old, but it seems he is already a trendsetter just like other members of his royal family. The 16 whale-print leggings worn by the Queen's great-grandchild in a Mother's Day photograph shared by Princess Eugenie on Instagram on Sunday already have a six week waiting list thanks to the royal's snap. August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, who was born on February 9 at London's Portland Hospital, was pictured lying among a field of daffodils, sporting a knitted white cardigan, matching hat and fluffy rabbit slippers. Kent-based business owner Audrey Williams, who runs the online fashion and homeware boutique, The English Beagle, told Hello! magazine it was a 'dream come true' to have Princess Eugenie share her clothing. Princess Eugenie's son August (pictured) may be only five-weeks-old, but it seems he is already a trendsetter just like other members of his royal family The 16 whale-print leggings (pictured) worn by the Queen's great-grandchild in a Mother's Day photograph shared by Princess Eugenie on Instagram on Sunday already have a six week waiting list thanks to the royal's snap 'For me as a small business, it's like a dream come true, it's amazing,' Audrey said, revealing that orders for the whale-print leggings are now on a six-week lead time thanks to the item's new found popularity. Princess Eugenie wrote in her caption: 'I'm so excited to be August's mum and as you can see I'm enjoying my first Mother's Day.' also paid tribute to her mother Sarah Ferguson, 61, in a throwback snap where the Duchess of York can be seen holding her as a baby back in 1990. 'I'm also celebrating my beautiful Mumma with this picture of us from March 1990. You've taught me so much. Happy Mother's Day to all,' Princess Eugenie added. Her post received almost 300,000 likes, and for the first time since creating her organisation in 2017, Audrey has received enquiries from customers overseas. Princess Eugenie recently said she wants her baby son August (pictured together with husband Jack Brooksbank) to grow up in a world where he knows he can 'make a big difference' Audrey, who is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, has a long background in textiles, having spent two decades travelling the world visiting wholesalers. The English Beagle, named by Audrey's daughter and inspired by her beloved dog Suzy, who sadly recently passed away, specialises in women's skirts and leggings, as well as maternity wear and children's clothes. 'The English Beagle stands for family, and whether it be the clothes you wear or who you spend your time with, it's building that family - be it with the small business community or a community of businesses around you that you spend your time with, Audrey, who sources her fabrics from other small businesses, said. Princess Eugenie welcomed her first child, who is 11th in line to the throne, with husband Jack Brooksbank on February 9 at London's Portland Hospital. The couple were pictured leaving the hospital three days later on February 12. Eugenie revealed last month that her son's name is a touching tribute to Queen Victoria's Husband Prince Albert, whose birth name was Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel, and Prince Philip Last month, the new mother revealed the name and shared her first family picture with her son - the Queen's ninth great grandchild - which is thought to have been taken in the grounds of Frogmore Cottage, where the couple are currently living. Posting a series of photographs on Instagram, the Queen's granddaughter wrote: 'Thank you for so many wonderful messages. Our hearts are full of love for this little human, words can't express. We are excited to be able to share these photos with you.' Eugenie went on to reveal the name was a touching tribute to Queen Victoria's Husband Prince Albert, whose birth name was Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel, and Prince Philip, writing: 'On his grandfather's birthday weekend, thinking of my grandfather, we are introducing our little boy. 'He is named after his great grandfather and both of his 5x great grandfathers.' Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health crisis that has caused millions of lives lost and left many more with devastating chronic health consequences. In December of 2019, the world first heard of a new infection causing pneumonia in Wuhan, China. By January of 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first COVID-19 case in our country, and before the end of the month, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global health emergency. As our country learnt the new norm of social distancing, masking, school closures and stay-at home orders, as a pediatric intensivist, I also took care of critically ill children as they presented to our intensive care unit with acute COVID-19. As I faced this virus day in and day out while treating my patients, something else as equally powerful began to unfold. Asian Americans became the scapegoat and targets for harassments, racial slurs, verbal and physical attacks. As the number of deaths increased, negative attitudes towards Asian Americans increased in parallel. How could this have happened? While the cause is likely the repeated reference of COVID-19 as the Chinese virus, China virus, Wuhan virus and even as Kung flu fueled the misconception and bias against Asians. The use of such terminology and rhetoric in the media, social platforms, and even from some of our countrys leaders early on gave wings to the anti-Asian sentiments and hate crimes. At a Sams Club in Midland, Texas, an Asian American family including two young victims, merely 2 and 6-years old at that time was brutally attacked and slashed with a knife. The assailant told police that the victims were Chinese and infecting others with the coronavirus. An Asian woman in in Brooklyn was doused with acid by a stranger as she was taking out her trash, causing second degree burns to her body and face. A 23-year old Asian woman was grabbed by the hair and punched in the face resulting in a dislocated jaw. The assailant reportedly screamed at the victim, stating Youve got coronavirus, you Asian (expletive). An 84-year old Thai man died after he was violently shoved to the ground An elderly Cantonese speaking woman was assaulted and set on fire as she was walking on the streets. Yesterday, eight people were killed in Georgia, six of them Asian women. Today, I woke up to the news of an elderly Chinese woman who was attacked and punched in the eye by a stranger, unprovoked in San Francisco. The video of her after the attack was heart-breaking- she was not only physically injured, but clearly shaken and terrified. These incidents are not isolated. They have occurred throughout the country, with nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination against Asians reported in the past year. Sadly, these hate crimes are nothing new. History is clear in that Asian Americans have experienced violence motivated by racism and xenophobia from the time they arrived in America in the late 1700s. COVID-19 has merely enabled the spread of these anti-Asian racism and sentiments. This has to stop. It must stop. It is critical that we take a stand to stop the racial hatred before it becomes too late. We need to face these discriminations head-on. We need to not be passive bystanders. We need to demand a response from our leaders and our government to have laws and procedures to protect our community. We need to educate our peers; that these anti-hate crimes are real and not isolated incidence. We need to protect our children, so that they do not grow up in fear. We are all Americans. Only in unity is there strength. Division along racial lines will only tear down our country in a time where unity is essential. As Americans, the diversity of our ethnic and racial identities is what makes our country unique and exceptional. We are all part of the fabric that makes America who she is. Arguably, Americans ability to integrate people from all over the world, without regard of where they come from, their religion, race or ethnicity is one of the most critical factors that define our countrys greatness. During the signing of an immigration bill, President Lyndon B. Johnson summed up what this diversity will mean. Our beautiful America was built by a nation of strangers. From a hundred different places or more they have poured forth into an empty land, joining and blending in one mighty and irresistible tide. I am not a virus. I am a mother, daughter and sister. I am your doctor, colleague, neighbor and friend. I stand with my Asian brothers and sisters, and I urge you to do the same. While hope is on the horizon, COVID-19 continues to be a major threat to us all. Dont let COVID-19 be the catalyst and fuel of another bigger and worst threat - that of racism, hate and division, which if we are not careful will remain even after we defeat this virus. Dr. Michele Kong is a professor of pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Racing Taurangas first meeting of their autumn carnival is seeing good quality fields entered for the traditional St Paddys Day Race Meeting. Its a big four weeks for the club, as they have four meetings planned over that period, with Saturdays two feature races good open affairs. The meeting kicks off with the Matamata Vets 3YO race and the first feature at 12.53pm on Saturday. The Mills Reef Open Handicap over 1200 will take place at 2.40pm. Top weight Pop Star Princess will have a 3kg claim, as the 6YO Bay Mare looks for win number 8 form its 33 starts, says Racing Tauranga sponsorship manager Andrew Love. The Stephen Ralph trained New York Jazz will be another favoured having notched up five wins from 33 starts. Romantic Lady is another strong favourite, as the Jamie Richards trained mare has never been out of the money from 14 starts, whilst notching up four wins. Last years NZ Derby winner, Sherwood Forest, heads the field in the second feature the Pacific Stone Open Handicap over 1600. The Tony Pike trained Bay Gelding has amassed just on $750,000 from 15 starts, which has included five wins, and finished fifth when resuming at Hawkes Bay two weeks back. Acutus should also be watched, having drawn the inside and jockey Darrin Danis will claim 2kg, says Andrew. Acutus won here at this meeting a year ago, whilst top weight Sherwood Forest and the southern visitor, Rays in Command should also be in the mix. Race 7, The Tall Poppy 1400, will see three local trainers go head to head, in the 10 horse field. Come Back Tiger, Peter Huxtable; Im Capable, Jim Pender and Speechmaker, Anthony Fuller have all shown good recent form. Fuller also has Happy Ego, racing in race two. The race day will have a strong Irish flavour with live music from the Wild Clovers. This weekends meeting is a prelude to the following Saturdays Bayleys International Race Day, which will see the 50th running of the Ultimate Mazda Japan NZ Trophy Race. Details: Gates Open: 11AM First Race: 12.53PM Last Race: 5.15PM Free Entry. Live Irish Music. Guinness Bar on the Public Lawn. [March 18, 2021] Tensing Recognized by Esri as a Cornerstone Partner WAARDENBURG, Netherlands, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tensing was recognized by Esri as a Cornerstone Partner during the closing session of the 2021 Esri Partner Conference, held March 15-17. With this recognition, Esri marks Tensing's accomplishment in reaching a significant milestone20 years of partnership with Esri, coupled with consistent dedication and commitment to Esri and the geospatial information community. The Esri Cornerstone Partnership award is for partners that have proven their expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Cornerstone Partners help make GIS and geodata available to more people over time while also acting as an ambassador for Esri's innovative technology. Tensing received the award from Esri in a ceremony conducted virtually. "Congratulations to Tensing on their 2021 Esri Cornerstone Partner," said Robert Laudati, Director, Global Partners and Alliances, Esri. "Tensing's ability to combine extensive technical knowledge of Esri products and technology with understanding the needs of enterprise businesses enables them to add unique value in the geospatial market. That combination has truly been an asset in serving our joint customers for more than 20 years." For Tensing, this award comes after a string of previous Esri recognitions over the last years. Just last month, the company received the Esri Utility Network Specialty. In addition, it holds the Release Ready Specialty, the ArcGIS Online Specialty, and an award for delivering innovations on the ArcGIS Marketplace. In addition, Tensing is currently an Esri Gold Partner with one of the largest teams of certified ArcGIS and FME specialists in Europe. Peter van Es, CEO of Tensing: "Esri technology is a crucial tool in our strategy and has proven itself repeatedy. We are very proud to be recognized in this way after years of intensive collaboration. Tensing, now as part of the Avineon group, is extending the roll out its services and industry leading knowledge of ArcGIS internationally. For example, he Esri Utility Network plays an important role in this as Esri customers around the world adopt the next generation of GIS technology. We will continue to invest in talent development on Esri products and our clients can rest assured that Tensing will remain state-of-the art with respect to the latest innovations in Esri technology." Cornerstone Partner recognitions are awarded annually at the Esri Partner Conference. This international event offers Esri and its partners a platform to discuss trends in the GIS industry as well as business and networking opportunities. Due to the Covid-19 regulations this edition of the conference was conducted virtually. Dave Laurier, Managing Director of Tensing: "I dedicate this award to my colleagues! I am especially proud of the craftsmanship they demonstrate on a daily basis. Their knowledge of ArcGIS has grown to an incredibly high level thanks to our talent development program. This professionalism enables us to democratize the use of complex GIS technology and to be a dedicated ambassador for innovative technology." About Tensing Tensing is an Esri Gold Partner with more than 30 years of experience in the field of GIS and data integration. Based in the Netherlands, the consulting company delivers its high-end data services and innovative projects at a global scale. Tensing wants to make geographical data accessible and applicable to a wide audience. With a large team of certified ArcGIS and FME professionals, Tensing helps organizations in their transition towards data driven operations and optimizing their business processes through the application of spatial intelligence. Since 2020, Tensing is part of the international Avineon Group. For more information, visit www.tensing.com. About Esri Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. For more information, visit esri.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tensing-recognized-by-esri-as-a-cornerstone-partner-301250459.html SOURCE Tensing [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Police Spokesman Charles Owino on Wednesday differed with his boss, Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang'i, on the eligibility of recruits into the National Police Service. In an interview on Citizen tv Wednesday, Owino defended the move to recruit those who got a minimum KCSE grade of D Plus, because officers with higher grades would return to colleges and acquire degrees and thereafter seek promotions, hence jeopardizing service delivery. "We have a challenge when we employ every policeman with grade C plus and above because they go back to school, they get their degrees and then they come back and say that they do not want to serve at a certain level. It is important we get officers who have C plain, C minus and D plus," said Owino. He added that it is not possible to promote every officer at the same time adding that all they need are just intelligent officers, not necessarily measured by academic qualification. According to Owino, some officers did not acquire the best of grades because of the environment that they studied in and not making them not good enough in their academics. "They probably went to schools without a laboratory, where their teachers were untrained but they still managed to get a grade C plain. This is an intelligent person. There is a lot that is involved, not just of students scoring good grades, but also being practical and a hard worker," he added. His sentiments come just days after Interior CS Matiang'i said the qualification for recruitment into the police service should be raised from D plus to improve service delivery. Speaking during a graduation ceremony for 46 prosecutors at the Prosecutor Training Institute in Loresho, he questioned the service's capacity to deal with emerging crimes, saying Kiganjo Police Training College graduates were no match for tech-savvy criminals. "This is why I have been fighting that we look at the cut-off point of the people we are admitting. Surely, if we are admitting you with a D plus then we are telling you to go to the complex science of analysing blood and preparing a document that the DPP is going to use in court to prove murder, are we serious honestly? Are we serious?" he posed. When the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in Bangladesh in March 2020, concerns quickly followed about the potential for the virus to spread through the densely populated refugee settlements in the south of the country that are home to over 860,000 Rohingya. Just over a year later, out of almost 30,000 tests conducted in the Rohingya camps, only 400 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, resulting in 10 deaths. The reasons for the lower-than-expected numbers of recorded infections and deaths are not yet clear, but since the start of the pandemic, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and other aid agencies have worked closely with the government and local authorities to come up with a response that includes both refugees and local Bangladeshi communities. Coordination and collaboration among the agencies is so important, while the proactive engagement of refugees and host communities has been a crucial factor in the response to COVID-19 in Coxs Bazar, said Dr. Allen Gidraf Kahindo Maina, UNHCRs senior public health officer in the district. Initially, this meant using radio, videos and posters in Rohingya, Burmese and Bengali languages to share information about how people could protect themselves from the virus. The outreach campaign also included hundreds of volunteer community health workers, many of them refugees, carrying out door-to-door visits to share information, and support local health care facilities to identify and treat COVID-19 cases. Since the beginning of the response, the humanitarian community has helped to establish 14 isolation and treatment centres (ITCs) inside the camps and in the surrounding host communities in Coxs Bazar. By the end of 2020, there were over 1,200 beds available between them. The ITCs are equipped to provide care for Bangladeshi and Rohingya COVID-19 patients with mild to severe symptoms. In May 2020, UNHCR and partner, Relief International, opened the first such centre in Ukhiya town, just days before the first Rohingya refugee tested positive for COVID-19. "When I was sick with COVID ... the other patients became like a family to me." Sokina, 35, lives in a village near Kutupalong the largest refugee settlement in Coxs Bazar, and in the world. With three children and a sick husband to support, she was employed as a domestic worker by a local family when she began to experience COVID-19 symptoms two months ago. Her employer advised her to go to the local ITC in Ukhiya town to be tested. Despite living in such proximity to the camp, Sokina had had little interaction with the Rohingya before being admitted to the treatment centre. She spent 17 days there, with five other female patients three of them Bangladeshis and two of them Rohingya refugees. They became very close and supported one another through a frightening time. When I was sick with COVID, I didnt have my family with me, so the other patients became like a family to me, she recalled. We talked together, and we shared our experiences. She learned about the lives the Rohingya women had led back in Myanmar and how they became refugees. They had good lives before in Myanmar, but now they are suffering, and they need our help. They are just human beings, why should they be treated badly? We are patients, they are patients, we should all be treated equally, she said. A doctor checks on a patient at the isolation and treatment centre (ITC) in Ukhiya. It was the first such centre for the treatment of COVID-19 cases to open in Cox's Bazar in May 2020. UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan At the ITC in Ukhiya, doctors treat Bangladeshi and Rohingya COVID-19 patients with mild to severe symptoms. UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan By the end of 2020, there were over 1,200 beds available in 14 ITCs located inside the camps and in the surrounding host communities in Cox's Bazar. UNHCR/Kamrul Hasan In November last year, Rohingya refugee Shokiba, also 35, spent 20 days with her seven-year-old daughter, Jainak Bibi, in the same facility. While she did not have COVID-19 herself, she was able to stay with Jainak throughout her treatment. She had heard about people all over the world dying from the virus, but was reassured by what she saw in the ITC. The doctors were very good, and they treated all the patients well. There were also Bangladeshi patients with us, but nobody was treated differently, she said. In addition to the ITCs, there was an urgent need for an intensive care unit (ICU), with ventilators for the most serious COVID-19 cases. UNHCR helped the National Sadar Hospital in Coxs Bazar open a 38-bed ICU in June 2020. A High Dependency Unit (HDU) was also created to provide care to those recovering from the virus. Funding for 110 staff, medication and all other needs is provided by UNHCR. Dr. Kafil Uddin Abbas, who heads the ICU, said it has been essential in saving the lives of the most severely affected patients. This infrastructure has been a great support for the people of Coxs Bazar, but also the people of this entire region, he said. This is the only ICU unit for the entire district - not only for COVID-19, but also for any other medical emergencies. We believe that this ICU unit can set an example of solidarity and service across the whole country and even globally, he added. At the beginning of 2021, the Bangladesh government began the rollout of a national COVID-19 vaccination plan, with the first vaccinations taking place in the capital at the end of January. Over the next month, more than three million Bangladeshis received their first dose of a vaccine. Following discussions between UNHCR, health sector partners and national health authorities, the government has now confirmed that Rohingya refugees will be included in the national vaccination roll out using the same criteria for prioritizing the most vulnerable as for Bangladeshi nationals. This includes older age groups, frontline health workers, volunteers, and teachers, among others. Refugees are expected to start receiving vaccinations in the coming weeks. Bangladesh has shown remarkable solidarity, as well as foresight, in the inclusion of Rohingya refugees in all planning since the beginning of the pandemic, including the ongoing vaccination campaign, said UNHCRs Dr. Maina. Protecting the most vulnerable in every society is essential to defeating this virus. Israels President Reuven Rivlin met today in Berlin with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Speaking at a joint press conference, Rivlin thanked Germany for its commitment to Israels security, calling on all European countries to stand by Israel on the Iranian nuclear file, on the International Criminal Court (ICC) probe against Israel, and on the issue of Israeli civilians and bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza. At this time, the international community must stand firm and uncompromisingly against Iran's nuclear intensification and its support for terrorist organizations that threaten Israel and the region. We trust our friends in Europe to stand by us in our fight against the misuse of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, against our soldiers and citizens," said Rivlin. He further argued that while the balance of powers in the region is changing, following the Abraham Accords, Iran keeps threatening its neighbors. Berlin is the first stop on a three-day tour by the president in Europe. Tomorrow, he will fly to Austria, where he will meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. Both men will then participate in a memorial ceremony for Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Rivlin will finish his tour on Thursday, meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. This presidential tour is exceptional on several levels. Rivlin was invited a while ago by his German and Austrian counterparts to visit, yet the coronavirus pandemic made things complicated. With the skies now opening, the decision by International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the beginning of March to open a probe against Israel certainly pushed for the visit to take place rapidly. Apparently, this was also the reason Paris was added to the tour. Rivlin had traveled to France in January 2019 for an official state visit, where President Macron received the president and his wife, Nechama (now belated), with honors, for a festive 200-guest dinner. This second visit was set up for a good reason. The two main themes of the visit Iranian nukes and the ICC probe explain the participation of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi on this trip. Kochavi joined the president for the meeting this afternoon with Steinmeier for an update on the regional security situation. Kochavi is also expected to join the president for his meetings with the Austrian and French heads of state. The only professional meeting scheduled for Kochavi during this trip is with his German counterpart, Gen. Eberhard Zorn. Still, beyond briefing European leaders on the security challenges faced by Israel, the mere presence of Kochavi on such a trip sends a clear message. Israel will let no one, not even the ICC, probe Israeli officers. President Rivlin is considered very popular in Israel and has taken the cause of Israeli Arabs and against discrimination on several occasions. He was also one of the first Israeli officials to react to Bensoudas decision, describing it as scandalous and stating, We will not accept claims against the exercise of our right and our obligation to defend our citizens. The State of Israel is a strong, Jewish and democratic state that knows how to defend itself and investigate itself when necessary. We are proud of our soldiers, our sons and daughters, the essence of our people, who stand guard for their country generation after generation, a defensive wall against all those who seek our harm. We will stand guard to ensure that they are not harmed because of this decision. Indeed, before embarking, the president came back to this issue, saying, This important diplomatic visit I am taking, together with the chief of staff, is highly significant at this time. It is important to ensure that the international community is ready, determined and uncompromising, to oppose Irans nuclear plans. My agenda for this trip also includes the misuse of the International Criminal Court against our soldiers and citizens. For Rivlin to take on the ICC reflects his understanding that a great majority of Israelis are united against such a probe. By bringing Kochavi along on this trip, Rivlin tells the international community: Here is our top soldier, standing by my side, on European soil, under my protection. EDMONTON - Alberta's environment minister is reassuring rural municipalities in the province's dry south that their water supply isn't threatened by industrial development such as coal mines. Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon speaks at a news conference in Calgary on Sept. 15, 2020. Nixon has told rural municipalities that industrial development such as coal mines wouldn't threaten their water supply. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol EDMONTON - Alberta's environment minister is reassuring rural municipalities in the province's dry south that their water supply isn't threatened by industrial development such as coal mines. "Alberta continues to have some of the most rigorous water licence rules (and) environmental rules when it comes to the protection of water," Jason Nixon told a Rural Municipalities Alberta convention. Many communities in the southwest have expressed concern about the United Conservative government's plan to expand coal mining along the summits and eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the source of much of the area's drinking water. They have said they're worried about water demands from any new mines, as well as possible contamination from pollutants such as selenium. On Tuesday, the convention passed a resolution with 85 per cent support calling on the province to ensure the region continues to receive adequate supplies of uncontaminated water. "The government of Alberta has arbitrarily circumvented normal public consultation processes in favour of the development of a single industry at the expense of other industries, the aquatic environment and the citizens of Alberta," the resolution says. "By doing so, the quality and access to water quantities could be put at serious risk." The resolution also criticizes proposed changes in how water would be allocated from the Oldman River basin. The government is proposing to open up allocations from the river, which would serve to make water once held in reserve potentially available to a coal mine project that is currently before an environmental review panel. Although the government has paused the sale of new coal leases on protected land, drilling and road-building may continue on thousands of hectares of leases already sold. Nixon, who did not take questions from reporters, said nothing's changed and all previous environmental legislation remains in place. "There's nothing changing to the water process or the licensing process in that area. I know there are rumours that it is, but it is not. "At the same time, we have to find balance to be able to make sure municipalities and job-creators have the water they need." The resolution was co-sponsored by the Municipal District of Pincher Creek. Reeve Brian Hammond was skeptical about Nixon's response. "At this point, I think it would be a bit premature to say nothing has changed," he said. "There's a whole range of questions." He said people in his area are deeply concerned about water usage by coal mines. Much of the area is classified as semi-arid and farming depends on irrigation. "For us, the key focus is that water allocation, and the quality and quantity of water, and where the mining is going to get that water from." Hammond said one of the major irritants is the government's lack of consultation. "One of the biggest things right from the beginning was the apparent lack of consideration. The opportunity was not provided." The province has promised to seek public input starting March 29, but no details have been released. Earlier this week, Energy Minister Sonya Savage said consultations will include an option for no mining at all. Hammond notes Pincher Creek isn't alone. A count done for the town of High River found at least 28 municipalities including Alberta's four largest cities have written to the province expressing some level of concern. "There's been a fairly dramatic rally among jurisdictions up and down the eastern slopes who have a common concern. Surely, government can't ignore that." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2021 Follow @row1960 on Twitter [March 18, 2021] Rakuten Viber & Synctuition Join Forces to Support Mental Health Worldwide TALLINN, Estonia, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Rakuten Viber & Synctuition are proud to announce a partnership, aimed to combat mental health struggles. The toll of the global pandemic is being felt by everyone, especially when it comes to mental health. This is why Viber's partnership with Synctuition could not come at a better time. With Synctuition's groundbreaking technology, Viber can support its loyal users' mental health through the features offered in the messaging platform. At a time where travel is difficult at best, Synctuition has created incredible, dream-like soundscapes by recording 3D sounds in over 2000 of the world's most serene locations. In combination with ASMR sounds and hours of original music, Synctuition has gained immense popularity as the only mindfulness app in the world with such a rich 3D audio relaxation experience. The result is a prooundly relaxing experience that feels like a combination of mind travel and a spa experience. Now, Viber users will have access to meditation-themed stickers, leading to the discovery of an exclusive chatbot that will greet the users upon downloading. Both companies share a deep commitment to leave a positive footprint on the world, and it all begins with mental health. By teaming up at a time of increasing uncertainty, and as people turn to digital platforms to ease stress and cultivate optimal well-being, Viber and Synctuition are bringing about a much-needed tone of positivity and inspiration. Tackling The Covid-19 Pandemic Together Anna Znamenskaya, CGO of Rakuten Viber deems this team-up necessary, so people using the Viber app have direct access to these tools. She shared, "Many people don't have access to these tools. Daily messages of positivity and access to the Synctuition app will surely help create healthier habits." Michael Burich, Co-Founder of Synctuition, sees this as an unprecedented opportunity to extend a helping hand amid adversity. He shared, "As we tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic together, we believe it is our responsibility to help alleviate the stress people are under." About Synctuition Synctuition is an Estonian-born startup offering a unique relaxation experience technology. By using the incredible power of 3D sound, Synctuition goes far beyond meditative relaxation, providing an immersive mind travel experience that cannot be compared to any other audio meditation in the world. Website: https://synctuition.com/ Twitter: @synctuition App Store Google Play [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Evangelical church in Scotland faces police investigation over worship gatherings Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A church in Scotland is facing a police investigation for holding worship services that allegedly violated the pandemic gathering restrictions for the United Kingdom country. Hope United Church of Motherwell, an evangelical congregation near Glasgow, is being investigated for allegedly holding worship services that did not follow public health guidelines. This included videos of worship gatherings showing attendees not socially distancing and not wearing face masks, according to a report by BBC Tuesday. Clare Adamson, a member of the Scottish Parliament representing the Motherwell area who told the police about the churchs actions, told the BBC that she found the situation "very concerning." While the Hope Church are entitled to their own beliefs, they are not entitled to break the law, said Adamson. Any activity like this could be to the detriment of the whole community if COVID is reseeded. While Adamson is looking forward to a "more normal time," she argued that the church's behavior "could seed the virus in the community again" and "is to be condemned. The Christian Post reached out to Hope United Church of Motherwell via email for comment. A response was not received by press time. "We were aware of reports relating to potential gatherings at a church in the Motherwell area," a police spokesperson told BBC. "Inquiries into the reports are ongoing and officers are engaging with representatives of the church." According to the Scottish governments guidance document, houses of worship located in places with fairly low COVID-19 infection rates can gather provided they follow certain guidelines. These include limiting indoor, in-person services to 50 people and a maximum of 200 people for outdoor services. Attendees also must socially distance and adhere to other measures. Churches located in areas with high infection rates, known as Level 4, are restricted from holding communal gatherings and even "individual prayer." The government contends these measures are "necessary to reduce the risk of transmission." Consideration should be given to whether any additional restrictions are in place as a result of a local outbreaks or clusters of COVID-19 cases, explained the guidance document from the Scottish government. Those responsible for running a place of worship should engage and communicate with worshippers and the wider community to explain what is permitted and what is still prohibited. The police investigation of Hope United comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland would be easing its lockdown measures beginning in April. Presuming there is no uptick in cases, this will include replacing a stay at home order with a stay local advisory on April 2 and then broadening the number of permitted retail shops allowed to operate on April 5. Last month, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that he hoped to fully reopen neighboring England by June 21, gradually easing restrictions on social gatherings, businesses and schools. Maputo The Mozambican health authorities on Tuesday reported a further three deaths from the Covid-19 respiratory disease, 287 new cases and 310 recoveries. According to a Ministry of Health press release, the latest victims were three Mozambican men, aged 23, 60 and 70. Two died in Maputo city, and one in Zambezia. All the deaths were declared on Monday. This brings the total Covid-19 death toll in Mozambique to 732. Since the start of the pandemic, 456,343 people have been tested for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, 1,815 of them in the previous 24 hours. Of the samples tested, 537 were from Zambezia, 389 from Maputo city, 364 from Niassa, 126 from Cabo Delgado, 110 from Manica, 99 from Inhambane, 74 from Maputo province, 42 from Nampula, 36 from Tete, 29 from Sofala and nine from Gaza. 1,528 of the tests gave negative results, and 287 people tested positive for the coronavirus. This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases diagnosed in Mozambique to 64,929. The Tuesday positivity rate (the proportion of people tested who are found to be carrying the virus) was 15.8 per cent. The positivity rates for the previous week were: Monday 14.9 per cent Sunday 14.7 per cent Saturday 14.8 per cent Friday 15.8 per cent Thursday 18.6 per cent Wednesday 17 per cent So over the past week, the positivity rate had fluctuated in a fairly narrow band. The average rate for the seven days is 15.9 per cent. Of the new cases reported on Tuesday, 279 are Mozambicans, five are foreigners (but the Ministry did not give their nationalities), and the nationality of the remaining three has not yet been confirmed. 169 are men or boys and 118 are women or girls. 16 are children under the age of 15, and 13 are more than 65 years old. No age information was available in seven cases. The largest number of positive cases - 130 - was from Zambezia. There were 60 cases from Maputo city, 37 from Niassa, 19 from Maputo province, 12 from Cabo Delgado, 11 from Maputo, nine from Manica, seven from Inhambane and two from Tete. There were no positive cases from either Sofala or Gaza. In the same 24 hour period, 19 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospital (11 in Maputo, four in Zambezia, three in Matola and one in Sofala), and 11 new cases were admitted (eight in Maputo, two in Matola and one in Zambezia). As of Tuesday, 155 people were under medical care in the Covid-19 wards (down from 166 on Monday). The great majority - 105 (67.7 per cent) - were in Maputo. There were also 14 patients in Sofala, 13 in Matola, 10 in Nampula, nine in Zambezia, two in Inhambane, one in Tete and one in Gaza. There were no patients in the Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Manica Covid-19 isolation facilities. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mozambique Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The Ministry also reported that a further 310 people had fully recovered from Covid-19 - 110 in Maputo province, 76 in Zambezia, 71 in Niassa, 39 in Maputo city and 14 in Gaza. This brings the total number of recoveries to 50,844, or 78.3 per cent of all those diagnosed with Covid-19 in Mozambique. The number of active Covid-19 cases has continued to fall slowly. It stood at 13,349 on Tuesday (down from 13,375 on Monday). The geographical distribution of these cases was as follows: Maputo city, 9,415 (70.5 per cent of the total); Maputo province, 1,752; Sofala, 466; Cabo Delgado, 409; Zambezia, 348; Nampula, 308; Niassa, 256; Inhambane, 221; Tete, 93; Gaza, 49; and Manica, 32. Patented liquid biopsy technology called Target Selector detects cancer biomarkers Ramping up global marketing efforts for its blood tests and related products to grow organically Has received to date more than 250,000 coronavirus test samples at its San Diego lab What Biocept does: ( ) is a molecular diagnostics company focused on changing the way physicians examine blood in their patients with cancer. The San Diego-based company sells CEE-Sure blood collection tubes and has developed a patented liquid biopsy technology called Target Selector that detects and isolates cancer biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Biocept offers the tests commercially to doctors, hospitals, clinics and researchers, with a focus on lung, breast, gastric, colorectal and prostate cancers - which represent 45% of all metastatic cancers - as well as melanoma. The company says these simple blood tests can obtain the needed molecular information non-invasively and more rapidly than a tissue biopsy. Biocept also has created a companion program called Empower TC that directly involves community pathologists in the interpretation of the liquid biopsy test results. Pathologists are often the first to know when a tissue biopsy is inadequate for molecular profiling, the company says. The company has also developed tumor-specific, multi-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels for both lung and breast cancer that run on Inc's ( ) Ion Torrent NGS platform, which is marketed to physicians, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Biocept has won nearly 40 patents worldwide stemming from its liquid biopsy technology and commercial-testing platforms. Meanwhile, the company, like hundreds of biotechs around the world, is doing its part to help medical professionals, regulatory officials, and governmental bodies as they combat and attempt to stabilize the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic through testing, therapies, and treatments. It operates a high-complexity, CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, and BSL-2 safety level laboratory in San Diego, with specialized, licensed molecular lab staff trained in performing the COVID-19 testing. How is it doing: Biocepts decision in April 2020 to launch its technology for COVID-19 testing, albeit a temporary pivot, is paying off. It started offering testing services in June 2020. As of April 2021, the companys San Diego lab had received to date more than 350,000 samples for processing with its RT-PCR technology. The COVID-19-related business is driving revenues higher and improving the companys cash flow. In fact, revenue through the first nine months of 2020 surpassed full-year revenues for all prior years. For its third quarter ended September 30, 2020, Biocept reported revenue of $6.6 million, compared to $1.5 million in 3Q 2019. To further strengthen its COVID-19 testing business, the company is moving ahead with plans to improve testing as a way to identify new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease. Biocept recently partnered with Aegea Biotechnologies Inc under a supply agreement for a new PCR-based coronavirus assay kit designed by Aegea and co-developed by both companies. Aegea will supply the kit to Biocept for validation in its San Diego lab and the new assay will use Biocepts patent-protected Switch-Blocker technology for viral RNA detection and discrimination of the L and S coronavirus strain types. Despite the companys push into COVID-19, CEO Michael Nall has stressed to shareholders that Biocept plans to grow its core business -- liquid biopsy oncology testing -- in 2021 while it anticipates the pandemics eventual but unpredictable decline. Biocept recently announced plans to collaborate with Protean BioDiagnostics Inc to research the ability of Biocepts Target Selector liquid biopsy molecular assays to determine the status of EGFR mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Protean also expects to validate the analytical performance of a lab-developed test based on Biocepts EGFR assay test kit in accordance with the requirements of the College of American Pathologists. Biocept has also entered into laboratory services agreements with independent physician associations (IPAs) providing physicians and patients in-network access to the company's full array of Target Selector assays and services. Both IPAs are headquartered in San Diego and combined, serve more than 70,000 covered lives in the Southern California region. The company is also using Target Selector in the fight against breast cancer. The assay can detect HER2 in breast cancer patients, giving doctors crucial information thats cheaper and less invasive than a tissue biopsy. The HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein promotes the growth of cancer cells. Inflection points: Improve COVID-19 testing to detect virus variants Increase Target Selector's market penetration Grow sales of CEE-Sure blood collection tubes Enter into additional strategic commercial and technology partnerships What the boss says: Im proud of our team's ability to process these tests quickly. Even with the increasing volume of COVID-19 samples received by our lab, the vast majority of test results to date have been sent to our health providers within 48 hours. As previously noted, we expect COVID-19 RT-PCR testing will be a significant component of our business until the pandemic subsides, Biocept CEO Michael Nall has said. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. (TNS) Students, teachers and administrators at Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) have had to adapt beyond the pandemic-informed modifications of regular schooling to incorporate the hands-on experiences required of the career and technical education programs in the hands-free era of COVID."It's very different this year," said integrated science teacher Emily Anderson. "We are open every day for the students to come and learn, if their home school allows them to. It becomes really challenging because you never really know what day how many kids you're going to get.""The students are here, but a lot of them are virtual," she continued. "There's still learning going on, it's just in a different capacity."Students in the visual communications program, which focuses on visual and graphic design, have learned to meet with clients and each other virtually to adapt to a pandemic-changed world."We do a lot of projects for not only the school community, but also out in the real world," said instructor Kerry Mack."There aren't a lot of companies locally that they can go out and get work experience with, so we work together here," designing brochures, posters, vinyl graphic logos and apparel.Students in programs like cosmetology, culinary, and building trades learn how to work with the public while wearing masks and taking extra COVID-related precautions in their respective learning labs"We try our best to keep everyone six feet apart because no one wants to wear a mask all day," Anderson said.Culinary, like many other career and technical education programs, offers students the chance to learn in the classroom and take their skills to the "real world," often next door in a learning lab in this case, a fully functioning kitchen. Culinary students prepare and serve meals twice weekly for staff, Anderson said. "They get all the experience they need to go be able to enter the industry."Some go on to be sous chefs upon graduation, while other students further their education at a culinary school.In a typical year, the nursing program places students in local nursing homes, hospitals and other health care settings to gain real-world experience, according to instructor Barb Fletcher-Blake, but the program has since shifted to allow for more hands-on classroom and lab work."Of course, COVID impacted our class immensely," Fletcher-Blake said. "A lot of the parents were afraid of having their kids going into the clinical side. We're constantly looking to see if we can get in the nursing homes, because that's where the kids are ultimately going to go."Fletcher-Blake spent Wednesday afternoon with her three seniors, practicing skills for the state certified nursing assistant exam.Practicing oral care brushing a patient's teeth now requires a face shield. Frequent handwashing and the wearing of personal protective equipment, though typical of the program, is also reinforced. Brooke Winchester, a senior from Unatego, practiced placing and removing a bedpan from beneath Gabe Cazzolla, a senior from Downsville, while Walton senior Emmalee Caprio evaluated her technique as if she were a state examiner.Fletcher-Blake emphasized the components of indirect care: practicing patient greetings and exits, maintaining privacy, ensuring a patient's comfort, asking permission before completing each task, and verbalizing every step of the process especially important when facial expressions are obscured behind a face mask."Our playground is clinical, so if we don't get to clinical, it's a real travesty," Fletcher-Blake said. "The kids feel comfortable in a controlled environment, but it's different when you're out there."With nearly 800 students across campuses in Norwich and Masonville, enrollment in the district's 13 career and technical education programs remained steady as compared to previous years, Anderson said, but enrollment in the career academy has dropped."You can have a kid that isn't a really good fit in their home district that would normally come here for alternative education, but they might still have a good fit through online learning," she said."Kids get to select their career choice and they get to follow that choice. They come here with an interest in what they want to pursue when they get out of high school," said Randy Smith, principal of the Harrold Campus. "Kids, for some reason, might not like English, math or science, but when they get here, when they're learning English, math and science, it's trade-related, so it makes sense."Visit dcmoboces.com for more information about the programs offered. Photo: The Canadian Press A community member fixes a sign to posts at a checkpoint on the Tsilhqot'in Nation, B.C., in an undated handout photo. A British Columbia First Nation that won a landmark case establishing rights and title to its territory is calling on the provincial and federal governments to recognize its inherent jurisdiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Tsilhqot'in Nation, Keith Koepke *MANDATORY CREDIT* A British Columbia First Nation that won a landmark case establishing rights and title to its territory is calling on the provincial and federal governments to recognize its inherent jurisdiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tsilhqot'in Nation, which won a groundbreaking Supreme Court of Canada case in 2014, has released a report on its experiences during the pandemic and makes several calls to action for the governments. The report says the nation has faced numerous systemic and institutional constraints when seeking support from government partners, often because the Tsilhqot'in isn't treated as a true government entity. For example, the nation initially had to rely on the same COVID-19 data as the general public and the First Nations Health Authority only began telling chiefs when there was a positive local case in May 2020. The nation also says the RCMP refused to enforce bylaws enacted by its communities, including the installation of checkpoints, so for safety reasons, one community had to tell staff to allow anyone who challenged the checkpoints to enter the area. The RCMP and B.C. and Canadian governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report, which also says there have been positive achievements including collaborative work with these partners. This editorial appears in the March 19, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. EDITORIAL Starvation Threatens 270 Million: U.S., Russia, China Must Meet To Plan Rebuilding of War-Torn Regions [Print version of this editorial] March 11On this day David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program, delivered remarks to the United Nations Security Council concerning the grave hunger crisis threatening 270 million people with starvation worldwide. Governor Beasley stressed that millions of people are suffering under a triple crisispoverty, the COVID-19 pandemic, and armed conflict. In Nigeria, the number of people facing starvation has risen in a single year from 5 million to 13 million; in Afghanistan, from 13.9 million to 17 million; in Syria, from 9.3 million to a record 12 million. Finally, in Yemen, thanks to the Saudi bombing campaign and blockade, 16 million people are facing hunger, and on the current trajectory 400,000 children will die in Yemen this year. Beasley, who just returned from Yemen, described hospitals with no electricity turning emaciated children away for lack of beds, only to send them home to die. One mother had sold her last container of heating oil to pay for the day-long trip to carry her five-month-old baby to the hospital, where the infant died only hours after arriving. A New Bretton Woods It is not acceptable for the world to stand by and allow millions to perish before our eyes. Action must be taken immediately, not only to provide food to those who need it so desperately, but to put an end to the wars that have exacerbated the suffering of millions of innocent people. As the late economist and statesman Lyndon LaRouche proposed more than two decades ago, the great powersnamely, at least the United States, Russia, and Chinamust come together to address the crisis. In the immediate term, they must coordinate food and medical supply and delivery, but that is only the first step. What is urgently needed is a reconstruction plan for war-torn regionsSouthwest Asia, the Lake Chad region in Africa, and other areas. These three powerful nations acting in concert will be able to bring an end to most conflicts on the planet. There is great opposition to this action from the City of London, Wall Street, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who never saw an anti-Russia or anti-China sanction he didnt support. As always, its the British Empire thats to blame, and its time we finally broke out of the grip of its colonial foreign policy. Two hundred seventy million people cannot be allowed to pay the ultimate price for our inaction. Diane Sare is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate from New York State. The Senegalese ambassador to The Gambia Basirou Sene has spoken on the recent Sanyang riot which claimed the life of a 32-year-old Gibril Ceesay, calling for calm and restraint in the coastal settlement of Sanyang. A mob at the sprawling coastal town of Sanyang in West Coast Region of The Gambia attacked and burnt the police station to ashes after a man was allegedly killed by a Senegalese national on Sunday night. In an interview with journalists the Senegalese Ambassador to the Gambia H.E. Basirou Sene, explained how the incident happened while seeking for forgiveness from The Gambia government and populace. Sene, however, blamed the Senegalese man Gena Sereh for trespassing, saying he should have not entered someone's house, taking things that don't belong to him, which led to all the problems. He assured the Gambian people that the Senegalese government would take all the responsibility to all the victims and to those that have lost their properties. Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy has refused to apologize for bringing up lynching during a Washington hearing on anti-Asian violence. Roy was speaking at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on anti-Asian violence after an uptick in attacks all over the country and just two days after a gunman in Georgia killed six Asian women in at three-different massage parlors. He said the shootings were 'evil' but then pivoted by saying: 'I would also suggest that the victims of cartels moving illegal aliens deserve justice. The American citizens in south Texas, they are getting absolutely decimated by whats happening at the southern border deserve justice.' 'Theres an old saying in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously. And we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys,' he said. 'I am predisposed and wired to take out bad guys. That's bad guys of all colors.. we need to be mindful of that.' Roy then launched a rant at the Chinese government by suggesting the hearing was an attempt to stifle free speech. 'My concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society, free speech, and away from the rule of law and taking out bad guys,' he said. Texas Rep. Chip Roy on Thursday said at a hearing on anti-Asian violence: 'Theres an old saying in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously. And we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys' Roy doubled down on his remarks in a statement, saying the outrage proved his argument that America is losing grip of its right to free speech. 'I think the Chinese Communist Party running the country of China, I think they are the bad guys. I think that they are harming people and I think they are engaging in modern-day slavery.' Roy was lambasted for his remarks by people who said he was glorifying lynching and amplifying anti-Asian hate by using his time to speak to criticize the Chinese government. He doubled down on his remarks in a statement, saying the outrage proved his argument that America is losing grip of its right to free speech. 'Apparently some folks are freaking out that I used an old expression about finding all the rope in teas and a tall oak tree about carrying out justice against bad guys. I meant it. We need more justice and less thought policing. 'We need to stop evil doers, such as those who carried out the attack in Atlanta this week, or cartels abusing little children, or those who kill our cops on the streets. 'We should restore order by tamping out evil actors, not turn America into an authoritarian state like the Chinese Communists who seek to destroy us. 'No apologies,' he says. Asian American Congresswoman Grace Meng, who joined the hearing via Zoom, fought back tears as she responded to Roy's comments Roy was slammed online by people who said he was 'glorifying lynching' with his choice of words He also said: 'My concern about this hearing is it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric.' He was slammed for his comments by Democrats including Asian American Congresswoman Grace Meng. Representative Doris Matsui, Democrat of California, who was born in an internment camp, said it was also hurtful to hear people including Donald Trump refer to COVID-19 as the 'China virus'. She fumed: 'I want to go back to something that Mr. Roy said earlier. 'Your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you dont have to do it by putting a bulls eye on the backs of Asian-Americans across this country. 'On our grandparents and on our kids. 'This hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community and to find solutions! We will not let you take our voice away from us!' Representative Doris Matsui, Democrat of California, who was born in an internment camp, said it was also hurtful to hear people including Donald Trump refer to COVID-19 as the 'China virus'. 'Last year, as I heard, at the highest levels of government, people use racist slurs, like "China virus," to spread xenophobia and cast blame on innocent communities, it was all too familiar.' The hearing on Thursday was scheduled several weeks ago amid an uptick in targeted violence against Asian Americans across the country. Many of the attacks were by people who blamed victims for COVID-19 because it was first found in Wuhan, China. The California Attorney Generals Office joined two lawsuits against San Diego County on Wednesday, alleging leaders there are moving forward with a pair of giant housing projects that will pose extraordinary fire danger to residents. The suits, which target two separate expansions of the Otay Ranch Resort Village in the dry scrublands outside of Chula Vista, are the latest show of force in the states crackdown on development in fire-prone places. Attorney General Xavier Becerra has taken issue with a handful of proposed developments recently, saying he doesnt want to see a repeat of what happened in Paradise and Wine Country, where suburban sprawl helped fuel catastrophic blazes. In Wednesdays motions filed in San Diego Superior Court, the state joins two existing lawsuits claiming that the county Board of Supervisors did not meet its obligation under the California Environmental Quality Act to evaluate and reduce fire risk before approving the Otay Ranch additions. The suits suggest the supervisors need to redo their analysis of how the projects could cause more fires and increase the threat to residents, and reassess if and how the plans should move forward. While state law has long required impacts of new development to be addressed, the act, known as CEQA, was updated in 2018 to put greater attention on wildfire. Devastating wildfires have become the norm in recent years, with dozens of deaths and whole towns forced to evacuate, Becerra said in a prepared statement. Thats why local governments must address the wildfire risks associated with new developments at the front end. It is imperative for public safety and required by the law. The projects in San Diego County are part of the 23,000-acre Otay Ranch Resort Village, a new and sprawling community of tidy homes, shopping centers, schools, offices and manicured parks and lakes, built on former ranchland beneath the Jamul Mountains. The planned developments at issue include 1,881 single-family homes, a 200-room resort and 20,000 square feet of commercial space in an area called the Proctor Valley Parcel, or Village 13, and 1,119 residences and 10,000 square feet of commercial space in an area called Village 14. County officials have said theyve worked to make sure the developers, including Baldwin and Sons of Newport Beach and the Jackson Pendo Development Co., addressed fire safety, including shrinking the footprint of the original proposal and widening roads to allow for quicker emergency departures. The proposal also calls for fire-resistant home-building materials, extensive fuel breaks and a new fire station. Officials did not immediately return requests for comment Wednesday. Interactive California Fire Tracker This interactive map provides information on wildfires burning across California and lets you explore coverage of past fire seasons. Supporters of the project also note the dire need for housing, particularly outside of expensive urban areas where many people have been priced out of the market. Concerns about affordability have pushed much of Californias new development to the outskirts of cities and towns, to the wildland-urban interface where fires regularly burn. In San Diego County, 68 fires have been recorded within 5 miles of the planned Village 14 project, according to the litigation. One was the 90,000-acre Harris Fire in 2007, which burned much of the Village 14 site as well as the planned Village 13 site. The lawsuit challenging the Village 14 plan was originally filed by the Sierra Club. The suit challenging the Village 13 plan was filed by a group of environmental organizations that includes the Sierra Club as well as the Center for Biological Diversity. In addition to fire risk, the organizations take issue with the impact of the development on wildlife and increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Last month, the Attorney Generals Office similarly intervened in a lawsuit against Lake County, claiming that plans for 1,400 luxury homes there, known as the Guenoc Valley Project, were moving forward without adequate review of fire danger. Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander From left are U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday, after holding a two-plus-two ministerial meeting. Joint Press Corps Disagreement between Seoul, Washington exposed in 2+2 meeting By Kang Seung-woo The much-heralded two-plus-two ministerial meeting between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, highlighted that the long-time allies are not on the same page on several issues, including North Korea and China. Foreign and Defense Ministers Chung Eui-yong and Suh Wook sat down with Secretaries of State and Defense Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the first meeting of its kind in over four years. Blinken and Austin also had respective ministerial meetings, Wednesday, upon their arrival from Japan, where the secretaries also had a two-plus-two talks. Since the arrangement of the first Cabinet-level overseas trip of the Joe Biden administration was made earlier this month, speculation has been rampant that the new American government is set to bolster its Asian alliances in the face of an assertive China. However, China is South Korea's largest-trading partner, so the Moon Jae-in administration has maintained "strategic ambiguity" to the U.S. call for Seoul's participation in its campaign to counter Beijing. Starting a post-meeting press conference, the American secretaries stressed the need for its allies to stand together against China. "We also discussed China. We are clear eyed about Beijing's consistent failure to uphold its commitments and we spoke about Beijing's aggressive authoritarian behavior are challenging stability, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Blinken said in his opening speech. "Beijing's actions make forging a common approach among allies all the more important." Austin also said, "We have a lot to look forward to as, together, we address global security challenges and engage in long-term strategic competition, mainly with China, which, as some of you know, is our department's challenge in the years ahead." The defense chief added: "Today we continue to work together to identify areas for collaboration within our respective regional strategies, particularly upholding a rules-based international order in building capacity for partners in the region." During their respective ministerial talks, they also took a jab at China, with Blinken warning against its use of "coercion and aggression" on the international stage and Austin saying the country posing "unprecedented challenges." However, the joint statement, issued after the two-plus-two meeting, failed to specify China's behavior, just saying that the alliance supports "the two countries' commitment to opposing all activities that undermine and destabilize the rules-based international order." It is raising speculation that South Korea may have had reservations about the U.S. bashing of China. Moon vows to improve ties with Japan during meeting with Biden's key officials Pyongyang wants Washington's 'concession' before denuclearization talks North Korea, China reviving economic cooperation This is in sharp contrast to the declaration from the U.S.-Japan two-plus-two meeting that slammed China's "destabilizing behavior," and drew a backlash from Beijing. President Moon Jae-in poses with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during their courtesy call to him at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Joint press corps Also, during the press conference, Foreign Minister Chung said there was no discussion about South Korea joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an anti-China strategic forum, comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. As for North Korea's nuclear issue, the two sides seemed to disagree on how to resolve it. The South Korean government has sought to address the decades-long problem by engaging the North Korea regime. As a result, the allies staged a scaled back combined military exercise earlier this month so as not to provoke the totalitarian state. However, Blinken hinted that the U.S. may weigh an option of putting pressure on North Korea for complete denuclearization of the regime, something that the latter sees as a "hostile act" that prevents the country from holding a dialogue with the U.S. Chung suggested the new U.S. administration continue to uphold the agreement made at the Singapore Summit between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but the Americans did not mention the issue, just saying all policies were being reviewed. "President Biden plans to complete a North Korea policy review in the weeks ahead in close coordination and in consultation with the Republic of Korea, with Japan and with other key partners, including reviewing pressure options, and potential for future diplomacy," Blinken said. The Moon administration is also seeking to regain wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. before its term ends in May 2022. Despite the joint statement declaring that they pledged to continue efforts toward the transition, Austin unexpectedly said the transition still has a way to go, raising questions that it may not meet a "self-imposed" deadline. "While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take more time, I am confident that this process will strengthen our alliance," he said. The U.S. side has been skeptical of the plan, saying South Korea is not prepared to assume OPCON. According to some diplomatic observers, amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. competition, American strategists believe that the U.S. holding up OPCON may work to its advantage. "During the press conference, disagreement between the two countries on some issues, including China, was revealed. It was crystal clear why Blinken and Austin visited South Korea and Japan, to counter China in tandem, but the South Korean side may have wanted a toned-down approach toward Beijing," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. 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 View Results Authorities investigate a fatal shooting at a massage parlor, late Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Acworth, Ga. Officials say 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, has been captured hours after multiple people were killed in shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors. AP Photo/Mike Stewart Accused Georgia spa shooter Robert Aaron Long won't appear in court on Thursday. Long waived his appearance on the charges, Cherokee County officials told Insider. The 21-year-old white man is accused of shooting and killing 8 people, 6 of them Asian. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The 21-year-old white man accused of shooting and killing 8 people at three Atlanta-area spas waived his first appearance in court, which was scheduled for Thursday, Cherokee County court and District Attorney staff told Insider. Robert Aaron Long, who is charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault, was scheduled to appear in Cherokee County Court. In this case, Long is already represented by an attorney and waived this initial appearance, Cherokee County DA spokesperson Cyndi B. Crossland told Insider. Long's case will need to be presented to a grand jury before he is arraigned. There are no other court hearings scheduled for now, Crossland said. Read more: These 14 Republicans could help Democrats pass gun reform legislation after yet another deadly shooting in the US Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, is accused of a violent rampage that took the lives of 8 people, six of them Asian women. "Everybody is doing their jobs, both law enforcement and the District Attorney's Office," Burns said in a written statement to Insider. "Now, our firm will conduct a thorough investigation on our client's behalf." Police say the first shooting happened just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, Georgia, a northern suburb of Atlanta. Four people were killed, including two women of Asian descent, a white woman, and a white man, Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said. A Hispanic man, who was also present at the attack, survived. Half an hour later, the Atlanta Police Department responded to the Gold Spa beauty salon and found three women shot dead, police chief Rodney Bryant told reporters. Story continues While investigating the second shooting, police were called to a business across the street, Aroma Therapy Spa, where another woman was found dead from a gunshot wound. All four women found dead at the two Atlanta spas were of Asian descent, Bryant said. Authorities claimed Long told investigators that he had a sex addiction, and they believed he may have been "lashing out" in an attempt to eliminate temptation. Police announced during a press conference Wednesday that it was too early to say if the attacks were also racially-motivated. The shootings occurred during a wave of violence against Asian Americans across the US, leading some advocates to push back against downplaying race as a factor in the killings. Read the original article on Insider Slain National Lands Commission (NLC) deputy director Jennifer Wambua received dozens of strange calls in the five days preceding her murder, analysis of her mobile phone has revealed. Ms Wambua's body was found in a thicket at Kerarapon in Ngong, Kajiado County, last Saturday less than 24 hours after she left her place of work never to return. It is now turning out that she was either being trailed or some unknown persons were demanding some things from her since most of the calls were from unknown people. Curiously, some of the strange calls, according to sources close to the investigation, were never picked as the callers were hanging up even before Ms Wambua responded to her phone. These are some of the discoveries investigators are making as they try to piece together what exactly happened on the day Ms Wambua, a veteran journalist, left her belongings and mobile phone in her family car parked outside Hill Plaza, Nairobi, and left for the unknown. Detectives from the Homicide Department of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) spent the better part of yesterday at Ardhi House, where Ms Wambua worked trying to gather whatever they could about her last days there. Depressed It is said that she had informed her supervisors at work that she was depressed and had even been given some days off last Monday. She was, however, recalled after two days. It is at Ardhi House, which also houses the Lands ministry that Ms Wambua was last seen alive. While in the building, detectives interrogated security guards and Ms Wambua's former workmates before inspecting her office which has been designated as a possible crime scene. After leaving Ardhi House, the detectives headed to Hill Plaza where they also interrogated security guards in an effort to find out if Ms Wambua was alone when she came back to her family car at about 10am last Friday. As this was happening, a post-mortem that was to be done on Ms Wambua's body failed to take place for the second time. Post-mortem The Nation.Africa understands that it is Ms Wambua's family that requested for the exam to be pushed to today at the Montezuma Funeral Home in Nairobi. Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti refused to comment on the status of the investigation but promised to release preliminary findings as soon as they have everything in place Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "We are at a sensitive stretch," said Mr Kinoti. At the Milimani Law Courts where Ms Wambua was supposed to be cross-examined as one of the key prosecution witnesses in a Sh122 million corruption scandal yesterday, Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi was forced to postpone hearings until a later date. Mr Andayi expressed his grief over the death of the key state witness, saying he was shocked to learn about the death. Key witness "In my many years of practice, I have not had such an incident and it is important that the matter be mentioned in a physical court," he said during a virtual mention of the case against former Telecommunications Principal Secretary Sammy Itemere and others. Others in the case on theft of Sh122 million from the Government Advertising Agency (GAA) are former GAA boss Dennis Chebitweyi, Lugari MP Ayub Savula, his two wives Gatwiri Ringera and Hellen Kemboi, and 18 others. The information on the death of Ms Wambua, who had already testified last month, was relayed to the court by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). "Your honour there is a new development in the case following the passing on of our key witness Ms Wambua who had been stood down for cross examination," said the DPP. As a result, Mr Andayi directed that the matter be mentioned today to decide on a new hearing date. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 25 Master's in Digital Marketing Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 57 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 57 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 25 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Master's in Digital Marketing Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-digital-marketing-degree-programs/ 2021 Master's in Digital Marketing Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Brandeis University Concordia University, Chicago East Tennessee State University Emerson College Fairleigh Dickinson University Fort Hays State University Liberty University Messiah College Michigan State University Montclair State University New England College Northern Illinois University Northwestern University Ohio Christian University Oklahoma State University Rutgers University Saint Leo University Temple University University Of Alabama University Of Connecticut University Of Southern California University of Texas, Austin University Of Texas, Dallas West Texas A&M University Yeshiva University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. A man's body has been found outside a primary school near a government-backed safe injecting room. Victoria Police confirmed the grim discovery near the entrance of Richmond West Primary school in Richmond, Melbourne, about 6.50am on Thursday. The cause of death is yet to be determined, but the the death is believed to be drug related, the Herald Sun reported. Victoria Police (pictured) were called to the Richmond West Primary school after a man's body was found 'At this stage the death is not being treated as suspicious and police will prepare a report for the coroner', Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia. The school is within walking distance from North Richmond Community Health, which opened a medically supervised injecting room in 2018 for a two-year trial. The aim of the centre is to provide a hygienic place for people to inject drugs away from the public eye and to give immediate assistance in the event of an overdose. The facilities have drawn mixed reactions from the community with protests calling for the centre to be relocated away from local schools, with many spotting used syringes close by. Used syringes are frequently spotted by Richmond locals near the Richmond West Primary school (pictured) Richmond locals calling for the centre to be relocated away from local schools with many spotting used syringes nearby An unidentified man was located near the entrance of Richmond West Primary school (pictured) in Melbourne on Thursday morning 'This has to stop. This is not acceptable. This is not fair on our kids', one woman wrote on Facebook. Other locals have called out authorities for normalising the behaviour of local drug addicts. 'I'm in shock how authorities treated this issue. Nothing, absolute silence like it is normal,' another woman said. Another Richmond resident shared a picture of an individual injecting themselves in a local street next to a parked car. Police were called to the primary school on Wednesday after reports a man was allegedly behaving erratically by 'dosing his body in water' (pictured) A Richmond resident shared a picture of an individual injecting themselves in a local street next to a parked car (pictured) 'Thanks to the medically supervised injection room's take away doggy bag, people are now shooting up on the street'. Police were called to the school on Wednesday afternoon after another man was spotted allegedly behaving erratically. The drug-affected male was walking past the school yelling and pouring water over his body before doing pushups on the ground. That man was charged with trespassing, possessing a controlled weapon and breaching bail. Locals said they avoid sending their children to the primary school due to the unpredictable behaviour of local junkies. 'It's sad because l hear it's actually a good school. No way we were going to send our daughter there though,' one parent wrote online. We have a president who achieved his office though unconventional and in some cases, unusual electoral means in several key states. Of that there is little question among honest people. He won despite a personal lockdown in his basement and socially distanced campaign events where the press made up most of his "crowds," all while his opponent drew enthusiastic (and often raucous) overflow crowds in the tens of thousands. That Joe Biden, a lifelong politician of little achievement and substance, won the 2020 presidential sweepstakes, after living pictures of incongruence played out on our televisions each night for month after month, leaves the rational mind with questions. Often phrased in this way: "How the Hell did this happen?," several of the questions are about the same characteristic legitimacy. What is legitimacy? In a 1922 essay titled "The Three Types of Legitimate Rule," Max Weber, the noted German sociologist and political economist, proposed three sources of legitimacy: Traditional Authority: Legitimacy may rest on an established belief in the sanction of immemorial traditions and on the need to obey leaders who exercise the authority according to the traditions. Charismatic Authority (Exceptional Personal Qualities): Legitimacy may secondly be based on "devotion to the specific and exceptional sanctity, or exemplary character of an individual person." Legal Authority: Legitimacy may rest on the belief that power is wielded in a way that is legal. What is done legally is regarded as legitimate. If we accept these three aspects as accurate, it seems reasonable that the greatest legitimacy will be achieved by satisfying all three criteria and diminished legitimacy will result if there are failings in one or more. It would also seem logical that, if someone ascends to power during the opposite of these types, that would lead to illegitimacy or, at least, a form of false legitimacy, one marked by superficially doing things "the approved way" but rising to positions of authority by imitating tradition; presenting exaggerated or false personal qualities to the public; or achieving office, status, or power though corrupted legal processes. I would propose that it is difficult, if not impossible, for leaders to be legitimate if they ascend to their positions through any of the latter practices. I speak only for myself when I say I have issues with how Joe Biden was elevated to the Oval Office. Since our traditions are those of a representative republic, it could be generally assumed that no person has a right to rule based on "immemorial traditions." However, it has become a belief within the progressive left that there is a "right to rule" tradition within the Democrat party. That belief verges on almost a divine right, as the left has adopted the good/evil dichotomy with itself on the "good" side. The left seemingly has trouble recognizing evil, unless the object of its observation is its opposition. Biden charismatic? Only if bland, colorless, anodyne, and subservient personalities attract you. Biden has had a few moments in his career notably the 1994 Crime Bill, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and becoming Obama's harmless V.P. but for every highlight, there is a lowlight. The self-aggrandizing lying about his personal history, the plagiarism, the hair-sniffing, the sexual misconduct allegations, the kowtowing to America's enemies, and his willingness to be manipulated offset anything "good" about his career in public life. What remains is the situation giving me the most pause: legal authority. In this case, Biden was aided in reaching office by irregularities bounding on the corrupt. The Executive and Judicial Branches of various states changed election rules on the fly, the cavalier handling of both unvoted and voted ballots (mailed out to everybody with an address), the strange events during the counting processes, the statistical improbabilities in the vote counts, the Judiciary's reliance on thin procedure excuses to refuse to entertain arguments and the final insult the claims that congressmen and senators were "insurrectionists" simply for employing constitutional procedures to authorize an investigation all combine to create a toxic soup of questions. I have said it before, and I will continue to say it I have no definitive evidence that the election was compromised but, by the same token, I have no definitive evidence that it was not. I take no comfort in assurances, especially when those assurances are based on even less tangible evidence than that of real and obvious irregularities. President Biden meets none of Weber's criteria for legitimacy. And given that he has accelerated Obama's "fundamental transformation" of America, that is a problem for me as it should be for all Americans. Image: Joe Biden caricature by DonkeyHotey. CC BY 2.0. The last time Mariesol Gomez saw her grand-nephew was Thanksgiving, when the extended family had gathered at her house for the traditional turkey dinner. James, then 16 months old and a happy child, tried gravy for the first time. He watched football for a little while with his great uncle, then ran outside to play with his cousins and the dogs. His teen mother, DLanny Chairez, was her usual quiet self, listening and laughing with the adults. It was just like normal, Mariesol Gomez, 43, said. There was nothing off. Now James has been missing for more than two months and his mother has been arrested on child abandonment/endangerment charges, refusing to tell police where her son might be. Her not talking is just making it harder for me to accept that he is still alive, Mariesol Gomez said sadly. This is a family that has seen extreme domestic violence. The boys father, Matthew Dempsey, is in prison for murdering his mother. He slashed her throat after he and a friend beat her with a bat when she caught them burglarizing her home two years ago. He was 18. Chairezs mother, Patricia Flores, also is in prison for murder, for killing her 2-year-old grandson. He was severely burned and died from his injuries in 2018. When she called 911, the child was unresponsive. Officials said it appeared he had been burned nearly a week earlier and had received no medical attention. He was the son of Chairezs brother. Family violence can be destructive and lead to future incidents, said Patricia Castillo, the executive director and co-founder of the P.E.A.C.E Initiative, a coalition that works to eradicate family violence. Its a pretty high-risk situation, Castillo said. When individuals are not capable of getting the right kind of help, it can get to this level of escalation and horror. Chairez, now 20, was living on her own with James in a trailer, working as a waitress. She didnt seem to be in any trouble, family members said, and she has no record. She had suffered from depression, Gomez said, but that was well before James was born. Once Chairez had James, Gomez said, She was so happy. She loved him, Gomez added. She was a very good mom. James was last seen with his mother Jan. 4 in security camera footage at a Walgreens on the Southwest Side. Since then, Chairez has been seen, but without her son. Chairez went to Gomezs house to wash clothes Feb. 19, during the winter storm, but James wasnt with her. She told Gomez the boy was with staying with a friend. When Gomez wanted to go pick him up, she said he likely was sleeping and soon left. Then Chairez stopped answering phone calls and the family reported her and the boy missing Feb. 22. San Antonio police put out an alert. There were several sightings of Chairez but none of the child and Tuesday, she was arrested on a charge of child abandonment/endangerment. She remains in Bexar County jail with a hearing set for April 4. On ExpressNews.com: D'Lanny Chairez, the San Antonio mother missing with her infant son, has been arrested by police Police said Chairez refused to answer any questions pertaining to James whereabouts, saying only that she wanted to give him up for adoption. Chairez told officers she was having mental health struggles and she wasnt ready to be a mother. She said James deserves better and wanted her son to be in a better place, court documents stated. The police recounting of Chairezs statement is the first Gomez had heard about her niece considering adoption. First, her niece doted on the child and being a mother, she said. And, Gomez added, it didnt makes sense because all of the boys important documents shot records and social security card were still at Chairezs trailer. Gomez is more worried about what else was found at Chairezs home. There was human blood on a crib sheet and James car seat, stroller, diapers and toys were still there, court documents stated. I thought I knew who she was, Gomez said. Your actions are speaking louder than your words right now. Shes my niece, I love her, Gomez added. I dont understand why its so hard for her to produce that (James location). On ExpressNews.com: SAPD releases photo of missing San Antonio mother on the day of last sighting After getting the go-ahead from officers, Gomez and other family members cleaned Chairezs trailer. They were stunned at what they found. Chairez is a neat-freak, Gomez said, but the place was in squalor trash and empty soda cans littered the floor to the point it wasnt visible. The sheet that was later determined to have blood was crumpled on the floor. While cleaning, Gomez and other family members found a coffee can with scraps of charred paper, newspaper obituaries and pieces of lined notebook paper with social security numbers handwritten on them. This doesnt make any sense, Gomez said. Gomez hates the uncertainty of not knowing where her grand nephew might be. Since announcing James disappearance, she has received messages from scammers claiming to be human traffickers asking for money in exchange for James safe return. You feel like youre mourning someone who was really close to you, but yet theyre alive but you just cant see them or touch them, Gomez said. I have them on my mind all the time. James will turn 2 years old July 16, she said. James was learning to speak before he went missing, she recalled wistfully. He could say mama and papa, and he called Gomez tia-tia-tia. Whoever has him, please return him, Gomez pleaded. Hes got a family that loves him and thats missing him and we need him back. On ExpressNews.com: 'A long-haul commitment': San Antonio officials describe wins, challenges in plan to combat domestic violence Wednesday night, friends and family held a vigil for the child, hoping that if Chairez did leave the child with someone, the person will return him. The vigil was organized by by Jasmine Anderson, the founder of KJs Angels, which provides resources and services to help end child abuse. It was held at Westwood Village Park, just across the street from the Chairez home. Hope surged momentarily at the event when a man and a woman who had stopped to find out what was going on saw a photo of James and said theyd seen the child walking with a couple in the Marbach Manor apartment complex, less than a mile away, according to Gomezs cousin, Larissa Aguilar. When asked if they would speak to detectives, the tipsters told Aguilar they didnt feel comfortable and drove off without giving their names. Attendees had captured photos of the license plate, however, which led family to call the police. SAPD came to the scene to investigate. Family members said police found and questioned the tipsters, but no report was filed and police are still looking for the child. James has blonde-brown hair, a white complexion and brown eyes. He is 2 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 28 pounds. To provide information about James whereabouts, call SAPDs Special Victims Unit at 210-207-4093 or 210-207-2325. Callers can remain anonymous. liz.hardaway@hearst.com | Twitter: @liz_hardaway The budget proposes to raise Rs 47,500 crore through market borrowing against Rs 43,784 crore last year. (Photo: DC) Hyderabad: The state government's overall debt burden would increase to Rs 2.86 lakh crore as per Budget 2021-22 tabled in the Assembly on Thursday. Of this, open market loans account for Rs 2.44 lakh crore. The budget proposes to raise Rs 47,500 crore through market borrowing against Rs 43,784 crore last year. The government needs to pay Rs 17,584 crore this year towards interest while it was Rs 14,615 crore last year. The expenditure on payment of interest has been increasing. It was Rs 14,385 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 14,615 crore in 2020-21. However, the debt is within the permissible limit of 25 per cent of GSDP, at 24.84 per cent. But the state government has breached the limit in 2020-21 due to the pandemic-induced financial crisis. The Centre allowed all states to borrow more to tide over from the crisis. As per the revised estimates for 2020-21, the overall debt was Rs 2,45,282 crore, slightly more than the 25 per cent cap at 25.07 per cent. The debt burden of state government has been consistently increasing. In 2018-19, it stood at Rs1,75,281 crore, which increased to Rs 2,05,858.33 crore in 2019-20. It further increased to Rs 2,45,282 crore in 2020-21 and Thursdays Budget pegs the overall debt at Rs 2,86,804 crore. This apart, the government proposes to borrow Rs 32,561 crore through various corporations by giving bank guarantees. Of this, Rs 14,562 crore will be raised for irrigation projects, Rs 12,503 crore for Mission Bhagiratha and Rs 5,495 crore to meet financial needs. Though the government is presenting revenue-surplus budgets since the formation of the state in 2014, it has faced a revenue deficit for in 2019-20 (Rs 6,254 crore) and 2020-21 (Rs16,226 crore). Despite this, the government on Thursday came out with a Rs 6,743 crore revenue surplus budget for 2021-22. Reported by: Brajesh Kumar, Amit Prakash New Delhi: The grounded Jet Airways aircraft are expected to fly again. But this is possible only if the bidder gets the approval from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Jalan-KalRock Consortium, a company of Murari Lal Jalan, has submitted a resolution plan to the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to takeover Jet Airways. The CoC has also approved it. Now the matter is with NCLT. Family and Business connections between Jalan and Gupta Brothers Zee News revealed, on the basis of the documents accessed, that Murari Lal Jalan is being backed by the infamous Gupta Brothers of South Africa, who are accused of fraud and corruption there. The Gupta brothers have fled South Africa and are reportedly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, while their family is in Dubai. Zee News also has documents to prove the family and business links between the Jalan family and the Gupta family. Following the revelations of Zee News, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) filed an affidavit in the NCLT in the Jet Airways case. This affidavit states that even if a resolution plan is approved by NCLT to purchase Jet Airways, it will not be considered complete until it gets security clearance from the Government of India. It is not easy to get security clearance for Murari Lal Jalan, because the Jalan family has a connection with the infamous Gupta brothers (Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta). It is believed that with the help of Murari Lal Jalan, the Gupta brothers want to make a backdoor entry into the Jet Airways deal. Jalan-Gupta brothers in fix as DGCA steps in Murari Lal Jalan and the Gupta Brothers may have stepped up efforts to buy Jet Airways, but the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA have recently filed an affidavit at the NCLT in Mumbai. According to this, it will not be easy to get slots for Jet Airways, rights to fly on routes and revive its old clearances. Jet Airways Flight Slot A 'slot' dictates the fixed route and the time of flight on which the airline flies from one place to another. But the Ministry of Aviation and DGCA has made it clear that the slot of an airline is not its personal property. In an affidavit filed in the NCLT Tribunal of Companies Act, the DGCA also requested that the tribunal should not issue any order for the DGCA that puts an obligation on it to allocate slot to Jet Airways. According to the aviation ministry, airlines are given route and time under the slot sharing guidelines issued in May 2013. In this, 'Use it or lose it' rule is applicable. It means that if the airline does not use the slot, it will lose the rights over the slot. In its affidavit filed in the NCLT, the aviation Ministry and DGCA have opposed the return of Jet Airways' right to international flights and clearly stated that international traffic rights are also not the property of any airline. In such a situation, Jet Airways cannot express any ownership over it. Therefore, Jet Airways cannot use the insolvency law procedure to get back international traffic rights. Conditions to get Air operator Certificate The DGCA has also rejected Jet Airways' demand to restore all the old clearances. The DGCA said that its priority is the safety of air flights, which are set according to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Aircraft Act 1934 and Air Safety Rules 1937. In such a case, the NCLT should not issue any directive on it. It is further written in the affidavit that Air Operator Certificate is necessary for 'Schedule Air transport Service'. The government has set the guidelines for it. The most important thing in this rule is that the ownership and control of the airline should remain in the hands of the people. The second important condition is that the security clearance of the people on all important positions of the airline should be approved by the central government. This security clearance is given by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the basis of information received from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The third condition is that the rules of foreign investment for India's aviation sector must be followed, while according to the fourth condition, it is necessary to provide proof that the financial condition of the operator is good. If any one of these four conditions is not followed, then the government will not give the approval for starting the service i.e. Air Operator Certificate to that airline. DGCA further wrote in the affidavit that since Jet Airways is in the process of insolvency, new investors and shareholders of the new company are expected to join. This means the new management will also come. In such a situation, before the new management is given ownership and effective control, they will have to live up to all the conditions of the government. Adherence to the rules of foreign investment will also be checked. Only then can the Air Operator Certificate be given. Not only this, as per the process of insolvency, security clearance will be required for the new company taking over Jet Airways, its directors, the people in its key positions, its direct and indirect beneficiaries and the foreigners in management. According to the affidavit, if any one of these conditions is not followed, then despite the resolution plan is approved, the airline will not be able to get the Air Operator Certificate from the government. That is, the airline's service will not start. Thus, the question arises whether Murari Lal Jalan will be able to get security clearance from the government? It is clear in the affidavit that security clearance will be necessary for whoever is the real beneficiary of the Jet Airways deal in any way, direct or direct. While the Gupta Brothers are banned from doing business with any person or company in America, in South Africa, a judicial commission has been formed to investigate corruption allegations on them. Live TV WEDA announces award winners [enlarge] South Landing in Spokane Earlier this month, the Washington Economic Development Association announced its annual economic development awards from a virtual event hosted from Olympia. The emerging professional award went to Tamsin Bell, of the Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County. The Washington Small Business Development Center was named advocate of the year. Project of the year honors went to the city of Olympia's Crown Beverage Packaging effort to retain that business. For recruitment efforts, the city of Arlington was honored for its success in attracting Eviation to Snohomish County. And over in Spokane, the 5-acre South Landing project was honored for innovation in economic development. That's where Katerra and McKinstry built the mass timber Catalyst building, among other projects. Dar es Salaam The Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has been ordered to restart a Sh29 billion tender for selection of consultant to carry out preinspection of imported electronic communication equipment over flaws in picking the winner. The Public Procurement Appeals Authority (PPAA) has agreed with SGS Tanzania Superintendence CO. Limited that the picking of Ms Bureau Veritas Tanzania Limited to carry out the work was irregular and premature. The halted tender also involved collection of advance eco levy fees for electrical imports. Eco levy is a fee charged in advance to all electronic communication equipment to take care of the disposal of associated equipment. TCRA announced its intention of engaging an external agency to manage the importation of electronic communication equipment waste into the country. It is the TCRA's plan that the selected service provider would also work as its agent for inspections and collection of advance eco-levy-fees from manufacturers or importers of electronic communication equipment into Tanzania. SGS sought PPAA's intervention into the deal after lodging a complaint in January, complaining that the award of the tender to Bureau Veritas Tanzania Limited was made prematurely. According to SGS which was among the three firms that compete for the multi-billion work, TCRA issued an award letter to Bureau Veritas before lapse of seven working days from the date it issued the notice of intention to award the tender. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "TCRA issued an award letter on the same date it received our complaint challenging the tender results," argued SGS during the hearing of the appeal. SGS also argued that the award made to Bureau Veritas was not justified because TCRA's evaluation process was conducted in contravention of the Request for Proposals (RFP). Replying to the complaints, Bureau Veritas argued that SGS's application for administrative review of the award was filed beyond time limit. The communication regulation insisted that the award was proper as evaluation was conducted through Tanzania National electronic Procurement System (TANePS) and in observance with the criteria provided for in the RFP. But in its recent decision, PPAA sided with SGS that the award of the tender was made irregularly and prematurely. "From the facts and requirements of the law, the Appeals Authority is of a settled view that the appellant's application for administrative review was within the time provided under the law," said PPAA. PPAA also agreed that award was issued prematurely because TCRA had not worked and deliberated on complaint lodged by SGS. Section 60 (3) of the Public Procurement Act allows tenderers who are dissatisfied with the notice of intention to award to file complaint, if any, within seven working days. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Mongolia Growth Group Ltd. (the "Company") (TSXV:YAK), announced today that TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") has accepted a Notice of Intention to renews its normal course issuer bid to purchase outstanding common shares of the Company on the open market in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. Pursuant to the NCIB, (the "Bid") the Company may acquire up to 2,250,000 common shares (representing up to approximately 7.4% of the 30,481,499 common shares of the Company currently issued and outstanding, or approximately 10.0% of the 22,545,249 common shares constituting the Company's current Public Float (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) from time to time during the next 12 months. In accordance with the Policies of the Exchange, the maximum number of common shares that may be purchased under the Bid in any 30-day period may not exceed 2% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company when aggregated with all other common shares purchased under the Bid in the preceding 30 days. The Company is undertaking the Bid because, in the opinion of its board of directors, the market price of its common shares, from time to time, may not fully reflect the underlying value of its operations and future growth prospects. The Company believes that in such circumstances, the purchase of the common shares of the Company may represent an appropriate and desirable use of the Company's funds and further enhance market stability. The Company may, subject to market conditions, sell one or more of its investment properties to finance purchases under the Bid from time to time. From March 19, 2020 to March 18, 2021, the Company purchased 2,370,000 of its shares at an average price of $0.30 under its most recently expired NCIB. The Company has retained M Partners Inc. of Toronto, Ontario as its broker Member for the purposes of conducting the bid. The Bid will commence on or about March 19, 2021 and the Bid will end no later than March 18, 2022. The common shares will be purchased for cancellation on the open market through the facilities of the Exchange, at market price. This transaction is subject to the TSX Venture Exchange approval. For further information please contact: Genevieve Walkden, Corporate Secretary 877-644-1186 GWalkden@MongoliaGrowthGroup.com This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process and actions, regulator and corporate approvals, technical issues, new legislation, competitive and general economic factors and conditions, the uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, the occurrence of unexpected events, and the Company's capability to execute and implement its future plans. Actual results may differ materially from those projected by management. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. We seek safe harbour. The TSXV has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release. SOURCE: Mongolia Growth Group Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636213/Mongolia-Growth-Group-Announces-Renewal-of-Normal-Course-Issuer-Bid The biggest three-month drop in Australias population since the depths of World War I and signs of a pre-pandemic baby dip in NSW have prompted warnings of a multibillion-dollar hit to the economy over coming years. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the population fell by 4200 in the September quarter to 25,693,059, largely due to an outflow of people. There were 55,400 overseas departures in the period compared to 20,600 international arrivals. The slowdown in population growth is most acute in Victoria, which had the nations highest growth rate ahead of the coronavirus pandemic. Victoria lost a net 16,022 people in the quarter, compared to falls of 1163 in NSW and 165 in the ACT. Every other state and territory added people, largely through interstate migration. South L.A. Community Remembers Latasha Harlins on the 30th Anniversary of Her Death A South Los Angeles playground was renamed in honor of Latasha Harlins, who was 15 years old when she was fatally shot 30 years ago by a Korean shop owner who accused the Black teen of stealing a bottle of orange juice. Latasha was shot in the back of the head and died at the scene at the Empire Liquor Market on March 16, 1991. Her killing which occurred 13 days after the videotaped Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King further inflamed already-simmering racial tensions in the city. The shop owner who killed her was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, but served no prison time sentenced only to five-year probation, community service, and a $500 fine. The playground at Sutton Recreation Center was formally renamed Latasha Harlins Playground in memory of the teen, although the officials sign is not expected to be installed until next month. This is something thats long overdue, Harlins uncle, David Bryant, told ABC7. And I think that could be somewhat of a healing to the community. ADVERTISEMENT Tybie OBard, a childhood friend of Latasha, said the pair would frequent the park. First thing in the morning when she would come to my door, early in the morning, shes like, `You ready to go to the park?, OBard told Channel 7. This is where we would be. OBard is among those featured in a 19-film titled, A Love Song for Latasha, which this week earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary short. The Netflix film recounts her death, but is focused on the girl and the lasting impact her killing has had on the city. In the film we do not use footage of her death, the films director, Sophia Nahli Allison, told ABC7. Were not focused on her death but really on re-birthing the memory of who Latasha was. Moscow: Russia is recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations, the foreign ministry said without getting into the details. The order came after US president Joe Biden, In an interview with ABC News, described Vladimir Putin as a killer who would pay a price for meddling in the US election. The move on Wednesday (March 17), to bring Anatoly Antonov to Moscow, comes to diffuse the rising tensions with President Joe Biden's administration. The newly formed Bidens administration has imposed sanctions over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is now in prison. When asked in the interview whether he (Biden) thought Putin is a killer and the US president said "I do." "(Putin) will pay a price," Biden said, asked about the declassified report. Biden also disclosed in the ABC interview that he had a long talk with Russian leader Putin after taking office in January. The conversation started off, I said, I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared, Biden said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova gave a glimpse of the reason for the return of Russiam ambassador to US. While not citing any specific reasons, she said that relations "are in a difficult state, which Washington has brought to a dead end in recent years." "We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks," she added. "We will be direct, we will speak out on areas where we have concerns, and it will certainly be, as the president said last night ? certainly, the Russians will be held accountable for the actions that they have taken," said Jen Psaki, White House spokeswoman. Live TV Several activists from Swaros tried to block Sanjays convoy and demanded that he withdraw allegations against IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar. DC file photo Hyderabad: BJP will complain against the TRS government to the National SC, ST Commission for its negligence in the Bhainsa girl rape case, the partys state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar has said. He said chief minister KCR did not react on the issue of rape of the minor girl. The BJP would continue its fight against the state governments failures on various fronts. Cases are not new to BJP activists and we are ready to face jail, he said while on a tour of Suryapeta district on Wednesday. The BJP MP honoured the 20 party leaders who were released on bail after they were jailed briefly over the protest in relation to the Gurrampodu tribal lands (tanda) issue in Huzurnagar constituency. Sanjay said, "Even chief minister Chandrashekar Rao would go to jail one day," and added that KCR was already a prisoner in his farmhouse. He clarified that the disputed 6,200 acres of land in Survey No 540 was actually tribal land. I am sure the people would give a befitting answer to the TRS in the Nagarjunasagar by-poll, in a protest against the lathi-charge on BJP workers who fought for justice for tribals. The ruling party brought in Bihar thugs for attacking BJP activists and then filed cases against our men, he alleged. Bandi Sanjay claimed that only the BJP fought for the Yadav community in Telangana, not the Congress and the TRS. The police department has fully surrendered before the Kalwakuntla family, he said. He accused the government of illegal acts in the MLC elections as several ballet boxes were not sealed. Several activists from Swaros tried to block Sanjays convoy and demanded that he withdraw allegations against IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar. The protesters hit the Suryapet BJP presidents vehicle with iron rods and there was no police protection for the party presidents tour. With the help of BJP men, he left the place unharmed. Typical of the coverage was an article in The Daily Mail that, loaded with racist innuendo, said that the biracial Ms. Markle was (Almost) Straight Outta Compton, and described the L.A. neighborhood where her Black mother lived as full of tatty one-story homes and riddled with drugs, guns, gangs and violence. The Mail article, and the various articles in The Sun, appeared in the first week of November, 2016. Days later, Prince Harrys office issued an extraordinary statement declaring that Ms. Markle had been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment and that nearly every friend, co-worker and loved one in her life had been pursued, and in some cases offered money for interviews, by members of the British news media. The couple have been at war with the tabloids ever since. In addition to Harrys lawsuit, Meghan filed her own suit against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, accusing it of violating her privacy by publishing an anguished letter she sent to her estranged father. In February, a High Court in London ruled in her favor. On Thursday, Harry and Meghan, who are also known as the duke and duchess of Sussex, said in a statement that Mr. Portley-Hanks claims showed that the predatory practices of days past are still ongoing, reaping irreversible damage for families and relationships. Harry has often blamed the tabloids for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 after a high-speed pursuit by paparazzi. He even attributed his and Meghans decision to withdraw from royal duties and leave Britain in part to the unrelenting scrutiny of the news media. We all know what the British press can be like, and it was destroying my mental health, Harry said to the British talk-show host, James Corden, last month. I was, like, this is toxic. So, I did what any husband and what any father would do I need to get my family out of here. He and Meghan made similar claims in their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month. Mr. Portley-Hanks, who said he had already come to regret his actions, said those comments deepened his sense of remorse for his role in helping to steer the tabloids to Ms. Markle and members of her family. Tourists visit the the Jiayu Pass in Jiayuguan City, northwest China's Gansu Province, March 17, 2021. Some areas in Hexi Corridor, part of the ancient Silk Road in China's northwest, were covered by floating sand and dust on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhimin) 9 1 [ Editor: WXL ] US President Joe Biden wears a sprig of shamrock during a videoconference with Micheal Martin from the Oval Office. Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis Joe Biden has signalled he will pursue an aggressive foreign policy, calling Vladimir Putin a killer and sanctioning Chinese officials ahead of the countrys first talks with the United States under his administration. The US president said Russia and Mr Putin would pay a price for meddling in Americas elections and the Kremlin would see shortly what that was. Mr Biden said he had a long talk with Mr Putin after taking office in January, and that he knows the Russian leader relatively well. He said: The conversation started off. I said, I know you and you know me. If I establish this [election interference] occurred, then be prepared. Asked if he thought Mr Putin was a killer, Mr Biden replied firmly: I do. Several years ago Mr Biden recalled how, in a meeting at the Kremlin in 2011, he told Mr Putin: I dont think you have a soul. He was asked about the incident in his latest interview with ABC. Mr Biden said: I did say that to him, yes. And his response was, we understand one another. I wasnt being a wise guy. The most important thing dealing with foreign leaders, in my experience, is just know the other guy. Earlier this week, the US intelligence community released a report concluding that Mr Putin was behind a disinformation campaign to denigrate Mr Biden and support Donald Trump during the 2020 election. The Kremlin rejected that as groundless and Mr Bidens comments about Mr Putin drew an angry response. Vyacheslav Volodin, the Duma (parliament chamber) speaker, accused Mr Biden of hysteria from impotence. Biden insulted the citizens of our country. Putin is our president. Attacks on him are attacks on our country. The Kremlin later summoned the Washington ambassador to Moscow to discuss the faltering US-Russia relationship. Tensions have escalated in recent months over hacking allegations and Washingtons demands that Russia frees Alexei Navalny, the jailed Kremlin critic. It came as top US and Chinese officials were set to hold their first face-to-face meeting of Mr Bidens presidency in Anchorage, Alaska, today. Tony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and Jake Sullivan, Mr Bidens national security adviser, will meet Yang Jiechi, Chinas top diplomat. Hours ahead of the talks, Washington announced sanctions against 24 Chinese officials in response to Beijings ongoing clampdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. The sanctions came after China changed Hong Kongs electoral law by reducing the role of the public to select its leaders and required candidates to be vetted to ensure their loyalty to Beijing. This action further undermines the high degree of autonomy promised to people in Hong Kong and denies Hongkongers a voice in their own governance, Mr Blinken said. The Alaska talks could involve discussion of a potential prisoner swap. It would involve Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer who is currently being held in Canada pending a US extradition request, and Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, two Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. Katrina Lantos Swett, the president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, who wrote to Mr Biden earlier this month proposing the deal, said: Weve heard some rumours and rumblings. We really believe that the prisoner swap is a credible way to win freedom for these two extraordinary young people, and it would be a very symbolic first move for both sides, and a win-win. Meanwhile, Mr Biden said it would be tough to meet the deadline to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as agreed with the Taliban in a deal secured when Donald Trump was president. Could happen, but it is tough. Im in the process of making that decision now, Mr Biden said. The Taliban said there would be consequences if the US did not stick to the agreed timetable. Read More Three juvenile teenage boys have been arrested in relation to a horror assault on a 15-year-old boy who was attacked after he was allegedly lured to the scene by a girl. Gardai suspect the teenager was lured to the Inchicore area by a girl before he was attacked by a gang of young youths some of whom are suspected of being armed with iron bars. The boy, who is from the Tallaght, area suffered a broken leg, broken arm and several broken ribs. The shocking incident happened at Vincent Street West in Inchicore at around 5pm last Sunday and it is being investigated by Kilmainham gardai. Officers from the station arrested the trio this morning. They are from the locality and despite their young ages are already well known to officers. They include two brothers and another teenage boy who have been released without charge after being detained for six hours today. Detectives have established that robbery was not the motive for the attack and there may be in fact no reason except pure thuggery that the boy was savagely beaten. Gardai have arrested three male juveniles today, Thursday 18th March 2021, in relation to an assault that occurred in the Saint Vincent West area of Inchicore on 14th March, a garda spokesman said. All three have since being released for consideration of inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme, he added. It is understood that the victim who is said to come from an extremely decent Tallaght family is making a good recovery from his injuries and has provided gardai with a statement. The victim travelled to the location to meet a girl and all the indications are that this was a set-up because when he arrived to the scene there were a group of male youths present as well as the juvenile female, a senior source said. He then was very badly assaulted in an incident which was witnessed by a number of onlookers some of whom contacted the emergency services. The chief suspects for the brutal attack are a gang of feral teenage thugs who have been involved in a spate of muggings and have been wreaking havoc near the Luas Line along the Grand Canal for well over a year. Gardai in Kilmainham are running a special operation to target the gang of teenage criminals who are responsible for multiple robberies of people along the Grand Canal near where there are a number of Luas stops. There has been a big increase in robberies and muggings in locations including Bluebell, Inchicore and Drimnagh. Around 10 suspects were identified, including two sets of brothers, who are all juveniles from the Inchicore and Drimnagh areas. The teens are also suspected of carrying out a number of hijackings and motor vehicle thefts, with delivery drivers targeted in some instances. Last March, gardai said that anti-social crime in the area around the Grand Canal in the capital had dramatically declined since the introduction of a special patrol but the problem has now got much worse in recent weeks. The garda statement in March came just weeks before a a 26-year-old man was taken to hospital after being stabbed multiple times near the Goldenbridge Luas stop. Last May it was reported that a woman being left seriously injured after being knocked down by a teenager on a scrambler motorbike, another womans hair being set on fire and a number of very violent assaults all in the Grand Canal area in Inchicore and Drimnagh. On one weekend last September there were around a dozen violent incidents in the locality. CCTV cameras on the Grand Canal have been vandalised and in some cases destroyed by local youths. [March 18, 2021] California Cannabis Distributor Nabis Announces Appointments of Three Key Company Advisors OAKLAND, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nabis , one of California's largest licensed cannabis distributors, announced the appointment of three new advisors: Anthony Chen, Elizabeth Cooper and Ron Suber, who will support the company's next stage of strategic growth. "In 2021, Nabis is looking to expand aggressively in all facets of the business, primarily focusing on areas of technology and infrastructure," said Vince Ning, CEO of Nabis. "Each of these advisors will help Nabis round out major areas of the business to help us attract the best talent, scale teams effectively and grow our infrastructure footprint rapidly." Anthony "AC" Chen was the first full-time employee at Flexport , a global technology logistics giant, joining the company while it was still in Y Combinator's accelerator program in January of 2014. Mr. Chen's expertise in creating robust playbooks for growth will help ensure Nabis takes the most efficient route in scaling its distribution capabilities. Elizabeth Cooper is a Vice Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) , a global real estate brokerage firm with nearly $20 billion in annual revenues. She has over 30 years of real estate experience, including two decades as a top sales producer at JLL. As a senior leader of one of the world's largest commercial real estate companies, she will guide Nabis in the best infrastructural expansion options for its distribution centers across California. Ron Suber currently serves as a board member of Yield Street and Qwil , and as an advisory board member to three SPACs, as well as numerous companies in lending, real estate, banking, and payments sectors ( Juvo , Unison , Money360 , House Canary , MoneyLion , Sundae and Future Fuel ). Having spent decades in the financial industry and with deep knowledge of FinTech products, Mr. Suber will be an invaluable asset helping Nabis develop novel lending solutions. Over the past 12 months, Nabis has signed over 60 new brand partnerships as the company continues to technologize the cannabis supply chain. Nabis currently has over 10,000 unique active SKUs in its proprietary software platform. With the new appointments of the advisors, Nabis is in prime position to continue supporting brand growth and capturing market share. About Nabis Nabis is a leading cannabis distribution platform with a best-in-class wholesale marketplace that supports the largest portfolio of brands in the world, supplying more than 99% of California's dispensaries with the most diverse selection of innovative products. Nabis offers clients compliant logistics, warehousing, payment collection, financing, sales, and marketing services to accelerate brand growth and access to the largest cannabis market. Founded in 2017 by Vince C. Ning and Jun S. Lee, Nabis is fueled by cutting-edge distribution technology designed in-house with integrated logistics dedicated to our brand and retail partners. Nabis works directly with brands to ensure lightning-fast fulfillment and provides actionable sales data and insights to help brands scale and grow. Learn more: Nabis.com Media Contact: Trevor Maniscalo Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency 305408@email4pr.com 630-841-1017 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/california-cannabis-distributor-nabis-announces-appointments-of-three-key-company-advisors-301250016.html SOURCE Nabis [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The family of a three-year-old boy from New Jersey who was mauled to death by a neighbor's two pit bulls this week say the child's mother, who was also critically injured in the attack, previously complained to the dog owner about his 'wild' pets, but her pleas were ignored. Relatives and friends have identified the young victim in the incident that took place in Carteret on Tuesday as Aziz Ahmed. The toddler's father, Tanveer Ahmed, was filmed by CBS New York on Wednesday bursting into tears upon entering his home on Laurel Street and setting eyes on his son's red sneakers. His wife remained hospitalized in critical condition. Scroll down for video Aziz Ahmed, three, was mauled to death by a neighbor's two pit bulls, which also badly injured his mother at their home in Carteret, New Jersey, on Tuesday It is believed that these two pit bulls, Logan (left) and Rocky (right), were responsible for the mauling that killed the toddler Tanveer Ahmed, Aziz's father, was seen returning home with tears on his face on Wednesday Aziz Ahmed's small, wooden coffin is loaded into the back of a vehicle following a prayer service in Edison, New Jersey, on Thursday Several realistic-looking dog toys are seen on the porch at the home on Birch Street where the two pit bull that killed Aziz lived Relatives said Ahmed's wife raised concerns with the pit bulls' owner on two separate occasions in the past three months, arguing that they posed a potential threat. 'The mother went to the neighbor two times to let her know the dog is wild. Its out of hand. And you know, the owner laughed it off,' one person said. Photos taken at the scene on Thursday show cinder blocks and a plastic table resting against the fence separating Ahmed's property from their neighbor's, possibly in an attempt to keep the dogs out of the family's yard. Neighbors who spoke to ABC 7 NY also claimed that the pit bulls were known as a menace in the area. 'Those pit bulls bit people all in this area,' one person said. 'I'm aware of certain houses, so I try to walk a different path when I know that they're on that block.' Aziz's bright-red sneakers are pictured inside the family's home on Thursday The mauling took place in this yard, separated from the dog owner's property by this fence Family members of the mom, including her sister (L) and mother (C), console each other at the house in Carteret on Thursday A makeshift memorial made up of candles, flowers, balloons and stuffed animals, is seen outside the Ahmed family's home Prayer services were held for Aziz at the Mosque Al Wali in Edison, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon A mourner loaded the coffin carrying the boy's body into the back of a vehicle on Thursday Tanveer Ahmed, pictured in a white skull cap, attended the prayer services for his son A large group of men were there to comfort the grieving fahter-of-three Another neighbor said she called the police about the dogs several times. Social media posts associated with the man who lives at the home on Birch Street behind the Ahmed family's house identified the two dogs as a black pit bull named Logan and a brown-and-white pit bull named Rocky. So far, no charges have been filed against the dog owner. Prayer services were held for Aziz at the Mosque Al Wali in Edison, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon. The child's grieving father was pictured following Aziz's small, wooden coffin as it was carried out of the mosque. He was seen being comforted by a large group of male relatives and friends. At around 4.30pm on Tuesday, Aziz was playing in the backyard when the two pit bulls living on Birch Street behind the family's house dug underneath the fence separating the two properties and lunged at him. Aziz was playing in his backyard on Laurel Street in Carteret on Tuesday when a neighbor's two dogs got in and attacked him Aziz was airlifted to a hospital after Tuesday's dog attack, but could not be saved The animals managed to enter the yard through this fence separating the two properties, despite apparent efforts to block their way A plastic table is seen resting against the fence separating the neighbors' properties A swing, chairs and toys are pictured in the Ahmed family's yard two days after the attack Jeet Devinder told ABC 7 NY he could hear the mother's desperate cries 'Help me! Help me!' but no one came to call off the dogs. The family had only moved to Carteret from Brooklyn three months ago. First responders who arrived on the scene found the victims with injuries so severe that they had to be airlifted to a hospital. Aerial footage from NBC4 showed paramedics performing chest compressions on the child as he was being taken on a gurney to an awaiting Medivac helicopter. Aziz died a few hours later. The mother remained hospitalized in critical condition on Thursday with severe injuries. The boy's mother suffered serious injuries as well as remained hospitalized on Wednesday A neighbor who was familiar with the dogs said they never showed any signs of aggression before Tuesday. Pictured: A 'Beware of The Dog'' sign is affixed to the neighbor's fence A bag of dog food is seen on the front porch at the home of the pit bull's owner Stickers depicting a pit bull and a Punisher skull are seen on the back of the dog owner's Jeep A long-time co-worker of the deceased Aziz's father said the parents have three young sons. 'They are from Pakistan originally and he's a great family guy. He has three little boys,' Jack Beyda told Patch. 'He's very, very hardworking. He worked very hard to provide for his family and he saved up enough money to move out here from Brooklyn; he saved up enough to buy this little house.' Both dogs were reportedly shot by police officers at the scene of the attack. It is unclear whether their owner would face any criminal charges. A neighbor who was familiar with the dogs said they never showed any signs of aggression prior to Tuesday. Cartert Mayor Dan Reiman released a statement addressing the deadly dog attack. 'Our prayers are with the family affected by a dog attack at a private residence on Laurel St,' he wrote. 'Thank you to the first responders who rushed in to attend to the victims, who are being transported by helicopter for emergency medical care. Thats all the information we have at this time.' Reiman said that according to municipal records from the Carteret Board of Health, the dogs were not registered with the town, as is required by law. Tanveer Ahmed's employer, Coney Island Auto Parts in Brooklyn, started a GoFundMe campaign for the family. Russia is today hosting the first of three international conferences aimed at jump-starting a stalled Afghanistan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of US and N ato troops from the country. The withdrawal date was set under a year-old agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban. US President Joe Biden told ABC in an interview aired yesterday that he is consulting with allies on the pace of the drawdown. Meeting the May 1 deadline could happen, but it is tough, he said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has tried to convey a sense of urgency to Afghanistans rival factions. Mr Blinken wants the United Nations to convene a conference of foreign ministers from Iran, Pakistan, India, Russia, China and the United States to provide a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan. In a third step, he wants a peace deal signed at the third conference, to be held in Turkey by the time of the US withdrawal. But many seemingly unsolvable problems remain. Rival Afghan leaders have chequered and violent histories. Caught in the middle are ordinary Afghans, wary their uncertain future is to be determined by warlords, a corrupt administration, and the fundamentalist Taliban. The Moscow conference is seen as a critical first step. Key players are attending, including US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Afghan national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Representatives of Pakistan, Iran, India and China are also participating. Americas main goal is an Afghanistan peace deal that guarantees its national security and that of its allies. Washington has been at war in Afghanistan for 20 years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks masterminded by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden from his headquarters in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After the US has spent nearly $1trn, militant groups remain powerful. Al-Qaida is still present in Afghanistan and an affiliate of the Islamic State group has taken root in the east of the country. Other groups include the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban, threatening Afghanistans neighbour Pakistan; the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a threat to Russia; and the Turkistan Islamic Movement founded by Uighur separatists, which threatens China. The Trump administration agreement included a commitment from the Taliban to disavow terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan will not be used against the US or its allies. Its not clear how the insurgents plan to do that or if they even can. The Afghan government is corrupt and morale is low among Afghan troops. Corrupt practices were detailed on Tuesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, at a US Senate Subcommittee on National Security. Mr Sopko said the widespread corruption is strengthening the Taliban, has driven a deep wedge between Afghans and the government, and weakened the Afghan security forces, which Washington pays $4bn a year to sustain. The Taliban now control roughly 50pc of the country. Mr Blinken has warned that without US and Nato troops, it is likely the Taliban would make quick territorial gains. America fears that Afghanistan could once again become a free-for-all for terrorists. [March 18, 2021] Kaleidescape Celebrates 20th Anniversary MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleidescape celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The company was founded with the goal of delivering the ultimate home cinema experience. While our products have evolved, our purpose remains the same: to design and manufacture the industry's leading home movie servers and players for custom installation. Kaleidescape, celebrating 20 years, was founded with the goal of delivering the ultimate home cinema experience. "I started Kaleidescape, with cofounders Cheena Srinivasan and Dan Collens, in February of 2001. I had just built my first home theater at a time when the only practical movie source was a DVD disc. But DVDs were inconvenient to purchase, store, find, and play. We imagined and created new products and a cloud infrastructure that would deliver high-fidelity movies through the Internet, store them digitally in the home, automatically organize them, and make them easy to play in any room," said Michael Malcolm, chairman of Kaleidescape's board of directors. At its inception, Kaleidescape's founders united around a desire to do what they loved and create a company and products they could champion with pride. With a passion for movies and deep respect for experiencing them as the filmmakers intended, they saw an opportunity to bring films to life through immersive home cinema. They built a team grounded in a shared dedication to their craft, and engineered innovations that stemmed from the realization that great home cinema is as much about audio as video; that what happens before the movie starts and after it finishes is just as important as the quality of the movie itself. As the lights dim, viewers are drawn deeper into the story by each subtle sound and ground-shaking rumble and held captive until the end credits roll and the lihts slowly return. This is the transportive power of the Kaleidescape experience. "Kaleidescape remains as elegant and unmatched as it began," said Tayloe Stansbury, Kaleidescape's chief executive officer. "We are more engaged than ever with our customers, our partners, and our dealers, to deliver the finest home cinema experience to our discerning audience." Garnering over 50 industry awards, Kaleidescape built a global brand with installations in over 80 countries and the finest superyachts. We transitioned from storing digital copies of customers' DVD and Blu-ray discs to providing download access to thousands of iconic films. Today, Kaleidescape has the largest collection of 4K titles with lossless Atmos audio available and boasts over 12,000 titles for purchase and more than 8,000 for rent. For those who want to enjoy opening night at home, our Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) feature provides access to just-released films. In addition to offering an expansive catalog of films, concerts and TV series, Kaleidescape prioritizes quality and ease by automating settings and curating instant scene access. "I'd like to congratulate Kaleidescape for 20 years of providing a fantastic, secure, super high-quality source for true home cinema," says Barry Sonnenfeld, whose award-winning credits include his cinematography on Miller's Crossing, Raising Arizona, Big, and When Harry Met Sally as well as his directorial work, including Get Shorty, The Addams Family, and the Men in Black franchise. Most recently, he was the show runner and directed many episodes of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events. "I've had several home screening rooms in the last 30 years and I always tried to create an experience better than I can get in a commercial movie theater. I rely on Kaleidescape to deliver a truly fantastic image and incredibly great sound." Kaleidescape is the only online provider of films with full-fidelity audio and video for luxury home cinema. The company's Internet-delivered movies include proprietary metadata that enables its award-winning movie players to produce a truly astonishing home cinema experience. Kaleidescape systems are installed worldwide in the best homes and yachts. Founded in 2001, and headquartered in California, Kaleidescape sells its products exclusively through custom integrators. CONTACT: Josh Gershman, josh.gershman@kaleidescape.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kaleidescape-celebrates-20th-anniversary-301249814.html SOURCE Kaleidescape [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] On one point, there seems to be bi-partisan agreement among state legislators and many of those who testified during the Planning and Development Committees marathon 24-hour hearing on affordable housing this week: For many people, living in Connecticut is too expensive. But fault lines emerged during the contentious hearing on how to remedy the high housing costs and the segregation that festers between poor and tony municipalities. While suburban and urban Democrats offer a number of solutions among themselves, Republicans are generally opposed to the state getting any more involved in spurring the development of more affordable housing through statewide zoning reforms. Meanwhile, housing advocates are somewhat divided on what the best approach is. The administration of Gov. Ned Lamont is staying out of the debate and has not submitted any testimony on zoning reform legislation. A lot of us last summer realized that we needed to do a lot more around the inherent structural racism that exists in our society, said Committee Co-chairman Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, referring to the disproportionate toll the coronavirus has had on Black and Latino residents and the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. We certainly have very diverse viewpoints among our committee members, but Im confident that working together we will come forward with legislation that will probably make everyone slightly unhappy but hopefully will move the ball forward for us as a state. The issue itself is nothing new. Invisible walls created by many local zoning boards and the state government have historically blocked affordable housing and, by extension, the people who need it. More than three dozen towns in the state have blocked construction of any privately developed duplexes and apartments within their borders for the last two decades, the CT Mirror and ProPublica reported in 2019. As far back as data has been kept, Connecticuts low-income housing has been concentrated in poor cities and towns, an imbalance that has not budged over the last three decades. This inertia often locks low-income people out of educational and employment opportunities. In southwest Connecticut, for example, it costs 3.5 times more to live near the high-scoring elementary schools in Westport, Weston or Wilton than in Bridgeport, one of the most impoverished cities in the state. Many attribute that situation to HUD and state officials sitting on the sidelines while many neighboring communities have refused to allow construction of reasonably priced apartments or duplexes that lower-income residents could afford. Compared to other states, Connecticut comes in 49th place for building housing. Connecticut needs more homes for more people in all our towns. Connecticuts towns can be great places to live and can also be more affordable, Kiley Gosselin, executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, testified. But developers said exclusionary zoning is inhibiting their ability to construct even two-, three- and four-unit housing developments. We feel that towns are missing opportunities to meet this housing demand, said Eric Santini, who develops multi-family housing throughout the Tolland County region and is president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut. I can tell you the demand is real. Our properties in Ellington and Vernon are 100% full. Weve got a long waiting list, and that has been fairly consistent, not just recently, but really the last decade. Here is a rundown of solutions being considered. Allow some housing to be built without a public hearing Nearly every town in Connecticut prohibits the construction of multi-family housing without special permission from local officials, according to an inventory of local zoning regulations compiled in January by Desegregate CT, a coalition of dozens of non-profits lobbying the legislature to pass land-use reforms to help reverse the states status as one of the most segregated places in the country. One proposal before the Planning and Development Committee would allow the construction of multi-family developments close to a towns main train station and two-, three-, and four-unit developments in the downtown corridor without a developer first needing to go through a public hearing and winning approval from the local planning and zoning board. Instead, towns officials could either preemptively develop zoning regulations for such development in those areas of their town or use state-recommended zoning codes. This would impact all cities and towns except those where there are fewer than 7,500 residents. The public hearing process itself, some say, is the problem. Many who show up to testify on proposed affordable housing projects point to frail public infrastructure, clogged streets, a lack of sidewalks and concerns of overcrowding that would damage whats often referred to as neighborhood character. Research has shown that when a project is opened to public testimony, the feedback is overwhelmingly negative and the demographics of those testifying are not representative of the region. My work shows that an as-of-right process [without a public hearing] is more equitable than our current process, which privileges the voices of advantaged, older, white homeowners, testified Katherine Levine Einstein, an associate professor at Boston Universitys Department of Political Science. Planning and zoning board meetings triggered by the special permit/variance process amplify the voices of an unrepresentative group overwhelmingly opposed to the construction of new housing. Fair housing advocates and attorneys say there is something deeper to this pushback that specific projects often receive during public hearings. The legal team challenging Woodbridge to allow the construction of four-unit homes in town without a public hearing or special zoning commission approval testified about their frustration with people raising environmental, architectural or other concerns during public hearings about multi-family housing, including during the committees hearing Monday. These are never things that get raised when you imagine the largest single family development but only get weaponized against multi-family, said Karen Anderson, a law student at Yale. She is among those working on the Woodbridge case, which could have implications for other Connecticut towns with a preponderance of land zoned only for single family homes. But several Republicans and some suburban Democratic legislators see limiting public hearings on specific proposed projects as a way to stifle important feedback from residents on how a development will affect them, the environment or the character of a community. I cant in good faith support the removal of a local public hearing process, which I believe to be the very foundation of the checks and balances needed between communities and developers. Residents often know more than traffic experts, developers and, I daresay, legislators, testified Rep. Stephanie Thomas, a freshman Democrat who represents Westport, Wilton and Norwalk. Jane Sprung, a resident and elected official in Greenwich, testified, As a homeowner, we should be able to have a local voice Flooding the market with new inventory that maxes out property coverage on each lot will result in greater infrastructure demands, greater storm water runoff and other potential environmental impacts. We like our local control, and we would like to keep it that way, Rep. David Rutigliano, R- Trumbull, told the committee. Officials from Westport and other well-off communities testified that requiring denser development around their downtowns and train stations without their local officials signing off would undermine their efforts to open affordable housing. Danielle Dobin, a Democrat and chair of Westports Planning and Zoning Commission, predicts such a change will just lead to more multimillion-dollar town houses being constructed in her community, rather than homes for middle- and lower-income residents. The founder of Desegregate CT who helped develop the legislation being considered by the committee is adamant that the public is not being taken out of the process, because they will still have the opportunity to help shape the codes and what small housing looks like locally, just not on a project-by-project basis. She also points out that any development with more than 10 units would have to reserve 10% of the units for lower-income residents and that market forces will drive down costs by allowing more housing to be built. The committee has been hearing from elected officials who say that this will totally change the zoning statute and totally usurp town zoning authority, and that could not be farther from the truth, Sara Bronin explained. Her research shows that the zoning setup in wealthy towns like Greenwich, Trumbull and Westport have left their population unable to grow since the pipeline of new housing supply (was) cut off. A fair share for every town In an effort to respect local control but not allow towns to ignore their obligations under the Federal Fair Housing laws another bill would leave it entirely up to municipalities to determine how to provide their so-called fair share of affordable housing but would attach strict enforcement mechanisms if a towns plan or implementation is not ambitious enough. The fair share would be determined after a housing-needs assessment is completed and overseen by the state. After that, each town would be required to provide a specific number of affordable housing units to meet that need. The plan is modeled after the Mount Laurel case in New Jersey, where the courts required towns to provide low-income residents the opportunity to live in their communities. Towns that have greater means and less of a track record of contributing to a solution are asked to do more. Towns with high rates of poverty, 20% or more, have already done their fair share, said Erin Boggs, the executive director of the Open Communities Alliance, the chief proponent of this bill in Connecticut. Her organization is also leading the effort in Woodbridge to begin allowing multi-family housing. Its really the right thing to do, because in one fell swoop, it allows Connecticut to address both its racial segregation and its affordable housing crises, while ensuring that towns really remain in charge in their own planning and zoning. Homeownership has long been one of the best ways for families to accumulate wealth, but for generations, it has been elusive for many Black and Latino families and for those interested in owning in certain communities. Almost 85 years ago, federal officials and mortgage lenders began rating mortgage risk based on neighborhood, race, ethnicity and economic status and refused to lend outside of white areas a practice known as redlining and many white homeowners refused to sell to minorities. Though the practice was outlawed years ago, the consequence of perpetuating poverty festers, since it prevented minority residents from building wealth through homeownership. Making the inequality even worse today are exclusionary local zoning requirements that thrive throughout Connecticut. Requiring a single-family home be on a lot that is at least one acre, or forbidding duplexes from being constructed, drives up the cost of purchasing a home and continues to put homeownership out of reach for many Black and Latino families. The wounds of decades of being shut out from having the ability to purchase or rent a place in the suburbs or find an affordable place in a city that is not struggling with concentrated poverty have not healed, several testified. I am so embarrassed to now live in Connecticut and see how segregated it is and for people to be in such denial, testified Antonia Edwards, a Manchester resident who shared stories of family and friends struggling to find a home to purchase or a place to rent without facing blatant discrimination. Give people the opportunity. Not everybody wants to live in the ghetto or the hood. Some people are stuck there because of redlining. People say we got rid of redlining, we did, then they put zoning in its place and discriminatory practices. Past efforts by the Obama administration, and the administration of former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, to link housing affordability plans with enforcement mechanisms have fallen flat, however. Richard Ives, the first selectman of Brooklyn, told the committee there is a time for state involvement. I think we may need a little bit of a shove, he said, pointing out that homeless and elderly residents are struggling to find housing in his small rural town. We need a push. A state affordable-housing tax on towns If towns want to be enclaves from the rest of the state, the state should levy a tax on their homeowners for that privilege, the leader of the state Senate believes. The proposal from Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven referred by some as a mansion tax would add a state affordable-housing tax on the value of homes over $430,000. There would be different tiers for the tax. Towns that have at least 10% affordable housing would have no extra tax, while those with less than 2% affordable would have an added 2 mills on their property tax. Such a tax would raise roughly $97 million a year that could be funneled back towards constructing affordable housing elsewhere, the legislatures non-partisan fiscal office estimates. Homeowners in Lamonts home town of Greenwich would pick up the largest tab of $26 million, followed by Westport, with almost $11 million. I think that the tax proposal, in addition to raising revenue, does give people an incentive. So if youre in the bottom tier, youre not forever going to be stuck with a two-mill increase if you develop affordable housing, Looney said. During a separate public hearing on this bill on Monday, several residents from wealthy towns expressed their outrage with the proposal. Senate Bill 172 appears to be an extortion tax. It threatens local towns with If you dont do this, we will make you pay,' said Woodbury resident Deborah Schultz. More taxpayers, not higher taxes In his budget address in February, Lamont listed a more affordable Connecticut as a top priority for this legislative session. Over the last year, weve experienced a real estate boom in Connecticut, with tens of thousands of new residents discovering Connecticut is a beautiful state, he said of the 24,000 additional families moving into the state in 2020 compared to 2019. When asked about how to make Connecticut affordable and an attractive place to live, Lamont regularly makes the point that he wants more residents to tax rather than raising taxes on those who are here. But the constraint of available housing is driving up costs, and first-time and lower-income buyers are typically the losers in bidding wars, several real estate agents and residents hoping to purchase their first home told the CT Mirror in November. During Mondays public hearing, Republican legislators regularly pointed out that they agree with Lamonts firm position on not raising taxes while saying Connecticuts high taxes are the real problem with housing affordability, not zoning. I did a real estate closing the other day where the taxes on a modest house were more than the mortgage insurance bond, said Rep. Joseph Zullo, R-East Haven, the house minority leader of the Planning and Development Committee. I think thats a reflection of the tax problems that we have in Connecticut, so I dont think its fair to say that necessarily exclusionary zoning is just an issue, or is a factor, or is a huge factor. The entire tax climate in Connecticut, and the lack of affordability in Connecticut, is one of the biggest factors for people being cost burdened. On the same day Lamont released his budget, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority released new data that showed housing prices have soared as demand skyrocketed. In Lamonts budget, he recommended appropriating $150 million next year to construct subsidized affordable housing, an amount that will help to slightly blunt steady declines in the amount of affordable housing construction being funded by the Department of Housing. The administration submitted no proposed legislation aimed at tackling the larger systemic issues driving up housing costs, and the Department of Housing declined to comment on the various zoning reform bills being considered by the legislature. During a stop in Bridgeport on Monday to promote COVID vaccines while the public hearing was taking place at the state Capitol complex, Lamont said he prefers luring towns to create affordable housing with funding but is open to discussions. I think were strongly supportive of more affordable housing, more diversity of housing, not just in our cities, but in our towns. I prefer to use incentives and collaboration to work with people to get that done. I think the plan on the accessory apartments, that makes some sense. How come Im not allowed to rent out something to a teacher in my house if Id like to? So there are some very good pieces to the bill that were going to be taking a look at, he said. Is this the year for reform? Despite its liberal reputation and Democrats controlling the legislature for the last 24 years and the governors residence for 10 Connecticut is one of the most segregated places in the country. But Looney, a longtime supporter of reforming the states land-use laws, thinks there is a growing awareness and chorus calling for changes that could spur real change this year. I want to do it all, he said of the zoning reforms that received a public hearing Monday. I think theres a heightened awareness. We want to try to take advantage of the moment to move forward on this issue, because we see zoning practices and exclusionary zoning and the stark contrast between communities that are heavily minority right next door in some cases to communities that are 90%-plus white. I think that theres a heightened awareness to the injustice of that, and the fact that zoning practices are a fundamental part of that. I think that we need to try to take advantage of the fact that that issue is being more broadly discussed in society than it was before. State Treasurer Shawn Wooden called on the state to adopt changes. CT is one of the most segregated states. Its time to end decades worth of discriminatory housing policies by empowering localities to create a more equitable future for communities, he tweeted on Tuesday. Many members of the legislatures Black and Puerto Rican Caucus also want reform, said Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr., D-Waterbury, leader of the caucus. Were always looking for inclusionary practice and affordable housing opportunities, especially in places where weve been kind of shut out through legal zoning practices. Its another discretionary way of pretty much saying, Youre not wanted here,' he said, noting housing and equity are top priorities of this legislative session. Id like to think that were in a different era, but the truth of the matter is that there are so many rural and suburban communities that are just not interested in changing their zoning laws. So, I think, they maybe need to be called out and forced to handle the problem. House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, a longtime supporter of land use reforms and the chambers first person of color to become the majority leader, also hopes to get something passed this year. During his countless hours of Zoom meetings, hes reminded those watching his screen that zoning reform is a priority by placing Richard Rothsteins book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America in the background. During a press conference last week to back the fair-share housing proposal, he said, simply being opposed is really not an option according to state law and federal law. So what were trying to do is meet them somewhere in the middle and empower them to make these decisions. Premier Jason Kenney announced, in Oyen, Alberta on Friday, July 3, 2020, that after more than a decade of planning and perseverance, shovels are in the ground on the Alberta segment of the Keystone XL pipeline. By Charlotte Greenfield and Rupam Jain (Reuters) - Russia hosts a summit on Thursday to revive the Afghan peace process, the first in a series of meetings that make unlikely allies of Washington and Moscow as they try to pave the way for an interim government in Kabul and end the bloodshed. The United States is shifting the focus from largely stalled negotiations in Qatar's capital to meetings among key regional countries aimed at pushing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Taliban insurgents and other Afghan political leaders to form a transitory government as soon as possible. The Moscow meeting will include U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives from Pakistan and China, according to officials. A team of Afghan political leaders and government representatives and a Taliban delegation will also attend. Khalilzad has been trying to drum up support for a written proposal that includes an interim government and ceasefire, as U.S. President Joe Biden reviews plans for Afghanistan ahead of a May 1 troop withdrawal deadline agreed with the Taliban by the Trump administration. The Moscow gathering will be followed by a meeting of regional players in the first week of April in Turkey and a summit that Khalilzad has asked the United Nations to organise, styled on a 2001 conference in the German city of Bonn. It was there that Afghan leaders met to set up a provisional administration after the Islamist Taliban was ousted by local forces backed by the U.S. military. Some diplomats and experts said that for the renewed peace push to succeed, Washington must align itself with countries including Russia, China and Iran, with which it has strained relations. Both Russia and the United States support the idea of an interim government, said a diplomatic source whose country will be present in Moscow, which could pressure Afghan leaders to give ground while Pakistan leans on the Taliban to do the same. "If they are working together it is very possible to bring this war to an end," the source said, adding the main hurdle was any lingering mistrust between Moscow and Washington. Story continues A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the meeting in Russia complemented the Doha process and that Washington was engaging with regional countries, though believed the peace process should be "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned at its core". "We have never sought to be prescriptive. Rather we are encouraging the sides to accelerate the peace process and make progress toward a political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," the spokesperson said. MUTUAL SUSPICION, CHALLENGES AHEAD The warring Afghan sides have yet to reach a peace deal amid mutual suspicion and ongoing violence in Afghanistan which the government largely blames on the Taliban. The Islamist militant movement sees Ghani as a lackey of the West and insists remaining foreign troops leave the country. Iran, which borders Afghanistan, is not attending the Moscow meeting. The source said Tehran had communicated it would accept an interim government so long as it had representation from minority ethnic groups that have historic ties with Iran. Iranian officials and Russia's foreign ministry could not be immediately reached for comment. Three diplomatic sources and one international official said that traditional U.S. partners including European and NATO nations felt sidelined by Washington's regional push. Some experts said that, although talks in Doha had struggled to make headway since starting in September, peace negotiations tend to take time. "They're scrambling as if they need to fix a broken process, but it's barely even started," said Andrew Watkins, senior Afghanistan analyst at International Crisis Group. There are also concerns among some officials over whether an interim government which Ghani has vehemently opposed and the Taliban have said they would not join is feasible. A Taliban leader said they would avoid joining an interim government, although they would support replacing Ghani's administration. He added that they had refused a request to allow U.S. forces to stay in Afghanistan after April. A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Three more diplomatic sources familiar with the discussions said Ghani was under intense pressure from the United States to accept an interim government. Key to the Taliban, a separate source familiar with negotiations said, was an Islamic jurisprudence council that would oversee the president. They also wanted half of government positions and the chance to nominate a president. A spokesman for Ghani's office denied any pressure, saying the leader had a respectful working relationship with the United States and that no amount of pressure would lead him to accept an unelected interim government. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad, Rupam Jain in New Delhi, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Jonathan Landay in Washington and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow; Additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan and Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Mike Collett-White/Mark Heinrich) Flaum, 84, was appointed to be a federal trial court judge by President Gerald Ford in 1974 and was elevated by President Ronald Reagan to the 7th Circuit in 1983. On Nov. 30, Flaum took senior status, which is a form of semiretirement that allows him to hear a reduced caseload. President Joe Biden has not yet nominated a replacement for Flaum. When youre a theft victim, you just want your money back. But sometimes its not so simple for prosecutors or judges to get your money back, even after the perpetrator pleads guilty. Maybe the thief went bankrupt. Maybe an insurance company deserves some of the payback. Maybe there are multiple thieves and multiple victims. A benchbook spearheaded by Superior Court President Judge Jack Panella offers guidance for judges across Pennsylvania to tackle issues such as these. The Palmer Township judge spent three years working on it with colleagues from the Superior Court and more than a dozen other helpers, according to a news release from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Its the first edition of the Pennsylvania Restitution Benchbook and will be distributed to all trial judges statewide. A multitude of complex factors can often come into play for judges as they attempt to fairly and appropriately compensate a victim of crime in any given case, Panella said. The benchbook details the applicable statutes, rules, and case law, and offers perspectives from experienced judges on issues that can arise in restitution cases and provides guidance on common questions, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor said. Sometimes judges need to bring back thieves who fail to keep up payment plans, said PA Office of Victim Advocate Director of Public Policy & Legislation Pennie Hockenberry. The benchbook outlines rules governing those circumstances. The Office of Victim Advocate is grateful to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts for their efforts in the creation of the bench book which seeks to standardize this approach across the Commonwealth. Hockenberry said. The book was reviewed by judges and attorneys at all levels of the judiciary. Who helped? Panella worked on the book in conjunction with: The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts Judicial Education Department Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow Superior Court Judge Judith Ference Olson Superior Court Judge Victor P. Stabile He also reached out to: Northampton County President Judge Michael J. Koury, Jr. Former Lehigh County President Judge Edward D. Reibman Northampton County Judge Paula A. Roscioli Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck Northampton County Assistant District Attorney William Blake Lehigh County Assistant District Attorney Nicolo Baratta (Northampton County Judge Stephen Barattas son) Brian Panella, an attorney at Goudsousian & Associates (Judge Panellas son) William Clements, the chief clerk in Judge Panellas office in Bethlehem Ashley Stephans, a law clerk in Judge Panellas office in Bethlehem Owen Ecker, a law clerk in Judge Panellas office in Bethlehem and a former law clerk for Judge Edward Reibman Doreen Lipare and Nancy Casciole, administrative assistants for Judge Panellas office in Bethlehem Nicholas Battisti, Cornell University, Bethlehem resident and Judge Rosciolis son Regan Murphy, Vermont Law School, Bethlehem resident and Attorney Angela Murphys daughter Ryan McKarski, Temple Law School, Bethlehem resident and attorney Ed McKarskis son Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Paul, a 43-year-old in New York who was diagnosed with high blood pressure three years ago, got his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in late February, once hypertension was listed as a qualifying condition. That was the easy part. I didnt have any hesitation signing up to get it, but I had extreme hesitation telling anybody about it, he said. I was afraid there would be a lot of judgment involved. He talked to select friends about it, who assured him that getting the shot as quickly as you can will also help reduce the COVID-19 risk for everyone else. And he happened to know of a vaccine appointmentfinding website where he could book his shot. Since many others dont know this website exists, he worried he was contributing to the inequality of a public health effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fact that finding these appointments has turned into The Hunger Games just made me feel bad about it, he said. If they actually made a legitimate piece of software where everybody could just sign up, you could just tell them what your condition was, and they just like put you in a queue, I would have felt fine about the whole thing. My BMI was .1 over the obesity line. Woo If social media is any indication, elderly people and health care workers arent the only ones getting vaccinated these days. Seemingly everyone is now securing a shot. After a bumpy start, 2.4 million shots, on average, are now being administered a day. By May 1, well all be able to sign up to receive an inoculation. But in the meantime, many people seem to be looking around and wondering how did that person get the vaccine? You might have yourself checked the eligibility requirements and realized that you, too, can claim a spoteven though you dont really consider yourself high risk for COVID-19. Advertisement My BMI was .1 over the obesity line, said Woo, in New York, where obesity defined by body mass index qualified people for the vaccine in February. (For this article, we used first, middle, or anonymized names, to avoid causing further social trouble for our subjects.) He was careful not to work out once he made the appointment. I was thinking, What if they make me step on a scale? Advertisement Woo was paranoid enough that he also came up with a little script in case an acquaintance asked him why hed been able to get the shot. It was something like, Oh yeah, it turns out Im obese, so I qualify! Hahaha isnt that funny lol, BMI is a made-up metric anyways. Advertisement It is of course possible to be obese by this definition and also healthywhich is why Nati, in Pennsylvania, was a little surprised to learn that he qualified for early access. I assumed I would be one of the later people to get vaccinated, he said, explaining that his doctor had never discussed his weight as much of a health risk. He didnt have qualms claiming the shot itself. Whoever the people who are making these guidelines know more about this stuff than I do, he said. Many expressed this sentimentand if you qualify, you should not hesitate to get the shot. Experts have noted again and again that the system is just not able to put people in the exact perfect order and make vaccinations happen quickly. But letting others know you got it is another matter. Josh, a fitness trainer in Los Angeles, who qualified for the vaccine through work with a law enforcement agency, learned this the hard way. Since he didnt skip any lines, Josh thought it would be fine to tell people he got the vaccinebut people reacted with surprising anger. I told two people and regretted it, he said. I thought telling people would put them more at ease around me, but then it backfired. He did not elaborate. Advertisement Advertisement Mohamed, in New Jersey, was caught off guard by the haphazard distribution of shots. He preregistered in November because he has moderate asthma. While the condition currently doesnt really affect his life, he signed up anyway. I assumed that I would be scheduled only after the rest of the high-risk and elderly people got theirs first, he said. When he got a link to schedule his appointment, he was excitedinitially. At first, I was stoked because I thought it was some kind of luck that I got called up, he said. After he got his first dose, however, he started to feel guilty that hed gotten it ahead of his parents. I got my I got the shot sticker and shoved it into my coat pocket and that was it. He thought about the box that he checked on the form to register, and how odd it was to be lumped into the same category, for vaccine-queue purposes, as people with cancer and heart failure. I think its a little more than stupid to put those three in the same category, he said. Advertisement The logic of which particular jobs qualify for the vaccine can be a little unclear, too. A woman who was working as a paralegal in Pennsylvania explained that she felt slightly weird about qualifying as part of the states 1B group rollout, since she only went into the office a couple days a week and didnt have to interact with anyone. It felt a little like, Hmm, maybe I shouldnt be prioritized, she said. But she also explained that since the vaccine rollout had been handled so poorly, I knew I needed to just get it as soon as I could. Soon after, she switched to a role that will involve more in-person interaction. Advertisement An attorney who works for the city of New York had the opposite experience: She said she thought she and her colleagues should have qualified for the vaccine under the states 1B guidelines, which include essential workers and specifically court officersshe has to go into courts in person. But her workplace told her that this did not include her. Advertisement I must say, it was odd to see people who qualified and were working fully remotely, always, while I was having to go in and didnt qualify, she said. She hastened to add the vaccine-FOMO disclaimer of our moment that, of course, you never know what underlying conditions someone has. She considered going ahead and signing up anyway. But before she could make a choice, new guidance came out opening the vaccine to all public-facing employees, allowing her to make an appointment. As it stands in New York, its fairly easy to get a vaccine without even having proof of a condition. A 35-year-old New Yorker, Alex, said that he has undiagnosed hypertensionmeaning his blood pressure was sometimes high, but a doctor has never discussed it with him as a specific medical condition. Hed also spent the year eating in restaurants, traveling, and seeing friends. I felt that I was likely to get COVID sooner or later, he said. When he went to his appointment, no one asked for his medical records at the site. I think theres kind of a wink and a nod, and theyre not looking too hard, because they want people to get vaccinated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After seeing how easily Alex got his vaccine, his girlfriend, Sydney, wanted to get a shot. She has no underlying conditions, but she does have undiagnosed anxiety, she said. (Neurologic conditions are listed as an eligible condition; anxiety is generally considered a psychiatric disorder.) I definitely toyed with this and the morality of it, but the more people that I talked to, it was kind of like: We all are going to have to get it, so you might as well just get it as fast as you can, she said. Sydney went to her appointment not entirely confident it would work, since she didnt have proof, though, she joked, many people who know me would just say, Of course theres something wrong with her. If asked, she decided to just say she forgot her proof at home. It was like, no harm, no foul, she said. Like, Im going to give it a shot, and if it works, great, and if doesnt, fine, Ill wait until its my turn. Shes now vaccinated. leader on Wednesday demanded the arrest of two persons who allegedly involved in an attack on a party worker Buddhadeb Manna. He registered an FIR at Marishda Police Station over the attack on Buddhadeb Manna in Battala. "Manna was attacked while he was leading a rally. Two persons who had orchestrated the incident must be arrested," he said. Elections to 294-member Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (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.) NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller speaks to the media at a press conference in Sydney, Australia on July 6, 2020. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images) Aussie Police Chief Defends Sex Consent App Idea New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has spoken to the attorney-general and police minister about an app that couples could use to record consent for sex. Fuller has defended his idea of a phone app to establish and record mutual consent before having sex, arguing it could keep people out of a flawed justice system. The proposal drew swift criticism from politicians, womens safety workers, and the public after Fuller published an opinion piece in Sydneys Daily Telegraph on Thursday. He said an app could normalise conversations around consent and formalise the habit of actively seeking consent. He conceded it could provide challenges, such as if someone withdrew consent after agreeing. Others, including Labors police spokeswoman Lynda Voltz, pointed out that women could be coerced into ticking a box on an app. Voltz told AAP it would make things even harder for assault survivors if the app were used as evidence of consent in criminal proceedings. Womens Safety NSW CEO Hayley Foster said the sector had many evidence-based proposals for improving access to justice for sexual assault survivors, but the app was not among them. Fuller later told reporters the app would stop assaults from occurring in the first place and keep people out of the justice system. He said more than 15,000 women come forward with complaints of sexual assault every year, with that number growing exponentially, but only two percent secure convictions. I am hoping technology, whether it is an app or something else, will save matters going into the justice system because there is clarity that this just dinner or just a date, he said. He said sexual assault trials were difficult and traumatic for women victims, and the justice system doesnt seem to be helping offenders in these matters. Were failing both players, he said. He said consent should be positive, not neutral, and an app could give people clarity. Men are victims of this as well, he said. Fuller rejected the idea that women could be forced to consent on the app, saying many victims in these cases were unconscious and it would be tough to get a jury to accept they consented in those circumstances. He acknowledged the criticism of the app idea and that it may never eventuate, but said he welcomed the conversation about consent. At the end of the day should I be embarrassed about protecting the women of NSW? I say no, he said. Premier Gladys Berejiklian refused to be drawn on the idea of the app, but congratulated Fuller for taking a leadership position on starting the conversation. She said Attorney-General Mark Speakman would very shortly be making a proposal on consent law reform to her government. By Hannah Ryan Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 17) The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday confirmed receipt of the remaining documents that Russias Gamaleya Research Institute needed to submit to complete its application for emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in the Philippines. The submission preempts the March 15 to 18 trip of an FDA team to inspect Gamaleyas manufacturing plant. The Russian vaccine maker earlier lacked a Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice and instead invited the FDA to its factory to personally inspect its practices. The inspection trip to Russia did not push through because last Friday the applicant submitted the required documents and those are being reviewed, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a text message. It was not immediately known why Gamaleya changed its mind. The FDA earlier said it targets to release a decision of Gamaleyas application for emergency use authorization before the end of the month. The FDA has so far granted EUA to the vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac Biotech. Some 1.125 million doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines have been delivered to the country and are now being used in the local inoculation drive. The government expects more Sinovac and AstraZeneca doses to arrive this March and April, enough to kickstart general public vaccinations by early May. Meanwhile, Gamaleya previously said it could supply the Philippines with 50 to 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. Russia was earlier criticized for an early rollout even before the completion of its Phase 3 clinical trial. The Sputnik V vaccine turned out to be 91.6% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against moderate to severe disease, according to an interim analysis of the vaccine's Phase 3 trial results published in medical journal The Lancet. CNN Philippines' Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report. Queenslands Premier was moving to reassure people the COVID vaccine was safe on Thursday, after her Health Minister issued a warning for people with a history of allergic reactions to hold off on getting the jab. At a media conference on Wednesday, Health Minister Yvette DAth, along with Queensland Health Director-General John Wakefield, said there were concerns following four people having allergic reactions to the jab in recent days. Ms DAth said while the vaccine was considered safe, anyone who had a history of anaphylactic reactions to bee stings or food should consult their GP before having the jab. The Queensland government received updated advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration later on Wednesday correcting the advice, saying there was no specific risk to people with a history of allergic reactions. 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. Last year, Hayley Kearney of L&J World Travel, spoke to us as the grim task of processing refunds was beginning. A year on, she tells Liam Tunney how the travel industry is still frustrated. It doesn't seem like a year because we're doing the same thing every day. It has been soul-destroying said local travel agent Hayley Kearney when the County Derry Post caught up with her last week. We had 90 percent of our annual bookings already done before Covid hit, so when we had to refund that, that was one year's salary completely gone. The most devastating thing was that, not only were we busy, but we had to keep on working for every customer with no government support whatsoever. They have failed to understand the travel industry, or even go about learning about it to try and help us out. Hairdressers for example shut up shop, were furloughed and stayed at home. We had every single booking to sort out and refund and our customers were the priority. With Hayley only able to avail of the government's limited self-employment grant, the last 12 months have been an uphill struggle. The stop-start nature of restrictions has made it difficult to plan ahead in an industry that depends on foresight and projection. We're just surviving and no more. We had taken a few bookings during the summer that went ahead, but that just covered a few write-offs, she said. There were only a few Turkey flights that went ahead. We had a couple at the end of October, the Canaries had opened up again and it was all guns blazing. We had loads of customers and there were a lot of people who really want to get away, and those people would have booked for Christmas, and then they shut us all down again. We had one particular customer who has had seven holidays booked between March last year and now, and I had to phone her today to say her seventh holiday had been cancelled. That's seven times I sourced, booked, took payment for and refunded a holiday. You're talking hours of unpaid work, which isn't the customer's fault, but it's not mine either. We were taking two steps forward and 20 steps back every time. There is cause for some optimism though. Many travellers who booked holidays themselves have been unable to source a refund, even 12 months on, and are looking to travel agents for assistance. A lot of people have contacted me who weren't my customers, but had booked themselves and done a DIY package. Some of them are still chasing refunds on flights from a year ago. I have heard people saying they'll never book on their own again, so I hope this crazy time has reflected well on travel agents. Anybody booked with an agent has got their money back. Going forward, hopefully our business will blossom, but at the minute, we're still in the midst of this crazy time. Related: COVID ONE YEAR ON: A week of fear, uncertainty and panic-buying COVID ONE YEAR ON: Dancing community missing the buzz a year later COIVD ONE YEAR ON: Clear difference in NI and Italy's Coronavirus response Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 8) D.M. Consunji, Inc. has started working on the country's biggest water reclamation facility, which is slated to be operational by 2024. In a statement issued Thursday, the company said it was tapped by Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to build the 10.5 billion Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas (CAMANA) Water Reclamation Facility. Maynilad previously said it will be constructed on a 16-hectare lot along Dagat-Dagatan Avenue Extension in Barangay Maypajo, Caloocan City. The facility is designed to treat 205 million liters of wastewater daily, generated by around 1.2 million households in South Caloocan, Malabon, and Navotas, DMCI noted. "This is an enormous undertaking because it involves expanding the capacity of a 40-year old facility by over 600%," said DMCI president and CEO Jorge A. Consunji. According to DMCI, the project will generate up to 1,000 direct and indirect jobs once works on the facility move at full throttle by the first quarter of 2023. DMCI will be working with JFE Engineering Corporation of Japan for the multibillion-peso project. Maynilad is a private water concessionaire, serving around 9.8 million people. It is the concessionaire of the MWSS for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of Holy Spirit & Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Paranaque, Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Malabon, and Navotas. Outside the capital, it also serves customers in the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario in Cavite Province. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The number of coronavirus cases at Ohio nursing homes dropped again this week, to 570 patients and 423 staff, the Ohio Department of Health reported Wednesday. This is down from 614 patient cases and 438 for staff at the long-term care facilities a week ago. Current cases are defined as those active during the seven-day period ending Tuesday. Total patient cases stood at 5,155 in mid-December, dropping to 2,711 by mid-January and 992 by mid-February. The state began tracking nursing home cases by facility on April 15. There have been 48,667 patient cases and 34,453 staff cases reported since then. The health department each week releases updates on deaths by county and cases by facility for the long-term care centers. No information is released regarding the number of deaths by facility. However, death counts became unreliable as a tracking measure earlier this month when Gov. DeWines health department switched to a more delayed reporting system, which involves awaiting for confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control before a death is included. The state this week reported 6,903 patient deaths to date, up from the 6,790 reported a week ago. However, before the switch in reporting procedures, the state had been reporting 7,462 patient deaths. Facility-by-facility case details can be found below. If you are having trouble viewing the list, use this link instead. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Previous coverage Obamacare now cheaper for millions because of big health insurance changes in stimulus - Thats Rich! Ohio coronavirus cases, hospitalizations level off; updates, trends with vaccinations mapped by county How close is your ZIP code to reaching the goal of 50 coronavirus cases per 100,000, set by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine? See coronavirus cases by day for each Ohio county, including per capita and cases in last seven days BERLIN A Roman Catholic archbishop in Germany offered his resignation and two other high-ranking officials were suspended in the wake of a report that found decades of systematic cover-up in the churchs handling of accusations of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy members. The 800-page report, examining the years 1975 to 2018 at the Archdiocese of Cologne, was released on Thursday after five months of intense investigation. It was critical of the actions of Stefan Hesse, who had worked at the Archdiocese of Cologne and is now the archbishop of Hamburg. Archbishop Hesse said he would offer to step down. To prevent damage to the office, of the archbishop or the Diocese of Hamburg, I am offering Pope Francis my resignation and ask him to immediately relieve me of my duties, he said in a statement. The archbishop said that he had always sought to act responsibly in his handling of abuse allegations and denied any intention to hide wrongdoing during his tenure in Cologne, but said that he would accept the consequences of the findings. JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, the transport and logistics companies Ukrferry and FerryPlus, as well as LTG Cargo Ukraine, a subsidiary of LTG Cargo (part of Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai group) have agreed to jointly implement a project for the development of the international multimodal route Turkey-Ukraine-Lithuania-Poland. The press service of Ukrzaliznytsia reported, with reference to executive director of the Liski transport service branch of Ukrzaliznytsia Edvin Berzins, the parties signed a corresponding memorandum. According to him, the matter concerns the implementation of operation of the route port Karasu (Turkey)-the railway terminal of Chornomorsk port (Ukraine)-Vilnius/Kaunas/port Klaipeda (Lithuania)/Kaunas-Bialystok (Poland). It is noted that the signatories of the memorandum agreed to jointly work out the possibility of organizing regular intermodal transportation along the specified route, creating an effective transport corridor between the Black and Baltic Seas, using the transport capacity of all the countries involved, as well as ferry transport. In addition, the goal of the joint work will be to increase the railway transportation of goods between Turkey and Central and Northern Europe, as well as to increase the competitiveness of such transportation and, as a consequence, their profitability. Australia will send protective equipment, tents, air conditioning units and 8,000 vaccines to Papua New Guinea to help the country fight its growing Covid-19 outbreak. Triage tents will be set up at the country's Port Moresby General Hospital and one million face masks are among the supplies being delivered from next week. Medical equipment and personnel will also be shipped to the country in the coming days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has demanded the European Union immediately release one million AstraZeneca vaccines that Australia has bought so he can donate them to the country by the end of the year. Since the beginning of January, Papua New Guinea has recorded 2,351 cases of coronavirus and 26 confirmed deaths - with fears this will continue to grow. Australia will send protective equipment, tents, air conditioning units and 8,000 vaccines to Papua New Guinea to help the country fight the growing Covid-19 pandemic Professor Glen Mola head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Port Moresby Hospital said the virus was also weighing heavily on frontline workers Papua New Guinea Health Minister, Jelta Wong, told Today testing for the virus in the country 'has been an issue'. 'With the complacency of people around the country it forced us to go into isolated lockdown next week to slow down the virus,' he said. Professor Glen Mola head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Port Moresby Hospital said a good indication of community transmission was the fact that one in every ten women coming to the hospital to give birth were carrying the virus. 'So that means there's going to be massive community transmission when one out of every 10 people has got the virus in their respiratory tract,' he said. Since the beginning of January, Papua New Guinea has recorded 2351 cases of coronavirus and 26 confirmed deaths - with fears this will continue to grow Medical equipment and personnel will also be shipped to the country in the coming days Professor Mola said the virus was also weighing heavily on frontline workers. 'When they test positive of course we have to send them home to isolate, so that takes 10 per cent of our workforce away every week,' he said. 'If this continues then we will lose 50 per cent of our workforce within a month or so, which would take us down to levels where it's almost impossible to continue the service.' From Saturday all passenger flights from PNG into Cairns will be suspended for two weeks, with charter flights also halted except for medevac and other critical routes. Mr Morrison on Wednesday said giving vaccines to the country was the right thing to do and believed Australians would agree. 'I think Australians understand that that is one of our responsibilities and as an advanced nation that has had such incredible success in managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, I think they would be generous in spirit,' he said. 'They're our family. They're our friends. They're our neighbours. They're our partners. They have always stood with us and we will always stand with them.' From Saturday all passenger flights from PNG into Cairns will be suspended for two weeks NVIDIA has doubled the price of the GeForce Now premium plan to $10/month for new members. Annual plans cost $100/year. The Priority membership offers faster access to cloud gaming servers, longer gaming sessions and ray-tracing and DLSS support. GeForce Nows free tier cuts you off after an hour of playtime and youll likely face a longer wait to start playing. Existing subscribers have been moved to a Founders plan, which has the same features as Priority. As long as their account stays in good standing and they dont pause their plan, they can keep paying $5/month for life. NVIDIA told GamesBeat that $10/month has long been the target price. It has been subsidizing the cost to make the service more appealing and get it off the ground. GeForce Now chief Phil Eisler said the increase would help to cover costs and make the service, which has almost 10 million members, sustainable. The company is adding more server locations this year to increase capacity and reduce latency, starting with Phoenix, Arizona and its first Canadian data center in Montreal. Locations in Saudi Arabia and Australia are also coming soon. GeForce Now is currently hosted on more than 20 data centers and is available in more than 70 countries. It supports more than 800 games. Meanwhile, NVIDIA is rolling out an update that should be available to everyone in the next week or so. It aims to improve streaming quality through an adaptive Vsync technology, which syncs frame rates at 60 Hz or 59.94 Hz on the server side to match how games are displayed in the client. NVIDIA says this should cut down stutter and latency on supported games. A "new adaptive de-jitter technology" will allow it to bump up bit rates and boost quality over inconsistent connections as well. In the next couple of months, NVIDIA plans to start adding account linking support in key games. It also aims to improve preloading to reduce loading times around half. Tel Aviv, March 18 : The Israeli Finance Ministry has announced an economic support program for the country's airlines due to the prolonged Covid-19 crisis and its extensive damage to the aviation industry. "The plan will allow an immediate flow to facilitate the airlines operations during this period," the Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. As part of the plan, the state will purchase in advance, for 20 years, flight tickets for the governmental flight security guards. Thus, the Ministry agreed with Israel's leading airline El Al on the purchase of flight tickets in the amount of $210 million, under the condition that the company will raise $105 million through a public offering. This outline replaces a previous government offer of a state guarantee for a $400 million bank loan that El Al was supposed to take. The ministry said that in the coming days a similar outline would be offered to other Israeli airlines, Israir and Arkia. William Burns, nominee for Central Intelligence Agency director, testifies during his Senate Select Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 24, 2021. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP) William Burns Confirmed as CIA Director The Senate on Thursday confirmed without opposition veteran diplomat William Burns as director of the CIA, giving him control of the nations premier spy agency as the U.S. government confronts a diverse array of international threats from China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere. The approval, by voice vote, came soon after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) lifted a hold he had placed on the nomination. Burns, a former ambassador to Russia and Jordan who served at the State Department for more than 30 years under both Democratic and Republican presidents, vowed at his confirmation hearing last month that he would deliver unvarnished intelligence to the White House. His confirmation was initially held up by Cruz, who demanded sharp condemnation from the Biden administration of a new gas pipeline from Russia that is strongly opposed in the United States and Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement calling the pipeline, Nord Stream 2, a bad deal for Germany, for Ukraine, and for our Central and Eastern European allies and partners. Cruz subsequently lifted his hold. By Eric Tucker 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. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The startup is called Vortex Bladeless , much like the new type of wind turbine. It recently made the cut on Norways top ten most promising startups, earning development support from state energy company Equinor. You may have heard about it on reddit, where it earned the descriptive (and hilarious) moniker skybrator.Unlike conventional wind turbines, Vortex Bladeless doesnt need blades or even that much wind, inventor David Yanez explains to The Guardian . It wobbles within wind range and generates energy through vibration.Because its smallerthe current model is only 3-meter (9.8-foot) talland because it doesnt use blades, it could be placed in heavier density areas like cities or in locations with wildlife since it wouldnt pose a danger to it. It is also noise-free. The goal is to produce these for residential areas, targeting homeowners who already have solar panels. So Vortex Bladeless could complement traditional wind turbines , reaching areas where they couldnt be used.We are not against traditional windfarms, Yanez says. The main benefit of the technology is in reducing its environmental impact, its visual impact, and the cost of operating and maintaining the turbine.Today, the turbine is small and would generate small amounts of electricity. But we are looking for an industrial partner to scale up our plans to a 140-meter [459-foot] turbine with a power capacity of 1 megawatt, Yanez adds.The Vortex Project is, as of the time of press, at 50% through homologation and just 5% into manufacturing, but backing from Equinor is likely to bring these skybrators one step closer to reality. Its been a while since such an immature joke has felt so justified. Also, were all 12 inside. PM package an important component says govt as 2,000 Kashmiri migrants expected to return this year India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 18: Since the abrogation of Article 370, nearly 520 Kashmiri migrants have returned and have taken up jobs under the Prime Minister's package, the government informed the Parliament. The government also said that is expecting 2,000 more migrants to return this year. Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy said in a written reply that special jobs for the Kashmiri migrant youth under the PM package has been an important component for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants. A total of nearly 3800 migrant candidates have returned to Kashmir in the last few years to take up the PM package jobs. Post abrogation of Article 370, as many as 520 migrant candidates have returned to Kashmir for taking up the jobs that have been provided to them under the rehabilitation package. Another nearly 2,000 migrant candidates are also likely to return under the same policy in the year 2021 on successful completion of the selection process. No information on leak of WhatsApp chat on Article 370 scrapping: Govt tells Lok Sabha Since 1990, 44,167 Kashmiri migrant families have moved from the Valley owing to security concerns. Of these the count of the registered Hindu migrant families is 39,782. Reddy also said that of the total 6,000 posts announced under the packages, nearly 3,800 Kashmiri migrants have been rehabilitated directly by way providing government employment. They are working in various districts including Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla, Shopian, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Pulwama, Anantnag and Bandipora. He also said that 6,000 transit accommodation units are being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 920 crore. "So far, 1,025 dwelling units have already been constructed which include 721 dwelling units in the district of Budgam, Kulgam, Kupwara, Anantnag and Pulwama. Another 1,488 units are under construction and land has been identified for about 2444 units," he said. Anjelina Jolie makes shocking accusations against Brad Pitt| Oneindia News These would include assistance of Rs 7.5 lakh for repairing fully or partially damaged house, Rs 2 lakh for dilapidated or unused houses and Rs 7.5 lakh for purchase or construction of a house in group housing societies for those who sold their properties after 1989. Andy Cohen has weighed in on Sharon Osborne's 'Megan Markle race row' which saw her CBS program The Talk temporarily taken off-air. Sharon, 68, was accused of being racist after she defended her friend Piers Morgan in the wake of his comments about Megan Markle's Oprah interview. Discussing the saga on Thursday, Andy said he believes that Sharon should never have been taken off-air. 'Keep talking': Andy Cohen (left) has weighed in on Sharon Osborne's (right) 'Megan Markle race row' which saw her CBS program The Talk temporarily taken off-air 'In my mind, what they should have done with the Sharon Osbourne thing, is go back, get back on the horse the next day, talk it out on the air. Keep talking,' the reality TV producer told told Australian radio program The Kyle And Jackie O Show. 'Now we're investigating [The Talk] and we're investigating what happened. It's like, just keep talking,' he continued. Radio host Kyle Sandilands agreed, adding that 'just keep talking' has always been his mantra when it comes to controversy. Advice: 'In my mind, what they should have done with the Sharon Osbourne thing, is go back, get back on the horse the next day, talk it out on the air. Keep talking,' the reality TV producer told told Australian radio program The Kyle And Jackie O Show 'It's the only way to get through a tide of s**t is to keep talking about it and keep being real and honest with each other,' he said. Kyle's co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson questioned whether it's now too late for Sharon to return to The Talk. 'Now it's just going to be awkward. They can't come back from this now.' What happened: Piers (pictured), a former presenter on CNN and Daily Mail editor at large, was critical of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to speak to Oprah Winfrey, in an interview that aired on Sunday night in the U.S. and on Monday in the U.K It comes amid fears Sharon may never return to The Talk after CBS launched a probe following her on-air spat with co-host Sheryl Underwood over Piers' comments about Megan Markle. Last week, Piers left the Good Morning Britain show after saying he didn't believe a word Meghan said in her Oprah interview, in which she revealed she'd considered suicide during her time as a senior royal. Sharon Tweeted in support of Piers shortly after his departure from Good Morning Britain was announced, saying: 'I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth.' Details: He accused Meghan and Harry (both pictured) of damaging the royal family and seeking publicity on their own terms - without accepting the responsibility and scrutiny which come with their position Solidarity: Sharon Tweeted in support of Piers shortly after his departure from Good Morning Britain was announced, saying: 'I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth.' Pictured together in 2017 Addressing the Tweet on-air, Sheryl asked Sharon: 'What would you say to people who may feel that, while you're standing by your friend, it appears that you gave validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist, even if you don't agree?' Sharon hit back, saying she felt like she was being placed on 'the electric chair' for having him as a friend. She asked her co-hosts to show her what Piers had said that was racist. 'If anyone should be crying, it should be me': Discussing her Tweet on The Talk, Sharon said she felt like she was being placed on 'the electric chair' for having him as a friend At one point Sharon said to Sheryl: 'Don't try to cry. If anyone should be crying, it should be me.' Sharon said in an ET interview that she felt blindsided by Underwood when she was questioned on-air last week about her support for Morgan and his right to free speech. In the fallout from the on-air clash, CBS cancelled The Talk's episodes for Monday and Tuesday and the show was due to return on Wednesday. However, CBS has since confirmed The Talk will not be back until next week while an investigation is carried out. A woman has publicly accused actor Armie Hammer of raping and abusing her, as the Los Angeles Police Department confirms its investigating the actor as part of a probe into alleged sexual assault. The woman, identified as Effie, spoke out on Thursday during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred. On 24 April 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face, Effie alleged in a statement sent to The Independent, which she read during Thursdays press conference. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent. She added: During those four hours, I tried to get away but he wouldnt let me. I thought that he was going to kill me. He then left with no concern for my well-being. Effies full legal name was not given during Thursdays press conference. Allred specified that the woman is now 24 years old and lives in Europe. Hammer denied the allegations through his attorney on Thursday. From day one, Mr Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with [the woman] and every other sexual partner of his for that matter have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory, Hammers lawyer told The Independent in part in a statement. Also on Thursday, the LAPD confirmed to The Independent that Hammer is the named suspect in an alleged sexual assault investigation, initiated on 3 February 2021. The Independent has contacted his attorney for comment about the probe. Effie alleged that she and Hammer met on Facebook in 2016, when she was 20 years old. I fell in love with him instantly. The relationship progressed rapidly and the emotions from both sides became really intense, she said in her statement. Looking back, it is now clear to me he was employing manipulation tactics in order to exert control over me, until I started to lose myself. He would often test my devotion to him, slyly removing and crossing my boundaries, as he became increasingly more violent. He abused me mentally, emotionally, and sexually. Effie said the alleged abuse traumatised me to the point where for months, I was unable to stop crying, I couldnt sleep or Id have night terrors, I was constantly emotionally distressed and lost interest in living. In his statement to The Independent, Hammers attorney Andrew Brettler said that Effies own correspondence with Mr Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations. It was never Mr Hammers intention to embarrass or expose [the woman]s fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference, Brettler added. With the truth on his side, Mr Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight. Effie said in her statement that she hopes Hammer will be held accountable and that her testimony will help others. In a statement of her own, Allred said it is important to emphasise that even if a sexual partner agrees to certain sexual activity, she still has a right at any point to withdraw her consent. If she does withdraw her consent and asks her partner to stop for any reason, he is legally and morally obligated to stop. If he does not stop, he is then at risk of committing a crime against her, Allred added. In addition, a sexual partner needs to be aware of the nature and the scope of the consent that is given. Even if a partner consents to some sexual acts, that does not mean that there is consent to any and all sexual conduct with her. Allegations against Hammer surfaced earlier this year. He was dropped by his reps in February. Ukraines foreign minister on Wednesday hailed a U.S. intelligence report which he said showed the Ukrainian government had played no role in influence operations against the United States. US intel community has found no Ukrainian government involvement in influence operations against the U.S. Moreover, Russias interference attempt included efforts to undermine U.S. support to Ukraine. Another loud fiasco for Russia, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. The intelligence report, released on Tuesday, said it was likely that Russian President Vladimir Putin had directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 US presidential election to Donald Trump. The report added heft to allegations that some of Trumps top lieutenants had been playing into Moscows hands by amplifying accusations made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the 3 November election. Ukraine and Russia have been at loggerheads since Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and over its support for separatist rebels in continued fighting in Ukraines eastern Donbas region which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people. Ukraine has accused Moscow of orchestrating large cyber attacks as part of a hybrid war against Ukraine, but Russia denies this. Article courtesy of Reuters. by Vladimir Rozanskij Moscow responds to Bidens harsh words on Putin ("a killer" and "he will pay the price") by withdrawing the ambassador to the US and re-proposes the division of the world. Biden is "unconscious", "demented", "hysterical". Turcak: We are a multi-ethnic country; they are a mass of kissers. We have families and family values, they have genders and transgender people. Metropolitan Hilarion: The Pope's trip to Iraq, agreed with Biden to humiliate the Syrian (and Russian) Orthodox. Economic factors nurturing post-globalization. Moscow (AsiaNews) - An irreversible step in a new "cold war". This is the conclusion that can be drawn from the Russian comments on the ABC News interview with US President Joe Biden. Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "being a killer" and promised he would pay the price". After a decade of tensions and sanctions, relations between the two countries, which divided the world in the twentieth century, is in a blind alley from which it will be difficult to get out. Biden's comments regarded the meddling" in American elections, in 2020, but also in 2016, which led to discussions about operations orchestrated by Russia against candidate Hillary Clinton, paving the way for the victory of Donald Trump. In turn (now it is Trump who is contesting the election result), the victorious Biden finally wants to deal with the "black man" of the Kremlin. As he stated in the interview, "we had a long talk, he and I, -- I know him relatively well. And I said, "I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared." Citing the "long talk", it almost seems that the two contenders are somehow in agreement in putting themselves on their guard against each other, with a scheme that in the past made it easier to choose which side to take. The same "reassuring" feeling emerges from the Russian reactions: Putin has not yet expressed himself, but has had the Russian ambassador to the US Anatolij Antonov recalled to Moscow; several Russian politicians have vigorously revived the stereotypes of the cold war. The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Biden's interview is "an attempt by the American secret services to justify their existence and the substantial funding that is bestowed on them". The speaker of the State Duma, Vjaceslav Volodin, said in turn that it is "hysteria dictated by impotence", and that "attacking our president means attacking our country". The vice-president of the Senate, and secretary of the Putinian party "United Russia" Andrej Turcak, called Biden's speech "the triumph of the political chaos of the United States and the senile dementia of their leader". According to Turcak, Biden's unconscious expressions are a challenge for all of Russia: We are a multi-ethnic country, they are a mass of lackeys. We have the family and its values, they have genders and transgenders. We have Crimea, and they are thinking about the division of states. And Biden can dream of the people's trust that President Putin has with us. Senator Andrej Klimov also argues that "there must be a reaction, but remember that the Bidens come and go, and the US still remains a great world superpower". Another senator, Vadim Dengin, while condemning Biden is convinced that "in the end he too will be convinced that Russia is not an enemy, and he should cooperate". Biden and the US had already been criticized by the Orthodox Church. On March 7, during a television interview with Russia 24 channel, Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev), "secretary of state" of the patriarchate of Moscow, said that Pope Francis' trip to Iraq was a move "agreed with Biden" against their homeland, to reduce their influence in the Middle East, humiliating the Syrian Orthodox, since Iraq is under US protection, and Syria is under Russian protection. All in all, the Russians prefer to emphasize the "ideological " and geo-political confrontation with the US and the West, rather than face the embarrassment of the unpredictable hugs and tantrums of the Trumpian period. Various economic factors also play a role: the most recent US sanctions against Russia undermine one of the most important strategic projects, the large Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from the Baltic Sea to Europe. The US needs to break away from financing a project that serves Europe, and invest the billions of dollars promised to the Americans for the relaunch of the post-pandemic. Perhaps the rearrangement of the old twentieth-century chessboard serves precisely to defend each one's own backyard, in the post-globalization imposed by the global infections of the body and soul. John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, was caught not wearing a mask during a flight with American Airlines. Kerry was flying from Boston to Washington D.C. when he was seen reading his book in the plane's first-class section. A photo of a maskless John Kerry was first posted by The Tennesee Star, and it sparked a debate from people on social media. The American Airlines requires all its passengers to wear masks on board. This is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Transportation Security Administration's directives, and President Joe Biden's executive order mandating face coverings during travel, New York Post reported. Health experts also encourage everyone to wear face masks, and this practice must still be done even after getting a COVID-19 vaccine and maintaining physical distancing. READ NEXT: Newsom's TikTok Video With George Lopez Inside Off-Limits Restaurant Goes Viral, Sparks Backlash John Kerry on United Airlines @AmericanAir can you clarify your policy please? https://t.co/E6ktlI5MmO A Man in Full (@A_Man_in_Full) March 17, 2021 A Twitter user has tagged the official account of American Airlines, asking to clarify the photo. American Airlines responded by saying, "Masks are required onboard our aircraft," adding that they are now investigating the matter by reaching out to Kerry. The airline further noted that the crew did not observe Kerry not wearing a mask, and no customers alerted them about the non-compliance issue. "Our mask requirement has been and will continue to be a critical component of our comprehensive effort to protect the health and wellbeing of our customers," said David Seymour, the Chief Operating Officer of American Airlines. Seymour added that the mask requirement was not only to protect their customers but also their crew amid the coronavirus pandemic. Travelers boarding a plane are allowed to remove their masks only when they are eating or drinking. However, the photo did not show that John Kerry was eating nor drinking. Instead, he was reading a book during his flight. I got harassed by a flight attendant the last time I flew on American because my mask was slightly off of my nose I know people who have been banned for LIFE for not wearing a mask properly If only we all had the same privilege as John Kerry! @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/anQN5zF5EF Ashley StClair (@stclairashley) March 17, 2021 Many people were outraged at seeing Kerry without a mask even though he is not eating or drinking. Twitter user @stclairashely expressed disappointment, saying she hoped to have the "same privilege" as Kerry as she knew people who had been banned for life for not wearing a mask properly. She added that a flight attendant harassed her during her last flight with the same airline because her mask was slightly off her nose. For his part, Donald Trump Jr. labeled the climate czar to be a "Liberal hypocrite." SPOTTED: Liberal hypocrite & Biden Admin official @JohnKerry flouting @JoeBiden's Federal mask mandate. NOTE: His mask is off & he isnt eating or drinking. Will he be fined for breaking the law & banned from flying @AmericanAir like regular citizens would be?#LiberalPrivilege pic.twitter.com/3j7j57jXVI Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 17, 2021 John Kerry's Defense The Washington Examiner reported that Kerry's actions would put him in violating the CDC's mandate for not wearing a mask during flights. Because of the controversy surrounding his photo, John Kerry explained what happened during his flight with the said airline. "Feels like there's some St. Patrick's day 'malarkey' afoot on Twitter. Let's be clear: If I dropped my mask to one ear on a flight, it was momentary," he tweeted on Wednesday night. John Kerry added that he was wearing his mask because it saves lives and stops the spread of the virus, and it's what the science tells us to do." Youre clearly engaged in reading some paperwork. You were not eating, you were not drinking. The rules clearly state the mask stays on at all times unless you are eating or drinking. Admit you broke the rules and act like a special envoy...this is not difficult... Chin14609 (@Chin14609) March 17, 2021 However, his Twitter post was not able to convince most of the people on social media. A Twitter user, who was not happy with his response, urged him just to admit the mistakes he's done, and act as a special envoy. Meanwhile, the White House still has no comment regarding the issue. READ MORE: Travel During COVID-19 Pandemic: Can You Safely Travel Now? WATCH: Image Surfaces of John Kerry Maskless on Commercial Flight - From Fox News From April, Russian users when getting any new Apple iPhone, iPad or Mac device will meet with an extra step during the device setup with the option to visit a new page in the App Store in order to download the Russian software. It has been reported that Apple has allowed the Russian government for pre-installing apps on their Apple device during set up as part of the new consumer protection law that was issued by the Russian government to help their local developers compete better in 2019. Even though the list that will appear will contain applications that have been approved by the government but the actual list will of course include apps that have met with the companys App Store review guidelines.The law was initially even known as the law against Apple because it at first required Apple to pull out the Russian market and not change the rules that are in the companys control.This decision by Apple is said to be the first time that the company has done something like this where it allows its users the ability to install outside software on its device as a setup because in previous versions of the device setup Apple already had the features based on the specificity of each country. The government of Russia is much under fire by its people for spying on their activities and on a constant look out. The country banned Telegram, a private messaging app which made the citizens more suspicious over their governments spying. To install the Russian software on the devices is optional of course as the government has found out a way by which their citizens communicate privately on their devices. Apple for this has said that their strong encryption and store user passcodes protects the citizens privacy.After the 2019 fiasco where Apples Maps app showed Crimea as part of Russia and not Ukraine, Apple and Russia are once again in the news together. For Apple to be bending its rules for Russia has been a major shock to everyone as the California based company has always known to stick to their rules and regulations, even Android hasnt bent its rules for something like this. For example Google, that develops the Android mobile operating system does not control which apps come pre-installed on the devices.Read next: Apple Maps Can Tell You The Real-Time Crowd Data Of A Business Using The Anonymous Location Share WILLIAMSPORT -- A former postal worker in State College has admitted over an eight-month period in 2018 to opening mail intended for Penn State students, taking cash and discarding the rest. It is unknown how much money Jessica Stover, 27, of Mill Hall, took between January and August 2018 because it was in cash, Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur said. Stover pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court to a charge of theft of mail by a postal employee. She was released on personal recognizance pending sentencing. Stover, while sorting mail at the post office, took letters and greeting cards addressed to students, MacArthur said in describing the governments evidence. The investigation that led to the charge began in January 2018, after an employee at the Clinton County landfill near McElhattan found 95 pieces of discarded mail, he said. Stover was seen in surveillance video moving a cart of mail to a fairly secluded location in the post office. When she could be observed again she was carrying bag containing 45 greeting cards and letters, he said. That mail had not been opened, he said. What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday ROME, MAR 18 - Economy Minister Daniele Franco said Thursday that the government's new package of aid for households and businesses affected by the COVID-19 restrictions will be worth 32 billion euros, with a margin of 500 million euros for the effects of amendments made by parliament. Premier Mario Draghi's cabinet is set to examine the aid decree on Friday and the payment platform should be ready on March 30. Payments are set to begin being made between April 8 and 10 and the aim is for all valid applications to be paid by the end of April. . Companies will get aid of up to 10 million euros, depending on their usual revenue, and they will be split into five groups.. Small firms will get 60% of their turnover and the percentage will go down as the businesses get bigger, with the biggest firms getting 20%. (ANSA). STOCKHOLM, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT VII fund ("EQT Private Equity") has entered into an agreement to sell DESOTEC ("the Company") to private equity funds managed by Blackstone ("Blackstone"). Based in Roeselare, Belgium, DESOTEC is a leading European environmental services company with a mission to protect the planet through innovative circular filtration solutions, enabling clean water, air, and soil. The Company was founded in 1990 and is focusing on mobile purification solutions mainly based on activated carbon technology. DESOTEC's fleet of approximately 2,700 mobile filters is the largest of its kind in Europe and it serves a broad range of industrial applications, including air emission, biogas, remediation, wastewater, and chemicals. The Company's mobile filters enable its customers to comply with environmental regulations and sustainability requirements, through its closed-loop, "Filtration-as-a-Service" rental solution. EQT Private Equity acquired DESOTEC in 2017 and has since then made significant investments in its sales and digital capabilities. Moreover, EQT has supported technology- and R&D investments related to DESOTEC's filters and furnaces to enable a more circular service offering. Today, the Company is a European market leader in its field with an impressive track-record of double-digit organic growth, which was further accelerated under EQT Private Equity's ownership. The sale of DESOTEC represents another successful exit for EQT Private Equity in the Benelux and it further cements EQT's position and momentum in the Benelux market. Bert Janssens, Partner and Investment Advisor, Head of Benelux and Global Co-Head of the TMT sector team at EQT Partners said, "It has been a privilege to partner with Mario and the `DESOTEC Warriors' team on this successful journey, and to support them in their mission to protect our planet. In the last years, management has executed on an ambitious strategic agenda, which was centered around sales acceleration, digitization, and strengthening the company and circular service proposition. The trajectory under EQT Private Equity's ownership exemplifies our approach of responsible ownership, focused on investing in companies to accelerate growth. Furthermore, this investment showcases the win-win of investing in companies that provide solutions to societal problems. We are confident that DESOTEC will continue to be successful under its new ownership and we wish the business, management, and all its employees every success in the future." Mario Hertegonne, CEO of DESOTEC, said, "Over the past four years we have been on an exciting and transformational journey, supported by EQT who has significantly contributed to helping us transform the business and accelerate growth by making substantial investments. We would like to thank Bert and the EQT team, as well as the DESOTEC supervisory board, for their continued support and we look forward to continuing to develop our business together with Blackstone". The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in Q2 2021. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value. Rothschild & Co acted as financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as legal advisor to EQT Private Equity and DESOTEC. Contact EQT Press Office, [email protected], +46 8 506 55 334 About EQT EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 84 billion in raised capital and currently more than EUR 52 billion in assets under management across 17 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. More info: www.eqtgroup.com Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram About DESOTEC DESOTEC, founded in 1990, is the leading European provider of mobile filtration technology through a unique and circular service concept, which helps protect the planet by enabling clean water, air, and soil. DESOTEC's customer base is constantly growing thanks to a strong focus on 24/7 service and a commitment to design and deliver the best solution in close dialogue with the customer. Through in-depth expertise of industrial applications and continuous investment in mobile filters, centralised reactivation capacity and well-positioned European hubs, DESOTEC ensures that the European industry can meet the increasing regulations for a better and cleaner environment. More info: www.desotec.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-private-equity-to-sell-desotec-to-blackstone,c3309102 The following files are available for download: SOURCE EQT NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Jeff Ditzell, D.O is now offering in-person Ketamine Infusion Therapy sessions that include psychotherapy to combat treatment-resistant depression at his newly remodeled New York City Private Psychiatry Practice located in the heart of the Financial District. Ketamine has been commonly used as a safe anesthetic in hospitals and medical settings for over a decade. Ketamine Infusion Therapy is an IV procedure administered while undergoing a psychotherapy session with Dr. Ditzell himself. While a relatively new modality in the treatment of depression, Dr. Ditzell went through an intensive training program with one of the top Anesthesiologists at the Ketamine Institute and is confident in the procedure's safety and effectiveness. "Patients have and always will be my number one priority," stated Dr. Jeff Ditzell, D.O . "I take their health and well-being very seriously and am pleased to be able to offer Ketamine Infusion Therapy in a manner like no other practice I've come across. I don't believe in offering Ketamine Infusion as a psychedelic drug or administering virtually. When patients come to see me, they get individualized patient therapy." The newly remodeled treatment center is located at 65 Broadway #901, New York City, NY. Patients can book appointments 24/7 including on nights, weekends, and holidays. To learn more, visit jeffditzellpsychiatry.com or contact the office at (646) 751-7908. For media inquiries or requests, please contact Dr. Ditzell's media liaison, Tiffany Coyle, at [email protected]. Dr. Jeff Ditzell, D.O 's depth and breadth of clinical experience is vast. Prior to opening his own practice, he served as the Chief of an inpatient Dual Diagnosis Unit, the Lead Attending in two Psychiatric ER's, the Lead Physician of an Assisted Community Treatment team, and the Medical Director of a large multidisciplinary nonprofit organization. Dr. Ditzell retired at the end of 2018 as Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. Dr. Ditzell received his medical degree from The Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and has completed Fellowships in Addiction Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine and Public Psychiatry. Host of Psychs & The City Podcast, Dr. Ditzell has been featured in Forbes, Healthline, and is a medical reviewer for Insider. SOURCE Dr. Jeff Ditzell, D.O. Related Links https://www.jeffditzellpsychiatry.com Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Press Release 18 March 2021 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee The Hotel Data Conference: Global Edition will feature 78 speakers across 12 hours and five world regions on 25 March 2021. Co-hosted by STR and Hotel News Now with principal sponsor IDeaS, the event will be the first global edition of HDC and offer the industry's most comprehensive global data agenda. Advertisements "We are excited to deliver HDC to the world next week," said Amanda Hite, STR's president. "The success of our in-person, U.S.-focused event has grown year after year, and we knew this was a conference that should eventually be expanded to our global client base. The pandemic has only strengthened the need for comprehensive and actionable data insights, and with virtual events the 'norm' for now, 2021 was the obvious year to connect attendees from each world region. We're extremely proud of the diversity of our program and speaker lineup, and we're confident that the content will be key as industry stakeholders map out their road to recovery." Two to three hours of presentations for each region will showcase hotel performance trends, economic updates and forecast insights for 2021 and beyond. Expert industry panelists are expected to speak candidly about the unique challenges and opportunities in each region. Key data findings on the agenda include: Central and South America hotels find relief in weekend leisure demand; New lockdowns have pushed European hotel performance almost to the lows experienced last spring; Despite historic reliance on international and long-haul demand, the Middle East is well into the race to recovery; From Mexican beaches to Canadian ski resorts, outdoor adventures and domestic demand help drive North America's recovery; and As the first country to feel the effects of the pandemic, China also has been the first to show signs of bouncing back. Featured panelists and presenters during general sessions include: Liam Brown (Marriott International), Patricia Boo (STR), PengSum Choe (Pan Pacific Hotels Group), Isaac Collazo (STR), Hugo Desenzani (Intursa/Hoteles Libertador), Amanda Elder (Kempinski Hotels SA), Thomas Emanuel (STR), Warren Fields (Pyramid Hotel Group), Carlos Flores (Sonesta International Hotels Corporation), Amanda Hite (STR), Xinxin Liu (Huazhu Group), Dimitris Manikis (Wyndham Hotels & Resorts), Jesper Palmqvist (STR), Dillip Rajakarier (Minor Hotels), Robin Rossmann (STR), Adam Sacks (Tourism Economics), Monica Xuereb (Loews Hotels & Co) and Carter Wilson (STR). A full agenda and speaker information can be found at www.HotelDataConference.com. About the Hotel Data Conference Established in 2009, Hotel Data Conference is the preeminent gathering of the industry data community. Underpinned by STR's world-leading hotel performance database, HDC features unique and actionable content designed to inform the decision-making of brand executives, owners, developers, operators, revenue management specialists, pricing analysts and destination marketers. Co-hosted by STR and Hotel News Now, HDC is a hybrid event each August with in-person attendees in Nashville and a virtual audience via livestream. The conference was expanded worldwide through the launch of the virtual "Hotel Data Conference: Global Edition" in March 2021. For more information, please visit www.HotelDataConference.com. About Hotel News Now Hotel News Now is the definitive online news resource for hotel owners, operators, developers and all other parties interested in the global hotel industry. Our experienced editorial team provides breaking news coverage, how-to resources, trends and in-depth analysis that leverages our access to hotel performance benchmarking data from parent company STR. For more information, visit https://www.costar.com/news/section/hospitality. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region A bench comprising Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Ravindra Bhat said: "The courts while adjudicating cases involving gender-related crimes, should not suggest or entertain any notions (or encourage any steps) towards compromises between the prosecutrix and the accused to get married, suggest or mandate mediation between the accused and the survivor, or any form of compromise as it is beyond their powers and jurisdiction." New Delhi: In a major judgment on gender-related crimes, the Supreme Court on Thursday stressed that courts should not suggest marriage or compromise between the accused and the victim in rape cases. The top court emphasised that court should avoid discussion about the dress, behaviour, or past "conduct" or "morals" of the prosecutrix, and such things should not enter the verdict granting bail. Bail conditions should also not mandate, require or permit contact between the accused and the victim, it said. "Such conditions should seek to protect the complainant from any further harassment by the accused.. In all cases where bail is granted, the complainant should immediately be informed that the accused has been granted bail," it said. The top court said bail conditions and orders should avoid reflecting stereotypical or patriarchal notions about women and their place in society. "Sensitivity should be displayed at all times by judges, who should ensure that there is no traumatisation of the prosecutrix, during the proceedings, or anything said during the arguments," it said. The top court said the courts should desist from expressing any stereotypical opinion, in words spoken during proceedings, or in the course of a judicial order, to the effect that (i) women are physically weak and need protection; (ii) women are incapable of or cannot take decisions on their own; (iii) men are the "head" of the household and should take all the decisions relating to family; (iv) women should be submissive and obedient according to our culture; (v) "good" women are sexually chaste; (vi) motherhood is the duty and role of every woman, and assumptions to the effect that she wants to be a mother; (vii) women should be the ones in charge of their children, their upbringing and care; (viii) being alone at night or wearing certain clothes make women responsible for being attacked; (ix) a woman consuming alcohol, smoking, etc. may justify unwelcome advances by men or "has asked for it"; (x) women are emotional and often overreact or dramatise events, hence it is necessary to corroborate their testimony; (xi) testimonial evidence provided by women who are sexually active may be suspected when assessing "consent" in sexual offence cases; and (xii) lack of evidence of physical harm in sexual offence case leads to an inference of consent by the woman. The observations were by the top court while setting aside July 30, 2020 bail condition imposed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which granted bail to a sexual offender on the condition that he ties a rakhi on the woman whose modesty he allegedly outraged. ADVERTISEMENT As far as Libya remains unstable, illegal arms and ammunition will continue to flow in the Sahel region of the African continent, President Muhammadu Buhari has said. The president spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while receiving in farewell audience the outgoing Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas. President Buhari said Muammar Gadaffi held a grip on power in Libya for 42 years by recruiting armed guards from different countries, who then escaped with their arms when the Libyan strongman was killed. They didnt learn any other skill, than to shoot and kill. So, they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today, the president said, adding: We closed our land borders here for more than a year, but arms and ammunition continued to flow illegally. As far as Libya remains unstable, so will the problem remain. We have to cope with the problems of development, as we cant play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those problems. President Buhari described Chambas, who spent many years in Nigeria in different capacities, from ECOWAS to UN, as more of a Nigerian than anything else. He wished him well in his future endeavours. The outgoing Special Representative thanked the President for personal support I received from you, and from Nigeria as a country, adding that the country would continue to play a leadership role on the continent. On terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin area, Mr Chambas said Nigeria was playing a yeomans role, particularly in giving support to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity) A gamer accused of trying to kill an escort in a luxury Sydney hotel room allegedly bought a sledgehammer from Bunnings and penned a handwritten note of his plan. Matthew Donaldson was last month charged with attempted murder after a 26-year-old Belarusian woman was found clinging to life inside the five-star Primus Hotel on Pitt Street after she was allegedly beaten with a sledgehammer. The 41-year-old allegedly booked the sex worker online and met her in the lobby of the hotel on February 23 before inviting her up into his room. He is accused of assaulting her with a sledgehammer, before fleeing the scene to the Blue Mountains as the woman's bloody body lay in the room. Matthew Donaldson (pictured) is accused of assaulting a sex worker with a sledgehammer inside a luxury Sydney hotel on February 23 Donaldson (pictured centre surrounded by police) was arrested by cops in bushland at Lapstone in the NSW Blue Mountains two days after the alleged attack Donaldson allegedly called hotel reception alerting them to check on the woman as he left to catch a train to Lapstone, the Daily Telegraph reported. Police allege they have seized documents from Donaldson, including a purchase list he made for a sledgehammer and rope from Bunnings. He is accused of visiting the hardware store to buy the items. Donaldson is also alleged to have made a handwritten note outlining details of his plan. He was arrested two days after the alleged attack in bushland at Lapstone and taken to Penrith police station where he was charged with attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and gun possession. Police allegedly found a CZ Shadow handgun (pictured) when they arrested Donaldson Donaldson was allegedly found with handwritten notes and a CZ Shadow handgun. He appeared before Central Local Court where no application for bail was made. Donaldson is due to appear before the same court in late April. The woman was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where she remains after suffering serious head and facial injuries. She is reportedly understood is now be fearful of men. Journalist Paylak Fahradyan went live on Facebook and reported the following: Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan attacked me literally a short while ago. The incident took place at a cafe in Yerevan. When I saw that the minister was spending his working hours at a cafe, I approached him and asked why he had decided to spend his working hours at a cafe. First, Arshakyan told me he works at night and that all hours are working hours for him, after which he asked me to turn the camera off, and when I did, he started telling me that I will remember this day and started threatening me. Since the camera was turned off, I told him that we can recall this day whenever he wants and that he cant talk to me in such a tone just because hes a minister. After that, I climbed to the top and started working, after which Arshakyan climbed to the top and attacked me, the journalist said. The journalist showed the damaged computer and his hurt hand and stated the following: You can see that he hurt my hand. Arshakyan also hit my computer and broke it, and my mobile phone on the table was also damaged. There are cameras in the cafe. I will demand that the administration gives me the video recordings so that I can submit them to the police. Accept this as a report on crime, Fahradyan emphasized. Donald Trump was a tool in a long-running Russian campaign to weaken the United States. Thats been documented in Republican-led investigative reports, and now it has been updated with new evidence, thanks to the U.S. Intelligence Communitys assessment of the 2020 election. The report, drafted by the CIA, the FBI, and several other agencies, was released in unclassified form on Tuesday, but it was presented in classified form on Jan. 7. In other words, it was compiled, written, and edited during Trumps administration. It destroys his lies about the election, and it exposes him as a Russian asset. Advertisement The report debunks conspiracy theories, promoted by Trump and his lawyers, that hackers in other countries robbed him of victory. We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 US elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process, including ballot casting, vote tabulation, or reporting results, says the document. A separate analysis released by the Department of Justice reaches the same conclusion. The IC report adds that evidence of such operations, if they existed, would have shown up in U.S. surveillance or in post-election audits of electronic results and paper backups. The report implicitly mocks insinuations from Trumps lawyers that former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, somehow rigged Trumps defeat. We have no information, it notes drily, that current or former Venezuelan regimes were involved in attempts to compromise US election infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the campaign, Trump, his national security appointees, and his allies in Congress insisted that China was meddling in the election to help Joe Biden. They even claimed that Chinas interference was more dangerous than Russias. The report shreds that fiction. China did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US Presidential election, says the assessment. It finds no attempt by China to provide funding to any candidates or parties, and it challenges the Republican spin that China feared Trump because he was too tough. It argues, to the contrary, that Beijing saw Trump as a weaker adversary because he would alienate US partners, whereas Biden would pose a greater challenge over the long run because he would be more successful in mobilizing a global alliance against China. Advertisement As to Russia, the report leaves no doubt: In 2020, as in 2016, President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations to help Trump and hurt his Democratic opponent. For example, Shortly after the 2018 midterm elections, Russian intelligence cyber actors attempted to hack organizations primarily affiliated with the Democratic Party. Then, in late 2019, Russias military intelligence service, the GRU, conducted a phishing campaign against subsidiaries of Burisma holdings, likely in an attempt to gather information related to President Bidens family. Throughout the 2020 election, agents connected to the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB, planted negative stories about Biden. Internet operatives working for the Kremlin, including the troll farm that had boosted Trump in 2016, continued to promote Trump and his commentary, including repeating his political messaging. Advertisement Advertisement Attacks on Biden and his son, Hunter, were part of this operation. Through US officials and prominent US individuals, some of whom were close to former President Trump and his administration, the report says Russias intelligence services repeatedly spread unsubstantiated or misleading claims about President Biden and his familys alleged wrongdoing related to Ukraine. In this way, Trumps circle laundered the Russian-planted stories, which were then recirculatedand promoted by Russias online proxiesas American news. One section of the report zeroes in on two Russian agents, Andriy Derkach and Konstantin Kilimnik, along with their associates. It says they met with and passed materials to people linked to the Trump administration to advocate for government investigations. Derkach peddled audio recordings that were edited to make Biden look corrupt, and he worked to initiate legal proceedings in Ukraine and the US related to these allegations. The report doesnt name the Americans who collaborated with the Russian agents, but its easy to identify them from news reports. Trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, met with Derkach twice. Donald Trump Jr. promoted Derkachs tapes. Trumps 2016 campaign manager, Paul Manafort, gave Kilimnik inside information on the campaign. Trump, in a 2019 phone call, pressed Ukraines president to open an investigation of Biden, as Derkach proposed. And congressional Republicans, led by Reps. Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes, parroted a Russian-planted narrative to falsely blame Ukraine for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Trump also helped Putin discredit American democracy. That was a major goal of Russias 2016 and 2020 operations, the report explains: Throughout the election, Russias online influence actors sought to amplify mistrust in the electoral process by denigrating mail-in ballots, highlighting alleged irregularities, and accusing the Democratic Party of voter fraud. Trump peddled the same fears. After the election, as Russian online influence actors continued to promote narratives questioning the election results, Trump duplicated that message. Russias agents also hyped allegations of social media censorship, as Trump did. The IC assessment doesnt address what Trump knew about the Russian influence campaign. But according to former officials who spoke last fall to the Washington Post and the New York Times, he was directly warned. In a December 2019 conversation, thennational security adviser Robert OBrien told Trump that Giuliani had been worked by Russian assets in Ukraine. Trump shrugged and went on promoting the allegations Giuliani was feeding him. That makes Trump more than a Russian asset. It makes him, in technical terms, an agent of a foreign power. The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill to say that if a doctor attempts an abortion and the baby is born alive, the doctor must provide the same standards of care to preserve the babys life as any doctor would do for any baby. The bill passed by a vote of 76-12 after some Democrats questioned whether it was necessary. The bill is by Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Centre. Shaver said she has worked as a crisis pregnancy counselor. She said a woman she counseled told her that her child was born alive after an attempted abortion and that the doctor did not provide care and the baby died. Shaver said because of confidentiality requirements, she could not give more information about what happened. Her bill says that a person with knowledge of that happening would be required to report it to the attorney general for an investigation. The woman who gave birth would not be held criminally liable. Some Democratic legislators questioned whether the bill was needed. What youre talking about is already illegal, said Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham. The House passed a similar bill by Shaver two years ago but it did not pass the Senate. At that time, the bill drew opposition from some doctors. They said it addresses an issue that is medically implausible because Alabama prohibits abortions after the point in a pregnancy at which the fetus can survive outside the womb. Today, the Republican majority voted to cut off debate on Shavers bill before passing it. It was the second time today the House voted to cut off debate. At least four of the bills on todays agenda are opposed by the Democratic minority, which has tried to delay the votes. Todays vote sends Shavers bill to the Senate. 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. Health Minister Robin Swann said: "As has been the case since the programme began, the number of vaccinations carried out over time will vary due to supply." (Yui Mok/PA) Northern Ireland health officials are considering the implications of a reduced coronavirus vaccine supply in the UK. NHS in England has said the amount of vaccines available in April could be seriously reduced. The Health Minister Robin Swann said on Twitter that he remains optimistic, due to the fast pace of Northern Ireland's vaccine rollout so far. "As has been the case since the programme began, the number of vaccinations carried out over time will vary due to supply," he said. "However, the vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is presently ahead of schedule and, as ever, we will be able to adapt to any changes in circumstances as they arise." Justice Minister Naomi Long told BBC Good Morning Ulster: "Our latest information from the executive was that would we be continuing to roll this out. I think we have to balance what Matt Hancock's concerns are against the fact that AstraZeneca and Pfizer are saying they can meet the supply. "We have rolled it out faster than was anticipated so that's always going to be challenging but I think that we're still well on course to meet the target that was set - that we would have the majority of people vaccinated by June/July this year," she added. The Health Minister has also confirmed that community pharmacies will be to start vaccinating people later this month. It's reported that a delay in the delivery of five million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in India is partly to blame for the upcoming reduction to the UK's vaccine supply. Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick told the BBC that the UK's goal of administering a first dose to every adult in the UK by the end of July was still on schedule. We are experiencing some supply issues so it does mean the vaccine rollout will be slightly slower than we may have hoped, but not slower than the target we set ourselves," he said. Were going to move forward as quickly as we possibly can but it wont be as fast as we might have hoped for a few weeks, but then we have every reason to believe that supply will increase in the months of May, June and July. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Tom Brenner/Getty Images(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- As the border crisis worsens, presenting a major challenge to the Biden administration, the president sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC News about the plans to mollify the growing concern. The interview aired on Good Morning America Wednesday. President Joe Biden said his message to migrants is "Don't come over." "Yes, I can say quite clearly: Don't come over," the president doubled down. "Don't leave your town or city or community." The interview comes as border control officials report a stark rise in unaccompanied minors arriving at the border, most in their mid-teens, however -- some migrants are as young as one. President Biden was adamant that "we're sending back people" who cross the border. While Biden's administration says the crisis was fueled by the prior administration's dismantlement of border policy, Republicans say otherwise. GOP Senator John Cornyn claimed the crisis could cause irreparable harm to the current customs and border control infrastructure, saying on the Senate floor this week, "Unless action is taken to stem the flow of migrants across the border that Category 5 hurricane is going to break the entire system." When questioned about the recent surge in migrants, President Biden said the numbers are on par with the surges witnessed in 2019 and 2020. However, the president allowed that the 2021 surge "could be" worse than the prior two. "The idea that Joe Biden said, 'Come' -- because I heard the other day that they're coming because they know I'm a nice guy," he said. "Here's the deal, they're not." Accounts from border control stated that there was more than 4,200 children in custody, up from about 3,400 earlier in the week -- a 25 percent increase. The numbers reflect the surges seen in 2018-2019, where six migrant children died in U.S. custody. Manitoba and the two other Prairie provinces are still holding out on approving enhancements proposed by the federal agriculture minister to a program that protects farmers against losses from things like flooding or international trade disputes. Manitoba and the two other Prairie provinces are still holding out on approving enhancements proposed by the federal agriculture minister to a program that protects farmers against losses from things like flooding or international trade disputes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau held a news conference Wednesday updating the planned changes to the Agristability program that would increase payouts for production losses, increased costs and effects from market conditions. It seemed clear Bibeau is getting frustrated from the lack of response from her counterparts in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to the proposal that was tabled at a virtual meeting of ministers in Nov. 27. "It has been over 100 days since we made this offer to the provinces," she said. "We have received positive responses from almost all the provinces but in order to enact change we are still waiting for a clear response from all three Prairie provinces." At least two of the three Prairie provinces need to approve the changes for them to be enacted. "We need strong consensus that includes the Prairies if we are going to move forward with the changes that farmers are asking for," she said. The proposed changes are a short-term fix to a program that farmers and producer groups have long argued was too restrictive and complicated. A new five-year agreement is already being discussed for 2023. The program is cost-shared 60-40 between the federal and provincial governments. Bibeaus proposal would boost the compensation rate to 80 per cent of losses and eliminate the reference margin limit, which serves to reduce a farmers payout. The changes would result in an annual increase in payouts of 50 per cent, or $170 million. Of that increase, $100 million would come from Ottawa and the remaining $70 million from the provinces and territories. Bill Campbell, the president of Keystone Agricultural Producers which has endorsed the changes as has virtually every other producer group said he does not believe the province is withholding support for budgetary reasons. "There has not been a clear indication of why this is not moving forward," Campbell said. "It would be fair and honest to the producers to indicate what is going on. We need to know. We we have to carry on farming." Asked why it is taking so long to state the provinces position on the changes, a spokeswoman for Blaine Pedersen, Manitobas Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development, said, "Our province continues to review the proposal for short-term Agristability enhancements with consideration of the priority issues that are threatening our producers and industry." Pedersens office said he is asking for a meeting to be called as soon as possible. Bibeau said she hopes to organize such a meeting for next week or the week after. She said shes spoken with the three agriculture ministers in recent weeks and, with a deadline of April 30 for producers to join the program, its time for an answer. "I would like to have a clear answer. If its no, its no. I hope its going to be yes, so we know where we stand if we have to find other alternatives to support our farmers." Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, the federal minister responsible for the Prairies, said hes been in contact with some provincial ministers urging them to bring the matter forward. "These changes are still on the tables of our friends in Prairie governments. We know farmers across the country have been asking for this for a long time." The terms of the existing program will continue if an agreement including the Prairie provinces cant be reached. "It will be the status quo. That would be very unfortunate." Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said he hasnt talked to Bibeau since Jan. 29 and at that point had requested a followup meeting with the federal and provincial ministers. "It is nice to see after all this time that the federal minister is finally willing to bring her provincial and territorial colleagues back to the table to complete this important discussion on enhancements to AgriStability," Marit said in an email. Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen said he sent a letter to Bibeau two weeks ago and had also called for another meeting to "discuss and finally vote on short-term changes to AgriStability." Dreeshen said he told Bibeau in the letter that making long-term improvements to business risk management programs, including short-term changes to AgriStability, was a priority. "To be successful such significant structural change requires adequate time and strong collaboration between (federal, provincial, territorial) governments as well as the agriculture sector," he wrote. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca with Canadian Press files A DUP MLA has blasted the EU and accused the bloc of "narrow nationalism", following the announcement on Thursday from the European Medicines Agency that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was "safe and effective". Jonathan Buckley - who also sits on Stormont's Health Committee - said the decisions taken by thirteen EU states to suspend the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine over fears of blood clots, was "politically motivated". On Thursday afternoon the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded there is no overall increase in the risk of blood clots with the vaccine. They also added that the benefits in protecting people from Covid-19 "outweigh the possible risks". Germany, along with France, Spain and Italy all announced on Thursday they would resume use of the vaccine on Friday. Read More Speaking after the EMA's announcement, Mr Buckley urged the bloc to "reflect" and expressed fears as to the effect on the rate of transmission throughout the continent. "Since January, when Brussels threatened to cut off vaccine supplies to Northern Ireland, some EU countries have cynically tried to deflect from the mismanagement of their own vaccination programmes by disrupting and discrediting the roll-out in the United Kingdom," said Mr Buckley "The politically motivated and highly charged decision by some countries to suspend the Astra Zeneca was entirely reckless, especially as millions of citizens across the EU wait on potentially lifesaving protection from the virus. "The decision has been condemned by scientists, researchers and leading regulatory bodies as being without foundation. "The head of Italys medicines authority has admitted that the decision was a political one and in Germany the health minister has come under pressure to resign for his role in hyping up alleged links. "Such narrow nationalism and jealousy should have no place in our response to Covid-19. Reports that the European Parliament has voted to spend 4.2m of taxpayers' money on an exclusive vaccine and testing centre for MEPs and their staff will further entrench concerns about the EUs priorities amidst this crisis. "The First Minister has already indicated our desire to cooperate with our closest neighbours in the Irish Republic in relation to the vaccine. "Those who have chosen to play politics with the Oxford vaccine should urgently reflect, recognise the harm they have caused and change course before its too late. The Bill to hike the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent provides adequate safeguards so that control, ownership, and money collected from policyholders stays within the country, Finance Minister told Parliament on Thursday. Insurance is a highly regulated sector where every product, its pricing, investment and marketing is regulated in the country, Sitharaman said in response to a debate on the Bill in the The Bill was later passed by the Upper House. The decision to increase the FDI limit from the current 49 per cent was taken after the sectors regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) held detailed consultations with stakeholders, she added. The regulator also flagged this point that if FDI has to be raised, it has to be raised with adequate safeguards...very clearly looking at both aspects of control and ownership, and also the (policyholders) money does not go out of the country, Sitharaman said. The Bill provides that no insurer shall, directly or indirectly, invest policyholders funds outside India, Sitharaman said. Indian companies that have foreign investment will also be required to retain a specific percentage of profits as a general reserve, the finance minister said. Rules will be made that would prescribe conditions to ensure meeting of claims, regardless of a foreign investors own financial condition, she added. That is something which I want to underline that money which is going to be the general reserve, even if the insurer promoter gets into difficulty, that money is there for you to pay every insured members claim, Sitharaman said. Apart from this, a majority of directors, key management persons of the Indian insurance companies will be resident Indians, bringing them under the purview of Indian laws and codes, she said. Fugitives coming back Sitharaman said fugitive businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi are coming back to India to face the law. The government is pursuing Mallyas and Modis extradition from the UK, while Choksi is believed to be in Antigua. Mallya, an accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, has been in the UK since March 2016. Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle Choksi fled the country allegedly after committing fraud in the public sector lender Punjab National Bank. Modi is accused of committing a fraud of USD 2 billion (around Rs 14,500 crore) in the PNB. Former Minister for Central Region, Kwamena Duncan has thrown shots at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) leadership and their Council of Elders for not bringing the party's National Communications Officer to order. Kwamena Duncan asked why the party cannot reprimand the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi over misbehavior towards the NDC leadership. Sammy Gyamfi, in a recent Facebook post, described the leaders as traitors and called for a shakeup in the party leadership. Comrades, the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, the leadership of our Parliamentary group, particularly Hon. Haruna Iddrissu and Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, and dozens of our own MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC to regain power. They brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed the collective good for their selfish interest. "And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks...This is the time for us to insist on the right changes in the leadership of the NDC group in Parliament or forget about them completely. The current leadership have lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house," he ranted. Kwamena Duncan, speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", stated that Sammy Gyamfi has suddenly become the moral compass of the NDC. He noted that Mr. Gyamfi has grown wings in the party to the extent that he's become untouchable. He disclosed that there are some members of the party, particularly of the Minority caucus in Parliament, who are weaving their way into Sammy Gyamfi's good books for fear of becoming his target and also to gain favor before him. Kwamena slammed the Council of Elders who released a statement to address the conflict. He questioned the Council why they purposely ignored the part where Sammy Gyamfi must be disciplined. To him, the Council should have first indicated to the Communications Officer to get off his high horse, and "withdraw" his remarks, since he used the wrong "procrdure" to express his concerns. "Mr. Moral Compass of this party (Sammy Gyamfi), completely withdraw. That is not the procedure; that is not the process, withdraw and in our view, extend an apology to the Parliamentary party" this was what the Council of Elders, in their statement, should have first said before moving on to talk about the Minority in Parliament, Kwamena Duncan held. "I am disappointed in the Council of Elders," he emphasized. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video As a child, Abdalle Ahmed Mumin wanted to change the world by being the voice of the weak and vulnerable. The desire to see a better Somalia drove him to journalism. However, he had no idea this passion would lead to untold suffering in his life. Rather than become a man of the people, Mr Mumin soon became a wanted man by the terror group, al-Shabaab. Journalism soon became a poisoned chalice for the 36-year-old. His mistake was to report the death of al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who had been injured in a US airstrike in September 2014. The People's Choice Awards winner was at the time working for the Wall Street Journal as a correspondent. After surviving an attempt on his life on January 25, 2015, he did not need any reminder that his time in Somalia was up. He was driving when his car was shot at by men dressed in Somali security forces uniform. He immediately fled his country, leaving behind his young family and friends for a four-year exile in neighbouring Kenya. "I always wanted to use journalism to champion the rights of my people, especially those I lived with at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Mogadishu. However, the digital story I wrote for Wall Street Journal would mark the beginning of my troubles," recounts Mr Mumin. Independent reporting But Mr Mumin's story is not an isolated case. This is what most African journalists go through in the line of duty as they strive to hold their governments to account. And what better way to capture the horrors that journalists go through than publish a 137-page book, Hounded: African Journalists in Exile? The book, compiled during the Covid-19 lockdown, is an illuminating account of 16 writers and editors who, at one time or another, have found themselves fleeing their homeland because of their independent reporting. From Chad, Lesotho, Tanzania, Kenya, Eritrea, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, among others; the grim stories by African writers who have dared to stand for the truth bear resemblance. Kenyan Pius Nyamora, Dapo Oorunyomi of Nigeria, Ethiopian online activist Soleyana Shimeles Gebremichael, Sainey Marenah of Gambia, Zimbabwean Wilf Mbanga, Mim Mefo Takambou of Cameroon, Keiso Mohloboli of Lesotho, Fred Muvunyi of Rwanda, and Chadian Makaila N'Guebla have become victims of political intolerance and media repression. Others are Togolese Farida Nabourema, Ansbert Ngurumo of Tanzania, Kiwanuka Lawrence of Uganda, Eritrean Fathi Osman, Bob Rugurika of Burundi and Michele Rakotoson from Madagascar. The book, published by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and launched on Tuesday at the Trade Mark Hotel in Nairobi, is edited by Mr Joseph Odindo, a former editorial director of the Nation Media Group (NMG) and, more recently, The Standard Group. He was the founding editor of NMG's The East African, the regional weekly, in 1994 and also worked as managing editor of the Daily Nation. Government intolerance He opines that, since good journalism demands more than an ability to cultivate news sources and generate content, there lies one of the continent's gravest tragedies -- a growing army of talented men and women driven from their homelands for thinking critically and daring to speak out. As such, he says, the book is an exhilarating first-person narration of a disturbing record of government intolerance in Africa and the willingness of political leaders to kill or imprison journalists whose work they disapprove of. "Because democracy dies in darkness, the fate of journalists is inextricably intertwined with that of politicians. Brave writers and editors present as much threat to political rulers as opposition gadflies," says Mr Odindo. Mr Nyamora, who was editor of a Kenyan news magazine, Society, tells the story of his struggles with the Moi government and how he sought asylum in the US. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Media Books By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. For Mr Mbanga, once a close friend of the late Robert Mugabe, he had to escape to South Africa after helping to launch an independent newspaper when most dissent had been stifled. A military dictatorship forced Mr Olorunyomi to establish a new life in America while Mefo, a Cameroonian broadcast editor, now works in Germany after exposing atrocities in the English-speaking part of her homeland. KAS Media Africa, the media programme of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Director Christoph Plate says the book is a tribute and a record of history, an acknowledgement of the commitment to truth and justice by different African writers. "Just because you can easily access digital texts in libraries across Africa today does not mean its people are freer than they were in the sixties. Or that its journalists and creative writers can write as they like." THREE university students have been diagnosed with Covid-19 for a second time, within six months of their initial infection. The three NUI Galway students were infected in February and were part of the major Covid outbreak that kicked off in the city early last month. But each of the three had a previous diagnosis - one in September, one in October and one in November, confounding the view that infected people have a six-month immunity. Read More Now Dr Eoin MacDonncha, medical director of Student Health, NUI Galway, has warned against complacency about being free of the risk of reinfection within a certain time period. There definitely wasnt any six-month immunity for them, he said. He believes this was due to the new strain of variant that has been circulating since Christmas, which is now dominant in Ireland. Dr MacDonncha has raised the issue in an NUI Galway video message to students, in which HSE West director of public health Dr Breda Smyth is also urging vigilance. The recent Covid outbreak in Galway started with four cases in early February, when the new semester opened. Initially it involved young adults aged between 16 and 24, but by last week it was linked to more than 440 cases, affecting 224 households. The three reinfected students were among 190 confirmed cases dealt with by the NUI Galway medical service since the outbreak started. The disease ran through the student community and the 190 cases that presented to the universitys doctors were overwhelmingly linked to the outbreak. Dr MacDonncha said other infected students may have been treated elsewhere. He compared what happened in February with another significant outbreak involving students there in October. He said the more recent outbreak was quite different, and referenced the high levels of transmissibility associated with the new variant. The strike rate within student accommodation was different. Previously, it was two to three cases; in the recent outbreak it might have been four, or all of the house. There was definitely an increase in transmissibility within accommodation. It was quite clear that there was a difference between that and what we had seen in semester one. He said the 190 cases over the past six weeks compared with 196 his service had dealt with in the 16-week period from September 1 to December 18. Dr MacDonncha also sent a reminder that even if people had immunity, they could still pass on the disease to others if they touched contaminated surfaces. A recent assessment by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) on the risk of Covid-19 reinfection in previously infected individuals reported that the risk was very low up to seven months following initial infection. It was based on findings from five large cohort studies, including one involving more than 144,000 healthcare workers in the UK. All studies were completed before December, and before the widespread identification and spread of a number of new variants of international concern. A Hiqa spokesperson said: The applicability of the findings to recent variants of concern is unknown. Dr Eoghan de Barra of the Infectious Disease Society of Ireland said the likelihood of reinfection was very, low but reinfection would happen to a percentage of people. He said there was not enough data from the limited sequencing of different strains here to show if the UK strain could lead to earlier reinfection. Dr de Barra referred to the UK healthcare workers study, stating: It was not that nobody got reinfected in six months, but that very few people did. Around 87pc were still protected around six months later. Immunity is not absolute, he pointed out. The number of reinfections are small. There is not enough evidence to show someone is more likely to be reinfected with the new UK variant than with the old variant, he said. The worry is what impact new variants will have on infection and on vaccines, he added. He said a key message was that if people have been infected they should continue to wear a mask, follow social distancing guidelines and wash their hands. We need to hold the line. It is human behaviours which drive the pandemic. There are people who decide that they want to take the risk for themselves. The risk is across society and not at an individual level. Meanwhile Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has launched a Covid information campaign for third-level students, referencing the Galway outbreak. A video, prepared in consultation with the deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn and the HSE highlights the risks associated with students gathering. Five years after the European Union and Turkey signed a deal to reduce the number of migrants crossing into the bloc, arrivals are down but both sides have complaints, France 24 writes. Signed on March 18, 2016, the deal saw Turkey move to stem the flow of would-be refugees into Bulgaria and the Greek islands in exchange for large-scale EU financial assistance. The accord was criticised by refugee rights groups and it has not stopped sniping between Brussels and Ankara over the issue - with Turkey now calling for it to be reviewed. As Europe takes stock, here are six things to know. What is in the deal? During the 2015 migration crisis Europe feared its capacity to absorb arrivals would be overwhelmed by 1.2 million people, many of whom were fleeing the war in Syria. Many attempted to cross from Turkey in dangerous inflatable rafts to the Greek islands, where they would be on EU soil but would soon fill makeshift camps to bursting point. Under the agreement, the Europeans undertook to begin to "resettle" Syrians who remained in refugee camps in Turkey, and to make two payouts of three billion euros each to help Turkey receive refugees. The EU was also expected to speed up negotiations for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and for eventual EU membership, as well as discussions on the enlargement of the customs union. How much was spent? According to the European Commission, 4.1 billion euros ($4.8 billion) have already been delivered to Turkey and the remaining two billion have been contracted to projects to support refugees. The plan is to continue to support basic health and education needs for refugees marooned in Turkey until 2022 or into 2023, and an extra 535 million euros was assigned in 2020. But Ankara disputes the EU figures, claiming that only 3.6 billion euros have been spent "for the Syrians", and stressing that Turkey has 3.7 million of them on its soil. Many fewer arrivals Since the accord, the number of migrants and refugees arriving in Greece has plummeted. In 2015 at the height of the crisis, 856,000 crossed the Aegean Sea. This figure dropped to 173,000 the next year, and to only 30,000 in 2017. By 2020, perhaps because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number who crossed was just 10,000. "The figures are there," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday. "It has been very much criticised, but this statement has produced tangible results. The deal, he said, "has led to a significant decrease of loss of human lives, irregular crossings and improved the situation of refugees and migrants in Turkey." Since 2016, Ankara has allowed back 2,140 migrants who tried to cross to Greece, and EU countries have resettled 28,621 Syrian refugees from camps in Turkey. European concerns Brussels accuses Turkey of not doing enough to facilitate returns of migrants from Greece. "When the Covid came, both sides stopped. But the EU resumed the resettlement in August last year," EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said recently. "So we have resettled 2,500 or 3,000 refugees (in Europe) from Turkey under the EU-Turkey statement since last year. But Turkey has not resumed the returns from the Greek islands," she said. What does Turkey want? Faruk Kaymakci, Turkey's deputy foreign minister in charge of European affairs, says this is not fair. "We are not taking back migrants because the EU is not fulfilling the March 18 deal," he told AFP. In particular, he said he wants Brussels to cooperate with Turkey inside northern Syria to prepare the way for refugees to return to their war-torn homeland. And he says another half-a-million arrivals in Turkey mean that EU aid should be increased. Time to renegotiate? European diplomats are dubious about the idea of reopening the accord, fearing any renegotiation would quickly get bogged down and allow Turkey to use the refugees as leverage. But Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to cancel the arrangement several times, wants progress on Ankara's moribund application to join the EU. He wants new talks on getting Turks visa-free travel and on the EU customs union. EU member states will discuss ties with Turkey at their next summit on March 25 and 26, but for now, for Borrell, what they call the 2016 statement "remains valid." Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 This screen capture shows a message which popped up when a foreign resident tried to use the service through the Baedal Minjok application, indicating that only Koreans can redeem gift certificates. Courtesy of foreign resident asking not to be named By Jun Ji-hye The country's largest food delivery app, Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, is facing criticism from foreign residents for not allowing non-Koreans to redeem gifts through the app. One foreign resident called the practice "strange discrimination" against foreigners, citing that there are no problems receiving and redeeming gift certificates when using other services such as food delivery app Yogiyo or mobile messenger app Kakao Talk. A foreign resident from Los Angeles, who has lived in Korea since 2004 and is currently working for an IT services company in Seoul, said he had an unpleasant experience recently due to exclusion from making full use of the Baemin application to redeem company-issued gift certificates when he and his co-workers held a company dinner via video conferencing software program Zoom. Baedal Minjok's mobile app icon image / Korea Times file Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. There can be fatal consequences to being Black and selling loosies: Eric Garner. There are fatal consequences to being a Black man wearing sagging pants: Anthony Childs. The Bridgeport City Council, NAACP and Connecticut lawmakers are considering an ordinance that would ban the sale of all legal flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes. Black adults are the primary users of what is called menthols by the community. I understand the health reasons for wanting to create a tobacco-free state, so why not actually advocate for a full tobacco ban? Why focus on the product chosen primarily by adults in communities of color? This is the discriminatory line being crossed that makes me ask: Are menthols the new sagging pants? Black folks like it, Black folks from the West End and the North End choose it, they enjoy it when hanging with friends or alone, walking down the street, or chilling in the park, so it must be wrong, indecent, prohibited and enforceable by law? Born and raised in Bridgeport, I became an officer here, even led in-school D.A.R.E. courses; this city and its people are my people. I saw a lot growing up in the P.T. Barnum public housing complex and witnessed many wrongdoings from our citys cops, so I know firsthand the mistrust and resentment that many residents feel for the police. Theres a lot of fear of the police, which translates into anger and a lack of cooperation as many Black and Latino residents are aware that even a minor encounter with police can lead to a potentially dangerous situation. This is why Bridgeport and all of Connecticut should not support any legislation that deems a choice made by predominantly Black adults to be illegal, a crime. More than 12 years ago, there was a big legislative movement to ban sagging pants driven mainly by cities with a large Black population. It may speak to a generational gap, or it could speak to indifference to the choices of certain groups of people. Michael Eric Dyson, the author of Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip Hop, said that many African-American advocates of the indecency laws to ban sagging have bought the myth that sagging pants represent an offensive lifestyle which leads to destructive behavior. An Atlanta ACLU representative even said, We see this as racial profiling. ... Its going to target African-American male youths. In 2019, Anthony Childs, a 31-year-old Black man, walked along a sidewalk in Shreveport, La., when a police officer attempted to detain him. Why? Because Childs violated the citys saggy pants ban. He ran. The chase ended when the officer fired several rounds. Childs died in this altercation. Childs death led to the repeal of the 2007 ban, which was unconstitutional and discriminatory to begin with just as the menthol ban is. The saggy pants ban resulted in more than 700 violations and fines with Black men making up 96 percent of the people arrested under the ordinance. Like Shreveport, many other cities that passed the saggy pants bans have also repealed their laws because they were unconstitutional and discriminated against Black men. And today, we have the Bridgeport NAACP, an advocacy organization in a mostly Black community, leading the charge to, again, ban a choice that mostly Blacks make. Why not learn from the mistakes of others rather than repeat them? In 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old African American father of six, was confronted by two NYPD officers for illegally selling cigarettes. Garner died after the officer used an illegal chokehold. What the advocates of the menthol cigarette ban do not realize is that they are picking up the saggy pants ban torch. And just like sagging pants were used as a pretext to stop, question and frisk, a menthol would be used in the same way. To prohibit or outlaw the product or behavior because you deem it to be offensive or destructive is not your choice to make. However, to not make your community members targets of police interactions is a choice you should make. I ask the Bridgeport City Council, NAACP and Connecticut lawmakers not to encourage the city, nor the state, to prohibit, criminalize or penalize a choice that predominantly Black adults make. David Daniels is a former Bridgeport police officer and former president of the Bridgeport Guardians. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Malacanang is asking the public not to conclude just yet that the Mandaluyong judge who ordered the release of a journalist and a union organizer has been red-tagged. Authorities are investigating already this incident. Yung mga nagsabit po niyang tarpaulin na yan, mahuhuli po kayo dahil may CCTV po sa area, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a virtual briefing on Thursday. [Translation: Whoever hung that tarpaulin, you will eventually get caught because there are CCTV (cameras) in the area.] Earlier this week, Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite criticized the placement of a tarpaulin along Shaw Boulevard near EDSA thanking Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio of the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 209 for releasing journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago and clearing them of charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Among the logos in the tarpaulin is one supposedly of the Communist Party of the Philippines. https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/17/Mandaluyong-judge-red-tagged-after-releasing-journalist--union-organizer--.html Sa ngayon po, let us not make hasty conclusions dahil kahit sino po ang pwedeng nagsabit ng tarpaulin na yan, said the spokesman. [Translation: For now, let us not make hasty conclusions because anyone could have hung that tarpaulin there.] However, Roque added that if the judge indeed was red-tagged, President Rodrigo Duterte shall assure she will receive protection from him if needed. [March 18, 2021] PerkinElmer Launches Industry-First CRM Reagent and Consumable Kit to Streamline Cannabis Pesticide Testing Workflows PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, today launched its ONE Pesticide420 CRM Reagent and Consumable Kit for cannabis & hemp testing. Initially the kits will support pesticide and mycotoxin testing for cannabis & hemp laboratories following the California, Oregon or equivalent regulations. The new kits include certified calibration curves and internal standards, allowing the customer to focus on testing rather than development of complex preparation procedures for quantitative pesticide and mycotoxin testing. In addition, the kits create a simpler workflow path by providing a second batch of built-in, internal standards to help achieve regulatory compliance faster and easier and to streamline a lab's supplier mix. Instead of sourcing and storing a multitude of reagents and consumables from multiple vendors, as well as measuring and diluting multiple stock standards and calibrators, labs using theONE Pesticide420 Kit can choose from 77 pesticide and five mycotoxin certified calibration levels and pre-formatted internal standards that are ready-to-use without any modification. In addition, the certified calibrations provide labs further quality assurance because each calibration level is ISO 17034 certified, reducing the risk of experimental error. "Currently, labs have to source pesticide testing reagents from multiple companies to cover their workflow needs and go through the time to build their own formulas while simultaneously facing immense pressure to reduce the time-to-result at increasingly lower costs," said Greg Sears, VP and GM of Food & Organic Mass Spectrometry at PerkinElmer. "Our new ONE Pesticide420 Kit is designed to help labs focus on their testing requirements and not on peripheral lab protocols so that they can achieve their operational and regulatory requirements." The new reagent kits are part of a comprehensive PerkinElmer cannabis testing portfolio spanning across safety and quality instruments and lab automation as well as software and services. To learn more please visit https://www.perkinelmer.com/category/consumables-reagents-for-cannabis-hemp. About PerkinElmer PerkinElmer enables scientists, researchers and clinicians to address their most critical challenges across science and healthcare. With a mission focused on innovating for a healthier world, we deliver unique solutions to serve the diagnostics, life sciences, food and applied markets. We strategically partner with customers to enable earlier and more accurate insights supported by deep market knowledge and technical expertise. Our dedicated team of about 14,000 employees worldwide is passionate about helping customers work to create healthier families, improve the quality of life, and sustain the wellbeing and longevity of people globally. The Company reported revenue of approximately $3.8 billion in 2020, serves customers in 190 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Additional information is available through 1-877-PKI-NYSE, or at www.perkinelmer.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005153/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Statisticians have calculated the probability of ships of different Polar Ship Categories becoming beset in ice along the Northern Sea Route. Their data will help assess the risks of maritime traffic in the Arctic. The results of the new study, published recently in the Cold Regions Science and Technology journal, will support safer maritime transport planning and the prevention of oil spills. The results will also benefit authorities that regulate maritime traffic by providing a foundation for statutes and legislation. A comprehensive approach to computing helps shipping companies plan transport routes. Tankers more common on the Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route is attracting more tankers and cargo ships travelling from Russia and Asia to Europe, and traffic is expected to increase along the route in tandem with global warming (Figure 1). In the winter, the sea is frozen over, making it inaccessible to ships of a lower Polar Ship Category without the assistance of an icebreaker. Ships can also become beset in ice in the spring and summer, leading to transport delays. At its worst, ice may force a vessel off its course so that it runs aground, with disastrous consequences. "This is the first time a comprehensive risk assessment of a besetting event was performed using open data only," says Assistant Professor of Statistics Jarno Vanhatalo, head of the Environmental and Ecological Statistics group and director of the Master's Programme in Life Science Informatics at the University of Helsinki. The researchers used satellite data on ice conditions in Arctic marine areas as well as open data sources on shipping. "One of the biggest tasks required the merger of open datasets so that analyses could be conducted. This task was performed by Aalto University. The statistical analyses were carried out at the University of Helsinki, using a traditional generalised linear model, to which a Bayesian approach was applied," Vanhatalo explains. Ice conditions on northern maritime routes "If we know the ice conditions prevailing in a specific area, which can usually be ascertained from satellite images, we can make a prediction for, say, today and for each point along the Northern Sea Route," states Vanhatalo. The prediction indicates the probability of a ship of a particular type becoming beset in ice in a particular area (Figure 2). The Polar Ship Category of a ship has a crucial impact on the probability of besetting. Ships of a lower category are most at risk, and many of them become beset in ice each year. The researchers also analysed the effect of ice concentration on the probability of besetting. Ice concentration indicates the share of the sea covered by ice. In the winter, ice concentration is 100%, whereas in the spring and summer it varies from 0% to 100%, which means that the marine area is a mosaic of ice floes and open water. The probability of a ship becoming beset in ice increases the longer the distance it travels in ice-covered waters and also increases significantly with higher ice concentrations. There are also considerable differences between ships of different Polar Ship Categories. For the best vessels, i.e., Category A ships, the probability of besetting on a journey of 3,000 nautical miles (NM) in 90%-100% ice concentration is just 0.04. Correspondingly, the probability for Category B ships is 7.5 times higher, or 0.3, whereas the probability for Category C ships is 22.5 times higher, or 0.9. The newly published study is part of an international long-term research project funded by the Lloyd's Register Foundation and aimed at improving maritime safety. Launched in 2003, the project will conclude at the end of 2021. Participants in the CEARCTIC and CEPOLAR projects, headed by Aalto University, include not only the University of Helsinki, but also the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, and the Hamburg University of Technology in Germany. The University of Helsinki researchers have been responsible for assessing the impact of a potential oil spill on the Arctic environment and biotic communities. Previous publications have focused on species of organisms in the Kara Sea and the effects of an oil spill in the area. [link: https:/ / www2. helsinki. fi/ en/ researchgroups/ environmental-and-ecological-statistics/ oil-spill-risk-analysis-in-the-arctic ] Although the research project is coming to a close, before the end of this year it will publish more statistical analyses of uncertainties associated with the modelling. "Due to the limited measurement data available from Arctic marine areas, there are major uncertainties concerning shipping, living organisms and the behaviour of oil. Another major uncertainty relates to the natural stochasticity of highly unstable environmental conditions," Vanhatalo adds. Another article currently being written explores the relative significances of factors affecting the overall risk as well as how risk analyses should be carried out and how the conclusions drawn differ depending on what is examined. Does the examination focus solely on the accident risk of vessels or also on the risk they pose to marine biotic communities? The results depend on whether both are examined separately or at the same time. Other upcoming publications include summarising reports on the project as a whole and recommendations based on the research conducted. ### Reference: Probability of a ship becoming beset in ice along the Northern Sea Route - A Bayesian analysis of real-life data. Jarno Vanhatalo, Juri Huuhtanen, Martin Bergstrom, Inari Helle, Jussi Makinen, Pentti Kujala https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. coldregions. 2021. 103238 Cold regions science and technology, Volume 184, April 2021, 103238 Further information: https:/ / www2. helsinki. fi/ en/ researchgroups/ environmental-and-ecological-statistics https:/ / www2. helsinki. fi/ en/ researchgroups/ environmental-and-ecological-statistics/ oil-spill-risk-analysis-in-the-arctic WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service announced on Wednesday it is postponing the country's tax-filing deadline until May 17, as the agency grapples with a mounting backlog of 24 million returns awaiting processing since the 2019 tax year. The workload has put the agency underwater - and under political siege - as lawmakers fret that long-unresolved troubles at the IRS could undercut the Biden administration's economic recovery efforts. Millions of Americans have not received some stimulus checks under prior coronavirus aid packages, even as the tax agency continued distributing payments Wednesday under the $1.9 trillion stimulus signed into law this month. The IRS shared the full scope of its backlog with the House Ways and Means Committee and the agency's own watchdogs in recent days. The numbers, obtained by The Washington Post, dwarf the data the IRS has shared with the public. Explaining the postponement, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement the government is doing "everything possible to help taxpayers navigate the unusual circumstances related to the pandemic, while also working on important tax administration responsibilities." The effects of the IRS backlog already have been substantial: The delays have kept some Americans from receiving their tax refunds for months while preventing some cash-strapped workers and companies nationwide from taking advantage of some of the stimulus benefits that Congress authorized to blunt the economic impact of the pandemic. For Patrick O' Conor, the IRS backlog has been costly: He estimates that the government owes him about $16,000 in tax refunds and stimulus payments as a result of significant lags in processing his 2019 and 2020 taxes. The Frederick, Md.-area resident said it has been particularly rough because he and his wife recently had a baby and bought a home in the past year, and they need the money to cover their new expenses. "We haven't missed any payments yet on anything," he said, "but it's come really, really close." The delays threaten the IRS's ability to deliver an array of new relief under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and could result in uncomfortable questions for Rettig, who is set to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. In recent weeks, some congressional Democrats and Republicans had urged the IRS to push the tax-filing deadline from April to later this year, similar to the filing deadline for 2019 returns. Some lawmakers celebrated the decision Wednesday. "This extension is absolutely necessary to give Americans some needed flexibility in a time of unprecedented crisis," said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the panel's chairman, and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J. "Under titanic stress and strain, American taxpayers and tax preparers must have more time to file tax returns. And the IRS itself started the filing season late, continues to be behind schedule, and now must implement changes from the American Rescue Plan." For some lawmakers, the IRS's troubles come as no surprise. Under GOP leadership, Congress slashed the agency's budget by billions of dollars, contributing to the loss of tens of thousands of critical IRS jobs, while leaving long-known deficiencies in its computer systems unaddressed for decades. The pandemic has brought additional challenges, forcing much of the IRS workforce to complete its tasks from home and saddling the agency with new responsibilities, including three rounds of stimulus payments. Most of these payments have reached hundreds of millions of Americans without too much difficulty, making them one of the government's most popular relief programs. But the agency has struggled in other respects, including in its work over the past few years to process tax returns from individuals and businesses alike. The details are laid bare in information the IRS provided to the House Ways and Means Committee as well as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. A spokesman for the inspector general this week confirmed the figures but said they had not independently audited information it obtained from the IRS for accuracy. The total backlog appears to stand at more than 24 million filings, the data show. That includes more than 12.3 million paper-based tax returns the IRS has received, but hasn't started processing over the past two tax years. Most of these filings are from businesses, but the tranche also includes 2.4 million returns from individuals reflecting their 2019 earnings. As a result, these Americans may not have received stimulus payments under the relief bill Congress adopted in December, since the stimulus law tied their eligibility for checks to their 2019 taxes. The IRS cautioned that not every individual in this group may have been eligible to receive the aid, adding that it did not have data on the numbers of Americans still waiting for the earlier stimulus payments. But Ken Corbin, the commissioner of the wage and investment division at the IRS, defended the agency's work getting stimulus payments out and said the number of checks sent matches "what was projected to be the eligible population." "The IRS will always have returns in processing," he said, citing the impact of the coronavirus and other more recent obstacles, including inclement weather that slowed agency operations. These 2.4 million Americans still can collect previous stimulus payments as part of their 2020 returns, if they are eligible. But they may face another long wait. The IRS has racked up an additional backlog of 12.4 million returns filed mostly by individuals, both electronically and in paper filings, from the 2020 tax year that it has started processing but suspended pending further, deeper review, according to the government figures. The tally includes about 7 million returns that the IRS has designated for "error resolution," meaning they will require manual review that takes months to wrap up. The Post first reported on these figures last week. But the IRS has millions of additional tax returns to analyze, including those involved in investigations related to issues such as identity theft, contributing to its immense workload. The backlog has only compounded other troubles at the IRS, including technical glitches that took down its online portal for tracking refunds earlier this year - and lingering staff shortages that appear to affect its ability to answer taxpayers' questions in a difficult year. Only about a quarter of those who call the IRS end up speaking to someone, according to agency data shared with lawmakers, who expressed concerns about the response rate in what is shaping up to be a complicated tax year. The ranks of the frustrated include Neava Ford, a Kansas City-area resident who filed her 2019 tax returns late in the year, yet hasn't heard much from the agency five months later. She hasn't received a stimulus check, either, but Ford says she hasn't bothered to call the IRS because she knows she's unlikely to reach anyone. "I knew it would be pointless with everything that would be going on," she said. Acknowledging the issues, the Treasury Department said in a statement Wednesday that the backlog reflects "serious challenges stemming from inherited problems and diminished capacity." An agency spokeswoman said the IRS so far has sent out 90 million stimulus payments under the American Rescue Plan. "It will take time to work through these challenges we inherited, but this investment will help us in tackling them head on," the department added. The agency's struggles have generated bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill over the past few months. In February, for example, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee - including Rep. Mike Kelly, a member of its oversight panel - wrote the IRS on behalf of constituents who have contacted lawmakers' offices, trying to track down their refunds. "We cannot have millions of hard-working Americans and small business owners waiting up to a year to receive money that they are owed, and the federal government paying billions of dollars in interest on top of that," said Kelly, adding that his office never received a response to the earlier letter. "This needs to be fixed." Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, blasted the IRS over its announcement to change the filing deadline amid its mounting backlog. He said it serves as a sign that the $1.9 trillion stimulus has caused "chaos, to the point that delaying tax filings in order to accommodate the law's provisions may be a wise decision." Democrats, meanwhile, have said the situation points to the need for additional changes at the IRS. The recently adopted American Rescue Plan includes billions of dollars to help modernize the agency, but party lawmakers say a more permanent fix is necessary to prevent similar backlogs in the future. "It's much harder for the IRS to build the plane while flying it," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement. "We need sustained funding so the IRS can build and maintain these systems over the long-term." Toyota Project Award Technology Section recognizes unique GORE-SELECT Membrane technology that enhances the performance of the all-new 2021 MIRAI. TOKYO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- W. L. Gore & Associates is pleased to announce that its GORE-SELECT Membrane received Toyota Motor Corporation's prestigious Project Award in the Technology Section. GORE-SELECT Membrane was selected for its innovative technology, which contributes to the performance and value of the new MIRAI, Toyota's premium fuel-cell electric vehicle introduced in December 2020. Next-generation power and fuel efficiency "We are honored by Toyota's award for the contribution Gore's fuel cell technology has made to the 2021 MIRAI, Toyota's new, premium eco-car." - Shinichi Nishimura, Gore Fuel Cell Technologies, Global Product Specialist Tweet this Gore Product Specialists Shinichi Nishimura (left) and Toyohiro Matsuura (right) proudly accept Toyotas Project Award. (PRNewsfoto/W. L. Gore & Associates) GORE-SELECT Membrane (PRNewsfoto/W. L. Gore & Associates) Toyota's first-generation MIRAI revolutionized FCEVs when it launched in 2014. It incorporated GORE-SELECT Membrane as its PEM (proton exchange membrane) the core material of its fuel cell stack. Now, an improved GORE-SELECT Membrane helps the second-generation MIRAI deliver an even greater level of performance: Toyota reports 128 kW (174 PS) of maximum fuel cell output with fuel efficiency of 152 km/kg (based on WLTC, Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Cycles). That translates to a cruising range of 850 km (reference value) per charge. Enabling a compact, high-output fuel cell stack At the heart of this performance improvement are recent advancements to the GORE-SELECT Membrane. It now features a 30 percent reduction in thickness with reduced gas permeability and improved fuel efficiency, along with a unique reinforcement layer that significantly improves the membrane's mechanical durability. For Toyota, the improved GORE-SELECT Membrane meant the new MIRAI could have a more compact, higher-performance fuel cell stack with better durability and lower system cost. "The science behind our unique reinforcement layer is a core technology Gore has cultivated for many years. Applying this technology to the GORE-SELECT Membrane enables impressive improvements in the fuel cell's stack size, performance and cost," said Shinichi Nishimura, Gore Fuel Cell Technologies Global Product Specialist. "We were very excited to bring this advanced technology to our partners at Toyota, and very honored to be the recipients of their Project Award." Partnering for progress Both Toyota and Gore are recognized leaders in fuel cell technology. Gore's multi-decade expertise in membrane technology made them a highly qualified partner: Gore produced the first commercially available membrane electrode assembly (MEA), and since 1994 has been advancing the performance of PEMs for fuel cell vehicles. The GORE-SELECT Membrane is also compliant with the EU's REACH regulations. Gore is well positioned to partner with OEMs and Tiers globally. Its worldwide sales, R&D and manufacturing resources ensure a reliable source of supply for high-quality, high-performance products. The company's commitment to innovation promises ongoing development for products, such as the GORE-SELECT Membrane, that can provide higher power output while minimizing system cost and total cost of ownership. For more information about GORE-SELECT Membrane, visit gore.com/ToyotaAward21-FuelCell. About Gore W. L. Gore & Associates is a global materials science company dedicated to transforming industries and improving lives. Since 1958, Gore has solved complex technical challenges in demanding environments from outer space to the world's highest peaks to the inner workings of the human body. With more than 11,000 Associates and a strong, team-oriented culture, Gore generates annual revenues of $3.8 billion. gore.com Media contact Mary Ann Seal W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. 401 Airport Road Elkton, MD 21922 +1 410 506 8788 [email protected] SOURCE W. L. Gore & Associates Related Links https://www.gore.com ADVERTISEMENT A prosecuting witness Thursday told the Federal High Court, Abuja, how a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, allegedly received several payments suspected to be kickbacks from contractors through companies linked to him. Michael Wetkas, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), who testified using a chart presentation, said the contractors paid the alleged kickbacks, masked as payments for subcontracts, to the firms linked to Mr Lamido and his co-defendants. Mr Wetkas said Mr Lamido allegedly received payments from Jigawa State contractors like, Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company, Interior Woodworks Ltd., and A.G Ferrero & Co Ltd, through the bank accounts of Bamaina Holdings Ltd. and Speeds International Ltd both of which allegedly have him and the 3rd defendant as sole signatories. Money flow He said Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company received over N21 billion for contracts from Jigawa State government while the duo of A.G Ferrero & Co Ltd and Interior Woodworks Ltd. received over N8 billion and over N3 billion respectively for contracts they executed for the state. The witness said records showed that A.G Ferrero paid over N114 million into the Skye Bank account of Bamaina Company Ltd. According to him, Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company also paid over N116 million and N273.5 million into both the Access Bank and Unity Bank accounts of Speeds International Ltd, respectively. He also noted that cheques with total worth of about N397.5 million from Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company were paid into the Unity Bank account of Speeds International Limited. The witness also pointed out that cheques amounting to about N14.8 million were paid into the personal account of the first defendant, while N48 million was paid into Bamaina Company Ltd which has the first defendant as the sole signatory. He said, flowing from the activities and investigations conducted, it was revealed that no sub-contracts or contracts for the purchase of bitumen, diesel and steel iron, were executed by the defendants companies to warrant such payments. From the journals recovered from Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company, where the transactions were supposed to reflect if they were carried out, there were no entries for years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, within that period, over N500 million was said to be paid for the purported sub-contract or contract. Mr Wetkas concluded his evidence-in-chief on that note on Thursday. The judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, then adjourned the matter till May 19 and 20, 2021 for cross-examination of the witness. Charges The EFCC had in 2018 re-arraigned the two-term state governor on a 43-count amended money laundering charge alongside two of his sons Aminu Lamido and Mustapha Lamido; Aminu Wada Abubakar, Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd. They were accused of laundering N1.35 billion belonging to Jigawa State while Mr Lamido was the governor. Mr Lamido, who was governor between 2007 and 2015, was accused of abusing his office by awarding contracts to companies where he had an interest, using his two sons as fronts. ADVERTISEMENT The Senior Agricultural Economist, Office of Economic Growth and Environment, USAID Nigeria, Charles Iyangbe, says the organisation will prioritise business opportunities for rice, maize, soybean and cowpea. Mr Iyangbe made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. He said this would be done in partnership with the USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Activity with the support from the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND). It said it would enable smallholder farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) to better understand the opportunities abound in value chain commodities through to enhance their incomes and improve livelihoods. According to the statement, this will be aimed at building the capacity of MSMEs to deliver extension and advisory services to value chain stakeholders and strengthen linkages between agricultural research institutions. The activity collaborates with federal and state governments and leverages the power of Nigerian entrepreneurship to facilitate learning, replication and scale around alternative models of extension to measurably increase productivity. This will improve the incomes and nutritional status of two million smallholder producers in Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states, he said. He said the activity works would focus on the information and service needs of the average farming household the representative of majority of smallholders within the target value chains who produce the greater part of the production. Mr Iyangbe said the workshop was attended by senior government officials from the federal and states government, USAID Nigeria, development partners. Others include key private sectors companies and investors, universities, research institutions, producer groups, lead farmers, aggregators, processors and others engaging in the commodity value chains in Nigeria. (NAN) Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. BOSTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), the parent company of Berkshire Bank, announced today that Subhadeep Basu was appointed Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of the Company and the Bank. Mr. Basu will succeed James M. Moses, who has chosen to leave the company as of March 19th to pursue other interests. Subhadeep Basu, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer In his role as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Basu will serve as the company's top financial officer. He will work closely with Senior Management to meet the organization's short-term and long-term objectives, regulatory requirements and evaluate current and future operating performance to enhance shareholder value, maintain and improve financial flexibility, and enhance Berkshire's overall financial position. "Subhadeep is a dynamic leader with extensive experience at global financial institutions, enabling change and driving growth across complex organizations and environments," stated Nitin Mhatre, CEO of Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Berkshire Bank. "He brings Berkshire a diverse set of leadership skills and a proven track record of improving revenue and profitability through a customer-centric approach, focusing on transformation, operating model realignment and adoption of emerging technologies and digitization. His extensive experience and leadership will be instrumental in the execution of our transformational strategic plan to enhance value for all stakeholders." Mr. Basu is a senior executive with more than 20 years of global banking, financial and risk management expertise leading transformation and growth. Prior to joining Berkshire, Mr. Basu served as Senior Vice President of Global Institutional Services at State Street. He led key strategic initiatives that helped drive business and revenue growth and enhanced client retention. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Finance, leading global regulatory reporting, capital strategy and optimization and finance and risk infrastructure. Before joining State Street, he spent more than 15 years at Citigroup, Bank of America, and Ally Financial in various leadership roles across Finance, Treasury, Risk, and Consumer and Commercial Banking. Mr. Basu serves as a board member and Treasurer for The Arc of Massachusetts based in Waltham, MA. Story continues ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank , a community bank committed to purpose driven performance based on its Be FIRST corporate responsibility culture. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire operates 124 banking offices in seven Northeastern states, with approximately $12.8 billion in assets. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these statements from the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "plan," "potential," "estimate," "project," "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "expect," "target" and similar expressions. There are many factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations described in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such factors, please see Berkshire's most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Further, given its ongoing and dynamic nature, it is difficult to predict what continued effects the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will have on our business and results of operations. The pandemic and the related local and national economic disruption may result in a continued decline in demand for our products and services; increased levels of loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures; an increase in our allowance for loan losses; a decline in the value of loan collateral, including real estate; a greater decline in the yield on our interest-earning assets than the decline in the cost of our interest-bearing liabilities; and increased cybersecurity risks, as employees increasingly work remotely. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our expectations only as of the date of this document. Berkshire does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. Investor Relations Contact: Media Contacts: Kevin Conn, SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development Email: KAConn2@berkshirebank.com Tel: (617) 610-2391 John Lovallo Email: jlovallo@levick.com Tel: (917) 612-8419 Cate Cronin Email: ccronin@levick.com Tel: (202) 738-7302 (PRNewsfoto/Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.) Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/berkshire-hills-bancorp-inc-appoints-subhadeep-basu-chief-financial-officer-301250569.html SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. Installation view of "Encounters Between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age" featuring first editions of modern Korean literature at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung / Courtesy of MMCA By Kwon Mee-yoo In the early 20th century, Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, which is generally considered as a time of darkness and despair. However, art and literature never stopped blossoming despite the troubled times, as artists and writers gathered at cafes and bars and shared communion in search of a new era. "Encounters Between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age," an exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Deoksugung, looks into how artists and writers shared the spirit of the times and navigated the colonial era together. MMCA director Youn Bum-mo said the exhibit highlights the priceless legacies left by modern artists and writers who challenged the times with their visions. "This exhibition invites audiences into a new world as envisioned by the featured artists and writers, who lived lives that were rich in terms of unprecedented intellectual affluence even during a time marked by poverty and contradicting values," Youn said. From rare first editions of Korean modern literature, such as an original copy of Kim So-wol's poetry collection "Azaleas," to Korea's pioneering abstract artist Kim Whan-ki's poetic paintings and letters, some 140 artworks and 200 bibliographic materials are on view at the museum. The exhibit centers on life in colonial Seoul, known back then as Gyeongseong, in the 1930s and 1940s, when Koreans were experiencing and absorbing modernity. Cho Young-bok, a professor at the Division of Northeast Asia Cultural Industries at Kwangwoon University who specializes in modern Korean literature, said she focused on how literature reflects and criticizes the present era while raising expectations for the future. "We typically think that literary works reflect the period at the time of writing. However, as I researched poems and novels under Japanese colonial rule for this exhibition, I wondered how such splendid works were created during the dark times. Maybe art and culture look to the future, not just reflecting the era," Cho said. Cho sought the origin of hallyu, or the Korean wave, from the accumulation of culture including collaborations between artists and writers. "Great culture does not pop up all of a sudden, but is a result of accumulation. Rediscovering Korea's modern culture will provide us with insight into the worldwide popularity of Korean culture now," Cho said. Gu Bon-ung "Still Life with a Doll" (1937) / Courtesy of MMCA The first section, "Confluence of the Avant-garde," introduces artists and writers who were embracing new concepts and ways of thinking as they stood on the front lines of an era when traditional Korean values collided with new philosophies and cultures from the West. Hwang Jeong-su's "Twelve Thousand Peaks of Modern Geumgang," which was featured on the cover of the July 1933 issue of popular magazine, "Byeolgeongon," provides a kaleidoscope view of the era in a mountain with a Paramount movie theater, cafe, bar, a field of honor, chapel and even a place for suicide. "This shows a slice of society in the 1930s. What is interesting is that many socio-pathological issues seen today also existed back then. Considering that it was an era when Western concepts and ways of thinking were being introduced, the culture shock might have been much bigger than what is being felt now," said Kim In-hye, a curator who organized the exhibit. Poet Yi Sang, known for his avant-garde and experimental poems, opened Coffeehouse Jebi (Korean word for swallow) in 1934, decorated with a gloomy portrait of Yi and Fauvist-style works by his friend, painter Gu Bon-ung. The place soon became a popular hangout for both artists and writers. "Poet Yi liked the music of Mischa Elman, so he had a phonograph at the coffeehouse to listen to his violin concerto," Kim said. "Gu Bon-ung's Still Life with a Doll was hung at Yi's cafe and later rediscovered in the 1970s after it was sold along with the coffeehouse." Yi was best known as a poet. But he was also a graphic designer and created illustrations for some novels. "His illustrations were experimental, just like his literary works. For example, he produced a collage of images inspired by words and overlapped them to reinterpret the text through image," Kim said. Along with the vibrant modern works, Yee Soo-kyung pays tribute to the rich culture of that era by creating a crystal bead blind installation with a peacock pattern, inspired by an album of paintings gifted to writer Cho Pung-youn's wedding on the MMCA's commission. Another creation of Yee's, "Moonlight Crown_Toy Bride of Poet Yi Sang," was inspired by Yi's 1936 poem. "The avant-garde atmosphere of the times was influenced the early works of Yoo Young-kuk and Kim Whan-ki, such as Rondo," Kim said. Installation view of "Encounters Between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age" featuring illustrations for newspaper novels from the 1920s to 1940s at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung / Courtesy of MMCA The second gallery, themed "A Museum Built from Paper," is different from a typical art exhibition featuring paintings. Instead, the gallery is full of illustrations from writings serialized in newspapers and magazines, displayed in a mood reminiscent of a library. "Hwamun" was a new genre introduced in literary magazines where painters provided images matching poems. The top book designer and illustrator of the time, Jung Hyeon-woong, provided illustrations for Baek Seok's poem, "Me, Natasha and the White Donkey," capturing the verse's exotic atmosphere using a simple style. Also on display are 33 rare first editions of modern Korean literature. "Most Koreans know these poems and novels from school textbooks, but it will be the first time for them to actually see the first editions up close," curator Kim said. Some of the notable books are Kim So-wol's "Azaleas" and Yun Dong-ju's "Sky, Wind and Stars." "Only 100 copies of Baek Seok's Deer were published at the poet's expense and Yun Dong-ju had to transcribe the book since he couldn't own a copy. Kim Ki-rim's Weather Chart was designed by poet and designer Yi Sang. The sleek black cover with silver foil looks modern even in the 21st century," Kim said. Jung Hyeon-woong's illustration on Baek Seok's poem "Me, Natasha and the White Donkey" (1938) / Courtesy of Adan Mungo The third section, "Fellowship of Artists and Writers in the Modern Age," delves into the relationships between artists and writers and gives visitors an idea of how the unions caused sparks to fly. Curator Kim said looking into the collaboration between artists and writers broadens one's perspective in understanding both art and literature. Painter Chang Pal, who was the first to paint Western-style religious artworks in Korea, was close with poet Jeong Ji-yong and provided illustrations for her poems. Poet Kim Ki-rim, who was a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo, got to know Lee Yeo-seong, then editor of the social affairs desk and brother of painter Lee Que-de. Lee later provided images to Kim's works as a painter. Novelist Lee Tae-jun maintained a close relationship with Kim Yong-jun after getting to know each other when they both studied in Tokyo. Kim designed most of Lee's books as a result of their friendship. "Kim Kwang-gyun is a poet adhering to the school of imagism and was at the center of a network of poets and painters including Lee Jung-seop, Kim Whan-ki and Ku Sang. He owned a Kim Whan-ki painting, Moonlit Night, which was presented in a 1951 exhibition. It is presumed that Kim Kwang-gyun, who was the richest among the group, took over the unsold painting from Kim Whan-ki," curator Kim explained. Lee Jung-seop's "Family of Poet Ku Sang" shows a dark time in the artist's life, separated from his family and residing in Ku's house. His yearning for his family is presented in the painting depicting the members of the house in which he was living. Kim Whan-ki's "Moonlit Night" (1951) / Courtesy of MMCA "Writings and Paintings by Literary Artists," the fourth and final section, offers a glimpse into literary works of artists primarily known as painters. Kim Yong-jun, known for his essays, also offered his skills to ink-and-color painting. "Ten-panel Folding Screen with Still Life" is an example of how the artist incorporated modern elements into the traditional style. Chun Kyung-ja is best known for her paintings of female figures, but she also wrote many realistic and honest essays as well as her autobiography. She also produced illustrations for the covers of novels and poems. Kim Whan-ki left many poems attached to his paintings in addition to his famous dot paintings and cultivated friendships with writers of the time. "Kim Whan-ki's artwork, Where, in What From, Shall We Meet Again, is titled after a phrase from his friend Kim Kwang-sup's poem, In the Evening, after receiving mistaken information that Kim Kwang-sup passed away. This became the only Kim Whan-ki dot painting with a title," curator Kim said. On a wall are over 50 covers of "Hyundae Munhak" (contemporary literature) magazine from its inaugural January 1955 issue to the July 1987 issue, featuring the artworks of Kim Whan-ki, Chun Kyung-ja, Chang Uc-chin and Han Mook. These are part of the 1,916 issues of the magazine donated to the MMCA by Hanyang University Paiknam Library. "The series of cover illustrations showcase changes in artists' styles. Illustrating covers of literary magazines was an important source of income for the artists. For instance, Kim Whan-ki supported his mother and daughters through cover illustrations when he left for Paris and New York," the curator said. "Unfortunately, the original paintings do not exist now as they were thrown away after printing the covers." The exhibit runs through May 30. Reservations are required to visit the museum according to COVID-19 safety measures. Covers of "Hyundae Munhak" (contemporary literature) magazine from January 1955 to July 1987, featuring artworks by Kim Whan-ki, Chun Kyung-ja, Chang Uc-chin and Han Mook / Courtesy of MMCA Older people are substantially more likely to catch Covid-19 a second time, according to a major new study published today. It found that people aged over 65 only have 47pc protection against reinfection compared with 80pc for younger people. It is the first large-scale study of Covid-19 reinfections and highlights the urgency to roll out the vaccine to older age groups. The researchers said their findings, published today in The Lancet medical journal, show how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic. Read More Dr Steen Ethelberg, from the Statens Serum Institut of Denmark, said: Our study confirms what a number of others appeared to suggest: reinfection with Covid-19 is rare in younger, healthy people, but the elderly are at greater risk of catching it again. Since older people are also more likely to experience severe disease symptoms and, sadly, die our findings make clear how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic. Given what is at stake, the results emphasise how important it is that people adhere to measures implemented to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had Covid-19. Our insights could also inform policies focused on wider vaccination strategies and the easing of lockdown restrictions. Importantly, the authors pointed out that the timeframe of their study meant it was not possible to estimate protection against reinfection with Covid-19 variants, some of which are known to be more transmissible. Further studies are needed to assess how protection against repeat infection might vary with different Covid-19 strains. Dr Daniela Michlmayr, one of the studys authors, added: In our study, we did not identify anything to indicate that protection against reinfection declines within six months of having Covid-19. "The closely related coronaviruses SARS and MERS have both been shown to confer immune protection against reinfection lasting up to three years, but ongoing analysis of Covid-19 is needed to understand its long-term effects on patients chances of becoming infected again. The findings highlight the need to get the vaccination roll-out back on track. However, even if the AstraZeneca vaccine gets the all-clear for use in Ireland again, it will take days to set up new clinics. Optimism is growing that the European Medicine Agencys investigation will show the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risk, following a probe into reports around blood-clotting events in a number of people who received the jab. The HSE said yesterday it has 49,100 doses of the vaccine in its cold chain store; 30,000 inoculations were cancelled this week after the jab was temporarily suspended. A spokeswoman said: We are working today and over the next few days to decide on our approach in light of the most recent advice. If we are advised to resume administering AstraZeneca, we would expect to be able to do so within a few days of that advice. The World Health Organisation said yesterday it considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue. It said: Vaccination against Covid-19 will not reduce illness or deaths from other causes. Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently. Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally. In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is routine for countries to signal potential adverse events following immunisation. This does not necessarily mean the events are linked to vaccination. Meanwhile, GPs have been told the roll-out of the Pifzer and Moderna vaccines to the 75- to 79-year-olds will be down by 35-40pc next week. The letter from the Irish Medical Organisation said that vaccine allocation remains limited by supply. It means a significant number of people in this age group face a delay. The doses will be delivered to GPs in the next allocation. They are to get 80,500 vaccines next week and are guaranteed second doses for those aged 80 and over. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he and US President Joe Biden discussed vaccine supplies yesterday. He said the logistical challenge that the US is facing is similar to that in Ireland. "Like every other country, he is very anxious to get his people vaccinated as quickly as he possibly can and to have a sufficiency of vaccines to do that. "His main focus right now is on getting his own people vaccinated, just like every country is." Most European countries suspend use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine over blood clot fears Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Most EU countries including Spain, France, Italy and Germany have suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine amid fears of rare blood clots and abnormal bleeding. The pharmaceutical company and health officials in the region insist, however, there is no cause for alarm. Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said at a news conference Tuesday that they were still studying the possibility of rare side effects from the vaccine but there was no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. While the investigation is ongoing, we are currently still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization, outweigh the risk of the side effects, she said, according to The New York Times. A statement released by the pharmaceutical giant on Sunday about the safety of its vaccine said they reviewed available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and the U.K. with the AstraZeneca vaccine and found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country. Around 17 million people in the EU and U.K. have now received our vaccine, and the number of cases of blood clots reported in this group is lower than the hundreds of cases that would be expected among the general population. The nature of the pandemic has led to increased attention in individual cases and we are going beyond the standard practices for safety monitoring of licensed medicines in reporting vaccine events, to ensure public safety, Ann Taylor, the companys chief medical officer said. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed in partnership with Oxford University, was designed to play a major role in the global vaccination effort with some 2 billion doses ordered for use in more than 70 countries this year, The New York Times reported. It does not yet have FDA approval in the U.S. but is being sold using a nonprofit model and is cheaper than other vaccines on the global market. It's also stored more easily and has already started shipping to low- and middle-income countries that signed onto the global vaccine sharing program Covax. Fears about the AstraZeneca vaccine come in the wake of rare reactions in some people after getting the shot, such as 57-year-old Italian clarinetist Sandro Tognatti. Tognatti was vaccinated in his hometown of Biella on Saturday afternoon. His wife, Simona Riussi, told Italian media that he went to bed that night with a high fever and he died the following morning The New York Post reported. Prosecutors in Italy responded by opening a probe into Tognattis death and nearly 400,000 shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine. No direct link between that death and the vaccine has been established. Most of Italy is now back in lockdown, AFP reported, but Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that he was encouraged by the statement from the EMA Tuesday, according to Reuters. Draghi said in a statement that he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday and they agreed that if EMA gives a green light on Thursday, they were ready to begin inoculating with the AstraZeneca vaccine quickly. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The word savage is regarded as pejorative and has been used historically to dehumanize and mistreat Indigenous peoples around the world, he wrote. Any descriptions on our campus of people or people groups should reflect the full dignity of human beings made in the image of God. A Harare man, Collen Mavhundutse who is accusing suspected land baron, Felix Munyaradzi of clandestinely being allowed to attend his father-in-law's funeral in Zvimba from remand prison last year has made fresh complaints against officers from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS). This comes after the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service this week said the temporary release from remand prison for a property developer to attend his father-in-law's funeral in August last year was above board. According to ZPCS, Felix Munyaradzi was granted temporary release from prison by Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi. ZPCS was responding to allegations by Mavhundutse that prison officials had corruptly released Munyaradzi. In a statement, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service acting spokesperson Peter Chaparanganda said the facts recorded in the ZPCS occurrence books indicate that then inmate left prison in the morning and reported back at 4pm on the same day. However, Mavhundutse has since approached the police to probe further insisting that he witnessed Munyaradzi sleeping at his Borrowdale house and accused the ZPCS of trying to cover up the matter. "I Collen Mavhundutse insists that Felix Munyaradzi did not go back to prison after attending the funeral in Zvimba. "I witnessed him sleeping at his house while in the company of two prison officers in civilian attire on August 14. "I am however shocked by the ZPCS statement in the local media alleging that I was peddling lies over the matter. "Instead of issuing a statement, they should probe the matter first before making any statements. "However, I am the complainant in this case and want the relevant officials to investigate the matter further and I am also willing to testify," he said in a sworn affidavit to the police. Mr Mavhundutse said he recently met senior officers from the ZPCS including the Commissioner General Moses Chihobvu who assured him that they will get to the bottom of the matter. "I told the senior officers that Munyaradzi slept at his house when I arrived around 6am, he was still in Borrowdale and they were in the process of preparing to go to remand prison. "I also witnessed that there was a cattle carcass that was loaded in a black Toyota Hilux which being driven by a driver known as Arthur. "Munyaradzi was seated in a white Toyota Landcruiser V8 while in the company of two ZPCS officers on Saturday 15 August, 2020. "I then surrendered about US$300 to his wife since he had given me one of his trucks to use for hire," he said. Recently, the complaint, which was made by Mavhundutse (38), was recently forwarded to the Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU), the Police Anti-Corruption Unit (PACU) and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service for further investigations. Munyaradzi was arrested last year on allegations of duping people who wanted to buy stands at Sandton near Westgate in Harare before he was later granted $55 000 bail and other stringent conditions. However, in a twist of events, Mavhundutse made a report to the police to investigate allegations that Munyaradzi allegedly connived with two ZPCS officers to allow him to attend the funeral. According to the report made, after attending the funeral, Munyaradzi is further alleged to have gone to spend the night at his Borrowdale house, before returning to prison the following day. He is also alleged to have slaughtered two beasts for the two officers before giving them about 200 chickens. Circumstances leading to Munyaradzi's arrest were that during 2015, his firm Delatfin Investments, entered into a swap deal with Mr Delish Nguwaya for the sale of stands in exchange for a Toyota Prado. Delatfin Investments sold three residential stands -- 1572, 1516 and 1471 -- in Sandton Park in Mt Hampden, worth US$50 000 and Mr Nguwaya surrendered the Prado and an agreement of sale was signed on February 2, 2018. It is alleged that Munyaradzi went on to sell the stands to other people, and when Mr Nguwaya complained, he agreed to compensate him with eight smaller stands in Sandton Park. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Legal Affairs Land and Rural Issues Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. But then, Munyaradzi allegedly went on to sell one of the stands to Tawanda Mashumba for US$30 000. It is the State's case that Mr Nguwaya was aware that the stand in question had already been sold, and he lost US$15 000 in the process. On April 20, 2015, Delatfin Investments was offered 120 hectares of State land by the Ministry of Local Government to develop residential stands. The land was previously used by the police for breeding horses. In 2016, Munyaradzi through his firm, allegedly sold a stand fraudulently to Mrs Gabaza for US$18 000, a stand in Sandton Phase 3 to Mr Dondo for US$22 000, and another stand in the same neighbourhood to Mr Erasmus Makodza for US$40 000. Mr Makodza is said to have later discovered his stand had allegedly been sold for a second time to Mrs Nyongo by Munyaradzi, forcing him to lodge a complaint with the police. 2.5% for companies with global annual gross revenues of $100 million through $1 billion 5% for companies with global annual gross incomes greater than $1 billion through $5 billion 7.5% for companies with global annual gross revenues greater than $5 billion through $15 billion 10% for companies with global annual gross revenues exceeding $15 billion After overriding veto from Gov. Larry Hogan in February, the Maryland Legislature enacted a bill that would make Maryland the first state to tax digital advertising. A little less than a month later, lobbying groups backed by tech giants, including Amazon, Google and Facebook, are suing the state to strike down the bill.The tax, which applies to revenue from digital ads displayed inside the state, is based on companies ad sales. These ads include banner advertisements, search engine advertisements, interstitial advertisements and other advertising services.Companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook, according to a report by Sidley Law Firm, would be impacted as follows:This targeted tax on companies that make over $100,000,000 a year only from digital advertising is a vital mechanism to make sure big tech pays taxes in Maryland, just like our small businesses, Senate President Bill Ferguson said in a Facebook post Analysts estimate the tax would generate up to $250 million in its first year, which Ferguson said would go toward education.However, Stephen P. Kranz, a partner at McDermott Will and Emery, representing the lobbying groups, said there are many problems with the law.It violates the commerce clause in numerous ways, Kranz said in a phone interview with. It discriminates against companies outside of Maryland that want to do business in the state. States cant do that.The Internet Associations Senior Vice President and General Counsel Jon Berroya echoed a similar message about the taxs impact on out-of-state companies.Its unfortunate that the Maryland General Assembly has decided to penalize a handful of out-of-state companies with this discriminatory law, Berroya said in a release . This is a case of legislative overreach, punishing an industry that supports over one hundred thousand jobs in Maryland and contributes tens of billions of dollars to its economy each year.The tax, Kranz said, applies to all taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2020, with companies' first estimated quarterly payment due April 15.Regardless of whether the tax is delayed or not, the lawsuit needs to move forward, he said. The revenue that Maryland expects to receive is not a stable source of revenue. If money is received, it will have to be refunded from a government budget standpoint.Government TechnologyGoverning Ottawa, March 18 : Covid-19 variants are spreading quickly across Canada as some provinces have eased restrictions after cases began to fall last month, according to health authorities. A total of 4,086 "variants of concern" cases have been reported across the country as of Wednesday, with an increase of 468 new infections of this kind since Monday, Xinhua news agency quoted the Public Health Agency of Canada as saying in an update. The "variants of concern" now include 3,777 B.1.1.7, 238 B.1.351, and 71 P.1 strains, according to the update. Some 1,131 and 1,028 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were reported in Ontario and Alberta, respectively, while British Columbia confirmed 921 cases of this variant which is believed to be 35 per cent to 40 per cent more contagious. Meanwhile, the country reported a total of 918,262 cases and 22,546 deaths. Theresa Tam, the country's chief public health officer, said on Wednesday that average daily case counts are now on the rise, noting that national data show a seven-day average of 3,194 new cases starting March 10 and currently there are 31,517 active cases across the country. Maintaining public health measures and individual precautions is crucial to reducing infection rates, and avoiding a rapid resurge and its severe outcomes, Tam tweeted. Meanwhile, health experts have said it is time to take strict measures, considering Canadians had relaxed quite a bit after case numbers fell in early January. (Newser) Former housemates at a rehab facility in Georgia say Robert Aaron Long was a "deeply religious" man who was "tortured" by guilt over his sex addiction. But those deeply held Christian beliefs apparently weren't enough to stop him from allegedly killing eight people. Tyler Bayless tells CNN that most residents of the Maverick Recovery Center were there dealing with drug or alcohol problems, but Long was there for sex addiction. Bayless says he shared a housing unit with Long for six months in 2019 and 2020. He says Long, who is accused of killing eight people at three Atlanta-area spas, sometimes told him he had "relapsed" and "gone to massage parlors explicitly to engage in sex acts." More: "A lot of shame." "He would say I've done it again and it just ate away at him," Bayless says. "He felt a lot of guilt, and a lot of shame," Bronson Lillemon, another former Maverick resident, tells USA Today. "I dont know the specific massage parlors that he went to, but I would assume that the ones he shot up were the ones he went to. "He would say I've done it again and it just ate away at him," Bayless says. "He felt a lot of guilt, and a lot of shame," Bronson Lillemon, another former Maverick resident, tells USA Today. "I dont know the specific massage parlors that he went to, but I would assume that the ones he shot up were the ones he went to. They never heard him use racist language. Most of the people killed Tuesday were Asian-American women, but former housemates and high school classmates say that if Long had racist opinions, he kept them to himself. Bayless says Long spent very little time online and "didn't even have a cell phone." story continues below Sources say he claimed to want to "help" others . Police say Long, 21, admitted the killings and said they weren't racially motivated. Law enforcement sources tell CNN that Long told investigators he had considered killing himself, but decided he want to "help" other sex addicts with the killing spree. Police say he described the killings as a way to remove temptation. They say that when he was arrested Tuesday night, he was apparently on his way to carry out more attacks in Florida. . Police say Long, 21, admitted the killings and said they weren't racially motivated. Law enforcement sources tell CNN that Long told investigators he had considered killing himself, but decided he want to "help" other sex addicts with the killing spree. Police say he described the killings as a way to remove temptation. They say that when he was arrested Tuesday night, he was apparently on his way to carry out more attacks in Florida. Deputy criticized for "really bad day" remark . Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker is being strongly criticized for telling reporters Long had "was pretty much fed up" and had been having a "really bad day." Critics accused Baker of trying to justify Long's actions and noted that last year, he promoted sales of T-shirts blaming "CHY-NA" for the pandemic, reports the Washington Post. "All of us have experienced bad days," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu. "But we dont go to three Asian businesses and shoot up Asian employees." . Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker is being strongly criticized for telling reporters Long had "was pretty much fed up" and had been having a "really bad day." Critics accused Baker of trying to justify Long's actions and noted that last year, he promoted sales of T-shirts blaming "CHY-NA" for the pandemic, reports the Washington Post. "All of us have experienced bad days," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu. "But we dont go to three Asian businesses and shoot up Asian employees." "We must stop making excuses." Asian-American lawmakers were among those saying that while Long claims to have not had a racist motive, his choice of targets made it clear that his hate was rooted in stereotypes about Asian women, the New York Times reports. "Racially motivated violence should be called out for exactly what it isand we must stop making excuses or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction," said Rep. Marilyn Strickland in a speech on the House floor. "As a woman who is Black and Korean, I'm acutely aware of how it feels to be erased or ignored." Asian-American lawmakers were among those saying that while Long claims to have not had a racist motive, his choice of targets made it clear that his hate was rooted in stereotypes about Asian women, the New York Times reports. "Racially motivated violence should be called out for exactly what it isand we must stop making excuses or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction," said Rep. Marilyn Strickland in a speech on the House floor. "As a woman who is Black and Korean, I'm acutely aware of how it feels to be erased or ignored." " We are not about to get into victim blaming." Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says the businesses targeted were operating legally. It has not been confirmed that they were locations of sex work, CNN reports. "We are not about to get into victim blaming, victim shaming, here. As far as we know in Atlanta, we have not had any 911 calls from that location. I believe one minor call on someone stealing some keys," Bottoms said. "So we don't know additional information about what his motives were, but we certainly will not begin to blame victims." Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says the businesses targeted were operating legally. It has not been confirmed that they were locations of sex work, CNN reports. "We are not about to get into victim blaming, victim shaming, here. As far as we know in Atlanta, we have not had any 911 calls from that location. I believe one minor call on someone stealing some keys," Bottoms said. "So we don't know additional information about what his motives were, but we certainly will not begin to blame victims." Elders at his church speak out. Elders at the suburban Atlanta church Long attended say they are grieving for the victims and praying for everybody involved, including the Long family, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "We are heartbroken for all involved. We grieve for the victims and their families, and we continue to pray for them," the Crabapple First Baptist Church in Alpharetta said in a statement. Police say Long's family reported him to investigators after they recognized him in surveillance footage released after the shootings. (The shootings may be tried as a hate crime .) The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has launched investigations targeting dealers and owners of fraudulently registered motor vehicles. The taxman noted that many innocent car buyers have fallen victim to car dealers who present enticing deals thereby purchasing cars without conducting due diligence. KRA has embarked on investigations to identify perpetrators of the fraudulent scheme, it is conscious that some of these vehicles may have been sold to innocent Kenyans who are not part of the scheme, said KRA Acting Commissioner for Investigations and Enforcement Edward Karanja. Those found culpable will be prosecuted and their vehicles and goods detained as stipulated by the law, added the authority. KRA also noted that some of the irregularly registered vehicles are of old age contrary to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KBS) eight-year rule on importation of cars. Subsequently, the taxman urged Kenyans to confirm the status of vehicles they intend to purchase with its offices or risk consequences attached to the possession of illegitimate motors. Members of the public are hereby requested to verify the status of payment of custom duty of registered motor vehicles with the Kenya Revenue Authority before purchasing the same. The public is urged to verify the payment status of customs duty with KRA before purchasing. Taxpayers are further requested to report any suspected non-compliant vehicles operating in the country to [email protected], said KRA. Individuals committing the offence of holding the felonious vehicles are liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine equal to fifty percent of the dutiable value involved. Alexi McCammond, the newly hired Teen Vogue editor-in-chief, has resigned following backlash over her decade-old racist tweets that recently resurfaced. McCammond, 27, who was set to begin her new job on 24 March, announced the decision in a statement shared to Twitter, where she said her past tweets have overshadowed the work Ive done. My past tweets have overshadowed the work Ive done to highlight the people and issues that I care about issues that Teen Vogue has worked tirelessly to share with the world and so Conde Nast and I have decided to part ways, McCammond wrote. In the statement, McCammond said she takes full responsibility for the tweets and acknowledged that she should not have tweeted what I did. I wish the talented team at Teen Vogue the absolute best moving forward, McCammond continued. Their work has never been more important and I will be rooting for them. Read more: There are so many stories left to be told, especially those about marginalised communities and the issues affecting them. I hope to have the opportunity to re-join the ranks of tireless journalists who are shining light on the issues that matter every single day. McCammonds statement comes after The New York Times reported that Conde Nast, Teen Vogues publisher, announced the decision in an internal email on Thursday. Backlash over McCammonds hiring began shortly after it was announced by the outlet on 5 March that the Axios reporter had been hired as the new editor, when tweets that she had sent in 2011 began to resurface. McCammond had previously addressed the tweets, which she deleted, in 2019, stating at the time: I am deeply sorry to anyone I offended. I have since deleted those tweets as they do not reflect my views or who I am today. Despite the apology, criticism of the journalists appointment mounted, with Teen Vogue staff members publicly issuing a statement condemning McCammonds past tweets on 8 March. In the statement, which came from more than 20 Teen Vogue staff members, it said that a letter had been written to management at Conde Nast about McCammonds hiring in light of her past racist and homophobic tweets. Teen Vogue staff also noted they had heard the concerns of readers and we stand with you, with the statement continuing: In a moment of historically high anti-Asian violence and amid the on-going struggles of the LGBT community, we as the staff of Teen Vogue fully reject those sentiments. Advertisers also expressed disappointment with the hiring, with Ulta Beauty announcing shortly after the hiring that it had decided to pull its advertisements from Teen Vogue because of concerns about diversity and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion have always been core values at Ulta Beauty, a spokeswoman for the company said at the time. We stand against racism in all forms and as weve publicly shared in our social channels, we stand in unity with the AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community, the statement added. We believe its important that our partners share our values. On 10 March, McCammond again apologised for the offensive, idiotic tweets in a lengthy statement shared to Twitter, in which she said there was no excuse for perpetuating those awful stereotypes in any way. In the statement, McCammond, who made headlines earlier this year when her partner, former Biden aide TJ Ducklo, threatened a reporter writing a story about their relationship, also said that it had been one of the hardest weeks of my life and that she was dedicated to always bettering myself. I hope you share my desire for healing and I know all of you deserve better, happier, safer days ahead, she added. At the time, Conde Nast issued a statement defending the decision to hire McCammond. Alexi McCammond was appointed editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue because of the values inclusivity, and depth she has displayed throughout her journalism, the company said in a statement to the New York Post. Throughout her career she has dedicated herself to being a champion for marginalised voices. McCammonds past tweets were reportedly discussed by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Conde Nasts chief executive, Roger Lynch, before she was hired, according to The Times, which states thatMs Wintour discussed the tweets with leaders of colour at Conde Nast before the job offer was made. Others, such as Elaine Welteroth, the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, said that McCammonds tweets, and the sentiments behind them, were indefensible. Her tweets and the sentiments behind them were racist and abhorrent and indefensible, period, Welteroth told CBS. And I think at a time like this, when there is a call for accountability around anti-Asian sentiment and just racist, violent actions against Asian people, we do need to speak up. And I think we also need to elevate the voices of the Asian community, especially within this industry, the fashion media. The decision for McCammond and Conde Nast to part ways came a day after the publishing giant released a statement following the fatal Atlanta massage parlor shootings which left eight people, including six Asian women, dead. Like many of you, Im horrified by yesterdays violent events in Atlanta targeting people of Asian descent, Lynch said in the statement, titled: Taking action against hate. This is a devastating moment in history for all of us. Our teams, our families and our friends have all been affected by the rise in hate crimes toward Asian people and its unacceptable. The statement then went on to state that one in 10 employees at Conde Nast in the US identify as Asian, and that as a company, we stand in solidarity with Asian communities around the globe. The Independent has contacted Conde Nast for comment. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. One year ago, Alexis Thomas-Hutchins found herself about to graduate from Carson High School -- without her strongest supporter. "My aunt that basically took care of me, and that I see as a second mother, passed away," she said. The future looked uncertain. Thomas-Hutchins had missed the university application deadlines in November. Her aunt would have been the one to encourage her to find a way over the obstacle. Then last May, she got a call from a counselor at Los Angeles City College (LACC). She had signed up to attend, and the counselor wanted to know if Thomas-Hutchins was still interested in enrolling -- and if so, that there would be onboarding classes, financial aid, and other support for her every step of the way. "I felt amazing. I felt like every tear that I had (shed) when I found out I couldn't get to my university because I couldn't meet the requirements was pushed aside," Thomas-Hutchins said. The counselor's outreach, approach, and the support classes made available to her were part of an innovative LACC student outreach program two years in the making. Campus administrators say this program has provided support that has kept the vast majority of LACC students enrolled during the pandemic, as other community colleges across California see double-digit enrollment drops. LACC's student outreach program was born out of a different crisis three years ago. A DRAMATIC TURNAROUND AT A HISTORIC LA COLLEGE Los Angeles City College traces its Vermont Avenue campus roots back to 1914, when a state teachers' college moved to the campus' current site on Vermont Avenue in Hollywood. From that school, LACC was born. The college became an essential institution of higher education in Southern California. Notable LACC alumni include actors Morgan Freeman and Mark Hamill, author Terry McMillan, and director Albert Hughes. But by 2018, when Mary Gallagher took over as college president, the college had lost its way, she said. Mary Gallagher, President of Los Angeles City College (Courtesy of Los Angeles City College) "(LACC) was always this really tight knit family, and they kind of lost that a little bit," Gallagher said. "They were having financial problems because of the enrollment problems." From 2014 to 2018, as statewide community college enrollment was growing, LACC lost 13% of its students. Gallagher created a "customer service" approach that emphasized a caring aspect to outreach. The strategy came in part from her undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration, as well from as a retail job that she'd held in college -- as a customer service rep. "I learned sometimes, the person who's complaining the loudest just needs to be heard. They just need some help," she said. "They're afraid nobody will help them, and students are very, very much like that, particularly if they try to access something and they have trouble accessing, whether in person or online." LACC rolled out call centers and chat services to answer student questions about everything and anything having to do with going to college. Administrators created a First Year Experience program, headquartered in a remodeled welcome center on campus. "It went from looking like a computer lab to looking more like an Apple store," said Alen Andriassian, LACC's acting vice president of student services. The First Year Experience includes onboarding classes in the summer before a student's first semester. That onboarding is equal parts college skills workshops and school spirit rallies, much like those at four-year universities. Like universities, LACC increased its recruitment staff who were tasked with reaching out to dozens of surrounding high schools to distribute information about the college, and make follow-up calls to convince students that L.A. City College would be a place where they could succeed in earning their two-year degree and transferring to a university. Los Angeles City College was founded as a two-year junior college in 1929. (Courtesy of Los Angeles City College) Once students are enrolled, staff help them choose classes, tap into financial aid, navigate the campus bureaucracy, as well as get help with basic needs such as food and financial help for housing and transportation. "We created strong relationships at the high schools, we transitioned the students, we gave them a support system," said Andriassian. Thomas-Hutchins, now herself a first-year student, credits that support system with keeping her enrolled this past academic year. "Any issue that has occurred with me, depression or mental breakdown, they have been super helpful with me, getting help, seeing what could benefit me," she said. COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DROPS LOW DURING PANDEMIC LACC's outreach program and the impact it has had on keeping students enrolled during the pandemic have attracted the attention of administrators in LACC's nine-campus community college district. "It's absolutely remarkable," said Ryan Cornner, Vice Chancellor for educational programs and institutional effectiveness at the Los Angeles Community College District. "City College was able to focus on retaining student headcount, and lost almost none of their students during the fall semester coming into this pandemic," Cornner said. "They've been focused on customer service and making sure that students have a venue to be effectively served. And that translated very well to supporting students, even in a pandemic." The district's other colleges have adopted LACC's call center and digital support model. However, Cornner warned that LACC's strategies may not lead to the same results in other communities. The pandemic's health and economic effects have hurt neighborhoods disproportionately around the district's other campuses, notably Los Angeles Southwest College, in an unincorporated part of L.A. County next to Inglewood that has high poverty rates and low access to health care. "Students, when they're thinking about basic needs, and when they're struggling economically with some of the unemployment that was the result of the pandemic, have just had to focus on those needs," he said, "rather than looking towards being able to receive higher education." A STRONG RECOVERY DEPENDS ON THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES The community college drop-out rate is troubling to people who study the interaction of higher education and local economies, who point to the California community college system's massive size: two million students enrolled across 116 campuses. Researchers estimate that nearly 10% of the state's community college students dropped out during the pandemic. That translates into roughly 200,000 students dropping out throughout California. "You're losing the taxpayer base," said USC education researcher Tatiana Melguizo, "you're losing the opportunity for these brilliant Latino and African American kids to get a degree and pay back to the state with amazing jobs, nursing jobs, STEM jobs. It's a huge loss." That's because the bulk of those suspending their higher education are Black and Latino students. Melguizo believes the answer is to increase the amount of financial aid and liveable wage jobs for these students, because many of them are torn from their studies by high housing, food, and transportation costs. Los Angeles City College is part of the nine campus LA Community College District. (courtesy Los Angeles City College) "I don't think we will continue to see further drops. I think we probably have bottomed out in that regard," said Tom Brock, director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. "I think that the big question is, will they ever return?" he said. Strong outreach programs like those at LACC are likely to help keep more students in and help bring back those who have left, Brock said. LACC freshman Thomas-Hutchins now has a strong identity as an L.A. City College student, even though she has only set foot on campus twice in nearly a year due to the pandemic: once to pick up a computer and another time to pick up textbooks. Her identity as an LACC student comes from how the institution has helped her grow. She is grateful for the support she's received from LACC counselors and staff since last May, when she took a call from that helpful counselor. The staff has helped her obtain a computer and found a paid internship for her, working with youth. Now she's focused on her hopeful career path. Thomas-Hutchins wants to go to law school. "I don't know where I would be, maybe still struggling in life, trying to figure out who I am," she said. READ MORE: Maputo Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Wednesday challenged the Police Science Academy (ACIPOL), in Maputo, to continue diversifying its training courses in the fields of public security and administration of justice, pivotal for the country's development. Addressing the 16th graduation ceremony at ACIPOL, in Maputo, at which 200 police officers received Master's and bachelor's degrees, in fields such as public security, criminal investigation, migration and borders, and administration and logistics, Nyusi said the graduates must fulfil their mission in the fight against the crime and insecurity the country faces. Over the last few years, he said, criminals have become more sophisticated, undermining the country's borders and sovereignty. "This complexity compels the state to design and adopt new methods," Nyusi added, stressing that, faced with this scenario, the graduates have an important role to play through the use of science, including information and communication technologies, to boost the approaches to defence and security. The practical knowledge acquired by the graduates at the academy must be carefully used in various sectors to improve service provision centred on the citizen and consequently the country's development, the President continued. "Your entry into the practical field should not be a mere increase in the number of immigration officers, or of criminal investigators, but above all it should add science and universal human values to boost initiatives that ensure our national unity, peace and harmony amongst Mozambicans," he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mozambique Education Science By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Nyusi told the graduates "you are equipped with scientific tools to find out why the country is under the threat of terrorism and why the country's central region has come under attack from the Renamo Military Junta. You have the scientific tools to analyse these matters, not just on the basis of assumptions which then put members of the defence and security forces in opposition to their own people." The public recognition of police professionals, stressed Nyusi, will depend on the results they achieve in preventing crime, including a speedy response to problems raised by citizens. He warned the graduates not to embark on conduct that will blemish the good name of the police force. "You are not authorised to promote lack of discipline in your units or your communities", he warned. Furthermore, nobody should imagine that, just because he is young, opportunities should fall into his lap. Often people who thought like that "are mediocre", said Nyusi. Young police officers should not believe that, just because they have been trained, they can give orders to everybody else. The right to command "comes with merit and professionalism", he stressed. Spain will resume mass vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine next Wednesday (24 March) that were interrupted last Monday after blood clotting problems in some thirty EU citizens who had been inoculated with the British formula came to light. This Thursday evening (18 March) Spains Ministry of Health gave the green-light to the autonomous regions to restart the AstraZeneca jabs just two hours after the European Medicines Agency said it did not see any conclusive evidence linking the unusual blood clots detected in some thirty EU citizens to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EMAs Committee for the Evaluation of Risks in Pharmacovigilance (PRAC) had urged the ten European countries who have suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca, including Spain, to resume it as soon as possible. France, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Bulgaria and the Netherlands had also suspended the use of the formula. The EMAs decision was announced just minutes after the UK medicines regulatory authority (MHRA) also decided that vaccination with AstraZeneca formula should also continue. Spain, until the AstraZeneca vaccination was paused on Monday, had injected a total of 975,661 doses. Monrovia For a second day in a row emotions dominated proceedings in the war crimes trial of Gibril Massaquoi in Liberia. The trial conducted by judges from the European country of Finland, where Massaquoi, a Sierra Leonean, was living when he was charged, has moved its focus to the northern county of Lofa where victims said Massaquoi and his Revolutionary United Front rebels terrorized civilians during the dry season in 2001. A witness, codenamed Civilian 27, told the court her son was tied up and killed by men under Massaquoi's command. "They entered our town and called all of us to gather at the center of the town. They went into the houses and took all of those valuable things and put the loads on our heads to take for them to Foya, and when we reach Kwendu Koindu Junction, it was when they fired at my son who was already tied and he fell dead," she said through loud sobs. The proceedings were paused to allow the woman to regain her composure. The court has ordered the identities of the witnesses be kept secret because of a credible fear of retaliation or intimidation. Civilian 27 echoed previous witnesses who said the soldiers were speaking Creole and Mende, two languages common in Sierra Leone and not Liberia. She also claimed to have seen and heard "Angel Gabriel," a name all witnesses have said was used as an alias by Gibril Massaquoi during the war in Liberia. Civilian 27, now in her late 50s, said one of the soldiers cut a piece off one of her ears. She claimed she still carried a scar though the court did not ask to see it. "We were in Babarhun when the soldiers told us that they were acting on orders and their commander was coming," she told the court. "He came on a jeep, and when he got down, he said he did not want to see a living thing. We were all afraid, and in my presence, they killed two persons. The commander called his name as "Angel Gabriel", and that was Gabriel Massaquoi. He called his name to us and said he was next to God." Quizzed by the defense to establish whether she truly knew Massaquoi, Civilian 27 said, "This man was Gibril Massaquoi. I knew him because he called his name to us." Dont ever think that we have something against the current wave of popularity for all things high riding. We, as automotive enthusiasts, love just about everything with four wheels, even when theyre replaced with skis and tracks But, among the myriad of popular suggestions, one can always find the comfort of swimming against the current. Or, at least, drive something else that will signal youre not afraid to break conventions. For example, within the next five days (thats when the auction ends), you could be standing out from the crowd on the cheap.This 2005 Scion xB could be the perfect example of something thats as simple as it gets. As in a box on wheels, or as someone recently said : an extinct milk truck. No matter how you put it, making an appearance behind the wheel of this car will certainly have an impact on the audience.Its up for grabs on Doug DeMuros cars & bids, and although it hasnt been driven by the popular automotive vlogger like that 4Runner SR5 , it still comes with his personal seal of approval. As time goes on, the quirky Scion xB is getting cooler and cooler in my mind - and that's especially true for examples like this, which are shockingly nice.Theres (rather) low mileage on the odometer at around 33,000 miles (around 53,000 km), and this Black Sand Pearl with a Dark Charcoal interior example has a clean title from a Bohemia, New York dealer that recently acquired the unit (July 2020) from its single original owner.Under the hood (which, along with the front and rear bumpers is about the only thing breaking the boxy symmetry) sits the 1NZ-FE 1.5-liter inline-four engine. Its capable of delivering just 108 horsepower (a far cry from the 257-hp 1.6-liter three-cylinder used by the Toyota GR Yaris, right?) to a four-speed automatic and on to the cars front wheels.Since its offered at no reserve, it could turn out to be a steal if the bidding continues to go unnoticedat the time of writing it stands at a mere $2,900! Indian is all set to explore Uranium reserves in Arunachal Pradesh, just three kilometres from the Indo-China border. A top scientist stated that the exploration for Uranium has yielded positive results and further activities regarding the same shall continue which would also result in Mining. Indian Authorities have set out to look for Uranium reserves just three kilometres away from the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh after receiving approval from the centre to carry out the exploration task, a top official stated. D.K Sinha, Director of Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research on Monday stated that the authorities have got the required encouragement from the Centre and have taken up the exploration and that there was no possibility to do heliborne exploration because of the hills. He further added that they walked all the way up to the hills to begin the exploration. Mr Sinha while speaking at a one-day seminar organised by the Indian Nuclear Society on Radiation and Environment, underlined that the team went to the farthest side of the village on the Indian side of the border for research. Also Read: PM Modi to visit Bangladesh next week, first foreign trip since Covid-19 outbreak The top scientist stated that the exploration for Uranium has yielded positive results and further activities regarding the same shall continue which would also result in Mining. The exploration was taken up in Aalo of West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and it started about 619 meters from the ground level. Talking about the reason for the exploration activity in Arunachal Pradesh, Chairman and Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex, Dinesh Srivastava said that Accessibility is one reason why exploration has been taken up in Arunachal Pradesh. He also said that the political situation has made it more conducive to take up such activity for Uranium exploration. Meanwhile, authorities in China have expressed disappointment over Indias Uranium exploration stating that this move would only complicate India-China Border talks. Xie Chao, an assistant professor of Indian studies at Tsinghua University has called on China to take counter-measures against Indias evil intentions. Also Read: WB polls 2021: TMC to release its manifesto today, EC seeks report from Didi on free ration announcement Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian Mass Media Authority (EMMA) said that a new automated software technology is developed to systematically allocate airtime and newspaper columns for political parties that are running in the forthcoming General Elections to fairly utilize the state media as campaign platforms. EMMA Communication Director Abera Wondowson told The Ethiopian Herald that the new technology ensures political parties and candidates to access the state media in a fair and reasonable manner thereby contributing share to make the upcoming election fair, democratic and credible. During elections the media have to serve their entrusted responsibility of serving as market place of ideas by ensuring equal opportunity to political parties and candidates to communicate their messages to the electorate. According to Abera, the software attaches specific code to each contending political party and it provides information about the number of seats a given party is running for as well as the number of candidate and persons with disabilities it is filling for the elections. He further stated that EMMA has been consolidating its regulatory and monitoring activities to follow up the conduct of each media during the election period and it has been providing training for media professionals how to report the pre-election, election and post-election activities. Noting that the software would be implemented after few weeks, Abera indicated that electronic media air time and newspaper columns are given to all competing political parties without bias. Civil Society Organizations Agency Director-General Jima Dilbo said on his part that civil society organizations have made their level best to help the forthcoming elections free, fair and credible. The director-general highlighted that the new Civil Societies Proclamation opens the door widely to civil societies to significantly contribute in enhancing public's democratic participation. The new proclamation also allows civil societies to involve in lobbying, providing voters education and observe the election process, he noted. The Ethiopian herald march 18/2021 NEGAUNEE, MI A Michigan State Police employee has been charged with criminal sexual conduct in the Upper Peninsula. Brian McEachern, a dispatch supervisor assigned to the Negaunee Regional Communications Center, was charged with criminal sexual conduct first degree and fourth degree on Thursday. He was arraigned in the 96th District Court in Marquette. The charges are the result of a criminal investigation, by detectives assigned to the MSP related to off-duty activity. The criminal investigation commenced following a complaint received on Dec. 20, 2020. The MSP has a long-standing tradition of demanding the highest possible standards of professional conduct from its enforcement and civilian members, a MSP statement reads. Regardless of whether a criminal charge results in a conviction, employees can still be subject to administrative penalties resulting from violations of department policy. " McEachern has been employed by the MSP since Dec. 6, 1992. He was suspended from employment on Jan. 6 and will remain on suspension pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. In the event there are other victims looking to come forward with information, they are asked to contact D/Sgt. Chris Bracket at 906-774-2122. The Duchess of Cambridge showcased her love for literal dressing yesterday as she donned a 260 shamrock charm necklace to wish the people of Ireland a happy St Patrick's Day. Kate Middleton, 39, who is back in London having spent lockdown in Norfolk with Prince William, 38, and their children, Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, donned a 60 vibrant green Zara jacket for a video appearance yesterday. Literal dressing involves turning up at an event and taking the theme of the occasion very literally, with Kate nailing the trend by choosing a special charm Daniella Draper necklace for the big day. The mother-of-three is known for her love of literal dressing, and regularly gives a nod to the event she is attending and countries she is visiting with her clothing. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, showcased her love for literal dressing yesterday as she donned a 260 shamrock charm necklace to wish the people of Ireland a happy St Patrick's Day Kate Middleton opted to rewear her gold shamrock charm necklace from jeweler Daniella Draper for the occasion The royal paired the shamrock necklace with a 60 vibrant green suit jacket from high street favourite Zara She wore her glossy brunette locks down, letting her signature waves swish across her shoulders, and opted for a more natural make-up look, with a nude lip and paler eye-shadow than her usual smoky tones. Celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage previously revealed how Kate often opts to 'go literal' with her style choices as a way of showing that she 'takes her duties seriously'. He explained: 'Kate seems to do it in most of the places she visits, so I think its what she likes to do to show that she takes her duties seriously.' Meanwhile stylist Susie Hasler, who runs Styled by Susie, previously revealed Kate's literally dressing helps the royal to convey messages during a visit. The mother-of-three is known for her love of literal dressing, and regularly gives a nod to the event she is attending and countries she is visiting with her clothing She said: 'Kate is using a lovely styling trick - using her clothes and accessories to convey a message that says "were united" and people are very receptive towards that and will welcome her in. By doing this, clever Kate also manages to enhance her likeability factor.' Lucas also believes Kate nails the art art of 'literal' dressing by combining obvious style nods with her usual trendy and chic style. It's not the first time the royal has been hailed for nailing the art of literal dressing. The Duchess often selects 'nautical' style outfits for maritime visits, such as arriving at a sailing regatta for charitable causes in August 2019. And she regularly chooses floral prints while visiting Chelsea Flower Show, opting for a mid-length Erdem gown with a bold purple and blue pattern. Meanwhile during her Ireland tour last year, the royal opted to wear a selection of vibrant green outfits as well as pieces of jewelery featuring shamrock charms. The Duchess of Cambridge rolled out several green outfits on her visit to Ireland last year, including this spangly number by the Vampire's Wife Last year she offered a perfect lesson in 'dressing literally' during her royal tour of Ireland by opting for outfits of varying shades of green as well as shamrock earrings (pictured while visiting the President of Ireland) The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge praised the 'friendship between the UK and Ireland' as they joined world leaders in a St Patrick's Day video message for the Irish government yesterday. Prince William, 38, started off the couple's message by speaking in Irish Gaelic, saying: 'Beannachtai na Feile Padraig oraibh', meaning 'Happy St Patrick's Day'. Kate added: 'We're delighted to wish you all a very Happy St Patrick's Day,' before her husband quipped she 'got the easy bit'. The Cambridges, who recorded the message in London, were joined in the video by President Joe Biden, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. Traditionally at this time of year, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend the St Patrick's Day parade with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, where Prince William gives the salute and Kate hands out shamrocks to the officers. The Duchess of Cambridge, 38, showcased her love for literal dressing as she donned a 95 nautical striped top to send her best wishes to Ben Ainslie's sailing crew in a video message in December 2020 The Duchess donned the colours of the Polish flag for her arrival in Warsaw on a state visit in July 2017 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. MINNEAPOLIS, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CCRM Fertility, a global pioneer in fertility science, research and treatment, today announced the results of its 2021 State of Fertility survey in Minneapolis, which aims to better understand local attitudes about and knowledge of fertility treatments. Of the 1,000 Minneapolis adults surveyed, ages 25 44, over half (65%) of the population admit to having no concern whatsoever about their fertility health. According to CCRM Fertility, the survey found over a fourth of Minneapolis residents feel confident that they have no fertility-related issues despite ever seeking treatment or education, or confirmation of this fact. The study revealed that only 35% of locals feel "somewhat knowledgeable" about their fertility health, including options that are available, but another 17% feel "clueless." With nearly a third (27%) of respondents admitting to having struggled with fertility, CCRM Fertility explains the condition is much more common than many people believe. "At CCRM Fertility, we're dedicated to educating both our patients and the greater community on fertility health," said CCRM Fertility Minneapolis Co-Founder and Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist April Batcheller, M.D. "It's surprising to learn that more half the local population surveyed is unconcerned about their fertility health, because we see first-hand how prevalent infertility is. We work closely with our patients to ensure that they are not only getting the treatment they need, but also to help them better understand the 'whys' and 'hows' each step of the way." On a positive note, approximately 78% of local survey respondents feel comfortable talking about their fertility, with 39% feeling most comfortable talking about it with their spouse/partner, and 37% feeling most comfortable talking with their doctor. Local resident Mary Kole, age 36, can attest to the importance of fertility education. Before finding CCRM Fertility Minneapolis, the now proud mother to two children experienced the unfortunate death of a 2-week-old baby girl due to another clinic providing improper guidance. "Whether you're worried or not ready to get pregnant, just learn about your body," advises Kole. "Get bloodwork done, learn about your hormone levels and be aware. Fertility and the processes that come with it are things that, especially as females, we can't afford to ignore." Thirty-eight-year-old Minnesotan Lindsay Lewis also found herself at CCRM Fertility Minneapolis following a diagnosis of uterine fibroids. While fibroids are relatively common, depending on their placement and size they may impact fertility. "I was buoyed by Dr. Batcheller's encouragement and relieved to learn I had options," said Lewis. "If having a child is a priority in your life, I encourage you to seek out information about your own health and to feel empowered to take control of your fertility journey." Additional findings from the survey include: 53% would consider fertility treatments to have a baby 23% have never thought to get their fertility checked by a doctor 77% believe people should talk more openly about fertility 24% have not ever discussed fertility with their significant other If you're under 35 and you've been trying to conceive for more than 12 months, or if you're over 35 and you've been trying to conceive for more than 6 months, Dr. Batcheller recommends seeking advice from a fertility specialist. For more information about CCRM Fertility Minneapolis or to inquire about treatment options, please visit www.ccrmivf.com/minneapolis/. About CCRM Fertility Founded by Dr. William Schoolcraft in 1987, CCRM (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine) Fertility is the nation's leader in fertility care and research. CCRM Fertility specializes in the most advanced fertility treatments, with deep expertise in in vitro fertilization (IVF), fertility assessment, fertility preservation, genetic testing, third party reproduction and egg donation. Unlike many other fertility clinics that outsource their specialists and testing needs, CCRM Fertility leverages its own data, as well as a dedicated team of in-house reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists and geneticists in order to deliver industry-leading outcomes. CCRM Fertility operates 11 fertility centers (including 28 offices) throughout North America, serving prospective parents in major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, Northern Virginia, Minneapolis, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, and Toronto. For more information, visit www.ccrmivf.com . SOURCE CCRM Related Links http://www.ccrmivf.com Road manager of Reggae artist Nesbeth, known in the industry as Mr. Drummond, was shot by an unknown assailant in Portmore on Tuesday. Drummonds attackers took away his licensed firearm, and shot him in the face. Head of the Corporate Communications Unit, senior superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, confirmed that the incident happened but she didnt disclose the identity of the victim. He is alive. Nesbeths manager was shot in the face, the senior superintendent in Portmore told me that his attackers took away his licensed firearm. The incident happened two days ago, and he is still alive, Lindsay told DancehallMag. Nesbeth could not be reached for comment. However, he posted a video of himself and his manager at the Norman Manley International Airport, captioned with details of the incident. They shot my road manager in his face and took away his license firearm. Please keep him in your prayers , he said. Jamaica is out of control. Be safe everyone. Nesbeth has been plagued by a series of tragedies over the years, most recently having lost his brother Anthony Brown in 2019, forcing him to halt his North American tour. The My Dream hitmaker has also lost six family members over the span of about six years, including his wife, grandmother, mother, sister, and aunt. Ten persons were killed on Tuesday in a bloody wave of violence that has gripped the island, pushing the murder tally to 312, an increase of eight percent in the overall murder rate, when compared with the corresponding period last year. The Bay Area has seen significant successes against the pandemic in the past month: Thousands more have been vaccinated, daily new coronavirus cases have plunged, and counties are steadily progressing through less restrictive reopening tiers. But were not out of the woods. The virus is still circulating, and worrisome variants have surfaced in the Bay Area, including the more infectious strains first detected in the U.K. and South Africa. And all our progress could be further threatened, experts say, by what looms: spring break. According to new research, about 60% of colleges in the nation canceled spring break the weeklong vacation that generally happens around mid-March for fear of the surges that travel could bring. But spring break at the Bay Areas major colleges is still on, and experts say theyre concerned about what might come after. Im very worried about it, just like everybody, said UC Berkeley infectious disease professor John Swartzberg. I think spring break is going to lead to a surge in cases. Swartzberg said a student in his class told him a lot of friends are planning to travel to Florida, a perennial premier destination for spring break revelry. Miami has been bracing for an influx of students attracted by cheap flights, lax restrictions and warm weather. Dozens of people were arrested last week in Miami Beach for disorderly behavior while gathering in large groups. The CDC has reminded the public of its guidance against nonessential travel. In a news briefing Monday, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the agency has seen footage of people enjoying spring break festivities mask-less even while the U.S. is still recording 50,000 new coronavirus cases per day. Swartzberg said it would have been wise for Bay Area colleges to simply cancel spring break. In a concerning incident just last month, 156 people at UC Berkeley tested positive for the coronavirus and prompted a lockdown that included a ban on outdoor exercise. Now, UC Davis is paying its students $75 not to travel during the week off. At UC Berkeley, officials sent a message to students strongly discouraging spring break travel over its March 22-26 break. If students do travel, the school asked those living off campus to self-sequester in their room for 10 days after their return, and take advantage of campus testing facilities. However, it was unclear whether or how such protocol would be enforced. I think many students will respond to a request to self-quarantine when they return, Swartzberg said. I think many students will not. Experts said they dont think the expected spring surge will be as bad as the one over the winter holidays. However, because more parents likely have been vaccinated, along with a general feeling of optimism in the air, more students may be inclined to travel over this break which would likely fuel new outbreaks. Now that we have a much clearer idea of how the virus is transmitted and how it can be prevented by simple behaviors, now that the prevalence is starting to fall, and now that the vaccine will soon be available for all adults, it is particularly important that we prevent the further transmission of disease, said Stanford University infectious disease expert Robert Siegel. At Stanford, students who live on campus and decide to travel more than 150 miles away from Santa Clara Countys borders during spring break will be required to take a COVID-19 test immediately upon return, with a second test five days later. But all undergraduates, both new and returning, will be subject to a period of restricted activity at the beginning of the spring quarter, ending April 7. More details are available on a university FAQ. Students who test positive will be isolated and, in those situations, the university will provide on-campus isolation space, delivered meals, consultation regarding medical care, and other support, said E.J. Miranda, Stanfords public information officer. University of San Francisco public information officer Kellie Samson said though very few students live on campus, the college has sent messages to those who do regarding healthy ways to take time away during break. We have had all students note their travel plans, and any students (of which they are very few) who report traveling outside of the state of California will be required to do a 10-day quarantine upon return per state guidance, said Samson. She added that the campus will conduct surveillance testing of its population after the break period. At San Francisco State, public information officer Kent Bravo said that reported on-campus cases have stayed low, with only 14 this year across students, employees and vendors. However, the university plans to test all 500 people in the on-campus student housing community after the recess, and will continue to do so in regular intervals. Experts say the effects of a surge likely will become apparent around a week after the end of spring break. But many students who are healthy, young adults will not display symptoms, making surges initially more difficult to track. Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annievain The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Paul Murray, 31, was detained early Wednesday afternoon near the vice president's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory An Army veteran arrested near the Washington D.C. home of Vice President Kamala Harris was in possession of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of ammunition, and five 30 round magazines, police have confirmed. Paul Murray, 31, was detained early Wednesday afternoon near the vice president's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory. The San Antonio native - who was discharged from the Army in 2014 due to schizophrenia - allegedly sent his mother a text message earlier in the day saying he was in the nation's capital to 'take care of his problem.' Murray has now been charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. He remains in custody. Murray was in possession of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of ammunition, and five 30 round magazines, police have confirmed The Vice President's official residence is pictured. The home is located on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory in DC. Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, were not inside at the time Harris is currently living at the nearby Blair House, a guest home for the White House, as the official Vice President's residence undergoes renovations A Texas intelligence agency alerted federal partners Wednesday that Murray might have been in Washington D.C. They stated that he had been experiencing 'paranoid delusions' that the military or government wanted to kill him. Uniformed officers for the Secret Service nabbed Murray just after midday after spotting him in close proximity to the Vice President's home. Washington's Metropolitan Police Department said its officers subsequently arrived on the scene and took him into custody. Murray's arrest was captured by a YouTube user named PenguinSix, who shared the footage online. The Army vet allegedly complained to police that he wasn't getting support from Veteran's Affairs and was not taking prescribed medication. No one was injured at the time of Murray's arrest. Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, were not inside the Vice President's residence at the time. The couple are currently staying at the nearby Blair House, a guest home for the White House, as the official residence undergoes renovations. Uniformed officers for the Secret Service nabbed Murray just after midday after spotting him in close proximity to the Vice President's home ROCHESTER, Minn. - Health officials are urging caution as they say Minnesota is expected to see a surge in COVID-19 cases. The warning comes as Minnesota lifts more restrictions. Health officials are working to try and vaccinate people quickly to prevent a drastic surge. Dr. Melanie Swift says Rochester has received 2,064 doses of the vaccine this week and has been receiving a more regular allocation of the vaccine compared to a month ago. However, Swift says the vaccine's ability to stop increased infection depends on how many people are vaccinated; she says it's clear we're not at that level. She explained, "How much vaccines change that level is really dependent on what percentage of the population is vaccinated and we are not there yet folks. So, we are not yet at that level where we would feel like we have herd immunity and could feel comfortable with relaxed restrictions." There is some positive news on the horizon, Minnesota is set to receive 100,000 doses a week of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April. Since, the J&J is s one dose vaccine it could help speed up vaccinations. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. WASHINGTON - A panel of experts and powerful political luminaries from both Canada and the United States sounded the alarm Thursday about what they consider an urgent need to get serious about reopening the shared border. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States President Joe Biden smile as they say farewell following a virtual joint statement in Ottawa, Tuesday, February 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld WASHINGTON - A panel of experts and powerful political luminaries from both Canada and the United States sounded the alarm Thursday about what they consider an urgent need to get serious about reopening the shared border. A task force assembled by the Washington-based Wilson Center's Canada Institute gathered several international trade and travel experts to sound off on what needs to happen, and why, and when. The overwhelming consensus: time is rapidly running out. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, produced shocking images passenger jets hitting buildings, dust-covered survivors stumbling through the streets and endless lineups of 18-wheelers at Canada-U.S. border crossings, said former Liberal public safety minister Anne McLellan. The pandemic has produced no comparable images, and so failed to instil in people and government alike the same degree of alarm, said McLellan, a member of the task force. After 9/11, "there was urgency, there was fear, there was a degree of panic on both sides of the border, for obvious reasons," she said. "Every minute on the news, that visual, over and over again, was so powerful in terms of helping Canadians and Americans understand there was something profoundly different here something somebody had to fix." In addition to the well-documented economic consequences, particularly among communities near the border, the year-long travel restrictions are taking a mental toll, the task force heard. "I think some of the biggest impacts are the social costs that we just can't monetize, like missing the birth of a child, or the death of a loved one," said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash. "I think a lot of that part of the impacts, which are experienced across regions in the US and Canada, are really overshadowed by the impacts that we can monetize." Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, a task force member, noted the sustained and "brutal" level of Canadian animosity towards the idea of travellers from the U.S. an out-of-character attitude he attributed in part to the tenure of former president Donald Trump. "I was struck by how Canadians were overwhelmingly opposed to Americans traveling to Canada," Charest said. "The attitude of Mr. Trump sort of runs contrary to the grain in Canada, where people are more reserved, and maybe a little more subdued.... I'm hoping Mr. Biden's election will change that, but what about the very short term?" Alan Bersin, a former chief diplomatic officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and member of the expert panel, laid out a detailed multi-pronged strategy that the U.S. and Canada need to jointly embrace. At its core, he said, would be some form of electronic system that would allow travellers to prove either that they have been vaccinated or that they are equipped with the antibodies that come from having contracted COVID-19. Such a system would need to be science-based, engender public confidence, prioritize high-risk and low-risk travellers and include some form of preclearance mechanism to minimize border congestion. "The main difference that we face now, in the wake of the pandemic, is that we're not, as we were after 9/11, looking for needles in haystacks," Bersin said. "The new challenge is that we have to take contagious disease into account we have to look at the entire haystack, and develop screening procedures." Most critically, Bersin said, it would need to be a bilateral effort to ensure both countries are fully committed to the effort. Several panellists floated the idea of a bilateral commission that could focus on the challenge of bringing border procedures, processes and technology into the 21st century especially given the likelihood that the need is likely to long outlast the current pandemic. "This is not a black swan event," Bersin said. "This is not something that we shouldn't predict. In fact, it's very predictable in a global age, and we need to build our border protocols to have the capacity to handle it." The panel consulted with a number of members of Congress, including New York Rep. Brian Higgins, who has been pressing Biden to begin focusing now on a process that would allow the border to reopen by early July. Biden has already floated the idea that Americans might be able to gather in small groups by July 4, provided the U.S. can keep up what has so far proven to be an impressive vaccination pace. Indeed, the White House confirmed Thursday that it is working on a deal to "loan" 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, as yet not approved for use in the U.S., to Canada, where it has already been cleared. Getting closer to vaccine "parity" would be a "critically important" step towards allowing the border to reopen, Higgins said in an interview. "Keep in mind that last year, the United States was the world leader in COVID-19 deaths. Today, the United States is a world leader in vaccine manufacturing and distribution," Higgins said. "We have to help each other here because we have a mutual objective, and that is our economies are deeply integrated, the United States and Canada, and our life quality is deeply dependent on one another." Higgins said he wants the two countries to expand what they consider to be "essential travel" and to develop a system that would allow people who have been vaccinated to cross the border. "I've been vaccinated. Why can't I go to the Peace Bridge and certify that I've been vaccinated, and certify that I am going to wear a face mask so that if I have a virus and am asymptomatic that I don't infect somebody else?" he said. "I just think that this has become too much. And I think people of goodwill can come up with an agreement, at the very least, to expand the category of who is an essential traveller, toward a full opening of the border." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. Australia effectively sealed itself off from the rest of the world at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic Australia's population has declined for the first time in more than a century as pandemic-induced border closures stemmed the flow of overseas migrants, according to figures released Thursday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the population grew by less than one percent in the year to September 2020, and actually declined in the last recorded quarter. "The last time we saw population decline was the year to December 1916, during World War I," said the bureau's demography director, Phil Browning. For centuries, Australia's economic growth has been built on mining and agriculture and fuelled by several waves of mass migration from Europe, Asia and beyond. But the country, the world's largest island with only 25.7 million people, effectively sealed itself off from the rest of the world at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measurescoupled with aggressive coronavirus testing, tracing and snap lockdownshave limited COVID-19 infections and allowed the economy to open up with limited restrictions. "Decreases to overseas migration have been observed over the last two quarters," Browning said. "For this most recent quarter, the decrease was not outweighed by natural increase causing a small decline in population." Net overseas migration stood at 85,100 in the year to September, far fewer than the number of tourists who typically arrive to Australia each week. Australia's economy shrunk 1.1 percent in 2020, but looks set to grow strongly in the first half of 2021. On Thursday, the Bureau of Statistics reported the unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in February, pointing to a better-than-expected recovery. The number of people employed was now above 13 million, higher than levels seen at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. Prime Minister Scott Morrison hailed the "comeback", saying: "There are more jobs now than when the recession began." 2021 AFP Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Thursday expressed optimism the government can reach its target of vaccinating up to 70 million people by the end of the year, hoping that a "better Christmas" is in sight for Filipinos this 2021. Galvez told CNN Philippines' The Source that officials aim to ramp up the country's weekly inoculation numbers. He said the government targets an average of one million vaccinees per week starting April, which will then be increased to two million per week in May. "And then this June and July, magkakaroon po tayo ng 3 to 5 million per week," Galvez said. "Kasi po ang nakita po namin, kailangan tumaas po ang ating average na 3 to 5 million per week para po makuha po natin yung 70 million." "Sa computation po namin, kaya po, kaya po (ang target)," he added. "Ang target po naminwe will have a better Christmas this year." [Translation: And then this June and July, we'll have 3 to 5 million per week. We're seeing we need to increase our average to 3 to 5 million per week for us to achieve the 70 million target. Based on our computation, we can do it. Our target iswe will have a better Christmas this year.] Concerns have been raised about the pace of the government's vaccination program, with Senator Panfilo Ping Lacson warning the Philippines may only reach herd immunity by 2033 if the current progress rate continues. The Health Department earlier stressed that vaccine distribution is ongoing among regions. It also expressed hope the numbers would rise by the day. Galvez echoed the sentiment, saying the country is still in the process of "gaining experience" from the initial rollout. He also explained healthcare workers nationwide decided to pace the process of administering the vaccines in order to monitor possible adverse effects. "Importante po 'yung safety ng mga patients natin. So ang ginawa po ay talagang pin-ace lang (Our patients' safety is important. So what we did was to pace it)," Galvez said. The Philippines launched its vaccination drive earlier this month following the arrival of vaccines from Sinovac and AstraZeneca, with healthcare workers and some government officials getting the first shots. Galvez had announced more Sinovac shipmentsboth procured and donatedwill arrive later this month. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. 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Over a four-week period in February and March, 16 alumni supported a range of Careers In events for the first online employability month held by the Universitys Careers Network. Across topics such as becoming a freelancer, using a PhD in the world of work, sustainability, robotics, and more, alumni kindly gave their time and shared expertise with students across all disciplines. Alumnus Christopher Edmonds (BSc Computer Science and E-Business 2008) is a G Suite Specialist at Google Cloud Sales Engineering, based in San Francisco. He contributed to one of the first sessions of the month, Careers in Tech. He talked about his customer-facing role and work on platform integration, and generally about what its like to work for a company such as Google. Supporting the Careers in Marketing session, colleagues Helen Francis (BSc Management Sciences 2001) and Matthew Sykes (BSc Information Studies 2000) discussed their roles at Bacardi. Helen, Global Director Capability and Development, and Matt, Senior Director Global Marketing, Patron, presented their career journeys, experiences at Bacardi, and tips for a marketing career at the panel event in February. Talking all things finance were alumna Julie Beavan (BSc Economics with Accountancy 1991) and alumnus Paul Hammett (BSc Banking and Finance 1998). Julies roles have ranged from EMEA COO to Strategy MD, and Julie is currently Global Markets Chief of Staff at UBS Investment Bank. Paul, the CFO/COO at Pirate.com discussed his 20 years experience in finance, operations, and investment within start-ups and global organisations, with a particular focus on his current venture at Pirate. Alumnus Federico Giusto talked about his experiences at iSpace, based in Luxembourg, with colleague Frederick Montgomery. The pair talked about getting into a career in AI and robotics, with a focus on their roles at the space company. Tony Heslop (BSc Chemistry and Polymer Science 1991/ MBA 2001) and Francesca Guglielmi (PG Cert Water and Environmental Management 2015) were welcomed to Careers in Sustainability, a popular session with students from a range of disciplines. Tony is Senior Sustainability Manager at BASF PLC, and Francesca a Flood Coastal Risk Management Officer at the Environment Agency, where she has also held specific sustainability roles. The alumni talked about their different experiences in the corporate and public sectors, respectively. Dr Vicky Thakordas-Desai (BSc Psychology 2000) attended Getting into Psychology, whilst three alumni discussed their experiences at the What do Doctoral Graduates Do? session last week. They were Dr Liz Barrett (PhD Psychology 1991), Chief Human Resources Officer, Sitehands; Dr James Carroll (BSc Economics 2010; MSc Economics and Econometrics 2011; PhD Economics 2015), Consultant, Atos Consulting; and Dr Natalie Frow (BSc Accounting and Financial Management 2001), Vice President Home Delivery, DHL Supply Chain. Alumna Gemma Newell (BA Industrial Design and Technology 2006) contributed to the Careers in Creative Industry session, and three alumni, Jemma Robinson (BA Illustration 2005), Peter Knight (BA Information and Library Studies 2000), and Ioannis Pazaitis (MSc Engineering Design 2000) shared their freelance journeys at the Going Freelance event. Thank you to everyone who volunteered. Find out more about volunteering. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. By Mikey Molfessis, cybersecurity expert at Mimecast Businesses and people around the world have accelerated their adoption of digital technologies since the start of the pandemic. Digital channels have grown massively, especially in the banking industry. E-commerce has similarly boomed. FNB data from the first half of 2020 indicated that average e-commerce spend increased by 30% year-on-year, with further growth expected as online retailers increase capacity and access to a greater share of the population. Greater digitisation = greater risk While the growth of digital services is a welcome development in a time of heightened health risks, its not without its own risks. Cybercriminals, aware that more people are working and transacting online than ever before, have unleashed a veritable tidal wave of cyberattacks. In the first 100 days of the pandemic, Mimecast researchers found massive increases in several attack types in South Africa, including: Spam (up 46%), Impersonation attacks (up 75%), Malware (an eye-watering 385% increase), and Unsafe clicks by employees (97% increase). During the same period, more than 115,000 COVID-19 related spoof domains designed to steal personal information were taken down. Organisations have had to step up their efforts at keeping customers safe from cyber threats. Concerns over impersonation, exploitation An organisation may suffer lasting brand damage and revenue loss if their customers are successfully targeted by cybercriminals, for example when a sophisticated impersonation attack makes it nearly impossible for the customer to discern the legitimacy of the email communication they receive. The erosion of trust in the brand means customers may view future legitimate communication as suspicious and not open the email or engage with its contents. They may even go so far as to create rules in their mailbox to delete all future emails automatically. This could cause irreparable damage for organisations such as online retailers or government departments that rely on the trust of their customers or citizens to deliver services and function effectively. In Mimecasts State of Email Security 2020 Report, 84% of South African respondents stated they were concerned about a web domain, brand exploitation or site spoofing attack. Seventy-eight percent were concerned about an attack that directly spoofs their email domain. Unfortunately, most organisations overlook one vital tool: Domain-based Messaging Authentication Reporting and Conformance, or DMARC for short. What is DMARC? DMARC is an email validation system that is designed to detect when someone is using your domain without authorisation and can be used to block delivery of all unauthenticated mail. It builds on existing SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) protocols by adding a critical reporting element and blocking mechanism. How does it work? To use a real-world analogy, lets say theres a package that needs to be delivered to a recipient at an office park. Upon arrival, there are two security guards checking the delivery persons credentials independently, but simultaneously. The first guard checks the license disk against the license plate and ensures that they are aligned. The second guard checks the drivers identification and makes sure it aligns. The guards then check their policies to establish what action must be taken if either of the checks did not align. Do they allow the delivery van through, or stop it there? These two checks are likened to inbound SPF and DKIM checks at a Secure Email Gateway (SEG) At the same time, the guards contact the delivery company to let them know that their delivery van came to their premises, and checks were done. The guards provide results explaining whether the security checks aligned to what was expected or if they failed. The company is therefore alerted to the possibility that their brand may have been used to fictitiously deliver a parcel. At this point, the delivery company knows if they are under attack. If the policies that the guards follow allow the delivery through the gates to the recipient, the recipient has another check they can do. They can call the delivery company and ask what to do with the parcel if the checks were not aligned. The company can then let the recipient know whether to take no action, to quarantine the package, or to reject it. The delivery company will now want to know why their package was not delivered and what went wrong. Was the package compromised while in transit? Did someone clone the delivery vehicle, and if so, where did the cloned vehicle come from if not from the delivery company? This is where DMARC comes into play. DMARC tells the delivery company what happened to the package or email (SPF was aligned, but DKIM was only partly aligned) by creating a report about the entire process. DMARC can help organisations identify what went wrong, and guide what corrective measures must be put in place to rectify the issue. Most importantly, DMARC gives organisations the power to govern their email domains and have visibility over which emails are being sent on their behalf. This allows security teams to quickly discover and halt any unauthorised emails being sent from their domains, protecting customers from potential exploitation by cybercriminals. It also gives companies the ability to instruct companies receiving mails from them to reject the mail if security checks are not aligned. In Mimecasts State of Email Security 2020 Report, only 30% of South African respondents were using DMARC. However, with the growing digitisation of everyday life, all organisations need to meet their moral obligation to keeping customers safe from exploitation by cybercriminals. DMARC is an underused but highly effective tool in the fight against business email compromise and can help organisations maintain the trust of their customers, partners and suppliers. TACOMA, WA / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / IONIC BRANDS CORP. (CSE:IONC)(OTC PINK:IONKD)(FRA:1B3) ("IONIC BRANDS" or the "Company"), a regional manufacturer of innovative cannabis consumables and concentrate extract products, is pleased to announce it has executed a Non-Binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") to acquire assets of Precision Alchemy, LLC. d/b/a Precision Alchemy ("Precision Alchemy"), an Oregon-based Recreational Cannabis Oil Manufacturer with endorsements to manufacture and distribute Medical Grade Cannabis Products, Edibles, Topicals, Concentrates, Extracts and Industrial Hemp. The Company entered into an LOI to acquire Precision Alchemy on March 2, 2021. The two companies have since moved to a Definitive Agreement and have targeted a closing date of on or before April 1, 2021. The terms set forth in the LOI call for a total purchase price of USD $3,600,000 in cash and stock. The Company will pay USD $800,000 to Precision Alchemy at closing, an additional USD $200,000 over six months, and USD $2,600,000 to be paid in the form of common shares of the Company. Ionic Brands Chairman and CEO John P. Gorst commented, "the acquisition of Precision Alchemy and the onboarding of key personnel will complement the future of Ionic 2.0. Furthermore, direct ownership of a license with an impressive team in place, while adding vital employees to our existing Oregon sales team, already in the market, will greatly enhance our competitive position in the Oregon cannabis market. Ionic Brands will immediately launch ZOOTS, a well-recognized and popular premium consumable in Washington, as part of the expansion of the existing portfolio of products currently offered in Oregon." Nick Centonze, CEO of Precision Alchemy was quoted; "we are very excited for the opportunity to join forces with Ionic Brands Corp. We have complementary areas of expertise and are bound to form a team whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts." The company is also announcing that it has mutually terminated its LOI with Peace, Love and Elixirs LLC, DBA EXA on Oregon operator. We wish EXA the best of success with their future endeavors. About Precision Alchemy, LLC. Founded in 2015, Precision Alchemy has successfully met the need for safe, clean cannabis oil in the Oregon Marijuana Market. Since then, Precision Alchemy has honed their craft and become one of Oregon's leading providers of custom-tailored cannabis oil. With a mission to provide processors with cannabis oil that is tailored specifically for their products, Precision Alchemy has established a distinct advantage over its competitors. Financial performance claimed by Precision Alchemy has not been audited or reviewed. About Ionic Brands Corp. The Company is dedicated to building a regionally based multi-state consumer-focused cannabis concentrate brand portfolio with strong roots in the premium and luxury segments of vape, concentrates and consumables. The cornerstone Brand of the portfolio, IONIC, is a top concentrates brand in Washington State along with its economy brand Dabulous and has aggressively expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The brand is currently operating in Washington and Oregon. IONIC BRANDS' strategy is to be the leader of the highest-value segments of the cannabis market. On behalf of IONIC BRANDS CORP. John Gorst Chairman & Chief Executive Officer For more information visit www.ionicbrands.com or contact: John Gorst investor.relations@ionicbrands.com +1.253.248.7927 To stay better informed with the current events of the company you can join our investor community at https://www.ionicbrands.com/investor-community The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The risks are without limitations the price for cannabis and related products will remain consistent and the consumer demand remains strong; availability of financing to the Company to develop the retail locations; retention of key employees and management; changes in State and/or municipal regulations of retail operations and changes in government regulations generally. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Alberta Securities Commission. SOURCE: IONIC Brands Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636155/Ionic-Brands-Corp-Signs-Letter-of-Intent-for-the-Purchase-of-Assets-of-Precision-Alchemy-LLC-an-Oregon-Based-Cannabis-Oil-Manufacturer (Newser) Japan just may have an Olympic-sized problem with its "old men's club." One month after the 83-year-old head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee stepped down for sexist comments, another top Olympics official is quitting in the wake of his own eyebrow-raising remarks. This time, per the New York Times, it's 66-year-old Hiroshi Sasaki, the creative director for the summer event's opening and closing ceremonies, who has resigned, offering an apology on Thursday for an idea he shared with co-workers a year ago and that's just been publicized. That concept: for popular plus-sized entertainer Naomi Watanabe to don pig ears and serve as the event's "Olympig" during the opening ceremony. Sasaki says he informed Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto of his resignation on Wednesday, just hours after a report by the Shukan Bunshun magazine, reports CNN. Hashimoto called his remarks "very regrettable," per the Times. story continues below In a statement, Sasaki says he'd been in a group messaging chat with colleagues when he shared his idea, which he notes received rapid pushback. "You shouldn't say that," he notes one person told him. He says he realized quickly he'd been in the wrong and nixed the idea, but it wasn't until Shukan Bunshun publicized it this week that he decided to quit. "I cannot apologize enough to Ms. Watanabe," he says. "It was a great misunderstanding. I realized my low consciousness and insensitivity." Sasaki adds that he's a fan of Watanabe, known as the "Japanese Beyonce" for her dance numbers to Beyonce songs. In her own statement, Watanabe says that although she knows her body shape draws ridicule, she's proud of it. "I hope that we can all accept and respect each others' individual traits and views to make the world a happy and bountiful place," she notes, per the Wall Street Journal, which adds this latest hubbub comes as Olympics officials have been trying to promote gender equality. (Read more Olympics stories.) Jerry Carden and Tim Temple grew up in Iowa, and met in C-U while working at Burnham Hospital. They have been together for 40 years. They are both retired and active with a number of organizations, including the Dance Partners Advancement Committee. Tillabery in Niger where many attacks have taken place (file photo) President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the horrific attack on a convoy returning from a weekly market in Niger Republic's Tillaberi region in which many citizens were killed, expressing his condolences to families of victims and all citizens of the neighbouring country. The President, in a condolence message issued yesterday by his Media Assistant, Malam Garba Shehu, strongly denounced the heinous attack, saying Nigeria will continue to stand by all its neighbours in the fight against terrorism. He noted that the mass killings underscore the enormous security challenges facing Niger Republic as they prepare to inaugurate their new President, Mohamed Bazoum, and indeed the entire sub-Saharan region which needs to work more closely to end the scourge of terror. Armed men in South-Western Niger intercepted a convoy returning from a weekly market and attacked a nearby village in the Tillaberi region, which is near the border with Mali and Burkina Faso Moscow: President Vladimir Putin retorted on Thursday that it takes one to know one after U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and already poor relations between Moscow and Washington sank to a new post-Cold War low. Putin was speaking on television after Biden, in an ABC News interview that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations a day earlier, said "I do" when asked if he believed Putin was a killer. Biden also described Putin as having no soul, and said he would pay a price for alleged Russian meddling in the November 2020 U.S. presidential election, something the Kremlin denies. Russia is preparing to be hit by a new round of U.S. sanctions in the coming days over that alleged meddling as well as over an alleged hack. In a highly unusual move following Biden`s interview, Moscow recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations. Putin, responding to Biden`s characterisation of him, said he knew the U.S. leader personally, and, in an apparent reference to Biden`s age (78), said he sincerely wished him good health. Suggesting Biden was hypocritical in his remarks, Putin said that every state had to contend with "bloody events" and added Biden was accusing the Russian leader of something he was guilty of himself. "I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard with each other we used to say: it takes one to know one. And that`s not a coincidence, not just a children`s saying or joke. The psychological meaning here is very deep," Putin said. "We always see our own traits in other people and think they are like how we really are. And as a result we assess (a person`s) activities and give assessments," he said. `REALLY BAD REMARKS` Shortly before Putin`s remarks, his spokesman said Biden`s comments showed he had no interest in fixing ties with Moscow, which are strained by everything from Syria to Ukraine to Russia`s jailing of opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Biden was quick to extend a key nuclear arms pact with Russia after he took office in January. But his administration has said it will take a tougher line with Moscow than Washington did during Donald Trump`s term in office, and engage only when there is a tangible benefit for the United States. "These are really bad remarks by the U.S. president. He has clearly shown that he doesn`t want to improve relations with our country," Dmitry Peskov, Putin`s spokesman, said. "We will now proceed from that." "Of course, this hasn`t happened before in history," Peskov told reporters, commenting on Biden`s remarks. Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of parliament`s upper house, said Moscow`s recall of its ambassador was the only reasonable step to take in the circumstances. "I suspect it will not be the last one if no explanation or apology follows from the American side," Kosachyov said in a Facebook post. "This kind of assessment (by Biden) is not allowed from the mouth of a statesman of such a rank," he added, calling it a watershed moment in U.S.-Russia ties. Jesuits to raise $100 million for descendants of slaves owned by members in 1800s Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Society of Jesus, an influential Catholic Church order commonly known as the Jesuits, are planning to raise $100 million to give to descendants of slaves once owned by their members. The money will go to a foundation created by descendants of slaves sold in 1838 by the Jesuits to help fund Georgetown University when it was in financial trouble, The New York Times reported. This is an opportunity for Jesuits to begin a very serious process of truth and reconciliation, said the Rev. Timothy Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, as quoted by the NY Times. Our shameful history of Jesuit slaveholding in the United States has been taken off the dusty shelf, and it can never be put back. Father Kesicki said the Jesuits had already deposited $15 million into a trust established to support the foundation, with a plan to raise the remainder over the next three to five years. The organization receiving the funds is the Descendants of Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, which was created by the Jesuits and the GU272 Descendants Association to advance racial reconciliation. Cheryllyn Branch, president of the GU272 Descendants Association, said in a statement reported by America magazine that her organization wanted to create a sustainable mechanism for investing forward in uplifting descendants for many generations to come. Through the Descendants of Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, we will restore honor and dignity to our ancestors by institutionalizing these goals for our children, our childrens children, and descendants for centuries to come, stated Branch. The GU272 Descendants Association was created to document the lives and family histories of the 272 slaves sold by the Jesuits to rescue Georgetown University from financial ruin in 1838. Their objectives include uniting current and future descendants of the 272 slaves as well as descendants of all people enslaved by the Jesuits, promoting and supporting the aspirations of descendants through programming and fundraising activities, and promoting the educational and economic aspirations of all descendants. In April 2017, Georgetown held a Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition and Hope ceremony to apologize for the Jesuit academic institution's historic ties to slavery. "It's been a pretty interesting process in the last year or so of the descendants and Georgetown getting to know each other," said James Benton, researcher and the slavery, memory and reconciliation fellow for Georgetown, to The Washington Post at the time. I would expect this to be another step in that process. We're all coming to terms with the significance of the events of 1838. As we're trying to find a way to move forward, we're all learning a little more about each other. Asian-American congresswomen warned the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that the nation had reached a crisis point amid a spike in discrimination and violence targeting the Asian community, in the first congressional hearing on the issue held in more than three decades. The hearing, which was scheduled weeks ago, came on the heels of a mass shooting in Atlanta in which a white gunman killed eight people at spas, six of whom were of Asian descent. As lawmakers pledged to confront the rising tide of violence, they turned to six female lawmakers of Asian descent, both Democrats and Republicans. In often deeply personal testimony, the lawmakers described the fear and trauma rippling through the Asian-American community, and argued that the uptick in attacks on Asian-Americans was a direct result of the rise of anti-China rhetoric stoked during the coronavirus pandemic. In one particularly heated moment, a Democratic congresswoman tearfully confronted a Republican on the panel, saying members of his party had used language she said put a bulls-eye on Asian-Americans. At another emotional point, Representative Doris Matsui, Democrat of California, who was born in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans, described how hearing politicians including former President Donald J. Trump use xenophobic phrases to describe the coronavirus brought back memories of the discrimination her parents faced from the federal government decades ago. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:46:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu He has called for efforts to push reform and opening up as well as high-quality development to vitalize the economy of northeast China's Liaoning Province. Precise policies should be adopted to push Liaoning's vitalization, Liu said during a research trip to the province on Tuesday and Wednesday. Noting that the province has encountered some challenges in development in the past few years, Liu said that a number of favorable policies have been rolled out to boost its growth. Liaoning enjoys geographical advantages and has a number of strategic industries that are the lifeblood of the national economy and national security, Liu said. It has great potential in resources, science and education, human resources and infrastructure, and has many favorable conditions for its vitalization and development, he added. Liu urged efforts to promote the province's green and low-carbon transition of the economy with the help of scientific and technological innovation and optimize its economic structure. Enditem The 212th birth anniversary celebration of Liberia's first President Joseph Jenkins Roberts on 15 March 2021 at the First United Methodist Church on Ashmun Street, Monrovia witnessed the recognition of 27 graduates of the J.J. Roberts Educational Foundation. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Sister Tanneh G. Brunson, who performed the recognition and award ceremony, paid tribute to graduates S. Morris Massalay, who acquired BBA in Accounting, Bernice W. Lloyd, BA in Sociology from the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU); Leelah M. Clarke, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Public Health; Eunice K. Feekpeh, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing; Chester Manbiah, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biology; Martha Nimely, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing; Lovetee Willie, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing; DavidettaZoduah, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing; Geordia M. Zorbah, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing; and Promise M. Freeman, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Nursing from the Adventist University of West Africa (AUWA), respectively. From the Grand Bassa Community College, Sister Brunson recognized Emmet T. Flahn, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing; Mardea N. A. James, Associate of Science (AS) in Agriculture; Shadrach Taycar, Associate of Arts (A.A.) in Accounting; Love Garway, Associate of Science (A.S.) in Computer Science-ICT; Nehemiah J. Giahquee, Associate of Science (AS) in Civil Engineering; Abraham K. P. A. Dallars, Associate of Arts (AS) in Agriculture; William Tarr, Jr., Associate of Science (AS) in Agriculture; Hannah Jacobs, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing; Josephine Paye, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing; Josephine Siaway, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing; Elizabeth Nagbe, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing; Dearest T. Jallah, Associate of Science (ASN) in Nursing and Lawrence D. James, Associate of Science (AS) in Public Administration, respectively. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Education NGO By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Sister Brunson also ecognized several graduates of the Stella Maris Polytechnic University in Monrovia, including, Campbell E. Y. Gonmenn, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Electrical Engineering; Joey NyanteeSneh, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics as well as Tim N. Telyon, Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Civil Engineering, while at the University of Liberia (UL) she paid tribute to Moses D. S. M. Togar, Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) in General Agriculture, respectively. Meanwhile, the Principal of the J. J. Roberts High School has called on the Board of Trustees of the J.J. Roberts Educational Foundation to revisit the scholarship because some of the benefriciaries are not performing in line with criteria set by the Foundation. Mr. Samuel Sargbieh said a follow-up with the Foundation would afford the grantees of the scholarship to ascertain whether students placed on the scholarships are academically performing or not. Don't believe everything you hear: A sizable minority of Americans are still hesitant about getting the new COVID-19 vaccine, but their fears are mostly not warranted, a leading vaccine expert says. "Not only has it been shown to be safe in tens of thousands of people before approval, it's been shown to be safe in tens of millions of people post-approval," Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said during a HealthDay Now interview. "It doesn't even have a rare side effect. It is remarkable how effective and safe these vaccines are." During the interview, Offit refuted many of the rumors that lead some to avoid the vaccine, while noting others that actually have some basis in fact. Worries about the vaccines are understandable "because it was the fastest vaccine ever developed, and it was developed using a novel technology that we hadn't used before," Offit said. "But you know, the proof is in the pudding, and the pudding is at hand," he continued. "There was reason to be skeptical initially, but that skepticism should melt away in the face of all these compelling data." Safety data have shown that deaths occurring after vaccination have in every case been coincidental, Offit noted. "There's no reason to suspect it would cause harm," Offit said of the vaccine. The one side effect that has been documented, anaphylactic shock, also occurs with other vaccines and is easily treated with an epinephrine shot, Offit added. It's about one in a million for other vaccines, while for the Pfizer vaccine it's five cases per million and for the Moderna vaccine it's 2.8 per million. People also shouldn't worry that the vaccines aren't effective against new COVID-19 variants, because data have shown them standing up well to even the South African and Brazilian variants, Offit said. RNA vaccines safe All available vaccines will protect you "well enough to keep you out of the hospital, to keep you out of the ICU and keep you from dying," Offit said. "Those vaccines do prevent severe infection, which is really what you care about." Interestingly, Offit noted that the coronavirus that swept through Europe and the United States is actually a variant itself of the original virus that spread through China at the beginning of the pandemic. "That's the virus to which all vaccines are made. All vaccines are made to protect against that first variant that left China," Offit said. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines employ messenger RNA (mRNA), which has caused concerns that they might make some fundamental change to a person's DNA. But Offit explained that the mRNA in the vaccine breaks down in the body within a few days, after prompting cells to pump out copies of the spike protein used by the coronavirus to latch on and invade cells. In general, mRNA serves as the blueprint for thousands of substances created by your cells to sustain your body. "Messenger RNA is something we all have in our bodies. We have it in all of our cells," Offit said. "In our cells, we have 200,000 copies of messenger RNA all the time that's making proteins and enzymes to keep us alive." The spike protein copies created by the vaccine prompt an immune response, essentially teaching your body how to fight off a future infection from the real coronavirus. The vaccine also is perfectly safe for pregnant women and breastfeeding moms, Offit said. "If you are a woman who's pregnant, you are much more likely to suffer severe disease if you're infected with the virus than if you're a woman of the same age who's not pregnant," Offit said. Pregnant, breastfeeding women in no danger "More than 30,000 pregnant women have already received this vaccine safely. More than half of them are being followed really on a weekly basis by the CDC, not only through their pregnancy but for the first six months after their child is born, to make sure there's not a problem," Offit continued. "We're looking, but there's no reason to suspect there would be a problem." In fact, new preliminary research posted on Wednesday detailed the first case of a new mom passing on COVID-19 antibodies to her newborn baby girl, thanks to a shot of the Moderna vaccine she received at 36 weeks of pregnancy. Breastfeeding might also confer some immunity from mom to baby, Offit said. "The worst-case scenario is that the breastfeeding mother, if she has gotten vaccinated, will develop antibodies that she will passively transfer to her baby," Offit said. Young adults also should get the vaccine, rather than shrugging it off and gaining immunity by infection, Offit said, not because they're likely to die, but because of the lasting damage the virus can do. "It is a heinous virus," Offit said. "It causes you to make an immune response to the cells that line your blood vessels, causing inflammation of the blood vessels. So you can have strokes, heart attacks, liver disease, kidney disease," he noted. "There are a lot of healthy young athletes, for example, that now have certain heart abnormalities because they were infected with this virus," he continued. "Don't be so cavalier about this virus. It's not just a killer. It's also a crippler." On the other hand, there's some truth to the notion that if you've been previously infected you have some natural immunity to COVID-19, Offit said. Already had COVID? Still get the vaccine "If you have survived this infection, in all likelihood you are protected against moderate to severe disease associated with reinfection," Offit said. "I think that's a reasonable comment." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is telling everyone to get the vaccine, whether or not they were previously infected, to simplify the vaccination effort, Offit explained. "They didn't want to add another bureaucratic level of making sure everybody had to get tested before they got the vaccine, which would have just slowed things and made it more difficult and confusing," Offit said. However, he added that "there's no downside to getting vaccinated if you've been naturally infected. It just boosts your immunity." It's also true that younger people are more likely to suffer side effects as a result of their second vaccine shot, because their immune systems are more robust and produce a stronger response, Offit said. "I never thought there would be an advantage to being older, but it is true that if you're younger than 65, you're more likely to have an immunological reaction which is associated with symptoms than if you're older," Offit said. "I got the second dose of an mRNA vaccine, and for two days I had fever, chills and fatigue, which I treated successfully by constantly whining," he added. Some anti-abortion activists have said they won't get the vaccine because it's grown in cells from terminated pregnancies, but that's just not true of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Offit said. The mRNA in those vaccines are made in the lab, not grown in cultures. Offit did say that the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines are grown in cell cultures derived from terminated pregnancies, one in 1972 and the other in 1985. AstraZeneca shot controversy But he noted that other vaccines for chicken pox, measles and rabies also use similar cell lines, and added that the Catholic Church has weighed in with its support for all COVID-19 vaccines. "The Catholic Church, like all religions, cares deeply about the health and well-being of children and families," Offit said. "These vaccines save lives and keep children and adults healthier and safer, so therefore they don't stand in the way of them." Offit also downplayed concerns over AstraZeneca's vaccine, which could be approved later this year in the United States. Up to 11 European countries have suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns regarding blood clots, but Offit said he is a "little disappointed" by this response. "Blood clots are not uncommon. We have about 900,000 people every year in the United States who suffer blood clots," Offit said. "It's not shocking to believe that someone would get a vaccine and then would suffer a common disease. The question is, are you more likely to have that if you've gotten the vaccine than if you haven't." According to British regulators, the data show that you are not more likely to develop a blood clot if you got the vaccine than if you didn't, Offit said. "I really wish the other European countries had very carefully examined all the data to see whether or not this was occurring at greater than background rates, because all the evidence to date is that it's not occurring at greater than background rates," Offit said. "They basically elevated a theoretical and arguably disproven risk above the real risk of getting this disease, and damned that vaccine," he continued. "It is going to create a cloud over this vaccine. While it's very easy to scare people, it's very hard to un-scare them. I think that may be what's going to happen here." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about COVID-19 vaccines Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 A World of Geopolitical Clashes, or Peaceful Cooperation: You Decide! March 17 , 2021 (EIRNS)The Schiller Institute conference scheduled for this weekend could not come at a more critical moment. As War Hawks in the West are ramping up their verbal assaults against Russia and China, and engaging in military exercises worldwide, what can be done to assure that these planned provocations can be reversed, and we can bring about peace instead? Leaders of government institutions and prominent individuals will participate in a two-day online conference, engaging in dialogue to offer ideas to reverse the drive for war and the imposition of a global bankers dictatorshipthe Great Resetand to save millions of lives by defeating the pandemic and famine. This was stressed on this mornings Daily Update by Harley Schlanger, making the point: This is your opportunity to join in the mobilization to create a New Renaissance, to lift mankind out of the Empires death grip. A dramatic expression of the emergency condition globally, under the impact of the pandemic and food shortages hitting an already deficient economic base, is the mass dislocation of millions of people on every continent. Refugee experts put the global total of refugees at over 80 million, including in that count those displaced within their home countries as well. These 80 million are a desperate subset of an estimated 830 million people without reliable daily food. In Yemen, ground zero for humanitarian emergencies, over 20 million people are in immediate need of aid. The report given yesterday at the monthly UN Security Council briefing on Yemen by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths was dire; on top of the famine, warfare has again flared up. In Africa, there are corridors of migration of people fleeing impossible circumstances. Some go through Libya and across the Mediterranean; others move within the Chad Basin; others seek to reach into Asia via the Horn of Africapassing through war-torn, already-starving Yemen! In southeastern Africa, in Mozambique, the count of internally displaced people has reached 670,000 since the outbreak in 2017 of terrorism in the north. This week the U.S. Marine Corps sent in counter-terrorism special forces to train Mozambican military specialists over the next two months, to fight the terrorists. Where are the special forces for health and food security? For electricity, water and sanitation? For development? The only approach to the world-scale multiple crises that will succeed, is the peace through development perspective made concrete in many programs issued over the years by economist statesman Lyndon LaRouche. Those programs are now acutely relevant, and especially for the Southwest Asian region, will be presented at this weekends conference. LaRouches Land-Bridge conceptof corridors of development spanning the globeis reflected in the Belt and Road Initiative underway by China and collaborating nations. Yesterday, the prospects for this in the Caribbean Basin were praised by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana, in a teleconference meeting with President Xi Jinping, who also spoke with Prime Minister Keith Rowley of neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. The impoverishment and dislocation of millions of people in the Americas is increasing drastically. Haiti is in a state of food emergency. In South America, over 5 million Venezuelans are outside their country. At the U.S.-Mexico border, as of this week, 4,200 children and youthunaccompanied by adultsare in holding centers, after trying to cross the border. The perspective to overcome this, the North American Belt and Road Initiative, or NABRI, with additional southern flanks, will be presented on the second day of the March 20-21 conference. Yet, instead of anything in this positive direction, instead of immediate international collaboration on COVID-19 vaccination and food aid, in particular, we continue to see confrontation. The Anglo-Five Eyes military-intelligence complexat one with the City of London/Wall Street crowdis deployed overtime for provocation. Yesterday, a report was issued in the U.S. by the Director of National Intelligence, asserting with high confidence (i.e., a hot, big lie) that Russia interfered in the U.S. Presidential elections on behalf of Donald Trump, by denigrating Biden. The charges are a rehash of stale rubbish from last year, saying that Russia provided disinformation to pro-Trump media, on bad things Joe Biden did in Ukraine, to benefit Trumps election prospects. Then this morning, President Biden himself, speaking on ABC News, said that, because of this, Putin will pay a price for interfering in the U.S. elections. When the provocateur interviewer George Stephanopoulos asked, So you know Vladimir Putin. You think hes a killer? Biden responded, Mm-hmm, I do. He repeated, Youll see shortly ... [Putin] is going to pay. Russia has now recalled its Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov, back to Moscow for consultations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said this afternoon, The new U.S. Administration took office about two months ago, and the symbolic 100-day mark is not too far away....The most important thing for us is to identify ways of rectifying Russia-U.S. relations, which have been going through hard times, as Washington has, as a matter of fact, brought them to a blind alley. We are interested in preventing an irreversible deterioration in relations, if the Americans become aware of the risks associated with this. This latest sobering turn of events occurs on the eve of the important meeting in Anchorage, Alaska tomorrow, between top envoys of the U.S. and China. These developments underscore the importance of attending, and mobilizing others to attend, this weekends opportunity to change course. Register for the conference: World at a Crossroad: Two Months Into the New U.S. Administration, March 20-21. Register for the Schiller/ICLC conference at the Schiller Institute website. Connecticut legislators will hear testimony Thursday on a bill that could shape the future of The Hartford Courant, allowing the state to sue the papers owners if it takes on debts or issues dividends not in the public interest. Often cited as the nations oldest continuously operating newspaper, the Courant is owned by Tribune Publishing, the newspaper conglomerate that owns the Chicago Tribune as well as papers in seven other markets. But the Courant, whose founding dates to 1764, also operates under a special act of the legislature. That fact has led some in the legislature to argue the state can step in to prevent its owners from allowing the paper to go out of business. Tribunes largest stockholder is the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. The group announced it had secured a deal to buy the remaining interest in Tribune Publishing last month. That proposed deal has raised concerns among The Hartford Courant Guild, the papers union, over the funds history of deep cost-cutting at newspapers. The bill, SB 1043, was raised in the insurance and real estate committee, which will hear testimony on the proposed legislation Thursday at 9 a.m., according to a notice from The Hartford Guild. Under the proposed language, the bill would prevent The Hartford Courant Company and its legal successors from incurring any debt or issuing any dividend that is not in the public interest. The states attorney general would be able to sue if the company or its successors incur any debt or issue any dividend that is not in the public interest, the language reads. Crucially, the bill would make life difficult for Alden Global Capital, the notorious hedge fund currently seeking to buy the paper, a statement from the Hartford Guild said. The bill has drawn the support of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. The Hartford Courant is not just a Connecticut institution. It is a national treasure, wrote Sal Luciano, the organizations president, in written testimony. During the Revolutionary War, The Courant had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the colonies and was an influential supporter of independence. We applaud the committee for raising this bill to protect this important organization. A spokesman for Tribune Publishing provided a statement from Andrew Julien, the Courants publisher and editor-in-chief, who warned the bill would amount to the government interfering in the free press. The Hartford Courant has delivered quality, independent journalism to the readers of Connecticut for more than 250 years. Weve done so and plan to keep doing so free of government interference, The statement said. But this proposal puts the Connecticut legislature into dangerous constitutional waters. The prospect of state officials whose actions are often the subject of media scrutiny making determinations that could affect the operations of a newspaper is a threat to the fourth estate, a fundamental pillar of democracy. In 2020, Tribune closed the Courants printing operations, outsourcing printing of the paper to Springfield, Mass. In late December, the company announced it was shuttering the papers newsroom as it evaluated its real estate needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The guild has called for a local owner to purchase the Courant. Other papers owned by Tribune have been picked up by outside buyers. In 2018, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire surgeon, purchased the Los Angeles Times from Tribune. And as part of Aldens deal to acquire the remaining stock in Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and several weekly papers would be sold to Stewart Bainum Jr., a Maryland businessman, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Bainum is considering buying the other papers owned by Tribune as well, the outlet reported. She became a celebrity thanks to the MTV reality show The City which premiered in 2008. And more than a decade later, Olivia Palermo, 35, has parlayed that fame as a socialite and influencer. On Wednesday, she and her Maltese pup Mr. Butler both bundled up as they headed out in chilly New York City. Staying warm: Olivia Palermo, 35, bundled up in a leopard print down jacket with faux fur-trimmed hood and black cropped pants for an outing with her dog in NYC on Wednesday Palermo tried to keep warm in a leopard print down jacket with faux fur-trimmed hood. She added black drainpipe cropped pants and colorful trainers. She completed her look with angular sunglasses and a black face mask. Mr. Butler wore a bright red quilted coat for the outing. Her fur baby: She kept her Maltese Mr. Butler warm, too, by wrapping him in a bright red quilted coat Influencers: The former reality star is married to German model Johannes Huebl, 43, and the couple have remained in the Big Apple throughout the COBVD-19 pandemic The former reality star is married to German model Johannes Huebl, 43, and the couple have remained in the Big Apple throughout the COBVD-19 pandemic. In December, Palermo spoke to Page Six about trying to keep up her fashionable ensemble during the coronavirus crisis by employing 'a lot of cashmere and diamonds'. 'I have not let coronavirus stop me from getting dressed; I feel that its important,' she said. 'Im convinced its going to be the roaring 20s with that extra sparkle when we get out [of quarantine].' MEMOIR The Soul of a Woman Isabel Allende Bloomsbury, $22.99 At 78, Isabel Allende is not trying to beat down the patriarchy with her fists, but cleverly and strategically imparting the merits of empowerment to women through the most intimate and long-lasting method: the written word. The Soul of a Woman is the Latina authors 25th book, neither a memoir nor a manifesto but loosely borrowing from both in content and style. It is not the magical-realism of her fiction, nor an autobiography. But for readers of the multi-award-winning author, there will be heightened anticipation at her poetic articulation of the deeply personal alongside the eminently relatable universal experience. That is Allendes forte. Isabel Allendes writing is always a dialogue and the reader feels acknowledged and considered. Credit:Oscar Gonzalez One moment Allende discusses sexual appetite, aphrodisiacs and ageing; in the next breath she is recalling the systematic rape of Bosnian women and the subsequent refusal of Bosnian youth to be classified as male or female in defiance of ultranationalism. In this way, her thoughts, language and ideas traverse fluidly through ideas of gender, historic injustices, her marriages and bodily experiences and literary references. Her narrative is fundamentally feminine, and feminist. Rome, N.Y. A man was shot in the leg late on St. Patricks Day near a Byrne Dairy in Oneida County. Officers rushed to the Byrne Dairy at 216 Erie Blvd. E. in Rome around 10 p.m. Wednesday after gunshots were fired. When officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot once in the leg near the stores Canal Street entrance, the Rome Police Department said in a news release. The mans injury was not life-threatening, police said. He was treated at a local hospital. The shooting was not random, police said, and the public is not considered to be in danger. The suspected shooter a man is not yet in custody. Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the departments tip line at (315) 339-7744. Staff writer Samantha House covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at shouse@syracuse.com. SHENZHEN, China, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SmallRig cooperated with DJI in 2020 to develop complete accessory solutions for RS 2 and RSC 2 under various scenarios. After analyzing user attributes and utilization scenarios of DJI FPV, SmallRig launched the aerodynamic package with four accessories, including multifunctional mounting bracket that supports multiple action cameras and panoramic cameras, protective cover that effectively protects the lens while optimize the aerodynamic layout of the fuselage, the vertical tail that can enhance the ultimate performance in the speed competition, and the 3D fuselage sticker that meets customized needs. Multifunctional mounting bracket: Adopts a triangular structure design and integrates the appearance of the fuselage, taking into account aerial photography and racing scenes and supports various action cameras and panoramic cameras. High-transparent pan/tilt protective cover: Using high-quality optical materials, the light transmittance is more than 90% with ND light reduction effect, which can effectively reduce the interference of the airflow and ensure the smooth image. At the same time, the aerodynamic curve optimizes the airflow direction of the aircraft, reduces the drag coefficient and energy consumption, and improves the speed performance. The protective cover is fixed to the head of the fuselage with 3M tape to provide all-round protection for the pan/tilt and lens. tape to provide all-round protection for the pan/tilt and lens. The vertical tail: Can improve the heading stability during the flight, and enhance the extreme performance of the aircraft in high-speed competitions. Customized stickers: Using high-quality removable PVC stickers, it is waterproof and sun-proof with long-lasting color. As a global leader in consumer drones, DJI has completed another bold innovation with DJI FPV. SmallRig has conducted in-depth user research of the FPV aircraft market and cooperated with experienced partners to boost the flying through aerodynamic accessories while maintaining the original structure of DJI FPV. About DJI FPV On March 2, 2021, DJI officially released the compact and flexible drone, DJI FPV. It only takes 2.0 seconds to accelerate to 100 kilometers, supports one-click emergency brake, intelligent return and allows the responder to place VR goggles and intervene from the first point of view. About SmallRig Founded in 2009, SmallRig is an innovation-driven manufacturer that designs and builds premium rigs and accessories for all kinds of cameras and gimbals. Our sales network is spreading to over 200 countries and regions while our products are well-supported by over 500k filmmakers and photographers worldwide. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459097/1.jpg Spotify for Artists Behind the playlists: African Heat Here Spotify editor extraordinaire Melanie Carmen breaks down the importance and diversity of African dance music, and what her process is for curating the extremely popular African Heat playlist. Guest post by Lawrence Burney of Spotify for Artists Editor Melanie Carmen Triegaardt discusses the importance and diversity of African dance music and how she curates the popular playlist. In late February, Spotify announced a groundbreaking expansion into over 80 new global markets. Many of those markets are in Sub-Saharan African nations, which will give access to the continent with the worlds largest youth population. This move is an extremely promising one for the African Heat playlist and the artists featured on it. Before, the artists from places that created the majority of the music on the playlist werent able to listen to it. But now, with the expanded access, one can only imagine the possibilities that will come from African artists being able to engage with one anothers work in a way that was not possible just a month ago. To celebrate African dance music and the playlist itself, weve launched the African Heat to the Streets campaign and the #AfricanHeatChallenge. In our just-released campaign video, directed by South African filmmaker Zandi Tisani, groups of acclaimed and talented young dancers in Johannesburg, London, Lagos, Accra, and New York showcase a barrage of synchronized dance moves on rooftops, alleyways and roads. Its important to note that theyre all dancing to: Ke Star by Focalistic, a track thats featured on the African Heat playlist and an example of the playlists commitment to amplifying the hottest music coming from the continent. In a recent conversation, the playlists editor, Melanie Carmen Triegaardt, spoke about the work that goes into curating African Heat, the potential it has to amplify music from the continent at a previously unheard-of rate, and the cross-pollination that it could inspire for creators throughout the African diaspora. What goes into your curation of the playlist? Is it based on your personal taste or whats having the biggest impact in the diaspora? Its more of a collaborative effort by my team as we monitor hits coming from the continent right now, be it West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa; or tracks from the diaspora focusing on the USA, UK, France, Netherlands, Brazil, and maybe a sprinkling of those that could be potential hits that fans should look out for. Our decisions are informed by a combination of data and editorial instinct. With Spotifys expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa we will now have access to even more accurate data on the listening trends and habits from the continent. From your experience so far, have you seen an uptick in listeners outside of the diaspora? 100%. Theres markets across the world that may not necessarily have a big diaspora the way that the US, UK or France do. However, you still find markets like Australia consuming African Heat or lets say markets like Mexico. For me, African Heat is not just for Africans. Its for African music lovers. Could you speak to why a playlist like this is so significant, especially in the way that music is moving right now? In the past five years or so, a lot of the world has become familiar with what is coming out of the continent, specifically in West and South Africa. I think its incredibly important because it speaks to African music lovers first and foremost. Spotifys expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa is such an important moment not just for African creators, but for African music fans across the world. For me personally, its an exciting time to be in this space because music discovery is a lot easier and tangible. And I also expect were gonna see an increase in cross-pollination or cross-border collaborations with artists within the continent. And that probably will happen parallel to the acceleration of African music export. Traditionally, African Heat has been associated with the sounds you mentioned [in west and South Africa]. The playlists popularity can largely be attributed to afrobeats undeniable momentum in the past decade. But as its audience draws a larger base, its evolving too, and becoming much more reflective of all commercial music genres from Africa. Do you feel like there are any particular genres that stand a greater chance of cross-pollination? For instance, the alte scene out of West Africa. The power of that scene is that its not necessarily a sound more than its a youth movement and a culture that runs counter to whatever the mainstream is. Or even something like South Africas amapiano which a lot of Nigerian artists are starting to engage with. I love the genres you mention. I think the alte movement is gonna be incredibly important for us Africans. Alte, is more like a movement than it is a genre. It draws on hip-hop, r&b, and indie almost in defiance of the expected standard of afrobeats. Weve only scratched the surface of the movement as music fans. I think Spotifys expansion is going to advance that because I feel like alte as a culture is the underdog thats yet to be fully tapped into. You mentioned amapiano out of South Africa but theres also gengetone coming out of Kenya. Gengetone has a similar origin to amapiano. Gengetone, like amapiano, is youth-driven, very raw, very hyperlocal, very much social media-based, not often playlisted. And for me, its a genre to keep your eye on. Then, last but not least, is afropiano fusion of amapiano with local genres like afrobeats. Then youve got gengetone artists playing with amapiano; so rapping in Swahili and other local languages, but over amapiano beats. In Mozambique, were seeing electronic dance producers experimenting with amapiano sounds and Portuguese lyrics, this new sound has been informally dubbed Mozpiano. So, for me right now, the wave is afropiano, which is super exciting. It shows how music can cross borders and bring artists together. Ive done some reporting on music scenes in South Africa and one frustration that has been expressed to me from artists there is that their music is extremely influential within the continent, but not extremely influential within the world. For instance South African artists can influence music being made in West Africa but, because of how wide the West African diaspora is throughout the world, they are more likely to see their global influence. Do you feel like African Heat will provide the opportunity for the tide to shift for South Africa and other regions to see their influence spread wider? I feel like for Africa, house music is dictated through South Africa. Thats already known in those global house markets through artists like Black Coffee and DJ Lag in [the house subgenre] gqom. There are plenty of those artists making headway, however there is a lot of work to be done. I feel like Western media has only scratched the surface of great African talent on the continent from all genres: house music, afrobeats, gengetone, to bongo flava. What do you think about the potential spread of African hip-hop? Hip-hop has a healthy long standing history with Africa, as it does with the rest of the world. Hip-hop is one of the best streamed genres in South Africa that goes for both Nasty C and Travis Scott. Across the continent what you will find is regional scenes which look and sound vastly different from each other, as they use their local context to reimagine, and yet somehow also are universally influenced by the way American Hip-hop evolves. Thats why you can find at least four different drill scenes from Ghana to Kenya down to South Africa. By your estimation, what would be a success story for African Heat a year from now? Its two-fold. I consider myself part of the African music industry so for me, part one of that question would be that we break a multitude of artists through African Heat. That global playlists worldwide recognize, see the potential, and see the traction on the continent and continue to support through Western media. But not even just Western Media markets like Brazil and India, etc. So I almost feel like success for African Heat is export of these genres to audiences outside of Africa. And also for African Heat as a brand, that its not just a playlist but its about the culture. My hope is that African Heat goes beyond just a playlist. Share on: A Russian mother has been detained by police for allegedly pouring gasoline into the mouth of her eight-year-old son then setting him on fire. The boy died in hospital in Kursk, Russia after suffering horrific 45 per cent burns. Anastasia Baulina, 31, a cashier, was furious that her son Andrey 'betrayed' her by telling his stepfather that she had been visited by her alleged lover, say reports. Anastasia Baulina, 31, a cashier (pictured with her eight-year-old son Andrey), has been detained for allegedly pouring gasoline into the mouth of her son, then setting him on fire She had a 'quarrel' with her son and took him into the courtyard, dousing him in fuel from a canister, then set the boy on fire, it is alleged. One report said she poured the fuel into the terrified boy's mouth before using a lighter and telling him: 'Let's see how it will burn.' His sister Natasha, 12, said: '(The fuel) was pouring into his mouth, as he was crying.' As the girl fled in terror, the mother and stepfather Pavel Baulin, 35, a farmworker, put out the flames and called an ambulance. But the boy was critically injured, and he died two days later from the severe burns. A murder investigation was opened and the woman - from Zheleznogorsk district - was detained. Eight-year-old Andrey (pictured left with his older sister Natalya, 12, and right with his step-father Pavel, 34) died in hospital in Kursk, Russia after suffering horrific 45 per cent burns. The boy's mother was furious that her son 'betrayed' her by telling his stepfather that she had been visited by her alleged lover, say reports Baulina had a 'quarrel' with her son Andrey and took him into the courtyard, dousing him in fuel from a canister, then set the boy on fire, it is alleged. Pictured: The Baulin's family home Neighbour Nina Chetverikova told Life: 'I saw her at the bus stop. She had a quarrel with her husband. It seems she took it out on her children.' Baulina faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. A criminal investigation was also opened into why the boy was allowed back into his mother's care after he was earlier removed from her to an orphanage. Suriya, the Nadippin Nayagan of Tamil cinema has finally started shooting for his next, the Pandiraj directorial. The actor, who recently tested negative for coronavirus, took to his official social media pages to confirm the exciting news. Suriya also shared his first look from the project which has been tentatively titled Suriya 40. "Feels good to be back on sets! @pandiraj_dir @RathnaveluDop @immancomposer @sunpictures @AntonyLRuben @jacki_art @anbariv #Suriya40," wrote Suriya on his post. In the blurred first look picture, the actor is seen in a veshti-sattai look with a gun in his hand. However, Suriya's face is hidden in the picture, thus keeping the suspense intact. The fans and cine-goers are extremely happy to have the actor back in action, after a short break. Suriya, who was originally supposed to kickstart the shooting of Suriya 40 a couple of weeks back, had to take a break after testing positive for coronavirus. As per the reports, he has now completely recovered and is keeping perfectly fine. Coming to Suriya 40, director Pandiraj is all set to direct Suriya for the first time in his career in the movie, which is bankrolled by the prestigious banner Sun Pictures. Priyanka Arul Mohan, the Doctor fame actress appears as the female lead in the project, that features Sathyaraj, Saranya Ponvannan, Ilavarasu, Devadarshini, and Subbu Panchu in the supporting roles. D Imman composes the songs and original score for the movie, which is said to be a complete family entertainer. Suriya will be next seen in the upcoming Mani Ratnam production Navarasa, which is slated to be released on Netflix. The actor is playing the lead role in one of the segments in Navarasa, which is directed by Gautham Menon. After finishing the Pandiraj project, Suriya will kickstart the shooting of Vaadivasal, which marks his first collaboration with Vetrimaaran. Also Read: Suriya Sivakumar Tests Negative For COVID-19; To Join Sets Of #Suriya40 Soon? Suriya To Romance Priyanka Arul Mohan In Pandiraj Project! Sherri Kraham Talabany, the president and executive director of the Iraqi Kurdistan-based SEED Foundation NGO, speaks to Amberin Zaman this week about the enormous challenges facing Iraq as the country grapples with the human toll of the havoc and brutality wreaked by the Islamic State. Few have suffered as much as the country's Yazidi community, with thousands of its women abducted, raped and enslaved, as well as young boys used as child soldiers, in a wave of violence across Iraq and Syria. Police have charged a man with murder in connection with the mass shooting in the American state of Georgia Tuesday. Eight people were killed in the attacks at three massage businesses in or near Atlanta. Police arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long about two hours after the attack. They say Long told them he carried out the attack because he is a sex addict, someone with an unhealthy dependence on sex. Seven women were killed, six of them identified as ethnic Asian and one as white. A white man was also killed. Early reports about the shootings raised the possibility the attack was a race-based hate crime. However, police said Long told them that race was not connected to the shootings. The attack was the sixth mass killing this year in the U.S., reports the Associated Press, based on information from a database the AP shares with USA Today and Northeastern University in Massachusetts. Tuesdays attack was the deadliest mass killing since August 2019 when nine people were killed in Dayton, Ohio. One official said Long had visited at least one of the businesses before Tuesday. However, another suggested he may have only visited similar businesses. Officials also said Long was planning to go to Florida next to attack, in their words, some kind "of porn industry." A police official said Long apparently wanted to destroy the businesses as he saw them as a threat because of his reported sex addiction. A reporter asked Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms whether the businesses attacked were places where sex was sold. Bottoms did not answer the question. She said she did not want, in her words, to get into victim blaming, victim shaming here." Asian Americans Worries U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday about the mass killing. He acknowledged the worry of the Asian Americans. The community has faced a rise in race-based crimes since COVID-19 arrived. But Biden said he was waiting for further information from investigators. Im making no connection at this moment for the motivation of the killer. He added that he would "have more to say when the investigation is completed. Vice President Kamala Harris sent sympathies to the victims families and expressed support for the Asian American community, of which she is part. Just before the shooting on Tuesday, the group Stop AAPI Hate released a report saying that nearly 3,800 Asian Americans were targets of hate crimes in the last 12 months. South Koreas Foreign Ministry earlier said that its diplomats in Atlanta had confirmed that four of the dead were women of Korean ancestry. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in South Korea for a meeting with its foreign minister spoke of the killings during an opening statement. We are horrified by this violence which has no place in America or anywhere, he said. Im Caty Weaver. The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ________________________________________________ Words in This Story massage n. the action of rubbing or pressing someone's body in a way that helps muscles to relax or reduces pain in muscles and joints porn n. movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement shame v. to cause someone to feel guilt, regret, or sadness at this moment n. the present time motivation n. a force or influence that causes someone to do something We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Ottawa announces $4.85M to buoy Nova Scotia's struggling fish and seafood sector March 18,2021 | Source: The Canadian Press The federal government of Canada has announced funding for a dozen projects in western Nova Scotia to buoy the province's struggling fish and seafood processing sector. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says the $4.85 million for 12 projects at 11 companies will help the sector retool and find new markets, positioning the industry for a strong post-pandemic recovery. She says the funding, part of the $62.5 million Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund announced by Ottawa last spring, is expected to create 60 jobs in rural communities across western Nova Scotia. The projects include modernizing fish processing lines, increasing lobster storage capacity, improving grading stations and scales and adding new refrigeration equipment. Leo Muise, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, says the province's seafood industry has experienced ups and downs during the pandemic, with sales to cruise ships and restaurants down drastically while retail sales have been positive and exports to Asia are slowly recovering. The $4.85 million being delivered by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency includes $443,092 in grants to improve health and safety measures, while the rest of the funding is repayable loans for capital upgrades, new technology and commercial upgrades. The companies receiving loans of $500,000 include: Clark's Harbour Seafood of Clarks Harbour, Deep Cove Aqua Farms of Blandford, Hailmar Fisheries of Lockeport, Ocean Pride Fisheries of Argyle, Rocky Coast Seafoods of Comeauville, Sea Lock Investments of Port Mouton and Synergy Seafoods of Clare. L.J. Robicheau & Son Fisheries of Middleton is receiving a $750,000 loan, Sea Crest Fisheries of Clare is receiving a $57,892 loan, High Liner Foods is receiving a $404,092 grant and Lobster Hub of Clare is receiving a $100,000 loan and $39,000 grant. 2021 Glacier Community Media Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture. The commander of Special Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, yesterday launched the Covid-19 vaccination exercise at the Forces' headquarters in Entebbe. The SFC spokesperson, Maj Jimmy Dennis Omara, said after the launch, the directors and commanding officers under Special Forces Command (SFC) would also begin getting the shots. The exercise was launched by both Lt Gen Muhoozi and the UPDF director of health services, Brig Stephen Kusasira, who also received a jab of AstraZeneca. Gen Muhoozi, who was the first to take the jab, later tweeted: "Today, it was my pleasure to open the Covid-19 vaccination campaign within SFC by taking my first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine. I thank the President, the Ministry of Health and our development partners for the quick acquisition and roll out of this vaccine." The deputy army spokesperson, Lt Col Deo Akiiki, said the Special Forces and Air Forces, which are based in Entebbe, were given their doses first yesterday by the National Medical Stores, which is also in the same location. He said the UPDF would officially roll out the vaccination tomorrow at the Senior Officers Diagnostic Hospital in Mbuya. Lt Col Akiiki said each service force will be given doses and it is up to them to decide when they will roll out the vaccination exercise. The UPDF has Land Forces, Air forces and Reserve Forces as service forces. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Are The US Stock Markets Sending A Warning Sign? After an incredible rally phase that initiated just one day before the US elections in November 2020, weve seen certain sectors rally extensively. Are the markets starting to warn us that this rally phase may be stalling? We noticed very early that some of the strongest sectors appear to be moderately weaker on the first day of trading this week. Is it because of Triple-Witching this week (Friday, March 19, 2021)? Or is it because the Treasury Yields continue to move slowly higher? Whats really happening right now and should traders/investors be cautious? The following XLF Weekly chart shows how the Financial sector rallied above the upper YELLOW price channel, which was set from the 2018 and pre COVID-19 2020 highs. Early 2021 was very good for the financial sector overall, we saw a 40%+ rally in this over just 6 months on expectations that the US economy would transition into a growth phase as the new COVID vaccines are introduced. Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you dont miss our next special report! We are also concerned about an early TWEEZERS TOP pattern that has set up early this week. If price continues to move lower as we progress through futures contract expiration week, FOMC, and other data this week, then we may see some strong resistance setting up near $35.25. Have the markets gotten ahead of themselves recently? Could we be setting up for a moderately deeper pullback in price soon? The following SSO, ProShares S&P 500 ETF Weekly chart, shows a similar setup. Although the rally in the SSO is not quite the same range as the XLF, we are seeing a solid TWEEZERS TOP pattern setup on the SSO chart over a period of many weeks. We also found the moderate weakness in the US indexes interesting this morning. Last week, we continued to see very strong buying trends. Today, we see those trends have almost vanished. Are the markets setting near highs waiting for some announcement or news to push them into a new trend? The US stock markets have not experienced a moderate price pullback since August 2020 when the SPY pulled back almost 11%. Volatility is still quite high with 2% to 3%+ swings between trading days. A moderate pullback from these levels could represent another -8.5% to -14% decline before true support is found. Watching the Yields, Precious Metals, and the moderate weakness in trend that started this trading week, we can only suggest that active traders/investors remain moderately cautious. Our BAN Trader Pro strategy is currently 100% CASH (no trades) for a reason. Pay attention to this rotation in the markets and the moderate weakness recently. Dont miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors in 2021, which will be an incredible year for traders of the BAN strategy. You can sign up now for my FREE webinar that teaches you how to find, enter, and profit from only those sectors that have the most strength and momentum. Staying ahead of sector trends is going to be key to success in volatile markets. For those who believe in the power of trading on relative strength, market cycles, and momentum but dont have the time to do the research every day then my BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you with daily market reports, research, and trade alerts. More frequent or experienced traders have been killing it trading options, ETFs, and stocks using my BAN Hotlist ranking the hottest ETFs, which is updated daily for my premium subscribers. Happy trading! Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. A Lafayette man was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on hate crime and other charges after he was accused of attempting to kill and dismember a gay man in June, as part of a larger plot targeting gay men, authorities say. Chance Seneca, 19, faces six charges including hate crime with attempt to kill, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, attempted kidnapping, obstruction by destruction of records and two counts of kidnapping, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Alexander C. Van Hook said in a statement. The charges mostly stem from an attack on Holden White, an LSU at Eunice student whom police say Seneca brought to a home in the 400 block of Maryview Farm Road in Lafayette and tortured after luring him through Grindr, a dating app targeted to gay and bisexual men. Whites family reported he was stabbed in the neck and suffered strangulation, blunt force trauma to the back of his head and deep cuts to his wrists, which nearly severed his hands. White, 19, spent nearly a month in the hospital and continues to undergo physical therapy. Federal investigators determined Seneca tried to kill White because of his gender and sexual orientation and that Seneca intended to dismember White with a hammer and knife to keep parts of his body as trophies, mementos and food, according to the indictment. White told an Acadiana Advocate reporter he spoke to Seneca through Grindr for a few weeks before agreeing to a date. Seneca insisted on picking White up from his apartment, White said, and White thought the two men would be playing video games. He said after Seneca tortured and left him for dead, Seneca called 911 to report the crime. Investigators found on June 19, the day before White was attacked, Seneca attempted to kidnap one man and successfully kidnapped another using Grindr, the release said. The indictment claimed Seneca possessed a firearm while committing the crimes and later attempted to cover up his plans by deleting communications between himself and White. The statutory maximum sentence for the hate crime, kidnapping, and firearm offenses is life in prison. The maximum sentence for the attempted kidnapping and obstruction offenses is 20 years and the minimum for the gun charge is five years, Van Hooks statement said. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Seneca has been charged with attempted second-degree murder and committing a hate crime in the 15th Judicial District Court. The hate crime charge was added in January; the Lafayette Police Department initially said the attack did not appear hate motivated and a hate crime charge was unlikely. The FBI joined the case soon after. Both White and his sister Faith Roussel, who served as a family spokesperson in the aftermath of the attack, have previously advocated for investigators to charge Seneca with a hate crime in the case. Aside from Whites sexual identity and the use of Grindr in the attack, Whites family was concerned the attack was targeted because Seneca used a picture of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as his Facebook profile photo. Dahmer admitted to murdering and dismembering 16 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. When contacted by a reporter Thursday about the federal indictment, White and Roussel said they were instructed not to comment on the case. All Im going to say is he is getting what he deserves, White wrote in a Thursday statement to The Acadiana Advocate. And justice will continue to be served. Staff writer Megan Wyatt contributed to this report. The recent surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Brazil has driven the countrys health care system to the brink of collapse. Over the past four weeks, the daily number of new confirmed cases has jumped from an average of 45,000 to 70,000, making Brazil the world epicenter of the pandemic. Alongside the rise in new cases, Brazil has seen a record rise in deaths, from an average of more than 1,000 a day in mid-February to nearly 2,000 today. According to Brazils Fiocruz public health research institution, the current surge equates to a growth rate in the case count of 1.5 percent per day, and a growth rate in the death count of 2.6 percent per day. These values are high compared to the first phase of the pandemic in Brazil, Fiocruz reports. Healthcare workers receive a patient suspected of having COVID-19, from an ambulance at the public HRAN Hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Such extreme rates of transmission and death, currently the highest in the world, have driven Brazils health care system to the brink of collapse. As of Monday, the intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate is above 80 percent in every state except Roraima (73 percent) and Rio de Janeiro (79 percent). Fifteen states have a hospital occupancy rate of at least 90 percent, including Rondonia (98 percent), Santa Catarina (99 percent) and Rio Grande do Sul (100 percent). The situation in particular in hospitals is even more dire. According to a statement given to CNN, hospital management at Porto Alegre Hospital das Clinicas, the largest public hospital in Rio Grande do Suls capital city, noted that The hospitals ICU Covid ward already serves at 132 percent occupancy. As a result, the hospital has been forced to close its doors to new patients. In Rondonia, the state is facing an imminent shortage of oxygen, according to a letter from the office of its attorney general, which warned that hospitals in the region will run out of medical oxygen in two weeks. Oxygen is one of the primary treatments for severe cases of COVID-19, and mortality rates have been shown to sharply spike if it is unavailable. Fiocruz gave a harrowing depiction of the situation across the country in the most recent edition of its COVID-19 Extraordinary Bulletin, noting that Although some governors and mayors have been carrying out efforts to open ICU beds to care for patients with Covid-19, this strategy is limited by the high growth rate of cases in every state. In general terms, the report continues, the high numbers denote the collapse of the health system for the care of patients requiring complex care for COVID-19, in addition to immeasurable losses in the care of patients who demand care due to other health problems. The recent surge in cases has been largely attributed to the emerging dominance of the P.1 variant of the coronavirus, which is up to three times as transmissible as the original version of the virus. Further studies have shown that the P.1 variant is able to dodge acquired immunity, infecting up to 61 percent of those who have already been infected. That such a dangerous variant of the coronavirus was allowed to spread, however, is directly attributable to the policies of Brazils fascistic president, Jair Bolsonaro. When the virus first emerged, he derided the deadly disease as a little flu, and he continues to regularly make public appearances without a mask. He has also spearheaded various reopening campaigns in Brazil, including among schools, where the virus is able to spread very easily. As a result of such reckless and homicidal herd immunity policies, Brazil has the second highest total cases and deaths in the world, more than 11,600,000 and 282,000 respectively, second only to the United States (over 30 million cases and at least 550,000 deaths). Moreover, Brazil is critically short of vaccine supplies. While initial studies show that the Pfizer mRNA vaccine is effective against the P.1 variant, and is approved by the countrys health regulator, the government actually turned down an offer of 70 million doses last August. So far, less than 2 percent of Brazils population has been vaccinated. Much of Europe is facing what could become a similar crisis. Countries in eastern Europe and the Baltic regionincluding Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukrainehave seen daily case counts skyrocket, as the B.1.1.7 variant, thought to have originated in Great Britain, races across the continent. Hungary alone has faced a seven-fold increase in daily cases, which now stand above 7,500. In Ukraine, more than 200 people are dying each day from the virus. Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands also face increasing case counts, though not quite as severe as other regions. In Germany, case rates remain high after the most recent surge, which began in October. They currently stand at more than 10,000 new cases recorded each day. The number of daily cases in Italy has nearly doubled to more than 22,000 each day, with more than 300 new deaths. The Czech Republic has nearly 11,000 cases each day and more than 200 deaths, giving it the inauspicious ranking of most deaths per capita in countries with a population of more than 10 million, second only to Gibraltar and San Marino when all countries are considered. Similar to Brazil and much of the world, the current surges are the result of reckless and poorly planned business and school reopening drives, which took on renewed vigor at the start of the fall academic year. An example is the Czech Republic, where the death rate averaged in the single digits until last September, when cases and deaths rose in the wake of school reopenings, with surges that were blunted in only a limited fashion by sporadic closings. Sweden, where the policy of herd immunity was pioneered, faced a similar situation from October to January, when death rates rose from about five per day to more than 90, before coming down to what they were late last summer. Case numbers still remain high, however, and are climbing, an indication that further death is still to come. A similar situation is likely brewing in the United States. While case counts across the country are generally trending downward, the declines in a number of states, including Illinois and Pennsylvania, have leveled off, while in Michigan and New Jersey, they have begun to rise. It is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the leveling off or increase in cases is caused by the B.1.1.7 variant, which has grown to 30 percent of all new confirmed cases. There is a danger that if the variant becomes wholly dominant, the more transmissible and deadly mutation of the coronavirus will spark even greater surges of the pandemic in the US. The continued spread of the coronavirus and its many new and more dangerous variants shows the folly of relying solely on vaccines to resolve the pandemic. World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros made this point forcefully in his remarks last Friday, when he warned, The longer the virus circulates, the higher the chances that variants will emerge that make vaccines less effective. But variants dont make physical distancing less effective. They dont make hand hygiene, masks, ventilation and other public health measures less effective. Above all, public health measures must include the closure of nonessential businesses and in-person schooling, with workers subsidized by reclaiming the trillions funneled to the worlds corporate and financial elite. Data the world over has shown, throughout the pandemic, that lockdowns are the most effective and efficient way of suppressing the pandemic, which has so far taken more than 2,690,000 human lives. Such measures must be combined with an international, revolutionary socialist program to end not just the pandemic, but the economic and political system that is responsible for the incompetent and inhumane response by governments to its emergencethe capitalist system. 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. PLANTATION, Fla., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) has granted two more stomach cancer patients' wishes as part of its newly launched Dream Makers Miracle Fund. With the sponsorship support of the global biotechnology company, BeiGene, DDF sent 18-year-old Joey Siwe and his family to Disney World to honor his first stomach cancer anniversary. In addition, stomach cancer survivor Debbie Ross was granted the wish of celebrating her birthday weekend at an all-inclusive resort. Through initiative, DDF aims to spread joy by providing patients and their families with bucket-list inspired experiences. Family members Amber (Joey's sister), Dean (Joey's stepdad), 18-year-old stomach cancer survivor Joey Siwe, and Julie Feece (Joey's mother) enjoying the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge experience at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, courtesy of DDF's Dream Makers Miracle Fund. Stomach cancer survivor Debbie Ross enjoys her stay at Tulalip Casino & Resort as part of her wish fulfilled through DDF's Dream Makers Miracle Fund. For Joey Siwe, a stomach cancer diagnosis was the furthest thing from his imagination as a high school junior. His older brother (Billy) had unexpectedly passed away at age 20 from stage IV stomach cancer a few years prior. At 17-years-old, Joey was unexpectedly diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2019. He underwent a total gastrectomy in early 2020, removing his entire stomach to avoid the risk of cancer spreading. Joey is an avid fan of Star Wars, so his main wish for his first cancer anniversary was to go to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with his family for the full "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" experience. DDF had the honor of making his wish come true. "The trip was an amazing experience for my entire family, and especially for Joey," said Julie Feece, Joey's mother. "We're so grateful to Debbie's Dream Foundation for not only being there for us in our times of need but also investing in Joey's dream. Having already lost a child to this disease is completely devastating. It makes me happy to know that initiatives like this exist to help give patients and families hope." Debbie Ross and her husband Terry were sent to Tulalip Casino & Resort in Tulalip, Washington, as part of her wish fulfilled. The couple enjoyed a relaxing one-night stay and dinner for two for Debbie's 59th birthday weekend. Debbie admits that the experience was just what she needed after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in June 2020, undergoing stomach cancer treatments, and a recent brain tumor removal. "Priceless moments with loved ones are extremely important to those impacted by stomach cancer," said Andrea Eidelman, Chief Executive Officer of DDF. "Through our Dream Makers Miracle fund, we offer these experiences to patients and families to help inspire hope. With the support of our industry partners BeiGene, we were able to do just that." For more information and updates about the Dream Makers Miracle Fund, visit www.DebbiesDream.org/miraclefund/. About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality. DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to stomach cancer patients' plight and the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo, in addition to daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, almost a decade later, at 50. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie's mission and make her dream a reality. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org. Media Contact: Brittnay Starks Communications Coordinator Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (954) 475-1200 [email protected] www.DebbiesDream.org SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer The Cabo Verdes Supreme Court on Wednesday gave an order authorising the extradition of the Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, to the United States of America. The verdict is in sharp contrast to Mondays judgment of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Mr Saabs arrest, detention and plan by Cape Verdean government to extradite him. The ECOWAS Court not only ordered the release of Mr Saab on Monday, it also directed the Cape Verdean government to pay him $200,000 as compensation for his illegal arrest and detention and discontinue all proceedings and processes aimed at extraditing the Applicant to the USA. The Cape Verdean Supreme Courts judgment on Wednesday said the archipelago country was not legally bound by the regional courts decisions. The case Mr Saab was arrested in June 2020 by the archipelagos security operatives at the request of the U.S. through Interpol for alleged money laundering, a charge the diplomat has constantly denied. He was held in prison until February when he was moved from prison to house arrest, almost two months after ECOWAS Court ruled against such disposition of the Cape Verdean government. However, the countrys Attorney General office, rejected the regional courts jurisdiction over the matter, saying Cape Verde was not in agreement with the body on the supplementary protocol on the ECOWAS court that empowers the code to entertain human right ramifications. Ruling on the ensuing dispute, the countrys appeal court ruled in support of the government that Cape Verde was not legally bound by ECOWAS Courts decisions, on the grounds that the archipelago country, although a member of ECOWAS, was not a signatory to the 2005 Protocol granting legitimacy to the regional court over fundamental rights matters. Mr Saab had appealed to the Supreme Court against the decision. In documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, the Cape Verdean Supreme Court upheld the appeal courts decision insisting that ECOWAS Courts decision was not binding on the country. The Supreme Court held in its judgment that there was no proof that Mr Saab was on a transit through Cape Verde as a Venezuelan special envoy when he was arrested. It also said it was not aware of the ECOWAS Courts final judgment, aside from what was reported about the case in the local and foreign media. In a far-reaching decision on the applicability of the decisions handed down by the ECOWAS Court, the Supreme Court held that Cape Verde was not a signatory to the Protocol of 2005 establishing the regional court, adding that ECOWAS itself is not a supranational organisation. By holding ECOWAS to be a non-supranational organisation implies that the country does not accept ECOWAS power or influence that transcends national boundaries or governments. For all the reasons that are exposed to the thesis that intends to see ECOWAS a supranational organisation for the purposes of the provisions of article 12, paragraph 3, of the Constitution of the Republic, it cannot be accepted by the Cape Verdean Judicial Courts, the countrys apex court ruled. It added, Therefore, as ECOWAS is not a supranational organisation for the time being, and the State of Cape Verde has not even signed the 2005 Protocol, there is no basis for it to be considered linked to such an instrument. Decision On the above grounds, the judges of Cape Verdes Supreme Court, Joao Gon, Anildo Martins and Benfeito Ramos agreed to dismiss Mr Saabs appeal and confirm the appeal courts ruling rejecting ECOWAS Courts decisions as not binding on the country. The court, therefore, authorised the extradition of Mr Saab to the U.S. where he is expected to stand trial for alleged money laundering. ADVERTISEMENT Extradition that is now authorised is for the Extradite to be subject to criminal procedure for a single of the crimes attributed to him, in accordance with the guarantee offered by the requesting State, the court ruled. Alex Saabs lawyer reacts Reacting to the judgment of Cape Verdean Supreme Courts decision, Mr Saabs lead counsel in the ECOWAS case, Femi Falana, said it was a day of shame. He urged the ECOWAS to speak up in order to support the sanctity of its domain. The human rights lawyer said the decision was handed down in direct defiance of the ruling made by the regional court and in conformity to the government of the country on Monday. This is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of disobedience by Cape Verde. It is a Day of Shame for ECOWAS, Mr Falana told PREMIUM TIMES, urging the members of the ECOWAS Commission to make clear their position about the behaviour of Cape Verde. In approving the extradition, Cape Verde is destroying the entire global diplomatic order and the sanctity of diplomatic missions which has been established over several centuries, he added. Jose-Manuel Monteiro, who has been leading Mr Saabs defence team in Cape Verde was also quoted to have said, For the Supreme court to deliver a ruling which serves no purpose but satisfy the political avarice of others, is very disappointing. He noted that it is now up to the ECOWAS Commission to speak up and preserve the integrity and independence of its own court, adding that Cape Verde must not be allowed to subvert the judicial organ of ECOWAS without appropriate sanctions. The defence will now appeal todays decision to the Cape Verde Constitution Court and is exploring all other legal options to bring an end to the illegal arrest and extradition process being conducted against Alex Saab, he said. The fresh development between Cape Verde and Mr Saab is an addition to the growing list of African countries who had flagrantly disobeyed the regional court without punishment for such a member. Lets lift our voices and sing: Giddy up, oom poppa, oom poppa, mow mow. The Oak Ridge Boys version of Elvira is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month, and the 1981 hit song remains a joyful earworm. The country-pop tune with doo-wop influences was written and originally recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966. Elvira was a modest success until the Oak Ridge Boys grabbed hold of it 15 years later, upping the ante with lead vocals by Joe Bonsall and a deep bass kicker on the chorus by Richard Sterban. True, the lyrics arent exactly profound. But for fans, Elvira is as catchy as it gets. Somebody could just really pick it apart if they were comparing it to Moon River, Frazier said in an interview for a Songs of the Summer series by PBS. But its not meant to be a Moon River. Its a classic example of what I call a feel song. The Oak Ridge Boys -- a venerable country-gospel band that includes Alabama native William Lee Golden -- recorded Elvira for their 1981 album Fancy Free. The song climbed to No. 1 on Billboards Hot Country Songs chart in May of that year, and reached No. 5 on the Hot 100 chart two months later. Its been said that its difficult, if not impossible, to fully appreciate or understand the magnitude of something as its happening, Sterban said via a press release. While that might be true in some circumstances, I can honestly say that I -- and we -- could not have been any more aware of what was happening to us, as we rode the crest of the Elvira wave. The Oak Ridge Boys won a Grammy Award in 1982 for Elvira, in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. The song also became a platinum-selling single. Core members of the Oak Ridge Boys are Bonsall, Sterban, Golden and Duane Allen. Golden was born in Brewton, northeast of Mobile, and his baritone vocals helped to earn the groups fame. The first time we performed Elvira in front of an audience was at an afternoon rehearsal for The Tonight Show. We were not set to perform it on the show that night, but we had just recorded it and decided to sing it for a soundcheck, Allen said in the press release. By the time we got halfway through the song, the producer, assistants, secretaries, sound and light crew, and all of the people who could hear us, came running over and freaking out. The Tonight Show gave us the first reading of how Elvira was going to be received. The Oak Ridge Boys have performed Elvira countless times over the years -- on tour, on American Bandstand, at the 1982 Grammy ceremony and more. Others have recorded the song, including Rodney Crowell and Kenny Rogers, but the Oak Ridge Boys version reigns supreme. We begin in mourning and we stay there. Earth has lost its way after the death of Superman, an event depicted in Snyders 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Weighed down by guilt and Ben Afflecks stubble, Bruce Wayne/Batman has a job to do. The villain du jour is Steppenwolf (voice by Ciaran Hinds, character design inspired by DC Comics, contemporary resonance thanks to Jacob Chansley, the man who stormed the U.S. Capitol in horns). If Steppenwolf manages to secure all three glowing memory boxes, the DC worlds answer to Marvels Infinity Stones or a cosmic amplifier that goes to 11, then he and his ilk acquire complete control over the universe. Its basically a fight to see who gets to use the universal remote. Washington: A group of Indian-American frontline healthcare workers languishing in the Green Card backlog held a demonstration in front of the US Capitol urging lawmakers and the Biden administration to end the per capita country-specific quota. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the country. Indian IT professionals, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US mainly on the H-1B work visas, are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a seven per cent per country quota on allotment of the coveted Green Card or permanent legal residency. We are frontline COVID warriors, and we are here to tell how we have been short changed into a life of perpetual indentured servitude. Each of us has a story. We are here from all over the country asking for justice. Justice that has precluded us for decades now, said Dr Raj Karnatak, an infectious disease and critical care physician and Dr Pranav Singh, a pulmonary and critical care physician. Most of us are from India. We trained in the US and took oath as physicians to serve the sick and needy. Most of us are serving the rural and underserved areas. We are in a Green Card backlog due to archaic country caps that allow no country to get more than seven percent of employment-based green cards, said the two Indian American doctors' organisers of the peaceful protest said in a joint statement. According to them, due to decades of backlog, many high-skilled immigrants are not able to change jobs due to fear of losing the spot in the Green Card line and are indentured to one employer. Can only work in the specialty occupation the visa is allotted for decades. Many healthcare workers could not serve in COVID-19 hot spots as the visas are tied to the job and employer, they said. The small group of protestors said that President Joe Biden can direct United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to end the Green Card backlog for the frontline healthcare workers by utilising the unused green cards in the past years. There was an HR 1044 fairness bill that was passed in the House of Representatives by 365 votes in 2019 and its senate equivalent S386 passed the Senate in 2020. Now it is back to House as a modified version. Representative Zoe Lofgren, initial co-sponsor of the bill HR 1044 has not shown any interest in bringing the bill to vote as a bipartisan solution to end the suffering of skilled professionals including frontline healthcare workers, they alleged. Dr Karnatak and Dr Singh said that India is a land of more than a billion people, but the number of green cards India gets is the same as a country as small as Iceland. Indian high-skilled workers are brought into the US on an H-1B visa. There is no country cap on the H-1B visa and due to its sheer population, Indians make 50 percent of the H-1B workforce. The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The discrepancy in the number of H-1B hired from India and a small number of green cards allotted to India creates an inhumane Green Card backlog. Green Card backlog is adversely affecting the professional and personal lives of high-skilled immigrants from India including the frontline healthcare workers, they said. Frontline healthcare workers need immediate relief, they are suffering for a very long time. As frontline healthcare workers who are risking their lives in this pandemic, the least we deserve is a certainty. A certainty that if we die or get disabled, our children and spouses won't be kicked out of the country, said the joint statement on behalf of the protestors. Last month, President Biden revoked a policy issued by his predecessor during the pandemic that blocked many Green Card applicants from entering the US. Reopening the country to people seeking green cards, or legal permanent residence, Biden in his proclamation said that the policy of former president Donald Trump does not advance the interests of the country. To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here, he said. The US is currently facing a backlog of nearly 473,000 qualified family-based Green Card requests. As a result of Trump's ban on issuing green cards, as many as 120,000 family-based preference visas were lost. But this came as a big boon for issuing employment-based green cards, mainly those on H-1B visas. Live TV [March 18, 2021] Alibaba Group's Daraz Acquires Leading Bangladesh Food Tech Startup HungryNaki to Expand Footprint in South Asia Alibaba-owned Daraz acquires HungryNaki in a move that welcomes the e-commerce giant into the booming Asian food delivery sector This marks the first full acquisition of a local Bangladesh startup by a global e-commerce company, and allows HungryNaki to scale the hyperlocal delivery scene by tapping into Daraz's complex infrastructure, technology and resources DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Daraz, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group and Bangladesh's largest e-commerce marketplace, has announced its acquisition of HungryNaki, the country's leading homegrown food tech company. This marks the first full acquisition of a local Bangladesh startup by a global e-commerce giant, adding to the overall growth of the Asian startup ecosystem and indicating a shift in confidence towards South Asia, regarding investment and business. The acquisition was signed with the aim of expanding Daraz's service offerings across more South Asian markets, while providing HungryNaki with the longstanding expertise and experience in customer service and management that Alibaba Group and Daraz will bring to the table. In order to achieve this, HungryNaki will continue functioning as an independent brand under the group, lending its strong client, customer and logistics network while tapping on Daraz's sophisticated infrastructure countrywide. "We aspire to be a one stop solution for all our customers' needs, and getting into the food delivery business is a natural move. HungryNaki is the pioneer in the food delivery business in Bangladesh with a loyal customer base. We believe, instead of bulding our own food delivery business from the ground up, acquiring HungryNaki is ideal considering these two factors. We believe, by investing in the infrastructure, technology and human resources, we can take HungryNaki into new heights," said Syed Mostahidal Hoq, Managing Director of Daraz. A Significant Milestone For South Asia's Startup Ecosystem and Economy In recent times, Bangladesh has seen remarkable success in the country's development and digital transformation, including an above average GDP growth rate of 8% . Contributing to a huge slice of the pie is the hyperlocal food and grocery delivery sector, which is expected to grow to over $5 billion by 2025 . Founded in 2013 by co-founders Ahmad AD, Tausif Ahmad and Sazid Rahman, HungryNaki (to mean "Are you hungry?") is Bangladesh's first food tech company to introduce on-demand food delivery in under an hour. It has played a monumental role in the evolution of the market, making food delivery accessible to as many people in the country as possible. The rapid expansion of the country and industry, helmed by homegrown technology and startups such as HungryNaki, signifies huge opportunities for South Asia in terms of development, employment and innovation. "We can definitely say that this is an auspicious moment for all of us because this acquisition by Daraz proves that our e-commerce industry is in an optimistic state. Moreover, this is a positive sign for other local startups, and this kind of acquisition will play a full part in the revival of our economy by expediting positive impacts. We will be working with Daraz to make HungryNaki a formidable player in the market," shared AD Ahmad, CEO and Co-Founder of HungryNaki. Since its inception, HungryNaki has served more than 500,000 customers and over 4,000 restaurants across Bangladesh's 5 largest cities, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Cox's Bazar and Narayanganj. With an investor pool including notable names such as Robintex Group and Asif Rahman, the initially bootstrapped startup had previously raised a total of $2.3 million in funding, including its pre-Series A round and bridge financing, and has since successfully maintained a consistent 76% return user order ratio, which ensures a steady year-on-year growth in revenue of 70-90%. Being the first food delivery startup in Bangladesh to introduce electric bicycles to its fleet, HungryNaki is also committed to the race towards zero carbon emissions, in order to reduce the company's carbon footprint and scale in a sustainable manner. Leveraging its existing and new business and partnership networks, including restaurants, cloud kitchens and home kitchen services, HungryNaki will be working towards expanding its reach to over 100 cities, and becoming a crucial player in developing the hyperlocal delivery scene in South Asia. SOURCE HungryNaki [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A bill to make it illegal to let people vote from their vehicles without going inside the polling place has passed the Alabama House of Representatives. The House approved the bill 74-25, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposed. The Republican majority voted to cut off the debate to force a vote, the fourth time today they had stopped debate to require a vote that Democrats were trying to delay. The bill moves to the Senate. Curbside voting became an issue in Alabama last year. A lawsuit on behalf of several people and organizations challenged some Alabama voting requirements because of how they affected people with a disability or medical condition that put them at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. They wanted Alabama counties to offer curbside voting. Secretary of State John Merrill opposed that and was a defendant in the case. U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon ruled for the plaintiffs. His ruling did not require counties to offer curbside voting but allowed them to do so. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which blocked Kallons order for the purposes of the election in November. The bill, by Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, says voting machines can only be placed inside a polling place. It says poll workers cannot carry ballots into or out of a polling place. Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, who handled the bill on the House floor today, said the intent is, in part, to reduce the chance for fraud. Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, said it was wrong to take away the option of curbside voting. Coleman said her father uses a wheelchair as a result of his military career, including service in Desert Storm. She said her father prefers to vote in-person, rather than by absentee ballot. I could understand if there was a problem where somebody has been abusing or misusing it, Coleman said. The message to me and my Dad is that his vote is not important. He served this country for 22 years. He lost his legs because of it. Simpson said his father uses a wheelchair and he does not take that lightly. Simpson said federal law requires polling places to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that voters with disabilities can move to the front of the line. Caren Short, senior staff attorney for the SPLC Action Fund, denounced the effort to ban on curbside voting. Its a vindictive measure with no discernible benefit to the integrity of our elections, Short said. Voting with a disability in Alabama is profoundly difficult, and we have observed dozens of polling places across the state that are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The SPLC Action Fund is affiliated with the Southern Poverty Law Center and describes itself as a catalyst for racial justice. This story was edited at 8:00 a.m. on March 19 to correct a spelling and add a missing word. "Our posture's gonna be that we're posted outside of DC, awaiting the president's orders. We hope he will give us the orders. We want him to declare an insurrection, and to call us up as the militia." Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, in November, looking ahead to Jan. 6 The rally reflected the public conversation over how to confront a rise in reports of violence against Asian Americans, who have felt increasingly vulnerable with each new attack. Many incidents have either not led to arrests or have not been charged as hate crimes, making it difficult to capture with reliable data the extent to which Asian Americans are being targeted. (@ChaudhryMAli88) London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :Hollywood star Johnny Depp's bid to overturn a high-profile British libel ruling over reports he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard will head back to court on Thursday, as the actor seeks formal permission to appeal. The Pirates of the Caribbean star lost his battle for damages in November over a 2018 newspaper article that branded him a "wife-beater". The Court of Appeal in London will on Thursday hear his application to review the libel case against the publishers of The Sun tabloid newspaper. Depp was ordered to pay news Group Newspapers (NGN) 628,000 ($873,000, 733,000 Euros) in legal costs from the trial, which laid bare the actor's chaotic lifestyle and battles with alcohol and drug addiction. Judge Andrew Nicol, who heard the case, previously refused him grounds to appeal but said he could apply directly to the Court of Appeal to overturn his judgment, which Depp then did. In documents since filed with the Court of Appeal, Depp's lawyer David Sherborne claimed Nicol's ruling was "plainly wrong". He argued the judge had failed to examine the competing accounts of each incident of alleged violence by Depp towards Heard, or "explain whether he found them proved and, if so, on what basis". However, Adam Wolanski, the lawyer representing NGN, countered that Nicol had conducted "a painstaking analysis of the evidence". "There is no basis to conclude that the judge failed to examine the evidence or provide reasons for his findings," he added in his submission. After the November ruling, Depp said he had been asked to step down from his role in the "Fantastic Beasts" film franchise based on the book by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The case was dubbed "the biggest English libel trial of the 21st century" and the legal odds had appeared to be stacked in Depp's favour. NGN relied on the defence of truth, arguing it had a valid basis for the 2018 story by detailing 14 alleged instances of Depp abusing Heard. But Depp brought the action because he said The Sun's allegations had done a "disservice" to the #MeToo movement it was trying to support, his lawyer David Sherborne said. His client was "cited in the same breath as disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein", he added. "That is why he has come here -- to clear his name." The 16 days of proceedings in July, which both Depp and Heard attended, exposed the couple's troubled and volatile relationship in excruciating detail. Depp released a graphic photo showing a severed fingertip that he claimed Heard caused by throwing a vodka bottle at him during a violent row. Heard, a 34-year-old model and actress, claimed Depp injured his fingertip, which was later reattached, when he smashed a telephone into the wall during the argument. Another episode involved faeces found in the couple's marital bed, which Depp said was left there as a sick joke by either Heard or one of her friends. Depp admitted laughing about it when a friend texted him photos of the faeces with the inscription "Amber Turd". The judge also forced Depp to face days of withering cross-examination in which the star admitted to only hazily remembering some events because he was high on drugs. Depp vehemently rejected accusations that he hurt Heard while battling a drug addiction over a three-year span that ended with her 2016 decision to get a restraining order and file for divorce. He is also suing Heard in the United States over a 2018 Washington Post article in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. KABUL, Afghanistan The U.S. has conducted airstrikes against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours following multiple attacks by the insurgents on Afghan government forces, a military spokesman said Wednesday. The airstrikes, the latest in Kandahar province, underscore the reliance of Afghanistan's military on U.S. airpower, even as the Biden administration mulls whether to pull all U.S. troops out of the country by May. The strikes targeted Taliban fighters in the Zharay, Spin Boldak and Kandahar districts of the province as they were "actively attacking and maneuvering on" Afghan troops, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said on Twitter. "The U.S. continues to defend [Afghan forces] in accordance w/ the US-TB agreement," Leggett tweeted, referring to a deal struck between Washington and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar last year that paves the way for a complete withdrawal of foreign forces by May. An undisclosed number of strikes were carried out, he said. Leggett's tweet came after the Taliban earlier Wednesday accused the U.S. of unlawfully targeting Taliban fighters in Kandahar who were not involved in the fighting. "We strongly condemn these bombardments and crimes by the American invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said in a statement. "This is clearly a violation of the Doha agreement." If the attacks continue, the Taliban will "take the same steps" in defense, Ahmadi added. The Taliban have refrained from attacking international forces as part of last year's deal, under which they also pledged to meet vague counterterrorism commitments. But attacks by the group on Afghans have intensified. The deal does not explicitly bar the Taliban from attacking government forces but does include a clause that says the U.S. will defend Afghans against attacks. The Taliban have encroached on key Afghan cities in recent months, including Kandahar, which once functioned as the capital of their heartland. Fighting throughout Kandahar province has displaced some 10,000 families, according to government data. If President Joe Biden chooses to end the war soon, analysts and Afghan officials say some key cities like Kandahar would likely fall to the insurgents. It will be "tough" for the U.S. to meet the May deadline, Biden said in an interview with ABC News that aired Wednesday. However, Biden added a full drawdown shouldn't take much longer to complete. "That was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president, the former president worked out," Biden said. "We're in consultation with our allies as well as the government, and that decision is in process now." There are officially 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan after former President Donald Trump made steady reductions throughout last year, which started with roughly 13,000 American service members in the country. Trump campaigned on ending the war. A New York Times report this week said the actual number of American troops in Afghanistan is closer to 3,500, citing tallying discrepancies disclosed by unnamed sources. The U.S. military in Afghanistan conducts a counterterrorism mission and a separate mission that trains Afghan forces. The latter is supported by roughly 7,000 NATO and coalition troops. Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, vice-president of logistics and operations at the Public Health Agency of Canada, participates in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:32:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Thursday 1,394 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 215,067. The ministry also announced eight more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,202, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,276 to 199,549. A total of 14,316 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 222 in ICU. Abdullah Al-Bader, assistant undersecretary for medicine affairs in the ministry, said on Thursday that a new batch of coronavirus vaccines will arrive in the country on March 21. Kuwait has imposed a partial curfew from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., starting March 7 until April 8, as part of its efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Non-Kuwaitis are prevented from entering the country. Enditem 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. Press Release 18 March 2021 The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world's largest business travel association, today reported on the findings from its 17thpoll looking at the impact of the pandemic on the business travel industry. Advertisements Two-thirds of GBTA members and stakeholders (66%) believe implementing Digital Health Verification (also known as "vaccination passports" of "digital green certificates") is a good policy, the majority of whom believe it will help employees safely resume business travel. The poll also finds a positive increase in optimism among members as the vaccine rollout ramps-up globally and the benefits of a vaccine start to take hold. Key Findings: 66% of GBTA members and stakeholders believe that implementing Digital Health Verification (also known as "vaccination passports") to help open travel and reduce the need for mandatory quarantines is a good policy. Approximately one in ten are either indifferent (15%), think it is a bad policy (11%) or do not know (8%). Respondents from Europe are more likely (72%) than those from North America (63%) to say issuing Digital Health Verification is a "good policy." Among those who think Digital Health Verification is a "good policy," most feel it will help employees safely resume business travel (77%) and is a quick and easy way to document people have been vaccinated (64%). Among those who feel Digital Health Verification is a "bad policy," their reasons center largely on privacy concerns (73%). Half (52%) of suppliers and travel management companies are more optimistic than last month about theindustry's path to recovery, compared to four in ten (44%) who feel the same as they did last month. Two-in-five (40%) report their bookings from corporate customers have increased from the previous poll, an increase of 21 percentage points from the February 2021 GBTA poll. Half (48%) of suppliers characterize their bookings from corporate customers as the same, with no change. Only one in ten report their bookings have decreased (7%) or are unsure (6%). A majority of GBTA members and stakeholders (84%) say they would be "very comfortable" or "comfortable" traveling for business after receiving the Covid-19 vaccination. Another one in ten (10%) are neutral or would be uncomfortable traveling for business (6%). GBTA members and stakeholders largely expect non-essential domestic business travel to resume in the second half of 2021. International non-essential business travel is expected to take longer and is not expected to largely resume until 2022. Almost all (92%) respondents expect to return to the office by the end of the year. GBTA members and stakeholders vary in terms of their expectations, as only seven percent report their workers are already in the office and one-in-ten (13%) expect workers to return to the office in the next 1-3 months. The biggest majority, four in ten (38%) anticipate workers returning to the office in the next 4-6 months. Just 8% expect workers will return to the office in more than 12 months Three-quarters (77%) GBTA members and stakeholders expect employees will commute to the officeless frequently (once it opens) than they did before the pandemic. This compares to one-in-ten (12%) who expect employees will come into the office the same number of days as they did before the pandemic. Among those who expect employees will spend fewer days in the office (if not entirely remote), expectations for the resumption of domestic business travel vary as the recovery evolves. Six in ten (61%) expect there will be less domestic business travel during this time, while one in four (27%) expect the same amount of domestic business travel. Less than one in ten expect more domestic business travel (6%) or do not know (6%). Half (49%) of GBTA members and stakeholders citegovernment policies that restrict travel or make it difficult (e.g., entry restrictions or mandatory quarantines) as the greatest barrier to business travel. One in four (25%) cite company policies and one in ten cite employee unwillingness/reluctance to travel (11%) or travel budget freeze/cost (10%). Respondents in Europe (68%) are more likely than those in North America (43%) to say government policies are the largest barrier to business travel. "As momentum for the Digital Health Verificationgathers pace, so does optimism for a safe return to business travel" said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA, adding, "We are continuing our advocacy efforts in Washington, Brussels and London to lobby for a consistent approach to re-open borders and safely allow business travel to resume. It is encouraging to see GBTA members feeling comfortable to travel after receiving the vaccine, and that the global vaccine roll-out continues to accelerate." View the entire poll results here and key highlights here. Methodology: GBTA conducted a poll of its members across the globe from March 8-14, 2021. A total of 680 responses were received. A group of Massachusetts nonprofits have paid the $100k bail of the woman who authorities said abandoned her newborn in a trash barrel in Boston after giving birth. The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Families for Justice as Healing, Black and Pink Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Bail Fund united as a coalition to post bail for Marie Merisier who is deserving of what we all are deserving of - compassion, support and adequate resources, according to the Massachusetts Bail Fund website. The overtly punitive $100k bail that was imposed on Marie meant her urgent mental health and healthcare needs would go unmet, the website states. Our worries were affirmed when she was being deprived of basic hygienic necessities. On March 1, Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark, chief of Rollins Child Protection Unit, detailed in court how Merisier gave birth at a Dorchester apartment and how a resident heard the baby crying inside her leather bag. The neighbor asked if Merisier required an ambulance, prosecutors claimed, though she declined the offer. The resident called 911 after she left, MassLive previously reported. She could also be seen on security camera footage removing something from her bag and placing it in a trash barrel outside a Dorchester Avenue restaurant, according to a statement from Rollins office. A passerby heard a baby crying inside the trash bin and flagged down a nearby ambulance for help. The Massachusetts Bail Fund typically pays up to $5k bail so that low-income people can stay free while they work towards resolving their case, allowing individuals, families, and communities to stay productive, together, and stable, the website states. We wont be silent as the state continues to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate Black women who are battling to survive poverty, trauma, and mental illness, Massachusetts Bail Fund said. We do not accept the tragic outcomes this system produces as the only possibility for us. Merisier is expected to return to court on March 29. Related Content: Greenville, SC (29601) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Danny Yu Chang was walking through San Franciscos Financial District, clutching a packaged lunch from Trader Joes, when an assailant struck him from behind. The blows were swift and brutal, Yu Chang recalled Wednesday afternoon, two days after a man knocked him unconscious at Market and Montgomery streets. He was sitting at home, his face fractured, hands scraped, eyelids bruised and swollen shut, when news came of the mass shooting that killed eight people including six women of Asian descent near Atlanta. The act served as a stark punctuation in a year that saw an alarming rise in anti-Asian bias and violence. Former President Donald Trumps inflammatory racial rhetoric about the coronavirus had helped create a toxic undertow, which has frequently bubbled to the surface as economic pressures and bitter emotions set in. A report released Tuesday by the national coalition Stop AAPI Hate documented 3,795 anti-Asian hate incidents from the beginning of the pandemic through Feb. 28. Of those, 1,691 took place in California. An earlier report found that more than 700 such incidents occurred in the Bay Area from March to December last year. All this hatred of Asian Americans, I dont know why its happening, but its got to stop, Yu Chang said during a phone interview from his home in Vallejo. The 59-year-old travel agent grew up in the Philippines. He immigrated to the Bay Area in 1999 in search of work that would allow him to send money home to his four children. Now he feels unsettled in the place that brought so much hope 22 years ago. Nothing is safe here in California, Yu Chang said. Especially for the old people. A day after the attack, Yu Chang set up a page on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe, asking supporters to help raise money so he and his wife can move out of state. That evening, police announced the arrest of 32-year-old Jorge Devis-Milton in connection with the battery of Yu Chang and a stabbing half an hour earlier, of a 64-year-old white man at the 16th Street Mission BART Station. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin charged Devis-Milton with six felonies Wednesday, including aggravated mayhem and battery with serious bodily injury. Despite the arrest, Yu Chang remains shaken. He is unable to see out of his left eye and is afraid to walk outside, even on his own tree-lined street in a Solano County suburb. He is now among dozens of victims of violence who have become symbols of a national reckoning over rising hate and despicable crimes of opportunity both of which have hit the Bay Areas Asian American communities. In February, a string of crimes rattled Oaklands Chinatown and the west side neighborhoods of San Francisco. Several were caught on surveillance videos and posted to social media, where they went viral. The footage showed attackers shoving elderly men, or ripping money from the hands of a shopper in a grocery store. Among the victims was Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai man walking in San Franciscos Anza Vista neighborhood on Jan. 28. A man ran up and pushed Ratanapakdee, who fell head-first to the pavement. He died two days later. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle Over the weeks that followed, Ratanapakdees daughter, Monthanus Ratanapakdee, saw similar incidents play out over and over. Robberies and aggressive confrontations in Oakland. A sexual assault at San Joses Diridon Caltrain Station by a man who yelled racial slurs at his Filipina victim. The beating of Yu Chang on Market Street. Each attack caused a paroxysm of grief and pain. I feel the city is not safe for us, Ratanapakdee said. From her home in Oakland, Jojo Au also watched this wave of violence. Au, 30, grew up in the San Antonio area east of Lake Merritt and still feels a visceral connection to the community. She chose to attend a beauty school in Chinatown so she could be among the streets and shops she remembered from childhood. When the disturbing videos of robberies and assaults began flooding social media, Au took action. Like Yu Chang, she set up a GoFundMe page, raising more than $93,000 to hire armed security guards. They began patrolling Chinatown and Little Saigon, a patchwork of Vietnamese-owned businesses east of Lake Merritt, in mid-February. The guards will stay on the streets well into April, Au said. I think something needs to be done for the victims, she told The Chronicle. They are being wrongfully targeted. They want answers. In Adams Point, a hilly residential area abutting the lake, residents are mourning the death of 75-year-old Pak Ho, an immigrant from Hong Kong. Ho died after suffering a traumatic brain injury when he was slammed to the ground during a robbery attempt on March 9. His alleged assailant now faces murder charges. As Hos friends prepare for a vigil this weekend, community leaders in Chinatown say they worry about the circumstances of the elderly mans death. He was robbed and punched during a morning walk on a typical weekday, a form of exercise for many older residents in the Chinatown and Lake Merritt areas. On March 16, a 77-year-old Asian man was attacked while strolling downtown at 8:30 a.m., near the Oakland Police Administration Building, said Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Police later caught the assailant, who appeared in surveillance footage punching the elderly man in the face. An alert buzzed on Chans cell phone Tuesday evening with news that eight people, six of them Asian American, had died in the Atlanta-area shootings. Everybody is so concerned, Chan said, that Asian Americans now face danger in even the simple routines of daily life like walking from Trader Joes on a lunch break. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan 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 French defence procurement agency (DGA) has awarded Thales a contract to develop, qualify and manufacture the SonoFlash air-droppable sonobuoy. air-droppable sonobuoy. Complementing the other anti-submarine warfare systems in service with the French Navy, this new-generation sonobuoy is a strategic asset that allows France to have a sovereign solution in high-performance sonobuoys. Manufactured in France with local SMEs, the SonoFlash buoyfeatures an innovative design and advanced technology to bring naval aviation units best-in-class performance. The French Navy has selected the SonoFlash new-generation sonobuoy from Thales. Unveiled at the Euronaval show in October 2018, SonoFlash will enable France to reach its strategic capability goal for acoustic sensors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005484/en/ Artist's impression of a SonoFlash sonobuoy at sea Thales The threat posed by submarines is evolving rapidly. Three decades ago, only the superpowers had a true undersea warfare capability, but numerous countries now deploy modern submarine fleets. At the same time, forces increasingly operate in littoral waters, which are much more complex for sonar systems, rather than in the relative certainty of open-ocean environments. Responding to this evolving threat environment, Thales developed the SonoFlash buoy, a new-generation sonobuoy with an unequalled performance-to-mass ratio that builds on decades of expertise in sonars and acoustic sensors to offer an ambitious new solution. Its innovative design and advanced technology include a number of key features to deliver unrivalled performance. Today's sonobuoys are either passive or active. By contrast, the SonoFlash buoyoffersthe best of both modes, combining a powerful, optimised low-frequency transmitter with a high-directivity passive receiver. With the combination of these two capabilities, and the added advantage of long endurance, the SonoFlash buoy is suitable for a wide array of deployment scenarios. Fully compatible with the other families of Thales sonars, the SonoFlash buoyoffers high tactical flexibility and opens up promising new opportunities for multistatic operation. Coupled with the FLASH dipping sonar, for example, the SonoFlash buoyenables an aircraft to expand its coverage area and respond with greater agility to evasive manoeuvres by a submarine. Thanks to its digitised signal and optimal communication range, the SonoFlash buoydata can be readily exploited by any piloted or remotely piloted aircraft, naval vessel or shore centre equipped with a sonobuoy processing system. The French Navy will be the first operational user of the SonoFlash buoy, which will be deployed by the modernised Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft and NH90 Caiman tactical transport helicopters. It will be delivered to the Navy from 2025 and could be available in export markets to equip all modern maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters as well as all types of unmanned platforms, including autonomous surface vehicles and rotary-wing (VTOL) and fixed-wing UAVs equipped with a suitable multi-sonobuoy dispenser. Manufactured in France with a network of SMEs such as TELERAD, SelhaGroup and Realmeca, the SonoFlash buoy relies on Thales's expertise in acoustic sensor technology to contribute to France's desire for independence in strategic industries. "Thales has packed 10 years of innovation in hardware and digital technologies into a tube measuring 91.4 cm long and 12.3 cm in diameter. SonoFlash extends the range of a naval force's anti-submarine warfare operations, outclassing all other sonobuoys in the market today and offering a versatile and easy-to-deploy solution for tracking submarines from any piloted or remotely piloted aircraft, frigate or unmanned surface vehicle. We are grateful to the DGA and the Navy for the trust they have placed in us and delighted to be working with French partner SMEs to bring this project to a successful conclusion and restore France's sovereign capabilities in sonobuoys." Alexis Morel, VP Underwater Systems, Thales. About Thales Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and "deep tech" innovations connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers businesses, organisations and governments in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions. Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of 17 billion. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005484/en/ Contacts: Thales, Media Relations Land and Naval Defence Faiza Zaroual +33 (0)7 64 25 99 31 faiza.zaroual@thalesgroup.com WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pay Our Interns , a non-profit committed to ensuring all peopleespecially people of color and of low-income backgroundshave equitable access to professional career paths, released its latest report which reveals unequal economic and racial representation continues among paid Congressional interns, with 76% of interns being white. Who Congress Pays: Analysis of Lawmakers' Use of Intern Allowances in the 116th Congress , which examines over 8500 pages of payroll information, is the first reporting of how Congress has spent funds allocated to pay interns, and is a follow-up to Color of Congress, which established a baseline for Congressional intern employment data. It's not all bad news; more than 90 percent of congressional offices used allocated funds to pay interns. To democratize the use of funds, the report recommends more transparent hiring, expanding remote internships opportunities, increasing stipends, engaging and recruiting from communities of color, and prioritizing need-based applicants. "Congressional internships are not just taxpayer-funded opportunities. They are also on-ramps to public office and public service, and we must use an equity lens in hiring these young leaders," said Carlos Mark Vera, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Pay Our Interns. "This report shows that offices need to improve on compensation and hiring practices. We worked with Congress to establish the fund in the first place, and we look forward to working with members to continue to build on this progress." The report found White Congress members are three times as likely to hire a white intern as members of Color; White students made up 76 percent of paid congressional interns despite only representing 52 percent of college students. Meanwhile, members of color make up 24 percent of Congress but employ 33.5 percent of interns of color. Even then Black and Latino students were underrepresented. The report also shows that nearly 50 percent of paid interns attend or attended private universities, which is double the number of undergraduate students who attend private universities nationally. While most offices used allocated funds to pay their interns, the average total stipend was approximately $1,986.75 in the Senate and $1,612.53 in the House, which is not enough to live and work in DC. Latino senators paid their interns significantly more than non-Latino members by an average of $772.03 per intern. Asian senators paid their interns significantly more than non-Asian members by an average of $1,515.74 per intern. In the House, American Indian and Alaska Native representatives provided the most generous stipend amounts. Finally, women made up the larger share of paid interns: 56 percent in the Senate and 51 percent in the House. Equity in the administration of paid internships means ensuring students from all racial backgrounds are equally paid for their work. It also means prioritizing the hiring of students from less privileged backgrounds, who otherwise would not have the opportunity to work in Congress. Congress does not monitor the race of its workforce in a systematic, reliable, and public manner. Congress does, however, publish its payroll records. These data contain the name, title, and salary for every congressional employee, including paid interns. Pay Our Interns used this information to collect more data about paid interns and their race, gender, and educational institutions. Researches supplemented this data with original, online research from a variety of sources, including Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter. To read the full report, visit payourinterns.org. Sign up here to join the fight against unpaid internships. Pay Our Interns is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2016 and led by two formerly unpaid interns of color. It is the nation's only organization fighting to ensure all studentsespecially Black, Latinx, and Native American studentshave equitable access to professional career paths through the implementation of paid internships countrywide. Pay Our Interns (POI) seeks to ensure individuals from all backgrounds are represented across industries impacting their communities, and develop pathways for advancement. In doing so, POI creates a more equitable workforce, more diverse leadership, and a more just world. POI is headquartered in Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.payourinterns.org . SOURCE Pay Our Interns Related Links https://payourinterns.org WHO hopes to submit a final report on the origins of the coronavirus next week, AP reports. The head of a WHO expert group working with Chinese counterparts to finalize a long-awaited report on the origins of the COVID-19 acknowledged that its authors could face pressure, but insisted that the final product would receive a unanimous green light from all members of the group. Expert on food safety and animal-to-human disease, Peter Ben Embarek, said the team hopes the report - currently some 280 pages long with timelines, dates, and appendices - will be ready for release next week. The report is a first-step study that is expected to be followed by deeper analysis within the guidelines set by Chinese officials and the WHO team. Ben Embarek, who led a 10-person international team of experts who visited China in January and February, acknowledged that political pressure over the virus pandemic has increased. The text refinement focused on scientific issues, while some of the translation issues from Chinese to English took a long time, he said. According to him, the report is being written by all experts and is part of a long and difficult process. The Chinese newspaper Global Times published an interview with Liang Wannian, head of a group of Chinese experts, who pointed to the political pressure that amounts to tremendous disrespect for the work of our scientists. He noted that some politicians and international media insisted on politicizing the scientific question of finding the source of COVID-19, regardless of scientific facts, for their own personal gain, arbitrarily misinterpreting the scientific findings and reports of our joint teams. He noted that both sides cooperated openly and fully throughout the month-long investigation and that the results of this joint research in China are the consensus of Chinese and foreign experts. The team did not detect COVID-19 cases until December 8, 2019, he said. Ben Embarek cited the need to explore the possible role of local trade in wild animal products from farms in and around southern China in 2019 and beyond in the pandemic in 2019 and beyond, which could be one of the ways the virus has entered a large city linked to global supply chains. ROTTERDAM JUNCTION A 31-year-old Princetown woman was arrested Wednesday after stealing over $20,000 from a restaurant in Rotterdam Junction while she served as its manager, State Police said. Shannon Magnano was charged with four counts of grand larceny, police said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Egypt has sentenced prominent activist Sanaa Seif to 1 years in prison, her sister said Wednesday, in what Amnesty International called a travesty of justice. According to a tweet from Mona Seif, the Cairo Criminal Court convicted her sister of "spreading false news related to the COVID-19 pandemic," "using a Facebook account to terrorize people and insulting a police officer. Seifs lawyer said the ruling will be appealed. The verdict was delivered Wednesday without the 27-year-old activist present in the courtroom. Todays verdict is yet another crushing blow for the right to freedom of expression in Egypt, Amnestys regional deputy director, Amna Guellali, said in a statement. The Egyptian authorities have yet again demonstrated their unrelenting intent to punish any criticism of their dismal human rights record. Seif has been in Egyptian custody since June, when her family says unidentified security forces seized her outside the Cairo public prosecutors office. Seif had been waiting at the Cairo office to file a complaint related to an attack on her family at the Tora prison complex the previous day. Seif, her sister and mother said they were attacked by a group of armed women at the detention facility. The family was at the Cairo prison to receive a letter from Sanaas older brother, activist Alaa Abdel Fatah, who has been detained since September 2019 over anti-government protests. Egypts authorities have stepped up their crackdown on dissent since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2013, with rights groups accusing the government of orchestrating widespread torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. In the past year, monitors have also documented the arrest or forced disappearance of a number of activists and journalists who criticized the Egyptian governments response to the pandemic. According to Amnesty, Seifs Facebook-related charge stems from her criticism of Egypts overcrowded prisons and their inadequate response to the spread of the coronavirus. Amnesty said that since 2014, Seif had been previously imprisoned in two other cases "for exercising her rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression." The Biden administration has pledged to make human rights central to its relationship with Egypt. The United States joined 30 other countries last week to issue a rare rebuke of the Egyptian governments use of counterterrorism laws to crush peaceful dissent. In a win for e-commerce firm Amazon, the on Thursday upheld the Emergency Award passed against the $3.4-billion Future-Reliance deal. The order, passed by a single-judge Bench of Justice J R Midha, will restrain Future Retail from going ahead with the deal. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on Future and the money will go to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. The court held that Future Retail, Future Coupons (the promoter entity of Future Retail), founder and owner and others violated the Emergency Award. Issuing a show-cause notice to Biyani and others, it asked why they should not be detained in civil prison, according law platform Bar & Bench. Directing the attachment of Biyani's assets, the court ordered the filing of an affidavit describing his assets. The court held that the Emergency Arbitrator had rightly invoked the 'Group of Company' doctrine in relation to the Future Group Thus, Future Group has been directed to approach the authorities for recall of the approvals granted for the Future Retail-Reliance deal. While Future Group has been asked to not take any further action in the advancement of the deal with Reliance, Biyani and others are required to appear before the High Court on the next date of hearing in April. It has also directed Future Group to place on record any action taken by it in relation to the Reliance deal after October 25, 2020. The verdict passed by Justice Midha is probably one of the most poignant ones and will have an empirical impact on the ease of doing business ranking for India and ensuring corporate governance standards, said K Narasimhan, advocate, Madras High Court. For me, this verdict will strengthen faith in our judicial system and let businesses know that contracts matter for a reason, said Narasimhan. Last month, the judge had ordered maintenance of status quo in the deal till the pronouncement of this order. The status quo direction was subsequently stayed by a division bench of the High Court. Amazon's appeal against the stay order on status quo is presently pending before the Supreme Court. Jeff Bezos-led is locked in legal disputes with Biyani-headed Future. It has alleged that the retail conglomerate violated an agreement with the American e-commerce firm by agreeing to sell its assets to Mukesh Ambani-owned last year. Future has denied any wrongdoing. When contacted on Thursday, Future Group declined to comment on the development. However, executives said the company would appeal against the order, possibly in Supreme Court. Bharat Chugh, a Supreme Court advocate, said the order would send a very positive message to all foreign investors that India is a jurisdiction that upholds the sanctity of contracts or investments, and Indian courts respect foreign court or tribunals orders. It reaffirms that Indian courts would not be unduly swayed by emotive arguments and narratives such as the one sought to be painted here by one of the parties: that of a big American company trying to scuttle the rescue of a domestic company because of its greed. The decision also reaffirms the fact that Indian courts can, and do look at the contract obligations and facts of a case - dispassionately and objectively, said Chugh. Meanwhile, the plea before the Supreme Court, challenging the order which had stayed the implementation of status quo direction of the High Court, will be heard in the final week of April. The matter was discussed on Thursday before Justice Rohinton Nariman by senior advocate Gopal Subramanium for an early date. The Singapore International Centre (SIAC) Emergency interim order formed the basis for the Supreme Court verdict. Future Retail has reportedly moved the Singapore tribunal to lift the interim stay the emergency arbitrator had imposed earlier last year. In August 2020, the Future group had struck a $3.4-billion asset sale deal with RIL. then sent a legal notice to Future, alleging that the deal breached an agreement with the e-commerce firm. In 2019, Amazon had acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons (FCPL), the promoter entity of FRL, for about Rs 1,500 crore. The deal specified any disputes would be arbitrated under the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rules. Press Release 18 March 2021 Burt Cabanas, founder and chairman of BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company, has been named chairman of the Florida International University (FIU) Foundation. A 1976 graduate of FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Mr. Cabanas served on FIU's Chaplin School Industry Advisory Board from 2002 - 2014 and in the role of Chairman from 2009 - 2014. He joined the FIU Foundation Board in 2014, serving as vice chair from 2018-2020, and becoming chairman this year. Advertisements "It is an honor to serve in this capacity and give back to an industry and to a university that has been incredibly important in my life," said Mr. Cabanas, "I'm not aware of another industry that can enable an immigrant, through hard work and determination, to rise from lifeguard to building one of the nation's largest independent hospitality management companies, and help launch a new industry-conference centers. Forty-four years ago I graduated from FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and 40 years ago I started Benchmark Global Hospitality. I put much of what I learned at FIU to work in building my career and our company, and helping establish the global conference center industry and the association that supports itthe International Association of Conference Centres (IACC)." Many years ago, Burt Cabanas was asked to the join the Chaplin School's Industry Advisory Board of Directors and six years ago to join the FIU Foundation. "I leapt at the opportunity to give back to FIU and am immensely honored to have been appointed Chairman of the FIU Foundation Board. Our hope is to grow the Foundation's resources substantially so many more students have the opportunity to receive the best education possible, and go out into the world to actively contribute to the development of the hospitality industry, the meetings industry, medicine, business, science, engineering, or any industry they choose to be a part of. This is our goal." To this end and demonstrating his fund-raising prowess, Burt Cabanas was instrumental in launching the FIU Chaplin School's Rocco M. Angelo Leadership Endowment, which provides scholarship support, prospective student engagement, alumni engagement efforts, mentoring programs, career services and student enrichment opportunities. Along with former chairman of Wyndham Worldwide, Eric E. Pfeffer, former member of the FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Dean's Advisory Council; Regynald Washington, member of the school's Executive Advisory Board; and Michael Cheng, dean of FIU's Chaplin School, major gifts were made to launch the funding of the Endowment, and Angelo himself has supported the effort. The Rocco M. Angelo Leadership Endowment has recently surpassed $1 Million, and Cabanas has active plans for continued growth to benefit future FIU students. "My work with the FIU Foundation really is the culmination of my career," said Burt Cabanas. "To be able to support the next generation of meeting, event and hotel professionals particularly those with few financial resources but a strong drive for career success is immensely important and satisfying to me." Mr. Cabanas' fellow hospitality executive, Eric Pfeffer, now president of The Pfeffer Group in North Miami, agrees, demonstrating the importance supporting FIU's students' financial needs with active involvement in the Rocco Angelo Endowment and support of the FIU Foundation. Mr. Pfeffer points to career mentors including and especially Rocco Angelo as critical to his own highly distinguished hotel career and reflected on the importance to current FIU students of all social-economic backgrounds. "Rocco was instrumental in my career choices," said Eric Pfeffer. "After graduation from FIU, I was contemplating an opportunity to join a management training program with Howard Johnson's flagship property, and simultaneously an opportunity came my way for a similar program with Westin at New York's prestigious Plaza Hotel." Mr. Angelo advised Mr. Pfeffer to consider pursuing career "opportunity verses glamour". He said that someone would have to be the president of Howard Johnson one day. His wisdom helped guide Eric Pfeffer in that decision and in 15 years he was indeed president of the Howard Johnson organization, subsequently becoming chairman of Wyndham Worldwide. "Still on the FIU staff, Rocco Angelo, his Endowment and the FIU Foundation will benefit students immeasurably going forward." Burt Cabanas has a solid foundation of leadership experience to draw on for his new role as chairman of the FIU Foundation, having founded Benchmark Global Hospitality in 1980, which is today recognized as a global leader in the management and marketing of conference centers, hotels and resorts. The company has grown to 80 luxury properties in the United States and internationally. Mr. Cabanas began his hospitality career as a teenager, working as a lifeguard for Miami Beach's Shelborne Hotel, having immigrated from Cuba with his mother just a few years prior. Additionally, Burt Cabanas is a founding board member, past president, and active supporter of IACC, the global conference industry's thought leader on the meeting experience. In 1988, IACC presented him with the Mel Hosansky Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the association and to the conference center industry globally. Burt Cabanas was previously honored by Florida International University with the FIU Torch Award as well as the FIU Medallion Award, recognizing his active and long-term involvement as chairman of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Industry Advisory Board. The FIU Alumni Association honored him with the prestigious "Alumnus of the Year Award". Mr. Cabanas individually and through his company is an active supporter of initiatives designed to assist and recognize US Military personnel and their families, including the Texas Marine Medal of Honor Fund. He is the author of Benchmarking: A Life in Business. Photo: Benchmark Burt Cabanas with fellow Hospitality Industry Donors and FIU Leaders Supporting the Rocco Angelo Endowment, from L to R: John B. McKibbon III '75 - Chairman of McKibbon Hospitality Leland Pillsbury - Founder, Co-Chairman, and CEO of Thayer Lodging Group Humberto "Burt" Cabanas '76 - Founder & Chairman of BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company Rocco M. Angelo - Associate Dean of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University (not an alum) Jay A. Litt '73 - Principal at The Litt Group Mark B. Rosenberg - President of Florida International University Kenneth G. Furton, PhD - Provost and Executive Vice President of Florida International University About Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is distinguished as one of the top hospitality programs in the United States and the world. It is ranked in the top 50 globally, #1 for its online program, #1 in the Southeast region of the U.S., and it is best in value. More than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation and around the globe choose FIU for its outstanding reputation, advantageous campus locations in Miami, expert faculty, rich curriculum and fast-track career opportunities in the international hotel, foodservice and tourism industries. In August 2006, FIU unveiled the first U.S. school of hospitality and tourism in Tianjin, China. The Marriott Tianjin China Program, ranked #1 in China, is FIU's largest international program, with a capacity for up to 1,000 students. For more information about Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, visit http://hospitality.fiu.edu/. MIDDLETOWN The high quality of educators and robust number of candidates in the field are what drove the salaries of public school employees in 2020, officials said, which comprised 59.6 percent of the annual budget. Benefits accounted for 17.9 percent of compensation for Middletown Board of Education workers, according to Finance Department Chief of Administration Christine Bourne. A look at the top school district earners showed Superintendent of Schools Michael Conners salary of $230,204 was greater than the median compensation in Connecticut, according to Salary.com. The nonprofit organization reported the average schools chief salary in the state, as of Feb. 26, was $178,199. The range typically falls between $145,566 and $215,019, as reported by Salary.com. You want the best in Middletown, Conner said. Our families and our students deserve the best. When you go for the best, theres a competitive market in any industry in the state when you go for top quality. The second- and third-highest wage earners in 2020 were Chief Academic Officer Magda Parvey ($209,226) and Chief of School Operations and Communications Marco Gaylord ($196,910), according to figures supplied by the school board. The wages of Conner, Gaylord, Parvey, Bourne, Director of Innovation & Grants Natalie Forbes and Director of Facilities Peter Staye include an annuity, Bourne said. For the superintendent, that amounts to $21,110, and $10,000 for the others. All other employees earn a pension, which is not included in their annual wage, Bourne said. The school board, led by Chairwoman Deborah Cain, oversees the superintendent, who is considered the CEO of the district. Conner hires the more than 1,000 individuals he manages. When asked to comment about the superintendents salary, Cain declined comment. Investing in education is one of the smartest investments we can make, Mayor Ben Florsheim said. Look at the numbers that changed in Middletown over the last couple years up until COVID hit. We were seeing the results of the investment were making in places like the new Beman Middle School. This is going to be a very challenging year for the city and the BOE, both of which are in the midst of crafting the 2021-22 spending package, the mayor said. There are a lot of projects especially on the school side that werent able to happen because they had to reallocate their financial priorities to things like keeping students fed, Florsheim said. Expected federal funding will be directed toward making up the learning loss and taking some of the innovative strategies were already doing in Middletown, and making sure were using those to get students back up to speed after the disruptions of that have happened, he said. Since his tenure began, Conner has shifted his practices by conducting a nationwide search for administrators when theres an open position, he said. He pointed to Parvey, who moved from New York to join the district. The advertisement turned up 130 candidates, 50 of them from out of state, he said. Parveys duties go beyond some of the traditional modes of education, he said, and She has a myriad of different responsibilities. Conners experience comes from working leadership positions in New Haven, Norwalk, Hartford, Windham and other places, he said. He is constantly engaging in self-directed activities or relying on what he learned after recently completing the Harvard Business Analytics Program, Conner said. Conner and his top administrators work an enormous amount, he said. The superintendent said its not uncommon for upper-tier workers to put in between 14-16 hours per day, and 6-8 hours on Sundays. We have a joke here if you end at 5 oclock, thats a half a day, said Conner, who feels lucky his wife also works in the field. She understands the level of commitment, he said. She lives it herself. He plans to engage in self-directed professional learning during the April break, which will include reading, attending webinars, and other ways to expand his capabilities, the superintendent said. Middletown schools' top 15 salary earners Superintendent of Schools Michael Conner: $230,204. Chief Academic Officer Magda Parvey: $209,226. Chief of School Operations and Communications Marco Gaylord: $196,910. Middletown High School Principal Colleen Weiner: $173,543. Director of Pupil Services and Special Education Amy Clarke: $166,229. Woodrow Wilson Middle School Principal Cheryl Gonzalez: $157,242. Keigwin Middle School Principal Silvia Mayo Molina: $152,635. Director of Technology Michael Skott: $152,411. Finance Department Chief of Administration Christine Bourne: $152,188. Supervisor of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Lynn Durham: $151,935. Wilbert Snow Elementary School Principal Colleen Fitzpatrick: $151,797. Van Buren Moody Elementary School Principal Jennifer Cannata: $150,558. Lawrence Elementary School Principal James Gaudreau: $150,558. Director of Adult Education James Misenti: $150,558. Commodore MacDonough Elementary School Principal Damian Reardon: $150,558. To view the entire, searchable salary database, visit bit.ly/3eULpUS. Since going public a decade ago, we entered the first phase of GoldMining's strategy, which was to acquire resource stage projects in stable jurisdictions in the Americas at opportune prices during low points in the gold and copper cycle. In 2020, we embarked on the second phase of our strategic plan with a view to unlock the intrinsic value from our vast project portfolio. To this end we created Gold Royalty Corp. to expose existing shareholders to a new and distinct form of value enhancement. Last week, Gold Royalty completed its successful initial public offering (the "IPO") and listing on the NYSE American, achieving a market capitalization of approximately US$200 million. The IPO was tripled from its initial size of US$30 million to US$90 million which provided GRC with one of the strongest balance sheets amongst its peers. As a result of this transformative event, GoldMining holds 20,000,000 GRC shares on its balance sheet. Importantly, GoldMining shareholders have continued indirect ownership of our 49% equity stake in GRC which has a current market value of approximately C$120 million1. As such, we view the IPO as an important value-crystallizing event for the Company and a strong vote of confidence in our team and assets. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the GoldMining and Gold Royalty teams for all their hard work and effort to transform Gold Royalty from a concept into a highly successful IPO launch in less than 9 months. Since the IPO, the GRC team has hit the ground running. Just yesterday, Gold Royalty announced an agreement to acquire a 1.2% NSR on the advanced-stage Seguela project. The project is operated by Roxgold Inc., an experienced mine developer and operator who has reported being on track to make a construction decision in the first half of 2021. As the largest shareholder, we look forward to more positive developments at Gold Royalty. Moving forward, we remain focused on identifying accretive acquisition opportunities, evaluating joint ventures with potential industry partners, and increasing our efforts to daylight value from our projects. We control one of the largest global resource holdings amongst our peers, with an aggregate total of approximately 14.3 million ounces gold equivalent Measured and Indicated Resources and 16.5 million ounces gold equivalent Inferred Mineral Resources (see Table below for further information). While our technical team continues to review key projects for advancement, we are initiating preliminary economic assessments ("PEAs") at the La Mina gold-copper project in Colombia and the high-grade Yellowknife gold project in Canada. We expect these studies to be completed in H2 2021. In addition, diamond drilling programs to test geological targets and to better define, and potentially expand, existing mineral resources at the Titiribi and La Mina projects in Colombia are currently planned to commence in H2 2021. Details will be announced as the studies progress and as program details are refined and finalized. These programs will be funded with existing cash-on-hand and are subject to permitting and potential restrictions related to COVID-19. We look forward to an exciting 2021 for GoldMining, Gold Royalty and all our stakeholders. We thank our shareholders for their continued support and look forward to reporting further progress as we execute our strategy. ___________________________ 1 Based on the closing price of the GRC Shares on the NYSE American and the applicable exchange rate on March 17, 2021. About GoldMining Inc. GoldMining Inc. is a public mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold assets in the Americas. Through its disciplined acquisition strategy, GoldMining now controls a diversified portfolio of resource-stage gold and gold-copper projects in Canada, U.S.A., Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Technical Information Paulo Pereira, P. Geo., President of GoldMining, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Pereira is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Disclosure regarding Mineral Resource estimates included herein have been prepared by the Company in accordance with NI 43-101. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for public disclosure by issuer of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. NI 43-101 differs significantly from the disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") generally applicable to U.S. companies subject to the SEC's disclosure requirements. For example, the terms "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" are defined in NI 43-101 by reference to the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. These definitions differ from the definitions in the disclosure requirements promulgated by the SEC. Accordingly, information contained herein or in the Company's descriptions of its projects may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies reporting pursuant to SEC disclosure requirements. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of an inferred resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. Please refer to the Company's Technical Reports, which are available under its profile at www.sedar.com, for further information regarding Mineral Resource estimates for the Company's projects and other important information regarding such projects, including classification, reporting parameters, key assumptions and risks for each of the Company's projects. Table 1: GoldMining's Aggregated Mineral Resource Statement across all its Projects1,2,3. 1. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources will be converted into mineral reserves. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant issues. 2. The above global resource estimate table is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to represent the viability of any project on a standalone or global basis. The exploration and development of each project, project geology and the assumptions and other factors underlying each estimate, are not uniform and will vary from project to project. Please refer to the technical report for each respective project, as referenced herein, for detailed information respecting each individual project. 3. All quantities are rounded to the appropriate number of significant figures; consequently, sums may not add up due to rounding. 4. Gold cut-off for all projects except for Whistler, which is gold equivalent cut-off. 5. Notes for Titiribi: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the Titiribi Project Department of Antioquia, Colombia" with an effective date of September 14, 2016, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. Gold equivalent estimated for the Titiribi deposit assumes metal prices of US$1,300/oz gold and US$2.90/lb copper and recoveries of 83% for gold and 90% for copper. 6. Notes for Sao Jorge: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Sao Jorge Gold Project, Para State, Brazil" with an effective date of November 22, 2013, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. 7. Notes for Cachoeira: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Cachoeira Property, Para State, Brazil" with an effective date of April 17, 2013 and amended and re-stated October 2, 2013, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. 8. Notes for Whistler: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the Whistler Project" with an effective date of March 24, 2016, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. The Whistler Project is comprised of three deposits: Whistler, Raintree West and Island Mountain. Gold equivalent estimated for the Whistler deposit assumes metal prices of US$990/oz gold, US$15.40/oz silver and US$2.91/lb copper and recoveries of 75% for gold and silver and 85% for copper. Gold equivalent estimated for the Raintree West deposit assumes metal prices of US$1,250/oz gold, US$16.50/oz silver and US$2.10/lb copper and recoveries of 75% for gold, 85% for copper and 75% for silver. Gold equivalent estimated for the Island Mountain deposit assumes metal prices of US$1,250/oz gold, US$16.50/oz silver and US$2.10/lb copper and recoveries of 75% for gold, 85% for copper and 25% for silver (recovered in copper concentrate). A gold equivalent cut-off of 0.3 g/t was highlighted in the estimate as a possible open pit cut-off (Whistler, Raintree-shallow and Island Mountain), and a gold equivalent cut-off of 0.6 g/t was highlighted in the estimate as a possible underground cut-off (Raintree-deep). 9. Notes for La Mina: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the La Mina Project" with an effective date of October 24, 2016, which is available under Bellhaven Copper and Gold Inc.s SEDAR profile. Gold equivalent estimated for the La Mina project assumes metal prices of US$1,275/oz gold, US$17.75/oz for silver and US$2.75/lb for copper and recoveries of 93% for gold and 90% for copper. 10. Notes for Boa Vista: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the Boa Vista Project and Resource Estimate on the VG1 Prospect, Tapajos Area, Para State, Northern Brazil" with an effective date of November 22, 2013, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. 11. Notes for Rio Novo/Surubim: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the Rio Novo Gold Project and Resource Estimate on the Jau Prospect, Tapajos Area, Para State, Northern Brazil" ("Surubim Project") with an effective date of November 22, 2013, which is available under GoldMinings SEDAR profile. 12. Notes for Crucero: Based on technical report titled "Technical Report on the Crucero Property, Carabaya Province, Peru" with an effective date of December 20, 2017, which is available under GoldMining's SEDAR profile. 13. Notes for Yellowknife: Open pit resources stated as contained within a potentially economically minable open pit above a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off. Pit optimization is based on an assumed gold price of US$1,500/oz, metallurgical recovery of 90%, mining cost of US$2.00/t and processing and G&A cost of US$23.00/t. Underground resources stated as contained within potentially economically minable gold grade shapes above a 1.50 g/t Au cut-off. Mineral resource tonnage and grade are reported as undiluted and reflect a potentially minable bench height of 3.0 m. Based on technical report titled "Independent Technical Report Yellowknife Gold Project Northwest Territories, Canada" with an effective date of March 1, 2019, which is available under GoldMining's SEDAR profile. 14. Notes for Yarumalito: Pit constrained resources with reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction reported above a 0.50 g/t AuEq cut-off. Pit constrained resource estimate and gold equivalency are based on US$1,500/oz gold and US$2.70/lb copper, mining cost of US$2.00/t, processing cost of US$8.00/t and pit slope of 45 degrees. Based on a technical report titled "Technical Report: Yarumalito Gold-Copper Property, Departments of Antioquia and Caldas, Republic of Colombia" with an effective date of April 1, 2020, which is available under GoldMining's SEDAR profile. 15. Notes for Almaden: Pit constrained resources with reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction reported above a 0.30 g/t Au cut-off. Pit constrained resource estimate based on US$1,500/oz gold, mining cost of US$2.25/t, processing cost of US$10.00/t and pit slope of 45 degrees. Based on technical report titled "Technical Report: Almaden Gold Property, Washington County, Idaho, USA" with an effective date of April 1, 2020, which is available under GoldMining's SEDAR profile. Forward-looking Statements This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of GoldMining with respect to its long-term strategy, proposed work and other plans and expected timing of PEAs and proposed drililng and its expectations for GRC and its proposed acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which GoldMining and GRC operate. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: delays to plans caused by restrictions and other future impacts of COVID-19 or any other inability of the Company to meet expected timelines for planned project activities, including the proposed PEAs and drilling programs; the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, fluctuating metal prices, proposed studies may not confirm GoldMining's expectations for its projects, risks generally facing companies in GRC's sector, the ability of GRC to complete and satisfy the conditions to its proposed acquisition, unanticipated costs and expenses and the availability and costs of financing needed in the future. These risks, as well as others, including those set forth in GoldMinings Annual Information Form for the year ended November 30, 2020, and other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. SOURCE GoldMining Inc. Related Links www.goldmining.com Alma E. Hernandez, For the San Antonio Express News / Alma E. Hernandez / For the San Antonio Express News The San Antonio city council passed the Gender Pay Parity resolution Thursday, kicking off an initiative that aims to close the gender pay gap in San Antonio. With the passage of the resolution, an awareness campaign run by the YWCA of San Antonio will reach out to local businesses to ask them to sign a pledge for pay equity, to pay their female employees hourly wages and salaries equal to their male counterparts. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The Union of the Armenian Communities in Israel organized a demonstration on Tuesday to protest Elbit Systems, an international defense electronics company that manufactures weapons supplied to Azerbaijan, Asbarez reports. Israel supplies 60 percent of the Azerbaijani militarys armaments, including drones and deadly cluster bombs, which are banned by close to 100 nations. During the war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Azerbaijan used Israeli weapons to attack innocent civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, and to bomb hospitals and churches. Presently, Israels defense industry is in the process of negotiating yet another arms deal with Azerbaijan, and Israels Armenian community cannot be indifferent to this. On Tuesday, Israels Armenian community gathered outside of Elbit Systems to demand that the Israeli government stop supplying weapons to Azerbaijans authoritarian regime, and reminding them that, with its growing Islamic fundamentalisms and intolerance towards national minorities, Azerbaijan is an unreliable ally for Israel itself. Central authorities heed advice on improving electoral system in HKSAR Xinhua) 08:24, March 18, 2021 Zhang Yong (C), deputy head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, collects advice and suggestions on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from the representatives of different sectors in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, south China, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) Representatives from various sectors of Hong Kong have expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Officials of central authorities' departments have heard the voice of Hong Kong people carefully and sincerely. HONG KONG, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Over the past three days, more than 1,000 representatives from various sectors of Hong Kong have expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) through symposiums, visits and interviews arranged by the central authorities. Officials of central authorities' departments have heard the voice of Hong Kong people carefully and sincerely. The opinion collection came after the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR last week. From Monday to Wednesday, 66 symposiums were held in Hong Kong, which gathered representatives from all walks of life, including political figures, business leaders and professionals. "All opinions are welcome at the symposiums," Zhang Yong, deputy head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said when speaking at a meeting on Monday. As the NPC's decision has the importance of landmark to the implementation of "one country, two systems," the central authorities attach great importance to improving the electoral system of the HKSAR and takes a prudent attitude, Zhang said, stressing a "good law" will eventually be enacted after different views are heeded in Hong Kong. Zhang Xiaoming (C), deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, collects advice and suggestions on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from the representatives of different sectors in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, south China, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Shen) In fact, before the NPC's decision was adopted, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council had invited legal experts and experts on politics, among others, from both the mainland and Hong Kong to study the matter. From Feb. 28 to March 1, Hong Kong representatives from all walks of life attended symposiums in Shenzhen to share their views. During the annual "two sessions," related departments of the central authorities also listened to the opinions of NPC deputies and political advisers from the HKSAR. "The central authorities are sincere and have taken action to listen to the opinions of various sectors of Hong Kong society," Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said. It is the common responsibility of the relevant departments of the central authorities, the HKSAR government and legislature, and various sectors in Hong Kong to implement the NPC's decision, Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, said, encouraging Hong Kong representatives to express their views freely. Luo Huining (C), director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, collects advice and suggestions on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR from the representatives of different sectors in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, south China, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) During the meetings, Hong Kong attendees have vigorously put forward their suggestions. Starry Lee Wai-king, chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, highlighted the greater empowerment of the Election Committee of the HKSAR. Given the deteriorating working environment in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in recent years, entrusting the Election Committee with the function of electing a relatively large share of LegCo members will improve Hong Kong's democracy and enable Hong Kong to focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood, which is conducive to Hong Kong's long-term development, she said. Ng Chau-pei, president of Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, proposed that the District Council's seats in the Election Committee should be removed and the District Council should no longer participate in the election of the chief executive or the LegCo. The District Council's seats in the LegCo should be removed, too, he said. Ng also believes efforts should be made to increase the size of the Election Committee and optimize its subsectors so that the principle of balanced participation and Hong Kong's overall interests can be ensured. The share of the labor sector should be expanded as there are around 3.8 million workers in Hong Kong, he added. Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam (2nd R) shows her signature during a campaign in support of the decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR by the National People's Congress in Hong Kong, south China, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua) Ip Lau Suk-yee, chairwoman of Hong Kong's New People's Party, said the current LegCo still lacks full representation of Hong Kong's high-end financial industry and some key science and technological industries, and she hoped that the future Election Committee will make up the shortfall. Wong Kam-leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, suggested measures to create favorable conditions for patriotic education through improving the electoral system so that Hong Kong's education sector can be pushed back on the right track. Participants of the meetings have reached consensus on many areas and unanimously support the NPC's decision, Zhang Xiaoming said Wednesday at a press briefing. After the implementation of the national security law in the HKSAR and the improvement of the electoral system, Hong Kong will return to the normal path, get out of the political mire and embrace peace and stability, he said. Ordinary residents in Hong Kong have also expressed their opinions about improving the electoral system of the HKSAR. As of Wednesday morning, more than 700,000 people have signed a petition online in support of the NPC's decision. HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the HKSAR government has set up a special team to speed up related work. LegCo President Andrew Leung also said the LegCo will expedite the deliberation to ensure the timely passage of related bills so that the upcoming three elections in the next 12 months will be held smoothly. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Department of Energy is inviting private firms to provide electricity services to 69 far-flung areas in Palawan and Negros Occidental. These areas have been declared as remote, underserved, and unserved, the DOE said in a statement on Thursday. Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, remote and unviable villages that the franchised utilities cannot serve will be open for qualified third parties or QTPs. The DOE said it published the list of QTP Service Areas on Monday, marking the start of the 20-day period when the concerned distribution utilities can conduct competitive bidding. A public notice was signed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi last Friday. The National Power Corporation will step in if the distribution utilities would fail to comply. Sixty-three of the newly opened service areas are covered by the Palawan Electric Cooperative, Inc., while the remaining six are under the franchise areas of the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative. According to DOE guidelines, participation as a QTP is open to any party, including private firms, local government units, cooperatives, non-government organizations, and subsidiaries of generation companies or distribution utilities that could comply with technical, financial, and other requirements. They are to adopt the least-cost and most efficient technology options. The department circular also states that the DOE shall coordinate with the Energy Regulatory Commission to set the Full Cost Recovery Rate in the QTP areas in a way that will encourage investments and private sector participation. The DOE is determined to fast track its total electrification program for the country," Cusi said in a statement. "We will make electricity available to all unserved and underserved households in the country, and the QTP program will help us realize our goal. As of December 2017, more than 20.9 million out of 23.7 million households in the country have access to electricity, yielding an 88.3% household electrification rate, according to the DOEs latest annual report released in 2018. German archbishop offers to resign after abuse criticism View Photo COLOGNE, Germany (AP) A report commissioned by Germanys Cologne archdiocese on church officials handling of past cases of sexual abuse found 75 cases in which high-ranking officials neglected their duties. The findings on Thursday prompted the archbishop of Hamburg to offer his resignation to Pope Francis. The report commissioned by Colognes archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, absolved Woelki himself of any neglect of duty with respect to abuse victims. However, Woelkis late predecessor, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, was accused of two dozen instances of wrongdoing such as failing to follow up on or report cases of abuse, not sanctioning perpetrators or not caring for victims. Meisner retired in 2014 and died in 2017. Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse, previously a senior church official in Cologne, was faulted for 11 cases of neglecting his duty. Later Thursday, Hesse posted a video statement in which he conceded that he had made mistakes in the past, and said he very much regretted if he caused new suffering to victims or their relatives through my action or omission. I never participated in cover-ups, he said. I am nevertheless prepared to carry my part of the responsibility for the failure of the system. To prevent damage to the office of the archbishop and to the Hamburg archdiocese, I am offering my resignation to Pope Francis, and I am asking him to relieve me of my duties immediately, he said. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican, and it was unlikely Francis would act quickly on Hesses offer. At 54 years old, Hesse is more than 20 years away from the normal retirement age for bishops. Francis has previously declined, at least initially, to accept resignations when they were offered to repent for mishandling sex abuse cases, though he has relented after time. The lawyer in charge of the report, Bjoern Gercke, told reporters in Cologne that his investigation touched on the cases of 314 abuse victims a majority of them boys under the age of 14 at the time of the abuse and 202 people accused of abuse in the Cologne diocese since 1975. The focus wasnt so much on what the suspects did to the victims, but more on whether the church former and current archbishops, vicars-general and other high-ranking church officials responded correctly to accusations of abuse. Altogether, the report found 75 cases in which eight high-ranking officials neglected their duties to either follow up on, report or sanction cases of alleged abuse by clergy and lay church employees, and failed to take care of the victims. Woelki infuriated many local Catholics over recent months by citing legal concerns to keep under wraps a first report on how local church officials reacted when priests were accused of sexual abuse. He commissioned the new report an 800-page investigation based on church files and put together by a German law firm. Gercke said the first report, by a Munich law firm, also had concluded that the current archbishop wasnt guilty of any wrongdoing. The Cologne archdiocese has the most Catholics of any in Germany, some 1.9 million. In a first response to the new report, Woelki said the investigation confirmed his fears that high-ranking officials were guilty of not having reported perpetrators and thereby preventing their prosecution. My predecessors, too, are guilty as of today it is no longer possible to say We didnt know, Woelki said, adding that he would send the report to the Holy See in Rome. Woelki said he also would temporarily suspend two Cologne church officials based on the findings of the investigation. One of them, Auxiliary Bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp, also said he had offered his resignation to the pope. The report found Schwaderlapp neglected his duty to inform and report abuse allegations in eight cases. German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said the report demonstrated anew what horrific sexual violence children and teenagers had to suffer in Catholic institutions. Child abuse is not an internal church matter, but a crime that must be examined and decided by criminal courts, the minister said. Jens Windel, 46, the founder of a support group for clergy abuse survivors, watched a livestream of the news conference about the report on his laptop with other victims outside Colognes landmark cathedral. The report, he said, trivializes the severity of the cover-ups that took place. There has been fierce criticism of Woelkis handing of the previous report. The head of the German Bishops Conference, Limburg Bishop Georg Baetzing, last month described the crisis management in Cologne as a disaster. A Cologne court last month announced that it was raising the number of appointments available for people seeking to formally leave the church to 1,500 per month from 1,000 starting in March, amid strong demand. Revelations about past sexual abuse have dogged the church in Germany and elsewhere for years. In 2018, a church-commissioned report concluded that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. More than half of the victims were 13 or younger when the abuse took place, and nearly a third of them were altar boys. In January, a new system drawn up by the church to compensate abuse victims took effect. It provides for payments of up to about 50,000 euros (nearly $60,000) to each person. Under a previous system in place since 2011, payments averaged about 5,000 euros. ___ Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report. By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and DANIEL NIEMANN Associated Press Sniffer dogs could be used to detect COVID-19 THAILAND: Sniffer dogs could soon be employed at major transport hubs to detect COVID-19 in humans, the head of a pilot project at Chulalongkorn University has confirmed. CoronavirusCOVID-19animalshealthSafetyimmigration By The Phuket News Thursday 18 March 2021, 09:46AM A dog in training to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus in Songkhla, on Mar 3. Photo: Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production/Handout. A recent six-month project by the university saw six Labrador Retrievers undergo a series of tasks where they proved to be 95% accurate in identifying the coronavirus in human sweat. One such task was detecting the sweat of a human infected with COVID-19 on a selected can of six placed on a spinning wheel. The dogs are able to detect a volatile organic compound secreted in the sweat of those infected with COVID-19, even when there is an absence of disease symptoms, researchers confirmed. The dogs take only one to two seconds to detect the virus, said Professor Kaywalee Chatdarong, the leader of the project at the universitys veterinary faculty. Within a minute, they will manage to go through 60 samples, he added. Prof Kaywalee explained that it would not be necessary for the dogs to actually sniff people directly but that sweat samples could be screened, something that sould not pose any problems in tropical climates such as Thailand. Other countries that have launched similar efforts by utilising sniffer dogs include Germny, India, Finland and Chile. Last month, a veterinary clinic in Germany confirmed its sniffer dogs had scored 94% detection accuracy in human saliva samples. The next step will be to actually utilise the sniffer dogs in the real world, added Prof Kaywalee. In the future, when we send them to airports or ports, where there is an influx of commuters, they will be much faster and more precise in detecting the virus than temperature checks, she said. faces a rising dilemma in the ongoing crisis in after unknown assailants torched at least ten Chinese-financed factories in Yangon's Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone on Sunday. After the incident on March 14, where an estimated 74 anti-coup protesters were killed by the increasingly aggressive military, Beijing was quick to urge Myanmar's military leaders to ensure security for its investments. China's state-run Global Times newspaper said it "strongly condemned such barbaric acts", Asia Times reports. The Chinese Embassy in released a statement on its Facebook page in response to some Chinese factories that "perpetrators destroyed, raided and lit on fire."' " calls to take effective actions and investigate and punish the arsonist in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of the lives and properties of Chinese businesses and people," the statement said. After China's reaction, the generals were quick to act on the request as they imposed martial law for Yangon's Hlaing Tharyar soon after the factory assault, along with five other townships in Yangon and Mandalay each. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has traditionally maintained close relations with Myanmar's generals, providing them crucial diplomatic backing and investment when they were sanctioned by the West from 1988 until 2013, according to Asia Times. Dominic Oo writes that was Myanmar's biggest investor from 1988 until 2019 with over USD 20 billion in outlays, representing 26 per cent of the country's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to Myanmar Investment Commission data. Several controversial Chinese investments include the USD 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam project in northern Kachin state, which seeks to dam the nation's vital Irrawaddy river, flood an area the size of Singapore, and export 90 per cent of the power generated to China. This project was suspended by then-president Thein Sein in 2011 after a public outcry. Much of Chinese investment has gone into extractive sectors, namely hydropower, oil and gas, and mining, along with textile production. China is also pumping Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects worth billions of dollars, including a deep-sea port and special economic zone at Myanmar's Rakhine. Chinese investors are also involved in a "new city" project in Yangon According to Asia Times, with deep and wide commercial and strategic interests, Beijing has found it difficult to navigate a middle path through the coup crisis. Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai has said the coup was "absolutely not what China wants to see" but avoided denouncing the putsch outright by saying Beijing viewed it as a "change of political situation" and an "internal affair." Meanwhile, anti-coup protesters have strongly slammed at China's position, indicated by a mass demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon. Placards held by protesters in front of the embassy said "Shame on you, China" and "Myanmar's military dictatorship is made in China." Protestors have parodied Beijing's diplomatic use of "internal affairs" to take rhetorical aim at its crucial investments in the country, with one string on social media asking "whether the [China-invested] gas pipelines are blown up or not is an internal affair", Asia Times reported. The twin oil and gas pipelines provide China a crucial transport hedge for its oil and gas shipments from the Middle East, known as a crucial part of the BRI in Myanmar. "China has the leverage to negotiate with the military as the one who would support Myanmar on a global stage and economically. But will China actually do that, or is it in China's interests to do that?" said one Myanmar analyst. Ko Eric, a Myanmar expert, and researcher, said that Beijing will probably not pressure generals as they don't want to see a democratically successful Myanmar as it could pro-democratic movements for China. Moreover, Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, has been accused of providing cameras with facial and license plate identification capabilities which have allegedly helped authorities identify and apprehend protest leaders, according to local reports and rights groups' statements, reports Asia Times. Huawei has denied it supplied the technology but has not clarified how Myanmar sourced the cameras. Meanwhile, over 200 foreign and local companies have signed a statement facilitated by the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) to state their concern about developments since the February 1 coup. Not a single Chinese company has spoken out against the military's hostile takeover. "Many Chinese businesses possibly have too much investment with the generals to dare to speak out... It will benefit future Myanmar-China relations for China to get the support of the Myanmar public," said Ko Eric. Over 200 people have been killed since the takeover on February 1, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to CNN. After imposing martial law in six areas of Yangon and parts of Mandalay, mobile network data across the country was cut for a second day on Wednesday, internet monitoring service Netblocks reported. On February 1, Myanmar's military overthrew the government and declared a year-long state of emergency hours before the newly-elected parliament was due to convene. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, along with other top officials accused of election fraud, have been placed under house arrest. (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 FBI on Thursday publicized 10 videos in hopes of identifying the attackers they say committed the most egregious assaults on police officers at U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. In announcing the videos, Steven M. DAntuono, assistant director in charge of the FBIs Washington field office, thanked the public for their tips so far, which has led to the arrests of over 300 suspects - 65 of them for assaulting officers that day. Our work is far from over, he said. There are many more out there. DAntuono singled out this past weekends arrests of Julian Khater and George Tanios, who grew up in New Jersey and are charged with assaulting three officers with chemical spray on Jan. 6, as an example of how valuable tips from the public are to identify such investigations. Colleagues identified both to the FBI. One of the officers Khater and Tanios are accused of spraying was Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, also a New Jersey native, who died Jan. 7 after collapsing the night of the riot. The suspects are not charged in his death, a cause which has not yet been made public. In the 10 videos highlighted Thursday, DAntuono warned viewers they would see officers being pushed and punched, struck with sticks and poles, beaten with their own shields and sprayed with a variety of chemical irritants. Each video also features screen-grab still images of the person committing the violence. The public has delivered, DAntuono said. We are coming to you again, because we know someone out there, somewhere, will recognize these individuals. We know it can be a difficult decision to report information about family, friends, or coworkers, but it is the right thing to do, and the FBI continues to need your help to identify these suspects, he said. The 10 videos can be found on this FBI page. The agency has also compiled hundreds of other videos and photos of unidentified suspects from the Capitol on a special webpage here. In addition to Khater and Tanios, 14 people with strong New Jersey connections have been charged with committing crimes at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Two of them, Scott Fairlamb of Sussex County, and Ezekiel Zeke Stecher of Gloucester County, are charged with assaulting officers. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com The report said they did not see -- as in 2016 -- a persistent effort on the part of Russia to gain access to U.S. election infrastructure. Peskov was reacting to a report released Tuesday by the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) saying Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations aimed at denigrating U.S. President Joe Biden, boosting former President Donald Trump, undermining confidence in the election and exacerbating social divisions in the United States. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday a U.S. intelligence report indicating Russia meddled in 2020 U.S. elections was "wrong and has absolutely no foundation and evidence." In a telephone briefing with reporters, Peskov said Russia did not interfere with U.S. elections in 2016 or 2020 as mentioned in the report. "Russia has nothing to do with any campaigns against any candidates," the Russian presidential spokesman said. He added he expects the U.S. government to use the report to impose additional sanctions against Russia, which he said, "harms painful Russian-American relations." The DNI report also found that Iran carried out a "multi-pronged covert influence campaign" designed undercut former president Trump's chances in last year's election, though without boosting his rival. The report says Iran also attempted to undercut public confidence in the U.S. election process. The assessment also concludes that, despite repeated warnings by several top U.S. officials, China ultimately decided to sit the election out and "did not deploy interference efforts." The report goes on to say that Lebanon's Hezbollah, Venezuela and Cuba all made efforts to influence the 2020 U.S. election, but were on a smaller scale. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RateGain , the leading SaaS Company for travel and hospitality, today announced that Croatia Airlines, the state-owned flag carrier of Croatia has selected RateGain to gather vital pricing insights & competitive intelligence data using its advanced, real-time airfare price intelligence solution, AirGain . With Croatia emerging as popular among international tourists in the last decade and looking to expand its destination network after the pandemic, the pricing team at Croatia wanted to stay abreast with the changing market conditions and keeping a close watch on competition to be the first choice of every passenger traveling from or to Croatia. AirGain will provide the team with a single screen, scalable visualizations to track market position easily, and personalization to help get real-time insights with just a few clicks. Commenting on the partnership, Kresimir Mlinar, Director Network & Revenue Management, Croatia Airlines, said, "To remain the airline of choice for all travelers in Croatia, we must have an accurate understanding of fares that are offered and available to customers across all digital platforms. AirGain with its easy to use UI gives us the required exhaustive and real-time insights about our market and competition thus helping us take data-backed decisions to boost profits and plan for growth." "The pandemic has put the revenue management function back in focus,as a critical driver of recovery as the world reopens once again," said Shweta Vashishth, Vice President of Sales, RateGain. "We are delighted that Croatia Airlines selected RateGain to get control of their market through on-demand reports and use the new analytics experience to get insights and correct their strategy instantly." About Croatia Airlines: Croatia Airlines,the Croatian flag carrier,and Star Alliance member,was registered under the name of Zagreb Airlines d.d. in 1989. Since July 1990, the company has been operating under its present name. Croatia Airlines is a full-service carrier that provides domestic and international air passenger and cargo transport services. It also provides aircraft maintenance and professional training of aviation personnel. In its 32 years of operations, the company has been recognized by its passengers for flight safety, quality of services, and professional staff. www.croatiaairlines.com About RateGain: RateGain is a leading provider of SaaS products,which help travel and hospitality companies with cognitive revenue management, smart e-distribution, and brand engagement to make more revenue every day.RateGain is proud to support 250,000+ hotel properties globally by providing 240 billion rate and availability updates & powering over 30 Million bookings. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/923440/RateGain_Logo.jpg The Whosoevers takes ministry to skate park amid pandemic, sees hundreds come to Christ Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Over the last five years, Ryan Ries, the co-founder of The Whosoevers, a movement that seeks to deliver the message of the Gospel to schools and empower students to realize their true purpose in life, has seen hundreds of thousands of children, teens, and young adults come to Christ. We've seen over 100,000 students give their life to the Lord in public school systems worldwide through our Kill the Noise tour, Ries, who founded the group with P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval, told The Christian Post. We're getting into public schools through the Christian clubs and we're filling the gymnasiums at lunch. We're seeing a revival break out with hundreds of thousands of kids coming down to the floor, praying to be forgiven of their sins. I tell them that they're dirty sinners, they all start laughing because they know they are; no one has to tell them and they're repenting, they're receiving Jesus and they're getting filled with the Holy Spirit. We're giving them Gospels and plugging them in to local churches to get disciples, he said of how the ministry reached youth before public schools were shut down last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns forced Ries to rethink how, exactly, to do ministry. A seasoned skateboarder, he felt God calling him to the skate park an outdoor space rife with teens experiencing hurt, neglect and addiction. God just gave me this idea like, Hey, there are skate parks in every single city across the U.S., he recalled. Ive been skateboarding my whole life, so I thought, This is a perfect idea. Ries explained that many teens and young adults who frequent skate parks have troubled home lives. For them, skating is a way to take out aggression and pain. "It's an environment for misfits," he said. I grew up as a skateboarder since the '80s, and I can tell you this lifestyle is about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Its a very loose environment for young people to get into trouble, to start smoking cigarettes, look at pornography, do drugs, drink alcohol. Theres a lot of brokenness, depression and suicide. Answering Gods call without hesitation, Ries., his family and The Whosoevers team packed their bags and went to Idaho to begin witnessing in skate parks across the state. I made 10,000 fliers saying there was going to be a $100 best trick contest, and about two weeks before the event, I literally drove to every skate park to pass out flyers and talk to the skaters, he said. On the day of the event, the skate park was packed, Ries recalled, and a number of kids ending up getting saved. We'd go to the skate parks, have conversations, and get the party started, Ries said. From there, we gave out money as they landed the tricks. At the end, we gave out our products, and from there we shared the Gospel. By the time we shared the Gospel, we'd already developed a relationship with them. There was really no bait-and-switch. We were able to pray over hundreds of kids before the end of the day." The Whosoevers Idaho tour is the subject of a new documentary, The Whosoevers Full Send Tour: Spreading the Gospel During Difficult Times in the Pandemic, which was released earlier this month. The documentary follows Ries and The Whosoevers team as they travel to skate parks across the Midwestern state, sharing the Gospel and praying over teens struggling with physical, emotional and mental ailments. Impressive skate action is also sprinkled throughout the documentary, along with an upbeat soundtrack. So many of these kids come from broken homes. When I read about Jesus, He went from town to town, hanging out with disreputable sinners among the crowd. Were following the model of Jesus, going from town to town, village to village, meeting the people right where theyre at, he added. While theres always a huge need for the Gospel among young people, Ries said the demand is greater than ever amid the pandemic. He cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show anxiety, depression and suicide have increased to an all-time high because of the ongoing lockdowns. Kids are depressed, suicidal and struggling, and these issues are the same both with kids in the Church and in the secular world, he stressed. When you sugarcoat the Gospel and dont hit on those hard issues like self-harm, suicide and anxiety, you do them a huge disservice. Weve got to be honest about how this stuff happens in the Church too. Thats the only way freedom will take place. The harvest is so ripe, he added. The fruit is so ripe its literally falling off the trees up to this point. Everyone is giving their life to the Lord, but youve got to have conversations and be genuine with them and let them know that you love them and will meet them where they are. Ries and his team are going beyond Idaho, taking their Full Send Tour to skate parks nationwide. We want to continue to get in front of as many people as possible, he said. Right now is the most crucial time because the youth are in a dark place, and they need to hear the Good News of the Gospel and they need to encounter the love of a loving Father in Heaven. Ries heart for the next generation comes from his own testimony of how God saved him from a life of pain and addiction a story he recounts in his forthcoming book,Kill the Noise: Finding Meaning Above the Madness. Despite growing up in a Christian home, Ries found himself struggling with addiction at an early age. I'm a perfect example of a kid that got caught up in pornography at second grade, smoking cigarettes and drinking by fifth grade, he shared. It wasnt long before I was off to the races. I found God in a hotel room after nine days of cocaine, Xanax, and alcohol, he added. From that point, I started going to church and discovering who Jesus Christ was. I felt God calling me to dedicate my life to ministry. The Whosoevers movement, he said, takes its name from John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes would not perish, but have everlasting life." Whosoever means anyone, from bum to president, Ries said. We want to go out and break down walls between all the different denominations and unite a brotherhood and sisterhood and proclaim our testimonies of what Christ did on the cross for us. Ries, who also hosts a radio show, challenged other Christians to step out in faith and allow God to use them for His glory. The next generation, he said, is "craving" discipleship. Jesus sent out His disciples and told them to preach the Gospel because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. He said to lay hands on the sick and cast out demons. That is the Great Commission and that is our call in life, to obey and walk by faith, he said. God can do extraordinary things with the ordinary man, Ries added. If we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, God will use us. It just depends on our availability. Are you available? Are you willing to answer the call? When you are, God will move in power. The oldest surviving resident of an abandoned Scottish island has celebrated her 100th birthday. Jean Robertson, who was born on the island of Stroma in 1921, received flowers, gifts and a special birthday card from the Queen after she reached the milestone age on March 6. The former resident, who now lives in Thurso, described how she was passionate about researching the abandoned island and said the secret to her longevity was 'keeping an active mind, watching quiz programmes and doing crosswords'. Jean Robertson, who was born on the Scottish island of Stroma in 1921, received a special birthday card from the Queen after she reached the age of 100 on March 6 She said: 'I've always maintained a healthy lifestyle and still keep an active mind, watching quiz programmes on television and doing crosswords. 'I am still passionate about researching facts about Stroma and its former inhabitants. I also take a keen interest in the lives of my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 'All in all, I would say that all these things contribute to my inner contentment.' Ms Roberston, who was also Stroma's last postwoman, was born on the island in 1921 to Jeanie and William Bremner. After receiving her education at Stroma Public School, she worked briefly at Thuster Lodge on the mainland and would often return to the island to help out on the family croft. She simultaneously worked in one of the three island shops for several years. During the Second World War, Ms Robertson worked as a postal worker and would deliver mail around the island on her bicycle. In 1946, she married Frank Robertson and over the next few years they raised their children, Jackie, Sheena and Billy, on their croft, Bellevue. However in 1957, the family reluctantly moved from their island home to Thurso in Caithness due to the closure of the school where their older children were the last pupils. The island of Stroma is located off the Caithness coast in Scotland and was once populated by a vibrant community of islanders In 1901 there were 375 residents on the island but by the early 1960s just 12 people remained After they resettled, Mr Robertson became well known in the farming community as a livestock inspector with the Department of Agriculture. However in 1986, after 40 happy years of marriage, Ms Robertson's husband passed away. In her later years, Ms Robertson became a member of the Church Guild and Friendship Club. She was also involved in providing information and photographs for the book on Stroma, which was edited by the late Donald Young and published in 1992. The island of Stroma, which is located off the Caithness coast in Scotland, was once populated by a vibrant community of islanders. In 1901, there were 375 residents on the island but by 1949 that figure plunged to just over 199. Over the course of 13 years, the number of residents on the island continued to dwindle and by the early 1960s just 12 people remained. In 1962, the last resident islanders left and they were soon followed by the keepers of the island lighthouse and their families in 1997. BETHLEHEM District residents will vote in May on whether Bethlehem schools will be among the first in New York to use electric buses. The district wants to purchase up to nine electric buses, which would be partially paid for with a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The White Plains school district in Westchester County is believed to be the first in New York to start using electric school buses three years ago. Karim Johnson, Bethlehem's transportation director, said electric vehicles are quiet, and the buses will likely be outfitted with sounds to alert other drivers and pedestrians. "It's too early to say what the Bethlehem buses will sound like or what kind of alert system they will be equipped with, as we do not have a purchase plan in place yet," Johnson said in an email to the Times Union. The purchase of the nine buses, which would be used starting in the fall, would "begin a transition of the districts bus fleet from diesel-fuel to zero-emission electric school buses," the district said in a letter to parents Wednesday. The White Plains buses also feed electricity back into the power grid, a feature that would eventually come with Bethlehem buses. "The timing will be subject to when National Grid has the necessary system infrastructure in place to accommodate a V2G (Vehicle to Grid) system," Judith Kehoe, the district's chief business and financial officer, said in an email to the Times Union. Bethlehem voters will decide on a $1,675,000 bus proposition as part of the annual school district budget vote on Tuesday, May 18. The district said the electric buses would replace nine large 2009 diesel buses. The addition of $1 million in grants available through NYSERDA helps makes purchase of electric buses feasible, the district said. The proposition cost would cover the buses, as well as their charging stations. The debt service payments for the buses would be rolled into the 2021-22 budget spending, which district officials expect will be under the state-mandated property tax cap. Kehoe said the state grant makes the cost of a new electric bus within $40,000 of a new diesel bus. If you factor in all costs over the life of both types of buses, now you have two vehicles that essentially cost the same, but with the added benefit of one being environmentally-friendly," Kehoe said in a statement. The district said the nine buses would hopefully be the start of transitioning its entire fleet to electric. Tunisias president flew to Libya on Wednesday to meet with the neighboring countrys new unity government. Kais Saied met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah as well as head of Libyas Presidential Council Mohammad Younes Menfi in Tripoli. The discussions focused on restoring Tunisia-Libya relations to normal following years of civil war in Libya, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Its time to overcome all causes of alienation, said Saied at a press conference. The recent history of Tunisia-Libya relations has been shaped by the Arab Spring. In 2011, a popular revolution forced longtime Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali out of power. Later that year, Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya for decades, was removed from power and killed during the NATO-backed uprising. Tunisia transitioned to a democratic form of government, but Libya has been marred by war and instability since Gadhafi was ousted. Hundreds of thousands of Libyans have crossed the border into Tunisia to flee the violence. Before the Arab Spring, Tunisia and Libya were major trade partners. The Libyan civil war that began in 2014 between the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army in the east ended in December of last year with a cease-fire. Earlier this month, a unity government took office that is supported by both of the warring parties. The interim government is to lead the country until elections on Dec. 24. Tunisia remained neutral during the Libyan civil war. Saieds visit could be a sign that relations will go back to normal between the two North African states. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 04:08:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TRIPOLI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Libya's National Center for Disease Control on Wednesday announced detecting a new COVID-19 variant in the city of Misurata, some 250 km east of the capital Tripoli. The new variant was found in 15 new cases, the center said. "The discovery of the new variants in Libya explains the rapid spread of the pandemic currently and the serious deterioration of the pandemic situation in the country," it added. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Libya has so far hit 148,175, including 134,923 recoveries and 2,422 fatalities. Enditem Hollywood actor Armie Hammer has been accused of raping a woman in Los Angeles. The woman, a 24-year-old named only as Effie, made the allegations during a virtual press conference held by high-profile US lawyer Gloria Allred. In a statement to the PA news agency, Hammers lawyer Andrew Brettler described the allegations as outrageous and said his client welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight. The accuser broke down while reading a prepared statement, alleging she first met Hammer, 34, on Facebook in 2016. She alleged he raped her for four hours in 2017 and slammed her head against a wall. Effie lives in Europe, according to Allred, but the lawyer declined to reveal the accusers occupation. She said she first had contact with Hammer on Facebook when she was 20, adding: I fell in love with him instantly. Effie said Hammer was employing manipulation tactics in order to exert control over me, until I started to lose myself. She said he would test my devotion to him, finally removing and crossing my boundaries as he became increasingly more violent. Effie accused the actor of abusing her mentally, emotionally and sexually. She said: On April 24 2017, Armie Hammer raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face. Effie said their last interaction was last year. Mr Brettler has denied the allegations on behalf of his client. He included a text, allegedly from the accuser, claiming it undermines and refutes the rape allegation. Armie Hammers career has been left in freefall by a series of damaging allegations (PA) Mr Brettlers statement read: As recently as July 18, 2020, (the accuser) sent graphic texts to Mr Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her. Mr Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her. The screenshot below is just one of hundreds (the accuser) sent to Mr Hammer. It was never Mr Hammers intention to embarrass or expose (the accusers) fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference. With the truth on his side, Mr Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight. From day one, Mr Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with (the accuser) and every other sexual partner of his for that matter have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory. (The accusers) attention-seeking and ill-advised legal bid will only make it more difficult for real victims of sexual violence to get the justice they deserve. Hammer, known for films including The Social Network and Call Me By Your Name, previously described social media allegations against him as vicious and spurious online attacks against me. When asked if Effie would be pressing charges, Ms Allred, known for taking on cases involving womens rights, said: Effie is providing what she thinks might be relevant to law enforcement and then it is for law enforcement and the prosecutor to decide if there is sufficient evidence to pursue it. I will only say that Effie has the courage to co-operate in any investigation that may be taking place. The Los Angeles Police Department told PA it has opened a sexual assault investigation following a rape claim against Hammer. A spokesman said officers were contacted by an attorney representing a female in the community on February 3. He added a sexual assault investigation is under way and no further details would be released at this time. Hammers Hollywood career is in freefall following a series of damaging accusations over explicit messages he allegedly sent on social media. Elizabeth Chambers, his estranged wife and mother of his two children, released a statement last month and said she supported any victim of assault or abuse. She added: I didnt realise how much I didnt know. Following the controversy, Hammer stepped down from his starring role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming comedy Shotgun Wedding, as well as leaving TV series The Offer, a drama about the making of The Godfather. Concerns around the safety of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine haven't deterred India's inoculation drive with the country saying the jab is safe and that the nationwide vaccination programme can continue. The Serum Institute of India has manufactured the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, Covishield, in the country, which is being used along with the indigenous Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in the mass inoculation drive being carried out across India. Out of 38 autopsy reports, the National Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee reviewed of people who died after receiving the vaccination, nothing linked the deaths or adverse events to vaccination. Also Read: Germany, Italy, France suspend AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine amid safety fears "There are 71 deaths. We have received 38 autopsy reports so far. There is nothing to suggest that these were linked to vaccination," a source told the Business Standard, adding that review of adverse events post-vaccination is a continual process and is a continual process and is monitored for each and every vaccine administered in the country, just as measles, polio etc. "For Covishield, and even Covaxin, this review would continue. We expect to come out with a detailed review report in a day or two," the person stated. Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member VK Paul said that although there were concerns about the correlation of AstraZeneca with thrombotic events, the European Medical Agency (EMA) has stated that halting the inoculation programme was a preventive step. "India's own group has been seized with this issue for the last few days and is tracking the matter in a systematic manner. We have no signal of concern in this regard. Our programme with Covishield vaccination will go on with full vigour," Paul noted during the weekly briefing on the COVID-19 situation in India. Also Read: COVID-19 update: India studies post-vaccination adverse events He added that the WHO (World Health Organization) has said that while the probe into the issue should continue, the scaling up of vaccines should not be paused. "Their advice is - go on," Paul stated adding that "we are mindful of the fact to address this concern based on the data available to us. We are also watching the information being made." Several European countries comprising Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Austria, Romania, the Netherlands, among others, have temporarily halted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary step. The nations are awaiting the outcome of the EMA and WHO investigation, which is probing the likelihood of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. Also Read: Danish woman who succumbed to blood clot from AstraZeneca's shot reported 'highly unusual' symptoms British police have opened a preliminary investigation into allegations that Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, "incited and encouraged terrorist acts" in Syria, the Times of London first reported Sunday. Why it matters: While it's unlikely she'd obey a court summons in the U.K. if prosecuted for war crimes, she could face loss of British citizenship if convicted. The news comes two days before the 10th anniversary of Syria's civil war. Driving the news: Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers, a legal group that specializes in transnational litigation and human rights, said in a statement that it had submitted "two confidential filings and evidence" to London's Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit on the 45-year-old Assad. The group said it had spent "months" investigating allegations that the London-born Assad had "encouraged or incited acts of terrorism." Guernica 37 said she's among a group of "influential actors" who've used a "propaganda campaign" and that the Syrian regime's "sophisticated propaganda and misinformation campaign" is "akin to that of genocide denial." Given Assad is a British national "it is important that she faces prosecution if the evidence supports the allegation and not merely stripped of her citizenship," the group added. What they're saying: The Metropolitan Police didn't immediately return Axios' request for comment but told Sky News that its War Crimes Unit, part of the Counter Terrorism Command, "received a referral" on July 31, 2020, "relating to the ongoing Syrian conflict." "The referral is in the process of being assessed by officers from the War Crimes Unit," the statement added. Of note: It's unclear precisely how many Syrians have died in the conflict, which began on March 15, 2011, following protests that were part of the Arab Spring uprising against oppressive regimes and low standards of living. If you would like to know more about the Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. The Southern California labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a complaint alleging that Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC committed multiple violations of the California Labor Code. The Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC lawsuit, Case No.30-2021-01181315-CU-OE-CXC, is currently pending in the Orange County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here. The lawsuit alleges Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC violated the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC's conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. An "aggrieved employee" is defined as "any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed." Cal. Lab. Code section 2699(c). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to become deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. The complaint alleges Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC's meal period policies and practices were unlawful because Aggrieved Employees were far too over-booked and overworked to take timely off-duty thirty (30) minute meal periods. As a result of their rigorous work schedules, Aggrieved Employees were often not fully relieved of duty for their meal periods. If you would like to know more about the Suburban Buick GMC Cadillac, LLC lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment. -THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT- A rendering of methane-producing microorganisms and molecules of isoprene, the primary chemical component of synthetic rubber. A strain engineered by Nebraska's Nicole Buan and colleagues has yielded isoprene levels that outpace those of yeast, E. coli and other microorganisms engineered for the same purpose. Credit: Scott Schrage | University Communication Burning rubber? Tired. Breathing rubber? Inspired. The single-celled microorganisms known as methanogens are, no surprise, known for emitting methane: in the guts of humans and other animals, in hydrothermal vents that gash the ocean flooralmost anywhere, really, that oxygen is not. But biochemist Nicole Buan and colleagues at the University of NebraskaLincoln have now genetically engineered a species of methanogen that can also yield sizable amounts of isoprene, the primary chemical component of synthetic rubber. Promisingly, that isoprene production substantially outpaces the yields of other microorganisms engineered for the same purpose. "It's the equivalent of if you or I just started breathing rubber," said Sean Carr, a doctoral advisee of Buan's. "That's essentially what we made this organism do." Roughly 800,000 tons of isoprene, most of which go to the production of synthetic rubber, are refined from petroleum annually. A climate-conscious desire to reduce reliance on the fossil fuel has pushed researchers to seek alternative, renewable sources of the chemical. Among those alternatives are other types of single-celled microorganisms, including the more familiar yeast, the E. coli bacterium, and blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. As organisms, though, those sources require feedstocks to yield isoprene. Many of the feedstocks, especially glucose, are themselves expensive to produce or process on a large scale. Some of them come from corn, sugar beets or other crops that could otherwise be feeding people or livestock. And extracting whatever isoprene is produced can also mean designing and constructing new infrastructure, another pricey and labor-intensive proposition. Which is partly why Buan had taken an interest in methanogens, which need no light, want no oxygen and readily devour otherwise worthless waste productsincluding wastewater, which they also happen to treat in the process. "They're really incredible, really magical organisms," said Buan, associate professor of biochemistry. "They can grow in a sealed glass vessel with just some minerals, and that's it. To me, they had the highest potential for developing sustainable technologies that could really revolutionize our climate and energy needs." Another reason for her interest? Methanogens naturally direct about 5% of their metabolism to building cellular membranes from isoprenoidschemical compounds whose fundamental component is isoprene. For years, Buan and her students have been thinking about ways to pluck at least some isoprenoids from the methanogens before they could incorporate all of it into their membranes. "'This would be amazing if it worked, but there's no way it's going to work,'" was a common refrain Buan recalled hearing. "The thinking at the time was that if you take carbon and energy away from making cell membranes, well, how are they going to divide and grow?" As soon as she secured funding, though, Buan and her team set out to put those doubts to rest. They started with the methanogen species Methanosarcina acetivorans and the gene of a poplar tree that can convert up to 10% of its carbon into isoprene. That gene instructs the building of an enzyme, isoprene synthase, that acts on a chemical compound called dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, or DMAPP. The compound, which consists of an isoprene molecule and a pyrophosphate molecule, normally becomes part of a methanogen's cell membrane. Before that can happen, the isoprene synthase intervenes by chopping off the pyrophosphate, leaving the tiny isoprene molecule free to escape through the membrane in the volatile form of a gas. If yeast and bacteria were any indication, transplanting a modified version of that gene from the poplar to M. acetivorans would allow the methanogen to produce the isoprene synthase and, by extension, the isoprene itself. Buan, Carr and their colleagues encased the poplar gene in a painstakingly crafted DNA molecule, a plasmid, that was taken up by the M. acetivorans chromosome. Then they fed the methanogen some of its favorite junk foods: carbon dioxide, acetate, methane, methanol. When feasting on methanol, M. acetivorans converted 4% of its carbon into respired isoprene, resulting in a yield 179 times higher than a best-in-class bacterium managed to produce when being force-fed glucose. As for whether the methanogen could survive and grow without its standard supply of DMAPP? The team found that the population of engineered M. acetivorans doubled at the same rate, while producing the same amount of methane, as it otherwise did. In fact, the overall biomass of the methanogen actually increased when it was breathing the isoprene. To compensate, the engineered methanogen essentially rewires its gene expression and metabolism into a different energy pathway that supports growth, the researchers said. In that way, the M. acetivorans strain is growing not in spite of producing the isoprene, but in part because of it. "What it shows is that they actually benefited by making this high-value chemical, and that's because of the specialties of methanogen metabolism and physiology," Buan said. "We've been calling this an isoprenogen, because it's really a new type of organism. As far as we know, there's no other organism that grows by producing isoprene gas. "It's not a stress response. It's not an overflow valve. This is actually how it's growing." Given the number of existing wastewater treatment plants and other biofuel facilities already incorporating methanogens, adapting them to also recoup isoprene could be relatively straightforward, the researchers said. In the meantime, Buan's lab is looking at how it might optimize M. acetivorans to convert even more carbon into isoprene. As of now, she said, there might be "only a handful of labs around the world" with the biochemical and genetic expertise needed to fine-tune methanogens in similar ways. But recent outcomes are showing that the work is worth it. "There are not a lot of people who can engineer methanogens," Buan said, "but if you know how, it actually works really well. And it's cheaper." Explore further Orthogonal regulation strategy offers new opportunities for buildup of molecular complexity More information: Jared Aldridge et al. Anaerobic Production of Isoprene by Engineered Methanosarcina Species Archaea, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2021). Journal information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Jared Aldridge et al. Anaerobic Production of Isoprene by Engineered Methanosarcina Species Archaea,(2021). DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02417-20 Qihoo360 Technology, a Beijing based major software company released a cyber-security report asserting that in India Sikhs with the religious and political inclination and Khalistan Referendum 2020 websites and mobile apps are under attack from Indian cyber mercenary group known as APT C-35. APT C-35 Indian mercenaries have launched several phishing websites and mobile apps relating to Referendum 2020 as bait to target pro Khalistan Sikhs in India. According to the report from the Qihoo 360 Core Security team, theres an ongoing phishing and spyware distribution campaign targeting Sikhs in India. There are approximately 30 million Sikhs, followers of a 15th-century monotheistic religion, and most of them (83%) live in Punjab, India. Many people in this religious group seek political and regional independence, so they have been accused of pro-separatism and anti-India propaganda. This malware distribution campaign exploits precisely that aspect of Sikhism, so its highly targeted and has very specific motives, the report further reveals. After Canadian Blackberrys report, Chinese Security Firm has also confirmed that every Sikh with a religious or political inclination is a target of cyber terrorism in Modis India stated Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel to SFJ who had sent a communique to Chinese authorities seeking support for Khalistan Referendum. QiHoo is a premier Cyber and Software Company in China whose stock is also listed for trading with the New York Stock Exchange, the worlds most reputable and busiest stock trading market. SPRINGFIELD A Westfield woman is the fourth person to admit playing a role in a sex trafficking ring whose leaders recruited drug-addicted women, took any money they earned and assaulted them if they violated rules. Jaclyn Lemelin, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking on Tuesday in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled her sentencing for June 15, acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell said in a statement. Lemelin was charged in December of 2018 of conspiring with William Coleman, who served as a pimp, in victimizing multiple women who were coerced to performed sex acts with paying customers, he said. Coleman was sentenced in September 2020 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to nine counts of sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Virginia Maldonado, 32, and Shannon Yelinek, 36, both of Springfield, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking earlier this month and are scheduled to be sentenced on different days in June. Lemelin conspired with Coleman who operated a sex trafficking enterprise that used violence and the drug addictions of female victims to coerce them into engaging in commercial sex acts with paying customers. The victims were typically required to turn over all of their earnings to Coleman and were subject to his tight control over their daily lives. Most of the women were not allowed to keep any of the money they earned, and they were only to obtain the drugs they needed from Coleman, Mendell said. Women who did not engage in prostitution or flaunted his rules were assaulted, subjected to sexual violence and had drugs withheld, he said. Lemelin admitted she was paid by Coleman to assault two victims who were working for him. She also rented cars for Coleman that were used in the trafficking enterprise, Mendell said. She faces a sentence of up to life in prison, Mendell said. The crime was investigated by the U.S. attorneys office with assistance from the Hampden district attorneys office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Hampden County Sheriffs Department, the FBI, Springfield Police and Massachusetts State Police, he said. Related content: The Palestinian Authority received more than 60,000 coronavirus vaccine doses under the global COVAX scheme Wednesday after months of waiting to inoculate millions of Palestinians living in the occupied territories. Those vaccines being sent to the West Bank and Gaza will be critical tools in our fight against the pandemic and for socioeconomic recovery, said the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland. The vaccinations were provided by COVAX, the World Health Organization's global vaccine initiative aimed at providing vaccinations to less developed countries. Over the next year, COVAX is scheduled to provide enough vaccines for a million Palestinians, roughly 20% of the population. The vaccines 37,000 Pfizer/BioNTech doses and 24,000 AstraZeneca doses arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Roughly a third of the vaccine supplies will go to Gaza and the rest to the Palestinian Authority, which manages the autonomous areas of the West Bank. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Health Ministry said that health officials would begin administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine Sunday, but that the AstraZeneca vaccines will be put in storage until there is a scientific decision from the World Health Organization. The organization is reviewing reports of blood clots in some people who received AstraZeneca shots, but has urged countries to continue using the vaccine, noting that the benefits outweigh its risks. Wednesday's vaccine shipments come as the West Bank experiences a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases, prompting Israel and the Palestinian Authority to impose a five-day lockdown that began Monday. The West Bank, which is home to some 3.1 million Palestinians, has recorded more than 146,000 cases and 1,667 deaths since March 2020. Earlier this month, Israel launched a two-week voluntary COVID-19 vaccine drive to vaccinate 122,000 Palestinians working in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Roughly 90,000 Palestinians have gotten their first shots through the program so far, Israel authorities say. Israel, which has one of the worlds highest vaccination rates and has reopened much of its economy, had previously come under fire for failing to include the roughly 5.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza in its own inoculation drive. Ramallah is expected to receive another batch of 100,000 vaccines from Chinas Sinopharm this month, and has already received 10,000 doses of Russias Sputnik V vaccine and 5,000 Moderna doses from Israel. The Hamas-run Gaza Strip has received 60,000 Sputnik V doses from the United Arab Emirates. The impoverished coastal enclave of 2 million people has confirmed more than 57,000 COVID-19 cases and 572 deaths from the virus. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Resolutions condemning the growing number of hate crimes against against Asian American and Pacific Islanders were adopted by the Michigan state House and Senate on Thursday, March 18. Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, proposed resolutions in response to the killing of eight people, primarily Asian women, at massage parlor in Atlanta. The fatal shooting is the most recent example of a spike in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, according to a report by Stop AAPI Hate. The national report recorded 3,795 hate-driven incidents reported between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021 from all 50 states. Of those reports, 25 occurred in Michigan. Related: Anti-Asian hate instances, attacks spike but people are reluctant to report to police On the Senate floor, Chang delivered remarks in support of the resolution giving examples of her own friends and fellow Michiganders. She spoke of an Asian American dance teacher who was Zoom bombed and mocked with fake Asian accents. Another account was in a Michigan store where an Asian American employee was told he didnt belong and go back to China and take the virus with you, Chang said. Nationally, the Stop AAPI Hate report showed that women report hate crimes 2.3 times more than men. The motive behind the Atlanta shooting is still being investigated but police have identified that six of the eight victims were Asian American women. Asian American women across the country were horrified and woke up the next morning feeling scared, sad and worried, Chang said. Rep. Puri told the house floor he spoke with an Asian American mom in his district who has chosen not to send her children back to in-person learning out of fear of bullying. He spoke of his own experience growing up post-911 and being judged solely on his skin and his facial hair. I can speak firsthand to hateful rhetoric and the effect that this has on vulnerable communities, he said. The general lack of awareness of anti-Asian hate crimes and violence exasperates their impact. Following the proclamation issued by President Joe Biden, all U.S. and Michigan flags were lowered to half-staff immediately on Thursday, March 18 and will remain lowered through Monday, March 22 to honor the Atlanta victims, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office. The senseless murders of eight people in Atlanta, including six Asian-American women, is a national tragedy, Whitmer said in a release. By lowering the flags, we honor the legacies of the eight lives that were taken from us too soon and declare that hate has no home in Michigan or anywhere in the United States. My thoughts are with the victims loved ones and the entire Atlanta community as they mourn this loss. People can self-report instances of hate or basis at https://stopaapihate.org/. For more information on the program in Michigan, contact Melissa Borja at mborja@umich.edu. Michigan residents can report hate crimes by email at hatecrimes@michigan.gov or by phone at 313-456-0200. Residents can file complaints of unlawful discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender, or religion by contacting the Michigan Department of Civil Rights by phone, 800-482-3604, or email MDCR-INFO@michigan.gov. More on MLive: Michigan voters may get chance to decriminalize magic mushrooms Michigan launches child care pilot splitting cost between family, business and government FBI: Trump-supporting friends donned tactical gear, took photos inside U.S. Capitol at Jan. 6 riot House Oversight chair seeks subpoena power to compel former Michigan health director to testify Joe Biden's pick to head the CIA sailed to his confirmation Thursday as not one senator objected to his nomination. Longtime diplomat William Burns will now take control of the nation's premier spy agency as the U.S. government confronts threats from China, Russia, Iran and other foreing adversaries. It especially comes at a time when tensions between Washington and Moscow have reached a new high after Biden in a Wednesday interview called Vladimir Putin a 'killer' who doesn't have a soul and warned Russia would 'pay a price' for interfering in the 2020 elections. The approval, by voice vote, was carried out Thursday soon after Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas lifted a hold he had placed on the nomination over objections to the Nord 2 pipeline in Russia and Europe. The Senate unanimously confirmed William Burns to head Joe Biden's CIA . Pictured: The longtime diplomat testifies during his Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing February 24 The confirmation comes as tensions between the U.S. and Russia are on the rise after Joe Biden (left) called Vladimir Putin (right) a 'killer' with no soul and said Moscow will 'pay a price' for election interference Burns previously was ambassador to Russia and Jordan and served at the State Department for more than 30 years under both Democratic and Republican presidents. He pledged at his confirmation hearing last month that he would deliver 'unvarnished' intelligence to the White House. At that hearing, he described China as posing the 'biggest geopolitical test' to the United States and said that Russia, though a declining world power in some ways, remained a disruptive and potent threat. This week, intelligence agencies released an assessment showing that Russia and Iran had sought to influence the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, but that China did not interfere. Despite raising tension with Moscow in his interview that aired Wednesday, which Russia saw as an insult, the White House said that the president has no regrets. 'No, the president gave a direct answer to a direct question,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday when asked if Biden regrets the tough words. 'The president is not going to hold back, clearly, when he has concerns when he has them, whether it is with words or actions,' she continued. The Russian president upped the stakes by offering Thursday to hold public talks virtually with Biden. Putin directed his foreign ministry to reach out to his U.S. counterpart. Psaki responded to that offer by saying Biden is 'quite busy.' Burns was warmly received by Republicans at his Senate hearing last month, but his confirmation was held up by Cruz. The senator said he would release it only when the administration 'meets its legal obligation to report and sanction the ships and companies' building a new gas pipeline from Russia that is strongly opposed in the U.S. and Eastern Europe. Like the Trump administration before it, the Biden administration is opposed to the Nord 2 pipeline because it believes it will harm European energy security, particularly for countries in eastern and central Europe like Ukraine and Poland. The vote was held up by Republican Senator Ted Cruz who said he would allow the confirmation when the administration 'meets its legal obligation to report and sanction the ships and companies' building a new controversial gas pipeline from Russia Last month, the administration added a layer of sanctions to a Russian vessel and the shipowner for their work on the pipeline. Senior Republican lawmakers called the move inadequate and have demanded stronger action. On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement condemning the pipeline as a bad deal 'intended to divide Europe and weaken European energy security.' 'The (State) Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline,' Blinken said. Soon after the statement was issued, Cruz lifted his hold. Commentator Dan Bongino is launching a new radio show in the late Rush Limbaugh's former time slot in the wake of the conservative radio giant's death. The Dan Bongino Show will air from 12pm to 3pm, Monday through Friday, starting May 24, Cumulus Medias Westwood One said. It is the same time slot Limbaugh occupied before his lung cancer death in February at the age of 70. 'I'm excited to embrace the immense power of radio to connect with my listeners live for three hours every day,' Bongino said. 'This is an incredible privilege, and I pledge to honor the trailblazing work of those who came before me.' Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and ex-NYPD cop, is a staunch Donald Trump supporter and his show will tackle the day's hot topic political issues. Bongino's news and opinion show will launch in Westwood One's major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. But Limbaugh show was syndicated across 600 markets, leaving other conservatives, such as Dana Lesch and Erick Erickson, to scramble over remaining cities and areas across the US which have been playing old tapes of Limbaugh or playing his show featuring guests hosts since his death. Conservative commentator Dan Bongino has been tapped to host a new radio show in the same afternoon time slot as the late Rush Limbaugh Rush Limbaugh discusses his cancer treatment on his syndicated radio show on May 26, 2020 Bongino, who lost three Congressional racestwo in Maryland and one in Florida, is a popular Fox guest with frequent appearances on Sean Hannity's show. He is considered a rising star among conservative commentators and already had a podcast and bestselling books before the announcement of his new program. 'The Dan Bongino Show will tackle the hot political issues, debunking both liberal and Republican establishment rhetoric,' Westwood One said in a statement. Although Bongino will start with slots on Cumulus-owned stations in big cities, the number of markets in which he will ultimately be heard is not immediately clear. 'Dan has been on a meteoric rise since his podcast launched in 2019, and we look forward to watching his star continue to rise,' Westwood One President Suzanne Grimes said. Westwood One touted its week of news and talk programming featuring other conservative commentators including Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, Chris Plante and Jim Bohannon. Erick Erickson is among the conservative radio personalities being discussed in the competition to offer an alternative in Rush Limbaugh's former time slot in markets not covered by Bongino Conservative commentator Dan Bongino on the set of 'FOX & Friends' at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City on June 18, 2019 The company's announcement of Bongino's show said that over the past 10 years he has become a bestseller with books including 'Life Inside the Bubble,' about his career as a Secret Service agent, 'The Fight: A Secret Service Agent's Inside Account of Security Failings and the Political Machine,' and 'Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump.' Westwood One also noted Bongino's selection as a FOX News commentator and the popularity of his podcast, which was downloaded more than 117 million times in 2020. Yet Bongino and other conservative talkers have enormous shoes to fill. Limbaugh was one of the most influential voices in Republican politics and an architect of the modern right-wing. Rush Limbaugh in his studio during a broadcast of his syndicated radio show (left) and at a MAGA rally, right Westwood One will distribute Dan Bongino's new radio program to markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. His three-hour weekday radio show broadcast on nearly 600 stations across the U.S. drew a massive audience of millions hanging on his every word. Limbaugh swayed the opinions of average Republicans and the direction of the party. 'I want to persuade people with ideas. I don't walk around thinking about my power,' he told author Zev Chafets in his 2010 book, 'Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One.' 'But in my heart and soul, I know I have become the intellectual engine of the conservative movement.' Limbaugh called himself 'America's anchorman' and he inspired popular broadcasters like Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and countless others who established conservative radio shows. But his assessments of those with whom he disagreed were not nearly so kind, branding them 'communists, wackos, feminazis, f*ggots and radicals.' 'What he did was to bring a paranoia and really mean, nasty rhetoric and hyperpartisanship into the mainstream,' said Martin Kaplan, a University of Southern California professor and frequent Limbaugh critic. 'The kind of antagonism and vituperativeness that characterized him instantly became acceptable everywhere.' As state Republicans push to restrict voting, a new poll shows a majority of Texans want more time to vote early and do not approve of threatening voters or those who assist them with felony charges for violations. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have highlighted combating voter fraud as a top priority this session, but the poll found 66 percent said they dont believe significant fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election. Republican officeholders largely held their own in Texas last year even as Joe Biden fared better than any Democratic presidential candidate in decades. Overwhelmingly, 97 percent of Texans said they had a good experience with the election, so its really a little confusing about why were looking at restricting ballot access and moreover in a time when Republicans overperformed what many people thought they would in Texas, said Sarah Walker, executive director of Secure Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit that solicited the Ragnar Research poll. Walkers organization found that fewer than 1 in 5 Texas Republicans voted on Election Day, and 64 percent of all Republican votes were cast early and nearly one-quarter by mail. Democrats made bold predictions about another blue wave ahead of the 2020 election, targeting 10 congressional seats and to flip the Texas House. But Republicans maintained their dominance at the statehouse and Democrats didnt end up winning any new seats in the U.S. House. The survey was done by Chris Perkins, a data analyst who has polled for many Republican candidates over the last decade. It was conducted March 7 to March 9 by landline and cell phone and included 1,002 people considered likely voters across Texas. Quotas on various demographics were used to ensure a representative distribution; the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The wide-ranging Senate Bill 7, a priority for Patrick, and several other standalone bills filed this session by Republican lawmakers seek to clamp down on expansions to voting access implemented in last years election to curb what they say, without evidence, is greater opportunity for voter fraud. Many of the expansions were pioneered by Harris County last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such as overnight and late night voting and drive-thru voting in which voters could cast their vote on a tablet handed to them through their vehicle window. Bills proposed this session would limit voting hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and ban drive-thru voting. MORE ON THAT: GOP state lawmakers take aim at 2020 Harris County voting expansions Democrats have filed bills to preserve some of those changes, such as by making permanent a one-week extension of early voting that Abbott permitted last year to make voting safer during the pandemic. The Ragnar poll found 73 percent of respondents approved of an extra week of early voting, including 58 percent of Republicans, 91 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents. Early voting on weekends was even more popular, with 89 percent in support. Eighty-four percent also said they supported increasing the number of polling locations, but SB 7 would require all countywide polling places to have the same number of voting machines, which could make it difficult for election officials to open new sites. Some Republican-crafted legislation this session also seeks to increase the criminal penalty for voting mistakes, including by those assisting disabled voters who fail to fill out and mail ballots correctly. SB 7 would change the standard for prosecuting voter fraud from clear and certain to a preponderance of evidence, a lower standard of proof. My concern is that really decreases the threshold for making a claim, Walker said. And its going to result in a lot of potentially false claims and I think really threatens due process, one of our fundamental constitutional rights A felony is a huge burden to live with if you just make a simple mistake. FROM THE ARCHIVES: 'Leading the way on voter suppression.' Texas is ground zero in voting rights war. In 2018, Crystal Mason, an African American woman from Fort Worth, was sentenced to five years in prison for casting an invalid provisional ballot in the 2016 presidential election even though she said she did not know she was ineligible at the time and the vote was not counted. Eighty-one percent of respondents said they supported voters having the necessary assistance to submit their ballots, and 62 percent said assistants should not be threatened with the possibility of a felony. House Bill 330, which was introduced by Elections Committee Chair and Republican Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, would make it a state jail felony to list the wrong address on a voter registration application; to provide assistance to a voter who has not requested help; and for a voter to receive assistance if he or she does not have a disability that renders them unable to see or write. ICYMI: New Texas House election committee chair fought 2020 results Some measures contained in SB 7 and other bills received bipartisan support in the Ragnar poll. The requirement for an electronic mail ballot tracking system was favored by 83 percent of respondents, and the requirement that electronic voting machines provide an auditable paper trail was favored by 88 percent. taylor.goldenstein@chron.com She is known for sharing sizzling pictures on social media. And Demi Rose was up to her old tricks once more on Wednesday as she posed up a storm in a very revealing snap during her extended stay in Ibiza. The model, 25, sent temperatures soaring as she went naked underneath a white buttoned shirt from PrettyLittleThing. Wow! Demi Rose was up to her old tricks once more on Wednesday as she posed up a storm in a very revealing snap during her extended stay in Ibiza She flashed her ample assets and toned thighs in the snap which she simply captioned: 'Sunlit from Heaven'. Adding to her summery look, the brunette beauty wore her hair up with a white ribbon that matched her shirt. The star also offered her followers a glimpse of her exotic surroundings at her Spanish villa in the sexy snap. Gorgeous: It comes after the star was at it again sharing sexy snaps on Tuesday, when she posed in a palm tree print bikini during a photoshoot in the Spanish sunshine It comes after the star was at it again sharing sexy snaps on Tuesday, where she posed in a palm tree print bikini during a photoshoot in the Spanish sunshine. 'Just over here becoming the best version of myself,' wrote the model alongside the sultry snaps on Instagram. Demi donned a stylish blue and green print bikini that featured an eye catching gold chain detail. She completed the fashionable beach look with a matching kimono that hung effortlessly off her bronzed shoulders. The model has been sharing a slew of snaps from her sunny travels in recent months including trips to the Maldives and Tanzania. She is currently in Ibiza where the Wolverhampton-born beauty often shares a number of sexy pictures to her social media. The brunette recently opened up to MailOnline about how she shot to stardom at the age of 14 after being bullied in school. Jetsetter: Demi is currently in Ibiza and the Wolverhampton-born beauty often shares a number of sexy snaps to her social media Demi recalled: 'I was bullied in school, I wanted to make friends outside of it so I ended up spending a lot of time online. 'I was even interested in virtual reality as a kid, I was always on the computer and then MySpace came around and I found my calling.' From the age of 18, the Birmingham native signed with a modelling agency and her career went from strength to strength. Recap In my last submission I shared some introductory principles that I hoped would ground this second part of the discussion on loving the hard way. It is important that we are reminded that God is not far off from our struggle to love like He loves. He did not give the instruction to watch with excited anticipation our failure. In fact, it is His Spirit that allows us to even have the ability to love in a way that reflects God. In this article I would simply like to share some insights I have garnered along the way that have pointed to the bigger picture of the necessity to love like He loves. Additionally, I would just like to underscore the beauty of His instructions and how He enables us to tread the rocky terrain of interpersonal relationships that can be strenuous and unpeaceful. Peace? In this day and age, many have become obsessed with defending their peace. Peace is an incredibly important value, but if we are to be sincere it is often selfishness guised as self-care, or the refusal to be longsuffering in the cloak of setting healthy boundaries. Please hear my heart on the matter, as it is in no way my intention to belittle the need for such things. However, from my observations I have seen a glorification of self-preservation and aggrandizement. This is a tricky path to maneuver, but I think it starts with honest conversations with the Lord, who is faithful and gracious to point out areas that are indeed toxic traits of people pleasing and areas where we are in reality being selfish. God of Peace We serve a God of peace and His shalom is an incredibly telling part of His nature. We see through the Scriptures God being described as the God of peace and this is a loaded idea because it does not only refer to the absence of war, but it speaks to a picture of wholeness or completion. In view of the brokenness that is pervasive in our fallen world we see God displaying Himself as peace by sending Jesus, the Prince of Peace. In Jesus, we are now at peace with the Father, in Him too we have the capacity to be at peace with others. So, in our searching for inner peace and order particularly in our relationships we cannot exclude the author and embodiment of peace. We are often clouded by our painfully minute definitions of peace. In our human efforts to restore shalom we often do so without consulting the one who specializes in bringing order from chaos and does so quite often by unconventional means. Gospel of peace Now, primarily when we see through Scripture the gospel of peace it is referring to the powerful working of the gospel to reconcile us to God, that is to make us no longer at odds with Him. In Romans 5:1 says, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. An amazing reality that has amazing resultants and directives. If we are to be messengers of Gods good news of reconciliation, we need to believe that His intention was the restoration of all things, including interpersonal conflict. We are exhorted frequently in Scripture to ensure we are living in peace with one another. So, as carriers of the Gospel of peace we must be displaying its transformative power even in our human interactions. Peacemakers In Jesuss famous sermon on the mount, He paints a picture of what the people in His Kingdom should look like, detailing attributes that are not commonplace for those outside of His domain. Not only do we get to partner with our Saviour in reconciling people to Himself, but we also get to join in the rewarding and satisfying work of announcing the beautiful ways of His Kingdom. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 9 Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. In Gods kingdom those who pursue reconciliation first between God and man and then between man and man will be called Gods children. These instructions for peacemaking and loving each other are keys for how people will know we are from the Kingdom. In John chapter 13 verse 35 Jesus says, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Therefore, our pursuit of harmony and love in our relationships are ways we can magnify the ways of the Kingdom and be branded as ambassadors Game Plan So, when next you find yourself in interpersonal conflicts, I implore you to first remember that Gods instructions to love is not an impossible task as His Spirit bears the fruit of love and peace in us. Additionally, gaze at the big picture of the gospel and how it is Gods desire that everything be marked with His Shalom. Finally remember the beauty of the task we have been given to carry this message of peace and how much our adherence to the beautiful ways of the Kingdom proclaim the power of the gospel. Slovakia Teachers Vaccination A teacher receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from a health worker during vaccination of pedagogical staff at the vaccination center in Kosice, Slovakia, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (Frantisek Ivan/TASR via AP) PRAGUE (AP) Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by size of population in the world amid a surge of cases from a highly contagious coronavirus variant. Despite a tough lockdown, the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Slovakia has risen from 1.68 deaths per 100,000 people on Feb. 1 to 1.78 deaths per 100,000 people on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University figures issued Tuesday. Slovak President Zuzana Caputova called the situation very serious. We need to abide by all the rules," Caputova said Tuesday after meeting with a group of scientists and medical experts. "Its inevitable for us to endure this period of time. Portugal, which had the world's highest rate of COVID-19 deaths among its population for more than three weeks, dropped to second place with 1.48 deaths per 100,000 people. The most significant factor that has prevented coronavirus cases from falling in Slovakia is a high occurrence of the variant that was found in Britain, Marek Majdan, a Slovak epidemiologist and vice rector of Trnava University, told The Associated Press. Earlier this month, the Slovakian government announced the fast-spreading coronavirus variant first found in southern England had become dominant in the Central European country. The pronouncement came after health authorities sequenced all the positive samples nationwide from one day. The British variant was detected in 74% of them, which Health Minister Marek Krajci called an unbelievable high number. The lockdown, which worked effectively against the original virus, isnt as effective against the more infectious variant, Majdan said. Researchers have also found that the variant dominant in the U.K. is also more deadly than the original virus. In Slovakia's lockdown, people in the majority of counties where the virus situation is considered serious need to take a coronavirus test every seven days to be able to go to work. The government also canceled plans to partially reopen schools in the the hardest-hit counties. Story continues Another 111 people died in Slovakia of COVID-19 on Monday for a total of 6,063 in the nation of 5.4 million. Over 3,800 of the country's deaths in the pandemic have occurred this year. Majdan said mathematical models suggest that between 9,000 and 11,000 might die of COVID-19 in Slovakia by June, if the current trend continues. The government was getting ready to tighten its rules for international travelers on Wednesday to try to prevent virus variants from spreading or entering the country. Authorities plan to enforce the new measures by reimposing border checks. Slovakia's hospitals are under pressure, and the Health Ministry has called on volunteers to help medical workers cope with the surge. Majdan said a fast vaccination program was the key to improving the situation. In Britain, they have vaccinated 15% of the population who faced the highest risk, and we can clearly see the death rate falling. I hope we will do the same in Slovakia, he said. The 27-nation European Union, to which Slovakia belongs, has been criticized by many for its slow vaccine rollout. ___ Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak Northern Irelands Interim Mental Health Champion has called for a recovery plan across society to deal with the impact of the pandemic on mental health, with young people the top priority. Professor Siobhan ONeill was briefing Stormonts Health Committee on Thursday afternoon and recommended a Trauma-Informed Recovery Plan as Northern Ireland emerges from lockdown. She also stressed that the budget for mental health services in Northern Ireland needs to be increased in line with the greater demand in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and also touched on those deteriorating on waiting lists within the health service. Addressing groups particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges, Professor ONeill said this included young people, women and people with children at home, alongside those with pre-existing medical conditions and people on low incomes. While acknowledging aspects of the pandemic have had universal effects, Professor ONeill added that certain groups in society should be targeted for preventative interventions and treatments - with measures to tackle the problem going beyond the health service. This included interventions towards those in socially deprived areas, with Prof ONeill stressing the benefits of targeting specific low-income locations and the benefit this has on mental health. It is about the nice playground, the community provision, she told the committee. That helps people feel proud of themselves and proud of where they are from. It is very simply targeting those areas that have been disadvantaged. There is such a social class gradient in Northern Ireland in terms of mental health. When we are thinking about where we are locating jobs for example...that is what we should be looking at as we go forward. Prof ONeill also outlined studies which are showing higher rates of distress and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in health and social care workers in Northern Ireland, with women presenting as a higher risk than men. Placing the full return of all children and young people to school as a top priority, Prof ONeill added: The emphasis [in schools] should be on reconnection through play art and music, not exams or exam preparation. The summer period should also be used for community-based programmes. For the general population we need to emphasise the resilience that has been shown. We must continue to emphasise the importance of self-care. We need to promote the value of good food, sleep and exercise. Funding does need to be made available to increase the availability of mental health services. There needs to be compassionate outreach to those groups who have experienced higher levels of trauma and loss. This includes health and social care workers, those in funeral services and care homes. The Trauma-Informed Recovery Plan outlined to the committee, also included recommendations for further support directed towards those who have been hospitalised in ICU due to coronavirus, and their families, and to people with symptoms of so-called long Covid. Within the sixteen recommendations the plan makes, Prof ONeill also called for a programme of events and actions to memorialise and remember those who have died from Covid-19, particularly where the loss has been disproportionate, such as in care homes. Irelands top health advisers are considering a ruling by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective. The Republic paused its rollout of the AstraZeneca jab in an abundance of caution following the raising of concerns around blood clots. Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said he welcomed the EMA making its position clear. He said the ruling would be discussed further on Thursday night and Friday morning before a position was arrived at. Speaking at a National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) press conference, Dr Glynn said the National Immunisation Advisory Committee was meeting with counterparts across Europe following the statement by the EMA on the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Theyll be considering it further this evening and tomorrow morning, and the HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Authority) are reviewing the statement and the findings, he said. Well be deliberating between the organisations tonight and tomorrow morning, and well issue an update tomorrow once we have come to a position. Earlier, Health Service Executive (HSE) chief executive Paul Reid said the decision to pause the AstraZeneca jab demonstrated the huge emphasis that we will continuously put on safety of the population. He added: Just to reassure, we will respond quickly to whatever decision is recommended and communicated onwards to us. Despite this disappointment, we should, in my view, say the glass is half full. We have administered around 620,000 vaccinations, and we are witnessing, every day, the collapsing infection rates amongst residents in long-term care facilities, on healthcare workers and the oldest age groups in the population. The HSE anticipates that between 70,000 and 75,000 vaccines will be administered next week in the over-70s population. Mr Reid said there was some concern that the daily case numbers were no longer falling as they had been in recent weeks. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. There are early warning signals for us that the brakes are being slightly put on in terms of improvements weve been making over the previous few weeks, he said. Because the rate of decrease in hospitalisations for patients with Covid has slowed, particularly over the last few weeks, its actually stalled. And the slowing in reduction of the hospitalised cases mirrors the slowing in reduction of the overall cases happening in the community. He added: Community testing demand has increased by over 9% in the past week, community demand for testing has increased for the first time in five weeks. Thats just one of the early trends, early warning indicators I mentioned earlier on. The health service has now carried out four million coronavirus tests and conducted one million close contact calls. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. The seven days up to March 17 saw 3,646 new cases notified, an increase of 6% on the previous week. Almost 46% of new cases over the past two weeks were among people aged 19 to 44. Some 26% of new cases in that period were among children aged 0 to 18 years, and about 8.6% were among people aged 65 years and over. Over the last 14 days, of the 7,048 new cases notified between March 3 and 16, 6% of them (422) had been admitted to hospital. No further deaths with coronavirus were reported in the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, but 582 new confirmed cases were notified by the Department of Health. Meanwhile, as of March 15, 620,580 doses of coronavirus vaccine had been administered in Ireland. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. MELAKA, Mar 18, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Award-winning property company, Sheng Tai International Sdn Bhd (Sheng Tai International), continues to catalyse Malaysia's, particularly Melaka, economic growth by signing a landmark agreement with the world's largest global workspace provider, International Workplace Group plc (IWG) with brands including Regus and Spaces.The franchise agreement includes Sheng Tai International and IWG collaborating to open flexible workspace in Malaysia. With the agreement, Sheng Tai International becomes IWG's first partner since it opened up franchise opportunities in 2019 in the country.Sheng Tai International has invested approximately RM8 million to begin this partnership with three centres in the company's commercial properties in Melaka. The first centre, which will be developed under Regus, will open in Metrasquare, Melaka, by the end of the second quarter (Q2) 2021. While the second centre, under Spaces, will open at The Sail in 2025.Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohd Ali Bin Mohd Rustam, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Melaka, was present to witness the signing ceremony. Representing Sheng Tai International in the signing event and exchange of documents was Dato' Leong Sir Ley, Founder and Chairman of Sheng Tai International and Collin Tan, Director. While IWG was represented by Vijayakumar Tangarasan, Country Head for Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei as well as Premita Dhaliwal, Head of Partnership Growth - Malaysia.Dato' Leong Sir Ley, Founder and Chairman of Sheng Tai International, said, "We are delighted to work with IWG to expand Malaysia's flexible workspace industry.""We believe this is the right time to invest in the flexible workspace industry in Malaysia, especially in Melaka, in line with the optimistic outlook post-COVID-19 for the state and country. The pandemic has provided Melaka as well as flexible workspace industry an additional edge.""More and more people and global brands are looking at strategic locations that are beyond the city centre. In addition, the pandemic has accelerated the growth of flexible workspace trends around the world.""With our unique establishments in Malaysia coupled with IWG's modern and world-class amenities, we are poised to appeal to discerning entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinational corporations, re-energising the economy in and around Melaka," added Dato' Leong."We also look forward to opening more flexible workspaces throughout Malaysia in the next five years."Gareth Haver, Regional Chief Executive Officer of IWG, said, "When we decided to open up franchising opportunities, we knew we needed strong partners, but more importantly, people who share our vision and values.""So we are thrilled to open a new chapter with Sheng Tai International. They have ambition and a solid track record that goes beyond the property. I believe their ability to draw global brands here during the pandemic is a testament to this," Premita Dhaliwal from IWG Malaysia added.Melaka Trade Square (Metrasquare) is a 6-acre commercial development comprising a residential component called the Metrasquare Serviced Suites, a three-star premium hotel called Hotel Metrasquare, a five-star hotel called Ames Hotel as well as retail lots, meeting and conference facilities, F&B amenities, as well as an upcoming Melaka historical gallery and art social space.Located just five minutes drive away from the Ayer Keroh toll off the North-South Expressway, Metrasquare is also close to the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), government offices, hypermarkets and a host of tourist attractions such as Melaka Zoo and Night Safari; Melaka Bird Park; Wonderland Theme Park; Melaka Planetarium, World's Bees Museum and Melaka International Trade Centre.Flexible workspaces are due to grow exponentially in Malaysia as companies of all sizes adopt progressive hybrid work patterns. Businesses have realised that a hybrid model not only means happier and more engaged employees, but also a significant saving for the bottom line. A study reported by EY shows that companies can save about $11,000 for each employee that works in a hybrid manner.Earlier this month, IWG announced a record start to 2021, adding half a million users to its network so far this year as well as penning its largest ever deal with NTT, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. The deal will provide NTT's 300,000 employees across its portfolio of companies and global network with access to IWG's more than 3,500 workspaces globally.For more information about Regus in Melaka, kindly contact Sheng Tai International at +6011 3737 3399.About Sheng Tai International Sdn BhdSheng Tai International Sdn. Bhd., formerly known as Sheng Tai Realty Sdn Bhd., is a diversified property development, real estate, investment management and hospitality company with specialised expertise in the area of property tourism. The company was founded by Dato' Leong Sir Ley ("Dato SL Leong"), one of Malaysia's very first businesswomen who single-handedly venture out of the country by setting up a significant network of real estate investment platform overseas. The company offers various categories of quality investment grade products with professional services and a warm, humanistic attitude. We welcome productive collaboration and corporate partnerships with the focal point of providing our foreign and local guests with comprehensive solutions and tailored experience.Established in 2012 amid the storm of global economic turbulence, our continuing success owes to our ability to swim against the tide and see opportunity in every challenge. Our commitment to growth and quality excellence is an approach that has changed little since our emergence as a budding enterprise.Locally, Sheng Tai International Sdn. Bhd. is well known in the industry through its subsidiaries such as Plentifield Marketing Sdn. Bhd., and Sheng Tai Impression Sdn. Bhd. At the international front, our presence is currently marked through our overseas arm called Sheng Tai International (HK) Limited, which has been operating since 2012 and served as an important gateway to the Hong Kong and Chinese markets. The company also recently opened its China's flagship branch in Shanghai in September 2019; Tokyo in May 2020 and Beijing in October 2020.Today, Sheng Tai International is an award-winning developer who has branched out across various parts of Asia, offering an extensive range of real property products, services and brands that cater to the luxury, upscale, and economy markets.Sheng Tai International now has more than 500 personnel who are highly passionate and energetic, ensuring top quality services to our customers. The team is driven by strong corporate values that emphasise on integrity, professionalism and trustworthiness. Continuing our ethos of passionate expansion and conscientious innovation, Sheng Tai International aims to set a benchmark as the curator of contemporary living and the leading influence in inventive real estate business models. For more information about Sheng Tai International, please visit http://shengtaiinternational.com.About IWG PlcIWG is the world's largest provider of flexible workspaces and has remained at the forefront of enabling and providing flexible workspaces. It offers a wide variety of flexible office options around the world, including Regus, Spaces, HQ, and Signature. IWG helps millions of people and their businesses to work more productively by providing a choice of professional, inspiring and collaborative workspaces, communities and services. IWG operates in over 1,100 towns and cities in more than 120 countries. For more information about becoming an IWG franchise partner visit: https://franchise.iwgplc.comThis press release is issued on behalf of: Sheng Tai International Sdn BhdFor further enquiries, please contact:I-Mae LiewTel: +6012 383 5688Source: Sheng Tai International Sdn BhdCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Chennai, March 18 : City-based Data Patterns (India) Pvt Ltd on Thursday said it has supplied the cable harness health checkout systems for Gaganyaan -- India's human space mission -- crew module. The health checks of wiring harnesses such as high voltage insulation, continuity, isolation, current carrying capacity and other electrical parameters play a vital role in the safety of the crew module. Data Patterns with its long association with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has supplied the 14,000 point count down checkout system for the second launch pad, upgraded the launch vehicle tracking radars, supplied the X-Band and C-Band weather radars. "Almost all the electronics of the launch vehicle (rocket) are checked out using Data Patterns' indigenous test system solutions. With the guidance of ISRO, Data Patterns is also regularly building avionics packages for both launch vehicles and satellites," the company said. India's maiden human space flight with four astronauts is planned between 2022-23, Data Patterns said. Data Patterns took up the challenge of delivering the system within the shortest time of 4 months, well ahead of its typical schedule of 12 months, considering the project requirements and importance of Gaganyaan. The ceremony for handing over the cable harness check out system took place on March 17, 2021 at Data Patterns Siruseri facility to K. Xavier Raja, Deputy Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) in the presence of S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, HSFC, R Hutton, Project Director and Sudhir Shukla, Division Head. HSFC is the lead centre involved in developing human rated launch vehicle, environmental control and life support system, crew escape system, deceleration system, crew selection, training and development of human centric products utilising expertise of ISRO centres and other research labs. We have all lost so much this past year but also potentially gained things that we never expected. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez during a ceremony at an air base to receive a shipment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX program, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Saturday, March 13, 2021. (Elmer Martinez/AP Photo) Accountant Testifies He Saw Honduras President Allegedly Take Bribes NEW YORKA Honduran accountant testified Tuesday that he fled Honduras because he felt his life was in danger after witnessing two meetings in which an alleged drug trafficker paid bribes to now-President Juan Orlando Hernandez in 2013. In both meetings, the subject was protection and receiving drugs, said Jose Sanchez, a pseudonym used for his protection. At one Hernandez was given $10,000 and at another the amount was $15,000, the accountant said. The accountant said he was afraid to enter the office where he saw Hernandez meeting with a drug trafficker. I was seeing the candidate for the presidency meeting with a drug trafficker, he said. That alleged drug trafficker was Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, whose New York trial is in its second week. Hernandezs name has come up repeatedly in the trial as U.S. prosecutors continue to argue that his political rise was fueled by drug traffickers. The accountant testified that in addition to the two payments he witnesses, Hernandez arrived various times to the company in a helicopter to receive monthly payments of 250,000 lempiras, about $10,000. The payments were for his campaign, the accountant said. In the first meeting the accountant allegedly witnessed, Hernandez received $15,000. It happened at a round table in the office of Fuad Jarufe, owner of Graneros Nacionales in Choloma north of San Pedro Sula. The accountant counted the money while Hernandez looked at his cell phone. Hernandez preferred cash, the accountant said. We will be untouchable, Hernandez said, by the accountants re-telling. Hernandez allegedly also said He was going to shove the drugs up the gringos own noses and they werent even going to realize it. Hernandez won his first term as president in 2013 and took office in January 2014. Prior to that he had been the president of Honduras congress. Hernandez has not been charged and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Fuentes Ramirez was arrested in March 2020 in Florida. He is charged with drug trafficking and arms possession. During the accountants testimony, the phone line that allows those outside the court for reasons of the pandemic to listen in on the proceedings was cut at prosecutors request. They feared someone could recognize his voice. The man had been the accountant for Graneros Nacionales, a rice business that was used to launder drug proceeds. On Monday, convicted drug trafficker Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, former leader of the Cachiros cartel, testified that Fuentes Ramirez had told him in jail that he had photographs and videos of Hernandez being present when drugs were received from Colombia to airports in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. Last week, Rivera Maradiaga testified that he paid Hernandez $250,000 for protection from arrest in 2012 when the politician was the leader of Honduras congress. By Claudia Torrens United Nations "Wonder Woman" herself called the global fight against domestic violence "a battle between life and death." Actress Gal Gadot, who portrayed the heroine in the 2017 remake of the comic book classic, joined the U.S. and Israeli United Nations delegations and tech giant Google on Wednesday to tout new weapons in that battle. Alone, were strongBut together, were stronger. https://t.co/H0diejggtn Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) March 17, 2021 At a digital event linked to the U.N. forum on women, Gadot and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield both stressed the urgency of domestic violence, which has risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting was entitled: "Terror at Home: Fighting Domestic Violence with Innovation and Technology." Thomas-Greenfield quoted a recent World Health Organization report that "found that one in every three women will experience physical and sexual violence in her lifetime." If you are a survivor or victim in the U.S. and it is an emergency, dial 911. Other resources include: The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE, or text LOVEIS to 22522. Backlash as cop charged with London woman's murder The ambassador called the problem "devastatingly pervasive," and said it was "time to bring gender-based violence out of the shadows, out of the dark, out of the walls where people hide." The U.S. envoy noted that on International Women's Day last week, President Joe Biden established the White House Gender Policy Council, calling gender-based violence a top priority of the entire Biden-Harris administration." House reauthorizes Violence Against Women ActTechnology vs. violence "There's no vaccine for the shadow pandemic of gender-based violence. But with you as partners, we may just find an equivalent technology that can prevent gender-based violence and provide a proactive solution to the shadow pandemic," Thomas-Greenfield said at the event. Story continues As with all threats to safety and securitywhether it be climate change, a pandemic, or terrorismthe best way to address gender-based violence is to prevent it from happening in the first place. That's what today's event with @giladerdan1 was all about: https://t.co/Tx5WLqCAaa pic.twitter.com/YMCvUFIhel Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) March 17, 2021 Jacquelline Fuller, president of the tech firm's charitable arm Google.org, announced a $300,000 grant to another of the co-sponsors, the Michal Sela Forum, an Israeli organization named after a young social worker who was murdered by her husband. Fuller said the grant would fund a project called "Nothing about us without us," to create an "end-to-end tech empowerment program for survivors of all types of domestic violence." The U.S. and Israeli delegations also touted mobile apps introduced last year at an Israeli hackathon sponsored by the Michal Sela Foundation, which creators say can help reduce domestic violence by giving victims quick and, more importantly, quiet access to a network of supporters without having to call authorities. The idea is to provide tools for women who may be monitored closely by their abusers to access help with just a couple clicks, sometimes via apps that can be easily concealed on devices. "Domestic violence is a despicable and horrifying phenomenon and eliminating it from our homes and societies must be a priority for all of us," Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. and U.S., Gilad Erdan, told the forum. "If combating domestic violence was a priority for U.N. member states, they would modify and apply existing technologies to fight against it." "Technology can be a threat, but it can also be part of the solution," the European Union's Ambassador to the U.N, Olof Skoog, said. "We have heard today inspiring examples of how technology can come to the rescue of survivors." "This issue touches people of every nationality, ethnicity and economic background," said Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Jewish Federation of New York, which also co-sponsored the event on Wednesday. "We're here to lay bare what is often hidden and to create a path forward for our people who feel they have no way out." Wonder Woman's call to arms "This event today is so essential," said Gadot, the U.N.'s former honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. "It is time for a global forum like the United Nations to become involved in such an essential fight, a battle between life and death." Gal Gadot attends the Wonder Woman U.N. Ambassador Ceremony at United Nations Headquarters on October 21, 2016, in New York City. / Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty "This has been a tough and challenging year for everyone. COVID-19 has kept us at home, our children out of school, and left many people struggling financially," she said. "All these factors have combined to make the already disturbing phenomenon of domestic violence increasingly worse." Pointing back to the event's technological theme, Gadot said it was "time to update the tools that we already have in use to prevent domestic violence." Border crisis comes to a head with surge of unaccompanied minors Gottlieb warns of potential for new outbreaks fueled by troubling New York virus variant Moncef Slaoui, Trump's vaccine chief, "very concerned" about GOP vaccine hesitancy A British backpacker doing mandatory farm work to extend his visa has copped criticism online for declaring he and his co-workers are 'keeping the country afloat'. JP Renick, an English traveller living in Sydney, posted an image to his Facebook page on Thursday afternoon showing himself working in irrigation on a farm in the Australian outback. In the tongue-in-cheek post, he thanked all his fellow backpackers who work in the 'harshest conditions' despite constantly having 'shade thrown' at them. 'I'd just like to give a big thank you to all the backpackers who, even though we aren't liked, have taken months out of their visas to do the jobs that nobody wants to do,' JP captioned the post. 'We have worked in the harshest conditions, and lots of people throw shade at us, but ultimately, kept this country afloat through the hardest times.' A British backpacker conducting his mandatory farm work to extend his visa has copped criticism online for daring to suggest he and his co-workers are 'keeping the country afloat' JP Renick, an English traveller living in Sydney, posted the tongue-in-cheek message to his Facebook page on Thursday afternoon JP, who comes from Newcastle Upon Tyne in England's north and has been living in Australia for a year and a half, told Daily Mail Australia he moved Down Under because 'England is so s***'. 'It's cold and the lifestyle in Oz is amazing, the people are generally amazing,' JP said. His post was immediately met with a barrage of criticism, with many commenters missing the sarcasm missed the sarcasm. 'Please, you do farm work so you can get an extra year in the country...not because you actually want to,' one user said. 'That's the one - people who do farmwork as it's their only option to stay another year are the heroes of what makes the country great lol,' another sarcastically replied. Plenty of commenters missed the sarcasm JP (center), who comes from Newcastle Upon Tyne in England's north, told Daily Mail Australia he moved Down Under because 'England is so s***' One in particular took it much too far Despite the backlash, JP told Daily Mail Australia he hopes Australians understand backpackers are only here because they love the country as much as they do. 'Just chill out, we are here because we love Oz. No hate.' Foreigners living in Australia on working holiday visas can only attain the second year of the visa if they spend 88 full days working on a farm. Farmers have been struggling to fill the void leftover by Australia shutting its borders and have been relying on the work of many backpackers who have remained in the country. Algerias moderate Islamist parties are unlikely to be able to capitalize on the snap general and local elections that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said will be held later this year. The regime does not have to worry about preventing Islamists from occupying a high proportion of seats in the legislature. This is at least partly because Algerias moderate Islamist parties are unlikely to capture the publics imagination and make strong inroads at the ballot box. Though not actively engaged in politics, the Dawa Salafiya movement is and will remain far more appealing for pious and traditional Algerians. They reject the corrupt political establishment and distrust moderate Islamist parties that have a history of being coopted by "le pouvoir" the coterie of ruling elites. Islamist parties to remain marginal players The leadership of Algerias moderate political Islamist parties are largely responsible for their failure over previous years to emerge as viable challengers to spar with the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the Democratic National Rally (RND), which have in partnership served as the structural, legislative backbone of the regime. Algerias largest moderate Islamist Party the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) has been a part of several government coalitions, having benefitted from the multiplicity of financial and other rewards flowing from its willingness to dance with the regime. Though giving up its support for former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2012 and putting its leader Abderrazak Makri forward as presidential candidate in January 2019, the party is still tarnished by its past. Moderate Islamist parties have likewise been weakened over the years by internal disputes and fragmentation. Disagreements within the MSP over whether to support Bouteflika in the run-up to the 2009 presidential election caused a faction to formally split and form the Movement for Preaching and Change (MPC). The MSP was given another blow in 2012 when politician Amar Ghoul jumped ship and formed the Rally of Algerian Hope (TAJ), taking at least 50 deputies with him. The MSP is not the only Islamist party to have been weakened by factionalism and internal disagreements on whether to work as partners with the government or not. Ennahda saw one of its founders, Abdallah Djaballah, leave and set up El-Islah in 1999 over his opposition to engaging with the regime. Djaballah was subsequently forced out of El-Islah and established El-Adala in 2011. Past efforts by Algerias Islamic parties to join forces at the ballot box have fallen flat. Notably, the Green Algeria Alliance (AAV) between the MSP, Ennahda and El-Islah failed miserably in the May 2012 legislative elections. The alliance won only 48 of 462 parliamentary seats. This was followed by equally disappointing results in the May 2017 general elections when Algerias moderate Islamist parties were unable to improve on their performance. Dawa Salafiya outshining moderate Islamist parties The main beneficiary of moderate Islamist parties inability to expand their public support base has been the quietist, apolitical Dawa Salafiya. Numbering in the millions, Dawa Salafiyas socially conservative and pious sea of members has continued to expand thanks at least partly to its moral code and robust social support networks. Its elevated profile stands in stark contrast to the tainted reputations of Algerias political Islamist party leadership. Though not engaging with the regime, Dawa Salafiya has made a point of not antagonizing le pouvoir a reality that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. The regime tolerates the movement precisely because it has no intention of challenging the powers that be and frowns upon anti-government protests. It also rejects democracy and Western influence. Le pouvoir essentially sees the benefit of allowing Dawa Salafiya to thrive. If repressed, the movements members may resort to political mobilization, which could pose a new challenge to the political establishment, or so the thinking goes. Trauma of the Dark Decade transcends generations Even if heavily repressed, very few if any Dawa Salafiya members are likely to resort to armed struggle, which the movement outright rejects. The Black Decade, when at least 150,000 individuals died, has left a legacy of trauma in its wake for the overwhelming majority of Algerians. The way the anti-government Hirak protest movement which cuts across different segments of Algerian society has shirked violence likewise shows how the civil war of the 1990s continues to penetrate the national conscience. It has had a direct bearing on the restraint exercised by Algerias pacifist protesters who hanker for a civilian rather than military-run state and the dissolution of le pouvoir. The pacificist nature of resistance to the regime is a source of frustration for militant Islamist groups that only have the ability to launch sporadic, localized and for the most part low-casualty attacks. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), other militant Islamists and their affiliates may be able to capitalize on increasing socio-economic pressures, rising unemployment and intensified repression against dissent to attract some new recruits. But their pool of would-be Algerian fighters is unlikely to expand dramatically. AQIM is in any case outmuscled by Algerias formidable security apparatus and most of its fighters operate across the southern border. All the locally based oil and gas executives I have spoken to in Algiers tip their hats to the Algerian army for its effectiveness at deterring cross-border incursions toward oil and gas operations since the Tigantourine gas facility hostage crisis of 2013. Although looking to contain a reinvigorated Hirak protest movement and reeling economy, the regime is unlikely to have to contend with an indigenous surge in religious radicalization over the coming years. It can also count on Algerias moderate Islamist parties to remain weak, divided and discredited. Dawa Salafiya will remain the most influential Islamic movement in Algeria one that the regime can be expected to continue tolerating. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 06:58:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli has died of heart disease at the age of 61, the country's Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on Wednesday. "With great sadness, I announce the death of our brave leader President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli who died today at around 6 p.m.," said Hassan in an announcement televised by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation. Hassan said President Magufuli was admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute earlier where he was treated for chronic atrial fibrillation, a heart condition he has suffered for more than 10 years. According to Tanzania's Constitution, Vice President Hassan shall be sworn in and become the president for the unexpired period of the term of five years. John Magufuli was re-elected the president of Tanzania in October 2020. Hassan also announced a 14-day national mourning following the death of Magufuli. "During the 14 days of mourning all national flags will fly at half-mast," said Hassan, adding that funeral arrangements will be announced later. Magufuli was born in Chato, Kagera region, on Oct. 29, 1959. He attended several schools for his primary and secondary education, and then enrolled for teacher training at Mkwawa College of Education from 1981 to 1982. Magufuli earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Dar es Salaam, majoring in chemistry and mathematics, from 1985 to 1988. He received his doctoral degree in chemistry in 2009, from the same university. In 1995, Magufuli was elected member of Parliament in Chato constituency. He served in the Ministry of Works as deputy minister in 1995-2000 and then as minister in 2000-2005. He also served as minister at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development in 2005-2008, the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries in 2008-2010, and at the Ministry of Works for a second time in 2010-2015. Enditem Bengaluru, March 19 : Karnataka is mulling over adopting Himachal Pradesh's sterilisation programme to control the monkey menace, state Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar informed the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Shettar was replying on behalf of Forest and Ecology Minister Aravind Limbavali in the Assembly during the Question Hour. As monkeys raiding agricultural fields continue to be a major concern in the Malnad region, BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra highlighted the problem in his constituency and sought to know the progress of the proposed Monkey Park, which was expected to come up near Sagar in Shivamogga district. Shettar said that a sterilisation programme was carried out successfully in Himachal Pradesh and the same will be replicated in Karnataka. Hitting out at his own party's government, Jnanendra said the Monkey Park was announced at a cost of Rs 6 crore nearly one-and-a-half years ago. "It has not seen the light of the day yet. Now the government is saying that it will take up a sterilisation programme at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. Are you going to sterilise male or female monkeys," the BJP MLA asked, terming the entire project as unscientific. To this, Shettar said that male monkeys will be sterilised while the government would also take up the Monkey Park project on a priority basis. He added that the forest department has trained 12 veterinary doctors for the sterilisation of male monkeys. "Equipment for this purpose have already been procured. The captured monkeys will be taken to the veterinary colleges for sterilisation and would be kept under watch for 2-3 days before being released into the forests again," Shettar said. "This programme would be taken up in the entire district of Shivamogga," Shettar added. Intervening at this juncture, JD(S) MLA from Kolar, Srinivas Gowda, said that the monkey menace is not restricted to Malnad districts. "They (monkeys) enter the homes in Kolar, causing problems. The monkeys should be captured and released in a remote forest," he said. Meanwhile, senior JD(S) leader and MLA H.K. Kumaraswamy, BJP leader and former Speaker K.G. Bopaiah and several legislators from Central Karnataka noted that wild boars and deer were behind extensive crop damages. They said the forest department, which is taking little action to prevent these damages, is also offering inadequate relief to cover the losses. The legislators also demanded revision of the policy formulated in 2009 to provide compensation for crop loss caused by wild animals such as monkeys, elephants and deer. Bopaiah said that in Kodagu district alone, Rs 1.30 crore has not been provided to the farmers who had lost their crops because of the damages caused by wild animals. To this, Shettar said the government has sent a proposal to the finance department to revise the relief amount granted for crop loss caused by wild animals. Thousands of residents on Melbournes eastern fringe have demanded the government halt its plans to sell empty land on the site of a former school to property developers. Pembroke Secondary College in Kilsyth was demolished in 2013 after two schools were amalgamated and locals want the vacant lot to be turned into parkland. They are now in a fight with the state government, which wants to sell half of the site for housing. Kilsyth residents Shelly Large (centre), John Phillips and wife Carol with George Stephens (right) at the empty land on Cambridge Road. Credit:Eddie Jim Kilsyth local Shelley Large said the area needed forward planning to avoid repeating mistakes that sparked a clash in Albert Park, where students from a vertical school use nearby Gasworks Park during recess and lunch. In 2017, Yarra Ranges Council turned down an opportunity to buy the vacant lot at 150 Cambridge Road in Kilsyth. It has since been rezoned for residential development and will be sold on behalf of the Department of Education and Training. Dairy cows with no access to outside pasture may have 'damaged emotional wellbeing', according to new UK research. The effects of pasture access on dairy cows psychological wellbeing have been poorly understood, until now. The new study, from the Queens University Belfast, is the first of its kind to investigate the issue. To conduct it, researchers gave 29 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows 18 days of overnight pasture access and 18 days of full-time indoor housing. Each cow was then trained to approach a food rewarded bucket location, but not approach another, unrewarded bucket location. After learning this task, to test judgement bias, the researchers presented cows with buckets in between the trained locations. Approaching these intermediate buckets would reflect an expectation of reward under ambiguity an 'optimistic' judgement bias, suggesting positive emotional states. The researchers found cows kept indoors full-time were faster to approach the known rewarded bucket location. Dr Gareth Arnott, of the Queens University and principal investigator on the research said: Scientists and dairy consumers have long been concerned that depriving dairy cattle of pasture access harms their welfare. "Pasture access can promote natural behaviour, improve cows health, and cows given the choice spend most of their time outside." Andrew Crump, a postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the paper, said increased reward anticipation suggested that an animal had fewer rewards in its life. "Our results indicate that pasture is a more rewarding environment for dairy cows, which may induce more positive emotional wellbeing than full-time housing," he said. Britain and Ireland have mostly resisted the trend towards housing dairy cows indoors full-time. "We hope that our research encourages farmers, retailers, government and consumers that pasture access is important for cow welfare, and should be protected. "In countries where full-time housing is common, we hope that ours and other welfare studies challenge this trend. The research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has made good on promises to reignite the effort to topple Alyaksandr Lukashenka, calling for renewed protests over a disputed presidential election, announcing a nationwide online vote on possible mediated negotiations to end the crisis, and more sanctions from the United States to pressure the authorities. In a video statement released on March 18, Tsikhanouskaya called on Belarusians to initiate a "second wave of protests" next week against Lukashenka, the authoritarian leader who was declared president for a sixth-straight term despite the opposition's belief that Tsikhanouskaya was the rightful winner. Tsikhanouskaya also said that the online vote, launched on March 18, would encourage the international community to act as mediators in the crisis, which erupted after peaceful protests were met with brute force by the authorities. "We launch this voting to start talks with representatives of [Lukashenka's] regime who are ready to think about the future and make mature decisions instead of prolonging the crisis until a full catastrophe. And there are such people," Tsikhanouskaya, who is currently in Lithuania where she relocated for security reasons after she was detained while attempting to register a complaint with elections officials, said in the video. Participation in the online vote, she said, would "help get decisive steps" from international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The independent platform Golos, which launched in Belarus last year to monitor the disputed presidential election, is overseeing the online vote. Golos announced that more than 200,000 people had voted already for talks between the authorities and the opposition. Mobilization Efforts Political scientist Pyotr Rudkouski told RFE/RL's Belarus Service that the online initiative appeared intended to mobilize Belarusian society and to affect the decision-making of international partners. Calling herself "the leader elected by the Belarusian people," Tsikhanouskaya also set March 25 as the date for the start of renewed pro-democracy protests against Lukashenka. The day marks the anniversary of the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic, which existed for less than a year in 1918. Tsikhanouskaya has recently acknowledged that cold weather and the harsh government crackdown against protesters had taken some momentum from the movement to oust Lukashenka. But she promised renewed efforts come spring and has reached out to countries around the globe -- she recently went on a three-country tour of Europe -- in an effort to boost support. Addressing the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee by videoconference on March 17, Tsikhanouskaya called on the United States to put more pressure on Lukashenka by expanding sanctions. Tsikhanouskaya said the additional sanctions should target judges, state-owned enterprises, security officers, oligarchs, and educational and sports officials. "You have to put sanctions on those'wallets' of Lukashenka that support the regime," Tsikhanouskaya said. This includes oil and gas enterprises, she said, urging the U.S. Congress to "strike at the regime's most important benefactors and primary sources of resilience." According to Tsikhanouskaya, 32,000 people have been detained, 2,500 criminal cases have been initiated, 1,000 cases of torture have been documented by human rights NGOs, and 290 people are currently being held as political prisoners. At least eight protesters have been killed, she said, and no government officials have been held accountable for any of the violence. Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has resisted international calls to step down and refuses to negotiate with the opposition. Tsikhanouskaya has described his recent public threat to use the army against protesters "an act of fear and despair." Seeking 'Genuine Dialogue' Tsikhanouskaya, 38, ran after her husband was jailed while trying to mount his own campaign and attracted a wide following, while most Western countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as president. Many governments have imposed sanctions on Lukashenka and senior Belarusian officials over the election process and the ensuing crackdown on protesters. In February, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions targeting Belarus's justice sector, law enforcement leaders, and officers in the country's security forces. Tsikhanouskaya, however, told U.S. lawmakers that the efforts to date have not been enough to oust the long-serving Belarusian leader. "Lukashenka still has the resources to retain power," Tsikhanouskaya said. "So, the United States should insist on stopping the violence, releasing the political prisoners, restoring the rule of law, and launching a genuine dialogue between the legitimate representatives of Belarusians and the regime." The people of Belarus need the help immediately "because people are suffering now in this very moment in jails and on the ground," she said. "This is urgent help." She urged Congress to increase sanctions on judges, in particular, because this will cause them to "think twice before making a judgment against a peaceful demonstration." With reporting by AP and the BBC Canada: Detained Canadians to go on trial in China shortly View Photo TORONTO (AP) The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday that China will soon begin trials for two Canadians who were arrested two years ago in apparent retaliation for Canadas detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said the Canadian Embassy in Beijing has been notified that court hearings for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are scheduled to take place Friday and Monday. Spavors court hearing will take place Friday and Kovrigs will happen Monday. The arbitrary detention of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor is a top priority for the Government of Canada and we continue to work tirelessly to secure their immediate release, Garneau said in a statement. We believe these detentions are arbitrary, and remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings. The Global Times reported last week that the two men would soon be tried after they were charged with crimes undermining Chinas national security in June 2020. Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, an entrepreneur, were arrested in December 2018, days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained at the airport in Vancouver, British Columbia. The U.S. wants her extradited to face fraud charges. China has revealed few details of the charges against the two, and Canadian diplomats allowed occasional visits have said little other than to call for them to be released. The Global Times said Kovrig was accused of having used an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig. Meng, who remains free on bail in Vancouver, is the daughter of the founder of Huawei, which Chinas government has promoted around the world as one of its national champions. Her arrest enraged Beijing, which sees the U.S. case as a political move designed to prevent Chinas rise, and it sent China-Canada relations into a tailspin. China has also retaliated by placing restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola oil seed and handed death sentences to four Canadians convicted of drug smuggling. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivans are set to meet Thursday with their Chinese counterparts on Thursday in Alaska. Blinken has pledged absolute solidarity with Canada. The Chinese in my view wanted to send a very clear message on the eve of this first to face meeting in Alaska that if the Americans want to help the Canadians they have to make concessions and they have to make sure Mrs. Meng will be returned to China, said Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China. Its a very worrisome development. We know things are preordained in China. Once you are formally charged in China you are found guilty 99.2% of the time. This a highly political case. The sentence will be dictated by the communist party of China. It becomes a lot more complicated to extract them from China. By ROB GILLIES Associated Press Bengaluru, March 18 : Karnataka served showcause notices to 396 garment units for violating stipulated norms regarding minimum wages and provision of adequate facilities to working women in these units, the state Legislature was told on Thursday. Replying to a question by the BJP Assembly member B.C. Nagesh, Labour Minister A. Shivaram Hebbar said: "Most of these even failed to provide separate toilet facilities to men and women working there. Apart from this, these units have not provided separate seating arrangements." He assured that the government would take action against such erring units. "These units will implement minimum wages rules, construct toilets, and rest rooms as well," he said. According to the minister, units which have 150 employees must have a restroom, and if the unit has 250 employees, then it must provide canteen facility and if it has 500 employees, they must have an in-house clinic with a doctor and a nurse, besides a labour welfare officer and a security officer too. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:14:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday directed that all flags fly at half-mast in honor of Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli who died of heart disease Wednesday. Museveni said in a recorded televised address that the national flag and all other flags must fly at half-mast until the burial of the 61-year-old leader. "It's a big shock when I heard that he was sick and then eventually yesterday [Wednesday] when they said he had died," said Museveni. "In honor of his contribution, I direct all the flags in Uganda to fly at half-mast until the day of his burial." Museveni in an earlier tweet extended condolences to the people of Tanzania over the passing of their fifth president. "He was a pragmatic leader who believed in and worked for the economic empowerment of East Africans," said Museveni. Enditem China sees remarkable progress of wildlife observation By Qi Xin (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 09:23, March 18, 2021 Photo shows a male great hornbill bringing a berry to his mate while she nests inside a tree hole. (Photo provided by an interviewee) This month, several wildlife photographers captured rare pictures of a great hornbill, a state-protected wild animal species, sealing up a nest cavity on a tree in Yingjiang County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. These pictures are of extremely high value in China, compared with text descriptions on how this type of birds seal a tree hole to build a nest. Yingjiang County is a major habitat of hornbills in China, a species with bright feathers and huge wingspan. When great hornbills fly, the powerful strokes produce a rhythmic thrumming. The county is home to 710 bird species, where hornbill activities can be observed regularly. A well-organized team is now recording the activities, which consists of journalists, bird-watchers, ornithologists and staff members of local nature reserves. Local farmers have been helping them locate the birds, and offering assistance in logistics. Yin Yihu is the photographer who recorded how the great hornbill sealed its nest. On March 4, the man, who works for a local media center in Yingjiang, also captured pictures of wreathed hornbill, another family of hornbills under the national second-class protection in China. Later, together with local wildlife photographers, Yin captured images of three rufous-necked hornbills deep in a forest with an altitude of over 2,000 meters, including two males and one female. On March 8, Yugong forest farm in Jiyuan, central China's Henan Province announced that since 2015, Taihang Mountain Macaque National Nature Reserve has captured over a hundred images and footages of leopards, a species under the national first-class protection in China, with infrared cameras. It suggested that the range of the big cats has been expanded. When the cameras were freshly set up in the mountain, only 10 of them captured images of the animal, while the number now is 30. A total of six leopards have been discovered, up from three at the beginning. Nowadays, more and more observation results and cases of protection for wildlife species are being presented to the public. It is result of the joint efforts made by the general public and professionals. For instance, most of the villagers in Yingjiang County know the ABCs of bird protection, and are aware of its importance. It is because of the common efforts made by the society that China's ecology has embraced constant improvement with more diverse animal and plant population. March 3 this year marked the 8th World Wildlife Day (WWD), and in China, the theme of the WWD was "facilitating green development and working for harmony between mankind and nature." In recent years, China has continuously improved the legal system and management of wildlife protection, further enhanced international cooperation on wildlife protection, vigorously promoted the protection of wildlife habitats, and launched massive in-situ and ex-situ conservation activities for wild plants. As a result, the country has put under protection 90 percent of vegetation forms and terrestrial ecosystems, 65 percent of macrophyte communities, and 85 percent of major wildlife populations. The populations of rare and endangered wildlife species such as giant pandas, crested ibises, Tibetan antelopes, Cycas revoluta and Davidia involucrata have recovered. Postal services provider TTPost yesterday shut its branches in Port of Spain and San Fernando after dozens of people rushed to collect senior citizen pension and public assistance grants and would not adhere to physical distancing rules. Eventually, police were called to disperse the crowds. Several elderly people at the St Vincent Street branch in Port of Spain complained about not being able to collect their pension cheques because other unruly ones refused to socially distance and abide by the law amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Stella Griffith, 68, of Diego Martin, said she was adhering to rules of social distancing, but there were other people who came for their public assistance and disability grants and were refusing to listen. A woman accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenage student while she was a teacher at a private boys' school has been revealed to also be a prominent businesswoman. Meredith Rawlings is being sued for $1million in the Brisbane Supreme Court by her former student Nicholas Brockhurst, who alleges he suffered significant psychological trauma as a result of their relationship which began when he was 13. Ms Rawlings, who along with her chef husband owns Encores at The Empire and Inbound Brasserie and Cafe in Toowoomba, denies the allegations. No criminal complaint has ever been made to police and she has never been charged. Mr Brockhurst alleges in the civil trial that his emotional and sexual relationship with Ms Rawlings began when he started as a boarder at Toowoomba Grammar School in 1996 when he was in Year 8, the Courier-Mail reported. Former Toowoomba Grammar School teacher Meredith Rawlings is being sued for $1million over allegations she had an emotional and sexual relationship with a teenage student Ms Rawlings, then 29, had started teaching at the school the same year, with Mr Brockhurst alleging she immediately took an interest and passed notes and organised regular meetings. The relationship allegedly escalated to the point where they were talking on the phone at night and hugging and kissing each other by the end of the year. Mr Brockhurst allegedly lost his virginity to Ms Rawlings the following the year at her home while her husband was out. Ms Rawlings resigned as a teacher at the school in 1997 after Mr Brockhurst's family allegedly found notes she had written in his bedroom and alerted the school, the court heard. The alleged emotional and sexual relationship began when Nicholas Brockhurst started as a boarder at Toowoomba Grammar School (pictured), where Ms Rawlings worked as a teacher, in 1996 She told the court she had met with Mr Brockhurst's mother after he was given detention nine times in 10 weeks, with an agreement made she would work closely with her student to lift his performance and improve his behaviour. Ms Rawlings developed a friendship with Mr Brockhurst's mother after the pair were in regular contact about his progress, the court heard. She denied anything of a sexual nature ever happened with Mr Brockhurst or that she acted inappropriately. Ms Rawlings told the court the phone calls with Mr Brockhurst and the notes handed to him were part of the request to improve his behaviour at school and 'frame of mind'. The trial continues. SAN FRANCISCOThe Erotic Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) has reacted to the murders that took place at Atlanta-area massage parlors Tuesday evening by offering heartfelt condolences and support to everybody in the massage parlor worker community, whether an owner, worker or client. I started out in the industry by working in massage parlors, said Maxine Doogan, president of ESPLERP. I found a community there which supported me, taught me my trade, and taught me how to stay safe. So I feel so much sadness reaching out in this situation. I feel for the families and friends of everybody gunned down in Atlanta while simply trying to make a living. Massage parlor workers, family members or friends of a massage parlor worker who wish to talk about the events in Atlanta may call 833-433-2746 (toll-free). "We have been flooded with calls from concerned workers this morning. We are here for you," Doogan assured. This violence doesnt happen in a vacuum, said Claire Alwyne of ESPLERP. Massage parlors have been long targeted by politicians, the media, law enforcement and religious zealots as hotbeds of sex trafficking. They have been the subject of numerous unconstitutional police stings, like last years Florida raids, where the police characterized the massage parlor workers, many of them of Asian descent, as victims of forced labor and the owners as traffickers. After decades of anti-trafficking and anti-sex work rhetoric, it isnt surprising that a fundamentalist took the message to heart and waged a crusade to eliminate locations he saw as temptations. The women murdered yesterday were working low-wage jobs during a pandemic, said Reada Wong of ESPLERP. They had to work to support their families. But they did so in a climate that demonized their ethnicity and criminalized their work, and left them vulnerable to violence. The widespread public panic around massage parlors has been fanned by politicians and the media, and has been to justify a xenophobic broken immigration policy and the criminalization of prostitution, according to ESPLERP, which called on Congress to immediately pass a national ban on the criminalization of prostitution and reform the immigration laws so as not to leave so many peoples rights in a precarious legal limbo. The Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) is a diverse community-based coalition advancing sexual privacy rights through litigation, education, and research. Thein Zaw, an AP journalist arrested in Myanmar on Feb. 27 while covering demonstrations against a coup, is spending his 33rd birthday in prison. Why it matters: He faces a charge that could send him to prison for three years; his next hearing will be March 24. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Context: Zaw was arrested as he was photographing police, some of them armed, charging down a street at anti-coup protesters, AP reports. A video shows that although he stepped to the side of the street to get out of their way, several police rushed over and surrounded him. AP Asia-Pacific News Director Adam Schreck said: "His images and brave reporting for the global news agency and the work of other detained journalists in Myanmar helped illuminate what is happening in one of the world's hardest to cover countries." Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. ROCHESTER, Minn. - It's the first major holiday bars and restaurants across Minnesota can celebrate with loosened COVID-19 restrictions. As of Monday at noon, restaurants across Minnesota can now operate at 75 percent capacity. Owner of Brothers Bar and Grill, Kevin Smoot says despite the dial being turned back and restrictions loosened - he doesn't expect it to be a big boisterous crowd this holiday. We're being realistic about it - that there's still a lot of folks that are ordering carryout and delivery that are not ready to come back in yet, he explains. In anticipation that not everyone would come out to celebrate on the 17th, the bar and grill is making it a week long St. Patricks Day celebration. Theyre dishing up corn beef and cabbage with a side of green beer. Smoot says St. Patrick's Day last year was supposed to be the first holiday they celebrated as new owners, but the restaurant was forced to shut down halfway through the busy day. Fast-forward one year later - Smoot says today is cause for celebration. "Everything we've gone through in the last year - for us it's a celebration - of still being here and still having our doors open - we're gonna party anyway, a smaller crown isn't gonna stop us from enjoying it." Smoot tells me he believes it is important they continue enforcing regulations - including social distancing - spacing out tables and limiting capacity. He tells KIMT he is excited to keep the celebrations going as plans are already in the works for Cinco de Mayo. Beijing is hoping for a meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping next month if the first high-level US-China talks in Alaska, which begin on Thursday, are successful. China urged Xi-Biden meeting if Alaska talks result well One of the people said that the Biden-Xi discussion would be scheduled around Earth Day on April 22 to indicate that both leaders are committed to fighting climate change. On that day, Biden aims to hold a conference of world leaders to call for greater ambition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Bloomberg via MSN reported. Both the US and China have downplayed the importance of the Alaska negotiations, which will occur on Thursday and Friday local time. The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. In contrast, China will be represented by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Politburo member Yang Jiechi. Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the US, told state-run China Central Television that China's hopes for the meeting aren't "too high." He added that it would be a success if it begins "honest, constructive, and fair" dialogue. Both countries have argued over how to characterize the negotiations, with the United States disputing China's description of the conference as a "high-level political dialogue." Blinken said on Wednesday that it would be a chance to "share with our Chinese counterparts, very personally, face-to-face, the questions that the United States, our allies and partners have about some of the things that China is doing." China has asked the Biden administration to lift tariffs and sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his presidency and limits on key technology shipments to Chinese firms. After administration officials tightened sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co., China's Foreign Ministry said last week that the US "isn't a reliable country that can be trusted." Biden Confronts China's XI Jinping in First Call Since He Became US President Will the China-US meeting in Alaska be a new starting point High-ranking Chinese and US government officials will meet in Alaska for the first official dialogue from Thursday to Friday this week. The conference is distinct from the "two-plus-two" diplomatic dialogue between the US and Japanese foreign and defense ministers, as well as prior rounds of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. This seems to be the starting point for the world's two most strong nations and economies to re-establish bilateral links, as per Global Times. The new round of high-level dialogue between China and the US can serve as a new starting point for the bilateral relationship. The previous Trump administration has almost completely abandoned official dialogue mechanisms with China, taking an extreme "decoupling" strategy. Since Joe Biden took office in January, Washington has expanded its contacts with Beijing. On February 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. On Chinese New Year's Eve, the United States and China presidents spoke on the phone. With the forthcoming high-level meeting, Biden has taken a step back from his predecessor's confrontational approach. Biden Announces New Pentagon Task Force to Review China's Strategy Alaska's chill mirrors the outlook for talks between the US, China As China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Alaska on Thursday, the superpowers' first meeting since President Joe Biden took office is a critical playbook for both sides. The deep freeze that the two giants are in is highlighted by the freezing cold and 10-foot snow mounds in Anchorage as they surround each other cautiously. The fact that they're meeting at all indicates a willingness to at least consider engaging in a dialogue and setting a fresh tone after years of trans-Pacific trade wars and bitter name-calling. Although the Biden administration has been developing its policy of rallying other disgruntled democracies against China, as shown by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's trips to Japan and Korea this week, it cannot afford to wait indefinitely because some of its agendas, such as climate change and economic renewal, require any form of coordination with Beijing. And, while China may see America as a fading force that it may inevitably drive out of the neighborhood, it also recognizes that it is not there yet and that any confrontation with the US may result in humiliation, according to South China Morning Post. China Claims Australia Universities Provide 'Low Quality' Education @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. bwilking/iStockBy MICK MULROY and ERIC OEHLERICH, ABC News, and SASHA LEZHNEV (NEW YORK) -- Stopping the use of child soldiers must be prioritized by the international community. Children are among the most vulnerable groups in society while warfare is the most dangerous of all human endeavors. The use of child soldiers is growing. As military-grade weapons get lighter and more lethal, children can often do as much damage as adults. Children are also cheaper to feed and keep healthy and more likely to do or believe what adults tell them without question. The United Nations, the U.S. Congress, and others have passed many protocols and laws to stop the use of children as soldiers. More can be done than passing pass laws and giving speeches, and it is imperative to hold those accountable who use or profit from the use of child soldiers is an international responsibility whether enemies, allies or simply unscrupulous individuals. International problem On a global scale, accurately assessing the actual number of children being exploited for combat is difficult. From the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Philippines, children are exploited by internationally recognized states, rebels, and terrorist groups. None of these states or organizations want this practice highlighted--they do not self-report data on the issue. According to the information available, trends are troubling. The United Nations reports that in Yemen, seventy percent of the child soldiers in Yemen exploited between 2015 and 2016 were a result of Saudi Arabia paying Sudan and Libya for soldiering services. Many of those from Sudan and Libya were under the age of 18. The remaining thirty percent of child combatants were Yemeni children filling the ranks of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIS-Yemen (ISIS-Y). In 2017, an estimated 100,000 children were exploited in at least eighteen armed conflicts worldwide, including 40,000 girls being used as soldiers and, disturbingly, as soldiers with benefits. In 2019, the UN found that the number of child soldiers in the Middle East and Africa had doubled within that year. ISIS also used children as part of its terror operations. After ISIS took control of the swaths of Iraq and Syria in June 2014, the militant group focused considerable effort on developing the next generation of violent extremists. With nearly 700,000 children out of school in areas under its control, ISIS had easy access. Building on a Cubs of the Caliphate'' program, ISIS had children indoctrinated through Shariah classes, followed by training in basic weapons and soldiering. The children then served on the battlefield alongside adult ISIS soldiers as human shields. Others deployed as suicide bombers. For example, in 2016, a 12-year-old ISIS member was martyred as a suicide bomber, killing 53 people at a wedding in Turkey. The culprit in all of this is enduring conflict. Even low levels of violence over a prolonged period of time create a demand to fill the ranks. Over time, that demand falls on the shoulders of children. The use of child soldiers happens in locations where the worlds superpowers, including the United States, have deployed their military forces. It is in plain sight. Those superpowers, therefore, have a moral responsibility to help end this practice of child exploitation. Applicable Laws There are numerous UN protocols and U.S. laws that prohibit the use of child soldiers, but they are poorly enforced. For example, the UNs Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) forbids non-state armed groups from recruiting anyone under the age of 18 for any purpose. As of September 2020, 170 states are party to the protocol, 10 states have signed but not ratified it, and 17 states have not signed the treaty. One of the human rights initiatives of President Bidens administration should be to get all the remaining countries to join it and to hold those that have violated their obligations to account. The United States needs to hold both our adversaries and allies to the same standard. Holding the OPAC signatories to account will have a profound impact on tens of thousands of children. The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 23, 2008, criminalizes leading a military force that recruits any person under 18 years of age who directly participates in combat as a member of a states armed forces. This law bans the United States from providing military assistance or arms sales to governments that use children in combat. Still, the president may waive the laws application for specific countries if it is deemed to be in our national interest. There have been far too many waivers of this law, even to US partners. There should be no future waivers. At the very least, the US must require action from its allies still using child soldiers. Any future waiver should include a requirement for the country receiving the waiver to have a plan and timeline to discontinue the use of children as soldiers. Relevant Sanctions The incoming Biden administration can have a game-changing impact on this issue by targeting actions against the individuals most responsible for child soldier recruitment and, importantly, those who profit from it. Child soldiers continue to be recruited because it is profitable for militia commanders who want cheap labor and malleable minds, minerals smugglers who partner with militias and who want small hands to dig in mines, and corrupt officials who sponsor the militias and who outsource attacks to children so their regular soldiers do not die. These individuals need to have their cost-benefit calculations altered. Otherwise, they will continue the child soldier supply chain, because it is in their best interest under current conditions. Additionally, the US apply pressure on non-state and terrorist organizations. Those entities always have a state backer, and the United States can go after states backing these actors to make forced child combat labor less appealing. Further, the Biden administration should vigorously use the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction corrupt officials, companies, and commanders involved in supporting armed groups that recruit child soldiers. Importantly, they should target the officials and corporate support structures to the militias, rather than just the militia leaders themselves who rarely travel or have bank accounts abroad. This effort can and should be a multilateral effort. In December, the European Union passed the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, colloquially known as Europes Global Magnitsky Act, allowing the EU to sanction human rights abusers globally. Human Rights USAID and other aid groups should learn from the lessons of programs to help former child soldiers. Projects to sustainably reintegrate ex-child soldiers back into their communities, such as small business development that helps both ex-combatants and communities, must be prioritized over short-term insertion packages. While often neglected, trauma counseling should be prioritized in programming, including long-term support since the intense psychological scars that child soldiers endure do not disappear quickly. Conclusion 2020 has been a year of turbulence and societies across the globe have been increasingly stressed. Yet, countries have weathered the Coronavirus pandemic, economic recession, long-duration conflicts, and political posturing of unprecedented scale. The US must now continue to address issues both domestically and abroad, and that includes the critical issue of child soldiering -- which can be positively impacted in the near term with the right political steps. About the authors Michael Mick Patrick Mulroy is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, a retired Paramilitary Operations Officer in the CIAs Special Activities Center, and a retired U.S. Marine. He is the co-director of the Yemen Steering Initiative and a Senior Fellow for National Security and Defense Policy with the Middle East Institute, an Analyst for ABC News, on the board of directors for Grassroots Reconciliation Group, End Child Soldiering Co-Founder, and the Lobo Institute's Co-founder, which address the issue of child soldiering Grassroots Reconciliation Group, End Child Soldiering's Co-founder, and the Lobo Institute's Co-founder. Eric Oehlerich is a retired U.S. Navy Commander (SEAL) from the Naval Special Warfare component of the USSOCOMs Joint Special Operations Command. He is a Senior Fellow for Technology and National Security with the Middle East Institute, an Analyst for ABC News, on the board of directors for Grassroots Reconciliation Group, End Child Soldiering Co-founder, and the Lobo Institute's Co-founder. Sasha Lezhnev is Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry and Founding Director of the Grassroots Reconciliation Group. He is a founding member of the Public-Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade, and he previously worked at Global Witness, the International Crisis Group, the Northern Uganda Peace Initiative. He is the author of the book Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with Warlords in Collapsing States. Copyright 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys recent interview with Oprah Winfrey has created a massive buzz online. Soon after the release of the interview, the royal couple faced flak for speaking against the royal family at the time when Prince Phillips health wasnt steady. Now, on Wednesdays episode of Sirius XM show titled, Gayle King in the House, the CBS host unveiled that the interview was filmed before Prince Phillip was hospitalized. During the episode, Gayle said that if something unfortunate was to happen to Prince Phillip, the interview would not have run at this particular time. After a lot of people raised concerned about the issue, the host clarified that the entire interaction was filmed way before Prince Phillip went to the hospital. The release schedule of the interaction was also decided long before, claims the host. She added that Harry and Meghan dealt with a lot of troubles in the past three years and that they tried to work it out privately. According to Gayle, both the royals tried to get help but nothing was working out for them. Both of them wanted people to understand why they made the decision and everything that the duo have gone through. The host further said that it was brave of both of them to reveal everything. Gayle believes that it was an honest conversation and she hopes that it will lead to a change in future. For the unversed, Prince Phillip has now returned to Windsor Castle on Tuesday, March 16. He was hospitalized over a span of 28 days for recovering from an infection and a heart procedure. As reported by Mirror, the Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Phillips arrival stating, His Royal Highness wishes to thank all the medical staff who looked after him at both King Edward VIIs Hospital and St Bartholomews Hospital, and everyone who has sent their good wishes. Further, the statement confirmed that the 99-year-old royal was in good spirits. During the Oprah Winfrey interaction, Meghan had also addressed Prince Phillips health stating that she reached out to the Queen to check in on learning about Duke of Edinburghs hospitalisation. 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. (Adds details, background) BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators recently summoned 11 domestic technology companies including Alibaba Group, Tencent and ByteDance for talks on use of 'deepfake' technologies on their content platforms, stepping up scrutiny of the sector. Chinas cyberspace administrator said in a statement on Thursday that it and the public security ministry met with the companies to talk about "security assessments" and potential problems with deepfakes and audio social apps. Kuaishou Technology and Xiaomi Corp also attended the meeting, it said. All the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic but fake videos or audios where a person appears to say or do something they did not. China has increased scrutiny of its internet giants in recent months, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour and potential infringement of consumer rights. Regulators also told the companies to "conduct security assessments on their own" and submit reports to the government when they plan to add new functions or new information services that "have the ability to mobilize society", the statement said. There has been a surge in China in copycats of the audio app Clubhouse since the U.S.-based chat service was blocked in the country in early February. Clubhouse was briefly accessible in China, attracting many users who participated in discussions on sensitive topics such as Xinjiang detention camps and Hong Kong independence, before it was shut down by authorities. TikTok owner ByteDance is one of many companies working on Clubhouse-like apps for the Chinese market, Reuters reported earlier this month. Other new offerings include Kuaishou's invitation-based Feichuan app and Xiaomi's reworking of Mi Talk app into an invitation-only audio service targeted at professionals. (Reporting by Yingzhi Yang and Tony Munroe; Additional reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai and Pei Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jane Wardell) Health Insurance Virtual Town Hall Offered to Michigan Consumers Health Insurance Virtual Town Hall Offered to Michigan Consumers Media Contact: Laura Hall, 517-290-3779, halll17@michigan.gov Consumer Hotline: 877-999-6442, Michigan.gov/HealthInsurance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2021 (LANSING, MICH) The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is offering a virtual town hall event for consumers today about the Health Insurance Marketplace special open enrollment period that is open until May 15, 2021. This live online town hall meeting is part of a series of events that will help consumers learn and ask questions about signing up for a health plan on the Health Insurance Marketplace. Event Information: Thursday, March 18 at 11:30 a.m. Registration is not required. To attend the virtual town hall event, click the event link at its start time. To shop for health coverage or to get free, local help to make health coverage decisions, Michiganders should go to the Health Marketplace by visiting HealthCare.gov before the May 15 enrollment deadline. The American Rescue Plan, recently signed into law by President Joe Biden, increases and expands Marketplace subsidies to help consumers afford health coverage. In some cases, these subsidies could provide cost-free coverage for the whole year. Community organizations interested in co-hosting a virtual town hall on the special enrollment period on the Health Insurance Marketplace can contact DIFS. DIFS can help consumers with health insurance questions and complaints and can provide information about the Health Insurance Marketplace special enrollment period. For more information, consumers should visit Michigan.gov/HealthInsurance or call 877-999-6442 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The mission of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services is to ensure access to safe and secure insurance and financial services fundamental for the opportunity, security, and success of Michigan residents, while fostering economic growth and sustainability in both industries. In addition, the Department provides consumer protection, outreach, and financial literacy and education services to Michigan residents. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/DIFS or follow the Department on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. #### (Natural News) Columbia University in New York City will host virtual graduation ceremonies segregated by race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status, in addition to its main commencement ceremonies for all students. (Article by Benjamin Zeisloft republished from CampusReform.org) In order to provide a more intimate setting for students who self-identify in a variety of ways, the Ivy League school said these programs are a way to complement the main ceremonies. The additional virtual ceremonies include the Native Graduation Celebration, Lavender Graduation Celebration for LGBTQ students, Asian Graduation Celebration, First-generation and Low-Income student Graduation Celebration, Latinx Graduation Celebration, and Black Graduation Celebration. The university faced swift backlash for promoting segregated graduation programming. Congratulations are in order for liberals and @Columbia University for successfully bringing segregation back by packaging it as diversity inclusion, wrote conservative commentator Candace Owens. Just one question: which ceremony do bi-racial children attend? Congratulations are in order for liberals and @Columbia University for successfully bringing segregation back by packaging it as diversity inclusion. Just one question: which ceremony do bi-racial children attend? https://t.co/WQL6aAXbmV Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 16, 2021 The endpoint of critical race theory: segregation, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) reacted. The endpoint of critical race theory: segregation. https://t.co/KhmKwuXEK3 Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 16, 2021 As previously reported by Campus Reform, Cotton sent a letter to then-Attorney General Bill Barr in 2020 asking that the Department of Justice investigate the rising trend of segregation on the nations college campuses. Columbia issued a statement in response to the backlash. Reports today and previous tweets misrepresent our multicultural graduation celebrations, which exist in addition to, not instead of, University-wide commencement and individual school Class Days, wrote the school on Twitter. Reports today and previous tweets misrepresent our multicultural graduation celebrations, which exist in addition to, not instead of, University-wide commencement and individual school Class Days. 1/ Columbia University (@Columbia) March 16, 2021 These events are important, intimate and welcoming spaces for students aligned with these groups to come together to celebrate their achievements if they wish, said the university. They are organized in tandem with students and student groups. In most instances, these celebrations evolved from ceremonies originally created by students and alumni. They are open to every student. They are voluntary. And they have become a highly anticipated and valuable part of the Columbia graduation experience, added the university. Campus Reform reached out to Columbia University on Tuesday for additional comment. A university spokesperson provided the same statement as was issued on Twitter. Read more at: CampusReform.org and PoliticalCorrectness.news In as much as his words were taken or construed as insensitive or inappropriate, they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect, Reynolds said, adding that Baker had a difficult task before him, and this was one of the hardest in his 28 years in law enforcement. Massey Emergency Management website by Digital Silk Digital Silk, a creative digital agency has announced the launch of a new corporate website for the Virginia-based emergency planning company, Massey Emergency Management. Having updated the companys brand strategy by refreshing the visual identity and strengthening the brand persona, Digital Silks goal was to develop a website that showcases Masseys industry-leading service portfolio. As such, the new website shows the companys commitment to providing expertise, reaction guides and advanced solutions to office, residential, mixed-use and campus properties. The agency created a clean sitemap to facilitate easy navigation through Masseys robust emergency management service and product portfolio. Strategically placed calls to action (CTAs) for demo request of the companys recently launched mobile application make the user journey to this conversion point effortless. Demo requests act as an effective lead generation channel, so we paid special attention to making this call to action prominent and constant throughout the user journey, said Jamie Maloney, client partner at Digital Silk. CTA to contact details, including phone number embedded in the two-tier menu and prominently featured contact form, improves the experience of both prospects and existing clients by making Masseys teams more accessible. Due to the nature of their industry, Masseys key messaging needed to communicate authority and reliability. Instead of About, Digital Silk created an Experience page to answer the users most important needs when choosing an emergency management partner: trust. The agency decided to highlight Masseys illustrious, 30+ year history to communicate a proven track record, credibility and authority in this space. Digital Silk also added a page dedicated to Masseys client portfolio for bottom-of-the-funnel users. The page lists some of the company's most prominent clients including Hudson Yards, Brickell City Center, Brookfield Place, Empire State Building, Wilshire Grand Center, Rainier Square Tower and many of the top Fortune 500 HQ buildings/campuses., further contributing to their credibility and building the trust their leads need to convert. About Digital Silk: Digital Silk is a creative digital agency focused on growing brands online. From custom websites to digital marketing, Digital Silk creates SUPERIOR digital experiences to drive higher conversions, greater brand engagement and measurable results. About Massey Emergency Management: Massey Emergency Management is the world leader in disaster pre-planning and protection of many high-profile buildings in the US. The companys expertise, reaction guides and advanced solutions help the commercial real estate industry mitigate both long-term and new or expanding threats. SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 18 March 2021 - DAEBAK! K-drama actor Lee Min Ho will arrive at Madame Tussauds Singapore next week, joining the rest of the stars in the new K-Wave zone. He will be standing alongside Song Seung-heon, Kim Woo Bin and Bae Suzy, fans can meet the heartthrob actor for a limited period only! Lee Min Ho will join the rest of the Korean stars at the new K-Wave zone in Madame Tussauds Singapore! Lee Min Ho started his career in 2006 and his breakthrough came in 2009. He has recently surpassed 20 million followers on his official Instagram and Facebook page, which makes him one of the most followed Korean stars on different social media platforms combined. "We are proud and honoured to have Lee Min Ho joining the rest of the stars at the new K-Wave zone. We believe that his figure will definitely draw the attention of many, and we will continue to bring in more stars throughout the year," says Alex Ward, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Singapore. To cure the wanderlust of traveling, the K-Wave zone was opened last month where guests can pose under the eye-catching Cherry Blossom tree to experience the Sakura without traveling. Wander away and pose in front of the hanoks with Lee Min-ho, Song Sueng-Heon, Kim Woo-bin and Bae Suzy. Or take your boomerangs in front of the pretty cherry blossom flower wall and inspire your friends on where to shoot their next OOTD. Madame Tussauds Singapore is based at Imbiah Lookout. Come and enjoy the brand-new K-wave zone with the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers. And till the end of March the Sentosa Island admission fees are waived, so what are you waiting for! Visit the family fun attraction and get 5 experiences for only 1 ticket. For more information on how to redeem these vouchers and to know what the 5 experiences are, please visit our website www.madametussauds.com/Singapore. Twitter: @MTsSingapore Instagram: @MTsSingapore Facebook: @MadameTussaudsSingapore Hashtag: #MadameTussaudsSG Story continues Download high-res images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/khx2r1v9o12bn1m/AADTz9_nBt9DK7i3gnm1cNeQa?dl=0 Madame Tussauds The ultimate celebrity experience and the world's best known and most popular wax attraction. There are currently 23 Madame Tussauds attractions around the world. Each of the attractions is unique and tailored to the host city and visitor demographic to feature both local as well as international figures. The result of 200 years of expertise and painstaking research every figure takes Madame Tussauds' gifted sculptors a minimum of three months to make, and costs more than $300K (Singapore dollars). Most contemporary figures are also produced following sittings with the celebrities themselves. Study Confirms Tansim Project High Lithium Potential Brisbane, Mar 18, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium miner Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( FRA:DML ) ( OTCMKTS:DMNXF ) has reaffirmed confidence in the lithium potential of its emerging Tansim Lithium Project, following the completion of an updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on its project located in Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Quebec.The report by BBA's Principal Geologist Pierre-Luc Richard reviewed the project following its recent expansion to encompass 275 claims spanning 15,907 ha of prospective lithium acreage (refer ASX release 11 March 2021). The NI 43-101 report concluded that the project's exploration potential remains high and that the potential to increase the size of the currently modelled pegmatites, which remain open laterally and at depth, is also high.A C$1.6 million (A$1.65 million) work program has been committed for Tansim, comprising a Phase One 5,000m drill program, followed, if warranted, by a Phase Two work program to include a mineralogical study, metallurgical testwork and a Mineral Resource estimate.Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch, commented: "The confirmation of Tansim's high exploration potential is extremely welcome following our recent expansion of the project. We look forward to progressing drilling at the Viau-Dallaire and Viau prospects to take them to the resource determination stage."Tansim has assumed a greater importance in Sayona's 2021 plans, reflecting its high growth potential which can complement the development of our flagship Authier project, as well as potential synergies with NAL, pending a successful bid. We see Tansim becoming a key component of our vision for a world-scale lithium hub in the Abitibi region, uniquely located to service the North American lithium market."Tansim Project - BackgroundLocated 82 kilometres south-west of Sayona's Authier project, Tansim hosts known pegmatites at the Viau and Viau-Dallaire prospects which were first identified in the 1950s. These occurrences remained lightly explored until Sayona's involvement in the project in January 2018. Since that time Sayona has consolidated and expanded the project claims so that they now represent the largest contiguous tenure any company has assembled in the area.Past explorers have recognised the significance of the geochemically evolved Reservior Decelles Batholith, a suite of monzogranite intrusions, which are the typical parent magma for spodumene bearing pegmatite systems at a worldwide scale. At Tansim, a strongly magnetic suite of sediments and intrusive rocks some 12km in strike extent and several kilometres in width margins the monzogranite and this contact zone presents as the primary exploration target.This zone is host to the Viau and Viau-Dallaire spodumene pegmatites, and planning is underway for 2021 exploration which has the benefit of utilising tracks recently made by other users of the area. This planned first reconnaissance of the target area has potential to rapidly elevate the Tansim area into an area of significant district scale discovery.Sayona's 2019 drilling at the Viau-Dallaire prospect (11 holes for 1219m) identified two pegmatites of 15m and 40m true width which remain open in all directions. An Exploration Target (refer note below) for the Viau-Dallaire prospect has been estimated at between 5 million tonnes, at an estimated grade of 1.2-1.3% Li2O, and 25 million tonnes, at an estimated grade of 1.2 - 1.3% Li2O (refer ASX release 19 November 2019).About Sayona Mining Ltd Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:DMNXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au Photo: The Canadian Press The Senate of Canada building and Senate Chamber are pictured in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 18, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Intolerably suffering Canadians who are not near the natural end of their lives now have the right to seek medical assistance in dying. And that will eventually include people suffering solely from grievous and irremediable mental illnesses. The expansion of Canada's assisted dying regime went into effect Wednesday night after the Senate accepted a revised version of Bill C-7. The bill received royal assent a few hours later just over a week ahead of a final March 26 deadline imposed by the court, which had granted four extensions to bring the law into compliance with a 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling. With royal assent granted, intolerably suffering Canadians who aren't near death immediately gained the right to seek medical assistance in dying. People suffering solely from mental illnesses will have to wait two years to gain the same right. The government had originally intended to impose a blanket ban on assisted dying for people suffering solely from mental illnesses. But, under pressure from senators who believed that exclusion was unconstitutional, it subsequently put a two-year time limit on it. In the meantime, the government committed to setting up an expert panel to advise on the safeguards and protocols that should apply to people with mental illnesses. The government rejected a Senate amendment to allow people who fear losing mental competence to make advance requests for an assisted death. But it committed to launching within 30 days a joint parliamentary committee to review that issue and other unresolved matters, including whether mature minors should have access to the procedure. "For Canadians who are suffering intolerably, this process has taken too long, but their wait is now over," Justice Minister David Lametti tweeted shortly after the bill received royal assent. "This is an important milestone but there is more work to do." The bill was triggered by two Quebecers with severe disabilities who went to court to successfully fight for their right to choose an assisted death even though their natural deaths were not "reasonably foreseeable." But disability rights groups have strenuously opposed the bill, arguing it devalues the lives of people with disabilities, particularly those who are Black, racialized, Indigenous or otherwise already marginalized and face discrimination in the health system. They fear such vulnerable people will be pressured either directly or indirectly through societal attitudes and lack of support services to end their lives prematurely. Many mental health advocates have also weighed in against the eventual inclusion of people suffering solely from mental illnesses. They argue that it's harder to predict the outcomes of mental illnesses, many of which can be treated, and point out that a wish to die is often a symptom of these illnesses. But Sen. Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist and member of the Independent Senators Group who first proposed a time limit on the mental illness exclusion, argued that all competent Canadians suffering from irremediable and grievous illnesses, physical or mental, deserve the right to make their own choice. "It is not for us to decide if a person's suffering is intolerable to them," he told the Senate shortly before the vote. Dying with Dignity Canada welcomed the Senate's sign-off on the bill, calling it "a momentous day for end-of-life rights in Canada." All 20 Conservative senators voted against the bill, several because they believed it didn't go far enough but most were fundamentally opposed to expanding the assisted dying regime, particularly to those with mental illnesses. In an emotional speech just before the vote, Conservative Senate leader Don Plett pleaded with his colleagues to reject the bill. "If there was ever a time to exercise sober second thought, it is now," he told the Senate. "It is not often that we can truly say that with this vote we have the opportunity to save lives, to prevent the unnecessary premature death of the vulnerable, to offer hope to those who have lost it. But today we do." For people who are near the natural end of life, the bill relaxes some of the rules for getting an assisted death. It drops the requirement that a person must be able to give final consent immediately before the procedure is performed. That's intended to ensure that someone who has been approved for the procedure won't be denied if they lose mental capacity before it can be carried out. It also drops the requirement that a person must wait 10 days after being approved for an assisted death before receiving the procedure. And it reduces the number of witnesses required to one from two. People not near death will face higher hurdles. Among other things, they'll face a minimum 90-day period for assessments of their requests for an assisted death. They'll have to be made aware of all alternatives, including counselling and they'll have to be able to give final consent immediately before receiving the procedure. ADVERTISEMENT The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Ifeanyi Ararume a certificate of return within 72 hours based on the result of the December 5, 2020, Imo North Senatorial bye-election, having been declared as the valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in a judgment, said Mr Ararume remained the winner of the election going by the earlier judgments of the court. According to him, with regard to the Appeal Court judgment in Abuja, the 3rd defendant (Chukwuma Ibezim) remained disqualified. Justice Taiwo therefore declared Mr Ararume as the APC valid candidate in the poll. The judge earlier in a ruling dismissed Mr Ibezims application seeking a stay of the judgment, pending the hearing and determination of the suit before the Supreme Court. Justice Taiwo, who described the application as an attempt to arrest the judgment, dismissed it for lacking in merit. Messrs Ibezim and Araraume had fielded themselves as APC candidates prior to the election. Although INEC had declared APC winner of the bye-election, the commission did not return a candidate from the party. INEC hinged its decision on what it described as several court orders for and against the two major contenders. NAN also reported that two court judgments had surfaced on December 4, 2020 one from the Court of Appeal, Owerri, and another from the Federal High Court, Abuja. The Court of Appeal faulted the judgment of the Federal High Court, Owerri, which had nullified the candidacy of Mr Ibezim and declared him candidate while sacking Araraume barely 24 hours to the election. The Federal High Court, Abuja, had on the other hand declared Mr Araraume as the candidate of the party, on the grounds that Mr Ibezim presented fake certificates to the APC and INEC. But Mr Araraume, through his counsel, Ahmed Raji, said he had also filed an application at the Supreme Court, praying that the execution of the Appeal Court judgement be stayed. As such, the former lawmaker approached Justice Taiwos court for an order compelling INEC to issue him the certificate of return as the winner of the poll. Although the judgment would have been delivered on March 16 by Justice Taiwo, Mr Ibezim, through his lawyer, M.O. Daudu, in an application for a stay of judgment, informed the court that the suit was pending before the apex court for hearing and determination. But the counsel to Mr Ararume, Tunde Falola, said the suit at the Supreme Court had been withdrawn through a notice of withdrawal and copies served on all the defendants. (NAN) ASHLAND, Ore. For the next year, students in the Ashland School District will be opting out of Oregon's standardized testing unless families decide otherwise. The Ashland School Board passed a resolution on Monday, authorizing a one-year change of practice for the state Smarter Balanced assessment system, defaulting all students to "opt-out" status. Parents can choose to opt-in for their students if they prefer, but it will not be the default this year. "If a family wants their student to participate in the state assessment, an opportunity will be provided," the District said in a statement. The state of Oregon has asked the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver on state assessments this year due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning, and the limited opportunities for on-site learning. Ashland's resolution is intended to be in keeping with Oregon's stance. "If administered, state assessments could take up a significant amount of the remaining on-site class time for students that have returned in hybrid," the Ashland School District continued. "Students just now returning to classrooms would come back to find themselves participating in hours of formal assessments." Typically, Oregon law requires students to participate in state testing unless parents decide to opt-out for their students. On normal years, students are encouraged to take the SBAC assessment because it can help districts track student progress and the efficacy of educational programs. This year is different. Kids are just now returning to school and now testing is required? They should be reconnecting and experiencing school in person," said School Board Chair Eva Skuratowicz. "We already have growth data through local assessments that provide teachers with important information on supporting learners the state assessment doesnt do anything for kids this year. The Oregon Board of Education is expected to vote soon to waive the essential skills graduation requirement for current Juniors in the class of 2022, ASD said. The assessment requirement was waived for the classes of 2020 and 2021 last year. Parents should receive an email notice from the District allowing them to opt-in if they prefer that their child do the state testing. Those who do not want to opt-in will not need to respond. "We believe most parents want their kids in class and learning this year, and not taking valuable class time with the state assessments, Skuratowicz said. by Nirmala Carvalho Sister Baghya had filed a complaint against her accuser. The nun will have to cooperate with the investigation. For the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, everything can be exploited and distorted by anti-conversion legislation used as a political tool by religious nationalists. Mumbai (AsiaNews) Madhya Pradesh's High Court on Tuesday granted bail to the principal of a missionary school, who became the object of an investigation on 22 February on charges of psychological harassment against a female teacher in an attempt to force her to convert. Sister Baghya, a member of the Sisters of the Destitute, faced arrest after police charged her with violating the states anti-conversion laws. Sister Bhagya has submitted that the complaint is false and registered only out of a sense of frustration experienced by the teacher, Ruby Singh, on account of her termination from service at the school, said Judge Atul Sreedharan. The school principal had lodged a complaint with the sub-divisional magistrate on 17 February explaining that the teacher was fired because of poor performance and lack of documents and that the woman threatened to commit self-immolation if she was not reinstated. On 20 February, the same complaint was forwarded to the SDO (P). The complaint against the nun was filed two days later. It is clear that Ruby Singh falsely implicated the principal Sister Bhagya by levelling the allegations of forced conversion against her and her family, the judge said. The court in Jabalpur asked the accused to cooperate with the police in the investigation and granted her freedom upon payment of a bail of 10,000 rupees (about 0). The case was adjourned until April 7. Ruby Singh filed her complaint with the police in the presence of leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parshad, a Hindu nationalist organisation, claiming to belong to a lower-middle-class family and to have been pressured by Sister Baghya to convert. She also claimed that the principal used undignified words about her religion and that she stopped receiving her wages before the was fired after she refused to change religion. The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance was introduced in January and converted into law on 8 March, said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), speaking to AsiaNews. Of the 23 cases recorded so far, more than 60 per cent see Christians as the accused. It is just a way of arrest and prosecute members of the small Christian community with false accusations of conversion. Its wording is broad and vague so that anything can be interpreted as allurement or inducement to convert. The educational apostolate, the health apostolate, the social initiatives of the Catholic Church, everything can be exploited and distorted by anti-conversion legislation used as a political tool by religious nationalists, George explained. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana's attorney generals office vigorously defended Gov. Eric Holcomb's emergency powers in response to a restaurant's lawsuit challenging his order that masks must be worn inside restaurants to stem the spread of the coronavirus. That defense of Holcomb's action comes even though Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, who took office in January, previously called for curbing the governor's authority. Yergys State Road BBQ in Bluffton filed a suit in December against the Wells County Health Department, Holcomb and the state after it was shut down for violating face-covering requirements and capacity limits. The lawsuit contends the county health order closing the restaurant was based on unconstitutional executive orders issued by the governor and that Holcomb didn't have authority to mandate mask-wearing without backing from the Legislature. The restaurant in the town about 20 miles south of Fort Wayne maintains the order caused unjust injury to Yergys fundamental civil rights, liberty interests and property rights. The state attorney general's office, however, argues that based on broad, clear, and unambiguous language of the Indianas emergency powers law, the General Assembly intended to grant the executive branch the authority to protect Hoosiers through an emergency declaration." Acting well within the limits of the United States and Indiana constitutions and the Indiana Code, the Governor carried out his duties in a reasonable and necessary way to address an unprecedented emergency, affecting not only Indiana and the United States, but also the world," the states attorneys wrote in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed Monday. The attorney general's office pointed to a U.S. district judge's ruling in December denying a request from more than 15 Indianapolis bars that wanted to end coronavirus restrictions put in place by Mayor Joe Hogsett. The bars claimed the orders violated the state and U.S. constitutions, doing irreparable harm to businesses. The court ruled the businesses did not present a legal basis for an injunction on the local health orders and denied the request. The Republican governors use of executive orders that early on shut down many businesses deemed nonessential and now include the statewide mask mandate first issued in July have faced complaints from many conservatives across the state and protests that hes overstepped his authority. Holcomb has issued nearly 60 coronavirus-related executive orders since last March under the states emergency law, which was overhauled in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some have suggested steps such as limiting any emergency action by the governor to 30 days without legislative support, arguing it was meant for temporary situations such as floods, tornadoes or terrorist actions, even though epidemics are included among the 29 situations specified in the law. Despite the lawsuit response from the attorney general's office, Rokita didn't forcefully defend Holcomb's actions during the election campaign. Rokita said he wanted to work with legislators to revise the state emergency law, which he did not believe was meant for something with the duration as long as this pandemic. State lawmakers are now debating bills advanced by the House and Senate that would curb a governors authority to impose emergency restrictions such as mask rules and business closures. The differing proposals would set up ways to either force the governor to call lawmakers into a special session during a long-lasting emergency or give legislative leaders new authority to take such action. Holcomb and others have questioned whether the proposals written by Republican lawmakers are allowed under the state constitution. A half dozen top Holcomb staffers further defended his executive actions last week, testifying to a state Senate committee that the governors capacity to quickly address emergencies has been critical to the states coronavirus response. Limitations to those powers, they said, could hinder the states current progress and delay urgent reactions to future public health emergencies or natural disasters. ___ Casey Smith is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Related: COVID-19 Vaccines Information Kabul, March 18 : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) would give a payable loan of $225 million to Afghanistan which is expected to cover 46 per cent deficit in the national budget, a local news agency reported on Thursday. "In the 1400 fiscal year, around 17.4 billion afghanis ($225 million) is anticipated as a loan from the IMF and the national debt has amounted to $1.5 billion and has been covered by international organisations and many countries," the Afghan online business news portal, Wadsam, reported. The 1400 fiscal year on the Persian calendar began on December 21, 2020, Xinhua news agency reported. The report noted that the loan would have a repayment policy. The Afghan fiscal year's total budget is over $6 billion, which consists of over $4 billion for the regular budget, and over $2 billion in the development budget, according to the report. The latest payable loan comes as poverty and rising unemployment have spread across the country as the prolonged conflicts and fighting in the country as well as drought added to the miseries of the war-weary Afghans. About 54.5 per cent of Afghans were living under the poverty line in 2019, according to Afghan officials. However, the number soared to 72 per cent last year, according to the World Bank. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Congress demands Uttarakhand CM's apology for 'ripped jeans' remarks or resignation India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 18: The Congress hit out at Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Thursday for his "anti-women" mindset following his "ripped jeans" remark and said he should either apologise to the women of the country or resign. Congress's chief spokesperson and general secretary Randeep Surjewala said Rawat's remarks displayed the "anti-women" face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was a result of its medieval mindset. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers Yogi Adityanath and Manohar Lal Khattar have made anti-women comments in the past, but Rawat has crossed all limits. "We demand on behalf of the daughters and women of the country that such a chief minister should apologise or resign, because this mentality will not work anymore. Those having thoughts of the 16th century do not have the right to rule India in the 21st century. They would have to go now and this is patriotism," Surjewala told reporters. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took a dig at the BJP over Rawat's remarks. Posting photographs on Twitter of the prime minister, Union minister Nitin Gadkari and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat wearing the organisation's traditional khaki shorts, she said, "Oh my God!!! Their knees are showing." TN elections 2021: DMK's Stalin slams AIADMK for 'not fulfilling' previous poll promises Surjewala said Rawat should be ashamed of himself as his job is to provide good governance and not looking at women with such thoughts. "If the slightest shame is left, he should resign from the post or apologise to the women of the country," he said. Congress leader Alka Lamba said many BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders have made similar remarks against women in the past. She said the women of the country are angry over the recent remarks as those have come from a newly-appointed chief minister. "We are giving a clear warning that we will take to the streets if he does not apologise. The Congress feels that the women of the country have complete freedom to eat, wear or speak whatever they want according to the Constitution and will not tolerate any such remarks. The Uttarakhand chief minister should apologise or he would have to resign," Lamba said. Ahead of upcoming Assembly elections, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh backs ballot papers instead of EVMs At an event on Tuesday, Rawat criticised women for wearing ripped jeans and wondered what values they will impart to their children, triggering a protest from opposition parties. The Uttarakhand chief minister said due to a lack of values, youngsters these days follow strange fashion trends and consider themselves to be big shots after wearing jeans ripped at the knees, while women also follow such trends. He said youngsters go to the market to buy ripped jeans and If they do not find one, they cut their jeans using scissors. Rawat went on to describe the attire of a woman, who once sat next to him on a flight. He said the woman was wearing boots, jeans ripped at the knees and several bangles in her hands with two children travelling with her. "She runs an NGO, goes out in the society and has two children, but she wears jeans ripped at the knees. What values will she impart?" he asked. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 21:21 [IST] A beach resort was visited by a very unexpected guest this week when a cassowary made its way into the popular venue's bistro. The curious bird was spotted walking through the dining area of the Mission Beach Resort at around 9am on Wednesday. As the cassowary weaved in between chairs and tables, members from the Mission Beach Wildcare team swiftly moved in to guide it out of the pub and back into the wild. The curious bird was spotted walking through the dining area of the Mission Beach Resort at around 9am on Wednesday The resort's manager Steve Evans told Daily Mail Australia although cassowaries can be aggressive towards humans the one who stopped by the restaurant was only a juvenile. 'The staff weren't too worried about it and no customers were in so the wildlife rescue team came in and guided it out the front door,' he said. Mr Evans said despite Mission Beach being a popular area for cassowary sightings, one of the large birds had never stepped into the bistro before. 'We get guys stay here for around two weeks and never see any cassos,' he said. Footage shared online shows the bird running around the restaurant before eventually ducking underneath a fence and heading back outside. Wildlife teams were eventually called in to guide the bird back outside 'As much as we love our locals, their surprise visit to our bistro has had us having to implement certain rules,' the bistro wrote to their Facebook page. 'I'm afraid we no longer accept cassowaries in our bistro or play area.' Cassowaries can inflict serious or even fatal wounds to humans and pets if they are provoked. They're typically found among the rainforest regions in north-east Queensland and are Australia's heaviest flightless bird. They're often referred to as the world's most dangerous bird. GCHQs AI Report Has A Clear Message The British intelligence and security agency GCHQ has recently released their new AI and Data Ethics Framework, that describes the agencys future use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). GCHQ has long been known for its expertise in code breaking and stealing secrets, which is hardly ethical by conventional standards, however, the full title of the publication 'Pioneering a New National Security: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence', carries an important message. The GCHQ report has been released ahead of the British government's Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Foreign Policy and Development, soon due for publication and comes after the public announcement of the National Cyber Force being established. This report is the first sign that the UK intelligence community is stepping out of the shadows to engage in public debate. Jeremy Fleming GCHQs Director says that AI could have a profound impact on the way his organisation operates, from spotting otherwise missed clues to detecting terror plots to identifying the sources of fake news and computer viruses. AI is now present in every aspect of British life. It enables our telecommunications systems, our smartphones, our banks, our National Health Service... The UKs global leadership in AI and data science is a major part of what has made the UK a thriving cyber power, and AI stands to add billions to the British economy. AI is controversial because it relies on computer algorithms to make decisions based on patterns found in data. It is used alongside human analysts in investigations. GCHQ does not say exactly how it presently uses AI software or which data it analyses, but it relies in part on monitoring peoples phone and messaging data and watching social media profiles. There are numerous definitions of AI but GCHQ defines it as a type of software that can learn to find complex patterns in data. As the software does so, it can provide them with new insights or forecast future trends, and use them to automate or augment business processes. In some cases, they can use them to manage quite basic, highly-repetitive activities, while in others they might tackle more sophisticated but narrowly defined challenges. The UK intelligence community has deliberately avoided public debate for most of its existence and GCHQs report is the latest evolution to a more public-facing side that will become more and more the norm in national security debate. GCHQ is ahead of other spy agencies with the emergence of the AI dynamic and GCHQ is emerging from the shadows in describing how they intend to use it. Whether the other major British intelligence agencies, MI5 and SIS will also step into the light remains to be seen but with GCHQ making its case public in this way, it is likely that the other agencies will soon follow. Will central bodies like the British Joint Intelligence Committee also produce public reports? Other nations already produce these kind of reports. The national Foreign Intelligence Agency Of Estonia has released its own document and the US Director of National Intelligence has also released their own yearly Worldwide Threat Assessment 2006. The release of the GCHQ report on AI carries its own hidden meaning for public debate on UK national security - that we should be clever enough to read between the lines of code and see the change that is coming. The agencys report also indicated that AI could help to better identify sources of fake news or spot deep fake images, which come typically from Russia, and more quickly spot and trace malicious virus software that often emerges from China or North Korea. AI is likely to be used comprehensively, the overarching decisions making process at GCHQ will still be made by people. It states: GCHQ's specialists share the same concerns voiced by many external experts around using AI to make predictions about individuals, their behaviour and motivations... AI software can help triage and prioritise across our data sources. It can suggest previously unseen patterns and learn to identify valuable behavioural indicators. But it is not yet sophisticated enough to be trusted to make independent decisions based on those outputs. In this case, GCHQ expects its use of to AI to resemble the 'augmented intelligence model' in which AI software can collate information from relevant sources and flag significant conclusions for review by a human analyst, but does not automate any action as a result, using it to support the human decision-making process rather than determining it. GCHQ: Estonia National Intelligence Service: CapX: I-HLS: Sky: RUSI: Guardian: About Intel: Diginomica: You Might Also Read: GCHQ Deploys AI To Stop Human Trafficking & Child Sex Abuse: Google co-founder Sergey Brin loves airships. He loves them so much that his 2012 debut for Google Glass (RIP) involved a skydiving stunt where a team of jumpers leaped out of a zeppelin floating over downtown San Francisco. So it may come as no surprise that since stepping away from Google, the ninth richest person in the worlds focus has been on exactly that: building a giant sky yacht. Media first caught wind of Brins massive airship project inside the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View in 2017. At the time, it was all very secretive, but in the past few years, more details have emerged and a few weeks ago, a job listing for Brins airship company, LTA Research and Exploration (LTA stands for Lighter Than Air) revealed even more, according to TechCrunch. Heres everything we know about Brins airships. He wants to use the airships for humanitarian aid Although back in 2017 the word on the street was that Brin intended the aircraft to serve at least in part as a luxurious air yacht for his family and friends, the LTA website states only humanitarian goals: LTA airships will have the ability to complement and even speed up humanitarian disaster response and relief efforts, especially in remote areas that cannot be easily accessed by plane and boat due to limited or destroyed infrastructure. Unlike jet planes, airships have the ability to land or deliver goods almost anywhere. In addition, the LTA site says that their airships are intended to serve as a zero emissions alternative to airplanes, used for both shipping goods and moving people. Climate change has made airships sound more appealing to scientists in recent years while slower than airplanes, airships are faster than cargo ships and have fewer emissions than both boats and planes. In fact, airships produce 80% to 90% fewer emissions than conventional aircraft. They're going to be huge and they're not going to be cheap Its going to be massive on a grand scale, a source told the Guardian in 2017, estimating that Brins airship would be about 650 feet long. At this size, the flying machine would definitely be the worlds largest aircraft today although it would still be smaller than the ill-fated Hindenburg zeppelin of the 1930s, which was 804 feet long. For context, thats more than three times the length of a Boeing 747 and more than four times the length of your typical Goodyear Blimp. The same source also told the Guardian that the airship would cost Brin as much as $150 million to construct. He currently has a net worth of more than $86 billion. Kimberly White/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize Brins airships will run on hydrogen Hydrogen got a bad reputation from the Hindenburg disaster, when a hydrogen-filled German passenger airship caught fire during its attempt to dock in New Jersey in 1937, killing 36 people. Following that disaster, most airships turned to nonflammable helium as a lifting gas, even though hydrogen is much cheaper than helium and provides more than 10% more lift. But Brin embraces hydrogen. For its newest airship, LTA is using the material not for buoyant lift as in the catastrophic Hindenburg, but as fuel to avoid carrying heavy lithium-ion batteries. The resulting airship would still use the traditional helium to provide lift. A recent job description posted on the LTA website revealed the companys plans to build a 1.5-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system (fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce water and electricity, and are often compared to batteries). Where we could go something like 125 miles with batteries, we should be able to go nearly 1,000 miles using hydrogen, professor Dr. Josef Kallo of the German Aerospace Center told TechCrunch. Such a power system would more efficiently meet LTAs humanitarian goals, allowing its airship to carry more cargo and endure longer range missions. Meanwhile, 1.5 megawatts would make LTAs airship the largest ever hydrogen fuel cell to fly. The record is currently held by ZeroAvias small passenger plane, which is powered by a 0.25-megawatt system. One airship has already been built LTAs first prototype airship, called Pathfinder 1, could be ready to take to the air from Silicon Valley as soon as this year, TechCrunch reports. According to the Daily Beast, LTA registered Pathfinder 1, which will be powered by 12 electric motors and able to carry 14 people, in 2019. That makes it about the same size as the 246-foot-long Zeppelin NT, which offers sightseeing tours in Germany and Switzerland and is the only passenger airship currently operating. And yes, you can still do this a ticket for a 45-minute tour costs about $450. The flight of LTAs first fuel cell-powered airship, however, is likely still a ways off, as such an airship has yet to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. --- Brins company has certainly grabbed a lot of headlines, but lets not forget that this is not the first time airships have been flown in California. In 2008, a company called Airship Ventures began offering sightseeing rides of a 12-passenger Zeppelin NT at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View. The aircraft cruised at 35 to 40 mph and offered views of Wine Country, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle. The company folded in 2012 due to the lack of a long-term sponsor and a world helium shortage. While Brins airship objectives seem strictly humanitarian, LTA also has the potential to renew interest in airships for passenger travel particularly among climate change-conscious travelers. Floating to your destination might be a slower ride, but something about an air yacht sounds awfully relaxing. Sergey Brin could not be reached for comment for this story. VANCOUVER, BC, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE: BIOV) (FRA: 5LB) (OTC: LMNGF) ("BioVaxys"), the world leader in haptenized protein vaccines for antiviral and cancer applications, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. d/b/a Inotiv ("Inotiv"), a global Contract Research Organization ("CRO"), to conduct preclinical toxicology studies for its Covid-T immunodiagnostic. Headquartered in West Lafayette, IN, Inotiv, provides contract research services and monitoring instruments to emerging pharmaceutical companies and some of the world's leading drug development companies and medical research organizations. Covid-T is a low-cost, easy-to-administer, and accurate tool to test for the presence of T cells against SARS-CoV-2, and to evaluate the effectiveness of any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in stimulating T cell immunity. Covid-T uses Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity ("DTH"), which is known to be a measure of T cell immunity and has been used for many years for other infectious diseases including tuberculosis, fungal diseases, and mumps. The test is performed by placing a small amount of synthesized test material, e.g., SARS-Cov-2 spike protein, intradermally and inspecting the site for mild localized reddening and hardening of the skin ~24 hours later. Under the terms of the March 15th, 2021, agreement, Inotiv will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and toxicity of purified SARS-CoV-2 s-protein in an intradermal research model, which will include a battery of clinical pathology, immunology, and histopathology evaluations. The fully characterized, Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) grade SARS-CoV-2 s-protein will be synthesized by WuXi Biologics and is a core element of the Covid-T immunodiagnostic. BioVaxys anticipates that the preclinical toxicity study results will be available early summer, with the successful completion of the study a critical step towards the initiation of a pivotal human trial of Covid-T later this year, subject to FDA approval. BioVaxys intends to submit its pre-IND meeting request to the FDA for Covid-T early next month. BioVaxys President and Chief Operating Officer Ken Kovan stated, "Based on previous preclinical studies conducted with BVX-0320, and the fact that our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate likewise incorporates synthetic s-protein, we have high expectations that this detailed toxicology study of the s-protein with Inotiv will confirm the safety profile of the diagnostic and lead to our planned pivotal clinical study later this year." James Passin, BioVaxys CEO, stated "We are delighted to work with Inotiv, a leading CRO, to complete a toxicity study, further advancing Covid-T, our novel low cost and scalable skin test for T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. We believe that Covid-T will help to solve the world's most pressing public health policy crisis by enabling the rational distribution and allocation of vaccine resources, while preventing unnecessary and wasteful vaccination of people with demonstrable T cell immunity to Covid-19." For greater certainty, BioVaxys is not making any express or implied claims that it has the ability to treat the SAR-CoV-2 virus at this time. About BioVaxys Technology Corp. Based in Vancouver, BioVaxys Technology Corp . is a British Columbia-registered, early stage biotechnology company that is developing viral and oncology vaccine platforms, as well as immuno-diagnostics. The Company is advancing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine based on its haptenized viral protein technology, and is planning a clinical trial of its haptenized autologous cell vaccine used in combination with anti-PD1 and anti-PDL-1 checkpoint inhibitors that will initially be developed for ovarian cancer. Also in development is a diagnostic for evaluating the presence or absence of a T cell immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. BioVaxys has two issued US patents and two patent applications related to its cancer vaccine, and pending patent applications for its SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) vaccine and diagnostic technologies. BioVaxys common shares are listed on the CSE under the stock symbol "BIOV" and trades on the Frankfurt Bourse (FRA: 5LB) and US OTC: LMNGF. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed "James Passin" James Passin, CEO +1 646 452 7054 Media Contacts BioVaxys Technology Corp. Nikita Sachdev Luna PR [email protected] Source: BioVaxys Technology Corp Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, completion of the murine model study, regulatory approval for a Phase I study of its BVX-0320 Vaccine Candidate in humans and the overall development of BioVaxys' vaccines, including any haptenized SARS-Cov-2 protein vaccine. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, primarily the assumption that BioVaxys will be successful in developing and testing vaccines, that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies including, primarily but without limitation, the risk that BioVayxs' vaccines will not prove to be effective and/ or will not receive the required regulatory approvals. With regards to BioVaxys' business, there are a number of risks that could affect the development of its biotechnology products, including, without limitation, the need for additional capital to fund clinical trials, its lack of operating history, uncertainty about whether its products will complete the long, complex and expensive clinical trial and regulatory approval process for approval of new drugs necessary for marketing approval, uncertainty about whether its autologous cell vaccine immunotherapy can be developed to produce safe and effective products and, if so, whether its vaccine products will be commercially accepted and profitable, the expenses, delays and uncertainties and complications typically encountered by development stage biopharmaceutical businesses, financial and development obligations under license arrangements in order to protect its rights to its products and technologies, obtaining and protecting new intellectual property rights and avoiding infringement to third parties and their dependence on manufacturing by third parties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1430981/BIOVAXYS_Logo.jpg SOURCE BioVaxys Technology Corp. The sensor can analyse biomarkers from human sweat during exercise activities without transfer of signals Dr. Vinu Mohan A.M., scientist at CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, a recipient of the INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship instituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, has introduced a flexible low cost, wearable sensor that can track sweat for monitoring the health and physiological status of the human body. It can obviate the necessity of blood and other invasive tests. The wearable microfluidic sensor, which does not need a clean room, can be used for in situ monitoring of biomarkers such as lactate, Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), and Alkaline/acidic nature (pH) simultaneously from sweat samples. Using the INSPIRE Faculty fellowship, Dr. Vinu is improving upon the sensor to make it stretchable as well so that it can monitor the sweat during exercising and biking. The sensor can analyse biomarkers from human sweat during exercise activities without transfer of signals. The high-throughput sweat sampling ability of the sensor facilitates continuous capture and transport of sweat over the surface of the device resulting in real-time analysis. The flexible sensor can be attached on the irregular skin surface and monitors the dynamic biomarker levels, and are important for clinical diagnosis and personalized point-of-care analysis. Dr. Vinu Mohan and his team are also exploring other reliable biofluids such as saliva and fluid in tissues as they contain abundant chemical markers that could reflect the underlying physiology of the human body. They are also in-parallel focusing on developing wearable energy storage devices as they are essential for powering wearable electrochemical sensors. Chief Minister on Thursday said that his government will move the Supreme Court if the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind does not give assent to the State Amendment Bills which the Vidhan Sabha had unanimously passed the Bills. He said that the Centre should scrap the three farm laws, sit with the farmers and make new legislations in their place. The Chief Minister said: "We will go to the Supreme Court, if the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind does not give assent to the State Amendment Bills, which unfortunately the Governor is still sitting on, instead of forwarding them for presidential approval, even though the Vidhan Sabha had unanimously passed the Bills, with all parties voting for them. It was tragic, however, that the Akalis and AAP had later started playing political games on the issue, he added. "Chief Minister urged the Centre not to stand on ego but to immediately scrap legislations and bring in new laws after fresh discussions on the issue with farmers. Chief Minister will go to Supreme Court if President doesn't give assent to the State Amendment Bills", tweeted CMO. Addressing the reporters on the completion of four years of his government, the Chief Minister said that he could not see any middle path to break the stalemate between the farmers and the Government of India. The Centre should scrap the farm laws, sit with the farmers and make new legislations in their place, he said. "What's the use of making it a prestige issue?," he remarked, asking the Centre, "How many more farmers do you want to kill (with your adamant stand)?" There are poor farmers sitting out there, with women and elderly, he pointed out, adding that alone has lost 112 farmers' lives since the agitation began. "The Constitution has been amended more than 100 times in the past, so why can it not be done again to scrap these laws?" he asked. The Chief Minister said he failed to understand why does the central government try to break the age-old time-tested relationship between farmers and Arhtiyas. "The new laws are not an improvement on the existing system, but will destroy the farming sector. Where would the poor farmers (comprising 75 per cent of Punjab's farmers) go, in case, Arhtiyas get replaced by big faceless corporates?", he said. Delhi does not understand agriculture, he further remarked, in response to a question on the new Food Corporation of India (FCI) policy of direct payment to farmers, which he had said earlier that he was not in favour of. "In any case, Agriculture is a state subject and the Centre had no right to legislate on the matter," said Singh. He blamed the central government for trying to destroy the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution by encroaching on state powers. Upon being questioned about Punjab Governor's move to still sit on the state bills, the Chief Minister said, "Are we a democracy or not? Punjab took a unanimous decision and the Governor had no business to sit on those files. It was his duty to forward to President for assent under Article 254 (2) of the Constitution." He recalled that in the matter of the Land Acquisition Act, the BJP-led Gujarat government had also similarly passed amendment bills, which the then President had consented to. (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.) .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Hospitals, physicians and trial lawyers unveiled a complex agreement Wednesday that would reshape New Mexicos medical malpractice law a compromise intended to break an impasse over how to better protect patients and ensure health care providers can afford legal insurance. They pleaded with the Senate Judiciary Committee late Wednesday to avoid tampering with the proposal, insisting that every word had been vetted and changes could spoil the deal. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ They got their wish, and the bill will head next to the full Senate. This is an incredibly complex and litigious field, said Rep. Daymon Ely, a Corrales Democrat who sponsored the legislation. We are clearly running out of time. If we start to tinker with the (compromise) amendment, we are going to be in trouble. Hospitals and plaintiffs attorneys had started the session at odds, each proposing competing measures to overhaul the Medical Malpractice Act. But they all spoke in favor of an amendment to Elys proposal, House Bill 75, that reflected language they could agree on. Carrie Robin Brunder, a lobbyist for the New Mexico Medical Society, a group that includes physicians, said reaching agreement was remarkable after the parties started so far apart. This negotiated amendment is very delicate and complex, Brunder said. Under the current system, theres a $600,000 cap on nonmedical damages a limit intended to ensure physicians can afford medical malpractice insurance. Physicians and hospitals also pay into a patient compensation fund to help cover legal claims, but the fund has struggled with deficits, adding pressure to come up with a fix. The proposed compromise would: Raise the damages cap for hospitals to $6 million, with the increases phased in slowly over time. Ely had initially proposed removing hospitals from the cap altogether. Lift the damages cap for independent physicians and other providers to $750,000. Add nurse practitioners, midwifes and certain other health care providers into coverage under the Medical Malpractice Act, a move intended to help spread out the legal risk and strengthen the finances of the patient compensation fund. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat who handles medical malpractice cases as an attorney, and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat and also a lawyer, asked a series of detailed questions about the proposal. They didnt propose amendments to the bill Wednesday, and the amended legislation passed the committee with bipartisan support. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Sydler Remedies took shape in 2004. Very aptly named after C.A. Seydler and Seydler Pharmacognosy. Pharmacognosy is described as the process of extracting chemicals from plants. Even the foray into wellness was purely started with the intent to extract the best possible ingredients from medicinal herbs. Sydler Remedies is now one of the largest exporters of Ayurvedic products in India. It exports Ayurvedic products to more than 40 countries takes a lot of regulatory prowess. Sydler s Aurangabad manufacturing facility is one of the only Ayurvedic facilities in India which is USFDA approved. Apart from this major USFDA approval, the facility has other major prestigious accreditations like Health Canada, United Arab Emirates [UAE] along with approvals from Kenya, Philippines, Syria, Yemen, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Cambodia and many more. Over 20 years back, when Mr. Pankaj Jain visited various doctors offices and saw chemically-laden medicines being prescribed to people and cancer cases were growing at an alarming rate, the seed of the Sydler Group was sown. Mr. Pankaj Jain, is a well-known techno-commercial professional in the field of Herbal Healthcare and Wellness products. He has dedicated his life and career to all-natural methods of improving wellness. He was associated with GSK, Ranbaxy, Wockhardt, and Becton & Dickinson at various levels. The dedication to the field is seen in even the education at the bachelor level. He is a Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Management Graduate from Pune University. Mr. Pankaj Jain has shown sincere belief in the vision of making wellness and nutrition accessible to all. Sydler Remedies has a team of industry experts from the field of Pharmacy and Ayurveda who was instrumental in the formulation of Eazol. More than 100 years of combined experience has gone into the product. Eazol Health Tonic was conceived in year 2007. 8 years of research resulted in a new product category altogether. To bring wellness to every family, to their home, in the most affordable manner was the true focus of the product. This identification of the need was paramount. Everyone faced ailments from head to toe. Be it certain pains, hyperacidity, mouth ulcers, throat care, etc. Eazol Health Tonic was a clear answer to these problems. Pure Pomegranate juice is the base for Eazol. That together with Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Amla, and Safed Musli are the other strong pillars of the tonic. Being Sugar-free has a major advantage and can serve everyone from paediatric to geriatric. As Sydler believes in Quality, sourcing of materials is done directly from cultivators. Having spent more than 15 years in the herbal products market, exposed to more than 600 manufacturing units across the globe in more than 55 countries, Mr Jain has some good advice to give to budding entrepreneurs. If the entrepreneur wants to succeed, focus on the work. Dont try multiple things. Trust your abilities, the area you know you can do well. That is the way happiness will be brought to the people, the country, and the world as well, said the industry stalwart. Sydlers recent association with ClickOnCare Retail has also had a profound effect on Eazol Health Tonic as a product and a brand. The reach and appeal have widened to the point that international as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 orders have been flying off the shelves. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:48:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADEN -- At least 10 soldiers were killed as members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attacked a security checkpoint in the country's southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a government official told Xinhua. "Armed elements of al-Qaida carried out an attack against a security checkpoint in Ahwar district of Abyan, leaving at least 10 soldiers killed," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. (Yemen-Al-Qaida Attack-Killing) - - - - FAIZABAD -- At least eight Taliban militants and two Afghan security forces members were killed during clashes in the country's northern Badakhshan province early Thursday, a local official confirmed. The clashes erupted between Taliban militants and security forces at about 2:00 a.m. local time in Abkhora area of Baharak district, killing eight attacking militants and two security personnel, Abdul Halim Hamdard, district chief of Baharak told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Badakhshan-Clashes) - - - - REMBAU -- Malaysia started inoculation with the COVID-19 vaccines made by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech on Thursday, as the country pressed ahead with its national immunization drive. Malaysia's Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin became the first recipient of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine in the country, receiving the jab at the Rembau Hospital in Negeri Sembilan state. (Malaysia-COVID-19 Rollout) - - - - KAMPALA -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday mourned the death of his Tanzanian counterpart John Pombe Joseph Magufuli. Museveni said in a tweet that it was with great sadness that he learned of the death of the 61-year-old leader who succumbed to heart disease at a hospital in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday evening. (Uganda-Tanzanian President-Death) Enditem Christian Danielsson, who is leading the EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia, has held the first joint meetings with the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition amid the current political tension. Although the parties did not again speak about the topics of their discussion in detail, ruling party chair Irakli Kobakhidze said after meeting that the process has gone in the right direction if the opposition will not try to find reasons to disrupt the talks. "We had an interesting discussion today [where] we touched upon a number of issues on some of which we have already found common grounds, but discussions on other issues continue", Kobakhidze told journalists. Hoping that the agreement will be reached tomorrow, the ruling party chair said the Georgian Dream will have an absolutely constructive approach. Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze also called the meeting fruitful. He said despite their differences, the parties have today tried to find common grounds on issues that matter for the country and people. Despite the pandemic up to two million of our citizens went to polls in elections [last autumn], therefore we consider it groundless even to discuss the demand on holding repeat elections, Talakvadze stated. Meanwhile, opposition politicians who attended the meeting have unanimously claimed that the agreement with the ruling party will be reached only if the parties manage to agree on everything, not on certain issues. "We are focusing on the most important and complex issues which need very serious compromises. This is a difficult process", Badri Japaridze, one of the leaders of Lelo said. Leader of Strategy Aghmashenebeli Giorgi Vashadze has meanwhile stressed that nothing is agreed until everything is not agreed. He then underscored that without an agreement on all of the issues of mediation, which includes political prisoners, repeat elections, election reform, judiciary reform and distribution of power no agreement will be reached at all. "We had a harsh discussion", leader of Girchi - More Freedom party Zurab Japaridze said, noting that the ruling party and opposition have managed to bring their positions closer today but they are far from the common agreement yet. Opposition politicians who have won seats in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament last autumn demand repeat elections be held. Accusing the ruling Georgian Dream party of falsifying the elections, most of them refuse to take up their mandates and took to the street in November 2020. Foreign ambassadors have facilitated four rounds of talks since then between the ruling party and the opposition to help the parties end the tension. However, the talks ended without the result. The dialogue resumed during the recent visit of the European Council President Charles Michel to Georgia on March 1. Michel later mandated Christian Danielsson to lead a EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia to help the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition come to an agreement amid the current political deadlock. Danielsson, who arrived in Georgia on March 12 has held a number of separate meetings with the Georgian Dream and opposition parties since them but yesterday the parties held the first joint meeting. They are scheduled to meet again on March 18. ATLANTA President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Asian-American leaders during their visit to Atlanta on Friday to offer support to the community after the shooting deaths of eight people, six who were Asian women, at spas around the metro area. The White House said Biden and Harris will speak with state legislators and community advocates from the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community to hear their perspective on the rise of anti-Asian hate incidents, which have surged since the coronavirus pandemic. The visit was planned last week to tout the passage of a $1.9 trillion relief package to contain the pandemic and bolster the economic recovery. The measure couldnt have passed without Democratic victories in Georgias U.S. Senate runoffs in January, which flipped control of the chamber. But the trip has taken on new resonance in the aftermath of the Tuesday shootings, which targeted three Asian spas in metro Atlanta. Police have charged a 21-year-old Woodstock man with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault after authorities tracked his SUV to rural Georgia. Though authorities said the suspect claimed the attacks were not motivated by racism, community leaders say it cant be ignored that Asian-Americans were targeted by the attacks. The shootings have deepened fears about rising anti-Asian hatred in the U.S., as incidents of attacks have surged during the pandemic amid the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump calling COVID-19 the China virus and other discriminatory names. Biden also plans to specifically highlight his Jan. 26 executive order that condemned xenophobia, intolerance and hate and outlined his administrations plans to combat racism. On Wednesday, the president said that although the question of motivation is still to be determined, he is deeply concerned about the recent surge in violence against Asian-Americans. Whatever the motivation here, I know Asian-Americans are very concerned, Biden said. Because, as you know, I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think its very, very troubling. Harris, the first woman and first Asian-American to serve as vice president, also expressed condolences for the families of the victims. This speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it, she said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 01:39:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) published on Wednesday its final report on the Ukrainian passenger plane crash in January 2020 near Tehran, identifying a "mistake" by the air defense operator as the cause of the incident. "The plane was identified as a hostile target by the operator of an air defense system stationed around Tehran, and two missiles were fired at it," the CAO said in the preface of its 285-page report published on its official website, confirming preliminary official findings. However, the report was a "cynical attempt" to hide the true reasons for the downing of the plane, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Facebook. The Ukrainian aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was hit on Jan. 8, 2020 by two missiles shot by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Enditem For the first time in more than 60 years, Israeli archaeologists have unveiled a new collection of Dead Sea Scrolls, adding to the treasure trove of rare Jewish texts uncovered in the Judean desert. The Israel Antiquities Authority revealed on Tuesday that a four-year-long national excavation project, which was launched to prevent the looting of antiquities, had uncovered dozens of 2,000-year-old biblical scroll fragments. The scrolls contain verses from the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets, including Zechariah and Nahum, and are written in Greek with the exception of Gods name in Hebrew. The scroll fragments were recovered from whats known as the Cave of Horror, where Jewish refugees are believed to have hidden during a failed uprising against the Roman Empire nearly 1,900 years ago. Israel Hasson, the director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, commended the archaeological team for rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth, digging and sifting through them, enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind. In addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the archaeological project discovered a 6,000-year-old partially mummified child skeleton wrapped in cloth with skin, tendons and hair that were partially intact. The Israeli archaeologists also found a stash of Jewish coins, as well as a 10,500-year-old woven basket from the Neolithic period, in what is believed to be the worlds oldest such discovery. Earlier discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls contain parts of all but one book in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the earliest copy of the Ten Commandments. The ancient scrolls are mostly written on parchment and papyrus and are believed to date from the 3rd century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. A Bedouin shepherd in 1947 came across the first batch in a cave near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank. Over the next decade, Bedouins and archaeologists unearthed hundreds more Jewish texts, which have provided a window into the early histories of Christianity and Judaism. Of the most recent finds, Avi Cohen, CEO of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, said they were not just important to our own cultural heritage but to that of the entire world. The scroll fragments containing biblical texts, the coins and the additional finds from the Second Temple Period that were found in this unique project directly attest to the Jewish heritage of the region and the inseparable bond between the Jewish cultural activities and our place in this land, Cohen said. The USAA SafePilot app instructs, inspires and rewards safe driving habits to help keep drivers safe on the road while lowering insurance premiums. Members who enroll in SafePilot in Oregon are now eligible for initial policy discounts up to 10% for signing up for the program, and continued policy discounts up to 30% for safe driving behaviors. USAA recently shared that SafePilot enrollments grew over 200% in 2020, and that nearly half of the new policyholders in states where the program was available opted-in to the program. "We are excited to offer SafePilot to our members in Oregon to promote safe driving behaviors and to offer up significant policy discounts," said Randy Termeer, SVP, GM Auto Insurance. "USAA is committed to providing competitive products and services that support the military and their families, with discounts being just one way for us to help facilitate their financial security." SafePilot is currently available in Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, with plans to launch in the majority of states throughout 2021 to accommodate growing demand. In addition to discounts, members may be eligible for extra savings through bundling their auto and homeowners' insurance. To learn more about SafePilot, visit usaa.com/insurance/safedriving. USAA Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, Tex., USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs approximately 36,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com. Contact: USAA Media Relations [email protected] 210-498-0940 USAA on Twitter: @usaa SOURCE USAA Related Links http://www.usaa.com There are duties on the part of human beings independent from rights, or whether they have rights or not. Respect for other human beings, protection of the environment, and caring for other animals are some of them. by Dr Laksiri Fernando One sided human rights promotion and advocacy by the UN has come to a crisis point today not only because of the coronavirus pandemic, but also due to the weakening of the democratic States throughout the world with neoliberal economic and political deviations. Apart from the failures, the culpability of the UN and some of its agencies are very clear under the circumstances. Since last year, the coronavirus pandemic has hit very hard at countries where people, particularly the youth, have been groomed with unlimited freedoms without any sense of duty. Many young people opted to resist or question lockdowns and other restrictions as invasions on their freedoms. In countries where public health services had been cutdown as part of the dismantling of the welfare state, the death tolls were extremely high. Americas death toll exceeded half a million by the end of the last year. Who is responsible for these deaths? No UN Shenanigan has answered this question. Britain, Italy, France, and other EU countries were among the next hardest hit. Those are the countries where protest marches and resistance loomed against lockdowns. Of course, some southern countries were not spared. India also was one of the hardest hit countries. Brazil at present experiencing extremely difficult conditions with chaos, lack of appropriate medications and hospital beds. Although some vaccinations have been developed by researchers and pharmaceutical companies, their effectiveness is still not clear. The idealistic globalization has collapsed with the enforcement of lockdowns and boarder restrictions between and within countries. Now several variants of the virus have emerged while countries are scrambling over limited vaccine supplies. The vaccine nationalism among the Western countries is now rampant, the poor countries being virtually left out. This is the immediate background within which the so far Western promoted human rights notions and approaches of the UN should be scrutinized and critically assessed. Lopsided UDHR? It was completely short sighted for the UN to highlight individual freedoms and rights without equally emphasizing human duties and responsibilities in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the two International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). With the good intervention of the Soviet Union, there was a possibility of striking some balance between civil and political rights on one hand, and economic, social, and cultural rights on the other. But for some reason, the balance between rights and duties was virtually lost except in some corners of the international conventions. During the preparations and consultations for the UDHR, then UNESCO Director, Julian Huxley, sent a request to Mahatma Gandhi, among others, to seek his views. In May 1947, while busily travelling in a train, Gandhi wrote back a succinct reply giving his vision. The following was its essential part. I learnt from my illiterate but wise mother that all rights to be deserved and preserved came from duty well done. Gandhi further exchanged views with H. G. Wells who was also involved in the consultation process for the UDHR and said: Received your cable. Have carefully read your five articles. You will permit me to say you are on the wrong track. I feel sure that I can draw up a better charter of rights than you have drawn up. But what good will it be? Who will become its guardian? Begin with a Charter of Duties of Man and I promise the rights will follow as spring follows winter. I write from experience. he said. No one needs to accept what Gandhi said as the absolute truth. But it was a strong view particularly in Asia and the Pacific which should not have been neglected. Even today, there is a great divide between the East and the West on this matter, but the Westerners try to ignore and impose their views. Neglect of Duties At a UNESCO meeting held in Malta in 1987 on Human Rights Education, I asked one of the main drafters of the UDHR, John Humphrey, whether they had taken Mahatma Gandhis views into consideration. He pointed out Article 29 but later admitted to me in Geneva that it might not be what Gandhi completely meant. Article 29 of the UDHR says the following. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The above was not sufficient. It is not only for the full and free development of personality that duties should be promoted (2.1). Duties are moral obligations. The other two sections (2.2&2.3) have placed duties completely in a negative manner. There is a positive and a dialectical interconnection between human rights and human duties. If we take what Gandhi said as an Asian or a different view, there was no question that drafters could have find a middle way between, if they wanted. But that was not the case. Although 29 (1) says, everyone has duties to the community what are they? The UDHR or the International Covenants never explained them. Why? The predominance of the Western views in the UN drafted human rights. Let us take the principal article of the UDHR, Article 1. It says, All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Of course, to say, all human beings should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood is a good one. But to say, all are born free and equal in dignity and rights is bit of a lie! There are so many inequalities and disparities when we are born, and no doubt that we should change them. It is a long struggle. Even in the British royal family these disparities have surfaced today! In ideal terms, equality should be the case. But it is not the reality. Without such a lie or idealism, it should have been said differently. Gandhis views or Asian views should have been taken into proper account in drafting the UDHR. Realism should be our guide in human rights promotion and protection. Otherwise, we easily get into political traps. One formulation could have been the following. All human beings are of the same human family (Homo sapiens) and should treat each other with dignity and equality. In a democratic polity, they all should have equal rights, and equal duties to each other and to the community. In exercising and performing both rights and duties, they should act on reason and conscience guided by the rule of law and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Conclusion Human rights and human duties are largely interdependent and interrelated. When there is a right (rights holder), there is a corresponding duty (duty bearer). In a democratic society, the state and the government/s are the primary duty bearers. However, the duties go beyond. In respect of child rights, for example, parents are the primary duty bearers. In respect of womens rights, all men are the primary duty bearers. There are duties on the part of the rights holders when they exercise their rights, not to abuse them. These are also called responsibilities. People should be educated and trained to exercise their rights in a responsible and a nonviolent manner. There are duties on the part of human beings independent from rights, or whether they have rights or not. Respect for other human beings, protection of the environment, and caring for other animals are some of them. The disrespect for these duties could be catastrophic for human beings with environmental disasters, global warming, and pandemic diseases. Human needs and aspirations are the basis of human rights. Human conscience and morality should be the basis of human duties. Both should go hand in hand. The failure of the UN to promote human duties, alongside human rights, appear to be a major reason for the increasing conflicts, violence, chaos, and wars not only in developing countries but increasingly in the developed societies. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or the "Company") announced today that the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") has agreed to lift the trading on its common shares. on Monday, March 22, 2021. The common shares were halted in connection with the Company's announcement that its wholly-owned subsidiary Minera BMR SpA had entered into an agreement with Minera Altos de Punitaqui Limitada ("MAP"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiana Mining Inc. ("Xiana"), to acquire the Punitaqui Mining Complex, a copper-gold mine located in the Coquimbo region of Chile (the "Punitaqui Acquisition"). In connection with the the Punitaqui Acquisition, the Company has entered into a loan purchase agreement with Bluequest Resources AG ("Bluequest") pursuant to which the Company will acquire Bluequest's interest in secured loan obligations with a principal amount of US$10,000,000 owed by Xiana to Bluequest (the "Xiana Indebtedness") and all associated rights, including Bluequest's security interest in MAP and the Punitaqui Mine Complex. Acquiring the Xiana Indebtedness and the associated security will enable the Company to acquire its leasehold interest in the Punitaqui Mine Complex free and clear of the prior claims of any third party secured creditors. The Punitaqui Acquisition is a "fundamental acquisition" pursuant to the policies of the TSXV and, accordingly, the common shares were halted from trading on the TSXV pending review of documentation regarding the Punitaqui Acquisition. Completion of the Punitaqui Acquisition is subject to a number of closing conditions, including approval of the TSXV and the completion of its previously announced private placement of up to $15,000,000 of common shares (the "Private Placement"). About Battery Mineral Resources Corp. Battery is a Canadian-based, multi-commodity resource company. Battery is engaged in the discovery, acquisition, and development of battery metals (cobalt, nickel & copper) and precious metals (silver & gold) mining projects in Canada, with additional cobalt, lithium and graphite projects in the United States and South Korea. Battery is the largest mineral claim holder in the historic Gowganda Cobalt-Silver Camp, Canada, with various high-grade primary cobalt silver-nickel-copper targets located in the Cobalt Belt of Ontario and Quebec. In addition, Battery owns approximately 89.2% of ESI Energy Services, Inc., a pipeline equipment rental and sales company with operations in Leduc, Alberta and Phoenix, Arizona. For further information, please contact: Battery Mineral Resources Corp. Laz Nikeas Phone: +1 (604) 229 3830 Email: LNikeas@bmrcorp.com Forward Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements related to the completion of Punitaqui Acquisition, the acquisition of the Xiana Indebtedness and the Private Placement. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of the Company on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to complete the Punitaqui Acquisition, obtaining all required regulatory approvals necessary to complete the Punitaqui Acquisition and the acquisition of the Xiana Indebtedess, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, government regulation and fluctuating metal prices. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Battery undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77839 Blank checks are seen on an idle press at the Philadelphia Regional Financial Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 8, 2009. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) Wisconsin Legislators Float Requiring Criminals Use Stimulus to Pay for Crimes Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing a legislative proposal that would force convicted criminals of using any money they receive from federal stimulus packages to pay for restitution for the crimes they committed. Any COVID recovery rebates from the federal government received on or after the effective date of this subsection by a person who is incarcerated in this state shall be applied first to satisfy any restitution the person has been ordered to pay, the proposed act states. State Sen. Julian Bradley and state Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, both Republicans, co-sponsored the bill. Under the COVID-19 relief package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed this month, prisoners will get stimulus checks. President Bidens irresponsible stimulus package sends stimulus checks to imprisoned murderers, rapists, and child molesters. So, Rep. Sanfelippo and I are taking action to ensure the victims of these heinous crimes are paid restitution before criminals sitting in prison can profit. This bill is a commonsense proposal I hope legislators on both sides of the aisle can support, Bradley, a Republican, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. A spokesperson for the senator declined to say if staffers have been in touch with the office of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, on the bill. State Rep. Francesca Hong, a Democrat, said she opposes the proposal. Bipartisanship is what the majority of people want us to fight for. But it does not include racists and their punitive and dehumanizing agenda. There are fundamental differences in decency between the two parties right now. One is blatantly for white supremacy the other is not, she said in a tweet. Bradley, who is black, said on a radio show this week that the personal attacks from Hong and a staffer were unbelievable. Its really sad to see them just get so personal and so nasty, but its part of the Democrat party playbook. Find a bill you dont like, you go to the playbook, you look up what should you do, what should you say in response. [If] it comes out from a Republican, you accuse them of being a racist. Thats their playbook, thats what they like to go to, he said. But the problem theyre having, and the problem theyve had with me since Ive been a member of the Republican party since 2002, is I completely upend their narrative, that all black people must be liberal, socialist Democrats. So, theyre frustrated. They dont know how else to combat the fact that this bill just makes sense. Republican senators tried to block payments to prisoners when the U.S. Senate was amending the package prior to its passage, but the proposed amendment was voted down. All Democrats voted against it, while all Republicans voted in favor. A federal judge ruled last year that prisoners could get stimulus checks from the first stimulus, the CARES Act, which Congress passed in March 2020. The IRS had said any payments made to someone who is incarcerated should be returned to the service, but U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton, a Clinton appointee, decided prisoners could not be excluded under the legislations language. Hamilton later rejected an appeal from the government. The flashy CEO of an Indian drug company due to supply the UK with AstraZeneca vaccines warned almost a month ago that deliveries would be cut short. Adar Poonawalla, a billionaire who owns a fleet of luxury cars including a batmobile, tweeted on February 21 that countries needed to be 'patient' as his firm - the Serum Institute of India - had been instructed to keep jabs in India. '[We] have been directed to prioritise the huge needs of India and along with that balance the needs of the rest of the world. We are trying our best,' he messaged. Poonawalla's tweet came to light after Heath Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed today that a major slowdown in the UK's vaccine drive forecast for April is due to a delivery of 5million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from India being delayed. The Serum Institue has denied being responsible, saying the export was blocked by India'a government in what some branded a case of 'vaccine nationalism' akin to the EU's threat to block Pfizer jabs bound for the UK. It is the first major stumbling bloc that Britain's drive, one of the fastest in the world, has hit since it launched late last year - leading some Tory MPs to accuse Hancock of 'over-promising' as he gave assurances that it would accelerate further. Now, it is thought that under-50s will not be offered a first dose of Covid vaccine until May at the earliest, putting Boris Johnson's target of easing all lockdown measures by June 21 in doubt - though the Prime Minister insisted today that his roadmap has not changed. Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of India's Serum Institute supplying the UK with vaccines, warned last month that deliveries would run short due to domestic demand Mr Poonawalla (left), pictured with his wife Natasha Poonawalla last year, is the chief executive of the world's largest vaccine manufacturer - India's Serum Institute The Serum Institute was founded in 1966 by Cyrus Poonawalla (pictured right, with actress Sharon Stone) after a mishap on the family's stud farm Adar Poonawalla's so-called 'batmobile', pictured, is part of the family's collection of luxury cars - but the firm also gambled millions on vaccine production AstraZeneca jab is safe and effective, Europe's regulator says European leaders were today facing an humiliating climbdown over AstraZeneca's jabs after Europe's medical regulators ruled vaccine is not linked to blood clots. 'This is a safe and effective vaccine,' said Emer Cooke, the chief of the European Medicines Agency. 'When you vaccinate millions of people, it's inevitable that rare or serious instances of illnesses will occur in the time immediately following the vaccination.' The agency said that it had not uncovered any issues with specific batches of the AstraZeneca jab and that incidences of blood clots reported after vaccination were lower than would be expected in the overall population. European heavyweights Germany, France and Italy are now under pressure to immediately resume AstraZeneca jabs to restore confidence and attempt to salvage the EU's woeful vaccine roll-out. The EU's blood clot fiasco has added to the bloc's vaccination chaos after supply problems, bureaucratic health systems and stashes of unused AstraZeneca shots left the bloc languishing behind Britain in the vaccine race. AstraZeneca's product was already struggling for popularity in Europe after top officials feuded with the firm in a post-Brexit row over supplies and then cast unfounded doubts on its efficacy in over-65s. Now, with former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb has sensationally claimed that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. Advertisement It is just the latest tug-of-war for Britain over AstraZeneca jabs, with the EU last night threatening to block Pfizer exports to countries with higher vaccination rates while demanding that Britain send doses of AstraZeneca back in return. That is despite the fact that AstraZeneca remains blocked in many EU countries due to blood clot fears, even though the European Medicines Agency announced today the jab is 'safe and effective' - the same thing it has been saying for a week. Meanwhile India has reportedly blocked 5million doses of AstraZeneca bound for the UK, meaning this country faces a major shortage of jabs throughout April. Tory ministers had previously been championing a 'major acceleration' of the vaccine programme starting in Spring, but it now appears that under-50s will have to wait until May at least to get the doses they were promised MPs hit out at Health Secretary Matt Hancock today for 'over-promising' after the delivery was pushed back, with the Serum Institute saying it had only agreed to help Britain 'as and when it can'. Meanwhile others accused India of an act of 'vaccine nationalism' akin to the EU's threat to block exports, by prioritizing vaccines tied up in legal contracts with other nations for its own citizens. The New Delhi city government has announced plans to ramp up vaccinations from 40,000 a day to 125,000, officials said, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Authorities in the state of Odisha are seeking an additional 2.5million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot, which is marketed as Covishield in India. India has already handed out more than 37million doses, mostly using AstraZeneca, but PM Narendra Modi has asked state leaders to increase testing and vaccinations. The Serum Institute is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer and has partnered with various developers including Novavax and Codagenix as well as AstraZeneca. It is aiming to ramp up production to 100million doses per month by April, making India a major competitor with Russia and China in the global vaccine market. Founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966, the firm's origins go back to the Poonawalla family's background in racehorse breeding - which led them into pharmaceuticals after one of their horses was bitten by a snake. The horse's death after bureaucratic delays meant no serum was available prompted Poonawalla senior to found the firm so that treatments could be made at the farm. Part of the Poonawalla-owned campus in Pune is still a stud farm today, but it also employs hundreds of workers on its huge-scale global vaccine production. Some of the family fortune has gone on supercars including the CEO's so-called 'batmobile', believed to be a 40,000 adaptation of a Mercedes S350. The Serum Institute has been asked to keep doses back to battle India's 'second wave' of Covid, despite cases being just a fraction of those reported in the UK when compared to India's 1.3billion population India's deaths are also just a fraction of those being suffered each day in the UK, when the size of each country's population is taken into account Two of the Ferraris in the family's fleet of luxury cars, after the Poonawalla empire grew from a way of treating horses on a stud farm to a global pharma giant As well as supercars, Adar Poonawalla has a collection of vintage and custom off-road cars Just some of the extensive fleet is put on display - including Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Ferraris The family also owns Ferraris and Rolls-Royces including a vintage Silver Shadow and a Phantom Drophead Coupe, according to Indian media. But last year the CEO and his father decided to invest millions in Covid-19 vaccines, months before it was known whether any of them would even be effective. 'It was just a quick five-minute chat between myself and my father,' Adar Poonawalla told NPR. Around half of Serum's production capacity has been promised to the Indian government, but it is also exporting AstraZeneca shots to numerous countries. These include Britain, where health secretary Matt Hancock said a delayed arrival from the Serum Institute was to blame for a sudden shortfall in supplies. It means that people under 50 potentially face a longer wait to get their first dose, although the government says there will be no delay to second doses. Downing Street did not deny the suggestion from Poonawalla that the Indian government was temporarily blocking exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Poonawalla told Bloomberg that countries including the US and India were hoarding not only doses but the ingredients required to make them. 'We had to dedicate a lot of our capacity, which was not originally planned for India,' he said. 'We're trying to balance it out as much as possible, but again for the first few months we have been directed to prioritise supplies to India and certain other countries that have a high disease burden.' Airport staff unload boxes of AstraZeneca's vaccine developed by the Serum Institute at Mumbai Airport last month He also told the Telegraph: 'It is solely dependent on India and it has nothing to do with [us]. It is to do with the Indian government allowing more doses to the UK.' A No 10 spokesman said: 'I would point back to what [Serum] have said and the fact that they are one of the manufacturers of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. 'We produce it here in the UK and it's produced elsewhere as well so we will continue to work with the manufacturers of the vaccine.' Asked if ministers were in talks with the Indian government, No 10 said: 'We're in constant contact with other governments around the world'. AstraZeneca said its 'UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption', but made no mention of possible problems in India. Britain's current other vaccine provider is Pfizer, which denied any issues with its UK delivery schedule. Hancock told parliament that jabs from a third supplier, Moderna, were expected 'in the coming weeks'. India brands its own vaccination campaign as the world's largest, with around 37million people given a dose so far. The country also has one of the highest counts of cases and deaths in the world, with a total of 11.5million infections leading to more than 159,000 deaths. But this compares favourably to Western countries on a per-capita basis, with Britain recording 80 per cent as many deaths for a population only five per cent as large. Still, India is experiencing a three-month high in daily infection numbers after weekly cases rose from 129,000 last week to 189,000 in the last seven days. Cases had been in a months-long decline after falling from a first-wave peak of nearly 100,000 per day last September. The death rate has also picked up again, with more than 1,000 deaths recorded in the space of a week for the first time since late January. Adar Poonawalla, pictured with the UK's international trade secretary Liz Truss, says India's government is demanding more vaccine doses than expected for itself Britain is getting a delayed shipment from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab India's Punjab state has extended a night curfew across nine districts while Modi's home state of Gujarat has shut some of its schools until at least April 10. In Maharashtra, the home of Mumbai, the rapid spread in industrial areas has raised fears of further disruption to India's economy. Cases have more than doubled in the past two weeks in industrial towns such as Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Nagpur, home to car, chemical and textile factories. 'We have asked industries there to operate with minimum manpower as much possible,' said a senior Maharashtra government official. Hospital beds and special Covid-19 facilities were filling up fast, especially in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune, said another state official. The state of 112million people has ordered a new lockdown in some districts and put curbs on cinemas, hotels and restaurants until the end of the month. Neighbouring Pakistan has also noticed a sharp rise in cases, blamed in part on the British variant of Covid-19. Most of the new cases came from Pakistan's largest and richest province, Punjab, where hospital beds were said to be filling up fast. India and Pakistan have a combined population of 1.57billion, a fifth of humanity. For the sixth year in a row, CSP has honored the best in the field, this year with a virtual happy hour complete with a mixologist and video submissions from each winner. Sponsored by Altria Group Distribution Co., the ceremony celebrated champions in nine core categories and a multiple-categories segment. "This year's winners stand out for the ways they maintained focus on their product segments even as the very foundation of retailing was evolving," said CSP Content Director Steve Holtz, who announced the award winners along with Danielle Holloway, senior director of industry engagement for Altria Group Distribution Co. "We congratulate the winners for keeping the c-store industry on the cutting edge of product selection while adapting to new social-distancing and product safety standards." Industry suppliers nominated potential finalists in fall 2020 and, under the direction of CSP editors, three finalists from each of the key categories were chosen. The final voting process took place online in January, and CSP tallied the hundreds of votes in February. The winners received the coveted CMOY trophy and will be featured in a special section of the April issue of CSP, the 2021 Category Management Handbook. CSP's 2021 Category Manager of the Year winners are: Category Winner Company Beer/Alcohol Sean Hickox South Atlantic (formerly Circle K) Behind the Counter Kevin Harder Yesway CBD Brad Campbell Sheetz Center Store Kelley Gutierrez MAPCO Delivery/Loyalty Eric Rush QuickChek Dispensed Beverages Jessica Tritten Love's Travel Centers Foodservice Andrew Kintigh Casey's General Stores Forecourt/Operations Brian Renaud Sheetz Multiple Categories Kim Jenks Kwik Trip Packaged Beverages Dawn Barnett Circle K - Midwest CSP magazine is the leading source of information for the $650 billion convenience-retailing industry. Its award-winning editors provide actionable solutions and data-driven trends to key decision-makers who rely on this information to combat disruption. CSP annually hosts Convenience Retailing University and the Outlook Leadership conference, which are two large-scale leadership events, as well as several small-format meetings in its EduNetworking series. The team also delivers insights via print publications, a website and daily newsletters. Contact: Steve Holtz 312-940-1576 [email protected] SOURCE CSP Ukraine is interested in Germanys experience in restructuring coal regions, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has stated at a meeting with Andre Kuper, President of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. "In October last year, a Ukrainian delegation visited the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where it had an opportunity to get acquainted with the mine closure process and restructuring of coal regions. I hope that we will be able to have certain projects soon," Shmyhal said, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Government portal. He stressed that Ukraine is interested in exchanging experience with German partners in the field of restructuring of coal regions and transformation into energy efficient districts. During the meeting, the parties also discussed issues of strengthening interregional cooperation, in particular in the exchange of experience in decentralization. Shmyhal reminded that enhanced interregional cooperation between Ukraine and the federal state began in 1996, when the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia signed an Agreement on regional cooperation in the economic sphere. "We have a number of twinning cities in Ukraine and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This is important from the point of view of effective implementation of decentralization and local self-government reform in Ukraine, Shmyhal said. In turn, Andre Kuper noted that the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is ready to share experience with Ukraine on the issue of restructuring coal regions. As reported by Ukrinform, on March 17, a government delegation led by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal left for Germany to take part in the 4th German-Ukrainian Business Forum. iy Students at the University of Melbourne and Monash University were among the most dissatisfied in the country last year, delivering a bruising report card on their experience during Victorias second COVID-19 lockdown. The two elite institutions recorded the largest declines in students overall ratings of their education experience in the federal government-commissioned 2020 Student Experience Survey, released on Thursday. Just over 50 per cent of students at the University of Melbourne reported they were happy with their education experience in 2020, according the federal governments annual Student Experience Survey. Credit:Joe Armao The University of Melbourne was at the bottom of the pile of 41 Australian universities, with just 52 per cent of students rating their experience as positive a plunge of 25 percentage points compared with 2019. Monash University recorded a 60 per cent overall satisfaction rating from its students, down from 78 per cent in 2019. But the rise in dissatisfaction was felt around the country as students and universities were forced to quickly adapt to online-only learning for most of the year. There was an overall drop in satisfaction from 78 per cent in 2019 to 69 per cent, based on the verdicts of almost 250,000 students surveyed across the 41 universities. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:05:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close COPENHAGEN -- World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge on Thursday warned states in the region not to ease restrictions too early. Speaking during a virtual press conference here, Kluge noted that "while 27 countries are currently in a partial or full nationwide lockdown, 21 are gradually easing restrictive measures." "Some are doing so based on the assumption that increasing vaccination uptake in countries would immediately lead to an improved epidemiological situation," he said. "Such assumptions are too early to make." (Denmark-WHO Europe) - - - - ADEN -- At least 10 soldiers were killed as members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch attacked a security checkpoint in the country's southern province of Abyan on Thursday, a government official told Xinhua. "Armed elements of al-Qaida carried out an attack against a security checkpoint in Ahwar district of Abyan, leaving at least 10 soldiers killed," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. (Yemen-Al-Qaida Attack-Killing) - - - - KABUL -- At least 59 people were killed in insurgent activities and conflicts in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, according to a local independent war monitoring group early Thursday. "Within the past 24 hours, our team has documented 59 deaths, including seven Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members, one civilian and 51 Taliban militants," Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on the social media platform twitter. (Afghanistan-Violence-Casualties) - - - - PYONGYANG -- A top diplomat of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has vowed that Pyongyang will ignore U.S. outreach until Washington "rolls back its hostile policy," the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday. First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui issued a statement on Wednesday, saying the United States has tried to contact them since mid-February through several channels including New York, and by emails and telephone messages, but "we don't think there is need to respond to the U.S. time-delaying trick again." "We have already declared our stand that no DPRK-U.S. contact and dialogue of any kind can be possible unless the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK. Therefore, we will disregard such an attempt of the U.S. in the future, too," Choe said. (DPRK-U.S.) Enditem Asset quality of banks, which saw some improvement in the second half of 2020, is likely to worsen during the first six months of 2021, according to a survey. The findings are part of the 12th round of bankers' survey carried out by FICCI-IBA between July and December 2020. The survey was conducted on 20 banks, including public sector, private sector and foreign banks, representing about 59 per cent of the banking industry, as classified by asset size. In the current round of the survey, half of the respondent banks reported a decline in NPAs during the second half of 2020. About 78 per cent of participating state-run banks have cited a reduction in NPA levels. "However, in terms of outlook, nearly 68 per cent of respondent bankers expect the NPA levels to be above 10 per cent in the first half of 2021," the survey showed. Close to 37 per cent of respondents expect NPA levels to be upwards of 12 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India's Financial Stability Report, released in January this year, showed that gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks may rise to 13.5 per cent by September 2021, under the baseline stress scenario. Some of the high NPA risk sectors identified by majority of respondent bankers in the current round of survey include tourism and hospitality, MSME, aviation and restaurants, the survey showed. Around 55 per cent of respondents believe NPAs to rise substantially in the tourism and hospitality sector, while another 45 per cent reported that NPAs are likely to increase moderately in this sector. Another high NPA risk sector reported in the current round of survey is the MSME sector, with 84 per cent respondents expecting an increase in NPAs in this sector. Close to 89 per cent respondents also expect the restaurant sector to see an increase in NPAs, though only 26 per cent expect NPAs to increase substantially in this segment, it showed. The survey revealed that there was a significant increase in the requests for one-time restructuring for MSMEs, announced by the RBI in August last year. "An overwhelming 85 per cent of the respondent banks have cited an increase in requests for restructuring of advances as against 39 per cent in the last round," it said. The long-term credit demand has been growing for sectors such as infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and food processing, the findings showed. "Particularly for the pharma sector, 45 per cent of the respondents have indicated an increase in long term loans in the current round of survey as against 29 per cent in the previous round," it showed. Over half of the respondents indicated that they did not avail funds under on-tap targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO) while about 33 per cent said that TLTRO funds were deployed completely in securities issued by NBFCs/ MFIs, the survey showed. Also read: Centre 'penalising' educated youth for having 'real degrees': Rahul Gandhi Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 12:06:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- An armed man was arrested by D.C. police officers shortly after noon on Wednesday near U.S. vice presidential residence, which is now vacant due to ongoing renovation. According to multiple U.S. reports, Paul Murray, 31, from San Antonio, Texas, had been detained by the U.S. Secret Service. Metropolitan Police Department officers then arrested and charged him with four counts: carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Police also recovered a rifle and ammunition from Murray's vehicle. Murray was said to be experiencing paranoid delusions and thought the government was after him, according to media reports citing internal police bulletin. The site of Murray's apprehension is close to Number One Observatory Circle, which has been the vice presidential residence since the late 1970s. Vice President Kamala Harris is not living there as it has been undergoing a renovation since former Vice President Mike Pence left in January. Instead, Harris lives at Blair House, the president's official guest house near the White House. Enditem A total of 669 COVID-19 cases have been reported among students and staff in Massachusetts schools within the last week, officials said Thursday. From March 11 to 17, there were 476 students and 193 staff members who tested positive for the virus within seven days of being inside a school building, according to a weekly report from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This weeks report shows an increase in cases compared to last week, when the state reported 523 virus cases, split between 377 students and 146 staff members. That report was a slight increase from the week prior, with 476 virus cases. Of the positives in this weeks report, 466 student cases and 189 staff cases were at local school districts, three student cases and three staff cases were at education collaboratives, and seven student cases and one staff case were at approved special education schools, per DESE data. Among districts, Braintree had 26 student cases. North Attleborough and Dennis-Yarmouth both had 12, Quincy had 11 and nine student cases each were reported at Barnstable, Canton, Framingham, Methuen and Milford, according to the data. District staff cases were highest in Brockton with 16, followed by Boston with eight, New Bedford with six and Quincy, Fall River and Sharon with five each. Among education collaboratives, the Northshore Education Consortium, READS Collaborative and The Education Cooperative (TEC) each reported one student case. There was one staff case each at North River Collaborative, Pilgrim Area Collaborative (PAC) and South Shore Educational Collaborative (SSEC), according to the data. At approved special education schools, there were three student cases each at the F. L. Chamberlain School and the League School. There was one student case at the Perkins School for Blind. There was one staff case at the League School, per DESE. As of last month, 80% of schools in Massachusetts have some form of in-person learning. Any spread of the virus in schools has been minimal, according to state data. From Feb. 14 to March 13, there have been 15 new COVID-19 clusters connected to K-12 schools, according to Department of Public Health data, leading to 74 confirmed cases and 82 contacts. There are also 36 ongoing clusters that were identified before Feb. 14 but have not met the criteria for closing. School clusters include cases associated with a school where in-school transmission cannot be completely ruled out, officials have said, though other transmission settings are considered more likely. A cluster is considered closed after 28 days have passed since the last confirmed case. Evidence of possible in-school transmission includes two or more cases that share a classroom or other school setting; timing between cases, as the average time between exposure and development of disease for COVID-19 is 5 days; and ruling out of other exposure settings, officials said. Pooled COVID-19 testing in schools also shows low positivity. As of last week, a total of 177 school districts, charter districts and collaboratives have applied to participate in the states pooled testing program, representing more than 1,000 schools and 325,000 students, state officials said. In the first month of the program, vendors have conducted more than 8,500 pools across the state at elementary, middle and high schools, officials said. Only 0.7% of those pools have been positive. Because most pools have contained only one positive individual, the prevalence among the tested school population is likely less than 0.2%, according to officials. The coronavirus case report from DESE comes out each Thursday and includes cases from students or staff members who tested positive within seven days of being inside a school building. It does not include remote learners. Next month, the state expects some students to be back in class full time. By April 5, districts are required to have five days a week of in-person learning for students in grades K-5. The same goes for grades 6-8 by April 28. However, parents can still keep their children home for remote learning through the end of the school year. Waivers from districts that want to delay that process are due to DESE on Monday. Related Content: Israeli archaeologists discover biblical scroll fragments for the first time in 60 years Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Dozens of 2,000-year-old fragments from scrolls containing portions of the books of Nahum and Zechariah have been unearthed in Israel, an extremely rare discovery in the Judean Desert. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the uncovered fragments on Tuesday. They are the first of such discoveries in approximately 60 years. The Dead Sea Scrolls are fragments of religious manuscripts that were originally found in the Judaean Desert decades ago. The newly discovered fragments are Greek translations of the two minor prophets. Despite most of the fragments being in Greek, the name of God is written in Hebrew. The fragments come from a larger scroll found in the same place in the 1950s in Nahal Hever in the Cave of Horror that is approximately 80 meters below a cliff top and can only be reached by rappelling down the cliff. In addition to the biblical fragments, a 10,500-year-old woven basket from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period was excavated, and a 6,000-year-old mummified skeleton of a child was also found. Also known as Cave 8 in the Judean Desert, Israeli archaeologist Yohanan Aharonin gave it the nickname "Cave of Horror" because the skeletons of 40 men, women and children were discovered there during the Judean Desert Expeditions in the 1960s, according to the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Israel Antiquities Authority has been more active in rescuing ancient artifacts in the region since 2017. Significant looting has plagued the area ever since Bedouin shepherds first discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls, also known as the Qumran Caves Scrolls, in 1946. The desert team showed exceptional courage, dedication and devotion to purpose, rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth, digging and sifting through them, enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind, IAA Director Israel Hasson, who led the rescue operation, said in a statement. The newly discovered scroll fragments are a wake-up call to the state. Resources must be allocated for the completion of this historically important operation. We must ensure that we recover all the data that has not yet been discovered in the caves before the robbers do. Some things are beyond value. The IAA team has thus far reconstructed 11 lines of Greek text from Zechariah 8:16-17 and Nahum 1:5-6. The entire passage from Zechariah reads: These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hatedeclares the Lord. The Nahum passage reads: The mountains quake because of Him, And the hills melt. The earth heaves before Him, The world and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before His wrath? Who can resist His fury? His anger pours out like fire, and rocks are shattered because of Him. The fragments were written in a new Greek translation that differs from the traditional Masoretic texts. According to the IAA, the translation's differences reveal quite a bit regarding the transmission of the biblical text until the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt. The Bar Kochba revolt was a rebellion of the Jews led by Simon bar Kochba against the Romans around 132-136 A.D., the last of the three major Jewish-Roman wars. The revolt is also called the Third Jewish-Roman War or Third Jewish Revolt. These finds are not just important to our own cultural heritage but to that of the entire world, Avi Cohen, CEO of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, said in a statement. Without the consistent and coordinated action of the various government offices, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Civil Administration, these special assets would not be made accessible to the public, rather would remain in the possession of antiquities looters. Amir Ganor, who heads the IAAs Theft Prevention Unit, said the agency finally decided to pre-empt the thieves before the treasures were looted. The scraps containing lines from Nahum and Zechariah were discovered in clumps and rolled up in the Cave of Horror. He estimates that approximately 25% of the Judean Desert has not been surveyed, according to The Times of Israel. By using drone technology and rappelling gear, those rescuing the ancient artifacts can explore caves that have been considered unreachable, some of which human beings have not entered for nearly 2,000 years. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Who will be the next CM of Assam? Sarbananda Sonowal or Himanta Biswa Sarma? Assam elections 2021: PM Modi blames Congress for making Assam one of the 'most disconnected states in India' India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Karimganj, Mar 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the Congress and blamed them for making Assam one of the most disconnected states in the country. Addressing a rally in Karimganj in Assam, PM Modi also attacked the Congress party for its 'vote bank politics' and said that the NDA government overcame the injustice made in the state. The Prime Minister said that while the Congress party kept Assam divided in every way, BJP tried to connect Assam in every way. "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Biswas" - is the BJP's development mantra in Assam, he said. "Decades ago, this entire region was one that had better connectivity. However, Congress' corruption and vote-bank-based governance made Assam one of the most disconnected states in India," PM Modi said. 'Didi bole khela hobe', BJP bole 'vikas hobe', says PM Modi in Purulia "Congress governments and their policies damaged Assam socially, culturally, geographically & politically. In 2016, when I came here, I was shocked to know that Congress governments ran Divisional Commissioner for Barak Valley from Guwahati. NDA govt has overcome this injustice," PM Modi said. Urging the voters of the northeastern state, PM Modi said that on one side, BJP has a policy, leadership and good intentions. Puducherry elections 2021: Election Commission appoints four special observers "While on the other side, Congress neither has a leader nor policy or ideology," he said. He alleged that Congress has become so weak that it can go to any extent and join hands with anyone. "Can a party that doesn't have stable thinking give a stable govt to Assam?" PM questioned. Elections for the 126-seater Assembly in Assam will be held between March 27 and April 6. Votes will be counted on May 2. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 17:10 [IST] A motor glider crashed into a parked bus after a pilot fell unconscious in the cockpit due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning - but survived. The 72-year-old pilot likely passed out after the deadly engine fumes leaked into his cockpit from a faulty exhaust, investigators said. His Scheibe Super Falke SF25E glider went out of control and had a wing torn off when it hit a bus parked on land beside Aston Down Airfield in Gloucestershire. The 44-year-old aircraft then bounced off a cabin building before ploughing through trees and crashing into a field on the afternoon of March 23 last year. The pilot suffered serious head injuries, which were described as life threatening at the time, and he was flown to hospital by air ambulance - but he survived the ordeal. A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the pensioner - who had 3,446 hours flying experience - had recovered enough to speak to investigators six weeks after the crash. The pilot - who has not been named - recalled taking off and flying around the airfield before he passed out. A motor glider crashed (the aftermath, pictured) into a parked bus after a pilot fell unconscious in the cockpit due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning - but survived He then suddenly woke up at a low altitude when it was too late to avoid hitting the ground. Forensic tests found that one of the four down pipes from the engine of the glider had severely corroded and had 'failed some time before the accident'. The report said: 'Both the pipe and its sealing ring showed traces of exhaust gas leakage. 'The evidence was very difficult to detect visually with the exhaust still fitted to the engine and in the engine bay. 'The signs of leakage were not easily discernible even with the system dismantled and required forensic examination to confirm that leaks had occurred.' The cockpit of the glider (pictured, a Scheibe Super Falke SF25E glider similar to the one that crashed) had a carbon monoxide spot detector which changed a dark colour if CO was detected, but it was found to take several minutes to react to the presence of the gas A 72-year-old pilot likely passed out after the potentially deadly engine fumes leaked into his cockpit from a faulty exhaust, investigators said. His Scheibe Super Falke SF25E glider went out of control and had a wing torn off when it hit a bus (pictured) parked on land beside Aston Down Airfield in Gloucestershire The 44-year-old aircraft then bounced off a cabin building (pictured) before ploughing through trees and crashing into a field on the afternoon of March 23 last year There was also further evidence of gas leakage from a faulty connection between the gas tail pipe and the silencer. The German manufacturer of the glider stated that the tail pipe which had been fitted was not an approved design, the report added. Seals and grommets designed to protect the cockpit from engine bay gasses were also found to have 'deteriorated and perished'. The failure meant that carbon monoxide - known as CO - in the engine compartment could 'flow into the cockpit through the firewall', the report added. It read: 'There were no reported underlying medical issues that may have caused the pilot to become incapacitated and he has no memory of the flight until moments before the accident. 'The results of forensic examination showed that it is highly likely CO was present in the engine bay during the flight. The pilot - who has not been named - recalled taking off and flying around the airfield before he passed out. Pictured: The site of the crash 'CO could have leaked into the cockpit via the degraded firewall seals and grommets. 'Although leakage may have been minimal, the effects of CO are cumulative and would have built up over the duration of the flight.' The cockpit of the glider had a carbon monoxide spot detector which changed a dark colour if CO was detected, but it was found to take several minutes to react to the presence of the gas. The report said that any colour change in the detector might not have been noticed by the pilot. The report said the CO could have leaked into the cockpit via the degraded firewall seals (pictured) and grommets A British Gliding Association engineer who inspected the wreckage said he did not believe the spot detector was an 'adequate' measure for the glider. The report said that the accident showed 'the need to carry out detailed inspections and maintenance of the exhaust system of piston engine-powered airplanes'. It concluded: 'The available evidence is consistent with the pilot having suffered CO poisoning and being incapacitated before the accident occurred. 'Although he reported regaining consciousness, it was not in time to prevent the accident.' The report said it could also not rule out the possibility that icing in the glider's carburettor could have caused partial or complete engine failure, due to the type of fuel used. The pilot stated that he was aware of the possibility of carburettor icing and habitually used a 'carburettor heat' control to mitigate the risk during flights Scanning electromicrograph of an HIV-infected T cell. Credit: NIAID Metformin, a drug used to treat type-2 diabetes, could help reduce chronic inflammation in people living with HIV (PLWH) who are being treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM). Although ART has helped improved the health of PLWH, they are nevertheless at greater risk of developing complications related to chronic inflammation, such as cardiovascular disease. These health problems are mainly due to the persistence of HIV reservoirs in the patients' long-lived memory T cells and to the constant activation of their immune system. In a pilot study published recently in EBioMedicine (URL), Universite de Montreal immunology professor Petronela Ancuta and first author Delphine Planas, a Ph.D. student in her laboratory at the CRCHUM, evaluate the ability of metformin to improve immune function and reduce viral reservoir size. We asked Professor Ancuta to explain the study. Q. Despite the use of antiretroviral therapy, seropositive individuals exhibit immune activation and excessive inflammation. In your study, you try to stop that with metformin. How so? Currently, antiretroviral therapies inhibit HIV replication by preventing the entry of virion (a complete viral particle) into new cells and its exit from infected cells. However, one step is still not targeted by these therapies: the multiplication of the viral genome inside the infected cell. Despite antiretroviral therapy, this intracellular viral multiplication causes chronic inflammation and immune activation, leading to the emergence of co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease. In the laboratory, we are working to identify new treatments to inhibit intracellular viral multiplication. The idea of using metformin in people living with HIV came from Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, our collaborator in this study. Used widely in medicine, this drug stimulates or inhibits the reactions of the body's immune system. In our study, knowing that metformin interferes with the activity of the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) molecule involved in the intracellular multiplication of HIV genome, we used the drug to treat 22 nondiabetic PLWH on antiretroviral therapy (13 in Montreal and nine in Ottawa). In vitro, studies by our group and others had previously demonstrated that inhibiting mTOR with drugs inhibits HIV replication considerably in the cells of patients infected by the virus. Q. Did the results of your study surprise you? Yes, we were excited by the positive results of this pilot study. The drug was extremely well tolerated by the patients and we observed the beneficial biological effects of metformin in colon biopsies. HIV hides in CD4 T cells, immune system cells that shelter the virus and form viral reservoirs in various peripheral tissues such as the intestine. The virus continues to multiply in these reservoirs and leads to inflammation. In the study, we observed a reduction in the activation of mTOR in CD4 T cells present in the colon, as well as a decrease in certain plasma markers of inflammation and intestinal damage. Metformin, then, has both intestinal and systemic effects. Q. HIV reservoir size is linked to the level of inflammation. Could new approaches like yours reduce the size of these reservoirs? Did you observe this in your study? The viral DNA reservoir size in peripheral blood T cells and in the colon was pretty stable, which is consistent with the known stability of HIV reservoirs. However, we expect that longer treatment may lead to a reduction of these reservoirs. This hypothesis is worth testing. Q. Will you continue your research with a larger patient sample? We're going to launch a new randomized study on more than 58 participants in which metformin will be administered over a longer period. We're planning to do it over a six- to 12-month period to validate the benefits of metformin in controlling inflammation, in part by regulating mTOR. To conclude, I would like to thank the participants in the LILAC study for donating their biological samples and believing in our research efforts, which came to fruition thanks to close collaboration with many researchers, particularly the teams of Drs. Jean-Pierre Routy and Maged Peter Ghali (McGill University Health Centre), Nicolas Chomont (CRCHUM) and Dr. Jonathan Angel (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute). Explore further HIV-AIDS: Following your gut More information: Delphine Planas et al, LILAC pilot study: Effects of metformin on mTOR activation and HIV reservoir persistence during antiretroviral therapy, EBioMedicine (2021). Journal information: EBioMedicine Delphine Planas et al, LILAC pilot study: Effects of metformin on mTOR activation and HIV reservoir persistence during antiretroviral therapy,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103270 Provided by University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE :XIGM) (FSE: 2C1) ("Xigem" or the "Company"), a Canadian company focused on providing technology solutions for the emerging remote economy, today announced that its common shares (the "Common Shares") are expected to begin trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on or before Friday, March 19, 2021, under the symbol "2C1". "We are pleased to offer investors an additional platform to realize value from our efforts," said Brian Kalish, co-founder and CEO of Xigem Technologies. "The transition to the remote economy is a global phenomenon, and Xigem plans to pursue opportunities internationally. We expect Europe to become one of the primary markets for our technology and look forward to introducing European investors to our potential." The Frankfurt Stock Exchange, operated by Deutsche Borse AG, is one of the world's largest trading centers for securities and the largest of the seven stock exchanges in Germany. Xigem's Frankfurt listing is expected to creating more liquidity for its existing and potential shareholders, increase market awareness, and facilitate the process of trading in its shares by investors in Europe and internationally. The Common Shares will continue to be listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "XIGM". About Xigem Technologies Corporation Established in Toronto, Ontario, Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE: XIGM) (FSE: 2C1) is positioned to become a leading SaaS technology platform for the emerging remote work economy, with software capable of improving the capacity, productivity, and overall remote operations for businesses, consumers and other organizations. "iAgent,", the Company's patented technology, is designed to provide organizations, businesses and consumers with the tools necessary to thrive in a vast array of remote working, learning and treatment environments. iAgent is a mobile, geo-targeted customer acquisition, conversion and retention application. iAgent is designed to match sales and services with consumers, treatment seekers and students across a broad range of sectors, in real time. For businesses and institutions, iAgent can be tailored to remotely track and manage assets, transactions, fulfilment and service cycles while seamlessly integrating with most CRM and ERP systems to optimize the consumer, treatment seeker and learning experience. iAgent enables consumers, treatment seekers and students to remotely fulfil and engage with everyday goods and services which they demand. www.xigemtechnologies.com Instagram: @xigemtechnologies Twitter: @XigemTech Facebook: @xigemtechnologies LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/xigem-technologies CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. In particular, forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to (i) the Company's expectations with respect to the potential growth of the remote work space (including the level of opportunities therein and the significant markets therefor), (ii) the timing of the listing of the Common Shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and (iii) the benefits of the proposed listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (including the accessible of the said trading platform). Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and factors include, but are not limited to, (i) unanticipated events that could arise following the date hereof, which could affect the Company's proposed listing the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and (ii) the Company's inability to secure or maintain regulatory, exchange and/or other approvals necessary to continue its business operations as proposed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements, forward-looking financial information and other metrics presented herein are not intended as guidance or projections for the periods referenced herein or any future periods, and in particular, past performance is not an indicator of future results and the results of the Company in this press release may not be indicative of, and are not an estimate, forecast or projection of the Company's future results. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Xigem Technologies Corporation On behalf of the Company: Brian Kalish, Chief Executive Officer For further information: Phone: (647) 250-9824 ext.4 Investors: investors@xigemtechnologies.com Media: media@xigemtechnologies.com Twitter: @XigemTech Instagram: @xigemtechnologies Facebook: @xigemtechnologies LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/xigem-technologies www.xigemtechnologies.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77656 From left are U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Thursday, after holding a two-plus-two ministerial meeting. Joint Press Corps Disagreement between Seoul, Washington exposed in 2+2 meeting By Kang Seung-woo The much-heralded two-plus-two ministerial meeting between South Korea and the United States, Thursday, highlighted that the long-time allies are not on the same page on several issues, including North Korea and China. Foreign and Defense Ministers Chung Eui-yong and Suh Wook sat down with Secretaries of State and Defense Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the first meeting of its kind in over four years. Blinken and Austin also had respective ministerial meetings, Wednesday, upon their arrival from Japan, where the secretaries also had a two-plus-two talks. Since the arrangement of the first Cabinet-level overseas trip of the Joe Biden administration was made earlier this month, speculation has been rampant that the new American government is set to bolster its Asian alliances in the face of an assertive China. However, China is South Korea's largest-trading partner, so the Moon Jae-in administration has maintained "strategic ambiguity" to the U.S. call for Seoul's participation in its campaign to counter Beijing. Starting a post-meeting press conference, the American secretaries stressed the need for its allies to stand together against China. "We also discussed China. We are clear eyed about Beijing's consistent failure to uphold its commitments and we spoke about Beijing's aggressive authoritarian behavior are challenging stability, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Blinken said in his opening speech. "Beijing's actions make forging a common approach among allies all the more important." Austin also said, "We have a lot to look forward to as, together, we address global security challenges and engage in long-term strategic competition, mainly with China, which, as some of you know, is our department's challenge in the years ahead." The defense chief added: "Today we continue to work together to identify areas for collaboration within our respective regional strategies, particularly upholding a rules-based international order in building capacity for partners in the region." During their respective ministerial talks, they also took a jab at China, with Blinken warning against its use of "coercion and aggression" on the international stage and Austin saying the country posing "unprecedented challenges." However, the joint statement, issued after the two-plus-two meeting, failed to specify China's behavior, just saying that the alliance supports "the two countries' commitment to opposing all activities that undermine and destabilize the rules-based international order." It is raising speculation that South Korea may have had reservations about the U.S. bashing of China. Moon vows to improve ties with Japan during meeting with Biden's key officials Pyongyang wants Washington's 'concession' before denuclearization talks North Korea, China reviving economic cooperation This is in sharp contrast to the declaration from the U.S.-Japan two-plus-two meeting that slammed China's "destabilizing behavior," and drew a backlash from Beijing. President Moon Jae-in poses with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during their courtesy call to him at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Joint press corps Also, during the press conference, Foreign Minister Chung said there was no discussion about South Korea joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an anti-China strategic forum, comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. As for North Korea's nuclear issue, the two sides seemed to disagree on how to resolve it. The South Korean government has sought to address the decades-long problem by engaging the North Korea regime. As a result, the allies staged a scaled back combined military exercise earlier this month so as not to provoke the totalitarian state. However, Blinken hinted that the U.S. may weigh an option of putting pressure on North Korea for complete denuclearization of the regime, something that the latter sees as a "hostile act" that prevents the country from holding a dialogue with the U.S. Chung suggested the new U.S. administration continue to uphold the agreement made at the Singapore Summit between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but the Americans did not mention the issue, just saying all policies were being reviewed. "President Biden plans to complete a North Korea policy review in the weeks ahead in close coordination and in consultation with the Republic of Korea, with Japan and with other key partners, including reviewing pressure options, and potential for future diplomacy," Blinken said. The Moon administration is also seeking to regain wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. before its term ends in May 2022. Despite the joint statement declaring that they pledged to continue efforts toward the transition, Austin unexpectedly said the transition still has a way to go, raising questions that it may not meet a "self-imposed" deadline. "While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take more time, I am confident that this process will strengthen our alliance," he said. The U.S. side has been skeptical of the plan, saying South Korea is not prepared to assume OPCON. According to some diplomatic observers, amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. competition, American strategists believe that the U.S. holding up OPCON may work to its advantage. "During the press conference, disagreement between the two countries on some issues, including China, was revealed. It was crystal clear why Blinken and Austin visited South Korea and Japan, to counter China in tandem, but the South Korean side may have wanted a toned-down approach toward Beijing," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Xi sends message to mark centenary of Bangladeshi founding father's birth, 50th independence anniversary Xinhua) 08:20, March 18, 2021 Chinese President Xi Jinping sends a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence on March 17, 2021. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. Stressing that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the People's Republic of Bangladesh 50 years ago, Xi said Rahman, an old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people, visited China twice and developed friendship with Chinese leaders of the older generations. Xi said the two sides should keep in mind contributions made to the bilateral relations by leaders of the older generations and carry forward bilateral friendship. Since its independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable achievements in national construction, Xi said, adding China is glad about that as a friendly neighbour. China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbouring countries since ancient times, and the friendship spanning over a thousand years was witnessed by the Silk Road, Xi said. Over the last 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and on an equal footing, offered mutual support and worked hand in hand, Xi added. As China and Bangladesh are both at a crucial stage of national development, Xi said the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of Sonar (golden) Bangla are interconnected, and the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have been making joint efforts to overcome the difficulties and rendering mutual help, Xi said. Major projects in Bangladesh Chinese enterprises participated in have made groundbreaking progress, and the treatment of zero tariff for 97 percent of the taxable items imported from Bangladesh into China has officially taken effect, Xi added. Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Bangladesh ties, Xi expressed the hope to work with Bangladesh to better align the two countries' development strategies and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, so as to take the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation to new heights. Harris and her husband have not moved in yet because of renovations to the home in Northwest D.C. near the U.S. Naval Observatory. Shes staying at Blair House, a guest home for the White House. The United States has called the arrest of a journalist in Russian-annexed Crimea for allegedly spying on behalf of Kyiv "another attempt to repress those who speak the truth about Russia's aggression in Ukraine." "Russia continues to prosecute Ukrainian activists and target independent voices on the peninsula," State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted late on March 17. The tweet came one day after Vladislav Yesypenko, who holds dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship and is a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was arrested on suspicion of collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence. The Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service has described the move as "propaganda" ahead of the seventh anniversary of Moscow's forcible annexation of the region on March 18. According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), an object "looking like an explosive device" was found in Yesypenko's vehicle during his arrest. The FSB also claimed he had confessed to collecting data for the Ukrainian Security Service. Yesypenko, along with a resident of the Crimean city of Alushta, Yelizaveta Pavlenko, was detained on March 10 after the two took part in an event marking the 207th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko a day earlier in Crimea. Pavlenko was later released. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has called Yesypenko's detention "deeply troubling," noting that it comes at a time "when the Kremlin is employing harassment and intimidation against any possible alternative voice in Russia-annexed Crimea." Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests. Rights groups say that, since then, Russia has moved aggressively to prosecute Ukrainian activists and anyone who questions the annexation. Moscow also backs separatists in a war against Ukrainian government forces that has killed more than 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. India and the United States (US) may discuss measures to encourage US companies to set up local manufacturing facilities for defence equipment, including possibilities of joint ventures with Indian partners, over the weekend when Union defence minister Rajnath Singh is slated to have talks with defence secretary Lloyd Austin, according to an individual close to the development. Austin, who will set foot in New Delhi on Friday, is the first US official from the Joe Biden administration to visit India and will meet national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval upon arrival. On Saturday, he will be formally received at the South Block, before meeting Singh. Austin will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday before his departure. The first visit from Austin is an exploratory visit," said the person cited above. There is a wide range of issues on the table. The stop in India comes after the US defence secretarys visit to Japan and South Korea. It also follows the first meeting of the leaders of the Quad countries." On 12 March, a virtual meeting of the Quad leaders comprising the US President, and prime ministers of India, Australia and Japan was held. The leaders sought to work towards an open and rules-based" Indo-Pacific region that is free from coercion". The mention of coercion" can be seen as a pointer to China, accused of using intimidatory tactics against all its neighbours, including the South China Seaa major commercial waterway. It was one of the first major engagements by the Biden administration within two months of taking office. The Quad countries underline the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, and the challenges posed by China. Biden has been emphasizing the importance of working with partner countries. Singh and Austin may discuss opportunities for joint production of weapons systems, the person said, referring to the Centres plan to ramp up indigenous production of defence hardware. Discussion on maritime domain awareness, bilateral and multilateral military exercises and increased collaboration in the Indian Ocean region were also likely, he said. Indias decision to purchase S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia, which are expected to be delivered later this year, may also come up during the talks. Considering that the US-Russia ties are tense, New Delhi could be caught in cross hairs if Washington decides to impose sanctions under the provisions of the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Austins visit comes amid talks between India and China over disengagement of troops in Ladakh. While the pullback was completed in one sector, tensions are still high in other areas along the line of actual control (LAC). Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. 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. Rheinmetall achieves success in crisis year 2020: Defence secures high sales and earnings level Posted by Publisher Internet . Fiscal 2020 -Consolidated sales down 6% to ?5,875 million in the year of coronavirus -Consolidated operating result reaches ?426 million -High operating free cash flow of ?217 million -Defence: Operating result improves by 21% to ?414 million, operating margin increases to 11.1% -Positive despite crisis: Automotive generates operating result of ?33 million -Group?s order intake rises by 8% to ?8.5 billion; order backlog reaches record figure of ?13.4 billion -Group?s operating margin comes to 7.3%, after 8.1% in the previous year -Proposed dividend of ?2.00 per share Outlook for 2021 foresees sales growth and improved margins -Rheinmetall expects sales and earnings growth in 2021 -Consolidated sales to grow by between 7% and 9% -Group?s operating margin expected to be between 8% and 9% New medium-term targets for 2025: -Consolidated sales in the core business to increase to around ?8.5 billion by 2025 -Anticipated medium-term operating margin of at least 10% Rheinmetall AG, Dusseldorf, closed fiscal 2020 with the third-best operating result of the company?s recent history. Despite the critical strain on the business with automotive products, the Group successfully offset the losses from the first half of 2020 in the Automotive sector and generated a positive operating result in 2020 as a whole. In conjunction with the successful business performance in the Defence sector, the Group?s consolidated operating result in 2020 came to ?426 million. Given the Group?s robust financial position and results of operations, Rheinmetall AG intends to pay the shareholders a dividend of ?2.00 per share for the past fiscal year. Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG: ?We are proud that we coped so successfully with the coronavirus crisis in 2020, which was our third-best year in terms of our operating result. Our liquidity did not suffer. On the contrary, we are reporting strong cash flow of over ?200 million. This means that we are able to propose a dividend of ?2.00 to the Annual General Meeting. And with regard to our markets, we acquired many important orders and increased our order backlog to a record figure of over ?13 billion. On top of this come our framework agreements for military trucks and ammunition worth more than ?3.5 billion.? ?Our successes in the past fiscal year make us extra motivated to usher in a new important chapter in the company?s history in 2021. We are ending the current partition into the Automotive and Defence sectors and placing the Group?s five divisions under the direct leadership of the Group?s Executive Board. By repositioning as an integrated technology group, we also intend in particular to promote technology sharing among the divisions. At the same time, we will practice active portfolio management and concentrate on the business areas with sustainable and value-enhancing potential for growth and earnings. Security technology and electromobility will be of central importance here.? Group proves resilient in the crisis: Sales and operating result remain at a high level ? order backlog reaches a new high at over ?13 billion In fiscal 2020, which was strongly impacted by the global coronavirus crisis, the Rheinmetall Group generated consolidated sales of ?5,875 million. This meant that sales were down by ?380 million or 6% on the previous year; the sales decline adjusted for currency and M&A effects was 5.5%. That said, fiscal 2020 was characterized by the contrary development of sales in the Automotive and Defence sectors. While the Defence sector increased its sales once again, Automotive?s sales performance was influenced by negative development in the global automotive industry, where production and sales figures in 2020 fell well short of previous years. At 66%, the international share of consolidated sales in the year under review was lower than the previous year?s figure of 69%. On December 31, 2020, the order backlog in the Rheinmetall Group was ?13.4 billion, a new high. This represents an increase on the figure at the end of the previous year (?10.8 billion on December 31, 2019) of around ?2.5 billion or 23%. In fiscal 2020, the Rheinmetall Group achieved a consolidated operating result (EBIT before special items) of ?426 million, which was ?79 million lower than the corresponding previous year result (?505 million). The Group?s operating margin was 7.3%, which was slightly lower than the previous year?s figure of 8.1%. The operating result in fiscal 2020 was adjusted for special items totaling ?337 million. These special items mainly related to the non-cash impairment of ?300 million that was incurred in the Automotive sector as a result of the lower growth momentum in international automotive manufacturing that became apparent in the medium term. The special items also included provisions of ?40 million for restructuring measures in the Automotive sector. Positive special items of ?3 million were recognized in the Defence sector, which were due to restructuring measures (?-7 million) and a subsequent purchase price adjustment in connection with the sale of a product area in fiscal 2012 (?10 million). Taking into account all special items, EBIT in the Rheinmetall Group was ?89 million, down ?422 million on the previous year?s figure of ?512 million. Earnings after taxes of ?1 million were ?353 million lower than the previous year?s figure of ?354 million. After deduction of earnings attributable to non-controlling interests of ?27 million (previous year: ?19 million), earnings attributable to shareholders of Rheinmetall AG were ?-27 million, compared with ?335 million in the previous year. This results in earnings per share of ?-0.62, compared with ?7.77 in the previous year. In fiscal year 2020, earnings per share adjusted for special items amounted to ?5.88. On this basis, a dividend payment for fiscal 2020 of ?2.00 per share will be proposed to the Annual General meeting, compared with ?2.40 in the previous year. This equates to a payout ratio of 34% of adjusted earnings per share (previous year: 31%). The operating free cash flow generated in the Rheinmetall Group in fiscal 2020 amounted to ?217 million or 3.7% of sales. It was therefore at the upper end of the target range of 2% to 4% of sales. Defence: Operating result increases by 21% to ?414 million,?operating margin rises to a good 11% In 2020, the business performance with Defence products was again characterized by the high worldwide demand in the military sector and by Rheinmetall?s successful positioning in major markets around the globe. The Defence sector generated sales of ?3,723 million in fiscal 2020, exceeding the previous year?s figure by ?201 million or around 6%. Taking into account exchange rate changes and M&A activities, organic growth was approximately 5%. The increase in sales was achieved through, among other factors, the higher supply volumes of Boxer vehicles to the Australian armed forces and the shipment of logistic vehicles (trucks) to the German armed forces. The Vehicle Systems division increased its sales by 2% to ?1,823 million in fiscal 2020. In the Weapon and Ammunition division, growth in export business and the supply of medical protective equipment led to a sales increase of around 17% to ?1,196 million. The Electronic Solutions division, on the other hand, suffered a slight dip in sales of nearly 2% to ?931 million. Rheinmetall Defence acquired orders of ?6,387 million in the period under review, after ?5,186 million in the previous year. This represents an increase of ?1,201 million, or 23%. The Hungarian armed forces? order for over 200 units of the newly developed Lynx infantry fighting vehicle amounted to over ?2 billion and was thus the largest single order on the books. Further orders were also acquired for military logistic vehicles for the German armed forces with a total value of ?865 million, including special swap body trucks for nearly ?300 million and other logistic vehicles worth over ?450 million. The Defence sector?s overall book-to-bill ratio was 1.7 in 2020 (previous year: 1.5). Each Defence division had a book-to-bill ratio of more than 1, which underscores their future growth potential. As of December 31, 2020, the order backlog was ?12.9 billion. Compared with the figure of ?10.4 billion at the end of the previous year, this represents an increase of ?2.5 billion or 24%. The operating result (EBIT before special items) amounted to ?414 million in fiscal 2020, after the previous year?s figure of ?343 million. This means that earnings improved by 21%, particularly due to the positive development in the Weapon and Ammunition (+50%) and Electronic Solutions (+23%) divisions, while the Vehicle Systems division?s operating result was at the same high level as in the previous year. The operating margin in the Defence business therefore increased from 9.8% in the previous year to 11.1% in the period under review. Automotive: Positive operating result ? upward trend in the second half of 2020 In the Automotive sector, the negative impact of the coronavirus crisis left its mark in all relevant markets. The first half of 2020 was particularly affected, with a sharp drop in sales of -34% as a result of the extensive production shutdowns in automotive plants outside China during the second quarter. This was followed by improved business performance in the second half of the year with the gradual restart of global vehicle production. However, the sector?s sales for 2020 as a whole declined by 21% or ?585 million to ?2,151 million. Adjusted for currency effects, the decline in sales was 19%. According to the latest market data, global automotive production shrank by over 16% in the same period. In fiscal 2020, the Mechatronics division?s sales fell by 21% to ?1,202 million, with the greatest decline in sales with customers in Europe. Sales in the Hardparts division came to ?688 million and were thus 27% lower than in the previous year. For small-bore pistons, this sales decline was chiefly attributable to the performance of the markets in Europe and North America, whereas large-bore pistons suffered in general from the global weakness in this market segment. In contrast, sales in the Aftermarket division proved largely stable during the crisis and fell by only 4% to ?345 million. The joint ventures operated with Chinese partners in China and Germany are accounted for using the equity method and are therefore not included in consolidated sales. The sales of these companies totaled ?1,129 million in 2020, which corresponds to a decline of 11% year-on-year, or 9% after adjustment for currency effects. The operating result of Rheinmetall Automotive (EBIT before special items) was ?33 million in the year under review, after ?184 million in the previous year. Despite the substantial declines in sales, the Automotive sector managed to generate a positive operating result. This is thanks primarily to strict cost management and an extensive production adjustment program introduced immediately in the early phase of the pandemic. The operating margin in fiscal 2020 decreased to 1.5%, compared with 6.7% in the previous year. Rheinmetall Group forecast for 2021 and new medium-term targets foresee sales growth and improved margins In the course of restructuring the Group, the organisational separation of Rheinmetall into two halves, Automotive and Defence, will be eliminated. Therefore the reporting from fiscal 2021 onward will be exclusively at Group and division level. Based on the current outlooks for the relevant markets, Rheinmetall anticipates growth in the Group?s sales over fiscal 2021 and both an improved operating result and an improved operating margin. The Rheinmetall Group?s annual sales are expected to increase by between 7% and 9% against the previous year?s level in fiscal 2021 (previous year: ?5,875 million). Based on this sales forecast and taking into account holding costs, an improvement in the Group operating result and an increase in the Group operating margin to between 8% and 9% (previous year: 7.3%) are expected in fiscal 2021. Development of divisions and business areas in fiscal 2021 For the Vehicle Systems division, Rheinmetall anticipates a continued growth trajectory for sales, which in 2021 will be supported in particular by shipments of logistic vehicles to the German armed forces and by the Australian Boxer order (pro forma sales 2020: ?1,846 million). In terms of margin development, on the basis of the planned product mix the operating margin is expected to reach the high level of the previous year (pro forma margin 2020: 8.1%). In the Weapon and Ammunition division, the German armed forces? munitions procurement programs as well as sales from international orders are contributing to the continued growth trajectory in fiscal 2021. Significant growth in sales (previous year: ?1,196 million) and a year-on-year improvement in the operating margin (previous year: 15.5%) are expected for the division in 2021. For the Electronic Solutions division, Rheinmetall anticipates slight growth in sales in 2021, which will not start to pick up speed until subsequent years with the rise in unit figures for large-volume vehicle programs (pro forma sales 2020: ?935 million). The operating margin is expected to be on a par with the previous year (pro forma margin 2020: 9.8%). In light of the projected market recovery and the envisaged series launch of new products in fiscal 2021, the Sensors and Actuators division is anticipating significant growth in sales (previous year?s sales: ?1,202 million). On the basis of this higher sales forecast, the division is expecting to see a substantial increase in its operating margin (previous year: 3.0%). Strong growth in sales is also expected for the Materials and Trade division in fiscal 2021 (pro forma sales 2020: ?546 million). Based on this growth, the division is also anticipating a tangible improvement in its operating margin (pro forma margin 2020: 5.2%). The non-core small- and large-bore pistons business is also expecting to see sales pick up, albeit with the growth momentum dampened by the continuing downturn on the large-bore pistons markets (pro forma sales 2020: ?479 million). In terms of the operating result and the operating margin, a return to positive figures is expected after a loss in fiscal 2020 (pro forma margin 2020: -4.5%). Medium-term targets for 2025 Looking ahead to 2025, Rheinmetall has set new medium-term targets for sales, earnings and cash flow. Consolidated sales in the five divisions of the core business are to increase to a total of around ?8.5 billion by 2025. The Group?s profitability is to improve by the same date, resulting in an operating margin of at least 10%. The target corridor for operating free cash flow in 2025 has been increased to around 3% to 5% of sales. ? Forward-looking statements and projections This publication includes forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Rheinmetall AG?s current estimates and projections and information available at this stage. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance. They depend on a number of factors, include various risks and uncertainties and are based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. Rheinmetall is under no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in this publication. With an aim of increasing access to post Gender Based Violence (GBV) services for adolescent girls and young women, a group of students from Makerere University under Resilient Africa Network have launched a mobile application that will enable victims to access post gender-based violence services. According to Arafat Kabugo one of the innovators, "Centres4Her" is an innovative digital platform on smartphones that links GBV survivors to the nearest service point within a 10km radius from where they are. "This application can be downloaded free of charge from Google play store can be helpful to those in need of services," he said. He says that services provided include; HIV testing centres, hospitals, health centres, psychosocial support and rehabilitation centres, shelters, pro bono legal services, police surgeons as well as comprehensive family planning services. In 2019, Centers4Her with support from UN Women and Resilient Africa Network was piloted at Makerere University to assess usability and feasibility among university students. "With over 500 downloads to date, Centres4Herr has moved to scale up in communities around Kampala working with GBV, HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) minded partners including Marie Stopes, Naguru Teenage information and health centre, Makerere University Gender mainstreaming directorate among others with an aim of increasing access to post GBV services alongside HIV and SRHR services targeting adolescent girls and young women between 10-24 years," he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Women Innovation By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Kabugo added that the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey revealed that up to 22% of women aged 15 to 49 in the country had experienced some form of sexual violence and that annually, 13% of women aged 15 to 49 report experiencing sexual violence which translates to more than 1 million women exposed to sexual violence every year in Uganda and it is for such reason that they decided to come up with such an innovation to help in that fight against gender based violence. Terry Don Waboga another member of the team said the notion of domestic violence is relatively new and largely unknown to the Ugandan society with many citizens believing that the term refers to the most serious cases where severe physical injury is sustained by the victim hence living many gender based cases unattended to. Apart from lack of awareness of what constitutes violence, other barriers to accessing help by the victims include stigmatization and the lack of responsiveness of mostly male police officers. He said that they hope to scale to all parts of the country after acquiring the USSD code that allows even those without smartphones to access the services. According to the Uganda Police Crime Report, 7.2 per cent (15,638 cases) of all crimes reported in 2019 were sex related. The mid-year Uganda Police Crime Report (January - June, 2020) shows that on average, a total of 2,707 cases of sexual and gender-based violence were reported to police every month. SUZHOU, China, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics ("WuXi Bio") (2269.HK), a global company with leading open-access biologics technology platforms, today announced it has entered into a purchase agreement with CBC Group ("CBC"), a healthcare-dedicated investment firm, and other companies including Ming Bioventures under which WuXi Bio will acquire over 90% interest of CMAB Biopharma Group ("CMAB"). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. As a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) based in Suzhou, China, CMAB provides comprehensive services from cell-line development, process development to clinical GMP manufacturing and has over 250 employees. Upon transaction completion, WuXi Biologics will increase 7000L drug substance capacity (MFG21) and drug product capacity (DP11) for liquid and lyophilization within its global manufacturing network. Furthermore, WuXi Biologics and CBC will also establish a strategic collaboration to enable CBC portfolio companies to discover, develop and manufacture biologics. This also reflects the joint efforts between the two companies in strengthening the immersive end-to-end solutions ecosystem in the new era of biologics innovation worldwide. "This achievement is a reflection of the talent and hard work of the CMAB team in creating this robust business over the last four years," said Mengjiao Jiang, Chairman of the Board, CMAB, and Managing Director of CBC Group. "As a leading healthcare investment firm in Asia with global presence, we are very pleased to enter into this agreement given WuXi Biologics' capabilities to further serve our clients and we are looking forward to collaborating with them on multiple levels. This agreement with WuXi Biologics creates significant value for CMAB shareholders while enhancing the potential of CMAB to provide future commercial-scale services to our customers." "We're glad to work with CBC to achieve this partnership, which underscores our continuous commitment to expanding our capacities and capabilities to enable global partners and solidify our leadership in China. This acquisition will bring us the experienced development and manufacturing team, high-demand DS and DP manufacturing capacities as well as a new portfolio of biologics for accelerated commercialization. This win-win partnership with CBC will also allow us to gain more new clients and strategic partnerships," said Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics. "With globally recognized technical capabilities and unparalleled capacities, WuXi Biologics will continue to enable global partners to benefit patients worldwide." About WuXi Biologics WuXi Biologics (stock code: 2269.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, is a leading global open-access biologics technology platform offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop, and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. The company's history and achievements demonstrate its commitment to providing a truly one-stop service offering and strong value proposition to its global clients. As of June 30, 2020, there were a total of 286 integrated projects, including 141 projects in pre-clinical development stage, 125 projects in early-phase (phase I and II) clinical development, 19 projects in late-phase (phase III) development and one project in commercial manufacturing. With total estimated capacity for biopharmaceutical production planned in China, Ireland, the U.S., Germany, and Singapore exceeding 300,000 liters after 2023, WuXi Biologics will provide its biomanufacturing partners with a robust and premier-quality global supply chain network. For more information about WuXi Biologics, please visit: www.wuxibiologics.com. About CBC Group CBC Group (formerly C-Bridge Capital) is one of the largest and most active healthcare-dedicated investment firms in Asia focused on platform-building and buyout opportunities across three core areas within the healthcare sector: pharmaceutical & biotech, medtech and healthcare services. CBC's operationally intensive approach empowers healthcare sector champions to make transformative changes to enable sustainable long-term growth, fulfill unmet medical needs and continuously improve the standard of living and quality of care in China and the rest of Asia. Founded in 2014, CBC Group has a strong team of investment, healthcare and portfolio management professionals based across Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York. For more information, please visit www.cbridgecap.com. SOURCE WuXi Biologics Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Information on individuals' mobility--where they go as measured by their smartphones--has been used widely in devising and evaluating ways to respond to COVID-19, including how to target public health resources. Yet little attention has been paid to how reliable these data are and what sorts of demographic bias they possess. A new study tested the reliability and bias of widely used mobility data, finding that older and non-White voters are less likely to be captured by these data. Allocating public health resources based on such information could cause disproportionate harms to high-risk elderly and minority groups. The study, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Stanford University, appears in the Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, a publication of the Association for Computing Machinery. "Older age is a major risk factor for COVID-19-related mortality, and African-American, Native-American, and Latinx communities bear a disproportionately high burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths," explains Amanda Coston, a doctoral student at CMU's Heinz College and Machine Learning Department, who led the study as a summer research fellow at Stanford University's Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab. "If these demographic groups are not well represented in data that are used to inform policymaking, we risk enacting policies that fail to help those at greatest risk and further exacerbating serious disparities in the health care response to the pandemic." During the COVID-19 pandemic, mobility data have been used to analyze the effectiveness of social distancing policies, illustrate how people's travel affects transmission of the virus, and probe how different sectors of the economy have been affected by social distancing. Yet despite the high-stakes settings in which this information has been used, independent assessments of the data's reliability are lacking. In this study, the first independent audit of demographic bias of a smartphone-based mobility dataset used in the response to COVID-19, researchers assessed the validity of SafeGraph data. This widely used mobility dataset contains information from approximately 47 million mobile devices in the United States. The data come from mobile applications, such as navigation, weather, and social media apps, where users have opted in to location tracking. When COVID-19 began, SafeGraph released much of its data for free as part of the COVID-19 Data Consortium to enable researchers, nonprofits, and governments to gain insight and inform responses. As a result, SafeGraph's mobility data have been used widely in pandemic research, including by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and to inform public health orders and guidelines issued by governors' offices, large cities, and counties. Researchers in this study sought to determine whether SafeGraph data accurately represent the broader population. SafeGraph has reported publicly on the representativeness of its data. But the researchers suggest that because the company's analysis examined demographic bias only at Census-aggregated levels and did not address the question of demographic bias for inferences specific to places of interest (e.g. voting places), an independent audit was necessary. A major challenge in conducting such an audit is the lack of demographic information--SafeGraph data do not contain demographics such as age and race. In this study, researchers showed how administrative data can provide the demographic information necessary for a bias audit, supplementing the information gathered by SafeGraph. They used North Carolina voter registration and turnout records, which typically include information on age, gender, and race, as well as voters' travel to a polling location on Election Day. Their data came from a private voter file vendor that combines publicly available voter records. In all, the study included 539,000 voters from North Carolina who voted at 558 locations during the 2018 general election. The researchers deemed this sample highly representative of all voters in that state. The study identified a sampling bias in the SafeGraph data that under-represents two high-risk groups, which the authors called particularly concerning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, older and minority voters were less likely to be captured by the mobility data. This could lead jurisdictions to under-allocate important health resources, such as pop-up testing sites and masks, to vulnerable populations. "While SafeGraph information may help people make policy decisions, auxiliary information, including prior knowledge about local populations, should also be used to make policy decisions about allocating resources," suggests Alexandra Chouldechova, assistant professor of statistics and public policy at CMU, who coauthored the study. The authors also call for more work to determine how mobility data can be more representative, including asking firms that provide this kind of data to be more transparent in including the sources of their data (e.g., identifying which smartphone applications were used to access the information). Among the study's limitations, the authors note that in the United States, voters tend to be older and include more White people than the general population, so the study's results may underestimate the sampling bias in the general population. Additionally, since SafeGraph provides researchers with an aggregated version of the data for privacy reasons, researchers could not test for bias at the individual voter level. Instead, the authors tested for bias at physical places of interest, finding evidence that SafeGraph is more likely to capture traffic to places frequented by younger, largely White visitors than to places frequented by older, largely non-White visitors. More generally, the study shows how administrative data can be used to overcome the lack of demographic information, which is a common hurdle in conducting bias audits. Rome, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Mar, 2021 ) :Italy will resume administering AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccines on Friday after the EU's drugs regulator declared them safe, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. Italy suspended the use of the jab on Monday, one of a number of European countries taking precautionary action following concerns it was linked to blood clots. "The administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine will resume tomorrow. The government's priority remains to carry out as many vaccinations as possible in the shortest possible time," Draghi said in a statement. Italy's health regulator AIFA will first have to lift the ban but the health ministry said it expects AstraZeneca jabs to again be in use from 3:00pm (1400 GMT). Almost 104,000 people with coronavirus have died in Italy since it swept through the country one year ago, and the death toll is still rising by hundreds each day. Draghi's government has said the vaccination campaign, which has had a slow start, is the only way out of the crisis. It has set a target to triple vaccinations to 500,000 per day by mid-April and to fully vaccinate 80 per cent of the population by mid-September. However, there are fears the AstraZeneca row could strengthen opposition to the campaign in a country where so-called anti-vaxxer sentiment was already widespread. An EMG institute survey for the Adnkronos news agency published Wednesday asked respondents if the affair had damaged their confidence in vaccines, to which 49 percent answered yes and 49 percent no. Government sources told AFP this week that the suspension of the AstraZeneca jabs meant around 200,000 fewer vaccinations this week. This recognition affirms our commitment to forward-thinking real asset investments that produce differentiated, sustainable results," said Brennan Potts, CEO of Accelerate. Companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas list employed more than 44,000 people. Inc. magazine today revealed that Accelerate Resources is No. 41 on its second annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Texas-based private companies. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Texas economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. We are honored to be ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the Texas region by Inc., said Brennan Potts, CEO of Accelerate. This recognition affirms our commitment to forward-thinking real asset investments that produce differentiated, sustainable results. The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in Texas. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 210 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 44,000 people and added more than $9 billion to the Texas economy. Companies based in the largest metro areasDallas, Houston, and Austinbrought in the highest revenue overall. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Texas, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/texas starting March 16, 2021. This list proves the power of companies in Texas no matter the industry, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. Accelerate is a technology- and data-driven investment management company focused on mission-critical real asset investing in both traditional energy and sustainable infrastructure. Accelerate is driven to deliver impactful value for stakeholders, the community, and the planet by deploying a next-generation approach to powering the new economy. For more information about Accelerate Resources, visit https://www.accelerate-resources.com. More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. NEW MILFORD Its been about a year since classes went remote, and the district has started to bring each of its public schools fully back to in-person learning for all. On April 26, the district plans to bring back the middle and high school for a full schedule of in-person learning. Pre-K- through- second-grade students returned first on March 1, and then two weeks later on March 15, third through fifth grade returned. While students and parents can still opt to learn on a remote or hybrid schedule, they now have the option to be in-person if they choose. Until then, middle and high schoolers will begin a half-day of in-person instruction each Wednesday, with two groups Cohort A and B rotating in every week. The schools will continue with this schedule throughout April. Based on a surveys sent to families, the middle and high school are expecting 82 to 85 percent of students to be back for full in-person learning, with the rest opting to remain remote, according to an email from New Milford Superintendent Alisha DiCorpo. With more faculty and parents getting vaccinated, other schools in the area are starting similar efforts to return to the classroom. Only about 10 percent of Region 12 school students are still doing remote learning, said Megan Bennett, superintendent for the district that covers Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington. Bethel High School returned fully in-person this week. Other Bethel schools have already been fully open. Its so great to see so many kids at the building at the high school, Superintendent Christine Carver said. Desks are at least three feet apart, per guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, but most are between a 5 - to- six-foot distance, she said. You try to maximize to the six feet, but clearly its not that way in every classroom, Carver said. Around 73 percent of Bethel High School students have opted to move to in-person, while the rest have remained on distance learning. In Danbury, school officials are hoping to return to in-person learning five days a week next month, but wont be able to bring back all full-time remote students due to a lack of space. Yet, social distancing precautions and returns to remote learning due to COVID infections and school vacations will persist throughout the region. For April 19 through April 23, the week following New Milfords spring break, DiCorpo announced schools would return to a remote schedule in order to mitigate COVID-19 infection. She wrote in a letter to parents that this had proven a very successful strategy in the past. Classes will resume in-person on April 26. Last week, the school district only had one student and one staff member test positive, DiCorpo said at a board meeting Tuesday. We are seeing our numbers climb this week in relation to a center that had an exposure, so next week our numbers are slated to climb just a little bit, she said. New Milford schools plan to order materials to ensure proper social distancing measures, which will be set up by facilities in common areas, like the cafeteria, DiCorpo said. The Board of Education approved COVID-related materials and staffing requests at its meeting Tuesday, which will cost almost $161,000. This includes over $100,000 in plexiglass shields alone, the board said. Federal COVID relief funds, as well as money the schools already receive from the town, would go toward any extra staffing and material costs both this year and next, DiCorpo explained to Mayor Pete Bass during a special virtual town hall on March 11. Before students return, DiCorpo said she plans to walk through each building with Health Director Lisa Morrissey, the director of facilities and the school principals prior to opening, so the team can review all areas to ensure student safety. The same walk-through will occur once students are back in classrooms. Each school will have its own parents night before reopening to walk them through the building and answer lingering safety and logistics questions. Since taking over as superintendent, DiCorpo has had her hands full with organizing the school reopenings. Theres a lot of factors, a lot of moving parts, she said during the mayors town hall. She assured parents that social workers, guidance counselors and support teams are ready for any needs the students have as they integrate back into schools. Were all here to support you and we can only do that if we work together, so thats a great start, she said. Its all a team effort for, you know, really educating and taking care of our kids, Bass responded. TAKE OUR SURVEY ~~TELL US HOW WE ARE DOING By Bob Cunningham 18 When Baili Null took a career test at Dublin (Ohio) Coffman High School and it recommended the field of architecture, little did she know how spot on it was. Null, a Bowling Green State University senior majoring in architecture, recently was chosen to serve on the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) National Board of Directors as Midwest quad director for 2021-2022. It's very exciting, she said. I mean, AIAS is the student component of the American Institute of Architecture, which is a very big deal. Pretty much every registered architect is a part of AIA. Hopefully, it will provide some room for growth after graduation. AIAS, founded in 1956, is an international organization for college-level students of architecture. It is the primary membership and advocacy organization for architecture students in the United States with international chapters and members as well. The organization also fulfills an advocacy role by representing its members to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA)[JC1] , the American Institute of Architects (AIA), National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). BGSU received accreditation in 2019 for its Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) professional degree in the Department of Architecture and Environmental Design in the School of the Built Environment in the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering. It has been an honor to know and work with Baili as former AIAS BGSU Chapter vice president and now the Midwest quadrant director, said Dr. Arsenio Rodrigues, director of the School of the Built Environment. Throughout her time at BGSU, Baili has demonstrated tremendous potential in her various leadership roles in the AIAS BGSU chapter. She has served as a strong and respected leader in our community. From her first year to today, her passion for the organization has never stopped growing. And she has exemplified the mission of design, leadership and service to her peers and the BGSU AIAS. We are so proud of her accomplishments. The BGSU AIAS chapter had a small presence when Null was in her freshman year, but that soon changed with her guidance. I've been on the board now for a few years and we've just really helped the chapter grow, she said. We doubled in size and I've been serving as the vice president for the last year. The VP role really focuses on growing membership. The Midwest club director kind of has that same role for the entire quad in the Midwest, so I just decided to run for it. Null was into art in high school and took a leap of faith after her career test by enrolling at the University without even visiting Bowling Green. Architecture is my whole personality now, but when you're in high school there's just very little effort to educate students on the process of becoming an architect, she said. Most fields don't require a license to practice unless it's medical or law, so it really wasn't even something I understood when I was applying to schools. I am from Columbus, and I knew I wanted to stay in Ohio. Looking back now, Null feels fortunate to have picked BGSU. I think the whole experience has been great, she said. I think that there have been a lot of opportunities to get more involved in the policy of architecture at BGSU that I wouldnt necessarily have had at other schools. At Bowling Green, youre always involved with the faculty and that has definitely helped the program. Plus, the students who are part of the program seem very involved, very engaged. If not for the positive environment fostered at the School of the Built Environment, I dont think I would have joined AIAS or run for the national board or anything like that. I just think we have a really strong and close-knit community in the school. It really does have the potential to help shape people into stronger leaders than most universities programs. Another thing that separates BGSU from other architecture schools is the Department of Construction Management, which also is housed in the School of the Built Environment. I think that the biggest thing that BGSU has done during my time here is that our director, Arsenio Rodrigues, recently brought the architecture and construction management programs together, Null said. Its a major industry problem because architects and construction managers don't always work well together in the real world, but you have to or you'll never build anything. It's just a much more pragmatic approach to the entire building process. I think a lot of architecture schools are a lot more theory based and it just doesn't really set you up to actually practice architecture. That's definitely been a major benefit of the BGSU program. Null said the smaller, more personal environment that BGSUs architecture program offers has many benefits. It's just a more intimate setting to learn, she said. You would think that wouldnt be the case with a younger program like ours, but students have more one-on-one time with professors at BGSU. At other schools, you might be just a number there. I know a lot of our faculty personally just because I've spent so much time with them. Null, who will graduate at the end of the semester, has been working remotely for Gutknecht Construction of Columbus since her first co-op. She plans to keep working there when she attends graduate school. The Government today pointed out that all COVID-19 vaccines used in Hong Kong are authorised for emergency use in accordance with the Prevention & Control of Disease (Use of Vaccines) Regulation to ensure the relevant vaccines meet the requirements of safety, efficacy and quality. The Government said it has noticed that individual organisations used the name of medical professionals to claim that the Sinovac vaccine has insufficient data, thus shaking public confidence in vaccination. It stressed that vaccination is an important public health measure to control COVID-19 effectively. The public health authorities have all along been implementing the vaccination programme based on scientific evidence and in adherence to the principles of openness and transparency, providing the public with the choice of vaccines from different technology platforms. The Government emphasised that faced with the raging epidemic, the community should work together to fight the virus and it encouraged citizens to actively get vaccinated in order to protect themselves, their families, the healthcare system and even the whole population. It pointed out that medical professionals should, following the spirit of protecting public health and the principle of adhering to medical evidence, explain to people the benefits and risks of getting vaccinated. No political considerations should be involved. Individual organisations which used the name of medical professionals to, based on political stance, spread rumours to the public regarding vaccination and target individual vaccines attempting to smear the vaccination programme and mislead citizens to resist getting vaccinated are placing individual political gains on top of public health. The Government said such behaviour should be condemned. In accordance with the regulation, the Secretary for Food & Health, after making reference to the advice of the Advisory Panel on COVID-19 Vaccines and having considered the threat to public health posed by COVID-19, considers that the authorisation of the Sinovac vaccine is necessary and in the public interest and has authorised the emergency use of the relevant vaccine in Hong Kong according to the regulation. According to the information provided by Sinovac to the advisory panel, in the Phase 3 clinical trials conducted in Brazil, mainly targeting around 12,000 healthcare workers aged above 18, including around 600 seniors aged above 60 who have contact with COVID-19 patients, for the around 10,000 trial participants who received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine, the overall vaccine efficacy was 50.65% after 14 days. The results indicated that, in the clinical trials, comparing subjects who received the vaccine and those who did not, receiving the vaccine could lower the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 50.65%. The above analysis encompassed only groups who experienced mild symptoms without the need for medical attention. As regards the groups who experienced symptoms and required medical attention or had more severe conditions, the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine was 83.7%. The efficacy for preventing hospitalisation and serious cases involving severe conditions or even death reached 100%. However, the relevant case numbers are relatively fewer, hence further study would be necessary for confirmation. The procedures for the advisory panel to examine the information and data and the Government to approve the authorisation are stringent and comprehensive. The procedures met all the relevant requirements under the regulation and were no different from those adopted for approving another vaccine for emergency use in Hong Kong, BioNTech, earlier. As regards the use of Sinovac vaccine on people aged 60 or above, according to the information provided by Sinovac, the Sinovac vaccine was suitable for preventive vaccination for people aged 18 or above. The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging & Zoonotic Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health and the Chief Executive's expert advisory panel examined the available information and data having regard to the information provided by Sinovac to the advisory panel. They considered that the benefit of using the Sinovac vaccine generally exceeds the risk of not using any vaccines in people aged 60 or above. According to the information provided by the drug manufacturer, so far over 40 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine have been administered around the world. According to statistics derived from the clinical trials of the Sinovac vaccine, so far there is no evidence indicating a direct causal relationship between receiving the relevant vaccine and a number of very severe adverse events such as death cases. As regards the severe adverse events in Hong Kong which occurred after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, in accordance with the Department of Healths pharmacovigilance system, the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment Following COVID-19 Immunisation will conduct causality assessments on all important adverse events based on guidelines by the World Health Organization when necessary information for the cases is available. So far, the expert committees assessment results have not indicated any causal relationship between death cases and the administration of vaccines. The Government explained that from the medical professional and science perspectives, so far there is no evidence pointing to the need to cast doubt on the safety of the two COVID-19 vaccines now made available to citizens and emphasised that the relevant vaccines are effective and of good quality. The Hospital Authority issued a statement regarding the dissemination of unfounded allegations towards the COVID-19 vaccination scheme by some healthcare workers. It stated that while strongly refuting the unfounded allegations by some healthcare workers on the vaccination scheme, the authority strongly urges them to stop further promulgation of the information and avoid misleading the public. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A teenage girl was spied on and filmed through cameras illegally hidden in her home for six years, police allege after arresting a man in Victoria. An investigation began in May 2020 after the devices were found concealed in a home near Canberra. A 67-year-old man known to the girl was arrested in Victoria on Tuesday. A teenage girl was spied on and filmed through cameras illegally hidden in her home for six years, police allege after arresting a man in Victoria (stock image) The man was extradited to NSW, and charged with five aggravated counts of filming a person in a private act without consent. Police say he filmed the girl for six years from the age of 11. It will be alleged the man hid multiple cameras and devices in rooms frequented by the girl, police say. The man was refused bail and will appear in Queanbeyan Local Court on Thursday. Burma Myanmars Ethnic Chinese Deny Allegiance to Beijing as They Risk Lives Against Junta Kyal Sin (left), Khant Nyar Hein (middle), and Kyaw Win Ko (right) Please dont hate Chinese in Myanmar. We were born here, a mournful mother of an ethnic Chinese teenager appealed to the people of Myanmar shortly after her son was shot dead by police in Yangon. An ethnic Chinese, Khant Nyar Hein or Lin Yaozong, 18, was shot down on the street by the military regimes security forces on Sunday in Tamwe Township while he was taking part in a protest. He became one of more than 200 civilians killed by police and soldiers in a flurry of lethal force unleashed on peaceful protesters following the Feb. 1 coup. Those who learned of the fate of the first-year medical student were saddened and sympathetic to his mother, who has lost her only son. But the grieving mother has something larger to worry about the growing anti-Chinese sentiment among Myanmars population due to Beijings friendly and internationally protective stand in support of the Myanmar military regime in spite of the deadly crackdown. China is Myanmars biggest neighbor in the north and has long history of cozy relations with Myanmars generals. China recently drew the ire of Myanmars people when Beijing urged the regime to immediately take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese companies and personnel after some Chinese-owned factories in Yangons Hlaing Thayar were set fire during a confrontation between security forces and protesters in the area. The statement from the Chinese Embassy in Yangon failed to condemn the fatal use of force and expressed no sorrow over the bloodshed. At her sons funeral Tuesday, Khant Nyar Heins mother attempted to explain to the people of Myanmar that ethnic Chinese born in Myanmar are not the same as those born in mainland China. We are full of Burmese spirit. I have lost my son because they (the coup leaders) are greedy for power, said the mournful mother, Ah Xin. I will be holding a grudge [against the junta] until the world ends, she said in tears. Khant Nyar Hein is not first person of Burmese-Chinese descent killed during the brutal crackdown by the military regimes security forces. Kyal Sin, also known as Angel or by her Chinese name, Deng Jia Xi, was shot in the head during a heavy-handed police crackdown on anti-regime protesters in downtown Mandalay in early March. The 19-year-old, a Taekwondo instructor has become a national icon in defiance of the military regime among teenagers in the country protesting the dictatorship. Before she left for the protest, she wrote on Facebook that her wish was to donate her organs if something happened to her. Another anti-coup protester, Kyaw Win Ko also known as Tai Tai, was shot dead by security forces on March 14 in North Dagon, Yangon. His friend told The Irrawaddy that family buried the 28-year-old on his birthday. He was always willing to help others. He was very brave. I am very proud of him. He was like a brother to me, Ko Nay Lin said. Since the military staged its coup, young people of Chinese descent joined young people across the country as they took to the streets, showing their stand against the junta. They also gathered several times in front of Chinese Embassy in Yangon, demanding that China stop supporting the coup leaders. They chanted in Mandarin, telling Beijing they supported the release of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained and wanted to see the restoration of democracy in their homeland. We saw a lot of anti-Chinese remarks on social media. We are very sad. I hope, people in the country realize that we are also part of this country. This is also our fight for democracy, a teenager from the Burmese-Chinese Youth Association in Mandalay, who asked not to be named, told The Irrawaddy. The Chinese Communist Party does not represent all the Chinese citizens and all Burmese-Chinese here. We would do whatever we can to restore democracy in this country, he said. China has faced severe criticism after it failed to condemn the military and blocked the UN Security Council from taking action against the coup leaders. Thousands of protesters targeted the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar for protests, accusing Beijing of supporting military junta following the coup. Anti-Chinese sentiment was sparked among the population, including calls for boycotting Chinese products and investment. On Tuesday, hundreds of mourners including medical students in white duty coats gathered at Khant Nyar Heins funeral and flashed the three-finger salute, a sign for resistance to the coup. They chanted, Our revolution must prevail. Speaking in Mandarin, the grieving grandpa of the Khant Nyar Hein directed his words at his grandsons funeral to those in power in Beijing. Chinese government! We are the overseas Chinese. In consideration of us, please help Myanmar citizens and overseas Chinese in Myanmar who are seeking democracy, he said. We hope you [the Chinese government] will think about us, the overseas Chinese. Please have sympathy for our democracy struggle. Lets bring a rollback! he added. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regime Charges Rival Vice-President with High Treason Four Ethnic Chin Protesters Killed by Myanmar Security Forces Almost 550 Student Protesters Still Being Detained by Myanmars Military Regime A French tourist in Iran has been charged with espionage. He is one of several foreigners incarcerated in Iran on contested grounds. Benjamin Briere was charged with espionage and propaganda against the system, one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday. The French national was first arrested last year after flying a remote control helicopter with camera capabilities in the desert near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. He is in good health and in contact with French consular officials. Briere is currently in the Vakilabad prison in Mashhad and faces several years in prison, according to the outlet. Briere is the latest in a series of legal cases involving foreigners in Iran who have been arrested for spying and other crimes. Some of the charges in these cases have been disputed by foreign governments and rights groups. This month, Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was freed from house arrest after five years. She was accused of plotting to topple the government. However, she now faces new charges in court. The British government has called for her immediate and full release. Iran does not recognize dual nationality. In November, Australian-British professor Kylie Moore-Gilbert was freed from prison. She was arrested in 2018 for espionage, which she continues to deny. Brieres family said he was only taking pictures of his trip and denied the charges against him, according to Reuters. The French government has protested Irans treatment of its citizens in the country before. In September, France summoned the Iranian ambassador over the issue. Briere is not the only French citizen who has faced charges in Iran recently. Iranian-French anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah was released to her family with an electronic bracelet in October. She was convicted on national security charges last year. HALIFAX - Atlantic Canada's premiers say the region's residents will be able to resume unrestricted travel between the four provinces in mid-April. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin departs a COVID-19 news conference in Halifax on Wednesday February 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tim Krochak - POOL HALIFAX - Atlantic Canada's premiers say the region's residents will be able to resume unrestricted travel between the four provinces in mid-April. The return of the so-called Atlantic bubble was jointly announced Thursday by the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin said the scheduled reopening of the bubble on April 19 is about returning to normality with COVID-19 case numbers currently low throughout the region. Atlantic premiers also want to help the region's economy while making it easier for families to visit one another, Rankin said. "For a long time we have been able to keep our borders tight, and that's proven successful, and the previous Atlantic bubble was very successful, so I'm eager to see that (opening) happen," Rankin told reporters following a cabinet meeting. The previous bubble burst in November when a number of COVID-19 outbreaks led the provinces to tighten their boundaries. The four provinces reported a total of 11 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday three in Nova Scotia, one in Newfoundland and Labrador, and seven in New Brunswick, while P.E.I. did not report. Rankin said the reopening of the bubble isn't a result of pressure from the business community. "I think that everyone has been wanting to see opportunities to travel throughout our region, and when you see that all of our cases are at the same level percentage wise, it makes sense to start looking at it," he said. The reopening is conditional on COVID-19 case numbers remaining low in the region, outbreaks being contained and on the advice of provincial medical officers. Newfoundland and Labradors participation depends on continued progress in easing its restrictions following an outbreak that swept through the St. John's region last month, the premiers' statement said. The Avalon Peninsula, which includes the provincial capital, moved to Alert Level 4 last weekend and Premier Andrew Furey said he wants the province to be at Alert Level 2 before it joins the bubble. Furey said he's cautiously optimistic the numbers will hold. "As we see the numbers go down, that builds the excitement towards an Atlantic family again," he said in an interview Thursday. Shortly before the premiers made their announcement, a Newfoundland and Labrador tourism group published a report urging Furey to open the province's borders to the rest of the country by Canada Day. The report from the premier's advisory council on tourism said the sector has been hit hard by COVID-19, and business owners are struggling. "I know that they've been the hardest hit," Furey said. "We'd love to be able to use the Atlantic bubble, when it's safe, to reintegrate with the rest of Canada during the summer but again, following the evidence and following the guidance of the chief medical officers of health." The return of the bubble means residents of the Atlantic provinces will be able to travel within the region without having to self-isolate for 14 days, but the isolation requirement will remain for visitors from other parts of Canada. Rankin said despite the pending return of the bubble and the gradual ramping up of COVID-19 vaccination programs, the region's premiers are not close to a decision on a potential reopening of boundaries with the rest of the country. "I don't think we are there yet," Rankin said. "We decided it wouldn't be appropriate at this time until we have further vaccinations out into the public." New Brunswick, however, announced Thursday it will establish a travel bubble with the Quebec regions of Temiscouata, Avignon and Listuguj First Nation. Officials, however, said residents who plan to visit New Brunswick from these areas must not have travelled outside their home regions for at least two weeks prior to their entry into the province, or they must have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks prior to travel. New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard called the development "exciting" but cautioned her province's ability to move forward would depend on its progress in curbing the virus over the next few weeks. "If we see major outbreaks, we will be forced to delay openings of these travel bubbles," Shephard told reporters in Fredericton. As well, the province announced that as of March 26, rotational workers will no longer be required to self-isolate if they have received their first dose of vaccine two weeks prior to entering the province. Workers will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing on the fifth and 10th day of their return. Those who are not vaccinated will be required to self-isolate for 14 days along with members of their household. Meanwhile, Rankin tempered his optimistic tone about the bubble as he announced Nova Scotia's first COVID-19-related death since August. A woman in her 80s from the Halifax area is the 66th person to die since the onset of the pandemic. "We have said so many times that this is such an insidious virus," Rankin said. "Although we have done well in our province to keep cases low, it's still here." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. With files from Sarah Smellie in St. John's and Danielle Edwards in Halifax. The Hague, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :The EU's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, finds itself in the hot seat on Thursday when it will decide what to do about blood clot fears over the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab. After spending much of its existence in relative obscurity, the Amsterdam-based EMA has been in the spotlight since the first coronavirus vaccines emerged late last year. Here are some key questions about the agency and the AstraZeneca investigation: - What is the EMA? - The EMA is the regulator for all human and animal medicines in the 27 nations of the European Union plus the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, testing them for safety and efficacy. Headed since late 2020 by Irish pharmaceuticals expert Emer Cooke, it moved from London to Amsterdam in 2019 because of Brexit. The AstraZeneca probe is being carried out by the EMA's safety body, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, which groups medicines experts from all 27 EU countries, as well as patients and health professionals. - When did it authorise the AstraZeneca jab? - The EMA gave the green light on January 29 to the vaccine developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The watchdog approved the vaccine for adults of all ages, despite several countries previously warning that it should not be used on older people. - What is the EMA investigating? - The EMA is investigating whether there is a scientific link between a number of "thromboembolic events" -- people suffering from blood clots -- after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Despite more than a dozen countries suspending the vaccine, the EMA says it has found "no indication" of a connection and that numbers of blood clot cases are no more than it would expect to normally find in the general population. "Our role at the EMA is to... figure out is this a real side effect of the vaccine or a coincidence," Cooke said on Tuesday, adding that experts had been working "tirelessly" since last week. The safety committee is looking at data comparing how many clot cases they would see and the vaccination rates of different countries, the agency says. But it is also carrying out a "very detailed review of individual case reports" to see if the jab had contributed or not, and whether any specific groups are involved. - What steps could it take? - The EMA safety committee is holding an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to "come to a conclusion... and to advise us whether there are any further actions that need to be taken," Cooke said. There are "a number of options" available, she added. Asked if this could involve withdrawing or suspending approval, she said that "if we believe that there is a problem that cannot be solved we will take the necessary action to deal with that." The EMA could otherwise issue an "additional warning" for the use of the vaccine, she said. - No pressure? - The EMA insists it will "focus on the science" when deciding what to do next, irrespective of national decisions. European countries have, however, made it plain they are eagerly awaiting the decision, with the EU's vaccination programme already mired in supply problems. The French president and Italian prime minister both said on Tuesday that the EMA's initial findings were "encouraging" and they would restart AstraZeneca vaccinations if the watchdog clears the jab on Thursday. Moreover, documents hacked from the EMA late last year appeared to show the regulator facing heavy pressure from the European Commission to approve vaccines as soon as possible, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported in January. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Wednesday marked the first time that the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants has risen in Spain since January 27, the day that the third wave of the pandemic peaked. Since that date this key indicator has fallen from 899.93, and yesterday came in at 127.91 according to the latest report from the Health Ministry. The rise from the previous day was barely 0.11 points, which statistically speaking is more of a plateau than an actual rise. But there are doubts as to whether the incidence could start to go up again in Spain or the increase simply marks an oscillation that can be expected when the values hit their minimum. The problem for the country is that these 127 cases per 100,000 inhabitants are still far from the 50 or 25 that the government set as a target, and that represent the epidemic as being under control. The end of the second wave was clear to see in the data on December 10, when the 14-day cumulative incidence fell to 188.72 with no oscillations seen since it fell from 529.43 on November 9. We are in a valley zone, said Health Minister Carolina Darias on Wednesday, after a meeting of the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS), which brings together her ministry and the countrys regional healthcare chiefs. Its too early to tell if we are looking at a change in trend, she insisted, and called for prudence to avoid a new uptick similar to those currently being seen in France and Italy. Its not about putting in more restrictions, but about complying with them Health Minister Carolina Darias The data arrived on Wednesday just a day before San Jose, Fathers Day, on Friday March 19, which is a holiday in parts of Spain. Whats more, Easter week is just around the corner. Inter-regional mobility is prohibited during these upcoming fiestas, but specialists still expect for there to be a rise in cases after these holiday days. They also fear that the worsening will begin from an incidence level that is already high. Darias insisted on Wednesday that this is a moment of uncertainty. We have to do our best to avoid an uptick, she said, but added that there would be no more restrictions introduced over the next few weeks. Its not about putting in more [restrictions], she argued, but about complying with them. The minister reiterated the governments plan to get the incidence down to 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, and that this should not just be down to the vaccines. She went on to call once more for individuals to be responsible. The minister also pointed to the fact that the progress of the pandemic varies from region to region. On Tuesday, for example, the average incidence across Spain fell despite the fact that it had risen in the majority of regions. This is because two of the three most-populated regions, Madrid and Catalonia, are continuing to see falls in the data point. In Wednesdays report, however, these two regions along with Andalusia, the third of that group, all saw a rise, causing the tiny increase in the average 14-day incidence. There are now five territories Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Navarre and the North African exclave city of Melilla where the incidence has risen compared to a week ago. The number of daily cases reported also rose, from 4,962 on Tuesday to 6,092 on Wednesday. But this indicator usually oscillates. The seven-day cumulative figure for new infections is not so bad: 34,015 compared to 35,780 a week ago. The official number of infections detected in Spain since the pandemic began is now 3,206,116. As for Covid-19 deaths, something similar was seen in Wednesdays report. Yesterdays figure, 228 new fatalities, was worse than Tuesdays, which came in at 141. But the seven-day cumulative figure has fallen in a week from 1,672 to 874 in Wednesdays report. The official death toll now stands at 72,793 victims in Spain. Symbolically, the best news in Wednesdays report was the occupation of intensive care unit (ICU) beds by Covid patients, which came in at 19.93%. This indicator had not fallen below 20% since the start of the second wave last summer. The number of coronavirus patients in ordinary hospital beds, meanwhile, also continues to fall, coming in at 6.45% on Wednesday compared to 7.28% a week before. English version by Simon Hunter. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Social media trolls can have a massive impact on the outcome of the 2022 election, but a "comprehensive effort" of ordinary Filipinos can beat them, a former House lawmaker said Thursday. "Grabe ang impact ng mga social media trolls, ng mga well-funded na kandidato. Sa lakas ng kanilang resources, kaya nilang mapanalo...," former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said. "Kailangan ang sambayanang Pilipino sumama dito para labanan 'yan. It will take a comprehensive effort on the part of ordinary Filipinos," [Translation: Social media trolls of well-funded candidates have a tremendous impact. With the resources that they have, they can make anyone win... Filipinos must come together to fight them. It will take a comprehensive effort on the part of ordinary Filipinos.] Colmenares spoke at the launch of 1SAMBAYAN, coalition of pro-democracy groups and personalities aiming to forge a unified opposition slate for the 2022 national elections. Colmenares also said that young people would be instrumental in combatting trolls. "Ang kabataan sila ang may gamay talaga sa social media platform na 'yan. Kung makumbinse natin ang maraming kabataan na sumama dito sa laban sa kanilang future, 100% sure tayo. Bilyon man ang gastusin nila sa trolls, kaya nating labanan at gapiin ang social media trolls ni President Duterte, he added. [Translation: Young people know how to work social media platforms. If we can convince the youth to join our fight for their future, we are 100% sure. Even if billions are spent on trolls, we can fight and win against President (Rodrigo) Duterte's trolls.] Moreover, former Education Secretary Armin Luistro, who is also one of the convenors of 1SAMBAYAN, says he believes that the Filipino youth would be a key force in the next polls. In the first place, we need to understand that young people would be a key force in the next elections, Luistro told CNN Philippines News Night. Luistro added that it would be a game changer if more young people will register to vote. Even the surveys have showed that they are really for democratic space, he said. One key area is ensuring that the young people of today will register and then vote. I think that is one key factor that we may have failed in the last elections, we have not taken the effort to ask the young people to register and vote. The launch of 1SAMBAYAN was led by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, and former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert Del Rosario. The three former officials were behind a case filed against Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, for illegal incursions in the South China Sea before the International Criminal Court. During the launch, Carpio mentioned that they would come out with their endorsement of a unified ticket at least a month before the filing of candidacy in October 2021. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was asked what he thought about the group during his regular briefing on Thursday, to which he answered, "Hindi ko po alam iyan. Hindi ko po nabasa iyan anywhere. Napakaaga namang makipag-usap ng politika. Isantabi muna habang nandito ang pandemya." [Translation: I know nothing about that. I have not read about it anywhere. It seems to be too early to talk about politics. Let's set that aside while we are in a pandemic.] In this Oct. 14, 2020, file photo, people wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus look at a display from Chinese telecommunications firm China Unicom at the PT Expo in Beijing. China's government on Thursday called on Washington to drop efforts to expel three state-owned Chinese phone companies, including China Unicom Americas, a unit of China Unicom, from the United States in a new clash over technology and security. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) China's government on Thursday called on Washington to drop efforts to expel three state-owned Chinese phone companies from the United States in a new clash over technology and security. The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to begin revoking the companies' U.S. licenses. It said they are security risks controlled by the communist Beijing government. The foreign ministry accused Washington of misusing security complaints to hurt Chinese commercial competitors. The United States should "stop the wrong practice of generalizing the concept of national security and politicizing economic issues" and "stop abusing state power to unreasonably suppress Chinese enterprises," said a ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian. The decision adds to mounting U.S.-Chinese conflict over the ruling Communist Party's industrial plans, access to American technology and accusations of computer attacks and theft of business secrets. President Joe Biden has said he wants a better relations with Beijing but has given no indication he will roll back sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump, that limit Chinese access to U.S. technology and financial markets. The latest announcement came as U.S. and Chinese envoys were flying to Alaska for the highest-level face-to-face meeting between the two sides since Biden took office in January. Zhao said Beijing will "take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises" but gave no details. Officials have issued similar warnings in the past but those usually have resulted in no action. The latest action targets China Unicom Americas, a unit of China Unicom Ltd.; Pacific Networks Corp. and ComNet (U.S.) LLC, a unit of Pacific Networks. They sell international voice and data service. The companies were ordered to explain their ownership and operations, and "failed to address the serious national security threats posed by their continued operation in the U.S.," said Commissioner Brendan Car in a statement. National security officials "advise that traffic on these networks 'remains subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government,'" Carr said. He said some Chinese telecom companies have operated in the United States for decades and "security threats have evolved substantially in the intervening years." Earlier, state-owned China Mobile Ltd. was blocked in 2019 from entering the U.S. market on security grounds. Trump also blocked access to most U.S. technology for telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies Ltd. and some other Chinese tech companies. Trump issued an order prohibiting Americans from investing in securities of companies deemed by the Pentagon to be linked to China's military. Explore further US moves toward banning more Chinese telecoms carriers: FCC 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. With the spring seeding and summer growing seasons around the corner, the Rivers Police Service is warning of the possibility of grain theft in Westman. Advertisement Advertise With Us With the spring seeding and summer growing seasons around the corner, the Rivers Police Service is warning of the possibility of grain theft in Westman. Rivers Police Chiefs Bruce Klassen said a farmer, who used to be a police officer, recently reported grain had been stolen from one of his bins near Isabella. The town is approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Brandon. While its the first instance of the grain being stolen the police service has been alerted to recently, Klassen said he wants to try to get ahead of the problem. "Out best friend is neighbourhood watch or concerned farmers looking out for other farmers. Theyre able to see something that shouldnt belong in their neighbourhood," said Klassen. "If its someone doing custom grain hauling, well phone the farmer up and say hey, you hauling any grain out today? It just is going to help us try to get ahead of that." Some yard sites on farms are very far apart, which means grain bins can be in remote locations. Klassen said it wouldnt be hard with some preplanning to steal grain. "You can make off like a bandit pretty quick." Klassen said he doesnt believe neighbouring farmers would steal each others grain. More likely, he said its someone taking advantage or in the "criminal element." Grain theft isnt something the Manitoba RCMP gets many complaints about, said RCMP spokesperson Paul Manaigre via email. On average, the police service only receives two complaints per year. It is likely grain theft happens more frequently than is reported, Manaigre said, but farmers feel the amount stolen is low. "It is very likely that farmers are either not aware of their crops being stolen or they just choose not to report it as they feel nothing can be done about it," said Manaigre. "The RCMP doesnt believe a criminal element is behind the thefts that are reported," he said. While grain theft isnt common, there are ways for farmers in the region to protect themselves and their crop, Klassen said. Many bins are powered, so cameras can be set up on them. If they are not powered, he suggested using a trail cam. "At least it gets us an idea, maybe a plate number, maybe a suspect identity that will get us little bit closer to solving it," he said. Farmers can also pick up confetti at grain elevators, which tags the grain itself as belonging to a specific farmer. Most importantly, Klassen said farmers should look out for each other and call police if they see someone suspicious. "This is a one-off right now, but its one of those things I want to get ahead of it, I want to be proactive and if we can get everybody pulling in the same direction, we stand a better chance at nipping this." dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Alexandra Sierra carried boxes of food to her kitchen counter, where her 7-year-old daughter, Rachell, stirred a pitcher of lemonade. "Oh, my God, it smells so good!" Sierra, 39, said of the bounty she'd just picked up at a food pantry, pulling out a ready-made salad and a container of soup. Sierra unpacked the donated food and planned lunch for Rachell and her siblings, ages 9 and 2, as a reporter watched through FaceTime. She said she doesn't know what they'd do without the help. The family lives in Bergen County, New Jersey, a dense grouping of 70 municipalities opposite Manhattan with about 950,000 people whose median household income ranks in the top 1% nationally. But Sierra and her husband, Aramon Morales, never earned a lot of money and are now out of work because of the pandemic. The financial fallout of covid-19 has pushed child hunger to record levels. The need has been dire since the pandemic began and highlights the gaps in the nation's safety net. While every U.S. county has seen hunger rates rise, the steepest jumps have been in some of the wealthiest counties, where overall affluence obscures the tenuous finances of low-wage workers. Such sudden and unprecedented surges in hunger have overwhelmed many rich communities, which weren't nearly as ready to cope as places that have long dealt with poverty and were already equipped with robust, organized charitable food networks. Data from the anti-hunger advocacy group Feeding America and the U.S. Census Bureau shows that counties seeing the largest estimated increases in child food insecurity in 2020 compared with 2018 generally have much higher median household incomes than counties with the smallest increases. In Bergen, where the median household income is $101,144, child hunger is estimated to have risen by 136%, compared with 47% nationally. That doesn't mean affluent counties have the greatest portion of hungry kids. An estimated 17% of children in Bergen face hunger, compared with a national average of around 25%. But help is often harder to find in wealthier places. Missouri's affluent St. Charles County, north of St. Louis, population 402,000, has seen child hunger rise by 69% and has 20 sites distributing food from the St. Louis Area Foodbank. The city of St. Louis, pop. 311,000, has seen child hunger rise by 36% and has 100 sites. "There's a huge variation in how different places are prepared or not prepared to deal with this and how they've struggled to address it," said Erica Kenney, assistant professor of public health nutrition at Harvard University. "The charitable food system has been very strained by this." Eleni Towns, associate director of the No Kid Hungry campaign, said the pandemic "undid a decade's worth of progress" on reducing food insecurity, which last year threatened at least 15 million kids. And while President Joe Biden's covid relief plan, which he signed into law March 11, promises to help with anti-poverty measures such as monthly payments to families of up to $300 per child this year, it's unclear how far the recently passed legislation will go toward addressing hunger. "It's definitely a step in the right direction," said Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. "But it's hard to know what the impact is going to be." Need grows in places of plenty After the pandemic struck, the federal government boosted benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and offered Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to compensate for free or reduced-price school meals while children were schooled from home. Sierra's family saw their SNAP benefits of about $800 a month rise slightly and got two of those P-EBT payments, worth $434 each. But at the same time, they lost their main sources of income. Sierra had to leave her Amazon warehouse job when the kids' school went remote, and Morales stopped driving for Uber when trips became scarce and he feared getting covid on top of his asthma. Federal relief wasn't enough for them and many others. So they flocked to food pantries. In theory, pantries and the food banks that supply them are part of an emergency system designed for short-term crises, Schwartz said. "The problem is, they've actually become a standard source of food for a lot of people." In Bergen County, the Center for Food Action helped 40,500 households last year, up from 23,000 the year before. In Eagle County, Colorado, where the tony ski resort Vail is located, the Community Market food bank saw its client load nearly quadruple to 4,000. And outside Boston, in the affluent Massachusetts county of Norfolk where Feeding America data shows child hunger jumped from an estimated 6% of kids to 16% Dedham Food Pantry's clients tripled to 1,800. "This is just out of control compared to other times," said Lynn Rogal, vice president of the Dedham pantry, which opened in 1990. Pantry managers said a disproportionate number of clients are from minority groups. Many lost jobs in the eviscerated service sector that undergirds the wealthier parts of their counties. Julie Yurko, CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, said up to half of her current clients have never sought help before. "In early January, we had a white minivan pull up with three kids, 5 and younger. It ran out of gas sitting there," Yurko said. "The mom was sobbing, and her beautiful children were sitting there watching her." Kelly Sirimoglu, spokesperson for New Jersey's Center for Food Action, said the stigma around seeking help can be worse in wealthy areas. She said some people tell her, "I never thought I would be in line for food." Advocates said the reluctance to seek help means the need is likely even larger than it appears. Katie Wilson of St. Charles, Missouri, said she heard about a food pantry run by the Sts. Joachim & Ann Care Service from a friend of a friend. She almost didn't go. The single mom of two children, 11 and 9, lost her job as a hotel auditor in June and tried to squeak by without her income for two months. "We found ourselves in a situation where it was a 'heat or eat' kind of thing," said Wilson, 42, describing having to choose between heating her home or buying food. "It took me looking around and saying, 'There is nothing to eat.'" Struggling to meet the need As hunger has become more visible, donations to food charities have risen. But they don't address the core problem of an infrastructure that doesn't match the new need. Some pantries are open just a few hours a week in church basements, a far cry from those that operate regularly and look like supermarkets. Many small pantries struggled to shift to outdoor food distribution during the pandemic or find new helpers when the few, often senior, volunteers felt unsafe doing the work. "It definitely is harder in these places," said Yurko, whose food bank distributes to Kendall County, Illinois, which has just three pantries for its population of 129,000. "The safety nets are not as robust." A strong safety net also requires pantries to cooperate with one another and the broader array of local social services. That's been happening for years in Flint, Michigan, said Denise Diller, executive director of Crossover Downtown Outreach Ministry, which runs a pantry. Agencies and community leaders banded together in 2014 when lead poisoned the drinking water. "When covid occurred, we were already kind of ready," Diller said. So was Atlanta. As in Flint, hunger was never hidden there; 15% of children in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, faced hunger before the pandemic. After covid suspended volunteer shifts, the Atlanta Community Food Bank asked the Georgia National Guard to help sort, pack, warehouse and deliver food to help meet the needs of the estimated 22% of kids experiencing hunger. The food bank also partnered with seven school districts on more than 30 mobile pantries. Such coordination and connections were lacking in Bergen County, where 80 pantries worked mostly in isolation when the pandemic hit, County Commissioner Tracy Zur said. "They weren't collaborating. They were going along the same path they had for decades," she said. "There was this need to break out of the old way of doing things and work together to be more impactful." Zur spearheaded the creation of a food security task force in July, reaching out to municipal and faith leaders. Goals include feeding people, connecting them to other services and turning some emergency food programs into full-fledged pantries. "Building an infrastructure is painstaking and ongoing," she said. Now, Zur said, pantries are starting to share with one another when one gets a large donation of perishable items such as eggs or milk. With the need so widespread, residents do much the same. During a recent pantry trip, Sierra, the New Jersey mom, opened the trunk of her 1999 Toyota and rummaged through the two big boxes volunteers had just placed there. She pointed to eggs, chicken, bread, butter, cheese and apples, observing, "I have more than I need." But she said it would never go to waste. Any extra would go to neighbors and their hungry children. Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony and data editor Elizabeth Lucas contributed to this story. An Elkmont man filed a federal lawsuit against the Limestone County Commission and sheriff. Edward Ronald Jones claims he was wrongfully arrested and jailed in 2020. Jones claims he was beaten by deputies. He was arrested for assault and resisting arrest. A Limestone County judge dismissed Jones' charges last month. Jones' lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The Reserve Bank of Indias (RBIs) list of systemically important banks may widen, given the changes in the pecking order after the merger of state-run players. As on date, only State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank figure in the central banks classification of domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs). The pecking order (of banks) by asset size has changed after the Centre went in for the merger of four sets of state-run banks. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A recent market study published by FMI on the Enteral Feeding Devices market includes the global industry analysis of 2015-2019 & opportunity assessment for 2020-2030, and delivers a comprehensive assessment of the most important market dynamics. Our analysts have conducted thorough research on the historical as well as current growth parameters of the market to obtain growth prospects with maximum precision. Enteral Feeding Devices Market: Segmentation Product Type Enteral Feeding Pumps Enteral Feeding Tubes Enterostomy Feeding Tubes Standard Tubes Standard Gastrostomy Tubes Standard Jejunostomy Tubes Standard Gastrojejunostromy Tubes Low Profile Tubes Low-profile Gastrostomy Tubes Low-profile Jejunostomy Tubes Nasoenteric Feeding Tubes Nasogastric Feeding Tubes Nasojejunal Feeding Tubes Nasoduodenal Feeding Tubes Oroenteric Feeding Tubes Administration Sets Enteral Syringes Consumables Application Oncology Gastroenterology Diabetes Neurological Disorders Others Age Group Adult Pediatric End-user Hospitals Specialty Clinics Ambulatory Surgical Centers Homecare Settings Others Region North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Middle East & Africa Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-12403 Report Chapters Chapter 01- Executive Summary The report gives a brief with the executive summary of the Enteral Feeding Devices market, which includes a summary of the key findings and statistics of the market. It also includes the demand & supply-side trends pertaining to the Enteral Feeding Devices market. Chapter 02 Market Overview In this chapter, readers can find the definition and a detailed taxonomy of the Enteral Feeding Devices market, which will help them understand the basic information about the Enteral Feeding Devices market. Along with this, comprehensive information about Enteral Feeding Devices is provided in this section. This section also highlights the inclusions and exclusions, which help readers understand the scope of the Enteral Feeding Devices market report. Chapter 03 Key Market Trends This section includes key trends impacting the market as well as the major development trends associated with product type development. Chapter 04- Key Success Factors This section of the report provides detailed information on the critical factors contributing to the success of the market during the 2020-2030 forecast period. It takes into account the reimbursement scenario, key regulations and value chain analysis impact the growth trajectory. Chapter 05- Market Background This section includes the prominent dynamics (drivers, restraints & opportunities) which are responsible for shaping the markets growth trajectory during the upcoming decades forecast. The chapter also explores the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future growth projections. It incorporates the current statistics and the probable future impact, current GDP projections and its probable impact. Furthermore, this section also incorporates the impact of the pandemic on each of the segments covered in the report, as well as the short-term, mid-term & long-term recovery scenarios. Chapter 06- Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Demand (in Value or Size in US$ Mn) Analysis 2015-2019 & Forecast 2020-2030 This section explains the global market value analysis and forecast for the Enteral Feeding Devices market for the forecast period of 2020-2030, in value terms. This chapter includes a detailed analysis of the historical projections of the nurse calling systems market, along with an opportunity analysis for the future. Readers can also find the absolute $ opportunity for the current year (2020), and incremental $ opportunity for the forecast period. Chapter 07- Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 and Forecast 2020-2030, by Product Type This chapter provides details about the Enteral Feeding Devices market based on type and has been classified into feeding pumps, feeding tubes, administration sets, syringes and consumables. Chapter 08 Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 by Application This chapter provides details about the Enteral Feeding Devices market based on application and has been classified into oncology, gastroenterology, diabetes, neurological disorders and others. Chapter 09- Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 by Age Group This chapter provides details about the Enteral Feeding Devices market based on end-user and has been classified into adults and pediatrics. Chapter 10- Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 by End-User This chapter provides details about the Enteral Feeding Devices market based on end-user and has been classified into hospitals, specialty clinics, homecare settings and others. Get Full Report Buy Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/12403 Chapter 11- Global Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 by Region This chapter provides details about the Enteral Feeding Devices market based on region and has been classified into North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa (MEA), East Asia and South Asia. Chapter 12- North America Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the North America Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes the U.S and Canada. Readers can also find the pricing analysis, regional trends, and market growth based on material and countries in North America. Chapter 13- Latin America Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the Latin America Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Rest of Latin America. Chapter 14- Europe Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the European Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes Germany, Italy, France, the U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Russia and Rest of Europe. Chapter 15- South Asia Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the South Asian Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Rest of South Asia. Chapter 16- East Asia Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the East Asian Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes China, Japan and South Korea. Chapter 17- Oceania Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the Oceania Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes Australia and New Zealand. Chapter 18- Middle East & Africa Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 2015-2019 & Opportunity Assessment 2020-2030 This chapter provides details about the growth of the Middle East & Africa Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with a country-wide assessment which includes GCC countries, South Africa and rest of MEA. Chapter 19- Key Countries Enteral Feeding Devices Market Analysis 20152019 and Forecast 20202030 This chapter provides the growth scenario of the Enteral Feeding Devices market of 21 key countries by type, and form. Additionally, COVID-19 impact in the said market in all respective countries has been included. Request for Report Ask A Question @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-12403 Chapter 20- Market Structure Analysis In this chapter, readers can find detailed information about the tier analysis and market concentration of key players in the physiology equipment market, along with their market presence analysis by region and product portfolio. Chapter 21- Competition Analysis In this chapter, readers can find a comprehensive list of all the prominent stakeholders in the Enteral Feeding Devices market, along with detailed information about each company, which includes company overview, revenue shares, strategic overview, and recent company developments. Some of the market players featured in the report are ICU Medical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Fresenius Kabi, Abbott Laboratories, Cook Medical, Cardinal Health, Inc., Becton Dickinson & Company and Dynarex Corporation among others. Chapter 22- Assumptions & Acronyms Used This chapter includes a list of acronyms and assumptions that provides a base to the information and statistics included in the physiotherapy equipment market report. Chapter 23- Research Methodology This chapter help readers understand the research methodology followed to obtain various conclusions as well as important qualitative and quantitative information about the physiotherapy equipment market. The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers 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. Image: Canva Tragedy is before us, but so is a time for thoughtful reflection. A 21 year old man from Woodstock, Georgia, has reportedly shot eight people, including seven women, at Atlanta-area massage parlors. The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that seven of the victims were Asian Americans. As of this writing, authorities are investigating whether to charge him with a hate crime. This space is not a news space, but rather a commentary space. And moments like this can be a challenge. Some will quickly say, Nothing to see here. This is not connected to us. Still others will see this as an indictment of Christians everywhere. I think there is a better way. So, Im not here to speculate on what we do not know, but I am taking a moment of reflection regarding what we doand I hope you will join me. The Victims But, the victims matter. The murderer will not be mentioned here, but here are some of the name of the ones we know have died: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33 Paul Andre Michels, 54 Xiaojie Tan, 49 Daoyou Feng, 44 Yes, they are Asian names. And, yes, they are connected to massage parlors. The murderer claims he had a sex addiction and shockingly said acted to eliminate temptation. And, as is now widely reported, he goes to a Southern Baptist church that has been connected with Founders Ministries, now best known for its anti-Critical Race Theory efforts. All of these should factor in our reflections. Our Needed Conversation It probably needs also to be said that when millions of us heard about murders at an Atlanta massage parlor, the predatory actions of Ravi Zacharaias came to mind. So, lets be honest: race, sex, and religion are all at work here, and thats a hard topic to discuss. But here we are. In this brief article, I hope to help us think about several things. First, the place of religion in this story. Second, I want to talk about the place of racialization and racism in this situation. Now, I know how it works. Already people are looking for talking points online to show this was not racially motivated, or it was mental illness and not religion, or whatever else. But, people are dead. Women. Asians. All because the man who killed them decided to eliminate temptation. There is a conversation that needs to be had, and it is complex. One short article cannot even address all the issues to consider, but we can start. Religion When asked why he wanted to murder eight women, the young man replied that they were a temptation that he wanted to eliminate. To many this language seems odd-- and it should. Yet for many Christians, we know this idea is well worn in our common language and is perhaps drawn from Jesuss words in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches, If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For Christians, Jesus' words are an encouragement to take decisive action against sin in our lives. Yet central to Christian faith is the truth that you can never eliminate sin by sinning. What this man did was evil, wicked, and filled with sin. It has been said that this man had a history of struggling with sexual addiction. According to his parents in a 2019 police report, he was not suicidal, did not take any medication, and had no mental illnesses. From all the information we have on him today, he didnt see himself as the problem, he saw women as the problem. And he took action to eliminate what he perceived as the problem. And, thats not just a problem in this situation. Women and Religion Over the past few years, women theologians, historians, and church leaders have authored books on the intersection of women and North American Protestantism. Disturbingly, most identified common themes were the corrosive elements of Protestant theology of sexuality and gender. While claiming orthodoxy and resisting the tide of the sexual revolution, church leaders remained ignorant of how their rhetoric laid a foundation for misogyny and violence. In one example, Rachel Joy Welcher outlines how many popular books on sexuality use wartime imagery to communicate practical strategies Christian men can employ to fight sexual lust. Depicting purity as an all-encompassing pursuit which involves ones motivations, mind, and heart. As Welcher concludes, this constant stream of portraying women as dangerous sources of lust that need to be avoided inevitably shaped the way young Christian men perceived and acted towards women. In trying to guard men against the evil of pornography, church leaders failed to construct a positive theology of sexuality and gender. Victim advocate Rachael Denhollander drew attention to this in response to the tragedy: The man who murdered women in a massage parlor yesterday says he was "eliminating temptation" because he had a sex addiction. He was a baptized member of an SBC church. Brothers. Pastors. Seminary heads. How you teach sexuality matters. It can be life and death As church leaders, we must reckon with our role in shaping the culture that gave rise to these events. Evil knows no denomination, but denominations need to look at their fruits. Im a member of a church affiliated with SBC and Ive engaged Founders Ministries over the years. I have learned (and am continuing to grow) through conversation, reflection, and listening in those places and beyond. There exists an urgent need for all church leaders to examine how we teach biblical truths about men, women, and the imago dei. It is hard work that requires clarity, repentance, and the grace of others. Race That such violence against Asian American women comes on the anniversary of COVID-19 shutdowns is a painful reminder to many Asian Americans of the growing hate incidents theyve been facing this past year. Violence against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) is on the rise as many still blame them for the pandemic. Image: Ray Chang Daniel Yang, part of our team here at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, has also discussed Asian-American discrimination. I am thankful for Wheaton College students and faculty, who gathered today at noon with Ray Chang, Ministry Associate and President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, for 8 minutes of silence to honor the victims. During the pandemic, we sought to address this issue early on, having Russel Jeung on the Stetzer Leadership Podcast. As we listen to the cries of so many Asian-Americans today, it would be shameful not to acknolwedge their pain and to see this as the racially connected violence that it is. All of the locations have been described in news reports as asian massage parlors. And, Daniel Yang asked, [W]ill anyone point out that the Western sexual fetish for Asian women is racist? So, yes, of course this is connected to race. Too frequently we brush off the discrimination faced by our Asian American brothers and sisters because it does not fit into our narratives around race. Asian Americans bring a complex and rich tradition and experience to the church that is frequently underrepresented in broader conversations. It is grievous that it takes a tragedy on this scale to wake us up to their concerns or to highlight their voices in our midst. Conclusion There are so many threads to this knot that need to be slowly untangled. There are elements related to pornography, sex trafficking, religion, evangelicalism, Southern Baptists, and many others just outside our periphery. But neither the complexity of this event nor the tribalism of our cultural discourse must not allow us to avoid self-reflection and scrutiny. We must confront the reality that something is horribly wrong in our midst when a person kills to eliminate temptation. As we wait for more information from law enforcement, we must work to care for those who have been hurt and listen to the words of our brothers and sisters in faith regarding their own fears and concerns. So, lets pray for the victims' families that the Lord may grant them peace in the midst of such tragedy. Lets stand up and alongside our Asian brothers and sisters. And in the coming months, lets continue the hard and painful work of confronting twisted and unhealthy theology that maligns and distorts the image of God in women (and men). Google says it had an economic impact on Alabama of more than $1 billion in 2020 and highlighted a north Alabama business that credited a jump in business to the giant internet company. That impact connected with 17,700 businesses, non-profits, publishers, creators and developers in Alabama who used Google products to increase their online presence and connect with the people and communities they serve, Google said in a press release. Altogether, it generated $1.17 billion in economic activity for the state in 2020. One of the beneficiaries, Google said, was Red Land Cotton in Moulton, which was highlighted in the Google nationwide economic impact report. Red Land Cotton, which specializes in bed linens, was an example of how a company used its digital tools to grow their audience. We always ask people how they found us, and its almost always one of our Google ads, Anna Brakefield, co-founder of Red Land Cotton, said in the press release. Despite the pandemic, Red Land Cotton -- established in 2016 as a direct-to-consumer product for cotton products saw a 40 percent increase in business last year despite the pandemic. Google also announced plans to invest more than $7 billion and create 10,000 new full-time Google jobs across the United States this year. I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in the press release. Google wants to be a part of that recovery. Thats why we plan to invest over $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON - China's foreign ministry denied any wrongdoing Thursday in their handling of detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, attributing the timing of their trials to little more than coincidence. A person holds a sign with photographs of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China since December, 2018, as people gather for a rally in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. China is defending the way it has handled the cases of two Canadians who have been detained in the country for more than two years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck WASHINGTON - China's foreign ministry denied any wrongdoing Thursday in their handling of detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, attributing the timing of their trials to little more than coincidence. Global Affairs Canada only learned Wednesday that Spavor's court hearing would proceed on Friday one day after closely watched high-level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska. A hearing for Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, has been scheduled for Monday. "It is not linked to China-U.S. high-level strategic dialogue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing. He insisted that their cases have been handled "in accordance with the law" and "the lawful rights of the individuals concerned." Canada, however, disagrees, calling their detention "arbitrary" and accusing China of a lack of transparency. The timing, however, was indeed curious: after more than two years in custody and little hint about when they might stand trial, Beijing abruptly notified the Canadian Embassy on Wednesday that hearings were imminent. They come on the heels of Thursday's meetings in Anchorage, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were sitting down with their Chinese counterparts in an effort to reset relations between the two countries. State Department spokesperson Janina Porter promised a "frank conversation" calling out China's defiance of global commitments, undermining of the rules-based international order and challenge to American values. By early accounts, it lived up to the billing. What was supposed to be a staid exchange of two-minute statements for the benefit of gathered journalists instead turned into a protracted airing of grievances, with Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi spending more than 15 minutes denigrating what he characterized as U.S. hypocrisy when it comes to promoting Western values. "We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world," Yang said. "Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States." In Washington, the State Department accused the Chinese delegation of "grandstanding" and preferring "public theatrics and dramatics over substance." Earlier Thursday, observers cautioned Canadians against putting too much faith in the meeting a perspective that appeared likely to be borne out, if the tenor of the opening remarks was any indication. Still, both Blinken and President Joe Biden had promised to make the plight of the two men known increasingly around the world as the "two Michaels" a priority in their discussions with China. They have been in custody since December 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the U.S. Department of Justice. Canada has been caught in the middle of a trilateral diplomatic tug of war ever since. "As facts have fully proven, this is a political incident from the very beginning," Zhao said. "We urge the U.S. side to correct its mistake without further delay and ensure Ms. Meng's safe return to China at an early date." He also insisted that when it comes to the two Michaels, China has respected the terms of two key agreements the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the China-Canada Consular Agreement. International Crisis Group, a non-governmental agency where Kovrig worked, issued a statement Thursday to mark the news of the pending trial. "From the moment he was detained, the political nature of his case has been clear," said interim president Richard Atwood. "After 830 days imprisoned, Michael should be released immediately so he can return home to his loved ones." Comfort Ero, the group's interim vice-president, called the trial "just another arbitrary political action masked as legal process." Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said Canada is working "tirelessly" to secure the release of the two men, and has asked for continued consular access as well as the opportunity to attend the hearings. "Canadian officials will continue to provide consular support to these men and their families during this unacceptable ordeal." China was expected to use Thursday's meeting to ask the U.S. to lift sanctions imposed by the former Trump administration on certain Chinese nationals and entities, including Huawei. Meng is facing fraud and conspiracy charges linked to what prosecutors say was an elaborate effort to evade American sanctions against Iran. Justice Department officials have refused to say much about the case beyond the fact that they continue to seek her extradition to the U.S. Critics and allies alike have described the detention of Kovrig and Spavor as retribution for Canada's role in detaining Meng, and experts see little hope for their release so long as she continues to face charges. Blinken and Biden both recently spoke up for the pair, part of an ongoing reset of Canada-U.S. relations in the post-Trump era. "Human beings are not bartering chips," Biden said following a virtual summit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month. That same week, Blinken pledged "absolute solidarity" with Canada after his own virtual conference with Garneau and a host of other Canadian officials, including Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S. Blinken also cheered the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, a Canadian initiative comprising a coalition of more than 50 countries opposed to the state-sponsored political detention of foreign nationals. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. With files from The Associated Press New York City's mayor has urged anyone who experiences racism to report it to the police, even if it does not rise to the level of a crime that can be prosecuted. Bill de Blasio was asked on Thursday why so few hate crimes charges were successfully prosecuted, and what could be done to protect the city's ethnic minorities. Last year there were 259 anti-Asian incidents in New York reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a group working with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - an eight-fold increase on 2019. So far this year there have been at least 10 suspected anti-Asian hate crimes committed in New York City between January 1 and March 14, according to statistics from the New York Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force. De Blasio spoke as the investigation continues into Tuesday night's murder of eight people - six of the Asian Americans - at a series of spas and massage parlors across Atlanta. 'If we get more reporting it will help us to find and stop this,' said de Blasio. Bill de Blasio on Thursday addressed the issue of anti-Asian American racism in the city Members of the NYPD community outreach team speak to a Chinatown resident on Wednesday 'Even if something is not a criminal case, a perpetrator being confronted by the city, whether it's NYPD or another agency, and being told that what they've done was very hurtful to another person and could, if ever repeated, lead to criminal charges that's another important piece of the puzzle. That's why we need these reports.' De Blasio emphasized that it was essential that victims come forward, because it could nip problems in the bud. 'I think it's a reality we have to overcome, that some people experience something horrible and don't know where to turn, or aren't sure if they should report it,' he said. 'My message to all New Yorkers is please report what you see.' New York City's population is currently 13.95 per cent Asian American. Protesters in Chinatown, Washington DC, protest on Wednesday night against the violence Detective Suk Too, of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Community Affairs Rapid Response Team, checks on businesses in the Chinatown section of Manhattan on Wednesday Detective Suk H Too hands out fliers in Chinatown explaining how to report hate crimes Attacks on Asian Americans began increasing after the September 11 attacks, and rose further under the Trump presidency. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the incidences of racism even higher. 'This is a problem, and let's be blunt and honest,' the mayor said on Thursday. 'It's a problem that emerged, particularly in the last four years in this city and in this country. We all know that the forces of hatred were unleashed by Donald Trump. That is not a news flash. We know more and more hate speech has occurred, more and more people who are hateful have felt emboldened. 'We've got to deal with that aggressively. And part of it is to report everything, track everything and anything that might be criminal, prosecute. 'And anything that's not criminal, still follow up on aggressively, so people feel the presence of law enforcement in the city watching them to make sure this does not happen again.' An Asian American Hate Crimes Task Force was launched by the NYPD in August. De Blasio said anyone who was a victim of racist abuse should report it, even if not criminal Last month the Asian American Bar Association of New York reported that they had seen a surge in attacks, but that had not corresponded with an increase in prosecutions. 'We don't know a single prosecution, either on the criminal side or civil resolution,' said Chris Kwok, AABANY Board Director and Issues Committee Chair. 'It's difficult to tell people that you exist. We'll continue to do that until that's no longer needed.' The AABANY found that San Francisco and New York City were the two worst areas for attacks on Asian Americans. De Blasio urged Asian Americans to come forward if they suffered abuse. 'If you've been a victim of discrimination, If you've been a victim of a hate crime, If you've been a victim of violence based on who you are, we need to know about it immediately, to find those who did it and bring them to justice,' he said. 'We need education and outreach, but we also need consequences. 'We need to know everything we can to find those who did it and bring them to justice. 'Because I'm a believer that we of course need the bigger efforts, the education, the outreach, but we also need consequences.' De Blasio said: 'It's perfectly appropriate for an NYPD officer to talk to them to say: 'That was not appropriate, and if you did that on a higher level, that would be a crime.' 'And I think that has an educating impact on people. I think it has a sobering impact that we need.' 'I assure you, if an NYPD officer calls you or shows up at your door to ask about something you did, that makes people think twice, and we need that.' Do you have a news tip? Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you. More here 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. Inc. magazine today revealed that Oceaneast Associates is No. 214 on its second annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Washington, D.C., area-based private companies. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the D.C. area economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. The Oceaneast team is grateful for the opportunity to help our clients achieve their goals and make a positive impact, said Arvi Gowda, chief executive officer of Oceaneast Associates. Our partners, colleagues, and location in the Washington D.C. area - a hub of talent and innovation - have been critical to our growth and were excited to continue contributing to the regional community and economy. The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in the Washington, D.C., region. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 211 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 120,000 people and added nearly $15 billion to the D.C. area economy. Companies based in major metro areasBaltimore, Maryland, the Washington, D.C. area, and Richmond, Virginiabrought in the highest revenue overall. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: D.C. Metro, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://www.inc.com/inc5000/regionals/washington-dc starting March 16, 2021. This list proves the power of companies in the Washington, D.C. area no matter the industry, says Inc. editor in chief Scott Omelianuk. The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay. Oceaneast Associates is a management and IT consulting firm that helps federal organizations and programs manage and sustain long-term success and results. Our team of technical and professional experts provide management and IT consulting services including digital strategy enablement; acquisition and cost management; digital marketing and communications; outcome-focused program management; and critical results and program management. Our team can support you through your programs lifecycle and provide you with actionable strategies for future projects. http://www.oceaneastonline.com CONTACT: Vanita Gowda, 202-935-7335, pr@oceaneastonline.com More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com Island has had no official request for asylum seekers centre Priti Patel The Isle of Man has had no official requests from the UK about the possibility of an asylum seekers processing centre being located here. That's according to Douglas South MHK Claire Christian who says this has been confirmed by the Chief Minister. News resurfaced today that the Home Secretary Priti Patel is considering sending asylum seekers to offshore locations to be processed - the island was named as one of these places. Mrs Christian said should this administration, or any in future, want this to happen it would be debated in Tynwald and MHKs would be the voice of residents in the matter. Gibraltar was also named in the article by the Times and the government there also denies any knowledge of the plans. About a year into the pandemic, I had my first truly transportive, blowout outdoor dining experience. The setup at SingleThread in Healdsburg is far beyond wood pallets with paint or a simple tent with chairs in a parking lot: This dining space featured Japanese trees nestled in rope-bound wooden boxes with soft mounds of moss; they rustled in the breeze. Diners huddled over bubbling clay pots of broth and seafood, their cheeks moist with steam. A seat in this make-believe room was as fine a perch as any from which one might consider how fine dining can stay relevant in this day and age. The new concept is called Usu-zan, the name an homage to a mountain near the rural fishing village in Hokkaido where owners Katina and Kyle Connaughton once resided. Hokkaido, the northernmost and chilliest prefecture of Japan, is known for luxuriating in the things humans need to cope with the winter: hot springs, skiiing and steamy cauldrons of seafood-enriched hot pot. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle While its format is consistent with the tasting menus that SingleThread presented before the pandemic, the addition of a hot pot centerpiece, with four options to choose from when you make your reservation, is new. The full experience is $375-475 per person, depending on which hot pot you order for the table. The theme is expected to continue through the summer, which is great news. As outdoor dining experiences go, Usu-zan is worth the trip. Part of the credit goes to famed hotel and restaurant interior designer Ken Fulk, who filled the Michelin-starred restaurants parking lot with spherical ceiling lights and wooden screens. No patch of asphalt is exposed; there are no rough edges on the wooden beams, giving the tent the illusion of inside-ness. Lit with warm tones, with foliage that suggests the courtyard of an old-fashioned hot spring resort in the Japanese countryside, the space exudes a sense of nostalgia for the past, despite being conceived to meet our urgent present. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle Infrastructural signs of the pandemic are subtle: There arent bottles of hand sanitizer at every table, but the general protocols of social distancing are built nearly invisibly into the space. Staff are diligent about masks, though not strict about asking diners to mask up before they approach to clear empty plates (which they do a lot, and very promptly). Its a little awkward at first, but the staff are amenable to whatever boundaries you want to establish for your mutual safety. What hasnt changed is the very California thesis of the restaurant: That when the kitchen and farm collaborate, as chef Kyle Connaughton and head farmer Katina Connaughton do, the result can be something sublime. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle The first course is a collection of tiny bites arranged on a platform of flowers and branches from the restaurants farm. Each leaf is spritzed artfully, the drops of water akin to pearls beaded into lace. The plates that follow are mainly cold preparations of seasonal fish and seafood: dehydrated beet chips with trout dip, luscious coins of king crab meat tucked into lettuce cups, and raw oysters garnished with violet petals. Its a delightful constellation of dishes that forces you to hunt within the foliage, like a farmer rummaging for strawberries. From the hot pot options, I chose the Duclair duck for the table to share. The rich duck broth arrived, in custom-made donabe pots from Japan, brimming with shiitake mushrooms, chunks of napa cabbage and farm greens. Slices of duck breast were placed in the center, their skin and fat rendered to a crisp. You get lots of little condiments to sprinkle on there, like spicy yuzu kosho and golden, toasty sesame seeds. Its a meal so simple, its almost primal. Sipping on that subtly gamey broth which took on both the slight bitterness of the greens and turnips and the earthy density of the sesame made me feel like I was in some other place and time, outside of the strange reality of the present day. Fine dining restaurants often have a showstopper dish to flex, like a whole duck or a giant steak. Here, its in dessert: an entire green and orange pumpkin ensconced in a mossy nest, its tender flesh roasted to concentrate its natural sweetness. A server deftly spooned out a mouthfuls worth into a green ceramic dish, where it sat beside a quenelle of burnt orange sherbet. This bittersweet penultimate note (before a mignardise-like course of Japanese sweets) seemed a perfectly poetic way to sum up everything the restaurant and its peers have gone through recently. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle The experience rivaled fine dining meals I had pre-pandemic, a stunning feat in a time when the genre has been all but suspended. But that came as no surprise. Before Usu-zan, SingleThreads other pandemic pivots have similarly soared. The team was already versed in switching gears at a moments notice due to fire season, when the kitchen shifts to mutual aid. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. When the restaurant did takeout, the staff made $85 to $150 meals for two that itched their intellectual curiosity and subsidized the restaurants donations of meals to Sonoma families facing food insecurity. Experiments included a dazzling array of dishes styled after home cooking in Kyoto, Japan: jiggly, homemade soft tofu with oak-y, barrel-aged ponzu sauce, salmon cooked in aromatic cedar paper and more. Other weeks, menus included grilled fish with lemony tabbouleh and dolmas, or chicken biryani with fresh parathas and onion fritters. It was fun, new and inspiring to see. Indeed, when it comes to the art of the pivot, SingleThread has led the pack for the Bay Areas fine dining scene. While the in-person meal is elegant, the addition of hot pot lends a delightfully lowbrow element that feels suited to the moment. The meal recalled one of the things I miss most about pre-pandemic life: the total sensory experience of swirling a long pair of serving chopsticks in bubbling broth, fishing for morsels to toss into fellow diners bowls as we inhale the aromas of cabbage and Sichuan pepper together. You make new friendships and cement present ones easily over a pot of broth, making the intimacy of this meal an ideal setting for the sorts of casual relationships that have largely fallen by the wayside over the past year. SingleThreads artful embrace of the format, conducted in a safely cozy environment, felt like an ultimate luxury. SingleThread. 4-8 p.m. Thursday-Monday. $375-475 per person. 131 North St. (at Center), Healdsburg. 707-723-4646 or singlethreadfarms.com. Soleil Ho is The San Francisco Chronicles restaurant critic. Email: soleil@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hooleil Is it fair or even patriotic to threaten states that do not conform to the Democratic Socialists' mandate to control the outcome of Free and Fair elections enacted by constitutionally guaranteed states' legislatures? Yes, all elections must be federalized so that the whim of the majority political party can set the standard for all elections. No, Our Founders purposefully decentralized elections by guaranteeing only states' legislatures the independent right to enact Free and Fair elections. Medical centers and medical offices will be opened in residential complexes of KAN Development, Ihor Nikonov, the founder of KAN Development, said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He said that the idea of developing the own network of medical institutions was postponed. "We are not ready to launch a hospital yet, we do not have enough finance, although the project has long been ready. But we have organized space for medical centers, for rent in our complexes. We are negotiating, we will attract the already existing networks," Nikonov said. According to him, there is no point in creating own polyclinics at this stage. "We calculated: a central hospital with branches-polyclinics is needed for recoupment," Nikonov explained. He announced the idea of creating medical offices, which is now being worked out. "We will make special equipped rooms, 600-700 meters each, and hand them over to doctors. We buy equipment, and doctors service it and pay rent," Nikonov said. Crime scene tape cordons off the area around Gold Spa after the deadly Atlanta-area shootings on March 16. Reuters/Chris Aluka Berry Suspect in Atlanta spa shootings allegedly said he was motivated by a sex addiction, not race. However, experts say that the shootings tie into America's history of violence against Asian women. "It's impossible to take race out of the equation," Ellen Wu, expert in Asian American Studies said. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Police say that the 21-year-old white man responsible for the the Atlanta-area shootings that left eight people dead - including six Asian women - told them he was motivated not by racism, but by his sex addiction. In a Wednesday morning press conference, Cherokee County police confirmed that Robert Aaron Long, "took responsibility" for the shootings. Long told police that he previously visited the massage parlors where the shootings took place. Police said he may have been "lashing out" by trying to eliminate temptation, but declined not comment on whether sex work took place at the massage parlors. While police say the investigation so far indicates the shootings may not be racially motivated, experts say sexualization and race are intrinsically linked to violence against Asian American women. Asian women, and especially Asian sex workers, have long been sexualized, objectified, and dehumanized in a way that makes them especially vulnerable to violence. "There's a perception that [Asian] women should be sexually available to men" Mourners visit a makeshift shrine to the victims at Gold Spa on March 17. Megan Varner/Getty Images Grace Kao, Chair & IBM Professor of Sociology at Yale University, told Insider she has no doubt that the shooting was motivated by race and gender. "He targeted Asian American women working at establishments catering to people who wanted contact with Asian American women," Kao said. Kao said that the shootings tie into a long American history of violence stemming from the sexualization of Asian American women. That history goes back to the mid-19th century, when many of the Chinese women who immigrated to America were either sex workers or perceived as such. The Page Act of 1875 banned Chinese women from entering the US for "lewd and immoral purposes," and laid the groundwork for the passage of the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act just seven years later. Story continues "There's a perception that [Asian] women should be sexually available to men," Kao said. "I think it would be really dangerous to assume that race had nothing to do with it." Ellen Wu, Associate Professor of History and the Director of Asian American Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, says that the sexualization of Asian women historically goes hand-in-hand with other dehumanizing stereotypes about Asian Americans. "All these ideas we see now have a long history going back to the 19th century," Wu told Insider. "Women were assumed to be immoral or loose. Chinese in general were thought of as sneaky, deviants, undermining the American way of life, and possibly disease-carrying." Nancy Wang Yuen, an associate professor of sociology at Biola University, told Insider that these early thoughts and policies, including the Page Act, shaped the anti-Asian tropes and narratives that still play out in society and Hollywood today. "There's a whole history of not just violence against Asian women, but a framing of Asian women as prostitutes and fetishized objects of exploitation," said Yuen, who authored the book "Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism." "There's actually a sort of systemic framing of east Asian women as both objects to be desired, and objects to keep out," she added. "They're fetishized, but we shouldn't let them in because, right?, because they're going to corrupt us." Resentment and outright hostility towards Chinese immigrants led to in multiple racially-motivated massacres during the Gold Rush Era, including the Chinese massacre of 1871, which resulted in the death of 10% of the Chinese population of Los Angeles at the time. The sexual stereotypes associated with Asian women were reinforced through over a century of US military activities in Asia. Military men in Asian countries usually encountered Asian women in the context of romance or sex work, and those experiences quickly influenced mainstream stereotypes of Asian women, Wu said, especially in media depictions. "Because of the US's long history of military engagement in Asia, there's a historical pattern where white Americans do not value Asian people as equal human beings," Wu said. "It's impossible to take race out of the equation." Hate against Asian Americans has skyrocketed since the beginning of COVID-19 A man holds a sign that reads "Racism is a Virus" during the "We Are Not Silent" rally against anti-Asian hate in Seattle, Washington on March 13, 2021. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some leaders - including former President Donald Trump - have blamed the pandemic on China, because it was hit with the earliest outbreak. Trump referred to the virus as the "Wuhan virus," "the China virus, "the China plague," and even "Kung Flu" with the racist terms quickly catching on among right-wing Americans. "Asian-American bodies are seen as carriers of this disease that came from Asia," Kao said. This month, an 83-year-old Korean woman was spat on, punched, and knocked unconscious in White Plains, New York. On March 9, police arrested a California woman was arrested on anti-Asian hate crime in connection with several instances where they believed she spit at, yelled racial slurs, and made racist comments to Asian-Americans on several occasions. Yuen told Insider, that a combination of age-old anti-Asian racism, linked with recent rhetoric linking the virus to China - which the CDC and WHO advised against - have played a role in the recent attacks. "Asia has always been seen as exotic and foreign, and I think as a result of that is Asians are never fully accepted as Americans," Yuen said. "There is a scapegoating of Asians for a variety of reasons - economic, political, cultural, medical. Whenever there is something negative associated with Asia proper, Asian Americans suffer." The reporting center Stop AAPI Hate, which tracks hate incidents against Asians and Pacific Islanders around the US, has been closely following attacks that have happened since the start of the coronavirus-related shutdowns. Among the reports the group created last year was one that specifically tracked incidents in Georgia. From March 20, 2020 and October 28, 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received 32 reports of hate that occurred in the state, according to a report. While 80% of the reports were related to verbal harassment and shunning, 20% involved physical assaults. Women have experienced hate at three times the rate of men in Georgia, according to the coalition, highlighting the vulnerability to violence that Asian women face. Kao said that although many people initially linked the Atlanta shootings to the COVID-era rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, she "very quickly thought it had more to do with the objectification of Asian-American women. Yuen told Insider that it's much too soon to rule out that the suspect in the Atlanta-area shootings wasn't motivated by racism - conscious or not - in addition to sex. "All we know about the motivation so far is from the murderer himself. How can we use that as evidence as his motive?" she asked. "Why is there a kind of targeting of Asian women at this specific time?" she added. "Is it just a coincidence? It's hard to imagine that its just coincidence even if it's just subconsciously." At the press conference on Wednesday, reporters asked officials whether there was any indication that Long previously had sex at the massage parlor he is accused of attacking. "We are not about to get into victim blaming, victim shaming," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in response. Yuen told Insider that whether or not the women were sex workers is not important. To her, it's clear that the victims were seen as sexual objects by the shooter. "He obviously kind of insinuated that by saying he wanted to get rid of the temptation as someone who is addicted to sex," she said. "I think the problem is, of course, that people may use the sort of moral argument to somehow belittle the crime. But at the same time, nobody, no matter their occupation, deserves to be murdered." Wu said a combination of factors, including gender, class, wealth, and legal status, position Asian women to be "vulnerable to violence in some distinct ways." In a Tweet, Red Canary Song, -- a nonprofit that advocates for employees of Chinese massage parlors and sex workers -- said that the conversation around the Georgia attack shouldn't be centered around the recent uptick in pandemic-related violence, but rather on the long history of policing Asian sex work, "which so many Asian Americans and those speaking up against anti-Asian hate endorse." "This is horrific, and is indicative of the violence that massage workers face daily," the group tweeted. "We are saddened and angered to learn of this, and we are sending our love to the workers in Atlanta." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Yuen said that she hopes that investigators deciding whether to prosecute the attacks as hate crimes dig a little deeper than simply allowing long to describe his motivation to them. "Just because he's not conscious of his racism, it shouldn't take away from the fact that it could be both sexually and racially motivated," Yuen said. "I feel like we've come further in our understanding of unconscious bias than to only prosecute a hate crime if someone is blatantly saying something racist. It discounts that that's not how racism operates always." Read the original article on Insider Number of Illegal Border Crossings Will Grow a Hundredfold, Texas Governor Warns The number of immigrants illegally crossing Americas southern border will grow a hundredfold in the future, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asserted late Wednesday. This is just the very beginning of whats going to be a massive expansion of the number of people coming across the border. It will grow tenfold and a hundredfold, especially because of the way the Biden administration has handled this, Abbott, a Republican, said during an appearance on Fox News Hannity. Remember during the presidential campaign when all of the candidates said we want open borders? Well guess what? Biden has provided those open borders. Hes inviting everybody in and the floodgates are now open and Texas is at the forefront of it, Abbott added. President Joe Biden promised during the 2020 campaign to roll back key Trump-era orders and rules and has done so since taking office, including axing the remain in Mexico program that forced asylum seekers to wait for their claims to be heard outside the country, and lessening how many illegal immigrants are expelled under Title 42. Biden administration officials, though, have insisted that the border is not open. The border is secure and the border is not open, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told members of Congress during a Wednesday hearing, adding that Title 42 powers are still being used to expel single adults and families, just not unaccompanied minors. Were not going to send a 10-year-old back across the border. That was the policy of the last administration. Thats not our policy here, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the White House as she defended the administrations policy reversals. Illegal border crossings hit 100,441 in February, Bidens full month in office, with another 26,000 illegal immigrants evading capture, according to data reviewed by The Epoch Times. Mayorkas has said the number will climb to the highest in 20 years if the current pace continues. Children and teenagers who illegally crossed over the southern border of the United States wait to be processed after entering the site of a temporary holding facility south of Midland, Texas, on March 14, 2021. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP) Texas officials have repeatedly criticized the administration for its approach to immigration, forcing it to suspend, at least temporarily, a shift to a weaker deportation regime, and unveiling new efforts to stamp out human trafficking. President Bidens reckless open border policies have created a humanitarian crisis that is enriching the cartels, smugglers, and human traffickers who often prey on and abuse unaccompanied minors, Abbott said at a press conference announcing the initiative. Abbott told Fox later Wednesday that the administration is not being transparent with his office or the Texas Department of State Health Services. We need to know what the health situation of these kids are. We need to know if theyve been exposed to variants of COVID, and if so, is it the Brazilian variant or whatever type of variants, he said. Our law enforcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety, they need to do their job. Part of their job is making sure they track down and prosecute anybody involved in smuggling. Once the kids get over to the state of Texas, they are still involved with coyotes and smugglers and people like that that we do have the ability to arrest and put behind bars. The Biden administration is not letting us gain access to that information so that we can arrest and prosecute those who are assisting this immigration process. Charlotte Cuthbertson, Jack Phillips, and Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Havent we seen this before? We sound the alarm about a dangerous cultural trend, warning about what is coming around the corner. In response, our critics tell us that were crazy, that no such thing will ever happen, that were just fearmongers and fanatics. Then, little by little, the very thing we warned about becomes reality. In response, our critics say, So whats the big deal? Stop being such babies. This is the real world. Get over it. Then the cycle repeats itself again. More than 15 years ago, when I first started warning that those who came out of the closet wanted to put us in the closet, I was greeted with derision and scorn. Youre crazy! No one wants to put you in the closet. A few years later, the response changed to, Bigots like you belong in the closet. Today, conservative Christians books have been banned by Amazon and our platforms have been removed by social media. What we warned about us has come to pass. And what is the response? You are no better than the KKK or the Nazis or ISIS. You got what you deserved. Well, we told you this was coming. As for redefining marriage, what was one of our biggest objections? We stated that marriage was the unique union of one man and one woman, and once you changed that definition to the union of any two people, the number two became meaningless. As I stated in my 2011 debate with Prof. Eric Smaw, if marriage is simply the union of two people rather than the union of a man and a woman why should we limit it to just two? (Please dont say, Well, anything more than two is icky, since many people feel that same-sex relationships are icky. Surely there needs to be more substance to your response than, Thats icky!) Please tell me why marriage should be the union of just two people? Whats so magical about the number two if it is not the union of a male and female? Why not three men or three women? If marriage doesnt require a man and a woman, whats so important about the number two? Why not three (or more)? Prof. Smaw didnt even attempt to answer that question, nor did any proponent of same-sex marriage with whom I interacted ever provide a viable response. Instead, the very idea of more than two marital partners was dismissed as absurd. No one is talking about that, I was assured. We just want the same rights that you have. We just want our relationships to be recognized. That was long before Stephen Colbert joked about wedding cakes for throuples in 2015. Long before I wrote an article titled, Why Not Three? The Question Gay Activists Cannot Answer, also in 2015. (That article focused on a Canadian gay couple that was seeking to legally add a third member and become a throuple.) And that was long before People Magazine ran this headline on February 13, 2020: HGTV Features Its First-Ever Throuple on House Hunters: Representation Matters. In this case, the throuple consisted of one man and two women, but hey, why not? Love is love, right? And doesnt everyone have the right to be with the one (or ones) they love? There was even a memorable line in the show in which one of the two women, when looking at a potential house, commented, This is a couples kitchen, not a throuples kitchen. Yes, throuples were now a thing and polyamorous relationships as American as apple pie. But that was so 2020. The new year has taken us one step further, as a brand new book was released last week with the title Three Dads and a Baby: Adventures in Modern Parenting. As the New York Postreported on March 1, 2021, Three isnt a crowd for these dads. A gay, polyamorous California throuple made history in 2017 when they became the first family in the state to list three dads on a birth certificate. So, this actually happened back in 2017, but its become major news only today. As for the child involved (sadly a 6-year-old girl who is being raised without her mother), the Post tells us that her three dads are a source of pride. After all, the other kids in school only have two parents. She boasts that she has three. Maybe four would be even better? Did we not tell you this was coming? And werent we mocked and ridiculed for predicting the obvious? And now that is this becoming more and more acceptable, what is the response? Whats the big deal? Stop being such babies. This is the real world. Get over it. Sorry, but thats not going to happen. We have no intention of getting over it. We will continue to shout that there is a better way. The fact is that some of us have been warning about the direction of radical LGBTQ activism for many years now. In fact, in the Preface to A Queer Thing Happened to America, which came out in 2011, I could already point out that: 1) the cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy threw out the opening pitch for a Boston Red Sox game in 2005; 2) San Francisco public schools allowed transgender-identified children to use the bathroom of their choice in 2006; 3) Time Magazine asked in 2007, Should Incest Be Legal?; and 4) Newsweek asked in 2010, Are We Facing a Genderless Future?, referring to polyamory at the Next Sexual Revolution. And others were sounding the alarm long before I had said a word. The offshoot of all this is simple. We who warned this was coming will not simply accept the new realities as they arrive. Neither should anyone else accept the new normal. Instead, while showing love for every individual involved, we will insist that God has a better way, that His prescription for marriage and family is best, and that we will never get used to the latest, destructive trend. Thats the only way to prevent far more extreme and damaging developments in the days ahead. We hold our ground or we get swept away. Two Asian American groups will show support for Noodle Tree, the San Antonio ramen shop hit by racist vandalism, as the restaurant reopens on Thursday. The Asian American Alliance of San Antonio and San Antonio Lodge Chinese American Citizens Alliance are hosting a press conference at the Bexar County Courthouse at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Kin Yan Hui, an AAASA board member, said the event will focus on supporting Noodle Tree owner Mike Nguyen. RELATED: San Antonio shields Noodle Tree owner with support after racist attack spurred by masks Days after Nguyen's restaurant was smeared with anti-Asian slurs, eight women, six of which were of Asian descent, were murdered in Georgia by a white gunman. The violence has brought attacks on the AAPI community to the forefront. Hui said because the investigation into the Georgia killings remains open, the press conference will focus on Nguyen. The restaurant owner's business was attacked after he spoke out against Gov. Greg Abbott's latest executive decision regarding the pandemic in which he fully reopened the state and lifted the mask mandate. Social media harassment proceeded the graffiti at the shop on Sunday. While support for Nguyen has grown, so have the threats. The restaurant will reopen on Thursday, per normal business hours, marking the first time since national media attention narrowed in on Noodle Tree. "The gathering and presser shows support for Noodle Tree and Mike Nguyen's right to free speech," Hui said. READ MORE FROM MADALYN: 'You're not going to scare me': Noodle Tree owner returns to CNN to talk about racist vandalism Mayor Ron Nirenberg, District Attorney Joe Gonzales, District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus are all scheduled to attend. Given the increased attention, Nguyen is operating on a takeout-only model until he can get security inside the restaurant. He's asking people from out-of-town who want to support to purchase gift cards online. The money will be used to buy meals for members of the community. "Even though I was directly targeted, the community is hurting as well because this happened in their backyard and I want to be able to share the support and love with him as well," Nguyen posted online. Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye (EPA) Joe Biden has "no regrets" for calling Russian president Vladimir Putin a "killer" and escalating tensions between Washington and the Kremlin, according to the White House. We are confident that we can continue to look for ways where theres a mutual interest," said press secretary Jen Psaki. It was the second major line in the sand from Biden's spokesperson at her daily briefing after also admitting to a "crisis on the border". It came amid questions over the timing of the Biden administration's vaccine commitment to Mexico, and Mexico's commitment to crack down on migrants attempting to cross the border. Psaki said the vaccines were unrelated to Mexico partnering with the US to deal with the crisis on the border". She later attempted to walk back the characterization of the crisis as a "challenge". The White House has gone to lengths to deny there was a crisis on the border. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, meanwhile, will travel to Georgia to meet with Asian American leaders to discuss attacks and threats against their community. It comes as the Biden administration looks set to his its coronavirus vaccine pledge of 100m shots delivered within 100 days of his entering the White House more than a month ahead of schedule, with the goal likely to be achieved in a weeks time, well ahead of the original 30 April deadline. Former US president Barack Obama has meanwhile called for common-sense gun safety laws following the shooting of eight people at three massage parlours in Atlanta, Georgia, this week, an attack that has cast a spotlight on a spike in racial prejudice against Asian Americans over the past year. Elsewhere, Russian president Vladimir Putin has hit back at Mr Biden for calling him a killer in an ABC interview earlier this week, declaring menacingly: Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. The country has also recalled its US ambassador in protest at the insult. With the pandemic, the curious question as to what will become of the duty-free sales at airports has become sufficiently important to be discussed in learned journals. by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne in Montreal In lenfer, a recent novel by the French philosopher Gaspard Koenig, a university professor dies only to discover that hell is an eternity spent traipsing around airport duty-free shops. ~ The Economist February 27th, 2021 The story goes that duty free sales at airports began in Shannon Airport in Ireland in 1947 when an innovative mind sought to solve the problem of preventing passengers travelling between Europe and North America from going through the monotonous regularity of being holed up in the aircraft while the aircraft was being re-fueled on its way to its destination. On the one hand, while establishing duty free shops at Shannon airport gave the passengers bottoms a welcome respite from the narrow confines of the seat in the aircraft they were occupying, on the other hand it turned out to be a brilliant piece of disruptive innovation aimed at exploiting a market segment in enforced captivity with nothing else to do but go shopping while they were idling in transit. The rest is history. Arguably, duty free shopping is the foremost example of tapping the opportunistic mindset of the human psyche. As Michel Faber said: The crowds that queued for snacks and knick-knacks, the constant stream of passengers recorded by the closed-circuit TVs, were wondrous proof of the sheer variety of human specimens, except that they were presumed to be identically faithless inside, duty-free in every sense of that word. On this basis presumably duty-free sales at airports flourished until stymied by a virus - 0.125 micron in size - in early 2020. For now, at least, the shops ate closed until another creative mind thinks of a brand-new disruptive innovation to revive the industry. Speaking of brands, one might say that much of the success of duty-free sales at airports was due to branding and exclusivity offered designer products. The experience of international travel and the ego boost it offered to most as a marker of superiority in ones community was doubled and tripled by the duty-free baubles one purchased at the airports. As Investopedia correctly states : Duty-free stores are an enticing perk of international travel. With the pandemic, the curious question as to what will become of the duty-free sales at airports has become sufficiently important to be discussed in learned journals. The Economist, which records that travel retail had an output of $86 billion prior to the advent of the pandemic, states that this figure was reduced by two thirds in 2020: The premise underpinning duty-free is that the mere act of crossing an international border should exempt travellers from some taxes that non-travellers are subject to. This was a questionable wheeze even when European airports lobbied for it in the 1950s. Now it is untenable. Modern tax codes typically seek to dampen inequality, but duty-free shopping hands most benefits to the well-heeled who frequently travel abroad. These tax rebates, The Economist says, benefit those who fly and pollute suggesting a green solution is now called for. Duty-and tax-free shops are arguably the most attractive to airports in terms of non-aeronautical revenue. These shops are ready to pay competitive rents since consumers find them more attractive than city centre shops as the prices in the former are substantially low. An added attraction for concessionaires to pay high rents is that since the profit margins earned by the concessionaires are considerably high, airports can negotiate a contract that is advantageous in obtaining for the airport a large share of the profits earned by such shops Airports also recognize the need to provide duty and tax free shopping in the landside areas of the passenger terminal since duty-free shopping is only accessible to passengers who have entered the departure or transit lounges. A wide range of duty-and tax-paid shopping needs to be provided in the public landside areas of terminals. Such shops are usually of three kinds. These shops could sell goods such as travel goods, tobacco, books sweets, drugs and toiletries Of course, there need not be shops at airports peddling their duty-free inventory. Travellers can order their entitlement of the goods on the web and collect them on their way out; or even get them delivered at home. In that context, a demise of the industry may be unlikely. The more relevant issue is grounded in the justification of the dutyfree concept. In a non-aeronautical context, airports rake in 40% of the takings of the duty-free shopping complexes as rent and this revenue stream is indeed a significant contributor to profits made by airports. Over the years, airlines have complained in various international fora, particularly convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), that in view of the duty-free cash cow bestowed on the airports, where the main source of revenue is the passenger traffic generated by the airlines, charges imposed on airlines by airports should be reduced. ICAO policy leaves it wide open for airports to optimize their revenue to exceed all direct and indirect operating costs, including general administration etc., and so provide for a reasonable return on assets (before tax and cost of capital) to contribute toward necessary capital improvements. This policy statement encourages commercial autonomy of airports and the practice of deviating from being instrumentalities of the State. A fortiori, it urges airports to optimize revenues in order to boost capital investment toward improvement, which would not necessarily mean such revenues should subsidize airport and air navigation service charges. The Airport Economics Manual, which was first produced and issued by ICAO in 1991 states: It should be noted that revenues from non-aeronautical activities are in fact the principal means by which a growing number of airports are able to recover their total costs because their profits from these activities more than cover the losses most of them incur on their air side operations .... and in so far as ICAO cost recovery policies are concerned, not subject to the same limitations that it is recommended apply to charges on air traffic. This still leaves the moral issue brought to bear by the duty-free concept in international travel: should a person, ipso facto (by the mere fact) by crossing a border from one country to another, be entitled to buy tax free goods to which a non-traveller is not entitled? Should what started in 1947 as a gimmick and a perk of international travel be allowed to continue even though it is perceived as a stain on equality? One argument that has been adduced in support of duty-free sales when linked with international travel is that local value-added and other taxes that apply in a country should not be applied in this case because the purchase is made in no mans land. The absurdity of this fallacy is self explanatory because airports are in the territory of a country. Duty free stores are not in no mans land. Even if duty free goods are purchased in flight where the aircraft is flying over international waters, the State of registration serves as the country if something were to happen in flight. The above notwithstanding, it is by no means suggested that what has prevailed has to be scrapped altogether. However, a new business model might be worth considering, particularly in a world riven by inequality where half of the population of the world own nothing; the poorest 50 % own less than 10 % of national wealth and generally less than 5 %. The richest 10 % of the world command 62 % of the total wealth while the poorest 50 % own only 4 %.that 50 % of the world is poor, 40 % belongs to the middle class and 10 % is wealthy, of which 1 % is super rich. In this scenario, could one argue that, based on the assumption that the rich travel more than the poor, the former benefits from unjust or wrongful enrichment? Should this issue be revisited this time from the position of the consumer as well? Dr. Abeyratne was one time Coordinator, Air Transport Programmes at the International Civil Aviation Organization after which he served as the Organizations Senior Legal Officer. He teaches aviation law and policy at McGill University. There have been calls for an urgent review of the vaccine priority list to include heart failure patients, as studies show more than half of this group who contract Covid-19 subsequently die. The data came from the Irish Heart Foundation and the HSE. Younger people living with severe heart failure are not deemed at very high risk under the national immunisation programme. It has prompted the HSEs National Heart Programme to call for under-70s, along with inpatients awaiting cardiac surgery, to be moved from level seven to level four of the priority list. Many people with heart failure say they have stopped hugging their children when they return from school because they are terrified of contracting Covid-19. My children are in three different classrooms with anywhere from 10-30 children in each; that means I am indirectly exposed to up to 70 people Heart patient Pauline OShea Some have told the Irish Heart Foundation they ensure schoolchildren change out of their uniforms before entering the family home. Pauline OShea, who was diagnosed with heart failure at 38, said she and many other patients across Ireland were warned of the grave risk Covid-19 poses to those with heart and respiratory issues, but they remain at level seven. Before my nine-year-old daughter returned to school this week, she wrote in her homework, my mum has a heart condition and Im worried Ill give her Covid, Ms OShea said. This week alone, my children are in three different classrooms with anywhere from 10-30 children in each; that means I am indirectly exposed to up to 70 people children, teens and young adults, any of whom might be carrying Covid 19. Ms OShea, 47, who lives in Ardnacrusha in Co Clare, had open heart surgery in 2012 after developing spontaneous coronary artery dissection a tearing of the wall of the artery. I have had three heart attacks, gone into cardiac arrest, been in ICU, on a ventilator, I dont need to go back there with Covid, she added. I know another heart patient with two younger children who change out of their school uniforms before she can safely give them a hug. Its very tough, but her condition is so serious that she cant risk getting Covid-19 because she knows it could rob those children of their mother. Expand Close Pauline OShea, who was diagnosed with heart failure at 38 (Irish Heart Foundation) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pauline OShea, who was diagnosed with heart failure at 38 (Irish Heart Foundation) UK research shows the 30-day mortality rate of patients with acute heart failure nearly doubled during the pandemic, while a Dutch study showed Covid-19 patients with severe heart failure are 37% more likely to die compared with other Covid patients in hospital. HSE data to mid-December showed that of 1,866 Covid 19 deaths, 93% had a known underlying condition, and 41% of these had chronic heart disease the most common type of condition. The Irish Heart Foundations medical director, Dr Angie Brown, said there is broad consensus among cardiologists and the National Heart Programme that younger heart failure patients and those awaiting cardiac surgery who are at very high risk from Covid-19 are vaccinated without delay. Studies emerging on the impact of Covid on heart failure patients in particular are extremely worrying and require us to do more for those at higher risk, Dr Brown said. We know that the National Heart Programme has challenged the prioritisation of heart failure patients and inpatients awaiting surgery. We are calling on the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to order an urgent review of the priority level for these patients to ensure lives are not put at unnecessary risk. The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has urged the general public to disregard claims of him spending GH 1,000,000.00 on a meeting held with party Executives at his private residence in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region over the weekend. At the said meeting, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto is said to have made his presidential ambition known to those who gathered, which included some constituency Chairmen in the Ashanti Region and also doled out some GH1,000,000.00 to the party executives. In a statement signed and copied to Peacefmonline.com, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto urged the public to disregard the claims as there is no truth in them but only an imagination of the narrators. The narrators claimed that I spent up to GH 1,000,000.00 Ghana Cedis at the said meeting to announce my bid for the position. This is not only incorrect but it could only be in the imaginations of the one making those claims, he said. He encouraged Ghanaians especially the media to refrain from acts that have the tendency to derail the historical gains made by the government of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo and ensure continuation in development. Let me take this opportunity to renew my unflinching commitment to the goals set by the President for his second term, he said. Read the full statement below: Statement By Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto On Details Of Meetings Held With Executives Of The NPP In The Ashanti Region I have taken due notice of an information making rounds on both traditional and social media claiming to be summary of an outcome of a meeting held with party executives in the Ashanti Region "to announce my bid for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party". The narrators for reasons best known to them, mischievously sought to court public disaffection for my person by making outrageous claims. Hence with, I would like to put forward the following facts: 1. Per the constitution of the New Patriotic Party, nominations have not been opened for interested candidates to announce their intentions to contest for any position in the party. It is therefore unfortunate for anyone to seek to create the impression that I held a meeting to announce my bid for the "flagbearership position of the party. 2. I decided to go Kumasi and have some rest during the weekend and try to recover from a fever I was running after I attended the budget reading in parliament on Friday 12 March, 2021. As a former member of parliament in the region and as a senior member of this government, I accepted to grant audience to some party executives who had been making calls for a meeting to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the party. However, such meetings end with an amount given as a transportation to guests who came from far and near. 3. The narrators claimed that I spent up to GH 1,000,000.00 Ghana Cedis at the said meeting to announce my bid for the position. This is not only incorrect but it could only be in the imaginations of the one making those claims. Meeting 17 constituency executives for each of the 47 constituencies in my house meant I was receiving about 700 delegates. My house does not have the capacity to accommodate such numbers. How therefore can one assume that I paid almost One Million Ghana Cedis to these NPP executives in one day? 4. Furthermore, the narrators claimed I promised to distribute tractors and motorbikes to party executives. This is another lie. Being mindful of the fact that these tractors are purely meant for farming purposes, I will never use their allocation or distribution for my personal political ambition. Processes for the acquisition and distribution of these equipment are clearly spelt out and there is no way it will be compromised for other purposes apart from being given to deserving farmers and farmer groups in the country. 5. Another regrettable claim by the narrators is that I sought to ride on the back of my long-term relationship with President Akufo Addo to prosecute my political ambition. It is no secret that I have a very close relationship with President Akufo Addo which predates our political careers. But it can only be a figment of one's imagination to assume that I will put the President in such an uncomfortable situation by using his name to campaign. Especially when he has issued a strong warning to members of his government to refrain from such conducts. I think my relationship with the President should rather be the reason why I should continue to give off my best in order to help make his second term a continued success. It is therefore regrettable to note that I with this understanding, would be the one to cause distractions and try to derail the focus of our government by announcing my ambitions at this time. There is a deliberate effort by my detractors from within and outside my party to cause disaffection between me and the party and between me and the government for which I have worked so hard in the last four years. Such people think the easiest way to go is to introduce tribal politics. The issue about roads in Ashanti Region is a typical example of the tribal politics I am referring to. 6. As people who know me would attest to, I don't subscribe to tribal politics. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that I believe in decent political discourse devoid of insults, lies and mudslinging. I will therefore encourage each and everyone, including the media, to refrain from acts that have the tendency to derail the historical gains made by the Government of His Excellency Nana Akufo Addo and ensure continuation in development. Let me take this opportunity to renew my unflinching commitment to the goals set by the President for his second term. Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto Minister for Food and Agriculture 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. Featured Video On March 16, 2020, Kathryn Sandretto locked the doors of French clothing store Acote, closing indefinitely along with every other nonessential retailer in San Francisco. Sandretto, the store manager, didnt know when the Hayes Valley shop would reopen after six Bay Area counties told everyone to shelter in place from the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. The image of her locking the gate in front of her stores entrance was published on the front page of The Chronicle the next day, a herald of the pandemics toll on businesses. It took another 91 days for Acote to reopen, with masks and hand sanitizer marking the new reality. Now, almost exactly a year into the pandemic, Acote closed permanently at 597 Hayes St. on March 21. Its sister store Cotelac on Fillmore Street is closing on March 28. We just werent ever able to recover, Sandretto said. Hayes Valley got hit really hard. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of City Hall staff, tourists, tech workers at nearby companies like Twitter and Uber, and patrons of Civic Center concerts and performances have vanished from the area. Foot traffic plunged at Acote from 40 daily shoppers on a pre-pandemic weekend to three or fewer. More than a dozen Hayes Valley stores and restaurants have shuttered permanently during the pandemic, including Aiken, Dish, Dobbs Ferry, Ernest Alexander, Gazette, the Grove, Hill City, Nancy Boy, the Riddler, Siren, Stacks, Vepublic and Ver Unica. Sales dropped by around 60% at Acote, Sandretto said. The most recent holiday season saw four-figure sales, down from six figures in 2019. The store was already struggling to compete against online shopping, and it wasnt prepared to pivot. No one was interested in curbside pickup, she said. Acotes landlord reduced rent by half, but it wasnt enough, Sandretto said. The store is Acotes only U.S. location and opened in 2015. The months-long ban of outdoor dining further crippled the area, but even after it returned, hungry visitors werent that interested in buying clothing. People want to eat. Theyre not really there to shop, she said. The shop is a novelty for people to hop in while theyre waiting for their table. The job just became very precarious and daunting, she said. It felt like you were waiting for the end. It isnt just a ghost town. Hayes Valley, once a vibrant, upscale shopping destination, has become one of the citys biggest crime zones. The 94102 zip code, which includes Hayes Valley and part of the Tenderloin, had 166 commercial burglaries last year, the highest of any zip code in the city, according to police data published by local news website Public Comment. Citywide burglaries jumped 62.2% last year, while other crimes fell nearly 40%. Around nine people snatched products off the shelves and ran out at Acote in the past few months, forcing the store to start locking its doors and admitting only some customers. Police and city officials have vowed to prioritize safety, but Sandretto saw only modest improvements in the last couple weeks. I feel like the police are trying, she said, but she stopped reporting thefts. I knew it wasnt going to make a difference. Interactive Vaccine Tracker: Latest developments Detailed information about the coronavirus vaccines as it becomes available. Across the street, consumer tech store B8ta closed indefinitely after staff were robbed at gunpoint in February. That was the breaking point for Sandretto. B8tas workers checked on her and their absence made the street feel even more unsafe. Cathy Groener, the U.S. market manager for Cotelac and its Acote affiliate, said San Francisco has seen worse crime than its other stores in New York, Connecticut and Santa Monica. At the Cotelac store on Fillmore Street, people would yell at the two-person staff. Someone broke in through the stores skylight and then returned a week later. Cotelac closed its Boston store at the end of 2020. The Palo Alto store remains open, but Groener said shes in negotiations with the landlord and it could close. In the fashion industry, its very difficult, she said. Business is really bad. Im trying to hang on. Sandretto doesnt know whats next for her, but shes considering departing the retail sector completely. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf Newspaper image: Susan B. Anthony had an opponent in Anna L. Dawes Anna Laurens Dawes's legacy as an anti-suffragist, was noted by The Eagle in November 1940, when marking the 20th anniversary of the 19th amen On Saturday, Nov. 5, 1932, just days before the presidential election, Anna Laurens Dawes, 81, known as the "grand lady of Pittsfield," took to the airwaves to urge every Republican to head to the polls that Tuesday. "Why are we going to vote for Hoover? Because of what he is, and what he has done, and what he is doing, and what he can and will do," she passionately bellowed into the microphone in her radio debut on WGY Springfield. On the ticket? President Herbert Hoover and the progressive Democratic nominee, Franklin D. Roosevelt. "This is an election in which every vote counts," she said, urging men, but especially women, to get out to vote. Being from the Berkshires, birthplace of the most famous suffragette, Susan B. Anthony, Dawes' ardent push for voters to head to the polls doesn't seem out of place until you consider she, just a dozen years prior, was the leading anti-suffragette of Western Massachusetts, if not the state. Dawes, in fact, had spent a major portion of her life as an anti-suffragist, serving as vice president of the Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women from its inception in 1895 until its dissolution in 1919. She was the founder and president of the Berkshires' anti-suffrage society; devoting much of her free time to writing or speaking against the extension of voting rights to women, stating to one reporter that she was of the mind that "feminine nature is unsuited to government." On Aug. 18,1920, upon learning of Tennessee becoming the 36th state to ratify the "Susan B. Anthony amendment," giving it the required approval of three-fourths of all states, Dawes told reporters she had hoped "women would have a year or two of education in governmental matters before voting for president." Her comments on Susan B. Anthony, to the Wednesday Morning Club, an exclusive literary club she founded, that same afternoon were reportedly limited to "personal reminiscences of her acquaintance with Miss Anthony in Washington, D.C.," calling Anthony "a very pleasing and interesting person." Dawes was said to have "spoke particularly of a bright crimson shawl which [Miss Anthony] habitually wore over a dark dress." Defeated as she was when it came to the 19th amendment, Dawes was at the front of the line when groups such as the League of Women Voters were formed in Pittsfield. "The paradox of Miss Dawes was her unmitigated opposition to women's suffrage despite her own great interest in politics and public affairs," The Eagle wrote in a lengthy obituary for Dawes on Sept. 26, 1938. "Miss Dawes addressed many meetings in her futile endeavor to stem the tide. On one occasion, she said that if there were any of her sex still on the fence [about the vote] she would advise them to climb down, for it was a very undignified position. On another occasion, she said [women's suffrage] was one subject on which her mind was absolutely closed, never to be reopened." Perhaps what made Dawes' opposition to women's suffrage even more confusing was the she was a celebrated author, journalist, activist and an advocate of higher education for women. Dawes's privileged lifestyle was most likely the cause of her disdain for women's suffrage, according to theories posed by historian Susan E. Marshall, in her book, "Splintered Sisterhood." "Anti-suffragists organized to protect gendered class interests," Marshall writes. "Most vocal were the wealthy, educated women who exercised considerable political influence through their personal ties to men in politics, as well as through their positions on social service committees." Marshall is also of the opinion that anti-suffragists "sought to keep the vote from lower class women fearing it would result in an increase of the ignorant vote." In the case of Dawes, the daughter of an influential U.S. Senator, Marshall's theory has merit. Born in North Adams in May 1851, Anna Laurens Dawes was the daughter of Electa (Sanderson) and Henry Laurens Dawes. Her father, a prominent lawyer and former editor of the North Adams Transcript, was serving in the state Legislature at the time of her birth. He would move the family to Pittsfield soon after her birth, becoming the state district attorney for western Massachusetts from 1853 to 1857. Henry Dawes would go on to serve as both a U.S. Representative, from 1857 to 1875, and as a U.S. Senator, from 1875 to 1893. (Sen. Dawes would support the creation of Yellowstone National Park; help establish U.S. Fish Commission and daily weather reports to Congress the early beginnings of U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the National Weather Service and author the Dawes Act of 1887, which was aimed at assimilating Native Americans into the general population by breaking up the Reservation System and illegalizing Indigenous cultural practices.) Sen. Dawes political career would play a major role in Anna Dawes's life, giving her access to powerful politicians and families and establishing her as a cultural and societal influencer in Pittsfield and the greater Berkshires for at least six decades. Anna Dawes first arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1859 at the age of 8, where she attended a reception at the White House for President Abraham Lincoln, who according to reports, scooped her up in his arms and kissed her on her cheek. Lincoln was the first of 11 presidents with whom she would be personally acquainted. At the age of 20, in 1871, Dawes became a Washington correspondent for the Springfield Republican, the Boston Congregationalist and the Christian Union and later was a regular contributor to several magazines. In 1883, she briefly served as the editor of the miscellany department for the Berkshire Gazette, a weekly edition of the Pittsfield Journal. Primarily, Dawes worked as her father's personal secretary, spending much of her time dealing with governmental affairs on her father's behalf. In 1883, she lobbied Congress and helped to secure funding for the rescue Lt. Adolphus W. Greely and the members of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition who had been lost in the Arctic for three years. Greely and five survivors of his 25-member crew were rescued in June 1884. At home, in Pittsfield, Dawes' civic pursuits included saving the Pittsfield Common, as a public park; fighting for the preservation of elm trees along Elm Street and in 1879, establishing the Wednesday Morning Club, a literary club fashioned after Boston's Saturday Morning Club. During her 60-year tenure as the club's president, her connections helped bring in numerous speakers including Woodrow Wilson; Dr. Harry A. Garfield, son of President James A. Garfield; Mark Twain; Robert Frost; and Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and founder of the Tanglewood Music Center. The club's talks, like its membership, were exclusive and not open to the public. She also served on the state board of managers for the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1892-1894 and on the board of lady managers the St. Louis Exposition of 1902-1904. Educated at the Maplewood Institute in Pittsfield, and later, the Abbott Academy in Andover, Dawes did not go on to further her education. However, she was a staunch supporter of women's higher education and was a trustee of Smith College from 1889 to 1896. She was one of the first three women to be appointed as a trustee, all of whom were chosen by Smith College's Alumnae Association in 1889. Dawes was nominated by the Alumnae Association, according to The Smith College Monthly, Vol. 8, 1900, because she was "representing no college but the broader general education gained in her busy, helpful outside life." She would later bequeath a quarter of her residuary estate to Smith College, where a dormitory, Dawes House, still bears her name. Dawes was also a prolific writer, authoring numerous papers and books throughout her lifetime. Her first book, "How We are Governed," in 1885, was meant to explain the U.S. Constitution and federal government to high school students. She authored "A United State Prison" in 1886; "An Unknown Nation" in 1888 and a biography of U.S. Sen. Charles Sumner in 1892. Her two most prominent works, "The Modern Jew: His Present and his Future," published in 1886, and "The Indian as Citizen," published in 1917, are today, her most controversial due to her opinions. "The Indian as Citizen," written 30 years after the Dawes Act, espouses her belief that her father's bill, had only done good by forcing the assimilation of the Native American with Western society. Despite her conflicting and often controversial views, Dawes spent her remaining years in her beloved Pittsfield, where she remained a key cultural influencer up until her death, at the age of 87, in 1938. Australia faces a 'significant threat' from violent terror attacks on its citizens, the nation's top intelligence official has warned. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess said the government agency had credible intelligence individuals and groups were plotting terrorist acts Down Under. The revelation on Wednesday came moments before Mr Burgess announced the country had uncovered a 'nest of spies' operating on Australian soil. During his second annual threat assessment in Canberra, the intelligence chief said the terrorist threat to Australia was 'probable'. The nation's top intelligence chief said Australia faces a 'significant threat' from violent terror attacks on its citizens. File image pictured of federal police patrolling Melbourne Airport 'We have credible intelligence that individuals and groups have the capability and intent to conduct terrorism onshore,' he said. 'Let me be clear; this threat is significant, and its not going away. 'Today, there are individuals and groups subscribing to religiously motivated violent extremism that are plotting violence against Australia and Australians.' Mr Burgess directly mentioned Islamic State-inspired attacks on Australian soil in the past 12 months as evidence of the terrorist threat. He then spoke of the threat to Australia from foreign spies who ASIO has shown the door to over the past year. He said the number of spies removed from the country was in the 'double figures'. He said espionage and foreign interference continued to be levelled at not only the federal government but all Australian states and territories. Last year ASIO investigated the 'nest' of foreign spies - from a country not in Australia's immediate region - targeting relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service, he said. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess on Wednesday delivered his second annual threat assessment in Canberra Security sources reportedly told The Australian that China wasn't behind the spy ring and the more likely infiltrators were Russia. 'They successfully cultivated and recruited an Australian government security clearance holder who had access to sensitive details of defence technology,' Mr Burgess revealed. ASIO investigated, identified and verified the activity, cancelling the government employee's security clearance, confronted the foreign spies, and 'quietly and professionally removed them from Australia', Mr Burgess said. He said it was only one example of ASIO's work. 'In the last 12 months, a significant number of foreign spies and their proxies have either been removed from Australia or rendered inoperative,. The intelligence chief said the terrorist threat to Australia was 'probable'. Stock image of a masked man holding the flag of Islamic State. 'I can't give you exact details for obvious reasons, but I'm talking about a number in the double figures.' A counter foreign interference task force has investigated over 30 cases, with the first charge laid in Melbourne last year. Foreign spies were constantly seeking to penetrate government, defence, academia and business to steal classified information, military capabilities, policy plans and sensitive research, Mr Burgess said. The ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) headquarters building is seen in Canberra And they continued to 'intimidate members of diaspora communities' while seeking to interfere in democratic institutions. Australians needed to be aware of some of the techniques of espionage. 'Rather than a spy sidling up to a target on a train station, he or she is more likely to send a friend a request or a job offer, or a spy might spam a whole lot of messages and then sit back and see who responds.' The woman spoke to the media in person for the first time in the seven months since Park killed himself after she filed a police complaint against him. "His power continues to linger," the woman told reporters in a hotel in Seoul. "Even after he died, people who refuse to acknowledge his wrongdoing continue to make life hard for me." The woman who accuses former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon of years of sexual harassment on Wednesday said Park's malign power persists beyond the grave. The press conference, organized by women's rights groups, was limited to 60 reporters and no photographs or videos were allowed. "Due to his radical choice, the perpetrator became a victim, and I felt there was no place for me in our society amid a huge outpouring of tributes to the deceased." A court ruled in January that "the victim suffered tremendous psychological pain due to former Mayor Park's sexual harassment" and scuppered attempts by Park's family to block further investigation. But because Park is dead police closed the case. "I believe we would have come closer to the truth if he had lived to face the law and defended himself," the woman said, fighting back tears. "Because he gave up his right to defend himself, I ended up suffering the damage. I hope you will now stop pointing your fingers at me." When asked about her motive for holding the press conference, the woman said, "I believe a lot of people have forgotten the reason why the by-election is being held" for Seoul mayor next month. "I became afraid that I would be unable to return to my life if a mayor is elected from the ruling party, which was responsible for hurting me by distorting the truth." The woman said the former mayor "isn't the only politician in the ruling party who is at fault. The party attempted to downplay the pain I suffered by referring to me as a person 'claiming to be the victim' and ended up fielding a candidate for mayor" despite earlier vowing not to field a candidate. She was referring to Minjoo Party lawmakers Nam In-soon, Jin Sun-mee and Ko Min-jung, who took the lead in vilifying her. "Before the Minjoo Party apologizes, it needs to acknowledge the truth and take action." The woman called on Nam, who is suspected of leaking her police complaint against the ex-mayor, to quit. But she voiced her willingness to forgive those who sincerely acknowledge hurting her. "I wish to forgive them not out of fear of retribution, but for my own recovery. They need to apologize for everything that has been done to me." The interior of a house church in Puyang, in central China's Henan province, is shown in an Aug. 13, 2018 photo. Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou have raided a Protestant house church, detaining at least 10 people for questioning, RFA has learned. The raid came amid a Bible study group meeting held by the Ren'ai Reformed Church in Guizhou's provincial capital, Guiyang, on Tuesday morning. "The Ren'ai Reformed Church was raided by officials including the civil affairs bureau and the police on the morning of March 16," a local Christian who gave only a surname, Huang, told RFA on Wednesday. "More than a dozen of our brothers and sisters were taken away [by police]." Huang said a church elder, Zhang Chulei, was also detained after going to the police station at around 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday to inquire after the others. "I heard that they called him in for questioning," Huang said. "Many of them have yet to be released, including Zhang Chunlei." Another Christian who lives in Guiyang, who gave only a surname, Li, said it had been rare for members of Protestant "house churches" to meet in person since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. "Lately it has been mostly online meetings, with no offline gatherings," Li said. "Offline gatherings are restricted." "Sometimes we will gather in small groups of around a dozen people, or just a few people," he said. "Large-scale gatherings are definitely banned." Zhang, who leads the church, was one of the first Protestant pastors to sign a Declaration of the Christian Faith started by jailed pastor Wang Yi. Prior to the raid, he had already been subjected to repeated surveillance and harassment by the state security police and barred from participating in any religious activities, and from communicating with other church members. Pandemic restrictions Li said the reason for the sudden raid was unknown, although the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has strict rules about what can be considered a "house church." "As far as we can tell, the [CCP's] United Front Work Department and the secret agencies of the Chinese government have their own definition of what can be called a house church in China," Li said. "They think it should refer to a family gathering with only relatives present," he said. Currently, religious meetings involving more than one household are banned under pandemic restrictions, he said. An official who answered the phone at the religious affairs bureau in Panyu, in the southern city of Guangzhou, confirmed to RFA that gatherings are currently restricted to family members only. The raid in Guiyang comes just a few days after authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan raided the Fountain of Life Church during a Sunday service in the provincial capital, Chengdu. Police raided the church on March 7, taking pastor Zha Changping, his wife, and three other church members to the local police station for questioning, the U.S.-based Christian rights group ChinaAid reported on its website. All five were released after several hours of interrogation, the group said. Fountain of Life Church is one of the earliest founded urban house churches, and is a sister church of the now-shuttered Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu. Among its members is a former state security police officer who converted to Christianity, and was later forced to resign from his state job, ChinaAid said. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Anderson, a widely recognized community leader in South Florida, is the retired President and CEO of the Southeast Region for the Northern Trust Company, where he was responsible for investment management, trust and estate planning, private and business banking, and financial consulting in Florida and Georgia. He also led Southeast Bank as Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking. According to Chairman of the Bank Holding Company Board Charles Stuzin, "We look forward to the expertise and deep community connections that Sheldon brings to this role. Much of the Bank's success can be attributed to its legacy of capable and caring leaders who believe in the potential of South Florida and we look forward to continue operating from the position of strength the Bank has enjoyed for almost 100 years." Anderson is replacing Rick Kuci, who recently resigned and served as Chairman and CEO for the past 15 years. "We wish Rick well in his future endeavors and thank him for his leadership. Grove Bank & Trust has enjoyed a banner year of double-digit growth in loans, deposits and assets under management," said Stuzin. Grove Bank & Trust continues to retain its strong capital and liquidity position and has one of the strongest capital ratios among banks in South Florida, placing it among the top 10% of banks nationwide (as of December 31, 2020). "Any CEO is only as effective as the team around him and, in this new role, I look forward to working with the dedicated and talented team to continue Grove Bank & Trust's legacy of service for the next generation of South Florida banking customers," said Anderson. Anderson sits on the Board of Trustees of Baptist Health South Florida, and the Board of Directors of United Way of Miami Dade County, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc., Miami Dade College Foundation, the New World Symphony, The Miami Foundation and the Beacon Council. He also serves on Board of Trustees at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and is a member of the Orange Bowl Committee. ABOUT GROVE BANK & TRUST Grove Bank & Trust, founded in 1926, is known for offering boutique banking, lending and comprehensive trust and wealth management services tailored to meet the needs of successful individuals and their families, as well as businesses, endowments and foundations. Financial strength and stability have been a Grove Bank & Trust hallmark. Locally owned and operated, Grove Bank & Trust has South Florida offices in Aventura, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay, South Miami, and Broward. MEDIA CONTACT: Christine Woll (305) 808-4015 [email protected] SOURCE Grove Bank & Trust Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 01:49:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TUNIS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said on Wednesday that the country requires the establishment of a political climate that facilitates the process of economic recovery, reported Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP). "The political climate should be favorable to an economic recovery, especially since the Tunisian people ... need to be reassured far from all kinds of political tensions," he said. Mechichi reiterated his call to all parties concerned to overcome conflicts. "The political and economic crisis will lead the country to bankruptcy, which will not benefit the parties in power or the opposition," he warned. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:29:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that COVID-19 vaccine is the only solution for countries to return to a normal situation, according to a foreign ministry's press statement on Thursday. Sokhonn made the remarks during a virtual meeting with Louise Mushikiwabo, secretary general of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF) on Tuesday, exchanging views on equitable and universal access to vaccines against COVID-19. "His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister said that no country can be considered safe if other countries are not. The vaccine is the only solution for the return to a normal situation," the statement said. Sokhonn also informed Mushikiwabo that Cambodia has begun an anti-COVID-19 vaccination drive since last month after receiving vaccines from China and the COVAX Facility. He said more vaccines are expected to arrive in the country in the next few weeks. According to a government report, as of Wednesday, some 308,459 people in priority groups had been vaccinated against the COVID-19. The Southeast Asian nation has reported a total of 1,541 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with one death and 898 recoveries, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday. Enditem ADVERTISEMENT Just as vaccine nationalism constitutes what Timothy Ford and Charles Schwerk regard as equity and social justice concerns, racism and xenophobia (both subtle and violent), such as excluding non-nationals from governments COVID-19 economic stimulus packages, pose equity and social justice concerns in all its ramifications. On March 9, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, used the virtual network meeting with global leaders and the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to reinforce his view on the resurgence of extreme nationalism across the globe since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He rightly accused the wealthy countries of hoarding COVID-19 vaccines. This was not the first time that Ramaphosa had spoken out for Africas voiceless people. In January, amidst the vaccines nationalism becoming rampant across the globe, he repeatedly shared his disdain for the increasing hoarding of the vaccines and the gross inequality of access. Many European countries and other wealthy nations, including the United States, have been monopolising the distribution of the vaccines to the detriment of poorer countries. As Ramaphosa noted, wealthy countries have enormous buying power, while African countries, such as South Africa, are really struggling to negotiate for the required quantities of vaccines for their populations, particularly for their essential workers and older populations. Indeed, the scramble for COVID-19 vaccines has become one of the most divisive activities across the globe since the beginning of 2021. As far back as January 28, Israel had already vaccinated 2.7 million of its 9.1 million citizens. By March 4, more than 245 million doses of the vaccine had already been administered across the world approximately 78 million shots in the United States alone, based on an average of 1.74 million doses every day. In other words, approximately 15.4 per cent of the countrys population were vaccinated, after President Joe Bidens promise to roll out 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office. On the other hand, on February 25, TimesLIVE reported that South Africa would have delivered vaccines for 1.1 million people of a population of 59.8 million by the end of March. By March 2, the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, had received only 3.92 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for a population of about 200 million. Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced extreme nationalism, unrestrained racism, and xenophobia. This trend has been prevalent in many societies, from advanced societies of the North to developing countries of the South. In the United Kingdom, right-wing extremism has heightened since the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite the non-documentation of the hostilities against others in Australia, as early as May 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commissions noted an increase in cases of COVID-inspired discrimination against non-nationals. Some supermarkets and a few actors in the informal sectors had tried to absorb stranded international students and other foreigners who had lost their jobs or income without any hope of re-employment amidst the harsh economic realities resulting from the pandemic. The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, asked foreign citizens, particularly those on visiting visas, to leave the country to maximise the governments economic support for Australians. Migrants were excluded from the governments COVID-19 stimulus packages and more than two million people, who were on temporary visas, were advised by the government to leave the country if they had no means of sustaining themselves for a period of six months. Neglecting the migrant community and refugees in a states economic stimulus programmes during the pandemic, and particularly during national lockdowns, constitutes subtle and institutional xenophobia. South Africa has a history of alienating migrants from its socio-economic space. While President Ramaphosa should be lauded for his efforts on the democratisation of vaccines access, it is instructive to note the South African state demonstrated economic and food nationalism by excluding migrants in its COVID-19 economic support package of over R500 billion. Approximately 17 million South Africans, who were reliant on social grants, received an increase in their income through a boost in child-support grants and an allocation of funds to support businesses from governments COVID-19 economic relief packages to ameliorate the economic burdens on citizens during the imposed lockdown. A survey by Stats South Africa revealed that, after the announcement of the lockdown, 82 per cent of migrant respondents had chosen to remain in South Africa, rather than return to their countries of origin, because they considered South Africa as their home. Indeed, the idea of universal human rights is fast becoming a ruse. Both vaccine nationalism and economic nationalism defy humanitarian logic. Despite the spectre of economic and extreme nationalism during the pandemic as a result of the states meagre resources, ruling elites should begin to see the organic connections of all who live in their countries. After all, migrants are human beings who also deserve the right to sustain themselves during the complications brought about by COVID-19, such as the general job losses and a shrinking labour space for foreigners. Neglecting the migrant community and refugees in a states economic stimulus programmes during the pandemic, and particularly during national lockdowns, constitutes subtle and institutional xenophobia. South Africa has a history of alienating migrants from its socio-economic space. Currently, the slogan South Africans First has found its way back strongly into policymaking and public spheres. However, South Africa is not alone in manifesting xenophobia: other countries have also demonstrated these anti-migrant sentiments. States that are riled by the vaccine inequality at the global level should not display institutional xenophobia by denying all those who live within their borders vaccination. However, it remains to be seen if African countries, particularly South Africa, will imbibe the principle of Ubuntu in its vaccination programmes. Globalisation has failed to fulfil its promise to blur the inequality between the North and the South and to remove the walls of nationalism. There is something wrong with this wildly consuming international liberal order that keeps reinforcing extreme nationalism and inequality. States that are riled by the vaccine inequality at the global level should not display institutional xenophobia by denying all those who live within their borders vaccination. However, it remains to be seen if African countries, particularly South Africa, will imbibe the principle of Ubuntu in its vaccination programmes. Will migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, have access to the vaccines? Just as vaccine nationalism constitutes what Timothy Ford and Charles Schwerk regard as equity and social justice concerns, racism and xenophobia (both subtle and violent), such as excluding non-nationals from governments COVID-19 economic stimulus packages, pose equity and social justice concerns in all its ramifications. Adeoye O. Akinola is a Senior Researcher at the University of Johannesburgs Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation in South Africa. This article appears in the March 19, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. The Coming Fall of the House of Windsor, Revisited [Print version of this article] View full size Left: CC/Georges Biard ; right: CC/Scorpions and Centaurs March 12The following excerpt from the October 28, 1994 EIR Special Report, The Coming Fall of the House of Windsor by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. is, as Mr. LaRouches writings usually are, as timely today as the day they were written. We are experiencing today a new crisis within the ruling (Hanoverian) House of Windsor, the Monarchy of the British Empire. The estranged Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle have gone on television to expose the dysfunctional and racist nature of that Royal Family, provoking panic and horror not only within the family itself, but also among the defenders of the Empire, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States establishment. These developments necessarily bring to mind the famous case of Princess Diana, the late Princess of Wales, wife to the current heir to the throne, Charles, the Prince of Wales. On November 19, 1995, Princess Diana appeared on the BBCs Panorama program, and presented to the millions of viewers around the world a vivid picture of the (even then) dysfunctional and abusive nature of the Royal Family, and in particular of her estranged husband Prince Charleswho, she declared, should not become King; rather her son Prince William should replace him in the succession. Lady Di added: I shall not go quietly. The response of the Royal Family and the Imperial oligarchy was fierce. Of particular note was the statement of the royal biographer A.N. Wilson, who noted in a New York Times commentary that Lady Dianas presentation was a skillfully organized attack on the institution of the of the monarchy itself. Not just on Prince Charles. Not just on the Queen, whom Diane obviously hates. But on the monarchy. Prophetically, Wilson added: The Establishment can get very nasty, indeed, and for all her undoubted popularity, if she continues to rock the boat in this way, the Establishment will simply get rid of her. On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash with her boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed, the son of the Egyptian owner of the Harrods luxury department store in London. The cause of the crash has never been determined, but there is much circumstantial evidence that it was not an accident. Correspondence with Lady Diana As today, the issue of race was central to the controversy. The Windsors were furious at Lady Dis exposure of the family secrets, but perhaps even more disturbing was the thought that the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry would have another child, with Egyptian blood. Lyndon LaRouche and Scott Thompson of EIR made the decision in the days after Dianas death to reveal the correspondence that had taken place between the Princess and the LaRouche organization over the previous two years. In October of 1994, EIR had published the Special Report excerpted below, The Coming Fall of the House of Windsor, in which Mr. LaRouche and his associates exposed the scandals taking place at that time within the Royal Family, but focused on the role of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Royal Consort to Queen Elizabeth. Prince Philip, LaRouche wrote, has personally directed his World Wildlife Fund in genocide against the population of sub-Saharan Africa. For most of us, that Hitler-like behavior would be grounds to convict the monarchy. You can read the rest below. The Special Report was delivered by EIRs Scott Thompson, one of its primary authors, to many members of the Royal Family. Only Princess Diana responded, sending a note through her private secretary: 5th June, 1996 Dear Mr. Thompson, The Princess of Wales has asked me to thank you for your letter and enclosure. Her Royal Highness appreciates the interest which prompted you to write and has asked me to send you her best wishes. Yours sincerely, Maureen A. Stevens Two subsequent studies of the House of Windsor were later mailed to Princess Diana, and in a response of February 19, 1997, she again thanked Thompson for the most interesting enclosures, closing: Your letter meant a great deal to the Princess who has asked me to send you her sincere thankssigned this time by Mrs. Colin MacMillan. View full size CC/Mark Jones Meghan Markle may not be of the stature of Princess Diana, but that does not detract from her exposure, as Lady Di did, of the dysfunctional, and in this case, the racist character of the Royals. No one who reads even a part of the EIR Special Report excerpted below would have any doubt of the truth of the racist nature of the family that committed genocide on a massive scale in India and across Africa, over centuries, and continues still today through the evil auspices of the Green New Deal. A Green Genocide While Prince Philip so hated humanity that he wished to be reincarnated as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solve the population problem, he has been outdone by Princess Dianas deranged former husband Prince Charles. EIR has again published a Special Report, that of February 12, 2021, The Great Leap BackwardLaRouche Exposes the Green New Deal. Included in this Report is an article by EIRs Richard Freeman, Prince Charles Invented and Runs the Green New Deal. You are strongly encouraged to read that article, and to purchase and circulate the full Report. The Royal Family released a statement following Harry and Meghans appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, which read in part: The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Please read here Lyndon LaRouches report on the scope of that issue of race, and consider that it is indeed time to dispense with the House of Windsor, and monarchy, and Empire, once and for all, if we are to prevent the new green genocide from threatening civilization as we know it. [March 18, 2021] OneQode's Enterprise Network Ready For Service Across Asia-Pacific BRISBANE, Australia, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ -- OneQode, an international carrier operating low-latency, high capacity networks today announced that its on-demand enterprise connectivity services are now available throughout Asia-Pacific. A culmination of an extensive deployment during the past year, the network delivers ethernet connectivity, IP transit and private cloud functionality across OneQode's premium international backbone. "The network is built from the ground up to tackle the emergent challenges facing the enterprise world today," said OneQode CEO, Matthew Shearing. "By building a platform focused on low latency, premium routing and rapid provisioning, we're helping businesses connect like never before." Over the past year, OneQode has embarked on a nework rollout spanning three continents and a number of major points of presence. Locations include Brisbane, Guam, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney with several others on the way - including Toronto, Seattle, Singapore and Chennai. The network is backed by OneQode's proprietary software routing solution and on-demand dedicated servers, making it perfectly suited for companies needing cutting edge connectivity and compute. "We designed our platform to solve the hardest challenge first - inter-continental gaming," said OneQode's Chief Product Officer, Ben Cooper. "It's built to get data where it needs to go quickly and reliably. That's as relevant for gaming publishers as it is for private enterprise cloud deployments - and everything in between." OneQode's unique products are aimed squarely at solving modern business problems. Through its software-defined backend, it can deploy ethernet, transit and cloud solutions (including bespoke private network solutions) in a fraction of the usual industry lead times. Private cloud resources can also be deployed in latency-neutral locations, such as OneQode's Guam connectivity hub (https://www.oneqode.com/about/guam/) - meaning a far smoother experience for networks which span several countries. More information on solutions can be found on the OneQode website https://www.oneqode.com/wholesale/ About OneQode OneQode is a next-generation telecommunications provider offering unparalleled speed and connectivity to businesses, gamers, governments, financial institutions and end-users. We operate a low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity backbone throughout Asia-Pacific with a focus on some of the most demanding network applications. We also deploy high speed last-mile connectivity and edge data solutions - giving end users a truly quality experience, end-to-end. SOURCE OneQode [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] An embassy worker who was pushed into retirement after returning from a two-week holiday to find a younger woman at her desk has been awarded more than 100,000. Janice Dinsdale, now 72, was told she was 'no longer required' in her job as a clerk at the Indian embassy after returning from annual leave a day after her 65th birthday. Ms Dinsale had been working at the High Commission of India in Aldwych, Central London, for two years and had been told to apply for a one-year contract extension - which she did before her break away in August 2013. The former clerk told an employment tribunal: 'I came back to find there was a young lady sitting in my seat doing my job. 'There were only two desks, I'd nowhere to sit down. I slowly began to cry. My extension request had been rejected without further explanation', reports the Mirror. High Commission of India in Aldwych, Central London Ms Dinsdale, who had planned to work until 70, was dismissed 'without apology' despite feeling she 'still had a lot to give'. After a seven year wait to get to court, due to difficulty 'engaging' with the Republic of India, employment judge Tim Adkin ruled that Ms Dinsdale had been discriminated against due to her age by the employer. Ms Dinsdale was handed 109,906 - 20 times the 6,000 she had been expecting to receive, the Mirror reports. The former clerk told the tribunal how she had been asked to deliver a 'humiliating' retirement speech to around 400 people two weeks after learning her contract would not be renewed. She was given a 13 bottle of brandy as a parting gift. The divorced law graduate was able to find another job following the discrimination. The Mirror reports Judge Adkin told the tribunal: 'The decision to ensure the claimant retired in the month after her 65th birthday was on the face of it directly discriminatory.' Lambert here: Yves asks me to say that if you dont see a second CalPERS post, its coming. She had a power failure, due to thunderstorms (!). Missing cat is found 13 YEARS after vanishing from owners house after he was brought into adoption centre and staff scanned his microchip Daily Mail Sperm whales in 19th century shared ship attack information Guardian Mars Is Hiding Its Lost Water Beneath the Surface, New Research Suggests Gizmodo (original). Supply chain sovereignty will undo globalisations gains FT The Revolt Against the 30% Mafia Moe Tkacik, Marker New-Fangled Tulips (NFTs): Out of curiosity I dug into how NFT's actually reference the media you're "buying" and my eyebrows are now orbiting the moon Jonty Wareing (@jonty) March 17, 2021 And the technical catch: THAT file refers to the actual media you just "bought". Which in this case is hosted via a @cloudinary CDN, served by Nifty's servers again. So if Nifty goes bust, your token is now worthless. It refers to nothing. This can't be changed. "But you said some use IPFS!" Jonty Wareing (@jonty) March 17, 2021 So I guess well be seeing a market in NFT insurance any day. #COVID19 China? Myanmar The Risky Business of Emerging Manufacturing Hubs Business of Fashion Australia Posts First Quarterly Decline in Population Since 1916 Bloomberg India Nigerias crypto startups and traders are still at the mercy of its central bank Quartz Syraqistan UK/EU Capitol Seizure Proud Boys Leaders in Four States Are Charged in Capitol Riot NYT (Furzy Mouse). Biden Administration Rip Up the Unemployment System and Start Again The New Republic Americas Drinking Water Is Surprisingly Easy to Poison Pro Publica (Re Silc). Intelligence Community Our Famously Free Press Health Care Guillotine Watch Goldman Sachs executive buys Jeffrey Epstein mansion The Hill. Perfect. Class Warfare Recent Rise in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Doesnt Mean Anti-Asian Racism Is New Teen Vogue Column: Why do so many Mexican Americans defend Speedy Gonzales? LA Times. Thats Mexican Americanx. Wagnermania The Baffler. Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin [was] later cited by George Bernard Shaw as the model for Siegfried, anarchic Ubermensch of the Ring cycle (!!!!). Dumb as a tenor certainly isnt the first opera cliche Id apply to Bakunin! Antidote du jour (via): Bonus antidote (with sound up). Good kitty: My cat staring down a blue tit on the bird feeder while playing her own Alfred Hitchcock-style theme tune of suspense is probably the best thing Ive seen all year pic.twitter.com/wTMW7stVMv Library Cat (@edinlibrarycat) March 16, 2021 See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is not satisfied to let the investigation into the former president of the citys police union, who resigned from that office Tuesday, proceed with the usual deliberate due process afforded to rank-and-file members of the citys police force. Portland Police Association President Brian Hunzeker acknowledged in a statement released by the union Tuesday that he committed a serious, isolated mistake in connection to a leaked report that erroneously identified Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as the suspect of a minor hit-and run crash. But his resignation announcement did not say anything about what his misstep was, despite the union statement opening with the line that when we make mistakes, we must hold ourselves to account. If he wants to live up to his word, he can just do it, mayoral spokesman Jim Middaugh said of Hunzeker Wednesday. He can truncate the investigative process by just telling the whole truth now. Wheeler also serves as the citys police commissioner. Former police union president Daryl Turner, who stepped back into the role on a temporary basis after Hunzeker quit, cited longstanding police contract protections that allow accused officers to stay silent and require extended due process. As we all know theres an investigation already in progress and part of the investigative process is to be able to give everyone a fair and equitable chance by investigators to give their side of the story, Turner said in a statement late Tuesday. That is a process thats been agreed upon and has been a practice of the Portland Police Bureau for decades. That is the process that Brian Hunzeker will go through and will be afforded all his rights to that process. Angela Orr, a spokeswoman for the police union, declined further comment Wednesday. Hunzeker, who joined the Portland police in July 2000 and took over as union president last fall, will be returned to an assignment within the force, according to the bureau. Lt. Greg Pashley, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman, said Hunzeker will be assigned to patrol in the citys North Precinct. Hunzeker lives in Ridgefield, Washington, about a 20-mile drive to the precinct station along Interstate 5. His shift and days off are subject to seniority. I do not have that information, Pashley said. I do not know when he begins. Chief Chuck Lovell, who returned from a nine-day work trip only hours after the union presidents resignation, said his agency needs the public to believe in its fairness and reliability. We are always working to increase community trust, Lovell said Wednesday in his first public statement. Any allegation of misconduct can erode trust. Wheeler had previously expressed his anger and frustration over the speed and recklessness with which the faulty accusations against Hardesty were made public and Hunzekers evasive explanation of his actions. As the police commissioner, I demand to know what (Hunzekers) mistake was, Wheeler said hours after learning of the resignation. The mayor has also called for an independent investigation into the apparent leak, which could expand into a wider probe of potential political and racial bias within the bureau. Discussions are still underway about the scope of those investigations, which would be done by outside firms with expertise in such analyses. Wheelers decision came a day after police cleared Hardesty in a March 3 case in which a rear-ended motorist mistakenly asserted the commissioner was the driver who struck her car and left the scene of the collision. The morning after the rear-ended driver called police, reports surfaced that the person who reported the hit-and-run crash identified Hardesty as a suspect to police. The Oregonian/OregonLive reached out repeatedly to Hardestys office for comment and published a news story that included Hardestys strong denial she was involved. Andy Ngo, a conservative media personality with a large online following, published a story on the Post Millennial website, where he serves as an at-large editor. The Coalition to Save Portland, a pro-police political action committee, also shared information about Hardesty being named a suspect in a morning Facebook Live post on its page. Gabe Johnson, the coalitions co-founder and director, told Willamette Week he received the report from an employee of the Portland Police Bureau, whom he refused to identify. Last week, in response to the hit-and-run report, the Portland Police Bureau launched a separate internal affairs investigation into what transpired. Chief Lovell spoke with Hardesty on March 5, Pashley, the police spokesman, said. In its statement Tuesday, the union apologized to Hardesty and said it would reach out to meet with the commissioner, an outspoken police critic and the first Black woman elected to the Portland City Council. Matt McNally, a Hardesty communications strategist, said Turner called the commissioners constituent services line that afternoon and asked to speak with her while she was tied up in a council work session. Hardestys office has not heard from the police union since, he said. This story has been updated to include details on Hunzekers reassignment to patrol shifts at the North Precinct. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (R) and Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming pose for photos with COVID-19 vaccines from China at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in Namibia's capital Windhoek on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Musa C Kaseke/Xinhua) WINDHOEK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac arrived in Namibia on Tuesday afternoon, which will help the African country's immunization campaign against the pandemic. Receiving the vaccines at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said the vaccines' arrival gives hope to the country's fight against the coronavirus. Highlighting the long-time friendship between Namibia and China, Nandi-Ndaitwah said she hopes China's vaccines will help the country better manage the pandemic and revive the economy. She also thanked Zimbabwe for its assistance in transfering the vaccines to Namibia. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Chinese ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming said the batch of vaccines is not only a gift to the Namibian people, but also a vivid reflection of the two countries' political trust and friendship. The country will roll out vaccines in line with the Expanded Program on Immunization, and phase I vaccination will begin from March 19 to April 16 in two regions, according to Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula. 4 1 [ Editor: WXL ] Moscow, March 18 : Russia's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov has been recalled to Moscow for consultations to determine the next steps regarding the relations between the two countries. "Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov will fly to Moscow for consultations on March 20. He will hold meetings at the Russian Foreign Ministry and other government agencies to discuss ways of correcting the Russian-US ties, which are now in a crisis," TAAS News Agency quoted the embassy as saying in a Facebook post on Wednesday. The embassy added that the Washington administration's "non-constructive policy towards our country is in the interest of neither Russia nor the US and certain reckless statements of US senior officials pose a threat of utter collapse to bilateral relations, which are already excessively confrontational". The new US administration has been in office for almost two months, and there is a good reason ahead of the 100-day milestone to assess what President Joe Biden's team is doing and what is not, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying in a statement on Wednesday. "For us, the main thing is to determine ways of rectifying the Russian-American ties, which are in a difficult state and Washington has brought to a dead end in recent years," she said. Zakharova added that Moscow is interested in preventing the bilateral relations from "irreversible degradation". It is unclear for how long Antonov will be away from his post in Washington. ADVERTISEMENT A boat captain, Happiness Elebiju, accused of manslaughter over the death of 13 passengers in a boat mishap, has filed a no-case submission before an Ikeja High Court. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Elebiju, who was slated to open his defence on Thursday, made the submission through his counsel, Samuel Ogungbamila. Mr Ogungbamila told the court that Lagos State Government, prosecuting the case, had served him its reply to the application. We have also filed a written address, and we adopt the entire application as our argument in the matter, he said. The defence counsel, therefore, told the court to discharge the defendant, arguing that prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. Responding, Olayinka Adeyemi, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told the court that the prosecution had also filed a response to the no-case submission, dated March 3. She urged the court to hold that the defendant had a case to answer, going by the evidence presented before the court by the prosecution. The judge, Josephine Oyefeso, adjourned the case until March 29 for ruling on the no-case submission. NAN reports that the boat mishap occurred at 5.45 p.m. on July 29, 2020, on the Kirikiri Waterways, Lagos. The defendants boat, which was conveying 20 passengers, capsized, killing 13 persons, including two children. He was subsequently charged with 11 counts of manslaughter, to which he pleaded not guilty. The prosecution alleges that Mr Elebiju drove his boat, with the inscription: Mount Zion Transport, in a reckless and dangerous manner, causing the death of some of the passengers. It closed its case on Feb. 4 after calling four witnesses, including survivors of the boat mishap. The alleged offences contravene Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and punishable under Section 229 of the law. (NAN) Patna, March 18 : A police sub-inspector has been found murdered in Bihar's Saran district, an official said on Thursday. The deceased, Rana Ravi Ranjan Pratap Singh was deployed in the Mufassil police station in Samastipur district. He was on leave at the time of visiting his native village Naraon in Saran district, police said. According to the police, his family said that on Tuesday around 6 p.m. Singh went to the vegetable market and made a call to his relative at 7 p.m., which was his last call. When he did not return home till 8 p.m., the family members called him but his phone was switched off. Aman Pratap Singh, son of the sub-inspector, lodged a missing complaint at the Avatar Nagar police station. On Wednesday evening, the S-I's dead body was found in an agricultural field near the Dumri-Juara railway station. Santosh Kumar, Superintendent of Police of Saran district said: "Prima facie, it appears to be case of murder. We are investigating the incident." Chennai, March 18 : DMK president M.K. Stalin has said that if voted to power, he will commence construction of premium health institute the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur in Madurai. He was speaking to the media at Madurai on Wednesday. Stalin said that while the announcement of the premium medical institute was made in 2014, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone only in 2019 just before the general elections. The DMK leader said that both the state and central government failed to complete the construction of AIIMS at Thoppur in Madurai. Stalin said that once the DMK comes to power, the National Cooperative Sugar mills at Pandiyarajapuram and Alanganallur will be reopened. The DMK leader lashed out against AIADMK's Nathan R. Viswanathan who was alleged to have bribed voters at Natham constituency. Stalin said that J. Jayalalithaa as AIADMK supremo had taken action against a similar charge against Nathan R. Viswanathan. The DMK leader also alleged that the police has registered an FIR against Viswanathan citing that he has not filed his nomination papers. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Exploring Ancient Wonders: The Pyramids and the Nile Headed west, we cross the broad expanse of the Nile, so storied in our collective knowledge and memory, from carrying the baby Moses in a basket to running red in the biblical plagues. But today, nothing feels so ancient, the surface below buzzing with small boats, busy with the flow and urgency of day-to-day life. Leaving the cacophony of Cairos center behind, the traffic on the highway remains thick, maintaining its languid pace, the four lanes spreading to six, or even eight, as everyone looks for an angle, pushing to get ahead. The entrance to the Pyramid of Khufu on the Giza Plateau. (S. Vincent/Shutterstock) And then, just like that, the dusty outer districts fall away, the endless march of half-finished high-rises ceasing at the edge of the sand. Sitting in the back of a minivan, the only guest for this days tour, I crane my neck to see out the window. Three unmistakable peaks rise from the desert floor, their image so familiar yet almost surreal in person, this iconic trio standing here in the same place for some 4,500 years. The Great Sphinx of Giza faces from west to east. (Repina Valeriya/Shutterstock) An Open-Air Museum Im in Egypt, exploring Cairo and Giza. Now home to more than 20 million peopleAfricas largest city, and one of the largest metropolises in the worldfew places match the modern energy of Egypts capital. But all thats new is a mere patina over thousands of years of history, the city serves as a giant, open-air museum. Im here to explore it all, taking a trip back in time as I travel all over town, from the color of chaotic markets to impromptu boat rides on the river to a climb deep inside the pyramids themselves. The Khan el-Khalili souk. (Eric Valenne geostory/Shutterstock) While they date back to around 2500 B.C. and were built with eternity in mind, the Pyramids at Giza were erected in a relatively short window of time by three successive pharaohsin less than a century. Pharaoh Khufu (also known as Cheops) built the first and largest, the Great Pyramid, whose base covers 13 acres of land and which once rose to a height of 481 feet. It stood as the tallest man-made structure in the world for about 4,000 years. Once surrounded by a complex that included temples and chapels, the pyramids were built as burial tombs, containing everything the pharaohs would need in the afterlife as gods. There were even pits containing solar boats, which some scholars believe were designed to ferry the pharaohs, together with the sun god Ra, across the heavens. The Khufu ship found in the complex has been recognized as the worlds oldest intact ship, and it could still sail today despite being thousands of years old. The Egyptian Museum. (Harmony Video Production/Shutterstock) Building the Pyramids Today, we still dont quite understand the engineering mastery that built them. The Great Pyramid includes blocks weighing as much as 15 tons2.3 million of them. Archaeologists note that a paid workforce living in a nearby temporary city did most of the work. Communities across the Old Kingdom put forth both workers and other resources, such as food. But many of the details remain a mystery. Both the quarrying of the stone and its actual assembly present questions. While copper tools used at the time wouldve made quick work of the limestone used for most of the construction, the pyramids also include thousands of tons of hard granite, which came from Aswan, some 500 miles away. Transporting and stacking the stones would have required herculean efforts, and a number of hypotheses for how this was done exactly have been posited. And the Great Pyramid is aligned to within 1/15th of one degree of the four cardinal directions (north-south-east-west), leading to a variety of theories about how the ancients achieved this remarkable achievement in astronomy. Camels were once known as ships of the desert. (Kanuman/Shutterstock) Arriving there in the minivan, my guide has few answers but plenty to show me. First, I ride a camel. After driving around the pyramid complex to take photos from a variety of angles, we pass a vendor pulling a chain of dromedaries and pull over to negotiate a reasonable price. I approach the animal with some trepidationI have a mixed history with camels, having once been bitten by one at a festival in Rajasthan. In that case, the animals flat, blunt teeth hadnt even broken my skin, but, shocked, I had reeled back, tripping over my own feet and falling flat onto the sand. Once, these beasts of burden were the ships of the desert, hauling humans and cargo for vast distances. Their documented presence in Egypt actually predates the pyramids, going all the way back to the Early Dynastic period, which began around 3100 B.C. Today, the ride is short. I climb on its back, with some trepidation, and hang on tight as the animal makes the lurching transition from sitting to standing. We make a little loop, in the shadow of the Great Pyramid. Next, I go inside. Climbing up to the entrance, scrambling over big limestone blocks, I cant quite believe Im using this Wonder of the Ancient World as my jungle gym. Entering, the cheer of a sunny day quickly disappears and I proceed through an airless tunnel, feeling rather claustrophobic as I proceed through the tight confines of an ascending passageway to the Grand Gallery. Arriving, I appreciate that this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. But, finding no treasure, Im eager to get back to the warm breezes blowing fresh air outside. Cairo Tower, overlooking the Nile River. (Mohamed Elkhamisy/Shutterstock) Adventures in Cairo After a stop to see the Great Sphinx of Giza, my adventures in Cairo continue. The city reveals itself, bit by bit, always a new surprise around every corner. Cairo is what I like to call a late city, where denizens are never eager to get to bed. I like late cities, they suit me. Visiting the bazaar at Khan al-Kahlili well into the evening, I find a night market crammed with locals, the stalls piling their stock-in-trade high, layer upon layer, on each side of the passageways. People have bought and sold items in this place since the 1300s, and they continue to do so with fervor tonight. I browse awhile before getting directions, getting a little lost several times before I reach my destination. Pushing open a small door reveals a whole new world that feels like a secret club. Settling into a table at the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe, so-named for the late Nobel laureate, I order up a mixed grill of lamb and chicken, paired with rice, brought to the table by a server in a fez. Musicians play traditional instruments. Men and women smoke shisha. The night stretches out and Im in no hurry to get back to my hotel. A photo of Cairo, taken from Cairo Tower. (givaga/Shutterstock) The city seems to have a million markets. Another day, I spend a hot afternoon at a textile bazaar, wading into an ocean of humanity under towering minarets. An unofficial guide offers an unofficial tour and leads me through the mayhem, eventually leading me up a back staircase to the top of a mosque, above the rooftops, the call to prayer sounding out in competition with the din of the crowd below. And I finally find my way back to the Nile. After wandering among mummies at the Egyptian Museum, just off Tahrir Square, I make my way to the Corniche, bartering a little with one of the many small-tour operators there before boarding a covered boat for a spin on this famous river. Muizz Street. (Mahmoud Haikal/Shutterstock) Its a natural wonder, of course. One of the worlds longest rivers, the Nile stretches more than 4,000 miles, through 10 African countries, from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. But the history here is even more remarkable. Simply put: Without the Nile, there wouldve been no ancient Egypt. The river was its lifeblood. Regular flooding provided nutrient-rich soils, which fed and clothed the populace and fueled economic development. People built irrigation channels and grew cotton, flax, wheat, and beansas well as papyrus, which they used to make paper. The Nile was their source of drinking water and their bathtub. The pharaohs used its resources to build empires. The reconstructed solar barque of Khufu. (Olaf Tausch/CC BY 3.0) And the river is still the heart and soul of this nation, with 95 percent of todays Egyptians still living within a few miles of it. Cutting a swath through modern Cairo, we cruise the Nile, rolling under bridges and past high-rise hotels. Soon, the sun begins to set. Another busy night is about to begin. But for the moment, I relax on the boats weathered cushions and watch the orange meld with the oncoming gloaming, feeling very far from home in all the right ways. Toronto-based writer Tim Johnson is always traveling, in search of the next great story. Having visited 140 countries across all seven continents, hes tracked lions on foot in Botswana, dug for dinosaur bones in Mongolia, and walked among a half-million penguins on South Georgia Island. He contributes to some of North Americas largest publications, including CNN Travel, Bloomberg, and The Globe and Mail. The management team, led by Chairman and CEO Pan Qiusheng, explained the strategic planning for the company's future growth from multiple perspectives, including corporate strategy, brand innovation, channel evolution, corporate culture and digitalization, among others, all of which comprehensively showcased Shanghai Jahwa's new stature as a leader in China's beauty and cosmetics sector. Pan Qiusheng: Reviving Shanghai Jahwa and accomplishing its mission At the conference, Chairman and CEO Pan Qiusheng gave the opening speech at which he provided a broad overview of the company's growth strategy, business policies, corporate culture and ESG engagement. Pan said, "The 123-year-old Shanghai Jahwa has unceasingly provided consumers with quality beauty products created with the utmost of craftsmanship accompanied by service with excellence. Not long ago, the company reimagined the corporate culture model with a new vision, mission, operating principle, values and corporate slogan." Pan gave a detailed presentation on the company's Operating Principle that takes "Consumer-Centricity, brand innovation and channel evolution as the two drivers, culture, system and process, and digitalization as the three enablers". Specifically, with the roll-out of this new approach, the focus will shift to consumers, in tandem with close collaboration with other organizations and big data platforms to gain comprehensive insights into the buying public, in an effort to drive product development to better meet their expectations. As for brand innovation, the company plans to create quality products and services based on insights into consumers, industry trends that look far into the future and big data as well as innovation in marketing and resource investment models. In terms of channel evolution, the company is on track to promote channel innovation through five core initiatives: strategic partnerships, digital empowerment, smart retail, private domain management and business model innovation, while capturing new market opportunities through new channels, new scenarios and new forms of consumption. In addition, Shanghai Jahwa plans to use the three drivers - culture, system and process, and digitalization - to help the company create better value for consumers and provide the greatest support to its brand innovation and channel advancement, Pan added. Pan also said the company will take practical steps to deliver on its commitment to sustainable development of the human destiny community. "Our company has released the first ESG report among listed companies in China's beauty and cosmetics segment this year, fully disclosing the initiatives and achievements of Shanghai Jahwa in fulfilling its social responsibility and promoting sustainable development. To implement China's '3060 Plan' for carbon emissions, we have also established for ourselves a series of more forward-looking goals, aiming to reach peak carbon emissions by 2025 and achieve carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050, setting an example for the entire industry." 2021 marks the 123rd anniversary of Shanghai Jahwa and the 20th anniversary of the company's listing on the A-share market. The company has shown its vitality as a century-old brand that advances with the times in concert with its unlimited development potential. In 2021, Shanghai Jahwa is already well on its way to revival, and looking into the future, the company will remain true to its original aspiration of "Creating perfection and beauty with a century of craftsmanship", to generate the greatest value for consumers, employees, shareholders and society, and to bring China's beauty products to the world. For more information about Shanghai Jahwa Holds 2021 Strategy Conference "To Beauty of the Future", please visit: https://www.jahwa.com.cn/en/activity4 SOURCE Shanghai Jahwa United Related Links www.jahwa.com.cn China Unicomone of the world's largest carriersinsisted that it has never acted illegally and expected a "thorough, fair and fact-based review of the company's conduct by the FCC" Regulators have begun legal proceedings that could strip three Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies of their right to operate in the United States, officials said Wednesday, citing national security concerns. The three firmsChina Unicom America, Pacific Networks, and ComNethad failed to adequately prove their Americas operations were not subject to "undue influence" from Beijing, the Federal Communications Commission said. Commission officials voted 4-0 at a hearing to begin an investigation, which could see the firms stripped of their right to operate within the US. "The threat to our networks from entities aligned with Communist China is one that we must address head on, and I am pleased that the FCC continues to show the strength and resolve necessary to meet this menace," FCC commissioner Brendan Carr said in a statement. "When it comes to Communist China, we have set a high bar for action over the last few years," he added. The move spells more bad news for the embattled firms' US operations, following a January decision by the New York Stock Exchange to bar them from trading. In a statement following Wednesday's ruling, China Unicomone of the world's largest carriersinsisted that it has never acted illegally and expected a "thorough, fair and fact-based review of the company's conduct by the FCC," Bloomberg reported. Wednesday's decision comes amid a broader drive by US regulators to crackdown on Chinese telecoms groups they see as a threat to national security. Last week, regulators listed tech giant Huawei to a roster of communications companies thought to pose "an unacceptable risk", signalling that hopes for are set with the United States under President Joe Biden, after the firm was battered by sanctions imposed by Donald Trump's administration, were unfounded. Explore further Huawei listed anew as threat to US national security 2021 AFP CHICO, Calif. - Live theaters are waiting for the day they can return to the stage. The Chico Theater Company took its final bow indoors on March 15, 2020. Mark Edson, executive director of Chico Theater Company, never expected his doors to still be closed. "We kept thinking that we'll be back in three weeks, we'll be back May 1, we'll be back in July and now it's a year later and we are still not back," said Edson. Some theaters have switched to virtual productions, but Edson said this is just not the same. "Live theater is looking into someones eyes that is really right there in front of you," Edson said. They have put on some outdoor productions behind their building, but say nothing compares to the atmosphere inside the theater. After over a year of being dark, theater companies are waiting for the day that they can welcome the community back through their doors. Counties need to be in the orange tier for live performances to happen indoors at 20% capacity and can operate at 25% capacity indoors in the yellow tier. This does not make sense to smaller community theaters. "They are lumping theaters like the Orpheum in San Francisco that has 1,400 seats to our theater that has 200 seats, said Edson. We don't compare in any way." Edson now spends most of his time in the theater applying for grants and is hopeful to receive some funds from the Save Our Stages act, but the loss revenue from being closed has been huge. "We were getting up to almost 500,000 dollars in annual revenue and then last year it dropped to 24,000 dollars, Edson told Action News Now. He would like to get back to the energy that is live theater as soon as possible. The Chico Theater Company is starting rehearsals for another outdoor show that they hope to perform in May. Edson also said he is hopeful, as James Gallagher is pushing for the state to eliminate all COVID-colored tiers and is asking for counties to decide how to safely reopen. A do-it-yourself test for human papillomavirus, that an expert says resembles a really long earbud, could reduce deaths from cervical cancer among those who do not have access to screening, particularly Indigenous women. Experts from the Cancer Council of NSW and the Australian National University are lobbying for self-testing to be expanded to women who either dont live near testing or feel uncomfortable having an HPV test (previously known as a pap smear) by a clinician. Australia is tracking to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate cervical cancer, which kills about 250 women a year. Ashlee Williams having her hair shaved off. But testing rates are lagging behind among Indigenous women. Samsung unveiled its Galaxy A52 and A72 smartphones at its Awesome Unpacked event yesterday. Now the roadmap for this years Samsung products have surfaced, thanks to @evleaks. This doesnt have the Galaxy Note series, which the company is not expected to launch this year, but it also doesnt have the Galaxy Z Fold Lite, Galaxy Z Flip 2 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 that are rumoured for this year. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook series and the Galaxy Book laptops running Windows are expected to be introduced at PC Unpacked event that is tentatively scheduled for April 14th. In June the company is expected to introduce the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite, successor of last years S6 Lite. The Galaxy A22 and A22 5G are expected in July. Based on earlier rumours the Galaxy A22 will feature a 48MP+8MP+2MP+2MP quad-cameras and a 13MP front camera. The company is also expected to introduce Galaxy A82 5G with flip cameras. In August the company is said to have scheduled Galaxy S21 FE Unpacked event tentatively on 19th. We should know more details in the coming months. Source Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region 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. Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. Community pharmacies in Northern Ireland will provide vaccinations from the end of March, according to the Department of Health. The move announced by the Health Minister Robin Swann on Wednesday will see pharmacies on the high street being facilitated in rolling out Covid-19 jabs. Expand Close Northern Ireland Minister of Health Robin Swann (Liam McBurney/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Northern Ireland Minister of Health Robin Swann (Liam McBurney/PA) It is expected the move will begin from March 30, complimenting the work of GP practices and the new mass vaccination centre at the SSE Arena in Belfast which is also scheduled to open at the end of March. Robin Swann said he was "delighted" at the development and said it was yet another step in the drive to protect people from coronavirus. Community pharmacists are an integral part of the health and social care family. Their contribution to getting as many people vaccinated as possible will be invaluable," said Mr Swann. Northern Irelands Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Cathy Harrison added: Community pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare service for the public and their involvement in the Covid-19 vaccination programme will build on the success of their role in Northern Irelands 2020/21 winter flu vaccination. I want to thank all the pharmacy staff involved and representatives of the community pharmacy sector for their support in bringing this plan to fruition. Joe Brogan, Head of Pharmacy and Medicines Management at the Health and Social Care Board, said: The Covid vaccination campaign is one of the ways that we as a society will move forward. "It is vital that our population has every opportunity to access this service and its fantastic to have over 300 further points where people can book an appointment for a vaccine at a time and a place that suits them. I wish to recognise the tremendous response of community pharmacy teams in supporting the response to Covid and our pathway out of the pandemic. The Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI, Gerard Greene, said: This is a fantastic and welcome step forward. The accessibility and reach of the community pharmacy network, with pharmacists as skilled vaccinators, means they are well equipped to take part in the vaccine programme and further contribute to the pandemic response. Throughout the pandemic, the community pharmacy workforce has gone above and beyond to support patients across Northern Ireland. This latest example shows our pharmacists collaborating to ensure a smooth and safe vaccine programme to protect the public. This should be commended. We would also remind the public that community pharmacies remain open with support and guidance for any medical concern. The vaccination programme will not impact on other services and prescriptions will be dispensed in a safe, convenient and timely manner. "Public health continues to be our top priority and the community pharmacy network remains committed to serving their communities. The Covid-19 vaccine is another example of community pharmacy playing that central role in primary healthcare. According to the Department of Health statistics for 17 March, there have been over 700,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered. This includes 640,801 first doses of the jab and 63,946 second doses. Metropolitan Police now appealing for help to find the man, believed to be in his 50s wearing a red waistcoat Police have launched an appeal to find a man who flashed a young woman near Sarah Everard's vigil - after she claimed an officer ignored her pleas for help. Georgina attended Saturday night's vigil on Clapham Common, held in memory of the murdered 33-year-old. But when Georgina was walking to her home nearby after being told to leave by police, she says she was confronted by a man who flashed his genitals at her. The 27-year-old says she reported the incident of indecent exposure to officers at the scene but was told they'd 'had enough with the rioters tonight' and would not be investigating. Now the Met are asking for help tracking the man, who is believed to be in his 50s, around 5ft 6inches tall and with grey hair. He was wearing a red waistcoat or vest over a shirt and light coloured trousers. Police have launched an appeal to find a man who flashed Georgina near Sarah Everard's vigil - after she claimed an officer ignored her pleas for help The 27-year-old says she reported the incident of indecent exposure to officers at the scene but was told they'd 'had enough with the rioters tonight' and would not be investigating The incident is believed to have happened on the Common's southside near Windmill Drive at around 8pm on Saturday. A crowd of around 1,500 people had gathered at the Common's bandstand to remember Ms Everard, who disappeared nearby, but scuffles broke out as police moved into the disperse the crowd. Speaking about the incident, Georgina told Good Morning Britain: 'I was told by a couple of police officers to leave [the vigil], which is what I did, abide by what they asked. 'As I headed home there was a man who was quite incoherent, unfortunately he had his genitalia out as I tried to walk past him. I felt really uncomfortable. A well-wisher places a tribute to the growing pile from a gap in a police cordon at the bandstand on Clapham Common, south London, on Saturday 'This isn't the first time this has happened to me, I know that this has happened to many, many women but a lot of times we haven't really had an opportunity to talk to police right at the moment. 'And as I was walking there were police just a couple of moments away, so I felt it was appropriate to go and tell them what had happened. 'At the very least even if I had been walked to a safer, better lit area I would have accepted that. 'The female officer said they'd go and check it out but the male officer did interject.' Georgina told the BBC she had approached a group of 'about five or six police officers' to ask them for help. She told the BBC: 'The female officer said "ok, fine, we'll go" and she was about to go when a male colleague said "we're not dealing with this anymore, no, we've had enough with the rioters tonight, we're not dealing with it".' The 27-year-old added that she had previously been a victim of indecent exposure on Clapham Common when a man had been 'touching himself' while 'passed out'. Ms Everard's murder and Couzens' arrest has sparked vigils across the country in her memory and demands for action to tackle violence against women Detective Constable Luke Flood from the Central South Command Unit which polices Lambeth said: 'I am appealing to anyone who was in the area and can help identify the man involved to contact police. 'Clapham Common was extremely busy on Saturday evening with people who had attended the vigil many people would have been filming or taking pictures. 'I would ask anyone to check any material they captured and see if they can identify the man described. 'We also cannot discount that there may have been other instances of this nature in and around the Clapham Common area so I would urge anyone who has witnessed get in contact. 'An incident of indecent exposure can be an extremely distressing offence for those who witness it and it is one police take very seriously. 'Officers have spoken to the woman to offer her support and ensure she is kept updated with the progress of the investigation.' Anyone who can assist police is asked to contact 101 and quote CAD2602/18Mar. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Jennifer Bates testified before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday, explaining to lawmakers what it's like to work in the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, and why the "grueling" experience encouraged her and several colleagues to organize a union election. Bates was invited to speak on the topic of income and wealth inequality by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). During 10-hour shifts, Bates said, workers are only able to take two 30-minute breaks, and due to the vast size of Amazon warehouses, that's "not long enough to give you time to rest. Just walking the long way to the bathroom and back eats up precious break time." Every day at work feels like "an intense workout," because employees have to "keep up with the pace," Bates said. Amazon tracks "our every move," she added, and "if your computer isn't scanning, you get charged with being time-off-task. From the onset, I learned that if I worked too slow or had too much time-off-task, I could be disciplined or even fired." More than 5,800 workers at the Bessemer warehouse are voting on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, with the election running through March 29. In an interview last month with CNN, Bates said she hoped if they voted to unionize, it would result in higher wages, adequate breaks, and improved ways to file and receive responses to grievances. Bates told lawmakers that Amazon is pushing anti-union messaging during mandatory meetings and on flyers. It's "frustrating," she said, because "all we want is to make Amazon a better place to work. Yet Amazon is acting like they are under attack. Maybe if they spent less time and money trying to stop the union they would hear what we are saying." An Amazon spokeswoman told CNN in a statement they take Bates' feedback "seriously," but "don't believe her comments represent the more than 90 percent of her fulfillment center colleagues who say they'd recommend Amazon as a great place to work to friends and family." Story continues More stories from theweek.com 5 scorchingly funny cartoons about Mitch McConnell's filibuster threat Beware the lonely, angry men Is Rand Paul a real doctor? 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 15:31:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Afghan children receive medical treatment at a local hospital in Shiberghan, capital of Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, March 18, 2021. At least 59 people were killed in insurgent activities and conflicts in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, according to a local independent war monitoring group early Thursday. (Photo by Mohammad Jan Aria/Xinhua) KABUL, March 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 59 people were killed in insurgent activities and conflicts in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, according to a local independent war monitoring group early Thursday. "Within the past 24 hours, our team has documented 59 deaths, including seven Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) members, one civilian and 51 Taliban militants," Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on the social media platform twitter. The group said there were also 20 Taliban militants, seven security forces members and two civilians wounded in the cited period. The casualties observed came from 10 violent incidents that took place in six of the Asian country's 34 provinces, according to the RiV figures. Enditem UAW Rejects Fords Plan to Build New Vehicle in Mexico Instead of Ohio The United Auto Workers (UAW) union said that Ford Motor Co.s plan to build a new vehicle in Mexico instead of Ohio might be a violation of the auto manufacturers contractual commitments. We 100 percent reject the companys decision to put corporate greed and more potential profits over American jobs and the future of our members. We expect the company to honor its contractual commitments to this membership and when it fails to do so we will take action, UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem said. We are intensely exploring our options at this time. In the letter, Kariem said Ford in 2019 committed $900 million for a plant in Avon Lake, Ohio (OHAP), and would include a next-generation Ford model to be added to the production lines in 2023. While that would have secured employment well into the foreseeable future for auto workers, he blasted Ford for not honor[ing] its promise. Ford management expects us to just hang our heads and accept the decision, Kariem wrote in a letter dated March 12. But let me be clear, we are making a different choice. Ford plant manager Jason Moore issued a letter to Avon Lake workers after UAWs letter and said the conditions surrounding the expansion at the Ohio plant had changed. The 2019 agreement included a reference to a $900 million investment and a new product for OHAP, the letter stated. Moore said that the firm is investing in the plant and will increase Super Duty truck production there. While conditions upon which the 2019 Administrative Letter were based have changed, the Company is investing in the plant and increasing production of Super Duty trucks at OHAP, Moore wrote. Reuters reported that in November, Ford said it intended to produce another electric vehicle model in Cuautitlan, Mexico, as well as the Mustang Mach-E. Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker didnt say whether Ford would keep its agreement to invest in the Ohio plant. We are always looking at our options, Felker told the Detroit Free Press. We still plan to invest $6 billion and create and retain 8,500 jobs in America during the course of this four-year contract, she said. We are invested in [the] Ohio Assembly Plant and our dedicated workforce there. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) criticized Fords decision. In 2019, Ford made a commitment to invest $900 million at its Avon Lake, OH plant NOW, its reportedly moving the entire project to Mexico, he wrote on Twitter this week. This is unacceptable. At todays Senate Finance Committee hearing, I called on Ford to keep its promise to Ohio workers. General Motors in 2019 stopped production of the Chevrolet Cruze at its factory in Lordstown, Ohio, which affected hundreds of jobs in the area. President Joe Biden, whom the UAW endorsed for president in 2020, has reportedly sought to focus on U.S. car manufacturing as part of his plan to create new auto industry jobs. Its not clear what vehicle Ford is planning to manufacture in Mexico. Company officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Now Open 18 March 2021 Sable at Navy Pier, which marks the 100th property milestone for Curio Collection by Hilton, a portfolio of one-of-a-kind hotels and resorts in premier destinations around the world, is officially opening its doors to the public on Thursday, March 18, 2021. Sable at Navy Pier is the first hotel to break ground and make waves on one of the city's most iconic and historic landmarks, offering sweeping, unparalleled views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline, truly unlike any other. Developed and operated by Maverick Hotels and Restaurants and led by ACRON USA, this remarkable project that only comes around once also joins local favorite Offshore, the World's Largest Rooftop Bar as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, and numerous restaurants, shops and boutiques at Navy Pier. This high-end oasis at 900 East Grand Ave combines lush accommodations with elegance and comfort. With an innovative and historically sensitive design by Koo, the hotel features 223 guest rooms and suites beautifully-appointed with a nautical theme to incorporate the naval history of the city's pier, featuring weathered brass, ship building materials and the use of smooth curves to illustrate that of a ship's interior cabin, along with a color palette of mixed neutrals which are highlighted by a spectrum of blues and blue-greens to pay homage to the lake. Each room boasts floor to ceiling windows with unparalleled lake and skyline views, along with corner room upgrades, serenity beds, and spacious living room areas. The angled surfaces of each room's window seat create a textured exterior that allows the ever-changing range of light, shadow, and color of the lake to reflect within the space, offering a truly unique perspective for locals and out of towners alike. With more than 4,300 square feet of meeting and event space, Sable at Navy Pier is poised to host the city's most elegant weddings, parties and functions. The hotel was strategically designed to have three separate towers so guests looking to host an event have the option to rent an entire wing of the hotel to enjoy extra space and privacy. The name Sable is an homage to the historical vessel. During World War II, Navy Pier served as a training center for new recruits in the United States Navy and the homeport for USS Sable. Today, Lake Michigan surrounding Navy Pier is said to host over 143 aircraft assemblages that still remain within its depth, representing the largest and most preserved groups of U.S. Navy sunken historic aircraft in the world. As part of Curio Collection by Hilton, Sable at Navy Pier embraces the industry-leading Hilton CleanStay and Hilton EventReady with CleanStay programs, reinforcing a commitment to the wellbeing of both guests and team members. Guests can travel with peace of mind from check-in to check-out and enjoy an even safer and cleaner stay, with new procedures including contactless digital check-in and a Hilton CleanStay room seal to indicate that the room has not been entered since being thoroughly cleaned. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 WINSTED A new era of administration at the Gilbert School will begin this summer, when Greg Shugrue begins his job as the head of school. Shugrues appointment was announced March 16 by the Gilbert School Corp. He has served as principal at New Milford High School since 2005, and begins his new job July 1. I pride myself in building collaborative relationships in an open, sincere, and compassionate manner, Shugrue said in a statement. I bring experience, passion, and energy into the workplace each day and pledge to bring that same level of commitment to the Head of School position at The Gilbert School. Steven Sedlak, chairman of the Gilbert School Corp., was on the search committee. A longtime volunteer and board member, he said the search committee included the nine-member board and two faculty members. He was impressed with Shugrue from the very beginning of the process and said he had a this is the one feeling about him. He was very confident in his presentation, and every time we threw a question out to him, he had a good response, Sedlak said. He didnt go on and on, he was very concise and capable, businesslike and confident in his manner. When youre being interviewed by a bunch of people like that, its good to have a lot of poise. He talked about the challenges at NMHS, and I got the feeling right away that he was up to challenges of the Gilbert School, Sedlak said. He was my number one candidate right from the start. The Gilbert School board worked with a search consultant from CABE Search Services, Mary Broderick, who screened and recommended nine candidates. We chose four, Sedlak said. They were all wonderful. For me, Greg stood out. The search committees reference checks on Shugrue revealed a man who was very liked and respected, Sedlak said. We thought he was ready to take his career to the next level. Superintendent Anthony Serio, who is retiring June 30, said he met with Shugrue briefly when he visited the Gilbert School to meet with the search committee and tour the school. Serio has been superintendent since August 2012. I havent had much time to meet with him, to be honest about it, said Serio. Ive got a lot of work to do in the coming months. The Gilbert School used to have a headmaster or head of school, Serio said, but not for some time. Shugrue will oversee students in grades 7-12, along with three assistant principals, and also will serve as the superintendent of the school. Principal Sue Sojka also is retiring in June. Gilberts last head of school was Robert Gasda, who served in the 1990s. He was both principal and superintendent he was all-encompassing, Serio said. So this position isnt something unknown to the Gilbert School Corp. (Gasda) was with Gilbert around 14 years, Sedlak said. He left in 2004. After that, a combination of factors changed the administration, and Tony Serio was hired. When Serio announced his plans to retire this year, the school board again looked at its administrative structure. Weve had Tony running the international program and being the superintendent, and we knew he was retiring; with our principal retiring at the same time, it opened up an opportunity to really look at the positions, Sedlak said. This past year we had a full-time principal, three assistant principals and a superintendent. By creating this head of school, weve been able to reduce the number of positions. The Gilbert School board is hoping Shugrues experience will help in many ways, he said. We were looking for someone who will be an instructional leader, to look at our curriculum, our class sizes and courses, and continue to improve them, he said. Although both Winchester and Gilbert school boards have met many times to negotiate a new contract, those talks are at an impasse. This year, Gilbert members presented a contract of their own, but Winchester did not accept it, for a number of reasons. Sedlak said he hoped the new head of school could help that process. We wanted someone to work with the Winchester Board of Education, he said. We know Mr. Shugrue has lots of experience negotiating contracts. He has expertise in that, and it could help in dealing with our relationship with Winchester. We havent been able to negotiate a long-term contract, and thats one of my frustrations over time, Sedlak said. Sedlak notified Winchester school board Chairman Doug Pfennenger and Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley when the hiring decision was made. I reached out to both of them as soon as I knew, he said. Serios job as superintendent has also included managing Gilberts International Student Program. Gilbert is hiring an executive director to oversee that program, he said. Its a full-time position, he said. Theyre still in the negotiation process for that. Serio said he was excited and happy for Gilbert as it returns to a former form of managing the school. Meanwhile, hes very busy. I have a lot, still, to do, he said. Obviously weve got to get a 2021-22 budget through. Were also still dealing with the state on funding, because we have received extremely little money (from ESSER funding for endowed acacemies) compared to the public schools. Those are things Ive got to work on. Shugrue served four years in the Air Force, then began his education career as a social studies teacher in Florida before moving to Meriden in 2000. He was assistant principal at Orville H. Platt High School; principal at Maloney High School; then went to New Milford High School in 2005. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University, a masters degree from Barry University, his 6th year teaching certificate from Southern Connecticut State University, and his superintendent certification from Sacred Heart University. In October 2020, Shugrue planned to take another job within the New Milford School District, as interim human resources director, following the retirement of longtime HR director Ellamae Baldelli. He then told the Board of Education that he had decided to stay as principal. Around the same time, the New Milford School district learned it was losing its interim superintendent, Paul Smotas. In February, the district hired Alisha DiCorpo as superintendent. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) The past year has been filled with several catastrophic incidents such as extreme weather events, devastating wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which all proved that preventing nature loss is crucial for safeguarding our future. To set the course for our future, World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines rallies every Filipino to take climate action and speak up for nature during the celebration of the annual Earth Hour on March 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ''2021 is a crucial year for humanity. As the world tries to turn the tide and recover from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild itself, we need to put nature at the center of our recovery efforts to future proof our economies and societies," said Marco Lambertini, WWF International director general. Similar to last year, Earth Hour Philippines 2021 will be mostly digital with several online events held throughout the month of March. WWF-Philippines' Ambassadors, together with the National Youth Council, have been sharing their visions for tomorrow while encouraging the public to share on social media their hopes and dreams for a sustainable future as part of the rollout for the #SpeakUpForNature campaign. Meanwhile, the Earth Hour Sustainability Challenge will see local influencers sharing their own sustainable lifestyle choices while meeting various challenges set down by WWF-Philippines. Funds will be raised to support WWF-Philippines' conservation efforts while encouraging Filipinos to make environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices. This initiative runs from March 11 to March 30. Before the switch-off on the night of March 27, WWF-Philippines will run the EH PHlix 2021 watch party through its Facebook page. The live stream, which will start at 3:30 p.m., will feature several shows on how Filipinos can practice sustainability and speak up for nature from the safety of their homes. Here is the lineup of shows: - Wildlife Conservation for Kids, hosted by WWF-Philippines Ambassadors Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski and Xia Vigor, together with WWF-Philippines' Education for Sustainable Development team - Feed the Future: Sustainable Dining 101 with WWF-Philippines Ambassadors Pia Wurtzbach and KC Concepcion, the WWF-Philippines Sustainable Consumption and Production team, Rina Papio of Greenspace, and Cyma, Souv and Green Pastures owner Chef Robby Goco - Tackling the Plastic Problem with WWF-Philippines Ambassador Iza Calzado and KALIPI President Wilma Arevalo, and the WWF-Philippines Plastics Program The program will end with the Countdown to Earth Hour 2021, hosted by WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez, which will run from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Over the past decade, Earth Hour has inspired global initiatives for the protection of nature, climate, and the environment, helping drive awareness, action and policy change. The movement helped in the creation of a 3.5 million hectares protected marine area in Argentina, a 2,700-hectare Earth Hour forest in Uganda, secured new legislation for the protection of seas and forests in Russia, pushed for a ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam products in the Ecuadorian capital, and initiated the planting of 20,000 mangrove seedlings in 13 cities in Indonesia. Lend your support to the environment and speak up for nature with the official Earth Hour hashtags #EarthHour2021, #EarthHourPhilippines2021 and #SpeakUpForNature. Visit www.earthhour.org to find out more about events happening this Earth Hour around the world. Follow WWF-Philippines on social media for updates and events related to Earth Hour Philippines 2021. ( ) is researched by Proactive analyst, Ed Stacey, who joins Katie Pilbeam to explain the investment case for the specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of controlled-substances and natural medicines such as psychedelics, cannabis and naturally-derived approved drugs. Stacey takes viewers through the three business segments, firstly, the European cannabis space, where Pharmadrug is an EU-GMP approved distributor of medical cannabis in the German market with a Class 1 Narcotic license. Secondly in the retails psychedelics domain, Pharmadrug has established a retail brand focussed on the Netherlands-based market for legally sold magic truffles. And thirdly, Pharmadrug also has a biotech operation focussed on plant derived pharmaceutical medicines. Click here to read Proactive analyst Ed Stacey's initiation report on 'Pharmadrug Inc: A balanced approach to psychedelic healthcare and wellness' A decade after the failed Atrix 4G Laptop Dock, Motorola is taking another stab at turning a phone into your computer. By way of an Android 11 update, Edge Plus users on Verizon can now connect the handset to a bigger screen for a desktop-style experience in the vein of Samsung's Dex. In a nutshell, that means you'll be able to access all the productivity, gaming and streaming apps on your phone on a monitor or TV. Motorola hopes that you'll use it for everything from editing work documents and making video calls (which should look great thanks to the solid collection of cameras on the Edge Plus) to playing Fortnite or a cloud gaming service like Xbox Game Pass or Google Stadia (via a Bluetooth controller) to watching Netflix. The new "Ready For" platform uses a multi-window interface that launches when you connect to a screen through the USB-C or HDMI port. You can also add accessories like a keyboard or mouse to further match the feel of a desktop. There's no dedicated app and you can use your phone as a second screen while working on a bigger display. To help with that, Motorola is releasing a "Ready For" dock on April 19th on Amazon, with pricing to be announced closer to launch. Of course, a lot has changed since the Atrix 4G lapdock essentially a dumb laptop made smart by docking the Motorola phone on the back. Smartphones, mobile and home internet speeds have advanced in leaps and bounds. In the interim, Samsung has arguably come closest to creating a smartphone-powered desktop experience with its wireless Dex software platform. If Dex and Ready For stick around, it could lead to more phone makers trying to usurp PCs in a bid to capitalize on the remote working boom. What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday 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. Consultant - Trial Monitoring Communication Adviser, Vienna, Austria Organization: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Country: Austria City: Vienna, Austria Office: OSCE Vienna Closing date: Tuesday, 23 March 2021 The majority of positions in OSCE field operations are filled by secondment, which means that individuals are nominated by their respective OSCE participating State. In addition, a limited number of seconded positions are available at the OSCE Secretariat and the institutions. Issued by OSCE Secretariat Vacancy number VNSECC01620 Vacancy type Experts/Consultants Field of expertise Communications Number of posts 1 Duty station Vienna Date of issue 16 March 2021 Deadline for application 23 March 2021 - 23:59 Central European Time (CET/CEST) Background Please note that this is a consultancy assignment of a temporary nature, with an expected duration of approximately 30 working days. The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence and security building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis. The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna assists the Chairmanship in its activities, and provides operational and administrative support to the field operations, and, as appropriate, to other institutions. The Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) plays a key role in supporting and coordinating the OSCEs activities in the field, in providing analysis and policy advice to the SG and the Chairmanship, in leading work on all aspects of the conflict cycle, and in supporting various formats dealing with protracted conflicts. The CPC also serves as focal point in the Secretariat for coordinating and developing the OSCEs role in politico-military dimension. The Policy Support Service (PSS) serves as the Organizations primary point of contact on all matters concerning field operations; it monitors the implementation of the mandates of the individual field operations and advises the SG and the Chairmanship on related policy and operational issues. It also analyses early warning signals regarding the situation in the field and recommends the implementation of relevant preventive or reactive action. Support provided to the SG and Chairmanship includes background information, policy support and advice, input to speeches and travel files as well as drafting summary records. PSS facilitates the coordination of programmes and activities among field operations and the budget cycle process. PSS also provides support for the CiO representatives dealing with protracted conflicts and related formats. The PSS is composed of four regional desks covering Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The OSCE CPC/ PSS South-Eastern Europe Desk is hiring a specialist to support communications for the extra-budgetary project: "Supporting a More Effective Administration of Justice in Corruption and Organised Crime Cases in the Western Balkans through Trial Monitoring-Coordination Project" as part of a regional Programme on Trial Monitoring, that includes 5 field operations from South-Eastern Europe. Tasks and Responsibilities The OSCE is looking for qualified candidates to the consultancy position of an Expert to design a communication strategy and define the visual identity of the Programme. She/He will also produce a number of outreach and visibility material. The expert will work under direct supervision of the Programme Coordinator of the CPC co-ordination project and in close cooperation with the project teams in the SEE FOs participating the project. More specifically, the Expert would be responsible for: Liaising with the OSCE staff, including in different departments and units in the Secretariat, as well as other identified units, departments and executive structures,Developing a Communication Strategy and Visibility Plan;Carrying out meetings, collecting information on the needs of OSCE Staff and Mission Members;Studying relevant OSCE policies. Detailed terms of reference for the assignment will be provided to the selected candidate. For more detailed information on the structure and work of the Secretariat, please see: http://www.osce.org/secretariat Necessary Qualifications Bachelors or Masters degree in, social sciences, project management or other related fields; Practical experience in developing communication strategies and visibility plans of at least 2 years; Proven previous experience with communication/visibility requirements of EU funded projects would be an asset; Previous experience in working in international organizations would be an asset; Professional fluency in the English language; Ability to work with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds; Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity as well as ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities. Required competencies Core values Commitment: Actively contributes to achieving organizational goals Diversity: Respects others and values their diverse perspectives and contributions Tags administration of justice central asia conflict prevention democratization gender perspective human rights social sciences Integrity: Acts in a manner consistent with the Organizations core values and organizational principles Accountability: Takes responsibility for own action and delegated work Core competencies Communication: Actively works to achieve clear and transparent communication with colleagues and with stakeholders of the Organization Collaboration: Works effectively with others on common goals and fosters a positive, trust-based working environment Planning: Works towards the achievement of goals in a structured and measured manner Analysis and decision-making: Analyses available information, draws well-founded conclusions and takes appropriate decisions Initiative-taking: Proposes and initiates new ideas, activities and projects Flexibility: Responds positively and effectively to changing circumstances Managerial competencies (for positions with managerial responsibilities) Leadership: Provides a clear sense of direction, builds trust and creates an enabling environment Strategic thinking: Identifies goals that advance the organizational agenda and develops plans for achieving them Managing performance: Helps to maximize team performance by providing active feedback and skill development opportunities Remuneration Package Remuneration will depend on the selected consultants/experts qualifications and experience and in accordance with the OSCE established rates. How To Apply If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCEs online application link found under https://jobs.osce.org/vacancies . If you are not a national of a participating State, you must apply by submitting an offline application form which can be found under http://www.osce.org/employment . The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration. Only those applicants who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization. Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/ourcompetency-model . Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process. Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1615916887929 SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Holdings Co Ltd said on Thursday it and China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd will each invest $30 million in a new mobility investment fund whose size they plan will reach $300 million in total. The fund will invest in promising companies in fields such as autonomous driving, electrification and connectivity, and aims to attract global investors, including European banks and pension funds in Asia, the holding firm of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group said in a statement. SK also said it has agreed with Geely, parent of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, to promote diverse cooperation in next-generation mobility businesses involving hydrogen fuel, battery-related materials, chips and autonomous driving technology. Hangzhou-based Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SK affiliates include the world's second-largest memory chip maker SK Hynix Inc and electric vehicle battery manufacturer SK Innovation Co Ltd. The plan follows a flurry of tie-ups by Geely earlier this year as the automaker looks to turn itself into a leading EV contract manufacturer and engineering service provider, in a bid to take on EV leader Tesla Inc. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Yilei Sun; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Richard Pullin) It sounds like a cheesy end-of-the-world movie: a gigantic space hurricane, packing 4,000 mph winds, is stalled above the Earth raining down high-energy electrons instead of water. Except this isnt a movie. It happened. And its the topic of research published in a scientific journal. Space hurricanes are a newly discovered type of storm that could be occurring every year. More than 10 have been documented in the upper atmosphere. On the ground, we are safe from it because its far away, said Yongliang Zhang, co-author of the paper in Nature Communications and a space physicist with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. For traditional hurricanes: NASA researchers use machine learning to better predict if a hurricane will rapidly intensify But such space storms arent harmless. The weather above Earth is an increasingly urgent topic as it could disrupt our technology-dependent world. Legislators are worried about these storms overloading electrical grids and causing power outages. They could also affect satellites used for cell phones, weather predictions, TV, search and rescue missions, navigation, military surveillance, and credit card and ATM transactions. To address this, former President Donald Trump signed the Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow Act in October. Its mandates include better coordination between federal agencies and the private sector to assess the effects of space weather and identify ways to improve forecasting and mitigate potential damage. Theres no politics in this issue, said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both sides of the aisle fully support it. Aurora: A window into space weather Zhang and his co-authors found a space hurricane while studying the physical process behind the aurora (the Northern and Southern lights), a byproduct of space weather. Aurora, actually, its really my favorite, Zhang said, because thats the window to the universe. It turns out a vibrant aurora is a sign of more active space weather. Space weather is caused by the sun. Solar wind carries particles (mainly protons and electrons in a state known as plasma) from the suns outer atmosphere. The Earths magnetic field will generally stop these particles from entering our atmosphere, but its not foolproof. And when electrons interact with oxygen and nitrogen in the Earths atmosphere they emit lights seen as the aurora. Green and red aurora are caused by electrons colliding with oxygen. Blue occurs when electrons collide with nitrogen. Zhang and his colleagues, led by Qing-He Zhang with Shandong University in China, were studying a quiet period when the aurora was weak. The researchers were sorting through data collected from satellites in 2014 when they noticed the hurricane-like storm. The storm began 40,000 miles above the Earths surface and continued down to about 100 miles above the surface. Around 520 miles, where the satellites observed the storm, the hurricanes diameter was more than 600 miles. Plasma wind moved around the storms center at speeds of 2,200 to 4,500 miles per hour. But unlike a hurricane found in the Gulf of Mexico, where the eye is calm, the electrons rained down through the storms center. The 2014 space hurricane occurred when the polar region was sunlit. The researchers are looking at other space hurricanes to see if any occurred when the polar region was dark. If they occur when its dark, Zhang expects the aurora from a space hurricane would look like a huge bright green patch the eye of the storm connected to a few curved auroral sheets. How space weather affects Earth Patricia Reiff, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University, said the geometry of space hurricanes is what makes the finding unique. Space storms, in general, have been observed for quite some time. These storms are influenced by a variety of factors, with the main contributor being the suns 11-year cycle. The most recent cycle, Solar Cycle 25, began in December 2019 and will reach its peak intensity around 2025. More on Solar Cycle 25: Every 11 years the sun enters a new cycle. The latest has begun. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections are more likely to occur during peak intensity. Coronal mass ejections, massive explosions from the sun that hurl plasma and magnetic fields into space, cause most of the violent space weather, Reiff said. On Earth, coronal mass ejections can cause strong electrical currents in power lines, exceeding the capacity of the system and possibly damaging transformers. On March 13, 1989, an hours-long blackout engulfed the entire province of Quebec, Canada. Across the U.S., there were more than 200 power grid problems within minutes of the storms start, NASA reported. This 1989 storm was so powerful that the aurora was seen in Houston. More severe storms (which are very rare) could cause power outages for days or even one to two years, depending on the availability of spare replacement transformers, according to a 2013 report from insurer Lloyds of London. If a massive storm caused extended U.S. power outages, Lloyds said the total economic cost could be up to $2.6 trillion. The 1989 storm spurred regulation requiring power system utilities to assess their space weather vulnerability, said Bob Arritt, a technical executive who specializes in space weather for the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit that conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity. He said grid operators monitor space weather and use their vulnerability assessments to prepare for storms. Preparations can include postponing maintenance so all power lines and transformers are operating during the storm. This helps the system handle the increased current and reduces the risk that the system will become overloaded and shut down. Grid operators might also reduce the current on their power transmission lines ahead of a storm, he said. This 1989 storm also caused some satellites to tumble out of control for several hours. Space storms can push high-energy particles into satellite electronics and give phantom commands, Reiff said. To prevent this, satellite operators can tell their spacecraft to ignore commands when a storm is approaching. Coronal mass ejections can also cause turbulence in the ionosphere, which is part of the Earths upper atmosphere, thats used to bounce high-frequency radio waves from one part of the planet to another. Commercial aircraft use high-frequency radio and can lose communications for a period of time. A turbulent ionosphere can also disrupt GPS signals being beamed down from satellites. Space dependency Space weather monitoring and forecasting grows more important as society becomes intwined with space. GPS is ubiquitous. More and more satellites are orbiting the Earth as SpaceX and other companies seek to create satellite clusters that provide high-speed broadband internet. Space tourism is on the cusp of becoming an industry, and NASA is working to return astronauts to the moon. Space weather, in this way, is becoming more and more relevant to our daily life, said Liying Qian, a scientist who studies the thermosphere and ionosphere at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. NASA has recently launched spacecraft that are studying causes of space weather, including the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission launched in 2015 and the Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018, and other missions are in the works. A NOAA satellite set to launch in 2024 will put a new coronagraph into space. This instrument blocks out the sun, allowing its outer atmosphere to be observed for solar eruptions. Looking at the sun: NASA close-up pictures show 'little campfires' on the sun Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both signed executive orders related to space weather. And in 2019, the Federal Emergency Management Agency identified space weather among threats that could affect the entire nation (pandemic was also identified as a nationwide threat). As such, Murtagh said the legislation signed into law last year is just one example of the increased interest in space weather. As federal agencies, companies and academics identify ways to improve space weather observation and resiliency, Congress will have to appropriate money. We must ensure that we have the tools and resources to research and predict these events, and protect our nations infrastructure so we can avoid an economic catastrophe in the event of severe space weather, the office of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, one of the senators who introduced the space weather legislation passed last year, said in an email. Senator Peters who serves on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will be working to ensure that Congress provides the appropriations and support necessary to fully implement this legislation. andrea.leinfelder@chron.com twitter.com/a_leinfelder Burma Myanmar Police Search Villages After Outpost Raid Kawlin residents surround the Kantha police outpost on Tuesday. Yangon Myanmars security forces are reportedly searching Kawlin Township villages in Sagaing Region for weapons which they claim to have been stolen from a Kantha police outpost near Kawlin. Five firearms were reported missing, of which four have been allegedly found destroyed. They are searching the villages near the police outpost for a gun that is still missing, said a resident. Residents raided the outpost on Tuesday amid claims the Kantha police were among the security forces who shot at anti-regime protesters in Kawlin. The police fled and protesters briefly took control of the outpost until around 100 troops from Shwebo arrived. Some male villagers are now hiding in forests to avoid the security forces, said a resident. On Wednesday morning, they fired shots at villages to scare us. I heard one villager was detained, a resident told The Irrawaddy. While people were interrogating a man who was suspected of being a police informant on Tuesday in Kawlin, police arrived and opened fire, killing one civilian and injuring four others. You may also like these stories: More Civilians Flee as Fighting Between Myanmars Military and Kachin Rebels Continues Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Six More Shot Dead in Myanmar by Juntas Security Forces Some of the early results are so remarkable that they fall into the too-good-to-be-believed category, at least until far more research is done. A recent study on major depressive disorder, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found more than half of the subjects in remission four weeks later, after just two treatments alongside psychotherapy. A study on tobacco addiction, out of Johns Hopkins, found two-thirds of the subjects who received psilocybin in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy abstinent a year later. These would be miraculous effect sizes if they hold up in larger samples and other contexts. Even if further research finds psilocybin only 50 percent as effective as these experiments suggest, it would be still be a breakthrough. There isnt a simple explanation for why psychedelics possess these powers. M.R.I. scans show the psychedelic brain aflame with activity, with areas that rarely connect lighting up in electric conversation. I think thats whats responsible for this radically different associative net, this different ability to absorb the gestalt, Johnson told me. You are hearing, thinking, processing differently than normal, which can lead to new experiences and epiphanies. Some of those are classic psychedelia, the kind of thing visualized in Yellow Submarine. Synesthesia, for instance, where youll hear in colors. But just as often, the experience defies those expectations: Its more like a difficult, but powerful, therapy session. I avoided psychedelics when I was younger, fearful of the loss of control, and tried them later, desperately, when there was more darkness in my mind than light. It was not an easy time for me, and these were not easy experiences. They kicked down doors around my anxiety, my marriage, my work, my family, my resentments, my attachments, my self. Those rooms were often unpleasant to enter. There was ecstasy and beauty, yes, but also fear and, often, so often, intense nausea. Things Id fought to ignore resurfaced. Disparate parts of my life and beliefs and personality connected, and I became more legible to myself. I am not cleansed of anxiety, but I am more aware that my outlook, at any given moment, is just a dance of brain chemistry and experience, and far from the only state possible. That a few micrograms of chemical was all it took to upend my confident grip on reality shook me in ways Im grateful for. I hold my judgments and worldviews more lightly, and I am friendlier to mystery and strangeness. But as with more traditional therapy, to the extent that these experiences changed me, it is because I acted on the insights later, once sobriety had returned. A trip is of little value if you refuse to leave the hotel after you arrive. You can have an amazing experience, but if you dont do the work to ground it in a practice of self-development, it may not have the impact you would hope, Eckert told me. It can fade, like a dream. Or it can crack you. Psilocybin isnt addictive, and there is no known lethal dose. If you look at the safety profile of psilocybin, its dead last in terms of its risk of harm either to self or others, Korthuis told me. But these experiences can be psychologically searing, even scarring. There is evidence that terror-filled trips can cause lingering trauma or even trigger psychosis or suicide in rare cases. Looking back, I wish I had had the option of skilled support, both to get more out of the experiences and to protect me from harm. These are not trivial chemicals. Here there be dragons. The Eckerts wanted to bring back not the louche psychedelic use of the late 60s and 70s, but the supported psychedelic use of the 50s and early 60s. We wanted to put psychedelic therapy and wellness on its own foundation, Tom told me. Under Measure 109, no one will be able to walk into a store and buy magic mushrooms. Instead, there will be regulated centers, with trained and licensed facilitators who are there both for the trip itself and to help people integrate the experience afterward. There will be screening for psychological and physical conditions that could make the experience unsafe and help on-site for anyone who does fall into psychological or physical crisis. We wanted to think deeply about how we might integrate psychedelics back into the culture, Eckert said. The Eckerts initiative caught the attention of a broader group of organizations trying to shift the laws around psychedelics. They were invited to present at a meeting of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS. There, they met with other key groups that would become backers of their project: David Bronner, the chief executive of Dr. Bronners soaps, which uses some of its profits to support drug reform initiatives, and Graham Boyd, a co-founder of the Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative, who brought his experience winning ballot initiative campaigns to the effort. Arguments have been made that vaccinating the oldest, and thus most vulnerable in society, against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the first priority may not be the optimum strategy in terms of saving the greatest number of years of life. A short paper authored by Goldstein, Cassidy, and Wachter, recently published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), demonstrates mathematically that vaccinating the oldest first, in fact, ultimately saves both the most lives and the most life-years. Image Credit: Rido / Shutterstock The group obtained data concerning the age of COVID-19 related deaths from the USA, Germany, and South Korea, observing that the risk of dying from COVID-19 becomes exponentially greater with age, around 11% per year. The remaining life expectancy of people, however, continues to decline linearly until extreme age. The number of years saved by vaccinating the average person of a particular age was calculated based on these two data points. The number of years saved by vaccinating a person of a particular age was seen to increase with age in a near-linear fashion. For example, American 40-year-olds live around 0.005 years longer on average, and 90-year-olds living 0.05 years longer. Vaccinating 75-year-olds was predicted to save 0.025 life-years, half as many as immunizing 90-year-olds. In terms of the number of lives saved, the difference is notably starker, where vaccine distribution to 90-year-olds saves three times as many lives as distributing to 80-year-olds and eighty times more than when distributing to 50 years olds. Since only these basic statistical aspects were considered in the mathematical model: risk of death from COVID-19 and remaining years at a particular age, these conclusions should generally be applied. The group notes that vaccinating the youngest with comorbidities or serious health conditions would, inevitably, save the most life-years if they can be successfully immunized. This model also assumes, firstly, that vaccination provides good and lasting immunity, and secondly, that vaccine efficacy is constant with age. At this stage, the available vaccines do appear to be satisfactorily efficacious amongst all age groups, and short-term immunity, at least, is relatively guaranteed following two doses. The authors support the announced priority by the World Health Organization, which had been criticized regarding the decision to advise vaccinating the oldest first. Providing the COVID-19 vaccine to those at the most significant risk of death remains the optimal strategy in terms of both lives saved and total life-years saved. The research from Imperial College Business School also showed correlations between renewables and the broader market is much lower than for fossil fuels Investors in renewables made triple the gains of fossil fuels over the past decade, while equity investment funds offering an environmental, social or governance (ESG) focus attracted 84% of new money from investors over the past two years, according to two new reports this week. Research from Imperial College Business School and the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that publicly-traded renewable power portfolios outperformed fossil fuel portfolios in terms of higher returns and lower volatility over last 10 years. Correlations between renewables and the broader market is much lower than for fossil fuels, which the report said highlighted potential diversification benefit of renewable energy, with the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighting greater resilience of the greener subsector of the energy market. The IEA report, carried out by Imperial, examined the performance of publicly-traded renewable energy and fossil fuel companies in four categories - global markets, advanced economies, emerging markets & developing economies, and China and found renewable power across all four generated significantly higher total returns over the last ten years. Annualised volatility was lower than fossil fuel portfolios in the global and advanced economies and higher than the fossil fuel portfolios in China and emerging & developing section. Our research demonstrates that all over the world renewable power has outperformed fossil fuels, said Dr Charles Donovan of the Imperial College Business School. It's been the same story for more than a decade, yet total investment is still lagging. National regulators, particularly in the United States, must get to work on the reforms needed to level the playing field for clean energy investors. Earlier in the week, Calastones global investor report showed net sales of ESG funds rose sevenfold over the past two years to reach $15.1bn (10.9bn) out of a total of $18.1bn, with the final four months of 2020 seeing larger ESG inflows than the first eight month and greater than the whole of 2019. The Imperial research comparing the investment returns of fossil fuel versus clean energy is telling only part of the decarbonisation story, said Gabriela Herculano, CEO of the iClima Global Decarbonisation Enablers ETF, which is distributed by HANetf. Equally impressive returns are those of the EV makers, and also across the lithium ion battery storage supply chain, the network of charging stations and the suppliers of those. Equally impressive and exciting is to see some incredibly strong performance across the fuel cell and electrolyser names, a proxy for the boom in green hydrogen that is emerging. Decarbonisation is not just about solar and wind. Heat pumps, measurement instruments for energy efficiency are very relevant too, she said. The iClima ETF focuses on all decarbonisation solutions and on the enablers of those products and service. Herculano said the ESG inflow data from Calastone showed that companies with robust social and governance are being perceived as those with lower risks. We see ESG in terms of risk. We think the ESG space is evolving fast, with investors clearly making the distinction between the companies that are doing less harm, companies where decarbonisation is a cost, versus the companies that have their revenue in line with change. Those are the companies (many of those represented in the clean energy exercise that Imperial went through) that are directly in line with solutions. This is the seismic shift we see happening right now, two worlds that are driven by very different forces: a TECHtonic movement, as new technologies are emerging to problem solve. Investors that are in line with the change, the emerging and the relevant solutions, are certain to be the long-term winners compared to any fossil fuel companies, Herculano suggested. The recent move towards value in the energy names in the fossil fuel industry are short term bets, she said. Lack of inventory in an industry that has received less and less investment will create some increase in commodity prices. Decarbonisation is needed as a way to mitigate the many huge risks geopolitical ones but it also makes economic sense. Solar and wind are more competitive than oil & gas. EVs are soon going to be at parity with ICEs as batteries get to the $100 per kWh level. Distributed generation is needed but is also competitive. There is no turning back. The direction of travel is clear, the question is if that will be enough to keep us in the 1.5 degrees [of change in global warming compared to pre-industrial levels]. A key tenet of the prior Trump administration's crackdown on China and Iran was to punish those Chinese companies caught transferring sanctioned Iranian oil, which was often done through 'ghosting' or at other times offshore ship-to-ship transfers in order avoid detection. Since President Biden took office there's been wide reports that China's 'illicit' imports of Iranian oil have soared, resulting in critics and Iran hawks charging the White House with "turning a blind eye" in terms of sanctions enforcement based on existing laws on the books, also as Biden is seeking a path back to engagement with Iran on the US rejoining the JCPOA nuclear deal. This week a senior Biden admin official has admitted in comments to FT that such banned Iranian oil exports to China have been increasing "for some time now" as Beijing continues to be Tehran's lifeline for circumventing oil sanctions, which has been ongoing for years now. China has also played a major part in keeping Venezuela's oil exports afloat. But now, as FT reports Wednesday "The Biden administration has told Beijing it will enforce Trump-era sanctions against Iranian oil as shipments from the Islamic regime to China have soared, a senior US official said." Despite the White House still saying it's "prioritizing" re-entry into the nuclear deal, efforts which have been stalled thus far as Tehran is demanding the easing of sanctions as a first step, the senior official revealed to FT: "Weve told the Chinese that we will continue to enforce our sanctions." "There will be no tacit green light," the official added, but enforcement might take the form of what's dubbed these "secondary sanctions" targeting Chinese companies caught transferring Iranian oil. However, it remains the possibility that these too could ease assuming Washington and Tehran re-enter talks. Related: Oil Drops As IEA Dashes Hopes Of Supercycle The senior official described to FT further that this could theoretically come as "either as part of a mutual set of steps or as part of a full return into compliance" with the JCPOA. "Ultimately, our goal is not to enforce the sanctions; it is to get to the point where we lift sanctions and Iran reverses its nuclear steps." Reconstruction of Events: 2 Million Barrels of Suspected Iranian Crude Oil Seized by the US Department of Justice Using the data which was presented in the DOJ affidavit, we were able to visualize the series of oil transfers which took half a year. Free:https://t.co/zrk5sbDvuQ pic.twitter.com/xEgq7JWSqI TankerTrackers.com, Inc.?????? (@TankerTrackers) March 15, 2021 Recall that in January Indonesia seized two supertankers the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the MT Freya, which is under a Shanghai-based company that were engaged in an unregistered transfer of Iranian oil at sea. It's believed that such sanctions-busting happens on a weekly basis through various means, which also includes operating ships under shell companies. This latest White House 'threat' to get serious on "secondary" sanctions enforcement (pertaining to Chinese transfers) appears ultimately about building more leverage as the US "indirectly" negotiates with the Iranians via European officials. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The Kremlin has accused U.S. President Joe Biden of not wanting to improve bilateral ties after unprecedented comments in which he said believed Vladimir Putin is a killer. Already tense relations between Moscow and Washington were strained further after Biden, who has spent more than four decades in politics, said "I do" when asked by ABC News on March 17 if he believed the Russian president was a killer. In the Kremlin's first comments since Biden made the remarks, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such statements are unprecedented in the history of Russian-U.S. relations and he warned that Russia's response to these remarks would be "absolutely clear." "These statements from the president of the United States are very bad. It is clear that he does not want to get the relationship with our country back on track, and we will proceed from that," Peskov told reporters. Putin, however, appeared to be more sanguine over the comments. When asked about them at a news conference on March 18, he said he wished Biden "good health" and that people tend to see others as they really see themselves. He added that Moscow will continue working with the United States if the conditions benefit Russia. Washington's relations with Moscow are at post-Cold War lows, strained by issues including Russia's alleged meddling in elections in the United States and other democracies, the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, cyberattacks from Russian hackers, and the poisoning and jailing of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny. The Biden interview came on the heels of a report by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that assessed that Putin had authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President [Donald] Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States. The Kremlin immediately denied the findings of the report, saying they were absolutely unfounded. Biden also said he had come to know Putin "relatively well" over the years and that he doesn't believe Putin has a soul. He also sent a warning that Putin will soon "pay a price" for trying to interfere in November's presidential election. Within hours of the comments, Russia summoned its ambassador to the United States back to Moscow for consultations. The reverberations continued the next day when a senior Russian lawmaker and Kremlin ally said Biden owes the country an apology. This is a watershed moment. This gross statement sends any expectations from the new U.S. administration's new policy toward Russia down the drain," Konstantin Kosachyov, the deputy chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house, wrote in a Facebook post on March 18. "Recalling the Russian ambassador from Washington to Moscow for consultations is a prompt and adequate reaction, the only right one in this situation. I suspect that it will not be the last [step] if the American side does not offer its explanation and apology," he added. Despite strained relations, Biden noted that it was possible to "walk and chew gum at the same time for places where it's in our mutual interest to work together." Russia has dismissed U.S. comments on Navalny and Ukraine as unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs. With reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and TASS Not so long ago, our Democratic Party pals attempted to convince us that it was really some communication app secrecy "uncovered" by the newspaper which brought down the Missouri politico. That was an interesting theory completely proven incorrect by most people reliving the dude's EPIC, public cuckolding political climax gone horribly wrong. Read more . . . Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Chandigarh, March 18 : As active Covid-19 cases in the state surge, with daily positivity rate climbing to over five per cent, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday extended the night curfew in nine worst hit districts by two hours daily, by advancing it from 9 p.m. onwards. Also he clarified that, if required, he would go for more stringent measures to limit its spread in the days to come. The nine districts where the night curfew has been extended were Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar, all daily getting 100 plus positive cases. These nine districts earlier imposed night curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., while other districts have been asked to assess the situation and take action accordingly. "Covid is in very dangerous situation in Punjab again. Yesterday 2,039 positive cases were reported and there were 35 deaths. A day earlier there were 40 deaths in state," the Chief Minister said. At the same time he clarified that he was not in favour of restricting movement of the people at the religious places. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's virtual Covid-19 review meeting with chief ministers of all states, Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Centre to review its immunisation strategy to vaccinate all age groups in selected areas, while announcing a stricter policy to deal with the problem. The Chief Minister also called for occupation-based immunization for school and college students and teachers, judges, bus drivers and conductors, etc., to pave the way for normalisation of crucial activities and check super-spreaders. He advocated early opening of the courts to end the wait for justice for citizens, and also of schools and colleges to bridge the gap between poor and affluent families in terms of education. The daily positivity rate in the state has climbed to more than five per cent in March from a low of less than one per cent in January. So far, 1.99 lakh positive cases have been reported from 54 lakh tests and 6,099 people have died of the infection, he added. On the testing, the Chief Minister revealed that more than 30,000 tests per day were being conducted by the state, of which more than 90 per cent were through RT-PCR and less than 10 per cent Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). Punjab's testing per million has been maintained at higher than national average, he added. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Once Tortured in Iranian Jail, Ex-marine Fights Spy Claims WASHINGTONAfter Amir Hekmati was released from Iranian custody in a 2016 deal trumpeted as a diplomatic breakthrough, he was declared eligible for $20 million from a special U.S. government fund as compensation for years of imprisonment that included brutal torture. But payday never arrived, leaving Hekmati to wonder why. The answer has finally arrived: Newly filed court documents reviewed by The Associated Press reveal decade-old FBI suspicions that he traveled to Iran with the goal of selling classified secrets to the government. Hekmati vigorously disputes the allegations, has never faced criminal charges and is challenging a special masters conclusion that he lied about his visit to Iran and is therefore not entitled to the money. The FBI suspicions help explain the governments ongoing refusal to pay Hekmati for his ordeal and muddy the narrative around a U.S. citizen, Marine and Iraq war veteran whose release was championed at the U.S. governments highest levels, including by Joe Biden, then the vice president, and John Kerry, then the secretary of state. The documents offer radically conflicting accounts of Hekmatis purpose in visiting Iran and detail the simmering behind-the-scenes dispute over whether he is entitled to access a fund that compensates victims of international terrorism. Hekmati said in a sworn statement that allegations he sought to sell out to Iran are ridiculous and offensive. His lawyers say the governments suspicions, detailed in FBI documents and letters from the funds special master denying payments, are groundless and based on hearsay. In this case, the U.S. government should put up or shut up, said Scott Gilbert, a lawyer hired to recover damages. If the government believes they have a case, indict Amir. Try Amir. But you, the U.S. government, wont do that because you cant do that. You dont have sufficient factual evidence to do that. FBI records show an investigation was opened 10 years ago and that Hekmati was interviewed by agents after his release from Iran. Yet prosecutors have brought no case. Years after the FBI scrutiny had begun, Hekmati was awarded payment from the fundmoney he expected to receive until the funds special master revoked his eligibility in January 2020. Gilbert declined to make Hekmati available for an interview while the lawsuit seeking payment is pending. But in a lengthy internet post published Tuesday, Hekmati accused the FBI of having abused its authority and said the Justice Department had failed to respond to evidence hed presented contradicting the allegations. The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment, but details from the investigation emerge in hundreds of pages of documents filed in the case. The documents show the FBI opened an espionage investigation into Hekmati as far back as 2011, the year he was detained in Iran on suspicion he was spying for the CIA. Amir Hekmati and his extended family in Tehran, Iran, in August 2011. (Amir Hekmati via AP) Hekmati, who was raised in Michigan and served as an infantryman and interpreter in Iraq before being honorably discharged from the Marines in 2005, says he went to Iran to visit an ailing grandmother after a brief, unsatisfying stint as a Defense Department contractor conducting intelligence analysis in Afghanistan. But the FBI concluded that he went there intent on selling Iran classified information, according to an unsigned five-page summary of its investigation. The unproven assessment is based partly on accounts from four independent but unnamed sources who say Hekmati approached Iranian officials offering classified information, as well as the fact he abruptly resigned his contracting position and left for Iran without notifying supervisors, the FBI says. An FBI computer forensics search concluded that while in Afghanistan, he accessed hundreds of classified documents related to Iran that agents believe were outside the scope of his job responsibilities, the documents say. Hekmati, the son of Iranian immigrants, says he researched Iran openly to cultivate an expertise on Iranian influence in Afghanistan. Everyone knew about the work he was doing, he said at a hearing last year, and supervisors didnt place restrictions. He says hed already quit his job when he left for Iran and wasnt obligated to tell supervisors of his trip. At no point in Iran, he said, did he meet with any Iranian officials or try to sell secrets. Hekmati also produced correspondence that he says showed he planned to travel to Iran before learning of the Afghanistan opportunity. Hekmatis lawyers say the FBIs suspicions are impossible to square with the treatment he endured in prison, which included torture such as being whipped, struck with batons and chained to a table. Were he actually spying for Iran, Gilbert said, Youd think the guy would have been a valuable asset, they actually would have wanted to do something with him rather than abuse him. He was initially sentenced to death, but the punishment was ultimately cut to 10 years. Hekmati enjoyed support from senior-level officials, including Kerry, who demanded his release, and Biden, who met with his family in Michigan. In January 2016, after four and a half years behind bars, he was freed with several other American citizens, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, as the Obama administration entered its final year eager for signs of improving relations after the nuclear deal with Iran. Months later, Hekmati sued Iran over his torture. A federal judge in Washington entered a $63.5 million default judgment after Iran failed to contest the claims. Hekmati subsequently applied to collect through a Justice Department-run fund for terror victims financed by assets seized from U.S. adversaries. He was awarded the statutory maximum of $20 million, his lawyers say. Amir Hekmati (R) speaks with the media in the Michigan Senate Chamber in Lansing, Mich., on May 26, 2016. (Michael Gerstein/AP Photo) The funds special master then was Kenneth Feinberg, renowned for overseeing payments to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. In December 2018, he authorized an initial payment of more than $839,000. But for months, no money came. After Hekmatis lawyers warned theyd have to sue, the Justice Department cryptically indicated it was seeking a reconsideration of the award. When Feinberg formally revoked Hekmatis eligibility for the fund in early 2020, Feinberg said the application contained errors and omissions and that information from the Justice Department supported the conclusion that Hekmati visited Iran with the intent of selling classified information. A second letter last December didnt repeat that precise allegation but said Hekmati had given evasive, false and inconsistent statements during three FBI interviews, failed to credibly refute that most of the classified information he accessed related to Iran and traveled to Iran for primary purposes other than to visit his family. Feinberg declined to comment, saying his decision speaks for itself. The correspondence had been secret until January when Hekmatis lawyers filed it in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington as part of a lawsuit. Hundreds of pages of documents have since been filed outlining the investigation. The documents include summaries of FBI interviews from 2016 in Germany, on Hekmatis way home from Iran, and in Michigan that show FBI agents grilling him with increasing suspicion. One summary says Hekmati refused to answer when asked if hed ever accessed classified information on Iran and replied the FBI could figure it out itself. In a follow-up interview, an agent confronted Hekmati with the FBIs assessment that he went to Afghanistan to obtain classified information that he could sell to Iran. The FBI says he initially deflected or failed to respond before finally saying that he accessed the material to become a subject matter expert. Hekmati and his lawyers state the FBI interviews shouldnt be considered credible in part because he was suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress at the time. The status of any investigation is unclear, as are Hekmatis prospects of being paid. But Gilbert, Hekmatis lawyer, says he hopes the decision gets a fresh look by the new Justice Department. I am hopeful that we will see the appropriate outcome here and be able to put this saga to bed, Gilbert said. By Eric Tucker (This story has been updated with comments from Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, both of whom are leading the Flint water prosecutions.) FLINT, MI -- Former Gov. Rick Snyder must face trial on charges of willful neglect of duty for his role in the Flint water crisis in the city -- not Lansing, a Genesee County District Court judge has ruled. Judge William H. Crawford said Thursday, March 18, that a motion to dismiss the case because of a lack of jurisdiction by a one-man grand jury lacks merit, and said prosecutors can make their case at trial that venue is proper in Genesee County, allowing the misdemeanor case against Snyder to continue here. Attorneys for the former governor have claimed the indictment charging him is improper because Snyder allegedly committed the crimes of omission while on the job in Ingham County rather than Genesee County and that Genesee Circuit Court Judge David J. Newblatt, who acted as the one-man grand jury, lacked jurisdiction to file the two counts of neglect of duty. There are a number of instances in state law where venue is appropriate in more than one county, Crawford said, acknowledging that the improper venue argument could still be raised once grand jury records related to the case have been reviewed and released. A single county grand jury has authority to investigate and charge crimes committed within his jurisdiction ..., Crawford said. The indictment itself lists the place of offense as Genesee County. Newblattt issued indictments related to the water crisis against Snyder and eight other current and former state of Michigan and city of Flint employees in January. In addition to Snyder, some of those charged have argued they have been charged in the wrong county for offenses and statements that were made elsewhere. Flint water prosecutors from the state Department of Attorney General have said venue is proper in the county where the crime was committed and had asked Crawford to transfer the case -- not dismiss it -- if he found charges should have been filed in Ingham County. Todays ruling is a small victory for the people of Flint who patiently await their day in court, said Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud, who is leading the water crisis prosecutions with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. This ruling affirms what our team has argued from the beginning: that the use of the grand jury to investigate and bring charges against Mr. Snyder and others as part of the Flint water crisis was proper. Hammoud and Worthy issued statements in a news release following Crawfords ruling. The defense has said that neglecting a city is not a crime. On behalf of the citizens of Flint, we vehemently disagree with the notion that public officials are entitled to show little regard for the health and safety of the people they are elected to serve, Worthys statement says. The charges against Snyder allege he neglected his duty as spelled out in the Michigan Constitution by failing to inquire into the performance, condition and administration of the public offices and officers that he appointed and was required to supervise in Flint during the citys financial emergency and water crisis. The charges also claim he willfully neglected his legal duty to protect citizens against disaster or emergency under state law by failing to declare a state of emergency in Flint when he had notice of a threat, disaster or emergency. Despite complaints from the public about the quality and safety of water in Flint and rising levels of lead, bacteria and chlorination byproducts in tap water, Flint was allowed to use water from the Flint River from April 2014 until October 2015, a cost-saving measure carried out by emergency financial managers appointed by Snyder. The river water was never treated properly to make it less corrosive to lead service lines and fixtures, officials and researchers have said, causing lead to leach into the water supply. Read more on MLive: Judge says hell decide within 7 days if Flint water charges against Snyder should be dismissed Judge waits for arguments on who should decide if Flint water charges against Snyder are dismissed Both sides agree: Flint judge should rule on motion to dismiss water crisis charges against Snyder Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Video has captured the heartwarming moment a 16-year-old girl is told she can stay in her family home after facing eviction when her mother died of Covid. Mother-of-five Kyra King died aged 48 last month after contracting coronavirus, leaving her daughter Courtney Johnson, 23, to take legal responsibility for her 16-year-old sister Milly. Ms King had rented a four-bedroom property in Cannock, Staffordshire, for 15 years but the tenancy ended when she died. But mother-of-one Courtney was told she could not take over the tenancy, meaning Milly was forced to sleep on the sofa at her home, which she shares with her three-year-old, her partner and his two children. Now, following an impassioned appeal and petition which was signed by more than 25,000 people, Sanctuary Housing has reversed the decision and allowed the sisters to live in their mother's home. Courtney Johnson, pictured left, is to legally become the guardian of her sister Milly, following the death of their mother, Kyra King, pictured right Video captured the emotional moment 16-year-old Milly was told she could remain in her family home, with her big sister Courtney told her little sister Milly that the housing association had made a u-turn, and captured her emotional reaction on camera. Courtney said: 'We got the house! I just can't believe it. We're over the moon, Milly can't stop crying. '[Sanctuary Housing] said that it was the law that they couldn't give us it and that they'd just been doing their jobs but they'd looked again and the decision had come back quicker than they expected. 'It just means so much to us.' Support worker Courtney added: 'It means everything to me and Milly to live in my mum's house. This is our family home, where our memories are. 'The house that I'm currently renting, it's a brand new house and I love it. But I don't care about all that. It's the memories and my sister's welfare that means more to me.' Mother-of-five Kyra fell ill with Covid over Christmas and was bedbound from New Year's Day. She was later rushed to hospital after suffering with breathing difficulties. She was eventually placed in a coma but died on February 2 after developing pneumonia. Courtney added: 'The day she passed away I had all my siblings with me and we were just setting up a Zoom meeting because even though my mum was in a coma, they said that she could hear us. 'Within 20 minutes we had a phone call to say 'any minute now she's going to have a heart attack and her brain's going to shut down'. 'So we had to go to the hospital and turn the machine off.' Courtney, who is herself a mother of one, had been told she could not take over the tenancy of the long-term family home in Staffordshire The family appealed to Sanctuary Housing to reverse the decision and garnered 26,000 signatures on an online petition Kyra also left behind son Jordan, 27, a 10-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, who are now living with their father, who is also Milly's father. Courtney said: 'It was my mum's wish that Milly live with me, she wanted to stay with me and that's the agreement I have with her dad, who lives nearby and is very supportive.' A spokesperson for Sanctuary Housing told Birmingham Live: 'We understand how deeply upsetting recent events have been for the family. Given the exceptional and highly complex circumstances, we have taken a compassionate view of this matter and used our discretion to offer Miss Johnson the opportunity to take on the tenancy. 'In reaching our decision, we have taken account of stakeholder views and given careful regard to the 16-year-old sibling who wants to remain in the home where she has lived for almost all her life. We will now work with Miss Johnson to ensure her family can move into this property as soon as possible.' Priti Patel was asked how she would respond if a 'male colleague' said the best way to manage her was to 'pat her on the bottom and send her on her way' - before being told that Boris Johnson made the sexist comment about his former boss. Posed the question by ITV's Robert Peston last night, Ms Patel said she would tell the unidentified colleague that the comments were 'unacceptable' and 'appalling'. When Peston revealed that the words were said by Boris Johnson when he left his job as editor of The Spectator, the Home Secretary insisted she would not accept derogatory remarks regardless of who said them. Asked by ITV's Robert Peston last night how she would respond if she heard the comments from 'one of your male colleagues', Ms Patel said she would tell him they were 'unacceptable' Mr Johnson with Kimberly Quinn, who he made the sexist comment about in his leaving letter as Spectator editor. They are seen at a party in London in 2004 Peston asked on his show last night: 'If one of your male colleagues said about you that the best way to manage you is just to ''pat her on her bottom and send you on your way'' what would you say to that male colleague?' Ms Patel replied: 'I would not accept that at all, I would say to my colleague - if that ever happened - that it's simply unacceptable, it's simply not respectful, it's appalling.' Peston said: 'I probably ought to tell you that that's what the Prime Minister said when he left as editor as the Spectator about his female boss Kimberly Quinn. So do you want to tell the Prime Minister now that he shouldn't have said that?' In response, Ms Patel doubled down and said she was 'not the type of person' to 'sit back and accept' insulting comments. 'I wouldn't hesitate, and believe you me, I've worked in all sorts of other professional sectors and I've worked in the City and I've heard all sorts of things said about female colleagues which are simply unacceptable. 'I'm not the type of person - I think it's quite well known - to sit back and accept disparaging and derogatory remarks and I myself have been subject to things of that nature in the past. It's just not acceptable and I would speak out against that.' Misogyny will now be recorded as a hate crime Misogyny will now be recorded as a hate crime by police after a government concession to campaigners in the light of the death of Sarah Everard. Police forces will be asked to record and identify any crimes of violence, including stalking and sexual offences, where the victim believed it to have been motivated by 'hostility based on their sex', a Home Office minister said. Baroness Williams of Trafford added this would be done on an 'experimental basis' from the autumn and it could inform longer-term decisions once the Law Commission's review of hate crime was complete. Hours before the announcement, prime minister Boris Johnson called for a change in cultural attitudes towards women's safety. The move came after a call by Labour's Baroness Kennedy of Cradley, who warned of an 'epidemic of violence' against women and girls. Gathering evidence about the prevalence of hostility towards women and girls was crucial to recognising connections, according to Lady Kennedy. Advertisement Mr Johnson's reference to Ms Quinn - the Spectator's former publisher - came in a 2005 farewell piece in the magazine offering advice to his successor, Matthew D'Ancona, as he stepped down from the magazine to go into politics. He wrote: 'Once the fire is going well, you may find your eyes drifting to the lovely striped chesterfield across the room. Is it the right size, you wonder, for a snooze. 'You come round in a panic, to find a lustrous pair of black eyes staring down at you. Relax. It's only Kimberly [Quinn, who was then the Spectator's publisher] with some helpful suggestions for boosting circulation.' He advised his successor to 'just pat her on the bottom and send her on her way.' Ms Quinn, 60, is an American journalist who had a much-publicised three-year affair with former Home Secretary David Blunkett before it ended acrimoniously in mid-2004. Earlier yesterday, Mr Johnson had spoken about the need to clamp down on 'everyday sexism - although Downing Street refused to say that he himself regretted using 'sexist language' in his journalistic career. At Prime Minister's Questions, he said: 'We have to address the fundamental issue of the casual everyday sexism and apathy that fails to address the concerns of women - that is the underlying issue.' Mr Johnson's press secretary Allegra Stratton said the Prime Minister was being 'candid and frank with the country about the measures and the steps we are all going to have to take to make sure that women and girls feel safer and more comfortable on the streets of their own country'. But Ms Stratton and the Prime Minister's official spokesman sidestepped questions about Mr Johnson's journalism. In a Spectator article in 1995, he said the children of single mothers were 'ill-raised, ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate' and called for action to 'restore women's desire to be married', while in 2019, court documents revealed he described former prime minister David Cameron as a 'girly swot'. Asked if the Prime Minister regretted some of his comments, Ms Stratton said: 'Women across the country now want real action and will be pleased to hear their Prime Minister evidently understanding that what too many of them experience on our streets at night - and sometimes in the day as well - is something being taken seriously at the top of government.' Questioned whether Mr Johnson's position was 'the odd bit of sexist language is OK' but the important thing was the action taken to help women, Ms Stratton said: 'You have got his language from the House today.' Posed the question by ITV's Robert Peston last night, Ms Patel said she would tell the unidentified colleague that the comments were 'unacceptable' and 'appalling' When Peston revealed that the words were said by Boris Johnson when he left his job as editor of The Spectator, Ms Patel said she would not accept derogatory remarks from anyone There have been more than 140,000 response to a survey on the strategy, she told reporters. At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson agreed with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that the death of Sarah Everard should be a turning point. She said the Prime Minister had a 'powerful track record' on women's rights: 'If you look back to 2009 when he was London mayor he launched a call to action to end violence against women. 'That was the first ever strategy of its sort for a major city. 'It saw him quadrupling funding for rape crisis provision and opening three new centres in London and a host of other measures. 'I just raise it because people should look back to his record - not just in government at the moment where you have this Domestic Abuse Bill going through the Lords at the moment but you also have the (Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts) Bill that will increase sentences for rapists and paedophiles and the like and you also have the current violence against women and girls strategy.' Earlier in the day, Mr Johnson had spoken about the need to clamp down on 'everyday sexism - although Downing Street refused to say that he himself regretted using 'sexist language' in his journalistic career He said the Government is doing 'everything that we can' to make the streets safer for women but 'unless and until we have a change in our culture that acknowledges and understands that women currently do not feel they are being heard, we will not fix this problem'. 'And that is what we must do. We need a cultural and social change in attitudes to redress the balance and that is what I believe all politicians must now work together to achieve.' It comes as Ms Patel urged against 'prejudging' a review into the actions of officers at the vigil for Sarah Everard (pictured) at Clapham Common It comes as Ms Patel urged against 'prejudging' a review into the actions of officers at the vigil for Sarah Everard at Clapham Common. She said the question of whether Metropolitan Police chief Dame Cressida Dick should resign following widespread criticism of the force's handling of the event was one for after a 'full report' into the police response. Chief inspector of constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor has been tasked with carrying out the review and said he was 'confident' inspectors would report findings to the Home Secretary within two weeks. In her Peston interview, Ms Patel said: 'I work with the commissioner on all sorts of policing issues. 'Actually, to run and jump to the conclusion that someone should have to resign off the back of what we saw on Saturday, without seeing the full report, is completely wrong. 'I think, again, it's wrong to end up in this sort of prejudging phase before we actually know the full facts.' Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with Ms Everard's kidnapping and murder. HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral ILS Ltd. ("Integral"), the independent Insurance-Linked Securities ("ILS") fund manager, today announced the launch of a new US property insurance initiative, with risks underwritten by Amwins and policies issued through subsidiaries of Core Specialty Insurance Holdings, Inc. ("Core Specialty"). The program will see Integral assume US catastrophe risk originated from Amwins' MGAs, including Amwins Access, Seacoast Brokers, Special Risk Underwriters (SRU), and Unicorn Underwriting, written by Core Specialty insurance subsidiaries which carry an AM Best rating of A- (Excellent), Financial Size Category XI. The broad, diversified portfolio will include small commercial, personal lines, middle market, and large shared and layered accounts. Funds managed by Integral will assume defined natural catastrophe risks originated by Amwins and Core Specialty insurance subsidiaries will retain premium and risk outside of the risk transferred to the Integral ILS funds. This represents a key milestone in Integral's effort to access the broader insurance value chain through strategic alliances with leaders in (re)insurance risk origination. "Amwins is committed to securing exclusive capacity for our retail clients," said Scott Purviance, Chief Executive Officer of Amwins. "This unique partnership provides them with access to long-term, efficient capital in a challenging property market." "I am delighted that Core Specialty will be working with the Integral ILS management team, who are well-known to us," said Jeff Consolino, President & Chief Executive Officer of Core Specialty. "This new initiative is complementary to the capabilities of the Property Division that Core Specialty launched in conjunction with our 2020 recapitalization." "Access to property catastrophe risk through multiple channels is beneficial to Integral and our clients," said Lixin Zeng, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Integral. "Being closer to the original risk enables us to gain access to exposure with greater data resolution, accuracy, and timeliness, resulting in better portfolio quality. We are excited to partner with Amwins and Core Specialty in this endeavor." About Integral Integral is a Bermuda headquartered independent ILS fund manager founded in July 2020 by industry veterans Lixin Zeng and Richard Lowther. Strategic partners TransRe, a leading global property and casualty reinsurer headquartered in New York, and Amwins, the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the United States headquartered in Charlotte, enable Integral's investors to have comprehensive access to the broader natural catastrophe and event-linked insurance value-chain. About Amwins Amwins Group, Inc. is the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the United States, dedicated to serving retail insurance agents by providing property and casualty products, specialty group benefit products, and administrative services. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company operates through more than 125 offices globally and handles premium placements in excess of $22 billion annually. To learn more, visit www.Amwins.com . About Core Specialty Core Specialty offers a diversified range of property and casualty insurance products for small to midsized businesses. From its underwriting offices spanning the U.S., the Company focuses on niche markets, local distribution, and superior underwriting knowledge; offering traditional as well as innovative insurance solutions to meet the needs of its customers and brokers. Core Specialty is an insurance holding company operating through StarStone Specialty Insurance Company, a U.S. excess and surplus lines insurer, and StarStone National Insurance Company, a U.S. admitted markets insurer. The Company is rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best. For further information about Core Specialty, please visit www.corespecialty.com . CONTACT: Sam Reinhardt 646-818-9244 [email protected] SOURCE Core Specialty Insurance Holdings HONG KONG, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Republic of North Macedonia is an astonishing country situated in Southeast Europe, rich in history, culture, and in abundance of natural attractions it is a hidden gem of the Balkans. North Macedonia became Southeast Europes latest economic citizenship program, with an investment starting from EUR 200,000. Now at the crossroads of modernization (ongoing European Union membership) and an immense potential for growth, North Macedonia is opening its doors to international talents and investors through a new and affordable Citizenship-by-Investment Program. Harvey Law Group (HLG), Asia's leading investment immigration law firm, is honored to be appointed as Master Compliance Agent for Asia for the North Macedonia Economic Citizenship Program. North Macedonia is quickly becoming one of the favorite destinations in Europe. Bordered by Greece to the south, Bulgaria to the east, Albania to the west, and Kosovo and Serbia to the north, it is a nested tourist attraction filled with historical landmarks. It is home to the UNESCO-listed Lake Ohrid, Europe's best preserved ancient ruins, and a beautiful Bitola town of offbeat arts. A stroll through the capital city of Skopje reveals a melting-pot of cultures from Ancient Roman, Byzantium, the First Bulgarian Empire, and the Ottoman Turks. The varied architectural cityscape of churches, mosques, and modernist buildings reflect the country's history and serves as a remembrance of Skopje's rich past towards an ambitious future. North Macedonia offers an utterly unique experience through friendly locals and welcoming hospitality, leaving an unforgettable memory of the country's fresh, tasty food and wine next to a picturesque landscape. Business-wise, The Economist Magazine has named North Macedonia as one of the five nations that improved the most in 2019. The country was ranked Top Ten according to the World Bank 2019 index of Doing Business. It boasts an unrestricted access to EU, CEFTA, Turkey, Ukraine, some of the lowest corporate and income tax in EU, highly skilled labor, internationally regulated banks, and policies, and does not restrict foreign ownership of local properties and corporations. Considering the country is a member of NATO and that the EU Council decided to approve the start of EU Accession Negotiation since March 2020, North Macedonia appears as a land of promise and opportunities, moving full speed ahead to become one of the most attractive destinations for business and investment. Story continues The next best thing is that as a North Macedonian citizen, you will have the flexibility to visit the country as little or as much as you want. What is more, you will have the option to actively invest in North Macedonia and take advantage of the potential for growth. One of the most beautiful countries in Europe is now accepting a limited number of investors (1,000) to join its new citizenship by investment program. This new program aims to fuel the local economy and society through international investments into the country. The investment will entitle the investor and their families to apply for a lifetime North Macedonian citizenship and passport, which will then be passed onto future generations. North Macedonian passport allows visa-free access to over 124 countries and regions, including countries of the Schengen Area, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Qatar, Turkey, and Japan. The passport is eligible for online visas to Australia, as well as a transit visa to China. The program does not require a minimum residency period nor any language or management experiences. North Macedonia is also an E-2 Treaty Country with the United States therefore allowing its nationals the opportunity to apply for an E-2 visa valid for up to 5 years and benefit from a privileged access to the U.S. "HLG is truly honored to be entrusted with a major role in promoting this unique citizenship program throughout Asia. Our integrity and proven reliability in providing a seamless access to global mobility solutions have earned the trusts of prestigious parties such as the Government of North Macedonia, our clients, and our partners. We hope to successfully offer meaningful citizenship solutions and its benefits with the North Macedonia Economic Citizenship Program across our global network of offices," said Mr. Jean-Francois Harvey, Global Managing Partner and Founder of Harvey Law Group (HLG). "We are grateful to be appointed as Master Compliance Agent for the Asian continent for the North Macedonia Economic Citizenship Program. We would like to thank the Government of North Macedonia, our teams, and private clients for the undeterred support throughout the decades. As a leader in the investment immigration industry, HLG will continue to serve on trust and integrity for North Macedonia," said Mr. Bastien Trelcat, Managing Partner of Harvey Law Group (HLG). Established since 1992, HLG is the world's leading investment immigration law firm to become an authorized agent duly representing residency and citizenship-by-investment programs from all around the world. About Harvey Law Group (HLG) Harvey Law Group (HLG) is a multinational law firm specializing in corporate law and investment immigration, with a worldwide reputation for representing high-profile clients and corporations. HLG was awarded the Immigration Law Firm of The Year at the Annual Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards in 2014 and 2017. As Asia's pioneer within the Residency & Citizenship-by-Investment industry, HLG has notably been offering investment immigration services for over 29 years. HLG is headquartered in Hong Kong with over 23 offices worldwide including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, and expanding. HLG is duly licensed by all investment immigration programs to promote and submit applications on behalf of investors. Currently, HLG offers Residency & Citizenship-by-Investment programs to 25 countries and counting. www.harveylawcorporation.com SOURCE Harvey Law Group A recent study published in the journal Latin American Antiquity analyses a set of bones and teeth which once belonged to a high ranking member of the Mayan civilisation. The revelation hints towards how everything was not always swift for the elite in the ancient Mexican civilisation. According to the reports by Phys.org, a diplomat named Ajpach' Waal was buried 1,300 years ago. He suffered malnutrition or illness as a child, however, as an adult he helped negotiate an alliance between two powerful dynasties. Analysing the remains An archaeologists team led by Kenichiro Tsukamoto discovered a hieroglyph-adorned stairway leading up to a ceremonial platform. This was discovered during excavations at El Palmar, a small plaza compound in Mexico near the borders of Belize and Guatemala. The hieroglyphs revealed that in June, 726 CE, Ajpach' Waal travelled and met the king of Copan. The aim was to forge an alliance with the king of Calakmul, near El Palmar. The study talks about the role communities peripheral to major centers played in establishing the connections between royal families during the Late Classic period. According to the reports by phys.org, Tsukamoto said, His life is not like we expected based on the hieroglyphics. He added, Many people say that the elite enjoyed their lives, but the story is usually more complex. The discovered inscriptions have identified Ajpach' Waal as a "lakam. He inherited the position through his father's lineage, and his mother also came from an elite family. Beneath the floor of a temple, which is next to the platform, Tsukamoto discovered an undisturbed burial of a male skeleton in a small chamber. Tsukamoto and Jessica I. Cerezo-Roman, who is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma studied the set of bones of the person buried here. Both sides of the skull are spongy and porous due to the malnutrition problem. The archaeologists found that his right tibia, or the shinbone, had been fractured in his life, most likely in a contact sport. The focus is added to the depictions of people playing sports. Plans to invest in promising startups in the US, Europe, China and South Korea SEOUL, South Korea, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nexen Tire, a leading global tire manufacturer, today announced the establishment of Next Century Ventures (NCV), a Silicon Valley-based initiative aimed at backing budding mobility startups. Next Century Ventures plans to invest in companies focusing on leading innovation and the fourth industrial revolution in the Silicon Valley, and will also seek investment opportunities in other countries and regions including Europe, China, and South Korea. The aim of the initiative is to accelerate the expansion of Nexen Tire into a new and futuristic mobility space. Target investments will include core mobility technologies such as automotive sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, and self-driving technologies. Nexen Tire's venture capital is in line with that of global companies investing in promising startups to discover and secure new core technologies while attracting exceptional talents. Jin Mann Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at Nexen Tire, will double as the Managing Partner at Next Century Ventures. "Openness and cooperation are crucial in the era of the fourth industrial revolution because companies cannot develop all technologies on their own," said Travis Kang, Global CEO of Nexen Tire. "Nexen Tire is ready to make bold and forward-looking investments that will ultimately fulfill the goal of becoming a global mobility company." About Nexen Tire Nexen Tire, established in 1942, is a global tire manufacturer headquartered in South Korea. Nexen Tire, one of the world's fastest growing tire manufacturers, currently interacts with approximately 150 countries around the world and owns four manufacturing plants - two in Korea (Yangsan and Changnyeong) and one in Qingdao, China. Another plant in Zatec, the Czech Republic has also begun operation in 2019. Nexen Tire produces tires for passenger cars, SUVs, and light trucks with advanced technology and excellence in design. Nexen Tire supplies OE tires to global car makers in various countries around the world. In 2014, the company achieved a grand slam of the world's top 4 design awards for the first time amongst the various tire makers in the world. For more information, please visit https://www.nexentire.com/international/ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1baf0aca-8351-4c6c-9a56-53a4303c34cc Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. Beitbridge Bureau The story of Beitbridge is an exponential growth that does not correspond to demand for service. It is mainly an expansion in terms of population numbers but highly unmatched by the availability of public amenities. Over the years, the border town has tremendously developed in terms of population and infrastructure growth especially in the last decade. However, very little has happened in areas around the upgrading of social amenities including health institutions. The worst affected facility is the 140-bed district hospital, which is a referral centre for a population exceeding over 250 000 locals. The referral hospital is already overwhelmed facility, with pressure coming from 16 primary health care centres. In addition, it is also catering for at least 13 000 people who pass through the town in transit daily. These people come from several places in the country, Sadc region and neighbouring districts, which include Gwanda and Mwenezi districts. It is understood that although other facets are growing in the town, the health facility is currently operating with a 1990s staff establishment. This status quo has resulted in human and material resources to cater for patients being overstretched. By mere location at an important Sadc transit point, the country's busiest port of entry has seen increased annual population growth and things are getting more and more complicated on a daily basis. The District Medical Officer, Dr Lenos Samhere, told the Matabeleland South Civil Protection committee recently that there was an urgent need to review the state of affairs. The CPU team led by then, the provincial development coordinator, Mrs Sithandiwe Ncube, had visited the border town to assess the state of affairs of selected facilities to handle Covid19 related cases. "We appreciate the Government's efforts to increase resources and staff to the hospital during this period where we are all focusing on containing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic" said Dr Samhere. "However, the hospital is strained in terms of resources due to the increased demand for services and its location in a transit town. You will note that we are having an old staff establishment model which has not been reviewed for some time". He said they were handling an average of 350 (babies) deliveries monthly which is more than what the provincial and other district hospitals are handling. "We are in the range of major referral centres like the United Bulawayo Hospitals," said Dr Samhere. The senior medical practitioner in the district was of the view that the state of affairs at the district hospital is also affecting resources allocation from national Government. The official appealed to the CPU to push for the upgrading of the institution and allocation of more resources in line with obtaining demands. Dr Samhere said their staffers were also facing serious accommodation challenges due to limited space at their few allocated houses. When the first Covid19 cases hit the country last year, many senior government officials visited the border town to assess the facilities and the referral hospital was chosen for an upgrading. This then saw the female ward being upgraded to accommodate 30 beds for critical cases. At some point there was a suggestion from senior government officials that the Ministry of Health and Child Care would send a team to assess the situation at Beitbridge following pleas by local residents and legislators, little progress has been made on the ground. However, the said team is yet to set foot in the town. The hospital is faced with a litany of other challenges including shortages of staff accommodation, power supply, water supply, theatre equipment such as autoclaving, a partially functionally mortuary that carries 37 bodies. This is against the fact that the Registrar General Office process close to 70 burial orders monthly and some bodies stay longer than necessary in the mortuary especial, those brought to the facility by police for criminal investigations. A further 400 burial orders are processed for those who would have died in South Africa and are repatriated into the country. Those intended for burial in Beitbridge district will have to make use of private morgues locally. Hospital authorities need close to $500 000 to service the Government mortuary that carries the burden of the whole district, country and Sadc region. In November 2018, the hospital authorities had to suspend operations at the mortuary as a result of a wave of power outages. In fact, the acute resource shortages at the health institution, have become perennial due to the workload which is not in tandem with national budget allocations. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Trade Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Given the current scenario, it will be wise for the government to upgrade the health institution in line with the demand and the town's transformation into a medium city. The Covid19 pandemic has created an ideal opportunity for Zimbabwe to look at homegrown solutions and rescue people in its southern district, which is somehow one of its major cash cows. It is also high time for the central Government and its partners established two polyclinics in the two constituencies (East and West) to relieve the sole referral centre. In some instances, those people living in Beitbridge west are relying on Manama Hospital in Gwanda district, while those in the east prefer Chiredzi District hospital since they were within 60km of their reach. The furthest distance point between the villagers and Beitbridge referral hospital is between 120km and 135km. There is also a need for authorities to urgently fix the problems bedevilling the mortuary and invest in solar energy to power the hospital. Essentially while recording significant population growth either temporary or permanently, the healthcare diary of this important centre of social and economic activity remains in a sorry state. 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) Former envoy Ramon Tulfo on Thursday claimed Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Debold Sinas was vaccinated against COVID-19 together with him back in November. In his column for The Manila Times, Tulfo said they both got injected with "smuggled" Sinopharm vaccines. "Sinas will survive because he got injected with the Sinopharm vaccine along with this columnist in November last year," wrote Tulfo. "Sinas was inoculated with the smuggled vaccine along with his security escorts." However, the PNP chief hit back, saying he would not have been infected by the coronavirus if he were already vaccinated. Sinas announced last week he tested positive for COVID-19. "Our Chief simply said if he had his vaccine, he could not have been infected with COVID-19," PNP spokesperson PBGen. Idelbrandi Usana said in a brief statement. Experts have said a person injected with a COVID-19 vaccine may still test positive given that it is not 100% effective. Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo explained infection is still possible after the first dose and it would take at least two weeks to develop the antibodies that will fight the coronavirus. Full protection will only take effect after the second dose. "During the first few weeks after you were injected with the vaccine you have no protection," Domingo said. "This is the time when your immune system is trying to develop." remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. It is reported that the Philippine New Crown Task Force issued a statement saying that the Philippines will close the border for another month to deal with the new wave of epidemics and the surge in cases of variant new coronavirus infections. Under the ban, foreign citizens and some overseas Filipinos will be barred from entering the country. According to reports, officially approved foreign government officials, Filipino citizens returning to work from overseas, and people in emergencies will be exempted from the entry ban. In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration of the Philippines on the 16th set the daily number of inbound passengers at Manila International Airport from March 18 to April 19 at 1,500. Affected by the Philippines continues to close the border, the sis2 market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market growth. This year-on-year upward trend in the market indicates that the next February 2021-2026 will show an oval but steady growth. If you are looking for sis2 or buy sis2 in bulk, please send an email to: sales 2 @nanotrun.com . The price of sis2 continues to be affected by factors such as market growth momentum, various opportunities and challenges. However, during the forecast period from 2020 to 2026, the global sis2 sales market is expected to continue to be above average. The growth rate will continue to increase. It is expected that from today to next week, the price of sis2 will increase to a certain extent. Due to changes in consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of sis2, the cost of sis2 is constantly changing. Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, demand and supply, the cost of sis2 will also be affected to a certain extent. It is estimated that the cost of sis2 will increase slightly from today to next week. However, KMPASS provides high purity sis2 with steady price. In order to feedback to old customers, the company is still in full operations to provide sis2 with competitive price. said Aimee, sales manager of KMPASS. About KMPASS KMPASS is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. As a leading nanotechnology development and sis2 manufacturer, KMPASS dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are looking for sis2, please send an email to: sales 2 @nanotrun.com OR go to the following link: https://www.kmpass.com/chemicals/Tungsten-Disulfide-WS2-Powder-.html https://www.kmpass.com/chemicals/Molybdenum-Disulfide-MoS2-Lubricating-Material-Powder-.html A heartbroken family have paid tribute to a five-year-old girl who was tragically killed at a pedestrian crossing while holding her mother's hand on the way to get pizza. Alannah Sobolewski was crossing the road at Plumpton near her home when she was hit by a Toyota Tarago on Rooty Hill North Road, western Sydney, at 7.20 on Wednesday night. The youngster has celebrated her birthday last month, was in her first term of primary school, and had wanted to be a zookeeper when she grew up. Five-year-old Alannah Sobolewski was tragically killed after being hit by a car while crossing the road hold her mother Taylor Maddock's hand (pictured together) Alannah (pictured) was in her first term of primary school and wanted to be a zoo keeper when she grew up Her grandmother Nola Meridith took to Facebook to voice her grief - posting a picture of the child's hand in hers and saying she would be 'in her heart forever'. 'Our hearts are breaking tonight ... Sadly our baby girl has gone with the angels,' she wrote. 'My heart goes to you and your family there are no words,' one person responded. Her mother, Taylor Maddock was rushed to hospital with injuries to her spine, pelvis and legs but is in a stable condition. On Thursday night, loved ones visited the crash site leaving balloons, toys and flowers. While her uncle Saxon Manaena said he has been struggling to deal with the loss of his niece, the young girl's father Jake Sobolewski is inconsolable. Her grandmother posted this image saying it was last time she would hold her hand but she would be in her heart forever Emergency services were called to Rooty Hill Road North, Plumpton, about 7.20pm on Wednesday (pictured) to reports two pedestrian had been hit by a car 'She was the most beautiful little girl, she was my top girl, I knew her very well, she was so kind hearted, it's not right,' Mr Manaena told The Daily Telegraph. 'Her father is just broken-hearted, Jake is lost for words.' He said the family live in the area and know how busy the junction is, having crossed that road 'a million times' together, and that Alannah always held her mother's hand. The impact shattered the glass on the front windscreen and created a dent on the front bonnet Police have set up a crime scene as they continue to investigate the circumstance surrounding the incident Mr Manaena called on authorities to add traffic lights to the area to make it safer for families to cross. Two critical care paramedic units and a number of ambulances rushed to the scene where they tried to save the youngster before rushing the pair to Westmead Hospital. Alannah died soon after, while her 25-year-old mother suffered leg and pelvis injuries. Photos of the horrific crash show a team of paramedics desperately working to stabilise the mother and daughter. A 37-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter were rushed to hospital, where the child later died The impact shattered the front windscreen on the Tarago and left a large dent in the front bonnet. Local resident James Camilleri said there were many road accidents in the area and the traffic lights near the scene were not working. 'We heard a thud then all of these sirens going off,' he told TNV. 'Just a year ago my brother was here, got t-boned by a truck. He had a heart attack and they brought him back to life. 'Something definitely has to be done about this road.' The 64-year-old male driver of the Toyota Tarago sustained no injuries and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing The 64-year-old male driver sustained no injuries and was taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing. Detective chief inspector Sean Gabin said the driver was in shock. 'Anyone who goes to a scene where someone has died is obviously distressing,' he said. 'It's more distressing when you see a small child.' Local resident James Camilleri said there were many road accidents in the area and the traffic lights near the scene were not working. Pictured: The crossing where the tragedy unfolded He confirmed the tragedy was an accident, but would not say whether police were considering laying charges on the motorist. Detectives will consider speed and wet weather conditions in their investigation. Chief inspector Gabin urged motorists to be extra cautious when driving in wet weather. 'NSW is going to go through some inclement weather for a prolonged period. This may mean that you drive below the posted speed limit,' he said. Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or has dash cam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800-333-000. A Chicopee mother took to Facebook on Sunday to detail how her three children were jumped by four older boys at the Bowie Elementary School playground. Her oldest son was left with a concussion, bruised ribs and a busted-up face in the wake of the attack, which the woman claimed was unprovoked. My boys were told they were on their turf, " the mother recounted. Parents, be warned. She received an outpour of sympathy after posting about the assault. That is awful! Im sorry that that happened to your kids, one person wrote. Omg Im so sorry to hear this. Scares me as I have two little kids, another user said. Some people suggested the women take other action besides calling 911, recommending she have her children trained in self-defense, call the Chicopee police chief directly about the incident or even reach out to local news outlets. Chicopee City Councilor Lucjan Galecki had a different suggestion: that her children would be better off if they were accustomed to fighting or getting hit extremely hard by an adult. I never got jumped as a kid because my parents are from Poland and the way we were disciplined as kids would be considered child abuse today, Galecki wrote in response to the womans post on the Chicopee, MA Open Forum page. Its not ok that your kids were jumped but theyd be much better off if they were used to fighting or getting hit extremely hard by an adult like me when I was a kid. In response to a Facebook post from a mother who described her children getting jumped by older boys, Chicopee City Councilor Lucjan Galecki suggested her kids would be better off if they were accustomed to fighting or getting hit extremely hard by an adult. Part of the social media back and forth can be seen here. The Ward 3 councilor isnt known for his tact. He has made multiple insensitive comments in the past year that have landed him in hot water. In a series of social media comments made in December 2020, Galecki placed the blame in cases of sexual assault on survivors, going so far as to compare a women getting assaulted, especially in sketchy nightclubs, to hiking in an area littered with hungry grizzly bears. Would you be surprised if you were attacked?, he asked. His offensive comments about sexual harassment last year sparked protests and calls for changes to the communitys charter, as city leaders in Chicopee dont have the power to remove him from elected office. Theres no recall provision in the municipalitys government. Galecki apologized after he made the statements but said hes not resigning. Those on social media this past weekend immediately lambasted the city councilors comments in favor of child abuse, which is defined by federal law as any non-accidental physical injury to a child, including striking, kicking, burning or biting a kid. Speaking with MassLive over the phone, Galecki said he believes people took what he said out of context. The councilor claimed he wasnt advocating for the woman to hit her kids. Im not going to say anything any more because people took what I said out of context, the councilor said. The more you talk about a dumb issue like this, the more it gets blown out of proportion. Galecki said if anyone has any questions for him, they can contact him directly, noting he has no further comment. It 100% benefitted me, Galecki said about being hit as a kid by his parents. I remember getting picked on by a kid much bigger than me, and I was able to fight with him. But its not recommended these days, he added. Speaking your minds not even recommended these days. Responding to Galeckis Facebook comment, the mother who made the initial post said shes not going to abuse her child to make him tougher. Her son can defend himself pretty well, she noted. However, when he was attacked, he was jumped from behind while sitting on a bike. He fell and was kicked and punched to s*** by the four boys, the mother wrote. That is not the same as not being able to fight back. It was grimy. But yeah, not abusing my kid, ever. The vexing social media comments didnt end there, though. Galecki went on to suggest the womans children start lifting weights. The councilor did so in his teenage years to stop his father from beating him, he noted. I got bigger and it worked, the councilor wrote. Im a bouncer part time and I have no fear when I have to get between a group of 10 people to break up a fight. His parents would severely beat him and take away one of his belongings if they found out he got into a fight, Galecki added. I had great parents, unfortunately, many other kids do not, he said. Galecki further recommended the Chicopee mothers children learn self-defense or hang out with older kids that are already bigger and stronger. He also suggested she throw dodgeballs at the children at home when theyre not paying attention. Im just trying to throw some suggestions out there, Galecki wrote. Since January, a month after Galeckis controversial comments about sexual assault, the Chicopee City Council has been working to add a recall amendment to its charter in response to the councilors statements. As I publicly established in December, I believe the public expects better from elected officials, Council President Shane D. Brooks told MassLive. I think that applies to all domains of life, whether thats social media responsibilities or other areas. Brooks brought up the fact that the councils Ordinance Committee recently issued a report recommending the 13-member legislative body adopt a home rule petition to allow a recall provision in the city charter. That report is currently under review for revision and consideration by the Chicopee Law Department. Some of the issues the department will look at include whether it makes sense to add a recall provision to the charter when councilors only serve two-year terms and what speech from an elected official would be worthy of a recall. If approved by the entire council, the mayor and the Massachusetts State Legislature, the measure will allow for the recall of an elected official in the city. Tuesday night, the council voted to create a committee where each of the 13 councilors appoints someone to read through the city charter in detail and make recommendations on what they think needs to be changed in the document. Once the committee is established, it will have a year to issue its report. Galecki, who is serving a two-year term, is up for re-election in November. Its going to create an important dialogue, and were going to learn a lot about our founding document that hasnt been changed other than a few home rules since its inception, said Ward 1 Councilor Joel McAuliffe, who authored the order for the commission. Im really, really excited to see what happens here. Related Content: WASHINGTON--Less than one in 10 commercially insured patients in the United States who broke a hip, a major complication of osteoporosis, receive any osteoporosis medical treatment within two calendar quarters of their fracture, according to a study whose results will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Rates of treatment with osteoporosis, or bone loss, medicines dropped dramatically over the past decade from 15 percent to 8 percent, a new analysis of a large nationwide private insurance database found. The decrease comes despite fractures often being the first sign of osteoporosis, said the study's lead author, Sara Cromer, M.D., an endocrinology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. "This very low rate of treatment with bone-directed medications to prevent future fractures is concerning," Cromer said. "This is analogous to providing no therapy to lower blood pressure or cholesterol after a heart attack." Medical associations recommend osteoporosis evaluation and treatment after a hip fracture. Osteoporosis medications, also called bone-directed or bone-modifying drugs, prevent bones from getting weaker by slowing the natural breakdown of bone or by stimulating new bone to form. Some 54 million Americans--primarily women--have osteoporosis or are at risk of the bone-weakening disease, putting them at increased danger of broken bones, according to the Hormone Health Network. Each year, more than 300,000 older adults nationwide sustain a hip fracture requiring hospitalization, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new study involved more than 15 million prescription claims and reviewed trends in U.S. prescribing of bone-directed therapies from 2009 to 2020. Although the study data do not address possible reasons for the decrease in bone-directed treatment of hip fractures, Cromer said the diagnosis of osteoporosis is often overlooked, even in patients who experience disease-defining fractures. Another reason could be public concerns about the side effects of some common osteoporosis drugs, including bisphosphonates, she suggested. These include the very rare chance of either osteonecrosis of the jaw, which is a severe breakdown of bone in the jaw, or of fractures of the thigh bone. The Society's Clinical Practice Guideline on osteoporosis treatment in postmenopausal women state that the benefits of bone-directed medications outweigh their risk for women at high risk of breaking a bone, especially those who recently experienced a fracture. "The risk of second fracture is higher without osteoporosis medications," Cromer said. "Also, a hip fracture can be deadly, with approximately 20-30 percent of people dying within a year after a hip fracture, and studies show that some medications for osteoporosis can even lower this risk of death." Another trend that their study identified that Cromer said seems out of proportion to the Society's guideline recommendations is the rapid rise in use of denosumab, which became available in 2010. This medicine, which is given twice a year as an injection in the doctor's office, is a monoclonal antibody that works similar to bisphosphonates. The guidelines recommend denosumab as an alternative to bisphosphonates for the initial treatment of osteoporosis if they cannot take bisphosphonates or are at high risk of osteoporotic fractures. By 2017, use of denosumab surpassed all other bone-directed drugs except the bisphosphonate alendronate for the treatment of osteoporosis, the study data showed. Furthermore, Cromer said by 2013 denosumab became the most commonly used drug for the prevention of fractures related to cancers that have, or are likely to, spread to the bone. "While denosumab is highly effective at improving bone density and preventing fracture, it has also been known for several years that there is an increase in spinal fractures if denosumab is discontinued without follow-up treatment, and sometimes even with follow-up treatment," Cromer said. "This safety concern does not seem to be reflected in medication use as of early 2020, the end of our study." Cromer hypothesized that the popularity of denosumab over other effective medications may be because its form of administration--twice-a-year injections--is more convenient than that of oral bisphosphonates that patients take once a week. However, she said denosumab was used more often than zoledronic acid, an intravenous bisphosphonate that requires only once-yearly dosing. The reasons for the rapid increase in use of denosumab remain unclear, she noted. She encouraged patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis to discuss their risks and benefits of treatment with their doctor and to ask which medicine is best for them. ### Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions. After eight people, six of them Asian women, were fatally shot this week in a rampage near Atlanta, a law enforcement official said that in the gunmans own words, his actions were not racially motivated, but caused by sexual addiction. The official, Capt. Jay Baker of the Sheriffs Office in Cherokee County, where one of the three massage businesses targeted by the gunman was located, cautioned that the investigation was in its early stages. But the implication was clear: It had to be one motive or the other, not both. That suggestion was met with incredulity by many Asian-American women, for whom racism and sexism have always been inextricably intertwined. For them, racism often takes the form of unwanted sexual come-ons, and sexual harassment is often overtly racist. With reports of anti-Asian attacks surging after the Trump administration repeatedly emphasized Chinas connection to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is evidence that most of the hate, unlike other types of bias crime, has been directed at women. By Bahk Eun-ji The government is considering allowing workers to take leave for a couple of days after getting COVID-19 vaccines following reports that many undergo more severe-than-expected immune responses, such as fever, after vaccination. The idea was first officially floated by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Tuesday. "We have received reports that a number of people experience fever and muscle pains after getting coronavirus vaccines, although these are normal immune reactions," Chung said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. "If we want to carry out the vaccination program as scheduled, it is the most important that the people participate in it without anxiety." In response, health authorities began discussions with related ministries on the introduction of vaccination leave. "Related governments including ministries of health, employment and labor and personnel management have been reviewing the idea, but there are many things to be discussed and organized, such as when to introduce, how to do it, such as in a paid or unpaid way, and how to apply it to different industries," Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official of the health ministry, said during a regular press briefing, Thursday. "There are several things to be sorted out in relation to these parts. Detailed plans will be soon announced once they are organized." The vaccination leave idea has come as many have suffered immune reactions after inoculation, mostly fever, muscle pain and chills, which usually go away in a couple of days but are more severe than initially expected. Some say fever reducers did not work. Medical professionals say that health authorities should more accurately notify people of symptoms after inoculation, as people could be alarmed at the symptoms which can be more severe than those appearing after flu vaccination. One doctor who got the shot said it's better to tell people that it will definitely be hard for a couple of days after inoculation rather than telling them they don't have to worry because such mild reactions would disappear naturally. Lawmakers also began to work on revising the relevant law to introduce vaccine vacations. Rep. Kim Won-i of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea proposed a revision bill to the Act on the Prevention and Management of Infectious Diseases, Monday, to set legal grounds for leave for vaccination against infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Racism is a deeply rooted global evil: UN chief Xinhua) 09:29, March 18, 2021 UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for the condemnation of racism, which he described as a deeply rooted global evil. Last year, people around the globe took to the streets to protest the vicious "global pandemic of racism." They recognized racism for what it is: dangerous, abhorrent, ugly, and everywhere, he said in a message for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which falls on March 21. "Racism is a deeply rooted global evil. It transcends generations and contaminates societies. It perpetuates inequality, oppression and marginalization." There is racism in the pervasive discrimination against people of African descent, in the injustices and oppression endured by indigenous peoples and other ethnic minorities, and in the repugnant views of white supremacists and other extremist groups, he said. "Wherever we see racism, we must condemn it without reservation, without hesitation, without qualification." He noted that this year's theme of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlights the important role of youth. "Young people's attitudes and behavior will dictate the future shape and look of our societies. So, I appeal to young people everywhere, as well as educators and leaders, to teach the world that all people are born equal," he said. "Supremacy is an evil lie. Racism kills." Guterres called for collective efforts to rid the world of the pernicious evil of racism so all people may live in a world of peace, dignity and opportunity. In May of that year, Napoleon resolved the conflict by issuing a decree allowing slavery to be maintained. The Republics legislative body subsequently ratified the law with a vote of 211 to 63, creating an opening for slavery to return elsewhere. Black people on the island of Guadeloupe fought the French troops Napoleon sent there to shackle them once more, but they eventually lost their struggle and saw slavery officially reinstated that July. Things unfolded differently, but no less tragically, in Saint-Domingue. Under two generals who were sent to the island by Napoleon to, in his words, annihilate the government of the Blacks, the French Army was ordered to kill all the people of color in the colony who had ever worn an epaulet. French soldiers gassed, drowned and used dogs to maul the revolutionaries; the French colonists openly bragged that after the extermination the island could simply be repopulated with more Africans from the continent. This monstrous solution only encouraged the Black soldiers to fight for independence or death. After defeating Napoleons army and declaring independence, Haiti became the first modern state to permanently abolish slavery. My students and colleagues, in both France and the United States, usually respond with shock and horror when I describe how thousands of Black people in Saint-Domingue were so cruelly killed by the French as they fought for freedoms most people now take for granted. I insist on reciting this painful part of Haitis path to independence because the very fact that this attempted genocide remains mostly unspoken of proves that the French Republic is still unable to fully confront its history of slavery and colonialism. The Year of Napoleon has arrived during a dangerous time. French academics who study race, gender, ethnicity and class are under attack. President Emmanuel Macron has derided the field of post-colonial studies by suggesting that it has encouraged the ethnicization of the social question to the point that the Republic is in danger of splitting apart. The minister of higher education, research and innovation outright called for an investigation, so we can distinguish proper academic research from activism and opinion, and said that scholars studying critical race theory and decolonization, along with sexual identity and social class, were promoting Islamo-leftist ideology. This inquest is being framed as a simple inquiry into the merits of particular schools of thought; it is actually part of an attempt to silence anyone who dares to speak openly of Frances history of racism. But dedicating an entire year to the memory of Napoleon demonstrates that repressing history in the name of Frances favorite ideology, universalism, is already a crucial part of the Republic. Instead of calling for an investigation into academics determined to bring greater awareness to the role that race and racism play in the lives of descendants of slavery and colonialism, perhaps French leaders should open an inquiry into why Napoleon, a racist and genocidal warmonger, continues to be glorified in the country whose national motto is Liberty, equality, fraternity. Drunk uncles will dismiss it as a fad but digital currency is just as valuable or as worthless as any other medium of exchange backed up little more than good faith. Read more . . . Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers London, March 18 : Individualistic Western countries, which on average have fewer children, are the most affected by parental burnout, says a new study for which hundreds of scientists in 42 countries were mobilised. Culture, rather than socio-economic and demographic differences between countries, plays a predominant role in parental burnout, showed the results published in the journal 'Affective Science'. The global scientific community is worried about family stress-induced parental burnout. A high level of stress in the family can lead to parental exhaustion. Such suffering has serious consequences for both the parents and the children. "Prevalence varies greatly from one culture and country to another," said Isabelle Roskam from Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium. The study shows that the values of individualism in Western countries can subject parents to higher levels of stress. The results gain significance in a context where the mantra of "every one for oneself" is spreading all over the world. "Our individualistic countries cultivate a cult of performance and perfectionism. Parenthood in these countries is a very solitary activity, unlike in African countries, for example, where the entire village is involved in raising children," said Roskam, a parental burnout specialist. Countries which often have many children are more collectivist. This dimension seems to protect against parental burnout, said the study. In addition, Western individualism is exacerbated by the current health crisis: Families find themselves isolated and cut off from their social relations. So what measures can be taken to prevent stress in parenting? "The first would be to revive in our cultures the dimension of sharing and mutual aid among parents within a community. And abandon the cult of the perfect parent and gain some perspective on all the parenting advice out there in order to choose what works for you," Roskam said. A group of more than 200 medical professionals including former Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley have launched a campaign urging energy giant AGL to close its coal-fired power plants by 2030. A letter, supported by nine health bodies including the Royal Doctors Association of Victoria and the Medical Scientists Association of Victoria and hundreds of health professionals, was sent to each of AGLs board members on Monday. The groups organiser, Dr Kate Lardner, also emailed super fund HESTA last week to call for its support, saying the campaign would target the funds members directly if it did not use its position as a shareholder to pressure AGL to phase out its coal stations. Shareholder activists have launched a fresh bid to pressure super fund Hesta to act on climate change. Credit:Justin McManus The campaign comes the same month EnergyAustralia brought forward the closure of its brown-coal-fired power station, Yallourn, by four years to 2028, a move its energy executive Liz Westcott said was a step towards a clean future. WATCH: European regulator says Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 'safe and effective' The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has concluded that the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for use. The review from the medicines regulator comes after a string of European countries suspended their rollouts of the vaccine after fears it caused blood clotting. The EMA said it would continue to study possible links between rare blood clots and the vaccine. Several EU countries, including Germany, France and the Republic of Ireland, paused the use of the jab earlier this week. Italy, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Lithuania also stopped using certain batches as a precaution after reports that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Around 5 million Europeans have already received the AstraZeneca jab. On Monday afternoon, the German government said it would temporarily halt the use of the vaccine. The country's health minister said the decision was taken on the advice of Germanys national vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for further investigation into seven reported cases of clots in the brains of people who had been vaccinated. READ MORE: European Union turns to US for Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine The decision was a purely precautionary measure, Jens Spahn said. The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Denmark and Norway were also among the countries that paused its use, as well as Thailand, Iceland and Congo. The review from the medicines regulator comes after a string of European countries suspended their rollouts of the vaccine after fears it caused blood clotting. Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters In a statement, AstraZeneca said there was no evidence of an increased risk of clotting due to the vaccine. The company said that across the EU and the United Kingdom there had been 15 events of deep-vein thrombosis and 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among more than 17 million people vaccinated. Ann Taylor, the firm's chief medical officer, said on Monday: Around 17 million people in the EU and UK have now received our vaccine, and the number of cases of blood clots reported in this group is lower than the hundreds of cases that would be expected among the general population. Story continues She added: "The nature of the pandemic has led to increased attention in individual cases and we are going beyond the standard practices for safety monitoring of licensed medicines in reporting vaccine events, to ensure public safety." Earlier on Thursday the World Health Organisation, which is set to release its own results of the vaccines safety, again backed the AstraZeneca jab after doing so on Wednesday. WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said: "Benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risks and its use should continue to save lives." WATCH: What UK government COVID-19 support is available? Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 04:44:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian and the U.S. naval forces have conducted a drill in the Red Sea, Egypt's armed forces said in a statement on Wednesday. The training was held with the participation of an Egyptian frigate and a U.S. amphibious transport dock ship, according to the statement. Training on maritime security procedures in the areas of operations in the Red Sea have also been carried out, the statement said, adding that such exercises effectively contribute to preserving maritime security and stability in the region. Egypt regularly holds joint military exercises with other countries to boost military collaboration and exchange military expertise. Enditem Did Kiara Advani Just Confirm Dating Sidharth Malhotra? Actress Drops A Major Hint Are Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani dating? This question has come up time and again, ever since the duo was paired opposite each other for Shershaah. The film is yet to release, but their chemistry and spark are undeniable every time we spot them together. Right from the time Sidharth was invited to Kiara's birthday to all the times they were spotted at the airport, we just want these two to go official. In fact, they rang the New Year together in Maldives. Even though the duo had not posted any pictures together, they were spotted at the airport alongside each other. And now, Kiara seems to have dropped a major hint about dating Sidharth. During an interview with Filmfare magazine, the actress was asked whether she had been to any dates in the new year. The actress quipped, Last time I went on a date was It was sometime this year. And its been only two months for this year, so you do the math. We wonder when these two would say it already and make their relationship public. Last year, Akshay Kumar also dropped hints about Kiara dating Sidharth while promoting their film Laxmii. Sidharth and Kiara's Shershaah is all set to release on 2nd July this year. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address public rallies in West Bengals Bhangra (Purulia) and Assams Karimganj on Thursday (March 18). The prime minister is going to hold the public rallies as a part of BJPs campaign in the two poll-bound states. The rallies are scheduled to be held at 11am and 3pm respectively. PM Modi took it to his social media account to reiterate his partys agenda of good governance in the country. He tweeted, "Glad to be getting the opportunity to be among my sisters and brothers of West Bengal tomorrow, 18th March. I would be addressing a rally in Purulia. Across West Bengal, there is a desire for change. BJP's agenda of good governance is striking a chord among the people." Glad to be getting the opportunity to be among my sisters and brothers of West Bengal tomorrow, 18th March. I would be addressing a rally in Purulia. Across West Bengal, there is a desire for change. BJPs agenda of good governance is striking a chord among the people. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 17, 2021 In another tweet, the Prime minister wrote, "Will be in Assam tomorrow, 18th March. Looking forward to being among the people of this great state during the rally in Karimganj. Assam has witnessed positive changes across various sectors over the last 5 years. NDA seeks people's blessings to continue the development agenda." Will be in Assam tomorrow, 18th March. Looking forward to being among the people of this great state during the rally in Karimganj. Assam has witnessed positive changes across various sectors over the last 5 years. NDA seeks peoples blessings to continue the development agenda. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 17, 2021 In the upcoming assembly elections, BJP seeks to put an end to the 10-year rule of the Trinamool Congress' (TMC) in West Bengal, it is campaigning to retain power in Assam. Meanwhile, the political environment in West Bengal is getting tense as both the parties, BJP and TMC, have started their election campaigns in full swing in the state. The assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in eight phases. The voting for phase 1 for 30 constituencies will take place on March 27, voting for phase 2 for 30 constituencies will be held on April 1. The polling for phase 3 for 31 seats will take place on April 6, for phase 4 for 44 constituencies on April 10, for phase 5 for 45 constituencies on April 17, for phase 6 for 43 constituencies on April 22, for phase 7 for 36 constituencies on April 26 and for phase 8 for 35 constituencies on April 29. As per Election Commission notification, Assam Assembly elections will be held in three phases starting from March 27 for 126 seats. A total of 2,32,44,454 electors will cast their votes in the 15th Legislative Assembly. Live TV WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) announced today that State Restaurant Associations (SRAs) across the country will receive $750,000 to support and grow their state's ProStart programs through funding made possible by Ecolab, the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. (PRNewsfoto/National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation) Ecolab has been a proud supporter of the NRAEFs ProStart program for 18 years. NRAEF's contribution will allow SRAs to keep their ProStart programs robust and their students engaged during these challenging times for schools across the country. Funds will cover needs such as support for virtual learning, engagement with the restaurant industry, and providing equipment and supplies to culinary students unable to attend class due to COVID-19 restrictions. ProStart, a two-year career and technical education program is currently offered at 1,700 schools across the country with 130,000 students enrolled. ProStart educators and coordinators have largely adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic with a mix of virtual and in-person learning, posing challenges for students to learn the hands-on skills the program requires. Funding from Ecolab, a long-standing supporter of the NRAEF and ProStart, will enable SRAs to sustain the ProStart program. "The last year has been extremely difficult for both the restaurant industry and our schools. This crisis has required our State Restaurant Association partners to overcome unimaginable hurdles to keep the ProStart Program up and running, while ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and educators," said Rob Gifford, President, NRAEF. "Thanks to our longtime partners at Ecolab, we can provide support at a critical time when our State Restaurant Association partners, ProStart schools and students need our help." "ProStart plays a vital role in the ongoing vitality of the restaurant industry, and we are pleased we can help these dedicated students continue building practical skills and gaining real-life industry experience," said Mike Johannsen, executive vice president and general manager of Ecolab's Global Institutional sector. "The NRAEF and Ecolab have been partners for many years, and we are proud to continue our support for the ProStart Program and State Restaurant Associations now more than ever." Over the past 18 years, Ecolab has provided more than $4.3M in support of ProStart and has been a title sponsor of the National ProStart Invitational's Management Competition, in which student teams develop a proposal for the next promising restaurant concept and present it to a panel of industry judges. Their problem-solving skills are tested as they quickly solve challenges faced by restaurant managers on a daily basis. About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation NRAEF The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's mission of service to the public is dedicated to enhancing the industry's training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance today's and tomorrow's restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready partnering with community-based organizations to provide opportunity youth and justice-involved individuals with skills training and job opportunities; Military helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship project a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry. To learn more about the NRAEF and its work, visit ChooseRestaurants.org. About Ecolab A trusted partner at nearly three million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services. With annual sales of $12 billion and more than 44,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions, data-driven insights and personalized service to advance food safety, maintain clean and safe environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. www.ecolab.com Follow us on LinkedIn @Ecolab, Twitter @Ecolab, Instagram @Ecolab_Inc and Facebook @Ecolab SOURCE National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Related Links http://www.chooserestaurants.org Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has won a clear victory in Wednesdays national election to secure a fourth term in office, with exit polls showing the country may be ready for a more conciliatory relationship with the rest of the Europe Union after the traumas of the pandemic. Ruttes centre-right party, the VVD, was set to win 36 seats in the 150-strong parliament, up from 33 in 2017, with the pro-European group D66 in second place with 27 seats, according to a poll by Ipsos. Wopke Hoekstra, the budget hawk who served as Ruttes most recent finance minister, saw his Christian Democrats win 14 seats, five fewer than in the last parliament. Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks after the release of exit polls in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday (AEDT). Credit:AP With the election process hampered by the pandemic, there were no concrete results by Thursday afternoon (AEDT). The projections set up Rutte, 54, to become the longest serving prime minister in Dutch history. But they also raise questions about whether he can maintain his strategy of resisting common projects with the rest of the EU. The process of putting together a coalition could take months. The Jefferson County Sheriffs Department had already begun training deputies how to divert psychiatric cases to a new crisis center when they learned Birmingham lost out last year to Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville. It was a tough day, said Wayne Rogers, executive assistant to Sheriff Mark Pettway. Im not going to lie. Rogers said he was devastated to learn Jefferson County wasnt selected in the first round of funding, which earmarked $18 million for the state first three crisis centers. Rogers said Jefferson County has the highest number of people in the state with mental health needs. The jail usually holds dozens of people who would be better served by a facility focused on mental illness. The crisis centers will operate as 24-hour mental health emergency rooms staffed with specialists who can help those who walk in and others picked up by police and first responders. Right now, when police encounter someone who is mentally ill and in danger, they can either take them to jail or the hospital emergency room. In the emergency room, they may have to wait for hours while the patient is admitted. Now Gov. Kay Ivey is trying to add $6 million to the budget for a fourth crisis center, and Jefferson County leaders are again making their case. So are other mental health agencies in Shelby County and Tuscaloosa that are also facing similar issues. We have a tremendous need here in Jefferson County, said Jim Crego, executive director of Jefferson-Blount-St. Clair Mental Health Authority, the agency that would operate the center. We just have nowhere appropriate to take them, so they end up in jail or an ER. In the last round, Jefferson County authorities didnt provide adequate plans for mobile outreach services to rural areas, Crego said. Other cities also raised more outside funding to add to the pot provided by the state. Local governments in Huntsville committed an extra $2.1 million for the crisis center, Crego said. Thats changed this time around. The proposed Jefferson County crisis center would have a special entrance for first responders, who will be able to drop patients and leave. The crisis center can hold and treat patients for up to seven days, although some could be released or transferred earlier. Nurse practitioners, social workers and psychiatrists will be available to help treat and transfer patients who need additional care. Although Birmingham has more hospitals and more psychiatric beds than some other areas of the state, it also has more people who need mental health services, said Dr. James Meador-Woodruff, vice president for mental health services at UAB Medicine. Many people with mental illness gravitate to Jefferson County for medical and other services. We take care of the largest number of psychiatric patients in the state, Meador-Woodruff said. Even with the large number of treatment beds, Jefferson County has no place to take the kind of nonviolent mentally ill person most likely to end up in jail. A lot of times when they drop someone off at the ER, they have to sit with them several hours until they are admitted, and thats not a good use of their time, Crego said. Thats why, a lot of times, they take them to jail instead. Rogers said the Jefferson County Jail has quadrupled its spending on mental health services. But there are about 30 inmates on average who pose little threat to the community and dont belong behind bars, he said. Often these defendants face charges of disturbing the peace or trespassing. Someone who is sitting naked in the middle of the street, the chances that they are a violent person is practically zero, Rogers said. The chance that he is mentally ill is 100 percent. The center will also accept walk-in patients. Crego said the county has a list of about 80 to 90 people who may be a danger to themselves or others and need to be picked up by deputies for observation. Some of those patients might come in voluntarily, relieving pressure on probate courts and law enforcement. Meador-Woodruff said the center wont just benefit law enforcement. Patients often wait in emergency rooms for hours or even days while doctors arrange transfers to scarce psychiatric beds, he said. The center would decrease the pressure on emergency departments and allow them to concentrate on patients who require lifesaving care. The patients also might do better in a crisis center designed for people struggling with mental illness. When you are in crisis, you dont want to be in a busy place with all that stimulation, Meador-Woodruff said. Its better to be in a place thats quieter, safer and more contained. Crego said his agency learned from its last unsuccessful bid. This time, they are creating more outreach services for rural areas. Meador-Woodruff said last years failure forced the regions mental health providers to pull together. Hes cautiously optimistic this years application will be approved. Its really mobilized those of us in the hospital setting, Meador-Woodruff said. And we are trying to show support and use this as an opportunity to develop a better continuum of care. By Dean Shmuel Elmas* Turkey and Israel are historical allies. Turkey was the first Muslim majority country to recognize the State of Israel in March 1949. Following the establishment of the ties, both Israelis and Turks conducted bilateral visits and the relations between Ankara and Jerusalem began to improve in all sections. Unlike many Israelis, I do not see President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the one and only reason for the current situation in the bilateral relations. Despite the political disagreements, I believe that President Erdogan has no antagonist stance towards the Jewish people. As the leading power centers in the Middle East, Israel and Turkey have a lot of problems. Apart from the international ones like the COVID-19 pandemic, both countries are facing internal challenges too. The steady devaluation of the Turkish Lira and the political instability in Israel appear to be the most significant tests for Ankara and Jerusalem. While coping with these threats, -in order to maximize their interests- the two counties should normalize their relations to confront their common threat: Iran. Iran does not hide its ambition to destroy the State of Israel, and minimize Turkey's sphere of influence in the Middle East. In February, the Turkish security forces have arrested an Iranian official suspected of instigating the killing of an Iranian dissident, Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, in Istanbul on November 14, 2019. This suspect is Mohammad Reza Naserzadeh. Certainly this event and the growing rivalry in the northern Iraq and Syria will further deteriorate the relations between the two. In light of the said above, I believe the decision makers in Turkey and Israel should normalize the bilateral relations immediately and also should pave the way to a warmer, people to people relationship between the nations. I grew up on the stories of my grandfather, Izak, about the wonderful relationship he had with all the people of Istanbul and about his military service in Ankara. I have been in Turkey several times and I know that the Israeli streets and the Turkish streets are fantastic friends, in some cases can even be called as brothers. Certainly in the past Turkey and Israel had experienced crises such as the Mavi Marmara, "the low chair incident" and the deportation of Ambassador Eitan Na'eh. But the only way friends can come to terms with each other is through dialogue, direct dialogue. It is not only my opinion; it is a fact that Iran is a common threat. Iran is trying to destabilize our region in Iraq, Syria, and also - both in Turkey and in Israel. Iran harms the justified interest of Turkey, which wants to ensure its internal security against the PKK/YPG terror organizations in northern Syria and northern Iraq. If President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will come together, without any filters, I am convinced that the two experienced leaders will soon understand that together with Azerbaijan they can create a particularly powerful triangle against Iran. This can only happen through nominating new ambassadors who would act as bridges between the nations. *Dean Shmuel Elmas is a news desk editor and a reporter on Turkish affairs at Israel Hayom Newspaper. Apart from his career as a journalist, he currently pursues M.A degree on Jewish Studies at the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. For comments: Deane@israelhayom.co.il Nike Inc. delivered a mixed third quarter as port congestion delays and store closures abroad took a swing at its balance sheet. For the three months ended Feb. 28, the sportswear giant logged earnings that rose 71% to $1.4 billion, or 90 cents per share, trouncing the 76 cents per share analysts predicted. Revenues, on the other hand, increased 3% to $10.4 billion but fell sizably short of analysts forecasts of $11.02 billion. More from Footwear News Sales for the Nike brand fell 2% to $9.8 billion, which the Beaverton, Ore.-based company attributed to disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Nike Digital surged 54%. (Owned and partnered digital now makes up more than 35% of Nikes business.) Sales for Converse rose 8% to $570 million, led by strong digital performance in North America and Europe. Nike continues to deeply connect with consumers all over the world driven by our strong competitive advantages, president and CEO John Donahoe said in a statement. Our strategy is working as we accelerate innovation and create the seamless, premium marketplace of the future. By geography, the Swoosh saw revenues in its home turf of North America decline 11% on a currency-neutral basis driven by global container shortages and port congestion delays, which stalled the flow of inventory during the quarter by more than three weeks. Still, the North America business reported its first-ever quarter of a billion dollars in owned digital revenues. In the Europe-Middle East-Africa region, it noted a drop in brick-and-mortar revenues, with 45% of its physical fleet shut down. This, however, was partially offset by a 60% gain in digital sales. (Today, roughly 65% of Nikes owned stores in the EMEA region are open or operating on reduced hours.) Story continues Whats more, revenues in Greater China advanced 42% on a currency-neutral basis, reflecting strong double-digit growth from the prior year period, as well as a 44% improvement in digital sales. At the end of the quarter, Nike had cash, equivalents and short-term investments that totaled $12.5 billion. It expects to resume share repurchases under its existing program as soon as next quarter. Nikes brand momentum is as strong as ever and we are driving focused growth against our largest opportunities, EVP and CFO Matt Friend said in a statement. We continue to see the value of a more direct, digitally-enabled strategy, fueling even greater potential for Nike over the long term. A fake headmaster who lied his way into some of the top jobs in the country brazenly boasted about his 'secrets to success' as a teacher during a televised interview. In reality, Neil Lennie, now 72, never made it through his first year of university. The fraudster scored his first job using his dad's qualifications in 1976 and went on to teach thousands of children across some of Melbourne's most exclusive schools. Near the end of a decade-long stint as the principal of a new-age school he founded, Lennie flew to Colombo, Sri Lanka, for an international education summit in 2014. Lennie bragged about the opportunities his school - New Generation College - offered in a bid to entice students over from the southeast Asian nation. Dressed in a smart black suit, he handed out glossy golden pamphlets to potential students filled with lies about his qualifications and achievements. Neil Lennie (pictured) was on Thursday sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a suspended jail term and community corrections order after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception over the life-long scam He was also interviewed on television by the Sri Lanka Morning Show where he was asked to 'share the secret to get good results from your college'. Lennie replied: 'Well, we say we are the VCE experts. We know the secrets, and there definitely are secrets about getting good results'. He said his school offered 'bright subjects' such as chemistry and physics 'because these are the subjects that in the process of applying for university.. they get better scores so students get better university places because of it'. He would later go on to boast about how parents and students at the school would often compliment the teaching and reveal how NGC was recognised at the Victorian Government's export awards. 'The tributes we like most are from parents and students who ring us up or go on to our Facebook and say thank you very much for having a great school, that's the big buzz,' Lennie said. In a promotional video uploaded online, Lennie said: 'We are the VCE (Year 12 exam) experts, that's all we do. And we're very good at it. Results speak for themselves'. 'We know the secrets. We focus on academic results with no distractions.' He would end up being fired from the school the same year he went to Sri Lanka, with the NGC investigated for posing an unacceptable risk to the children in its care. The school in Melbourne's CBD was later shut down. Lennie (pictured) had appeared in promotional videos where he boasted how his New Generation College were the 'VCE experts' Details of Lennie's illustrious career were revealed in court on Thursday when he narrowly avoided jail for the brazen fraud. The now 72-year-old was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a suspended jail term and community corrections order after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception over the life-long scam. Lennie had gained his first teaching job despite having dropped out of every tertiary course he had ever began, never completing any studies beyond year 12. Instead he used his father's teaching qualifications. He eventually came undone in 2009 when The Victorian Institute of Teaching, which conducts annual audits of teacher and school records to ensure staff are qualified, exposed him as a fraud. They had discovered discrepancies with Lennie's records when he sought to renew his registration. It was promptly cancelled that year. In 2014, the institute charged him over another role as headmaster at a different school, again without qualification. He was fined $8000 and the following year the institute referred him to police before criminal charges were laid in May 2020. Busted, Lennie admitted his dodgy deeds had netted him $843,567 in wages up until 2000. In an interview with the Sri Lanka Morning Show, Lennie (pictured) said: 'We know the secrets, and there definitely are secrets about getting good results' Lennie had previously worked at Mount Scopus Memorial College (pictured) were he gave a farewell speech, of which one onlooker noted: 'He just let loose' Though it was worryingly easy for Lennie to make his way to the top of the educational tree, authorities have assured the public such a brazen scheme could never happen today. Back when Lennie first worked in schools all that was required was a teacher registration number. Mount Scopus - Lennie's first target - had not seen his tertiary qualifications and took him at his word that he was a registered teacher. He later spent six years as a headmaster at Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne for a period between the 1980s and 1990s and also taught at Haileybury College, Mount Scopus Memorial College and Overnewton Anglican Community College. When he was ordered to leave Mount Scopus - where he worked as a physics teacher - for insubordination he gave a farewell speech, with a person in attendance noting: 'He just let loose', adding it 'was sheer, raw vindictiveness', the Herald Sun reported. The speech reportedly prompted the school to offer counselling to staff. He was also sacked from Overnewtown, where he worked between 1997 and 2000. At one stage he told reportedly told parents that if they could not afford compulsory notebook computers, their children should not be at the school. Four years after leaving Overnewtown he served as the founding principal of the alternative school New Generation College, a position he held until 2014. Lennie served as principal at Caulfield Grammar School (pictured) for six years during a period between the 1980s and 1990s Neil Lennie is pictured arriving at the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Despite the lie, Lennie won praise as actually being a very good teacher, or at least better than he was as a student, or a fraudster. Former colleagues and students sang his praises in letters referred to the court during his prosecution. Leading infectious diseases expert and inaugural Doherty Institute director, Professor Sharon Lewin AO, said Lennie had taught her physics and described him as one of the most outstanding teachers she'd ever had. 'I often credit Mr Lennie with my enduring love of science, pursuit of academic excellence and self-belief in my own capabilities in science,' she wrote in a letter to the court. 'I remember him very clearly telling me that I was capable of doing anything in life and to shoot for the stars. 'As a young woman in the 1970s, I now understand that this kind of encouragement for women in science was most unusual.' Lennie also worked for a stint at Overnewton Anglican Community College (pictured) Notwithstanding his lies, Ian Hill QC said Lennie was an outstanding teacher who earned the respect of students and staff. Prosecutor John Dickie said the case was not about whether Lennie had been a good or bad teacher, but about him lying about his qualifications and fraudulently obtaining money meant for legitimate teachers. Lennie had enrolled in various science, maths, arts and business degrees and diplomas, but did not complete them or obtain any relevant qualification. Lennie felt he had found his calling and was driven by a misguided sense of vocation and Christian ideals instead of greed. The court heard he was sorry for lying and felt he had been publicly disgraced. He wanted people to know that 'anyone I've harmed feels justice has been done', the court was told. Judge Patricia Riddell sentenced Lennie to three months jail, which will be wholly suspended if he behaves over the next 12 months. He was also given a 12 month community corrections order. Neil Lennie is chased down the road by reporters after an earlier hearing in Melbourne LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wirex, a leading digital payments platform, has succeeded in its High Court trade mark infringement claim regarding their UK registered trade mark for Cryptoback, which is used in conjunction with Wirex's popular crypto rewards scheme. The victory is against Cryptocarbon Global Ltd, Cryptocarbon UK Ltd and Bee-One UK Ltd in respect of their unauthorised use of the Cryptoback trade mark. Mr. Subash Manuel, a director of these companies, was held jointly liable for the infringing activities of Cryptocarbon Global Ltd and Cryptocarbon UK Ltd. Wirex is an innovative crypto payments platform, giving customers the ability to buy, hold, exchange and sell up to 20 traditional and cryptocurrencies from a centralised, intuitive app. Cryptoback is one of Wirex's most popular features, and the company is proud to have been the world's first to offer a cryptocurrency rewards scheme. The programme automatically rewards customers up to 2% back in WXT, Wirex's native token, for using their crypto-enabled debit card in-store or online. Wirex issued its claim for trade mark infringement in September 2019 after discovering that the defendants were using the Cryptoback name in conjunction with a cryptocurrency rewards scheme. After a High Court trial in January this year, His Honour Judge Hacon found that Wirex's Cryptoback trade mark was valid and infringed by the defendants, and all of their counterclaims (including to invalidate the Cryptoback trade mark) were dismissed. The news comes at a significant time for Wirex, as they release a product overhaul, including their X-tras rewards programme. Building on the success of the crypto-rewards scheme and rewarding loyal customers, it offers enhanced Cryptoback rewards and up to 12% annual Savings Bonus on users WXT balance*. Last week, the company also announced their brand new crypto-enabled and multicurrency Mastercard debit card in the UK and EEA regions, with real-time point-of-sale conversion, exclusive interbank and OTC exchange rates, free international ATM withdrawals, zero monthly fees and free fiat-to-fiat exchanges. Dominique Simon, Global General Counsel at Wirex remarked, "We are delighted that the Court has found in our favour after a long and hard-fought battle against these infringers. We would like to thank our legal team, Andrew Norris QC (Hogarth Chambers) and Brown Rudnick LLP, for all of their fantastic work in helping to deliver this outcome. We look forward to developing and expanding our Cryptoback program in the UK and worldwide, along with other exciting innovations. " Read the full judgment here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/IPEC/2021/617.html To find out more about the new X-tras scheme, visit: https://wirexapp.com/blog/post/a-new-era-wirex-x-tras-programme-0280 To find out more about how Cryptoback works, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8QWzMUglbU *up to 12% available for a limited time About Wirex Wirex is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution that has forged new rules in the digital payments space. In 2015, the firm developed the world's first crypto-enabled payment card that gives users the ability to seamlessly spend crypto and traditional currencies in real life. Wirex was created in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who identified the need to open up the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies and make digital money accessible for everyone. With the core aim of making it as easy as possible to use digital assets in everyday life, Wirex provides a trusted and cost-effective service for crypto and traditional currency transactions by incorporating the next generation of payments infrastructure integrated with cryptocurrency blockchains With nearly 3.5 million customers across 130 countries, the company offers secure accounts that allow customers to easily store, buy and exchange multiple currencies instantly at the best live rates on one centralised mobile app. Quick and simple crypto transfer options are available, as well as the freedom to spend 150+ traditional and cryptocurrencies in more than 61 million locations around the world using the Wirex card. Wirex continues to develop the product in line with market developments, whilst adhering to regional regulations and securing appropriate licensing where it exists. A proven industry pioneer, Wirex launched their own native utility token, WXT, and introduced the world's first crypto reward programme, Cryptoback, which earns cardholders up to 2% back in WXT for every transaction they make. Wirex is based in London, with offices in Singapore, Kyiv, Tokyo, Toronto, Dallas, Dublin and Atlanta. With over $5bn worth of transactions processed already and rapid expansion into new territories, including the US and Japan, Wirex is uniquely placed to support and promote the mass adoption of a cashless society through creative solutions. | wirexapp.com | Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458473/Wirex_CryptoBack.jpg Three juvenile teenage boys have been arrested in relation to a horror assault on a 15-year-old boy who was attacked after he was allegedly lured to the scene by a girl. Gardai suspect the teenager was lured to the Inchicore area by a girl before he was attacked by a gang of young youths some of whom are suspected of being armed with iron bars. The boy who is from the Tallaght area suffered a broken leg, broken arm and several broken ribs. The shocking incident happened at Vincent Street West in Inchicore at around 5pm last Sunday and it is being investigated by Kilmainham gardai. Officers from the station arrested the trio this morning. They are from the locality and despite their young ages are already well known to officers. They include two brothers and another teenage boy who have been released without charge after being detained for six hours today. Detectives have established that robbery was not the motive for the attack and there may be in fact no reason except pure thuggery that the boy was savagely beaten. Gardai have arrested three male juveniles today, Thursday 18th March 2021, in relation to an assault that occurred in the Saint Vincent West area of Inchicore on 14th March, a garda spokesman said. All three have since being released for consideration of inclusion in the Juvenile Diversion Programme, he added. It is understood that the victim who is said to come from an extremely decent Tallaght family is making a good recovery from his injuries and has provided gardai with a statement. The victim travelled to the location to meet a girl and all the indications are that this was a set-up because when he arrived to the scene there were a group of male youths present as well as the juvenile female, a senior source said. He then was very badly assaulted in an incident which was witnessed by a number of onlookers some of whom contacted the emergency services. The chief suspects for the brutal attack are a gang of feral teenage thugs who have been involved in a spate of muggings and have been wreaking havoc near the Luas Line along the Grand Canal for well over a year. Gardai in Kilmainham are running a special operation to target the gang of teenage criminals who are responsible for multiple robberies of people along the Grand Canal near where there are a number of Luas stops. There has been a big increase in robberies and muggings in locations including Bluebell, Inchicore and Drimnagh. Around 10 suspects were identified, including two sets of brothers, who are all juveniles from the Inchicore and Drimnagh areas. The teens are also suspected of carrying out a number of hijackings and motor vehicle thefts, with delivery drivers targeted in some instances. Last March, gardai said that anti-social crime in the area around the Grand Canal in the capital had dramatically declined since the introduction of a special patrol but the problem has now got much worse in recent weeks. The garda statement in March came just weeks before a a 26-year-old man was taken to hospital after being stabbed multiple times near the Goldenbridge Luas stop. Last May it was reported that a woman being left seriously injured after being knocked down by a teenager on a scrambler motorbike, another womans hair being set on fire and a number of very violent assaults all in the Grand Canal area in Inchicore and Drimnagh. On one weekend last September there were around a dozen violent incidents in the locality. CCTV cameras on the Grand Canal have been vandalised and in some cases destroyed by local youths. New Delhi, March 18 : Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education, Government of India, for granting of the prestigious status of 'Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University (IoE). With this MoU, it has become the youngest recognized IoE and part of the hallowed league of top 20 public and private institutions mandated to elevate Indian higher education on the global stage with complete academic and administrative autonomy. Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) was recommended as an 'IoE' by the EEC in August 2019 after the 'Institutions of Eminence' scheme was rolled out by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2017. The 20 'IoEs' were selected from a total of 114 applications received from public and private universities. Shiv Nadar University is also among the select group of institutions in the country which were awarded the prestigious Atal Incubation Center grant by the NITI Aayog, Government of India, in the very first round in 2017. Shiv Nadar University's Pro-Chancellor, Shikhar Malhotra, and Vice-Chancellor,. Rupamanjari Ghosh, signed the MoU in the presence of Vineet Joshi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India, and Kirti, Deputy Director (Science), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. "This is a historic achievement in the journey of what we now proudly call 'Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence'. It's a heartening testament of our commitment to redefining higher education in India and to helping transform the future of human capital emerging from our country. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for recognizing Shiv Nadar University as a role model for private higher education as India addresses the needs for enhancing access to modern, high-quality education and cutting-edge research," said Shikhar Malhotra, Pro-Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University. Shiv Nadar University (Delhi NCR) has been granted the 'IoE' status upon duly clearing a wide-ranging assessment by the Government-appointed Empowered Expert Committee (EEC). The assessment included several legislative and procedural requirements under the UGC regulations and guidelines. It took into account all aspects of the University's functioning including but not limited to curriculum, research, faculty, campus infrastructure, student selection parameters and the Institution's long-term vision, culminating in the MoU signed. Islamabad, March 18 : Pakistani authorities on Thursday placed more coronavirus hotspots under lockdown and warned people to take caution as the country witnessed the highest number of new daily infections this year amid a poor response to the vaccination drive. At least 3,495 people were infected with Covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest number this year, with 61 deaths, official statistics released on Thursday showed. With the new figures, the overall caseload and death toll stood at 615,810 and 13,717, respectively. Pakistan last week announced the spread of the more contagious British strain had triggered a third wave of the pandemic, closed schools and reintroduced some restrictions in the densely populated cities, reports dpa news agency. "We now think the situation is heading to worse," said Asad Umar, a federal minister who is leading the country's response to the pandemic. Officials have put many more virus hotspots in cities under a micro-lockdown with the movement of people restricted, Umar said. The new surge was recorded amid a poor response by health workers and elderly people to an ongoing vaccination drive open for them. Pakistan has received 1 million doses of vaccines from China as a donation and was expecting more under an international cooperation plan. But a survey conducted at the start of the year had revealed around half of the citizens were sceptical of the vaccines and would not go for a jab. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 16:08:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A passenger train in India rolled backwards for a distance of at least 35 km over technical snag, local media reports said Thursday. The train heading from Delhi to the northern state of Uttarakhand finally stopped at Uttarakhand's Khatima, a town about 330 km away from the national capital New Delhi. "Yesterday Purnagiri Janshatabdi Express was on its way to Uttarakhand's Tanakpur from Delhi. The driver pressed the brakes to avoid collision with an animal that had strayed on to the railway tracks. Following it, the driver lost control of the locomotive and the entire train started moving backwards," an official was quoted as saying. "All the passengers on board were safe and were sent to Tanakpur by bus," said the official. The visuals put on news television channels and social media showed the train passing through a station at a considerable speed and the train pulling the locomotive backwards. The railway authorities have ordered a probe into the incident. Enditem One of the debates among Connecticut municipalities over the years has been what type of local government is best suited for a particular community. Southbury has a Board of Selectmen government with a First Selectman. But Selectman George Bertram has made a request for the monthly Southbury Board of Selectmen meeting on Thursday to discuss implementing research to see if a town manager form of government is better suited for the town. I decided to bring this up because my wife (Shanna Bertram) reminded me that at the last Town Charter Revision two years ago the commission recommended that we form a committee to research the town manager style of government, George Bertram said. She was a member of the (2018-2019) Town Charter Revision Commission. At the time they didnt have the resources to do the research. My goal, which I think is shared by most board members, is to outline a plan and an organizational structure that the Town will use to study the town manager option. Submitted photo In a town manager form of government, an elected Board of Selectmen serves as the municipalitys primary legislative body and appoints a chief executive officer called a town manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and to implement and enforce the Selectmens policies. I dont believe Thursdays discussion will cover details and aspects of how a town manager would operate or how it might be different from the First Selectman approach we currently have in place, Bertram continued. First Selectman Jeffrey Manville doesnt believe this is a good time to discuss a town manager style of local government, however. Hearst Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media Something like this is generally taken up during our Charter Revision process that is done every five years, Manville said. To do this we would have to reopen the Town Charter, form a Revision Commission and get input from citizens. Most people opposed the town manager style of government at the last Charter Revision. We need to look at the pros and cons of doing it and look at other municipalities operating under a new town manager style of government. Is it better and is it working? Southbury has been a well-run municipality for decades and we have checks and balances. Right now, we have few bonds and the ones we have will be paid off in 2024. We have good roads and the mill rate is good for a town our size. Southbury Selectman Emily Harrison is one person open to the idea of a town manager form of local government and believes the way to go is to do more research to see it is the right fit for the community. Im not sure a town manager style of government is getting any traction in town, Id be speculating on that, Harrison said. But the last Charter Revision Commission looked into it and it was determined we didnt have enough resources and time required to research it. George brought it up at the last meeting because he would like to give a new commission the time it needed to do the research. Harrison said there are some benefits to a town manager style of government. We owe it to the community to pursue this and research it, Harrison said. Im open to it. Simsbury went to a town manager government and George reached out for information. Simsbury reported huge savings with government more efficient. The Charter Revision is done every five years. But there is nothing that says you cant form a commission and revise it between revisions. Simsbury First Selectman Eric Wellman, who said Bertram did reach out to him, couldnt say enough good things about Simsburys town manager form of government that began in December 2017. There are so many positives that we have experienced with the switch to a town manager government, Wellman said. Having a town manager takes a lot of the politics out of decision making. Our town manager (Maria Capriola) is the CEO of the town. With the help of the town manager when we did our Emergency Radio System upgrade the costs were cut in half. We also combined our Town Finance Department with the Board of Education finance department. There have been some bumps and challenges. But having a town manager and her staff have led to cost savings on projects. Southbury Selectman Mike Rosen cautioned that the town is in the early stages of exploring the concept of a town manager. Selectman Bertram requested we discuss the concept as a Board, so we agreed to add it to the agenda to provide an opportunity to begin a discussion, Rosen said. The six of us have never had any substantive discussions as a Board regarding the concept. As a courtesy to Selectman Bertram and initial discussions at our last meeting, we will discuss and determine if its an idea we, as a Board and as a town, wish to explore in detail. Bertram said the town manager consideration has been around for years in Southbury. Based on several conversations he has had with other leaders in town, he senses that this initiative has momentum. Whether or not that momentum translates into votes in a referendum on the town manager option remains to be seen, Bertram said. I dont have a crystal ball on voter preferences. All I can say, at this point, is that the issue deserves serious consideration. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Canuc Resources Corporation (TSXV: CDA) (OTCQB: CNUCF) ("Canuc" or the "Company") announces the closing of a previously announced Private Placement for gross proceeds of $4,500,000 CAD. The closing of this Private Placement results in issuance of 18,000,000 Units. Each Unit consists of one common share ("Common Share") priced at 25 cents and one half of one warrant ("Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Common Share at 35 cents for a period of two years from the closing of the Private Placement. Each whole Warrant has an early exercise provision that allows the Company to trigger exercise of the Warrant when the 10-day average price of Common Shares traded on the TSX Venture Exchange exceeds $0.50 per share. 30 days after the trigger date, any unexercised warrants will be deemed to be null and void. All securities issued under this Private Placement will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of closing. Proceeds of financing will be used for drilling on the San Javier Silver-Gold Project. In connection with this Private Placement, the Company will pay a total of $23,500 in cash and issue 82,000 broker warrants to Aligned Capital Partners, iA Capital Markets and Mackie Research Capital Corporation. Each broker warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at 35 cents for a period of two years from the closing of the Private Placement. Closing of this Private Placement is subject to final approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. About Canuc Canuc is a junior resource company focusing on its San Javier Silver-Gold Project in Sonora State, Mexico. The Company generates cash flow from natural gas production at its MidTex Energy Project in Central West Texas, USA where Canuc has an interest in eight producing natural gas wells and has rights for further in field developments. Canuc also has exclusive rights, through a Partnership Agreement with Ioticiti Networks Inc., to sell Industrial IoT applications and infrastructure in the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada and in the State of Texas, USA. For further information please contact: Canuc Resources Corporation. (416) 525 - 6869 cberlet@canucresources.ca Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information. All information, other than information of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" and includes any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Corporation's strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is based on current expectations and applies only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Corporation to fund the exploration expenditures required under the Agreement. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Corporation's annual financial statements, MD&A and other publicly filed documents. The Corporation cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Corporation does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77809 As the on Wednesday failed to transact any business and witnessed ruckus over "mismanagement" in and suicide bid by a BJP MLA in the House, the sought the governors intervention while opposition parties wanted the chief minister to perform his duty as the leader of the House. No businesses were transacted in the House for the fifth day in a row as members of the BJD, Congress and the BJP continued to make their demands. While the treasury bench members demanded the BJP MLA Subhas Panigrahi tender an apology for attempting to die by suicide in the House, the opposition Congress and BJP raised questions on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's silence over the stalemate. "The House is stalled by members and the chief minister is not seen in the Assembly. We urge him to perform the duty of as the Leader of the House. We will go on searching the chief ministers whereabouts," Leader of the Opposition P K Naik of the BJP told reporters. The Congress and the BJP have separately sent letters to Patnaik seeking his intervention to resolve the stalemate and come to the rescue of the "suffering" farmers. "We want you (CM) to discuss the farmers' issues.Your personal intervention is essential to resolve this sensitive issue. However, neither you come to the House nor speak on the issue concerning the entire state," a letter signed by all the and addressed to the CM read. Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra also wrote to the chief minister seeking his intervention. "It is your responsibility to intervene for smooth conduct of the House. Attempts by the Speaker to bring the House in order have failed," he said, In a democracy, the ruling party is not supposed to create ruckus in the House demanding action against a member of the opposition party, Mishra said. "If the Speaker feels that a member has committed breach of privilege, action can be taken against him," he said in the letter. "To give confidence to farmers that their paddy will be purchased, your intervention is a must. I therefore appeal to you to call an all-party meeting to assure the farmers that no farmer will suffer while procuring paddy," the letter read. Meanwhile, members marched to Raj Bhavan and sought the intervention of Governor Ganeshi Lal to upkeep the dignity of the Assembly, which they alleged has been tainted by a BJP member who attempted suicide inside the House. The BJD members alleged that Panigrahi's suicide bid by attempting to drink sanitiser has brought a bad name to the Assembly as well as the state. "We bring to the kind notice the shameful, cowardly, illegal criminal, cheap and immoral act of the BJP lawmaker in the August House on March 12," the memorandum read Being a party, the BJP should counsel Panigrahi, treat him, make him realise his mistake and apologise to people. "Instead the support being rendered by the state party including their party observer and glorifying this act has shocked the conscience of the people of Odisha. It is an insult to the emotions and suffering of those who have lost their loved ones to this cowardly act," the BJD wrote in the memorandum. The BJP leadership and its state in-charge D Purandeswari on Tuesday said that the party is proud of Panigrahi for being prepared to sacrifice his life for the interests of farmers who have been a victim of government apathy. Earlier in the assembly, members of the ruling and opposition parties shouted slogans, displayed banners, attempted to climb the Speakers podium creating a noisy scene. Unable to run the House due to the noisy protest in the well, Speaker S N Patro adjourned the House several times. The Speakers all-party meeting has also failed to yield any result as both the groups are adamant on their respective demands. In the midst of the din, Deogarh MLA Subhas Panigrahi said he is ready to apologise, but the government must lift all the farmers' paddies and address their problems. Cooperation Minister R P Swain also said the government is ready to purchase the paddy of genuine farmers and not the traders. (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.) Grey's Anatomy finally returned from its 12-week hiatus, and it was a banger. Written by Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Nicole Rubio, Helplessly Hoping had the drama and the emotional turmoil we are used to from the longest-running medical drama. Let's dive into the good and the bad of Grey's midseason premiere. After a bit over 5 seasons, we had to say goodbye to Giacomo GIanniotti's Andrew DeLuca. Honestly, the saddest thing about his death is that I have no clue how it happened. I mean yes I saw his death as he went into a DIC but the events to his death will be a mystery for me. ABC's continuous need to make Station 19 and Grey's crossover, robbed me of the begging of Andrew's death. After apparently getting stabbed by someone from the children trafficking ring, DeLuca was admitted into Grey-Sloan and it looked bad. Owen and Teddy did the initial OP and prolonged DeLuca's stay on this earth, which gave us time for beach scenes. I was never a DeLuca shipper nor a DeLuca fan for that matter but Giacomo did solid with the good material he occasionally got. His character was wishy-washy, his character growth overlooked and his romantic entanglements quite messy. Still, the perspective on a character changes when he died. Not that he became an outstanding character all of the sudden, yet the nostalgia hits hard as the writers really put high pressure on the emotional turmoil. The scenes between Mer and Andrew on the beach were strong making Andrew's transition to the other side more seamless, less painful as Andrew found peace. His fight was over- Stefania Spampinato brought all the feels as Carina went through all the emotions while Andrew's condition changed with each scene. Major kudos to her and her performance in this outing. What is majorly starting to frustrate me about this season of Grey's is Meredith's story. I know it's only have been 5 episodes since she is sidelined and fighting Covid but the show misses the levity Mer brought to the show. Don't get me wrong Mer being on the other side provided some powerful scenes and took us back emotionally to some earlier Grey's times, but the show needs Mer. She just brought it all together and kept the team going further. So I miss her dearly and need her back. Meanwhile, Amelia and Linc continued their road to becoming Grey's healthiest couple (ever). Their interactions carry just that much honesty and love that it strengthens all their stories and keeps me rooting for them. Grey's ability to give these characters this extra dose of humanity, extract their flaws and put them out for display no matter ho much it hurts, makes the show the one to remember. Amelia and Maggies's talk with Zola was another strong moment this week. Aniela Gumbs is a great Zola, as Zola she carries that innocence and strength both her TV parents have/had and brings them up to the light in the same powerful way they did. Still, it wouldn't be Grey's if tragedy didn't strike twice. Mackenzie Marsh's Val passed away as well, without ever seeing her precious baby girl. Val's story was heartbreaking, she fought so hard just to lose at the finish line. It was a strong emotional journey and it definitely left scars on Jo and Schmidt, making me wonder what the next chapter for these two characters will be. My currently favorite Grey's character by far is Teddy, Kim Raver made a spectacular return and she is killing it. The stages of her emotional and mental path are simultaneously empowering and heartbreaking. Teddy is such a complex character, not afraid of admitting her mistakes and facing them head-on. Do I wish her story wouldn't revolve that much around Owen, for sure? But as long as the show provides us these emotionally gripping scenes I am all here for it. Her interactions with Tom are always a blessing, cause even though it has its dark and dirty shades, its profound and they give each other so much strength. Other Tidbits: - How cute was it for Bailey to spend the whole day, sleeping by Mer's side? - That back yard scene with Jackson, Winston and Linc, A W K W A R D. - Did you hear Sarah Drew was coming back for a couple of eps this season? So freaking excited!!!!! That is a wrap on my side dear fans. What are your thoughts on the Grey's Anatomy mid season premiere? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. Grey's Anatomy airs each Thursday on ABC at 9/8 central. . PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:ALPP), a leading operator and owner of small market businesses welcomes recently retired U.S Airforce Technical Sergeant, Nathan Grier, to the Vayu (US), Inc. (Vayu) team. Mr. Grier is the former Programs Director of Counter Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS)/ Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS)/ Nuclear Convoy for the U.S. Airforce. Mr. Grier was responsible for establishing the F.E. Warren Airforce Bases' UAVs lab where he maintained the Research Development Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) Program for C-sUAS and sUAS technology projects. The RDT&E Program provides physical security equipment and analyses to meet the immediate and projected force protection challenges of the Services and the combatant commands (COCOMs). Mr. Grier is the Air Force Global Strike subject matter expert on all sUAS and C-sUAS matters, training all new pilots to fly sUAS, obtaining FAA Part 107 certifications and creating and authoring C-sUAS doctrine/literature used by all U.S. Nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Wings. Technical Sergeant Grier is said to be the most well-known sUAS and C-sUAS expert in the Security Forces Community. His knowledge and technical expertise had impressed General officers who toured his sUAS/C-sUAS laboratory at FE Warren AFB. Colleagues were proud to have him represent the Security Forces community and advancing the capabilities to defend and defeat threats to military resources. Additionally, Mr. Grier has a background as a Cyber Security Manager with the 18th Military Police (MP) Brigade, as he himself was an MP. He anticipates completing his master's degree in cyber security in June of this year. Daniel Pepper, CEO of Vayu, had this to say, "We are immensely excited for this opportunity to work with Nathan Grier. He brings an unparalleled range of UAS leadership experience to our team and will help us grow in important and strategic ways." Kent Wilson, CEO of Alpine 4, the parent company of Vayu, had this to say, "Nathan adds a valuable and unique facet to the Vayu talent offering. His background as a U.S. Airforce Sergeant adds an invaluable depth of experience to the A4 Aerospace family of companies when representing Alpine 4 before our US Military customers. In addition, he has experience as a trained flight officer and pilot of the Impossible Aerospace US-1 drone and was actively involved in bringing the US-1 to the U.S. Airforce. We are elated to have Nathan and his talents within the Alpine 4 family!" About Alpine 4 Holdings: Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. (ALPP) is a publicly traded conglomerate that is acquires businesses that fit into its disruptive DSF business model of Drivers, Stabilizers, and Facilitators. At Alpine 4, we understand the nature of how technology and innovation can accentuate a business. Our focus is on how the adaptation of new technologies, even in brick-and-mortar businesses, can drive innovation. We also believe that our holdings should benefit synergistically from each other, have the ability to have collaborate across varying industries, spawn new ideas and create fertile ground for competitive advantages. Four principles at the core of our business are Synergy. Innovation. Drive. Excellence. At Alpine 4, we believe synergistic innovation drives excellence. By anchoring these words to our combined experience and capabilities, we can aggressively pursue opportunities within and across vertical markets. We deliver solutions that not only drive industry standards, but also increase value for our shareholders. Contact: Investor Relations investorrelations@alpine4.com www.alpine4.com Forward-Looking Statements: The information disclosed in this press release is made as of the date hereof and reflects Alpine 4 most current assessment of its historical financial performance. Actual financial results filed with the SEC may differ from those contained herein due to timing delays between the date of this release and confirmation of final audit results. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties, including the uncertainties surrounding the current market volatility, and other factors the Company identifies from time to time in its filings with the SEC. Although Alpine 4 believes that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and, as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions also could be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date hereof, and Alpine 4 disclaims any intention or obligation to update the forward-looking statements for subsequent events. SOURCE: Alpine 4 Technologies, Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636208/Alpine-4-Holdings-Inc-Subsidiary-VAYU-US-Inc-Welcomes-Recently-Retired-US-Airforce-C-sUASsUAS-Director-of-ProgramsNuclear-Convoy-Technical-Sergeant-Nathan-Grier-to-the-Team Victorian barrister Dr Matt Collins, QC, has described the baffling obsession with imputations in Australia as a cancer. In a 2019 National Press Club address, he said that in any serious case the imputations were formulated by the small number of ingenious lawyers who have mastered the arcane art of crafting defamation claims. The focus on imputations directed attention away from what a defamation action should be about: the meaning of what a publisher actually wrote or said. The claims allegedly made by the ABC, according to Porters statement of claim filed in court, include an assertion of criminal guilt, namely that he brutally raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988, when he was 17, and that this contributed to her taking her own life. His lawyers also say the article made lower-level, but still very serious, claims that Porter was reasonably suspected by police of rape, warranting criminal charges being brought against him, and there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that he committed the crime and that it contributed to the womans death by suicide. Porter has strenuously denied the allegations. The woman took her own life last year after deciding not to pursue a complaint with NSW Police. Police have now closed their investigation. The ABC has shown its willingness to fight the claim. Its legal defence team will be led by former Commonwealth solicitor-general Justin Gleeson, SC, and includes experienced Victorian defamation barrister Renee Enbom, SC, who acted for actor Rebel Wilson, and Sydney barrister Clarissa Amato, who is well-versed in acting for media defendants including Nine and the ABC. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The broadcaster has until May 4 to file a written defence. The court appears to be fast-tracking the case and the lawyers will face off in court for the first time on May 14 at a preliminary hearing. The broadcaster is likely to argue these meanings were not conveyed by the online article, headlined Scott Morrison, senators and AFP told of historical rape allegation against Cabinet Minister. It is also likely to say the article said only that there were grounds for an investigation, but this is not the case it must answer. Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot will be the final arbiter of what the article says. If she says none of the meanings alleged by Porters team are conveyed, the ABC will win. But it is very likely Justice Jagot will not determine which, if any, of the very serious alleged meanings are actually conveyed by the article until the end of any trial (although there is a limited process for some meanings to be struck out at an early stage). It means the ABC will have to engage with these meanings throughout the case, and marshal a range of defences to them, even if they are subsequently found not to have been conveyed. Potential defences include truth the most risky and unlikely option and qualified privilege, which may encompass the implied freedom of political communication in the Commonwealth constitution. In England, where defamation trials are now held without juries in all but exceptional cases, judges routinely decide what meanings are conveyed by an allegedly defamatory publication as a threshold issue, after a short hearing. This allows both parties to know exactly what theyre fighting about, says media law expert David Rolph, a professor at the University of Sydney Law School. If were going to continue with judge-alone trials, theres real scope to learn from English trial practice, he says. He says there is no reason why this issue couldnt be dealt with at an early stage when a judge is sitting without a jury, and there would be real efficiencies for both parties [in] knowing at an early stage what the words in fact meant. The situation is more complex in defamation trials held with a jury, because determining this issue separately before a trial might require a separate jury for that discrete issue, or for the same jury to come back at a later stage. It is not yet clear whether there will be a jury in the Porter case, but it would be a first in the Federal Court. Unlike in state courts, there has never been a jury to date in a Federal Court defamation case and its judges have made clear the circumstances in which a jury will be ordered in a defamation trial are limited. If there is no jury in the Porter case, experts say it would make sense to follow English practice. The Australian process has added great time and expense to many Federal Court defamation fights. Loading A recent case brought by businessman Chau Chak Wing against the ABC and Nine, the owner of this masthead, resulted in a $590,000 damages payout. Two of six alleged meanings were found not to have been conveyed by a Four Corners broadcast at the end of the trial. The media outlets had to try to defend all of them during the trial as though they had been conveyed. ABC journalist Steve Cannane and publisher HarperCollins had to defend 14 potential imputations in a lawsuit brought against them by two doctors from the notorious Chelmsford psychiatric hospital in Sydney. Justice Jagot ruled at the end of the trial in November that only half were conveyed by Cannanes book, the 2016 Walkley-nominated Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia. Associate Professor Jason Bosland, director of the Centre for Media and Communications Law at Melbourne Law School, says the imputation-centric approach under Australian defamation law created problems for defendants. PACEMAKER BELFAST 18/03/2021 Police carried out a number of searches on the Greenway in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in Belfast this morning Police carried out a number of searches on the Greenway in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in Belfast. PACEMAKER BELFAST 18/03/2021 Police carried out a number of searches on the Greenway in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in Belfast this morning PACEMAKER BELFAST 18/03/2021 Police carried out a number of searches on the Greenway in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in Belfast this morning The PSNI have recovered what is being described as a "possible timing unit", after an investigation on the Connswater Greenway in east Belfast on Thursday morning. The incident occurred in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in the area, close to a popular stretch of the urban walking trail which cuts through the east of the city. It is believed the object was first discovered by a member of the public, before police later recovered the object and proceeded to carried out a number of searches. In a statement, a PSNI spokesperson said: "Police carried out a number of searches on the Greenway in the vicinity of Woodcot Avenue in Belfast this morning after a suspicious object was recovered from the water yesterday. "The object, described as a possible timing unit, was found by members of the public and subsequently seized by police for examination." Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The Gambia has on Wednesday registered five new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths since March 2020, to one hundred and fifty-eight. According to information received from the health ministry, three of the decedents were posthumous, one was admitted due to severe pneumonia and the other one was on COVID-19 treatment. The Country has also registered sixty-six new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to five thousand and eighty-five. 62% of the newly confirmed cases tested for reasons of travelling, 30% ill seeking health due to suspicion of COVID-19 and 4% routine respiratory disease surveillance systems. The median age of the new cases is 44. This is the 279th national situation report since the confirmation of the first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in The Gambia, on the 16th March 2020. The Gambia currently has twenty-four people in hotel quarantine and three hundred and seven active cases. Modou Njai, the Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health, said a total of seven hundred and forty-one new laboratory test results were received from the National Public Health Lab and the Medical Research Council. Of these, he said sixty-six new samples tested positive, representing 8.9% positivity test rate. "Sixty-seven high-risk contacts of recently confirmed cases were identified and their follow-up began in earnest. One COVID-19 patient absconded from one of the treatment centres," he said. Director Njai said twelve COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from treatment centres, eighty-three got discharged at least 10 days from the day they tested positive, but evaded institutional isolation. He said seven COVID-19 patients are currently on oxygen therapy. ADVERTISEMENT The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday dismissed the alleged University of Ibadan degree certificate forgery suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State. The court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit and awarded N250, 000 cost in favour of Mr Obaseki. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the judge, Ahmed Mohammed, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on January 9 dismissed the alleged certificate forgery suit against Mr Obaseki. The judge had described the APCs allegation as strange saying it was like an outsider telling a man in his house that he is not the father of a child. Apparently not satisfied with the decision of the lower court, the APC approached the appellate court to challenge the judgment. Delivering judgment in the appeal, Stephen Adah held that the lower court was right in its findings and conclusions. Mr Adah, the judge, upheld the testimony of the Deputy Registrar, Legal, University of Ibadan, Abayomi Ajayi, who confirmed that Obaseki attended the university in 1976 and fulfilled the requirement for admission to study Classical Studies. The judge maintained that the evidence of Mr Ajayi was direct in showing that Mr Obaseki did not forge the certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to secure his clearance for participation in the governorship election. The appellate court held that the APC failed to prove the certificate forgery allegation and that the appeal was unmeritorious. The court subsequently dismissed the appeal with N250, 000 cost in favour of Obaseki and N50,000 each in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and INEC. (NAN) DETROIT A Michigan pharmacist and pharmacy technician have been charged in a conspiracy in which they are accused of illegally distributing more than $1.2 million worth of prescription drugs. Cosmos George, 46, of Southfield and Tarielle Dixon, 33, of Detroit have both been charged in the scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin announced Thursday. According to a federal indictment, George, a pharmacist working at the Village Script East Pharmacy located in Dearborn and Dixon, a pharmacy technician working at the Nottingham Pharmacy located in Detroit, conspired with others to dispense opioids for fictitious patients who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs from September 2017 through June 2020. Both George and Dixon dispensed addictive and highly diverted prescriptions, including oxycodone and oxymorphone, for the same opioid distribution ring, according to the indictment. Those specific drugs are two of the most addictive opioids that have high black market resale values, according to prosecutors. The indictment further alleges that the pharmacies dispensed more than 41,995 dosage units of Schedule II opioid prescriptions during the alleged conspiracy. The controlled substances have a conservative street value of more than $1,200,000. If convicted of the charges, each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mitra Jafary-Hariri and Brandy R. McMillion. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned South Africans against investing in cryptocurrency schemes that could see them lose their savings. It said there has been a sharp increase in cryptocurrency-related investment losses in the past few months and urged South African investors to use caution when buying digital assets. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has noted with concern the increasing volume of crypto assets (cryptos) related losses suffered by financial consumers in the past three months, the FSCA said. The FSCA urges the public to be extremely cautious and vigilant when dealing with cryptos for any financial services business. The authority also warned that there is often no recourse for victims of cryptocurrency scams in South Africa, as digital assets are not controlled or regulated by any regulatory body in the country. Recently, following the high volumes of complaints to the FSCA and regular media reports of consumers losing some if not all of their savings in high-risk crypto investments as well as crypto-adjacent scams, a crypto health warning was published to the public, highlighting the risky nature of these crypto-assets/products, services, and scams, the FSCA said. The FSCA would like to emphasise, crypto-related investments are not regulated by the Authority or any other body in South Africa. As a result, if something goes wrong, you are not likely to get your money back and will have no recourse against anyone, it said. New regulations incoming The FSCA noted that while the regulation it is currently considering will not affect the status of cryptocurrency itself, those companies that deal with crypto assets will face stricter rules in the future to hold them more accountable. In November 2020, the FSCA as part of the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) published a position paper that made a variety of recommendations pertaining to the regulation of crypto assets. Submissions for public comment were closed on 28 January 2021 and are currently under consideration by the relevant authorities. The draft Declaration in no way impacts the status of crypto assets in the context of other laws such as the Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSR Act) exchange control regulations, requirements under the Pension Funds Act (PFA) and Collective Investment Schemes Act (CIS Act) and so forth, nor does it attempt to regulate, legitimise or give credence to crypto-assets, the FSCA said. It has acknowledged, however, that the high risks already inherent in crypto assets are further being compounded by scam activity, as well as unregulated firms targeting consumers with marketing material that highlights the rewards, but not the potential downside, of investing in cryptocurrency. It is for this reason that the FSCA is working at finding measures to regulate certain aspects and players in the crypto asset space, it said. These measures will be rolled out during the coming months and we are working with other members of the IFWG to better understand and regulate where appropriate crypto assets in South Africa. The FSCA discouraged cryptocurrency investments by retirement funds until regulation has been finalised to safeguard investors. It also reminded South African cryptocurrency investors that if a scheme or investment sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Consumer caution is strongly advised to avoid painful or catastrophic financial losses, the FSCA said. Now read: Luno now lets South Africans earn interest on Bitcoin and Ethereum BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Muchetty has apologised for liking tweets praising her and co-presenter Charlie Stayt for mocking a Union flag in Robert Jenrick's office After completing an interview with the Housing Secretary, Mr Stayt launched a bizarre monologue saying it was 'not up to standard size', adding 'it's just a little bit small'. Co-host Ms Munchetty sniggered in the background and later commented on the MP's portrait of the Queen on his wall. Despite social media users accusing them of breaching impartiality rules, she liked tweets praising her and Mr Stayt over the incident, further fuelling the row. But she apologised tonight, tweeting: 'I "liked" tweets today that were offensive in nature about the use of the British flag as a backdrop in a government interview this morning. 'I have since removed these "likes". This do not represent the views of me or the BBC. I apologise for any offence taken. She had been 'reminded of her responsibilities' on Twitter, according to a source. A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: 'It was a light-hearted, off the cuff comment. No offence was intended.' Naga Munchetty liked several tweets praising her and Mr Stayt over the incident with Robert Jenrick Mr Jenrick was on the show discussing Britain's vaccine programme after Ursula von der Leyen's threat to impose an export ban on jabs from the EU. At the end of the interview Mr Stayt thanked the politician before making strange comments about the Union Flag in the corner of his room. The presenter said: 'I think your flag is not up to standard size government interview measurements.' He added: 'I think it's just a little small, but that's your department, really. Just a thought.' Mr Jenrick smiled politely but did not comment as the camera went back to the studio where Ms Munchetty was laughing to herself. She broke an awkward silence in the studio by adding: 'The picture of the Queen there as well though, in the Westminster office I assume.' At the end of the interview Mr Stayt thanked the politician before making strange comments about the Union Flag in the corner of his room Social media users were incensed, with ConservativeHome Chief Executive Mark Wallace tweeting: 'What a bizarre thing for the BBC to sneer and snigger at. 'What's wrong with ministers of the British government having the flag and the monarch on display?' He added: 'Even more fundamentally British than the flag and the Queen: smiling awkwardly when someone does something rude or weird.' Conservative MP James Cleverly posted: 'It's not a small flag. It's in the far corner of the room.' Former MEP for the East of England Patrick O'Flynn said: 'Classic example life on Planet BBC. 'If Jenrick had told them: ''Screw you for mocking our flag and our monarch'' he'd have been a superstar by lunchtime.' Former BBC politics presenter Andrew Neil added: 'Sometimes the BBC forgets what the first B stands for.' Baroness Hoey, former Labour MP for Vauxhall, wrote: 'This is exactly why should no longer be allowed to charge a licence fee - always snidy about anyone standing up for our country and Her Majesty. #defundthebbc.' Actor and London Mayor hopeful Laurence Fox said: 'Why is the @bbc so comprehensively stocked with sneering moral supremacists who look down their noses at the silly little proles, who love their country, like some sort of relic from a bygone era? #defundthebbc.' Conservative commentator Darren Grimes put: 'The BBC loathes the ''British'' part of its name sneering at the taxpayers that fund it as they luxuriate in their large salaries paid for by you.' Mr Jenrick smiled politely but did not comment as the camera went back to the studio where Ms Munchetty was laughing to herself One man posted: 'Charlie Stayt is the least impartial person on TV news! His bias was laid bare during Brexit!' David Wright wrote: 'I've just watched the Jenrick flag clip with Naga sniggering away. Total embarrassment both of them. 'Oddly they conduct lots of interviews with people from other nations many of whom have the national flag as a background and of course not a word from either of them about that.' Kevin Gallagher wrote: 'Jenrick is appointed by HM the Queen who is head of state of the UK. 'It is entirely appropriate that a minister of the crown should have a British flag and a portrait of the Queen! BBC yet again showing how out of touch they are!' One man put: 'If only Stayt and Munchetty could get at Tory ministers where it really hurts, their policies. 'I see no need for flags in Zoom rooms but by being cheap & lazy, this pair have only managed to signal that the BBC has no respect for the country. Mock Jenrick, not his accessories.' David Rose said online: 'Does the same apply to all the SNP politicians who often appear with the Scottish flag in a rampant display of nationalism? 'Jenrick is a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party. The clue is in the name. Unionist. Union Jack.' Another user wrote: 'Charlie Stayt's comments on regarding Robert Jenrick's Union Flag were not in the slightest amusing. 'Perhaps he might like to apologise? His later attempts at humour with a later guest were similarly uncalled for and cringe-worthy.' David Byers added: 'What a complete pr*t Charlie Stayt is mocking Robert Jenrick for having our country's flag in his office. 'Also Naga Munchetty giggling like a pathetic adolescent in the these idiots not understand what the first initial in the BBC stands for.' A handful online saw the funny side of Mr Stayt and Ms Munchetty's comments, with one writing: '@BBCBreakfast please pass on our congratulations to Charlie Stayt.' Another said: 'Charlie Stayt legend!' While one person posted: 'I love Charlie Stayt with every fibre of my being this morning!!' And one added: 'Charlie Stayt my bloody hero. Great timing and Naga's reaction is priceless.' Mr Jenrick and the BBC have been approached for comment. Elsewhere today Mr Jenrick demanded the EU 'stick to their side of the bargain' on vaccine supply as he blasted Ms von der Leyen. The Housing Secretary said he was 'surprised and disappointed' by her stance as he suggested she was breaking her word after giving a 'very clear commitment'. Mr Jenrick said he 'hopes and expects' the EU to allow vaccine manufacturers within the bloc to deliver on the contracts they have signed with the UK. Meanwhile former PM of Finland Alexander Stubb claimed 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'in various storage in European member states'. He argued Ms von der Leyen's sabre-rattling was actually an attempt to motivate member states to 'get their act together' and accelerate the rollout of jabs. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, sparked anger yesterday after threatening to ban the export of coronavirus vaccines European leaders have turned on one-another in the latest episode of the bloc's shambolic jabs saga, amid fury at the decision to block the use of AstraZeneca vaccines as a third wave of infections looms Mr Stubb said the export ban threat was simply reflecting the 'political reality' as he claimed the EU is 'by far the biggest producer of the vaccines'. Ministers yesterday condemned Brussels' 'brinkmanship' after Ms von der Leyen complained the Bloc is sending millions of doses to other countries. Speaking as the EU's vaccine rollout descended deeper into chaos, Ms von der Leyen called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas. She lashed out at the drug-maker for 'under-producing and under-delivering' doses, saying it is to blame for the slow place of Europe's roll-out. That is despite 19 countries, such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain, halting the use of AstraZeneca jabs over unfounded fears they cause blood clots. Ms von der Leyen said 'all options are on the table' because 'we are in the crisis of the century'. Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, today claimed 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are in storage Europe's already-slow jab roll-out has been hit by further delays after the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine was temporarily suspended. The UK has relied heavily on AstraZeneca jabs to power ahead with its roll-out, which is one of the world's fastest It raises the possibility stocks of Pfizer vaccine manufactured in Belgium could be prevented from getting to Britain. Mr Jenrick told Sky News this morning the comments made by the President of the European Commission were not 'at all helpful'. He said: 'I was surprised and disappointed by those comments but the Prime Minister had spoken earlier in the year to Ursula von der Leyen and she gave a very clear commitment which was that the EU would not engage in this sort of activity, that contractual responsibilities would be honoured and that is exactly what we intend to do and I hope and expect the EU to stick to their side of the bargain as well. 'It isn't at all helpful if we enter into this sort of conversation. That is not the way the UK is behaving or wants to behave in the future. 'We all need to work together to get through this. Supplies of vaccines rely on very complex international manufacturing supply chains as we have just said and so everybody needs to have free trade of vaccines and not get into this sort of difficulty.' SEOUL- Authorities in the South Korean capital defended on Thursday a decision to order coronavirus tests for all foreign workers on penalty of fines, as calls grew for the controversial measure to be rescinded. At least one lawmaker of the ruling party and a university leader called for Seoul to scrap the move, while a group of international envoys was seeking further explanation. The proportion of foreigners among confirmed cases in Seoul rose to 6.3% in the March quarter, nearly three times the figure of 2.2% in the months of November and December last year, said Park Yoo-mi, a city quarantine officer. Foreign workers are our neighbors, and the safety of the foreign workers is directly linked to the safety of the local community, she told a news briefing. More than 100 coronavirus cases in the capital region were recently traced back to workplace community transmissions by foreign workers, Park added. However, in a Facebook post, the ruling party lawmaker, Lee Sang-min, said, These are human rights violations that would make us an international disgrace. He urged withdrawal of the policy, telling Reuters, There shouldnt be any separation of Korean nationals and foreigners to begin with, when it comes to virus prevention measures. Health officials have said Wednesdays 15-day order for the testing is needed to blunt a rise in infections, despite criticism that such sweeping programs are xenophobic and indiscriminate. Neighboring Gyeonggi province said it would stick with a similar order adopted earlier, but drop a requirement for foreign workers to be tested before hire, saying mass testing had blunted the spread, and citing the discrimination concern. Of the foreign workers in the province, 203 have proved positive among 234,537 tested. Some workers there told Reuters they were thankful to be tested, but added that queues and crowds conditions at test centers could be a health risk. Seoul city authorities said they would extend hours at some testing spots, and provide extra assistance. At least one foreign employee of a major Korean company received a written notice, which was reviewed by Reuters, but others said they had yet to be notified beyond media reports. The measures were misguided and detrimental to Seoul National University, said Ahn Duk-geun, its dean of international affairs, who also urged that the measure be rescinded. None of at least 500 foreign professors and researchers at the university had tested positive, he added. French Ambassador Philippe Lefort said he and the heads of other diplomatic missions were seeking an explanation from authorities, in a message to compatriots in Seoul and Gyeonggi. Seoul had 242,623 registered foreign workers by last December, the justice ministry said. City officials estimate there may be as many as 390,000, if undocumented workers are included. (Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Topics COVID-19 (Natural News) A top Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) investigator at the World Health Organization (WHO) is doubling down on the long-debunked lie that the Chinese virus originated spontaneously in bats at a Wuhan wet market rather than intentionally at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Anthony Fauci. During a recent panel discussion, Peter Daszak, who also serves as president of the highly corrupt EcoHealth Alliance, condemned War Room: Pandemic host Stephen K. Bannon along with The Epoch Times for telling people that the communist Chinese regime is responsible for unleashing the Wuhan flu on the world. According to Daszak, the Wuhan coronavirus appeared out of nowhere, despite prolific evidence to the contrary. Emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know also show that Dasaks EcoHealth Alliance spearheaded an operation to have scientists all around the world condemn the conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. Daszak has even gone so far as to blame Bannon and The Epoch Times for encouraging the CCP to not be transparent about the Chinese flu. While both entities have called for a much more in-depth investigation into the WIV, the CCP, Fauci, and other associated entities, Daszak is urging the opposite. Ive seen incredible efforts from everything from [religious sect] Falun Gong to the [Chinese dissident] Miles Guo camp, Steve Bannons group pushing the conspiracy theories around China, Daszak stated during the livestream event. Its useful to them. Theyre funding it and pushing it and science has been to some extent caught up in that to other instances absolutely crushed by it. Weve not had access to work in China on the origins for the last 12 months, which is ironic because we could have been on the ground there working with our Chinese colleagues and by now, we could have found some really important answers. The rhetoric has held that up. The CCP does not want the world to know that work on coronaviruses was taking place at the WIV For nearly two decades, the National Pulse reported, Daszak was collaborating with the WIV. He also routinely speaks at Chinese state-run media conferences where he spreads propaganda as instructed by the communist Chinese regime. Because the CCP knowingly destroyed evidence showing that the Wuhan flu did, in fact, originate at the WIV, it makes sense that Daszak, who is on the CCPs payroll, is perpetuating the narrative that the novel virus originated elsewhere by chance. After the WIV was caught dumping incriminating data in an attempt to keep the world from finding out the truth, Daszak was ready and waiting to respond with claims that the data was deleted and destroyed because of the labs alleged concerns about being hacked. We did not ask to see the data, Daszak is quoted as saying. A lot of this work is work that has been conducted with EcoHealth Alliance. Im also part of those data and we do basically know whats in those databases I got to talk to both sides about the work weve done with Wuhan Institute of Virology and explained whats there. The database in question contains information on at least 16,000 different virus samples, all of which was deleted back in September 2019 immediately prior to COVID-19 making its appearance. Around that same time, scientists working at the WIV lab started mysteriously falling ill. The CCP later deleted data on this phenomenon as well, all in an apparent attempt to keep people from finding out what was taking place there. More of the latest news about the Chinese virus can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: TheNationalPulse.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com FAIRFIELD Tara Westover thinks all families are cults. But not necessarily in a bad way. Westover is the author of the best-selling 2018 memoir, Educated, which details her journey from her childhood in rural Idaho with survivalist parents who eschewed formal education to earning a PhD in history from Trinity College in Cambridge. Given the popularity of her book and her uncommon upbringing, Westover has met a lot of people who have a lot of personal questions. I get asked this really awkward question, she said. I get asked if I think my family was a cult. And I like to say that I think every family is sort of a cult. Westover spoke Tuesday via a livestream as part of Fairfield Universitys Open VISIONS Forum/Bank of America Women in Leadership series. She took questions remotely from a virtual panel that included Dalila Borges, senior vice president, national operations performance executive at Bank of America; Philip Eliasoph, Fairfield U. professor of art history and visual culture, and the Rev. Gerry Blasczcak, S.J., Fairfield U. vice president for mission and ministry. One of the first questions was from Borges, who asked why Westover thought her book resonated with so many people. It was that question that prompted the response about cults, which Westover quickly clarified. She said, when people are young, their families shape their lives, and they dont know much of the world outside of what their families have shown them. Then, in most cases, they grow up and carve out their own identities. We have to try to find a way to be a coherent person, even as the world around us shifts, Westover said. For Westover, figuring out how to be a coherent person was difficult, particularly since her family led by her domineering father lived almost completely off the grid. Not only did the children not attend school, but family members didnt go to doctors or hospitals and avoided government services in general. Westover said she didnt have a birth certificate until she was 9 years old. Though she was raised Mormon, Westover said, most of the other children in her majority Mormon town went to school and lived lives that were nothing like hers. I dont really blame Mormonism for the radical way I was raised, she said. She went along with her familys lifestyle for most of her life, but it was a love of music and singing that made her want to pursue an education, against her fathers wishes. Westover taught herself math so she could take college entrance exams, and ended up going first to Brigham Young University, and then to Cambridge. Today she is a senior research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, the public policy school of Harvard University. In introducing Westover, Eliasoph pointed out that this is Fairfield Universitys 50th year of being coeducational. Having Dr. Westover with us is certainly a highlight of this celebratory year, Eliasoph said. For Westover, getting an education opened many doors, but its also strained relations with her family members, about half of whom she no longer sees. Still, she knows going to school was crucial for her growth as a person. I started to have the knowledge and opportunities I needed to take more control of my life, she said. My education was pretty critical in helping me make meaningful choices. AT&T has announced that subscribers will no longer be able to stream HBO Max without the data counting against their caps, and has blamed the situation on California's net neutrality laws. "We regret the inconvenience to customers caused by Californias new 'net neutrality' law," the company wrote. "Given that the internet does not recognize state borders, the new law not only ends our ability to offer California customers such free data services but also similarly impacts our customers in states beyond California." California's net neutrality law was passed in 2018, but only recently cleared for enforcement after a judge shot down challenges by the state's largest internet providers. The law bans a practice called zero-rating, which allows operators like AT&T and Verizon (Engadget's parent) to exclude their own content from data caps, essentially putting other streaming services at a disadvantage. Operators are also prohibited from offering paid zero-rating or speed prioritization ("fast lanes") for select services. When AT&T announced that it would exclude HBO Max from its data caps last year, it said that Netflix and any other streaming services could also be excluded provided they paid a fee. People should be free to choose which videos they want to watch - whether thats Netflix, Twitch or their local churchs Sunday service, without the company they pay to get online trying to influence their choices. AT&T implied that the law was hostile to its customers and said (as it has before) that it's in favor of "clear, consistent and permanent" federal net neutrality rules. "A patchwork of state regulations, many of them overly restrictive, creates roadblocks to creative and pro-consumer solutions," the company wrote. "We deliver the content and services our customers want because its what they demand, not because its mandated by regulation." California's legislators, however, said last month that zero-rating and other pay-for-priority schemes are very much consumer-hostile. "The ability of an internet service provider to block, slow down or speed up content based on a users ability to pay for service degrades the very idea of a competitive marketplace and the open transfer of information at the core of our increasingly digital and connected world," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Stanford University professor Barbara van Schewick, who has long advocated for net neutrality, also said AT&T's elimination of HBO Max zero-rating is actually a good thing for consumers. "This is a win for an open and free internet, including for competing video services and internet users," she wrote. "People should be free to choose which videos they want to watch whether thats Netflix, Twitch or their local churchs Sunday service, without the company they pay to get online trying to influence their choices." van Schewick added that zero-rating incentivizes ISPs to keep data caps low and unlimited plans expensive. "For example, in the European Union, ISPs that dont zero-rate video give subscribers 8 times more data for the same price than ISPs that zero-rate video," she noted. Veteran Civil Rights activist Eamonn McCann has questioned the decision to ban journalists from reporting opening statements and witness testimony at the Soldier F hearing. The Derry man was one of the organisers of the civil rights protest on January 30, 1972. Committal proceedings against the British Paratrooper charged with murder and attempted murder on Bloody Sunday will resume this morning. At the start of the hearing District Judge Ted Magill banned the press from reporting evidence for legal reasons. Commenting on that order, Eamonn McCann says: "One of the oldest legal principles of all is that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. But once again, this principle is being set aside when it comes to Bloody Sunday. At the start of the Preliminary Inquiry into the case against Soldier F, District Judge Ted Magill ruled that nothing in the prosecution or defence opening statements could be reported. Neither could any of the testimony to be given by witnesses. In other words, the Inquiry is to be held in secret. This is an insult to the dead and to the people of Derry. He continued: Explaining the secrecy by reference to covid regulations wont wash. Theres enough space in the court building in Derry to accommodate representatives of the families safely either in person or by electronic link to other parts of the building. Such overflow arrangements for press and public are commonplace in courts. "The conclusion must be that the authorities are still frightened of the truth about Bloody Sunday. "Equally serious questions arise from the media gag on the proceedings. This negates any notion of press freedom. Why should journalists be stopped from doing their job and keeping the public informed of what is being done in their name? Where do the authorities get the right to act in this arrogant way?" Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces new corruption charges from the country's ruling generals after a businessman claimed on military TV that he had given her $550,000 in shady donations. Suu Kyi's lawyer says the claim is 'groundless' but it adds to a growing list of charges against the pro-democracy leader as the military junta tries to discredit her. The latest allegation was broadcast on Wednesday night with construction magnate Maung Weik claiming he had made a series of cash payments to Suu Kyi and government ministers. Maung Weik, who is linked to the generals and has previously been convicted of drug trafficking, claimed the payments had included $100,000 for a charity named after Suu Kyi's mother and another $150,000 the following year. Aung San Suu Kyi, pictured, was arrested when the military took power on February 1 and has since been hit with a series of charges in an attempt to discredit her Two men ride on a scooter and sidecar past a burning barricade in Yangon on Wednesday as security forces continue their crackdown The February 1 coup that removed Suu Kyi's government has brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets to confront the generals. Security forces have responded with a brutal crackdown that has left at least 200 dead and led to widespread condemnation from abroad. The new military regime has already issued several criminal charges against Suu Kyi, including owning unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions. But she now faces more serious charges after military broadcaster Myawady aired the video of Maung Weik claiming he had made the payments 'for the good of my businesses'. 'Aung San Suu Kyi committed corruption and (authorities) are preparing to charge her according to anti-corruption law,' an announcer said during the broadcast. Maung Weik claimed the money included $100,000 given to Suu Kyi in 2018 for a charitable foundation named after her mother. He claimed to have given $150,000 in 2019 for which he did not specify a reason, $50,000 last February and $250,000 in April, again with no purpose specified. Responding to the broadcast, Suu Kyi's lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP that 'those accusations are groundless'. 'Aung San Suu Kyi may have her defects... but bribery and corruption are not her traits,' he said, adding that most people in Myanmar will not believe the allegations. Construction magnate Maung Weik claimed on military TV that he had made a series of cash payments to Aung San Suu Kyi and government ministers The latest charges against Aung San Suu Kyi come amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent (pictured, protesters take cover as they confront police in Yangon this week) However a conviction for bribery in a case against her 'personal character' could see Suu Kyi 'prohibited from taking part in political activities,' Zaw said. The military has already tried to implicate Suu Kyi in corruption, alleging she was given $600,000 plus gold bars by a political ally. A state-run newspaper also reported today that the charity named after Suu Kyi's mother is under investigation and accused of not paying enough fees on land. 'Further extensive investigation is being conducted into Daw Khin Kyi Foundation's cash flow, expenditure and savings,' the Global New Light of Myanmar said. Meanwhile, a court has issued an arrest warrant for the country's UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, on charges of treason, the newspaper reported. The charge stems from February 26 at U.N. headquarters, in which he condemned the coup and appealed for 'the strongest possible action from the international community' to restore democracy in his country. Also charged with treason was Mahn Win Khaing Than, the civilian leader of Myanmar's government in hiding, the newspaper said. Protesters test out a slingshot in Yangon on Wednesday as the demonstrations continue Suu Kyi's face has frequently appeared on posters and placards held up by protesters during their weeks-long demonstrations against the military coup The acting vice president and member of Suu Kyi's party had vowed to continue supporting a 'revolution' to eject the military from power. On Thursday, residents of a Yangon suburb set street barricades ablaze to block riot police. Video showed large palls of smoke rising over the Tha Mine area in the city's Hlaing township, with another barricade burning fiercely in the middle of a residential area. One resident, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said protesters set them alight after hearing that a column of police trucks was on its way. Building barricades are now established tactics by opponents of the junta all over the country to impede police and army movement. The barriers also provide some protection from the now-frequent use of live ammunition against them. On Wednesday, at least two people were shot dead in Kalay in northwestern Myanmar, according to media and social media posts. More than 200 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, according to credible tallies. Across the United States, many Asian-Americans reeled at the news of a shooting spree at three spas in and around Atlanta on Tuesday night that left eight people dead, including six Asian women. But after a year in which reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans have skyrocketed, the shooting sparked fresh outrage, fear and demands for a government response. Were besieged, said Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and a founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that has tracked anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. The overall community is traumatized. File Photo Nearly 3,800 hate incidents between March 2020 and February 2021 In a report released on Tuesday before the shooting, the coalition said it received 3,795 reports of hate incidents between March 2020 and February 2021. The majority of the discrimination consisted of verbal harassment and shunning, with women reporting incidents about two times more often then men. A study published earlier this month by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, a nonpartisan research center, showed that reported hate crimes against Asian Americans in 16 major U.S. cities rose by 149% from 2019 to 2020, while overall hate crimes dropped 7% in the same time period. Looking into the massage parlors that were shot up in the #Atlanta-area. The shooting suspect told investigators he targeted the businesses because of a sex addiction. Politicians and media around the world are reporting this as murderous anti-Asian hate inspired by Trump. pic.twitter.com/WQPI63YeOo Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) March 18, 2021 Please take the time to read this and spread awareness. Lets all educate ourselves regarding the hate crimes, discrimination, and violence against the Asian community. #StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/lFsiVq3Q5b BEST THING THAT HAPPENED IN KPOP (@kpophappenings_) March 18, 2021 "It is unacceptable. It is hateful and it has to stop." US officials decry hate towards Asian Americans after the deadly shootings in Georgia pic.twitter.com/HadCqQjF77 Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 18, 2021 Not only was what happened in Atlanta indisputably a hate crime against Asian women -which should be discussed at length and taken seriously- it was also a hate crime against sex workers, who should have the same right to go to work without being put in danger as everyone else. Sweatpants Cher (@House_Feminist) March 18, 2021 Advocates for the community say the surge is largely the result of Asian Americans being blamed for the coronavirus, which was first identified in Wuhan, China in late 2019. Former US President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the China Virus and kung flu, rhetoric seen by some as inflaming anti-Asian sentiment. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4,430 Americans, conducted from Feb. 18-24, showed that 37 per cent believed that COVID-19 was created in a lab in China, including 24% of Democrats and 54 per cent of Republicans. Researchers are still trying to identify the origins of the virus, but there is no credible evidence to suggest it was accidentally released from a Chinese lab. Asian-American leaders on Wednesday called for government officials to do more to protect and support their communities, and the hashtag #StopAsianHate circulated widely on social media. The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for opponents of large new power plants to file suit in their local Superior Court under environmental laws. The court denied review of a lower-court ruling striking down a state law, passed during an energy crisis in 2001, that required foes of new natural gas facilities and other thermal plants to sue the state Energy Commission in the state Supreme Court. That court decides which cases to review and, according to environmental groups, has not granted review of any such cases. In a November ruling, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said the 2001 law violates the state Constitution, which, with some specified exceptions, allows challenges to government actions to be filed in a county Superior Court, where a judge would review the legality of the Energy Commissions action. The judges ruling could be appealed. The appeals court decision became final Wednesday when the court unanimously denied review of the commissions appeal. This is a major step forward in the struggle to protect communities from dirty power plants and move our state toward cleaner energy, said attorney Maya Golden-Krasner of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups that challenged the law. Now, instead of a one-stop shop for permitting, communities have a real chance to fight polluting power plants in their neighborhoods and move us towards a clean energy future. The ruling does not bar new power plants or limit their number, but allows opponents to argue that the commission failed to properly consider the plants environmental effects or their impact on local communities. They could also challenge the Energy Commissions approval of modifications to existing plants. The ruling applies to larger plants, those generating more than 50 megawatts of power, and does not authorize similar challenges to hydroelectric plants or currently designed solar power plants, said Shana Lazerow, legal director of Communities for a Better Environment. She said most of the plants that now could be challenged in Superior Court would be powered by natural gas. State lawyers representing the Energy Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, argued that allowing review only in the state Supreme Court streamlines power plant review and avoids unnecessary delays. But the state Constitution does not authorize the Legislature to constrain judicial review of Energy Commission decisions, Justice Alison Tucher said in the appeals courts 3-0 ruling, which upheld an Alameda County judges decision. Tucher said another provision of the 2001 law, barring any judicial review of the commissions determination of the facts in a power plant dispute, was also unconstitutional. The case is Communities for a Better Environment vs. Energy Commission, S266386. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Mark Sedwill today said the UK must be willing to 'contest, contain, confront' China when it 'breaks international norms' as he warned the Western alliance must show greater unity when challenging Beijing. The former national security adviser said China is now 'much more aggressive in its region' and 'like all authoritarian regimes, respects strength and unity'. He said if the West is going to 'push back effectively' against 'unacceptable' Chinese behaviour then 'we need to do so with a sense of common purpose across the Western alliance and that has been sadly lacking over the past few years'. His comments came as Boris Johnson faces a Tory revolt over his strategy for relations with China. The PM published the Government's Integrated Review this week and the security document calls for 'deeper trade links' with China despite also admitting it is a 'systemic' threat to the West. Some Tory MPs believe the Government should take a much tougher stance, urging Mr Johnson to 'call out' China for the 'geo-strategic threat it is'. Mark Sedwill today said the UK must be willing to 'contest, contain, confront' China when it 'breaks international norms' The former national security adviser's comments came after Boris Johnson unveiled his new security strategy earlier this week Lord Sedwill was grilled on the UK's relationship with China during an appearance in front of the House of Lords' International Relations and Defence Committee this morning. He told peers that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping China is 'much more aggressive in its region' as he cited the 'crackdown in Hong Kong' and the 'appalling treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang'. He said: We have to, while maintaining the access to the economic opportunities, the imperative to cooperate with China on the big environmental challenges and some security challenges, we must also be able to contest, contain, where necessary confront Chinese behaviour when it breaks international norms. I think we have seen that is a trend in Western countries policy generally, very robustly in the United States, actually robustly here too in my view, Australia as well for example, less so among some of our other allies, but I hope they will bring themselves to the same appreciation of the need to stand in solidarity to contest, confront, contain Chinas unacceptable behaviour because when we do have a sense of common purpose then I think that is our best opportunity of influencing it. China, like all countries, like all authoritarian regimes, respects strength and unity among the West and we need to show more of that. Lord Sedwill suggested the West had failed to show a united front on some issues in recent years. He told the committee: If we are going to push back effectively against those parts of Chinese behaviour that are unacceptable, whether domestic or international, we need to do so with a sense of common purpose across the Western alliance and that has been sadly lacking over the past few years and that is partly why China has been able to advance a more assertive agenda and indeed pick off or seek to bully individual nations. The Australians face significant economic sanctions as a result of calling for a robust investigation by the WHO into the origins of coronavirus. And to be candid they didnt get much more than rhetorical support from elsewhere around the world.' Native reptile populations on Christmas Island have been in severe decline with two species, Lister's gecko and the blue-tailed skink, entirely disappearing from the wild. While previously the main driver for this decline is likely predation by invasive species and habitat destruction, a silent killer is now threatening to wipe the species out entirely. Those bred in captivity on the Australian Territory in the Indian Ocean have also been mysteriously dying, leaving the two species - which number only around 1000 each - in danger of extinction. Veterinary scientists from the University of Sydney, the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia have now discovered the cause of these deaths: a bacterium, Enterococcus lacertideformus (E. lacertideformus). The bacterium was discovered in 2014 after captive reptiles presented with facial deformities and lethargy, and some even died. Samples were collected and analysed using microscopy and genetic testing. The researchers' findings, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, will inform antibiotic trials on the reptiles to see if the infection can be treated. The bacterium grows in the animal's head, then in its internal organs, before eventually causing death. It can be spread by direct contact - including through reptiles' mouths, or via reptiles biting one another - often during breeding season fights. "This means that healthy captive animals need to be kept apart from infected ones and should also be kept away from areas where infected animals have been," said Jessica Agius, co-lead researcher and PhD candidate in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. Ms Agius and the research team not only identified the bacterium, they decoded its genetic structure using whole genome sequencing. Specific genes were identified that are likely to be associated with the bacterium's ability to infect its host, invade its tissues and avoid the immune system. "We also found that the bacterium can surround itself with a biofilm - a 'community of bacteria' that can help it survive," Ms Agius said. "Understanding how E. lacertideformus produces and maintains the biofilm may provide insights on how to treat other species of biofilm-forming bacteria." The search of the genetic code suggested that the killer bacterium was susceptible to most antibiotics. Professor David Phalen, research co-lead and Ms Agius' PhD supervisor, said: "This suggests that infected animals might be successfully treated. That's what we need to determine now." In another effort to protect the endangered reptiles on Christmas Island, a population of blue-tailed skinks has been established on the Cocos Islands. Ms Agius played a critical role in the translocation, testing reptiles on the Cocos Islands to make sure that they were free of E. lacertideformus. "It's critical we act now to ensure these native reptiles survive," Ms Agius 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. SABA:--- A total of 446 valid votes were cast during the Second Chamber elections on Saba on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Raymond Knops (CDA) was the biggest vote-getter with 180 votes. The only candidate from Saba in these elections, Lysanne Charles (BIJ1) amassed 105 votes. The elections went well. I am content with the high turn-out, said Chairman of the Main Voting Bureau Island Governor Jonathan Johnson. In these elections the voter turn-out was 49.6%. Saba has 907 eligible voters. The turn-out was higher compared to the last parliamentary elections in 2017 when 383 valid votes were cast, representing a voter turnout of 43.3%. The Christian Democratic Party (CDA) secured the highest number of votes on Saba: 192 in total, of which 180 for number 5 candidate State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops. CDA candidate number 52, Koos Sneek from St. Eustatius, got 4 votes. The BIJ1 party was the second-highest vote-getter on Saba with 113 votes in total, of which 105 were for number 13 on the slate, Lysanne Charles. Number three on Saba was the Democratic Party D66 with a total of 42 votes, of which 22 votes for number 1 on the slate, Sigrid Kaag. Number 20 on the D66 slate, Jorien Wuite from St. Maarten received 9 votes on Saba. In the 2017 Second Chamber elections, D66 received the most votes on Saba: 115. The liberal democratic VVD party ended as number 4 on Saba with 28 votes in total. Minister of Medical Care Tamara van Ark, number 2 on the VVD slate, got 15 votes on Saba, more than party leader, and number 1 on the slate, Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The green left party GroenLinks received 19 votes on Saba, the Party for Freedom PVV got 12 votes, Forum for Democracy 9, Party for Animals PvdD 8, the Labor Party PvdA 7, the Socialist Party 5, ChristianUnion 4, Volt 3, U-Buntu Connected Front 2, JA21 1 and DENK 1. Voters on Saba could cast their votes during three days: on Monday, March 15, Tuesday, March 16, and Wednesday, March 17. On Monday and Tuesday, people could cast their vote at the Fire Station in The Bottom and on Wednesday both in The Bottom and at the Eugenius Johnson Center in the Windwardside. The ballots were counted at the two voting stations on Wednesday evening after the closing of the polls. Before the elections, Island Governor Johnson had encouraged people to vote because the Second Chamber takes decisions that affect the island. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced medical students out of classrooms and clinical rotations this time last year, the state of Georgia's only public medical school had to quickly rethink its traditional curriculum. Faculty and staff at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University were able to quickly adapt and provide an online platform for learning about the pandemic and initiating student-led service projects to aid frontline workers and help educate the public, MCG faculty and students write in a review article in the journal Medical Science Educator. The University System of Georgia suspended in-classroom learning in mid-March, so faculty at MCG shifted first- and second-year in person classes to online. Lectures were replaced with recorded materials and other in-person activities like small groups, clinical skills training and anatomy labs were either suspended or transitioned online. "Our faculty were able to make that transition as smooth as possible by constantly listening to students' feedback - asking what worked and what didn't," says second-year student Amanda Delgado, one of the article's co-authors. Later in March, the Association of American Medical Colleges called for a "pause" in patient contact and clinical training for third- and fourth-year medical students across the country. The medical school's administration knew that "steps to ensure an enriching alternative to clinical education" had to be taken, the students write. The medical school's solution? Stand up a novel online Pandemic Medicine Elective -- one it already had a model for. An existing summer program, Areas of Concentration, had been traditionally offered to rising second-year students as a four-week elective that covered topics like ethics, leadership, global and public health, health policy and artificial intelligence and machine learning. Faculty with extensive knowledge in each field facilitated lectures on each topic. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MCG's academic administration was able to restructure that program to create the new elective. It consisted of four weeks of instruction -- two hours of lectures, four days a week, and one day dedicated to experiential learning and service. Teams of physicians and educators from across the medical school and guest lecturers from other colleges and universities collaborated to educate students on topics ranging from the basic science of SARS-CoV-2 to the challenges it created for health care and the public sector, from how to deliver health care in a crisis to professional and personal responsibility. The second version of the elective, launched in mid-May, was offered to rising second-year students, as well as a limited number of students and oral and maxillofacial surgery residents from the Dental College of Georgia and some students from The Graduate School. "With summer research programs cancelled, students were eager to engage with faculty and content experts on relevant health topics," the students write. The elective also offered rich experiences like the listening to interviews with physicians battling the pandemic in China and Germany and participating in a live question and answer session with a physician who compared her experience working in Guinea during the Ebola crisis to that of fighting COVID-19 in New York City. As the pandemic raged on through the summer, a third iteration -- called a "selective" because it was offered to a select group of students whose clinical rotations were being delayed -- was launched in late June and focused on preparing students for what the clinical environment would look like when they returned to clinical activities during the pandemic. "While (it) included topics from previous iterations of the elective, it focused more heavily on the impact of the pandemic on providers and their delivery of care," says MCG infectious disease physician Dr. Rodger MacArthur, the article's senior author and the group's faculty advisor. A common thread among each version of the elective was student-led service learning projects. Some of those included developing a website to publish local COVID-19 news and resources, aiding frontline workers by purchasing and delivering N95 masks, gloves and face shields, raising $15,000 to purchase personal protective equipment and collaborating with musicians to provide them comfort. At the medical school's regional campuses across the state, students worked with public health departments to help with contact tracing and work in their call centers. By the completion of the elective, a total of 6,198 service hours had been logged by MCG students. "So many people rose to the occasion and everyone worked together to help us continue our education and help our communities at the same time," says second-year student Joseph Elengickal, the article's corresponding author. Next steps include conducting surveys and focus groups on students' experiences during the elective with an eye toward improving students' other educational experiences. ### Other authors were second-year MCG students Shefali Jain, Elena Diller, Catherine Valli, Kesar Dhillon, Hee Lee and Rohitha Baskar. Read the full article. Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis, Andra Day pick up Oscar nominations, Regina King snubbed! I dont think it surprised anyone that late actor Chadwick Boseman would be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as an ambitious jazz trumpeter in Ma Raineys Black Bottom (https://www.netflix.com/title/81100780) despite never being nominated before, for his astonishing performances as James Brown in 2014s Get on Up, Jackie Robinson in 2013s 42 and his most iconic role as the African superhero TChalla in 2018s Black Panther. Mr. Boseman, crossed-over in August, at the age of 43 from a long battle with colon cancer. Although the nomination was expected one must admit that its a touching category: the posthumous acting nominee. Its not uncommon. To date, there has been 79 in total before Mr. Bosemans nomination and only seven actors had ever earned Academy Award nominations after their death. Win or lose, hes already earned his place in Academy Awards history. ADVERTISEMENT Now to the crazy year, thank younot COVID-19which forced most movie theaters to shut down and extended the Oscars voting window by two months. The 93rd annual Academy Awards nominations held very few surprises with Mank, (Netflix ) leading with 10 nominations. The Oscar votes spread their vote, as six films received six nominations: The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Nine actors of color earned Academy Award nominations setting an Oscar record for diversity in key categories. This is important to note since theres been a very directed effort by the Academy to diversify its membership after the wake-up call of all-White acting nominees for the 2015 and 2016 ceremonies. Minari star Steven Yeun became the first Asian American ever nominated for best actor; in the same category, Sound of Metal star Riz Ahmed became the first person of Pakistani descent ever nominated for any acting Oscar. Oscar history was made with two women directors Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) who were nominated together in the same category. Both films received best picture nods, the second time two female-helmed titles have been recognized in the top category. Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis is nominated for her astounding performance in Ma Raineys Black Bottom. A history maker already Davis is the African-American woman with the most acting nominations (with four) and the first to be nominated in best actress twice. ADVERTISEMENT Sadly, this year also marks only the second time two African American women were nominated for best actress, with a nomination for Andra Days brilliant work in The United States Vs. Billie Holiday. Overlooked is director Regina King (One Night in Miami) she would have been if nominated, the first African-American woman to be nominated for best director but that didnt happen. There was early buzz that actor Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods) would earn a nomination but the category was just too competitive. Now to Shaka Kings powerful film which landed in big categories like the best picture and original screenplay and a true surprise nomination for LaKeith Stanfield in supporting (alongside his co-star, Daniel Kaluuya). There is a powerful producing team behind Kings film, of which he is one, which also includes director/producer Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) and Macros Charles King. Now to the scorecard. Netflix the streaming giant dominated the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards leading with 35 nominations. Hulu scored a nomination for actress Andra Day (The United States Vs. Billie Holiday) and Disney Plus received its first Oscar nominations since they picked up best-animated feature nods for Onward and Soul, the latter of which also received nominations for best score and sound. Mulan, another Disney Plus release, received nominations for costumes and visual effects, as did the companys The One and Only Ivan. Nomadland, which was produced by the Disney-owned Searchlight, is currently streaming on Hulu. Apple earned its first nominations, picking up a best-animated feature nod for Wolfwalkers and best sound nod for Greyhound. Here are the nominees: Best picture The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 Director Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round Lee Isaac Chung, Minari David Fincher, Mank Chloe Zhao, Nomadland Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman Actor in a leading role Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Chadwick Boseman, Ma Raineys Black Bottom Anthony Hopkins, The Father Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari Actress in a leading role Viola Davis, Ma Raineys Black Bottom Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman Frances McDormand, Nomadland Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman Actress in a supporting role Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy Olivia Colman, The Father Amanda Seyfried, Mank Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari Music (original score) Da 5 Bloods Mank Minari News of the World Soul Costume design Emma Ma Raineys Black Bottom Mank Mulan Pinocchio Writing (Adapted screenplay) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan The Father Nomadland One Night in Miami The White Tiger Writing (Original screenplay) Judas and the Black Messiah Minari Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 Animated short film Burrow Genius Loci If Anything Happens I Love You Opera Yes-People Live action short film Feeling Through The Letter Room The Present Two Distant Strangers White Eye Actor in a supporting role Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7 Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami Paul Raci, Sound of Metal LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah Documentary feature Collective Crip Camp The Mole Agent My Octopus Teacher Time Documentary short subject Colette A Concerto Is a Conversation Do Not Split Hunger Ward A Love Song for Latasha International feature Another Round (Denmark) Better Days (Hong Kong) Collective (Romania) The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia) Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Production design The Father Ma Raineys Black Bottom Mank News of the World Tenet Film editing The Father Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 Cinematography Judas and the Black Messiah Mank News of the World Nomadland The Trial of the Chicago 7 Sound Greyhound Mank News of the World Soul Sound of Metal Visual effects Love and Monsters The Midnight Sky Mulan The One and Only Ivan Tenet Makeup and hairstyling Emma Hillbilly Elegy Ma Raineys Black Bottom Mank Pinocchio Animated feature Farmageddon: A Shaun the Sheep Movie Onward Over the Moon Soul Wolfwalkers Music (original song) Fight For You from Judas and the Black Messiah Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7 Husavik from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Io Si (Seen) from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se) Speak Now from One Night in Miami TwoDistantStrangers (@TwoDistantFilm) | Twitter www.oscars.org www.facebook.com/TheAcademy www.youtube.com/Oscars www.twitter.com/TheAcademy www.instagram.com/TheAcademy #OSCAR2021 #OSCARS #HOLLYWOOD #MOVIES In the devastating year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the world has been transformed. More than half a million Americans have died, and another two million people around the globe. Millions more are suffering from grief, depression, stress and loneliness. Schoolchildren have lost an entire year of learning and socializing during a critical time in their development. Businesses have closed their doors for good. Disparities have widened between the rich and the poor, the privileged and underprivileged. Clearly, a full recovery is going to take a long time. Thankfully, this March looks a lot more hopeful than March 2020 did, in large part due to the record-fast development of several vaccines, and the tireless efforts of frontline workers helping to get them into people's arms. COVID death rates are dropping in many places, and 64% of Americans aged 65 or older have already received at least one dose of the vaccine. Progress is certainly being made, but what could be done better? And what needs to happen next? Several experts from around the Earth Institute weigh in below. How is the vaccine deployment going so far? It's no easy feat to set up an infrastructure to quickly vaccinate 300 million Americans. But Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Earth Institute, says that earlier guidance from the federal government would have saved lives and helped to speed up the vaccine rollout. "We should have been planning [the vaccine distribution] a year ago, and there should have been funding and resources to states and locals for doing this a year ago," he says. "They really didn't get those resources, or very much guidance at all, from the prior administration." In 2003, Schlegelmilch was involved in drawing up plans to rapidly distribute antibiotics in case of a bioterrorism attack with anthrax. Those plans could have been adapted for efficient vaccine distribution, but "one of the challenges we're seeing is that a lot of those plans aren't really being used. We're seeing a lot of state governors just kind of ignore them and then doing their own thing, working with other supply chains. And so they're literally reinventing the wheel." He suspects that during the frenzied response, government leaders aren't taking the time to learn about the years of planning that had been done beforehand. Schlegelmilch thinks the Biden-Harris administration's push to buy more vaccines, to increase production through the use of the Defense Production Act, and to deliver support to state and local governments have significantly accelerated the vaccine distribution process. "Biden set the goal of having 100 million vaccines administered within 100 days. It looks like we may be there in 50 days." Issues with equity Unfortunately, communities with higher rates of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19usually low income and communities of colorhaven't typically been the ones who are getting the vaccine first. Schlegelmilch thinks this is in part due to the rush to get the vaccine out. He says that rather than distributing the vaccines in local clinics and churches that are trusted and easily accessible in underprivileged communities, elected officials have tended to prioritize large hospitals and arenas that have the staff, refrigeration capacity, and infrastructure to move quickly. These sites are more likely to require internet and phone access in order to get an appointment, and may only be accessible in vehicles. "Every time we do that, every time we reflexively pick speed without thinking about the tradeoffs, we maybe unintentionally perpetuate the inequities that existed before, during and continue to exist after any disaster," says Schlegelmilch. It doesn't have to be that way. Social vulnerability data are available and can help elected officials identify where to put clinics. In addition, Schlegelmilch says, establishing relationships with community health centers earlier would have helped to increase efficiency and avoid tradeoffs between speed and equity. As much as the vaccine developers deserve praise for their fast work, he says, "This is the hardest partgetting it into people's arms, getting in their arms quickly, and getting it done equitably. We have we have the information to do it better. We're just not using all of it." Nearing a turning point President Biden aims to make vaccines available to all adults in the U.S. by the end of May. Such a feat may be difficult to imagine, considering how difficult it has been for many people to get a vaccination appointment through wonky portals and websites, or who show up to their appointments only to find out there are no more doses available. "All these things are being addressed by the White House right now," says Irwin Redlener, director of the Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "My opinion is that we're going to solve those issues. Once that happens, I think we have a good chance of getting there by the end of May." Both Redlener and Schlegelmilch think the U.S. is nearing a turning point in vaccine distribution. Until now, demand for the vaccine has far outstripped the supply. But thanks to an increase in production, there may soon be more shots to give out than people to administer them. "Once that takes place, your rate limiter is how quickly you can get it out," says Schlegelmilch. Once the supply catches up with demand, another challenge will be to make it convenient for people to get vaccinated. This can be done by making the vaccine available in community health centers, the local pharmacy, or even the neighborhood church or grocery store, says Schlegelmilch. "Getting vaccines in close proximity to peoplemeeting them where they areis probably a more effective way to reach people, and to reach more people equitably." The federal government is already working out plans to get the vaccine into health deserts, to deploy mobile clinics, and to use large drug store chains to facilitate the wider-scale rollout, says Redlener. "So we have some serious and effective logistical plans in place now that make us confident we can reach that [end of May] goal." Looking beyond U.S. borders President Biden's goal to make the vaccine widely available in May is all well and good for the U.S., but what about other countries? Just as disadvantaged populations in the U.S. have had a difficult time securing access to the vaccine, so too have less wealthy countries. "There isn't enough supply of vaccines in the world, and most are being bought up by developed countries," Sanya Reid Smith, a legal advisor and senior researcher with the Third World Network, said during a recent Earth Institute webinar. "Many developing countries haven't even been able to vaccinate health care workers." It is estimated that in some developing countries, vaccine coverage won't become widespread until as late as 2023. During the intervening years, those countries will continue to suffer the economic disadvantages of being unable to reopen schools and businesses. Meanwhile, Reid-Smith pointed out, "countries like Canada are taking an additional 1.9 million doses of vaccines from COVAX [a UNICEF initiative aimed at providing equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines], even though it has ordered enough vaccines to cover its population more than three times." Reid-Smith asserted that there are companies with the capacity to manufacture COVID vaccines, but they're not being allowed to because of intellectual property restrictions. She would like to see the World Trade Organization waive these restrictions so that production could increase and more people around the world could have access to the vaccines. Other panelists were skeptical of this approach. Watch the webinar here: During the webinar, Petros Mavroidis, a professor at the Columbia Law School and an affiliate with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, called for an international health policy as an antidote to what has been called "vaccinationalism" and to encourage better cooperation and more equitable distribution. "There's nothing like an international health policy," he said. "Health policies are national, so there's no obligation to impose export quotas." Another panelist, economist Michele Ruta with the World Bank Group, laid out several proposals to increase vaccine production and reduce hoarding. These proposals included avoiding trade restrictions and increasing transparency around the vaccine. "If we don't know exactly how much production we will have tomorrow, we are more likely to restrict today," he said. "This is one reason why governments are reluctant, even if they have supplies of a certain vaccine, to let it go." Ruta also called for a clearinghouse to bring together companies with the knowhow to fulfill different aspects of the supply chain. Redlener pointed out that President Biden has allocated $4 billion for international vaccine programs, and he hopes that the U.S. won't wait to begin distributing the vaccine in other countries. Sharing the vaccine is important not just for humanitarian reasons, he says, but also to protect the U.S. "If we don't eliminate SARS-CoV-2 everywhere," says Redlener, "then nowhere is going to be safe. [Unvaccinated areas] are going to allow festering and mutating of the virus. Those mutations are dangerous for the country in which they occur, and also for the rest of the world. None of these viruses obey boundaries." Cautious hope ahead As the situation in the U.S. improves, health experts are warning Americans not to let down their guard. Mask-wearing, hand-washing, and socially distancing remain critically important, says Redlener. "To the extent that we don't have control over the spread, we will have many situations where the virus will continue to replicate and mutate, and that is what could actually undermine our efforts to get the pandemic under control. The main race now is between the vaccine and the variants." "We're all desperate to get done with this," Jeff Shaman, who studies infectious disease at Columbia University, told the Associated Press. "We're not in a place where it's safe as of yet." Speaking with BBC News Mundo, Shaman warned that it's not yet known how long immunity to SARS-CoV-2 lasts; if other coronaviruses are any indication, it's possible that people could get reinfected with it again and again. But with enhanced immunity from the vaccine and/or prior infections, plus more effective treatments that are becoming available and the natural evolution of the virus, it's possible those subsequent infections would become less deadly over the long term. "What we hope is to achieve levels of infection that are controllable and that the virus becomes less and less severe," said Shaman. "That would be the kind of stability that would allow us to live with this virus and, at the same time, return to some kind of normalcy." Redlener is hopeful that the situation could dramatically improve in the coming months. "We're at an inflection point, and if we can keep up the public health control and vaccinate all adults by the end of May, could be on our way to potentially having a reasonable fall," he says. "We might be able to go to a few picnics on Labor Day, and maybe have a quasi-normal Thanksgiving. There's reason to be hopeful, but alert." Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu. 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. As the Army moves to field futuristic helicopters in the next decade, aviation officials are not waiting to train pilots in aggressive new tactics for the future battlefield. The Army's Future Vertical Lift, or FVL, effort is testing prototypes for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, and the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA. The new generation of helicopters is being designed to fly faster and farther than any aircraft in the service's current fleet to penetrate deep into the radar and anti-aircraft defense networks of adversaries such as Russia and China. Maj. Gen. David Francis, commander of the Army's Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama, said Wednesday that the service's aviators must start preparing now for these new advancements in performance. Read Next: As Troop Pullout Looms, Afghanistan 'Fighting for its Very Survival,' IG Says "It's imperative that we make some fundamental changes in addition to the material piece," Francis told an audience at the Association of the United States Army's Global Force Next symposium. "Because of the transformational capability that Future Vertical Lift will bring to our aviation forces, it's going to change the way we fight." The aviation center has launched an effort to train pilots to fly in large-scale combat operations, a shift from the type of flying aviators have been doing for the past two decades of counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East, Francis said. "We are training our [aviators] to fly low. This is not new to Army aviation, but, quite frankly, it's relatively new to this generation of Army aviation," he said. "So, we are very deliberately training the force through training support packages to fly at terrain flight altitudes against radar threats that will enable us to survive, fight and win in future battlefields." Once a unit is fielded with new FVL aircraft, it will have to be trained to employ the helicopters effectively as a unit before it can be released back to the Army, Francis said. New leaders coming into the service will have to be trained differently to fight in future conflicts, he added. "We are going to be operating in dispersed environments. We have to train and sustain and conduct operations from a distributed kind of position to be able to converge effects at the time and place our choosing ... and then be able to redisperse those forces and sustain them over time," Francis said. The Army will also have to look at whether new military occupational specialties need to be created to support FVL, Francis said. "Or are we going to condense some of those to be a little more efficient to where we can cross-train our maintainers and our operators to operate across multiple airframes and systems as required?" -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Army Pilot's Invention Enables Hyper-Realistic Low-Visibility Flight Training YEREVAN, 18 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 18 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.27 drams to 527.42 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.42 drams to 629.79 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 7.16 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.74 drams to 736.28 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price down by 105.78 drams to 29329.58 drams. Silver price down by 4.12 drams to 438.34 drams. Platinum price down by 264.85 drams to 20246.59 drams. ROCHESTER, Minn. - A bill to create a Minnesota license plate to secure aid for fallen first responders is receiving bipartisan support from state lawmakers. The bill would create a special Minnesota 100 Club license plate, with proceeds from sales going toward the organization's mission of providing relief to injured and fallen first responders and their families. The Minnesota 100 club says it receives no public funding, and all of its donations come from private individuals or entities. The organization adds dangers facing first responders are increasing every year, making help for those on the front line and their families even more important. Executive Director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association Brian Peters says when an officer falls in the line of duty, the Minnesota 100 Club acts within a matter of days to make sure their families are financially protected. "There's all sorts of costs that people may not have the resources up front to pay for," Peters said. "The Minnesota 100 Club can come in right away and maybe give a family $20,000. You know, that gets you through that immediate time where resources may not be there." Within the past two weeks, committees in both the Minnesota House and Senate have advanced the bill with bipartisan support. Peters says it's nice to see lawmakers come together and recognize the hard work of first responders. "Officers, medics, first responders, they have to triage and solve problems most of their day. And so it's nice to see that legislators realize that, realize that this is a bill that supports the families that are out there right now protecting our streets." One prominent supporter of the bill is former Waseca officer Arik Matson, who was injured in the line of duty last January. Matson, who has received support from the Minnesota 100 Club, told the Minnesota House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee he hopes the legislature moves forward to pass this license plate for the MN 100 Club as it recognizes the important efforts of law enforcement. Connecticuts COVID vaccine eligibility expands Friday to those 45 and older as the state projects the supply to move closer to meeting demand. State data shows Connecticut will balance a rush of roughly 200,000 newly eligible people against a weekly supply of around 130,000 to 140,000 first doses the narrowest margin to date. But it remains unclear if this will translate to an easy vaccine appointment process. As we get these younger age groups, were able to do it faster, were getting a lot more vaccines, and also it does appear that there might be a slightly lower take-rate as well, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday. As Connecticut expands vaccine eligibility and lifts many COVID restrictions on Friday, the state has identified its first case of a variant originally found in Brazil. Dr. Albert Ko, a Yale epidemiologist who co-chaired the governors reopening committee last spring, said Thursday the strain, known as P.1, was found in New Haven County. We know that these variants of concern the U.K. variant, the South African variant and now the Brazilian variant have been detected in this state, he said. These variants are more transmissible, and at least from what we know at this moment, the U.K. variant ... is actually more virulent, and can cause more risk of mortality and hospitalizations. In Europe, the variant has caused a third wave of lockdowns, he noted, including in Paris. Besides the single case of the P.1 variant found in New Haven County, Connecticut has also identified 283 cases of B.1.1.7, the strain originally found in the U.K., and seven cases of B.1.351, the variant first found in South Africa. Two other variants first detected in New York have also been found in Connecticut. One case of the B.1.427 variant has been identified here, along with three cases of the B.1.429 strain. Those variants are believed to be more transmissible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and could blunt treatments. However, Connecticut officials hope speeding up the vaccination schedule will help protect residents more quickly. Nearly 1 million people have received at least a first shot with 930,497 first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines administered. A total of 500,528 people have received their second and final dose, while 36,208 have received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Around 33 percent of the states population over the age of 16 have received at least one dose, and 62 percent of those 55 and older. Unlike previous groups that became eligible at midnight on the launch day, those 45 to 54 will not be able to register until 8 a.m. Friday, according to the state Department of Public Health. About 477,000 people will become eligible as part of the next age bracket, according to Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer. But around 90,000 of that demographic have already been vaccinated. Along with hesitancy in getting the vaccine, he estimated about 200,000 people will get in line starting Friday. One of our most important goals in this vaccination program is we never want to see an appointment go unused, Geballe said. Through the week, Lamont and his administration have again urged patience. We are going to have plenty of vaccines over the course of the next month, Lamont said. When the state shifted to an age-based rollout last month as well as prioritized teachers, school workers and child care providers, officials anticipated about 365,000 people would immediately want to get vaccinated. At the time, however, a weeks supply of vaccine was about 40 percent of that number. A log jam quickly ensued, and people complained they could not find appointments, or when they did schedule a shot, it was weeks out in April and May. But Lamont and his administration assured people the process would and did smooth out as more appointments populated when supply came into the state. When the new group is eligible on Friday, state officials believe they will have worked through most of the teachers, school workers and child care providers, as well as about 50 percent of those age 55 to 64. The key number for a transition to new eligibility is about 60 percent, state officials said, a figure that represents what they believe is the portion of people who want to immediately get vaccinated. But though the supply numbers are strong compared to the amount of eager people awaiting a vaccine come Friday, state officials maintain that transitions can be difficult. As soon as it opens up, everyone runs through the door at the same time, Lamont said. Though these first few days are a problem, Lamont and his team believe that anyone age 45 to 54 who wants one will get an appointment in 17 days before the last step in the rollout: universal adult eligibility on April 5. Wed expect by April 5, about 50 percent of that 45 to 54 group are actually vaccinated with another 10 percent with appointments scheduled, Geballe said. State officials estimate the last group, anyone age 16 to 44, is about 625,000 people who havent already been vaccinated but want to get inoculated. And in the coming weeks, state officials expect supply to continue to climb from more than 140,000 first doses next week and more than 170,000 first doses the following week. Lamont said this allows us to be a little more aggressive. By the end of April or early May, state officials believe they will finally face the issue of having more vaccines than people who want them. On Thursday, the state reported 1,156 new COVID cases and a daily positivity of 2.76 percent. There were 18 fewer hospitalizations, dropping the statewide total to 384. Another 15 deaths brought the states official death toll to 7,822. Lamont noted on Thursday it had been exactly one year since the states first death. But Lamont said he feels the state has turned the corner and hopes the easing of capacity restrictions on Friday will be permanent. However, Lamont said if the variant ends up catching on fire or if people come back from Miami and they bring an infectious strain with them, well do what it takes in terms of putting public health first. A tenant living in an apartment above Ayers Country Market in Newton Twp. is suing her landlord, claiming he failed to warn her about E. coli in the water supply that sickened her. Breanna Knight filed the lawsuit in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday against Bert Ayers, 2001 Wayne Wood Drive, Newton Twp., who owns the store at 1811 Red Barn Village Road. Ayers did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. According to the suit, Knight and her child moved into the Red Barn Village apartment in 2014. Shortly after, she started experiencing flu-like symptoms and abdominal issues. She received medical treatment for years without an answer as to what was causing her sickness. Knight underwent numerous medical procedures, including CT scans and blood tests. Last October, she discovered the water she was drinking, cooking with and bathing in at her apartment had tested positive for E. coli, a bacteria known to cause symptoms like diarrhea, cramps and nausea. Knights attorney, Michael Goffer, said she conducted her own research and found the water supply tested positive for E. coli dating back a number of years. Knight accused Ayers of being aware of the contamination, but failing to warn her about it or advise her to boil the water before use, among other claims of negligence. Aside from physical injuries, Knight claims to have suffered emotionally and from lost wages while incurring medical costs that will continue into the future as a result of the E. coli exposure. Shes seeking in excess of $75,000. Athens, GA (30605) Today Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. The Finger Lakes Land Trust said a recent land acquisition will help preserve the quality of Skaneateles Lake. The land trust announced this week that it has acquired 102 acres located off of Iowa Road in the town of Sempronius. The property is bordered to the north by Bear Swamp State Forest and contains 2,275 feet of frontage on Bear Swamp Creek, a critical tributary to Skaneateles Lake. Situated at the southern end of the state forest, the property also contains 26 acres of wetlands, diverse tree species including red maple, cherry, and spruce, and a well-maintained trail system. In a news release, the land trust said that conserving the property will help protect Skaneateles Lake the source of drinking water for the city of Syracuse. Ongoing efforts by the FLLT focus on securing hillsides in this area, known as the Skaneateles Highlands, especially those adjacent to Bear Swamp State Forest. Other protected lands in the area include Carpenter Falls State Unique Area and the FLLTs Bahar Nature Preserve. Five men in the UK have suffered an extremely rare blood clot problem after having the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, though no causal link with the jab has been established, the medicines regulator has said. The men, aged 19 to 59, have experienced a specific type of blood clot in the brain together with low blood platelet count. One of the five has since died. There are no details yet on whether any of them had underlying health conditions. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was looking at the reports but stressed the events were extremely rare and there was a possibility they could have been caused by Covid itself. It said the cases represented a less than one-in-a-million chance of suffering this type of clot among those who have been vaccinated, while the risk of dying from Covid aged 40 to 49 is one in 1,000. Lowered blood platelet counts have been found in around 37% of people suffering from Covid-19. The regulator has concluded that any link between the jab and clots is unproven and the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risks. The type of clot cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) prevents blood from draining out of the brain. It is this type of clot that led Germany to halt its rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, prompting other countries across Europe to follow. Officials in Germany received six reports of CVST associated with low blood platelets all in younger to middle-age women. Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: We continually monitor safety during use of all vaccines to protect the public, and to ensure the benefits continue to outweigh the risks. Our thorough and careful review, alongside the critical assessment of leading, independent scientists, shows that there is no evidence that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine (Pfizer or AstraZeneca). We have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot in the cerebral veins occurring together with lowered platelets soon after vaccination. This type of blood clot can occur naturally in people who have not been vaccinated, as well as in those suffering from Covid-19. Given the extremely rare rate of occurrence of these events among the 11 million people vaccinated, and as a link to the vaccine is unproven, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, continue to outweigh the risks of potential side effects. You should therefore continue to get your jab when it is your turn. Dr Raine said while investigations were ongoing, as a precautionary measure, anyone with a headache that lasts for more than four days after vaccination, or bruising beyond the site of vaccination after a few days, should seek medical attention. However, please remember that mild flu-like symptoms remain one of the most common side effects of any Covid-19 vaccine, including headache, chills and fever, Dr Raine said. These generally appear within a few hours and resolve within a day or two, but not everyone gets them. (PA Graphics) Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chairman of the Commission on Human Medicines, said cases of CVST will be closely monitored to understand whether there is any potential association with the vaccine. He added: Further work with expert haematologists is under way to further understand the nature of these cases and whether there is a causal association with any of the vaccines. Given the extremely rare rate of occurrence of these events, the benefits of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, with the latest data suggesting an 80% reduction in hospitalisation and death from Covid disease, far outweigh any possible risks of the vaccine in the risk groups currently targeted in the UK. Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccine safety lead, said the blood clots were extremely rare and there was no proven causal association with the AstraZeneca jab. He added: We still have a huge burden of Covid disease in the population. So right now the balance of benefits and known risks of the vaccine are favourable. The MHRA said it had received two reports of CVST for the Pfizer vaccine but without accompanying low blood platelet counts. Census 2021: why its important to take part and what happens to your information This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 18th, 2021 Letters are dropping through doors asking people in Wales, England and Northern Ireland to fill out the 2021 census ahead of census day on March 21. At it simplest, the census is a count of the population, recording how the numbers of people and their attributes vary from one neighbourhood to another across the UK. But how much of your information is visible to the people using the information to make decisions? Here are some key questions answered. What sort of information does the census ask for? It is primarily a mix of demographic information. For example: how old people are, their gender and family relationships; socio-economic information, such as the size of the property, main job and educational qualifications; ethno-cultural background; health; and some voluntary questions, including religious identity and sexuality. What is the information I give to the census used for? It is used to understand how the characteristics of the UK population vary across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This is important to predict the demands on and to inform the financing of public services, such as schools and healthcare, to support decision-making in business and commerce, and to map the social geography of the UK. There are some good examples of how census data are used on the Scottish census website. Why is it important to fill out the census? It is a legal requirement to fill out the census. You can be fined up to 1,000 for not doing so. The reason for this stick is that the data need to be as reliable as possible and that requires as many people as possible to take part. Shutterstock If particular social groups are under-counted then that will lead to an inaccurate picture of the UKs population. This could have an adverse, knock-on consequence on targeting support for local services where it is most needed. For example, imagine a particular group of people are concentrated in one part of the country where they are reluctant to provide information to the census. Imagine those people have school-aged children. The risk is that their schools will not receive the funding they would have had if the number of children who live locally had been accurately counted. Who runs the census? The Office for National Statistics in England and Wales, National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics Agency. These are national organisations that collect and publish statistics about the economy, population and society of the UK. As non-ministerial departments/agencies they operate with independence from governments. This is to protect them from political interference. They are, however, accountable to the UKs various parliaments, which provide scrutiny and oversight. Who has access to my data and how much do they know about me? Only carefully selected and approved staff at the ONS or its sister agencies in Scotland and Northern Ireland can see your personal census information when you submit it. It cannot be used by the government in this raw form. The government only gets access once the data are published after being anonymised. At this point, you cannot be identified. Census tables typically merge your data with that provided by others who live in the same neighbourhood or region as you. That means those tables do not reveal information about individuals but about the populations of geographical areas. Your census record is kept secure for 100 years and only then can it be seen by future generations. Can my data be sold or passed on to third parties or other countries? Your personal information cannot be sold to third parties. When the census tables are published they are made freely available to a number of sources. You can access recent census data here and here, for example. But, remember, these do not disclose personal information. You cant be identified via that data. Note how these maps of census data are shaded by neighbourhoods, not by individuals. How do I know the information I give to the census wont be used to discriminate against me or deny me a public service in the future? The confidentiality of your data is legally protected. Laws in place that cover protection of your data include the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Census Act 1920, and the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. You can find out more from the census website. Will the information I give to the census affect my immigration status? No. Your personal information cannot be seen or used by anyone making decisions about your residency applications or immigration status. If Im living in an informal situation that I havent disclosed to the authorities. Can my census information be used against me? No How does census data get stored? The ONS said, The safety of your information is our top priority, and added: The ONS has robust security implemented across our services and systems to protect census data that are consistent with government policy and good industry practice. Answers on the online questionnaire are protected during entry and passed into ONS systems through a secure transfer mechanism. Your information is stored in ONS managed systems in highly protected areas with limited access and sophisticated monitoring to detect suspicious activity. Linking and matching of the data is performed within a specific and highly protected area, by staff who have been security vetted and their activity overseen by management and monitored. We are constantly reviewing and renewing our security protections to safeguard census in our systems. Richard Harris, Professor of Quantitative Social Geography, University of Bristol This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama Senate committee has advanced a lottery bill as lawmakers try to get the issue of gambling before state voters for the first time since 1999. The Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee on Wednesday approved a lottery proposal sponsored by Republican Sen. Jim McClendon. However, Tourism Committee Chairman Del Marsh described the bill as a vehicle for negotiations and said lawmakers might revive the issue of casinos along with the lottery debate. McClendons bill would authorize a lottery where tickets could be sold at stores, kiosks and through a phone app. Alabama voters rejected then-Gov. Don Siegelmans proposed state lottery in 1999. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. State authorities on Thursday charged four more officers with assaulting inmates during a violent incident at New Jerseys womens prison in January, bringing the total number of officers criminally prosecuted over the beatings to eight. The charges are the latest development in a widening scandal at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, which was singled out for violence, sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates by staff in a scathing report from the U.S. Justice Department last year. The four senior correctional police officers were alleged accomplices to the other officers previously charged over the Jan. 12 incident, in which teams donning riot gear marched into the prisons restorative housing unit and began forcibly removing prisoners, authorities said. More charges may be coming, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Thursday. I promised to hold everyone accountable who played a role in this horrific incident, at any level of the prisons hierarchy, and were working hard to meet that promise, Grewal said in a statement. The officers charged Thursday were part of extraction teams sent to conduct prisoner removals from cells to search for contraband. They each face counts of aggravated assault and official misconduct because the force used against the inmates was excessive and the officers had a duty to stop it, Grewal said. The charges stem from the beating of two prisoners. Authorities have not named the women, but NJ Advance Media has identified them as Desiree Dasilva and Emmalee Dent after speaking with the prisoners and their families. Other inmates have come forward with complaints of sexual assault and severe injuries. Grewals office said it is still investigating those claims. Authorities allege Officer Jose Irizarry, 37, of Paterson, rushed into Emmalee Dents cell, hit her with his shield and then did nothing as another criminally charged officer punched her 28 times. He faces two counts of official misconduct because he was involved in both cell extractions, according to court documents. Official misconduct charges carry a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence. Irizarrys attorney, Peter Till, said Thursday he would vigorously defend against what we regard as baseless charges. The three others Courey James, 31, of East Piscataway; Gustavo Sarmiento Jr., 27, of Maywood and Tara Wallace, 35, of Somerset are all accused of using excessive force and failing to stop or report the violence committed by their fellow officers. An attorney for Sarmiento declined to comment. Attorneys for James and Wallace could not immediately be reached. Wallace allegedly cuffed Desiree Dasilva and then aided and abetted other officers who beat her as the restrained inmate begged them to stop. She suffered a broken orbital bone in her skull from the attack. Desiree Dasilva was needlessly struck in the face by corrections officers, breaking her orbital bone, state prosecutors said. The January incident has led to demands for the ouster of state Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks from state lawmakers. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he was sickened by the allegations and commissioned an outside investigation into what happened but has said not addressed potential reforms. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. NJ Advance Media staff writer Blake Nelson contributed to this report. S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Starting on Monday, March 22, 2021, the Sears location for Vigo County that has been giving the COVID-19 vaccine will be changing locations. The new location is at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. Some Wabash Valley residents set to get their vaccine were notified by a text message from the Indiana State Department of Health. News 10 was able to confirm this location change. Joni Wise, an administrator with the Vigo County Health Department explains, "Theyre moving for a couple of reasons. One, its not air-conditioned. Two, it leaks when it rains." To sign up for your COVID-19 vaccine, sign up online at ourshot.in.gov. You can also call 2-1-1. Terre Haute Regional Hospital address: 3901 S 7th St, Terre Haute, IN 47802 Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment According to a recent article in The Guardian, Nearly every main voice of dissent in Hong Kong is now in jail or exile. The latest chapter of Beijings grab for power saw Hong Kong police charge 47 pro-democracy campaigners and politicians with conspiracy to commit subversion. All face life in prison if convicted. The protests, which began with hopes of a democratic rebuke to the autocratic regime of Xi Jinping, have seemingly come to an end, not with a bang but with a proverbial whimper. In the last year-and-a-half, as the worlds eyes turned to COVID-19 and other troubles, the Chinese government all but crushed any dissidents and all but ended democracy in Hong Kong. For a moment, it appeared as if 2019 might be a reboot of 1989, with the tide of freedom overwhelming attempts at dictatorship. News coverage told of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people in Hong Kong rising up against a law, pushed through by the Beijing-controlled local government, that allowed Hong Kong citizens to be prosecuted under the mainlands jurisdiction. Protestors were backed and, in many cases led, by Hong Kongs Christian population. At one point, the praise chorus Sing Hallelujah to the Lord became an unofficial anthem of the protests. For months, the Communist leadership tried everything from coercion to concessions, to squash the protests, but the protests only intensified. By late summer 2019, the government withdrew the offending law, but the movement had, by then, become about much more than one law. It was now about preserving a free Hong Kong. Pro-democracy candidates all but swept Hong Kongs local elections in November of 2019, and protestors flew British and American flags in an extra show of defiance. But when the headlines changed from protesters to a virus and the world economy ground to a halt, other nations and their governments turned inward. The country best positioned to apply pressure, the United States, was also dealing with its greatest domestic turmoil in generations and the most contentious presidential election in recent memory. Meanwhile, on Chinas mainland, the overlords didnt let this crisis go to waste. COVID provided all the excuse they needed to clamp down on crowds, protests, and news stories. Under new stringent national security laws, virtually any dissent to the regimes dictates is now liable to draconian punishment. Chinas promise to maintain a one country two system arrangement with Hong Kong was a surprisingly easy thing to discard for something enshrined in an international agreement. Though we might be tempted to give up hope for the people of Hong Kong, many there havent. Hundreds continue to defy Beijing by publicly protesting the recent convictions. Though the U.S. is wavering on what to do, Australian, British, Japanese, and European governments have decided that it can no longer be business as usual with the Peoples Republic. Beijing knows that as long as the West remains divided and distracted, theyre free to extinguish Uyghur culture and deny Hong Kong its liberty, but not because China is as strong as its leaders suggest. Chinas economy is incredibly vulnerable and will only become more so as its population ages. Not to mention, the world is now fully aware of what its doing to the Uyghur population. Given that so much Christian activity in China flows through Hong Kong, we owe it to our brothers and sisters there to pray. In a real sense, an assault on Hong Kong is part of the larger war on Chinese Christianity. We should also insist that the fate of Hong Kong becomes a foreign policy priority. There can be no business as usual with this regime not from the U.S. government and not from U.S. corporations. As we make our appeals, lets remember how Christians have fared throughout history when challenged by godless empires. The empires are long gone. Christians arent. By the way, we will honor someone who continues to speak up for Chinas liberties, Pastor Bob Fu of China Aid, at the Wilberforce Weekend this May in Fort Worth, Texas. Come to wilberforceweekend.org to learn more. Originally published at BreakPoint Corsight AI, a globally renowned facial recognition technology provider, has announced plans to invest in a significant number of new hires over the next 12 months, with help from premier Executive Search firm, The SJB Group, in order to support the companys next phase of growth. Corsight's facial recognition technology, which received top rankings by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and the Department of Homeland Security, is able to accurately identify individuals on watch lists, even under the most challenging conditions, overcoming common issues such as face coverings and harsh environments with unmatched speed and accuracy. Technical staff for facial recognition With the rapid adoption of this technology forthcoming, Corsight AI is hiring technical staff (based in Israel), country leaders and sales specialists, (based in the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, Americas, and Australia) to meet incoming demand. Building on the existing success achieved through its recent funding round, exceptional business growth, and evolving client needs worldwide, Corsight AI will work closely with The SJB Group to strategically attract the best talent on the market and continue Corsights mission to radically enhance the world of ethical facial recognition technologies. End-to-end Critical Hire Outsource (CHO) All roles inside of Israel will be delivered by The SJB Groups sister company, Experis Israel This contract is a full end-to-end Critical Hire Outsource (CHO), which will see The SJB Group manage all hires globally, which both parties hope to continue for many years to come. All roles inside of Israel will be delivered by The SJB Groups sister company, Experis Israel. Rob Watts, CEO of Corsight AI commented, We are proud of the impact our team has made during such a critical year in our businesses' growth, and despite the current economic conditions, we are excited for what's in store as we expand our employee base and presence worldwide. We are delighted to be supported by The SJB Group in our next growth phase as they seek to identify and onboard the most sought-after talent. CorsightAI offerings evolving rapidly Mathew Sofier, Managing Director at The SJB Group, stated We are very excited to develop the first-of-its-kind recruitment model for Corsight AI to support them on their aggressive growth trajectory. The Corsight AI offering is unique and at the forefront of the AI market which is evolving at a rapid rate. We know our proven CHO model drives huge value to both candidates and clients alike and we look forward to securing the best talent for the business across multiple geographies to meet their growth plans. March 18, 1971 Sen. Jackson speaks at Friendly Sons dinner U.S. Sen. Henry M. Jackson was the guest speaker at the annual dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County held at the Casey Inn the evening of March 17. Seven-hundred men heard Jackson, a Democrat from Washington state, speak about the environment and how American technology will help to solve many of the problems threatening mankind. Also speaking at the dinner were Earl Wilson, national syndicated columnist, the Rev. Dexter L. Hanley, president of the University of Scranton, and state Attorney General J. Shane Creamer. Before the dinner, Jackson spoke at a press conference where he announced that he was an official non-candidate for the 1972 presidential election, and remarked that the Soviet presence in the Mideast has an adverse effect on all of North Africa and the gateway to the Indian Ocean. More aid for Marywood Protestant churches in Scranton were also coming to the aid of the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary following the destructive fire that claimed their motherhouse and Marywood Seminary back in February. The Rev. Dr. Mark R. Thompson, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, said that his church, along with seven other Protestant churches in the city of Scranton, would host a choral concert on April 5. The concert would feature a performance by the youth choir of the First Methodist Church of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Proceeds from the concert would be donated to the Sisters. The Cuyahogao Falls youth choir was performing as part of its spring tour that included stops in Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. Also, the Most Rev. J. Carroll McCormick, bishop of Scranton, announced he received a donation of $100 from the Rt. Rev. Frederick G. Warneke, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem. Warneke wrote: as a small token of our fellowship in Christ, I am enclosing a check which I would ask you to use in the rebuilding of the institution. Sale at Eynon Drugs Ladies Velour pant coat for $19.97, mens slacks with a flare for $3.77, girls slack sets for $2.99, printed bath towels were 69 cents, storage bench for $22.88, Remington Comfort Control electric shaver for $14.88 and a bottle of Flintstones Multiple Vitamins were $1.99. My wife and I feel privileged to live in Napa Valley and be a part of this thriving community. Having spent my career in real estate, I co-founded Pacaso with this guiding mission: to democratize access to second home ownership. A letter published by Our Town St. Helena on Tuesday alleged that Pacaso would drive up housing prices, leaving fewer affordable options for local residents, and draw owners who are not invested in the community. This allegation is wrong and reflects a core misunderstanding of Pacasos business. Pacaso is actually an excellent complement to local affordable housing efforts and a source of sustained support for local businesses. Pacaso brings together small groups of buyers who wish to co-own second homes. We buy turnkey luxury homes, coordinate the buyer group and form an LLC for each home. After closing, Pacaso supports the owners, who own 100% of the property, by serving as the LLCs program manager and employing local businesses to care for the home. The workforce housing challenges in St. Helena are acute, and much of this shortage can be attributed to second home buyers purchasing moderately priced whole homes. Since 2018, only 7% of homes sold in St. Helena were sold below $500,000, and 82% of those properties were purchased by second home buyers. 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to change its guidelines and say students now sit just three feet apart instead of six feet. It comes after a new study found there was no difference in COVID-19 case rates in districts where pupils sat further apart in classrooms compared to those where children sat closer together. According to ABC News, the federal health agency could announce the updated recommendations as early as Friday. The adjustment could lead to some schools foregoing remote learning entirely and help them return to in-person classes. The CDC may revise its guidance on how far students should sit apart in classrooms as early as Friday. Pictured: CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky testifies before a Senate committee on Capitol Hill, March 18 The updated recommendations come after a new study found no difference in COVID-19 cases rates among students or staff in districts that had students sitting three feet apart compared to six feet apart (above) For the study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, the team, led by Harvard University, looked at 251 Massachusetts school districts open for in-person learning in fall 2020. In those districts, there are 37,336 students who attend classes and 99,390 teachers and other faculty members. Between September 30 and January 7, 194 districts had students sitting a minimum of six feet apart and 49 had three feet of distance between desks. Next, the team compared COVID-19 cases rates among the districts during the autumn semester. Researchers found 'no significant difference' in coronavirus infection rates for either children or adults sitting six feet apart or three feet apart when universal mask wearing was in place. The authors wrote that the findings mean 'lower physical distancing policies can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively impacting student or staff safety.' Additionally, the team found that rates of COVID-19 infections were lower in schools were lower than in the surrounding communities. This suggests that school buildings may be safer locations for both students and teachers to be than in cities or towns. They noted that schools with desks only three feet apart would allow more students to be seated in each classroom. It would also prevent children from having to stay home and do remote learning even if conditions for in-person learning are safe. Experts say the updated recommendations could help some school forego remote learning and return to in-person teaching. Pictured: Students sitting six feet apart at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, California, March 2 The study also found that rates of COVID-19 infections were lower in schools were lower than in the surrounding communities CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky noted the study herself during her testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's oversight and investigations subcommittee on Wednesday. 'As soon as our guidance came out, it became very clear that six feet was among the things that was keeping schools closed, and in that context science evolves,' she said. 'There has been one study that was published late last week that demonstrated in Massachusetts where there is generally 100 percent mask-wearing that three feet was actually safe.' Walensky said the CDC was looking to update its guidance, but would not give a timeline on when that would occur. The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends anywhere between three and six feet in schools while the World Health Organization recommends one meter, or 3.3 feet. But not everyone agrees with updating the guidance. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, told The New York Times, she is 'very concerned' about the guidelines potentially changing and said that school districts should instead find more space so that more students can attend sitting six feet apart. 'The problem is, it is a debate about convenience, not a debate about safety,' Weingarten said. 'All of a sudden, because we can't squeeze in every single kid if it's six feet that miraculously there's now studies that say three feet are fine. And what's going to happen is, people are just not going to trust it.' Weingarten said this will make it difficult for schools to inset new protocols such as how students go to the bathroom. She added that she believes the CDC is currently under 'a lot of outside pressure' to revise the recommendations. IRS Extends Tax Filing Deadline by a Month The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week announced taxpayers have an additional month to file their taxes. The previous deadline was April 15. The new deadline is May 17. This continues to be a tough time for many people, and the IRS wants to continue to do everything possible to help taxpayers navigate the unusual circumstances related to the pandemic, while also working on important tax administration responsibilities, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. Even with the new deadline, we urge taxpayers to consider filing as soon as possible, especially those who are owed refunds. Filing electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to get refunds, and it can help some taxpayers more quickly receive any remaining stimulus payments they may be entitled to. Taxpayers dont need to file any forms or call the IRS for the automatic extension, but penalties, interest, and additions to their tax will start accruing after the new deadline. The extension only applies to federal filings, but several states have already announced extensions to align with the new federal date. Top Democrats had pushed the IRS to extend the deadline, which was done last year, citing the backlog in filings in the services system. We stand in the midst of the most important tax filing season in recent memory, and taxpayers cannot get the help they need from the IRS. Returns received by the IRS have fallen significantly behind last years numbers. On top of all that, once it is signed into law, the American Rescue Plan will change the tax laws applicable to unemployment benefits received in 2020 and reported on returns filed during this filing season. Taxpayers need more time to file accurate returns and get their questions answered by the IRS, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a recent joint statement. Rettig told legislators last month that there were no plans to extend the deadline. Doing so, he said at the time, creates a lot of confusion for taxpayers, he said. Individuals always have the option to file for personal extensions. In those cases, they have until Oct. 15 to file. (JTA) Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who was censured by House colleagues for espousing conspiracy theories and what some consider anti-Semitic rhetoric, shared her restrictionist views on immigration with an Orthodox Jewish magazine. On Monday, Greene toured an Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn at the invitation of a local Republican activist. She also gave an interview to Ami Magazine. Greene draws a contrast in the piece between contemporary immigration, which she is seeking to limit dramatically, and the era in which Jews came to the United States in the aftermath of the Holocaust. ADVERTISEMENT I got to meet a Holocaust survivor today who came to America when she was 12 years old. Her aunt sponsored her, meaning that she took complete responsibility for the financial obligation of her coming to this country, Greene said in the interview, which a subscriber posted to Twitter. (Most of the magazines content appears in print only.) Jewish groups have long pointed out that the strict U.S. immigration law that had kept many Jews stranded in Nazi Europe also severely limited the number of Jewish refugees and displaced persons who could enter the country after the war, even with a sponsor. Greene, a staunch critic of President Joe Bidens approach to immigration, also talked about the possibility of impeaching Biden with regard to our border situation, referring to a surge of unaccompanied migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone. She has sponsored legislation that would require a wall at the border to be named after Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump. Conservative activists in the Orthodox world have not made immigration a prominent part of their political activism, and Orthodox advocacy groups like the Orthodox Union, which is nonpartisan, were frequently critical of Trumps zero-tolerance immigration policies. (Liberal Jewish groups, citing the history of Jews as refugees and immigrants, are vocal supporters of legal immigration.) I love Trump, but I still dont agree with him on immigration, Heschy Tischler, a right-wing activist in Orthodox Brooklyn, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last year. I believe this country should be open to everyone. In the interview, Greene also discussed her visit to Brooklyn, which came at the invitation of Nachman Mostofsky, who runs a politically conservative Orthodox organization. His brother, Aaron, was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Im so lucky that Nachman Mostofsky and Rabbi Moskowitz brought me to Brooklyn today because it really hurts to be called anti-Semitic or racist, she said, likely referring to Yechezkel Moskowitz, who works with Mostofsky. Greene has become a lightning rod during her first few months in office over her promotion of the anti-Semitism-fueled QAnon theory during her campaign for Congress, as well as a widely mocked Facebook post in which she theorized that the Rothschild Jewish banking family bankrolled a space-based laser to start California wildfires. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to strip Greene of committee assignments in February, mostly along party lines. In a speech before that vote, Greene said her past comments do not represent me. Noor Riyadh, one of the world's most exciting festivals of light and art combining the highest quality of light artworks across the largest city footprint, ignites today (March 18) for the first time starting 17 days of spectacular installations lighting up skies of Riyadh. Over 60 celebrated global artists from as far and wide as Canada, Mexico, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and US are taking part in Noor Riyadh in addition to 23 leading Saudi artists, who have been selected to display significant works of light art under the theme of 'Under One Sky' as a symbol of unity. The event is part of the larger Riyadh Art programme that is investing in more than 1,000 pieces of public art to turn the city into a gallery without walls. Hosam Al Qurashi, the advisor of brand and marketing to the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, said: "This magnificent festival is a metaphor for the transformation of Riyadh. It illuminates our ambition to become one of the world's most competitive and liveable cities by 2030." "We believe this initiative will have a profound and positive effect on enriching the lives of citizens, residents and visitors alike, bringing together a global community which sparks creative expression and creates an inclusive culture," remarked Al Qurashi. The Noor Riyadh festival features 33 citywide installations encompassing all forms of light art, including sculptures, projections, interactive shows, kinetic and immersive pieces placed in numerous locations across the city to excite and entertain residents and visitors. Alongside the citywide installations the Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s, the largest retrospective exhibition of lightworks featuring the work of 30 artists. "Riyadh Art will also positively contribute to the economic development of the city as a place for investment and where the new creative economy flourishes, while having a positive impact on developing Riyadh as a beautiful, vibrant and cosmopolitan city for everyone to enjoy," he added. The festival also includes a programme of over 270 special activities of tours, talks, workshops, family activities, films and music, many of which are available online allowing the festival to be enjoyed by everybody, anywhere in the world. The magnificent installations will be visible to all in public spaces across the city and a complete list of the exhibitions and special events can be found online at http://noorriyadh.sa. Noor Riyadh is a citywide festival of light and art as a Riyadh Art program (running till April 3); Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s exhibition at King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center (KAFD), Riyadh, as part of Noor Riyadh, a Riyadh Art program, (running till June 12). Director of Riyadh Art Khaled Al Hazani said: "Noor Riyadh is a celebration of light and art on an unparalleled scale." "Art is a universal language and light is a symbol of hope and, in these challenging times, it is my hope that this festival shines like a beacon to the world and illuminates our path to a brighter future reflecting our theme of 'Under One Sky'," stated Al Hazani. "Noor Riyadh has been designed as an immersive, interactive festival of light and art and, whether you are here in-person or engaging with us online around the world, this is an opportunity to connect with people from across the globe, sharing experiences based on the warmth of personality, generosity of spirit and creative thought," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The new rule limiting the number of returning Filipinos arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is an undue burden at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic, senators said Thursday. Members of the Senate labor committee questioned the basis for the 1,500 daily cap on arriving overseas Filipinos set by the National Task Force Against COVID-19. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Hans Cacdac said it was mainly a "health-based" decision as authorities wanted to restrict the entry of potential coronavirus carriers. However, Sen. Francis Tolentino pointed out that transmission is already a problem even locally. "I foresee the unenforceability of this," Tolentino said during the hearing. "It would entail an enormous amount of international coordination among immigration officers. How would you pluck out the Filipino passport holders bound for Manila with pre-booked tickets? How would you force them out?" For panel chairman Sen. Joel Villanueva, the new rule creates an unnecessary choke point. "If you are recommending na huwag nating pauwiin 'yung ating mga kababayan sa bahay nila... parang hindi ho yata maganda. Parang inaamin din natin na its not working 'yung quarantine program natin, 'yung testing na ginagawa natin, 'yung contact tracing natin," he said. [Translation: If you are recommending for us to stop our fellow Filipinos from returning home...it may not look good. It's like we're also admitting that it's not working our quarantine program, the testing we do, and our contact tracing.] A total of 481,112 Filipinos abroad have flown home since the start of the pandemic, according to the OWWA. Thousands more are expected to return home this year amid a resurgence of infections globally, but the agency said its request for a 9.8 billion supplemental fund has not been granted by the Department of Budget and Management. Cacdac said the agency has 6.2 billion for repatriation programs, which covers flights and the hotel quarantine of OFWs. However, the budget will run out by June as returnees are forced to stay for over a week in isolation centers due to tighter rules set by health authorities. DBM Systems and Productivity Improvement Bureau Director Emelita Menghamal said there's a 13 billion contingent fund under the national budget, but that it is being set aside to fund the creation of new agencies, such as the proposed Department of Overseas Filipinos, or DOFil. Sen. Franklin Drilon said the money should instead be allotted to the repatriation program. OFW groups backed the creation of the DOFil, saying this would create a one-stop shop for all their concerns. RELATED: DFA, POEA suggest foreign employers pay for OFWs' vaccination March 18, 2021: Earlier in the month the government agreed to undertake reforms of how it audits financial activities, and that that led to calls for more fundamental reforms over how Iraqi accountants and auditors are trained and monitored. The cause of all this was demands by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), after a late 2020 corruption investigation, that Iraq develop a more credible set of financial controls and audits. The IMF documented how, especially since 2016, Iraq has provided falsified economic data to justify IMF approval for more loans. Previous demands for audit and accounting reform were met with more Iraqi deception. In late 2020 Iraqi was hoping that, despite past misbehavior, the IMF would help bail the government out of its growing budget deficit crises. In response to that an IMF audit team completed a ten-day examination of the economic situation on December 10th and reported that Iraq has the same problems it had for several years, only worse and that the solution was not more multi-billion-dollar loans but internal reforms that address the widespread corruption. Earlier audits had found that corrupt officials were responsible for $400 billion of government funds stolen or misappropriated since 2003. The corruption is no secret. In 2020 Iraq ranked 160 out of 180 nations in international corruption rankings compared with 162 in 2019. The nations near the bottom of this list are the most corrupt and also tend to be suffering from civil disorder, rampant criminal activity and rebellion or Islamic terrorist activity. In a region known for corruption, Iraq was long considered one of the worst offenders. Iraq remains the country with the most Islamic terrorist activity, especially from ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). That makes sense when you consider ISIL dates back to 2004 when one of the smaller factions in the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda declared a caliphate in western Iraq. This was part of (captured in 2003, executed in 2006) Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's Plan B if his government was overthrown by internal (a Shia uprising) or external (Iranian or Western invasion) forces. Saddam had begun preparations for this in the 1990s when he suddenly got religion. The long-time secular Saddam became a devoted Moslem and cultivated like-minded Sunni Arab tribes in western and northern Iraq. He had like-minded Sunni Arab officials in his government and armed forces encouraged to become more religious and made nice with the various Sunni Islamic terrorist groups given sanctuary in Iraq. By late 2003, about the time Saddam was captured, Plan B was operational against the American and British occupation forces as well as any Shia Arabs who collaborated. Plan B got a lot of Iraqis killed and by 2007 even Sunni Arab Iraqis had turned against it. This caused many Iraqi Islamic terrorists to flee to Syria, where the Assad government long provided sanctuary for Islamic terror groups in return for no attacks against Syria or Syrian allies. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, it was led by members of the (75 percent) Sunni Arab majority against the Shia Assad clan government that depended on other minorities to keep them in power. The foreign Sunni Islamic terror groups resident in Syria turned against their host and the Iraqi al Qaeda faction turned out to be the best organized and most powerful of the rebel groups. In 2013 the Iraqi al Qaeda rebranded themselves as ISIL. That weakened the rebel forces as ISIL spent a lot of its time fighting other Islamic terror factions who refused to join the new Islamic State. Since 2014 five nations (Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Pakistan) have accounted for most of the terrorism-related deaths. That list has recently changed with Syria and Pakistan replaced by Somalia and Mali (including neighboring Sahel states). The largest source of Islamic terror deaths during that period was ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), a more radical faction of al Qaeda that originally developed in Iraq and is currently the most radical practitioner of Islamic terrorism. Islamic terrorism continues to be, as it has been since the 1990s, the main source of terrorism-related deaths, accounting for about 90 percent of the fatalities. The remainder of the terrorism-related deaths are ethnic (often tribal) conflicts in Africa and Asia. Purely political terrorism accounts for a fraction of one percent of all terrorism-related deaths and are vastly outnumbered by terrorism deaths inflicted by common (often organized) criminals. Eroding Iranian Influence Iranian efforts to increase its influence in Iraq while also inflicting serious damage on American troops and military contractors in Iraq is not working. This increased violence is the after-effect of the Americans killing Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in early 2020. The Americans had figured out that Soleimani was a, if not the, key Iranian leader responsible for the Iranian military efforts in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. If anything, the Americans underestimated the importance of Soleimani because Iran had no one with the leadership and organizational skills, as well as the trust of so many Iranian and foreign leaders, to replace him. Even the Iranians were surprised at how important Soleimani was and how impossible it was to replace him quickly, if ever. One of the key services Soleimani provided was to get the Iranian moderates and radicals to cooperate, or at least not slide into open conflict with each other. Moderate Iranians is a term that has to be qualified. These are members of the senior leadership, all of them approved by the Council of Guardians (twelve senior Shia clerics) who have become divided into mutually antagonistic factions. The moderates are those who want to put Irans interests first and concentrate on the economy and reducing the poverty that is visibly turning more Iranians against their government, Islam and all the foreign wars the radicals have dragged Iran into. These realists are also nationalists and often called moderates by foreigners. The radicals, including many (it used to be most) Council of Guardians members found that Soleimani was a key factor in keeping rivalries between radicals and moderates from spinning out of control. With Soleimani gone those tensions are growing in obvious ways. For example, Iran-backed groups in Iraq (and elsewhere) have been getting more contradictory commands from the Iranian government, or even from Quds Force leaders. In the past Soleimani was able to prevent most of this confusion even though day-to-day decision making in the Council of Guardians could shift from pro-moderate to pro-radical. Without Soleimani the radicals are losing ground in Iran and the foreign wars Iran is deep into. While the radicals believe they are on a Mission From God and answerable to no earthly criticism, the moderates represent a growing majority of Iranians, especially more senior clerics, who see moderation and pragmatism as the only thing that will save Iran from destroying itself. One of the things all Iranians can agree on is that for thousands of years Iran was often its own worst enemy. It was internal squabbles that weakened the mighty Persian empire 2,500 years ago so that the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great (for you-know-what) could to the impossible and conquer the Persian (Iranian) Empire. Same situation 1,500 years ago when the Arabs, inspired by a new religion (Islam) did the impossible and conquered the Persian (Iranian) Empire. At that point the Iranians were still recovering from the Greek conquest. Many Iranians believe Iran has not recovered from the Arab conquest and the Islam is more at fault than the Arabs. Many Iranians now believe that without the internal squabbling Iran could have avoided damage done by the Greek, Arab, Mongol and Western invasions. The moderates pay attention to history and the radicals dont. But when radicals do look closely at the past they often become moderates and that is now the moderates are winning. Another reason is demographics. The generation that lived through the 1979 revolution and subsequent ruinous war with Iraq is no longer the majority. The current generation sees religious dictatorship for what it was, a coup by the Islamic radicals that were part of the movement that overthrew the monarchy and used the Iraqi invasion as an excuse to replace the promised democracy with a religious dictatorship. The senior clerics and IRGC leaders know this is a threat because opinion polls have shown, for several years now, more Iranians are abandoning Islam and many are secretly adopting other religions or no religion at all. The clerics can label this as blasphemy, a crime punishable by death if done openly. Iranian use of denial is not restricted to the current government but is a national survival trait that makes sense in many situations. Fewer Iranians are showing up at mosques or religious schools. If pressed by a local cleric they plead poverty and the need to work more just to feed their families. The local clerics understand there is a lot of truth to this and that Islam is losing a lot of believers for very practical reasons. This is reported to senior clerics and eventually reaches the Council of Guardians. This group of elderly Shia clerics appear, on the surface, as wise and caring holy men. The reality is that the Guardians preside over a corrupt and incompetent bureaucracy and Iranians are out in the streets calling them out on this. March 17, 2021: In the north (Erbil province) t he U.S. led air coalition bombed ISIL bunkers and tunnels in the Qarah Gogh Mountains. Thinly populated mountain regions are often used as ISIL base areas. Northern Iraq has lots of those, especially near the Turkish and Iranian borders. These mountain bases provide training, storage (weapons, ammo, fuel and other supplies) and production (of bombs, landmines and other improvised weapons) facilities. Once trained and equipped the ISIL recruits are sent south in small teams led by one or two veterans. Cities are favorite destinations, especially Kirkuk, Mosul and Baghdad. Replacements are desperately needed because all three of these cities have developed better capabilities to detect and kill or capture operatives. The ISIL violence in these cities has killed a lot of civilians, some of them ISIL supporters. Friends and kin of these victims often lose their enthusiasm for the group and some become informants (preferably anonymous) for the security forces. Identifying yourself when calling in a tip means that a corrupt army or police commander can make a lot of money selling your name to ISIL. March 15, 2021: Outside Baghdad (the Balad airbase) five rockets landed inside the sprawling facility, but caused no injuries or damage. Airbases and airports are large and easy to hit targets for unguided rockets. These targets consist of a lot of unoccupied (by people or structures) areas for the rockets to land in. The Baghdad airport, the largest in the country, consists of 14 hectares (35 acres) of enclosed (fenced in) space. Airbases and airports are currently favorite targets as Iran-backed groups are urged to kill or wound American military or contractor personnel, who often work or live on or adjacent to these large fenced and guarded areas. In the north (Harkurk region) near Mt Qandil, a remote area near the Turkish and Iranian borders, Turkish commandos crossed the border into Iraq to search a PKK base that had been hit with several Turkish airstrikes and apparently abandoned. The commandos found that the survivors of the airstrikes have indeed gotten away and did not take a lot of ammo, weapons and other equipment stored in bunkers. This area has long harbored PKK hideouts and some of them are equipped with hidden explosives rigged to explode if not turned off or disarmed by someone entering a hiding place. The Turks usually bring engineers or commandos trained to detect and disarm these bombs. March 14, 2021: In the north (Diyala Province) ISIL used explosives to bring down or damage electricity distribution towers. This caused reduced availability of power in the province for several days while repairs were made. Attacks like these are popular with ISIL because they are low-risk for the bombers and reminds everyone that ISIL is still active. Since the majority of people in the province are already anti-ISIL, these mass-punishment attacks are seen as worth it. ISIL also spends a lot of time and effort discovering who is particularly hostile to their cause. Former ISIL members and supporters are another favorite target as are civilian and government leaders (military and political) who are particularly effective against ISIL. These anti-ISIL informants often provide enough information for the military to locate the rural ISIL bases and that leads to numerous airstrikes, often by the Americans, who keep at it until they are convinced a particular base is gone. This is often confirmed by Iraqi and American troops visiting the area to look for useful information or ISIL personnel (dead or incapacitated) who are still in the area. These can often be IDd using the biometric ID kits the Americans have been using for over a decade. Iraqi troops often have the biometric gear which allows them to add ISIL members (dead or alive or just suspected) into the database originally created by the Americans. This database evolved into a worldwide resource containing biometric data (electronic fingerprints, iris scans and often a DNA sample on millions of known or suspected Islamic terrorists. This has been a key tool in tracking the dispersal of Islamic terrorists after ISIL control over territory in Iraq and Syria by 2017. March 13, 2021: In the south ( Qadisiya province) Ashab al Kahf, an Iran backed Islamic terrorist group took credit for an attack on an American supply convoy approaching the provincial capital. Some vehicles were damaged by roadside bombs but there were no casualties. Ashab al Kahf was created in 2019 but did not become particularly active until after the Americans killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. Iran loudly and openly called for vengeance but so far has been unsuccessful. Iran is spending a lot of cash and other support on groups like Ashab al Kahf in an effort to inflict some significant hurt on the Americans. These efforts, especially the roadside bombs and use of unguided rockets, does produce civilian casualties and damage to civilian or government property. This costs Iran popular support in neighborhoods where these losses occur. Despite that, Iranian desperation breeds attempt after attempt. March 6, 2021: ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) appears to have undertaken an unofficial and unilateral truce with China. That means no more attacks against Chinese in Moslem countries and no more public criticism of Chinese mistreatment of the Moslem Uighurs in northwestern China (Xinjiang province), an area the Uighurs and many Moslems refer to as East Turkistan. The ISIL move was practical, as in there was little chance of success in attacking China or Chinese. Another factor was that Iran, long open to cooperating with Islamic terrorists who were helpful, depends on China for key economic support. What happened in Xinjiang while ISIL was building its caliphate in eastern Syrian and western Iraq was scary, and ISIL members dont scare easy. China came to be viewed as an even more dangerous foe than Russia and even hardcore ISIL backed off from including China on their target list. This applies to Moslem majority governments in general, which criticize real or imagined persecution by Infidel (non-Moslem) nations. But not China. While most Western nations criticize Chinese persecution of Uighurs there is little criticism from Moslem majority nations. The main reason is assumed to be economic as China is a major importer of oil from Moslem states and a major source of imports, including high-tech stuff and even weapons. China will sell to anyone who can pay and that appeals to many Moslem majority nations who are unable to get some Western weapons because of fears about how it will be used. An example of this is armed (with laser guided missiles) UAVs. The U.S. refused to sell these to many Moslem states because of fears they would be used against civilians. No problem with the Chinese, who now dominate the market for UAV exports to Moslem nations. March 3, 2021: In western Iraq (Anbar province) an Iran-backed militia launched at least a dozen 122mm unguided rockets at the al Asad airbase. This sprawling facility is on the Euphrates River some 200 kilometers west of Baghdad. Al Asad airbase is where over a thousand American and NATO troops have been stationed since 2015. Many of the incoming 122mm rockets were intercepted by the American rocket-defense systems but some hit the base, doing no damage. One American contractor had a fatal heart attack while in a bomb shelter. This is a common type of casualty when civilians are involved and make it to a shelter. The attack was unusual because it used the larger 122mm rocket and were fired from an improvised launcher hidden in the false bottom of a dump-truck that was later found, abandoned with the truck-bed be raised and the launch tubes empty. The 122mm rocket has a longer range (20 kilometers or more) than the smaller 107mm rocket usually used for these attacks. The 107mm rocket weighs 19 kg (42 pound) each and is 84 cm (33 inches) long rocket. This rocket has a range of six to ten kilometers and 1.35 kg (3 pounds) of explosives in its warhead. The 107mm design is very popular with guerillas and terrorists because of its small size and portability. The 122mm rocket is three meters (1o feet) and delivers a 20 kg warhead. The U.S. was ready to carry out an airstrike on an Iran backed militia but was called off at the last minute when it was discovered that women and children were brought into the base to act as human shields. This is a favorite Iranian defense technique against airstrikes by nations that will recognize human shields as a legitimate reason to not attack. Human shields dont work when Arab, Russian, Iranian or Turkish warplanes are attacking and most of the time Israel will not call off attacks either, especially against someone who is firing at Israeli civilians. February 25, 2021: In the west (Anbar province) across the Syrian border (Deir Ezzor province) an American airstrike by two F-15E fighter-bombers used seven smart bombs against an Iran-backed militia facility and largely destroyed it. This was not a very important facility and was in an isolated rural area. There was at least one death and four wounded. This indicates how little used this place was. The facility was used to support the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, an organization that is meant to become as powerful in Iraq as the original Lebanese Hezbollah has been since the 1980s in Lebanon. The U.S. holds Kataib Hezbollah responsible for recent rocket attacks on American bases and embassy in Iraq. Iran denies responsibility but the rockets used were made in Iran. The air strike was near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq. Iran is seeking to provide a safer environment for its Iraqi militias. Inside Iraq Kataib Hezbollah is subject to attack by security forces and pro-government militias. In eastern Syria the biggest threat is Israeli airstrikes and the occasional American one. For that reason, the Americans warned Israel the day before that there going be U.S. airstrike, to ensure an Israeli airstrike was not scheduled to take place at the same target or another one in the area. The is the first American airstrike in Syria since a new U.S. government took power that had indicated it would no longer such American airstrikes in Syria. Saying it would cost jobs in Alabama, state Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined 20 other states suing President Biden over his cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. Hours after being sworn into office, President Biden revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit through an executive order despite having no legal grounds to do so, said Attorney General Marshall. The president is not constitutionally empowered to cancel the international contract, and his illegal action will cost numerous jobs in Alabama over 40,000 jobs nationwide, needlessly harming our nations workers, energy independence, and security. The multistate lawsuit led by Montana and Texas was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The suit claims only Congress has the legal authority to approve or cancel the pipeline permit. The pipeline would cross into the United States from Canada in Montana and connect to other pipelines leading to the Gulf Coast. It has been opposed by American Indian tribes whose lands it would cross and by environmentalists. Former President Obama canceled the pipeline, but former President Donald Trump revived it. The pipeline would bring crude oil to state-of-the-art refineries along the Gulf Coast and support jobs for workers at factories like Berg Pipe in Mobile, Marshall said. It would also support U.S. energy independence and global leadership. Here is the full list of states suing to restart the pipeling: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Celebration scheduled To mark the first day of spring, Mike Freidlin will take guests on a hike Saturday around a collection of habitats on the grounds of Indraloka Animal Sanctuary. Freidlin will lead an exploration of the diversity of plants and wildlife nestled around rescued farm animals. The welcome spring event will be held at the sanctuary, 333 Oak Drive, Dalton, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will operate within safety guidelines and limit indoor participants. After the hike, guests have the option of a socially distanced, seated, indoor brunch inside the newly renovated historic Art Barn, catered by Parlor City Vegan. The brunch features a deconstructed southwestern omelet, garlic and herb potatoes, sourdough toast and cinnamon buns with vanilla glaze baked from scratch. Guests can also opt for an outdoor boxed brunch of the same meal and are invited to bring their own chairs and sit in the sanctuarys beautiful grounds to enjoy the fresh air. The boxed brunch is also available to go. Cost is $75 per person for seated indoor brunch and hike; $50 per person for boxed, picnic brunch and hike; and $25 per person for the brunch-only takeout option. Proceeds from the event support the animals who call Indraloka home. To register, visit: www.indraloka.org/event/welcome-spring-2021/. Workshop planned The University of Scranton will serve as the Zoom webinar host for the fourth annual HamSCI Workshop 2021 for amateur radio operators and professional scientists on Friday and Saturday. The virtual webinar is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and will include addresses by guest speakers, poster presentations and demonstrations of relevant instrumentation and software. The theme of this years workshop is midlatitude ionospheric science. The workshop will also serve as a team meeting for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station project, which is a NSF-funded project awarded to University of Scranton physics and electrical engineering professor Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D. The project seeks to harness the power of a network of licensed amateur radio operators to better understand and measure the effects of weather in the upper levels of Earths atmosphere. The workshops keynote address on the History of Radio will be given by Elizabeth Bruton, Ph.D., curator of technology and engineering at the Science Museum of London. Bruton has been a non-licensed member of Oxford and District Amateur Radio Society since 2014 and their web manager since 2015. J. Michael Ruohoniemi, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at Virginia Tech and principal investigator of the Virginia Tech SuperDARN Initiative, will review the physics of the midlatitude ionosphere and discuss ways in which the amateur radio community can contribute to advancing scientific understanding and technical capabilities. Joe Dzekevich, K1YOW, an amateur radio citizen scientist who recently published his work in CQ Magazine, will present Amateur Radio Observations and The Science of Midlatitude Sporadic E. The event will also include virtual oral presentations by researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MIT Haystack Observatory, the University of Oslo, the University of Bath, Case Western Reserve University, Dartmouth College. the University of Alabama, Clemson University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Scranton, among others. University students Veronica Romanek (KD2UHN), Hampton, New Jersey; Cuong Nguyen, Ashley; and M. Shaaf Sarwar (KC3PVF), Lahore, Punjab, are among the poster presenters. Participation is free through support from the NSF and the university. For more details, visit the HamSCI Workshop 2021 website. High notes The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce held a virtual celebration for International Womens Day on March 8. The event featured keynote speaker Paula Mackarey, publisher of Happenings Magazine, as well as Scrantons ATHENA Leadership Award presentation, sponsored by Michael A. Barbetti LLC Certified Public Accountants. This years ATHENA Award recipient was attorney Marion Munley of Munley Law. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai has given its nod for (Haldia Petro) scheme, submitted through the Liquidator V Mahesh, for the revival of Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Limited (NOCL). While the full order copy was not released yet, the liquidator V Mahesh has confirmed the development. However, he didn't share the other details stating that detailed order is still awaited. The copy will have Haldia's proposal, including the haircut which lenders will take. Haldia Petro is planning to invest around Rs 50,000 crore to convert this refinery into a petrochemical complex. Haldia Petro was among the three prospective bidders, the other two are Accord Distillers and Brewers P Limited and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited. However, Accord Distillers & Brewers P. Ltd., in September 2019 withdrew from the bidding process. NOCL had earlier failed to get a successful resolution plan in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and in December 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai, ordered liquidation of the company, which is an associate of Nagarjuna Oil Refinery Ltd (NORL). As of October 2020, company's dues, including interests, was over Rs 9,800 crore. The Liquidator called for EoI and to finalise a scheme submitted by any interested company, after considering various aspects. IBC's Liquidation Sections provide for a revival through a competitive bidding process on "as is where is" basis. Considering that the project could still go on if properly funded and managed, there is one more opportunity for the revival of the company through a scheme that has to be selected by the Liquidator. Limited, Accord Distillers and Brewers P Limited and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited had submitted Expressions of Interest (EOI). Accord Distillers withdrew its EOI. Out of the two prospective bidders, Limited submitted a scheme in October 2019. The Liquidator had sought approval for the scheme submitted by Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (Final amended Scheme after due negotiations was submitted by the bidder on February 20, 2020) from the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai. In October 2020, the Liquidator had also filed a company petition seeking approval for the Scheme of Compromise or Arrangement proposed between the Secured Financial Creditors of NOCL - CUL and Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (Scheme Proponent). NOCL, a joint venture of Hyderabads Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd (NFCL) and TIDCO of Tamil Nadu Government, is a 6 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) petroleum and oil refinery project in Cuddalore, almost 200 kilometers south of Chennai, which is stalled due to shortage of funds. The facility is spread over in 2185 acre of land. NOCL's refinery project in Cuddalore was supposed to go on stream in 2012, but was hit by number of delays including a cyclone in 2011. Time and cost overruns resulted in the project cost escalating to Rs 15,000 crore from Rs 3,500 crore. A consortium of 17 banks, which funded the project, was to have brought in an additional Rs 7,000 crore debt as part of a restructuring which did not materialise and insolvency proceedings was initiated against NOCL. Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The German alternatives industry has evolved significantly in recent years. Assets under management (AUM) increased from 59bn at the end of 2017 to 81bn as of June 2020 - a rise of nearly 40%, said Preqin. To put this growth into context, over the same period, the DAX Index fell by 4.7% on a total-return basis, according to FactSet data. In 2020, Germany ranked third in Europe by the number of private capital funds closed (48...................... To view our full article Click here The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers Kolkata, March 18 : Countering Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress' popular slogan "Khela Hobe", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday trained guns at the West Bengal chief minister countering her with politics of developments, instead of unabated violence. "Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole chaakri hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole vikas hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole shiksha hobe....Khela shesh hobe, Didi ar vikas aarambho hobe, (Didi says there will be a game but BJP says there will be employment generation, development and education. Didi's match will come to an end and the process of development will start in Bengal)," Modi said at an election rally in Purulia. Modi also took a dig at the issues like drinking water crisis, rampant corruption and violence across the state by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the past 10-years. "People of Bengal want an answer from Mamata Didi. This government has robbed people of its rights in the name appeasement. It has neglected the issues of Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. The state government has also encouraged coal and sand mafias in running syndicate raj across Bengal," he said. Optimistic about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s electoral win, he said that the people of Bengal would resist the misrule of Trinamool in the forthcoming state assembly polls this time. Braving high mercury, hundreds of sloganeering BJP supporters, armed with party's flags, caps and posters, came to attend the Modi rally that was held at Bhangra More in Purulia district on Thursday. "The countdown for the end of the Trinamool government has begun. Now no more fear. Our target is to only secure electoral victory...Didi has received leg injury. I'm concerned about that. I pray so that' she gets well soon," he said, wishing Mamata Banerjee a speedy recovery. Earlier, the state unit of BJP had dubbed Mamata's Nandigram incident a sheer 'drama' to win voters' sentiment in the seat. Banerjee had sustained injuries while campaigning in East Midnapore's Nandigram on March 10. She had been taken to Kolkata and admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital. She was discharged last week after two days of medical observation. Modi further alleged that the Trinamool Congress has encouraged Maoist's violence in Bengal for their own political gains. "Didi I know you are angry with me. But you are also a daughter of India and I respect you," the PM said at the rally. Nandigram is a stronghold of newly-inducted BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who had been elected from the high profile seat in 2016 and became a minister in Mamata Banerjee-led state cabinet. Adhikari had joined the saffron brigade in December last year. The rebel Trinamool leader had claimed earlier that he would defeat Banerjee by over 50,000 vote in Nandigram. Giving a befitting reply, the saffron unit had also announced Adhikari's name as their candidate in Nandigram seat. Naturally, Nandigram assembly constituency virtually turned into a high-octane battle ground for the warring Trinamool and BJP camps with the state's two political titans -- Banerjee and Adhikari -- fighting an election against each other. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text While Influencer Marketing has been on the rise in the last few years, the unprecedented global pandemic further widened the scope for Influencer Marketing as behavioural habits changed. Moreover, with the massive transition to digital and online buying in the last one year, consumers are now seeking more information online and there is greater potential of engagement with influencers. As print and radio saw massive dips during the pandemic and TV already cluttered with brand messaging, social media was one of the biggest channels for brands to communicate on with their consumers. While influencer marketing was already growing significantly because of platforms like Instagram, YouTube and short video platforms like TikTok (before its ban last year), the pandemic saw the entire sector grow as brands became more open to digital, more platforms became available and hence this grew the opportunity for more influencers to come in. While this sector was initially restricted to national and international celebrities, the growth in opportunity also gave rise to local and micro-influencers. Now, brands have a whole plethora of influencers to make a part of their communication strategy depending on the product and consumer they are looking to communicate with. More options lead to more flexibility for the brand and wider reach. According to the State of Influencer Marketing 2021 - Benchmark Report: Influencer Marketing Industry is set to grow to approximately $13.8 billion in 2021 More than 240 new influencer marketing-focused agencies and influencer platforms established in 2019 The majority (59%) admit to having a standalone budget for content marketing, and 75% of them now intend to dedicate a budget to influencer marketing in 2021. So, the year gone by has been great for the entire Influencer ecosystem, but what does the road ahead look like? How exactly are brands in India looking at influencer marketing? What are the sentiments of the influencers and the consumers? Will 2021 be the year when the Indian Influencer ecosystem makes strong inroads into global markets? To tackle these questions and more, Adgullys premium property #GullyChat will turn the spotlight on How does Influencer Marketing hold the key to a brands success in 2021? Joining in the discussions will be: Anunay Sood, Co-founder and CEO, Groundwork Kulpreet Freedy Vesuna, Founder, Impact PR Neel Gogia, Co-founder, IPLIX Media Rohit Raj, Partner and Manager, BB Ki Vines Deepak Salvi, COO, Co-founder, Chingari Like every week, this discussion will take place on Friday, March 19, 2021, between 3 pm and 4 pm. Follow @adgully on Twitter and join in the discussions. A man and woman were rushed to local hospitals Thursday after a Dodge Ram hit them at a Sheetz in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania State Police said. The suspected driver has been taken into custody, but his identity and pending charges are not yet available, Trooper Megan Ammerman said. Ammerman said state police were called at 9:23 a.m. to the Sheetz at 30 Camp Letterman Drive, Gettysburg, for reports of a hit-and-run crash. According to state police, a Dodge Ram hit a vehicle, a man and woman in the parking lot, causing the couple to become pinned between the gas pumps and their vehicle. The gas pumps were damaged, but state police said there are no HAZMAT concerns at this time. She said the woman was taken to Gettysburg hospital with unknown injuries. The man was taken to York Hospital with serious bodily injuries, Ammerman said. The driver ran away after the crash but was later arrested, Ammerman said. The state polices crash reconstruction team is headed to the scene because of the severity of the injuries, according to Ammerman. Breaking: PA State Police has taken the driver into custody. https://t.co/uQ2w1IE9bm Harrison Jones (@h_jonesphoto) March 18, 2021 READ MORE: 13-year-old killed, other children injured in Perry County house fire: state police Surveillance video leads to Harrisburg mans arrest in fatal stabbing SHENANDOAH HEIGHTS The cooperative effort between West Mahanoy Township and Girard Estate to demolish vacant blighted properties will continue this year with six more structures set to be razed. The township supervisors approved the demolition list at Tuesdays regular monthly meeting, which was held in the municipal building and open to the public. A few residents attended. This is the 11th year for the demolition program partnership. Girard Estate has demolished 60 dilapidated structures on leased land owned by the company in the previous 10 years. The company pays the demolition costs in the villages of William Penn and Lost Creek. Through the years we have been working with Girard Estate about demolishing some of the properties down in the patches, Supervisor Paul Martin said. Since we made the agreement, weve been doing six a year. To qualify, the houses have to be abandoned for years, not be half of a double-block structure unless both sides are being demolished, and there are no taxes or leases being paid. The following six structures were approved for demolition in the 2021 project: Upper William Penn: 137 Mount Olive Blvd. and a large vacant garage on the northeast side of Route 54 without an address. Lower William Penn: 365 Mount Olive Blvd. Lost Creek: 563, 584-586 Mount Olive Blvd. Alternate sites are 67 Elliot St., Upper William Penn; 15 Colorado Road, Lost Creek; and 15 Tar Road, Lost Creek No. 2. No date has been set for when the demolitions will begin. In other business, the board acknowledged a copy of a letter sent by the Northern Schuylkill Council of Governments to U.S. Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg. The letter asks for support of the PennDOT application for funding via the Rebuilding America grant for the Route 61 corridor improvement project between Frackville and Saint Clair. The supervisors also approved soliciting bids for a parcel of land at 129 Girard Ave. The township purchased the property on county repository sale for $1 in 2018 and demolished the vacant blighted house. And full-time streets department employee Brian Pritula has completed the 90-day probationary period and received a pay raise of $1.50 to $16 per hour and can now receive benefits. 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. MOSCOW, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) expresses gratitude to the Government of Mexico, its Customs and Armed Forces for seizure of a batch of fake Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. Earlier today Mexican authorities seized a batch of vaccines designed and packaged as Sputnik V. For more details please see the official statement by the Government of Mexico: https://www.gob.mx/sat/prensa/aduanas-y-ejercito-mexicano-decomisan-vacunas-sputnik-v-en-aeronave-privada-en-la-aduana-de-campeche-043-2021 Analysis of the photographs of the seized batch, including the design of containers and labels, suggests that it is a fake substance which has nothing to do with the original vaccine. The shipment's procedure was also in violation of packaging and transportation protocols for the official Sputnik V vaccine. RDIF states that every manufactured batch of Sputnik V vaccine is undergoing strict controls. Each vial has a unique QR-code, allowing RDIF and partners to trace it to the place of origin. Sputnik V is transported only by authorized carriers required to abide by the highest safety standards, including remote temperature and security controls. RDIF and Russian government entities will continue to cooperate with governments and partners around the world to jointly identify fake Sputnik V vaccines and ensure security of the Russian vaccine and its global supply chain. This is an example of possible provocations against Sputnik V just as Russian officials warned last week. Mexican government stopped and prevented this provocation possibly aimed at discrediting Sputnik V vaccine through shipment of fake vaccine. RDIF, Russian Ministry of Health and government entities will cooperate with Mexican authorities on this investigation and analysis of the content of the fake vaccine. Vaccine safety and authenticity are paramount to RDIF and the Gamaleya Center. Sputnik V is distributed only through official channels and administered only through official government vaccination programs. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB2 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459332/RDIF.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1140939/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Straightup Resources Inc. (CSE: ST) ("Straightup" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced a ground magnetic survey on its RLX North property (the "RLX North Property"), located southeast of Red Lake, Ontario. The ground magnetic survey will comprise approximately 230 line kilometres, the results of which will be used to generate prospective targets for an induced polarization ("IP") survey. The Company intends to use the results of the IP survey to generate drill targets for a diamond drilling program on the RLX North Property during summer 2021. The primary target on the RLX North Property is the interpreted Upper Balmer Assemblage and the continuation of major structural features on the property (Figure 1). These structural features are thought to be important in localizing gold zones in the Red Lake Gold Mine and Great Bear Resources Ltd.'s Dixie Limb and Hinge Zone. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in Great Bear Resources' properties or the Red Lake Gold Mines, and that mineral deposits, and the results of any mining thereof, on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties or any potential exploitation thereof. The location of the prospective area of Upper Balmer Assemblage rocks is based on the interpretation of aeromagnetic data obtained from Tri Origin Exploration Ltd. (see news release dated November 10, 2020) and historic drilling by Selco Mining Corp Ltd. ("Selco") in 1980 (DDH# 160-5-1). The Selco drill hole intersected ultramafic rocks and sulphide bearing quartz veins proximal to a prominent mafic/ultramafic and felsic geological contact. While the drill logs were filed for assessment work with the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, no assay results are currently available for the sampling in this drill hole. Matthew Coltura, President and CEO of Straightup, stated, "The ground magnetic survey is expected to better define the lithological and structural framework of the RLX North Property. There has been limited prior work on the area of the interpreted Upper Balmer Assemblage due to poor outcrop exposure, and the goal is to use the results of the ground magnetic survey and subsequent IP survey to further define priority exploration targets." Figure 1: RLX North Property showing the area of the ground magnetic survey as well as the location of Great Bear Resources (GBR) SGH Anomalies (News Release Sept, 09, 2020) and the interpreted location of the BaImer-Confederation unconformity. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7737/77788_d3dd3f42d496fa84_002full.jpg Qualified Person Brent Clark, P. Geo., a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis of this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Clark is independent of the Company. About Straightup Resources Straightup is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit. In addition to exploration of its Red Lake Division properties, Straightup intends to conduct exploration on the Hi-Mars Property. The Hi-Mars Property consists of 11 contiguous mineral titles covering an area of 1,788 hectares located approximately 17 kilometres northeast of the City of Powell River in southwest British Columbia, Canada, within the Vancouver Mining Division. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Matthew Coltura Chief Executive Officer, President and Director For further information, please contact: Matthew Coltura Chief Executive Officer, President and Director (778) 886-6200 Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the ground magnetic survey and IP survey on the RLX North Property, the generation of potential drill targets for a diamond drilling program on the RLX North Property, anticipated exploration activities and program results from exploration activities on the RLX North Property, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions regarding the Company including, without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the exploration and development of the Company's projects and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including anticipated exploration work, including the results from the ground magnetic survey and IP survey on the RLX North Property, the fact that the Company's interest in the RLX North Property is an option only and there is no guarantee that such interest, if earned, will be certain, the timing and amount of estimated future production, the costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, requirements for additional capital, future prices of gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest Management's Discussion and Analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77788 CLEVELAND, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Your Teen Media introduces DestinationCollege, a comprehensive eight-week course for parents to guide their student through the increasingly complex college process. All participants can access upcoming and previously recorded content. Week One (March 9) featured Jeff Selingo and Kedra Ishop, Ph.D. discussing how families can face this time with calm and confidence. Alison Tate and Sydney Montgomery offer tips for finding the "right fit" college (March 16). Whitney Fleming, mother of high school sophomores, enthusiastically endorses the program. "The entire college admissions process seemed incredibly intimidating, and I wondered if my two solid students could even get into a 'good' college. The first five minutes of Destination-College put me immediately at ease and flipped my mindset." What: Eight live sessions with experts. Topics include building the list, managing the search process, standardized testing, financial fit, financial aid, acing the application, life skills, and behind-the-scenes admissions selection process. Who: The panel of premier experts in higher education includes: Jeff Selingo, author of Who Gets in and Why; Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of Your Turn; Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., psychologist and best-selling author; Jon Boeckenstedt, Vice Provost at Oregon State University; Akil Bello, Senior Director at FairTest; Kedra Ishop, VP for Enrollment Management at USC; Jeff Levy, independent college consultant; Allison Tate, independent college consultant; Belinda Wilkerson, founder of Steps to the Future; Nancy Dunn, advisor at College Now. Why: With Covid impacting college admissions, YTM wants families to access timely information delivered by leading experts who understand the system. "We know how daunting this can feel for families. Our mission is to help parents and students feel educated and empowered, especially during so much uncertainty," says YTM Founder Susan Borison. "That's why we developed this comprehensive and accessible series. We made participation affordable so families can have their questions answered." (Scholarships available) When: Tuesday 7:30 pm ET March 9 April 27 How: Registration required. All sessions on Zoom. Cost: $49 for eight sessions (access to recordings and other resources). Contact: Susan Borison, EIC, YTM: (216) 533-1512 About Your Teen Media Your Teen Media, offering award-winning resources to parents of teenagers since 2007, including website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest; five-star podcast and online courses. YTMproviding high-quality advice and empathy for parents of teens. SOURCE Your Teen Magazine ProFromGo has always been an ROI-focused partner to clients providing services in HubSpot CRM training and implementation, and of course web design and online marketing. Media Posts core capabilities in the areas of web design and video production will pair perfectly with our inbound marketing and Joining forces under the new name Vendilli Digital Group, ProFromGo Internet Marketing, LLC and Media Post, Inc. announce the merger of their two companies. The new Vendilli Digital Group will deliver to small business clients a broad suite of integrated digital services which have seen a steep and critical rise in importance in a post-COVID-19 environment as businesses strive to reach their customers in a virtual and online world. Chris Vendilli, CEO of ProFromGo is the CEO of this new venture and Rob Donaldson, one of the original co-founders of Media Post, Inc., is the director of operations. Based on the combined core competencies of the two teams, Vendilli Digital Group will be positioned well and at the sweet spot of multiple emerging trends. The need for digital, virtual, and online marketing and sales execution has changed dramatically for business to business (B2B) and consumer marketing. McKinsey states in an October, 2020 report that for B2B sales, digital is the wave of the future and that the COVID-19 pandemic forced B2B buyers and sellers to go digital in a massive way. What started out as a crisis response has now become the next normal, with big implications for how buyers and sellers will do business in the future. Chris Vendilli stated, ProFromGo has always been an ROI-focused partner to clients providing services in HubSpot CRM training and implementation, and of course web design and online marketing. Media Posts core capabilities in the areas of web design and video production will pair perfectly with our inbound marketing and online advertising services. Our deep experience with HubSpots sales and marketing platform will continue to be a point of differentiation for Vendilli Digital Group and allow our clients who adopt these tools more insight and intelligence as to how they can make better decisions with their sales, marketing and advertising investments. Rob Donaldson, who assumed new duties as the director of operations at Vendilli Digital Group added, The merger of these two teams will allow us to take the best parts of each agency and combine them in a way that clearly stacks up more value for our clients. In a time where in-person meetings and events are no longer the norm in business, using high-quality video with strong production value as a digital communication tool will certainly give our clients a competitive advantage when it comes to communicating with their customers and prospective customers. The resulting company will maintain accreditation as a VA certified Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) as well as a Platinum tiered HubSpot Solutions Partner. Growth Attributed to Evolution Media Post, Inc. has been in business since 1991. ProFromGo started operating under a different name in 2007 and was officially incorporated on May 1, 2011. Both companies attribute their success to constantly learning new skills to evolve with digital trends and perpetually aiming to solve both the technical and marketing challenges of their clients. Anticipating Clients Needs ProFromGo has been a HubSpot Solutions Partner since 2013 and earned status as a Platinum-tiered HubSpot partner in 2019. Most of the marketing and advertising campaigns executed on behalf of clients have deep integration with the HubSpot CRM and marketing automation platform which allow small business customers to track marketing and advertising investments more effectively by closing the loop between the source of a lead all the way through to new revenue resulting from these marketing efforts. Chris Vendilli and the team hold numerous HubSpot certifications to include status as one of the only HubSpot Certified Trainers in the Greater Pittsburgh region. A few of ProFromGos notable clients include Hefren-Tillotson, Airline Hydraulics, AccuTrex Products Inc, and framesi professional. Media Post History Nearly 30 years ago, Media Post Inc. began as a video production company serving small business and corporate clients throughout Western Pennsylvania. They specialized in television commercials and corporate marketing and training programs utilizing in-studio and on-location shooting, post-production and 3D animation. Realizing that the future delivery for video was the web, they added website design and development services in 2002 and became known as a full-service multimedia agency. Soon after, live event streaming was added as a service, as companies saw the benefit of broadcasting their message to multiple offices around the globe in real time. Over the years Media Post has produced thousands of videos and web sites for multiple markets and end uses. Their clients include Deloitte, Omnicell and Advanced Polymer Technologies among many others. Better Together Until the new branding and web presence for Vendilli Digital Group is fully launched, the company will operate under the existing ProFromGo name. Until then, interested parties can learn more at https://ProFromGo.com Advocates for the district mistakenly believe that city hall ownership of a building that recently bit the dust somehow legitimizes requests for even more cash after MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION BUCKS has been wasted without the hint of a viable profit model. Read more . . . DALLAS, March 17, 2021 -- Immediate angiography, rather than the standard computed tomography (CT scan), reduced stroke treatment time and was linked to improved recovery, according to late-breaking science presented today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Standard emergency department treatment for stroke patients involves a CT scan, which uses X-rays to pinpoint the presence and location of a blood clot. Angiography is an advanced X-ray imaging method that uses a catheter, or thin tube, inserted into the blood vessel to find the location and size of the blockage. Since every minute counts during a stroke, this study focused on determining if immediate angiography improved treatment time and recovery, compared to standard CT scans. "Our study is the first clinical trial that shows the superiority of direct transfer to an angiography suite," said lead study author Manuel Requena, Ph.D., a neurologist and neurointerventionalist fellow at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. "Our findings were close to what we expected, and we were surprised that they occurred so early in the study. We trust that they will be confirmed in ongoing, multicenter, international trials." Beginning in October 2018, stroke patients who were admitted to Vall d'Hebron Hospital within six hours of stroke symptom onset with a suspected blocked blood vessel were randomly assigned to receive angiography or a cardiac CT scan. There were a total of 150 stroke patients by November 2020; the average age of the patients was 73 years, and more than half were male. In this interim analysis, stroke patients assigned to angiography underwent testing within 19 minutes of entering the hospital -- less than half of the 43 minutes for the patients who received a CT scan. Similarly, stroke patients assigned to angiography received endovascular treatment to restore blood flow 54 minutes faster, on average, compared to CT scan recipients. At 90 days post-stroke, angiography patients were more likely than CT scan patients to show a 1-point improvement on the 6-point scale that measures stroke disability. "Stroke patients transferred directly to an angiography suite were less likely to be dependent for assistance with daily activities compared to the stroke patients who received the current standard of care - CT scan," Requena said. "More frequent and more rapid treatment can help improve outcomes for our stroke patients." Many national and international professional organizations including the American Stroke Association have suggested general stroke recommendations based on the currently available evidence to monitor the time from emergency room arrival until blood flow is restored to the blocked brain artery in order to reduce the risk of severe disability and death. However, data demonstrating the urgent need for continued research on treatment of ischemic stroke is limited. A limitation of this study is that the hospital already had extensive experience with immediate angiography, so findings may differ at hospitals or care centers with less angiography expertise or experience. Another limitation is that the results of the study were not monitored by an external review group. ### According to the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics -- 2021 Update, when considered separately from other cardiovascular disease, stroke ranks No. 5 among all causes of death in the U.S., causing 147,810 deaths in 2018. Stroke occurs when a blood vessel to or in the brain either becomes blocked or bursts, preventing blood and oxygen from reaching all of the brain. Treatment to quickly restore blood flow to the brain is essential to improve outcomes and survival. Co-authors are Marta Olive-Gadea M.D.; Maria Angeles Muchada, Ph.D.; David Hernandez, M.D.; Marta Rubiera, Ph.D.; Sandra Boned, Ph.D.; Carlos Pinana, M.D.; Matias Deck, M.D.; Alvaro Garcia-Tornel, M.D.; Humberto Diaz-Silva, M.D.; Noelia Rodriguez-Villatoro, Ph.D.; Jesus Maria Juega, M.D.; David Rodriguez-Luna, Ph.D.; Jorge Pagola, Ph.D.; Carlos Molina, Ph.D.; Alejandro Tomasello, M.D.; and Marc Ribo, Ph.D. The list of author disclosures is available in the abstract. The study was funded by Vall d'Hebron Research Institute. Additional Resources: Multimedia is available on the right column of release link: https:/ / newsroom. heart. org/ news/ immediate-angiography-may-reduce-stroke-treatment-time-improve-recovery-lower-disability?preview= 744106f20e8d7ea804503aa3168f22cb Stroke alarm clock may streamline and accelerate time-sensitive acute stroke care Disparities in stroke care at urban vs. rural hospitals impacts quality of care, patient survival Global COVID-19 registry finds strokes associated with COVID-19 are more severe, have worse outcomes and higher mortality For more news at ASA International Stroke Conference 2021, follow us on Twitter @HeartNews #ISC21. Statements and conclusions of studies that are presented at the American Heart Association's scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association's policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available here, and the Association's overall financial information is available here. The American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference (ISC) is the world's premier meeting dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. ISC 2021 is virtual, March 17-19, 2021. This 3-day conference will feature more than 1,200 compelling presentations in 21 categories that emphasize basic, clinical and translational sciences as they evolve toward a better understanding of stroke pathophysiology with the goal of developing more effective therapies. Engage in the International Stroke Conference on social media via #ISC21. About the American Stroke Association The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke -- the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit stroke.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Former President Donald Trump's trade fight with the EU cost Ornua as well as American consumers. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP Ornua paid around 50m in US tariffs last year after Kerrygold butter got caught up in a long-running transatlantic trade war. The figure is roughly equivalent to the groups operating profit in 2019, the year Kerrygold became Irelands first billion-euro food brand. Its also the number two butter brand in the US, with several million packets sold every week. In essence, this was a tariff on Kerrygold, Ornuas CEO John Jordan told the Irish Independent. It was very targeted by the Trump administration, and the purpose of the tariff was to make us less competitive. It is penal and its been a tough period. Former US president Donald Trump introduced the tariffs in October 2019, after a decades-long battle with the EU over airline subsidies. Ornua had no choice but to pass that tariff on in full to the consumer, Mr Jordan said. It meant a 25pc price rise, equivalent to around $1 a packet, putting Kerrygold at twice the price (per pound) of US butter. Despite the triple threat of tariffs, Covid-19 and Brexit, Mr Jordan said the Kerrygold brand saw growth in 2020 but not the same rate of growth we would have seen if tariffs werent there. Our growth has been dampened because of the tariff increases. Theres been no big margin windfall for Ornua with the tariffs because the price went up on the shelf. "In a tariff world, the loser is the consumer, so the American consumer had to pay that money. The benefit went to the US tax revenue. The EU and US have agreed to suspend the tariffs for four months, but its still a challenging period for the company, Mr Jordan said. Youre in a very difficult position whereby, over a four-month period, its very hard to make changes until we see what the permanent solution will be. The company wont publish its full-year results for 2020 until 21 April, but it has had a good year and has managed to keep all of its supply chains intact, Mr Jordan said.. Ornua also expects growth in the UK, where it currently sees 26pc of total sales. Its Pilgrims Choice cheddar is now the number two cheese brand there. The company also packs several British supermarkets own-brand cheeses and supplies a number of food processors and wholesalers. The UKs decision to postpone the introduction of full customs controls means Irish exporters wont have to provide extra paperwork and face physical checks at UK ports until at least October. Its a welcome respite because the UK are not ready, said Mr Jordan. The risk was a lack of product on the shelf, and that would really frustrate consumers. To pre-empt any shortages, Ornua sent 106 containers of produce over to the UK in the first week of December, meaning exports in January and February have been much lower and allowed the company to get up to speed on the new post-Brexit rules. Weve been trying to mitigate the risk of Brexit for four years. Brexit has also meant an increasing focus on diversifying into Europe. According to data from consumer trends analysts GfK, Kerrygolds 250g packet of butter is now the number one product scanned at retail outlets in Germany. We scan through faster than Coca-Colas biggest selling line, said Mr Jordan. In all its markets - the US, UK and Ireland - Kerrygold butter continues to sell at a premium. And that should be good news at the farm gate, Mr Jordan said. Established in 1961 by the government as An Bord Bainne, Ornua acts as a co-op of co-ops, buying up supplies from eight others across the country. Ornuas monthly Purchase Price Index (PPI) - which shows its market returns on butter, cheese, whole milk powder and other products - rose in January and February, and is almost back to February 2020 levels. What were trying to do is capture as much value for the product we buy, to give back to co-ops to allow them to pay the best possible milk price, said Mr Jordan. His outlook for the rest of the year is very positive. Brexit is pretty much resolved. US tariffs are suspended and wed be hopeful that in time they would be removed. Covid has an end in sight and whether thats two, six or eight months away, there will be a point where were all vaccinated and that will be resolved. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Although the transportation secretary makes $221,400, according to government salary data released in January, the Buttigiegs life as a cabinet family contrasts with some of their most notable predecessors who lived in suites in the high-end Jefferson Hotel, like Robert E. Rubin, the Clinton-era Treasury secretary, or in multimillion-dollar homes in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, like several members of Mr. Trumps cabinet and inner circle. Nor is Mr. Buttigieg familiar with Washingtons customs and unspoken rules. It is unclear what kind of pointers and tips he will get from his direct predecessor in the transportation spouse department, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader and husband of Elaine Chao. It feels like this is maybe a place where innocence goes to die, Mr. Buttigieg said of the parts of Washington he is now privy to. In a much-photographed interaction, he recently got coffee with Mr. Emhoff to talk about finding new projects and adjusting to life in the capital, where the Buttigiegs moved from South Bend, Ind. Sometimes you just need to get out of the house, he said, and check in with somebody. Some days, while his husband is at work or fielding Zoom calls from the bedroom, Mr. Buttigieg, who is adapting his memoir, I Have Something to Tell You, for younger readers, takes the dogs out. Buddy and Truman have expansive social media profiles, and Mr. Buttigieg is often mistaken as the dog walker by fans. (Whats it like to walk Petes dogs? he said he is asked. Its a living, is his response.) Balancing his life as a political spouse with his own identity has been trickier than hed imagined. Pete is getting up in the morning, going to work and doing the thing that makes him really happy, Mr. Buttigieg said. That thing for me was getting up and going to school every day. Now I have to figure out if that is something I can return to. Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has criticised women for wearing ripped jeans and wondered what values they will impart to their children, triggering a protest from opposition parties. Speaking at an event on Tuesday, Rawat said that due to a lack of values, youngsters today are following strange fashion trends and consider themselves to be big shots after wearing jeans ripped at the knees. Women also follow such trends. The chief minister said these days youngsters go to the market to buy ripped jeans. If they can't find one, then they cut their jeans using scissors. Rawat went on to describe the attire of a woman who sat next to him on a flight. He said the woman was wearing boots, jeans ripped at the knees and several bangles in her hands. Two children were travelling with her. She runs an NGO, goes out in the society and has two children but she wears jeans ripped at the knees. What values will she impart? In a statement, Uttarakhand Congress chief Pritam Singh termed Rawat's remarks "shameful" and demanded that he apologise to women. State Congress spokesperson Garima Dasauni said it doesn't behove a chief minister to make a derogatory remark about someone's sartorial choices. She advised the chief minister to avoid making such comments and said they can hurt the public sentiment. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also slammed Rawat over his "distasteful" remarks. OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt., on Feb. 19, 2013. (Toby Talbot/AP Photo) Purdue Pharma Files $10 Billion Bankruptcy Plan to Resolve Opioid Lawsuits Purdue Pharma filed a bankruptcy plan on Monday that would resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits by restructuring the OxyContin maker into an entity that would steer profits to plaintiffs and require the companys Sackler family owners to contribute nearly $4.3 billion to the settlement. The plan is intended to serve as Purdues roadmap out of bankruptcy, which it filed in September 2019 in the face of nearly 3,000 lawsuits accusing the company of fueling the national opioid crisis through deceptive marketing. The plan, which Purdue says is worth more than $10 billion, sets up trusts that would indirectly control the new entity to distribute money to states, local governments and tribal organizations for opioid abatement programs. The Sacklers contributions would be paid out over nine years. With drug overdoses still at record levels, it is past time to put Purdues assets to work addressing the crisis, Purdue board Chairman Steve Miller said in a statement. We are confident this plan achieves that critical goal. The plan also establishes trusts to pay out to private entities and individuals that have brought opioid-related lawsuits against Purdue, such as hospitals, insurance carriers and legal guardians of children born with addiction-related issues. The various trusts would be funded with an initial cash infusion of $500 million immediately after the company emerges from bankruptcy and another $1 billion generated from the new entitys assets and operations through 2024. The trusts would also receive funding from the Sacklers contribution. The company also expects to contribute from insurance policies. The new entity will be overseen by a board comprising independent managers selected by states and local governments in consultation with Purdue and its unsecured creditors committee. The Sacklers will not be part of that selection process. Purdue said the new entity will not promote opioid products to healthcare providers. Additionally, the plan would create a publicly available repository for documents related to the governments investigation into alleged misconduct in the marketing of opioids, which would become available once the plan is approved in bankruptcy court. Purdue Pharma logo at its offices in Stamford, Conn., on May 8, 2007. (Douglas Healey/AP Photo) Purdue initially had support from about half of the U.S. states and other governmental entities for its proposed settlement. Many other states have opposed Purdues plan, taking issue with the public trust arrangement and the size of the initial $3 billion contribution from the Sacklers, which they said should be larger. The Sacklers became billionaires by causing a national tragedy. Now theyre trying to get away with it, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. Were going to keep fighting for the accountability that families all across this country deserve. The plan must receive approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York. The Sacklers have also agreed to pay $225 million to settle a civil investigation from the Department of Justice. They have not been criminally charged. Today marks an important step toward providing help to those who suffer from addiction, and we hope this proposed resolution will signal the beginning of a far-reaching effort to deliver assistance where it is needed, members of the Sackler family said in a statement. Purdue itself struck a deal with the Justice Department to pay $225 million toward a $2 billion criminal forfeiture. The Justice Department agreed to forgo the rest if the company developed a reorganization plant that would establish a public benefit company or similar entity that would dedicate the remaining $1.775 billion to U.S. communities battling the opioid crisis. The opioid abuse and addiction crisis has claimed nearly 450,000 lives in the United States between 1999 and 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By Maria Chutchian and Mike Spector Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain As COVID-19 vaccines continue to be distributed across the country and its territories, more digital tools are becoming available to help Americans get their shots. The U.S. is currently distributing vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson in hospitals, pharmacies and other locations in all 50 states. Many state health departments websites offer information about where eligible groups can get the vaccine in their state, as well as each state's vaccination plan. Big retail and pharmaceutical companies also have the information readily available on their websites. Tech giants, such as Apple and Facebook, have also developed digital tools to help users find locations offering vaccinations. As language barriers thwart efforts to vaccinate Latino and other communities, government entities, as well as corporations and nonprofit groups, are publishing content in Spanish and other languages. Roughly 22.2% of people in the US have received at least one COVID-19 shot as of Mar. 18, and around 12% of people are fully vaccinated, according to U.S. TODAY'S COVID-19 vaccine tracker. Here's a list of online sources to help users find places where they can get a COVID-19 vaccine: VaccineFinder VaccineFinder is a free, online service where users can search for locations that offer vaccinations. The service is operated by epidemiologists and software developers at Boston Children's Hospital. Apple Maps Apple announced Tuesday it will display on its Apple Maps app places where users can go to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Apple product users can search for a nearby vaccination site by asking Siri or typing in the search bar within Maps. Facebook Facebook launched a tool in its COVID Information Center that shows when and where users can get vaccinated. The update also gives users a link to make an appointment. The tool is still rolling out. CVS Pharmacy CVS Pharmacy has a map in their COVID-19 page where users can select their state and find the nearest CVS offering vaccinations. Eligible users can schedule their first and second doses of the vaccine online. Rite Aid Users can visit the Rite Aid COVID-19 website to find out where they can get the vaccination against the virus. Visitors must click on their state to find out if they're eligible for the vaccine and can schedule their appointment at the nearest Rite Aid. Albertsons Albertsons is part of the federal program to receive vaccines from the CDC. Users can visit their website to locate the nearest Albertsons offering COVID-19 vaccinations. Visitors must enter their zip code and confirm they are eligible for vaccination. Hy-Vee Hy-Vee's pharmacy page offers a tool where users can enter their zip code and find the nearest Hy-Vee offering the vaccination against the COVID-19 virus. Due to limited vaccine supply, appointments may not be available at all locations, according to the web page. Walgreens The Walgreens COVID-19 vaccine locator tool helps residents in New Mexico and New Hampshire find a Walgreens providing vaccination against the coronavirus. Users must enter their zip code to find the nearest location. Costco Costco pharmacies are administering COVID-19 vaccines in locations in California, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington. Residents seeking the vaccine can visit Costco's COVID vaccine page and select their state and county, and book an appointment. Kroger Through Kroger's general vaccination website, users can can enter their zip code to locate the nearest Kroger location offering vaccination against COVID-19. The vaccine against the coronavirus is only available in select locations. Walmart Walmart designed an interactive map to show which locations are offering COVID-19 vaccinations. Users can zoom in on their state and find the nearest location. Explore further Apple Maps will now display where to get a COVID-19 vaccine More information: (c)2021 U.S. Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A mother has told how they have been waiting months for the HSE to reimburse them for buying medicinal cannabis under a ministerial licence that is life-changing for her teenage daughter. Deborah Downey, from Blackrock in Dundalk said she has been paying 600 a month for the treatment for her 16-year-old daughter Abigail McQuillan for the last seven months without getting reimbursed by the Health Service Executive, which they are entitled to. Deborah said that Abigail, who has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, had around six to 12 seizures a night, around 140 seizures a month, which is down to 30 seizures a month after starting to take medicinal cannabis. Deborah, speaking to the Democrat, said: Abigail has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which is an extremely rare epilepsy, combined with autism and mobility problems. Before Abigail started taking medicinal cannabis, she was having up to 12 seizures a night around 140 a month - which are all life threatening. After she started taking medicinal cannabis seven months ago her seizures reduced to 30 a month and they are not as ferocious as they were, and she hasnt had to be hospitalised from them. We recently had nine days and nights without her having a seizure, which is unprecedented. She is like a different child now, she can eat on her own, her speech has come on brilliantly and she has a great sense of humour and her mobility has improved. We tried every sort of treatment before this, but nothing has worked like medicinal cannabis. Abigail is one of about 50 patients in the country with a licence from the Government which allows them to collect medicinal cannabis. Abigails medical cannabis is supplied through a chemist in Newry from a licenced clinic in London, but many travel to the Netherlands to get it. Deborah said they have been trying to get reimbursed from the HSE for the cost of the medicinal cannabis for months, which they are entitled to get, but have received nothing, leaving them out of pocket by almost 5,000. Deborah said: Most people with a ministerial licence travel to the Hague to get their medicinal cannabis, which costs around 9,500 per month. I get it supplied from Sapphire Clinics in London and collect it from a chemist in Newry and it costs a fraction of the price at 600 a month, but still the HSE has not reimbursed us, even though we are entitled to be reimbursed. 600 is a lot of money every month, my husband is on Pandemic Unemployment Payment at the moment, and I am on a carers allowance. I have sent in all the relevant applications, forms and Abigails private medical information twice and still I have not got any reimbursement for the HSE. I was already mentally and physically exhausted caring for Abigail and now I am financially exhausted also. It is very worrying and stressful trying to ensure we have 600 every month but seeing the change it has made to Abigail it has to be found. The HSE just needs to reimburse us what we are entitled to. Deputy Ruairi O Murchu raised the issue of Abigail with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar in the Dail almost two weeks. He also contacted Health Minister Stephen Donnelly about the case, but it has yet to be resolved. The Sinn Fein TD said he was disappointed that the issue had not been resolved, more than a week after he brought it to the attention of the government, meaning Abigails family continue to have to pay 600 a month for the treatment without any sign of reimbursement. He said: Abigails mother Deborah contacted my constituency office in December and since then, we have been working to try to get the reimbursement for the family, which they are entitled to. Abigail has been in receipt of the ministerial-approved medicinal cannabis for seven months for Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. For the last number of months, Deborah has complied with the HSEs numerous requests for further information, from her and from the neurologist treating Abigail. Despite our best attempts, there has been no resolution to this case and there has still been no update from the HSE after the specific case was raised in the Dail recently. Deborah has done everything possible in order to ensure the reimbursement is forthcoming and continues to have to pay the 600 a month in order to get this life changing medication for her daughter. The family is now having to go without in order to continue to do this. This is not the way its supposed to be for families like Abigails. They should not have to fight to get reimbursement for medicinal cannabis that has already been approved under ministerial licence. I am calling on the HSE to prioritise this case and ensure that reimbursement is completed as soon as possible. The system needs to be streamlined because it is a bureaucratic nightmare for families who already have enough on their plate. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a telephone conversation today with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress. Pashinyan congratulated his counterpart on appointment, wishing success in his important mission. The officials also expressed readiness to continue the high-level contacts aimed at pushing forward all the issues existing in the agenda of the bilateral ties and expanding the cooperation. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Philippines has delivered a partial payment for the purchase of the China-made Sinovac vaccines, with one million doses expected to arrive in the country this month, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday. We already wired the payment of the Sinovac, yung 15 percent, so darating po yun, one million doses, this coming March 28, Galvez said told CNN Philippines The Source. Definite na rin po yun. [Translation: We already wired the payment of the Sinovac, 15 percent, so the one million doses will arrive this coming March 28. Thats already definite.] Sinovac was the first COVID-19 vaccine to reach Philippine shores, with the arrival of the China-donated vaccines earlier this month paving the way for the kickstart of the countrys delayed inoculation drive. Aside from the procured shipment, the Philippines is likewise expecting the delivery of another donated batch from China the 400,000 Sinovac doses which Galvez said will come in by March 24. Definite na po yun," he said. "Nagbigay na po ng date ang ating Chinese ambassador na March 24 po (Thats already definite. Our Chinese ambassador already gave the date that its March 24)." Galvez earlier said the country is expecting a total of 2.379 million vaccine doses to arrive this month to early April, with another batch of AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX facility also on the table. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. This article appears in the March 19, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. [Print version of this article] Zepp-LaRouche: Defend General Welfare Against Green New Deal This is excerpted from Harley Schlangers March 11 webcast interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and President of the Schiller Institute. Embedded links have been added. View full size Missouri AGs Office Schlanger: In opposition to the Green New Deal, there is a legal suit filed by 12 states against the Executive Order by Joe Biden, declaring basically an emergency order on climate change and the Green New Deal. Zepp-LaRouche: I think this is very promising, because the Attorney General of Missouri, Eric Schmitt, is taking the lead on that on behalf of these 12 states, and the arguments theyre making are quite truthful, and they apply to Europe in the same way as they apply to the United States. They basically say that these policieswhich really are the Great Reset and the Green Dealthey destroy the work of generations, they attack every household, every family; they destroy industry, agriculture; and they would drive up energy prices, they would destroy jobs. So, they are really on the march forward to defeat that. Now, we have to see where this goes. But this legal action immediately had a very revitalizing effect on the farmers in those states and other states. And it would be extremely important for people in Europe who are affected by the same atrocity. But I have not seen anything like thatreally speaking out that the Great Reset will only help the speculators, will only help the hedge funds and the very rich to become richer, and the poor to become poorerI would wish that this is being taken up as well. The Great Resetdescribed in the report we published some weeks ago and which is now coming out in the form of mass pamphlets in several countriesthis is the biggest assault on the living standards and the character of the European nations and the United States as industrial nations, and it will cause complete chaos. I would encourage people to look at our report, which has all the background on where this comes frombecause most people, even if they oppose it, are not quite clear about the oligarchical nature of this policy. But at the same time, I would encourage people to take the action of these 12 states in the United States as an example and formulate similar opposition. [The EIR Special Report is titled, The Great Leap Backward: LaRouche Exposes the Green New Deal.] Schlanger: Just so people know, theyre state [attorneys general], challenging the Executive Order 13990, which mandates green reset policies. What theyve said is that this will damage manufacturing, decrease the electricity supply, suppress agriculture, and increase poverty, meaning increased expenses to the states; theyre saying this means hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, and they claim the White House does not have the power to make policy in these areas, that it should be in the Congress. But meanwhile, we have U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry jetting over to Brussels to be welcomed back into the fold of the Paris Climate Agreement by von der Leyen and the European Commission. Zepp-LaRouche: Yes, this is quite outrageous. What Kerry actually said is that even the Paris Agreement is not enough; that with the present policies, which are already completely insane, there still would be a warming up of the Earth of 3.6Fwhich is not supported by fact at all, and even the CO 2 connection is very dubious. If John Kerry was so much concerned about that, there would be one easy thing to reduce the CO 2 emissions: He could shut down the military-industry complex. Because one Eurofighter in one hour emits 11 tons of CO 2 . So, if you really wanted to go after the climate problem, then we could reduce these incredibly dangerous and provocative military maneuvers which are taking place all the time. But that is obviously not the real issue. And if you then look at another aspect, namely, the absolute hysteria by the German media in particular, around the 10th anniversary of the incident at Fukushima which, if you believe what some of these radio reports and media reports are saying, this was the ultimate proof that nuclear energy is dangerous. But the reality is, that while more than 20,000 people died in Fukushima and elsewhere [in Japan], none of them died as a result of nuclear radiation, but they all died as a result of the tsunami and the earthquake in Tohoku triggering that tsunami. So this is really incredible. View full size Raimond Spekking In Germany we have a politician, Norbert Rottgen, who is the head of the CDU and foreign policy commission in the Bundestag, who went out of his way to say, No renaissance of nuclear energy, and only all renewable. And look at it, all these hedge funds and all these major players are now investing in solar and renewable, isnt that the proof that this is a good thing? Well, the reality is the Great Reset is an investment in the biggest bubble and the biggest swindle, because if you invest in CO 2 emission titles, you are investing in something which in reality does not exist, other than that it will completely destroy the economy. We have pointed many times to the fact that that insanity affects only the so-called Western countries; because Putin, at the same time had a meeting with some of his ministers, and he basically said that Russia is going to increase its coal production and 50% of that will be exported to Asia. And, naturally, the Chinese intend to have 50% of their energy supply by 2050 still coming from coal, while going heavily into nuclear energy. And the Chinese, on the other side, they have just announced that they will soon start the first commercial high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HGTR). This is a technology which was developed in Germany by Professor Schulten from Julich, and because it was politically unrealizable in Germany, Professor Schulten gave the entire technology to the Chinese, because he said this technology is too precious, so rather give to the Chinese than not have it developed. Now, if you want to have really safe nuclear energy, then you go to high-temperature reactors, which, for physical reasons turn off immediately if there is the slightest irregularity. View full size CC BY-SA 3.0/ Maurice van Bruggen This just shows you that behind all of this, the so-called climate question, the anti-nuclear question, there are quite different motives, namely, to reduce the population. And that is what is not being accepted by Russia and China. And we have discussed many times in the past, and I want to repeat it, this self-destruction of the West by deindustrializing, by bringing back the level of industry and agriculture to the time of the preindustrial era, means the West is weakening itself. And naturally, this increases the war danger, because Russia and China have no intention of doing likewise, and therefore the so-called threat of the rise of China will be increasingly an issue. So, these things have all kinds of strategic implications, that people who normally think about these questions are not really thinking through. Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo called out rival Google for "spying" on users after the search giant updated its flagship app to spell out the exact kinds of information it collects for personalization and marketing purposes. "After months of stalling, Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome and the Google app. No wonder they wanted to hide it," the company said in a tweet. "Spying on users has nothing to do with building a great web browser or search engine." The "privacy nutrition labels" are part of a new policy that went into effect on December 8, 2020, mandating app developers to disclose their data collection practices and help users understand how their personal information is put to use. The insinuation from DuckDuckGo comes as Google has been steadily adding app privacy labels to its iOS apps over the course of the last several weeks in accordance with Apple's App Store rules, but not before a three-month-long delay that caused most of its apps to go without being updated, lending credence to theories that the company had halted iOS app updates as a consequence of Apple's enforcement. The "privacy label" changes are part of a series of privacy protections that Apple has been incorporating into its products and services in recent years, while simultaneously positioning itself as a more private and secure alternative to other platforms like Facebook and Google. Starting with iOS 14, first- and third-party apps will not only have to tell users what information they amass but also get their permission to do it. The privacy labels aim to condense an app's data collection practices in an easy-to-understand and user-friendly format without going into great detail about what that data is being used for. As Vox pointed out last month, the idea is to "strike a balance between giving the general user enough information to understand what an app is doing with their data, but not so much that the labels become as dense and complex as the privacy policies they're supposed to summarize." But this can also mean that labels alone may not be a sufficient barometer for data collection, as users may have to read an app's privacy policy to really understand what goes on behind the scenes, not to mention completely rely on app developers to be truthful and transparent about what they do with the data. For its part, Apple updated its privacy website last week with a new "Labels" section that highlights the privacy labels for all of Apple's apps together in one place, making it easier for users to learn about how Apple apps handle their personal data. App Tracking Transparency Explained An even bigger deal is an upcoming privacy update to iOS 14.5, which will also require apps to ask for users' consent before tracking them across other apps and websites using the device's advertising identifier (also called IDFA) as part of a new framework dubbed App Tracking Transparency (ATT). The IDFA (or Identifier for Advertisers) created by Apple in 2012 has been traditionally used by companies and marketers to keep tabs on individuals between different apps in order to serve tailored ads and monitor how their ad campaigns performed. For example, imagine scrolling through your Instagram feed, and you see an ad for a smartphone. You don't tap the ad, but instead, you go on Google, search for the same smartphone you saw on Instagram, and buy it online. Once this purchase is made, the retailer records the IDFA of the user who bought the phone and shares it with Facebook, which can then determine whether the ID corresponds to the user who saw the smartphone ad. An analysis of app data collection practices by cloud storage company pCloud released earlier this month found that 52% of apps share user data with third-parties, with 80% of apps using the collected data to "market their own products in the app" and deliver ads on other platforms. Click to see full version With the new changes, it's no longer possible for apps and third-party partners to accurately measure the effectiveness of their ads without asking explicit permissions from users to opt-in to being tracked using the identifier as they hop from one app to the other, a move that has riled up Facebook and others that sell mobile ads who heavily rely on this identifier to help target ads to users. Put differently, while companies can still track users through their own services on a first-party basis, they cannot share that information with third-parties without users' permission. In what could be a sign of things to come, an analysis by mobile advertising firm AppsFlyer found that after several third-party developers integrated Apple's ATT into their apps, 99% of users chose not to allow tracking. "Technology does not need vast troves of personal data, stitched together across dozens of websites and apps, in order to succeed. Advertising existed and thrived for decades without it," Apple CEO Tim Cook explained the change in a January 28 speech at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) conference. "If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, then it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform." The development comes as tech giants including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook have come under heightened regulatory and privacy scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe for having amassed immense market power and for their collection of personal information, leading to the formation of new data protection laws aimed at safeguarding user privacy. On Wednesday, France's competition regulator rejected calls from advertising companies and publishers to block ATT on antitrust grounds, stating that the privacy initiative "does not appear to reflect an abuse of a dominant position on the part of Apple," but added it would continue to investigate the changes to ensure that "Apple has not applied less restrictive rules" for its own apps, signaling how measures designed to protect user privacy can be at odds with regulating online competition. It's worth noting that Google has separately announced plans to stop supporting third-party cookies in its Chrome browser by early 2022 while emphasizing that it would not build alternate identifiers or tools to track users across the web. Advertisers Test New Tool to Circumvent ATT But that hasn't stopped advertisers from trying workarounds to sidestep iOS privacy protections, setting them once again on a collision course with Apple. According to the Financial Times, the Chinese Advertising Association (CAA) has developed an identifier called the China Anonymization ID (or CAID) that's aimed at bypassing the new Apple privacy rules and allow companies to continue tracking users without having to rely on IDFA. "CAID has the characteristics of anonymity and decentralization, does not collect private data, only transmits the encrypted result, and the encrypted result is irreversible, which can effectively protect the privacy and data security of the end user; the decentralized design allows developers to be more flexible Access to meet business needs," a Guangzhou-based ad-tech firm called TrackingIO explained in a now-removed write-up. "Because CAID does not depend on Apple IDFA and can generate device identification ID independently of IDFA, it can be used as an alternative to device identification in iOS 14 and a supplementary solution when IDFA is not available," it added. While CAID is yet to be formally implemented, the tool is said to be presently under testing by some of China's largest technology companies, including ByteDance and Tencent, with "several foreign advertising companies have already applied on behalf of their Chinese divisions," per the report. It remains to be seen if Apple will green-light this proposal from the CAA, which is said to be "currently actively communicating" with the Cupertino-based company, with the report claiming that "Apple is aware of the tool and seems to have so far turned a blind eye to its use." "The App Store terms and guidelines apply equally to all developers around the world, including Apple," the iPhone maker told FT. "We believe strongly that users should be asked for their permission before being tracked. Apps that are found to disregard the user's choice will be rejected." Update Following reports that companies are readying workarounds to skirt Apple's upcoming limits on ad tracking, the company is said to have sent cease and desist emails to two Chinese app developers who are testing CAID, a new anonymized identifier that's designed to track users even without having access to IDFA, according to the Financial Times. "We found that your app collects user and device information to create a unique identifier for the user's device," the email from Apple read, warning the developer to update the app to comply with App Store rules within 14 days or risk its removal from the App Store. Besides CAID, other proposed solutions rely on a process called fingerprinting, which leverages device-specific information such as the IMEI number or a combination of the user's IP address and the type of browser and phone to create a unique identifier. With app developers devising numerous ways to slip through Apple's new requirements, it remains to be seen how the tech giant will enforce its anti-tracking policies once it goes into effect later this spring. Families and expatriate workers are keen to see an end to social distancing measures and travel restrictions On March 11-12, Vietnams capital city of Hanoi conducted mass community testing for COVID-19 in areas where non-nationals are more likely to live and gather as authorities seek to eliminate the spread from imported cases. A second phase of similar testing is due to take place throughout this week. The citys Department of Health said those tested would include people living and working in areas with high risk of infection like factories and industrial parks where foreigners work or live, workers at eateries that serve foreigners, and travellers chosen randomly at major bus stations around the city. The department expects to test around 4,000 people in all. The move is part of a wider campaign to stamp out coronavirus once and for all, as countries worldwide step up vaccination programmes. As they do so, queries are being made by non-residents over how and when they can access a vaccine. Since last year Vietnam has allowed experts and skilled workers to enter the country, which poses a possible threat of infection spread. There have also been a substantial number of non-nationals who remained in the country throughout the pandemic as they work and live here, or travellers who decided to stay put until the worst was over and borders were reopened. With that in mind, earlier this month it was hinted that the government will plan to offer vaccinations to both residents and non-residents as soon as is feasible, possibly starting with the capital itself. Addressing reporters questions at a municipal Center for Disease Control (CDC) meeting on March 4, deputy director Khong Minh Tuan said authorities in the capital have been proactive in sourcing coronavirus vaccine doses. On February 19, the municipal authorities sent a written petition to the Ministry of Health to ensure the citys access to the vaccine source, Tuan said. The early request was to secure adequate inoculation for all eligible citizens 18 years old and older in the capital. The COVID-19 immunisation would also cover non-residents, Tuan noted. According to the priority order of the Ministry of Health, the shots will be distributed to 13 provinces and cities that have reported COVID-19 infections, including Hanoi, said the citys CDC deputy director. The top priority will remain Hai Duong in the meantime, as the epicentre in northern Vietnam, Tuan explained. Therefore, the number of shots left for Hanoi will be limited. But we will prioritise those in the anti-pandemic front line. No slip-ups now However, it is accepted the major cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang could be most at risk of new outbreaks as and when nationals and non-nationals enter the country from elsewhere. Last year, the most prominent case involved a British pilot who inadvertently spread coronavirus in a popular expat area of Ho Chi Minh City. The patient ended up in a coma and eventually recovered before being allowed home. In the most recent outbreak, a Japanese national who entered Vietnam on January 17 and was quarantined in Ho Chi Minh City before travelling to Hanoi died at a hotel in Tay Ho district, the most popular district for foreigners to live in the capital. Foreigners residing in Hanoi were generally pleased to learn that Vietnam was moving quickly with a programme for vaccinations, rather than delaying for longer. Im surprised vaccines arrived so quickly, as I know there have been issues globally with supply, said David Payne, an English language teacher. But the country has battled the pandemic so well over the past year, I dont expect it to slip up now. Yoga teacher Olivia Brown was one of several non-nationals hoping for more clarity on vaccines for those not yet in priority groups. I was hoping to get back to Europe this year but Ive no idea if I should wait for a vaccine here first. The whole situation is confusing and its not easy being patient, but it is right that the most vulnerable people need to be taken care of first. Non-Vietnamese people rarely cited cost when asked about vaccines, with many expecting to have to pay. In fact, Tuan of Hanoi CDC said on March 4, funds for the vaccinations could come from the state budget, donations by individuals and businesses, and self-pay vaccine users, in accordance with the resolution of the government. But in terms of eligibility, even as other nations begin inoculating citizens, such unprecedented times mean procedures and rules for those eligible for vaccines are unclear, or vary wildly between countries or even between state lines. Last month, Japan laid out plans to issue coronavirus vaccination vouchers to its over 2.2-million registered foreign residents at the same time as Japanese citizens. However, preparations to provide foreign-language information on how to get the vaccine remained up in the air. A Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare representative told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Basically, the conditions to get vaccinated are the same (for foreigners) as for Japanese citizens. As a rule, vouchers will go to those with registered residences. Those who are clearly living in Japan will get vaccines. Last month seemed to be a milestone for many nations trying to set up such conditions, or at least attempt to provide some clarity. Reuters reported that Malaysia would extend its free vaccination programme to all foreigners residing in the country including students, refugees, and undocumented migrants. The Southeast Asian country began its vaccine rollout at the end of last month, and aims to cover at least 80 per cent of its 32 million people within a year. Mish-mash of rules Nations that have land borders with others are seeing problems when it comes to foreigners travelling across to find vaccines, an issue especially prominent in the United States. States in the US have been authorised to devise their own vaccination eligibility requirements based on guidance from an advisory group, and each state has different rules. Californias vaccination website explicitly states that residency is not a requirement for receiving a dose, while Arizona acknowledges that it is probably vaccinating some that have crossed borders. Elsewhere, the governor of Texas insisted that the states vaccine supply is for Texans only, but did not explain how that could be enforced. Closer to Vietnam, it was reported by the Khmer Times on February 24 that all foreigners living and working in Cambodia would be eligible to receive a free vaccine. However, the types of vaccines were not specified in the announcement and some foreigners were quickly turned away. One 35-year-old European expat who lives and works in Cambodia said he was rejected before staff even looked at his identification or asked if he was part of a priority group. They just said that no foreigners can have the vaccine at all. Only people who work for the government or have an approval paper from the ministry. She never asked about an ID, he said. Other foreigners reported no issues with receiving an early vaccine from other facilities in the country. Confusion is leading to people to look to other countries, which could become more of an issue as borders reopen. The discussion over Vietnams border has raged for a year, as one of the countries with the tightest rules. Inevitably, talk about opening for vaccinated tourists, or even people seeking a vaccine, has caused unease for some already in the country. Mark Gordon, who works in education in Ho Chi Minh City said, I hope the government is careful (with opening borders fully) or the incredibly hard work so far will be moot. The virus may spread quickly again and damage communities beyond repair. The nominations were announced on Monday for the 93rd Academy Awards (the eligibility period actually ran through Feb. 28, 2021 this year), and despite the multiple complications caused by the pandemic, they represent the most diverse slate of nominees in Oscar history: nine people of color in the acting categories; two women up for director; firsts for Asians, Asian Americans and Muslims, etc. But before we start placing bets on the likely winners, to be announced on Sunday, April 25, let's dig deep on this year's crop of hopefuls. The movie quiz this week examines some of the records set and broken, nominees' past credits and various other motion picture minutiae. 1. It was a possible record two posthumous nominations for Chadwick Boseman this year, but he ended up with only a lead actor nod for Ma Raineys Black Bottom for which its almost certain hell win. Several others were named multiple times, however, including Sacha Baron Cohen, up for best supporting actor for The Trial of the Chicago 7 and as one of the nine screenwriters for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Before this year, how many times had he been nominated? 2. Speaking of two-timers, Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. scored a best supporting actor nomination and a best original song nomination for his work in One Night in Miami. Thats the fourth time in four years that a performer has been named in the song category and an acting one for the same film. Which one of these people did not accomplish that feat? A. Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born B. Cynthia Erivo for Harriet C. Mary J. Blige for Mudbound D. John Legend for Selma 3. With this weeks supporting actress nomination for Hillbilly Elegy, Glenn Close becomes the most nominated actress of all time with no wins (and thats unlikely to change once the envelopes are opened). And she also ties what legendary actor for the most winless attempts, eight a piece? 4. Chloe Zhao, up for four Oscars this year for Nomadland, could best last years three-time winner, Parasite writer-director Bong Joon-ho. If so, shell tie which Hollywood icon in first place with four Oscars in one night? 5. Zhaos leading lady, Frances McDormand is up for best actress and if she wins itll be her third award in the lead category, one shy of four-time victor Katharine Hepburn. Who is the only male actor to win three Oscars in the lead category? 6. Real-life Black Panther Fred Hampton, played by supporting actor frontrunner Daniel Kaluuya (who also starred in the other Black Panther, coincidentally) in Judas and the Black Messiah, was also a minor character in what other 2020 film receiving multiple nominations? 7. Writer-director Emerald Fennell landed three Oscar nominations this year, one in each of those categories, as well as a producer of best picture candidate Promising Young Woman. But shes also an actress, known for playing what personage on Netflixs The Crown? 8. Soul is Pixar Animation Studios 23rd feature and the 15th one to be nominated for best animated feature, winning 10 times since the category was introduced in 2002. What special significance do Toy Story 3 and Up hold? 9. Anthony Hopkins' best actor nomination for The Father makes him the oldest nominee ever in that category and a win would make him the oldest winner at 83. Taking home the Oscar would also secure another record in that field, as well as put him in second place overall acting-wise behind Helen Hayes. What is it? 10. New Orleans musician and bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste, grabbed his first Oscar nomination for best original score for Soul, alongside previous winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Scott (who are competing against themselves for Mank). He may be the only one with an Oscar nod, but what other frontman from a late night talk show band is connected to Soul? ANSWERS 1. Once, for the screenplay to Borat 2. D 3. Peter OToole 4. Walt Disney, but Disneys wins came for four separate films; Zhaos would all be for Nomadland 5. Daniel Day-Lewis 6. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) 7. Camilla Parker-Bowles 8. They were both nominated for best picture as well as best animated feature 9. It would be the longest stretch between Oscar wins for a male actor (29 years since his win for The Silence of the Lambs) and second-longest for all actors after Hayes 10. Questlove, the co-leader of The Roots, the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, has a voice role Udupi/Bengaluru, March 18 : With 98 students testing Covid positive in the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), the Udupi district authorities on Thursday declared it a containment zone. The MIT is one of the top ranking institutes in the country and over 33,000 students study in the MAHE, which has over 72 student clubs, that depict its diverse culture on the campus. Nearly 6000 students use the hostel facilities on the campus and the MAHE has built 25 blocks of hostels in which these students reside. The MIT is a constituent unit of MAHE. A senior official in Udupi told IANS that the MIT was conducting Covid tests on all its students and taking steps to isolate any new cases. Udupi district Covid nodal officer, Dr Prashant Bhat told IANS that the district health administration took steps to declare the MIT campus as a containment zone due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. "98 cases were registered in a gap of one week and reasons for such rapid rise in cases are under investigation," Bhat said. He added that the decision to declare it as a containment zone was taken by Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha after 59 cases of Covid were reported on the campus between March 11 and 16. According to him, for a period of two weeks, the movement of students in hostels and others residing on the MIT campus, has been restricted. "Faculty and essential duty staff of MIT campus are allowed in the campus with proper pass/identification," he added. Meanwhile, in a community run hostel in Malleshwaram in Bengaluru, 17 students tested Covid positive in the last three days and the Bengaluru civic body has taken steps to declare it as a containment zone. A nursing college in Mangaluru too has been declared as a containment zone as the college reported 61 Covid positive cases in the last one week. "Nearly 1000 students study there and about 400 reside in campus hostels. Most of these students are from Kerala," a senior health official told IANS. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Madh Island, located in the outskirts of Mumbai, is known for its picturesque beach, which is used for many film shoots. However, accessible faster by a ferry than by road, the place usually has actors taking the ferry to travel to their respective shoot locations. On Tuesday night Saif Ali Khan, seen with a large tikka on his forehead and a brand new haircuteverything in place to play the role of Lankesh in the Prabhas-starrer Adipurush, landed by the ferry and decided not to wait to head home. Often seen riding bikes with elan, Saif preferred to take the backseat this once and was seen riding pillion on a bike, vamoosing from the Versova village into city limits, where his car was waiting for him. A source added, He basically wants to get back home at the earliest to be with his second son and not miss much of him growing up. Saif spent a lot of time with Taimur as well when he was growing up and he doesnt want the second born to be left out. Snippet by Sanskriti Media Kim Kardashian sizzled in a skintight plunging black latex leotard while promoting KKW Beauty's new collection, which she teased is coming soon. The 40-year-old reality star made sure she wouldn't get pinched on Saint Patrick's Day by wearing her bodysuit over a pair of green trousers. She appeared to be embracing the Irish's holiday's color scheme as she sat on a sage green couch, which matched the shag rug and walls around her. Bombshell: Kim Kardashian sizzled in a skintight plunging black latex leotard while promoting KKW Beauty's new collection, which she teased is coming soon While all eyes were on Kim's sensational assets as she nearly spilt out of her top, her makeup included a winged-out eyeliner and matte lipstick. Like the mother-of-four's wavy brunette tresses, her long acrylic nails were curled to look like flames. Additionally, the bombshell wore a gold choker necklace in behind-the-scenes footage of an unreleased KKW Beauty campaign. Feeling lucky: The 40-year-old reality star made sure she wouldn't get pinched on Saint Patrick's Day by wearing her bodysuit over a pair of green trousers Spirited: She appeared to be embracing the Irish's holiday's color scheme as she sat on a sage green couch, which matched the shag rug and walls around her As she posed up a storm sitting down in the video on her Instagram Story, Kardashian could be seen flipping her hair and smoldering sensually at the camera. 'Wednesday, March 17, 2021,' she captioned the recording, which was taken hours after the doting mom surprised her little ones with some St. Patrick's Day goodies. In videos on her social media on Tuesday night, she and her children North, seven, Saint, five and three-year-old Chicago could be seen creating an elaborate 'leprechaun trap.' New campaign: While all eyes were on Kim's sensational assets as she nearly spilt out of her top, her makeup included a winged-out eyeliner and matte lipstick 'Wednesday, March 17, 2021,' she captioned the recording, which was taken hours after the doting mom surprised her little ones with some St. Patrick's Day goodies 'Ok guys, we're building a leprechaun trap for the morning because we got to catch him,' Kardashian narrates as her youngsters assembled a trap with garlic salt and a Pam on a plate. She praised her kids for their creativity, before later putting some gifts out for her kids, which included gold coins, beads and Lucky Charms cereal. To further create a magical day, she sprinkled gold glitter everywhere to make 'leprechaun footprints.' Playful: Hours later, the KKW Beauty founder gave her more than 210 million Instagram followers a look at how she and her three eldest children were preparing for St Patrick's Day spirit 'Ok guys, we're building a leprechaun trap for the morning because we got to catch him,' Kardashian narrates as her kids assembled a trap with garlic salt and a Pam on a plate Doting mom: She praised her kids for their creativity, before later putting out some gifts for her kids, which included gold coins, Lucky Charms cereal After realizing she only purchased three chests to fill with gold coins, she noticed the mess her little ones left behind. 'Now my stone table is ruined for this f**king leprechaun,' she muttered, before reminding fans Saint Patrick's Day is also her brother Rob's birthday. Before signing off for the night, Kardashian revealed she drove back to the store to get the final chest for her one-year-old Psalm, even though he can't read yet and doesn't eat chocolate. 'Now my stone table is ruined for this f**king leprechaun,' she muttered, before reminding fans Saint Patrick's Day is also her brother Rob's birthday ISTANBUL Amid a growing crackdown on Turkeys pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), a lawmaker was stripped of his parliamentary seat March 17 following a conviction for spreading terrorist propaganda in a 2016 social media post. Later in the day, a Turkish prosecutor filed a lawsuit with Turkeys Constitutional Court seeking to officially shutter the HDP entirely. The Turkish parliament revoked Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu's status as an HDP deputy after a court ruled in February to uphold a 2 year prison sentence for the lawmaker, a relentless critic of Turkeys human rights record. After the decision was read out in the parliaments assembly hall, Gergerlioglu staged a sit-in with HDP deputies that he livestreamed on Periscope, saying that the move went against the will of people who voted for him and that he would not leave the building on his own accord. I am not going anywhere, Gergerlioglu said in the broadcast. I have come with the votes of 90,000 people. I take refuge in the will of the people. We will not bow down to anti-democratic acts." At the time of reporting, the sit-in was ongoing and Gergerlioglu had yet to be removed from the parliament building. The developments are the latest signs of growing pressure on the HDP, whose members face a slew of charges over alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Various HDP leaders have been imprisoned since 2016. While HDP officials deny the charges, nationalist allies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have increasingly called for the partys closure due to the suspected terror links. "If Turkey is a state of law, the closure of the HDP is an emergency, it is vital, it is a must," Devlet Bahceli, chair of the Nationalist Movement Party, said in a speech earlier this month. The revocation of Gergerlioglus status as a member of parliament comes after two HDP deputies were stripped of their parliamentary seats due to terror-linked charges in June 2020. The March 17 action reduced the HDPs seats to 55 in the 600-member assembly, where it remains Turkeys third-largest political party. In response, human rights advocates as well as lawmakers with Turkeys main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) condemned the move. CHP Istanbul provincial leader Canan Kaftancioglu tweeed that the removal of yet one more HDP legislator was in violation of the constitution. Meanwhile, Milena Buyum, a Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International, said the decision contradicts the goals laid out by Erdogan two weeks earlier when he unveiled a sweeping human rights action plan designed to bolster the rule of law and safeguard freedom of expression for Turkish citizens. The decision sadly indicates that the plan is no more than a window-dressing exercise, Buyum told Al-Monitor. She added, Gergerlioglu is a very outspoken human rights defender who has used his platform to highlight some of the most serious human rights violations suspected enforced disappearances, prison conditions, torture and other ill treatment allegations. He should never have been tried, let alone convicted. A travesty of justice. Nacho Sanchez Amor, the Turkey rapporteur for the European Parliament, and Sergey Lagodinsky, delegation chair for the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, issued a joint statement condemning the move against Gergerlioglu on March 17, writing, His conviction, expulsion and expected incarceration constitute a severe violation of his human rights and act to further undermine the trust in Turkeys parliamentary democracy. A longtime rights advocate, Gergerlioglu has worked to shed light on human rights infringements in Turkey since he was elected to parliament in 2018. In recent months, he raised awareness over the frequent use of strip searches by security forces and took part in protests against the controversial appointment of a politically connected academic to be rector of Istanbuls Bogazici University. Such actions prompted many on social media to call Gergerlioglu Turkeys conscience. Prior to joining parliament, Gergerlioglu posted a tweet in August 2016 encouraging the Turkish state to pursue a peaceful resolution to ongoing clashes with the PKK. In February 2018, Gergelioglu was convicted of spreading terrorist propaganda with the tweet and sentenced to 2 years in jail, which he appealed. The ruling was then upheld by Turkeys Court of Cassation last month, opening the way for Gergerlioglu to be stripped of his seat and parliamentary immunities to serve out the sentence, though he filed a Constitutional Court challenge that has yet to be finalized. In an sssessment of the court proceedings, Human Rights Watch condemned the latest decision, calling it a violation of free speech rights. Gergerlioglus 2016 tweet falls squarely within the boundaries of protected speech and there are no grounds on which to argue that it could be either necessary or proportionate to prosecute him for words which state an opinion and do not incite violence, Human Rights Watch said in a statement March 17. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Some argue that they would enable a minority to enjoy foreign travel without restrictions while others, such as young people who are not seen as a priority for inoculation, continue to face measures such as quarantine. European Commission officials have made clear they want to avoid discrimination. Texas' record-breaking February winter storm, Winter Storm Uri, led to large power outages, store closures and a lack of heat in San Marcos. Residents were advised to not drive on the roads due to the inclement weather. Earlier this morning Patently Apple posted a report titled "Ming-Chi Kuo supports a December rumor claiming that Apple will use OLED displays in non-Pro iPads in 2022 and more." Sources seemed to emphasize Kuo's view of future iPads using miniLED for Pro models and OLED for other models. Yet a new Taiwanese report posted today it presents different information from Kuo's investors note than what was reported on earlier today. The United Daily News reports that Tianfeng International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in his report today that the "MacBook is the most important application of miniLED, and iPad is adopted by high-end models. It is expected that assemblers will start mass production of miniLED iPad after mid-to-late April." The report noted that "Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that MacBooks miniLED adoption rate and overall shipment growth are better than those of iPad. MacBook will be the main driver of mini LED panel shipments. It is expected that the new MacBook Air will also use mini LED next year, which will help further increase adoption. As the iPad will only use mini LEDs in high-end Pro models, the overall growth momentum may be lower than that of MacBooks." Kuo further noted that while the market recently expressed doubts about Apples adoption of mini LEDs, these doubts do not affect the positive trend of miniLEDs. With Apple having invested huge resources in the development and production of miniLEDs, it has been determined that miniLEDs have a key strategic position in the product line of Apple's productivity tools in the medium and long term. Guo Mingchi pointed out that Apples adoption of Mini LEDs is positively viewed, and since the second half of this year, it will begin to significantly contribute to the revenue and profit of key suppliers Jingdian, Pengding Holdings/Zhending, Whitby, GIS and others. For more on this story, read the full UDN report. The Supreme Court has approved the standard operating procedure (SOP) recommended by SBI Mutual Fund for distributing among unitholders the assets of six wound-up debt schemes of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund. The plan was prepared in consultation with Franklin Templeton and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. The six schemes, shuttered on April 23, 2020, have already distributed Rs 9,122 crore among investors and have accrued an additional Rs 1,370 crore as on March 15. ALSO READ: ED to investigate Franklin Templeton, senior officials for money laundering SBI Mutual Fund told the apex court that it will operate on a "best effort basis", Mint reported. A team, led by an SBI MF official not below the rank of Vice President, would undertake the disposal of assets, the daily further added. Franklin Templeton Asset Management would have to appoint two mid-level officials against whom no disciplinary action has been taken to assist SBI MF in this. The securities and funds would be disbursed to specially designated accounts. Franklin Templeton has been asked to provide the required documentation to SBI MF. It would also bear the cost of winding up. ALSO READ: After ED case, SEBI serves notices to Franklin Templeton SBI MF would not bid for any assets to avoid conflict of interest. A one-to-many platform would be set up to sell more liquid assets. For the rest, an over-the-counter system would be followed, with assets being sold through intermediaries or direct negotiation. Assets that could not be liquidated will be handed back to Franklin Templeton for necessary action. Franklin Templeton would have to initiate proceedings against defaulting issuers if there are any defaults in the papers held by the debt schemes. Surplus collections would be deployed in instruments such as triparty repos or schemes like SBI Overnight Fund or SBI Liquid Fund. SBI MF will distribute the proceeds to unitholders whenever substantial amounts are collected. ALSO READ: SEBI limits mutual fund investment in debt instruments with special features SBI MF would continue to use the existing Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA). Franklin Templeton has been tasked with arranging for extinguishment of units on distribution of proceeds and sending of statements of account to unitholders. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. auto safety agency said on Wednesday it will send a team to investigate a crash involving a Tesla suspected of being in Autopilot mode when it struck a parked Michigan State Police patrol car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was sending the Special Crash Investigation (SCI) team in line with its oversight and authority "over the safety of all motor vehicles and equipment, including automated technologies." Tesla did not immediately comment. Michigan State Police said on Twitter a parked patrol car was struck at 1:12 am Wednesday, while investigating a traffic crash between a car and deer near Lansing on Interstate-96. "While investigating that crash with their emergency lights on, a Tesla on autopilot strikes the patrol car," the agency said. No one was injured and the 22-year-old Tesla driver was issued traffic citations. Before this week, NHTSA previously launched at least 14 SCI teams following Tesla crashes that were suspected of being tied to its Autopilot driver assistance system. The agency has taken no action as a result of those probes. On Monday, NHTSA said it was sending another SCI team to investigate a "violent" March 11 crash in Detroit in which a Tesla became wedged underneath a tractor-trailer and left a passenger in critical condition. Detroit police said Tuesday they do not believe that Autopilot was in use the March 11 crash based on "all indications." Autopilot has been engaged in at least three Tesla vehicles involved in fatal U.S. crashes since 2016. Concerns have grown about systems that can perform driving tasks for extended stretches with little or no human intervention, but cannot completely replace human drivers. Tesla advises drivers they must keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention while using Autopilot. However, some Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid putting their hands on the wheel for extended periods when using Autopilot. In February 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sharply criticized Tesla's lack of system safeguards in a fatal 2018 Autopilot crash in California. (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Chris Reese and Richard Pullin) An Army board has denied a retired Green Beret's request to have a heroism award and Special Forces tab restored after President Donald Trump pardoned him ahead of a federal trial for a murder charge. Retired Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn said in a statement provided through his lawyer that he learned of the service's decision to deny the award and tab two months after Trump left office. Golsteyn was pardoned by Trump in November 2019 -- one of three high-profile military cases in which the president intervened. Golsteyn was facing court-martial at the time of the pardon after admitting to killing a suspected bombmaker in Afghanistan in 2010. The man was unarmed at the time. Read Next: Lawmakers' Academy Nominations Favor White Students, Report Finds The Army Board for Correction of Military Records, or BCMR -- the service's highest level of administrative review for personnel actions -- reviewed and denied Golsteyn's application, Lt. Col. Gabriel Ramirez, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, confirmed. The decision was first reported Wednesday by USA Today. The Army declined to answer additional questions about the denial, including on the timeline and reasoning, citing privacy laws. Golsteyn had appealed to have his Silver Star, which had been approved for upgrade to a Distinguished Service Cross -- the Army's second-highest valor award -- and his Special Forces tab restored. Phil Stackhouse, Golsteyn's lawyer, called the Army's decision to deny the appeal "an embarrassment" and "disloyal." The retired major deserves the Distinguished Service Cross, Stackhouse said, and to have his Special Forces tab reinstated. "It's repugnant that the Army continues to denigrate Matt's heroism on the battlefield," the attorney added. USA Today reported that the board reached its decision on Golsteyn's award in June. Golsteyn, who received an honorable discharge when he retired and is now the chief of operations at the International Association of Fire Fighters, said the results were released in November but weren't mailed to him until after Trump left office -- a move he said ensures his case will "languish in the quagmire of Presidential transition." "I remain in utter disbelief that in November 2019, the Commander in Chief, in the presence of the Vice President and White House Counsel, personally told me that my record would be corrected ... yet the Army refused action on what the President and Commander in Chief reinstated," Golsteyn added. "Clearly, we have seen Military Departments obey the direction of the Commander in Chief in other cases and, inexplicably, the Army defied the President." Golsteyn earned the Silver Star as a captain during a 2010 deployment to Marjah, Afghanistan. He was credited with repeatedly braving enemy fire while attached to a Marine regimental combat team. "Captain Golsteyn displayed heroic behavior and valor in front of his 80-man patrol during the four grueling hours of heavy combat with a determined enemy force," the award citation states. The Silver Star was revoked in 2015 after officials had approved it to be upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, which is second only to the Medal of Honor. Trump's decision to intervene in the troops' legal cases, which also included those of former Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, was met with criticism from military legal experts. Lorance had been convicted of war crimes in Afghanistan and was six years into serving a 19-year sentence. Gallagher, who'd been accused of war crimes during a 2017 deployment to Iraq, was later acquitted of murder but found guilty of posing for a photo with a casualty. If the Army doesn't reverse the decision to reinstate Golsteyn's award and Special Forces tab, Stackhouse said the next step would be taking the case to federal court. He did not say whether his client is considering that. Dwight Mears, a military awards researcher who obtained a copy of the review board's decision on Golsteyn, said winning that case in federal court would likely be difficult "because the burden of proof is extraordinarily high to contest BCMR cases." "It requires proving that it was arbitrary or capricious, and that's an extraordinarily difficult thing to do," Mears said. "The government has to utterly fail to evidence a decision at the [board] to successfully contest it." That's rare, but not unheard of, he added. Alonzo Swann, one of six Black sailors awarded Bronze Stars after their aircraft carrier, Intrepid, was attacked by kamikaze aircraft in World War II, sued decades later and ultimately saw his award upgraded to the Navy Cross after a judge ruled it was denied in error or "through intentional racial injustice," The Chicago Tribune reported in 1993. For now, Golsteyn said he's hoping President Joe Biden carries out the promises Trump made to correct his records. Trump did so, Golsteyn added, in front of Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel. "[The] only question remaining," he added, "[is] will President Biden give comity to the orders of President Trump?" -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related: Army Major Pardoned by Trump Wants His Medals, Special Forces Tab Back Asylum seekers could be sent to Isle of Man says Patel Asylum seekers could be sent to processing centres abroad under the home secretary's plans to overhaul the immigration system, according to reports. The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is a location under consideration by officials, according to The Times, as well as the Isle of Man and other islands off the British coast. Priti Patel has vowed to stop migrants making the perilous journey across the English Channel and is expected to publish details of plans overhauling the UK's asylum and immigration system next week. The Times said plans due to be set out will include a consultation on changing the law so that migrants seeking asylum can be sent to processing centres in third countries. It follows a series of leaks last year suggesting the UK government was considering a number of offshore policies akin to those used in Australia. These included sending asylum seekers to Ascension Island, more than 4,000 miles from the UK, to be processed, and turning disused ferries out at sea into processing centres. The ideas were dismissed by critics at the time as unfeasible, while Labour condemned the suggestion of an asylum processing centre on Ascension Island as "inhumane, completely impractical and wildly expensive". The government believes sending migrants to third countries for processing would be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), according to reports. The Times said the new legislation will include life sentences for people smugglers and the establishment of migrant reception centres on government land, with many currently being housed in hotels. Sky News 2021 At 8:30pm local time on Sunday, President Museveni gave a speech that was broadcast on radio and television. He addressed three issues; progress on the fight against the coronavirus, discipline in politics and security, and the aspect of trade in the region and internationally Below is a slightly edited transcript of that address written by ERNEST JJINGO. I am here to talk about three issues; one is the coronavirus, the other is discipline in politics and security, and the third is economy especially the aspect of trade in the region and internationally. Starting with coronavirus, almost exactly one year ago on the 18th March, 2020, I addressed you and I warned about a dangerous situation, which was unfolding in the world and this was the pandemic of the coronavirus. It had started in China but it spread quickly. So, when I addressed you, I told you that we had analyzed the characteristics of this disease and we were sure that if we were disciplined, we could defeat it and I announced a number of very serious measures including the closure of schools, sending 15 million children back home. Now, I am very glad that many Ugandans supported that. The huge majority understood. It was only later that some groups started their usual opportunistic lies and selfishness of not caring about people but themselves. But majority of people understood and actually started to implement the measures initially. One year now, we have succeeded; in other countries, they have lost a lot of people. I think as I speak, more than two million have died in the world and more than 100 million have been infected. BIG SUCCESS Here because you listened to our advice, in the last 12 months, we have had 40,581 people infected with this virus. 12,313 have recovered and been discharged. The dead are only 334. This is a big success, which we need to congratulate ourselves but also thank God for listening to our prayers. The reason we succeeded, I think, was by taking very strict measures so early. The disease came in and people got admitted into hospital. They were managed well and were able to recover. Why, because they were few. If they had been many like in other countries, many people would have died because you cannot manage them. Some people were being treated in Entebbe and Mulago and sometimes one patient would take more than 20 days being treated, doctors and nurses concentrating on them. Why could they do this? Because they were few, why were the people who got infected few? Because we took very serious measures. Therefore, those who were President Museveni opposing these measures were really your enemies. I am glad you didn't listen to them; you listened to our advice and you can see the results. I want to congratulate you for listening to us your leaders who took the trouble to analyze this disease and we could see its weak points and danger points and then advise you. As I speak today, in the whole of Uganda, we have got only 24 corona patients in hospitals and we were actually preparing for more facilities. That is why we converted Namboole to accommodate 40,000 patients because I had told my people, why don't we plan for a worst case scenario. But now only 24 people are in hospitals all over the country with corona and out of those, only eight are a bit severe. We have now started importing vaccines. We have imported AstraZeneca, the one developed by Oxford but produced in India. We are going to buy more doses of that and vaccinations have started. Up to now, 1,215 people are being vaccinated. I have not yet been vaccinated nor has Janet [First Lady]. This is because we wanted to start with people at high risk of infection; people working in hospitals. We had some cases of corona around us here (State House). Some of our children who work for us got infected - quite a number of them, maybe more than a dozen. Some work in the press unit, others in the household, they got infected but we were not. I think that is because we live in quite a spacious place, we weren't squeezed. I am also making my people look at all of these vaccines, the one of Oxford, the Chinese and that of the Russians. We are also developing ours. We delayed a bit because first of all we had to struggle with our own slaves here who don't believe that we should be self-sufficient. They believe in buying. Those people wasted a bit our time in importing equipment. Then even outsiders were wondering why we wanted to make our own vaccine instead of waiting for them to sell their vaccine to us. But I said no, we are going to make it and my people are now moving. They are very well educated and well trained; they are on the right track. So, we shall make our own vaccine and our vaccine will be better than some of these vaccines because our children are working on the new virus. Because this virus has been mutating; so, what we are targeting is the new version, not the old virus. Vaccination will continue, we have started with this one of Oxford but we are going to bring in others. There is also the one of Johnson and Johnson, which is taken once. This Oxford vaccine is given two times. So, the reason I have not been vaccinated is because first of all I am quite careful and well protected by the system here but secondly, I am also looking at which vaccine should I go for. The Johnson and Johnson, the Chinese, the Russian? Ours will take longer but it will come also. Maybe it will be used in the future. But in Uganda, we are also working on the therapeutics or the treatment. As I speak now, something interesting is going on. All patients that our people have been treating have been cured by combining what they call standard treatment plus our own and they have been healed. So, I asked my people, why do you use a combination of the old and the new? They said, "We don't want to take risks because we were not yet sure our new treatment would work; so, it was better to use what was already tried plus ours." My people had a problem getting (trial) patients because right now we are short of corona patients of the right type. We need a patient who has just been infected but not yet damaged by the virus because this virus damages people even after healing. It can damage the lungs and other internal organs. So, experimenting on somebody who is already damaged, you can't be sure [of the results]. That is why it took a bit of time to get patients of the right type, just infected but not yet damaged because what we want to confirm is that our medicine cures the virus. Then we have also been doing the diagnostics. My young people are developing an economy called Pathogen Economy. Because of the sleeping of Africans, other people have been making money out of our sicknesses yet sicknesses are also a business. Why don't you turn adversity into opportunity? Why don't we make money out of these diseases? Since we are rich in diseases, let us also make money out of treating these diseases. Our people have now made moves on the diagnostics. We have now got two; one by a certain professor from Makerere. For that one we are building a factory somewhere and another from VCRC [Joint Clinical Research Centre]. Therefore on corona, I want to congratulate you for listening to our advice but in the meantime please keep, on wearing your masks, observe the SOPs. If you have started on this Oxford vaccine, you need two, not one; so, don't relax until you have got the full dose. After enough numbers have been vaccinated, I will come back and tell you that now you can relax. ON DISCIPLINE IN POLITICS The second topic I want to talk about tonight is discipline especially in politics. The case in court is now finished. I couldn't comment because there was a case in court, which had been taken there by Hon Robert Kyagulanyi saying that NRM had robbed them of victory. On the contrary, it is the opposition especially this group of Kyagulanyi, which cheated massively. Everyone in Uganda knows who cheated; it was Kyagulanyi's group. Those votes, which they are talking about three something million, those are not there. It was massive ballot stuffing here in Kampala and other parts of the country where we had weak organization. Of course with ballot stuffing, they were helped by the weak organization of the NRM because some of them started ballot stuffing by 5 o'clock. There are so many stations where they would start ballot stuffing at 7 o'clock and I don't know why the NRM so very huge, it is an elephant. Those who were cheating, intimidating, attacking just injured the ear of the elephant. The elephant is still standing and in charge. Therefore, I would advise those who have been involved in these crimes to really repent their mistakes. The children who were arrested by security forces, many of them have been talked to and they have given us a lot of information and have been helped to go back to their families. As for the policemen who did not do their work and the other corrupt people, we shall go for them. Those ones have no excuse, they cannot remain in the Uganda Police nor can they be allowed to work in any other public office in Uganda because they have abused their trust. The young people who are being arrested as I told you the other time, many have been released. Some were taken to court, others helped security forces to dismantle the criminal plans. The opposition has been planning to stop the swearing in of the president, they won't because that is criminal and security forces will go for them. Then they plan all sorts of crazy things including killing opposition people themselves so they say it is government, which is killing opposition people. These are the schemes they go on hatching. Even to conspire to do that is a crime. If we get evidence of that, we shall come for you. But I am very glad that many of the former NUP people, yes they were supporting NUP, they had some grievances against NRM because of the corrupt NRM fellows. NRM had also been infiltrated by parasites. So, some of the young people had been disgruntled and had joined NUP but NUP got hijacked by people who work for parasitic interests. But I am very glad that many of the youths are refusing to follow the criminal plans of their leaders and foreign masters. So, those who are still being used, stop because we are not going to allow you. You saw the massive deployment we did on Election Day. We were told you wanted to stop the election but you couldn't. You can't disrupt Uganda. Then part of the problem is caused by the media. There is an evil paper called Monitor. The other day Monitor reported that Museveni had secretly got a vaccine. That was before we imported the vaccine. Now, Monitor must apologize on the front page. The whole page must be covered by an apology for Museveni. To say that I got vaccinated secretly when my people were still in danger, I am a selfish person, I only care about myself. Monitor must apologize in big letters. If they don't, I will go for you. I will get money from you for my party. I have already told the lawyers; get massive money from those crooks of Monitor. That Monitor is supposed to be a paper of Aga Khan. I don't know why Aga Khan uses crooks in Monitor but this time I will get quite a bit of money for my party. We are about to start our Movement house; you will contribute to the building of the Movement House through damages. So, this media is irresponsible and they need to discipline themselves. ON THE ECONOMY On the economy - the economy is growing in spite of the coronavirus and once we have taken the last mile on the problem of corona, we shall open all activities and we are trying to work out a package for the sectors which were affected for longest like bar owners, musicians, operators of private schools, street vendors. We are trying to work out a package for them especially after opening so that they can start again. Otherwise, the economy is growing and in this year we expect the Final Investment Decision on petroleum to be taken so that oil companies start extracting oil from Lake Albert or prepare to extract oil by building the pipeline and refinery. However, even in the meantime, we have got a lot of production. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. I mentioned this during the campaigns, while Uganda in 1986 was a land of shortages; it is now a land of surpluses. Surplus sugar, maize, milk, bananas, cement, everything is surplus. This brings in the issue of market. The NRM, from 1963, we have been telling Ugandans that in order to solve the issue of market, we must work for the integration of East Africa and of Africa. Even when you have trade within Uganda, that internal trade is not enough. We need the East African trade, we need the trade of COMESA, and we need the trade of Africa. That is why we have been talking of integration. Some people were saying that the idea of a Federation would solve the current problem of maize. I am not saying that the Federation will solve the current problem of maize but I am saying that this problem of maize would not arise if we had gone for the Federation. The idea of retaliation is not a good idea because it plays in the hands of those who want us to break up. Patience and focus are what we need and negotiations but more importantly ideological clarity. Those who talk of trade in one breath and tribalism and sectarianism in another breath are bogus. They are enemies of Africa. Africa needs integration, needs patriotism, needs pan-Africanism. We shall defeat the tribalists because they cannot block our historical journey. In these five years, we are going to ensure no more parasitism of public servants increasing their salaries before they solve the problems of the people. I was a bit polite in the past but that game is finished. In these five years, there are nine million families in Uganda. I want each year about two million families to go into money making so that by the end of the five years, all the nine million families would have gone into money making. Money making in the four sectors; commercial agriculture, industries big and small ones like textile, clothing, weaving, carpentry, woodwork then services and ICT. That would create a problem of the market because when all of these produce, we already have a surplus that is why I am telling you that part of the answer is the regional market. But also there is the internal market. The internal market is small because people are not earning income and, therefore, they cannot buy. The second solution to the market is the internal market growing. In the budget, we are looking at the possibility of giving porridge to children in school. If we can budget and we have a cup of porridge per day for the children in schools, that would increase the internal demand for maize flour. If we add a half litre of milk, that would also provide market for the milk; if we could add an egg per child per day, that would boost the internal demand. But the better way is for homes to have income so that they buy on their own rather than depending on the government budget. So, there is a solution; let everybody work to make all families involved in money making so that families have money and they buy. jjingoernest1@gmail.com Members of the National Guard from Delaware tour the rotunda during their down time at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 13, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Tucker Carlson-Military Spat Shows Lefts Long March Reaching Dangerous Apex Commentary Is the military more focused on winning wars, or Wokeism? Americans shouldnt have to ask this question. But on account of doings of the Biden-led Department of Defense (DOD), Fox News Tucker Carlson was rightly compelled to proffer it. That he received any DOD responseand no less an almost parodic scolding, rather than an assurance that the military is singularly focused on crushing our enemiesdemonstrates an existential problem for our country. It shows that the progressives Long March through our institutions is reaching its dangerous apex. This is a dangerous apex because when it comes to matters of national security and foreign policy, politicization literally kills. Our military must be impervious to politicization, and particularly political correctness and insubordination, or it will lack the will and capability necessary to deter and when necessary defeat our adversaries. Absent a military insulated from these ills, our peace and prosperity will erode. People will die. Yet for well over a decade now, perhaps the last trusted institution in this country, the military, has shown dangerous signs that its succumbing to the maladies of all of our other institutions. This is an indictment not of our cherished military itself, but of those who have tarnished it through repudiating its core principles, and the civilian leaders who have abided by such conduct, if not endorsed it. The Tucker CarlsonDOD contretemps broke this reality right out into the open for all of America to see. Carlson highlighted President Joe Bidens lauding of military progress on creating maternity flight suits, and updating requirements for their [womens] hairstyles, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins efforts to root out ill-defined extremism in the military ranks, and a U.S. Navy reading list that includes among its foundational texts for sailors the likes of discrimination-defending professor Ibram X. Kendis execrable How to Be an Antiracist. Navy initiatives flowed naturally from this list. Could a military focused on so many items other than fostering the strongest, toughest, and smartest fighting force in the world, he wondered, really compete with a deathly serious communist China? The DODs response, a news story, titled Press Secretary Smites Fox Host That Dissed Diversity in U.S. Military that completely mischaracterized Carlsons argument as an attack on women rather than on identity politics, and a defense of meritreplete with images of female soldiers of varying backgroundsproved his point. That active servicemen and women piled on to the attack via their social media accounts only lent further credence to it. This is to say nothing of the politicization evident in that the U.S. military is now considering easing its fitness standards, for which women tend to lag significantly behind men. Maybe this all shouldnt be surprising. Maybe the military is just following in the footsteps of a commander-in-chief who believes America is systemically racist, that white supremacism and extremism constitute our greatest scourges, and thatconsistent with many of his executive ordersprogressivism ought to pervade every aspect of the federal government. And why should we expect a military not to conform to the culture of the government? But the truth is, the politicization of our military predates Biden and a Democrat-dominated legislative branch. We just witnessed four years of insubordination, obstruction, and worse up and down the ranks of our militaryto say nothing of our intelligence and foreign policy apparatuses. Those four years concluded with the National Guard apparently not deploying due to opticsthat is, politicsin advance of the Capitol Riot, the urgings of then-President Donald Trump notwithstanding. Consider what came before that episode. Lt. Col. Alex Vindman of Trumps National Security Council led an impeachment effort effectively on the basis of his opposition to a foreign policy decision that wasnt his to make. Trumps special envoy to Syria Jim Jeffrey admitted deceiving the president on troop levels there, by playing shell games to not make clear to leadership how many troops we had. Several former senior military officials openly entertained scenarios in which the military would have to remove Trump from office should he lose the 2020 election. Retired generals engaged in unhinged attacks on Trump, likening him to Mussolini, drawing parallels between his administration and Hitlers Nazi regime, and accusing the president of being a Russian traitorarguably in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. There was continuity in the reading lists within the armed services between Presidents Trump and Biden as well. In 2020, the then-director of the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly endorsed Robin DiAngelos White Fragilityan anti-racist bible on the level of Kendisapparently eschewing A.T. Mahan, Carl von Clausewitz, and Sun Tzu. To ensure the next generation of warfighters gets its share of leftist indoctrination, we learned that West Point was requiring cadets to read about critical race theory and queer theory in one of its leadership courses. Related policies abounded. Before Trump, there was President Barack Obama. His administration systematically downplayed the threat of Islamic terror, and fired those in the military who presented competing opinions about the size, scope, and nature of the threat. It purged training materials on the jihadists threat doctrine, and even related law enforcement records. It continued a war in Afghanistan forper the Afghanistan Paperslargely political reasons. It instituted suicidal rules of engagement that put the lives of our adversaries first. When, early in the Obama presidency, in November 2009, Maj. Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 people, and injured 30 more at Fort Hood, Texas, that alone should have told us that something had gone very wrong in our armed forces. This was an individual whose business card bore the markings of an Islamist, reading SoA (SWT)Soldier of Allah, with SWT an acronym for Subhanahu Wa Taala, Arabic for The most glorified, the most high. Hasan delivered disturbing presentations to his peers regarding Islamic law, jihadism, and the implications for the military while serving as a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His activities drew the Federal Bureau of Investigations notice, yet he remained in our armed forces, and it enabled him to carry out a deadly assault. The DOD declared his jihadist act workplace violence. The then-chief of staff of the U.S. Army, Gen. George Casey, declared that what happened at Fort Hood was a tragedy but I believe it would be an even greater tragedy if our diversity becomes a casualty here. That was 12 years ago. Carlson has done yeomans work in drawing attention to the perverse politicization of our military, which can only have the effect of undermining morale and warping the militarys culture, causing dissension and disorder within its ranks, blinding America to the threats we face, and deterring the talented from joiningall ultimately weakening our national security and leading to the future loss of American lives. But the sobering truth is that this problem has been festering for years. Stopping the Long March through our military, and indeed all of our institutions, and reversing it, is the essential task of our lifetime. Ben Weingarten is a fellow of the Claremont Institute and co-host of the Edmund Burke Foundations The NatCon Squad. He is the author of American Ingrate: Ilhan Omar and the Progressive-Islamist Takeover of the Democratic Party, and is currently working on a book on U.S.China policy and its transformation under the Trump administration. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. HADERA, ISRAEL - FEBRUARY 22: Men clean tar from the sand as part of the beach cleanup effort after tar covered Israel's coast on February 22, 2021 in Hadera, Israel. Tar started washing up on the country's beaches last week, leading its interior minister to advise people to stay away from beaches. Authorities suspect the spill was caused by a leak from an offshore ship. (Photo : (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)) The Environmental Protection Ministry declared the emergency over on Wednesday, one month after tar from an oil leak at sea wreaked havoc on Israel's coastline. However, the cleanup operation is still on going. Tar in the Storm Last month, an estimated 1,000 tons of tar washed up on Israel's Mediterranean coast, with 600 tons cleared so far, according to Channel 12 news. The event has been dubbed one of Israel's worst environmental disaster by Nature and Parks Authority. It was labeled as the "Tar in the Storm," and was classified as a Tier 2 pollution event. Related Article: Israeli Environmental Ministry Clarifies Greek Tanker Did not Cause Oil Spill Continuing Efforts "We are going to the next level and continuing to supervise the coastal authorities in further cleaning and elimination of tar to achieve a full cleanup of the beaches," Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said in a statement. "We express our gratitude to the ministry, city governments, volunteers, and environmental groups. The incident was handled effectively and safely with their assistance," she said. In recent weeks, 83 of Israel's 101 official beaches have passed the coastal tar index, with 82 percent of them reopening to the public. Sixty-one percent of the beaches were found to be safe or with minimal pollution; 36 percent had mild to moderate pollution; and three percent, nearly half of the rocky beaches, were still severely polluted. Current Cleaning Efforts The Environmental Services Company, which is under the authority of the Environmental Protection Ministry, has cleaned over 650 tons of mixed tar in recent weeks, accounting for 83 percent of the garbage that has fallen on Israeli shores. Change in Jurisdiction According to a press release from the ministry, the cleaning activity will be taken over by coastal authorities starting Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Ministry forms a team to supervise them and perform diving surveys to identify tar lumps. Around the same time, the ministry said it would continue to pursue a lawsuit with the International Oil Recovery Fund for compensation for the spill's environmental impact. After the news of the oil spill spread, Gamliel has been chastised for being so late in washing up and investigating the tragedy. Gamliel responded to the criticism by blaming the delays on the incident's and investigation's foreign existence. "It should be noted that this is a complex inquiry, with the majority of it taking place outside of the State of Israel's territorial waters, but we are working with foreign bodies to identify those responsible for the damage," she said last month. Later, Gamliel alleged that the oil spill resulted from an intentional attack by Iran, but she offered no evidence to back up her argument. Senior security officials quickly refuted the argument, with Channel 13 news stating that Israel's defense establishment "does not share this assessment." Result of the Investigation The Wall Street Journal confirmed last week that Israel has targeted at least 12 ships bound for Syria with mines and other weapons since 2019. The majority of the ships were carrying Iranian crude. The tankers were not destroyed, but at least two of them were forced to return to port in Iran due to the attacks. The Emerald was declared as the ship responsible for the Environmental Protection Ministry's oil spill earlier this month. According to the inquiry, when the leak happened in early February, the ship was smuggling oil from Iran to Syria. According to information provided to the Environmental Protection Ministry by a private intelligence agency, the Malah family of Syria owns the Emerald via a complicated arrangement. ALSO READ: Sea Turtles in Danger as Oil Spill Hits Lebanon For more environmental news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's medicines regulator said there had been five cases of a rare type of blood clot in the brain among 11 million given AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine but said that it found the benefits of the shot far outweighed any possible risks. Concerns about reports of blood clots, along with low platelet levels, have led to some European countries including Germany to pause the rollout of the shot while the cases are investigated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is set to announce its findings later in the day. Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that use of the vaccine should continue while five reports were investigated, and one official said that the rollout would likely continue even if a link was proved. "There is no evidence that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine," said June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive, referring to AstraZeneca and Pfizer shots. Raine said there had been a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot in the cerebral veins (sinus vein thrombosis, or CSVT) occurring together with lowered platelets soon after vaccination. "Given the extremely rare rate of occurrence of these CSVT events among the 11 million people vaccinated (with AstraZeneca), and as a link to the vaccine is unproven, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, continue to outweigh the risks of potential side effects," she said. One of the reported cases was fatal, MHRA Vaccine Safety Lead Philip Bryan said, adding that the cases were all among men aged between 19 and 59. NO PAUSE NECESSARY The MHRA said anyone with a headache that lasts for more than four days after vaccination, or bruising beyond the site of vaccination after a few days, should seek medical attention. Story continues The regulator said there was an ongoing review into "five UK reports of a very rare and specific type of blood clot in the cerebral veins (sinus vein thrombosis) occurring together with lowered platelets (thrombocytopenia)". Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Commission on Human Medicines, in a statement suggested that even if a link between the clots and the vaccine was established, it likely wouldn't halt Britain's rollout. "If we feel that there's causal link then we may need to update the product information, but overall, I don't think that would necessitate pause to any kind of vaccination programme," he told reporters in a briefing. The EMA is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU, and is focusing on blood clots in the head. Stephen Evans, at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that COVID-19 itself was associated with similar symptoms, making causality hard to establish. "A major problem is discerning whether there is a possibility that this was caused by COVID-19," Evans told Reuters. "Exactly these sort of conditions have been seen in patients with COVID-19 prior to the vaccines being available." Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini at a memorial held after the 71-year-old was buried at a private ceremony in the early hours of Thursday. "A huge tree has fallen," Mr Ramaphosa said. "Moral courage was one of his noblest virtues," he added. Mr Ramaphosa gave the eulogy in a white tent erected outside one of the palaces of the king in the small town of Nongoma in KwaZulu-Natal. The palace has been a beehive of activity, with mourners streaming in to pay their respects, reports the BBC's Pumza Fihlani from the scene. Many have come bearing gifts in the form of cows some of which will be slaughtered and shared with the community, she adds. King Zwelithini - the longest reigning Zulu monarch - died in hospital last week from diabetes-related issues. The burial ceremony was only attended by a select group of royal men. The secrecy around the burial is part of honouring the monarch, our reporter says. It is not yet clear who will succeed King Zwelithini - that is a closely guarded secret, in part for the future kings safety but also in reverence to the moment at hand, she adds. People at the memorial said they were clear on the kind of king they want a visionary, a straight-talker (like Zwelithini), and someone who will honour their culture and set it as the guiding light for future generations, our reporter says. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A spring farming ceremony has been held in the community of Khesum, in the city of Shannan in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, with farmers dressed in festive costumes and tractors adorned with flags and flowers. This kind of ceremony dates back more than 1,600 years. Tuesday marked the start of this year's spring farming, according to the Tibetan calendar. Dorje, 73, wearing a new Tibetan costume, drank highland barley wine with his fellow farmers, praying for favorable weather and good harvests. Spring farming is the biggest agricultural event of the year for Tibetan farmers. "My whole family comes to the ceremony, and my son-in-law drove a tractor here," he said. The ceremony began at about 10:30 a.m., with 16 tractors plowing the field and a number of women following behind to throw highland barley seeds on the land. After the ceremony, people joined hands in a circle, singing and dancing to mark the occasion. Khesum community, previously the Khesum village, was the first village in Tibet to launch the democratic reform in 1959. This community has undergone dramatic changes in the last more than 60 years. "Before the democratic reform, under the oppression of the lords, serfs worked hard for a whole year but not a single grain belonged to them," said Dorje, who experienced the feudal serfdom. "Now, people don't have to worry about their food and clothing, and the spring plowing ceremony is like the New Year. People gather in the fields to celebrate the good life together," he said. In 2017, all residents of Khesum escaped poverty. The annual per capita net income of the community reached 25,324 yuan (about 3,900 U.S. dollars) in 2020, up more than 100 times from 1978. Tibet has invested 4.5 billion yuan in developing high-standard farmlands since 2016. The region's grain output stood at 1.03 million tonnes last year, staying above 1 million tonnes for the sixth year in a row. Last year, the whole region eliminated absolute poverty along with the rest of the country. Its gross domestic product grew 7.8 percent. The per capita disposable income of the region's rural residents grew 12.7 percent, and that of urban residents rose 10 percent. Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) affiliated with the CHOP Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative (ENGIN) have compiled a complete genetic and clinical analysis of more than 400 individuals with SCN2A-related disorder, which has been linked to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders, including epilepsy and autism. By linking clinical features to genetic abnormalities in a standardized format, the researchers hope their findings lead to improved identification and clinical intervention. The study was published online by the journal Genetics in Medicine. Pathogenic variants in the SCN2A gene can lead to a wide range of clinical features - or phenotypes - associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Several studies have described the genetic information collected on individuals with disease-causing changes in this gene. However, while genetic information is collected in a standardized manner, data on phenotypes is not standardized, and prior to this study, the available data on clinical features of these patients had not been thoroughly analyzed, meaning that many correlations between the genotypes and phenotypes of these patients were often anecdotal. To properly link genetic and phenotypic data, researchers from CHOP utilized Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO), a method that standardizes a patient's clinical features and allows that data to be translated similar to genetic data. Based on our previous work with HPO, we knew we had the opportunity to provide the research and clinical community with the full phenotypic landscape of SCN2A-related disorders. Individuals with variants of SCN2A present with a wide variety of clinical features, some of which have been difficult to easily categorize prior to our study." Ingo Helbig, MD, attending physician and director of the genomic and data science core of ENGIN and lead investigator of the study The researchers extracted phenotypic information from SCN2A-related disorders published over the course of nearly two decades, encompassing every description of the disease in medical literature between 2001 and 2019, in addition to patients followed by ENGIN. Across 413 unrelated individuals, the study team derived a total of 10,860 clinical annotations in HPO terms, with a total of 562 terms unique terms. This allowed researchers to link clinical features with specific genetic variants. For example, protein-truncating variants, which are genetic variants that shorten the coding sequence of genes, were associated with autism and behavioral abnormalities. Missense variants, or alterations of the genetic code that result in the production of a different amino acid than what would normally be expected, were associated with neonatal onset epileptic spasms and seizures. Using a principal component analysis to simplify the complexity of the data, the researchers found that three principal components accounted for one-third of the phenotypic variability in their dataset, emphasizing that despite the complexity of the data, informative clinical groups can be derived. "The SCN2A-related disorders are the group of conditions where such a systematic mapping to computable phenotypes was performed. Our findings help define subclasses within SCN2A-related disorders that could pave the way for future precision medicine approaches to help these individuals," Helbig said. "This work, built upon our previous studies, now provides a framework on how HPO terminology can map complex clinical data in a variety of rare disorders to get to answers about clinical features, natural history, and outcomes that we do not have yet." Katko, R-Camillus, represents Auburn, which is where Tubman lived during the latter half of her life. Her brick residence and the Home for the Aged on South Street are part of the national park. "It is my hope that this effort will help inspire more Americans to carry on Tubman's legacy," Katko said. The coins could be a huge windfall for the Harriet Tubman Home, a nonprofit organization which jointly operates the South Street properties with the National Park Service. The legislation calls for the production of 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins and 750,000 half-dollar coins. The surcharges would be $35 for the gold coins, $10 for the silver coins and $5 for the half-dollar coins. If every coin is sold, there would be $9.5 million in surcharges paid to the Treasury. The Harriet Tubman Home would get $4.75 million as long as it raises funds from private sources to match the surcharges. "Rep. Katko, in sponsoring the Tubman Bicentennial Coin Act, has taken another bold step in ensuring that the Harriet Tubman Home will be able to continue its mission of protecting and preserving the homestead of Harriet Tubman, known as the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park," said Karen Hill, president and CEO of Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. Press Release March 18, 2021 Drilon urges DBM to allow OWWA to use P13-B contingent fund for repatriation of 500K OFWs The minority leader laments how the government is prioritizing the P13-B contingent fund for the creation of departments over its repatriation program As the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) was crying out for help to bring home Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon was appalled to find out that the P13 billion contingent fund is being reserved for the creation of new departments instead of using it to fund the government's repatriation program. Drilon lamented the hesitancy of the government to tap into the P13 billion contingent fund for the government's repatriation program. The contingent fund, as admitted by a resource person from the Department of Budget and Management, was intended as a source of funds in case existing agency funds are not sufficient to fund the creation of new departments such as the proposed Department of Overseas Filipinos. "That is not a very sound policy. We would prioritize first the creation of new departments and their funding rather than allocate the necessary to bring home our kababayans," Drilon lamented during a Senate hearing on the proposed creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos. "As a matter of policy, the national government, through the General Appropriations Act, should answer to the repatriation program, because this is a small favor that we can do for all the contributions of our OFWs. We should provide in the budget funds for the repatriation of OFWs," Drilon said. The OWWA had already requested the budget department for a budgetary augmentation of P9.8 billion to cover the repatriation of around 500,000 more OFWs, which included quarantine expenses, transport, and lodging expenses. OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said their budget will only last up to April or May this year. Instead of using the trust fund of OWWA, Drilon said the government should authorize the use of the contingent fund to repatriate around 500,000 returning overseas Filipino workers. "It will leave around approximately 500,000 OFWs stranded in various parts of the world if we do not provide funding for their repatriation," Drilon said in a statement. "As my colleague Senator Nancy Binay said, 'may P13 bilyon para sa DOFIL, pero walang budget sa repatriation. That is indeed unacceptable and morally wrong," he stressed. Drilon asked Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles to recommend to source out the much-needed P9.8 billion from the contingent fund. The Cabinet Secretary responded that he has to discuss this with the pertinent departments. The contingent fund is managed by the Department of Budget and Management and releases from the contingent fund are subject to approval by the President of the Philippines, Drilon noted. Myanmar protesters carry a man who was shot by security forces during a crackdown on demonstrations in Yangon against the military coup, March 17, 2021. Six prominent Southeast Asian politicians on Wednesday urged the regions nations to impose sanctions on Myanmar if the military government there doesnt free political prisoners, restore the elected government it toppled in a coup last month, and prosecute those responsible for killing civilian protesters. In a strongly worded statement, the politicians criticized the impotence of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and demanded the bloc discard its non-interference principle, because, they believed, it was an obstacle to ensuring democracy and protecting peoples rights in the region. All ASEAN governments must unite and send an unequivocal message to the Myanmar military junta to immediately free all political prisoners, to restore the political situation in Myanmar to that prior to the 1st February 2021 coup and to respect the peoples votes in the November 2020 general election, the politicians statement said. They also demanded that all those responsible for the killing of innocent people in Myanmar an ASEAN member be brought to justice. Failing which, all other ASEAN governments must unite and suspend Myanmars membership of ASEAN and thereafter impose targeted trade and economic sanctions against the military junta and their associates, the statement said. The signatories to the statement were Sam Rainsy, an exiled Cambodian opposition leader, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Indonesian lawmaker Fadli Zon, Philippine Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, former Singapore Deputy Speaker Charles Chong, and former Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. Their comments came a little over two weeks after an ASEAN special meeting of foreign ministers failed to reach a consensus on demanding the immediate release of Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the military. Instead, ASEAN merely called for a halt to the violence in Myanmar and urged dialogue to end the crisis. The regions prominent politicians indicated that ASEANs response had been weak. The events in Myanmar display, yet again, the impotence of ASEAN governments in dealing with a regional crisis, said Rainsy, who read out the statement at a virtual news conference. We, the undersigned demand our respective ASEAN governments abandon the old doctrine of non-interference and pursue a new approach of constructive and critical engagement, with the option of imposing trade and economic sanctions on the Myanmar military junta, the politicians statement said. The non-interference doctrine has become a major hindrance and stumbling block to the development of participatory democracies and the protection of the basic rights of the peoples of ASEAN. The politicians criticized what they see as ASEAN's inaction while the Myanmar military and police turned their guns on citizens protesting the coup. While the brave pro-democracy protestors of Myanmar are being killed by the military junta, all other ASEAN governments are demonstrating a lack of political will and unity to pressure the military junta to end the killings, the statement said. On Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said at least 149 people had been killed during anti-coup protests as a result of unlawful use of lethal force. Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews, reported that the death toll was higher, at 181. Meanwhile, protests continued in Myanmar on Wednesday, with pro-democracy activists fighting back by firing slingshots and tossing Molotov cocktails at security forces, the Associated Press reported. At least two more people were shot dead Wednesday, the agency reported. Since the Feb. 1 coup, as many as 2,191 people had been arrested, charged, or sentenced, while 1,872 were detained and faced trial, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said on its website on Wednesday. Dont trust the junta Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah declined to comment on the observations of Southeast Asia's politicians, but said Jakarta would be issuing a new statement on Myanmar. The largest country in ASEAN and one of the blocs founding members, Indonesia has been on a diplomatic push to get members involved in addressing the coup in Myanmar. In her last statement on the day of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had said that while ASEAN members must adhere to the blocs founding principle of non-interference, they have a duty to respect its values for democracy and human rights. At the time, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein proposed that ASEAN form a group of eminent persons or experts in electoral matters to help bridge the discrepancies found in the last general elections in Myanmar. The Myanmar military had said the Nov. 8, 2020, general election was tainted by fraud, and used that reason to justify the coup, saying it would hold new elections. But Rainsy, the Cambodian opposition leader, on Wednesday voiced doubts about the juntas promises. The democratic transition must be based on the results of the elections in November 2020. We cant trust the junta with their promise to organize another election next year, he said. By that time, they will have dissolved the National League for Democracy [Suu Kyis party] and the election will be meaningless. Kasit, the former foreign minister of Thailand, warned that ASEAN risked undermining its international standing if it failed to find a solution to the Myanmar crisis. And Fadli, the Indonesian legislator, said ASEAN must have a common stance on the issues of human rights and democracy in Myanmar. The most important thing is a political will to urge the military to comply with these principles, he said. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. BRUSSELS The European Union threatened on Wednesday to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic that would jeopardize plans to restart travel this summer. With the number of COVID-related deaths in the EU topping 550,000 and less than a 10th of the blocs population inoculated, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the epidemiological situation was worsening. We are in the crisis of the century, she told reporters. We see the crest of a third wave forming in member states, and we know that we need to accelerate the vaccination rates. Von der Leyen said the flow of vaccine products was smooth with the United States but aired frustration over a lack of deliveries from AstraZeneca in Britain. She said 10 million doses had gone from EU plants to the former member state. We are still waiting for doses to come from the UK, von der Leyen said in the latest sign of souring ties between Britain and the 27-nation bloc since Brexit. If this situation does not change, we will have to reflect on how to make exports to vaccine-producing countries dependent on their level of openness. We will reflect on whether exports to countries with higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate. British foreign minister Dominic Raab hit back, accusing the Commission of brinkmanship and calling for an explanation after the government had received assurances that the EU did not intend to curb exports which are under contract. I think it takes some explaining because the worlds watching It also cuts across the direct assurances that we had from the Commission, Raab told Reuters. We expect those assurances and legal, contracted supply to be respected. Frankly, Im surprised were having this conversation. It is normally what the UK and EU team up with to reject, when other countries with less democratic regimes than our own engage in that kind of brinkmanship. SUMMER TRAVEL? Von der Leyen spoke as six EU countries complained to Brussels about reduced deliveries that are hampering the blocs already troubled inoculation campaign struggling amid reduced deliveries by AstraZeneca. Further complicating matters, various EU nations including its largest members Germany, France and Italy this week halted AstraZeneca shots pending safety checks. The situation threatens plans announced by the Commission to launch a green digital certificate that would collate information on vaccinations, tests and COVID recovery to let travelers cross borders freely again. Southern EU countries reliant on tourism hope the new certificate can win final approval in June and go online in time for the peak season. But countries including France, Belgium and Germany have voiced skepticism. EU countries will be under pressure to agree a common position swiftly for their 450 million people. The task is further complicated by uncertainty over whether those inoculated can transmit the virus, and public skepticism about vaccines. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop, Francesco Guarascio, Sabine Siebold, Jan Strupczewski, Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by William James and Elizabeth Piper in London, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by John Chalmers, Andrew Cawthorne and Gareth Jones) Topics COVID-19 Europe Uk In line with its commitment to help in the fight against COVID-19 in Ghana, Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has made donations to two institutions in the Ashanti region. The items include 50 laptops to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and hospital equipment to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) hospital at Breman. The donation of the laptops to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is to support needy but brilliant students during the COVID-19 period. The donation also forms part of the banks regional CSR activities and commitment to support selected institutions. Commenting on the donation, Emmanuel Nikoi, Director of Retail and Business Banking at CBG, said: Evidently, COVID-19 has affected the traditional mode of teaching and learning. To curb the virus from spreading in institutions, the ideal way is to emphasize on virtual or contactless class sessions, and this cannot be achieved without digital platforms. Therefore, in line with CBGs interest to help in wider social issues including education, we saw the need to support KNUSTs SONSOL Project to ensure smooth online academic work amid the pandemic. Professor Rita Akosua Dickson, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST expressed her appreciation to the bank. We are grateful to the board, management, and staff of CBG for these laptops. We cant thank you enough. We also look forward to more. Ayekoo to CBG, At a separate event, the bank presented hospital beds, trolleys, monitor, fridge, Xray viewers amongst others to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA) hospital at Breman. Dr Anthony Eric Eshun, Medical Director of the hospital along with his team who received the items expressed their appreciation and commended the bank for the kind gesture. Also speaking at the brief handing over ceremony, Eric Kwarteng, the Ashanti Regional Manager at CBG emphasized that the bank appreciates the relationship they have with the hospital. Mr. Emmanuel Nikoi, added that, CBG is committed to support the health sector especially during these COVID-19 times. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana, we have supported medical institutions including the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Covid-19 National Trust Fund, the Ministry of Health, the University of Ghana Medical Centre, the Lekma hospital, and the Korle-Bu Nursing Training School. We are happy to also assist Breman hospital. We believe these items, will not only be fulfilling our mandate to stand with customers but also ensure some health needs of the people in the Breman area are met. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video (Bloomberg) -- Investments into next-generation wireless networks will span a much longer time than the 4G cycle, giving underdog Nokia Oyj time to catch up with rivals that zoomed past it for early rollouts, according to its chief executive. The Finnish telecommunications gear maker on Thursday presented an outline of how it plans to regain competitiveness by 2023, with Chief Executive Officer Pekka Lundmark trimming as many as 10,000 jobs in two years to pour the money saved into new hires in 5G. The actions are necessary, but not a sign that Nokia would have missed the boat, he said. The main buildouts of fifth-generation networks will span over a time period twice as long as the 4G peak because of the industrial digital revolution they enable, Lundmark said in an interview on Thursday. So no, were not late. Delays in rolling out 5G across Europe will buy Nokia time as it seeks to take back market share from Swedens Ericsson AB and Chinas Huawei Technologies Co, which made gains early in the cycle. Missteps in designing 5G gear have largely been overcome, said Lundmark, who took over as CEO in August. Nokia is now ramping up shipments of base stations that contain its more cost-effective proprietary system-on-chip. We were not that successful in the first phase of 5G, our product was not ready, he said, referring to when the cycle suddenly started in China in 2019. Its significantly more competitive now and we believe that when we get through this year we will have restored our competitiveness. Investors expressed their doubts over the plans, sending Nokia share down as much as 5.8% in Helsinki trading, the most in more than six weeks. The initial share loss in radios was particularly visible in China as operators made their first round of equipment purchases, said Tommi Uitto, head of Mobile Networks. Nokia is participating in subsequent rounds to stem further erosion, even as it may not be able to take back meaningful share, he said. Story continues We believe that any risk of significant footprint loss is significantly reduced, Uitto said. (Adds shares, comment from Mobile Networks chief from sixth paragraph) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Red Tier Designation Allows Angelenos More Freedom, Public Health Officials Urge to Proceed with Caution Angelenos are seeing redred tier that is, with Los Angeles County in the less restrictive zone, residents once again have a choice of where they spend their time. As restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses open to the public with some protocols in place, this Spring is looking different from last year. Public health officials are adamant that safety guidelines remain a top priority for everyone. Tomorrow, March 16, will mark the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19-related Health Officer Order here in L.A. County and for the first time since the state created the Blueprint for a Safer Economy last summer, L.A. County has moved from the most restrictive purple tier to the red tier, said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. That we are here today is not a miracle; our recovery represents the deep commitment by hundreds of thousands of individuals and many thousands of businesses to adhering to safety measures and making sacrifices to keep each other safe. I thank you L.A. County. As of Monday, March 15, the following are now permitted to open with required safety protocols for masking, distancing and infection control: ADVERTISEMENT *Museums, Zoos and Aquariums can open indoors at 25% capacity *Gyms, Fitness Centers, Yoga and Dance Studios can open indoors at 10% capacity with masking requirement for all indoor activities *Movie Theatres can open indoors at 25% capacity with reserved seating only where each group is seated with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions between any other groups *Retail and Personal Care Services can increase capacity to 50% with masking required at all times and for all services *Restaurants can open indoors at 25% max capacity under the following conditions: can open indoors at 25% max capacity under the following conditions: eight feet distancing between tables; one household per indoor table with a limit of six people; the HVAC system is in good working order and has been evaluated, and to the maximum extent possible ventilation has been increased; public health strongly recommends that all restaurant employees interacting with customers indoors are provided with additional masking protection (above the currently required face shield over face masks); this can be fit tested N95 masks, KN95 masks, or double masks, in addition to the required face shield; public health also strongly recommends that all employees working indoors are informed about and offered opportunities to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Outdoor dining can accommodate up to six people per table from three different households *Indoor Shopping Malls can increase capacity to 50% with common areas remaining closed; food courts can open at 25% capacity adhering to the restaurant guidance for indoor dining ADVERTISEMENT *Institutes of Higher Education can re-open all permitted activities with required safety modifications except for residential housing which remains under current restrictions for the Spring semester *Schools are permitted to re-open for in-person instruction for students in grades 7-12 adhering to all state and county directives *Private gatherings can occur indoors with up to three separate households, with masking and distancing required at all times. People who are fully vaccinated can gather in small numbers indoors with other people who are fully vaccinated without required masking and distancing. Public health officials are urging the public to continue following these core practices: *Go outdoors. Outdoor activities are far safer than indoor ones *Stay masked. Consistent and correct use of masks, especially double-masking, both indoors and outdoors, is very effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 *Maintain at least a 6-foot distance from others. Physical distancing from those who do not live with you also helps to keep the virus away *Avoid crowds. The fewer people you encounter and the fewer interactions you have, the smaller the chance the virus will spread *Get vaccinated when its your turn. All federally authorized vaccines work well and will help protect you, your family, and your friends against COVID-19 As of Monday, March 15, the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health confirmed 6 new deaths and 422 new cases of COVID-19. There were 893 people with COVID-19 hospitalized with of 28% these people in the ICU. Public Health identified 1,210,663 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 22,475 deaths. Cases across the Southland: Los Angeles County shows 1,148,011 cases, Long Beach with 51,621 cases and Pasadena with 11,031. According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 1,927; Asian with 52,451; Black with 41,886; Hispanic/Latino with 570,327; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 4,148; White with 118,694; those of other race and ethnicity with 105,847 and 252,731 under investigation. As we move forward, lets remember that our re-openings are happening alongside holidays and spring break, said Ferrer. Holiday traveling, gatherings indoors and large parties have in the past wrecked our recovery journey. Lets not repeat past mistakes and lets pledge to keep everyone alive until it is their turn to get vaccinated. For more information and statistics on COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ For more detailed information on COVID-19 vaccination plans in L.A. County and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com on Wednesday announced three candidates for three Assembly seats in going to polls in the third phase. The party fielded Abdur Rahim Ahmed from Barpeta, Mira Borthakur Goswami from Guwahati West, and Anowar Hussain from Hajo constituencies for Assembly elections. Polling for the 126-member assembly will be held on March 27, April 1, and April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. In 2016, the BJP scripted history and formed the government for the first time in the state ending Congress's 15-year rule. BJP and its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) won a combined 86 seats in the 126-member Assam assembly. BJP had bagged 60 seats, AGP 14, and BPF 12 seats. This time the BPF has joined the Congress-led coalition 'Mahajath' after breaking away from the BJP-led BJP is contesting the polls in Assam in alliance with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) alliance. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 20:59:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The 2021-2025 period will be crucial for China to control carbon emission as the country reiterates its carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality goals in its new development agenda, experts say. Commenting on a high-profile meeting earlier this week, Chang Jiwen, a researcher on resources and environmental policies with the Development Research Center of the State Council, highlighted government calls to incorporate carbon-related goals into the country's long-term development. To peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality is an extensive and profound systemic reform for the economy and society, and should be incorporated into the overall layout of building an ecological civilization, according to the meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs. China announced last year that it will strive to bring its carbon emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon-neutral before 2060. Therefore, less than 10 years away from its first goal, emission control efforts in the next five years have become especially crucial. Toward this end, the meeting stressed work in the energy system, key industries, carbon sequestration and international cooperation, as well as technologies, lifestyle, policy support and market building related to green and low-carbon development. "There is no shortcut to emission peak and carbon neutrality," said Pan Jiahua with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who considered the measures proposed at the meeting as very precise. Among all the actions to be taken, the top priority is to control the use of fossil fuels, according to Pan. While China's economic rise over the past decades was largely powered by coal, the share of fossil fuels in China's energy mix still stands around 85 percent. The best scenario is that China will achieve zero growth in coal consumption during the 2021-2025 period, and see usage peak and start to decline by 2025, said He Jiankun, deputy director of China's national expert committee on climate change. "By 2030, the newly increased energy demand for economic development will be basically met by newly added non-fossil energy, and the consumption of fossil energy will not increase on the whole," He told Xinhua earlier this year. Pan called for increasing the use of renewable energy while building new power systems that mainly serve new energy. There is great potential in the development of green industrial supply chains as well as green buildings in the next five years, according to Chang. The campaign for green energy would also enable the public to embrace a more eco-friendly lifestyle, which is already shown by the country's booming sales of new energy vehicles. Meanwhile, starting in February, China implemented a set of interim rules for the management of carbon-emissions trading designed to drive down the emissions of big power users. Under the scheme, firms that exceed the emission caps can buy emission quotas from others with a lower carbon footprint. A total of 2,225 power firms are included in the project. More fields, such as the steel and aluminum production sectors, will be included in future carbon trading. "Peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality is a tough battle, and it is also a major test of the Party's capabilities in governing the country," the meeting has stressed. Chang said carbon emission control is a long-term, arduous task, urging local governments to strengthen capabilities of green and low-carbon development. Enditem 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. Mar. 17A hotly debated proposal that would open the door to civil rights lawsuits against government agencies in state court and remove "qualified immunity" as a legal defense in such cases passed the New Mexico Senate early Wednesday. The proposed New Mexico Civil Rights Act comes after nearly a year of civil unrest in the aftermath of several deadly incidents of police brutality that rocked the nation and led to calls for reform. "I think all of us watched in horror eight minutes and 46 seconds of a police officer's knee on George Floyd's neck as he told the officer that he couldn't breathe and other officers stood and watched," said Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, referring to an unarmed Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis last year. "The horror of that video caused us as a country to once again reexamine and reevaluate our civil rights and our justice system, and our interaction between our society and the protection of those rights in government," added Cervantes, the Senate sponsor of the bill. The 26-15 vote, which took place just after midnight, was largely along party lines. Sen. George Munoz, a more moderate Democrat from Gallup, sided with Republicans in opposing the proposal, which narrowly passed the state House of Representatives last month. The House must approve an amended version of the bill before it heads to the governor's desk. The contentious proposal would eliminate a doctrine known as qualified immunity as a legal defense to civil rights complaints filed against government agencies in state District Court. The doctrine shields government workers, including police, from personal liability under federal law when workers violate people's constitutional rights. Currently, lawsuits alleging violations of U.S. constitutional rights are filed in federal court. House Bill 4 would create a path to filing similar claims in a state court under the New Mexico Bill of Rights. Story continues An amended version of the bill caps damages at $2 million per claimant for each "occurrence." Republican members of the Senate decried the measure, describing it as anti-law enforcement and saying it would lead to increased costs for government agencies that would ultimately be passed on to taxpayers. "This bill doesn't do anything to address the problem of public employees who violate individuals' rights," said Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho. "It's just a slap in the face to all the officers in our state. All we've done in this bill is create a lawyer enrichment bill." While New Mexico State Police officers have been a constant presence in the Roundhouse since the start of the 60-day legislative session in January, they rarely listen to floor debate. But at least three officers stood watch in the gallery as lawmakers took up the matter. Cervantes asked lawmakers to "reject some of the rhetoric" heard in the chamber, calling it a tactic to divide them. "It's only diversionary to try and suggest this is us versus the police," he said. Republicans said government concerns about higher insurance rates and increased exposure to liability were real. "We've been here a long time with cities and counties calling in saying, 'Please don't do this to us. Please don't do this to us.' Because if we do this to them, we're doing it to the people of New Mexico," said Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington. "We don't want to deprive somebody of their civil rights, but we also don't want to make the taxpayers of whatever jurisdiction just pour money into this endless pit of lawsuits," he added. Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said New Mexico would be dropping off a "precipice" with the civil rights bill. "We have the most liberal liability laws of any place except Washington, D.C., and the stuff we didn't have has now been added through this," he said. "It's going to open up areas for liability that we have never seen before. And our counties and our cities, our highway departments, every state agency we have, I think, is going to be subject to things that they have never even thought about." At the start of Tuesday's late-night hearing, the Senate approved a number of changes to the bill, including eliminating mandatory attorney fees, a big concern for local governments. The proposal would allow a prevailing party to receive attorney fees but only at the discretion of a judge. Other changes would require notice of a potential claim involving law enforcement to a government agency within a year and exclude incidents that happened before July 2021. "The provision that strikes mandatory fees, I think, is a huge concession to the local governments who have raised various concerns on this bill," said Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque. Cervantes said the changes reflect "the ongoing efforts of the [sponsors] to try and be reasonable in response to concerns brought by city and county governments." City and county government officials across the state have voiced the loudest opposition to the bill, saying it could lead to higher insurance rates and costly settlements for wrongdoing among employees, as well as force agencies to divert resources from essential services to lawsuits. They also contend the bill does nothing to address the type of misconduct it seeks to prevent. "Giving us a punitive measure on the back end, the financial guillotine on the back end, is not going to solve the problem," AJ Forte, executive director of the New Mexico Municipal League, told lawmakers last month. The bill is being sponsored by three attorneys: House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, Rep. Georgene Louis, D-Albuquerque, and Cervantes. "Let me take a moment ... to let this body know that I have practiced law for 30 years, and I've never brought a civil rights claim under Section 1983 [which allows for lawsuits against government over civil rights violations] against a law enforcement officer," Cervantes said at the start of the hearing. "This is not my practice or area of law, and I have no conflict of interest or financial motive in bringing this legislation." The measure triggered an ethics complaint against Egolf alleging he stands to benefit financially from the measure if it becomes law. Egolf has called the complaint baseless. The State Ethics Commission has indicated two of three charges in the complaint would likely be dismissed but that a third is still under review. The law would apply to a large number of public bodies, from municipalities to school districts. Acequia associations and soil and water conservation districts would be among the few organizations that would be exempt. Follow Daniel J. Chacon on Twitter @danieljchacon. Follow Daniel J. Chacon on Twitter @danieljchacon. South Africa: Have your say on draft guidelines for the poultry industry The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has called for comments on the draft South African Standard (DSS) 1758 that focuses on the welfare of chickens. Chicken is one of the most consumed proteins in South Africa and it is important that there are national specifications that guide the breeding, rearing and production practices of chicken farming, especially in commercial enterprises, SABS Lead Administrator Jodi Scholtz said on Thursday. The South African poultry industry is estimated to be worth R1.7 billion annually, with several large commercial enterprises and hundreds of local small-scale farmers making up the sector. The Poultry Master Plan, which was signed in 2019 during the second inaugural South African Investment Conference in Johannesburg, expresses the commitment by government to drive local production, grow export and to implement regulatory reforms in the industry. SANS 1758 provides guidelines for the adoption of good agricultural practices, quality management of the chicken through its life stages and is cognisant of the contribution that the poultry industry makes towards food security. The SABS foresees that once the standard is published, where the welfare of the chickens becomes a priority then the risk for disease, injury, pain and suffering of the poultry reduces, Scholtz said. As part of efforts to support the industry, the SABS, through its Technical Committee (TC) has developed a draft South African Standard (DSS) 1758 that focuses on the welfare of chickens. This locally developed draft standard is currently at the public enquiry stage and comments close on Monday, 22 March 2021. The public is welcome to review the draft standard and submit their comments via the SABS website www.sabs.co.za. All comments will be reviewed and considered before the draft standard is published. The publication date of the standard will be dependent on the volume and nature of the comments. The draft standard was developed by Technical Committee 1094, which is responsible for the drafting of standards regarding the welfare of all livestock. The draft standard is a 53-page document that covers the following areas: Production performance against breed standards Condition of the chicken (behaviour, body and plumage condition, eggshell condition, mortality and morbidity rates, bone and foot problems, genetics, chicks and hatcheries) The environment of the practice Management practices Daily care of the poultry Euthanasia Live bird sales Health controls -.SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Chinese officials have repeatedly called on Canada to release Ms. Meng. China has described her arrest as an attempt by the United States to target Chinas most successful companies and thwart its scientific and technological progress. The Chinese judiciary handles cases independently according to the law and fully protects the legitimate rights of the persons involved, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. He did not provide details on the impending trials. The proceedings will likely be shrouded in secrecy. China maintains one of the most opaque legal systems in the world. Courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, and convictions in high-profile cases are almost certain, especially those involving national security. The trials will likely be shrouded in secrecy, with limited opportunities to examine evidence or hear rebuttals from the two men. The proceedings will likely be closed to the public and the news media. Mr. Spavors family said in a statement on Thursday that Mr. Spavor had very limited access to defense lawyers during his time in detention. The specific charges against Michael are vague and have not been publicly released, Mr. Spavors family said. He loved living and working in China and would never have done anything to offend the interests of China or the Chinese people. We stand by Michael and maintain his innocence in this difficult situation. Veteran actor Arun Govil who had become a household name with his portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, has joined BJP. The actor joined the political party at its office in Delhi, on Thursday (March 18), ahead of the assembly elections in the union territory of Puducherry and four states (West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam). Reportedly, BJP has stated that Arun Govil will not be contesting the elections but will instead campaign for the party. According to a leading media portal, regarding his decision to enter politics, he said, "Now I want to contribute to the nation and for that we need a platform. BJP is the best platform today." Talking about the actor, he had created a strong impact in the industry with his debut movie Paheli, which had released in the year 1977 and was produced by Rajshri Productions. However, the actor's breakthrough stint in the TV industry was through the mythological show Ramayan, wherein he played the titular role of Lord Ram. Also Read: Ramayan's Arun Govil Shares Rare Picture Of Him Working With Sridevi In Himmatwala! While Arun Govil had played Lord Ram in the show, actors Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri played Sita and Laxman respectively. Veteran actor Arvind Trivedi had essayed the role of Ravan in the same. The show which had started airing in the year 1987 had tasted stupendous success amongst the masses and had found a place in the Limca Book Of World Records for its path-breaking viewership. Also Read: Ramayan Fans Get Emotional After Channel Airs Last Episode; Amul Celebrates Show's Successful Re-Run Arun Govil's Ramayan held the record for World's Most Viewed Mythological TV Series till the year 2003. Apart from Ramayan, the actor also went on to appear in many other mythological shows like Buddha, Luv Kush and Vishwamitra. The actor has also worked in other regional films in languages namely Braj Bhasha, Bhojpuri, Odia and Telugu. For the unversed, Arun Govil-starrer Ramayan was also re-telecasted during the lockdown in the month of March last year. The show had received a tremendous response yet again during its re-telecast too. The actor had also revealed his happiness on the same. In an earlier interview last year with The Times Of India, Arun Govil had said, "Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan connected with the audience then and will continue to do so, even now. I feel that the show has been blessed by God himself; otherwise, why would it get revived after so many years? It is important for people to connect with the Almighty and seek divine intervention in these difficult times. If the show helps people seek God and follow His teachings, it is good." COVID-19 in Cayuga County, a timeline March 18, 2020: Cayuga County announces its first confirmed COVID-19 case. April 8, 2020: The first COVID-19 death is reported in Cayuga County. June 3, 2020: Cayuga County tops 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Dec. 5, 2020: Cayuga County eclipses 1,000 confirmed cases after 422 in November and a continued surge into early December. Dec. 22, 2020: With 122 new cases admitted, Cayuga County has its first day with more than 100 new daily cases. Dec. 31, 2020: The county ends December with 2,024 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the most in a month during the pandemic. Jan. 7: Cayuga County has its highest number of active COVID-19 cases (1,095) and residents in mandatory quarantine (8,054). Jan. 18: The county reports there are 46 COVID-related patients at Auburn Community Hospital, the most during the pandemic. Jan. 31: There were 60 COVID-related deaths in January, the deadliest month of the pandemic for Cayuga County. March 17: The health department reports 13 new cases in two days. In one year, the county has 5,488 confirmed cases. (Natural News) Did the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) escape from communist Chinas only level-four biosafety laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV)? According to David Asher, the former State Department lead investigator for the Chinese virus, the answer is yes. Asher, who is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News during a recent interview that he believes the Wuhan flu is a weapons vector gone awry. Many other scientists would seem to agree. If you believe, as I do, that this [was] not deliberately released by in development and then somehow leaked, this has turned out to be the greatest weapon in history, Asher told a Hudson Institute panel about the alleged origins of the plandemic. Youve taken out 15 to 20 percent of global GDP, he added. Youve killed millions of people. The Chinese population has been barely affected. Their economies roared back to being number one in the entire G20. Asher is really pushing the notion that the whole thing was some kind of accident, and that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) here in the United States, which has for years been funneling American taxpayer dollars to the WIV, was unaware of what was really taking place. The Wuhan Institute of Virology is not the National Institutes of Health, Asher told Fox. It was operating a secret, classified program. In my view, and Im just one person, my view is it was a biological weapons program. Asher is considered to be a follow the money guy, Fox reported. He has conducted numerous classified intelligence investigations for both the State Department and the Treasury, and under both Democratic and Republican administrations. He led the team that uncovered the international nuclear procurement network run by the father of Pakistans nuclear program, AQ Khan, and uncovered key parts of North Koreas secret uranium enrichment, a Fox report explains. He believes the Chinese Communist Party has been involved in a massive cover-up during the past 14 months. Fauci and the CCP are guilty of committing crimes against humanity Asher served in the same capacity at the State Department during the 2003 SARS outbreak, noting that the CCPs behavior today concerning the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is similar to how they behaved back then. Motive, cover-up, conspiracy, all the hallmarks of guilt are associated with this, he is quoted as saying. And the fact that the initial cluster of victims surrounded the very institute that was doing the highly dangerous, if not dubious, research is significant. The CCP remains insistent that the Chinese virus came from a Wuhan seafood market, even though it has been proven that the first known case had no connection at all to this market. Last fall, the U.S. obtained intelligence that it claims there was an outbreak of the virus among lab scientists working at the WIV. They developed flu-like symptoms and some of them had to be hospitalized. This was in November 2019 before communist China reported its first alleged case of the Wuhan flu. Asher and other panel experts from the Hudson Institute also say that back in 2007, communist China announced that it would begin work on genetic bioweapons using controversial gain of function research, which supposedly makes viruses more lethal. Fauci, we now know, was complicit in hot wiring coronaviruses with this gain of function engineering. China has been involved in this type of virus research since 2003, the SARS outbreak, confirmed State Department official Miles Yu. Chinas biosafety standard is really low and is very dangerous. So, this is an accident waiting to happen. More related news stories about the Chinese virus can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com 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. SACRAMENTO Critics of Gov. Gavin Newsom seeking to remove him from office turned in the last of more than 2.1 million signatures Wednesday, ending a nine-month petition drive that likely will force a recall election later this year. Organizers said they had gathered 2,117,730 signatures by the end of the day, giving them a healthy cushion to meet the qualification threshold of nearly 1.5 million valid signatures from registered voters. Anne Dunsmore, campaign manager for Rescue California, one of the groups collecting signatures, said they were feeling more confident than ever about ousting Newsom as he has embarked on a crusade to downplay the recalls legitimacy. Dunsmore said Newsoms approach has been condescending and that it would only further turn voters against him. It reminded people that hes out of touch with the core problems that started this in the first place, she said. COVID spotlighted his weaknesses as a leader. Californians likely wont know for several months if and when they will have an opportunity to decide the governors fate. County election officials have until the end of April to complete their count of valid signatures. Even if recall proponents have submitted enough, there is an extended period for people to withdraw their support and state officials to assess the cost of the election. A vote would probably not happen until November or December. But even the governor expects the recall to qualify. He launched an aggressive defense this week with a national media blitz decrying the recall as a power grab by right-wing extremists, conspiracy theorists and supporters of former President Donald Trump. Were going to fight it, Newsom said Tuesday during a visit to a school in Alameda. Sure, its about a governor. But its also about you. Its about our values. Its about what we hold dear. Newsom has tried to turn the recall back around on its organizers, making it a referendum on them and Trump, who received just 34% of the presidential vote in California in November. In Alameda, Newsom said the recall was not really about his response to the coronavirus pandemic but instead anger over the browning of California. He pointed to a Facebook post last year by Orrin Heatlie, the retired Yolo County sheriffs sergeant who initiated the recall drive, that suggested undocumented immigrants should be microchipped. The governor also highlighted the anti-vaccine views, belief in the QAnon conspiracy and donations to Trump by some recall leaders. Im fighting for the values of this state, and theres a lot at stake. Because in these elections, who knows what could happen? Newsom said. Just learn about who these folks are. Its just anathema to who we are as Californians. Recall backers accuse Newsom of insulting people who signed their petitions, including what they say are hundreds of thousands of Democrats and independents frustrated with his stringent lockdown measures and faltering response to the pandemic. After a slow start in which the effort appeared doomed to fail like several previous attempts since Newsom took office in 2019, a judge in November granted organizers four more months to collect signatures. The ruling coincided with an explosion of public frustration over the governors attendance at a birthday dinner for his political adviser at the French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley. But Kim Nalder, a political science professor at California State University Sacramento, said portraying the recall as an outside attack on California rather than engaging in any substantive discussion of his record was one of the best moves Newsom could make at this point. She said the infusion of pro-recall cash from national donors, including the Republican Party, made it easy for him to draw the connections. One of the things hes done since he became governor is to position himself as the anti-Trump, Nalder said. So this just continues that narrative, and narratives are more persuasive if we already have some investment in them. While Democrats have rallied around Newsom holding a series of news conferences against the recall over the past week Republican candidates are jumping into the race, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and John Cox, a real estate investor and tax attorney who lost to Newsom by 24 points in the 2018 governors election. On Tuesday, Doug Ose, a Sacramento-area business owner and former member of Congress, said he would also challenge Newsom, either in a recall election or in his re-election bid next year. He said his campaign would focus on reopening classrooms for in-person instruction, giving students the choice of enrolling outside of their neighborhood schools and addressing homelessness through drug and mental health courts. Ive lived here all my life. The reason Im running is Ive never seen it so screwed up, Ose said. Its just disgraceful and Ive had enough. Ose explored a run for governor in 2018, but dropped out after concluding that Republican donors were uninterested in seriously challenging Newsom. He said the pandemic and the recall had changed that, giving the GOP a real shot to take back the California governorship for the first time in more than a decade. We know the record of failure that Gavin Newsom offers us, Ose said. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. A stable operational situation with no incidents has been maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact of the Armenian state border overnight March 17-18, the Defense Ministry of Armenia told Armenpress. According to the information provided by the Armenian National Security Service, the situation has also not changed in Vorotan-Davit Bek section of the Goris-Kapan inter-state road which is under the responsibility of the NSS border troops. The Armed Forces of Armenia and the NSS border troops control the border situation along the entire length of the border zone and fulfill their tasks. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Of course, nobody can replace Rush, but Westwood One, a syndicator whose parent also owns many of the biggest stations that carried the late talk show giant, is making a bid to grab his audience by moving Dan Bongino's talk show to Rush's time slot (noon to 3 P.M. Eastern) and replacing Rush in many of the top ten markets where its parent, Cumulus Media, owns the stations on which Rush appeared. Rush's show, currently being guest-hosted, is syndicated by Premier Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, which owns more than 850 AM and FM radio stations across the nation. Thus, the two giants of radio station ownership and syndication are about to enter a titanic battle for the biggest radio audience in modern history. Dan Bongino on FNC 3/17/21 (YouTube screen grab, cropped). Here is the "nut graf" of the P.R. release Westwood One put out: CUMULUS MEDIA's Westwood One today announced The Dan Bongino Show, a new three-hour radio program airing Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The news and opinion show will launch May 24 in markets nationwide, including CUMULUS news stations in top-ten markets New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. And here is their description of Dan Bongino: Dan Bongino is an American conservative radio show host, podcast host, frequent television political commentator, and New York Times-best-selling author whose books include "Life Inside the Bubble," about his career as a Secret Service agent, "The Fight: A Secret Service Agent's Inside Account of Security Failings and the Political Machine," and "Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump." Bongino was formerly a Secret Service agent from 2006 to 2011, serving in the Obama and Bush administrations. He served as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer from 1995 to 1999. Bongino provides expertise on international security and political strategy for outlets such as FOX News and others. Bongino holds an MBA from Penn State University, and master's and bachelor's degrees from the City University of New York. For the moment, Premier has not added anything to its announcement a month ago about filling Rush's timeslot. From the Wall Street Journal last February 18: For Rush Limbaugh, the late conservative media magnate whose brash and unapologetic voice dominated talk radio for over three decades, the show will go on. "The Rush Limbaugh Show" will continue, using archived segments and clips, primarily airing Mr. Limbaugh's voice "until his audience is prepared to say goodbye," Premiere Networks, which distributes the show, said in a memo to affiliates. It will continue to air in its regular noon to 3 p.m. time slot Monday through Friday (snip) Mr. Limbaugh's 30 years of audio has been archived and cataloged by subject, topic and opinion, Premiere said in its memo. The show, from now on, will address the day's news using relevant clips. It appears to me that Westwood One saw an opportunity to grab its rival syndicator's largest audience with a smart, insightful, passionate, and very likable (at least to me) host, likely to strongly appeal to most of Rush's listeners. As a former NYPD cop and Secret Service agent, he has a lot of experience and street cred that he brings to his commentary. The pressure is now on Premier to come up with its own live broadcast replacement in Rush's timeslot. Stay tuned. Dan Bongino has made no secret of his recent bout with cancer. Ten days ago, the Washington Examiner reported: Conservative commentator Dan Bongino says a mass that was detected on his lungs is not a tumor just a month after completing treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. After Fox News host Sean Hannity teased the good news on his show Monday evening, the 46-year-old Bongino told the Washington Examiner that he was "relieved" to hear the news. "I had a mass in one of my lungs that was detected just weeks after completing treatment for my Hodgkin's lymphoma," he said. "After some imaging, it looks like some scarring and doesn't appear to be another tumor. I'm relieved." The former Secret Service agent added: "I have some follow-up testing in early May to make sure there are no additional hot spots. Hoping for the best." Bongino, who is a father and husband, has kept his large following up to speed on his health ever since announcing that a tumor was found on his neck in September. After successful surgery to remove the tumor, Bongino revealed on his radio show in October that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. In my opinion, Dan has a good chance to acquire Rush's historically unprecedented audience and keep conservatism dominant on the radio airwaves. Congratulations to both Dan and Westwood One. But I await Premier's livestream entry in the time slot. Among the talk show personalities it syndicates, the obvious choice would be Sean Hannity, who gained national prominence as a Rush guest host, and whose broadcast currently streams to affiliates right after Rush, at 3 P.M. Eastern. Will Premier move Sean up three hours and risk losing some of its key affiliates? Stay tuned, as they say in the radio biz. This is a cutthroat business, especially because podcasts have been eating into the broadcast radio audience for years. If you believe that competition is healthy, then the emergence of Dan Bongino as a rival for the time slot will ultimately benefit conservatives. Time will tell. The conclusion of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Romania is one of the major objectives of the Government, says Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, according to AGERPRES. "Achieving this goal depends only on Romania. The priority efforts are to correct the laws of justice, abolish the Section for the Investigation of Magistrates and align the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code with the decisions of the Constitutional Court," Barna wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday. He mentioned that this was also conveyed to the Vice President of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, and that he received assurance that the conclusion of the CVM is also on the agenda of the European executive. "After 13 years in which Romania has been the subject of exceptional monitoring by the European Commission, with major setbacks in 2018 and 2019, I am confident that our intensified efforts in the next period will lead to normal and predictable functioning of the rule of law in Romania. The message of Ms Jourova and the Commission was very clear: Romania is expected to show determination and results. Our commitment is that we will deliver them," the Deputy Prime Minister said. NEW FAIRFIELD Camp Candlewood is among the camps the Girl Scouts of Connecticut said it plans to sell in order to fund improvements at its other facilities in the state. The organization plans to close three other camps it operates in Bristol, Lebanon and Milford, but organizers are petitioning to keep at least two of them open. The organizations plan calls for selling both Camp Candlewood in New Fairfield and Camp Katoya in Milford. Operations at Camp Laurel, in Lebanon, would be moved to the Yankee Trails camp in Tolland. Once that is completed, the Camp Laurel property would be sold, according to the organizations website. We have a rare window of opportunity to take advantage of rising property values in Connecticut due to the pandemic, the organizations website said. The Girl Scouts said the funds from the sale of the camps will go toward improvements at other facilities. Girl Scouts also plan to exit Camp Carlson in Bristol, which is a deed-restricted property not owned by the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, and currently not being used. The organization says the plan is the result of ongoing maintenaince costs and the cost of bringing the facilities up to a standard that would attract enough camp-goers to stay afloat financially. But organizers are trying to ensure Camp Laurel and Camp Katoya remain open. This is a well loved and often used camp, reads an online petition calling for Camp Katoya to be spared from being sold. The petition, which has attracted nearly 2,400 signatures as of Wednesday, notes funds were raised to install a pool and new toilets at the camp as recently as 2014. Girl Scouts of CT has not allowed anyone to use Camp Katoya in Milford for over a year. The girls have lost so much this past year due to the pandemic. Dont take away their beloved camp! the petition reads. A second petition calls for Camp Laurel in Lebanon to be spared. That effort has gathered more than 3,100 signatures online as of Wednesday evening. That camp will be open this summer, according to the organizations website. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 04:48:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Staff members of Planet Fitness prepare for reopening to the public in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, March 15, 2021. (Xinhua) Although the country's national daily case average continues to fall -- about 32.5 percent over the last month -- nearly a third of all states have seen their average number of cases rise at least 10 percent, according to a report. WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Public health experts are concerned that the United States may witness a COVID-19 resurgence if states and people do not cautiously follow safety and protective measures. More than a dozen states have seen an uptick in COVID-19 infections, including Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, and Nevada, according to the latest data of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although the country's national daily case average continues to fall -- about 32.5 percent over the last month -- nearly a third of all states have seen their average number of cases rise at least 10 percent, according to an ABC News report. Several states, including Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and West Virginia, have seen their case averages increase by at least 25 percent in the last week. "I don't expect to see something as bad as we just recovered from, but if we're not careful, cases can rise again if we let our guard down too soon," said Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at the Kent State University College of Public Health. Health officials have repeatedly warned about a potential COVID-19 resurgence as some state leaders have lifted mask mandates and eased restrictions. People wearing face masks are seen on an airport express train in Seattle, the United States, March 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) It is too early to know if the drop in new cases is a turning point "because new, more contagious variants are circulating in the country," Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Experts are concerned that new variants are outpacing the vaccinations, and have called on the public to double down on safety measures such as wearing face masks, social distancing and avoiding crowded areas. A total of 4,855 infection cases of coronavirus variants had been reported in the United States as of Tuesday, according to CDC data. The vast majority of these cases, 4,686, were caused by the variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected in Britain. There were 142 cases of a new strain initially discovered in South Africa, called B.1.351, and 27 cases of the P.1 strain first discovered in Brazil. "We hope that the vaccine rollout will outweigh the variants spread," Perlman said. [March 18, 2021] Ethnic E-Grocer Weee! Raises $315M in Series D Led by DST Global with Participation from Blackstone, Arena Holdings, and Tiger Global FREMONT, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Weee! ( www.sayweee.com ), the leading ethnic e-grocer in the United States, today announced $315 million in Series D financing led by existing investor DST Global. New investors include funds managed by Blackstone, Arena Holdings, and Tiger Global; significantly deepening the company's capital base. The new capital will be used to further accelerate the company's geographic expansion with the most efficient fulfilment technology, build a stronger and more diverse product assortment, recruit exceptional talent, and invest in engaging the broader Asian and Hispanic communities with state-of-the-art personalization features. "Ethnic communities have been overlooked in the online and retail space. We believe the opportunity to provide these fast growing communities access to exciting and affordable groceries is tremendous," said Larry Liu, founder and CEO of Weee! "We are thrilled to leverage DST Global and our new investors' strategic view on the future of retail and vast experience building and scaling technology companies to accelerate our mission." "Weee! has a unique understanding of how explosive growth can be achieved sustainably in the emerging online grocery space," said Rahul Mehta, managing partner at DST Global. "The team's back-to-basics focus on merchandising, everyday low prices, and remarkable social shopping approach are what sets Weee! apart, and we're excited to deepen our support for their mission." While grocery remains the lowest penetrated retail segment within the e-commerce landscape, the grocery market for ethnic customers is expected to surpass $464 billion by 20301. Weee!'s current category assortment spans ethnic ingredients essential to Asian and Hispanic cuisines, catering to an underserved population with >20% growth since 2010 2. Weee! Currently serves 14 key regions coast-to-coast and aims to expand to 30 cities across North America by 2024. About Weee! Inc. Weee! was founded in 2015 with the belief that quality, freshness, and accessibility shouldn't ever be compromised when it comes to food. Loved and recognized as a trusted household brand among underserved communities, Weee! makes convenient and affordable access to specialty products and everyday essentials possible. Products are guaranteed to be delivered at peak freshness and priced lower than or comparable to offline stores. No subscription is required to shop and next-day delivery is free with a low order minimum. The company continues to redefine online grocery shopping by leveraging social e-commerce and proprietary forecasting technology. Weee! is headquartered in Fremont, California and has received $415M+ in funding from Arena Holdings, Blackstone, DST Global, Goodwater Capital, iFly.vc, Lightspeed Ventures, Tiger Global, VMG, and XVC. For more information, please visit www.sayweee.com/en or follow us on Instagram and Twitter . Forward-Looking Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide our current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "strive," "will" or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Examples of forward-looking statements in this announcement include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our disclosure concerning the Company's operations, cash flows, financial position and dividend policy. Press Contact pr@sayweee.com 1 U.S. Grocery Market Share, Statista 2 U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2019 Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ethnic-e-grocer-weee-raises-315m-in-series-d-led-by-dst-global-with-participation-from-blackstone-arena-holdings-and-tiger-global-301249729.html SOURCE Weee [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The family of a 61-year-old California inmate who died of the coronavirus sued state corrections officials Tuesday, blaming a botched transfer of infected inmates to San Quentin State Prison that killed 28 inmates and a correctional officer last year. Daniel Ruiz was serving a four-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance for sale and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to corrections officials. He died July 10. Corrections officials said he was scheduled to be released in September 2021. The lawsuit says he had several risk factors, including asthma, obesity, Hepatitis C and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. By the time his family found out hed been infected, hed been in a hospital intensive care unit for two weeks, was on a ventilator, and was near death. His familys attorneys said its the first such federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from officials decision to transfer 122 inmates from the California Institute for Men near Los Angeles to the prison north of San Francisco in late May, before they had been properly tested. But a class-action lawsuit is pending in Marin County Superior Court on behalf of inmate Steven Malear and what that suit said were at least 1,400 other San Quentin inmates infected in a transfer that state officials have acknowledged was disastrous, if well-intended. Malears suit was filed in late July. By the end of August, 2,237 inmates and 277 employees at the facility were infected. The prison, which also houses the states death row, once again has zero active cases as it did before the transfer, according to a department online tracker. The state was seeking to have that lawsuit dismissed, said attorney Charles Kelly. Corrections department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said officials had not yet been served with the Ruiz familys lawsuit and will evaluate it once it is received. Michael Haddad, one of the familys attorneys, said the transfer caused the worst prison public health debacle in California history, a criticism echoed by some state lawmakers. The states inspector general last month similarly said the states misguided attempt to protect inmates from the coronavirus at the Southern California prison caused a public health disaster at San Quentin. Corrections officials compounded the tragedy by not informing Ruizs family of his infection or hospitalization and barring officials at the outside hospital from telling his relatives, said Julia Sherwin, another family attorney. Prison doctors then appointed themselves to be Daniels medical surrogates, to make important medical decisions for Daniel that his family had the right to make for him, she alleged. The suit was filed by Ruizs mother and four of his children, who said they had to watch him die on a Zoom call.It was devastating to see him like that, his younger sister, Angel Ruiz Corona, said in a statement. We knew we were going to lose him but hoped he could hear us and know he wasnt alone. He was their mothers first-born child, and she is so heartbroken. It seems like she wishes she could be with him already, Ruiz Corona wrote. Unrelated to the San Quentin transfer, a third lawsuit filed in Monterey County Superior Court in February accuses officials at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad of causing a super-spreader event by pulling Black inmates from their cells in the middle of the night during what the warden has said was a properly executed gang investigation in July. That pending class-action lawsuit alleges widespread racist behavior and comments by correctional officers during the investigation, but also says that holding the inmates in close quarters without masks while their cells were being searched eventually led to 2,700 coronavirus cases and 17 deaths at the prison south of San Francisco. The peak of those infections came in January, when there also were widespread infections throughout the prison system and California in general during the states worst wave of the pandemic. Thornton said the department cannot comment on active or pending litigation. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits California ANALYSIS: A look back at COVID-related measures and how they are shaping the future of Canadian immigration. One year later: How the pandemic is affecting Canadian immigration ANALYSIS: A look back at COVID-related measures and how they are shaping the future of Canadian immigration. One year later: How the pandemic is affecting Canadian immigration ANALYSIS: A look back at COVID-related measures and how they are shaping the future of Canadian immigration. One year later: How the pandemic is affecting Canadian immigration ANALYSIS: A look back at COVID-related measures and how they are shaping the future of Canadian immigration. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Days after Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced plans to increase immigration in 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the world that the Canadian border would be closed on March 18 one year ago today as a public safety measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Initially, the border was just supposed to be closed until June 30, 2020. Although travel restrictions have undergone some changes, they are still in effect. Border crossings are down between 88 per cent and 96 per cent for land and air travel, respectively. The government currently has no plan for when nor how it will reopen the border. Up until January, Canadas immigration levels had taken a huge hit, in part due to travel restrictions. By the end of 2020, only 184,000 new permanent residents had landed in Canada, the lowest level since 1998. But travel restrictions were not the only measure that would upset immigration levels. Social distancing and other COVID safety measures at home and abroad also affected operations at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration The early days In the beginning, it was generally only Canadians, essential workers, and immediate family members, among others who were exempt from travel restrictions who could travel to Canada. All other travel had to be non-optional or non-discretionary. IRCC cancelled all citizenship ceremonies, tests, and retests. In-person permanent residency landing appointments were cancelled for almost a month. Around the world Visa Application Centres were closed, and language tests were cancelled, meaning it was difficult for some to complete the application process for Canadian immigration. While all these services were put on hold, IRCC extended the time limit for immigration applicants to apply. Those who were affected by service closures could ask IRCC for an extra 90 days to complete their applications. Approved permanent residents were only exempt if they received their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) before March 18. With limited exceptions, all travellers to Canada had to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine. They would need to arrive with a plan to get food and medicine during their stay, and not put others at risk, especially vulnerable people. Federal government measures to support immigrants during the pandemic International students who got their study permits after March 18 were not allowed to come to Canada in the beginning, but the government took the unprecedented step of allowing online study to count toward a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). As of February, international students can do 100 per cent of their program online, up until December 31, 2021, and still be eligible for the PGWP. In the fall, Mendicino announced that international students would be exempt if they were going to Designated Learning Institutions that had a COVID-19 readiness plan. On the same day, the minister announced that extended family members could also come to Canada, which meant that the adult children of Canadians could come visit their parents. Also, foreign nationals who wanted to cross the border for compassionate reasons, such as a funeral, were allowed to travel and even break quarantine in certain situations. The pandemic also forced more of IRCCs services to go digital. Approved permanent residents can now complete the landing process electronically. Also, Canada now offers both citizenship ceremonies and citizenship tests online. Vaccines, the second wave, and hotel quarantine Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 9, after new cases had climbed to unprecedented levels that would continue into the new year. There are now four vaccines approved in Canada, and they are available to anyone who is eligible for them regardless of their citizenship status. In January, Canada implemented a new mandatory quarantine requirement, where arriving international air travellers would have to stay in a government-approved hotel near one of the four major airports that have been operating throughout the pandemic. All new international arrivals would also need to do a COVID-19 test upon crossing the border. The ones still left behind Although Canada continued to accept immigration applications, the government did not exempt the applicants it approved from any country other than the U.S. This means that people who were approved for permanent residence from any other country need to be exempt under some other measure in order to complete the landing process in Canada. IRCC said that these approved permanent residents will be able to complete their landing when travel restrictions are lifted, and they will not have to re-apply if their documents expire while travel restrictions are in place. Immigration said to be key to economic recovery Along with low levels of immigration in 2020, Canadas population growth also slowed. To make up for it, the Canadian government set the ambitious target of welcoming 401,000 new immigrants in 2021. The first month of this year already started to look like pre-pandemic immigration levels, with nearly 25,000 newcomers landing in Canada. Canada has also been upping its efforts to admit new permanent residents who are already in Canada. On February 13, Canada invited every single Express Entry candidate who was eligible for the Canadian Experience Class to apply for permanent residence. About 90 per cent of the people who are eligible for this program are already in Canada. Throughout the pandemic, the federal government maintained that immigration will continue to be a priority. Canada is still facing the demographic challenges that it was before the pandemic, an aging labour force, and a declining birth rate. These problems can only be addressed by welcoming high levels of immigrants. There is no timeline on when the border will re-open and allow immigrants from abroad to easily travel to Canada. However, Trudeau has promised on multiple occasions that everyone in Canada who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by the end of September, or maybe sooner. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. Kanpur: The Kanpur jail authorities on Thursday (March 18) revealed that at least 10 prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 in the jail. After the information came to light, all the inmates were immediately shifted to a hospital at the jail. The authorities also added that all inmates are asymptomatic. "Ten prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 at Kanpur jail. All of them are asymptomatic and have been shifted to L1 level hospital established at the jail," said RK Jaiswal, jail superintendent. Ten prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19 at Kanpur jail. All of them are asymptomatic and have been shifted to L1 level hospital established at the jail: RK Jaiswal, jail superintendent (17.03.2021) pic.twitter.com/6REF2Nk7kj ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 18, 2021 Meanwhile, amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and others, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers of the states on Wednesday (March 17). "We will have to immediately stop the emerging second wave of coronavirus, and for this, we will have to take quick and decisive steps," said PM Modi in the meeting. Additionally, amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ruled out the possibility of a night curfew or lockdown. Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar authorities on Thursday (March 18) imposed COVID-19 restrictions, under Section 144 of CrPC, between March 17- April 30 as a precautionary measure against the rising cases in view of upcoming festivals. As many as 28,903 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Wednesday (March 17). The death toll stands at 1,59,044 including 188 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, over 3,50,64,536 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the country. Live TV Rebranding 18 March 2021 Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into franchise agreements with an affiliate of Dreamscape Companies LLC, which will lead the renovation of the Rio Las Vegas. The multi-phase project is expected to bring multiple Hyatt full-service offerings to Las Vegas, one of the most visited leisure, group, and convention markets in the world, in the renovated Rio hotel. The more than 2,510-room Rio Las Vegas will be renovated and rebranded into multiple Hyatt full-service brand flags, and will undergo a redevelopment of the current public spaces, including gaming, retail, food and beverage, spa and fitness, and pool recreation deck. In addition, the Rio Las Vegas will undergo a renovation of one of the hotel's existing towers, and upon completion, the tower is expected to become a 1,501-room Hyatt Regency hotel with standard guestrooms averaging 580 square feet. The remainder of the Rio's guestrooms are expected to be branded or affiliated with one or more other Hyatt full-service brands after they are renovated. Beyond redefining the hotel experience for business travelers and leisure guests, the Hyatt Regency hotel and other Hyatt-affiliated hotels will welcome meetings and event business with more than 220,000 square feet of function space and state-of-the-art meeting facilities. Photo: VicPD A woman was arrested after Victoria Police found a loaded, heavily modified .22 calibre rifle in her possession. Officers on patrol in the parking lot of a multi-unit temporary housing facility on Wednesday recognized a woman wanted for failing to attend court in relation to a previous drug-trafficking and weapons possession investigation. The woman was arrested a short distance away. When police searched her, they discovered she was carrying a modified assault-style rifle, loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition in the magazine. They also found ammunition for other firearms. The woman was taken to Victoria police cells, where she was being held awaiting court. She faces several firearms-related charges, including carrying a concealed weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession of a prohibited firearm. The file remains under investigation. ALBERT LEA, Minn. The Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce is unveiling a marketing campaign urging people to get the COVID vaccine when they are eligible. The Chamber says it has been working on the campaign with Freeborn County Public Health, Mayo Health Systems, and several others to create the Get It took kit with digital images for social media post, images for print, and four short video clips that you can download and use. Material is currently available in English, Spanish and Somali with Karen and Kayah/Karenni coming soon. The Chamber says it is asking members of the public to print out flyers, post on social media, and share this information with any individuals and groups who could use it. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 17) Up to 9 million Filipino senior citizens may receive doses from China's Sinovac Biotech next month, despite previous recommendations to limit its use on healthy individuals aged 18 to 59. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said this is because Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine has so far shown minimal adverse effects and is the only brand that provides the shortest time interval between the administration of the two doses. "Sa master list natin, ang senior citizens ay 4 to 9 million. Ang titingnan po nating possibility ay ang Sinovac po," Galvez told a briefing on Wednesday. [Translation: Our masterlist has 4 to 9 million senior citizens. We are considering the possibility of providing Sinovac.] "Nakita natin 'yung Sinovac, very minimal yung adverse effects....ang interval natin na two doses is four weeks. Iyong AstraZeneca ay 12 weeks," he added. [Translation: We've seen that with Sinovac, the adverse effects are very minimal...our interval between the two doses is four weeks. For AstraZeneca, it would take 12 weeks.] On Feb. 26, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the recommendation to use Sinovac's vaccine on health care workers, despite its previous warning that it has a low efficacy rate of 50.4% for this group. The Department of Health said CoronaVac is still 100% effective against moderate and severe symptoms and can reduce morbidity and mortality. Health workers currently have the freedom to decide whether or not they would take this vaccine. The FDA previously granted Emergency Use Authorization to Sinovac but recommended that the vaccine must only be used on clinically healthy individuals aged 18-59. Galvez said more than 200,000 health care workers already received their first COVID-19 shot so far, with the available doses from Sinovac and British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca. The government targets to finish the inoculation of this group by next month, with senior citizens as next in line. "Magsisimula po tayo sa seniors ng April. Most likely, 'pag AstraZeneca, magkakaroon po sila ng second dose, June or July," Galvez explained. "Iyon po 'yung intricacies natin kasi two doses and different intervals. Sa Sinovac wala tayong obligations." [Translation: We will start vaccinating senior citizens by April. Most likely, with AstraZeneca, the second dose will have to be administered by June or July. Those are our intricacies because you have two doses but different intervals. With Sinovac, we have no obligations.] Health authorities have not yet issued a formal recommendation on the use of Sinovac vaccines for senior citizens. Meanwhile, the government is already planning to use up all of the initial 525,600 AstraZeneca doses as a first shot to provide partial protection to frontliners and to also prevent wastage since the doses have a shelf life of only three months, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. Galvez said 1.4 million more Sinovac doses will arrive next month, while 979,200 additional AstraZeneca doses will be delivered within the month or early April via the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility. To the Editor: Re Rampage in Georgia Deepens Fears of Rising Anti-Asian Hatred in U.S. (front page, March 18): The killing of eight mostly Asian women has shocked people across the country, including me, a Chinese-American woman who grew up in Georgia. While I deeply sympathize with the loss for the family members of those affected, I am not surprised that such an incident occurred. What I saw was the same anger, the same white male rage, that Ive seen again and again while growing up in the South. This kind of perverse Asian fetishism and white privilege are not well addressed in discussions of race and gender. The media and crime investigators need to stop waiting for evidence of a racially motivated attack and address it as it is. What happened on Tuesday was a mass murder, a crime against the Asian-American community, toxic gender violence and violence stemming from white supremacy. Lillian Wang Atlanta To the Editor: Much has been made of the fact that the victims of the shooting rampage in the Atlanta area were mostly Asian women at massage parlors. What has not been addressed are the stark facts about gun ownership in the United States. Dhaka, March 19 : Hefazat-e-Islam supporters ransacked a Hindu village in Shalla upazila of Bangladesh's Sunamganj to protest critical comments against a leader of their group allegedly posted on Facebook by a Hindu man, police said. The incident occurred on Wednesday morning, and triggered protests in Sylhet on Thursday for arrest of Hefazat leader concerned, Maulana Mamunul Haque. The radical leader's supporters ransacked the Hindu homes and looted valuables after the residents fled the village, a local police official told IANS. After critical remarks against the Hefazat leader on a Facebook page, his supporters marched on the area on Tuesday night, accusing the Hindu man of hurting "Islamic" sentiments, the official said. Police detained the Hindu man the same night to calm down the protesters but before additional reinforcements could reach the spot, several thousand followers of the leader marched to Noagaon village in the morning and vandalised 60 to 70 homes of Hindus. Habibpur Union Parishad Chairman Bibekananda Majumder said the attackers also vandalised idols. "Such an incident did not even happen in 1971," he said, referring to the atrocities by the Pakistani Army during the Liberation War. "What's our fault? What did we do? Why are we suffering violence? They have vandalised everything, including the temples at our homes. We are in panic," asked Mintu Das, a victim. The residents of Noagaon said that they have lost all valuables in the attack. Local Hefazat leader Amin said anger spread among the Muslims over the man's Facebook post and the angry people attacked his home. "Local Hifazat leaders resisted the attackers and informed the police," he claimed. Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Hossain and Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman have visited the village, and district authorities have deployed the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) along with police personnel in the area. People in Sylhet organised a protest rally under the banner "Duskal Protirodhe Amra" on Thursday afternoon, demanding the immediate arrest of the Hefazat leader over the attack. Jagannathpur Upazila Parishad Vice Chairman Muktadir Ahmed Mukta, cultural organiser Shamsul Basit Shero, Ripon Chowdhury, Bhumi Sontan Bangladesh President Ashraful Kabir, Awami League's Sylhet city unit Swechchhasebak League Vice President M.A. Rashid Ahmed and Duskal organiser Abdul Karim spoke at the function. analysis On the establishment of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, Sierra Leone's Truth and Reconciliation Commission did recommend in point 131 that "the starting point in establishing the rule of law is the creation of an independent, impartial and autonomous judiciary." For ages, there are people that have questioned the independence of judiciaries the world over and Sierra Leone is not an exception. Maybe what makes things even more convincing in Sierra Leone's instance is that the head of the country's judiciary who happens to be the Chief Justice, is someone that is always appointed by the sitting President. It is such things that make the argument about the independence or not of the judiciary unending. In an exclusive interview with the Public Relations Officer of the Judiciary of Sierra Leone, Moses Lamin Kamara, he said that people's opinion will always vary, but that the Judiciary is always ready to interpret the law as it is and not to favor anyone. He said that in any democracy, there are people that will cry foul and that it is not unexpected that similar things are happening in Sierra Leone. Similar if not exact comments were also expressed by the Head of Communications at the Judiciary of Sierra Leone, Elkass Sannoh. For Mr. Sannoh, he said that people should learn to believe and trust in the systems and processes that govern the state and the society. He added that members of the judiciary owe it to themselves and to society to be balanced and clearer on all matters because as he puts it "all of us working for the judiciary would be judged based on our actions and our outputs." Section 120 (4) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone guarantees an independent judiciary in the following words: "With such express provisions of the Constitution, one would expect that the judiciary would be independent and carry out its functions without fear or favor or deference to any other person or authority." The Judiciary of Sierra Leone is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone which interprets and applies the laws of Sierra Leone to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the constitution. The judicial system, headed by the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, comprises the inferior courts, represented by the Magistrates courts and the Local courts and the superior courts, represented by the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice and Judges of the Superior Court are appointed by the President of Sierra Leone acting on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission subject to the approval of Parliament. They can retire after reaching the age of 60 but must retire at the age of 65. They may be removed from office at any time in the event of misconduct or infirmity. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sierra Leone Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Thomas Moore Conteh is the Executive Director of the Citizens' Advocacy Network (CAN). He stated that there are challenges with the independence of the Judiciary of Sierra Leone. To him, the fact that the head of the judiciary who happens to be the Chief Justice is appointed by the sitting president of Sierra Leone already presupposes a bias situation. Asimilar position is also held by Rashid Dumbuya Esq, who heads the civil society LEGAL LINK. Augustine Bellay is a forty three year old man in Kenema Sierra Leone who believes that it will take and require a whole lot for the Sierra Leone's Judiciary to attain absolute independence. He attributes this to what he describes as the political factors and forces that may not be easy to defeat. Similar views were expressed by an elderly woman in Freetown who prefers anonymity. This article is produced with support from MRCG through the ATJLF project on "Engaging the Media to change the narrative on Transitional Justice (TJ) issues in Sierra Leone." Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:41:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MUSCAT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Omani health ministry on Thursday announced 577 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed number in the sultanate to 149,135, the official Oman News Agency reported. Meanwhile, 327 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 137,871 while three deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 1,620, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA. The ministry urged everyone to adhere to social distancing instructions issued by the Supreme Committee entrusted with handling the coronavirus pandemic. Enditem Gardai have seized 70,000 worth of heroin and arrested two men during an incident in Rathduff, Co Cork. The seizure of the heroin occurred while gardai conducted a checkpoint in Rathduff yesterday evening at approximately 6.45pm. Gardai attached to Mallow Roads Policing Unit observed a car stopping short of the checkpoint and an occupant of the car discarding a bag a short distance away. With assistance from the Mallow District Drugs Unit, Mallow Detective Branch and the Regional Dog Unit, Gardai conducted a search of the vehicle, its two occupants and the surrounding area. During the course of the search, suspected heroin with an estimated street value of 70,000 was located and seized. Two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested at the scene and taken to Mallow Garda Station where they were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996. One man, aged in his 30s, has since been released without charge and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The second man, aged in his 40s, has since been charged and is due to appear before Midleton District Court tomorrow morning. Investigations are ongoing. The Financial Times has reported that the Taoiseach, Micheal Martin has told Joe Biden that the UK and EU must stand by what has been agreed on post-Brexit rules on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The two leaders were speaking by video link at the annual St Patricks Day bilateral meeting. The Taoiseach said London and Brussels must move forward with a positive relationship on the Northern Ireland protocol. President Biden has been insistent that there must be no return to a hard border between the UK and the Irish Republic and that the 1998 Good Friday Agreement must be upheld. According to the Financial Times report, the Taoiseach said he wanted to thank the US president for his "unwavering support for the Good Friday Agreement" and that "it has meant a lot and it has mattered, including as we negotiated Brexit." Source: www.businessworld.ie The research team led by Prof. YANG Lihua from Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Chemistry and Materials Science of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed nanomicelles composed solely of macromolecules as a new approach for treating pancreatic tumor. The study was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Host dense peptides (HDP) is a part of the innate immunity of eukaryotic organism. It helps the host fence back attack by microbes through disrupting cellular membrane integrity. Inspired by HDP, membrane-disruptive macromolecules are designed with two most HDP's common structural characteristics (cationic and amphipathic) to realize similar membrane-disrupting function so that drug-resistant cancer cells can be efficiently eliminate. The onset of drug resistance is delayed after repeat treatment, suggesting the potential for addressing the cancer resistance issue. Despite these advantages, membrane-disruptive macromolecules normally cannot distinguish cancerous from normal cells. How to make membrane-disruptive macromolecules preferentially active to cancerous cells over normal cells is a significant challenge. In this study, the researchers used an acid-sensitive, membrane-disruptive micelle (M-14K) as the model for such nanoparticles. This long-circulating nanoparticle showed acid-activated cytotoxicity indiscriminately to both cancerous and fibroblast cells, which is realized by acid-activatable disruption of cellular membrane integrity. The ability of such nanoparticles to penetrate the stromal barrier and eliminate the sheltered cancer cells was verified both in vitro using three-dimensional (3D) cell spheroids and in vivo using mouse models bearing BxPC-3 tumors. Notably, through animal experiments, the researchers found that the expression of extracellular matrix components was significantly suppressed, the tumor tissue was transformed into a less dense structure, and stroma was remodeled, without promoting tumor metastasis. Using acid-responsive nanoparticles composed solely of membrane-disruptive macromolecules, stroma remodeling and cancerous cells elimination can be realized simultaneously. This approach may open a new avenue for the development of efficacious drugs inhibiting pancreatic tumor growth and metastasis. What makes pancreatic tumor hard to cure is the dense stromal barriers sheltering cancerous cells. The penetration of drugs is hindered. To promote the infiltration of therapeutics, an adjuvant is used prior to gemcitabine to remodel the stroma. Nevertheless, this widely studied strategy may raise the risk of tumor metastasis and tumor cells' resistance to drugs. ### MADRID, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pantum, a brand that develops, manufactures, and sells laser printers and toner cartridges for users around the world, is set to rapidly expand its European commercial network in 2021. The company will release the high-end BP5100 series and BM 5100 series, which achieve astounding printing speeds of 40 pages per minute (PPM), while also launching on-the-ground after-sales services in Spain. In the European market, Pantum will launch the following printer models: The "simple smart" SS Series (including the P2500 series, M6500 series, M6550 series, and M6600 series): WiFi-equipped and designed for wide-ranging corporate users from small businesses to enterprise work groups, with its mobile printing and one-step driver installation features The "speedy, stable, smart, and simple" 4S Series (including the P3010 series, P3300 series, M6700 series, M6800 series, M7100 series, M7200 series, and M7300 series): Fast printing speeds of up to 33PPM and auto-duplex printing, coupled with one-step driver installation for accelerated work efficiency The BP5100 series and BM 5100 series: WiFi-equipped, with commanding printing speeds of 40 PPM and a powerful paper tray These models are particularly suited to home printing, remote work, education, and government office scenarios. Not only do they boast seamless one-step driver installation, WiFi-Direct, mobile printing, and other convenient functions, they are also compact, durable, and exquisitely designed, meeting the printing needs of most consumers. Pantum will first focus on the key markets of Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, before expanding its business coverage to other areas in the region. To support its rapid business expansion, Pantum is strengthening its European warehousing logistics network and customer services. Its main warehouse, located in the Netherlands, will serve as its logistics hub. Pantum has also forged strong distributor and wholesaler partnerships in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Turkey. Meanwhile, it has also established an after-sales service center in Spain and France, cooperating with local partners to provide fast and efficient services to the country's customers. As Pantum moves forward in its expansion strategy, it will implement even more marketing, sales, and service activities. 2021, a pivotal year of Pantum, marks the beginning of an ambitious European strategy, driven by the company's success in other international markets. With its extensive R&D expertise, Pantum presides over a rich product portfolio, being capable of meeting wide-ranging customer demands. As it powers forward in its global expansion, Pantum is committed to delivering even greater values to more users around the world. About Pantum Founded in 2010, Pantum is a printer manufacturer, with its business covering printers, printing materials, and printing solutions and services. In 2011, Pantum began its overseas expansion with a current global footprint of dozens of countries. With its patented technology, Pantum is committed to meeting evolving printing needs by offering economical, user-friendly, and energy-efficient products as well as reliable printing solutions. Today, Pantum is also bringing greater values to its customers through its cost-effective products and premium services. For further information, please contact: Europe Mr. Jack Hao European Sales Manager Mobile: +86 15916279793 Email: jack.hao@pantum.com Spain Mr. Jose Ballesteros Regional Manager Iberica (+34) 670439744 joseballesteros@pantum.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458029/image.jpg It was Election Day 2020. The polls were closing in an hour, and I saw a group of girls walking along the quad. As a University of New Hampshire student organizer working on my campus to turn out the youth vote, I intercepted them to ask whether they had voted yet, but they did not even know where or how to vote. I lit up and urgently walked them through the process: what they needed to bring, where to go and how to get there. They got on the next shuttle to vote. This encounter was replicated hundreds of times earlier in the fall for me and my fellow student organizers from groups like the New Hampshire Young Democrats and NextGen America. I felt a great deal of responsibility, both as an organizer and student senator, to do my part to ensure as many of my fellow students as possible understood how they could exercise their right to vote. H.R. 1 college campus outreach However, the voting process is hardly straightforward, especially for students voting in New Hampshire (we have a higher percentage of college students than any other state and are ground zero in the GOP war on student voting rights). But H.R. 1, the For the People Act, will implement much needed reforms if passed and signed into law. The bill mandates online voter registration and more than two weeks of early voting. New Hampshire currently has neither online voter registration nor early voting. H.R. 1 requires colleges and universities that receive federal funds to appoint a campus vote coordinator, which would improve students participation in elections and understanding of facets like vote by mail. Time to take sides: The Georgia Republican Party wants to set voting rights back decades. Is your state next? H.R. 1 also allows young people to pre-register at 16 and 17 years old. As we know, the sooner young people are introduced to voting, the more likely they are to become engaged voters later. GOP doesn't support young voters Young people in New Hampshire also know that, unfortunately, Republicans in our state are not on the side of young voters. Despite promising that he would never suppress the student vote, Gov. Chris Sununu has signed legislation to disenfranchise student voters and vetoed bills seeking to modernize our elections with independent redistricting and lower barriers to registration and the ballot box. Story continues Lily Jackson in Durham, New Hampshire, in February 2021. In fact, last spring a judge struck down SB 3, a law that negatively impacted students' ability to register to vote by requiring them to present proof of residency with documents students may not have. Sununu supported the bill, but the court said it was unconstitutional and unreasonably burdened the right to vote. Of course, students who live in, work in and contribute to the Granite State should have the same rights as everyone else, but Republicans apparently hold otherwise. During the latest legislative session, GOP lawmakers unveiled a flurry of new suppression schemes. Among the worst are bills that would ban college IDs from being used as voter IDs, prohibit educational institutions from serving as students' voter registration addresses, and make it harder for people who live in New Hampshire from voting if they merely maintain an address in another state where theyre eligible to register to vote. Equal opportunity at risk: Fight voter suppression laws in the states. Let's not let America regress to Jim Crow. Thanks to organizing from a coalition that includes NextGen America, the New Hampshire Young Democrats, New Hampshire Youth Movement, 603 Forward and 350 NH, we defeated the college ID bill, and the two others are on temporary hold in committee until this fall. But with Republicans unlikely to back off their voter suppression crusade anytime soon, federal intervention is needed. Young voters matter The For the People Act would provide a huge assist. We have so much at stake as young Granite Staters we're in debt, we're dealing with the impacts of climate change and a pandemic. We should have a say in the leadership that represents us, and H.R. 1 gives us the opportunity that every American deserves: the right to accessible, safe and convenient voting. For political systems to be representative, all parts of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes, a significant portion of the population has little or no voice or influence in decisions that affect our lives. New Hampshire desperately needs young people to stay here after they graduate, and making sure students feel invested in our states democracy is an important way to accomplish that. An attack on anyones voting right is an attack on everyones right to vote. As an American, I believe in free fair elections. I believe in our democracy. I believe we need to pass H.R. 1. Lily Jackson is a senior at the University of New Hampshire. You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College students' voting rights protected, expanded by H.R. 1 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Philippine government plans to hold negotiations with Russias Gamaleya Research Institute to purchase two million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine by April, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday. Speaking to CNN Philippines, Galvez explained that procurement talks may now start after the institute submitted the pending documents for its emergency use application in the country. We are expecting na baka within the next few days ay magkakaroon na po ito ng EUA, Galvez told The Source. So with that, we can already start yung negotiation for more or less 5-10 million (doses). Two million initially po (by April), he added. [Translation: We are expecting that it will receive an EUA perhaps within the next few days. So with that, we can already start the negotiations for more or less 5-10 million. Two million initially by April.] A team from the Philippines Food and Drug Administration was supposed to fly out to Russia from March 15 to 18 to finalize its assessment on the vaccine of Gamaleya, which applied for EUA for Sputnik V in January. The trip, however, was canceled after the regulatory body received the remaining requirements needed for the application. Russia was earlier criticized for an early rollout even before the completion of its Phase 3 clinical trial. The Sputnik V vaccine turned out to be 91.6% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against moderate to severe disease, according to an interim analysis of the vaccine's Phase 3 trial results published in medical journal The Lancet. Aside from Sputnik V, Galvez said the government also expects another two million vaccine doses from Chinas Sinovac in April. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Before reading this article, you just glance at the landscape of Southeast Asia. Have you seen it carefully? Okay, now hear the ground reality. China is creeping up fast in Bangladesh. The intensity of China's interest in Bangladesh suggests that china is interested in more than normal trade. The Chinese eagerness for a strategic presence in Bangladesh is not only related to their export-import profit making and predatory trade, it is actually looking to enter into Bangladesh as the country is the navel point of India. If she could establish her influence in Bangladesh, her grip would be more stronger than ever and India would feel herself vulnerable in all respect. To do that, for decades, Bangladesh is being allured by Chinese Foreign Direct Investment. Months ago, Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming, in a dialogue titled 'Bangladesh-China Development Cooperation: Experience and Outlook', organised by the Center For Policy Dialogue, said, "Chinese investment in Bangladesh is very important for China. We are investing in light to heavy industries and switching investment from low value to value added and mobile and telecommunication. We should consider Chinese investment as a broader vision instead of a narrow vision. We need to join hands to increase political trust." This 'vision' of the Chinese diplomat is nothing new. On October 14, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Dhaka with his eagerness to drive new pace of relations between the two. He signed 27 deals, including memorandum of understanding, valued 24 billion US dollar while Chinese and Bangladeshi companies on the sidelines entered 13 joint ventures of 13.6 billion US dollars. The Chinese President, at that time, said, "We agreed to elevate China-Bangladesh ties from a comprehensive partnership of cooperation to a strategic partnership of cooperation. The two countries announced that 2017 would be the year of exchange and friendship." In return, on July 5, 2019, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited China and was warmly received by the Chinese Premier at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. At the meeting, the Chinese President reiterated consolidating and developing strategic partnership between the two. Moreover, he said that China is ready to exchange education, culture, youth and media with Bangladesh. During the intensity of the pandemic, in last May, President Xi called Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over phone and offered an expert team for Bangladesh to help control the virus, which originated in Wuhan, China. In the 25-minute conversation, the Chinese President said, "We will always beside Bangladesh for its economic uplift and also extend support to the country in the international forum." In the fiscal year 2019, China has become the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in Bangladesh. But many experts believe that Bangladesh is entering into a debt trap in the guise of assistance. The equation, however, is not so strait. Besides economic activities, China is strongly trying to push its social influence in Bangladesh. To have a cultural bridge, Chinese cultural programmes are taking place in Dhaka. To entertain the Bangladeshi audience, the Chinese are playing Tagore's play and expressing closelesness by attending local cultural activities. There are dozens of Chinese language schools and institutions in Dhaka under different universities, including the Confucius Institute under Dhaka University. China is trying to regroup pro-Chinese politicians in Bangladesh. On the other hand, Bangladeshi students are being inducted in Chinese universities for higher education. Now the question is why the Chinese are toiling to reach out to the Bangladeshis? Traditionally, China is Pakistan's closest ally. During the Liberation War in 1971, China was one of the few countries which strongly supported Pakistan's cause. After the independence of Bangladesh, China did not recognise her. Not only China supported Pakistan during the war, it also vetoed Bangladesh's UN member status in 1974. Like Pakistan, China recognised Bangladesh after the brutal killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the country. China and Bangladesh established diplomatic relations in 1976. After the killing of Sheikh Mujib, General Ziaur Rahman eventually emerged as the most powerful man of the country. This military man started searching for anti-liberation, anti-Indian and pro-Chinese men to have a strong platform. After becoming President of the country, Ziaur Rahman visited China for closer relations and the Chinese leaders started to visit Bangladesh as well. He was followed by another military ruler, Husain Muhammad Ershad, who copied Zia's policy almost in all the sectors. Zia and his political party BNP decided to capitalise on anti-India sentiments and minimise the gap between Bangladesh and China. Later, when Zia's widow Khaleda Zia came to power, she followed her husband's path. During her second-term, from 2001 to 2006, China-Bangladesh relations reached a new height. In 2002, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was warmly received in Bangladesh as the countries signed nine bilateral agreements. Seeing the body language of the relations, many Bangladeshis satirically uttered that another Zia has appeared, as the Chinese Premier's last name sounded 'Jia'. Anyway, both the countries at that time declared 2005 as the 'Bangladesh-China Friendship Year'. In 2002, China and Bangladesh signed a defence cooperation agreement, which covers military training and defence production. BNP is the main political rival of Awami League, the present ruling party. BNP has been trying to establish pro-Pakistani policy in Bangladesh and both BNP and Pakistan had always been Chinese picks. So, China knew the discontent of the Awami League. That is why they are trying to appease the Sheikh Hasina government as best as they can. It is also unfortunate that Bangladesh is now a major buyer of Chinese weapons. The relation between two countries is always appreciable. But the way the Chinese are trying to get in is highly risky for Bangladesh politics. China eyes The Belt and Road Initiative to be fully successful. To do that, China sees Bangladesh as a very important country. But once the Chinese goal is achieved, it will work for the BNP and pro-Pakistani forces. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should keep this in mind. We can humbly suggest her not to forget the past and not to forget that the China influx is not serene. (Mohshin Habib is a senior journalist based in Dhaka. The views expressed are personal) It seems that a small number of inexplicable clots are preventing the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. If people feel concerned about the dangers of clotting, they might consider the effect of almost a year of lockdown which has promoted, through fear and restrictions, an imposed sedentary insular lifestyle that will lead to many clots occurring, especially in the confined and fearful elderly population. With the best will in the world, success in dealing with Covid-19 might only mean dying of other things. Eugene Tannam Firhouse, Dublin 24 We have much to learn about valuing logic over sentiment Who would disagree with Billy O Hanluain (Well-argued book by philosopher could have erased ridiculous notion of feelings as truth, Letters, March 13)? The importance of foregrounding reason and logic over sentiment when analysing any issue should not, of course, be the preserve of academic pursuit. Simone de Beauvoir was very much a product of a French intellectual tradition informed by a firm and thorough grounding in classical philosophy. I would point to the 16th-century essayist Michel de Montaigne who also favours emotional detachment and whose stoicism and scepticism are particularly relevant to the current context. The French clearly have much to teach us in terms of a rigorous intellectual approach to life. Sarah Alyn Stacey FTCD French Department, Trinity College Dublin No comparison between a church and a supermarket With reference to the recent letters regarding the opening of churches for Easter ceremonies, I wish to state that there is no comparison between a supermarket and a church (Not fair churches stay shut while shops can open, Letters, March 16). One needs to purchase food in the supermarket, its an essential item, but as another writer stated (True faith is not reliant on churches being open, Letters, March 15) stated, we do not have to enter a church building to find Christ he is always accessible, anytime or place. By limiting numbers in churches for public worship, we are excluding the majority of those who wish to attend. This is contrary to Christs practice of inclusivity. As Easter is the high point of the Christian calendar, is it not advisable that we remain equal? We must do the right thing and partake in the ceremonies online, at home, while remaining safe. As for the supermarkets, perhaps on our visits there we could purchase something to donate to those in need, which would truly bring the message of Christ and that of Easter alive. C Clarke Swords, Co Dublin Buying food is essential but we can watch Mass online In reply to Susan Burkes letter (Not fair that churches stay shut while shops can open, March 16), it is necessary to uphold our religion and do what that takes. But if we feel we need to go to Mass in a pandemic when no other inessential places are open, as she said, we dont need to go to Mass to pray as we can do so at home, watch Mass online or visit churches for private prayer. The only places we can visit are supermarkets and that is our only social outing now, while we buy our products that are essential for our body and mental health. J Burke Lucan, Co Dublin Stander was inspiration and will be missed by rugby fans Its very sad to see rugby player CJ Stander has decided to call it a day at the tender age of 31. He was one of the best signings Munster made in the professional era and, like Doug Howlett, seemed to buy into the whole Munster ethic. Luckily, for both Munster and Ireland, we can look forward to a whole new set of greatly talented back-rowers, some of whom were undoubtedly inspired by CJ Stander. He will be missed. David Ryan Co Meath Call time on politicians who always push the nanny state Minister of State Patrick ODonovan appears to be calling for some introduction of alcohol prohibition in Ireland. Speaking from my own position as a non-alcohol drinker, let me say that abstinence is a personal choice. Why cannot the representatives of the nanny state take a day off from time to time or at least try not to pretend they see themselves as better than the citizens by making crass comments? Robert Sullivan Bantry, Co Cork The city of Oakland spent $13.4 million in legal fees to defend itself against the Ghost Ship warehouse fire civil lawsuit, newly released documents show. The legal fees, contained in billings obtained by the East Bay Times through a Public Records Act request, are on top of the $33 million settlement with families of the 36 people killed, a badly injured survivor and people who lived at the warehouse. The building, which housed an artist collective, caught fire during a music event on Dec. 2, 2016. Derick Almena, the master tenant, was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison, although he is unlikely to spend more time in jail. City Attorney Barbara Parker refused to say how much of the legal fees and the settlement will be covered by insurance and how much taxpayers will have to bear. Nor would she answer questions about the citys legal strategy or how the hourly rates were determined. Much of the money went for paying high-priced attorneys to sit in court watching the criminal case or filing motions in the civil case arguing unsuccessfully, and repetitively, that the city was not legally liable because of broad immunities afforded to public agencies for failure to inspect buildings. An Alameda Superior Court judge rejected the argument, finding Oakland had a mandatory duty to ensure safety at the ill-fated warehouse, a ruling upheld at the appellate court. The California Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Related: Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. District Chief Frank Velez, another Fire Department spokesman, said jumping three stories onto a mattress isnt necessarily a good course of action in every situation, but he was grateful it worked in this case. He said the girl likely was safe when she jumped because of her small size and the tactic may not have worked as well for adults or bigger children or teens. YEREVAN. The court session on the criminal case against third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Flash fuel company owner of Barsegh Beglaryan, former Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan, and Gevorg Harutyunyan, Head of the Plant Breeding Department of the same ministry, has resumed Thursday. The court hearings in this case had been put off for a long time. Defendants Sergo Karapetyan and Samvel Galstyan have died as a result of the coronavirus. According to media reports, Karapetyan's testimony is at the basis of the charge. Also, he and ex-President Sargsyan had confronted each other along the lines of this criminal case. According to the indictment of this criminal case, being organized by Sargsyan, pushed by Beglaryan, and assisted by Galstyan and Harutyunyan, Karapetyan had squanderedfrom January 25 to February 7, 2013AMD 489,160,310 of subsidy allocated from the government's reserve fund for the 15,391,765 liters of diesel fuel that was used during the implementation of state assistance programs. Serzh Sargsyan has been charged under the Criminal Code article on large-scale embezzlement or squandering. The third president, however, does not accept the charge against him. And his lawyer Amram Makinyan claims that the charge is concocted. "We realized immediately that this was an extraordinary opportunity." -John Idler, President, ABC 7 Chicago Tweet this "All houses matter, but I launched the 'Black and Latino Houses Matter' initiative because the Tax Sale disproportionately impacts certain areas," Pappas said. John Idler, President and General Manager of ABC 7 Chicago, said: "When Treasurer Pappas reached out we realized immediately that this was an extraordinary opportunity to educate homeowners and help them take full advantage of tax refunds and exemptions. We are thrilled to be part of the effort that put millions of dollars back into the pockets of Cook County residents." Samantha Chatman, a consumer investigative reporter with ABC 7's I-Team, reported on the 20-hour phone bank during the station's afternoon and evening newscasts. Property owners who did not call the phone bank, may visit cookcountytreasurer.com to: Search $76 million in available property tax refunds in available property tax refunds Check if they are eligible for $46 million in missing tax exemptions in missing tax exemptions Verify if their property is on the Tax Sale list of delinquent taxes SOURCE Cook County Treasurer's Office Related Links http://www.cookcountytreasurer.com Aerial view of the Amazon facility where workers will vote on whether to unionize, in Bessemer, Ala., on March 5, 2021. (Dustin Chambers/Reuters) Amazon Can Afford to Treat Workers Better, Union Organizer Tells Senators An Amazon warehouse employee in Alabama who is seeking to convince her co-workers to unionize told senators on March 17 that the company can afford to treat its workers better. Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage. What they dont tell you is what those jobs are really like. And they certainly dont tell you that they can afford to do much better for the workers, Jennifer Bates told the Senate Budget Committee in Washington. While Amazon began paying all workers at least $15 an hour in 2018, employees at the Bessemer site say working conditions need improvement as they press to become the companys first U.S.-based union. Workers receive two 30-minute breaks during a 10-hour shift, which includes the time it takes to get to and from the bathroom or cafeteria; Bates said shes on her feet for most of the time, constantly walking and climbing stairs. Some workers noticeably limp from climbing four sets of stairs in the facility; its elevators arent available for human use. We the workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and deserve to be given the same commitment that we give to the job every day we go in. We give 100 percent at work, but it feels like were being given back only 30 percent. Were committed to make sure the customers get a nice package, the whole product in a couple of days. But who is looking out for us? Bates said. The first talk of unionization came one day during a break, when one worker posited that conditions would be better with a union, according to Bates. Bates is among the workers advocating for joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Workers are currently engaged in a mail-in election. Votes are due to be counted on March 30. Amazon didnt have a representative at the hearing after declining to send CEO Jeff Bezos. The company opposes unionization, arguing it already treats its workers well, and telling employees they could buy more belongings with money they would spend on union dues. An Amazon spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email: We take employee feedback seriously, including Ms. Batess, but we dont believe her comments represent the more than 90% of her fulfillment center colleagues who say theyd recommend Amazon as a great place to work to friends and family. We encourage people to speak with the hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees who love their jobs, earn at least $15 an hour, receive comprehensive healthcare and paid leave benefits, prefer direct dialogue with their managers, and voted Amazon #2 on the Forbes best employers list in 2020, the spokesperson added. Michael Foster of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union holds a sign outside an Amazon facility where labor is trying to organize workers in Bessemer, Ala., on Feb. 9, 2021. (Jay Reeves/AP Photo) Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) condemned Bezos during the hearing, noting that Bezos has become $77 billion richer during the pandemic. That growth came as Bezos denied workers paid sick leave and hazard pay, Sanders said. If he was with us this morning, I would ask him You are worth $182 billion, youre the wealthiest person in the world. Why are you doing everything in your power to stop your workers in Bessemer, Alabama, from joining a union? Ranking Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) differed in his remarks, saying he sees the governments role as making sure theres a level playing field in terms of regulations and taxes, and education opportunity. I think thats the role of the government, not picking who gets this and who gets that and what is too much money, he said. I think if the government gets in that business, I think that will do more harm than good. Several experts told senators during the hearing that income inequality has become worse in recent years because of loose antitrust regulations and a payment system that encourages CEOs to take short-term risks. Robert Reich, a former economic adviser to former President Barack Obama and secretary of labor during the Clinton administration, called for higher taxes on the most wealthy, stronger labor protections, and more vigorous use of antitrust. Ultimately, the trend toward widening inequality in America will be reversed only when the vast majority, whose incomes have stagnated and whose wealth has failed to increase, join together to demand fundamental changes in the rules, he said. However, Scott Winship, director of poverty studies for the American Enterprise Institute, told the hearing that the current levels of wealth inequality dont constitute a crisis and encouraged lawmakers to focus more on emphasizing upward mobility. Many policies that would reduce inequality or short-term poverty might be counterproductive in terms of increasing upward mobility or reversing declines in association of life, he said. Though Reunification Day on April 30 and International Labor Day on May 1 are still more than a month away, airlines are already hiking their prices for flights during the two holidays in light of soaring demand. The Reunification Day and International Labor Day fall on the weekend this year, entitling most workers in Vietnam to a four-day break from April 30 to May 3. Though the holidays are still more than a month away, travelers are already snatching up airline tickets in order to avoid rising ticket prices. As of Tuesday, air tickets for round trips between April 28 and May 2 to and from major tourism hubs, such as Nha Trang City, Phu Quoc Islands, and Da Nang City ranged from VND750,000-2.5 million ($32-107) each. For the Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang route, budget carrier Vietjet offers the most competitive price in the country, with tickets ranging from VND500,000-1.1 million ($22-$47). Bamboo Airways is offering tickets for the same route at prices twenty five percent higher than Vietjet while national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Pacific Airlines are offering tickets for approximately sixty percent more than Vietjet. Newcomer Viettravel Airlines has not yet listed tickets for the holiday season, though many expect its new route between Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Highlands resort town of Da Lat will be in high demand. Many view the rising ticket prices as a sign that domestic tourism is recovering the COVID-19 slump thats marred the industry for the past year, with experts predicting ticket prices will continue to rise in the coming weeks. In order to avoid rising prices, airlines suggest that travelers buy their tickets early, rather than stalling in the hope of a price drop. Meanwhile, travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City are reporting that package tours to Da Nang, Phu Quoc, and Nha Trang are also in high demand thanks to several promotional campaigns and discount offers. These agencies are particularly keen on attracting independent travelers with competitive deals for airline ticket and accommodation bundles. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! 900 Vietnamese from Japan, Thailand to be repatriated Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Japan landed at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, May 25, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Wednesday agreed to bring 900 Vietnamese citizens stuck in Japan and Thailand home. They will return home on four flights operated by Vietjet Air that are scheduled to land at Da Nang International Airport in central Vietnam, Phap Luat TPHCM newspaper reported. The specific dates for these flights have not been disclosed. Those repatriated are in difficult circumstances or had their labor contracts expire. Minh required all returnees to be quarantined for 14 days and tested for Covid-19 as per the Health Ministry protocols. Thailand has been battered by a new wave of Covid-19 over the past months, with its infection tally rising to 27,402 while Japan has struggled with a recent surge in new infections, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo since Jan. 7. Beitbridge Bureau The District Development Fund (DDF) has intensified the rehabilitation of damaged roads in Matabeleland South province's seven districts as the Government presses ahead with plans to improve the state of the road network countrywide. DDF provincial coordinator, Mr Moment Malandu, said civil works moved a gear up last month after they received $40 million from central Government. He said their target was to work on 179 km in Beitbridge, 63 km in UMzingwane, 109km in Gwanda, 136km in Insiza, 119km in Matobo, 127km in Bulilima and 75km in Mangwe districts. Mr Malandu said they were expecting more funding and an additional grader to boost their capacity on the ground. "We have already started work in all the seven districts and this is being done in a phased approach. "Our target is to have covered most of the roads by the end of next month," he said. Mr Malandu said the scope of work involved spot gravelling, regrading, reshaping, culverts, piped drifts, and bridges construction. He said they had requested $229 million from Government to service 808km. Beitbridge has so far rehabilitated the Mapayi to Dite to Peters road (30km), Lutumba to Tongwe (10km) and reconstructed the Mapani Bridge which links the Mapani area and Tongwe. "Civils works are ongoing on the Elangeni Bridge in Insiza, Moza to Pakama (13km) in Bulilima, Embakwe to Mhlotshana (9km) in Mangwe, Bada to Fumuguwe and Sithupa to Sigangatsha (29km) in Matobo, Masholomoshe to uMzingwane and Ntepe to Mbizo (48km) in Gwanda, and the Mawabeni to Kumbudzi and Irisivale (29km) in UMzingwane respectively," said Mr Malandu. He said they were hoping to get more equipment from their head office so that they may be able to deliver expeditiously. The organisation is relying on one grader that caters for the whole of Matabeleland South. Mr Malandu said in the interim they are using contractors to carry out motorised grading of the roads. Tens of thousands of Germans have booked getaways to Mallorca while locked-down Spaniards look on with envy as they are banned from travelling there. The Balearic Islands were taken off Germany's 'high risk' list last week, meaning tourists will no longer need to quarantine after getting home, and only need to present a negative Covid test on arrival to be allowed in. As a result, crowds of people have rushed to book tickets with airlines putting on hundreds of extra flights over the Easter period to cope. But the move has caused fury among Spaniards who are still banned from visiting the region due to domestic lockdown rules. The German hospitality industry has also reacted with anger as hotels and other tourist businesses in the country remain closed even as customers head overseas. 'It makes absolutely no sense that in Spain we can't move between regions but any foreigner can come in ... and spread infection,' said Emilio Rivas, 23, from Madrid. The young tax assessor wanted to get out of town for the holidays but must instead stay home because Spain banned travel between regions over Easter to avoid a spike in contagion similar to the one seen after an easing in restrictions over Christmas. Mallorca has been quiet during lockdown (pictured), but tens of thousands of Germans have now booked getaways after it was taken of the 'high risk' list It comes as Britons' hopes for a summer holiday abroad were thrown into doubt today as Morgan Stanley warned tourist hotspots are unlikely to open on the same scale as last year. The bank said Europe's slow vaccine roll-out combined with the spread of more-infectious Covid variants means it is 'sceptical' the summer season will go ahead. It said the economies of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece will be particularly hard-hit if businesses are forced to remain closed or partially closed for another year. Europe is presiding over one of the world's slowest jab roll-outs, with EU bureaucracy, supply issues, and most-recently a ban on AstraZeneca jabs meaning only a fraction of its population have been vaccinated. 'Last year, without a vaccine, Europe was able to save some of its summer season with the help of restrictions and seasonal weather dynamics that lowered transmission rates from spring,' the bank said. 'But we are somewhat sceptical that this can happen again this year, given the emergence of new strains, which appear to be more transmissible and dangerous, and have driven an acceleration in cases recently in the euro area.' The warning will spark fears among locked-up Britons who had been given a slew of promising news about holidays in recent days. Greece, Cyprus, France and Portugal have all announced they will welcome back British tourists starting on May 17, provided the government lifts travel bans in this country and they can prevent evidence of a vaccine or a negative PCR test. Tourists from Germany arrive at Palma de Mallorca airport earlier today amid the surge in bookings Meanwhile the EU announced the launch of a Digital Green Pass scheme which will allow Europeans to travel freely between members states, provided they have a vaccine, evidence of a Covid infection, or a negative test. Britons would not automatically apply for the scheme, but would be able to apply for permission to visit from individual countries. Spain has not placed any restrictions on foreign arrivals beyond presenting a negative Covid test, meaning overseas visitors are largely free to enter. Aside from Germany, France is also allowing its citizens to travel to Spain largely unhindered. Both countries have higher Covid infection rates than Spain. Retired Madrid resident Angelines Ruiz complained of having to stay put after cancelling a trip to the western region of Extremadura. 'On top of that I'm afraid of going anywhere in case I get infected by one of these French or Germans,' said Ruiz, 76. German authorities have belatedly insisted that lifting the Balearic Islands out of the 'high risk' category was not intended as an invitation for people to travel, and says it is still advising against all non-essential trips. But the message appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as cooped-up Germans booked en masse at the weekend, eager for an Easter get-away. The Balearic Islands were taken off Germany's 'high risk' list last week, meaning tourists will no longer need to quarantine after getting home, and only need to present a negative Covid test on arrival to be allowed in Lufthansa's low-cost Eurowings airline added 300 extra flights from all over Germany to Mallorca for Easter in response to a fourfold jump in bookings after the quarantine lifting, while Ryanair announced 200 extra connections to Mallorca and Alicante. TUI Germany, said Easter bookings were double 2019 levels and some of the company's Mallorca hotels were already fully booked. Authorities in Mallorca have also been forced to remind tourists that they will still be subject to restrictions during their stay, after a rumour circulated online that they would be exempt. Rules include a 5pm curfew for bars and restaurants, with all dining subsequently confined to hotels where guests must sit in groups no bigger than four. A curfew of 10pm is in place for all other businesses, and people are not allowed to congregate in groups larger than four - or six if from the same family. In addition, only guests from the same family will be allowed to share hotel rooms. Despite widespread grumbling from Spaniards, the return of sun-seeking Germans will provide a welcome shot in the arm to the ailing tourism industry after foreign visitors to Spain fell 80 per cent to 19 million in 2020, the lowest level since 1969. In 2020 the industry's contribution to GDP t tumbled to between four and five per cent, according to the Funcas think-tank, from a 12 per cent share in 2019. Airlines have put on hundreds of extra flight to cope with demand and say demand is above pre-pandemic levels as cooped-up Germans make a bid for freedom (file image) Hotels and holiday lets in Germany are barred from renting to tourists, leaving foreign vacations as the only option. Communications chief at TUIfly Aage Duenhaupt said the influx would not lead to rowdiness, and nightclubs in German resorts would remain closed. 'There won't be the party holidays,' he said. 'They have even cancelled the free alcohol in the all-inclusive hotels.' Responding to the sudden surge in bookings, Balearic authorities said they welcomed the new wave of tourists and would strictly enforce the requirement for a negative PCR test. 'It is not a problem that people come to the Balearic Islands. We test everyone and will continue to do so as long as health security requires,' a health department spokeswoman said. At Duesseldorf airport, travellers heading to the Balearics were sympathetic with Spaniards' discontent. 'I can understand totally how the Spanish feel, to travel in corona times is really a privilege,' said Mallorca-bound passenger Donata, who did not give her second name. 'The whole thing is a bit irresponsible.' "Our goal is to make a greater impact in underserved communities and vulnerable populations like youth by shifting from product promotion to one centered on relationship building and holistic financial wellbeing."Rebecca Delmundo, assistant vice president of Community Relations, SAFE Credit Union The past year proved how credit unions walk the talk when it comes to putting members first with services that help them through lifes opportunities and challenges. When SAFE pivoted to address uncertainties many of its members faced during the pandemic, it saw an opportunity to better serve its members and all who live in the Greater Sacramento region. In March, SAFE completely transformed its Community Banking Department into a new Community Relations Department. The change reflects a new direction for the former sales team into one committed to building relationships in the community to improve financial wellness. This is more than a name changeits a fundamental shift in our approach to financial wellness and how we serve our members and communities, says Rebecca Delmundo, Assistant Vice President of Community Relations at SAFE. Our goal is to make a greater impact in underserved communities and vulnerable populations like youth by shifting from product promotion to one centered on relationship building and holistic financial wellbeing. The Community Relations team will provide financial wellness services to some of the Sacramento regions largest employers through SAFEs Workplace Financial Wellness program. It will work directly with high schools and nonprofits to provide hands-on financial education opportunities that provide insights into budgeting, saving, and handling debt. Community Relations will provide engaging financial education to the public through online webinars and at in-person events once safe to do so. It will champion community engagement through philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy. Were excited about this shift in focus for our members and for the region, says SAFE President and CEO Dave Roughton. SAFE understands we need to adapt to our members needs to ensure they have the best products and services. We look forward to serving the diverse communities of the Sacramento region through quality financial wellness services. About SAFE SAFE Credit Union has made members an integral part of its vision since 1940. It is a leading financial institution in Northern California with $4 billion in assets and about 240,000 members. In addition to banking services conveniently available through online, chat, mobile, or phone options, SAFE offers in-person care for members and small businesses at service centers across the Greater Sacramento region. Insured by NCUA. http://www.safecu.org Published on 2021/03/17 | Source Rookie Kim Yi-kyung is turning into a newbie nurse. She's starring in the new KBS 2TV drama "Youth of May" that's coming in May as a clumsy, newbie nurse. "Youth of May" is a drama about Hee-tae and Myeong-hee who fatefully fall in love with each other in the middle of a whirlpool one May in 1980. It is a retro human mellow drama. Kim Yi-kyung plays the role of In-yeong, a new nurse at the emergency room of Gwangju Hospital and Myeong-hee's immediate junior. She just graduated from nursing college and plans to continue her first year of ER life with the help of Myeong-hee as a newbie nurse who is always making mistakes. "It's a great honor to act as a character in a historical story", Kim Yi-kyung said. "I'm already excited and happy because I think I'll be able to learn and experience a lot on the set. We will work hard to prepare until we meet the viewers, so please look forward to it". Meanwhile, in the recent playlist digital drama "My Fuxxxxx Romance", Kim Yi-kyung played the role of Lee Hyeon who prefers cool and simple relationships with an outspoken personality, expressing deep wounds and anxious inner feelings as she falls into love, leading to women's sympathy. A Citadel cadet who faces federal charges connected to participating in January's Capitol Hill riot was an active member of the school's Republican Society but has now been kicked out by the club's student leaders. Elias Irizarry, 19, is a freshman at the military college. On March 16, he was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, knowingly engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. The allegations are misdemeanors. John Mace McGrath, a cadet and president of The Citadel Republican Society, said Irizarry was a member of the organization, but after being made aware of the charges, the club took action March 17 to remove him. Depending on the outcome of the federal case, McGrath said the club would weigh reinstating him. "The Citadel Republican Society believes that everyone has the right to a fair trial and their day in court," McGrath said. "Once this matter has been resolved, The Citadel Republican Society will take the appropriate action in accordance with our bylaws." McGrath said the Jan 6 insurrection was "an attack on our democracy" and that Americans should "stand for the rule of law regardless of our political affiliation or beliefs." Irizarry answered a phone call from a Post and Courier reporter March 17 but did not comment. He gave the phone to his mother, Lorraine Irizarry, who also declined comment. He is not accused of any direct acts of violence during the Jan. 6 riot, where supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to disrupt Congress from certifying November's election results. At least five people died. The Citadel Republican Society is the largest student organization at the military college and bills itself as "the largest Republican club in the South." The Republican student organization is also seen as a necessary pit stop on the campaign trail for GOP political candidates in South Carolina and beyond. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Citadel graduate, mobilized cadets on the campaign trail when she was running for Congress last year. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Notably, Trump was honored at the Republican Societys Patriot Dinner in 2016 when he was a candidate, and former Vice President Mike Pence has visited the school on numerous occasions. As of March 17, Irizarry is still enrolled as a Citadel student. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the school, said in a statement The Citadel will weigh whether to take disciplinary action following the outcome of the federal prosecution. "Once this matter is resolved, The Citadel will take appropriate actions in accordance with the colleges rules and regulations," Dorrian said. "It would be inappropriate to speculate about any subsequent actions the college would take pending resolution of the charges." The school said this is the only time in recent history a cadet has faced federal charges while they were a student. Irizarry received a gold star from The Citadel after earning a grade-point average of 3.7 or more in the fall semester, according to a school news release. His Facebook profile says he is studying security and intelligence studies at The Citadel. Additionally, his Facebook profile shows likes for a variety of conservative candidates and causes such as Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul and the New Jersey Young Republican Federation. Irizarry was released on $25,000 unsecured bond after a hearing March 16 at the federal courthouse in Columbia. He has another hearing March 22. He did not comment during his hearing. Lorraine Irizarry told reporters after the hearing her son did not intend any harm and was swept up in the hundreds who stormed inside the Capitol. His father is veteran soap opera actor Vincent Irizarry, who appeared for years in All My Children and Guiding Light. An unidentified witness sent a tip to the FBI identifying Irizarry and other men inside the Capitol, according to papers filed in federal court. The witness, along with two others, knew him from a Civil Air Patrol unit. They told the FBI they recognized clothing he wore. Irizarry is the fourth person charged in connection to the Capitol riots from The Palmetto State. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 05:08:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NICOSIA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- "It is only natural for European public opinion to look forward to better relations between the two economic giants of the world, the People's Republic of China and the United States," Cypriot commentator Panayiotis Papademetris told Xinhua on Thursday. Asked to comment on the start of the China-U.S. Alaska dialogue and say what the expectations by European public opinion are, Papademetris said that a sorting out of differences between China and the United States would create a favorable atmosphere for the development of closer relations between the European Union (EU) and China. Senior Chinese and U.S. officials will kick-start in Alaska's largest city of Anchorage a two-day high-level strategic dialogue on Thursday. At the invitation of the U.S. side, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the dialogue. The dialogue is the first high-level contact between the two countries after their heads of state had a phone call on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January. Papademetris, a former newspaper editor who now runs his own news and comment blog, noted that it was still too early to make an assessment of the meeting, but added that viewing things from the perspective of a citizen of a small EU country and that of European public opinion, the importance of the meeting could not be underestimated. "This dialogue is meant to bring up for discussion issues that have led to dissent and discord between the world's two largest economies, hopefully in order to lower tensions and promote cooperation," he said. "So the two countries have a lot of issues to discuss and many differences to iron out," he said. "But it is best for the rest of the world to have the two economic giants talking to each other rather than quarreling between them. After all, when two elephants are fighting, the price is being paid by the grass -- in that case by the smaller and economically weaker countries around them," Papademetris added. He further noted that there are also issues to be discussed which are of interest, or rather to the interest, of both countries, such as the climatic change and steps towards reversing this trend. Noting that these issues are also of interest for the rest of the world, more so for many if not for all EU countries, Papademetris said that Cyprus is currently experiencing the effects of the climatic change in the form of longer summers with higher temperatures and shorter winters with less and less rainfall as years go by. "We would expect the United States and China to cooperate in adopting measures to reduce greenhouse emissions so as to slow down the desertification effect of the climatic change," he said. Enditem Ramotswa The South-East District has come up with a programme to address the challenges faced by youth businesses within its jurisdiction. The South-East District Council chairperson, Mr Oshima Peloewetse expressed this during the virtual full council session on Monday. "The house will note that in every sitting we are given reports on the progress and challenges encountered through the Youth Development Fund programme," he said. He said the council had responded to some of the challenges by being proactive. He said the district team had embarked on a exercise to facilitate and augment the ministry of youth empowerment, sport and culture development in an initiative exercise called South-east Operation Batla Monana 2021. Councillor Peloewetse said the team had so far visited some projects in Ramotswa, Mogobane, Lobatse farms, Otse and Tlokweng. During the visits, the district team hopes to value and assist through monitoring the projects, campaign for loan repayment and assess the impact of the programme on the livelihoods of the community among others. Councillor Peloewetse said the initiative would also help councillors to make an informed strategic decision and relevant input in policy decisions relating to young people. He said since funds were limited, there was a need for prudence in expenditure to ensure value for the money spent. In addition, he said in the recognition of the importance of the youth population, which constituted sixty per cent of the overall population, it was imperative that the south-east district council during this pandemic, should ensure that resources that the government had already vested upon young people were not lost. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Botswana Business Children By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said there was a need to be mindful that the Youth Development Fund was a revolving fund that needed to serve other young people. Nonetheless, he pointed that unfortunately for the current financial year the ministry could not avail the funds to other aspiring youths as funds had been depleted due to an economic decline. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Councillor Peloewetse said the situation was getting worse by the day, hence the council changed from its conventional mode of communication to virtual meetings. He said this was how the council should conduct its business henceforth as well as how communities must interact. He warned that COVID-19 protocols must be followed at all times by all without exception and further urged councillors to continue to encouraging the constituents to protect themselves against the virus. "It is important to also employ new ways of serving our clientele without exposing them to the risk of contracting the virus," he concluded. Source : BOPA -In Lutheran church massacre A federal judge in a U.S. court in Philadelphia is considering evidence in the infamous massacre of over 600 civilians at the Lutheran Church during the brutal civil war here in July of 1990. In a case brought before the court by the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) on behalf of survivors, the victims have accused forces loyal to slain President Samuel Doe as being responsible for the massacre. On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, CJA, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Blank Rome LLP submitted close to two thousand pages of evidence seeking to prove that the former elite unit of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) perpetrated the massacres at the Lutheran church. The brief filed with the court alleges that on July 29, 1990, Moses Thomas, as commander of the AFL's Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, directed his troops to attack the St. Peter's Lutheran Church, which has been recorded as one of the largest massacres. At the time, the Church served as a shelter, housing nearly 2,000 civilians seeking refuge from the growing violence in the country. Thomas and his troops, according to the court document stormed the Church, despite its protected status under international humanitarian law, shooting and hacking to death approximately 600 unarmed civilians. Four survivors of the massacre, names withheld for fear of retribution reportedly sued Thomas in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Thomas had been living in the United States since 2000. Today's filing brings them one step closer toward holding Thomas to account for atrocities committed over the course of the massacre. In a sworn statement filed with the court, one survivor described the night of the massacre: "The soldiers opened fire on the crowd without saying anything. I dropped to the ground and covered myself with blood, so it looked like I had been shot. I hid among the bodies, pretending to be dead... I lay there as the AFL shot and killed hundreds of unarmed men, women, and children." The survivor who was a child at the time, described hiding in the church's pulpit with a little boy. He explained, "I whispered my little brother's name at this boy, even though I knew that my little brother was in the school building with my mother. I just wanted to have my family alive with me, and the thought that my brother was next to me kept me believing that I could survive." The evidence presented on Tuesday also includes detailed testimony from eyewitnesses, an expert report from the former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy here and declassified U.S. embassy and CIA cables. Elizabeth Nielsen, counsel at Debevoise& Plimpton, representing the plaintiffs noted: "We believe that today's court filing presents conclusive evidence that Thomas was responsible for the Lutheran Church Massacre and we are asking the court to hold Thomas liable for extrajudicial killing, torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity." Another survivor, name withheld, narrated that they filed this case in the United States because they have been unable to obtain accountability in Liberia. "Everybody knows that the Lutheran Church Massacre happened, but there has been no accountability. The people responsible for the Lutheran Church Massacre remain free." The survivor explained. The survivor further explained why he is pursuing justice now: "It is very difficult for me to remember and speak about these events, because it makes me feel terrible. But I joined this case and am speaking out now because I know that what Moses Thomas did was wrong, and I want to bring him to justice. I want him to be held accountable for what he did to me and so many others at the Lutheran Church." "Liberia has yet to see meaningful accountability for the atrocities committed during its civil wars, despite demands from Liberian civil society and recommendations by the United Nations," said Ela Matthews, attorney at CJA representing the plaintiffs. "The catalog of evidence filed today not only proves our clients' claims against Thomas, but shows why Liberia must finally take action to end impunity." The background courtesy CJA The Lutheran Church Massacre As the war between the government's Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and Charles Taylor's rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) escalated in the spring and summer of 1990, Liberian civilians flooded into humanitarian aid centers and churches throughout the capital city in search of sanctuary from the growing violence. The Red Cross and the Liberian Council of Churches set up shelters, including St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Monrovia, to house nearly 9,000 internally displaced people. As rebel forces gained strength, the Armed Forces of Liberia grew more brazen and increasingly attacked civilians, specifically targeting members of the Mano and Gio tribes, who were perceived as loyal to Charles Taylor's rebel movement. By late July, as many as 2,000 civilians--mostly from the Mano and Gio tribes--were sheltering in the Lutheran Church compound, sleeping in the church, its courtyard, and a school building in the compound. On the night of July 29, 1990, as NPFL forces closed in on Monrovia, AFL soldiers stormed the crowded St. Peter's Lutheran Church compound and attacked the approximately two thousand civilians taking shelter inside. Men, women, and children were gunned down as they attempted to flee. Many who survived the initial rounds of shooting were hacked to death with machetes as soldiers spread out over the compound, ensuring the slaughter was complete. Some people, including our clients, survived by hiding under piles of dead bodies until the soldiers left. Most sources estimate that over 600 civilians died over the course of that night. In 2009, the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified the Lutheran Church Massacre as one of the key atrocities of the Liberian civil wars. Despite widespread condemnation of the attack, little has been done by the Liberian government to further investigate or prosecute individual perpetrators. Nonetheless, survivors continue to demand justice. That is where CJA and the Monrovia-based Global Justice Research Project (GJRP) stepped in. Together, we investigated this historic atrocity and built a case against those responsible for the attack. U.S. Litigation On February 12, 2018, CJA and pro bono co-counsel Debevoise& Plimpton, LLP filed a civil suit in a Philadelphia court on behalf of four survivors of the Lutheran Church Massacre and their families against Moses Thomas for his alleged role in the Lutheran Church massacre. The suit alleges that Thomas, a former Colonel in the Armed Forces of Liberia, led AFL forces in its attack on St. Peter's Lutheran Church on the night of July 29, 1990. Thomas moved to the United States during Liberia's Second Civil War. Around 2000, he settled in the Philadelphia area. As a longtime U.S. resident, he is subject to the laws and jurisdiction of U.S. courts. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Alien Tort Statute and Torture Victim Protection Act. We allege that Thomas is liable for extrajudicial killing, torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. On April 26, 2018, Thomas filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the statute of limitations on Plaintiffs' claims had run out, and that Plaintiffs had failed to exhaust domestic remedies in Liberia. CJA defeated the motion, arguing that the situation in Liberia was so unstable that survivors could not seek justice in the immediate aftermath of the Massacre. In denying the motion to dismiss, the Court also allowed Plaintiffs' claims under the Alien Tort Statute to proceed, after finding that their allegations sufficiently touch and concern the United States, pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. On March 16, 2021, CJA and Debevoise& Plimpton filed a motion for summary judgment, supported by evidence developed over a seven-year investigation. The motion argues that the record developed in this case makes clear Moses Thomas' responsibility for the massacre, and requests that the court find Thomas liable for torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. This lawsuit is the first case seeking to hold a member of the Armed Forces of Liberia responsible for abuses committed during the civil wars and the first to confront a high-ranking commander for perpetrating one of the largest civilian massacres in Liberia's history. 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. March 18 : With fan base across three major film industries in India, Rakul Preet Singh bring in a fresh wave of acting; the kind that cannot be boxed into stereotypical norms. Its this very charm that makes her a delight to watch on-screen. Gearing up for her new Netflix release, Sardar Ka Grandson, co-starring Arjun Kapoor, Rakul is busy living life on her terms and now graces the cover spread of leading style and fashion magazine Elle for entire month of March. Diva took to social media profile and dropped the stunning new cover spread; Rakul captioned it, Its COVER TIME On the work front, Rakul has lined-up series of releases across different languages. She is part of S. Shankar's vigilante-action film Indian 2 and the science fiction film Ayalaan opposite Sivakarthikeyan. She has five upcoming Hindi films, starting with Kaashvie Nair's border romance Sardar Ka Grandson opposite Arjun Kapoor and secondly along with John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez in Lakshya Raj Anand's directorial debut, the actioner Attack. She is essaying role of a pilot with Devgn and Amitabh Bachchan in Devgn's own directorial Mayday, her third upcoming Hindi film. It will be followed by Indra Kumar's slice-of-life comedy Thank God co-featuring Devgn and Sidharth Malhotra, and Anubhuti Kashyap's Doctor G in which she is paired opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. She has been additionally filming an untitled Telugu movie directed by Krish alongside Panjaa Vaisshnav Tej. 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. Seoul: North Korea appeared to carry out a sixth nuclear test on Sunday, with seismic monitors measuring an "explosion" of 6.3 magnitude near its main test site, sending tensions over its weapons ambitions to new heights. The apparent test came just hours after it claimed to have developed a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded into the country's new inter continental ballistic missile. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the seismic tremor was detected near the North's Punggye-ri test site. United States Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 6.3 -- larger than any previous test. Jana Pursely, a USGS geophysicist, told AFP: "It's an explosion rather than an earthquake." Nuclear-armed Pyongyang has long sought the means to deliver an atomic warhead to the United States, its sworn enemy. Questions remain over whether it has successfully miniaturised its weapons, and whether it has a working H-bomb, but the official Korean Central News Agency said before the quake that leader Kim Jong-Un had inspected such a device at the Nuclear Weapons Institute. It was a "thermonuclear weapon with super explosive power made by our own efforts and technology", KCNA cited Kim as saying, and "all components of the H-bomb were 100 per cent domestically made". Pictures showed Kim in black suit examining a metal casing, with a shape akin to a peanut shell. North Korea triggered a new ramping up of tensions in July, when it carried out two successful tests of an ICBM, the Hwasong-14, which apparently brought much of the US mainland within range. It has since threatened to send a salvo of rockets towards the US territory of Guam, and last week fired a missile over Japan and into the Pacific, the first time it has ever acknowledged doing so. US President Donald Trump has warned Pyongyang that it faces "fire and fury", and that Washington's weapons are"locked and loaded". Trump spoke by telephone to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the need to "maximize pressure on North Korea"in the face of the "growing threat" it presented, according toa White House readout of the call, without specifying when it took place. The North has repeatedly claimed that it has athermonuclear weapon, which can be far more powerful than other nuclear devices. When it carried out its fourth nuclear test, in January2016, it said it was a miniaturised H-bomb, but scientistssaid the six-kiloton yield achieved then was far too low. When it carried out its fifth test, in September 2016, it did not say it was a hydrogen bomb. There was no immediate announcement from the North about today's earthquake. Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies inSeoul, told AFP the latest KCNA report "carries a strategic message" that Pyongyang "will push for a nuclear face-off withthe US as an equal". Actually mounting a war head onto a missile would amountto a significant escalation on the North's part, as it would create a risk that it was preparing an attack. The North Korean leadership says a credible nuclear deterrent is critical to the nation's survival, claiming it isunder constant threat from an aggressive United States. It has been subjected to seven rounds of UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, but always insists it will continue to pursue them. Its first nuclear test was in 2006, and successive blasts are believed to have been aimed at refining designs and reliability as well as increasing yield. Its fifth detonation, in September last year, had a 10-kiloton yield according to Seoul -- still less than the 15-kiloton US device which destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. Atomic or "A-bombs" work on the principle of nuclear fission, where energy is released by splitting atoms of enriched uranium or plutonium encased in the war head. Hydrogen or H-bombs, also known as thermo nuclear weapons,work on fusion and are far more powerful, with a nuclear blast taking place first to create the intense temperaturesrequired. In today's announcement before the earthquake, KCNA said the North's H-bomb had "explosive power that can be adjusted from tens to hundreds of kilotons depending on the target",KCNA said, claiming technological advances "on the basis of precious successes made in the first H-bomb test". No H-bomb has ever been used in combat, but they make upmost of the world's nuclear arsenals. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. BEIJING, March 17 -- China has been unwaveringly supporting other countries, especially developing ones, in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Upholding the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged continued support to developing countries in curbing the deadly virus. In a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, Xi said since the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, the two sides have helped each other in times of adversity. Trinidad and Tobago is the first among Latin American and Caribbean countries to donate aid materials to China, and China has also provided anti-epidemic supplies and technical assistance for Trinidad and Tobago through various channels, Xi said. China is willing to strengthen vaccine cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago, and to continue to support the country in fighting the epidemic, Xi said. On the same day, in a telephone conversation with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, Xi said China and Guyana, though far apart, enjoy a deep and close friendship. China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with Guyana in COVID-19 vaccines and continue to provide assistance and support within its capacity for Guyana's economic and social development, Xi added. China has provided and is providing COVID-19 vaccine aid free of charge to 69 developing countries in urgent need, while exporting vaccines to 43 countries, according to official figures. At the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, China has called for a people-centered global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has urged strengthening cooperation on vaccine research and development, production and distribution, so as to make vaccine truly an accessible and affordable public good for the people of all countries, especially developing countries. Earlier this month, in a phone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Xi said that China is willing to provide COVID-19 vaccines within its capabilities to Poland in accordance with the European country's demand. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Poland have been looking out for and helping each other, with the two sides engaging in cooperation in pandemic prevention and control as well as resumption of work and production, which opened a new chapter of their friendship, he said. During his telephone conversation with his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, the Chinese president pointed out that since last year, the Chinese and Tajik people, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformations rarely seen in a century, have sticked together through thick and thin, joined hands in unity and coordination, and achieved fruitful cooperation in various fields, especially in battling the pandemic. Xi added that China is willing to provide assistance of COVID-19 vaccines to Tajikistan in a bid to promote the building of a community of common health for mankind. In a phone conversation with Colombian President Ivan Duque in February, Xi said that China stands ready to continue to provide as much support as it can for Colombia's combat against the COVID-19 pandemic and to carry out vaccine cooperation with the country. Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Bern, 18.03.2021 - Today in Bern Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), received the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ms Ghada Waly. Talks focused on Switzerland's and the UNODC's practices in dealing with corruption and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the UN offices in Vienna and Geneva. This is Ms Waly's first official visit to Switzerland since taking office as UNODC executive director in February 2020. The meeting gave Mr Cassis the opportunity to exchange views with this organization combating organised crime, corruption and drug trafficking. The Federal Council adopted its anti-corruption strategy for the 2021-24 period on 25 November last year. Ms Waly is also director general of the United Nations Office at Vienna, one of the UN's four headquarters worldwide. During the meeting, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functioning of the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna was also raised. Mr Cassis reiterated his support for a UN system that is effective even during crisis situations. Mr Cassis seized the opportunity to speak about the Foreign Policy Strategy 2020-2023 and other strategies recently adopted by Switzerland. He highlighted the Digital Foreign Policy Strategy (2021-2024) and planned measures to boost International Geneva in this area. Address for enquiries FDFA Communication Federal Palace West Wing CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53 Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55 E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch Twitter: @SwissMFA Publisher Federal Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html A COVID-19 sign is posted on the door of a packed bar. Students and Athens residents made their way downtown to the bars on Aug. 18, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. Beginning March 16, Georgia bars no longer have to adhere to capacity limits under the latest COVID-19 executive order issued by Gov. Brian Kemp (Photo/ Kathryn Skeean, kskeean@randb.com) Canadian pastor arrested for violating COVID-19 worship restrictions to be released from jail Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A pastor in Canada who was arrested for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 worship restrictions will be released from jail after prosecutors dropped all but one of the charges against him. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta turned himself in to authorities last month after being charged with violating the Public Health Act by holding worship services that reportedly violated public health guidelines. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a Calgary-based law firm representing Coates, announced Wednesday that the pastor could be released as early as next Monday, pending his trial in May. JCCF President John Carpay argued in a statement that the restrictions that Coates disobeyed were unscientific and unconstitutional. He is optimistic about the trial set to start on May 3. We look forward appearing in court in May and demanding the government provide evidence that public health restrictions that violate the freedoms of religion, peaceful assembly, expression and association are scientific and are justifiable in a free and democratic country, stated Carpay. A spokesperson for the JCCF told The Christian Post on Thursday afternoon that Coates' release was still pending because the Crown needs to go before the court to present the agreed-upon terms and get the court to sign off on those terms. According to JCCF, one charge against Coates has not been withdrawn because "Justice Centre and Pastor Coates want the matter heard at trial, to determine the constitutionality of the public health order that churches only hold worship services at 15% capacity..." The JCCF represents several churches that are legally challenging provincial restrictions on houses of worship, arguing that they go against Canadas Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Officials accused GraceLife Church of violating public health guidelines on multiple occasions by holding worship services where attendees did not social distance or wear face masks. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Alberta Health Services have been investigating the church, with Coates turning himself in to authorities last month in response to charges. "We've been consistent in our approach of escalated levels of enforcement with this pastor, and we were hopeful to resolve this issue in a different manner," said Inspector Mike Lokkenin a February statement. "The Pastor's actions, and the subsequent effects those actions could have on the health and safety of citizens, dictated our response in this situation." Earlier this month, the RCMP charged the church as an entity for holding worship services in February that exceeded the limit of 15% capacity. The Church was non-compliant with the Public Health Order in that it was over the allowed capacity. The RCMP members were present for public safety and to support AHS, and did not go inside the church, said RCMP in a March 10 statement. Investigation continues into the church by AHS and supported by the Parkland RCMP. These charges are now before the court and further comments will not be available. The church released a statement in February saying that it originally shifted to online services during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic but returned to in-person gatherings on June 21, 2020. We believe [people] should responsibly return to their lives, the churchs statement reads. Churches should open, businesses should open, families and friends should come together around meals, and people should begin to exercise their civil liberties again. Otherwise we may not get them back. In fact, some say we are on the cusp of reaching the point of no return. Protect the vulnerable, exercise reasonable precautions, but begin to live your lives again. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. China will not compromise on core interests at Anchorage dialogue: ambassador Xinhua) 16:36, March 18, 2021 Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai (L) speaks during a joint interview with Chinese media in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States, March 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) ANCHORAGE, the United States, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said here Wednesday that China will not compromise on core interests during the upcoming high-level strategic dialogue between top diplomats of China and the United States. "For any dialogue between countries, a basic prerequisite is that both sides should have the spirit of equality and mutual respect," Cui told Chinese reporters at a briefing, one day ahead of the dialogue that is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, a city in the U.S. state of Alaska. "When its core interests are involved, China has no room to back down. This position will also be clearly articulated in the dialogue." Cui said, according to an English translation of the transcript released after the briefing. If some people assume that China will say yes to any unilateral demands from any side just for some "outcomes" from the dialogue, they should give up, said Cui. Cui also said that China does not expect that one dialogue can resolve all the issues between the two sides, adding that it does not have "unrealistic expectations or illusions" about the upcoming high-level dialogue with the United States. The veteran diplomat said he hoped that the dialogue will become a beginning and that the two sides will start a candid, constructive, rational process of dialogue and communication. "If this can be achieved, then the dialogue is successful," Cui said. "I hope that the two sides will come with good will and leave with better mutual understanding." At the invitation of the U.S. side, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the upcoming high-level dialogue. The dialogue is the first high-level contact between the two countries after their heads of state had a phone call on the eve of the Chinese lunar new year, and the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January. Cui's remarks also came as the Biden administration repeatedly said that the United States will work with allies to engage China "from a position of strength." "Some people may think that by talking to other countries before meeting with China, they can give out their voice and show their strength. This is unnecessary, and may not work," Cui said. "If you have issues to talk about with China, do it, face to face." Cui noted that most countries, including some U.S. allies in Asia, actually have some doubts and concerns about U.S. policies. "First, will the United States be a responsible stakeholder in global affairs? Second, will the United States come back with sustained commitment and contributions to multilateral cooperation? Third, will the United States be ready and willing to respect other countries' interests and listen to their voice?" the ambassador asked. These concerns are in the hearts of many countries in the world, including U.S. allies, but some countries just do not say it in public, Cui said. "It is hoped that the United States will understand other countries' concerns." Two of Australias top infectious disease and immunology experts say Papua New Guinea should take up the offer of Chinese-made vaccines if they are safe, as Europe threatens to withhold vaccine deliveries and PNG teeters on the edge of a COVID-19 disaster. China has made repeated overtures to Papua New Guinea in recent months, offering to send vaccines to the country to support each others core interests. Chinas Foreign Ministry said it has supplied the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines to 69 countries including Cambodia, Serbia and Indonesia. Urging Australia and the West to put politics aside for the sake of global health, Sydney University professor Robert Booy and ANU professor Peter Collignon said PNG should take whatever vaccines it could secure. Medical staff of Papua New Guineas Defense Force are being trained to deal with the nations COVID outbreak. Credit:WHO/Papua New Guinea The Chinese vaccines are becoming better understood and the information coming out suggests that they are safe and effective, said Booy, the former head of clinical research at the National Centre for Immunisation. Trump, responding to a massive increase in Central American families and children that peaked in May 2019, expanded his Migrant Protection Protocols policy to force asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. It was unquestionably effective at deterring asylum less than 1% have won their cases, according to Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse but asylum-seekers were exposed to violence in Mexico, as documented by advocacy group Human Rights First and others. Attorneys were extremely difficult to find in Mexico. ADVERTISEMENT The police in Lagos have attributed Wednesdays cults clash in the Ikosi-Ketu area to a struggle for revenue generation at the Ketu fruits market. Businesses and properties in the area were looted and destroyed after the Aiye, Eiye, and Buccaneer confraternities engaged one another in a fight. The police said in a statement that 15 suspects were arrested with two locally- made pistols, some live cartridges, assorted charms and other items. Preliminary investigation revealed that the crisis was connected to the revenue generation at the Ketu fruits market, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson said. Efforts are in top gear to apprehend other fleeing members of the gangs that orchestrated crisis in the area. Mr Adejobi said the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Panti, Yaba, for investigation. He said the commissioner reiterated the commands commitment to fighting crimes and criminality, especially cultism in the state. He said the commissioner said the command would harness all legitimate means to suppress cultists activities in the state. (NAN) .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... PHOENIX A bitterly divided Arizona House committee voted Wednesday to advance a massive expansion of the states school voucher program just over two years after voters overwhelmingly rejected universal school vouchers. Republicans called the measure already passed by the full Senate a lifeline for 600,000 low-income students who would become entitled to state funding for private school tuition. Minority Democrats argued it would siphon money from already-underfunded public schools and go against the will of voters who rejected the larger expansion in 2018. Testimony was equally split, with members of a grassroots group who succeeded in putting the 2017 expansion law on the ballot saying the proposal was a special interest giveaway at the expense of public schools and backers noting that public school closures caused by the pandemic made it even more important to give parents options. Sharon Kirsch, a co-founder of Save Our Schools Arizona and a mother of two teens attending public schools, ticked off the gradual expansion of the program. It began as a way for disabled students to use state money for private special education in 2011 and expanded nearly every year until the 2017 universal voucher program was challenged by her group. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Arizona voters said no to that massive expansion by a 2-1 margin, and yet the program has (grown) to over $100 million a year, a cost equivalent to 2,000 public school teachers, something desperately needed in a state with the highest teacher turnover in the nation, Kirsch told the House Ways and Means Committee. But here were are again watching a strategy of well-funded special interests systematically and incrementally pushing an agenda of privatization that the people of Arizona do not want. Proponents included parents of students who have spent much of the last year losing academic ground as they took classes from home via computer screens. One, Robert Baca of Laveen, testified that both his children were straight A students before the shutdowns. Its devastating that Im down here testifying to you that distance learning has been the downfall of my childrens education, Baca said. Both of my students this year became F students, both of them because of distance learning and COVID. Public schools are now under orders from Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to reopen for in-person learning, but the bill sponsor, Glendale Republican Sen. Paul Boyer, said allowing parents to use state money to go to private schools will help students catch up. The reason why were here experts estimate that low income students are anywhere from 12-18 months behind, Boyer said. This could be a life changer for these students, not only catching up but exceeding. Boyers proposal, SB1452, initially would have made all children attending schools with a high percentage of low-income families or who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches eligible for the states voucher program. The measure would affect about 800,000 students. A House amendment adopted Wednesday stripped out the Title 1 low-income school provision. Opponents said it would have allowed rich parents to briefly enroll their child in a qualifying school and earn a voucher because the bill also shortens the time students must attend public school to just 30 days. The amendment by Rep. Tim Dunn of Yuma also added military veterans to the qualifying list, bringing the total affected to about 600,000 out of 1.1 million attending public schools statewide. The amendment stripping attendance at Title 1 schools as qualifying was apparently prompted by opposition from Republican Sen. Tyler Pace of Mesa, who said during last months Senate vote that he was concerned it could be abused. A separate amendment by Republican Rep. Shawnna Bolick of Phoenix stripped out another provision that would have allowed parents to use a separate program that funnels tax credits to them to fund private school tuition. Still in the measure is a provision that takes sales tax revenue voters approved for teacher pay and sends it to parents of voucher students, with no auditing required. The state Department of Education says about 250,000 students are now eligible, but only about 9,800 students are currently getting vouchers, technically called Empowerment Scholarship Account. They cost the state about $145 million a year, and more than half are disabled. The department, led by a Democrat, opposes the measure because of the 2018 referendum and because it lacks money to administer the expanded program. The program allows parents to take state funding and pay for religious or other private education and education costs. Parents get 90% of the state funds that normally go to their local public school to use for private school tuition and other education costs. Disabled students can receive up to $40,000 for specialized therapy. The House committee voted 6-4 along party lines to send Boyers proposal to the full House for consideration. Nearly 1 million people in Louisiana have received a coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest update from the Louisiana Department of Health. Since the rollout began in mid-December, 1,516,763 doses have been administered overall. Most of those jabs are part of the two-dose regimen recommended for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is why the total number of people who have received at least one dose is lower, at 987,623. The department of health releases new vaccine data twice a week. Out of the entire population in Louisiana, an estimate 12.24% of people are fully vaccinated. An estimated 21.24% of the population has received at least one dose of a vaccine. The Department of Health also confirmed 396 more coronavirus cases and six more deaths in its noon update Thursday. There are now a total of 376,548 confirmed coronavirus cases and 62,995 total "probable" coronavirus cases in Louisiana, according to the agency's dashboard. The number of hospitalizations decreased by 32, and the number of patients in need of ventilators increased by one. Moderna to begin COVID vaccine trials in children; see where to sign up in Louisiana Children under 12, including babies as young as six months, will be able to participate in clinical trials in Louisiana for Modernas two-dose These are another few key statewide statistics as of Thursday: Total confirmed cases: 376,548 Total "probable" cases: 62,995 Total confirmed deaths: 9,190 Currently hospitalized: 414 Currently on ventilators: 67 Vaccine series initiated: 987,523 (updated twice weekly) Vaccine series completed: 568,968 Presumed recovered: 426,243 as of March 15 (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. COVID variant on the rise in a recovering Lake Charles; demand for vaccinations slackens An increase in cases of the more transmissible U.K. coronavirus variant in southwest Louisiana has added urgency to vaccination efforts there. Here are some of the parishes with the highest single-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, based on the Thursday report: Calcasieu: 64 East Baton Rouge: 62 Orleans: 29 Lafayette: 23 Ascension: 23 St. Landry: 20 Jefferson: 16 Can't see chart below? Click here. Can't see chart below? Click 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 before putting Louisiana back in a modified Phase 3 on March 2, 2021. This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come. A former Shelby County sheriffs deputy has been arrested on child porn charges. Evan Jamieson, 38, was booked into the Shelby County Jail Friday, March 12, on two counts of possession of obscene matter containing visual depictions of persons under 17 and two counts of dissemination of obscene matter containing visual depictions of persons under 17. Jamieson was released from the jail the same day after posting $40,000 bond. Details about the allegations against Jamieson were not released and not yet available through court records. The arrest was made by ALEAs State Bureau of Investigation agents. Sheriff John Samaniego said department officials were made aware Friday of Jamiesons arrest. The former deputy resigned from the sheriffs office more than a year ago while in good standing. We are shocked by the news of this investigation, Samaniego said. Anyone with information on this investigation is encouraged to contact the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The Shelby County Sheriffs Office is not involved in the investigation of these charges. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. editorial The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe under its present policy is allowing exporters to retain an average of 60 percent of their foreign currency earnings, without any time limits as to when they use or sell that currency, but insisting that they sell, at the prevailing auction rate, the other 40 percent as soon as they receive it. At the same time the Reserve Bank is starting to even out the percentages in each sector so that the 60-40 ratio is not just the average, but also the actual ratio that is used by almost everyone. This has seen tobacco farmers move up from their previous 50 percent retention to the standard 60 percent, on their value added, that is what they get after their inputs provided on credit have been deducted. The merchants will also, presumably, be retaining the 60 percent on their value added, what they get after paying off the farmers and after they have done the initial processing, sorting, grading, storing and dispatching, a set of processes that can in the end double the value of the crop. All this seems fair, but there are a couple of problems and misconceptions. One problem that has emerged in the rich tobacco areas of Mashonaland Central is illegal side marketing, people wandering around with lorries buying for cash at around half price any tobacco they can persuade a farmer to sell. Apparently they plan to sell this at the auctions, presumably pretending to be a real large scale farmer who has done self-financing. Side marketing has never really been an issue in tobacco, with the tight contracting system supervised by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), which licenses farmers, merchants and auction floors. The TIMB now needs to do the detective work and ensure that anyone selling tobacco, either on the auction floor or direct to a merchant, actually grew it themselves. And possibly needs to bring in other authorities to prevent exports that do not come from honest merchants to ensure that a number of tonnes of Zimbabwean tobacco are not labelled as Malawian, or Zambian or Mozambican tobacco after being smuggled over a border. All this examination of paperwork and checking it against what is on the databases is a nuisance, but a necessary one. But by killing the markets for the cheaters, the overwhelming majority who operate legally are both protected against the middlemen, and both farmers and merchants deserve that protection, and can continue to grow the industry using the system that has done so much to not just revive the industry, but actually produce harvests well in excess of the largest harvests we saw when a couple of thousand of estate owners dominated the business before land reform. The second issue is the misconceptions arising from what many see as a dual exchange rate, and what farmers also see as profiteering among some suppliers who manipulate the rates to profiteer. Tobacco farmers were hit last year because of the fixed official rate when many were delivering, with the auctions only starting and setting market related rates when a good chunk of the tobacco had already been delivered and sold. So not unnaturally they wanted a higher retention ratio. This year that problem does not arise; they get the auction rate when they sell for the 40 percent that they are paid in local currency. Farmers complain that suppliers of machinery and inputs, and other things that a successful farm needs like cement for better housing and new barns, use the black market rate. If suppliers are doing this they are breaking the law. Almost all these essential and useful items have their foreign currency components funded via the auctions, as raw materials, consumables, chemicals and machinery. Investigations are already in progress to ensure that successful bidders on the currency auctions price their resulting goods and services using a cost formula that feeds in auction rates. These need to be intensified and our tobacco farmers deserve a bit of priority when targets are chosen for what amounts to an audit. It might be that the farmers are just complaining about prices being higher than last year, with the suppliers honest, or there might well be some suppliers figuring out how to boost margins illegally. But farmers, and the rest of us, would like to know. This de facto dual exchange rate causes confusion in many other circles, including regrettably among people with economic degrees who press for policies that will produce a single exchange rate. The main problem that so few understand is that the two exchange rates cover different sources of foreign currency, different spending patterns and a vastly different system of margins. The auctions are fed largely by the 40 percent of export earnings that exporters must sell, but not everyone can buy on the auctions. Bidders have to have exhausted their own foreign exchange before they bid, and are only allowed to bid against invoices for goods and services on the two priority lists. However, all valid bids above a set minimum are accepted. The black market is supplied by currency well outside the control of the Reserve Bank, largely diaspora remittances. End-user buyers can use that currency for whatever they like: luxuries, stuffing into trunks, even buying petrol. And the fairly sophisticated business of concentrating tens of thousands of small remittances into big blocks of cash requires a string of dealers, each of whom takes a cut. The gap between street buying price and final selling price is thus large, as much as 25 percent. All this generates a premium, since even if all dealings were in an official system, the remittances going through bureaux de change where margins and prices can be legally higher, there would still be a black market for those who want to carry suitcases of money out of the country and those who do not want the authorities to be able to check just what they have bought if they are into smuggling or buying illegal goods, like drugs. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Currencies Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Even if the official rate was reset as the black market rate, there would be a new black market rate. That simplistic system cannot work. What can be done is what has been done, to use a market-set rate for the official rate, so it is a real rate. This makes it basically impossible to align the rates. If the auction rate rose, then the premium would still be there. The Reserve Bank and Government have done a lot to drastically reduce speculation within the black market, thus narrowing the premium, but cannot kill it unless they criminalise private possession of foreign currency and hunt down and jail the holders. The only methods open to the authorities are what they are doing now, dampening down the black market and trying to move it into the legal bureaux de change, succeeding to a degree if you look at supermarkets with bureaux licences, while allow the auctions to set market rates for the bulk of the foreign currency that is spent on what the country needs. This is a process that is working, but which takes time. Meanwhile, as farmers and everyone else wants, lets us intensify efforts to catch the cheats who buy at auction rates and sell at black market rates. For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. ALBANY, N.Y., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hip replacements are surgeries for various hip disorders and have gained prominence as a surgery of quite satisfactory clinical outcomes. Modifications in hip replacement implants have thus gained groundswell of attention for implant manufacturers and healthcare teams. In particular, the implants have improved the quality of life in adults with older osteoporosis, and Osteoarthritis (OA). In recent decades, such product advancements have gathered momentum on back of growing demand for total hip arthroplasty (THA). These have been viewed as surgeries with remarkable outcomes. Other factors such as advancements in surgical techniques and the focus on reducing the revision rates have all contributed to the evolution of the hip replacement implants market. Both metals and non-metals may be used in making implants. However, over the years, the use of non-metals such as ceramic has gained preference as it has enabled healthcare teams to overcome the drawbacks associated with metals. As the raw material, metal-on-polyethylene was a popular segment in 2017. Growing number of hip reconstruction procedures is expected to propel the hip replacement implants market. The global valuation is projected to reach worth of ~US$ 9.0 Bn by 2026-end. Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Hip Replacement Implants Market https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/covid19.php Key Findings of Hip Replacement Implants Market Study Manufacturers Relentlessly Aiming at Implant Modifications to Improve Outcomes Implant manufacturers are relentlessly aiming to reduce the early and late-stage failures in hip replacement surgeries. They are in particular striving to overcome the drawbacks or limitations that lead to failure of their products. A growing number of stakeholders are focusing on overcoming failures due to wear, aseptic loosening, dislocation, adverse reactions to metal debris, and bearings. They are aiming at new geometries and use of better bearings to specially meet the needs of patients with THA. Request Brochure of Hip Replacement Implants Market Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/brochure.php Demand for Total hip arthroplasty (THA) for End-stage Hip Ailments High The growing demand for hip replacement surgeries in older adults with end stages of hip pathology is a key trend in the market. The trend is increasing on back of increased life expectancy in developed as well as developing nations. A number of products have been approved, especially in developed nations, to cater to the need for cutting-edge surgical technique for THA. Orthopedic surgeons are keenly focusing on patient-related factors to improve the outcomes. Government Initiatives to Improve Healthcare Outcomes Fueling R&D Expenditure Rise in medical spending for improving healthcare outcomes in general in developing economies is boosting the prospective demand for hip replacement implants. Governments in such countries are focused on improving the affordability of care for patients with hip disorders, Thus, implant manufacturers are witnessing high scope of commercialization of their products in some developing economies, notably in Asia Pacific. Enquiry before Buying - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/enquiry.php Hip Replacement Implants Market: Key Drivers and Future Avenues Rise in elderly populations in several countries around the world has bolstered the demand for minimally-invasive hip replacement and hip construction surgeries Increasing incidence and marked prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) favouring the evolution of the hip replacement implants market Prevalence of obesity and other forms of arthritis also expanding the target population for the market Purchase the Hip Replacement Implants Market Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php Hip Replacement Implants Market: Regional Dynamics High prevalence of arthritis and presence of a well-established healthcare team in orthopedics in the U.S. makes North America substantially lucrative market substantially lucrative market Rise in aging population and improvements in healthcare infrastructures in numerous emerging economies in Asia Pacific makes this region an incredible avenue for growth makes this region an incredible avenue for growth Rapidly increasing R&D expenditure on the back of governments' support boosting the growth of the Asia Pacific market. Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Healthcare Industry: Orthopedic Implants Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/orthopedic-implants-market.html Hip Reconstruction Devices Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/hip-reconstruction-devices-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals. Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories. TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision." Browse More Upcoming Reports by Transparency Market Research: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/upcoming.htm Contact Mr. Rohit Bhisey Transparency Market Research State Tower, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY - 12207 United States USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: [email protected] Press Release Source: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/hip-replacement-implants-market.htm Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ SOURCE Transparency Market Research Two tranches of 500mln are being sold to professional investors only British Airways parent ( ) has today launched a new 1bn bond issue. Proceeds from the bond funding are earmarked for general corporate purposes including the strengthening of IAGs balance sheet and financial support for a more prolonged downturn in air travel. Additionally, the group of flag-carrier airlines said the injection can provide operational and strategic flexibility to take advantage of a recovery in demand, as it arises. The bonds are being sold in two tranches of 500mln, with the first (Series A) due to mature in March 2025 and the second (Series B) in March 2029. The issue, which is not being made available to retail investors, will see its coupon determined in a bookbuild process. Final bond pricing and terms will also be determined in the bookbuild. IAG the parent holdings company for British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling, - was earlier this month tipped by to become more competitive as a result of restructuring. According to the Swiss bank, the BA-owner led the industry in its pandemic cost cutting whilst other airlines struggled to amend theirs. BA cutting employee costs by 30% surpasses legacy peers in terms of speed and ambition and lowers the bar to return to profitability, the bank said. A blend of premium leisure growth and cost-cutting can get close to restoring BAs long-haul margins, with premium leisures growth track record suggesting one years growth is enough to absorb a 10% loss of corporate traffic, noted. The bank expects operating cash flow margins to recover to at least 15%-18% levels over 2019. 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. Egypt has sentenced prominent activist Sanaa Seif to 1 years in prison, her sister said Wednesday, in what Amnesty International called a travesty of justice. According to a tweet from Mona Seif, the Cairo Criminal Court convicted her sister of "spreading false news related to the COVID-19 pandemic," "using a Facebook account to terrorize people and insulting a police officer. Seifs lawyer said the ruling will be appealed. The verdict was delivered Wednesday without the 27-year-old activist present in the courtroom. Todays verdict is yet another crushing blow for the right to freedom of expression in Egypt, Amnestys regional deputy director, Amna Guellali, said in a statement. The Egyptian authorities have yet again demonstrated their unrelenting intent to punish any criticism of their dismal human rights record. Seif has been in Egyptian custody since June, when her family says unidentified security forces seized her outside the Cairo public prosecutors office. Seif had been waiting at the Cairo office to file a complaint related to an attack on her family at the Tora prison complex the previous day. Seif, her sister and mother said they were attacked by a group of armed women at the detention facility. The family was at the Cairo prison to receive a letter from Sanaas older brother, activist Alaa Abdel Fatah, who has been detained since September 2019 over anti-government protests. Egypts authorities have stepped up their crackdown on dissent since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2013, with rights groups accusing the government of orchestrating widespread torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. In the past year, monitors have also documented the arrest or forced disappearance of a number of activists and journalists who criticized the Egyptian governments response to the pandemic. According to Amnesty, Seifs Facebook-related charge stems from her criticism of Egypts overcrowded prisons and their inadequate response to the spread of the coronavirus. Amnesty said that since 2014, Seif had been previously imprisoned in two other cases "for exercising her rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression." The Biden administration has pledged to make human rights central to its relationship with Egypt. The United States joined 30 other countries last week to issue a rare rebuke of the Egyptian governments use of counterterrorism laws to crush peaceful dissent. It may sound like something that only happens in movies, but note that Houston is no stranger to bizarre art capers. According to Texas Monthly's Dan Solomon, a pair of art thieves attempted to pull off a heist by sneaking into the Houston Museum of Fine Arts Bayou Bend Collection and Garden in River Oaks. READ IT TO BELIEVE IT: Houston should rightfully be called the weirdest big city in Texas According to Courtney Fischer and T.J. Parker for KTRK-13, MFAH said a man and woman entered the museum through a grate in a basement window. Their illegal entry sounded the alarm and alerted a security guard, who chased the suspects out the front door and through the woods. Police said the pair escaped on a nearby motor boat they positioned as a getaway vehicle in the Buffalo Bend Bayou. Houston police sent out a tweet about the crime at 9:27 p.m. Tuesday, saying, "Central officers K9 and FOX are searching for burglary suspects near Memorial Park. Suspects broke into a museum and then fled on a boat in Buffalo Bayou." Officers were able to locate the suspects hiding in a drainage culvert, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, but the pair were able to escape through a storm drainage tunnel beneath River Oaks. The Houston Chronicle reported there are more than 2,500 objects displayed in the museum throughout the 28 rooms and galleries, none of which were damaged or stolen Tuesday night. A woman walks past the elephant logo of the Republican Party on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 18, 2016. (Dominick Reuter/AFP via Getty Images) Republican Insiders Say Corporate Woke-ism Threatens Pact Between GOP and Big Business A lobbying and communications outfit with deep ties to GOP leadership argued in a recent memo that the rise of woke CEOs embracing avant-garde social agendas is fueling a populist surge in the Republican Party that threatens to upend its longstanding pact with big business. Theres trouble ahead for the tried-and-true coalition of Republicans and corporate Americaand the issues they care about, CGCN Group wrote. That coalition has, for years, pushed back against what it saw as big government, anti-free market policies, the authors argued. But as more members of the Republican old guard retire and young up-and-comers hardened by battles on the barricades of Americas culture wars gain more influence in the GOP, the memos authors see the stirrings of a realignment within the party that they characterize as an anti-big business bent. Whether on issues related to technology and social media, immigration, taxes, trade, and much else, congressional Republicansmany of whom are under the age of 50are gravitating more and more to the views and demands of their conservative base, they wrote. As noted, woke-ism is a central target of GOP voters, and their younger leaders are attacking what they perceive is its unholy grip on the nations major social, cultural, and economic institutions. The policy implication of this shift, the memo argues, is a Republican Party increasingly unwilling to listen simultaneously to corporate priorities on, say, tax and trade policy, alongside their CEOs latest cultural forays. While the memo did not offer specifics on how executives are playing social justice politics, the sharp left turn of corporate Americain the words of Wall Street Journal editorial board member Kimberley Strasselis a phenomenon that has come increasingly into the limelight over the past four years, and surged to the forefront after the deplatforming of former President Donald Trump. Big Business over the past four years has increasingly signed up for leftist politics, Strassel wrote in a recent op-ed, pointing to examples like wokewashing, peddling causes or figures for brand benefitthink Nikes Colin Kaepernick commercial or Lacostes replacement of its crocodile logo with endangered species. Some was spinelessness, caving in to the liberal mobthink Goldman Sachss refusal to finance fossil-fuel projects. Some was strategicTwitter and Facebook attempting to ward off regulation with ever-changing policies on misinformation.' This trend veered more sharply to the left, she wrote, when some companiesFacebook, Twitter, and YouTubebanned Trump or clamped down on his content, and otherslike Stripe and Shopifyrestricted his ability to process campaign contributions or do business. She also pointed to the bevy of companies that announced they would withhold donations to Republicans who supported Trumps election challenges. Business titans are positioning themselves as arbiters of political speech and activityby withholding essential services to conservative individuals, companies, and groups, she wrote. Theyve turned themselves into political entities, raising constitutional and antitrust questions. She said that corporate America was moving from captives of wokeness to active accomplices. Big business abandoning its role as a bulwark against anti-free market impulses and big government encroachment is an argument increasingly being made by critics who accuse corporate America of falling into the clutches of the woke movement. Stephen Soukup, author of the book The Dictatorship of Woke Capital: How Political Correctness Captured Big Business, told The Epoch Times Crossroads that American big business had traditionally served as a free-market-loving shield against what he said was a long, leftist march for control of the institutions of Western civilization. But thats changed, Soukup said, arguing that the left effectively took over business within the last decade. Soukup urged conservatives to take action to save American big business from falling deeper into the grip of the woke movement. As for CGCNs advice for corporations, the business community needs to rethink how it engages the GOP on issues they consider fundamental, because their list of priorities and the GOPs may not always overlap in the same way it once did, he said. Joshua Philipp contributed to this report. The ONeal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is partnering with the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer in a study to determine how to improve participation from Black communities in lung cancer clinical trials. Participation in clinical trials for all cancer patients in the United States are extremely low. The percent is about at 8 percent but even lower among racial and ethnic minorities. African Americans make up about 6 percent in these trials. Diverse representation in clinical trials is essential to find treatments that are effective for all populations, including people from various racial, ethnic and geographic backgrounds, said Monica Baskin, Ph.D., professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. The rate of lung cancer is 30 percent higher in African American men than white men. Both African American men and women are more likely to develop and die from lung cancer than any other racial group. The project will study and interview many people who play a role in the clinical trial process, from patients to research staff and doctors, to find out what contributes to decreased clinical trial participation among African American patients. The second part of the project will use what was learned to select and test different evidence-based initiatives to increase the participation of African American patients in clinical trials. ONeal Cancer Center will get $350,000 for support on the STRIDES project. The grant from Genentech comes from its Health Equity Innovation Fund. Almost 380 institutions and organizations applied for funding support. STRIDES will further help us address the ongoing health care disparities that have kept patients in racial and ethnic groups out of the process of developing new treatments and allow us to work toward better outcomes, Baskin said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 23:51:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GABORONE, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Botswana on Wednesday launched a communications campaign aimed at addressing fears, misinformation, doubts and frustration regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Speaking during the launch cerenomy in Gaborone, Minister of Health and Wellness Edwin Dikoloti said Botswana is on the eve of rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination and "to achieve this, communication becomes critical to ensuring that the leadership, community and stakeholders are informed, engaged and mobilized to elicit intended responses and outcomes." The campaign was launched under the slogan "ArmReady For Lemao" (ArmReady to receive the vaccine). The goal of the campaign is to allevate apprehensions about the vaccine, promote its acceptance by public through timely dissemination of accurate and transparent information. The campaign comes after some countries issued temporary bans on the use of AstraZeneca's two-dose vaccine following reports of people developing blood clots shortly after vaccination. Botswana will go ahead and use the Covishield vaccine the country received from India last week, Dikoloti confirmed, adding that they have satisfied themselves with the safety of the vaccine and taken advice from WHO on the use of the vaccine. Botswana has launched the online registration platform that will allow individuals willing to be vaccinated to register. Enditem 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. More than a dozen first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs have complained of 'inhumane' conditions they claim to have endured working at the investment bank - even as they clock $91,000-a-year salaries before collecting annual bonuses that can double their take-home pay. The new employees said they were stressed and complained of sleepless nights, though if they stick it out and rise through the ranks, they'll be handsomely rewarded: Goldman partners have a base salary of $950,000. It has a around 400-450 partners. A Powerpoint presentation compiled by the 13 new employees, in which they surveyed themselves about their work environment, leaked to social media on Wednesday. According to the document, the analysts alleged they were 'very unsatisfied' with the firm, citing grueling hours, unrealistic deadlines and unpleasant senior staff. 'My body physically hurts all the time and mentally I'm in a really dark place,' one of the young employees wrote in the presentation. Another stated: 'What is not okay to me is 110-120 hours over the course of a week! The math is simple, that leaves 4 hours a day for eating, sleeping, showering, bathroom and general transition time. This is beyond the level of 'hard-working''. More than a dozen first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs have complained about 'inhumane' conditions they claim to have endured while working at the investment bank 'The sleep deprivation, the treatment by senior bankers and physical stress I've been through foster care and this is arguably worse,' a third person was quoted as saying. On average, the 13 first-year analysts gave Goldman Sachs a score of 2 out of 10 for workplace satisfaction. Meanwhile, 83 percent of respondents said they had experienced 'excessive monitoring or micromanagement'. 17 percent said they 'frequently encountered shouting or swearing'. A majority of the analysts claimed they felt like they had been a victim of workplace abuse, while three-quarters said they had sought or considered counselling due to stress. The Powerpoint presentation concluded with a slide titled 'Rectifying The Situation', in which the analysts proposed ideas to senior staffers that would help them feel better about the workplace. The Goldman Sachs headquarters in downtown Manhattan is pictured The group proposed a maximum work capacity of 80 hours per week, stating: ' In order to do our best work and deliver for the firm's clients we need to be rested and free from juggling an insurmountable amount of conflicting work streams'. They also stated: 'Junior bankers should not be expected to do any work after 9pm Friday or all day Saturday without a pre-approved exception, as that is the only safe-guarded personal time that we get'. Goldman Sachs is one of the most prestigious investing banking firms, and first-year analyst jobs are extremely coveted. According to Business Insider, banks like Goldman Sachs their first-year investment banking analysts a cool $91,000. The sum does not include any bonuses, which are usually paid toward the end of the year. Bonuses for people at the associate level can range from around $45,000 to more than $100,000, according to figures collected by MergersandAcquisitions.com. A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told the New York Post that they take their employees' concerns seriously 'We recognize that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels,' the spokesperson said. 'A year into COVID, people are understandably quite stretched, and that's why we are listening to their concerns and taking multiple steps to address them.' Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Accounting Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 206 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 206 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Accounting Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-accounting-degree-programs/ 2021 Accounting Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Arizona State University Auburn University Bemidji State University Binghamton University Brigham Young University Caldwell University, New Jersey City University of New York, Baruch College Clarion University of Pennsylvania College of William and Mary Colorado State University, Global Campus Dickinson State University Fairfield University Florida National University Florida State University Gardner-Webb University Georgia Southern University Georgia Southwestern State University Grantham University Indiana University Lehigh University Michigan State University Middle Tennessee State University Morehead State University Muhlenberg College National University Northern Illinois University Ohio State University Rutgers University Saint Mary of the Woods College Seattle University Southern Illinois University The College of New Jersey University of Connecticut University of Florida University of Georgia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Louisiana, Monroe University of Maryland University of Memphis University of Michigan-Flint University of Mississippi University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Scranton University of Southern California University of Texas, Austin University of Tulsa University of Washington University of Wisconsin, Madison Villanova University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. A police officer in New Hampshire who shot and killed a naked, bloody man who was charging toward him was justified in doing so, the state Attorney General's office said. Thornton Police Department Officer Matthew Yao acted within the law when he fatally shot 37-year-old Ethan Freeman in October 2020, Deputy New Hampshire Attorney General Jane E. Young said in a report detailing the decision. Freeman had threatened to kill Yao, the AG's office said. 'Moreover, Mr. Freeman had both the opportunity and ability to carry out those death threats,' it said. The altercation was caught on the body camera Yao wore. The report said Yao arrived to an apartment in response to a 911 report of a man injuring himself. The call was made by the owner of the property, who said Freeman was bleeding and claiming to feel chest pain and requested an ambulance. Inside the apartment, Yao encountered a naked, bloody and irrational Freeman holding a broken piece of furniture, authorities said. A body camera worn by Thornton, New Hampshire, police Officer Matthew Yao captured video of the fatal shooting of Ethan Freeman in October 2020 Freeman, who was bloody and naked, threatened to kill Yao before advancing on the officer outside an apartment A report filed by investigators said Yao 'fired two shots in quick succession' before Freeman 'collapsed to the ground, and died from his gunshot wounds' Video from Yao's body camera shows Freeman threatening to kill Yao before jumping out of a window and advancing on the officer. Freeman was unarmed and was believed to be suffering from mental health issues. 'When Mr. Freeman was about ten feet away, and still advancing on Officer Yao, the officer fired two shots in quick succession,' the report said. 'Mr. Freeman collapsed to the ground, and died from his gunshot wounds.' At a briefing on Tuesday, officials showed video from the body camera worn by Yao that captured three interactions with Freeman that day, including the fatal encounter, WMUR reported. Officer Matthew Yao of the Thornton, New Hampshire, police was cleared in the October 2020 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Ethan Freeman Deputy Attorney General Jane E. Young issued a report Tuesday detailing the decision that Thornton Police Officer Matthew Yao acted within the law when he fatally shot Freeman New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinkley was one of the officials who announced Tuesday that Yao was justified in using deadly force against Freeman The footage was critical in the case because they were able to match what the officer said to investigators with what was seen on the video, officials said. 'All of the other evidence gathered from the investigation supports the conclusion that Officer Yao did reasonably believe that he faced the imminent use of deadly physical force from Mr. Freeman at the time that the officer fired his pistol,' Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinkley said. Yao said he did not have time to holster his weapon and switch to a nonlethal form of defense. Investigators said Yao had seconds to react and his action was legal. 'Officer Yao believed that when Mr. Freeman, who he heard had threatened his life, ultimately reached him, he would attempt to take his gun and shoot him,' Hinckley said. Body camera footage showed interactions earlier in the day between the officer and Freeman, who was believed to be suffering from mental health issues The 25-year-old father of a boy who died at sea while attempting to seek asylum in Greece faces up to 10 years in prison with charges of child endangerment. The five-year-old boy, originally from Afghanistan, drowned in a shipwreck during the journey from Turkey to Greece after his fathers asylum application in Turkey was rejected twice. The man, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition he only be identified by his initials, N.A., and that his son wouldnt be named, had feared he and his son would be deported to Afghanistan. He was divorced and raising his son alone. I didnt come here for fun. I was compelled, N.A. said. I decided to go for the future of my son, for my future, so we can go somewhere to live, and my son can study. Now, he says, he often thinks of killing himself. Read more: Without him I dont know how to live, he cried. He is the only one I had in my life. All my hopes were him. This is believed to be the first time in the European Union that a parent faces prosecution for their childs shipwreck death in the pursuit of a better life in Europe. It isnt clear why Greek authorities took the extreme step of charging this man when so many others have been in his place. Notis Mitarachi, Greeces Migration Minister, said the case doesnt indicate any change in Greeces migration policy. If there is the loss of human life, it must be investigated whether some people, through negligence or deliberately, acted outside the limits of the law, Mitarachi said, adding this was on a case-by-case basis. He noted asylum seekers lives arent in danger in Turkey. The people who choose to get into boats, which are unseaworthy and are driven by people who have no experience of the sea, obviously put human lives at risk, he said. According to The Associated Press, who looked at legal documents and interviewed those involved with the case, N.A. and his son began their journey in Izmir, Turkey, along with 24 other Afghan passengers. Ebrahim Haidari, aged 29, remembers the boy as an intelligent child who chatted with other passengers and joked with the smugglers in Turkish. He said he was struck by the father and sons close relationship. On 7 November, the asylum seekers were driven to the Turkish coast. Although the sea was not calm, smugglers insisted the weather would improve and forced the passengers into an inflatable dinghy and made one of them drive. The weather didnt improve and, as the sea grew rougher, the boat took on water. The group headed for the first land they could see in order to escape death. However, rocks near the shore tore the dinghy, throwing them overboard. In the chaos, N.A. lost sight of his son, and couldnt hear him. On two separate occasions, boats with searchlights approached the group but did not stop. According to an unnamed official of the Samos coast guard, who spoke on the condition of anonymity after Greeces Shipping and Island Policy Ministry refused to grant an interview request, the coastguards saw no one when they arrived at the tip of an uninhabited peninsula on reports of the possible arrival of migrants. The father is certain the crew saw them, but didnt help. According to the official, one of the vessels discovered the boy's body hours later while rescuing a woman from behind a rock. The father was found several hours walk away, with another nine people. Legal documents show the Samos coast guard arrested the father for exposing his minor son to danger during the attempted illegal entry into the country by sea. The official said: If you have a dead child, you try to figure out who he was with. Its different when you have relatives there helping, and different when you find them alone. The indictment accuses the father of leaving your ... child helpless and putting him in an unseaworthy boat in bad weather. On the EUs border, Greece has been on the frontline of Europes migration crisis. From 2014 to 2020, more than 1.2 million people used the eastern Mediterranean route to Europe, according to UNHCR figures. More than 2,000 died or went missing. Last March, as Greek-Turkish relations soured, Turkey announced its borders to the EU were open, sending thousands of migrants to the Greek border. Greece accused Turkey of weaponising migrants desperation. Aid groups and asylum seekers have also reported pushbacks by Greece, illegal deportations without allowing asylum applications. Greece vehemently denies the claims. Nick van der Steenhoven of refugee rights charity Choose Love notes asylum seekers have little choice in timing. These people have to rely on smugglers, and these smugglers decide when and where people take these journeys, he said. The father and son became victim of the failure of the European Union to provide safe and legal routes. The fathers defence lawyer Dimitris Choulis is filing an official application requesting an investigation into the coast guards actions. The father, he said, is convinced his son could have been saved. Choulis considers the charges the product of panic and not the product of some broader policy .. But automatically we are creating one more obstacle to these people to claim asylum. Additional reporting by The Associated Press Thousands of residents on Melbournes eastern fringe have demanded the government halt its plans to sell empty land on the site of a former school to property developers. Pembroke Secondary College in Kilsyth was demolished in 2013 after two schools were amalgamated and locals want the vacant lot to be turned into parkland. They are now in a fight with the state government, which wants to sell half of the site for housing. Kilsyth residents Shelly Large (centre), John Phillips and wife Carol with George Stephens (right) at the empty land on Cambridge Road. Credit:Eddie Jim Kilsyth local Shelley Large said the area needed forward planning to avoid repeating mistakes that sparked a clash in Albert Park, where students from a vertical school use nearby Gasworks Park during recess and lunch. In 2017, Yarra Ranges Council turned down an opportunity to buy the vacant lot at 150 Cambridge Road in Kilsyth. It has since been rezoned for residential development and will be sold on behalf of the Department of Education and Training. 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 View Results This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions CAGLIARI, MAR 18 - Italian police on Thursday arrested 13 people on suspicion of carrying out attacks on security vans and security companies in Sardinia in recent years. Some 300 police fanned out across the island to arrest the 13 members of what police called The Firm, who allegedly planned their attacks on their sheep farms. The arrests were made in the provinces of Cagliari, Sassari and Nuoro. The alleged gang attacked a security van on a state highway at Bonorva near Sassari in 2015 and made off with over half a million euros, police said. They also allegedly stole some 11 million euros from the vault of a security firm in Sassari the following year, and were preparing to rob it again last year, police said. The arrests are linked to a 2016 probe in which some of the alleged perpetrators of the Bonorva heist were arrested, including the deputy mayor of Villagrande Strisaili, Giovanni Olianas, who was sentenced to 28 years in jail. The gang was allegedly led by Franco Giovanni Chessa, 50, from Irgoli near Nuoro, taken into custody at his farm at Thiesi near Sassari. (ANSA). KYODO NEWS - Mar 19, 2021 - 21:53 | All, World North Korea will sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia over the extradition to the United States of one of its citizens for alleged involvement in money laundering, state-run media said Friday. Later in the day, Malaysia ordered North Korean diplomatic staff and their dependents to leave the country within 48 hours, in a tit-for-tat move that would escalate already strained tensions between the two nations. Some foreign affairs experts suggest the latest development has taken on aspects of a U.S. proxy war with North Korea, which has started to adopt a tougher stance against the new administration of President Joe Biden. "On March 17, the Malaysian authority committed an unpardonable crime, in the end, of forcibly delivering the innocent citizen of the DPRK to the United States by having charged him with 'criminal,'" the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the country's Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement. "With regard to the grave situation that has prevailed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK hereby announces total severance of the diplomatic relations with Malaysia," the report said. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. The Malaysian Foreign Ministry said, "The DPRK's unilateral decision is clearly unwarranted, disproportionate and certainly disruptive towards the promotion of peace, stability and prosperity of our region." In 2019, a Malaysian court ordered a suspected North Korean agent to be extradited to the United States to face charges of money laundering there, rejecting his defense's argument that the charges were politically motivated. Mun Chol Myong has been indicted on money-laundering charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Also accused of engaging in illicit shipments of luxury goods to North Korea, he has denied any wrongdoing. The United States, which has no diplomatic ties with North Korea, described Mun as "the leader of an international organized criminal group" and requested Malaysia to extradite him. Earlier this month, Mun lost his final appeal in Malaysia's top court. Relations between North Korea and Malaysia sharply deteriorated following the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2017. Malaysia later expelled the North Korean ambassador from the nation and closed its own embassy in Pyongyang. Recently, the Southeast Asian country has not dispatched any diplomats to the North Korean capital. "When it comes to our citizen in question, he was engaged for years in the legitimate external trade activities in Singapore, and therefore, it is absurd fabrication and sheer plot to argue that he was involved in 'illegal money laundering,'" the North Korean ministry said in Friday's statement. "Not content with putting our innocent citizen in the dock by blindly currying favor with the U.S. -- the principal enemy of our state -- the Malaysian authority delivered our citizen to the U.S. in the end, thus destroying the entire foundation of the bilateral relations based on the respect for sovereignty," it added. As for U.S.-North Korea ties, Biden's predecessor Donald Trump engaged in unprecedented summit diplomacy with Kim Jong Un. The former U.S. president met North Korea's leader three times in 2018 and 2019 in the hope of convincing Pyongyang to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Negotiations, however, made little progress during Trump's four years in the White House that ended on Jan. 20 this year, with the two nations at odds over issues such as the degree of sanctions relief Pyongyang should receive for taking denuclearization steps. On Thursday, North Korea pledged to ignore U.S. attempts to hold bilateral talks unless Washington withdraws its hostile policy toward Pyongyang, rapping the Biden administration for trying to "use the DPRK-U.S. contact as a means for gaining time." Related coverage: U.S., S. Korea call N. Korea nuclear, missile issues "priority" North Korea may be eyeing 1st weapons test since Biden took office: CNN North Korean leader's sister raps U.S.-S. Korea military drills One of the Australian-native, critically endangered lizard species: Lister's gecko. Credit: Parks Australia. Native reptile populations on Christmas Island have been in severe decline with two species, Lister's gecko and the blue-tailed skink, entirely disappearing from the wild. While previously the main driver for this decline is likely predation by invasive species and habitat destruction, a silent killer is now threatening to wipe the species out entirely. Those bred in captivity on the Australian Territory in the Indian Ocean have also been mysteriously dying, leaving the two specieswhich number only around 1000 eachin danger of extinction. Veterinary scientists from the University of Sydney, the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia have now discovered the cause of these deaths: a bacterium, Enterococcus lacertideformus (E. lacertideformus). The bacterium was discovered in 2014 after captive reptiles presented with facial deformities and lethargy, and some even died. Samples were collected and analyzed using microscopy and genetic testing. The researchers' findings, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, will inform antibiotic trials on the reptiles to see if the infection can be treated. The bacterium grows in the animal's head, then in its internal organs, before eventually causing death. It can be spread by direct contactincluding through reptiles' mouths, or via reptiles biting one anotheroften during breeding season fights. Infected gecko displaying severe head and facial swelling associated with Enterococcus lacertideformus infection. Credit: Jessica Agius. "This means that healthy captive animals need to be kept apart from infected ones and should also be kept away from areas where infected animals have been," said Jessica Agius, co-lead researcher and Ph.D. candidate in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. Ms Agius and the research team not only identified the bacterium, they decoded its genetic structure using whole genome sequencing. Specific genes were identified that are likely to be associated with the bacterium's ability to infect its host, invade its tissues and avoid the immune system. "We also found that the bacterium can surround itself with a biofilma 'community of bacteria' that can help it survive," Ms Agius said. "Understanding how E. lacertideformus produces and maintains the biofilm may provide insights on how to treat other species of biofilm-forming bacteria." PhD researcher Jessica Agius spotlighting critically endangered lizards in the field on Christmas Island to find out if they are infected with Enterococcus lacertideformus. Credit: Jessica Agius. The search of the genetic code suggested that the killer bacterium was susceptible to most antibiotics. Professor David Phalen, research co-lead and Ms Agius' Ph.D. supervisor, said: "This suggests that infected animals might be successfully treated. That's what we need to determine now." In another effort to protect the endangered reptiles on Christmas Island, a population of blue-tailed skinks has been established on the Cocos Islands. Ms Agius played a critical role in the translocation, testing reptiles on the Cocos Islands to make sure that they were free of E. lacertideformus. "It's critical we act now to ensure these native reptiles survive," Ms Agius said. Explore further Saving Christmas Island's reptiles More information: Jessica Esther Agius et al, Genomic Insights Into the Pathogenicity of a Novel Biofilm-Forming Enterococcus sp. Bacteria (Enterococcus lacertideformus) Identified in Reptiles, Frontiers in Microbiology (2021). Journal information: Frontiers in Microbiology Jessica Esther Agius et al, Genomic Insights Into the Pathogenicity of a Novel Biofilm-Forming Enterococcus sp. Bacteria (Enterococcus lacertideformus) Identified in Reptiles,(2021). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.635208 BRIDGEPORT A Bridgeport man convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Stratford girl who he was hired to drive from a hospital has been charged with violating his probation for a second time. Ramon Barksdale, 50, of Hancock Avenue, was Thursday ordered by Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle held in lieu of $100,000 bond. In 2003, Barksdale was convicted by a jury of three counts of second-degree sexual assault and six counts of risk of injury to a child. He was sentenced to four years in prison followed by 20 years of probation. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and have no contact with minors. According to testimony at trial, in the late 1990s, Barksdale had been hired to drive a van transporting patients from the former Hall-Brook psychiatric hospital in Westport. In January 1998, he had been transporting a 13-year-old girl from the hospital to her home in Stratford when the girl complained that Barksdale had sexually assaulted her. The girl told police that Barksdale had stopped at a beach and gave her marijuana to smoke on one occasion and on others had pulled into a parking lot behind a Stratford hotel where he had sexually assaulted her in the van, according to trial testimony. In 2011, according to court records, Barksdale was arrested and charged with violating his probation. He was subsequently resentenced to a suspended term with 12 years of probation. However, an arrest warrant affidavit by the state Office of Adult Probation states that Barksdale was again in violation of his probation after it was determined he was living with a woman and her teenaged son and had not provided probation with an accurate address. CLEVELAND, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rainforest Car Wash, home of the famous Haunted Car Wash, is putting a pandemic-safe spin on Easter this year, hosting Ohio's first Car Wash Easter Egg Hunt. Each Rainforest Unlimited car wash member or customer who gets a car wash from March 29th April 3rd has an opportunity to hunt for eggs inside the tunnels. All Rainforest locations will have tunnels filled with eggs to find. Count them up from inside your vehicle and enter your finds to win free washes and more. There's even a special golden egg to locate. Those who spy the golden egg are eligible to win bigger prizes, up to and including a Nintendo Switch. "We're thrilled to be hosting Ohio's first ever car wash Easter Egg Hunt. Rainforest Car Wash is known to our local communities as an innovator of fun, creative, family-friendly events that add joy and brightness to daily life. This Easter Egg Hunt event is our latest way of helping keep our community uplifted and inspired as we come into springtime," said Anthony Bencivenni, Rainforest's District Manager. You can enjoy this unique spin on an Easter Egg Hunt at any Rainforest Car Wash location, including Cleveland Heights, Brunswick, Medina, and newly added Avon! Learn more about how to participate at rfwash.com/egghunt. "We look forward to having you join us for this EGGcellent adventure. Make sure to stop by your nearest Rainforest Car Wash location and spot as many eggs as you can for a chance at the best prizes. We'll see you in the Rainforest," said Bencivenni. Rainforest Car Wash is an experiential rainforest-themed car wash that serves Ohio with four convenient wash locations in the greater Cleveland area. The wash is committed to helping people achieve a better clean, an escape from the day-to-day, and a family-friendly jungle adventure, delivering an exceptional clean and an unforgettable experience for every customer. To learn more about Rainforest Car Wash, visit rfwash.com. SOURCE Rainforest Car Wash Related Links https://rfwash.com I am greatly honored to have the privilege of leading ACTEC over this next year, said Burns. As President, I look forward to guiding Fellows in their intent to contribute to the College, while fostering a culture where diversity and inclusion are a driving force." The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) today announced that Ann B. Burns will serve as the Colleges new President. Burns, a partner at Lathrop GPM LLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota, succeeds ACTEC Fellow Stephen R. Akers from Dallas, Texas. ACTEC is a national, nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC Fellows have extensive experience in a range of practice areas including estate and trust planning; estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping tax planning; fiduciary income tax planning; charitable planning; planning for owners of closely held and family businesses; fiduciary litigation; and estate and trust administration. Burns, who has served in various roles at the College for 26 years, was officially presented at ACTECs passing of the gavel ceremony on Friday, March 12, 2021, during its 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. As an officer of the College since 2013, she previously served on the Board of Regents, as Chair of the Business Planning Committee and as a member of the ACTEC Foundation Board of Directors. Additionally, Burns was an active member of the Colleges Asset Protection Committee, Audit Committee, Digital Property Committee, Digital Property Task Force, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Family Law Task Force, Fiduciary Income Tax Committee, Fiduciary Litigation Committee, Financial Management Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, New Fellows Steering Committee, Program Committee, Nominating Committee, Sponsorship Advisory Committee, the State Chairs/Elect Committee and the State Chairs Steering Committee. I am greatly honored to have the privilege of leading ACTEC over this next year, said Burns. As President, I look forward to guiding Fellows in their intent to contribute to the College, while fostering a culture where diversity and inclusion are a driving force. I hope to strengthen the administration of trust and estate law and elevate the advancement and simplification of tax laws and procedures meant to protect and benefit our communities. Burns is a frequent presenter at the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning at the University of Miami School of Law and has been a featured speaker for the Salvation Armys annual Estate and Charitable Gift Planning Institute. The recipient of countless honors, Burns has been recognized as Leading Practitioner of Private Wealth Law by Chambers High Net Worth Guide and acknowledged in The Best Lawyers in America and the 2020 Super Lawyers Magazine, Minnesota edition. Outside her legal practice, Burns is a former member of the Board of Trustees for The Minneapolis Foundation, providing oversight and guidance for the foundations efforts to promote education, economic development, and civic engagement in the Minneapolis community. During the Virtual Annual Meeting, ACTECs Board of Regents elected the following 2021-2022 officers, each of whom serve with Burns on the Executive Committee and the Board of Regents: About the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Established in 1949, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,500 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The Colleges mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives. # # # The arrest comes as the district is in a state of heightened security following the January 6 insurrection attempt at the US Capitol. New York : A 31-year-old man has been arrested outside United States Vice President Kamala Harris' official residence in Washington, DC on weapons and ammunition charges, according to media reports. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, do not currently live at the Naval Observatory, as the official residence of the US Vice President is undergoing renovation. The couple is living at Blair House, near the White House. The Texas man was detained by US Secret Service on Wednesday following an intelligence bulletin, a spokesperson for Washington's Metropolitan Police was quoted as saying by CNN. Police said the officers arrested and charged Paul Murray, of San Antonio, and that a rifle and ammunition were recovered from his vehicle, it said. A police report shows officers allege Murray was in possession of an "AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and five 30 round magazines." According to police, he's been charged with several counts: carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. The US Secret Service told CNN in a statement that Uniformed Division officers detained the man before Metropolitan Police arrived on the scene. A Secret Service official said none of the agency's protectees were at the residence at the time of the incident. Violent pro-Trump supporters, fuelled by the belief that President Biden and Harris had stolen the election from Donald Trump, stormed the Capitol on January 6, threatening lawmakers and law enforcement officers. Five people, including a police officer, were killed in the violence. Since the violent incidents, security and intelligence officials have often warned about the dangers of homegrown extremism in America. Taking a short break can improve your productivity during a tough work day, a new study suggests. A team from North Carolina State University found a five-minute 'microbreak' is enough to improve mental sharpness and help employees fight fatigue. Researchers conducted an international survey and found that when employees came to work tired they took more unscheduled microbreaks. However, stepping away from the computer throughout the day, even if just for a few minutes, helped them gather enough energy to complete tasks and improved their mood . The team suggests making a cup of coffee or playing a game during this time to help you relax and take your mind off of work-related tasks. Five-minute voluntary microbreaks can help tired employees bounce back from morning fatigue and be more productive for the rest of the day, according to new research Microbreaks can include any number of activities, even when working from home, like having a snack, working on a crossword puzzle or playing with a pet. 'A microbreak is, by definition, short,' says Sophia Cho, a psychology professor at North Carolina State University. 'But a five-minute break can be golden if you take it at the right time.' In a paper published in The Journal of Applied Psychology, Cho and her colleagues looked at two studies exploring microbreaks that were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most offices. The first surveyed nearly 100 US workers, asking them to fill out two surveys a day for 10 work days, one in the morning and one at the end of the day. Microbreaks can include any number of activities, even when working from home like having a snack, working on a crossword puzzle or playing with a pet The questionnaires addressed sleep quality, fatigue level, work engagement and their general workplace experiences that day. In a second, similar study, 222 employees in South Korea were given three surveys for five consecutive days one in the morning, one after lunch and one at day's end. On days when workers arrived at work tired, they tended to take microbreaks more often. Those short pauses helped them maintain their energy level, the researchers found, which helped them complete work tasks and feel better about their job. 'Basically, microbreaks help you manage your energy resources over the course of the dayand that's particularly beneficial on days when you're tired,' Cho said. The authors, who included researchers from the National University of Singapore and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, also found that people were more willing to take microbreaks if they felt their employer was concerned about their wellbeing. 'When people think their employer cares about their health, they feel more empowered to freely make decisions about when to take microbreaks and what type of microbreaks to take,' Cho said. 'It is in a company's best interest to give employees autonomy in terms of taking microbreaks when they are needed,' she added. 'It helps employees effectively manage their energy and engage in their work throughout the day.' Even using your phone can work as a microbreak, assuming its not for work. A 2014 study found people who took smartphone breaks throughout the day were happier and more productive at work. Just a minute or two of Candy Crush or Facebook helped employees ratchet down from stressful situations, according to researchers from Kansas State University. They installed an app that measured dozens of people's smartphone usage during work hours and, at the end of each workday, asked them to record how they felt. The employees who took smartphone breaks were happier at the end of the workday. 'By interacting with friends or family members through a smartphone, or by playing a short game, we found that employees can recover from some of their stress to refresh their minds and take a break,' said Sooyeol Kim, a doctoral student in psychological sciences and author of the study. Kim found the subjects only spent an average of 22 minutes out of an eight-hour day playing on their devices. 'if I would play a game for an hour during my working day, it would definitely hurt my work performance,' Kim said. 'But if I take short breaks of one or two minutes throughout the day, it could provide me with refreshment to do my job.' Taking a break throughout the work day is important because it is difficult to concentrate for eight straight. Workers who think they are 'plowing through' may be giving diminishing returns, Kim said. ROME, MAR 18 - The right for migrant children born in Italy to get automatic Italian citizenship, or 'ius soli' (law of the soil) in Latin, is a European issue, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Thursday. Speaking to Spanish daily El Pais, Di Maio said the issue should be discussed at the European Union level. The issue has caused a renewed row in Italy after new Democratic Party (PD) leader Enrico Letta cited the right, which it has long supported, as one of the PD's policy priorities under the national unity government of former European central banker Mario Draghi. This sparked a sharp response from nationalist League leader Matteo Salvini who accused Letta of wanting to bring the government down over the issue, which has long been a bugbear for the right. Di Maio, whose populist 5-Star MOvement (M5S) is an ally of the PD, told EL Pais: "I'm not against (ius soli), I don't want to go against the proposal of Enrico Letta, whom I esteem and trust, but the European Union is planning a pact for immigration and asylum, so when we talk of citizenship, in my view we must coordinate at a European level". Currently migrant children born on Italian soil can apply for citizenship when they become adults at the age of 18, and it takes some time for the process to be completed. Salvini's League also backs Draghi's national unity government which features all of Italy's major parties except from the nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI). The centre-left PD and the rightwing anti-migrant and Euroskeptic League have long been fierce foes. Di Maio is a former leader of the formerly anti-establishment M5S, which ruled with the League from 2018 to 2019 before forming an unexpected alliance with the PD that backed Giuseppe Conte's second government from 2020 to early 2021. (ANSA). Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has advised Australia to take a leaf out of Japan's book when it comes to managing conflict with China, while lashing the Morrison government for cheap political point scoring at the expense of Beijing. Mr Rudd said Japan, like Australia, has its quarrels with Beijing, some stemming from decades ago, however it had managed to avoid economic repercussions. "I look at Tokyo and Japan, the Japanese have a bucketload of problems with China. Historically, the war, they have contested territorial claims in the East China Sea and China is still Japan's largest economic partner," he told the ABC's latest episode of The World, which is due to air on Thursday evening. "Yet still we do not see the Chinese adopting the sort of trade sanctions against Tokyo that China is now adopting towards Australia." Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says Australia should look to Japan on how to deal with China. Source: AAP Mr Rudd has been heavily critical of the Morrison government over their handling of Sino-Australian relations, repeatedly condemning its vocal approach to any disagreement it has with Beijing. "The Australian Government needs to learn to manage its mouth better. It needs to speak less and do more, as far as the Australia-China relationship is concerned, rather than play to its own domestic peanut gallery, thinking that every piece of anti-Chinese rhetoric simply adds up votes for you in a Liberal Party pre-selection," he said. It follows his September remarks, when he told Yahoo he was puzzled by the government's persistence to amplify grievances. What I find puzzling is the Australian Government's predisposition to take out the megaphone in every conceivable opportunity to take the existing structural difficulties in the Australia-China relationship and magnify them even further, he said. In December, Ross B Taylor, the president of the Indonesia Institute, explained Japan, like Indonesia, has managed to "quarantine" areas of disagreement from its trade relationship with China. Story continues Xi Jinping and the CPC have hit Australia with a raft of trade sanctions after their "wrong words and deeds". Source: AP In an opinion piece for The Diplomat, he said it was the federal government's "public approach" that put Australia at a more vulnerable position than the two Asian countries. "So why can nations such as Japan and Indonesia walk and chew gum at the same time by maintaining cordial relations with China whilst confronting Beijing on issues important to their respective governments?" he asked. "The main difference appears to have been not so much the right to take a strong stance on China, but rather how these differences need to be handled and articulated, with Morrison and his ministers preferring a very public approach." Mr Rudd and Mr Taylor both argued it was vital for Australia to work together with like-minded countries to provide resistance to Beijing. US moves to save Australia from Chinese sanctions This week US President Joe Biden's Indo-Pacific co-ordinator Kurt Campbell told Nine Newspapers Washington would only engage in relationship-saving discussions with China if Beijing agreed to "leave Australia alone". Mr Rudd suggested such a move was Australia's saviour. "Thank God, both (Secretary of State Antony) Blinken and (National Security Advisor Jake) Sullivan, I think, are sending that message now to the Chinese." In response to Mr Campbell's remarks, China echoed Mr Rudd's sentiment that the Morrison government had put their foot in it with their aggressive approach to matters in the past 12 or so months. "The root cause of the current difficulties in bilateral relations is Australia's wrong words and deeds on issues concerning China's sovereignty, security and development interests, which have undermined the foundation of mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday evening. "The Australian side knows the ins and outs better than anyone else." As well as the US, Australia has strengthened its ties with Japan and India following a successful first summit of the Quad members last week. While a joint statement released by The White House failed to directly mention China, the meeting was used by the leaders of the four nations to discuss the growing threat of Beijing. "We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion," the statement read. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. The Prime Minister says that Corpus Christi, also known as the "Day of Wreaths", is set aside on the Christian calendar to honour the Holy Eucharist which was observed at the last supper before Christ was crucified. The vision was that BGSU COVID-19 Stories would document the experiences of the Falcon family students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, family members, neighbors, local businesses and anyone else connected with BGSU, Morehart said. I also had a secondary, personal vision that the collection might be a place where the BGSU community could learn about others experiences, contribute their own during the pandemic and know that they were not alone. I had some general ideas of what might be submitted, but at the same time, I also wanted to have options for contributions beyond what we might envision. We tried to prepare for the broadest content possible, and while there was a need to balance resources and technical capabilities with contributions, I also did not want to limit contributors self-expression. The response has been impressive. During the past year, nearly 1,700 submissions have been logged, including journal entries, essays, images, audio and video files and even artwork. Regardless of the format, each submission tells a story. There are many images of signage on campus buildings and businesses that explain the expectations for distancing, face coverings and pathways. The novelty of the Starship robots trekking across campus and into town is captured in a number of the photos and videos in the collection. Moments in time are included such as the empty paper aisle at a local store in March 2020, low gas prices from April 2020, an Ohio Air National Guard flyover in May 2020 and Wine with DeWine in March 2020. A journal entry points out the odd avatars on Zoom and another addresses the difficulty of finding a safe space to do online classes. High-resolution ultrawide monitors provide an experience like no other, and today you can start immersing yourself without making your wallet cry. Costco is selling a 34-inch Samsung ultrawide monitor for $280Remove non-product link. Thats about $70 cheaper than elsewhere right now, and the price doesnt appear to be restricted to Costco members only. The sale price expires on Sunday. Samsungs terribly named LS34J552WQNXZA monitor uses a 3440 x 1440-resolution VA panel rocking a 75Hz refresh rate and a 4 millisecond response time. Thats not a face-melting refresh rate compared to some other gaming displays, but its higher than the average 60Hz speeds found in most mainstream displays. Plus, this monitor is rocking AMDs FreeSync. With FreeSync, the monitor can sync refresh rates with a supporting graphics card, providing buttery-smooth visuals with little to no stutter and screen tearing. To get the most out of this monitor, gamers will need a graphics card capable of handling 1440p resolutions or higher. But with the right GPU the visuals should be stunning thanks to massive size of this screen. Check out our AMD Radeon RX 6900XT ultrawide benchmarks piece, which compares its performance to other cards at 3440 x 1440 resolution. [Todays deal: 34-inch Samsung WQHD monitor for $280 on Costco.Remove non-product link] Minari film follows real life journey of a man wrestling with God, Steven Yeun says Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Golden Globe Award-winning film Minari, which is now available On-demand, has released a faith featurette that highlights the spiritual and emotional aspects of the heartwarming movie. Jacob is an incredibly fascinating character. Hes a man wrestling with God, said Steven Yeun, the lead actor, of his role in the clip seen exclusively first on CP. Minari follows a Korean American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American dream. The family's home, however, is completely transformed with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amid 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, the synopsis reads. Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film stars Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Yuh-Jung Youn, and Will Patton. The clip gives audiences a glimpse into various scenes in the family film, such as when the lead actor invites his wife to church after realizing she must be lonely in a new town. Don't forget to keep praying, the mom is also heard telling her young son who struggles with a heart condition. The young boy in the film, who is loosely based on director and writer Lee Isaac Chung, hopes his prayer will help him to see Heaven. The music featured in the cinematic film based on a true story was also inspired by the faith components in the film. Composer Emile Mosseri revealed that it was a dream for him to write music that felt spiritually connected to the film. Watch the exclusive clip below: Also seen in the faith featurette is the radical Christian man who the family meets along their journey. The white man is committed to helping the family on their farm and prays for them. Although the film is not based on a Christian narrative, in particular, Chung, the filmmaker of Minari, told CP in a recent interview that the Christian character in the movie is based on a real person who had a lasting impact on his familys life. He's based on someone from my real life. He was a Pentecostal man who worked on our farm. The sense I got with him, you see it in Scripture, it's the foolish who shamed the wise many times; I kind of felt that way with him, Chung told CP in an interview (watch below). "He was a fool for Christ and he taught us a lot about what it means to love somebody, he added. There are people in the town that would make fun of him, to be honest. But yet, he became our friend, and he was the first guest we had in our house and he really welcomed us into that community. "I always felt like, there's something in that that speaks to the Christian faith, the sort of connection that we're supposed to be making with people on the margins, and really welcoming in strangers and all these different elements of the faith that I respond to, he said. "I wanted to show him in this way, this counterintuitive way. Because also, we see so many images of white Christians in the south, and they're treated with a lot of caricatures, he continued. So I thought, it's interesting if we can have this character in the film who feels like that at the beginning, but then you really realize that he's a fully fleshed out more complex human being than we were immediately expecting. Chung said he wants his semi-autobiographical film to impact people in whichever way they need. Visit the Minari website for more information. The logo of free messaging app Line is pictured on a smartphone in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 23, 2014. (Toru Hanai/Reuters) Japan to Probe Line After Reports It Let Chinese Engineers Access User Data TOKYOJapans government said on Wednesday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corps Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users data without informing them. Under Japanese privacy regulations, companies have to let users know when their personal data is sent overseas, public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported earlier. We cant say yet if Line breached regulations or not, and we are conducting an investigation to find out, a government official responsible for overseeing privacy regulations told Reuters. If Line is found to have acted improperly then the Cabinet Office can direct it to make improvements, he added. There hasnt been anything that breached legal or regulatory boundaries, a spokesman for Line said. We will continue to respond to laws and regulations in all jurisdictions, including Japan. In a statement posted later on its website, the company apologized for causing any concern and for not adequately explaining policies regarding data management to users. No inappropriate access occurred, it added. Four engineers at a company in China, who perform system maintenance for Line, were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users, local media said. The reports come as Japan tightens laws and regulations around the use and storage of personal data held by internet companies. Line, which has 186 million users worldwideof which just under half are in Japanhas since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate, the company spokesman said. Line this month became part of Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, creating a $30 billion domestic internet heavyweight to compete against local and U.S. rivals. Messages sent via Line can only be read by the sender and receiver as the app, like other messaging apps, encrypts message content end to end. Z Holdings is controlled by SoftBank Corp through holding company A Holdings, which is jointly owned by SoftBank Corp and South Koreas Naver Corp, the former operator of Line. Z Holdings, which plans to invest 500 billion yen ($4.58 billion) in technology over the next five years, announced the Line tie-up last year but was forced to delay the move from October because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Line has expanded its business into cashless payment and more recently telemedicine. By Tim Kelly, Takashi Umekawa and Chang-Ran Kim Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei likely approved Tehrans effort to sway the 2020 presidential election in the United States, according to "high-confidence" US intelligence report released today. Tehrans multi-pronged disinformation campaign sought to undercut the reelection of President Donald Trump largely via social media, according to the report compiled by the office of the national intelligence director, Avril Haines. Iranian cyberactors also launched a fake email campaign posing as right-wing Proud Boy activists who threatened Democratic Party voters in several US states, an effort revealed last year by John Ratcliffe when he was director of national intelligence. Iranian personnel ramped up the generation of thousands of fake social media accounts, sent phishing emails to US officials and political campaign members and sought to exploit vulnerabilities on the election websites of US states. Most notably, Iranian hackers obtained voter data but did not appear to use the information in its disinformation campaign. While the report said Tehran did not seek to specifically promote the candidacy of President Joe Biden, it did seek to undermine public confidence in the electoral process and US institutions, and sow division and exacerbate societal tensions in the US. Russia also featured prominently in the report, having undertaken an even larger effort. The US intelligence community assessed that President Vladimir Putin himself authorized and oversaw disinformation efforts, including those by the Kremlins intelligence services to sow disinformation about Biden. Moscows intelligence services distributed false and misleading information about Biden in an attempt to influence US media, officials and prominent personalities including unnamed figures close to Trump and his administration, the reports said. The report also found that the governments of Cuba and Venezuela also sought to interfere in the elections on a smaller scale. Contrary to previous news reports, China considered interfering but did not, likely to avoid repercussions in its relations with Washington. Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, also supported unspecified lesser efforts to prevent Trump's reelection, likely "as a low-cost means to mitigate the risk of regional conflict," the report concluded. The report did not assess the effectiveness of the foreign influence campaigns. The Trump administration walked out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and placed Tehran under significant economic duress while expanding military and intelligence pressure on the Islamic Republic's interests in the Middle East. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Philippine government will ask Sinovac Biotech to prove its COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac is safe to administer to senior citizens before they can be inoculated in April. In his briefing on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Chinese firm needs to present evidence to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration that the elderly can receive the vaccine so the previously issued Emergency Use Authorization could be revised to include those aged 60 and above. "I think steps will be taken to ask the local representatives of Sinovac to present additional data to the FDA para mabago ang EUA na in-issue ng FDA," Roque said. "Ang kailangan lang naman po ng FDA additional data." [Translation: I think steps will be taken to ask the local representatives of Sinovac to present additional data to the FDA so they can revise the EUA which they previously issued. What the FDA simply needs is additional data.] In a briefing on Wednesday, Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said they are considering giving CoronaVac to up to 9 million Filipino senior citizens this April, since it is the only available brand with the shorter interval of four weeks between the administration of the two doses. British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca's vaccine, on the other hand, has a longer interval of 12 weeks. Senior citizens are next in line once all 1.7 million health workers get their first jab next month. Medical frontliners are free to choose between Sinovac and AstraZeneca. The FDA previously granted EUA to Sinovac, but warned it must only be used on clinically healthy individuals aged 18-59 because of its low efficacy rate of 50.4% for high-risk groups. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases eventually approved the recommendation to administer CoronaVac to health workers. The Department of Health said it is still 100% effective against moderate and severe symptoms and can reduce morbidity and mortality, which is the main goal of the vaccination drive. The FDA has yet to comment on Galvez's latest recommendation. Roque expressed his support for the recommendation, claiming a lot of countries have been using CoronaVac for the elderly. But opposition senator Risa Hontiveros warned giving it to senior citizens would count as "intentional malpractice." "We will take even more steps backwards if we force the most vulnerable sector in the pandemic to take a vaccine that is not recommended for them," the senator said in a statement. "Let's start walking in the right direction before things get worse." The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Waiting for her COVID-19 vaccination in a Gaza clinic, Leena Al-Tourk, 28, a Palestinian lawyer, recalled the social pressure she faced in the conservative enclave over getting the shot. "Some people told me, are you insane? Wait until you see whether it is good or bad," she said. Just 8,500 people have turned out to be vaccinated in Gaza according to an official, even though the enclave of two million people has received around 83,300 vaccine doses since February donated by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the global COVAX programme. Suspicion of the vaccines runs deep in Hamas Islamist-run Gaza, which has registered over 57,000 coronavirus infections and 572 deaths. It has recently relaxed lockdown restrictions. Some people fear possible side-effects from the jab and are sharing their misgivings widely on social media. Millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered around the world. Echoing global scientific and health experts, Majdi Dhair, Gaza's deputy director of prime healthcare, said the vaccines were safe. "We have the experience of 8,500 people who have already taken (the shot)," he said. He said mild side-effects experienced by some people such as short-term headaches and fever "cannot be compared to the huge benefits the vaccine offers to protect them against infection". Dhair said health authorities in Gaza were prioritising the around 150,000 people deemed to be at high risk, such as medical personnel and people with underlying health conditions. "Only 26,000 people registered. This is a minimal number," he said, citing misinformation on social networks as part of the problem. On a Gaza street, Ahmed Nasser, 57, leaned against a pro-vaccination mural, painted by youngsters, that depicts a "coronavirus" with jagged teeth trying to tug a woman away from two youths holding her hand. "Protect yourself," a slogan next to the painting says. "Hand in hand we protect the elderly." Story continues Nasser, a government employee, was unconvinced. "Of course I will not take the vaccine. They say on social media it can lead to blood clots," he said. In contrast, 100,000 Palestinians have registered to get the vaccine in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where authorities have received 76,700 doses donated by Israel, Russia and COVAX. Both the West Bank and Gaza lag far behind Israel, which has been a world leader in its vaccination rollout. (Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alexandra Hudson) Mumbai, March 18 : In a significant revelation, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the transfer of Mumbai Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh was not a routine one and he was shunted out to ensure a "free and fair" probe in the cases of arrested police official Sachin Vaze and the SUV. "Singh was removed as Mumbai Police chief to ensure that there is a thorough probe, free and fair... Two reputed agencies, the NIA and ATS are investigating, both are conducting the probes professionally," he said. Deshmukh contended that a junior officer (Vaze) had committed some mistakes which came up in the probe and hence these could not be pardoned or ignored, and since Singh was the overall in-charge, it was better that he is posted elsewhere to ensure an impartial probe. He said he discussed the issued with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and it was decided to shift out Singh so that there are no obstacles to the investigations, while warning that "no officer, big or small, shall be spared in the probe". These were Deshmukh's first reactions a day after the transfers while interacting with two private Marathi channels during a prestigious media event organised by the Lokmat Group of Publications. On the claims by Bharatiya Janata Party's Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis that when he was the Chief Minister, then ally Shiv Sena had pressured him in 2018 to get Vaze reinstated to the police force, Deshmukh dismissively termed it as a "political statement". "Fadnavis is very well aware that for persons of the rank of Assistant Police Inspector, there is a committee at the Police Commissioner level which reviews such cases and takes suitable decisions to reinstate them. These files are handled by the CoP committee and do not come to the government. Neither the CM nor I have the authority to take decisions for an API-level officer," he noted. He reiterated that any officer found guilty will be booked and prosecuted in the sensational matters of the SUV case and the death of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran, which have triggered a massive political furore. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Snacks continues to spread the Peas & Love with the launch of its new e-commerce site. The direct-to-consumer platform will take advantage of the growing market for plant-based e-commerce delivery options, while continuing to be sold at 50,000 retail locations nationwide including Starbucks, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, CVS, Publix, Stop & Shop, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Thrive Market and on Amazon.com. HIPPEAS Tortilla Chips can be found at Whole Foods, Walmart, Kroger and on Amazon.com. HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Snacks HIPPEAS Logo Available for order in the U.S. (excluding shipping to Alaska and Hawaii), the online store will initially deliver the brand's puffed snacks directly to consumers followed by the brand's newest addition, Tortilla Chips. "We've seen some major changes to the landscape of retail this year, with many consumers turning to online shopping for their snack essentials, further highlighting the convenience and simplicity that comes with a DTC platform," said Lindsey Valliere, VP of Marketing. "It became clear that now is the perfect time to launch our direct-to-consumer platform, while continuing to work in partnership with our retailers." Starting today at HIPPEAS.com , customers can order any of their favorite flavors of HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Puffs including: Vegan White Cheddar, Nacho Vibes, Bohemian Barbecue, Sriracha Sunshine and Himalayan Happiness. HIPPEAS Organic Tortilla Chips will also be available for purchase in three delicious flavors including: Straight Up Sea Salt, Rockin' Ranch and Jalapeno Vegan Cheddar. HIPPEAS, known for its bright yellow bag, with a chickpea smile, has a snack for every craving and snacking occasion. HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Puffs come in five flavors including: Vegan White Cheddar, Nacho Vibes, Bohemian Barbecue, Sriracha Sunshine and Himalayan Happiness. HIPPEAS NEW Organic Chickpea Tortilla Chips come in three flavors including: Straight Up Sea Salt, Rockin' Ranch and Jalapeno Vegan Cheddar. Both lines are USDA Organic, certified gluten-free, vegan and totally delicious! About HIPPEAS HIPPEAS is on a mission to shake things up. HIPPEAS is calling all snackers to #GivePeasAChance while also doing good in the world. HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Snacks are USDA Certified Organic, certified gluten-free, Non-GMO and vegan. Chickpea plants release nitrogen back into the earth, so they're naturally good for the planet. True to their mantra of Peas, Love & Giving Back, HIPPEAS is proud to support local Feeding America food banks across the country by donating food and aiding in disaster relief efforts. For more information, visit HIPPEAS.com and follow along on Instagram @hippeas_snacks Media Contact: Rachel Powell 516-314-7730 [email protected] SOURCE HIPPEAS Organic Chickpea Snacks Related Links http://www.hippeas.com On March 10, a Nashville, Tenn.-based film crew checked in at downtown Charleston's Hotel Bennett overlooking Marion Square and the city beyond with its rich but riddled history and lingering cultural legacies. If they had visited at the same time last year, the John C. Calhoun monument would have greeted them on its pedestal less than a block away. A lot has changed in a year, and a lot remains the same. That is precisely what the camera-cradling visitors were seeking to delve into during their stay. Sign up for the Charleston Hot Sheet Get a weekly list of tips on pop-ups, last minute tickets and little-known experiences hand-selected by our newsroom in your inbox each Thursday. Email Sign Up! In two episodes of the second season of PBS docuseries "The Good Road," producers and hosts Earl Bridges and Craig Martin hope to unravel some of the Lowcountry's complexities through interviews with the area's culturally savvy and philanthropy-minded community members. For their ongoing travel series, Bridges and Martin take a look at the messy business and universal power of global charity, focusing on the ordinary people who seek to make an extraordinary difference in the world and how their cities play a meaningful role in a global effort. "We're scouring the nooks and crannies of the planet looking for the unlikely heroes and everyday renegades," Martin said. "These are the people on the front lines of change, across the globe and just down the street." Bridges is a resident of Charleston, one reason he decided to bring the show here after the first season of the series was spent almost entirely abroad. To kick off those first eight episodes, Bridges and Martin returned to their roots in Bangkok where they grew up together as children of missionaries and dove into the topic of prison reform. The duo also traveled to Chyulu Hills, Kenya, to discuss anti-poaching; Mbale, Uganda, to examine maternal health; and Yangon, Myanmar, to talk with a punk rock band conducting food programs for the area's homeless population. Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania, and Alabama Village, Ala., also made the list. "You get to know the places by the people who are putting their backs and hearts into the work that they do," Bridges said. Drawing comparisons to Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," "The Good Road" premiered in April 2020 and is set to launch its second season on PBS in August. The show's expenses aren't funded by the network, so Bridges invested the $1 million he received from selling his software company, YourCause, into his passion project. The series now has Toyota as a sponsor, hence the crew's new turquoise 4Runner loaded with camera gear. So far, Season 2 of "The Good Road" has filmed in Richmond, Va., and Charleston. The Charleston episodes will focus on the area's Jewish ties, Gullah-Geechee influence and LGBTQ history. "Underneath this beautiful veneer of our genteel city, there are many complexities that are simply not discussed," Bridges said. "We took some time to celebrate and show off the beauty of the Lowcountry while acknowledging that there is still a lot that needs to be addressed." Among the locals Bridges and Martin interviewed are: Osei Chandler, a South Carolina Public Radio host and jazz producer with over 40 years of experience in social service; Quentin Baxter, drummer of Grammy-winning Gullah music group Ranky Tanky; Harlan Greene, LGBTQ author and historian; Daron Calhoun, public programming coordinator at the Avery Research Center; Nakia Wigfall, a fifth generation sweetgrass basket weaver; Anita Rosenberg, president of the historical Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim synagogue; the Palmer brothers, Dave and Ed, Gullah fishermen and oyster pickers; and Adam Parker, The Post and Courier's history and race reporter. Just two days into filming, when The Post and Courier caught up with him, Bridges was already in the throes of learning the depth and breadth of cultural influences that coalesce in the place he's called home since 1999. "All of it will give you this sense of Charleston that isn't necessarily that really pretty rainbow palette that we put on top of it," Bridges said. "You scratch the surface under there and you realize there's a lot of nuance. Charleston is de facto a historical city, but it's messy." Among the messiness the docuseries will highlight is the gentrification in downtown's East Side community, stories of the enslaved women who once were forced to work at the same plantations where people now get married and Mosquito Beach's segregated history. "We could've talked to Darius (Rucker) and some other folks, but once you get a little too big then all of a sudden it feels like it's agenda-driven," Bridges said. "It's not the top 10 places to get shrimp and grits. It's not 'here's five dive bars.' We're not a guide. We're storytellers. And we always say we want to talk to Batman, not Superman." At Mosquito Beach on a Friday afternoon, the Palmer brothers and third generation oyster harvester Terrell Brown squelched in the pluff mud to uncover shells for future shucking, a drone buzzing in the blue sky above and video cameras peeking above the marsh grass beside. "That's more than a lifetime of experience right here," Brown said, motioning to his mentors, the Palmer brothers, who have been oyster picking for more than half a century. Brown was all smiles when the crew decided to donate their loaner pair of clamming boots to him that was after he did a handstand to dump the bucket-load of saltwater out of them. Part of the gig, he insisted. Former North Charleston firefighter and avid fisherman Bruce Cromwell was casting his line from shore as the camera crew encroached on the marsh. He was excited others were getting a glimpse of the landscape and lifestyle he's known since he was 5 years old and tasked with cleaning fish on Sunday afternoons at his grandparents' house just down the road. "There's a lot to be told about Mosquito Beach," Cromwell said. "When I was coming up, as a Black person, I wasn't able to go on Folly Beach. You couldn't go just hang, you had to be working. We used to ride buses up to Myrtle Beach, but a lot of folks came here." Across the street, a few beach bars and clubs wait for busy summer weekends, when mostly Black people from the neighborhood still gather to enjoy some fresh seafood and the nice weather. You wouldn't typically see a glasses-wearing White guy like Bridges at Mosquito Beach, Cromwell laughed. But the story he and the crew were sharing, of his friends the Palmer brothers and so many other Gullah-Geechee community members, was one Cromwell welcomed. "It's two White guys traveling the global South, so there's instantly this question of whether this is a White savior complex," said Bridges. "The reality of it is we just let people tell their stories." The second season of "The Good Road" premieres on PBS on Aug. 1. Days after a mass shooting across three Atlanta-area spas left eight dead an especially devastating attack on the Asian community that took place mere weeks after the killing of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee of San Francisco turned into national news Asian members of Congress are taking their Republican colleagues to task at a Thursday hearing for perpetrating anti-Asian sentiment. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., was among the congressmembers who said during the hearing on anti-Asian discrimination that President Donald Trump and his acolytes helped spread inflammatory rhetoric about Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans, reports NPR. Its a statement common among many Asian American activists and advocates, who pointed to Trumps repeated deployment of anti-Chinese sentiment over the course of the coronavirus pandemic as a factor of the violence ramping up in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Even though Donald Trump is no longer president, I believe the most recent round of anti-Asian attacks are the aftermath of one year of hateful attacks and four years of ugly comments about immigrants and people of color, she said in her prepared remarks. Rep. Doris Matsui, who represents Sacramento and its neighboring suburbs, spoke of her familys experience with Japanese internment and the legacy of racism that reared its head in recent years. The former president called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States and invoked Japanese American internment as a model for his dehumanizing policies, she said. We have seen the consequences when we go down this path. My family has lived through these consequences. This is what we are working to root out from its deepest place in our social conscience. But while Chu, Matsui and other lawmakers spoke out against the racism from the highest levels of American politics, GOP members of the House such as Texas Rep. Chip Roy and California Rep. Tom McClintock, who represents parts of Sacramento and Fresno denied any claims that referring to COVID-19 as kung flu, the China virus or any term that pins the virus on China contributed to violence against Asians throughout the United States. The organization Stop AAPI Hate reported nearly 3,800 anti-Asian attacks within the past year disproportionately targeting women. Stop AAPI Hate co-founder Manjusha Kulkarni spoke at this hearing, too, and called for an expansion of civil rights protections and the passage of legislature to address anti-Asian discrimination. Roy repeatedly downplayed the use of that language, saying that criticism about it constituted the policing of rhetoric. My concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric, he said during the hearing, according to reporter Michael McAuliff. His colleagues fired back, including Rep. Ted Lieu, who said the use of that terminology harms Americans who happen to be of Asian descent. "You can say racist stupid stuff if you want," he said, "but I'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like kung flu, Wuhan virus or other ethnic identifiers. I am not a virus." McClintock, however, seemed apathetic to the concerns of his colleagues calling America the most harmonious multiracial society in human history, McAuliff reported. OTTAWA - The exiled opposition leader of Belarus says she is an "accidental" revolutionary who threw herself into the dangerous political arena of her country only out of love for her people, husband and children. Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya applauds during a protest demanding freedom for political prisoners, organized by a Belorussian cultural association, in Lisbon, Saturday, March 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Armando Franca OTTAWA - The exiled opposition leader of Belarus says she is an "accidental" revolutionary who threw herself into the dangerous political arena of her country only out of love for her people, husband and children. Speaking to theology students in Halifax on Thursday, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she considered herself simply a stay-at-home mother and wife when her husband decided to run against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. After he was jailed for his political activism last year, Tsikhanouskaya said, she witnessed other citizens of her country being detained, tortured and raped for revolting against the authoritarian regime. "When (my husband) was jailed because of his political position against the regime ... I wanted to show him we are family and I wanted to stand with him to the end." After she submitted her candidacy papers to run in her husband's place, Lukashenko and his supporters likely jeered, so confident were they in their assumption the Belarusian people would never support a woman as a leader, Tsikhanouskaya said. They were wrong. "He didn't catch the mood of Belarusian people that we are ready for changes. We woke up after 26 years of the regime, we wanted to change something in our country." Tsikhanouskaya shied away from suggestions she has been fearless or a hero in taking on the role of political agitator. She woke every day in fear of threats she would be jailed and that her children would be taken away to an orphanage, which is why she fled to Lithuania after the August election that was denounced by Canada and its allies as fraudulent. Tsikhanouskaya praised Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canadian foreign affairs minister at the time, for being the first international official to call her and offer support after her exile. She also thanked Canada for being among the first nations to condemn the violent clampdown on the pro-democracy movement that has taken root in Belarus. Canada is among several nations, including the U.S. and members of the European Union, that have denounced the presidential election in Belarus as neither free nor fair, giving rise to sanctions against officials said to be responsible for vote-rigging and a subsequent crackdown on protests. David Deane, an associate professor at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, said his students were keen to learn how someone like Tsikhanouskaya developed the courage to take on a political regime that continues to threaten her and her family. This is especially important at a time when new leadership approaches are being sought worldwide in the wake of the many social inequities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, Deane said. He noted Tsikhanouskaya's movement has remained committed to peaceful means of protest, and she has not called for retribution, only justice against officers who have tortured or beaten citizens. Her combination of feminism and pacifism stands in stark contrast to paternalistic leadership often seen in eastern Europe, said Deane. "That's why the movement became what it became. Where a woman was willing to run for office, without taking power, then everything we've ever known about how things work has been overthrown," he said. "This is a country that's far less cynical because of Sviatlana and her movement. It's an exciting and thrilling thing." Tsikhanouskaya urged Canadians and other international allies to speak out against the atrocities being perpetrated against her people in their fight for democracy. Political prisoners in Belarus would appreciate letters of support from Canadians and other allies, she added. "It's very important for Belarusian people in this difficult period of our lives, in this difficult period of fighting, that the world wouldn't forget about us." If people tell parents, neighbours and friends about the country's plight, the "more powerful your help" will be, she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. With a file from Michael Tutton in Halifax Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com. DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Environmental Testing - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Staying Safe & Healthy Amid Rising Pollution & Infectious Diseases Demands More Effective & Efficient Environmental Testing The global market for Environmental Testing is expected to reach US$ 12.5 billion by the year 2027, at a CAGR of 7% over the analysis period 2020 through 2027. Declining water and air quality has become a global issue of concern against the backdrop of an expanding human population, and increasing industrial and agricultural activities. In addition climate change portends to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle. Continued rise in human ailments such as allergies, asthma, infectious diseases and lung cancer are evidence to growing air and water pollution worldwide. Sewage and chemical waste dumped in water bodies also harm aquatic life and lead to diseases among human and animal life. Water pollution occurs primarily due to introduction of human and industrial wastes into terrestrial water bodies and oceans, affecting not just aquatic life but also affecting the capacity to supply quality water for human needs. In addition to solid and chemicals wastes, water pollution takes form of thermal pollution and reduction in dissolved oxygen. Fertilizers, release of polluted water, industrial release of chemical and hazardous wastes, and other pollutants cause soil pollution, affecting the quality of soil. Changing international environmental policies and the increased need to comply with various environmental safety regulations play a significant role in preventing outbreak of environment associated illnesses and threats. With governments, industrial enterprises and general population becoming more engaged in environmental issues, the role and importance of environmental testing is taking center stage. Environmental testing focuses on monitoring and assessing the health of environment including air, soil and water. While environmental regulations and consumer demand for a clean environment contribute significantly driving demand for environmental testing services, increase in outsourcing of tasks such as environmental monitoring, testing and analysis by enterprises aimed at improving their environmental footprint, to specialists such as Eurofins also auger well for market growth. Globally an increasing number of companies are focused on adopting sustainable business models to minimize impact on the environment. Outsourcing of environmental testing services also reduces operating overheads of businesses. Environmental service companies offer a range of services including testing, sampling, inspection, certification, and verification. To implement testing processes and generate precise results, environmental testing laboratories leverage specialized equipment, chemicals and reagents. Trends witnessed in the environmental testing market reflect shift towards instrumentation and kits for on-site testing, due to high costs and demand for rapid results. Globally, the challenge to introduce new tests however remains significant. Companies are increasingly offering customized testing services to address the unique requirements of customers. These include scheduled testing for compliance of regulatory standards or simple environmental screening. The growing need to reduce environmental impact is driving businesses to adopt environmentally sustainable business practices which are further generating demand for environmental testing. Companies are integrating environmental considerations into their core business decisions, devoting a major portion of their business to create environmentally friendly infrastructure and reduce footprint to gain a competitive advantage in the market. As an effective epidemiological tool, wastewater-based epidemiology is expected to play a significant part in mitigating the outbreak and minimizing associated domino effects like economic stress and impact on people. The approach is intended to measure chemical signatures within sewage like fragment biomarkers associated with the virus by applying a form of clinical diagnostic testing to assess signature of whole communities. Wastewater-based epidemiology is expected to help authorities in detecting presence of the infection across communities for mitigation measures. The analysis of wastewater from wastewater treatment units assists health officials in revealing the presence of COVID-19 virus and getting the status of public health in an area. The approach holds particular relevance in the scenario owing to its ability to assist agencies in determining appropriate measures for areas infected heavily with virus. The testing also provides additional and complementary information to clinical testing. The fecal signature of the virus helps health officials in tracking communities where the infection is spreading fast. Wastewater-based epidemiology has been widely used across several countries earlier in their fight against pandemics. Testing wastewater for traces of COVID-19 virus provides an early warning and allows timely interventions. Key Topics Covered: I. METHODOLOGY II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. MARKET OVERVIEW Services to Detect COVID-19 Virus on Environmental Surfaces Impel Testing Market COVID-19 Impact: Wastewater Surveillance Emerge as Lucrative Area for Environmental Testing Providers Environmental Testing: A Prelude Environmental Testing by Sample Type Types of Environmental Testing Methods Growing Demand for Clean Environment Ups the Need for Environmental Testing Accelerating Significance of Environmental Safety in Developing Nations Boosts Growth Regulations Buoy Demand Challenges Faced Inadequate Infrastructure Remains Key Challenge Competitive Scenario Recent Market Activity 2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS (Total 60 Featured): AB Sciex LLC Alex Stewart International ALS Limited Bureau Veritas S.A. Eurofins Scientific S.E. Intertek Group plc. Merieux NutriSciences Microbac Laboratories, Inc. SGS SA; 3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS Rapid Testing Technologies Gain Momentum Deteriorating Quality of Water Throws Emphasis on Water Testing Services Water Analysis Instruments Become Smaller, Cheaper and Faster Adoption of Environmental Sensors on Rise Poor Water Quality Increases Demand for Dissolved Gases Sensors Rise in Use of Gas Sensors for Environmental Monitoring Dissolved Oxygen Analysis and Growing Significance Growing Prevalence of Infectious Diseases Pushes Demand for Testing Procedures Testing Soil Quality Gains Significant Importance Influx of Innovative Technologies to Aid Soil Analysis for Higher Productivity Next-Generation Field Instruments Set New Standards in Environmental Testing Growing Concerns over Rising Emissions, and Climate Change Trigger Demand for Air Quality Testing Services Rising Emphasis on IAQ in Commercial Environments Underpins Revenue Growth Common Air Pollutants Major Indoor Pollutants and their Impact on Health: A Snapshot 4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE III. MARKET ANALYSIS IV. COMPETITION Total Companies Profiled: 189 For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ei4mth Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com President Joe Bidens immigration policies will be different from those of former President Donald Trump in several meaningful and hopeful ways. Bidens approach to immigration also will mirror Trumps in some ways, and those have begun to emerge. Stay with me. Trump oversaw the building of a costly, ineffective wall along a portion of the southern U.S. border. Biden has halted the project. The wall was not, as Trump famously promised, paid for by Mexico. Instead, U.S. taxpayers will foot the $15 billion bill. The project mostly involved rebuilding existing barriers rather than erecting a new barrier. It will stand forever as an emblem of anti-immigrant hysteria and a presidents willingness to exploit it. Trumps cruelest policy promised zero tolerance, and it delivered. It separated migrant children, including infants, from their parents while failing to establish a reliable system to reunite families. The new administration will not separate children from parents. But it is deporting single adults and families, according to news reports. Biden has said migrants should remain in their home countries and await a better time to migrate. Under Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. had to stay on the Mexican side of the border while waiting for their cases to be decided. Processing of asylum applications came to a standstill. In the meantime, migrants languished in miserable camps, where they were easy targets for gangs and extortionists. The Biden administration has allowed them to leave those camps, cross the border and pursue their cases. Some of the migrants will be successful. Others will be unsuccessful and will be deported. Yet no matter which party controls the White House, immigration policy will remain filled with complexities and political distortions. So far, the Biden administration has responded with compassion to a spike in unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. It has allowed them to be reunited with parents or sponsors in the United States. Border security officials have reported a near-doubling in the number of children traveling alone. On Monday, it was 561. In February, the daily average was 332, and that was a 60 percent increase over January. Illegal crossings in general are on the rise. The Border Patrol detained about 4,700 people this week, up from 3,500 in February. The surge has triggered a blame game in which Republican politicians rushed to the border to declare a crisis and blame it on Bidens supposedly soft stance toward illegal entry. In reality, the increase was partly a matter of the weather. Migrants move during the spring, when the journey is a little less arduous thanks to milder weather although its still dangerous, even more so this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute, Central American migrants have been arriving in volume at this time of year since 2014, largely due to violence, poverty and political instability at home. Roberta Jacobson, the White House coordinator for the southern border and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said the rising numbers reflect renewed hope among migrants, who see in the new administration a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. What hasnt changed are the dangerous circumstances that prompt migrants to flee. The Biden administration has brought in the Federal Emergency Management Agency to operate a migrant shelter at the Dallas Convention Center. Its telling that a humanitarian agency has been assigned the job. The administration also has reopened a facility for unaccompanied minors in Carrizo Springs, Texas, operated by BCFS, a global agency that does disaster relief. While immigrant advocates worry about the conditions in which young migrants are held, the Carrizo Springs facility shouldnt be a focus of concern. Its secure and offers humane medical attention, meals and services while minors await reunification. Detention facilities run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection are altogether different. Children are being held in crowded spaces that lack beds and soap. The Biden administration has made one bad situation a little better. It cleared the way for relatives to contact the Department of Health and Human Services about their children without fear that the mere act of reaching out to authorities would cause them to be deported. Gov. Greg Abbott led a charge against Bidens immigration policies, heralding a border crisis. He was trying to change the subject from his role in the states electrical grid disaster. Other Republicans followed Abbotts lead in hopes of diverting attention from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and congressional Democrats passage of a popular $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, without a single Republican vote. What remains are two parties in Congress equally responsible for failing to deliver what the country sorely needs: comprehensive immigration reform that will make a difficult situation manageable and reflect American values. eayala@express-news.net (Alliance News) - Britain insisted Thursday that its plan to ease coronavirus lockdowns in the coming months remains on track, despite a vaccine supply shortfall from India which will hit the inoculation drive in April. The state-run National Health Service in England has warned in a letter to local vaccination centres that doses will be "significantly constrained" from March 29 for four weeks. The next phase of the inoculation campaign, covering people in their 40s, will have to be suspended until May, the letter said. The problem is linked to a delay in getting new jabs from the Serum Institute of India by UK-based drugs giant AstraZeneca a the same company whose supply issues have caused anger in the EU. "Five million doses had been delivered a few weeks ago to the UK and we will try toA supply more later, based on the current situation and requirement for the government immunisation programme in India," a spokesperson for the institute said. But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a who plans to visit India next month a denied there was any export ban in place by the government in New Delhi, as it grapples with its own surge in Covid-19 cases. "The Indian government hasn't stopped any exports. There is a delay, as there is very frequently in vaccination programmes," he told a news conference, thanking the institute for its "heroic" performance so far. The UK government's phased easing of its third lockdown in England, which was imposed in January amid a winter surge in caseloads of Covid-19 and resulting deaths, hinges on the success of the inoculation drive. "There is no change to the next steps of the roadmap," stressed Johnson, who is due to get his own AstraZeneca jab on Friday. "We've now vaccinated over 25 million across our entire UK -a more than the entire population of many countries a and our progress along the road to freedom continues unchecked." Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier said supply constraints were compounded by the need for Britain to retest a batch of 1.7 million doses already received. But he insisted to parliament: "To any member of the public who is watching, what I would say very clearly is that the vaccination programme is on track to meet the targets that we have set out."A The government said it was sticking to its target of offering a first dose to every adult by the end of July. AstraZeneca's jab, developed with Oxford University, provides the bulk of Britain's campaign and a large portion of its supply has been produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker. AstraZeneca said its "UK domestic supply chain is not experiencing any disruption", but made no mention of possible problems in India. Britain's current other vaccine provider is Pfizer, which denied any issues with its UK delivery schedule. Hancock said that jabs from a third approved supplier, Moderna, are expected "in the coming weeks".A The supply issues are another headache for AstraZeneca after its jab was suspended in several EU countries, pending a review by the European Medicines Agency following isolated cases of blood clots and brain haemorrhages. The EMA restated its approval for the vaccine on Thursday, as did Britain's own drugs regulator. The EU meanwhile threatened on Wednesday to invoke emergency powers to block European exports of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure "reciprocity" with other suppliers, urging Britain to send Europe more jabs. Britain reacted angrily to the threat, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggesting the bloc was engaging in "brinkmanship". By Jitendra Joshi source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The White House on Thursday said President Joe Biden has no regrets in calling Vladimir Putin a 'killer' amid escalating tensions between the two countries. 'No, the president gave a direct answer to a direct question,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded when asked if Biden regrets the tough words, which the Russians saw as an insult. She also warned the United States would not 'hold back' in words or actions when it comes to the Kremlin. 'We are confident that we can continue to look for ways where there's a mutual interest - mutual national interest,' Psaki said. 'But the president is not going to hold back, clearly, when he has concerns when he has them, whether it is with words or actions.' The Russian president upped the stakes on Thursday, offering to hold public talks via an online method - such as Zoom - with Biden and directing his foreign ministry to reach out to the Americans. Psaki responded Biden is 'quite busy.' She pointed out Biden called Putin in January as part of a series of calls he made to world leaders after his election. 'I would say that the president already had a conversation already with President Putin even as there are more world leaders that he has not yet engaged with,' Psaki said. 'I don't have anything to report to you in terms of a future meeting. The president will, of course, be in Georgia tomorrow and quite busy,' she added. Biden on Thursday took a victory lap, announcing the administration would meet its goal of having 100 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office nearly six weeks early. And in a provocative move, Putin appeared on stage Thursday during a concert marking the seventh anniversary of Crimea annexation, despite strong condemnation of the 'occupation' by the Group of Seven. Meanwhile, Putin has been snapping back at Biden since the president made his comments in an interview with ABC News, including wishing his American counterpart 'good health' and recalling the Russian ambassador from the United States. Putin made the sinister quip in an interview on state TV. Western officials have accused Putin ordering the assassination attempt of his most vocal domestic critic, Aleksei Navalny, which Putin has denied. And Putin gave his own strong response to Biden's 'killer' accusation, saying that 'it takes one to know one.' 'We always see in another person our own qualities and think that he is the same as us,' Putin said. In the interview, he criticized Biden for America's past atrocities, including the slaughter of Native Americans and holding black people as slaves, and argued that has led to current racial tensions in the United States. 'Otherwise where would the Black Lives Matter movement come from,' Putin argued. He then offered his own message to the American president. 'I would say to him: I wish you good health,' Putin said. 'I say that without irony and not as a joke.' Psaki declined to comment on Putin's comments to Russian state TV and what they might mean. 'I've been doing this long enough not to try to get in the mind of President Putin,' Psaki, who served as a spokesperson in the State Department during the Obama administration, said. The White House said President Joe Biden has no regrets in calling Vladimir Putin a 'killer' White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned the United States would not 'hold back' in words or actions when it comes to the Kremlin Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen above speaking during the concert marking the seventh anniversary of the reunification of the Crimea with Russia, offered to hold a public call with Biden amid escalating tensions Russia is demanding an apology from the United States for Biden's 'killer' comment. The provocative comments prompted the Kremlin to make the highly unusual move on Wednesday to recall Anatoly Antonov, its ambassador to the US, for urgent consultations over the future of US-Russia ties. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was a 'very bad statement by the U.S. president' that made it clear that 'he doesn't want to normalize relations.' 'He clearly does not want to improve relations with our country, and we will be proceeding based precisely on this,' Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Thursday. 'There hasn't been anything like this in history.' In an ABC News interview, Biden said 'I do' when asked if he believed the Russian president was a killer and promised his counter part in the Kremlin would pay a price for alleged Russian meddling in the 2020 presidential election, something the Kremlin denies. Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of parliament's upper house, said Biden's comments were unacceptable, would inevitably worsen already bad ties, and ended any hope in Moscow of a change of U.S. policy under a new U.S. administration. He said Moscow's recall of its ambassador was the only reasonable step to take in the circumstances. 'I suspect it will not be the last one if no explanation or apology follows from the American side,' Kosachyov said in a Facebook post. 'This kind of assessment is not allowed from the mouth of a statesman of such a rank. This kind of statement is not acceptable under any circumstances,' he added, calling it a watershed moment in US-Russia ties. Meanwhile Artur Chilingarov, a pro-Kremlin lawmaker in the lower house of parliament, called for a 'tough reaction' from Moscow in comments made to Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station. The comments come after the White House has spent weeks telegraphing a tougher posture toward Russia under a Biden administration and Moscow has once again bristled at accusations that it serves as a 'malign' influence in global affairs. Fueling the rising tensions is a startling new assessment by U.S. intelligence that lays out Russia's campaign to influence the 2020 elections on the heels of the Treasury Department slapping sanctions on officials as retaliation for the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny with a chemical agent. Among those hit with sanctions was the director of Russia's foreign intelligence service, the FSB. And the comments mark the latest time when the new Biden team has sought to draw a sharp line on Russia distinguishing it from former President Donald Trump who repeatedly praised Putin and even appeared to take Putin's side when he denied allegations of election interference during their infamous summit in Helsinki. Russian President Vladimir Putin wished Joe Biden 'good health' in what was seen as a veiled threat to U.S. president Joe Biden said in a sit-down with ABC News that aired Wednesday morning that Russia would 'pay a price' for interfering in the 2020 U.S. election Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of parliament's upper house, said Biden's comments were unacceptable in a Facebook post Despite Trump's repeated efforts to forge better ties with Moscow even after its election hacking, his administration tightened sanctions on Russia under laws enacted after his election meant to add pressure to sanctions already in place following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Biden made his comment about the 'price' Putin would pay just after the U.S. Director of National Intelligence released a report that assessed Russian intelligence officials fed disinformation to Donald Trump allies about the Bidens during the 2020 campaigns as part of an election influence effort. It even said proxies for Putin himself pushed 'misleading or 'unsubstantiated' allegations about Biden during the campaign. Some of those attacks were amplified by President Trump, who regularly went after Biden for 'corruption' and brought up Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine, and who the intel report assessed Russia preferred in the election. 'Our administration is going to take a different approach in our relationship to Russia than the prior administration,' Psaki said in her briefing on Wednesday, pointing to Biden's comments in the interview with ABC News. Biden not only ripped into Putin but vowed the Russian strongman would 'pay a price' for alleged election interfering Meanwhile Russia made the startling move of recalling its ambassador to the United States. 'The Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has been invited to come to Moscow for consultations conducted with the aim of analyzing what should be done and where to go in the context of ties with the United States,' according to a statement by Russia's foreign ministry. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the U.S. for bringing bilateral ties to a 'dead end,' adding that 'we are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks.' Russian officials now say they will consult with its Washington envoy on the Kremlin's ties with the U.S. but stressed it wanted to prevent an 'irreversible deterioration' in relations. Even with the high stakes drama between nuclear powers, recalling an ambassador can sometimes be less than meets the eye. In 1988, Russia recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Great Britain to protest joint raids against Iraq. But it had little effect. 'Recalling an ambassador for consultations means absolutely nothing,' said former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock. 'It's just a gesture.' he said as quoted in a lengthy thesis by Olivia McCaffrey: 'Silent Statecraft: The Revocation of Ambassadors as a Diplomatic Tool.' Recalled: Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov was returned to Moscow for 'consultations' after Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a 'killer' The U.S. had already hinted that additional sanctions on Russians are coming before the release of the 15-page declassified version of the report. Asked about Biden's 'killer' comment at the White House Wednesday, Psaki responded: 'I don't have anything more for you to provide analysis on that.' She also defended Biden's posture, saying he 'does not hold back on his concerns about what we see as malign and problematic actions' by Russia. She listed election interference, reported bounties on U.S. troops, and the poisoning of Navalny. On August 20, 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichock nerve agent. Navalny was flying into Moscow when he became extremely ill and was hospitalized in Omsk, Russia after an emergency landing. On August 20, 2020, arch Putin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichock nerve agent The opposition leader was transferred to a hospital in Berlin, Germany two days later - and ended up being hospitalized for more than a month. He was discharged on September 22. Russian prosecutors refused to open a criminal probe into Navalny's poisoning, claiming there was no evidence a crime had been committed. Navalny returned to Russia after fleeing the country following his poisoning. His conviction and sentencing, which followed his claims of evidence showing corruption by Putin, led to nationwide protests. On Wednesday the Commerce Department said it was ratcheting up sanctions on some Russian exports in response to Navalany's poisoning. They related to aviation and space equipment. It tightened sanctions put in place following the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer in Great Britain. 'He's not going to hold back on his direct communications,' Psaki said, 'nor is he going to hold back publicly. And we have still found ways to work together on areas where we have mutual interests.' Biden lashed out at the Kremlin in an interview that aired Wednesday morning. 'He will pay a price,' Biden told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, without offering specifics. 'So you know Vladimir Putin. You think he is a killer?' Stephanopoulos asked Biden. He responded: 'Uh-huh, I do.' A bit earlier, the ABC anchor pointed out: 'You said you know he doesn't have a soul.' 'I did say that to him, yes,' the president affirmed. 'And his response was, 'We understand one another.' I wasn't being a wise guy. I was alone with him in his office. That's how it came about,' he described. 'It was when President Bush said he looked in his [Putin's] eyes and saw his soul. I said, 'I looked in your eyes and I don't think you have a soul.' He looked back and said, 'We understand each other.'' Biden noted: 'We had a long talk, he and I. I know him relatively well and the conversation started off, I said, 'I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred then be prepared.' When pushed on what the consequences would be, the president said: 'The price he's going to pay, well, you'll see shortly.' Biden said he wouldn't reveal exactly what consequences he would levy, but did indicate it is in America and Russia's 'interest to work together.' 'We had a long talk, he and I. I know him relatively well,' Biden said of his Russian counterpart, adding that he said during the talk: ''I looked in your eyes and I don't think you have a soul.' He looked back and said, 'We understand each other'' RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN THE 2020 ELECTION Here are some of the stories the Kremlin pushed: - Corruption allegations against Biden's son Hunter, claiming he had communicated with a Ukrainian official about meeting his father who at the time was vice president. The report released Tuesday details that Derkach and Kilimnich 'helped produce a documentary that aired on a US television network in late January 2020.' Likely referencing conservative outlet One America News, which announced January 2020 a three-part documentary series called 'The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder with guest host Michael Caputo.' - Moscow engaged in 'information laundering' by launching a massive propaganda campaign where Russia-affiliated news websites created fake reports with the expectation the stories would be spread by more legitimate news outlets. Some were picked-up by large U.S. outlets, causing certain disinformation campaigns to go viral. - Media narratives were also 'heavily amplified' by a slew of fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter some run by bots pushing disinformation. The DNI report indicates the message was pushed by 'Russian state media, trolls, and online proxies, including those directed by Russian intelligence.' The goal from these accounts was to amplify election-related content and stir up conspiracy theories, especially related to the COVID-19 pandemic and media censorship hot topics in the U.S. political sphere. - Hunter's laptop scandal is one of the most notable instances of potential Russian influence in the 2020 elections although it's still unclear what is true and not. The New York Post released a story last year detailing the contents of Hunter Biden's harddrive, which was supposedly left at a laptop repair shop and turned over by the owner to then Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. While the contents of the article are still a topic of debate, 50 former senior intelligence officials signed onto a letter claiming the story 'has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.' Advertisement President Joe Biden's Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines found Russia did not target U.S. election infrastructure in 2020 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. FERGHANA, Uzbekistan -- A court in Uzbekistan has handed down verdicts and sentences to 22 people in a high-profile case for their roles in disturbances in the country's volatile Sokh exclave within neighboring Kyrgyzstan last year. The Ferghana regional court in the country's east sentenced two defendants -- Nazirjon Juraev and Mahsimjon Ahmedov -- to five years in prison on March 18 after finding them guilty of taking part in the disturbances. The other defendants were handed parole-like "freedom limitation" sentences for terms of between two and five years. The probe against the defendants was launched after altercations erupted last May between residents of Sokh and Kyrgyzstan's Kadamjai district. Thousands of people were involved in the incidents and several houses were burned down on both sides. In total, 187 Uzbek nationals were hospitalized during the incidents with various injuries, including three people with gunshot wounds. Kyrgyz authorities said at the time that 25 Kyrgyz nationals had been injured in the clashes, four of whom needed hospitalization due to the severity of their injuries. The incidents started after locals from the Kyrgyz village of Chechme and residents of the Uzbek village of Chashma argued about the ownership of a spring in the area. When Ferghana regional Governor Shuhrat Ganiev arrived at the site, he was attacked and pelted with stones. Many border areas in Central Asia's former Soviet republics have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the volatile Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan meet. Last week, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev said after talks in Tashkent with his visiting Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Japarov, that they had agreed to solve all border issues between the two nations "in three months." MONTREAL, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) will hold its virtual annual meeting of stockholders on Friday, May 21, 2021, at 9 a.m. (Eastern). Owners of Resolute common stock at the close of business on March 23, 2021, the record date for the annual meeting, will be entitled to vote their shares. The annual general meeting of stockholders is being held entirely online due to the public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and to allow the company to proceed with the meeting while mitigating health and safety risks to participants. Stockholders will be able to attend and participate in the annual meeting online at https://web.lumiagm.com/295854943, where they will be able to listen to the meeting live, submit questions and vote their shares. They may also forward questions in advance to [email protected], and the company will respond to as many appropriate questions as time permits during the meeting, to the extent relevant to the business of the meeting. To join the annual meeting, stockholders will need an 11- or 13-digit control number, which is included on each stockholder's notice of internet availability and proxy card, and the following password: resolute2021. Please monitor the "Annual Meeting of Stockholders" page under the "Investors" section of www.resolutefp.com for any additional information. About Resolute Forest Products Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products, including market pulp, tissue, wood products and papers, which are marketed in over 50 countries. The company owns or operates some 40 facilities, as well as power generation assets, in the United States and Canada. Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards. The shares of Resolute Forest Products trade under the stock symbol RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Resolute has received regional, North American and global recognition for its leadership in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, as well as for its business practices. Visit www.resolutefp.com for more information. SOURCE Resolute Forest Products Inc. Related Links www.resolutefp.com Rite Aid announced today that it will give teachers, school staff and childcare providers priority COVID-19 vaccine scheduling. The move, Rite Aid said, is in accordance with a directive from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Biden Administration, to ensure these groups are vaccinated during the month of March. Vaccine appointments will be exclusively available to that group of people on Friday, March 19; Saturday, March 20; Friday, March 26; and Saturday, March 27. The vaccination will be scheduled when the person registers online during those dates. Those eligible during these priority periods include: Pre-Kindergarten 12th grade educators and staff Childcare workers Family childcare providers Head Start & Early Head Start staff For other eligible people, appointments will be available for scheduling all other days in March. You can schedule a vaccination appointment at Rite Aid online. READ MORE New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public rally in West Bengals Purulia on Thursday (March 18) as a part of BJPs campaign in the poll-bound state. The BJP leader in the starting of the Purulia rally used the reference of the Hindu epic Ramayana to point out the crisis, which is faced by the locals in the area. Addressing a massive rally, which was reportedly attended by over 3 lakh people, PM Narendra Modi took a jibe at Mamata Banerjee's 'khela hobe' slogan. "Didi, you have played with the lives of the people of Bengal. Even today you talk of Khela (play)... Didi says Khela hobe (We'll play), but BJP says development hobe (development will happen), Didi says Khela hobe, BJP says Vikas hobe; Didi says khela hobe, BJP says women's empowerment hobe. Didi says Khela hobe, BJP says Drinking water in all homes hobe; Didi says khela hobe, BJP says railway and roads hobe; Didi says khela hobe, BJP says Shiksha (education) hobe. Didi says khela hobe, BJP says 'homes-for-all' hobe. Didi... your days of playing with the lives of people in Bengal are over. You have played with the lives of people for 10 years", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJPs star campaigner also accused the TMC government of playing politics of appeasement, adding that they will be punished for 10 years of misrule, if BJP comes into power. We believe in DBT-direct benefit transfer but TMC believes in transfer my commission (TMC), said PM Modi. The Prime Minister also accused the ruling-government of handling the crises wrong. During the Amphan cyclone when people of the state were looking at the ruling-party TMC, PM Modi alleged that rampant corruption was done in the name of helping people by the party. PM Modi while addressing Purulia rally to bolster the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) campaign ahead of the crucial assembly polls in the state also listed out the promises that his party will stand by, if chosen in power after May 2. More than 36 lakh gas connections were given to tribal and OBC, and ST people under Ayushman Yojna. Schools will be opened under Eklavya school to provide education to tribal kids, he said. The agriculture-based schemes will be developme to stop migration. Purulia will be connected with Eastern corridor and employment opportunities will be created for people here, PM Modi added. Meanwhile, the political environment in West Bengal is getting tense as both the parties, BJP and TMC, have started their election campaigns in full swing in the state. The assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in eight phases. The voting for phase 1 for 30 constituencies will take place on March 27, voting for phase 2 for 30 constituencies will be held on April 1. The polling for phase 3 for 31 seats will take place on April 6, for phase 4 for 44 constituencies on April 10, for phase 5 for 45 constituencies on April 17, for phase 6 for 43 constituencies on April 22, for phase 7 for 36 constituencies on April 26 and for phase 8 for 35 constituencies on April 29. Live TV Reviewing all the notable criminal justice work of the Washington Supreme Court in recent times | Main | Notable new Seventh Circuit panel opinion on ineffectiveness of counsel failing to raise meritorious guideline argument March 17, 2021 Spotlighting ugly reasons and realities surrounding federal gun sentences Tana Ganeva has this effective Reason piece giving attention to federal gun sentences. The full headline highlights its themes: "743 Years and 3 Months. 117 Years. 51 Years. Why Are These Men's Sentences So Long? For possessing a gun while committing a crime even when no one is killed too many defendants are slammed with sentences decades or even centuries longer than justice demands." Here are excerpts: The federal statute 924(c) imposes mandatory minimum sentences in offenses involving a firearm. Federal law requires that the lengthy sentences for possessing a gun while committing a crime be served back-to-back instead of concurrently, even though state laws tend to be much more lax: In Indiana, where [Charles] Scott was caught, robbery is punishable by one to six years in state prison, with a recommended time of three years. Scott's original offense, the robberies, account for a little more than six years of his sentence the other 45 years were from the 924(c) charges. Scott's draconian sentence is actually lighter than others snagged under the same statute there are people sentenced to centuries in prison because of 924(c) even if their underlying crimes would have earned them far less time than multiple human life spans. As of 2016, 14.9 percent of the federal prison population or 24,905 people was incarcerated due to a firearm offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty, according to the Federal Sentencing Commission. Criminal justice reform advocates believe the law wrongly conflates gun violence and crimes where the perpetrator carries, or even just owns, a gun. "Mandatory minimums around firearms are some of the most frustrating cases," says Kevin Ring, the executive director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a criminal justice reform organization. "In a country with 340 million firearms, the idea that someone is not going to happen to be in possession of a gun if they commit a crime the law does not distinguish between someone who uses a gun to commit a crime, and someone who happens to be a gun owner. It's a frustrating, stupid law."... Although Scott and his family hope for federal clemency, his case isn't a neat fit for today's political climate. Democratic lawmakers brand themselves as advocates for gun control, and so don't have a lot to gain from showing mercy to people who break gun laws. Most Republicans still tend to campaign on tough-on-crime platforms that don't leave a lot of room for second chances. "For Democrats, mandatory minimums for guns can be a plan B for gun control," says Ring. "And for Republicans, for too long, people resisted the idea that people who own guns some of those people sell drugs. To fend off gun control, they like to hammer people who have a gun when they commit a crime." March 17, 2021 at 10:16 PM | Permalink Comments The clear sign of a primitive, uncivilized nation: draconian, absurd, cruel, unusual sentences. A clear violation of the Bill of Rights. The parties perpetrating these atrocities should be disbarred for life and removed from the bench. Posted by: restless94110 | Mar 18, 2021 12:56:55 AM Id gladly trade these man mins for some better gun control. Unfortunately, were still a long ways off from the latter. Were just starting to contemplate baby steps on filibuster reform, so its going to be quite a long journey. Posted by: hardreaders | Mar 18, 2021 9:24:44 AM To me, the justice, or lack thereof, of a long sentence for carrying a gun depends on whether or not a victim was placed in a position of fearing the gun. For example, if the gun was used in a robbery, I have no problem with a 25-year enhancement to the person's sentence. Someone who did not have the proper license for a gun should not get a heavy jail sentence simply for having the gun. To me, a prohibited possessor falls in an intermediate category. Someone whose right to carry a gun has been taken away for cause needs to respect that. But it's not as bad as threatening someone with the gun. Posted by: William C Jockusch | Mar 18, 2021 12:55:35 PM During my 8 years in Federal prison I met several men who had ridiculously long Federal sentences because they had been carrying a gun (which was never fired) while committing various crimes. My friend Gary Settle, now 55 years old, was 26 years old in 1993, when he committed a series of 10 armed bank robberies, while addicted to drugs. The Judge gave him 12 years concurrent for the bank robberies, but 165 years of mandatory consecutive time carrying a gun during the robberies, for a total of 177 years. Gary has now served 29 years in prison. He is not a thug, and has become a good man since getting off drugs. He comes from an educated, middle class family. His Mother is a nurse. There is no reason that he should still be in Federal prison; it's a waste of the taxpayers' money. Another man was a computer programmer for the vault and ATM manufacturer Diebold. He programmed a secret subroutine, so that he could go to any ATM, punch in the secret code, and the machine would open and permit him to remove all of the money, which he did a few times. He was not charged with Bank robbery, but with the lesser crime of Bank Larceny. His defense lawyer did not prepare him properly for his PSR interview with a Probation Officer. When the Probation Officer asked him if he had been armed when he took the money from the ATMs (there was no prior evidence or indication that he had been armed), he honestly responded that heh ad carried a pistol with him each time -- this led to him getting mandatory consecutive prison time, totaling about 54 years, instead of the 6 or 7 years he had been expecting. When his sentence was affirmed on direct appeal, he tried to hang himself with a bedsheet at the UNICOR Factory where he worked at FCI-Manchester, Ky. His Supervisor cut him down, so he did not die. By now, he has served about 20 years of that 54 year sentence. Again, it's a waste money to keep him in Federal prison. I could give several more examples, but I think you already get my point. Posted by: Jim Gormley | Mar 22, 2021 12:49:53 PM Post a comment LEIMERT PARK ALTERCATION HALTS FILM PRODUCTION A physical altercation between safety personnel and members of a South Los Angeles grassroots coalition on February 25 in Leimert Park Village cut short a film production and threatens future filming revenue in an area that has struggled economically, first from construction of the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line and more recently from the Coronavirus pandemic. Members of Africa Town Coalition and the Safe Passage Public Safety Ambassadors employed by Community Build, Inc., (CBI) clashed at the end of the second day of filming for the Apple TV+ series Truth be Told. CBI is the nonprofit organization that manages the Greater Leimert Park Village/Crenshaw Corridor Business Improvement District (GLPVCC BID). The mini-series Truth Be Told debuted in 2019 on Apple + and stars Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures. The Help) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad). The day after altercation, Truth be Tolds production company Are You Sleeping, relocated the film set to Pasadena. The dispute once again raises the long debated issues of gentrification, employment and who decides whats best for Leimert Park Village. Representatives from Africa Town and CBI differ on how the dispute started. ADVERTISEMENT According to Africa Town leader Kevin Wharton Price who hosted a Facebook Live event to air his grievances against Community Build President and CEO Robert Sausedo and his management of the GLPVCC BID. Price claims Sausedo instigated the conflict. Robert Sausedo and his goons approached us in the middle of the street and viciously attacked us, said Price. We came to talk peace and this is what happened. A two minute video posted on Africa Towns Instagram account shows several men engaged in a brawl on the sidewalk in Leimert Park Village. Sausedo denies the allegations. I wasnt even outside when the fight occurred, said Sausedo. Kevin and African Town was extorting money from the film crew. The safety ambassadors were not going to let that happen. Now Kevin is trying to redefine the narrative and redirect the blame. Price said on Facebook Live that Africa Towns objective was to confront Are You Sleeping Productions about their relocation of 75 homeless people in a violent manner in downtown Los Angeles during a previous Truth be Told film shoot in December. He took our grievances and he said he would go talk to his head people and we would be back with them, Price said on Facebook Live. Are You Sleeping Location manager Tim Hillman denied that any homeless people had been displaced during previous film productions for the Apple TV+ series. We did not disrupt any homeless people in Leimert Park or downtown. It was all fiction to get headlines, Hillman said. The businesses in Leimert Park were very welcoming and open to our filming and unfortunately the group that came in was very disruptive and we had to stop filming and go away and that was very unfortunate. Marvin, a CBI Safe Passage public safety ambassador who requested his last name not be used, was part of the altercation and also disputed Prices version of events. He said the security team responded when a member of the film crew alleged that a group of men approached them demanding compensation for the disruption caused by the filming. We went out there to check it out. Turns out, these guys from Africa Town werent merchants in the village, said Marvin. They said they were vendors, but they werent selling anything that day, so they werent directly impacted. Marvin said. ADVERTISEMENT Marvin said the situation escalated as he explained to African Town representatives that affected businesses were notified of the film shoot weeks in advance and payments had already been negotiated. Marvin said the exchange turned physical after he told the group, Nobody is going to pay you, just to pay you, man. Chase Johnson, owner of Harun Coffee and James Burks, former City of Los Angeles director of special projects, negotiated the logistics and compensation for the film production on behalf of the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association and CBI. According to Burks, the production company was contracted to pay $38,000 for the three-day film shoot. According to CBIs records, this amount is substantially more than the filming revenue received for all of 2020. A portion of the money was allocated for the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association and the balance will be proportionately distributed to the businesses based on their daily sales. Burks said this is not the first time Africa Town and other disgruntled groups have disrupted commerce in Leimert Park Village. He recalled two years ago when a group of protesters interrupted a performance of Barbara Morrisons annual jazz festival. They were unhappy because white people were coming in, Burks said. These agitators have no jobs and they have no respect for the business owners trying to make a living in Leimert Park. Sausedo also said he suspects race played a part in Africa Towns demands. We know if it was a white group putting a shake down on black producers, it would be a whole different conversation. Also, film revenue puts money into the pockets of Leimert Park merchants and theyre disrupting that. he said. Sausedo recalls seeing Price and Africa Town members on television shouting, I hope they (expletive) die! outside the hospital where two Los Angeles County sheriff deputies were taken after being critically injured during an ambush in Compton while sitting in their patrol car on September 13, 2020. I believe in individuals and organizations being able to freely participate in public protests as an American right. However, I cannot condone how Africa Town continues to extort and perpetuate urban terrorism and discord within the community and then distort the truth. Leimert Park Village Merchants Association President Aminah Muhammad, owner of Queen Aminah, an Islamic attire boutique, said that the different factions of Leimert Park Village should work out their difference because film shoots increase revenue and make the area a tourist destination. When theres a movie shoot in Leimert Park that airs nationally, youd be surprised at how many people come to Leimert just because they saw it on television. Filming in Leimert Park is good for business and we need that right now, Muhammad said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) AstraZeneca has assured the Philippines its COVID-19 vaccine is safe after a number of European countries paused their rollout over concerns it could be linked to blood clots, an official said Thursday. We had a meeting last night and the findings really are that the blood clotting events are similar to what would happen in a normal population without the vaccine or in populations that are vaccinated even with other brands, Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo said in a briefing. Over the weekend, AstraZeneca already released a statement regarding the matter, saying a careful review of more than 17 million people vaccinated with its shot in Europe and Britain found that there was "no evidence" of increased risk of clots. Last week, Denmark announced it was suspending the use of the shot developed by AstraZeneca and Britains Oxford University, citing a few reports of clotting in people who had received the shot, including one fatal case. Norway followed shortly, citing four cases of blood clots after inoculation. Several other countries have since hit the pause button on their rollout of the shot as a precautionary measure while European drug regulators are conducting a review on the reported cases. But the Philippines stood by the AstraZeneca vaccine, following the advice of the World Health Organization. The country has received over 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through the global initiative COVAX. These shots, as well as doses of the vaccine made by Chinese firm Sinovac, are now being given to Filipino healthcare workers. WHO country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe also said the Philippines will receive 4.5 million additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccines by April or May. [March 18, 2021] Riversand Partners With Spryker to Offer Cloud-Native MDM and PIM Riversand, a cloud-native Master Data Management (MDM) and Product Information Management (PIM) solution provider, announced today its partnership with Spryker Systems GmbH, a global e-commerce software provider. Spryker Cloud Commerce OS is built to support headless, API-based commerce, and has a modular design aimed to help its customers scale. Spryker's architecture complements Riversand's cloud-native Master Data Experience Platform, which is also a scalable platform, allowing additional Apps to be developed to solve new business requirements as market conditions change. "Riversand's innovative cloud-native platform will be the foundation of Spryker's digital transformation projects and is an optimal partner for an agile approach," said Edmund Frey, Chief Revenue Officer at Spryker. "This partnership gives us a unique opportunity to offer our customers the most advanced MDM and PIM solution in the market." Both platforms are enterprise-grade, and unlike others on the market, can be ready-to-go in 2-6 weeks, providing immediate value. Harnessing the power and stability that Riversand and Spryker provide their customers when used together, companies can scale that investment over time and optimize it as business needs evolve. "We are excited to join forces with Spryker, one of the leading global e-commerce software providers," said Witty Bindra, vice president of Business Develeopment at Riversand. "Together, we will provide leading brands with innovative approaches to digital transformation, delivered on cloud-native technology." About Spryker Founded in 2014, Spryker enables companies to build sophisticated transactional business models in unified commerce including B2B, B2C, and Enterprise Marketplaces. It is the most modern platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution with headless & API-based architecture that is cloud and enterprise-ready and loved by developers and business users worldwide. Spryker customers extend their sales reach and grow revenue with a system that allows them to increase operational efficiency, lower the total cost of ownership, and expand to new markets and business models faster than ever before. Spryker solutions have empowered 150+ companies to manage transactions in more than 200 countries worldwide. Spryker is trusted by brands such as Toyota, Siemens, Hilti, and Ricoh (News - Alert) . Spryker was named the most innovative and visionary of all new vendors in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce and named a major player in B2B e-Commerce by IDC (News - Alert) and is the only commerce platform to provide full B2B, B2C, D2C, and Marketplace capabilities out of one stack. For more information about Spryker please visit Spryker.com. About Riversand Riversand provides a Master Data Experience Platform (MDxP), enabling customers to leverage their data through intelligent insights, automation, and multi-domain SaaS (News - Alert) solutions. Riversand's MDxP platform is the engine that powers customers' digital transformation journeys through improved business agility, faster adoption and improved collaboration across the enterprise. Driving data to experiences and insights, Riversand has a vision of helping companies know their customers better, move products faster, automate processes, mitigate risk and run their businesses smarter. Visit https://www.riversand.com/ for more information and follow us @RiversandMDM on Twitter (News - Alert) and Riversand on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005948/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Humeyra Pamuk and Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) - Both pressure and diplomatic options are on the table for dealing with North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, hours after a senior North Korean diplomat rejected any talks until Washington changed its policies. Blinken told a joint briefing with South Korean officials in Seoul that the administration of President Joe Biden would complete its review of North Korea policy in the next few weeks in close consultation with its allies. "President Biden plans to complete a North Korea policy review in the weeks ahead in close cooperation and consultation with the Republic of Korea, with Japan and with other key partners, including resuming pressure options and the potential for future diplomacy," Blinken said. He declined to elaborate when asked what approach the United States would take after the review. But when asked at a separate online roundtable with Korean journalists if Biden would meet Kim, Blinken said Washington is exploring how to convince North Korea to make progress on denuclearisation by considering both "different kinds of pressure points" and diplomacy. "In a sense, everything is on the table. We have a very open mind about it," he said. The comments came hours after North Korean official Choe Son Hui called the Biden administration's attempts to contact Pyongyang a "cheap trick", in Pyongyang's first public statement on the matter. Blinken was making his first visit to South Korea as secretary of state, alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. They issued a joint statement with their South Korean counterparts, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook, vowing to work together on regional issues from climate change and the coronavirus pandemic to trade and North Korea. "The ministers and secretaries emphasised that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance, and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address and resolve these issues," they said in the statement. Story continues 'WIDESPREAD, SYSTEMATIC ABUSES' While the joint statement largely focused on shared concerns and interests, the briefing showed potential sources of future policy discord on North Korea and China. Blinken said its North Korea strategy would not only address security concerns but also the "repressive" North Korean government's "widespread, systematic abuses" on its people. Activists have accused the administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and former U.S. President Donald Trump of overlooking the North Korean human rights issue as they sought to improve ties and pursued summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The goals of this policy are clear: we're committed to the denuclearisation of North Korea, reducing the broader threat the DPRK poses to the United States and our allies, and improving the lives of all Koreans," Blinken said. Moon has called for Biden to build on progress made by Kim and Trump from their unprecedented summit in Singapore in 2018, which Chung said could provide the groundwork for future talks between Washington and Pyongyang. "We think the Singapore agreement deserves sufficient consideration as it has basic principles for improving North Korea-U.S. relations, establishing peace and achieving denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula," Chung told the briefing. Blinken also blamed China at the briefing for undermining regional stability and security with its "aggressive and authoritarian behaviour," and stressed its role in convincing North Korea to denuclearise. Beijing has rebuked Blinken's similar remarks in Tokyo, and his renewed criticism came ahead of his first in-person meetings with Chinese counterparts in Alaska on Thursday. Blinken called for unity among allies, despite Seoul's hesitance to provoke China, its largest economic partner and an ally of North Korea. "It is more important than ever that we stand together for the values for the interest that unite us," he said. (Writing by Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Michael Perry) Advertisement The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited ambulance staff and Facetimed a paramedic's family today, amid the ongoing fallout in the wake of Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview. William and Kate spoke to crews at Newham Ambulance Station to hear how they coped mentally during the pandemic before meeting paramedic Jahrin Khan, who asked the couple if it was okay to Facetime her father Abu, in Bangladesh. William had an animated chat with Mr Khan and told him, 'You must be very proud of your daughter.' Jahrin, who has been with the London Ambulance Service for more than four years, lives in the Capital with her family. She stayed in temporary accommodation during the first wave of Covid to protect her mother, who has asthma. The 29-year-old has not seen her father for more than a year, after he travelled to Bangladesh before the pandemic but was then stuck when lockdown restrictions came into force, and unable to return safely. The visit comes amid reports William is 'deeply distressed' that private conversations with his brother will be 'plastered over American TV' after broadcaster Gayle King revealed William had taken part in an 'unproductive phone call with Prince Harry'. The revelation - which the CBS presenter delivered live on air - has reportedly made William wary of engaging further with the couple, fearing that any talks with his brother will be leaked to American television networks. Sources told Vanity Fair there was concern within the family that the Sussexes 'want to keep fuelling the soap opera'. This also comes as a royal author claims William is supporting his wife after Meghan Markle claimed the two women had a tearful confrontation days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 2018 wedding. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge talk with the family of paramedic Jahrin (Jay) Khan via a mobile phone. The family is in London but her father joined the conversation from Bangladesh. Ms Khan has been unable to see her family through the pandemic The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today visited Newham Ambulance Station in East London During the visit, The Duke and Duchess met with ambulance staff and paramedics to hear more about their experiences of working during the pandemic William and Kate spoke to crews at Newham Ambulance Station about their experiences of working during one of the most challenging periods in the London Ambulance Service's history A royal author has claimed that William is supporting his wife Kate Middleton after Meghan Markle claimed the two women had a tearful confrontation. Pictured, Kate during today's visit What did Gayle King say on her SiriusXM show? On Prince Philip: 'Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Phillip went into the hospital. 'And if something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time. But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point.' On why Harry and Meghan did the Oprah interview: 'I think that Harry and Meghan both have been through so much for the past three years and they really have tried to work it out privately. They really have tried to get help, and nothing was working. 'So I think they wanted people to have some understanding about why they made the decision that they made and what they've been going through, and I do think that they accomplished that. I do. I think it was very brave of her and Harry to reveal what they did. 'It's unheard of, and it certainly has been a 'bombshell', is the word. There were six or seven that night. I stopped counting at six. It was bombshell, after bombshell, after bombshell, but I do believe it was an honest conversation. I'm hoping it will lead to change.' On Piers Morgan and Alex Beresford: 'Piers Morgan is no longer with a job. He stormed off the air after saying that I don't believe that she had mental illness, I don't believe she was suicidal. They got over 41,000 calls of people weighing in to say that is not OK, that is not cool. And by the next day, he was out of a job. He said he resigned. I find that a little hard to believe when you had 41,000 calls.' 'And kudos to his co-anchor, they said it was the weather guy. I wonder if he was the weather guy, but they described him as a weather guy, who spoke out and really let Piers have it on the air, and then Piers stormed off, and now Piers is no longer on the air there.' Advertisement The couple spoke to staff today about the problems they faced during one of the most challenging periods in the London Ambulance Service's history. Chatting to paramedic Jay Khan's father Abu, who was forced to stay in Bangladesh during the lockdown after his mother fell ill, William asked him: 'You must be very proud of your daughter.' Abu replied: 'Yes we are all very proud of her.' The royals also joined a call with Jay's sister Nasrin and granddad Baharam in the UK. William told them: 'She works very hard and she's looking forward to seeing you soon.' Kate added: 'Hopefully it won't be too long before you can all meet up and see each other again.' The couple laughed as Jay told her family: 'Say bye now. Let them go.' William quipped: 'We can stay here and do some more family chatting if that works?' They also met paramedic Shani Smith who has been helping to run one of the special tea trucks to serve medics over the past year, and heard how she has used her mental health training to provide peer support to her colleagues. Shani, who has worked for the service for more than 20 years, said this was the worst time she had ever experienced, adding: 'It's been like one long major incident.' The duchess was wearing a long camel-coloured double breasted coat with colour-coordinated floral face mask, while the duke was in a navy face mask and matching overcoat. The visit comes a week and a half after the monarchy was plunged into crisis by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Oprah interview. Meghan accused the royal family of racism, but also said the institution failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts. Mental health has been at the forefront of William and Kate's royal duties for a number of years, with the couple launching the Heads Together initiative with Harry. But Harry told Oprah Winfrey he was ashamed of admitting to his family that his wife needed help, adding: 'That's just not a conversation that would be had.' Kate is said to have found it 'mortifying' that allegations over her alleged row with Meghan Markle re-emerged two years ago after first being reported in 2018. Royal biographer Penny Junor told People: 'For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse [for Prince William] than being attacked himself.' She added: 'William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry.' And royal expert Katie Nicholl told OK! magazine: 'Kate has never wanted any suggestion of a rift with Meghan to come out in the press, so for this story to be circulating is very hard.' Earlier this week Gayle King revealed Harry, 36, had spoken to William, 38, and their father Prince Charles for the first time following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Despite the Sussexes insisting their explosive tell-all would be their 'final word' on royal affairs, Ms King, 66, said the couple had told her about Harry's phone calls with his family over the weekend. Yesterday she spoke out again, claiming the pair had a deal with CBS and ITV to postpone their bombshell interview if Prince Philip, 99, had died during his month-long stay in hospital. One source close to Prince William claimed: 'There's a lack of trust on both sides which makes moving forward very hard. William is now worried that anything he says to his brother will be plastered over American TV.' And sources told Vanity Fair's Katie Nicholl: 'It seems the Sussexes seem to want to keep fuelling this story at a time when the royals are trying to protect Prince Philip from the headlines.' The source added that Meghan and Harry's approach seemed to be a 'very strange way' to heal the rift within the family. A source told Entertainment Tonight that William was 'deeply distressed with Harry and Meghan's decision to share private family conversations' with King. William and Kate also heard more about the mental health and wellbeing support provided to staff at the station, including drop-in sessions and the wellbeing spaces The duchess was wearing a long camel-coloured double breasted coat with colour-coordinated floral face mask, while the duke was in a navy face mask and matching overcoat Jahrin asked the couple if it was okay to call her father Abu, before Face-timing him in Bangladesh. William had an animated chat with Mr Khan and told him, 'You must be very proud of your daughter.' The pair happily smiled and waved at Ms Khan's family, much to the paramedic's delight Over the last year, William and Kate and The Royal Foundation have worked to support those on the frontline of the pandemic. William and Kate heard more about the mental health and wellbeing support provided to staff at the Station,including drop-in sessions and wellbeing spaces, alongside some of the wider initiatives provided by the London Ambulance Service including their fleet of Wellbeing Tea Trucks The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were seen being driven in central London this morning On Tuesday, Ms King told her viewers that she spoke to the Sussexes who told her that Harry had talked to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales over the weekend. But she said the conversations were 'not productive' and Harry and Meghan were keen for the 'royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant'. Ms King, 66, who is also close friends with Oprah, failed to give any examples of the stories she was referring to, but added that Meghan has 'documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah's interview'. The broadcaster's comments came on the same day that Harry's grandfather Prince Philip, 99, was reunited with the Queen at Windsor Castle after leaving King Edward VII's Hospital in London following a 28 day-stay for treatment. Ms King revealed on her radio show on US network SiriusXM: 'Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Phillip went into the hospital. 'If something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time. But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point. 'I think that Harry and Meghan both have been through so much for the past three years and they really have tried to work it out privately. They really have tried to get help, and nothing was working.' 'So I think they wanted people to have some understanding about why they made the decision that they made and what they've been going through, and I do think that they accomplished that. I do. 'I think it was very brave of her and Harry to reveal what they did. It's unheard of, and it certainly has been a 'bombshell', is the word. 'There were six or seven that night. I stopped counting at six. It was bombshell, after bombshell, after bombshell, but I do believe it was an honest conversation. I'm hoping it will lead to change.' The fact the Sussexes chose to reveal sensitive discussions between senior members of the Royal Family met with an icy response from Buckingham Palace. 'None of the households [the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge] will be giving a running commentary on private conversations,' said a senior royal source. The 39-year-old drove through London early today, after it emerged Prince William was said to be 'concerned' that private conversations with his brother will be 'plastered over American TV' The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, showcased her love for literal dressing yesterday as she donned a 260 shamrock charm necklace to wish the people of Ireland a happy St Patrick's Day Prince William, when he was questioned by a TV reporter on a public engagement last Thursday, said he had not yet spoken to his younger brother, but vowed he would. He also insisted the Royal Family were not racists after Meghan suggested there was an attempt to deprive Archie of a title and security because he was of mixed race. The Queen responded to the Oprah interview with a deeply personal message and emphasised that from now on the difficulties would be addressed by the family privately. The bombshell revelations from Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey During the couple's tell-all (pictured), Meghan addressed reports that she made her sister-in-law cry over a disagreement regarding bridesmaid dresses ahead of the royal wedding, while the couple also revealed they were having a baby girl - Meghan's mental health The Duchess of Sussex revealed she had suicidal thoughts and said: 'I just didn't want to be alive any more.' She said she begged for help, and asked to go somewhere to get help, and approached one of the most senior people in the institution, but was told it would not look good. The duchess said: 'I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I've never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution.' - Baby Sussex is a girl Harry and Meghan revealed they are expecting a baby girl. The duke joined his wife in the second half of the interview, and told the chat show host: 'It's a girl.' He said his first thought was 'amazing' when he discovered they were having a girl, adding: 'Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing. 'But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we've got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.' Asked if they were 'done' with two children, Harry said 'done' and Meghan said: 'Two is it.' She also confirmed the baby is due in the 'summertime'. - Royal family accused of racism Meghan said, when she was pregnant with Archie, an unnamed member of the royal family raised 'concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born'. Asked whether there were concerns that her child would be 'too brown' and that would be a problem, Meghan said: 'If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one.' Pushed by Winfrey on who had those conversations, Meghan refused to say, adding: 'I think that would be very damaging to them.' She added: 'That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations the family had with him, and I think it was really hard to be able to see those as compartmentalised conversations.' - Archie's title Meghan suggested she and Harry wanted Archie to be a prince so he would have security and be protected. The duchess expressed her shock at 'the idea of our son not being safe', and the idea of the first member of colour in this family, not being titled in the same way as other grandchildren. Archie, who is seventh in line to the throne, is not entitled to be an HRH or a prince due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by King George V. He will be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne. As the first born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton - one of Harry's subsidiary titles - or have been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, instead at the time of his birth, a royal source said Harry and Meghan had decided he should a regular Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. - The Prince of Wales The Duke of Sussex said his father the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls while Harry and Meghan were in Canada 'because I took matters into my own hands. I needed to do this for my family'. He said Charles wanted him to put his plans in writing. - The Queen Harry denied that he had 'blindsided' his grandmother Queen with the bombshell statement about stepping down as senior royal. The duke said he believed the report probably could have come from 'within the institution'. - The Duchess of Cambridge Meghan said Kate made her cry ahead of her wedding. Reports circulated ahead of the Sussexes' nuptials that Meghan left Kate in tears at Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress fitting. But Meghan told Winfrey the 'reverse happened'. Meghan said she was not sharing the information to be 'disparaging', but added it was 'really important for people to understand the truth'. 'She's a good person,' the duchess added. Advertisement Piers Morgan says Gayle King should stop 'acting as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's PR mouthpiece' and ask them about their 'lies' on Oprah Piers Morgan has slammed American broadcaster Gayle King for acting as a 'PR mouthpiece' for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to 'facilitate their ongoing public trashing of our Royal Family'. The former Good Morning Britain host told the CBS This Morning presenter last night to do her 'job as a journalist and ask them about all the lies they told' in their interview with Oprah Winfrey after it aired on March 7. Morgan, 55, who quit GMB last Tuesday after claiming he didn't 'believe a word' Meghan Markle said during the conversation with the US chat show queen, added in a tweet last night: 'America should hear THE truth.' It comes after Miss King, 66, backed ITV's stance over Morgan's departure from GMB after he refused to apologise for his comments about Meghan, which led to the highest number of complaints in TV regulator Ofcom's history. She told her SiriusXM radio programme last Thursday: 'Piers Morgan is no longer with a job. He stormed off the air after saying that I don't believe that she had mental illness, I don't believe she was suicidal. 'They got over 41,000 calls of people weighing in to say that is not OK, that is not cool. And by the next day, he was out of a job. He said he resigned. I find that a little hard to believe when you had 41,000 calls.' Former GMB host Piers Morgan (left, in West London last week) has slammed CBS This Morning broadcaster Gayle King (right) Morgan criticised Miss King in a tweet last night, in which he accused her of 'acting as your Sussex friends' PR mouthpiece' Miss King also referred to GMB weather presenter Alex Beresford, who was involved in the moment that saw Morgan walk out last week. She said: 'And kudos to his co-anchor, they said it was the weather guy. 'I wonder if he was the weather guy, but they described him as a weather guy, who spoke out and really let Piers have it on the air, and then Piers stormed off, and now Piers is no longer on the air there.' More than 250,000 people have now signed three separate Change.org petitions demanding that Morgan - who also presented a show on CNN in the US from 2011 to 2014 - should be brought back to GMB. During the same SiriusXM show last Thursday, Miss King, who is friends with both Meghan and Oprah, claimed the Sussexes had a deal with CBS and ITV to postpone their 'bombshell' interview if Prince Philip had died. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in conversation with Oprah Winfrey in an interview first aired on CBS on March 7 New Delhi, March 18 : The Cyber Cell of Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a gang of fraudsters for cheating people on the pretext of selling a 'Rice Pulling' rare metal, which they claimed was certified by agencies like ISRO, DRDO and NASA. A 53-year-old Delhi-based businessman was duped by the gang to the tune of approximately Rs 11 lakh. The accused persons had also formed many companies, all based in Kolkata. The arrested accused Munna Lal, and his associates Thakur Das Mondal and Harendra Kumar, used to cheat people on the pretext of selling a precious radioactive material called "Rice Puller", a rare metal which they claimed was very expensive in the international market and was certified by ISRO, DRDO and NASA. The alleged companies appointed some brokers across India, including Munna Lal. The task of such brokers was to search potential parties and lure them to purchase the antique precious rare metal. The accused persons used to send videos to the potential buyers which were specially prepared by them, showing some experiments and specific characteristics of 'Rice Puller'. The scam involved fraudsters marketing and selling a 'Rice Puller' device made up of radioactive material that they claimed possessed magical properties and attracted rice grains towards it. The fraudsters also claimed that the rice pulling device was certified by agencies like DRDO and ISRO. The accused persons demanded money from the innocent people in the name of testing such radioactive material by ISRO and DRDO, claiming it to be an expensive process. "The accused claimed that whenever the DRDO or ISRO would buy these radioactive materials, the client would get his share which would run into hundreds of crores of rupees," said Bhisham Singh, DCP, Crime branch. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Responding to concerns from state officials, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday that states can cut taxes without penalty under a new federal pandemic relief law so long as they use their own funds to offset those cuts. Republican governors, lawmakers and attorneys general have expressed apprehension about a provision in the wide-ranging relief act signed by President Joe Biden that prohibits states from using $195 billion of federal aid to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in net tax revenue. The restriction could apply through 2024. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, on Wednesday asked a federal judge to block the tax-cut provision. Republican attorneys general from 21 other states wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking clarification on the prohibition, which they said could be construed to deny states the ability to cut taxes in any manner whatsoever. A treasury spokesperson told The Associated Press that the provision isnt meant as a blanket prohibition on tax cuts. States can still offset tax reductions through other means. In other words, states are free to make policy decisions to cut taxes they just cannot use the pandemic relief funds to pay for those tax cuts, the Treasury Department said. The treasurys application of the law could provide clearance for some tax cuts, such as Missouri legislation that would expand online sales taxes to offset proposed income tax reductions in 2023. Republican Sen. Andrew Koenig said he thinks his legislation is OK but has asked the state attorney general for guidance on whether it could run afoul of the federal law. To say that were cutting taxes because of the (federal) money would be a ridiculous argument, Koenig said, because this is an entire package that is completely separate. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said formal guidance from the Treasury Department will be critical in determining how much flexibility exists for states. The Republican governor, however, wants lawmakers to move forward with his proposal to set aside $50 million for tax reductions, including a cut to sales taxes on used vehicles. We should not let federal restrictions weigh in on that direction were going as a state, Hutchinson said. The nonprofit Tax Foundation said in an analysis last week that state tax cuts financed by natural growth in state revenue or new tax hikes likely are fine under the federal law. But it said questions could arise if states use the aid to pay public health workers, freeing existing state revenue and contributing to a surplus that helps finance a tax cut. Yost said he sued because the federal government should be encouraging states to innovate and grow business, not holding vital relief funding hostage to its preferred pro-tax policies. Legislatures in numerous states are considering tax cuts this year. The Republican-led Oklahoma House last week passed bills to reduce the corporate and individual income tax rates and restore the ability for a refund of the earned income tax credit. The Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates those bills could cost the state $103 million next year and $284 million the following year. But the House speakers office said a $1 billion surplus gives the state plenty of room to offset potential tax cuts. The Republican-controlled Mississippi House has passed legislation that would phase out the state income tax, cut the grocery tax in half and increase the sales tax on most items. The plan faces opposition in the GOP-led Senate, but so does the federal limitation on state tax reductions. Our tax policy needs to be formulated on whats best for Mississippi, not ... as the winds blow from D.C., said Sen. Josh Harkins, a Republican who is chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee. Georgia Republicans are working on a $140 million annual cut that would raise the income threshold at which taxes begin. Some Republicans also are maneuvering to cut the top income tax rate. That plan, which was shelved last year among fears of a sharp drop in state revenue, would forgo more than $500 million a year. Proposed business tax incentives also are moving through the Legislature. Louisianas Republican-led Legislature plans to debate a tax overhaul during its session that begins in mid-April. GOP leaders have said they want to keep it as close to revenue neutral as possible, and Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has said he wont support any package that cuts revenue. But we fear the provisions in the federal law could put this work in jeopardy, said Dawn Starns McVea, the Louisiana director of the National Federation of Independent Business. The federal laws tax cut provision also has created uncertainty in Utah, where the Republican-led Legislature passed $100 million in tax cuts this year benefitting families, veterans and older residents receiving Social Security. The state Tax Commission chairman said the reductions would have happened regardless of whether Utah received federal coronavirus relief, but Republican Attorney General Sean Reyes said those tax cuts are now at risk because of the federal law. Under the law, states that use part of their aid to offset tax reductions could have to repay an equal amount to the federal government. Because of uncertainty over what could trigger that, the Republican chairman of South Carolinas House budget-writing committee said he plans to move slowly in using the federal money. If you put it toward replenishing unemployment, is that considered a tax cut for businesses? Rep. Murrell Smith said. If you wanted to set up a small business grant program, is that going to be ... a tax cut for small business owners? Top Republicans in the Kansas Legislature have made income tax cuts a priority for several years. House Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch recently decried the federal governments attempts to guide state tax policy. It absolutely should be up to the states to decide what their tax rates are and how much their citizens have to pay in taxes, Finch said. But Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed two GOP tax-cutting bills in 2019, welcomed the restrictions on using federal pandemic aid to offset tax cuts. She said Kansas is still digging out from budget shortfalls that followed a tax-cutting experiment in 2012-13 under former GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. Im glad that we cant use this money for tax cuts, Kelly said. I dont think we should do tax cuts anyway at this point as we are recovering from this pandemic. A tense U.S.-China meeting President Bidens sharp shift in U.S. policy toward China puts tough issues on the table today for the first major meeting between senior officials from his administration and their Chinese counterparts. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, are meeting Chinas top two diplomats, State Councilor Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief, in Anchorage. They are likely to talk about Hong Kong, the status of Taiwan and the oppression of Uyghurs. The strategy: The U.S. is shifting to a more competitive posture with Beijing, to counter its diplomacy around the world and ensure that China does not gain a permanent advantage in critical technologies. The Biden administration is cultivating allies notably Japan, South Korea, India and Australia to forge a common strategy in Asia. From Chinas viewpoint: The meeting will be a first demonstration of Beijings determination to stand up to the new administration. Chinese officials have been focusing on boosting their own countrys strength, with Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, increasingly pivoting away from dependency on others. African Union Commission Chairperson Receives Letters of Credence Of H.E. MS. Jainaba Jagne, Ambassador of The Gambia to the African Union Still waiting on a phone call from former Prez Trump . . . The Sunflower State politico who is single-handedly responsible for the tenure of Guv Kelly imagines that the Democratic Party actually had a plan that succeeded. Read more . . . The Biden Administration has been touchy about using the word "crisis" to describe the catastrophic flow of illegal aliens across our border ever since he took office. Most Republicans think it's because of the Administration's reluctance to admit failure. More likely, it's because they don't see it as a failure at all. Texans prize their self-image as rugged individualists. But to get through a year of sheltering in place from the pandemic and a week of subfreezing temperatures both indoors and out, we have needed more help than ever from one another and our government. Meanwhile, our state leaders are riding through what seems to be a fantasy Texas landscape, where only weaklings or socialists need help from the government. If that was ever true, it isnt now. Individualism and personal responsibility are important values. But an equally powerful strength consists not in going it alone but leading the way for people to come together for help and support. Laws that require mask-wearing do just that. By revoking our mask mandate, Gov. Greg Abbott shows he lacks the strength this moment requires. Texas needs leaders with strengths that are up to the challenges we face today. But thats not what we have. And some Texans will die needlessly as a result. Last summer, Abbott refused to institute a mask requirement until the state was overrun by COVID-19 infections. Last month, the state power grid was less than five minutes away from a collapse that would have taken weeks, if not months, to repair. Texans were harmed because our leadership refuses to enact commonsense public safety regulations widely used in the rest of the country. Now, the governor has once again put Texans in harms way by prematurely lifting the statewide mask mandate. There is no scientific justification for this action. National experts have discouraged any weakening of mask mandates, one of the easiest and most powerful ways to combat the coronavirus. One of Abbotts former advisers criticized the move as premature. And what is so bad about masks, anyway? Sure, they are annoying. But anyone who has put on a too-snug necktie or high-heeled shoes has chosen to wear clothing significantly more restrictive and uncomfortable than a mask. Why, then, do people get upset about wearing a mask? Just because someone tells us to wear it? Do we really value the lives of our fellow Texans so cheaply? When we wear a mask, we show we care more about keeping others safe than our own minor discomfort. Where some see a mask as an abridgement of personal freedom, others proudly wear their masks as an expression of solidarity at a difficult time. Revoking the mask mandate takes away one of the few defenses of front-line supermarket and food service workers against customers who endanger others by refusing to wear masks. Without the mandate, such workers are at even greater risk. On the heels of revoking the mask mandate, our state leadership has omitted these front-line workers from the most recent expansion of vaccine eligibility. Together, the mask mandate and inclusion in vaccine eligibility group 1C could have done a great deal to protect the workers who have kept our state afloat the past year. Instead, we will continue to send these courageous and hardworking Texans into unsafe environments. That is the choice our leaders have made. It is the wrong choice. Laws make a statement about our values. Abbott could have made mask-wearing a symbol of Texas can-do spirit. Instead, he has appealed to our personal responsibility. When Abbott revoked the mask mandate, what some people heard was we dont need to wear masks anymore. His appeal to personal responsibility instead of state regulations during a pandemic is not a policy. Its a cop-out. Personal responsibility right now means that we not only wear a mask, we call out our public officials who abdicate their responsibility to ensure that everyone wears one. Deborah Beck is an associate professor of classics at The University of Texas at Austin. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were broadly higher on Thursday as investors welcomed the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to continue its easy-money policies. Market participants await the Bank of England's policy meeting later in the day against an improving backdrop. The central bank is likely to keep rates on hold, but may emphasize its high bar for tightening monetary policy. The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 percent to 426.13 after declining half a percent on Wednesday. The German DAX climbed 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up around 0.1 percent. In stock-specific news, Ocado lost 2.7 percent despite the online grocer reporting a 40 percent surge in sales in the last three months. Vectura Group jumped 3.4 percent. The pharmaceutical company said it will pay a special dividend of 115mln during 2021 after receiving a big payout from GlaxoSmithKline over a US patent litigation. Public transport company National Express declined 2.4 percent after it swung to a pretax loss for 2020 on lower revenue. Volkswagen climbed 3 percent on reports that the Czech government is negotiating with the carmaker on construction of one of its electric car batteries plants in Czechia. Patrizia AG, a partner for global real assets, advanced 1.6 percent. The company said assets under management were 47.0 billion euros in the fiscal year 2020, an increase of 5.7 percent year-over-year. Life science group Sartorius soared nearly 9 percent after raising its FY21 outlook. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. HOLYOKE A selection committee is closing in on hiring a superintendent at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke one year after the coronavirus pandemic walloped the state-run care facility for veterans. Made up of seven trustees, three additional members from the veterans services and health care communities, and state Secretary of Veterans Services Cheryl Lussier Poppe, the committee is heading into its second evening of private interviews on Thursday. Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe, chairman of the board of trustees and adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, said the panel culled seven candidates down to four and expects to conduct public interviews with two finalists on March 30. The panel relied on a headhunting firm specializing in recruiting health care executives. Of the four remaining candidates, Keefe said, two are local and two are out-of-state residents. We had one candidate who was under the impression he could run the home from out of state, so he was out. Another woman told her employer she was a finalist for the position and her employer offered her an incentive offer to stay, said Keefe, appointed in January by Gov. Charlie Baker as the trustees chairman. Were going to do the second round of initial interviews tonight, then rack and stack the numbers and narrow it down to the final two, he added. In addition to seven trustees, the search committee includes Eric Segundo, director of veterans services for Ludlow and a member of the Holyoke Soldiers Home Coalition, a grassroots community group advocating for the home; Pam Quirk, a now-retired, longtime nurse manager at the Soldiers Home; Mary Moscato, an elder care executive; and Poppe, former superintendent of the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. The committees final choice will be presented to Bakers office, as the appointing body for the position. The salary range is $120,000 to $160,000, Keefe said. Certain members of the board skirmished with Bakers administration over who has the authority to hire and fire the superintendent under state law. A Hampden Superior Court judge ruled trustees hold that power after the board filed a lawsuit over the firing of former Superintendent Bennett Walsh. Walsh, a decorated combat Marine, was hired in 2016, then fired in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak that claimed the lives of nearly 80 veterans who lived at the home. He and his top staff were largely blamed for the scale of the outbreak. But he and other top managers argued they were scapegoated by state administrators who ignored initial pleas for help when the facility was first gripped by the virus. Walsh joined in the lawsuit challenging Bakers authority to fire him, then resigned. He and his former medical director, Dr. David Clinton, were indicted for criminal neglect in September. Each has pleaded not guilty to 10 criminal charges. In the wake of the outbreak, there were allegations that Walsh, son of Springfield City Councilor Kateri Walsh and nephew of longtime Hampden District Attorney William Bennett, was a strictly political hire and not cut out for the job. Former trustees came forth to defend Walsh as the boards unanimous pick for the post based on his merits. During extensive public debate after the outbreak, many have wondered whether Walshs lack of health care experience contributed to his inability to manage the crisis. Supporters countered that COVID-19 was a deadly juggernaut that could scarcely be contained in the 70-year-old building. Keefe, of Florence, said the committee opted to advertise the position for months to counter the negative publicity surrounding the home. He briefly marveled at growing up in Northampton, just miles from the Soldiers Home, and being at the forefront of ushering the facility into a new era. Who knew how this would factor into my life all these years later, Keefe said. Uber has announced that 70,000 of its drivers in the United Kingdom will be guaranteed a minimum wage, holiday pay, and pensions. Aside from that, Uber's fares will not increase this year. Uber to grant minimum wage to drivers The ride-hailing company said that drivers would earn the National Living Wage in the United Kingdom, which is 8.72 or $12.12 an hour, in a move that could shake up the gig economy. The announcement came a month after Uber lost a legal battle in the U.K. over drivers' status. Uber stated that it turned the page on workers' rights, but some said it had not gone far enough. Analysts also warned that the ride-hailing company had increased California prices after doing the same for its drivers, and there is a chance that Uber will make the same move in the U.K. in the near future despite saying there won't be any increase in fares. Also Read: Uber is Down, and The Future is Uncertain Uber's chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi told the Evening Standard that this is a significant improvement in the standard of work for U.K. drivers. But they know that a lot of observers won't just congratulate them for taking this step, which comes after a five-year legal battle. Khosrowshahi said that observers have a point, but they hope the path they chose shows their willingness to change for the better. According to The Washington Post, Union leaders and employment experts said that Uber's move would have far-reaching consequences for the gig economy. Rachel Mathieson, Bates Wells lawyer, who represented Uber drivers fighting for workers' rights, called the move a significant milestone. How the change happened In February, Uber lost the third and final stage of a five-year legal battle with drivers who claim that it had wrongly classified their employment status, according to The Verge. However, the Supreme Court ruled its drivers were workers, a category that means that they can have holiday rights, pension rights, and minimum pay. Uber was not legally obligated to grant these benefits, but it was facing further legal action from drivers, and there were calls for compensation for past missed entitlements. The company is also being challenged by its drivers in other countries over whether they should be classified as workers or self-employed. So what happens now? Uber, which is currently worth $110 billion, said that the changes to its U.K. drivers' pay would come in on Mar. 16 and form an earnings floor, not an earnings ceiling. Uber said that the new rates would come on top of free insurance to cover sickness, injury, and maternity and paternity payments, which have been in place for all drivers since 2018. According to Uber, it will pay the National Living Wage for over-25s, irrespective of a driver's age, after accepting a trip request and after expenses. Also, all drivers will be paid holiday time based on 12.07% of their earnings, and Uber will pay it out on a fortnightly basis. The drivers will automatically be enrolled into a pension plan with contributions from Uber alongside driver contributions. Despite all of these changes, Uber drivers will still get to choose when and how long they will drive. Related Article: Uber Green Set to Expand to 1,400 North American Cities This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sieeka Khan 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Jamesville, N.Y. Three police agencies involved in the shooting of a Jamesville teenager released a timeline today of their encounter with Judson Albahm. For 14 days, police have released few details about the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old and declined to answer nearly all questions about the incident. Today, the three agencies issued a joint news release with a timeline for the March 4 shooting. For the first time, police revealed that Judson had reportedly pointed a replica handgun at civilians and yelled at them. He had also gone onto someones porch, police said. Related story: What happened in the hour before police fatally shot Jamesville teen? (Timeline, map) The state police, DeWitt police and the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office also said that they attempted de-escalation techniques three times at three locations over the course of half an hour. Police did not identify the specific techniques used. Police became involved after a 12:24 p.m. call from Judsons mom seeking police help because her son had fled their home. Judson was having a mental health crisis and not cooperating with a mobile mental health unit. That led to a large police presence as officer looked for Judson. At about 1:25 p.m., Judson pointed a BB gun made to look like a Glock handgun at officers multiple times before four officers shot him dead, police said. Judson Albahm, courtesy of the Albahm family.Provided photograph Here is the timeline provided by the three agencies Wednesday afternoon: 12:24 p.m. Carissa Albahm, Judsons mom, called 911 stating her son had just taken off in a vehicle from their residence at 4372 Apulia Road., after hitting her vehicle in the driveway. He fled after the St. Josephs Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program Mobile Outreach Team had come to speak with him. 12:25 p.m. While enroute, police units were advised that Judson owned airsoft guns, but it was unknown if he had any with him. Police units were also advised that it was unknown if Judson had any weapons on him or if he was impaired by any drugs or alcohol. 12:25 p.m. Police were told that Judson had threatened suicide by cop in the past. 12:27 p.m. The caller to 911 stated that they believe that Judson was a danger to himself and that he did have a drug history. The dispatcher notified police. 12:40 p.m. 12:45 p.m. Police began arriving at the residence to speak with Carissa Albahm. 12:56 p.m. Police observed Judson running near the rear of a residence on Apulia Road. and tried to make contact with him. 12:56 p.m. Police observed Judson at the dead-end of Oschner Road near the train tracks. 12:57 p.m. Police observed Judson running northbound on the train tracks. 12:59 p.m. Police observed Judson walking towards the Department of Transportation Building located at 6877 County Garage Road. 1:01 p.m. Police located Judson in the Department of Transportation parking lot near the dam. 1:04 p.m. - Police observed Judson holding a black handgun in his hands and began de-escalation techniques in an attempt to have him drop the gun. 1:07 p.m. Albahm ran away from police, westbound towards Oschner Road. 1:11 p.m. Civilian workers outside of a work truck reported that Judson pointed a black handgun at them and yelled at them. 1:13 p.m. Police observed Judson near the intersection of Apulia Road. and Coye Road. and continued de-escalation techniques while Judson was still holding the black handgun. Judson continued to run southbound parallel to Apulia Road., across Coye Road. 1:14 p.m. Judson was observed on another citizens back porch on Apulia Road. 1:21 p.m. Judson was observed behind 4187 Apulia Road. 1:22 p.m. Police observed Judson heading towards Timothy Drive through the woods. 1:23 p.m. 01:25 p.m. Police engaged Judson in a wooded area behind 6414 Hedgerow Lane and continued de-escalation techniques and attempted to have him drop the gun. 1:25 p.m. Judson threatened officers by pointing the black handgun multiple times, which resulted in officers discharging their weapons. 1:25 p.m. 01:45 p.m. Emergency workers were called to the scene, as police attempted trauma care on Judson. 1:45 p.m. Judson was pronounced dead at the scene. A Glock G19 Gen 3 .177 Caliber CO2 Action Pistol Handgun (BB gun) was found on the scene. The BB gun fires steel BBs at a velocity of up to 410 feet per second. Staff writer James McClendon covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach him at 914-204-2815 or jmcclendon@syracuse.com. Related articles What happened in the hour before police fatally shot Jamesville teen? (Timeline, map) 4 officers involved in Jamesville teens shooting death were not wearing body cameras We tried to find answers: Mother of Jamesville teen killed by police on her sons mental health struggles 4 officers from 3 agencies fired guns during fatal shooting of Jamesville teen, deputies say 3 days after officers fatally shot teen in Jamesville, police have answered few questions about what happened Jamesville teen killed in police shooting IDed Dispatcher warned of Jamesville teens airgun and suicide by cop before fatal shooting by police Listen to 911 dispatcher call to police 17-year-old fatally shot near Jamesville after pointing what police say appeared to be a gun at officers DA: Civilian dead after police shooting off Apulia Road in Jamesville Officer involved in Jamesville shooting 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 is ready to discuss with the Iranian authorities the exchange of Iranians imprisoned in the United States for Americans convicted in the republic, principal deputy spokesperson, Jalina Porter, noted. She was asked to comment on the statement of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who again proposed an exchange of prisoners. "Well, of course we are always ready for to engage meaningfully, in meaningful diplomacy with Iran, and we welcome them to join us at that table. And simply, this is just one of the many issues that wed like to discuss with Iran and that were open to doing so," she said. Earlier, Zarif said that Tehran has no reason to negotiate with the United States at this stage. According to him, Iran wants to see coordinated actions from Washington to return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program. The Executive Director of Heal Sierra Leone (HSL), Joseph Abass Sannoh, has in a press conference held at the headquarters of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) described the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE), David Moinina Sengeh as "morally and ethically bankrupt". Sannoh claimed that Ambrose T. Sesay who is the brother-in-law to David Sengeh was allegedly fraudulently recruited as the National Project Coordinator of the Sierra Leone Free Quality Education Project. He said the credentials and experience of Ambrose fell far below the requirement stipulated in the job advert. The act, he claimed, went against Civil Service Code of Conduct (page20) and the November 17th,2017, World Bank Procurement Procedure Guidelines (page 10). But the minister denied all the allegations, stating that he never had a hand in the recruitment of the coordinator, although he admitted having a relationship with him. He said the recruitment was entirely handled by an independent panel and that the process was certified by World Bank, reiterating that "there was no part in the process that I was involved. The man is more than qualified for the job. Is it that Mr.Sannoh is the person who has the barometer to determine qualification? He challenged Sannoh to take to the Ant-Corruption all the evidences he has to substantiate his allegations. However, in a letter dated 26th January,2021 written by the World Bank to the Ministry of Education in relation to the above allegations, the institution withdrew the earlier 'no objection' to the recruitment of Ambrose Sesay on the grounds that out of seven interview panelist, only four among them appended their signatures. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Sierra Leone Education By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Sannoh also alleged that there is a high spate of tribalism and nepotism in government offices under the Bio administration, claiming that undue procedures, unqualified and inexperienced friends and family members are becoming prevalent in the recruitment of people by the current regime. Sannoh said the call by President Bio before and during his presidency was to fight against corruption, but that some government officials were constantly doing things contrary to the call of the president. "Since January to date, I have met with so many government and organisations in order to correct the anomalies and fraudulent recruitment of government officials especially in the education sector, but most of the MDAs have snubbed me," he claimed. He said one of the primary aims of his course was to protect and ensure a judicious use of the 70 million USSD provided by the World Bank of which 20 million USSD was provided by FCDO/DIFID and Arish Aid. He charged that most of the recently employed Quality Assurance Monitors were also fraudulently recruited into the system. Also, Sannoh made strong allegations against ministers and government officials who are engaged in and endorsing corrupt practices, promising to disclose evidences of videos and voice mails showcasing ministers and other government officials validating corruption. 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. Northern Ireland has "broken its own record for issuing anti-depressant prescriptions", an MLA has claimed. DUP MLA Christopher Stalford made the statement in the Assembly on Tuesday, after it emerged that the amount of antidepressants dispensed in Northern Ireland is on the rise. Latest figures show that, from January to December 2020, more than 2.75 million items were dispensed. Over the same period in 2019, this figure was 2.5m and in 2018 it was 2.4m. The annual total number of items dispensed in 2019 was 3.4m, while in 2018 this figure was 3.2m. Mr Stalford voiced fears of the further impact the Covid pandemic could have on the situation. "These figures already point to that impact, particularly in April and June of 2020 which showed significant increases on the previous year. Whilst the full data for 2020 will now have been published, it would seem inevitable that this trend will have extended into 2021 also," he said in a statement. "Indeed, anecdotal evidence would suggest that many people have found the lockdown since Christmas even more challenging and that could have a further impact. "The Executive has appointed a Mental Health Champion, and I know the First Minister has regularly voiced concerns over the huge challenges we will face in coming years. Isolation, loneliness and the other pressures people have faced over recent months will have had a significant impact and we must all be aware that the impact of this will be with us for many years to come." Mr Stalford said the first step to tackling the problem is to ensure that a way forward is charted "which allows people sight of the better days ahead which have been promised for so long". Alliance health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw said the pandemic has taken a "heavy toll on the collective mental well-being of everyone". "However, many have reached the point that they have sought support from their GP and they are to be applauded for this positive step. Thankfully, people suffering in silence about their mental well-being is becoming a thing of the past," she said. "Prescribed medication is just one part of the solution and I welcome the moves by the Interim Mental Health Champion to lead on the Department of Health's consultation for a new mental health strategy. This must, surely, include increased access to counselling and therapeutic treatments, in a timely and patient-centred manner." A spokesperson for the Department of Health (DoH) said that demand for mental health services has grown over the last few years, and has continued to do so during the pandemic. "A new draft 10-year mental health strategy is currently out for public consultation. The strategy is designed to improve mental health outcomes for people and sets out a new vision for mental health in Northern Ireland," they said. "A mental health strategy will be a key strategic driver for the commissioning and provision of mental health services in the future. The department is also seeking to appoint a Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland and it is expected the successful candidate will take up post in September 2021." COLUMBIA The state Department of Transportation is using roughly $140 million in federal COVID-19 aid to pay off debt and free up money for more interstate projects. It's unclear which projects will be the beneficiaries, though one could be the widening of Interstate 526. Erasing the agency's loan balances will "position us to deal with some of the very large projects on the horizon," such as widening I-526 and reworking its interchange with Interstate 26 in North Charleston, which has a multibillion-dollar price tag, said Justin Powell, DOT's deputy secretary for finance. The DOT board's unanimous vote March 18 authorized Secretary Christy Hall to start the process of paying off the agency's debt 16 years ahead of schedule. She'll come back to the board with recommendations on how to redirect the money that would otherwise make loan payments. The payoff is estimated to free up $13 million yearly that can go to highway projects. "Instead of paying bankers, we can pay construction workers to continue doing work," Powell said. The money comes from $166 million that the spending package Congress passed in December sent to South Carolina to offset losses in gas tax revenue from fewer people driving and fueling up amid the pandemic. That was South Carolina's share of $9.8 billion in COVID-19 relief sent to state DOTs nationwide, with far more flexibility than normal federal highway funding and no local match required. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Unlike other states, South Carolina's DOT didn't need that federal aid to fill a budget hole, partly because of rising vehicle sales amid the pandemic. And when people buy a vehicle in South Carolina, the taxes on that sale, capped at $500, go to the DOT. "We had a surge in this state of people buying cars a lot of cars," Hall told the board. While that still left a $40 million gap over the past year due to declining gas tax revenue, the agency made cuts internally to cover that without needing to cut or delay any road or bridge projects, Hall said. That allowed DOT to "leverage the unanticipated, one-time (federal) money into long-term gain," she said. Of the $166 million allocated to South Carolina, DOT can keep $149.4 million, while $16.6 million is split among the state's six largest local transportation agencies. Those in the Charleston and Columbia areas get the biggest chunks, at $4.9 million each. It's up to those local agencies how to spend their allotment, but DOT officials are urging them to use it to pay down their own debt. Debt the DOT is paying off includes a loan taken out in 2003 to build the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River. The roughly $7 million the DOT will have left after becoming debt free will aid the progress of interstate projects, while the $13 million or so freed up annually can go toward local highway widening projects to ease congestion. Exact amounts are yet to be determined, Powell said. Former Vistara chief Sanjiv Kapoor is winning the Internet with a hilarious tweet about his wife. He took to Twitter this morning to share a snippet of a text exchange that took place between him and his wife. Image For Representation On March 16, the senior advisor at Alton Aviation Consultancy posted a hilarious exchange with him and his wife on Whatsapp informing her about his arrival time and the consequence for the same. Conversation with the wife pic.twitter.com/ck0kArtt8u Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) March 16, 2021 As he was flying out of Kolkata, the man informed his wife that his flight was on time and asked his wife to send the driver at 12 noon. business-standard.com A screenshot of their WhatsApp exchange showed his spouse replying ok at first, but quickly added: I will be in car so be on time. He gave a tongue-in-cheek response - saying he would tell the pilot to land on time. "Will tell the pilot," he wrote. Here's what people had to say: #1 I see that you like living dangerously! Pranjal (@pranjals) March 16, 2021 #2 I can only imagine her facial expression after she read this message ( in the notifications ) Sporshita Goswami (@sporshi) March 16, 2021 #3 That's borderline brutal. tOMMY (@tommy_bytes) March 16, 2021 Despite his best efforts to be on time, it seems like Mr Kapoor's flight landed slightly later than he had indicated. "This is my new home," Sanjiv Kapoor wrote on Twitter, sharing a picture of a dog outside a kennel. Also Read: American Airlines Pilot Spots Mysterious Object While Flying Over Mexico Image For Representation/Twitter Landed slightly later than I had indicated. This is my new home. pic.twitter.com/5YiuFdskGt Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) March 16, 2021 People online loved his sense of humour, and many said, its safe to assume his wife won this round and also asked if the canine was happy to share his home. "I see that you like living dangerously!" joked one Twitter user and another said, "Peace was never an option." Also Read: 'It's Not A Balloon Nor An Aircraft,' Pakistan Pilot Says As He Films UFO During Lahore Flight Zerenia expansion follows successful start to 2021, with paid prescriptions in first 2.5 months of the year exceeding total 2020 prescriptions in Colombia Satellite clinics proving an effective patient acquisition model; in first two months of 2021, a significant number of new paying patients were acquired through Khiron's satellite clinics Khiron recently opened two additional satellite Zerenia clinics in major metropolitan centres of Cali and Bucaramanga in Colombia (over 2.5 million population combined), bringing the Company's total health centre and clinic count to six As the Company expands its vertical integration model, it plans to open additional satellite clinics in Colombia over the course of the year, in addition to the previously announced clinic strategy in Mexico TORONTO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN) (OTCQX: KHRNF) (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America and Europe, today announces that it has opened two additional satellite Zerenia clinics in Colombia following the success of its initial small format clinic in Medellin. In line with the Company's stated strategy, the new satellite clinics in Cali and Bucaramanga opened their doors to patients in early March, 2021. The satellite clinics are located in high-traffic, medical-hub neighbourhoods and are supported by Khiron's flagship health centres in Bogota. Zerenia Clinics (CNW Group/Khiron Life Sciences Corp.) The new Zerenia locations expand Khiron's clinic network to six, improving access to the Company's clinic services and medical cannabis products for patients across the country. Patients in Cali and Bucaramanga may now connect with medical specialists trained in the ethical, safe, and responsible prescription of cannabis-based medications in person or through Khiron's Doctor Zerenia telemedicine platform. "We are off to a great start in 2021 and the Zerenia satellite clinic model is proving to be an exceptional platform for reaching new patients. The rapid expansion of clinics is helping Khiron reach more patients in more places, more conveniently, in these cities. With the opening of two new satellite clinics in Cali and Bucaramanga, Khiron has taken another step toward increasing patient access to medical cannabis, with the objective of improving the quality of life for thousands of people in Colombia. Our unique and proven business model will support our goal of reaching 1,000,000 patients by 2024 in a sustainable manner," comments Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and Director. Story continues Based on positive physician and patient feedback at Khiron's initial satellite clinics, the Company now plans to expand its clinic presence in major metropolitan centres throughout Colombia. Three additional satellite Zerenia clinics, which will focus on treating pathologies such as chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression, headache, epilepsy, and Parkinson's Disease, are expected to open over the course of the year. About Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Khiron is a vertically integrated medical and CPG cannabis company with core operations in Latin America, and operational activity in Europe and North America. Khiron is the leading medical cannabis provider in Colombia and the first company licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and sales, and international export of both low and high THC medical cannabis products. The Company has filled medical cannabis prescriptions in Colombia, Peru and the UK, and is positioned to commence sales of medical cannabis in Germany and Brazil in early 2021. Leveraging wholly-owned medical clinics and proprietary telemedicine platforms, Khiron combines a patient-oriented approach, physician education programs, scientific expertise, product innovation, and agricultural infrastructure to drive prescriptions and brand loyalty. Its Wellbeing unit launched the first branded CBD skincare brand in Colombia, with KuidaTM now marketed in multiple jurisdictions in Latin America, the US and UK. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced and diverse executive team and Board of Directors. Visit Khiron online at investors.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife. Cautionary Notes Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Investor Contact: Paola Ricardo E: investors@khiron.ca T: +1 (833) 275-8984 Media Contact: Elsa Navarro Vice President, Communications E: enavarro@khiron.ca enavarro@khiron.ca Khiron Europe: Tejinder Virk Europe President E: tvirk@khiron.ca Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Khiron Life Sciences Corp.) Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/khiron-updates-zerenia-expansion-program-announces-plans-to-open-three-additional-satellite-clinics-in-colombia-by-end-of-q2-301249942.html SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp. The widow of slain Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin has switched her Instagram account to private after learning her husband's alleged killer was one of her 710 followers. Amanda Martin set up a public page on the social media platform under the name 'miss boss racing', which was run by a friend, to promote the family's speedway pursuits. She has now turned on her privacy setting and changed the account's name to 'mrs_a_martin_' after being told the prime suspect in her husband's murder was following her profile, The West Australian reports. Nick Martin's widow Amanda (pictured together) has switched her Instagram account to private after learning her husband's alleged killer was one of her followers The accused reportedly began following the page shortly after it was launched. The new settings forbid members of the public, who do not already follow the account, from accessing Mrs Martin's list of followers or from viewing photos posted on her page. Martin, 51, was shot in the back at the event at the Perth Motorplex, Kwinana Beach at 8.30pm on Saturday, December 12 last year. A former SAS trooper, 34, was arrested on Monday afternoon as dozens of police stormed his red-brick home in Waikiki in Perth's south. He has been charged with one count of murder and two of committing an unlawful act or omission with intent to harm. Martin died at the scene in front of hundreds of horrified families and children including his own wife and step-daughter. After being hit, Martin told his wife Amanda: 'Babe, I've been shot', as she tried to give him CPR while he died in her arms. Police believe he was shot in the back by a sniper as far as 300m away. Mrs Martin has also changed her Instagram account name to 'mrs_a_martin_' after learning the prime suspect in her husband's murder was one of her followers This post from a year ago shows the 34-year-old former soldier who has been charged operating on a wounded man in Iraq Three weeks before the assassination Hells Angels bikie Dayne Brajkovich bashed Martin in the outdoor seating area of a bar in the beachside suburb of Scarborough. The ex-soldier who has been charged has previously served in the Australian military in Iraq and Burma. Unable to return to Iraq to battle the remnants of ISIS due to the coronavirus pandemic, he worked as a BASE jumping instructor in Perth. Dozens of photos on his Facebook page show the man paragliding, rock climbing skydiving and base jumping from buildings. 'Life isn't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, it's about how well you bounce,' a social media post from five months ago states. The man also portrays a love of animals with posts posing with quokkas and cuddling kangaroo joeys while urging others to consider becoming volunteer wildlife carers. The ex-soldier portrays himself as an adrenaline junkie on social media with dozens of photos of him skydiving Other posts portray the accused as an animal lover. He's pictured taking a selfie with a quokka Forensics teams and detectives, including Australian Federal Police, spent all of Monday afternoon sweeping the man's home in Waikiki. Police spent a considerable amount of time examining a boat parked out the front and a motorbike before taking both items away. Other investigators were seen scouring bushland surrounding the salt water flats along Safety Bay Road, in nearby Warnbro, before loading evidence bags into vehicles. A car and boat were also towed away, Seven News reported. The arrest came as detectives from Taskforce Ravello, the operation set up to catch Martin's killer, this week charged two bikies with serious criminal offences. A 45-year-old senior member of the Rock Machine was arrested on Wednesday after a short pursuit in Perths southern suburbs and later charged over a drive-by shooting incident at a home in Port Kennedy on March 11. Nobody was injured in the shooting but a pregnant woman and her five-year-old daughter were at the property at the time. Rebels bikie Nick Martin was ridden in to Pinnaroo Cemetery in a coffin covered in pictures of $100 bills (pictured) at his extravagant bikie funeral on December 23 He was last night refused bail to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday. A second man, aged 36 and from Morley, was charged earlier this week over the same matter, which is unrelated to Martin's death. Police have also arrested a 38-year-old Baldivis man who is alleged to be a bikie associate. He was arrested in Perth and charged with attempt to pervert the course of justice. The man is currently before the courts on sexual assault charges and it is alleged he attempted to interfere with witnesses in the upcoming trial. He is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday. CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australia's Westpac Group (WBC.AX, WBK) said that it agreed to sell its Lenders Mortgage Insurance business to Arch Capital Group. The company also entered into a 10-year exclusive supply agreement for Arch to provide Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) to the Group. Westpac noted that the sale price will be at book value which will be determined at completion. The transaction also includes small, fixed annual payments to Westpac over the next 10 years. Westpac noted that it will record a loss on sale in fiscal year 2021 from separation and transaction costs along with the A$84 million write down in goodwill. The transaction is expected to add about 7bps to Westpac's Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio. Westpac noted that it will retain responsibility for certain legacy matters and provide protection to Arch through a combination of customary warranties and indemnities. Completion of the transaction is expected to occur by the end of August 2021. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Real Housewives Of New York star Tinsley Mortimer and Scott Kluth have made the 'incredibly difficult decision' to end their 14-month engagement. Kluth, 40, shared the news in a statement to People where he also claimed the pair have be 'living independently for the last few months.' But other sources say that the split came as a complete surprise to Tinsley, 45, who was reportedly 'blindsided' by her now-ex. On different pages: Tinsley Mortimer and Scott Kluth have ended their engagement, a move which reportedly 'blindsided' Mortimer The CouponCabin CEO was unclear if the breakup was mutual, telling People: 'This was an incredibly difficult decision, but it is one that I believe is best for both of us.' 'I will always care about Tinsley and I sincerely wish her happiness and success in all that she does in the future.' Those close to Mortimer say the split came out of left-field, explaining: 'This was not mutual, she was blindsided.' 'She's on the floor heartbroken and devastated. She left everything for him because she didn't think he'd ever call off the engagement,' the source went on, adding: 'She trusted him that this time was going to be different.' Hurting: 'This was not mutual, she was blindsided,' an insider told People magazine. 'She's on the floor heartbroken and devastated' Dedicated: Tinsley seemed utterly devoted to Scott, even leaving her role on RHONY behind to move to Chicago to be with her fiance Tinsley seemed utterly devoted to Scott, even leaving her role on RHONY behind to move to Chicago to be with her fiance. Mortimer reflected on the relationship last year, saying: 'With Scott, so much has happened so fast.' 'I know that if I don't take this moment right now, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I have to listen to myself and what I want and nobody else.' 'It's been a great ride and I'm just so happy for where I am right now and for my future,' she said of RHONY. On bended knee: Kluth proposed to Mortimer in November of 2019 on the steps of the Chicago Water Tower Mortimer and Kluth were introduced in February of 2017 when Carole Radizwill set the pair up on a blind date. They dated on-and-off for several year before Scott popped the question in 2019, getting down on one knee on the steps of the Chicago Water Tower while Christmas carolers sang behind them. Things looked like they were going strong for the couple as recently as last month, when Mortimer shared a Valentine's Day tribute to her fiance and their two rescue dogs Strawberry and Shortcake. Tolstoy the bull elephant has survived many threats. But can he survive Europe's craving for avocados? Just after dawn, Tolstoy lumbers into view. A wandering giant, with tusks almost scraping the earth, this great elephant has roamed beneath Mount Kilimanjaro for nearly 50 years. He has survived ivory poachers, spear attacks and terrible drought, but the mighty bull could be confronting a new threat to his natural realm: surging demand for avocados. A turf war has erupted over a 180-acre (73-hectare) avocado farm near Amboseli, one of Kenya's premier national parks, where elephants and other wildlife graze against the striking backdrop of Africa's highest peak. Opponents of the farm say it obstructs the free movement of iconic tuskers like Tolstoyputting their very existence at riskand clashes with traditional ways of using the land. The farm's backers refute this, saying their development poses no threat to wildlife and generates much-needed jobs on idle land. The rift underscores a broader struggle for dwindling resources that echoes beyond Kenya, as wilderness is constricted by expanding farmland to feed a growing population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned Thursday that poaching and habitat destruction, particularly due to land conversion for agriculture, was devastating elephant numbers across Africa. Haven of the wild: Snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro looks down on the sanctuary The population of African savanna elephants, like those around Amboseli, decreased by at least 60 percent in the last half century, prompting their reclassification as "endangered" in the latest update to the IUCN's "Red List" of threatened species. A sub-species of forest elephant found in Central and Western Africa, meanwhile, were listed as "critically endangered"just a step away from extinction. Green gold Kenya is a major avocado grower and exports have soared as the green superfood has become a hipster staple on cafe menus around the globe. Already the sixth-largest supplier to Europe, Kenya's avocado exports rose 33 percent to $127 million (107 million euros) in the year to October 2020, according to the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya. In the middle of that bumper year, Kenyan agribusiness KiliAvo Fresh Ltd received approval from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to start its own avocado farm on land it purchased from local Masai owners. The acreage was razed of shrubbery and fenced off, alarming neighbouring title holders and conservation groups. The farm has been a saviour for tourist workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic, argues manager Jeremiah Shuaka Saalash They argued that large-scale agriculture was prohibited in that location under management plans governing land use in the area. In September, under pressure to revoke KiliAvo's license, NEMA ordered them to stop work while it reviewed the case. The company challenged that decision in Kenya's environmental tribunal, which this week instructed KiliAvo to halt activity at the farm until the next hearing on March 31. KiliAvo's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. The farm has progressed at a clip since that first stop-work order was issued six months ago. On a morning earlier this month, beneath a snow-capped Kilimanjaro, farmhands laid irrigation lines to water rows of avocado saplings. The property has water tanks, a shaded nursery, and boreholes. Jeremiah Shuaka Saalash, a KiliAvo shareholder and farm manager, said the farm had "rescued" many tourist workers left jobless when nearby safari lodges closed during the coronavirus pandemic. He said there was room for both industries to thrive, pointing out that a bigger farm was already harvesting vegetables nearby. "I am championing for the co-existence of wildlife, and for us to have another source of income," Saalash told AFP, as tractors tilled the red soil. Barrier: The electric fence at the KiliAvo Fresh Ltd avocado farm in Kimana Avocados or elephants? Adjacent landowners and wildlife experts are adamant the two cannot exist side by side. They say elephants have already collided with KiliAvo's electric fenceproof that it impedes migratory routes used by an estimated 2,000 tuskers as they depart Amboseli into surrounding lands to breed and find water and pasture. "Can you imagine if elephants in Amboseli died of starvation so that people in Europe can eat avocados?" Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu, who heads the campaign group Wildlife Direct, told AFP. The revenue from Kenya's booming avocado business is a blip compared to tourism, which reaped $1.6 billion in 2019. Critics warn allowing KiliAvo to proceed would set a dangerous precedent for an already stressed ecosystem being keenly eyed by other farming prospectors. Billboards advertising land in Kimana, a fast-growing township near Amboseli, hint at the development afoot. Destroying the habitat through farming will destroy tourism, says Daniel Ole Sambu from the Big Life Foundation, a local wildlife group Tolstoy, and other wildlife big and small, already compete with cars to cross into Kimana Sanctuary, a crucial linkage between Amboseli, surrounding rangelands, and habitats further beyond in Tsavo and Chyulu Hills parks. "If we continue like this, Amboseli National Park will be dead," said Daniel Ole Sambu from the Big Life Foundation, a local conservation group. "These elephants... will go, and the park will be finished. And that would mean tourism in this area would collapse." Way of life Traditional landowners say they were inadequately consulted about the proposal and warn industrial irrigation, especially for notoriously thirsty crops like avocados, would further strain the drought-prone ecosystem. The majority of Masai around KiliAvo agreed to keep their land open so that wildlife but also cattlethe lifeblood of their herding communitycould roam free. Farms and fences threatened the unencumbered movement enjoyed by the Masai for generations, said Samuel Kaanki, the head of an association of 342 title holders whose land surrounds KiliAvo. Fenced farming threatens the timeless lifestyle of Masai herders, say local landowners "The Masai culture will be totally lost. We will lose our way of life," he told AFP. Kahumbu said commercial farming in Kenya had become "far more dangerous for animals than poaching" and urged supermarkets overseas to know what they were buying. She pointed to UK grocery giant Tesco, which in October cut ties with a major Kenyan avocado plantation accused of workplace abuses. "You can't call avocado farming in a wilderness area like this sustainable," Kahumbu said. Explore further Kenyan farmers toast growing demand European demand for avocados 2021 AFP A high-profile attempt to unionize nearly 6,000 workers at Amazons warehouse near Bessemer could spur more organizing at Amazon facilities elsewhere, say Washington state labor leaders. Win or lose, the union vote, which began in early February and ends March 29, could energize the labor movement, in part because of the steep odds stacked against organizers, said Nicole Grant, who leads King Countys MLK Labor Council. Alabama, a right-to-work state, has one of the nations lowest unionization rates. And Amazon has unleashed a no-holds-barred anti-union campaign targeting the Alabama workers while wooing the public with a crusade highlighting the companys $15 minimum wage. It could have a domino effect, Grant said. Everything thats happened in Bessemer makes things better for Amazon warehouse workers in Seattle and across the country. For one, the union drive has focused on issues of racial pay disparities within Amazons workforce that are particularly relevant in Bessemer, where the vast majority of Amazon workers are Black, but which cut across geography and job titles at Amazon, Grant said. A bipartisan chorus of policymakers, including President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R- Florida, have voiced their support for the organizing drive in Alabama. Union organizer Jennifer Bates, who trains employees at the Alabama warehouse,testified Wednesday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on income inequalitythat she and other workers believed unionizing could help them earn a living wage, not just Amazons minimum wage. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos often the wealthiest man in the world, depending on fluctuations in the price of Amazon shares declined an invitation to testify. Amazon has said it believes a majority of workers do not support unionizing. Here is full coverage of the Alabama Amazon unionization effort At the same hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced a bill to increase taxes on companies at which CEOs earn 50 times more than their median employees. Critics have accused Amazon of playing hardball to halt the Bessemer organizers momentum. The company rolled out a slick website that says union dues would make it hard for workers to afford their childrens school supplies. On Amazons request, county officials changed traffic signals outside the Bessemer fulfillment center to make it harder for organizers to canvass workers driving into the warehouse. Amazon sent workers anti-union texts and hung anti-union signs throughout the Bessemer facility, including in bathroom stalls. And the company unsuccessfully attempted to force an in-person vote, a move organizers said was intended to sway the outcome, and held mandatory meetings with workers about the perils of unionization. Amazons history of employing similar tactics to quash dissent has made the employer a difficult target for union organizing, say Washington labor leaders. Its challenging in high-turnover industries to get a committee together and organize, especially when you have one of the wealthiest organizations in the world fighting against you, said Faye Guenther, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, representing Washington grocery workers. The Alabama union drive will really help workers feel like theres hope in organizing, hope in sticking together and building something better for the future. The local labor movement has launched few public shots across Amazons bow in recent months. The MLK Labor Council helped organize two marches in the past year outside Amazon facilities in South King County, and spearheaded a protest letter after Amazon fired two Seattle software workers who decried safety conditions at warehouses. Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, an influential activist group with roots inside Amazons Seattle corporate campus, last week tweeted a video message supporting the union drive. Meanwhile, Amazon has rolled out advertising calling on policymakers to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. The company has used its implementation of the $15 wage floor in 2018 to burnish its own image, circulating videos of Amazon workers saying theyre grateful to be earning more than at previous jobs. Though a federal initiative to institute a $15 minimum wage died last month, Amazon issued another salvo in the debate Tuesday, publishing results of a national survey showing 2 out of 3 Americans with an opinion on the federal minimum wage believe it should be raised to $15, from where it currently rests at $7.25. We have advocated for an increase to the federal minimum wage for some time, and believe while there are many voices from various experts, policy makers or others being cited the opinions of the American people should be heard loud and clear, Amazon spokesperson Karen Sawyer said in a statement. Amazon critics have said the companys support for a $15 minimum wage could in part be a cynical attempt to undermine rival retailers while deflecting attention from the union push in Alabama. Its a sleight of hand. Theyre using the PR blitz to obscure that they are aggressively anti-union, said Stacy Mitchell, the co-executive director of the Maine-based antimonopoly think tank Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Bates, at Wednesdays hearing, said what she and other employees at Amazon earned was not commensurate with the strain of the job. Amazon brags it pays workers above the minimum wage, Bates said. What they dont tell you is what those jobs are really like. And they certainly dont tell you that they can afford to do much better for the workers. Amazon has seen record profits during the pandemic, driven in part by a surge in online shopping from quarantined consumers. Meanwhile, Amazon would like to see the $15 minimum wage as the same floor as their competitors might be operating in, said Larry Brown, the president of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the states largest union organization. Amazon executives have said they were thrilled when other retailers, including Target, Best Buy and Costco, chose to pay workers at least $15 an hour, according to a statement by Jay Carney, Amazons senior vice president of global corporate affairs. We are hopeful that more [companies] follow suit. Thats what U.S. workers deserve. Amazon has sought to control the narrative around its $15 minimum wage. The company declined an invitation to testify at another Senate Budget Committee hearing last month about how large companies pay their workers. ( Costco CEO Craig Jelinek announced at that hearing that the Issaquah-headquartered wholesale club planned to raise its wage floor to $16 an hour.) While Amazon boasts that its fulfillment center employees, on average, earn more than workers in the retail sector, those Amazon employees typically earn less than workers in the more-unionized warehouse sector. An analysis by Bloomberg showed non-Amazon warehouse workers saw no wage growth for five years in counties where Amazon built fulfillment centers, and that average industry wages fell in the first two years after the Amazon warehouses opened. Retail is not the right comparison point because its so much less taxing on your body than working in a fulfillment center, Mitchell said, pointing to evidence that Amazons warehouse workers are injured at higher rates than industry averages. Delivery drivers are concerned that Amazons major expansion in trucking, shipping and last-mile delivery could threaten wages and benefits in that sector, too, said John Scearcy, the principal officer of Teamsters Local 117, which represents retail, transportation and delivery workers in Washington state. " Teamsters are interested in this [ Alabama] organizing effort and in Amazon as a whole, not only to make sure that workers in this system are brought up to a standard that includes livable wages, health care benefits and retirement security, and also so that Amazon doesnt threaten those benefits for the rest of our workers, he said. Amazon has rebutted attempts to muddy its minimum-wage campaign, pointing to recent research from the University of California, Berkeley and Brandeis University showing that its minimum-wage increase in 2018 led to a 2.6% uptick in average wages among all nearby employers. And, Amazon says, its own polling shows that Americans believe large employers like Amazon should play a larger role in increasing the federal minimum wage than policymakers, advocacy groups or the media. The survey did not ask respondents what role unions should play. ___ (c)2021 The Seattle Times Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:48:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Medical workers prepare to conduct COVID-19 tests for passengers at the arrival area of Cagliari Airport in Sardinia island, Italy, March 15, 2021. Italy entered into a new period of semi-lockdown on Monday, with over half of its 20 regions falling into the "red zone" and subject to the maximum level of restrictions. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua) "Some are doing so based on the assumption that increasing vaccination uptake in countries would immediately lead to an improved epidemiological situation," said Hans Kluge. "Such assumptions are too early to make." COPENHAGEN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge on Thursday warned states in the region not to ease restrictions too early. The warning came as the region saw a rise in COVID-19 transmission rates and its death toll towards 1 million since the pandemic began. Speaking during a virtual press conference here, Kluge noted that "while 27 countries are currently in a partial or full nationwide lockdown, 21 are gradually easing restrictive measures." "Some are doing so based on the assumption that increasing vaccination uptake in countries would immediately lead to an improved epidemiological situation," he said. "Such assumptions are too early to make." People line up outside a COVID-19 testing clinic in central Warsaw, Poland, on March 15, 2021. The Polish government reintroduced lockdown measures in Warsaw on Monday. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/Xinhua) Kluge stressed that with vaccination coverage in the region ranging from less than 1 percent to 44 percent, it is "far too early to demonstrate the effect of vaccines on overall COVID-19 hospitalization and deaths." Despite "giant scientific leaps and the introduction of effective tools that give us power over the virus," the WHO official acknowledged that in parts of the region, such as central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic states, "case incidence, hospitalizations and deaths are now among the highest in the world." According to Kluge, case incidence in Europe continues its increasing trend, with over 1.2 million new cases reported last week. A medical worker (L) receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the University Hospital of Essen in Essen, Germany, Jan. 18, 2021. (Photo by Tang Ying/Xinhua) "Last week, new deaths in the Region surpassed 900,000. Every week, more than 20,000 people across the Region lose their lives to the virus," said Kluge. "The number of people dying from COVID-19 in Europe is higher now than it was this time last year, reflecting the widespread hold this virus has." As a consequence of the rising numbers, the regional director called upon states in the region to "remain steadfast in our application of the full range of tools" to fight the coronavirus. "Let there be no doubt about it, vaccination by itself, particularly given the varied uptake in countries, does not replace public health and social measures," said Kluge. Vincent Hurley was a police officer for 29 years. He told Q&A on Thursday night that he regularly felt he failed victims, because of the two versions of justice that deal with sexual violence against women. Former police officer Vincent Hurley on ABC TVs Q&A. Credit:ABC TV Mr Hurley was in the audience of the ABC program, which was dedicated to the issue of sexual consent. I hate to say it but theres only two types of justice - those who can afford it and those who cant, the now lecturer in Criminology, Police and Policing at Macquarie University said. Seoul, March 18 : During their first-ever in person meeting, South Korean and US defence chiefs have reaffirmed the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization, according to officials here. South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook met visiting US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin here on Wednesday, who arrived here earlier in the day following his trip to Japan with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reports Xinhua news agency. Suh and Austin reaffirmed the South Korea-US common goal of the peninsula's complete denuclearization and the permanent peace settlement, Seoul's Defence Ministry said in a statement. They also reaffirmed the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US, to which Seoul and Washington agreed in 2006. South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the US forces after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. South Korea won back its peacetime operational control in 1994. Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with Blinken to discuss the issues of mutual concern, such as the South Korea-US relations, the Peninsula issues, and other regional and global issues. Chung and Blinken made an in-depth discussion on ways to cooperate between the two countries for substantive progress in the complete denuclearization of and the lasting peace settlement on the peninsula, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. The diplomats agreed to continue consultations in order to hold a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden as early as possible. The US officials are scheduled to hold a so-called "two plus two" meeting with their South Korean counterparts on Thursday. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Their tempers starting to fray, New Mexico legislators began their final sprint to the end of an unusual session Wednesday by granting final approval to civil rights legislation and nearing an agreement on a $7.4 billion budget plan for the coming year. But the outlook for some of the most complex, closely watched proposals of the year remains unclear. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ An effort to legalize cannabis amid disagreement over how to tax and regulate its sale and consumption won approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee early Thursday morning. The measure now advances to the full Senate, and if approved there would go back to the House for concurrence. The Senate Judiciary Committee faces an enormous backlog, with more than 130 proposals awaiting a hearing, as the session enters its final days. Lawmakers must adjourn at noon Saturday. Also pending at the Roundhouse are proposals to ban trapping on public lands, revise New Mexicos medical malpractice law, make sweeping changes to the states tax code and require employers to offer paid sick leave to their workers. Tension escalated this week as deadline pressure mounted. Some debates split not just along party lines, but also geographic ones. Ive never seen a divide in this body so great as during this session, Senate Finance Committee Chairman George Munoz, D-Gallup, said early Wednesday, just after midnight and just before the Senate passed the civil rights legislation. Santa Fe and Albuquerque, he said, get what they want while rural New Mexico is pretty much left out. Back on the floor after a few hours of sleep, tension was still evident, as Senate GOP whip Craig Brandt of Rio Rancho asked that a 222-page budget bill be read in its entirety on the Senate floor before a vote was taken. Specifically, Brandt objected that he and other lawmakers had not had time to read the revised $7.4 billion spending plan before it was brought up for a vote. If we cant have time to do that, then maybe we could read the budget on the floor, Brandt said. Tempers eventually cooled after Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, agreed to delay a vote on the bill in order to give lawmakers more time to digest it. The budget legislation ultimately passed the Senate via a 29-13 vote after a lengthy debate. State Civil Rights Act The proposal to establish a state Civil Rights Act won approval in the Senate soon after midnight, following a series of amendments. The House later Wednesday signed off on the changes, sending the bill next to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The legislation would allow lawsuits to be filed in state court to recover financial damages for violations of the New Mexico Bill of Rights. The amendments would make it discretionary, not mandatory, for a court to award attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff; require plaintiffs to notify the government of a potential claim against law enforcement within a year of the incident; and allow people to bring claims only for incidents that happen after July 1 this year. Sen. Jacob Candelaria, an Albuquerque Democrat and attorney who handles civil rights litigation, said the proposal would help enforce the Bill of Rights. Our Constitution can promise anything it wants, Candelaria said, but the promise of due process means nothing if theres no remedy. The promise of freedom of religion means nothing if theres no remedy. The bill passed the Senate on a 26-15 vote, largely with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. Munoz was the lone Democrat to vote no. Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, said the legislation could trigger an endless pit of lawsuits, a fear expressed by schools, cities and counties. Lawmakers should focus instead, he said, on protecting police officers who put their lives at risk for the public. These are officers who just want to go home at the end of their shift and see their family, Sharer said. Senate OKs budget bill The budget bill approved Wednesday by the Senate would increase state spending by 4.8% or roughly $373 million over current levels for the fiscal year that starts July 1. It passed after a series of proposed amendments brought by both Republicans and a Democrat were rejected. The proposed changes included lowering funding for a governors contingency fund and barring state funds from being used to pay for abortion-related services, both of which were brought forward by Republicans. A separate amendment proposed by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, would have increased the minimum wage for state workers to $15 per hour, a change that she said would have benefitted roughly 4,000 employees. But opponents of the amendments pointed out lawmakers have already approved a pandemic relief package that includes $600 tax rebates for low-income workers. I have never seen a budget that does more for working families than this budget, Candelaria said. The budget ultimately passed on a largely party-line vote, with two GOP senators Steven Neville of Aztec and Pat Woods of Broadview joining the chambers Democratic members in casting yes votes. It would go to the governors desk for consideration if the House votes to sign off on the Senates revisions to the legislation, which included adding more money for an Opportunity Scholarship program that Lujan Grisham has championed. Lawmakers have conducted the session under unusual circumstances, with committee hearings held remotely. The public is barred from the building to limit the spread of COVID-19, and public testimony has been accepted online, not in person. At one critical point Wednesday, the Legislatures webcasting system went down, forcing both chambers to pause briefly. Debate quickly resumed, testy as ever. One of the nation's top policemen has proposed creating an app that determines if lovers have consented to sex - although experts have been quick to dismiss the idea as having no impact on curbing sexual assault in Australia. NSW Police commissioner Mick Fuller suggested the introduction of phone app such as Denmark's 'iConsent' would be a good way of establishing whether or not two parties had agreed to sex before it happened. The consent app would require users to enter their name and age, declare they understand what sexual consent is, and then either 'accept' or 'deny' the request before sexual activity begins. The encrypted data would then be stored on the app in case it is needed in criminal inquiries. However, experts have slammed the plan as unrealistic, a waste of money, and likely to create more problems than it solves. How the consent app would work during a sexual encounter between a couple Sexual assault advocate Chanel Contos blasted the consent app proposal as a 'bad Band-Aid' solution to the issue Sexual assault advocate Chanel Contos blasted the consent app proposal as a 'bad Band-Aid' solution to the issue. The former Kambala school student, 22, launched the Teach Us Consent petition on February 18, calling for a review in sexual assault education in Australian schools. Ms Contos, herself a survivor of sexual assault, said Mr Fuller's proposal won't work effectively. 'Consent can be taken back at any time, and an app couldn't account for that,' Ms Contos told the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday. Poll Would you use a consent app before having sex? Yes No Undecided Would you use a consent app before having sex? Yes 5 votes No 58 votes Undecided 8 votes Now share your opinion 'It's very reflective of how consent is seen; as a black and white thing. But consent isn't a single sentence. It's how people interact with each other as a whole.' Monash University Communications and Media Studies lecturer Dr Emily van der Nagel also raised doubts about the effectiveness of the app in real life. 'This app is a bad idea that fails to solve the issues required to appropriately address sexual consent. It's a concept designed to protect men, to alleviate them of blame and guilt,' she said. 'When what we need to be doing is ensuring men don't sexually assault women in the first place.' 'On social media, women are criticising the app as an inadequate response and are identifying many contexts in which it falls short. It's disturbing that NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller doesn't appear to have discussed the app with any women - only the Attorney-General Mark Speakman and Police Minister David Elliott. 'This incident reveals a culture of not listening to, or believing, women. That needs to change.' NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the proposal. 'We need consent law reform, we need holistic consent education, we need to stop men feeling they are entitled to whatever they want, we need an independent complaints process, we need justice. We need equality. WE DO NOT NEED AN APP!!' she tweeted on Thursday. Hayley Foster, CEO of Women's Safety NSW, said while it was 'fantastic' police were acknowledging the need for affirmative consent, she urged Mr Fuller to consider the evidence-based proposals she and her colleagues had been putting forward for years. NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the app proposal, saying Australia needs consent law reforms and 'holistic consent education' 'It's another example of governments not listening to women's safety services, women victim-survivors, women in general,' she said. 'It does feel a little disrespectful of our expertise.' Ms Foster said that unless perpetrators were held to account in the justice system, they will be free to continue offending. She said just 1.5 per cent of sexual predators were now held to account. Dating podcaster and columnist Jana Hocking also slammed the proposal as a waste of money and resources, saying an app creates problems rather than offers solutions. 'What if you fill in the app and change your mind about sleeping with them? Or someone uses intimidation to make you fill in the app?,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'People who rape are already using intimidation.' Ms Hocking said the idea sounds good in theory but claimed there is 'no way it could work in real life'. 'The entire idea is bad because we've all been in positions where at the start you're like 'yeah maybe' and then people sober up and think i don't want to do this,' she said. Dating podcaster Jana Hocking (above) doesn't support the consent app plan His proposal comes a month after Denmark launched its iConsent app which allows users to grant permission for 'one intercourse', which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time How the app could potentially work Enter name and age Declare you understand what sexual consent is Send a request to sexual partner Swipe to accept The app encrypts and stores the digital agreement Advertisement 'Is there a button for changing your mind?' Ms Hocking said that while Mr Fuller's 'heart is in the right place,' she raised doubts over whether the app's information would be admissible in court. 'It could actually make it harder for someone to press charges if in theory they have consented in the app and then changed their mind,' she said. The dating expert also questioned NSW Police for potentially spending money, time and resources on an app instead of focusing on education for children and teens. 'Shouldn't they put that towards teaching [students] what's consent and what isn't, how about we start there,' she said. 'Money would be better spent sending these police officers to schools and unis and chatting to people at the age they are starting to have sex and teaching them the rules [of consent]. Mr Fuller said a consent app could be one of many solutions in curbing sexual violence in Australia. 'If you are online or dating or looking for friendship you have to be up front with that in terms of what your expectations are from the relationship,' he said. 'This app or this concept of implied consent - whether it's on an app or otherwise - it protects everybody. It's not the entire solution but the reality is, consent is by far the biggest issue that we are facing.' Sex assault reports up 10 per cent in NSW SEXUAL ASSAULTS ARE UP * Child victims reporting current sexual assaults - up 21.3 per cent * Historical child sexual assault reports - up 11.2 per cent * Adult victims aged 16+ years - up 4.4 per cent Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Advertisement Mr Fuller said the 'evolution of dating has changed dramatically in the past five years', and hopes the app 'gets conversations started' around the topic of consent, even if it never materialises. 'It's more about starting the conversation around what's acceptable and what you would let your friend do if they're intoxicated,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'The app may never see the light of day but I hope we all talk about consent again.' His proposal comes a month after Denmark launched its iConsent app which allows users to grant permission for 'one intercourse', which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time. The Scandinavian country introduced the app after its parliament passed a new law expanding the definition of rape to include any sex without explicit consent. But the app has met with a frosty reception in Denmark, where one newspaper called it 'as unsexy as another corona press conference'. Developers say the app gives people the 'opportunity to document your consent to intercourse' by allowing lovers to send and receive requests via their phones. But they add that 'consent in the app can never stand alone, and that it is up to you and the other party to secure your consent before, during and after intercourse'. Users can call up their consent history which the app says is 'stored on secure servers' and only shared in the event of a criminal investigation. The residents of Magboro community and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) are now at loggerheads over epileptic power supply to the community and environs. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents of Magboro community, along Lagos/Ibadan expressway, are dissatisfied with the new load shedding plan introduced by IBEDC, which has been described as arbitrary. Going by the new sharing formula introduced by IBEDC, Magboro community will enjoy electricity for only eight hours in 48 hours as against the previous arrangement of eight hours in 36 hours. A letter from IBEDC to residents reads: Dear esteemed customer, in recent times, supply has been erratic, owing to increase in load demand. To this end, we have carved out another pattern to manage the allocation given to us and serve you better. Our rotation of supply will change from three to four rotations. This connotes that you have 24hrs off in between. Our intention is to give you better stability and availability of supply during your rotation. Also, minimise downtime to fault. This new rotation will commence on March 15, 2021. Below is the pattern of supply rotation. Please your usual cooperation and understanding is always honored and appreciated. Angry residents This, however, did not go down well with residents of Magboro, who are now calling for total disconnection of the community from IBEDC if supply to the community cannot be improved upon. David Ajayi, member of the Community Development Committee (CDC), decried the exploitative tendencies of IBEDC, calling for an intervention from the government. IBEDC Magboro is kneeling on the neck of her customers. The community bought poles, wires and transformers without any form of compensation from the Disco. The total value of all assets procured by the consumers runs into at least N800 million, this is just a little short of N1 billion. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has all the evidences needed with respect to the aforementioned. We are peaceful, and we have been trying to pay all bills despite how crazy they are; the Federal Government and Ogun State need to use their good offices to rescue this community, he said. Mr Ajayi said there was an urgent need to summon NERC and IBEDC for their role in the exploitation of the Magboro community. Our demands are manifold; we need supply of prepaid meters which will encourage stable electricity, he said. Another resident, Olumogbon Olusegun, said IBEDC has not been truthful about the distribution of electricity to Magboro, arguing that some places in Magboro do enjoy 24 hours supply while some are left in total darkness. IBEDC are not truthful at all in this matter, all what they want is to reap where they did not sow, or how can we describe the fact that some communities within Magboro do enjoy uninterrupted power supply while others live in darkness. What they (IBEDC) are doing is unjust and uncalled for, they are selling their power supply to the highest bidder, he said. ADVERTISEMENT Dayo Olowonjoyin, corroborating the views of others, said IBEDC had come up with several flimsy excuses on the inadequate supply of electricity to the community, yet the company kept on increasing its bill. Magboro community has been suffering from inadequate supply of electricity for many years; there was even a long period about 15 years of power outage. When IBEDC came on board we negotiated on the supply of electricity to our community, having bought all the infrastructure but they never kept to their promises. We cant keep quiet on this, it is either they improve supply to our community or cut us off totally. The new arrangement of having eight hours in 48 hours is totally unacceptable to us. IBEDC has their shady way of supplying electricity to our community as some petrol stations and supermarkets are placed on dedicated lines with uninterrupted electricity. So, why not same treatment to all? Mr Olowonjoyin also contested the argument by IBEDC of inadequate supply from TCN as baseless. IBEDC argues that they are not having the required supply from TCN in Oke Aro, but we have found out that it is entirely false. We gathered from TCN in Oke Aro that they have more power supply but that IBEDC is not ready to buy more energy to increase supply to our community, he said. Olu Ajijola, another resident of Magboro, said if IBEDC must continue with the new allocation, then it must reflect it in the billing of the community. After meeting the representatives of IBEDC, we are told that the new system remains unchanged and that the distribution is now among four communities namely, Magboro, Ibafo 1 and 2 and Orimerunmu. With this, we will only enjoy eight hours in 48 hours, but at the same time they increased their bills, not minding that economic activities are at the lowest ebb. NERC has told them that they cannot increase their bill and if that will take place, then the supply should be increased as well, but IBEDC has defaulted, Mr Ajijola said. According to him, there is hardly any time that residents enjoyed electricity for eight hours within 36 hours, that most times IBEC supplies electricity for three hours and attribute it faults. If IBEDC is not faithful in the previous allocation, how are we sure that they will even keep eight hours in 48 hours? That is why they enjoy the estimated billing, he said. Olusegun Oguntoye was emphatic that IBEDC had been cheating the community based on the money paid on units of electricity consumed. I wonder if this arrangement is a joke or a scam, IBEDC are talking about allocation given to them, which is a lie. The truth is based on the volume they buy from Transmission company. If amount the allocation given to IBEDC is constant with increasing demand then cost per customer should reduce and not increase or remain constant, thus amount billed per customer should reduce. We are expected to pay N1,800, yet they charge us over N4,000. We must stand up against the scam because it will not cease. We all must say in a loud, sincere, unequivocal voice enough of IBEDC injustice to Magboro resident, he said. The Manager, IBEDC Magboro, Femi Akinkurolere, declined to comment on the on the issue. (NAN) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / LINK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES INC. (CSE:LNK)(FRA:LGT)(OTC PINK:LGLOF) ("LINK" or the "Company"), an innovative power and infrastructure solutions provider for Bitcoin mining and data hosting operations, is pleased to announce the signing of a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") dated March 15, 2021 with Starco Fuels LLC ("Starco") for a supply of up to 40 megawatts (MW) of generators for Bitcoin mining operations in Canada and the United States. Under the terms in the Agreement, Starco has agreed to be responsible for the acquisition, transport, and installation of generators with the first 5 MW, of which 2.5 MW will be delivered within the first 30 days and 2.5 MW delivered within the next 30 days. LINK has agreed to be responsible for the gas supply and all other aspects of the transaction including without limitation: site preparation, delivery of and linkage to the gas supply, transmission lines, Bitcoin container connections, and operation and maintenance of the generators to OEM specifications, including all personnel. With the addition of Starco's equipment, Link will have the following operations in Alberta and overall power generating capacity: 3.75 MW - Eastern Alberta Site 5 MW - Western Alberta Site 1 10 MW - Western Alberta Site 2 40 MW - Starco-supplied Sites Link President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Jenkins commented, "We are pleased to be moving forward with Starco. Completing this agreement will more than double our power generation for Bitcoin Mining to 58.75 MW, moving us closer to our goal of providing 100 MW of power by the end of 2021. With Starco, we also plan to strategically expand our operations beyond the Canadian border and into the United States as we have previously announced." About Starco Fuels LLC Starco Fuels LLC, established in 2012, is a privately owned company headquartered in Southeast Texas, USA. Starco has a diverse team with over 80 years of combined experience in gas, entrepreneurship, management, legislation, and distribution industries. Starco is one of many successful businesses under the leadership of Mr. Tahir Javid. Mr. Javed is a business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Mr. Javed has developed a vertically-integrated corporate enterprise across wholesale, retail, healthcare services, real estate, and agriculture sectors and currently employs thousands of people across the globe. About Link Global Technologies Inc. Link is engaged in the business of providing infrastructure and operating expertise for digital mining operations. Link's objectives include locating and securing, for lease and option to purchase, properties with access to low-cost reliable power and deploying this low-cost power to conduct digital mining and supply energy and infrastructure for other data-hosting services. On behalf of Link Global Technologies Inc. Stephen Jenkins Chief Executive Officer For more information visit http://linkglobal.io/ or contact: Steve Jenkins steve@linkglobal.io +1-877-770-6545 Investors, please contact: info@linkglobal.io +1-833-707-8708 The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "forecast", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", "could", "should" or "might" occur. Forward-looking statements made in this news release relate to: the perceived benefits of the prospective relationship between the Company and Starco Fuels LLC, including the provision of power generation assets to the Company, the expansion of assets in the United States and already disclosed international opportunities and that Starco's CEO and President will add a new level of opportunities and value to the Company and its shareholders; and other matters relating to the Company's business plans. All such forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made; and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control of the Company. In the case of the Company, these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, without limitation: the inability of the parties to enter into a definitive three party joint operating agreement with a third party gas supplier at all or on the terms announced, fluctuations in the price of digital currencies/bitcoin, the future potential halving of bitcoin, increases in the network difficulty rate and price of digital currencies/bitcoin, negative changes in the level of digital currency/bitcoin rewards per block, plans related to the Company's business and potential customer base, the securing of economic rates for the purchase of power, the opportunities for acquiring digital currency mining hardware, and other matters that may occur in the future. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. 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. For a complete discussion with respect to the Company and the risks associated with forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's financial statements and related MD&A, as well as other documents filed from time to time with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission and that Alberta Securities Commission, which are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: Link Global Technologies Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636318/Link-Global-Technologies-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-with-Starco-Fuels-for-a-Supply-of-Generation-Equipment-to-Provide-up-to-40-MW-to-Projects-in-Canada-and-USA Elsa Pataky spoiled her twin sons Sasha and Tristan as they celebrated their seventh birthday on Thursday. The 44-year-old Spanish actress took her boys and daughter India Rose, eight, on a shopping trip to Sydney's Bondi Junction after picking them up from school. The mother of three was all smiles as she watched on while her children picked their favourite items. Birthday treat! Elsa Pataky covered up in a jumper and jeans as she went shopping in Sydney with her twin sons Sasha and Tristan on their seventh birthday on Thursday Elsa, who is married to Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth, kept things casual in a black jumper and blue jeans. The actress teamed the stylish ensemble with a pair of black sneakers and carried a brown bag. She styled her long brunette locks out and let her natural beauty shine, opting for a neutral palette of makeup. Family outing: The Spanish actress took her boys and daughter daughter India Rose, eight, on a shopping trip to Sydney's Bondi Junction after picking them up from school Shopping spree: The mother of three was all smiles as she watched on while her children picked their favourite items The outing comes amid news husband Chris will produce Elsa's forthcoming film, Interceptor. According to News.com.au, the Thor star will serve as an executive producer on the Netflix film. Elsa will lead the film as a soldier who must save the world when 16 nuclear missiles are launched in the United States. Australian actor Luke Bracey will co-star, but Elsa's husband is not expected to act in the movie, instead settling for a behind-the-scenes role. Casual: Elsa, who is married to Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth, kept things casual in a black jumper and blue jeans Accessories: The actress teamed the ensemble with a pair of black sneakers and carried a brown bag Natural beauty: She styled her long brunette locks out and let her natural beauty shine, opting for a neutral palette of makeup Earlier this month, Elsa spoke candidly about her decision to step away from acting at the peak of her career to raise a family. She told Jones magazine she'd selflessly put her acting career on hold after having children so her husband could focus on making movies. 'I decided to focus on them and leave my career on the side, to just do little things here and there and try to be happy with that, even though it was my passion and I loved what I did,' the mother of three said. New project: The outing comes amid news husband Chris will produce Elsa's forthcoming film, Interceptor Role: Elsa will lead the film as a soldier who must save the world when 16 nuclear missiles are launched in the United States However, as Chris' career flourished, Elsa couldn't help but feel envious. 'It was hard in some moments, because you see the person you love doing what you're so passionate about, you see them doing movies, and you wish you could too,' she added. 'But because of my family I didn't want to shoot anywhere else and it was Chris' moment, I just let him know that he could do what he had to do and we'll follow.' Sacrifice: Earlier this month, Elsa spoke candidly about her decision to step away from acting at the peak of her career to raise a family A juvenile Liparis gibbus imaged under white light (top) and under fluorescent lighting (bottom) conditions. Credit: J. Sparks, D. Gruber, P. Kragh For the first time, scientists have documented biofluorescence in an Arctic fish species. The study, led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History who spent hours in the icy waters off of Greenland where the red-and-green-glowing snailfish was found, is published today in the American Museum Novitates. "Overall, we found marine fluorescence to be quite rare in the Arctic, in both invertebrate and vertebrate lineages," said John Sparks, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Ichthyology and one of the authors of the study. "So we were surprised to find these juvenile snailfish brightly fluorescing in not just one, but two different colors, which is very unusual in a single species." In 2014, Sparks and colleague David Gruber, a research associate at the Museum and a biology professor at Baruch College, identified more than 180 new species of fishes that biofluoresce, the ability to convert blue wavelengths into green, red, or yellow light. This ability, which could be used for behaviors including communication and mating in some species, is now well documented in tropical fishes that live in regions where there is an even amount of daylight year-round. But in the Arctic, where days can be incredibly long or incredibly short, researchers were interested in seeing firsthand how prolonged periods of darkness affected fishes' ability to biofluoresce. (Top) Aerial view of iceberg-filled habitat in Sermilik Fiord, eastern Greenland, near where specimens of Liparis gibbus were collected. The authors can be seen underwater in center of image. (Bottom) The authors collecting specimens on iceberg shown in top image. Credit: P. Kragh/AMNH "The light regime at the poles provides for winter months of near total darkness, where biofluorescence would not be functional," Gruber said. "But given the summer months with the midnight Sun, we hypothesized that it could be present." In 2019, as part of a Constantine. S. Niarchos Expedition, Sparks and Gruber headed to the iceberg habitats off the coast of Eastern Greenland to test their theory. In addition to finding very little marine fluorescence, they observed that groups of fishes that glow brightly in tropical and temperate regionsfor example, scorpionfishes and flatfishesdid not fluoresce in the cold waters. But there was an exception: two juvenile specimens of variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus), the first species shown to biofluoresce in the Arctic. The species glows in both green and red, a rare example of multiple fluorescent colors emitted from a single organism. In addition, the authors report red biofluorescence from an adult kelp snailfish (L. tunicatus) collected in the Bering Strait off of Little Diomede Island, Alaska, which was collected and scanned by colleagues at NOAA Fisheries Service. David Gruber (left) and John Sparks (right) scuba diving in eastern Greenland. Credit: P. Kragh/ AMNH In the seven years since Sparks and Gruber first reported widespread biofluorescence in fishes, it has been found in a number of new lineages, including mammals like platypuses, opossums, flying squirrels, springhares, and even marine turtles. But its exact function remains a mystery. "We are now focusing our efforts on determining the function of fluorescence in various fish groups, including catsharks, where we have shown that bright green fluorescence enhances contrast in their pigmentation pattern, making it easier for individuals to see each other at depth," Sparks said. Explore further Patterns of glowing sharks get clearer with depth More information: David F. Gruber et al. Supplemental Material for 'First report of biofluorescence in Arctic snailfishes and rare occurrence of multiple fluorescent colors in a single species. (American Museum novitates, no. 3967)', (2021). David F. Gruber et al. Supplemental Material for 'First report of biofluorescence in Arctic snailfishes and rare occurrence of multiple fluorescent colors in a single species. (American Museum novitates, no. 3967)',(2021). DOI: 10.5531/sd.sp.48 Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region The Only Way Is Essex has been hit by complaints to Ofcom after the stars were seen visiting pubs and restaurants while the UK is in lockdown. According to a report from the government regulatory authority on Wednesday, 64 people have contacted them to complain about the programme since its launch on Sunday night. Before the episode began, bosses clarified in a disclaimer that the 28th series was filmed following strict Covid-19 protocols so that the cast and crew are safe. Upset: TOWIE was hit with complaints to Ofcom as furious fans blasted show for letting stars visit pubs and restaurants in lockdown, it was revealed on Wednesday (pictured: Chloe Sims) It read: 'The show will still be bringing you the casts real lives and stories, but to keep everyone safe TOWIE have had to create its own little world to film in. 'So, although you may see cast in pubs and restaurants, dont worry because they've opened just for the show and have put in lots of extra measures, so Lime Pictures and ITV can still bring you the TOWIE you love safely.' During the show, stars like Chloe Sims and her sister Demi were seen at a bar while the cast also celebrated a birthday party, and they also visited each other's houses. Upset: According to the government regulatory authority, 64 people have contacted them to complain about the programme since its launch on Sunday night Safety first: Show bosses have clarified in a disclaimer that the series was filmed following strict Covid-19 protocols (pictured: Amber Turner and Dan Edgar) According to a report from The Sun on Thursday, the complaints to Ofcom were made about: 'Filming in bars, restaurants and gyms during lockdown and food wastage.' MailOnline has contacted Ofcom for further comment, TOWIE spokespeople declined to comment when approached. As well as the complaints to Ofcom, some fans also took to Twitter to share their disappointment over the cast filming in bars and restaurants when lockdown is still in place across the UK. Outing: During the show, stars were seen at a bar and celebrated a birthday party, and they've also visited each other's houses (pictured: Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallett) For work: The TOWIE disclaimer read: 'Although you may see cast in pubs and restaurants, dont worry because they've opened just for the show and have put in lots of extra measures' One person wrote: 'Now I know they put a disclaimer out before the episode regarding covid and the show setup but I just found an episode talking about how they have found lockdown.... followed by nightclubs, shopping, restaurants and socialising really tasteless.' Another added: 'I' so confused as to how the towie cast can like go to the gym and bars etc a swear England is in lockdown?' One person blasted the show by saying: 'Okay okay, so #towie is classed as essential work?! Frustrated: As well as the complaints to Ofcom, some fans also took to Twitter to share their disappointment over the cast filming in bars and restaurants when lockdown is still in place 'Whilst weve all been in a lockdown for coming up to almost a year they are allowed to continue filming the trash show and galavanting like we arent in a pandemic.' And one person wrote: '#TOWIE is sending my head west.. theyre saying its Mothers Day but theyre at restaurants and bars and seeing friends. Last time I checked, Im sure the UK was in lockdown?' One joked: 'So p****d that TOWIE get a club night but we still gotta wait til lockdown is over.' Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 21:09:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close FRANKFURT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- An independent report commissioned by the Cologne archdiocese on sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic church and the church officials' handling of those cases was published on Thursday. The investigation uncovered 314 victims of sexual violence, more than half of them under the age of 14, and 202 alleged perpetrators within the Church between 1975 and 2018, according to Bjoern Gercke, an attorney in criminal law from Cologne and co-author of the report. The publication of an earlier report on the abuse scandal compiled by a Munich law firm was canceled last year, leading to the commission of the new report. Cologne's archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki has been previously under fire for allegedly delaying the publication of the first report. Thursday's report is based on extensive file reviews and focuses on how Church representatives dealt with allegations of sexual abuse. Gercke said file reviews showed that, among other things, "for decades no one dared to report such cases," as quoted by German news agency DPA. However, Gercke said it was concluded Woelki "was not guilty of any breaches of duty" regarding his handling of past sexual abuse cases. Instead, the report found the current Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse -- who was a former vicar general in Cologne -- was accused of 11 breaches of duty in this regard. Woelki temporarily fired two church officials in response to the release of the new report, according to DPA. Enditem New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (March 18) set aside an order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which asked a man accused of sexual assault to get 'rakhi' tied by the victim in order to get bail. The High Court order came in July last year, setting 'Rakhi for bail' as a condition to grant bail. An SC bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar issued a slew of directions, which included training modules for sensitisation of judges. The apex court emphasised that judges should avoid any kind of stereotyping. The plea against the HC order was filed by advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other women lawyers. Attorney General (AG) K.K. Venugopal had also opposed the bail condition. "The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of 'Raksha Bandhan' being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialization of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case," said the plea. The petitioners had requested that the bail condition by the High Court be set aside. Bhat had contended that there was a strong likelihood that such observations and directions by a constitutional court such as a High Court may result in normalising "what is essentially a crime and has been recognised to be so by the law." "It is highly objectionable for the High Court in the present case to put the complainant in a position where she is forced to accept the sum of Rs 11,000 as part of the customary ritual of Raksha Bandhan. Moreover, the said bail condition also goes a step further by stating that Respondent No. 2 (the accused) tender Rs 5,000 to the son the complainant," the plea added. Live TV WASHINGTON (AP) It's not that different from the movies. President Joe Biden said the Senate should operate like it did in the old days, with senators forced to stand up and speak all day and night if they plan to object to his legislative agenda with a filibuster. Changing the filibuster rules is an idea backed by some Senate Democrats eager to advance Biden's agenda in the evenly split 50-50 Senate. But Republicans are warning Democrats off any changes. Here's a look at how the filibuster works in the Senate. WHAT'S A FILIBUSTER? The filibuster is among the Senates most distinctive procedural features, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Senate has a longstanding practice of allowing any one senator to object to the proceedings, what's generally referred to as a filibuster that can halt action or votes. Senators have famously stood at their desks for hours making their case, as the character played by Jimmy Stewart did in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or as South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond did to stall the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Today, senators can merely signal their intent to object, even privately, and that's enough for Senate leaders to take action. Leaders sometimes just drop the issue from floor consideration. At other times, they push ahead, taking cumbersome steps to cut off the filibuster and move forward with the proceedings. HOW TO END A FILIBUSTER? Over time, senators grew tired of the endless filibusters and set rules for ending debate. At the start of the 20th century, a two-thirds vote was needed to end a filibuster. By 1975, the Senate agreed to lower it to 60 votes. Once debate is brought to a close, senators can move forward with consideration of the measure at hand, amendments or even final votes. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? As the country, and Congress, has grown more partisan, the filibuster has become a key weapon in what is often described as a procedural arms race in the Senate. Story continues Year by year, more and more senators threaten to wage filibusters to block legislation. Overcoming filibusters can take days, if not weeks. Even without a senator holding the floor, filibusters have forced senators into all-night and weekend votes to advance legislation, as happened during passage of the Affordable Care Act. Filibusters and the prospect of filibusters shape much of the way in which the Senate does its work, the CRS report said. CAN THE SENATE CHANGE THE FILIBUSTER? It takes 51 votes to change the Senate rules, a tall order at most times but especially in the now evenly split 50-50 Senate. Democrats hold a slim majority because Vice President Kamala Harris can be a tie-breaking vote. But senators have changed the filibuster rules before. Fed up with the Republicans stonewalling Barack Obama's executive and judicial branch nominees, Democrats led by then-Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada changed the rules to set a simple 51-vote threshold for confirming people in those positions. ' Republicans under Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky went a step further, eliminating the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, which allowed Donald Trump's three high-court justices to be confirmed. While several Democrats and advocacy groups call for ridding the Senate of the filibuster on legislation, there does not appear to be enough support from Democratic senators at this time to do so. BACK TO TALKING FILIBUSTER? Biden supports a return to the old days," as he put it, of the talking filibuster, forcing senators to stand at their desks and articulate their opposition to the proceedings, as was the practice when he first joined the Senate decades ago. Youve got to work for the filibuster, he said in an ABC News interview that aired Wednesday. The idea has support from Democrats who see it as a possible alternative to fully ending the filibuster practice. But it still poses risks, and Democratic leaders have been reluctant to move toward that option. Several Republican senators, particularly those considering running for president in 2024, might see political advantage to seizing the floor to rail endlessly against White House priorities. The filibusters could also stall action on other Democratic priorities, including Biden's nominees. McConnell has warned of a scorched earth reaction if Democrats eliminate the filibuster. At the same time, many Democrats are ready to take that chance to end the filibuster, realizing their slim majority is fragile, and Republicans might do away with it anyway to advance their priorities the next time they control the Senate and the White House. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Severe storms are expected and tornadoes are possible in parts of the Southeast and the mid-Atlantic on Thursday, a day after storms and twisters brought down homes and trees in parts of the Deep South. An estimated 32 million people will be under at least a marginal threat for severe storms Thursday, from southern Ohio into South Florida, according to the Storm Prediction Center. In parts of the South, communities are taking stock of damage to homes and businesses across several states from severe storms Wednesday, with the greatest damage reported in Alabama and Mississippi. At least 24 preliminary reports of tornadoes across five states were tracked Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. In southwestern Alabama, a woman and her 3-year-old niece were injured, though not severely, when they were thrown from their home Wednesday as a suspected tornado hit the area in Clarke County, CNN affiliate WALA reported. The home was destroyed, the National Weather Service said, citing emergency management officials. 'This area is a disaster,' Ramond Barren, the injured woman's brother, told WALA. 'There's trees down. It tore up two cars in the backyard.' Several other reports of tornadoes and damaged homes were made in other southwestern parts of the state. In west-central Alabama, two tornado reports were made south of Tuscaloosa, where storms damaged at least 37 homes in the towns of Moundville and Akron in Hale County, according to county emergency manager Russ Weeden. A confirmed 'large and extremely dangerous' tornado had been spotted near Shelton State Community College just south of Tuscaloosa at 2:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama. Storms damaged homes and blew out cars' windshields Further east, at least a dozen areas of damage are being investigated in the Birmingham area, according to the National Weather Service. No deaths from the storms had been reported in Alabama by Thursday morning, though 'tree and structure damage seems fairly widespread,' Gov. Kay Ivey said. A possible tornado that touched down in Wayne County in eastern Mississippi damaged two homes and left roads blocked due to debris, according to Angela Atchison of Wayne County Emergency Management. No injuries have been reported. Thursday's greatest storm threats shift to the Carolinas The greatest risk for severe weather Thursday -- level 3 out of 5 -- exists in most of coastal Georgia and eastern portions of South and North Carolina. That includes the Savannah, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Fayetteville areas. A few tornadoes, damaging winds and hail are possible, the Storm Prediction Center said. Storms also are expected in the Florida Panhandle, moving into central Florida through the early evening hours. The Storm Prediction Center earlier said parts of the Carolinas were under a level 4 risk for severe weather Thursday, but the risk assessment for those areas was downgraded. Track severe weather here Schools and vaccine centers prepare for storms In anticipation of strong storms moving into the area Thursday morning, schools in the Atlanta area moved to online learning -- including Atlanta Public Schools and the nearby DeKalb County school district. Covid-19 vaccine distribution has also been disrupted by the line of storms, with DeKalb County in metro Atlanta announcing changes in its schedules for Thursday. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency mass vaccination sites planned to delay opening or alter their hours to avoid severe weather. 'Our first concern is the safety of the staff and patients at these outdoor sites,' said Chris Stallings, GEMA/HS Director. 'We are asking for the public's cooperation as we adjust the schedules, and want to assure those with an appointment that they will be rescheduled quickly if necessary.' Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021. Lesson Overview Featured Article: Children Are Sleeping on Mats in Overcrowded Border Facilities by Miriam Jordan, Simon Romero and Zolan Kanno-Youngs In February, over 9,000 minors arrived along the border without parents, which is a nearly threefold increase from the same time last year. The Biden administration is trying to find space to accommodate the children, as reports of unsafe and unhealthy living conditions are on the rise. In this lesson, you will learn about the current situation at the border and then reflect on how you think the Biden administration and local governments should approach the crisis. Warm Up Look at the image below (or view it in a larger size) and respond to the questions below from our Whats Going On In This Picture? feature: Courteney Cox has called her partner Johnny McDaid her 'lucky charm' as she celebrated St Patrick's Day on Thursday. The actress, 56, took to her Instagram and shared a snap of the couple looking cosy as they remain apart due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Courtney in California and Johnny, who is from Northern Ireland, in the UK. Resting her head against the Snow Patrol star's shoulder in the photo, Courteney wrote: 'My lucky charm. Happy #StPatricksDay'. Couple: Courteney Cox has called her partner Johnny McDaid her 'lucky charm' as she celebrated St Patrick's Day on Thursday The Friends star also posted another photo of Johnny along with a snap of his extended family and told how she was missing them. Courteney wrote: 'Happy St. Paddy's Day! I'm missing my favorite Irishman and family. I love you'. Johnny and Courteney were reunited over the Christmas period which she spent in Northern Ireland after the couple spent nine months apart due to the pandemic. The Scream actress had revealed in October that hadn't seen Johnny for more than 200 days. Apart: The actress, 56, took to her Instagram and shared a snap of the couple looking cosy as they remain apart due to the coronavirus pandemic Courteney said goodbye to Johnny in March, when he returned to the UK just a day before the lockdowns happened, but she insisted she hasn't been feeling too lonely without him. 'At first I was like, wow what do I do with myself? I cook every day, I've learned to cook so much more, I've perfected it...,' she told pal Foy Vance on his 'Vinyl Supper' podcast and video series. 'I haven't seen John in that many days, he left when the country shut down, the day before. Courteney wrote: 'Happy St. Paddy's Day! I'm missing my favorite Irishman and family. I love you' 'Sundays are different, I miss a lot of it, although people are starting to go, 'OK, people have been quarantining, everyone's safe,' they like to come to the beach so I'm not that lonely.' In September Cox celebrated seven years since meeting the musician. Sharing a collection of snaps of the couple to Instagram, the actress wrote: '7 years ago today I had my first date with this incredible man... and my life was changed forever. I love you J'. Courteney and Johnny announced their engagement in June 2014 but later called off the engagement but remained a couple. The government on Thursday announced a ban on movement of passenger buses to and from Mahrarashtra from March 20 in view of the alarming rise in cases in the neighboring state. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation with municipal commissioners and district collectors, an official said. The government has already advised officials in border districts to place the passengers arriving from in week-long quarantine. Markets and business establishments in the districts which are affected most due to the pandemic, including Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Sagar, Betul, Burhanpur, Khargone, Ratlam and Chhindwara, will remain closed from 10 PM to 6 AM, it was decided during the meeting. In Indore and Bhopal cities, night curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM is already in force from Wednesday. The vaccination target will be raised to 5 lakh doses per day by setting targets for each district. Chouhan also said that wastage of vaccine doses was a "national wastage" and it should not happen. on Thursday reported 917 positive cases, taking its tally to 2,71,957 while with one more death, the toll rose to 3,894. (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 emptiest language in the entire argument is the platitude that all sides want the same thing and nobody should play politics with such an important issue. But this is not a game. It is political because it is important. Suffragette Vida Goldstein knew this a century ago. Perhaps some of those in todays Parliament can learn the same. Shadow Education Minister and Shadow Minister for Women Tanya Plibersek (far right) with colleagues tables a petition from the March 4 Justice protest in the House of Representatives. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Morrisons critics could not be happier. He just doesnt get it, said Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek. Labor and the Greens are telling voters to give up on a Prime Minister who will never understand the problem, let alone fix it. That risks ignoring a more recent history lesson. Morrison proved two years ago that he was a quick learner on how to win an election. It would be foolish for Labor and the Greens to underestimate him again. Raised on politics by a dad who ran for local council, Morrison does not ignore groups that wield big numbers. He is a smart politician, and his self-interest lies in heeding the message from this weeks protests. What happens next will be all about politics. The government thinks a defamation will resolve the Christian Porter matter but the claims, which he has strongly denied, will be remembered for years. Credit:Getty On Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, the government acts as if she can return to work in two weeks despite calling Brittany Higgins a lying cow and failing to tell the Prime Minister of an alleged rape in her own office. On the fate of Attorney-General Christian Porter, the government pretends a defamation trial can settle questions when the rape claim against him, which Porter vehemently denies, will last for years. His portfolio will be sliced into pieces to avoid conflicts of interest, almost to the point at which he holds that job in name only while being Industrial Relations Minister. Morrison cannot go to the next election carrying too much baggage when he governs with a majority of one and is likely to lose ground in the redistribution of seats in Victoria and Western Australia (which could see Porters own seat of Pearce abolished, raising questions about whether he would stay in Parliament). Loading Can Morrison carry Porter and Reynolds all the way until polling day? No matter how much he defends them, they are political liabilities. Leaders often survive by making tough calls to cut their losses. Not that the protesters or the viewers at home should care. They did not mobilise about the fate of Morrison or his ministers inside Parliament House. They want change in the world outside. The next steps for Morrison are rational and obvious. One of them is to stop stalling on the Respect@Work report into sexual assault in the workplace, delivered one year ago. Morrison also has to put more meaning, and money, into his words about stopping violence against women. He has done this before, with a $328 million package to counter family violence two years ago, so he can point to real measures in the past. Even so, that money has to be topped up with a new national plan next year. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit:The Sydney Morning Herald The head of the Womens Legal Service in Queensland, Angela Lynch, has a list of what to do next. She wants an education campaign on consent (something Liberal backbencher Fiona Martin spoke up for this week), reform to evidence rules in rape and sexual assault cases, a trial run for a specialist sexual violence court and more funding to help women fleeing violence and seeking justice in court. Lynch estimates there are between 20,000 and 40,000 rapes and sexual assaults each year but only 6500 charges laid and only 300 convictions. That is a conviction rate of 1.5 per cent at best. Loading Lynch also wants an urgent summit with federal and state leaders to end violence against women and children. She is not alone. In a move that shows this issue crosses old political divides, Liberal MP Russell Broadbent called for something very similar on Thursday. Women will drive this change. I hope more men will join them, said Broadbent, the member for Monash in regional Victoria and one of the wisest souls in the Parliament. Antoinette Braybrook, chairperson of the National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum, has other ideas. She wants more funding for support that helps First Nations people, such as in regional and remote areas. She wants measurable targets in the national plan that is meant to start next year. Welch has said he favors fair electoral maps. He got a little more specific this week but could do even better by describing how much weight he will offer to the other considerations. And if his definition broadens to include other factors, it would be a good idea for Welch to spell those out too. India celebrates its first transgender seafood entrepreneur March 18,2021 | Source: The Fish Site Adhidhi Achyuth has been recognised as the first transgender person in Indias fisheries sector to start an entrepreneurial initiative. The recognition comes from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), who provided her with a modernised fish vending stall which opened today in Vennala market, in Kochi. The 36-year-old decided to become an entrepreneur after undergoing difficult and unpleasant experience in securing a job and maintaining it as a means for living. Under the central government scheme of the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP), CMFRI spent around 500,000 to set up the fish stall. It includes a freezer, a fish display table with cooler, billing machine, scales and other facilities for cutting and cleaning the fish, along with the facility for maintaining the fish in live and fresh conditions. Live fish, from sources including aquaculture facilities, will be available form the fish stall, which was inaugurated by the cine artists Harisree Ashokan and Molly Kannamally. Apart from direct sale, home delivery of the cleaned and sealed packets of fish will be available for the pre-booked customers. Dr K Madhu, chairman of the SCSP scheme and principal scientist of the CMFRI, handed over the key of the stall to Adhidhi at the function. CMFRI have been providing training to become small-scale entrepreneurs in cage fish farming to the people belonging to the SC communities across the country, he said. According to Dr A Gopalalkrishnan, director of CMFRI, the institute turned to Achyuth, who is part of the scheduled caste (SC) community, as the second phase of implementing the SCSP scheme focused on transgender members of the community. This is part of CMFRIs aim to gender mainstreaming of the transgender members, who are the most marginalised community in the society, by generating livelihood opportunities in the fisheries sector. The CMFRI will extend the service of the scheme to more transgender members in the SC community. The institute also aims to empower the transgender members by attracting them to cage fish farming in the future by giving them proper technical guidance, he said. 2021 ? Hatch Accelerator Holding Limited, 7/8 Liberty Street, Cork, T12T85H, Ireland Theme(s): Others. Photo: BC gov. Flickr Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry British Columbia has identified 498 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including 31 in the Interior. The new cases bring the total positive tests since the beginning of the pandemic to 89,427, and there remains 4,851 active cases. Active cases dropped by 148 since Tuesday. Hospitalizations have been increasing in recent days, and there are now 281 people hospitalized with the disease, 83 of whom are being treated in ICU. There are 352 active cases of the virus in the Interior. Of these, 16 people are hospitalized, five of whom are in ICU. Two more people have died from the virus in the Interior since last Friday, bringing the total deaths in the region to 110. Another 9,417 people across the province are self-isolating after coming into contact with a COVID-positive person. After no new deaths were reported Tuesday, there were four new virus-related deaths announced Wednesday, bringing the total deaths in the province to 1,411. No new outbreaks were declared. The number of daily vaccinations in the province continues to slowly rise, with 19,623 doses administered since Tuesday, for a total of 444,140 doses, 87,093 of which are second doses. In her daily report, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there has been a lab sequencing issue, that has prevented the reporting of new variants of concern. As of Tuesday, there had been 996 confirmed variant of concern cases in the province. Matt Hancock today warned Ursula von der Leyen there will be 'very significant consequences' if she goes through with her threat of an EU vaccine export ban. The Health Secretary told MPs 'it is vital that we all work together' on fighting coronavirus as he stressed there is a 'need for all countries to respect contract law'. His comments came after Cabinet colleague Robert Jenrick demanded Brussels 'stick to their side of the bargain' as the Government continued its condemnation of Ms von der Leyen for threatening to impose an export ban on jabs. The Housing Secretary said he was 'surprised and disappointed' by Ms von der Leyen's stance as he suggested she was breaking her word after giving a 'very clear commitment' on the issue to Boris Johnson earlier this year. Mr Jenrick said he 'hopes and expects' the EU to allow vaccine manufacturers within the bloc to deliver on the contracts they have signed with the UK amid rising tensions. Meanwhile, Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, claimed that 40 per cent of the vaccines bought by the EU are 'laying around in various storage in European member states'. He argued that Ms von der Leyen's sabre-rattling was actually an attempt to motivate member states to 'get their act together' and accelerate the rollout of jabs. Mr Stubb said the export ban threat was simply reflecting the 'political reality' as he claimed the EU is 'by far the biggest producer of the vaccines', with companies shipping millions of doses to countries all around the world. Ministers yesterday condemned Brussels' 'brinkmanship' after Ms von der Leyen complained the bloc is sending millions of doses to other countries while receiving few in return as she warned of action to ensure 'reciprocity'. Speaking as the EU's vaccine rollout descended deeper into chaos, Ms von der Leyen called on Britain to begin sending AstraZeneca jabs overseas. Matt Hancock today warned Ursula von der Leyen there will be 'very significant consequences' if she goes through with her threat of an EU vaccine export ban Ms von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, sparked anger yesterday after threatening to ban the export of coronavirus vaccines Alexander Stubb, the former prime minister of Finland, today claimed 40 per cent of teh vaccines bought by the EU are in storage Europe's already-slow jab roll-out has been hit by further delays after the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine was temporarily suspended. The UK has relied heavily on AstraZeneca jabs to power ahead with its roll-out, which is one of the world's fastest She lashed out at the drug-maker for 'under-producing and under-delivering' doses, saying it is to blame for the slow place of Europe's roll-out. That is despite the fact that 19 countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, have halted the use of AstraZeneca jabs over unfounded fears they cause blood clots, meaning around 7.5million doses are currently sitting unused. Ms von der Leyen said 'all options are on the table' because 'we are in the crisis of the century' in comments which raise the possibility that stocks of Pfizer vaccine manufactured in Belgium could be prevented from going to Britain. The comments were raised in the House of Commons this afternoon by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt. He asked Mr Hancock if he agreed that it is 'incredibly dangerous to make threats to the supplies of vaccines and components alongside casting aspersions over their safety at the very moment when vaccines are the only way the world is going to get out of our Covid straitjacket. Mr Hancock replied: I agree with every word that my right honourable friend has said. I think that it is vital that we all work together. These supply chains for the manufacture of these vaccines cross borders, they are often global supply chain and it is vital that we work together to deliver them and there is a need for that cooperation and there is of course a need for all countries to respect contract law. That is the basis of international trade and I am sure that the European Union will live up to the commitments and statements that it has made, including President von der Leyen herself who has that there should not be restrictions on companies when they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities. Of course there should not and we fully expect those contracts to be delivered on because there are very significant consequences to breaking contract law. Mr Jenrick told Sky News this morning that the comments made by the President of the European Commission were not 'at all helpful'. He said: I was surprised and disappointed by those comments but the Prime Minister had spoken earlier in the year to Ursula von der Leyen and she gave a very clear commitment which was that the EU would not engage in this sort of activity, that contractual responsibilities would be honoured and that is exactly what we intend to do and I hope and expect the EU to stick to their side of the bargain as well. It isnt at all helpful if we enter into this sort of conversation. That is not the way the UK is behaving or wants to behave in the future. We all need to work together to get through this. Supplies of vaccines rely on very complex international manufacturing supply chains as we have just said and so everybody needs to have free trade of vaccines and not get into this sort of difficulty.' Meanwhile, Mr Stubb, who stood against Ms von der Leyen in the race to be European Commission president, claimed her comments were actually designed to motivate member states to increase the speed of the vaccine rollout. Asked if he believed the vaccine export threat to be reasonable, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: I think it is actually political reality. 'You have to remember that the European Union is by far the biggest producer of the vaccines and if you just look at the statistics in the past four or five weeks it has actually exported over 40million doses around including eight million to the UK. So basically what Ursula von der Leyen is telling, is to the member states to get their act together and get the roll-out going because the procurement is there. Told that the EU is actually storing vaccine doses because of the decision by some member states to halt the use of the AstraZeneca jab, Mr Stubb said: I think you are absolutely right on that. European leaders have turned on one-another in the latest episode of the bloc's shambolic jabs saga, amid fury at the decision to block the use of AstraZeneca vaccines as a third wave of infections looms 'So basically the situation from as far as I can gather from the statistics is that roughly 40 per cent of the vaccines procured are now laying around in various storage in European member states. So I think it is essentially a problem of governance and efficiency and I think the United Kingdom has been very good at rolling out the vaccine, as has for instance the United States. But we are in this vicious circle of a blame game, you know, so what happens is the member states blame Brussels, Brussels blames the private companies and the United Kingdom blames Brussels as well and I dont think this is very conducive to finding solutions. Speaking to reporters in Brussels yesterday, Ms Von der Leyen had said: 'AstraZeneca has unfortunately under-produced and under-delivered, and this painfully, of course, reduced the speed of the vaccination campaign. 'Where the UK is concerned, we have observed that in the last six weeks 10 million doses by now have been exported to the UK.' She added: 'Indeed the UK is producing AstraZeneca. In our contract with AstraZeneca there are even two sites in the UK that are put in the contract for potential deliveries for the European Union. 'We are still waiting for doses to come from the UK, so this is an invitation to show us that there are also doses from the UK coming to the European Union so that we have reciprocity.' A New Jersey school district has agreed to pay $325,000 to a former teacher who says she was forced to digitally edit out a student's Donald Trump MAGA t-shirt from a yearbook photo. The Wall Township school board approved the settlement agreement with Susan Parsons on Tuesday but made no admission of wrongdoing or liability over the 2017 incident. Parsons sued the school system back in 2019 saying she was ordered to edit out the Trump t-shirt from the yearbook to make student Grant Berardo look like he was wearing a plain navy blue T-shirt. The removal of the T-shirt sparked outrage among parents in the community, which Trump won in both 2016 and 2020, and hit national headlines amid accusations of censorship. The district later reissued the yearbook with the original unaltered image. A New Jersey school district has agreed to pay $325,000 to a former teacher who says she was forced to digitally edit out a student's Donald Trump MAGA t-shirt from a yearbook photo. Pictured the before (left) and after (right) images The settlement, which will be paid by the district's insurance carrier, includes about $204,000 in compensation with the remainder covering attorney fees. In the suit, Parsons said she was working as the high school's yearbook adviser when she said Cindy McChesney, a secretary acting on behalf of the principal, ordered her to remove the MAGA T-shirt from the image. Susan Parsons sued the school district in 2019 over the yearbook saga 'That has to go,' the suit alleged McChesney told Parsons. Parsons claimed she voted for Trump in 2016 but did as she was told anyway. When the yearbook was released and anger erupted over the incident, Parsons said she was made a scapegoat by the district and received death threats by phone and mail. She told NJ Advance in 2019 she was left feeling like 'some scourge' and was scared to leave her home 'My life has not been the same and I don't think it ever will,' she said at the time. The student at the center of the scandal said he had worn the MAGA T-shirt as a 'historic' statement but said the school could have retaken the photo if it had been a problem. 'If there was a problem, somebody could have just told my mom,' Berardo said at the time. 'They had a re-take day. But no one said anything.' His father branded the incident 'censorship' and demanded the books be reprinted. 'It's serious because it's censorship,' Joe Berardo told ABC 7 at the time. 'It's a teaching moment. It's a teaching moment for all the kids to understand that someone made a bad decision. 'That decision has consequences and therefore we're reissuing this because it was a violation of somebody's First Amendment rights and there was censorship. That's it.' The Wall Township school board approved the settlement agreement with Susan Parsons on Tuesday but made no admission of wrongdoing or liability over the 2017 incident. Pictured the yearbook In the suit, Parsons claimed she had regularly complained about being forced to alter photos in student yearbooks - something she disagreed with because she felt the 'yearbook should reflect reality.' Parsons was suspended with pay from the district after the incident and has since retired. In 2019, Parsons and the school district reached a settlement in a separate lawsuit also in connection to the yearbook incident. Parsons sued the district over its media policy that she said banned her from telling her side of the story without gaining permission from them. The former teacher was awarded $25,000 in that settlement. The school system also made no admission of wrongdoing in this case. New Delhi, March 18 : The Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha that as per the guidelines if a woman is objectified through "nude or morphed photos" then social media company has to remove it within 24 hours. The Minister said this while replying during the Question hour. He also said that internet imperialism was unacceptable in the country and the government will not allow monopoly over it. He also clarified there was no threat of impacting elections in the country as the ministry was working in close association with the Election Commission. Ravi Shankar Prasad said that any content which is anti India or disturbs public order should be removed within 36 hours as per the new guidelines while Social Media companies have been asked to verify the users so that no fake news is spread or hate content is posted. He said this would be voluntary and the government has no role in it. The Minister said that the government was open to criticism and there was no restriction on it. Congress MP Shakti Singh Gohil asked the Minister as to how the user would be identified if the profile was fake, the minister said, "The onus was on the company". -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text To be fair, it's nice to see LOCAL SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES rather than letting Anderson Cooper blame former Prez Trump for this one as well . . . Read more: Kansas City metro Asian American advocates speak out about Atlanta killings KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the aftermath of Tuesday's Atlanta-area killings, in which eight people were murdered at three massage parlors, conversations have sparked throughout the country regarding anti-Asian violence. Most of the victims in those shootings were female or of Asian descent. Two weeks after suspending in-person classes to curb a significant spike of COVID-19 cases on campus, Keystone College said it would resume in-person learning today. In a letter sent Wednesday to the colleges community, school President Tracy L. Brundage, Ph.D., said in-person classes can resume because the number of positive cases in the colleges community have declined sufficiently since her March 1 announcement that all classes would have to move online effective March 3. That initial letter set a goal of resuming in-person learning by today and Brundage thanked those who were vigilant in following steps to limit the spread of the virus over the last two weeks. She asked the community to remain on guard. As daylight hours are more plentiful and warmer weather is upon us, there can be a tendency to socialize more and pay less attention to health and safety practices, Brundage wrote. Please, do not let this happen! The last thing we want is to have another surge in positive cases that will force us to reevaluate our plans. Again, we urge you to follow all health and safety regulations to protect yourself and those around you. An online dashboard hosted by the college shows that two off-campus students and two employees had COVID-19 as of Wednesday. There were no students in on-campus quarantine. Thats down from the 18 positive cases, including 16 on-campus students, the college had on March 2, the day before the suspension of in-person classes went into effect, said Fran Calpin, a college spokesman. We are pleased the number of cases has decreased significantly during the last few weeks and grateful for everyones ongoing cooperation, he said in an email. However, we remind people to remain vigilant and follow all health and safety guidelines and regulations during the remainder of the semester. Nearly 50 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far this month throughout seven of the nine universities and colleges in Lackawanna County, according to interviews and a compilation of publicly reported data from each school. The Commonwealth Medical College has not reported any cases this month. The University of Scranton had the highest with 15 positive cases since March 1, according to its two most recent weekly reports, but university spokesman Stan Zygmunt said they continue to do more than 1,000 surveillance tests each week. The universitys positivity rate during the spring semester stands at 0.3%. Lackawanna College had 11 positive cases since March 1; Marywood University had nine; Clarks Summit University, six; Keystone College, four; and Johnson College and Penn State Scranton each had two. Attempts to reach officials at Luzerne County Community College in the Marketplace at Steamtown were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, 527 residents in Lackawanna County received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday and 661 residents received their second, according to updated data Wednesday from the state Department of Health. Since vaccines first started to roll out in December, 1,352,986 Pennsylvanians have received two doses, leaving them fully immunized against the coronavirus, state officials said. The pace of vaccinations in Pennsylvania is accelerating each day, Gov. Tom Wolf said. We have made tremendous progress, but we know we have more work to do. However, Wednesdays updated Health Department data also showed the seven-county region comprised of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties surpassed 60,000 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. With 274 new cases reported Wednesday, the regional case total now stands at 60,043. No new deaths were reported, leaving the regional death toll at 1,671. In local counties: Lackawanna added 59 cases for 14,663 total, of which 2,260 were probable. The death toll remained at 429. Luzerne added 78 cases for 25,844 total, of which 1,926 were probable. The death toll remained at 751. Monroe added 58 cases for 10,476 total, of which 285 were probable. The death toll remained at 280. Pike added 34 cases for 2,805 total, of which 295 were probable. The death toll remained at 48. Susquehanna added 15 cases for 1,806 total, of which 213 were probable. The death toll remained at 53. Wayne added 17 cases for 3,216 total, of which 293 were probable. The death toll remained at 68. Wyoming added 13 cases for 1,233 total, of which 202 were probable. The death toll remained at 42. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form "First Mining is delighted that Auteco has completed its $5 million worth of Stage 1 expenditures on the Pickle Crow project in just one year, even though Auteco had three years to complete these expenditures" stated Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining. "Our partnership with Auteco has surfaced significant value for First Mining shareholders and continues to highlight the potential value for the Pickle Crow deposit. Our team remains encouraged and eagerly awaits results from Auteco's ongoing 45,000-metre drill program." "The successful completion of the Stage 1 expenditures requirement at Pickle Crow marks a significant milestone in the development of this exciting project" commented Ray Shorrocks, Auteco's Executive Chairman. "The promising results from our initial drill program have truly motivated our team to continue to establish Pickle Crow as a large, high-grade deposit in a Tier-1 location." Once the 100,000,000 Auteco shares have been issued to First Mining, Auteco will have earned a 51% interest in PC Gold (and thereby, Pickle Crow) and the parties will execute a joint venture shareholders' agreement (the "JV Agreement") in respect of PC Gold. Auteco will have a two-year follow-on period, commencing as of the date of execution of the JV Agreement, within which to acquire an additional 19% interest in PC Gold (the "Stage 2 Earn-In") by: (i) incurring a further $5 million in exploration expenditures (the "Additional Expenditures"); and (ii) paying $1,000,000 to First Mining within 90 days of completing the Additional Expenditures. In addition, upon completing the Stage 2 Earn-In, Auteco will grant First Mining a 2% net smelter returns ("NSR") royalty on Pickle Crow, of which 1% can be bought back by Auteco for US$2.5 million. Following completion of the Stage 2 Earn-In, Auteco has the right to acquire a further 10% of PC Gold by paying $3,000,000 (the "Buy-In") to First Mining, and if Auteco makes a decision to mine prior to completing the Stage 2 Earn-In, Auteco must pay First Mining the Buy-In concurrently with the completion of the Stage 2 Earn-In. A 45,000-metre drill program with five diamond drill rigs is underway at Pickle Crow, with the objective of updating the Project's mineral resource estimate by the mid-year 2021. To date, Auteco has completed 84 diamond drill holes for 19,400 metres, focusing exclusively on near mine extensions and mineralized structures outside of the resource area. Once the current drill program has been completed, Auteco plans to transition their drill program to infill drilling and resource definition in order to provide sufficient data density to update the current mineral resource estimate for Pickle Crow. Auteco finished 2020 with A$29.6 million cash and is well-funded to execute the remaining earn-in requirements to earn up to an 80% interest in PC Gold (and thereby, Pickle Crow). Once Auteco has fulfilled all requirements of the earn-in agreement, First Mining will hold a 20% interest in PC Gold (and thereby, the Pickle Crow project) which will be free carried until the earlier of the termination of the earn-in agreement or a decision to mine by Auteco. Recent Pickle Crow Drill Results The current phase of drilling has successfully intersected extensions to known mineralized structures, in addition to the discovery of previously undefined mineralization. Recent drill highlights include: 5.6 m @ 33.4 g/t gold from 20.3 m in hole AUDD0078 (Shaft 3 Veins) New Structure (includes 3.4 m @ 51.3 g/t gold from 20.3 m ) with individual assay grades of up to 117 g/t gold and 109 g/t gold ( 0.4 m @ 117 g/t gold from 21.3 m and 0.3 m @ 109 g/t gold from 22.8 m) from 20.3 m in hole AUDD0078 (Shaft 3 Veins) (includes from ) with individual assay grades of up to 117 g/t gold and 109 g/t gold ( @ 117 g/t gold from 21.3 m and from 22.8 m) 1.6 m @ 16.9 g/t gold from 12.7 m in hole AUDD0077 (Shaft 3 Veins) New Structure (includes 0.7 m @ 36.6 g/t gold from 13.6 m ) from 12.7 m in hole AUDD0077 (Shaft 3 Veins) (includes from ) 2 m @ 8.2 g/t gold from 396.5 m in hole AUDD0056 (Shaft 1 Veins) Extension of Structure from 396.5 m in hole AUDD0056 (Shaft 1 Veins) 4 m @ 5.9 g/t gold from 420 m in hole AUDD0056 (Shaft 1 Veins) Extension of Structure Notes: Assaying for the Auteco drill program was completed by AGAT laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Prepared 30 g samples were analyzed for gold by lead fusion fire assay with an atomic absorption spectrometry finish. Samples greater than 5 g/t Au were reassayed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish. Reported widths are drilled core lengths; true widths are unknown at this time Cut-off grade of 1 g/t Au allowing for 1 m internal dilution Drill Hole Locations Hole ID Azimuth Dip Final Depth (m) UTM East UTM North AUDD0056 170 -65 510 703910 5709647 AUDD0077 350 -70 57 704898 5710715 AUDD0078 160 -60 240 704871 5710794 Note: Collar coordinates in UTM NAD 83 z15 Drill results for all 2020 and 2021 holes completed to date will be reported in an upcoming news release. Mineralization remains open in all directions on all target areas and work will now be focused on defining high-grade gold shoots within the mineralized envelopes and bringing them into the Inferred Resource category. A map showing the identified regional shear zones and walk-up drill targets within the property area: About Pickle Crow The Pickle Crow Gold Deposit is a high-grade, shear-hosted, mesothermal Archean lode gold deposit. The deposit occurs primarily within mafic volcanics and banded iron formation (BIF) units in the Pickle Crow assemblage of the Pickle Lake Greenstone belt located in the Uchi Lake Sub-province of the Superior Craton of the Canadian Shield. Mineralization is focused around steeply north-west dipping, regional scale shear zones. Multiple mineralization styles have been identified on the property, including Quartz-Gold-Tungsten (+/-Tourmaline) Shear Veins which are the focus of the current exploration, and banded iron formation mineralization (BIF-style), which comprises structurally controlled, sheeted vein arrays hosted within the BIF. Pickle Crow was one of Canada's highest-grade historical gold mines. It operated from 1935 until 1966, during which time it reportedly produced almost 1.5 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 16.14 g/t. The property consists of ~190 km2 (19,000 hectares) of tenure covering a major gold province. Auteco recently increased its landholding near the Project by acquiring an additional 176 km2 (176,000 ha) of land contiguous to Pickle Crow, which, together with the 130 km2 acquired by Auteco in 2020 (see news release dated February 17, 2021) increases the combined property's land package to over 496 km2 (496,000 ha) (see news release dated January 28, 2021). First Mining acquired Pickle Crow Project in November 2015 through its acquisition of PC Gold Inc. Auteco's development focus is on returning to first principles, completing a new geological review, and applying modern exploration technologies in their advancement of Pickle Crow. Auteco has a strong focus on discovering and developing new project scale, high-grade, near surface gold resources. Webcast Management of First Mining and Auteco will host a webcast on Tuesday, March 30th at 1pm Pacific Time (March 31st, at 7am Australian Eastern Standard Time) to discuss the merits of the Pickle Crow Earn-in agreement, Auteco's ongoing drill program and to answer any questions from shareholders. Hosting the call will be Mr. Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining and Mr Ray Shorrocks, Executive Chairman of Auteco. Shareholders, analysts, investors, and media are invited to join the live webcast by registering using the link below. Link: https://6ix.com/event/first-mining-gold-auteco-minerals-discuss-pickle-crow-drill-program/ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing details to access the webinar via conference call or webcast. A replay of the webcast will be available on First Mining's website following the conclusion of the call. About Auteco Auteco Minerals Limited is a mineral exploration company currently focused on advancing high-grade gold resources at the Pickle Crow Gold Project in the world class Uchi Sub-province of Ontario, Canada. The Auteco Board of Directors and Technical Management team has a proven track record of discovering gold and creating wealth for shareholders and all stakeholders in recent years. Qualified Person Hazel Mullin, P.Geo., Director, Data Management and Technical Services of First Mining, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and she has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release. About First Mining Gold Corp. First Mining is a Canadian gold developer focused on the development and permitting of the Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario. Springpole is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada. The results of a positive Pre-Feasibility Study for the Springpole Gold Project were announced by First Mining in January 2021, and permitting activities are on-going with submission of an Environmental Impact Statement for the project targeted for 2021. The Company also holds a large equity position in Treasury Metals Inc. who are advancing the Goliath-Goldlund gold projects towards construction. First Mining's portfolio of gold projects in eastern Canada also includes the Pickle Crow (being advanced in partnership with Auteco Minerals Ltd.), Cameron, Hope Brook, Duparquet, Duquesne, and Pitt gold projects. First Mining was established in 2015 by Mr. Keith Neumeyer, founding President and CEO of First Majestic Silver Corp. ON BEHALF OF FIRST MINING GOLD CORP. Daniel W. Wilton Chief Executive Officer and Director Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) timing for the meeting of Auteco shareholders to approve the issuance of 100 million shares of Auteco to First Mining and the receipt by First Mining of such shares; (ii) timing for the completion of Stage 1 of the earn-in and the execution of the JV Agreement; (iii) timing for Auteco to incur the Additional Expenditures on the Pickle Crow Project; (iv) timing for Auteco to pay $1 million to First Mining in respect of the Stage 2 Earn-In; (v) the grant by Auteco of a 2% NSR to First Mining over the Pickle Crow Gold Project and the timing for such grant; (vi) timing for the exercise by Auteco of the Buy-In; (vii) timing of the release of assay results from the current 45,000 m drill program at the Pickle Crow Gold Project; (vii) Auteco's plans to transition its drill program to infill drilling and resource definition once the current 45,000 m drill program has been completed; (viii) timing for updates to the current mineral resource estimate for the Pickle Crow Gold Project; and (xi) Auteco focusing on defining high-grade gold shoots within the mineralized envelopes at the Pickle Crow Gold Project and any potential increase in the number of Inferred Mineral Resources for the project as a result. All forward-looking statements are based on First Mining's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: regulatory approvals; shareholder approval from Auteco shareholders; receipt of necessary financing by Auteco; the presence of and continuity of metals at the Pickle Crow Gold Project at estimated grades; success in realizing proposed drilling programs; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar or Australian dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration and exploration drilling programs, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities, indigenous populations and other stakeholders; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; title to properties.; and the additional risks described in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on EDGAR. First Mining cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to First Mining, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. First Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law. Cautionary Note to United States Investors This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum 2014 Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the SEC, and mineral resource and reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource" does not equate to the term "reserves". Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources" or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute "reserves" by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimated "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves" are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves" under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards. SOURCE First Mining Gold Corp. Related Links https://firstmininggold.com/ West Bengal Assembly Election 2021: Suvendu Adhikaris father likely to quit TMC India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Kolkata, Mar 18: There could be more trouble in store for Mamata Banerjee as a TMC veteran is most likely to join the BJP. Sisir Adhikari, father of Suvendu Adhikari who was with the TMC since its inception will be attending a rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Suvendu said that his father would be present at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on March 24 at Kanthi. Before that I will send my father to Amit Shah's rally on March 21, Suvendu said at a public meeting. West Bengal elections 2021: Mamata Banerjee releases TMC manifesto The senior Adhikari has recently been ambitious about his support for Mamata Banerjee. On Wednesday he said, " who said I am in the TMC. Does the TMC say so. They have been abusing my family ever since Suvendu left the party. I do not know if I am in the Trinamool anymore," the 80 year old Adhikari said at Kanthi before leaving to take his second shot of the vaccine against COVID-19. When asked if he would go for the PM's rally, Sisir Adhikari said that if there is an opportunity, he would certainly go. I do not see any problem with that, he said. On his son joining the BJP, he said ever since he quit the TMC, Mamata has come here to uproot him. What she is doing here is an embarrassment for the people of Nandigram, he also said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 18, 2021, 11:34 [IST] Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. ICE AWD In a world full of crossovers, SUVs, and pickup trucks, a simple look at the spreadsheet for the research, development, and production costs would have made any well-advised manager scratch the two cars off into oblivion. Well, maybe not the GT-R, since the R35 iteration has been around for a very long time, since way back in 2007.But here they are, and we need to celebrate their existence in any way possible because they might be the last of their kind. After all, many countries are considering a ban on sales of-powered vehicles in the coming years, not to mention that automakers are slowly (but steadily) promising a switch to full sustainability across their ranges.So, seeing the Autocar Japan YT channel display a track skirmish between the GR Yaris and the Nismo tickled our senses, no matter how many apples and oranges comparisons may arise. After all, it works for both the JDM audience and the English-speaking community because this time around, the subtitles are in Japanese, not the other way around.Thats because the encounter took place in Wales, on the moist tarmac of the Llandow Circuit . Both cars are in right-hand drive configuration, so heres another point they have in common, besides the fact theyre bothand veritable rockets in their own category.No need to linger on the specs of the two performance carsjust head to the presentation chapters (up to the 1:25 mark for the GR Yaris, then its on for the GT-R) in the video embedded below. Afterward, its time for the cars to head out on the track, with each getting separate driving impressions from the 2:35 (Toyota) and 5:37 marks (Nissan).Of course, there are some conclusions to be drawn from all the roaring fun. And, surprisingly or not, the GR Yaris takes full advantage of its lightweight body to deliver a timed blow to the mighty Nismo. Were not going to kill all the fun in finding out the exact difference, though, so lets enjoy the misty track action. Wellington, March 18 : New Zealand's economy remains resilient despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, reinforcing steps the government has taken to support and secure the recovery, Deputy Prime Minister said on Thursday. New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 1.0 per cent in the December 2020 quarter, following a revised 13.9 per cent jump in the September quarter and 11 per cent fall in the quarter before that, the country's statistics department Stats NZ revealed on Thursday. "It is not surprising that these numbers are jumping around. The world is dealing with the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and there will be volatility for some time," Xinhua news agency quoted Robertson, who is also the Finance Minister, as saying in a statement. "New Zealand had an extremely strong bounce-back in the September quarter and some of that has evened out in the December quarter," he said, adding that there is also a lot of volatility within sectors in the economy. The economy was 0.9 per cent below where it was in the December quarter last year. "Nevertheless, we outperformed the countries we compare ourselves to on this measure." Australia dropped by 1.1 per cent, the US by 2.4 per cent, the UK by 7.8 per cent and Japan by 1.3 per cent. These figures show that the overall all size of the economy was NZ$322 billion ($232 billion) in 2020. This compares favourably with December's Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update forecast of NZ$307 billion ($221 billion). Love, monsters, Dylan OBrien and a cute dog. Upcoming Netflix movie Love and Monsters has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects produced at Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane. The film comes from the producers of Stranger Things. Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, all of humanity has been forced to live in underground colonies. When Joel Dawson (Dylan OBrien) reconnects over the radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee, who has been living on the coast 80 miles away, he begins to fall for her again. Joel realizes that theres nothing left for him underground, and despite all the danger that stands in his way, he decides he must venture out to find his true love. Screen Queensland congratulates the VFX team who worked on the monsterpocalypse adventure film, including Queensland VFX practitioners Brian Cox and Matt Sloan, alongside Matt Everitt and fellow Australian Genevieve Camilleri. Supported by the Queensland Government via Screen Queenslands Production Attraction Strategy, Love and Monsters, filmed at Screen Queensland Studios in Hemmant and on location throughout wider Brisbane in 2019, contributed more than $29 million to the local economy and created 260 jobs for Queenslanders. Screen Queenslands Head of Studios, Derek Hall praised the VFX team for their achievement in such a competitive field, adding what a thrill it was to see Love and Monsters, the first feature film out of Screen Queensland Studios, on the list. This is a prestigious honour for our highly skilled local VFX practitioners and serves to draw even more global attention on the depth and experience of screen industry talent based right here in Queensland, Mr Hall said. Wednesday April 14 on Netflix. Updated. Related County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. JOHANNESBURG (AP) The traditional leader of South Africas 12 million Zulu people, King Goodwill Zwelithini, has been laid to rest in a private ceremony early Thursday. Zwelithini, 72, died from health problems related to diabetes last Friday and he was buried in a traditional ceremony known as ukutshalwa kweNkosi, which is only attended by senior men of the royal family, many wearing leopard skins and colorful Zulu regalia. Reigning for more than 50 years, Zwelithini was the longest-serving monarch of the Zulu nation, the largest ethnic group of South Africa's 60 million people. The KwaZulu-Natal province is where most of the country's Zulus live. Historically, the Zulu nation gave early resistance to British colonialism under the leadership of King Shaka Zulu from 1816 to 1828. Zwelithini was a proponent of traditional Zulu customs and the most influential of South African traditional leaders, who do not hold political office but have considerable influence, especially among South Africa's rural people. He is credited with speaking openly to encourage public education to control the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was sweeping through South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. After Zwelithini's burial, President Cyril Ramaphosa was among the speakers at a memorial service who praised the king. It was during his reign that the Zulu nation achieved harmony and peace. It was during the course of his reign that his people alongside all the people of our country realized the dream of freedom from the injustices of colonialism and apartheid, said Ramaphosa. Others attending the memorial included former president Jacob Zuma, who is Zulu, and Princess Charlene of Monaco, who is from South Africa. Zwelithini was lauded for his role in helping to end the political violence that engulfed the KwaZulu-Natal province before South Africas first democratic elections in 1994. He is credited with encouraging Zulus to participate in the elections and calling on them not to engage in violent attacks throughout the country. Story continues Zwelithinis legacy, however, has not gone unchallenged and the royal house this week threatened to take legal action against the City Press newspaper for publishing a scathing opinion of the king's rule. In the article, City Press editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya accused Zwelithini of being a puppet of South Africa's former apartheid white-minority regime before the transition to democracy. Makhanya alleged that Zwelithini was responsible for many deaths because he collaborated with the apartheid regime and the leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in their quest to create an independent Zulu state and reject democratic reforms. The Zulu royal family issued a statement condemning Makhanyas assertions as vulgar lies and said it would take the necessary steps once the mourning has been completed. The royal family will meet to determine who will succeed Zwelithini. No new local cases of Covid-19 have been found in New South Wales despite fears a hotel quarantine guard could have spread the UK strain of the virus across Sydney. Three community cases of the deadly respiratory virus have already been genomically linked to an outbreak of cases at the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel in the city's CBD. NSW Health though on Thursday announced zero cases of community transmission from 14,049 coronavirus tests overnight. Three new cases have been discovered in overseas travellers. A general view of the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth in Sydney on Sunday after a security guard contracted Covid-19 Health authorities have been on high alert after a 47-year-old security guard was on Sunday diagnosed with Covid-19, breaking the state's 55-day virus-free run. How the guard contracted the virus is not clear as there were no obvious breaches of health protocols. The guard though has the same highly contagious UK virus strain as an infected traveller residing on the floor on which he worked. It was hoped the guard was less contagious after receiving the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine, NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said. On Wednesday, a returned traveller staying at the Sofitel also tested positive to the virus. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the latest infection could be the 'missing link' for health authorities investigating the state's first local case of transmission in more than 50 days. Passengers collect their luggage at Sydney Domestic Airport on February 4. No new local cases of Covid-19 have been found in New South Wales overnight NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier said Wednesday's confirmed infection could be the 'missing link' for health authorities investigating the state's first local case of transmission in more than 50 days 'It's not surprising the case is on the same floor as the security guard and the traveller that had the original case,' she said. 'Health believes they acquired it after they went into the hotel so we are being upfront about that. They didn't have the virus when they came to the hotel. Mr Berejiklian said there is 'no cause for us to be alarmed in the community' as the positive case is in hotel quarantine. The cases come as NSW residents can finally stand at the bar and enjoy a cold one after 12 long months. From Wednesday, revellers in NSW will be permitted to stand and drink at a bar, as promised during the state's last round of restriction-easing in late February. The premier on Tuesday reiterated her determination to get as many people vaccinated against Covid-19 as possible, saying the AstraZeneca jab is safe and 'absolutely critical'. Numerous countries have suspended their AstraZeneca rollout after some recipients developed blood clots, but Ms Berejiklian is not deterred. 'I have full confidence in the vaccine and I have full confidence in our health experts. I certainly wouldn't have taken it if I hadn't done my homework - which I have - and I feel completely safe,' she said. Within three weeks, NSW will have completed an extra 80,000 jabs and 45,000 new people would have started their vaccine process. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 08:50:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Security forces killed a terrorist and arrested another in Pakistan's northwestern district of Swat, the Pakistani military said. An army statement said on Wednesday that security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Kanju area of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on confirmation of presence of terrorists. "During exchange of fire terrorist Mukarram (was) killed while (one) terrorist apprehended," the statement from the army's media wing Inter-Service Public Relations said. Due to terrorists firing, two local civilian pedestrians were also killed, according to the statement. The army said both of the terrorists belonged to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and remained involved in terrorist activities against security forces, the law enforcement agencies, demolition of schools, extortion and targeting killing. Swat had once been the stronghold of the TTP, but the security forces conducted a major operation in 2009 to clear the militants. Enditem Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Hundreds of Moroccans protested Thursday after Algeria expelled farmers from a disputed border area where they had long been allowed to farm dates, an AFP journalist said. The border between regional rivals Algeria and Morocco has been closed since 1994, but Algiers had allowed some 30 Moroccan farming households to use an area of farmland known to Moroccans as Arjal and to Algerians as the Laaroda oasis. Relations between the two North African countries have worsened in recent months. Algiers had given "Moroccan farmers exploiting these Algerian lands an agreed timeframe to leave the area" and closed the border post at midnight Wednesday evening, according to the official Algerian news agency APS. "Algeria and Morocco have let us farm with no problems and now we don't know who to turn to," said 71-year-old farmer Abdelmalik Boubekri, adding that the date orchard had been the livelihood of his entire family. Shops shut their doors and hundreds of people marched through the border town of Figuig, many chanting: "Our lands are Moroccan, not Algerian!" Moroccan officials had organised a meeting with residents to "examine possible solutions to mitigate the impact" of the move, according to a government statement carried by Moroccan news site Media 24. On Thursday, angry protesters hoping to reach the disputed area of farmland were stopped en route by Moroccan police. Several young people accompanied the farmers, criticising the lack of work in the desert region. sof/par/sw * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945 TORONTO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife has been notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by Obatan LLC (Obatan) to purchase up to 500,000 Manulife common shares, or approximately 0.026% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of USD$13.00 per share. Manulife is in no way associated with Obatan and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer. Manulife cautions shareholders that the mini-tender offer has been made at a price below the current market price for Manulife shares. The offer represents a discount of 38.53% and 38.56%, respectively, below the closing prices of Manulife common shares on the TSX and NYSE on March 5, 2021, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of 39.94% and 40.20%, respectively, below the closing prices on the TSX and NYSE on March 17, 2021. Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities. The SEC states that "bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price." According to Obatan's offer documents, Manulife shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw their shares at any time before 8:00 P.M. New York City Time on April 13, 2021 by following the procedures described in the offer documents. Shareholders should carefully review the Obatan offer documents and current market price for Manulife shares, and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Manulife shares. Story continues Manulife has stock transfer agents providing shareholder services in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These local agents provide services directly to our registered shareholders and can provide information on share account management, direct deposit of dividends, dividend reinvestment and share purchase plans. Please email manulifeinquiries@astfinancial.com for more information. Manulife requests that a copy of this news release be included in any distribution of materials relating to Obatan's mini-tender offer for Manulife common shares. About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2020, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 118,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 30 million customers. As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.3 trillion (US$1.0 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $31.6 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 155 years. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-cautions-investors-regarding-obatan-llc-offer-for-shares-301250379.html SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation SALEM, Ore. The Oregon Senate on Thursday passed a resolution proposing that healthcare be added as a fundamental right to the state constitution. For that language to be added to the Oregon's constitution, voters would need to approve the measure during a general election. Senate Joint Resolution 12, or the "HOPE Amendment," was a project of the late Representative Mitch Greenlick a Democratic lawmaker who died in May of last year. The Senate passed another resolution on Thursday honoring Greenlick. The resolution passed in the Senate with 17 votes in favor, and now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. If it passes the House, it will be referred to voters in the next general election to determine whether it should be added to the Oregon constitution. Senate Republicans lambasted the resolution as promising "utopian health care coverage" that cannot be funded without adding a massive tax burden and would limit insurance choices for Oregonians not dissimilar from arguments made against proposals on the national stage. This bill promises something that Democrats know they cant deliver, Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod said. The bill doesnt fund any system to deliver on that promise. If Democrats are serious about giving Oregonians free health care, they should come up with an actual plan. This kind of lazy policymaking lacks important details Oregon voters need to make an informed decision at the ballot box. The proposed amendment itself is relatively simple. It would amend Article I of the Oregon constitution, adding a subsection that says the state is obligated to ensure that state residents have access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate, and affordable healthcare "as a fundamental right." Pursuing satisfaction of that right must be balanced against the public interest for funding schools and other public services, the proposed amendment reads. Because the proposed amendment adds healthcare as a fundamental right but does not posit how best to achieve that end, it's unclear what the outcome would look like. It could take the form of greatly expanded eligibility for the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program, but the resolution undoubtedly lays the groundwork for future political debate and legislation on the topic. As a family physician, I know the importance of adequate access to appropriate health care. Representative Greenlick fought for this because he knew that too, said Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, a Democrat who carried the resolution to the Senate floor. Today, we took a critical step to bring his dream to fruition, and I couldnt be more honored to carry this resolution. Oregonians know the significance of this concept and Im grateful we will get to put the HOPE Amendment a basic human right in front of our voters. PRINCETON, N.J., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that parents remain largely optimistic about the future of the country for their children, but are concerned that America does not offer the same opportunities for all children to grow up to be independent, financially stable, healthy adults. The survey, "Raising the Next Generation: Research with Parents and Caregivers" examines what it is like to raise children in America. It asked questions to equal numbers of parents and caregivers from five different racial and ethnic groups: Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Indigenous, Latino, and White. The parents surveyed remain optimistic about the future of the country for their children, ranging from 64 percent of White parents to 81 percent of Latino parents. But very few, from 9 percent of Black parents to 27 percent of Latino parents, say that all children have the same opportunity to grow up to be independent, financially stable, healthy adults. "Parents and caregivers share common hopes and draw on many strengths to raise their families, but it's clear that hard work alone is not enough," said Jennifer Ng'andu, managing director, RWJF. Additional Findings: 64 percent of Indigenous parents to 80 percent of Black parents feel they're able to provide their children with what they need to be successful in life. Regarding opportunity, 68 percent of White parents to 94 percent of Black parents worry that America does not offer the same opportunities to all children. Many parents of color, from 49 percent of Latino parents to 73 percent of Black parents, think that racism or discrimination will limit their child's opportunities to get a quality education, go to college, or someday get a good job. There is near universal agreement among parents/caregivers, from 93 percent to 97 percent, that there should be a strong safety net for families when falling on hard times. Over 80 percent of respondents from each racial and ethnic group think that government policies (paid family leave, health care, housing, tax credits) play an important role in helping families raise children. The full survey, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, covered more than the conditions related to the pandemic to explore parental optimism, child opportunity, and experiences with racism and discrimination. For more information, click here. SOURCE Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Related Links www.rwjf.org The beef, chicken and goat Suya from The Suya Spot in Scarborough is served on Jollof rice and plantains. (Suresh Doss/CBC - image credit) Metro Morning host Ismaila Alfa joins food guide Suresh Doss for takeout at a Nigerian restaurant in Scarborough for the food column's 150th episode. Suresh Doss: We're on Kingston road. We're at the edge of the city. If you drive a few minutes that way you'll be in Pickering. I think this is one of the most exciting roads to eat through in the GTA. You have dozens of plazas you can go to and eat foods from around the world, five or six places in one plaza. It's also not gentrifying as quickly as other parts of the city so there is a realness to it. You can go and meet different communities and try foods you will never see in the downtown core. Ismaila Alfa: But you brought me here for one specific place? There are many plazas along Kingston Road that offers one-stop-spots for cuisines from all around the world. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC) Suresh Doss: This is a small takeout counter called The Suya Spot. I brought you here because we both have a connection to Nigeria. Ismaila Alfa: Suya is my thing and I can't wait to try it. I also want to know more about your experience in Nigeria. You lived there? Suresh Doss: I was born in Sri Lanka but my dad got a job as a professor in Nigeria so we spent years there when I was young. Some of my earliest food memories are from that time living in Nigeria; whether it's going to market with my mom. I remember getting a sense of where the food on the table came from. WATCH | CBC's Metro Morning's food guide Suresh Doss introduces his 150th food spot: Ismaila Alfa: It's amazing that that's your experience because I remember when I moved here and spoke with kids who had no idea where their food came from. I had to explain that knowing where your food comes from is a big thing there. But does this mean I can say that Nigeria built our food guide? Suresh Doss: I think so! Ismaila Alfa: So should we head inside? Co-owner Mike Marfo mans the grill at The Suya Spot in Scarborough. His partner, Taiwo Ajala is at the helm of their North York location. (Suresh Doss/CBC) Suresh Doss: Let's do it! Suresh Doss: Ismaila, meet Mike and Taiwo. Ismaila Alfa: Great to meet you. This is my favourite street food. As soon as I hit the ground to visit family in Nigeria, it's straight to get suya. What was your inspiration for this place? Story continues Taiwo Ajala: In 2002, I went down to Nigeria to visit and I remembered as a child growing up eating suya and that just drove me crazy - I thought we have to bring this to Canada. Ismaila Alfa: Suresh, what were your early memories of suya? Metro Morning food guide Suresh Doss can trace some of his fascination with food back to early years spent in Nigeria. (Suresh Doss/CBC) Suresh Doss: We would be stuck in traffic or something and my dad would see a spot and he would pull over and at that point we'd engage in this mission. We'd jump out of the car really fast, there would be cars lined up. You would see a variety of different suya operations, from a small guy with what looks like a Hibachi grill to big grills. You order and, within seconds, you're holding a newspaper and the suya beef is placed on it. Within a flash it's over and you're left with this wonderful feeling. Suya is a popular street food in Nigeria, often served in newspapers by vendors at the sides of the road. (Suresh Doss/CBC) Taiwo Ajala: The one thing suya reminds me of too is, being the food that it is, it's used to settle a whole bunch of stuff. So if you are in a fight with your wife and you're going home at night and want to make her happy, buy her suya. Or if you're meeting a girl for the first time, buy her suya. Everybody eats it together. Ismaila Alfa: Jollof is joy, suya is the solution! Should we order? Suresh Doss: Yes, the menu here at The Suya Spot is very small. I say we try a little bit of everything. Let's get the Jollof rice and then we'll get a few different versions of suya - goat, beef, chicken. Mike Marfo: I also recommend you get the plantain because that will balance everything out - the sweet, the spicy, the savoury. Ismaila Alfa: This is so good. There is a nuttiness in there. There is pepper in there, and the beef is done so well. The plantain offers a sweet balance to the savoury, spicy jollof and suya. (Suresh Doss/CBC) Suresh Doss: Yes, suya for me is about texture. It's about that granular texture. It comes from that peanut flavour. That's what really does it for me. Ismaila Alfa: And with the jollof, you can taste the spice as soon as it touches your tongue. Suresh Doss: I love that each grain of rice stands on its own. Ismaila Alfa: They're separate. And this is Basmati rice they're using? Suresh Doss: I've never had Basmati jollof until I came to Canada. It's usually the thicker, rounder grain of rice. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Two North Shore men have been indicted on sexual abuse and other charges in unrelated cases involving young girls. Marcos Guzman-Garcia, 40, of the 200 block of Lake Street, Mariners Harbor, and Rene Cortes-Concepcion, 21, of the 200 block of Port Richmond Avenue, Port Richmond, each pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Wednesday in state Supreme Court, St. George. Guzman-Garcia was busted on Feb. 24. A criminal complaint alleges he subjected a victim to sexual contact, including sodomy, on multiple occasions between January 2017 and last October. The victim was under age 13, said an indictment. Upon his arrest, the defendant admitted to caressing the girl, according to the complaint. But that was all, the complaint quoted him as saying. I passed my hand by it, on top of her underwear. They werent my intentions. Guzman-Garcia said he couldnt remember subjecting the victim to sexual contact, said the complaint. He was indicted on charges of criminal sexual act (formerly classified as sodomy), course of sexual conduct against a child and sexual abuse. The defendant is also accused of misdemeanor counts of sexual misconduct, child endangerment and sexual abuse. Guzman-Garcia is being held on the charges in lieu of $225,000 bond or $75,000 cash bail. Mr. Guzman denies the allegations against him, said defense lawyer Yan Katsnelson. Once the D.A. reviews the evidence, we are confident the matter will be resolved in Mr. Guzmans favor. His next court date is April 13. Online state court records show Guzman-Garcia has an unrelated matter pending in state Supreme Court, St. George. In that case, hes accused of felony counts of driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed driving and bail jumping. UNRELATED CASE As for Cortes-Concepcion, a criminal complaint alleges he forcibly kissed a girl on the lips and neck on Aug. 4. The child was under age 11, said an indictment. Cortes-Concepcion was arrested that day. He was charged with a felony count of sexual abuse and misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and sexual abuse. Hes also accused of a lesser count of harassment. Cortes-Concepcion remains free on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on April 14. His lawyer did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the case. Tanzanians look set to have their first female president in history in Vice President Samia Suluhu following the death John Pombe Magufuli on Wednesday. Ms Suluhu said Magufuli died on Wednesday at Muzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam after suffering heart complications. It now means that Ms Suluhu, 62, is expected to ascend to the highest office in the land, as per Tanzanian law. Article 37 of Tanzania's Constitution says the VP takes over for the remainder of the term and will be eligible to contest another term. In Tanzania though, there is never doubt about succession. But a sick President presented a new dilemma. Officials, for weeks, denied rumours of an indisposed president, but failed to present him to an anxious public. His death settles the rumour mill. But now, the succession. If she takes over, Ms Suluhu will become the second woman in the East African region to be President. She will be the first Zanzibari since Ali Hassan Mwinyi to lead the United Republic. However, the same law does say that an ill President doesn't necessarily mean the president's seat is vacant. Ms Suluhu, nonetheless, is only the second woman VP in the region, after Uganda's Specioza Kazibwe. Aged 61, she is also the tenth Vice President of the country. Career Her early political career was honed in semi-autonomous Zanzibar where she served in the Cabinet. A public administrator educated in Tanzania, India, Pakistan, and the US, Ms Suluhu has been the face of Tanzania at international functions, often travelling on behalf of President Magufuli, who rarely ventured out of the country. Under Kikwete, she served as Minister for Union Affairs between Mainland and Zanzibar. But can she ascend to power proper? Magufuli, nicknamed the Bulldozer for pushing through projects when he worked as Minister for Works, had often said he would leave after his term ends, signaling an age-old tradition of handing over power to the next in line. But some political analysts in Tanzania say the perceived plan was to have Mwinyi's son, current Zanzibari President Hussein Mwinyi, take over after Magufuli goes. "If Ms Suluhu takes over, she will roil the political succession plan. The law is on her side, but she must now cultivate acceptance," said a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam, who chose to speak anonymously for safety reasons. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tanzania Governance Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "It has been clear Magufuli has a good working relationship with Mwinyi. He appointed him Interior Minister in his first term, and endorsed his candidature for Zanzibar," the analyst added. Tanzania's CCM is popular both in the mainland and Zanzibar and has been in power since independence (even though CCM itself was created out of a merger between the Tanganyika African National Union, TANU, and the Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi Party in 1977). Despite the rise in multiparty challengers, CCM has often ridden the wave, winning 262 of 264 seats in Parliament last year. "Under the law, the Vice President completes the remaining term if the President is incapacitated. She can also run for another term, and will usually be eligible for a third if the take-over period was less than three years," explained a Tanzanian lawyer. "One hopes that if she takes the power now, she may have to work her way into an endorsement in 2025, otherwise the elites could manoeuvre and have their man run," she said. Suluhu, as VP, sits on the party's National Congress, the organ that usually decides who will be presidential flag bearers. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. By Ritah Kemigisa Kenyas president Uhuru Kenyatta has declared a 7 day period of national mourning in Kenya in honor of the deceased president of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli. Addressing the nation at the state house, Kenyatta who is the chair of the East African community has ordered that the community and national flags fly at half mast throughout Kenya and all diplomatic missions abroad, until sunset on the day of Magufulis funeral. Kenyatta has meanwhile eulogized Magufuli as a great and visionary friend and a champion of pan Africanism. He says he leaves behind a strong legacy to reckon with. The Vice president of Tanzania Samia Suhulu Hassan last night announced the death of John Magufuli whom she said succumbed to heart complications at a hospital in Dar es salam. Magufuli died at the age of 61 on Wednesday. Hassan has since announced 14 days of national mourning where flags will fly at half mast. According to Tanzanias constitution, Hassan will be sworn in as the new president and should serve the remaining terms of Magufulis five-year team which he began last year. If sworn in, it will go down in history as she will become the first woman president in East Africa. So far, two president in the region have died during covid19 era including Pierre Nkuruzinza of Burundi who succumbed to COVID-19. Who is Magufuli John Pombe Magufuli, the son of a peasant farmer was born in Chato, in north-west Tanzania, in 1959. He Studied chemistry and maths at the University of Dar es Salaam and first worked as a chemistry and maths teacher. He was first elected as an MP in 1995 and became a cabinet minister in 2000. He was first elected president in 2015. He won second term in 2020 amid opposition accusations of fraud and intimidation. Before he was president he acquired the nickname the bulldozer for driving a programme to build roads as minister for works, and later was hailed for his anti-corruption stance and his distinct dislike for wasting money. SEDAN, Kan. (AP) Greetings from Chautauqua, the only county in Kansas where COVID-19 isnt an emergency. This bucolic and remote county, nestled on the Oklahoma border 100 highway miles southeast of Wichita, is the only place in Kansas that isnt under a COVID disaster emergency declaration, according to the Kansas Association of Counties. We didnt feel like we needed it, said Rodney Shaw, who serves on the three-member County Commission that doubles as the Board of Public Health. If you wear a mask in Sedan, the Chautauqua County seat, you might as well hang a sign around your neck saying Not From Around Here. Coming here is like stepping back into 2019, those halcyon days before a global contagion that would kill an estimated 2.6 million people, including more than 527,000 Americans, The Wichita Eagle reports. All the businesses in town are open whenever they think they can make money. Banners in front of the Pizza Hut proudly proclaim WERE OPEN FOR DINE-IN. If you want to go to a movie, just go. The Gregg Theaters been open for months and you can see anything you want as long as its the new Tom and Jerry flick. Signs at the theater warn not to bring in outside food and drink, but theres nothing in sight about masks or social distancing. Its never that crowded, so we can spread out pretty good, said Donald Bullock, as he enjoyed a leisurely morning coffee and donuts with his mother and sister at Aunt Bs, the coffee bar and ice cream shop on Main Street. Its been that way pretty much throughout the pandemic. We kept business going just like it was, Shaw said. We never had a mask mandate. Chautauqua County didnt escape the pandemic, but it never hit as hard as it did in a lot of Kansas counties. There have been 263 cases of COVID here out of a total population of about 3,250. Six have died. Overall, Chautauqua Countys case rate is 80.3 infections per 1,000 residents, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. For comparison, its more than the 68.4 case rate in Douglas County, which has been notably aggressive in fighting COVID spread. Its less than the 105 rate in Sedgwick County, where anti-COVID restrictions have been on-again-off-again. In the year since the pandemic started, Chautauqua County has only been in a formal state of emergency for a total of three seven-day periods _ and only when the declaration was required to obtain resources and supplies from higher levels of government. In two cases, we had some workers that live in town that spoke a different language, we needed some interpreters to help with that, so we had to get some help from the state, Shaw said. In December, the county declared an emergency just long enough to replenish COVID testing supplies from state stockpiles. Commission Chairman Parker Massey said he sees the ongoing emergency declarations in Kansas other 104 counties as an effort to grab government cash that became available during the pandemic. The need to declare a constant state of disaster had to do with funding and not particularly that we had a disaster, he said. To me that felt dishonest and I wasnt in favor of doing so for whats been effectively called `free cheese. Weve handled the COVID situation in Chautauqua County based on whats going on in Chautauqua County and not what other counties were doing, not what the state was doing. Declarations or not, Chautauqua County has gotten its share of the free cheese. Last year, the county got $660,000 from the SPARK program, the states distribution of CARES Act funding from the federal government. Last week it got another $116,000 from a state program called ELC, for Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity. That money will go to pay salaries and benefits for the countys two registered nurses, an allowable use, Health Administrator Misti Byers told the commissioners. It says you can use it for electronic health records and computers, but we dont need any more (of that), she said. Gov. Laura Kelly said she decided not to hold back the grants because of the countys lack of an emergency declaration. We just didnt choose to punish them, Kelly said. Its as simple as that. While I wish that they would have followed the mandates, ultimately most (counties) did. I believe we had 80 counties and many cities bringing in some of those mandates on their own, and thats good. Thats what they should have done. But were not going to punish the citizens of different counties because of the decisions their elected leaders made. Chautauqua County, not exactly a hub of commerce even under ordinary circumstances, actually has added businesses since COVID started, commissioners said. We had four or five open, right during the pandemic, Shaw said Right in the midstream, we had three or four businesses open here. One of them has since closed, though that was more a matter of too many restaurants for too few people than it was coronavirus concern, Shaw said. We never had any cases until 60-90 days ago, is when our cases spiked, and then since then everythings come down, so we just had one small spike and never felt like we needed (an ongoing) declaration, Shaw said. Bullock said he caught the coronavirus during the November spike. His case was mild, mostly headaches and a temporary loss of taste and smell. Hes a railroad worker who frequently travels. Last year, he hit Michigan, Oregon, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Mexico. Ive seen some places where its not bad and Ive seen some places where you couldnt even get into the hospital, he said. But he contact traces his own case to the railyard in Independence, in the next county east of Chautauqua. I got it from the guys there, he said. His mother, Karen Buhler, is a retired computer programmer who used to work at the Mrs. Burdens Gourmet Candy factory that used to be in Sedan. She said the COVID threat has brought the townspeople together, rather than isolating them in coronavirus hermitage. People are helping people, she said. They just did a big (food) giveaway over at the grocery store. At the dawn of the pandemic last year, when masks were scarce, townspeople donated cloth and a local sewing circle made enough masks for everyone who wanted them, she said. One of a tiny minority still wearing a mask is retired schoolteacher Carol Elmore, who had one on when she picked up her mail at the Post Office last week. She said her husband insisted. Were both in our 80s and he didnt want me to take a chance of catching it. The commission meets in the county courthouse in an office about as big as the family room of a fair-sized home. Bottles of hand sanitizer are placed around the room and a sign on the wall encourages social distancing. But with just two short rows of pew seating, its next to impossible to get six feet of separation if there are more than four or five people in attendance. At last weeks meeting, only two people wore masks. Both were out-of-towners. The highlight was a visit from Rep. Doug Blex, R-Independence and Chautauqua Countys primary conduit to state government in Topeka. In an impromptu report to the commission, Blex projected the Legislature will pass a permanent version of a temporary law made last year to strip the governor and local health officers of most of their pandemic emergency powers. Any governor now will not be able to close a business if the county commissioners are opposed to it, Blex said. Thats a good thing for the local people. We cant basically shut you down. The county commissioners will be able to override the local health officials, just like you were. Now, no disrespect for the local health, but theyre on a singular focus and you guys have to balance the thing just like I do, with economics, health issues and the long view, Blex said. Massey couldnt agree more. Our job as commissioner is not a single mandate on health, he said. Its do these mandates and do these restrictions violate peoples personal liberties? Thats a thing we have to take into consideration. The only shutdowns in Chautauqua County were either by choice or ordered by higher powers. The only thing that was really shut down was the beauticians and barber shops, Shaw said. Massey quickly interjected That was through the state and that was beyond our say. I hope going forward that weve all learned how to handle this a little better and we dont cause a manufactured crisis, Massey added. I understand nobody knew what to do in the beginning. I think that we have a handle on it now. The towns library was closed for about two months _ also not by local choice. The Sedan library relies on the Southeast Kansas Library Association for a variety of services and it wasnt practical to stay open with the association and all its other libraries on COVID hiatus, said Librarian Kayla Ford. We just took that time and I just shampooed and deep-cleaned everything, Ford said. As Wichitas libraries are moving to a limited grab and go service _ where patrons can browse the shelves but not stick around to read, drink coffee and socialize _ the Sedan library has just dropped its recommendation that people wear masks while inside, the last vestige of its COVID protection practices. We just took the sign down Saturday, Ford said. A lot of people around here have gotten their (vaccine) shots and people feel more comfortable. Well see how it goes. About the photo: The Chautauqua County Commission and staff meet in a small room, unmasked, on Monday, March 8, 2021, in Sedan, Kan. This bucolic and remote county, nestled on the Oklahoma border 100 highway miles southeast of Wichita, is the only place in Kansas that isnt under a COVID disaster emergency declaration, according to the Kansas Association of Counties. (Dion Lefler/The Wichita Eagle via AP) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here 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. BIOGRAPHY THE DUKE: 100 CHAPTERS IN THE LIFE OF PRINCE PHILIP by Ian Lloyd (The History Press 15.99, 320 pp) Which member of the Royal family fits the following description? He reads poetry, and is especially fond of T.S. Eliot. He is interested in spiritual matters, religion and the environment. He can design jewellery. He has suffered racial abuse and been criticised for Left-wing views. He ran into fierce opposition for trying to shake up the Palace old guard. He suffered a lonely, difficult childhood, and is spoken of as kind and sensitive. In case you need a clue, the nation breathed a great sigh of relief earlier this week when he was released from hospital. Ian Lloyd who is a former member of the Royal press corps, has penned 100 chapters to mark Prince Philip's 100th birthday in June. Pictured: Prince Philip during his time in the Navy Can this really be bluff, outspoken, short-tempered Prince Philip? Yet this is the picture that emerges from this book by a former member of the Royal press corps who was once ordered to get off the f*****g grass by Philip in Windsor Great Park. The Duke gave a speech to journalists in 1973 when he and the Press were still on speaking terms in which he considered his public image. The trouble with reputations is that they cling much more tenaciously than the truth, he said. If anyone can offer me any advice about how I can improve this reputation, or even offer any reason why I have it, I shall be more than grateful. Even then he realised that his reputation for rudeness and saying the wrong thing would overshadow everything he has ever done. He once told a friend, rather poignantly: I dont seem able to say nice things to people, though Id like to. Why is that? What a good question. Other members of his family are occasionally a bit tetchy, but Philip is a repeat offender. This very readable book set out in 100 chapters to mark the Dukes 100th birthday in June contains a list of 100 so-called gaffes, and 12 times that he has sworn at people. The famous remark about slitty eyes and China is there of course it is and one of his remarks was apparently so jaw-droppingly awful that nobody has felt able to reproduce it in print. Yet, as the author Ian Lloyd notes: The majority are actually very funny, said with a twinkle in the royal eye and, more importantly, well received by those hes talking to. The book doesnt gloss over any criticism of its subject, but reminds us that Philip has lived an extraordinary life that, in many ways, has been far from easy. He was born into the Greek royal family in Corfu in 1921, on a dining room table. His family who were Danish and German were driven into exile after the Greco-Turkish war and went to live in Paris. At the age of nine, Philip was sent on a picnic to get him out of the way while his mother Princess Alice who suffered from religious mania and schizophrenia was removed from the house by men in white coats and taken to a Swiss sanatorium. There she was visited by Sigmund Freud, who recommended that her ovaries be X-rayed to cure an excessive libido. He would, wouldnt he. Philip became engaged to the Queen four years after being invited to Windsor to see Princess Elizabeth play the principal boy in a production of Aladdin in 1943. Pictured: The Queen and Prince Philip on a visit to Tuvalu in the South Pacific Philips father reacted to these events by leaving almost immediately for the south of France with his mistress. From that moment on, Philip was pretty much homeless until his marriage. When he wasnt at school or, later, in the Navy, he lived with a series of aristocratic relatives, one of whom remarked: He gave the impression of a huge, hungry dog perhaps a friendly collie who had never had a basket of his own and responded to every overture with eager tail-wagging. The Queen had her eye on Philip from an early age, but they began to take more interest in one another when, in 1943, he was invited to Windsor to see Princess Elizabeth play the principal boy in a production of Aladdin. Four years later, they were engaged. Even then, the Palace didnt exactly roll out the red carpet. He was referred to by friends of the King as Charlie Kraut and the Queen Mother called him The Hun. Tommy Lascelles, the Kings private secretary and star turn of The Crown, said Philip was rough, ill-tempered, uneducated and would probably not be faithful. Despite all that, the King took to Philip. He taught his future son-in-law how to shoot, and noticing that his clothes were rather worn arranged a visit to the Royal tailor. Author names 11 likely candidates Philip (pictured) could've had an affair with, but concludes that there is no substance to the rumours Philip was no stranger to grand houses, but this was definitely a step up. When he stayed at Windsor, he would get up in the night and wander down the corridors with a torch, gazing at the Gainsboroughs and Van Dycks of the Royal art collection. He is occasionally accused of being a distant father, yet he made sure to read bedtime stories to his children. And as the new Prince Consort, he tried to modernise life at the Palace. He introduced a training programme for footmen, abolished their powdered wigs, started a review of working practices and even introduced automatic dishwashers. He was the first member of the Royal family to give a television interview. Oh, and he preferred Double Diamond brown ale to wine. The old boys here hadnt had anything quite like it before, he once noted. THE DUKE: 100 CHAPTERS IN THE LIFE OF PRINCE PHILIP by Ian Lloyd (The History Press 15.99, 320 pp) Theyd certainly seen nothing like the incident at Broadlands when the Duke chased the Queen up the stairs, pinching her bottom as she shouted Stop it, Philip! Stop it! He has a romantic streak where the Queen is concerned, and once wore a tie covered in love hearts to mark a reunion after a long foreign trip. Whod have thought the Iron Duke would be such an old softie? Does he also have a wandering eye? Its occasionally suggested that Philip has enjoyed affairs during his long marriage. The book names 11 likely candidates, but concludes that there is no substance to the rumours. Other members of his family havent been so steadfast. As a child, Philip spent time living with his aunt, Princess George of Greece, who was such an enthusiastic collector of sexual partners that, in 1918, she wrote an unpublished memoir called The Men I Have Loved. Perhaps it was Philips unusual family background that has made him so how can we put this politely? robust. He was sailing off the Isle of Wight one year during Cowes Week when the skipper of another boat hailed him as Stavros and asked him to move out of the way. Its not Stavros, retorted Philip, and its my wifes f*****g water, so Ill do what I f*****g well please. Sometimes its very handy to be married to the Queen. Several Middle Eastern and North African states scored badly in Freedom Houses rankings for 2021. The think tank, which receives the bulk of its funding from the US government, released its findings on the state of democracy around the world Wednesday. Freedom House ranked Syria as the country with the least political rights in the world, followed by Western Sahara. Syria has been mired in a harrowing civil war since 2011. There have been numerous reports of human rights violations in government, rebel and Kurdish territory. President Bashar al-Assad has been in office since 2000, having succeeded his late father, Hafez. Western Sahara is considered a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations. It has been controlled by Morocco since 1975. In 2020, the United States recognized Moroccos claims to sovereignty there. Many people in Western Sahara reject Moroccan rule. The wider region is divided on the issue. Algeria, for example, supports the pro-independence Polisario Front. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, backs Moroccos position. Freedom House considers both state and nonstate actors in formulating its rankings. Other countries in the region also became less free last year, according to Freedom House. Algeria received a lower score this year due to the governments campaign against prodemocracy protesters. The country is classified as not free by Freedom House. Freedom House also downgraded Jordan from partly free to not free. Jordan is a constitutional monarchy and key US ally. Freedom House cited the government's crackdown on the teachers union and the poor quality of the country's November elections, which had historically low turnout amid the pandemic, among the reasons for the lower grade. Freedom House has been criticized by some observers for subjectivity. Russia in particular has spoken out against the think tanks rankings. 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inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Blog Archive Apr 2010 (22) May 2010 (25) Jun 2010 (8) Jul 2010 (12) Aug 2010 (18) Sep 2010 (19) Oct 2010 (29) Nov 2010 (30) Dec 2010 (18) Jan 2011 (13) Feb 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (23) Apr 2011 (19) May 2011 (31) Jun 2011 (36) Jul 2011 (46) Aug 2011 (26) Sep 2011 (12) Oct 2011 (15) Nov 2011 (17) Dec 2011 (7) Jan 2012 (18) Feb 2012 (4) Mar 2012 (12) Apr 2012 (18) May 2012 (10) Jun 2012 (21) Jul 2012 (8) Aug 2012 (15) Sep 2012 (7) Oct 2012 (17) Nov 2012 (20) Dec 2012 (10) Jan 2013 (58) Feb 2013 (59) Mar 2013 (60) Apr 2013 (98) May 2013 (135) Jun 2013 (204) Jul 2013 (293) Aug 2013 (351) Sep 2013 (363) Oct 2013 (348) Nov 2013 (374) Dec 2013 (442) Jan 2014 (547) Feb 2014 (476) Mar 2014 (526) Apr 2014 (527) May 2014 (469) Jun 2014 (408) Jul 2014 (472) Aug 2014 (522) Sep 2014 (443) Oct 2014 (472) Nov 2014 (497) Dec 2014 (536) Jan 2015 (539) Feb 2015 (520) Mar 2015 (582) Apr 2015 (658) May 2015 (679) Jun 2015 (673) Jul 2015 (728) Aug 2015 (803) Sep 2015 (923) Oct 2015 (924) Nov 2015 (802) Dec 2015 (791) Jan 2016 (782) Feb 2016 (835) Mar 2016 (929) Apr 2016 (866) May 2016 (947) Jun 2016 (1044) Jul 2016 (882) Aug 2016 (1035) Sep 2016 (967) Oct 2016 (918) Nov 2016 (854) Dec 2016 (885) Jan 2017 (881) Feb 2017 (777) Mar 2017 (897) Apr 2017 (872) May 2017 (851) Jun 2017 (851) Jul 2017 (971) Aug 2017 (1040) Sep 2017 (998) Oct 2017 (1144) Nov 2017 (1046) Dec 2017 (838) Jan 2018 (873) Feb 2018 (769) Mar 2018 (885) Apr 2018 (809) May 2018 (827) Jun 2018 (820) Jul 2018 (840) Aug 2018 (854) Sep 2018 (844) Oct 2018 (852) Nov 2018 (870) Dec 2018 (912) Jan 2019 (919) Feb 2019 (827) Mar 2019 (957) Apr 2019 (913) May 2019 (1007) Jun 2019 (935) Jul 2019 (950) Aug 2019 (936) Sep 2019 (910) Oct 2019 (920) Nov 2019 (874) Dec 2019 (908) Jan 2020 (942) Feb 2020 (849) Mar 2020 (898) Apr 2020 (848) May 2020 (822) Jun 2020 (789) Jul 2020 (819) Aug 2020 (858) Sep 2020 (841) Oct 2020 (873) Nov 2020 (812) Dec 2020 (780) Jan 2021 (765) Feb 2021 (716) Mar 2021 (819) Apr 2021 (805) May 2021 (815) Jun 2021 (57) To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! The lawyer for Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's wife said that there have been meetings with federal prosecutors which could potentially lead to her release from prison almost a month after she reportedly turned herself in. Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told WOR's Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning that he and Emma Coronel have been working to come up with a bail package as she awaits her trial, but he did acknowledged that the government does consider the American-born woman a flight risk. 'She still in custody and you know I'm in negotiations with the government. Things are somewhat slowed down for a bit and I think will probably be quiet for a bit,' Lichtman said during the radio interview Monday. Without going into details of what Coronel would be willing to offer the government in a bail package, Litchtman said that 'things are moving along and she's not going to be in jail forever.' A government official with knowledge of the case told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that it would be highly unlikely the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia would ever come to an agreement that will allow Coronel to fight her charges from the outside. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia declined to comment while Lichtman did not respond to requests for comments when contacted by DailyMail.com. Emma Coronel, the wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, reportedly has held meeting with U.S. government officials in an attempt to put together a bail package, her lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman told WOR's Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning on Monday Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, according to the United States government, received help from his wife, Emma Coronel, during his escape from a Mexican prison in 2015 According to the FBI, Coronel helped operate El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel empire. The 31-year-old was apprehended at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on February 22. Federal authorities have charged the American-born former beauty queen in a single-count criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana in the U.S. Lichtman, who also represented El Chapo, said he explained to Coronel not to hedge all of her bets on her bail package due to the complexity of the case, which could land the mother of twin girls in prison for the rest of her life, similar to El Chapo. 'It's very very difficult to post bail as I said I think a couple weeks ago because she has no ties to America, she's got no property here. She has every reason to leave because she's got a 10 to life sentencing guideline range,' Lichtman said. 'So, still working on a possible bail package. But you know as I tell clients I don't want to make a bail issue the end all and the be all because once you get bail and somehow you get it, it doesn't mean the case miraculously disappears and when you've got a case where she's facing 10 up to potentially life in prison. 'Those are the bigger issues and that's mainly what we're focusing on now and also obviously looking for property to post potentially for a bail package.' Emma Coronel was arrested February 22 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. It was a surprise, in part, because authorities had made no move to arrest her over the past two years, even after she was implicated in her husband's crimes. She is pictured above during a February 23 court appearance Defense attorney Mariel Colon (left), Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (second from left), defense attorney A. Eduardo Balarezo (second from right) and Emma Coronel (left) sit at the drug lord's trial at a Brooklyn, New York, federal court on January 30, 2019 Authorities have said that Coronel relayed messages to help Guzman conduct drug trafficking from 2012 to early 2014, and continued delivering messages while visiting him in a Mexican prison following his February 2014 arrest. Coronel reportedly also conspired in Guzman's famous July 2015 escape from the Altiplano prison in Mexico through a mile-long tunnel dug from his cell, and began plotting another escape following his January 2016 capture by Mexican authorities. The couple married when Coronel was only 18. The United States government is charging Emma Coronel (left) in a single-count criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana in the U.S. She is pictured above after the announcement of a life sentence for her husband, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, on February 12, 2019 Earlier this month, Lichtman went on WABC's The Other Side of Midnight program to accuse federal agents of planting rumors that Coronel had been planning to cooperate with the U.S. government to help take down the Sinaloa Cartel. Lichtman said the rumor 'was designed to kill her family.' He described the alleged planting of the story as the 'most despicable thing' and the 'worst prosecutorial governmental misconduct' he has experienced in 30 years. 'I've been involved with fabrication of evidence, destroying evidence, lying to judges, lying to juries by the feds but to actually put this out there is an attempt to murder her and her family,' he said. International streaming service Netflix has partnered with the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to provide funding of R28m aimed at producing six South African feature films. Have a great story to tell? The NFVF and @NetflixSA have the funding for you! We're calling all filmmakers with stories in development to submit applications for their stories to be fully-funded. Call opens 1 April 2021. Read more here: https://t.co/POsUia6HU7#LoveSAFilm pic.twitter.com/Wsqpw8dSR0 National Film & Video Foundation (@nfvfsa) March 18, 2021 We are excited as the NFVF to be partnering with Netflix and appreciate their investment into local content. The incorporation of digital platforms into our traditional processes can only benefit the industry further. We hope this is simply the start in what will no doubt be a long and fruitful relationship, comments NFVF CEO Makhosazana Khanyile. New fund launches to support screen sector workers affected by the pandemic A number of donors have contributed towards a support fund established to provide direct financial relief for screen sector workers whose livelihoods are affected by the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown... The agreement will see both partners contributing R14m each in support of the production of local films, which will include exclusive debuts on Netflix.The NFVF, mandated to ensure the equitable growth of the audio-visual industry in South Africa, is excited to form this partnership as it looks to create new opportunities for emerging filmmakers in the local film industry after many productions locally and internationally had to be halted/postponed due to Covid-19 global lockdowns. The partnership will see six local films funded, categorised into two streams: four feature films, by emerging filmmakers, with a budget of R4m each and two fictional feature films, by established filmmakers, with a budget of R6m each.The funding for the films will alleviate the pressure filmmakers face to raise additional funding and boost recovery of the creative industry from the pandemic, whilst ensuring job creation. All six films created from this fund will premiere on Netflix first.The past year has been incredibly difficult with the pandemic hitting so many industries around the world. The creative community, that we are a part of, has supported us through the good times so we want to help them continue to create the stories our members love through the $1m Covid Relief Fund contribution we started last year in collaboration with SASFED and IPO to help below-the-line workers in South Africas creative industry and now, were excited to take this a step further with this joint fund with NFVF for above-the-line talent, says Netflixs director of content in Africa, Ben Amadasun.The submission portal will go live on 1 April 2021. All filmmakers, in accordance with the eligibility criteria, are welcomed to apply by visiting nfvf.praxisgms.co.za from 1 April 2021. More details will be available at www.nfvf.co.za This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Probe launched into operation of cell of banned AUE movement in Moscow detention center RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 17:55 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) Moscow investigators have opened a criminal case over operation of the banned movement Arestantskoye Ugulovnoye Yedinstvo / Criminal Unity of Inmates (AUE) in a penitentiary facility, the Investigative Committees press service has informed RAPSI. According to the investigation, not later than April 2020, persons having criminal weight organized an AUE cell of in one of Moscows detention centers in order to propagate the movements activity inside the detention territory. In August 2020, the Supreme Court declared the movement an extremist organization and banned its activities in Russia. The Court granted an administrative claim of the Prosecutor General. The Prosecutor Generals Office stressed that the activities of the movement based on a criminal and extremist ideology presented a real threat to lives and health of citizens, the society, and the state; members of the movement were involved in extremist crimes and mass riots. In October, Russias Justice Ministry added the movement the list of extremist organizations banned in Russia. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. Cambridge, MA (March 18, 2021)--Scientists have discovered a vast, previously unknown reservoir of new aromatic material in a cold, dark molecular cloud by detecting individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules in the interstellar medium for the first time, and in doing so are beginning to answer a three-decades-old scientific mystery: how and where are these molecules formed in space? "We had always thought polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were primarily formed in the atmospheres of dying stars," said Brett McGuire, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Project Principal Investigator for GOTHAM, or Green Bank Telescope (GBT) Observations of TMC-1: Hunting Aromatic Molecules. "In this study, we found them in cold, dark clouds where stars haven't even started forming yet." Aromatic molecules, and PAHs--shorthand for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons--are well known to scientists. Aromatic molecules exist in the chemical makeup of human beings and other animals, and are found in food and medicines. As well, PAHs are pollutants formed from the burning of many fossil fuels and are even amongst the carcinogens formed when vegetables and meat are charred at high temperatures. "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are thought to contain as much as 25-percent of the carbon in the universe," said McGuire, who is also a research associate at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). "Now, for the first time, we have a direct window into their chemistry that will let us study in detail how this massive reservoir of carbon reacts and evolves through the process of forming stars and planets." Scientists have suspected the presence of PAHs in space since the 1980s but the new research, detailed in nine papers published over the past seven months, provides the first definitive proof of their existence in molecular clouds. To search out the elusive molecules, the team focused the 100m behemoth radio astronomy GBT on the Taurus Molecular Cloud, or TMC-1--a large, pre-stellar cloud of dust and gas located roughly 450 light-years from Earth that will someday collapse in on itself to form stars--and what they found was astonishing: not only were the accepted scientific models incorrect, but there was a lot more going on in TMC-1 than the team could have imagined. "From decades of previous modeling, we believed that we had a fairly good understanding of the chemistry of molecular clouds," said Michael McCarthy, an astrochemist and Acting Deputy Director of CfA, whose research group made the precise laboratory measurements that enabled many of these astronomical detections to be established with confidence. "What these new astronomical observations show is these molecules are not only present in molecular clouds, but at quantities which are orders of magnitude higher than standard models predict." McGuire added that previous studies revealed only that there were PAH molecules out there, but not which specific ones. "For the last 30 years or so, scientists have been observing the bulk signature of these molecules in our galaxy and other galaxies in the infrared, but we couldn't see which individual molecules made up that mass. With the addition of radio astronomy, instead of seeing this large mass that we can't distinguish, we're seeing individual molecules." Much to their surprise, the team didn't discover just one new molecule hiding out in TMC-1. Detailed in multiple papers, the team observed 1-cyanonaphthalene, 1-cyano-cyclopentadiene, HC11N, 2-cyanonaphthalene, vinylcyanoacetylene, 2-cyano-cyclopentadiene, benzonitrile, trans-(E)-cyanovinylacetylene, HC4NC, and propargylcyanide, among others. "It's like going into a boutique shop and just browsing the inventory on the front-end without ever knowing there was a back room. We've been collecting little molecules for 50 years or so and now we have discovered there's a back door. When we opened that door and looked in, we found this giant warehouse of molecules and chemistry that we did not expect," said McGuire. "There it was, all the time, lurking just beyond where we had looked before." McGuire and other scientists at the GOTHAM project have been "hunting" for molecules in TMC-1 for more than two years, following McGuire's initial detection of benzonitrile in 2018. The results of the project's latest observations may have ramifications in astrophysics for years to come. "We've stumbled onto a whole new set of molecules unlike anything we've previously been able to detect, and that is going to completely change our understanding of how these molecules interact with each other. It has downstream ramifications," said McGuire, adding that eventually these molecules grow large enough that they begin to aggregate into the seeds of interstellar dust. "When these molecules get big enough that they're the seeds of interstellar dust, these have the possibility then to affect the composition of asteroids, comets, and planets, the surfaces on which ices form, and perhaps in turn even the locations where planets form within star systems." The discovery of new molecules in TMC-1 also has implications for astrochemistry, and while the team doesn't yet have all of the answers, the ramifications here, too, will last for decades. "We've gone from one-dimensional carbon chemistry, which is very easy to detect, to real organic chemistry in space in the sense that the newly discovered molecules are ones that a chemist knows and recognizes, and can produce on Earth," said McCarthy. "And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Whether these organic molecules were synthesized there or transported there, they exist, and that knowledge alone is a fundamental advance in the field." Before the launch of GOTHAM in 2018, scientists had cataloged roughly 200 individual molecules in the Milky Way's interstellar medium. These new discoveries have prompted the team to wonder, and rightly so, what's out there. "The amazing thing about these observations, about this discovery, and about these molecules, is that no one had looked, or looked hard enough," said McCarthy. "It makes you wonder what else is out there that we just haven't looked for." This new aromatic chemistry that scientists are finding isn't isolated to TMC-1. A companion survey to GOTHAM, known as ARKHAM--A Rigorous K/Ka-Band Survey Hunting for Aromatic Molecules--recently found benzonitrile in multiple additional objects. "Incredibly, we found benzonitrile in every single one of the first four objects observed by ARKHAM," said Andrew Burkhardt, a Submillimeter Array Postdoctoral Fellow at the CfA and a co-principal investigator for GOTHAM. "This is important because while GOTHAM is pushing the limit of what chemistry we thought is possible in space, these discoveries imply that the things we learn in TMC-1 about aromatic molecules could be applied broadly to dark clouds anywhere. These dark clouds are the initial birthplaces of stars and planets. So, these previously invisible aromatic molecules will also need to be thought about at each later step along the way to the creation of stars, planets, and solar systems like our own." ### In addition to McGuire, McCarthy, and Burkhardt, the following researchers contributed to and led research for this project: Kin Long Kelvin Lee of MIT; Ryan Loomis, Anthony Remijan, and Emmanuel Momjian of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Christopher N. Shingledecker of Benedictine College; Steven B. Charnley and Martin A. Cordiner of NASA Goddard; Eric Herbst, Eric R. Willis, Ci Xue, and Mark Siebert of the University of Virginia; and, Sergei Kalenskii of the Lebedev Physical Institute. The project also received research support from the University of Stuttgart, Max Planck Institute, and The Catholic University of America. About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask--and ultimately answer--humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world. About the Massachusetts Institute of Technology The MIT Department of Chemistry is an inclusive, supportive, and innovative community whose common goal is to create new chemical knowledge and to mentor the next generation of the best and brightest students who will define the next frontiers of chemical science. About the National Radio Astronomy Observatory The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media. About the Green Bank Observatory The Green Bank Observatory is the home to one of the world's largest fully steerable radio telescopes, the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The Observatory is home to several additional instruments and arrays and is protected by two complementary radio interference protection zones, the National Radio Quiet Zone and the West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zone. References "Detection of Interstellar HC4NC and an Investigation of Isocyanopolyyne Chemistry under TMC-1 Conditions." C. Xue et al, 2020 Sept. 1, The Astrophysical Journal Letters [https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 2041-8213/ aba631 ] pre-print PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2008. 12345 "Early Science from GOTHAM: Project Overview, Methods, and the Detection of Interstellar Propargyl Cyanide (HCCCH2CN) in TMC-1." B. McGuire et al, 2020 Sept. 1, The Astrophysical Journal Letters [https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 2041-8213/ aba632 ] pre-print PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2008. 12349 "An investigation of spectral line stacking techniques and application to the detection of HC11N." R. Loomis et al, 2021 Jan. 11, Nature Astronomy [https:/ / www. nature. com/ articles/ s41550-020-01261-4 ] pre-print pdf: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2009. 11900 "Ubiquitous aromatic carbon chemistry at the earliest stages of star formation." A.M. Burkhardt et al, 2021 Jan. 11, Nature Astronomy [https:/ / www. nature. com/ articles/ s41550-020-01253-4 ] pre-print PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2009. 13548 "Interstellar detection of the highly polar five-membered ring cyanocyclopentadiene." M. McCarthy et al, 2021 Feb., Nature Astronomy [https:/ / www. nature. com/ articles/ s41550-020-01213-y ] pre-print PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2009. 13546 "Discovery of Interstellar Trans-cyanovinylacetylene (HCCCH=CCHCN) and Vinylcyanoacetylene (H2C=CHC3N) in GOTHAM Observations of TMC-1." K. Lee et al, 2021 Feb. 11, The Astrophysical Journal Letters [https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 2041-8213/ abdbb9/ meta ] preprint PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ pdf/ 2101. 05858 "Interstellar detection of 2-cyanocyclopentadiene, C5H5N, a second five-membered ring toward TMC-1," K. Lee et al. 2021, accepted The Astrophysical Journal Letters, preprint PDF: https:/ / arxiv. org/ abs/ 2102. 09595 "Detection of two interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via spectral matched filtering," McGuire et al, 2021 19 March, Science [https:/ / science. sciencemag. org/ cgi/ doi/ 10. 1126/ science. abb7535 ] AKRON, Ohio A suspect in the shooting death of a 21-year-old man and the robbery of a 59-year-old woman has been taken into custody by police and federal agents. Javion Rankin, 19, was arrested Monday on the 500 block of East Wilbeth Road in the Firestone Park neighborhood by police and members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force. Rankin is being held in the Summit County Jail on a $1 million bond on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated robbery and robbery, according to jail records. Police say DNA evidence linked Rankin to the Dec. 3, 2020, shooting death of Tyrae Carter, 21. Carter was shot in the area of Tampa Avenue and 28th Street SW in the Kenmore neighborhood. Investigators also used DNA to connect Rankin to the robbery of a 59-year-old woman on Dec. 4, also in the Kenmore neighborhood. Police say the victim was entering her apartment on the 1100 block of Nestor Avenue when a man approached and tried to grab her purse. The woman was knocked down, kicked and dragged through mud during the struggle. The suspect ran off without the purse after another person came to help the woman, police say. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Lorain man attacked Capitol police officer during Jan. 6 riots following Stop the Steal rally, feds say Two Cleveland brothers accused of fatal shooting outside Parma bar that killed off-duty corrections officer appear in court Olmsted Township police investigating after swastika spray-painted on home Former Cuyahoga County Land Bank official gets probation, $5,000 fine for lying to federal agents LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Flying Tiger Copenhagen, the world's leading variety retailer, is launching MishiPay's mobile self-checkout solution, which offers the potential for the revitalisation of the high street after a tough retail year. Using MishiPay's new "Scan & Go" technology, customers at 30 Flying Tiger Copenhagen stores in Denmark, Norway and Sweden can now scan and pay using their smartphones, leaving them free to exit the store without having to wait in line at a conventional checkout. It's technology that could change the way we shop forever. Revitalising the in-store experience with a faster, safer shopper journey The global pandemic has accelerated the adoption of mobile-based checkout solutions. By eliminating the need for shoppers to touch store hardware and simultaneously avoid needing to wait in line, MishiPay's innovative mobile self-checkout system can help to keep both customers and staff safer. What's more, the technology can be integrated quickly and seamlessly into existing payment and order management systems, without the need for investment in any additional hardware. MishiPay thus creates a game-changing customer experience that also frees staff from the checkouts to help customers on the shop floor and assist with operations elsewhere in the store. Speaking about the launch, Martin Jermiin, CEO of Flying Tiger Copenhagen, said: "All of the products in our stores are designed to make people happy, but we recognise that the checkout experience sometimes makes it a somewhat less happy experience. MishiPay helps us in this respect by removing the need to wait in line to pay. Also, we are excited to see the impact the technology can have on the operation and customer experience of our stores by enabling our store teams to focus on serving and advising customers rather than staffing checkouts." Flying Tiger Copenhagen is the latest retailer to partner with MishiPay following the award-winning British tech company's recent launches with MUJI, Spar, Londis and Decathlon Deutschland. MishiPay founder and CEO Mustafa Khanwala said: "Bringing our technology to Flying Tiger Copenhagen's customers is another exciting step in the MishiPay journey, and we are delighted to play a part in helping their retail stores bounce back following the pandemic. It has been a privilege to work alongside their motivated team who are so focused on delivering improved experiences for their customers and increased efficiency for their store teams. We are aiming to bring this technology to customers in the hundreds of Flying Tiger Copenhagen stores around the world." WASHINGTON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicare lung cancer screening coverage should be updated to reflect new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) eligibility thresholds and remove barriers that keep at-risk populations from accessing these lifesaving exams. That is the message in a letter from the American College of Radiology (ACR), the GO 2 Foundation for Lung Cancer and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to open a National Coverage Determination (NCD) reconsideration on lung cancer screening. "We are committed to saving lives through improved access to screening. The USPSTF has expanded the screening population particularly among the most vulnerable and underserved. Now we urge Medicare to move quickly to cover these Americans and make changes to improve access, and make the screening process less complex. This joint 'call to action' reinforces that these steps will help save lives," said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, President & CEO, GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. Specifically, the groups want CMS to : Revise and lower the screening eligibility age to 50 years and smoking history criteria to 20 pack-years in the Medicare population. the screening eligibility age to and smoking history criteria to in the Medicare population. Revise the following key areas to safeguard against barriers in lung cancer screening uptake in the Medicare population: the following key areas to safeguard against in the Medicare population: Eliminate the following annual screening eligibility criteria to mirror the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines: the following annual screening eligibility criteria to mirror the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines: Current smoker or one who has quit smoking within the past 15 years Upper age limit of 77 years Revise the "Counseling and Shared Decision Making" NCD criteria to ensure the current language and requirements do not act as barriers to screening uptake. the "Counseling and Shared Decision Making" NCD criteria to ensure the current language and requirements do not act as barriers to screening uptake. Formally instruct all Medicare Administrative Contractors to cover/reimburse low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) performed in all facilities, including Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities. "Aligning Medicare and private insurance coverage and making these exams more accessible to those who need them can make low-dose CT scans the most successful cancer screening test in history. However, even this cost-effective test can't help medical professionals save lives if the people who need these exams can't access them. Medicare and private insurers should extend coverage now," said Sean C. Grondin, MD, MPH, FRCSC, President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Lung cancer kills more people each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Annual lung cancer screening with LDCT in high-risk patients greatly reduces lung cancer deaths.1,2 Less than 15% of Americans who met previous USPSTF screening criteria are tested each year.3,4 More widespread screening could save 30,00060,000 lives in the United States each year. "Lack of coverage for those who need it has contributed to a severe underuse of lung cancer screening which has undoubtedly cost lives. Swift coverage expansion by Medicare and private insurers would help doctors and allied professionals address racial and regional disparities and strike back against the nation's leading cancer killer by using lung cancer screening to its full advantage," said Debra Dyer, MD, FACR, Chair of the American College of Radiology Lung Cancer Screening Steering Committee. Read the joint ACR, GO 2 Foundation and STS letter. 1 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1911793 2 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1102873 3 http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6908a1 4 DOI: 10.1016/j.cllc.2019.09.002 SOURCE American College of Radiology Related Links http://www.acr.org Regulatory News: Air Liquide (Paris:AI) has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Vattenfall, one of Europe's largest producers and retailers of electricity and heat, to purchase a total of 25 megawatts of offshore wind capacity in the Netherlands. Following PPA agreements in the United States and Spain, this is the first PPA signed by the Group in the Netherlands. It restates Air Liquide's commitment to lead the way in the energy transition and to lower its carbon footprint, in line with its Climate Objectives. Thanks to this 15 year long-term contract, Air Liquide will be able to supply with renewable energy some of its industrial and medical gas production assets in the Netherlands. This includes the first world-scale oxygen production plant fit to accommodate renewable energy in the grid, which the Group is building in the port of Moerdijk. The renewable energy will come from a wind farm located between 18-36km off the Dutch coast. This offshore wind farm is currently under development and scheduled to be operational by 2023. This will be the first subsidy-free and world's largest offshore wind farm. Over the duration of the contract, Air Liquide will source renewable energy equivalent to 15% of the Group's current consumption for its activities in the Netherlands. The wind-generated electricity will save up to 750,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the contract duration. This agreement will expand Air Liquide's offer of low-carbon solutions at competitive prices and give customers the ability to add more renewable content in their end products. Francois Jackow, Executive Vice-President and a member of the Executive Committee supervising Europe Industries activities, said: "This agreement will enable us to provide our customers with solutions contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions, in line with our Climate Objectives. In the context of an unprecedented transformation of the energy sector in Europe, Air Liquide is accelerating its commitment to take a leading role in the energy transition by supporting the development of renewable resources to foster a low-carbon economy in Europe." A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 78 countries with approximately 64,500 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the company's activities since its creation in 1902. Air Liquide's ambition is to be a leader in its industry, deliver long term performance and contribute to sustainability with a strong commitment to climate change and energy transition at the heart of its strategy. The company's customer-centric transformation strategy aims at profitable, regular and responsible growth over the long term. It relies on operational excellence, selective investments, open innovation and a network organization implemented by the Group worldwide. Through the commitment and inventiveness of its people, Air Liquide leverages energy and environment transition, changes in healthcare and digitization, and delivers greater value to all its stakeholders. Air Liquide's revenue amounted to more than 20 billion euros in 2020. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes. www.airliquide.com Follow us on Twitter @airliquidegroup View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005248/en/ Contacts: Corporate Communications media@airliquide.com Investor Relations IRTeam@airliquide.com ADVERTISEMENT A group of commercial drivers in Lagos have attacked two officers of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) and allegedly killed one, the agency has said. Olumide Filade, the spokesperson of the agency, said in a statement Thursday that the officers, Segun Obasu and Hakeem Adeniyi, were attacked at the Anthony area, Ikorodu road, when some bus drivers went beserk. This led to the death of Mr Obasu, the agency said. Mr Filade said the agency condemned the senseless and unwarranted murder of Mr Obasu and the assault on Mr Hakeem, another officer. Giving details of the incident, Olajide Oduyoye, the general manager of LASTMA, said both officers were attacked with machetes and other dangerous weapons by the driver of a commercial bus with registration number FKJ 452 YC, plying Bariga to Oshodi via the Ikorodu Road axis in cohort with some other drivers, after his vehicle was apprehended for contravening the Traffic Law of the state. The sad fact about the whole saga was that the two officers were in mufti and on their way home, having completed their morning shift and closed for the day before the recalcitrant commercial bus drivers went berserk, seeking any LASTMA officers to attack for carrying out their statutory duties. Obazu was struck severally with machetes resulting in deep lacerations on the head and his eventual death, while Adeniyi Hakeem, who was also attacked in similar fashion has been hospitalised and in coma, Mr Oduyoye said. Mr Oduyoye condemned the incident, saying it is becoming too many in Lagos State. Some senior officers, who were also in mufti and around the area were lucky to escape the mob attack, Mr Oduyoye said, saying cultists are now doubling as commercial bus drivers in Lagos State. The LASTMA boss further said seven of the culprits have been caught and handed over to the police while the driver of the bus and others are still at large. He said the police would conduct a proper investigation, and the full wrath of the law would be brought on those found guilty of taking laws into their hands. Any traffic violation or infraction shall be punished or penalised as enacted by the Lagos State House of Assembly, the LASTMA boss said. PREMIUM TIMES reported how another LASTMA officer Samson Akinmade was knocked down by a bus at Demurin, Ketu, Lagos and died from the injury sustained from the incident. A severe weather threat that forecasters said could have spawned tornadoes in several sections of South Carolina mostly didn't deliver, but a cloudburst on the back end of the storm flooded streets in downtown Charleston. At about 4:15 p.m. March 18, a powerful squall swept through the Holy City, swamping the medical district within minutes. A weather station near the district recorded more than 2 inches within an hour. Floodwaters coursed down busy Calhoun Street, spilling into nearby neighborhoods, where residents dashed to move their cars away from rising waters. By 5 p.m., water levels were thigh-deep on low-lying spots of Ashley Avenue. The sky quickly cleared afterward as waters slowly drained, with the city closing several flooded streets. The flooding was a surprise for a system forecast well in advance that meteorologists had expected to be damaging due to wind, not water. On March 17, a rare "moderate" threat of severe weather was issued for most of South Carolina, with the National Weather Service warning of the potential for strong winds, hail and significant tornadoes as strong as EF2, or 111 mph. Many schools and governments, including lawmakers in the Legislature, were cautious about the weather outlook and opted to cancel meetings and events. School districts in the Midlands and Lowcountry, with plenty of practice from the coronavirus pandemic, told students to attend class virtually. The atmospheric setup looked like a classic one for the spring systems that have historically brought twisters to South Carolina a fast-moving cold front colliding with moist, warm and potentially unstable air in the way. A similar scenario brought several tornadoes through the state last April, including one that reached 175 mph, or EF4 strength, in Hampton County. While 27 counties were under a tornado watch at one point, the threat mostly did not materialize, and weather forecasts got less severe throughout the day. By the afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center removed its last warning of a moderate chance of severe weather around the Myrtle Beach area. "It does appear the threat for significant tornadoes (of EF2 or higher) has decreased," said Michael Emlaw, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. At 6 p.m., the last tornado watch ended in the Lowcountry. Two tornado warnings, which are usually issued if radar indicates rotation in a storm, were issued for a swath of the Upstate, including Gaffney and for a portion of York County. As of 5 p.m., no damage reports had indicated that an actual tornado touched down. But in one case, straight-line winds were strong enough to take down several trees north of Chappells, in Newberry County. Broken segments of a long-rolling front approached the state from two points. Thunderstorms spread from Beaufort to Charleston on the coast, before exiting offshore. A more organized line of storms pushed east across the Upstate from Greenville, spawning the tornado warnings before exiting into North Carolina. No serious damage or injuries were immediately reported in the early evening in North Carolina from storms near High Point and Charlotte, which both had tornado warnings. The line of storms had already traveled hundreds of miles since March 17, as it ripped east from the Texas-Louisiana border. The front spurred 27 unconfirmed reports of possible tornadoes that day, mostly centered over Mississippi and Alabama. At least two people were hurt when an apparent tornado struck southwest Alabama, destroying a house. Teams fanned out over 12 counties there on March 18, checking to confirm twister reports. Additional damage was reported in Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, where video showed an apparent tornado at Brookhaven. High winds blew down signs and trees in northeast Texas, and hailstones the size of baseballs were reported near the Alabama-Mississippi line, the Weather Service said. Gregory Yee and Tony Bartelme contributed reporting from Charleston, and Natalie Walters from Greenville. The Associated Press contributed reporting from Birmingham, Ala. SACRAMENTO Californias Board of Education could be on the verge of approving the nations first statewide ethnic studies curriculum, designed to teach high school students about the history of racial and ethnic groups in America. But debate over the teaching manuals content has so fiercely divided educators and activist groups that the authors of the curriculums original draft have demanded that their names be removed. On the surface, much of the division is due to the deletion of references to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that appeared in the first draft, which the state posted for public comment in summer 2019. At at deeper level, the split reflects disagreements about the purpose and focus of ethnic studies. The curriculum, which comes before the Board of Education on Thursday, is designed to teach teenagers about the contributions, struggles and culture of historically marginalized peoples which have often been untold in U.S. history courses, with an emphasis on four groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. California set out to draft the curriculum in 2018. Opposition erupted the next year, as some Jewish groups and state legislators said the first draft evoked anti-Semitic stereotypes, excluded the experiences of Jews in the U.S. and supported a boycott of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. The Department of Education, over the course of several drafts, removed all content about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and added lessons about Jewish people. Lessons were also added on other groups that said they were left out of the first draft, including Sikhs and Armenians. An advisory group of 18 educators who wrote the first draft said many of the changes reflected how the traditional scope of ethnic studies had been compromised due to political and media pressure. They demanded their names be removed. Jorge Pacheco Jr., an ethnic studies teacher in the Bay Area and president of the Oak Grove School District board in San Jose, was part of that committee. He said the revisions water down the emphasis on people of color and allow for the complete erasure of Palestinians. There is a group of people that dont want students to learn about systems of power and oppression because they themselves feel threatened by the loss of their own power in this society, Pacheco said. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Pacheco said he did not object to telling the stories of Sikhs, Armenians and Jews of color. But, he said, many other changes turned the course into a more generalized discussion of diversity that distracts from the emphasis on how people of color have been oppressed. Scott Roark, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, said changes to remove the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were based on public comment and recommendations by a separate commission that reviews the quality of all state curricula. We do not view this as capitulating to political pressure, but rather working to continuously improve the model curriculum in response to comments from all interested members of the public, Roark said in an email. The changes were welcomed by some Jewish advocacy groups, which said the original draft curriculum evoked anti-Semitic stereotypes. Tyler Gregory, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council, said the addition of lessons about Jewish people and anti-Semitism is a major improvement over the first draft. You cant talk about white supremacy and not include the Jewish community, Gregory said. One part of the original curriculum suggested that high school students review rap lyrics about Israels conflict with the Palestinians that included the statement, They use the press so they can manufacture. That was deleted after critics said it evoked an anti-Semitic trope about Jews controlling the media. The council is officially neutral on whether the curriculum should be approved, but Gregory said it was pleased that references to Israels treatment of Palestinians had been removed because the course is about domestic American issues, not foreign policy debates. Nearly half the roughly 81,000 public comments the Department of Education received about the guidelines were about Jewish Americans or anti-Semitism. The presentation of Arab Americans was the second-most commented upon aspect. A coalition of Arab American groups and ethnic studies educators has asked the Board of Education to reject the curriculum. They say the latest draft betrays the inclusive mission of ethnic studies, a movement that began on Bay Area college campuses in the late 1960s. Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center in San Francisco, said the fight over Californias curriculum will influence whether pro-Israel interest groups can shape similar courses nationwide. She said the proposed curriculum improperly downplays Arab American studies, moving it from the courses main section to a supplemental appendix. They have undermined and whitewashed ethnic studies, Kiswani said. Its all about eradicating racism, challenging colonial conquest and enslavement. And instead, what we have today is another form of colonizing ethnic studies itself. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner Ohio shows great promise for MassageLuXe, says Kristen Pechacek, Chief Growth Officer. We are excited to onboard new franchisees and feel there are many entrepreneurs out there looking for the right opportunity to achieve success. With our brand, they can reach their goals. MassageLuXe, a leading massage franchise, has identified great growth opportunities in the state of Ohio. Currently, the brand does not have spas in the area and is looking to open 25 locations single and multi-unit buyers welcome. Ohio has ranked as one of the nations top business locations, making it a boundless prospect for MassageLuXe to bring their top-notch services to the Ohio community. Small businesses reign supreme in Ohio with a general mentality to shop local. Professionally and efficiently run businesses have no problem retaining their customers, especially in Ohio where people tend to find a resident shop versus an out-of-state brand. Through our site analysis, Ohio has shown to be a great opportunity for our brand, said Sean Rentchler, Director of Franchise Development. Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, in particular, are favorable cities for MassageLuXe to put roots down. Its exciting to have a blank canvas to paint on. The brand has acknowledged Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati as having the highest growth potential for their brand. In a recent Inc. 5000 list, 37 Columbus-based companies were featured a list that also included MassageLuXe. In 2020, the populations for the metro Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, areas was 1,644,000, 1,763,000, 1,746,000, respectively. Densely populated areas provide ample opportunity for any business and is just one of the many reasons why MassageLuXe has deemed this area the next best place for them to expand to. Ohio shows great promise for MassageLuXe, says Kristen Pechacek, Chief Growth Officer. We are excited to onboard new franchisees and feel there are many entrepreneurs out there looking for the right opportunity to achieve success. With our brand, they can reach their goals. MassageLuXe is a fast-growing massage and spa franchise that provides luxurious treatments to customers across the country. Massage services are becoming increasingly popular as more people seek out the health benefits of this time-honored practice. MassageLuXe offers services to help clients relax, remove pain, and restore health. About MassageLuXe Founded in 2008 in St. Louis, Missouri, MassageLuXe is a fast-growing franchise-based spa company with a mission to provide an unparalleled experience that supports and encourages health, wellbeing, and quality of life. MassageLuXe delivers the highest quality massage, facial, and waxing services in a comfortable, relaxing, and luxurious environment. Massage is a service that improves health, promotes relaxation and overall wellbeing for the consumer, and has been practiced throughout the world for thousands of years. MassageLuXe currently has 69 locations across 16 states and is planning to expand to 250 locations in the next five years. For more information about MassageLuXe, please go to https://massageluxe.com/. For franchising information about MassageLuXe, please go to https://franchise.massageluxe.com/. United Nations, March 18 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy on Afghanistan and regional issues. The Secretary-General has asked Arnault to assist in achieving a political solution to the conflict, working closely with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and regional partners, Guterres' press office said in a statement on Wednesday. According to the statement, Arnault brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience in peace settlements and mediation, with an extensive background in UN missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, including Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported. The personal envoy will be responsible for liaison with regional countries to support the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, as well as the implementation of any agreements which are reached, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman. The appointment came ahead of multilateral peace talks on war-torn Afghanistan in Moscow on Thursday, which will include an Afghan government delegation and representatives of the Taliban, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, Turkey would also arrange a US-proposed conference on the Afghanistan peace process early in April. The Secretary-General remains ready to support initiatives for advancing the Afghanistan peace negotiations, said Dujarric. The concurrence of the parties will underpin any progress toward a political settlement, he added. The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), Indias largest trade body of television news channels, today partnered with India's leading LegalTech company, Webnyay to collect, collate and address complaints on content in news television channels. The partnership will facilitate viewers of the channels and broadcasters to build a credible news information network and address any anomalies virtually by NBF's Professional News Broadcasting Standards Organisation (SRO), said R Jai Krishna, Secretary General of News Broadcasters Federation. The News Broadcasters Federations Professional News Broadcasting Standards Organisation (NBF-PNBSO) is the self-regulatory organization for news broadcasting sector in India. Through PNBSO, NBF ensures news broadcasters uphold the highest standards and ethics in journalism, and also make them accountable for their actions while disseminating news and information to audience. NBF Webnyay partnership will allow viewers of news and satellite TV across languages and states to raise any complaint against a news channel in their own language from the very comfort of their homes. The complaints will be resolved online, said Ishita Jindal, co-founder of Webnyay, Webnyay is India's leading grievance redressal and online dispute resolution company. It facilitates resolution of complaints and disputes in a secure and seamless manner and provides technology and dispute management services to be able to resolve complaints and disputes online. The news broadcasters serve as an influential, public awareness and emergency communications system to get information at the doorsteps of the citizens. In this manner, they serve as an essential service for the nation and a valve for the democracy. Accordingly, it is important that if any person feels aggrieved, then the PNBSO can resolve the grievances in an impartial and independent manner online. Webnyay's document automation technology will allow the users to create complaints and legal documents without instructing advocates. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon said Wednesday that policies enacted during his first three months in office will result in convicted defendants spending thousands of fewer years in prison, saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Gascon's remarks came during a news conference making his first 100 days in office. One of Gascon's signature policies is to dramatically reduce the use of sentencing enhancements, and that accounts for the reduced time. The penal code has more than 100 such enhancements, many of them dating back to when California was facing soaring crime in the 1980s and '90s. They include extra prison time for using a gun, for example. The DA's office filed 5,138 enhancements during Gascon's first three months. Compared with the Dec. 2019-Feb. 2020 period under former DA Jackie Lacey, that's a massive 71% drop. In one example, under Lacey, prosecutors filed 715 gun enhancements from in that period under the state's "10-20-Life" law, which adds 10 years to a sentence if you use a gun during the commission of a robbery or some other crime. The law adds 20 years if you discharge the gun and 25 years-to-life in prison if you wound someone. In Gascon's first three months, his prosecutors filed 106 such gun enhancements, including just two in February. Other examples: The filing of gang enhancements fell from 955 under Lacey to 132 under Gascon, with none filed last month. Lacey filed 2,221 "strike" enhancements under the state's three strikes law from Dec. 2019 to Feb. 2020. Since he took office on Dec. 7, Gascon has filed 380. Under Lacey, prosecutors filed 640 great bodily injury enhancements. Under Gascon, they filed 201. AT LEAST 8,172 FEWER YEARS BEHIND BARS Gascon projected that criminal defendants charged in his first three months in office could spend at least 8,172 fewer years behind bars as a result of these changes. He said the number could be much higher because the office figured the lowest possible prison sentences if the enhancements were filed. Gascon is part of a growing number of prosecutors who argue the justice system has locked up too many people for too long with no real public safety benefit. "There generally is no correlation between the length of a sentence and the likelihood that someone will not commit crimes," he said. During last year's campaign, Gascon promised to address mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system. Sentencing enhancements may be his biggest effort to do that. But the union that represents his own prosecutors sued to stop his enhancements policy, arguing it was too broad. A judge said Gascon could not force prosecutors to withdraw previously filed enhancements as part of a blanket policy, but he is allowed to have a policy that reduces their use going forward. The dramatic drop in prison time for criminals will result in "incalculable losses in public safety," said Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association for Deputy District Attorneys. He argued that sentencing enhancements provide a strong deterrent to crime. Siddall called Gascon's approach to enhancements a "reckless experiment." PROJECTED COST SAVINGS ARE 'PURE FICTION' "These numbers are highly unusual for a DA's office," said Loyola Law School Professor Stan Goldman, referring to a prosecutor proudly displaying policies designed to lower prison sentences. "The question is how it's going to work out. Is violent crime going to go up when people get out of prisons?" If those defendants are convicted, their shorter sentences will save the state prisons $664 million, according to Gascon. He based that estimate on the average yearly cost to imprison someone in California, which is just over $81,000. "Those savings can now go to education, mental health and housing," Gascon said. "And obviously those savings will only increase with time." "That's pure fiction," said Siddal, arguing there would be no savings because the cost of running a prison essentially remains the same, regardless of the size of its population. Gascon touted other accomplishments during his first 100 days, including: No longer seeking the death penalty in 17 active cases Withdrawing 77 pending motions to transfer minors to adult court Hiring former federal prosecutor Lawrence Middleton to serve as a special prosecutor to review past police shootings The DA acknowledged ongoing dissent among his prosecutors, saying some of the enhancements still being filed are done against office policy. "This is a major cultural shift," Gascon said. "Our efforts to transform a dated approach that creates more crime, victims and inequities are just beginning," he said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A Christian went on a shooting spree in massage parlors in Georgia, believing that such could eliminate "temptation" for his sexual addiction. Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, who attended Crabapple First Baptist Church (CFBC), killed eight people and injured one, in three massage parlors. He also revealed that he was planning to attack more massage parlors in Florida. The casualties include six Asians and two Caucasians. The motive was reportedly due to the suspect's sexual addiction and not a racial issue, The Christian Post (CP) reported. He began his attack at Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, where he shot four people dead and injured a Hispanic man. Los Angeles Times wrote that the names of the victims in the first shooting were released Wednesday. Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Adre Michels, Xiaojie Yan and Daoyou Feng were killed, while Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz was injured in the incident. Long then went to Gold Spa, killing three women. Finally, he proceeded to Aromatherapy Spa and killed another woman. In a press conference, Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department clarified the suspect's motive. "He does claim that it was not racially motivated. He apparently has an issue with what he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places. It's a temptation for him he wanted to eliminate," Baker said. Baker also explained that Long understood the gravity of his crime. Long's family reportedly tracked him by his cellphone and stopped him on his way to Florida to kill more massage parlor staff. His parents contacted the authorities themselves for his capture. "We are really appreciative of the family. Without them, this would not have happened as quickly as it happened. They are very supportive and certainly, this was difficult for them," Baker stated. Long was charged with four counts of murder, as well as one count of aggravated assault without bond. South Korean diplomats in Atlanta confirmed that four of the victims are Koreans. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a meeting with senior South Korean officials in Seoul Wednesday, condemned the killings and offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the incident. Blinken also said that they will "stand up" for the right of both Americans and Korean Americans for safety, as well as respect and dignity. To address the fear of spa workers caused by the incident, Atlanta police said that patrols were increased in the area where the killings occurred. Officers were also dispatched to check on similar businesses. Long graduated from Sequoyah High School in 2017. He formerly attended CFBC with his family and served in the church's student ministry. CP reached out to Jerry Dockery, the church's lead teaching elder, for comments about Long's faith and the shootings. "We are grieved to hear the tragic news about the multiple deaths in the Atlanta area. We are heartbroken for all involved. We grieve for the victims and their families and will continue to pray for them. Moreover, we are distraught for the Long family and pray for them as well," Dockery replied. Researchers find a role for citrullinated vimentin as a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule, or DAMP, that is generated by lung macrophages in response to environmental cadmium/carbon black. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The triggers and causes of a severe scarring disease of the lungs -- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF -- remain unclear. Now research published in Science Translational Medicine shows how cadmium and carbon black can trigger lung macrophages to produce a modified protein, citrullinated vimentin, or cit vim, which leads to lung fibrosis. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and three other American universities also describe a sequence of mechanistic steps in lung macrophages and lung fibroblasts that leads to the lung scarring. One of the enzymes involved in these steps -- peptidylarginine deiminase 2, or PAD2 -- may be a promising target to attenuate cadmium/carbon black-induced fibrosis, they say. The researchers also report a potential disease model for lung fibrosis and IPF -- the use of cadmium chloride to induce interstitial fibrosis in mice. The study, led by Veena Antony, M.D., included patients with IPF, tissue experiments and mouse models. Antony is the Endowed Professor of Environmental Medicine in the UAB Department of Medicine, and she directs the UAB Superfund Research Program. "Altogether, these studies support a role for cit-vim as a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule, or DAMP, that is generated by lung macrophages in response to environmental cadmium/carbon black exposure," Antony said. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal recognized as a cause of lung fibrosis. Cadmium can adsorb onto carbon black particles. In the lung, such particles are ingested by macrophages, the sentinel host defense cells of the mammalian lung. Up to two-thirds of IPF patients have a history of smoking, and cigarette smoke contains both cadmium and carbon black. Air pollution from biomass fuels and coal furnaces is also a source of the two pollutants. Data from human subjects The researchers evaluated cadmium and cit-vim accumulation in tissue, using lung biopsies from 25 subjects with IPF -- eight never-smokers and 17 smokers -- and 14 controls -- eight never-smokers and six smokers. Researchers found that both cadmium and carbon black were significantly accumulated in the lung tissue from IPF subjects. Furthermore, the cadmium concentrations in the IPF lung tissues directly correlated with cit-vim amounts, and the cit-vim amounts were higher in smoker IPF tissue compared to non-smoker IPF tissue. Also, subjects with IPF had higher levels of cit-vim in plasma, and those amounts inversely correlated with lung function. Lung macrophages from subjects with IPF had significantly increased vimentin and cit-vim expression compared to macrophages from controls. Vimentin is a structural protein in animal cells. Data from human tissues Using lung macrophages from subjects with IPF, researchers found that cadmium/carbon black induced citrullination of vimentin, and secretion of cit-vim from lung macrophages was dependent on activation of two enzymes, Akt1 and PAD2. Citrullination is the attachment of the amino acid citrulline onto a protein. Cit-vim that was isolated and purified from lung macrophages was able to induce invasion of pulmospheres by primary lung fibroblasts from normal subjects. Cit-vim enhanced the expression of collagen by the fibroblasts, and the expression of collagen by lung fibroblasts from IPF subjects was even greater. The pulmospheres -- 3-dimensional spheroids -- were derived from normal lung tissue. Fibroblast proliferation and excessive collagen deposition are part of lung scarring in IPF. DAMPs are molecules from damaged or dying cells that provoke an innate immune response to clean up the damage. Researchers showed that cit-vim acted as a DAMP to activate fibroblasts through toll-like receptor 4 signaling. The activated fibroblasts produced profibrotic cytokines, contributing to the pathogenesis of IPF. Thus, the data emphasize a critical role for lung macrophages in the development of lung fibrosis. Data from mice In animals, researchers found that mice treated with cit-vim, but not normal vimentin, independently developed lung fibrosis, with architectural destruction and increased collagen deposition, in a toll-like receptor 4-dependent fashion. Wild-type mice exposed to cadmium/carbon black -- but not mouse mutants lacking PAD2 or toll-like receptor 4 -- generated high amounts of cit-vim in plasma and in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and the mice developed lung fibrosis. "This finding is important," Antony said, "because cit-vim is sufficient to provoke fibroblast activation in vitro and elicit profibrotic cytokine/chemokine production and TLR4-dependent lung fibrosis in vivo. "Our data demonstrate that cadmium/carbon black is a risk factor, not only in subjects with IPF who smoked, but also in nonsmokers. Higher concentrations of cadmium in patients who do not smoke may be caused by exposure to cadmium through food and/or occupation or environment." ### Co-authors with Antony in the study, "Citrullinated vimentin mediates development and progression of lung fibrosis," are Fu Jun Li, Ranu Surolia, Huashi Li, Zheng Wang, Gang Liu, Tejaswini Kulkarni, Keith Wille, Victor J. Thannickal and A. Brent Carter, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, UAB Department of Medicine; Adriana V.F. Massicano and Suzanne E. Lapi, UAB Department of Radiology; James A. Mobley, UAB Department of Surgery; Santanu Mondal and Paul R. Thompson, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts; Joao A. de Andrade, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Scott A. Coonrod, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; and Mohammad Athar, UAB Department of Dermatology. Support came from National Institutes of Health grants ES027723, ES029981, ES015981-13, ES030246, HL114470, CA013148 and GM118112; and from Department of Veteran Affairs grant 1 I01 CX001715-01. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday (March 18) urged the Centre to open COVID-19 vaccination for all and claimed that if the eligibility criteria is removed, all of Delhi can be vaccinated in three months. If the Centre allows vaccination for everyone and we get sufficient supply of vaccine then we can vaccinate everyone in Delhi within 3 months. The system should be decentralised and states should be allowed to vaccinate on war footing, in their own way, the Delhi CM said. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal also said that everyone except those below the age of 18 should get COVID-19 vaccination. Appeal to the Centre to relax vaccination eligibility criteria, open it for all except below 18 years, the Delhi CM said. I appeal to the Centre that their current guideline for vaccination centres is very stringent. We now have 2 months of experience in vaccination. So we're writing to Centre to relax some parameters so that vaccination can be done at more centres. We'll take all precautions, he added. Stating that the recent rise of COVID-19 cases in the national capital is not a cause of worry, the AAP chief appealed to the eligible beneficiaries to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Kejriwal said that the number of people vaccinated in Delhi every day will be raised from around 40,000 to 1.25 lakh. He added that his government has directed officials for stricter tracing, testing, isolation of coronavirus cases. The CM also assured that the number of vaccination centres in Delhi will be doubled which will open from 9 am to 9 pm. (With inputs from agencies) Live TV LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Pollinate, the global software business that partners with banks to help them deepen and extend relationships with their business customers, today announced it has closed a $50 million Series C funding round, led by Insight Partners, the global venture capital and private equity firm. The round also includes participation from all existing investors, including NatWest Group, Mastercard, National Australia Bank (NAB), EFM Asset Management, and Motive Partners. The investment signals Pollinate's further global expansion and move into North America, where it is in advanced conversations with a number of banks. Additionally, the funding seeks to accelerate the expansion of Pollinate's white-label marketplace offering to meet the needs of banks' small and medium-sized business customers. "At Insight Partners, we invest in fast-scaling software companies. The Pollinate platform creates white-labelled digital marketplaces for the business customers of the world's largest banks," said Emmet B. Keeffe III, Operating Partner at Insight Partners and Founder of Insight IGNITE. "Following the pandemic, the banks have the opportunity to lead the regeneration of the SME economy but they must move quickly. We're proud to support Pollinate as they develop their global alliance of non-competing banks, and look forward to seeing the company continue its impressive growth in the years ahead." "SMEs are the lifeblood of economies globally. They are the job creators, the innovators, and the brave explorers that simply find a way to make things work. Access to capital, intuitive banking services and a broad ecosystem of value-added solutions and partners are critical to the journey of a small business owner", said Al Lukies CBE, CEO and Founder of Pollinate. "It is our passion to work with leading banks and dynamic merchants around the world. This investment round, led by the outstanding team at Insight Partners and supported by our existing shareholders, validates our mission, and is a statement of confidence in the banks - that they can fight back against new entrants and win, all while supporting the vital work of SMEs." Pollinate - the business behind Tyl by NatWest - was formed to help banks across the world to digitally transform their offering for business customers and keep pace with new entrants looking to take market share or to push them down the value chain. The Pollinate platform allows banks to offer a one-stop shop for SMEs, from access to capital, the ability to take payment, digital loyalty schemes, marketing tools and insights. This gives SMEs a single place to understand, manage, and grow their business. "The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation for SMEs, forcing banks to move quickly to support their business customers. We have been doing everything in our power to support their recovery, in the UK, including approving over 14 billion of loans under government lending schemes, offering mortgage and capital repayment holidays and waiving monthly terminal fees for Tyl customers. We are delighted to also support SMEs on a global basis through our investment in Pollinate," said Simon McNamara, Chief Administrative Officer at NatWest Group. The regeneration of SMEs may result in a high rise and burn rate. It is imperative that banks can keep up with their expectations, and offer swift and effective support as they re-build. Pollinate works in collaboration with banks to help them with that agility. "Small businesses are vital to the Australian economy, driving half of our economic output and employing two in every three Australian workers," said Nathan Goonan, Group Executive, Strategy and Innovation at NAB. "We're looking forward to working with Pollinate as we continue to work to bring the best of digital innovation to NAB's business bank customers." Moelis & Company and White & Case acted as exclusive financial advisor and legal counsel respectively to Pollinate on the transaction. For more information, please visit: www.pollinate.co.uk. About Pollinate Founded in 2017, Pollinate is a global business headquartered in London. It works with leading banks around the world, including NatWest Group (powering Tyl by NatWest) and National Australia Bank, offering a modern, cloud-based toolkit for SMEs. Agnostic to underlying infrastructure, the platform takes data feeds from any bank and third-party systems. It gives merchants a single place to understand, manage and grow their business, and is built with bank-grade privacy and security at its heart. About Insight Partners Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners. For media enquiries: Comms@pollinate.co.uk Press images: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/dd472dc02de0b1f0bbe6572aa14ab02220210318121703/469a51 SOURCE: Atmedia View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636331/Pollinate-Announces-a-50-million-Series-C-Funding-Round-led-by-Insight-Partners How VR training keeps Austin EMTs sharp Because mass casualty training is expensive and difficult to schedule, emergency medical technicians in Austin, Texas, use virtual reality (VR) to keep their skills sharp. Partnering with local startup Augmented Training Systems, the city now has access to two virtual reality training programs that focus infrequent events where large numbers of injured require significant attention. EMTs train once or twice a year for these types of events, but just in time VR training allows us to refresh those skills quickly, without needing the physical equipment or set-up, said Commander Keith Noble, of Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS). We can do the training at the station, or at home, and can repeat the training over and over. During the pandemic, VR training became even more relevant. Even as in-person events were cancelled, for first responders, its not an option to postpone training, Noble said. This technology is a good fit for todays environment where were doing everything virtually. Its safe and its effective. The VR training platform was developed through a public-private partnership between the citys Communication and Technology Management department and ATCEMS. It was funded by a grant from US Ignite, a federal initiative to promote innovate city services powered by new technologies. CTM data architect Ted Lehr brought together researchers from Texas State University and ATCEMS to build a VR training option. Augmented Training Systems, which was born out of the collaboration, now offers virtual training for EMS teams learning to work on a bus-sized ambulance and responding to mass casualty events. With the VR training EMS staff gain familiarity with the Ambus systems, and learn how to efficiently triage a large number of individuals. The platform allows you to track training and accuracy of performance. It also introduces elements of gamification and repetition, both of which help with knowledge retention and skill recall, Augmented Training Systems President Scott Smith said. Medics that trained with VR showed a higher recall of skills and mission-critical tasks, a reduction in errors, and a decrease in time it took to complete a task versus those who only took in-person training, Austin officials said. This VR platform can improve training, especially when added to physical trainings, Lehr said. It can be done more frequently, more cheaply, and at the convenience and even desire of the first responders. Top political advisor stresses enduring stability in Xinjiang Xinhua) 08:40, March 18, 2021 Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, visits a Uygur family at Taiyu community of Saybag district in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 15, 2021. Wang made an inspection tour in Xinjiang from last Sunday to Wednesday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) URUMQI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese top political advisor Wang Yang has called for fully implementing the Party's policies on governing Xinjiang for the new era and consolidate the foundation for enduring peace and stability in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour from last Sunday to Wednesday in Xinjiang. He visited villages, communities, schools, enterprises, research institutes, and religious sites. Wang acknowledged Xinjiang's achievements in counterterrorism, maintaining stability, and poverty alleviation in recent years. He noted that the people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have a growing sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security. Stressing cementing the sense of community for the Chinese nation, Wang urged efforts to deepen the research of Xinjiang's history and promote the standard spoken and written Chinese language responding to the will of people of all ethnic groups. Wang called for fully implementing the Party's policies on freedom of religious belief and upholding the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation to guide Islam in Xinjiang to better adapt to the socialist society. Noting that Xinjiang should explore ways to integrate into China's new development paradigm and pursue high-quality development, Wang also stressed the need to uphold a people-centered development philosophy to achieve common prosperity. Kangana Ranaut is one of those celebs who makes sure to keep her fans updated with all the details of her professional life. The actor has been sharing some daily updates about her back-to-back shoot life. Recently, Kangana shared some beautiful pictures from a chopper while she was on her way to Rajasthan to shoot for Tejas. Kangana Ranaut also expressed her love for desert life after sharing a series of pictures on her social media account. The Tanu Weds Manu actor can be seen sitting inside the chopper in one picture while in the other one, she can be seen walking towards the same along with her sister Rangoli Chandel. Kangana also shared a lovely view from her chopper. Also Read: Kangana Ranaut Wraps Up Delhi Schedule For Tejas, To Shoot At Her 'Favourite' Place Next The actor thanked her Tejas team to save her the hassle of a long drive and allowing her to reach her shoot location through the chopper. The Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi actor also praised Rajasthan stating that even though the state has a raw deal in terms of nature and resources, it has some strongest, culturally and aesthetically richest and evolved people. Take a look at the tweet shared by her. This morning off to work, thank you team #Tejas for saving the hassle of long drives, while I look at this terrain, I wonder Rajasthan got a raw deal in terms of nature and its resources yet they emerged as the strongest, culturally n aesthetically richest and evolved people. pic.twitter.com/Ar5HAnH8TB Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 18, 2021 Kangana Ranaut went on to share another tweet wherein she praised the desert life of Rajasthan. The actor shared a beautiful picture of the desert terrain from atop her chopper and said that she is often asked by people why she loves the desert life so much. Also Read: Manikarnika Returns: Case Filed Against Kangana Ranaut For Cheating & Copyright Breach The actor then shared that it is not the barrenness of emotionally cold and infertile soil nor it is the brutality or harshness of the weather that she loves. Kangana Ranaut revealed that she loves the scarce life in the desert that refuses to settle for anything less than love. Take a look at the actor's tweet. People ask me why do I love the desert so much,its not the barrenness of emotionally cold and infertile soil its not the brutality/harshness of the weather but what I love is the the scarce life that refuses to settle for anything less than love and the desert cant resist pic.twitter.com/f7HOKAfUNZ Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 18, 2021 Kangana Ranaut looks angry during Pilates class ; Check out | FilmiBeat Meanwhile, talking about the film Tejas, Kangana Ranaut will be essaying the role of a Sikh soldier, Tejas Gill in the movie. The film will be helmed by debutant Sarvesh Mewara. Apart from this, the actor will be seen in the much-awaited films, Dhaakad and Thalaivi. (Natural News) Los Angeles schools are set to require every child to use a COVID-tracking app to be scanned daily before they enter classrooms when schools reopen next month. Last month, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) announced the launch of Daily Pass. Developed by Microsoft, the tracking app will scan children in schools, using a barcode, to coordinate health checks, COVID-19 tests and vaccinations. Sort of like the golden ticket in Willy Wonka, everyone with this pass can easily get into a school building, stated LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner during his weekly update on Feb. 22. Daily Pass will gather data and share it with LAUSD collaborators Daily Pass generates a unique QR code each day for each student and staff member. This code authorizes entry to a specific Los Angeles Unified location. To gain entry to class, each individual should have a negative test result for COVID-19, show no symptoms and have a temperature under 100 degrees. School officials stated that data gathered by the app will be reported as required to health authorities. In addition, anonymized Daily Pass data will be used by the LAUSDs research and healthcare collaborators to provide insights and strategies to implement. These partners are Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, Anthem Blue Cross, Healthnet and Cedars Sinai. The app will also be used by the LAUSDs school-based vaccination program to register and schedule appointments, track vaccine supply, perform check-in and data capture, sort high-risk individuals, offer waitlists for low-risk individuals as well as provide dashboards for administrators and staff to view data. Since last June, our teams have been collaborating closely with Los Angeles Unified to support running schools remotely, said Eran Meggido, Microsofts corporate vice president of Windows product & education. We are pleased to be working with Los Angeles Unified to help educators, staff and students return to schools sooner and safer. We are excited for you to start using Daily Pass. Meanwhile, Beutner stated that the LAUSD was the first school district in the U.S. to implement the technology, allowing school officials in the district to keep track of the health status of everyone inside their schools and facilities. The Daily Pass sets the highest standard possible for school safety, Beutner said in a statement. MERV-13 upgraded air filters in every school, COVID testing for all students and staff at least every week and now the Daily Pass Los Angeles Unified is proud to lead the nation in creating the safest possible school environment. Apps data gathering raises questions While the LAUSD states that the Daily Pass app is being deployed for health and safety reasons, others have raised flag about the amount of data its collecting. According to John Whitehead, constitutional law attorney and founder of The Rutherford Institute, parents should be asking why the app is gathering all this data. He says that they need to know what the entities involved are going to do with the data, where it is going and whether it should be given to government agencies. We are moving into a total surveillance state and an entire generation of young people are acquiescing to the police state, he warned. Privacy as we know it will be deleted and no one will be overlooked. Whitehead has also stated that schools should be doing bringing parents into discussions, not only about the Daily Pass app, but also on other measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 in schools. If possible, parents should be given the choice to opt their children out of these measures. (Related: LAWSUIT: California parents want schools to fully reopen as students struggle with distance learning.) The government can accomplish many things with a compelling state interest and a pandemic is just that, he said. But the school needs to provide an alternative for parents who do not want their children to participate in these measures whether its a virtual learning option or a separate building. Follow EducationSystem.news for more on measures school districts around the U.S. are implementing to allow schools to reopen in the middle of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sources include: FOXBusiness.com WakingTimes.com Greenville, SC (29601) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Asset Management Companies along with NSE and CIEL have joined hands to build 50,000 new to industry Mutual Fund Distributors (Financial entrepreneurs) over the next three years. This is being done under the aegis of ExpertMFD,a first pan-India collaborative initiative comprising of top AMCs who manage over 2/3rd of total AUM in Mutual Fund Industry. The MFs include marquee names like Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Axis MF, ICICI Prudential MF, L&T MF, Nippon India MF, SBI Mutual Fund and Sundaram MF who have joined hands with NSE (National Stock Exchange) and CIEL (Centre for Investment Education and Learning). As New India earns and invests, mutual funds have emerged as an attractive avenue to promote financialisation of assets and earn market-linked returns over the long-term with disciplined financial planning. However,hand-holding is required for both new-to-MF investors as well as experienced investors, ExpertMFD said in a statement. The Indian MF industry could be worth Rs 100 lakh crore in the next decade. However, currently there is just 1 distributor for every 17,000 people, indicating a massive growth opportunity for insurance agents, retired BFSI professionals, homemakers, BFSI employees, students etc. Top individual MF distributors earn more than Rs 1 crore in annual gross commissions, showing the potential for earnings. ExpertMFD has built the infrastructure to create financial entrepreneurs / mutual fund distributors through its first in India collaborative platform which will offer end-to-end support for anyone who wants to make a career as an expert financial distributor. Regulatory training and also practically-oriented induction & mentoring by experts is necessary for becoming successful in the MF industry. NSE will be the transaction partner for a seamless digital experience to start business. Speaking on the occasion, Himanshu Vyapak,MD, CIEL, said, "We have about 2.3 crore unique MF investors in India. The growth in MF distributors has not kept in pace with the growth of assets in MF Industry. Our endeavour is to build a strong foundation and a cohesive growth environment for future financial experts by providing a full stack end-to-end platform for anyone who wants to become an expert financial distributor. This is done through the aegis of technology intervention and strong partnerships. The platform will also train these distributors on other financial products in the second phase." AMCs CEOs in a joint statement from the consortium of Top AMCs comprising of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Axis MF, ICICI Prudential MF, L&T MF, Nippon India MF, SBI MF, Sundaram MF said: "We are very pleased to partner with NSE and CIEL to launch ExpertMFD a platform to create Financial Entrepreneurs for the mutual fund industry. The industry is ready for next-level growthand is expected to be Rs 100 lakh crore over the next 10 years. It is indeed heartening to note that Indians are increasingly moving away from physical savings to financial savings. With lesser distributors serving more and more customers, it is a huge opportunity for new financial distributors to join the industry and make an impact." "The success of the industry will lot depend on how we work towards expanding the distributor network and move to rural India. We would want to use the learning and the experience that we have gathered over the years to make the project successful" Mukesh Agarwal CEO, NSE Indices Ltd- NSE said, "We see a great potential in having a first in industry one stop platform for anyone like an insurance agent, homemaker, student and retired professional to start their mutual fund distribution journey. Our joint knowledge, business acumen, skilling capability and transaction engine will help any new distributor in its entire journey from onboarding to business generation on one platform." 7th Pay Commission: Delay in restoration of DA likely as key meet gets postponed 7th Pay Commission: Variable DA for CG employees hiked, all you should know 7th Pay Commission: DA set to return, pending instalments to be restored prospectively India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 18: The benefits of the Dearness Allowance under the 7th Pay Commission will be restored from July 2021. This would mean that the Central Government employees would get an increased salary. Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur told Parliament that the employees will get full benefits of the DA starting July 1 and all pending instalments would be restored prospectively. In March 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had approved to release an additional instalment of DA to the CG employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners with effect from January 1 2020. The Ministry of Finance said that there will be an increase of the Basic Pay/Pension to compensate for the price rise. The impact on the exchequer as a result of the DA and DR was fixed at Rs 12,510.04 crore per annum and Rs 14,595.04 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (for a period of 14 months from January, 2020 to February, 2021). This would benefit around 48.34 lakh CG employees and 65.26 lakh pensioners. In another development relating to the 7th Pay Commission, the government decided to extend the Disability Compensation for all serving employees. This decision would go a long way and especially provide relief for those in the central armed police force (CAPF), personnel of the BSF, CISF, BSF etc. "In a significant New Year decision, "Disability Compensation" has been extended for all serving govt employees, if they get disabled while performing their service & are still retained in service. This also includes those who were appointed on or after 1.1.2004 & covered under NPS," Union Minister, Jitendra Singh said. "In a significant New Year decision, "Disability Compensation" has been extended for all serving govt employees, if they get disabled while performing their service & are still retained in service. This also includes those who were appointed on or after 1.1.2004 & covered under NPS," Union Minister, Jitendra Singh said. The decision relating to the NPS would also benefit employees and provide ease of living for government servants even after they have superannuated and become pensioners or family pensioners or elder citizens, he also said. The 2009 order said that those government servants appointed on or after January 1 2004 and covered under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) do not get such compensation. WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as President Joe Biden's health secretary, filling a key position in the administration's coronavirus response and its ambitious push to lower drug costs, expand insurance coverage, and eliminate racial disparities in medical care. Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP) WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday confirmed California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as President Joe Biden's health secretary, filling a key position in the administration's coronavirus response and its ambitious push to lower drug costs, expand insurance coverage, and eliminate racial disparities in medical care. The 50-49 largely party-line vote makes the 63-year-old Becerra the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services. The $1.4 trillion agency encompasses health insurance programs, drug safety and approvals, advanced medical research, substance abuse treatment, and the welfare of children, including hundreds of Central American migrants arriving daily at the U.S.-Mexico border. Becerra has been California's attorney general since 2017. He sued the Trump administration 124 times on a range of policy issues, earning the ire of conservatives. Before that he represented a Los Angeles-area district in the U.S. House for 24 years. A lawyer, not a doctor, his main experience with the health care system came through helping to pass the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and defending it when Donald Trump was president. In this feb. 24, 2021, photo, Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Joe BidenAos pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him Aiand the new administrationAi as out of the mainstream. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP) I understand the enormous challenges before us and our solemn responsibility to be faithful stewards of an agency that touches almost every aspect of our lives, Becerra said recently at his confirmation hearing. Im humbled by the task, and Im ready for it. He comes from a working-class Mexican American family; his father was in road construction and his mother was a secretary. Leading Republicans have dismissed Becerra as unfit. But the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association supported his nomination. Two influential lobbying groups, representing the drug industry and health insurers, said after the vote that they look forward to a collaborative working relationship. But to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, "the distinguishing feature of this nominees resume is not his expertise in health, medicine, or administration that part of the resume is very brief. What stands out are Mr. Becerras commitment to partisan warfare and his far-left ideology. Becerra was reliably liberal in nearly a quarter-century in the House, but he was not seen as a left-wing firebrand. His issues were education, immigration and equal treatment for minorities. His profile was of a low-key insider who could work with Republicans. President Joe Bidens Cabinet and Cabinet-level picks. (AP Graphic) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said GOP arguments against Becerra almost verge on the ridiculous. Schumer said Republicans complained loudly that he had no direct experience as a medical professional, even though Republicans voted in lockstep" to make pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar health secretary under President Donald Trump. The Biden administration's COVID-19 response is already in high gear, directed out of the White House. Biden has signed his $1.9 trillion relief bill into law and agencies are making announcements almost daily. But having a health secretary in the mix will make a big difference, said Kathleen Sebelius, who led HHS during much of President Barack Obama's administration. Many of the assets that will be important to this effort are in HHS, and he'll have the key co-ordinating role within the department, Sebelius said. It adds a force multiplier and expertise to the efforts already under way. Core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the coronavirus response. The Food and Drug Administration oversees vaccines and treatments. Much of the underlying scientific and medical research comes from the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the lead containing the spread of the virus and developing guidance to safely reopen schools and offices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides insurance coverage for more than 1 in 3 Americans, including vulnerable seniors, as well as many children and low-income people. Becerra also will also be the point man on Biden's health care agenda, which includes insurance for all Americans, deputizing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and tackling persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the health care system. Prescription drugs and health insurance will lead to major legislative battles. Democrats may have to go it alone and again use the special budget manoeuvr they relied on to muscle the COVID-19 relief bill through the Senate without Republican support. Leslie Dach, a former senior adviser at HHS in the Obama administration, said Becerra appears poised to take advantage of a shift in the politics of health care. Its a different time and its a time of tremendous opportunity in health care, he said. Whereas the Obama years were against a backdrop of tough politics and a (health care) law that still had to earn its stripes, he enters with a proven and popular law, an issue that won for the Democrats. Dach now leads the advocacy group Protect Our Care, which pushes to expand coverage. Becerra's Senate confirmation was a defeat for religious and social conservatives who worked to derail him over his support for abortion rights. During his confirmation hearings Becerra tried to play down the issue, acknowledging Americans have deeply held differences on abortion and assuring senators that he would follow the law. The law says abortion is legal but also that taxpayer money cannot be used to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman. On the Senate floor Thursday, Republicans mostly closed ranks against Becerra. But during committee hearings several indicated a willingness to work with on prescription drugs, rural health care and other matters. Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS secretary, said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who did vote for him. "I look forward to working with the department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people. Lucknow, March 18 : Over 3,500 couples tied the knot at a mass marriage function held here on Thursday. UP Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya said it was a world record of sorts. The mass marriage was one of the welfare schemes run by the Yogi Adityanath government for economically weaker sections of society. The couples wearing clothes in bright hues, sat on the carpets laid on the sprawling grounds, waiting for priests to perform the rituals. Some Muslim couples too tied the knot at the venue. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who completed four years in office, was present to bless the couples at the event organised by the Uttar Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Speaking on the occasion, he listed the various welfare schemes for labourers and said the government will soon ensure payment of Rs 2 lakh to any worker who dies while working. He also asked those present in the gathering to maintain social distancing and wear masks to prevent Corona virus from spreading as fresh cases were being reported. Swami Prasad Maurya said that as part of the mass wedding scheme, financial assistance is given under different heads. He said Rs 55,000 is given for the marriage of the daughter of a registered construction worker, in case of an inter-caste marriage Rs 65,000 is given and for getting married at a mass wedding venue Rs 75,000 is given. Up to two daughters of construction workers can benefit from this scheme, Maurya said, adding that the age of the daughter should be above 18 and the groom should be above the age of 21 years. Daughters of construction workers registered in Lucknow, Hardoi, Sitapur, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Lakhimpur Kheri and Barabanki districts got married in the matrimonial programme held as per accepted religious customs and traditions. Select couples were later called on to the stage and given marriage certificates by the chief minister. The Yogi Adityanath government has, so far, facilitated the marriage of more than one and a half lakh daughters in the state. (Alliance News) - Spain said Thursday it will resume its Covid-19 inoculation campaign with the AstraZeneca PLC Covid-19 vaccine next week, after the EU's drug regulator deemed the jab "safe and effective".A Health Minister Carolina Darias told a news conference that Spain will start using the vaccine again "next week, namely Wednesday". source: AFP Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. A team of researchers has determined the declining caribou population is part of a natural chain reaction from forest harvesting which can attract predators and competition for food. Credit: Caribou Monitoring Unit A new study comparing decades of environmental monitoring records has confirmed that Canada's caribou are not faring as well as other animals like moose and wolves in the same areasand also teased out why. The study used 16 years of data to examine changes in vegetation, moose, wolves and caribou. "Caribou are declining across Canada and have been recently lost in the Lower 48 States," says Melanie Dickie, a doctoral student with UBC Okanagan's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. "Understanding why caribou are declining is the first step to effectively managing the speciesit tells us which parts of the issue we can target with management actions and how that might help caribou." Dickie, along with fellow UBCO researchers Dr. Clayton Lamb and Dr. Adam Ford, describe the decline in caribou populations as an ecological puzzle. Typically, there are multiple factors, all changing at once, making it hard to identify how the pieces fit together. Factors such as predation from wolves and other large carnivores, increasing moose and deer populations, and habitat alteration through resource extraction and wildfires all play a part. The study aimed to sort out the roles each of these play in caribou population declines. Once land is cleared by either wildfire or harvesting, the mature forest transforms into more productive early seral forage. With the tree canopy removed, there is a significant increase in sunlight, allowing understory plants to thrive. These plants provide food that benefits moose, deer and their predators. These predators then have a spillover effect on the rarer caribou, creating apparent competition between moose and caribou. Caribou have lower population growth rates relative to moose, and are not as resilient, making them more susceptible to landscape changes. Credit: Caribou Monitoring Unit "Changes in primary productivity have the potential to substantially alter food webs, with positive outcomes for some species and negative outcomes for others," Dickie explains. "Understanding the environmental context and species interactions that give rise to these different outcomes is a major challenge to both theoretical and applied ecology." To establish the link between habitat alteration and primary productivity, the researchers first examined satellite imagery to show a link between logging and new vegetation growth. They then used data on moose, caribou and wolf numbers to compare the leading hypotheses on how changes in vegetation influence these populations. The analysis was conducted across a 598,000-square kilometer area located in the boreal shield and boreal plains of western Canada. Ultimately, the researchers determined that lower caribou populations were a victim of an ecological chain reaction. Caribou have a lower population growth rate relative to moose, making them more susceptible to landscape changes. "We found that increased deciduous vegetation on the landscape, which moose like to eat, increased moose populations, which increased wolves, and in turn, means declining caribou," Dickie says. "We also found that human land use, like forestry, significantly increased vegetation productivity, suggesting that these kinds of land uses are leading to caribou declines via changes to predators and prey." Caribou conservation will be a defining point for Canada in the 21st century, adds Dr. Lamb, a Liber Ero Fellow at UBCO. Caribou highlight an unresolved tension between land stewardship, wildlife conservation and resource extraction. Further, as caribou populations continue to decline, Indigenous Peoples are forced to grapple with mounting threats to food security, cultural traditions, and infringed treaty rights. "We can't attribute caribou declines to just one factor or another," he says. "But understanding the relative importance of these factors, and how they interact, can help us understand how we can manage caribou populations in the face of continued climate change and land use." Explore further Habitat restoration alone not enough to support threatened caribou: study More information: Robert Serrouya et al, Trophic consequences of terrestrial eutrophication for a threatened ungulate, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2021). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Robert Serrouya et al, Trophic consequences of terrestrial eutrophication for a threatened ungulate,(2021). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2811 The launch of two new Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet chronographs, with a very contemporary look, and featuring gold and ceramic cases, underscores the brands commitment to local artisans. Code 11.59 Selfwinding Chronograph // 41 mm Audemars Piguet Suppliers to the Swiss watch industry have always worked in the shadows of the watch brands and even the savviest watch collectors are mostly oblivious to their existence. But inside these workshops, tucked away in the Swiss countryside, are men and women with skills and know-how that have often been handed down from generation to generation of artisans. This ancestral craftsmanship is under threat, firstly from a pandemic that continues to take its toll on the watchmaking industry, but also due to the brands themselves who are constantly tempted by inexpensive components abroad to increase their bottom line. The Swiss Made ordinance was reinforced in 2017, demanding that watches using the Swiss Made label have at least 60% of their value coming from Switzerland, up from 50%. Audemars Piguet has always gone above and beyond the limits of what is considered Swiss Made, preserving the countrys horological savoir-faire. A man on a mission Audemars Piguets CEO, Francois-Henry Bennahmias is determined to change this, as he explained during his Aiguille dOr acceptance speech at the GPHG in 2019, We have a duty to safeguard a savoir-faire thats absolutely unique to this country and we will only do so if we continue to support our partners. Fostering human talent and maintaining human connections is a large part of the family spirit that is at the heart of Audemars Piguet. The company is committed to making almost all of its watch components on Swiss soil. The notion of Swiss Made goes beyond the geographical origin of its watches and extends to the network of people and businesses who honour and push the boundaries of a uniquely Swiss savoir-faire. Two new code 11.59 Chronographs Audemars Piguet is unveiling two new Code 11.59 timepieces that shine a light on the work of Bangerter, a Swiss familyowned business that is leading the charge in the manufacture of precision components made of advanced ceramics, tungsten carbide and other extremely hard materials. Code 11.59 Selfwinding Chronograph // 41 mm Audemars Piguet Bangerter has created an octagonal black ceramic case middle for the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Chronograph, that accentuates the watchs two-tone design. This contrast of materials and hand finishing also creates an interesting play on light. The production process The process starts with zirconium oxide powder that is combined with a binding agent and formed into a preliminary shape, before being sintered in a kiln at 1,400C. This high temperature turns the material into ceramic but also reduces the size of the components by 25%, creating an additional production challenge. The ceramic case middle is then machined with high-precision diamond tools and its geometrical surfaces are pre-polished and pre-satin-brushed, before being finished by hand to include the brands trademark satin-brushed and polished chamfers. All the details Both timepieces are paired with a dark smoked-gray dial featuring a vertical satin-finished base. Black chronograph counters and a matching inner bezel bring depth to the dial and accentuate the cases octagonal black ceramic case middle. Code 11.59 Selfwinding Chronograph // 41 mm Audemars Piguet Beating at the heart of the Code 11.59 is the brands Calibre 4401. This is the latest in-house integrated chronograph movement from Audemars Piguet and it comes with a column wheel and flyback function that allows the user to restart the chronograph without stopping and resetting it first. The two Selfwinding Chronograph models are complemented with a black rubbercoated strap, finished with a textured motif for a contemporary look. Bangerter, and its impressive work in the field of precision components, allows Audemars Piguet to raise awareness about the hidden horological talents working in the watch industry and to show just how much more there is to the notion of Swiss Made than a geographical label. ADVERTISEMENT The grant-aided mission schools in Ilorin, which Kwara State government ordered to reopen on Wednesday, are still shut as of Thursday. A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that eight out of the 10 schools visited were under lock except one. Church members of some of the mission grant-aided schools were seen outside the gates clad in various uniforms with placards and musical instruments singing and dancing. There was the presence of security personnel in the schools to avert any violence that might erupt. Schools visited were St. Barnabas Secondary School, St John Secondary School, Maraba, and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others were C & S Secondary School, St Anthonys Secondary school, Surulere Baptist LGEA School and St Joseph Secondary School, Maraba. At ECWA Secondary School, Oja Iya, however, academic activities have resumed with students already receiving lectures. Some of the students wore their Hijab, the bone of contention, while others wore berets. NAN recalls that the schools were closed on February 19 over misunderstanding in the usage of Hijab (Islamic female veil) in public schools. The government set up a committee to resolve the dispute and later asked the schools to resume on March 8, with willing female students allowed to use the Hijab. The government, however, rescinded its decision to reopen the schools on the same day over safety concerns as some stakeholders frowned at the decision. This led to the continuous closure of the schools until the government announced the reopening in the early hours of Wednesday (March 17). Some members of the churches owning the schools, prevented Hijab-wearing students from gaining access into the schools on Wednesday, an action which led to a violent situation later brought under control. (NAN) Until last year, the wedding industry was thriving in the Hudson Valley. It was booming, said Jeanne Stark, owner of Hudson Valley Ceremonies, a Rhinebeck-based business that offers wedding planning, officiants, staffing, and rentals. Stark, whos been working in weddings in the Hudson Valley for more than 25 years, said her business was seeing a steady 10 to 12 percent increase in revenue annually. The Knots 2017 Real Weddings Study revealed Westchester/the Hudson Valley as the fourth most expensive place to get married in the United States. But everything changed when the pandemic broke out. At the beginning of 2020, Hudson Valley Ceremonies had 164 weddings on the books. By the end of the year, only seven micro weddings had gone forward, with the majority canceling or moving to 2021. It was an 80 percent loss in revenue for the business. The first wave of wedding cancellations and postponements came with Gov. Andrew Cuomos New York State on PAUSE executive order last March. Weddings were not explicitly addressed in the governors NY Forward reopening plan, but many venues began holding micro weddings when their regions entered Phase 4 (on July 1 for the Capital region and on July 7 for the Mid-Hudson region), which allowed social gatherings with a maximum of 50 guests. Still, safety concerns, the guest cap, and stipulations about masks, disinfecting protocols, and social distancing led many couples to cancel or postpone nuptials scheduled through the rest of the year. Renewed hope for the industry On January 29, amidst increasing accessibility to COVID-19 vaccinations, Cuomo announced that starting March 15, wedding receptions would be able to resume in accordance with state guidance with up to 150 people (restricted to a 50 percent capacity limit), provided attendees were tested beforehand. Margaret Brower, Director of Sales for the Bonura Hospitality Group, which hosts events at seven venues in the Hudson Valley, said that at her office, the announcement was met with cheers and sighs of relief. Thats the difference between people staying in business and companies closing, Brower said. However, Brower and others became frustrated when weeks passed and specific guidelines were not provided. Without knowing those specifics, our couples were in limbo, said Brower. Isabelle Selby More guidance, less clarity Nearly a month later, on February 22, Cuomo provided additional wedding guidelines and followed up with detailed guidance for food services at events. A non-residential social gathering of up to 50 people would not require the same protocols as one for up to 150 people indoors. These larger weddings would need to notify the local Department of Health [DOH] with details of the event, and the organizers would need to provide each guests contact information for tracing and receive proof of either a negative COVID-19 test or a vaccination. Vendors themselves would also need to be tested bi-weekly for COVID-19 or show proof of vaccination if they regularly host or work at events. In New York City, where one can easily schedule a free rapid test, this hoop is not terribly hard to jump through. Here in the Hudson Valley, though, the dearth of testing sites and the cost per test makes this stipulation more prohibitive. Super-sizing micro weddings In early March, Cuomo then announced new capacity limits for events. Starting March 22, venues could now host up to 100 people indoors and 200 people outdoors without the testing requirement, and on April 2, up to 500 people outdoors and 150 inside with the testing protocol. With see-sawing occupancy figures trickling from the governors office, and the lack of guidance spelling out the details between the different head counts, wedding vendors were left to deduce for themselves the new rules distinguishing social gatherings from testing-required events. This has been this roller coaster of Yay! And then Oh, my God, said Stark of Hudson Valley Ceremonies. On top of these myriad new rules was the possibility for fines of up to $15,000 for events in violation of state public health rules. Many vendors question how well these guidelines would be enforced, though. Would a health inspector really arrive at 9pm on a Saturday night? Im sure the [local] health department...will be doing some spot checks, said Ron Hicks, Assistant County Executive of Dutchess County. But he adds that they would not be looking for anything but the most egregious non-compliance. And unlike a bar or restaurant, which is the sole entity responsible for health violations, guests could be liable, too, at a rate of up to $1000 per incident. We want to make sure that no ones having a wedding where theres no testing, no masks, no distancingand theyre acting as if this was 2019. Other than that, were all humans, and we know what weve been through and were understanding, but we need everyone to be responsible and make sure we get out of this quickly and that we can still have a good timewithout harming businesses or driving up infection rates. Jon Pivko Dancing is backin pods One particularly pressing issue was whether dancing would be allowed, since stipulations provided by the State Liquor Authority in June of 2020 noted that, at venues with liquor licenses, dancing was prohibited to minimize any possible viral transmission. The dancing is a huge deciding factor, said Stark. Most of her clients hire a band for their weddings, which Starks says costs between $16,000 and $24,000. If guests cant dance, they are less inclined to want to pay for a band. Under the new rules of all events, couples can indeed have their first dance, and guests can dance with their pod, with whom they would be seated at the wedding, provided they stick to a zone on the dance floor and wear a mask the entire time. Now with the guidelines relatively established, couples have options. They can either forge ahead with a lower head count, have the larger wedding they want with testing or skip this years formalities so that they can have a normal wedding in 2022. But predicting what will be normal next year is just guesswork. Theres no guarantee that in 2022 there wont be face coverings, said Brower. Thats what a lot of couples have questions about. But theres no way to say when that will be. Id love to be able to have answers for couples, but we just cant foresee into the future. Stark said its important for couples planning weddings to understand that after a devastating year, and the regulations for the 2021 wedding season, vendors are fighting to stay in business. Already, some of her couples have opted to postpone their weddings again, and she is predicting another loss in revenue this year. As wedding professionals, our first thoughts are always for our couples, Stark said. But we need our couples to understand, we dont do this on the side. Noting that vendors may charge fees for weddings postponed again to 2022, she said, if a lot of vendors dont do that, they wont be here anymore. Just last week, for instance, Bonura Hospitality announced it had sold one of its venues to a film production company to recoup its pandemic-related losses. J. Benson Photography A Hudson Valley weddings far-reaching impact The fallout extends to businesses outside of the industry, too. I dont think anybody realized how vast and deep-rooted the wedding industry is, said April Tiberio, manager of Kingston event space Senate Garage. In 2019, Senate Garage was named Tourism Business of the Year in the Ulster County Business Recognition Awards. Between 2016 and 2019, it brought the local economy more than $4 million in revenue. Thats because other local businesses benefit from weddings, including area hotels, coffee houses and gas stations. When you consider the number of wedding venues in operation a guide created by The Knot includes 425 wedding venues in the Hudson Valley Tiberio said, thats a multi-billion-dollar industry that was basically shut down completely. Handsome Hollow, a wedding venue in Delaware County, normally hosts 25 to 30 weddings with an average of 130 to 160 guests each between early May and early November. Kate Murphy, who owns Handsome Hollow with her husband Huck, said that in 2020, they hosted just five micro weddings. Murphy said the tourism the venue brings to the rural area where it is located is essential to the local economy. In past years, weddings have drawn hundreds of people every weekend. I see the result [of last years cancellations and postponements] in the hotels our guests stay at, the restaurants that have closed, the small vendors that are really struggling, said Murphy. Its an area that needs the money this business brings in. Handsome Hollow is expecting to host 30 to 35 weddings in 2021, which will be the most theyve ever done. Murphy is hoping that will help revive some of the local businesses that have suffered. I hope its not a permanent effect that this has on the area financially, said Murphy. For couples, the strain is more than financial. Having to reschedule and reframe plans and expectations for a wedding in the midst of a pandemic can take a mental and emotional toll. We talked about what to do with our wedding for like, four months, said Emily Weisbecker, who originally planned to marry her fiance Ezra Chamberlain at Senate Garage in May of this year. And [in January] we just kind of made an impulsive decision to cancel. Like we had no information moving forward, and postponing our wedding sucked less than not knowing what the heck we were supposed to do about our wedding, she said. Hearing about the governors new guidance, they said, would not have changed their decision. They now plan to officially marry on their original date, and celebrate it formally in May of 2022 in Kingston. For now, wedding vendors are anxiously awaiting a new wedding season, while also anticipating that the guidance will keep changing. We just want to get back to business and start throwing safe weddings and start fulfilling dreams again, said Brower. When Jordan sabotaged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's triumphant pre-election trip to the United Arab Emirates last week, analysts say, it was sending him a message: stop marginalising us. The Hashemite kingdom -- which kept a low profile during the term of former US president Donald Trump, a close Netanyahu ally -- now believes the winds have shifted and Joe Biden will show a more balanced approach. Last Thursday, Jordan delayed granting Netanyahu permission to cross its airspace to the UAE, forcing him to shelve his trip to the rich Gulf state with which Israel normalised relations in a landmark agreement last year. The move dealt a blow to Netanyahu, who is campaigning for re-election on March 23. Jordan's move "sent an abrupt and firm message to make him understand that it will no longer tolerate his way of behaving towards it," said Ahmad Awad of the Phenix Center for Economics & Informatics Studies in Amman. Netanyahu had been due to meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, to mark the historic agreement between Israel and the UAE on what would have been his first official visit to the Gulf state. "Jordan chose the right moment to scupper what was supposed to be a show of victory and a campaign event for Netanyahu," said Oraib al-Rantawi, director of Al Quds Center For Political Studies. "This move has turned into a crisis between the two countries." - 'More comfortable' - Israel's veteran leader faces his fourth election battle in less than two years. With an ongoing graft trial hanging over his head, he is campaigning both on a world-leading Covid vaccination drive and as a statesman who delivered diplomatic breakthroughs. In the so-called Abraham Accords brokered by the US under Trump, Israel also established relations with Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco -- its first such agreements in the Arab world since its peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Story continues Palestinians regarded these deals as a betrayal, maintaining that Arab states should isolate Israel until the people living in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip have their own independent state. Diplomatic contact had ceased between the Palestinians and Washington after Trump had given his approval for Israel to annex the West Bank. Jordan, home to many Palestinian refugees, had strongly opposed that idea. Awad said that, "after years of deliberate marginalisation of its role under an American administration further to the right than the Israeli right, Jordan is in the process of restoring the situation with the arrival of Biden". Rantawi also said that, with Trump out of the picture, "Jordan today feels more comfortable". "The Trump administration was threatening Jordan's vital interests regarding the final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said. He was referring to a vision of making Jordan a substitute state for the Palestinians, an idea which is unacceptable to Amman and the Palestinians. Rantawi said while the Trump administration strongly supported Israel's position on the long-running dispute, the Biden administration "supports the two-state solution and considers Jordan a partner". "It has returned to traditional American positions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." - 'Cold peace' - Tensions rose last week after Israel's cancellation of a planned visit by the Jordanian crown prince to the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian sector of the Holy City annexed by the Jewish state. According to the head of Jordanian diplomacy, Ayman Safadi, Prince Hussein decided to cancel his visit after Israel had announced it would change the programme at the last moment. Underlying this is the struggle between the two countries for control of the esplanade that is home to the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site. While Israel occupies the eastern part of Jerusalem, the mosque is administered by the Waqf, an organisation that manages Muslim property and which, for historical reasons, depends on Jordan. Safadi explained Jordan's position in the spat with Israel on CNN on Friday. "You renege on an agreement with Jordan, you disrupt a religious visit, you create conditions that made this religious visit on a holy occasion impossible and then you expect to come to Jordan and fly out of Jordan?" he said. "Let's be serious here." A Jordanian official, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP that "relations with Netanyahu have been strained for many years". He said that King Abdullah II "refuses to receive him or answer his phone calls". Their last officially announced meeting was in June 2018, and the one before that in 2014. King Abdullah of Jordan has repeatedly described the peace with Israel as a "cold peace" and in late 2019 said that Israeli-Jordanian relations are at "an all-time low". msh/sk/fz/dv New Delhi: The government and the BJP are not trustworthy, BKU president Naresh Tikait alleged on Wednesday, as he hit out at the Centre over the contentious agriculture laws. Tikait made the remark as he participated in a monthly meeting of his farmers' union at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. Farmer unionsAddressing Bharatiya Kisan Union supporters, who have been camping at Ghazipur for nearly four months now, Tikait said: "This movement will continue for long, make it a part of your routine." "The government and the BJP are not trustworthy," the farmer leader said, according to a statement issued by BKU's national media incharge Dharmendra Malik. "More people like (Meghalaya Governor) Satyapal Malik will come forward. The farmers respect their truth. BJP MPs are now feeling suffocated," Tikait said. Farmers' protest Malik had on Sunday sided with farmers protesting the Centre's new agriculture laws and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah not to offend the community. Speaking at an event in his home district of Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh, Malik had said if the Centre gave legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, farmers would relent. "None of the laws are in favour of farmers. The country in which farmers and soldiers are not satisfied, that country cannot move ahead. That country cannot be saved. Hence, the Army and farmers should be kept satisfied," Malik had said. European priests plan to bless same-sex unions in defiance of Vatican decree Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Some European Catholic priests have announced their intentions to continue blessing same-sex unions despite a Vatican statement this week saying that Catholic churches cant bless sinful relationships. The Austrian Priests' Initiative, which has supported the practice of blessing same-sex unions, released a statement this week expressing their intention to disobey Mondays decree from the Vaticans Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The group of priests stated that they were deeply appalled by the new Roman decree that wants to prohibit the blessing of same-sex loving couples." This is a relapse into times that we had hoped to be overcome with Pope Francis, the groups statements reads, as reported by CBS News. In solidarity with so many, we will not reject any loving couple in the future who wants to celebrate God's blessing, which they experience every day, in a church-service. The initiative, founded in 2006, has about 350 members who mostly reside in Austria. The group argued that same-sex couples can be as loving as heterosexual couples. Reality has long since shown that same-sex couples connected in love can very well celebrate God's blessing in church. A state-of-the-art theology establishes this responsible practice, the group added. In a statement authored by Spanish Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria, Vaticans Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared that it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage. As is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex. The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creators plan, the Vaticans statement reads. Supporters of the decree, among them Kevin Miller, professor of moral theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, have argued that it fits longstanding Church teaching. In an emailed statement, Miller stated that "[t]his teaching is so grounded in Scripture and Tradition that it cannot be otherwise. 'Intrinsically' means that, as the response says, no matter what positive elements (like friendship and the care for another that goes with it) there might also happen to be in a particular same-sex relationship, the relationship as a whole, insofar as it includes same-sex acts, is 'not ordered to the Creators plan, said Miller. To bless something that is intrinsically at odds with Gods plan would be a kind of contradiction in terms, an abuse of what a blessing, by its nature, is. It is not so much forbidden as impossible. Critics of the Vatican statement, including Jamie Manson, president of the progressive group Catholics for Choice, argued that the Vaticans stance was an act of profound cruelty to invalidate LGBTQ families in any form. The Vaticans needless attack on same-sex marriages seems to reflect an intention to put up walls that separate people and divide families instead of building bridges between all people, stated Manson. By insisting that genital complementarity is an absolute requirement for marriage, the hierarchy places limits on Gods power to work within all of the relationships of all Gods beloved children. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, which claims to be the United States largest Catholic civil rights organization, told The Christian Post that the Vaticans statement clarifies Pope Francis position on the matter. Last year, Pope Francis reportedly called for the legalization of same-sex civil unions in the civil sphere. But a Vatican official later clarified that the pontiffs remarks did not change Catholic Church teaching. The Church will never bless cohabitation, Donohue said. This is not just with homosexuals. There are guys and gals who live together outside of marriage, and the Church does not recognize that. This is not strictly about homosexuals, although they are the ones who are pushing for it, obviously. But it would apply to any union that is outside of [licit marriage]. KITCHENER, Ont. - Waterloo Brewing Ltd. is cutting the prices it charges Ontario's pubs and restaurants for its most popular brands in an effort to help them recover from the pandemic. KITCHENER, Ont. - Waterloo Brewing Ltd. is cutting the prices it charges Ontario's pubs and restaurants for its most popular brands in an effort to help them recover from the pandemic. Waterloo CEO George Croft says that starting Monday the brewery will sell a selection of its most popular beers at essentially cost to Ontario pubs and restaurants, for the foreseeable future. The Waterloo Brewing Ltd. logo is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Waterloo Brewing Ltd. *MANDATORY CREDIT* Croft says the hospitality sector has been among the hardest hit during the pandemic and that the coming months will be difficult. Thousands of restaurants across the country have been forced to close due to the pandemic and a third wave in Ontario is threatening renewed restrictions. Waterloo says the price of its Waterloo Dark, IPA, Craft Lager, Grapefruit Radler and Landshark 473-ml tall cans will be reduced by $10 per case of 24. The price for a 20-litre keg will be cut by $25 per keg and the cost of a 58.6-litre keg will be reduced by $50 on select brands. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:WBR) A New York nursing home whistleblower says he knew Gov Cuomo's order to take COVID-19 patients back into care facilities was 'ridiculous' and he warned state officials they shouldn't be doing it. Michael Kraus, who is the administrator of the Silver Lakes Specialized Care Center in Staten Island, told Fox News on Thursday that his staff were also 'petrified' about the nursing home order that was issued March last year. Cuomo has come under intense scrutiny over his nursing home COVID-19 response after he barred nursing homes from rejecting recovering coronavirus patients being discharged from hospitals. Some nursing homes complained at the time that the policy could help spread the virus. Kraus said he immediately flagged his concerns in a conference call with health officials after learning about the order. Michael Kraus, who is the administrator of the Silver Lakes Specialized Care Center in Staten Island, told Fox News on Thursday that his staff were also 'petrified' about the nursing home order that was issued March last year 'I said that's ridiculous. We can't be doing this. It's just not right to the residents,' he said. 'Many facilities vocalized it. They were petrified but they were more petrified of the Department of Health. 'I did vocalize it but once it was shot down, I never spoke again,' he said. Kraus defiantly shut down his nursing home for 10 weeks and refused to accept patients, despite pressure from local hospitals who were overwhelmed with surging COVID cases. He claims some hospitals threatened to report them for non-compliance. Cuomo eventually rescinded his nursing home order in May and insisted on a negative COVID test instead before return to a nursing home. By that point, however, more than 9,000 people had already returned to nursing homes. Kraus said his facility ended up reporting two COVID deaths, six off-site deaths and 37 probable deaths. At least 15,000 nursing home residents in New York state have died of COVID-19. Cuomo has repeatedly tried to deflect criticism that his administration hadn't done enough to protect nursing home residents from the virus and, more recently, has been accused of under-counting the deaths. Cuomo has come under intense scrutiny over his nursing home COVID-19 response after he barred nursing homes from rejecting recovering coronavirus patients being discharged from hospitals Cuomo has come under intense scrutiny over his nursing home COVID-19 response after he barred nursing homes from rejecting recovering coronavirus patients being discharged from hospitals CUOMO'S NURSING HOME TIMELINE: MARCH 25: Cuomo orders that nursing homes accept convalescent COVID patients back into their facilities. MAY 10: The nursing home ruling is reversed, to insist on a negative COVID test before return to a nursing home. By now, more than 9,000 people have returned to nursing homes. AUGUST: Questions begin to be asked about the nursing home policy. AUGUST 26: Department of Justice opens an investigation into New York's nursing homes and COVID policy. JANUARY 28: Attorney General Letitia James released a report finding that New York under-reported the number of deaths among nursing home patients by around 50 per cent, with 13,000 actually dying - not the 8,500 reported. FEBRUARY 11: Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's secretary, admits that in August they 'froze' when asked for nursing home data, and dragged their heels on releasing it. The AP reports that more than 9,000 people were returned to nursing homes to recover from COVID in the period March 25-May 10, a figure 40 per cent higher than the official tally. Advertisement He insists that he was following federal guidelines. It has since emerged that his top advisers successfully pushed the state's health officials to strip a public report of data that showed more nursing-home residents had died of COVID-19 than acknowledged by the administration. About a third of the state's nursing home fatalities were excluded from the report as a result of the change. State officials insisted earlier this month that the edits were made because of concerns about accuracy. The administration refused for months to release more complete data. A court order and state attorney general report in January forced the state to acknowledge the nursing home resident death toll was higher than the count previously made public. The state now acknowledges that at least 15,000 long-term care residents died, compared to a figure of 8,700 it had publicized as of late January that didn't include residents who died after being transferred to hospitals. Mike Lawler, a Republican assemblyman representing Rockland County, has been among those calling for Cuomo to resign over the nursing home scandal. 'Its very clear the Cuomo admin understood their March 25th order had contributed to the death toll & they wanted to cover it up to avoid political fallout, plain and simple,' he tweeted. 'They had the data & they hid it. This was a coordinated criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice.' New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez called for a 'full investigation' into Cuomo's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes. 'I support our state's return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19,' she said in a statement. 'Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic. Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governor's remarks warrant a full investigation.' The on Wednesday proposed a Digital Green Certificate covering Covid-19 vaccination, testing and recovery, in a bid to reopen the European Union (EU) "in a safe, sustainable and predictable way." "This is an EU level approach to issuing, verifying and accepting certificates to facilitate free movement within the EU," the executive arm of the bloc said in a statement, noting that the legislative proposal is "based on a strict respect for non-discrimination and of the fundamental rights of EU citizens." The proposed to define and implement a technical framework for the certificate at EU level by mid-June, so that security, interoperability, as well as full compliance with personal data protection, can be safeguarded, the Xinhua news agency reported. "It will also allow the possibility to extend to compatible certificates issued in third countries," the Commission added. The proposal is "a balanced package of existing and new measures," Vice President Margaritis Schinas said. "In lifting restrictions, we must learn the lessons of 2020 and avoid damaging and costly cycles of opening and closing." Schinas hoped the bloc's 27 member states could endorse the proposal at the EU summit on March 25. --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.) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... DENVER An audit of Colorados unemployment insurance fund in Colorado could not verify the accounting of hundreds of millions of dollars in and out of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The State of Colorado did not have an adequate methodology to substantiate the estimated amount of receivables and payables within the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the audit said. The audit means the state could not track $510 million received from the departments employer premiums and through coronavirus relief aid, and was also unable to track $872 million in unemployment claims through the end of June, KUSA-TV reported Tuesday. Yes, our books on this were a little shoddy for the auditors, and we have gone back and addressed and we are working to make sure that this, again, does not happen, department Chief of Staff Daniel Chase said. The audit also said the department provided financial data that had errors after the audit deadline. We did make retroactive adjustments to our accounting books, but that was late, and again, that was using methodology that the auditors just didnt quite agree with us on that, Chase said. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The department received 548,000 unemployment claims from July 2019 to June 2020, about five years worth of work compared to the average 109,000 claims over the previous three years. Of the newer claims, 337,000 or 60% were filed from March 15 to April 30, 2020. Chase attributed the discrepancies in part to changes in finance leadership and efforts to restructure and reorganize the department. The department lost its controller, deputy controller and multiple lower-level employees. It also launched a new system that was delayed, which led to more fraudulent claims. The state has borrowed $930 million to prop up its unemployment insurance fund and is continuing to borrow to pay unemployment claims. The fund is expected to be replenished through increase premium rates for employers and Chase estimated its balance will be positive in 2026. I dont think employers ever feel good about giving us more money, said Chase. I do think that with all of the measures that weve taken at this point, even starting back in August before this audit took place, and moving forward since then, I think we can sow confidence in what were doing moving forward. A new city report unveiled Thursday estimates unpaid commercial rent in San Francisco from April to December 2020 to be between $172.1 million and $404.5 million. The report was released at a Board of Supervisors hearing Thursday on the state of unpaid commercial rent in the city stemming from the pandemic and related public health orders. The report prepared by the Budget and Legislative Analysts Office said unpaid rent for office, retail and industrial properties ranged from $19 million to almost $45 million per month from April to December 2020. The meeting tackled the issue of some landlords unwilling to offer rent relief to their tenants. The city needs to do everything we can to address the harms caused by this minority of landlords, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, one of the officials who called for the hearing. No one should be able to force a small business out of existence and force another vacant storefront on our neighborhoods with impunity. There is only so much the city can do to help since the state governs commercial rents and San Franciscos resources make a mere dent in alleviating massive amounts of back rent. That deep hole is far beyond what the city could possibly back fill, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who commissioned the report last year, said during the hearing. A slew of businesses retailers, gyms, beauty shops and restaurants were forced to close for months under Bay Area health orders, causing massive economic devastation during the pandemic. According to the report, 89% to 98% of unpaid rent (excluding hotels) may come from the retail sector, including restaurants and bars, despite the sector making up only around a quarter of total rented commercial property space. Most of the unpaid commercial rent comes from mixed-use properties commercial and residential buildings outside of the downtown area, with the greatest presence in the Mission, Sunset, Richmond, Noe Valley, and Potrero neighborhoods the report said. Supervisors heard from many small-business owners across the city struggling to pay rent, during Thursdays session. Our small businesses are drowning in debt, Sharky Laguana, chair of the Small Business Commission, said during the hearing. He said he owns a business supporting the live music industry that rents a dozen spaces and hasnt received rent relief. Now, he faces bankruptcy, which could force him to liquidate his home and childrens college saving accounts, he said. Some landlords have sued small businesses for damages over unpaid back rent and illegally locked tenants out of storefronts, attorney Tobias Damm-Luhr, with the Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights in the San Francisco Bay Area, told supervisors. Its harder for business owners who cant speak English, he said. Businesses did get city, state and federal help last year. Gov. Gavin Newsom extended an eviction moratorium to June 30. Rent will still be due after, though, starting as early as July for businesses with more than 50 full-time employees. City and federal grants havent been enough. Restaurants and bars didnt get a proportionate cut of federal funds, and it was harder for small, minority and women-owned businesses to access funds, the citys Budget and Legislative Analysts Office said Thursday. The city has more than $24 million available in grants and loans, and has distributed around $14.5 million. Around 1,405 businesses out of 15,000 applicants, or about 9.4 percent, have received financial assistance ranging from $2,000 to $44,000. More help is coming. Another $12.4 million in grants and $7.6 million in loans to small businesses is expected to pass as part of the Board of Supervisors spending plan for the citys $125 million surplus this fiscal year. The American Rescue Act will also provide funds. Supervisor Dean Preston, who also called for the hearing, expressed frustration that grant money is really going to the landlord. He wanted the city to offer more resources to help small businesses. Shwanika Narayan and Mallory Moench are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com, mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika @mallorymoench Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:49:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Germany imported protective face masks worth around 6 billion euros (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) last year and almost all of them were imported from China, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said Thursday. "The year 2020 will always be associated with the wearing of protective face masks in Germany," Destatis noted, adding that "on account of the coronavirus pandemic, a new product appeared in German trade with foreign countries." In April and May 2020 alone, face masks worth 3.5 billion euros (4.2 billion dollars) were imported from China, and 80 percent of imports of face masks last year took place between April and July, according to provisional estimates by Destatis. Due to mask imports from China in 2020, imports in the product group of textiles excluding clothing increased by 49.4 percent to 16.6 billion euros (19.8 billion dollars), which was a development "contrary to the sharp decline in total German imports," Destatis noted. In January 2021, 1.4 billion face masks worth 186.7 million euros (222.5 million dollars) were imported to Germany, with 94 percent of them being imported from China. Enditem Chinese top political advisor Wang Yang has called for fully implementing the Party's policies on governing Xinjiang for the new era and consolidate the foundation for enduring peace and stability in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour from last Sunday to Wednesday in Xinjiang. He visited villages, communities, schools, enterprises, research institutes, and religious sites. Wang acknowledged Xinjiang's achievements in counterterrorism, maintaining stability, and poverty alleviation in recent years. He noted that the people of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have a growing sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security. Stressing cementing the sense of community for the Chinese nation, Wang urged efforts to deepen the research of Xinjiang's history and promote the standard spoken and written Chinese language responding to the will of people of all ethnic groups. Wang called for fully implementing the Party's policies on freedom of religious belief and upholding the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation to guide Islam in Xinjiang to better adapt to the socialist society. Noting that Xinjiang should explore ways to integrate into China's new development paradigm and pursue high-quality development, Wang also stressed the need to uphold a people-centered development philosophy to achieve common prosperity. Imagine working every weekend, getting abused constantly on the phone or having someone on the other end of the line convinced you are a hoax caller. This is the norm for Covid contract tracers in Australia working for NSW Health, based in St Leonards on Sydney's leafy north shore. And Timmy Lockwood, 39, wouldn't have it any other way. One of Australia's earliest contract tracers, Lockwood commenced his role in March last year when Covid case numbers were rapidly rising across the nation. Timmy Lockwood is a contract tracer who works around the clock as a 'Covid detective' Many team members work out of a NSW Health building at St Leonards, on Sydney's north shore (stock image) Working from 7am until the early hours most days soon became standard practice for Lockwood, who is a self-confessed 'Covid detective.' The enormity of what Lockwood and his small team of colleagues were doing each day quickly became apparent for NSW Health as well as the state and federal governments. The initial team of four soon expanded to 150, and by July last year the building was swarming with more than 400 contract tracers. Lockwood estimates the tracing team have since made 350,000 calls the past 12 months - and they are often not well received. 'People can react in a wide range of ways,' Lockwood told 7 News. 'They feel shocked (after) some random person has called them up and said, 'you can't go out for two weeks.' 'People can (also) be abusive. People can refuse to isolate. 'Others might just not pick up the phone.' Lockwood was handpicked for the high pressure role after previously working in a similar job where he advised people's partners they had contracted sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Another crucial aspect of Lockwood's role is being a modern day lie detector. He has learnt to realise when people are withholding information and he is always quick to stress to assigned case studies his fundamental role is to protect the safety of the wider community. The team player also scoffed at the suggestion he is a hero, firmly believing he is simply playing his role in the first line of defence against the deadly virus. CLEVELAND, Ohio Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalleys office declined to bring felony charges against a Cleveland police officer suspected of using excessive force in three separate incidents during the May 30 protests and riots outside the Justice Center, according to records released by the City of Cleveland. Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez wrote in an October letter to the Cleveland police departments internal affairs unit that he determined that officer John Kazimer committed no felony offenses in three incidents where he hit one peaceful protester in the back of the legs with a baton, pepper-sprayed another in the face and used his baton to hit a third person who later needed stitches on his head. Cleveland.com obtained the records by submitting a public records request to the city of Cleveland after OMalleys office repeatedly declined to say whether its prosecutors made any charging decisions in cases where officers were accused of wrongdoing during the raucous demonstrations. The city redacted Kazimers name from the letter, but Gutierrezs description of each incident lines up with details the city previously released about the incidents involving Kazimer. The document that the city provided to Cleveland.com includes the file name Kazimer_October_21_2020_County_Letter_R. Gutierrez wrote that city prosecutors, who referred the cases to OMalleys office in July for potential felony prosecution, were free to bring misdemeanor charges including assault and interfering with civil rights if they determined the charges were warranted. On Wednesday, a city spokesperson said the cases referred to in Gutierrezs letter are currently under investigation by a special prosecutor the city hired to handle the cases due to a conflict of interest in the law department. The spokesperson could not provide the prosecutors name when asked and directed cleveland.com to submit a separate public records request. On Thursday, the city provided a copy of a contract identifying Dayton-area defense attorney John Rion as the special prosecutor. The contract was entered into on March 1, the document says. The city of Cleveland and the team monitoring Clevelands progress in court-mandated police reforms both indicated in recently released reports examining the departments conduct on May 30 that the department referred several use-of-force incidents to city and county prosecutors to determine whether officers ought to face charges. The letters release provides the first public disclosure of any charging decisions made in those cases. The cases involving Kazimer and the case of a Cuyahoga County sheriffs deputy who shot a protester in the face with a bean bag round that exploded and destroyed the mans left eye are the only cases that were referred to the county prosecutors office for potential felony charges, OMalleys office spokesman Tyler Sinclair said in an email. OMalley recused himself from handling the sheriffs deputy case last month after reaching an agreement with Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz to serve as a special prosecutor. Reviewing the cases Clevelands city prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan, who was previously an assistant prosecutor in OMalleys office, referred the cases involving Kazimer to her previous boss on July 24, four days after receiving the file, according to a letter the city released along with Gutierrezs. After reviewing the videos and statements provided, there is sufficient evidence to refer this matter for prosecution of a felony offense, Jordan wrote in the letter. The city also redacted Kazimers name from the body of Jordans letter. Like Gutierrezs letter, Kazimers name appears in the letters file name: Kazimer_July_24_2020_signed_letter_R. Gutierrez wrote to Ronald Bakeman, the head of the police departments internal affairs unit, that county prosecutors received three separate investigations involving allegations of excessive force against Kazimer. Surveillance cameras captured Kazimer striking Ryan OConnor in the back of the legs with a baton as OConnor stood between Kazimer and protesters at the Justice Center. Gutierrez determined that no serious physical harm occurred to Mr. OConnor due to being struck with the baton, and Kazimers conduct does not rise to the level of a felony offense. Gutierrez wrote that protester Jaleesa Bennett, whom Kazimer pepper-sprayed in the face as she stood holding a Black Lives Matter sign, also did not incur serious harm, so Kazimers actions did not constitute a felony. Gutierrez misspelled Bennetts first name in the letter. OConnor and Bennett each filed lawsuits in federal court against Kazimer. The city of Cleveland settled with Bennett in February and OConnors lawsuit is still pending. In the third incident, which has gone previously unreported, Gutierrez wrote that Kazimer used his baton to subdue a man who threw himself at the police line at the initial stage of the riot when police were attempting to move the crowd away from the entrance to the Justice Center. The man, whom Gutierrez identified as Luke Marks, suffered a head injury that required seven stitches in the skirmish, Gutierrez wrote. However, Gutierrez pointed to a state law that allows officers to use the amount of force that is necessary to protect themselves and others, to suppress riots and to apprehend rioters when probable cause is present. Gutierrez wrote that the crowd outnumbered officers and was growing hostile and throwing items at police. Officers were attempting to keep the crowd from entering the courthouse, he said. After reviewing numerous videos as well as statements from both police and citizen witnesses, our conclusion is that, although Mr. Marks sustained harm, under these dangerous and riotous circumstances, probable cause existed to justify the use of force, Gutierrez wrote. A grand jury indicted Marks on Jan. 4 with fourth-degree felony assault of a police officer who is not Kazimer in the incident. The court issued an arrest warrant for Marks in February. He has not been arrested, court records show. Gutierrez also wrote to Bakeman that his office reviewed investigations of two other people whose names were redacted and also determined those cases did not rise to a felony. Sinclair said in an email that those two people were protesters and not police officers. Refusing to answer Cleveland.com asked whether OMalleys office had made any charging determinations in May 30 cases involving law enforcement in a phone conversation with OMalley and Sinclair on Jan. 29. OMalley said his office would look into it. In a Feb. 1 follow-up email, the news outlet asked OMalleys office whether it had made any charging decisions in those cases, and asked the office to provide any letters or written documentation related to charging decisions the office had made. The Clerks Office will file an indictment if and when one is issued, Sinclair responded two days later without providing any documents. Cleveland.com as recently as March 11 asked again whether OMalleys office had determined whether any of the May 30 cases involving police officers merit charges that rise to the level of a felony or not. The Clerks Office files indictments if and when any are issued, Sinclair responded. Sinclair did not explain when asked Wednesday why the office declined to disclose its charging decisions or provide a copy of Gutierrezs letter to cleveland.com. He instead pointed to a public records law that generally bars law enforcement from releasing records that disclose the names of people who are investigated but ultimately not charged in a crime to justify not providing the news outlet with the names of Kazimer and the two demonstrators who were investigated. The same law Sinclair cited also says that when someone requests a record that contains the names of uncharged suspects but is otherwise a public record, the office shall make available all of the information within the public record that is not exempt and only the particular information that has a high probability of revealing the identity of an uncharged suspect can be redacted, according to the Ohio Attorney Generals Offices 2021 Ohio Sunshine Laws manual. The law also requires public officials who deny requests for public records and information to give written explanations citing the legal authority on which they based their decision. Following his precedent The offices determination that Kazimers actions did not rise to the level of a felony because the people who were the targets of his force did not suffer serious physical harm follows similar reasoning OMalleys office has used in previous cases where police officers were accused of using excessive force. The office in January 2019 determined not to file felony charges against Euclid police officer Michael Amiott, who was captured on dash camera pummeling motorist Richard Hubbard III during an August 2017 traffic stop. OMalley said in a March 2019 interview that his office did not have medical records to show that Hubbard suffered any serious physical harm and therefore he did not believe his office could prove that Amiott committed felonious assault. Euclid officials tapped a special prosecutor who charged Amiott with two counts of assault and a count of interfering with civil rights. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is pending in Euclid Municipal Court. OMalleys office also determined a Cuyahoga County corrections officer who stomped on an inmates arm and then filed false reports about it in August 2018 did not merit a felony charge. That officer, Jermaine Clements, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and dereliction of duty charges in Cleveland Municipal Court and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and two years on probation. OMalley, who ousted Timothy McGinty from office in 2016 in part by capitalizing on the publics outrage over McGintys handling of the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, has yet to prosecute any police officer in connection with a use of force incident. Sinclair cited several cases where OMalleys office prosecuted police officers for conduct unrelated to excessive force. He also pointed to the case of former East Cleveland police officer Denayne Davidson-Dixon, who was indicted for beating a suspect he arrested in 2016, and the case of Steven Zahursky, a North Royalton police officer accused of lying in a police report and during a court hearing. Davidson-Dixon was first indicted under McGintys office in connection with the assault. OMalleys office obtained subsequent indictments charging Davidson-Dixon with improperly handling a gun in a car and threatening the victim in the assault case after he had been suspended from the force. He was also indicted in 2019 with assaulting his girlfriend following his release from prison. OMalley recused his office from Zahurskys case and appointed a special prosecutor to decide whether to pursue charges against Zahursky. Can you recall any felonious use-of-force cases (i.e. serious physical harm) that have not been charged by this office, Sinclair asked. I cannot. Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that former East Cleveland police officer Denayne Davidson-Dixon, who was indicted on assault charges under then-Prosecutor Timothy McGinty, was indicted three times for subsequent conduct after Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley took office. Read more stories Special prosecutor to review whether deputy will face charges in Cleveland bean-bag shooting that left May 30 protester without eye Federal monitor outlines Cleveland police failings in response to May 30 George Floyd protests Cleveland police chief acknowledges department was deficient in force review after May 30 protests Clevelands after-action report of May 30 protest, riots fails to ask: was there another way? Cuyahoga County prosecutor chose not to bring felony charge against Euclid officer Michael Amiott in January, previously undisclosed letter reveals Mar. 17Update 4 p.m.: The missing man has been found unharmed, police said on Facebook. _________________________ Frederick Police Department is asking the public to help them find a Frederick man who has been missing since March 14. Jake Perry, 31, is described as a white male, standing about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, police said in a news release Wednesday. He was last spotted in the area of Schaffer Drive wearing a black polo, tan jacket and gray sweatpants. Residents who believe they see Perry should not approach or confront him, police said. No foul play is suspected. Anyone with information on Perry's whereabouts should immediately contact Detective Rebecca Skelly at 240-529-8844. Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller There are no words to express the shock and sadness everyone at Peloton feels as a result of this terrible tragedy, a spokesperson said in a statement. Details about the accident that led to the childs death were still unclear. The company said it would not release further details, such as when and where it had taken place, out of respect for the family and their privacy. The Tread+ operates similarly to a standard treadmill but is outfitted with a 32-inch touch screen that allows users to exercise with help from Peloton instructors and to work out with others in real time. The price starts at $4,295, according to the company website. A spokesperson said the equipment had been designed and tested to be used by people who are at least 16 years old and weigh more than 105 pounds. A 2020 study from The American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that most at-home treadmill injuries occurred in children under 16 and that the coronavirus pandemic presented a unique risk for injuries as more adults were working from home and children were taking part in remote learning. Common injuries, the study found, included damage to the hands and fingers, such as friction burns or degloving, where part of the skin tissue detaches from underlying muscle. Australia's nationwide coronavirus vaccine rollout is in chaos, with most GP clinics having virtually no supplies of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca jabs - with warnings many Aussies won't get their first jab this year. One leading GP has warned it will take a year for all Australians to receive their first jab if the rollout of the country's biggest ever vaccination program continues at its current rate. Millions of Australians will be eligible to book in their first jab when phase 1B, the first large-scale rollout to the general public, is launched next week. The rollout expansion to six million Australians is set to go ahead after being declared safe by health authorities after just 19 cases of adverse allergic reactions to the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs out of more than 200,000 carried out. More than 1,100 GPs clinics were listed on the federal government's health website as being part of the next phase of the rollout on Wednesday, much to the shock of many doctors who were yet to receive a single does of the vaccine. The roll out sparked a tsunami of calls to GP clinics from patients who were under the impression they would be able to immediately book in. Many GPs have reported being inundated with abuse from 'rude and aggressive' patients unable to book their first jab. Others say the tiny number of 50 doses each clinic will receive each week is nowhere near enough to cater for demand. GPs have warned it will take up to a year for all Australians to receive their first jab if the vaccine rollout continues at its current rate. Pictured is Melbourne woman being vaccinated 'Yesterday was chaos, our poor reception staff and those around the country were just swamped, phone lines were overrun,' Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Danielle McMullen told the Today show on Thursday. 'The rollout is kicking off on Monday, but it's a slow and steady path, rather than a flood of vaccines being available.' Dr McMullen's practice in Sydney's inner-west won't receive its first batch of doses until after Easter, which is another fortnight away. 'Then it's 50 a week which we can easily do in a day perhaps even in an afternoon,' she said. 'It's frustrating. We have our practice set up to deliver 50 a day. Instead we are 50 per week. We are ready to go when we've got more doses and are keen to get started. 'But it is exciting to see so many Australians chomping at the bit to get their vaccine.' Dr McMullen warned it will take a year for all Australians to receive their first jab if the national rollout continues at its current rate, which sparked concern from Today show host Karl Stefanovic. 'We're not going quite fast enough,' she said. 'Obviously in Australia we have the luxury of being able to have a good rollout, certainly a solid rollout is better than a rushed hack job. 'We are putting pressure on the government to go as quickly as possible to get more doses out there, so that people can get to their usual GP and get their dose of the Covid vaccine as quickly as possible.' Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Danielle McMullen (pictured) is frustrated by rollout delays after her Sydney clinic was flooded with calls from patients on Wednesday 'If CSL can ramp itself up to being about two million doses a week we think we can get there. But if they are only doing one million a week that will take a year to vaccinate all of Australia more or less.' With more than 15,000 patients on her clinic's books, Brisbane GP Maria Boulton is also frustrated by the slow rate of the rollout. She says her clinic could handle about 1,000 vaccinations a week, 20 times the amount of doses being allocated. 'The reality is that the government has asked us to wait until the vaccines are inside our fridge for us to open up bookings,' Dr Boulton told the Today show. 'A lot of people will have to be patient until we get more in our fridge. We have a new fridge and literally what we are getting is not enough to fill our school lunchbox.' Both she and Dr McMullen urged Australians to be patient. 'We also have patients up the road from other clinics who are not doing the vaccines as well. So those patients will need to get their vaccines somewhere,' Dr Boulton said. 'We are going to be inundated with phone calls from them as well. And we want to help them as well.' Brisbane GP Dr Maria Boulton says her clinic could handle about 1,000 a week, 20 times the amount of doses being allocated Frustrated patients have also spoken out about being turned away by countless GPs. Retiree Yi Kou and husband David Honeyman from Yamba on the NSW far north coast called multiple practices and two separate hotlines on Wednesday about booking the jab and had no luck. She described the government's announcement and delivery of the next rollout phases as poorly coordinated. 'As soon as we saw it on the news in the morning, we started calling GPs to get an appointment, but none of them knew anything and they were understandably frustrated,' Ms Kou, a type two diabetic, told the ABC. 'Nobody had any idea. The Covid hotline told me to contact NSW Health, and they told me to call the Covid hotline, and then I somehow made it to Service NSW and they didn't even know what I was talking about.' Sue Kilazoglou experienced a similar same response in Sydney's south-west. 'I checked to see if I was eligible straight away, but the GPs listed were a bit exasperated with my call,' she said. 'I knew it would be too good to be true. There's no way it could be that simple.' More than 1,100 GPs clinics were listed on the federal government's health website (pictured) as being part of the next phase of the coronavirus vaccine rollout on Wednesday Australian Medical Association national president Dr Omar Khorshid welcomed the influx of Australians keen to be vaccinated but called for better clarity from the government on the booking process. 'It's clear the government needs to make it easy for patients and General Practices alike to manage bookings for Covid-19 vaccinations and be clear about how long patients may have to wait before they can get an appointment,' Dr Korshid said in a statement. 'The rollout of the vaccine is a huge logistical challenge that is constrained by the available supply of vaccines. 'Unlike the flu season, where 15 million doses are already stockpiled, this rollout relies on a weekly supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses that is capped. 'This means that general practices will have only a modest number of doses available for patients for now.' Around 4600 GP clinics will be progressively incorporated into the rollout over the next four weeks Around 4600 GP clinics will be progressively incorporated into the rollout over the next four weeks. 'However, it's clear from the calls many general practices have received that the Government needs to better communicate with the community on the vaccine rollout process, and not build unrealistic expectations, particularly at this early stage' Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Karen Price said. 'Over time, the supply of vaccines will increase, as will the number of places where a patient can access a vaccine. Nineteen Australians have suffered allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines with 203,557 administered so far, it was revealed on Wednesday. Of the 19 reactions, 15 were caused by the Pfizer vaccine and four were caused by the AstraZeneca jab. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has been advised about the adverse reactions. The TGA said on Wednesday they would review the number of reports of allergic reactions to see if they were unusually high. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the TGA's initial assessment had found the vaccines to be safe and effective. 'We don't believe they should delay vaccination,' he told reporters. Only 0.01 per cent of vaccine patients - or one in 10,000 - suffered an allergic reaction. Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy said anaphylactic reactions to vaccinations are to be expected and are not unique to Covid jabs. 'There is to my knowledge, no reason at all for concern,' Professor Murphy told reporters. 'We have seen anaphylaxis with the Pfizer vaccine, we have seen it with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and they have all been expertly treated. 'We would expect to see anaphylaxis, and we would have adrenaline on hand and know how to manage the condition. 'We are confident the program should continue to go ahead as it has. I have had the AstraZeneca vaccine more than a week ago, with Minister Hunt, and I am very confident this is a very safe and very, very effective vaccine,' he added. Adding to the chaos is that the European Union on the other side of the world has threatened to block exports of Pfizer doses while some countries have suspended the AstraZeneca jab due to reported blood clots in some recipients. The TGA is investigating the number of allergic reactions to see if they are unusually high (pictured: a patient gets the AstraZeneca jab) Federal Nationals senator and former cabinet minister Matt Canavan expressed his concerns for the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this week 'Obviously there is certain enough to cause a lot of countries to pause their rollouts,' the senator told the Today show on Wednesday. 'In the US they haven't approved the AstraZeneca vaccine yet. They are still waiting on more data. 'At the start of the year we waited months before we even began our rollout compared to other countries because we were being prudent and waiting.' 'I think that approach served us well and it should be a similar approach we take right now. We're in the lucky position of not having risk of widespread coronavirus in this country.' Senator Canavan said many doctors are still concerned about the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite Australia's chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly insisting there's no evidence that shows AstraZeneca causes blood clots. Around six million Australians, including healthcare workers not on the frontline can now get the jab. Pictured is nurse Maddison Williams getting the jab 'I'm very concerned the registry authority are gagging our doctors,' Senator Canavan said. 'I've been contacted by lots of doctors concerned they can't make statements because last week regulatory authorities told them sending out a note to doctors if you say anything undermining the national immunisation program we will remove your accreditation. 'We can't do that remove the muzzle from doctors have sensible open discussions about medical treatments in this country.' The phase covers around 6.14 million Australians and use up to 14.8m doses of mostly the AstraZeneca vaccine (pictured, ambulance and police officers after getting their jab on March 7 in Perth) Per TDOT Specifications, there will be no temporary lane closures permitted between Thursday, April 1, 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 5, 6:00 a.m. in observance of the Easter Holiday! District 47 - West TN Northern DYER COUNTY, SR-3 (US-51): The repair of bridges on US 51 (SR 3) over SR 211 in Dyersburg will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 55 MPH. DYER COUNTY, SR-3 (US-51): The repair of bridges on US 51 (SR 3) over the South Fork Forked Deer River will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. Restrictions: Beginning January 25, 2021, Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction with a 12 6 lane restriction. DYER COUNTY, SR-20: The repair of bridge on US 412 (SR 20) over Hogwallow Road will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 55 MPH. HENDERSON COUNTY (New Lexington By-Pass): The grading, drainage, construction of bridges and retaining walls, signals and paving on US 412 (SR 459) from US 412 (SR 20) west of Lexington to near SR 22 south of Lexington. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HENRY COUNTY, SR-54: The grading, drainage, construction of bridges, retaining wall and paving on SR 54 from near Rison Street to near Smith Road. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. *Speed limit has been reduced to 35 MPH. OBION COUNTY, Future I-69 (Phase 3): Grading, drainage, construction of bridges and paving on future I-69 from west of SR 21 to US 51 (SR 3) will cause possible lane closures throughout the project. Tuesday, October 13, 2020: Bethlehem Road north from Clifford Rives Road to Lindenwood Road will be closed. Claude Tucker Road north from Cloys Road to Section Line Road will be closed. Detour routes are posted. WEAKLEY COUNTY, US 45E (SR-43): The repair of bridge on US 45E (SR 43) over the North Fork Obion River and Overflow will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. TDOT District 47 MAINTENANCE: Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures at various locations in Region IV in order to repair pavement on an as needed basis. District 48 - West TN Middle/Southern CROCKETT COUNTY, SR-20 (US 412) (Non-TDOT work): Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures on SR 20 (US 412) east and westbound in Bells, TN at SR 88, for the installation of a turning lane in the median and shoulder upgrades. DECATUR COUNTY, I-40: Thursday, March 18, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: There will be lane closures on I-40 east and westbound in Decatur County MM 120.0-126.0 for pothole repair. HARDIN COUNTY, SR-69: The construction of a Bulb Tee bridge over Doe Creek along with grading, drainage, and paving may cause temporary lane closures on SR 69 at LM 10.06. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HARDIN COUNTY, SR-128: The grading, drainage and paving on SR 128 from south of Pyburns Drive (LM 3.11) to north of SR 226 (Airport Road) (LM 6.54). Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HAYWOOD COUNTY, SR-19 (Brownsville Bypass): The construction of an I-Beam bridge along with grading, drainage, and paving may cause temporary lane closures on SR 19 (Brownsville Bypass) from east of SR 87 to west of Windrow Rd. One lane will remain. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. Speed limit is reduced to 45 MPH within the project limits. Shaw Chapel and King Road are closed at SR 19 and a detour put in place. . Haralson St (Old SR19) is now open. HENDERSON COUNTY, SR-22: The repair of the bridges on SR 22 over Big Beaver Creek and Little Beaver Creek. Motorists should watch for crews and equipment in the roadways. One lane will remain open in both directions .Restrictions: Beginning February 1, 2020 there will be a 12 width restriction put in place. MADISON COUNTY, I-40: The widening of I-40 east of US 45 (SR 5) MM 82.0 to east of US 70 (SR 1) MM 87.0 in Jackson, including bridges, retaining walls and installation of TDOT Smartway Intelligent Transportation System. Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from Exit 82 to Exit 87 AS NEEDED for pothole repair. Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Campbell St. will be down to one lane in each direction over I-40 for Phase 1 bridge construction activities. Closed until Summer of 2021: Old Henderson Rd. Bridge over I-40 will be closed to thru traffic for Phase 1 bridge demolition activities. Detours will be posted for traffic. Closed until Summer of 2021: Watson Rd. Bridge over I-40 will be closed to thru traffic for Phase 1 bridge demolition activities. Detours will be posted for traffic. LOOK AHEAD Wednesday, March 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from Exit 82 to Exit 87 AS NEEDED for pothole repair. Wednesday, March 24 through Wednesday, March 31, 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Campbell St. will be down to one lane in each direction over I-40 for Phase 1 bridge construction activities. Friday, March 26, 7:00 p.m., to Monday, March 29, 6:00 a.m.: I-40 both east and westbound will have intermittent lane closures from MM 82.5 to MM 84..0. Median crossovers will be utilized during this time frame to allow crews to safely demolish the Old Henderson Rd. overpass bridge. For a majority of the weekend, either eastbound or westbound traffic will have 2 through lanes depending on which portion of the bridge is being demolished. For example, if the South portion of the bridge is being demolished, eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and use the temporary crossover to shift traffic to the westbound side, while westbound traffic will still have 2 though lanes. If the North portion of the bridge is being demolished, westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and use the temporary crossover to shift traffic to the eastbound side, while the eastbound traffic will still have 2 through lanes. MADISON COUNTY, SR-186 (US 45 Bypass) and I-40: Interchange improvements on SR 186 (US 45) north and southbound from the I-40 ramps to Old Hickory Blvd for paving and construction of retaining walls. Widening of I-40 from just east of Exit 79 to just east of Exit 82. Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. Monday, March 22 through Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. LOOK AHEAD Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. Friday, March 26 6:00 p.m. through Monday, March 29, 6:00 a.m.: FULL CLOSURE SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will be CLOSED both north and southbound from Vann Drive to Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection as well as temporary lane closures for Vann Drive intersection for paving and new signal activation. Exit 82 on I-40 both east and westbound will be CLOSED for striping and switching traffic to new ramps. Monday, March 29 through Wednesday, March 31, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. TDOT District 48 MAINTENANCE: Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures at various locations in Region IV in order to repair pavement on an as needed basis. TDOT REGION IV GUARDRAIL: Wednesday, March 17 through Friday, March 19, 8:00 P.M.6:00 A.M.: There will be nighttime lane closures at various locations on I-40 east and westbound between MM 44.0 and MM 134.00 in Benton, Decatur, Carroll, Henderson, Haywood, and Madison Counties. District 49 - West TN Southwest FAYETTE COUNTY, SR-196: The repair of bridge over Shaw Creek will cause a lane closure with temporary traffic signal near MM 7.0. SHELBY COUNTY, I-40: Mississippi River Bridge Lighting Repair Wednesday, March 17 through Friday, March 19, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: INTERMITTENT lane closures on I-40 east and westbound at MM 0.00 on the Hernando Desoto Bridge to allow for bridge lighting repairs. Weather Permitting SHELBY COUNTY, SR-4: Grading, drainage, construction of a concrete bulb-tee bridge, retaining walls and paving on US-78 (SR-4) from the Mississippi State line (LM 0.00) to south of Shelby Drive (LM 1.48) Wednesday, March 17 through Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime lane closures of the NB outside lane on SR 4 to allow for AT&T utility work. Weather Permitting. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: The grading, drainage, construction of concrete Bulb-Tee and I-beam bridges, signals and paving on SR 14 from east of Old Covington Pike to SR 385 will cause possible lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 45 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: Construction on SR 14 for a widening project from SR 385 to east of Kerrville Rosemark Rd. There will be possible temporary lane closures throughout the project. Access to SR 14 from McCalla Rd West will be permanently detoured to Donnell Rd. *Speed limit has been reduced to 45 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: Bridge repair Over Wolf River Overflow. Construction on SR 14 to complete bridge repairs over the Wolf River. There will be lane closures and traffic shifts throughout the project. Detours will be in place. Advisory speed limit 30 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-205 : The addition of turn lanes on SR 205 (Airline Rd) from Brooks River Drive to south of I-40 will have lane closures throughout the project. Wednesday, March 17 through Tuesday, March 23, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be intermittent lane closures on SR 205 north and southbound from Brooks River Drive to just south of I-40 to perform temporary road widening work. There will be one lane traffic with flaggers present at times. *Speed limit has been reduced to 35 MPH. Weather Permitting. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-385: The signalization and safety modifications on Ridgeway Road from Mt. Moriah Road to Quince Road in Memphis, including grading, drainage and paving. Wednesday, March 17 and Thursday, March 18, 7:00 p.m. 6:00 a.m.: At the SR-385 EB Off ramp to Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Monday, March 22 and Tuesday, March 23 will be used. Weather Permitting. Monday, March 22 and Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. At the SR-385 EB On ramp from NB and SB Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25 will be used. Weather Permitting. LOOK AHEAD: Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 EB On ramp from NB and SB Ridgeway, and the NB Ridgeway to WB SR 385 On ramp, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30 will be used. Weather Permitting. Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 WB Off ramp to Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1 will be used. Weather Permitting. TIPTON COUNTY, SR-59: The emergency slide repair of SR 59 near MM 1.0 will cause a road closure with full detour signed. TDOT District 49 On-Call Guardrail/Concrete Barrier Rail Repair Wednesday, March 17 through Tuesday, March 23, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be night time lane closures at various locations on SR 3 (Shelby County), SR 385 (Shelby County), SR 14 (Shelby County), I-40 (Fayette and Shelby Counties), I-269 (Shelby and Fayette Counties), I-55 and I-240. One lane will be CLOSED to repair damaged guardrail. THP will assist with traffic control. Weather Permitting. LOOK AHEAD: Wednesday, March 24 through Tuesday, March 30, 8:00 p.m.-6:00a.m.: There will be nighttime ramp closures in Shelby County at I-40 EB EXIT 8 On ramp from SB SR 14, I-40 WB EXIT 10 Off ramp to SR 204, I-40 WB EXIT 18 On ramp from SR 15 (US 64), I-240 WB EXIT 24 Off ramp to Millbranch, and I-240 EB EXIT 13 Off ramp to EB Walnut Grove. Weather Permitting. TDOT District 49 MAINTENANCE Thursday, March 18 through Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures on all interstates and state routes in District 49 for routine maintenance activities on an as needed basis. TDOT REGION IV On-Call Retrace: Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24: There will be lane closures in Shelby County for the installation of stop lines and cross walks at various intersections along SR 1 (US 70) from Shelby County Line (LM 30.82) to Florida St. (LM 0.29). From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel or for West Tennessee follow https://twitter.com/NicLawrenceTDOT . As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination. Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel. In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lost three workers in the line of duty. All three were struck by passing motorists. Those tragedies bring the total number of TDOT lives lost to 112. We dont want to lose another member of our TDOT family. Were asking you to WORK WITH US. Click on the WORK WITH US logo to learn more. As someone who writes a weekly column and newsletter about cord-cutting, I tend to get a lot of questions from readers. Most of the time, I respond to them in private, but this week I wanted to do something a bit different. I asked readers to ask me anything about cord-cutting, no matter how basic, and made plans to answer my favorites here in this column. (Longtime readers might recall a similar exercise from a couple of years ago.) In response, I received dozens of questions, many of which could be of interest to other folks as well. Here are my best attempts to answer them: How can I find where shows and movies are streaming? Tony asks: What is the most reliable way to find out who is streaming a show or movie you want to see? I want to go to one place, type in the name of the movie or show, and get my answer. I recommend either Reelgood or JustWatch for this. Both sites offer a search function that looks up movies and shows across dozens of streaming services. They also have apps that you can use on iOS, Android, Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV devices. Reelgoods mobile app even has a neat way to launch videos on Roku players. Jared Newman / IDG JustWatch (pictured) and Reelgood provide handy search engines for streaming services. Most streaming TV devices offer universal search functions where you can look up movies or shows by name, typically by using your voice. Thats worth trying first if youre already in front of the TV. How often do streaming shows expire? Robert asks: Sprint gave me free Hulu with my plan, and I added several Nickelodeon TV series to my watch list last year. I see that several series will expire this week. Is it normal for series to expire and if so, how often does this happen? Departures are indeed a regular occurrence in the streaming world. Hulu and other services license a lot of content from TV networks (such as ViacomCBS, which owns Nickelodeon), and when those arrangements expire, the networks might take their shows elsewhere. Were also seeing networks move their hit shows onto their own streaming services, as weve seen recently with The Office moving from Netflix to Peacock or Friends moving from Netflix to HBO Max. The good news is that this seldom happens with original programming, so Hulu originals like The Handmaids Tale and Little Fires Everywhere probably arent going anywhere. Reelgood, which I just mentioned above, also has a handy list of upcoming departures from major streaming services, so you can make sure you wont miss anything. Jared Newman / IDG Check Reelgoods site to see whats leaving your streaming services soon. What's the deal on pirated video boxes? Kathy asks: A couple years ago, my handyman fixed me up with a G-Box. I got all the major channels and didnt pay anything for streaming except internet. Now the box doesnt work. I am assuming it was not legal to begin with. Is the box trash now? Your assumption is probably correct. In recent years, a cottage industry has formed around fully loaded streaming boxes running pirated video sources, and Hollywood studios have been playing whack-a-mole trying to shut these services down. Buying one of these boxes always comes with a risk that the free ride will eventually come to an end. With enough technical know-how, you could probably find another service to use on the box instead, but thats not an area of advice that I get into. Can I watch C-SPAN without cable? Dave asks: What are some suggestions on finding C-SPAN without cable? We cant leave Spectrum because of the lack of C-SPAN elsewhere. Right now, the only way to watch C-SPAN channels without cable or satellite TV is through AT&T TV, which starts at $70 per month. But if youre willing to make do with less than the full cable experience, C-SPANs website offers live streams of all federal government events along with the Washington Journal interview program. Amazons Fire TV devices have a web browser you can use to navigate to the C-SPAN website and watch the live streams, though the experience is admittedly less ideal than a proper app. One other note: Spectrum does offer cheaper streaming service to its internet-only subscribers, with C-SPAN included. If you can live with C-SPANs web-based workaround for a little while, you might be able to get back on board with Spectrums streaming service for less than what youre paying now. Do I need Wi-Fi if I have a smart TV? Paris asks: With all these streaming services on TV, do you require Wi-Fi even if youre paying for the service itself? Short answer: Yes, you do need internet service at home to access streaming services. Long answer: In addition to internet service, you would also most likely need Wi-Fi, which lets your devices access the internet wirelessly instead of through ethernet cables. If youre only paying for TV service now, adding internet and Wi-Fi just to cut the cord will probably be a wash. (I still dont recommend using your phone as a hotspot for cord-cutting, because data caps will severely restrict how much you can watch.) Jared Newman / TechHive The basics of cord-cutting: Home internet service, one or more TVs (if theyre not smart TVs, theyll each need a separate streaming device), plus one or more streaming services. What's the best way to get cheap internet service? MJ asks: I have attempted to ditch Comcast, but internet alone costs about $100 per month. Once I start to add streaming services, the cost gets driven up to almost what I am paying with a simpler approach. How do people get just the internet for a reasonable cost? Its true that home broadband competition is notoriously lacking in the United States, which means you might be stuck with expensive internet providers like Comcast even if you drop TV service. I will point out, however, that you might be able to spend less on internet than you think. Comcasts non-promotional price for 100Mbps internet service is $81 per month, which should be more than enough for streaming TV. Once youve cut the cord, you might also discover new ways of saving money, like cutting back on big TV bundles and sticking to cheaper streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. More than anything else, cord-cutting is about giving you some flexibility that wasnt available before. What's the benefit of fiber optic? Jim asks: AT&T has been digging up lawns on my street this week installing fiber optic cable. What will I gain from this? If you read my answer to MJ above, consider yourself lucky that a new high-speed internet option is rolling into town. If youre an AT&T DSL customer now, you might soon be able to get much faster service. And if youre not an AT&T customer, you can likely use the presence of a new competitor to negotiate a lower bill from your current internet provider. (Thats what I did with Spectrum a couple years ago, when Cincinnati Bell finished deploying fiber to my neighborhood.) Martyn Williams / IDG An antenna from a big-name manufacturer might cost a little more, but the price difference could be warranted if you need tech support. Why does my antenna reception get worse at night? Darren asks: Weve just cut the cord and bought an outdoor antenna for local channels. Beautiful receptionuntil the sun went down, and everything turned into a pile of steaming pixelation. I tried several re-aim/re-scan operations to no avail. But then, in the morning, all is back to crystal-clear reception. Whaddya think is up? This one even stumped me, so I passed it along to Joe Bingochea, the president of Channel Master, who identified several potential reasons why over-the-air antenna reception might get worse at night. Some sources of radio frequency interference might only be coming out in the evening, including HAM radios, generators, and possibly even some LED light bulbs. And because Signal propagation also tends to be better at night, which means those sources could cause more interference when the sun goes down. For the same reason, a user who overamplifies their OTA signal could end up with more interference. The overarching point here is that over-the-air TV can be a game of trial-and-error. Moving the antenna, not using amplification, or investing in an RF or LTE filter might improve your signal, but they just as easily might not. Companies like Channel Master cheerily point out that customer service is what separates them from bargain-basement antennas, as theyll offer to help when things go wrong. But Ill also note that not everyone needs an antenna to cut the cord in the first place. Can I use TiVo with internet video streaming? Chris asks: I have kept cable because I have a lifetime subscription to TiVo and record the nightly news. Is there another way to just use an internet provider and stay with TiVo? If not, is there another appliance I could buy to record broadcast TV? It depends on the model. The latest TiVo Edge, for instance, has separate cable and over-the-air models where the input source is not interchangeable. Most TiVo Bolt models support either cable or an antenna, but not the 3 TB versions. To see if your model works with an antenna, check this guide from TiVo. While youre rethinking things, though, Id consider other over-the-air DVR options, like the Tablo or Amazons Fire TV Recast. TiVos declining interest in the DVR makes it a less compelling option than it used to be. Jared Newman/TechHive Tablo DVRs are a fine alternative to TiVo if youre looking to record over-the-air channels. What's the best way to record from Locast? Tom asks: What is the best and most economical way to record from Locast or other apps? What would I purchase, and is it easy to set up for someone like me? Locast, for those who arent aware, is a non-profit group that streams local channels for free in many cities (though it requires a $5-per-month donation to stop the stream from closing every 15 minutes). While Locast provides no built-in way to record those channels, there are a couple workarounds. A $5-per-month service called Stremium provides a cloud-based DVR for Locast channels through its own app, available on Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku devices. For those who are more technically inclined, Channels DVR lets you record Locast and several other streaming sources for $8 per month, though youll need to set up the server hardware yourself on a PC, NAS box, Nvidia Shield TV, or Raspberry Pi. Jared Newman / IDG Channels DVR provides its own interface for watching and recording Locast channels. Should I stick with TiVo or become a cord-cutter? Don asks: Were a TIVO family and I like the remote and DVR functionality a lot. We have enough to watch and are not too put off by Spectrums monthly subscription (and despicable fees). Am I being too much of a luddite to avoid joining the streaming revolution, and sticking with what we know? Nope. While live TV streaming services such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV offer a cable-like experience (grid guide, DVR, and all), theyre still different in a lot of ways. For instance, you wont benefit from TiVos ability to automatically detect and skip commercial breaks, and the menu systems will take getting used to. Even the idea of having to launch an app instead of jumping straight into live TV might be off-putting to some folks. While I often come across as an advocate for cord-cutting, Im an even bigger fan of doing whatever makes you happiest. If that means spending a bit more to stick with what works, youll get no judgment from me. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions! If you have more, feel free to reach out over email or on Twitter, and please consider signing up for my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter. This story has been updated to clarify which TiVo models support cable and over-the-air input. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Rabbi Avremi Zippel joins IGNITE 2021 as Keynote Speaker We are thrilled to provide a platform for Avremis message of positivity for survivors, said Darkness to Light President and CEO Katelyn N. Brewer. His courage is an inspiration to others to come forward and live a life of service with determination. Darkness to Light announces Rabbi Avremi Zippel, Jewish Rabbi and activist for sexual violence survivors, as a keynote speaker at their fourth annual child abuse prevention conference, IGNITE 2021. Presented by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, the conference brings together sexual abuse prevention leaders from across the country for the common goal of making communities safer for children. In 2019, Zippel publicly came forward about the decade of sexual abuse he endured at the hands of a childhood caretaker. He is believed to be the first Orthodox Rabbi in the world to do so. Since then, Avremi has taken a leadership role in combating sexual abuse in religious communities around the world and advocating for survivors. Zippels keynote, Resiliency Through Role Models, will show that survivors of child sexual abuse represent the entire spectrum of humanity, as they can be found in any and every community, the world over. "I'm humbled by the opportunity to address the IGNITE Conference. The work of Darkness to Light is so crucial in developing a world where survivors of child sexual abuse can feel welcomed, accepted, and loved for who they are, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with this years' attendees." said Zippel. We are thrilled to provide a platform for Avremis message of positivity for survivors, said Darkness to Light President and CEO Katelyn N. Brewer. His courage is an inspiration to others to come forward and live a life of service with determination. The presenting sponsor, the Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF), works to protect children from bullying, digital dangers, abuse, trafficking, and exploitation with comprehensive, evidence-based, youth-focused programs. MBF Prevention Education Programs educate and empower children and relevant adults with relevant information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to child victimization, including all types of child abuse. Along with sponsoring IGNITE for the second time, MBF will present and have a virtual booth for attendees to stop by and ask prevention experts questions. IGNITE 2021 takes place online April 27-29th. Attendees wanting more advanced training may register for pre-conference activities on April 26th. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit http://www.d2l.org/ignite. *** Media Contact Gwen Bouchie 843.513.1623 gbouchie@D2L.org About Darkness to Light Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Lights flagship program, Stewards of Children, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 2 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit http://www.D2L.org. About Monique Burr Foundation Monique Burr Foundation (MBF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Edward E. Burr in honor of his late wife, Monique Burr, a devoted child advocate. MBF Prevention Education Programs, including MBF Child Safety Matters for elementary schools, MBF Teen Safety Matters for middle and high schools, MBF Athlete Safety Matters for youth athletes, and MBF After-School Safety Matters for after-school and youth-serving organizations, are evidence-based/evidence-informed primary prevention programs. They educate and empower children and adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately to abuse, bullying, cyberbullying, digital dangers, exploitation, and human trafficking. More than 5,000 facilitators have delivered MBF Programs to nearly 5 million students throughout the U.S. and in 3 additional countries. About Rabbi Avremi Zippel Rabbi Avremi Zippel was born in Toronto, Canada and moved to Salt Lake City with his parents, in July of 1992. The oldest of 6, Avremi was homeschooled through his Bar Mitzvah (13th Birthday), then left home for 8th grade and on, to pursue a more full-time Jewish education. He attended a Jewish High School in Chicago and attended Rabbinical College in London, England. Avremi participated in Jewish outreach and humanitarian missions, in Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Wales, and numerous cities throughout the U.S. He was ordained at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi I.M. Lau, in December of 2013. He married Sheina in January of 2014, and together they moved to Utah in December of 2014, to work at Chabad in the capacity of Directors of Young Jewish Professionals Utah. They are the proud parents of two adorable little boys, Menny (5) and Menachem (3). In February of 2019, Avremi publicly came forward about the decade of sexual abuse he had endured at the hands of a childhood caretaker. Since then, Avremi has taken a leadership role in combating sexual abuse in religious communities around the world and advocating for survivors. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Denton, TX (76205) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Romania's hosting the EU Cyber Centre was one of the topics on the agenda of the Thursday's meeting between the Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare and the ambassador of Switzerland to Romania, Arthur Mattli. "The Swiss-Romanian cooperation programme was an important element in strengthening bilateral relations between Romania and Switzerland. Thank you to the Swiss partners for their good cooperation and involvement in the implementation of our first bilateral cooperation programme. I had the opportunity in 2010, as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Finance, to coordinate the team of the National Coordination Unit, responsible for negotiating and inking the first cooperation programme, worth CHF 181 million. Now, 11 years on, I am satisfied to see that the programme has had a positive impact on reducing economic and social disparities in Romania, with an absorption rate of over 85 pct," Alexandru Nazare said, according to a release by the Public Finance Ministry sent to AGERPRES. In this context, the Swiss ambassador handed the letter of the Swiss side on closing the first Swiss-Romanian cooperation programme and thanked the Romanian partners for their excellent cooperation. The discussions between the two sides also targeted the subject of the second financial contribution granted to Romania. "I would hope that the discussions between the EU and Switzerland will reach an agreement soon and that we will be able to formally start bilateral discussions for a new cooperation programme. Thus, we proposed to start consultations with Swiss partners as soon as possible, with a view to establishing eligible areas, as well as building the cooperation mechanism," the Finance Minister said. On 3 December 2019, the Swiss Parliament approved the cohesion envelope designed for some EU Member States in order to reduce social and economic disparities within the enlarged EU, of which Romania will benefit from non-reimbursable funds of around CHF 221 million. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is seeking an immediate victory in the states lawsuit against Madison County over the removal of a Confederate monument last year. However, no immediate ruling is coming because the case has no judge to hear it at the moment. Madison County Circuit Judge Karen Hall filed for recusal from the lawsuit on March 1, becoming the second judge to withdraw from hearing the suit filed in November. A new judge has not been assigned to the case. Related: Confederate monument in Huntsville removed overnight Still, once a judge is assigned to the case, Marshalls motion for summary judgement, filed Wednesday, calls for an expedited resolution to the lawsuit brought against the county for what the AG said was an illegal relocation of the Confederate monument from the courthouse grounds on Oct. 23. The monument was removed to nearby Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville. The motion, filed by Deputy Attorney General James Davis, argues that the Madison County Commission has no defense for contracting the city of Huntsville to remove the monument based on the 2017 monument protection law. And with no defense, the judge should rule in favor of the state. The plaintiffs cited three points in their argument for a favorable ruling: The language in the law itself. A 2019 ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court on a similar case in Birmingham. The regulations by the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection, created by the 2017 law to rule on waiver requests to remove or alter historical structures. The motion states that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the court should dispose of the case by ordering the county to pay the law-mandated $25,000 fine for removing the monument. Madison County Attorney Jeff Rich declined to comment on the motion. The county filed its answer to the lawsuit in December, saying the law is unconstitutionally vague and the fine is unconstitutionally excessive. The county has argued, even before the monument was removed, that once 90 days passed from when its application was submitted to the monument protection committee without a ruling, it was free to remove the monument. The law states that no ruling within 90 days amounts to a granting of the waiver. The county commission received a response rejecting its request from the Alabama Department of History and Archives a week after submitting its application for waiver. In its summary judgment motion, the state argues that the Department of History and Archives is authorized by the monument committee and that such authorization was made clear in the committees regulations in June 2020. The motion also points to the law allowing waivers to be granted only for structures that have been in place for between 20 and 40 years. The monument that was outside the downtown Huntsville courthouse was first erected in 1905 and was replaced in about 1970 after the original was damaged in a construction accident. The state also cited the Alabama Supreme Court decision to overturn a lower court ruling in favor of the city of Birmingham erected a plywood barrier partially blocking a Confederate monument in Linn Park, saying that the high court ruled the law made no provision to remove or relocate the monument. US Department of Justice investigators are concerned about Google's plan to ban cookies in Chrome and are questioning whether the move by the search giant will reduce competition by preventing smaller rivals from tracking users. Alphabet Inc's Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies - a popular web tracking tool that has enabled personalized online ads - in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, which had led online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool. Multiple sources have said investigators have been questioning advertising industry executives on how Chrome policies, including those related to cookies, affect the ad and news industries. Investigators are asking whether Google is using Chrome, which has 60 percent global market share, to reduce competition by preventing rival ad companies from tracking users through cookies while leaving loopholes for it to gather data with cookies, analytics tools and other sources, the sources said. DoJ investigators are concerned about Google's plan to ban cookies in Chrome and are questioning whether it will reduce competition by preventing rivals from tracking users The latest conversations, which have not been previously reported, are a sign that officials are tracking Google's projects in the global online ad market where it and No. 2 Facebook Inc control about 54 percent of revenue. The ad inquiry may not lead to legal action. Executives from more than a dozen companies from an array of sectors have spoken with Justice Department investigators, one of the sources said. The government has been investigating Google's search and advertising business since mid-2019, and last October it sued Google for allegedly using anticompetitive tactics to maintain the dominance of its search engine. It has continued to probe Google's ad practices. Investigators have also asked rivals whether they encountered behavior similar to or worse than the advertising-focused accusations that attorneys general from Texas and other states leveled against Google in a lawsuit last December, the sources said. The Justice Department declined to comment for this story. Google defended its ad business, saying it was helping companies grow and protecting users' privacy from exploitative practices. 'The enormous competition in ad tools has made online ads more affordable, reduced fees, and expanded options for publishers and advertisers,' the company said. If the Justice Department sues over ads-related conduct, it could file a new lawsuit or join the Texas case, one of the sources said. But antitrust litigation experts said the department also still had time to amend its existing complaint to include the ad tech concerns. Alphabet Inc's Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, which had led online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool How brands will target personalized ads after Google phases out browser cookies For years, online ad technology companies, including Google, have been able to tell retailers to personalize an ad to someone after having tracked that person's searches the week before. For example, if someone reading this DailyMail.com article had searched for a specific necklace on the Tiffany website, Google could tell a jeweler to create an ad matching that necklace. Without third-party cookies or technologies like them, such tracking across multiple websites is unfeasible. Google is instead proposing using new technology that will group together web users with similar interests while keeping web histories private on user devices. Under that system, brands could target their ads to a cluster interested in buying a car, for example, rather than relying on cookies that have tracked specific users across car-buying websites. Critics contend Google is banning rivals from building gigantic profiles on users, while developing for itself features in Chrome to continue to add to such dossiers. Google has vowed, however, not to develop workarounds for itself, and committed to continue allowing targeting ads based on data that companies receive directly from consumers. Advertisement Texas on Tuesday amended its complaint to, among other things, allege that forthcoming changes to Chrome 'are anti-competitive because they raise barriers to entry and exclude competition' in web advertising. Google has been limiting data collection and usage across several of its services. The Chrome changes would affect ad tech companies that use cookies to collect people's viewing history to direct more relevant ads to them. 'We don't believe tracking individuals across the web will stand the test of time as privacy concerns continue to accelerate,' Jerry Dischler, a Google vice president overseeing ad services, told an industry conference last week. But smaller rivals dismiss the privacy rationale used by big companies such as Google and Apple Inc to restrict tracking since they would continue to collect valuable data and potentially capture even more ad revenue. 'There is a weaponization of privacy to justify business decisions that consolidate power to their business and disadvantage the broader marketplace,' said Chad Engelgau, chief executive of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc's ad data unit Acxiom. France's competition authority on Wednesday temporarily allowed Apple to move forward with new tracking limits, saying privacy protections prevailed over competition concerns. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is expected to decide soon whether to block the forthcoming Chrome changes. Google has been working on proposals to remove third party cookies from Chrome next year in an effort to meet growing data privacy standards. The search giant has said it will not replace cookies with similar cross-site tracking technology. For years, online ad technology companies including Google have been able to tell retailers to personalize an ad to someone after having tracked that person's searches the week before. Without third-party cookies or technologies like them, such tracking across multiple websites is unfeasible. Google is instead proposing grouping together web users with similar interests while keeping their unique identities private. The Justice Department filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google last October that accuses it of abusing its dominance in search advertising but allowing its money-making ads appear first With the forthcoming changes, Google will still be able to track users itself through data collected from its services like Search, Maps and YouTube. The company said the changes apply only to ad tools and unique identifiers for websites, not for mobile apps. Google's plan has drawn criticism from players in the online ad industry, as well as scrutiny from regulators, over concerns that it will add to the tech giant's already dominant power in online advertising. The lawsuit filed by Texas and other states against Google is one of three filed last year by the federal government or states against the search giant. The suit accuses Google of using its 'monopolistic power' to control pricing of online advertisements, fixing the market in its favor and eliminating competition. The lawsuit, which brands Google as an 'internet Goliath' and was announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, targets the heart of the search giant's business - the digital ads that generate nearly all of its revenue. It was prompted by complaints by publishers and other businesses whose publications rely on advertising revenue to survive. In the lawsuit, Google is accused of striking up an illegal deal with Facebook, a major competitor for online ad sales, to manipulate advertising auction. Texas and 11 other states had already previously joined the Justice Department's landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google that was filed in October. That federal lawsuit argued that Google illegally used its market power to hobble rivals. It accused Google of building a great search engine but then fending off competition through exclusive deals with Apple and others. The suit also alleged that Google abused its dominance in search advertising. While Google has long defended itself against charges of monopoly by arguing its searches are free for users, that lawsuit claims that both advertisers and regular people are harmed by its dominance as the most used website. Google, however, says the lawsuit is 'deeply flawed' and that people use the search giant because they want to and not because they're forced. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Electric car maker Tesla Inc. is facing a probe by the U.S. auto safety regulator on a recent crash involving a Model Y vehicle suspected to be in Autopilot mode that hit a parked Police patrol car in Michigan. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA said it is sending the Special Crash Investigation or SCI team to investigate the matter. In a tweet, Michigan State Police said a parked patrol car was struck at 1:12 am Wednesday, while investigating a traffic crash between a car and deer near Lansing on Interstate-96. The agency said, 'While investigating that crash with their emergency lights on, a Tesla on autopilot strikes the patrol car.' In the accident, no one was injured and the 22-year-old Tesla driver was issued traffic citations. The company, which has long been criticized for faults in its advanced driver assist system following many crashes, is already undergoing NHTSA investigation on a March 11 crash in Detroit involving a Tesla and a tractor-trailer that left a passenger in critical condition. The regulator reportedly had launched at least 14 SCI teams following Tesla crashes suspected of being tied to its Autopilot system. Tesla in February had called back about 135,000 vehicles over touch-screen failures after NHTSA asked Tesla to recall 158,716 of its Model S and Model X vehicles manufactured before 2019, after owners complained of touchscreen glitches that led to the loss of several safety-related features. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. By Zhang Jianshu Defense and foreign ministers from the United States and Japan held a meeting in Tokyo on March 16. The list of meeting achievements published by Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs later included plenty of unfriendly content targeted at China. In response to a question about the joint press statement released after the meeting of US-Japan Security Consultative Committee, known as "2+2" talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at the regular press conference on March 17 that the US-Japan joint statement maliciously attacks Chinas foreign policy, flagrantly interferes in Chinas domestic affairs, and attempts to harm Chinas interests. He continued, Japan, driven by the selfish aim to check Chinas revitalization, willingly stoops to acting as a strategic vassal of the United States, going so far as to break faith, harm relations with China, invite the wolf into the house and betray the collective interests of the whole region. Such despicable behavior is deeply unpopular. Both before and after the 2+2 meeting, Japanese media have been proudly clamoring about Tokyo and Washingtons singling out of China, US-China confrontation, and how Biden administration values Tokyo an unchecked eagerness to elevate Japans standing with Americas weight. But many people have observed that Tokyo and Washington each have an ax to grind. First of all, the whole world is watching closely the China-US meeting to be held in Alaska. No matter what tricks the US plays before that, it will have to come to the negotiating table with China. Japan is actually anxious that the two major powers may reach an agreement behind its back. Second, Tokyo is having its plate full preparing for the Olympic Games, but the COVID-19 epidemic in the capital city and its surrounding areas is far from being kept well under control. Japan insists on using only American and European vaccines but is troubled by insufficient supply at present. Will the American guests help it get more vaccines? Third, according to Japanese medias coverage of the 2+2 meeting, Blinken and Austin delivered Washingtons messages without using strong or provocative remarks targeting China. Rather, it was the Japanese side that was complaining a lot to the big brother. There are guesses that Japan is saying what the US wants it to as that best meets American interests and could also portray Japan as the party being forced, thus glossing over the fact that Japan is doing exactly what it wants for its own interests. Many people in Japan have different interpretation of the meeting from the Japanese Foreign Ministry. For example, Shinsuke Sugiyama, a senior official at the ministry and former ambassador to the US, said during a TV program on March 15 that while Japans diplomacy is pivoted on its alliance with the US, the Japan-China relation is also one of the most important foreign relations for it, adding that its really hard for Japan to do everything the US asks. Katsutoshi Kawano, former Chief of Staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, also said on a program on March 16 that while US President Biden vowed to act with the allies, it doesnt mean Japan will take all the responsibilities. He expected Washington to strongly ask Japan to play a bigger role in security. In Japans opinion, American troops are more and more like its bodyguards or mercenaries, while the China threat theory is the best excuse for Uncle Sam to demand more from Japan and for Japan to tax more from its people. In fact, there are many voices within Japan asking for a dissolution of the Japan-US alliance. The many problems and divergences between the two countries wont be resolved by one or two 2+2 meetings. History and reality have both shown that the persistence of Tokyo and Washington, the former in particular, to form a small clique targeting a third party will harm others while doing themselves no good. It will eventually become a self-inflicted fetter on themselves. Editors note: This article is originally published on zqb.cyol.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Dar es Salaam The government of Tanzania has secured a total of Sh570.6 billion in loans from World Bank for the construction of phases 3 and 4 of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a senior official revealed yesterday. Phase Three of the BRT project involves construction of infrastructure projects across the 23.6-kilometre stretch of Nyerere Road from Gongo la Mboto to City Centre and parts of Uhuru Road from Tazara to Kariakoo Gerezani. Meanwhile, phase 4 involves construction of a 16.1-kilometre stretch along Bagamoyo and Sam Nujoma roads. Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (Dart) chief executive officer Ronald Lwakatare told The Citizen that they have received $148.1 million for phase 3 and $99.9 million for phase 4. "The funds secured would facilitate the actual construction of BRT infrastructure while the government will be responsible for compensating the people who will be affected by the project," he said. He said after the compensations, the government would then announce tenders for the actual construction process to start. He said though the actual cost of construction is determined depending on the received bids, the amount to be spent on the project would remain within the same range. This was because the funds were in foreign currency. Earlier last year, Dart said it had disbursed Sh5.7 billion to 77 Dar es Salaam residents to pave the way for the construction of the 23.6 kilometre stretch of the BRT phase 3 project. Dart said the government had completed the compensation proc- ess but that only Sh124.1 million had not yet been paid to those who would be affected. Dart is a bus-based mass transit system connecting the suburbs of Dar es Salaam to the Central Busi- ness District which began operations in May, 2016. Construction of the first phase was completed in December 2015 at a total cost of euros 134 million, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank and Tanzanian government. Phase I of the BRT system has a total length of 21 kilometres and runs from Kimara via Ubungo ending at Kivukoni, Morocco and Gerezani. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Medical Device Connectivity Market Overview The global medical device connectivity market is expected to exhibit a strong 16.1% CAGR over the forecast period from 2018 to 2023, according to the latest research report from Market Research Future (MRFR). The research report profiles the global medical device connectivity market in great detail and provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the market. The market's historical growth trajectory, present conditions, and future growth prospects are studied in the report. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the market's historical growth trajectory by detailing the historical stats regarding the market. Future projections are based on the detailed historical stats offered in the report. Get a FREE Sample with Complete TOC By Considering the COVID-19 impact on Global Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6041 Based on this platform, future projections for the medical device connectivity markets growth trajectory over the forecast period are provided in the report. The report also profiles the leading players in the global medical device connectivity market and gives readers a comprehensive analysis of the leading players in the global medical device connectivity market. The report also profiles the major drivers and restraints affecting the global medical device connectivity market. The factors making the market tick and those holding the market back are studied in detail in the report. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the medical device connectivity market is also assessed in the report. Medical device connectivity has become an important technology for the medical sector due to the widespread implementation of electronic health record systems, which has elevated the importance of digital technology in the healthcare sector. The growing demand for storing various device-related data in secure storage sites is likely to be a major driver for the global medical device connectivity market over the forecast period. The increasing incorporation of health information exchange systems in healthcare organizations is also likely to be a major driver for the global medical device connectivity market over the forecast period, as medical device connectivity tools play a vital role in enabling strong, capable health information exchange programs. Medical Device Connectivity Market Competitive Leaderboard: Leading players in the global medical device connectivity market include eDevice Inc., Stryker Corporation, Nuvon Inc., iHealth Lab Inc., True Process, Lantronix, Infosys, Nanthealth, Cisco Systems, Medtronic, Bernoulli Enterprise, Koninklijke Philips NV, GE Healthcare, Cerner, and Qualcomm. In 2016, Allscripts Technologies signed a ten-year strategic agreement with Optumcare to deploy Allscripts TouchWork suite as its exclusive electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solution for physicians. The strategic agreement will provide physicians with the clinical, health plan, and analytical data, which will further enhance the high-quality care they provide to their patients. Moreover, in 2016, Cerner and Sharp Healthcare came together to extend the formers electronic health record (EHR) system to the Sharp Community Medical Group. Through the expanded relationship with Cerner, Sharp will utilize an integrated platform to create consistencies by streamlining physician workflows and care team communications for transitions of care. All such instances are expected to boost the medical device connectivity market. Medical Device Connectivity Market Regional Analysis: North America accounts for the global medical device connectivity market, followed by Europe. Asia Pacific is also expected to be an important regional market over the forecast period. Medical Device Connectivity Market Segmentation: The global medical device connectivity market is segmented on the basis of products and services, technology, end user, and region. By products and services, the market is segmented into medical device connectivity solutions and medical device connectivity services. Medical device connectivity solutions are further segmented into medical device integration solutions, telemetry systems, connectivity hubs, and interface devices. Whereas, medical device connectivity services are further segmented into support and maintenance services, implementation and integration services, and training services. Based on technology the market is segmented into wired technologies, wireless technologies, and hybrid technologies. Wireless technologies are likely to grow at a rapid growth rate over the forecast period. By end user, the market is segmented into hospitals, home healthcare, ambulatory care centers, diagnostic centers, and others. Hospitals account for the largest share in the global medical device connectivity market. Obtain Premium Research Report Details, Considering the impact of COVID-19 @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/medical-device-connectivity-market-6041 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR) , we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) ), and Market Research & Consulting Services. A study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health reports a high global prevalence of both depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows how implementation of mitigation strategies including public transportation and school closures, and stay-at-home orders impacted such disorders. The results are published in Psychological Medicine. Our research found an elevated global prevalence of these mental health issues during COVID-19 and also revealed there was a wide variance in each at the region- and country-level." Joao Castaldelli-Maia, MD, PhD, NIDA-INVEST Postdoctoral Fellow and Study Lead Author, Department of Epidemiology, In particular, Asia (most studies came from China) presented lower levels of both anxiety and depression, compared to the other regions of the world. Closure of public transportation increased levels of anxiety, whether it was two weeks or four weeks past the passage of closure enactment, especially in Europe." Using an end date of July 29th, 2020, the researchers analyzed data from Pubmed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and medRxiv, among other databases, for depression and anxiety prevalence. They also reviewed the Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker for the containment and closure policies indexes; and the Global Burden of Disease Study for previous levels of depression and anxiety. The WHO database which includes COVID literature for studies published by the same date was also used. In total, 226,638 individuals were assessed within 60 included studies. Global prevalence of both depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic were 24 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Asia with rates of 18 percent for each, and China especially, had the lowest prevalence of both disorders. Regarding the impact of mitigation strategies on mental health -- whether it was public transportation closures, school closings, workplace closures, cancellation of public events, or restrictions on gathering -- only public transportation closures increased prevalence of anxiety, especially in Europe. Castaldelli-Maia and colleagues found a 21 percent global prevalence of anxiety. Asia had lower levels of anxiety (18 percent) compared to other regions of the world (29 percent). In this case, Europe did not differ from Asia and other regions of the world. Again, a subgroup analysis at the country-level showed that China had a lower prevalence of anxiety at 15.5 percent compared to all other countries at 26 percent. "Our study confirms how critical it is to investigate levels of mental health disorders and the possible impacts of social distancing measures on mental health outcomes, according to Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, and senior author. "Mental health concerns should not be viewed only as a delayed consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also as a concurrent epidemic." Within the subgroup of Asian countries, estimates of depression prevalence ranged from 15 percent to 20 percent. When comparing the prevalence of depression in the pre-and post-COVID-19 eras, the estimates ranging from 1.3-3.4 percent, are demonstrably larger after the initiation of COVID-19. Depression was observed among 26 percent of the population in Europe, and among 39 percent in other non-Asia regions of the world. A further analysis showed that China had a lower prevalence of depression, 16 percent compared with 29 percent in other countries. Similarly, the prevalence of anxiety, as reported in the subgroup of Asian countries is higher post-COVID-19. Rates of anxiety prior to COVID-19 ranged from 2.1 to 4.1 percent vs. 18 percent in the present study. Increases in anxiety can be observed in countries outside Asia and Europe (3 to 7 percent vs. 29 percent). "The lower levels of depression and anxiety that we found in Asian countries could be culture-dependent," observes Martins. The effect of public transportation closures on anxiety levels points to the importance of these systems to global populations, particularly the results in Europe but not in Asia. "These findings could be linked to the fact that Europe has a more effective and implemented public transport network on average, making Europeans depending more on public transportation than people in Asian countries," noted Martins. "The COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting physical distancing measures to mitigate viral spread, has certainly impacted population mental health worldwide, and the high prevalence of mental health disorders is a considerable concern during the COVID era," said Castaldelli-Maia. "These results have important implications for policymakers and show the urgent need for the healthcare sector to increase support now for prevention and early intervention of depression and anxiety." A teenage girl aged 15 has been raped by at least 20 people over a period of eight days. Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the incident which happened in the city of Jhalawar in the state of Rajasthan, India. Two police officers also have been suspended for a 'negligence of duty' after failing to act ten days after the incident, The Times of India reported. Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the incident which happened in the city of Jhalawar in the state of Rajasthan. A stock image is used above [File photo] The girl was allegedly taken by a friend and another young person into the city to buy a schoolbag for her. She says she was drugged and raped by men at a park and also at different places around the city over the following eight days in late February. Four of the 20 people arrested in connection with the incident are understood to be minors. Local police Superintendent Sharad Choudhary said of the two officers suspended: 'These police officials failed to act even after 10 days of the crime and protect the minor girl'. Though our galaxy is an immense city of at least 200 billion stars, the details of how they formed remain largely cloaked in mystery. Scientists know that stars form from the collapse of huge hydrogen clouds that are squeezed under gravity to the point where nuclear fusion ignites. But only about 30 percent of the cloud's initial mass winds up as a newborn star. Where does the rest of the hydrogen go during such a terribly inefficient process? It has been assumed that a newly forming star blows off a lot of hot gas through lightsaber-shaped outflowing jets and hurricane-like winds launched from the encircling disk by powerful magnetic fields. These fireworks should squelch further growth of the central star. But a new, comprehensive Hubble survey shows that this most common explanation doesn't seem to work, leaving astronomers puzzled. Researchers used data previously collected from NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Telescope to analyze 304 developing stars, called protostars, in the Orion Complex, the nearest major star-forming region to Earth. (Spitzer and Herschel are no longer operational). In this largest-ever survey of nascent stars to date, researchers are finding that gas-clearing by a star's outflow may not be as important in determining its final mass as conventional theories suggest. The researchers' goal was to determine whether stellar outflows halt the infall of gas onto a star and stop it from growing. Instead, they found that the cavities in the surrounding gas cloud sculpted by a forming star's outflow did not grow regularly as they matured, as theories propose. "In one stellar formation model, if you start out with a small cavity, as the protostar rapidly becomes more evolved, its outflow creates an ever-larger cavity until the surrounding gas is eventually blown away, leaving an isolated star," explained lead researcher Nolan Habel of the University of Toledo in Ohio. "Our observations indicate there is no progressive growth that we can find, so the cavities are not growing until they push out all of the mass in the cloud. So, there must be some other process going on that gets rid of the gas that doesn't end up in the star." The team's results will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal. A Star is Born During a star's relatively brief birthing stage, lasting only about 500,000 years, the star quickly bulks up on mass. What gets messy is that, as the star grows, it launches a wind, as well as a pair of spinning, lawn-sprinkler-style jets shooting off in opposite directions. These outflows begin to eat away at the surrounding cloud, creating cavities in the gas. Popular theories predict that as the young star evolves and the outflows continue, the cavities grow wider until the entire gas cloud around the star is completely pushed away. With its gas tank empty, the star stops accreting mass - in other words, it stops growing. To look for cavity growth, the researchers first sorted the protostars by age by analyzing Herschel and Spitzer data of each star's light output. The protostars in the Hubble observations were also observed as part of the Herschel telescope's Herschel Orion Protostar Survey. Then the astronomers observed the cavities in near-infrared light with Hubble's Near-infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer and Wide Field Camera 3. The observations were taken between 2008 and 2017. Although the stars themselves are shrouded in dust, they emit powerful radiation which strikes the cavity walls and scatters off dust grains, illuminating the gaps in the gaseous envelopes in infrared light. The Hubble images reveal the details of the cavities produced by protostars at various stages of evolution. Habel's team used the images to measure the structures' shapes and estimate the volumes of gas cleared out to form the cavities. From this analysis, they could estimate the amount of mass that had been cleared out by the stars' outbursts. "We find that at the end of the protostellar phase, where most of the gas has fallen from the surrounding cloud onto the star, a number of young stars still have fairly narrow cavities," said team member Tom Megeath of the University of Toledo. "So, this picture that is still commonly held of what determines the mass of a star and what halts the infall of gas is that this growing outflow cavity scoops up all of the gas. This has been pretty fundamental to our idea of how star formation proceeds, but it just doesn't seem to fit the data here." Future telescopes such as NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will probe deeper into a protostar's formation process. Webb spectroscopic observations will observe the inner regions of disks surrounding protostars in infrared light, looking for jets in the youngest sources. Webb also will help astronomers measure the accretion rate of material from the disk onto the star, and study how the inner disk is interacting with the outflow. ### Credits: NASA, ESA, and N. Habel and S. T. Megeath (University of Toledo) Media Contacts: Claire Andreoli NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 301-286-1940 claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Donna Weaver / Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 410-338-4493 / 410-338-4514 dweaver@stsci.edu / villard@stsci.edu Christine Billau University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 419-530-2077 christine.billau@utoledo.edu Science Contacts: Nolan Habel / Tom Megeath University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio nolan.habel@rockets.utoledo.edu / s.megeath@utoledo.edu Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 17) A microbial oceanographer from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute is set to make history as one of the first humans and the first Filipino to reach the third deepest spot on Earth. In a statement on Wednesday, the UPMSI said Dr. Deo Florence Onda was invited by private firm Caladan Oceanic to join the Emden Deep Expedition scheduled on March 22 to 28. Deep sea expeditions like this one are equivalent to the first early flights into outer space, thus it would be a major record-setting scientific and historic achievement, the UPMSI said, noting that most records are held by foreign scientists or explorers. The Philippine Trench is a unique feature found within the EEZ [exclusive economic zone] of the Philippines, and it is only appropriate that a Filipino scientist be one of the first to hold this record in the Emden Deep, it added. Also joining is Victor Vescovo, the current record holder of the deepest manned descent in the Marianas Trench in 2019, the most recent one achieved by the organization. Caladan Oceanic is known for setting records for the deepest manned descents in trenches across the world. They will dive Emden Deep onboard the DSSV Pressure Drop, the only marine vessel in the world capable of launching the deep-sea submersible DSV Limiting Factor that can carry humans and repeatedly dive to the deepest parts in the worlds oceans. Onda is now onboard the said vessel and will start voyage from the port of Guam to the Philippine Trench on March 15. This activity has been fully coordinated with the Philippine government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and is considered a non-marine scientific research activity. Part of the goal is to wave the Philippine flag in the Emden Deep during its record-setting voyage, highlighting that the submarine trench is an integral part of our nations heritage. Being the only Filipino researcher representing the country, Onda will also be given an opportunity to be exposed to state-of-the-art vessels capable of deep-sea activities, which can enrich our experiences and knowledge as the Philippines builds its own National Academic Research Fleet. This endeavor can spark interest and passion for many other young Filipinos who would want to make a career in the sciences and bring more attention to the protection, preservation, and conservation of the Philippine marine environment, the UPMSI said. The deepest parts of the ocean floor can be found in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific and the Tonga Trench in the southwestern Pacific, both at almost 11 kilometers deep. The Philippine Trench, also known as the Mindanao Trench, is almost 10,500 meters deep. The unique ecosystems and geologic history of these deep-sea trenches have always fascinated scientific researchers. Firms Build Financial Services Powerhouse in New York, London and D.C. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowell & Moring and Kibbe & Orbe have agreed to join forces to provide expanded service offerings to clients in the financial services industry. As part of the transaction, 24 lawyers from the storied financial law firm would become part of Crowell & Moring's New York, London, and Washington, D.C. offices, including Jennifer Grady, managing partner and chair of the firm's executive committee, three founding partners, Jonathan Kibbe, William Orbe, and Michael D. Mann, and the managing partner of the London office, Andrew M. Martin. The transaction is expected to close in April. Kibbe & Orbe represents hedge funds and other private investment funds, investment banks, financial institutions, public and private enterprises, and corporate boards of directors on a broad range of transactions, structuring issues, and regulatory matters in the investment and business sectors. The firm is recognized for having pioneered the legal framework governing the practice of trading in distressed bank loans, creating a market that now transacts a trillion dollars annually, and for crafting novel client solutions, including high-value investments in complex illiquid assets. The firm is a leading voice in evolving markets, new asset classes, non-bank lending, and litigation finance. Kibbe & Orbe's client roster includes six of the top 10 global investment banks, six of the 10 largest private equity funds, and 31 of the top 100 hedge funds, as ranked by assets under management. "We have been focused on strategically expanding our financial services industry practice. Kibbe & Orbe is recognized for its excellence and innovation by sophisticated blue-chip clients in the global financial markets, so adding these superb lawyers to our team is an extraordinary opportunity," said Philip T. Inglima, chair of Crowell & Moring. "They have established a sterling reputation over the past 30 years for their experience handling complex - and often novel - transactional, regulatory, compliance, and governance matters. They are viewed as a leader internationally for their work in the distressed debt industry and are sought out by corporate clients for their knowledge of increasingly sophisticated financial products and the rapidly changing global regulatory environment in which they are operating." The group includes 13 partners (10 based in New York, 2 in London, and 1 in D.C.); 1 of counsel and 2 counsel (New York); and 8 associates (4 New York, 4 London). Outside of Grady, Kibbe, and Orbe, the partners joining Crowell & Moring's New York office include: Scott C. Budlong, Paul B. Haskel, Timothy Lin, Julia Lu, Richard Lee, Gregory Gennady Plotko, and Kevin Rubinstein. Also joining the New York office are of counsel Kenneth Werner and counsel James J. Ohligand Robert Waldner; and associates John A. Clark, Frank Jaklitsch, Luke A. Smith, and Hanchang Sohn. In addition to Martin, joining the firm's London office is partner Matthew Hughes, as well as four associates: Adam Colman, Emilie Condie, Adam English, and Miriam Karam. Mann will join Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office. In tandem with its transactional practices, Kibbe & Orbe advises clients on a wide range of regulatory, compliance, and governance issues, including providing strategic advice to boards, board committees, individual directors, and their companies on a range of corporate governance issues; counseling buy-side clients about the requirements of the SEC and other regulators, with a focus on real-time trading advice to chief compliance officers, general counsel, and portfolio managers; and identifying and mitigating the risks faced by clients conducting global business and corporate transactions subject to both U.S. and foreign regulations. Kibbe & Orbe is a recognized authority on internal investigations, auditor independence, and international securities law compliance issues, as well as being fluent in a complex range of issues in the investment and business sectors. "This is an exciting opportunity to join forces with a firm that is as committed to diversity, collegiality, and professional excellence as we are," said Jennifer Grady, managing partner and chair of Kibbe & Orbe's executive committee. "The legal needs of our clients are evolving, particularly as a result of the growing complexity of investment strategies and structures, and the rapid adoption of new technologies developed for the financial markets. We believe that Crowell & Moring offers the ideal platform with its broad spectrum of complementary practices, government-facing experience, and financial services industry knowledge. We're certain our clients will find the firm's recognized capabilities in areas like anti-corruption, AML/sanctions, financial litigation, fintech, cybersecurity/data privacy, securities enforcement, and white collar and investigations to be of tremendous value." "This cutting-edge group of financial services practitioners will significantly expand our presence on Wall Street and increase our ability to deliver the highest level of service to global investment banks, private equity funds, and hedge funds," said Glen McGorty, managing partner of the firm's New York office. "Kibbe & Orbe has a core team of distressed debt and claims trading lawyers that is one of the most experienced in the world. Their leadership in secondary debt and claims markets and experience as thought leaders in those global markets gives them the ability to look around the corner, anticipate issues, and capitalize on new developments for our clients." "We are delighted to welcome this team to our expanding London office. Their arrival will have a positive impact on our London clients, particularly those in the financial services sector. The Kibbe & Orbe team is recognized for having within its ranks the most qualified, distressed-debt-focused, legal practitioners in the world," said Robert Weekes, managing partner of the firm's London office. "Their sophisticated and innovative practice complements our existing specialties in London. Joining forces will result in more comprehensive service offerings for clients and will even further enhance our excellent collaboration with our colleagues in New York and D.C." About Crowell & Moring LLP Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 560 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Media Contact: Rebecca Carr Director of Communications +1 202.508.8835 Email: prteam@crowell.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459341/Crowell_Moring_Kibbe_Orbe.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/175008/crowell_and_moring_llp_logo.jpg Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. 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 Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recommended vaccinating frontline workers in the oil sector on priority against the COVID-19 virus. According to officials in the know, the has forwarded a request from oil companies and associations to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Employees at petrol pumps, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or cooking gas) dealerships, and exploration companies were working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The ministry said these frontline workers had braved the intense first wave of the pandemic and ensured uninterrupted fuel supplies to the country. They were also lauded as Corona Warriors and Union Ministers had recognised their efforts. But these oil sector frontline workers have not been included in the priority list for vaccinations till now. The vaccination drive has so far included medical personnel, frontline workers like police staff, patients with comorbidities above 45, and everyone above 60. This has demoralised staffers who feel that they should also be vaccinated with other Corona Warriors. A larger number of our employees that are below 45 and currently out of the vaccination eligibility criteria. Those who are in direct contact with consumers such as the petrol pump attendants that collect money and dispense fuel should be vaccinated, a petrol pump dealer told Business Standard. Ajay Bansal, President of the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, said they had demanded inclusion of pump attendants in the COVID-19 vaccine priority list. They were declared essential workers and had performed their duties during Covid-19 lockdowns, but were not considered eligible to get the vaccine jab. The government either through oil marketing companies or some other mechanism should bear the cost of vaccinating petrol pump workers, Bansal said. He estimates that there were around 700,000 petrol pump workers that need to be administered COVID-19 vaccines. It is noteworthy that our delivery men carry full cylinders on their shoulders while making delivery to the households and bringing back empties, multiple times in a single day and are therefore vulnerable and prone to catching the infection easily, the All India LPG Distributors Federation wrote in a letter to Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. The federation sought inclusion of staff of LPG distributors in the priority list of vaccination as they are equally exposed to COVID-19. However, priority may be given to the staff of distributors of such areas where the infection is still at peak, the letter said. The request to include frontline workers such as pump attendants in the priority list has also been made by three public sector undertaking (PSU) oil marketing companies namely Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum. ONGC has also asked that its workers on oil installations be given priority since it is not possible for them to maintain social distancing during their work. These PSUs are also facilitating the vaccination of their current and former employees. According to ONGC officials, COVID-19 vaccinations are going on as per government permission at the ONGC Hospital in Dehradun. We are facilitating vaccinations for all the retired employees (who are invariably above 60 years of age) and serving employees with co-morbidities are being assisted by the company, an ONGC official said. The company is offering help to those employees who are not comfortable using mobile apps for booking slots for vaccination and coordinating with hospitals for smooth administration of the vaccine, the official added. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. People walk on the Columbia University campus in New York City on March 9, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) Columbia University to Hold Multicultural Graduation Celebrations Columbia University in New York is planning to conduct six additional graduation ceremonies for students according to their race, ethnic backgrounds, income level, and other self-identificationsa move that critics labeled as undoing the work of the civil rights era and taking a step toward re-segregating society. The schools website provides details of upcoming graduation ceremonies for Native, Asian, Latinx, and black students scheduled for late April for Columbia College, Columbia Engineering, General Studies, and Barnard College. Another ceremony, FLI Graduation is for first generation and/or low income community, and the Lavender graduation is intended for the LGBTIAQ+ community. Because of continuing pandemic-related restrictions, the events are expected to take place online. In honor of Columbias diverse student community and complementing the school- and University-wide graduation ceremonies, we are proud to also offer Multicultural Graduation Celebrations, which provide a more intimate setting for students who self-identify in a variety of ways, a university webpage states. These events invite community members to reflect on personal growth and community experiences that have impacted their time as students through to graduation. All students are invited to participate in these celebrations. The university is also offering participants a multicultural graduation gift (e.g., stole, tassel, pin, or other gift). Critics werent buying Columbias explanation for the gaggle of graduation gatherings. Mary Grabar, resident fellow at the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization and the author most recently of Debunking the 1619 Project, sees the multiplicity of graduation ceremonies as the inevitable product of leftist indoctrination in the education system. This is the logical outcome of replacing literary classics with multicultural literature and American and World history with histories of various groups. What category are they reserving for white students who are neither gay nor first generation? White Privileged? Of course, these will be the pariahs, and that has been the plan all along, she told The Epoch Times. The plan is to sow division and implement demonization. I saw it coming when I started teaching in the 1990s. This is the logical outcome. Conservative commentator Candace Owens mocked the ceremonies in a tweet. Congratulations are in order for liberals and Columbia University for successfully bringing segregation back by packaging it as diversity inclusion. Just one question: which ceremony do bi-racial children attend? she wrote. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also criticized the universitys plans on his Twitter page in a series of posts. The endpoint of critical race theory: segregation. Critical race theory is the belief that people have value based on the color of their skin, and that our race defines everything about us. Its not just falseits dangerous. he wrote. The problem is not just one woke university embracing discrimination. Critical race theory is being pushed on our kids at school, its peddled by HR departments at corporations, and the Biden administration has embraced it under the guise of racial equity. At the White House Conference on American History on Sept. 17, 2020, President Donald Trump rejected what he called a false, cynical version of American history now being taught in schools. There is a left-wing cultural revolution underway that is designed to overthrow the American Revolution, said Trump, who also said left-wing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left-wing indoctrination in our schools that has gone on far too long. Propaganda tracts, like those of [the late communist professor] Howard Zinn, are used in schools to make students ashamed of their own history, the president said. The left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods, and lies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Americas founding set in motion the unstoppable chain of events that abolished slavery, secured civil rights, defeated communism and fascism, and built the most fair, equal, and prosperous nation in human history. Asked by The Epoch Times if Columbia University was concerned that it appeared to favor re-segregating the races by hosting all these various gatherings, a university spokesperson responded with an emailed statement. Columbia marks graduation every spring with a university-wide Commencement ceremony and Class Days for the graduates of each of our schools, the spokesperson said. These events bringing together all of our graduates and their families are a high point of every academic year. The smaller celebratory events held for particular communities are in addition to, not instead of, the main Commencement and Class Day graduation ceremonies. In most instances, these smaller, multicultural gatherings evolved from ceremonies originally created by alumni and students. The gatherings are voluntary, open to every student who wants to participate, and have become a highly anticipated and meaningful part of the Columbia graduation experience. Top Philippine political opposition figures launched a coalition on Thursday to nominate a viable candidate for next years presidential race, with an aim of undoing Rodrigo Dutertes policies, including his war on drugs that has left thousands dead. The coalition, 1Sambayan, is chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and has among its members former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and ex-ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. Our economic development has been set back not only because of the pandemic, but also because of the mishandling by the present administration of the response to the pandemic, Carpio said at the virtual launch of the coalition. The Filipino people should reject all those identified with dictatorship and authoritarianism, reject all those responsible for or who abet extrajudicial killings and whose mantra is kill, kill, kill, and all those who violate human rights, said Carpio, as he branded Dutertes government incompetent. Carpio was referring to Dutertes war on drugs, a platform launched shortly after he took office in 2016. The drug war has resulted in nearly 8,000 deaths of suspected addicts and dealers, according to government figures, while rights activists say thousands more have been killed. Families of those killed as well two people who claim to be a part of one of his alleged death squads have filed complaints against Duterte at The Hague-based International Criminal Court. In December 2020, the ICCs chief prosecutor said it had reason to believe that crimes against humanity had occurred under Dutertes leadership. West Philippine Sea Carpio also called on the public to reject those who refuse to defend and protect the countrys territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea the Philippine name for the South China Sea. Despite an international tribunal rejecting Beijings vast claims to the sea shortly after Duterte took office, he sought to appease China in exchange for economic concessions, using conciliatory language about the Asian giant. Recently, Duterte has used stronger rhetoric against China, but has maintained that Manila was ill-equipped militarily to challenge Beijing. Carpio is the legal counsel representing del Rosario and his cousin, Carpio-Morales, as they seek to reopen an ICC complaint against Chinese leader Xi Jinping for alleged crimes against humanity in the sea region. Vaccines Lately, Duterte has appeared to put the territorial dispute on the back burner as he negotiated free COVID-19 vaccines from Chinese firm Sinovac this month, according to analysts. Still, the Philippines was among the last Southeast Asian nation to vaccinate its people, and so far, only a fraction of the nations more than 110 million people have received jabs. Carpio said that instead of focusing on the virus response and reigniting the economy, Duterte and his aides have been preoccupied with shutting down the free press and going after its critics. In 2020, the House of Representatives dominated by Duterte allies denied an application from ABS-CBN television network to renew its 25-year license. In June, journalist Maria Ressa, the editor and chief executive of the Rappler news website, was convicted of cyber-libel. The network and Rappler had reported extensively on the drug war. Del Rosario said restoring good governance was critical. He accused the strongman president of being morally bankrupt as he called for a new set of competent leaders. Of paramount importance is the need for us to unite so that we can choose a singular presidential candidate and a singular vice presidential candidate for the next election in 2022. If we are able to do this and avoid splitting votes, we will win, del Rosario said. The coalition also seeks to nominate a slate of 12 candidates for national senate races. Under Philippine law, a president is limited to a single six-year term. Posters urging the presidents daughter, Sara Duterte, to run for office have popped up around the capital recently, although Dutertes aides have denied that they are pushing this. Vice President Leni Robredo, who has spent her term questioning the drug war, has emerged as a top potential contender for the coalitions nomination, although she has not addressed calls for her to run. On Thursday, Duterte spokesman Harry Roque declined to comment on politics, saying the Philippines was in the middle of a pandemic. It is too early to talk about the election and politics. Thats what we always say. Lets set aside politics while the pandemic is here, Roque said. It is not yet the time for politics, but we cannot stop them, he said of the coalitions meeting. I wish them the best. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the White House would not be releasing to the media photos that advisors shared with President Joe Biden to brief him on conditions on facilities housing childhood migrants on the border. Psaki had kept open the idea of sharing them Wednesday at a press briefing after she revealed that advisors to President Biden who had been to the border spoke to him 'with photos' about the facilities where unaccompanied children were being house. 'I'm happy to invite them to the briefing room and talk to them about the photos,' she said on Wednesday, amid weeks of calls by media organizations to be granted their own access to the facilities. The administration won't be releasing images of U.S. facilities for children at the border that were used to brief President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday On Thursday, Psaki indicated the photos would held back but floated the idea of an organized press tour. 'Well first let me say that the White House and we all in the administration support finding a way to grant access to the media to the [Health and Human Services] facilities or the shelters where these children are are staying for a temporary period of time before they are placed with family members or with sponsored homes,' she said. Fifteen-month-old Matias Marin sits on the lap of his mother Naciel Marin, 23, of Nicaragua, as they wait for travel instructions to Wisconsin at a bus station in Brownsville, Texas, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. The Marin family left their native Nicaragua a month and half ago to seek asylum in the U.S. A large group of migrants from Central America is gathered after being apprehended by Border Patrol in Penitas, Texas on Friday, March 12th, 2021 Psaki was asked if there was any connection between a vaccine loan to Mexico and policy asks for that country. She denied any such linkage 'The Office of Refugee Resettlement is has not been hosting, as you've noted, media tours of unaccompanied children facilities currently due to the COVID 19 pandemic,' she said, 'but we remain committed to transparency, and we're considering potential options and we hope to have an update on that soon.' Pressed on the images that Biden viewed, she said: 'There was a private briefing - an internal briefing from several weeks ago. We typically don't provide those materials publicly. But we do want you to be able to, or a pool of media, to be able to have your own visuals and get your own footage of these facilities.' Psaki also walked back her own comment during the Thursday briefing when she referred to a 'crisis' at the border. That is a word that HHS head Alejandro Mayorkas pointedly would not use during his own turn at the White House podium. Instead, Mayorkas called it 'undoubtedly difficult' at a House hearing Wednesday. Psaki was speaking about a simultaneous push to lend Mexico and Canada AstraZeneca vaccine doses, even as the U.S. seeks commitments from Mexico on immigration. 'There have been expectations set ... unrelated to any vaccine doses or requests for them that they would be partners in dealing with the crisis on the border. And there have been requests unrelated for doses of these vaccines,' she said, denying a connection. 'Every relationship has multiple layers of conversations that are happening at the same time,' she explained. When reminded by a reporter that she had used the word 'crisis' which is out of step with what the administration calls it she said 'challenges on the border.' Asked if it reflected a change in position, Psaki replied: 'Nope,' and quickly moved on. She provided the detail about the photos Wednesday amid an uproar over a flood of unaccompanied children at the border with the government holding more than 3,000 of them beyond the three days set by law inside Customs and Border Patrol facilities. 'He talks to plenty of officials. He also has received a briefing with photos, and directly from his team that went and visited the border,' she said. She then confirmed to DailyMail.com that Biden has specifically been shown photographs from inside facilities where unaccompanied children are being held upon arrival. The administration has confirmed in some cases they are held for more than the three days that federal law limits for such facilities. 'Yes that was part of the briefing he received when his team came back,' she said. Psaki bristled when DailyMail.com asked whether Biden approved of what he saw and if conditions looked okay to him. 'I certainly did not say that. The Border Patrol facilities are not facilities made for children. He is committed to expediting the processing at the border - one of the reasons he wanted a briefing from people who have been in there so he can see himself, what it looks like,' she said. New Delhi, March 18 : Inputs about "sticky bombs" to use on vehicles by terrorists have emerged a new concern for security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir with the CRPF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Army gearing up to tackle this probable threat which could add a new dimension to insurgency in the region. The threat, suspected to be an idea of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operatives who push terrorists in the Valley, came to light after various raids and operations saw security forces recover such bombs. However, this new method of attack has not been used so far anywhere in the Union Territory. The use of sticky bombs first came into light during questioning of some arrested terrorists and their home-grown linkmen in the Kashmir Valley. Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) newly appointed Director General Kuldiep Singh had Thursday revealed the new threat. "We have heard about sticky bombs. It is really a challenge but there is not a single input about seizure of any such bombs from any vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir. Neither we noticed any such incident in which such bombs were used," he said. "Based on inputs from some accused, a few sticky bombs have been recovered from some particular places. These bombs were not even used on any vehicle," he reiterated. The Jammu and Kashmir Police earlier this month recovered around two dozen sticky bombs from the Jammu region, based on inputs received from some accused, prompting security agencies to amended procedures to deal with the new threat. There have been some instances in which "sticky bombs" were dropped by terrorists sitting across the border in Pakistan using drones, and these explosives were seized from Samba sector of Jammu region along the International Border earlier this month. The sticky bombs are improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with magnetic properties, and their use has been seen in war-ravaged Afghanistan where Taliban used them against US-led coalition forces and in Iraq and Syria where IS terrorists have triggered them against the government forces. In India, "sticky bombs" were used by suspected Iranian terrorists in February 2012 to injure the wife of an Israeli diplomat. These inputs come at a time when the security forces till March 17 neutralised 226 militants, including "top" Jaish-e-Mohammed Commander Sajjad Afghani, in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 15 months. The CRPF said that 215 of the 226 militants were neutralised in 2020 while 11 have been killed this year in 275 "encounters/attacks" conducted by a joint force of the paramilitary force, the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army. Joint operations led to neutralisations of four terrorists, including top Jaish commander Sajjad Afghani, in two different operations only a few days back. Vilayat Hussain Lone alias Afghani, killed in Shopian on Monday, was one of the most-wanted militants in Kashmir. From January 2020 to March 17, 2021, a total of 296 militants have been apprehended and eight surrendered in Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, the security forces have recovered 378 arms and 41 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the UT during the period. (Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in) 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. Patna, March 18 : A 22-year-old woman was found murdered at Bagha in Bihar's West Champaran district on Thursday, an official said, adding that the accused poured acid on her face in a bid to hide her identity. The police, who are suspecting rape, have managed to arrest an auto driver in connection with the case. The woman was missing since March 14, ever since when she went to Bagha to write the police recruitment examination. She had informed her brother after the examination that she was returning home. "My sister informed me about taking an auto and returning home to Kadmahwa village in Bettiah district. After some time, her mobile phone was switched off. She disappeared on the way to the village," said the victim's brother. "On Thursday, the local police of Bagha informed us about a dead body found in the Pratappur area under the Semra police station. The accused poured acid on her face to hide her identity. We immediately reached there and identified her," he told mediapersons. Following the incident, a large number of local residents blocked the Bagha sub-division road, demanding that the culprit should be tried in a fast-track court. "We have arrested an accused named Raju Mian in connection with this murder. We also suspect that the victim could have been sexually assaulted by the accused. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm rape. The interrogation is currently underway to find if any other person was involved in the commission of the crime," said Kiran Kumar Jadhav, Superintendent of Police, Bagha. The founders, leadership, and staff of The Carter Center extend their heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this weeks mass shooting in the Atlanta area. This attack was directed principally against women of Asian American Pacific Islander heritage. The Carter Center condemns the objectification of, and violence against, human beings on the basis of gender, nationality, ethnic identity, or any other personal characteristic. America is a pluralistic society where all deserve equal protection under the law and equal rights to live and work free from discrimination and threats or acts of violence. We call on our political leaders to enact and enforce laws that guarantee those rights, and on all Americans to support and defend actual and potential victims. Encourage high school students to send letters When I was young and a freshman in high school, I wrote my first letter to the editor of our local daily. My mother asked what I was doing writing a letter to the editor. I was too young, she said, besides, I had no idea; I knew nothing about the subject of my letter. At that point, I thought my mother was too busy with her work, boiling water for the wash, washing all the clothing that we kids dirtied and then some, the job of hanging it all out with clothespin on the line strung by pulleys from a side bedroom window to an old tree some distance away to have had and to have taken the time to read the newspaper. But, that's something she did at night, read the Daily Journal, before kneeling to say her prayers, before dropping into bed to wait for her husband, my father, who was to be home soon, near midnight, from the textile factory where he worked as a warp tier. And, now, as a former teacher, I urge local high school students to write letters to the editor. Let their English teachers encourage the practice. Let them critique the exercises, and have them write, again and again. Lets see their letters in print. Let them accept the feedback. Let them read their critics. Gerard Coulombe, Fairfield Speakers: Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC) Tian Yulong, member of the Leading Party Members Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and MIIT chief engineer Chang Jile, director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the NHC Yuan Lin, director general of the Department of Drug Regulation of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) Wang Junzhi, deputy head of an expert task force on vaccine development and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the National Immunization Program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Chairperson: Shou Xiaoli, deputy head of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson Date: March 15, 2021 Shou Xiaoli: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the State Council's interagency task force press conference. Currently, China has been promoting COVID-19 vaccination in an orderly manner, and people are very concerned about the progress. To help people better understand the situation, today we have invited Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC) to brief you on promoting COVID-19 vaccination and answer questions of interest. We also have with us Tian Yulong, member of the Leading Party Members Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and MIIT chief engineer; Chang Jile, director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control of the NHC; Yuan Lin, director general of the Department of Drug Regulation of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA); Wang Junzhi, deputy head of an expert task force on vaccine development and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Wang Huaqing, chief expert of the National Immunization Program of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Li. Li Bin: Good afternoon, friends from the media! It is a great pleasure to meet with you here to introduce the progress of COVID-19 vaccination work in China. At present, in accordance with the decision and deployment of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, all localities are promoting vaccinations in a safer, more orderly and vigorous manner by distinguishing priorities, insisting on informed consent for voluntary and free vaccinations, integrating regular prevention and control with vaccination work, and undertaking due responsibility and industry supervision responsibilities in a prudent and orderly manner in accordance with the law. China has administered 64.98 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of March 14. At present, we are organizing the implementation of vaccination following a sequence of administering vaccines to key groups, high-risk groups and then the general public, and steadily increasing the vaccine coverage rate. The first step is to vaccinate key groups. These groups include people facing a higher risk of occupational exposure, people at risk from overseas infections and people in key positions that maintain the basic operation of society, as well as people over 18 years old who live in border counties. We also include people who work in industries with higher risks of virus transmission such as the service industry and labor-intensive industry, some senior citizens who basically maintain good health but need to be vaccinated for special reasons, and other key groups decided by industrial authorities. At present, the vaccination of key groups is progressing in an orderly manner. The second step is to vaccinate high-risk groups, which mainly include elderly people and people with underlying diseases. As data on the protective efficacy of the vaccine in these groups from clinical trials is not yet sufficient, vaccination of these groups will be arranged according to the progress of vaccine development. The mass vaccination of these groups will be carried out in a timely manner once sufficient data on vaccine safety and efficacy are available from clinical trials. The third step is to widen the inoculation to the general public. In this stage, we will administer COVID-19 shots to the rest of the public who are willing to get vaccinated except for the above-mentioned two groups. Our ultimate goal is to effectively protect the health of all people. Long was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shootings of multiple people at three Atlanta-area massage parlours (Crisp County Sheriffs Office via AP) A white gunman has been charged with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlours in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community. Investigators are trying to work out what may have compelled 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long to commit the worst mass killing in the US in almost two years. Long told police that Tuesdays attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed to have a sex addiction. Authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation, but those statements spurred outrage and widespread scepticism given the locations and that six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. The shootings appear to be at the intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia, state Representative Bee Nguyen said, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House and a frequent advocate for women and communities of colour. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that regardless of the shooters motivation, it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop. Authorities said they did not know if Long ever went to the massage parlours where the shootings occurred but that he was heading to Florida to attack some type of porn industry. Cherokee County sheriffs Captain Jay Baker told reporters: He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places, and its a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate. Captain Baker drew criticism for saying Long had a really bad day and this is what he did. A Facebook page appearing to belong to Baker promoted a Covid-19 T-shirt with racist language about China last year. The Facebook account featured numerous photos of Capt Baker going back months, including one of him in uniform outside the sheriffs office. The account was deleted Wednesday night, and Capt Baker did not immediately respond to voicemails and an email seeking comment. Meanwhile, Sheriff Frank Reynolds said it was too early to tell if the attack was racially motivated but the indicators right now are it may not be. The attack was the sixth mass killing this year in the US, and the deadliest since the August 2019 Dayton, Ohio, shooting that left nine people dead. The killings horrified the Asian American community, which saw the shootings as an attack on them, given a recent wave of assaults that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States. Covid-19 was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racially charged terms to describe it. The attacks began when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlour near Woodstock, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, authorities sad. Those who died were 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 44-year-old Daoyou Feng and 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan, who owned the business. Ms Yaun and her husband came to the spa on a date, her mother, Margaret Rushing, told WAGA-TV. She leaves behind a 13-year-old son and eight-month-old daughter. The manager of a boutique next door to the spa said her husband watched surveillance video after the shooting and the suspect was sitting in his car for as long as an hour before going inside. They heard screaming and women running from the business, said Rita Barron, manager of Gabbys Boutique. Jill and I are keeping everyone impacted by the shootings in Atlanta in our prayers. We donat yet know the motive, but what we do know is that the Asian-American community is feeling enormous pain tonight. The recent attacks against the community are un-American. They must stop. President Biden (@POTUS) March 18, 2021 The same car was then spotted about 30 miles away in Atlanta, where a call came in about a robbery at Gold Spa and three women were shot to death. Another woman was fatally shot at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. Long was arrested hours later by Crisp County deputies and state troopers. He refused to stop on a highway and officers bumped the back of his car, causing him to crash, Sheriff Billy Hancock said. US President Joe Biden called the attack very, very troublesome. We dont yet know the motive, but what we do know is that the Asian-American community is feeling enormous pain tonight. The recent attacks against the community are un-American. They must stop, he tweeted. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helps protect over half a million refugees from Somalia seeking safety and protection elsewhere. In Yemen, a country often described as suffering the worlds worst humanitarian crisis itself, Somalis form the largest refugee group, with their numbers exceeding 150,000. UNHCR provides them with safe shelter, cash assistance and legal support, with a special focus on the most vulnerable, amongst them refugees with disabilities. Seven-year-old Haneen is a Somali refugee girl living with her mother and siblings in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. She was born with Downs syndrome and therefore requires special educational support. Refugee access to education has been a continuous challenge, made more complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent contribution from Finland means that UNHCR and its local partners can continue the special education programme for Haneen and other Somali refugee children. The inclusion of children with disabilities makes them less vulnerable to child labour and early marriage. Finlands recent contribution of USD 3 million to the Somalia situation ensures school enrolment of Somali children in Yemen and provides them with school materials, such as stationery and bags. In addition, the funding keeps the family centre open, which means refugee families, and refugees with disabilities, can access assistive mobility devices, recreational activities, and psychosocial support. Keeping education programmes going for some of the worlds most vulnerable children in the time of a pandemic is extremely challenging, but it can be done through close collaboration with national partners and special measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The important financial contribution received from Finland makes this possible, says Henrik M. Nordentoft, UNHCRs Representative to the Nordic and Baltic Countries. Finland as a donor Finland is an important donor and strategic partner for UNHCR. In 2020, Finlands total contribution to UNHCR amounted to USD 27.4 million, an increase from previous years in response to escalating refugee needs. Of this contribution, USD 7.7 million was provided as flexible unearmarked funding, which allows UNHCR to allocate the funding to meet the most urgent requests. Finland further contributed USD 2.3 million to UNHCRs COVID-19 efforts in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter For most of U.S. history, we taught a sanitized version of that history one that portrayed all of our decisions as good and right and glossed over the ugly parts, particularly our racial sins. And today, there's an effort on the left to teach the exact opposite: that America is evil, that the driving force throughout our history has been racism. Theres a lot of ground between those two extreme and, we would argue, extremely wrong narratives. We believe the appropriate narrative is to be found in that middle ground. And we need to be on guard against either extreme narrative creeping into our classrooms. This is the impossible-to-ignore backdrop of an effort at the Statehouse to immerse S.C. students more deeply in our founding documents the Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, U.S. Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation. The idea makes a lot of sense: Our founding documents provide a remarkable, inspirational story of the men who saw the possibility of a nation that was much bigger and better than the one before them, that allowed for the many course corrections their successors have made along the way to create that more perfect union that the preamble to the Constitution envisions. One of the problems with the legislation to enliven this idea is that the most vocal supporters of the so-called "Reinforcing College Education on America's Constitutional Heritage Act" seem more interested in teaching that sanitized version of history of returning, as some suggested at a public hearing last week, to the history that was taught 60 years ago. Its difficult not to detect the odor of indoctrination which is the best way to undermine the very message supporters hope to send. The fact is that an honest warts-and-all telling of our nations history, built around our founding documents and taught in an engaging way, will naturally lead learners to a deep appreciation for our nation. We would only cheapen that story and our nation by pushing propaganda. Another problem with H.3002 is that it requires our public schools to teach 30 hours of U.S. history every year for seven consecutive years. Not this part of it one year, and that part the next. The entire course of study of those foundational documents every year. That strikes us as overkill like teaching a slightly more complicated and detailed version of introductory biology every year for seven consecutive years. Yes, students would probably end up knowing a lot about biology at the end of seven years, but at what cost? At the cost of missing out on chemistry and physics and physical science and environmental science. Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! Even if it did what those of us in the sensible center would like arm students with the knowledge of what those documents say and how they influenced our entire history, and inspire respect for them and for what our nation aspires to be this pound-it-into-their-heads approach to U.S. history would come at its own cost: the loss of time spent on world history, geography, economics, civics, government the other parts of social studies that one speaker disdainfully charged have crowded out the only part that matters. And theres at least one more problem with this legislation: It makes a similarly named bill that deals with college requirements seem benign by comparison. And to be sure, S.38 is much less troubling than H.3002, particularly since its been reworked from previous years so it doesnt threaten college accreditation and doesn't include constitutionally suspect provisions, such as the requirement for students to sign a loyalty oath, that are included in the unenforced law already on the books. But while we would love for all college students to take a course that immerses them in the founding documents, its just not the Legislatures job to require that students who dont even have to go to college must pass that class in order to graduate from state-owned colleges. If our Legislature wants students to sign up for that sort of class, lawmakers ought to focus on making sure that the U.S. history courses that are taught in elementary and high school are so engaging that they inspire that interest. The best way to do the opposite is to pass H.3002. The proposed change in law introduced by the Modi government will effectively render the Arvind Kejriwal government superfluous, practically reducing the present Delhi Assembly which was brought into existence in 1993 under the NCT Act- to a nullity. (Photo: PTI) The Narendra Modi government plans to constitutionally aggrandise the office of the lieutenant governor of Delhi at the expense of the elected chief minister of the Union Territory. A proposed amendment to the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1993 in this regard was moved in Parliament earlier this week. Under the proposed scheme, the Government of Delhi would mean the L-G. This is a denigration of the existing arrangement under which the UT elects an Assembly whose leader assumes the office of chief minister and heads a council of ministers appointed by him, which constitutes the apex of the elected government. The L-G, who is the representative of the Centre, functions under the advice of the council of ministers. The remit of the holder of this office is restricted to the three portfolios of land, police, and public order, which are the domain of the Union. In the UTs wider administration covering, for instance, fields such as education, health, power, water, transport, finance, general administration it is the writ of the elected government that runs, barring municipal governance which comes under the Municipal Council Of Delhi (MCD) which has been partitioned into three geographical units. The proposed change in law introduced by the Modi government will effectively render the Arvind Kejriwal government superfluous, practically reducing the present Delhi Assembly which was brought into existence in 1993 under the NCT Act- to a nullity. For all practical purposes this amounts to giving Delhi the Kashmir treatment. J&K was reduced from a full-fledged state to a UT. Delhi is being degraded from being a UT with an elected Assembly to one which for now will have an Assembly that has been neutered. It will no longer throw up a government elected by the people. In a way, this takes us to British colonial times when the Viceroy, representing the Crown, held superior powers to that of an elected government in the post-1935 period. To recall history, from 1952-56, Delhi had an elected Assembly and was a state. This was a time when the idea of state boundaries was evolving. The national capital was made a UT in 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, but did not have an Assembly. The elected Assembly came in 1993 through the NCT Act and Delhi became partially a state. Since the national government, Parliament, and diplomatic missions were located in the territory of Delhi, it was understandable, for practical reasons, that the Union should seek to have land, police and public order under its direct authority, as is the case with Washington DC and Canberra. Occasionally, there was confusion over the question of authority even minor friction between the elected government of the UT and the Union, but this was nothing that wasnt sorted out without fuss. Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit won three elected terms and had little difficulty negotiating her way with BJP as well as Congress governments at the Centre. In contrast, current CM Kejriwal has given the impression of being calculatedly combative in order to enhance his popularity. For its part, the Modi government too, exploiting its control over the police and the all-India services, has played rough with the elected government. But political relationship between parties governing the Centre and the UT must not be permitted to diminish the constitutional status and institutional integrity of geographies. Gender equality advocate Chanel Contos has blasted a consent app proposal as a 'bad Band-Aid' solution to sexual assault. The former Kambala school student launched the Teach Us Consent petition on February 18 calling for a review in sexual assault education in Australian schools. Ms Contos, a survivor of sexual assault, said NSW Commissioner Mick Fuller's proposal for an app to determine if two people have given consent doesn't tackle the root of the problem. 'Consent can be taken back at any time, and an app couldn't account for that,' the 22-year-old told the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday. Ms Contos, herself a survivor of sexual assault, said NSW Commissioner Mick Fuller's proposal for an app to determine if two people have given consent doesn't tackle the root of the problem The former Kambala school student launched the Teach Us Consent petition on February 18 calling for a review in sexual assault education in Australian schools 'It's very reflective of how consent is seen; as a black and white thing. But consent isn't a single sentence. It's how people interact with each other as a whole.' The time-consuming interface would require users to enter their name and age, declare they understand sexual consent, send a request and swipe to accept before any sexual activity can even begin. The encrypted data is stored on the app in case it is needed for criminal inquiries, although experts have cast doubt on whether it would ever really be used in court. Monash University Communications and Media Studies lecturer Dr Emily van der Nagel also raised doubts over the app. 'This app is a bad idea that fails to solve the issues required to appropriately address sexual consent. It's a concept designed to protect men, to alleviate them of blame and guilt,' she said. 'When what we need to be doing is ensuring men don't sexually assault women in the first place.' 'On social media, women are criticising the app as an inadequate response and are identifying many contexts in which it falls short. It's disturbing that NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller doesn't appear to have discussed the app with any women - only the Attorney-General Mark Speakman and Police Minister David Elliott. Ms Contos raised questions over how the app would deal with parties who withdraw their consent NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has suggested the introduction of an app that can be used as proof of sexual consent 'This incident reveals a culture of not listening to, or believing, women. That needs to change.' NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the proposal. 'We need consent law reform, we need holistic consent education, we need to stop men feeling they are entitled to whatever they want, we need an independent complaints process, we need justice. We need equality. WE DO NOT NEED AN APP!!' she tweeted on Thursday. CEO of Women's Safety NSW, Hayley Foster, said it was 'fantastic' that police were acknowledging the need for affirmative consent, but urged Mr Fuller to consider the evidence-based proposals she and her colleagues had been putting forward for years. 'It's another example of governments not listening to women's safety services, women victim-survivors, women in general,' she said. 'It does feel a little disrespectful of our expertise.' Ms Foster said that unless perpetrators were held to account in the justice system they will be free to continue offending. NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong also criticised the app proposal, saying Australia needs consent law reforms and 'holistic consent education' At most, 1.5 per cent of sexual predators are held to account currently, she said. Mr Fuller told the Today show on Thursday that 15,000 women in NSW reported sexual violence last year alone. 'That's increasing quicker than any other violent crime. So at the end of the day we can't ignore the fact that consent is a big issue,' he said. 'In many of the cases of sexual violence often a woman has left a restaurant or a pub or a party with someone they think they can trust and sometimes these are friends, neighbours, relatives and they are impaired by alcohol or other substances and that in a way is being concluded by these offenders as consent. 'You are much more vulnerable to get robbed or have any type of crime happen to you if you don't have control and awareness of yourself because you are intoxicated.' Mr Fuller said a consent app could be one of many solutions in curbing sexual violence in Australia. 'If you are online or dating or looking for friendship you have to be up front with that in terms of what your expectations are from the relationship,' he said. 'This app or this concept of implied consent - whether it's on an app or otherwise - it protects everybody. It's not the entire solution but the reality is, consent is by far the biggest issue that we are facing.' Kabul, March 18 : An Afghan military helicopter crashed in Wardak province, killing all nine people on board, officials said on Thursday. According to a statement by the Ministry of Defence, the Mi-17 helicopter crash landed in Hesa-e-Awal Behsud district, reports dpa news agency. The statement said the victims comprised four crew members and five security personnel, adding that an investigation was underway. According to local officials, the helicopter was en route to evacuate a wounded soldier from the highly-contested province when the incident took place. The incident took place as a high-profile summit with the aim of finding a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict in Afghanistan was set to take place in Moscow on Thursday. An official delegation from Kabul and the militant Taliban group are also expected to attend the conference in the Russian capital. Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government representatives that started in September 2020 in Qatar have stalled in recent months, with no tangible progress. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Advertisement One of the most famous pieces of real estate in the world- which has housed prominent figures such as former president John F. Kennedy and real estate mogul John Jacob Astor - is back on the market for a cool $20 million. The historic 'Astor Suite', located in New York City's famous Plaza Hotel, has been dubbed 'one of the most well-known homes in America' The luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan has hosted famous residents including Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, after the would-be King of England abdicated the throne in 1936 for his American wife. America's own royalty JFK was also a guest, as business magnate and real estate mogul Astor shortly after the hotel opened in 1907. Featuring a unique L-shaped layout, the 4,299 square-foot, four-bedroom, four and a half bath residence was purchased by fashion brand Esprit founder Jurgen Friedrich, who bought the property in 2007 for $25.5 million. One of the most famous pieces of real estate in the world- which has housed prominent figures such as former president John F. Kennedy and real estate mogul John Jacob Astor - is back on the market for a cool $20 million. Hand drawn plaster ceilings are just one of the features of the lush corner dining room The corner curving window located in the suite's lavish dining room offers a fantastic view of Central Park and Fifth Avenue The extravagant private master suite is positioned in its own wing and features a walk-in closet, dressing area, and spa-like bath Among the Astor Suites most famous residents were Edward and Wallis Simpson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor The listing for the suite boasts that the suite was transformed by interior design firm S.R. Gambrel Inc., who hired interior designers that help rebuild Windsor Castle in England American Businessman John Jacob Astor and Edward and Wallis Simpson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, were among the suite's most prominent guests Jurgen Friedrich purchased the Astor Suite in 2007 for $25.5 million. John F. Kennedy famously occupied the Astor Suite The suite has been on and off the market for over a decade since. Friedrich has previously listed the property at a whopping $55 million in 2008 then down to $39.5 million in 2017. In 2011 the Astor Suite, designed by interior architect Steven Gambrel - who made over the Royal Family's Windsor Castle in England - had the distinct honor of being the most expensive rental in New York City, going for $165,000 a month. The suite was named after one of its famous guests, John Jacob Astor, in 1988 after former president and real estate mogul Donald Trump purchased the Plaza Hotel in 1988. According to the New York Post, his then-wife Ivana Trump, supervised a renovation of the suite a year later. Wood paneling add a sophisticated touch to the suite that once housed prominent figures like John F. Kennedy, Jacob Astor and Edward and Wallis Simpson While currently listed at $20 million, Jurgen Friedrich has previously listed the Astor Suite at $55 million in 2008 In 2011 the Astor Suite had the distinct honor of being the most expensive rental in New York City, going for $165,000 a month Two secondary bedroom suites located at the opposite end of the home feature grand marble baths and ample closet space Interior architects at S.R. Gambrel Inc. brought in master artisans that rebuilt Windsor Castle in England to renovate the suite The revamp resulted in 'a complete transformation that is unparalleled in every last detail' that includes custom millwork, soaring 12-foot ceilings, old-world hand-drawn plaster, built-ins and fireplaces. It also features rich English oak paneling, striking hand-hammered leather walls from France, and brand new furnishings from all around the world to 'create the ultimate air of sophistication' The 800-room French Renaissance chateau-style Plaza Hotel was designed by American architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. After twenty-seven months of construction, the Plaza Hotel first opened its doors on October 1, 1907. The listing states 'the generously-sized main rooms are perfect for lavish entertaining, with an easy flow connecting the beautiful living room, stately library, awe-inspiring corner dining room, and top-of-the-line chef's kitchen' The Astor Suite (pictured in 1995) has gone through many renovations over the years, most recently by interior designers that help rebuild Windsor Castle in England The French Renaissance chateau-style building was designed by American architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh In 1969 the hotel was designated a New York City Landmark - the only hotel in all of New York City ever to receive this distinction. In 2005 the Plaza underwent a $450 million renovation and partial residential conversion, reopening in 2008. Perks of living in the suite are the Plaza Hotel's famous hospitality that include offers hotel-style services and amenities for its residents that include concierge and butler service, 24-hour in-room dining, twice-daily housekeeping, and access to The Palm Court and Grand Ballroom. The Plaza Hotel, which first opened its doors on October 1, 1907, underwent a $450 million dollar restoration in 2005 Perks of living in the suite are the Plaza Hotel's famous hospitality that include offers hotel-style services and amenities for its residents that include concierge and butler service, 24-hour in-room dining, twice-daily housekeeping, and access to The Palm Court and Grand Ballroom The Plaza Hotel residents are offered hotel-style services and amenities- including concierge and butler service The Astor Suite is considered 'one of the most well-known homes in America and the finest in the world-renowned Plaza' In 1969 the Plaza Hotel was designated a New York City Landmark, the only hotel in New York City to receive this distinction Chef Matthew Clare, 33, forced himself on his victim after she fell asleep A man who raped his comatose friend whilst she lay on her sofa and then sent repeated texts confessing he was 'proper out of order' has been jailed for seven years. Chef Matthew Clare, 33, forced himself on his victim after she fell asleep as they were drinking together at her home. He left the property and his victim only realised she had been raped when she woke up naked from the waist down, a judge heard at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester. When the victim texted Clare to demand an explanation, he sent several messages apologising for his behaviour saying: 'Proper out of order, am really sorry, can't help but mess up, sorry'. The woman fired back: 'You have no remorse at all. You raped me the other night and have the cheek to ring me. Please do not contact me,' only for Clare to retort: 'How many times can I say sorry, I do have remorse.' During the angry exchange the distraught victim went on: 'You really think saying sorry is good enough after what you did Saturday. This is my body and I should be able to choose who can touch me sexually or not. 'Messed up? that's you. Who on earth has sex with a comatose person, your head is f..ked up, not mine.' She later contacted police and Clare was arrested. Clare, of Edgeley near Stockport, Greater Manchester, was convicted of rape after a trial and was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life. The assault occurred in September 2017 when Clare was visiting his victim's home and they began drinking together. Prosecutor Benjamin Lawrence told the trial: 'It became late and she fell asleep on the sofa and when she woke up, she found he had removed her clothing from the waist down and he was no longer in the house. Clare (pictured), of Edgeley near Stockport, Greater Manchester, was convicted of rape after a trial and was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life 'When she went to the toilet it was clear to her that he had had sex with her while she was asleep. 'Because she hadn't woken up during what the defendant had done, she decided to contact him to see what his explanation was. To begin with, he denied doing anything but eventually, he admitted that he had had sex with her while she was asleep. 'Like many victims of rape, she did not report him to the police immediately. But later she turned up to work looking pale and exhausted and when her boss asked if she was OK, she burst into tears. She then told her boss what happened.' In a police interview Clare denied having sex with the woman and even denied having sent or received the texts messages. In a statement the victim told police: 'This has caused me sleepless nights and problems between myself and my partner in becoming intimate. Clare left the property and his victim only realised she had been raped when she woke up naked from the waist down, a judge heard at Minshull Street Crown Court (pictured) in Manchester 'At first I was anxious about proceeding and I felt a lot of guilt in the beginning but I have come to realise I was the victim and he had done this to me, and that it should be him not me who feels guilty about what he did to me. 'The stress and anxiety this caused me was difficult to deal with. This case was initially listed for trial in March 2020 and during the lead up to that I felt nervous and scared. 'It was then adjourned until almost a year later which led my anxiety to hang over me through that time. I am happy this ordeal is now over and that he has been found guilty. I want nothing to do with him ever again. 'He has abused me in a way no one should have to go through.' Sentencing Clare, the judge Mr Recorder Tom Gilbart said: 'You felt entitled to take advantage of your victim when she was asleep in her own home. What you did demeaned her and reduced her to tears and shaking in front of her boss. 'You should feel disgusted and utterly ashamed that you could do this to anyone. This was an awful offence.' Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region In celebration of Womens History Month, a female-majority City Council affirmed its support Thursday to close the gender wage gap in San Antonio. The resolution supports gender pay equality initiatives and directs the citys Human Resources Department to evaluate best practices for salaries, conduct analyses, monitor the citys pay structure and provide training opportunities to promote women in leadership positions. This passage is a commitment to change, District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran said in a statement Thursday. It is our duty to continue to look further into the unequal opportunities for women at all points from education, to training and to their career choices. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio looking at ways to minimize gender pay gap Women in San Antonio with full-time jobs are paid a median annual salary of $26,925, while their male counterparts are paid $33,358, according to city data. The resolution also calls for the Department of Human Services and Economic Development Department to recommend strategies to close the gender wage at nonprofits the city contracts with. For companies seeking economic development incentives such as tax abatements, the Economic Development Department will recommend gender awareness training, women sponsorship and leadership programs and other practices to promote equity among all employees. Pay parity will be transformational for San Antonio, District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales said. It goes well beyond paying women their equal worth. Pay parity will change our quality of life in positive ways because when women thrive families thrive, and when families thrive so do children and communities. We know that women will use their income in ways that directly benefit businesses and the community, so we cant wait any longer to provide women with the overdue support they need, Gonzales added. Viagran and Gonzales spearheaded the effort to pass the resolution. With the signing of the resolution, the YWCA San Antonio, or Young Womens Christian Association, launched its wage equity awareness campaign. The campaign will ask businesses to sign a pledge committing to address gender and racial pay gaps by recruiting women into its top five emerging high-growth roles, conducting an annual companywide gender pay analysis, reviewing hiring and promotion processes, and promoting best practices to close the pay gap, according to the YWCA San Antonio website. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio City Council approves increase in fund to pay council aides City Council also made strides toward equitable benefits for their staffers Thursday by creating the City of San Antonio Texas Municipal Council Aides Corp. Council aides work as direct employees for each council member not the city government. By creating the corporation, the city will be able to combine all the council staff under one employer plan and provide them with the same medical and retirement benefits as city employees. District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino requested the city look into council staff compensation back in August 2019. By January 2020, City Council increased the fund to pay their aides by 15 percent. There has been a historic disparity between the pay and benefits City employees earn and those earned by city council aides, Trevino said in a statement Thursday. The corporation will go a long way towards achieving the pay and benefit equity council aides have long sought, he said. The corporation was approved in Thursdays council meeting as part of the consent agenda. Now that the corporation is established, a contract with the city is being drafted and is anticipated to be voted on in May. liz.hardaway@hearst.com SANTA BARBARA, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global strategic branding and communications company, Christie & Co is pleased to announce that it is continuing its extensive work building brands in the green building industry by serving as agency of record for STEP Warmfloor. For more than 26 years, Christie & Co has successfully helped game-changing, ethical companies in the green building sector like Next Energy, BioLime, Built Green, ECO-Heater, and many more become winning brands. Committed to changing the world by helping companies with solid ethics and values penetrate markets and grow, Christie & Co aims to change the world with communication that helps innovative businesses with the mission to benefit humanity and the planet. St. Louis, Missouri-based STEP Warmfloor has such a mission: providing people a future of warmth, safety, and wellness with energy-efficient, underfloor radiant heating solutions. Using its unique, proven organic marketing strategy, Christie & Co looks forward to expanding STEP Warmfloor's business and fully realizing its promise as an emerging leader in the HVAC industry. "Christie & Co is thrilled to partner with STEP Warmfloor to grow its brand awareness, impact, and success," said Christie & Co Founder & CEO, Gillian Christie. "We are passionate about the green building industry, and appreciate STEP Warmfloor's innovative technology, which is a step in the right direction, one towards sustainability and wellness for all." STEP Warmfloor President, Monica Irgens said of accepting Christie & Co as its agency of record, "We look forward to expanding the reach of STEP Warmfloor's innovative heating solutions, telling the story of our family business and our unique technology to expand our customer base and extend the community of people who trust STEP Warmfloor to bring warmth, safety, and wellness into their home." For more information on Christie & Co, visit christieand.co. For more information on STEP Warmfloor, visit warmfloor.com. For media inquiries or to coordinate an interview, contact Gillian Christie by phone (805) 969-3744 and/or email [email protected]. SOURCE Christie & Co Related Links https://christieand.co Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 5, 2021. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images) Democrat Congressman to Introduce Resolution to Expel Rep. Greene A Democratic lawmaker said he will introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from Congress. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said Greene should be removed from office because she had previously supported social media posts calling for political violence against the Speaker of the House, members of Congress, and former President Barack Obama. According to his office in a statement on March 18, he said about 72 Democrats support the resolution. For Congress to expel a member, it requires a two-thirds majority; that would require the support of a number of Republicans in the House. Greene criticized Gomezs resolution in a March 18 statement to The Epoch Times. There is nothing more threatening to Democrats than strong Republican women, she said via a spokesperson. Democrats are trying [to] overturn the will of the American people who voted for both myself and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks. This is a continuation of the House Democrats war on women! The freshman lawmaker was referring to a House panels investigation into the Iowa congressional race between Rep. Marianne Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Democrat Hita Hart. Miller-Meeks won the race by six votes. Gomez, in his statement about the resolution, echoed comments made by fellow Democrats weeks ago, saying that Greenes comments and the fact she is in office represents a direct threat against the elected officials and staff who serve our government. House Democrats already led a successful effort to strip Greene of her political committee assignments over her previous social media posts and comments. Previously, Greene denounced the move as a form of cancel culture that is intended to silence conservative voices. These were words of the past, and these things do not represent me, Greene said in February. They do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values. Greene also criticized several Republican House members who voted along with Democrats in the effort to remove her from the committees. There were 10 that voted for impeachment against President [Donald] Trump and they definitely paid the price. They heard from Republican voters. There were 11 that voted against me yesterday and thats something that our leaders should be very upset about, she said at the time, adding that when you have Republicans in the ranks voting against one of their own, opening the door for Democrats to go after every single Republican next, that really is a big betrayal and that could cost us the majority in 22. (Alliance News) - Ceres Power Holdings PLC on Thursday said it raised GBP181 million gross in a share placing and subscription to accelerate its investment in the development and potential commercialisation of its solid-oxide electrolysis technology. The Horsham, West Sussex-based solid oxide fuel cell developer said the placing was for 8.9 million shares at a price of GBP10.60 per share. Additionally, Robert Bosch GmbH subscribed for 3.6 million shares, Ceres Power directors subscribed for a total of 24,376 shares, and Weichai Power Hong Kong International Development Co Ltd conditionally subscribed for 4.1 million shares. Investec Bank plc and Joh Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG acted as joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners in relation to the placing. Ceres said on Thursday that it intends to explore a move to the London Stock Exchange's Main Market by mid-2022. "We are on the way to establishing our fuel cells as an industry standard, supporting our manufacturing partners as they scale up to initial mass market launches in 2024. Raising additional funds now allows us to develop our business into new market sectors from the same technology base and with the same high margin licensing model as our power system activities," said Chief Executive Phil Caldwell on Thursday. In addition, Ceres said on Thursday that strategic partner Doosan Fuel Cell Co Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a shipbuilding division of Hyundai Heavy Industries. The company said the agreement is to jointly develop a solid oxide fuel cell system that provides cleaner power for ships. Doosan will use Ceres's proprietary solid oxide fuel cell stack technology to design and manufacture the system, and Korea Shipbuilding will design the fuel cell arrangements specific to the marine environment and develop ship-linked system control technology. On Wednesday, Ceres, which had changed year-end date to December 31 from June 30, reported a pretax loss for the 18 months to December 31, 2020 of GBP17.3 million, widened from GBP7.3 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 2019. Revenue increased to GBP31.7 million from GBP15.3 million, with the company citing a "strong" commercial progress that drove the growth. Shares in Ceres were up 5.8% at 1,168.00 pence in London on Thursday. By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. [March 18, 2021] Aeijaz Sodawala, CEO eZee Technosys gives an industry insider view-point on the Google Free Booking Link Program SURAT, India, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Google has become synonymous with the internet in the digital era. Its exceptional suite of online services and products is for all - businesses and end-users alike. The hospitality industry is no exception. The search giant has launched ingenious products for the travel and hospitality industry in the past, including Google hotel search, Google hotel ads (hereinafter referred to as "GHA"), and travel insights with Google. Recently, Google deployed an addition to its excellent line-up of offerings - The Free Booking Link Program (hereinafter referred to as 'FBL'). With Google FBL, travel companies and hotels will be able to have their exclusive presence on the booking links' list. Properties will be able to showcase their real-time booking rates and availability on Google hotel search and maps, enabling them to have: Direct, commission-free bookings: Since the organic listing now features individual property's booking link, it strengthens the chances of receiving direct bookings. Better reach: FBL improves online presence by appearing on Google search and maps to reach potential customers. Revenue growth: Better reach will result in improved online visibility, and in turn, uplift revenue generation opportunities. Furthermore, Google FBL indirectly impacts: User engagement: The organic appearance of a property through FBL will play a significant role in acquiring a new user-base. By having an active presence, the accommodation providers will engage users by keeping their business positioned where customers are. Brand recognition: Hotels' appearance on the #1 search engine will attract relevant traffic onto the website, making visitors stay and explore the property. As a result, prospects online will be aware of the property. There's no reason why hotels wouldn't want to subscribe to FBL. It attracts 100% organic traffic to the websites and drives bookings. Additionally, it would be imperative for hotels to have a fast, responsive, and mobile-friendly website to cater to online traffic effectively. By placing suitable offers, a gallery of the property, enlisting amenities and perks, hotels can influence users to book rooms directly on the website and record commission-free bookings. To promote participations, oogle has partnered with a few cutting-edge hospitality tech-providers for its launch of the FBL. Hotels and accommodation providers can now collaborate with one of the authorized partners through booking engines to register for FBL and seize advantages associated with it. eZee is one of the initial FBL integration providers. As a Google FBL authorized integrator, eZee has further consolidated its dedication to delivering value-oriented solutions to hotels and other hospitality providers. Some of eZee's enrolled customers have recorded a rise in direct bookings through Google FBL and are affirmative about further revenue impact. BRG Budget Stay has acquired astonishing 161 direct bookings, 10% bookings growth in a single month. The Strabon Hotel, Mexico , has received 14 direct bookings from FBL and is confident that FBL will represent 9-10% of the annual revenue. Travelers across the world are hopeful in 2021: According to Travel Pulse , 70% of their travel survey participants want to travel in 2021. The world is gearing up for a change, so should the hospitality industry, and that change is Google FBL. Google has crafted a path to provide hotels with a fair chance to enhance visibility, augment business opportunities, achieve profitability, and sustainability. According to some key travel agency statistics , it is estimated that 700 million people will be booking their hotel rooms online by 2023. Google FBL also facilitates travelers to have a superior booking experience. Moreover, it presents the hotel tech-providers with an opportunity to introduce service variations and expansion of their offerings to accommodate FBL integration. For the selected FBL partners like eZee , this effort from Google stands as a means of extending the booking engine software to a colossal customer base, making them eligible for the FBL enrolment and revenue enhancement. Initially, booking links were a part of Google Hotel Ads only which had fees ranging from 10-20% of the booking amount. Now, with FBL, hotels will be organically listed at zero cost, expanding their online reach. It's a never-before moment for hospitality businesses to associate with Google and encash the scope of revenue generation through FBL. About Aeijaz Sodawala Aeijaz Sodawala is a Chief Executive Officer at eZee Technosys - the global leader in hospitality technology. His roles and responsibilities at the organization involve making strategic decisions, managing the company's overall resources as well as operations, and being the voice of the company. Aeijaz joined eZee in 2008, and in a short span, developed a sharp understanding of hospitality business processes. He started his journey at eZee in customer support and gradually participated in sales, marketing, partnership and business expansion activities. He has contributed greatly to the formation of Indian as well as international sales teams at eZee. Aeijaz holds a track record of successful entrepreneurship in the South-East Asian market acquiring vast experience in start-up establishments. He has been a key driver in creating the foundation for the hospitality software business of eZee outside India. He worked on multiple projects in Thailand where he discovered immense opportunities for eZee solutions in the ASEAN hospitality market. Aeijaz is an intuitive leader. He is a resourceful decision-maker, skilled at identifying and successfully solving organizational problems. He has strong analytical, organizational, and long range planning abilities. Website link- ezeetechnosys.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459024/Google_FBL_eZee.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1459023/eZee_Technosys_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Flash Another 5,758 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,274,579, according to official figures released Wednesday. The country also reported another 141 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 125,831. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. More than 25.2 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures. According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, almost 50 percent of all British adults have received a jab while 90 percent of those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and 95 percent of over-65s have been vaccinated. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "This latest milestone is an incredible achievement, representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society." British Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the rollout is ahead of schedule as the country aims to vaccinate all adults by the end of July. He urged everyone who is eligible for a jab to come forward. On Feb. 22, Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. The March 8 reopening of schools was first part of the four-step plan which is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June. Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Norther Ireland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions. Experts have warned Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules. 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. Together, the pair has to decide if the connection they made in confinement is worth carrying into their free lives if each wants the other to meet and merge with family. The affair between Ruben and Carlos alternates between passionate sex and whispered intimacies. The films writer and director, Jon Garcia, treats the physicality of their romance in a frank way, staging realistic love scenes that show the attraction between the characters. But Garcia is less adept at finding passion in between scenes of sex. There is a seriousness to Ruben and Carloss relationship that becomes enervating. The first time strings resound in the films score, they produce is a plaintive, engrossing feeling. When the same theme plays for the 15th time, the romance feels monotonous. LUZ Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes. In theaters. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... WASHINGTON The House voted Thursday to unlatch a gateway to citizenship for young Dreamers, migrant farm workers and immigrants whove fled war or natural disasters, giving Democrats wins in the years first votes on an issue that faces an uphill climb in the Senate. On a near party-line 228-197 vote, lawmakers approved one bill offering legal status to around 2 million Dreamers, brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and hundreds of thousands of migrants admitted for humanitarian reasons from a dozen troubled countries. They then voted 247-174 for a second measure creating similar protections for 1 million farm workers who have worked in the U.S. illegally. The government estimates they comprise half the nations agricultural laborers. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ In a statement after the votes, President Joe Biden called the action a critical first step toward a more sweeping overhaul hes proposed. He said he wants to work with Congress toward building a 21st century immigration system that is grounded in dignity, safety, and fairness, and finally enacts the long term solutions we need to create an orderly and humane immigration system. Both bills largely hit a wall of opposition from Republicans insistent that any immigration legislation bolster security at the Mexican border, which waves of migrants have tried breaching in recent weeks. The GOP has accused congressional Democrats of ignoring that problem and Biden of fueling it by erasing former President Donald Trumps restrictive policies, even though that surge began while Trump was still in office. While Dreamers win wide public support and migrant farm workers are a backbone of the agriculture industry, both House bills face gloomy prospects in the evenly split Senate. That chambers 50 Democrats will need at least 10 GOP supporters to break Republican filibusters. The outlook was even grimmer for Bidens more ambitious goal of legislation making citizenship possible for all 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally, easing visa restrictions, improving border security technology and spending billions in Central America to ease problems that prompt people to leave. Nine House Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the Dreamers measure but 30 GOP lawmakers backed the farm workers bill, giving it a more bipartisan hue. Congress has long deadlocked over immigration, which again seems headed toward becoming political ammunition. Republicans could use it to rally conservative voters in upcoming elections, while Democrats could add it to a stack of House-passed measures languishing in the Senate to build support for abolishing that chambers bill-killing filibusters. Democrats said their measures were aimed not at border security but at immigrants who deserve help. Theyre so much of our country, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said of Dreamers, who like many immigrants have held frontline jobs during the pandemic. These immigrant communities strengthen, enrich and ennoble our nation, and they must be allowed to stay. Neither House measure would directly affect those trying to enter from Mexico. Republicans criticized them anyway for lacking border security provisions and used the debate to lambast Biden, whos ridden a wave of popularity since taking office and winning a massive COVID-19 relief package. It is a Biden border crisis, and it is spinning out of control, said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. While the number of migrants caught trying to cross the border from Mexico has been rising since last April, the 100,441 encountered last month was the highest figure since March 2019. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said the number is tracking toward a 20-year high. In another measure of the problem, around 14,000 children and teens are in Customs and Border Protection custody or Health and Human Services Department shelters while officials find relatives or sponsors to take them, Biden administration officials told reporters. Democrats were making that problem worse, Republicans said, with bills they said entice more immigrants to sneak into the U.S. and provide amnesty to immigrants who break laws to get here. We dont know who these people are, we dont know what their intentions are, Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., said of immigrant farm workers who might seek legal status. He added, Its frightening, its irresponsible, its endangering American lives. During earlier debate on the Dreamers bill, Democrats said Republicans were going too far. Sometimes I stand in this chamber and I feel like Im in the Twilight Zone, listening to a number of my Republican colleagues espouse white supremacist ideology to denigrate our Dreamers, said Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y. Maine Rep. Jared Goldens vote against the farm workers measure made him the only Democrat to oppose either bill. The House approved Dreamer and farm worker bills in 2019 by similar partisan margins, and both died in what was a Republican-run Senate. Trump, who as president constricted legal and illegal immigration, would have signed neither. Biden has suspended work on Trumps wall along the Mexican border, ended his separation of young children from migrant families and allowed apprehended minors to stay in the U.S. as officials decide if they can legally remain. He has also turned away most single adults and families. The Dreamer bill would grant conditional legal status for 10 years to many immigrants up to age 18 who were brought into the U.S. illegally before this year. Theyd have to meet education and other requirements. To attain legal permanent residence, or a green card, theyd have to obtain a higher education degree, serve in the military or be employed for at least three years. Like others with green cards, they could then apply for citizenship after five years. The measure would also grant green cards to an estimated 400,000 immigrants with temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure status, which temporarily allow people fleeing extraordinary problems into the U.S. The other bill would let immigrant farm workers whove worked in the country illegally over the past two years get certified agriculture worker status. That would let them, their spouses and children remain in the U.S. for renewable 5 1/2-year periods. To earn green cards, theyd have to pay a $1,000 fine and work up to an additional eight years, depending on how long theyve already held farm jobs. The legislation would cap wage increases, streamline the H-2A visa process for legal immigrant farm workers and phase in a mandatory system for electronically verifying the legal status of agriculture laborers. ___ AP reporter Ben Fox contributed to this report. Women who receive COVID-19 vaccine shots should wait a few weeks to receive a mammogram, since the vaccine reaction could mimic signs of breast cancer, some health officials are advising. The issue is swollen lymph nodes. The COVID-19 vaccine can cause swollen lymph nodes under the arm that receives the shot, the Mayo Clinic said. The swelling is the body responding to the vaccine and building up defenses against the virus. The swelling from the vaccine could cause a false reading on a mammogram, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Breast cancer can also cause swelling in lymph nodes under the arm, if the cancer cells spread. Some experts recommend getting a mammogram either before being vaccinated or waiting four to six weeks after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC said. Lehigh Valley Health Network recommends women wait four to six weeks after finishing the vaccination process to get their mammogram, either the second vaccine dose or, if they get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after their one and only dose, LVHN spokesman Brian Downs said. St. Lukes University Health Network takes each patients unique health and history into account, and spokesman Sam Kennedy said mammogram patients should make a decision after consulting their doctor. For Lehigh Valley residents not in those networks, the Mayo Clinic recommends mammograms continue as scheduled, but that patients tell their doctor about the vaccination, the date it occurred and which arm was affected. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Albert Mohler denounces Canada's plan to expand physician-assisted suicide to people with disabilities Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler Jr. has denounced legislation in Canada to expand assisted suicide to include those with disabilities. Canada legalized physician-assisted suicide what has been termed "medical aid in dying" in 2016. The Parliament recently advanced a measure known as Bill C-7 to expand the parameters to include individuals who have a disability but are not facing a terminal illness. In an episode of Mohlers podcast The Briefing posted online Tuesday, the Southern Baptist leader said the legislation showed the slippery slope nature of legalized physician-assisted suicide. The Canadian Parliament have now extended the logic that they had insisted would be limited to those who had a reasonable expectation of death in a short time. You've seen that that promise never is kept, said Mohler. Once you buy into the logic of physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia, you find yourself in almost every case just extending the logic further and further. Mohler went on to stress that when you open the door of physician-assisted suicide or any form of euthanasia, you're responsible for everything that passes through that door. He cited Belgium and the Netherlands as examples. The logic that began with physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia for those who were terminally ill was extended to adults, terminally ill. Then it was extended to adults who weren't terminally ill but had some diagnosis that they did not want to deal with, Mohler added. Then it was extended to those who had a form of depression or some kind of psychiatric diagnosis. And then it was extended to children, and then it was extended beyond adolescents to younger children. What we're looking at here is that in Canada, it has now been extended to the disabled. Mohler then warned that if such ideas were prevailing in Canada, it would not be long until they gain traction in its neighbor to the south, the United States. Don't believe for one minute that the logic that is here chillingly revealed in this action in Canada will stay in Canada. Furthermore, honesty requires that we admit that this logic is already right here, and horrifyingly enough, it's gaining ground, he concluded. According to the Canadian Department of Justice, Bill C-7 would amend the countrys criminal code to allow for medical assistance in dying for those whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, but would not allow it for those solely suffering from mental illness. At present, Canada permits physician-assisted suicide for a person suffering from a grievous and irremediable medical condition who is at least 18 years old, mentally capable of making their own health decisions, eligible for government-funded health services, and makes a voluntary request based on informed consent. Last week, Bill C-7 passed the House of Commons with the support of most Liberal and Bloc Quebecois members while being opposed by Conservatives, New Democrats, and others. Bloc House leader Alain Therrien said in comments reported by The Canadian Press that he supported the legislation out of compassion. There are people suffering. There are people waiting for us to do our work and it is time for us, after all of this debate, to act and be compassionate towards them, argued Therrien to the House of Commons. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is holding a meeting with President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda as part of his official visit to Ukraine. The official meeting ceremony of the leaders took place at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on March 18, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. During the solemn ceremony, the national anthems of the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine were played. The presidents walked by the guards of honor. The official delegations of Ukraine and Lithuania were presented. After the official ceremony, a face-to-face meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Gitanas Nauseda began. Following the negotiations, bilateral documents will be signed and the presidents will communicate with the media. In addition, Zelensky and Nauseda will chair a regular meeting of the Council of Presidents of Ukraine and the Republic of Lithuania. The heads of state will also take part in the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Small and Medium-Sized Business and the State", and greet the participants of the Ukrainian-Lithuanian Economic Forum "Economy and Pandemic: Crisis and New Opportunities". ish A dozen House Republicans voted against a resolution to award Congressional Gold Medals, one of the nations highest civilian honors, to the Capitol Police, the D.C. police, and the Smithsonian Institution in recognition of their defense of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. To understand the votes of these Republicans one needs to look at the loaded language the Democrats smuggled into the resolution being voted on. It states: On January 6, 2021, a mob of insurrectionists forced its way into the U.S. Capitol building and congressional office buildings and engaged in acts of vandalism, looting, and violently attacked Capitol Police officers. Was this an insurrectionist mob? Did the January 6 rioting rise to the level of an insurrection? Reasonable people can disagree about this. Anyone who disagrees with the resolutions characterization should have voted against it. The resolution also says this: The desecration of the U.S. Capitol, which is the temple of our American Democracy, and the violence targeting Congress are horrors that will forever stain our Nations history. Is the Capitol building the temple of our democracy? Maybe. Its hard to argue against a figure of speech. But for a temple, an awful lot of unseemly stuff goes on at the Capitol. And Nancy Pelosi is one sorry excuse for a high priestess. One of the no voters, Rep. Thomas Massie, found the use of the word temple a little too sacrilegious for me. Being of that view, he was right to vote against the resolution. The stuff about the riots horrors forever staining our Nations history is a bit over the top. I doubt that the riot of January 6 will be more than a brief footnote in any half-way objective history of the U.S. Slavery, Jim Crow, and forced removals of Indians are stains. The Jan. 6 riot seems more like a blip. Nor was the Houses rhetoric necessary in a resolution honoring those who defended the Capitol and members of Congress. The ones who actually were part of the defense deserve the gratitude reflected in the awarding of the medal regardless of whether (1) they were combatting an actual insurrection, (2) the Capitol is the temple of our democracy, and (3) the riot will forever stain Americas history. The Senate and House passed different Jan. 6 resolutions. The Senates awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer who faced an angry mob by himself and led those people in the opposite direction of the Senate chamber, where he knew lawmakers were gathered. The two resolutions will have to be reconciled. I hope that in the process, the over-the-top language in the House version falls by the wayside. Then, perhaps, the 12 GOP holdouts in the House will come on board. They are: Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Andy Harris (Md.), Lance Gooden (Tex.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Michael Cloud (Tex.), Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.), Greg Steube (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and John Rose (Tenn.). 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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 14:00:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake (L) expresses her gratitude to Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong for the anti-epidemic materials donated by Chinese cities in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 17, 2021. Anti-epidemic materials donated by the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu have been handed over to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at an official ceremony. Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong handed over the anti-epidemic materials to Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake at the Colombo City Hall on Wednesday. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua) COLOMBO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Anti-epidemic materials donated by the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu have been handed over to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at an official ceremony. Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong handed over the anti-epidemic materials to Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake at the Colombo City Hall on Wednesday. "I'm fully confident that the collaboration, exchanges and friendship between different cities in China and Sri Lanka will be greatly enhanced after the COVID-19 pandemic," Qi said. Ambassador Qi emphasized that Shanghai and Colombo have been sister cities since 2003, while Beijing and Colombo also maintain close communication and cooperation. "Shanghai was the first foreign city to reach out to Colombo in the early days of last year's outbreak," Mayor Senanayake said. On behalf of the nearly a million people in the city of Colombo, Senanayake expressed thanks to the governments of Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu for their donations. Donations included anti-epidemic materials such as ventilators, testing reagents, masks and protective clothing. Enditem With both Pt Fortin hospitals now converted to Covid-19-only facilities and no 24-hour accident and emergency service, Kay Arjoon was yesterday forced to deliver her nephew while parked on the Otaheite roadside. Arjoon, 37, her nine-month-pregnant sister-in-law, Christene, 34, and brother Ricardo, had driven from Cap-de-Ville in Point Fortin in an attempt to reach the San Fernando General Hospital before delivery. [March 17, 2021] Jackery Launched Its New Products On Jackery Day FREMONT, Calif., March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jackery, the leader of innovative portable power and green outdoor energy solutions, has officially launched the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 and Jackery Solar Generator 1500 on the 17th of March -- Jackery Day. The new products were introduced at Jackery's first product launch conference on the Jackery Day of this year (third Wednesday of March). Featuring quiet, clean and easy to use, the new products come with larger battery capacity and higher wattage. The Jackery Solar Generator 2000 is equipped with Solarpeak Technology, a smarter and more efficient solar charging technology to enhance the product's performance. Its maximum solar input can reach 800W, enabling it to be charged to 80% from 0% in 2.5 hours. This product has 2060Wh capaciy and 2200W rated wattage. It is designed to meet 90% of your green outdoor power supply needs. Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Features: Solarpeak Technology An upgraded MPPT uniquely owned by Jackery to enhance the solar charging efficiency by 30%. The technology enables the product to detect biggest solar input available to the battery at real-time. Under good sunlight conditions, the solar charging time from zero to 80% will be 2.5 hours. Wall fast charger The Jackery Solar Generator 2000 utilizes a built-in 1000W battery charger with the wall outlet placed on the back of it to enhance the charging efficiency. Within 2 hours, the product can be charged to 80% from zero. Battery Management System The Solar Generator 2000 is manufactured with 211 tests under Jackery manufacturer's standards, and its safety is secured by the BMS technology. All Jackery products are equipped with this system in line with the standard of the industry of electric vehicles. Waterproof Solar Panel The Solar Generator 2000 consists of a 2060wh portable power station and 4200w Jackery solar panels. The solar panel is waterproof at the level of IP 67. Designed in a fold-able and portable shape, it also has the kickstands on the back of it that allows easy placement around your outdoor setup. Product Availability and Price Pre-sales of the Solar Generator 2000 starts on the18th of March for USA explorers at www.jackery.com. The official price for this product is $US 4,299. Early bird discount available at the site. The Solar Generator 1500 will be available at Amazon.com and Jackery.com on the 5th of April. It retails for $US 2,699. With discount codes, it can be purchased at $US 2,399. About Jackery Founded in California in 2012, Jackery specializes in providing solar generator products for explorers. As an industry leader in eco-friendly portable power, Jackery aims at developing green energy solutions that power outdoor life experiences as well the commitment to a sustainable future. Website: www.jackery.com Media Contact: Jackery marketing@jackery.com 1-888-502-2236 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jackery-launched-its-new-products-on-jackery-day-301247934.html SOURCE Jackery Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Delegates talk at an off-line activity held on the sidelines of the 128th edition of the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Oct. 16, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] China will hold the 129th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, online between April 15 and 24, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday. This is the third online session of the fair following two successful ones in June and October last year. Continuing to hold the sessions online will consolidate the gains in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as social and economic development, the MOC said. The fair will further play its role as a platform for all-round opening-up, and help maintain the smooth operation of the industrial and supply chains of foreign trade, the ministry added. As China has recently eradicated absolute poverty and transitioned to rural revitalization, the fair will designate a special zone for companies from formerly poor areas, to introduce their products to international buyers, the MOC said. Founded in 1957, the Canton Fair is seen as an important barometer of China's foreign trade. The 128th session attracted around 26,000 domestic and overseas enterprises, with more than 2.47 million products. Female MPs from both major parties rallied around Liberal MP Nicolle Flint in parliament after she slammed senior Labor figures over the sick harassment and abuse she suffered at the hands of left-wing activists. Labor MPs Anne Aly, Tanya Plibersek and Kristy McBain - together with Liberal MP Celia Hammond - embraced the Boothby MP at the end of Question Time. Meanwhile, Senator Pauline Hanson cut a solitary figure in the upper house after lashing out at feminists for 'demonising men' with their campaign against sexual violence which led to protests around the nation on Monday. Meanwhile, Senator Pauline Hanson cut a solitary figure in the upper house Labor MPs Anne Aly (centre front), Tanya Plibersek (rear) and Kristy McBain (right) - together with Liberal MP Celia Hammond (far left) - hugged the Boothby MP (second left) at the end of Question Time Senator Hanson lashed out at feminists for 'demonising men' with their campaign against sexual violence which led to protests around the nation on Monday Senator Hanson had controversially rejected the claim that every alleged abuse and rape victim should be believed, insisting that there are false allegations. Ms Flint, the MP for Boothby in South Australia, announced she will quit politics at the next election after she faced a targeted campaign by left wing group GetUp during the 2019 election. She was intimidated and stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute'. In an emotional speech in which she held back tears on Tuesday, Ms Flint attacked the Labor Party for failing to speak out and fostering an environment 'in which hate could flourish'. She said it was hypocritical of Labor to attack the government over the treatment of women while failing to 'get its own house in order'. Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has slammed senior Labor figures over the sick harassment and abuse she suffered at the hands of left-wing activists In a message to Labor leader Anthony Albanese, she said in parliament on Tuesday: 'I will not be lectured by you, or by anyone on your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place. 'I ask, the Leader of the Opposition, where was he, and where was his predecessor, and where were all the senior Labor women, when the GetUp, Labor and Union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead up to the 2019 election? 'Where were they when their supporters posted comment after hateful comment on twitter and on my facebook page? 'Where were they when I was stalked by a creepy old man who worked hand-in glove with GetUp?' Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said she was not aware of the abuse Ms Flint suffered - but the Liberal MP said this was hard to believe. Ms Flint was intimidated and stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute' 'I find it hard to believe that as I was one of only seven Liberal Party members on GetUp's hit list last election she had no knowledge of what was going on, especially as I was the only woman, the only backbencher, and the only one who was not a current or former memberof Cabinet,' she said. 'But although I find the Member for Sydney's personal explanation today more than a little disingenuous, I do not wish to attack her,' she added. 'What I say to the Labor Party today is they may not have held the spray can, to vandalise my office with sexist slurs, they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker or called me evil in GetUp's 100,000 phone calls. But they did create an environment in which hate could flourish.' Ms Flint slammed Labor once again on 2GB radio on Wednesday morning. 'I was really disappointed that we haven't heard anything until now condemning what happened to me during the 2019 election where I was stalked by a creepy old guy who would turn up constantly around GetUp protesters and union and Labor protesters,' she said. 'Everyone deserves to be safe in politics and in Parliament. I do not want Australia trending to a dangerous style of American politics,' she added in reference to the polarised and violent US election campaign last year. Anthony Albanese condemned the behaviour against Ms Flint, telling Radio National: 'It shouldn't have happened. Full stop. I condemn it. I stand with Nicole Flint.' Senator Wong said the campaign was 'utterly unacceptable' but said Ms Flint was being 'unfair' in blaming Labor politicians. 'I'd say to Ms Flint, I agree with you, let's work together to make this a better place for women,' she said. Labor continued to attack the government over the treatment of women following the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, which he has denied. [March 18, 2021] Sheppard Mullin Expands Corporate Practice With Lidore DeRose Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that Lidore DeRose has joined the firm's Corporate practice group as special counsel in the Washington, D.C. office. DeRose was most recently a director at Lockton Companies, where she led deal teams in advising clients on transaction risk insurance. "Representation and warranty insurance is a critical component of most private equity and M&A transactions today, as the policy terms and related acquisition agreement terms are among the most heavily negotiated," said Jeralin Cardoso, leader of Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group. "Lidore brings immediate benefits and value to our M&A and private equity clients, particularly given her unique market insight, deep industry relationships and track record of obtaining highly favorable policy terms for insureds. We're thrilled she's joined us." With more than 15 years of experience as a transactional attorney and as an underwritr and broker of transaction risk insurance, DeRose provides legal and strategic advice to clients on the effective use of representation and warranty insurance and other transaction risk insurance products. Her practice also includes representing private equity sponsors and corporate clients in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and other complex transactions. She advises clients in a wide range of industries, including aerospace and defense, technology, financial services, automotive, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare. She earned her B.S.E., summa cum laude, and M.S.E. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from New York University School of Law. About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Sheppard Mullin is a full-service Global 100 firm with more than 950 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, industry-leading companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high-stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include almost half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005611/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 10:54:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on March 11, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The so-called sanctions announced by the United States are part of its plot that the country and the West would like to employ to contain China. Some politicians do not want to see prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, and tend to use Hong Kong as a leverage to disrupt China's development. BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Just ahead of the high-level strategic dialogue between the United States and China in Alaska, Washington on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions against Chinese officials, which once again revealed the bullying and hegemonic nature of the world's sole superpower. Last week, China's top legislature adopted a decision on improving Hong Kong's electoral system, which, passed by an overwhelming majority vote, has demonstrated the common aspiration of the 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, to safeguard national security and ensure stability in Hong Kong. However, Washington claimed that the actions of the designated officials "have reduced Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy" and released an update to the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" with new sanctions. Flouting international laws and the basic norms of international relations, the wayward move represented the latest episode of the United States' unscrupulous interference in China's internal affairs. Improving Hong Kong's electoral system is one of such internal affairs, in which foreign countries have no right to interfere. The aim of improving the electoral system is to ensure the effective implementation of the fundamental principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong." China's National People's Congress' decision will effectively prevent anti-China disruptors from utilizing the loopholes in the current electoral system, and fundamentally safeguard Hong Kong's political stability and security. Meanwhile, it is a basic and internationally-acknowledged political principle that only patriots can govern. People walk across a street backdropped by the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed an election reform bill targeting its voting procedures. Then why, when China improved Hong Kong's electoral system, did the United States recklessly meddle in China's internal affairs and even impose sanctions? For a long time, the United States has been addicted to sanctioning others, but the sanctions will never intimidate China. "America's excessive reliance on sanctions will come back to haunt it," political commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote as the title for his opinion piece published in The Washington Post last August. The so-called sanctions announced by the United States are part of its plot that the country and the West would like to employ to contain China. Some politicians do not want to see prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, and tend to use Hong Kong as a leverage to disrupt China's development. The United States' hegemonic acts targeting Chinese officials and Hong Kong affairs have sent a completely wrong message to the international community. Washington will see that sanctions are never an effective tool to pressure China, including those ahead of the Alaska meeting. Nokia has announced that its AirScale 5G mMIMO Base Station will "achieve an average power consumption reduction of 50% by 2023, outlining its commitment to climate change and zero emissions." We're told this is enabled by "continuous improvements in software functionalities and new mMIMO product variants based on its latest SoCs. In recent customer field tests, which took place on a live commercial network, the power consumption for Nokias 5G mMIMO BTS site was double-digit percentage points lower than that of its nearest competitor. "Nokia is working to continuously improve its AirScale 5G mMIMO BTS portfolio with a target of reducing the average power consumption of 5G mMIMO Base Station by approximately 50%. "This will be enabled by its next-generation System on Chip (SoCs) chipsets and 5G advanced sleep mode features which will help to optimise the base station energy usage." "Nokia is committed to having one of the industrys most energy-efficient product portfolios. It recently announced new Science Based Targets (SBTs) which fulfill its commitment to recalibrate in line with a 1.5C global warming scenario." Nokia explains: "5G is a natively greener technology with more data bits per kilowatt of energy than any previous wireless technology generation. However, the rollout of 5G networks is also set to increase traffic dramatically making it critical that the energy consumed does not rise at the same rate. "There are several energy-saving features at the radio base station and network levels, such as 5G power-saving features, small cell deployments and new 5G architecture and protocols, which can be combined to significantly improve the energy efficiency of wireless networks." Ari Kynaslahti, Head of Technology and Strategy at Nokia Mobile Networks, commented: Nokia is committed to contributing to solving the worlds sustainability challenges and we do that by ensuring our technology is designed to be as energy-efficient as possible. "This means using less energy during use and manufacture. Everything from our chipsets to our software and hardware is geared towards supporting this goal. Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. She is expecting her first child, a baby girl, later this year. And Laura Whitmore put her blossoming baby bump on display in a snap she shared with fans via Instagram on Thursday. The Love Island presenter, 35, was resting on her bed alongside her Maltipoo Mick, and she joked her pet pooch made for a 'great' back rest. Bumping along nicely: Pregnant Laura Whitmore showed off her blossoming baby bump as she used her dog Mick as a back rest in a snap she shared via Instagram on Thursday Enjoying a relaxing day at home, Laura teamed a simple black top with a pair of grey leopard-print pyjama bottoms. Mick appeared to be perfectly content as he slept beside Laura, leaning against her back as she enjoyed a break from her busy schedule. Laura and comedian husband Iain Stirling are expecting their first child together after tying the knot in a secret ceremony last November. Comfy: The Love Island presenter joked her Maltipoo dog made for a 'great' back rest Mother-to-be: Laura and comedian husband Iain Stirling are expecting their first child together in 'early 2021' The social media post comes after ITV's Lorraine Kelly accidentally revealed the gender of their baby to the nation during a live interview. The broadcaster, 61, let slip that the blonde is set to welcome a daughter, noting that the mother-to-be will likely want to pass advice on to her 'baby girl'. To which Laura, slightly taken aback, replied: 'Well, my baby... yes,' as she and Iain had been yet to confirm the gender of their unborn child. The media personality has documented her pregnancy on social media and previously said she is due in 'early 2021'. Accident: The social media post comes after ITV's Lorraine Kelly accidentally revealed the gender of their baby to the nation during a live interview Last month, the former MTV star revealed she has no plans to give up working when she becomes a mother. The model told how her mother Carmel having a child 'out of wedlock' in 1980s Ireland taught her 'there's nothing you can't do'. Speaking to The Telegraph, she said: 'All my friends from school are doctors or teachers. The fact that I even thought it was possible to go off and work at MTV came from my mum because her attitude was: "If you want to, then why not?" 'When people ask if I'm going to give up work this year because of the baby, I'm like, "Why? Mum did it in '80s Ireland!"' Disney remains unstoppable in creating more live-action films. This time, the company focuses on the development of the "Peter Pan and Wendy" movie. On Tuesday, Disney confirmed in a press release that the classic animated film will be brought to life. The company added that the principal photography of the film already went underway in Vancouver. As confirmed by ScreenRant, the story will reportedly tell the story of Wendy being forced to be admitted to a boarding school by her parents. Wendy and her two younger brothers try to escape fate by going to Neverland. Then the usual tale about Wendy and Peter meeting in the place begins. "Peter Pan and Wendy" Details The upcoming live-action remake follows the story of the 1953 animated feature. It will serve as director David Lowery's second Disney live-action remake together with Jim Whitaker. Initially, they worked together for "Pete's dragon" back in 2016. Lowery will collaborate with his "Pete's Dragon" co-writer, Toby Halbrook, for the script which they will reportedly be based on J.M. Barrie's 1911 novel of the same name. "Peter Pan has long been one of my favorite stories, partially because I've always resisted growing up, but also because of the heart, adventure and imagination that makes J.M. Barrie's original tale so evergreen," Lowery said of the material, per Collider. Lowery also expressed his excitement after finally receiving the opportunity to "redefine" the characters and pique the new generation's attention. "[I am] even more excited that I get to do so with such an exceptional cast and crew," he went on. "Peter Pan and Wendy" Cast Both Lowery and Halbrook will be surrounded by award-winning cast and crews. As early as March 2020, multiple news outlets confirmed that Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson will play the role of Peter and Wendy. Meanwhile, Jude Law of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" scored the role of Captain Hook. Yara Shahidi (Tinkerbell), Jim Gaffigan (Smee), Alan Tudyk (Mr. Darling), Molly Parker (Mrs. Darling), Joshua Pickering (John), Jacobi Jupe (Michael), and Alyssa Wapanatahk (Tiger Lily) joined the ensemble of cast members. "Peter Pan and Wendy" Release Date The "Peter Pan and Wendy" live-action film will arrive on Disney+ in 2022. As of the writing, no definite date has been announced, yet. However, it is worth noting that Disney Studios already released a short sneak peek of the film in December 2020. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles ADVERTISEMENT Dear Mr. Emefiele, RE: NIGERIAS TRADE POLICY AND RESTRICTIVE TRADE While congratulating our Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her recent appointment as the 7th Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), we very much welcome your fair trade comments for a strong policy to protect our local industries against unfavourable trade practices and to create jobs for Nigerians. In the discussions with Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, you referred to trade protection remedies to support local industry. This is brilliant! We also note that the CBN five-year policy plan also supports growing our local industry by discouraging the dumping and smuggling of foreign goods. Trade support for local industries identified rice, maize, cassava, cotton, cocoa, tomato, oil palm, poultry, fish, etc. As the Minister of Trade and Industry works on a new trade policy, we recommend the institutionalisation of a protective trade regime by enactment of a trade remedies legislation. Trade remedies legislation imposes anti-dumping duties on dumped products. There is also counter-veiling special duties measures imposed on exports into Nigeria subsidised by a foreign country. The trade remedies legislation will also prohibit imports if it is adjudged that they will cause material injury to local industries, for example by impeding growth. We call on the CBN to lead a policy discussion to enact legislation to establish the Office of National Trade Negotiator and a Trade Remedies Legislation. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a foremost civil rights advocate, is Principal of Olisa Agbakoba Legal. United Nations, March 18 : The UN is ready to facilitate an agreement between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile river, according to a spokesman of the world body. Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN has received a letter from Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on the issue, reports Xinhua news agency. "We reiterate our readiness to support all efforts toward reaching an agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. "Guterres welcomes initiatives to move the negotiations forward and awaits agreement from all the parties as to how the UN can best support the process," he added. Before any UN engagement, all the parties involved in the dispute need to agree on mediation, the spokesman further said. Ethiopia, an upstream Nile basin country, started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the Nile water. Sudan has recently been raising similar concerns over the $4 billion dam. Over the past few years, tripartite talks on the rules of filling and operating the GERD, with a total capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, have been fruitless. Ethiopia carried out the first phase of filling the dam in July 2020 and is expected to start the second phase later this year. Georgian law enforcers have detained one individual who allegedly shot at a banner of the United National Movement opposition party which depicts the partys currently imprisoned leader Nika Melia. The Georgian Interior Ministry says that the detainee has been charged with the illegal possession and carrying of firearms and property damage. The crime is punishable by four to seven years in prison. The detainee is a 29-year-old man. The banner is attached to the party headquarters on the Kakheti Highway on the outskirts of Tbilisi. The UNM party said that the man shot at the banner from his car, Agenda.ge reported. Melia was arrested on February 23, 2021 for his refusal to pay bail. His release is one of the three demands of the opposition in the currently ongoing, EU-mediated talks with the ruling Georgian Dream party. Heavyweight culture channel Arte France has boarded Flavors of Iraq, an animated documentary feature directed by Leonard Cohen. The film was presented at Cartoon Movie, the European pitching event held virtually last week. Flavors of Iraq recounts the countrys tumultuous recent history through the lens of French-Iraqi journalist Feurat Alanis life story. The project began as a series of 1,000-plus tweets Alani sent in 2016, detailing the history and daily life of Iraq. The tweets were adapted into an award-winning book illustrated by Cohen and an Arte web series, again directed by Cohen. (Watch an episode below and check out the rest here.) The feature will continue the story, focusing on the Islamic State years of 201117. Alani is writing the screenplay with Cohen, who is directing in his feature debut. Millions of households and businesses have not been able to pay their water bills due to lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Shutterstock The financial impact of COVID-19 has been devastating for public water operators around the world. Millions of households and businesses have not been able to pay their water bills due to lost income, while operating expenses have risen sharply. Data collected in June 2020 found that revenues had fallen by up to 40 percent for some water operators. In the United States alone the financial impact on water utilities is expected to exceed $27 billion as a result of COVID-19. This temporary financial crisis is made worse by long-term budget deficits, with at least $150 billion a year required to meet global backlogs for water and sanitation. As much as one might like to think that COVID-19 will be the contagion that finally wakes the world up to the need for adequate funding for these basic public services, there is no indication that the required public money will be forthcoming. COVID-19 and privatization Alarmingly, one possible consequence of COVID-19 may be an increase in privatization in the water sector. Our recent book, co-edited with Daniel Chavez, a fellow at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, demonstrates how many governments are using the crisis to promote private sector participation in water and sanitation. Indonesia's poor can't even afford to wash handshttps://t.co/YE9OQ2qsue KRuHA Indonesia #AirRakyatUntukRakyat (@KRuHA_Indonesia) April 11, 2020 This pressure to privatize is particularly notable in places where there was already a push to do so, such as Brazil. In other cases, fiscal strains are pushing authorities to consider privatization, such as in Philadelphia. In Jakarta, COVID-19 has emboldened the state to retract its promise to reverse water privatization. Some multilateral organizations are also using COVID-19 to promote water privatization. The World Bank has created a "blended financing" program that requires private sector participation before public water operators can receive financial support. UN-Habitat and UNICEF are promoting public-private-partnerships to "engage and empower" small private water vendors. Ironically, these calls for privatization contradict the warnings of a large group of UN Special Rapporteurs who recently published an op-ed outlining how "COVID-19 has exposed the catastrophic impact of privatizing vital services" like water and sanitation, with private water companies putting profit ahead of basic needs and public health. Nevertheless, private water companies are also on the offensive. As the CEO of one private equity water company noted in May 2020: "We believe water utilities are amongst the most resilient sectors to an epidemic. Water consumption is rigid by nature and we think the sector will actually become even more attractive to investors." COVID-19 appears to be contributing to a rash of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, further concentrating the power of big multinational water firms. Some analysts are predicting a "complete restructuring of the water industry," exemplified by one of the most dramatic potential takeovers of the past 50 years: a hostile takeover bid by French water multinational Veolia for rival company Suez. Another concern is that COVID-19 will deepen the trend towards commercializing public water services, with budget cuts and neoliberal doctrine (such as small government, low corporate tax and deregulation) forcing public water agencies to act like private companies, charging market prices even when households cannot afford to pay. Many public water operators have relaxed these policies during COVID-19, but some have made it clear that market-based pricing will return once the health crisis is over. In Colombia Empresas Publicas de Medellin introduced emergency measures to make water affordable for the poor during COVID-19, but these are temporary reprieves from market-oriented policies. In Uruguay, reforms introduced during the pandemic have intensified the trend towards the commercialization of their national water utility. Reclaiming public water Is this disaster capitalism at work with private business and their state backers pushing aggressively to normalize neoliberal relations and expand profitability in the wake of a crisis? There are certainly signs of it, but it is not a foregone conclusion. With progressive governments, unions, NGOs and community organizations continuing to fight against privatization while at the same time advocating for more progressive forms of public water services. Our book provides a critical but optimistic overview of these "pro-public" forces, illustrating how public water operators have responded effectively to COVID-19 in the short-term while working towards improved democratic engagement and accountability in the long run. Examples include free water services for marginalized communities, moratoria on cutoffs, emergency services for vulnerable groups, remote technical support for households, finding ways for low-income communities to participate in decision-making, public education campaigns to assure residents their water and sanitation systems are secure, and child care for front-line workers. To make this happen, hundreds of thousands of public water employees around the world have worked long hours to keep their systems running, with little in the way of public recognition. Many also engaged in peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing, deepening their sense of public purpose and expanding their networks of solidarity. Hopefully, these examples of positive performance by public water operators will curtail pressures for privatization. They may even contribute to an acceleration of demands for remunicipalization, as cholera outbreaks did during the initial waves of making water services public in the 19th century. Despite the challenges they continue to face, many public water operators around the world have demonstrated not just the significance of public ownership in times of crisis but the value of public services that are transparent, democratic and oriented towards equity and sustainability. It is essential that we use this opportunity to reclaim and remake public water in the post-pandemic period. Explore further Research foresees an end to deregulated competitive public transport This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. EDITORS NOTE: On April 13, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a virtual networking event, featuring professionals in the legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited. Legal cannabis operations would be allowed to buy insurance just like any other business under legislation introduced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. The bill is a companion measure to a bill allowing federally regulated banks to provide checking accounts, credit cards and other financial services to legal cannabis businesses. The problem that both banks and insurers face is that marijuana remains illegal under federal law, even as more and more states, including New Jersey, legalize the drug for medical or recreational use. Current federal law prevents these small business owners from getting insurance coverage, and without it, they cant protect their property, employees or customers, Menendez said. From D.C. to Trenton to your town, the N.J. Politics newsletter brings the news right to your inbox. Sign up with your email here: Our legislation simply levels the playing field for legal cannabis businesses, allowing them to fully operate just as any other legal small business would by permitting insurance companies to provide coverage to these enterprises without risk of federal prosecution or other unintended consequences. Menendezs co-sponsors of the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana, or CLAIM, Act are U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., is to introduce the House version. Menendez and Paul also co-sponsored Merkleys Secure and Fair Enforcement or SAFE Banking Act. The House passed a version sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., but the Senate never brought it up for a vote. Merkley could reintroduce the bill as early as next week, spokeswoman Martina McLellan said. Under Menendezs legislation, it would be illegal to take action against insurers who provide coverage to legal marijuana businesses or anyone providing services to that business, such as the landlord renting the storefront. The bill also would protect employees of an insurance company that covers cannabis businesses. The bill would cover such policies as workers compensation, property, casualty and title insurance. State legal cannabis businesses should not be shut out from the kind of tools and financial services all businesses need to thrive including insurance to protect stores, customers, and workers from an unexpected emergency, Merkley said. NJ Cannabis Insider is a weekly subscriber-based trade journal and events group produced by NJ Advance Media, which also publishes NJ.com, The Star-Ledger and other affiliated papers. For more information, email staff here. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant. A 31-year-old Sydney man will face a further 152 charges alleging sexual abuse of young children and filming it to share online. The Australian Federal Police says the man, from St Clair in Sydneys west, will appear at Sydney Central Local Court on Thursday. He was was initially arrested last May under Operation Arkstone, a large-scale investigation into a global online network of alleged child sex offenders. He was charged with 44 child abuse offences, including multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and is now facing a total of 196 charges relating to child sexual abuse and bestiality offences. Operation Arkstone began in February 2020 following a report to the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an online user allegedly distributing and receiving child abuse material online. AFP investigators uncovered the network of alleged offenders when examining a mobile phone seized from a NSW Central Coast man during his arrest for abuse offences. On Wednesday a 31-year-old man became the 20th arrested as part of Arkstone when federal police searched his home at Willoughby in Sydneys north. He was charged with one count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed online and using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A of the Criminal Code. He will appear in Downing Centre Court on April 15. The investigation has now charged 14 men in NSW, three in Queensland and three in Western Australia. The group faces a total of 1026 charges related to child sexual abuse and in some cases, bestiality. Since Operation Arkstone began, there have been 53 children removed from further harm in Australia. The AFP says its also made 146 referrals to law enforcement agencies around the world. Investigators have been sharing intelligence and working with counterparts in Europe, Asia, the US, Canada and New Zealand to identify offenders and children in need of rescue. AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said every day that police could not identify a child being harmed was another day of potential abuse. We need to remove these children from harm and importantly, with law enforcement in Australia and across the globe, we must arrest those who carry out these heinous crimes, Commander Sirec said. During the COVID-19 pandemic the prevalence of child exploitation has increased. Australia has stood shoulder to shoulder to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We also need the country to use the same sense of purpose and urgency to help fight the exploitation of children, she said. Uvalde-born, Austin-based Texan Matthew McConaughey was 'dumbfounded' over Governor Greg Abbott's decision to lift Texas' mask mandate on March 10. 'I was a little dumbfounded by the decision,' the 51-year-old Oscar winner tells CBS This Morning next Sunday. 'I understand, "Go back to work." What I did not understand was, "Pull the mask mandate." We're on our way to seeing light at the end of the tunnel. The mask is just this minor inconvenience. And I think I just want to remind - not only Texans - but everybody out there, it's not the mask we're afraid of, c'mon. It's the word "mandate."' 'Keep masking up!' Uvalde-born, Austin-based Texan Matthew McConaughey (L) was 'dumbfounded' over Governor Greg Abbott's (R) decision to lift Texas' mask mandate on March 10 Matthew continued: 'Let's not let the word "mandate" get in the way of the practical use of this little tool called a mask. Hey, it's just a small inconvenience today for more freedom tomorrow. So now it's our choice. If you have the choice, keep masking up. It's proven to help. We don't have much longer in this. We'll get through this.' McConaughey was then asked, yet again, if he'd consider running against the 63-year-old Republican politician when he's up for re-election in 2022. 'As I've said before, I'm giving it consideration. I'd be a fool not to,' the University of Texas-Austin professor admitted. 'It's a very honorable thing to consider what that position would mean. What would it mean for me? What would it mean for the people of Texas? As I've said before and I'll say again right now, I have to decide, for me, what is my category where I can be most useful in life from here?' Academy Award winner Matthew @McConaughey is on a mission to help fellow Texans after last month's massive storm. This Sunday, he and his wife are hosting #WereTexas a virtual benefit to help the state rebuild and assist those affected. McConaughey joins us to discuss more. pic.twitter.com/GoyQF5zddH CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 17, 2021 The 51-year-old Oscar winner tells CBS This Morning next Sunday: 'I understand, "Go back to work." What I did not understand was, "Pull the mask mandate." We're on our way to seeing light at the end of the tunnel. The mask is just this minor inconvenience' Matthew continued: 'It's not the mask we're afraid of, c'mon. It's the word "mandate." Let's not let the word "mandate" get in the way of the practical use of this little tool called a mask. Hey, it's just a small inconvenience today for more freedom tomorrow' 'I'm giving it consideration': McConaughey was then asked, yet again, if he'd consider running against the 63-year-old Republican politician when he's up for re-election in 2022 'I'm not jumping on that bandwagon': The University of Texas-Austin professor stopped short of criticizing Senator Ted Cruz (pictured February 17) for fleeing the Lone Star state for Cancun when winter storm Uri left 4M Texans without power and 15M without clean water Matthew stopped short of criticizing Senator Ted Cruz for fleeing the Lone Star state for Cancun when winter storm Uri left 4M Texans without power and 15M without clean water. 'I'm not taking the bait on that one!' McConaughey snapped. 'That's more like Page Six gossip stuff to me... No but that got taken out of different proportions...That's talking about where somebody was at what time, and then memes got going and T-shirts got going. I'm not jumping on that bandwagon.' The Greenlights author and his wife of eight years, Camila Alves, will host virtual benefit concert We're Texas, which livestreams this Sunday at 7pm CT on his YouTube channel. 'This was Camila's idea': Matthew and his wife of eight years, Camila Alves (R), will host virtual benefit concert We're Texas, which livestreams this Sunday at 7pm CT on his YouTube channel (pictured January 31) McConaughey noted: 'I had my head down in a project that I was working on, and Camila came and knocked on my door and said, "Do you see what's happening here? It's real bad we got to do something"' 100% of donations will help rebuild the state and assist those affected: We're Texas will feature performances by Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Gary Clark Jr., Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, and Miranda Lambert Star-studded benefit: Famed Texans like Selena Gomez (L), Megan Thee Stallion (M), Renee Zellweger (R), Jennifer Garner, Chip & Joanna Gaines, and more will make appearances 'This was Camila who came to me, actually,' Matthew noted. 'I had my head down in a project that I was working on, and Camila came and knocked on my door and said, "Do you see what's happening here? It's real bad we got to do something."' 100% of all the donations will help organizations rebuild the state and assist those affected by last month's winter storm Uri. 'Where will your dreams take you?' Acting-wise, the Greenlights author next reprises his role as Buster Moon in Garth Jennings' star-studded animated sequel to Sing, which premieres December 22 on Netflix We're Texas will feature performances by Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Gary Clark Jr., Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, and Miranda Lambert. Famed Texans like Selena Gomez, Megan Thee Stallion, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Garner, Chip & Joanna Gaines, and more will make appearances. Acting-wise, McConaughey next reprises his role as Buster Moon in Garth Jennings' star-studded animated sequel to Sing, which premieres December 22 on Netflix. President Dr Julius Maada Bio has taken the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine during a symbolic ceremony at State House, where Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh and opposition politicians also took the jab. Before the vaccination, the President responded to the declaration of purpose of the occasion by Minister of Health and Sanitation, saying that because it was a major milestone, he would take the leadership in receiving the vaccine. "That is to tell you that we should all try to be vaccinated as and when the vaccines are available for everybody. That is what leadership is about. We will give confidence to the rest of the population to receive their vaccines as and when it is available, so that we can get rid of COVID and pay attention to development, which should really be our preoccupation," he said. The National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre, NaCOVERC, had said the combined total of 296,000 SinoPharm and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines being offered by the Government of Sierra Leone had undergone many tests and proven to be safe and effective because millions of people around the world had taken them. Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Austin Demby, said the day was a very special day for Sierra Leone, adding that with the show of political will, they now had the tools in their arsenal to get ahead of the COVID-19 virus instead of reacting to it. "When I asked the President if he would publicly take the vaccine, his response was Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Coronavirus Sierra Leone By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. 'absolutely'. He also said, 'as a leader, I would not ask people to take a vaccine that I am not willing to take myself'. His Excellency, thank you Sir for your leadership. "We have shown resilience at every step of the way and today, with the new safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines, we take a bold new step in our march to get rid of COVID-19 from our country," he said. He added that in addition to other globally renowned regulatory agencies, both vaccines had been cleared for use in Sierra Leone through an Emergency Use Authorization issued by the country's Pharmacy Board. Dr Demby clarified that even though they had 296,000 doses of vaccines, they would only be able to enrol just under 150,000 individuals, because those were 2-dose vaccines given 21-28 days apart. "We expect more vaccines to come soon. As a result, for this first round of vaccinations, we will prioritize: Healthcare Workers, Political Leaders, Social Workers, Teachers and lecturers, Military, Police, Customs and Immigrations workers including Sea Ports and Airports, Prison Officers, Fire Force Officers, People over 70," he said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Students who got partial loan relief to see full discharge View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) Thousands of students defrauded by for-profit schools will have their federal loans fully erased, the Biden administration announced Thursday, reversing a Trump administration policy that had given them only partial relief. The change could lead to $1 billion in loans being canceled for 72,000 borrowers, all of whom attended for-profit schools, the Education Department said. Borrowers deserve a simplified and fair path to relief when they have been harmed by their institutions misconduct, said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. A close review of these claims and the associated evidence showed these borrowers have been harmed, and we will grant them a fresh start from their debt. The department said it was rescinding the formula used by the Trump administration to determine partial relief and putting in place a streamlined path to receiving full loan discharges. The decision applies to students who already had their claims approved and received only partial relief, the department said. A senior department official briefing reporters said the agency was continuing to review both the backlog of claims yet to be decided and those that have been denied. The department described Thursdays action as a first step and said it would be looking at rewriting the regulations down the road. The borrower defense to repayment program allows students to have their federal loans canceled if they were defrauded by their schools. The Obama administration had expanded the program aimed at helping students who attended for-profit colleges like Corinthian and ITT Technical Institute, which have shut down. But President Donald Trumps education secretary, Betsy DeVos, pulled it back, saying it had become too easy for students to have their loans erased, and revised the program to make it harder for them to get relief, including providing only partial cancellation of the loans. Congress voted to overturn DeVos changes last March, but it was vetoed by Trump. The Education Department said a total of 343,331 applications for relief under borrower defense had been received as of Feb. 28. Of those, 61,511 had been approved and borrowers notified. Most of the others had been declared ineligible or were still pending. In addition to having their loans fully canceled, the Biden administration said students who received only partial awards will be reimbursed for any payments made on the loans and have their eligibility for federal student aid reinstated. The department said it also would ask credit bureaus to remove any negative ratings tied to the loans. Abandoning partial relief is a strong start for a narrow subset of borrowers, but what we need from the Education Department is an overhaul of the current borrower defense process, said Toby Merrill, director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which represents former students at for-profit colleges. The previous administration turned borrower defense into a total sham that was rigged to deny claims without any true consideration, Merrill said. The Biden-Harris administration must now address these failings or else perpetuate a system that is stacked against the very students they are supposed to protect. Career Education Colleges and Universities, an industry lobbying group, said it had no comment on the Biden administrations actions. Congress voted to overturn DeVos changes last March, but it was vetoed by Trump. Nearly two dozen state attorneys general had sued the Trump administration over its implementation of the borrower defense to repayment program, which allows borrowers to have their loans canceled if their colleges made false claims to get them to enroll. One of the plaintiffs in that suit was California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who was confirmed Thursday as President Joe Bidens health secretary. The lawsuit, which was filed last July, argued that DeVos had changed the policy without justification, failed to provide a meaningful process for students to get their loans forgiven and created arbitrary impediments for them, including forcing them to prove that their schools knowingly misled them. Sen. Patty Murray, who heads the Senate committee overseeing education, said DeVos used faulty math to deny student full relief. Rep. Bobby Scott, chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, called it a nonsensical formula. This announcement is life-changing for tens of thousands of people across the country, Scott said. By CAROLE FELDMAN Associated Press In a flashback to how art that offended the Soviet regime was blacklisted, streaming giant Spotify is now censoring song lyrics that contain misinformation. Yes, really. Music icon Ian Brown revealed that Spotify had deleted his anti-lockdown song Little Seed Big Tree, which was originally released last September. SPOTiFY stream the streams and censor artists like they have with my last song TOOK IT DOWN just put it down the memory hole! FREE EXPRESSiON AS REVOLUTION, tweeted Brown. The song included the lyrics; Masonic lockdown, in your hometown Masonic lockdown, can you hear me now From the top down, soul shock down State shakedown, mass breakdown Global orders, riding over borders Get behind your doors for the new world order Brown has been a vehement voice against lockdown and mandatory vaccines, announcing that he had refused to be the headliner of Manchesters Neighborhood Weekender festival because organizers indicated proof of COVID-19 vaccination may have been a condition of entry. The former Stone Roses frontman asserted that he would, NEVER sing to a crowd who must be vaccinated as a condition of attendance. NEVER EVER! Spotify prohibits content on the platform which promotes dangerous false, deceptive, or misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health. When content that violates this standard is identified it is removed from the platform, a Spotify spokesperson told Reclaim The Net. The practice is a continuation of enforcing a monoculture of thought by ensuring any form of art that carries a message which offends technocratic elites is blacklisted. Throughout the course of the Soviet empire, dictators mandated that socialist realism be the prescribed style of idealized art. This meant that every sculpture, statue and painting had to conform to an established aesthetic in order to educate citizens on how to be the perfect Soviets. In order to entrench loyalty to the Communist Party and advance a utopian image of Soviet society, The purpose of socialist realism was to limit popular culture to a specific, highly regulated faction of emotional expression that promoted Soviet ideals. The Chinese Communist Party finds allies in Cuba and 63 other countries who deny or underplay the Uyghur genocide that has been occuring for years now. On the very last day of former President Donald Trump's term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged communist China's Uyghur genocide following reports of mass internment, forced labor, forced sterilization, and other human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur communities living in the country's Xinjiang province. According to Axios, the U.S. was the first country to use these terms in describing the communist state's human rights abuses, which recently were found to violate the U.N. law against genocide. The Biden administration's U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Pompeo's sentiments, condemning communist China's Uyghur genocide, but the CCP has found allies in Cuba and 63 other countries. According to The Federalist, Cuba and 63 nations including China has spoken out to warn the United States to "stop interfering in China's internal affairs by manipulating Xinjiang-related issues, (and) refrain from making unfounded allegations against China out of political motivations." The joint statement claimed Xinjiang is "an inseparable part of China." According to Reuters, Cuba believes the province of Xinjiang, where the communist state's Uyghur genocide is taking place, is "an inseparable part of China," which other countries, specifically the United States, should not concern itself with. Cuba's stance on communist China's Uyghur genocide is consistent, as last year the country released a propaganda-filled statement that was also shown on several CCP state-run media sites. In the statement, Cuba condemned countries such as the United States for creating "unfounded allegations against China and interference out of political motivation and bias" and praised China for their "people-centered philosophy in advancing economic and social sustainable development, eradicating poverty, increasing employment, improving people's living standard and promoting and protecting human rights." Like China, Cuba is ruled over by a communist party. Cuba's propagandist messages in support of communist China's Uyghur genocide spoke of the Muslim minorities' "happy lives in a peaceful and stable environment" while praising China's "openness and transparency" after they supposedly invited over a thousand international diplomats, journalists, and religious leaders to come and see the Xinjiang's "remarkable achievements" themselves. Uyghur exiles, however, do not agree with Cuba and the CCP's propagandist rhetoric. Dolkun Isa, World Uyghur Congress president, told Blinken in a letter that "it is imperative that China immediately and unconditionally ends the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in East Turkestan," Reuters reported. The exiles refer to Xinjiang as "East Turkestan." "This includes that China closes all internment camps and unconditionally releases all those arbitrarily detained," Isa continued, adding that the CCP must end Uyghur forced labor and allow foreigners to investigate the abuses. Blinken and the Biden administration haven't responded to Isa's letter as of this writing. Back at home, many critics of President Joe Biden have questioned his rather complacent attitude towards communist China. Politico reported that during a town hall, President Biden spoke of Xi Jinping's central principle as a united communist China. He refused to speak out on China's abuses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in its own Xinjiang province. He explained, "Culturally, there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow." The best that the president had to offer when he was pressed about if China would face the consequences of their human rights violations was a lukewarm warning that "there will be repercussions for China." Biden promised that the U.S. will "continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the U.N. and other agencies that have an impact on [China's] attitude." A hate-crimes law that was passed in Georgia last year could come into play if the authorities determine that the suspect in this weeks deadly shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors was motivated by racism or misogyny. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, told investigators that he was driven by what he has described as a sex addiction, not by racism. Six of the eight victims were of Asian descent. Hate-crime charges for attacks against Asians are rare, as they require proof of a racist motive that can be difficult to establish. Mr. Long was initially charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. But hate-crime charges could be added later under the new Georgia law, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, in June. Before that, Georgia was one of the few states without a hate-crime law. Do we know Long was specifically targeting Asian women? No, but it seems an odd coincidence he targeted businesses that employed Asian women. More importantly, we dont know his exact motive, so given whats known about the crime and the anti-Asian climate in the country, shouldnt we be taking the possibility this was a hate crime seriously rather than writing the murders off to an amorphous sexual addiction? Yes, we should. Stella McCartney is today showing off its first set of clothes made from a new form of artificial leather; Mylos Unleather, a mycelium leather created by startup Bolt Threads. The material, culled from the root system of fungi, promises to behave, and look, like animal leather, with a fraction of the environmental cost. The outfit, a two-piece bustier top and trousers, use panels of recycled nylon attached to panels of Mylo, marks a step into a whole new world of sustainable fashion. Unfortunately, this first outfit isn't available to buy, but points to the direction McCartney is looking to take her wares in the near future. As an animal product, leather is unsuitable for use by some religious groups, as well as vegans and vegetarians. For decades, companies have produced artificial substitutes which can be used for fashion, luggage and surface coverings including car interiors, furniture and book bindings. But this process has come under greater scrutiny in recent years since most forms of artificial leather are made from oil-derived plastics. A number of companies, including McCartney, Adidas, LuluLemon and the French fashion house which owns Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Gucci, have all signed up with Bolt to use Mylo. McCartney's first work with Mylo took place in 2018, when she designed a version of her Falabella bag in the material, which went on display at the V&A Museum. Hermes, meanwhile, is working with another company working in a similar field, MycoWorks, on their own alternative to leather, dubbed Rishi. That partnership has already produced the Victoria Bag, a piece of luxury luggage you probably cant afford. But where the world of high fashion leads, hopefully the mass-market will follow, and as these companies get used to working with artificial leather, the greater their adoption. That should mean a reduction in the volume of plastic-leather goods which are frequently very fragile in favor of something sturdier, but also guilt-free. Daniel Dae Kim arrives at the 2019 premiere of "Always Be My Maybe" in Los Angeles. (Mark Von Holden / Invision/AP) Actor Daniel Dae Kim is urging Congress to pass legislation protecting Asian Americans after several women of Asian descent were killed this week in shootings at Atlanta-area spas. The "Raya and the Last Dragon" star, who has been outspoken in recent months about the rise in violence toward Asian Americans, testified before lawmakers Thursday morning at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on anti-Asian hate incidents in the United States. Kim implored Congress to vote in favor of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the No Hate Act, which would provide "counseling for those convicted of hate crimes and improved data collection for hate crime reporting, among other important services." "It's crucial that we have reliable reporting for these hate crimes and an infrastructure that makes it easy for people for whom English is not their primary language," Kim said. "I respectfully urge you not to let these bills languish in committee, but see them through so that they can be passed by the full house and then on to the Senate. Now, I'm not naive enough to think that I'm going to convince all of you to stand up for us trust me, I've seen your voting records but I am speaking to those to whom humanity still matters." In addition to the Atlanta shootings which left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent Kim called attention to other recent attacks targeting elderly people of Asian descent, some of whom died from their injuries. "There are several moments in a country's history that chart its course indelibly for the future," the "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-0" actor said. "For Asian Americans, that moment is now." Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic which former President Trump and others repeatedly referred to with racist terms 3,795 racially motivated attacks have been committed against Asian Americans, according to a study conducted by Stop AAPI Hate. Story continues The report also concluded that the total was likely a fraction of the attacks that had occurred, because many were not reported to the group. Among the victims of this weeks killings in Georgia were Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth, Ga.; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Yan, 49, of Kennesaw, Ga.; and Daoyou Feng, 44, whose address was not known. "What happens right now ... will send a message for generations to come as to whether we matter whether the country we call home chooses to erase us or include us, dismiss us or respect us, invisiblize us or see us," Kim said in his testimony. "Because you may consider us statistically insignificant now, but one more fact that has no alternative is that we are the fastest-growing racial demographic in the country. We are 23-million strong. We are united. And we are waking up." Prior to his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Kim and broadcast journalist Chris Cuomo discussed the Atlanta killings on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time." According to authorities, Robert Aaron Long was arrested Tuesday night and has admitted to shooting the victims. The 21-year-old from Woodstock, Ga. has blamed his actions on a sexual addiction," but Kim cautioned against taking "this man at his word for what his motives are" and criticized Atlanta police for "downplaying" the violence by saying that Long had "a really bad day." "Even if he says explicitly that it was not racially based, all you have to do is peel away a layer to ask the question, 'Why is temptation in the form of an Asian woman?' Why then, would you go to an Asian [spa] three of them to target them?'" Kim told Cuomo. "This sits at the intersection of a lot of different issues about how we feel about Asian Americans, how we feel about Asian American women the exoticization and the fetishization that we've seen portrayed in the media for so long, so that they are now to the point where they can be disposable. And ... we're making someone who committed these murders already a victim by saying he's having a bad day." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Kim also told Cuomo about a 2015 incident in which his sister was allegedly targeted by a man who hit her with his car while she was out on a run. Despite the man's "history of violence against Asian women," Kim said, the attack was not recognized as a hate crime, and the attacker was convicted of reckless driving. "The judge in the case with my sister said, 'I can understand why this guy was frustrated. I get frustrated too,'" Kim said. "This is a part of our history, Chris," he added. "So I'm a bit skeptical when I hear that there's absolutely no connection between race and these murders." Times staff writer Anh Do contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. COLUMBIA A bill to let concealed weapons permit-holders carry handguns openly in public passed in the South Carolina House after a six-hour debate March 17, overcoming impassioned objections from Democrats and top law enforcement officials, who warned it could make the state less safe. In an 82-33 vote largely along party lines, the Republican-dominated House approved the "open carry with training" bill, which supporters touted as a compromise between those who want to restrict gun rights and those who believe the state should let all legal gun owners carry openly regardless of whether they have a permit. State Rep. Bobby Cox, lead sponsor of the bill, noted that 45 other states already have some type of open carry law on the books and said the bill "will bring us in line with the rest of the country" and "restore our Second Amendment rights." "We have to do better, and we are doing better," said Cox, R-Greenville. "This is sending a message that these legislators and myself stand with the citizens of South Carolina to protect our constitutional freedoms." Black Democrats voiced particularly strenuous opposition to the bill, arguing that police would be more likely to scrutinize them if they seek to take advantage of it by carrying guns openly and that White gun owners could use the measure to intimidate them. "This does not support or help people who look like me," said state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Columbia, describing himself as a 6-foot-7-inch, 285-pound Black man who may draw negative attention if he openly carried a gun. "If I end up in somebodys body bag or someone's morgue, I want you to think about the way you voted today." The House narrowly voted down an amendment from House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, that would have made clear police cannot detain anyone solely because they are openly carrying a gun. The bill's passage also came despite opposition from top law enforcement officials, including Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds, who testified against the bill in subcommittee, and State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel. "Why would we pass a bill to make law enforcement's job more difficult, to put their lives in more danger?" said state Rep. Seth Rose, D-Columbia, during the debate. The vote came a day after the House Judiciary committee approved a separate bill, known as "constitutional carry," that would let all legal gun owners carry openly regardless of whether they have received a permit or training. That bill could receive a House floor vote in early April. State Rep. Jonathon Hill, R-Townville, proposed an amendment to replace the open carry with training bill with constitutional carry. But Cox, who authored both bills, said he believes they should be debated separately, and the House voted Hill's amendment down. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! "Constitutional carry in my opinion is far too important to be added on at the last minute, such as with this amendment," Cox said. "It deserves to go through the regular committee process like all bills." After a perfunctory final vote, the bill will head over to the state Senate. Gun rights bills have historically had a harder time making it out of that chamber, but supporters of the bill are hopeful that an expanded Republican majority after the 2020 elections will make the bill's passage more likely. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he supports open carry with training but is not sure whether the Senate will take it up before the end of the 2021 session in May or what would happen if it did. But some of the new Republican lawmakers who ousted Democratic incumbents last year and touted their support for gun rights on the campaign trail said they believe the party should feel emboldened to tackle the issue this year. "I think there's a renewed energy within the caucus to do something about it, and certainly some of us who flipped seats in no small part based on issues like this are going to be pretty vocal about it," said freshman state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, R-Conway, declined to comment on whether either "open carry with training" or "constitutional carry" will receive Senate hearings after they pass the House. But Cox said Rankin had indicated to other lawmakers that he would be more amenable to the bill with a permit requirement. The bills would remain active for one more year through the 2022 session if they are passed over this year. Gov. Henry McMaster's spokesman Brian Symmes said the governor would sign either bill into law if they pass the House and Senate, but he did not express a preference for one or the other. The governor "is happy to see the House of Representatives making progress today and hopes the Senate will follow their leadership and send him a bill to sign into law this session," Symmes said. State Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, proposed an amendment to let people carry guns openly on the Statehouse grounds, saying lawmakers should not exempt their own workplace if they believe trained gun owners will be responsible. Some conservatives joined Democrats in supporting that idea, but not enough to garner a majority. Editors note: The contents of this story may be upsetting for some readers. MONTPELIER An attorney for more than 30 survivors of abuse contemplating civil action against the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children presented a timeline of abuse and neglect at the school spanning decades along with accompanying insufficient oversight by state education, law enforcement and child welfare agencies to members of the state Senate on Wednesday. Attorney Kim Dougherty, appearing at a hearing called by three state Senate committees to review state oversight of the residential school in Westminster, laid out a history of abuse by employees and house parents stretching back to the 1950s, and a climate in which student-on-student sexual assault and sexualized behavior was passed down from older students to younger students. Members of the state Senate are holding the hearings with the goal of learning more about the situation, and what lessons they should apply to state laws and rules governing residential schools from the events that led to Kurn Hattin voluntarily forfeiting its residential therapeutic license which the Department of Children and Families said it was prepared to rescind and possibly facing the loss of its independent school license pending the results of an Agency of Education investigation. Kurn Hattin gives up treatment license WESTMINSTER Kurn Hattin Homes for Children has voluntarily surrendered its license to provide residential treatment to children. After receiving reports of recent sexual abuse at the Dougherty had been asked by Senate leaders to produce a timeline of abuse allegations at the 125-year-old school. The allegations she outlined include: In 2019, according to Dougherty, a female student came forward to say she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by another girl with a toothbrush in the shower. The assailant had threatened to kill the student with a knife if she told anyone what was happening. In 2016, a boy was sexually assaulted by another boy, who Dougherty said had already been identified as having a propensity for sexual misconduct. Rather than removing him from the facility they put him in our clients bedroom. According to Dougherty, the house parents acknowledged they were aware of the perpetrator acting out specifically so he could be sent to bed at the same time as the victim. A 15-year-old cafeteria worker allegedly solicited and obtained nude photos from other students. But Dougherty also went back as far as the 1950s, detailing physical and sexual abuse of students by staff and house parents, sexual assault of younger children by older children, and sexualized behavior among students. She noted the Mark Davis era of the 1980s in which the former employee, who later pled no contest to molesting students at the school, was allowed to resign in 1988 when allegations of abuse surfaced, and was allowed to return six months later as the spouse of a house parent. According to one of the survivors Dougherty represents, students would tie bedsheets together before Davis would enter their room so they could escape before he chose to victimize them. Theyd run away and be picked up by state troopers who would bring them back to Kurn Hattin, where theyd be beaten for leaving, she said. Claims of past abuse surface at Kurn Hattin WESTMINSTER A law firm that represented abuse survivors of Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, is representing men and women who say they were physically and sexually During the 1980s, a 12-year-old student was repeatedly raped by a staff member, and the house parent and executive director at the time were aware of it, Dougherty said. Their response was arranging for the girl to be fitted with a diaphragm and providing her with birth control pills at graduation, she said. Another student, a 6-year-old girl, was repeatedly sexually assaulted with doll legs and other objects during the 1980s, Dougherty said. Dougherty said allegations of student-on-student sexual assaults date back decades. She put the blame on inadequate supervision and improperly grouping teenagers with younger children in the schools nine residential cottages. Sexual conduct is not normal behavior for younger children, she said. They learn these types of behaviors from others. School Executive Director Steve Harrison followed Dougherty in Wednesdays hearing and said she had broken a confidentiality agreement by presenting the allegations. But Dougherty replied that nothing in her presentation was subject to a confidentiality agreement or was part of the independent investigation, and that documents were provided through public records requests. I have no idea what he was talking about. Theres nothing confidential, Dougherty said. Everything presented was public record. Dougherty, of Easton, Mass., represents 34 survivors of abuse at Kurn Hattin. Those survivors are cooperating with the schools own independent investigation into past incidents of abuse. I understand the pain Ms. Dougherty referred to from her clients, Harrison, the executive director of the 125-year-old residential school, said. We want to he sensitive to that, open to that ... were moving in a direction of trying to hear what they have to say and rectify their concerns. Sean Brown, the commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, commended survivors of the abuse for coming forward to tell their stories. I want to take a moment and recognize the courage it took for many of the victims that Kim identified in her presentation to come forward, and for many, to relive the trauma and pain, Brown said. It takes tremendous courage. Abuse victims seek apology from Kurn Hattin WESTMINSTER A group of seven men who were sexually assaulted during the 1980s while at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children want to have their stories heard and they want an apology. "No Harrison said the school gave up the license voluntarily after winding down its therapeutic program over several years. That contradicts the narrative offered by DCF Commissioner Sean Brown, who said in September, Had [Kurn Hattin] not chosen to voluntarily relinquish their residential treatment license, we would have taken it away. The departments report cited the school for not promptly reporting some of the allegations of abuse. Enrollment at the school is 60 children, with 39 from Vermont, 18 from New Hampshire and three from New York, and the school intends to move forward with enrollment of about 60 students, Harrison said. Only one Vermont student is attending on public tuition at present, he said. The schools mission is serving children and families experiencing need and instability, and its finances are solid, Harrison said. Harrison said the school has been making changes since his arrival, including training on mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, and invited senators to visit unscheduled at any time to see what the school is about for themselves. He said the school has been repeatedly recognized as a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports school of merit. Kurn Hattin: Time to set the record straight Since 1894, Kurn Hattin Homes for Children has served children ages 5 to 15 from throughout START OF A LONG PROCESS Its the first of what Senate leaders believe will be many hearings into the issues. Were at the tip of a very large iceberg, state Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, said of the process. Lyons, the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare committee, was joined by state Sens. Dick Sears and Brian Campion, both D-Bennington, in questioning witnesses. From their questions, it was apparent senators are concerned as to who in state government is monitoring the school. The Department of Children and Families no longer has jurisdiction over Kurn Hattin now that its residential therapeutic license has been forfeited. The agency is still empowered to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect, but cannot disclose such investigations or their details. Thats according to Jennifer Benedict, the agencys director of residential licensing and special investigations, and Jennifer Myka, DCFs general counsel. While the Agency of Education is investigating whether to rescind the schools independent school license, it has done so remotely due to COVID-19 protocols, Education Secretary Daniel French and Agency of Education general counsel Emily Simmons said. Asked by Campion whether she was confident that students at Kurn Hattin are safe, Simmons said we have confidence in our DCF partners and law enforcement to do their jobs. The agency is doing its job to assure compliance to the laws that apply to independent schools, but child protection or criminal laws are not within the agencys orbit, Simmons said. But if we find anything not known we will be forwarding that information to relevant agencies, Simmons said. After the hearing, Dougherty expressed concerned about the lack of direct agency supervision. Clearly theres a past history of problems. Now for it to be left unregulated without oversight, with 50 children there thats a problem that needs to be regulated, she said. Benedict, questioned by Sears and Lyons, laid out the timeline of when and how DCF came to investigate Kurn Hattin. She said investigators had visited in 2017, and started having a very clear discussion with the school that it was apparent it was not functioning as a residential treatment program. The decision was made to extend the license a year, which would also give the school time to complete accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. A follow-up was set for 2019, and at that time, because they were not in form or function operating as a residential treatment program, the decision was made to agree upon license closure, Benedict said. Campion released a statement after the hearing. Todays testimony was deeply disturbing, he said. There appears to have been a breakdown in the controls and oversight. I am committed to get to the truth of this matter and to create systems that will prevent this from happening again. Police were investigating a suspicious shed fire that started late on Thursday night, with burning tyres creating thick, toxic smoke across the Park Ridge region, south of Brisbane. The Department of Environment and Science was investigating the owners of the industrial shed, which contained many tyres and chemical drums. Firefighters were called to a shed fire on Thursday night at Park Ridge. Credit:Nine, Reece DAlessandro The department said the operator did not have authorisation from DES to store tyres at the site. Emergency services were called about 11.30pm to a property on Koplick Road, where a shed containing tyres was well alight. Bangkok, March 18 : Thailand's legislation on constitutional amendment has been aborted by MPs and senators following a nine-hour debate. After the debate during a joint House and Senate extraordinary session at Parliament on Wednesday, most lawmakers managed to abstain from casting votes, thus aborting the charter amendment bill, reports Xinhua news agency. In a third reading of the bill, only 208 legislators including two senators, mostly being in the Pheu Thai Party-led opposition bloc, voted for it while at least 369 votes are needed to pass the bill. An overwhelming majority of 520 lawmakers, being government MPs and senators, practically put an end to the long-delayed amendment bill, as they chose either to abstain from casting their vote during a two-hour roll call in the chamber of parliament or to simply avoid the roll call by staying outside the chamber. Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled that the legislative branch has the duty and authority to amend the charter on condition that a public referendum be conducted twice in order to precede and follow the amendment process. The process would have been otherwise run by a Constitution Drafting Committee, all 200 members of which would have been otherwise elected by constituents nationwide. A large number of students at Wesley College staged a boycott of the schools uniform on Thursday as anger around sexism, misogyny, lack of respect and sexual assault of girls in independent schools in Melbourne grew. One current Wesley student told The Age she had been groped several times on school grounds, once witnessed by a teacher who did not act. Some students from Wesley College boycotted the uniform in protest at handling of allegations of misogyny by other students. Credit:Paul Jeffers Students refused to wear the school jumper on Thursday and instead wore hoodies, which some said was in protest at comments about forgiveness made by principal Nick Evans at an all-school assembly he held on Wednesday to address misogyny on campus. As part of his speech about his own anger about the maltreatment of women and girls, including students at the school, Mr Evans cautioned students not to rush to condemn others and to please understand what forgiveness is. Kratom for sale here! blare signs in front of convenience stores around the state. For the uninitiated, these signs are a bit puzzling, but for those in the know, kratom is serious business. Kratom, pronounced in various ways, is the name of a tree in the coffee family, found in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Thailand. Traditionally, the leaves were chewed or made into tea to help people stay alert and productive. Some substances in kratom work on the opioid receptors in the brain. In recent years, extracts from kratom leaves have become a popular herbal remedy, which users say can help with pain, fatigue or opioid withdrawals. The Food and Drug Administration, however, disagrees and considers the substance dangerous. In 2018, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement, There is no evidence to indicate that kratom is safe or effective for any medical use. A bill currently going through the Oregon legislature would create regulations, including labeling and a minimum age requirement, for products containing kratom. House Bill 2646 would direct the Oregon Department of Agriculture to adopt rules to carry out the regulations and allow civil penalty for some violations of those rules. The bill would make it a crime to sell kratom to anyone under 21. The bill is the second attempt by Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer to get Oregon lawmakers to agree to a legal framework for the substance. He started his effort when some in Oregons kratom industry came to him, looking for ways to make the product safer for consumers and themselves. Kratom as its sold now is not labeled in any way, meaning it can be adulterated with many substances. There are no safeguards for consumers whatsoever, said Jenn Lauder, the director of marketing and advocacy at PDX Aromatics, a Portland-based company that imports kratom from Indonesia and makes it into capsules and extracts. Lauder is one of the backers of the bill. The narrative around kratom can be bad, she said. Deaths have been attributed to the substance, though supporters of kratom attribute that to adulteration. And the product has been recalled for salmonella. PDX Aromatics itself has had salmonella issues. Weve been working really hard to counter the narrative, Lauder said. According to Post, it is kratom producers that are pushing for rules. The industry wants to pay the state to say, Your kratom is pure, he said. Post himself is a kratom believer. Lauder gave him some capsules to try while she was educating him about the substance, he said. It helped his back pain, Post said, and Ive been using it ever since. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Counterfeit handbags seen at a warehouse in Vu Ban District, northern Nam Dinh Province on March 17, 2021. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance. A warehouse of fake Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel products has been busted in northern Vietnam and 20,000-30,000 products confiscated. The value of the products, found in Nam Dinh Provinces Vu Ban District Wednesday, has been estimated at around VND6 billion ($262,000) by Nam Dinh authorities. Police and other functional forces had to use 10 3.5-ton trucks to transport the seized goods, consisting mostly of handbags. They said this was the biggest storage of such goods found in northern Vietnam after a six-month investigation. The sellers, unable to prove the origins of these products, mostly distributed the goods via social media, using dozens of Facebook accounts to evade authorities. They listed an address in Hanois Bac Tu Liem District as the official store, but authorities found nothing there. A spokesperson of French luxury clothing and accessories brand Hermes said that it conducts no sales on social media or e-commerce websites in Vietnam. It only has two official stores for handbags in the country, one in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem District and the other in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1. Non-Profit Organizations Discuss Budget Plan that Address Highly Impacted Communities: Making Los Angeles Whole The voice of South L.A. was amplified by community leaders on March 10, at the Making Los Angeles Whole round table discussion. They spoke candidly about the means of a financial arrangement for the anticipated $1 billion dollars coming from federal assistance. Public leadership from diversified organizations dissected the needs of each community and presented an investment plan to address issues impacting impoverished and working-class families. The conversation was geared towards re-imagining life in the wake of a global pandemic, and the opportunities in growing a more connected Los Angeles. Southern and Eastern parts of L.A. have seen an extremely disproportionate impact due to COVID-19; as the viral pandemic changed the way Los Angeles operates, many who were below the poverty fell deeper in harsher conditions. According to the Making Los Angeles Whole press release, they conducted a study through Advancement Project CA that concluded, African Americans and Latinos, who are the primary demographic of South L.A., East San Fernando Valley, and East L.A.have among the highest COVID-19 death rates, and East L.A. ZIP codes rank among the highest in the state for risks of infection, deaths, and a longer economic recovery. ADVERTISEMENT Making Los Angeles Whole is a radical recovery plan for all Angelinos, looking to resolve pre-existing problems that are now exasperated. The most vulnerable residents are feeling the hardships and trauma in various ways; Angelinos have been leaning on each other to survive. The community organizations that connected on March 10, included Community Coalition, Brotherhood Crusade, Innercity Struggle (ICS), and SEIU local 2015. In unity, these organizations demand that Los Angeles leaders adopt an equitable funding plan that is reflective of our communities and core values one year after COVID-19. COVID-19 has provided a moment of clarity; it has created a clear view of what class brackets have been heavily affected by this global pandemic. Members of multiple organizations represented the severely impacted residents in South Los Angeles. They formed the multi-layered directive, allocating a well calculated budget to aid the South Los Angeles community. The mission of the meeting was to provide a clear understanding of an equitable spending plan. Making Los Angeles Whole believes the City must be intentional in directing this investment towards poor communities and working-class families across the city, which have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alberto Retana, the president & CEO of Community Coalition, was joined by Charisse Bremond-Weaver, president & CEO, Brotherhood Crusade, Maria Brenes, executive director, Innercity Struggle and April Verrett, president, SEIU Local 2015 to discuss the history of inequality found within Black and Brown communities. They dissected discriminatory encryption found within current zoning and planning decisions. South Los Angeles leaders spoke with sincerity as they outlined the funding needed for different issues. Making Los Angeles Whole covered a variety of issues stemming from diverse demographics. They are looking for the City to allocate appropriate funding to assist residents who are barely surviving the COVID-19 outbreak. The benefit of non-profit organizations collaborating is that each taking a magnified look in various issues; to promote better quality of life for all Angelenos. The Innercity struggle (ICS) mission is to create an influential movement among the Eastside of L.A.; they look to build up neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights, unincorporated East Los Angeles, El Sereno, and Lincoln Heights. ADVERTISEMENT ICS plans to create its own stimulus aid for over 200 families to account for the exclusion found in undocumented immigrants from prior federal aid. They have supported over 480 low-income, majority Latinx and immigrant families in East Los Angeles. ICS has given away $370,000 in cash assistance to local families, assisting with rent and utilities. The Brotherhood crusade looks to assist individuals to surmount barriers and provide resources that facilitates better quality of life. The Brotherhood crusade and the ICS are familiar with one another; they worked together with Community Coalition (CoCo) and raised $400,000 to support virtual learning in South and East Los Angeles. CoCo assists with bringing awareness around the economic conditions in South L.A.; they look to build up the region and influence inclusivity within public policy. CoCo has been engaging with its members since the dawn of this pandemic. Dating back to March 16, the organization has been on the frontlines, providing water, personal protective gear, and toiletries directly with the community. The SEIU local 2015 represented Californias Long Term Care workers; its an organization that harnesses the power of collective support and technology to bring on long-standing transformational change for a more just society. During the pandemic, SEIU local 2015 donated over $500,000 to organizations throughout California. Initiated through the Biden American Rescue Act, the City could receive a direct infusion of $1.3 billion. Making Los Angeles Whole addressed the budget gaps across various impacted communities in L.A. The conversation was an official call for help, for the families and communities. The non-profit organization leaders are presented budgets that would cover a resident for two years. Collectively, the non-profit organizations are asking for $1 billion to be invested into working-class families that have been hit the hardest; the formula developed is targeting the aide to improve resources for those most vulnerable. The funds are looking to be distributed through family care, creating a budget of $250 million for child and elderly assistance. Adjusted within the plan is to encourage more community engagement as the result of increased funds. The second part of the requested budget plan is tethered to resources that would increase equity for women. The unified groups requested, no less than $100 million to support women for training, finding employment, and supporting women-owned small businesses and women-led non-profit organizations. Bremond-Weaver, representing the presence of the Brotherhood Crusade organization, stated, As a Black woman, Brotherhood Crusade has been working this entire time through this pandemic. We were fortunate to get PPE support but we know in our city, that we cannot move forward unless women get back to work. Another major angle of the budget plan is allocating $250 million to launch a comprehensive local housing stability program that looks to cancel rent debt, suspend rent payments for qualifying families, and strengthen mortgage protections, in addition to providing support to vulnerable landlords. Brenes, from ICS stated, The impact of the pandemic has exasperated the housing burden on low-income families in the most impacted communities. She continued, The new funding we are stating should be used to establish a local fund to provide financial relief to certain qualifying households. Los Angeles has worked as an example for progressive thinking; the unified non-profit organizations are looking to keep the City accountable to create refuge for all Angeleno residents during this state of crisis. The strategy they propose insinuates bold solutions and provides a space for severe levels of inequity to be addressed. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. (TSXV: AGH.H) ("Canadian Silver Hunter" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement financing for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $500,000 (the "Offering") through the issuance of units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.08 per Unit and flow-through units (each, an "FT Unit") at a price of $0.10 per FT Unit. Each Unit shall be comprised of one common share (each, a "Common Share") in the capital of the Company and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.11 for a period of twelve (12) months from the closing date of the Offering (the "Closing Date"). Each FT Unit shall be comprised of one Common Share, issued on a flow-through basis and one Warrant, issued on a non-flow through basis. Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of $0.11 for a period of twelve (12) months from the Closing Date. The net proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used for mineral exploration and development of the Company's properties in Ontario and Quebec and for general working capital purposes. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Company may pay a finder's fee to qualified individuals in connection with the Offering. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the Closing Date, in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Offering is anticipated to close on or about March 26, 2021. Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. Canadian Silver Hunter Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on gold, silver and cobalt exploration in Ontario and Quebec. The Company currently owns three properties: the Keeley Frontier Silver Centre property, located near Cobalt, Ontario; the Lac Lachance property, located in the Lac Windfall area near Lebel sur Quevillon, Quebec; the Dark Horse and Whitesides property located near West Timmins, Ontario, and has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Lost Dog property, located near Timmins, Ontario. For further details about the Company's projects, plans and results please visit the Company's website at www.canadiansilverhunter.ca. For more information please contact: Jeffrey Hunter President & CEO (416) 707-4230 jhunter@cshi.ca CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice Regarding Forward Looking Information Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. This forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals and commodity prices. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as otherwise may be required by applicable securities law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77830 Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Blood Testing Market Global blood testing market is growing at a rapid space. Market growth is attributed to the rising blood testing procedures for diagnosing various chronic diseases such as HCV, HIV, HBV, malaria, syphilis, and other infectious diseases. Besides, increasing blood tests conducted to lessen the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) for donated blood foster market growth. Moreover, spreading awareness about the importance of blood tests accelerates the market growth. Get a FREE Sample with Complete TOC By Considering the COVID-19 impact on Global Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5797 According to Market Research Future (MRFR), the global blood testing market is estimated to grow at 5.5% CAGR during the forecast period (20172023). Also, the recent COVID 19 pandemic is creating huge market demand. Tests such as immune biomarker test used in the treatment of COVID 19 to quantify and identify the human immune systems response to the virus are expected to influence the growth of the market. Also, increasing numbers of blood donating camps is a significant growth driver of the market. Global Blood Testing Market Segments The report is segmented into five dynamics; By Test Type: Direct LDL Testing, Glucose Testing, Lipid Panel Testing, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Testing, A1C Testing, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) Testing, High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) Testing, Alt Testing, Vitamin D Testing, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Testing, Serum Nicotine/Cotinine Testing, Creatinine Testing, AST Testing, Testosterone Testing, Cortisol Testing, and others. By Disease : Infection, Anemia, Leukemia, Kidney Disorders, Hypokalemia, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack, and other diseases. By Method : Automated Blood Culture Testing, Manual Blood Culture Testing, and others. By End-User : Hospitals, Clinics, Diagnostic Centers, Research Labs, and others. By Regions : Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Rest-of-the-World (RoW). Global Blood Testing Market Regional Analysis North America dominates the global blood testing market. Market growth attributes to the rising prevalence of kidney disorders, bloodstream infections, other infections, and demand for rapid diagnostic tests. Besides, factors such as early adoption of advanced medical technologies and continuous development by industry players impact the market growth positively. Moreover, the presence of large numbers of industry players and well-developed healthcare sectors in the region boost market growth. The North American blood testing market is projected to retain its dominance over the global market throughout the assessment period. Europe stands second in the global blood testing market. The market is propelled by the rise in research expenses and technological advances. Also, the increasing awareness for chronic infection diseases and initiatives undertaken by public and private sectors boost the market growth. Moreover, factors such as accelerating health concerns and demand for innovative and effective therapies boost the regional market growth. Also, the growing prevalence of various chronic diseases and hematological disorders push regional market growth. Furthermore, the presence of prominent market players in the region impacts market growth positively. The European blood testing market is estimated to create a substantial revenue pocket during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific blood testing market is growing rapidly. Factors such as the increasing awareness of the importance of diagnostics in personalized medicines and government initiatives to promote the use of personalized medicines drive market growth. Furthermore, the increase in the number of government schemes to curb the skyrocketing healthcare expenditures influence market growth. Moreover, the rising adoption rate of blood testing tests and increasing healthcare expenditure of demographics foster the growth of the market. China and India are hotspots for investment opportunities due to the growing numbers of diagnoses, treatments, research activities, healthcare modernization, and quality improvisations. Global Blood Testing Market Competitive Analysis Fiercely competitive, the blood testing market appears fragmented due to the presence of several well-established players. Through the strategic initiatives such as mergers & acquisitions, collaboration, expansion, and product & technology launch, these players try to gain a larger competitive share in the market. Blood Testing Market Major Players: Players leading the global blood testing market are Baxter International (U.S.), Abbott Laboratories Inc. (U.S.), Gen-Probe, Inc. (U.S.), Becton Dickinson & Company (U.S.), Novartis Diagnostics (U.S.), Biomerica, Inc. (U.S.), Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (U.S.), Cepheid Corporation (U.S.), Trinity Biotech (U.S.), Siemens Healthcare (Germany), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.), Grifols (Spain), bioMerieux (France), Nanosphere Inc. (U.S.), Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland), Bruker Corporation (U.S.), Alere Inc. (U.S.), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.) Cardinal Health (U.S.), Beckman Coulter (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), and Trividia Health (U.S.), among others. Blood Testing Industry, Innovation & Related News July 9, 2020 - American company SomaLogic Inc. and Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC Corp. launched a joint venture (JV) to bring the Boulder companys blood-testing platform to the Japanese market. The JV FonesLife Corp. will sell the SomaSignal line of tests for broader use in Japan. The testing platform analyzes proteins in a patients blood that may signal current health and risk of future diseases, such as heart attacks or stroke. SomaLogic is a privately owned American protein biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics company. NEC Corp. is a multinational information technology and electronics company. Obtain Premium Research Report Details, Considering the impact of COVID-19 @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/blood-testing-market-5797 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Unaccompanied minors from Central America are separated from other illegal border crossers by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft in Penitas, Texas. on March 14, 2021. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) GOP Congressmen: American Dream and Promise Act Sends Message That Illegal Immigration Will Be Rewarded Congressmen Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) told The Epoch Times in separate interviews Wednesday that they oppose H.R. 6, dubbed the American Dream and Promise Act, because it sets a precedent that sending children to the United States illegally will eventually be rewarded. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the Democrats H.R. 6 on Thursday. The legislation would offer a pathway to citizenship to those who entered the country illegally as children and are currently living in the United States, also known as Dreamers. The same bill would also help immigrants in the country who received temporary migration protections. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.). Rep. Greg Steube, Republican of Florida, participates in the House Judiciary Committee hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Dec. 9, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Steube said that Americans have a lot of compassion for children and that is why Democrats are emphasizing the children that were brought here illegally in H.R. 6. But he warned that passing H.R. 6 sets a wrong precedent that illegal immigration is ok, which is also one reason why he thinks the southern border is currently being inundated with illegal immigrants carrying minors. These people, whether parents or smugglers, are sending children to the border hoping that if they send the children first, later, their entire extended family can gain citizenship through chain migration, the congressman said. He said the current administrations immigration policies are encouraging illegal immigration. Youre not going to be able to pause anything when youre telling illegal immigrants that were going to give amnesty to illegal immigrants that are currently in the country, Steube told The Epoch Times. Youre incentivizing illegals to come to the country, if youre telling them, In 100 days, were going to give amnesty to illegals.' Budd also said he opposes H.R. 6 because, if passed, it would prompt even greater numbers of children to be sent to the border, and give drug cartels more motivation to keep using the strategy to overwhelm Custom and Border Patrol (CBP). Budd said that once officers are busy dealing with unaccompanied minors it, allows other illegals to come through that are either bringing in sex trafficking [or] narcotics. So, its a drug cartel strategy, he explained. Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) speaks with NTDs Melina Wisecup about the prospect for House Republicans in 2022 at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2021. (NTD) It creates a real crisis when we have to attend to unaccompanied minors. We, our country, care for children so much that were going to dedicate a lot of resources to it, he said. Theyre messaging to the world come here, whether legally or not, and if you come here, we might catch you but were going to release you. An estimated 4.4 million illegal immigrants could become eligible for permanent residence if the bill for the American Dream and Promise Act is passed, according to the non-partisan D.C.-based think tank Migration Policy Institute. In 2019, when Congress first introduced H.R. 6, seven Republicans joined 230 Democrats in the House in voting for the bill. Besides the Democrats push to pass H.R. 6, Steube said President Joe Bidens actions to reverse many Trump-era immigration policies are also sending the message to migrants that they will get into the United States and can use the system to their advantage. When you come in and reverse all of those actions by executive order, you stop construction of the border wall, you stopped deportations, youre going to go back to catch a release, where 96 percent of the people that are released arent going to show back up for those hearings. People are incentivized to come to our border because they know that laws of our nation arent going to be enforced, Steube added. Budd said he tried to introduce an amendment to H.R. 6, which would give U.S. citizens the right to sue sanctuary cities if they became victims of violence by illegal immigrants. But the measure was rejected by House Rules Committee Democrats. Steube said that he would support Budds bill and any other that protects the rights of American citizens and encourages legal immigration. Melina Wisecup and Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. WINSTED The Gilbert School will not receive as much federal funding as it had expected, and that means less to spend on pandemic-related expenses, according to Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio. Frankly, I was hoping wed get between $400,000 and $500,000, Serio said. Instead, were getting $155,000. Its very disappointing. The amount is lower because, while the federal government has provided grants and other funding to school districts to compensate for added costs, not every school is eligible for full funding. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, signed into law in December 2020, provided an additional $54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II Fund), according to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The funding, according to the OESE, is for stabilizing school districts by providing added academic support and other needed intervention to help students catch up after a year of remote learning. But endowed academies, including the Gilbert School, Woodstock Academy and the Norwich Free Academy recently learned that they are not receiving the ESSER II money, Serio said. Serio said thats bad news. This funding is basically the enhanced recovery money that was put together by the federal government, to help us get back on track, he said. Serio said public schools received funding based on Title 1. Schools in which children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of enrollment are eligible to use Title I funds to operate schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school in order to raise the achievement of the lowest-achieving students, according to the Department of Education. The thing is, we are educating public school students, Serio said. But were not considered Title 1, so we were left out of the ESSER II equation. Serio recently presented a proposed budget for the semi-private school of about 430 students, a package totaling $7.843 million for 2021-22. Serio added faculty positions to teach math and English to the Gilbert School budget for 2021-22, as well as two support positions to provide one-on-one tutoring or other assistance to students who need extra attention. He also added a custodian to the budget to have enough staff to keep classrooms and other school areas clean. But he had other ideas for possible funding from ESSER II. I could work on COVID-19 related expenses, along with the students recovery, he said. For example, we spent money on our ventilation systems, and that was a big expense. Gilbert will have a three-week summer school program this year, five days a week for two hours a day. Normally we dont have summer school, but we have to have it this year, he said. Its a way for us to help the kids who need to catch up. That said, Serio said $155,000 will be used for whatever is needed. Its not as robust as I would have liked to see, he said. Im still going to do these things, but were not getting as much money. Serio has spoken with state Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted, about his predicament. He talks to Sen. Craig Miner, and Miner talks to Sen. Cathy Austin, who works on the appropriations committee, Serio said. Theyve been in conversations on how to help the endowed academies. Between the three academies, there are about 3,700 students, Serio said. But endowed academies are regarded differently than regular public schools. He said that during the first round of funding, the three schools in question received about $1.5 million between them. Were misunderstood, the superintendent said. Maybe the model of education is not in favor of endowed academies, he said. There are examples of difficulties, but this here is just ... How do we teach them, how do we help them recover? How do you leave them out of the equation? Serio shared his concerns with the Gilbert School Corp. during the boards recent meeting. Ive had to really advocate for money that should have gone to town academies, because were serving public school students, he said. We have the same needs ... We need to support them. Im trying to plan my remedial strategies to get these kids back to the level where they were before remote learning. Defense attorney Eric Nelson (L), defendant and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (R) and Nelson's assistant Amy Voss (back) introduce themselves to jurors as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over jury selection in the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. ono March 17, 2021. (Court TV, via AP, Pool) 2 Jurors Dismissed in Trial on George Floyds Death After $27 Million Settlement, 2 New Ones Seated Two jurors seated in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer facing murder charges over his arrest of George Floyd, were dismissed on Wednesday after they said news of a $27 million settlement with Floyds family meant they could no longer be impartial. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill had set aside three weeks for jury selection, beginning last week, and was back down to seven seated jurors after the two dismissals. Two new jurors were seated later on Wednesday: a man and a woman, both in their 40s, according to the court. Were back to where we were this morning but its better than being behind, Cahill said shortly before recessing for the day. Mayor Jacob Frey joined some of Floyds relatives at a news conference on Friday to announce the city would pay them $27 million to settle their federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the city, one of the largest settlements of its kind. One of the jurors selected last week told the judge on Wednesday morning that the settlements size shocked him and kind of swayed me a little bit. It kind of sent a message that the city of Minneapolis felt that something was wrong, and they wanted to make it right, to the tune of that dollar amount, the juror, a man in his 30s, told the court. Cahill dismissed him and a hispanic man in his 20s who expressed similar views. Some of the other seated jurors, who have been promised anonymity by the judge for the trials duration, said they had seen headlines about the settlement but were able to assure the court it would not influence them. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over pre-trial motions, prior to continuing jury selection, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 15, 2021. (Court TV, via AP, Pool) Chauvins lead lawyer, Eric Nelson, has complained to the court that publicity around the settlement makes it harder to seat a jury that can be impartial. All potential jurors so far have told the court they know who Chauvin is and almost all have seen video of the police officer with his knee on Floyds neck as Floyd, 46, said he could not breathe. The case sparked global protests against police brutality and racism. Chauvin, 44, has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by the Minnesota attorney generals office of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter, and has said he correctly followed his police training. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge. Revisiting Change-of-Venue Request You have elected officialsthe governor, the mayormaking incredibly prejudicial statements about my client, this case, Nelson told the court on Tuesday. You have the city settling a civil lawsuit for a record amount of money. And the pretrial publicity is just so concerning. He has asked the judge to revisit the defenses earlier request to delay and move the trial to another county, which Cahill has said he will consider and hoped to issue his ruling on Friday. Cahill agreed with Nelsons request to recall the seven jurors already seated to see if the settlement news might bias them, and they appeared one by one by videoconference on Wednesday morning. Cahill said earlier news articles, including some reporting that Chauvin had agreed to plead guilty to federal charges last year, were more problematic than the settlement news. Prosecutors oppose Nelsons efforts to move the trial or dismiss jurors who heard about the settlement. I think that this $27 million settlement has been frankly overblown, Steve Schleicher, a lawyer for the prosecution, told the court, saying many jurors interviewed since had shown no knowledge of the settlement. The court plans to have opening arguments begin on March 29. By Jonathan Allen Ghaya Grand Hotel, the closest five star luxury hotel and apartment to the Expo 2020 Dubai, will dim the lights for one hour on March 27, as part of the Earth Hour 2021 initiative. To participate in this, the hotel will turn off its non-essential interior lighting at 8.30 pm. The property will be using candlelight in appropriate public areas and send in-room television messages to inform guests about Earth Hour observances. Olwin Dsouza, General Manager of Ghaya Grand Hotel said: We have a responsibility, and an opportunity to share this message with our guests and associates through bringing Earth Hour to life, and continuing the focus every day through our sustainability and CSR programs. Ghaya Grand Hotel has been an advocate of sustainable hospitality services and contributes in making a community green and healthy, he added. To further celebrate the occasion, Ghaya Grand Hotel extends a promotion of 30% off in Fusion Restaurant, the hotels signature and award-winning restaurant offering an All-You-Can Eat Asian dinner buffet, as well as in Ghaya Spa, the hotels ultimate well-being club, where guests can available 60-minutes massage and/or any other wellness treatments. Additionally, Ghaya Grand Hotel will launch a social media campaign to encourage everyone to post and raise awareness about the importance of Earth Hour. The Earth Hour Package at Ghaya Grand Hotel will offer 30% off in Fusion Restaurant for All-You-Can-Eat Seafood Dinner and Selected treatments at Ghaya Spa & Wellness Club on March 27 only. TradeArabia News Service The United Nations on Wednesday condemned the "despicable attack" by unidentified gunmen on a group of civilians in Niger which left at least 58 people dead. Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a group of people returning from market day in a volatile corner of the country on Monday before burning granaries to the ground, the Niger government confirmed on Tuesday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the massacres, though extremists belonging to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara group are known to be active in the Tillaberi region where the villages were attacked. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Latin America has become the front line in a struggle against Chinas challenge to US global hegemony, the commander of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees US military operations in the region, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. SOUTHCOM chief, Adm. Craig Faller, told the committee that there was a sense of urgency in confronting the challenge posed by Chinas growing economic influence in the region, which he repeatedly referred to as our neighborhood, a somewhat sanitized version of the old Yankee imperialist phrase, our own backyard. Chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces Joint Staff, Air Force General Raul Botelho, and U.S. Southern Commands Commander, Navy Adm. Craig Faller, with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Miami last year. (Photo by Juan Chiari, U.S. Army Garrison-Miami) Our influence is eroding, Faller warned, pointing out that China has already supplanted the US as the number one trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, and comes in a close second throughout the region. China-Latin America trade has soared from $17 billion a decade ago to over $315 billion today and is projected to reach $500 billion by 2025. The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] is rapidly advancing toward their goal of economic dominance of the region within the next ten years, Faller said, though, by his own admission this may come sooner. Repeatedly describing Chinas relations with the region as insidious, the admiral charged that Chinese investment in the construction of ports and other infrastructure constituted an abuse of economic relations designed to obfuscate the true purpose of these projects, which he claimed is to project and sustain military power at greater distances. Fallers unsubstantiated accusations came as US officials are traveling throughout the Indo-Pacific region aggressively promoting an anti-Beijing military alliance. US imperialism is reportedly preparing to deploy offensive intermediate range ballistic missiles, previously banned under a now-defunct treaty between Washington and Moscow, in a ring of countries surrounding China, including Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. The strongest evidence that Faller could provide of Chinese military intervention in Latin America was its giving away military gear to several countries and its invitation to Latin American personnel to attend military training programs which he alleged are modeled after U.S. professional military education. In other words, Beijing is engaged, on a limited scale, in activities that are supposed to be Washingtons exclusive prerogative in its own backyard. Fallers call for a sense of urgency was grounded in large measure by developments since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He accused both Beijing and Moscow of taking advantage of the pandemicby providing vaccines to countries that are among the hardest hit by the deadly virus. In order to gain more access, presence, and influence in the region, the PRC and Russia are taking advantage of the pandemic, deploying medical diplomacy and disinformation campaignsoften overpromising and underdelivering, he said. By medical diplomacy, he means the shipment of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and by disinformation, he is referring to the fact that these shipments have been carried out as US imperialism refuses to provide a single dose to its neighbors. China, he charged, is offering $1 billion in loans to finance purchases of the Sinovac vaccine with the alleged insidious aims of further indebting the region to Beijing and exploiting the pandemic to advance its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative in trade, technology, and infrastructure. He also accused Beijing of donating Huawei contact tracing technology in an attempt to win the company bids for the development of 5G networks in the region. Brazils fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro, who had slavishly followed Washingtons anti-China policy, previously rejected use of Chinas Sinovac vaccine in Brazil and had excluded the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from bidding on the most lucrative 5G deal in the hemisphere. Now, facing close to 3,000 deaths a day and a pandemic spiraling out of control, Brasilia is importing the Sinovac vaccine and Huawei is being admitted to the countrys 5G auction. Faller did not mention Mexico, which is overseen by US NORTHCOM, whose commander also testified at the hearing. On Tuesday, it signed a contract for 20 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, barely two weeks after the White House stated categorically that it would supply no vaccines to its southern neighbor. Faller attempted to smear Beijing by lumping China together with transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, claiming that the latter share the goal of PRC, Russia and other malign actors to advance their self-interests at the expense of our partners. The activities of the drug cartels, the admiral claimed, are underwritten by Chinese money laundering. Such charges are in line with the Wuhan virus claims that the coronavirus was produced in Chinese laboratory and the accusation that Beijing is engaged in genocide against its Muslim minority, i.e., part of a propaganda campaign aimed at paving the way to war. For Washington to indict Beijing for laundering the cartels cash is rich, given the multiple investigations and criminal indictments involving bankers from Wells Fargo, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York Mellon and other major US and Western financial institutions for laundering trillions in cash for the drug cartels and other criminal enterprises. As for the supposedly injured interests of Washingtons partners, the foremost among them are the biggest drug traffickers in the hemisphere. While Faller celebrated the US military presence at a cooperative security location in Colombia and at a Forward Operating Site in Honduras, home of Joint Task Force Bravo, he made no mention of the fact that the two countries are the principal conduits for drugs from South America to the US border. Just last week, US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York declared Honduras a narco state and presented testimony that the countrys President Juan Orlando Hernandez had told a top drug dealer that he wanted to shove drugs right up the noses of the gringos as he accepted lucrative bribes in return for military protection for the cartels. Posing the question as to what the Pentagon must do to counter Chinas rising influence in Latin America, Admiral Faller declared, To put it simply, we out compete bad guys by being good guys. He cited Pentagon human rights training and Women, Peace, and Security programs in Latin America, laughable window dressing for a US military apparatus that has carried out more than a century of invasions, coup plots and bloody counterinsurgency campaigns, whose victims number at least in the hundreds of thousands. In warning the Senate committee about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Faller pointed not only to Chinas influence, but also to the regions intractable social crisis. He noted that Latin America, with roughly 8 percent of the worlds population, had suffered more than one fifth of COVID cases and deaths, and that there will also be a significant socioeconomic impact on our neighbors for years to come. Coming on the heels of widespread public protests against governments throughout the region at the end of 2019, these COVID-19 losses coupled with longstanding socioeconomic grievances and corruption have created the conditions for even greater instability and unrest among our partner nations, he said, adding, Even some of our strongest partners are at risk of instability due to this confluence of factors. In other words, even as US imperialism prepares to confront Chinas rising economic influence by military means, it faces the greater threat of social revolution throughout the hemisphere. The Pentagons answer to this threat today will be the same as it was in the last century, support for counterrevolutionary violence and dictatorship. The Latin American working class must prepare its struggles accordingly. LAS VEGAS, NV, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- ISW Holdings, Inc. (OTC: ISWH) (ISW Holdings or the Company), a global brand management holdings company with commercial operations in Telehealth and Cryptocurrency Mining, is pleased to announce a beneficial restructuring of its relationship with its telehealth and home healthcare joint venture partner, Paradigm Home Health (PHH). The Agreement will increase the Companys share of revenues from related operations by up to 40% going forward. We are proceeding full-steam ahead with our telehealth and home healthcare segment, and this Agreement represents a very productive step in assuring our long-term viability in delivering shareholder value through related operations, commented Alonzo Pierce, President and Chairman of ISW Holdings. This segment has driven positive growth for the Company over the past seven consecutive quarters, and this restructured Agreement should increase the impact of those operations going forward. We are also in negotiations toward the potential acquisition of a telehealth resource for the rapidly growing autism therapy market, and we hope to have more details on that soon. This is an additional direction we are interested in, but we cant claim anything definitive at this point. The newly renegotiated Agreement with PHH augments the share of revenues that go directly to ISW Holdings. Prior to this Agreement, the Company booked 50% of all sales in the home healthcare operations joint venture. Following this renegotiation, the Company will now book 70% of all sales from the same home healthcare operations going forward. The Company will also now have the ability to book in-house sales of home healthcare services through Medicare subsidies. In addition, the Company is working on the potential acquisition of an autism therapy telehealth solution. Negotiations are still at an early stage, but the Company is interested in the space and would like to be a part of addressing what it sees as an underestimated unmet need in society, especially among rural and disadvantaged communities. According to Marketresearchfuture.com, the autism services market is estimated to generate approximately $7.05 billion in revenue annually by 2023. Growth is being generated by increasing legislative supports and mandated insurance coverage, along with increased trajectories for both diagnostic frequency and costs associated with treatments in the space. Pierce added, The new Agreement is a solid value add for our telehealth and home healthcare segment, but we are also interested in expanding into areas that can augment growth in the space. Autism is diagnosed more than cancer, diabetes, and HIV combined, but there are very few therapeutic solutions available to underserved communities. An autism therapy solution could serve as an excellent market opportunity and a chance to drive shareholder value while making a positive contribution to members of our surrounding communities, and we hope to have further details on something in this direction soon. About ISW Holdings ISW Holdings, Inc. (ISWH), based in Nevada, is a diversified portfolio company comprised of essential business lines that serve consumer product demands. Our expertise lies in strategic brand development, early growth facilitation, as well as brand identity through our proprietary procurement process. Together, with our partners, we seek to provide a structure that meets large scalability demands, as well as anticipated marketplace needs. We are able to meet these needs through a variety of strategic innovative processes. ISWH is creating and managing brands across a spectrum of disruptive industries. It maneuvers its proprietary companies through critical stages of market development, which includes conceptualization, go-to-market strategies, engineering, product integration, and distribution efficiency. The company has also partnered with a well-known software development and consulting company, Bengala Technologies LLC, which is developing significant enhancements in the supply chain management space; and the partnership has a vitally needed patent now pending. For more information, visit www.iswholdings.com Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "could", "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential" and the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this report. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements so as to conform these statements to actual results. Investors should refer to the risks disclosed in the Company's reports filed from time to time with OTC Markets (www.otcmarkets.com). Company Contact: info@ISWHoldings.com Public Relations EDM Media, LLC https://edm.media (800) 301-7883 Tunisian President Kais Saied on Wednesday visited neighbouring Libya, where a UN-backed unity government is seeking to restore stability after a decade of violence and division. The first such visit since 2012, Saied's trip aims to show "Tunisia's support for the democratic process in Libya" and for greater "stability and prosperity", his office said. Libya descended into chaos as dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 and an array of armed groups battled to fill the void. The turmoil has also impacted Tunisia, sharply reducing cross-border trade and turning Libya into a launchpad for a series of bloody jihadist attacks in Tunisia. On Wednesday, Saied was welcomed at the airport by Mohamed al-Manfi, head of a new three-member presidency council, who hailed the visit as "historic". The pair discussed reviving bilateral agreements and trade, strengthening investment and facilitating dealings between their central banks, according to a Tunisian presidency statement. Libya's new Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla al-Mangoush (L) meets with her Tunisian counterpart Othman Jerandi, in the Libyan capital Tripoli, on March 17, 2021 / AFP Saied later met Libya's new interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who was sworn in on Monday and is tasked with governing until December elections. Discussions focused on reinforcing ties in a variety of areas, "in particular the economy, health, transport and education", according to the Tunisian presidency. Saied also called for "intensifying efforts" to discover the fate of Tunisian journalists Sofiene Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari, who went missing in 2014 in Libya's Ajdabiya region. Libya's new transitional executive emerged from a complex UN-sponsored process launched in November in Tunis. Its members were selected in Geneva then confirmed by Libya's parliament on March 10. Saied, who has made few official trips since his election in October 2019, only announced his visit on Tuesday, the day the new government was formally launched. He was joined by Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi and top Saied adviser Nadia Akacha. Before 2011, oil-rich Libya was a major customer for Tunisian farm produce and building materials as well as migrant labour. But repeated border closures over conflict and more recently the coronavirus pandemic have battered Tunisia's crucial informal economy. Libya was in recent years split between a Government of National Accord in Tripoli, and an eastern-based administration, backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar. The two sides reached a ceasefire in October. While the GNA has been backed by Turkey and Qatar, Haftar has received support from the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt. Thousands of foreign fighters and mercenaries remain in the country. Tunisia's successive governments have carefully avoided taking sides, while opposing all foreign interference in Libya. Gandhinagar, March 18 : The Congress on Thursday walked out of the Gujarat Assembly protesting against the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Earlier, the House was adjourned for a few minutes over the same issue. During the discussion on the proposals by the Home Department, there was an uproar when Congress MLA from Anklaav Amit Chavda referred to places like Rajkot, Kutiyana, Porbandar, Gondal, Dwarka being controlled by goons, indirectly pointing towards the BJP. Chavda was retorting to the remarks by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel during Question Hour, who said that during the Congress rule places used to be known for the goons, under the patronage of the then Congress government. Chavda said, "We all know how cities like Sahera, Kutiyana, Porbandar, Gondal, Dwarka, Rajkot and others are known by and controlled by." The BJP members, especially Sahera MLA Jethabhai Bharwad, opposed Chavda's remark. Bharwad said, "During the tenure of Madhavsinh Solanki (late former Chief Minister of Gujarat), even illicit things like liquor, gambling etc. were being done without any fear. People like Latif were nurtured." He asked the Speaker to bring the House to order and repeatedly ordered the Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani to sit down. The uproar in the House continued despite repeated requests by the Speaker Rajendra Trivedi. The Congress raised slogans regarding the deteriorating law and order situation. "In the 25-year rule of the BJP, people are living in constant fear. Public money, instead of being spent on welfare schemes, is being utilised by the government for their programmes. There was a time when Gujarat was known as a peaceful state, today it is not. The mothers and daughters of the state are afraid of moving around freely. The law and order situation has failed because of the BJP led administration. Everybody knows that goons are controlling the city of Jamnagar. The voice of the people is not being heard. The land mafias are in power in Saurashtra," Chavda told reporters after staging the walkout. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/18/2021 -- Latest released the research study on Global Farmed salmon Market, offers a detailed overview of the factors influencing the global business scope. Farmed salmon Market research report shows the latest market insights, current situation analysis with upcoming trends and breakdown of the products and services. The report provides key statistics on the market status, size, share, growth factors of the Farmed salmon. The study covers emerging player's data, including: competitive landscape, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are SalMar ASA (Norway),Leroy Seafood Group (Norway) ,Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan),Cooke Aquaculture, Inc. (Canada) ,AquaChile (Chile),Multiexport Foods (Chile) ,Grieg Seafood (Norway) ,Bakkafrost (Denmark),Pesquera Camanchaca (United States),Nordlaks (Nordland). Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/1060-global-farmed-salmon-sales-market Definition: Farmed salmon is most commonly recognized for its high levels of Omega-3 content, but is also a good source of high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals, so is often a healthy meal choice for many consumers. The farmed salmon industry can make a key contribution to balancing the needs of feeding the growing global population, as well as meeting the demand for healthy and sustainable protein production. Therefore, the demand for farmed salmon is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. Analyst at AMA have conducted special survey and have connected with opinion leaders and Industry experts from various region to minutely understand impact on growth as well as local reforms to fight the situation. A special chapter in the study presents Impact Analysis of COVID-19 on Global Farmed salmon Market along with tables and graphs related to various country and segments showcasing impact on growth trends. Market Drivers: Health Benefits Associated with the Farmed Salmon Consumption Has Fueled the Market Growth Exponential Growth in Aquaculture Production Significant Rise in the Salmon Aquaculture across the Globe The Surging Demand for Frozen & Canned Farmed Salmon among the Developing Nations Restraints: Stringent Norms & Regulations towards Farmed Salmon Production & Export The Global Farmed salmon Market segments and Market Data Break Down are illuminated below: by Type (Gutted fish, Fillets), Distribution Channel (Foodservice, Retail), End Product Type (Frozen, Fresh, Canned, Others) Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/1060-global-farmed-salmon-sales-market Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Oceania, South America, Middle East & Africa Country Level Break-Up: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc. What benefits does AMA research study is going to provide? - Latest industry influencing trends and development scenario - Open up New Markets - To Seize powerful market opportunities - Key decision in planning and to further expand market share - Identify Key Business Segments, Market proposition & Gap Analysis - Assisting in allocating marketing investments Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Farmed salmon Market:? Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Farmed salmon market Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary the basic information of the Farmed salmon Market. Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of the Farmed salmon Chapter 4: Presenting the Farmed salmon Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis. Chapter 5: Displaying market size by Type, End User and Region 2015-2020 Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Farmed salmon market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries (2021-2026). Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source Finally, Farmed salmon Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies in decision framework. Get More Information: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/1060-global-farmed-salmon-sales-market Key questions answered - Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Global Farmed salmon market? - What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Global Farmed salmon market? - What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Global Farmed salmon market? - What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors? Definitively, this report will give you an unmistakable perspective on every single reality of the market without a need to allude to some other research report or an information source. Our report will give all of you the realities about the past, present, and eventual fate of the concerned Market. Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. By Kim Sang-woo The military coup in Myanmar on Feb. 1, in its seventh week, has led to the country's largest protests in decades. The country had seemed to be moving toward a fragile democracy, following the 2015 election victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), and again their landslide win in the November 2020 national elections. But the coup has taken Myanmar back to its darkest past. The international community has appeared almost powerless, as the military junta crushed dissent with impunity. The familiar pattern of statements, resolutions and sanctions has had little effect on the unfolding tragic events. There is urgent need to rethink how to hold accountable those responsible for massive human rights violations not only in Myanmar, but also in countries where either electorally defeated leaders or the military ignore democratic practices. The current situation in Myanmar was certainly the result of its military leaders taking inspiration from former President Donald Trump's bogus claims of election fraud when they made the same protestation to justify their coup. In response, a group of elected MPs, many of whom are in hiding, formed a shadow parliament called the Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) to denounce the military regime. Widespread condemnation of excessive use of force, resulting in more than 200 deaths and at least 2,000 arrests, has not been able to stop the violence or the suspension of laws constraining the security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval and ordering the arrest of organizers of the protests. The military coup will probably do further damage to the already suffering economy. It will discourage new foreign investment, and multinational corporations already investing in the country may reconsider, fearing their corporate reputation being damaged. Commander-in-Chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing initiated the coup. He was also the general that the 2018 report of the independent fact-finding mission concluded must be removed from power and investigated for genocide in Rakhine State and crimes against humanity in other parts of the country. In 2017, thousands of Rohingya were killed and more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) Delegation trips to the border. Apocalyptic warnings. A flurry of new conferences. Republicans still divided over former President Donald Trump's legacy are seizing on his signature campaign issue, turning their focus to immigration as they try to regain the political upper hand. IN DENIAL: Abbott got advice from climate skeptic ahead of Texas freeze Faced with President Joe Bidens early popularity, good news about vaccinations, and Americans' embrace of the COVID-19 relief bill Washington Republicans opposed, the GOP is leaning in on the highly charged issue amid a spike in border crossings. They hope immigration can unite the party heading into next year's elections, when control of Congress is at stake. Heading into the midterms, I think that Republicans are increasingly realizing that this can be one of the most potent issues, both to motivate our voters, but equally as important, to appeal to" swing voters especially in suburban swing districts who voted for Democrats in 2020, said former Trump aide Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration policies. He said the issue has been a subject of discussion in his recent conversations with lawmakers as child border crossings have surged, straining U.S. facilities. The situation at the southern border is complex. Since Biden's inauguration, the country has seen a dramatic spike in the number of people encountered by border officials, with 18,945 family members and 9,297 unaccompanied children encountered in February an increase of 168% and 63% from the month before, according to the Pew Research Center. That creates an enormous logistical challenge, since children, in particular, require higher standards of care and coordination across agencies. Still, the encounters of both unaccompanied minors and families remain lower than at various points during the Trump administration, including in spring 2019. That May, authorities encountered more than 55,000 migrant children, including 11,500 unaccompanied minors, and around 84,500 migrants traveling in family units. But that hasn't stopped Republicans from seizing on the issue, led by Trump himself. They blame Biden, who has been deeply critical of Trump's approach, for rolling back many of the former president's hard-line deterrence policies. And they liken Biden's new, kinder tone to an invitation to would-be border crossers. Theyre destroying our country. People are coming in by the hundreds of thousands," warned Trump in an interview Tuesday night with Fox News Channel. And, frankly, our country cant handle it. It is a crisis like we have rarely had and, certainly, we have never had on the border. It's more than a crisis. This is a human heartbreak," said House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who led a delegation of a dozen fellow House Republicans to El Paso, Texas, on Monday. This crisis is created by the presidential policies of this new administration," he said. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a potential 2024 presidential candidate who is planning to lead his own Senate delegation tour to the Texas-Mexico border next Friday, accused the administration of having, in effect, issued an invitation for unaccompanied children to come to this country." Even Sen. Mitt Romney, one of Trump's most prominent Republican critics, faulted Biden's moves, including the halting of construction of Trump's signature border wall project. STILL MAD: The Texas GOP is still furious about Harris County's drive-thru voting Whats happening at our southern border is a real crisis, and the Administration is making it worse by unlawfully freezing border wall funding appropriated by Congress, Romney tweeted after signing onto a letter with 39 other Republican senators criticizing the new approach to the border. Democrats and immigration activists see it differently. They deride the policies Trump implemented to deter asylum as cruel and inhumane and an abdication of the countrys humanitarian responsibilities. That includes the decision to forcibly separate more than 3,000 children from their parents, with no system in place to reunite them. But policies like Remain in Mexico," which forced asylum seekers to wait across the border as their cases were being adjudicated, and the expulsion of unaccompanied children were effective, and the number of migrants crossing the southern border declined precipitously, further slowed by the pandemic. Beds were taken offline and staff downsized even as immigration experts on both sides of the aisle and career Homeland Security officials cautioned the numbers would likely begin to rise again once the pandemic subsided. Advocates also note that apprehensions of single adults have been spiking since April 2020, long before Trump left office. And they accuse the last administration of enacting policies that clogged the immigration system making it take longer to move people through the system and failing to build capacity when numbers began rising. Biden transition officials, for instance, urged the outgoing administration to increase capacity, but were met with inaction. Miller said career officials they'd chosen to work with the incoming administration warned numbers would rise exponentially if policies were reversed. This was purposeful. They made it harder for the process to work efficiently ... theres no question," said Peter Boogaard of FWD.us, a pro-immigration reform group. "The Trump administration did everything in their power for four years to make the already broken immigration system as cumbersome and ineffective as possible. And once they lost, they went out of their way to do as little as humanly possible to make sure the next administration was set up to succeed on this at all. In an interview with ABC News George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday, Biden defended his handling of the situation. He said his administration was working with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to add more bed space, putting together new systems for connecting arriving children with relatives already in the country, and setting up a system for people to apply for asylum in their own countries. In the meantime, he urged those considering the journey to stay put. Yes, I can say quite clearly: Dont come over," he said. Dont leave your town or city or community." In the meantime, Republicans see Biden as boxed-in politically, with limited options for dealing with the border. The administration has said that basically, everything that we did you name the policy ... they said that all of them are fill-in-the-blank adjective. They've described them in the most incendiary and condemnatory fashion possible," said Miller. "And obviously my view is, of course, the opposite. But the point that I'm making is when you do that you give yourself no room to adjust course. ... You leave yourself nowhere to go. Theyre kind of stuck in a corner, agreed Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies think tank, which advocates on behalf of more restrictive immigration policies. Because Biden ran as the anti-Trump, he argued, the president has few options for deterring future migrants. And thats why youre seeing so much glee, in some respect, he said. It is a kind of delicious irony that Bidens having to reopen detention centers that Trump had closed because he succeeded in shutting down the traffic." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a longtime Trump ally, said he expects the border to become a top issue if the numbers continue to grow. If they dont control this, itll be a huge issue this year, and it's an issue that gets you into public health, into the issue of defending America and whether there are borders," he said. ___ Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Zeke Miller contributed to this report. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. The end of daylight saving in Australia is fast approaching. While the event has long been controversial, here is a breakdown of why the clocks change twice a year - and the pros and cons that come along with it. When will daylight saving end this year? In 2021, daylight saving ends on Sunday 4, April, at 3am (EST). This means if you live in a state which adheres to daylight saving, you need to put your clocks back by one hour. Daylight saving started on October 4 at 2am, with people putting their clocks forward by one hour. The end of daylight saving in Australia is fast approaching. Source: AAP What is daylight saving? Daylight saving (DST) means the clocks move forward by one hour. This happens in summer. When autumn comes, the clocks move back one hour, so it becomes dark earlier during the winter months. What is the history of daylight saving? The idea of daylight saving was first suggested in 1895 by a New Zealander. George Hudson was an entomologist (someone who studies insects). He worked shifts and enjoyed being able to collect insects after work when he finished early. He put forward a proposal but a bill wasnt passed. Then, in 1905, an English builder also suggested the idea, after noticing how many Britons slept through the early part of a summer day. He submitted a proposal to the House of Commons, and although the law wasnt passed in the UK, the city of Port Arthur in Canada liked the idea and took it up. They were the first place in the world to move their clocks forward an hour, in July 1908. Australia first introduced daylight saving in 1916, during World War I, as an attempt to save power. After the war, daylight saving was stopped, but came back in to play for World War II. In 1968, Tasmania adopted the process again. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT all started daylight saving in 1971. Story continues Australia first introduced daylight saving in 1916, during World War I. Source: Getty Which parts of Australia have daylight saving? New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT all observe daylight saving. Queensland stopped daylight saving in 1972. The Northern Territory has never used it. Western Australia has experimented with daylight saving over the years but currently dont observe it. The last time they used it was between 2006 and 2009. The west's chances of taking up daylight savings again may increase with the Daylight Saving Party looking likely to win a seat in the WA Senate following the March state election. This means Australia has three time zones during winter, and five during summer. The difference between Queensland and NSW changes by one hour. South Australia changes from being 30 minutes behind Queensland, to 30 minutes ahead. In 2007, the Australian states that observe daylight saving agreed to the same start and end dates. Today in these states, daylight saving starts on the first Sunday in October, and ends on the first Sunday in April. Theres a myth that farmers like daylight saving because it gives them an extra hour of light to work. Source: AAP Does daylight saving help farmers? No. Theres a myth that farmers like daylight saving because it gives them an extra hour of light to work. But this isnt true. When daylight saving was first introduced, farmers lobbied to get it abolished. It means they lose an hour of light in the morning, which made it hard to get their crops to market in time. Today, many farmers say their cows and other livestock find it hard to adjust to the time difference. Cows like routine and it might mean they produce less milk in the morning. However, other farmers say that because cows produce their milk over a 24-hour period, it simply means they get more milk from the afternoon milking. Are there any other pros and cons to daylight saving? Fewer wild animals are killed by cars during daylight savings, according to research. However, theres also a small increase in fatal car crashes in the few days after daylight saving begins, with studies suggesting this is because drivers are more tired than usual. Some local communities report a decrease in crime when there are more daylight hours. Many believe farmers benefit from daylight saving. Source: AAP Does daylight saving impact our sleep? Yes. Daylight saving can affect your internal body clock, also known as your circadian rhythm. Because mornings are darker and evenings are lighter during daylight saving, it can delay your sleep cycle, making you feel tired in the morning and more alert in the evening. Our circadian rhythms are timed to match the environmental cycle of light and darkness, says the Sleep Health Foundation. Daylight saving throws our circadian rhythms out of sync because we are suddenly required to wake at a time when the body clock is still programmed for sleep. However, if you adjust your bedtime earlier for three or four nights before the Spring daylight savings transition, you will reduce the risk of sleep loss, and be less susceptible to sleepiness the following day. Studies show that daylight saving can alter peoples circadian rhythms so dramatically that it stops our bodies from working at peak efficiency. This can result in long-term health problems because our bodies arent quite in the time zone they should be between October and April. Other research shows that the transition to daylight saving increases heart attacks and strokes, with a marked jump in cases in the few days after the clocks go forward. Generally, the first few days after daylight saving (when we lose an hour of sleep) is harder to adjust to than the end of daylight saving in the autumn, when we gain an hour of sleep. As well as gaining an hour of sleep on the first night the clocks go back, the end of daylight saving means its dark earlier, so people are encouraged to go to bed earlier. Changes of daylight saving time can impacting on our sleep patterns. Source: Getty Images Why is daylight saving controversial? Because there isnt a solution that suits everyone. In general, it benefits those who live further away from the equator as it gives people extra light when they need it. The majority of EU citizens want daylight saving to last the whole year, as theres so much of a difference between the summer and winter light, and what this means for quality of life. The EU is reportedly seriously considering this. In Australia, people are more divided. There has been a push to introduce daylight saving in Queensland to bring it in line with most of the other states. Theres support for it on the Gold Coast, where some people live across the border in NSW and have to deal with two time zones for half the year. Many people in Brisbane think lighter evenings would boost tourism, as it means people can sit outside for longer in bars and restaurants. However, those who live regionally are mostly against introducing daylight savings. The sun already rises and sets up to an hour later than other parts of Queensland in the far North and West of the state. People also think daylight saving would disadvantage the large amount of rural workers in Queensland who need the early morning daylight to work. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. In 1984, 59-year-old Virginia Hannon was killed in Pembroke but no arrests were ever made. But now the case has been solved. In 2020, a tipster turned in Jesse Aylward, who Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz told WCVB they now believe is responsible for Hannons death. But Aylward had died the previous day at the age of 58, the news station reported. As a result of the deathbed confession investigators were able to obtain a warrant to collect Aylwards blood from Brockton Hospital, the news station reported. Though this investigation has spanned more than 37 years, we have identified Virginia Hannons killer and that is -- it is Jesse Aylward. We have exhausted all of the evidence that we currently have and it all points in the direction of Jesse Aylward, Cruz told WCVB. On Feb. 12, 1984 someone broke into Hannon home, where she lived alone. They then beat, stabbed and strangled her, NBC Boston reported. The motive for the murder still remains unknown, the news station reported. Related Content: Mar. 18TAZEWELL, Va. Two-by-two, players from Tazewell High School football team's talented senior class continue to announce their plans to play college ball next fall. The first two were running back Chancellor Harris and lineman Josh Herndon on National Signing Day. Last week, teammates Josiah Jordan and Jayden Taylor charted their respective courses. Jordan chose to head the same direction as Herndon, choosing to sign with the University of Virginia's College at Wise. "I don't think Josh put any pressure on him, other than than their friendship and the cameraderie of being teammates since they were, like, seven or eight years old," said Tazewell coach J'me Harris. "I'm sure the fact that Josh was there had some influence on him. But it was a school that really wanted [Jordan] down there, too, and they were early into the process with him," Harris said. Jordan had other schools recruiting him as a potential defensive back. But the Highland Cavaliers were focused on his offensive role. "The coaching staff over there really showed me a lot of interest. I think they'll have a great future ahead of them and I think we'll have a great team," said the 5-foot-10, 170 pound Jordan, who went into the spring football season after leading the Bulldogs basketball team. In spite of the reversed order of the sports, he hasn't found the transition back to football too disorienting. "I just had to change up my physical activity. I've been running more and working on my football skills," said Jordan, who intends to study sports medicine. "The spring is a little bit different. But I think the season will be great and we're doing really good so far. Our defense has been really good," he said. Taylor has played a number of positions at Tazewell, from defensive end/linebacker hybrid on defense to a receiver on offense to even an interior lineman this season. The 6-4, 230 Taylor signed to play for Emory & Henry, which is transitioning from NCAA Division III membership to Division II. Story continues "He's extremely athletic. Up until Jacob Witt's injury, Jayden was going to start at tight end for us. When he got hurt playing basketball we talked to him about moving to tackle and he said, 'Coach ... whatever it take to help the team,'" said Harris. "When he was a freshman he went to a camp in Charlotte [the NextGen All-American Camp in Charlotte, NC] and he was named Defensive MVP. "He started getting a lot of looks early on. Unfortunately he got hurt as a sophomore ... his shoulder. He's played his way back up and now will have the opportunity to play at Emory. He's one of our younger seniors. There's a lot of growth potential there and they're getting a really good football player," Harris said. Taylor, who played goalkeeper for the Tazewell soccer team as an underclassman, was recruited by the Wasps as a defensive end. But the academic offerings at E&H were the big inducement. Also the small-town campus environment. "I love the coaches there. They're real inviting and they know you for who you are ... they know everybody that's there. The campus is really nice," Taylor said. "They've got engineering which is what I wanted to major in. They're just getting that [program] with their move up to D-II. I've been waiting for that. It sounds like a very good move that they're making." Chancellor Harris, the head coach's son, was the first member of this year's senior class to choose his college course, committing to Morehead State this past December. "I'm sure we'll have other kids playing at the next level who'll be making decisions this spring," said J'me Harris, whose team plays at Lebanon on Friday. New Delhi, March 18 : Muslim religious leaders will hold a meeting on Thursday over former Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi and send a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding his arrest, All India Shia Council spokesperson Maulana Jalal Haider Naqvi told IANS. Another meeting of all the Muslim religious leaders has been called on Friday where Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari will address them. All India Imam Organisation chief Imam Dr. Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi said, "The Quran is written by Allah himself. No one can change it. It is for everybody not only for a particular religion. Those who say that it promotes terrorism should understand that those who read Quran are Ambassadors of peace." Chairman of Islamic Centre of India Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi said, "Whatever Rizvi said is baseless. Nothing has changed in the Quran in the last 1,400 years. We have full faith in law and are confident that his plea will be rejected." Rizvi had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking removal of 26 verses from the Quran as they promote terrorism. Soon after he filed the PIL, he landed in the eye of a severe storm within his community. After months, Sri Lanka reopens its borders for tourism, without minimum stay requirements or lengthy quarantines. Visitors are also able to explore some of Sri Lanka's best loved tourist sites under a bio-bubble for international visitors. (TRAVPR.COM) SRI LANKA - March 17th, 2021 - Sri Lanka's reopening for tourism has been announced - then delayed - a number of times since August. But after 10 months, Sri Lanka reopens its borders today, January 21, for tourism, without minimum stay requirements or lengthy quarantines. However, there will be limitations and restrictions for tourists travelling to Sri Lanka. While visitors from all countries will be able to travel to Sri Lanka, tourists must stay at one of 52 Level 1 "Safe and Secure hotels for up to 14 days, which will be off-limits to all locals except staff. The Level 1 hotels have all been audited and are recognised as complying with the COVID-19 Health Protocols and the Tourism Operational Guidelines laid out by Sri Lankan officials. Properties range from guest houses to three, four and five star hotels across the island. To facilitate the arrival of tourists for the first time since March, international flights will resume to two airports:The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and The Mattala International Airport (MRIA). What to know about travelling to Sri Lanka Before applying for a visa to travel to Sri Lanka, tourists must have a confirmed hotel booking at one of Sri Lanka's Level 1 safety secured hotels, pre-purchased PCR tests and mandatory Covid-19 Insurance Cover. Visitors travelling for up to seven days must pre-purchase two Covid tests, while those staying for seven days or more should purchase three. Covid tests are priced at USD 40 (AED 147). Visitors must also purchase Mandatory Covid-19 Insurance Cover from People's Insurance PLC, priced at USD 12 (AED 44) for a policy of USD 50,000 cover for 30 days. Currently, visitors can purchase these with their chosen approved hotel, although going forward the process will be directed through the Sri Lanka Tourisms mobile app. Once travellers have purchased their necessary Covid tests and insurance, they can then book directly with the hotel, who will then issue visitors with a reference number, which will be required to apply for a visa in the 'contact details' section. Visa applications can be done on eta.gov.lk, with 30 day visas priced at USD 35 (AED 129). The final step before travelling to Sri Lanka is to get a Covid-19 PCR test within 96 hours of departure, and be able to present a negative test result at check-in. A health declaration form should also be submitted either prior to boarding, on the flight, or on arrival in Sri Lanka. The first of the pre-paid PCR tests is then carried out on arrival at the hotel before check-in, and the second should be conducted between days five and seven. Those staying longer than a week should carry out their third pre-paid PCR test between days 10 and 14 of their stay. Restrictions in Sri Lanka Tourists must spend the full 14 days in their Level 1 Safe and Secured Hotel, although they can stay at different Level 1 hotels during their time in Sri Lanka, provided their on-arrival test was negative. Guests are able to enjoy the hotel's range of facilities, including restaurants, spas and pools, provided social distancing measures are adhered to. Visitors are also able to explore some of Sri Lanka's best loved tourist sites under a bio-bubble for international visitors. For example, places such as Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Yala, Udawalawe, Kaudulla and Wilpaththu National Parks, Mirissa Whale Watching, Sigiriya Fortress and Polonnaruwa. The full list of sites can be viewed here. As we open our doors to the world once again, we have pulled out all the stops, ensuring that every precautionary measure has been set in place to make the island getaway as safe, secure and serene as possible for the visitors, Kimarli Fernando, chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said in a statement. Since March, Sri Lanka has maintained closed borders to curb the spread of Covid-19, and despite a recent spike in cases, has recorded just over 55,000 cases. But in doing so, its shuttered the island's tourism industry - which accounts for roughly 12% of Sri Lanka's GDP. The only exception is arrivals from the UK, which remain banned amid concerns of a new strain of Covid-19. Among the leading hotels in Kalutara is Anantara Kalutara Resort, a Kalutara beach resort certified as a Safe and Secure Level 1 hotel. ### LIHUE, Hawaii - As the coronavirus ravaged other parts of the U.S., residents of this rural Pacific island watched safely from afar. Waves crash on the shoreline at The Cliffs at Princeville resort, one of several "resort bubble" properties on Kauai, Friday, March 5, 2021, in Princeville, Hawaii. The rural island of Kauai in Hawaii is one of the world's most sought-after vacation destinations, but it has been nearly impossible to visit for most of the past year because of quarantine and other coronavirus restrictions. With the county's resort bubble program, or Enhanced Movement Quarantine, participants must be tested 72 hours before they get to Hawaii and again 72 hours after arrival to be released from quarantine on Kauai. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) LIHUE, Hawaii - As the coronavirus ravaged other parts of the U.S., residents of this rural Pacific island watched safely from afar. Kauai, one of the worlds most sought-after vacation destinations, has been nearly impossible to visit for most of the past year, with officials bucking pressure to ease quarantine rules as the states economy tanked. As a result, Hawaiis least populated county has been one of the safest places to be. Hair salons were open, many kids went to school and played team sports, and residents enjoyed restaurants, bars and beaches without the typical hordes of visitors or the fears of surging virus numbers. As of this week, Kauai has had only 218 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, compared with more than 28,000 statewide. Now, local officials are loosening restrictions, saying early measures and the islands departure from a state testing program that allowed in more people gave it time to build a strong foundation of public health. A unique resort bubble program also helped Kauai bring back some tourists and prepare to reopen more broadly. From a big picture society standpoint, it allowed Kauai to get to a baseline of sort of what the new normal was going to be in the middle of a pandemic, Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said. The countys resort bubble program, or Enhanced Movement Quarantine, has been running for almost three months. It allows visitors to come to Kauai if they get two negative COVID-19 tests and spend three days either on another island or at a county-approved resort property. If they stay at one of the resorts, they wear monitoring devices but can roam the grounds and use amenities. A person stands in front of the Pacific Ocean at The Cliffs at Princeville resort, one of several "resort bubble" properties on Kauai, Friday, March 5, 2021, in Princeville, Hawaii. The rural island of Kauai in Hawaii is one of the world's most sought-after vacation destinations, but it has been nearly impossible to visit for most of the past year because of quarantine and other coronavirus restrictions. But the economy has suffered and now local officials are loosening restrictions. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) Participants must be tested 72 hours before they get to Hawaii and again 72 hours after arrival to be released from quarantine. The program has caught at least six positive cases since its January launch. We really felt that us coming in here, we would be safe and we would also be safe to the residents," said Victoria Lofton, who visited Timbers Kauai resort through the bubble program with her husband, Art. We really respect them, and theyre really trying to do the right thing." She said it was a great way to get away from California, where the pandemic was raging. At home, we had one other family that we saw. We weren't going out of the house," she said. On Kauai, where they own a unit on the resort, we felt free." Next month, the island will rejoin the states Safe Travels program, which allows travellers to avoid quarantine with a single negative pre-flight test. Health officials pointed to Kauais vaccination program as part of that decision. The county leads Hawaii in the number of residents who have received at least one dose, at 23%. A woman gets a COVID-19 vaccinations in Lihue, Hawaii on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. The rural island of Kauai in Hawaii is one of the world's most sought-after vacation destinations, but it has been nearly impossible to visit for most of the past year because of coronavirus restrictions. But the economy has suffered and now local officials are loosening restrictions. Health officials pointed to Kauai's vaccination program as part of that decision. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) By the time that we opt back in, we expect all hospitality and food service workers to have been offered vaccines, said Lauren Guest, the states Department of Health preparedness planner for Kauai. "And they really are the ones who work very closely with visitors on the front line. Kauai's strict path to reopening has set it apart in an already strict state. For most of 2020, anyone coming to Hawaii faced a rigidly enforced 14-day quarantine rule. But the restrictions walloped the state's tourism-dependent economy, and unemployment rates soared, including on Kauai. The state launched Safe Travels in October, bringing back more visitors. But with that came more disease. Kauai's cases more than doubled in seven weeks, and it had its first and, so far, only death. It quickly opted out, citing worries about the state's single-test scheme and the island's limited health care capacity Kauai has only nine ICU beds and 14 ventilators. Kawakami resisted calls from lawmakers and the tourism industry to conform to a unified statewide system. "We said, look, the timing is horrible, but vaccines are arriving in Hawaii, Kawakami said. Were seeing a second and third spike happening on the mainland. ... We really focused on making policy calls and making sacrifices on the economic side. The majority of Kauai's COVID-19 cases have been linked directly to travel, Guest said. While President Joe Biden and federal health officials have warned against lifting restrictions too soon, especially as vaccines become more widely available, states across the nation are easing coronavirus rules in a bid to get their economies back on track. Kauais latest move is welcome news for businesses, even those that were able to maintain a core of local customers throughout the year. A lot of people, I think, werent able to change the way they did business, said Rob Silverman, who shifted his Robs Good Times Grill in Lihue to takeout and eventually in-house service after the pandemic hit. And those are the people that really struggled. Lance Keener, who owns Ohana Fishing Charters, said he lost nearly all of his business when the county shut down last March. Things havent gotten any better, and he looks forward to when the state lifts restrictions in April. We were doing really good and almost pretty much debt-free, making money, Keener said. And all of a sudden now were, you know, I think back further than square one. But some are wary of allowing back lots of tourists. Steve ONeal, who moved his family to Kauai from California last year, worries lifting measures that have kept the island safe is premature, especially as new variants of the virus emerge. Both the South African and U.K. variants have been found in Hawaii. He also points to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises against travel but says if people must get on a plane, they should undergo two tests and a quarantine on either end of a trip. Its kind of an inconvenient truth that Hawaii is going against the guidelines of the CDC, ONeal said. Still, he appreciates that Kauai officials held their ground and put locals' health and safety first. Theyve really prioritized families and kids. And, you know, people have their after-school programs. People have their school programs. I mean, thats a big deal. Since 2017, Facebook has allowed you to use a hardware security key for two-factor authentication on desktop. On mobile, however, securing your account has meant relying on either an authentication app or SMS code. That's changing today, with the option to use a security key available across desktop, Android and iOS. Facebook Security keys are small, thumb drive-sized devices that you usually connect directly to your computer or mobile device to authenticate your identity with either an online service or app. Since a hacker would have to obtain the key from you physically, they're considered one of the safest ways to protect your online data. And most companies recommend people who are frequent targets of hackers, including politicians and activists, use them. A company called Yubico makes ones for both iPhones and Android devices. Google has its own line as well. Once you have a security key, setting up Facebook to take advantage of one is straightforward. Just head to the Security and Login of the settings menu. Keep in mind you don't buy a new device to secure your online accounts. Simply by enabling two-factor authentication, you're taking a significant step toward protecting yourself online. A general view of the entrance of Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Calif., on March 13, 2020. (Mario Anzuoni/File/Reuters) Disneyland Theme Parks in California to Reopen April 30 Walt Disney Cos two theme parks in California will reopen on April 30 to a limited number of guests, the company said on Wednesday, over a year after they closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance will initially be capped at roughly 15 percent of capacity, Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek said on CNBC television. Advance reservations and an admission ticket will be required for entry. Guests age 2 and up will need to wear masks, except when eating, drinking or swimming, and follow other safety measures including temperature checks before entering and social distancing on rides and throughout the parks. Under state guidelines, capacity may increase if the prevalence of coronavirus in the area continues to fall. The Disneyland Resort, located in Anaheim 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles, closed in mid-March of 2020. The resort includes the original Disneyland, nicknamed The Happiest Place on Earth, and the adjacent California Adventure theme parks. Floridas Walt Disney World parks reopened to visitors in July 2020 and Disney officials had been urging the state of California to ease reopening restrictions. By Lisa Richwine and Eva Mathews The European Medical Agency (EMA) is due to makes its decision on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine this afternoon. The vaccine was pulled by 13 member states, including Ireland due to safety concerns after a small number of people developed blood clots after vaccination. Speaking yesterday via virtual call with US President Joe Biden, An Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the programme will catch up as soon as the vaccine gets the green light to resume. The logistics have to be put in place and the venues have to organised and so on, he said.0 But we will be doing everything we possibly can to accelerate the vaccine particularly for those who have had their vaccinations postponed as a result of the decision taken last weekend. I think it is within our capacity to catch up certainly, he said. EMA is investigating a link between the vaccine and cerebral venous thrombosis, or CVT, following 30 cases of unusual blood clots were reported, out of a population of 5 million people who received the vaccine. Germany have reported seven cases of blood clotting, as well as Norway who have reported 3 patients with unusual clots, and a Dutch lab who has received 10 reports of blood clots in vaccine recipients, but with different conditions, according to CNN. The regulator and the World Health Organisation have already said the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any potential risks, and no cases of clotting have been linked directly to the vaccine. EMA director, Emer Cooke said the agency is bringing in expects in the field of blood clotting and thromboembolic events to do a rigorous science-based investigation, which includes working with health authorise in the UK who have already administered 11 million doses of the vaccine. The all-clear from todays verdict will allow countries to continue the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which accounts for over two-thirds of Irelands stock which is reportedly about 77,000 doses. However, should the EU agency confirm the vaccines safety, the HSE have said it will be next week before doses are administered as stock supplies and vaccine teams would have to be remobilised. 30,000 healthcare workers and high-risk people between 16-69 were due to receive the vaccine last week before it was paused. [March 18, 2021] Mendocino County, California, Improves Court Case Management with Tyler Technologies' Solution Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) today announced that the Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino, has successfully gone live with Tyler's Odyssey court case management solution suite, including Odyssey Judge Edition and Odyssey File & Serve solutions. Despite being implemented remotely during the pandemic, the go-live was on time and budget. "Our court's vision is to revolutionize our business processes by using technology to offer the public enhanced access to court records and a more efficient way to file their court documents, which were brought into sharper focus during the pandemic. The court also plans to optimize communication with our justice partners through electronic interfaces and improve court case flow management internally. We believe that Tyler also supports that vision," said Kim Turner, chief executive officer for Mendocino Superior Court. "We are already experiencing better workflows throughout our court, as well as seamless routing of court documents to our judges for electronic processing and signature. This is a 'game changer' for our court in terms of fficiency and responsiveness to serve our public." With the implementation of Tyler's Odyssey solutions, the superior court is now able to: Track all aspects of court case processing, financial transactions and operations, from electronic filing through disposition Manage the court's highly sensitive data Allow users to file documents via a secure, web-based portal electronically Reduce paper usage by moving toward a completely paperless environment Allow the court to be consistent with the software that is currently serving 70% of California's population The superior court is also looking forward to implementing Odyssey Clerk Edition later this year. The court hopes to connect its system with other community justice partners, including the probation office, public defender's office, and sheriff's office. "We're pleased to see the Mendocino Superior Court join other successful California counties in implementing an effective, accessible technology foundation," said Rusty Smith, president of Tyler's Courts & Justice Division. "The combination of Odyssey and our electronic filing solution brings many efficiencies to the court, improves its case flow management, reduces paper usage, and allows the court's staff to put even more focus on serving its residents." The County of Mendocino is in northern California, equidistant from the San Francisco bay area and the California/Oregon border. Tyler also provides its Munis enterprise resource planning, ExecuTime time and attendance, SoftCode civil processing, and Eagle Recorder solutions to the county. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office also uses Tyler's New World public safety solutions. About Tyler Technologies (News - Alert) , Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tyler's end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate more efficiently and connect more transparently with their constituents and with each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tyler's solutions are transforming how clients gain actionable insights that solve problems in their communities. Tyler has more than 27,000 successful installations across more than 11,000 sites, with clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. Tyler has been named to Government Technology's GovTech 100 list five times and has been recognized three times on Forbes' "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list. More information about Tyler Technologies, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005023/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] - GSK Consumer Healthcare is exploring paper bottling for its Wellness and Oral Health brands including Centrum, Sensodyne and parodontax - Pulpex paper bottles are recyclable and 100% PET-free - Consortium members Diageo, Unilever and PepsiCo are each developing Pulpex packaging for specific brands LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pulpex Limited is pleased to announce that GSK Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH), one of the world's leading over-the-counter healthcare companies, has joined the Pulpex partner consortium to explore incorporating paper bottles into its overall packaging program. Pulpex Limited (www.pulpex.com) is a new world-leading sustainable packaging technology company established by venture management firm Pilot Lite and spirits producer Diageo. The company has developed a first-of-its-kind scalable paper bottle that is 100% PET-free. Made from sustainably sourced pulp, the Pulpex bottle meets food safety standards and will be recyclable in standard paper waste streams, which have a far higher yield than plastic waste streams. Mike Anstey, Co-Founder and CEO, Pilot Lite, said: "We're proud to have an innovative company like GSK Consumer Healthcare with its portfolio of science-based brands as a member of the Pulpex consortium. GSK Consumer Healthcare is not only a world leader in the consumer healthcare market, they are now providing the type of brand leadership needed to minimize the environmental footprint of packaging." Pulpex formed a partner consortium of world-leading fast-moving consumer goods companies to ensure that the packaging technology is widely adopted and used in every area of life. In addition to GSKCH, the consortium includes Diageo, Unilever and PepsiCo, with other partners expected to join later this year. The customizable Pulpex technology allows partner companies to produce different shapes and sizes of single-mould bottles to fit the needs of their brands. GSKCH is exploring the design and pilot of Pulpex bottles for products from three brands within its portfolio: Centrum, Sensodyne and parodontax. Centrum is the world's number one multivitamin brand. Sensodyne is the world's number one, most dentist-recommended sensitivity toothpaste, with a product range that includes mouthwashes and toothbrushes. parodontax is the number one gum care brand in Europe, helping to stop bleeding gums since 1937. Sarah McDonald, VP of Sustainability, GSK Consumer Healthcare, said: "We are determined to explore alternative packaging materials where we can, while ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of our products. We hope that by commercialising this technology for our industry, others will be able to follow." Last year, GSK announced ambitious new environmental sustainability goals in both climate and nature. Pulpex is proud to be a part of GSKCH's commitment to ambitious targets for all consumer product packaging to be recyclable or reusable, including eliminating all problematic and unnecessary plastics, where quality and safety permits, by 2025. About Pulpex Pulpex is a collaboration between Pilot Lite and Diageo. Pilot Lite is a pioneer and international leader in venture management with a successful track record helping Fortune 500/FTSE 100 corporates accelerate the commercialization of innovation. Through its Pilot Lite Capital arm, Pilot Lite directly invests in and converts corporate IP into free-standing, revenue-generating businesses. Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For further information please visit pulpex.com. About GSK Consumer Healthcare Our world-leading Consumer Healthcare business combines science and consumer insights to create innovative everyday healthcare brands that consumers trust and experts recommend for oral health, pain relief, cold, flu and allergy, digestive health and vitamins, minerals and supplements. We are one of the world's leading over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare companies with number one positions in a number of markets, including the US, India and Germany. Our portfolio of loved and trusted brands includes Centrum, Sensodyne, paradontax, Polident, Advil, Voltaren, Panadol, Otrivin and Theraflu. About GSK GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit gsk.com . For more information about our GSK's Sustainability goals, please visit: https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/responsibility/environment-our-new-approach Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458336/Pulpex_paper_bottle.jpg Senior Reporter Zimbabwe is ready to effectively play its part in regional and international bodies such as the United Nations, African Union (AU) and Sadc towards enhancing collective global and regional aspirations, President Mnangagwa has said. He said Harare remained committed to honour international instruments and agreements entered into with stakeholders in business and cooperating partners and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) including ratifying and updating them and negotiating new ones. President Mnangagwa said this yesterday at State House while addressing more than 100 heads of mission for countries and international organisations accredited to Zimbabwe during a belated New Year greetings address that was held virtually. "Zimbabwe stands ready to effectively play its part at the United Nations, African Union and within Sadc, towards enhancing our collective global and regional aspirations. We thus look forward to working closely with all of your respective countries as we strengthen multilateralism, which is an effective and sustainable way of ending present global threats, such as terrorism and also achieving peace and prosperity for all," said President Mnangagwa. He implored the diplomats to continue facilitating trade and investment with Zimbabwe taking advantage of the operationalisation of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) which provides a one stop trade facility. "We are keen to pursue with greater impetus the modernisation of our manufacturing sector capacity towards increased production, productivity and competitiveness. Investments in infrastructure development, renewable energy and tourism equally remain high on our priority list," said President Mnangagwa. In order to strengthen mutual and beneficial cooperation, President Mnangagwa Government launched the Development Cooperation Policy, which is expected to ensure the success of the National Development Strategy 1(NDS1). "The policy defines operational structures and provides guidelines for the mobilisation and management of development cooperation in line with our engagement and re-engagement agenda," said President Mnangagwa. He said the Second Republic, which he is leading, is unwavering in defending constitutionalism, respect of rule of law and entrenching democracy in all its facets. "Riding on my country's wish to be a friend to all and an enemy of none, together with our re-invigorated economic diplomacy, we remain ready to deepen engagement with your respective countries for the mutual and collective good of our people and economics," President Mnangagwa said. He reiterated that Zimbabwe cherished exchange of knowledge in building responsible global citizens for greater peace and global cooperation. "In doing so, it is however always important to recognise the key principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and our respective national values and interests," said President Mnangagwa. He outlined what the Government has been doing in fighting Covi-19, measures which include procurement of vaccines whose rollout has since begun. President Mnangagwa commended China, Russia and India for donating doses of vaccine. "Zimbabwe is set to also receive other vaccine doses guaranteed under the Covax facility. These will go a long way in strengthening our response with regards to achieving herd immunity." The President took the opportunity to formally inform members of the diplomatic community of the appointment of Dr Fredrick Shava as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, replacing Dr Sibusiso Moyo who died early this year due to Covid-19 induced ailment. Speaking at the same occasion, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Professor Amon Murwira said Zimbabwe remained committed to further broaden and deepen its relations with the international community in line with its foreign policy thrust of good global citizens through engagement and re-engagement. "Zimbabwe will continue to closely follow global trends of peace, developing cooperation despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, as a nation we will strive to consolidate the significant gains we have gained for the past two years. We will also double efforts in the engagement and re-engagement drive to ensure that we attain our national goals as enshrined in our National Development Strategy 1," said Prof Murwira. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines International Organisations Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Acting Dean of Ambassadors and Malawian diplomat to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Annie Kumwenda commended President Mnangagwa's administration for working tirelessly to improve the lives of Zimbabweans despite the Covid-19 induced national lockdown. "It is noted that queues for fuel and food no longer exist. There are also improvements in the banking sector and supply of electricity, and of course Command Agriculture is yielding desired results. To have such improvements and others not mentioned here amidst Covid-19 lockdown is no mean achievement. This gives the diplomatic community confidence that your Government is on the right path to the Promised Land," said Ambassador Kumwenda. Some of the countries and organisations that were represented included the United States, European Union, Sahrawi Republic among others. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. (Alexandria, MN) The packed room on Saturday was filled with people who hope a gift for 28 officers will never be used. Douglas County deputies and Alexandria Police officers were given a protection package to help save them in case of being fired upon by high-powered weapons. The law enforcement recipients were all sponsored by community members. A Shield616 package was provided, at a cost of $1200-$1400 each, to a little more than half of the 52 officers in both agencies within the county. The remaining officers are still in need of a sponsor. Craig McMillan of www.WeGotYourBackUSA.org presented Shield616 recipients, Alec Swanson and Nicole Klimek with a ballistics package. The engaged couple represent both the Alexandria Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff's Office. They were also both in attendance at the Las Vegas concert that resulted in 58 fatalities. Nicole is currently a Douglas County dispatcher. She will officially become a Douglas County deputy on April 1st, 2018. She and Alec plan to get married on January 12th, 2019. They picked the date partially because 112 is Alec's badge number; therefore 1-12-19 seemed appropriate. After Saturday's Shield616 presentations two dozen officers still remain without the additional protection. If you'd like to contribute to the fund, or sponsor an officer yourself, you're urged to go to the organization's website. (The names of the remaining officers is listed on that site.) The director of a London university has been forced to step down while he is investigated over his use of the N-word in a video call with students. Adam Habib, who works at the School of Oriental and African Studies, sparked outrage after a clip of the meeting with the students in which he defended the slur's use went viral. Students challenged his use of the term which he rebutted before taking to Twitter with a lengthy 17-part statement. With an investigation into his use of the word ongoing, Marie Staunton, Chairperson of SOAS' board, confirmed Mr Habib would would stepping back. Adam Habib, 56, (pictured) has been forced to step down while he is investigated over his use of the N-word in a video call with students 'As chair of the board, I have agreed with Director Adam Habib that he will step aside while this investigation takes place, so as to not compromise the investigation,' she said. 'We will continue to find ways to facilitate the mediated conversations and engagement including with Adam that centre the Black community and SOAS community broadly, in ways that also do not compromise the process of the investigation.' SOAS' Professor Claire Ozanne will serve as the Interim-Director. She is currently the Deputy Director and Provost. In the webinar last week, Mr Habib had been answering a student who had raised a question on how the university intends to addressing anti-black racism The 56-year-old, who is of Indian descent, replied: 'The issue around that... firstly, on the n*****, somebody making that allegation, then bring it to me. 'I don't know the case, this is the first I've heard of it.' One of his students then cut him off to state: 'Adam, that's not acceptable to be saying that in a meeting.' Another student said that they had taken offence to its use before Mr Habib replied: 'You do? Well, I don't actually. I come from a part of the world where we actually do use the word... The context matters.' But one of his students once again added: 'You're not a black man, you cannot use that word. You have not faced the trauma and oppression of black bodies what we go through 24/7 for the last 500 years. With an investigation into his use of the word ongoing, Marie Staunton, Chairperson of SOAS' board, confirmed Mr Habib would would stepping back 'You do not embody our history so therefore you cannot use the word. 'Many writers, even our own alumni, have written as to why peers, non-black peers should not use the n-word because when it comes from that perspective then it means a whole different story than when it comes from our own perspective which is the autonomy, agency and reclamation of our own history.' Shortly after the meeting Mr Habib took to social media with a 17-part thread in an attempt to justify his use of the slur before accusing critics of attempting to 'politicise the issue'. The director, who was born in South Africa and appointed as SOAS director in January 2021, wrote: 'The question is why is it that after this apology, some are still politicising the issue?' 'So why don't I think it was problematic to use the word when I did. Well, because context matters and I was arguing for taking punitive action. 'You cannot impute maligned intention without understanding context. Do I believe that only blacks can verbalize the word. No, I don't.' There has since been widespread outrage with many, including the South Africa-based campaign group Economic Freedom Fighters, calling for the SOAS to sack Mr Habib. A couple broke into a New Jersey house before having sex, showering, wearing the homeowners' robes and feasting on food and drink - all while a babysitter and young child were on the property, police say. Alex Ray Yeakley and Amanda Lentz, from Pennsylvania, allegedly broke into the home in Cedar St, Englewood, on Friday. The pair allegedly helped themselves to food and drinks from the owner's kitchen, had sex and then showered in the bathroom - even dressing themselves in the owners' bathrobes. Police said the pair had 'taken liberties' in the home, all while the unsuspecting babysitter and child were still in the house. Some of the couple's activities were caught on security video, the Daily Voice reported. Alex Ray Yeakley and Amanda Lentz, from Pennsylvania, broke into a New Jersey home where they plundered food, had sex and showered, before leading police on a dramatic pursuit. The babysitter eventually heard Lentz on a baby monitor in the child's bedroom at around 10:30pm and thought that the homeowners had returned, officials told News12. But the sitter then discovered the intruders. Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern said: 'It is believed that the pair had been inside the home for a period of time before they were discovered.' The couple fled the house, taking with them jewelry, a wallet, a backpack and an iPhone. The couple allegedly broke into the home on Cedar St (pictured) in Englewood, New Jersey Cops say the couple ditched the 2003 Toyota Corolla they arrived at the house in, and fled in the house owner's Lincoln Navigator SUV. Officers used the stolen iPhone to track the alleged burglars to Blooming Grove in Orange County, NY, 50 miles away. State and local law enforcement officers were alerted to the fleeing pair. A chase ensued, and the couple's car careened off the road into a field when cops deployed spike strips in Chester, the Daily Voice reported. They were arrested after bailing out and trying to flee on foot. Yeakley, of Myerstown, PA, and Lentz, of Lebanon, PA, are being held in New York, pending extradition back to New Jersey. You can say racist, stupid stuff if you want, but Im asking you to please stop using racist terms like Kung flu or Wuhan virus or other ethnic identifiers in describing this virus, Representative Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, told Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas. I am not a virus. And when you say things like that, it hurts the Asian-American community. Whatever political points you think youre scoring by using ethnic identifiers in describing this virus, youre harming Americans who happen to be of Asian descent. Mr. Lieus comments came after Mr. Roy, one of the top Republicans on the judiciary panel, used his introductory remarks to issue a lengthy condemnation of the Chinese governments handling of the coronavirus and asserted that objections to what he categorized as nothing more than hawkish messaging about China amounted to policing of free speech. Theres old sayings in Texas about, you know, find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that round up all the bad guys, Mr. Roy said in comments that drew outrage on Twitter. My concern about this hearing is it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric. Representative Grace Meng, Democrat of New York, took exception to the remark. Your president, and your party, and your colleagues can talk about issues with any other country that you want, but you dont have to do it by putting a bulls-eye on the back of Asian-Americans across this country, on our grandparents, on our kids, she said. This hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community, to find solutions, she added, and we will not let you take our voice away from us. Ashland Global Holdings Inc. announced plans to increase the production capacity of its Natrosol (INCI: Hydroxyethylcellulose; HEC) ingredient at the Nanjing, China site. Natrosol HEC is a natural product and thickening agent used as a nonionic rheology modifier in industrial and consumer-focused applications. According to the company, this move supports unprecedented demand by consumers for more sustainable solutions including water-based paint; a global increase in the building and construction industries; and the desire for milder, natural and sustainable solutions in consumer markets. Guillermo Novo, chairman and chief executive officer for Ashland, said, "Ashland Natrosol rheology modifiers have been the leading cellulosic thickeners for waterborne architectural coatings for more than fifty years. Given the unprecedented demand and our customer-centric strategy, Ashland will build upon our previous investments in Nanjing and further expand capacity. This demonstrates our commitment to invest in Asia. It also supports a key lever of Ashlands growth strategy to ensure we can meet our customers growing needs and provide additional supply security across the globe. Uyo Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), European Union (EU) and Akwa Ibom State Government have teamed up on 'Small Arms and Light Weapons(SALW) Control, a disarmament programme initiated to train repentant militant youths in various skills. The programme christened 'Strengthening Peace Security and Stability in West Africa, was declared open by Governor Udom Emmanuel in Uyo, the state capital. A leading Non-Governmental Organization, Leadership Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment(LITE-Africa) and the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM) are implementing partners which is commencing with 150 youths as beneficiaries in Phase 1, drawn from Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo, while venue of the training includes; Delta, Enugu, Edo States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) respectively. Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, the governor commended the repentant armed youths for accepting the olive branch and embracing peace. He said, "I really respect you for listening to a peaceful progress-loving hardworking young men centred, God-fearing governor. Also read: Armed Forces Remembrance Day: Gov Emmanuel calls for unity, equal opportunity in Nigeria "During the 2019 campaigns, the governor expressed his desire to make the throng of youths to be engaged in factories, industries or working, it was a thing of concern to him since he is a man of clear conscience and love for young people. "I want to thank ECOWAS and LITE Africa for this initiative, I also Captain Iniobong Ekong, Special Assistant to the Governor on security for his concern, he loves all of you so that in future you become great men and women. "Just as you have all started, you are going for training and you are all going there to learn, right now Governor Udom Emmanuel has begun construction of a skill acquisition centre in Ikot Adaidem. He is working tirelessly for the place to be ready and well-equipped. "There will be various crafts ranging from auto-mechanic, electrical, computer experts, plumbers at least something to give you an income in order to save you from engaging in vices. "Acquire skills so that you can be at peace with your conscience so that you can grow and be good men and women, law-abiding citizens". In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Security, Captain Iniobong Ekong, thanked the beneficiaries for giving up arms to embrace peace and acquisition of skills. "Encourage others that crime does not pay, you can't survive in crime for more than a year so whatsoever you see here make good use of it. "You are going for training ECOWAS-EU and LITE-Africa is going to equip you to start, so it is not the kind of training you attend and start looking for work; as you are coming back they will provide you tools to work with if you progress you employ people", he said. For his part, Executive Director, LITE-Africa, Dr Joel Bisina, said the project was an initiative designed to reduce the illicit flow, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the hands of persons who are not authorized to carry weapons. "What we do in this programme is to talk to young men and women who are in possession of weapons individually or as a group working. We are working with the various state governments to see how we can reduce the proliferation of arms, and in Akwa Ibom State we were able to mob up some arms which were destroyed in December 2019 and those who are here today are those persons who made the choice either as individuals or as a group to drop their arms", he said Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria West Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He added, "The programme has as one of its objectives to enhance livelihood and skills development to the individual beneficiaries and microcredit to the individual communities that support the process of disarmament. These are the ones who have decided to trade the path of peace so that they can contribute meaningfully to society". Bisina explained that during the process of disarmament a biometrics exercise was conducted to the repentant youths which were followed by skills mapping to identify their areas of interest adding that various institutions have been identified while they have hired the services of a training coordinator to assist them to acquire the necessary skills and create wealth. The coordinator of the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM), Dickson Orji, also advised the beneficiaries of the programme to be committed to the training. Vanguard News Nigeria [March 18, 2021] "Charm of Jiangsu" celebrated the 2021 Chinese New Year with overseas fans online NANJING, China, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ -- To celebrate the 2021 Chinese New Year, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism has elaborately planned and produced an online 2021 Happy Chinese New Year themed event. The activities were various and full of Jiangsu features, including music, dance, intangible cultural heritages, and acrobatics. Through online performances and exhibitions, global audiences fully experienced the glamor of the Chinese New Year and the "Charm of Jiangsu" at home. Overseas social media matrix expands the impact of the event. Jiangsu overseas social media account Visit Jiangsu planned and conducted an online activity -- Pick Your Favourite Chinese New Year Show. It invited overseas users to select the most anticipated show on the 2021 Happy Chinese New Year Gala and conducted the gala premieres. The result showed that Kun Opera The Peony Pavilion was the most popular program, with nearly 120,000 views. The totl engagement reached 1,057,272. During the holiday, the total number of viewers was 793,511. Through interactive and participatory activities, it celebrated the Chinese New Year with international fans. Technology makes classical more popular. As the first large-scale original 3D magical acrobatics show in China, Golden Cudgel combined the traditional acrobatics skills with the naked eye 3D technology to set off an extraordinary "acrobatics + magic" show. It's become one of the most popular programs of the 2021 Happy Chinese New Year activity, making Journey to the West even more popular globally. Intangible cultural heritages show the Charm of Jiangsu. The Jiangsu Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition was held in Sydney at the end of January. Featuring VR technology, it displayed many representative showcases of Jiangsu intangible heritage, such as Nanjing Yun Brocade, Su Embroidery, Qinhuai Lantern Festival, Kun Opera, and Jinling Paper Cutting. It presented the traditional customs and cultural connotations of the Chinese New Year celebrations to Australians. Visitors to the exhibition could feel the happiness, harmony, and sharing of the Chinese New Year from the exquisite artworks. Cultural exchanges enhance youth friendships. Nanjing Little Red Flower Art Ensemble, a unique name card in cultural exchanges, specially rehearsed and filmed the entire performances, and participated in online Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand, the UK, the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. In this way, it jointly celebrated the new year online with people from all over the world, especially teenagers. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/charm-of-jiangsu-celebrated-the-2021-chinese-new-year-with-overseas-fans-online-301250057.html SOURCE Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 18, 2021--A new, simpler solution process for fabricating stable perovskite solar cells overcomes the key bottleneck to large-scale production and commercialization of this promising renewable-energy technology, which has remained tantalizingly out of reach for more than a decade. "Our work paves the way for low-cost, high-throughput commercial-scale production of large-scale solar modules in the near future," said Wanyi Nie, a research scientist fellow in the Center of Integrated Nanotechnologies at Los Alamos National Laboratory and corresponding author of the paper, which was published today in the journal Joule. "We were able to demonstrate the approach through two mini-modules that reached champion levels of converting sunlight to power with greatly extended operational lifetimes. Since this process is facile and low cost, we believe it can be easily adapted to scalable fabrication in industrial settings." The team invented a one-step spin coating method using sulfolane, a liquid solvent. The new process allowed the team, a collaboration among Los Alamos and researchers from National Taiwan University (NTU), to produce high-yield, large-area photovoltaic devices that are highly efficient in creating power from sunlight. These perovskite solar cells also have a long operational lifetime. "We are excited about this achievement," said Prof. Leeyih Wang, the principal investigator of the NTU group and one of the corresponding authors, "this is a new synthetic route that is widely applicable in the rich perovskite material family." Hsin-Hsiang Huang, a graduate student at NTU and the first author of this paper, said, "We have implemented new chemistry to push it towards a technologically relevant demonstration." Perovskite photovoltaics, seen as a viable competitor to the familiar silicon-based photovoltaics on the market for decades, have been a highly anticipated emerging technology over the last decade. Commercialization has been stymied by the lack of a solution to the field's grand challenge: scaling up production of high-efficiency perovskite solar cell modules from the bench-top to the factory floor. The research paper shows a new route to fabrication by introducing sulfolane as an additive in the perovskite precursor, or the liquid material that creates the perovskite crystal through a chemical reaction. As in other fabrication methods, that crystal is then deposited on a substrate. Through a simple dipping method, the team was able to deposit a uniform, high-quality perovskite crystalline thin film covering a large active area in two mini-modules, one of about 16 square centimeters and the other nearly 37 square centimeters. Fabricating uniform thin film across the entire photovoltaic module's area is essential to device performance. The mini modules achieved a power conversion efficiency of 17.58% and 16.06%, respectively. Those efficiencies are among the top achievable efficiencies reported to date. The power conversion efficiency is a measure of how effectively sunlight is converted into electricity. For other perovskite fabrication methods, one of the major roadblocks to industrial-scale fabrication is their narrow processing window, the time during which the film can be laid down on the substrate. To get a uniform crystalline film that's well bonded to the layer below it, the deposition process has to be strictly controlled within a matter of seconds. Using sulfolane in the perovskite precursor extends the processing window from 9 seconds to 90 seconds, forming highly crystalline, compact layers over a large area while being less dependent on the processing conditions. The sulfolane method can be easily adapted to existing industrial fabrication techniques, which helps to pave the path toward commercialization. A perovskite is any material with a particular crystal structure similar to the mineral perovskite. Perovskites can be engineered and fabricated in extremely thin films, which makes them useful for solar photovoltaic cells. ### The paper: "A simple one-step method with wide processing window," Hsin-Hsiang Huang, Qi-Han Liu, Hsinhan Tsai, Shreetu Shrestha, Li-Yun Su, Po-Tuan Chen, Yu-Ting Chen, Tso-An Yang, Hsin Lu, Ching-Hsiang Chuang, King-Fu Lin, Syang-Peng Rwei, Wanyi Nie, Leeyih Wang, in Joule, March 18, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2021.02.012 The funding: This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) (Contract 89233218CNA000001). Work performed by Shreetu Shrestha and Wanyi Nie was supported by the LANL-LDRD program. Hsinhan Tsai acknowledges the financial support from J. Robert Oppenheimer (JRO) Distinguished Postdoc Fellowship at LANL. About Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Alabama could become the next conservative state to prevent transgender girls from playing on female sports teams as the state House of Representatives on Thursday approved the legislation. Representatives voted 74-19 for the bill that will require K-12 athletes to play on teams based on the biological sex listed on their birth certificates. The approval came after Republicans voted to end a filibuster. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate. More than a dozen states are considering restrictions on transgender athletes or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves last week signed a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or womens sports teams. However, South Carolina lawmakers this week rejected a similar bill. It is unfair for biological males to compete against females in high school sports, Republican Rep. Scott Stadthagen of Hartselle said as debate opened on the bill. Alabama legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in state schools or universities. Democratic legislators questioned the need for the bill, saying the decision should be left to athletic associations and lawmakers shouldnt get involved. Democratic Rep. Napoleon Bracy of Prichard asked what happened to make the legislation a priority in the Alabama Legislature, noting that lawmakers could not point to instances in the state of transgender athletes dominating sports. Rep. Mary Moore, a Democratic representative from Birmingham, expressed concern about the impact on transgender youth and said lawmakers were trying to insert themselves into these decisions. As a body, we are trying to practice medicine without a degree, Moore said. Supporters of the bills say transgender girls are born bigger and faster and have an unfair advantage in competition. Opponents say the bills are rooted in discrimination and fear and violate the federal law barring sex discrimination in education. ROCHESTER, Minn. - With severe weather season just around the corner, the National Weather Service is training volunteer storm spotters to scan the skies and report critical information. During virtual sessions, storm spotters in training are shown how systems develop, how to identify cloud formations, and the best ways to report what they're seeing during weather events. The National Weather Service says between 2010 and 2020, 1256 severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in our region. Those storms can create hazards like damaging winds, hail, and dangerous flash floods. "With a flash flood, we're talking about excessive rains from thunderstorms, maybe repeat thunderstorms over communities where you get a quick 2-to-3 inches and sometimes certainly more, when all your hillsides and creeks rise very quickly and it catches people off guard," said Todd Shea, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service La Crosse. While Minnesota experienced more tornadoes than usual last year, the NWS says the bulk of those that form in our area are considered small. Virtual storm spotter training is free, and with sessions running roughly 90 minutes. If you're interested in becoming a storm spotter, you can find more information by following this link. A group of Oakland teachers protested a plan to bring students back to classrooms starting at the end of the month, calling an agreement between the district and their union reckless and foolish unless staff, students and families are vaccinated. The organizers of the Wednesday protest, which included the union reps from individual schools, rather than Oakland Education Association leadership, urged district teachers to vote against the deal, which would have the first students in preschool through second grade back in classrooms on March 30, with older elementary students and high-needs students across all grades phased in over the following two weeks. In a narrow vote Tuesday, a majority of the 150 members of the representative council who voted recommended that all union members reject the tentative deal on reopening. Any return in April is a betrayal of the right of black, Latina/o, and poor and working class parents to keep their families safe, the organizers said in the announcement of the event, which included a car caravan and speakers. Just five cars and a handful of teachers and parents participated in the planned protest. The car caravan snaked through the neighborhoods starting at East Oakland Pride Elementary School and ending at the Oakland Unified School Districts headquarters downtown, honking to draw attention to signs on the sides of their cars. Stop school reopening that jeopardizes pandemic benefits, one said, and another, Provide all documented & undocumented families with pandemic financial aid. We want to publicize that and go through the community to express our support for everything that the community has done, said organizer Mark Airgood, a special education teacher at Edna Brewer Middle School and a site representative for the Oakland Education Association. Were still in the middle of this pandemic, he said. Bringing kids back now is going to mean theres going to be death in the schools. Theres going to be COVID cases in the schools. Airgood added that students shouldn'treturn to the classroom until all of them are vaccinated, acknowledging that might not be until early 2022. The protesters demands exceed county, state and federal guidelines for reopening schools. Neither state officials nor the Center for Disease Control recommends vaccinations of staff or families be required before students and teachers return to in-person learning. Teachers and parents also oppose reopening until every ZIP code in Oakland reaches a low transmission rate, which is also not required either by ZIP code or for the city and county as a whole. Many private, charter and public schools have reopened in the Bay Area, following county requirements and a litany of mitigation efforts. The protesters, however, said reopening could harm families health as well as financial status. Additionally, if schools reopen five days a week, families lose pandemic unemployment assistance benefits whether or not they chose to send their children to school in person, organizers said. The union and district reached the tentative agreement over the weekend. It requires the approval of the school board which is expected to vote on March 31, a day after the first students return and union membership, with teachers able to vote from Wednesday through Saturday. The executive leadership of the union supported the agreement with an 80% vote after the deal was reached. If approved, it would reopen one of the states largest urban districts, with an estimated 13,000 students returning to classrooms in April, including high-needs students across all grades, including homeless students, foster youth, English learners, disengaged students and those with special needs. At least one middle or high school grade would be also back by April 19. Oakland schools are expected to reopen before those in San Francisco, which will start welcoming students back on April 12. Students would likely return part time with a hybrid model. Getting our students safely back to a more normal routine will go a long way to fostering their education and their mental, physical and emotional well-being, board President Shanthi Gonzales recently told the Chronicle. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. The deal offers teachers a $2,000 stipend for all 2,700 union members who return to in-person learning. Thats in addition to $800 for teachers who opt to return voluntarily in March since not all teachers will be fully vaccinated until mid-April, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Chronicle. Most elementary school families representing 54% of 18,500 students said they want to return to in-person learning, although the responses varied by race, district officials said. About 8% of families did not respond to requests to state a preference. A majority of white, Black, Pacific Islander and multiple ethnicity families said they would like in-person instruction. A relative majority of Latino, Filipino American and low-income families also responded positively to in-person learning, although they had a higher rate of non-response. A majority of Asian American families said they preferred to remain in distance learning. The pandemic has disproportionately harmed communities of color and low-income families, whove borne the brunt of job losses and higher case numbers and deaths related to COVID-19. Vanessa Campuzano, whose daughter Hatziri is in third grade, showed up to the car caravan to protest the tentative agreement, saying that the district doesnt have an adequate plan in place. I understand the importance of the kids going back to school, she said. Teachers already dont get paid enough, and theyre doing so much. A $2,000 stipend ... I feel like thats a spit in their face. Hatziri, 9, said she did not want to be sent back to school under the current conditions. I dont think we should open the schools because we dont have an exact plan. Like are the kids going to have to wear their masks the whole time? she said. Are they going to sanitize everything when the kids go to the playgrounds and how are they going to have lunch? Meghan Bobrowsky and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: meghan.bobrowsky@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 WellAir, a leader in delivering clean air solutions to people around the world, today announced the appointment of Brad Niemann as Executive Vice President of Healthcare, to help drive the Company's commercial growth within the global healthcare sector. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005069/en/ Brad Niemann, Executive Vice President of Healthcare, WellAir (Photo: Business Wire) "We are pleased to have Brad join our leadership team as we continue to strengthen our commercial and business strategies within healthcare," said Todd M. Pope, President and Chief Executive Officer at WellAir. "His extensive experience in addressing opportunities across the healthcare landscape will enable our team to better invest, innovate and support our healthcare customers as a leading provider of clean air and surface disinfection solutions in the industry." Mr. Niemann brings nearly 20 years of extensive executive management experience in the medical device industry. Previously he held multiple leadership positions at Orthofix International N.V, a global medical device company focused on musculoskeletal products and therapies. He joined Orthofix in 2012 as Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations. He was promoted to President, BioStim in 2013 and to President of Global Orthofix Spine in 2018. Prior to Orthofix, Mr. Niemann has also held several management and leadership roles at DJO Global, Inc. including Senior Vice President, Recovery Sciences where he led their commercial efforts. "I am thrilled to support the continued growth of WellAir as a leading healthcare company," said Brad Niemann, Executive Vice President, Healthcare at WellAir. "Our recent Defend 1050 510 (k) Class II clearance from the FDA in January 2021 is an important milestone as we continue to launch new healthcare products based on our differentiated technology. Our healthcare focus ensures that we continue to provide innovative solutions addressing the critical role of clean air and surfaces in these environments." About WellAir WellAir's mission is to make the indoor world cleaner and safer. It's that important. Our products are scientifically proven and harmonize how we work, live and play. WellAir, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Stamford, Connecticut, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a leading provider of infection control solutions. The group operates through its core business brands, Novaerus, Plasma Air, and NuvaWave. We reach our customers through multiple channels; this diversity lets them benefit from our broad range of solutions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005069/en/ Contacts: Cindy Caserta WellAir ccaserta@wellairsolutions.com 203-451-3131 Renee Volpini Westwicke/ICR Renee.Volpini@westwicke.com 917-923-8117 Function and structure of pufferfish TMEM206. (A) Schematic of channel constructs used for electrophysiology and single-particle cryo-EM experiments. Thr represents a thrombin cleavage site. (B and C) Representative whole-cell current traces activated by extracellular pH 4.6 for pufferfish TMEM206 (B) and TMEM206EM (C). Channel constructs were expressed in TMEM206 knockout human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells. (D) Normalized current-to-pH relationships of pufferfish TMEM206 (n = 6 to 9 cells per data point) and TMEM206EM (n = 5 to 6 cells per data point). All currents were recorded at room temperature and normalized to pH 4.0 currents at +100 mV. (E) Anion selectivity for pufferfish TMEM206 and TMEM206EM. Data are presented as means SEM (n.s., not significant; Students t test). (F) Cryo-EM density of pufferfish TMEM206EM contoured at 7.0 and colored by individual subunits. (G) Trimeric structure of pufferfish TMEM206EM. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe5983 The transmembrane protein 206 abbreviated as TMEM206 is an evolutionarily conserved chloride channel that underlies the ubiquitously expressed, proton-activated, outwardly rectifying anion currents. In a new report now published on Science Advances, Zengqin Deng and a multidisciplinary research team at the Washington University School of Medicine, in Saint Louis, U.S. described the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the pufferfish TMEM206. The structure formed a trimeric channel with two transmembrane segments and a large extracellular domain. According to the results, Deng et al. showed how an ample vestibule in the extracellular region could be accessed laterally from three side portals, where the central pore contained multiple constructions. For instance, a conserved lysine residue close to the cytoplasmic region of the inner helix, presumably formed the chloride ion selectivity filter. The core structure and assembly resembled those of sodium channels that are unrelated in amino acid sequence, and therefore conduct cations instead of anions. Together with electrophysiology they provided insights on ion conduction and gating for a new class of chloride channels that are architecturally distinct from previously described chloride channel families. Chloride ion channels Chloride ions are abundant anions in animals, and they move across cell membranes via chloride channels and transporters for a variety of cellular functions, including cell volume regulation, intracellular acidification and excitability control in muscles. The ions are widely observed in mammalian cells although the molecular components behind the chloride currents have remained elusive until now. Two independent studies that used genome-wide RNA interference screening had identified TMEM206 as the underlying anion channel. The TMEM206 is evolutionally conserved in vertebrates. Chloride channels are diverse in both amino acid sequence and three-dimensional architecture. In this work, Deng et al. presented a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of pufferfish TMEM206 to reveal a trimeric channel architecture different from those previously known. The scientists combined electrophysiology with this work to provide the first structural and functional description of an evolutionarily conserved and broadly expressed chloride channel to establish a molecular framework and understand chloride conduction and channel gating. Subunit structure and channel assembly. (A) Structure of a single subunit, showing the transmembrane domain (red), inner -domain (blue), outer -domain (orange), and HTH (green). Secondary structure elements are indicated. (B) Trimeric channel assembly. Two of the subunits are shown in surface representation. (C) Orthogonal view as in (B), from the extracellular side. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe5983 The researchers used green fluorescent protein-tagged constructs to identify TMEM206 candidates and selected pufferfish TMEM206 due to their 50 percent shared sequence identity to the human chloride channel. Deng et al. then purified the full-length wild-type pufferfish TMEM206 protein and subjected it to single-particle cryo-EM analysis. Using 3D reconstruction maps, they revealed a trimeric channel architecture with transmembrane and extramembrane domains. The TMEM206 formed a symmetric trimer, where each subunit contained a transmembrane domain (TMD) with two membrane-spanning helices named TM1 and TM2 and a large extracellular domain (ECD) enriched with -domains with additional motifs further organized in the upper and lower layers. Additionally, extensive side-chain contacts were involved through van der Waals interactions in the inner and outer- domains. The trimeric channel assembly introduced three lateral openings or side portals in the middle of the extracellular region to likely facilitate the passage of ion and water. The elongated side portals extended to the ECD-TMD junction for tight packing interactions to resume. To overcome any technical difficulties of determining the structure of the protein, Deng et al. fused the C-terminal of bone-restricted interferon-induced transmembrane-like protein (abbreviated BRIL); a four-helix bundle protein widely used as a crystallization chaperone to improve membrane stability and promote crystal formation. Intersubunit interface. (A) Trimeric interface at the apex of the ECD. Side chains of K267 and F238 are highlighted. (B) Side view of the intersubunit interface at the top layer of the ECD. Residues involved in the interface are shown in stick representation. (C) Side portal in the middle of the ECD between two neighboring subunits. Surface and residues lining the wall are illustrated. (D) TM1-TM2 intersubunit interface. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe5983 Ion permeation pathway and mutagenesis studies Using pore radius calculations, Deng et al. showed how the central ion conduction pore contained multiple constrictions to prevent ion passage. The structure represented nonconductive conformation due to the high pH buffer conditions (pH 8.0) used to determine the cryo-EM structure. The voluminous and elongated central vestibule could be accessed laterally due to the lack of protein-protein contacts in the extracellular domain. The narrow point of the protein channel did not interfere with ion conduction and could be maintained during the channel gating cycle as ions passed through the three side portals. The slightly positive electrostatic potential of the interior walls of the central vestibule and side entryways also facilitated the attraction of chloride ions. At the extracellular domain-transmembrane domain (ECD-TMD) junction, three strands connected to the outer helices and moved inward to join inner helices to generate an extracellular gate above the bilipid layer. Consecutive constructions at the pore-facing positions formed a hydrophobic gate which could prohibit ion conduction. To support the structural findings, Deng et al. performed mutagenesis studies on key pore-living residues. When they substituted the conserved basic residues with alanine or acidic residues, the acid-activated chloride currents were abolished. In contrast, arginine substitutions retained channel function to further support the requirement of positive charges in the anion-selective filter. For instance, the I310 domain formed a critical component of the transmembrane gate and another structure known as K320 formed the anion selectivity filter. The work supported structural conservation between the human and pufferfish orthologs to represent a physiologically relevant model for chloride channels. Ion permeation pathway. (A) Structure of TMEM206EM and the central ion conduction pore, shown in surface representation. Residues generating constrictions are highlighted and labeled. The side portal is indicated. (B) Central ion conduction pore and estimation of the radius (right panel). (C) Surface representation of the channel, colored by surface electrostatic potential (red, 5 kT/e; white, neutral; blue, +5 kT/e). The side portal and cytoplasmic vestibule are indicated. (D) Extracellular gate at the ECD-TMD junction. V101, T301, and N303 are shown in stick representation. (E) Transmembrane gate, constituted by I310, G313, and M316. (F) Putative selectivity filter defined by K320. Also shown are side-chain densities for K320, contoured at 6.5 . (G and H) Current densities with an extracellular pH of 7.3 (G) and 4.6 (H) at +100 mV for TMEM206 mutants. The whole-cell membrane currents were recorded by using voltage ramping from 100 to +100 mV for 500 ms at a holding potential of 0 mV. (I) Ratio of current density at pH 4.6 to pH 7.3. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe5983 Structural convergence The topology, structure and assembly of TMEM206 represented those of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC)/degenerin superfamily of ion channels, including acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs); despite a lack of distinct amino acid sequence homology between the two channels. The trimeric channels for oppositely charged sodium and chloride ions, nevertheless shared a common core structure flanked by two transmembrane helices. The team noted how the extracellular gate between the central vestibule and transmembrane pore could be expanded to pass ions through after channel activation. While epithelial sodium channels could be activated by releasing inhibitory peptides through proteolysis in the extracellular domain, the ASICs and TMEM206 could only be activated by extracellular protons. The conserved structural features between TMEM and AS1CS also suggested analogous gating conformational changes for the two molecules. Structural comparison with ASIC and ENaC. (A to C) Subunit structures of TMEM206 (A), ASIC1a [Protein Data Bank (PDB): 6AVE] (B), and ENaC (PDB: 6BQN) (C). Domains are similarly colored. (D) Superposition of TMEM206, colored as in (A), and ASIC1a colored in cyan. (E) Trimeric TMEM206 channel and its central ion conduction pore. The pore is estimated using the program HOLE and depicted as colored dots (pore radius: red < 1.15 A < green < 2.3 A < blue). (F) Trimeric ASIC1a channel and the central pore in the closed (middle, PDB: 6AVE) and open (right, PDB: 4NTW) states. Credit: Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe5983 Outlook In this way, Zengqin Deng and colleagues used single-particle cryo-EM to determine the structure of integral membrane proteins that are typically unattainable using traditional X-ray crystallography. It is still a significant technical challenge to achieve near-atomic resolution for membrane proteins of small size due to low contrast and signal-to-noise ratios. Deng et al. obtained a 3.5 angstrom resolution structure of a channel by fusing a small crystallization chaperone BRIL to improve stability of the otherwise suboptimal membrane proteins to promote crystal packing. Based on the conserved core structure, the channels were selective for either cations or anions and experienced similar gating conformational changes. The work established a new class of chloride channels to form a new framework for further functional and mechanical investigations in cell and structural biology. Explore further Gene for acid-sensitive ion channel identified 2021 Science X Network Serelay Technologies LTD, a provider of software applications which enable any mobile device to capture verifiable content, announced today it has become a member of the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) to produce the first publicly available implementation of the CAI's new provenance standard aimed at promoting trust in digital media. Using CAI technology, Serelay's Trusted Media CaptureTM software records hundreds of anonymised data points relating to an image at the moment of capture. These data points, including location, Wi-Fi networks, cell tower readings and other values, are then linked to the media item so that it can be queried for authenticity. The analysis can quickly spot whether even one pixel or video frame has changed and retrieve the original time and location of capture. By providing provenance data for images and videos, the software will help consumers better understand the origins of digital content. Millions of people belong to Adobe's community of creative professionals, and Serelay's Verification as a Service solution will be compatible with content files edited on apps including Adobe's flagship Photoshop and Adobe Behance, which discovers and showcases creative work. This means news organisations, social networks and other platforms seeking to validate User Generated Content (UGC) can query both origin and editing information instantaneously. "We can now provide a truly scalable solution for visual content authenticity, one that covers its full lifecycle from capture through to editing and final publication," said Clinton Montague, Serelay's CTO. Serelay has rolled out CAI metadata support to its two free mobile apps: Serelay Idem and Serelay React. It also is offering interested parties the option to equip their own apps with these capabilities by licensing the company's mobile SDK. The proliferation of AI tools has made manipulating images and videos much easier, increasing the prevalence of misinformation, disinformation, and other forms of manipulation like deepfakes. "Embedding immutable origin metadata in content is a powerful tool whose time has come. We see this launch as a first step towards equipping the billions of mobile devices already out there, and new devices coming out, with image verification capabilities," said Serelay's founder Roy Azoulay. "Providing provenance data from the point of capture is a key goal in the Content Authenticity Initiative's work to build trust and transparency across the digital content ecosystem. Partnering with Serelay on this effort brings us one step closer to giving creators and consumers alike the context they need to help determine the authenticity and origin of media they're viewing," said Andy Parsons, Director, Content Authenticity Initiative. About Serelay Serelay enables mobile device users to capture photos and videos which are inherently verifiable. The company published two free apps which add verification data to photos taken with mobile phones, for Android and Apple phones. Serelay Idem enables capturing verifiable photos and videos, through Serelay's own camera app. Serelay React does the same, but with the stock camera of the device. Users install the app once and every photo/video they snap on their stock camera is synced by React for content, time and location verifiability. The company also offers interested parties the option to equip their own apps with these capabilities by licensing its mobile SDK. Serelay's technology has previously been piloted with Guardian News Media Ltd, to validate, and verify the origin and authenticity user generated content captured and submitted by Guardian readers through a Serelay-powered application. Serelay has previously received backing from the Google Digital News Initiative, the European Space Agency and Innovate UK. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005018/en/ Contacts: Amir Mizroch amir@orangegrovecomms.com Adobe: Shamima Begum, UKI Communications E: Shamima@adobe.com I went to a birthday dinner for a friend recently, and we reminisced and laughed until the restaurant was hushed and I got to my feet to propose a toast. I told his guests that he and I first met aged six when I rescued him from a mauling at the hands of an eight-year-old girl. She had already whaled his preconceptions of victory out of him and was starting on his earwax and snot when I bribed her, with a musk stick, to lay off. When shed withdrawn, I dusted him down and introduced myself and warned him to never again go toe-to-toe with such a mature woman without me there to barter for his life. At first I kept him around because he was good at undoing knots in fishing line. Undoing knots may not seem a treasurable skill these days, but we were suffering a European carp plague at the time, and knots turned out to be another type of arithmetic beyond me. Credit: I told his birthday guests that not long after meeting him, while watching Gilligans Island, I realised he was my Gilligan. Watching F Troop, I realised he was my Corporal Agarn ... he was my Dr Watson, my Sancho Panza. Any hero worth his salt has a clueless sidekick, a befuddled scapegoat to take the heat, and I had found mine. I told them Id enjoyed a number of befuddled sidekicks throughout my life, but this friend whose birthday we were celebrating was my first and best. Being physically braver than I, he got beaten in a lot of fights I picked. My enemies were numberless and their anger was easily diverted towards him. He was stoned in a prepubescent race riot I incited, and hunted across the land by a victorious girl-army in a war between the sexes I may have provoked. At school, like any good whipping boy, he was caned for the crimes of his prince. I even shot him twice, but both were ricochets. Joe Biden has decided to skip the part where a new president acts like he might get along with Vladimir Putin. When George W. Bush first met the Russian leader in 2001at a time when the previously obscure Putin was still something of a mystery in the Westhe famously said he had looked the man in the eye and found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. I was able to get a sense of his soul. Bush would later regret the remark when Russia went to war with U.S. ally Georgia in 2008. Advertisement Barack Obama had the advantage of coming into office when the more amenable Dmitry Medvedev was president (though Putin, then prime minister, was still unofficially the most powerful man in the country), and he promised a reset in relations with Russia. But after a few productive agreements on arms control and Afghanistan, relations foundered over Ukraine, Syria, Libya, and a host of other crises. Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Donald Trumps frequently expressed fondness for Putin and his desire for better relations with Russia was the subject of just a bit of controversy early in his presidency, but it didnt amount to much in practice. U.S.-Russia relations lurched from crisis to crisis under the Trump administration, which ended up imposing even tougher sanctions on Russian officials than the Obama administration had and selling weapons to Putins rivals in Ukraine. Advertisement Biden, by contrast, has promised no resets. The president is a longtime Russia hawk and made that stance a major feature of his 2020 campaign. In his first major foreign policy speech, he said that he had made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actionsinterfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizensare over. So the sentiments Biden expressed about Putin in an interview with ABCs George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday werent exactly a surprise, but the way he expressed them still managed to set off a diplomatic crisis.* Biden repeated a story he had previously told in a 2014 New Yorker profile, in which he, referring to the Bush line, once told Putin during a face-to-face meeting that he had looked in your eyes and I dont think you have a soul. Putin supposedly replied, We understand each other. Advertisement Advertisement When Stephanopoulos followed up by asking Biden if he thinks Putin is a killer, the president replied, I do.* Putin has responded by calling Biden a hypocrite, saying that all countries have to deal with bloody events and that I remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard with each other we used to say: It takes one to know one. And thats not a coincidence, not just a childrens saying or joke. The psychological meaning here is very deep. (Putins specific words were apparently a popular playground taunt along the lines of I know you are but what am I that rhymes in Russian.) Seemingly referring to Bidens age, Putin also wished him good health. Later, Putin challenged Biden to a live televised debate to settle their differences. Let no one doubt the Russian leaders trolling skills. Advertisement On a more serious note, the Kremlin also recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations. He is likely to return once this blows over, but still, this is something that hasnt happened for decades. U.S.-Russia relations were already in a very bad place, and this wont help them. But how much will it really matter? Generally speaking, when you call someone a killer, you follow it up with action, though as the recent case of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shows, thats not the case for everyone. Similarly to its handling of the investigation of MBSs role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration has declassified an intelligence finding that Russias FSB security agency was behind the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and has announced new sanctions against a number of Russian officials in response, but none targeting Putin himself. (The Russian president is in direct control of the FSB.) Advertisement Advertisement Biden said in the ABC interview that Putin would pay a price for Russian interference in the 2020 election, as alleged in a new report from the director of national intelligence, and the U.S. is expected to unveil new sanctions within days. But thats hardly unexpected. At this point, the U.S. is already enforcing so many sanctions on Russia that officials there likely price such measures into their foreign policy calculations. Biden probably doesnt want to blow up the U.S.-Russia relationship entirely. Despite tensions, Biden and Putin agreed to an extension of the New START arms control treaty in January. Russia is hosting talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban this week, at a time when the Biden administration is pushing those two sides to reach a peace agreement. Even after the killer exchange, Biden was quick to add that the two countries can walk and chew gum at the same time. Therere places where its in our mutual interest to work together. Advertisement Still, Biden could have found a more diplomatic way to answer Stephanopoulos question, and the fact that he didnt suggests that this was either a gaffe or hes essentially written off the idea of Putin as a potential partner.* Ultimately the killer affair may have more to do with domestic politics in both countries than foreign policy. All Biden really did was repeat a story hes been telling for years, and concur with his own intelligence agencies assessments of Putins activities. But by choosing to do it, he did draw a contrast with Trump, who famously responded with some Putinesque whataboutism when Bill OReilly suggested to him that Putin was a killer in 2017. The Trump years opened up a wide partisan gap in U.S. views on Putin, and its hard to imagine Biden will suffer politically for criticizing the Russian leader, no matter how glibly. Advertisement As for Putin, hes been using international crises to deflect attention from problems at home for decades now. A shot across the bow from Biden, when it can be spun as an attack on all Russians, is a gift for the Russian president. His sarcastic response, and the contrast hes drawing to the supposedly doddering American leader, will also play well with his supporters. Neither the U.S. nor Russia is likely to benefit from any of this, but both presidents probably got what they wanted. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Banque du CaireA was awarded the Best Activation and Customer Engagement Brand, 2020, Most Innovative Banking Brand, 2020, Most Innovative CSR Initiative for Women Empowerment, 2020A Most Developed Banking Brand, 2019, in Egypt by Global Brands Magazine during the 2019-2020 Banking Awards Program. Banque du CaireA was recognized by the jury for their successful efforts in creating fresh new identity with Iconic new brand yet reflecting the strength of its heritage and experience as well as flourishing digital banking ecosystem. Mr. Tarek Fayed, CEO of BDC, commented: "At Banque du Caire, we embraced the need for transformation, not only in our logo, corporate culture and products, but in the experience we provide to all of our customers. We created a new Banque du Caire experience that is surely innovative, convenient and comfortable." The Global Brand Awards aim to recognize brands achieving excellence in performance across a broad range of sectors while keeping its readers updated on key trends surrounding the branding world. This award is a testament to the lengths Banque du Caire is willing to go to ensure they are successful in their consistent efforts to elevate customer satisfaction.A Mr.Jay Reddy, Director of Global Brands Magazine commented: "We hope Banque Du Caire continues to revolutionize the digital banking landscape for decades to come." About Banque du Caire Banque du Caire is one of Egypt's oldest and largest full-service banks that provides a complete array of products & services to the retail and corporate markets. Offering clients a full suite of unique digital retail and corporate banking services,the bank has been able to leverage its extensive distribution network of regular and digital branches spanning the entirety of Egypt. It is renowned for pioneering an institutionalized micro-finance, spearheading a push for financial inclusion, community development, and entrepreneurial empowerment long before others in the industry. About Global Brands Magazine Global Brands Magazine has been on the forefront, bringing news, views and opinions on brands that are shaping the future of their industry. Each year,GBM develops a series of awards for companies that stood out having a unique vision, exceptional service, innovative solutions and consumer-centric products, among their industry leaders.The Brand Awards highlight accomplishments of organizations that have performed remarkably well in the field of Finance, Education,Hospitality, Technology, Lifestyle, Education, Real Estate, and several more. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1455293/GBM_Logo_2020.jpg A Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1455303/GMB_Banque_du_Caire.jpg A A Chicago has always been it. Its hard to put to words how I made it home. My parents wont have to download apps anymore (to watch my weather reports), they can wake up and get the weather from the comfort of home, she said. [March 18, 2021] New project under the Universal Broadband Fund to bring fast, reliable high-speed Internet to rural King Township OTTAWA, ON, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ - The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored how too many Canadians living in rural and remote communities lack access to high-speed Internet. More than ever, Canadians need access to reliable high-speed Internet that helps us work, learn, and stay in touch with friends and family from home. Through the Rapid Response Stream of the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), the Government of Canada is taking immediate action to connect all Canadians to high-speed Internet. Today, the Honourable Deb Schulte, Minister of Seniors and Member of Parliament for KingVaughan, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced an investment of $2.27 million to bring high-speed Internet to rural residents in the communities of Pottageville, Nobleton and Lloydtown in King Township. With an additional investment of nearly $1.7 million from Vianet, this project will connect 485 underserved households to high-speed Internet. The $1.75-billion Universal Broadband Fund was launched on November 9, 2020. Projects funded under the UBF, as well as through other public and private investments, will help connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% connectivity by 2030. To facilitate applications for projects like this one, the UBF provided additional pathfinder support for all applicants, and in particular small applicants, to build partnerships, find potential sources of funding and navigate the application process. Today's announcement builds on the progress the Government of Canada has already made to improve broadband access in Ontario. Since 2015, the federal government has committed over $233 million to 23 connectivity projects in Ontario, which will connect over 33,000 households to high-speed Internet. The Government of Canada will continue to make investments like these to help connect every Canadian to the fast and reliable Internet they need. Quotes "Canadians' access to high-speed Internet should not depend on their postal code. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has made expanding Canadians' access to high-speed broadband a top priority. We're proud to work with Vianet to bring reliable, affordable high-speed Internet to hundreds of King families. Through these investments and parterships, the government is bridging the connectivity gap." "Vianet is very pleased with this announcement under the federal government's Universal Broadband Fund to continue the expansion of our fibre-to-the-home network in rural King Township. In 2017, Vianet connected the first rural home to our FTTH network in King Township, and we have been making incremental investments to service additional rural homes each year since then. Today's announcement will accelerate that expansion, servicing more homes that are in desperate need of better, more reliable Internet. We would like to thank Minister Monsef and the federal government for their commitment to bring quality broadband to rural Canadians. We would also like to thank MP Deb Schulte along with King Township for working with us in furthering these builds." Brian McCullagh, Director of Business Development, Vianet "Access to reliable, affordable high-speed Internet is one of the largest issues we deal with in King Township. Our residents need to be able to connect with family, friends and workplaces, while our business community needs it to remain competitive, especially during the current pandemic. On behalf of council, I'd like to thank the Government of Canada for the significant investment in King through the Universal Broadband Fund. I'd also like to thank Vianet for its additional investment. Vianet has been a tremendous partner in helping to connect King's residents to high-speed Internet over the last several years. I know the almost 500 households in Pottageville, Nobleton and Lloydtown will benefit greatly from this great news." Steve Pellegrini, Mayor of the Township of King Quick facts The Government of Canada provided nearly a million dollars for the King Township Fibre Optic Broadband Expansion project, which was completed in 2019two years ahead of scheduleand connected over a thousand homes and businesses. provided nearly a million dollars for the King Township Fibre Optic Broadband Expansion project, which was completed in 2019two years ahead of scheduleand connected over a thousand homes and businesses. Canada's Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload. Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload. The Universal Broadband Fund is part of a suite of federal investments to improve high-speed Internet. The suite includes the Connect to Innovate program, which is expected to connect nearly 400,000 households by 2023, and the recently announced $2-billion broadband initiative from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Associated links Backgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit satellite capacity agreement Universal Broadband Fund Connect to Innovate Program Project status updates Canada Infrastructure Bank announcement High-Speed Access for All: Canada's Connectivity Strategy Stay connected Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 18, 2021] Pitcairn Announces Key Promotion JENKINTOWN, Pa., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitcairn, the leading family office specializing in helping ultra-high-net-worth families navigate the challenging interplay of family and financial dynamics, announced today it has promoted Andrew Busser to the role of President, Family Office. In this newly created role Busser leads Pitcairn's integrated team of twenty-two client service, growth and communications professionals. "Pitcairn has been one of America's leading family offices for nearly a century, and Andy has been a key leader of our strategy, growth and culture since joining the firm in 2015. I am delighted he has taken on this expanded role, leading our talented team to continue serving clients in a highly personal and comprehensive way," said Leslie C. Voth, Pitcairn's Chairman, CEO and President. "I am grateful for the opportunity to work withthis experienced group of outstanding people as Pitcairn continues to set the standard for what a family office can be," said Andrew Busser, President, Family Office. "I look forward to working even more closely with our client families as we help them achieve their potential across generations." Since joining Pitcairn in 2015, Busser has championed increased focus on the Pitcairn client experience, and has worked with clients, prospective clients and industry leaders to raise awareness of the firm's unique Wealth Momentum service model. He holds an AB in History from Colgate University and is currently a trustee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. About Pitcairn Founded in 1923, Pitcairn is a true family office and leader in helping families navigate the challenges and opportunities created by the interplay of family and financial dynamics. Through Wealth Momentum, an experience-based family office service model, Pitcairn helps families and single family offices achieve a more effective and complete experience. Since its inception, Pitcairn has partnered with some of the world's wealthiest families to meet their needs and drive better outcomes year to year, decade to decade, generation to generation. Today, Pitcairn is recognized as an innovator, guiding families through generational transitions and redefining the industry standard for family offices. The firm is headquartered in Philadelphia, with offices in New York and Washington, DC, and a network of resources around the world. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pitcairn-announces-key-promotion-301249944.html SOURCE Pitcairn [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Israel launched a missile attack on suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus late on Tuesday leading to Syrian air defenses to respond to the strikes, state television reported. State TV said Syrian air defense shot down some of the Israeli missiles before they hit their targets. It gave no further details or say which suburbs came under attack. They were the first attacks since February 28, when Israeli missiles struck the southern suburbs of 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. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) South Africa: Campaign to educate citizens against unregistered vaccine centres Deputy President David Mabuza says government has developed an awareness campaign aimed at educating members of the public on the dangers of utilising unregistered COVID-19 vaccine centres. The Deputy President said this when he replied to oral questions at the National Assembly on Wednesday. As part of its agenda, not only does government want to acquire COVID-19 vaccines that are manufactured abroad, there is also an intention to locally manufacture them. Against this background, and to be successful in such aspirations, government must counter illegal activities such as the production of sub-standard or falsified vaccines. Furthermore, we have through the communication workstream of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 vaccines, developed a public awareness campaign to conscientise the public on the dangers of utilising unregistered vaccine centres. There are also webinars and radio programmes that are being utilised to engage various stakeholders on vaccine corruption risks, as well as in how we could jointly implement mitigation measures. Communication of detection and prosecution of any corruption will be done on a regular basis to enhance transparency and public accountability, he said. The Deputy President said all registered vaccine centres will be published on various platforms to that all citizens can have access to this information. He said government is working towards increasing the number of testing laboratories to expedite quality assurance of all vaccines produced. All suppliers will be requested to produce regulatory certificates to buyers, providing a unique identifier on delivery of the vaccines and online verification of that certificate. Ultimately, we are confident of the effectiveness of the plans we have made and the measures we have put in place to combat any form of corruption. The most important intervention at this first phase, which is targeted at vaccinating healthcare workers, is to require those being inoculated to produce proof of employment. This means that people cannot jump the queue by falsely claiming to be frontline workers in the healthcare sector. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-18. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Wife Upstairs, an instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller, is the first novel Rachel Hawkins has written for adults, but its far from her first book. Your bookish teenage daughter has probably read one of her previous books. Ive seen it referred to as my debut novel, she says in a phone interview from her home in Auburn. Im the new kid on the block on my 12th book. The Alabama author has written young adult fiction (YA) full-time for the past 10 years. Her new novel is a page-turning, often laugh-out-loud funny retelling of Charlotte Bronte's classic tale Jane Eyre. In Rachels version, a plain Jane with kleptomaniac tendencies moves to Birmingham, gets a job as a dog walker and meets a handsome, wealthy widower, Eddie Rochester. She soon learns that his wife, Bea, the founder of a Southern lifestyle brand, recently died in a boating accident or did she? The book takes place in fictional Thornfield Estates (a nod to Thornfield Hall, where Mr. Rochester lived in Jane Eyre), a neighborhood of McMansions in Mountain Brook. Rachel has fun skewering the families in the neighborhood, with the moms in expensive yoga clothes driving lookalike SUVs. Its like shes created her own Real Housewives of Birmingham in their seemingly perfect world. Im never getting invited to their country club now, Rachel says with her easy laugh. Born in Virginia, Rachels family moved to Dothan when she was a baby. An only child, she was always a really big reader and a writer, she says. She remembers her parents taking her to the Young Authors Festival at Troy University when she was seven or eight years old. While a student at Houston Academy, she won a short-story contest sponsored by the Montgomery Advertiser. It was kind of a fun hobby to have, she says. Some kids play sports. At Auburn University, she started out in criminology and had several majors before ending up switching to English literature in hopes of going to law school. She met her husband, John, at Auburn. After they graduated, he started teaching high school science. Wanting to have the same schedule, she taught preschool in Huntsville, then high school at Sparkman in Harvest. Doing that, I came back to writing, she says. I was passionate about teaching teenagers. To connect to her students, she acquired a classroom library that was well-stocked with YA books. I didnt know how broad it had gotten, she says. It was a genre that spoke to me. Inspired to write for teens, she wrote her first book, Hex Hall, in 2008. I didnt know anybody, she says. I just wrote a book and started researching to see what she should do next. She found an agent who sold her book. Rachel had thought she would be a teacher forever, but she quit after only three years to pursue her writing career. Hex Hall became a New York Times bestseller with three more books in the series; she wrote a trilogy, Rebel Belle, which is set in a Fairhope-type town in Alabama; and she authored two other YA books and two standalone middle-grade books. "The Wife Upstairs" is Rachel Hawkins's first novel for adults. The Wife Upstairs has an unusual backstory. Rachels agent approached her about writing a modern version of Jane Eyre, and her competitive spirit compelled her to try. She wrote some sample pages and the story was bought by St. Martins. At first, she gave her version a nondescript setting, but then she changed it to the place she knows best. Alabama opened up so many possibilities, she says. Ive been here my whole life and still choose to live here. Writing the book, which she finished in the summer of 2019, was really interesting, she says, because she was given the parameters. It was easier to take bigger risks with it, she says. I felt like it changed me as a writer in a good way. Her next book, also with St. Martins Press, is Reckless Girls, scheduled for release in early 2022. Writing it during the pandemic in 2020 allowed her to travel virtually the book is set in Australia and Rome, where her husband taught in 2016. Rachel, John and their 15-year-old son, William, love to travel they went to Scotland in 2012, fell in love with it and have visited annually until last year, when they had to cancel two trips, one in the summer and one at Christmastime. Rachel Hawkins, her husband, John, and their son, William, love to visit Scotland and try to go every year. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Hawkins) Rachel sits down at her desk every morning to write. If its not done by noon, its not getting done, she says. She doesnt work on weekends. Writing every single day is not necessary. At the end, its like a snowball going downhill. Right now, its slow and steady. Currently, shes working on two more books, her third thriller for St. Martins and a romance novel under her pen name, Erin Sterling. Kissing books and murder books are a nice balance, she jokes. As prolific as she is, her writing doesnt always flow easily. Even though Ive done this a bunch of times, I sometimes feel like I cant do it, she says. There are big stretches where its like pulling teeth. Some days Ill write 250 words, and some days a whole chapter. Though its far from being her first novel, The Wife Upstairs marks a new beginning for Rachel in many ways. Im thrilled people have taken to it, she says. I wanted those who loved Jane Eyre to enjoy it, but also those whove never read it. It just goes to show that life has a lot of acts. This is a new act. WASHINGTON Decades ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendments prohibition of establishment of religion was violated if the government supplied maps to religious schools, but not if it supplied books. So, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-New York, mischievously wondered: What about atlases, which are books of maps? Now comes another occasion for hairsplitting. At the courts conference on April 1, the nine judicial brows will be furrowed as they consider whether to hear a case from Maine that poses this question: Is it constitutional for that state to say that parents can use state aid to pay tuition at religious schools if the schools are not too religious. If, that is, they are not excessively serious about religion, with excess to be determined by government officials measuring such things with some unspecified theological micrometer. In 1925, the court, in unanimously striking down an Oregon law requiring children to attend public schools, declared that a childs education is within the liberty of the parents and guardians to direct. Nineteen years ago, the court upheld a Cleveland program empowering parents to redeem publicly funded vouchers at religious and nonreligious private schools. The court held that the program had a valid secular purpose (education). And that any advancement of, or entanglement of government with, religion was merely incidental because the money reached the school by the private choices of parents, and this involved no imprimatur of government approval of religion. Last year, in a case from Montana, the court held that if a state decides to subsidize private education, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because of their status as religious. Now, the court is being asked (by a pair of parents) to decide whether Maine can disqualify a school that has a religious status because of the use the school would make of the tuition money. Maine says, in effect, that it can disqualify a religious school that takes its status too seriously. In the many Maine school districts that neither operate a public secondary school nor contract with a school to educate district students, parents can use state funds to pay tuition at a public or private school, in-state or elsewhere. But only if the school is nonsectarian. Maine says the school must not promote the faith or belief system with which it is associated and must not present the material it teaches through the lens of this faith. That is, parents can pick only religious schools that are not very serious about religion. Maine has no objection to its funds paying tuition at a New Hampshire school that says it teaches universal ... spiritual values. So, Maine, which perhaps has a list of spiritual values that are universal, says a school can have a nominal religious status but cannot act on its particular religious tradition. In the 2020 Montana case, the court acknowledged that some justices have questioned whether there is a meaningful distinction between discrimination based on use or conduct and that based on status. The court did not need to address this because Montana discriminated solely on a schools status. If, however, the court agrees to hear the Maine parents case, the court can clarify whether a state can make a schools participation in a tuition program conditional on the school submitting to government officials intrusive investigations of the schools religiosity. The distinction between the religious status of a school and the use to which a religious school might put tuition is a distinction without a difference: Status and usages are inseparable. Decades ago, the court elaborated a three-part test of whether a statute pertaining to government contact with religion violates the proscription of establishment of religion. One of the three parts is: Does the statute require excessive government entanglement with religion. Surely Maine is plunged into deep entanglements when it undertakes to decide whether this or that religious schools practices are below the states threshold of permissible religiosity. Usually, questions about possibly excessive government entanglements with religion have involved governments somehow endorsing or otherwise promoting religion (e.g., creches on public property, or prayers at public events). If on April 1 the court agrees to hear the Maine case, it can erase the unhelpful distinction between religious status and religious use, a distinction akin to the one it once made between books and maps. GEORGE WILL writes for The Washington Post. TROY - Capital Region high school students looking for pathways to well-paid careers will have more options this fall through a new partnership between BOCES Questar III and Hudson Valley Community College. A high school with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects will be housed on the colleges main campus in Troy and will serve students from seven counties and 46 school districts. Students entering the new high school will take advantage of several career-focused educational tracks through the Pathways in Technology, a six-year P-TECH program and a four-year Smart Scholars Early College High School (ECHS) program. The school will place students on the fast track toward a college degree while saving their families money on tuition costs. This is the first P-TECH and Smart Scholar Early College High School to be hosted on a community college campus in the Capital Region. The school will provide training in computer information systems, engineering technology, environmental science and protection technology, and health science. It will be housed in the colleges newly renovated Lang Technical Building. Students in the programs can earn up to 63 college credits toward an associate degree at no additional cost to their local school districts tuition, fees, books, and instructional materials will be covered. Courses are taught by college faculty; professional development opportunities, increased access to college coursework are additional benefits. Students will study in class with their fellow high school students, as well as in blended classes with college students. The programs are funded through grants from the state Department of Education. P-TECH is funded for $3 million over seven years and Smart Scholars Early College High School is funded for $870,537 over five years. The students will be able to apply to the high school for next fall. The programs are designed to give historically underrepresented students at the post-secondary level the opportunity to get a jump start on their college education. Upon completion, students are connected to jobs in growing fields. Approximately 70 students will be eligible to enter the programs each year, 45 in P-TECH and 25 in ECHS. Creating a strong educational pathway from the regions secondary schools, through our college and extending onward into careers, is what these programs are all about, Hudson Valley President Roger Ramsammy said. We are so excited to be the site of this new partnership with Questar III and we encourage families to take a good look at the very real benefits of P-TECH and Early College Programs. A key component of these programs is engagement from local companies such as the Tech Valley Center of Gravity and the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, whose involvement adds real-world experience and industry knowledge to the students education. Through the partnership, we are trying to expand opportunities for students throughout our region in emerging fields. Its good for our students and their families, for our schools and businesses, and for the larger community, said Anthony Taibi, chief academic officer, Questar III BOCES. Hudson Valley already partners with local school districts on several P-TECH programs, operating the Clean Technologies Early College High School at its TEC-SMART extension center in Malta. HVCC also collaborates on the Riverfront Partnership with Troy High School and provides college credit for advanced coursework in high schools across the region. In the business of leasing planes to airlines, scale has always played a leading role. The merger of the two biggest players is a bet it will become even more important. Investors are cheering AerCaps decision to buy General Electrics jet-leasing unit. Shares in the Irish lessor are up 7% since The Wall Street Journal reported talks on March 7, whereas GEs have lost roughly 4%. If it clears antitrust hurdles, the combined company will have about 2,000 planes, four times the next biggest competitor. The share-price reaction is partly about deal math. AerCap agreed to pay $25 billion in cash and $6.7 billion in shares, leaving GE with a 46% stake in the merged entity. The price implied a 33% discount to the targets net economic book value, more than the 27% discount to book at which AerCaps stock was trading before the news. GE is losing control of a strategic asset, but isnt necessarily getting a bad price given the current pandemic-related uncertainties around aircraft values. AerCap Chief Executive Aengus Kelly is taking on some assets he probably doesnt want, such as a big portfolio of regional planes and some older aircraft. He paid a similar multiple in 2013 for California-based International Lease Finance Corp., Davy Research analyst Ross Harvey points out. Longer term, the deals success will depend on whether Mr. Kelly can bring something of the sparkle of a Silicon Valley platform to his asset-heavy plane-leasing business. Analysts usually highlight that a big lessor can extract greater price concessions from Boeing and Airbus, and access cheaper financing. However, AerCap is already so large that there isnt much extra pricing power it can exert, and the combination shouldnt improve its credit rating either. Instead, Mr. Kellys main rationale is to create a bigger marketplace, where airlines returning jets to owners can be more easily matched to airlines that need them, thus cutting the time that the planes lie idle. Such gains bring lucrative network effects" more often associated with the tech sector. The low-cost airline boom has given way to fleets that are mostly made up of a single type of narrow-body plane. Even legacy carriers have moved away from big expensive planes, even for long-haul flights. The post-Covid era could strengthen this trend, given that budget operators are expected to gain market share and narrow-body jets will be able to fly much longer distances. The result is a commoditization of aircraft, with an increasing number of transactions involving the relatively low-value leasing of jets belonging to either the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737 families. This is a market where relationships and specialist knowledge of each carrier and aircraft class matter less. It instead favors big platforms geared toward higher-volume, lower-margin deals and cutting costs. In the case of the AerCap deal, these prized network effects should make it easier to eliminate duplicate sales staff and some of the 30 offices the combined company will inherit. While small lessors may still be able to carve out market niches, medium-size players seem condemned to merge with each other if they are to compete with a behemoth AerCap. The parts of Wall Street that scout for deal activity can rejoice: In all likelihood, the race for scale among plane lessors is far from over. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. WELLESLEY, Mass., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company today announced that Robertson P. Breed, CFA has been named to the Barron's Top 1,200 Financial Advisors by State list, a ranking of the top advisors in the United States. This is the third consecutive year that Mr. Breed has been recognized as one of Maine's top advisors. "We congratulate Rob on this well-deserved recognition by Barron's," said Tom Manning, CEO at F.L.Putnam. "Rob is a passionate advisor who has dedicated his career to making a positive impact in his clients' lives. We are extremely fortunate to have him as part of our F.L.Putnam family the last thirty years." Mr. Breed began his three-decade career at E.F.Hutton and joined F.L.Putnam in 1991. Today, he serves as the most senior Portfolio Manager at F.L.Putnam where he is responsible for advising high-net-worth individuals and families, foundations, and endowments on their financial needs. He currently oversees the firm's Core U.S. Equity Strategy and co-chairs the Asset Allocation Committee. An active member of the Maine community, Mr. Breed is a Co-Founding Board Member of the CFA Society Maine and serves on the Investment Committee of the Maine Community College System. He also has a long association with several local non-profit organizations including Maine Initiatives, which supports social, economic, and environmental causes throughout Maine. The Barron's ranking of the Top 1,200 Financial Advisors by State is based on data provided by around 4,000 of the nation's most productive advisors. To compile the ranking, Barron's takes several factors into account including assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice and philanthropic work. Investment performance is not an explicit component. For the full list and further information visit: https://www.barrons.com/articles/americas-top-1-200-financial-advisors-our-annual-state-by-state-listing-51615582800. About F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company, an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, provides investment management, financial planning and consulting services to high-net-worth clients, endowments and foundations. For over 35 years, we have delivered a comprehensive set of solutions that help clients build, preserve, and manage their wealth. We serve clients from offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. More information is available at www.flputnam.com. Contact: KWM Communications Kellie Walsh 914-315-6072 [email protected] SOURCE F.L.Putnam Investment Management Company Global tech innovator Lenovo, in collaboration with Microsoft, introduced the EdVision program in 2020 to assist schools in their digital transformation journey and increase digital literacy among the new generation of teachers and students.This March 23, Lenovo is holding its first-ever EdVision Summit, a virtual event exclusively for educators and members of the academe across the region. Learn new ways to navigate the education transformation that blends classroom and online learning! Themed Bridging the Gap in Learning and Technology Under the Not so New Normal, the summit will feature esteemed experts from Lenovo and collaborators Microsoft, Intel, and IDC. Speakers and panelists will discuss the transformation of education and implementation of new models of teaching, learning, and collaboration. With digital transformation in the education sector hastened by the pandemic, a lot of new technology has emerged in the market to help schools adapt. In this time of radical changes, the EdVision Summit offers the platform to have the much-needed conversations on the future of education. Through raising discourse and developing innovative solutions and services, EdVision aims to lead the way to education transformation and empower institutions and students in this pivotal movement, said Michael Ngan, Lenovo Philippines President and General Manager. The rate of acceleration of digital transformation globally demands innovation from institutions to better prepare their students for the digitalized future. To help educators overcome the challenges surrounding the abrupt shift to the digital world, the EdVision Summit panel discussions will tackle the topics Educational Transformation Ensuring Teaching Continuity Using Todays Technology and Shifts in Classroom Education Is Personalized Teaching the New Norm?. Furthermore, a representative from EdVision partner school Lyceum of the Philippines University will grace the event to share their own digital transformation experience and how the technology helped them address the challenges that arose with the transition to online learning. Representatives from premier institutions Xavier School and Miriam College are also invited to share insights on new digital pedagogies and solutions that support online learning. All educators are invited to attend the summit to learn how to better equip their students to excel in the digitalized world. The summit will be on March 23, 2021 (Tuesday) from 3 to 6PM. To register for the free virtual event and learn more about the EdVision program, visit lenovoedvision.com. A Texas Democrat said Wednesday that President Joe Bidens administration has to change its messaging about the border and show migrants being returned. Rep. Henry Cuellar said on Fox News Fox and Friends First that people have to be discouraged from coming incorrectly in a more concise, clear message. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that the number of apprehensions at the southern border is on pace to reach a 20-year high, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. Message number one from the administration has to be changed, Cuellar said. Biden said Tuesday that migrants shouldnt come into the country during an interview with ABC News George Stephanopoulos. The president also told reporters that he has no plans to visit the southern border. Mayorkas said unaccompanied children, arent being turned away, but the majority of single adults and families, according to the statement. Cuellar said people will be influenced by what they hear and images they view of others making the journey over the river. He added that criminal organizations are another aspect of the situation. The criminal organizations are aggressively marketing it because the more people they get the more money they make, Cuellar said. Cuellar said while he was speaking to 16 and 17-year-old teenagers at a shelter, they told him when saw others going over the border on television, they wanted to go over as well. Cuellar said if people arent shown images of others getting turned away, they will only see the images of people going through the border. By Mary Rose Corkery From The Daily Caller News Foundation Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Police in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong are hunting for a suspect who used homemade explosives during the attempted robbery of a gold shop on Wednesday evening. Preliminary information showed that an unidentified man entered Duc De Gold Store on Hai Trieu Street in Hong Bang District at around 7:00 pm before detonating homemade dynamite in the shop. Local residents quickly surrounded the suspect, but he resisted and ended up knifing one person in the process. The suspect also threw his explosive at the group of locals who tried to intervene. In the end, he managed to escape, but was forced to leave empty handed. Police officers seal off Duc De gold shop in order to carry out their investigation, Hai Phong City, Vietnam, March 17, 2021. Photo: Hai Phong / Tuoi Tre Police officers in Hong Bang District arrived at the scene shortly after being notified of the incident. The municipal Department of Public Security was also called to the scene to search for any unexploded ordinances at the shop. Officers have been collecting eyewitnesses' statements and reviewing CCTV footage in order to identify the robber. They believed the suspect resides in An Hong Commune, An Duong District. The investigation into the case is ongoing. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Syria reported Israeli airstrikes near Damascus Tuesday night. Israeli missiles struck around the capital at 10:35 p.m. Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles and only material damage was reported. The missiles were fired from the Golan Heights, the Syrian state media outlet SANA reported. The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the incident, in keeping with its policy of not discussing military actions abroad. Israel is suspected of regular airstrikes against Syrian and Iranian military targets in Syria. Earlier this month, Israel reportedly hit Iranian positions near Damascus following an explosion on an Israeli ship that Israel blamed on Iran. Some of the strikes have also successfully hit Syrian air defense units. Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran in the region. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel was responsible for sabotaging Iranian oil tankers recently. The Syrian government remains at war with rebel groups in the country. Iran supports Syria in the conflict. Wisconsin Judge Charged With 7 Counts of Possessing Child Pornography A judge in Wisconsin has been charged on multiple counts of possessing child pornography, court documents show. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Brett Blomme was arrested Tuesday on charges of allegedly uploading images and videos containing child pornography in October and November through the messaging app Kik at least 27 times, the State Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a 44-page statement. If convicted, each count carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of three years. The defendant is facing seven felony charges, which are representative of as many as 27 potential charges as described in the criminal complaint, Wisconsin Prosecutor David Maas said. The complaint (pdf) charges Bloome with uploading videos and images from a home owned by himself and his husband. The 38-year-old judge was held at the Dane County Jail and made his initial court appearance virtually on Wednesday when DOJ attorneys filed seven felony counts against Blomme, CBS58 reported. Blomme is due back in court for his preliminary hearing on April 29. In the meantime, he was released from prison after being assigned a signature bond. While out on bond, Blomme has been ordered not to use social media or file-sharing apps online and is not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with children other than his own two adopted kids. In a separate statement, the DOJ also announced they barred the judge from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin and ordered his salary to be temporarily withheld. Blomme is the president and CEO of Cream City Foundationa public service that mobilizes philanthropic resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in Southeastern Wisconsinaccording to his LinkedIn profile. The foundation hosts Drag Queen Story Hour, a childrens event in which drag queens read to children. Sex offenders have been identified as participating in Drag Queen Story Time in Texas. Blomme was elected last year in April for a spot on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court after defeating incumbent Paul Dedinsk. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) gave a major endorsement to Blomme ahead of the primary. I support Brett because, like me, he is committed to making Milwaukee a better place for all of us, Moore, who has yet to comment on Blommes arrest, said at the time. He is a former public defender who has dedicated his career to fighting for justice and equity, the endorsement continues. Brett is the change we need to help fix our broken criminal justice system. From NTD News Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:37:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said Thursday that he expects the bilateral relations between Malaysia and China to achieve a new height for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries. Sultan Abdullah made the remarks when he received the credentials presented by the new Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, Ouyang Yujing, at the national palace here. Noting the traditional friendship between the people of Malaysia and China, Sultan Abdullah said the two countries enjoyed deep mutual political trust, with respective interests closely intertwined, while people from both countries are close to and understand each other. Sultan Abdullah expressed his hope that the relations between Malaysia and China could achieve a new height during Ouyang's tenure as ambassador for the mutual benefit of the two peoples. For his part, Ouyang said China and Malaysia have long enjoyed friendly relations. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Malaysia have stood shoulder to shoulder against the difficulties, showing the brotherhood between the two countries, said the ambassador. Amid the continuing progress of economic globalization and society informatization, the future of China and Malaysia are increasingly closely linked, bringing new opportunities of development for bilateral relations and all-around cooperation, said Ouyang. The ambassador said he will do his utmost to further enrich the China-Malaysia comprehensive strategic partnership and to strengthen and deepen the traditional friendship between to two peoples. Enditem Researcher Francis Mutuku standing in front of Nimbodze Pond in Milalani, Msambweni during Kenya's wet season. Credit: A. Desiree LaBeaud Aedes aegypti are the primary vector for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, however the effects of climate change-related weather anomalies on mosquito populations is not well understood. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by Cameron Nosrat at Stanford University, United States and colleagues suggests that early interventions may prevent disease transmission even as extreme climate events may increase the abundance of Ae. aegypti populations. Temperature and rainfall have significant impacts on Ae aegypti abundance, and climate change will likely intensify the frequency of extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, heat waves and cold waves. To better understand the specific effects of weather anomalies on the dynamics of vector-borne disease transmission, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the impact of extreme rainfall and temperature on mosquito abundance and the risk of dengue infections in Kenya. Using satellite-derived climate data, the authors classified extreme climate events rainfall and temperatures as in the upper or lower 10% of historical averages. The researchers then monitored Aedes aegypti abundance using trapping methods and new dengue fever cases via blood samples collected from a cohort of 7,653 children. Flood seasons contributed to significantly higher Ae. aegypti egg and adult abundance. However, extreme climate events and greater Ae. aegypti abundance did not correlate to an increased number of confirmed dengue fever cases. Human behaviors can modify the relationship between mosquito abundance and disease transmission, and influence infection risk. Preventative measures in the study sites may have contributed to reductions in dengue transmission. A major limitation of the study was the lack of long-term Kenya climate data; however, the authors believe their study effectively examines the influence of weather anomalies on various life stages of Ae. aegypti abundance. Researcher Joel Mbakaya collecting mosquito larvae from tires in Kisumu, Kenya. Credit: A. Desiree LaBeaud According to the authors, "Dengue is the fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease in the world, and as climate change accelerates, many vulnerable populations will continue to be disproportionately impacted by this virus. Having shown floods to result in significantly increased dengue vector abundance, we hope to encourage actionable interventions to limit infection risk in light of these extreme climate events." Explore further New framework helps gauge impact of mosquito control programs More information: Nosrat C, Altamirano J, Anyamba A, Caldwell JM, Damoah R, Mutuku F, et al. (2021) Impact of recent climate extremes on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Kenya. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 15(3): e0009182. Journal information: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Nosrat C, Altamirano J, Anyamba A, Caldwell JM, Damoah R, Mutuku F, et al. (2021) Impact of recent climate extremes on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Kenya.15(3): e0009182. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009182 SCHENECTADY Just over 200 elementary students are slated to return Thursday to the classroom for full day in-person instruction in so called learning pods. Fifteen pods of between 10 to 12 students will be located at Keane Elementary school, with two more running at Van Corlaer Elementary school, according to Karen Corona, a city schools spokeswoman. She said that the pods will be staffed by about 20 paraprofessionals and teachers. The district delayed the start of learning pods for its youngest students, which debuted March 4 for middle and high schoolers, to give itself more time to hire staff and work out various other issues, including transportation and training. While that was the first time this school year the teens received in-person instruction, some elementary school students are currently taking the hybrid learning model where they attend school in person in the morning and learn virtually in the afternoon. Earlier this month, Schenectady welcomed back 413 students to its high school and three middle school buildings for the first time this 2020-21 academic year. Meantime, Board of Education President John Foley announced last week that he is not running for a another term. Last week, Board member Andy Chestnut said he was still deciding whether he would run for a full three-year term. He did not return a call seeking comment this week. FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo, people wear protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran. Iran's campaign to inoculate its population against the coronavirus and promote itself as an emerging vaccine manufacturer inched on as health authorities announced Tuesday, March 16, 2021, that the country's third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File) TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's campaign to inoculate its population against the coronavirus and promote itself as an emerging vaccine manufacturer inched on as health authorities announced Tuesday that the country's third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials. Details about its production, however, remained slim. Although Iran, with a population of more than 80 million, has so far imported foreign vaccines from Russia, China, India and Cuba to cover over 1.2 million people, concerns over its lagging pace of vaccinations have animated Iran's drive to develop locally produced vaccines as wealthier nations snap up the lions share of vaccine doses worldwide. Iranian scientists, like elsewhere in the world, are rushing to condense the typically yearslong process to develop vaccines into a few months a task that has acquired urgency as the country struggles to stem the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East and its economy reels from harsh American sanctions. But details are scant about the Islamic Republic's vaccine production efforts. Two other Iranian vaccines are also in the phase of clinical trials, with the most advanced, called Barekat, tested on 300 people so far. The government said 20,000 volunteers in the capital of Tehran and other cities will soon receive Iran's new vaccine, called Fakhra, which an official described to state-run media as being 100% safe, without providing any evidence or data to support the claim. Earlier this week, the government launched a vaccine production factory it claims can make 3 million doses a day. The vaccine introduced Tuesday on state TV was created by an affiliate of Iran's Defense Ministry, known as the Research and Innovation Organization. Like with the Barekat vaccine still in the initial phase of clinical trials, the company used inactivated coronaviruses from 35,000 samples to make the new vaccine, a traditional technology based on cultivating batches of the virus and then killing it. By comparison, Western drug manufacturers are taking a newer gene-based approach to target the spikes on the outer structure of the coronavirus, a method that had never been approved for widespread use before. Story continues Iran's fragmented approach to domestic vaccine production, with entities ranging from state-owned pharmaceutical conglomerates to the Defense Ministry working separately on at least six different vaccines, reflect the country's wider factional rivalries and competing power structures. At a ceremony attended by high-ranking officials in Tehran on Tuesday, Iranian state TV broadcast footage of just a single volunteer receiving the Fakhra vaccine, named after chief Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in a November attack that Iran blamed on Israel. While Fakhrizadeh was known to lead the country's disbanded nuclear weapons program in the early 2000s, Iran has eulogized him as a leader of country's domestic coronavirus vaccine development drive. Fakhrizadeh's son was the first to receive the jab of the new vaccine. The coronavirus has infected more than 1.7 million people in Iran and killed 61,427, according to health ministry figures released Tuesday the highest death toll in the Middle East. Iran formally launched its limited vaccination campaign last month, doling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to health workers and those with chronic health conditions. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned Iran from importing American and British vaccines, a reflection of its deep-rooted mistrust of the West. Nonetheless, Iran later said it would receive 4.2 million doses of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca through the global COVAX initiative, which was created to ensure that low- and middle-income countries have fair access to vaccines. The Health Ministry has vowed to vaccinate all adults in the country by late September, although how the government will reach that ambitious goal remains uncertain. Iran says it expects to import doses for over 16 million people from COVAX. The government has alleged that tough American sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 undermine efforts to purchase foreign-made vaccines and roll out mass inoculation campaigns like those making headway in the U.S. and Europe. Although international banks and financial institutions often hesitate in dealing with Iranian transactions for fear of being fined or locked out of the American market , U.S. sanctions do have specific carve-outs for medicine and humanitarian aid to Iran. ___ Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, has announced a major investment in its mobile money business. The Rise Fund, the global impact investing platform of alternative investment firm TPG, will invest $200 million in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa plc. AMC BV is currently the holding company for several of Airtel Africas mobile money operations. The aim is for AMC BV to own and operate the mobile money businesses across all of Airtel Africas 14 operating countries. This transaction underlines the growing importance of mobile money in the African market. It values Airtel Africas mobile money business at $2.65 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. The Rise Fund will hold a minority stake in AMC BV upon completion of the transaction. Airtel Africa will continue to hold the remaining majority stake. Airtel Africa describes the transaction as the latest step in the groups pursuit of strategic asset monetization and investment opportunities. It is the aim of Airtel Africa to explore the potential listing of the mobile money business within four years. Airtel Africa is in discussions with other potential investors in relation to possible further minority investments into Airtel Money. The proceeds from the transaction will be used to reduce the companys debt and to invest in network and sales infrastructure in the countries in which Airtel Africa operates. Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa, commented: With todays announcement we are pleased to welcome The Rise Fund as an investor in our mobile money business and as a partner to help us realise the full potential from the substantial opportunity to bank the unbanked across Africa. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Hyderabad, March 18 : Telangana spent Rs 1,178 crore on measures to fight the coronavirus, state Finance Minister T. Harish Rao said on Thursday. Presenting the State Budget for 2021-22, he said the amount was spent for isolation centres, medicines, beds, food and other necessities. Speaking on the measures taken to control the pandemic, he said the government set up 1,200 corona test centres across the state. Covid tests were conducted on 2.11 lakh people out of every 10 lakh population. The minister told the State Assembly that Rs.2,455 crore were spent to help the poor people of the state and the migrant workers on humanitarian grounds. In the first three months of the lockdown, each person was provided with 12 kg of rice in ration -- free of cost. Even after that, 10 kg of rice was provided for five more months. Rs 1,500 was provided as assistance to each family having a ration card for two months. This amount was transferred directly into their accounts. He claimed that 6.47 lakh migrant workers were given Rs 500 each along with 5 kg of rice. The amount spent for this was Rs 107 crore. Arrangements were made to transport 2,01,213 migrant workers to their native places in 151 special trains. The government provided an incentive of Rs 235.36 crore to the police, doctors and sanitation workers who were in the forefront of fighting corona tirelessly. It also provided financial assistance to journalists and advocates affected by Corona. Harish Rao said several reforms were initiated in the health sector with the objective of achieving 'Aarogya Telangana'. With the increase in the number of patients during the Corona pandemic, the government immediately swung into action and established the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) on war footing. The government set up 224 Basti Dawakhanas to provide free medical treatment to the urban poor. In these dawakhanas, 196 types of medicines were made available and 56 types of medical tests were being conducted. The minister proposed Rs 6,295 crore for Medical and Health Department in Budget 2021-22. New Delhi: Former union home secretary Raj Kumar Singh, first came to limelight in 1990 after he arrested BJP leader LK Advani during the veterans Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, has been made incharge of the Power Ministry as Minister of State (Independent Charge) and New and Renewable Energy Ministry in Prime Minister Narendra Modis third reshuffle on Sunday. Singh a 1975 batch IAS officer joined Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013 after retirement. He is now a Member of Parliament (MP) from Bihars Arah. Prior joining full time politics, he as an bureaucrat had served both in Bihar and Centre. With the Centre Singh was secretary defence production in the UPA government, joint secretary in the home ministry, when Advani was the home minister. Singh, 64, first came to limelight when he was given the task of arresting LK Advani in Samastipur in Bihar, during the BJP leaders Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya, by the then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. He is also known for his contribution to schemes for modernisation of prison and police, and laying down a framework for disaster management. Singh as home secretary oversaw alleged saffron terror cases involving blasts in Malegaon and Samjhauta Express and had courted controversy by releasing names of several suspects. Singh had also openly criticised the ticket distribution process by BJP in 2015 Bihar assembly elections. (With PTI inputs) Chicago residents who have medical conditions or are essential workers but havent yet qualified for the coronavirus vaccine will become eligible for the shot starting March 29, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday while tempering the wide expansion with the need for patience. The move to phase 1c means much of the citys population will be allowed a vaccine at the end of the month. The investment supports the increase of production capacity, by including three new production lines, and the expansion of its distribution center, augmenting the current logistics capacity. The Avenches production center acts as Nespresso 's global distribution center, shipping capsules to over 80 countries around the world, and is dedicated to the production of Nespresso Original and Professional coffees as well as Starbucks by Nespresso . "This investment speaks of our long-term sustainable business approach," said Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso. "All Nespresso coffees sold worldwide are produced in Switzerland. Over the past eight months we have announced a total of CHF 270 million investment in both our Romont and Avenches production centers. We are very proud to be able to continue to invest in Switzerland and support our economy, even more so in challenging times such as these". "In the current context, I consider Nespresso's announcement as very good news. This very important investment demonstrates the attractiveness of this region, including in the industrial sector. By creating several dozen additional jobs, Nespresso is expanding its Avenches site and strengthens the positioning of the Swiss Food Nutrition Valley, an initiative launched by Nestle and the Canton of Vaud to promote Switzerland as an innovation hub in the field of food and nutrition," emphasized Philippe Leuba, Director of the Department of Economy, Innovation and Sport of the Canton of Vaud. Growing consumer demand has led to the need to expand Nespresso's logistics operations in Avenches, ensuring higher turnover in order processing and dispatching, as well as increased production capacity. The expansion of the distribution center is set to start in July 2021 and expected to be fully operational by September 2022. The three new production lines are planned to be operational by March 2022. Nespresso opened its production center in Avenches in 2008, with an initial investment of CHF 300 million, later complemented with CHF 200 million invested in its infrastructure and operations in Avenches, a total of CHF 500 million since 2009. This announcement today joins the CHF 160 million investment communicated July last year for the expansion of the brand's Romont production facility, which will result in the creation of up to 300 new jobs in the next 10 years. A positive impact on the local economy Over the past 10 years, in addition to ongoing investment in its business, Nespresso has invested CHF 700 million in its three Swiss-based production centers in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg. Sustainably grown coffee beans are transformed into the highest quality coffees through the know-how and passion of more than 1,000 skilled factory employees. In 2020, and despite the pandemic situation, Nespresso recruited over 150 new employees for its three production centers in Switzerland. As the Mayor of Avenches, I welcome the expansion project and I am delighted with the 50 additional jobs that will boost and sustain the attractiveness of our local economy , said Roxanne Meyer Keller, Mayor of the Avenches town. Over the past 10 years, Nestle has invested, on average, CHF 300 million every year in its infrastructures and operations in Switzerland. Strongly rooted in its home country, Nestle has 11 production centers and 4 Research & Development sites located in Switzerland. Sustainable operations While investing in supporting its operations, Nespresso is also committed to its sustainability ambition, that every cup of Nespresso coffee has a positive impact on the world. All three Nespresso production centers are 'zero waste to landfill' and production processes have been optimized to ensure heat and water are recovered and reused whenever possible. 100% of the green coffee is delivered by rail to our production centres. In the Avenches production facility, the energy generated during the production processes is used to heat the factory, saving, per year, the equivalent of the electricity consumed in 700 households in Switzerland. The green coffee pre-heating system in place allows to save a total of 357,000 m3 of natural gas per year. Facts and figures about the Nespresso Production Center in Avenches Second Nespresso production center in Switzerland (2008), after Orbe (2002). Romont (2015) worldwide production in Switzerland production center in (2008), after Orbe (2002). Romont (2015) worldwide production in Total investment in infrastructures and operations (since creation): CHF 560 million Total investment in production facilities in Switzerland since 2010: CHF 700 million since 2010: Total site area: 16,587 m 2 Total site area after expansion: 21,310 m 2 Current number of employees on the site: 730 Production of Nespresso Original, Professional coffees and Starbucks by Nespresso About Nestle Nespresso Nestle Nespresso S.A. is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality portioned coffee. The company works with more than 110,000 farmers in 15 countries through its AAA Sustainable Quality Program to embed sustainability practices on farms and the surrounding landscapes. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with the NGO The Rainforest Alliance, the program helps to improve the yield and quality of harvests, while protecting the environment and improving livelihoods of farmers and their communities. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nespresso operates in 82 countries and has 13,900 employees. In 2020, it operated a global retail network of 816 boutiques. The brand currently has more than 100,000 points to collect its used capsules globally, enabling 91% of its consumers to recycle. For more information, visit the Nespresso corporate website www.nestle-nespresso.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457432/Nespresso_Avenches.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1201367/Nespresso_Logo.jpg SOURCE Nespresso Related Links https://nestle-nespresso.com/ The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Nearly four weeks after it began, the nations COVID-19 vaccination rollout is moving into its second phase, with about 6 million more people eligible to get their jab from Monday. By Wednesday, 203,557 people had received their coronavirus vaccine nationally, including 42,989 people in Victoria. On Monday, the nation should enter phase 1b, with doses to be administered in GP clinics. Included in phase 1b are healthcare workers who did not receive their vaccines in phase 1a, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 55 and over, other Australians aged 70 and over, younger adults with a qualifying underlying medical condition or disability and disability carers, and critical and high-risk workers, including those in defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing. Find your nearest clinic with our interactive map: In a slight variation to the original rollout plan, families of border and quarantine workers and aircrew will also be eligible to receive their vaccines. The widow of a Capitol Police officer who committed suicide three days after Trump supporters stormed Congress, says her husband was 'severely sleep-deprived' and working 'around the clock' before taking his own life. Howie Liebengood, 51, died January 9 while off-duty. He had worked for the United States Capitol Police for 15 years. In a letter sent to Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton on Wednesday, Howie's widow, Serena Liebengood, declared that the USCP 'must be held accountable' for her husband's death and institute reforms to address the mental health of its officers. She is also calling on USCP to reclassify Howie's death to 'in the line of duty'. 'What must not be lost in all of this is my beloved husband died as the result his dedication to the USCP and the sacrifices he made to his well-being on January 6 and the ensuing days, just as assuredly as if he had been slain on the Capitol steps,' Serena stated in the letter, which was obtained by CBS. 'Recognition of the cause of his death, much like the critical examination of the riot itself, will remain central to how we make right those tragedies and help avoid their repetition.' The widow of a Capitol Police officer who committed suicide three days after Trump supporters stormed Congress says her husband was 'severely sleep-deprived' and working 'around the clock' before taking his own life. Liebengood is pictured on his wedding day Howard Liebengood had worked for the USCP for 15 years. He is pictured on duty prior to his death Liebengood is the second Capitol Police officer to die in the days after Trump supporters stormed Congress in a bid to block the certification of Joe Biden's election victory Serena further stated in the letter: 'There is no way to convey what our family is going through, as we struggle to simply function in our grief'. 'Although Howie was severely sleep-deprived, he remained on duty as he was directed practically around the clock from January 6th through the 9th. On the evening of the 9th, he took his life at our home.' 'The USCP must be held accountable for its actions and structural reforms instituted; and the mental and emotional well-being of these officers can no longer be overlooked or taken for granted.' The widow explained that the USCP now has 'a unique and important opportunity to honor Howie' by instituting reforms to help officers deal with mental health issues.' Rep. Wexton, who was the recipient of the letter, told CBS that she will push to ensure reforms are made by the USCP. 'We know that if not for the events of January 6, Officer Howie Liebengood would still be with us today,' she stated. 'His death was a direct result of his defending the U.S. Capitol, an institution that he was devoted to and loved. I will continue to fight for proper recognition for Howie and his family.' However, acting USCP chief Yogananda Pittman has stated that police department is unable to reclassify Howie's death to 'in the line of duty'. 'While I want to support the Liebengood family to the maximum extent possible, Line of Duty Death declarations are given to officers who die while carrying out official law enforcement responsibilities,' she told CBS. 'Even the deaths of the law enforcement officers who tragically took their own lives after the terrorist attack on September 11th were not considered Line of Duty Deaths.' Howie Liebengood had worked for the USCP for 15 years Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building on January 6, outnumbering overwhelmed police officers Howie Liebengood was one of two Capitol Police officers who committed suicide following the January 6 riot. Jeffrey Smith, 35, shot himself in the head on January 15 as he headed into work for an overnight shift. In an interview with The Washington Post, his wife, Erin, questioned the medical care he received after being hit with a metal pole during the insurrection. 'He wasn't the same Jeff that left on the 6th... I just tried to comfort him and let him know that I loved him,' Erin stated. 'I told him I'd be there if he needed anything, that no matter what, we'll get through it. I tried to do the best I could.' After being injured on January 6, Erin noted that her husband seemed in constant pain, unable to turn his head. Jeffrey didn't leave the house or even walk the couple's dog. She said that the cop refused to talk to other people and she would find him pacing the house in the middle of the night. Erin added that at a medical appointment for his injuries, Jeffrey was only seen for roughly 10 minutes. Police would not comment on the visit, citing privacy laws. Capitol Police officer Jeffrey Smith, 35, shot himself in the head on January 15 as he headed into work for an overnight shift The USCP has faced fierce criticism over its perceived failure to stop the riots. Chief Steven Sund stepped down stepped down the week after the riot amid claims the force was deliberately under-supported to avoid inflaming tensions with what might have been perceived as bad optics. Fewer than 2,000 Capitol cops and only 300 unarmed National Guard were on duty to meet the mob of some 10,000. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died January 7 after clashing with Trump supporters outside Congress the previous day. (Newser) The Chinese government will put two Canadians on trial for espionage within days, despite international calls for their release. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were arrested in 2018 in what was widely seen as retaliation for the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, an executive and the daughter of the founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver. Canadian authorities had acted at the request of the US, which wants Meng extradited to face fraud charges over Huawei's dealings with Iran. But China sees this as an attempt to injure one of its most successful companies. While Meng is fighting extradition under house arrest at a Vancouver mansion, Kovrig and Spavor, often referred to as the "two Michaels," have been mostly held in confinement, per Reuters and the New York Times. Spavor's family says he's had only "very limited access" to lawyers. His trial is set to begin on Friday in Dandong, with Kovrig's to start on Monday in Beijing. story continues below "We believe these detentions are arbitrary and remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings," says Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau. The Canadians are almost certain to be convicted, as China's conviction rate is "well over 99%," per Reuters. The linked cases will likely be discussed during meetings between US and Chinese officials starting Thursday in Alaska. Representing Washington is US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's called for the men's immediate release, per CNN. But one expert tells the Times that China is "more likely to release them after vindicating its judicial sovereignty by convicting them." Still, Kovrig's wife, Vina Nadjibulla, says there's no time to waste. "If we, Canada and the US, don't intervene to secure their freedom, they will remain in great peril," she tells the Times. (China has sentenced four Canadians to death since 2018.) The Department of Commerce on Wednesday (local time) served subpoenas on multiple that provide Information and Communications technology and services (ICTS) in the country. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said: "The Biden-Harris Administration has been clear that the unrestricted use of untrusted ICTS poses a national security risk. Beijing has engaged in conduct that blunts our technological edge and threatens our alliances." "In issuing subpoenas today, we are taking an important step in collecting information that will allow to make a determination for possible action that best protects the security of American companies, American workers, and national security. We hope to work cooperatively with these and conclude a thorough review," she added. Underscoring the importance of ICTS, Raimondo also said that the US administration is firmly committed to taking a whole-of-government approach to ensure that untrusted cannot misappropriate and misuse data and ensuring that US technology does not support China's or other actors' malign activities. This comes after Cybersecurity group FireEye earlier this month announced it had found evidence that hackers had exploited a flaw in a popular Microsoft email application since as early as January to target groups across a variety of sectors. FireEye analysts wrote in a blog post that the company had observed the hackers -- who Microsoft announced earlier this week were a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as "Hafnium" -- exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Exchange Server email program to target at least one FireEye client beginning in January, reported The Hill. The Biden administration has said it will move forward with a rule implemented by former President Trump to bolster the information-technology supply chain. It has granted the Commerce Department the power to monitor the transactions of foreign adversaries, including China. (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.) Rights abuses against Uyghurs in China's northwestern Xinjiang region, an ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech and political participation in Hong Kong, and military threats against the democratic island of Taiwan were among the issues affecting Sino-U.S. ties as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed towards Anchorage, Alaska for talks with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday. Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are scheduled to meet China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi in the first face-to-face meetings between the two governments since Joe Biden began his presidency in January. The meeting comes just two days after Washington announced the expansion of financial sanctions against 24 high-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over recent changes to Hong Kong's political system and the arrests of 47 democracy activists under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by Beijing from July 1, 2020. China has hit out at the sanctions, threatening countermeasures. U.S. officials have already said they don't expect much to come out of the meeting. An unnamed senior U.S. official told journalists at a background briefing that the meeting was a "one-off," and didn't represent a resumption of ongoing bilateral dialogue. He said the two sides were just seeking to understand each other's position, so as to formulate future strategy. No joint communique is expected, the official said. However, while Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian hit out at the U.S. for "interfering in China's internal affairs," he still called for a renewed focus on cooperation in the bilateral relations. "[We need to] manage our differences and get Sino-U.S. relations back on track," Zhao told a news conference in Beijing. A second senior U.S. official who attended the same briefing said Beijing appears to be expecting a change of tone from Washington since the end of the Trump administration. But he said the U.S. would be watching to see what China did, not what it said. Call to close the camps Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, told Blinken in a letter ahead of the meeting: "First and foremost, it is imperative that China immediately and unconditionally ends the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in [Xinjiang]." "This includes that China closes all internment camps and unconditionally releases all those arbitrarily detained," he said in the letter from his group's base in Munich, Germany. Isa said China must also end the use of forced labour in Xinjiang and other regions and allow U.N. monitors to investigate. China's ambassador to the United Nations, Chen Xu, rejected the label "genocide" that has been applied by the U.S. government to rights abuses and falling birthrates among Uyghurs and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. His comments came after the European Union agreed in principle on Wednesday to sanction Chinese officials over rights abuses. Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's trade and economic envoy to Washington, said her country's government is confident that it will continue to enjoy the same support from the Biden administration that was extended under the Trump administration. She said Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is hopeful of completing a planned trade and economic cooperation agreement agreed in principle last November. Last week, Blinken broke with decades of convention by referring to Taiwan as a "country." Taiwan has never been ruled by Beijing nor formed part of the People's Republic of China, but has been locked out of international diplomacy and agencies at the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s insistence. Washington has said it will no longer seek to "appease" China on Taiwan, as the State Department announced an end to a ban on high-level official and diplomatic contact with Taiwanese officials on Jan. 9, at the tail end of the Trump administration. 'Combat ready' CCP leader Xi Jinping has told the country's military and armed police force to get 'combat ready' to defend national sovereignty and security, amid fears that Beijing may be planning an invasion of democratic Taiwan in the next few years. In 2018, the Pentagon warned that the PLA is gradually preparing for a possible invasion of Taiwan, as the CCP "continued to develop and deploy increasingly advanced military capabilities intended to coerce Taiwan, signal Chinese resolve, and gradually improve capabilities for an invasion." Under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, China has stepped up its rhetoric claiming the island as part of its territory, saying that "unification" is inevitable, and has refused to rule out a military invasion. But Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who has been a vocal critic of China's erosion of Hong Kong's promised freedoms, has repeatedly said that the country's 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty or their democratic way of life. Hsiao told RFA that Taiwan is open to talks with China on an equal, government-to-government footing, in a manner that respects the views of the majority of the island's people. "The people of Taiwan have rejected any proposal similar to the framework ... used in Hong Kong," Hsiao said. "As long as the other side respects the wishes of the people of Taiwan, we can open the door [to talks]." Reported by Jane Tang for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Fong Tak Ho for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Biden slammed for firing EEOC lawyer who worked to combat religious discrimination in workplace Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A group of Republican senators is criticizing President Joe Bidens firing of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson, who worked to combat religious discrimination in the workplace, an action they described as "dangerous." Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Rand Paul of Kentucky led a group of six senators who sent a letter to Biden Tuesday expressing concern about Gustafson's firing. She was nominated by former President Donald Trump in 2018 and refused to step down when asked. The letter's other signatories are Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Rick Scott, R-Fla. and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Gustafson's firing took place on March 5, more than two years before her four-year term was set to expire. Gustafson was "the first Senate-confirmed female General Counsel at the EEOC since that agency was created in 1965." "In her letter refusing your demand for her resignation, Ms. Gustafson mentioned that you gave no reason for making such a demand," they wrote. "She conveyed concerns, however, that it may have been because of her work bringing together believers of all faiths to explore how the EEOC could better respond to religious discrimination in the workplace." The senators quoted from a portion of Gustafson's letter to Biden, where she asserted that "I do not know which of your advisors recommended that you made the request. But please be aware that there are those who oppose any advocacy on behalf of employees who experience religious discrimination and on behalf of constitutional and statutory protections for religious entities." "We truly hope that Ms. Gustafson's termination was not motivated by opposition to her work fighting religious discrimination, but in the absence of any explanation, all we can do is hope, the signatories maintained. Whatever the reason, this termination does more than set a dangerous precedent; it exceeds presidential authority. They cited the fact that "the EEOC is a quasi-judicial agency designed by Congress to be bipartisan and free from coercive political interference" whose "General Counsel is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a fixed four-year term. "Well-established Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt that for-cause removal applies to term-limited political appointees at quasi-judicial agencies, even if they perform substantively executive functions within those agencies," the senators continued. "Sharon Gustafson's termination, in defiance of Supreme Court precedent and well-established practice, undermines the ability of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to function as the meaningfully independent entity Congress designed it to be," they concluded. "We therefore call on you to reinstate Ms. Gustafson immediately to her position as General Counsel." Several pro-LGBT civil rights groups voiced concerns with Gustafson's nomination in 2018, citing her "evasive answers regarding the rights of LGBT workers" during a Senate confirmation hearing. Gustafson's firing is not the only development causing conservatives alarm about Biden's stance on the issue of religious liberty. Almost immediately after taking office, the president signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In response to that executive order, Tony Perkins, president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, warned that "President Biden's executive order effectively targets people of faith and faith-based organizations that provide social services that are even more vital in the midst of a pandemic." Additionally, Biden has expressed support for the wide-reaching Equality Act dating back to his time on the campaign trail. While the legislation's proponents portray it as a necessary measure to prevent discrimination against LGBT Americans, its critics argue that it would force people of faith to violate their convictions about marriage and sexuality and fund abortion on demand. In 2019, Perkins, along with 20 other Christian conservatives, penned a letter to leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate as the House considered the Equality Act for the first time. In the letter, they contended that the bill was "anti-life and creates a right to abortion on demand." Perkins elaborated on his concerns in a separate op-ed for The Daily Signal. After explaining that the Equality Act would expand the protections of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include bans on discrimination based on "pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition," Perkins shared the implications about the proposed amendment to federal law. "Under this big new umbrella of 'discrimination,' any American who doesn't want to fund, offer, perform, or participate in abortion on demand will have no real choice," he wrote. "They can conform or they can be punished." In January, Malawian civil rights activist Paul Msoma raised the alarm over a lack of COVID-19 supplies while in a bed at Kamuzu Central Hospital, one of the biggest referral hospitals in the country. At the time, the hospital did not have any oxygen flowmeters -- devices used to regulate the flow of oxygen. "Yes they have oxygen cylinders but in my case they cant connect me to the much needed Oxygen because the whole KCH has no Oxygen flowmeter," Msoma wrote on Facebook. "My situation is getting bad and l desperately need oxygen. Anyone who can urgently help out there please please help by donating this very gadget." Msoma died a few days after making the appeal. His death sparked a debate about how COVID-19 funds were being used, with health and human rights activists calling for more accountability. In August, the government released 6.2 billion Malawian kwacha in funding to respond to the pandemic. Last month, President Lazarus Chakwera issued a directive demanding that controlling officers and department heads submit details of how their clusters spent the funds after previous failures to submit expenditure reports. Last year, a report by Malawi's ombudsman investigating how the country's COVID-19 "Coordination Cluster" utilized its budget of over 320 million Malawian kwacha between March and July 2020 indicated that there had been some maladministration. The report found that 79.8% of the total funding allocated to the cluster was spent on staff allowances or benefits. It highlighted that this spending was "a reflection of misplaced priorities," and recommended that government allowances be made "more realistic, considerate to the country's economy and clearer to avoid abuses." The report also found irregularities in staff assignments. Presenting the report last year, Ombudsman Martha Chizuma said investigations uncovered that some departments were assigning a large number of officers for tasks that could have been done by fewer individuals. "Our investigations established that some people were getting daily subsistence allowances while they were eating in hotels on bills paid by the COVID-19 response fund; some officers were getting allowances for days they never worked for," she said. Chizuma told Devex that in April or May, her office would be releasing another report on the utilization of COVID-19 funds. Though health care workers have been reluctant to talk about how their work was affected by the alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 funds, a nurse at Kamuzu Central Hospital -- who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal -- said working in COVID-19 isolation wards was equivalent to working in a war zone. "It felt sad seeing people die of the disease just because the hospitals did not have enough equipment. It was like the country had been taken unaware," he said. The Human Rights Defenders Coalition in Malawi, a group of civil society organizations, has demanded that the government publicly release all COVID-19 expenditure reports. Gift Trapence, chairperson of HRDC, said the organization had received several queries, concerns, tipoffs, and demands for accountability from the public. "The allegations show that corruption is still rampant in the country. The government should be vigilant to make those responsible to be accountable," Trapence said. "This is high time the country reviews its procurement procedures and its policy on subsistence allowances because these are areas where the country is losing a lot of money." Health rights activist Maziko Matemba added that COVID-19 fund mismanagement should be a bitter lesson on how public money must be handled to avoid such mistakes in the future. "The most important thing to put into consideration is how the money was programmed for the response. If most of the funds were used as allowances, then that was gross mismanagement of public funds," Matemba said. In response to the public outcry, Chakwera last month established a public service systems review task force. David Beer, British high commissioner to Malawi, welcomed the move. "We fully support the task force's mission to review allowances, procurement, contracts, conditions of service, and structure, with a view to ensuring a system that is fit for purpose and uses public resources as well as possible for the benefit of Malawians," he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Malawi Coronavirus Corruption By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The United Kingdom provided 9.2 million through UNICEF and the Health Services Joint Fund to help Malawi prepare for and respond to COVID-19. The funds were used to purchase personal protective equipment and to establish emergency treatment and testing centers. This year, the Malawian government released an additional 17.5 billion Malawian kwacha to all clusters dealing with the COVID-19. The funds are earmarked to go toward four urgent needs: tracking the spread and severity of the pandemic through testing and tracing, recruiting additional medical personnel, procuring medical equipment, and increasing admission space and infrastructure. However, Sylvester Namiwa, executive director at the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives, a local nongovernmental organization that has been advocating for accountability around COVID-19 funds, questioned the move and the government resolution to fight corruption. "If people failed to account for 6.2 billion kwacha, what is the justification of releasing a colossal 17.5 billion kwacha?" he said. "This is a sad story. We are only moving in circles." 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. As talk intensifies about the prospect of reconciliation between Damascus and the Hamas movement, which has been a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assads opposition, the question arises: What is Russias position on the issue? Generally Moscows opinion is left out of these discussions on a potential rapprochement. And strangely so, especially given many analysts' and commentators knack for exaggerating Russias role in the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Within Russia, such exaggerations are a reflection of a desire to shore up the countrys image on the world stage, while the outside observers often lack complete information about the real situation. Representatives of Hamas have been visiting Moscow for over a decade. The first official visit occurred in 2006 upon the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. Western observers interpreted the visit as a sign of Moscows return to the international arena. But the move provoked condemnation from Chechen rebels, who denounced the decision of Palestinian mujahedeen, the brothers of Chechens, to accept Putins handshake. In reality, though, the Kremlin was not mulling any complicated plans. Putins design was the same as it has always been: using contradictions between political players to his own advantage and showcasing Russias independence from other partners of the Middle East Quartet: the European Union, the United Nations and, most importantly, the United States. So the representatives of Hamas were invited to Moscow nine days after Putin labeled their victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections a strong blow to the peace process. Since then, Russian diplomats have had to toe a delicate line in explaining why Hamas, a movement which sprang up from the Muslim Brotherhood organization (banned in Russia in 2003), came to the Russian capital. And why, unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas is not labeled a terrorist group (the official reason given is that Hamas does not pose a threat to the Russians). Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood has since 2003 been considered a terrorist organization based on the definition that is only relevant to the groups activity during the 1970s. The signing of the Abraham Accords left Russian diplomacy on the sidelines. Moscow has been making positive statements about the prospect of normalization of ties between the Arab states and Israel, as this suits Moscows concept of security in the Persian Gulf. Yet Moscow is struggling to come out of the Soviet imperial shadow and is irritated that the peace process is advancing without Russia's involvement. Hence the attempt to devalue the results of the diplomatic process and let it be known that, while others are doing publicity stunts to show off their largely superficial achievements, Russia is involved in real, substantive issues. For example, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh declared last year that Hamas is ready to help find a solution to the conflict in northern Syria. The statement came out shortly after Haniyeh's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This led some analysts close to Hamas to suggest that Moscow may be acting as a mediator in the talks to normalize relations between the movement and Damascus. In 2016, the Syrian regime referred to Hamas as a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate that will always be a terrorist and a hypocrite. Yet just one year later Assad toned down his rhetoric as talks on reconciliation began. Expectations that Russia could play the role of mediator in Palestine-Syria talks are still kept alive. One reason for this is because this month, Palestine became the first political entity in the Middle East to receive the Russian-produced vaccine Sputnik V. Moreover, Russia features in the list of countries that along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey have become guarantors for the presidential and legislative elections in the Palestinian territories. Yet this agreement on behalf of Hamas is nothing but a bluff and an attempt to signal to the incoming Joe Biden administration its readiness to reach compromises against the background of declining pan-Arab solidarity and of the readiness of Arab countries and even Turkey to improve ties with Israel. It is hard to imagine what guarantees can be given to ensure the registration of voters, say, in Jordan, given the very large number of Palestinians in the country. In Russia, however, conversations about the prospects of reconciliation between Damascus and Hamas have been virtually nonexistent. Only one Russian news site seems remotely concerned. FAN, a news agency linked to the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin (who has been tied to the Wagner Group), recently published a small article citing Hamas leader Atef Adwan, the head of the Palestinian Legislative Council's Economic Committee, mentioning the possibility that the relations between Damascus and the movement might return to more what they were before the war. The article said only a fraction of Syrian elites hold an emphatically negative view about such a reconciliation, while Iran and Hezbollah are trying to put pressure on Israel at an inopportune moment, one in which Damascus is trying to improve the situation in the south of the country. According to Al-Monitor sources close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, there is hardly a consensus among Russian diplomats and the military about Hamas role in the Syrian conflict. Some blame Hamas for chasing Arab Gulf money and providing terrorist groups with the plans of underground communications in the Yarmouk refugee camp. Those skeptics also suspect the movement of playing its own game, citing activity in the Palestinian camps in Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon that is kept secret from Hezbollah. Yet others say that Hamas has maintained a largely neutral position during the Syrian war and that the movements affiliates in Syria Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis have been acting in an autonomous fashion. Yet another strand of opinion holds that even after the movement left Syria there were people such as Kamal Ranaja (Kamal Hussein Ghannaje), killed in Damascus in 2012, who stayed in the country and supplied weapons from Iran to Gaza via Syria (and Sudan before that). Putting those judgments to one side, it is worth mentioning that Hamas' connections with the Syrian regime have been cultivated in an indirect, somewhat obscure manner. Thus, the Arab Nationalist Guard units, who took Assads side in the Syrian war, claim to be fighting all the extremists in the area. Yet when Al-Monitor visited the Guards camp in Al-Malihah in Damascus, one of its commanders said the unit is leaning on the support from Hezbollah instructors and had extensive connections with Hamas. He specified the ties were with the Hamas wing that does not have associations with the Muslim Brotherhood, without divulging when exactly such a division in the Hamas ranks appeared. Despite speculation, Moscow is trying to keep its distance from the talks between Hamas and the Syrian government so as to avoid being associated with any one side of the regional rivalry, a source close to the Russian Foreign Ministry told Al-Monitor. Leonid Issaev, a political scientist at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told Al-Monitor that Russias noninterference is a rational stance, provided that Moscow will still have to negotiate with Israel on such topics as the situation in Syrias southern provinces and on the Israel Defense Forces air force operations. For Russia to take part in the Damascus-Hamas negotiations, it needs serious reasons. As things stand, those incentives are absent. Israel has in the last few years established itself as a firm partner of Russia, while Moscow views in Hamas nothing more than an additional source of leverage, he added. That said, Russia has several reasons to take a positive view on the Hamas-Damascus negotiations, even if they are being overseen by Iran, Issaev said. First, the fact that negotiations are taking place inserts the Syrian regime back into the regional agenda. This is in line with Moscows desire to legitimize Assads regime, Issaev said. Moreover, negotiations might provide Russia with additional leverage over the Palestinians and the Israelis, an area where Russian influence has somewhat faded in the last few years. The strengthening of Hamas via the Syrian regime undermines the negotiations on reconciliation and opens an opportunity for Russia to insist on discussing the issues within the Middle East Quartet and other formats where Russia acts as a guarantor, Issaev added. A third factor involves Russias view of Damascus and Cairo as natural allies of Hamas. This would mean that sooner or later, the movement will have to correct course. Hamas struggle for survival pushes it into finding new supporters. Damascus views Hamas as a potential point of leverage on Israel in the post-Trump era, and formalization of this reconciliation is not a huge problem. While Syrias demands for public apologies from Hamas make little sense, there may yet be a more subtle reconciliation along the lines of the Putin-Erdogan rapprochement in 2016 after the downing of a Russian jet, Issaev said. Jon Wilner of the Mercury News, one of the definitive voices covering the Pac-12 Network, has written a long column about the network and its future. One of the topics Wilner discusses in his column is the cratering subscriber count for the Pac-12 Networks national feed. Wilner reports the number at 14.8 million, paling in comparison to its SEC and Big Ten counterparts. The Pac-12 Network (the national network) now has just 14.8 million subscribers, according to Dec. 20 estimates provided to the Hotline by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That figure represents a drop of 17 percent over the past two years, based on S&P data: In Feb. 19, the national network had 17.9 million subscribers. (At its peak five years ago, it had more than 19 million.) In comparison, the Big Ten and SEC networks are believed to have more than 50 million subscribers. For context: the last widely reported batch of carriage numbers we got came two years ago in April of 2019. Of the major networks listed in that report, only four had under 40 million subscribers: BeINs Spanish and English networks, ESPN Deportes, and Fox Deportes. The declines across all networks have increased since, but the Pac-12 Network wasnt exactly decreasing from a place of strength. (Also putting this out there without comment: a month ago, ESPN+ reported 12.1 million subscribers) As for the Pac-12 Networks subscription fee, per Wilner, it checks in at just 13 cents per subscriber. Believe it or not, thats an increase over three years ago, when the Pac-12 Network was pulling just 11 cents per subscriber. Additionally, the Pac-12 Networks local model, with region-specific networks existing in all of the conferences markets, has seemingly been more of a bust than expected. The local networks have a combined subscription base of just 8.5 million people, and while the carriage fees for those regional networks are higher than the national network (ranging from between 52 cents for Oregons network to 98 cents for Washingtons network), their viability is blunted by the lack of carriage. Payouts for the networks have also failed to live up to expectations. In 2018, schools received an estimated $2,666,667 apiece from the Pac-12 Networks, which was then the highest payout since the launch nearly a decade ago. Those payouts increased by roughly 100 grand in 2019, up to $2,789,583, while 2020 payouts are still unavailable. At the 2012 launch, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott estimated the low end of payouts at between $3 and $5 million, a bar that still hasnt been reached after all these years. The conference has plenty of issues to deal with going forward, and nearly all of them circle around their media operations. Only time will tell if the Pac-12 can get something done that helps in the short term as well as the long term, or if theyll have to dangle in the wind until their TV contracts with ESPN and Fox expire in the summer of 2024. [Mercury News] Six persons, made up of four females and two males, drowned when the canoe in which they were travelling on the Volta Lake capsized at Adzamansu, a village in the Biakoye District in the Oti Region, last Tuesday. Four others managed to swim to safety. One of the victims was identified as Evelyn Gadagoe, a form three student of the Kadjebi-Asato Senior High School. Reports indicate that she was on her way home from her okro farm on the other side of the lake. Police confirm The Police Commander for Nkonya, DSP David Asirifi Donkor, who confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic yesterday, said information gathered from eyewitnesses indicated that the passengers on board the canoe were returning to their villages after going to work on their farms. He said along the journey, the canoe met strong winds and capsized. Failed rescue attempt DSP Donkor said some fishermen who witnessed the incident quickly jumped into the river in an attempt to save the victims, but they could not rescue them as it was too late. Pre Order Ghana Year Book 2021 An SOS was then sent to the Nkonya Police who, within minutes, dispatched a search and rescue team to retrieve the bodies, which were subsequently deposited at the morgue at Kpando. "We quickly run to the place to rescue them, but, unfortunately, they were dead," DSP Donkor said. The devastated parent of one of the deceased said he was horrified at the news and could not fathom why his child would venture on such a perilous journey. The Kpando Divisional Police Command has taken over the case and subsequently began investigations into it. Accidents on lake The Volta Lake is notorious for boat accidents, which have resulted in the loss of many lives over the years. In May last year, seven persons reportedly died when a boat carrying an unspecified number of people capsized, leaving 10 of them feared drowned. The boat, which was carrying mostly traders from Dzemeni in the Volta Region, was heading to Donkorkrom in the Afram Plains area of the Eastern Region when it capsized midway through the journey near Anivizi, a village along the Volta Lake. Again, on August 3, 2019, four persons died when a canoe carrying 10 members of the Assemblies of God Church from Senchi to Old Akrade in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region capsized. In May 2016, 16 people drowned when a boat carrying about 60 people from Nantwekope to Yeji capsized. A key finding of most of the committees of enquiry on accidents on the lake is the poor management of transportation safety on the lake. Three persons also drowned on the lake at Doffor-Adidome, a fishing community along the Volta River, when their boat capsized. The incident, which happened in May 2012, was said to have occurred when the canoe carrying seven passengers from Doffor-Adidome to Volivo in Osudoku was caught in a severe storm. 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 Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. SEOUL, South Korea Americas top diplomat on Thursday pressed China to use its tremendous influence to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it will ignore U.S. offers to resume negotiations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the end of high-profile security talks in Seoul, which included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean foreign and defense ministers. The so-called two plus two meeting, the first of its kind in five years, came as President Joe Biden is pushing to restore Americas alliances in Asia in the face of growing challenges from China and North Korea. Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest in helping to pursue denuclearization of (North Korea) because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, Blinken told a news conference. He said Beijing has a critical role to play to persuade North Korea to denuclearize because most of the Norths external trade goes through China. Blinken stressed that China is obligated by U.N. Security Council resolutions to fully enforce sanctions imposed over North Koreas banned nuclear and missile tests. Earlier Thursday, Choe Son Hui, North Koreas first vice foreign minister, confirmed Blinkens previous announcement that Washington had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels starting in mid-February, but it hasnt received any response. Choe called the U.S. outreach a time-delaying trick and said North Korea would keep discarding similar offers for talks unless Washington withdraws its hostility. What has been heard from the U.S. since the emergence of the new regime is only a lunatic theory of threat from North Korea and groundless rhetoric about complete denuclearization, she said. Choe suggested that Washington's reported push to slap additional sanctions and pile pressure on North Korea, coupled with this month's U.S.-South Korea military drills, are proof of U.S. hostility. Asked about Choes statement, Blinken said he was aware but said hes more interested in the comments and thoughts of U.S. allies and partners while he was making a regional tour. U.S.-led diplomacy focusing on North Koreas nuclear weapons remains stalemated for about two years because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Koreas nuclear activities in return for relaxing sanctions to prevent its arsenal from growing. Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States to refrain from causing a stink, while criticizing the U.S.-South Korean drills that her government views as an invasion rehearsal. Some experts say North Korea, which is eager to win sanctions relief, may further raise animosities with missile tests to boost its leverage in any negotiations with the United States. North Koreas moribund economy is under additional pressure because of the pandemic-related border closure that has significantly shrunk its external trade and a spate of natural disasters last summer. After Thursdays talks, Blinken, Austin and their South Korean counterparts said in a joint statement that North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile issues are a priority for the alliance and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address those issues. Both Bliken and Austin said the allies remain committed to North Koreas denuclearization. Austin said the U.S. is fully committed to the defense of South Korea, using the full range of U.S. capabilities, including our extended deterrent. He said the allies continue to maintain a robust combined defense posture. Blinken slammed North Koreas human rights record for a second straight day, saying that people in North Korea continue to suffer widespread and systematic abuses at the hands of a repressive government. Blinken and Austin are on the first overseas trip by Cabinet-level officials since Biden took office in January. They visited Japan before coming to Seoul. Blinken said Thursdays talks discussed Chinas role, and we are clear eyed about Beijings consistent failure to uphold its commitments. And we spoke about how Beijings aggressive and authoritarian behavior are challenging the stability and security prosperity of the Pacific region, he said. Beijings actions make forging a common approach among our allies all the more important at a time when were seeing a rollback of democracy and human rights around the world, including in Burma. Blinken will meet senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on his way back to Washington, while Austin will travel on to New Delhi for talks with Indian officials. Chinas ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said that Beijing doesnt expect the Alaska talks will resolve all the issues between China and the U.S. and we dont hold overly high hopes. Cu still added that he hoped the meeting would be a start and that the two sides can begin a dialogue process that is candid, constructive and realistic. This article was written by HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. Editor Darren Marcy, a journalist since 1992, is the editor of the Manchester Journal. A New Mexico native, he previously worked for newspapers in the Land of Enchantment before moving to Vermont in 2004. He joined the Journal in October 2018. The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is one of two campuses at the centre of the inquiry (Jane Barlow/PA) The stories of families affected by issues with two major hospital complexes in Scotland will be the starting point for the upcoming public inquiry, an initial hearing has heard. Lord Brodie held a virtual meeting with legal representatives of core participants on Thursday to set out the immediate priorities for the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry which is due to begin on September 20. The independent investigation is looking into the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (RHCYP/DCN) in Edinburgh. During the virtual hearing, senior counsel to the inquiry, Alastair Duncan QC, said: The inquiry requires to investigate issues to do with the construction of the hospitals in Glasgow and in Edinburgh, in so far as those issues had the potential to impact adversely upon patient safety. As part of this, the inquiry request to investigate the effect that these issues had upon the patients, be that physical, emotional, or other effects. The inquiry also requires to investigate the adequacy and the effectiveness of communication with patients. In the hearing in September we will hear from patients and from families on these matters. The hearing will be their opportunity to tell the inquiry how, in their view, the issues just mentioned impacted upon them, and their loved ones. It will be their opportunity to provide their perception of the way that the hospitals communicated with them. The sole purpose of the hearing in September is to hear and to record the evidence of the patients and families on these matters. Their stories will be our starting point for the rest of our work in the inquiry and it will be in future hearings that we hear from other core participants on the areas covered in the September hearings. Expand Close The interior of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh (NHS Lothian/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The interior of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh (NHS Lothian/PA) The three-week inquiry was ordered after patients at the Glasgow site died from infections linked to pigeon droppings and water supply, and the opening of the Edinburgh site was delayed due to ventilation concerns. Kimberly Darroch, the mother of 10-year-old Milly Main who died in the QEUH in 2017 after contracting an infection, launched legal action against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as she blames contaminated water in the 842 million hospital for her daughters death. The new Edinburgh Sick Kids facility had been due to open in July 2019, but Health Secretary Jeane Freeman halted the move from the existing site. Final compliance checks revealed the ventilation system in the new buildings critical care department did not meet the necessary standards. All childrens services will eventually move to the new RHCYP by Tuesday March 23. This meeting was an important milestone to establish a productive and collaborative dialogue Lord Brodie After the meeting, Lord Brodie said: Our first priority is to understand the experiences of affected patients and their families. The majority of core participants are associated with these individuals and their families so this meeting was an important milestone to establish a productive and collaborative dialogue. Core participants views are vital and will help inform the ways we work. Where possible, I want to share with them the latest developments from our investigations. We have already begun to speak with families in relation to both hospitals, however, we ask anyone who has not been in touch with us yet with relevant experience or information to contact us. We want to understand peoples experiences, where things went wrong that could have been prevented and what impact that has had on patient care. Our witness support team is available to guide individuals through the process and answer any questions they may have. Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says 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deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Its out! The day we were all waiting for is here and the Snyder Cut for Justice League is finally out. In India, the movie became available at 12:30 pm today. Even the numerous leaks couldnt spoil the hype surrounding the movie as fans finally got what theyd been asking for all this while. The time is now. Zack Snyder's Justice League is now streaming. Enjoy. #SnyderCut Zack Snyder's Justice League (@snydercut) March 18, 2021 People were so excited that they actually crashed HBO Max servers. Hi everyone, we are working hard to restore the service! Sorry to keep you waiting but thank you for your patience! HBO Asia (@HBOAsia) March 18, 2021 The #SnyderCut played for like the first 20-30 minutes then HBO Go decided to crash again. Hoping to continue it within the day.#ZackSnydersJusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/HiTh4BRisf I'm Nobody Too (@GabbsPitargue) March 18, 2021 I know DC Universe is dark but i didn't expecting it to be this dark. #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/LepL0kdXjk Hari Saputra (@hr_sptr) March 18, 2021 Fans in India were having trouble too. Error show when click on movie pic.twitter.com/V8qWLf38Ua Parth (@Parth7055) March 18, 2021 Justice League On Justice League On HBO Max 4K Bookmyshow HD pic.twitter.com/qPGupLrsrv Sahil Shah (@SahilBulla) March 18, 2021 But finally people were able to begin watching. Finally out in 4K on iTunes India !!!! Screw crashes And now my watch begins!!!! #SnyderCut Kayniac (@KayneIvor) March 18, 2021 And the wait was worth it, it seems! (Warning: Spoilers lie ahead of this point!) Every second of the movie is wow it was a next level experience watching a staright 4hrs movie and was worth it #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/eJdNLwH3oI Subhajit Bose (@Subhaji84676636) March 18, 2021 Daughters of Themyscira show them your fear" WE HAVE NO FEAR"#SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/SvL9QJeiO4 Kunmi (@Kumzyyyy) March 18, 2021 I loved Zack Snyders Justice League. Cried a little in that ending scene, but I hope to see more of the Destroyer of Worlds and the Anti-Life Equation. #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/rR78uNI8VD Jerry (@JustJxrry) March 18, 2021 Same dude People were especially loving the visuals. The thing that really impressed me about the Snyder cut was the way that with every punch that Batman lands you can almost see the biffs, pows, and zaps in little clouds around the villains. It's brutal. https://t.co/HQUMiO6wYW Daniel Carpenter (@DanCarpenter85) March 18, 2021 Some were disappointed, since the movie has a 4:3 aspect ratio. And some were complaining about how long the whole thing is. Watching the Snyder Cut. Im not built to watch this 4 hour movie in one sitting. Jon Snow (@The_MysteRee) March 18, 2021 But mostly people couldnt understand one thing Question I keep asking myself while watching #SnyderCut.... WHY WAS THIS CUT?!! pic.twitter.com/w9NSu8Qdzn Bill (@TooThugBill) March 18, 2021 Of course, the comparisons began soon enough! they cut THAT Wonder Woman scene? what the fuck.. are they mental #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/SjzTLdmP3x (@deadpoolismax4) March 18, 2021 30 minutes in and let me tell you, Joss Whedon ain't shit for how he treated Wonder Woman and the Amazons in his version. #SnyderCut #JusticeLeagueSnyderCut Spooky Bruce (@MrSpookyBruce) March 18, 2021 #SnyderCut It's absolutely insane how dirty they did Cyborg in the theatrical cut. No wonder Ray was so mad. They cut out everything that makes Cyborg an actual person. It's so nice to finally see his backstory. Max Hyde (@MaxHydeInPlace) March 18, 2021 Y'all really released this butchered ass movie and told us to deal with it. Meanwhile, Snyder Cut is delivering all the context we needed and WOW!!!! pic.twitter.com/YzVLlmmcUz S T E R L I N G (@SterlingKArt) March 18, 2021 Steepenwolf's armor looks cooler and serves an actual purpose, unlike the stupid, cartoony Whedon version.#SnyderCut George Kelly (@GreenEyedBeard) March 18, 2021 Some people converted. Marvel stans weighed in too. Now that I said that how do I watch it in the UK Brown Panther (@Brown_Panther_) March 18, 2021 These axe wielding comic book gods really cant seem to aim for the head #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/Kd6utSs8jW Ian Hardman (@IanHHardman) March 18, 2021 Naturally, people are now demanding a sequel. #SnyderCut After watching that all I want is Justice League II pic.twitter.com/kkfrAlHosB (@smokingroze) March 18, 2021 Something I never thought I needed in my life: cute scenes of Alfred bonding with Diana and giving her tips on proper tea-making. Now I want more. #SnyderCut #RestoreTheSnyderVerse Carlo (@mentosexplosion) March 18, 2021 Justice league snyder cut is the ultimate DC superhero movie!!! So many epic moments. 100x better than 2017 version. Haven't watched something so passionately crafted in recent memory More pls!!! @hbomax @wbpictures @ZackSnyder #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague #RestoreTheSnyderVerse DracoSura (@DracoSura) March 18, 2021 One things for sure, no ones forgetting this release for quiiiiite a while. Based on all the reviews (and the unfortunate spoilers), I cant wait until I get to watch it already. If youre still wondering where to watch it, you can currently buy or rent it on BookMyShow Stream, Apple TV, Hungama Play, Google Play, watch it on the Tata Sky app, or wait for it to be available on Tata Sky Showcase tomorrow. Have you watched the Snyder Cut yet? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! CLEVELAND, Ohio - Nothing is cast in stone yet, but expect Ohios income tax filing deadline to be postponed to May 17 to match the new deadline for filing federal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. * See updated story at this link: Ohio officially postpones filing deadline to May 17 The same was done last year when the federal government broke with more than a half-century of tradition and pushed back the deadline to July 15, 2020. April 15, or the next business day, had been the deadline since 1955. A week later, Ohio announced that it would move its deadline to match the new federal date in 2020. Late Wednesday, the IRS announced that it was moving this years filing deadline from April 15 to May 17, citing pandemic-related issues. A spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation, asked Thursday if Ohios deadline would be moved to May 17 as well, responded: Nothing official yet. A year ago the state change was made possible by a decision by the Ohio legislature to include in a pandemic bill the authority of the state tax commissioner to extend filing and payment deadlines during the declared COVID-19 emergency. There is good reason for the state and federal deadlines to match. Line 1 of the Ohio income tax form requests the federal adjusted gross income from Line 11 of IRS Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Local income collections also followed the revised July 15 deadline a year ago. A Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) official contacted Thursday said the agency must wait for the state of Ohio to make a change. Rich Exner, data analysis editor, writes cleveland.coms and The Plain Dealers personal finance column - Thats Rich! Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Previous coverage 90 million stimulus payments worth $242 billion already issued, IRS says Obamacare now cheaper for millions because of big health insurance changes in stimulus - Thats Rich! How to claim your unemployment tax break under new stimulus; other coronavirus-related tax matters - Thats Rich! Heres whats in the latest COVID-19 relief bill, including $5,600 in stimulus payments for a family of 4 - Thats Rich! Moldova's parliamentary majority has nominated ambassador to Russia, Vladimir Golovatyuk, as the candidate to the post of the prime minister, Ernest Vardanyan, a member of the Party of Socialists, said on Thursday CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2021) Moldova's parliamentary majority has nominated ambassador to Russia, Vladimir Golovatyuk, as the candidate to the post of the prime minister, Ernest Vardanyan, a member of the Party of Socialists, said on Thursday. On February 23, Moldova's constitutional court ruled that Prime Minister Maia Sandu must hold consultations on cabinet formation with lawmakers. On Tuesday, five out of six parliamentary parties were in favor of forming a cabinet, while Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity kept insisting on parliament dissolution and snap elections. Sandu nominated Igor Grosu, the leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, as the candidate for prime minister, but the Party of Socialists challenged the move in court. "Vladimir Golovatyuk, ex-parliament member from the Party of Socialists, who currently serves as the Moldovan ambassador in the Russian Federation, is the candidate to the post of the Moldovan prime minister from the new parliamentary majority," Vardanyan wrote on Telegram. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/18/2021 ADVERTISEMENT [ Spoiler Warning: This report contains spoilers revealing if Natalie and Mike truly split or eventually got married, and if the couple is still together now.] So did Natalie and Mike's relationship really end or did the couple stay together -- and are they a couple now? ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. showed Mike Youngquist calling off his wedding to Natalie Mordovtseva and Natalie heading to the airport to return home to Ukraine on this week's episode, so did the couple really break up and split for good? What do the latest spoilers reveal about whether Mike and Natalie are still together?Mike, a 35-year-old from Sequim, Washington, and Natalie, a 35-year-old from Kyiv, Ukraine initially starred on Season 7 of .Season 8 of , which is currently airing on Sunday nights, has featured Natalie adjusting to life in America on her K-1 visa and trying to work through her issues with Mike in just 90 days.The pair went through couples' counseling and questioned their compatibility and love for each other numerous times, but Mike and Natalie ultimately set a wedding date and planned to marry in a quiet at-home ceremony amid COVID-19.However, Mike woke up on his wedding day and apparently had a change of heart. 's latest episode showed Natalie calling the wedding officiant, Teresa, to inform her the wedding had been canceled."My fiance changed his mind and it's a big [problem]... He said today that he was thinking and he could not marry me," explained Natalie, who was an emotional wreck at the time and could barely speak."And I have to leave the country because I have three days left [on my visa]. So I have to cancel you."Teresa said just because Natalie had to return to Ukraine, it didn't mean her relationship needed to be over. But Natalie insisted her romance was definitely "over" because she'd never forgive Mike for what he had done to her.Natalie and Mike both apparently cried that morning, with Natalie saying that she was tired of men treating her poorly. Natalie was hysterical and threw Mike's clothes around as she packed her bags."I think a man who does this to me doesn't love me, and I have to accept that that's life," Natalie said in tears.She added, "I don't know what's going to happen."Natalie said she wanted a fairy tale in which a man sticks by her side and says to her, "I want to be with you." Natalie hated that she ended up in this situation and appeared furious and resentful.After Season 7 of wrapped, Mike and Natalie were spotted together in the United States several times in January 2020.At one of the sightings, Mike was spotted waiting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with flowers in his hands and a camera crew nearby.The next day, the Instagram account formerly known as @Fraudedbytlc posted a photo of Mike and Natalie walking side-by-side at Seattle's historic Pike Place Market as a camera crew filmed them, which was obviously for Season 8 of .Natalie's 90-day stay on her K-1 visa therefore began in January 2020, and she clearly hoped to marry by April so she could stay in the United States permanently with Mike, as long as they got along well.While the show makes it seem like Natalie and Mike's relationship came to an end, according to online records, they did in fact get married!Mike and Natalie tied the knot in Clallam County, Washington on April 15, 2020, In Touch Weekly reported.Natalie confirmed her relationship status on May 24, 2020 when she posted on Instagram, "We Get Married!"A few days later, Natalie captioned another photo of the couple, "Love is very meaningful for us."In June 2020, Natalie reportedly posted a photo of herself cuddling up to Mike while viewing a beautiful night sky together."This is how we spend our time," she captioned the snapshot, according to In Touch.On June 22, 2020, Natalie posted a photo with Mike and wrote, "Amazing #dinner with #lovely husband! thanks for #90dayfiance #love #faith #nataliemordovtseva #mikeyoungquist #couplegoals."Two days later, Natalie captioned a funny photo of the pair driving, "#driving like crazy with my #husband #mikeyoungquist #nataliemordovtseva #natalie90dayfiance #90dayfiance."And on June 25, Natalie wrote alongside a selfie of the couple by the water, "This is how we spend our time together #90dayfiance #natalie90dayfiance #nataliemordovtseva #mike90dayfiance #mikeyoungquist #love #couple #couplegoals."In August 2020, Natalie reportedly wiped her Instagram clean, and around that same time, Mike deleted an account and created a new one.While their social-media activity indicates the couple is probably no longer together, In Touch reported that Mike and Natalie individually posted photos of themselves in Los Angeles, CA, in mid-February 2021.Even though they didn't appear in each other's photos, it's assumed they took a trip together and checked out the Griffith Observatory as well as the iconic Hollywood sign.Natalie's Instagram mainly just shows modeling photos and selfies, and she took pictures with a new husky puppy earlier this year. fans therefore assume she and Mike got a dog together.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State of Cabinet Affairs of Kuwait Dr Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah on Thursday met with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House. As per a tweet by S Jaishankar, the two leaders had "productive discussions" on bilateral agenda and regional developments. External Affairs Minister also said that he would co-chair Joint Commission with his Kuwait counterpart to elevate the ties between the two countries further. Glad to welcome this morning, along with Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, FM (foreign minister) Dr. Ahmed Nasser Mohammed AlSabah of Kuwait for Productive discussions on our bilateral agenda & regional developments. Will co-chair Joint Commission with him to elevate our relationship further," the External Affairs Minister wrote in a tweet. He added that he also "Conveyed appreciation for taking care of the Indian community in Kuwait." On March 2, Jaishankar and Al-Sabah had discussed bilateral cooperation and the regional situation between the two countries. India recently dispatched a consignment of Indian-made COVID-19 vaccines to assist Kuwait in its fight against the coronavirus. "Made in India vaccines now reach Kuwait. Valuing our close friendship and strong ties," Jaishankar had tweeted at that time. Saudi Arabia, India hold discussions on initiating cooperation in space Adarsh Iyengar is a popular name in the world of Carnatic music In the west, check it out UN concerned over UK's steps to increase nuclear weapons armoury Indiana Man Charged With Killing 4 After Stimulus Check Argument The Indiana man accused of killing four family members over a stimulus check argument was charged with quadruple homicide on Thursday, a prosecutor said. Malik Halfacre, 25, was also charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of robbery, one count of theft, and one count of carrying a handgun without a license, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told reporters during a press conference. The incident that occurred was over finances, he said. There was a very spirited discussion about stimulus money and about some of the financial issues that this particular couple was going through. Halfacre left the residence and returned with a gun, the prosecutor said. The argument then continued. While Halfacre tried taking money out of his former partners purse, an altercation occurred and he shot four people, according to authorities. One person, Jeanettrius Moore, was able to escape and survive. The victims were identified as four victims of Moores family: Tomeeka brown, 44, Anthony Johnson, 35, Dequan Moore, 23, and Eve Moore, 7. Jeanettrius Moore was described as Halfacres ex-girlfriend. She was also said to be the mother of his 6-month-old daughter. A manhunt commenced after the March 13 shooting and the suspect was located the following day. He had taken his daughter, as well as money and personal items from Jeanettrius Moore. The baby was found at a relatives house. The crimes qualify Halfacre for the death penalty. I think everyone asks the same question about the 7-year-old: Why? She didnt have anything to do with the stimulus check, she didnt have anything to do with the money and she lost her life. And if that doesnt break your heart I dont know what will, Mears told reporters. Laura Pitts, an attorney for Halfacre, declined to comment when reached by the Associated Press. I just think about what everybody is going through and just the enormous human cost and human toll, Mears added. In this case, its not just the people who lost their lives. Its not just the family, its this neighborhood, its these schools, its this entire community for a very senseless act of violence. Myanmars ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces fresh corruption charges from the ruling junta that her lawyer said Thursday were groundless but could ensure she would never be able to return to politics. The February 1 coup that removed Suu Kyis government has brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets to confront the generals, who have responded with a brutal crackdown that has left at least 200 dead. The new military regime has already issued several criminal charges against the Nobel laureate since she was detained alongside top political allies, including owning unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions. On Wednesday night, military broadcaster Myawady aired a video of a Myanmar businessman confessing to giving her a total of $550,000 over several years. Maung Weik said he had donated money to senior government figures for the good of his business. Aung San Suu Kyi committed corruption and (authorities) are preparing to charge her according to anti-corruption law, an announcer said during the broadcast. This is not the first time corruption allegations have been lodged against her. Last week a junta spokesman said a now-detained chief minister had admitted to giving her $600,000 and more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of gold bars. Those accusations are groundless, Suu Kyis lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP. Aung San Suu Kyi may have her defects but bribery and corruption are not her traits, he said, adding that most people in Myanmar will not believe the allegations. However a conviction for bribery in a case against her personal character could see Suu Kyi prohibited from taking part in political activities, Zaw told AFP. A state-run newspaper also reported Thursday a charity foundation, named after Suu Kyis mother, is also under investigation and is accused of not paying enough fees on land it uses that is owned by the state. Further extensive investigation is being conducted into Daw Khin Kyi Foundations cash flow, expenditure and savings, the Global New Light of Myanmar said. Night terror Soldiers and police terrorised several battle-scarred Yangon neighbourhoods Wednesday night, as a mobile data blockade combined with an internet shutdown pushed scared residents further into an information blackout. Security forces threatened to shoot residents if they did not remove the barricades that demonstrators have built across the commercial capital as they battle authorities, according to a doctor from the South Okkalapa township. They also raided homes and arrested at least 10 people, he told AFP. In neighbouring Thingangyun township, one man said he had heard continuous gunfire for 30 minutes before midnight, adding he had put cotton buds in the ears of his two sons so they could fall asleep. Even going out to buy food has become a terrifying ordeal he said, with residents forced to move quickly through the streets to avoid encountering patrols of trigger-happy security forces. It makes me sad and furious as well its like all our dreams (of democracy) have vanished, he said. But our hatred (of a military regime) is much more than our fear. Protesters were back on the streets Thursday, with some in Yangon testing a giant slingshot to shoot projectiles, while hundreds of civil servants marched in Mandalay and students and demonstrators rallied in Myangyan. Demonstrators wearing conical hats and carrying banners in the streets of Natmauk, the birthplace of Suu Kyis late father, independence hero General Aung San, which is north east of the capital Naypyidaw. At the World Heritage listed ancient city of Pyu, protesters plastered ancient ruins with signs end the dictatorship in Myanmar and help us, stop crime against humanity. Bystanders caught in crossfire Sunday was the bloodiest day since the coup, with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group recording more than 70 deaths across the country. The bulk of the death toll came in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar an impoverished garment-producing township mostly housing Chinese-owned factories with the junta later imposing martial law on the area. Five other townships were also placed under martial law by Monday, which effectively shunts nearly 2 million of Yangons sprawling population under the direct control of military commanders. Any arrests made there will be tried in military courts. Despite mass international condemnation the junta continues to rack up an increasing toll, with AAPP reporting Thursday that more than 210 people have been killed so far. The junta has justified the coup by claiming electoral fraud in elections last November that were won by Suu Kyis party in a landslide. (Natural News) A U.S. Air Force general has warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be devastating to the U.S. military thanks to the formers aggressive military build-up in recent years. In a recent interview with Yahoo News, Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote said that the outcome was based on a classified Pentagon war game simulation carried out over the years. Hinote said that U.S. forces were losing more quickly in recent simulations after Beijings new military capabilities were taken into consideration. The definitive answer if the U.S. military doesnt change course is that were going to lose fast, Hinote said. In that case, an American president would likely be presented with almost a fait accompli. U.S. forces lost in wargame simulations The U.S. Air Force conducted a simulation of a conflict set more than a decade in the future around September 2020. This simulation started with a Chinese biological-weapon attack on U.S. ships and bases in the Indo-Pacific region. Using military drills as cover, China would then deploy an invasion force to attack Taiwan, while at the same time targeting U.S. bases and ships in the region with missile strikes. Whenever we war-gamed a Taiwan scenario over the years, our Blue Team routinely got its ass handed to it, because in that scenario time is a precious commodity and it plays to Chinas strength in terms of proximity and capabilities, said David Ochmanek, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development whos now a senior RAND Corporation analyst. That kind of lopsided defeat is a visceral experience for U.S. officers on the Blue Team, and as such the war games have been a great consciousness-raising device, he added. But the U.S. military is still not keeping pace with Chinese advances. For that reason, I dont think were much better off than a decade ago when we started taking this challenge more seriously. The results of the war game are particularly alarming as the Chinese Communist Party has escalated its war-mongering toward Taiwan after U.S. President Joe Biden took office. In late January, one Chinese military official even threatened war against the island. More recently, on March 10, Taiwans Ministry of National Defense reported that a Chinese anti-submarine warfare aircraft entered the countrys southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ). This is the latest in what has been nearly daily incursions into its ADIZ since the start of the year. China could attack within the next six years During a Senate Armed Services hearing on March 9, Adm. Philip Davidson, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command warned that the Chinese regime could invade Taiwan within the next six years. He stated that the U.S. military was losing its ability to deter conflict in the region. (Related: Threat of global nuclear war now even higher than during the Cold War.) I think our conventional deterrent is actually eroding in the region, he said, citing the Chinese militarys vast advances in size and capability over the past decade. The Peoples Liberation Army Navy, Chinas naval arm, is now larger than the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command projects that by 2025, it will have three aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific to the U.S. Navys one, 12 amphibious assault ships to the Navys four, and 108 modern multi-warfare combatant ships to the Navys 12. U.S. military needs to focus on deterring China Part of the issue lies in the fact that the Pentagon has been distracted fighting counterterrorism and counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for two decades. Meanwhile, China has been free to focus on what the Pentagon terms an advanced anti-access, area denial (A2/AD) strategy in the region. Beijing is currently laser-focused on Taiwan and regional hegemony, while the U.S. military must project power and prepare for potential conflicts all over the globe. In addition, complacency has struck U.S. militarys senior officers thanks to it being the perennial winner in a number of wars. My response is that Chinas growing military confidence is manifesting itself in an increasingly belligerent approach to its neighbors, the growing frequency of the PLAs violation of the airspace of Taiwan and Japan, and the bullying of other neighbors in the South China Sea, said Ochmanek. Under Xi Jinping there has been a dramatic increase in such provocations compared to a decade ago, and I think its grounded in his belief that militarily, China is strong enough now to credibly challenge us. According to Hinote, the key now for the U.S. military to regain its ability to deter Chinese aggression would be to restructure U.S. forces in a way that causes Chinese generals to question whether or not they can win. If we can design a force that creates that level of uncertainty and causes Chinese leaders to question whether they can accomplish their goals militarily, I think thats what deterrence looks like in the future, he said. The only problem, Hinote noted, is that the defensive posture that they researched in the war games is still not the one reflected the U.S. current defense spending plans. Were beginning to understand what kind of U.S. military force its going to take to achieve the National Defense Strategys goals, he said. But thats not the force were planning and building today. Follow CommunistChina.news for more on the threat Beijing poses to the stability of Asia and the Western Pacific. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com 1 News.Yahoo.com TheEpochTimes.com 2 Ahead of the United States and Chinas first high-level face-to-face meeting under US President Joe Biden administration in Alaska, the representatives of Tibet, Uyghur communities and Hong Kongers based in the United States staged an anti-China protest outside White House. As per the news agency ANI report, people gathered outside the White House on Wednesday and called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to mount pressure on his Chinese counterparts over the suppression of religious as well as other freedoms in China. Blinken alongside US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinese counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18 and 19 that will provide both sides with enough time to relay their respective priorities and cover a range of divisive issues impacting the bilateral ties. Reportedly, Beijing plans on pressing Washington to reverse several policies that target China and were introduced by former US President Donald Trump administration in the high-level meeting. But earlier, Blinken had said that the US would speak out forcefully and raise the issue of egregious violations of human rights by China. Protests highlighted HKong, Tibet, Xinjiang Ahead of the meeting in which both delegations are convening with dramatically different demands, the protests outside the White House by former detainees, survivors and activists was organised to highlight the repression in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang. Recalling the struggles of the past at the demonstration, the survivor of the secretive Chinese camps where the United Nations (UN) has estimated that over one million Muslim Uyghurs are detained, Tursenay Ziawudun told reporters the atrocities that she was subjected to. First, they stripped off my clothing. Then they tore out my earrings, so my ears were bleeding. What came next was worse -- nine months of gang rape, violent beatings and torture with cattle prods," said Ziawudun as per ANI. "I was very lucky because my husband saved me... People are suffering, being pushed into forced laboUr, sexual abuse, rape and I want the world to take notice of that and take action against China," a teary-eyed Ziawudun added. Another protester Rushan Abbas also raised Chinas sprawling network of re-education camps and program of forced labour. On September 11, 2018, the Chinese authorities reportedly took away Rushans sister Gulshan Abbas and in 2020, their family learnt that she was sentenced to two decades in prison in a sham trial. Gulshans imprisonment is reported to be a direct retaliation of Rushans activism who is also the executive director of Campaign for Uyghurs, an organization based in the US. "Knowing President Biden was the first person to recognize the genocide in China, knowing Secretary Blinken is a hero in human rights, I'm sure he will raise harshly Chinas genocide actions. And also, personally, I would like him (Blinken) to raise my sister's case with his counterparts. And also, my husband's entire family," Abbas told ANI. Further, resonating the plight of the Tibetans and Chinas long-standing oppression of their religion, Pema Doma, campaigns director at students for Free Tibet told ANI, There is no scenario there is no place in the world for a country that legitimizes violent crimes. There is no sidestepping and soft approach to this. The protest concluded with a unified call to Boycott Beijing 2022, The Genocide Games. WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Peter DeFazio on Thursday outlined the funding that schools in his Congressional District are expected to receive from the American Rescue Plan, including in Curry and Josephine counties. In addition to funding for state and local governments, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill provides funds for school districts across the country to aid in reopening safely for in-person learning, address the "learning loss" caused by disruptions over the past year, and help improve students' educational and emotional well-being. Our students are falling behind because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemicits imperative that we do everything in our power to ensure our kids, teachers, and support staff are returning to safe schools, said Rep. Peter DeFazio. Im proud to have helped to secure the funding needed to procure PPE, install modernized ventilation systems, and acquire the necessary resources to make the return to school healthy and safe for everybody. DeFazio's district encompasses Curry, Josephine, and part of Jackson counties, and the lawmaker outlined how much each district is expected to receive from the bill: Brookings-Harbor School District - $3,615,000 Grants Pass School District - $13,578,000 Rogue River School District - $2,737,000 Port Orford-Langlois School District - $2,554,000 Central Curry School District - $618,000 Three Rivers School District - $18,178,000 NewsWatch 12 is working to find out how much other districts in our area those covered by Rep. Cliff Bentz's Congressional District are likely to receive from the American Rescue 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. Mexican officials on Wednesday announced they seized a shipment of fake Sputnik V vaccines that were intended to be transported via a private aircraft to Honduras. (Mexican Government) Mexican Army Seizes Shipment of Fake Russian Sputnik V Vaccines Mexican officials have seized a shipment of fake Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine that was intended to be transported via a private aircraft to Honduras. According to a March 17 statement from the government, officials found about 5,775 fake doses of the Russian vaccine inside two ice chests that were aboard a private aircraft at the Campeche International Airport. Photos taken by government officials, who worked with armed forces, showed them stowed alongside soft drinks and sweets in the plane. The vials were seized by the government and kept cold while investigations were carried out to determine the source of the batch. An investigation between Russian and Mexican authorities will take place, and a number of Honduran citizens have been arrested, officials said. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which financed the development of the vaccine, told Russian state-affiliated news outlets that analysis of the photographs of the seized batch, including the design of containers and labels, suggests that it is a fake substance that has nothing to do with the original vaccine. The organization said that the vials were designed and packaged as Sputnik V. State-run Russian media, in recent days, have cited officials as saying that there is an alleged disinformation campaign brewing against the vaccine in a bid to discredit the Kremlin. The Russian Direct Investment Fund stated: This is an example of possible provocations against Sputnik V just as Russian officials warned last week. Mexican government stopped and prevented this provocation possibly aimed at discrediting Sputnik V vaccine through shipment of fake vaccine. Mexico began vaccinating people with Sputnik V in February and has received 400,000 doses so far. At the same time, the United States announced it would begin sending 4 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine to Mexico and Canada as part of a loan deal, Reuters reported. White House press secretary Jen Psaki later confirmed the move to reporters. It is not fully finalized yet but it is our aim, she said. Reports of blood disorders have prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend the use of AstraZenecas vaccine but on March 18, the European Unions drug watchdog said that after an investigation its still convinced the benefits of that vaccine outweigh the risks. The United States doesnt need the AstraZeneca vaccine, which hasnt been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to meet its target of having enough doses for all U.S. adults by the end of May. Reuters contributed to this report. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form As Mark Carney chats away about his book on a Zoom call, Hope, an 80 ft blue whale, hovers above him. Or rather her skeleton, on display in London's Natural History Museum, looms over his head as he prepares to give the institution's annual science lecture that evening. 'They promised me I could do it underneath the whale,' he says. Massive opportunity: Mark Carney believes capitalism can actually thrive if we build a post-pandemic economy that benefits everyone It's an appropriate backdrop for the former Bank of England governor's book, Value(s): Building a Better World for All. The 500-page door-stopper, penned during lockdown, explores how financial value interweaves and conflicts with social and moral values, as well as actually altering them. Looking at the financial crisis, the pandemic and the state of the planet, he deduces that we have prioritised financial value to a dangerous extent and that we urgently need to change tack. For Carney, the story of Hope whose skeleton was sold to the museum for 250 after she beached herself off the east coast of Ireland in 1891 unleashes a volley of thoughts. 'Is the value of a blue whale what her constituent parts fetch on the market? How can we assess what whales provide for our planet? 'Can we even begin to price the awe that they inspire and our obligation to preserve them for those who will come after?' In short, how do we value Hope and hope? 'The risk is that too often today market value is taken to represent total value and if a good or activity is not in the market, it is not valued,' he says. In other words, we are shifting from being a market economy, to a market society. Since leaving his job as governor of the Bank a year ago, Carney has become the United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance. He is Boris Johnson's finance adviser for the UK's presidency of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow later this year. On top of that, he has a job at Brookfield Asset Management, a leading investor in climate friendly businesses, and is on the board of digital payments firm Stripe. He has made good use of lockdown by writing his book. 'I had almost 13 years of being a central bank governor, first in Canada and then in the UK, so I could never really get that much of an opportunity to sit back and reflect. 'I didn't realise how good an opportunity lockdown was going to be to rope myself off and write. I didn't watch Joe Wicks or anything, I wrote the book.' Symbolic: Hope, the whale, on display at the Natural History Museum where Mark Carney was promoting his new book. Value(s): Building a Better World for All Carney, 56, took the top job at the Bank in 2013 after being wooed by then chancellor George Osborne, and oversaw the rebuilding of the system after the financial crisis and the run-up to Brexit. His tenure, despite the occasional barb from politicians, was widely seen as a success. So does he miss being governor? Are there times he wants to be back in Threadneedle Street? 'I... I... I... I... er, no. It was a real honour to have that role, a privilege. There were challenges, no question, but I enjoyed it. But there is a time for everything.' He handed over to Andrew Bailey at ten to midnight on the Sunday of his last day. 'There was no wind-down, it was literally the eleventh hour,' he says. His book is a response to a question posed by Pope Francis a few years ago, when Carney and a group of others met at the Vatican to discuss the future of the market system. The Pope shared a parable over lunch about the difference between wine and grappa, pointing out that wine is multi-faceted: it has bouquet, colour, taste and enriches the senses, whereas grappa is one thing only alcohol. Humanity, he said, like wine, is many things passionate, curious, rational, altruistic, creative and selfish. But the market is one thing only: self-interest distilled. 'Your job', Pope Francis told Carney and the others, 'is to turn the grappa back into wine, to turn the market back into humanity.' That is a formidable task for anyone, but Carney does not shrink in setting out the core values needed for a strong recovery from Covid and to create sustainable prosperity after that. They include solidarity, fairness, responsibility, dynamism and resilience, along with policies that reinforce them. 'The answer is not as simple as some sort of redistribution from one pot to another,' he says drily. 'What comes through, over and over again, is that we need resilience in our economy. We need a sense of personal responsibility, particularly among those who run companies and investment funds. 'If you don't have those types of values alongside the market then eventually, things go wrong and you get a bigger shock.' In the spirit of looking at wider conceptions of value, observations about art are threaded through the book. He recounts an episode where the sculptor Sir Anthony Gormley conceived of creating a work to embody the journey of gold, as it is dug up from under the earth in the South African Transvaal or the Canadian Arctic and taken to the cellars of the Bank of England. The Pope compared humanity to wine but the market to the spirit Grappa as it is one thing only: self-interest distilled Gormley's idea was to make a solitary clay human figure on top of a carpet of the precious metal, in the Bank's vaults. The artist was relaxed about the fact that, for security reasons, it was unlikely to be seen by many people. To him, the value was in the creation, not the display. For all we know, the sculpture might be there now, hidden below Threadneedle Street in all its secret glory. 'Without question, artists can teach us many things about values and value. There are elements of art which are very commercial and some which are timeless and can't be appropriated,' Carney says. The devastation wreaked by the pandemic, has, he suggests, made us more conscious of other risks, including those of climate change. 'I think the fact there has been one disaster has made people more conscious there could be another. If there are things we can do today, we should do them. It is to the great credit of the scientists that we have progress on the vaccines for Covid, but we are not going to get vaccines for climate.' How, though, do we combat the tendency to procrastinate, and to kick the can down the road? 'We have left it very late. The next decade is going to be crucial,' he says. On a more hopeful note, he believes climate change may be a positive example of how social values and market values can work in tandem. As society puts more weight on dealing with environmental threats, then 'it becomes profitable and valuable in the market to be part of the solution'. He does not espouse the hair-shirted view that the way to climate salvation is simply to turn our backs on capitalism and consume much less. 'I think there is a massive opportunity for the UK. If you are part of the solution you're creating a ton of financial value. You will make a lot of money and that is a good thing.' The UK, he says, can be 'the hub of global expertise in sustainable finance. 'It is a real strength. There are lots of areas where the UK has an edge.' He also believes fintech has the potential to help create 'an economy that works for all'. That befits his role at digital payments firm Stripe, one of the latest crop of stellar tech ventures in the US. It was founded by siblings John and Patrick Collison, who hail from a tiny village in Tipperary and are now worth around 8.3billion each, based on the latest valuation. 'I went on the board because they are a hugely impressive company and hugely impressive individuals, the two brothers,' he says. Governments, he suggests, could allow small firms to use new digital platforms to sell across borders with a minimum of tax and regulatory burdens. 'The fintech revolution of which Stripe is a part is going to lower the cost of cross-border trade in future,' he says. The pandemic, he says, risks creating even less equal societies. It 'has shone a light on existing inequalities and has made them worse virtually without exception. We are all in the same storm but not in the same boats. 'So the question is, how can we relaunch in a way that starts to bridge these gaps? 'The challenge is that we have these values but we need to grow the economy alongside. So how do you balance dynamism with what I call solidarity?' Carney's book is not an easy read, but it's a stimulating one. He does not have all the answers, though he raises many of the right questions. More than that, the way he shares a screen with Hope the whale is symbolic, as he is offering hope that we can build a post-pandemic economy based on solid values. 'We have been through this difficult period of Covid, and I think by and large what people have shown is that, backs against the wall, the underlying values of solidarity, responsibility and fairness have come through,' he says. So maybe, just maybe, if we can cleave to those values, we can turn the grappa back into wine. Value(s): Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney is out now (William Collins, 30) press release London Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar to be added to England's red list. Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) and Mauritius to be removed from England's red list. Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar have been added to England's red list to protect the country against new variants of coronavirus (COVID-19), at a critical time for the vaccine programme. With over 24 million vaccinations delivered in the UK so far, the move will help to reduce the risk of new variants - such as those first identified in South Africa and Brazil - entering England. From 4am on Friday 19 March 2021, visitors who have departed from or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. Only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter and must stay in a government-approved facility for 10 days. During their stay, they will be required to take a coronavirus test on day 2 and day 8. A ban on commercial and private planes travelling from Oman, Ethiopia and Qatar will also come into force on Friday to reduce the risk of importing variants of concern. This excludes cargo and freight without passengers. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of the spread of variants of concern internationally. These risk assessments cover a range of factors for each country including: - assessment of surveillance and sequencing capability - available surveillance and genome sequencing data - evidence of in-country community transmission of COVID-19 variants - evidence of exportation of new variants to the UK or other countries - travel connectivity with the UK The government has made it consistently clear it will take decisive action if necessary to contain the virus and has taken the decision to add these destinations to the red list. Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) and Mauritius will be removed from England's red list. The flight and maritime ban from Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) will also be removed, following evidence that shows the risk of importing a variant of concern from these destinations has reduced. Portugal has put steps in place to mitigate the risk from its links with countries where variants have become a concern, and now has genomic surveillance in place. This means that passengers arriving into England from these destinations will no longer be required to quarantine in a government approved facility. However, they must self-isolate for 10 days on arrival to the UK at home and take a COVID-19 test on day 2 and day 8 and will be able to able to end self-isolation early through Test to Release. Passengers from these destinations who arrived before 4am on Friday 19 March must stay in their hotel for the remainder of their 10-day quarantine period. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Coronavirus Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The government continues to work with the hospitality sector to ensure it is ready to meet any increased demand - with over 58,000 rooms on standby, which can be made available to book as needed. British nationals currently in the countries on the red list should make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to England. Commercial routes that will enable British and Irish nationals and residents to return to England continue to operate. British nationals in these countries should check Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice and follow local guidance. The FCDO will continue to offer tailored consular assistance to British nationals in country in need of support overseas on a 24/7 basis. SOURCE UK Department for Transport When Amazon found out that its workers were trying to form a union, the company put up signs across the warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, including in bathroom stalls, a worker said on Wednesday. No place was off limits, said warehouse employee Jennifer Bates, who testified at a Washington hearing on income inequality. Bates, who supports the unionising effort, described on Wednesday how Amazon is pushing back against the biggest unionisation efforts at the company since its founding as an online bookstore in 1995. No place was off limits: Amazon worker Jennifer Bates as she testified at the Senate Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday. Credit:Bloomberg Besides signs, she said Amazon sends messages to workers phones and forces employees to attend meetings a couple of times a week that can go on for nearly an hour. The challenge of an employee with ageing parents versus one with young children or another who lives alone can be very different, especially in an unprecedented year like 2020. A series of initiatives by Microsoft India over the past year made it much easier for employees to address such challenges. Microsoft's efforts were primarily centred on two things - frequent communication and wellbeing. Communication was essential because there's a dynamic shift in the way employees are working today. "Frequent communication was and continues to be a critical part of keeping our teams together in a remote-working environment, ensuring everyone feels connected, heard and empowered to share experiences. We created platforms and surveys for employees to share feedback and voice their thoughts," says Ira Gupta, Head of Human Resources, Microsoft India. Wellbeing, both physical and mental, is another area where special emphasis has been given. The reason: According to Microsoft's October 2020 Work Trend Index report, about one-third of workers in India mentioned increased rates of burnout during the lockdown. Even though the transition to technology was seamless - because the company already had tools for remote working - it was a new experience for employees working in new environments, often juggling new, competing demands, and trying to stay productive while battling the stress of protecting their families. So whether it is about introducing a dedicated 24x7 Covid-19 medical advisory helpline to support employees or adding new leave options - PSCCL (Paid Pandemic School and Childcare Closure Leave) which provides employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave for childcare, supervision, and education duties of children - Microsoft has expanded its horizon to handle the emotional and physical wellbeing of its employees. Recently, the company added mental health to its sick leave policy and renamed it Sick & Mental Health Leave. The policy allows employees to take time off for themselves or for a family member for mental wellness. The IT giant also integrated wellbeing experiences into its products, including new features in Teams that help employees structure the day, make space for breaks, and stay on top of tasks in addition to the recent rollout of employee experience platform Viva. "Supporting them and their families was top priority for us. We rallied to ensure our employee policies and practices addressed this rapidly evolving context. We are paying constant attention to understand the impact of remote work and help employees adapt. Our goal is to ensure every Microsoft employee has the tools, resources and solutions to be as productive, motivated, and impactful as possible, while prioritising wellbeing," says Gupta. Despite the tough working conditions, Microsoft made sure that its core principles are followed to a tee. Take inclusiveness and diversity for example. Experts say inclusion has taken on a new meaning with employees working remotely. In a regular office environment where everyone had access to the same technology, infrastructure, and space, the remote working culture has changed that completely. Microsoft will host 'Include 2021', a free, global, digital event focused on diversity and inclusion. It is expected to feature global experts in academia, social change, and diversity and inclusion to engage in conversations about how to support lasting culture change. As workplace shifted from offices to homes, the hiring and training practices, too, went virtual. There was virtual selection, internships and on-boarding for hundreds of hires across businesses wherein candidates and hiring managers engaged through an end-to-end virtual interview and selection process. Going forward, Microsoft will continue to leverage a hybrid model (in-person and virtual) in its recruiting practices. Adapting to the new style of working would have been difficult without training and support from leaders. Gupta says the last few months have made clear the absolute necessity of skilling, reskilling, and upskilling to stay relevant. "The new remote work environment has pointed out critical issues related to information access, collaboration, learning and productivity. In this changed environment, it is critical to design experiences and learning paths that allow employees to prepare for the future of work." "The role of managers and leaders is more important today than ever before to enable an inclusive, effective, and consistent employee experience. In times like these, we always go back to our culture and values. The impact of decisions organisations make today will outlive this pandemic. At Microsoft, I have seen leaders step up over the last few months," she adds. @manukaushik Aamir Khan On Quitting Social Media: "Do Not Put Your Theories About That" Superstar Aamir Khan says people should not come up with their theories about why he quit social media as he was anyway not active on digital platforms. The 56-year-old superstar had on Monday announced that he has decided to leave social media. Khan said all the updates about his future projects will now be available on his production banner's official account. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aamir Khan Productions (@aamirkhanproductions) At a promotional event on late Tuesday evening, when Khan was asked about his decision to quit social media, the actor told reporters, "Do not put your theories about that. Main apni dhunki mein rehta hoon (I live in my own world). I am anyway not active on social media, I don't post anything." The actor said in the absence of his personal social media profile, he would communicate with his fans directly through the media. "We used to communicate before this (social media) as well. Now that I've quit social media, I'll be able to talk to my audience only through the media. So you guys should be happy, I have full faith in you," Khan said. The actor was speaking post the screening of "Koi Jaane Na", directed by close friend Amin Hajee. The film, which stars Kunal Kapoor and Amyra Dastur, also features Khan in a special dance number. It will release on April 2. LISD has announced that the district has received 1,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses for the staff that have not been vaccinated yet. Approximately 2,400 LISD staff members have received the first dose, and the district has set up a tentative March 23 vaccine clinic to add to that number. This approval will enable our district to vaccinate all employees as our state and federal governments work to safely reopen our schools, said LISD Superintendent Dr. Sylvia G. Rios. We developed a timeline with a goal of vaccinating all staff by the end of March 2021, in order to safeguard them and in preparation for the eventual reopening of public schools across the country and in Texas. According to Oscar Perez, LISDs Accountability and Compliance Assistant Superintendent, the district will make use of the received equipment ordered in February. This includes a stainless-steel freezer, a pharmacy laboratory refrigerator, an ultra-low temperature freezer, two data loggers and a data logger probe. Our goal is to do everything we can to keep our students, staff and schools safe and conducive to learning, Rios added. The district is ready to put the pandemic behind us as we move forward to better days without the threat of COVID hovering over our community. The district also stated that the contributions of LISD Health Services Coordinator Grace Lopez, Student Service Assistant Superintendent Maggie Martinez and the district nurses have resulted in approximately 7,000 vaccines given to Webb County residents. During the March 8 LISD staff vaccine clinic, hundreds lined up outside of Shirley Field to receive their vaccine. With approximately 2,000 students attending on-campus instruction, LISD Executive Director of Communications Veronica Castillon believed that the effort of vaccinating the LISD staff would lead to a safer campus. (Nurses) have gone from Band-Aids and taking care of their students, and they have expanded that service and that compassion into the classrooms and beyond, Castillon said. And today they are here taking care of our own teachers. In February, LISD received approval by the Texas Department of State Health Services to serve as a vaccine provider, which resulted in the ordering of the aforementioned equipment. Early in March through a partnership with Gateway Health Center, the district started the efforts of vaccinating their staff after the state approved that education staff would be eligible for the vaccine. Throughout the pandemic, the LISD Board of Trustees has supported initiatives and partnerships with the City of Laredo to keep our community safe, LISD Board of Trustees President Hector Tito Garcia said in February. We now have all the resources to protect our community from the COVID-19. Coupled with all the protective gear and safety protocols followed on our campuses, LISD is doing all within its power for the citizens of Laredo. cocampo@lmtonline.com A Florida veterinarian has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing dogs that were in his care and possessing a trove of child pornography photos and videos. Prentiss Madden, 40, was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday and is now facing child pornography and bestiality charges. Madden had been the medical director of the Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Miami until he was fired two weeks ago when his colleagues learned he was being investigated. Investigators were tipped off last year after the file-sharing web service Dropbox notified them that a user had received more than 1,600 files of suspected child pornography, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The files were accessed multiple times by an IP address eventually traced to Madden's home and the animal hospital where he worked, authorities say. Prentiss Madden, 40, who was the medical director of the Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Miami, was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday and is now facing child pornography and bestiality charges When agents carried out a raid on Madden's home on February 24, he allegedly admitted to owning the Dropbox account. Authorities say they found multiple files of social media chats in which Madden discussed 'the sexual abuse of animals and children' and shared numerous videos and images with unidentified individuals. The complaint alleges that Madden also had multiple photos and videos of images 'depicting bestiality'. Madden also allegedly shared images in some chats and admitted in detail to having sex with and abusing dogs. In one of those chats, Madden is accused of sending images of a man sexually abusing a dog. When the other person involved in the chat asked if the man in the images was Madden, he allegedly responded: 'Yea... I was keeping a dog that needed a home'. Some of the animal abuse images were digitally coded as having been taken at his home, according to the complaint. Another explicit video was traced as having been taken at the animal hospital back in May 2018. Investigators were tipped off last year after Dropbox alerted them to a user who had uploaded 1,600 files of suspected child pornography and animal abuse. The files were accessed multiple times by an IP address eventually traced to Madden's home and the animal hospital where he worked, authorities say Madden had been the medical director of the Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Miami until he was fired two weeks ago when his colleagues learned he was being investigated 'This leads me to believe that Madden may be abusing animals entrusted to his care,' FBI agent Leah Ortiz wrote in the complaint. His profile on the Caring Hands Animal Hospital website was removed in the wake of his arrest. Madden, who is a native of north Alabama, described himself in the now-deleted profile as the 'proud pet parent' of a Shih Tzu named Lucky and two Burmese pythons named, Mocha and Sherbert. He attended the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine. The hospital issued a statement on Wednesday calling Madden's alleged crimes 'heinous and unthinkable'. 'Our legal team, and every single member of the Caring Hands family will be doing everything in our power to aid law enforcement and facilitate their investigation and prosecution,' the hospital's statement said. Madden is facing charges of possession of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and animal abuse. The charges fall under a federal law outlawing animal abuse, which was initially created in response to a genre of cruelty in which people record the harming of animals for the sexual gratification of viewers. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019, makes the production of torture videos punishable by up to seven years in prison. Madden is being at Miami's Federal Detention Center pending a hearing on Friday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky revealed that a new COVID variant is taking over two of the states in the U.S. The uptick in the cases of the new variant happened amid the vaccine efforts of the current administration. BGR noted that COVID variants are the reason why health experts and health organizations like CDC are getting more apprehensive about COVID-19. They caution follows the federal government's continuous support on the vaccine roll and even the stimulus checks among Americans. ALSO READ: COVID Variant in New York State Traverses Other States, Upticks Cases to 735 CDC on COVID Variants Viruses can change through mutation and more variants of COVID-19 are expected to descend in the future, according to a report from CDC. The variant occasion of the virus also differs from time to time. Some of the variants emerge then disappear, but sometimes new variants emerge and persist wreaking havoc. During a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing, Dr. Walensky disclosed that the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 from the U.K. is more transmissible than other variants. Walensky added that that variant B.1.1.7 is nearly dominant in the states of California and Florida. Multiple variants have been recorded in the United States and the rest of the world in the middle of the pandemic. The U.K. variant of SARS-CoV-2 or B.1.1.7 has a significant number of mutations in the fall of 2020. As of March 16, 2021, 4,686 cases were reported to be infected with the said novel variant. About 50 jurisdictions are reporting the cases to the authorities. B.1.1.7 variant is among the three variants of SARS-CoV-2 to act differently in ways that have an impact on public health. More than 29.5 million coronavirus cases are reported in the United States since the announcement of the Pandemic. On the other hand, 537,000 deaths in the country are related to the notorious disease. Despite the alarming uptick of B.1.1.7 cases in California and Florida, the available COVID vaccines in the United States vaccine roll are effective against the three said variants. Meaning, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson offer robust protection against the U.K. variant B.1.1.7. "Please follow our recommended public health prevention precaution," said Dr. Walensky adding that Americans should be ready once they become eligible for the vaccine. U.K. COVID Variant The University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) mentioned a study led by the University of Exeter suggested that people older than 30 years old are susceptible to the variant. The 28-day risk of death for the B.1.1.7 variant is 64% higher for the said demographic, more than the other variants of the virus. First identified in the United Kingdom, the said COVID variant rapidly became dominant causing a national lockdown in the country. Since then, the said variant was detected in many countries around the world and the U.S. B.1.1.7 was detected by the end of December in 2020. "We are just starting to turn the corner," said CDC Director Walensky adding that it will still depend on how the people will act on protecting themselves and others. RELATED ARTICLE: People with Weak Immune Systems Likely Cultivated COVID Variants Inside Them WATCH: NEW COVID 19 Variants (How Concerned Should We BE?) - from Doctor Mike Hansen Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Mumbai, March 18 : Veteran actor Jeetendra Kapoor on Thursday dropped by at the set of "Ek Villain Returns", to meet the cast and crew of the film. He spent time with director Mohit Suri and actors John Abraham and Disha Patani, and they discussed the progress of the film's shoot. John and Disha were happy to meet the yesteryears' star and enjoyed their own fan moment. Before leaving, he gave his blessings to John, Disha and Mohit, and posed for photo-ops with them. Jeetendra's wife Shobha Kapoor and daughter Ekta Kapoor are among names credited as the film's producers. Earlier, Suri said in a statement that he is glad to finally start the shooting the film. "I was waiting for this day for a while now. Unfortunately with the pandemic, things went off-track but now I am glad we are back to where we belong -- making movies! I hope to recreate the Ek Villain magic with this one," said the director. The film also features Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria, and is slated to release on February 11, 2022. External Affairs Minister on Thursday held wide-ranging talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah to elevate bilateral relations. The Kuwaiti foreign minister arrived here on Wednesday evening on a nearly 18-hour visit. "Glad to welcome this morning, along with @MOS_MEA, FM @anmas71 of Productive discussions on our bilateral agenda & regional developments," Jaishankar said on Twitter. "Will co-chair Joint Commission with him to elevate our relationship further," he added. remains a reliable supplier of crude oil and LPG to India. Historically, India-Kuwaiti ties have always had an important trade dimension. India has consistently been among the top trading partners of In the financial year 2019-20, Kuwait was the 10th largest oil supplier to India and it met about 3.8 per cent of India's energy needs. The total bilateral trade with Kuwait during 2019-20 was USD 10.86 billion, according to official data. Various aspects of bilateral ties and regional issues are expected to be discussed in the talks between the two foreign ministers, said a diplomatic source. The evolving situation in the Gulf region is also expected to figure in the deliberations. Around 641,000 Indians are living in Kuwait and the community adds an important dimension to the ties between the two countries. Indian nationals are the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. Over the last few years, India has been expanding its overall ties with the Gulf region which is home to an estimated 8.5 million Indians. (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.) Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice reminds all Georgians to serve if called for jury duty Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton says #JusticeNeedsJurors in new series of PSAs geared to ask Georgians to serve on juries if summoned. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton says #JusticeNeedsJurors in new series of PSAs geared to ask Georgians to serve on juries if summoned. In a Tweet, @GACourts says that #JusticeNeedsJurors and asks Georgians to please serve on a jury if summoned. In a Tweet, @GACourts says that #JusticeNeedsJurors and asks Georgians to please serve on a jury if summoned. ATLANTA, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a new set of public service announcements (PSAs), Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia reminds citizens of their critical role in ensuring justice for all by serving as jurors when called for jury duty. Entitled Justice Needs Jurors, the series of video messages began airing on TV stations across Georgia and streaming platforms in March. The PSAs emphasize the need for citizens to serve as jurors while assuring them that reasonable measures are being taken to protect their health and safety. The right to a trial by jury is fundamental to the American system of justice, Chief Justice Melton says in one of the PSAs. When we decided last March to suspend jury trials in Georgia due to the virus, it was a hard call. Delaying that process has made a tough situation even more difficult for those awaiting justice. Jury trials and most grand jury proceedings were suspended last March in Georgia when the Chief Justice declared a Statewide Judicial Emergency in response to the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The Chief Justice has now lifted that suspension, so jury trials may resume under COVID-19 safety guidelines. Those guidelines are at the discretion of the Chief Judge of each superior court in consultation with the local District Attorney. The Chief Justices PSAs are intended to support the efforts of local courts and to encourage jurors to respond to local jury summons as part of their civic duty. As Chief Justice Melton explains in the message, If you are summoned for jury duty, please note, we will do everything we can to keep you and your loved ones safe as you serve. Story continues The video messages featuring the Chief Justice were produced by the Judicial Council of Georgia/ Administrative Office of the Courts, with support from the State Bar of Georgia. The PSAs will be posted on various state and court websites, on social media, and aired on television. The PSAs may be viewed here. ABOUT THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL The 28-member Judicial Council of Georgia meets several times a year to act on policy and administrative matters affecting the judiciary. Judges from Georgias appellate and trial courts at all levels are represented on the Judicial Council, as well as a representative from the State Bar of Georgia. For more information about the Judicial Council, visit https://jcaoc.georgiacourts.gov/ Follow us on Facebook and Twitter #JusticeNeedsJurors Attachments CONTACT: Bruce Shaw Judicial Council of Georgia/ Administrative Office of the Courts 404-656-6783 Bruce.Shaw@georgiacourts.gov Lawsuit over Mount Rushmore fireworks dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Roberto Lange in a ruling Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought against President Joe Biden's administration by Gov. Kristi Noem after the NFS a fireworks display there next month. Pakistan has begun importing Covid-19 vaccine for private sale, starting with 50,000 Sputnik V Russian shots, The Telegraph reports. The consignment will be the first of regular deliveries, officials said, and came as the country braces for a third wave of infections. Officials have again closed schools and begun locking down hotspot neighbourhoods as the UK variant drives a new spike in cases. Pakistan has appeared to escape the heavy death tolls of many countries, but the coronavirus has again flared up in recent weeks. Hospital daily admissions and the number of people in critical care were rising fast, said Asad Umar, the minister overseeing the government's Covid-19 response. He said if compliance with the rules did not improve we will be forced to place stronger restrictions on activities. Please be very very careful. The new strain spreads faster and is more deadly. Pakistan's vaccination programme has until now relied on donations from China and allocations from the World Health Organisation's Covax scheme, which have yet to arrive. The government last year gave permission for businesses to import vaccines, in a country where private hospitals and clinics fill gaps left by underfunded and overstretched public provision. This is the first shipment of 50,000 doses which came last night only, an official of AG Pharma which imported the vaccine told Reuters. Local media reported another 150,000 doses were on their way. [March 18, 2021] Sadlier's From Phonics to Reading Program Has Received an "All Green" from EdReports for Meeting Expectations. William H. Sadlier, Inc., a publisher of English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Religious education programs, announced today that their early literacy program, From Phonics to Reading, authored by Wiley Blevins, received "all green"-Meeting Expectations from EdReports. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005805/en/ EdReports, an independent, nonprofit, educator-led, curriculum reviewer of K-12 instructional materials, reviewed From Phonics to Reading for the Foundational Skills Instruction Alignment to Gatways 1 and 2 which focus on Standards and Research-Based Practices and Implementation, Support Materials & Assessment. From Phonics to Reading, for grades K-2, addresses all foundational skills and fosters students' understanding and working knowledge of print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency. The program pedagogy is based on over three decades of research and classroom practice by Wiley Blevins. "My goal in creating this program with the Sadlier team was to provide a compact, efficient, affordable phonics resource that reflected the most current research on phonics but addressed issues not commonly covered in available resources-including addressing the top 10 reasons why phonics instruction sometimes fails (10 Common Causes of Phonics Instruction Failure eBook), reflecting some of my most important work with school districts across the United States, South America, and Asia," said author Wiley Blevins. Raymond Fagan, President and CEO of Sadlier said, "Our close relationship with author Wiley Blevins allowed us to develop From Phonics to Reading, relying on his unquestionable expertise in the area of foundational skills and early literacy. This program aligns with Sadlier's commitment to publishing exceptional learning resources that meet the needs of today's students. We are proud to have received EdReports 'all green' for Meeting Expectations." More information about From Phonics to Reading can be found here. About Sadlier William H. Sadlier, Inc. is a recognized and respected publisher of print and digital educational materials for PreK-12. Since 1832, Sadlier's pursuit of excellence has been driven by a commitment to meet the needs of the educational community. Sadlier programs offer strong instructional support to help students reach full potential-in school and throughout life. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005805/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Having avoided the prospect of price caps (for at least 10 years) on new fibre-optic broadband connections, BT is ready to "build like fury" ( ) said this mornings Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review from industry regulator Ofcom was broadly in line with what it was expecting. The telecoms behemoth said the guidelines when taken as a whole, will allow BT to earn a fair return on its proposed 1.2bn fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) investment. Most coverage of the Ofcom review has adopted the line that the regulator will allow BT to whack up its prices in order to fund a much-needed update of Britains creaky telecoms network. That being said, BT shares were down 2.2% at 149.1p in mid-morning trading. READ Ofcom to hold off from insisting on cost-based prices for fibre services for at least 10 years As if there was much doubt, BT confirmed it would go ahead with its plan to build FTTP to 20mln premises by the mid-to-late 20s. This is good news for all fibre providers in the UK. For us, it is the greenlight weve been waiting for to get on and build like fury. Full fibre broadband will be the foundation of a strong BT for decades to come and a shot in the arm for the UK as we build back better from this pandemic. Connecting the country has never been more vital, declared Philip Jansen, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BT. Clive Selley, the CEO of BTs semi-autonomous Openreach broadband arm, said todays regulation would allow Openreach to ramp up to 3mln premises per year. Qantas has told about 7500 workers from its mothballed international division they will receive $500 a week for the next seven months as part of the federal governments $1.2 billion aviation support package. The airlines chief executive of international, Andrew David, informed staff at a town-hall meeting in Sydney on Thursday about the program, which will act as a safety net after the $500-a-week JobKeeper scheme that ends this month. Qantas international crew will be paid will pay $500 a week when JobKeeper ends. Credit:Getty Images The payment will go to international Qantas and Jetstar pilots, crew and other employees who are stood down from work until Australias international border reopens and they return to work, which Qantas expects to happen in late October once the COVID-19 rollout is completed. The cost of the government payments for 7500 Qantas workers over seven months will run to about $112 million. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. NAIROBI (Reuters) - Tanzania's first woman president, the calm, measured Samia Suluhu Hassan, brings a striking change of leadership style as successor to John Magufuli, a brash populist who drew global attention by playing down the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hassan, sworn in on Friday, is regarded as a consensus-builder, a trait that may prove an asset in dealing with the various factions within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and security agencies following the announcement of Magufuli's death. "I don't speak in a forceful voice, like others," she told a BBC Swahili interview last year. "But to speak with someone in a way that they understand you, it's not necessary to shout. I can speak to you, in a soft tone, but make it clear that you understand what I mean." She is the first Tanzanian president born on the occasionally restive autonomous Zanzibar archipelago, rather than the African mainland which has dominated Tanzania since the state was formed as a union of the two territories in 1964. At her inauguration she urged Tanzanians to look forward with hope, a remark apparently aimed at dispelling a mood of uncertainty arising from Magufuli's disappearance from public view for 18 days before his death was announced. As a softly spoken woman and a Muslim from the islands, her personal contrast with the barnstorming Christian from the interior was one of the reasons CCM leaders picked Hassan as Magufuli's running mate in 2015, a party insider told Reuters. 'CALM AND COMPETENT' Elsie Eyakuze, a Dar es Salaam-based columnist and blogger, said Hassan projected assurance and calm at her inauguration. "We sense her gravitas, appreciate her intellect. We look forward to her calm and competent approach to politics. This is really big for women, she told Reuters. "She adopted a conciliatory tone that was not too soft and not too hard. I think she brought a certain calm that we have all been hoping for. Story continues In her six years serving as Magufuli's deputy, at times she appeared to publicly embrace the unorthodox and increasingly authoritarian style of a leader nicknamed "the Bulldozer". She emulated his habit of making surprise visits to government offices to check that civil servants were working. But although she toed Magufuli's line publicly, a Tanzanian politician who knows her said that privately she was uneasy about the country's direction and felt sidelined by the camp that surrounded him. "I'm sure there will be a lot of changes under her leadership," the politician said, speaking on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate reply from her office to a Reuters request for comment. As head of state and government, Hassan will have to grapple with the health impact of a COVID-19 pandemic that her predecessor long denied, as well as its economic consequences. She also faces the task of bringing together a country polarised during the Magufuli years. That would require building a political base of her own within the CCM, analysts say. "She presents herself very diplomatically. We havent seen her yelling at people in public or firing people in public. But she is a very shrewd politician," said Aikande Kwayu, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States. 'SHE CANNOT BE LIKE HIM' Hassan, 61, rose through the ranks of the CCM after winning a seat in 2000 as a lawmaker in Zanzibar's regional legislature. She held posts in the archipelago's autonomous cabinet, before winning a seat in Tanzania's national assembly in 2010. Then-president Jakaya Kikwete named her state minister for union affairs, in charge of relations between the central government and Zanzibar. She was appointed vice chair of an assembly charged with writing a new constitution, an effort that stalled amid tension between Zanzibar and the mainland. Fatma Karume, a lawyer who has been a critic of Magufuli in the past, said Hassan would be a contrast to her predecessor, regarded by opponents as intolerant. "She cannot be like him. She is a woman, she is Zanzibari, she is a Muslim. ... She projects a more conciliatory tone, a kinder tone," said Karume. "She comes from a very small island, where if you treat people badly you are going to meet them at funerals. It's a completely different social upbringing." (Reporting by Nairobi newsroom; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Peter Graff and William Maclean) ADVERTISEMENT The Federal High Court in Kano on Thursday granted bail to a politician, Mahdi Shehu, arraigned for alleged defamation of the character of Katsina governor, Aminu Masari. Mr Shehu had alleged that Mr Masari took N24 billion as security vote from the states Escrow Account domiciled in UBA and Fedility Bank between 2015 and 2018. The charges against the accused person read: That you, Mr Shehu between May to July 2020 in Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, while acting in concert and with intent to defame, insult, cause enmity, hatred, ill will, and damage to the reputation and integrity of governor of Katsina state and his executive cabinet. That you granted an interview at Freedom F.M and placed or caused the same interview to be placed on your Facebook page Rescue Katsina Urgently on the internet and falsely accused the governor and his commissioners of squandering over N24 billion security votes from Katsina state Escrow Account domiciled in UBA and Fedility Banks respectively between 2015 to 2018. The publication you had reason to believe to be false and thereby committed the offence of cyber stalking contrary to and punishable under section 393 of the panel code section 24 (1) (a) and (b) of the cyber crimes prohibition, prevention Act 2015. Mr Shehu had pleaded not guilty to all the charges filed against him by the Katsina State Government. The judge, Ambrose Allagoa, ordered the accused remanded in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service pending fulfilment of his bail conditions. He was granted bail of N10 million and one surety in like sum. The court said the surety must be a resident of Kano who has a traceable landed property. Mr Shehu has now met the bail conditions. The case was adjourned to May 19 for hearing. The prosecution counsel, Simon Lough, a deputy commissioner of police, said bail is a temporary freedom and expressed hope that the accused person will honour the conditions and return to court for the continuation of the case. On his part, the defendant counsel, Job Israel, said he is hopeful that justice will prevail at the end, especially now that the matter has been transferred to the high court in Kano. HOW BEAUTIFUL WE WERE, by Imbolo Mbue. (Random House, $28.) Mbues quietly devastating second novel about a fictional African village with high mortality due to an American oil companys pollution charts the ways oppression, be it at the hands of a government or a corporation or a society, can turn the most basic needs into radical acts. What starts as a David-and-Goliath story slowly transforms into a nuanced exploration of self-interest, of what it means to want in the age of capitalism and colonialism these machines of malicious, insatiable wanting, Omar El-Akkad writes in his review. Mbue has created a place and a people alive with emotional range. BROTHER, SISTER, MOTHER, EXPLORER, by Jamie Figueroa. (Catapult, $25.) Figueroas fablelike debut novel follows adult siblings in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country, who perform for tourists to make a living. It shows how these picturesque people in exotic lands have lives as complex as anyones, with fewer resources to help them cope. Even those of us who resist magical realism might accept, maybe even celebrate it in this beautifully crafted, poetic book, Esmeralda Santiago writes in her review. Having read Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer, maybe the next time you travel, you might recall that what you see is not all there is. You might see yourselves as Jamie Figueroa sees you, apart from and yet a part of our common human condition. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS, by Patricia Lockwood. (Riverhead, $25.) This singular novel by Lockwood, a lauded memoirist and poet who first gained a following on Twitter, distills the experience of life online while transfiguring it into art. The result is a book that reads like a prose poem, at once sublime, profane, intimate, philosophical, witty and, eventually, deeply moving. Lockwood is a modern word witch, her writing splendid and sordid by turns, Merve Emre writes in her review. The chief virtue of the novel is how it transforms all that is ugly and cheap about online culture the obsession with junk media; the fragmentary and jerked presentation of content; the mockery, the snark; the postures, the polemics into an experience of sublimity. FOUR LOST CITIES: A Secret History of the Urban Age, by Annalee Newitz. (Norton, $26.95.) Like a guide to vanished places, this book offers archaeological clues to our urban roots, from the little-known Catalhoyuk (a 9,000-year-old city located in todays Turkey) to the famed Pompeii, with its exquisitely preserved brothels and bars and graffiti. The theme of how cities die runs as a dark undercurrent through the book, Russell Shorto notes in his review. The operative lesson from the past, at least from this curated offering of former metropolises, seems to be that human culture is a plastic thing. Rather than lamenting the fragility of our current urban structures, we might do better figuring out how to bend and shape society for the future. THE BONE FIRE, by Gyorgy Dragoman. Translated by Ottilie Mulzet. (Mariner, paper, $16.99.) Set in the aftermath of a revolution, this Hungarian novel considers how superstitions rise in times of turmoil. On one level, its a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old orphan and her eccentric grandmother navigating personal and political crises; on another, its a tale of ghosts, folklore and ancient memory. That this slippery narration a risky choice not only propels the story forward but also resonates with the books themes of instability and skewed perception is a testament to Dragomans powers, Rebecca Makkai writes in her review. He reaches back to folklore but also speaks to this artistic moment, in which genre and its ancestral roots permute and enrich highly regarded capital-l Literature. [March 18, 2021] DeepHow Bridges Skills Gap in Manufacturing and Field Service with AI-Powered Video Training Solution DETROIT, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DeepHow, the AI company that turns know-how into smart, how-to training videos, has officially launched its AI-powered training platform for manufacturers and field-service teams. After extensive pilots and deployment with several Fortune 100 companies, DeepHow is now making its comprehensive training system widely available. Businesses looking to bridge their skills gap can use DeepHow to efficiently capture, manage, and disseminate skills, knowledge and know-how at a scale unheard of until now. "This new platform, developed by DeepHow, will help us retain organizational knowledge and accelerate our industry 4.0 initiatives," said Kevin Lemke, VP of strategy for Stanley Black & Decker's innovation group, Stanley X. "Through more efficient training, we will strengthen our production capabilities and increase our responsiveness to customers." Stanley Black & Decker is a strategic investor in DeepHow and partners with DeepHow's innovative AI platform in its workforce readiness and up-skilling programs. Video has emerged as the preferred medium for capturing crucial skills such as machine set-up and operation, safety procedures, diagnostics, and maintenance. It is also readily disseminated as training content that can easily be consumed by other team members and trainees on a wide range of devices. But creating and managing engaging video training is expensive, so its use has been limited. "In-house production of one minute of training videos takes about one hour and costs somewhere between $500 and $1,000. That's why, despite its obvious benefits and appeal to workers, video training has simply not been a scalable training solution," said Dr. Sam Zheng, CEO and co-founder of DeepHow. "Our goal is to make creating, editing, and updating a professional training video as easy as word processing." Recent advances in AI, NLP (natural language processing), computer vision, and the knowledge graph are revolutionizing how knowledge is captured, digitized, and organized. DeepHow cobines these AI technologies with the latest skills learning theory from psychology to deliver a solution that eliminates the cost and time issues associated with producing training videos, and more importantly improves the effectiveness of learning and know-how transfer. Companies that implement DeepHow close their skills gap and maximize training success while reducing training costs by a factor of 10. Factory workers and tradespeople who use DeepHow can acquire new skills while reducing their training time by 40% valuable hours that translate into manufacturing productivity. "DeepHow is helping AB InBev perform critical tasks and execute employee upskilling. As a component of our Dynamic SOPs initiative, DeepHow accelerates our learning and standardizes procedures," said Shannon Kellerman, global manager and Dynamic SOPS product owner at Anheuser-Busch InBev. "The ability to quickly create these workflows and embed them into our SOPs allows us to share standards and ways of working across the globe regardless of Language barriers. A team member in St Louis can learn and execute a best practice from an expert in Rio de Janeiro." "With DeepHow, video training becomes cost-effective and scalable because you can quickly capture and build a dynamic library of up-to-date skills training content that is easily updated without video-editing skills," added Zheng. "The platform enables users to quickly find the information they need, supports on-the job learning, and helps HR and operation teams manage skills training and allocation." Where to learn more about DeepHow Learn how Stanley Black & Decker is using DeepHow (video) Contact DeepHow to set up a demo About DeepHow DeepHow was founded in 2018 by a team of ex-Siemens researchers and engineers who saw an unmet need to transfer knowledge in the skilled trades labor market. They developed an AI-powered, video-centric knowledge capturing and learning platform that bridges the skills gap in the manufacturing, service, and construction industries. DeepHow streamlines know-how capture using AI workflow indexing and segmentation at one-tenth the time of traditional video-editing approaches, and powers knowledge transfer with smart, how-to training videos that boost employee performance by 25%. For more information, visit deephow.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deephow-bridges-skills-gap-in-manufacturing-and-field-service-with-ai-powered-video-training-solution-301249827.html SOURCE DeepHow Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Its crisis situation again. Midlanders talk about returning to normal, but at this point, is it possible to even know what normal is? COVID, economic downturn, negative oil, online schooling, rioting at the U.S. Capitol, the coldest period in Midlands history and now migrants. I have 20 years of crisis in me, City Councilman Scott Dufford said, just after serving on the City Council this one year. Dufford might be the lucky one of the group. Hes the dean of the city council; the person with as much experience as the rest of the council combined. Hes been a councilman during normal times. There are four members of the City Council still waiting for their chance to govern. They came on the council in the first couple months of 2020. Then, COVID struck, and it all went downhill from there. During crisis mode, being proactive becomes tougher. Basically, their council experience can be summed up in a mask mandate conversation and not much else. It makes me want to do it less, Dufford said about the last 12 months or so. I have enjoyed 19 years of service (on the city council), but the last year has not been enjoyable. It would have been a difficult year even if the most recent crisis had not taken place, but it did. And this one does bother Dufford, an oilman by profession and political conservative by nature. The opening of a migrant facility in Midland by the Biden administration and not communicating with local officials was another straw. The first being the obvious executive order that paused new oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands one that New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has warned the president will cause her state to lose even three-quarters of a $1 billion over the next few years if it sees even a modest reduction on production, according to a report from the Associated Press. This is assault on the Permian Basin coming from Washington like I have never seen before, Dufford said. This is being done to us for a reason. Is the Biden administration even worse than the Obama administration in his opinion? Oh yeah, he said. It does seem like Obama was a walk in the park compared to these guys, Dufford commented. Dufford was one of many Midlanders that applauded after the mayor nailed it this week by calling out the White House for orchestrated attack against Texas and the Basin. On Monday, Mayor Payton called the decision to open the migrant facility without communicating with local officials as the strangest, most backward, disrespectful thing I think Ive seen in a long time. Dufford addressed the hundreds of juvenile migrants currently residing southwest of the city of Midland in a former man camp. He told the Reporter-Telegram the situation isnt about the migrants but the situation todays border crisis has put them in. Whats next for the migrants, he asked. Thats actually what many people have asked. These humans have been used like pawns by any number of people, including -- in some cases -- bad actors like coyotes, gangs and drug cartels. They have even been used as pawns for politicians in this country to win their game of border politics. Still, there are worries about whats next, because there is no best-case scenario for many of them. It is easy to understand what those frustrated in Midland are saying because no one is talking about whats next for those migrants no matter their age. What does the future look like for a 15-17-year-old in one of those trailers at the Midland federal facility? It is hard to believe that many of these unaccompanied minors know for sure. Crisis situation? Midlanders, like their leaders, are living it again and again, and each crisis is different than the next. The past 12 months are making the leaders probably like the rest of the community long for normal or better yet, boring. They are ready to get back to business and do something they havent been able to do for what seems like an eternity for Dufford -- govern. LUXEMBOURG / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Ternium S.A. (NYSE:TX) announced today that its annual general meeting of shareholders will be held on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 2:30 p.m. CET. Each holder of Ternium ADSs as of March 29, 2021, shall be entitled to instruct The Bank of New York Mellon, the depositary bank, as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the shares represented by such holder's ADSs. The following documents are available on the Company's website at www.ternium.com on the Investor section: Notice and Agenda for the meeting. Shareholder Meeting Brochure and Proxy Statement. Company's 2020 Consolidated Management Report (which includes the Company's consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and for the years then ended, and the Company's annual accounts as at December 31, 2020, together with the independent auditors' report thereon). Copies of these documents are also available, free of charge, at the Company's registered office in Luxembourg, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. CET, subject to restrictions imposed from time to time by Luxembourg authorities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, shareholders registered in the Company's share register may obtain electronic copies of such documents, free of charge, by sending an e-mail request to ir@ternium.com. About Ternium Ternium is Latin America's leading flat steel producer, with operating facilities in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, the southern United States and Central America. The company offers a broad range of high value-added steel products for customers active in the automotive, home appliances, HVAC, construction, capital goods, container, food and energy industries through its manufacturing facilities, service center and distribution networks, and advanced customer integration systems. More information about Ternium is available at www.ternium.com. Contact: Sebastian Marti Ternium - Investor Relations +1 (866) 890 0443 +54 (11) 4018 8389 www.ternium.com SOURCE: Ternium S.A. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636311/Ternium-Announces-Annual-General-Meeting-of-Shareholders Goldman Sachs Financial Group Commits $10 Billion in Investment Capital to Impact One Million Black Women The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has been the leading financial institution since 1869; starting from their New York base, they developed a global reach with offices established all around the world. The firms key to success is adaptability; their humanitarian acts reflect their state of constant growth in social accountability. On March 10, the Goldman Sachs financial group announced their One Million Black Women initiative, an investment promising $10 billion will be funneled to support Black women for over the next 10 years. Sitting at the head of the Goldman Sachs institution is CEO David Solomon; he has made investing in women-led business a priority since 2008. Solomon is taking it a step further with the One Million Black Women directive. According to the featured article in Essence, Solomon stated, Given all thats happened over the course of the last year, weve done a lot of talking at the firmand even more listeningto help us figure out how we can do more to end the racial inequity and the gaps that have existed in society for well too long. The CEO explained the initiative is looking to create an environment of inclusion and commit to providing resources for underrepresented groups such as Black women business owners. Solomon elaborated on the amount of $10 billion, reflecting their commitment to the long-standing growth and development that will need to take place within the collective community. ADVERTISEMENT President and CEO of the National Urban League, Marc Morial sits on the One Million Black Women Council. Morial has advocated for the advancement of Black women; he is fully aware of the power in their perspective. Morial told Essence, Black women have always been a force in our communities and are now emerging even more with the power and position they deserve. He continued, They are voters and drivers of consumer tastes. Black women are also drivers of culture, including fashion, music and the arts, and now are making an undeniable impact on politics. The Goldman Sachs joined roundtables that focused on the barriers Black women face as entrepreneurs, and how targeted investments can work as a bridge to equality. Their compass in navigating through directive comes from Goldmans relationships with sororities such as Delta Sigma Theta Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Inc., and Sigma Gamma Rho Inc., and Black womens organizations, such as the National Council of Negro Women, Black Womens Roundtable, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Power Rising, Walkers Legacy Foundation, The Links, Inc., and the Sistahs in Business Expo. Joining the National Urban League CEO in the One Million Black Women council include: Secretary Condoleezza Rice, actress and producer, Issa Rae, Apple Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiative, Valerie B. Jarrett, and many more. Other organizations such as The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and The Studio Museum in Harlem will be represented, contributing to the navigation of the directive as it develops over a 10-year span. Gold Sachs is planning to collaborate with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the Hope Enterprise Corporation. Morial continued to break down the significance of Black women in the workforce, quoting his statement from the previous mentioned source, Black women are emerging in a place of power in American life that is long overdue. So, to focus on an initiative like this, against the backdrop of facing double barriers of race and gender, is timely, critical and necessary. Co-founder of Bake Me Happy, Letha Pugh, has felt the benefits of one of Goldmans small business- focused initiatives; her business grew significantly and she credits the success to working under the guidance of Goldmans 10,000 Small Business Program. Pugh stated to Essence, I believe because I had assistance from Goldman Sachs that I didnt go into panic mode. I just went into okay, I remember in a specific module, we talked about all the different ways our businesses could be successful. The One Million Black Women directive is derived from social research demonstrating that Black women are a solid investment. Gizelle George-Joseph, global chief operating officer of the Global Investment Research Division for Goldman Sachs, told the previously mentioned source, If we equalize Black womens positions, because Black women are one of the most marginalized groups in this country, then its an economy thats working for everybody. What we found from our analysis was that reducing the gaps that Black women experience would actually increase U.S. GDP by at least $300 billion a year ADVERTISEMENT The financial institution found through their previous partnerships with entrepreneurs, that the initial business grew, in addition to creating jobs and overall growth within diverse communities. The $10 billion in support of Black women will nourish the idea of racial equity by providing more resources, and driving economic progress for the U.S. as a whole. Margaret Anadu, global head of sustainability and impact for Asset Management, explained to Essence why there is a focus on the growth of Black women in business, How we hire women, how we retain women, how we promote women, how we invest in their companiesthis is a massive cultural issue with deep roots. Anadu acknowledge the opportunity that is seen in society and it is a shared responsibility to be inclusive. According to the official press release, Solomon stated, Our newly published research, Black Womenomics, suggests that no investment could have a bigger impact than unlocking the economic potential of Black women. Transparency is going to be a vital measurement in tracking the investments and the results will be shared publicly. Solomon continued, In the face of significant disparities, theyve shown admirable resilience, especially as theyre starting businesses faster than anyone else in the U.S., building on our 20-year history of investing in female entrepreneurs and underserved communitieswe are now proud to partner with Black female-led organizations and an outstanding advisory council to invest in opportunities to unlock their economic and leadership potential. New Delhi, March 18 : Seventy-five per cent of citizens are in favour of the government opening up the vaccination process for all above 18 by permitting private labs and hospitals to vaccinate in after-hours via appointment and walk-in, as per a survey by LocalCircles. The survey found that false certification to people above 45 as co-morbid or qualifying individuals as healthcare or frontline workers is being reported as a malpractice. Thirty per cent citizens say they observed or experienced some irregularities on the ground in regard to adherence to norms to qualify for vaccination. Since the vaccination drive began for citizens above age of 60 or those above 45 with co-morbidities, there has been an increase in citizen feedback on LocalCircles where people have described how these norms are allegedly getting violated to make vaccination happen for those who don't necessarily qualify. In the earlier phase of vaccinating healthcare workers, a few people had reported how some of the family members of healthcare professionals who weren't necessarily health care workers were also able to receive the Covid-19 vaccine dose. It is to be noted that a vial of Covid-19 vaccine once opened for inoculation needs to be fully used within 4 hours, else the remaining doses go waste. For Covishield, each 5ml vial of the vaccine has 10 doses in total and for Covaxin, it is 10ml and 20 doses per vial. And, once opened, all the doses have to be consumed within 4 hours. Citizens report that in cases where all doses aren't consumed, vaccine administrators are calling up their friends or families and are inoculating them with the remaining doses. Per reports, in such cases, they are being falsely qualified as health or a frontline worker just to fit the criteria. Some people have also reported that people who do not have a co-morbidity are going to doctors and are taking a fake co-morbidity certificate to fit the criteria for inoculation. The survey received approximately 19,000 responses from citizens located in 281 districts of India. 68 per cent of the respondents were men while 32 per cent were women. Thirty per cent of citizens say some healthcare professionals are influencing or falsely-certifying to qualify people as co-morbid or health or frontline workers. The question in the survey that sought to understand from citizens if they observed or experienced any irregularities in regards to Covid-19 vaccine administration so far, 70 per cent of citizens said they did not experience or observed any irregularities, or don't have any experience with vaccine. There were, however, 15 per cent of citizens saying they observed "(1) influencing or certification by healthcare professionals to qualify someone as co-morbid or as a health or frontline worker", 3 per cent said "(2) overcharging to qualify someone as co-morbid or as a health or frontline worker", and 5 per cent said "(3) administration of leftover doses to those using influence or providing monetary gratification". Breaking down the poll, 3 per cent observed both "1 & 2" irregularities from the aforementioned options. 2 per cent said "1 & 3", and another 2 per cent observed all three irregularities from the options. The question in the poll received 10,277 responses. Of the citizens who experienced or observed irregularities with the COVID-19 vaccine administration process, 73% said some healthcare professionals are influencing or falsely certifying to qualify people as co-morbid, health or frontline workers. Alternatively, if we were to separately look into the percentage of citizens who observed or experienced irregularities with the vaccine administration process for the magnitude of different types of irregularities, 50 per cent said "(1) influencing or certification by healthcare professionals to qualify someone as co-morbid or as a health or frontline worker", 10 per cent said "(2) overcharging to qualify someone as co-morbid or as a health or frontline worker", and 17% said "(3) administration of leftover doses to those using influence or providing monetary gratification". Breaking down the poll, 10 per cent observed both "1 & 2" irregularities from the aforementioned options. 6 per cent said "1 & 3", and 7 per cent observed all three irregularities from the options. The findings indicated that citizens who experienced or observed irregularities with the Covid-19 vaccine administration process, 73 per cent said some healthcare professionals are influencing or falsely certifying to qualify people as co-morbid, health or frontline workers. Seventy-five per cent citizens in favour of Government opening vaccination for all above 18 by permitting private labs & hospitals to vaccinate post 6 p.m. for slightly extra charges. It is to be noted that wastage of Covid-19 vaccine has shot-up since its inoculation started on January 16, 2021. In Jaipur, for instance, 1.63 lakh covid vaccine doses have gone wastage till March 8. Similarly, in Maharashtra, vaccine wastage is at 3.2 per cent as of March 14. According to a few citizens, the increase in wastage of COVID-19 vaccines is a problem that must be tackled with optimization and scheduling algorithms. Some citizens have suggested a different approach. Per their solution, since wastage is to be minimised and there are plenty of vaccine doses available and more getting ready each day just with Serum Insititute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the Government should open vaccination on walk in and appointment basis at private hospitals and labs (those willing) after 6 p.m. for slightly extra charges. This according to people will lead to faster vaccination of the population and put an end to the malpractices reported. The slightly higher charges will cover healthcare staff compensation for working in after hours. Potentially, even a percentage of those doses going waste could be reduced according to people. It is worth a mention here that in the LocalCircles poll on what people were willing to pay for two vaccine dose of Covid-19, majority were ok with a price below Rs 600. Hence a price like Rs 600 could be a fair price for after-hours vaccination at a private facility while they would continue charging Rs 500 during regular working hours. In summary, though only 30% of citizens have flagged irregularities by healthcare professionals influencing or falsely-certifying to qualify people as co-morbid or health or frontline workers, it is critical for the Government, along with the hospital administrators to plug the gaps outlined in the report so that Covid-19 doses are inoculated to the right people, and concomitantly reduce vaccine wastage. As suggested by experts vis-a-vis citizens on the LocalCircles platform, the Government should consider opening vaccination (appointment and walk-in) for all above 18 in afterhours via private hospitals and labs for slightly higher charges. This suggestion has support of the collective if one were to go by the findings of the poll in which 75% of citizens support such an initiative as it would lead to higher percentage of the Indian population getting vaccinated faster. More vaccinations will help India in reaching herd immunity faster as well as safety for all those children who cannot be vaccinated because of the minimum age criteria. (Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in) Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Vehicles sit surrounded in snow on Ridge Road in east Cheyenne, Wyo., on March 14, 2021.(Michael Cummo/Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP) Parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Still Snarled by Record Blizzard CHEYENNE, Wyo.Schools in eastern Wyoming and northern Colorado remained closed Tuesday for a second day and roads were still impassable in the aftermath of a blizzard that pummeled the region with record snowfall. Crews didnt expect to reopen some highways for another day, though a portion of Interstate 25 reopened south of Wyomings capital, Cheyenne, for the first time since Saturday. The weekend storm dumped over 30 inches of snow on Cheyenne, snarling streets with 4-to-5-foot drifts that even four-wheel drive trucks couldnt clear. Many side streets will remain impassable for cars for several more days, city officials warned. Firefighters used an enclosed snow machine called a snowcat to get doctors to an operating room for a patients emergency surgery. Those guys are heroes, said one of the surgeons, Elias Kfoury. The first responders and how they stepped up to the occasion essentially resulted in saving somebodys life. Volunteers using snowmobiles helped other people get to a hospital for crucial treatment, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported. It was the citys worst blizzard since at least 1979. A person trudges across Ridge Road in east Cheyenne, Wyo, on March 14, 2021.(Michael Cummo/Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP) Highway crews resorted to using bulldozers in addition to plows to move snow off interstates, including I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie. The 50-mile stretch includes the highest point along the coast-to-coast route, an 8,640-foot pass called the Summit thats known for hairy weather even in less intense storms. Schools remained closed Tuesday as far north as Casper, where city officials were still working to clear wind-driven snow, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. The Wyoming Legislature, which has been meeting for a month in an annual session already disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, didnt convene for the second day in a row. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States President Joe Biden smile as they say farewell following a virtual joint statement in Ottawa, Tuesday, February 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld US Working on Plan to Lend Doses of Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine to Canada, Mexico Washington has confirmed it is working on a plan to lend 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Canada, while the military commander in charge of the rollout here says all adults who wish could be able to get their first shot by July 1. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that details have not been fully worked out and that another 2.5 million doses would go to Mexico. The United States currently has seven million releasable doses of the vaccine, which has yet to receive approval from its Food and Drug Administration, she said. Balancing the need to let the approval process play out with the importance of helping stop the spread in other countries, we are assessing how we can loan doses, Psaki told a media briefing. The loan would be in lieu of a future exchange of doses from Canada and Mexico, Psaki saideither of the AstraZeneca vaccine or a different one. Last week, Canadian provinces began administering 500,000 doses of the version of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced at the Serum Institute of India. The federal government has purchased 20 million doses directly from AstraZeneca, but did not have a timeline for when they would arrive. Regulators in Europe and the United Kingdom have concluded the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks, but both are still studying whether the shot had any link to a small number of rare brain blood clots. Earlier Thursday, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, who is overseeing Canadas vaccine program logistics, said provinces should have enough doses by the end of the next quarter for everyone who wants to be vaccinated. But he later clarified that depends on provinces continuing to delay second doses up to four months so that more people can get their first shot sooner, as well as supplies coming in as planned. While there is no indications of disruptions or fluctuations in the production, it is a pandemic with global demand on vaccines that are produced as rapidly as possible, Fortin said in Ottawa. We are always subject to fluctuations in the production and the challenges of a complicated supply chain across the world and into this country. Although initial deliveries from Johnson & Johnson and shipments directly from AstraZeneca are still in limbo, there is more than enough from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India to pass the one-dose-per-person target by the end of June. Procurement numbers show there are 36.5 million doses confirmed to be shipped by June 30, not including any of the 20 million from AstraZeneca or 10 million from Johnson & Johnson. Only people over the age of 16 can currently be vaccinated and about 31 million Canadians are in that age group. Ottawa still says Canadians will be fully vaccinated by the end of September. Canadas deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said almost seven percent of Canadians have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 1.6 percent have received two doses. The vast majority of doses given in the past two weeks have been first shots. Also Thursday, the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador said the Atlantic travel bubble will be restored by April 19. That means residents of the region will be able to travel within Atlantic Canada without having to isolate for 14 days. The reopening is conditional on COVID-19 case numbers remaining low in the region, outbreaks being contained and on the advice of provincial medical officers. Travel between the four provinces has been restricted since the end of November, following a number of COVID-19 outbreaks. Meanwhile, Ontario, which is tightening restrictions in Ottawa amid concerning trends, reported 1,553 new COVID-19 infections and 15 more deaths. Quebec has surpassed 300,000 COVID-19 infections with the 702 new cases reported Thursday. The province also added seven more deaths in its latest update. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. A Covid-19 situation at the National Insurance Board (NIB) led to late pension cheques this month, says Social Development Minister Donna Cox. And the ministry yesterday apologised for any inconvenience caused to pensioners and other recipients of social welfare as a result of the late payment of benefits. Kim Kardashian showed off the latest addition to her sizable grill collection with an up-close look at her bottom teeth on Wednesday afternoon. In her latest Instagram post, the 40-year-old reality star can be seen pulling down her bottom lip to flash her custom gems from Gabby Elan Jewelry. 'New opal birthstone grill alert,' the mother-of-four captioned the image, which put her diamond encrusted pearly whites on full display. New bling: Kim Kardashian showed off the latest addition to her sizable grill collection with a up-close look at her bottom teeth on Wednesday afternoon Gabby Elan Jewelry official Instagram also posted some behind-the-scenes footage of Kardashian's one-of-a-kind mold. In the past week alone, stars like Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid have sported grills from the jeweler, who immigrated to the US from Israel at the age of 26 as a 'dental technician with no jewelry background.' According to Elan's website Pharrell, Pusha T, A$AP Rocky, Wu Tang Clan, Heidi Klum have also purchased his designs, which range from $200 to $1,200 a tooth. On the TV star's statement accessory, Natural Diamond Council's Lisa Levinson told MailOnline: 'Over time grills have become one of the coolest ways to rock diamonds! Pricey: In her latest Instagram post, the 40-year-old reality star can be seen pulling down her bottom lip to flash her custom gems from Gabby Elan Jewelry Wow: Gabby Elan Jewelry official Instagram also posted some behind-the-scenes footage of Kardashian's one-of-a-kind mold 'Most recognisable on hip-hop artists from Nelly to Kanye West, there are no limits on the design, allowing the wearer to create their very own bespoke piece, delicately set with brilliant diamonds. 'Here, we see an elegant take on grills that include two soulful stones, diamonds and opals. Diamonds and opals both symbolise faithfulness and confidence providing the wearer with a sense of inner strength and comfort.' In 2019, Kardashian showed off another one of her grills, which covered all her bottom teeth and included a tiny cross between her front two teeth. The grill looked to be one she collected in 2018, when she posted a photo after getting her mouth molded for the custom design by jewelry designer Dolly Cohen. Sparkle: KIn 2019, Kardashian showed off another one of her grills, which covered all of bottom teeth and included a tiny cross between her front two teeth It's a favorite: She also has one that spells out her first name on her lower teeth in diamonds in 2019 She also has one that spells out her first name on her lower teeth in diamonds. Notably, Kim shared a grill picture was in 2016 - just a few days before she was the victim of a violent robbery in Paris, in which $10million of her jewels were stolen. During an interview with news commentator Van Jones at Variety and Rolling Stone's Criminal Justice Reform Summit in 2018, she said the experience forced her to reassess her lifestyle. 'I feel like the way I was living my lifestyle, not that anyone should go through that, but I learned so much from it, and I'm OK with my experience, and I do believe that it was meant to happen to me because I'm a different person because of it,' she said. The KKW beauty added: 'When you become a mom, you change anyway, but I think when your life is at stake over material items, it's just... all of that stuff goes out the door. Like, none of it matters. Just my priorities completely changed, and what is important to me changed. I'm a better mom because of it. The things I'll teach my kids are different.' Final picture: Kim shared this picture of herself wearing a grill on October 1 2016, just a few days before she had $10m of jewelry stolen in a violent raid in Paris, including her engagement ring, which is seen here Global Fashion Garment Factory, a Chinese-owned supplier to the fashion retailer C&A, in Yangon, Burma, on March 9, 2021. (2021 Maxar Technologies via AP) Burma Factory Attacks Put Focus on Chinese Influence BANGKOKConfusion over what exactly happened during recent attacks on factories in Burma has highlighted the complex and troubled nature of the countrys relations with China amid a broad public backlash against a Feb. 1 coup. Many in Burma, also known as Myanmar, suspect Beijing of supporting the militarys takeover, and there has long been a deep vein of resentment against Chinas growing influence, but protesters insist they were not responsible for a spate of attacks on factories last weekend. Adding to the uncertainties, China has said it is prepared to do more to protect its extensive business investments in Burma, which include factories, pipelines, and other big infrastructure projects. Chinas state-run Global Times asserted that protesters incited by the West had attacked 32 factories, causing 240 million yuan (about $30 million) in damage. Turmoil is bad for business and will deter investors, the Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN said in a commentary. But China wont allow its interests to be exposed to further aggression. If the authorities cannot deliver and the chaos continues to spread, China might be forced into taking more drastic action to protect its interests, CGTN said. With limited Internet and cellphone connectivity, outside observers face increasing difficulty verifying what is going on in Burma or getting an official response from the junta. The vast Hlaing Thayar industrial zone and several other districts of Yangon, the countrys biggest city, have been under martial law since Monday, putting them under complete military control and making it difficult for protesters to organize and communicate. But people living in the areahome to hundreds of clothing, shoe, and other factoriessaid only a handful of factories were affected. Local TV networks including the military-run Myawaddy TV reported that five factories were burnt in Hlaing Thayar on Sunday. This combination image of March 9, 2021, top, and March 15, 2021, satellite images provided Maxar Technologies shows Global Fashion Garment Factory, a Chinese-owned supplier to the fashion retailer C&A, in Yangon, Burma. (2021 Maxar Technologies via AP) Much of the controversy over the arson attacks has centered on what happened in and around the Chinese-owned Xing Jia shoe factory in Hlaing Thayar. According to records from Panjiva and the Burma Investment Commission, the factory makes Western brand boots such as DeWalt and Dunlop and a wide variety of clothing. But accounts from multiple sources, including Yangon-based labor organizer Andrew Tillett-Saks, say the fires broke out after five garment workers were shot and killed by the military when they reported to the factory to collect their February wages. People living in the industrial zone contacted by phone by The Associated Press said that despite suspicions that the Feb. 1 coup had Chinese support, workers were not responsible for burning the factories, which are protected by high walls and guards. Many shouted in anger to burn down Chinese-owned factories, but none actually implemented such attacks because its hard to access those areas and many residents work in those factories, said San Maung, a bicycle repairman living in the area. If people had wanted to attack these places, they could have done so since day one, San Maung said. According to the independent group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the violence Sunday claimed at least 38 lives. The Burma-based group, which keeps a tally of deaths related to the crackdown, said that as of Wednesday, 217 people had been killed and 2,191 arrested or charged. The Facebook page for the Chinese Embassy in Burma was flooded with tens of thousands of angry comments from local residents incensed over the lack of any mention of sympathy for those who died in the violence, after the page posted a call for better protection for the factories and Chinese personnel. Worryingly, theres a lot of anti-Chinese sentiments, Thiri Thant Mon of Pegu Partners, a Yangon-based consultancy, said Thursday in a web seminar hosted by Japans Nikkei Asia. Thats worrying because there are a lot of native Myanmar Chinese businesspeople as well. Any kind of racial tension is worrying, she said. Apart from hundreds of factories making mostly clothing, shoes, and other light industrial products, China has massive investments in Burmas energy and mining sectors. One of the biggest investments is twin oil and gas pipelines that run nearly 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Made island on Burmas west coast to Ruili, on the border of Chinas Yunnan province. Before the coup, Aung San Suu Kyis government, which was due to remain in power after a landslide win in a November election, had announced a tender for another big Chinese-led project, a huge, deep-water port in Kyaukphyu, western Burma. A January visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi drew a pledge for both sides to work toward completing that project and pushing ahead with an economic corridor linking Chinas southwestern Yunnan province with the port and major cities in Burma. Burmas leaders for years have long relied on China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to help shield both military and civilian-led governments from harsh U.N. sanctions for human rights abuses. The coup and its aftermath have raised risks for all doing business in and with Burma, analysts say. But such setbacks are nothing new for China, whose relations with its resource-rich neighbor were ruptured for a few years in the late 1960s when anti-Chinese riots broke out during Mao Zedongs ultra-leftist Cultural Revolution. Beijing will likely continue to push Burma authorities to protect Chinese businesses, while adopting a wait and see approach, said Kaho Yu, senior Asia analyst at research firm Verisk Maplecroft. This is the course they have to take, he said. They cant simply retreat. By Elaine Kurtenbach The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Senate Banking Committee ranking member Pat Toomey has released a set of principles for housing finance reform. In his proposal, Toomey (R-Pa.) set the framework for legislation to end the government sponsored enterprise (GSE) duopoly and foster a liquid secondary mortgage market while protecting taxpayers and promoting equitable access for all lenders. The housing finance system remains in urgent need of reform, Toomey said in a news release. The current system exposes taxpayers to risk of future bailouts, fosters excessive risk taking, and crowds out private capital. I hope my colleagues, the administration, and all interested stakeholders will join me in working to implement these responsible reforms to prevent yet another financial crisis. Toomeys principles call on Congress to enact housing finance reform legislation to: Transition the GSE duopoly toward a competitive secondary market. End the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Establish a level playing field for other sources of private capital that bear mortgage credit risk. Foster a liquid secondary mortgage market that promotes the continued availability of affordable 30-year and other long-term fixed-rate mortgage loans across the United States and throughout the economic cycle. Protect taxpayers by ensuring that significant first-loss private capital stands in front of any government support and that taxpayers are appropriately compensated for that support. Promote equitable access to the secondary mortgage market by mortgage lenders of all sizes, business models, charter types, and locations. Provide for a smooth transition to the reformed housing finance system by ensuring that reforms are incremental and realistic, leveraging the existing regulatory and market structure. Toomeys principles are consistent with many previous housing finance reform proposals, including the Department of the Treasurys Housing Reform Plan released in September 2019. The Director of Creative and Performing Arts at the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has praised the International Organization for Migration (IOM) The Gambia office for documenting evidence generated on migration in the country. Sheikh Omar Jallow said over the years, IOM has been working towards increasing the evidence gathered on migration in The Gambia in order to enable actors understand the factors that influence decision making process of migrants. He added it is important information on migration is shared with the general public in an innovative way. He said this on Tuesday, 16th March, 2021, at the award ceremony of a singing competition organized by IOM and held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel. Director Jallow commended IOM for ensuring that the information is accessible by every citizen. MOSCOW President Vladimir V. Putin dryly wished President Biden good health on Thursday after the American leader assented to a description of his Russian counterpart as a killer, and long-running tensions morphed into a furious exchange of trans-Atlantic taunts. The previous evening, Russia took the rare step of recalling its ambassador to Washington after Mr. Bidens comments in a television interview, warning of the possibility of an irreversible deterioration of relations. On Thursday, seated in a gilded chair on the seventh anniversary of Russias annexation of Crimea, Mr. Putin all but called Mr. Biden a killer himself. When I was a child, when we argued in the courtyard, we said the following: If you call someone names, thats really your name, Mr. Putin said, quoting a Russian schoolyard rhyme. When we characterize other people, or even when we characterize other states, other people, it is always as though we are looking in the mirror. Despite Mr. Bidens long-running criticism of Mr. Putin, some Russian analysts had voiced hope that the Kremlin could forge a productive working relationship with the new administration in Washington on areas of common interest. But Mr. Bidens combative stance in an interview with ABC News that was broadcast on Wednesday seemed to puncture those hopes, even as many of Mr. Putins critics praised the American presidents comments. Workforce Agency STEM workforces in decline, report finds EPA workers protest job cuts at a 2017 rally in Chicago. (Photo credit: John Gress Media/Shutterstock.com) Several federal agencies have seen their science workforces shrink dramatically over the last decade, with especially steep declines under the Trump administration, according to a new report covering seven agencies by the Democratic staff at the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. "The departure of so much scientific talent and institutional knowledge from the government represents a competitive disadvantage for the United States. We must fix this," said Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), chair of the subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. The report pins the beginning of the shrinking of science workforces on budget cuts in the early 2010s but states that the situation got markedly worse due to the Trump administration's "open hostility towards federal scientists and the federal workforce in general." Overall, some agencies have seen dramatic declines in the science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) workforces, even as other science agencies have kept steady numbers. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have suffered particularly steep workforce losses since fiscal year 2009. Total agency employment at EPA declined by 16.6% in that period. Within the Trump administration alone, the agency's workforce shrunk by 3.9%. Over half of this decline is attributable to STEM job loss. This has impacted their work as employees balance low staffing, outdated IT and lack of science equipment, said Dr. Betsy Southerland, former director of Science and Technology in the Office of Water at EPA. "The lack of staff and resources has forced EPA to focus primarily on those rules with statutory or court order deadlines," she said. "Rules without deadlines . are often postponed for years." Several witnesses and lawmakers focused on problems in hiring and on onboarding, like lengthy time-to-hire windows. Agencies have a wide range of existing hiring and pay authorities to help fill gaps in the STEM workforce, said Candice Wright, the acting director of Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics, U.S. Government Accountability Office. Using special payment authorities to offer higher wages to cybersecurity employees can help in that high demand field, Wright said. Agencies can also use direct hire to fill critical positions. Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, pointed to the promise of internship or fellowship programs. The number of Presidential Management Fellows at science agencies has plummeted over the last four years, according to the report. The program offers two-year fellowships to recent graduates with advanced degrees. Among the eight agencies tallied in the report, the number of fellows dropped from 136 to 49 since fiscal year 2016. The report details enduring gender and racial disparities in federal STEM workforces. Overall, agency STEM workforces are less diverse than agency workforces. In NOAA, for example, there are 8.5 male engineers for every 1 female. This problem is wrapped up into recruitment, said Dr. Andrew Rosenberg, the Director of the Center for Science and Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists. Agencies often recruit from the same places every year without seeking out students at minority-serving institutions. "How the government responds or doesn't to face its human capital challenges today will have lasting effects for the future workforce it needs," Wright said. New Delhi: Most popular Indian TV serial Ramayan actor Arun Govil join BJP in presence of BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at BJP HQ, DDU Marg, in New Delhi On Thursday March 18, 2021.(Photo:IANS/Wasim sarvar) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Most popular Indian TV serial Ramayan actor Arun Govil join BJP in presence of BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at BJP HQ, DDU Marg, in New Delhi On Thursday March 18, 2021.(Photo:IANS/Wasim sarvar) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Most popular Indian TV serial Ramayan actor Arun Govil join BJP in presence of BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at BJP HQ, DDU Marg, in New Delhi On Thursday March 18, 2021.(Photo:IANS/Wasim sarvar) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Most popular Indian TV serial Ramayan actor Arun Govil join BJP in presence of BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh at BJP HQ, DDU Marg, in New Delhi On Thursday March 18, 2021.(Photo:IANS/Wasim sarvar) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 18 : More than three decades after essaying the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's epic TV serial 'Ramayan', actor Arun Govil joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national capital on Thursday in the presence of its national General Secretary Arun Singh and Union minister Debasree Chaudhuri. Welcoming Govil into the BJP, Singh said the actor has joined the party after being influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies. "He (Govil) played the character of Lord Ram in 'Ramayan', which was watched by over 7.7 crore people when the show was retelecast during the lockdown last year," Singh said. After joining the BJP, Govil said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is allergic to the chanting of 'Jai Shri Ram'. "Some people are not ready to understand. Mamata Banerjee has some sort of allergy to 'Jai Shri Ram'. She has to understand that Lord Ram is our ideal. Her opposition to the chanting of 'Jai Shri Ram' is a trigger point which forced me to join politics," Govil said. When asked why he joined politics so late when some of his co-stars in 'Ramayan' had joined the party earlier, Govil said that destiny has a fixed time for everything, adding that the other actors had joined the BJP when they were at the peak of their careers, while he joined politics almost 33 years after 'Ramayan' went off-screen in 1988. Govil's co-star Dipika Chikhlia, who played the character of Sita in 'Ramayan', joined the BJP and won from the Baroda Lok Sabha constituency in 1991. Another of his co-actors, Arvind Trivedi, who portrayed the role of Ravana in the hit serial, had also joined the BJP and won the Lok Sabha polls from Sabarkantha in Gujarat in 1991. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Well never have to worry about a Hurricane Laura or Delta again. Two of the most significant storms of the busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season rattled nerves across Southeast Texas. Each had the region in its bullseye before tacking eastward. Both caused mischief in Orange County, though they did most of their damage in Louisiana. This week, the World Meteorological Organization permanently retired the names of Laura and three other storms, including two from last years record-breaking hurricane season. The groups Hurricane Committee does this whenever a storm is particularly devastating or lethal. Laura, for example, killed 47 people and caused $19 billion in damage in an August rampage. The name was supposed to come up again in 2026, but that list was edited to include Leah instead. The Hurricane Committee also voted to stop reverting to the Greek alphabet once its primary 21-name list is exhausted. That happened eight times last season. For good measure, Eta and Iota were formally retired as well. Dorian, a 2019 hurricane deemed the worst natural disaster to strike the Bahamas, also was banished from future consideration. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, who led the coordinated emergency response effort from the courthouse during Hurricane Laura, said he agrees with the decision to ditch the Greek-letter names because not everyone is familiar with the Greek alphabet. I think its important to have distinct names, he said. It would also be easier when discussing the after-action review to have distinct storm names. The Hurricane committee, which oversees such meteorological matters for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, determined that Greek alphabet letters were difficult to translate into other languages, and that the phonetic pronunciations of names like Zeta, Eta and Theta were were too similar and created confusion. The RA-IV Hurricane Committees work is critical to keep our nations coordinated well before the next storm threatens, committee chairman Ken Graham, who is also director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a tatement. Hurricanes dont care about international boundaries. We all face similar dangers from tropical systems. Impacts from a single storm can affect multiple countries, so it is critical we have a plan, coordinate our efforts, and share challenges and best practices. After the lengthy 2020 season, there was some debate about moving the start of hurricane season earlier, but the World Meteorological Organization announced that June 1 will remain the official start date. The 2021 hurricane season will feature these names: Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda. The supplemental list will be: Adria, Braylen, Caridad, DeShawn, Emery, Foster Gemma, Heath, Isla, Jacobus, Kenzie, Lucio, Makayla, Nolan, Orlanda, Pax, Ronin, Sophie, Tayshaun, Viviana and Will. Past retirees from the naming list include the locally unforgettable Ike, Rita and Harvey. (TNS) New Orleans residents who need transportation to their coronavirus vaccination appointment can now get a free or discounted ride from Uber.The program will provide up to 20,000 rides to residents through a partnership with the city, the Orleans Parish Communications District, LCMC Health, the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Urban League of Louisiana."This ride donation will remove transportation barriers that could potentially prevent residents from accessing the life-saving vaccines and we know that the vaccine is our way out of the pandemic," Laura Mellem, public engagement manager for New Orleans' Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.Those looking to take advantage of the offer can get a code in the Uber app to get four $35 credits for rides between any location in New Orleans and a vaccination site. Those that don't have the app can call 311 to schedule a ride."We know that the low-income and elderly have added transportation barriers that may prevent them from getting a vaccine," said Uber spokesperson Trevor Theunissen, adding that the ride-hailing company aims to "help make the largest-ever global immunization campaign a success and deliver the benefits of the vaccine quickly, effectively and also equitably."The 311 center is also scheduling vaccination appointments at community locations and adding people to a vaccination waitlist. Vaccinations at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, which is being run as a mass vaccination site by LCMC, can be scheduled by calling (504) 290-5200.The 311 system currently has 33,000 individuals registered for vaccines, Orleans Parish Communications Director Tyrell Morris said."Be mindful, the free rides are a limited supply so we do ask that if you have the ability to get to a vaccination site on your own you save this for those who need it the most," Morris said. Alternatively, the Regional Transit Authority runs free shuttle buses to the Convention Center. Those shuttles depart every 15 minutes from Duncan Plaza and every 45 minutes from the Park and Ride on the west bank and from the Walmart in New Orleans East. BEIJING, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Speakers from home and abroad took to the stage of the Vision China event on Thursday to share the Chinese experience and stories in curbing poverty. Held by China Daily, the event delved into China's success in fighting absolute poverty and examined the historical significance of embarking on a new journey to build China into a modern socialist country. The theme of the event was "the way forward after beating poverty". Beate Trankmann, the resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in China, and Zhou Shuchun, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, addressed Thursday's event. The other speakers were: Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation; Wang Xingzui, executive vice-president of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation; David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa; and China Daily reporter Erik Nilsson. Based on their personal involvement in poverty alleviation, the speakers discussed the methods and gains of China's sweeping anti-poverty campaign and shared stories of how the nation promoted the global cause of poverty reduction. In a video speech at the event, Trankmann congratulated China on its eradication of domestic absolute poverty. She said the 750 million Chinese who got rid of absolute poverty over the last four decades made up roughly three-quarters of the global total during that period, a significant accomplishment in efforts to end poverty globally. China achieved this milestone through its targeted, bottom-up approach, and this has been a valuable reference for other nations, she said. Trankmann said the UN's development agency is working with China to promote the nation's experience in curbing poverty. "By continuing to apply the same level of resolve as it has in eradicating extreme rural poverty, China can not only build upon the remarkable progress already made nationally, but also continue to contribute to sustainable development globally," she said. While addressing the event, Zhou, the China Daily publisher, said that poverty is a "worldwide, centuries-old problem that has plagued mankind since the beginning of history". He said less than a month ago, President Xi Jinping declared complete success in China's protracted, arduous battle to eliminate extreme poverty. "The Chinese experience contributes to the world's wisdom, knowledge and solutions for establishing a new paradigm for poverty reduction," he said. The nation will boost the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and realize a smooth transition from poverty alleviation to rural vitalization during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, he said. China will work hard with other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind and be devoted to the establishment of a more resilient, open and inclusive world economy in an effort to create a clean, beautiful world with lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, Zhou added. Kuhn, a winner of the China Reform Friendship Medal, said he has told Chinese stories for more than three decades and has shared his observations about China's anti-poverty endeavors. "China's poverty alleviation is the best story to undermine biases and disrupt stereotypes about China," he said. Kuhn said that China's success in bringing the COVID-19 outbreak under control and ending extreme poverty was based on three principles CPC leadership, General Secretary Xi Jinping's commitment, and CPC mobilization. "Just as future historians may well look upon China's fight against the coronavirus as a turning point in worldwide efforts to contain outbreaks of novel diseases, future historians may well recognize China's fight against poverty as a turning point in worldwide efforts to eradicate extreme poverty," he noted. Wang Xingzui of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, a humanitarian relief and development organization, talked about its efforts to fulfill six of the goals set by the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development no poverty, no hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, clean water and sanitation, and decent work and economic growth. He shared stories about the beneficiaries of its signature overseas programs including the Smiling Children School Feeding Program, the Panda Pack Project and the Youth Vocational Training Program and said China is actively fulfilling its "due international responsibility". The programs collectively have benefited more than 1.3 million people in 24 countries and have increased people-to-people connectivity, he said. Wang said the foundation will continue implementing domestic development programs with nongovernmental resources to consolidate poverty reduction achievements and facilitate the national rural vitalization strategy. David Monyae from the Centre for Africa-China Studies spoke highly of China's development achievements, saying it has emerged as one of the most critical players in the international arena. He said the China-Africa relationship has strengthened under Xi's leadership as China has designated ties with the continent to be of great importance. China ranks highly among Africa's trade and investment partners. "Africa has so much to learn from China on how to uplift the majority of Africans from poverty," he said. He said China's zero-poverty announcement coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. "The CPC has taken another Long March, this one toward prosperity and global acclaim." Monyae noted that going from a poor country to its current status as the second-largest global economy, China's achievements merit respect. "The CPC has blazed a trail that no other nation has. Of most importance, its achievements inspire hope in the developing world," he said. As a China Daily reporter, Erik Nilsson has spent 15 years exploring poverty alleviation in remote areas in every provincial-region on the Chinese mainland. Nilsson said he has made it his "life's mission" to tell the story of China's poverty alleviation through his reporting and his new book Closer to Heaven: A Global Nomad's Journey Through China's Poverty Alleviation. A Chinese Government Friendship Award laureate, he shared his experience as a reporter in the earthquake-ravaged cities of Wenchuan, Sichuan province, and Yushu, Qinghai province. Wenchuan was hit by a 8-magnitude quake in 2008, and Yushu endured a 7.1-magnitude temblor in 2010. "Even there, on the 'planet's third pole', China's poverty alleviation miracle means that the Yushu I returned to is a different place from what I saw in 2011," Nilsson said. He said China has been the main driver of global poverty alleviation. "I expect China's development will continue to accelerate to advance virtually every dimension of human well-being, not only within China but also the world." Vision China was launched in 2018 and serves as a major podium for promoting China's voices via the media group's position as a globalized, all-media platform that features multilingual and multichannel distribution. Seventeen previous Vision China events have been held in cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Macao, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Lanzhou in Gansu province as well as in New York, London and Johannesburg. By LI LEI SOURCE China Daily As part of Africa Rising and the Live Love non-profit, the Ndlovu Youth Choir will join Master KG in a performance that will be livestreamed from Robben Island in Cape Town ahead of Freedom Day on 25 April 2021 from 4pm to 6pm. International personality Maps Maponyane will serve as the master of ceremonies. Audiences will have the opportunity to win an exclusive VIP experience at the event on Robben Island by making an online donation of at least R30; benefiting the music and events industry and charities in sustainability, education and conservation.Africa Rising brings music and travel to the world by telling beautiful and inspiring African stories through uniquely produced music experiences. These are brought to life by broadcasting live performances by Africas biggest artists, set in the most iconic locations on the continent. Through these stories and the platform, Africa Rising aims to raise money to invest back into the industries decimated during the pandemic, and into African communities that desperately need it.Master KG is a South African musician and record producer and his album Skeleton Move achieved acclaim including an Afrimma Award for Best Artist/Group in the African Electro category. He is also known as the pioneer of Bolobedu dance. In 2020, his song Jerusalema, featuring Nomcebo Zikode, went viral online, garnering international success. The mastermind behind the infectious Jerusalema song beat fellow African performers like Burna Boy, Rema, Sheebah, Gaz Mawete, Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa to win the title of Best African Act at the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs).The Ndlovu Youth Choirs incredible run on season 14 of Americas Got Talent (AGT) made them the first choir in the history of either Americas Got Talent or Britains Got Talent to reach the final. Their soul-stirring performances won hearts and minds around the world. After their final AGT performance, legendary music producer and record executive Simon Cowell labelled the performance: The best final I have ever sat on in my life. He went on to sign the choir and, together with Syco and Sony Music, they released their first album, which debuted at number one on iTunes.During the coronavirus crisis, the choir continued to offer hope and inspiration with their enthusiastic Covid-19 musical public service messages - which were shared by the WHO (World Health Organisation) and the United Nations. They joined many of the worlds top A-list performers on a virtual stage when they were featured during the Global Citizens One World: Together at Home virtual concert.As the Ndlovu Youth Choirs meteoric rise continues, they strive to push the creative boundaries of song and dance to reach and touch audiences of all ages across the globe. The high energy performances have not only thrilled audiences around the world. but have shared a message of hope, love and togetherness.We would like to honour all the theatres, venues, technical providers and events companies that ensure every show is a magical experience. We trust that our performance at Africa Rising will encourage you and give you hope that we will rise, says Ralf Schmitt, musical director of the Ndlovu Youth Choir.For more information, go to weareafricarising.live Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 23:55:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GABORONE, March 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 48 Zimbabwean refugees left Botswana's Dukwi Refugee Camp on Wednesday heading to their native country at the start of a voluntary repatriation exercise. The voluntary repatriation, which is a joint initiative by the governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), seeks to evacuate the remaining 300 Zimbabweans who fled their country in 2008. These Zimbabweans left their country of origin as a result of political violence, Thobo Letlhage, director of Refugee Management and Welfare in Botswana's Ministry of Defense, Justice and Security, told Xinhua in a telephone interview. "However, they have since decided to go back to their country of origin on their own volition because the refugee status is not permanent," said Letlhage as the first batch of the returning refugees took off by bus heading for Zimbabwe. According to Letlhage, the refugees will be taken in small batches since COVID-19 containment measures have to be implemented in order not to spread and transmit the global pandemic from one country to the other. Letlhage said Botswana government is committed to assist all the refugees from Zimbabwe since it believes that their best interest is served when they return to their homes. UNHCR is giving all the adults 520 U.S.dollars (USD) and minors 100 USD, as a once-off payment, Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro, Zimbabwe's ambassador to Botswana, said. In addition to the financial package, Mukonoweshuro said the returning Zimbabweans were given three-month food package to assist them, as they will be still finding their footing upon arrival in Zimbabwe. "Returning to their home country is a durable solution for refugees," said Mukonoweshuro. The repatriation programme which started Wednesday is expected to end on March 25. Enditem Alibaba.com, an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace for global wholesalers under the Alibaba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), with the aim of supporting Vietnamese firms to boost online exports. According to the MoU, Alibaba.com will support Vietnamese firms with faster access to its global e-commerce platform, as well as solutions designed to accelerate business growth and tailored services to help them deepen their online trade capabilities. In 2020, the two sides organized workshops for companies from five Vietnamese provinces and cities including Ho Chi Minh City. Another four workshops in other locations are expected to be organized this year. Alibaba.com pledged to support 10,000 Vietnamese firms by 2024. The e-Conomy SEA 2020 report shows that the size of Vietnam's e-commerce market currently stands at 7 billion U.S. dollars, with a growth rate of 46 percent from 2019 to 2020, and an expected value of 29 billion dollars in 2025. A Russian-German research team has created a quantum sensor that grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in qubits. The study by NUST MISIS, Russian Quantum Center and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, published in npj Quantum Information, may pave the way for quantum computing. In quantum computing the information is encoded in qubits. Qubits (or quantum bits), the quantum mechanical analogue of a classical bit, are coherent two-level systems. A leading qubit modality today superconducting qubits based on the Josephson junction. That is the kind of qubit IBM and Google used in their quantum processors. However, scientists are still searching for the perfect qubit -- the one that can be precisely measured and controlled, while remaining unaffected by its environment. The key element of a superconducting qubit is the nanoscale superconductor--insulator--superconductor Josephson junction. A Josephson junction is a tunnel junction made of two pieces of superconducting metal separated by a very thin insulating barrier. The most commonly used insulator is aluminum oxide. Modern techniques do not allow to build a qubit with 100% precision, resulting in so-called tunneling two-level defects that limit the performance of superconducting quantum devices and cause computational errors. Those defects contribute to a qubit's extremely short life span, or decoherence. Tunneling defects in aluminum oxide and at surfaces of superconductors are an important source of fluctuations and energy losses in superconducting qubits, ultimately limiting the computer run-time. The more material defects occur, the more they affect the cubit's performance, causing more computational errors, the researchers noted. The new quantum sensor grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in quantum systems. According to Prof. Alexey Ustinov, Head of the Laboratory for Superconducting Metamaterials at NUST MISIS and Group Head at Russian Quantum Center, who co-authored the study, the sensor itself is a superconducting qubit, and it allows the detection and manipulation of individual defects. Traditional techniques for studying material structure, such as small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), are not sensitive enough to spot small individual defects, therefore using those techniques won't help to build the best qubit. The study may open avenues for quantum material spectroscopy to investigate the structure of tunneling defects and to develop low-loss dielectrics that are urgently required for the advancement of superconducting quantum computers, the researchers believe. ### 7 day print subscribers enjoy unlimited access to yakimaherald.com Enter the LAST NAME and the 7 DIGIT phone number on your print subscription account to connect your print subscription to your yakimaherald.com account. March 18 : After wrapping up the Delhi shooting schedule of her forthcoming film Tejas, Kangana Ranaut has reached her favourite place Rajasthan for the next leg of the shoot. Taking to social media, Kangana informed that she has started shooting for Tejas in Rajasthan. The actress shared some on-location photographs today, and in one of them, she is seen riding a helicopter as she thanked her team for saving her time and hassle of long drives. Sharing the mesmerising view of Rajasthan from her helicopter, the actress wrote how she loved Rajasthan for its natural beauty and its culturally rich people. This morning off to work, thank you team #Tejas for saving the hassle of long drives, while I look at this terrain, I wonder Rajasthan got a raw deal in terms of nature and its resources yet they emerged as the strongest, culturally n aesthetically richest and evolved people, Ranaut tweeted. This morning off to work, thank you team #Tejas for saving the hassle of long drives, while I look at this terrain, I wonder Rajasthan got a raw deal in terms of nature and its resources yet they emerged as the strongest, culturally n aesthetically richest and evolved people. pic.twitter.com/Ar5HAnH8TB Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 18, 2021 In another tweet, the Panga actress explained why she loved deserts. People ask me why do I love the desert so much, its not the barrenness of emotionally cold and infertile soil its not the brutality/harshness of the weather but what I love is the scarce life that refuses to settle for anything less than love and the desert cant resist, the actress wrote. People ask me why do I love the desert so much,its not the barrenness of emotionally cold and infertile soil its not the brutality/harshness of the weather but what I love is the the scarce life that refuses to settle for anything less than love and the desert cant resist pic.twitter.com/f7HOKAfUNZ Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 18, 2021 On Wednesday evening, the actress shared a tweet, in which she was seen enjoying Rajasthani cuisine. The Judgementall Hai Kya actress tweeted a picture of the local cuisine and wrote: Rajasthan is like a lover to me treats me like a Queen and eating Rajasthani meal is like a date. Bajra roti, desi ghee and Laal maas blending in my mouth is what I call making love. Rajasthan is like a lover to me treats me like a Queen and eating Rajasthani meal is like a date Bajra roti, desi ghee and Laal maas blending in my mouth is what I call making love pic.twitter.com/kOb8lKMtgp Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 17, 2021 While informing about the wrapping up of the Delhi shoot schedule for the film, Kangana wrote on her Twitter handle that although Sarvesh Mewara was a first time director, she never felt that way. Sharing a picture of herself with her director, Kangana praised him and wrote, Today team Tejas successfully completed Delhi schedule, our commander in Chief @sarveshmewara1 is a first time director but it seems he has been making movies all his life and good ones. Tomorrow off to my most favourite place Rajasthan for next schedule.@nonabains @RSVPMovies. Today team Tejas successfully completed Delhi schedule, our commander in Chief @sarveshmewara1 is a first time director but it seems he has been making movies all his life and good ones. Tomorrow off to my most favourite place Rajasthan for next schedule.@nonabains @RSVPMovies pic.twitter.com/IIVblCgg3C Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 15, 2021 The actress also shared a picture of her delicious sweet treat she had in Delhi and wrote, Delhi wrap ... uummmmmm Is there something called vulgarly delicious? Delhi wrap ... uummmmmm Is there something called vulgarly delicious? pic.twitter.com/77w89COCoA Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) March 15, 2021 In Tejas, Kangana plays the role of an Indian Air Force pilot. The film is backed by the makers of Vicky Kaushals Uri: The Surgical Strike. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. (Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) Telemarketers Slapped with $225 Million Fine After Making an Estimated Billion Robocalls Selling Short-Term Insurance Plans More The FCC or Federal Communications Commission has just issued one of the largest fines in all of its history on Wednesday, March 17. Two different Texas-based telemarketers are reportedly on the hook for a fine of $255 million after having made approximately 1 billion robocalls towards people all across the United States! FCC fine on violators The case gets bigger as it was found that they ran at least two different businesses that somehow illegally spoofed some other companies to try and sell people on certain short-term insurance plans. They claimed that they were from certain well-known providers just like Cigna. The FCC filing details the violations made by the telemarketers and one of the people that was involved in this particular scheme had admitted to making "millions" of robocalls every single day. They would even reportedly go as far as to call the numbers on the supposed "Do Not Call" list due to him believing that it would still be pretty profitable. Robocalls a problem According to the FCC, there was a large portion of over 23.6 million health insurance robocalls spreading across the US wireless networks back in 2018 that came from Rising Eagle which was one of the companies that the supposed two telemarketers ran. This was reported in a story by Engadget. According to the article by Engadget, the biggest fine in the agency's history is unlikely to rein in robocalls. It was also noted that there is evidence suggesting that they actually haven't been effective at all. A report coming from The Wall Street Journal two years ago was able to find that between 2015 and 2019, the official FCC had reportedly ordered violators of the specific Telephone Consumer Protection Act to pay up $208.4 million when it came to penalties. During the end of the period, the agency reportedly only collected just $6,790. That particular number could have changed in the years ever since the report by The Wall Street Journal. If there's going to be good news, it is that the FCC still is not limiting itself to fines. Read Also: COVID-19 Vaccine Scams from Emails and Telemarketing Possible, FBI Warns Robocall Response Team In another announcement, the agency also detailed its very own new anti-robocall agenda. Jessica Rosenworcel, the Acting Chair, had reportedly established a Robocall Response Team. This was made up of a solid 51 FCC members across six different offices. The team will reportedly coordinate the agency's very own anti-robocall efforts and even develop certain new policies for it to be put in place. It has also reportedly sent official cease-and-desist letters towards six different companies over in Canada, the UK, and the US, that have reportedly been consistently spurning its guidelines when it comes to automated calls. If the companies reportedly don't comply with the letters, the FCC notes that it might instruct violence providers in the whole United States to block all of the traffic from them permanently. Related Article: Twitch Streamer Kitboga Trolls Coronavirus Cure Telemarketing Scammers! This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Urian Buenconsejo 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Pooja Bhatt recently made her acting comeback with the Netflix show Bombay Begums. The show recently was embroiled in a controversy after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) slapped a notice against the show recently, for depicting children inappropriately. Pooja Bhatt has now opened up about the show and NCPCR's notice during an interview with India Today TV. The actress who returned to screen after two decades said, "People have their own sets of biases, their own understandings, and their way of looking at the world." Bhatt recalled the early days of her career as a producer and said her first film in 1999 titled Zakhm was refused a certificate by the Censor Board but it went on to win National Award for Best Film on National Integration by the NDA government. She added, "I think eventually your intention is always understood by people in power. And institutes finally comprise people. There is no greater thing than intention. As far as Bombay Begums is concerned, it's a work of fiction." Talking about the backlash and the love Bombay Begums has received, Pooja shared that she had been getting positive messages from Amritsar, The Netherlands, Nairobi, etc. "Places that usually never consume traditional Indian cinema are reacting to the story. So my response was, sit down with the Commission, talk to them, let them understand that Shai's character is of a troubled teenager and we have plenty of those in our society who are lost within their own homes." Pooja also revealed that the makers were extremely careful while shooting Shai's scene with the young actress Aadhya Anand. "If you've seen her taking even a single drag of a cigarette. It was never nicotine given to her, at no point on the show is she shown as a habitual smoker. We are showing that stage of her life where they are prone to get misled and that is the arch of the character, who actually dies because of drug overdose." "It's a very clear signal to people, young and old that if you mess with drugs, you'll possibly end up dead. It's not at any point glorifying drug usage. We as individuals are responsible for these things and we not going to put out something, will give a wrong signal," Pooja Bhatt concluded. Bombay Begums currently streaming on Netflix, follows five women from the age of 13 to age 49, all coming from different walks of life. ALSO READ: Bombay Begums: NCPCR Asks Netflix To Stop Streaming As Series Shows Minors Indulging In Casual Sex & Drugs ALSO READ: Bombay Begums Web Series Review: Alankrita Shrivastava-Pooja Bhatt's Show Celebrates A Blend Of Real Women Asdas boss has announced plans to step down just weeks after the supermarkets debt fuelled 6.8billion takeover. Roger Burnley, who took charge in 2018, has told the business new owners that he plans to move on. The departure was amicable and he will stay in the job until a successor is found. Stepping down: Asda boss Roger Burnley, who took charge in 2018, has told the business new owners that he plans to move on But it puts further pressure on the Issa brothers and London private equity firm TDR Capital who took on 3.5billion of debt to fund the acquisition of Asda from Walmart last year. Burnley is highly regarded in the industry and spent time at Sainsburys as a director before moving to Asda. Under his tenure, Asda boosted its online sales performance but remains the countrys third largest supermarket, behind Sainsburys and Tesco. His achievements, however, were overshadowed by constant speculation about Asdas future ownership. In 2018, Walmart struck a 15billion deal to merge Asda with Sainsburys, sparking a year-long effort to get the tie-up past the competition watchdogs. His departure gives the new owners the chance to appoint a replacement and it is understood the recruitment process is already under way. Mohsin and Zuber Issa, built their firm EG Group into one of the worlds largest petrol station operators, from a single filling station in Bury, Manchester. They have wasted no time in making changes and last month they announced they would sell Asdas petrol stations to their own EG Group in order to streamline the supermarket. They have also registered offshore companies in Jersey to manage Asda finances and pledged to invest 1billion over three years. In January the billionaire brothers hired the former Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose to chair their EG Group business. The appointment was a boost to EGs corporate credentials and its expansion ambitions. In February, Dame Alison Carnwath was then installed on EG Groups board as the head of the audit committee. Asda is one of the UKs biggest private sector employers, with more than 146,000 staff and 600 supermarkets. Burnley said: My decision to leave Asda is personal and something I wanted to communicate to my colleagues as soon as I could. Whilst I remain fully committed to leading this great business for the next year and delivering our strategy, it is right to plan for a managed succession process well in advance. The Issas and TDR Capital jointly said: Roger and his team have protected and enhanced an exceptionally resilient business which we are proud to own. 'We are acutely aware of the responsibility we have in ensuring this great British brand continues to thrive for years to come. Around the World in a Coffee Cup Coffee originated in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia, growing on trees as cherries with a precious bean-like seed in the middle. Legend has it that sometime in the middle of the 9th century, a goatherd discovered its get-up-and-go properties when his goats got-up-and-went after eating the cherries. But no one knows for sure, because he didnt take a selfie, so it didnt happen. The goats were jumpy because a coffee cherrys fleshstill sold as cascarahas caffeine in it. When dried, coffee cherries can be made into a hot drink called qishr. But someone determined early on that a more complicated process of pulling out the seeds, washing and drying them, and then roasting and grinding them before steeping them in hot water was the way to go. So the beans won, and set off in all directions to conquer the world. But not everyone chose to brew it the same way. Ethiopian Coffee Yirgacheffe coffee, light-bodied and bright, is named for the region where it grows, and can even still be found in the wild there. The birthplace of coffee gives it its ceremonious due. Incense is burned to drive off spirits. The beans are roasted in a pan, ground, and brewed over a fire in a clay pot, and then shared among friends in a social event often lasting more than two hours. Thats probably not exactly how its done at your neighborhood Ethiopian restaurant, but nevertheless, there are similarities: served with sugar, not milk, and enjoyed as a group from a shared pot. Its typically unfiltered or run through a strainer, and, in restaurants, may come with cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves added. In some rural areas, they may add a pinch of salt, which cuts the bitterness. Italian Espresso In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, patented the first machine that could send highly pressurized hot water through finely ground coffee, producing a thick, flavorful shot. It shortened the brewing time and made it possible to brew 100 servings in an hour so more customers could pop in and pop out, downing shots of espresso like, well, shots. Espresso-based creations run the gamut from cappuccinos and lattes to bicerinespresso, milk, drinking chocolateand Marocchino, an espresso topped with milk froth served in a small glass first dusted with cocoa powder. And, of course, theres caffe Americano, an espresso diluted with hot water in a larger cup, because, as Italians have told me, we Americans drink brodo (broth). However, this method doesnt match the taste of American filtered coffee. Not everyone had an espresso machine handy at home, so in 1933, Alfonso Bialetti, an Italian engineer, came up with a little aluminum pot stacked on a screw-on tank for water: the moka pot. A stovetop burner heats the water as if in a pressure cooker, forcing it up a central tube that leads to the espresso grounds packed in a filter. The resulting coffee bubbles up another tube, spills out the top into the pot, and voila: espresso! (Or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.) Cafe Cubano Cuba once produced large amounts of coffee beans, and at one point in the 19th century, the profits of coffee exports exceeded those of sugar. But after the revolution of 1956, the industry went into decline. Originally, beans were pulverized and steeped in hot water in a cloth sack. But Italian espresso came to the island and was well received. Cubans and Cuban exiles alike enjoy this island-born espresso with a twist. Also known as a cafecito, this espresso is typically brewed in a moka pot. The first drippings are taken and whipped with demeraralarge-crystal, light brown sugarto make a creamy froth, then returned to the cup as a crema atop the rest of the coffee. Serve it with hot milk on the side and you have cafe con leche. Flat White, Down Under Australia and New Zealand are home to the flat white, but the drink has traveled to other menus, even Starbucks. Its an espresso with textured milk, and unlike the cappuccino with stiffer foam rising above the liquid, this textured milk remains flat. How is this not a latte? That depends a bit on your barista, of course, but it should have slightly less milk than the latte, and so a bit stronger with the coffee flavor. Mexican Cafe de Olla During the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910 and lasted more than a decade, female soldiers called adelitas not only fought in battle and cared for the wounded, but also prepared meals. They made coffee in hopes of keeping everyones energy levels up. If you find a traditional maker of this drink, the coffee may be heated in a clay pot, or olla de barro, over a smoky fire. Regardless, the brew is served with a cinnamon stick and piloncillo, a dark raw sugar. Some recipes may also add orange peel, anise, and cloves, but dont use milk. Turkish Coffee Turkish coffee, which is ground even finer than espresso, is first mixed with unheated water in an ibrik, a small, long-handled brew pot, along with sugar, if any, measured to the chosen sweetness: sugar, no sugar, or medium-sweet. (A Turkish friend assured me with a wink that at a restaurant, everyone at the table is getting medium so it can be made all in one batch.) The pot is heated very slowly until foam rises up. Then its removed for a moment, returned to slow heat, and allowed to foam up one more time. The coffee is poured into small cups and the patron must wait a spell for the fine grounds to settle to the bottom. You sip until you get to them. If you are with the right Turkish companions, you can turn the cup over on its saucer and someone will tell you your fortune from the grounds. Arabic coffee is quite similar but typically adds a bit of cardamom. Vietnamese Coffee Most coffee grown in Vietnam isnt the popular Arabica variety, but rather Robusta, a more caffeinated, more bitter, and often less preferred bean. Yet this coffee is delicious, thanks to a roasting process that employs sugar and butter, or even vanilla, cocoa, and chicory, which give the beans a flavorful, caramelized coating. To prepare a drink, coffee grounds are poured into a phin, a metal cup with a filter bottom that sits atop a filter plate. Another loose metal filter is settled on top of the grounds. All of this is set on top of a clear glass serving cup. Hot water is poured into the phin, and it slowly trickles through to the glass. Most take it sweetened, with two or three spoonfuls of condensed milk, or even over ice. Siphon or Vacuum Coffee Depending on whom you ask, this brewing method was created in France or Scotland in the 1840s, but in reality, it likely came from Germany a decade before. If you want to see this brewing spectacle in action, though, your best chance may be in Japan, where it remains popular. Looking like some shenanigans a classmate might pull in chemistry lab, the process involves a filter in the bottom of a glass hopper connected to the top of a clear glass bulb big enough to hold about 12 ounces of water. The bulb is then placed over a blue flame, similar to a Bunsen burner, until the heated water expands up into the hopper. The brewer then adds the grounds and stirs them in well, leaving them to steep just over a minute. Then the bulb is removed from the heat, and the cooling effect lowers the pressure in the bulb, steadily sucking the coffee back down through the filter and into the bulb. Believers contend this delicate brew is the purest, cleanest taste of coffee you can have. But whichever method you choose for your brew, at the end of the dayor rather the beginningthey all deliver the jolt those goats first relished. Kevin Revolinski is an avid traveler, craft beer enthusiast, and home cooking fan. He is the author of 15 books, including The Yogurt Man Cometh: Tales of an American Teacher in Turkey and his new collection of short stories, Stealing Away. He is based in Madison, Wisconsin, and his website is TheMadTraveler.com. Controversial plans to dig Britains first new coal mine for 30 years look set to be ditched by the Government. There are very compelling reasons to block the application for the mine on the Cumbrian coast, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said yesterday. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick had said a public inquiry would examine the application for the deep mine near Whitehaven. There are very compelling reasons to block the application for the mine on the Cumbrian coast, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) said yesterday Mr Kwarteng was asked why he was not stopping the development, which would extract 2.7million tonnes of coal a year from the seabed for steel production. He said: Essentially what weve done is pretty much that. Were looking at it, it is part of a planning process. Initially, I think the relevant secretary of state [Mr Jenrick] said he wouldnt go against the local planning decision, but he is now looking at that again and I think there were very compelling reasons to do as the CCC [climate change committee] suggested and not open the mine, he said on BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Asked if he was saying it should not open, the minister said: What I said was that were going through a process, it is a legal process, a local planning process, and the Secretary of State for Local Government is reviewing that situation. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) had said a public inquiry would examine the application for the deep mine near Whitehaven The apparent rejection was welcomed by environmentalists who said opening a coal mine was wrong when the UK is holding the UN Cop26 climate summit this year. Dr Doug Parr, of Greenpeace UK, said it would tarnish the Governments credibility as the host of an absolutely crucial climate summit. The effectiveness of drugs such as MDMA and psilocybin to treat mental illness will be investigated under a new $15million grant from the Australian government. Existing medications have a 30 to 40 per cent success rate at treating psychological conditions, while small overseas studies have found an up to 80 per cent success rate with the two currently illegal drugs. There have been huge strides in recent years to destigmatise and establish support and advocacy for mental issues but there have been no new scientifically backed medical treatments, one expert explained. Some small over studies have shown MDMA and psilocybin to be very effective at treating mental illness when paired with psychotherapy (stock image) A grant by the government paves the way for clinical trials in the field to be held in Australia (file image) 'Every single psychiatric drug on the market is based on research that is at least 50 years old,' Dr Arthur Christopoulos, dean of Monash University's faculty of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences told The Guardian. MDMA, also called ecstacy, and psilocybin, one of the main chemical compounds in psychoactive mushrooms, are illegal in Australia. The government's Mental Illness Grant Opportunity announced on Wednesday, however, marks a departure from decades of blanket prohibition. The grant follows a wave of countries across the world decriminalising medicinal cannabis - including Australia at the federal level in 2016 - as the scientific community garners growing evidence some illegal drugs may contain beneficial compounds. Despite evidence showing psychedelic drugs might help the recovery of those with mental illnesses, Australia's Therapeutic Drug Association in February made the interim decision to keep psilocybin and MDMA at the prohibited schedule 9 classification. The possibility of re-classifying them under schedule 8 as a controlled medicine - paving the way for medical use - will be revisited but the TGA has not given a definite indication when. MDMA or esctacy is illegal in Australia but the TGA is considering classifying the drug as a controlled medicine (stock image) In making their decision they did note, however, that the use of both drugs in clinical trials was allowed, which when paired with the government funding could put Australia at the forefront of the emerging field. 'When the TGA looks at this, or I look at this, there needs to be those clinical trials in place so we can be sure that these are actual medications that are going to be effective before we reschedule them for use,' professor at Curtin University's National Drug Research Institute Dr Nicole Lee said. 'Australia used to be leaders in the world when it came to drug and alcohol policy, but in the last 10 to 15 years we've slipped back to a zero-tolerance, prohibition approach and we are way behind the rest of the world, who are decriminalising and revolutionising these types of drugs,' she said. One of the major differences between using psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression is that only three or four supervised sessions may be required for the process to work, reducing a dependence on existing long term medication options. About four million Australians suffer from a mental disorder every year with anxiety disorders the most common at 14 per cent of adult population closely followed by depression and substance abuse. Vaccines to immunize children against the coronavirus could be ready by the end of the year, Bay Area experts in pediatric immunology said Wednesday, following Modernas announcement that it is expanding its drug trials to include children up to age 12. A pair of studies involving adolescents from vaccine maker Pfizer also are moving ahead, with participation in the Bay Area from Kaiser in Oakland and Stanford University researchers. Pfizer announced in November that it was expanding its trial in teenagers to include youth ages 12 to 15, with investigators from Kaiser, Oakland, enrolling participants in Santa Clara and Sacramento. Reading the tea leaves, there may be emergency use authorization for children by December, said Dr. George Rutherford, an expert in pediatrics and epidemiology at UCSF who is not involved in the studies. At Stanford, Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease expert, said a vaccine for adolescents could be ready by late summer if the data from trials for that age group is ready in time. She will be leading a Pfizer study of adolescents beginning next month. Studies typically start with the lowest possible dose for each age group, gradually increasing the amount to find the most effective dose with the fewest side effects, Maldonado said. Vaccinating kids is important to reaching herd immunity, she said, with a quarter of the U.S. population under age 18 about 85 million people and especially because we know that not every adult will get vaccinated. The new Moderna study expects to enroll 6,750 healthy kids, from age 6 months to just under 12, from the U.S. and Canada, the company announced Tuesday. This pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population, said Stephane Bancel, Modernas chief executive, referring to the ability of the vaccine to provoke an immune response. The study will look at the effectiveness of two doses of vaccine given to the children 28 days apart, similar to the regimen of double doses for adults. Participants will randomly receive a placebo or the vaccine. Even the study observers wont know which child got which. The company did not respond when asked which hospitals were participating in the new study, or how participants could join. While the coronavirus does infect children, about 60% show no symptoms, compared with about 40% of adults who are symptom free, Rutherford said. The Pfizer study of adolescents at the Stanford School of Medicine and the Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital is expected to begin in late April. The vaccination trials obviously will be voluntary, and the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been given to millions of adults, Maldonado said. They appear to be very safe. Thats reassuring when were going to be working with children. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Ambassador Cui Tiankai Takes an Interview in Anchorage (English Translation of the Transcript) Xinhua) 13:07, March 18, 2021 Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai speaks during a joint interview with Chinese media in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States, March 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) On March 17 2021, Ambassador Cui Tiankai took a joint interview with Xinhua News Agency, CGTN and Phoenix TV on the high-level strategic dialogue between China and the United States in Anchorage. The interview was done in Chinese, and here is the English translation of the transcript: CGTN: The high-level strategic dialogue between China and the U.S. is about to take place and the world is paying high attention. In the past few years, China-U.S. relations have dropped to the lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic ties, and this dialogue is the first face-to-face engagement between senior officials of the two countries since the inauguration of the Biden administration. What expectations does the Chinese side have for the meeting? Ambassador Cui: The high-level strategic dialogue in Anchorage is indeed the first face-to-face communication between officials of this level since the Biden administration took office. I believe that both sides place high importance on the dialogue. We have made a lot of preparations in the past few days. Of course, we do not expect that one dialogue can resolve all the issues between China and the U.S, so we do not have unrealistic expectations or illusions on it. But I hope that it will become a beginning and that the two sides will start a candid, constructive and rational process of dialogue and communication. If this can be achieved, then the dialogue is successful. In short, I hope that the two sides will come with good will and leave with better mutual understanding. Xinhua: Just before the dialogue, the U.S. State Department senior official chose Japan and the Republic of Korea as the destinations of his first foreign visit. The U.S., Japan, India and Australia held a video summit. There is an opinion that the U.S. is enlisting its allies to confront China from a position of strength in the strategic dialogue. What is your comment? Ambassador Cui: Countries always have issues to talk about. For such communication, you need to talk to the country directly involved and focus on your issues. Of course, if the U.S. wants to develop its relations with some other countries, it is up to themselves. We only hope that any such bilateral activities do not target or harm the interests of a third country. Some people may think that by talking to other countries before meeting with China, they can give out their voice and show their strength. This is unnecessary, and may not work. It is just like when people walk alone at night, they may sing to dispel their fears, which may not be useful. If you have issues to talk about with China, do it, face to face. I also believe that there are some big question marks in the minds of the global community, including some U.S. allies, some of them Asian countries: First, Will the U.S. be a responsible stakeholder in global affairs? Second, will the U.S. come back with sustained commitment and contributions to multilateral cooperation? Third, will the U.S. be ready and willing to respect other countries interests and listen to their voice? Many countries, including U.S. allies, have such questions. Some just dont say it in public. It is hoped that the U.S. will understand other countries concerns. Phoenix: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State announced sanctions on 24 Chinese officials due to what is happening in Hong Kong. In his visit to Japan, the U.S. senior official also gave negative remarks and even criticisms on China. Will these moves dampen the atmosphere of the dialogue? Will China lower its expectations? Ambassador Cui: This is not the first time the U.S. did things that hurt Chinas sovereignty and China-U.S. relations. Our position is very clear: we are firmly opposed to it and will take necessary counter-measures. This time will be no exception. We will clearly state our position in this dialogue. We will not give in or make any compromise on these matters just to create some atmosphere. Never! CGTN: According to what the U.S. has announced, it will mention issues concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan in the dialogue, and such communication will continue only if this meeting has met the expectations of the U.S. side. How does the Chinese side respond? Will it make any compromise on any issue? Ambassador Cui: For any dialogue between countries, a basic prerequisite is that both sides should have the spirit of equality and mutual respect. All the matters you mentioned concern Chinas sovereignty, territorial integrity and national reunification. When its core interests are involved, China has no room to back down. This position will also be clearly articulated in the dialogue. If people assume that applying pressure unilaterally or closing ranks with allies will make China bow, if they assume that China will say yes to any unilateral demands from any side just for some outcomes from the dialogue, I advise them to give up such illusions. These assumptions will only lead to a dead end. To be honest, my colleagues in Beijing have made a lot of preparations for the dialogue, including on the topics and for COVID-19 prevention. They have taken the most comprehensive and stringent measures for COVID-19 prevention, including getting vaccinated and doing all kinds of tests. They have put in great efforts. If anyone believes that the Chinese delegation travels to Alaska, still freezingly cold, and goes to such lengths with great sincerity, just to give in and make compromises, then I would suggest my colleagues in Beijing cancel their trip. Why bother coming? I hope people with such a belief will discard their illusion. Phoenix: Ambassador, you mentioned counter-measures. What specific measures will the Chinese side take? Ambassador Cui: We have taken some. As the situation evolves, we will do what is necessary. Media: Thank you, Ambassador. Ambassador Cui: Thank you all. A man was caught growing eight kilograms of cannabis at a house in Ho Chi Minh City after police discovered his advertisements for the illicit drugs on Facebook. Police in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City confirmed on Wednesday that they had searched a house on Long Thuan Street, Long Phuoc Ward and discovered 140 cannabis trees and five plastic bags containing dried cannabis, which amounted to a total of eight kilograms. Officers also confiscated several tools used for growing the cannabis. The house belongs to Doan Cong Danh, 26, from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. Danh said he began growing cannabis for personal use in October 2020 and started selling his product through Facebook as his harvest became redundant. According to his confession, he had only sold to three customers so far. Dried cannabis leaves at a house belonging to Doan Cong Danh in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City in this supplied photo. In related news, Thu Duc City police on Monday caught a 49-year-old man red-handed transporting 50 grams of crystal meth on a motorbike along Kha Van Can Street in Hiep Binh Chanh Ward. The man claimed he had bought the narcotics from an unidentified dealer in District 8 for VND15 million (US$654) and intended to resell the drugs for a profit. On March 11, officers in Thu Duc City also caught a 33-year-old man with five plastic bags of crystal meth. A police investigation into the case led to the arrest of two women, one in Thu Duc City and the other in southern Binh Duong Province, and the confiscation of approximately 76 grams of crystal meth. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! With Democrats at the helm, the U.S. securities regulator is pledging to crack down on companies and funds that mislead investors over climate change risks, but that may be easier said than done, more than a dozen attorneys and former agency officials say. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set up a task force to police public companies that fail to disclose material business risks stemming from climate change, such as the potential depreciation of fossil fuel assets or supply chain disruption caused by flooding or wildfires. The 22-person team, housed within the enforcement division, will also scrutinize investment advisers and funds touting sustainable products for so-called greenwashing and other compliance issues, the agency said. The initiative is part of a broader effort by President Joe Bidens administration to tackle and plan for climate change. With a record $51 billion flooding into sustainable U.S. funds in 2020 alone, according to Morningstar, investors need to be better informed, the SEC says. The commission is responding to investors growing concerns about materially misleading statements and omissions about companies climate-related risks and activities, said acting deputy enforcement director Kelly Gibson, who is leading the taskforce. While prosecuting fraudulent or sloppy disclosures is at the core of what the SEC does, the new initiative takes the agency into uncharted terrain, the lawyers said. The SEC has rarely brought enforcement actions for climate-related disclosure misconduct, a Reuters review found. (See FACTBOX) In 2018, it closed a high-profile probe https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-accounting/u-s-regulator-ends-exxon-probe-of-climate-reserves-disclosures-idUSKBN1KO29W of the way ExxonMobil accounted for the impact of climate change on its assets, without taking action. Whereas European regulators require large companies to disclose risks and metrics on environmental matters and are introducing sustainability disclosures for investment products, the United States has no formal climate-specific disclosure rules. It also has not agreed definitions for key terms such as sustainable, and has no commonly used standards for measuring corporate environmental goals or quantifying and reporting climate risks. The SEC is looking to ensure the consumer is really getting what theyre being advertised, said Sarah Bratton Hughes, head of sustainability for Schroders in North America. What makes this so difficult is the lack of standardization. DISCLOSURES In 2010 guidance, the SEC gave companies some examples of climate change developments they should consider material and therefore must be disclosed under securities laws. As of 2020, 60% of Russell 3000 companies mentioned climate risk in filings, up from 35% in 2009, according to a Brookings Institution review. Those disclosures tended to focus on declining fossil fuel use while glossing over issues such as rising sea levels, fires or heat waves, the study said. Such gaps by themselves are tough for the SEC to prosecute because the 2010 guidance is broad, outdated and, unlike a formal rule, has weak legal standing, lawyers said. The law also gives companies leeway on forecasts made in good faith, which could be hard to disprove given the long time horizons and complexities of climate science. They would have to prove a disclosure was materially misleading and intentionally or at least recklessly misleading. Those are pretty high burdens, said Mark Schonfeld, a former SEC director who is now partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Still, a person familiar with the regulatory discussions said the SEC could bring fraud charges if companies suppress internal climate risk data, similar to its approach to cyber breach disclosures. In 2018, for example, Altaba, formerly known as Yahoo!, paid $35 million to settle SEC allegations https://www.reuters.com/article/us-altaba-cyber-yahoo/u-s-regulator-fines-altaba-35-million-over-2014-yahoo-email-hack-idUSKBN1HV295 that vague disclosures misled investors about a data breach. Investigating disclosures is some of the most fundamental work the SEC does and ESG (environmental, social and governance) is no different than any other subject matter in this regard, said the SECs Gibson. Just as companies may underplay climate change risks to protect their share prices, investment product providers may overplay their green credentials to attract cash. California-based activist group As You Sow gives failing grades, for example, to 20 U.S. funds with sustainability mandates that have exposure to fossil fuel companies. Yet proving funds are misleading investors about their investment strategies could be tough without a standard definition for sustainability and related terms. An oil company spending heavily on renewable energy, for example, could arguably be a sustainable investment, said Ian Roffman, a former SEC attorney who now heads the securities enforcement practice at Boston law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish. Fund marketing materials are also crafted in broad language with flexible investment parameters to shield them from litigation, lawyers said. They expect the SEC, which this week began soliciting industry feedback on standardizing its climate change disclosures, will ultimately tighten its rules to address these challenges. But that could take time. Theres a lot of gray area, said Roffman. (Editing by Michelle Price and Sonya Hepinstall) Topics Climate Change Advertisement Pauline Hanson cut a lonely figure on the final day of the Parliament sitting week in which she blasted March For Justice protesters for 'demonising men'. The One Nation leader sparked fury on Tuesday when she said that Monday's demonstrations - which saw thousands of women march against sexual violence in cities across the nation - were 'anti-men'. 'Stop demonising men,' Senator Hanson said in a television interview, causing uproar from activists including Network 10 presenter Lisa Wilkinson who told her to 'Seriously, GO AWAY!' Senator Hanson lashed out at feminists for 'demonising men' with their campaign against sexual violence which led to protests around the nation on Monday The One Nation leader sparked fury on Tuesday when she said that Monday's demonstrations - which saw thousands of women march against sexual violence in cities across the nation - were 'anti-men' Senator Pauline Hanson cut a solitary figure in the upper house during a debate on the government's industrial relations laws Senator Hanson this week rejected the claim that every alleged abuse and rape victim should be believed, insisting that there are false allegations Labor MPs Anne Aly (centre front), Tanya Plibersek (rear) and Kristy McBain (right) - together with Liberal MP Celia Hammond (far left) - hugged the Boothby MP (second left) at the end of Question Time Senator Hanson rejected the claim that every alleged abuse and rape victim should be believed, insisting that there are false allegations. 'So what I'm saying is, you know, there are false allegations, some people are put in this position, that can actually destroy the lives of what has happened,' she told Sky News. In 2019 the One Nation leader revealed that her own son had been falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child, a claim she described as 'soul crushing'. Meanwhile in the lower house, female MPs from both major parties rallied around Liberal MP Nicolle Flint after she slammed senior Labor figures over the sick harassment and abuse she suffered at the hands of left-wing activists. Labor MPs Anne Aly, Tanya Plibersek and Kristy McBain - together with Liberal MP Celia Hammond - embraced the Boothby MP at the end of Question Time. In 2019 the One Nation leader revealed that her own son had been falsely accused of sexually assaulting a child, a claim she described as 'soul crushing' Pauline Hanson talks to Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe (left) during debate to Fair Work Amendment Bill 2021 in the Senate One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) made a deal to support the industrial relations bill but other crossbenchers largely opposed it Senator Hanson with One Nation counterpart Malcolm Roberts (second left), Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and acting Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash Senator Malcolm Roberts (below left) and Senator Pauline Hanson confer as Senator Stirling Griff (right) looks on during debate Protesters in Brisbane during the March For Justice rallies which took place around the country on Monday 15 March Ms Flint, the MP for Boothby in South Australia, announced she will quit politics at the next election after she faced a targeted campaign by left wing group GetUp during the 2019 election. She was intimidated and stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute'. In an emotional speech in which she held back tears on Tuesday, Ms Flint attacked the Labor Party for failing to speak out and fostering an environment 'in which hate could flourish'. She said it was hypocritical of Labor to attack the government over the treatment of women while failing to 'get its own house in order'. In a message to Labor leader Anthony Albanese, she said in parliament on Tuesday: 'I will not be lectured by you, or by anyone on your side of politics about the treatment of women in this place. 'I ask, the Leader of the Opposition, where was he, and where was his predecessor, and where were all the senior Labor women, when the GetUp, Labor and Union supporters chased, harassed and screamed at me everywhere I went in the lead up to the 2019 election? 'Where were they when their supporters posted comment after hateful comment on twitter and on my facebook page? 'Where were they when I was stalked by a creepy old man who worked hand-in glove with GetUp?' Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said she was not aware of the abuse Ms Flint suffered - but the Liberal MP said this was hard to believe. Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has slammed senior Labor figures over the sick harassment and abuse she suffered at the hands of left-wing activists Ms Flint was intimidated and stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti saying 'skank' and 'prostitute' 'I find it hard to believe that as I was one of only seven Liberal Party members on GetUp's hit list last election she had no knowledge of what was going on, especially as I was the only woman, the only backbencher, and the only one who was not a current or former memberof Cabinet,' she said. 'But although I find the Member for Sydney's personal explanation today more than a little disingenuous, I do not wish to attack her,' she added. 'What I say to the Labor Party today is they may not have held the spray can, to vandalise my office with sexist slurs, they may not have held the camera pointed at me by the stalker or called me evil in GetUp's 100,000 phone calls. But they did create an environment in which hate could flourish.' Ms Flint slammed Labor once again on 2GB radio on Wednesday morning. 'I was really disappointed that we haven't heard anything until now condemning what happened to me during the 2019 election where I was stalked by a creepy old guy who would turn up constantly around GetUp protesters and union and Labor protesters,' she said. 'Everyone deserves to be safe in politics and in Parliament. I do not want Australia trending to a dangerous style of American politics,' she added in reference to the polarised and violent US election campaign last year. Anthony Albanese condemned the behaviour against Ms Flint, telling Radio National: 'It shouldn't have happened. Full stop. I condemn it. I stand with Nicole Flint.' Senator Wong said the campaign was 'utterly unacceptable' but said Ms Flint was being 'unfair' in blaming Labor politicians. 'I'd say to Ms Flint, I agree with you, let's work together to make this a better place for women,' she said. Labor continued to attack the government over the treatment of women following the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, which he has denied. Courtesy of the National Weather Service A cold front barreling through the Bay Area is expected to bring widespread rains to the region on Thursday before tapering off into a dry weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Showers are expected to drench the region late Wednesday night and throughout all of Thursday, bringing up to 2 inches of rain across the Santa Cruz Mountains and an average of half an inch of rain inland. The family of a wealthy heiress has blasted a judge for throwing out a murder case against her property developer husband. Irish businessman Willy Leeson and his son Neville shouted out in court after Mr Justice Goose stopped Donald McPherson's trial over the death of Paula Leeson. McPherson, 47, was accused of drowning his wife while on holiday in Denmark so he could get his hands on a 'vast fortune'. In the prosecution case against him, seven 'secret' life insurance policies had been taken on Ms Leeson, 47, and he stood to gain 3.5million if she died. But on Wednesday - in the third week of the trial - Mr Justice Goose halted proceedings in the absence of the jury. He cited insufficient evidence for jurors to safely convict the defendant, who denied murder, as the prosecution case was built on circumstantial evidence. This was despite the judge saying foul play was 'more likely' to have caused her death than an accident. Ms Leeson's father Willy broke down in tears along with his wife Betty as they sat in the public gallery yards from the defendant. Mr Leeson shouted: 'Oh God, oh God, unbelievable.' His son Neville shouted to the judge: 'God Almighty. You are making a big mistake.' Donald McPherson (left), 47, from Sale, Greater Manchester, was accused of drowning his wife Paula Leeson (right), 47, while on holiday at a rented cottage with a swimming pool in Denmark The family were absent from court on Thursday as Mr Justice Goose formally directed the jury forewoman to return a not guilty verdict to murder. He told the jury: 'I have come to the conclusion that as a matter of law that the evidence in relation to how Paula Leeson came to drown is not sufficiently strong to allow you to reach a proper verdict in relation to the defendant causing it by killing her.' The judge's ruling to halt the trial was given to lawyers on Wednesday in the absence of the jury and could not be immediately reported. The prosecution was given overnight while CPS lawyers 'at the highest levels' considered appealing against the ruling. On Thursday morning, prosecutor David McLachlan QC told the court there are no reasonable grounds for appeal. McPherson, who sat in the dock with his arms folded, wearing a black jogging suit and blue mask, made no reaction as he was discharged and told he was free to go. He had been held in HMP Forest Bank. Mr Justice Goose directed the jury forewoman to return a not guilty verdict to murder on the defendant. Pictured: Manchester Crown Court The judge added: 'I understand how difficult it will be therefore for the family to accept from their point of view the loss of a daughter. This court has obvious sympathy for them but the law must be applied equally.' Ms Leeson, described as an otherwise healthy mother-of-one, drowned in a 4ft deep swimming pool at a holiday cottage while the couple were on a break in Denmark, on June 6, 2017. The day after, the defendant transferred 27,000 from their joint account to his personal accounts to clear his 67,000 debts and seven days later he joined a group, Widowed and Young, he described as 'Like Tinder for widows', jurors were told. Property developer 'dropped from space' into wife's life, court hears Donald McPherson hid his life story from Paula Leeson and her family and instead used a 'cover story', his murder trial heard, as he claimed to have been an orphan 'dumped' by his family to live with foster parents. McPherson, born Alexander James Lang, in fact grew up in Takapuna, New Zealand, living with his father Lawrence, originally from Manchester, and mother Pamela. He has two older sisters, Sharon and Pandora, and left home aged 19. Little is known about his life before he met Ms Leeson around 2015 and he did not intend to give evidence from the witness box in his defence. In the event the judge halted his prosecution for his wife's murder before the defence case began, formally directing the jury forewoman to return a not guilty verdict. While working as a property developer, buying and selling houses in the Manchester area over the past decade, McPherson completed several buy-to-let mortgage applications. On the forms he claimed to have worked at Commerzbank in Germany and as a consultant for South Pacific Oil and Gas. He also gave his occupation as a labourer, joiner, computer programmer and electrician. Ms Leeson's brother Neville said McPherson 'just landed as if he dropped from space' after she introduced him to the family. He claimed to own five properties, including a farm in New Zealand, though he was not a man of means but a 'man of straw', the jury heard. There were no properties in New Zealand and he was heavily in debt in the UK after buying and selling houses. Despite owning several houses as a property developer in the UK, he had substantial mortgages on all of them. It was through the Leeson family's skip hire business that he met his future wife. McPherson always paid cash and often carried a bundle of notes wrapped in an elastic band. Ms Leeson did not know about his secret hobby - he was taking flight lessons to get a private pilot licence and spent around 17,000 at a flying school. His trial was told it was 'a bit of a laugh' at the flying school as when his wife would call, he would use his drill and say: 'I'm just in the loft Paula, I will ring you back.' McPherson is also known to have used aliases, including the name Rob Jones, used both online and in person. He was taciturn with his wife's family, headed by her father William, a successful businessman. McPherson rarely engaged in conversation and it was said he 'resented the fact that Willy Leeson sat on his great wealth', the court heard. It was said to be odd that at their wedding McPherson did not have any friends, and the groom said his original best man from New Zealand was not able to come as his partner had died in childbirth - this was 'yet another' lie, jurors were told. At an earlier court hearing, the judge was told McPherson is 'known in other jurisdictions' but there was no further explanation. Advertisement Pathologists found 13 separate injuries on Ms Leeson's body, which jurors heard may have been sustained while being restrained or in a rescue and resuscitation attempt. Crucially, an accidental death could not be ruled out. Stopping the trial, Mr Justice Goose said there were two available possibilities: Firstly, McPherson restrained his wife under water or overcame her in a struggle or pushed her to cause her to drown; Or secondly, Ms Leeson drowned by an accident, by a trip, fall or a faint, causing her to fall into the water. He added: 'Whilst the first of those alternatives is clearly more likely, that does not mean that a jury, on the face of the pathological evidence alone, could be sure of it.' He said whilst the 'substantial body of circumstantial evidence' has caused 'strong suspicion' McPherson may have caused his wife's death, it is 'insufficient' to disprove it was an accident. Prosecutor Mr McLachlan told the jury Ms Leeson's death 'at first glance' appeared to be a tragic accident, but he alleged it was 'a sinister pre-planned killing' by her husband, who was born Alexander James Lang and originally from New Zealand. Ms Leeson's family had told the jury McPherson 'appeared out of nowhere' and after a 'whirlwind romance' the couple wed two years after meeting in a 'no expense spared' ceremony at Peckforton Castle, Cheshire, in June 2014. In the four years before her death, the court heard that seven life insurance policies had been take out on Ms Leeson and by 2016 was paying 464.47p-a-month premiums. The premiums were always paid despite McPherson sometimes being overdrawn as his debts began to 'spiral out of control' after buying and selling properties, the court heard. As a birthday present, McPherson booked them a trip to a cottage in Norre Nebel on the coast of remote western Denmark in June 2017 - despite his wife 'hating' beach holidays. On the day of her death, a health data app on Ms Leeson's phone recorded her last movement at 1.13pm. The next movement on McPherson's phone was 26 minutes later, and at 1.46pm he called the emergency services. McPherson told Danish police his wife had complained of stomach ache and toothache and she had been sick and they had both been in bed. When he awoke his wife was gone and he found her fully clothed, face down in the swimming pool, not moving. He said he struggled to pull her out, partly due to a shoulder injury, and called for an ambulance. The Danish paramedic told the court she was already dead when they arrived and a doctor pronounced life extinct at 2.26pm. Her death was initially treated as a tragic accident by the Danish authorities. But as a routine post-mortem examination was carried out, bleeding was discovered in Ms Leeson's neck and the procedure halted and police called. Separate external injuries were recorded to her face and arms, described as bruises, abrasions or haemorrhages, with more internal injuries, including bleeding to the back of her neck, forehead and both temples. Danish authorities initially concluded her death was 'assumed accidental', but later ruled the conclusion must be changed to 'undetermined'. They had been told Ms Leeson could not swim and had drowned in a pool with a depth of 5ft 9in. Her family say she did not like swimming or water, she learned to swim at school and the pool was in fact under 4ft deep, with Ms Leeson 5ft 5in tall. The court heard Ms Leeson had stood to inherit 'millions' from the family business owned by her father, who had built up a successful groundwork and skip hire firm in Sale, Greater Manchester, after emigrating from County Wicklow, Ireland, in the 1960s. She oversaw the skip hire business - where she met McPherson, who renovated and sold on property. He falsely claimed to own property in New Zealand, and gave the impression he was a 'man of means', but in reality was a 'man of straw' with substantial debt from property dealing, the court heard. John Ryder QC, defending, in applying for the trial to be halted, said the prosecution case was entirely circumstantial, there was no real evidence against the defendant and it all amounted to, 'He must have done it.' McPherson, in a statement through his solicitors, said: 'A tragic accident is what it was and it saddens me, deeply, that the events in question should ever have been seen differently and that I was ever suspected of playing a part in Paula's death.' Head of the CPS North West Complex Casework Unit Mark Callaghan said: 'The CPS function is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges to a court to consider. 'We were satisfied on reviewing the case that there was sufficient evidence to put charges before a jury. However, we have carefully considered the judge's ruling and concluded there are no legal grounds to appeal. 'We appreciate this is very upsetting news for Paula Leeson's family and our thoughts remain with them.' As the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, Australia must turn its mind to other challenges and high among them will be the task of closing the gap between Indigenous Australians and the broader community. To its credit, despite the pandemic, the Morrison government last July agreed with Indigenous groups on significant reforms to the 10-year old Closing the Gap program. The number of benchmarks against which progress is measured will be widened to include areas such as high rates of incarceration and land rights. Aboriginal Australians will have a much stronger role in developing strategies and delivering services to achieve these goals. The states will also be involved. Understandably, given the potential significance of these changes, the Morrison government decided last month to delay the release of the annual report card on how the targets are being met until July. Yet Indigenous groups are eager for change and a report for the Close the Gap campaign titled Leadership and Legacy Through Crisis this week has highlighted the ambitious agenda they are putting forward. Lucknow, March 18 : UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has released guidelines to prevent further transmission of the deadly virus. Addressing a high-level meeting, on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that in view of the panchayat elections and Holi festival, antigen tests must be made mandatory at railway stations, airports and bus stations. He also asked the officials to increase RTPCR tests in the state. Uttar Pradesh has become the only state to conduct about 33 lakh vaccination. Describing the Covid-19 vaccine as 'precious', the Chief Minister said that it must be ensured that not a single vial of vaccine is wasted. "Immunisation of the concerned citizen should be ensured on the scheduled date of vaccination," he stated. The officials have been directed to ensure that people wear masks when in the public and keep a distance of six feet. The Chief Minister said that all dedicated Covid hospitals should be kept active in the state. Surveillance teams and contract tracing were important in the strategy of the Yogi government in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the state. In a populous state like UP, contact tracing teams have reached out to a population of 18 crore, which needs to be fastened and strengthened, he said. FutureOn, the global software company specialising in the energy sector, has appointed Dynamic Cloud as its representative in Saudi Arabia and Andreas Gaarder as Vice President of EMEA. The new partnership with Dynamic Cloud, which has three offices in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, will see customers across the Middle East benefit from localised, first class support from an on-the-ground team, regional market expertise, and short lead times on the delivery of FutureOns suite of next generation digital tools. This move is expected to support the regions drive to embrace digital transformation across its energy operations. In 2016, Saudi Arabia revealed its Vision 2030 initiative, a forward-thinking strategic framework to reduce the countrys dependence on oil, diversify its economy and create a digital infrastructure to enhance the competitiveness of the economy. A survey of local business leaders conducted in January 2021 found 86 percent consider digital adaptation to be very important towards achieving Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. The strategic partnership follows the appointment of Gaarder to the position of Vice President of EMEA. Previously responsible for overseeing FutureOns operations in the Eastern Hemisphere, Andreas will now lead the companys growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and will be working closely with Dynamic Cloud to bring FutureOns digital solutions to operators across the Middle East, based out of Dubai. Gaarder brings a wealth of industry experience and understanding of the regional upstream software market to the role having held a number of senior positions with energy majors including Wood and Schlumberger, where over a seven-year period he held various roles within production engineering, business development and business management. Commenting on the partnership, Gaarder said: We are very pleased to announce our latest partnership with Dynamic Cloud, a company with a great reputation, who is familiar with the local Saudi market and experienced in working with regional national oil companies. This latest partnership plays an important role in the continued expansion of FutureOns international reach, and will allow us to acquire a deep understanding of the local energy landscape and customer needs. Demand for FutureOns digital solutions continues to grow in the Middle East as the regions energy industry focuses on making greater efficiencies. We are confident that through this collaborative partnership, and our transformational digital twin solutions, we are well placed to support Saudi Arabias commitment to digital transformation. Dynamic Cloud, was founded in 2016, as part of Dynamic Energy group of companies, a service and technology company with over a decade of experience serving the Middle Easts oil, gas and petrochemicals industries. Focusing on research and development, the design and production of advanced solutions across cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), digital twins, and Business Intelligence (BI), Dynamic Cloud is one of the fastest growing providers of pioneering solutions in the Middle East. Naif M. Al Shehri, Operations Manager at Dynamic Cloud, said: We are delighted to welcome FutureOn to our partner ecosystem. We believe our partnership with FutureOn will offer a unique, true value add as well as deep insight into the current digital transformation path the industry is following. We truly believe our clients will benefit from this partnership, through our joint effort to offer a platform for state-of-the-art visualization and collaboration with our regional support, extensive local market expertise and team of expert data scientists. FutureOn and Dynamic Cloud not only share a common purpose of supporting clients and their organizations achieve their digital goals, but also believe collaboration and effective team work is the key to enabling efficiencies in this new era for the energy industry. -- Tradearabia News Service Our network is excited to have 8-Second Branding hosted on our VoiceAmerica Business Channel platform to help our listeners amplify their brand story and learn how to get major media interviews. - Ryan Treasure, VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Networks Vice President of Broadcast Operations Goody PR Founder and Author Liz H Kelly announces her new 8-Second Branding Podcast that will officially launch on Friday, March 19, 2021, to help CEOs, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and authors better define their Wow Story in 8 seconds (average attention span of an adult.) This show will be hosted on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and available on all major podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tune In, Player FM, iHeart Radio, Overcast and Amazon Music.) Based on Kellys 15+ years of marketing and public relations experience, booking thousands of media interviews (TODAY Show, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, BBC News, NPR and more), and Award-Winning book 8-Second PR, this show is part of Goody PRs overall mission to magnify good and make a difference. Ryan Treasure, VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Networks Vice President of Broadcast Operations emphasized, Our network is excited to have 8-Second Branding hosted on our VoiceAmerica Business Channel platform to help our listeners amplify their brand story and learn how to get major media interviews. To jump-start this new podcast, 4 Expert Guest Launch interviews will air starting March 19th in sync with the first weekend of spring 2021, including: Laura Michelle Powers (Top 100 Podcast Host and Author Rock Your Podcast), Julie Spira (Top Online Dating Expert and Media Personality), Scott Monty (Ford Brand Visionary and Brand Storyteller) and Jay Samit (Change Agent and Author, Future Proofing You.) WHERE TO LISTEN 8-Second Branding - Getting to Your PR Wow! VoiceAmerica Business https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/4011/8-second-branding Using the same superpowers of an unstoppable superhero, the new 8-Second Branding show will help brands be a force for good, build loyal fans and ultimately increase sales. EPISODE 1 - Friday, March 19, 2021 GUEST: Laura Michelle Powers, Celebrity Psychic, Creative Entrepreneur and Author TOPIC: How Top 100 Podcast Host Laura Michelle Powers Leverages PR SUMMARY: Learn timely marketing tips based on Powers experience hosting 6 podcasts and new book, Rock Your Podcast How to Launch, Grow and Monetize Your Show (2021), and insights from Chapter 9 Leveraging Podcasts to Maximize PR. Follow @ThatLauraPowers and listen here: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/129147/how-top-100-podcast-host-laura-michelle-powers-leverages-pr EPISODE 2 - Saturday, March 20, 2021 GUEST: Julie Spira, Top Online Dating Expert, Media Personality and Author TOPIC: How Top Online Dating Expert Julie Spira got 1500 Media Hits SUMMARY: Learn how to get booked on TV, radio, print and podcast interviews during this fun conversation with The Perils of Cyber Dating Author Julie Spira about how she got 1500 Media Hits (interviews, quotes and feature stories), including on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The New York Times and many, many more. Follow @JulieSpira and listen here: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/129150/how-top-online-dating-expert-julie-spira-got-1500-media-hits EPISODE 3 - Sunday, March 21, 2021 GUEST: Scott Monty, Brand Visionary, Storytelling and Social Media Rock Star TOPIC: How Former Ford Brand Visionary Scott Monty transforms Big Brands SUMMARY: Join us for a fun conversation about how Scott Monty transforms Big Brands and underdog companies (Ford Motor Company, T-Mobile and more.) Monty discusses brand marketing campaigns, influencer marketing and social media success tips. His focus is on brand storytelling with clients that highlight History, Literature and Philosophy. Monty shares his Timeless and Timely Newsletter and insights on the latest social media platforms, including Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and Fireside Chat. Follow @ScottMonty and listen here: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/129155/how-former-ford-brand-visionary-scott-monty-transforms-big-brands EPISODE 4 - Monday, March 22, 2021 GUEST: Jay Samit, Entrepreneur, Author and Change Agent TOPIC: How Future Proofing You Author Jay Samit Maximizes OPM Marketing SUMMARY: In sync with his new book launch, join us for a timely conversation with Jay Samit, Author of Future Proofing You (Wiley, March 23, 2021). Samit has raised hundreds of MILLIONS of Dollars for startups, worked with major brand clients (American Express, Disney, Best Buy), mentored successful entrepreneurs and visionaries (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Reid Hoffman from LinkedIn), sells companies to FORTUNE 500 Companies, and transformed pre-IPO start-ups and businesses for three decades. Listeners will learn why Samit recommends using OPM Marketing to maximize promotional campaigns with an example of working with McDonalds. Samit also talks about how he mentored a millennial to be a millionaire in under one year by starting a marketing agency (full story in new book.) Follow @JaySamit and listen here: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/129162/how-future-proofing-you-author-jay-samit-maximizes-opm-marketing For more show updates, follow @LizHKelly on social media and visit Goody PRs 8-Second Branding Podcast page: http://goodypr.com/8-second-branding/ MEDIA CONTACT Liz H Kelly, Goody PR Founder, 310-987-7207 The Bharatiya Janata Party has stated that it will approach the Election Commission after about a dozen bombs were allegedly hurled near party MP Arjun Singh's office-cum-residence in West Bengal's Bhatpara. "We will approach the Election Commission regarding the incident," party national vice president Mukul Roy told news agency ANI. Also Read | Why India needs to look east at Taiwan Commenting on the incident, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said the situation in West Bengal is "very bad". "TMC is synonymous with violence politics. Despite the Model Code of Conduct, goons are hurling bombs and firing in front of police. This is a very bad situation. The Election Commission should take this as a warning. We are doubtful if polling will be held peacefully," he said. BJP leader Rajib Banerjee echoed Vijayvargiya's sentiments and said: "This is not good. The culture of West Bengal is against this." Singh's allegations Arjun Singh on Wednesday had alleged that more than a dozen of bombs were hurled near his office-cum-residence 'Mazdoor Bhawan' by Trinamool Congress goons. He also alleged that bombs have been hurled at around 15 places by three people and their associates in Jagaddal area of Bhatpara, North 24 Parganas. "We are informing the police that criminals are roaming around with arms. The police are doing nothing. Bombs have been hurled at around 15 places and CCTV cameras installed by police have been broken by three people and their associates. Three persons suffered injuries, one has been admitted to hospital. The police are inactive. We will also complain to Election Commission," Singh said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) AP Choudhury informed that three people including a child suffered injuries in the incident. Taking to Twitter, Singh said: "This evening, more than a dozens of bombs were hurled at nearby my office-cum-residence 'Mazdoor Bhawan'. This attack was done by Trinamool Congress goons. The local residents are in fear. The administration should ensure the safety of the citizens." The Member of Parliament also alleged that a bomb was hurled targeting his vehicle after the bombing incident. "After the bombing incident in the evening near my office-cum-residence, when I returned in the night, a bomb was hurled targeting my vehicle and that too in presence of West Bengal Police. Serious condition of lawlessness in the area. Where is administration?" he tweeted. Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from 27 March with the final round of voting taking place on 29 April. The counting of votes will take place on 2 May. With inputs from agencies. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. After a legal challenge from operator Vivacom, Bulgarias Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has revoked its decision to award 3.6GHz spectrum without an auction and will instead hold a bid on 6th April 2021. The communications authority had originally scheduled a secret bidding tender for the 5G-ready spectrum on 15th March, but took the decision to scrap this process after determining that it would be possible to allocate spectrum holdings to all interested parties without a bid. Three nationwide permits are available, each valid for 20 years and allowing the use of one unpaired 100MHz block of spectrum in the band. Vivacoms objection arose as it was looking to increase its holding in the 3700MHz-3800MHz range; with the CRC allocating the blocks, Vivacom would have had no influence on whether it received this block or the holding in the 3500MHz-3600MHz or 3600MHz-3700MHz ranges. Upon receiving Vivacoms challenge, the CRC noted that it would examine its legal options before committing to a course of action. TeleGeography now reports that the CRC has completed this action and, with the consent of all parties involved, scrapped its decision and set a new date for the tender. The Palestinian Authority received more than 60,000 coronavirus vaccine doses under the global COVAX scheme Wednesday after months of waiting to inoculate millions of Palestinians living in the occupied territories. Those vaccines being sent to the West Bank and Gaza will be critical tools in our fight against the pandemic and for socioeconomic recovery, said the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland. The vaccinations were provided by COVAX, the World Health Organization's global vaccine initiative aimed at providing vaccinations to less developed countries. Over the next year, COVAX is scheduled to provide enough vaccines for a million Palestinians, roughly 20% of the population. The vaccines 37,000 Pfizer/BioNTech doses and 24,000 AstraZeneca doses arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Roughly a third of the vaccine supplies will go to Gaza and the rest to the Palestinian Authority, which manages the autonomous areas of the West Bank. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Health Ministry said that health officials would begin administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine Sunday, but that the AstraZeneca vaccines will be put in storage until there is a scientific decision from the World Health Organization. The organization is reviewing reports of blood clots in some people who received AstraZeneca shots, but has urged countries to continue using the vaccine, noting that the benefits outweigh its risks. Wednesday's vaccine shipments come as the West Bank experiences a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases, prompting Israel and the Palestinian Authority to impose a five-day lockdown that began Monday. The West Bank, which is home to some 3.1 million Palestinians, has recorded more than 146,000 cases and 1,667 deaths since March 2020. Earlier this month, Israel launched a two-week voluntary COVID-19 vaccine drive to vaccinate 122,000 Palestinians working in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Roughly 90,000 Palestinians have gotten their first shots through the program so far, Israel authorities say. Israel, which has one of the worlds highest vaccination rates and has reopened much of its economy, had previously come under fire for failing to include the roughly 5.2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza in its own inoculation drive. Ramallah is expected to receive another batch of 100,000 vaccines from Chinas Sinopharm this month, and has already received 10,000 doses of Russias Sputnik V vaccine and 5,000 Moderna doses from Israel. The Hamas-run Gaza Strip has received 60,000 Sputnik V doses from the United Arab Emirates. The impoverished coastal enclave of 2 million people has confirmed more than 57,000 COVID-19 cases and 572 deaths from the virus. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Almost a year has passed since the closure of New Zealands international borders to anyone who was not a citizen or permanent resident. This measure, in tandem with the subsequent introduction of compulsory managed isolation for returning travellers, effectively erased the option of international travel for the foreseeable future. Despite the immediate and devastating effect of these restrictions upon the New Zealand travel industry, House of Travels Tanya Aitken has remained steadfast in her determination to navigate a safe path through for her customer, her business and her teams. Tanya has ensured that her three Bay of Plenty offices will remain open and continues to offer customers the services they require in this very difficult time with refunds, cancelations and necessary travel requirements. Travel in this new world is complex and it requires travel professionals with a greater pool of knowledge, expertise with their finger on the pulse, to be ready to act 24 hours a day as the changing world demands to ensure the best outcome for travellers. In March last year, Tanya was very quick to realise Covid could be disastrous for the travel industry and diversification was essential. I am endlessly proud of my team and how they have embraced the many opportunities we have sort to find a path through these times, she says. Our team are at the forefront of contact tracing, Healthline, customs work and have picked up all manner of opportunities to ensure we survive this complex journey to international borders re-opening. To continue in their philopshy of providing inspiration and travel expertise to their customers, House of Travel wish to mark the conclusion of a year that has challenged the travel industry like no other. Tanya and her team are holding a Holidays@Home expo at their location in The Crossing. This showcase of New Zealand travel experiences, which will take place on Thursday, March 25, will host a selection of seven suppliers who specialise in domestic touring, cruise, sightseeing and accommodation experiences. Also, in anticipation of the quarantine-free trans-Tasman bubble opening, the team will be introducing some of Australias most unique and unforgettable experiences. You wont pay any more by making your holiday bookings with House of Travel, and youll have the feel-good factor of supporting great locally owned businesses here in the Mount, Papamoa, and Tauranga Crossing, plus the peace of mind of being able to reach us 24/7 if you have any travel related emergencies, says Tania. The expo will consist of a series of small-group presentations across three two-hour blocks, (10am 12pm, 2 4pm and 6 8pm), interested customers will need to register early to avoid missing out. To protect the health and wellbeing of their valued customers and their team, House of Travel have pre-planned to operate our Holidays@Home Travel Expo under Alert Level 2 requirements. Finland IDs Hackers Linked to Parliament Spying Attack HELSINKIFinlands domestic security agency said Thursday that the cybergroup APT31, which is generally linked to the Chinese regime, was likely behind a cyberspying attack on the information systems of the Nordic countrys parliament. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, known by the abbreviation Supo, said it had identified a cyber espionage operation targeted in 2020 against parliament with the aim of intruding into parliaments IT systems. The agency added that according to Supo intelligence, APT31 was responsible for the attack. It didnt mention China by name or the groups alleged links to the regime in Beijing. The statement was also posted on the agencys Twitter site in English. Finlands National Bureau of Investigation, NBI, said late December that it had started an investigation into suspected gross hacking and espionage attacks on the information systems of Eduskunta, the Finnish legislature. Among other things, some lawmakers email accounts were compromised. Parliament has since upgraded the systems security features. NBIs Tero Muurman, who is in charge of the investigation, said Thursday his agency was probing further Supos allegation of APT31s involvement. He said the breach likely aimed to acquire information for the benefit of a foreign nation or to harm Finland. FireEye, one of the worlds major cybersecurity firms, and other data security firms have linked APT31 to the Chinese regime or operations conducted on its orders. APT is an abbreviation for advanced persistent threat, a general term to describe an attack in which an intruderor intrudersestablishes an illicit and usually long-term presence on a network to acquire highly sensitive data. Earlier this month, Supo said that the intelligence services of foreign powers have expanded their cyber espionage operations in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic through either directly targeting Finnish organizations or using Finnish infrastructure. The agency has earlier named China and Russia as being the most active countries spying on Finland. Arctic issues is an area of particular interest to China in the Nordic countries. The Finnish public broadcaster YLE reported earlier March that the state-funded Polar Research Institute of China attempted in 2018 to buy or lease an airport near the small northern town of Kemijarvi in the Lapland area, Finlands Arctic region, for research flights over the North Pole and other Arctic regions. The Finnish military, however, blocked the deal on security concerns as the airport is close to a military area. The parliament of Norway, Finlands Nordic neighbor, was hit by a cyberattack last year that the countrys domestic security agency said was probably done by the hacking group APT28, which has been linked to Russias GRU military intelligence agency. By Jari Tanner SALT LAKE CITY, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light on the importance of disability insurance, an employee benefit that often flies under the radar. Jeff Brunken, a disability industry veteran and president of leading national insurance program manager MGIS, believes disability insurance will have more of a moment in 2021. "The possibility of becoming disabled and unable to work is not top of mind for most people. They usually think of disability as something resulting from an accident," Brunken explained. "However, more people become disabled due to illness than to accidents. COVID-19 has brought attention to the fact that people can get sick and miss work for several weeks or months. The lost income that results, if not protected by disability insurance, can take a toll on their lives in addition to the illness." As the importance of disability insurance achieves new levels of awareness among American workers, here are Brunken's industry predictions for the year ahead. Disability insurance will be an important part of the conversations that brokers and benefits advisers have with their clients this year. COVID-19 might have brought more attention to disability insurance, but the need exists for this benefit even when there is not a pandemic. A study by the Social Security Administration found that one in four people could expect to miss at least one year of work due to disability before reaching the typical retirement age. As brokers discuss benefits with their clients this year, disability benefits will likely be a bigger part of the conversation. Brokers need to emphasize quality group disability plans early and often. More employers will add or update long-term disability benefits. While most COVID-19 patients have been shown to suffer for just a few weeks, there are some who have become quite ill, spend weeks or months in the hospital, and suffer longer-term or lingering effects. These patients qualify for normal group LTD benefits after 90 or 180 days. Currently, no U.S. laws require employers to provide LTD coverage. Most employers do offer some short-term sick leave or disability policy, and just about half of all companies offer long-term coverage. LTD coverage is an important employee benefit that will likely be emphasized more by brokers in 2021 due to the impacts of the pandemic in 2020. There will be more interest in LTD coverage for stress-related disabilities. The pandemic has drawn attention to how LTD policies deal with stress-related disability, especially with healthcare workers. Virtually all LTD policies limit the duration of nervous/mental claims, usually to a maximum of 24 months for the claimant's lifetime. A more COVID-useful LTD policy would not use this "lifetime max." To be most helpful to their healthcare clients in 2021, brokers must understand the mental health problems or stress-induced diagnoses that various disability insurance carriers might cover. A priority for brokers with healthcare clients will be ensuring that their income- protecting disability policies are up to date. Perhaps no one has felt more pandemic-related pressure than healthcare professionals. In addition to ensuring that healthcare clients have adequate disability coverage for any type of stress or mental health claim related to COVID-19, brokers should make sure those policies provide "own occupation" coverage that pays benefits based on the CPT or CDT codes for the procedures they perform. Without this narrow protection, healthcare professionals may be at risk for having their benefits denied or reduced at claim time. Brunken thinks this year will be a pivotal one for the disability insurance industry. "Disability insurance shouldn't be a 'set it and forget it' matter. It's crucial to assess coverage periodically anyway, but it's even more important now that the pandemic has brought attention to the need to take another look at disability policies," he says. "Armed with the right disability insurance options, brokers can help our healthcare heroes on the front lines enjoy the protection they really need." Brunken further predicts that once the pandemic slows, there will be increased focus on disability insurance and other high-quality benefits for healthcare professionals for recruitment and retention because of the ongoing physician shortage. About MGIS MGIS is a leading national insurance program manager that builds and manages specialized insurance programs for healthcare professionals. MGIS partners with the highest-rated insurers to focus on group disability and life for medical practices of all sizes, types, and specialties. For more information, visit www.mgis.com. SOURCE MGIS Related Links http://www.mgis.com Donald Trump's tweet in March 2020 that referred to coronavirus as the 'Chinese virus' led to a rise of anti-Asian hashtags on Twitter, a new study reveals. US researchers examined nearly 700,000 tweets containing nearly 1.3 million hashtags, the week before and after the president's tweet on March 16, 2020. They wanted to see whether his use of the term which public health experts warned against using may have led others to use anti-Asian language on Twitter. They found that users who adopted the hashtag #chinesevirus were far more likely to pair it with overtly racist hashtags, such as #bateatingchinese, #yellowmanfever, #makethecommiechinesepay, #disgustingchinese, #commieflu and #chopstickchins. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump defended his use of the term 'China virus' to describe the coronavirus, saying 'it's not racist at all'. But in the week after Trump posted the tweet, the number of coronavirus-related tweets with anti-Asian hashtags rose precipitously, a study has found By contrast, those who adopted #covid19, the World Health Organisation's official name for the disease and the term recommended by public health experts, were far less likely to include racist hashtags in their tweets. WHO refers to the virus as 'the virus responsible for Covid-19' or 'the Covid-19 virus' when communicating with the public rather than referring to China, the country where the virus was identified. The first known infections from SARS-CoV-2 were discovered in a cluster of patients in Wuhan, China in December 2019. 'These results may be a proxy of growth in anti-Asian sentiment that was not as prevalent as before,' said study author Yulin Hswen, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). 'Using racial terms associated with a disease can result in the perpetuation of further stigmatisation of racial groups.' Trump's tweet was posted on March 16, 2020 to his official Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump. It said: 'The United States will be powerfully, supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!' The account was permanently suspended by Twitter in January 2021, a couple of days after Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The study has been published today in the American Journal of Public Health, just over a year to the day after Trump's tweet, posted on March 16, 2020 STOP AAPI HATE REPORT 3,795 incidents were received by the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. 'The number of hate incidents reported to our centre represent only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur,' it said. Of the total: - Verbal harassment made up 68.1 per cent - Shunning - 20.5 per cent - Physical assault - 11.1 per cent - Civil rights violations (e.g., workplace discrimination, refusal of service, and being barred from transportation) - 8.5 per cent - Online harassment - 6.8 per cent Advertisement The US has experienced a spate of verbal and violent attacks on people of Asian descent since the original tweet, according to statistics. The Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center, a website maintained by Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council, said it had received reports of 3,795 such incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. Verbal harassment and shunning the deliberate avoidance of Asian Americans made up the two largest proportions of the total incidents reported, at 68.1 per cent and 20.5 per cent, respectively. Until the pandemic, anti-Asian hate crime had been on the decline for at least the past two decades, according to the Washington Post. The FBI had also not reported any anti-Asian-motivated murders since at least 2003, it said. In the UK, meanwhile, the number of hate crimes committed against Chinese people between January and March 2020 nearly tripled, compared with the same period for 2018 and 2019, as awareness of the virus grew. At least 267 reports of hate crime were made in the country during this time, according to freedom of information requests to the UK's 45 territorial police forces and British Transport Police (BTP) made by Sky News. A protester takes part in a rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence, near Chinatown in Los Angeles, California, on February 20, 2021 Reports of attacks, primarily against Asian-American elders, have spiked in early 2021 - fuelled, activists believe, by talk of the "Chinese virus" by former president Donald Trump and others For this new study, the researchers analysed hashtags, rather than the content of tweets themselves, because hashtags have been shown to act as a predictor of the formation of hate groups and the occurrence of hate crimes, they say. Hashtags also tend to encapsulate the gist of a tweet and can reflect a lot about the people who use them. The researchers manually coded each of the hashtags, labelling a hashtag anti-Asian if it expressed hostility towards the region, people or culture of Asia; demonstrated fear, mistrust and hatred of Asians; supported restrictions on Asian immigration; or used derogatory language or condoned punishment of Asian countries and people. The results showed a large difference in anti-Asian sentiment between the kind of hashtags that appeared in tweets with #covid19 and those that appeared in tweets with #chinesevirus. About 20 per cent of the nearly 500,000 hashtags with #covid19 showed anti-Asian sentiment, but anti-Asian bias was apparent in half of the more than 775,000 hashtags with #chinesevirus. When they looked to see whether the timing of the president's tweet had any effect, they saw that the number of anti-Asian hashtags associated with #chinesevirus grew much faster after his March 16 tweet. Professor Hswen said the results of the study demonstrate how important it is to use neutral language when naming diseases and other threats to public health. She expressed alarm that as recently as this month, Trump referred to the Covid-19 vaccine as the 'China Virus Vaccine'. 'Chinese virus, China virus, Wuhan virus, or any derivative of these terms is not something we should be using,' Professor Hswen said. 'We should not be attaching location or ethnicity to diseases.' The study has been published today in the American Journal of Public Health, just over a year to the day after Trump's tweet. Two days after it was posted, Trump used the term at his daily coronavirus taskforce briefing at the White House before being challenged by a reporter. 'Why do you keep calling this the Chinese virus?,' the reporter asked. 'There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese-Americans in this country... why do you keep using this?' Defending the term, Trump unapologetically described the term as 'not racist at all'. 'It comes from China. I want to be accurate,' the former president said. The Twitter account of Donald Trump on was permanently suspended in January. Twitter said the decision to do so was due to the risk of 'further incitement of violence' after the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6 Trump started the briefing by saying he had 'important developments in our war against the Chinese virus'. He went on to mention how Chinese officials had pushed a conspiracy theory that the American military brought the coronavirus to their shores. 'I have a great love for all the people from our country, but as you know, China tried to say at one point that maybe they've stopped now that it was caused by American soldiers,' Trump said. 'That can't happen. It's not going to happen. Not as long as I'm president. It comes from China.' (Newser) They are formally known as Asian giant hornets, but the nickname "murder hornets" is how most people know them. And now that the weather is warming up, entomologists are preparing for battle, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The idea is to "track, trap and eradicate," says the release, with an emphasis on eradicate. This is not a species we want to tolerate here in the United States, the department's Sven-Erik Spichiger tells the AP. The Asian giant hornet is not supposed to be here," and it poses "an absolutely serious danger to our health and well-being." Scientists found and destroyed the first nest in the US last year, in Washington state, and it was filled with budding queens. The hornets, which despite their nickname pose much more of a threat to honeybees than humans, also have been spotted in Canada's British Columbia. story continues below The invasive species originated in Asia and may have traveled to the US in cargo containers, per CNN. So far, they seem to be contained to the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but that could change quickly, with dire consequences. The unusually large hornets can destroy a honeybee hive in a matter of minutes, thus preventing the bees from pollinating crops. They've also been known to kill humans in Asia, though it's rare. Anyone stung, however, will at the least suffer searing pain. Entomologists will start setting traps in the spring, and they encourage "citizen scientists" to do the same with orange juice or brown sugar, particularly in July. A new documentary on Discover Plus called Attack of the Murder Hornets educates about the dangers, though Kate Knibbs at Wired would have preferred a different approach. "Their status as an invasive species is enough of a compelling threat without cloaking them in horror tropes." (Read more murder hornets stories.) A Brazilian man travelling around Australia has posted a video of a creepy crawly lurking in his bathroom to TikTok sparking a debate about what it could be. Heitor Cozero posted from a farm-stay at Mudgee, New South Wales, on Wednesday, showing claw-like legs protruding from under the bathroom vanity sink plug. 'New fear unlocked', Mr Cozero tagged the post. Mr Cozero stands over the bathroom sink during his Mudgee farm-stay, about to reveal his disturbing find Mr Cozero's TikTok went viral, with some commenting that it reminded them of a creature from the popular TV drama Stranger Things. But most people thought it would be either a centipede or a millipede, while some thought the video showed a spider. Poll What do you think was lurking in Mr Cozero's bathroom sink? A spider A centipede A millipede What do you think was lurking in Mr Cozero's bathroom sink? A spider 68 votes A centipede 191 votes A millipede 46 votes Now share your opinion 'Centipedes scare me more than spiders!' one poster wrote. 'Welcome to Australia!' more than one person joked. After viewing the clip, the Australian Museum said the culprit was most likely a 'house centipede'. According to the Australian Museum it is 'scientifically known as Allothereua maculata, the most common centipede throughout southern Australia'. 'They live in urban areas, forests and woodlands. This species is mostly encountered indoors.' Nearly 400,000 people viewed the post. What disturbed many commenters was whether the creature was dangerous. Several people said in the thread they had received painful centipede bites. 'Technically, house centipedes can bite but they are considered harmless to people.' The biggest centipede in the world - Scolopendra gigantea - is found throughout South America. 'It is a 30 centimetre centipede from South America that is able to eat mice and lizards,' the museum said. Unwelcome visitor: Mr Cozero's Tik Tok went viral this week with commenters anxiously debating what all those legs could belong to An Australian woman also found a centipede in her shoe during her morning ritual of checking her footwear for bugs before putting them on Recently an Adelaide woman had a lucky escape from a painful bite from a centipede when she spotted it in her shoe as she was about to put it on. Remembering her morning ritual of checking her footwear for bugs before putting them on, she spied the creepy crawly just in time. The woman's husband posted a photo to social media of her blue Vans at their Adelaide home. Inside, a brown centipede with orange legs sat insidef the woman's shoe. A chicken coop was accidentally blown up by an Italian tank during an overnight military exercise. A large number of birds were killed in the accident, which occurred last night, on the outskirts of Vivaro, a small town close to an army shooting range. The damage caused by the tank was only discovered by the farm owners this morning when they saw part of their chicken shed had collapsed. A chicken coop was accidentally blown up by an Italian tank during an overnight military exercise (stock image) It is believed the military would not have noticed the mistake immediately because the shot did not start a fire upon impact. Local media report that magistrates in the nearby city of Pordenone have opened an investigation into the incident and have impounded the tanks involved in the exercise. The investigation will look to answer why the tank had fired in the general direction of the town, rather than the area reserved for shooting - in the opposite direction, Reppublica reports. The Italian army has not made any immediate comment. Last year Cordelia McKinley was on the balcony of her flat in Treviso, with Italy reeling from a ferocious first Covid wave. She tells Liam Tunney she has seen a marked difference in how the virus has been tackled within both jurisdictions. With a 12-week-old son to keep her busy, Cordelia McKinley is grateful for home comforts after living through the opening salvo of the pandemic in northern Italy. Being pregnant, and with the situation in Italy, we didn't want to get caught out there on our own with a newborn and not having any help, she told the County Derry Post. I was so jealous, because my siblings had all decided to come back and were having a great time because the weather at home was amazing. By the time I got home I was already 18 weeks pregnant. It's the first grandchild, so it's nice to have the excitement of being around family for that. The McKinley family. Cordelia and her husband Ian, who has represented the Italian rugby team on nine occasions, spent two weeks in quarantine after returning home, but that wasn't the most stressful part. The most stressful thing for me was sending our dog with a courier from Treviso back to here, she said. She had to go through Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium and France, and then across to England on the ferry, up to Scotland and across to Larne. She was with a complete stranger for three days. Cordelia's thoughts gave us an insight to what was to follow as British PM Boris Johnson placed the UK into what, on the face of it, should have been similar measures. When I came back, I was quite shocked by how blase people were about it, she said. Italy were very strict, you were absolutely not allowed to go anywhere without a mask. It was non-negotiable. Even out walking, I'd wear a mask. It was really, really strict. Cordelia on the balcony of her Italian flat last year. You were only allowed to be 250m from your house. A friend of ours in Italy was walking her dog and police pulled them over and Google-mapped how far they were from their house. When we came back here in July, we'd go into a cafe and wear a mask, but people would look at us like we were weird. It made us very paranoid being out and people not wearing them. Obviously a lot of people now do. A major positive for Cordelia and Ian throughout the past year has been the birth of their son Malachy, but although the pandemic has given them extra time with him, some things have been difficult. My husband's family all live down in Dublin and they haven't met Malachy yet, which is really sad, she said. I'm also really looking forward to being able to go and see people and maybe go away for a bit of a staycation. The pandemic has made us re-evaluate what we wanted to do going forward with our lives and our work. I think if the pandemic hadn't happened, we'd still be in Italy. It's been really wonderful to come home and it's made us apprectiate our family more I think. We appreciate time more. It's brought things back to basics. Related: COVID ONE YEAR ON: A week of fear, uncertainty and panic-buying COVID ON YEAR ON: Dancing community missing the buzz a year later COVID ONE YEAR ON: Two steps forward and twenty steps backward Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has conceded that his office is under pressure to expedite the extradition trial of Prophet Shepherd Bushiri so as to uphold the diplomatic relationship between Malawi and South Africa. In a February 25 letter asking for the transfer of proceedings which Nyasa Times has seen, DPP Steve Kayuni asks the Chief Resident Magistrate to assign the case to another magistrate following the sudden illness of presiding magistrate Viva Nyimba. "Considering the nature of the matter, sensitivities touching on diplomatic relations between the Republic of Malawi and Republic of South Africa, the hearing was to be expedited... In the spirit of the expedited hearing, we humbly pray for a transfer of the file to another Court so that the hearing should proceed accordingly," the letter reads. Following the letter, Chief Resident Magistrate Patrick Chirwa assigned himself the case. However, a lawyer who opted for anonymity, told Nyasa Times that the DPP's letter, confessing external forces in the trial, is both irregular and compromises the independence of the court, let alone the judiciary. "As we might all know from primary school, the Malawi constitution is framed in such a way that each of the three arms of government are independent of each other. However, the DPP's letter to the CRM implies that there are undue and external influences to have this case expedited. "This is unlawful and it risks compromising the independence of the court in discharging its duties and in ensuring the fair trial. Politicians should stay of this case and let the courts do their job to the best of the capabilities," said the lawyer. The DPP's letter was a bone of contention in the recursion case last Monday where Bushiri's lawyer Wapona Kita asked the presiding magistrate court to disregard the request by the State, arguing that it had been irregularly filed as the defence was not copied as per law. However, Magistrate Chirwa threw out both Kita's application and his earlier request for the magistrate to recuse himself on grounds of bias as he has earlier issued as contentious warrant of arrest. The legality of the warrant of arrest if being contested in the High Court, where Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda reserved his ruling on the matter on Tuesday. In his ruling, Chirwa rebuffed Bushiri lawyers' application saying the lawyers failed to prove that he would be biased. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Malawi External Relations Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said he issued the warrant of arrest against the Bushiris last month because he was the only magistrate available. Chirwa also defended the transfer of the case, saying Nyimba fell ill and the law was followed in transferring the case. Meanwhile, Bushiri's lawyer Wapona Kita has filed another application in which he wants the court to state whether the extradition case will be handled as a civil or criminal case. Bushiri and his wife are fighting against their extradition to South Africa where they face several charges, including money laundering and fraud. They were arrested in South Africa last year and were later released on bail but they fled the country in November. But the pair claim they will not receive a fair and just trial in South Africa Bushiri and his wife Mary return to court on Monday for a continuation of their extradition case. Chinese ships are seen during a search and rescue exercise near Qilian Yu subgroup in the Paracel Islands, South China Sea, July 14, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Stringer. Forces using violence in the region's disputed waters have caused an escalation of tensions, heard scholars attending an ASEAN Regional Forum workshop (ARF). The online workshop themed "Enhancing Regional Maritime Law Enforcement Cooperation" was jointly organized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and European Commission on Tuesday and Wednesday. The forum was attended by officials, researchers, and experts on security and maritime law enforcement from ARF members, also the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and regional and international organizations. Many scholars are of the idea that international laws, in particular the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), contains provisions allowing the use of force while on duty, but emphasizes it must be conducted along with certain limitations and only applied in cases that are truly necessary and when all other methods have been exhausted. They insisted that the use of force should comply with general principles and procedures, especially avoiding causing harm to human life and must only occur in waters under the jurisdiction of affected countries. They warned of the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, if such uses of force take place. To create a foundation for cooperation, participants of the event said it is necessary to actively implement measures to build trust and mutual understanding among law enforcement agencies at sea. In January, China passed the Coast Guard Law, which allowed its coast guard to use "all necessary means" to stop or prevent threats from foreign vessels, demolish other countries' structures built on Chinese-claimed reefs and to board and inspect foreign vessels in waters claimed by China. It also empowers the coast guard to create temporary exclusion zones "as needed" to stop other vessels and personnel from entering. China's passage of the law comes even as it remains locked in sovereignty disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with a number of Southeast Asian countries in the East Sea. Beijing has repeatedly used coast guard vessels to chase away and harry other countries' fishing vessels, on several occasions even ramming and sinking them. Many countries, including the U.S., have expressed concerns, saying the law could escalate maritime disputes. The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, has officially declared open the 21-floor storey building completed and up for lease to high-earned clients. The building, also known as the Dakkada Towers, was conceived by Mr Emmanuels administration who contracted its construction to a renowned firm, VKS Nigeria Construction Ltd. The Governor, at the State Executive Council meeting, Wednesday, in Uyo, announced the completion of the historic project which was delivered to him in December 2020 by VKS Nigeria Construction Limited. The smart building, a flagship project of Mr Emmanuels administration, is said to be the tallest in Nigerias South-south region. The Dakkada Towers, according to the contractual agreement between the Akwa Ibom government and the VKS Nigeria Construction Limited, was to be completed in two years and six months. But the contractors were able to finish it in less than two years, and thereby eliciting commendation from Governor Emmanuel. The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, who spoke with reporters at the Government House, Uyo, after the State Executive Council meeting, said the Council was pleased with the report of completion of work on the 21-floor building. He said relevant government agencies have been directed to commence the process of leasing out the building to interested tenants. Mr Ememobong said the Governor was satisfied with the timing of completion of the Dakkada Towers and the quality of work delivered. He said VKS delivered a world-class building on record time. The Commissioner charged contractors handling various projects in the State to ensure strict adherence to deadlines set for completion and delivery of the projects in their purview, in line with the administrations Completion Agenda. What Obasanjo, Sylva said about the Dakkada Towers The Dakkada Tower has already attracted eminent personalities from different parts of Nigeria. Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, in his recent visit to Akwa Ibom State, stopped by the smart building at Udoudoma Avenue. He thanked Governor Emmanuel for erecting what he described as the best I have seen in the country. Chief Obasanjo said, I have seen a number of buildings in Nigeria but in terms of the modern technological facilities embedded in a building of this nature, this is probably one of the best, if not the best I have seen in the country. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, during his visit to the state, told reporters that the Dakkada Towers is built to world-class standard. ===== READ ALSO: ===== He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) has offered to take some floors in the building. He said, This is a world class building. The State Government has done very well in the area of infrastructure. I must say, this is sincere leadership exhibited by the government of the State. ADVERTISEMENT For us, we will be part of this development. The NNPC has already offered to take two floors in the building, and this is why we are here. I am very impressed with what I have seen in Akwa Ibom. The contractors, VKS Nigeria Construction Limited, have done a great work. What you should know about the Dakkada Towers The Dakkada Tower has, no doubt, added aesthetics to the landscape of the state, and will run with 24 hours power supply. The building contains all necessary facilities and equipment of a smart building. Some of the facilities include four elevators, two emergency exits, fire protection sensors and an aviation wing. The tower has an access control with components like card reader, biometric control keypads, central stand-alone server workstation, electric lock hardware cabling for doors, boom barrier for cars, automated cards, automated turnstiles, fire protected doors and time attendance reader. It also has a firefighting electric system, fire extinguisher hose reel, technical rooms E30 cabling S90 fire, protection sprinkler system, intelligent smoke detectors and fire alarm panel connected to the CCTV room. The building has LED lighting, touchscreen control KNX occupancy and motion sensors, digitally Addressed Lighting Interface DALI, and many more. VKS Nigeria Construction limited is currently building a state-of-the-art terminal building at the Victor Attah International Airport in the State. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? Scores of migrants burned to death when Houthi security forces fired unidentified projectiles" into an overcrowded detention center in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa earlier this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said March 16. According to the New York-based rights group, the mostly Ethiopian detainees were protesting their living conditions on March 7 when Houthi guards rounded hundreds of them up, locked them in a hangar and told them to say their final prayers before firing two projectiles into the facility. The migrants said the first projectile produced a lot of smoke and made their eyes water and sting. The second, which the migrants called a bomb, exploded loudly and started a fire, HRW said in a statement. People were roasted alive, one migrant told the group. I had to step on their dead bodies to escape. Based on witness accounts and an analysis of video footage, HRW said it appeared the guards had used smoke grenades, tear gas cartridges or stun grenades on the inmates. Two videos showed scores of charred dead bodies lying in positions that suggests they were trying to flee but were overcome by smoke and fire. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated more than 170 people were injured in the fire, with at least 90 in serious condition. The United Nations migration agency called on the Houthis to allow aid workers and health-care staff access to the hospitals treating the injured. The Houthis shifted the blame to the UN, which the groups Interior Ministry said was fully responsible for its failure to play its role in providing shelters for gathering and accommodating illegal immigrants. In a statement provided to HRW, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the fire shouldnt be politicized. "The incident that took place was a normal result that occurs in similar incidents all over the world, Abdulsalam said, adding that international organizations need to improve the conditions of boarding centers. Each year, some 100,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa arrive in Yemen by boat, with the hope of finding employment in the wealthy Gulf states. The migration agency estimates at least 6,000 migrants are stuck in detention centers across Yemen, with hundreds, if not thousands, more held by smugglers. HRW interviewed five Ethiopian migrants detained with some 550 other migrants at the Houthis' cramped and unsanitary holding facility in Sanaa. Detainees were not given mattresses to sleep on and had limited access to food and water, prompting some to drink from the faucets above the toilets, the interviewees said. Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at HRW, called on the Houthis to stop holding migrants in dire conditions that put their lives at risk. The Houthis reckless use of weapons that led to scores of Ethiopian migrants burning to death is a horrific reminder of the dangers migrants face in war-torn Yemen, Hardman said. The Iran-aligned Houthi group, which is in control of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, is fighting a Saudi-led military coalition that intervened in 2015 to restore Yemens internationally recognized government. The Houthis have launched an offensive to take the oil-rich Marib province and in recent weeks, have stepped up their attacks on neighboring Saudi Arabia. On March 16, the coalition accused the Houthis of firing two ballistic missiles that struck an uninhabited part of southern Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for drones fired at the King Khalid air base in the Saudi city of Khamis Mushait. 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. Lucknow, March 18 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's personal popularity may have soared in the past four years but the Chief Minister has been losing in the battle of perception. Though his government claims to have improved the law-and-order situation, the perception remains that Uttar Pradesh is being turned into a police state of sorts. Immediately after assuming office, the Chief Minister had stroked controversy with his 'encounter policy' -- also known as 'thoko niti' -- to eliminate organised crime and mafia from the state. With the nod from the Chief Minister, it is the police force that has gone almost berserk and the common man is bearing the brunt. The unlimited powers given to the men in Khaki during the pandemic led to a massive surge of cases against common people, traders, vendors, journalists and lawyers. The police piled up cases without verification. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav says, "The chief minister's 'thoko niti' has given a free run to the police force. There is no administrative control and the policemen at the grassroots level are heaping atrocities on the common people. The scenario could not be worse." The case of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari, who was shot dead by a constable while he was returning home late at night in September 2018, is an example of this police high handedness. In a contrasting case, two months later in December 2018, police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, was killed by cow vigilantes in mob violence in Bulandshahr. The incidents were perceived as two different dimensions of the government's policy. While Vivek's killing by policemen in Lucknow highlighted the dangers of the encounter policy and letting the police use guns unrestrained, Inspector Subodh's murder showcased dangers of vigilantism in a communally surcharged polity. These two cases caused major uproar and dented the image of the BJP as well as the state government. The Unnao rape case and the murder of the victim's father in April 2018, in which BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar was an accused, was also a blot on the image of the Yogi government that had positioned itself on a high moral ground. The Chief Minister handed over the case to the CBI after the rape victim threatened to immolate herself outside his residence. The dust partially settled on the case with the matter being handed over to the CBI and the arrest of the MLA. The government faced another embarrassment when former Union Minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, was accused of raping a law student of his own college. In both cases, the BJP government faced accusations of shielding the accused. In July 2019, ten Dalit tribals were massacred in Sonbhadra over a land dispute. The incident led to national outrage and opposition leaders made most of the situation to berate the government. Months later, in December 2019, a rape victim in Unnao was burnt alive by the rape accused, adding another chapter to the horror story of Uttar Pradesh. While Sonbhadra massacre exposed how system works against the poor, the Unnao incident was a glaring proof of slow police response in such cases. In July 2020, the Bikru massacre in which eight policemen were killed by gangster Vikas Dubey and his men in an ambush, opened up a can of worms. It revealed the nexus between a section of policemen and the gangster that led to the incident. Dubey's subsequent encounter and the killing of five of his accomplices after the Bikru massacre, was a perfect example of the encounter policy that, again, invited harsh criticism. The Hathras incident in September 2002 in which a Dalit girl was allegedly gang raped and died a fortnight later due to injuries, also left the nation shocked. The hurried manner in which the victim's body was cremated in the dead of the night against her family's wishes, led to massive uproar. In all the above-mentioned cases, the officials first tried to hide facts at some point or the other, leaving it to the media to unearth hidden skeletons. In the Hathras case, for instance, the government denied rape even though the video statement of the victim confirmed sexual assault. BJP spokesperson Dr. Chandra Mohan, says, "Yogi government has worked according to our election manifesto, which said about zero tolerance against crime and criminals. Criminals do not have a caste and the opposition is trying to gain mileage from false propaganda." The biggest drawback of the Yogi government has been its inability to allow access to information. The Chief Minister, and his officers, have set up roadblocks for the media. Instead of clarifying and giving out facts, officers refuse to respond to phone calls and there is virtually no interaction between the government and the fourth estate. This has not only fuelled misinformation and widened the divide between the government and the media. The government, in retaliation, piles up cases against media persons who put out 'uncomfortable information' further leading to a deterioration in relations. Officers do not believe that perceptions can be corrected with the help of the media and feel that hugely paid advertisements and hoardings can do a better job. "This government is spending huge amounts on advertisements which glorify its false claims. The government is living in a world of its own that is far removed from ground reality," says Congress leader Surendra Rajput. The Chief Minister, surprisingly, has minimal interaction with the common man and his own party workers complain that they do not get to meet their own leader. "We are the ones who interact with the people but we can neither convey their problems to the Chief Minister and nor defend the government. It is getting tougher by the day because the bureaucracy has completed isolated the Chief Minister," said a BJP MLA, who did not wish to be named. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The benefit - risk report for COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca remains unmodified; the benefits of vaccinating exceeding the risks presented by adverse effects, specified on Thursday evening, the National Committee for Coordinating Activities against COVID-19 (CNCAV), mentioning one of the conclusions of the committee for evaluating the risk in matter of pharmacovigilance within the European Agency of Medicine. "Vaccination remains the only safe and efficient solution for defeating the COVID-19 pandemic, and the vaccines used in Romania are authorized by the European Agency of Medicine, the most rigorous decisional forum, which reunites experts at an European level. We encourage monitoring and reporting all adverse reactions, from both the beneficiaries of the vaccination, as well as from health professionals. CNCAV assures the population of its full transparency and responsibility in swiftly communication of all information of interest, so that the vaccination process can be done in a favorable and safe environment for all people who wish to be immunized against COVID-19," CNCAV says, in a press release sent to AGERPRES. Justice Momoh Jah Stevens (JA) yesterday 15th March,2021, discharged two accused persons- Joseph Koffie and Mohamed Sesay,who were alleged to have sexually abused a child below the age of eighteen. The accused persons were in court on one count of sexual penetration contrary to Section 19 of the Sexual Offence Act No. 12 of 2012. State Prosecutor, Jane B. Kamara, alleged that on 4th April, 2019 and 15th November, 2019 in Freetown, sexually penetrated a child below the age of eighteen. The state prosecution told the court that she had sent several subpoenas to both the formal and factual witnesses who have failed to avail themselves in court. Justice Momoh Jah Stevens said the court is there to dispense justice to both the victim and the accused persons, and that he cannot continue to hold the accused at the Male Correctional Centre while the witnesses were not coming to court to testify. He discharged the accused persons for want of evidence. KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI The former chief financial officer of Flare Fittings in Kalamazoo has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for defrauding her former employer. Kris Marie Fratzke, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return, was ordered to pay about $930,000 in restitution - $772,953.73 to the company and $157,280 to the IRS. She was sentenced Tuesday, March 16, by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids. The government said she created a shell company that she said was a materials supplier to Flare Fittings, a pipe manufacturer. From 2013 to 2019, she issued 235 checks, for more than $540,000, to pay phony invoices from her employer to the shell company. She did not declare the income to the IRS. She also used Flare Fittings American Express card for personal expenses, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said in court records. In sum, Fratzke was the person who handled the financial dealings of a small, closely held manufacturing company , he said. The owners of the company, Bernard Havlock and his family, knew none of this because they trusted her to handle the companys finances, and likely could not have easily discovered her dealings because Fratzke password-protected the companys financial records in a manner that would have excluded their access. He said that Fratzke contends her actions did not cause substantial financial harm but company owners clearly state that Fratzke has severely damaged FFI and that it has gravely damaged their finances. Her attorney, Health Lynch, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that she acknowledges causing losses and hardships but said the company is still profitable. While Ms. Fratzke does not seek to minimize the seriousness of her conduct, she questions whether the blame for the victims loss of savings and assets and personal relationships can be placed solely on her. Fratzke contended she was an administrative assistant, not chief financial officer. She recognizes that she has not only caused pain and suffering to the owners of FFI and its employees, but also to her family and loved ones. She is deeply remorseful for her actions, Lynch wrote. Fratzke, a St. Joseph resident and mother of four, was described in letters submitted to the court as a loving mother who was endlessly selfless and giving to those she cared about. Ms. Fratzke is ashamed of her actions, and knows that this is not who her parents raised her to be. She desperately hopes that this offense will not define her for the rest of her life, and is determined to be the honorable person she once was, her attorney wrote. Fratzke will report to prison at the direction of the federal Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Marshals Service. Once her prison term ends, Fratzke will spend three years on supervised release. Read more: St. Joseph woman faces up to 20 years in prison after defrauding employer $540K Police identify homicide victim in Northern Michigan, female suspect in custody Derek Jeters New York castle for sale at reduced price of $12 million With time running out on a bid to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to help victims of child sexual abuse get justice, the Legislature remains divided and advocates fear a remedy is slipping out of reach. The Legislature has until March 24 to ratify a ballot referendum that would allow voters to decide if the constitution should be amended to give sexual abuse victims a window to sue predators, even if their statutes of limitations have expired. Lawmakers are scrambling after Gov. Tom Wolfs administration failed to properly advertise the constitutional amendment, which had been on track to appear on the ballot for the May 18 primary election. Some lawmakers are pushing an emergency amendment to place it on the ballot this spring. However, two-thirds of the General Assembly must approve it and its unclear if theres enough support. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved an emergency constitutional amendment that would give victims a two-year window to pursue court claims. The panel approved the bill (House Bill 14) by a 10-4 vote and the full Senate could vote on it next week. Blair County Republican Rep. Jim Gregory, a survivor of child sexual abuse, sponsored the bill. Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne County, amended the bill with terms that would make public and private institutions such as public schools and churches equally liable for suits by victims. Public institutions typically have the protection of sovereign immunity and caps on suits. Baker explained the amendment clarifies the intent of the measure holding public and private institutions equally liable. She said the provision was important to both Republican and Democratic members of the committee. Its a matter of fairness, Baker said. But the amendment swiftly garnered objection from some child sex abuse victims advocates, most notably state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and one of the architects of revamping state law. Its no doubt the poison pill, said Rozzi, a victim of child sexual abuse. If it doesnt fail in court it will have a difficult time in the ballot referendum. Rozzi argues that the Senate measure changes the language of the original measure, which was overwhelmingly approved by the House. Additionally, he noted, the legislation already contained provisions calling for government entities to be liable against suits and suspension of monetary caps on how much they would have to pay victims. Rozzi argues the revisions are unnecessary and could open the measure up to a court challenge. In the meantime, Rozzi continues to push another measure to get an emergency constitutional amendment on the ballot. The legislation (House Bill 881) essentially contains identical language to the bills that had garnered overwhelming support in two consecutive sessions in the chamber. On Wednesday, Rozzi failed to garner support for a provision that would have allowed challenges to be resolved in the courts before the bill landed on the ballot. On the House floor, Rozzi urged lawmakers to approve the constitutional amendment using the same language as the bills the General Assembly had previously approved. Vote for this for the victims, Rozzi said. Legislators in February tried to salvage the efforts to roll out retroactive windows for victims. In February, Wolf announced that the Department of State had failed to properly advertise the bill to amend the constitution, which at the time was virtually 24 hours away from Senate ratification. The debacle led to the resignation of Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, the states top elections official. It could be dead Some survivors of child sex abuse hold out little hope. Mike McDonnell, a Pennsylvania leader of SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - doesnt think the constitutional ballot referendum will make it across the finish line by the deadline. Im actually relieved, he said. In a sense it really points to what weve been calling ever since the release of grand jury report and that is a statutory window. The pathway to that window has proven to be a tough pathway. There are a lot of peaks and valleys and it looks like it could be dead in the water. McDonnell does not think the constitutional amendment ballot referendum has the votes needed to pass. I dont think theyll get in either chamber, he said. There is too much talk and not enough support. Typically, lawmakers must take a long path to amend the state Constitution. They must pass a measure in both the House and Senate in two consecutive legislative sessions. So that takes a minimum of three years. Then the measure goes to voters for final approval. But in light of the advertising blunder, some lawmakers sought to attempt the rarely-used emergency amendment to the constitution. Pennsylvania has little precedence in the use of emergency amendments, which have exclusively been invoked to address the aftermath of historically destructive Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. Duquesne University law professor Bruce Ledewitz, a constitutional scholar, argues that the measure is destined for an immediate challenge. He said the matter does not rise to the level of a statewide emergency. If this qualifies under this exemption, then I dont see what would not qualify, Ledewitz said. Every proponent of emergency constitutional amendments believe they serve the crucial interest and welfare. No matter what, whether its loosening search and seizure or whatever. Obviously they wouldnt be putting it into a constitutional amendment if it was not important. I dont think that will be enough to justify use of the emergency provision. Ledewitz cited a court ruling in January that struck down Marsys Law, a constitutional amendment to clarify the rights of crime victims. The Commonwealth Court found that the measure, which had been overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2019, violated state procedures for passing new amendments by making sweeping and complex changes to criminal procedure in a single vote. Ledewitz is convinced Pennsylvania would see a challenge to the constitutional amendment for child sex abuse victims even before it got on the ballot. I think there is a good argument to be made that it would not be a valid vote because of the use of the emergency provision, he said. I think they should reconsider. You are setting up the victims for another disappointment. I think its reckless to even try to do this. Baker said she anticipates a challenge to the measure, but given the tight time frame for qualifying the measure for the primary ballot, it represents the most prudent and viable option. Having talked to many of these individuals..especially at the hearings we conducted, their stories deeply touched me, Baker said. I look to support them and advance this on behalf of those victims who have been impacted for many, many years. We need to do something Rozzi argues that the Senate is doing the bidding of powerful lobbyists, essentially changing the legislation previously and overwhelmingly approved by the House. This is what weve always been concerned with and the Senate, even though its acting as if its doing something for the good of victims, what they did ..has no doubt given victims false hope, he said. They have created failure. Gregory said that if his original bill advances out of the Senate, he will support it. Like Rozzi, Gregory said that no matter the language, the Legislature has to act on this matter now. We need to do something, he said. Doing nothing is not an option. If ratified by the General Assembly (and not challenged in court), Gregorys ballot referendum question would appear on the May ballot, leaving it up to voters to decide whether to open retroactive legal windows to allow survivors to file civil suits. Nationwide, since 2002, some 24 so-called revival bills have been enacted. Some jurisdictions have had multiple windows for victims to sue, including California with two, and Hawaii with three. Overall there have been 19 retroactive windows opened by states and five revivals. Such measures were among the recommendations handed down by grand juries that uncovered widespread clergy sex abuse across all of Pennsylvanias Roman Catholic Dioceses. In 2018, the most recent probe, the 40th Statewide Grand Jury investigation uncovered widespread child sexual abuse conspiracies and cover-up across the commonwealth. In 2019, Wolf signed legislation sponsored by Rozzi that substantially reformed the states child sex crime laws. Under the law, Pennsylvania abolished the statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse in criminal cases and extended the amount of time victims have to file civil actions against their abusers to age 55. If you are a poker player, you believe that as long as you have a chip and a chair, you have a chance, Gregory said. I have a chip and a chair. Until I dont, Im going to stay optimistic that we have a chance. Russia is not making attempts to end the war in Donbas, so it is necessary to strengthen sanctions against it, said President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda during an official visit to Ukraine. "Lithuania consistently supports cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, and we welcome reforms in Ukraine, we support the implementation of the Normandy Agreement, but we cannot calmly look at the fact that Russia does not adhere to its obligations. We do not see Russia's attempts to end the war in Donbas, and therefore we invite democratic countries to strengthen sanctions against Russia," he said at a press conference after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday. Separately, the Lithuanian president addressed the Ukrainian military. "We see Russia's aggression against Ukraine and an increasing number of violations. Lithuania has always supported and will continue to support Ukraine's attempts to fight the aggressor. I will separately appeal to the Ukrainian military, who demonstrate great courage: your strength is love for your homeland, and this firmness inspires us, and we are with you. Glory to Ukraine!" he stressed. Nauseda also confirmed that Lithuania supports Ukraine's initiative to create the Crimean Platform. "Lithuania does not recognize the Crimean annexation, and actively declares that it is a crime. Both in European institutions and in the UN we say: Crimea is Ukraine. We support the Ukrainian initiative to create a Crimean platform that does not recognize the Crimean occupation," the head of state said. Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? [March 18, 2021] Responding to Demand Edgewater Announces Additional Financing Edgewater Wireless Systems Inc. (YFI: TSX.V) (OTCQB: KPIFF), the industry leader in Wi-Fi Spectrum (News - Alert) Slicing technology for residential and commercial markets, is pleased to announce that the non-brokered private placement announced on March 12, 2021 (the "Initial Offering") has been fully subscribed. The Company anticipates closing the private placement in the near future. Due to exceptional demand, the Company is announcing an additional non-brokered private placement of up to 9,230,770 units (each a "Unit") for total proceeds of up to $1,200,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one warrant of the Company (each a "Warrant"). The Offering will close after the Initial Offering has closed. "Demand for our recently announced private placement has exceeded supply," said Andrew Skafel, President and CEO of Edgewater Wireless. "Management and Directors will participate in this second offering, in addition to the first." Due to regulatory requirements and positive momentum in Edgewater's stock price since the first offering, the new units will be issued at a price of $0.13 per unit. Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.23 for twenty-four (24) months following the closing date. The Offering is not subject to any minimum aggregate subscription. This Offering is available to subscribers under available prospectus exemptions as more specifically described in the Subscription Agreement prepared in connection with the Offering. The Offering will also be available to existing shareholders of the Company, who, as of the close of business on March 16, 2021, held securities of the Company (and who continue to hold such securities as of the closing date), pursuant to the prospectus exemption set out in Section 2.9 of OSC Rule 45-501 - Distributions to Existing Security Holders and in similar instruments in other jurisdictions in Canada (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption"). The Existing Shareholder Exemption limits a shareholder to a maximum investment of $15,000 in a 12-month period unless the shareholder has obtained advice regarding the suitability of the investment and, if the shareholder is resident in a jurisdiction of Canada, that advice has been obtained from a person that is registered as an investment dealer in the jurisdiction. If the Company receives subscriptions from investors relying on the Existing Shareholder Exemption exceeding the maximum Offering, the Company may adjust the subscriptions received on a pro-rata basi. Finder's fees of 7% of the gross proceeds of the Offering may be payable in cash. In addition, finders may receive share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") entitling them to purchase that number of common shares of the Company, which is equal to 7% of the total number of Units purchased by subscribers introduced to the Company such finders, exercisable for two years from the closing of the Offering at a price of $0.23 per common share, all in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. The common shares issued in connection with the Offering and any common shares purchased on the exercise of warrants will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing of the Offering. The Offering is subject to TSXV acceptance. It is intended that the proceeds of $1,200,000 from the Offering will be used for: Operating Expenses, including sales, marketing and business development ($240,000); Engineering and Product Development ($660,000) and Working Capital ($300,000). The Company may reallocate the proceeds from the Offering as may be required depending upon the development of the Company's business. The Company will make a provision for an over-allotment option to allow a purchase of up to 10% additional units beyond the number of Units contemplated in this Offering. About Edgewater Wireless We make Wi-Fi. Better. Edgewater Wireless (www.edgewaterwireless.com) is the industry leader in innovative Spectrum Slicing technology for residential and commercial markets. We develop advanced Wi-Fi silicon solutions, Access Points, and IP licensing designed to meet the high-density and high quality-of-service needs of service providers and their customers. With 24+ patents, Edgewater's Multi-Channel, Single Radio (MCSR) technology revolutionizes Wi-Fi, delivering next-generation Wi-Fi today. For more information, visit www.edgewaterwireless.com or www.aera.io. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. Although Edgewater Wireless believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because Edgewater Wireless can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause Edgewater Wireless' actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to access to capital markets, market forces, competition from new and existing companies and regulatory conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date it is expressed in this news release or otherwise, and to not use future-oriented information or financial outlooks for anything other than their intended purpose. Edgewater Wireless undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005560/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Minister of Labour and Social security, Alpha Osman Timbo, has revealed that contrary to media discussions which tend to create the impression that there is mass migration from West Africa to the global North, a large number of migrants movement is done intra-regionally. He made this revelation while chairing a two-day virtual summit on African migration organized by the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), held on Thursday, 25th and Friday, 26th February, 2021, in Accra, Ghana. The summit was held on the theme: Labour Migraton: Shifting the Paradigm to Benefit Africa; with an objective to set Africa on the path of prosperity from irregular migration. In his statement, the minister stated that migration at regional level has historically been an integral part of life in many African countries, but with the coming of the Ebola epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of migrants had increased tremendously. "Between 2010 and 2015, an estimated 31 million international migrants originating from Africa with about 77% of them moving intra-regionally," the minister stated. He said that available data on African migration suggests that about 85% of migration movements in West Africa are directed towards another country in the region. "This is about seven times greater than migration flows from West African countries to other parts of the world", the minister added. With the exception of Cape Verde which mostly hosts migrants from Sao Tome' and Principe, Mr.Timbo further revealed that the migrants in many West African countries are largely from other West African countries, and majority of them go to the informal sector. The Labour Minister noted that in view of the fact that intra-mobility of labour can go a long way to promote development, the African Union and the Economic Community Of West African States have designed a number of policies and programmes to govern migration, adding that the Joint Labour Migration Programme which focused on supporting effective implementation of intra regional migration policies was being implemented with support from the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Tanzanias controversial president John Magufuli has died aged 61, the countrys vice president confirmed on Wednesday, more than two weeks after he was last seen in public. Samia Suluhu Hassan said in a state TV address that Mr Magufuli died from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, about 434 km (270 miles) east of the capital Dodoma. It is with deep regret that I inform you that today... we lost our brave leader, the president of the Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli, Ms Hassan added. Speculation had been rife in east Africa and among opposition politicians in Tanzania that Mr Magufuli, a Covid sceptic, had died from the disease, although this has not been confirmed. Mr Magufuli was last seen in public at an event in Dar es Salaam on 27 February by an opposition leader who urged the government to tell the public about the presidents alleged condition, saying citizens had the right to know about his health. Read more: Vice president urges calm as Tanzania's leader still unseen Covid sceptic Tanzanian leader receiving treatment in India for coronavirus Politicians ask about health of Tanzania's populist leader Some Tanzanians told Reuters on condition of anonymity that fear and anxiety had been widespread in the country due to the unknown status of the president. Over the weekend, police arrested four people for allegedly spreading false information about the sickness of political leaders. Nicknamed The Bulldozer, Mr Magufuli was a former chemistry professor from the village of Chato in northwest Tanzania, who rose up the political ladder quickly after winning a parliament seat in 1995. Elected president in 2015, he had been accused by western countries and opposition parties of eroding democracy, which he denied. Mr Magufuli was elected for a second term in 2020 amid opposition accusations of fraud and intimidation. He was an active Covid sceptic and denounced measures to stop the spread of the virus and labelled vaccines as a western conspiracy. Mr Hassan said there would be 14 days of national mourning and flags would fly at half-mast to mark Mr Magufuli's death. Additional reporting by agencies MOSCOW Russia hosted a peace conference for Afghanistan on Thursday, bringing together government representatives, the Taliban and international observers in a bid to help jump-start the country's stalled peace process. The one-day gathering was the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country, a date fixed under a year-old agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban. Moscows attempt at mediation comes as talks in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban, still waging an insurgency, have stalled. Washington and Kabul have been pressing for a cease-fire while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government. We hope that today's talks will help achieve progress in the inter-Afghan talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the start of the meeting. The Moscow conference was attended by U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan's National Reconciliation Council, and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Representatives of Pakistan, Iran, India and China also participated. Moscow, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Soviet troops withdrawal in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback as a mediator in Afghanistan, reaching out to feuding factions as it jockeys with the U.S. for influence in the country. In 2019, it hosted talks between various Afghan factions. Lavrov on Thursday urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to take a constructive stance and make compromises, adding that international participants should help create the necessary conditions for reaching a deal. The Afghan parties interested in the national reconciliation can reach peace only through negotiations and compromises, Lavrov said. It's important to sign an agreement that would serve the interests of all key ethnic and political forces of the country and determine the vector of its development. He emphasized that it was important to quickly reach a peace deal amid the deteriorating military-political situation before the summer, when an upsurge in fighting is likely. In a statement issued after the talks, Russia, the U.S., China and Pakistan called on the warring parties to reduce the level of violence in the country and specifically urged the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive. We urge participants in the intra-Afghan negotiations to engage immediately in discussions on fundamental issues to resolve the conflict, including the foundations of the future peaceful and stable Afghan state, the content of a political roadmap leading to an inclusive government, and the modalities of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, they said. Any peace agreement, they said, should include protections for the rights of all Afghans, including women, men, children, victims of war, and minorities, and should respond to the strong desire of all Afghans for economic, social and political development including the rule of law. Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putins special envoy for Afghanistan, told reporters that the Afghan participants in the talks showed willingness to negotiate peace. adding they will have more meetings in Moscow. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks masterminded by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who was sheltered by the Taliban. The invasion toppled the Taliban regime but the 20-year-war has made Afghanistan America's longest conflict. Despite the U.S. spending nearly $1 trillion, al-Qaida is still present in Afghanistan, and an affiliate of the Islamic State group has taken root in the east of the country. Many Afghans fear the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops could lead to an upsurge in fighting between the country's rival factions. The Taliban, who during their rule imposed a harsh brand of Islam on Afghanistan, now control about half of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that the insurgents could make even more gains, without U.S. and NATO troops on the ground. ___ Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report. This article was written by VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. English lexicographer Susie Dent has been on Countdown every year since 1992 The English language, the birth-right of all Britons and many others besides, is both a blessing and a curse according to a new survey. We love it and are hungry for a wider vocabulary but with 1,000 words added to the dictionaries every year its elasticity and ever-changing ways leaves many of us flummoxed. The poll of 2,000 Britons found that a whopping 83 per cent of us feel 'out of touch' with culture and three-quarters of us avoid a number of conversational topics such as politics, finance, religion, geography, business and technology, for fear of not understanding the specific jargon. But that only makes most of us keener to learn new words with the same poll finding that 88 per cent of us want to broaden our vocabulary. As a nation we are trapped between the words of 13th century English philosopher Roger Bacon who proclaimed language to be 'the door to wisdom' and the 20th century American humourist Robert Benchley who said: 'Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.' To combat this national angst, the country's favourite word expert Susie Dent from Countdown's Dictionary Corner has teamed up with Amazon's Alexa device to bring us a month's worth of new words. Amazon's Alexa is offering users Susie Dent's new word of the day. From today until April 15, you can shout, 'Alexa, what's the word of the day?' to prompt a new word from Susie From today until April 15, you can shout, 'Alexa, what's the word of the day?' and it will prompt the voice assistant to provide a new word from Susie, complete with a simple definition and contextual example. The first word up is nod-crafty the knack of nodding the head with an air of great wisdom. For example, Emily's Grandad gets all nod-crafty when she enthuses about TikTok. English language expert Susie said: 'Increasing our vocabulary brings enormous benefits. It helps us to articulate our thoughts and emotions more powerfully, to widen the horizons of our learning, and, above all, to enjoy the beauty and verve of our language. 'I'm delighted to be teaching Alexa a few of my favourite terms from the past and present; I hope others will derive as much pleasure from them as I do.' Other featured words will include mumpsimus, catchfart as well as grogblossom and as a clue I will put them into a sentence. Amazon made the move to help users get their heads around 1,000 new words being added to the English language everyday like mumpsimus, grogblossom and catchfart The retired catchfart had become a mumpsimus and now his face was covered with grogblossom. Those without an Alexa can scroll to the end of this article for clarification. According to Susie, a lexicographer (dictionary compiler) and TV personality since 1992, the key to expanding your vocabulary is to incorporate it into your daily routine. Handily, Alexa can help here too as you can set up a prompt in the Alexa app. Other top tips from Susie include reading, writing and exploring the origin of words. She added: 'Learning the etymology of 'sarcasm', for example - from the Greek for 'tearing flesh', because a sarcastic mark can be caustic and discovering that it is a sibling of 'sarcophagus', a tomb whose stone quickly decomposed the flesh of a corpse, can both make you wonder and expand your vocabulary at the same time.' Dennis Stansbury, Alexa UK & Ireland Country Manager, said: 'By tapping into Susie's golden vault of vocab, we hope to inspire customers to discover new words, whilst having some fun at the same time.' NB Mumpsimus - a person who obstinately adheres to old customs or ideas in spite of evidence that they are wrong or unreasonable. Catchfart 17th century slang for a foot servant or page mocking how closely they followed their master or mistress Grogblossom - the network of burst blood vessels on the face, particularly the nose, of a heavy drinker. Kate Garraway was seen arriving at work as the first trailer for the documentary about her husband Derek Draper's year-long Covid battle aired on Thursday. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 53, flashed a beaming smile as she entered Global studios in central London for her Smooth radio show. Her cheery demeanour was in stark contrast to the harrowing trailer which aired earlier that day, where she could be heard screaming 'Derek, I miss you!'. Arrival: Kate Garraway was seen arriving at work as the first trailer for the documentary about her husband Derek Draper's year-long Covid battle aired on Thursday Kate was dressed in a pretty neutrally toned blouse and camel jacket, which she teamed with blue jeans and a pair of chunky trainers. She arrived laden with bags for her morning radio show and one picture showed her being helpfully assisted by her driver. Earlier in the day, Kate returned to Good Morning Britain today for the first time since sharing heartbreaking images of Derek in hospital a year after contracting the virus. Work: The Good Morning Britain presenter, 53, flashed a beaming smile as she entered Global studios in central London for her Smooth radio show Heartbreaking: Her cheery demeanour was in stark contrast to the harrowing trailer which aired earlier that day, where she could be heard screaming 'Derek, I miss you!' She told co-host Susanna Reid that her husband is 'still fighting' - as the new trailer for the upcoming ITV programme Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, was released. Derek is one of 186,000 long Covid patients in Britain who suffer a range of symptoms from fatigue and aches to serious organ damage. He has also lost 8st over the course of his ordeal. Kate is seen screaming 'Derek, I miss you!' and asking he will be 'alive, but no longer the person he was', in a preview for the documentary, to be aired at 9pm on Tuesday. Stylish: Kate was dressed in a pretty neutrally toned blouse and camel jacket, which she teamed with blue jeans and a pair of chunky trainers Laden down: She arrived laden with bags for her morning radio show and one picture showed her being helpfully assisted by her driver In the documentary, Kate talks about how her family has been forced to adjust to a new way of life and meets others who have been suffering because of Covid. She had appeared on GMB last week following the departure of her longtime friend Piers Morgan, who she said had been 'very supportive' during her husband's struggle with Covid. Susanna said it was 'an absolute joy' to have Miss Garraway, who has two children with her husband of fifteen years, back on the programme. Kate said: 'I think it's a moment for everybody when you realise it's been a year we've been living with this.' Here you go! Kate's driver was seen helping her with some of her belongings 'Obviously back then rather hoping Derek and I would be chatting with you together with more recovery... that hasn't been the case.' 'Obviously Derek is an extreme example, we don't want to scare people with what he's been through but there are many other people that have got versions of it and still not enough is known about the impact of it. 'Still when we talk about long Covid we think of breathing long-term problems or fatigue, anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome but it is much more widespread than that.' Susanna Reid said: 'It has been a year of grief... it has been a year of progress in some ways too as you know, there have been some treatments, there if the vaccine programme, I often think how hard that must be for you. She's back! Earlier in the day, Kate returned to Good Morning Britain today for the first time since sharing heartbreaking images of Derek in hospital a year after contracting the virus Together: Derek is one of 186,000 long Covid patients in Britain who suffer a range of symptoms from fatigue and aches to serious organ damage (pictured in 2019) Kate said: 'Well unfortunately Derek was surfing the crest of a very grim wave.' She added: 'It's affected some people you could argue worse than Derek because people have lost their lives and he's still here fighting.' It comes after Kate shared heartbreaking images of her husband Derek Draper fighting for his life in hospital a year after contracting Covid. Kate says on a trailer for the programme, which will air on March 23: 'Derek is the sickest person the team of doctors have treated this year.' Photos are shown from the couple's wedding day in 2005 before the screen goes blank and a message reads: 'One year later, Derek is still in hospital.' Derek, who is the longest surviving Covid patient in the country, no longer tests positive for the virus, but it has left him with multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs. Kate has given emotional on-screen updates on her husband's Covid battle over the course of the last year, and has taken some time off work to go and visit him. Harrowing: It comes after Kate shared heartbreaking images of her husband Derek Draper fighting for his life in hospital a year after contracting Covid She revealed that on multiple occasions the hospital told her: 'Prepare yourself, he's going to die.' When Boris Johnson enforced a new lockdown in December, Kate wasn't able to see her husband at all, as she revealed his health worsened 'dramatically,' counteracting the progress they had made. Battle: Derek (pictured) no longer tests positive for the virus, but it has left him with multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs Finding Derek will air on 23rd March, and will show Kate giving an 'unflinching account' on the past 12 months. In the special one-off film, she will offer an 'intimate insight' into coping with the impact of Covid-19 on her family, as well as meeting survivors of the disease. ITV said in a statement: 'Kate offers an unflinching account of the profound effects on her family and on others as she opens up on camera for the first time on the reality of the past 12 months. 'As Kate lays bare in the film, her family, along with many others who have suffered the effects of the virus, is now facing the reality of adjusting to a very different way of life to the one they lived before the pandemic hit.' During one of her darkest moments Kate was told her husband may 'never come out of a coma' amid his ongoing battle. Insight: In a clip of a new ITV documentary, Finding Derek, Kate says: 'Derek is the sickest person the team of doctors have treated this year' Precision Castparts welders won a victory before a federal appeals court this week, potentially clearing the way for them to organize more than three years after the Oregon workers voted to unionize. The Portland company refused to bargain with the 100 welders and challenged their organizing effort, arguing that their work was too closely integrated with the rest of the company to constitute a distinct union. The National Labor Relations Board disagreed, finding that Precision Castparts had committed an unfair labor practice. Precision Castparts challenged that decision in court, losing its case Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. The union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Thursday that with the appeals courts ruling in hand it will send a demand letter to the company and hopes to begin negotiating a contract. Its been a long battle for these guys, said Billy Anderson, an organizer for the national union. Hopefully we can move forward and they can respect the wishes of the welders out there. Precision Castparts makes heavy metal components for jet aircraft and other industrial products. It was among Oregons biggest companies when it sold to Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffetts investment firm, for $37 billion in 2016. Precision Castparts struggled last year amid the downturn in global aviation, and because of Boeings setbacks with its 737 MAX plane. The company laid off 40% of its global workforce. Its revenue had been stagnant for several years, though, and earlier this month Buffett admitted that hed overpaid by $10 billion for the Portland company. Precision Castparts didnt immediately respond to a message Thursday seeking comment on this weeks court ruling, so its not clear whether the company will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court. Anderson said the union is hopeful it will not, and that negotiations can now begin. We typically havent had this kind of relationship with them, especially with Warren Buffett promoting himself as pro labor, he said. The balls in their court. Its my hope they wouldnt do something like that. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway (CNN) Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, the country's vice president announced in a televised address on Wednesday. He was 61. "President John Magufuli died of a heart ailment that he has battled for over 10 years," Samia Suluhu Hassan said. She added that the president had been receiving treatment at Mzena hospital since Sunday, and announced 14 days of national mourning. Hassan is now the acting president of Tanzania. While a date for her swearing in has not yet been announced, she will be Tanzania's first female president. Magufuli, who usually made weekly public appearances at Sunday church services, had not been seen since February 27, fueling speculation that he was ill and was being treated abroad. As news of the president's death emerged, opposition leader Zitto Kabwe offered his condolences to Magufuli's family. "This is an unprecedented moment for our United Republic of Tanzania, and one that will undoubtedly move us all in very personal ways," the leader of the ACT-Wazalendo party said in a statement. "My immediate thoughts are with Mama Janeth, and the whole family of our deceased President." He also offered "blessings, courage and patience" for Hassan. "My fellow Tanzanians, let us continue to pray for patience and understanding. This is a moment to show our maturity and integrity as a nation," Kabwe added. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was one of the first world leaders to express their sympathy at the death of Magufuli. "My thoughts are with his loved ones and the people of Tanzania," he wrote in a post on Twitter. Known as "The Bulldozer" for his tough stance against corruption and for his hardline policies, Magufuli swept to victory in October 2015 as Tanzania's fifth president. But excitement over Magufuli's intolerance for corruption was shortlived as he began a clampdown on democracy and critical voices. Magufuli oversaw closures and suspensions of numerous media outlets, while his government undermined judicial and parliamentary independence, implemented a partial ban on public rallies, harassed MPs, closed online political space, and prosecuted critics under defamation and sedition laws. Early on in the pandemic, Magufuli dismissed the seriousness of coronavirus in Tanzania, urging his citizens to "pray coronavirus away," believing the "satanic virus can't live in the body of Jesus Christ," and blaming the growing number of positive cases on faulty test kits. In June, he claimed his country had eradicated coronavirus "by the grace of God," questioned the safety of foreign Covid-19 vaccines and made no plan to procure any shots for his country, instead pushing for the use of herbal medicine and steam treatments. Tanzania hasn't reported Covid-19 figures since April 2020, prompting the World Health Organization to call for Tanzania to publish data on the coronavirus and ramp up public health measures. Last month, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam warned that Covid-19 cases had been surging since January. This story was first published on CNN.com Tanzania's President John Magufuli dies after weeks unseen A potentially viable device has been found in Fermanagh following a security alert. Police described the discovery on the Lough Shore Path, in Enniskillen, as a reckless act by violent dissident republicans. Army bomb experts removed the device for further examination. PSNI Chief Superintendent Andy Freeburn, South Area Commander, said the pathway where the device was found is frequently used by members of the public, including people fishing, local boat owners, parents and children. I can confirm that this device was small and crude, but potentially viable, and it has been taken away for further examination, he said. We believe that this reckless act is the work of violent dissident republicans and should be condemned by all. This device was left on a pathway, which is frequently used and enjoyed by members of the public, including people fishing, local boat owners, parents and children. Those responsible have shown blatant disregard for the life of others and our community. Their actions are reprehensible and are not supported by the local community. I want to appeal to anyone who has information about this incident to call us and tell us what you know. The number to call is 101, quoting reference number 1242 of 16/03/21. A US hiker has perfectly captured an amazing photo of a gigantic lightning bolt striking a mountainside. The perfectly-timed photo was taken by Phil Garcia, while out hiking with his friends in Pecos, New Mexico. Garcia, 28, who works at a ski resort in Santa Fe, only managed to grab one shot of the purple-tinted bolt during adverse weather. It was so immense that it destroyed a tree in the process, leaving only its trunk. This incredible image captures a gigantic lightning bolt as it strikes the side of a mountain. The wild photo was taken last June by Phil Garcia, while out hiking with his friends in Pecos, New Mexico 'We were hiking up in the back trails when we saw one pop off right before that one so I pulled out my camera,' Garcia said. 'The sound it was wild. We were kind of worried, so we got out of there pretty quick. 'You could feel the energy. It blew the tree into what had to be a million pieces all that was left was the trunk. It was just smouldering.' Garcia took the picture last June but has only just posted it to a New Mexico community group on Facebook. The bolt of lightning can be seen piercing through the sky and igniting the trees on the hillside He called the blast 'deafening' and said the picture was a combination of 'pure luck and right timing'. 'It was raining so hard it put it out. It was super loud wish I had a video of it,' he said. 'I was only 400 yards away from it my ears rang for about five hours after.' Lightning occurs when strong upward drafts in the air generate static electricity in large and dense rainstorm clouds. Parts of the cloud become positively charged and others negatively charged. When this charge separation is large enough a violent discharge of electricity happens also known as lightning. Lightning can be beautiful and awe-inspiring, as well as fatal. Between 1982 and 2011 an average of 54 Americans died a year as a result of lightning strikes. In the UK, 58 people were known to have been killed by lightning between 1987 and 2016) on average, two people per year, according to researchers. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Police were called to a residence at The Villages at Alton Park on W. 38th Street. A woman said she was on the phone with her sister upstairs when she heard a disturbance on the front of the residence. A short time later she said she heard a disturbance in the back and identified an acquaintance at the back of her residence. According to the woman, the two women have a long, tumultuous relationship, including the acquaintance vandalizing her residence previously. The acquaintance walked on foot east towards Central Avenue following the incident, and was no longer on scene when police arrived. The woman discovered a window on her front porch that had been shattered that evening by the acquaintance as well. Police observed shards of glass along the front porch and an unopened pint-sized can of an alcoholic beverage lying on the front porch in the shattered glass. The woman said she believes the acquaintance threw the can at her front porch in an attempt to vandalize the residence further. Police were unable to positively identify the acquaintance using CopLink, Crime Portal, General Sessions or Watson Reporting. Due to this, arrest warrants are not being sought. * * * An employee at Walgreens, 3605 Brainerd Road, told police there was a black woman who had been trespassed from the store who entered the store. He said he just wanted to make sure the woman knew she was trespassed. Police located the woman down the street. She was wearing a black jacket and teal/green pants. The woman said she did not know she had been trespassed from Walgreens. Police informed her she was and that she was not to go back. * * * Police responded to United Auto Recovery, 3107 Alton Park Blvd., where an employee said that a woman came to pick up her vehicle, but when he did not get to her as fast as she wanted him to, she became upset and started cursing out loud. The employee said he told her to calm down and he would be with her as soon as he got done with other customers that arrived prior to her. He said the woman then stormed out, spitting on the door and the fence, and left the scene. * * * A woman called police from 6830 E. Brainerd Road and said that a black truck pulling a trailer ran into her car with his trailer at this location. The woman said she was trying to go to her grandfather's funeral and exchanged information with the guy driving the truck. When police arrived, the truck with the trailer was gone. Police observed damage to the front right bumper and front passenger side wheel of the woman's car. She said she did not wish to make a report, but she would call back later if she changed her mind. * * * A woman told police that while she was working at Staple's, 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd., someone took the tag off her vehicle. She said she noticed her tag in the morning when she arrived to work around 9 a.m. She said she noticed the tag gone around 5 p.m. The tag was entered into NCIC. * * * Police responded to an anonymous 9-1-1 call from Austin Drive. A woman called in through Google Meets and said they were being robbed. She gave the address number on Austin Drive, but police were unable to locate that address; however, the ping from the call came from another address on Austin Drive. Police spoke with a woman at that address who said they did not call in and everything was okay there. While talking to her, Police heard an unknown person say "Help," but after extensively searching the area, they were unable to locate anyone. * * * Police attempted a traffic stop on Conner Street on a matte black Mitsubishi Montero for a registration violation. The vehicle was first observed at the Kankus, 3604 Brainerd Road, and was occupied by at least two people. The driver was a white male, and the front passenger was a white female. Police initiated the stop in the area of Brainerd and Conner Streets. The vehicle failed to stop and made several turns until it continued on to I-24 eastbound, and was last seen traveling east. * * * A call was made to police regarding suspicious people at the Speedway, 7420 Bonny Oaks Dr. Police found the two people reported loitering on the lot. Both were Amazon employees and left without incident. * * * An officer observed red possible Volkswagen GTI/GLI traveling southbound on Highway 153 at a high rate of speed. The vehicle took off at a very high rate of speed when police tried to make contact. Police observed the vehicle doing speeds of over 100 mph as it turned onto 27 northbound towards Dayton. A BOLO was issued for the vehicle. It was last seen in the Middle Valley area. * * * The branch manager of Landscape Associates, 615 Hamill Road, told police that both catalytic converters were cut off one of the company trucks while it was parked there overnight. He said employees there last saw the truck around 4:30 or 5 p.m. the day before, and discovered the incident around 7:15 a.m. that morning. He said there are no cameras outside, but the property is fenced in and someone possibly just hopped the fence in the front to get in. He has gotten a quote of about $1,500 each for replacement cost for the converters, but has no official estimate yet. * * * A woman on Emma Kate Drive called police because she and her boyfriend were in a verbal-only disorder and she would like him to leave. The man told police that he was not on the lease, gathered a few things, and vacated the premises. * * * A man on Meadow Stream Loop called police about suspicious activity that had happened at his apartment. He said a black male was looking into his car and then noticed someone and immediately stopped and jumped into another car, whose license number he got. The black male was described as having a light complexion, of average height and build, with a red hat. The vehicle came back registered to a female at the same apartment. * * * While conducting a traffic stop at the intersection of Blackford Street and N. Willow Street, an officer was flagged down by a man. He said that early that morning, his ex-girlfriend got inside his vehicle on Citico Avenue, damaged the rearview mirror and removed the drive-out tag of his vehicle. He said he was inside his house and saw it from his window. The vehicle was parked on the street in front of his house. The man declined prosecution and asked to report this incident to get his drive-out tag replaced. * * * Police were called to a residence on Jeffery Lane by a woman who said that her daughter was making a scene and that she wanted her to leave. The woman said one of her daughter's kids broke her phone and she wanted her to pay for it. The woman and her daughter were in a verbal disorder and decided to separate and deal with the issue at a later date. Police transported the daughter to her house on Bonny Oaks Drive. * * * Police were called to a disorder on East Avenue. Two women said they had a disagreement about laundry and whose would be in the dryer. Nothing physical happened. They assured police they were fine. * * * A man on Standifer Oaks Road told police someone broke into his vehicle overnight. He said there were no signs of forced entry and perhaps his vehicle was unlocked or they got in it from the driver side passenger door since it is broken. The man said his wallet was taken, along with camera equipment. He said his neighbor's vehicle was also broken into. * * * Police responded to a shoplifting at Bargain Hut, 5230 Hwy. 153. A store employee told police that a female came in the store and filled up a buggy full of items and stole them. Video showed the woman loading items into a bag and then walking out of the store, passing all points of sale and never paying for the items. * * * A woman residing on E. 46th Street called police about a noise complaint. She said a house near her has vehicles come and go at all times of the day. She also said that the person that rents the house does work out of his garage and she has been hearing engines revving from the address throughout the day and night. Police told her that her house and house she was complaining about would be added to their watch list. She said that would be great. * * * A woman on Ricky Drive told police she received a phone call from phone number with a male speaking to her. She said the man told her she had won $2.5 million from Publisher's Clearing House. He told her that she would need to pay one percent of the taxes in order to receive the money. The man told her to go to the nearest Walmart and put $498 on a Vanilla Gift Card and send him the card. He said that his name was David Sayers and gave his phone number. He also told her that she had won a new Mercedes Benz vehicle. He asked for her banking information and if she lived alone. The woman said she gave the man untrue answers each time because she realized that the call was a scam. She said she wanted to make a report in case this scam is being tried on other people. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. A rural doctor says he's frustrated he can't use all of the AstraZeneca vaccine he's received on people who need it the most. A rural doctor says he's frustrated he can't use all of the AstraZeneca vaccine he's received on people who need it the most. "We have a really old population, and the cutoff point is age 64 for the AstraZeneca vaccine," said Dr. Gerry Clayden in Carman. "The average age is way over 65," he said of the retirement community, which is a 45-minute drive south of Winnipeg. Who's eligible for AstraZeneca vaccine in Manitoba? Manitobans aged 50 to 64 years (First Nations people aged 30 to 64) with a high-risk condition will be the first group eligible to receive the AstraZeneca/Covishield COVID-19 vaccine. click to read more Manitobans aged 50 to 64 years (First Nations people aged 30 to 64) with a high-risk condition will be the first group eligible to receive the AstraZeneca/Covishield COVID-19 vaccine. Anyone who is now eligible for the Pfizer/Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (such as health care workers) and is aged 18 to 64. People with high-risk conditions (as determined by their doctor or pharmacist) will be prioritized, with those who have a condition in Priority List 1 being offered immunization before those with a condition in Priority List 2. Priority List 1 - those with: end stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis OR peritoneal dialysis cirrhosis due to any cause OR portal hypertension heart failure (class III/IV ), ventricular assist device OR adult congenital heart disease stage C and D severe COPD, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease OR cystic fibrosis history of cerebral vascular accident with residual deficits malignant hematologic disorders including leukemia and lymphoma OR clonal blood disorder malignant neoplasms (solid tissue) who will receive or are currently receiving immunosuppressive therapy including chemotherapy severe obesity (BMI 40) receiving one or more of the following immunosuppressive therapies: B cell therapies (e.g., rituximab, ocrelizumab), cyclophosphamide, alemtuzumab, calcineurin inhibitors, chronic dose prednisone >=20mg/day, mycophenolate, sulfasalazine and JAK inhibitors (e.g., tofacitinib) solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (candidate or recipient) trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) asplenia or hyposplenism (including sickle cell disease) Individuals receiving home care 4 times/week OR receive 24/7 support from Community Living Disability Services. Pregnant individuals (18 to 64 years of age) with one of: aged 35 years, BMI 30, pre-existing diabetes, pre-existing hypertension, cardiac or pulmonary disease. Priority List 2 - those with: Chronic cardiovascular disease including heart failure (class I/II), coronary artery disease, malignant tachyarrythmia OR cardiomyopathies chronic liver disease chronic neurologic OR neurodevelopmental conditions including cerebral palsy, Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS OR dementia (including Alzheimers disease) chronic pulmonary disease including COPD OR severe and/or uncontrolled asthma chronic renal disease HIV (CD4 cell count 200 x 106/L and CD4 percentage 15%) severe systemic autoimmune disorders (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, myocarditis, rheumatoid arthritis) type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus (poorly controlled and/or with complications) active tuberculosis (current or previous) OR current latent tuberculosis (LTBI) receiving immunosuppressing therapy Individuals receiving homecare 3 times/week OR any level of Community Living Disability Services supports (or as per family physician determination of equivalent levels of family support). Household contacts of individuals with Priority 1 chronic health conditions OR designated support person(s) for personal care home residents (in the authorized age category). Close His medical group received 50 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and could find only 30 out of its 2,500 patients who are eligible to receive it under Manitoba's top two priority groups. The vials the Carman clinic received will expire on April 2, the doctor said. "I'm very frustrated and would like to be able to help my people," said Clayden. He learned on Wednesday that Manitoba isn't prepared to follow new National Advisory Council on Immunization guidelines, which were issued on Tuesday, to allow people 65 years of age and older to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. Clayden said he was outraged by Manitoba's decision. "What we need to do is lean on Manitoba Health to let us use what we have" for those who need it most, Clayden said. Dr. Gerry Clayden's Carman Medical Group received 50 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and could find only 30 out of its 2,500 patients who are eligible to receive it under Manitoba's top two priority groups. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) Manitoba received 18,000 doses of AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine on March 11, which have been distributed to 190 clinics and pharmacies throughout the province. At that time, the national advisory committee had recommended Canadians over 65 not receive the AstraZeneca shot, even though emerging real-world evidence indicated its ability to prevent severe COVID-19 illness in seniors. Then on Tuesday, NACI began recommending that it be given to those over age 65. "Over the long term, this is great news," Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the Manitoba vaccine task force, said Wednesday. "We want to have more flexibility about how we can provide vaccine to Manitobans," she said at a news conference. "But right now, that doesn't change the fact that we only have 18,000 doses of AstraZeneca available. So for now, we'll be sticking with the current eligibility criteria." Currently, Manitobans age 50 to 64, and First Nations people age 30 to 64, who have specific health conditions that place them at risk for serious COVID-19 outcomes, are eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Anyone who is already eligible for the Pfizer/Moderna COVID-19 vaccine such as health care workers and is aged 18 to 64, is also eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. Dr. Gerry Clayden is frustrated he can't use all 50 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine he's received on people who need it the most. "We have a really old population, and the cutoff point is age 64 for the AstraZeneca vaccine," he said. "The average age is way over 65," he said of the retirement community, which is a 45-minute drive south of Winnipeg. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) Clayden isn't alone in expressing frustration at not being able to use his clinical judgment to decide which patients should receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, especially since the national advisory committee revised its guidance. "He's understandably frustrated," Doctors Manitoba spokesman Keir Johnson said Wednesday. "He doesn't want to use it on a healthy person," he said. "These are concerns we've heard from some physicians, but the overwhelming message is they want more (of the AstraZeneca vaccine) because they don't have enough," said Johnson. A spokesman for the province said they are unaware of any clinic or pharmacy that has too much of the vaccine, but there are options available to them if they do. "Doctors and pharmacists can ask for patient referrals from other clinics (and) pharmacies in their region that may not have been given an allocation of the vaccine," the spokesman said in an email. "They can also advertise they are taking appointments for those people who fall into the age eligibility (between the ages of 50 to 64 and First Nations people aged 30 to 64) or meet provincial eligibility to be immunized." He encouraged Clayden to reach out to the province to "further discuss options." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Marvel Studios president finally spoke up whether Chris Evans already made a move with the company to reprise his role. With the release of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," rumors about Evans returning to lead the Avengers again somewhat gave fans false hopes. Though Captain America has been part of the Avengers since the beginning, the Marvel Studios boss himself debunked the talks about the actor coming back again. In an interview with EW, Feige said that MCU fans will not see Evans as Captain America anymore - at least that's the concrete idea for now. "I rarely answer no to anything anymore because things are always surprising me with what happens, but that rumor, I think, was dispelled rather quickly by the man himself," the big boss disclosed. The 39-year-old indeed posted a tweet about the alleged reappearance. "News to me," he wrote with a shrug emoji. The end of his stint as one of the MCU's founding heroes began on "Avengers: Endgame." To recall, at the end of the box-office hit movie, Evans' character grew old and passed his shield to Sam Wilson. The story afterward will be told in the upcoming Disney+ series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." Where Did the Rumors Start? Earlier this year, Deadline reported that their most-trusted sources learned about Evans reprising his role in the MCU. The news outlet added that the character is up to appear in at least one more Marvel flick. The actor reportedly left another door open for another possible film. Captain America's choice to go back to the '40s to reunite with Peggy and begin to live a simpler life also fueled the rumors even more. Unfortunately, the plot and the rumors are simultaneously putting more burden on Anthony Mackie who will assume Evans' position as the next Captain America. For what it's worth, though, both Mackie and Sebastian Stan remain hopeful as Evans and Marvel Studios know more about what's going on with the MCU. "Marvel's so secretive, and it's so ridiculous about what we know and what we don't know," Mackie said. "I have no idea." Meanwhile, Stan applauded Evans' performance and how the actor's decade-worth of stint made people realize that they cannot mention Captain America without thinking about the original actor. "He's done such an amazing job with it, and I feel like he's always going to have this presence. And he has a presence in our show," he went on. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles The Iranian government has concluded that the fatal shooting down of a Ukrainian plane last year was the result of human error. Ukraine, however, has rejected the findings. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 took off from Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport for Kiev on Jan. 8, 2020. Shortly after takeoff, the plane was shot down by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which led to the deaths of all 176 people on board. At the time, Iran was conducting retaliatory strikes against the US military in Iraq following the death of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. Many of the victims were dual nationals of Iran and Canada, and there were also citizens of Ukraine, Sweden and other countries aboard the flight. The Iranian governments final report on the incident concluded that an air defense operator mistook the plane for a hostile target and fired two missiles at it, Reuters reported Wednesday. The Ukrainian foreign minister rejected the report, however, saying it was biased and deceptive. This is not a report, but a collection of manipulations aimed not at establishing the truth but acquitting the Islamic Republic of Iran, said Dmytro Kuleba in a video statement Wednesday. We will not let Iran hide the truth or avoid responsibility for this crime. Some people suspect the downing was intentional. Canada also has criticized the Iranian investigation for lacking transparency. In a joint statement, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said, "It is clear we still do not have answers as to why Iran did not put in place the necessary measures, such as a full closure of their airspace, to prevent such a tragedy." Iran agreed to pay compensation to the families of the passengers in November. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. New Delhi, March 18 : The farmers agitating against the three contentious farm laws at the borders of Delhi are not perturbed by the surge in the Covid cases, rather they have asked the government not to spread fear to end the agitation. On Wednesday, in a meeting with the Chief Ministers amid growing alarm over the resurgence of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to act fast against the emerging "second peak" of the pandemic, warning "if we do not stop this now, a country-wide outbreak can occur". Amid the rising Covid cases, Section 144 has been imposed in Ghaziabad. Talking about the Covid-19 surge, Ghazipur border protest committee spokesperson Jagtar Singh Bajwa told IANS, "Farmers are here from the last four months but not a single Covid-19 case has been reported from here. The government is spreading the fear so that people don't come here to participate in the protest. This is a conspiracy to end the protest. We condemn this act of the government." Bharatiya Kisan Union president of Uttar Pradesh Rajvir Singh Jadaun said, "We started the protest amid the pandemic outbreak and now when we have vaccine then why the government is spreading the fear. Rather than sending the vaccine to the foreign countries, for free, the government should provide it to its citizens." "The Prime Minister's concern about the villages is fine but Covid-19 surge is not the only concern in the villages. Not a single farmer has been infected while working on the farms. Instead of spreading fear, the government should proactively think about saving the lives of the people," he added. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Coronavirus Diaries is a series of dispatches exploring how the coronavirus is affecting peoples lives. Hawaii in February. It sounded wonderful, but deciding to travel in the middle of a pandemic took me some time. I had all kinds of safety concerns. After much back and forth with my husband, we agreed to meet our daughters in Keauhou on the Big Island, where they had planned a Work from Hawaii getaway. We planned to arrive on the Big Island a couple of days earlier than the girls, stay for 10 days, and head for a five-day stay in Oahu, the only island that did not require a new COVID-19 test for inter-island travel. The logistics of booking a flight, reserving a townhouse, and getting a fast-turnaround COVID-19 test just prior to travel, proved to be not-too-difficult. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the early hours of a cold morning, a plastic-ensconced Uber driver sped us to the airport to catch our flight. At the airport, we both sported a mask and a face shieldI thought we must have looked a tad paranoid. On board our first flight to San Francisco, we were thrilled to discover we each had an entire row of three seats to ourselves, all for the price of economy tickets. The mask and shield did not bother us as we stretched across the three seats and slept. Things were going well! We landed and had barely an hour before boarding the flight to Kona. Next to our flight gate, I noticed long lines and a sign that said, Pre-Screening for Hawaii Travelers. We had already uploaded the results of our test and a Hawaii Health Form to the Safe Travels Hawaii websitebut just in case, I asked the flight attendant at our gate whether we needed to do anything more. He shrugged and told me that the screening was for other flights and ours would be in Kona. Advertisement On the flight to Kona, we once again each had an empty row in economy. Business class, in contrast, was crowded. Cheap thrills! I texted my friends. Things got even more exciting as we descended and I saw the contrast between the azure of the middle of the Pacific and the turquoise waters skirting the edges of the Big Island. Advertisement We shuffled out of the plane into the mostly open-air airport. The weather was great, especially in comparison with cold D.C. We heard a screening agent intoning, have your QR code ready please. I found mine easily in an email that Safe Travels Hawaii had sent me, but my husband scrolled through his inbox without success. An agent had to help log him into his account to retrieve his QR code. OK, we are good, we thought. That was until the agent at the podium called for a supervisor. We looked at each other, now slightly anxious. Your COVID-19 test is not from a Hawaii trusted partner, the supervisor told us. Advertisement I had been sure our $200 per person COVID -19 test results from a reputable pharmacy would be accepted, mostly because I hadnt found another option to meet Hawaiis testing requirements. The state required that we get tested at a maximum of 72 hours prior to boarding and have the result ready to show upon arrival. Though the Safe Travels Hawaii program has a long list of approved partners for COVID-19 tests, they were mostly located on the West Coast, or else did not offer the kind of quick-turnaround test that was required. I had even taken screenshots of the websites for CVS, Walgreens, and other major pharmacies to show that in our area, no partner provided test results that would definitely come back within that 72-hour window. None of that mattered. (I learned later that in the Northern Virginia area, mail-in testing would have been our best option at the time; though now there is also approved testing at major airports.) Advertisement Advertisement Then followed a roundabout exchange with the agent, which I recall going like this: Agent: Your options are to quarantine for 10 days in a state-approved hotel or return home. Me: What? Cant we quarantine in the Airbnb we booked? Agent: No. You will have to book a hotel and stay in your room for 10 days. Husband: Can we take a test here or maybe go back to San Francisco, take another test there, and come back? Agent: Sir, you can take a test here, but you must still quarantine for 10 days. To avoid quarantine, you should have a negative COVID-19 test result from a Hawaii partner before you board the plane to Hawaii. And as for testing in San Francisco, and returning, I cant tell you if that will work. The system may not let you in as you have been identified for quarantine. Advertisement Husband: Can we talk to anybody else to check about other options? Agent (visibly irritated): No, sir, your options are to quarantine for 10 days in an approved hotel or return home. You need to decide right away. Frantically, I called the 1-800 number for Safe Travels Hawaii, but the lady who took the call told me she only dealt with health form technical issues. She gave me another phone number, but the person answering seemed puzzled as to why I was even calling. We checked again with the screening agents. They just wanted us to decide and move on. Desperate, I started searching the internet for advice. But there was nothing on any site to guide us through the ins and outs of pandemic travel bureaucracy. Our vacation was simply going to slip away from us before it even began. After a round of back-to-back calls to family and United Airlines, we signed the requisite forms stating we were returning to D.C. Advertisement Advertisement There were a couple of upsides to our trip. The flights were great. At Kona Airport, I spotted a new bird, the red-crested cardinal, which is apparently common to Hawaii. Our saga jerked our daughters into waking up to Hawaiis COVID-19 testing realities and compelled them to ensure they had test results from a Hawaii partner before their trip. I wish the agents at Kona Airport had known more about how to address situations like ours. It was disheartening. Thirty-six hours after wed left, we returned to a slow-moving snowstorm in the Northern Virginia area, texts from friends requesting pictures from paradise, and a coming-to-terms laugh about our misadventure. The Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up its oversight of Boeing's North Charleston-based 787 program by taking over a critical factory review for several of the widebodies, including jets built at the South Carolina plant. Officials from the government agency will inspect at least four Dreamliners for airworthiness, replacing company workers who would normally perform the checks. The FAA also will certify the planes for flight. "The FAA is taking a number of corrective actions to address Boeing 787 production issues," the agency said said in a written statement. "One of the actions is retaining the authority to issue airworthiness certificates for four 787 aircraft." Government inspectors could expand the checks beyond the first four planes to others if "they see the need," according to the statement. Manufacturing issues with the 787 program arose last year, when Boeing said it found some flaws with the interior skin of the aircraft. Fuselage inspections on the jets have been underway for months in North Charleston and Everett, Wash., where the company shut down Dreamliner production in late February as part of cost-cutting plan. Boeing hasn't delivered a 787 since October. While the latest checks were prompted by production concerns, the FAA said its staffers have performed airworthiness reviews on the jets "over the past few years" so that they could "fulfill their inspection-currency requirements." Boeing said in a written statement that it is "encouraged by the progress our team is making on returning to delivery activities for the 787 program." "We have engaged the FAA throughout this effort and will implement their direction for airworthiness certification approval of the initial airplanes as they have done in the past, the company said. Sign up for our new business newsletter We're starting a weekly newsletter about the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it's free. Email Sign Up! The increased scrutiny of the Dreamliner program comes on the heels of Boeing's 737 Max crisis. The FAA recertified the Max for commercial flights in November after a 20-month grounding of the jet prompted by two crashes that killed all 346 passengers and crew members. Earlier this year, the Justice Department charged Boeing with conspiring to defraud the safety agency, saying some company employees impeded the investigation into the deadly accidents by providing misleading statements about the aircraft. The planemaker is paying about $2.5 billion to settle the criminal case. Boeing has said the 787 production issues it's working to fix don't pose an immediate flight-safety concern. During his last earnings call, CEO Dave Calhoun said the company would "make sure the FAA is comfortable with every" step they're taking with the Dreamliner. In addition to the fuselage inspections, Boeing has started checking cockpit windows installed on the 787 to ensure they meet specifications after learning a supplier changed its production process. Even with all of the extra oversight and quality reviews, the company said earlier this week that it still expects to start handing over Dreamliners to customers again by the end of March. It also cautioned it will "continue to take the time necessary" and adjust delivery schedules if needed. The FAA's scrutiny of the 787 program and, specifically, the North Charleston campus, most recently came in the form of $1.21 million payment from Boeing to settle allegations that senior managers at the local plant put undue pressure on safety workers. That penalty was tacked onto a $5.4 million fine for the company's failure to meet performance obligations laid out in a 2015 settlement agreement, for a total of $6.6 million that the FAA announced in February. Before sunrise members of the National Guard stand behind a fence perimeter surrounding the Capitol in Washington on March 4, 2021. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images) Domestic Violent Extremism Poses Elevated Threat in 2021, Intel Community Says The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that domestic violent extremists pose a heightened threat in 2021, according to a new unclassified threat assessment. The brief unclassified summaryassembled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)found that domestic extremists, motivated by a range of ideologies, are seen as risks for violence. The intelligence community found that extremists motivated by biases against minority populations and perceived government overreach will almost certainly drive more radicalization and mobilization to violence. Meanwhile, sociopolitical developments such as the narrative of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol will almost certainly spur some [domestic violent extremists] to try to engage in violence this year. The assessment was conducted after President Joe Biden in January tasked the DNI to assess the threat of domestic violent extremism following the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Biden and Democrats elevated the issue following the violence on that day, leaving critics concerned that the new administration may limit their focus on assessing domestic threats to the Jan. 6 events without attention to the violence unfolding across the country over the summer in 2020, triggered by the death of George Floyd. White House press secretary Jen Psaki at the time described the review as a fact-based analysis that could be used to shape policy. Extremism motivated by different world views and political ideologies has posed an ongoing threat to the United States and has prompted multiple FBI investigations into individuals in recent months. The riots last summer, perpetrated by anarchist extremists who caused significant economic, property, and human destruction, had brought the issue of domestic extremism back into the public consciousness. Then-Attorney General William Barr over the summer had characterized actions by Antifa and similar groups as domestic terrorism. However, Bidens attorney general, Merrick Garland, has stopped short of applying the same label to those violent actors, instead focusing on prosecuting the hundreds of people involved in the Capitol breach on Jan. 6. Read More FBI Says Biggest Domestic Terror Threats in 2021 Are Violent Extremists Motivated by Race or Anti-Authority Views U.S. officials in recent weeks have issued warnings about threats of domestic violent extremism, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, who testified this month that domestic terrorism has been metastasizing, in particular militia violent extremism as well as racially motivated violent extremism. The DHS has also announced almost $2 billion in state and local preparedness grants, with at least $77 million allocated to directly combat domestic violent extremism. The summary provided a similar assessment on racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and militia violent extremists (MVE), stating that they present the most lethal threats. It found that some racially motivated extremists are most likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks against civilians, while militia groups would be typically targeting law enforcement and government personnel and facilities. The IC assesses that the MVE threat increased last year and that it will almost certainly continue to be elevated throughout 2021 because of contentious sociopolitical factors that motivate MVEs to commit violence, the intelligence officials wrote (pdf). Among racially motivated extremists, white supremacists are the most likely to have international connections with individuals with similar ideological beliefs. The summary states that these extremists frequently communicate with and seek to influence each other. However, the summary noted that only a small number of such extremists have traveled abroad to network with like-minded individuals. The assessment also found that lone offenders or small cells of domestic extremists from different ideologies are more likely to carry out violent attacks in the Homeland than organizations that allegedly advocate a DVE ideology. This finding echoes Wrays assessment from September 2020, when he told lawmakers during a hearing in the House Homeland Security Committee that individuals who self-radicalize online and carry out attacks pose the most serious threat to the homeland. We assess that the greatest threat to the homeland, to us here domestically, is not one organization, certainly not one ideology, but rather lone actors largely self-radicalized online who pursue soft targets using readily accessible weapons, Wray said last year. Many of these domestic extremists use social media platforms or small websites with a targeted audience to recruit members, plan and rally for support for in-person actions, and disseminate information that contributes to the radicalization of individuals, the summary found. The intelligence community also assessed that escalating support from persons in the United States or abroad, growing perceptions of government overreach related to legal or policy changes and disruptions, and high-profile attacks spurring follow-on attacks and innovations in targeting and attack tactics could increase the likelihood or lethality of domestic violent attacks in America. According to the summary, domestic violent extremists are defined as U.S.-based individuals who conduct or threaten activities that are dangerous to human life in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any state; appearing to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; and influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping, as per the definition of domestic terrorism under federal law. The assessment didnt take into account people who engage in advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics, as those actions may be constitutionally protected. The summary identified a number of domestic violent extremist groups including racially or ethnically motivated extremists, anti-government/anti-authority extremists, animal rights environmental extremists, and more. But Hartman was extremely upset after viewing a TV news interview with her, Lubelfeld said. Hartman contends she did not give permission for the interview to be broadcast, Lubelfeld said, and after watching it Sunday she was so upset she missed a therapy appointment Monday morning and the next day headed to OHare for the first time in more than a year. Businesses have until the end of March to request aid to pay rent The ministry is not planning to scrap the scheme after that, though. Illustrative stock photo (Source: TASR) Top stories March 17, 2021 Between March 2019 and March 2020, there were 804,398 businesses created in the US, with a steady increase over time. If you were one of the owners, this article is for you. Although you may have found a profitable niche in the market, it can seem impossible to grow your brand to the levels you want without spending hundreds of thousands on advertising. To help you build the business with the success you deserve, we've come up with three easy ways to improve sales, customer retention, and ultimately profits. Just read on for everything you need to know to have your business blossoming in no time. 1. Roll Out Reward Schemes Although it can seem tempting to spend all your time trying to attract new customers, you might make more money focussing on customer retention. Forbes reports that customer retention and loyalty steadily decline over time for most businesses, so this could be an excellent way for you to get ahead of your competitors. One way to inspire loyalty is to roll out reward schemes for points earned. If you want to implement this strategy but don't know the best way to go about it, there are plenty of places online to find inspiration. For example, branded Custom Prepaid Debit Cards help your business to have a personal touch while encouraging your customers to return to your store. Offer reward schemes, and you'll reap the rewards of a growing loyal customer base. 2. Give Out Giveaways Although it may seem counterproductive to give your stock away for free, it can be an excellent way to expand your customer base and visibility. While this does not apply to all businesses, it's partially useful if you're targeting audiences active on social media, such as Gen Z and Millennials. Just pick a few inexpensive items and utilize a popular platform like Instagram. Have a simple rule, such as asking users to share a post and tag (News - Alert) two friends to enter. It will expose hundreds sometimes even hundreds of thousands of potential customers to your products. Instagram alone has over 1 billion users, so the possibilities for growth are endless. 3. Create Custom Products One of the fastest ways to appeal to new people is to offer custom products. Whether this is jewelry or software, meeting the specific needs of an individual or business will make you highly appealing to them. In an increasingly competitive market, it's crucial to stand out from your competitors. Promising a luxury service that will make a customer feel special and satisfied is a great way to catch their attention. Plus, it will encourage them to recommend you to all of their friends. Grow Your Business Now that you know these three great ways to grow your business, the only thing left to do is try them out and see your profits soar. While not every tip may apply to you, the principles of customer service, innovative thinking, and going the extra mile are essential regardless of what you're selling. However, no matter what you do, it won't work unless you pay attention to your customers' needs and meet them. Your dedication, combined with these essential tips, will see your small business becoming a market leader in no time. Remember always to use these pointers with your target audience in mind there's no point using TikTok if you're aiming to sell to over-60s. It's also important to remember the critical principles of any successful business hard work and high-quality products. The lead investigator who helped seize more than 7m worth of assets in a sting operation against the XTC gang has praised The Independent and local outlets for their continued coverage on the illegal wildlife trade. It comes after the secretary general of Thailands Anti-Money Laundering Organisation, AMLO, announced that his team had identified and frozen millions of pounds worth of assets belonging to the international trafficking ring. The operation targeted valuable assets and managed to take place thanks to our charity partner, Freeland. The charitys founder, Steve Galster, said the move was like cutting off the right arm and breaking the left leg of the syndicate - leaving them penniless for now. But he warned: There are more traffickers in the syndicate who still need to be hit like this. The 12 March mission targeted Boonchai Bach, a Vietnamese and Thai citizen, subsequently leading to the suspension of his bank accounts. Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade We are working with conservation charities Space for Giants and Freeland to protect wildlife at risk from poachers due to the conservation funding crisis caused by Covid-19. Help is desperately needed to support wildlife rangers, local communities and law enforcement personnel to prevent wildlife crime. Donate to help Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade HERE Intel provided by Freeland meant investigators searched several locations in northern Thailands Nakhon Phanom and Chaiyaphum provinces, where they were able to confiscate a hotel, a fleet of vehicles, 11 properties, firearms, Buddhist amulets, cash and wildlife species. Although Bach was previously arrested in January 2018 for his alleged involvement in the trafficking of rhino horns and other contraband, he was later released after the trial collapsed. His acquittal was seen as a blow by organisations across the country who spent years trying to crack down on alleged kingpins like him. The drive to investigate Bach and find further evidence increased last year when coronavirus hit the country, forcing it and the rest of the world into lockdown. The bank accounts of Boonchai Bach were suspended as part of the operation (Freeland/ALMO) The killing, trafficking and consumption of wildlife is viewed as a big risk factor in the development of illnesses that jump from animals to humans, such as Covid-19. Speaking at the Thai Foreign correspondents club, lead investigator Teerapong Dulayawijan said the team had drained the syndicates wealth. Asked why it was significant to ensure the alleged kingpin and his counterparts were left without money, he said: He was clever enough to slip away before and although we couldnt arrest him, we could drain his bank accounts. ( ) Mr Galster told The Independent: "This is the most promising development we have ever seen for wildlife and it is the most positive, impactful news we have seen for wildlife to date. Too often, wildlife criminals like Boonchai Bach continue operating with impunity in spite of law enforcement efforts, whether they get arrested or not. Penalties are too light, jail sentences too short if the go to jail and anyone who gets arrested usually gets replaced because its the money driving this business. "But what AMLO has just done is completely different: they have grounded this syndicates operations by freezing and seizing their financial resources. Now these crooks dont have the time or money to order the killing of more wild animals. This approach needs to be copied and expanded to help wildlife populations recover. Especially since there are more major crooks in this syndicate whose assets have not yet been taken yet. Speaking on The Independents Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign, which has published a series of deep dives into the syndicate, the stockpiling of rhino horn and the alleged trafficking of sex workers, Mr Dulayawijan said: We dont usually like the media getting involved when we work on investigations but in this case, if people realise the importance of this, then it has helped, and we do appreciate it. A fleet of vehicles, 11 properties, firearms and cash were among items seized by officials (Freeland/ALMO) The Independent is working with conservation charities including Space for Giants and Freeland to protect wildlife at risk due to the conservation funding crisis caused by Covid-19. As countries across Southeast Asia and China grapple to curb wildlife trading, The Independent has been working with our partners to gain more insights about the illegal business, its history and its future. [March 18, 2021] AIS Healthcare Donations Address Social Inequities and Advance Social Justice AIS Healthcare is committed to doing more of what matters, not only to improve quality in healthcare but also to improve lives in our communities. Now, we're honoring this commitment by supporting two organizations dedicated to increasing opportunity and reducing inequality: The Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund in Nursing and Feeding America. AIS Healthcare is matching all employee donations to each organization, up to $50,000 total, for a potential $100,000 impact. "These two partnerships are just the beginning," said Simon Castellanos, Chief Executive Officer of AIS Healthcare. "We will continue to find ways to help create a more just, more equitable world. We will continue to do what's right, not just what's expected, at a time when doing what's right is more important than ever." The Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund in Nursing In March 2020, Breonna Taylor, an emergency room technician at University of Louisville Health, was killed by police officers serving a no-knock warrant at her hoe. To honor her memory, UofL Health has created a nursing scholarship in her name. The Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund in Nursing will cover four years of tuition and fees. Preference will be given to Black female residents of Kentucky. More than 325 patients in Kentucky receive in-home nursing care from AIS Healthcare. We are proud to increase access to nursing education in this community while remembering the life of a dedicated healthcare worker. Feeding America More and more Americans are going hungry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, a national network of food banks, estimates that more than 50 million people across the country may experience food insecurity this year, including 17 million children. Every dollar donated to Feeding America helps provide at least 10 meals. AIS Healthcare's efforts could give half a million meals to Americans in need. About AIS Healthcare Advancing quality. Improving lives. As the leading provider of targeted drug delivery (TDD), infusion care and ophthalmic solutions, AIS Healthcare is committed to doing more of what matters. From pharmacies that put patient safety first to comprehensive services that enhance the entire care experience, we go beyond the expected in everything we do. Learn more at aiscaregroup.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005937/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A screenshot shows the Korea Tourism Organization's promotional video series "Feel the Rhythm of Korea," shot in Seoul. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization By Jun Ji-hye Oh Chung-seop, the head of the brand marketing team at the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), received a presidential award for a promotional video series, called "Feel the Rhythm of Korea." The state-run tourism organization said Thursday that Oh received the award for planning the eccentric yet addictive tourism promotional videos, which have become a sensation both at home and abroad for their unique style since their debut in July last year. The award recognizes civil servants who have shown a proactive approach to work. Oh Chung-seop, the head of the brand marketing team at the Korea Tourism Organization, who planned the promotional video series, "Feel the Rhythm of Korea" / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization The Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed Mumbai Police for continuing probe against Republic TV in the TRP manipulation investigation and not finding anything against them for months. The Court said that the Police cant keep the sword hanging over the channel in the case as they have not named the channel as an accused despite filing two charge sheets against it. In the FIR filed by Mumbai Police and complaint submitted by Hansa Research to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), neither mentions Republic TV yet the Mumbai Police has tried to frame the channel and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami as the main accused in the case. Furthermore, the HC asked Mumbai Police why they held a press conference last year to announce the alleged TRP scam. The Division of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale said, Do the police have an obligation to interact with the press? Why did the commissioner (of police) have to speak to the press? On October 8, 2020, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had told the press that the TRP racket had been busted which involved Republic TV, Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi. He accused these channels of distorting the ratings system used by Broadcast Audience Research Council to measure TV channels popularity. While at the schools regional campus at Clunes, I was in my student house and a group of 12 male students proceeded to come into our house area and began to slut shame me by making derogatory comments and disregard my request for them to leave. Another said: My experience is that I have been groped multiple times on school grounds, one of which was witnessed by a teacher who empathised with me but didnt do anything about it. I cant wait in line for lunch without someone grabbing my butt. I cant walk through school without passing people that have raped, sexually assaulted and or sexually harassed me or one of my friends. I cant wait in line for lunch without someone grabbing my butt. Another wrote: Moving to Wesley from my old school I did not expect boys of all ages having files on their phones of inappropriate photos of girls in our grade alongside other ages, which were either sent to them or they had taken on their own account, of others, without their knowing. They would share these images between their friends and brag about whos got a better chick bagged. Mr Evans said it was clear the college had an enormous amount of work to do with regards to respectful relationships amongst students. He added as well as encouraging the reporting of any incidents, we have established a range of initiatives designed to allow students to share their views on the culture of college. This is only the first of a range of measures to address this very serious issue within the school. Crowds at the Melbourne March 4 Justice on Monday protested sexual assault and harassment. Credit:Eddie Jim The issue of sexism and harassment at Wesley and of girls from other independent schools whose students have contacted The Age arose on Monday after boys in Wesley uniform were heard making loud misogynistic comments following the Melbourne womens March 4 Justice. A student from another school emailed Mr Evans to say he was disgusted by what he heard and said women on the bus were so distressed by the comments they disembarked immediately. One father of a Wesley student contacted The Age on Wednesday and said his son and the vast majority of his male cohort are very upset and disappointed that the bus incident occurred, and endorsed the schools action this week. He said his son had in the past been abused and physically assaulted by boys from another school as a result of standing up against mistreatment of his female friends. He came home with a black-eye from one such incident. His son and friends had also stepped in when female friends were experiencing disrespect online. Some students from Wesley College boycotted the uniform in protest at handling of allegations of misogyny. Credit:Paul Jeffers He is generally very frustrated that a small number of his peers are bringing disrepute to his school community and Wesley boys in general, he said. Speaking on ABC radio on Thursday morning, Mr Evans said the issues that had emerged this week were a far wider problem than the college, and that Wesley College is Australia in microcosm. He said it was striking that independent schools were prevalent in this discussion and that pornography had to be a huge part of the discussion. On Wednesday Mr Evans also condemned a TikTok video in which students identified as being from the school were filmed making sexually explicit and derogatory remarks about girls. They were not in uniform at the time. In a second assembly on Thursday to tackle the issues, the school went to lengths to reassure students that it was dedicated to listening to girls stories and acting quickly to assess the culture and introduce change. St Kilda Road campus head Kim Bence made a heartfelt speech on the topic of misogyny saying she would work day and night to gather the information, the insights and experiences as led by you to effect positive change on this campus. Its time. Loading However one senior girl said she did not believe it was worth reporting assault at the school. I have been assaulted by somebody at Wesley but never came forward and told teachers because I do know that other students have come forward. The boys who do it do get suspended, but then they dont get educated on what they did wrong. The Herald Sun reported on Thursday that students had started an online petition to share stories about assault, harassment or misogyny at school. Suffolk County, NY launched their 311 call center taking a phased approach, enabling their 311 system to also be utilized when the County was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Suffolk county used Incapsulate's 311 solution, which is built with Salesforce Experience Cloud and Service Cloud. The Suffolk 311 system became the way the County managed their response with citizens and businesses. The County also launched their citizen-facing self-service web portal as another channel for citizens and businesses for COVID-19 response. Suffolk is re-opening and expanding departments using their 311 system to include Human Services. Suffolk has 63 active service request types configured in the 311 Capsule solution to capture data about the spread of COVID-19 throughout the community. Government agencies, including Suffolk County Health Services, Labor, Economic Development and Fire Rescue & Emergency Services are leveraging this data to help track cases and develop COVID-19 mitigation plans. The 311 Capsule solution is built to be flexible and scalable as the pandemic evolves along with service request trends, and multi-jurisdictional functionality provides the ability to track constituent issues to meet needs and security options to limit views of information as required by the county. The City of Dallas needed to rapidly implement enterprise level, scalable, low code/no code platform-based solutions powered by Salesforce Experience Cloud and Service Cloud and implemented & managed by Incapsulate to provide uncompromised customer service to the public and a safe environment for their employees. Incapsulate helped the City of Dallas successfully launch three critical applications to aid with tackling and providing the technology support needed for city employees to serve their constituents during COVID-19 called the Online Forms, Interactive Citizen Calendar and Workforce apps These apps play a crucial role in helping support the city as they continue to serve their constituents during these challenging times. Virginia Beach, one of the nation's top award-winning digital cities, placed third in the Annual Digital Government survey in 2020. When the city sought an off-the-shelf, configurable software-as-a-service system to aid in COVID-19 relief, they turned to the Incapsulate 311 Capsule CRM solution and repurposed it to meet their urgent pandemic response needs. Launched on time and on budget by Incapsulate, the city has remotely deployed this project in multiple phases, prioritizing COVID-19 response. The first phase focused on short-term rental services, regulations and updates due to the impact of COVID-19, charitable donations and disaster relief. Virginia Beach equipped their emergency communications and citizen services operations with the ability to review and accept community-based donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies. In the second phase, Incapsulate partnered with Virginia Beach to implement a suite of COVID-19 Financial Relief Applications ( Public Utilities Payment Assistance ), in addition to the Board of Commissioner Online Appointment Scheduler. Virginia Beach is leveraging the system built on Salesforce for two COVID-19 relief fund programs run through the city, Bill Pandemic Relief and Personal Property Tax Relief . Citizens who lost their jobs or income due to COVID-19 may use the online portal to submit and track their applications for assistance. Departments are empowered to collaborate on application review, validation and approval. The reporting process is streamlined by collecting and processing applicant progress reports digitally. Virginia Beach also implemented Incapsulate's Remote Appointment Scheduling Application, which helps digitize the delivery of mission-critical services provided by the City's Commissioner of the Revenue. Citizens can book an appointment for services offered by City Hall. Business is now conducted online not in line or by phone, email, or fax. The latest phase includes the launch of Virginia Beach's COVID-19 Vaccine Management System, powered by Salesforce Vaccine Cloud. The City of Virginia Beach stands ready to support the Virginia Department of Health's vaccination program, as the system integrates with the State of Virginia's Vaccine systems. Residents are able to pre-register online and input their information to generate a request for the vaccine that is then sent to the state health department. Online notifications are then sent to residents to schedule an appointment. The city also provides relevant information on the availability of the vaccine, who is eligible and where they can go to get vaccinated. In 2021 local government agencies continue to rise to the occasion to ensure their citizens are being served. As is evident with Suffolk, Dallas and Virginia Beach; cities and counties are working tirelessly to improve interactions between residents and their governments across every channel. They continue to enable cross-agency collaboration and empower a remote workforce to provide faster, easier, smarter government services. Salesforce, Experience Cloud, Service Cloud, Vaccine Cloud and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. About Incapsulate Since 2008, Incapsulate has helped organizations realize true digital transformation and achieve lasting results with the help of the Salesforce Platform. With expertise in a wide range of cloud-based technologies, agile methodologies, digital analytics, and mobile solutions, we serve clients ranging from the Fortune 500 companies to Federal, State & Local governments across the United States. As of January 1st, 2021, Incapsulate has over 200 employees, with over 450 Salesforce Technical Certifications, and an additional 50 technical certifications in other cloud platforms. Incapsulate is a Certified Partner of Mulesoft, Vlocity, Tableau, Clariti, Box, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services and ESRI. Headquartered in Washington DC, Incapsulate has additional offices in Boston, Toronto, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. For more information, please contact Incapsulate at [email protected] SOURCE Incapsulate Related Links http://incapsulate.com Letters to God is a collection of poems that talks about a mans newly-found relationship with God. Letters to God is the work of Louis Sawicki, who, despite being raised to know God, did not find a purposeful relationship with Him until later in life. Sawicki writes, I was raised with a good foundation of knowing about God. But, my journey towards actually following Him didnt occur until much later in life. It was not until I had gone through great pain and loss, that I realized I had missed the most important part of the Gospel. As I opened this new chapter of my life, I wrote what I was experiencing in verse over a period of many years. As you go through this book, you will have a glimpse into my daily struggles, successes and failures, doubts and assurances. Each poem is a view into my faith through my eyes. Some parts remain raw and a bit painful while others are more peaceful and refined. I decided to write this book specifically for those who have been struggling with their faith, who have felt rejected or abandoned. This book is for you. To let you know that you are not alone on your journeyand you are loved by God. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Louis Sawickis new book shares his experiences over the years, chronicling his struggles, success, failures, doubts, and assurances in his journey. View a synopsis of Letters to God on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Letters to God at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Letters to God, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. The top eight teams were selected through a rigorous evaluation process from a list of 20 ZS PRIZE, a healthcare innovation programme launched by global professional services firm ZS, has announced its top eight teams from a record 2,900 submissions. The programme, which was launched in October 2020, received more than 33,000 registrations from across colleges, start-ups and corporations, bringing together a diverse pool of participants to address healthcare innovation needs in India. The solutions submitted to ZS PRIZE, leverage artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to transform the current Indian healthcare landscape by focusing on the accessibility and affordability of healthcare solutions. The ideas cover the spectrum of diagnostic as well as therapeutic solutions. The top eight teams were selected through a rigorous evaluation process from a list of 20. The top 20 teams selected in January, received a 4-week mentorship with leading experts at ZS. Sanjay Joshi, Regional Managing Principal, Head of Asia, ZS, said As a firm, we are proud to launch ZS PRIZE to help accelerate innovation in healthcare. Through our mentorship programme, participant teams were able to strengthen their submissions for jury deliberation. Reinforcing this point, Ravi Venkatesan, Jury Chairman, ZS PRIZE, Founder, GAME and Former Chairman, Microsoft India, said I am impressed with the quality of the top eight ideas for the final round as each of the ideas advances the affordability and accessibility of healthcare innovation for the masses in India. The top eight solutions that are in line for the ZS PRIZE finale, which is scheduled for April 2021: 1. Baby Beat by CareMother This AI-powered wireless, portable, smartphone-based clinical grade smart device provides fetal monitoring for pregnant women and to help reduce neonatal deaths. 2. Stamurai - This speech therapy app aims to empower folks with a stuttering issue. 3. LungIQ by Predible Health - This cloud-based deep learning software is a solution for accurate and quantitative reporting of chest conditions from CT imaging. 4. OmniPD by Padmaseetha Technologies Pvt Ltd OmniPD is the worlds first portable peritoneal dialysis cycler that empowers renal patients to execute dialysis anytime, anywhere. 5. Miclays by MedPrime Technologies - An AI-powered digital microscopy system, MICLAYS can address all the microscopy needs of a diagnostic lab. 6. Ameliorate by Biotech Private Limited This rapid testing kit (ASSURED) helps detect the three most prevalent mosquito-borne diseasesmalaria, chikungunya and dengueon the first day of symptoms in fewer than 15 minutes. 7. Bindu by India Vision Smart Cap is a tool that will help process images and describe or read them aloud using speakers or headphones. This tool will help the visually impaired, both in their daily lives and at work. 8. Pulse Active Stations Network Each Pulse Active Station measures various health and wellness parameters in conjunction with a proprietary AI-based platform and gives indications of potential lifestyle diseases with personalised recommendations. "A longstanding member of TAG, IAS is committed to providing our partners with the trusted tools to control and protect their advertising investments," said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. "We're proud to achieve these recertifications from TAG because our mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for our partners." For 2021, IAS completed the rigorous evaluations required to achieve recertification for TAG's Certified Against Fraud, Certified Against Piracy, and Brand Safety Certified Programs. This recertification reinforces IAS's continued leadership in ad verification, as TAG has become recognized as the leading global standards program around criminal activity and brand safety. According to IAS data , campaigns for which optimization tools and strategies were not present tended to encounter levels of fraud up to 25x higher than those optimized against fraud. "With this recertification, IAS continues to take a leadership role in raising standards for trust, transparency, and brand safety across the global digital advertising industry," said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. "IAS has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to TAG's standards and building a brand safe ecosystem for brands, agencies, publishers, and platform partners." About Integral Ad Science Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital ad verification, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people in safe and suitable environments. IAS's mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for the world's leading brands, publishers and platforms. We do this through data-driven technologies with actionable real-time signals and insight. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in New York, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers and premium publishers worldwide. IAS is part of the Vista Equity Partners portfolio of companies. For more information, visit integralads.com . SOURCE Integral Ad Science, Inc. Related Links www.integralads.com ADVERTISEMENT Nigerias First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has finally returned to Nigeria after spending six months in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sources in the Presidential Villa confirmed that the First Lady returned on Thursday morning. Mrs Buhari reportedly made her last known public appearance in September 2020 during the wedding of her daughter, Hanan. Since then, she has conspicuously not been involved in any government activity or sighted publicly. She also stopped posting on social media. SaharaReporters last December reported how the First Lady had relocated to Dubai, the UAE. The report cited security concerns as one of her reasons for moving out from the Presidential Villa. The publication also said Mrs Buhari was just relaxing and spending time on shopping in the Arabian country. Sources in the Villa, however, told PREMIUM TIMES her reason for leaving is due to domestic squabbles. Spokesperson to the First Lady, Aliyu Abdullahi, when contacted, said he could not confirm or deny her return as he was not aware of it. I am not aware of this, he said. Indian mills have contracted to export 4.3 million tonnes of sugar so far in the 2020/21 season ending on Sept. 30, a trade body said on Wednesday, as a rally in global prices to a four-year high and an export subsidy makes overseas sales lucrative. Higher exports from the world's second biggest sugar producer could cap gains in global prices, which have been buoyed by lower production in Thailand, the world's second biggest exporter. The exports will help India reduce stockpiles and support local prices of the sweetener, crucial in ensuring millions of cane farmers get government-mandated prices. "Around 4.3 million tonnes of export contracts have already been signed," the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement. This is a great achievement especially because these contracts have been signed in just 2-1/2 months, since the date the export quotas were allocated by the government on 31st December, 2020," it said. Out of the total contracts, nearly 2.2 million tonnes of sugar has already been shipped, the ISMA said. The South Asian country has approved a subsidy of 5,833 rupees ($80.38) a tonne for exports of 6 million tonnes in the current year. India has been selling sugar mainly to Indonesia, Dubai, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and African countries, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm. "A container shortage and higher freight charges are limiting Indian exports," the dealer said. Indian mills have produced 25.87 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year, nearly 20% more than a year ago as output jumped in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the ISMA said. However, this year many mills are closing operations early due to limited supplies of sugar cane, the trade body said. In the current marketing year, 502 sugar mills have started operations, but 171 mills stopped crushing by mid-March end, it said. Also read: India's Covid-19 stimulus fell short of announcements; lockdown impacted incomes: UNCTAD Also read: Double efforts for branding, marketing of local agricultural products: J&K LG Manoj Sinha NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Disposable gloves sales are set to grow impressively at nearly 10% CAGR through 2021 and beyond. Growing personal hygiene and safety awareness, especially the spike witnessed during COVID-19, has accelerated the production of disposable gloves. Fact.MR's analysis reveals that high demand for nitrile gloves from manufacturers will further gain traction in 2021. The latest edition of disposable gloves market by Fact.MR finds that the consistent demand of surgical gloves from medical sector is spurring the sales. Additionally, demand for nitrile disposable gloves from non-medical sector such as chemical, automotive and oil & gas is spiraling. Growing awareness regarding personal hygiene and favorable government policies to bolster the demand of disposable gloves. For instance, in October 2020, Indian government relaxed export norms for nitrile disposable gloves to promote the shipments of protective equipment. Also, Center of Disease Control and Prevention released contingency and optimization supply strategies or disposable gloves in December 2020. Hence, favoring the demand for disposable gloves market. "Sky-high demand for nitrile disposable gloves from medical sector is aiding manufacturers, while initiatives undertaken by private and government organizations are spurring the growth of the market," says a Fact.MR analyst. For more Insights into the Market, Request a Sample of this Report https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=5637 Key Takeaways Non-powdered disposable gloves to garner significant traction in forthcoming years Nitrile disposable gloves to remain lucrative U.S. to remain the most lucrative country Japan to create attractive opportunities for disposable gloves manufacturers, spurred by high investment in R&D activities to create attractive opportunities for disposable gloves manufacturers, spurred by high investment in R&D activities China to vanguard the Asia Pacific disposable gloves market to vanguard the disposable gloves market Backed by favorable government policies and rise in awareness regarding personal hygiene during pandemic, Germany spearheading Europe market spearheading market Owing to the surge in production as well as consumption of disposable gloves, Germany to be the epicenter of the Europe market Competitive Landscape Ansell Ltd., the Glove Company, Adenna LLC., Supermax Corporation Bhd., Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd., Medline Industries Inc., Semperit AG Holding, Hartalega Holdings Berhad and Smart Glove among others are some of the prominent manufacturers, profiled by Fact.MR. According to the study, the manufacturers are relishing the spike in demand due to COVID-19 and are focusing on generating revenue through several organic and inorganic strategies. In August 2020, Supermax Corporation Bhd's revenue surged to US$ 226.2 million increasing by 147% as compared to the year 2019. The organization is anticipating witness more hike by 2021-end. Also, the same year, Medline Industries Inc. announced to open the doors to its new distribution center in Anchorage, Alaska, tripling the size of its revenue. The $43 million medical-grade distribution center will ship tens of thousands of individual products and devices to healthcare providers across the region creating attractive opportunities for future growth prospects. Get Customization on this Report for Specific Country https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=5637 More Valuable Insights on Disposable gloves Market Fact.MR, in its latest report, presents a detailed analysis of the global disposable gloves market. The study divulges essential insights on the disposable gloves market on the basis material (nitrile, natural rubber, neoprene, and polyethylene), product (powered and non-powered), end-user (medical, automotive, chemicals, oil & gas, and others), and region (North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South East Asia & Oceania, and MEA) Key Questions Covered in the Report How will the disposable gloves market shape through 2021-2031? Which is the most lucrative market for disposable gloves? Which is the most used material in disposable glove manufacturing? Which are the top companies providing disposable gloves? What is the impact of COVID-19 on disposable gloves market? Request more information about Report Methodology https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=5637 Explore Fact.MR's Coverage on the Retail & Consumer Goods Domain Disposable Hot Cups & Lids Market: Fact.MR's extensive study on the disposable hot cups & lids market brings to fore important insights concerning major growth dynamics, including the drivers, restraints and new entrants across key regions. The report provides a holistic overview of the expected trends and shares of prominent manufacturers investing in disposable hot cups & lids. Disposable Razors Market: Fact.MR's incisive coverage on the Disposable Razors market explicates on the key drivers, trends and opportunities expected to prevail across prominent segments and key geographies for the forthcoming assessment period. Additionally, details about prominent manufacturers and their revenue shares have also been incorporated. Baby Disposable Diaper Market: The baby disposable diaper market study published by Fact.MR offers a comprehensive analysis and focused views on major trends expected to provide shape to future growth prospects. The report provides detailed analyses of the significant drivers, trends, challenges and opportunities prevailing for the forthcoming decade across key geographies and segments. About Fact.MR Market research and consulting agency with a difference! That's why 80% of Fortune 1,000 companies trust us for making their most critical decisions. We have offices in US and Dublin, whereas our global headquarter is in Dubai. While our experienced consultants employ the latest technologies to extract hard-to-find insights, we believe our USP is the trust clients have on our expertise. Spanning a wide range - from automotive & industry 4.0 to healthcare & retail, our coverage is expansive, but we ensure even the most niche categories are analyzed. Reach out to us with your goals, and we'll be an able research partner. Contact: Sudip Saha US Sales Office: 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Tel: +1 (628) 251-1583 E: sales@factmr.com Corporate Headquarter: Unit No: AU-01-H Gold Tower (AU), Plot No: JLT-PH1-I3A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713666/FactMR_Logo.jpg In partnership with Amazon, digital small business insurer Next Insurance is offering insurance to businesses that are buyers or sellers on the popular Amazon e-commerce site. The insurer is targeting members of Amazon Business Prime that use Amazon as their procurement hub and receive extra benefits including survey and analytical tools, spending analysis, member-only offers and discounts for buying their supplies and services on Amazon. Todd Heimes, director of Amazon Business Prime, said Amazons partnership with Next Insurance dovetails with its mission to help businesses streamline and save time. We believe Next Insurance offering products to Business Prime is another example of how this program provides value and benefits to members, Heimes said. Business Prime members can obtain Next Insurance quotes and then purchase general liability, professional liability, workers compensation, commercial auto and tools and equipment coverages. For Amazon Business Prime customers, Next Insurance is offering an exclusive 10 percent discount on general liability and professional liability policies. We believe the future of the insurance buying experience involves meeting customers where they already are and making it easy to purchase customized and affordable policies, Guy Goldstein, CEO of Next Insurance, said. The insurer is also targeting businesses that sell goods and services on Amazon. Amazon requires certain sellers with gross sales of $10,000 a month or more for three months in a row to have insurance, according to Nexts blog. The insurance requirements for sellers known as Amazon Pro Merchants include $1 million in liability coverage. Required coverages include products liability, products/complete operations, bodily injury, personal injury, broad form property damage and broad form contractual coverage. Next Insurance offers an online process that makes it possible to buy a commercial policy in 10 minutes or less and it provides its insureds with 24/7 access to certificates of insurance. Next uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to simplify the purchasing process, which it claims drives down costs by up to 30 percent compared to traditional policies. Founded in 2016 in Palo Alto, Next has received a total of $631 million in venture capital funding to date. Source: Next Insurance Topics Amazon RALEIGH, N.C., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wake Research, an integrated national network of clinical investigative sites and one of North America's leading providers of Phase I-IV clinical trials, was recognized as a Top Enroller of patient volunteers by Novavax, a Maryland-based biotechnology firm, in their COVID-19 Phase III vaccine clinical trial. Since hosting the official commencement of Operation Warp Speed with Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to the Research Triangle in 2020, Wake Research has helped lead the nation's efforts to provide high-quality trial data on COVID vaccines to help several vaccines get the greenlight from the FDA. Wake Research enrolled more than 2,000 patients in the Novavax vaccine trial, and over 6,000 patients across multiple COVID vaccine trials including those by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. "This accomplishment would not have been possible without the dedication of our staff who applied their experience and expertise to make sure quality data was collected and patients' safety was ensured at every step of the process," said Marieke Cajal-Berman, Director of Patient Engagement at Wake Research. "We were truly overwhelmed by the tremendous response from our community and the number of volunteers coming forward to help with this historic medical advancement." "Studies are ongoing as more vaccines are still needed to have enough doses available for all, and to ensure immunity against new variants. We hope volunteers will continue to answer the call to action. We are all in this together, and we look forward to continuing to work together on these invaluable clinical research efforts." Although the Novavax vaccine trials started in late December in the US, the Novavax COVID vaccine candidate already looks promising based on early results and international studies. Official results for U.S. trials are still pending. The U.K. trials showed the Novavax vaccine to be 89.3% effective in a trial of 15,000 participants. Due to its later start, the Novavax clinical trial likely included participants exposed to some of the newer coronavirus variants. Physicians at Wake Research are optimistic about the Novavax COVID vaccine as well. Matthew Hong, MD, principal investigator of Wake Research in Raleigh, told local news outlet CBS-17 that the outlook is promising and that the Novavax vaccine is expected to get the FDA greenlight too. The Novavax vaccine is a two-dose vaccine that does not utilize the same mRNA technology as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. Therefore, the Novavax COVID vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage, which should facilitate distribution once approved for emergency pandemic use. Additionally, the Novavax vaccine utilizes state-of-the-art technology that builds upon technology employed in traditional flu vaccines and other anti-virus vaccines, with an innovative advancement to target the coronavirus. The Novavax vaccine introduces a spike protein that triggers the human body's immune response so it is capable of fighting off the coronavirus' spike protein. Additionally, the Novavax vaccine contains a natural immunity booster derived from tree bark that boosts immunity up to 3-10 times more than the vaccine alone. "Companies and governments around the world came together with scientists, physicians, and patients, working tirelessly to stop this pandemic, and we are honored to participate in ongoing efforts to stop the coronavirus," states Ella Grach, MD, chief executive officer of Wake Research. "We utilize a proven, highly effective multi-faceted approach to patient engagement, and we strive to continually improve upon our already successful system of resources, expertise, and strategies for optimum success in patient enrollment." Wake Research Earns Additional Recognition as a Top CRO Service Provider In addition to achieving the recognition as a Top Enroller by Novavax, Wake Research was featured by PharmaTech Outlook as a Top CRO Service Company of 2021. Each year, PharmaTech Outlook features "ten companies that are on the forefront of providing Contract Research Organization (CRO) consulting services and transforming businesses." Wake Research was recognized based on their efforts to end the global pandemic by providing innovative and integrated clinical research, and producing comprehensive clinical services and results, according to the overview in PharmaTech Outlook's March 2021 edition. A number of COVID-related studies are currently enrolling patient volunteers for trials at Wake Research locations across the country. For more information, visit CovidStudies.org or WakeResearch.com. About Wake Research: M3-Wake Research is an organization of integrated investigational sites, committed to excellence, working closely with and meeting the needs of the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. M3-Wake Research's 16 sites are fully equipped to meet the needs of sponsors and CROs in the conduct of Phase I-IV clinical trials in a large variety of indications. M3-Wake Research is known for effectively combining strategic volunteer recruitment, rapid trial start-up and subject enrollment/retention with high quality clinical trial conduct, using standardized operating procedures and centralized marketing and advertising to ensure rapid subject enrollment. M3-Wake Research sites have conducted more than 7,000 research studies for hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors and CROs. Wake Research's mission is to bring novel medications, biologics and device through clinical research to as many people as possible while providing unparalleled service and exceptional value to clinical trial partners and stakeholders. About M3 Inc.: M3 Inc. operates in the US, Asia, and Europe with over 4 million physician members globally via its physician websites such as mdlinx.com, m3.com, research.m3.com, doctors.net.uk, medigate.net and medlive.cn. M3 Inc. is a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO:2413) with subsidiaries in major markets including USA, UK, Japan, S. Korea, and China. M3 Inc. provides services to healthcare and the life science industry. In addition to market research, these services include medical education, ethical drug promotion, clinical development, job recruitment, and clinic appointment services. M3 has offices in Tokyo, Washington D.C., Fort Washington, PA, Oxford, London, Beijing, and Seoul. SOURCE M3 Wake Research Related Links https://wakeresearch.com ANDERSON COUNTY, SR 61 Bridge over Norfolk Southern Railway and Market Street in Clinton: SR 61 East is reduced to one lane through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this area. ANDERSON COUNTY, US 25/SR 9 Bridge over Clinch River between SR 61 and Carden Farm Drive: SR 9 northbound is reduced to one lane approaching the bridge as crews continue work in this area. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this bridge construction project. ANDERSON COUNTY, US 25/SR 9 at SR 170: Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, possible lane closures and use extreme caution through this intersection construction project. BLOUNT COUNTY, US 129 North and South between SR 35 Hall Road and Tyson Boulevard: Motorists should be alert for workers present, possible lane closures and brief stoppages of traffic through this roadway construction project. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-hall-road-to-tyson-blvd.html BLOUNT COUNTY, SR 335 Hunt Road between Ambrose Street and Ramsay Street: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures at various times as crews install utilities through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present directing traffic and use extreme caution through this area. BLOUNT COUNTY, SR 33 between Foothills Mall Drive and Henry Street: Motorists should be alert for possible nightly lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this intersection improvement construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changed conditions, and use extreme caution through this area. BLOUNT COUNTY, US 321 between Jones Avenue and Lamar Street: Motorists should be alert for possible daily lane closures as crews perform roadside work through this project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution through this area. CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 North and South between Mile Markers 135 and 142: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area. CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 North near Mile Marker 143: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning on Sundays through Thursdays through this project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area. CAMPBELL COUNTY, SR 63 between Myers Lane and Frontier Road/Woodson Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and/or 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area. CAMPBELL COUNTY, SR 90 near White Oak Road: State Route 90 in Campbell County is closed at approximately Log Mile 2.0 to all through traffic in order to remove an outcropping of rock that is currently impacting the travel way. Work is expected to last through midnight on Sunday night, March 21, 2021. Detour routes will be signed with police officers staged during daytime travel to assist motorists trying to access to and from State Route 9. Detour routes are as follows: State Route 90 will be closed to through traffic at approximately log mile 2.0 (approximately 2.0 miles East from S.R. 9/U.S. 25W or 0.8 mile West from White Oak Road). Eastbound through traffic on State Route 90, from State Route 9, will be detoured along State Route 9 to Duff Road then to Davis Creek Road to White Oak Road, then to State Route 90. Westbound through traffic will be detoured at White Oak Road then to Davis Creek Road then to Duff Road, then to State Route 9. Local traffic will be permitted access to State Route 90 from either the western end of State Route 90 (S.R.9/U.S. 25W intersection) or the eastern end of State Route 90 (White Oak Road intersection), however, State Route 90 will be closed completely between Log Mile 1.9 and Log Mile 2.1. Through traffic on State Route 90 will not be permitted during construction. Motorists should be alert for this temporary closure, follow signed detours, adjust travel plans accordingly, and use extreme caution in this area. CARTER COUNTY, US 19E/SR 37 Bridge over the Doe River and Riverview Road: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area. COCKE COUNTY, I-40 East and West between Mile Markers 443 and 447: Beginning Monday, March 22, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible temporary shoulder closures daily as crews perform geotechnical drilling through this area. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area. CLAIBORNE COUNTY, SR 63 between Old Town Creek and US 25E/SR 32: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect delays and use extreme caution through this area. GREENE COUNTY, US 11E/SR 34 both directions between Blue Springs Parkway and Forest Road in Mosheim : Motorists should be alert for lane closures and lane shifts as crews begin the first phase of bridge repair operations. These lane closures will remain in place 24/7 until repairs are complete. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, and use extreme caution in this area. This bridge repair project is estimated to be complete on or before October 31, 2021. HAMBLEN COUNTY, SR 34 near Commerce Blvd. : Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area. HAMBLEN COUNTY, SR 160 near Commerce Blvd. : Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area. JEFFERSON COUNTY, I-40 East and West between Mile Markers 410 and 414: On Sunday, March 21, 2021, motorists should be alert for a possible series of rolling roadblocks between the hours of 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. as utility crews perform overhead line installations. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, expect delays, and use extreme caution in this area. JOHNSON COUNTY, SR 167 at Log Mile 7.5 : Motorists should be alert for single lane roadway with temporary traffic signal through this slide repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area. KNOX COUNTY, Various Interstates through Knoxville: On Thursday, March 18, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible mobile lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform roadway maintenance activities. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, and use extreme caution in this area. KNOX COUNTY, US 11W/SR 1 Rutledge Pike Bridge over Norfolk Southern Railroad near Harris Road: Motorists should be alert for lane shifts and changing traffic patterns through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect potential delays, and use caution through this area. KNOX COUNTY, US 129/SR 115 Alcoa Highway between Topside Road and Maloney Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures and lane shifts as crews perform work through this project. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduce speed and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-little-river-to-maloney.html KNOX COUNTY, US 129/SR 115 Alcoa Highway between Maloney Road and Woodson Drive: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures and lane shifts as crews perform work through this project. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduce speed and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-maloney-to-woodson.html KNOX COUNTY, US 441 Broadway Viaduct between Jackson Avenue and Fifth Avenue: US 441 Broadway Viaduct over Norfolk Southern Railroad in downtown Knoxville is closed for bridge replacement. The Broadway Viaduct will be closed to all traffic for the duration of the project. During the closure, Broadway will be closed from the intersection of Oak Avenue, Worlds Fair Park, and Jackson Avenue to just north of the Depot Avenue intersection. Depot Avenue will also be closed. These closures will ensure the safety of workers and motorists as crews demolish the old bridge and reconstruct the new bridge. Primary and Local Detour Routes around the bridge closure will be in place. For detour routes and project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/broadway-viaduct.html KNOX COUNTY, US 441/SR 71 Chapman Highway between Highland View Drive and Burnett Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/chapman-highway-evans-to-burnett.html KNOX COUNTY, SR 162 Pellissippi Parkway West between I-40 and Lovell Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area. KNOX COUNTY, SR 162 Pellissippi Parkway West at Hardin Valley Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area. KNOX COUNTY, SR 332 Concord Road between Turkey Creek Road and Northshore: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and new traffic patterns through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-332-proposed-widening.html LOUDON COUNTY, SR 2 between Loudon Middle School and Carter Street: Through March 26, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. as crews shift traffic through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area. ROANE COUNTY, I-40 West between Mile Markers 340 and 344: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures at various times through this slope stabilization project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this area. SCOTT COUNTY, US 27/SR 29 between Industrial Lane and Second Avenue: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area. SEVIER COUNTY, SR 71 between US 411 and Macon Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area. SULLIVAN COUNTY, I-81 North & South between Mile Markers 57 and 63: Interstate 81 North and South is reduced to one lane in each direction near Mile Marker 59 (Colonial Heights exit) as crews perform bridge repair activities. The lanes will remain closed 24/7 throughout the project until repairs are complete. Entrance and exit ramps will remain open to and from SR 36 (Fort Henry Drive) during repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution in this area. A wide load detour is in place for restricted lane widths through this area. This bridge repair project is estimated to be complete on or before May 31, 2021. UNICOI COUNTY, I-26 West near Mile Marker 49: On Monday, March 22, 2021, motorists should be alert for a possible temporary lane closure between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. as crews perform maintenance repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution in this area . WASHINGTON COUNTY, I-26 East and West at Exit 17: Beginning at 10 p.m., Friday, March 19, 2021 through 6 a.m. Monday, March 22, 2021, the exit ramps in both directions to State Route 354 from I-26 will be restricted to right turns only at the bottom of the ramps as State Route 354 will be closed underneath I-26 as crews complete final tie-ins of the new diverging diamond intersection. Detours will be in place for motorists needing to access State Route 354 by left turn movements from the ramps. During these closure times motorists should follow signed detour routes. Motorists should be alert for new conditions, slow or stopped traffic, expect delays, and use extreme caution approaching this area. WASHINGTON COUNTY, SR 93 between Davis Road and Fire Hall Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, and use caution through this area. WASHINGTON COUNTY, SR 354 Boones Creek Road at I-26: Beginning at 10 p.m., Friday, March 19, 2021 through 6 a.m. Monday, March 22, 2021, State Route 354 will be closed to traffic underneath I-26 as crews complete final tie-ins of the new diverging diamond intersection. During this closure motorists should follow signed detour routes. Upon re-opening on Monday morning, March 22, 2021, traffic will be in its new configuration and controlled by new signalization. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns and follow new guide signs and pavement markings. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect delays and use extreme caution through this area. For information on statewide interstate construction motorists can access the Tennessee Department of Transportation SmartWay website at https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic TDOT is now on Twitter. For up to the minute traffic information in Knoxville and the Tri-Cities follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/knoxville511. For statewide travel information follow www.twitter.com/TN511 [March 18, 2021] Group of Highly-Experienced Real Estate Investors Submits Proposal to Acquire Columbia Property Trust Arkhouse Partners LLC, AS8888 LLC, an entity of The Sapir Organization, and 8F Investment Partners Pte. Ltd., which together beneficially own approximately 3.3% of Columbia Property Trust, Inc.'s (NYSE: CXP) ("Columbia" or the "Company") outstanding common stock, today sent the below letter to the Company's Board of Directors. *** March 18, 2021 The Board of Directors Columbia Property Trust, Inc. 315 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10010 Dear Members of the Board: Arkhouse Partners LLC (together with its affiliates, "Arkhouse"), AS8888 LLC, an entity of The Sapir Organization ("Sapir") and 8F Investment Partners Pte. Ltd. (together with its affiliates, "8F" and together with Arkhouse and Sapir, "we", "us" or the "Investor Group") are pleased to present a proposal to acquire 100% of the outstanding common stock of Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CXP) ("Columbia" or the "Company") for $19.50 per share in cash. We are submitting this proposal to the Board of Directors (the "Board") with the goal of facilitating a productive discussion and ultimately negotiating a mutually agreeable transaction that is in the best interest of stockholders. Arkhouse is a specialized real estate investment firm with significant experience investing across the commercial property sector. The Sapir Organization is an established, multidisciplinary real estate investor, operator and developer that has owned, developed and managed more than 7 million square feet of Manhattan real estate. 8F is a diversified, global group with expertise in asset management, private market investments, advisory and capital raising. As of the date of this letter, the Investor Group beneficially owns approximately 3.3% of Columbia's outstanding common stock. We are experienced real estate investors that believe in the long-term value of Columbia's high-quality office holdings. We have spent considerable energy and time evaluating Columbia's portfolio, operating markets, management and strategy, and have made a meaningful investment in the Company. However, we are concerned about the Company's lengthy track record of underperformance in the public market and challenges the Company faces on its current course. This general concern is compounded by Columbia's headwinds across geographies through 2021. The Company has recently guided a decrease in funds from operations, (14%-20%), a drop in same store net operating income (3%-5%) and a reduction in portfolio lease percentage (1%-6%). Ultimately, we have concluded that Columbia's stockholders are not likely to realize the value of the Company's assets in the foreseeable future if the Company remains on its current course in the public market. We believe our proposal gives the Company's stockholders - many of whom have already suffered through years of value erosion - an attractive opportunity to obtain immediate liquidity at a full and fair valuation, with a premium of approximately 29% over the closing stock price on Friday, March 12, 2021. The Board is no doubt aware that many stockholders have been forced to endure negative returns and significant losses over several horizons, including one-year (-27%), three-year (-29%) and five-year (-25%) timeframes.1 In our view, our proposal delivers full value that exceeds what the Company can be expected to achieve in the coming years based on the expected public market challenges and leadership's stated plans. We also believe our proposal would be beneficial to the Company's officers and employees, who we envision working with to grow the Company over the long-term in the more forgiving, stable private market. Notwithstanding our interest in acquiring 100% of the Company's outstanding stock, we are open to discussing the participation of the Company's officers and employees, and holders of units of Columbia Operating Partnership, L.P., in the proposed transaction (although such participation is not a condition to our proposal). We have assembled a team of experienced advisors and counsel to assist us in moving quickly and efficiently toward consummating a transaction. We have executed a term sheet for financing with a global alternative investment management firm with approximately $50 billion in assets and a long track record of lending against and investing in all types of corporate and real estate transactions.2 We are highly confident that we can arrange all necessary financing to complete the transaction, including refinancing or replacement of the Company's existing debt. Accordingly, any definitive agreement providing for the proposed transaction will not contain any financing contingencies. We are prepared to move forward with confirmatory due diligence right away. This can be done while concurrently negotiating definitive documentation and finalizing and entering into definitive agreements. We believe this can occur within the next 45-60 days if the Board is prepared to promptly enter into a good faith process. As you are aware, Arkhouse has nominated six highly-qualified candidates for election to the Board at the Company's upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Arkhouse's slate has considerable experience in the areas of corporate governance, finance, real estate investing, property management and strategic transactions. In an attempt to work constructively with the Board, Arkhouse opted to not announce its nomination for several weeks in an effort to commence a substantive, private discussion with Columbia's leadership about a mutually agreeable resolution that was in the best interest of stockholders. We remain willing to discuss a negotiated resolution involving the withdrawal of the nomination. Please note that this letter represents a non-binding indication of interest, and the proposed transaction would be subject to completion of our confirmatory due diligence, negotiation and execution of definitive agreements containing customary terms and conditions for a transaction of this type and size, and other customary conditions. We believe that the next step would be for us to meet with you to discuss this opportunity, and we propose to arrange a meeting during the week of March 22, 2021. We look forward to hearing from you and to working with you and your advisors to complete a negotiated transaction that is in the best interests of the Company's stockholders. Sincerely, Gavriel Kahane CEO and Co-Founder, Arkhouse Partners LLC Alex Sapir President & CEO, Sapir Global Corp. Stephane Farouze Chairman and Founder 8F Investment Partners Pte. Ltd. *** About Arkhouse Arkhouse is a real estate private equity firm that invests in opportunistic real estate, targeting growth while balancing capital preservation objectives. The firm focuses on U.S. gateway markets, where it sees long-term strength and stability. Coupling macroeconomic analysis with asset-level focus, Arkhouse employs sound investment strategies to deliver risk-adjusted returns for its diversified base of limited partners. Learn more at www.arkhousepartners.com. About the Sapir Organization The Sapir Organization is a multidisciplinary real estate investor, operator and developer, founded by the late Tamir Sapir and is currently led by his son, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alex Sapir. Sapir has owned, developed and managed more than 7 million square feet of Manhattan real estate, including some of the world's most iconic commercial assets throughout various cycles. The firm has 30 years of office management and development experience in New York and recently expanded to Miami. Learn more at www.sapir.com. 8F Group 8F is a global diversified group with expertise in asset management, private markets investments, advisory and capital raising. Learn more at www.8f-am.com. Certain Information Concerning the Participants Arkhouse Equities LLC, together with the other participants named herein (collectively, the "Investor Group"), intends to file a preliminary proxy statement and accompanying BLUE proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") to be used to solicit votes for the election of its slate of highly qualified director nominees at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders of Columbia Property Trust, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the "Company"). THE INVESTOR GROUP STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKOLDERS OF THE COMPANY TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER PROXY MATERIALS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SUCH PROXY MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON (News - Alert) THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. IN ADDITION, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROXY SOLICITATION WILL PROVIDE COPIES OF THE PROXY STATEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE, WHEN AVAILABLE, UPON REQUEST. REQUESTS FOR COPIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE PARTICIPANTS' PROXY SOLICITOR. The participants in the proxy solicitation are anticipated to be Arkhouse Equities LLC ("Arkhouse Equities"), Arkhouse Securities LLC ("Arkhouse Securities"), Arkhouse Partners LLC ("Arkhouse Partners"), Gavriel Kahane, AS8888 LLC ("AS8888"), TSE 88 LLC ("TSE 88"), Alex Sapir, 8F Investment Partners Pte. Ltd. ("8F IP"), Stephane M. Farouze, Isaac Barber, Gabriel K. Marans, Robert A. Spass, Lynette Tulkoff, and Shlomo Zohar. As of the date hereof, Arkhouse Equities directly owns 252,980 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the "Common Stock"). As of the date hereof, Arkhouse Securities directly owns 628,176 shares of Common Stock. Arkhouse Partners, as the manager of each of Arkhouse Equities and Arkhouse Securities, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 881,156 shares of Common Stock owned in the aggregate by Arkhouse Equities and Arkhouse Securities. Mr. Kahane, as the Manager of Arkhouse Partners, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 881,156 shares of Common Stock owned in the aggregate by Arkhouse Equities and Arkhouse Securities. As of the date hereof, TSE 88 LLC directly owns 1,431,676 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, Mr. Sapir directly owns 1,384,055 shares of Common Stock, and as the Chief Executive Officer and Preliminary Executor of an estate which is sole member of TSE 88 LLC, may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 1,431,676 shares of Common Stock owned by TSE 88 LLC. As of the date hereof, Mr. Farouze directly owns 76,935 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, Mr. Marans directly owns 6,900 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, none of AS8888, 8F IP, Isaac Barber, Robert A. Spass, Lynette Tulkoff or Shlomo Zohar beneficially own any shares of Common Stock. 1 Approximated total stockholder returns run through December 31, 2020. 2 Subject to standard due diligence, reviews and approvals. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005290/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 2021-03-18 Maeci G7 Foreign Ministers unite in condemnation of Russias continued actions to undermine Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation of Russias continued actions to undermine Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Today, seven years after Russias illegitimate and illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, we reaffirm our unwavering support for and commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. The UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter clearly state the fundamental principles of respect for the territorial integrity of any State and the prohibition of any use of force to change borders. By its use of force against the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Russia has clearly violated international law and contravened these principles. We unequivocally denounce Russias temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Russias attempts to legitimise it are not, and will not, be recognised. We condemn Russias violations of human rights on the peninsula, particularly of Crimean Tatars. We call on Russia to respect its international obligations, allow access to international monitors, and to immediately release all those who are unjustly detained. We welcome in principle Ukraines initiative to establish an International Crimean Platform to consolidate the international communitys efforts on Crimea. We also firmly oppose Russias continued destabilisation of Ukraine, especially Russias actions in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, disregarding the commitments it made under the Minsk agreements. The full implementation of the Minsk agreements is the way forward for peace. Russia is a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not a mediator. We welcome the recommitment to the ceasefire implemented on 27 July last year, which has significantly reduced violence in the conflict area. However, the conflict continues to claim lives and cause serious damage to critical infrastructure. We deplore recent military escalations by Russian backed armed formations at the line of contact. We call on the Russian Federation to stop fueling the conflict by providing financial and military support to the armed formations it backs in eastern Ukraine, as well as by granting Russian citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, and to instead ensure that steps recently taken by Ukraine aimed at helping improve peoples lives on both sides of the line of contact are reciprocated. We reaffirm the importance of respecting the ceasefire as fundamental for any progress towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We commend France and Germanys tireless efforts as part of the Normandy Format to pursue a diplomatic path to resolve the conflict and affirm our readiness to provide further support to these efforts. We call on all sides to fully implement the Minsk agreements and underscore Russias responsibility to engage constructively in the Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group with a view to achieving a fair and lasting political solution to the conflict. The G7 remains fully committed to the implementation of sanctions and will continue to stand with Ukraine in support of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. Crimea is Ukraine. Quebec Premier Francois Legault (C) speaks at a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16, 2021, at the legislature in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) Atlantic Canada Aims to Ease Travel Restrictions, as Quebec Reduces Curfew Hours New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia are planning to move forward with opening up inter-provincial travel by forming a travel bubble around mid-April, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Wednesday. Newfoundland and Labrador will join the bubble later, and travel restrictions for visitors from the rest of the country could be lifted by early July, Higgs said. Following the Atlantic Bubble agreement last November, a series of measures such as provincial boundary checkpoints were introduced that indefinitely suspended travel between the Atlantic provinces. According to a Globe and Mail report, all four Atlantic premiers joined in a discussion on Wednesday to craft a new deal, which would likely allow residents to travel more freely between the Maritime provinces without having to pre-register and self-isolate for two weeks upon entry. We agreed on the time-frame of mid-April, and were working with our public health officials to get alignment in that regard. Were all optimistic it will open, Higgs told reporters in a conference call on Wednesday, the Globe reported. The target date for the Atlantic Bubble is April 19th Premier Higgs has told Radio Canada! Great news! Wayne Long (@WayneLongSJ) March 17, 2021 New Brunswick aims to have most adults vaccinated by the end of June. Higgs said if herd immunity is adequate, the need to self-isolate upon entry to the province would be reduced, and restrictions to the rest of Canada would be lifted in July. Optimistically, it would be looking at early July, he said. Well know as we go along over the next couple of months whether well be able to achieve that schedule or not. Meanwhile, Quebec pushed back its curfew hours from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time in the red zones starting on Wednesday. Three regionsGaspesieIles-de-la-Madeleine, North Coast, and Northern Quebecwere also upgraded from orange to yellow zones, which will give residents more freedom. Additional relaxation of restrictions applies to regions that have been moved to the yellow zone, including the removal of curfews. Occupants of two private residences are now allowed to gather in homes and private spaces. Premier Francois Legault announced the changes on Tuesday, as the COVID-19 situation improves in Quebec. Legault also announced the relaxation of measures related to public spaces, including allowing cinemas and theatres in red zones to reopen on March 26. Audiences of up to 250 people will be allowed, as long as they maintain physical distance and wear masks. Places of worship in red zones will be allowed to increase service attendance from 10 to 25 people, with masks and physical distancing also required. Because the vaccination campaign is going well, Legault said, he expects everyone over 65 to have received a shot by mid-April. Although everyone who wants to be vaccinated should be able to do so by June 24, public health restrictions would not be immediately lifted, he said. A man has been filmed accidentally jumping into the car park of a police headquarters allegedly carrying a bag of illegal drugs. Officers were shocked to find a man climbing over the railing of a police station in Queensland on Wednesday. A group of tradies managed to capture footage of the situation while laughing at the man's bad luck. The man was arrested for trespassing before searching his bag and allegedly finding amphetamines, GBH, syringes, scales and a pipe. A man has been filmed accidentally jumping into the car park of a police headquarters allegedly carrying a bag of illegal drugs The incident occurred on Wednesday at the Surfer's Paradise police HQ on the Gold Coast. The 28-year-old man from Biggera Waters had attempted to flee after spotting police officers patrolling the area - who weren't even pursuing him. Police had been investigating the area around Budds Beach in an unrelated incident after finding a stolen Toyota SUV dumped just off the canals. The man ran from law enforcement and attempted to climb into a nearby car park, which just happened to belong to police. A group of tradies managed to capture footage of the situation while laughing at the man's bad luck Confused officers can be seen on CCTV footage approaching the man before handcuffing him Confused officers can be seen on CCTV footage approaching the man before handcuffing him. Upon searching his bag they allegedly found the illegal narcotics as well as syringes and scales. He was arrested and charged with trespassing and drug possession. President Joe Biden took a victory lap on Thursday, announcing that his administration would meet its goal of having 100 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office nearly six weeks early. 'Tomorrow, 58 days into our administration, we will have met my goal of administering 100 million shots to our fellow Americans,' he said during a speech at the White House. 'That's weeks ahead of schedule. And even with the setbacks we faced during the winter storms,' he said. Biden was panned for announcing a vaccination goal in January that sounded ambitious, but which the country was already on track to reach when former President Trump left office. He'll set a new goal next week. 'Next week I will announce our next goal to put shots in arms,' he said. He also warned Americans it was not a time to relax mask wearing and social distancing. 'This is a time for optimism, but it's not a time for relaxation,' he said. 'I need all of you to do your part. Wash your hands. Stay socially distance. Keep masking up.' He also asked all Americans to get vaccinated when they are able, noting it was the best way to fight variants of the coronavirus. 'Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to fight back against these variants,' he said. 'We're gonna beat this. We're way ahead of schedule. We got a long way to go.' To-date, the U.S. has given 113 million doses of vaccine. That means that nearly 95.8 million doses have been administered since Inauguration Day. An average of 2.5 million shots are being given a day, including 2.3 million Wednesday. That's an increase from the 1.4 million vaccines given on the day Biden took office, but vaccinating at the rate achieved under the Trump administration would have easily gotten the U.S. to 97 million shots given within the 100 days. At the current rate, the vaccination drive will handily meet Biden's low initial target by the end of Friday, and could even do so Thursday - more than a month early. President Joe Biden said that his administration would meet its goal of having 100 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office nearly six weeks early With 2.5 million shots going into arms on an average day in the U.S., President Biden is on track to hit his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days by Friday - more than 40 days early Given the pace, Biden could now be on track to hit 200 million shots by 100 days. The U.S. is averaging 2.5 million shots a day, a clip has more than doubled since the 900,000 a day when Biden took office. Some critics said Biden's original target of 100 million was too low. But the administration argues there was still a lot of uncertainty about the vaccine delivery system when the promise was made. The president announced last week that he will instruct all states to make all adults 18 and up eligible by May 1. Already, two states - Alaska and Mississippi - have broadened access to anyone 16 or older (though only Pfizer's shot is approved for those between 16 and 18). Several others will expand eligibility to all adults imminently. They include: Utah - April 1 Connecticut - April 5 Michigan - April 5 Colorado - sometime in April Florida - sometime in April Minnesota - sometimes in April Already, about half of U.S. states are offering vaccines to anyone who is over the age of 16 and has an underlying conditions or comorbidities - such as obesity, asthma, diabetes or heart disease - that puts them at higher risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19. According to CNN, States that are allowing these groups to get vaccinated include: California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington D.C. 'Tomorrow, 58 days into our administration, we will have met my goal of administering 100 million shots to our fellow Americans. That's weeks ahead of schedule. And even with the setbacks we faced during the winter storms,' President Biden said An average of 2.5 million shots are being given a day, including 2.3 million Wednesday. That's an increase from the 1.4 million vaccines given on the day Biden took office, but vaccinating at the rate achieved under the Trump administration would have easily gotten the U.S. to 97 million shots given within the 100 days President Joe Biden takes off his faces mask to speak about COVID-19 vaccinations, in the East Room of the White House In the rest of the country, people over 65, health care workers and long-term care facility residents can get vaccinated. Even with limited eligibility in much of the country, more than 22 percent of Americans have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. And 12 percent of people in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated. Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance issued last week, these people can now spend time with others who are fully vaccinated indoors, and see unvaccinated, low-risk people from one other household. The pace of vaccinations has picked up considerably, but the U.S. rollout still lags behind those of other countries. Seychelles, Maldives and Israel have all given at least one dose to more than half their populations. The UK has given one dose to more than a third of its residents, but only 2.6 percent are fully vaccinated. This may be a result of the country's 'delayed dosing' practice, which allows Britons to wait up to 12 weeks between their first and second shots, in an effort to get at least some protection to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. UK officials had planned to open vaccine eligibility to people under 50 who have no comorbidities, but now it is facing a major shortage of doses that's delayed that plan. Cut to supply is expected to last about four weeks and is due to delays on millions of doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine which were due to ship to the UK from India. And it could leave Britons waiting even longer for their second dose and stall the nation's progress toward herd immunity. Despite its sluggish start, the U.S. is now on track to reach herd immunity - meaning 75 percent of the population will be protected with two doses of vaccine - within five months. New hurdles may lie ahead, however. Public health experts have warned that the pace of vaccinations could plateau next not due to supply issues, but because there may be a faction of vaccine hesitant Americans among younger age groups. Already, this is becoming evident in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. The Native American tribe raced ahead with highly successful community vaccination programs and enthusiastic elders. But now, things have slowed and the Nation is struggling to find recipients for its doses, according to the New York Times. Nonetheless, vaccine shipments keep growing in the U.S. The federal government shipped nearly 16.2 million doses of vaccines this week, according to tracking from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Allocations for the week of March 15 did not include doses from Johnson & Johnson, which shipped its full stockpile of about four million doses of the one-shot vaccine immediately following authorization on February 27. Deliveries from J&J are expected to be 'uneven' for the rest of March. White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told governors on a Tuesday call that most of this week's supply will be from Moderna and Pfizer, although some J&J shots will begin to go out again. Still, he said that next week, the allotments will increase even further, to 22 million doses sent to all states and territories. The U.S. supply could increase even further next month, if the FDA authorizes AstraZeneca and Oxford University's vaccine, although the shot is currently mired in controversy in Europe amid concerns it may cause blood clots and the aforementioned shortages in the UK. However, the U.S. has a stockpile of 100 million doses it already purchased from the firm, which are sitting in storage. The Biden administration is now under pressure from poorer countries that have approved the AstraZeneca vaccine already, but have limited supply. It's for this reason that Mexico has requested that the U.S. share its surplus. A response from the Biden administration is expected by Friday. RAMALLAH, West Bank The archaeological site of Khirbet Balama contains the ruins of an ancient fortified Canaanite city. The location, at the southern entrance to the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, is a historical crossroads in Wadi Balama, which connects the Plain of Araba with the Marj Ibn Amer Valley. Khaled Rabaiah, head of the directorate of tourism and antiquities in Jenin governorate, told Al-Monitor, Khirbet Balama is known in ancient texts as Abliam and was mentioned in the Royal Archives of Egypt in the fifteenth century B.C. The site was a major city in the Bronze Age and early Iron Age. It survived the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic periods, as well as the Crusader/Ayyubid and the Ottoman dynasties. He said, The Balama tunnel is one of the most important archaeological elements discovered at the Khirbet Balama site, and it is one of the longest water tunnels in Palestine. It is one of the most unique and distinctive examples of the concealed water systems that were common in ancient cities at the end of the Bronze Age in Palestine. Similar systems were discovered in Jerusalem. The water system connected a natural spring to the city center through a tunnel and also served as a hidden escape route during wars and sieges. At other times in its history, the tunnel had been used to house horses. Rabaiah said that the tunnel was discovered in 1996 during the expansion of the main street connecting the cities of Jenin and Nablus, and after its initial discovery urgent excavations were carried out at the entrance to the tunnel. In 1998, he noted, two-year extensive excavations were carried out as part of a joint project between the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Leiden University in the Netherlands. He noted that the tunnel consists of three parts, namely the domed lower entrance, the ascending runway part that is cut into the rocks and the upper narrow corridor built with stones. The length of the explored section of the water tunnel is 115 meters (377 feet), 105 meters (344 feet) of which is cut into rocks. The ascending runway consists of 57 steps, where a series of restoration works took place, followed by a project to rehabilitate the tunnel as a tourist site in 2005, after which it was opened as an archaeological park for visitors. Rabaiah pointed out that the excavations revealed a huge structure that stood at the entrance to the tunnel, which consisted of a series of rooms, courtyards and stairways dating back to different eras, and that excavations at the site also revealed parts of city walls dating back to the Bronze Age, and the remains of houses from the Iron Age II, a grape press from the Roman period and remains of a tower from the Frankish and Ayyubid dynasties. The site is of great historical importance, but it is not yet ready to welcome visitors, as excavations need to be completed and its facilities need to be equipped to accomodate tourists. Rabaiah noted that since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the Palestinian territories in March 2020, no tourists have visited the site; only one employee and a guard are there to protect the site. He added that the tunnel needs some restoration works, while excavations need to be completed and some facilities such as a museum and a cafeteria need to be established, all of which require large financial resources. Rabaiah said that the lack of financial resources is impeding works at the site, especially since parts of the water tunnel have not yet been uncovered, as well as elements of Khirbet Balama, which extends over an area of about 120 dunams (30 acres). He noted that once this site is turned into a sizeable archaeological park, its facilities and the many visitors it will receive would boost the local economy. Director of Excavations at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Jihad Yassin told Al-Monitor that 65% of Khirbet Balama has been excavated. He explained that there are still approximately 50 meters (164 feet) left to reach the end of the water tunnel, based on the expectations and the studies that have been carried out. In addition to the lack of financial resources, Yassin said that another reason hindering further exploration is the nature in the area and the fractures in the rocks, pointing out that the physical surveys conducted in the area showed the existence of subterranean voids, which means that parts of the tunnel are yet to be discovered. Completing excavation works at the site requires modern equipment that can help in exploring the extension of the tunnel and the remaining parts of Khirbet Balama, Yassin added. He noted that some of the site is on private property owned by citizens, so either excavation works need to be discussed with the landowners first or a decision needs to be issued to make it a public space and turn it into an archaeological park. He said that understandings had been reached with the owners to carry out previous excavations. Yassin said that the sites acquisition requires large sums of money to compensate its owners, given the large size of the land and the high prices in that area, as it lies at the entrance to a vital city in the northern West Bank. He added that there is no danger to the site from theft or illegal excavations, since it is protected, despite being privately owned, but the antiquities are considered public property that no one may dispose of. He stressed that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has placed the sites acquisition on its agenda, and that may be done by either buying the land from the owners or giving them government land in exchange. It has long been held by biologists that a fetus requires a living uterus to grow. That might not be the case anymore. The Synthetic Uterus The embryos of the mouse looked perfectly okay. All their organs were growing as anticipated, coupled with their limbs and nervous and circulatory systems. The mouse's little hearts were beating at 170 beats per minute, which is normal. But these mouse embryos were not developing in a mother mouse. The embryos were grown inside a synthetic uterus, researchers reported on Wednesday that this is the first time such a feat has been achieved. The tests conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel were done to assist researchers know how mammals grow and how mutations of the gene, nutrients, and environmental states may have an effect on the fetus. But the work may one day bring great questions about whether humans or other animals should or could be developed beyond a living womb. ALSO READ: Smart Animals: Sick Mouse Shy Away From Their Group to Prevent Transmission Taking Away Embryos From the Mouse Uteruses In a research released in the journal Nature, Dr. Jacob Hanna talked about taking away embryos from the mouse uteruses at five days of incubation and developing them for six more days in synthetic wombs The mouse embryos were about midway through their maturity at that point, and their full maturation is about 20 days. At this stage of development, a human would be called a fetus. Till now, Dr. Hanna and his co-workers have developed over 1,000 embryos using this method. "It really is an outstanding accomplishment," according to the developmental biologist, Paul Tesar from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Director of Genome Regulation, Alexander Meissner from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Germany, Berlin, made known that "getting to this point is impressive" and that the research was an important milestone. But the study has already advanced past what the investigators talked about in the paper. Dr. Hanna said in an interview that he and his co-workers had collected fertilized eggs from the female mice's oviducts just after reproduction at 0 days of development and had developed them in the synthetic uterus for 11 days. Embryos Need a Living Womb Ever since scientists were able to fertilize eggs from animals in the lab and develop them for only a short period of time. They (embryos) need a living womb. "animals with placenta grow kept away in the uterus," according to Dr. Tesar. That stopped researchers from giving answers to major questions about the earliest development stages. The only way to know how tissues and organs develop was to take a look at species like frogs, flies, and worms that do not require a uterus, or to take away embryos from the uteruses of animals experimented at different times, showing sight of development. What was required was a way to have a view of what's going on in the uterus, viewing and imitating development in animals as it is happening. The embryos of mice are kept inside incubators, where they drift in exceptional nutrient fluid. RELATED ARTICLE: Oops! Tiny Mouse Causes Big Trouble in British Airways Plane For more news, updates about mouse and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! Berlin, March 18 : German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Thursday said that the military is ready to open its own coronavirus vaccination centres that will operate around the clock. Speaking to weekly business newspaper Wirtschaftswoche, Kramp-Karrenbauer said the 'Bundeswehr' (armed forces) centres could be operational within a very short time but the decision was in the hands of Health Minister Jens Spahn, reports dpa news agency. "We have been preparing for additional support by Bundeswehr forces for the vaccination of the population since November 2020," she told the newspaper. "The Bundeswehr can operate 28 vaccination centres (that will operate) seven days a week, day and night," the Minister said. She added that this could result in the administration of an additional 20,000 vaccine doses daily. The German government has come under fire for the slow pace of the vaccination effort, which was launched in December 2020. As of Thursday, Germany has reported a total of 2,610,769 coronavirus cases and 74,043 deaths. Families of six young Nigerians extra-judicially killed in June 2005 by some police officers in Abuja, have asked for fresh N200 million compensation each. Amobi Nzelu, a lawyer representing two complainants Elvis Ozor and Edwin Meniru who are acting on behalf of the families of Ifeanyi Ozor and five others killed by the police over 15 years ago, made the case for a fresh compensation before the panel investigating police brutality in Abuja on Wednesday. The panel was constituted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in the aftermath of last years #EndSARS protests by Nigerian youths demanding an end to police brutality perpetrated by men of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units. Fresh demands Mr Nzelu, on Wednesday, informed the 11-man panel led by Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, that the Federal Government had paid N3 million to each of the families of the deceased persons in compliance with the recommendation of a panel set up by then President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The panel then headed by Olasunbo Goodluck, who was then a chief magistrate of Lagos State, but now a judge of the FCT High Court, had indicted some police officers for the killing. It had also recommended the exhumation of the bodies of the deceased for a befitting burial. Mr Nzelu, however, told Mr Galadima-led panel that the recommendation of the old panel that N500,000 be paid to each of the deceased persons families for burial expenses had not been complied with by the Federal Government. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria therefore pleaded with the panel to make an order compelling the Federal Government to upgrade the N3 millilon compensation already paid and received by the affected families to N200 million per family. Mr Nzelu stated that the N3 million was grossly inadequate to assuage the pains suffered by families of these young men because none of the victims was above 25 years of age when their lives were cut short by the police. The deceased, while they lived, were the breadwinners of their various families he added. The lawyer, who was also counsel for the deceaseds families at the inquiry conducted by the Ms Goodluck-led panel, conceded that the Federal Government prosecuted some police officers who were indicted by the panel. He noted that two of the accused were convicted at the end of a 13-year trial, while the rest were discharged and acquitted. The convicts were Emmanuel Baba and Ezekiel Acheneje. The respondents to the fresh petition include, Danjuma Ibrahim, a former deputy commissioner of police at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command, who was tried along with Messrs Baba and Acheneje, but was discharged and acquitted. The rest of the respondents are police officers also from the FCT police command: Suleiman Audu, an inspector; Haruna Marmot, Ibrahim Garba, Yakubu Philibus, as well as the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT command and the Inspector General of Police (IGP). Police react Meanwhile, the lead counsel for the Nigerian Police, James Idachaba, said Mr Galadima-led panel lacked the power to hear the fresh petition by the victims families. He said the panel was set up by the Federal Government to investigate live issues and not matters already decided by competent authorities. According to Mr Idachaba, the matter has been comprehensively laid to rest by both the then judicial panel of inquiry and the FCT High Court presided over by the immediate past Chief Judge of FCT High Court, Ishaq Bello. Mr Idachaba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), further stated that bringing the complainants before the panel amounted to asking the current panel to review the decision of Olasunbo Goodlucks panel and the judgement of the FCT High Court which he noted was not the position of the law. ADVERTISEMENT He said the only option left for the complainants was to appeal the judgement of the FCT High Court. Besides, he told the panel that the petitioners counsel did not show any proof that the N500,000 for the burial expenses of the deceased was not paid to each of the deceased persons families as claimed. Panel reserves ruling After listening to both sides, the panel fixed April 15 to take a decision based on the documents submitted by the complainants. The documents among others include the judgment of the FCT High Court on the matter and the white paper on the Goodluck panel referred to by the complainants. Apo Six killing Five young Nigerians dealing in auto-spare parts in Apo, a satellite town of Abuja, and a young lady, were extra-judicially killed by police officers on the night of June 7, 2005. The victims, Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyi Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike, and Augustina Arebu, were returning from a night club when they were stopped at a police checkpoint. Four of the six died on the spot where they were initially attacked by the police, but two of them, Mr Nwokike and Ms Arebu, survived but were later killed by the two convicted police officers in the early hours of June 8, 2005. The police had claimed that the victims, aged between 21 and 25, were members of an armed robbery gang who had opened fire on the officers when flagged down at the checkpoint. But a judicial panel of inquiry set up the Goodluck panel rejected the claim by the police and recommended the trial of the six officers it indicted for the killing. The indicted officers are Danjuma Ibrahim, (a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) at the time) who was said to have ordered the shooting of the victims, Othman Abdulsalami (said to be at large), Nicholas Zakaria, Ezekiel Acheneje, Baba Emmanuel, and Sadiq Salami. But only Mr Acheneje and Mr Emmanuel were convicted for the killing in a judgment delivered by the FCT High Court on March 9, 2017. The court set Mr Danjuma and two others free for lack of evidence indicting them in the killing. Families in anguish Meanwhile the families of the victims remain in anguish. Every June 7, PREMIUM TIMES chronicles the tragic killing of the Apo Six. Families of the victims also gather at the Gimbiya junction in area 11, Abuja, the area where their loved ones were gunned down, in memory of the deceased. Elvis Ozor, the younger brother to Ifeanyi Ozoro, one of the Apo Six victims, told PREMIUM TIMES, in October last year, that the families were going to file a fresh complaint to the NHRC for the Apo Six case to be revisited. He said they deserved to be duly compensated since the court declared their loved ones innocent. Once again, we will intensify efforts to get justice for our loved ones especially now that cases of police brutality and extra-judicial killings is (are) on the front burner, Mr Ozor had said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:16:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Just ahead of the high-level strategic dialogue between the United States and China in Alaska, Washington on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions against Chinese officials, which once again revealed the bullying and hegemonic nature of the world's sole superpower. Last week, China's top legislature adopted a decision on improving Hong Kong's electoral system, which, passed by an overwhelming majority vote, has demonstrated the common aspiration of the 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, to safeguard national security and ensure stability in Hong Kong. However, Washington claimed that the actions of the designated officials "have reduced Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy" and released an update to the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" with new sanctions. Flouting international laws and the basic norms of international relations, the wayward move represented the latest episode of the United States' unscrupulous interference in China's internal affairs. Improving Hong Kong's electoral system is one of such internal affairs, in which foreign countries have no right to interfere. The aim of improving the electoral system is to ensure the effective implementation of the fundamental principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong." China's National People's Congress' decision will effectively prevent anti-China disruptors from utilizing the loopholes in the current electoral system, and fundamentally safeguard Hong Kong's political stability and security. Meanwhile, it is a basic and internationally-acknowledged political principle that only patriots can govern. The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed an election reform bill targeting its voting procedures. Then why, when China improved Hong Kong's electoral system, did the United States recklessly meddle in China's internal affairs and even impose sanctions? For a long time, the United States has been addicted to sanctioning others, but the sanctions will never intimidate China. "America's excessive reliance on sanctions will come back to haunt it," political commentator Fareed Zakaria wrote as the title for his opinion piece published in The Washington Post last August. The so-called sanctions announced by the United States are part of its plot that the country and the West would like to employ to contain China. Some politicians do not want to see prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, and tend to use Hong Kong as a leverage to disrupt China's development. The United States' hegemonic acts targeting Chinese officials and Hong Kong affairs have sent a completely wrong message to the international community. Washington will see that sanctions are never an effective tool to pressure China, including those ahead of the Alaska meeting. Enditem We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Indigo Diabetes Initiates First Clinical Study of its Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensor Ground-breaking subcutaneous sensor aims to continuously monitor multiple metabolites including ketones in people living with diabetes BELGIUM - Ghent, March 18, 2021 - Indigo Diabetes N.V. ('Indigo' or the 'Company'), a pioneering developer of medical solutions using nanophotonics, announces that its continuous multi-metabolite ('CMM') sensor has been successfully implanted subcutaneously in the first three participants of its first clinical study, designed to evaluate the device. Indigo's CMM sensor is in development for the continuous measurement of glucose, ketone and lactate levels in people living with diabetes. Indigo is developing its CMM sensor as part of a next generation of Continuous Glucose Monitoring ('CGM') systems, designed to give people living with diabetes access to information on their glucose and other metabolite levels at any given time, without requiring them to wear an external device on their body. The GLOW study), will be conducted at the Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium, and will enroll seven participants. It is a prospective, single-center early feasibility study designed to evaluate the safety of the sensor and the short-term integration into the tissue. Professor Christophe De Block, Principal Investigator of the Study at Antwerp University Hospital added: "It is essential that people with diabetes are able to accurately monitor their metabolite levels to prevent fluctuations that can seriously affect their health. At the moment ketones cannot be monitored, which means that people living with diabetes are unaware of the levels of this important metabolite, making them potentially vulnerable to ketoacidosis. The GLOW study will help us take a first step towards providing a potentially transformative new solution for these patients." Dr Danae Delbeke, CEO, Inventor and Co-founder of Indigo Diabetes N.V. commented: "Initiating our first clinical trial is a momentous event for everyone at Indigo Diabetes, and we are thrilled to be passing this significant milestone as a business. Our CMM sensor technology could revolutionise the experience of patients with diabetes reliant on constant and exhausting monitoring regimes to stay healthy. We look forward to updating the diabetes community on our progress in due course." Further details on the GLOW Study The GLOW study will recruit three healthy subjects, and four subjects with type 1 diabetes. Participants receiving the CMM sensor will have the sensor inserted up to 10 mm deep in the subcutaneous abdominal tissue using local anaesthetic. The sensor will remain in situ for 30 days after which it will be removed. Each participant has 6 measurement visits planned over the 30-day insertion period, during which data for glucose, lactate and ketone levels is collected and compared to applicable standards under controlled circumstances (hypo/hyperglycemia, anaerobic exercise, ketogenic conditions and during administration of potential interferents such as NSAIDS, vitamin C). - Ends - About Indigo Diabetes N.V. Indigo Diabetes N.V. . About Indigo Diabetes's CMM sensor Indigo Diabetes's CMM sensor is a small spectrometer-on a-chip to monitor in-vivo simultaneously and continuously multiple metabolites. The inert, miniature integrated silicon photonics spectrometer chip measures the absorption of light in the interstitial fluid to quantify the concentration of multiple metabolites simultaneously without the use of enzymes or fluorophores. Once inserted under the skin the CMM sensor is invisible to the naked eye and will connect securely and wirelessly to mobile devices to show and capture the concentration profiles of the metabolites for the user. A rechargeable sensor battery powers the measurements. It is expected that the sensor will have a lifetime up to 2 years. Preclinical studies have successfully demonstrated proof of concept with promising accuracy. Contacts Indigo Diabetes N.V. Dr Danae Delbeke, CEO Email: info@indigomed.com Financial Communications Consilium Strategic Comminications Amber Fennell, Ashley Tapp, Priit Piip Tel: +44 MOSCOW, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A Russian-German research team has created a quantum sensor that grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in qubits. The study by NUST MISIS, Russian Quantum Center and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, published in npj Quantum Information, may pave the way for quantum computing. In quantum computing the information is encoded in qubits. Qubits (or quantum bits), the quantum mechanical analogue of a classical bit, are coherent two-level systems. A leading qubit modality today superconducting qubits based on the Josephson junction. That is the kind of qubit IBM and Google used in their quantum processors. However, scientists are still searching for the perfect qubit - the one that can be precisely measured and controlled, while remaining unaffected by its environment. The key element of a superconducting qubit is the nanoscale superconductor-insulator-superconductor Josephson junction. A Josephson junction is a tunnel junction made of two pieces of superconducting metal separated by a very thin insulating barrier. The most commonly used insulator is aluminum oxide. Modern techniques do not allow to build a qubit with 100% precision, resulting in so-called tunneling two-level defects that limit the performance of superconducting quantum devices and cause computational errors. Those defects contribute to a qubit's extremely short life span, or decoherence. Tunneling defects in aluminum oxide and at surfaces of superconductors are an important source of fluctuations and energy losses in superconducting qubits, ultimately limiting the computer run-time. The more material defects occur, the more they affect the cubit's performance, causing more computational errors, the researchers noted. The new quantum sensor grants access to measurement and manipulation of individual two-level defects in quantum systems. According to Prof. Alexey Ustinov, Head of the Laboratory for Superconducting Metamaterials at NUST MISIS and Group Head at Russian Quantum Center, who co-authored the study, the sensor itself is a superconducting qubit, and it allows the detection and manipulation of individual defects. Traditional techniques for studying material structure, such as small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), are not sensitive enough to spot small individual defects, therefore using those techniques won't help to build the best qubit. The study may open avenues for quantum material spectroscopy to investigate the structure of tunneling defects and to develop low-loss dielectrics that are urgently required for the advancement of superconducting quantum computers, the researchers believe. Link: https://en.misis.ru/university/news/science/2021-03/7259/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/955872/NUST_MISIS_Logo.jpg BRATTLEBORO Changes to Representative Town Meeting are being pushed by some Town Meeting members. I want more than just a jamboree class reunion, said Gary Stroud, a Town Meeting member and member of the activist group Brattleboro Common Senses board of directors. Lets see how we can collaborate in District 1, 2 and 3. Stroud is suggesting having more meetings each year and potentially creating a warrant committee, an idea proposed as a one-year experiment in an op-ed by Chris Grotke on ibrattleboro.com as a way for more voters to be involved and give more authority to Town Meeting members. Grotke said 15 or more Town Meeting members would consider budget requests and deem what appropriations are necessary for the proposed budget, relieving the Select Board of the heavy workload of budgeting and allowing it to spend more time on policy. In his view, that would lead to more interest in Town Meeting member positions and those elections in general. And if 10 voters were allowed to get something on the agenda, the problems and confusion of advisory motions at the end of the meeting might be dispensed with, he wrote, adding that Town Meeting members would need to pay closer attention to the operation of the town throughout the year, and the Warrant Committee would give the informational sessions to fellow Town Meeting members each year rather than the Select Board. Stroud said hed like to kick the idea around a little at annual RTM being held via Zoom on Saturday. He wants to bring it up to the Select Board and Town Attorney Bob Fisher as well. At a Select Board meeting held remotely Tuesday, Stroud asked if recommendations in the Community Safety Review report commissioned by the town to look at policing and other systems would be discussed Saturday. He had been hoping to talk about them but theyre not on the warning, although he anticipates there will be discussion when progress on implementation is reported at upcoming board meetings. He would like Town Meeting members to have more say in crafting the RTM warning. For years, BCS board member Kurt Daims has been trying to organize a united effort to have Town Meeting members bring forward more proposals at annual Representative Town Meeting rather than just vote on articles warned by the Select Board. He likes to point to a section in the town charter which calls RTM a guiding body for the town and a source of proposals, ideas and commentary. I think when our problems are big and getting bigger, we need to have those people at RTM, he said. All those people who want to help, we need them. After feeling disrespected about what he sees as a lack of urgency around a climate emergency declaration his group has proposed for years, Daims said he wants reform for RTM. He recalled a resolution his group proposed from the floor in 2010 aimed to have the town invest in Cow Power, a Green Mountain Power program where electric customers pay 4 cents more per kilowatt on their bills with the extra money going to pay farmers to convert methane on their farms into electricity. It was soundly beat, I think by 2-1, he said. The following year a similar resolution was defeated by what Daims called a less discouraging vote. He said for a couple of years afterwards, there wasnt a quorum left for other business, which is reserved for the end of the meeting. At RTM in March 2019, a nonbinding resolution from his group for the town to invest in renewable sources such as Cow Power passed under other business. An article encouraging renewable energy sources be sought for new and renovated municipal buildings endorsed by 350 Vermont, a climate activist group, also was approved in a town-wide vote the same month. Daims said it has taken three years for the town to move forward with the resolution and invest in Cow Power. He believes it was unnecessarily delayed. After RTM, town staff started looking into Cow Power or subsidizing a local renewable energy project. Citing the complexity of energy issues, staff suggested the town sustainability coordinator and Energy Committee take the lead, a move supported by the Select Board in February 2020. Brattleboro invests in Cow Power, commits to new green energy fund BRATTLEBORO -- A compromise among Select Board members led to a smaller investment in a prog Earlier this month, the board voted unanimously to purchase 6 percent of its electricity every year through Cow Power and create a new clean energy fund. Daims said he has mixed feelings about the decision, worrying the fund is just a way to save money rather than address climate issues and wanting the towns entire electric portfolio to be completely renewable. With the purchase of Cow Power approved by the board, the town can claim to be completely carbon neutral in its electricity. At the meeting where the board opted to participate in Cow Power, Board Chairman Tim Wessel said Daims planted a seed that has grown but Daims didnt feel his group or RTM received enough credit. He wanted to be more included in the discussion, saying he could answer questions the Energy Committee did not. Daims has expressed frustration with other business being reserved for the end of the meeting, when it becomes less likely to have a quorum, and how items approved during this time are not considered binding. At the informational meeting last week, he voiced displeasure with time being limited for caucuses when new Town Meeting members are nominated and issues are discussed within each district, whereas theres no deadline for concluding talk on the articles warned by the board. Daims also compared muting people on Zoom, a practice used until someone is recognized to speak, to gagging them. He said there are some privileged motions such as a point of order that need to be called out immediately. Rikki Risatti, another Town Meeting member, has called for a signal used on the teleconferencing platform to indicate a point of order. But the idea was deemed impractical by the town moderator as it would require constant scrolling through a list of participants to look for the signal on top of other tasks being performed by the assistant town manager. At 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, Daims plans to hold Zoom meetings for people who want to discuss RTM and related issues. Links will be provided by contacting info@BrattleboroCommonSense.org. The minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye has given the strongest signal that government is committed to completing the abandoned 1,500 units of the controversial Saglemi affordable housing project. According to the minister, government is leaving nothing to chances to find funds to complete the structure for habitation by Ghanaians soon. Former President John Dramani Mahama administration started the 5,000 unit affordable housing project in 2012. However, the project stalled over allegations of misappropriation of funds. The project has since been characterised with controversy as the government accused the Mahama government of supervising a corrupt deal that shortchanged the public purseallegations appointees in the Mahama administration denied. Prior to that, somewhere in May 2019, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice recommended to the Works and Housing Ministry to refer the project to the appropriate authorities for criminal investigations and prosecution. The original contract, according to the AG signed under the NDC administration was supposed to deliver some 5,000 affordable housing units to Ghanaians at the cost of $200 million. However, the contract was revised to deliver 1,502 affordable houses at the same cost of $200 million. Information and document reportedly exposed the allegations of corruption with the issue referred to appopriate investigative bodies for criminal prosecution after auditing the work done by the Brazilian contractor. However, speaking after a tour of the housing site in the Ningo-Pramrpam District of the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday to ascertain some of the major projects under the ministry, the newly appointed minister, Mr Asenso Boakye, said that his outfit is expecting a performance review on the Saglemi Housing Project within two months; thus by the end of March 2020 for the completion of the audit. According to him, the Ministry has taken steps to ensure the early completion of the project in the interest of the citizenry. He revealed that some potential developers who have submitted financial arrangements are being considered. First of all, I want to send a signal that government is committed to continue with project to see to it completion regardless of the challenges. I will engage the technical people and the investors who have showed interest in the project. He believes that although some work has been done at the site but believes that more works needed to be done before habitation. The minister acknowledges that the project was a great idea but have problem with the conception, design and how the implementation were done. I think some work has been done but a lot more has to be done. Weve invested close to $200 million into this project and this is where we are. The project I believe was a great idea but the conception, design and implementation did not go well at all and that is why we have find ourselves in this situation. Like I said, I am committed to put the past behind us and chart a new way forward because with over 1,000 housing units are completed then it is a big step forward tackling the housing deficit. The Minister declined commenting on the matters of scope of work done which is under criminal investigation but stated that government is going to find an innovative way to find funds to complete the project. In total 636 housing units have been fully completed and could be occupied if the necessary infrastructure and services are provided on site. The remaining 388 housing units are at various stages of completion. The first phase, the scope of works included the construction of 1,502 housing units with infrastructure and layout works. This indicated a total reduction of housing units by 3,498 from the initial contract of 5000 units. The actual distribution of the proposed houses and apartments were always meant to consist of 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom units, categorized as Social Housing, Affordable, Mid-range and Premium. 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. Featured Video PHOENIX, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sandra Day O'Connor Institute For American Democracy will present a complimentary online public forum Constitution Series: Equality and Justice for All on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at 1 p.m. EDT. The webcast, open to the public, will feature Dr. Carla Hayden, the nation's 14th Librarian of Congress who has served under three presidential administrations. Dr. Hayden will speak on the topic of Enriching America's Stories: Expanding Diverse Collections. Guest moderator for the forum will be Chevy Humphrey, President and CEO of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and a member of the Institute's Board of Directors. Sandra Day O'Connor Institute For American Democracy Dr. Hayden will provide insight into the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery in 1865, ratified by Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Additionally, she will discuss "Of the People: Widening the Path," a new program funded by the Mellon Foundation which creates new opportunities for more Americans to engage with the Library of Congress and add their perspectives to the Library's collections. Of The People will allow the national library to share a more inclusive American story and expand the Library's efforts to ensure that a diversity of experiences is reflected in our historical record and how we might use those materials to better understand our past. The Constitution Series was launched by the Institute in 2020 to convene civil dialogue and foster solutions. With core values of inclusivity, civility and collaboration, the organization founded by Justice O'Connor believes that the expressed ideals of this great nation require exploring issues of injustice. The series hopes to broaden perspectives and increase understanding through thoughtful listening, mutual respect and shared purpose. Justice O'Connor has stated that "in order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity." Following Justice O'Connor's retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, she founded the O'Connor Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization to advance American democracy through multigenerational civil discourse, civic engagement and civics education. For more information and to register for the free webcast, visit www.OConnorInstitute.org. Media Contact: Heather Schader | 602-730-3300 x8 | [email protected] | @SDOInstitute Related Images library-of-congress.jpg Library of Congress SOURCE Sandra Day O'Connor Institute For American Democracy By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press BOISE A fourth lawmaker in the Idaho House of Representatives has tested positive for COVID-19 in less than a weeks time and just as the Legislature is debating a bill that would ban local governments from requiring that people wear masks. The increasing number of lawmakers out sick with coronavirus has legislative leaders in the conservative state worried they may not be able to finish business in a timely fashion. Of course Im concerned, Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke said Wednesday, before the announcement of the fourth COVID-19 diagnosis among his colleagues. Bedke wasnt wearing a face-covering but put one on before getting in an elevator in the statehouse. Were re-emphasizing the safety protocols. We also want to be done by the end of the month. I guess well just see how it goes, he said. A major goal of GOP lawmakers in the Legislature this session has been curbing the emergency powers of the Republican governor to respond to things like pandemics. Legislators have floated several proposals that would restrict Gov. Brad Littles ability to make sweeping directives in the future. Republican Rep. Julie Yamamoto said Thursday she tested positive Wednesday afternoon and immediately left the statehouse. She had been on the House floor earlier in the day without a mask as lawmakers debated a huge tax-cut bill. All four lawmakers out with the illness are Republicans who rarely or never wear masks. I actually feel fine, Yamamoto said. The coughing is the worst thing. And I was doing that before with just the asthma and allergies. She said a doctor told her Friday the cough was from seasonal allergies, but she decided to get tested anyway. As soon as I got the result, I packed up and went home, she said. She said she had been persistently coughing during the week but mostly isolated in her office at the statehouse. She said she never wears a face-covering. Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug tested positive last week. Republican Reps. Lance Clow and Ryan Kerby tested positive shortly after and stopped going to the statehouse this week. In Oregon, lawmakers are mostly conducting business remotely. The public is barred from entering the Capitol and lawmakers and staffers who come to the building are required to wear masks and maintain safe distancing. In Boise, the flurry of positive tests comes as health officials in southwestern Idaho are seeing an increasing number of people infected with the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 first identified in the United Kingdom. Dr. David Peterman, a pediatrician and CEO of Primary Health Medical Group, said 30% of positive tests on Wednesday at the health groups facilities in southwestern Idaho were the variant. The variant is clearly in our community and increasing, he said. He said anyone working at the statehouse should be wearing a mask. The Idaho House has 70 members in all, and on weekends they typically travel home to all parts of the state. The Senate has 35 members, and two of them have been out with COVID-19 but recovered and returned to the statehouse. -- Associated Press Posted Thursday, March 18, 2021 2:09 am Lucy (Rietdyk) Hegge, 67, of Ridgefield, Wash., passed away March 4, 2021, after a hard fought battle with lymphoma. Lucy was born Feb. 10, 1954, in Vancouver, Wash., to Elisabeth and Segert Rietdyk. She graduated in 1972 from Ridgefield High School, then went on to Clark College. She married her high school sweetheart, Don Hegge in 1974, and they were able to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary with family and friends just a few days earlier. Lucy worked at Halton Tractor after college and later ran the family business, Rietdyks Milling Company. She is survived by her husband, Don; sons, Scott (Lori Barton), and Keith Hegge; and grandchildren, Kaden, Nehemiah, (their mother, Liz Carlston), Willow and Luna Lucille (upcoming granddaughter); her mother, Elisabeth Rietdyk; brother, Robert (Paula); and sister in-law, Joni Rietdyk; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws. Lucy was preceded in death by her father, Segert Rietdyk; son, Justin Hegge; and brother, Leonard Rietdyk. Described as a community icon and natural-born leader, she championed countless fundraisers for the community and volunteered for many organizations that she was passionate about. She was very generous with both her time and talents and was always mentoring employees, family and friends. One of her biggest passions was 4-H. A life-long 4-H member, she was the 1974 Clark County Dairy Princess and culminated her love of 4-H by volunteering as the Clark County Fair 4-H Dairy Barn Superintendent. The world will sorely miss our Lucy. She had a style all her own; unassuming yet so accomplished. She loved life, always had 10 irons in the fire and when she set her mind to something she accomplished it. She was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Lucy left us way too soon, and we are at a loss of words to express how big of a hole her absence has created. All who loved her say they are blessed with so many wonderful memories and stories to fill the void. There will be a private memorial service for Lucy at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 14, 2021, that will be live streamed. The service can be found on YouTube by searching "Celebrating the Life of Lucy (Rietdyk) Hegge." In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lucy Hegge memorial fund. This fund will be partnered with her brother, Leonards memorial fund, which was near and dear to Lucys heart. This fund supports local youth and their commitment to farming and agriculture. Donations may be made at any Columbia Credit Union. ATLANTA (AP) An appeals court has thrown out an $8 million jury verdict awarded to the family of a stuntman who was fatally injured while filming an episode of The Walking Dead in 2017. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that civil claims brought by the parents of stuntman John Bernecker were barred by the Workers Compensation Act. Berneckers family sued AMC Networks, production company Stalwart Films and others in Gwinnett County State Court outside Atlanta after the 33-year-old stuntman died from a head injury suffered while performing a fall from a balcony 25 feet (8 meters) above the ground during filming in the Georgia town of Senoia. Attorneys for Berneckers parents, Susan and Hagen Bernecker, argued those producing the show skimped on safety measures for financial and scheduling concerns. Lawyers for the defendants said the stuntmans death was an unforeseeable accident. A civil jury hearing the case in December 2019 found AMC wasnt negligent, but awarded Berneckers parents $8 million from Stalwart Films and others it found to be at fault. Jeffrey Harris, an attorney for Berneckers parents, told the Daily Report he believes the March 11 ruling by the appeals court was in error. He said he plans to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision. (Newser) When it comes to COVID, the British territory of Gibraltar now has some bragging rights. Health officials say every adult who wanted a vaccination has received one, reports the Evening Standard. The territoryall three square miles of it in the Mediterranean, on the southern edge of Spainhas only 33,000 residents. Earlier this month, the AP wrote about Gibraltar's successful vaccination program, dubbed Operation Freedom, and the "end-of-hibernation feeling" that has resulted. Bars, shops, and schools are now open, and vaccinations also have been administered to the large population of imported workers who commute from Spain. The development follows a bad stretch in January and February, when a surge in cases accounted for nearly all of Gibraltar's 93 deaths to date. story continues below I am delighted to be able to tell the house that yesterday, Gibraltar became the first nation in the world to complete its entire adult vaccination program," said British health secretary Matt Hancock. However, the Washington Post reports that Vatican City actually claimed the milestone first. The AP's story points out that the very reason that made Gibraltar vulnerableits residents living together in close proximityalso contributed to the success of the vaccination program, because word of mouth is thought to have helped greatly. Only 3.5% of people have refused the shots. About 4,000 residents have been infected since the start of the pandemic, and of 26 active cases, 10 are visitors. (Read more Gibraltar stories.) ABC NewsBy MAX GOLEMBO, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- There have been 25 reported tornadoes in six states from Oklahoma to Alabama with the most damage happening in Alabama. In that state alone, there have been 16 reported tornadoes so far. The state averages about five per month during March. Early on Thursday, a tornado watch continues for Floridas panhandle, southern Alabama and parts of Georgia. During the rest of the morning, the threat for tornadoes is moving out of Alabama and into Floridas panhandle and parts of Georgia. A severe weather threat will move further east Thursday afternoon and will stretch from northern Florida to southern Virginia and West Virginia. The highest threat for tornadoes will be in the Carolinas from Charleston to Raleigh and especially in Wilmington, North Carolina. The rest of the Southeast will also see threats for damaging winds and large hail. Copyright 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors (KoCAA) announced today that its Knights of Columbus International Equity Fund has won the 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Award in its International Multi-Cap Core Funds group for best fund1 performance over a five-year period. KoCAA is one of the world's largest Catholic asset management investment firms. (PRNewsfoto/Knights of Columbus) Knights of Columbus International Equity Fund Wins 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Award. The Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards recognize funds and fund management firms for their consistently strong risk-adjusted performance across separate three-, five-, and ten-year categories relative to Lipper's independent and uncompromised assessment of fund performance. It is the second time the Knights of Columbus International Equity Fund has won a Refinitiv Lipper Award in one of the International Multi-Cap Core categories. KoCAA President and Chief Investment Officer Tony Minopoli said: "As KoCAA marks its sixth year since inception, we are pleased also to celebrate being a recipient of a 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Award for our International Equity Fund, in the International Multi-Cap Core Funds Group, for the second time. We strive to deliver 'value with values' and are honored to be recognized for doing just that. This award represents our commitment to our clients." The Knights of Columbus International Equity Fund, which KoCAA advises, offers long-term capital appreciation and invests in emerging and developing country markets, with no limit on market capitalization. This equity strategy seeks long-term growth on a net return basis and adheres to the principles of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Individual Investor Inquiries: Institutional Investor Inquiries: Thom Duffy Peter Anderson VP, Investment Strategy President, Boston Advisors (A Division of KoCAA) Knights of Columbus Headquarters 1 Liberty Square 1 Columbus Plaza | New Haven, CT 06510 Boston, MA 02109 203-752-4417 617-348-3127 thomas.duffy@kofc.org | www.kofcassetadvisors.org Peter.Anderson@kofc.org | BostonAdvisors.com Media Inquiries: Shari Smith Communications Manager, Insurance & Investments Knights of Columbus Headquarters 1 Columbus Plaza | New Haven, CT 06510 203-800-4989 shari.smith@kofc.org | www.kofcassetadvisors.org About Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors Story continues Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors is an SEC registered investment adviser that maintains a principal place of business in the State of Connecticut. For further information about KoCAA's business operations, please consult the Firm's Form ADV disclosure documents, the most recent versions of which are available on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. KoCAA, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization, with approximately $29 billion in assets under management. Please visit: KofCAssetAdvisors.org for additional information. Nothing presented herein is intended to constitute investment advice and no investment decision should be made based on any information provided herein. Nothing presented herein should be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell a particular type of security or follow any investment technique or strategy. No guarantee of investment performance is being provided and no inference to the contrary should be made. Consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. This and other information can be found in the funds' full or summary prospectuses, which can be obtained by calling 1-844-KC-Funds or by visiting www.kofcassetadvisors.org. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Mutual fund investing involves risk. Some mutual funds have more risk than others. Investing in foreign securities presents foreign company risk, emerging markets risk, and foreign currency risk that may not be associated with other funds. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate and shares when sold may be worth more or less than the original cost. There is no guarantee a Fund's objectives will be achieved. The risks associated with each fund are explained more fully in each fund's respective prospectus. Investors should consult with their attorney, accountant, and/or tax professional for advice concerning their particular situation. Mutual Funds are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, may lose value, and are not a deposit of or guaranteed by any bank or any bank affiliate. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC serves as the investment advisor to each of the Knights of Columbus Funds. The Knights of Columbus Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (1 Freedom Valley Dr, Oaks, PA 19456), which is not affiliated with Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors or any of its affiliates. The Refinitiv Lipper Fund awards are not associated with KoCAA, and are given out annually based on consistently strong, risk-adjusted performance relative to peers. Individual classifications of 3, 5, and 10-year periods, as well as fund families with high average scores for the three-year period, are also recognized. The Lipper 5-year International Multi-Cap Core Funds group consists of 93 total funds. The merit of the winners is based entirely on objective, quantitative criteria. Proprietary methodology is the foundation of the Award qualification. More information about the 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards is available at www.lipperfundawards.com The information on this website is intended to be made available to current or prospective investors in the U.S. only. 2021 Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors. All rights reserved. 1 https://www.lipperfundawards.com/Methodology Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/knights-of-columbus-international-equity-fund-wins-2021-refinitiv-lipper-fund-award-301249952.html SOURCE Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). Front entrance to the University of Queensland on Jan. 12, 2021 in Brisbane, Australia. (Daniel Teng/The Epoch Times) New Laws to Strengthen Freedom of Speech at Australian Universities Parliament has passed new laws to strengthen freedom of speech protections at Australian universities. The Higher Education Support Amendment (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2020 (pdf) amends the existing Higher Education Support Act 2003 by providing a clear definition of academic freedom. It also replaces the use of free intellectual inquiry with the terms freedom of speech and academic freedom. Universities are places for critical thinking, debate and challenging ideas, and they must be places that also protect free speech, even when what is being said may be unpopular or challenging, Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said in a statement. The passing of this Bill requires universities to uphold these fundamental principles on campuses across Australia. The bill follows former High Court Chief Justice Robert Frenchs recommendations after leading an independent review into freedom of speech in higher education in 2018. French concluded that claims of a freedom of speech crisis in Australian universities were not substantiated, however cautioned of many rules, codes, and policies capable of eroding the fundamental freedom of speech that was in place. He then drafted a Model Code that supports academic freedom, freedom of speech and institutional autonomy as its three core principles. The government considers that adoption of the French model code is the most effective means to ensure Australias higher education providers are supported to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom, protecting Australias reputation for quality higher education, former Education Minister Dan Tehan told parliament. However, the French Model Code has not been taken up uniformly by Australian universities. In December last year, Professor Sally Walker reviewed the Codes adoption by universities around the country and found of the 33 institutions that implemented the code, only nine were fully aligned to the code. Another 18 mainly were or partly aligned, while six universities were not aligned at all. Conservative Academics, Activists Welcome the Legislation However, conservative academics have welcomed the legislation. Marine scientist Peter Ridd said in a Facebook post that this was a major step in the battle to stop our universities trampling on academic freedom of speech. He said the move would help bolster the rights of academics to speak out and express opinions on any controversial issues. Former JCU geophysicist Peter Ridd. (IPA) Perhaps even more useful is the mere fact that the Commonwealth government is doing this at all, Ridd told The Epoch Times. It puts the universities on notice [and they] can be in no doubt that the government has a problem with them. Ridd was unfairly dismissed from James Cook University after he voiced his views on the Great Barrier Reef, which go against mainstream science, and criticised the work of his colleagues and science institutions. There ultimately needs to be a cultural change at universities, which must encourage the return of centrist and right-wing academics, to improve the serious problem of lack of genuine diversity of views, he said. Universities are preoccupied with perceived problems of diversity regarding race and gender but are untroubled by their lack of genuine intellectual diversity. But this legislation is an excellent step in the right direction. University of Queensland (UQ) student and activist Drew Pavlou takes part in a protest in support of Hong Kong outside the Chinese consulate on May 30, 2020, in Brisbane, Australia. (AAP Image/Dan Peled) Last year, student activist Drew Pavlou was also unfairly suspended from the University of Queensland (UQ) after criticising its ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Pavlou actively supported demonstrations in 2020, calling for the freedom of Hong Kong. He sought a court order for protection over threats he received due to his activism. Afterwards, he was hit with a two-year suspension by the university. Pavlou described the suspension as the universitys attempt to silence him. Appeals made against the suspension were then quashed, drawing scrutiny from the public and the media for their relationship with the CCP. Pavlou has since been allowed to return to class this year but told Neo Kosmos, I will not let up on my activism, and I will not keep quiet. Professor Andrew Goldsmith from Flinders University wrote to The Australian calling the Drew Pavlou incident a troubling reminder of how fragile freedom of speech has become at our leading universities. She is expecting her third child in three years with her fiance Dane Goodson. And Casey Batchelor displayed her growing baby bump as she stepped out for a stroll in Hertfordshire on Thursday. The model, 36, cut a casual figure for the day as she wrapped up in a black coat with a faux fur hood along with a beige jacket. Casual: Casey Batchelor displayed her growing baby bump as she stepped out for a stroll in Hertfordshire on Thursday The former Celebrity Big Brother star also wore a pair of matching tracksuit bottoms along with a grey T-shirt. Letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders, Casey completed her outfit with a pair of white trainers. Looking fresh-faced on the outing, Casey chatted on the phone as she got some fresh air ahead of her due date. It comes after Casey revealed earlier this month that she was finding her third pregnancy exhausting. Outfit: The model, 36, cut a casual figure for the outing as she donned a beige jacket and matching tracksuit bottoms In a candid Instagram post, the yoga teacher told her followers: 'I've not really been on social this weekend. I keep getting massive waves of tiredness where I literally can't keep my eyes open!' Casey is already a doting mum to Florence, two, and Sadie, 13 months, who she co-parents with her fiance. She said: 'I remember feeling tired in both my previous pregnancies but this time it's a whole other level, unless I've just forgot how tired I felt before. Tired: The outing comes after Casey revealed earlier this month that she was finding her third pregnancy exhausting 'Or maybe that I have a 2 year old and a 1 year old that needs my attention. 'I am definitely starting to balloon, starting to swell a little, my face is starting to fill out or in more blatant terms.... I'm getting fat.' Confirming her latest pregnancy to OK! magazine last month, the mum-of-two said that although she'll have a 'crazy' household to manage, she feels 'happy and fortunate' at how easy she they have found it to conceive. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers remarks on the coronavirus disease at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, New York City, Nov. 15, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) Cuomo Responds After Biden Weighs In on Allegations New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday responded to President Joe Bidens remarks regarding the sexual assault allegations against him. Asked in an interview with ABC News whether Cuomo should step down if the investigation finds the allegations are true, Biden said: Yes. I think hell probably end up being prosecuted, too. In response to Bidens comments, Cuomo said the president said there should be a review. I agree with him on that. Biden stopped short of asking Cuomo to resign immediately, noting that an investigation to determine the veracity of the sexual assault allegations is underway. There should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true, Biden added. Thats whats going on now. The 63-year-old Cuomo faces allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct from at least seven women, including former aides, and is under pressure from disclosures that his administration withheld the number of nursing home residents killed in New York state by COVID-19. The White House said on Monday that Biden finds the developments regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against Cuomo to be troubling, and the investigation into them should be quick and thorough. New York state Attorney General Letitia James last week named a team of outside lawyers, one of them a former federal prosecutor, to lead an investigation into accusations against Cuomo. New Yorks two U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, last week urged Cuomoa fellow Democratto resign, saying he had lost the confidence of New Yorkers. Janita Kan and Reuters contributed to this report WASHINGTON Ohio became the first state Wednesday to sue President Joe Biden's administration over his recently passed American Rescue Plan, arguing the stimulus package holds a "gun to the head of states" by preventing them from cutting taxes. The suit by Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost against the Treasury Department centers on a provision attached to $350 billion in direct aid to states outlined in the $1.9 trillion legislation that says funds cannot "directly or indirectly" be used to offset a reduction in tax revenue. The Ohio lawsuit comes after 21 other Republican state attorneys general threatened action in a Tuesday letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, alleging a broad reading of the provision would "amount to an unprecedented and unconstitutional intrusion on the separate sovereignty of the states." "(States) can either have the badly needed federal funds or their sovereign authority to set state tax policy," Yost says in his suit, which argues the provision exceeds the authority of Congress. "But they cannot have both. In our current economic crisis, that is no choice at all. It is a metaphorical 'gun to the head.' " Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, center, introduces himself to the family of Andre Hill before the start of former Columbus police officer Adam Coys initial appearance on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 at the Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouse in Columbus, Ohio. How states and cities can use their allocation of direct aid has emerged as one of the leading battlefronts of Biden's signature relief legislation, which he signed into law last week. The Biden administration conceived the direct relief for states and cities as a way to replenish revenue shortages that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic and help pay for critical government services, hire police officers and firefighters, and make other investments. Congressional Democrats added the provision to prevent states from using federal dollars meant as stimulus to instead reduce tax rolls further. More: 'The need is real': GOP mayors embrace Biden's COVID-19 relief plan even as Republican lawmakers pan it Treasury spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna declined to comment on the Ohio lawsuit, which seeks a preliminary injunction to stop enforcement of the new law. But she defended the provision, saying it does not prevent states from making tax cuts but simply says pandemic relief funds can't pay for those cuts. Story continues "It is well established that Congress may establish reasonable conditions on how states should use federal funding that the states are provided," she said. "Those sorts of reasonable funding conditions are used all the time and they are constitutional." LaManna said the law "does not say states cannot cut taxes at all, and it does not say that if a state cut taxes, it must pay back all of the federal funding it received. "It simply instructed them not to use that money to offset net revenues lost if the state chooses to cut taxes. So if a state does cut taxes without replacing that revenue in some other way, then the state must pay back to the federal government pandemic relief funds up to the amount of the lost revenue." More: Do states and cities 'need' Biden's $350 billion in direct COVID-19 relief? It depends where you're asking President Joe Biden sits down to sign the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. In their letter to Yellen, the Republican attorneys general, led by officials in Georgia, Arizona and West Virginia, sought clarification about the provision, arguing it could be interpreted as a measure to prevent tax cuts altogether, including those contemplated before the American Rescue Plan's passage. The attorneys general pointed to several examples including Arizona phasing out law-enforcement fees on vehicle registration renewal; a proposal in Georgia to give tax credits to families who adopt a child out of foster car; and a bill under consideration in West Virginia to expand a tax credit for neighborhood investment. "This language could be read to deny states the ability to cut taxes in any manner whatsoever even if they would have provided such tax relief with or without the prospect of COVID-19 relief funds," the letter reads. "Indeed, such federal usurpation of state tax policy would represent the greatest attempted invasion of state sovereignty by Congress in the history of our Republic." More: 12 Republican state attorneys general sue President Biden over climate change order The letter was also signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Montana, South Carolina, Utah, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. House Republican leaders followed up with a letter Wednesday to Yellen citing "serious concerns" about the provision and seeking a formal response to a dozen questions by March 26. Dire revenue shortages projected last year by many states during the beginning of the pandemic did not pan out. In fact, several states have revenue surpluses. While 26 states experienced a revenue decline, according to a J.P. Morgan study, 21 states saw positive revenue growth in 2020 compared with 2019. Biden has promised "fastidious" oversight over the use of funds in the relief package. This week he tapped Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council under presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, to manage its implementation. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said the original purpose of the state and local funding provision was "to keep cops, firefighters, other essential employees at work and employed, and it wasn't intended to cut taxes. "So I think he certainly hopes that that's how the funding is used," she said of the president. More: Meet the economist President Biden has tapped to oversee $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio attorney general sues Biden administration over COVID-19 stimulus A university student has been banned from Aberdeen University's union for two weeks after saying 'Rule Britannia' during a debate on the British Army. Elizabeth Heverin, 19, received the ban after quoting the historic anthem prompted another student to complain. The Aberdeen University Students' Association told her that quoting the 18th century piece could be viewed as potentially discriminatory. Speaking to The Telegraph, Miss Heverin said: 'It feels like I've been prosecuted for the crime of being patriotic, it's scary to think where freedom of speech at the university will go from here.' Elizabeth Heverin, 19, feels like she has been 'prosecuted for the crime of being patriotic,' after she was given a two-week ban from student union buildings for writing 'Rule Britannia' in the middle of a debate International students at Aberdeen University had raised concerns about the presence of British Army recruiters on campus, prompting Miss Heverin to reply 'If the British military makes them feel uncomfortable, why did they come to a British uni?' What is the history of Rule, Britannia? Rule, Britannia is a poem by Scottish poet and playwright James Thomson, and was set to music by English composer Thomas Arne in 1740. It gained popularity in the UK after it was first played in London in 1745 and became symbolic of the British Empire, most closely associated with the British Navy. The song has been used as part of a number of compositions, including Wagner's concert overture in D Major in 1837 and Beethoven's orchestral work, Wellington's Victory. The song has been an integral part of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony since 1930, when it became the first song played in the programme known as The Traditional Music. It regained popularity at the end of WWII in 1945 after it was played at the ceremonial surrender of the Japanese imperial army in Singapore. Rule, Britannia is usually played annually during at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms. But its inclusion has promoted controversy in recent years as it was deemed too patriotic. Advertisement The Aberdeen University debate saw students discuss renewing a union policy on a demilitarised campus - which would actively bar military personnel from recruiting students. When international students raised concerns about the presence of the British Army on campus, the history and politics student wrote in a webchat: 'If the British military makes them feel uncomfortable, why did they come to a British uni?' Shortly afterwards she wrote the words 'Rule Britannia,' she told The Telegraph. Her comments were screen-shotted, reported and investigated by the Aberdeen University Students' Association, which told her quoting the 18th century piece could be viewed as potentially discriminatory. Writing to her afterwards, AUSA said it could not determine whether she made the comment with racist intent. Miss Heverin's two-week ban has barred her from all students' union buildings, debates and services. Rule Britannia, a poem by Scottish playwright James Thomson, was set to music by English composer Thomas Arne in 1740. It gained popularity in the UK after it was first played in London in 1745 and became symbolic of the British Empire, most closely associated with the British Navy. The song has been used as part of a number of compositions, including Wagner's concert overture in D Major in 1837 and Beethoven's orchestral work, Wellington's Victory. The song has been an integral part of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony since 1930, when it became the first song played in the programme known as The Traditional Music. It regained popularity at the end of the Second World War in 1945 after it was played at the ceremonial surrender of the Japanese imperial army in Singapore. But lyrics including the line 'Britons never, never, never shall be slaves' have prompted anger in light of Britain's own role in the slave trade. MailOnline has approached Aberdeen University Students' Association for a comment. The lives of many more Hungarians and Serbs have been saved thanks to Eastern vaccines bought by the two countries, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Belgrade after talks with counterpart Nikola Selakovic. Szijjarto said neither government had made the vaccine into an ideological issue and both countries trusted their own experts. Both the Serbian and Hungarian governments paid heed to common sense, he said. We set ourselves the single goal of protecting the lives and health of our citizens. Meanwhile, the minister said Hungary is involved in talks on Covid passports, adding that these should not discriminate against anyone. The validity of passports should not only be based on the approval of vaccines by the European Medicines Agency but also on the emergency approval given by national authorities. Hungary wouldnt accept only one form of approval being recognised he said. Answering a question about the suspension of AstraZenecas vaccine in several countries, Szijjarto said Hungary was also monitoring the effect of the vaccine, and its experts would decide on any further steps to be taken. He said both Serbia and Hungary were top of the European vaccination rankings thanks to their willingness to buy Eastern vaccines. He added that Hungary will receive another 100,000 doses of Chinas Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday. A series of deliveries of Eastern Covid vaccines in recent weeks have allowed Hungary to accelerate its vaccination programme, giving it the second highest vaccination rate in the European Union, Szijjarto said. The first 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine arrived 20 days before the delivery deadline, the minister said. After talks between the two governments, China has agreed to begin delivering the shipments that are due to be delivered by the end of April, Szijjarto said. A cargo plane is set to depart for China within a matter of hours, and will return to Budapest with 100,000 vaccine doses, he added. This shipment, he noted, was being delivered 43 days before the deadline. The previous consignment of 450,000 doses of the vaccine was delivered to Hungary last Thursday. MTI Photo: Zoltan Mathe Mar. 18Honolulu police seized a dozen gambling machines and cash during a raid at an illegal game room in Waianae on Tuesday afternoon. A search warrant was executed by the Narcotics /Vice Division. Officers of the District 8 Crime Reduction Unit and Specialized Services Division assisted. To report illegal gambling, call the Narcotics /Vice Division's 24-hour hotline at 723-3933. Express your opinion! Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. Submit A spat over fuel prices last month saw Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro replace the CEO of national oil company Petrobras Roberto Castello Branco, who is popular among investors with former Defense Minister and army general Joaquim Silva e Luna. Brazils federal government was able to exercise such a monumental power because it is the majority owner of Petrobras. The Brazilian state directly owns 28.67% of Petrobras with another 8.08% held by the Latin American countrys national development bank, giving a total controlling interest of 36.75%. Bolsonaros decision roiled investors triggering a sharp sell-off of Petrobras stock which plunged by over 20% while the broader Brazilian bourse, as measured by IBOVESPA index which measures the performance of the top 70 stocks in Latin Americas largest economy, lost over 5%. This event reawakened investor fears of a return to resource nationalism, government interference in Brazils energy sector and heavy-handed intervention in the operations of Petrobras which in the past precipitated institutionalized malfeasance as well as corruption. Such affairs during the presidencies of Lula and Rousseff destroyed billions of dollars of shareholder value and saw Petrobras become ensnared in what was described as the biggest corruption scandal in Brazils history and potentially even the world. Those happenings along with a debt engorged balance sheet almost destroyed Brazils national oil company. The fallout from the scandal, known as Lava Jato (Car Wash), flung Brazil into a deep recession where annual gross domestic product shrank by over 3% during 2015 and 2016, making it the worst on record. For those reasons, it is easy to understand how Bolsonaros actions triggered such a tremendous wave of fear among investors. While there is still significant risk attached to Petrobras and its operations the outlook is not as dire as the market and some analysts perceive. Related: Big Oils Hottest Prospects In 2021 Petrobras reported a solid 2020 despite the severe impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on energy demand and crude oil prices. The national oil company announced record full year oil production of 2.28 million barrels per day and hit a new high for total hydrocarbon output of 2.84 million barrels of oil equivalent daily. This is an impressive milestone at a time when the energy sector was under considerable pressure because of sharply weaker crude oil prices, which forced integrated energy majors slash spending leading to a marked reduction in production. Petrobras crude oil exports for 2020 were an outstanding 33% higher than 2019, despite the pandemic and a material reduction in oil demand across the world. This was primarily driven by unwavering demand from China for petroleum, especially sweet light and medium grade crude varieties, creating greater demand for Petrobras sweet medium crude extracted from its offshore pre-salt oilfield. Notably, Brazils national oil company opened 2021 with record oil exports as Chinas insatiable demand kept growing. Importantly, under Brancos stewardship Brazils national oil company was able to substantially reduce the massive pile of debt it had built up under previous management. By the end of 2020 Petrobras had reduced its gross debt to $75.5 billion, which was a healthy 13% decrease compared to a year earlier. The integrated energy major intends to lower gross debt even further to less than $60 million between 2023 and 2025. The pandemic, March 2020 oil price collapse and heightened uncertainty around crude oil prices saw Petrobras cut capital expenditures while renewing its focus on developing petroleum projects with a breakeven price of less than $35 per barrel. Related: Rarely-Used Recovery Method Could Unlock Billions Of Barrels In Alaska While Bolsonaros meddling in Petrobras affairs has startled investors and financial markets it is unlikely that the new CEO will decide on any material changes in strategy. This is especially the case when it is considered that a leaner nimbler Petrobras was unlocking considerable value not only for investors but for the Brazilian state. The integrated energy major is the key driver of Brazils monumental offshore oil boom. Brazils oil production was steadily growing despite the pandemic and its impact on global energy consumption. Nevertheless, February 2021 oil output (Portuguese) fell 6% year over year to 3.55 million barrels daily, primarily because Petrobras had shuttered some operations for maintenance. Despite Bolsonaros decision, outgoing Petrobras CEO Branco still hiked gasoline and diesel prices at the refinery gate in response to higher international oil prices. While the latest development has alarmed investors there are signs that incoming CEO Silva e Luna will take a balanced approach. It is speculated that while he will seek to blunt the impact of higher fuel prices on Brazils delicate economy, which according to the IMF shrank by 5.8% last year, he will keep domestic fuel prices at parity with international energy prices. This is an acknowledgement of Petrobras need to remain profitable and not be once again looted by the federal government to support its financial goals to the detriment of shareholders. It is estimated by analysts that Petrobras lost anywhere up to $40 billion between 2011 and 2014 when the company was forced to sell imported gasoline and diesel at a loss in Brazil by the government of Dilma Rousseff. In the wake of the Car Wash scandal Petrobras implemented an imported oil product parity pricing policy which while being refined and made more flexible since then still applies. While it has been modified to make it more flexible since being implemented the policy still applies. Brasilia, even after the latest events appears focused on completing further reforms of Brazils hydrocarbon sector and the privatization of other state-owned assets. Those policies are key to attracting the additional investment required to sustain Brazils increasingly economic important oil boom and drive greater foreign direct investment so the economy can recover from the fallout caused by the pandemic. As part of those reforms, Petrobras is supposedly ending its monopolies in refining and natural gas production. That saw the integrated energy major plan to sell eight of its refineries over the course of 2021, but two sales have been delayed despite the requirement to complete the transactions by the end of 2021. it is difficult to see any material changes being made to those plans because of Petrobras economic importance, even after Bolsonaros replacement of Branco indicating that greater state intervention could be on the cards. After the event, Brazils president was quick to point out that the privatization of state-run electric utility Eletrobras was still proceeding, hoping to bolster his pro-business non-interventionist credentials. Petrobras five-year strategy focused on selling non-core higher-cost operations including shallow water and onshore oil assets, opening Brazils natural gas industry to private players and ending its refining monopoly is important to unlock value for not only private investors but Brazils government. There is every indication that despite Bolsonaros decision indicating that government intervention in Brazils energy sector is an ever-present threat, the fallout will not be as severe as markets and analysts initially believed. Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has announced that he will not be running for reelection in 2022, setting up a competitive race to replace him in what has become a largely red state. The two most prominent Republicans who have said theyre runningJosh Mandel, the former state treasurer, and Jane Timken, a prominent party officialare already engaged in mutual, MAGA-fueled recriminations over who can most emphatically denounce the others history of associations with other local GOP figures, like former Gov. John Kasich and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who have been critical of Donald Trump. Mandel achieved what was probably the nascent campaigns biggest coup in February, scoring a speaking spot at the Conservative Political Action Conference that he used to attack Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine as a liberal wimp for having imposed modest pandemic-related restrictions during a pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Theres a big ol Mothman monster looming over the race, though: J.D. Vance, the Ohio native, venture capitalist, and Hillbilly Elegy author. He hasnt formally announced a campaign, but theres already a super PAC set up to support his potential run. Super PACs arent technically allowed to coordinate with candidates, but the pro-Vance PAC announced this week that its gotten donations from right-wing techno-authoritarians Peter Thiel and Robert Mercer; Thiels was for $10 million, which would be huge by the standards of a presidential race, let alone a Senate one. This suggests certain people have certain reasons to believe Vance is leaning strongly toward running. So does Vances Twitter timeline, which is currently bursting with right-wing talking points about Dr. Seuss, open borders, and the alleged feminization of the military. While Hillbilly Elegy positioned Vance as the kind of conservative that liberals might be able to get along with and learn from, his recent retweets and appearances on programs hosted by Tucker Carlson, Dinesh DSouza, and Sebastian Gorka mark a turn toward his movements more hostile, sneering side. In particular, Vance looks to be setting himself up as an Ohio version of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who purports to have intellectual convictions that require him to support Trump and the Trumpist working class in its war against the wokeness and censorship imposed by the condescending, educated rich. One particular enemy of Trumps and Hawleys whom Vance has taken recent aim at is Amazons Jeff Bezos: Advertisement Jeff Bezos/Amazon are huge donors to the Democratic Party, BLM, and any number of progressive causes. They are on the left in this country, and the only people who deny it are leftists who want to pretend theyre still on the side of the working class. https://t.co/xQRhy2CYs5 J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 22, 2021 As value-neutral political strategy, this seems like a potentially winning approach. Trumps success in Ohiohe won it easily, twiceshows that the state is responsive to a message about cultural changes related to diversity. As has been highlighted in places like Georgia and Texas, these changes often correspond with high-tech economic development. Startups and larger information-age firms attract demographically diverse workers with college degrees, who tend to vote Democratic, and to push their companies to take socially progressive positions. In 2020, Republicans lost at the top of the ticket but won a number of local racessome in diversifying places like suburban Houstonwhile playing up an anti-progressive, anti-BLM backlash. Ohio has its own growing hub of corporate campuses and tech startupsColumbusand a Republican running statewide could do worse than villainizing the BLM-supporting young professionals who live there. Advertisement Advertisement Its a tricky approach for someone like J.D. Vance, though. When hes not attacking Jeff Bezos as a plutocratic patron of the radical left and an enemy of the working class, Vance is doing things like co-managing the Rise of the Rest venture funda fund that seeds entrepreneurs in places that arent traditional tech centers and proudly touts Jeff Bezos as an investor. In the venture capital part of Vances career, he encourages and benefits from the social upheaval he is claiming, as a political figure, to deplore. This is not a secret, or an unflattering spin on cherry-picked facts, but simply how Vance and his companies describe his work. In 2017, after Hillbilly Elegy took off, he quite publicly moved to Columbus. There, he lived in the gentrified, LGBTQ-friendly German Village neighborhood and hosted a stop on a bus tour promoting Rise of the Rest, which he continues to advise. While Vance has since moved to a wealthy neighborhood in Cincinnati, a more traditionally conservative area, he still invests in companies like AppHarvest, a sustainability-focused high-tech farming venture with a diverse leadership team, through his new fund, Narya. AppHarvest lists a main office in the liberal outpost of Lexington, Kentucky. Martha Stewart is on its board of directors. Advertisement Meanwhile, hes firing off attacks on the purportedly vile ruling class like this one: Someone should have asked Jeffrey Epstein, John Weaver, or Leon Black about the CRAZY CONSPIRACY that many powerful people were predators targeting children. J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 12, 2021 Advertisement Thats a coded defense of the QAnon movement, which does not in fact simply believe that some powerful people are predators, but rather that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a huge, organized child-abuse cult in which the leaders of the Democratic Party participate. It might be worth noting, though, that in reality the actual Jeffrey Epstein made much of his personal fortune by managing money for a retail industry billionaire named Les Wexner, who worked closely with Epstein for years and described him as a loyal friend. Wexner is a major player in Ohio business, politics, and philanthropy whos donated to a veterans leadership PAC on whose board Vance sat and a prep school for which Vance once headlined a fundraiser in something called the Party Barn at the Wexner Residence. If Vance wants to make outrageous insinuations about the vile ruling class, thats his choice, and it might benefit him politically. But it also raises the question of why exactly he has spent so much energy making sure he is one of its members. Bengaluru, March 18 : In what could be termed as an apparent sign of poor adherence to Covid safety protocols by the public, Karnataka reported over 1,200 new fatalities related to this dreaded virus, health department said on Wednesday. With this, the total number of caseload reached to 9,63,614 and the death toll to 12,407 since the pandemic broke on March 8, 2020. Bengaluru reported 786 fresh cases on Tuesday, taking its Covid tally to 4,13,485 with 7344 active cases, while recoveries increased to 4,01,610, with 279 discharged in the last 24 hours. It said, out of 10,220 active cases, 9,299 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 134 are in ICU. Among the deaths reported on Tuesday, three were from Bengaluru Urban and one from Mysuru. Positivity rate for the day was 1.47 per cent and case fatality rate was 0.31 per cent across the state on Tuesday. Travel-starved Australians are flocking to a 'secret' glow worm cave hidden inside a disused tunnel in the Blue Mountains while international borders remain closed. The cave in Lithgow, west of Sydney, can be reached by walking along an off-the-beaten pathway which stretches for 1.4 kilometres before ending at the mouth of the tunnel. Inside, thousands of glow worms twinkle on the roof, an enchanting spectacle that can be seen at any time of the day - even when it's bright. A video of the spectacular scene was uploaded to TikTok by travel bloggers Joe and Cat, who shine a spotlight on Australia's hidden gems on their joint account, Walk My World. Travel-starved Australians are flocking to this 'secret glow worm cave' hidden inside a disused tunnel in the Blue Mountains Thousands of glow worms twinkle on the roof, an enchanting spectacle that can be seen at any time of the day - even when it's bright The clip, captioned 'this is one for your Sydney bucket list!', has been viewed 69,800 times and drawn dozens of delighted responses since it was posted online on March 6. 'Been here before, place is sick and it's FREE!' one man replied. Many expressed surprise that something so fascinating could be found in the famously sleepy town of Lithgow. 'Wait, there's really something interesting to be seen at Lithgow? Really?' one woman wrote. The cave in Lithgow, west of Sydney, can be reached by walking along an off-the-beaten pathway (pictured) that stretches for 1.4km before ending at the mouth of the tunnel The cave is filled with thousands of glow worms - and best of all, it's free Others said the glow worm cave brought back happy childhood memories. 'I went there as a kid and still remember it,' said one person, while another added: 'Been there years ago, such a great place.' It comes at a time when locked-in Australians are searching for domestic distraction while overseas travel continues to look like a distant dream. Just under 37 kilometres from Lithgow, a spectacular new floodlit walking trail that illuminates the Blue Mountains at night is drawing thousands of nature enthusiasts. The Katoomba Falls Reserve Night-lit Walk is illuminated by 403 twinkling LED lights which illuminate the stunning natural wonders of one of Australia's most scenic destinations. The clip, uploaded to TikTok by travel blogger 'Views with Dav', reveals the magical enchantment of the 1.3 kilometre walk (pictured), which is suitable for all ages and abilities A clip, uploaded to TikTok by travel blogger 'Views with Dav', reveals the magical enchantment of the 1.3 kilometre walk, which is suitable for all ages and abilities. 'Highly recommend this. Easy walk and very safe! Chasing waterfalls after dark,' he wrote in the caption. Thirteen spotlights draw walkers' attention to natural attractions such as Orphan's Rock, Witches Leap and Katoomba Falls, while a further 390 smaller LED lights sparkle on the footpath which opened in late February. From certan viewing points, the world-famous Three Sisters can also be seen bathed in a yellow glow. The walkway (pictured) is illuminated by 403 LED energy-efficient lights The walkway, which is the brainchild of the Blue Mountains Council and took six years to complete, was due to open in late 2019 before the raging bushfires of that summer suspended construction. The council went to great lengths to highlight the region's natural features at night without causing unnecessary disruption to wildlife or local residents. The walk finally connects previously floodlit pathways along the Blue Mountains hiking belt including Katoomba Falls Kiosk car park around Reid's Plateau and all the way down to the Duke and Duchess lookout. The experience, which is the brainchild of the Blue Mountains Council and took six years to complete, was due to open in late 2019 before the raging bushfires of that summer suspended construction Explorers yearning for adventure as overseas travel continues to look like a faraway dream have been raving about the experience since seeing it on social media. The video, which has been viewed 255,300 times since it was uploaded on Tuesday, has sparked delighted responses. 'I must do that! I've never been at night,' one woman replied, while a second wrote: 'Oh my god this looks incredible.' A third said it wouldn't be long before the experience became the go-to places for Sydney men to propose to their girlfriends. The Katoomba Falls Reserve Night-lit Walk offers unique look of cliff top views, waterfalls and other local natural features Many who have already tried the walk described it as 'one of the best experiences' they've ever had. 'Best night ever. I recommend this experience to all the adventurous people out there,' one woman posted. Another added: 'Remember to look up, the stars were amazing.' Investors pourin money into real estate seeking profits from land price increases have not attached much importance to the surplus value from production and business, which seriously affects the economy, experts say. In Binh Phuoc province, a plan to build a 500 hectare airport in the communes of An Khuong and Tan Loi in Hon Quan district sparked a land fever. People flocked to the area and hunted for land plots, including ones 10 kilometers away from the projected airport. On peak days, the land price escalated hourly. The price of a land plot located one kilometerfrom the airport soared from VND200 million per square meter to VND1 billion. A local real estate broker said that a 200 square meter land plot was sold at VND1.1 billion one day, and its value rose to VND1.9 billion the next day, which allowed the investor to pocket nearly VND1 billion after one night. Some major investors spent tens of billions of dong to acquire large land plots, and then split them into smaller plots for sale for profit. The Hon Quan district authorities then released a document on strengthening management over land as well as social order, while recommending that people think carefully before making transactions. Just 10 days later, the land price bubble in Hon Quang burst. A land plot, which was once offered by brokers at VND350 million, saw the price fall to VND200 million. A local man said a group of investors once decided to buy a land plot at the price of VND23 billion and deposited VND4 billion. But the real value of the land plot was just VND2 billion. They would have incurred a loss of VND21 billion, but even if they gave it up, they would lose the deposit of VND4 billion. Prior to that, land fever occurred in Hanoi after a rumour about the building of Ung Hoa Airport in 2020. This also happened in Phan Thiet and Binh Thuan in 2019. Many speculators lost billions of dong. According to analysts, these land fever periods last only a short time. In early February 2020, land prices skyrocketed in Binh Ba commune in Chau Duc district in Ba Ria Vung Tau on the news about a large corporation developing a 800 hectare project there. But the land fever ended just two weeks later. In March 2020, ignoring advice on avoiding social gathering during Covid-19, hundreds of people flocked to Dong Truc commune in Thach That district in Hanoi to seek investment opportunities after hearing that Vingroup planned to develop two urban areas. The price escalation then stopped 10 days later when local authorities affirmed that they had not received any document from the municipal authorities on the development of urban areas. Bitterness of speculators Investors pourin money into real estate seeking profits from land price increases have not attached much importance to the surplus value from production and business, which seriously affects the economy, experts say. Su Ngoc Khuong from Savills Vietnam said land fever first appeared in 1993, when the Land Law came into effect, which allowed easier transfer of land-use rights. Since then, the number of artificial pricing periods has been increasing. They occur when there is unclear information about the development of infrastructure and urban area projects. With the presence of numerous brokers, land prices are easily pushed up. Early speculators are the ones who make the biggest profits. Latecomers suffer the most, as they cannot sell land once the prices fall. The land price hikes also prompt people to sell production land to buy cars, household appliances and houses. Hon Quan Peoples Committee warned people that there is a risk of falling into poverty if they do not use the money from land sales effectively. Experts said that most local people have been living on cashew and rubber plantations, and if they sell land, this means they are selling their livelihood, which affects the local economy. Lawyer Truong Anh Tu, president of TAT Law Firm, pointed out that the behavior of pushing prices up to make profits seriously infringes on the real estate management process and the public's benefits. This behavior should be subject to criminal prosecution, he said. At a conference on reviewing the 5-year term (2016-2020), Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi said the state will control and regulate real estate market development and deal with the underground market, as well as speculation. Hoai Nam M&A pushing ahead real estate market The long process of project approval from competent government agencies and the serious impact of COVID-19 have helped mergers and acquisitions in real estate sector become more active. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Kibbe & Orbe represents hedge funds and other private investment funds, investment banks, financial institutions, public and private enterprises, and corporate boards of directors on a broad range of transactions, structuring issues, and regulatory matters in the investment and business sectors. The firm is recognized for having pioneered the legal framework governing the practice of trading in distressed bank loans, creating a market that now transacts a trillion dollars annually, and for crafting novel client solutions, including high-value investments in complex illiquid assets. The firm is a leading voice in evolving markets, new asset classes, non-bank lending, and litigation finance. Kibbe & Orbe's client roster includes six of the top 10 global investment banks, six of the 10 largest private equity funds, and 31 of the top 100 hedge funds, as ranked by assets under management. "We have been focused on strategically expanding our financial services industry practice. Kibbe & Orbe is recognized for its excellence and innovation by sophisticated blue-chip clients in the global financial markets, so adding these superb lawyers to our team is an extraordinary opportunity," said Philip T. Inglima, chair of Crowell & Moring. "They have established a sterling reputation over the past 30 years for their experience handling complex and often novel transactional, regulatory, compliance, and governance matters. They are viewed as a leader internationally for their work in the distressed debt industry and are sought out by corporate clients for their knowledge of increasingly sophisticated financial products and the rapidly changing global regulatory environment in which they are operating." The group includes 13 partners (10 based in New York, 2 in London, and 1 in D.C.); 1 of counsel and 2 counsel (New York); and 8 associates (4 New York, 4 London). Outside of Grady, Kibbe, and Orbe, the partners joining Crowell & Moring's New York office include: Scott C. Budlong, Paul B. Haskel, Timothy Lin, Julia Lu, Richard Lee, Gregory Gennady Plotko, and Kevin Rubinstein. Also joining the New York office are of counsel Kenneth Werner and counsel James J. Ohlig and Robert Waldner; and associates John A. Clark, Frank Jaklitsch, Luke A. Smith, and Hanchang Sohn. In addition to Martin, joining the firm's London office is partner Matthew Hughes, as well as four associates: Adam Colman, Emilie Condie, Adam English, and Miriam Karam. Mann will join Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office. In tandem with its transactional practices, Kibbe & Orbe advises clients on a wide range of regulatory, compliance, and governance issues, including providing strategic advice to boards, board committees, individual directors, and their companies on a range of corporate governance issues; counseling buy-side clients about the requirements of the SEC and other regulators, with a focus on real-time trading advice to chief compliance officers, general counsel, and portfolio managers; and identifying and mitigating the risks faced by clients conducting global business and corporate transactions subject to both U.S. and foreign regulations. Kibbe & Orbe is a recognized authority on internal investigations, auditor independence, and international securities law compliance issues, as well as being fluent in a complex range of issues in the investment and business sectors. "This is an exciting opportunity to join forces with a firm that is as committed to diversity, collegiality, and professional excellence as we are," said Jennifer Grady, managing partner and chair of Kibbe & Orbe's executive committee. "The legal needs of our clients are evolving, particularly as a result of the growing complexity of investment strategies and structures, and the rapid adoption of new technologies developed for the financial markets. We believe that Crowell & Moring offers the ideal platform with its broad spectrum of complementary practices, government-facing experience, and financial services industry knowledge. We're certain our clients will find the firm's recognized capabilities in areas like anti-corruption, AML/sanctions, financial litigation, fintech, cybersecurity/data privacy, securities enforcement, and white collar and investigations to be of tremendous value." "This cutting-edge group of financial services practitioners will significantly expand our presence on Wall Street and increase our ability to deliver the highest level of service to global investment banks, private equity funds, and hedge funds," said Glen McGorty, managing partner of the firm's New York office. "Kibbe & Orbe has a core team of distressed debt and claims trading lawyers that is one of the most experienced in the world. Their leadership in secondary debt and claims markets and experience as thought leaders in those global markets gives them the ability to look around the corner, anticipate issues, and capitalize on new developments for our clients." "We are delighted to welcome this team to our expanding London office. Their arrival will have a positive impact on our London clients, particularly those in the financial services sector. The Kibbe & Orbe team is recognized for having within its ranks the most qualified, distressed-debt-focused, legal practitioners in the world," said Robert Weekes, managing partner of the firm's London office. "Their sophisticated and innovative practice complements our existing specialties in London. Joining forces will result in more comprehensive service offerings for clients and will even further enhance our excellent collaboration with our colleagues in New York and D.C." About Crowell & Moring LLP Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with more than 560 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Media Contact: Rebecca Carr Director of Communications +1 202.508.8835 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP Related Links http://www.crowell.com Israelis will go to the polls next Tuesday for the fourth time in two years, with Netanyahu running an aggressive campaign against a splintered opposition. Why it matters: Netanyahu's narrow path to a 61-seat majority would require him to form an ultra-right-wing government, dependent on the votes of Jewish supremacists and anti-LGBT and pro-annexation members of Knesset. With a majority, Netanyahu could pass a law or take other steps to delay or end his corruption trial. He denies that's his aim, but prospective members of his coalition have announced they would support it. The state of play: Current polls show Netanyahus bloc at 58 seats, but things could easily shift in his direction on election day. Israel's 3.25% electoral threshold means several small parties will either win around four seats or be left out entirely. Voter fatigue, particularly on the left, also makes turnout unpredictable. Three scenarios If one or more of the three small anti-Netanyahu parties falls short, that could shift the whole balance of power and get Netanyahu to the magic number of 61. That's a very likely scenario. If turnout dips among Netanyahu supporters, and the radical right-wing Religious Zionist Party fails to pass the threshold, there could be a window for a center-right government comprised of Netanyahu's opponents. That's an unlikely scenario. If the current polls prove accurate and neither side can form a coalition, Israel will head for a fifth election in the summer. That's very possible. The splintering of the opposition has actually made life more difficult for Netanyahu in one sense: Unlike in the past three cycles, he doesn't have a clear rival on the left to rally his supporters against. Rather than a head-to-head race where Netanyahu can reprise the argument that its us or them, he has three opponents all heading medium-sized parties. The other contenders 1. Yair Lapid and the centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party. A former journalist, Lapid is the current opposition leader in the Knesset. What to watch: Lapid hasn't even declared that he wants to be prime minister, and he says he's willing to let someone else have the job in order to get rid of Netanyahu. Netanyahu has focused his campaign on Lapid, but he's largely failed to position it as a head-to-head contest. Lapid hasn't even declared that he wants to be prime minister, and he says he's willing to let someone else have the job in order to get rid of Netanyahu. Netanyahu has focused his campaign on Lapid, but he's largely failed to position it as a head-to-head contest. By the numbers: Yesh Atid gets around 20 seats in the polls, a distant second to Netanyahu's Likud, which has around 30. 2. Naftali Bennett and the right-wing Yamina (To the Right) party. A former tech entrepreneur, Bennett focused his campaign on COVID-19 and the economy. What to watch: While Bennett has stressed the need to replace Netanyahu, he hasn't ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government. That could make him a kingmaker if the election results aren't definitive. While Bennett has stressed the need to replace Netanyahu, he hasn't ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government. That could make him a kingmaker if the election results aren't definitive. By the numbers: Yamina only polls at around 12 seats, but it could be impossible to form a coalition that excludes Netanyahu without handing Bennett the prime ministers job. 3. Gideon Sa'ar and the right-wing New Hope party. Sa'ar, a former education and interior minister, left Likud in an attempt to position himself as a more old school and less populist right-wing alternative to Netanyahu. By the numbers: Sa'ar's party has been sliding in the polls, from around 18 seats to nine in the latest polls. The bottom line: Only a power-sharing deal between Lapid, Bennett and Sa'ar could produce a new Israeli government without Netanyahu. Such cooperation between the three of them will be very hard to get. An investor looks at stock prices on a smartphone at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran. Exchange-traded fund Fubon FTSE Vietnam has become the first of its kind from Taiwan to be approved for listing in Vietnam. To list on March 24, it will track the FTSE Vietnam 30 Index comprising the 30 largest companies by market cap. Steelmaker Hoa Phat Group has a 13.97 percent weightage in the index followed conglomerate Masan Group and real estate giant Vinhomes. Fubon FTSE Vietnam expects these companies to have higher return on equity and dividend yields than those on the VN-Index in 2021-23. Yang Ying, its chairman, said Vietnam was chosen for its rapid growth. The government targets 6.67 percent GDP growth in the next five years, among the fastest in ASEAN, and reaching per capita income of $4,700-5,000 at the end of the period. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. In a bid to strengthen cooperation, fight cross-border crime, and return migrants who enter the country illegally, the European Unions border agency, Frontex, has renewed its agreement with the non-European Union member Albania. According to AP, the renewed deal, which was signed online on March 17, comes two years after Albania became the first country thats not a member of the 27-nation bloc where 71 officers from 20 EU countries were deployed. Their mission is to support local authorities with border control and combatting cross-border crime, including human trafficking and terrorism. .@Frontex & @PoliciaeShtetitsigned today the renewed Working Arrangement between the Agency & the Rep. of #Albania. The agreement will lead to a more effective response to the operational needs on border & migration management and in the fight against trans-border crime. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Cezdu8DuXb EU in Albania (@EUinAlbania) March 17, 2021 It is worth noting that similar agreements have been signed with fellow west-Balkan countries North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Albania is also hoping to join the European Union one day and it also expects to start full membership talks later this year after it holds parliamentary elections next month. Albania praised for jointly managing borders According to reports, back in February, visiting European Union home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson highly praised Albania for its work in jointly managing its borders. Since May 2019, teams of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, or Frontex, have been working with Albania's police to patrol its land and sea borders for migrants and crime. Fifty officers, 16 patrol cars and one thermo-vision van from 12 European Union member countries have also been deployed along the Albania-Greece border with no time limit or fixed mandate to the cooperation. Even though Albania is not a preferred route for migrants, some, however, enter the Western Balkan country to move toward Northern Europe. Meanwhile, last year the EU gave the green light to Albania and North Macedonia for the launch of full membership negotiations, but no date has been set yet for the first inter-governmental meeting. Albania will hold its parliamentary election on April 25. (Image: @EUinAlbania/Twitter) Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The EU's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, finds itself in the hot seat on Thursday when it will decide what to do about blood clot fears over the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab. After spending much of its existence in relative obscurity, the Amsterdam-based EMA has been in the spotlight since the first coronavirus vaccines emerged late last year. Here are some key questions about the agency and the AstraZeneca investigation: What is the EMA? The EMA is the regulator for all human and animal medicines in the 27 nations of the European Union plus the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, testing them for safety and efficacy. Headed since late 2020 by Irish pharmaceuticals expert Emer Cooke, it moved from London to Amsterdam in 2019 because of Brexit. The AstraZeneca probe is being carried out by the EMA's safety body, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, which groups medicines experts from all 27 EU countries, as well as patients and health professionals. When did it authorise the AstraZeneca jab? The EMA gave the green light on January 29 to the vaccine developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The watchdog approved the vaccine for adults of all ages, despite several countries previously warning that it should not be used on older people. What is the EMA investigating? The EMA is investigating whether there is a scientific link between a number of "thromboembolic events"people suffering from blood clotsafter receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Despite more than a dozen countries suspending the vaccine, the EMA says it has found "no indication" of a connection and that numbers of blood clot cases are no more than it would expect to normally find in the general population. "Our role at the EMA is to... figure out is this a real side effect of the vaccine or a coincidence," Cooke said on Tuesday, adding that experts had been working "tirelessly" since last week. The safety committee is looking at data comparing how many clot cases they would see and the vaccination rates of different countries, the agency says. But it is also carrying out a "very detailed review of individual case reports" to see if the jab had contributed or not, and whether any specific groups are involved. What steps could it take? The EMA safety committee is holding an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to "come to a conclusion... and to advise us whether there are any further actions that need to be taken," Cooke said. There are "a number of options" available, she added. Asked if this could involve withdrawing or suspending approval, she said that "if we believe that there is a problem that cannot be solved we will take the necessary action to deal with that." The EMA could otherwise issue an "additional warning" for the use of the vaccine, she said. No pressure? The EMA insists it will "focus on the science" when deciding what to do next, irrespective of national decisions. European countries have, however, made it plain they are eagerly awaiting the decision, with the EU's vaccination programme already mired in supply problems. The French president and Italian prime minister both said on Tuesday that the EMA's initial findings were "encouraging" and they would restart AstraZeneca vaccinations if the watchdog clears the jab on Thursday. Moreover, documents hacked from the EMA late last year appeared to show the regulator facing heavy pressure from the European Commission to approve vaccines as soon as possible, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported in January. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP On Tuesday, Natalie Portman shared holiday snaps alongside her husband Benjamin Millepied as they explored the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. And while the images were picturesque, Daily Mail Australia can exclusively confirm that the 39-year-old Star Wars actress was not paid as an official tourism ambassador by Destination New South Wales. Instead, the government agency officially 'hosted' the star and her husband. Not sponsored: Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal that Natalie Portman, 39, is not a Destination NSW ambassador following a trip to the Blue Mountains 'Destination New South Wales hosted Natalie and her family on the trip,' a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. It is believed, the pair who have been married for nine years, enjoyed the outback adventure with their two children, daughter Amalia, 4, and son Aleph, 9. The spokesperson also confirmed that while her Thor co-star Chris Hemsworth may be an ambassador for Tourism Australia - he didn't connect her with the company. 'Chris Hemsworth did not have any involvement in the trip,' the spokesperson added. No help: The spokesperson also confirmed that while her Thor co-star Chris Hemsworth may be an ambassador for Tourism Australia, he didn't connect her with the company In her post, Natalie shared a sweet photo of herself and Benjamin, 43, hugging with a panorama view of the mountainous range behind them. 'Favorite person to explore the Blue Mountains with... @visitnsw #loveNSW @wolganv,' Natalie wrote in the caption for her roughly 7.3 million followers. The brunette beauty wore a light blue T-shirt and beamed while wrapping her arms around her husband's waist. Meanwhile, Benjamin wore a plain black T-shirt and tan cap as he smiled for the camera with an arm draped around Natalie. Favorite person: Natalie Portman took to Instagram on Tuesday as she explored the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia with husband Benjamin Millepied Natalie also shared a nature shot of a rock formation with canyons in the background. She also shared a photo of kangaroo relaxing in the shade on a field with a rainbow arc in the upper right corner. Natalie in her post tagged One&Only Wolgan Valley, a luxury conservation-based resort in New South Wales. Nature shot: The 39-year-old actress also shared a nature shot of kangaroo and a rainbow Rock formation: The Oscar-winning actress also posted a photo of a rock formation with canyons in the background During the couple's day out, she also shared footage as they walked through the scenic location. Natalie the explorer: During the couple's day out, she also shared footage as they walked through the scenic location The Blue Mountains are a short drive from Sydney where Natalie has been filming Thor: Love And Thunder. Natalie will reprise her role as astrophysicist Jane Foster in the sequel and her character will gain powers similar to Thor. The film is scheduled for release on May 6, 2022. Thank you for showing interest in our institute. Data protection is of high priority for the management of the ESRF. 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A group of disgruntled residents of Rasesa in the Kgatleng District has petitioned the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Eric Molale to cancel forthwith the appointment of Kagiso Buisanyang as Kgosana for the village. Buisanyang was appointed Headman of Record for Rasesa late last year, filling a post that had been vacant since 2015 after Samuel Kgwaripas contract expired. The post was not filled for all this time on account of lack of funds. The disgruntled residents, who have annexed their signatures to the petition, argue that Buisanyangs appointment was irregular and borders on illegality since it violates the provisions of the Bogosi Act (Section 22) and a longstanding tradition of consultation with the community before a Kgosana can be appointed. They say they were shocked when in October last year, when Headman, Kgosi Letshwenyo Rasesa informed them that the minister had appointed Buisanyang as Kgosana. According to the Ministry, Buisanyang will replace Rasesa when his contract expires in 2022. The group notes in the petition that as a community they are aware of the hierarchy of their Bogosi and as a result have been ready to present to the Ministers office the names of the rightful person for the post for your consideration. They say in the unlikely event of lack of consent by the community, they were prepared to have the matter put to the vote. Based on these grounds the petitioners want the minister to cancel the appointment of Buisanyang forthwith and allow the community to consult among itself and present the names of the rightful Kgosana to the Minister. A Spokesperson of the Ministry, Masego Ramakgati confirmed receipt of the petition. He said the ministry is presently seized with the matter and will proffer advice at a convenient time. But Motshwarelela Kgosi of BaKgatla baga Kgafela, Kgosi Bana Sekai dismissed as preposterous the argument that the matter could be put to the vote in the event of lack of consensus on the names provided by the community. Kgosi Sekai, who was rebuffed by Letshwenyo Rasesa when, as an emissary of the minister, he presented Buisanyang to Headman Rasesa last year- said voting no longer exists in Bogosi matters in Kgatleng. Rasesa chieftainship dispute spans over 30 years since 1984 when Raseipei Rasesa was appointed Headman through a vote at the Rasesa kgotla after years as regent (motshwarelela bogosi for boo-Rra Kgwarapi, who were recognised as the rightful heirs to the throne. Kgosi Mmusi Pilane (a regent for Kgosi Lichwe II) requested that Raseipei Rasesa continue as Motshwarelela Kgosi from 1982 until 1992 when again Mosekiemang Masekiemang was voted as Headman of Arbitration. He would later be dethroned when boo-rra Kgwarapi complained. When the post was elevated to Headman (Kgosana) in 1992, Letshwenyo Rasesa (incumbent) was headhunted from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) allegedly irregularly and through the connivance of Olebile Samuel Kgwarapi, the late Edward Ramphaleng and Binang Mmakagaka , and has been Headman in Kgwarapis Kgotla ever since. The matter was however conclusively laid to rest in 2020 through a letter signed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Boipelo Khumomatlhare. The letter stipulated that Kgosi Letshwenyo Rasesas contract would run until it expires in September 2022 and that in the meantime the rightful claimant to Bogosi ba Rasesa, would fill the post of Headman of Records and ascend to Headman when Rasesa vacates office in 2022. US climate envoy John Kerry in Paris in March 2021. MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images A passenger photographed John Kerry on an American Airlines flight without a mask. The passenger told Fox News he took it off after boarding but wore it for most of the flight. Kerry said if he removed it, he only did so briefly, but American said it is "looking into" it. See more stories on Insider's business page. John Kerry, the former US secretary of state and President Joe Biden's climate envoy, was pictured on an American Airlines flight not wearing a mask. A photo obtained by The Tennessee Star's Neil W. McCabe shows Kerry sitting and reading on a plane, with a mask hanging from one ear, on a Wednesday flight from Boston to Washington D.C. Kerry said that if he removed his mask, he did so in a way that was "momentary." American Airlines said it did not see Kerry without his mask but said that he should not have removed it and is "looking into" the incident. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Fox News confirmed the photo with the passenger who took it. It reported that the passenger, who wanted to remain anonymous, shared a photo of his boarding pass to prove he was on the same flight as Kerry. The passenger said he took it off shortly before boarding and kept it off for five minutes, but he wore it at the boarding gate and for most of the flight. Kerry said on Twitter: "Feels like there's some St. Patrick's day 'malarkey' afoot on Twitter." "Let's be clear: If I dropped my mask to one ear on a flight, it was momentary. I wear my mask because it saves lives and stops the spread. It's what the science tells us to do." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. American Airlines says masks can "only can be removed briefly for eating and drinking" and are otherwise mandatory. The Tennessee Star reported that Kerry "was not eating, nor drinking, even though first-class passengers are often served before take-off," though the newspaper did not say how it had this information. American Airlines said on Twitter in response to the photo: "Masks are required on board our aircraft, and we are looking into this." Story continues And it told The Independent: "We continue to review the matter and we are reaching out to Secretary Kerry to underscore that all customers are expected to wear masks for the duration of their trip," it said. The passenger who took the photo told Fox News: "If five minutes is 'momentarily,' he's correct. Not sure being in a plane without a mask for five minutes is excusable." Biden signed an executive order in January that requires people to wear masks on planes in the US. Read the original article on Business Insider JERSEY CITY, N.J., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) today announced a post-hoc analysis of its Phase 3 edaravone study reviewing the results of intravenous (IV) edaravone treatment on disease progression milestones and events among people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the analysis, a risk reduction was observed for the exploratory composite estimate of time to death, tracheostomy, permanent assisted ventilation (PAV), and hospitalization. The data was highlighted as an oral presentation at the 2021 Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinical & Scientific Virtual Conference. "While the Phase 3 edaravone study was not designed with survival as an endpoint, this post-hoc analysis allows us to explore insights on the results of early treatment intervention on survival-related events due to ALS progression, including death, hospitalization, ventilation and tracheostomy," said Atsushi Fujimoto, President, MTPA. "We are committed to putting patients first in everything we do, which includes working to explore our Phase 3 data in order to help expand understanding." This post-hoc analysis assessed the double-blind, placebo-controlled 24-week Phase 3 study of edaravone, including an additional 24-week open-label period with all patients receiving IV edaravone (i.e., edaravone-edaravone [EE] vs. placebo-edaravone [PE] groups). There were no deaths during the double-blind period. During the open-label period, there were two deaths in the EE group and four in the PE group. Survival analysis of the cumulative occurrence of milestone events (death, tracheostomy, PAV and hospitalization due to ALS progression) showed a 53 percent relative risk reduction in the EE group, with a hazard ratio of 0.47. The hazard ratio for death alone was 0.48 for the EE group vs. the PE group. As these results are from a post-hoc analysis, the results should be interpreted with caution and cannot be considered conclusive evidence of efficacy. "I'm encouraged by the findings of this post-hoc analysis," said Benjamin Rix Brooks, M.D., an ALS specialist and lead author of the study. "We were able to uncover data that reinforces the need to further our research that can show an important association between edaravone use and the potential decrease in functional decline." This analysis was funded and conducted by MTPA. About RADICAVA (edaravone) IV The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RADICAVA (edaravone) IV on May 5, 2017 as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).1 Edaravone was discovered and developed for ALS by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) and commercialized in the U.S. by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. MTPC group companies began researching ALS in 2001 through an iterative clinical platform over a 13-year period. In 2015, edaravone IV was approved for use as a treatment for ALS in Japan and South Korea. Marketing authorization was granted in Canada in October 2018 and Switzerland in January 2019. INDICATION RADICAVA is indicated for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Before you receive RADICAVA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: have asthma. are allergic to other medicines. are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if RADICAVA will harm your unborn baby. are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if RADICAVA passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will receive RADICAVA or breastfeed. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. What are the possible side effects of RADICAVA? RADICAVA may cause serious side effects including hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions and sulfite allergic reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions have happened in people receiving RADICAVA and can happen after your infusion is finished. RADICAVA contains sodium bisulfite, a sulfite that may cause a type of allergic reaction that can be serious and life-threatening. Sodium bisulfite can also cause less severe asthma episodes in certain people. Sulfite sensitivity can happen more often in people who have asthma than in people who do not have asthma. Tell your healthcare provider right away or go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms: hives; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; fainting; breathing problems; wheezing; trouble swallowing; dizziness; itching; or an asthma attack (in people with asthma). Your healthcare provider will monitor you during treatment to watch for signs and symptoms of all the serious side effects. The most common side effects of RADICAVA include bruising (contusion), problems walking (gait disturbance), and headache. These are not all the possible side effects of RADICAVA. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. at 1-888-292-0058 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. For more information, including full Prescribing Information and Patient Information, please visit www.RADICAVA.com. About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. Based in Jersey City, N.J., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation's (MTPC) 100 percent owned U.S. holding company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc. It was established by MTPC to commercialize approved pharmaceutical products in North America. For more information, please visit www.mt-pharma-america.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Overview of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, which was founded in 1678, has its headquarters in Doshomachi, Osaka, which is the birthplace of Japan's pharmaceutical industry. With business centered on ethical pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is a well-established company with one of the longest histories of pharmaceutical companies in Japan.2 Through the discovery of drugs that address unmet medical needs, centered on its priority disease areas immune-inflammation diseases, central nervous system, and vaccines Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma will strive to contribute to the health of patients around the world. MTPC is the parent company of MTPA. For more information, go to https://www.mt-pharma.co.jp/e/. Important Disclosure Dr. Brooks has provided consulting services for MTPA. Media Inquiries: Debbie Etchison 908-340-8578 [email protected] 1 RADICAVA (edaravone) U.S. Prescribing Information. August 2018. 2 Research by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD. SOURCE Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Veta Resources Inc. (the "Company") announces the resignations of Brian Jennings as President, Chief Executive Officer and director and Michael Corey as Vice President, Exploration and director, effective immediately. The Company would like to thank Messrs. Jennings and Corey for their contributions to the Company and wishes them all the best in their future endeavours. Albert Contardi, a director of the Company, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Daniel Nauth has been appointed as a director of the Company, effective immediately. Albert Contardi, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director - Mr. Contardi is a consultant/adviser with over 15 years of legal, investment and capital markets experience. He is currently President of Generic Capital Corporation, a Toronto-based EMD finance firm. Mr. Contardi's expertise involves advising and structuring corporate finance transactions in the mining, tech and bio-tech sectors to maximize the value of projects/assets. He has been called to the Ontario Bar and is a graduate of Queen's University Law School. Daniel Nauth, Director - Mr. Daniel Nauth practices U.S. securities and corporate law and advises both public and private issuers on U.S.-Canada cross border capital markets, M&A and corporate/securities transactions and regulatory compliance. Mr. Nauth holds a J.D. from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from York University. Mr. Nauth is a licensed Foreign Legal Consultant in the Province of Ontario. Mr. Nauth has extensive advisory experience in a range of industries, including mining and oil/gas, emerging biopharmaceutical and medical devices, medicinal cannabis, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Mr. Nauth currently serves as a director of Bhang Inc., QcX Gold Corp., SBD Capital Corp., Interactive Capital Partners Corporation, Crosswinds Holdings Inc. and Pima Zinc Corp. For further information, please contact: Albert Contardi President and Chief Executive Officer Tel: (416) 361-2832 This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77842 Derbez: What is the difference between emergency use authorization and an official approval by the FDA? There are a couple of others that are still being tested to determine if theyre safe and effective, but the three that I just mentioned, have been shown in very large clinical trials involving anywhere from 30,000 to 44,000 people per trial, were shown to be not only very efficacious, but quite safe. So there are three vaccines that have gotten emergency use authorization from the FDA so far. And the other one is from J and J, Johnson and Johnson, which is a little bit different. It gives the same kind of response, but its a little bit different. One from Pfizer, which is another mRNA vaccine. Fauci: Three of them. One from Moderna, which is the mRNA vaccine. So, first question: which of the COVID 19 vaccines have been officially approved by the FDA? It would be very helpful for all of us to learn and to understand about the vaccine. Derbez : Lets get straight to the point. I was telling people I was a little bit concerned, so I had a lot of doubts about this vaccine, and then I got the invitation to talk to you. I was left with the overwhelming feeling that the COVID 19 vaccines pose lots of questions with few answers. Fauci danced around the possibility that these vaccines stop transmission, provide immunity or merely reduce symptoms. If you listen to the end, he seems to say they do all three. If everyone in the family is vaccinated, or if only grandma is, you can gather in the home without masks, hugging and kissing everyone. Derbez brought up asymptomatic spread of the virus, along with the effectiveness of the COVID19 vaccines. Fauci noted that only some bishops advised against the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine because of fetal cell use. Fauci was equally untroubled when Derbez questioned the controversial use of aborted fetal cell lines in vaccine manufacture. Derbez said it was of concern to many Hispanic Catholics. Fauci had to admit it hadnt, but he wasnt worried because the results are really, really good. What about the new mRNA vaccines? Derbez wanted to know if this technology [has] ever been injected into humans before. What about the lack of liability on the part of vaccine makers and side effects that dont show up 5 to 10 years down the road? Derbez pressed these points repeatedly. Derbez wanted to know why we should trust vaccines with only months of trials, not years and only Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. The big surprise was that Derbez knew what to bring up about the development and safety of the COVID19 vaccines. He actually asked questions you will never hear from anyone in the mainstream media. I have to think that Fauci agreed to this 30 minute talk in order to give himself an opportunity to promote the COVID 19 vaccine to Hispanic Americans. Fauci: Thats a very good question. An emergency use authorization is based on the criteria if the benefit clearly outweighs the risk, and that you get a good degree of efficacy and safety. The full licensure is when you follow it for a longer period of time and you get more information and data. I have no doubt, given how very, very efficacious all three of these are, that they will ultimately get the full authorization, in the sense of whats called a biological license approval. Emergency use authorization is really quite of an important step in the direction of getting it the official approval. So let me give you an example how much confidence I have in the emergency use authorization. I myself got vaccinated with one of those three vaccines, and I recommended strongly to the President and the Vice President that they get vaccinated, and they did get vaccinated with it. So they have a great deal of confidence in the safety and in the efficacy of the vaccine. 4:57 Derbez: If vaccines are safe and effective, why hasnt the FDA given any of them the full official approval and license? Fauci: That is a very good question. There isnt like they have any problem with it, it just takes logistically a long time to get the approval. So when this is such a good product that you want to get it to people as quickly as possible because its lifesaving, you give it whats called an emergency use authorization. Not thats theres anything less effective in it, it just takes a long time to get the full approval, and rather than deprive people of getting a life-saving vaccine before all the Is get dotted and the Ts get crossed, they give it an emergency use authorization based on a lot of solid data that works. 6:08 Derbez: What is the medical and legal responsibility of the companies that are making the vaccines? What happens if secondary effects are seen in lets say in 5 or 10 years? Can I sue the manufacturer of the product if it hurts me or if theres long term effects years down the road? Fauci: There is a fund that allows the compensation for injury, but I have tell you, Eugenio, its very, very, very unlikely that youre going to have an effect 5 to 10 years down the pike. The reason we say that is we have decades of experience in the field of vaccinology, and virtually all of the effectsif they even occur, and theyre very rareoccur within 15 to 45 days following the dose. One of the stipulations of the emergency use authorization, is that they dont allow it to be given to people until 60 days following when half of the people have gotten their last dose. So theyre adding some cushion time. So thats the reason why, even though we had the data that indicated that it was safe and effective, each of the companies had to wait 60 days before they were able to release it to be given to the people because most of the bad effects, if they do occur, and I say, its extremely rare, they almost all occur between 15 and 45 days. 7:54 Derbez: Im more concerned about the long term effect, honestly. Thats why I asked about if they can sue the manufacturer because governments around the world are taking liability. But Im talking about the manufacturer. If there is a problem, can I sue the people that make the vaccine, not the government, the people who make the vaccine? I heard they are protected from liability. If theyre not willing to stand for their product, or if I cant sue them, does that mean theyre worried its going to hurt people? Fauci: They are very sensitive about hurting people, but you can sue anybody you want to sue. Theres no guarantee because it would be in a court that would decide whether or not you get compensation, but we have not had any issues with that in any of the other vaccines, so I would be really surprised if that the case. 8:50 Derbez: Theres one thing that I suppose would make people or skeptics like me more confident about vaccines. Im thinking about if they removed the protections on vaccine manufacturers. I think that the ability to be suedis what makes companies make a better product. If you take that away, what incentive do they have to fix a problem with their product? Do you know what I mean? If the manufacturers could be sued for every death and injury that is caused by the vaccination, probably they wouldnt put it on the market right now. I think they should be responsible for the product they make. Fauci: They really actually are. I think one of the things youve got to separate is when you get injury in a trial or injury in a product after it has been fully approved. You have the opportunityI-I-I understand where youre coming from and why you bring it up, but you have the opportunity to sue anybody anytime for anything you want to do. That is the truth. They question is, you have to show that it is related to the vaccine itself. We have so few, in fact I cant even think of a situation where five or ten years later, something related to a vaccine caused someone an injury. Thats the reason why I say, almost everything that occurs, is within a very short period of time. Derbez: But if I sue its the government, not the company. Right? Fauci: Right. Derbez: Ive heard that the reason people should take vaccines is to create herd immunity. What is herd immunity? Fauci: The first reason to take the vaccine is to protect yourself, your family and your community. Herd immunity refers to a situation where you have a high percentage of people who are vaccinated so that when the virus enters the community, they are so few people to attack that the virus has a difficulty in propagating itself. Herd immunity means you get an umbrella of protection because so many people are protected that when the virus comes in, it spreads only when there are a lot of vulnerable people. If a certain percentage of the people are protected, like with measles, if you get 90 percent of the people vaccinated with measles91, 92 percentwhen you get measles introduced into the community, it will not spread. But if you get down to levels into the 80s, theres enough vulnerable people that the virus can spread. They use the word herd. You know what it refers to? You ever see when you look at the movie pictures of Africa where you see the herds of wildebeests and the lions are trying to get to them? And you have all of the adult wildebeests around, and the weak ones, the older ones or the babies, theyre in there, but there are few of them. The herd protects the vulnerable because in this case the lion or whatever the animal is that is the prey animal thats trying to prey on them cant get to the vulnerable ones because there are too many people that are protected. Thats why they use the word herd immunity. 12:42 Derbez: If herd immunity is of paramount importance, what can be done with all the undocumented immigrants that will not want to get a vaccine out of fear of deportation? Fauci: Thats a very important question. The Department of Homeland Security has made it very clear that there will be nothing punitive associated with getting vaccinated, so undocumented immigrants who get vaccinated, will not be pursued for the fact that they are undocumented. That has been a promise from the Department of Homeland Security. Derbez: No questions asked? Fauci: We heard that from them in the previous administration and in the current administration. That is a promise. For people to get vaccinated who are undocumented, they will not be penalized for being undocumented. 13:42 Derbez: I have friends that consider themselves very healthy. They say they dont need the vaccine. But Ive heard that even if healthy people have a very low risk of dying from COVID, they should still get the vaccine so they dont spread the virus to people who might be too old or too sick to get the vaccine. Is that true? Fauci: Thats absolutely true. An example: If youre a young, healthy person, statistically the chances are if you get infected, youre not going to get seriously ill. The people who get seriously ill and dieand I must point out as I think you know, already there have been 525,000 deaths in this country, which is absolutely terrible, the worst of any pandemic in over a hundred years. But when a young person gets vaccinated, not only do they protect themselves, of course even though its rare, there are still a lot of young people who get seriously ill, not nearly as many as the elderly or people with underlying conditions. But if a young person has an underlying condition like diabetes or obesity or hypertension, they will be at high risk to get serious consequences. But when you get vaccinated, not only do you protect yourself, but you prevent yourself from inadvertently, maybe innocently and unknowingly infecting someone who is a loved one, a family member or maybe just someone in society, who if they did get infected, they would have a serious consequence. So you have a personal responsibility and a societal responsibility to protect yourself from getting infected. 15:29 Derbez: The news has reported that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 95 percent effective. Does this mean that if I get the vaccine, I wont get infected with the SARSCoV2 virus? Fauci: That means that there is a 95 percent chance that you will not get symptomatic infection, mainly that you wont get infected to the point that you get symptoms. We are unsure right now what the protection is against infection because its conceivable that you could get vaccinated, get exposed, get infected, not know it because the vaccine is protecting you against symptomsthat you could have virus in your nasopharynx, which is the reason why we say until we prove that the vaccine prevents transmission, that people who are vaccinated, should wear a mask when theyre near people who might be vulnerable to infection. 16:31 Derbez: I think its a different thing to stop the clinical disease or the symptoms; its different from getting the virus, the infection. Right? So basically the vaccine lowers my symptoms, but it may not prevent me from being infected with SARS-CoV2, which means theres the possibility that I can still spread the virus even after I receive the vaccine. Fauci: Thats the reason why we ask you to wear a mask after youve been vaccinated, but the evidence is accumulating that the level of virus in the nasopharynx is very low, and it is unlikely that you would transmit it. But just to be sure, were saying wear a mask. In the next couple of months we will get enough data to be able to prove whether or not, if you get infected despite the fact that youre vaccinated, proving that in fact that it is a very, very low risk that you would transmit it to someone else. 17:40 Derbez: Ive been reading and I saw that you stop getting the symptoms but you still can get infected, and you can still spread it. Fauci (nodding) Right. Derbez: So [what is] the aim of the vaccine, if they neither stop you from getting the virus or transmitting it? Fauci: The main purpose of the vaccine is to prevent you from getting sick, going to the hospital and maybe dying. Thats the main purpose of the vaccine. The main purpose of the vaccine in general is to prevent you from getting clinical illness. We believe that when all the data come in, we will prove that it also prevents you from transmitting the infection to other people. Derbez: But not yet, right? How can we still need to wear masks How can we still need to wear masks after being vaccinated? Under these circumstances, when are we going to get back to normal? Are we going to stop using the masks someday? Fauci: Absolutely, absolutely. Let me tell you what you can do right now. If you are vaccinated and you are with a person who is also vaccinated in the setting of the home, if youre with your mother, your daughter, your wife, your friend, if youre with people who are also vaccinated, in the setting of the home, you dont need to wear a mask, and you can have physical contact. You can hug your children, you can hug your mother or your father. You can do that if everyone is vaccinated, even if some are not vaccinated as long as they are not at risk for serious disease. Let me give you an example. Suppose a grandmother is vaccinated. She wants to go a few houses down the block to see her daughter and her granddaughter. If the daughter and the granddaughter are not vaccinated, the grandmother can still go in there so long as the daughter and the granddaughter dont have an underlying condition that make them susceptible to a severe case of COVID19. If theyre normal and healthy, the vaccinated grandmother can go visit the daughter and the granddaughter, take the mask off, give them a big hug and give them a kiss. You can do that. 20:30 Derbez: Im confused about something. I thought herd immunity works because by being vaccinated, I block the virus from spreading to other people. But these vaccines may not do that. So how does herd immunity work if I can still spread the virus even after getting the vaccine. Fauci: The fact is the vaccine protects many, many, many from getting infected. Some pe0ple might get infected and they might even transmit it. We know that some people get infected. We know that, but not everybody who gets the vaccine is going to get infected without symptoms. So the overwhelming majority of the people who get vaccinated, not only will not get sick, they wont get infected, but there will be some who might be infected. And when they are infected, it is unlikely they will transmit it. 21:39 Derbez: So there is a possibility that the vaccine can turn people into what is called asymptotic carriers? Which means they dont have symptom ms, but theyre still contagious, correct? Fauci: Yes, weve said that. Its true, but were showing as the time going by that it is likely that those people have a very small chance of transmitting it. We wont know exactly how much until we follow these people for a considerable period of time. 22:06 Derbez: Moderna and Pfizer are both mRNA vaccines. Has this kind of mRNA vaccine technology ever been injected into humans before? Fauci: This is the first time, and the good news is that the results are really, really good. Derbez: In essence, this is an experimental technology. Fauci: Well, its a new technology, and it is proven in a very large group of clinical trials to be safe and highly effective. Derbez: Are you completely positive that this new technology is safe? How can we be sure there wont be long term effects when these vaccines were seemingly developed so quickly and have only been tested for months and not years. Fauci: The speed with which its been done is a reflection of the extraordinary advances in science, and there was no compromise of safety, but as I said before, in the history of vaccinology, you dont see effects that occur years later. Almost all of the bad effectsas rare as they are, and they are very rareoccur between 15 and 45 days from the time you get vaccinated. As I said, because of that, just to be sure, the vaccine is not allowed to be distributed until 60 days after the people have been vaccinated. 23:50 Derbez: The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is not an mRNA vaccine, correct? What kind of vaccine is it? Fauci: Its a vaccine that uses a harmless common cold virus in which you insert the gene of the protein that you want the body to make an immune response against. You inject it, the body sees the protein, makes an immune response and then protects you against infection. Derbez: And this is the first time this has been injected into humans too? Fauci: No, no, no. They have a lot of experience with EBOLA in Africa with this. 24: 37 Derbez: There are many Latinos in the community that are practicing Catholics. Last week Catholic bishops warned the Catholic community that they should not use the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Can you explain why? Fauci: Some, some, not all, because there are Catholic bishops who are saying the oppose of that. And the reason is that in the preparation of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine they use the cell line that was taken from fetal tissue from years and years ago to be able to produce the vaccine. Some of the bishops felt that because that was used, that we should not use the vaccine 25:15 Derbez: Is that true that there is residual DNA from an aborted baby in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine? Fauci: No, theres no residual DNA that gets injected into you at all. Its in the preparation of the vaccine. There is no residual human fetal DNA at all. 25:39 Derbez: Kids, Im concerned about my daughter. I have a six year old daughter, and Ive heard the death rare among kids is extremely low. Do they really need the vaccine? Are going to [vaccinate] kids in the future? Is it going to be mandatory? Fauci: In order to be able to completely crush this outbreak, you want to get as many people, including children, vaccinated as you possibly can, because when you do you will get such a broad protection that you could eliminate this virus. And thats what were trying to do. Also, even though children unusually can get a serious outcome, some children do get very seriously ill when they get infected. And thats the reason you want to vaccinate them, not only to protect them, but they can be the vehicles of spread of the virus to other people. 26:40 Derbez: Is it going to be mandatory at school, because my daughter, when I enrolled her into school, it was mandatory to have all the vaccines. COVID didnt exist back then. Is it going to be mandatory at school to have the COVID vaccine? Fauci: I cant say that it is or wont. Its is certainly conceivable that it might ultimately turn out to be mandatory, but right now, nothing that were talking about is mandatory. In the future, it could be, similar to the mumps, measles, rubella and the hepatitis and the meningitis-all of which are required if you go into a public school. Right now there is no mandatory anything about it, but someday it might be. 27: 32 Derbez: With so many variants and counting, how effective are each of the approved vaccines? If I get the vaccine, but it doesnt protect me against a new variant. Fauci: Youre asking about the variants. The most prevalent variant in the United States is the one from the UK called the 117. The vaccines that are available right now are highly effective against that particular variant. Its less effective against the South African variant, but that is not a prevalent variant in this country right now. The most prevalent one is the one from the UK. Derbez: What if I get the vaccine, but it doesnt protect me against the new variant? Pharmaceutical [companies] are working on a third booster shot. Is that true? Fauci: Yes, but let me explain what happened in the trial in South Africa with the J and J vaccine. It didnt completely protect against getting infected or getting symptoms, but it totally protected you against getting into the hospital and dying. So when you get exposed to a variant, you may not be completely protected, but it is very, very good protecting you against getting seriously ill. Derbez: And this third booster shot that theyre working on, that says to me that probably theyre not confident that the two shots are going to be good enough. Does that mean that the vaccine doesnt work against variants? Fauci: No, theyre not saying that. They want to be doubly sure. In case they have to give a booster, they want to determine what the effect of that booster is. So in order to be doubly sure, were proceeding with studies to see what happens when you give a third shot. That has nothing to do with being confident or not confident. It means you want to be doubly sure that youre covering all the bases. The Serbian star of the Bosnian nominee for the Oscar for best international film says the movie's genius lies in "telling our most frightening story, the Srebrenica story," while conveying the universality of a tragedy that divides the Balkans. Lead actress Jasna Djuricic called this week's nomination of Sarajevo-born filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic's Quo Vadis, Aida? a "special moment" that "shakes the entire region." The film is the first feature-length dramatization of events around the notorious massacre in 1995 of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys abandoned by UN peacekeepers after being encircled by Bosnian Serb forces -- the single deadliest European atrocity since World War II. Written, produced, and directed by the 46-year-old Zbanic, it follows the desperate efforts of a fictional UN translator -- played by Djuricic -- to protect her husband and sons from the emerging genocide as it becomes increasingly clear that international peacekeepers will not. Djuricic hailed its message of "reconciliation" amid waning public awareness of "the greatest wound in the Balkans," particularly among young people. "I am especially happy that this is such an important topic, which otherwise shakes our region in different directions and provokes violent reactions, even though nearly 30 years has passed," she told RFE/RL's Balkan Service. Djuricic also talked about the need for "many, many more movies" to foster healing "on all sides" and the perils of denying historical tragedies like Srebrenica. A Human Story The Hollywood nod is a rare international triumph for Bosnia-Herzegovina's cinematic community, long hampered by the former Yugoslav republic's ethnic divisions and a lack of funds that forced its visionary filmmaker to assemble a 10-country co-production to make its $5.4 million budget. Variety magazine called Quo Vadis, Aida? a "harrowing, vital retelling" of the Srebrenica massacre, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled a genocide. The Dutch Supreme Court in 2017 upheld an earlier ruling that held the Dutch peacekeepers partly liable for the tragedy after they abandoned the UN "safe area" to Bosnian Serb forces. "That was fantastic -- somehow the knowledge that the film, telling our scariest story, the Srebrenica story, spread to a universal level, where really everyone, of any skin color or nation -- can identify with it," Djuricic said. "Why? Because in the center of Jasmila's film is a man, a woman, and not some story about some kind of politics but a story about an individual who manages as best he or she can in war conditions." Djuricic's character, Aida Selmanagic, sees the UN capitulation coming despite the commanders' assurances and tries to secure seats for her husband and sons in the evacuation vehicles. Before Quo Vadis, Aida? Djuricic was best-known to international film audiences for winning best actress for White White World at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010. She said the goal of Quo Vadis, Aida? was to honor "reconciliation," not division. "Our wish, in making this film, our common wish, was for it to be a film in honor of our reconciliations, and not in any other direction -- inciting negative connotations or inciting hatred," Djuricic said. "Of course, whenever it comes to films that treat such painful things -- and I think that Srebrenica is a source of pain for the entire Balkans -- one must be terribly smart and careful." 'Undisguised Propaganda' Another of this year's Oscar submissions from the Balkans exploring the horrors of war, the Serbian film Dara Of Jasenovac, has been less successful at avoiding controversy and accusations of ethnic and nationalist bias. Western film critics and some Serbs have accused its director, Predrag Antonujevic, of using the story of a young girl condemned to a World War II concentration camp in Croatia to deliver a more nationalistic message. Variety magazine called Dara Of Jasenovac "an undisguised piece of Serbian nationalist propaganda...dressed up in concentration camp clothing." Antonujevic reportedly vowed a U.S. lawsuit over a Los Angeles Times reviewer's similar criticism. A spokeswoman told RFE/RL that the Los Angeles Times was "not aware of any legal action and the review remains as published." Djuricic sidestepped any comparison and said she hadn't seen the Serbian film. Universal Pain Born in Ruma, in present-day Serbia, Djuricic teaches acting in the Serbian second city of Novi Sad and calls herself "a child of Yugoslavia." At 54, she is old enough to remember the Balkan Wars of the 1990s that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia. She bristles at questions about a Serb being cast to play the role of a Bosnian woman. "I get a little angry when they ask me, for example, 'What it was like to play a Bosnian woman?'" she said. "So wait, a woman is a woman, that's the first thing. So wait, we write the same letter, we speak the same language. In this film, as far as I'm concerned, all the experiences I've had have merged. That's why it all together, it seems to me, turned out so strongly." But Djuricic told RFE/RL she thinks one of the strengths of Quo Vadis, Aida? is its capturing of intensely personal struggles in wartime and the pain not only of the mothers of Srebrenica's victims but of "all the mothers who have lost." "The pain is the same for me. To me, the pain is the same as any woman, from any part of the world," she said, citing the common feelings that accompany tragedy and loss anywhere. "This is, of course, close, because it's all ours, because it's the former country where we all lived together and it's all the stronger. But I can also absolutely feel the way a woman felt in Rwanda. It's all the same." 'Painful' Politics Quo Vadis, Aida? has already won BAFTA nominations for best film in a foreign language and best director for Zbanic. The filmmaker, who survived the deadly 1992-96 siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces, has acknowledged thinking for a long time about the need for movies about Srebrenica but feeling that "it shouldn't be me [to make one]." Zbanic recalled the horror of watching the tragedy of Srebrenica helplessly in 1995 and being "so shocked by the fact that the United Nations [peacekeepers] could just give up...[and] just betray the people like that." She changed her mind about getting involved after returning to Bosnia from abroad to establish an artists association and completing her fourth feature film, her much-awarded 2006 movie Grbavica about wartime atrocities against Bosniak women. "The main problem then was not so much professional, because I felt ready," Zbanic told The Hollywood Reporter last month. "It was political. Because Srebrenica is still such a hot political subject. There are so many clashes about it, so many interpretations. You know, the [current] mayor of Srebrenica, he's a Serbian, denies that genocide ever happened." Djuricic told RFE/RL that "art is the right way to communicate things" and that Zbanic and the entire project had to be "terribly smart and careful" to treat such a "painful point for the entire Balkans." She said she was "amazed at how much is not known about" Srebrenica and the lack of "any great interest in finding out anything about it." "I have some hope that this film will be watched primarily by young people," Djuricic said. "I don't believe much in my generation. I'm afraid half of us are already hardened to one side or the other." An alarming number of ethnic Serbs and their political and military establishments in the region continue to reject the account of the Srebrenica massacre established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice. U.S. journalist Peter Maass, who wrote a book in 1996 on his experiences covering the Bosnian War, welcomed the Oscar nomination for Quo Vadis, Aida? He contrasted it with what he said was the "shameful" awarding of the Nobel Prize for literature in 2019 to Austrian writer Peter Handke, whom critics regard as a "genocide denier" and who spoke at the 2006 funeral of Serbian wartime leader and accused war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. Djuricic praised the tremendous exposure of Quo Vadis, Aida? as a contribution to educating new generations that confront historical deniers. "Maybe it's good that everything is happening online now," she said. "Maybe [young people] will be braver to turn on that movie in the darkness of their room on their laptop, without either of their parents even knowing that they watched it, and maybe something like that raises in them at least a question: So wait, what really happened there?" Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 15:38:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TOKYO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A panel of experts in infectious disease and other fields has approved a decision on Thursday to lift the state of emergency for the Tokyo area as planned on Sunday. The expert panel's approval now paves the way for Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga to make a formal announcement on the move to lift the measures in place for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, the last in the nation under COVID-19 emergency restrictions, following a coronavirus task-force meeting later in the day. The Japanese leader has earlier informed the parliament of the decision, and is expected to explain it to the public in a press conference in the evening. "A panel of experts in infectious diseases and other fields approved the decision. The government will remain vigilant against a resurgence in infections," said Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of the COVID-19 response, without providing more specifics. The government told the expert panel that the previous strain on the healthcare system when the state of emergency was first declared had eased. This was one of the most important criteria that had to be met in order for the lifting of restrictions. Under the soon-to-be-lifted state of emergency, restaurants and bars must close by 8 p.m. and people are being urged to avoid leaving home unnecessarily, particularly in the evenings. Businesses are requested to promote remote working, while attendees at large-scale events have been capped at 5,000 people. Enditem AMHERST During Tuesdays budget hearing questions on whether it is wise to eliminate positions at the elementary schools was a recurring theme. Amherst School Committee members said they plan to ask for a larger town contribution, prior to a vote on the final spending plan, likely later this month. According to school superintendent Michael Morris, although 5.5 full time equivalent jobs will disappear, through attrition or operational changes, only one person in the K-6 system would be eliminated. School board members thanked him for his creativity to spare most personnel, but expressed concern that it would take years to rebuild programming, to be lost for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and beyond. Its going to be multiple years before the lost programming returns at Fort River, Wildwood and Crocker Farm elementary schools, committee chair Allison McDonald said. Morris said he, and school personnel advising him, really struggled with this; there is no reductions or cuts to mental health staff. . . there is no guidance counselor reductions. . . we know the trauma students have been through. I think it is an existential moment. . . with the current budget scenarios, Peter Demling, the committee vice-chairman said. These cuts are very painful, he said. It makes me concerned we are not on a sustainable path and its not consistent with our town values. . .. should town commit to funding at a minimum operation level? he asked his board colleagues. Demling said we as a town should be having this conversation. Committeeman Ben Herrington agreed, saying: If worse comes to worse, I am OK with just asking for addition money to fund the school system. Town reserves include money the state department of revenue labels Free Cash. According to the Department of Revenue, free cash consists of actual receipts in excess of revenue estimates and unspent amounts in departmental budget line items for the year just ending, plus unexpended free cash from the previous year. Free cash is offset by property tax receivables and certain deficits, and as a result, can be a negative dollar amount. Each year, the DOR, in consultation with each of the states 351 cities and town, certifies how much free cash a municipality may possess. Amherst free cash in fiscal 2020 exceeded the amount budgeted by 8.2% -- or $6.7 million more than the $82.5 million town budget. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, Amherst free cash totaled $5.4 million, or 6.5% of the $83.6 million fiscal 2021 municipal budget. This amount was certified by the state on October 9. Related: This Sunday, March 21, is officially census day in Northern Ireland. Its quite the undertaking to count everyone in the midst of a pandemic. But there is the added bonus that enumerators will not have to go traipsing around hotel bars trying to get guests to fill out forms because theyre all closed. Officials were particularly keen to go ahead with the census since it happens only every 10 years, as opposed to the Republic where a detailed picture of the population is revealed every five years. Like so much in the North, all eyes will be on the religious make-up of the region that the census data will reveal. The last census in 2011 revealed that 48pc of the resident population are either Protestant or brought up Protestant, a drop of 5pc from 10 years earlier. At the same time, 45pc of the resident population described themselves as either Catholic or brought up Catholic, an increase of 1pc. Seven percent said they either belong to another religion or none. Most observers expect the gap to have narrowed further and some even predict that Catholics may actually be in a majority when the figures are revealed next year. The writing has been on the wall for a while. Already Catholics make up a majority of pupils in schools in the North. Add to that the fact that Sinn Fein is likely to take the largest share of the seats in next years assembly elections and with it the coveted role of First Minister, and Northern Ireland is a place transformed. When the state was established a century ago with institutionalised discrimination against Catholics, the plan was for a permanent Protestant majority with the infamous Protestant parliament for a Protestant people. The census data is likely to fuel further debate and discussion about a united Ireland. Sinn Feins organisers in the US spent a fortune this week on half-page advertisements in both the Washington Post and the New York Times calling on the Government to prepare and plan for reunification. This is the time for the people of Ireland to have their say, the adverts proclaim, calling for a date to be set for a unity referendum. Of course, the adverts were playing to Sinn Fein grassroots and financiers stateside. To hammer the point home, the Friends of Sinn Fein organisation also took out full-page adverts in both the Irish Voice and the Irish Echo long-considered bastions of the romantic Irish-American community. The problem is that in the US the Shinners have too easily reached for anti-British tropes. Like in 2019 when Mary Lou McDonald cheerfully marched behind a banner which read: England get out of Ireland. The backlash resulted in a sorry/not sorry clarification from the Sinn Fein leader when she said: I suppose all of us have to be conscious of not just what we say and what is meant but also what is heard and what is understood. Quite. And the fact is that many people when they listen to Sinn Fein talk about reunification hear a narrow and sectarian agenda. Rather than inclusivity, they hear Brits out and Up the Ra. It is not only the fact that Sinn Fein alienates many unionists from the discussion, it is also not at all a given that all Catholics (or indeed people who describe themselves as nationalists) would vote for a united Ireland if there was a referendum in the morning. Identity in the North is complicated, and one of the triumphs of the Good Friday Agreement was to create a culture where people could be comfortable with identities that might appear conflicting. People can be British, Irish, Northern Irish or a combination of all of these without one single identity being exaggerated at the expense of another. The 2011 census in the North was fascinating because for the first time ever, as well as the question about religious background, statisticians asked a question about national identity. Two-fifths (40pc) said they had a British only national identity, a quarter (25pc) said they had Irish-only and just over a fifth of people (21pc) said they had a Northern Irish-only national identity. It is hugely significant that while 45pc of the population are Catholic, just 25pc regard themselves as Irish only. These figures illustrate the danger of trying to equate someones religion with their political identity. At the same time, almost three-fifths (59pc) of people usually resident in Northern Ireland in 2011 held a UK passport, just over a fifth (21pc) held an Irish passport, while 19pc held no passport at all. Of course, those findings were pre-Brexit. The North voted to stay and the UKs exit from the European Union has upset the post-Good Friday Agreement consensus that Northern Ireland was a place where nationalists could feel equally at home. Next weekends census will reveal to what extent Brexit has affected identity and the reality that Britishness is no longer synonymous with being a citizen of Europe. Already we know many people from a unionist background have opted for Irish passports, it remains to be seen if this will have an impact on how they view themselves. One thing is for sure, the debate around reunification cannot be fuelled by pinning hopes on a sectarian headcount and corralling people into a state they have no stake in or a desire to be part of. We allowed that a century ago and it was a catastrophe. We deserve no forgiveness if we allow history to repeat itself. North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui speaks to reporters in Moscow after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in this Nov. 20, 2019, file photo. Yonhap By Jung Da-min North Korea has issued a series of statements pledging to ignore any contact from Washington, and Pyongyang watchers say the North is attempting to put itself in an advantageous position to draw a "concession" in future denuclearization talks. The denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalemated since the failure of the Hanoi summit in February 2019 between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said in a statement, Wednesday, which was carried by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day, that Washington had tried to reach out to Pyongyang through multiple diplomatic channels as reported earlier by U.S. media, but Pyongyang had dismissed the calls. "We don't think there is need to respond to the U.S. delaying-time trick again. We have already declared our stand that no DPRK-U.S. contact and dialogue of any kind can be possible unless the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK," Choe said. The DPRK, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is the official name of North Korea. "Therefore, we will disregard such an attempt of the U.S. in the future, too." The statement was made on the day when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made their first visit to South Korea since the launch of the Joe Biden administration. Earlier on Tuesday, the KCNA also carried another statement issued by Kim Yo-jong, in which the powerful sister of the country's leader criticized U.S.-South Korea springtime combined exercises that were launched March 8 for an 11-day run. North Korea watchers said the country was trying to take an advantageous position in any upcoming negotiations with the Biden administration by issuing strong messages, but these did not mean that it was shutting the door for dialogue with Washington. "The statements from Pyongyang showed that they want to start negotiations with Washington in a position favorable for them, but not a sign that they were shutting down doors for dialogue," said Moon Sung-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. "As Blinken and Austin are on a trip to the East Asia region to listen to allied countries' opinions as the Biden administration is in the final stages of drawing up its North Korea policy, Pyongyang was reaffirming its earlier stance declared by Kim Jong-un, demanding Washington make a concession first for dialogue." Foreign Minster Chung Eui-yong, second from right, and Defense Minister Suh Wook, right, hold a press conference following a meeting with their U.S. counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from left, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps Millions are on high alert as a 'life-threatening' rain event continues to pummel Australia's east coast, with warning for flash flooding and dangerous downpours. A severe weather warning is in place for the New South Wales mid-north coast as heavy rainfall lashes the area on Friday and into the weekend, with a 600mm rain dump predicted for some areas. Meteorologists have warned those living on the east coast to expect 'an absolute deluge' as the 1,200km-long weather system moves gradually southwards towards the Harbour City. 'Intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding may develop over the Mid North Coast and parts of the Hunter,' the Bureau of Meteorology warned on Friday morning. Up to 600mm of rain could fall in Coffs Harbour over the next 36 hours during the wild weather event. Up to 600mm of rain could fall in Coffs Harbour over the next 36 hours amid the wild weather event Sydney could see 50mm fall on Friday, before 120mm is dumped on the Harbour City on Saturday. Pictured: A cyclist rides through rain in the Sydney CBD Commuters heading into the city on Friday morning were met with flooding at Lewisham station, in Sydney's inner west, as rain water soaked the entrance. The morning commute was thrown into disarray thanks to the weather event. Buses are replacing metro services between Castle Hill and Tallawong due to a fallen overhead cable. On Thursday night, Sydneysiders were forced to walk through the Moore Park tunnel after the light rail they were travelling on broke down. Sydney could see 50mm fall on Friday, before 120mm is dumped on the Harbour City on Saturday. Overnight on Thursday, up to 100mm of rain fell across the regions sparking hundreds of call for help. In the past 24 hours, SES crews have undertaken 11 flood rescues, three of which were in western Sydney. Dubbo recorded its wettest day in four years as 65mm hit the regional city. More heavy rain, thunderstorms and damaging winds are forecast on Friday and into the weekend, heightening the risk of flash flooding and hazardous surf and heavy swells. Flood watch alerts have been issued for the mid-north coast, Hunter, Central Coast, Sydney metro and Illawarra coast and far west regions areas. The biggest risk is on the mid-north coast where the Orara, Bellinger and Hastings rivers are being closely watched ahead of expected minor to moderate flooding on Friday. A crack and flooded road is seen in Corlette, Port Stephens, on Thursday amid the wet conditions The Georges, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers in the Sydney region are also expected to be affected. Emergency services have warned conditions will remain dangerous and are telling motorists to take 'extreme care' around flood warning areas. The deluge is set to continue well into next week and could deliver the heaviest rainfall since February 2020, when Greater Sydney was hit. The mid-north coast copped the worst of the conditions on Thursday, as a low-pressure system continued to move south to the Hunter, Illawarra and Sydney. Catchments are already soaked but it won't take much more for flooding to occur, the Bureau of Meteorology's Agata Imielska said. 'It's the difference between being inconveniently wet to conditions drastically changing to being dangerously wet,' the meteorologist said. The bureau said the low-pressure system was a 'significant system' bringing peak gusts of more than 90km/h. The bureau has warned the 'intense rainfall' may lead to 'life-threatening flash flooding' Forecasters say more than 100mm of rain is expected to fall in a short period of time in some regions. 'We're very concerned about the potential for flooding along the coastal rivers from the mid-north coast down to Sydney,' bureau flood operations manager Justin Robinson said. Towns likely to be affected include Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Woolgoolga, Sawtell, Bellingen and Dorrigo. Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne said there is some uncertainty about where the heaviest falls will be this weekend. 'There is a risk of that flooding reaching Sydney and the rain spreading into northern and eastern parts of Victoria,' she said. She added there could be months' worth of rain in outback NSW in the next few days, where a separate band of rain is moving eastwards from Western Australia. Sydneysiders have been warned their city could be hit by flooding this weekend as a second band of heavy rainfall lashes the east coast A severe weather warning is in place for the New South Wales mid-north coast where as much as 300mm is expected to fall in the next three days. Pictured: Freshwater Beach on Thursday 'In the outback [where there is less rainfall] there could be many months worth of rain in the next few days,' she said. BoM meteorologist Helen Kirkup on Thursday morning told Daily Mail Australia that weather system could bring about 60mm of rain to inland areas. Ms Kirkup said parts of Sydney could receive 120mm of rain on Saturday alone. 'Isolated parts of the mid-north coast could get up to 200mm in a day - it's not out of the question,' she said. Meteorologists have warned those living on the east coast to expect 'an absolute deluge' as the weather system moves gradually southwards towards the Harbour City The eastern seabord of Australia is expected to cop a deluge in the coming days. A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall is now in place for the mid-north coast 'Wallis Lakes past Newcastle has already received 100mm overnight.' A flood watch is already in place for the Orara, Bellinger and Nambucca Rivers in northern NSW. 'Those river catchments require widespread rainfall to flood but we could see that flood watch upgraded to a warning in the coming days,' Ms Kirkup said. Sydney could see one of the heaviest days of rainfall periods in recent years, with some suburbs predicted to experience north of 100mm. Pictured: worker cleans a closed Freshwater rockpool on Thursday The second band of rain will move eastwards from western parts of Australia into NSW, bringing with it downpours of up to 60mm for inland regions of the state. The forecast is a different picture in other parts of the country, with neither Brisbane and Canberra expected to receive more than 20mm of rain a day into the weekend. Melbourne will remain mostly dry as the thermostat reaches as high as 25C. Adelaide residents will also escape the rain, with the next few days bringing sunshine and temperatures around 30C. Hobart will be dry and sunny with days reaching around 25C. Pictured: The severe weather warning in place in the mid-north coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales Over on the other side of the country, Perth residents will sweat through the week with Friday soaring to tops of 38C and Saturday to 37C. Darwin will be hot with high chances of thunderstorms and rainfall over the coming days. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services earlier issued a warning for residents in Sapphire, in the Central Highlands Region just before 5am on Wednesday, after the area received more than 130mm of rain in three hours. Meanwhile Sydney will be drenched by up to 35mm of rain forecast for Friday and 50mm for Saturday 'Due to heavy rainfall, the Retreat Creek is rising rapidly and major flooding is expected. Properties in low-lying areas are likely to be impacted,' the warning said. 'Council advises residents to warn neighbours, secure belongings and move to higher ground now.' More than 215mm of rain fell in the Gemfields, near Sapphire, with the river reaching up to 10m high - hitting the major flood level. Other central Queensland areas like Florence Vale was hit with 124mm of rain in just three hours and Keilambete had 138mm of rain before midnight. Thousands of Queenslanders have been urged to move to higher ground after the state was battered by heavy rainfall that's expected to last for another week (pictured residents in Sunshine Coast) New South Wales and Queensland are set to be battered by thunderstorms with no sunshine in sight (pictured people sheltering from rain in Brisbane) 'La Nina has started to ease but it is still expected to influence Australia's climate in early autumn and is typically associated with above average rainfall for eastern and northern Australia,' the Bureau of Meteorology's Sarah Scully said. 'Showers and storms are continuing into Thursday again with potentially heavy rainfall totals.' 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Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Explainer: How worried should we be about reports of blood clots and AstraZeneca's vaccine? AstraZeneca logo is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle in this illustration photo taken (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo) Europe's drug watchdog is reviewing a small number of reports of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts in people who have received AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said it has so far found no causal link between the vaccine and the incidents. The World Health Organization has also said there was no proven link and people should not panic. Advertisement At least 13 EU member states including Germany, France, Italy have suspended use of the shot pending the outcome of EMA's probe. Here's what we know so far: WHAT HAS HAPPENED? More than 45 million COVID shots by all manufacturers have been administered across the EU and the European Economic Area since vaccinations started almost three months ago. The EMA is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU. The EMA's focus and primary concern is on cases of blood clots in the head, a rare condition that's difficult to treat called cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). In Germany, seven people aged 20 to 50 have been diagnosed with CVT up to 16 days after vaccination as per Monday, according to the national vaccine authority Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI). Based on the known rate of CVT in the general population, the PEI would have expected one case in 1.6 million. WHAT HAVE OTHER COUNTRIES AND ASTRAZENECA SAID? Britain has administered more than 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and reports of blood clots were no greater than would have occurred naturally. The UK's medicine regulator has urged Britons to keep on getting their vaccines, including the AstraZeneca shot. Canada has said health experts are sure all COVID-19 vaccines being administered in the country are safe, including AstraZeneca's. AstraZeneca said on Sunday a review of safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the United Kingdom and European Union with its vaccine had shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. WHAT IS THE EMA INVESTIGATING? EMA investigators are checking if the frequency of incidences is higher in the vaccinated population than normal background rates. The normal frequency is drawn from public health statistics or insurance records. This would be combined with a medical analysis of each case and insight from scientific literature. EMA's head of safety monitoring, Peter Arlett, added the rarity of CVT meant the watchdog would have to rely more heavily on case-by-case analysis rather than on the sparse statistical data. A spokeswomen for Germany's vaccine authority, which is part of the investigation, said EMA would not rule on causality. Instead, EMA will assess the likelihood of an increased risk of the condition and weigh that against the benefits of fighting COVID-19 and providing relief for health systems. For example, the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna have been linked with increased risk of anaphylaxis, but they are still recommended because benefits outweigh the risks of the side effect, which can be treated. The regulator has said it remains for now "firmly convinced" that the product's benefit outweighs any risks. WHAT DID THE CLINICAL TRIALS SHOW? AstraZeneca and European regulators have said that concerns about blood coagulation disorders did not emerge during human trials. Safety monitoring after approval is key because extremely rare side-effects, or those affecting only a small subset of the population, are near impossible to identify during clinical trials, according to PEI. ARE THERE PRECEDENTS OF VACCINE SAFETY SCARES? In Japan, a governmental recommendation for use of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer has been suspended since June 2013, due to media reports of an alleged pain syndrome. This has drawn criticism from the WHO. A study published in The Lancet Public Health last year concluded a continued suspension would lead to thousands of cancer deaths over the next decades. In Ukraine https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-measles-ukraine-insight-idUKKBN1XE15T, deep mistrust of vaccines has allowed measles to grow into an epidemic. Vaccine hesitancy there is rooted in corruption and mistrust of authority but also in a temporary government suspension in 2008, when a 17-year-old boy died shortly after receiving a measles-rubella vaccine. 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. COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader of innovative, sustainable and secure data centres has reached an agreement with the European Environment Agency to host the organisation's server park. Located in the heart of Copenhagen, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has reviewed its data storage strategy, and it became obvious that the existing server room framework had to be upgraded to significantly improve the protection against fire and water damage and that the ventilation and cooling system also needed an upgrade to modern standards. Data center or cloud? Various cloud and co-location solutions were assessed based on a number of operational and financial parameters. Eventually, a co-location solution with DigiPlex in Copenhagen was chosen. The European Environment Agency has many small applications handling the same workload throughout the year. It turned out to be uneconomic to transfer the applications to AWS or Azure and, moreover, they were not designed to benefit from such a transfer. An alternative solution to an expensive overhaul of the facilities was to rent space and obtain server room expertise from a data center. The possibility to grow and to team up with a supplier with a green and sustainable profile were key priorities. "A key consideration in the decision-making process was for me to know the precise location of our data, and with the co-location solution from DigiPlex we have reached that goal - and our data is now located in a green data centre close to our offices. The solution has proved to be a financial benefit as it has saved us the cost of an overhaul and of ensuring protection against fire, burglary or sabotage and upgrading of the electricity, cooling and ventilation system in our existing server room. On top of that, office space has been made available, enabling us to terminate expensive office leases elsewhere and move staff to the headquarters," says Sren Roug, Head of IT and Information Systems, EEA. A sustainable solution The chosen co-location solution is in keeping with the European Environment Agency's aim of supporting the environment and sustainable IT solutions. A co-location solution offers a host of advantages: you share the physical framework with others in a flexible and scalable manner while at the same time taking advantage of economies of scale in connection with the purchase of green electricity, etc. "We are extremely pleased that the European Environment Agency (EEA) has chosen a co-location solution from DigiPlex in Copenhagen. We share the same vision of protecting the environment, and DigiPlex only builds and operates entirely green data centres, where we utilize innovative and sustainable solutions to be able to constantly meet the growing demand for data storage. It is obvious that an increasing number of social-minded businesses consider green IT and data centre solutions where DigiPlex is an obvious partner," says Fredrik Jansson, CCO, DigiPlex. DigiPlex was established in Copenhagen in 2018 following the takeover of an existing data centre from Telia, which subsequently became one of DigiPlex's key customers. The data centre is 1,600 square metres. See here for site specifications. Just last month, DigiPlex announced it had expanded its Danish portfolio further through the acquisition of a plot of 110,000 m2, secured enough renewable power to support the development, as well as onsite water, planning and building permissions to construct five data centers for a major new campus site. This second DigiPlex datacenter site in Denmark will feature waste heat recovery technology to feed into the existing district heating system as part of a significant environmental sustainability commitment. CONTACT: Elisabeth Lennhede, Head of Communications, +46 70 33 22 705, elennhede@digiplex.com Anders Hansen, Sales Director, DigiPlex Danmark, +45 20 47 77 97, ahansen@digiplex.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/digiplex/r/the-european-environment-agency-chooses-digiplex-co-location-solution-in-copenhagen,c3308047 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/7526/3308047/1388192.pdf The European Environment Agency chooses DigiPlex co-location solution in Copenhagen SOURCE DigiPlex A man who brought hatchets, a hammer and a wheel brace to a violent brawl outside a Dublin city nightclub has been jailed. Ahmad Majeed (26) was in a mob of around 20 men who showed up at the Lost Lane nightclub on July 7, 2019 and tried to force their way into the club. A doorman was punched and kicked during the melee, and two petrol bombs and the weapons were discovered by another security guard. Majeed of Warrenstown Close, Blanchardstown, Dublin, came before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on signed guilty pleas relating to committing violent disorder at the venue off Grafton Street. He also pleaded guilty to possession of articles intended unlawfully to cause injury to a person on the same date at Wicklow Street in Dublin city centre. Judge Karen O'Connor said that on the night in question a group of around 20 men, many of them with their faces covered up with ski masks and hoodies, tried to force their way into an event in the nightclub. One witness later told gardai that there was a sinister vibe on the night. Detective Garda Anthony Gibbon told the court that the group were planning to attack another group who were supposed to be attending the event at the club that night. This was in retaliation for an earlier attack allegedly by the second gang on three men during which a car was smashed up and one man was injured. Read More When doormen at Lost Lane forcibly prevented the mob getting into the venue, one doorman was punched and kicked all over his head and body. Members of the mob tried to drag this man into the crowd, but a colleague managed to prevent this by pulling him back. A shopping bag found at the scene contained two hatchets, a hammer, a wheel brace and a towing eye. A rucksack also discovered at the scene contained two petrol bombs, one made from a beer bottle and a larger one made from a brandy bottle. In a victim impact report, the injured doorman said that this incident was the most vulnerable he had felt after over a decade working in security. He said he had since stopped working in security as a result of these events and he continues to suffer flashbacks and panic attacks. Majeed was later identified and arrested at his home and told gardai he didn't know anything about the petrol bombs. He said that if he had known what was going to happen on the night, he would have stayed at home. He told gardai people could have died. Richard Brady BL, defending, said his client was not at the front of the mob and there was no evidence that he had carried out any of the assaults on the doorman. He said there was no history of violence in his previous offending, which was limited to road traffic offences. He said Majeed is of support to his sister who has physical welfare issues and asked the court to be as lenient as possible. Judge OConnor noted that Majeed is assessed by the Probation Service as being at a low risk of reoffending. She suspended the final year of a prison term of three years and four months on condition that he keep the peace and be on good behaviour for the entire period. 93 million years ago, bizarre, winged sharks swam in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This newly described fossil species, called Aquilolamna milarcae, has allowed its discoverers to erect a new family. Like manta rays, these 'eagle sharks' are characterised by extremely long and thin pectoral fins reminiscent of wings. The specimen studied was 1.65 metres long and had a span of 1.90 metres. Aquilolamna milarcae had a caudal fin with a well-developed superior lobe, typical of most pelagic sharks, such as whale sharks and tiger sharks. Thus, its anatomical features thus give it a chimeric appearance that combines both sharks and rays. With its large mouth and supposed very small teeth, it must have fed on plankton, according to the international research team led by Romain Vullo of the CNRS. Scientists have identified only one category of large plankton feeders in Cretaceous seasuntil now: a group of large bony fish (pachycormidae), which is now extinct. Thanks to this discovery, they now know that a second group, the eagle sharks, was also present in the Cretaceous oceans. The complete specimen was found in 2012 in Vallecillo (Mexico), a locality yielding remarkably preserved fossils. This site, already famous for its many fossils of ammonites, bony fish and other marine reptiles, is most useful for documenting the evolution of oceanic animals. As well as shedding light on the structure of Cretaceous marine ecosystems, the discovery of eagle sharks reveals a new, hitherto unsuspected, facet of sharks' evolutionary history. ### The coronavirus pandemic and remote work arent slowing Googles massive real estate expansion in California. The tech giant plans to invest more than $1 billion on office projects in the state this year, a sharp contrast to the dozens of tech companies that are slashing their real estate. I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life. Google wants to be a part of that recovery, CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement. Google has over 52,000 employees in California. It plans to hire 10,000 more workers in the U.S. and invest more than $7 billion across the country this year. In the past three years, Google invested nearly $30 billion in offices and data centers. The pandemic devastated restaurants, hotels, airlines and retailers, but it made the tech giants even richer. Last month, Googles parent company, Alphabet, reported fourth-quarter revenue of $56.9 billion, a 23% surge from the prior year. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Salesforce are also seeing booming earnings. Google is allowing workers to stay fully remote until at least September, and Pichai said employees can work from home two days per week after offices reopen. But the companys appetite for new office space, concentrated in Silicon Valley, remains enormous. C. McAnneny / Heatherwick Studio Google plans to complete two office projects in Mountain View this year: the 595,000-square-foot Charleston East and the 1.1 million-square-foot Bay View. Together, the two projects have more office space than Salesforce Tower. Google also will start work on a building in Sunnyvale using non-traditional wood construction known as mass timber. The companys growth in San Francisco has slowed, but it signed a small lease last year at Rincon Center. Google is also building out interior space at the Landmark building at 1 Market St., previously Salesforces headquarters. A glut of vacant sublease space near Googles offices in San Francisco could give the tech giant an opportunity to expand further at a discount. Google has also proposed a major campus next to Diridon Station in San Jose, which could be approved this year, as well as further expansion in Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Interactive Vaccine Tracker: Latest developments Detailed information about the coronavirus vaccines as it becomes available. In Los Angeles, Google leased 584,000 square feet at Westside Pavilion, a defunct mall being converted into offices. It is also growing in San Diego. Google separately committed $1 billion in 2019 to fund affordable housing and recently loaned $30 million to three projects. The companys growth has come with more scrutiny, and Google is facing more criticism and numerous antitrust lawsuits over its dominance over internet search and online advertising. Google has denied the allegations and says its products benefit users. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, welcomed an engaged global audience to its SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum 6-11 March with 8,000 registered attendees. Across the highly regarded BiOS, LASE, and OPTO symposia, as well as the new industry-focused Quantum West conference, SPIE Photonics West showcased more than 20 plenary speakers, including Ursula Keller, Gerard Mourou, Susumu Noda, Satoshi Kako, Kohji Mitani, Sheila Nirenberg, Laura Fabris, and Yeka Aponte. More than 100 live events including panel sessions, technical discussions, and networking events complemented the 3,200 on-demand presentations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005651/en/ SPIE Photonics West Digital Forum showcases best of optics, photonics, quantum, biomedical technologies in applications and research (Photo: Business Wire) In addition, two Digital Marketplaces one for Photonics West, one for BiOS together showcased more than 400 exhibitors and over 100 product demonstrations of the latest innovations in optics and photonics. The largest photonics virtual event of 2021, SPIE Photonics West spotlighted and recognized the best optics and photonics technologies, trends, and entrepreneurial innovations, offering many opportunities for attendees, presenters, scientists, and engineers to engage and discuss their latest research and work. From COVID-focused diagnostics advancements and neuro-technologies to lasers in manufacturing and data center communications, SPIE Photonics West offered a dynamic week of information sharing, learning, and conversation. Quantum West, a new conference on quantum technology held in partnership with the QED-C, featured industry leaders such as Celia Merzbacher, Peter Knight, Andrew Lord, Wilhelm Kaenders, and Kaitlin Moore exploring the role of photonics in quantum technologys growth from R&D into engineering products for commercial applications. "I have worked with SPIE over many years, as both an exhibitor and conference chair, and am very happy to help build Quantum West together with them, said Quantum West Co-Chair Tim Day who serves as DRS Daylight Solutions GM and senior VP, as well as Member of the Board of ColdQuanta. SPIE did a great job under challenging circumstances and is always a wonderful partner in terms of bringing the community together and helping to advance photonics technology. We, along with many others in the photonics community, are looking forward to an in-person meeting next January in San Francisco. Other industry-focused events featured live sessions with thought leaders discussing todays hottest application areas, including industrial lasers, sensing and imaging, and autonomous vehicles. I come to Photonics West every year with my students, said Jennifer Barton, who is co-chair for BiOS as well as the director of the University of Arizonas BIO5 Institute and the universitys Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering. This year, three of them presented virtually, along with myself. I was very impressed with the high quality of live and prerecorded presentations, the flawless execution of events, and the surprisingly effective opportunities for networking and fun go Trivia Night! Of course, I am looking forward to seeing everyone in person next year, but I loved how engaging and informative this conference week was. Photonics West is the largest biomedical, laser, and optoelectronic event in our field, even when we cannot travel, noted SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. Given the virtual circumstances, our volunteer conference chairs rolled up their sleeves and produced an amazing offering to present and discuss the latest technical advancements. But nothing can replace the in-person experience and the excitement of gathering together at Photonics West in San Francisco. We are very much looking forward to hosting Photonics West in San Francisco next January. All the Photonics West content will be available on the SPIE Digital Library from 20 March. Photonics West 2022 will take place 22-27 January at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The Call for Papers will be announced and open in the next few weeks. About SPIE SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves more than 258,000 constituents from 184 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2020, SPIE provided over $5 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. www.spie.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210317005651/en/ North Charleston resident Mike Winkelmann made history. Better known as Beeple, on March 11, he fetched a record-breaking $69.3 million for a single digital artwork through the art auction house Christie's. That winning bid is the third-highest price paid for a work by a living artist, ever. While the image of the work, which is titled "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days," can be easily viewed and downloaded online, the digital file auctioned off was a non-fungible token, or NFT. It lives on a blockchain, will only be sold by Beeple once, and its authenticity and ownership can be verified. This week, we dove into the details of this Lowcountry-based artist's sale and what it says about the art world in 2021. Reporter Kalyn Oyer shares what she learned while talking with Beeple himself ahead of the Christie's auction. Gerald Dwyer, who teaches about blockchain and cryptocurrencies at Clemson University, breaks down how NFTs work, and Post and Courier arts critic Maura Hogan examines some of the big questions this sale raises about ownership, visual art and the internet. Listen now for more. Understand SC is a weekly podcast from The Post and Courier that draws from the reporting resources and knowledge of our newsroom to help you better understand South Carolina. This episode was hosted and edited by Emily Williams. How to listen: Related reading: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is looking into the shooting of a suspect by a Lincoln County Sheriffs Office deputy Tuesday afternoon. Deputies with the Marshall County Sheriffs Office in Tennessee tried to stop a man driving a side-by-side utility task vehicle, but say he refused. Troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and deputies with the Giles County Sheriffs Office joined the pursuit as it entered into Lincoln County. Thats when Lincoln County deputies responded to help and the driver, Jaylen Edward Jordan of Athens, wrecked the UTV in the 300 block of Boonshill Road in Fayetteville. TBI says he ran behind a nearby home. Authorities say Jordan pulled a gun and thats when a deputy shot him. He was taken to a Nashville area hospital with injuries not believed to be life threatening. No officers were injured. TBI continues to investigate and says evidence will be shared with the District Attorney General for his review. Tuesday's fatal shootings of six Asian women in Georgia have turned a spotlight on a disturbing trend of the past year: Crimes against people of Asian descent have risen sharply in the United States, along with online slurs blaming them for the covid pandemic. Authorities say the alleged shooter, Robert Aaron Long, 21, does not appear to have been motivated by ethnic hatred. But the broader trend of hateful words and deeds against Asians and Asian Americans is clear, researchers say, and appears to have spiked since the November presidential election and the contentious months that followed. Terms including "China," "Wuhan" and "flu" surged on far-right forums on Telegram, 8kun and TheDonald.win as former President Donald Trump pushed baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud, according to data tracked by the Network Contagion Research Institute, which monitors misinformation and online extremism. The terms were used on those platforms 44% more in January than in the average month last year. While the exact relationship between these terms and election fraud is not clear, the researchers theorize that rising political polarization fueled harsh talk online, as did xenophobia and the quest for scapegoats, including people of Asian descent. "The election has corresponded with a resurgence of anti-Asian hate," said Joel Finkelstein, the co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, which first reported in April on rising anti-Asian animus. "There are a lot of people looking for others to blame." Hate crimes against Asian Americans in 16 of America's biggest cities climbed 150% last year, with a spike in March and April, according to research earlier this month from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, which analyzed official police data. The suspected gunman in Atlanta told police that the shooting was not racially motivated and that he had frequented the spas, Cherokee County sheriff's Capt. Jay Baker said Wednesday. His sexual addiction helped drive the violence, said Baker, calling it "a temptation he wanted to eliminate." But to some researchers, the violent attack - in which a White gunman targeted predominantly Asian women - also seemed to fit a pattern of sexist and xenophobic language online, which has often dehumanized Asian women as objects for sexual fixation or exotic fetishization. Charissa Cheah, a University of Maryland Baltimore County professor who has studied Asian American discrimination, said the "racialization" of the pandemic as the "China flu" has led to Asian Americans being targeted for real-world abuse. The discriminatory language, she said, has historic roots in anti-Asian xenophobia, which has portrayed Chinese people as "disease-ridden threats to America." But it is also reflective of the way Asian Americans have long been marginalized between conflicting dynamics of gender, class and power. "There are these conceptualizations in the U.S. of Asians as being not American enough, the perpetual foreigner, or the 'model minority' myth that portrays Asian Americans as having moved beyond discrimination, as having succeeded," she said. Those views have dovetailed, she added, with "the sexualization and exoticization of Asian American females in a very disturbing way." The shootings at Young's Asian Massage Parlor, Aromatherapy Spa and Gold Spa, located along a roughly 30-mile stretch of the broader Atlanta area, left seven women and one man dead. Six of the victims were of Asian descent. Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, in a report released before the shootings, said Tuesday that it had received more than 3,700 reports of anti-Asian verbal harassment, civil rights violations and physical assault over the last year. People reported being spat on, refused service and called demeaning slurs while shopping, in class or on the sidewalk. Women represented two-thirds of the reports; one said she had been told to "go back to Wuhan" and called a "Thai whore." The group said in a statement after the shootings that they "will only exacerbate the fear and pain that the Asian American community continues to endure." Asian spas have long been a punchline for sexist jokes and racist stereotypes. In one online forum where the patrons of sex workers congregate to share experiences and review "providers" across the nation, several users said they had visited the targeted establishments, which they dubbed "KAMPs" and "CAMPs," shorthand for Korean- or Chinese-owned Asian massage parlors. The forum's glossary page listed scores of abbreviations, explaining the specialized terminology used to navigate the gray area between spa services and sex work. Of the many racial references common to the sex industry, a large number were directed toward or to be used with Asian women, including translations of sexual phrases from several Chinese dialects. One poster criticized the "thoughts and prayers" sentiment being shared by others, saying it was a stark contrast to the transactional nature of a forum that reduced the women to replaceable imports from Asia. On far-right online forums, users on Wednesday wavered between calling the attack a "false flag" event orchestrated to push "the gun control agenda" and cracking crude racist jokes about the rampage as a "happy ending" - a reference to the term commonly used to describe a sex act at the end of a massage. Georgia state Sen. Michelle Au, D, told The Washington Post she was "shocked" but "not surprised" by the violence due to the "increasing discrimination and violence against our Asian American communities." Our "community has been living in fear this past year in the shadow of escalating racial discrimination and attacks," Au's office said in a statement. "This latest series of murders only heightens that terror." CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Amwins Program Underwriters ("APU") today announced it has developed a new insurance solution dedicated to alarm contractors including commercial general liability, professional liability, property and inland marine coverage. The program offers clients access to ongoing superior service and claim support, as well as deep expertise across the specialty insurance space. The Alarm Contractors insurance program offers flexible coverage that can be tailored to meet the needs of specific alarm installation contractors including fire, burglar, residential/commercial/industrial, closed circuit television, home theater, and home automation. This insurance solution helps ease the minds of many risk managers in the space as property damage, worker injury and lawsuits can significantly impact alarm contractors' bottom lines. The program is available in most states and underwritten on an admitted basis, with eligible accounts including commercial & residential, sales & service (fire, burglar, access control, CCTV) and installation. Fortegra Specialty Insurance, a leading provider of specialty insurance and warranty solutions and rated "A-" (Excellent) by A.M. Best, is the carrier partner for this solution. "APU is committed to the program business space and the development of niche products that meet the needs of the marketplace," said Ben Francavilla, President of Amwins Program Underwriters. "We are excited to launch this new program and we have great expectations for future growth." "We are excited to partner with Amwins on this project to provide our deep industry expertise in specialty insurance," said Cooper Wallach, Vice President of Specialty Products and Programs at Fortegra. The rapidly changing business and economic landscape has increased liability management costs, triggering the need for innovative and supplemental insurance solutions. Together, Amwins and Fortegra have developed a niche product tailored to meet the unique needs of alarm contractors and risk managers." Amwins Program Underwriters is a managing general agency within the Underwriting division of Amwins, a global distributor of specialty insurance products and services. About Amwins Program Underwriters Amwins Program Underwriters (APU) is a managing general agency (MGA) specializing in affinity and program management. For more than 30 years, APU has developed and maintained programs for a variety of niche markets that provide broad-based property and casualty coverage. Today, the company administers over 30 programs, generating premiums in excess of $380 million. For more information, visit www.amwins.com/apu. About Amwins Amwins is the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the United States, dedicated to serving retail insurance agents by providing property and casualty products, specialty group benefit products, and administrative services. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company operates through more than 125 offices globally and handles premium placements in excess of $22 billion annually. To learn more, visit www.amwins.com. For more information, contact: Lisa Kuszmar Amwins 704-749-2780 [email protected] SOURCE Amwins Related Links https://www.amwins.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 13:58:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Extreme wintry weather, known as dzud in Mongolia, killed a total of 540,400 livestock across the country in the first two months of this year, marking a threefold increase from the same period last year, according to data released by the country's National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday. Dzud is a Mongolian term to describe the frigid winter that comes after a dry summer and causes numerous livestock to die of starvation or cold. Over half of Mongolia's all 21 provinces have now been suffering dzud or near-dzud conditions, according to the country's Food and Agriculture Ministry. Around 85 percent of the dead animals were goats and sheep, the NSO said. Animal husbandry is the backbone of the landlocked country's economy as nearly 40 percent of its nomad population depend on animal husbandry for livelihood. Mongolia had 67.1 million heads of livestock at the end of 2020, according to the statistical agency. Thousands of herders lose their animals almost every year due to dzud. In 2016, more than 1 million farm animals died from extreme weather conditions. Enditem On May 21st this year, Zhejiang University is about to celebrate its 124th anniversary. A new university video titled "Bigger Starts Here" was released to mark the day. It tells how teachers and students of Zhejiang University find higher goals in the campus, and brave risks for the social good. Wang Tun ('95, cryogenics) is an alumnus of Zhejiang University. With 12 years of efforts, he has built the world's largest earthquake early warning system and China's first multi-disaster early warning technology platform, protecting the lives of hundreds of millions of people. "Zhejiang University's educational philosophy of seeking truth and pursuing innovation has transformed my life," Wang said. "The school motto is what I have always been practicing in my work. As China is stepping towards the forefront of global science and technology, there is a greater need for innovation awareness and ability." A summer eight years ago, Gao Jinshuang was 17 years old and lived in a valley in Yunnan, southwest China. A group of Zhejiang University students came to his middle school to teach voluntarily. At that time, he did not know that would be a life-changing summer. A short-term volunteer program might not change the lives of every local student, but for Gao, the influence was far-reaching: he started to dream about studying in Zhejiang University in the future. Hard work won him the admission notice from his dream university and made him the first student in the village to receive college education. Since then, Gao has given back others' help by constantly helping others. "Our contribution is limited, but we will try our best to enhance people's confidence and convince them that they have the ability to turn their dreams into reality." Professor Li Zhirong, associate director of Zhejiang University's Cultural Heritage Research Institute, has led a number of projects of historical significance, many of which are highly interdisciplinary in nature. She successfully combines the University's engineering expertise and its profound sense of mission in preserving Chinese culture and history. Her interdisciplinary team created the world's first movable 3D replica of a 1,500-year-old cave of Yungang Grottoes. When asked what she hopes to achieve in the new year, Li's answer is concise and punchy -- be the accelerator of others. She believes that in this way, the team will fulfill their original intention of serving the society and preserve cultural relics in a timely and reliable manner. "So future generations can get a similar full experience of the historical relics like their ancestors." As the title says, "Bigger Starts Here", Zhejiang University, this century-old institution of higher learning will keep moving forward with greater innovation and achievements. Image Attachments Links: Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=386809 Caption: A bird's eye-view of Zhejiang Campus, Zhejiang University Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=386810 Caption: Zhejiang University - home of can-do spirit SOURCE Zhejiang University Alex Dion has been found guilty of murdering Wachira 'Mario' Phetmang after his body was found bound and gagged in Sydney Olympic Park. The jury had been deliberating for nearly three days when it returned its verdict at the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday after the 40-year-old had been extradited from the US to face his murder trial. The last time Mr Phetmang, who was dealing ice to Dion, was seen alive was captured on CCTV footage as the pair walked out of a Hurstville 7-Eleven. Alex Dion arriving at Sydney airport in April 2019 after being extradited to face charges over the murder of Wachira 'Mario' Phetmang Wachira 'Mario' Phetmang, who was murdered over an ice deal Dion had tried and failed to retrieve money three times from an ATM which the Crown argued was his motivation to try to steal the drugs before a struggle broke out between the pair. Mr Phetmang's family had attended much of the four-week trial. His mother tearfully hugged the officer in charge of the investigation outside the court following the verdict. Dion had blamed his former friend and housemate for the killing but said he agreed to get rid of the body and conceal evidence in a rainwater tank. Two days after the murder Dion fled to America with his victim's mobile phones and credit cards he used where he could. He will later be sentenced by Justice Robert-Beech Jones. Clinical trial to study CT-0508 in patients with metastatic HER2 overexpressing solid tumors PHILADELPHIA, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CARISMA Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company spun out of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1 multi-center clinical trial for CT-0508, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) targeted chimeric antigen receptor macrophage (CAR-M). (PRNewsfoto/CARISMA Therapeutics Inc.) This clinical trial represents a pivotal milestone in gene-based therapy development, as it is the first time CAR-engineered macrophages are being used in a clinical study. The study focuses on patients with recurrent or metastatic HER2-overexpressing solid tumors whose cancers do not have any approved HER2-targeted therapies or who do not respond to treatment. Preclinical findings for CT-0508 indicated that CAR-M therapy may have the potential to overcome challenges that T-cell therapies have encountered in the solid tumor setting. "Through our novel CAR-M platform, CARISMA plans to develop new treatment options that aim to address the unmet needs of patients who are battling hard-to-treat cancers," said Debora Barton, MD, Chief Medical Officer at CARISMA Therapeutics. "After much investigation in the lab, we are looking forward to evaluating CT-0508 in a clinical setting to assess this first CAR-engineered macrophage product and also provide vital learnings for a potential new way of treating cancer." CT-0508 was originally developed by Saar Gill, MD, PhD, Scientific Co-founder of CARISMA Therapeutics, and an Assistant Professor of Hematology-Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center, and Michael Klichinsky, PharmD, PhD, Scientific Co-founder, and Senior Vice President of Discovery at CARISMA Therapeutics. Story continues "The preclinical findings suggest that CAR-Ms access solid tumors, survive in a hostile tumor environment, specifically phagocytose antigen-expressing cancer cells, and trigger an adaptive, long-lasting immune response," Gill said. "This is the first time this kind of technology is being explored in humans, and we are excited to collect important data from this trial that will help to validate the platform as a potential new therapeutic approach for these patients." The clinical trial is open for enrollment and details can be found at ClinicalTrials.gov. CARISMA will continue to treat and evaluate patients at two clinical trial sites, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill. About CARISMA Therapeutics Inc. CARISMA Therapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing a differentiated and proprietary cell therapy platform focused on engineered macrophages, cells that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune response. The first applications of the platform, developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, are autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-macrophages for the treatment of solid tumors. CARISMA Therapeutics is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit www.carismatx.com Editor's Note: Saar Gill, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. The Abramson Cancer Center and Penn are both co-founders of CARISMA and hold equity in the company. CARISMA has licensed certain Penn-owned intellectual property from the University, and Penn's Perelman School of Medicine receives sponsored research funding from the company in support of Dr. Gill's laboratory and clinical trials at Penn. Penn and Dr. Gill may also be entitled to receive future financial benefits from technologies licensed and optioned to CARISMA. Media Contact: Christina Khoury-Folkens 612-806-0757 ckhoury@realchemistry.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carisma-therapeutics-announces-first-patient-dosed-in-landmark-clinical-study-evaluating-engineered-macrophages-in-humans-301249652.html SOURCE CARISMA Therapeutics Inc. Natalie Portman has found a new producing home at Apple TV Plus, striking a new first-look producing deal. The 39-year-old actress and producer just signed on to star in and executive produce Apple TV Plus' Lady In The Lake, alongside Lupita Nyong'o, marking Portman's first ever TV series regular role. Now she's strengthening her pact through a first-look deal between the streaming service and the new production company she formed with Sophie Mas, MountainA. New home: Natalie Portman has found a new producing home at Apple TV Plus, striking a new first-look producing deal 'We launched MountainA to support meaningful, timely projects and we couldnt imagine a better partner to start this adventure with than the fantastic team at Apple, who in only a short time already have a track record of working with some of the worlds most inspiring filmmakers,' said Portman and Mas in a joint statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). 'We are excited to create and develop daring stories together,' the statement concluded. Lady In the Lake will be the first project launched under this first-look deal, though no details were given for future projects. Excited: 'We are excited to create and develop daring stories together,' the statement concluded Lady In the Lake is set in Baltimore in the 1960s, which is rocked by an unsolved murder case. The case leads housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist. Her new line of work brings her into contact with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong'o), who is juggling being a mother along with several jobs while trying to further the Black community's agenda in the city. Reinvent: The case leads housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist Alma Har'el (Honey Boy) is writing and directing the first episode, and she will co-write all of the subsequent episodes with Dre Ryan (The Man in the High Castle). Portman and Nyong'o will executive produce alongside Har'el and Ryan, plus Har'el's producing partner Christopher Leggett. Other executive producers include Dallas Buyers Club director Jean-Marc Vallee and his Crazyrose partner Nathan Ross, Julie Gardner through Bad Wolf America and author Lippman. Producer: Portman and Nyong'o will executive produce alongside Har'el and Ryan, plus Har'el's producing partner Christopher Leggett Portman becomes just the latest creative talent to strike a deal with Apple TV Plus, joining Oprah Winfrey, Alfonso Cuaron, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sharon Horgan, Dickinson creator Alena Smith and The Morning Show creator Kerry Ehrin. While Portman is best known as an actress, she has been putting together a solid resume as a producer as well. She is producing We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves at HBO, and she has served as a producer on her films such as Vox Lux and the documentary Eating Animals. Apple roster: Portman becomes just the latest creative talent to strike a deal with Apple TV Plus, joining Oprah Winfrey, Alfonso Cuaron, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sharon Horgan, Dickinson creator Alena Smith and The Morning Show creator Kerry Ehrin SHENZHEN, China, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei released the "Top 10 Trends of Data Center Facilities", together with industry guests, media friends, and operator partners to discuss the trends and future opportunities, contributing knowledge sharing for the healthy development of the industry. As remote office, online education, and live broadcasting are becoming increasingly popular, we are in era of digitalization and it is gaining momentum in various industries. Digital transformation in various industries is in the fast track mode. Data centers are the foundation of digital transformation, and are meeting the new opportunities for development. Trend 1: Zero Carbon DC Carbon neutrality has become the most urgent mission in the world, triggering a green revolution. Green power, such as wind energy and solar energy, will be more widely used in data centers. It is an inevitable trend to maximize resource saving (such as energy saving, footprint saving, water saving, and material saving) in the entire life cycle of data centers. In the large data center facility, thermal energy recovery is a new energy saving solution. Data center PUE will enter the 1.0x Era, and "zero carbon" DCs will be a reality in near future. Trend 2: High Density In next five years, IT devices will continue to evolve to high computing power and density, and the CPU and server power will continue to increase. In addition, as the demand for AI applications grows, the AI computing power will increase. To balance efficiency and cost, data centers will develop to high density. It is estimated that by 2025, diversified computing power collaboration will become the mainstream, and mainstream cloud data centers will form a hybrid deployment of 15-30 kW/cabinet. Trend 3: Scalable The lifecycle of IT equipment is generally 3 to 5 years, and the power density is roughly doubled every 5 years. The lifecycle of data center infrastructure is 10 to 15 years. The infrastructure must support elastic architecture and phased investment, and meet the power evolution requirements of two to three generations of IT devices with the optimal CAPEX. In addition, the data center must be flexible to support hybrid deployment of IT devices with different power density, achieving on-demand capacity expansion scalability and space saving. Trend 4: Fast Deployment While Internet services have a rapid outbreaks in a short period of time, rapid deployment becomes essential In addition, data centers need to shift from support systems to production systems to meet the diverse application requirements of the cloud and need to be rolled out as quickly as clouds. In the future, the data center TTM will be reduced from 9 to 12 months to 6 months or even 3 months. Trend 5: Simple Architecture To address the disadvantages of slow construction of traditional data centers and high initial investment costs, simplified system-level and data center-level architectures will become the mainstream. The DC power supply and cooling architecture evolves from the traditional architecture to integrated link-level converged products. With the prefabricated and modular design, the data center features fast deployment, elastic capacity expansion, simple O&M, and efficient energy saving. Trend 6: Lithium for All Traditional data center power supply systems have issues such as complexity, high footprint, frequent accidents such as fire breakout and difficult maintenance. With the trend of lithium for all we are reshaping the traditional batteries with lithium-based batteries in and lead-acid based batteries phase out. Eventually with the decreasing cost of lithium batteries, data centers will be all lithium-based. Compared with traditional lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries have twice the life span, occupies 1/3 footprint and have enhanced visibility. Additionally, with three level BMS and LFP material lithium batteries ensures high security and reliability. Trend 7: Air In and Water Out Driven by complex O&M and higher PUE and aligning with carbon neutrality goals, traditional chilled water systems will be replaced. In addition, cooling systems with less or no water will become the mainstream. The modular Indirect Evaporative Cooling system adopts an integrated product design, which shortens deployment time and simplifies O&M, while fully utilizes natural cooling resources, it greatly reduces the power consumption of the cooling system. Trend 8: Fully Digitalized With the increasing digital transformation, digital, communications, and AI technologies are increasingly applied. Digital twin technologies will become more widely used throughout the lifecycle of the data center from planning, construction, maintenance and optimization, making All-DC visible, manageable, and controllable, delivering excellent full-lifecycle experience. Trend 9: AI Enabled With the continuous improvement and widespread application of IoT and AI technologies, data centers will gradually replace manual operation such as repetitive work, expert experience, and business decision-making to AI based autonomous driving. Data centers will gradually evolve from single-domain intelligence such as O&M, energy saving, and operation to full-lifecycle digitalization and autonomous driving, including planning, construction, O&M, and optimization, AI energy efficiency optimization and real-time parameter adjustment; AI O&M, 24/7 non-stop inspection, and predictive maintenance; AI operation, online simulation, and automatic service design. Trend 10: Secure and Reliable As data center infrastructures become more intelligent, network security threats are multiplied. The data center must implement system-level, component-level, and device-level predictive maintenance. The data center must have six features: hardware reliability, software security, system resilience, security, privacy, and always online availability. Hierarchical defense ensures data center security and trustworthiness. Huawei data center energy products and technologies have made breakthroughs in products and technologies. In addition, Huawei cooperates with industry customers, partners, and third-party organizations to build an open, cooperative, win-win industry ecosystem. Looking forward, Huawei will continuously implement the concept of green and sustainable development, helping achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. --ends-- About Huawei Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have more than 194,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they're at home, in the office, or on the go. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei http://www.twitter.com/Huawei http://www.facebook.com/Huawei http://www.youtube.com/Huawei Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458920/Huawei_Launches_Top_Ten_Trends_Data_Center_Facilities.jpg What research is making increasingly clear, however, is that lawsuits are dramatically decreased when doctors can apologize and explain to patients and their families how they will prevent future patients from being injured by the same error. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and research shows that allowing physicians to offer apologies to patients and their families following errors can reduce malpractice lawsuits by 50 percent and help prevent future patients from experiencing similar harm. Identifying the best practices for patient, medical, and legal advocates to persuade hospitals and state legislators to adopt one of the most common medical apology protocolsthe Communication-and-Resolution Program (CRP)is the focus of a new paper in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management. Authored by a team led by Dr. Florence R. LeCraw, an Atlanta physician and Adjunct Professor at Georgia State University, the study, "How U.S. Teams advanced communication and resolution program adoption at local, state, and national levels," identifies best practices for adopting the well-established principles of diffusion of innovation science (DOI) to build support for adoption of CRP. View study here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2516043520973818 For decades hospitals, physicians, and their insurance providers and attorneys have insisted on a deny and defend approach to medical mistakes, Dr. LeCraw said. What research is making increasingly clear, however, is that lawsuits are dramatically decreased when doctors can apologize and explain to patients and their families how they will prevent future patients from being injured by the same error. Co-authors with Dr. LeCraw on the paper are Dr. Michael J. McCoy, chief medical officer at Great River Health System in Iowa, and Sally C. Stearns, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolinas Gillings School of Global Public Health. CRP is based on providers and hospitals communicating honestly to patients and families about why an unexpected adverse outcome occurred, apologizing if an error occurred, providing compensation, and discussing how they can prevent a recurrence of the error with other patients. Several other studies, cited in the JPSRM study, show that CRP leads to fewer legal claims, reduced defense litigation costs, decreased practice of defensive medicine, and reduced stress for providers during the resolution process. Healthcare-professional burnout has increased with the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, to the point where many industry leaders describe it as a public-health crisis, Dr. LeCraw said. As we note in this new study, peer-reviewed published analysis indicates that compared to deny and defend, CRP decreases the stress that physicians and nurses experience after unexpected adverse patient outcomes. The extent to which CRP may decrease the incidence of burnout among healthcare providers is a critically important topic meriting further research and analysis. The LeCraw teams paper reviews the methods nine teams used, drawing on DOI principles, to try to persuade states to enact CRP laws, hospitals to implement CRP, and national medical societies to endorse CRP and educate their members about it. Seven of the teams studied succeeded. Two teams that did not initially achieve success with CRP efforts in New York City and Washington State, in part because they had not incorporated DOI, later applied DOI principles to promote implementation of CRP at Baystate Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Healthcare System in Massachusetts. The study concludes that to achieve successful implementation of CRP, proponents should: meet with all stakeholders who would be affected by CRP to determine their questions, concerns, and goals identify the opinion leader(s) in each stakeholder group who can best champion CRP to their peers and educate them about the risks, costs, and benefits of the program apply the same principles of DOI that are used to advanced evidence-based healthcare policies and practices to promote CRP and other policies that improve the public good, in particular through concise, easily read one-page handouts "Apology programs are most likely to be adopted and to succeed when physicians are willing to take ownership of these programs and persuade their colleagues that apologizing for medical errors is not only the ethically right thing to do, its the smart thing to do to improve our patients safety and reduce malpractice and defensive medicine costs, Dr. LeCraw said. To date, more than 200 hospitals in the United States have implemented physician apology programs such as CRP. Colorado, Iowa, Oregon, and Massachusetts have adopted statewide legislation facilitating implementation of CRP by healthcare systems and providers. Media Contact: Peter J. Howe, 617-482-0042, phowe(at)denterlein(dot)com Flash The rightist liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of Prime Minister Mark Rutte led in the 2021 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, according to the final exit poll released on Wednesday. The VVD got 36 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, or the lower house of the parliament. It is on its way to becoming the biggest party in the parliament, just like four years ago in 2017 when the VVD finished with 33 seats. The center-leftist party Democrats 66 (D66) came second with 27 seats, showed the exit poll released by polling agency Ipsos. This would mean eight seats more than four years ago and the best result in the history of the party. The right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) was projected to get 17 seats, a loss of three seats compared to 2017, and the center-rightist Christian Democrats CDA, 14 seats, down by five. According to the exit poll, the three left-wing parties PvdA (Labor), SP (Socialist Party) and GroenLinks (GreenLeft) were forecast to get nine, eight and eight seats respectively. The far-right anti-lockdown party Forum voor Democratie (Forum for Democracy) would win eight seats -- six more than in 2017. In 2017, Rutte's VVD won the elections by a landslide and formed a government coalition with CDA, D66 and the Christian Union (CU). This government stepped down on Jan. 15 this year as a result of the so-called child benefits scandal, in which parents were wrongly accused of fraud. The final exit poll showed that the same coalition government would be possible again, even without the CU. A total of 37 parties and over 1,500 candidates joined the race for the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the elections were spread over three days. On Monday and Tuesday already around 1,600 of the total of 9,200 polling stations opened to make it possible for the elderly and the vulnerable to vote. On Wednesday, all other polling stations opened from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. for people of 18 years or older eligible to vote. With a population of a little over 17 million people, the country has an electorate of around 13.2 million. Turnout is expected to be 82.6 percent, according to Ipsos, compared to 81.9 percent in 2017. MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Google said Thursday that it plans to invest more than $7 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs in the U.S. this year. It includes investing in communities that are new to Google and expanding in others across 19 states. The company continues to make significant investments in its offices around the country, as well as its home state of California, where the company will invest more than $1 billion this year, Sundar Pichai CEO of Google and Alphabet said in a statement. The Alphabet Inc. unit Google plans to add thousands of roles in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York. It will help bring more jobs and investment to diverse communities as part of its racial equity commitments. The Tech giant said it will invest in data center expansions in Nebraska, South Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and Texas. Its existing data center sites in Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and Nevada will be fully up and running in 2021. Google noted that it will open its new office in Portland, Oregon, this year. It continues to invest in its Kirkland and Seattle campuses in Washington State. In California, it will continue to invest in its offices in the state and support affordable housing initiatives in the Bay Area as part of its $1 billion housing commitment. Google projects that $250 million investment fund will help create 24,000 housing units by 2029. In Nevada, data center in Henderson is now operational, with plans to expand it, along with Storey County data center, in 2021. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX ALPHABET-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de We shouldnt have to rely on a foreign country especially one that doesnt share our interests or our values in order to protect and provide our people during a national emergency, Mr. Biden said. He thanked a bipartisan group of lawmakers working on the issue, noting that China has become a rare area of bipartisan agreement. Distrust of China spans the political spectrum. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has been working with Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, on a bill called the Endless Frontier Act that seeks to preserve U.S. technological primacy by making big investments in artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced manufacturing. These are important investments in domestic capacity that cannot be left to the private sector alone. Although Americans have long shied away from anything that smacks of a centrally planned economy, there is a growing recognition that technological advantage does not maintain itself, especially in the face of a determined, forward-thinking rival. Lawmakers in Washington have become particularly unsettled by a shortage of certain types of semiconductors, which is causing delays in automobile production. Much of the worlds supply of a key semiconductor used in cars comes from Taiwan, which lies just 100 miles from mainland China and which Chinese officials consider a rebel province. Last year, Chinese military planes began making daily incursions into Taiwanese airspace after nearly two decades of mostly staying on the mainlands side of the median line of the Taiwan Strait. That worried U.S. officials who support Taiwans right to self-government. With nearly every electronic device requiring semiconductors, these tiny computer chips are the oil of the 21st century. Americans cannot afford to be complacent about where they come from or whether there will be enough to go around. It is reassuring to know that TSMC, the Taiwanese company that is the worlds largest independent semiconductor foundry, has begun constructing a plant in Arizona and that the National Defense Authorization Act enacted in January provides incentives to the U.S. semiconductor industry. But more must be done. That is not to say that Americans ought to try to stop China from obtaining the semiconductors that it needs to thrive, or decouple the U.S. economy from Chinas, as Mr. Trump once dangerously suggested. That would be exceedingly costly and would make it more likely that the two countries will end up in a confrontation. But Americans have recognized the need to be far more thoughtful and strategic about planning for their own economic future. Thats a good thing. Maintaining a military and technological edge requires investments in research, education and infrastructure that many Americans would otherwise be unwilling to make. Of all the threats that China poses, the greatest might just be its example to the rest of the world of a successful alternative to American democracy, which has been marred by economic inequality, racial unrest and insurrection. To effectively counter China, Americans must get their own house in order and remind the world and themselves that democracy can still deliver for ordinary people. Governor Newsom Sets Date for 54th Assembly District Special Election Vice President Kamala Harris Former State Director Heather Hutt Considered Favorite to fulfill the vacated Assembly seat of State Senator Sydney Kamlager-Dove Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a special election to be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to fulfill the currently vacant 54th Assembly District Seat. The series of special elections which feels like musical chairs, started in November, when now Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, won the seat to replace outgoing Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Following Mitchells historic election onto the now all female Board of Supervisors, the California Senate seat she previously held, became vacant. Shortly after Mitchell resigned and transitioned into the Supervisors seat, Assemblymember Kamlager-Dove announced her bid to fill Mitchells vacated Senate seat. Kamlager-Dove easily cruised to victory in the March 2 election, with almost 70% of the districts votes in the special election. By winning the special election, Kamlager-Dove became the only African American woman in the California Senate, where she joined Senator Steve Bradford as one of only two African Americans in the California Senate. With Kamlager-Doves move to the Senate, her 54th Assembly seat is now vacant and could now possibly be filled in the May 18 election, if any of the current candidates running can garner over 50% of the votes. If none of the candidates can garner 50% of the vote, a runoff would occur sometime in the Summer of 2020. With Sydney Kamlager-Dove now moving over to the California Senate and with the appointment of former Assembly Member Shirley Weber to Secretary of State, Autumn Burke is the only African American woman now in the California Assembly. Governor Gavin Newsoms decision not to appoint an African American woman to fulfill Vice President Kamala Harris Senate seat, leaves only one African American woman in the California State Senate and only one African American woman in the California Assembly. Several community residents, as well as political, labor, and community leaders see filling the vacated 54th Assembly seat with another African American woman as a mandate-in-order to keep the balance of representation somewhat equal (there are currently eight African Americans in the California Legislature, six men and two women). ADVERTISEMENT The strides that woman have made in securing a voice in politics, both locally and nationally, has been unprecedented in the past few years. But we cannot rest on our laurels; we cannot afford to go backwards. The perspective, the voices, and the issues that Black women like former Senator Holly Mitchell and former Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove brought to the forefront cannot be diminished. We still need that voice in Sacramento; we still need that voice to help address the issues of working moms, of working families, of quality affordable health care, quality affordable childcare, or how to address homelessness and how to recover from the devastation of the pandemic. All of these issues can easily get lost if we dont have that voice and that perspective back at the table, stated Tracy Mitchell, president of Mothers in Action, a local, community-based organization servicing children and families in South Los Angeles. Heather Hutt is the former State Director for Vice President Kamala Harris, back when she was in the U.S. Senate. Hutt was the first African American woman to hold this top executive staff position in the history of California. She declared she would seek to fill the 54th Assembly seat even before Senator Kamlager-Dove won her bid to move to the Senate. Now that Sydney has officially vacated the seat, Hutt has garnered an impressive list of supporters who have signed on in favor of Hutt for the 54th Assembly, which makes her the clear and designated favorite to claim the seat. Almost every member of the California Legislative Black Caucus has endorsed Hutt for Assembly, including Assemblywoman Autumn Burke as well CLBC Chair Senator Steve Bradford and Progressive Caucus Chair Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer, and CLBC members, Mike Gipson and Jim Cooper. To further demonstrate the broad coalition of support for Hutt, hundreds of women throughout the state, recently signed a letter in support of Heather Hutt for Assembly, as well as powerful labor and political coalitions, including the International Union of Operating Engineers, Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), several members of Los Angeles African American Womens Political Action Committee (LAAAWPAC), and Los Angeles Black Pride and Promote have also endorsed Hutt for Assembly. The Latin-X community is also joining forces in support of Heather; she has gotten the endorsement of former Speaker John Perez, as well as Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo. As Chair of the L.A. City Councils Housing Committee, I know firsthand how important it is that we elect candidates who are dedicated to creating more affordable housing solutions for Angelenos. Im proud to support Heather Hutt because she shares this vision for a more proactive approach to addressing our regions homelessness crisis. Her perspective and experience in public service are greatly needed in Sacramento, stated Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who has also served in both the California State Assembly and the California Senate. Heather Hutt is not new to the 54th District; she is not new to this community. She grew up right here in the community; she raised her three sons here in this district. She has always been someone who can and will get things done for people in this community. The only thing different is she will be the woman at the forefront of issues rather than as the woman working behind the scenes to get things done in this community, as she has done her entire life. Its her time, its her turn, stated Charisse Bremond-Weaver, president of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade. Heather Hutt said she made the decision to run for the Assembly instead of joining her former boss in Washington, D.C., out of a life-long love for her community and a dedication to serving and uplifting those in need. I grew up here, in Leimert Park. This is my neighborhood. Being in this community, I understand whats important, what leadership looks like and what the changes and challenges are. When you love where you are and you love your community, you want to share that love in your work as well as in your personal life, she said. Cayuga Community College is among 17 State University of New York campuses that have been awarded grants to buy refrigeration units for food pantries. The SUNY grant program awards up to $1,000 for campus food pantries to buy refrigeration equipment. The awardees in the first round include CCC, Finger Lakes Community College and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. With the grants announced on Thursday, 55 of SUNY's 64 campuses have refrigerators to store food in the food pantries. "Hunger has no place on our campuses, and we must do everything we can to eliminate it so that students can focus on their students," SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. "Our mission at SUNY is to make that decision easier by supporting our students with sustainable food options with the hope that one day our food pantries won't be necessary." The grant program launched in February to assist campus food pantries that lacked the financial resources to purchase refrigeration equipment. SUNY said the program will continue until every campus food pantry has a refrigeration unit. Gulnur Kosdaulet's daily journey to protest over her husband's detention in China begins with a shared taxi that she hails outside her modest farm, where towering mountains give way to Kazakhstan's vast steppe. An hour and a half later she arrives at Beijing's consulate in the Central Asian country's largest city Almaty, where a small picket has persisted for over a month despite police intimidation. The demands of the mostly female demonstrators are simple: safe passage home for their relatives -- who are missing, jailed or trapped in China's crackdown on minorities in the northwestern Xinjiang region. Kosdaulet, 48, told AFP that she would have "sat quietly by the hearth and never given politics a thought" had her husband, who is a Chinese citizen, returned from a funeral he attended in Xinjiang 2017. She says he was detained simply for having WhatsApp on his phone and although he has now been freed after stints in jail and "training facilities", his passport has been seized and he cannot leave China. "Kazakhstan and China are friendly. We hold these protests hoping the two governments will find common ground and return our people," she said. In recent years, majority-Muslim Xinjiang has become known the world over for China's network of detention camps. Dozens of international experts in a report for the Newlines Institute think tank said this month that Chinese policies there violated "each and every act" prohibited by the United Nations Genocide Convention. So far, only the United States has accused China of genocide but the Dutch and Canadian parliaments have both passed votes calling on their governments to follow suit. - Last hope - But Beijing says its actions are needed to combat extremism, with foreign Minister Wang Yi calling allegations of genocide "preposterous". Nowhere is the tension between these competing narratives more keenly felt than Kazakhstan. Story continues While Kazakhs are concerned over the fate of thousands of their relatives trapped in China, their government relies on Beijing for investments to bolster a flagging economy. Every morning that the protest outside the Chinese consulate starts up, so too does a police loudspeaker. The message repeated on loop warns protesters their actions are illegal and they could face prosecution. "They wanted to drown us out," said Baibolat Kunbolat, a 40-year-old man whose brother was jailed in Xinjiang in 2018 on charges of extremism that he believes are trumped up. Kunbolat last month became the second person to be imprisoned over the consulate pickets. He served a 12-day sentence but joined the protests again shortly after. At one point, after leading a chorus of "freedom", a woman standing next to Kosdaulet holding two photographs broke down in tears. "I am looking for my husband Zharkynbek," said the woman, Tursyngul Nurakai. "He disappeared four years ago. This is my nephew Kenzhebek. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail." Most of the protesters have filed appeals with the government to engage with Beijing over their relatives -- Chinese citizens who in some cases held Kazakh residency permits. But the demonstrators stress that they now see the pickets as their only hope and many say their government has given up trying to get their loved ones back. - 'I just want to see him' - At the end of 2018, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said China had allowed 2,000 ethnic Kazakhs to enter Kazakhstan as a "kind gesture". But since the releases, news that other relatives had received jail sentences - sometimes after stints in high-security facilities that China has likened to vocational training centres -- has become far more common. Kosdaulet's husband Akbar, a 47-year-old veterinarian and former provincial official, has now been separated from his family for three years. Kosdaulet told AFP he can now contact her, but cannot return to Kazakhstan, where the family moved in 2014. The mother of three travelled to China four times to bring him back, meeting him once through a glass barrier. She was spared detention herself, she believes, because of her Kazakh passport. On each visit, surveillance grew tighter. "The last time I went, in 2018, I was trailed by a police car everywhere I went," she said. When the protests at the Chinese consulate began in February, Kosdaulet brought along her mother-in-law, Sarkytkhan Kydyrbay. But after a few protests the journey became too much for the stocky 74-year-old, who is doubled up with joint pain and "going blind from tears", Kosdaulet said. As Kosdaulet settled Kydyrbay down on traditional padded floor covers in the family's spartan living room, the older woman grew emotional, embracing the air as she spoke about her son. "I've lived my life. I just want to see him, kiss him. Then I can die," she said. cr/jbr/jxb SACRAMENTO Gov. Gavin Newsom will now prohibit all his outside consultants from lobbying his administration regardless of whether they are paid, including Jason Kinney, the lobbyist and longtime Newsom adviser whose 50th birthday dinner at the French Laundry in November sparked intense scrutiny of their relationship. The policy expands a lobbying ban that Newsom adopted in December, following criticism of his close ties to consultants who also work for influential interests at the state capital. Under the new rules, any campaign or political consultant of Newsoms will be prohibited from directly lobbying the governor, his staff or state agencies under his control, not just those he pays. Kinney is a partner at Axiom Advisors, which has pulled in more than $12.5 million in lobbying fees since it was formed following Newsoms election in 2018. Clients range from the construction industry and Facebook to the oil company Aera Energy and the online marijuana directory and marketplace Weedmaps. But he did not fall under the December lobbying ban, which covered a dozen people consulting for Newsoms campaign or the California Democratic Party, because he had recently gone off the payroll. After working with Newsom on several campaigns, Kinney began receiving consulting fees from the state Democratic Party once the governor took office in 2019. Those monthly payments, totaling $100,000, stopped in November, less than two weeks before the announcement of the lobbying ban, and Kinney continued to serve as an unpaid adviser. Daniel Lopez, a spokesperson for Newsom, said the governors office sought recommendations from the Fair Political Practices Commission, the states political ethics watchdog, on how to strengthen its policies to limit undue influence. In a February memo, the commission recommended extending the lobbying ban to Newsoms unpaid advisers, among other changes. The governor and his staff are committed to adhering to the highest legal and ethical standards, Lopez said in an email. We received those recommendations and are implementing them to foster transparency and maintain public trust. Newsom also committed in December not to hire any registered lobbyist as a paid consultant. The new ethics policy, which was first reported by the Sacramento Bee, still does not prohibit registered lobbyists from serving as unpaid advisers to the governor, nor does it include the type of mandatory waiting period between consulting and lobbying that is standard in government service. A dozen people, mostly working on Newsoms recall defense campaign, are currently covered by the lobbying ban, according to a list provided by the governors office. Kinney is the only registered lobbyist. Chief of staff Jim DeBoo, another close political adviser to Newsom and former lobbyist who joined the governors office in January, and cabinet secretary Ana Matosantos rolled out the amended policy March 12 in an internal memo to staff and top leaders at state agencies and departments. It also bars the governor, his wife, policy advisers, agency secretaries and department directors from accepting gifts from lobbyists. High-level gubernatorial appointees hired after March 1 will not be allowed for two years to advise on any legislation that is substantially similar to bills they lobbied on in the two years before they joined the administration. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff According to a press release published by Austal Limited on March 17, 2021, the company is pleased to announce Austal Australia has delivered the ninth Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence. According to a press release published by Austal Limited on March 17, 2021, the company is pleased to announce Austal Australia has delivered the ninth Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defence. Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link The future HMPNGS Rochus Lokinap is a 39.5 metre Guardian Class Patrol Boat, designed and constructed by Austal Australia. (Picture source: Austal) The vessel, the future HMPNGS Rochus Lokinap, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force at a certificate signing ceremony held at Austal Australias Henderson shipyard, attended by the Senior Military Officer in Western Australia, Air Commodore Fiona Dowse AM CSC and Sub Lieutenant Terrence Mugugia, Commanding Officer of the future HMPNGS Rochus Lokinap. The vessel is the second of four Guardian-class Patrol Boats to be delivered to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, part of the Australian Governments Pacific Maritime Security Program, and follows the delivery of the HMPNGS Ted Diro in December 2018. Austal Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the delivery of the latest Guardian-class Patrol Boat to Papua New Guinea had further enhanced the companys relationship with both the Australian Department of Defence and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. Faster, with improved seakeeping, better amenities and an enhanced mission capability including an integrated RHIB stern launch and recovery system the Guardian-class Patrol Boats provide the Papua New Guinea Defence Force with a much improved naval asset to carry out border patrols, regional policing, search and rescue, and many other operations domestically and internationally. The Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) Project was awarded to Austal in May 2016, with an additional contract option awarded in April 2018, taking the program to 21 vessels, valued at more than A$335 million. Twelve Pacific Island nations including Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Timor Leste will receive the vessels through to 2023. The Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project supports more than 200 direct jobs at Austal Australia and more than 200 indirect jobs nationally through Australian businesses contracted by Austal. Austal Australias expanded service centre in Cairns, now incorporating an 1,200 tonne (80 metre LOA) slipway and an 1,120 tonne mobile boat hoist, continues to provide in-service support to the growing Guardian-class Patrol Boat fleet; with more than 100 people now employed in a variety of engineering and sustainment roles in the Far North Queensland city. The 39.5 metre steel monohull patrol boat designed, constructed and sustained by Austal Australia is based on a proven design platform that has included the 38 metre Bay-class, 56 metre Armidale-class and 58 metre Cape-class patrol boats that are in service with the Australian Border Force and Royal Australian Navy. The vessel is named after Brigadier General Rochus Lokinap, a former Commander of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force from 1987 to 1992. Rohingya board a Bangladesh Navy ship in Chittagong to be transported to the island of Bhashan Char, Dec. 4, 2020. A United Nations delegation on Wednesday arrived on an initial three-day visit to a Bay of Bengal island where Bangladesh has moved thousands of Rohingya refugees since December, a police official on the island told BenarNews. The U.N. had been requesting a visit to evaluate the livability of the flood-prone island for more than two years, and humanitarian groups had criticized Bangladesh for moving refugees there without a thorough assessment of the site by international experts. Kashiwa Fumiko, an assistant representative at the U.N. refugee agency UNHCRs office in Dhaka, was leading the delegation, said Mahe Alam, a senior police official on the island known as Bhashan Char. The team will stay here until March 20. They had a meeting with the Rohingya people on Wednesday afternoon. They listened to the refugees who spoke about the facilities offered to them in Bhashan Char, Alam told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. He added that members of the Bangladesh Navy accompanied the U.N. officials, who traveled by ship from Chittagong in southeastern Bangladesh. During the trip, U.N. officials will look at facilities built to support the refugee community, talk with Rohingya living there, and with government officials, said Mostafa Mohammad Sajjad Hossain, a UNHCR spokesman in Dhaka. This initial three-day visit will bring together experts from U.N. agencies engaged in the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, Sajjad told BenarNews. Neither Sajjad nor Bangladesh officials commented on possible future trips by U.N. officials. They didnt comment on the likelihood of a U.N. technical assessment team visiting the island either. The government moved the first batch of refugees to the controversial low-lying island on Dec. 4. Since then, more than 14,000 Rohingya have been moved from crowded refugee camps in southeastern Coxs Bazar district near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border to Bhashan Char. Bangladesh houses some 1 million Rohingya, including more than 740,000 who escaped a brutal military crackdown in Myanmars Rakhine state, beginning in August 2017. The government had said it spent about U.S. $280 million to construct housing, a large embankment, and other infrastructure on Bhashan Char in a bid to relieve pressure on the crowded mainland camps. Authorities had said the facilities on the island were better than in the refugee camps. Bangladesh Navy officials speak with members of a U.N. delegation as they arrive on Bhashan Char island in Noakhali District, Bangladesh, March 17, 2021. [Special to BenarNews] Better conditions here Some refugees on Bhashan Char who spoke to U.N. officials on Wednesday told them the conditions were satisfactory but that they would rather go back home to Myanmar. I have told them that we are in better condition here than in Coxs Bazar, Mohammad Selim, one of the relocated Rohingya, told BenarNews by telephone. I also told them that the Rohingya would immediately return to their homes in Arakan if their rights are guaranteed and their properties returned, Selim said, referring to a coastal region of Myanmar that he knew as home before fleeing violence against his community by the military there. Rafiqul Islam, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Dhaka University, said he would have expected the international community to have doubts about the liveability of Bhashan Char. Those doubts would go away after this trip, he said. It is natural for U.N. officials and the international community to be skeptical about the suitability of Bhashan Char because they see the island in the Bay of Bengal through satellite images. The images would naturally convince anyone that Bhashan Char was a prison-like isle, Islam told BenarNews. But anyone seeing the facilities would be convinced it is not a jail; this is habitable land. I think the U.N. delegation and the international community would be convinced about the habitability of Bhashan Char when they witness the facilities in the island. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Getty A patient on a ventilator Though getting reinfected with COVID-19 after already recovering from the virus is rare, it can happen, and it's far more common in people over age 65, according to a new study. Scientists in Denmark conducted a large study on COVID-19 reinfection rates to determine how many people were contracting the virus for a second time. The scientists, from Denmark's Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, tracked 4 million citizens during two time periods: from March 2020 to May, when the virus first emerged, and then again from September to Dec. 31, when the country was facing a new surge of cases. Of those 4 million people, 11,068 tested positive during the first surge, and appeared to be protected from reinfection for about six months, the researchers found. In the second surge, just a small number of people from that group 72 were reinfected with COVID-19. RELATED: Elderly Dutch Woman with Cancer Becomes First to Die from a COVID-19 Reinfection However, those 72 people were primarily people over 65 years old. People in that older age group were only about 47% protected from getting reinfected, while younger people had about 80% protection. The age divide for reinfections was not a complete surprise to researchers, as older people typically have weaker immune systems and are more likely to develop severe disease. "Our study confirms what a number of others appeared to suggest: reinfection with COVID-19 is rare in younger, healthy people, but the elderly are at greater risk of catching it again," said Dr. Steen Ethelberg, a professor at the University of Copenhagen and one of the authors of the study, CNBC reported. "Since older people are also more likely to experience severe disease symptoms, and sadly die, our findings make clear how important it is to implement policies to protect the elderly during the pandemic." RELATED VIDEO: Why I'm Getting Vaccinated: Hota Kotb, Al Roker & More Stars on Stopping the Spread of COVID-19 Story continues The findings also show that people who have recovered from COVID-19 still need to take precautions like wearing a mask, social distancing and getting vaccinated. "Given what is at stake, the results emphasize how important it is that people adhere to measures implemented to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had COVID-19," Ethelberg said. RELATED: Baby Born to Partially Vaccinated Mother Found to Have COVID Antibodies in First-Known Case The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has emphasized that people who already had COVID-19 should get vaccinated when they are able. "That's because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19," the CDC says on their website. "Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible although rare that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again." A study conducted by Public Health England has found that the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was very low among both students and staff as primary schools partially and fully reopened over the latter half of 2020. The COVID-19 Surveillance in School KIDs (sKIDs) study was initiated by PHE when primary schools started to reopen from 1st June 2020 following the relaxation of the country's first national lockdown. The study monitored the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence, and seroconversion across large numbers of staff and students using nasal swabs to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection and blood samples to test for antibodies against the virus. As reported in The Lancet: Child & Adolescent Health, large-scale weekly mass testing of nasal swabs during the summer half-term in England identified only three cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection among almost 12,000 participants across 131 schools. At recruitment, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (seropositivity) was 112% in students and 151% in staff, which was similar to seroprevalence in the local community. Only five seroconversions were observed during the summer half-term and seroconversion rates remained at or below 5% even after primary schools fully reopened during the autumn term. No significant association was identified between seropositivity and school attendance during lockdown or the degree of staff contact with students. "We found very low rates of symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in students and staff following partial and full reopening of primary schools in England," says Shamez Ladhani and colleagues. Many countries opted to close schools once a pandemic was declared Once COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in early 2020, most countries instructed school closures as part of national lockdown measures. In England, rapidly rising infection numbers in early March led to school closures on the 20th March and implementation of a national lockdown on the 23rd March. Following a national decline in cases during May, lockdown measures were gradually relaxed, and some preschool and primary school years were reopened from the 1st of June. The implementation of strict physical distancing and infection control measures was associated with very few cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections or outbreaks during the summer half-term. All school years were subsequently fully reopened in September, when daily SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were very low, at 06 per 100,000 population. However, the infection rate started to climb again and by December 2020, it had reached 47 per 100,000 population. Although children only account for a small proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases and rarely develop lethal disease, their role in asymptomatic infection and transmission is uncertain, says Ladhani and colleagues. "Despite the clear benefits of children returning to school, parents and school staff remain concerned about putting the students, staff, and their household members at risk of infection," they write. Furthermore, "published studies have been limited to surveillance and reporting of active infections in children and provide no information on asymptomatic infection and transmission in educational settings." What did the sKIDs study involve? Once primary schools partially reopened on 1st June 2020, PHE initiated the sKIDs study to monitor the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence, and seroconversion among large numbers of staff and students in primary schools across all regions of England. Sampling of participants took place across two groups of schools. One group received weekly nasal swabs for at least 4 weeks during the summer half-term (from June to mid-July), while the other group underwent additional blood sampling for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies as a marker of previous infection. Blood sampling was performed at the beginning (1st to 19th June) and end (3rd to 23rd July) of the summer half-term and again following the reopening of schools in September, and at the end of the autumn term (23rd November to 18th December). Antibody seroconversion rates were calculated for participants who were seronegative in the first round of blood sampling and had been tested in at least two rounds. Logistic regression analysis was used to test for predictors of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity. What did the study find? During the summer half-term, 40,501 swabs were taken from 11,966 participants across 131 schools. One of 24,463 swabs taken from students and two of 16,038 swabs taken from staff tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The weekly estimated infection rate was 41 per 100,000 students and 125 per 100,000 staff. During recruitment (the first two weeks of June 2020) at 45 schools where blood sampling was performed, 91 (112%) of 816 students and 209 (151%) of 1,381 staff members tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which was similar to local community seroprevalence. Seropositivity was not associated with school attendance during lockdown or staff contact with students. At the end of the summer half-term, 1,618 (736%) of 2,197 individuals were still participating in the surveillance (603 students and 1,015 staff members). Of these participants, only four students and one staff member had seroconverted. By December 2020, 55 (51%) of 1,085 participants who were seronegative at recruitment had seroconverted, including 19 (56%) of 340 students and 36 (48%) of 745 staff members. "We found almost no seroconversions during the summer half-term and only 5% seroconversions during the autumn term," says the team. What do the authors advise? "We found a very low risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in students and staff attending primary schools during both partial reopening in the summer half-term and full opening in the autumn term," writes Ladhani and colleagues. The researchers say the results indicate that primary schools were not sites of significant transmission before the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK. However, "further work is needed to understand the effect of new variants within educational settings," they conclude. BRIDGEPORT When Rodney Davis walked into St. Vincents Medical Center a year ago, he was ill with fever, headaches and trouble breathing. But the 21-year-old didnt expect to be diagnosed with COVID-19 and spend the next month or so in a medically induced coma. I thought they would take my temperature and I would go back home, Davis said. Instead, Davis, now 22, was at St. Vincents for more than a month much of it sedated as he recovered from COVID. He was the hospitals first COVID patient, and one of its biggest success stories although he needed to be on a ventilator and required critical care. Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of the day Davis arrived at the hospital, and it was celebrated with a reunion between Davis and his angels who cared for him there. Many of the doctors and nurses who took care of Davis spoke during the event, which took place in the St. Vincents lobby. Dr. Steven Valassis, medical director of St. Vincents emergency department, didnt actually take care of Davis, but was there the day Davis came to the hospital. He said the day Davis came in, everyone was shaken up by how young he was, which is part of why his recovery was so important. You represented hope for us, Valassis told Davis. You represented the hope that we can get better and that we can get through this. The day you walked out of here was a big day for all of us. Susan Skoog, nursing director of critical care at St. Vincents, echoed those thoughts. She said they never lost the hope that he would recover. That was what we all looked forward to the day when you would be walking out the door, she said. Skoog gave Davis a photo of the day he left, signed by caregivers and staff. We have a present for you, because, really you deserve a present for getting us through those times, she said, before handing him the picture. For Davis, a native of Venezuela, who has lived in the United States for about five years, his battle with COVID was a turning point. He said he now plans to pursue a career in nursing, and was recently accepted at Sacred Heart University. This is the beginning of many good things coming up in my future, he said, adding that he hopes to one day work for Hartford HealthCare, which owns St. Vincents. Hartford HealthCare is part of my life now, because you saved my life, he said. It was clear from those who spoke at Thursdays event that Davis is a big part of the lives of those who cared for him as well. One of Daviss caregivers, intensive care unit nurse Joanne Tenenbaum, shyly approached Davis after he was done speaking, and told him how emotional it was to see him healthy again. You were the first (COVID) patient in ICU I took care of, Tenenbaum said. All I did was whisper in your ear You will make it. Davis said he looks forward to pursuing nursing and relishing the second chance hes received after surviving COVID. Im healthy. Im strong. My future is going to be great, he said. The Federal Government on Wednesday said that it was dealing with the challenges of compensations payment and relocation of services slowing down Lagos-Ibadan Expressway rehabilitation and reconstruction project. Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, made the remarks during a technical inspection of roads in Lagos and added that the speed of work on the project was impressive except the challenges. He assured Nigerians that the project would be delivered on schedule in December 2022. "Overall the progress of work is impressive, actually, let me just say that part of the challenges we are having are compensation issues, and also the relocation of existing utilities. This is what is slowing us down and this is why I am here. "And I can see that we have to really work fast to match the progress of work but overall the project is moving at the right pace and we hope it should be completed on schedule," he said. He explained that about twenty owners of properties demolished for the construction of an interchange bridge at Lotto axis of the Lagos Ibadan expressway, are yet to be compensated by the federal government. Hussaini said the compensation would be paid after completion of the survey and other due diligence, adding that, work on that section was "one of the very critical ones on the Lagos - Sagamu stretch of the Expressway". Vanguard News Nigeria Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:31:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for China's top legislature on Thursday strongly condemned the expanded sanctions announced by the U.S. Department of State on Chinese officials. The U.S. move, made in response to a decision of the National People's Congress (NPC) on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), is a gross interference in China's internal affairs, and is extremely "overbearing and despicable," said the spokesperson for the NPC Standing Committee. The NPC firmly opposes and strongly condemns the sanctions, the spokesperson said in a statement. As the highest state organ of power, the NPC has the power and responsibility to make the decision at the constitutional level to improve the electoral system of the HKSAR, said the spokesperson. The purpose of revising and improving the electoral system of the HKSAR is to remove the existing institutional deficiencies and risks so as to provide a sound institutional guarantee for fully and faithfully implementing "one country, two systems," and fully implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," the spokesperson noted. Stressing that Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs that brook no foreign interference, the spokesperson said the NPC will, as always, perform its legally prescribed duties and unswervingly safeguard China's sovereignty, security, and development interests in accordance with the law. The NPC will uphold the constitutional order in Hong Kong as stipulated in China's Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law, and provide legal guarantees for cracking down on "Hong Kong independence" forces, ensuring "patriots administering Hong Kong" and maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, according to the spokesperson. Enditem Ranchi, March 18 : A Ranchi court on Thursday sentenced a minor, who was one of the 12 accused in a gang rape case, to life imprisonment after convicting him. The special Children/Posco court also slapped a Rs 60,000 fine on him. On November 26, 2019, a law student was gang raped by 12 youths on the Ring Road. The other 11 youths were convicted and sentenced to life terms on March 2, 2020. The minor accused's case was sent to the Juvenile Justice Board. The rape survivor, in her statement, had said "the minor was more violent than other rape accused. The minor raped me two times and he was threatening to kill me". Police had arrested all the 12 accused in 24 hours of the crime and filed the charge sheet in 23 days, submitting CCTV footage, the bike used in the crime and forensic and DNA reports of the accused and the victim. Sydneysiders have been warned their city could be hit by flooding this weekend as a second band of heavy rainfall lashes the east coast. A severe weather warning is in place for the New South Wales mid-north coast where as much as 300mm is expected to fall in the next three days. Meteorologists have warned those living on the east coast to expect 'an absolute deluge' as the weather system moves gradually southwards towards the Harbour City. 'There is some uncertainty about where the heaviest falls will be this weekend,' Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne said. 'There is a risk of that flooding reaching Sydney and the rain spreading into northern and eastern parts of Victoria.' She added there could be months' worth of rain in outback NSW in the next few days, where a separate band of rain is moving eastwards from Western Australia. Sydneysiders have been warned their city could be hit by flooding this weekend as a second band of heavy rainfall lashes the east coast A severe weather warning is in place for the New South Wales mid-north coast where as much as 300mm is expected to fall in the next three days 'In the outback [where there is less rainfall] there could be many months worth of rain in the next few days,' she said. BoM meteorologist Helen Kirkup on Thursday morning told Daily Mail Australia that weather system could bring about 60mm of rain to inland areas. Ms Kirkup said parts of Sydney could receive 100mm of rain on Saturday alone. 'Isolated parts of the mid-north coast could get up to 200mm in a day - it's not out of the question,' she said. Meteorologists have warned those living on the east coast to expect 'an absolute deluge' as the weather system moves gradually southwards towards the Harbour City The eastern seabord of Australia is expected to cop a deluge in the coming days. A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall is now in place for the mid-north coast 'Wallis Lakes past Newcastle has already received 100mm overnight.' A flood watch is already in place for the Orara, Bellinger and Nambucca Rivers in northern NSW. 'Those river catchments require widespread rainfall to flood but we could see that flood watch upgraded to a warning in the coming days,' Ms Kirkup said. Sydney could see one of the heaviest days of rainfall periods in recent years, with some suburbs predicted to experience north of 100mm The second band of rain will move eastwards from western parts of Australia into NSW, bringing with it downpours of up to 60mm for inland regions of the state. The forecast is a different picture in other parts of the country, with neither Brisbane and Canberra expected to receive more than 20mm of rain a day into the weekend. Melbourne will remain mostly dry as the thermostat reaches as high as 25C. Adelaide residents will also escape the rain, with the next few days bringing sunshine and temperatures around 30C. Hobart will be dry and sunny with days reaching around 25C. Pictured: The severe weather warning in place in the mid-north coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales Over on the other side of the country, Perth residents will sweat through the week with Friday soaring to tops of 38C and Saturday to 37C. Darwin will be hot with high chances of thunderstorms and rainfall over the coming days. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services earlier issued a warning for residents in Sapphire, in the Central Highlands Region just before 5am on Wednesday, after the area received more than 130mm of rain in three hours. Large parts of Australia's eastern seaboard are set to cop three months worth of rain in just a few days as a huge rain band hovers over the coastline. Pictured are storm clouds over Sydney in January Meanwhile Sydney will be drenched by up to 35mm of rain forecast for Friday and 50mm for Saturday 'Due to heavy rainfall, the Retreat Creek is rising rapidly and major flooding is expected. Properties in low-lying areas are likely to be impacted,' the warning said. 'Council advises residents to warn neighbours, secure belongings and move to higher ground now.' More than 215mm of rain fell in the Gemfields, near Sapphire, with the river reaching up to 10m high - hitting the major flood level. Other central Queensland areas like Florence Vale was hit with 124mm of rain in just three hours and Keilambete had 138mm of rain before midnight. Thousands of Queenslanders have been urged to move to higher ground after the state was battered by heavy rainfall that's expected to last for another week (pictured residents in Sunshine Coast) New South Wales and Queensland are set to be battered by thunderstorms with no sunshine in sight (pictured people sheltering from rain in Brisbane) 'La Nina has started to ease but it is still expected to influence Australia's climate in early autumn and is typically associated with above average rainfall for eastern and northern Australia,' the Bureau of Meteorology's Sarah Scully said. 'Showers and storms are continuing into Thursday again with potentially heavy rainfall totals.' Huge swathes of rain are expected to batter New South Wales and Queensland over the coming days with no sunshine in sight Mar. 18The Ohio State Highway Patrol made 246 drug arrests and 21 illegal weapon arrests over three days as part of a six-state enforcement collaboration. "By stopping drugs and illegal weapons from being on our roadways we are making an impact in our communities," said Col. Richard S. Fambro, OSHP superintendent. "The partnerships with our neighboring states help make the roads safer for everyone to travel into and out of Ohio." The OSHP was part of the "6-State Trooper Project" from March 11 to March 13 that also involved Indiana State Police, Kentucky State Police, Michigan State Police, Pennsylvania State Police and West Virginia State Police. Combined, troopers made 539 drug arrests and 78 illegal weapon arrests, a release said. In Ohio, from just four arrests troopers seized 129 pounds of marijuana and 200 grams of methamphetamine, the release stated. Disney has announced that two of their parks located in California will soon be ready to welcome guests. Despite the good news of reopening their doors for children and adult guests, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will still be felt on the park's premises. Apart from 2 Disney parks in California, BBC News Disney has already opened their theme parks in other locations just like Florida and Beijing. However, these theme parks offered limited capacity. Disney Parks in Paris and Hong King have also reopened, but reports noted that they were issued once again for closure. ALSO READ: Disney CEO Attacks California Officials for Handling Pandemic, Keeping Parks Closed Disney Parks in California Disneyland noted that that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will reopen on April 20, 2021. Meanwhile, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa will reopen on April 29, 2021. There is still no available announcement of the schedule when Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel will reopen. However, just like their parks in Florida and Beijing, the two scheduled Disney parks for the reopening will also limit their capacity of accepting guests. The park will also adhere to the government's guidelines and requirements, just like social distancing and wearing of masks. The announcement of reopening Disney parks in California followed the California Attractions and Parks Associations (CAPA) plan to reopen the parks in the state. The "135,000 people throughout the state" are the driving force of the association to reopen the parks in California. The workers are from "throughout the state at every socio-economic level," said CAPA adding that they wanted to help this number of people to resume and get back to work. There are rules guests need to adhere to enter the said Disney parks. A park reservation and a valid admission (for both of the parks) on the same date will be assessed upon the entrance of guests for ages three and up. The reservation is subject to availability and is only offered with a limit. "Select attractions and certain experiences that draw large group gatherings - such as parades and nighttime spectaculars - will return at a later date," said Disney on their website. In addition, meeting Disney characters in person will also not be available. The park devised new ways to entertain its guests utilizing the characters, but the company did not disclose the information. Restrictions It is given that Disney park will require masks, temperature screenings, and social distancing inside its premises. However, CAPA reiterated the proper designation of every precaution in its guidelines. CAPA shared that masks should be worn at all times, and Amusements Parks must have designated eating and drinking areas to sustain this protocol. CAPA provided examples such as staff controls, recorder instructions, and appropriate barriers to adhere to the protocol to avoid interactions with other people. Moreover, activities that promote singing, heavy breathing, and shouting are not encouraged by CAPA. Disney Parks in California are only welcoming in-state visitors as of the moment, which is following the directive of California. WATCH: Disney CEO: Disneyland will reopen on April 30 with limited capacity - from CNBC Television Search giant Google is on the backfoot on Thursday as it attempts to damp down details about the Federal Trade Commission deciding not to launch an anti-trust probe into the company back in 2012. The details were contained in 312 pages of confidential memorandums which were obtained by the US site Politico and printed at length. Google's director of Competition Legal, Rosie Lipscomb, poked scorn at Politico's expose, dismissing it as part of a "[Washington] DC parlour game has been to second-guess the Federal Trade Commissions 2012 decision to close its antitrust investigation into Google." Lipscomb also attempted to deflect attention to Google's rivals, saying: "Its also clear from the papers how actively Microsoft and other rivals were encouraging these complaints. "The FTC put consumers' interests in higher-quality search results over the interests of a powerful commercial rival, which has since grown even further, to become the second-biggest company in the US by market capitalisation." Politico's Leah Nylen wrote that the 2012 decision still rankled with Google's rivals, "who have watched the search giant continue to amass power over smartphones, data-hoovering devices and wide swaths of the Internet, unimpeded by laws meant to deter monopolies". She put the failure to institute a probe down to misreading "the evidence in front of them" which she said had left a sizeable part of the digital future in Googles hands. A 2017 report in the Washington Post cited Google's close ties to the White House during the time of the Obama administration as the main reason why the probe did not go ahead. An earlier report pointed out that seven former Google officials were employed in federal policy or law enforcement areas that were of commercial interest to Google. The US filed a civil anti-trust suit against Google in October last year, with 11 states joining the action. Nylen said the documents added to doubts whether Washington was any more capable of reining in the tech giants, "despite efforts by a new generation of anti-trust enforcers to turn up the heat on Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon all of which now rank among the United States wealthiest companies". On 9th March 2021, the WCO and Global Affairs Canada signed an agreement to inject approximately EUR 2.5m (CAD 3,496,777) to support the addition of 8 WCO Members from the Americas region to the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs. Canadas generous contribution recognises the A-CIP Programmes success and achievements so far with the 17 WCO Members who are already part of the Programme under funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). This additional funding will expand and sustain Programme activities to the Americas for the next three years. I am delighted that Canada has acknowledged the WCOs work with its Members under the A-CIP Programme. Canadas support will add to that of Norway and enable the Programme to reach the Americas region, said WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya. He added that helping Members learn from each others experiences is key to the WCOs capacity building strategy with regards to integrity and the expansion of this Programme will certainly enrich the collection of experiences from WCO Members taking concrete steps to combat corruption and foster good governance in Customs. Launched in January 2019, A-CIP is the WCOs flagship programme assisting Members in their own efforts to combat corruption. The Programme does this through: improved capacity and utilization of performance measurement and collective action, as well as the implementation of specific Customs modernization efforts that combat corruption and promote integrity in line with the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration. For more than two decades, the WCO has played an active and key role in addressing the complex problem of corruption in public service and more specifically in Customs. The WCO emphasizes the fight against corruption, the safeguarding of integrity and the enhancement of good governance measures. The A-CIP Programme galvanizes activity in this area and leads specific efforts to improve governance and integrity in Customs. For more information about the A-CIP Programme, please visit the WCO A-CIP Programme page, or contact capacitybuilding@wcoomd.org. An American Senator on Wednesday urged Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to take up the issue of sale of Russian S-400 missile system during his visit to later this week along with their concerns on human rights issues. Getting the US- partnership right is critical to addressing 21st century challenges, and that includes urging the Indian government to uphold democratic values and human rights, Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a letter to Austin. Austin, the first ever defence secretary to include on his maiden foreign trip, is scheduled to meet his counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval, during his New Delhi visit from March 19 to 21. In meetings with Indian counterparts during your upcoming visit, I strongly encourage you to make clear that in all areas, including security cooperation, the US-India partnership must rest on adherence to democratic values, Menendez said in his letter, a copy of which was released to the press on Wednesday. In his capacity as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez plays a key role in influencing the country's foreign policy and national security. Among his predecessors include President Joe Biden, who occupied this position during former president George Bush's administration and former secretary of state John Kerry. On India's reported plan to purchase the Russian S-400 missile system, Menendez said that if India chooses to go forward with its purchase, that act will clearly constitute a sanctionable transaction with the Russian defence sector under provisions of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA. I recognize that India is not a treaty ally and has historical ties with the Soviet and Russian militaries. However, if India chooses to go forward with its purchase of the S-400, that act will clearly constitute a significant, and therefore sanctionable, transaction with the Russian defense sector under Section 231 of CAATSA, Menendez wrote. It will also limit India's ability to work with the US on development and procurement of sensitive military technology. I expect you to make all of these challenges clear in conversations with your Indian counterparts, he said. While democracy and human rights issues do not come under the domain of the Pentagon, Menendez urged Austin to raise these concerns with Indian leaders. The Indian government's ongoing crackdown on farmers peacefully protesting new farming laws and corresponding intimidation of journalists and government critics only underscores the deteriorating situation of democracy in India, he wrote. Moreover, in recent years, rising anti-Muslim sentiment and related government actions like the Citizenship Amendment Act, the suppression of political dialogue and arrest of political opponents following the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, and the use of sedition laws to persecute political opponents have resulted in the US human rights group Freedom House stripping India of its Free' status in its yearly global survey, he said. As the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance states, democracy is essential to meeting the challenges of our time. "We should seek to partner with India to address challenges from China to climate change, but in doing so we cannot let our democratic values fall away. I urge you to raise the importance of democracy and human rights in your meetings with Indian officials to make clear that respect for democratic values is necessary for strong, sustainable US-India relations," Menendez said in the letter. (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.) March 17, 2021 The onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in early 2020 was a tragedy that caused chaos throughout the world. Thousands lost their lives. Businesses, schools and churches were shut down. Hardly a person on the globe was not affected by it. But as vaccines now roll out and as statistics slowly tumble back to normal, yet another tragedy potentially looms: the tragedy of not learning any lessons from what happened. This is especially true for business leaders. After one of the most disruptive years in recent memory, what lessons have business leaders learnedor should they have learnedon the heels of this catastrophic event? We decided to ask growth and performance leader Eyal Gutentag, recognized throughout the business world for his expertise in developing powerful managerial teams in some of the nations best-known companies. Eyal has been instrumental in developing the smoothly-running management teams at big name companies like ZipRecruiter, Uber and the NFL, and is an experienced mentor and millennial talent manager. With over two decades of experience guiding fast-growth companies through all kinds of upheavals, he brings a unique perspective to any discussion of how managers can derive critical lessons from the recent pandemic. Here are some excerpts from our interview: Q. Eyal, in your various management positions, youve led companies through all kinds of challenges through the years. Now, as the latest challengethe COVID pandemicapparently winds to a close, what is the one thing youd like other managers to keep in mind? How is this challenge different? Eyal Gutentag: I think the big lesson for managers is to realize that the incredible scale of this epidemic is calling for a different kind of response on their part. Weve had difficult times before: factory closings, layoffs, economic slumps and so on. And the traditional response has been to find new revenue streams or capital, new internal policies, new training programs, tightening or loosening the fiscal belts, and so on. But COVID hit us on a much deeper, broader scale. It hit us not just economically but emotionally. Weve seen family and friends die. Weve seen our kids locked out of schools, houses of worship shut down, incomes lost. As a result, for some perhaps more than others, theres a very real fear that still lingers, even as the vaccines begin rolling out. Some workers have lost loved ones and still grieve. Others may be high risk and fearful of rejoining the workforce. People wonder, Will it ever be safe again? Can I return to work without worry? As managers, we need to recognize that this is a health crisis first and a financial crisis second. This is a time for managers to reach out with messages of encouragement and reassurance, to show genuine and heart-felt human compassion. I advise managers to make that personal connection now more than ever. When you do, the business side will work itself out. If you were doing well before COVID, as most companies were, then you can get back on track rather quickly. But before you can make that happen you need to get your people back on track first. Q. What can managers do to express their compassion? What steps would you recommend? Eyal Gutentag: Well, first thing Id do is to remind myself to be flexible. Not everyone is going to be ready to come back into work on Day One. Communicate with each person. Ask about his or her availability, the external responsibilities they may have for loved ones. Identify any fears about returning. Would they prefer to work remotely or on site? Consider allowing some to continue working from home, even if only temporarily. Avoid ill-conceived ultimatums that ultimately help no one. If you prefer to have everyone on site together often, then make it extra attractive for them to do so. Add a few company perks such as free snacks or lunches for onsite workers. Add more flexible hours. Offer incentives that werent there before. In other words, make the return to work so inviting that everyone chooses that option. But for those that dont, remember what theyve been through and why they may be reluctant to give up the work-at-home option. A major benefit, by the way, of being flexible is that youll likely see a payoff down the road in increased employee royalty and retention. I have found that most employees value the benefit of this flexibility far higher than the companys cost of offering it. The next step would be to increase employee connections. If practical, take time to contact each employee personally. Calm any fears they may have. Ask about their family. Emphasize their importance to the team. Let them see the vision you have for them and the company and how they fit into the big picture. The final lesson learned: take advantage of your staffs increased familiarity and comfort with online meeting technology. Find ways to use programs like Zoom or Google (News - Alert) Meet to enhance group participation going forward. Get top management out of their Ivory Tower isolation and let everyone see their leadership and company vision first hand. Encourage feedback from all levels, from the bottom up, and make everyone feel an integral part of the team. When everyone is on the same page, fear dissipates, loyalty and commitment explode, and the business can move ahead into this next phase. By Steven L. Shields "Faith" can be tricky because faith is believing in something without evidence. Faith is not unique to Christians, or even any religious persuasion, for that matter. Children have faith that Santa Claus is real and will bring them toys if they behave correctly. The outcomes of Santa's generosity are practically universal. Children do have some evidence that this is the case from many others' experiences. The same is true for doctors. I only can have faith in my doctors based on the good outcomes of their many other patients. But with religious faith, even though there are countless testimonies of how the Divine helped someone, there are as many if not more testifying that nothing happened in response to prayer. As a pastor, I encourage prayer, and I encourage faith, but I also have to come up with answers when someone's prayer does not result in their desired outcome. And I cannot, in good conscience, tell that someone that "Well, God heard your prayer, but the answer was no." My column a few months ago raised the hackles of one reader of The Korea Times. He sent me a lengthy email condemning my views. He aggressively argued that although I claim to be a pastor, in his mind, I was not even a Christian. Frankly, I am glad that he read my column and thought about it. He argued that one need not "interpret" the Bible but must take it literally. The problem, though, is that many such Christian believers have not studied Hebrew or Greek (the original languages of the Bible texts), nor have they studied the history of the Hebrew people and the cultural milieu in which those people were embedded. Unfortunately, like my critic, many Christians believe uncritically in their pastor's or their denomination's interpretation of the Bible. While they claim faith in the "Word of God," what they have faith in is the word of their trusted pastor without evidence that he (or she) is correct or accurate. If one wishes to argue that the Bible has remained unchanged since it was written, they need to read the oldest manuscripts in the original languages. There is not one single modern-language translation of the Bible texts that can claim absolute accuracy. There are a few thoughts to consider. First, there are no "original" manuscripts. The only manuscripts available are copies handwritten copies. None of those manuscripts can be dated to the periods they write about. Second, such a position also suggests that ancient Hebrews were a literate and literary culture. History tells us otherwise. The ancient Hebrews passed the stories orally. Take some time to understand what oral cultures are and how they pass on information. Claims that the Bible's words have never changed or that "God would never allow errors to creep in" are preposterous. Those who have access to the many ancient texts have compared and studied and shown thousands of variations. Copyists were not perfect. Third, we all have a bias. Translators have a bias. Word meanings change over time. Just talk to some of the kids these days. Contexts change. For example, I can only see the world through my Western eyes, hopefully somewhat broader in vision after my many years living in Korea. When I translate something into English, my American expressions naturally come through, especially if I don't know my text's full background and context. To claim the Bible can be taken literally with no regard to context is nothing more than a "faith" statement. Faith applied to the Bible's words is a precarious problem. The position conveniently insulates the "faith only" believer from arguments, though, because it leaves no room for questions or discussion. "Because the Bible says" is not a proper answer. If the stories of Jesus tell us anything, it is this: an unquestioned faith is not worth having. He continually confronted his accusers and taught his disciples that questions are not a problem. Faith that has no room for questions is tragic, indeed. Such a position all too often has made good people do evil things, thinking they are doing the will of God. Having been accused of not being a Christian because I (and millions of others) interpret the Bible differently from the fundamentalists and conservatives, I want to make this point. That point is not that the ancient people of the Bible told literal stories, and we are smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told the stories symbolically, and we are stupid enough to take them literally. Your pastor may have gone to seminary (so did I), but he or she has only been taught one way of interpreting what faith is all about. Do not just read your pastor's sermon books or your denomination's texts. Read books by Christian leaders and scholars such as John Dominic Crossan, John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels and Jewish scholars Neil Asher Silberman and Israel Finkelstein. Look deep into your soul; do not fear raising questions about life and God and Jesus and all the rest of it. Faith always seeks understanding. Have faith, but be thoughtful. Steven L. Shields (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. He is a retired clergyman and president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. Abuja Continued attacks and abductions of school children especially the female ones have put the education sector and the future of our wards under serious jeopardy, members of the House of Representatives said Thursday. Speaking through the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, the members also lamented the deplorable infrastructure in various primary and secondary schools across the country, urging the state governments to wake up to their responsibilities. A statement from the chairman of the House Committee, Professor Julius O. Ihonvbere who also represents the Owan Federal Constituency of Edo State stated that the invasions and unabating kidnappings of school children have constituted a huge embarrassment to Nigeria. "The House Committee on Basic Education and Services has observed with great alarm the steady dislocation and deterioration of basic education especially in states that are badly affected by frequent kidnappings, Boko Haram and bandit attacks. "This has compelled many state governments to shut down schools especially boarding houses. The invasion of schools has disrupted the school calendar, destroyed school infrastructure and properties, traumatized our children, scared off teachers and school administrators. "The clear consequences of these attacks are that children are afraid to return to school, parents are uncertain if their wards would be safe in school, and teachers and administrators can no longer concentrate fully on their duties. Insecurity is now breeding a palpable fear for education in Nigeria. "Without doubt, it is the view of our Committee that these happenings constitute a huge embarrassment to our nation. With the largest number of out-of-school children in the world, now, insecurity of steadily shutting down the school system in historically underserved communities. Even war-torn nations do not experience such levels and frequencies of attacks as they affect our schools. "There are serious gaps in our state and federal policies on basic education especially school administration and safety. "When school reopens, the girl child will be the biggest loser in this unfortunate development. Already suffering from all sorts of deprivations, many will not return to school and the population of out-of-school children in Nigeria will increase further. "Government at all levels must begin to design new and sustainable policies and programmes to protect, encourage and keep the girl-child in school. "The state of infrastructure in many of our schools all over the country remains embarrassing. The infrastructure at the Government Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State is just a sampler in the widespread neglect of the school and environment that our children are expected to live and study in. "The basic education sector is under attack. Our children are under attack and our collective future is under attack. The consequences of the current disruptions will be evident very shortly unless urgent steps are taken", Hon. Ihonvbere said in the statement. Recalling that President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a shoot-at-sight order, the Committee however regretted that the vices have continued incessantly, even assuming a more disturbing dimension. In a measure of admonition, the Committee called for new policies and strategies to give adequate protection to schools. "Though the President has assured Nigerians that the Kankara kidnapping of school children was going to be the last in the country, announced a shoot-at-sight- order for anyone illegally in possession of AK47 rifles, and announced that kidnapers would face a very hard time, these horrible attacks have continued especially in Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara states unabated. "The policies, while laudable, did not address the glaring deficits in basic education. "The federal government continues to provide matching grants to all states and the Federal Capital Territory; yet, the situation is not improving. While more funding is urgently needed, the deployment of such allocated funds needs to be adequately monitored. The Committee is already embarking on a nationwide oversight activity on the utilization of matching grants received by States and the FCT in the last decade. "It is amazing that basic perimeter fencing is no longer provided for schools. The Template on School Resumption in the COVID-19 period by the Federal Ministry of Education prescribed a single entrance and exit access to all schools. As is now obvious, our schools, save for a few, are very porous and it is easy for kidnappers, bandits, rapists, cultists, lunatics, drug dealers and traders of all wares to access the premises. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Education Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "There is clearly an urgent need for new policies in this area with states exploring novel ways to protect school premises. We also note that our governments- local, state and federal, are yet to design and put in place a basic early-warning security facility that can transmit information from the school gate to the school head and to relevant security agencies as soon as there are signs of attack. This should be taken up as a matter of urgency. It is essential for all schools to develop an emergency response protocol to promote individual and collective safety. "The Committee urges the Federal and State governments to design holistic strategies for involving the youth organisations, community groups, traditional and religious leaders in the design of ways and means of self-protection rather than sitting idly by when hundreds of our children are carted away on foot by bandits. Working with security agents the menace of these criminal elements can be curtailed", the Committee stated. Vanguard News Nigeria We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form While some traditional healers want to use python skins in their trade, possession of such skins without a licence is illegal as a 67-year-old self-styled healer found out yesterday when she appeared in court on charges of possessing a 2m python skin valued at US$1 500 Siniria Kamutandangwere, who operates from 83 Learoyd Road in Braeside but lives along Mukumbadzetse Road in Mufakose, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court court charged with possession of a python trophy. She denied the charges when she appeared before magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko, who remanded her in custody to March 31 for trial. Bail for this sort of offence can only be granted by the High Court. The State led by Mrs Francesca Mukumbiri alleges that on Tuesday around 10am, detectives were told that Kamutandangwere had a python skin at her Braeside traditional healing surgery. The premises were searched and the skin was found. She told the detectives in her warned and cautioned statement that she uses the skin when going for sessions under water. The court heard that she failed to produce a licence that authorises her to deal in wildlife products. She was then arrested and taken to court for violating the Parks and Wildlife Act. Senate Confirms Marcia Fudge as HUD Secretary The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Rep. Marcia Fudge as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The confirmation was met with applause from womens and other groups. We applaud the confirmation of Rep. Fudge as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Marcela Howell, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Womens Reproductive Justice Agenda, responded in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT Her appointment comes at a pivotal time when her leadership is sorely needed. The U.S. faces a severe housing crisis as millions of residents struggle to pay their rent and mortgages due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Howell offered. She continued. In addition to dealing with the fallout from the pandemic-induced economic downturn, Rep. Fudge will have to clean up the housing policy mess left by the last administration. Black women and their families suffered immensely under Trumps housing policies, which weakened protections against discrimination. Now, HUD must clean house and get back to the business ensuring all U.S. residents have access to safe, affordable housing In Our Own Voice praises the Senates confirmation of Rep. Fudge and we encourage the senators to continue to confirm the presidents other appointees. President Biden promised to have a cabinet that truly reflects the people of our country. A government by the people, for the people and of the people must include women and people of color including the women of color being held up by the Senate. Confirm them now. ADVERTISEMENT Fudge, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, received a 66-34 vote in the Senate making her the first woman to serve as HUD secretary since 1979. The Ohio-native becomes the second Black woman and the third woman ever to lead the department. I can think of no one better to lead us out of this pandemic and create strong communities for the future than Marcia Fudge, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, told The Hill. When she came before the [committee], Congresswoman Fudges knowledge and passion for service, her commitment to the people who make this country work were obvious to all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike. FolderWave, the platform provider of the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) Pathway product, which is provided free and used by students and school counselors across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to explore interests, research careers, and chart a path to the future, announces a partnership with AdmitHub. As part of an ongoing and ever vigilant effort to reach students where they are and provide the best platform for students and adult learners to explore potential success paths, FolderWave is working with AdmitHub to augment the ability to reach students on any device at any time to provide quick answers to key questions on their mind. Bob Burke, President of FolderWave, said, We are extremely excited to be partnering with AdmitHub on this important effort. Communicating with students at the moment they have a question, 24x7, is so critical. Given todays climate of remote and hybrid learning, overwhelming work for educators, and minimal access to counselors, we want to provide whatever tools we can to help students find their path and allow all students to have a level playing field. FolderWave and AdmitHub will use artificial intelligence to design and execute automated conversations with students. Using chatbot services via the MEFA Pathway student application, cellphones, and mobile devices, students will have the ability to type or text their questions to a knowledge base and receive answers, if available, or else have those questions directed to subject matter experts who will respond to them. Messages can go both ways, and reminders and other correspondence will be sent to the students based on previous questions asked. Throughout this process, the questions, conversations, and answers will continually be incorporated into the knowledge base, expanding and improving its content over time. This partnership and work is an exciting opportunity to reach students earlier in the process and support their efforts to seek information and guidance, said Drew Magliozzi, CEO of AdmitHub. Answering questions at the moment they are needed can help students remain engaged, seeking the next answer to the next question. Our AI capability is built for just this. "We are proud that MEFA Pathway continues to grow and improve on our mission to support college- and career-bound students and their families said Tom Graf, Executive Director at MEFA. The FolderWave and AdmitHub partnership will give all our MEFA Pathway students immediate answers to many of their questions as they use the valuable content and features we provide to explore career options and make important decisions about their futures." The goal of these enhancements is to improve the student and counselor experience, expediting communications, freeing up counselors for critical direct communications, especially in this time of great concern for students, and ultimately leading to a more effective pathway to success for students. About FolderWave, Inc. FolderWaves cloud-based products and services are designed to significantly improve complex, high-volume, and time-dependent process and data management operations in many operational areas of Higher Education and K-12 Education. FolderWave is driven to empower students and lifelong learners to seek their own path to achieve their goals. More information available at http://www.folderwave.com/about-pathway/ About AdmitHub AdmitHub has increased college access, persistence, and success for more than 3 million students nationwide since its founding in 2014. By combining sophisticated technology and behavioral science in an intuitive student engagement platform, AdmitHub provides on-demand assistance via text message, web chat, and social media, answers questions in real time, and connects students to the appropriate advisors and resources. In partnership with colleges and universities, state higher education systems, and nonprofits across the country, AdmitHub is reimagining student engagement to guide students on a personalized path to and through college. Learn more and request a demo at AdmitHub.com. About MEFA MEFA is a not-for-profit, self-financing public entity established in 1982. MEFAs mission since its founding has been to help students and families access and afford higher education and reach financial goals through education programs, tax-advantaged savings plans, low-cost loans, and expert guidance. All of MEFAs work aligns with the ever-present goal to support the independence, growth, and success of students and families. Visit mefa.org to learn more or follow MEFA on Twitter @mefatweets and on Facebook at mefaMA. Contact Information FolderWave Robert Burke bob@folderwave.com AdmitHub Ben Cockerell bencockerell@admithub.com Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) Lisa Rooney (617) 224-4838 lrooney@mefa.org Gibraltar and the Isle of Man today torpedoed claims they could be used by Priti Patel to house new processing centres for UK asylum seekers illegally arriving in the country by sea or in the back of lorries. Political leaders have reacted angrily to the idea and demanded reassurance from the Home Secretary that migrants who enter Britain illegally will then be flown to them to be held in camps while their asylum applications are heard. Ms Patel is looking for a radical solution after trafficking gangs helped a record 8,420 migrants crossed the Channel to Britain in 2020 - while more than 800 have crossed already this year. But Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has today written to the Home Secretary to confirm that the reports are 'groundless speculation' and to stress it would be unable to host the processing of asylum seekers due to constitutional and legal issues and the 'geographical limitations' of the territory. He said: 'I can confirm that this issue has not been raised with me at any level. I would have made clear this is not area on which we believe we can assist the UK'. While the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Howard Quayle, told MailOnline he thought Ms Patel might have been playing an early April Fools' Day joke on them. He said: 'I can confirm that at no time has the Isle of Man government been approached or advised about plans to use the Isle of Man for such a purpose. Along with ideas to build a road tunnel under the Irish Sea or a bridge above it this latest idea simply adds to the rich tapestry of life we are dealing with at present. April 1st isn't until next month'. The Queen is head of state of both Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, and the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency. Both have varying degrees of political independence, and while the UK Government could impose decisions on them, it would highly controversial if it did without consent from the Gibraltar Parliament or the Manx Tynwald. The Prime Minister's official spokesman did not deny the Home Office is looking at proposals of using Gibraltar and other overseas territories to process asylum seekers. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We've said before that we must fix our broken asylum system to make it firm but fair, as part of that we've looked at what a whole host of other countries do to inform a plan for the UK and we will set out further details in the coming weeks.' Pressed on whether having centres on overseas territories is an option, he said: 'I'm not going to pre-empt what we will set out in the coming weeks. I would just point back to what Priti Patel and the Prime Minister said before about the need not only to fix our asylum system but to try and ensure people aren't making these incredibly dangerous journeys across the Channel.' Priti Patel plans to take a tougher stance on illegal migration in a bid to clampdown on people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people fleeing war-torn countries Migrants who enter the UK illegally by crossing The Channel from France could be sent to a third country, such as Turkey, where they will either be returned to their home nation, or the safe country they arrived in Britain from. Pictured: Border Force officials taking a child refugee ashore in Kent The Rock of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, whose political leaders have ruled out housing a camp for migrants sent from the UK Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has today written to the Home Secretary to confirm that the reports are 'groundless speculation' while the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Howard Quayle, told MailOnline he thought Ms Patel might have been playing an early April Fools' Day joke on them ASYLUM SEEKER CRISIS THAT NEEDS BADLY TACKLING NOW - BUT CAN MIGRANTS BE MOVED ABROAD? By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent What is the problem? Many asylum seekers pass through safe countries such as France to reach the UK. Critics say this indicates many who claim to be refugees and may have paid thousands of pounds to people traffickers are actually economic migrants who take up space in the system that could be allocated to people whose lives are in peril. How is the system failing? Once asylum seekers reach the UK it can be very difficult for the Government to remove them, even if their claims for refugee status are groundless. The number of asylum seekers living in Britain at taxpayers' expense reached a record 64,041 at the end of last year, costing 1 billion annually. The growing backlog is partly due to Home Office bureaucracy but also to the rising use of legal challenges. Britain made more than 8,500 requests to European countries last year, asking them to take back asylum seekers who had passed through a safe country. Only 105 were transferred out. How many pass through a 'safe country' to Britain? There are no official figures, but a rough estimate can be provided by looking at the numbers who came here on small boats from France, who should have claimed asylum there, according to EU rules. That figure was just over 8,500 in 2020, and there were just over 36,000 asylum applications last year, including dependants. So at least one in four arrivals came from a safe country. What is the Government proposing? Asylum seekers who have passed through a safe country on their way to the UK will have their claims ruled 'inadmissible'. Ministers will aim to sign deals with countries outside Europe to accommodate asylum seekers who have reached Britain and are thought to have passed through a safe country. They would then be moved to those foreign-based centres while their claims are processed. How does this compare with other countries? The European Union has paid Turkey more than 5 billion since 2016 to accommodate four million migrants mostly from war-ravaged Syria. The scheme was designed to prevent migrants continuing their journey to Europe. Australia brought in mandatory offshore processing centres in 2013 for anyone who arrives without a visa. Asylum seekers travelling by sea are redirected to accommodation centres in countries such as Papua New Guinea. The policy has led to allegations that Australia is neglecting its duties to genuine refugees. Where could asylum seekers be held? Ministers are understood to be negotiating with several countries outside Europe. Turkey is believed to be a front-runner. Could the proposals face legal challenges? Yes. They will be highly controversial. One focus will be how the UK could transfer asylum seekers to another country. Many destroy their passports before arriving here and try to keep their true nationality secret. In those circumstances it is not known how they could be relocated. The Home Office could be subject to challenges under international human rights or refugee conventions. Advertisement Priti Patel plans to take a much tougher stance on unauthorised migration to stop people smugglers exploiting desperate migrants and putting their lives at risk. Those who come to Britain from a safe country such as France will have their claims deemed 'inadmissible'. The Home Secretary wants to change the law so they can then be sent to a third country such as Turkey to await being returned to their home nation or the safe country they arrived from. While Turkey is one option, there are others being considered closer to home. According to The Times, islands off the coast of Scotland are under consideration, while the Isle of Man and Gibraltar have also been discussed by top officials. Speaking to The Times, the unnamed expert said: 'There is no law that explicitly prevents people from being removed to a third country. 'But it is arguable and there's bound to be a court case about it there'll be arguments both ways. A refugee is going to not want to be removed to a third country and will no doubt instruct lawyers to try to prevent that. So they will bring a case to try to stop it happening.' Officials have opened discussions with several non-EU countries about taking the migrants in return for money, similar to a controversial scheme operated by Australia. Speaking of the Australian method, Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council charity, told the paper: 'It is an inhumane policy that undermines our nation's proud tradition of providing protection to people fleeing persecution and terror many of whom have gone on to work as doctors and nurses in the NHS.' At the same time, ministers will create 'legal safe routes' for more refugees to come to the UK directly from war zones. Asylum seekers crossing the Channel from France to the UK will be sent to a third country under radical plans drawn up by Priti Patel. The Home Secretary is poised to publish a 'fair but firm' shake-up of Britain's asylum system designed to end illegal Channel crossings. Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the Government of 'lurching from one inhumane, ridiculous proposal to another' over plans to process asylum seekers abroad. He said: 'The Tories are lurching from one inhumane, ridiculous proposal to another. Last year they were talking about creating waves in the English Channel to wash boats back and buying ferries and oil rigs to process asylum claims. 'These absurd ideas show the Government has lost control and all sense of compassion. Ministers must act to reopen safe routes, as promised, and deliver the promised agreement with France.' The British Red Cross has warned processing asylum seekers offshore will have 'grave humanitarian consequences' as it urged the Government to 'open up safe and legal routes' for those making a claim in the UK. Chief executive Mike Adamson said: 'Offshoring the UK's asylum system will do nothing to address the reasons people take dangerous journeys in the first place and will almost certainly have grave humanitarian consequences'. Last year set a new record for the highest number of migrant to cross The Channel, 8,420, while more than 800 have crossed already this year. The plans, to be set out as part of the UK Sovereign Borders Bill, will establish new 'legal safe routes' allowing genuine refugees to secure the right to come to the UK directly from war zones. But the proposals, which constitute the biggest shake-up of asylum laws in a generation, will also see Britain take a much tougher line on unauthorised immigration. Migrants will be banned from claiming asylum in the UK if they have arrived from a safe country such as France, with their cases deemed 'inadmissible'. Miss Patel is working on plans to allow the swift return of 'inadmissible' migrants to the country where they came from. But with EU countries dragging their heels in taking back failed asylum seekers, she is also drawing up proposals for them to have their cases dealt with in a third country, such as Turkey. Migrants arriving in the UK via illegal routes would be removed to the third country and would remain there until they could be repatriated, either to their home nation or the safe country they arrived from a process that could take months or years. A Home Office source said the move was designed to 'break the link' between getting in a dinghy or lorry in France and securing a new life in the UK. 'If people know that they are not going to get to stay in the UK then they are less likely to make that perilous journey,' the source said. 'People are dying we have to break that link, which is what the people smugglers rely on. Yes, it will be controversial with some, but while we have people dying we have to consider everything.' The Home Office was tight-lipped last night about exactly where 'inadmissible' asylum seekers might be sent, or how much countries will be paid to take them. Last year ministers briefly considered sending asylum seekers to far-flung British dependencies, including St Helena and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. The remote islands were rejected as impractical. But the idea of sending asylum seekers offshore for processing has survived. A similar scheme has been operated by Australia for years. Asylum seekers travelling by sea have been banned from entering the country, and redirected to accommodation centres in neighbouring states such as Papua New Guinea. The Pacific island was reportedly looked at by Foreign Office officials as a potential spot for detention centres, along with Moldova and Morocco, before plans were deemed unrealistic. Refugees arriving in Britain from safe countries, like France, will have their asylum application deemed 'inadmissible,' under plans being looked at by the Home Secretary British officials are understood to be in discussion with non-EU countries over plans for them to pay to take refugees, under a similar plan currently used by Australia. Pictured: Australia's detention centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea Turkey could be one of the countries Britain pays to host migrants, as it already has a deal in place with the EU. Pictured: Syrian children at a refugee camp in Sanliufra, Turkey Any proposal for sending migrants to a third, holding country, like Turkey, (pictured, a site in Hatay) would be subject to a public consultation A similar scheme has been operated by Australia for years. Asylum seekers travelling by sea have been banned from entering the country, and redirected to accommodation centres in neighbouring states such as Papua New Guinea (pictured) Sources confirmed that several non-EU countries have been sounded out about the idea. Turkey is thought to be a likely candidate as it already has a multi-billion-pound deal with the EU for hosting millions of migrants who might otherwise have made their way to Europe. Britain is also in discussions with several EU countries, including Denmark, who are interested in 'off-shoring' their own asylum seekers to a third country. Home Office sources stressed that the idea of sending asylum seekers abroad to be processed will be subject to consultation. But the proposal is likely to prove highly controversial with human rights groups, and is certain to face legal challenges. Although ministers considered pulling out of the 1951 Convention on Refugees they decided against the move. The UK will also remain a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights. Campaigners argue that international law does not require refugees to seek asylum in the first safe country they can reach. But Miss Patel has privately told colleagues she is determined to end the practice of 'asylum shopping', where people can travel through a string of safe countries before trying to make the journey across the Channel to the UK. 'There is no justification for people travelling through safe countries like France in order to claim asylum in the UK,' a source said. 'They are not at risk from persecution in France, but they are putting their lives at risk if they try to cross the Channel illegally.' The plans are due to be published later this month and will be included in the UK Sovereign Borders Bill in the summer. The new measures will also include tougher enforcement action against the people smuggling gangs, including the introduction of life sentences for the worst offenders, up from a current maximum jail term of 14 years. A separate review to be published today will recommend reforms to the judicial review process to curb the scope for repeated claims in immigration and asylum claims. However, the plans are likely to take many months, or possibly years, to implement fully. In the meantime, ministers are braced for the flow of migrants across the Channel to continue. And there are fears that the controversy surrounding the new plans could spark a surge from migrants desperate to get to the UK before the door is closed. Internal Home Office projections seen by the Mail forecast that an average 500 migrants a month will successfully make the crossing this year. The projection would suggest around 6,000 migrants are expected to make the crossing this year lower than the record 8,417 last year, but far higher than the 1,890 in 2019. By Sergiy Karazy and Margaryta Chornokondratenko NOVHORODSKE, Ukraine (Reuters) - A huge banner reading "New York" hangs over the town hall entrance and a bakery with the same name sells coffee and croissants. But instead of a bustling Manhattan skyline, this town is dominated by an old phenol factory and Communist-era apartment blocks, and scarred on one side by trenches that have been dug through deserted streets. Formerly called New York, Novhorodske lies on the front line of Ukraine's war with Russian-backed separatists in its eastern Donbass region. It was renamed in 1951 during the Cold War. Now some locals are campaigning to change it back, and parliament could vote on the issue as soon as this week. Currently, "the town's territory is not protected," said local council head Mykola Lenko, adding that five residents had been killed since the start of the separatist conflict. Restoring its historic name would hopefully mean "some economic success and that the town will develop," he said. "We hope that we will establish contacts with Jork in Germany and New York in the United States." While the precise origin of the town's old name is unclear, German immigrants, followers of the Mennonite Church, settled in what is now Ukraine around the turn of 19th century at the invitation of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Their descendants were deported following Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Some of their families used to pay visits to Novhorodske but these stopped when fighting broke out in 2014. Once an industrial town, it fell into decline after the First World War. Now soldiers, manning checkpoints just one kilometre (0.6 miles) from separatist lines, patrol the trenches on its outskirts, where more than 100 houses have been damaged by shelling. Ceasefire violations in the Donbass conflict have surged recently, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame over the rising violence. Story continues Town council secretary Tetyana Krasko said Novhorodske was renamed because "the Soviet Union's citizens believed that the name of New York was a sign of capitalism." For some residents, rather than debating another renaming, local authorities should focus on generating employment and helping those in need. "Everyone leaves, there are no jobs here. I would like to leave too," said Svitlana, a fishmonger. (Editing by Matthias Williams and John Stonestreet) Chinese-Japanese American Kara Chu, 18, holds a pair of heart balloons she decorated for the rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. AP JOHANNESBURG, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese embassy donated e-learning equipment to the South African National Defence College in Pretoria, said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Thursday. The SANDF said the donation was presented by the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong on Wednesday and received by the Chief of the SANDF General Solly Shoke and the Military Command Council. "The ambassador was invited by General Shoke to be part of the official opening ceremony of the newly refurbished e-learning centre at the college. The donation was made to assist students in the security and defence studies program with research in their studies," said the SANDF in a statement. The South African military said the Chinese ambassador was accompanied by China's Major General Shang Hong and Col. Li Tao. Last year the Chinese military donated face masks, eye goggles and other medical equipment to the SANDF. BArT Announces Upcoming Enrollment Deadline ADAMS, Mass. Berkshire Arts and Technology (BArT) Charter Public School is currently accepting applications for students in grades 6 through 10 for the 2021-2022 school year. The next enrollment deadline for the 2020-2021 school year for grades 6 through 10 is Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. Click here to apply. More information on the school's enrollment and lottery process can be found at www.bartcharter.org . Interested families should contact the school at 413-743-7311 ext 732 or enrollment@bartcharter.org . Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Thomas Cole's series of five paintings, "The Course of Empire," is a time machine of sorts. It shows the rise and fall of man's morality and civilization. His fourth in the series: The Course of Empire: Destruction, 1836. Oil on Canvas, 39.5 inches by 63.5 inches. New York Historical Society. (Public Domain) The Time Machine: An Everlasting Matter of Time In writing The Time Machine 125 years ago, Herbert George Wells not only invented the catchphrase time machine, but he also invented a time machine of imagination, for its pages whisk the time-bound reader beyond the constraints of the numerical continuum of space and experience, leaping into a bizarre future that is both beautiful and brutal in its features. The Time Machine is both science fiction and social fiction, and as time has shown, the impossible dreams of science tend to come true, as do the impossible nightmares of society. A portrait photo of English writer Herbert George Wells, circa 1918. (PD-US) It is hard to tell if The Time Machine is ahead of its time or behind it. It is probably both, for time and ones position in it, according to the story and its theory, is relative. That time is a flimsy thing, however, is not terribly surprising. That there is such a thing as time at all, this rolling measure of change, is the larger shock, especially as it is infinite by definition but finite by design. But the most important thing about time is not what we can do with it, but rather what we must do in itbefore it runs out. The Time Machine The novella is largely a story within a story, detailing the firsthand account of a gentleman known only as the Time Traveler after he returns from his time machines maiden voyage to the year A.D. 802,701. The first thing he finds in this distant epoch is not a high-tech megalopolis buzzing and blazing with futuristic wonders, but rather a silent, solitary figure of antiquity. Lifting itself above birch trees and rhododendrons is a gigantic white marble sphinx, set on a mighty bronze pedestal. This is the image, the great irony, that meets the Time Traveler when he comes to find out what has happened to the world of menand it is a foreboding figure. The sphinx is a mythical symbol of the blind genius of man and his inevitable degradation, hearkening back to the Oedipus cycle, when that tragic hero came to Thebes to seek his fortune, overthrew the sphinx and her riddles about the decay of man, only to seal his doom. The sphinx had the last laugh as Oedipus gouged out his eyes in horror and fled weeping to the wilds. As errors of enlightenment show time and again, mans fall is all a matter of time. The key to the future has always been in the past. Oedipus, representing the genius of humankind, may have defeated the sphinx temporarily, but in a sense, the monster triumphed. Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1826, by Gustave Moreau. Bequest of William H. Herriman, 1920. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) The Time Traveler discovers that after 800,000 years, the world is peopled with two classes, or tribes, of evolved humanoids: the beautiful but brainless Eloi (a name resembling Elohim, a Hebrew word for God) and the crafty and cunning Morlocks (a name resembling Molochs, a Canaanite idol associated with child sacrifice). The Inversion of Society As a sociological thought experiment, The Time Machine exhibits a deep angst about the shaky middle ground of socialism, the political philosophy that Wells himself was devoted to. In his story, the effects of industrialization are carried out to an unfathomable extremity, and the imagined result is an ominously fathomable reversal: the eventual and perhaps inevitable corruption of the soft aristocracy and the underground supremacy of the hardy underworld laborers. The manmade balance between the privileged and the underprivileged devolved, given time, into an environmental, symbiotic tyranny, with the Morlocks breeding and slaughtering the cattlelike Eloi for food, in a strange animalistic perversion of human civilization. The inversion of the powerful and the debasement of the weak in their rise to their own primal power is both fascinating and disturbing. One of the many editions of H.G. Wellss famous novel. (Penguin Books Australia) But most disturbing of all is that the future is marked by the loss of any clear intelligence, because intelligence is no longer needed in a world so perfected by systems; it returns gradually to a natural state. It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal perfectly in harmony with its environment is a perfect mechanism. Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have a huge variety of needs and dangers. The Time Machine is yet another of Wellss works, like The War of the Worlds, that point at, and even pry at, the fragility of societya fact that stares us all in the face as we cower in masks and succumb to pandemic pandemonium. Indeed, the works and ways and wars of man follow a type of mathematical trajectory, like time itself, leading to inescapable ends once their causes have been set in motion. British author H.G. Wells and American actor, director, and producer Orson Welles following the radio dramatization of Wellss book The War of the Worlds. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Moreover, as a fallen being, man tends to fall and so does his civilization. Even the rising of empires seems only, in retrospect, a preparation for those inevitable falls that trace the course of human history like a downward spiral. Time is like a clock, a great wheel that turns and returns; and man is like the Greek villain Ixion, crucified on that wheel of never-ending torment. For every advance, for every miracle of science, for every political perfection, man only stands to fall further. There is no heaven on earth, and there is no golden agethere is only revolution. Though man eradicates hunger, disease, and everything that causes strife, he only opens himself up to new calamities, new weaknesses, and a new shade of the curse that is his for all time. Chimerical communist utopias only make way and give purpose to capitalist dystopias, the Scylla and Charybdis of civilization, and even the natural state is one born of insurgency and pain despite mans efforts to achieve convenience, control, and calm. Odysseus Between Scylla and Charybdis, an engraving of Odysseus looking down in terror at the whirlpool Charybdis, with Scylla as a sea monster writhing around rocks at left. After a watercolor by Fuseli, the illustration was for Alexander Popes translation of Homers Odyssey. 1806. The British Museum. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) H.G. Wellss The Time Machine reminds us that nothing can escape the tyranny of time, for nothing can stand independently on this earth forever, though man longs for the mysterious meaningfulness of everlasting life. G.K. Chesterton commented on this cruel paradox in The Everlasting Man: Mr. H.G. Wells has confessed to being a prophet; and in this matter he was a prophet at his own expense. It is curious that his first fairy-tale was a complete answer to his last book of history. The Time Machine destroyed in advance all comfortable conclusions founded on the mere relativity of time. In that sublime nightmare the hero saw trees shoot up like green rockets, and vegetation spread visibly like a green conflagration, or the sun shoot across the sky from east to west with the swiftness of a meteor. Yet in his sense these things were quite as natural when they went swiftly; and in our sense they are quite as supernatural when they go slowly. The ultimate question is why they go at all; and anybody who really understands that question will know that it always has been and always will be a religious question; or at any rate a philosophical or metaphysical question. And most certainly he will not think the question answered by some substitution of gradual for abrupt change; or, in other words by a merely relative question of the same story being spun out or rattled rapidly through, as can be done with any story at a cinema by turning a handle. English author Gilbert Keith Chesterton. (Keystone/Getty Images) We all have our time machines, dont we? H.G. Wells remarked. Those that take us back are memories And those that carry us forward, are dreams. Even if our dreams are different than Wellss, we all dream for redemption as we look back with regret. Wells was plagued with dark and anxious dreams, and the salvation he dreamed up in The Time Machine was more of a damnation. The only redemption we can discover is not through levers, cylinders, and cogged wheels of brass and iron that sped the Time Traveler across the edifice of time, but through faith in things timeless. It is in this, in the fullness of time, that lies a strange and secret peace, for the magnitude and magnanimousness of eternity somehow gives extension to our ephemeral existence. Time, as Aeschylus said, brings all things to pass. Gazing at the stars that stood, sparkled, and swirled in unfamiliar arrangement in the skies ages and ages hence, the Time Traveler said, Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life. Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life, says H.G. Wellss Time Traveler. But what he, and perhaps Mr. Wells the secularist, missed is the point that it is not by traveling through time, like a soothsayer or a scientist, that we are enlightened, but by traveling beyond time into unchanging timelessness where deities laugh with the stars, indeedbut not with the laugh of the sphinx. And to travel beyond time, one does not require a time machine, but only time management. In the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. Mother Teresa in 1979. (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images) Sean Fitzpatrick serves on the faculty of Gregory the Great Academy, a boarding school in Elmhurst, Pa., where he teaches humanities. His writings on education, literature, and culture have appeared in a number of journals including Crisis Magazine, Catholic Exchange, and the Imaginative Conservative. CE Mark received for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 Rapid results with ease of use - single 20-minute PCR cycle plus 5-minute detection process High sensitivity - 104.73 c/PCR limit of detection with 95% confidence interval High specificity - zero cross-reactivity on 19x respiratory infectious disease panel High robustness - no impact on results from minor changes in process parameters 100% repeatability and laboratory precision observed Sales launch in Europe planned for April 2021 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE:XPHY)(OTC:XPHYF)(FSE:4XT) ("XPhyto" or the "Company"), and its exclusive German diagnostics development partner, 3a-diagnostics GmbH ("3a"), are pleased to announce the European approval of its point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR test system ("Covid-ID Lab"). Covid-ID Lab is now registered within the European Union as a commercial in vitro diagnostic (CE-IVD) test. "Our test is one of the fastest PCR-based COVID-19 tests currently approved. With a sample collection to result time of 25 minutes, Covid-ID Lab combines the speed of a rapid screening test with the accuracy of a PCR diagnostic," said Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director of XPhyto. "Covid-ID Lab is designed for point-of-care testing, particularly in satellite and small-scale labs, such as transportation hubs, borders, care facilities, schools, pharmacies, and hospitality settings." Covid-ID Lab is a multiplex viral RNA probe kit based on the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. For assay performance, Covid-ID Lab requires only a single 20-minute PCR thermal cycle without prior RNA extraction as part of the sample preparation. Many widely available standard PCR instruments are suitable to run the test. Results are collected after the PCR cycle via easy-to-read optical indicator strips on a simple fluidics platform. The elimination of RNA extraction for sample preparation reduces the risk of cross-contamination and minimizes the need for lab materials and trained personnel. The rapid results, minimal laboratory equipment, and ease of use are expected to translate into reduced operating costs, greater convenience and portability. During validation of the assay, the limit of detection for SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined to be 104.73 c/PCR within a 95% confidence interval. Specificity of 100% against 19 other pathogens of serious respiratory infections was demonstrated on a respiratory verification panel. Precision was determined through evaluation of variance of the analysis results due to random deviations, a repeatability/intra-assay precision evaluation (same lab, user, equipment, etc.), and a laboratory precision evaluation (different lab, user, equipment, etc.). Robustness was measured by evaluation of the impact of minor changes on process parameters (transport medium, PCR cycler model, ramp rate, template volume, hybridization mixing ratio, etc.). The validation studies were carried out accordingly to ICH Q2 (R1) Validation of Analytical Procedures: Text and Methodology and VQ-015 Validation of Methods, European Medicines Agency. The quality management system was in accordance with EN ISO 13485: 2016 and EN ISO 9001: 2015. XPhyto is currently in discussions with various potential distribution and wholesale partners as well as potential licensees. The sales launch in Europe is targeted for April 2021. The company will provide further information and updates in due course. The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 pandemic. About XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. is a bioscience accelerator focused on next-generation drug delivery, diagnostic, and new active pharmaceutical ingredient investment opportunities, including: precision transdermal and oral dissolvable drug formulations; rapid, low-cost infectious disease and oral health screening tests; and standardization of emerging active pharmaceutical ingredients for neurological applications, including psychedelic compounds and cannabinoids. The Company has research and development operations in North America and Europe, with an operational focus in Germany, and is currently focused on regulatory approval and commercialization of medical products for European markets. XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director Investor Inquiries: Mr. Knox Henderson T: 604-551-2360 E: info@xphyto.com Media Inquiries: MC Services AG Julia Hofmann, Andreas Jungfer T: +49 89 210 228 0 E: xphyto@mc-services.eu Forward-looking statements This news release includes statements containing forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "develop", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "propose" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and in this release include the statement regarding the Company's goal of building a successful diagnostic, drug delivery, and medical cannabis company. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including: that the Company may not succeed in developing a commercial product; that the sale of products may not be a viable business; that the Company may be unable to scale its business; product liability risks; product regulatory risk; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; currency risks; competition; international risks; and other risks beyond the Company's control. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE: XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636197/XPhyto-announces-European-Approval-for-25-Minute-COVID-19-PCR-Test You won't have to wait for new vaccine groups to be opened up if you live in Matagorda or Liberty counties. Video Transcript FRANCIS COLLINS: I would just really urge everyone to step away from those sources and look at the actual evidence that these are remarkably safe and effective and capable of getting us through this terrible pandemic. - Well, that's the director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins. And he's blaming vaccine hesitancy on false information on social media and political division. He spoke this morning on "GMA." He also said, and we're quoting him here, "We're on a marathon, here. You don't want to give up in the last two miles because then you don't win the race." - The city of Pearland received a limited number of Moderna vaccines and will administer them today and tomorrow. It's for anyone in the 1A through 1C group. Also, if you are an educator or child care worker you can sign up for an appointment through the city's website. It's first come, first served. There is no wait lists. By the way, those groups-- if you're wondering what all that means, that's just anyone over 50 years old. And of course, this-- - And anyone with a chronic-- - Anyone with a chronic condition or any one of the educators or frontline workers. - Yeah. We love to see that those lines are getting longer. Until just over a year ago, mum Sara McNeill and her husband Peter had never known anyone with Down syndrome. So when medics said they thought their baby son Tom might have the condition just moments after he was born, Sara, from Ahoghill, Co Antrim, admits it came as a shock. "My entire pregnancy had been really straightforward," recalls Sara (28). "But towards the end they spotted there wasn't much fluid left around the baby and I was taken in for a C-section. Even that went fine, and as soon as he was born I had that big rush of feelings mummies talk about and I burst into tears. I was in love with him right then." But when a doctor told the new parents less than an hour after little Tom was born in February last year that he might have Down syndrome, Sara recalls how the atmosphere changed. "I had Tom in my arms when she said it," says Sara. "It's hard to explain, but it was as if I became a bit numb because I didn't know what it meant. It felt like all of a sudden he wasn't the baby I thought I was going to have." And while the tot was taken away for tests, Sara and Peter were left staring at one another in their hospital room, not sure what was coming next. "Tom was born on a Friday and it wasn't until the Tuesday that we had confirmation," recalls dentist Sara. "By that time we'd got our heads around the situation a bit. But up until he was born, right until we literally had our baby in our arms, Peter and I knew nothing about Down syndrome. I immediately jumped to all the things my little boy might not be able to do." Which is precisely why Sara, who now runs popular page @twentyonetom on social media, highlighting the many beautiful moments she and Peter share with their little boy, wants to showcase just how wonderful life can be with a child with Down syndrome. "I was completely wrong," she says. "Tom has been an amazing baby. He's the absolutely best craic ever. What we lacked at the beginning was knowledge about the real, lived experience of Down syndrome - we just had the medical jargon on a leaflet." The turning point for Sara, she says, was seeking out other families online. "That's when it all changed," she says. "I found so many uplifting stories of families absolutely thriving with their little ones with Down syndrome. Best of all, they seemed genuinely happy. "The only real challenge for us was the uncertainty at the start. Since then, since we've realised there's nothing to be afraid of, our little boy makes us laugh out loud every day. "He has a hole in his heart, but so far it's causing no issues and if he needs to be treated for that later on, we'll deal with it. "The reality is my tyres hardly touch the tarmac on the way home from work because I can't wait to see him, and through the power of social media, Tom brings a smile to thousands of people when I post a picture of his gorgeous wee face. He is the best thing in our lives - and this is just the beginning." Looking back to her experience last year, Sara says she hopes her message can reassure other parents whose children are born with the condition that there's lots to look forward to. "I would really urge any parent faced with a surprise diagnosis like we were, don't be blinded by poor, outdated preconceptions of what Down syndrome is," she says. "I thought our outlook was bleak right at the beginning, but now I know better. And because I do, I'm going to shout about how amazing our boy is - that is until he can do it himself! We are so, so happy, and you could be too." "Our life with Matilda in it couldn't be lovelier" Linzi Graham (30) became mum to adorable daughter Matilda Patterson in July 2019. Expand Close Linzi Graham with her daughter Matilda Patterson / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Linzi Graham with her daughter Matilda Patterson Already mum to daughter Morgan, who's now 14, and 13-year-old son Corey, finding out at 18 weeks pregnant that her third child would be born with Down syndrome was news she didn't feel ready for. "I could talk all day about how we felt when we found out," says Linzi, from Belfast. "Both me and my partner, Matilda's daddy Keith, were extremely fearful about the condition because we'd never had any experience with additional needs. "It was a whole new thing for us. But now, with Matilda turning two this summer, I can say for sure it isn't at all how we imagined. We're really happy and Matilda is thriving." And while Linzi says Matilda is a little behind developmentally, she's making progress. "That's to be expected," says Linzi. "Especially as she spent almost two months at the start of her life in hospital. The way I look at it, we take the scenic route with Matilda. It's slower-paced, but it's beautiful nonetheless, and we don't get caught up in milestones. We know she's happy and well and those milestones will be reached in her own time. "She's up walking along the furniture, she's standing up and sitting down, crawling around the house and picking things up left, right and centre. She's really coming on. Keith and I are doing a course in Makaton [language programme] too, which is brilliant, and should really help with her communication." And with World Down Syndrome Day coming up, Linzi says she'll take any chance she can to explain why there's nothing to fear from living with the condition. "If you've not encountered it before it can feel daunting," she says. "And I honestly don't think there was all that much positive stuff out there in the past, but that's really changing. "Our life with Matilda in it couldn't be lovelier. "She's been amazing through these uncertain times, especially after a family tragedy last year when we lost Keith's oldest daughter Emily who was just three when she passed away with a heart condition. There's nothing out of the ordinary in how we live, and while some of her activities have been cancelled over the last year because of Covid, that's the same for everyone and she's still getting therapies remotely." As well as getting support from national organisations like Positive About Down syndrome, Linzi says the family's local group has been a huge help too. "We're so grateful to Families With Ups and Downs in Belfast, because they've been so supportive since Matilda was born," she says. "They're actually funding our Makaton course and their help has been phenomenal. "Having Matilda has been the start of a brand new world for us and she's inspired me. "I've recently decided to take the plunge and start my own business with an online baby boutique, all inspired by the love of baby fashion I've learned along with Matilda. "As well as that we've got our little blog on Instagram, @mighty.matilda, and I hope it and anything I'm ever able to say out in the world will help other families facing this unexpected journey and shine some honest positivity on a condition that's still so misunderstood." 'Everyone's absolutely in love with the book' AS World Down Syndrome Day approaches, author Esther Robinson says she hopes her new children's book, A Little Bit Extraordinary, can make a positive impact. Esther, who is originally from London, explains how her older brother Martin Gahan grew up with a rare genetic disorder, WAGR syndrome. As a result she's been passionate throughout her life about raising awareness for people with additional needs. "My brother has faced challenges all his life," says Esther, who lives in Carrybridge, Co Fermanagh with husband Adam and sons James (13) and Matthew (9). "And I know that's the case for so many people with additional needs. For a long time I'd had the idea of writing a book to encourage more empathy and understanding for people with different conditions, but it wasn't until last year that I got around to it." And turning to a little girl who had gone to nursery with her youngest son Matthew for inspiration, Esther's work on her book finally began. Expand Close Inspiration: Juliette Curry / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Inspiration: Juliette Curry "Juliette Curry is nine now. And Juliette is the character in the book. She has Down syndrome, and she's a wonderful little girl. She wants to be a nurse when she grows up and that's a detail included in the book, as Juliette shares all her feelings, her hopes and dreams," Esther says. "I approached Juliette's mum Olga to see if she'd be happy for me to base the story on her daughter and thankfully, she was." After writing her first draft in February 2020, she sought out local illustrator Grainne Knox to bring her book to life. "That was in March, and luckily Grainne loved the story and I loved her art work," says Esther, who has a background in publishing. "Lockdown came in just days later and we got to work. It's not just a book for people with Down syndrome or for people with different conditions. It teaches good values to every child about being understanding and seeing everyone for who they are." Olga, who lives in Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, with her daughter, sons Paul (12), Thomas, seven, and four-year-old Bobby, and husband Paul, adds: "Everyone absolutely loves the book. It perfectly describes life with Down syndrome. " Visit www.estherrobinson.co.uk to get a copy of A Little Bit Extraordinary .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE A proposal to change the length of New Mexicos legislative sessions in even-numbered years is just one step away from going before statewide voters. The Senate Rules Committee voted 5-2 on Wednesday to approve the bipartisan proposal, House Joint Resolution 13, sending it on to the full Senate for consideration. Currently, New Mexico has 60-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 30-day sessions in even-numbered years that are generally limited to budgetary matters and issues authorized for debate by the governor, per the state Constitution. But critics say those limits have essentially made many issues off-limits in years with shorter sessions. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ It really is a glorified special session for the governor, said House Minority Whip Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, one of the measures sponsors. They also argue that setting a 45-day session length for even-numbered years and removing the limits on which topics can be debated would give lawmakers the ability to tackle more issues. The change would cost the state an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 in additional costs if adopted, according to a legislative analysis. The proposed constitutional amendment was approved in the House via a 45-21 vote on Monday. If passed by the Senate, it would go before New Mexico voters, likely in November 2022. Edward B. Fiske, creator and editor of the bestselling guide, explained that recent trends have called into question the accuracy and validityand hence, the usefulnessof admissions test score data. "We take pride in our reputation as a trusted source of reliable admissions information," he said. "Rather than publish inaccurate and misleading data, we have decided to omit any reporting of score ranges for the foreseeable future. To do otherwise would be a disservice to our readers." Fiske, a former Education Editor of The New York Times, said that the change will become effective with the 2022 edition, due to be published July 6, 2021. Fiske Guide to Colleges is the bestselling and most respected guide among college counselors and accounts for 73 percent of the current market share for selective college guides and 66 percent of the current market share for selective and comprehensive college guides. The Introduction to the upcoming edition cites several reasons for the decision: "The most obvious recent challenge to the integrity of SAT and ACT score ranges has been the soaring number of colleges adopting admissions policies that are 'test optional' or 'test blind,'" it states. According to The New York Times, about 1,700 schools are not requiring SAT or ACT scores this year. The Common Application reported earlier this month that only 44 percent of students who applied to college through the Common App through February submitted SAT or SAT scores down from 77 percent last year. The effect of such policies, the introduction continues, is to reduce the proportion of applicants submitting test scores, a trend that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread closing of test sites. "Unless the published score ranges reflect the scores of all freshmen, not merely those who were able to take the tests and chose to submit scores," it says, "the usefulness of these score ranges for assessing both an applicant's chances of admission and where they would fit into the academic environment of the school is seriously compromised. Incomplete, and thus misleading, scores serve no one's interest." The decision to eliminate test score ranges was made with input from the Fiske Guide's editorial advisory group, a diverse panel of 27 secondary school college counselors throughout the United States. The decision was variously applauded as "bold" and "forward thinking" by members of the advisory group, including Nancy Beane, a former president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). "The inequities associated with the use of standardized tests in college admissions decisions loom large, including the way in which they can scare off applicants with compelling stories or circumstances that would merit a closer look," said Beane. "Many of us will welcome this decision by the Fiske Guide as a timely and enlightened contribution to the admittedly complex debate over how to create a more equitable admissions process." The Introduction notes that the decision to suspend the publication of test score ranges was made in the context of widespread current debate over the future role of SAT and ACT scores in college admissions, including the extent to which admissions policies of selective colleges inadvertently perpetuate structural racism and economic inequality. The Introduction says that while there once was a time when admissions officers could credibly use such scores to identify talented "diamonds in the rough" who might not otherwise come to their attention, "the enormous expansion of the $1 billion test-prep industry that has grown up around admissions tests has now tipped the scales back in favor of privileged applicants with access to tutors and other sophisticated test prep and reduced the opportunities for those diamonds to glitter," it says. "Indeed, a wide body of research has shown that SAT and ACT scores track closely with socioeconomic data and may say more about a student's zip code than about their academic potential." The Introduction goes into detail on the reasons that the Fiske Guide published test score ranges in the past and why this policy is now being reversed. It also discusses trends that are leading college admissions directors to pay decreasing attention to such scores in general, and it offers college-bound high school students advice on how, in the absence of test score ranges, to estimate their admissions prospects at competitive schools and how they would fit into the academic climate of various institutions. Among other things, it urges students to focus on two factors: high school grades and whether they took advantage of the most challenging course offerings at their school. Edward B. Fiske served for 17 years as an education editor and writer at the New York Times. Realizing that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices, he created Fiske Guide to Colleges, which continues to be updated annually with the Fiske editorial team. MEDIA CONTACT: Liz Kelsch Director of Marketing Sourcebooks [email protected] Sourcebooks is a thriving entrepreneurial company that brings extraordinary authors to readers in the most dynamic, data-driven ways. We create books that transcend categories and defy odds and have been honored with hundreds of national bestsellers and awards. We are home to enthusiastic, book-loving employees who are dedicated to connecting books to readers in new and innovative ways. Story by story, book by book, we have touched over 100 million lives. Join us as we change 100 million more. Visit sourcebooks.com for more information. SOURCE Sourcebooks Related Links http://www.sourcebooks.com/ [March 18, 2021] 1exchange Welcomes Listing of JOCOM, Malaysia's Fastest Growing Mobile Groceries and Shopping Platform Jocom International Holdings SDN. BHD. ("JOCOM") operates a leading M-Commerce platform in Malaysia specialising in online grocery shopping via mobile smartphones specialising in online grocery shopping via mobile smartphones The popular grocery and lifestyle shopping app provides a total integrated solution that serves both vendors as well as shoppers JOCOM's listing on 1exchange comes on the back of accelerated consumer demand for convenient mobile grocers and the increasing number of vendors seeking alternative channels to engage customers SINGAPORE, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 1exchange ("1X"), Singapore's first regulated private securities exchange and a member of leading integrated private market ecosystem CapBridge Financial, today announced the direct listing of Jocom International Holdings SDN. BHD. ("JOCOM"), operator of leading Malaysia-based M-commerce platform JOCOM. The JOCOM mobile app connects over 500 vendors providing over 15,000 products with about 3 million customers across the whole of Malaysia. About 26.7% of JOCOM total shares outstanding were listed on 1X at an aggregate value of S$5.6m. The 1X listing process was conducted entirely online and facilitated by the CapBridge platform. Mr Joshua Sew, CEO of JOCOM, said, "In the past year, the demand for our integrated M-commerce solution has grown exponentially across both consumers as well as merchants and vendors. JOCOM has enabled traditional businesses to tap on the power of digital technology to engage existing and new customers, connecting many rural farmers and traders with affluent consumers seeking quality products in a convenient way. With this listing on Singapore's 1Exchange, we look forward to going further to serve our shareholders, customers, and partners with even more innovative mobile commerce solutions." Mr Choo Haiping, CEO of 1X, said, "We are pleased to welcome JOCOM, Malaysia's fastest growing mobile commerce platform. For many customers, JOCOM's specialist mobile app has been a reliable, convenient, and efficient one-stop shop for their groceries and lifestyle needs. JOCOM has also contributed greatly to the digital transformation of many traditional businesses in Malaysia, through its accessible mobile commerce solutions. JOCOM can count on the 1X platform as it continues on its growth journey." Based in the global financial hub of Singapore, 1X is the first regulated private securities exchange with a Recognised Market Operator licence granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS"). 1X is part of CapBridge Financial, backed by Singapore Exchange ("SGX"), SGInnovate, South Korea's Hanwha Investment and Securities Co, Hong Kong's Cyberport Macro Fund, and AMTD Digital[1]. Mr Mohamed Nasser Ismail, Senior Vice President and Global Head Equity Capital Markets, SGX, witnessed the listing and added, "As a strategic partner and shareholder of 1X, SGX is pleased to witness the continued interest by many growth companies to seek a listing on the private exchange. I am heartened at the listing of JOCOM, which adds to the vibrancy of the broader capital markets and provides shareholders and other interested investors a market for tradeable private equities. We look forward to supporting JOCOM and other such companies to prepare for an eventual public listing when they are ready." The direct listing on 1X was marked by a virtual gong-striking ceremony this morning, attended by representatives from JOCOM, placement agent CapBridge Pte Ltd, trust administrator Equiom Singapore, as well as strategic partner and shareholder SGX. On 1X, private companies and funds have the flexibility to list a portion of their shares in the form of tradeable private equities. A direct listing on 1X enables companies to simply convert their existing shares to tradeable shares, in a cost-effective and efficient manner. This regulated asset class traded on 1X provides investors additional portfolio diversification with higher-than-market returns potential, while giving shareholders options for exits. [1] Subject to closing conditions and MAS approval About 1exchange A member of CapBridge Financial, 1X is the first MAS-regulated private securities exchange in Singapore and widely regarded as the third board in the global financial centre. Built on the blockchain, 1X is a "light-touch" and cost-effective private listing venue designed for family businesses, as well as growth and pre-IPO companies. The exchange provides companies with market-oriented solutions such as direct private listings and employee share trading. With a 1X listing, founders, owners, and growth stage companies can achieve partial exits and tradeability in private shares while retaining flexibility and control. Private investors on 1X can freely and securely trade in and out of their positions to achieve liquidity anytime, anywhere. For more information, visit https://www.1x.exchange SOURCE 1exchange [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] This is misdirection, it's clever and most newsies are falling for it by dutifully reprinting an afternoon presser . . . Kansas Senate Majority Leader temporarily steps down after DUI arrest TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop is temporarily stepping down and is transferring his duties to Kansas Senate Assistance Majority Leader Larry Alley after being arrested Monday night for several crimes, including driving under the influence. Suellentrop released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying "Today, out of respect for Senate leadership, my Republican [...] NHTSA No injuries to troopers or anyone involved. Driver of the Tesla, a 22 year old man from Lansing was issued citations for failure to move over and DWLS. pic.twitter.com/zTSJOhuJMP MSP First District (@MSPFirstDist) March 17, 2021 According to the police, officers responded to a call of an accident involving a deer and had pulled to the side of the road, partially blocking the right lane, with the emergency lights on. A Tesla Model Y slammed into the Dodge Charger patrol car shortly after. Photos of both vehicles were posted on social media, and based on the damage, it looks like the Model Y came at high speed.After the crash, the driver of the Tesla, a 22-year-old man, told the police that he had the car on Autopilot. The good news is that no one was injured in the accident. The bad news for the Tesla driver is that he was cited for failure to move over and driving on a suspended license.In a statement to CNBC the NHTSA says it has launched an investigation into the crash. Its the second in as many weeks after another Tesla slammed into the side of a semi in Detroit last week. That one, too, was believed to have been traveling on Autopilot at the time of the collision.Consistent with NHTSAs vigilant oversight and robust authority over the safety of all motor vehicles and equipment, including automated technologies, we have launched a Special Crash Investigation team to investigate the crash,says in the statement.Despite the name suggesting otherwise, Autopilot doesnt mean that Teslas can drive themselves . In fact, the company's website states clearly that drivers must keep their eyes on the road and the hands on the wheel at all times. Still, CEO Elon Musk insists that nothing is misleading about the Autopilot name, even though its clear that dozens of drivers take it to mean what it sounds like: an automatic pilot for your car, while you do anything else but drive President and CEO becomes signatory and joins BlackNorth Education Committee Goal to hire 3.5 per cent staff from Black community by end of year Hyundai Canada working with partners to increase Black representation in the automotive industry Hyundai becomes the first automotive company to sign the Pledge MARKHAM, ON, March 18, 2021 /CNW/ - Hyundai Auto Canada today announced its commitment and steps taken after becoming the first automotive OEM to sign the BlackNorth Initiative CEO Pledge to promote diversity and increase equity within the automotive business community. President and CEO, Don Romano, became a signatory of the pledge and has joined the BlackNorth Education Committee to actively participate in the elimination of systemic barriers in Canada's education system. Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. (CNW Group/Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.) "Signing the BlackNorth Pledge is an important milestone for Hyundai Canada as an organization as well as for us as individuals looking to work in a more inclusive, mindful and respectful environment. Along with this pledge, we are creating a sustainable plan to have an equitable organization that recognizes and celebrates the efforts and achievements of every member within," said Don Romano, President and CEO of Hyundai Canada. Community, education and partnership Hyundai Canada continues its commitment to foster an inclusive and supportive environment. Mandatory unconscious bias training began in 2018 in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). Twenty per cent of team members have registered to become certified in a 3-course CCDI program titled Foundations in Diversity & Inclusion that includes Diversity and Inclusion Fundamentals, Unconscious Bias, Respect in the Workplace. Hyundai Canada team members established two Employee Resource Group (ERG): Inclusion@HAC and Women@HAC. The company also established a Diversity Advisory Group that meets with the CEO monthly to advise on action steps towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. Story continues Difficult conversations and awareness sessions have been organized on a monthly basis and facilitated by various speakers. Some of these conversations tackled the topics of: White Privilege, Changing our Own Racist Behaviours, Cultural Competence, Be Colour Brave, Privilege as a Superpower, and LGBTQ 101. Attract, retain and grow Several methods have been developed in order to update hiring and onboarding strategies in order to attract, retain and grow a diverse staff: An artificial intelligence resume review programme and candidate competency assessment process have been implemented to ensure unconscious bias is removed from the selection process. The company set a goal of hiring 3.5 per cent staff from the Black community by the end of 2021, matching Canadian population data. The company has recently collected detailed demographic information from team members to establish internal benchmarks. Hyundai collects detailed demographic information from job candidates on a voluntary basis. This data is not linked to an individual candidate, but allows the company to analyze who is being attracted at the upper funnel of the recruiting process. This data is used to look at different ways of ensuring job vacancies are visible to BIPOC and other underrepresented communities. Hyundai has set up regular networking sessions titled "HACC Attracts" with diverse candidates referred by team members to meet them before positions even become available. Scholarships and Initiatives Hyundai Canada has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada and donated $25,000 towards the creation of an anti-racism micro-grant program. Established two annual Hyundai Canada Diversity Scholarships with the Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC). It is valued at $2,500 and will be presented to one full-time Black student and one full-time female student. Hyundai Canada has partnered with Onyx Initiative, and is working with university co-op education programs to attract student workforce from the Black community. The company is working with the ABSC and Accelerate Auto on a presentation to high school students to increase Black representation in the automotive industry. Hyundai Canada will continue to take strides to end anti-Black racism in partnership with the BlackNorth Initiative by sharing best practices. About Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Hyundai Auto Canada, established in 1983 and headquartered in Markham, Ontario, is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout Canada by Hyundai Auto Canada and are sold and serviced through more than 221 dealerships nationwide. Hyundai is also the first to offer a second-generation zero-emissions Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle to Canadian customers, called the NEXO. More information about Hyundai and its vehicles can be found at www.HyundaiCanada.com. SOURCE Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2021/18/c9841.html (Newser) President Biden marked St. Patricks Day by recommitting the US to the Good Friday Agreement, which has come under increasing stress following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. Biden, the latest president of Irish descent, held a virtual meeting Wednesday with Ireland's prime minister, Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Before the meeting, the president attended a morning Mass at the aptly named St. Patricks Church near his family home in Wilmington, Delaware, then returned to the White House to partake in the St. Patricks Day celebrations, which were toned down due to the pandemic, the AP reports. In keeping with recent tradition, the water in fountains outside the White House ran green for the day. story continues below Biden and Martins virtual bilateral meeting Biden's third with a foreign leader since he took office eight weeks agoincluded the presentation of an engraved bowl of shamrock, which was sent ahead to Washington. It ensured that a tradition that began in 1952 continued uninterrupted, if modified by COVID-19 concerns. The White House said Biden would also drop in on Vice President Kamala Harris' meeting with Northern Irelands First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill. Signed in 1998, the Good Friday Agreement helped end sectarian violence that had raged for three decades over the issue of Northern Ireland unifying with Ireland or remaining part of the UK. Biden told Martin that it is "critically important" that the Good Friday Agreement be maintained. (Read more Ireland stories.) The 10th parliament will end in the third week of May 2021. During the same week, new members of parliament will take oath, signaling the start of the 11th Parliament. This has been preceded by an election, which was, to some, overshadowed by the presidential campaigns that took centre stage because of the candidates involved. Focus was therefore more on those vying for the top seat in the land leaving the other aspirants in the shadows with very limited media attention or coverage. It is in the midst of this abyss that aspiring members of parliament made commitments to their constituents, which were meant to enable them sail through to the august house. The candidates made wide-ranging promises to the voters as they sought their votes. We now need to attach their promises to the legislator's constitutional mandate and most especially, what is within their means to fulfill. Over the years, the Parliament has been running media campaigns on the roles of MPs but this is yet to become the reference point for electing legislators. Twaweza East Africa, a non-profit organisation, recently conducted a survey on the promises parliamentary candidates have made during campaigns. This revealed that the most widespread promises made by MPs to potential voters during the recent election campaign were to improve road infrastructure and health services. The survey report, which was presented to the department of communication and public affairs, states that 41 per cent of the citizens in both rural and urban areas were promised improved roads. 25 per cent reported promises for better health services, 19 per cent for access to clean water and 12 per cent got convinced that the MPs would build schools in their constituencies. There are also instances where MPs were reported to have promised electricity connections and job opportunities for the youth. The survey, however, also revealed that 47 per cent of the citizens expected their representatives to keep in touch with their constituency and communicate their needs to the government. They also expect the MPs to address their concerns during debates in the House and to ask ministers' questions. This is a great indicator as it brings out one of the roles of the MPs, which is representation. members of parliament in the 10th and the other parliaments have done this well through raising matters of national importance on the floor during plenary sittings and through presentation of petitions on behalf of their constituencies. As a result the Executive, has responded by extending support to the areas affected. For instance, during the floods in Kasese and Bududa in the recent past, the respective MPs, having raised an alarm, saw government take action and provide support. Legislation is a main role of parliament and entails debating and passing the bills presented by the Executive and private members. Parliament equally processes and passes the national budget, ensuring that all sectors have an allocation of the budget for their efficient functioning. After the approval of the budget, there is the oversight role led by accountability committees that ensure funds are put to their intended purpose. It is therefore evident that the MPs have four major roles. The provision of better roads, health care, clean water, building schools, creation of jobs and extension of electricity among other promises is a huge ask on the MPs and is not necessarily their responsibility. These are activities that require huge amounts of funding and cannot realistically be funded by the representatives of the people. They are the responsibility of the government. The role of the legislators is to provide checks and ensure that government fulfills its mandate and keeps its promises. They may involve lobbying the different ministries, departments and agencies but not making individual promises that cannot be kept. There are also instances in which some MPs lost their seats in the last election because the voters claimed that, 'they were not seen in the constituencies and/or did not do anything for them as voters". The allegations imply that the MPs did not attend funerals, contribute to school fees and weddings or hand out cash. MPs may, on humanitarian grounds, contribute to these activities although they are under no obligation to do so. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Some of the MPs who fell victim were very active in the House and presented the views of their constituencies in the house, with resultant action being taken by the government. Elections are gone for now but they will be back with us in another five years. The same promises may be made. It is important that the public appreciates what MPs can do within the legal framework and limits so that the expectations are tamed. Candidates should also realise that making promises beyond their realm will catch up with them and shorten their political lifespan. To this end, parliament will intensify outreach programmes as soon as the threat of Covid-19 goes down and large public gatherings are allowed. As a result, the public may appreciate the roles of their representatives and also put them to task the next time they go back to seek election. charlesbukuwa@gmail.com The author is senior information officer, Parliament of Uganda Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 20:29:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RABAT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau on Thursday discussed by phone bilateral ties as well as European and regional affairs, Moroccan news agency MAP reported. During the phone call, Bourita pledged to further boost trade cooperation with Poland as part of the North African country's policy to diversify partnerships with the European Union. For his part, Rau hailed the strategic partnership between Morocco and the EU, and Morocco's role in the stability and development in the region. Noting that Morocco remains one of Poland's most important partners in Africa, the Polish foreign minister voiced appreciation of Morocco's contribution to stabilizing the North African region including Libya and the Sahel. The two ministers shared a positive view of the promising development of bilateral relations mainly in the economic field, and expressed interest in further strengthening political dialogues. Enditem MOUNT PLEASANT, MI Central Michigan University Research Corp., which offers professional coworking space and accelerator programs for entrepreneurs, got its start in Mount Pleasant nearly 20 years ago and has been growing and expanding throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region ever since. And for more than a decade, president and CEO Erin Strang has led the charge. Strang, who has served as president and CEO of CMURC for 12 years, reflected on the organizations work and her career during a recent interview with MLive/The Saginaw News. CMURC, a nonprofit organization established in 2002, aims to advance economic development in the Great Lakes Bay Region. It expanded into Bay City in 2017, in Saginaw in 2018 and in Midland in 2020. We have our four locations throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region that have coworking space, and weve really worked on creating an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem between those four locations, Strang said. Entrepreneurs, professionals and corporations, were kind of an office where you need it. Thats one part of what CMURC does. The other part is an accelerator program designed to get companies and businesses started, so from traditional businesses to innovative product businesses to high-tech companies, Strang said. We work with all types to get them up and running and build a solid foundation and be successful. Erin Strang, president and CEO of CMURC, poses for a photograph in Midland on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com) In 2020, CMURC served 556 companies, which directly led to the creation of 65 new companies, 373 new jobs and $3,454,920 in investment. In addition, 644 connections among companies were facilitated with 148 results, according to the organizations 2020 impact report. CMURC has four CoWork locations throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region in Mount Pleasant Saginaw, Bay City and Midland. Strang, who grew up in a small town, attended Lake Superior State University, and has worked in Lansing and Detroit, said the Great Lakes Bay Region offers something larger markets dont. What I really enjoy about the Great Lakes Bay Region is, even though it does span four counties, it really is a welcoming area in which it feels like home everywhere you go, Strang said. Whether youre going from one place to another, businesses and community, everybody just really supports each other. Erin Strang, president and CEO of CMURC, poses for a photograph in Midland on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com) When asked to offer career advice to women in the spirit of Womens History Month, Strang replied, You have to own your time and do something impactful with it, whatever that may be. Learn more about CMURC at www.cmurc.com. Read more on MLive: Here is how Saginaw businesses can apply for $5,000 forgivable loans Womanfolk exhibit opens at Saginaw Art Museum during Womens History Month See whats new and whats coming soon to Saginaws SVRC Marketplace See inside Goodridge Lofts, downtown Saginaws newest apartments What to expect when the Saginaw Childrens Zoo opens for spring 2021 Saginaws Kaiser Dress & Co. offers eclectic mix of womens clothing See what businesses opened or closed in 2020 in Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties The Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia is forwarding the report on Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyans attack on journalist Paylak Fahradyan at a cafe in Yerevan to the Special Investigation Service to prepare a report, Head of the Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor Generals Office Arevik Khachatryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. Journalist Paylak Fahradyan went live on Facebook and reported the following: Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan attacked me literally a short while ago. The incident took place at a cafe in Yerevan. When I saw that the minister was spending his working hours at a cafe, I approached him and asked why he had decided to spend his working hours at a cafe. First, Arshakyan told me he works at night and that all hours are working hours for him, after which he asked me to turn the camera off, and when I did, he started telling me that I will remember this day and started threatening me. Since the camera was turned off, I told him that we can recall this day whenever he wants and that he cant talk to me in such a tone just because hes a minister. After that, I climbed to the top and started working, after which Arshakyan climbed to the top and attacked me, the journalist said. The journalist showed the damaged computer and his damaged hand and stated the following: You can see that he hurt my hand. Arshakyan also hit my computer and broke it, and my mobile phone on the table was also damaged. There are cameras in the cafe. I will demand that the administration gives me the video recordings so that I can submit them to the police. Accept this as a report on crime, Fahradyan emphasized. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:53:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close YEREVAN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Armenia will hold early parliamentary elections on June 20, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday. Pashinyan confirmed this on Facebook, adding that the best way out of the current political situation is early parliamentary elections. The announcement came amid rising tensions between Pashinyan and the Armenian army's general staff and opposition parties on the government's resignation. On March 10, the Prime Minister's Office said that Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan was considered dismissed because President Armen Sarkissian neither signed his dismissal order nor applied to the constitutional court within the deadline stipulated by law. Meanwhile, Pashinyan appointed Artak Davtyan as the new Chief of the General Staff and sent the motion to Sarkissian. Previously on Feb. 27, Pashinyan submitted a second request to Sarkissian, seeking Gasparyan's dismissal shortly after Sarkissian refused to sign the request and said the motion to fire the military chief is unconstitutional. On Feb. 25, Pashinyan dismissed Gasparyan and sent the motion to Sarkissian, accusing him of attempting a military coup. Earlier that day, Gasparyan, his deputies and dozens of top military commanders signed a statement, demanding Pashinyan and his cabinet resign. Enditem Jaipur, March 18 : At a time when BJP and Congress leaders are engaged in a war of words over the alleged phone tapping with the saffron party demanding Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's resignation, the Sachin Pilot camp is sitting silent on the issue. Sources said it is planning afresh to build a connect with the people and strengthen Pilot's presence on the ground by organising a farmers rally in western Rajasthan. The alleged phone tapping, in fact, was used as a base by the Gehlot government for registering FIRs against two Congress MLAs from the Pilot camp and a Union minister from the BJP during the political crisis in July last year. Why is Pilot quiet on the issue? Answering this IANS query, a Pilot loyalist said, "The Gehlot government seems to be getting trapped in its own web. So we need not speak on the issue. In fact, we have not yet got anything concrete despite been promised due recognition in January this year. Hence we are planning to strengthen our base and former deputy CM Sachin Pilot will soon organise a farmers rally in western Rajasthan to connect with farmers. Farmers from Barmer and Hanumangarh till date are fighting on their own and we shall stand with them," he added. "In fact, there are a few leaders who want to brand us as leaders from eastern Rajasthan, so here comes the time to show them that we have a pan-state presence and are not limited to one part of the state. We shall soon organise a mega rally which will be a show of strength outside eastern Rajasthan. Our earlier rallies in Dausa and Chaksu were highly successful," he added. Meanwhile, MLAs from the Pilot camp have started bringing up the biased behaviour of the Gehlot government towards them in front of the people. Former minister Vishvendra Singh, a Pilot loyalist, on Wednesday night retweeted MP Diya Kumari's tweet which called for a CBI probe into the phone tapping issue. However, later, he deleted the tweet. MLA Hemaram Chaudhary during the Assembly proceedings on Wednesday accused the Gehlot government of suppressing his voice and working in a biased manner against him. Earlier, three MLAs from the Pilot camp -- Ramesh Meena, sacked as the Food and Civil Supplies Minister in July last year, Dausa MLA Murari Lal Meena and Chaksu MLA Ved Prakash Solanki -- accused the government of trying to suppress the voice of the legislators representing the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities by allotting them seats without microphones in the House. "In fact, neither Pilot nor his supporters have got anything significant during the budget session which is known to MLAs and the people around," said a Pilot loyalist adding that we preferred to sit silent out of respect for the high command. All we can do is wait and watch for we have been promised due recognition and credit by the Congress high command. Although it's been seven months since this promise, we are not losing hope and are confident of getting our due for we are working for the people and not to save our chairs. But, for how many months more do we need to wait, the high command should tell us as Assembly elections are scheduled in 2023 and we need to cover ground against the saffron party, he added. If the BJP in Uttarakhand can solve the tussle in the party overnight, why is the Congress high command taking time to settle the situation in Rajasthan, he asked. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text About 23.7 percent of South Carolina's population has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of March 18. Here's the latest on the pandemic in South Carolina. EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning The European Union's drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn't increase the overall incidence of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. 4:08 p.m. The European Unions drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesnt increase the overall incidence of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. Read more. Federal COVID aid to pay off SC DOT's debt, potentially pave way for I-526 widening The state Department of Transportation is using roughly $140 million in federal COVID-19 aid to pay off debt and free up money for more interstate projects. 2:20 p.m. The state Department of Transportation is using roughly $140 million in federal COVID-19 aid to pay off debt and free up money for more interstate projects. Read more. Charleston-area community groups to host vaccine events in the coming days Palmetto Palace, a mobile health unit and nonprofit focused on community health, will host two events this weekend, one each on March 20 and March 21. A community organization has 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and this weekend plans to start distributing them to underserved communities in the Lowcountry. Palmetto Palace, a mobile health unit and nonprofit focused on community health, will host two events this weekend, one each on March 20 and March 21. Fetter Healthcare, a community health center based in Charleston, is also hosting vaccine clinics in the area in the days to come. Read more. Most people in SC can get a COVID-19 vaccine. Here's what to know about how to get one. You might be eligible for a vaccine, but if you don't have an appointment yet, the fact that you're allowed to get one doesn't mean the process will be easy. 11 a.m. Thursday You might be eligible for a vaccine, but if you dont have an appointment yet, the fact that youre allowed to get one doesnt mean the process will be easy. Read more. SC hospital leader tells US Senate 75% of Berkeley County seniors still need vaccines Anthony Jackson, chief operating officer of Roper St. Francis Healthcare, spoke March 18 during a Senate hearing on "COVID-19 One Year Later: Addressing Health Care Needs for At-Risk Americans." 11 a.m. Thursday About three-quarters of Berkeley County seniors those 65 and older have yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19, the chief operating officer of Roper St. Francis Healthcare told members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. Read more. SC schools splitting $2 billion in COVID aid, teachers hope it's 'transformational' South Carolina's K-12 public schools will share $2 billion from the latest federal COVID-19 aid package, on top of the more than $1 billion already allocated that largely hasn't been spent 7 p.m. Wednesday South Carolinas K-12 public schools will share $2 billion from the latest federal COVID-19 aid package, on top of the more than $1 billion already allocated that largely hasnt been spent, according to the state Department of Education. Read more. [March 18, 2021] Trusty Selects Sacramento as Launchpad for First-of-its-Kind Social Real Estate Platform Sacramento's burgeoning real estate market has been selected as the launchpad for Trusty, a new digital platform that will completely change the face of the real estate industry and how you search for a home. This first-of-its-kind concept puts real estate agents, consumers and other home professionals on equal ground. Trusty's innovative product offers unbiased real estate reviews from multiple audiences, including realtors, home professionals and members of the general public. Instead of a single, potentially biased, opinion about the property from the listing agent, individuals using Trusty can now see the whole picture by reading the pros and cons, sale price estimates and the amount of time homes have been for sale in the greater Sacramento region. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005202/en/ The inherent bias of a listing agent is undeniable. Listing agent photo and reality (Photo: Business Wire) "Our goal with Trusty from the beginning was to make real estate more real. We realized that no matter how much research a home buyer did for their dream home, they were only getting a very opaque and one-sided account of properties," said Nick Meyers, Trusty's Chief Technology Officer. "We are bringing home buying into the modern age by providing multiple perspectives on homes for sale. Our bjective is to help users get a realistic view of a home, what's great about it and what's not so flattering, so they can make the most educated decision possible on what may be the biggest investment of their life." The social aspect of the site is another draw, as it allows users the to comment, share opinions and connect with likeminded buyers and agents in a very relaxed and comfortable environment. It's that connection, and ability to share, that will help drive the future growth of Trusty. "In a world where consumers rarely buy anything without reading reviews first, purchasing a house without doing the same doesn't make sense," said Tim Hyer, Trusty's CEO and Co-Founder. "We provide buyers with balanced viewpoints from a variety of sources, giving them the opportunity to learn more about a particular home and the surrounding neighborhood. We want to provide users with complete transparency during their entire home buying experience." The inherent bias of a listing agent is undeniable. With Trusty, how people see a listing is completely different than anything that has been done in the past. Today, through trustyco.com, anyone can post a review of a particular property. Whether you're an agent or a real estate enthusiast who enjoys touring homes, Trusty lets you provide a unique perspective on any home for sale. Those reviews then provide unbiased feedback to potential buyers - an important, and prior to now, a missing element when searching for a home. Trusty selected Sacramento for its initial launch for a variety of reasons, including size of market, availability of inventory, and its similarity to other markets around the country. Making the location all the more significant is the fact that in December of 2020, Realtor.com named Sacramento the hottest real estate market in the country. Trusty will take the information gathered in the Sacramento market to expand its platform to areas throughout the country. In today's climate, Trusty makes perfect sense. As COVID still looms large, being able to learn about properties, neighborhoods, and realtors from the safe, comfortable environment of one's home will remove some of the stress when searching for a new place to live. In addition, Trusty helps consumers refine their search based on their preferences as well as helping them find an agent to whom they can relate and who has expertise in the local market. "Trusty is a great way to showcase my expertise as a local agent in Sacramento that fits into my daily routine. I'm able to broadcast which homes I've visited and share intel that buyers can't get from the listing alone," said Ray Fuentes, Sacramento Real Estate Agent. "Offering a "second opinion" builds trust since I'm not afraid to tell it to them straight. I've already connected with new clients on Trusty and I'm excited to grow my personal brand." Visit www.trustyco.com to learn more about Trusty, read real reviews about homes in the Sacramento Metro Area, and leave commentary about homes that you've personally toured. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005202/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] President George Manneh Weah has expressed deep sadness at news of the passing today, March 10, 2021 of H.E. Hamed Bakayoko, Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire who assumed the role following the sudden passing of his predecessor in July 2020. President Weah conveys his condolences to President Alassane Ouattara, the government and people of the neighboring country for what he also regards as a personal tragedy. The Liberian Leader and the late Ivorian PM have remained close friends since the 90s. Bakayoko was very instrumental in the consolidation of ties between the both Mano River Union countries since his ascendancy to the post. President Weah described Hamed Bakayoko as a true friend of Liberia with whom his administration worked very closely to cement ties in many areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The President shares in the grief of the Ivorian people and calls on them to continue to champion the values and aspirations that Bakayoko stood for. He described the late Premier as a consummate statesman whose loss will be felt far beyond the shores of Cote d'Ivoire. Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, said that it will have 13 venues participating across eight of their Dubai based properties for this years Dubai Food Festival (DFF), which offers a calendar full of food-related concepts. The programme which focuses on Hiltons locally based talent will bring to life a number of innovative F&B activations and promotions that will cover a diverse range of cuisines, while creating thoughtful and unique dining experiences for the duration of the festival. Speaking about the partnership with DFF, Emma Banks, Vice President, F&B Strategy & Development, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hilton, said: At the heart of every Hilton hotel is a passionate culinary team and an outstanding restaurant experience. We are absolutely delighted to contribute to this years Dubai Food Festival program in such a committed way. Our partnership with DFF this year promises to be a great platform for us to showcase our dedication to dining and our creativity within the F&B space. We look forward to highlighting the best that Dubai has to offer, whilst creating experiences and menus for every audience, taste and budget during this years Dubai Food Festival. To celebrate this year's Dubai Food Festival and to kick-off the comprehensive Hilton DFF program, a stellar line up of Hiltons culinary heroes will host an exclusive one-off dinner on March 30 at Bliss 6 in Conrad Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road. The special open-air evening will see six of Hiltons best Dubai-based chefs bring to life an authentic dining experience that presents modern-twists of classic Arabic dishes using locally sourced produce. It is set to be a one-of-a-kind showcase where the Hilton F&B team will flex its culinary muscles. This years Dubai Food Festival running from March 25 to April 17 will see culinary heroes from Hilton operated restaurants including Luigi Vespero, Andrea Fioravanti, Francesco Acquaviva, Steven Smalley, Yannis Manikis, Kevin Coey, Mehdi El Naaamane and Rene Johari create a range of activations, special chefs tables, masterclasses and promotional menus in their restaurants. To add a touch of international flair, BiCE Ristorante at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah will also host the Italian Michelin-Starred maestro Paolo Gramaglia for a special series of exclusive dinners. Emma Banks added: Our restaurant experiences within our hotels are some of the best in the world and we are very proud of the talent that we have here in the region. I look forward to the Dubai team showcasing their skills and expressing the values of Hiltons F&B culture through the upcoming DFF activations that they have designed for our venues. Participating Hilton properties will include Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre, Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah, Hilton Dubai The Walk, Conrad Dubai, DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai - Jumeirah Beach, DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai - Business Bay and Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef. TradeArabia News Service Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region In science fiction movies, there are many examples of spaceships racing through space at the speed of light or faster. But is faster-than-light travel possible? A new research paper written by an American physicist has proposed a theory for how faster-than-light travel could be possible. The research was carried out by Erik Lentz, who did the work at Germanys University of Goettingen. Lentz and his team believe that travel to distant stars and planets could be possible in the future. But this can happen only if space vehicles travel faster than the speed of light. Light can travel at about 300,000 kilometers in one second. Physicist Albert Einsteins famous theory of relativity suggests that it is not possible to travel faster than light. As a result, the latest research on the subject has centered on theories beyond normal explanations of matter. They call for hypothetical particles and states of matter with unusual physical properties to permit faster-than-light travel. This kind of matter either cannot be found or cannot be manufactured in necessary amounts, the paper states. The new paper places more importance not on theoretical research, but on a possible engineering solution. The research describes a plan to permit superfast travel by creating a series of, what the researchers call, solitons to provide the basis for a powerful propulsion system. A soliton is a compact wave that keeps its speed and shape while moving with little loss of energy. The research suggests that such a method could permit travel at any speed. The results recently appeared in the publication Classical and Quantum Gravity. The method uses the very structure of space and time arranged in a soliton to provide a solution to faster-than-light travel, said a press release explaining the process. Lentz told Reuters news agency that such a warp drive technology could be used to sharply reduce travel times. That could make future travel to distant space objects possible. The nearest star beyond our solar system is Proxima Centauri. It is about 4.25 light years away. A light year is the distance it takes light to travel in one year. Lentz said that using traditional rocket fuel, it would take about 50,000 to 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri. A trip using nuclear propulsion technology would take about 100 years, he said. But a light speed trip would take only four years and three months, Lentz added. The researchers plan promises the hope of faster-than-light-speed travel, which could lead to distant interstellar travel within a human lifetime. Lentz said a lot of work will be needed to make the method become a reality. To be useful, it would require lowering the energy needed down to the level of modern nuclear power reactors. A way to develop and speed up the solitons must also be created, he added. Lentz sees the research and development process as difficult, but not impossible. He said additional steps could happen over the next several years, with a fully operational version possible within the next 10 years. He added that the first truly light speed trips could be tested in the years afterward. I would like to see this technology in use in my lifetime, Lentz said. Im Bryan Lynn. Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English, with additional information from Goettingen University. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Research Group Proposes Way to Travel Faster than Speed of Light Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story hypothetical adj. involving or based on a suggested idea or theory; based on a hypothesis propulsion n. a force that moves something forward compact adj. smaller than other things of the same kind arrange adj. organized in a certain order or position warp adj. related to speed that is extremely fast, even faster than light, usually found in works of science fiction interstellar adj. between the stars prototype n. a first model of something that serves as the basis for future developments 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. General Motors is shifting hundreds of salaried workers among its southeastern Michigan locations and declaring where some new hires will work as it prepares to bring its remote workforce back to the office starting this summer. The location shifts, GM leaders say, will improve collaboration among teams. "The moves also reflect adapting to post-pandemic workplaces where the future will be more flexible," said GM spokesman David Caldwell. GM leaders held team meetings on Wednesday with white-collar workers to discuss ways in which the workplace might change for some of them when they return to the office, Caldwell said. The Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit sits in the background along the Detroit RiverWalk on March 11, 2021. "These were internal meetings on the subject of the ongoing planning for return-to-work, in which there was active discussion on the benefits of remote work and how to keep some of that going forward," Caldwell said in an email. "This was not a roll-out of a plan, however, but its definitely progress towards that." Could these long-gone vehicles come back: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Dodge classic cars offer opportunity Stimulus checks hit users' accounts: Wells Fargo apologizes for banking outages Going forward, GM expects more ability for people to work from home, while also being able to come to the workplace for collaboration, Caldwell said. But he stopped short of defining how GM's workspace will look in the future, saying that is still being decided. But he said that while Detroit remains GM's global headquarters, more of GMs product-oriented teams will be based in Warren, which has been the company's hub for its product development for 60 years. The automaker is taking these steps: About 900 workers from its customer care and aftersales offices in Grand Blanc, Michigan, will move to the Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. GM will move several marketing and product people from its global headquarters in the Renaissance Center in Detroit to the Technical Center in Warren. GM is still determining how many employees will make this move. Finally, GM will hire a significant number of new IT specialists who will be assigned to work at the RenCen. The new hires are part of GMs announcement last fall that it would hire 3,000 new technical experts this year. A significant portion of those hired will be in IT jobs, Caldwell said. GM has hired about half of that 3,000 target to date. Some hires will work in Austin, Texas, he said. Story continues All three moves will occur once GM starts bringing salaried workers back to the offices in late June or July, Caldwell said. GM is undecided on what it will do with the facility in Grand Blanc that had housed the Customer Care and Aftersales team, Caldwell said. Customer Care and Aftersales supplies replacement parts for GM vehicles and non-GM vehicles under the ACDelco and GM Genuine Parts brands. Most of GM's 68,000 salaried workers in the United States have worked remotely since about this time last year. GMs total headcount in the United States is unaffected by the shifts, Caldwell said. Pre-pandemic, GM employed about 20,000 employees at the Tech Center in Warren, Caldwell said. GM Tech Center 2003 Design Center Building in Warren. The automaker recently confirmed its plans to keep its global headquarters at the RenCen in Detroit where about 5,000 of its employees work. A published report in 2019 cited unnamed sources saying GM CEO Mary Barra was looking to sell the RenCen, which GM acquired in 1996, to Detroit real estate mogul Dan Gilbert. GM still owns the building. Caldwell declined to comment on whether Barra might shop the RenCen again in the future, saying only, "This is our headquarters and our headquarters will remain on the riverfront." GM leaders are still determining a return-to-work strategy and figuring out how office space and health protocols will work. Ford Motor Co. gave employees its return-to-work plans Wednesday. We really dont know exactly how it will look other than that the future will be more flexible, Caldwell said. Thats sort of our theme. Caldwell said GM ultimately wants to offer salaried employees a combination of the collaboration you get from in-work places with the flexibility to work remote when needed. Thats what we are working on. Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Jamie L. Lareau on Twitter @jlareauan. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM jobs shift: Hundreds of workers moved as remote work takes off Two ex-bosses of one of NIs best-known family companies have been given boardroom bans for their part in an illegal construction cartel. Eoin McCann and Francis McCann, ex-directors of FP McCann in Magherafelt, have been disqualified as directors for 12 and 11 years respectively. The company is one of Mid-Ulsters best-known businesses and has around 1,700 staff and annual turnover of 264m. Watchdog the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said that between 2006 and 2013, FP McCann had agreed with two other pre-cast concrete drainage suppliers to coordinate prices, share out the market by allocating customers and exchange other competitively sensitive information. FP McCann appealed against the decision, but in December the CMAs determination was upheld by the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The CMA secured the disqualification of directors of Eoin (64) and Francis McCann (51) for their part in the cartel, which broke competition law. They had been directors for the entire period of the anti-competition conduct, and had attended cartel meetings on behalf of the company. At 11 and 12 years starting from the end of this month, the period of their disqualification is the longest-ever boardroom ban secured by the CMA. The pair had resigned from the company itself at the end of December. FP McCann has been asked for comment on the disqualification. Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at the CMA, said: The length of these disqualification periods reflects the seriousness of this case. The CMA will continue to take strong action, where necessary, to protect the public from illegal anticompetitive practices. The message to directors is clear you are personally responsible for ensuring that your company complies with competition law, and if it doesnt you risk disqualification. The other companies in the cartel were Stanton Bonna Concrete Ltd and CPM Group. Philip Stacey and Robert Smillie of CPM were disqualified as directors in April 2019. They bring the total number of disqualifications, as a result of CMA investigations, to 25. It is 8 am and theres already a buzz in the centre of Nkongolo Moshi village. Here are some young people, some women, and men talking. We have come to attend the trial of Nsumbu, we are from the grouping of Sha Tshiakumba, explain the young people from this group of villages where Laurent Katende Nsumbu, a traditional chief, is accused of having committed atrocities in February 2017. Near the Catholic priests home where Nsumbus trial has been held since March 10, the silence is disturbed only by a few lawyers discussing the countrys political news. In another group of young people is Kande Kabue, who came to testify about the murder of his father, the chief of Sha Tshikumba, whom he says was killed by Nsumbu. I have come to see the court convict Nsumbu, he says, certain of the verdict. Life sentence At 11 am, we are back on the sandy grass floor of the makeshift courtroom. A group of Nkongolo Moshi dignitaries sit on bamboo chairs. The judges sit under the small veranda of the priests house, extended by a few tarpaulins to protect them from the sun. Villagers gather around the court. At noon sharp, Nsumbu arrives, but he is a different man from the first day. Still surrounded by security officers, the former militia leader looks weaker and more worried than six days ago. Major Jose Ndembalungu, president of the military tribunal of the Kananga garrison, takes the floor to read the courts decision. The judgment covers over 120 handwritten pages, but the president summarizes for the population. I want to take the important elements, because of the lack of time, he explains. During the trial, the defendant denied all the charges against him, saying it was a conspiracy against his person. For this reason, the court, after a debate in camera, finds Nsumbu guilty on all charges and sentences him to life imprisonment for war crimes of murder, pillage, torture, destruction and hostage taking, terrorism and criminal conspiracy. It sentences him to 15 years of penal servitude for insurrection. And the defendant is ordered to pay damages for the harm caused. The court immediately orders the convicts arrest. Nsumbu is handcuffed by elements of the Congolese forces, who take him away and put him in a jeep. The all-powerful leader has escaped the death penalty requested by the prosecutor, but he has been punished, say the young people who came to applaud the trial. Nsumbu was sentenced to life imprisonment and the village could go back to normalcy after an unprecedented trial. Joseph Mbuyi A warning to others Kande Kabue is the first to react. He thanks God but also confides his fears. I thank God that he had to pay for his actions; I lost my father and my brothers. Let the State come to our aid, we have lost everything. But I and my family have received threats from the brothers of Nsumbu and I fear reprisals. The inhabitants of Nkongolo Moshi welcome the holding of this trial in their village. It is a good lesson for those who disturb public order, they must make amends and respect the laws of the country. Young people of our village are warned. We welcome the judgment, it was really deserved. We never thought we would see this here in the village. This is a warning. Those who have weapons will be afraid to commit criminal acts, are some of the things we hear them say. Saul Musawu, coordinator of the Free Consultation Office, an arm of the Bar Association that provides free legal assistance, expressed his satisfaction. It was a very good debate, a fair trial, I thought the lawyers were up to the task. We ask that other trials still in the pre-trial phase be expedited, says the 30-year-old lawyer. Recommended reading Accused faces victims in first Kasai war crimes trial Civil parties satisfied, defence to appeal The victims lawyers are also satisfied, notably because the court also recognized the responsibility of the Congolese State and ordered it to pay damages. We are very happy. We have taken a step forward in the fight against impunity, says their president Dominique Kambala. We are satisfied with the compensation, but there should also have been other reparation as provided in the Rome Statute [treaty establishing the International Criminal Court], including medical, psychological and other care, given the trauma suffered by the victims. The defence, of course, expresses regret. The court did not develop a good argument, it went only on hearsay and not evidence. We will lodge an appeal, says Nsumbus lawyer Freddy Kabangu. The delegations then go quickly on their way, as it takes four or five hours to arrive in Kananga, the capital of Central Kasai province. Calm can then return to Nkongolo Moshi. Old Bridge Councilwoman Edina Brown feared for her safety when she received an email earlier this month that called her the N-word and told her to get out of town. I was upset, said Brown, a Democrat who was elected in 2017 and is the only Black woman on the council. With all the rhetoric thats been going on at our council, Im not surprised at all. Brown told NJ Advance Media she did not know who sent the email, which she received on March 7. A copy of the email obtained by NJ Advance Media showed it was sent to her government email address from a sender with the name John Smith. The councilwoman said she forwarded the email to Mayor Owen Henry and Old Bridge police. The police department did not respond to a request for comment and the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office declined to comment or confirm the existence of an investigation. The email contained profanity, was laden with the N-word and made other racist comments regarding Black people and those who live in Newark, Trenton and Paterson. The sender said they did not know how Brown got elected in a Republican township and wanted to do everything in my power to get your n----- a-- out of here. The email drew a rebuke from a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Its kind of just shameful that someone regardless if theyre a councilwoman or not would receive that kind of email, said NAACP Perth Amboy Area Branch 1st Vice President Kelly Atkinson. The mayor, a Republican, also condemned the email in a statement to NJ Advance Media. He requested that the appropriate outside law enforcement agencies be contacted to assist too. Any speech, whether written or spoken, in which any type of racial epithet or slur is included, is unacceptable, inappropriate and condemnable, Owen said. I immediately instructed that all warranted resources be committed to identify the author or group responsible for composing and sending such an offensive document. The email follows comments made by another councilwoman that Brown called a dog whistle. She said whoever delivered it may have been emboldened to do so because of comments made by other council members recently about racism. Some council people have brought up race at meetings in February and March. Activists chided those comments as anti-Black and racist, but other council people have disputed that and said those activists are out-of-towners. Old Bridges residents are 73% white and 7% Black, according to U.S. Census estimates. Two of the nine council people are Democrat and the others are Republican. One GOP councilman was formerly a Democrat. At a Feb. 9 council meeting, Councilwoman Anita Greenberg-Belli made a statement about a correspondence she said she received from the New Jersey Education Association. Her statement, however, came in the same meeting where council voted on a resolution that called for schools to fully and safely reopen, shortly after parents held a rally in support of the same. The NJEA talks about a false narrative: racism and uses a false narrative indicating that Black kids are failing because of their color and white are people are privileged, Greenberg-Belli said. This is an absurd lie and I dont believe that. Greenberg-Belli, a Republican, did not respond to a request for comment. Councilman Tony Paskitti in the Feb. 23 meeting defended Greenberg-Belli and said she does not have one racist bone in her body. You see all these people calling from all different parts of the state calling her a racist, said Paskitti, a Republican. Its just - theyre lies. Its wrong. These people dont know her. I know her and I am telling you she is not a racist. Councilman Mark Razzoli, who changed parties from Democrat to Republican, in the same meeting said there was a coordinated attack on Greenberg-Belli. If people have differences of opinion, theyre not racist, Razzoli added. Unfortunately, thats become the national thing. When in doubt, call someone a racist. Kason Little, an Elizabeth resident, spoke during public comments at the March 9 meeting and called for Greenberg-Belli to resign. You obviously dont know what racist means, Little said. You dont have no right to tell Black people or brown people in this country what racism actually means if you do not live what we live through. Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter. Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Freeborn County, Minn. - One year ago today, Freeborn County declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic. Last night, the Board of Commissions decided to end it. According to the Emergency Management Director, this means the county will return to its regular spending and ordering of products. When the state of emergency was in place, Emergency Management Director of Freeborn County, Rich Hall, says it was easier for the county to purchase supplies needed for the pandemic, without going through extra hoops to acquire necessary masks and hand sanitizer, for example. "We've had that in place for a year. We pretty much have everything procured or bought that we need to buy and so now we can return to normal spending," says Hall. The county still falls under FEMA for the disaster and the state emergency declaration, so the county is not losing any state or federal money. The next step is getting employees back in the office full-time. The board will re-evaluate this in April. The board also voted to open some county buildings with limited capacity. The government center, human services, fairgrounds, and highway department have been closed for months. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. It had finally felt like a small victory. After six years of seeking truth, accountability and an apology, the family of prominent civil rights attorney Mary Han had finally got on record in open court how egregiously her sudden death Nov. 18, 2010, had been treated by the powers that be powers that had often been her adversaries in civil cases. In January 2017, state District Judge David Thomson of Santa Fe had heard testimony from members of the Albuquerque Police Department, the state Office of the Medical Investigator and nationally recognized forensic experts about how evidence at her North Valley home was contaminated or not collected, red flags were missed, upward of 60 officials trampled carelessly through her home and assumptions were made far too quickly with far too little proof that she had committed suicide. All of it had been painful and aggravating, especially the suicide label. The 2017 court proceedings, the last in a long line of legal efforts the family had pursued, asked Thomson to order OMI to reopen, reevaluate or outright change the manner of Hans death from suicide to undetermined. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ It took 19 months for Thomson to agree, issuing in August 2018 what is known as a writ of mandamus for OMI to comply with. This week, that victory was dashed by the state Court of Appeals. A 21-page opinion released Monday reverses Thomsons decision, siding with OMIs contention that the determination of suicide was based on opinion, which is not subject to mandamus, and not a ministerial act, which can be subject to mandamus. Because New Mexico case law generally prohibits use of mandamus to control or interfere with the valid exercise of discretion by a state official, the issuance of the mandamus order in this case directing Respondent (OMI) to change its medical opinion as to manner of death was error, the opinion states. The decision will be welcome news to OMI, which has paid more than $203,000 thus far in legal representation. It is also a vindication of sorts for Dr. Ross Zumwalt, then OMIs chief medical officer, who testified in 2017 that he had reviewed Hans case three times and remained 95% certain she had died by suicide and would remain convinced unless proof arose that Han was held there at gunpoint in her car in the garage where he believes she died of carbon monoxide intoxication. But the decision is a blow to those who contend the investigation into her death was botched. There is simply no way to express the importance of the district court decision to hold OMI accountable for the utter chaos and contamination of the death scene that pointed to a conclusion other than suicide, attorney Diane Garrity said. OMIs failures here are to such an extent that we will never know what happened, and now the family will not receive any relief. Garrity said she and attorney Rosario Vega Lynn intend to ask the state Supreme Court to review the appellate decision. For this family, the arc of the moral universe is indeed a long one, but we believe justice has always been on our side, she said. Thomson the judge who had ruled in their favor now sits on the Supreme Court bench, appointed in early 2019. Curiously, the appellate opinion also states that legal avenues other than mandamus do exist to challenge administrative decisions for being arbitrary, an abuse of discretion or unsupported by substantial evidence. But its hard to imagine that Hans attorneys have not traveled down those avenues from the state Board of Medical Investigators to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals only to hit dead ends. The dead end imposed by the appellate decision, Garrity contends, affects others who take issue with what OMI determines should be written on a death certificate. The district court allowed a process to challenge OMIs decisions, creating a path for other families who reasonably and legitimately question how their loved one died instead of relying on OMIs standard, she said. Han, you may recall, was 53, at the peak of health and excited about starting her own law firm after parting ways with longtime law partner Paul Kennedy. It was Kennedy who found her in her BMW and who in a 911 call declared her death an accidental suicide. When OMI received the notice as accidental suicide, it was taken as gospel, Hans older sister Elizabeth Wallbro had testified before Thomson in 2017. Nobody ever challenged that statement, and it stuck. The first officers on the scene testified that they classified Hans death as suspicious and a possible crime scene, but their efforts to conduct a proper investigation were thwarted when dozens of the highest-ranking APD and city officials descended on the home. That was only the beginning of the damning testimony. Due to the contamination of the scene and the loss of critical evidence, even under the most deferential standard, there is no basis for the Office of the Medical Investigators determination of the manner of death, Thomson wrote in his 96-page ruling. Simply put, the evidence needed to make this determination was spoiled by the acts of the investigating agency. Though that ruling is now wiped away, what remains is what was revealed in that courtroom January 2017, a record, a memorial, a condemnation of what happened to Han after she could no longer fight her own court battle. That, for now, will have to be victory enough. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Economist Thursday quit Ashoka University's faculty, citing circumstances surrounding political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta's resignation as a professor two days ago. Ashoka can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom, said Subramanian in his resignation letter, the Indian Express and ThePrint.in reported. Mehta, one of Indias best-known public intellectuals, on Tuesday resigned from the University, which has not given a reason for his decision. Subramanian, a former chief economic advisor to the Indian government, said in his resignation letter Mehtas leaving had devastated him, said ThePrint. Subramanian joined the university in July as a professor of economics. He is also the founding director of Ashoka Center for Economic Policy. I am acutely aware of the broader context in which Ashoka and its trustees have to operate, and have so far admired the University for having navigated it so well. But that someone of such integrity and eminence, who embodied the vision underlying Ashoka, felt compelled to leave is troubling, he said in the letter addressed to Malabika Sarkar, Vice Chancellor of Asoka University. The Universitys commitment to fight for and sustain the Ashoka vision is now open to question, he said. UPDATE: Closure of GM CCA World Headquarters in Grand Blanc Township will have tremendous effect on area, business owners say GRAND BLANC TWP, MI -- General Motors is moving employees from its Grand Blanc Township Customer Care and Aftersales World Headquarters to Warren, a shift that leaves the future of the complex in doubt and that affects all 900 employees who worked here. GM is shifting the location of certain groups in (southeast) Michigan to increase collaboration among our teams, GM said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal. The moves also reflect adapting to post-pandemic workplaces where the future will be more flexible. The moves will bring more employees and teams to the Global Technical Center in Warren. Some workers will shift to Warren from the global headquarters at the GM RenCen and a facility in Grand Blanc (Township), while the company will also bring some new tech workers to the RenCen. GM spokesman David Caldwell confirmed the shift involves all 900 white-collar workers in the township, but said it is too soon to say whether the employees will all physically move to Warren. He said the future of the headquarters campus, which served as the companys nerve center for the worldwide sales and distribution of GM parts to dealers, service and repair centers and retailers, is still to be determined. The company expects to start the process of bringing more people into the workplace this summer, Caldwell said, but its not known exactly how it will look ... other than the fact that the future will be more flexible. The 300,000-square-foot CCA facility was built in 1996 at a cost of $43 million, according to MLive-The Flint Journal files. Each floor of the three-story brick and glass structure covers nearly two acres. Construction started after GM bought 82 acres at the southeast corner of Hill Road and I-475, using about 40 acres for the headquarters campus with plans to sell the remaining property for complementary development such as restaurants and lodging. The decision to move employees from Grand Blanc Township to Warren isnt the first time such a shift has been considered. In 2009, employees were told there was at least a 90 percent chance they would be transferred to Warren, and in 2010, the company confirmed it was trying to sell the headquarters property before reversing that decision. The pre-COVID-19 pandemic workforce at the complex was approximately 900, Caldwell said. GMs total employee headcount is unaffected by the planned shifts, the spokesman said. Grand Blanc Township Supervisor Scott Bennett said he has yet to be told officially that employees will be transferred later this year. All I know is that they were going to talk to employees today, Bennett said Wednesday, March 17. We never want to have vacant buildings in our township ... We would much rather have (people working in) them here. Bennett said the township collects approximately $70,000 in property taxes annually from the property, which he described as prime commercial real estate. My hope is we can get them to rethink (the decision) or find some other use for it, he said. Read more on MLive: GM to invest $150M at five Michigan plants UAW tells local GM unions to get ready to work in the near future GM parts facilities in Flint area will reopen Monday with paid volunteer employees Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Leading EU countries said Thursday they would resume AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European medical regulator said the jab is "safe and effective" and not associated with a higher blood clot risk after days of commotion around the shot. The closely-watched announcement from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) came after the WHO and Britain's health watchdog both said the vaccine was safe, adding that it was far riskier to not get the shot as several countries face a worrying rise in coronavirus cases. After the EMA's announcement a raft of European countries said they would soon resume vaccinations, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. France on Thursday became the latest nation to toughen COVID restrictions, announcing a month-long limited lockdown for Paris and several other regions to try and stave off a third wave of infections that has overwhelmed hospitals. The EMA's chief Emer Cooke said Thursday that after an investigation into the AstraZeneca jab, its "committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine". "The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots," she added. However, the agency said it "cannot rule out definitively" a link to a rare clotting disorder. The UK health regulator also said there were no links between blood clots and the Pfizer vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) repeated that it was better to take the AstraZeneca vaccine than not. AstraZeneca's chief medical officer Ann Taylor said that "vaccine safety is paramount and we welcome the regulators' decisions which affirm the overwhelming benefit of our vaccine in stopping the pandemic". However Norway and Sweden said they were not ready to resume using the vaccine. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said it "took note" of the EMA's ruling, but it was "premature" to draw conclusions and it would announce its own opinion by the end of next week. Paris lockdown The furore around the jab has marred the global vaccine drive aimed at ending a pandemic that has killed more than 2.6 million people, and comes as several countries report jumps in new cases. After recording its highest daily caseload in nearly four months on Wednesday, France said it would impose a limited lockdown in the Paris region from Friday at midnight. The measures fall short of a full-blown lockdown, but will see non-essential shops closed and outdoor movement restricted in the affected regions, while schools are to stay open. French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the new measures as well as saying he would get the AstraZeneca vaccine "to show that we can have complete confidence in it". Bulgaria and Ukraine also readied for tougher restrictions to stem rising cases, while the WHO issued a grim update on ballooning infections in Central Europe and the Balkans. 'Italy's Wuhan' So far, more than 400 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered globally, mostly in wealthier nations that have secured contracts with drug makers. AstraZeneca's shot, among the cheapest available and easier to store and transport than some of its rivals, has been billed as the vaccine of choice for poorer nations. It is currently a vital part of Covax, which was set up to procure COVID-19 vaccines and ensure their equitable distribution around the world. But countries ranging from France to Venezuela and Indonesia paused the rollout of the AstraZeneca jab after a small number of reports emerged of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine. France's Europe Minister Clement Beaune defended the decision taken by countries to suspend use of the vaccine and refer it to the EMA for safety checks, telling AFP it was "necessary in order to coordinate and remove the doubts". In Britain, which did not halt the jab, officials insisted that an expected vaccine shortfall at the end of the month would not scupper plans to ease its virus restrictions in the coming months as the government has promised. US President Joe Biden meanwhile said his goal of getting 100 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days in office will be met on Fridayfar in advance of the original target. The US, which has yet to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine, also said it would send millions of doses to its neighbours Mexico and Canada, which have approved the jab. Italy, the first European country to become engulfed by the pandemic, held a national day of mourning Thursday, with a ceremony in Bergamo, the northern city that became known as "Italy's Wuhan"the Chinese city where the first COVID-19 cases were identified. Italy chose March 18 for the memorial to coincide with the day in 2020 when the army had to step in to carry away scores of coffins from Bergamo's overwhelmed crematorium. Images of coffin-laden camouflaged trucks crossing the city at night quickly became one of the symbols of the pandemic and still haunt the country today. "We cannot hug each other, but this is the day in which we must all feel even closer," Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP 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 man hidden by debris was run over by a city utility truck Thursday on the Southeast Side, police said. An employee with the citys Public Works Department was checking water gauges and cleaning around a culvert near the intersection of S.E. Military Drive and Goliad Road shortly before 10 a.m. As the worker drove away from the culvert, he felt a bump, according to SAPD spokesperson Chris Ramos. The utility truck had struck a man who was lying on the ground, covered in debris and clothing. The worker immediately called police and the man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Bexar County Medical Examiners Office was on hand Tuesday as a body lay on a grassy area next to the intersection. Police do not expect the Public Works employee to face charges. The driver is shaken up but he is cooperating with investigators, Ramos said. This appears just to be a tragic accident. Roland Garces, 55, a homeless person living nearby, said his daughter rushed to the area when she heard of the accident. She initially thought he was the victim before finding him with friends a few blocks away. It warmed her heart, but I wouldnt want anything to happen to anybody, Garces said. Poor soul. Garces noted that a friend had recently been hit by a car while crossing S.E. Military near the same intersection. The friend survived. Its harsh out here, Garces said. Its harsh. OHIO, N.Y. A woman is accused of shooting and killing her husband at a home on State Route 365 in the town of Ohio Wednesday night. Police were called to 1827 State Route 365 around 11 p.m. for a report of shots fired during a domestic dispute. Connie L. Powers Connie L. Powers Connie L. Powers, 49, is charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, for allegedly fatally shooting her husband, 64-year-old Timothy J. Powers. Connie was arraigned in Little Falls City Court. State Police were assisted on scene by the Herkimer County District Attorneys Office and Kuyahoora Ambulance. The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available. We know not everyone can hold the honor of being a "native Texan." It's an exclusive club. And now, we have an official definition of what truly makes a "native Texan" from our lawmakers as more people flock to the Lone Star State. BILLS TO WATCH: The Texas GOP is still furious about Harris County's drive-thru voting State Sen. Drew Springer filed a concurrent resolution that may put to rest who truly qualifies as a "native Texan" in this great state. Under Springer's resolution, a native Texan is defined as anyone born in Texas (of course) or anyone born outside of the state to Texas residents who were serving in the military at the time or provided the parents and child return to Texas within 30 days. The resolution explains that as Texas gains more outsiders (Californians), the more we need a definition of "native Texan." I have no idea why, but here we are. Maybe a string of "native Texan only" tax benefits is coming? But Texans do love being haughty about actually being from Texas, so making it official isn't a surprise. Texas elitism is part of our state pride. A concurrent resolution is a resolution that does not require the signature of the chief executive or have the force of law, so no one's going to fine you for calling yourself a native Texan if you were born in Wisconsin or wherever. 'DISASTER CASUAL'?: Gov. Greg Abbott's winter storm fashion can't compare to my 'fits This is good for me, since I was born in New York while my Texan-raised parents lived in Poughkeepsie for less than three years. Technically being a Yankee is a point of mild embarrassment for me, so I will bitterly wish Springer's definition included those of us who have no memory of life outside of Texas. But if some official "native Texan only" benefits start coming out, you'll see me at the Capitol ready to cash in. More than 20 years here has to count for something. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. French foreign ministry said that Senators in France are free to meet whomever they wish when they travel to other nations rebuffing Chinas concerns after its embassy in Paris warned lawmakers against meeting officials in Taiwan during an upcoming visit to the self-ruled island. The remarks by the French government came on March 17 after Chinas ambassador in February sent a letter to the head of the Senates Taiwan Friendship Group, Alain Richard urging that no meetings shall take place with Taiwanese officials as it would damage the France-China ties and calling democratic Taiwan as a part of one China. When asked about the Chinese ambassadors letter to the French Senator over the Taiwan visit, the French foreign ministry in a daily press briefing said, French parliamentarians are free to make decisions about their own travel plans and contacts. What did Chinese ambassador say? Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye on March 16 wrote to French Senator Alain Richard, over the plans to visit self-ruled Taiwan in the summer. While Taiwan recognises itself as a democratic country with an elected government, China has always called its own breakaway province and criticised and individual contact with the island by governments across the world. One of the reasons for deteriorating US-China relations is Washington officials meeting with Taiwanese officials. However, now that France government is also showing no response to China raising serious concerns over the upcoming visit to what Beijing considers its inalienable part. Chinese Ambassador told French Senator, The Chinese Embassy in France learned on the French Senate website that the Senate-Taiwan Exchange and Study Group recently met and decided to visit Taiwan this summer if the health situation permits. The Chinese Embassy expresses serious concerns in this regard. It is known to all that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. China has always strongly opposed any form of official contact between countries having diplomatic relations with China and the Taiwan region. President Cyril Ramaphosa will today deliver the eulogy at the Special Official Funeral of the late His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu. His Majesty passed away in the early hours of Friday, 12 March 2021, after an extended illness. The King was interred which is referred to as ukutshala in isiZulu (meaning planting), in a private ceremony at midnight on Wednesday. A special service in his honour will take place this morning. President Ramaphosa honoured the King by granting him a Special Official Funeral Category 1. "This category entails ceremonial elements provided by the South African National Defence Force," a statement from the President's Office read on Wednesday. President Ramaphosa has also authorised that the National Flag be flown at half-mast at every flag station in the country from the morning of Saturday, 13 March 2021, until the evening of the funeral service. The funeral service will be broadcast live on major broadcast channels and government social media platforms to assist those who may not be able to physically attend the service due to the current COVID-19 lockdown level 1 regulations. KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala, has since reminded all dignitaries, visitors, and guests that the country was still under lockdown and that South Africa faces a "real" threat of the third wave. He said the province is committed to doing everything to ensure that His Majesty's service is not used as a reason to break any laws and regulations and that measures are in place to ensure that maximum safety and security is observed at the service. "In whatever way, we choose to pay our last respects to His Majesty, we must do so with the appropriate decorum and dignity that does not in the end, sully the legacy of His Royal Highness, or indeed place his family and other mourners in danger of contracting the virus." Meanwhile, Zikalala has thanked every person from South Africa and abroad who have conveyed their message of condolences and sent words of comfort to the Royal Family and the people of the province. [March 18, 2021] Harris Williams Advises Rohrer Corporation on its Sale to Wellspring Capital Management Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised Rohrer Corporation (Rohrer), a portfolio company of ShoreView Industries (ShoreView), on its sale to Wellspring Capital Management (Wellspring). Rohrer is a leading manufacturer of high-visibility consumer packaging solutions in North America. The transaction was led by Patrick McNulty, Brad Morrison, Jenson Dunn, Chuck Walter, Caroline Inglesby and Neal Quirk of the Harris Williams Industrials Group. "Given Rohrer's unique capabilities and broad portfolio of essential products and services, we believe the company is poised fo continued strength with Wellspring as its new partner," said Brad Morrison, a managing director at Harris Williams. "It was a pleasure working with Rohrer and ShoreView on this transaction and we are excited to watch Rohrer continue to evolve under Wellspring's ownership," added Patrick McNulty, a managing director at Harris Williams. Founded in 1973, Rohrer is one of the largest suppliers of high-visibility retail consumer packaging in the U.S. Rohrer's impressive capabilities include a wide array of printed paperboard products and thermoformed plastic products. Additionally, Rohrer's design services, heat seal tooling production and heat seal machinery distribution make Rohrer a true one-stop shop for packaging solutions. Rohrer is committed to consistently providing a better package to build brands and businesses. Founded in 2002, ShoreView is a Minneapolis-based private equity firm that has raised over $1.3 billion of committed capital across four funds. ShoreView partners with family or entrepreneurial-owned companies across many sectors, including engineered products, distribution, industrial services, business services, healthcare and niche consumer products. ShoreView structures a variety of acquisition, recapitalization and build-up transactions, typically in businesses with revenues ranging between $20 million and $300 million. Wellspring is a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York. Since its founding in 1995, Wellspring has raised over $4.5 billion of initial capital commitments through six private equity funds. Over the past 25 years, Wellspring has invested in over 45 platform investments across various segments of the U.S. and global economies. Wellspring's objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment. Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC (News - Alert) Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). The Harris Williams Industrials Group has experience across a variety of sectors, including advanced manufacturing; building products; chemicals and specialty materials; industrial technology; and packaging. For more information on the firm's Industrials Group and other recent transactions, visit the Industrials Group's section of the Harris Williams website. Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschaftsfuhrer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005581/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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 Sydney bakery has blended two popular snacks into one decadent limited-edition dessert. The 'hot cross croissant' - a fusion of the classic croissant and hot cross bun - is crafted from dough moulded into a cube that's crisscrossed with lashings of white icing. The two-in-one sweet, which is stuffed with a rich cinnamon cream and Australian sultanas, is the latest creation from Banksia Bakehouse, a boutique cafe in the CBD known for its rotating menu of experimental desserts. Meet the hot cross croissant: Banksia Bakehouse in Sydney's CBD has created this two-in-one dessert, which is a fusion of the classic croissant and hot cross bun The two-in-one sweet is stuffed with a rich cinnamon cream and Australian sultanas The bakery, which is open from 7:30am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday, uses locally grown ingredients from Australian producers wherever possible - in this case, Sunmuscat sultanas from a family-owned farm in Mildura, VIC. Banksia baker Chris Sheldrick said the special croissant was developed as a 'special Easter treat' that is different to the traditional fare stocked in supermarkets across Australia. 'With hot cross buns appearing in shops right after Christmas, we didnt want to create a traditional-style bun as we felt customers would be tired of them by the time Easter actually came around,' Mr Sheldrick said. Banksia baker Chris Sheldrick said the special croissant was developed as a 'special Easter treat' that is different to the traditional fare stocked in supermarkets across Australia The croissant will be available from April 1 until April 30, when a new tranche of drool-inducing desserts will be rolled out. Just seven months since opening in August 2020, Banksia Bakehouse has already cemented its reputation as one of Sydney's finest bakeries with its unique take on traditional treats. Earlier this month, it launched a mysterious snack that is not what it appears at first glance. This looks like a lamington, but it inside is something very different The dessert looks like a lamington, one of Australia's best-loved cakes, but beneath its chocolate and desiccated coconut coating is a carefully crafted cube-shaped croissant oozing with dark chocolate ganache and strawberry rose jam. The bakery chose the lamington cube and a classic croissant stuffed with peaches and cream as its standout offerings for March. The cubes, which took several months to perfect, were created to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the first-ever lamington, believed to have been invented by French chef Armand Galland for the Queensland Governor, Lord Lamington. Beneath its chocolate and desiccated coconut coating is a carefully crafted cube-shaped croissant, oozing with dark chocolate ganache and strawberry rose jam 'We use the same technique as we used to make our other croissants, but this one is cut into different shapes with thicker layers,' Mr Sheldrick said. 'What better way to pay homage to both the French creator and the cake's namesake than with a fusion-style French croissant and an Aussie lamington.' Mr Sheldrick said the bakery had initially planned to save the cube croissant for when international travellers returned to Australia, but ploughed ahead with the release as borders look set to be shut for the foreseeable future. GALVESTON, Texas (AP) An Oregon woman who was recorded on police body camera video refusing to wear a mask at a Texas bank has been arrested after declining to wear a mask inside another Texas business. Police say they arrested 65-year-old Terry Wright of Grants Pass on Wednesday at the Office Depot in Texas City. She already had a warrant out for her arrest after she refused to wear a mask in a Bank of America branch in Galveston, Texas, last Thursday. Police say she was arrested on Galveston warrants for trespassing and resisting arrest. No additional charges are expected. Police say Wrights bond was set at $3,000. This is a developing story and will be updated with more details as they emerge. [March 18, 2021] Consumer Federation of America & Other Experts: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Goldman Sachs Case Could Have "Devastating Consequences" for Investors, Market Confidence Will the U.S. Supreme Court allow investors defrauded by Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis to have their day in court? Or, will the Court rule in favor of Goldman Sachs and, in so doing, create a roadmap that publicly traded companies can use to make false and misleading statements that will harm Main Street investors and dramatically undermine market confidence by making it impossible for any investor to rely on the public statements of companies? In a news conference today, leading pension, consumer, and legal experts warned that these are the stakes when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on March 29th in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. If the court allows Goldman Sachs to evade accountability to investors who lost money after the Wall Street giant made what later proved to be false statements, the experts see devastating consequences ahead for both investors and the markets. The concern in brief: Such an "anything goes" loophole would be taken up by other publicly traded companies and result in the fleecing of unwary investors and a pull back from the markets by more sophisticated individuals and institutions unable to rely on any company's public statements. Barbara Roper, director of investor protection, Consumer Federation of America, said: "To protect its sterling image, and its share price, Goldman made false statements that it always acted in its clients' best interest and carefully managed its conflicts, even as it was selling mortgage-backed securities to its clients without warning them that the investments were destined to fail. Those facts are well established in enforcement actions by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. Despite that fact, Goldman is asking the Supreme Court to conclude that its disclosures, which led directly to investor losses, were too generic to permit those investors to recover their losses in court. But such a maneuver, if allowed to go unchallenged by the Court, would let companies off the leash, ushering in a wide range of misleading behavior that could materially harm U.S. investors." Kevin Lindahl, general counsel and deputy executive director, Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado, said: "Our job is to make sure that police, fire and other public employees in Colorado have a properly funded retirement. To do that, we have to be able to make investment decisions that are based on factual statements by public companies. If we cannotrely on those statements and if we are barred from seeking redress when false and misleading statements are made by such companies, our job is made immeasurably more difficult and the risk to our retirees goes up sharply." Lynn Turner, former chief accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said: "From the inception of the federal securities laws, Congress recognized that securities markets incorporate publicly available information into their pricing. Congressional regulation thus targets the manipulation of securities prices through false or misleading statements and omissions. Recent history illustrates the wisdom of these principles and the dramatic and destructive impact that false or misleading statements or omissions can have on markets and investor confidence." Matthew Cain, Ph.D., former financial economist, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and senior fellow, Berkeley Law School, said: "The allegations in this case involving Goldman Sachs are quite serious. In fact, in a related case Goldman paid the largest penalty in SEC (News - Alert) history at that time - over $500 million. Some people have argued that allowing cases like this to proceed will open the floodgates to frivolous litigation. I find it ironic that anyone could equate conduct that resulted in the largest SEC penalty ever with frivolous litigation. The truth is that shareholder lawsuits are a vital component of investor protection and it is imperative that the Supreme Court not take any actions that would handicap this important check on corporate wrongdoing." Andrew Park, senior policy analyst, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, said: "There remains overwhelming evidence, courtesy of the 2011 Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report, showing how Goldman's employees were not only aware of the poor quality of mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations they were selling, but also that they knowingly failed to disclose to their clients key details on how the bank or hedge funds were on the other side betting against them. If shareholders faced with losses have no recourse against companies who concealed their behavior and knowingly skirted a number of laws, a terrible precedent will be set for investor protection going forward." On March 3rd, six former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission commissioners - including SEC Chairs William H. Donaldson and Arthur Levitt, Jr. - were among those cautioning the Supreme Court about the peril of allowing Goldman Sachs to avoid facing an investor lawsuit related to false and misleading claims that the investment world giant admits that it made. Amicus briefs in opposition to Goldman Sachs also were filed by state securities regulators, investor advocates, pension funds, and others. BACKGROUND On December 11, 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Originally filed in 2010, the case was brought by investors who bought stock in Goldman Sachs in the early days of the global financial crisis at a price that was inflated by Goldman's false statements about its high standard of conduct and strong protections against conflicts of interest. At the time, Goldman Sachs was widely respected as "the gold standard on Wall Street." Unbeknownst to its customers or investors, however, Goldman's business practices fell well short of the lofty image it worked to perpetuate. Goldman was reaping rich rewards from the creation and sale of a complex type of mortgage-backed security, referred to as a "collateralized debt obligation" (CDO), backed by mortgages it knew were likely to fail. Goldman executives knew the investments were problematic and likely to fail, as evidenced by internal emails. In one particularly egregious case that was the subject of a SEC enforcement action, Goldman worked with one favored hedge fund customer, who was planning to short (or bet against) a particular CDO, to maximize its chances of failure. Goldman then turned around and sold that CDO to other unsuspecting customers without warning them it had been designed to fail. During that time, when Goldman was profiting richly by playing one set of customers off against another, it continued to issue solemn public assurances that it had "extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest" and that "[o]ur clients' interests always come first." When the extent of its duplicity became known, however, it suddenly became the symbol of all that was wrong with Wall Street, lampooned in Rolling Stone Magazine as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." When its stock price dropped, investors who had trusted its false claims suffered financial harm. At stake in this case is their ability to recover their losses. EDITOR'S NOTE To see a full streaming version of today's news event, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk04klp8Cvo. This news event was supported on an unrestricted basis by American Association for Justice. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005773/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Credit: CC0 Public Domain Finland's domestic security agency said Thursday that the cybergroup APT31, which is generally linked to the Chinese government, was likely behind a cyberspying attack on the information systems of the Nordic country's parliament. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, known by the abbreviation Supo, said it had "identified a cyber espionage operation targeted in 2020 against parliament with the aim of intruding into parliament's IT systems." The agency added that "according to Supo intelligence, APT31 was responsible for the attack". It didn't mention China by name or the group's alleged links to the government in Beijing. The statement posted also on the agency's Twitter site in English. Finland's National Bureau of Investigation, NBI, said late December that it had started an investigation into suspected gross hacking and espionage attacks on the information systems of Eduskunta, the Finnish legislature. Among other things, some lawmakers' email accounts were compromised. Parliament has since upgraded the systems' security features. NBI's Tero Muurman, who is in charge of the investigation, said Thursday his agency was probing further Supo's allegation of APT31s involvement. He said the breach likely aimed to "acquire information for the benefit of a foreign nation or to harm Finland." FireEye, one of the world's major cybersecurity firms, and other data security firms have linked APT31 to the Chinese government or operations conducted on its orders. APT is an abbreviation for "advanced persistent threat," a general term to describe an attack in which an intruderor intrudersestablishes an illicit and usually long-term presence on a network to acquire highly sensitive data. Earlier this month, Supo said that the intelligence services of foreign powers have expanded their cyber espionage operations in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic through either directly targeting Finnish organizations or using Finnish infrastructure. The agency has earlier named China and Russia as being the most active countries spying on Finland. Arctic issues is an area of particular interest to China in the Nordic countries. The Finnish public broadcaster YLE reported earlier March that the state-funded Polar Research Institute of China attempted in 2018 to buy or lease an airport near the small northern town of Kemijarvi in the Lapland area, Finland's Arctic region, for research flights over the North Pole and other Arctic regions. The Finnish military, however, blocked the deal on security concerns. as the airport is close to a military area. The parliament of Norway, Finland's Nordic neighbor, was hit by a cyberattack last year that the country's domestic security agency said was probably done by the hacking group APT28, which has been linked to Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. Explore further French cyber agency reveals suspected Russian hacks 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Norway and Sweden said Thursday they would wait before resuming use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine even though it has been declared safe by Europe's medical regulator. The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) said that after an investigation the AstraZeneca vaccine was "safe and effective" and not linked to an increased risk of blood clots. The ruling, which was similar to the World Health Organization's ruling, led to European heavyweights Germany, France, Spain and Italy all saying they would soon resume vaccinations with the jab. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said it "took note" of the EMA's finding, but deemed it "premature" at this point to come to a final conclusion. The NIPH said it would issue its own guidance at the end of next week. "Vaccinations with AstraZeneca will remain suspended until we have a full view of the situation," institute director Camilla Stoltenberg told the media. Neighbouring Sweden also said it would maintain its suspension of the vaccine. AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, based in Britain. "We are going to examine the information contained in the (EMA) study and we hope that we will be in a position next week to decide on the best way to use this vaccine in the future," epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said. Swedish authorities say one person died after being inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but did not link the death directly to it. "There was a blot clot in arteries and veins with heavy bleeding," the Swedish medical products agency Lakemedelsverket said. Earlier Thursday, a Norwegian medical team claimed it found a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blot clots in patients who became seriously ill or died a few days after their first injection. "We obtained results that could explain the clinical evolution of our hospitalised patients," said Paal Andre Holme, a director of the national hospital in Oslo. "These results support our theory... that these patients had a strong immune response which led to the formation of antibodies that could affect the (blood) platelets and lead to a thrombus" or blood clot, he added. Asked if the death was caused by the vaccine, he replied: "I don't see any other possibility at this point," while emphasising that it was still a question of "indicators". Norwegian media said the results were recent and had not been taken into consideration by the EMA. The European agency's safety committee concluded that the vaccine was "not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots", according to EMA chief Emer Cooke. She nonetheless declined to "rule out definitively" a link to a rare clotting disorder. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP Investors snapped up BT shares after it spent far less than expected on buying new 5G airwaves. Analysts thought the telecoms giant would have to splash out 820million or even 1billion to buy the additional spectrum, which enables smartphone to download data faster. But EE-owner BT only forked out 452million, and its stock surged to its highest level in more than a year up 6.5 per cent, or 9.3p, to 152.5p. Shares soar: EE-owner BT only had to fork out 452m to buy new 5G airwaves in what turned out to be a cut-price auction The 5G auction has raised 1.36billion for the Treasury, which is far less than the 2.5billion the industry had predicted. All four major UK mobile operators EE, O2, Vodafone and Three took part. And it's not hard to see why 5G will not only speed up internet on smartphones but will be critical for the development of driverless cars and the 'internet of things'. It is also key to the Government's goal to eliminate mobile signal 'not-spots' that blight rural areas. Stock Watch - Biome Technologies BiomeTechnologies has won more funding for a project that could cut back on large volumes of plastic waste in the UK. Government-based agency Innovate UK will hand the group 248,000 to keep developing biodegradable tree shelters. These could be used instead of the plastic shelters usually put round new trees of which around 45m are planted each year for protection. Shares in the Southampton group, rose 34.2 per cent, or 70p, to 275p. Marc Allera, chief executive of BT's consumer business, which includes EE, said the outcome was 'great news for our network, our customers and BT'. There will be another big auction to come later this year when the Premier League puts its rights up for sale, which could be key to the future of BT Sport. Shares in Vodafone, which spent a more modest 176million in the auction, climbed by 1.8 per cent, or 2.4p, to 136.92p. Blue-chip engineer Rolls-Royce also advanced, rising 3.5 per cent, or 4.35p, to 127.2p, as two brokers published upbeat appraisals about its prospects. JP Morgan analysts upgraded Rolls to 'neutral' from 'underperform' and more than doubled the target price on its stock from 45p to 105p, citing Covid vaccine rollouts and air travel picking back up. Berenberg, meanwhile, raised its target price for Rolls from 130p to 150p. The gains among BT, Vodafone and Rolls failed to keep the FTSE 100 in the black. It fell 0.6 per cent, or 40.94 points, to 6762.67, while the FTSE 250 finished the day 1 per cent lower, down 205.94 points, to 21,558.55. Brent crude fell by 0.7 per cent to below $68 a barrel after the International Energy Agency said talk of a 'supercycle' that could see prices rocket was overblown. However, it also said oil demand could return to pre-pandemic levels of 100m barrels a day by 2023 and could carry on rising until 2026 unless governments take extreme actions to mitigate climate change. BP rose 0.8 per cent, or 2.55p, to 313.80p, while Royal Dutch Shell dipped 0.2 per cent, or 3.2p, to 1455.8p. Warhammer figurine maker Games Workshop said trading was in line with expectations in a surprise trading update yesterday, perhaps disappointing investors who had grown used to profit upgrades from the group, particularly during lockdowns. Shares tumbled 7.2 per cent, or 735p, to 9445p. News that Serco had won an 870million ten-year contract to provide support services at a military base in Canada was met with a lukewarm reception. The stock rose 1.5 per cent, or 2.1p, to 139.5p, after it reported the deal with the Goose Bay base, where it has been working for two decades. Embattled travel group Carnival (down 1 per cent, or 17p, to 1715.5p) is launching what it calls 'very special' cruises around the UK this summer for people who have been fully vaccinated with both jabs. P&O will run the voyages, which will include a seven-night trip around the Scottish islands. Over in the Pacific, however, Carnival's Princess Cruises and Holland American Line divisions have had to pause all cruises scheduled to sail to Alaska in June. At a press conference, it was reported that the measures will be in force on April 1, 2, 3, and 4. The mobility of people will be restricted during those days. Only one household member will be allowed to go outside in order to make purchases. "We want to prevent that what happened during the 2020 year-end holidays from happening again. We want to avoid the massive contagions that accelerated a second wave in the country (...). Thus, a quarantine will be in force, which we announce today," she expressed. Hyundai Motor's fuel cell electric vehicle Nexo / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor By Nam Hyun-woo Hyundai Motor Group's initiative to expand the use of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the global market is not gaining enough momentum, as peers question the efficiency and costs for using hydrogen to power cars. Volkswagen is one of the big name companies outweighing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) over FCEVs, releasing content on why it sees disadvantages in FCEVs while its chief is publicly questioning the feasibility of hydrogen vehicles. In March last year, Volkswagen posted on its website that "decisive advantages of the e-drive system (BEV) lie in comparison to the fuel cell" and explaining why Volkswagen is choosing BEV. Citing a Horvath & Partners study, Volkswagen claimed "hydrogen-based fuel cell technology has one crucial disadvantage: it is very inefficient both in terms of efficiency and operating costs." According to the study, both BEVs and FCEVs have energy loss when energy is charged and conveyed to motors. The study said BEVs achieve an efficiency of on average between 70 percent and 80 percent, while FCEVs are between 25 percent and 35 percent because of the greater losses occurring during the process of electrolysis. Volkswagen said this means that an FCEV consumes two to three times more electricity for the same distance compared to a BEV and "we cannot afford this kind of energy waste." "The conclusion is clear," the column read. "In the case of the passenger car, everything speaks in favor of the battery and practically nothing speaks in favor of hydrogen." Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is echoing a similar idea. He told the Financial Times recently that "you won't see any hydrogen usage in cars" and that expecting a big market for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells is "very optimistic" because "the physics behind it are so unreasonable." Similar to Volkswagen's status, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also told the paper that "most of the people who have pushed for the hydrogen-powered cars are the ones who are late in the electric vehicles." Stellantis is a merged group of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA. This comes amid Hyundai Motor Group's efforts to expand the global FCEV market. According to market tracker SNE Research, Hyundai Motor sold 4,917 FCEVs, mostly its Nexo FCEV, in the first nine months of last year, up from 3,048 during the same period a year earlier. No. 2 Toyota Mirai saw its sales declining to 767 from 2,006 as the Japanese carmaker rolled out the next-generation Mirai late last year. This raised Hyundai's share in the global FCEV market to 73.8 percent in 2020, up from 44.3 percent in 2019. The global sales volume, however, declined slightly to 6,664 from 6,882 during the same period, as the FCEV market is still heavily reliant on Hyundai Motor, Toyota and Honda. Chinese players Wulong and Golden Dragon have entered the market with fuel cell buses and trucks, but big name carmakers have yet to make an entry. In 2013, Mercedes-Benz developed a plug-in FCEV, the GLC F-Cell, and made fleet handovers in 2018. This, however, did not result in a large-scale consumer sales campaign, and the German car giant is now putting its passenger FCEV development on hold and focusing on hydrogen trucks, according to officials. BMW also showcased FCEV technology in 2005 by equipping a fuel cell system on a 7 Series vehicle, but did not launch a commercial sales program for FCEVs. A BMW official said, however, the company has FCEV technology and plans to launch passenger models in the market in the near future. A hydrogen charging station in Gangdong-gu, Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, March 15) This week, watch the films of one of the best screenwriters in Philippine cinema, join an art party online, attend a conference on Southeast Asian-European studies, and view an exhibit recreating the works of the father of Philippine conceptual art. Four Red Works / Arrival and Departure: The Melancholy Of Roberto Chabet King Kong Art Projects Unlimited has recreated two works from Roberto Chabets 1989 Cargo and Decoy series, Four Red Works and Arrival and Departure: The Melancholy Of as an homage to the artist, who would have been 84 this March. According to the exhibit notes, More than 30 years since they were first exhibited at The Pinaglabanan Galleries, the reconstruction of the works provides an opportunity to witness and review Chabets deconstruction of painting and the rigidness of formalism. Using ordinary plywood panels and other hardware store-bought materials in often modular and geometric compositions, he created temporal environments where abstraction, idiosyncrasy, and the everyday collide. The works can be viewed at Mo_Space Gallery starting Mar. 20 until Apr. 18. Check the website for more details. Sabang: Early Southeast Asian-European Intercultural Conference The word sabang, which means juncture of bodies of water in Visayan and several other Philippine languages, captures the concept of this three-day webinar. Some of the paper topics include: race and religion, language and communication; and colonial images and narratives. Sabang will be held through Zoom starting Mar. 18 at 8 a.m. Check the event page for more details. Live with Robert Alejandro In this online art party, Artist Robert Alejandro talks about how he made his new collection of paper products containing affirmative words and illustration. Watch the Facebook Live on Saturday, Mar. 20. starting 3 p.m. Click here for the event link. The Films of Ricky Lee ABS-CBN Film Restoration is holding a retrospective of Ricky Lees films from Mar. 16 to Apr. 16 through ktx.ph. Tickets start at 99. Some of the films included are Separada, Anak, Moral, and Labs Kita Okey Ka Lang? Visit the ABS-CBN Film Restoration page for more details. Chennai, March 18 : The vehicle scrappage policy announced by the Central government on Thursday will make large number of drive-cum-owner truck operators go out of business, say industry players. According to them, there are many trucks which are over 15 years of age but are plying short distances and for government organisations and are owned by their drivers. "The freight rates are not lucrative for them to scrap their old vehicles and go for new vehicles. The EMI (equated monthly instalment) for a new truck will be about Rs 50,000 which will not be affordable by such operators," M.R. Kumaraswamy, President, State Lorry Owners Federation-Tamil Nadu told IANS. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced the vehicle scrappage policy in the Lok Sabha. The policy proposes to de-register commercial vehicles after 15 years in case of failure to get the fitness certificate. As a disincentive measure, increased fees for fitness certificate and fitness test may be applicable for commercial vehicles 15 year onwards from the date of initial registration. The private vehicles are proposed to be de-registered after 20 years if found unfit or in case of a failure to renew registration certificate. As a disincentive measure, increased re-registration fees will be applicable for private vehicles too after this period. The government also proposed that all vehicles of the Central government, state government, Municipal Corporations, Panchayats, State Transport Undertakings, Public Sector Undertakings and autonomous bodies with the Union and State governments may be de-registered and scrapped after 15 years from the date of registration. In the next few weeks, draft notifications will be published and be in the public domain for a period of 30 days to solicit comments and views of all involved stakeholders, Gadkari said. Kumaraswamy said: "We had urged the government that the scrappage policy should cover vehicles that are aged 20 years and above and reduce it gradually." He said there are about six lakh trucks in Tamil Nadu out of which about 25-30 per cent will be 15 years and above. "Small operators will not able to go for a new BS-VI vehicle. They will also not get the input credit for Goods and Services Tax. The policy will benefit only those who will buy new vehicles," S.K.Mittal, Executive President, All India Motor Transport Congress told IANS. Mittal also claimed that the policy will further increase the level of corruption in issue of fitness certificates by the transport authorities. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in) A Facebook page appearing to belong to a Georgia sheriffs office spokesman who is helping to investigate the recent massage parlor slayings promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus last year. Place your order while they last, the March 2020 Facebook post said, along with a smiley face emoji. The Facebook account, belonging to a Jay Baker, features numerous photos of Cherokee County sheriffs Capt. Jay Baker going back months, including one in which he is in uniform outside the sheriffs office. The account was deleted Wednesday night. Here is full coverage of the shootings The discovery of the Facebook post comes amid concerns from some Asian Americans that authorities are not treating the killings, which mainly targeted women of Asian descent, as hate crimes. Baker also came under criticism for saying Wednesday that the 21-year-old man accused of carrying out the massacres had had a bad day. He was pretty much fed up and kind of end of his rope and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did, Baker said during a news conference. Asian American activists said Bakers comments and the Facebook post undermine public confidence that investigators are adequately addressing Tuesdays atrocity. To see this post is both disturbing and outrageous. It speaks to the structural racism that were all up against, said Vincent Pan, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a civil rights organization working to address anti-Asian hate crimes. Coupled with the comments coming out of the news conference, it does not give community members confidence that our experiences and the pain and the suffering that were feeling are being taken seriously, at least by this particular person. Six of the eight victims of Tuesdays attacks were of Asian descent, including two of the four victims who were killed in Cherokee County. Baker did not respond to voicemails and an email requesting comment on the Facebook post. The sheriffs office also did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Xiamen: For the first time, Pakistan-based terror groups like the LeT and the JeM were mentioned on Monday in the Summit declaration of the BRICS countries that also asserted that those responsible for committing, organising or supporting terror acts must be held accountable. In a significant diplomatic win for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was joined by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michael Temer and South African President Jacob Zuma in strongly denouncing terror activities of such groups, as they expressed determination to collectively fight the scourge. The 43-page Xiamen Declaration, adopted at the end of the five-nation BRICS plenary, stressed on the need for immediate cessation of violence in Afghanistan. It expressed concern over the security situation in the region and the violence caused by the Taliban, ISIS, al-Qaeda and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Hizb ut-Tahrir. At the ninth Summit of the grouping, the BRICS leaders also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. They stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. We reaffirm that those responsible for committing, organising, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable, the statement said. Highlighting the primary leading role and responsibility of states in preventing and countering terrorism, the grouping emphasised on the necessity to develop international cooperation, in accordance with the principles of international law, including that of sovereign equality of states and non-interference in their internal affairs. According to officials, Modi raised the issue of terrorism strongly at the BRICS Summit and was joined by other leaders, who expressed willingness to fight this menace. For the first time specific listing of terror organisations has been made (in the BRICS declaration), Secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry Preeti Saran told reporters. The inclusion of Pakistan-based terror groups in the declaration is also significant as it indicated a slight shift in the Chinese view towards terror groups operating out of Pakistan. Ahead of the BRICS Summit, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had said, We noticed that India, when it comes to Pakistans counter-terrorism, has some concerns. I dont think this is an appropriate topic to be discussed at the BRICS Summit. During the last BRICS Summit in Goa, China did not allow inclusion of Pakistan-based terror groups in the declaration despite the fact that the Summit was taking place within weeks of the Uri terror strike carried out by a Pakistan-based militant group. However, now it is to be seen that after being part of such a strongly-worded declaration on terrorism and indicting Pakistan-based terror group JeM, how China will act towards the designation of Jaishs chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. Currently, China has put a hold on the proposal moved by the US and some other countries at the UNs Sanctions Committee. The declaration referred to terrorism at least 17 times, apart from mentioning other forms of extremism and radicalisation. During the BRICS Summit here, India also offered to host a conference on countering radicalisation. Talking about Indias position on terrorism, Saran told reporters, Terrorism is a scourge that has to be addressed collectively by the entire international community. And, I think, increasingly there is a realisation that you cannot have double standards in tackling this scourge. You cannot have good and bad terrorists. It is a collective action, she said. Saran also said that prime minister Modi also raised the issue of speeding up the long-pending UN Security Council reforms during the Summit. We express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida...: BRICS Declaration ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2017 The BRICS countries also called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating terrorism. They said that the approach should include countering radicalisation, recruitment, movement of terrorists including Foreign Terrorist Fighters, blocking sources of financing terrorism including, for instance, through organised crime by means of money-laundering, supply of weapons, drug trafficking and other criminal activities, dismantling terrorist bases, and countering misuse of the Internet including social media by terrorist entities through misuse of the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The BRICS leaders conveyed their commitment to prevent and counter the growing spread of terrorist narratives, and to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing. They also recalled the responsibility of all states to prevent financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories. & its affiliates including the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP & Hizb ut-Tahrir: BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2017 We call for swift and effective implementation of relevant UNSC Resolutions and the FATF International Standards worldwide. We seek to intensify our cooperation in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs), the BRICS declaration said. The BRICS also strongly deplored the nuclear test conducted by North Korea. Also Read: Terrorism talks at BRICS 2017: Jinping calls for holistic battle, PM Modi skips mention We express deep concern over the ongoing tension and prolonged nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and emphasize that it should only be settled through peaceful means and direct dialogue of all the parties concerned, the BRICS said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Spanish parliament's lower house - Congreso - has approved this Thursday (18 March) a law that will legalise euthanasia in the country, one of the few in the world that will help an incurable patient die to avoid suffering. The legislation, which will come into force in June after a three-month moratorium, responds to a growing social demand and follows high-profile cases such as that of Ramon Sampedro. It is a victory for the people who can benefit from it and also for Ramon," said Ramona Maneiro, the friend who helped Sampedro die. Although she was arrested, she was not tried for lack of evidence. Spain will be only the fourth European country to decriminalise assisted death, along with the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The new Spanish law authorises euthanasia, in which medical personnel administer the drug, and assisted suicide, in which the person is in charge of taking the prescribed dose. Several other countries tolerate the latter option, as well as so-called passive euthanasia - the interruption of life-sustaining medical treatments. Spanish nationality or legally resident The law, which has the support of the left and the centre parties, will allow anyone with a "serious and incurable disease" or a "chronic and incapacitating" condition to request help to die and thus avoid "intolerable suffering. Strict conditions are imposed, including that the person, of Spanish nationality or legally resident, be "capable and conscientious" when making the request. This must be confirmed in writing "without external pressure" and be repeated fifteen days later. The doctor can always reject it if he or she considers that the requirements are not met. In addition, it must be approved by another doctor and receive the green light from an Evaluation Commission. Any health professional can claim "conscientious objection" to refuse to participate in the procedure. The law has been welcomed by organisations that defend the right to die with dignity and patients who appreciate having the option available. "It makes no sense that people have to choose a worthless life," Sofia Malagon, a 60-year-old Colombian woman with Parkinson's disease, told AFP in Barcelona. "I don't want to be kept there like a plant" when the time comes, she said. However the Catholic Church and right-wing parties have opposed the law. "Euthanasia is always a form of murder, since it implies that one man kills another," the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) claimed in a social media campaign. The State goes "from defending life to being responsible for the death inflicted," it said. In a first vote in the Lower House in December, the Popular Party and Vox opposed it, saying that euthanasia is "a failure" for the country by not providing access to alternatives, such as palliative care. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. When and where can you watch Zack Snyder's Justice League? Zack Snyders Justice League, the directors cut of the 2017 superhero movie Justice League, is to be released on Thursday 18 March, with viewers in the US able to watch the film on the streaming service HBO Max. In the UK, the movie - which has also been dubbed the 'Snyder Cut' - will be available on the Sky Cinema television channel and the Now TV streaming platform. The film follows the Justice League, comprising Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman and the Flash, as they bid to save the world from the threat of supervillain Darkseid. What time will Zack Snyder's Justice League be released? According to Techradar, HBO Max has confirmed that Zack Snyders Justice League will be released at 12:01 am PDT/3:01 am EDT, while in the UK the film will be available on Sky Cinema/Now TV from 7:02 am GMT. The story behind the 'Snyder Cut' After a family tragedy forced him to leave production of Justice League before completion, director Zack Snyder was replaced by Joss Whedon, who oversaw a film that was a critical and commercial flop. This led to calls for Warner Bros, the studio behind the film, to release an alternative cut that Snyder had apparently all but finished before being replaced by Whedon. Among those to join in the social-media campaign #ReleaseTheSnyderCut were Justice League stars Ben Affleck (who plays Batman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg). And in early 2020, Warner Bros announced that a version of Snyder's original cut would indeed be coming out. The running time? Just over four hours. Zack Snyders Justice League: official trailer The hubbub that descends each summer on a sleek exhibition hall in Basel, where collectors snap up art and hunt for hot-ticket new talent, is likely to be replaced this year by lines of socially distanced Swiss waiting for Covid-19 vaccines. The Herzog & de Meuron building usually hosts one of the worlds biggest art fairs in June, but last years event was cancelled due to the pandemic and this years has been moved to September. The adjoining congress centre, meanwhile, has been turned into a vaccination hub. The art world is reeling from the impact of lockdowns, travel bans and social distancing, and fairs like Art Basel suffered more than most. The business of buying and selling art is having to adapt to limit the damage. Global art sales fell 22 per cent in 2020 to $50.1 billion, UBS and Art Basels Art Market Report published on Tuesday showed, the steepest market drop since the financial crisis. But the picture was uneven, as buying by the ultra-wealthy, notably from Asia, held up. In contrast to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when many of the worlds rich lost money, the super-rich have become richer during the pandemic as financial stimulus and volatile markets served to increase their fortunes. Big auctions houses, led by Sothebys and Christies, were already used to telephone bidding and online sales, and so could pivot relatively easily to appeal to cash-rich clients. Both reported an overall dip but saw record online activity and resilience among Asian buyers, while pre-pandemic trends of interest in Black, female and living artists were reinforced. This year, they hope to build on that, capitalising on an influx of young collectors who have found the online world more accessible than old-style auction rooms, and as more traditional buyers yearn to return to the real world. There is enormous pent-up demand for experiences and even spending, once theres a bit more stability and predictability, Sothebys Chief Executive Charles Stewart told Reuters. We have the potential for just the biggest boom for a period of time, assuming that we get to a place where people are comfortable leaving their house. For Christies, 2021 has seen spectacular confirmation of the potential to create wealth from the virtual world as it hosted a record-breaking $70 million digital artwork sale this month. In an online auction held over 14 days, bids on the work by US artist Beeple started at $100 and accelerated dramatically, with 22 million visitors tuning in for the final minutes of bidding. Christies plans to follow up on the success with further sales of non-fungible tokens, or artworks that exist only in digital form. More people appear to be willing to purchase artworks online without seeing the real thing first. What we have observed is the simple behavioural truth that collectors are more willing than ever before to buy from an image, said Rachel Lehmann, co-founder of New York gallery Lehmann Maupin. For German artist ANTOINETTE, lockdown was not all bad: the cancellation of public events allowed her an extended stay in the east German castle of Merseburg where she was working. Using only pencils, she is creating intricate drawings on 5-metre high panels that form part of a multi-year project on European cultural identity entitled ALTAR of Europe. Ive come to feel like a part of the community, the artist told Reuters. Smaller galleries are also struggling, experts say, because the pandemic has accelerated the concentration of the art world into fewer hands - very wealthy buyers and high-profile and established sellers. Compared to the last recession, when everybodys wealth went down, in this one billionaire wealth has really risen, art economist Clare McAndrew, who authored the Art Market report, said. The UBS and Art Basel report found fairs accounted for 43 per cent of art dealer sales in 2019 but only 22 per cent in 2020, just under half of which were generated by digital events. The digital world is concentrating buying on what is fashionable (on social media) and through the big galleries that employ over 100 people, said James Mayor, who has run the Mayor Gallery in London since taking it over from his father in 1973. During a normal year, Art Basels nearly 100,000 visitors to the city help boost hotel room occupancy to almost full capacity during the first four days of the fair, or by some 35 per cent60 per cent over average levels over the week, Basels tourism office said. Galleries and advisers interviewed by Reuters anticipated a recovery in demand for fairs and art tourism post-pandemic. Art Basel has scheduled a fair in Hong Kong for late May. Other major fairs, including TEFAF and Frieze, have said they expect to proceed with live fairs in some format later this year, complemented by digital participation. But even before the Covid-19 crisis, some said there were too many fairs, and galleries and collectors say they will be more selective, sticking to the more local focus they have experienced over the last year. Staff at the HSEs finance department in Offaly were vaccinated despite working in non-patient-facing roles, it has emerged. The HSE confirmed that a small number of staff received vaccines after the reserve list was activated and there were vaccines left over. A spokesperson declined to say exactly how many received doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Midlands Louth Meath Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) operates on the principle that no vaccine should be wasted, the spokesperson said. Read More It is understood that a number of those involved are currently working from home. The HSE declined to specify which product Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca was used. Prior to its suspension on Sunday, more healthcare workers were being given the AstraZeneca vaccine because the Government had decided not to give this vaccine to people over 70 years old. Crucially, it is much easier to distribute than the Covid vaccine manufactured by Pfizer, which must be kept at -80C until it is about to be used. The jab, developed by Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Englands Oxford University, can be stored in a regular fridge and has a much longer shelf life, leading to less risk of wastage. In a statement, the HSE said: Midlands Louth Meath Community Healthcare Organisation adheres to the sequencing as agreed by Government when administering Covid-19 vaccines and has a reserve list which is activated when there is surplus vaccine available. However, on very rare occasions where a small number of vaccines are remaining, Midlands Louth Meath CHO operates on the principle that no vaccine should be wasted. This is an agile and fast-evolving programme and the HSE is working to ensure the vaccine is administered as fast as supplies allow. A key factor of the roll-out strategy is to reduce the risk of any wastage. Under the HSEs guidelines, the vaccine should only be given to clerical and administration workers after the following cohorts: nurses and medics working with Covid patients, first responders, GPs, dentists, dental nurses, counsellors, mental health workers, public health workers, social care workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, lab staff, pharmacists, catering and household staff, maintenance workers, and inspectors such as those working with the Health Information and Quality Authority. Some frontline healthcare workers have criticised the slow roll-out and prioritisation of the vaccines within the health sector against the backdrop of limited supplies from the EU. A total of 292,2571 vaccines have been given to frontline healthcare workers to date. Of those, 201,614 are first doses and 90,597 are second doses. In January, it emerged that the Coombe hospital in Dublin gave first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech to 16 family members of the hospital staff, including two children of the hospitals master, Professor Michael OConnell. This happened after some were left over following the vaccination of some 1,100 staff, local GPs and community workers. Prof OConnell apologised for the decision and said he regretted it, but said he could not find any more frontline healthcare workers one of two priority groups currently being vaccinated on the night and the vaccines would have otherwise gone to waste. In January, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, HSE chief executive Paul Reid and other political and health figures criticised the decision to give leftover vaccines to family members. President Lazarus Chakwera has sent an emotional message of condolences to Tanzanians following the death of their leader John Pombe Magufuli who died of Covid-19- related complications yesterday. Chakwera says Magufuli was a towering symbol of Africa's economic resurgence, saying his passing was an incalculable loss to the continent.t "As Malawi joins Tanzania in mourning this loss over the next 14 days, we pray for uncommon strength and fortitude for the people of Tanzania and their government as they ahead together in the spirit of unity and in a manner that maintains peace and stability," says Chakwera. He says the government of Malawi stands ready to render any support needed by the government of Tanzania in the aftermath of Magufuli's passing. The Malawi leader holds fond memories of Magufuli who hosted him and his entourage just four months ago in Dar es Salaam, during an official visit. It was during that trip that Magufuli promised Chakwera strong trade ties between the two economies. He told the visiting delegation to no longer consider Malawi as a landlocked country and fully utilize port facilities in Dar es Salaam and Mtwara. Malawi relies on Tanzanian ports for importation of both dry and wet cargo. The departed leader also instructed his country's port authority to open offices in Lilongwe to ease logistics for Malawian traders who currently travel to Tanzania to clear and attain their merchandize. Malawians have taken up in various social media platforms to express their sorrow at the passing of the divisive Covid-19 skeptic who ruled Tanzania as a semi-dictator. Magufuli had not been seen in public for more than two weeks as rumours grew that he had contracted Covid-19. Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Wednesday that Magufuli died from the heart disease that had plagued him for a decade. She said burial arrangements were under way and announced 14 days of mourning and the flying of flags at half-mast. State television broadcast mournful and religious songs. Magufuli, a former chemistry teacher, had mocked coronavirus tests, denounced vaccines as part of a Western conspiracy to take Africa's wealth, and opposed mask-wearing and social distancing. He was Tanzania's first president to die while in office. Black American women are more likely to gain weight after menopause than white women, and a number of factors may underlie the difference, researchers say. They analyzed data from nearly 71,000 American women who had gone through menopause and were enrolled in a long-term health study. The analysis found that Black women were more than 50% more likely to have a weight gain of 10% after menopause than white women. The findings were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE. "This finding suggests that efforts to reduce the disparity in postmenopausal weight gain in non-Hispanic Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites should focus on preventing excess weight gain in non-Hispanic Black women who are normal weight at baseline," said lead author Christopher Ford, a researcher at Rush University's Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago. Researchers said Black women's higher risk of weight gain isn't due to differences in initial weight alone, but also to biological differences as well as social, cultural and economic ones. For example, Black women are more likely than white women to be poorer, which is associated with factors that contribute to weight gain, including less access to healthy food options, health care or areas for exercise. The authors said efforts should be made to reduce racial disparities in obesity, which will require a focus on preventing excess weight gain in Black women earlier in life, particularly before age 40. "Although excess risk of weight gain in Black women relative to white women has been observed in younger women, this may be the first study to look at racial disparities in postmenopausal weight gain," Ford said in a university news release. More information: The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research has more on The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research has more on menopause and weight SOURCE: Rush University Medical Center, news release, March 15, 2021 Journal information: PLoS ONE Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. The Daily Beast Criminal ComplaintA Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting several Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6 insurrectionand leaving one with a concussionhas an extensive history of violent and assaultive behavior against women, prosecutors said Wednesday.Ryan Samsel, 38, was charged in February with several crimes, including assaulting a federal officer, obstructing law enforcement, and obstructing a legal proceeding, after he was captured in videos and photos knocking over several officers 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. Public consultations suggested the new system would be "fairer and more predictable." Ontario to introduce Expression of Interest system for 5 immigration streams Public consultations suggested the new system would be "fairer and more predictable." Ontario to introduce Expression of Interest system for 5 immigration streams Public consultations suggested the new system would be "fairer and more predictable." Ontario to introduce Expression of Interest system for 5 immigration streams Public consultations suggested the new system would be "fairer and more predictable." Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Ontario is changing the registration system of five of its economic-class immigration streams in the coming weeks. Instead of the previous first-come-first-served model, the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is moving to an Expression of Interest (EOI) system, a points-based system that ranks candidates based on human capital and labour market factors. Many other Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) already use this type of system for managing new registrants. The OINP will apply the new EOI system to the following streams: While the OINP is changing the system, these streams are currently closed to new applicants. They will reopen when the new EOI system launches in the coming weeks. The OINP did not say what date that would be. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration How will the EOI system change immigration to Ontario? The immigration streams that are switching over to an EOI registration system used to operate like rushed seating. Ontario would open their web portal to accept registrations from people who wanted to immigrate through one of these Ontario PNPs. Because of popular demand, these registration windows usually lasted only a few minutes before they would become full. There were a number of other problems, the OINP had to have a dedicated email address for people who experienced technical difficulties that affected their registration, and some complained that the system was unfair to people with slow internet connections. EOI systems are used by most other PNPs. Typically, it requires people to submit a resume with their work experience, education, and any other information. They are then given a provincial score, and if they score high enough they may be invited to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence. In the fall of 2020, Ontario started accepting public consultations on the proposed EOI system. They received generally positive feedback, an OINP spokesperson told CIC News. The province received about 250 feedback submissions, between September 9 and October 23, 2020. These submissions came from individuals, prospective applicants, employers, immigration organizations and representatives, as well as industry associations and professional associations. Many respondents believed that the proposed EOI system would be fairer and more predictable, and would be more user-friendly than the current intake process, an OINP spokesperson said in an email. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. A radio telescope located in outback Western Australia has observed a cosmic phenomenon with a striking resemblance to a jellyfish. Published today in The Astrophysical Journal, an Australian-Italian team used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) telescope to observe a cluster of galaxies known as Abell 2877. Lead author and PhD candidate Torrance Hodgson, from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Perth, said the team observed the cluster for 12 hours at five radio frequencies between 87.5 and 215.5 megahertz. "We looked at the data, and as we turned down the frequency, we saw a ghostly jellyfish-like structure begin to emerge," he said. "This radio jellyfish holds a world record of sorts. Whilst it's bright at regular FM radio frequencies, at 200 MHz the emission all but disappears. "No other extragalactic emission like this has been observed to disappear anywhere near so rapidly." This uniquely steep spectrum has been challenging to explain. "We've had to undertake some cosmic archaeology to understand the ancient background story of the jellyfish," said Hodgson. "Our working theory is that around 2 billion years ago, a handful of supermassive black holes from multiple galaxies spewed out powerful jets of plasma. This plasma faded, went quiet, and lay dormant. "Then quite recently, two things happened--the plasma started mixing at the same time as very gentle shock waves passed through the system. "This has briefly reignited the plasma, lighting up the jellyfish and its tentacles for us to see." The jellyfish is over a third of the Moon's diameter when observed from Earth, but can only be seen with low-frequency radio telescopes. "Most radio telescopes can't achieve observations this low due to their design or location," said Hodgson. The MWA--a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)--is located at CSIRO's Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in remote Western Australia. The site has been chosen to host the low-frequency antennas for the SKA, with construction scheduled to begin in less than a year. Professor Johnston-Hollitt, Mr Hodgson's supervisor and co-author, said the SKA will give us an unparalleled view of the low-frequency Universe. "The SKA will be thousands of times more sensitive and have much better resolution than the MWA, so there may be many other mysterious radio jellyfish waiting to be discovered once it's operational. "We're about to build an instrument to make a high resolution, fast frame-rate movie of the evolving radio Universe. It will show us from the first stars and galaxies through to the present day," she said. "Discoveries like the jellyfish only hint at what's to come, it's an exciting time for anyone seeking answers to fundamental questions about the cosmos." ### MORE INFORMATION ICRAR The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia with support and funding from the State Government of Western Australia. MURCHISON WIDEFIELD ARRAY The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low-frequency radio telescope and is the first of four Square Kilometre Array (SKA) precursors to be completed. A consortium of partner institutions from seven countries (Australia, USA, India, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and China) financed the development, construction, commissioning, and operations of the facility. The MWA consortium is led by Curtin University. Publication: Multimedia: Contacts: 'Ultra-Steep Spectrum Radio Jellyfish Uncovered in Abell 2877', published in The Astrophysical Journal on March 17th, 2021.Available from http://www. icrar. org/ jellyfish Prof. Melanie Johnston-Hollitt (ICRAR / Curtin University) Ph: +61 400 951 815 E: Melanie.Johnston-Hollitt@curtin.edu.au Pete Wheeler (Media Contact, ICRAR) Ph: +61 423 982 018 E: Pete.Wheeler@icrar.org Vanessa Beasley (Media Contact, Curtin University) Ph: +61 9266 1811 E: Vanessa.Beasley@curitn.edu.au The attack on America and the Founding Fathers by the New York Times is not the first attempt to radically rewrite history. Before the Times tried to persuade Americans that they were all racists and the nation was founded on racism, Charles A. Beard proposed another theory almost as libelous. In his 1913 book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, the progressive historian argued that the Founders were not idealists interested in freedom and liberty, but merely a bunch of greedy capitalists. Beard, a supporter of the New Deal, died in 1948, and 20 years later, historian Richard Hofstadter pronounced Beard's theories dead. Close examination showed that Beard's explanations did not hold water. As any reading of the Federalist Papers would show, the Founders were, in fact, highly literate and idealistic but also quite practical and knowledgeable in the affairs of men. They understood that what fools call "greed" generally is the universal desire of every human to improve his life. It is the reason humans came out of the jungles and created civilization. They also knew that the notion of giving up your freedoms to serve the State is a guarantee of less prosperity for everyone. Liberals don't like individual freedom and hate the Constitution, which recognizes and guarantees essential freedoms. The dotty idea that the Founders were racists because slavery existed and they didn't eliminate it evidences such shallow thinking that the racists who support it should be ashamed, if they had that capability. Slavery has existed for over 4,000 years, worldwide. It wasn't going to be eliminated by a brand-new nation at the potential cost of preventing that nation from existing. In their wisdom, the Founding Fathers knew that it would be corrected, and it was. It existed in the United States from 1789 to 1865, a remarkably short time, and finally was eliminated at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of people died, most of them with white skin, to free those with black skin. Beard's reputation among liberals suffered when he accused the liberal icon Franklin D. Roosevelt of steering the U.S. into war with Japan, a much more plausible theory than the one accusing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the others of creating a nation for their own benefit. In the 1950s, revisionist historians led by Forrest McDonald demonstrated that the progressive interpretation was factually incorrect. Using new research in federal, state, and local archives, McDonald showed that Beard had misinterpreted the economic interests involved in writing the Constitution. Because of the combined wisdom and common sense of our Founders, we have the strongest, fairest society and culture ever devised, guaranteeing equal opportunity for everyone. Beard's attempts to defame and discredit America's Founding failed, and the current effort also will fail as its senseless intolerance and false claims are revealed. But it is notable that those who want to fundamentally transform America seem to always start with its roots. Image: Library of Congress. Pennsylvania officials on Thursday said during the past week the state has vaccinated more residents per 100,000 than all but one other state. That is proof the pace of vaccination is accelerating here, said Alison Beam, the acting secretary of health. Officials further said Pennsylvania stacks up especially well when compared with the other states that have the largest populations of people 65 and older. They said Pennsylvania has given a first dose to 24% of its adult residents, and has given the two doses needed to full vaccination to 12% of adult residents. Among the nine states with the largest populations of seniors, those figures put Pennsylvania in a first-place tie with Illinois, and ahead of states including New York, Florida, California and Texas, officials said. The pace of vaccinations in Pennsylvania is accelerating each day, Gov. Tom Wolf said in a news release. We have made tremendous progress, and today rank at or above the U.S. average for both first doses and those fully vaccinated. But we know we have more work to do. We appreciate all the providers and locations working to vaccinate Pennsylvanians. The commonwealth is committed to ensure that we can vaccinate all those in Phase 1A as soon as possible. In an update Thursday, state officials said Pennsylvania has given 3.9 million doses of vaccine, which they said is more than 44 other states. That includes about 1.3 million Pennsylvanians who have received the two doses needed for full protection. About 82,000 people per day are being vaccinated in Pennsylvania, the officials said in a news release. Pennsylvania on Thursday also reported 3,126 new COVID-19 infections and 17 new deaths, raising the death toll to 24,706. About 1,500 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania far below the peak of more than 6,000 in late December. From afar, you might think it's a lake. Waterholes, swamps and marshes dot the landscape. In the sweltering heat, about a dozen young men armed with shovels and plastic buckets are busy digging around the waterholes. At a closer look, the piles of ballast around the puddles signal what lies beneath. They are here for the ballast. At the farthest point lies the biggest and deepest waterhole - deep enough for an elephant to drown in. A few meters away, there is a huge concrete platform that towers above the water level of one of the ponds. This is where the ballast stone-crushing machinery had been erected. Next to it is a broken transformer that used to transmit power to the machinery. This is the remaining picture of a piece of land in Iribo village of Nandi County that was once used as a gravel crushing site by China Overseas Engineering Group Co. Ltd (COVEC) Kenya. It had been contracted to construct the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway between 2013 and 2019. Environmental degradation But all good things come with a few disadvantages. The negative outcome of the road construction is that it resulted in environmental degradation. Now Iribo villagers are up in arms over the deterioration of their environment: The price they had to pay for a new road. "There has been an alteration of the natural landscape, as well as stagnant water, now a breeding ground for parasites and diseases. The locals are also facing the danger of drowning from these waterholes," says Kigame Kisia, a local environmental activist. Mzee Nerbert Ashiolo, 68, whose two-acre piece of land borders this area, isn't happy either. "I now live in fear, worried that my grandchildren could drown in these deep waterholes. This has now become a flood-prone area. We have lost crops and trees due to the floods, something that we hadn't experienced before," he says. "It reminds us of the company's operations. Other than the noise from the heavy machinery, we had to endure dust pollution." Another resident, Phillip Marigi, says floods have rendered one of the pathways into the village impassable. "The floods began in 2019 after the company left. Our lives have been turned upside down. It's just misery as we live in fear of being swept away whenever it rains," he says. Environmental regulations As the voices of discontent continue rising from the angry residents and environmental activists, some believe COVEC Kenya did not breach any environmental regulations. James Meli, deputy director of environment and natural resources at the county government, says the site was only used to assemble equipment. "I don't think the company's operations caused any environmental damage. About the deep hole, we don't know how deep it is. We had told the company to fence the place but it was destroyed by hooligans," he says. Ali Mwanzei, deputy director, field operations at the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), agrees. "A ballast crusher was mounted at the site. The raw materials came from Vihiga County, so there was no excavation on site. This means the question of alteration of contours of the land is unfounded," says Mwanzei, adding that the perusal of records shows that the office never received or recorded complaints of dust pollution, or any other, during the project. "During the decommissioning process, the company had obtained an environmental impact assessment license for the operation, and one of the conditions was to undertake decommissioning to the satisfaction of the authority. They applied to move out, and Nema visited the site with a team from the county government, local people and site handed over to the Nandi administration," says Mwanzei. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Environment Kenya Transport By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Errant locals He blames the mess on errant locals. "First, safety starts with you. I am informed the company fenced the area to limit access to the site, but it was vandalised. What was left were gravel and a gatehouse, which was handed over to the community for their use for a proposed ecotourism site. The contractor was asked to construct a sign saying 'you are now crossing the equator' for ecotourism and fenced off the site. Sadly, it was destroyed. The county government has planned to start an ecotourism project site for the community there," he offers. Vincent Mahiva, the county director of environment, defends the Chinese and insists there is no cause for alarm. "We followed everything as needed and found that the place was totally safe, apart from the water. They fenced the place and handed over to the county government. We (with Nema) were all satisfied," he says. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images Ralph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort in four of the Harry Potter films, has voiced his support for J.K. Rowling in an interview with The Telegraph published on Wednesday. I cant understand the vitriol directed at her, Fiennes said. I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational. I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing. Fienness response to the controversy stands in contrast to the reactions of his costars from the Harry Potter films, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who have all voiced support for the transgender community in the wake of Rowlings comments. Back in June, Rowling published a a 3,670-word blog post explaining her stance on transgender issues, claiming, among other things, that the inclusion of trans women in womens bathrooms is a threat to natal girls and women. On Twitter, she has also called the use of hormones and gender-confirmation surgery a new kind of conversion therapy. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Nairobi The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says it is ready to conduct the national referendum set to take place in June. The electoral agency Chairman Wafula Chebukati while submitting the commission's views on the Building Bridges Initiative Bill (BBI) at the joint Parliamentary committee of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee however, admitted that the only hurdle in executing the exercise was the unavailability of funds. "We are ready when it comes, the commission has already projected the referendum operations plan and internally we have already thought of how it will be conducted. All structures are in place safe that we cannot do procurement on some of the items needed until we get a budget," he said. In Chebukati's estimation, the plebiscite will cost at least Sh13.7 billion, estimations that have since been dismissed by ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga who contends that the exercise will only require Sh2 billion. Chebukati further submitted that the commission, as currently constituted,is equal to the task noting that the vacancy which was left by four commissioners who existed the commission should not be an issue. "The commission is intact and come the referendum, the boundaries review and the 2022 General Election, we are ready to perform our mandate under the Constitution," he said. During the presentation, Chebukati questioned the constitutionality of the proposal that touches on the increment of the 70 constituencies where he revealed that the commission was never consulted by the drafters and promoters of the BBI document. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He noted that whereas the legality on adding the constitution is not in doubt, he faulted the proponents of the Bill for unilaterally making it their mandate to allocate constituencies to certain counties. "The work of allocating those constituencies to certain counties is purely the work of the commission," he said. Chebukati said that if the Bill is passed in its current form where 28 counties stand to gain constituencies, it will present a legal challenge in court and consequently have an effect on the legality of the referendum. "In the event the Bill is passed as it is, it will contradict the existing provisions of the Constitution thereby presenting possible legal challenges to the delimitation process which is ordinarily the work of the commission," he said. In the proposed BBI Bill, Nairobi County is the biggest gainer as it stands to gain an additional of 12 constituencies. The BBI Bill which is currently under the public participation stage will be debated by the bicameral Parliament and once approved and assented into law, President Uhuru Kenyatta will direct the electoral body to prepare for a referendum that will see Kenyans decide the fate of the document. It was approved by more than 40 County Assemblies. A bill to increase penalties for crimes related to participating in a riot and require mandatory jail time won approval today in the Alabama House of Representatives. The bill is one of several sharply debated today because of strong opposition from the Democratic minority. The Republican majority voted to cut off debate and then passed the bill on a 74-25 party line vote. Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, a former assistant police chief in Birmingham, said he brought the bill in response to last summers riot in Birmingham. Treadaway said the riot was planned and that incendiary devices, sledgehammers, and bricks were placed in shrubbery the night before. He said a person was on hand with cash to bond out those arrested. This is a very organized effort going on in this country and somebody is behind it and its very well funded, Treadaway said. He said the law as it is now is not strong enough to respond. But Black lawmakers said the expanded punishments would suppress freedom of expression. Im afraid this bill will be used as a tool to keep people from going out to protest, Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, said. This bill would criminalize folks that are fighting against injustices. Treadaways bill would establish the crimes of assault against a first responder in the first and second degree, aggravated riot, and unlawful traffic interference. It would amend the law on the crimes of riot and inciting to riot. A person arrested on any of those charges would have to spend 24 hours in jail before being considered for bail. A person convicted of assault against a first responder in the first degree would serve a minimum of six months in jail. Intentionally causing a physical injury to a first responder during a riot would be first-degree assault. First responders include police, firefighters, emergency medical workers, and police dogs and horses. Shay Farley of the SPLC Action Fund, issued a statement saying the bill, House Bill 445, would have a chilling effect on protests if it becomes law. Alabamians come from a storied history of courageous protest, and HB445 is a step back towards a past where people standing up for what is right had to do so under the threat of constant arrest, Farley said Governmental trampling of Free Speech rights wasnt okay on Bloody Sunday and its not okay today. Protesters ought to be protected, not arrested, and local governments should be trusted to make decisions that are best for their constituents. Related: Alabama Democratic chairman opposes rioting felony legislation. Concerns over side effects of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine failed to dent the trading debut of its Korean partner SK Bioscience, which more than doubled on Thursday, boosting its market cap to 12.9 trillion won ($15 billion). Following a record amount of bids from retail investors for its $US1.33 billion initial public offering, SK Bioscience saw its shares gain by their 160 per cent daily limit to 169,000 won per share from the float price of 65,000 won. Shares in SK Bioscience surged on its first day on the Kospi. Credit:AP The heavily subscribed IPO by SK Bioscience, the local manufacturer of AstraZenecas vaccine, is the largest domestic listing since game developer Netmarble raised $US2.39 billion in 2017. It comes just a week after a hot $US4.6 billion New York share sale by e-commerce giant Coupang drew attention to Korean listings globally. The strong performance by SK Bioscience, the vaccine-making unit of family-controlled conglomerate SK Group, comes as several European Union countries such as Germany and France temporarily suspend the Astra vaccine roll-out on worries about side-effects. The World Health Organisation said the vaccine should continue to be administered. The European Medicines Agency is due to provide a definitive assessment on Thursday. Former President Donald Trump is urging people to get a shot of the COVID vaccine. He said he recommended vaccination to many people who don't want to get it, adding that most of those people voted for him. There is increasing confidence with COVID vaccines available in the market, with 69 percent of the adults saying that they have already vaccinated or got a dose, according to a Pew Research Center survey as reported by AFP News. The Trump administration was earlier reported to have declined an offer of additional COVID vaccine doses from Pfizer, the Business Insider reported. On Tuesday night, Donald Trump told Fox News that people were free to decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not. "We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also," Trump said. But CBS News reported that Trump stressed that the COVID vaccine is great and safe, and it works. Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were vaccinated privately at the White House in January. Other GOP officials also received a dose, such as former Vice President Mike Pence. RELATED ARTICLE: Trump Hails Progress on COVID-19 Vaccine, Says It Could Be Ready in Weeks Vaccination Efforts According to an NPR report, the vaccine distribution program started in the United States on Dec. 14 last year, with more than 110 million doses administered. Three COVID vaccines have been given emergency use authorization, with the third vaccine, Johnson & Johnson, being authorized on Feb. 27. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday that around 73.7 million people have already been vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine. Forty million have already received the single-dose vaccine of Johnson & Johnson, The New York Times reported. Some experts claim that around 70 to 90 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to gain some herd immunity, which means the spread of the virus eventually slows down as enough people have been protected through vaccination. Early this month, the White House announced that they would open more community vaccination centers in schools, universities, and stadiums to speed up the vaccination campaign. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said these centers would help "provide new, more efficient places" for people to get vaccinated, Al Jazeera reported. Zients noted that the sites would be located at places where the pandemic has widely affected the people. This includes the Oakland Coliseum, California State University, Los Angeles, East Oakland, and East Los Angeles areas. The Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Agriculture will oversee the vaccination sites. Meanwhile, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said that recent COVID cases and hospitalizations have shown to be on a downward trend. Walensky, however, warned that new coronavirus variants spreading across the country could threaten this movement. READ MORE: Eli Lilly Pauses COVID-19 Antiviral Drug Study, Saying Safety Is Top Concern WATCH: Trump Recommends Supporters Get COVID Vaccines - From CNBC Television A collection of handwritten letters from Princess Diana to a family friend who she wrote to for seven years until her death will be sold at auction today. The 39 messages date back to 1990 and run until just a few months before the Princess of Wales' tragic death in 1997, and are estimated to be worth between 20,000 and 30,000. Writing to family friend Roger Bramble, the mother-of-two shared with him the 'ghastly week' she endured following the publication of Andrew Morton's 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story, which revealed she had attempted suicide. Among the items, which are being sold this afternoon by David Lay auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall, there is also a note discussing a future trip to the opera and whether Mr Bramble 'in your expert opinion [thinks] William would enjoy an opera?'. A collection of handwritten letters and cards (pictured) from Princess Diana to a family friend who she wrote to for seven years until her death will be sold at auction today Writing to family friend Roger Bramble (above), the mother-of-two shared with him the 'ghastly week' she endured following the publication of Andrew Morton's 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story, which revealed she had attempted suicide The late Princess Of Wales is escorted into the London festival ballet charity event by Councillor Roger Bramble, representing the Lord Mayor Of Westminster Dated June 12 1992, and handwritten in ink on both sides of her personal cream and burgundy Kensington Palace card, Princess Diana wrote 'ghastly week' on one of the letters, set to go for between 500-800. During this time, the royal had been at the centre of a media frenzy, as the Sunday Times started serialising Andrew Morton's highly revealing biography Diana: Her True Story. In another of her letters, Princess Diana talked about her close friend Adrian Ward Jackson, who was a former member of the board of directors of the Royal Ballet and died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 41. The message, also written on the royal's personal paper, reads: 'Adrian had a very kind heart and was a valuable friend to me, but to see him reach the psychological and spiritual destination of acceptance before he died will be a memory I will treasure, as few manage to make that plateau. The 39 messages (above) date back to 1990 and run until just a few months before the Princess of Wales' tragic death in 1997, and are estimated to be worth between 20,000 and 30,000 Among the items (above), which are being sold this afternoon by David Lay auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall, there is also a note discussing a future trip to the opera and whether Mr Bramble 'in your expert opinion [thinks] William would enjoy an opera?' In another of her letters (pictured), Princess Diana talked about her close friend Adrian Ward Jackson, who was a former member of the board of directors of the Royal Ballet and died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 41 'I learnt more about inner-strength than anything moral during his last few days and as we know bereavement is an experience of change and adjustment so life must go on.' The letter, estimated to sell for 800 to 1,200, also goes on to discuss a future trip to the opera and whether 'you, in your expert opinion think William would enjoy an opera?' Another of the lots, a Christmas card signed by the princess in 1995, is inscribed 'Roger, Lots of love from Diana', and is thought to be worth between 300 to 500. One of the earliest letters in the collection, penned on August 8, 1990, by Diana's mother Frances Shand Kydd, amusingly revealed how Diana's effect on men was not just confined to the British Isles. Another of the lots, a Christmas card (above) signed by the princess in 1995, is inscribed 'Roger, Lots of love from Diana', and is thought to be worth between 300 to 500 A description of the lot says how the letters (pictured) 'reveal a witty and intelligent hand with a great generosity of spirit' Mimi Lay, David's wife, said they expect a flurry of bidders from around the world, explaining: 'This is one of the most extraordinary sales we have ever done' Pictured, one of Diana's letters She recounted her and Diana's unofficial three day visit to Verona and Venice during which there were 'endless gorgeous moments', including Diana dancing barefoot in St Mark's Square. She wrote: 'There were endless gorgeous moments weren't there - I think I'll ever remember St Mark's Square with D barefoot plus that orange jacket and the Italian Special Branch gang unable to do anything but feast on her legs and lust generally!' A description of the lot says how the letters 'reveal a witty and intelligent hand with a great generosity of spirit'. Mimi Lay, David's wife, said they expect a flurry of bidders from around the world, explaining: 'This is one of the most extraordinary sales we have ever done. 'No-one in the world has handled a collection of letters from Diana quite like this. These letters are beautifully written and show Diana's real character as witty, warm and generous.' The auctioneers said that for over 23 years the letters (pictured), written between August 7 1990 and May 16 1997, laid in a cupboard in a country farmhouse A spokesperson said: 'The letters (above) reveal a witty and intelligent hand with a great generosity of spirit' The seller himself added: 'I certainly cannot bring myself to destroy or even archive and forget such a valuable treasure trove (pictured) from the hand of such an influential person' Roger Bramble was a good friend of Diana's family and he took her to the ballet and the opera and for lunches. Pictured, A Christmas card sent to Roger from Diana The auctioneers said that for over 23 years the letters, written between August 7 1990 and May 16 1997, laid in a cupboard in a country farmhouse. A spokesperson said: 'The letters reveal a witty and intelligent hand with a great generosity of spirit. The recipient believes his place in her story was only as a constant, always independent of what else might have been happening at the same time. 'He had known the Princess since childhood and has now given the letters to a younger relation to handle as he sees fit. We are fortunate that this person has now decided to share these letters with the wider public.' The seller himself added: 'I certainly cannot bring myself to destroy or even archive and forget such a valuable treasure trove from the hand of such an influential person. 'We have our memories and I very much hope these original and delightful letters will give the new owners the same enjoyment and, before the sale, help the public to learn more about the Princess as a real person rather than relying solely on contemporary portrayals of her life.' Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 09:47:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENTIANE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a project to support COVID-19 response in Laos. The EU and WHO are jointly supporting several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by providing 20 million euros for health system strengthening for COVID-19 preparedness and response under the South East Asia Health Pandemic Response and Preparedness Project. Under a partnership between the Lao Ministry of Health, the EU and WHO, Laos will receive 2.8 million euros for the 2021-2023 period, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Thursday. The main aims of the project are to protect people's health, especially that of the most vulnerable, and to ensure their rights and access to health services, by strengthening health systems. At the same time, the project emphasises the importance of a regional approach by increasing collaboration among ASEAN countries, according to a statement from the EU. Lao Deputy Minister of Health Phouthone Moungpak said at the launch ceremony that the ministry was pleased to work with the EU and WHO as they have both been very important partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We look forward to working with them to strengthen the regional approach and collaboration that will build a stronger ASEAN as we work together to recover from this pandemic," he said. Ina Marciulionyte, head of the EU Delegation to the Laos said, "To address the health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the EU has reoriented programs to focus on strengthening regional cooperation on access to information, equipment, and vaccines, which is essential for overcoming this crisis." The EU ambassador also said that the EU and its member states are highly committed to ensuring that no one is left behind in the global vaccination campaign through the UN-led COVAX Facility. In the coming weeks Laos will receive the first batch of 480,000 doses of vaccines through the COVAX Facility, according to the report. WHO Representative to Laos, Mark Jacobs, said at the event on Wednesday that in the past year, WHO has provided extensive technical support to the Lao Ministry of Health, which is critical for partner coordination. Enditem This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions Congress Automating the Plum Book and other Sunshine Week bills Lawmakers have introduced a flurry of bills centered on transparency and accountability during Sunshine Week, an initiative highlighting open government. One bill would modernize the Plum Book, a listing of appointments in the executive and legislative branches that comes out every four years. The book offers a window into appointments and who filled them at the end of every administration, but it's often incomplete. The Periodically Listing Updates to Management Act, or PLUM Act, would make it into a continually-updated online directory of appointments maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. Agencies would be required to give data like the names of appointees, their agency, location and type of position, to OPM on a monthly basis. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) are sponsoring the bill in the House. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) will offer the bill in the Senate, according to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform's statement about the bill. Democrats also reintroduced a bill to protect the right of feds to request government information using the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act by shielding them from retaliation for submitting requests. Government employers would be outlawed from using personnel actions to retaliate against employees for requesting information. Maloney and Connolly reintroduced the bill in the House on March 18. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced it in the Senate. "Federal employees must be able to request and obtain government information in the same way as any member of the public. Federal employees do not lose this right just because they are working as public servants," the group said in a statement about the bill. Maloney also introduced a bill to update the Presidential Records Act on Monday. It would require the senior White House officials to preserve records documenting the president's official action. The bill would also require the president to order the creation of records management controls to store electronic messages so that they can be searched and retrieved. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Have you ever wondered how much your home would make on Airbnb? Prospective hosts now can find out exactly how much they could earn each month by renting out their space, thanks to a new tool from the site. The 'What's My Place Worth' tool calculates your home's estimated income based on its location, the type of listing and the amount of space, as well as factoring in prior Airbnb booking data in the area. The hosting site is hoping it can encourage more households to list on the site, as demand for travelling increases after a year spent in lockdown. It is likely that some travellers, at least to begin with, will look at renting a stand-alone holiday home instead of heading to a hotel due to health concerns. Airbnb's new tool helps prospective hosts find out how much they could make on the site Estimates for how much a home can make are based on booking data from the past 12 months in the local are, and are calculated by multiplying a nightly price by the total nights of occupancy, known as the occupancy rates. However, the amounts provided are estimates and not guaranteed. It is also worth noting that, if you are a renter, sub-letting your property is probably against the terms of your tenancy contract - and if you own your home leasehold, you may need the freeholder's permission. The site has also shared what makes a listing on Airbnb successful, including spaces for work and pet-friendly listings. In the UK, the most searched-for amenity so far this year is allowing pets, followed by searches for properties with a jacuzzi. Free parking, wireless internet and properties with a pool were also top searches. Other popular searches were for homes with a kitchen, heating, a washer and a TV, suggesting those looking to get away were looking to spend more time in the property and possibly get away before holidays abroad are allowed. To see how much your home could earn, click here. The calculator will estimate how much hosts can earn by renting our their property 'Guests love our roll-top bath and fresh eggs' This is Money spoke to hosts Min and Sam who first listed 'The Pigsty' on Airbnb in late 2019. The home is part of their pig farm which has been in the family for generations. They said to become a great host, you needed to be responsive and accommodating, going the extra mile - whether that meant putting balloons up for a birthday or sourcing flowers for an anniversary. Most importantly, they said hosts should be on hand for guests should they need help during their stay. Min and Sam are two Airbnb hosts who rent out their property, The Pigsty online 'Our roll top bath has to be the most popular amenity but it's the extra bits we have available that make a difference, the small things you forget such as a phone charger or toiletries. 'We also provide breakfast with fresh eggs from our chickens and coffee beans roasted on the farm which helps take a bit of pressure off guests.' When they initially opened, they offered one-night stays but quickly found this to be a lot of work so they now offer a minimum of two-night stays. 'It's a good way to make some money and through Airbnb it's easy - you can host as much or as little as you like. It's also a great way of meeting people and sharing what you have on your doorstep.' Short lets criticised for making areas too 'touristy' Not everyone is a fan of Airbnb, however, with some local communities trying to ban the platform - and others like it - from being used in their areas. There are claims that property owners are switching away from long-term tenancies towards short term rentals which are much more lucrative. This in turn can lead to higher rental rates for full-time residents and the 'touristification' of neighbourhoods. In June 2019, ten European cities wrote a public letter demanding more help from the EU in their battle against Airbnb and other holiday rental websites, arguing they are locking locals out of housing and changing neighbourhoods. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna said: 'European cities believe homes should be used first and foremost for living in.' It said that many countries face a housing shortage, something that is exacerbated by the large number of homes rented out on a short term basis rather than for locals. However, the website continues to grow in popularity with thousands of listings available in the UK and abroad. Photo: Health Canada Have you been reading a great deal of information about Canada's new travel requirements? While the sheer amount of new rules and regulations may feel overwhelming, Health Canada has released a new video to give you a better idea of what to expect. Travellers entering Canada by air need to book a hotel for a three-night stay upon arrival. They also need to provide a negative result for a COVID-19 molecular test taken within 72-hours of their scheduled flight. Government-authorized hotels are located near one of the four Canadian airports currently accepting international flights. Some of the hotels offer direct online booking for government-authorized accommodation. For all others, identify that you require accommodation for the COVID-19 mandatory three-night stopover to ensure you are booked correctly. While in quarantine, travellers will have three meals delivered to their rooms, but hotel personnel are not permitted inside. Guests will be provided with cleaning supplies. Find out more information about what to expect during your stay at a government-authorized hotel. Violating any instructions provided to you when entering Canada is an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to a fine of up to $750,000 and/or up to six months in prison. LONDON, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The first sovereign credit rating to directly include climate science shows that many national economies can expect downgrades to occur within a decade unless action is taken to reduce emissions. Sovereign ratings assess the creditworthiness of nations and are a key gauge for investors. Covering over US$66 trillion in sovereign debt, the ratings and agencies behind them act as gatekeepers to global capital. A team of economists led by the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia (UEA) used artificial intelligence to simulate the economic effects of climate change on Standard and Poor's (S&P) ratings for 108 countries over the next ten, thirty and fifty years, and by the end of the century. "Ratings agencies took a reputational hit for failing to anticipate the 2008 Financial Crisis," said Dr Patrycja Klusak, affiliated researcher at Cambridge's Bennett Institute for Public Policy and lecturer at UEA, who led the study. "It is imperative that they are proactive in reflecting the much larger consequences of climate change now." The researchers say the current tangle of green finance indicators such as 'Environmental, Social, and Governance' (ESG) ratings and unregulated, ad hoc corporate disclosures are detached from the science and the latest study shows they don't have to be. "The ESG ratings market is expected to top a billion dollars this year, yet it desperately lacks climate science underpinnings," said Dr Matthew Agarwala, co-author from Cambridge's Bennett Institute for Public Policy. "As climate change batters national economies, debts will become harder and more expensive to service. Markets need credible, digestible information on how climate change translates into material risk." "By connecting the core climate science with indicators that are already hard-wired into the financial system, we show that climate risk can be assessed without compromising scientific credibility, economic validity, or decision-readiness," Agarwala said. The team, including former S&P chief sovereign ratings officer Dr Moritz Kraemer, found that if nothing is done to curb greenhouse gases then 63 nations could be downgraded by over a notch on average by 2030. Germany, India, Sweden and the Netherlands would all drop three notches, with the US and Canada falling by two and the UK by one. By comparison, the economic turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in 48 sovereigns suffering downgrades by the three major agencies between January 2020 and last month. "Finance ministers are already panicky due to the fiscal consequences of the pandemic," said Agarwala. "They should take this opportunity to invest in growth-stimulating decarbonisation and environmental restoration now, to prevent climate change from further tanking the public finances." The study suggests that adherence to the Paris Climate Agreement, with temperatures held under a two-degree rise, would have no short-term impact on sovereign credit ratings and keep the long-term effects to a minimum. Without serious emissions reduction, however, 80 sovereign nations would face an average downgrade of 2.48 notches by century's end, with India and Canada among others falling over five notches, and China dropping by eight. Just additional interest payments on sovereign debt caused by the climate-induced downgrades alone a mere sliver of the economic consequences of untrammeled emissions over the next eight decades could cost Treasuries between US$137 and 205 billion. Researchers call their projections "extremely conservative", as the figures only track a straight temperature rise. When their models incorporate climate volatility over time extreme weather events of the kind we are starting to witness the downgrades and related costs increase substantially. The findings are published as a Bennett Institute for Public Policy working paper. "The majority of countries in our sample will suffer downgrades by 2030 if the current trajectory of carbon emissions is maintained. Virtually all countries, whether rich or poor, hot or cold, will be downgraded by 2100," said co-author Dr Kamiar Mohaddes from Cambridge Judge Business School and King's College, Cambridge. "Keeping to the Paris Agreement will be tough, but our estimates strongly suggest that stringent climate policy will significantly reduce the impact on ratings." The research suggests there will be long-term climate effects for sovereign debt even if the Paris Agreement holds and we reach zero carbon by century's end, with an average sovereign downgrade of 0.65 notches and increases in annual interest payments of up to US$33 billion globally by 2100. The team also calculated the knock-on effects these sovereign downgrades would have for corporate ratings and debt in 28 nations. They found that corporates would see additional costs of up to US$12 billion globally by 2100 under the Paris Agreement, and up to US$62 billion without action to reduce emissions. "Rating agencies' sovereign forecasts rarely extend beyond three years," said co-author Dr Moritz Kraemer. "Investors are holding government bonds with ever-longer maturities. The agencies' short time horizon increasingly leaves investors without a reliable yardstick for credit exposures that can extend up to a hundred years." "We need to create credit ratings with ultra-long-term horizons, and the latest climate science is essential to doing this," Kraemer said. The research team say they were guided by the "overarching principle" to stay as close as possible to both climate science and "real world" financial practices. AI models to predict creditworthiness were trained on S&P's ratings from 2015-2020. These were then combined with climate economic models and S&P's natural disaster risk assessments to get "climate smart" credit ratings for a range of global warming scenarios. "AI has the potential to revolutionise how we do climate risk assessment and ESG ratings, but we must ensure the evidence base is 'baked-in,'" said co-author Matt Burke, a researcher at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. While developing nations with lower credit scores are predicted to be hit harder by the physical effects of climate change, nations ranking AAA were likely to face more severe downgrades, according to the study. Economists say this fits with the nature of sovereign ratings: those at the top have further to fall. Lord Davies of Abersoch, Chairman of LetterOne, supporters of the Bennett Institute's Wealth Economy Project, said: "We are delighted to have sponsored this ground-breaking research. "This much needed breakthrough will allow the financial community for the first time to understand the impact of long-term climate effects on sovereign and corporate debt." The research was also funded by the International Network for Sustainable Financial Policy Insights, Research and Exchange (INSPIRE). NOTES: The warming scenario used for stringent climate policies that hold to the Paris Agreement is RCP 2.6. The warming scenario used for a high emissions scenario without emissions control is RCP 8.5. INSPIRE is a global research stakeholder of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS); it is philanthropically funded through the ClimateWorks Foundation and co-hosted by ClimateWorks and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics . SOURCE LetterOne I recently heard a story of a man who was on a plane returning home from a business trip in another country. It was a long flight, so he decided to lean back, close his eyes, and get some rest. About an hour into the flight, he awoke with a jolt just as the pilot came on the PA system to inform passengers that they were experiencing turbulence and that all should remain calm and seated with their seatbelts fastened. The plane however kept shaking violently, causing the oxygen masks to fall and luggage in the storage compartment to dislodge. As the man looked around anxiously, he realized that many people were crying and others were praying, but what surprised him was this little girl sitting by herself across the aisle from him who was seated calmly with her hands in her lap, seemingly undisturbed by the chaos around her. Eventually the turbulence ended, and the plane landed safely. As they were preparing to disembark, the man turned to the girl and asked her why she was never afraid when everyone else was terrified around her during turbulence. The girl simply replied, My father is the pilot! My thoughts on the story 1. God does not change. As I reflect on this story, the first thing that stood out for me was how quickly things can change. One moment, we can be good and enjoying our lives and in the next moment chaos and turmoil can reign around us, as fear and worry rule within. Many of us experienced change in one way or another, after Covid-19 emerged in China and quickly spread across the world like wildfire, leaving in its wake confusion, loss and death. It changed the way we travel, socialize, work and even the way we dress daily. Worldwide, mental health suffered a blow as people grappled with fear, anxiety and depression, due to issues relating to the pandemic such as loss of jobs, inability to purchase food and pay bills, inability to be around friends and loved ones, as well as the fear of catching the virus itself. Covid-19 reminded us how unpredictable life can be and how suddenly things can change. It is however comforting to know that although situations can change for the worse, our God never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8) This should give us confidence because although our circumstances and people may change, and our relationships, careers and health may fail, our God will remain the same. He is dependable! let us cling to Him and hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23) 2. Know the man. The little girl was confident that although around her was disorder and confusion, all will be well in the end. Her conviction came from knowing exactly who the pilot was and that he was trustworthy. This knowledge must have come from her relationship and experiences with him. Likewise, we build our confidence in God as we grow in knowledge of who He is through His Word and our experiences with Him, as we depend on Him to pilot us safely through lifes many turbulences. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father should be an active and ongoing process as He transforms us into the image of His Son. The route He will take to get us there will not always be pleasant, but those experiences will teach us more about the nature of God and build our trust in Him. When we know God for ourselves, we can be content in all circumstances, because despite what we are going through, we know that our lives are safe in His hands and He will use it for His glory and for our good. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians chapter 1 verse 6) 3. Never alone. The man thought that the little girl was alone, and one can only imagine how traumatic such an experience could be for a child, but all along her father was there. In life, we all go through periods of pain, stress, confusion and anxiety and in those moments, we can believe that God is not with us. Thankfully, I have learned over the years that how I feel is not always the reality. Be sure of this, God is with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew chapter 28 verse 20). Hard times will have us questioning Gods presence in our lives, but even in those times, He is there. When the Israelites left Egypt, Gods presence was with them and guided them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. We may not have those signs today, but we do have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, guiding us, and interceding for us before our Loving Father. We are never alone. Whatever lies ahead on our paths, we have a Pilot who can weather any storm and bring us safely to our destination. Trust Him, He has experience, and He is dependable! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 8 NLT) SBB Research Group is pleased to recognize three Chicago-area charities as the March 2021 finalists of its monthly COVID-19 Grant program. The finalists (listed in alphabetical order) this month all focus on the well-being of children and families: Beacon Place (Waukegan) is a neighborhood community center that provides enriching and fulfilling experiences to promote critical life skills such as collaboration, accountability, and integrity. (Waukegan) is a neighborhood community center that provides enriching and fulfilling experiences to promote critical life skills such as collaboration, accountability, and integrity. Bounce Children's Foundation (Deerfield) transforms the lives of chronically ill children with a supportive community and fun programming that provides a break from doctor visits and painful therapies. (Deerfield) transforms the lives of chronically ill children with a supportive community and fun programming that provides a break from doctor visits and painful therapies. IMD Guest House (Chicago) provides comfortable, temporary lodging for patients and their families who must travel to Chicago for complex, long-term medical treatment. Representatives from each of these nonprofits will have the opportunity to discuss their mission with the Chicago-area investment firm's staff via videoconference. SBB Research Group's employees will vote to allocate the grant awards, with each finalist to receive at least a $1,000 donation. Last month, the Automotive Mentoring Group (AMG) received $5,000 to help young men and women escape gang violence by providing them the opportunity to learn the art of classic car and motorcycle restoration. In addition, Aspiritech, which employs over 120 men and women on the autism spectrum in the field of software quality assurance, received $3,000 to empower neurodivergent individuals. Any 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is encouraged to apply at https://sbbrg.org/apply-for-grant. About SBB Research Group SBB Research Group LLC is a Chicago-based investment management firm that views the market through a systematic, interdisciplinary lens. Led by applied mathematician Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven, an experienced professional in economics and computer science, the company specializes in bespoke investments designed to protect and grow investor capital. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005740/en/ Contacts: Katie Lach Organization: SBB Research Group Email: grants@sbbrg.org Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States Phone: 1-847-656-1111 Website: https://www.sbbrg.org/apply-for-grant TALLAHASSEE, Fla. March 17, 2021 March 30 Valerie Breen Tuesday, March 30 8:30 a.m. Sara Gaver March 22 Jessie Watford /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Every year for more than a decade, hundreds of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and advocates have gathered at the Florida Capitol on a designated day during the legislative session to shine a spotlight on issues that impact their wellbeing and survival.Not so this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.With the Capitol closed to visitors and the health risks from Coronavirus still a concern, organizers have transformed the annual Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day -- or DD Day -- from a large-scale, in-person gathering to a fully virtual event scheduled for"While we may not be gathering at the State Capitol this year, our goals for DD Day remain the same," said, executive director of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, coordinator and host of the annual commemoration. "By taking the event virtual, we are still able to connect with hundreds of individuals and family members seeking to advocate for Floridians with developmental disabilities. They will still have an opportunity to make their voices heard."DD Day is a staple among disability rights advocates, bringing together hundreds of individuals, family members, caregivers and support organizations looking to generate awareness and stimulate actual, tangible change in legislation. It takes place during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a nationwide commemoration designed to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, as well as awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still face in connecting to the communities in which they live.The 2021 Virtual DD Day is scheduled for. Starting at, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from special guest speakers such as disability advocate and empowerment speaker,. The schedule also includes breakout sessions with nearly 20 exhibitors, information on various legislative priorities and special messages from key legislators.In addition to general information and awareness, FDDC will tailor its message on the importance of "Preserving the iBudget Waiver" and securing the necessary funding to keep nearly 35,000 Floridians on the state's only public health insurance program available to people with disabilities.DD Day is free and open to anyone interested in attending. Online registration is required byin order to access the event. For additional information and to complete the registration form, go to ddday2021.com.The mission of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) is to advocate and promote meaningful participation in all aspects of life for Floridians with developmental disabilities. http://www.fddc.org, Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, 8505452561, jwatford@rboa.comTwitter, FacebookSOURCE Florida Developmental Disabilities Council Criticism has continued to trail the Enugu House of Assemblys bill for life pension and other outrageous benefits for former governors and their spouses, including former deputy governors. The Speaker of the House, Edward Ubosi, during plenary on Tuesday, announced the stepping down of the bill, following public outcry against it. But a group of 27 professionals from Enugu State said it was even troubling that such a bill could be introduced in the House of Assembly. Thankfully, the State Assembly stepped down this bill, following the outcry from all over Ala Igbo. The fact that a bill of this nature made it into the House of Assembly in the first instance is troubling, the group said in a statement on Wednesday. We, Concerned Professionals from Enugu State, strongly condemn the attempt by government to introduce this obnoxious bill in the State House of Assembly. If this bill were not resisted by Ndi Enugu, our state would have spent more than N17 Billion in 10 years to maintain ex-governors, deputies and families. This is more than 3 percent of the total annual income of Enugu state. This is coming against the backdrop of (a) disturbing report that Enugu is currently owing more than N4 Trillion in debt according to the Debt Management Office. What kind of future are we bequeathing to our children? Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye, the Country Director, WaterAid Nigeria and Udo Jude Ilo, the Country Officer and Head of Nigeria Office of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, were among those who signed the statement, which clearly rebuked the political leadership in the South-east state. Others who signed the statement, include Cajetan Ilo, Ikenna Enebe, Gerald Ubaka, Chike Achukwu, Simon-Jude Mmayie, Adika Ani, Ozonnia Ojielo, Raphael Ani, Ikechukwu Nwobodo, Collins Okwor, Pius Okafor, and Hillary Ogbonna. The group said the bill, if passed into law, would cause the state to spend N1.7 billion annually on the past governors, deputies, and their families. To bring such a bill into the House, the group said, showed a deep insensitivity to the people and a misplaced priority by the political leadership, coming at a time when Enugu States economy has been battered by Covid-19, when the state is going through its worst water crisis since 1979 and where there is manifest infrastructural decay in Enugu. The group said Enugu, because of its historical importance in Nigerias South-east region, ought to be a trailblazer and a pacesetter state. The group said the state has received more than N280 billion in federal allocation since 2017, but that there was not much in the state to show for it. The inability to maximize our resources for sustainable development has weakened our economic recovery post-Covid-19. The dwindling internally generated revenue and federal allocation to Enugu state requires bold and creative thinking to design a clear economic recovery plan for the state in consultation with organized private sector and development partners. This should be the priority. The immense human resources and technical expertise available to Enugu state clearly demonstrate that the state has what it takes to remake itself and place Ndi Enugu in the part of sustainable development. This current trajectory is pitiable and unsustainable. We demand greater transparency and accountability in the management of resources. We invite Enugu State to make a better use of available communication tools to engage constructively with Ndi Enugu both home and abroad. ADVERTISEMENT The task of rebuilding Enugu requires collective action, credible prioritization, and focused implementation. We stand ready to support purposeful leadership and inclusive development in Enugu state. We will however consistently hold any government accountable to its obligation to Ndi Enugu. Reaction by the Assembly The Leader of the Enugu House of Assembly, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, in his reaction to the controversy over the bill, said in a statement on Monday that the assembly was only carrying out its constitutional mandate. Mr Ezeugwu, however, said the House would not do anything that would work against the desire and wish of the people. Enugu State House of Assembly remains committed to the discharge of its duties. The House is also sensitive to the feelings of our people and therefore appreciates the feedback and reactions from our Constituents and the public. This is the beauty of democracy and as representatives, we will not disappoint our people. Enugu State of Assembly, therefore, assures our people that the House will follow due process and do the needful during the next plenary, Mr Ezeugwu said, in the statement. The lawmaker said the Enugu State Gubernatorial Pensions Law was first enacted in 2007 and subsequently amended in 2017. The stealth boat, also called the 'Ghost' can guard ships and collect information from enemies unseen. The US Navy adds a new capability with it. This is the next evolution in seat craft that are allegedly stealthy and versatile. Its unique design is different from traditional boats. 'Stealth Boat' for the US Navy The Juliet Marine Systems (JMS) builder called the Ghost is specially made for the US navy. It will satisfy requirements in special operations, force defense, and ISR mission reported Eurasian Times. JMS is a company involved in developing tech for both military and commercial applications. Their prototype is their application of stealth designs. Why Ghost was devised Terrorists were able to damage the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. The attack happened while refueling when it got bombed by the extremists. The damage was a 40-foot-wide hole close to the waterline that killed 17 US seamen on October 12, 2000. Its CEO Gregory Sankoff decided to design and build a new craft to keep US Navy warships and personnel safe. Ships are vulnerable when docked in port and deep or shallow water if surprised. The Ghost is one system to keep on the lookout for bad guys. All the Stealth boat project funds for engineers and naval experts are needed for building it ground up. All the engineering and design to create the unique watercraft cost $20 million. It was built from nuts and bolts at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. US Navy Wants a Next-Generation Destroyer Designed From the Ground Up The length of the boat is about 62-feet in length with special features. The body is angled with a facet look that looks like a stealth plane. It has a distinct appearance from other boats. A new concept boat that is 6.4 tons with a range of 563-805 kilometers. It's only one of many designs that evoke the stealth concept. Invisible on water It is called Ghost for low observable qualities to defeat radar and remain unseen. Its makers develop its shape to allow it to operate unseen by radar. Bigger ships and their radar will not see the Ghost easily. Keeping invisible to radar is used by bigger ships to lessen their radar signature. A combination of stealth tech and fewer windows on the Ghost make it like one. It will be the next generation of ship designs in the US Navy. Cuts like a knife through water Designed with a cockpit that's over the water for smoother sailing. Normal boats have hulls in water; instead, the hull is above water. Designed to give a fast, smooth ride sitting over the waves. Not bothered by waves that are up to 8-ft high to slice the waves easily. It lessens slamming waves for a smoother ride on the sea. Sankoff said the cockpit is stable that coffee won't spill. The Ghost can zip at 30 knots which is fast enough for now. Target speed is a zooming 50 knots on the water. Pushed along by a super-cavitating propulsion system that uses a gas bubble over the propeller. It lessens the resistance of water while propellers spin in the water. The Stealth boat 'Ghost' will be used for multi-mission, for military or civilian roles. After 4 Years Commissioning, US Navy Adds Stealth Destroyer to the US Fleet US Navy Replaces Littoral Combat Ship with More Powerful Combat System Lethal US Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) Prove Their Worth in the Pacific in Repulsing Chinese Navy &amp;amp;lt;/iframe&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt; @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The proliferation of armed unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), also known as drones, presents a growing threat to maneuver ground forces, headquarters, logistics and critical infrastructure. This is particularly true for the explosion in the availability of small, increasingly sophisticated UASs. While the Pentagon has invested significant resources to address the challenge posed by medium and large drones as part of its air and missile defense program, it is only beginning to deal with the growing danger of small drones, particularly to military vehicles and dismounted formations. One prominent Washington think tank described the challenge facing the U.S. military as that of a drone saturated future. More than 30 nations have either fielded armed drones or are developing them. Armed UASs, including so-called suicide drones, have figured prominently in Libya, Syria, the Caucasus, and Yemen. Non-state actors, such as the Islamic State, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have employed UASs both to collect intelligence and attack soft targets. In 2018 defectors from the Venezuelan military attempted to assassinate the countrys authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, with explosive-laden, Chinese-made, commercially available drones. The Wall Street Journal estimated that by late 2019 there were more than 30,000 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the world, with more in development and global production capabilities growing rapidly. China is the worlds leading exporter of military drones. The Chinese drone maker, DJI, holds 70 percent of the global market for commercial UASs. Small UASs pose a growing threat to the U.S. military and a particularly difficult problem for national security. While they have limited payloads, this is sufficient to allow them to perform intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions, conduct electronic warfare, and even carry sufficient explosive power to disable a vehicle or aircraft. Because they generally fly low and slow and are hard to see and hear, small drones are difficult to detect, track and target. In addition, they are extremely cheap platforms, challenging defense systems to find ways of defeating them without creating an unacceptable cost-exchange ratio. The Department of Defense is finally addressing the unique challenges posed by small UASs. A Joint Counter-Small UAS Office (JCO) was stood up in January 2020, with the Army identified as the Executive Agent for the counter-small UAS (C-sUAS) effort. The JCOs primary goal is to try and create order out of the Military Services' disparate efforts and bring order by trying to align Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) technology across the military to deliver best of breed capability for the joint force. Individual Services were assigned responsibility for unique C-sUAS portfolios: the U.S. Army is responsible for fixed/semi-fixed C-sUAS systems and the USMC for mounted C-UAS. Currently, the Army is investing in capabilities to address both the large aerial vehicle and missile threat through the Integrated Air and Missile Defense modernization program and the small UAS challenge under the JCO. Dedicated air and missile defense capabilities, such as the Patriot air and missile defense system and the Initial Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) system, are generally well-suited to engaging the larger, higher-flying UASs. When it comes to addressing the threat posed by small UASs, the Army currently relies on a hodge-podge of different capabilities, some hand-held, others mobile or fixed. About 90% of the U.S. militarys counter-drone capabilities are electronic warfare-type systems that use lasers or microwave-signal propagation to disrupt the communications link between user and device. The tendency was for each countermeasure to have its own sensor, effector, and command and control system. This why the JCOs strategy is to pare down the number of systems to be deployed while pursuing a networked systems approach that will allow data from a variety of sensors to be shared through a single C2 structure. In response to CENTCOM's urgent operational needs, the U.S. Army pursued a sophisticated small UAS defeat capability under the Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System (LIDS) program. One capability deployed by the Army in response to this urgent need is the Mobile-LIDS. The M-LIDS is deployed on two military vehicles: one that detects and tracks UAS threats using a combination of sensors, and the other that employs a variety of electronic and kinetic solutions, including a 30mm cannon and the Coyote small killer drone, to either jam the control signals of the small UAS or kill it. Another vehicle-mounted system deployed by the Army, but one that uses only electronic warfare means to counter a small UAS, is called Silent Archer. The JCO has identified a set of existing systems to provide an interim counter small UAS capability. For the mobile/mounted defense mission, the JCO selected the Light-Marine Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS), developed initially for the Marine Corps. L-MADIS has already demonstrated its ability to defeat hostile UASs using sophisticated jamming techniques. Deploying dedicated counter-small UAS systems is not the answer for the long term. The Army cannot afford the people or equipment for a dedicated capability to protect tens of thousands of vehicles along with headquarters, bases and infrastructure. Instead, the military needs a non-dedicated capability, one that can exploit the array of sensors and effectors already being deployed on many military platforms. It makes no sense to deploy the sensors, weapons, and command and control for an active protection system to defeat anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and not ensure that such a capability can also support the C-sUAS mission. Solutions must share information across all maneuver networks from distributed sensors to more rapidly identify threats and fuse information to both kinetic- and soft-kill effectors. The Army should integrate counter-UAS technologies within a holistic approach to vehicle protection. It needs to integrate a mission equipment package that contains multi-mission technologies, such as radars that can identify inbound ground missile threats and the presence of UASs, into a network-enabled vehicle protection system. This way, threat information can be shared, improving unit situational awareness of both ground and air threats. Systems intended to counter drones and protect vehicles against other threats must include both kinetic and non-kinetic defeat technologies that minimize collateral damage and address emerging attack profiles such as drone swarms. The most cost-effective and accelerated approach to meeting the Armys needs is to design a vehicle-agnostic C-sUAS mission equipment package to fit on different vehicles such as Stryker, AMPV, JLTV, MATV, etc., that leverages tested C-sUAS technologies through programs like M-LIDS. A similar approach is needed to address the defense of fixed facilities from small UASs. Dan Goure, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team. You can follow him on Twitter at @dgoure and the Lexington Institute @LexNextDC. Read his full bio here. INDUSTRY INSIGHT Why Android is emerging as the OS of choice for public safety As Microsoft phases out support for its mobile operating systems, many public-sector agencies that previously relied on Windows-based mobile computers are evaluating strategies to migrate to Android. Android has an 85% market share globally, which makes it very user-friendly. It also offers a number of key benefits to enterprise users that arent available with other OS options. Of course, migrating agencies to a new technology is not as easy as buying a mobile device from a local retail store or wireless carrier. Public-safety IT professionals should prioritize their unique security and operational needs when shopping for a new mobility solution. Here are some key questions to ask when evaluating the various OS options and comparing consumer-grade, business-grade and enterprise-grade rugged devices. What applications are required? Public-safety organizations, especially police and fire departments, require rugged communications devices that support a wide range of use cases, including highly secure voice communications, real-time navigation, e-citation and code enforcement, asset and inventory tracking and more. A pocketable device might work for one team, while a larger screen might be appropriate for another where users require access to multiple applications simultaneously. Devices may need to be used with gloved hands, in bright sunlight or in rain and snow -- and they likely require robust batteries that last through long shifts. Not all devices marketed as rugged are designed to meet these challenges. Can this solution be customized to comply with current IT and security requirements? It is vital to ensure that a technology solution can comply with an organizations existing IT guidelines. For example, some federal, state and local government agencies have limitations on whether their professionals can carry devices that access the cloud -- either for security reasons or because they dont have enough resources to support a cloud-based deployment. In this case, consumer devices purchased from a wireless carrier may not be appropriate, as applications commonly preloaded on consumer devices -- such as Google Mobile Services -- often operate through the cloud. Selecting an enterprise-grade device that can restrict access to applications and services such as GMS can give public-safety agencies a higher security level without requiring any additional IT resources. As another enhanced security measure, an IT department may want to consider privilege-based access and trusted execution environment controls, which give IT full control over which applications are installed and what data those applications can access. Some public-sector agencies may choose to disable Bluetooth or USB ports, which can make devices more vulnerable to attacks and allow the easy transfer of sensitive data. Others may want the option to insert a smart ID card or common access card for access control. What extra features can be implemented? Often, enterprise-grade devices provide customization tools that enable a wide variety of productivity, security, management and application development options for public-sector IT departments. Some tools allow the customization of Wi-Fi settings for specialized environments. Others support zero-touch device provisioning for faster technology deployments and include private cloud or side loading off network. Still others allow users to create a custom keyboard that supports an agencys unique vocabulary without requiring any third-party software. Some enterprise-grade devices even offer data wedge tools that read barcodes, track RFID tags or even enable basic voice recognition with existing applications. What is the lifecycle of these technologies? Public-sector agencies should consider the average device lifecycle as part of the evaluation process. Agencies simply cannot afford to replace devices every 24 months, which is about the typical consumer device lifecycle in the U.S., according to the research firm Kantar Worldpanel. The reality is that many consumer device vendors only guarantee security support for two to three years. In sharp contrast, some enterprise device vendors guarantee OS support for up to 10 years. With purpose-built devices, public-safety agencies can rest assured knowing they will not have to replace their existing devices before they are ready. Who controls OS upgrades? With consumer devices, OS updates are typically forced upon device users. Management tools may offer to postpone updates, but there is usually just a short window for this delay, forcing users to upgrade whether they want to or not. For many enterprise solutions, quite the opposite is true. Public-sector IT departments have control over their OS upgrades, which means upgrades can be delayed until all suppliers or application partners are ready to migrate to the newest OS. IT can even revert back to a past release if an issue arises. Besides, some enterprise vendors will continue to issue OS patches long after an OS upgrade is available. Looking forward In a recent Zebra Technologies survey of public-safety agencies, 72% of respondents said they are concerned they are not investing in new mobile technology fast enough. With software updates discontinued for the Windows Mobile OS, there has never been a better time for public-safety agencies to migrate to Android-based enterprise-grade devices that offer more security, productivity and lifecycle benefits than legacy solutions -- on todays consumer-grade devices. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Tanzanias main opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday that President John Magufuli had died from the coronavirus, calling his death poetic justice after the strongman leader downplayed the severity of the virus. The countrys vice-president announced late Wednesday that Magufuli, who had not been seen in public for nearly three weeks, had died in a hospital in Dar es Salaam from a heart condition he had suffered from for a decade. But Lissu, who ran and lost against Magufuli in a disputed October election, said the 61-year-old strongman leader had succumbed to coronavirus and the government was lying even now that he is dead. Magufuli died of corona, said Lissu from Belgium in an interview broadcast on Kenyan network KTN News, citing his sources. The claim could not be independently verified. Magufulis unexplained absence from public view had fueled wild rumours of his ill health, with his opponents insisting he had contracted Covid-19 and his illness was being kept under wraps. The government repeatedly denied those allegations. Within minutes of arriving in Melbourne, Geller effortlessly bent a whole press conference around his long and supple fingers. Uri Geller started bending things as soon as he boarded his jet in Sydney yesterday morning. For openers, he bent one of the hostesses wings, then, he reported later, he wandered into the cockpit and confused one of the clocks. Uri goes on an airport bender - Im no magician he says, putting a curve into a few bunches of keys Then, nicely warmed up, he turned to the serious business of the morning and bent four keys, one spoon, and gave an old ladys wristwatch new hope. Geller was certainly responsible for the bent keys and the spoon and the few desultory ticks of the old watch. The only question was whether it was through the agency of surreal forces which he professes not to understand beyond some far-out unbelievable theories, or by good old-fashioned muscle concealed by a magicians skill. The question makes him angry. He made sharp comments about magicians and scientists who criticised him. If they didnt believe, that was their problem, he said. Of course, magicians can reproduce the things I do. They can do them on stage using tricks, but not in laboratory conditions, he said. Last fall, YouTube introduced Shorts, a short-form video platform that competes directly with TikTok (as well as other TikTok clones like Instagrams Reels. While YouTube users from all around the world have been able to view Shorts, only people in India had initial access to the Shorts creation tools built into the YouTube app. That changes today, as the company announced the Shorts beta is expanding to the US. As with many Google releases, this one will roll out gradually over the next several weeks. When Shorts launched in India, it had the expected tools for making short-form video, including the multi-segment camera first popularized by Vine, a catalog of music to use, text, speed settings and so forth. Shorts are still limited to 15 seconds when shooting with the built-in camera, but you can upload videos as long as 60 seconds that youve With the US launch, YouTube has added a few clever new features, many of them focused around audio. YouTube now has licenses for music from hundreds of record labels and publishers, including the big three of Sony, Warner Group and Universal. This means that youll be able to access pretty much any popular music you want to put in as the background of your Short. Shorts will also let creators sample audio from any other Short on YouTube to remix and use in their own creations. And even audio from standard YouTube videos is up for grabs, assuming the original creator wants to make it available. And YouTube is leveraging its vast video catalog as well as the YouTube Music service to tie Shorts back into these other products. For example, if you watch a Short featuring a specific song, you can tap on it to get directly to the official artist channel and see the original music video. YouTube also plans to show Shorts featuring a particular audio track below the official video, making it so you can easily find other Shorts using the same song. To encourage people to make more Shorts, YouTube videos will also soon have a button that lets you start making your own video based on the one youre watching. Unsurprisingly, YouTube plans to make Shorts more visible, both in its app and on the web. Theres already a shelf on the YouTube app homepage featuring Shorts, and theyll be collected on the YouTube website as well. Finally, Shorts now has a text timeline that lets you pick exactly when and how long a text overlay will remain visible in your video, something pretty useful for the various step by step style clips that are poplar in this format. I asked YouTubes Todd Sherman, whos the product lead for Shorts, if he thought the pandemic of the last year had anything to do with the wild proliferation of TikTok-style videos. He called it an accelerant, but thinks its more about a confluence of technology coming together at the right time. If you look back and take YouTube as an example, YouTubes founding came at a good time, because at that time a whole bunch of people had access to digital cameras, computers, and video editing software, he said. He sees the same thing happening here with Shorts and similar formats. This new era of video started I think with the Vine camera, the multi-segment camera, because that feature has survived Vine, Sherman said. Thats one, but there are others like speed control and recording with a provided audio source. On the creation side, this makes it so a whole bunch of people can produce short videos that are entertaining to strangers. All of these updates are rolling out to YouTube users starting today, though how long itll take before it hits your account remains to be seen. If youre in a country besides the US or India, though, youll have to be patient YouTube hasnt said when the Shorts creation tools will hit other countries yet. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions Cash rich middlemen are ripping off tobacco farmers who are in the nascent stages of harvesting in preparation for marketing at the auction floors or to contractors. The vulture-like middlemen are reportedly buying entire fields and harvested crops currently being cured in barns, brewing legal battles for contracted farmers. They have swooped the tobacco growing areas of Hurungwe and Makonde in Mashonaland West province and other areas in the country. It is now feared that, apart from getting less value for their crop, some of the farmers who are contracted by the numerous contracting companies in the country will not be able to repay their loans or meet expected deliveries. The crop is being bought for no more than US$1,50 per kg without consideration for the quality of the crop as the best quality usually fetches up to US$7 per kg. The middlemen will then sell the crop at the auction floors at a higher price. Contracted farmers get inputs, extension services and coal for curing the tobacco, with some providing funds to pay for labour costs but they are expected to sell to the contracting companies. Zimbabwe uses a dual marketing system where the self-financed crop is sold under an auction system and the contractor supported crop sold to the contractor depending on the nature of the contract. Speaking at the handover of Covid-19 personal protective equipment for health staff at Tengwe Clinic by Ethical Leaf Tobacco (ELT), Hurungwe East House of Assembly member Cde Ngoni Masenda warned farmers against selling to fly-by-night merchants as they stand to lose in the long run. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Agribusiness Legal Affairs Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "The buyers are now here in Tengwe and I know they are also in other tobacco growing areas. I would like to urge growers to support those who support them," said Cde Masenda. "We do not want the practice of side marketing as it rips off the farmer who stands to lose future support. "There are buyers who are coming to Hurungwe and asking to buy all the crops in the field and in the barns." ELT Mashonaland West regional manager Mr Gift Chaitezvi called on farmers to hold on to their crop and avoid selling to unscrupulous middlemen. "The situation that has arisen in tobacco growing areas is that of middlemen commonly known as 'makoronyera' who are ripping where they did not sow by buying from farmers at prices that are lower than what they would ordinarily get at the auction floors. "We are saying to farmers, be patient and sell for fair value at the auction floors. It is a matter of time before the floors are opened," said Mr Chaitezvi. One of the farmers in Tengwe Mr Noah Tafa said farmers are resorting to side marketing to meet some of the costs associated with curing tobacco, including labour and fuel. "Farmers end up selling the crop to middlemen as a way of bridging the gap between what they get from contracting companies and costs associated with harvesting," said Mr Tafa. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. [March 18, 2021] Electreon successfully Operates Bus Charged via Electric Road in Tel Aviv BEIT YANAI, Israel, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Electreon (TASE: ELWS), developer and implementer of Wireless Electric Road Systems that wirelessly charge commercial and passenger electric vehicles while driving or parking, announced the successful start of operation of an electric bus that is charged via the Company's electric road infrastructure while traveling. The project is part of the pilot carried out in cooperation with the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, Dan Bus Company and Ayalon Highways, funded by the Israel Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Transportation. In January 2020, the Company announced the completion of the paving and electrification of a section of electric road with a total length of about 700 meters, part of an overall 2 km route, in addition to installing a static wireless charging station at the Tel Aviv University bus terminal, for use while the bus is collecting passengers. During the initial test period it was found that the system works continuously, the coils transmit energy both at the terminal when the bus is standing and while traveling, and the remote control and monitoring system also functions well. Over the coming weeks, further trials and tests are expected to take place in order to test the performance of the system under varying operating conditions, including different loads and operating continuity. At the end of the experimental phase, the electric bus is expected to be used as a regular public transportation line that will be operated by Dan to transport students while being charged solely through Electreon's technology. The deployment of Electreon's infastructure in Tel Aviv is intended to demonstrate the prominent advantages of the electric road system. Among them, it can be noted that all the coil infrastructure is not visible and for the first time, all charging points along the dynamic section are buried below the road surface. This configuration allows installation in any location and provides a complete solution to the Tel Aviv Municipality's vision of efficiently electrifying transportation in the city without adding visual elements taking valuable space. The pilot demonstrates the implementation of charging a bus fleet in an urban environment - enabling ongoing operation, reduced battery size, and charging of other vehicles using the same infrastructure. This demonstrates Electreon's unique ability to provide a commercial fleet solution that combines static charging at the terminal and dynamic charging while traveling. Oren Ezer, CEO and Co-Founder of Electreon Wireless, commented, "Operating the bus in Tel Aviv is an extraordinary achievement that comes thanks to the hard work of our staff and the support of our exceptional partners. This is an event that brings a step closer, our vision to electrify the entire Tel Aviv bus fleet as well as other bus fleets throughout Israel and around the world, in a manner which is economical, environmental and innovative. " About Electreon Electreon, a global leader in Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer technology for charging all types of Electric Vehicles (EVs). The company accelerates the world's transition to electric transportation by leveraging existing road infrastructure with its proprietary wireless charging technology to eliminate range anxiety, lower total costs of EV ownership and reduce battery capacity - making it one of the most environmentally sustainable, scalable and compelling charging solutions available today. For cities and fleet operators, Electreon offers a shared, invisible "Charging as a Service" platform enabling cost effective electrification of public, commercial and autonomous fleets with minimal batteries and smooth and continuous operation. Investor Relations Contact GK Investor Relations Ehud Helft +1 646 201 9246 electreon@gkir.com Company Contact Electreon Marketing and Sales Officer Charlie Levine +972 585818433 charlie.l@electreon.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electreon-successfully-operates-bus-charged-via-electric-road-in-tel-aviv-301249978.html SOURCE Electreon [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 22:17:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Delegates pose for a group photo after the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 18, 2021. The SCO's member states will hold a joint anti-terrorism exercise this year, the organization said Thursday. The decision to hold the joint exercise "Pabbi-Antiterror-2021" was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the RATS held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Delegations of the competent authorities of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the RATS Executive Committee attended the meeting. (Photo by Zafar Khalilov/Xinhua) TASHKENT, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)'s member states will hold a joint anti-terrorism exercise this year, the organization said Thursday. The decision to hold the joint exercise "Pabbi-Antiterror-2021" was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Delegations of the competent authorities of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the RATS Executive Committee attended the meeting. Representatives of the SCO member states have also approved the draft program of cooperation for 2022-2024 to counter terrorism, separatism and extremism, according to a RATS statement. "Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities," it said. RATS, headquartered in Tashkent, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. The next meeting of the Council of the RATS SCO is scheduled to be held in September in Uzbekistan. Enditem General Assignment Reporter Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer. He has been with New England Newspapers Inc. since 2012. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip On March 11, Gaza received 40,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from the United Arab Emirates, thanks to the efforts of dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, who lives in the United Arab Emirates. Dahlan tweeted on March 10, The arrival of the new batch that includes 40,000 doses brings the total number of doses [sent to Palestinians] to 60,000. We promise our people to continue every possible effort to provide more. He explained that the Ministry of Health in Gaza will receive 20,000 doses, while 20,000 others will be sent to the West Bank. On Feb. 21, Gaza received the first batch of 20,000 doses. Some analysts linked the increasing frequency of aid from Dahlan to his attempt to increase his popularity in the Gaza Strip ahead of the upcoming Palestinian general elections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree in January setting the dates for the legislative elections on May 21, the presidential elections on July 31 and the Palestinian National Council elections on Aug. 31. Imad Mohsen, spokesman for the Democratic Reformist Current headed by Dahlan, told Al-Monitor that his current has offered a series of aid to all social groups and denied reports that the increased aid is linked to the Palestinian elections. The vaccine contracts were signed before the presidential decree was issued, he said. Mohsen added, The UAE aid does not come at any political price, and nobody has asked us to give up any Palestinian right in return. Mohsen asserted that the aid offered by the current is unconditional, whether from the donors or for the beneficiaries. He clarified that the currents policy is based on providing another model of national work far from the narrow partisan vision. He said, The current wants to redraw the national arena and the political system, reposition Fatah on the Palestinian partisan map based on democracy and develop an inclusive vision toward all aspects of life. He noted that the Democratic Reformist Current has wide popularity in the Gaza Strip and has thousands of members. It expects to play a key role in the Palestinian political map after the legislative elections, he said, adding that the coming days will be filled with surprises. Following the meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo regarding the elections on Feb. 9, dozens of leaders from the Democratic Reformist Current returned, after having fled the Gaza Strip in the wake of the 2007 rift, out of fear of Hamas pursuit. Mohsen explained that the return of several leaders from the Democratic Reformist Current to the Gaza Strip to strengthen and organize its ranks ahead of the elections is in line with the understandings reached between Hamas and the current in 2017 and the subsequent social reconciliation in 2018, which included compensation for hundreds of families who had lost their children in the 2007 events. He said, Hundreds of cadres were allowed to return to Gaza after their cases were settled. All remaining cases will be settled as part of the social reconciliation. Mohsen asserted that dozens of the currents cadres would return soon to improve the status and presence of the Democratic Reformist Current in Gaza, adding, The presence of first-rank cadres from the Democratic Reformist Current in Gaza constitutes an essential source of support for the electoral battle. For his part, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al-Monitor that the return of members of the Democratic Reformist Current is part of the social reconciliation included in the 2011 reconciliation agreement. He explained that it is the inherent right of any Palestinian citizen to enter, leave and be present in the Gaza Strip, and it has nothing to do with political settlements. Whether it is possible for Hamas to ally with Dahlans current in a unified list in the legislative elections, Qassem said, Hamas announced a clear position from the beginning that it prefers to form a national list for legislative elections that includes the widest possible national spectrum. He continued, This formula is still indeed Hamas favorite, and this position is consistent with Hamas intention to use the elections to rearrange the Palestinian situation, end the division and achieve reconciliation. Qassem stressed that the aid provided by Dahlan preceded Abbas decree setting the dates for the elections, and he explained that Hamas values this aid and believes the Palestinians have the right to obtain it. He did not comment on the possibility of underlying political costs. Mustafa al-Sawaf, a political analyst close to Hamas, confirmed to Al-Monitor that the aid provided by Dahlan with the support of the UAE is not innocent and has political goals on both ends. He explained that the responsible authorities in the Gaza Strip are aware of this, as no aid is given without a political cost. He indicated that the return of several of the Democratic Reformist Currents leaders to Gaza after 14 years of absence is linked to the elections and to the settlement of their cases. He said, Hamas aims to form a national unity list with all Palestinians for everyones benefit. If it cannot do that, it will participate in a single list, and it will succeed. He ruled out that Dahlan would return to Gaza before the elections, as there are only a few weeks left to hold them. Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that Dahlans aid has been continuous to Gaza for several years, and it is unfair to link it to the elections. He believes the recent increase in aid aims at boosting Dahlans popularity and increasing his chances of obtaining 10 to 15% of the seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council if he manages to form a list that is not contested by the Electoral Court. I expect Dahlan to form a list of independent figures, he said. Abu Saada ruled out that the Palestinian Authority would receive vaccines from Dahlan, despite its need for them in light of the spike in coronavirus cases in the West Bank, due to political rivalries between the two parties. He said, It is difficult to determine the extent of support for Dahlan in the Gaza Strip, given the lack of honest public opinion polls and because the Gaza Strip has not had any elections since 2006. He expected Hamas to ally with Dahlan after the elections if the joint list between Fatah and Hamas has not been decided. Hamas is playing on the differences between Abbas and Dahlan and is trying to use this to its advantage, he said. For his part, political analyst and writer at the Palestinian al-Ayyam newspaper Talal Okal told Al-Monitor that Dahlan wants, through this aid, to send a message that he is a man of actions, not words, unlike the rest of the factions. He wants to cement his presence through actions tangible to Gazas citizens, he said, adding, Palestinians will not vote according to the political program, but rather on the basis of meeting their needs and saving them from the state of misery and siege. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said that early parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held on June 20. "At the meeting, we stated that the best way out of the current internal political situation is early parliamentary elections," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Taking into account also my discussions with the President of Armenia, the My Step faction, the head of the Bright Armenia Party Edmond Marukyan, early parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia on June 20 of this year," the prime minister added. A coalition of opposition parties has been holding anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and other parts of the country in a bid to force Pashinian to hand over power to an interim government. Pashinian, whose My Step faction dominates parliament, has refused to step down but had hinted at accepting early parliamentary elections under certain conditions. London, UK - March 18, 2021 (Investorideas.com Newswire) CBD/Functional mushroom stock media alert from Investorideas.com Newswire- Link Reservations Inc. (OTC: LRSV), a provider of cannabidiol (CBD) products and functional mushroom products was featured in a recent research report. Goldman Small Cap Research Full news https://finance.yahoo.com/news/goldman-small-cap-research-issues-113000536.html Goldman Small Cap Research, a stock market research firm specializing in the small cap and microcap sectors, announced today that it has published a new research report on Link Reservations, Inc. (OTC PINK:LRSV). The Company is an emerging player in the fast-growing CBD and functional mushrooms markets. This report carries a price target. To view the new research report along with disclosures and disclaimers, or to download them in their entirety, please visit https://bit.ly/3vzHt1t. Link Reservations Inc is a CBD Pet Care provider dedicated to improving the health and life conditions of pets worldwide. Developing and marketing hemp-based CBD products for cats, dogs and horses, the Company is currently present in Europe and in the US. Link also recently launched a sister site for humans, DailyLifeCBD.com. According to a recent report from Grandview Research, the global Pet CBD market is slated to jump from $27M in 2020 to $400M in 2027, a 40% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). Meanwhile, Grandview also projects the global CBD market will grow from an estimated $3.5B in 2021 to $13.4B in 2028, a 21% CAGR. In the Opportunity Research report, analyst Rob Goldman discusses the potential of the Company's Pet CBD and functional mushroom lines and how success in these markets may result in a future premium valuation. Goldman noted, "Through its two subsidiaries, LRSV is poised to generate a meaningful share in some of the fastest growing wellness markets, namely hemp-based CBD-infused products for pets and humans, and functional mushrooms. The Company offers diverse products in niche, high growth markets and is one of the few CBD products firms to offer products in the US and Europe." "The projected 40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the Pet CBD market over the next few years illustrates the strong appetite for the offerings. Plus, the unprecedented pet ownership during the pandemic, especially by millennials, fuels this opportunity. CBDs are used to treat anxiety, inflammation, pain, and other conditions. LRSV plans to introduce new mushroom-infused products to treat stress and sleep disorders," continued Goldman. "The convergence of key markets such as pet care, CBDs, functional mushrooms and potentially psychedelic mushrooms could foster considerable growth, success, and valuation premiums for LRSV. Thus, our target price represents a premium to key CBD-infused product peers," concluded Goldman. To learn more about LinkResPet or to purchase CBD pet products, please visit: www.linkrespet.com or follow us on twitter at @res_pet. Forward-Looking Statements & Disclaimers: The information in this Press Release includes certain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions of Federal Securities Laws, as that term is defined in section 27a of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21e of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this document, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Investors are cautioned that such statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events, or circumstances after the date of this release except as required by law. Linkreservations Inc 400 Thames Valley Park Drive Reading Berkshire RG6 1 PT United Kingdom Phone: +44 330 808 0897 Paid News -Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Disclosure : this news release featuring LRSV is a paid for news release on Investorideas.com More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp About Investorideas.com and http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/ https://www.investorideas.com/About/ Sign up for free stock news alerts at Investorideas.com https://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp Investors can trade these stocks and other ideas on our site using our list of top stock trading apps including Robinhood, Acorn, Stash and others. Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Fianna Fail Senator Erin McGreehan has praised the work of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium following a re-signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the partners on Tuesday. The Louth Senator commented: I have worked with the All Ireland Cancer Consortium (AICC) and their dedication to working to tackle cancer on this island is incredible. Since the original signing of the Memorandum of Understanding there has been quantifiable results that have improved care and outcomes for patients. "The Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer consortium has achieved much over the past 21 years in cancer research and cancer trials and it has definitely placed Ireland on the Global Cancer research map. Senator McGreehan added: Sadly, we all know cancer has no borders and only by working together can we tackle the biggest killer on the island of Ireland. I look forward continue to work with the AICC in the future to seeing increased cooperation between Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and the US. The resigning offered and unrivalled opportunity to hear from high profile senior leaders and health ministers from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US, along with patient advocates and local experts in the cancer sector. The virtual event focused on what the consortium has achieved over the last 21 years and looked forward to new opportunities for collaboration. Burma Almost 550 Student Protesters Still Being Detained by Myanmars Military Regime A photo collage of some of the detained students. / The Irrawaddy Around 547 out of a total of 770 students arrested by Myanmars military regime are still being detained for taking part in anti-coup protests across the country. They include a number of high school students. Around 400 of the student detainees, who include student union leaders, have been charged by the junta, while more than a dozen students have gone missing during the crackdowns on anti-regime protests, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the University of Yangon Student Union (UYSU). U San Min of the AAPP told the Irrawaddy on Thursday that the anti-regime students have been charged under 505(a) of the Penal Code and Article (25) of the Natural Disaster Management Law, while some have been charged under drug laws, which carry a sentence of up to five years imprisonment, after being accused of using drugs. Under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code, the accused face up to three years imprisonment if found guilty, according to the amendment to the law made by the junta following their Feb.1 coup. Article 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law also carries up to three years in prison for anyone found guilty of breaching campaign guidelines and COVID-19 restrictions set by the countrys health ministry. Student unions and the AAPP said that family members of the detained students are concerned about the conditions in prison for their children, as they have not been allowed to see them since they were detained. U San Min called for the release of the student detainees as students are not attacking the states interests. Arresting the students is destroying the country, he said. On March 7, security forces cracked down in Mandalay on protesters from the education sector attending an anti-regime demonstration. Around 100 protesters were detained. Most are students from Mandalays universities, but some are high school students. A member of Mandalay Universitys Student Union told the Irrawaddy on Thursday that several dozen student detainees would be charged at a court hearing scheduled for next week. On March 3 alone, nearly 400 university students protesting against the coup in Yangons Tamwe Township were detained during a crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations. Most of the students have been charged under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code, according to a member of UYSU. Another 23 anti-regime activists who had joined the student protest were told on March 11 that they face arrest, after being accused of inciting civil servants to join the civil disobedience movement defying the junta. But nearly 100 medical students who were arrested in Yangon on Feb.28 during a crackdown on an anti-regime march were released by the police at the request of the heads of medical universities. The main reason why students have to come out on the streets is to protest against the military regime for seizing power from a democratically-elected government, said the member of Mandalay Universitys Student Union. Violent arrests and the jailing of students is unacceptable. We are not afraid of being arrested. We will continue our fight against the military dictatorship, he added. Despite the deadly crackdowns on anti-coup protests, students are continuing to join the nationwide demonstrations defying military rule. Tens of thousands of people across the country continue to take to the streets day and night to express their opposition to the junta. As of Thursday, almost 2,200 people have been arrested since the coup. They include elected leaders, National League for Democracy members, election commissioners, artists, writers, journalists, students and teachers. At least 1,872 of them are still in detention or have been charged by the junta. Nearly 220 protesters have been killed by the security forces during their crackdowns on anti-regime protests. You may also like these stories: Civil Servant on Strike Dies of Torture by Myanmar Security Forces Myanmar Police Search Villages After Outpost Raid More Civilians Flee as Fighting Between Myanmars Military and Kachin Rebels Continues Tony Dobrowolski can be reached at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com or 413-281-2755. Tony Dobrowolski can be reached at tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com or 413-281-2755. Burma More Civilians Flee as Fighting Between Myanmars Military and Kachin Rebels Continues KIA fighters. The Irrawaddy Forty-two more civilians have fled their homes due to ongoing clashes between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Tatmadaw (Myanmars military) near the village of Gwi Htau in Injangyang Township in Kachin State. Gwi Htau is close to the controversial China-backed Myitsone Dam project, which has been suspended since 2011. A total of 42 people arrived today. Thirteen of them are Buddhists and they left by motorbike. Five more have also left Pa La Na camp for internally displaced persons and 27 remain at the camp, Stephen Sut Awng, a priest at a Catholic church in Tang Hpare village in Myitkyina Township, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. The Malikha River, a tributary for the Ayeyarwady, separates Injangyang and Myitkyina, the Kachin capital. The 42 civilians are residents of Malizup village and internal migrants. They fled across the Malikha River on Wednesday, a day after the KIA and the Tatmadaw exchanged artillery fire. Over 200 villagers from Gwi Htau and Tangbau Yang also fled across the Malikha River to Myitkyina on March 16, heading to the Pa La Na IDP camp in the Kachin States capital. They were stranded for hours in Tang Hpare village, as the commander of the Tatmadaws Northern Command would not allow them through a military checkpoint there. Following mediation by the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG), they were allowed to proceed to Pa La Na IDP camp at around 10 p.m. The clash between the KIA and the Tatmadaw broke out on Monday evening, when the KIA attacked a Tatmadaw outpost in Gwi Htau Village, which is located close to the Myitsone Dam Project in Injangyang Township. Locals then reported hearing continuous artillery fire from 7 p.m. to midnight on Tuesday. There was an exchange of artillery fire on Tuesday. It was not a head-to-head fight, said Lamai Gumja of the PCG. There have been fewer major clashes between the KIA and the Tatmadaw since the two sides started negotiating a ceasefire in December 2018. And the PCG has also acted as a mediator between the two sides. After the militarys Feb. 1 coup, the KIA asked the Northern Command via the PCG not to harm peaceful Kachin people protesting against the military regime. But two men died when the military opened fire with live rounds on anti-regime protesters in Myitkyina in March. Three days after the fatal shootings the KIA attacked a Tatmadaw outpost in Hpakant. Following clashes in 2011, the KIA has maintained a defensive position for the last ten years. I dont know why the KIA is reversing that after all these years. But if this situation continues, the fighting could become intense. We are extremely concerned. Fatal shootings of protesters might also be a factor, Lamai Gumja said. When asked about the KIAs attacks, the armed groups information officer Colonel Naw Bu said he would not disclose details about KIA military operations to the media. What I can say is that the attacks have probably been arranged by frontline commanders as a response to Tatmadaw attacks, said Col. Naw Bu. Tensions between the two sides have also increased in the border town of Muse in northern Shan State since the Feb.1 coup. The KIA said that the fighting in Muse was started by the Tatmadaw. On March 11 KIA leader General Gun Maw ordered the armed groups brigades four, six and ten to attack the Tatmadaw, while avoiding residential areas and the Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines. The military regime has said nothing about the Tatmadaws tensions with the KIA. It has offered to continue peace talks with the four-member Northern Alliance, a military alliance which the KIA is a member of, in the hope of signing bilateral ceasefire agreements. The Northern Alliance reportedly told the junta that peace talks could not be held in the current political climate. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Advertisement The gunman who went on a three hour rampage that left eight dead at Georgia massage parlors was caught after his parents spotted him in surveillance pictures released by police and called 911, authorities said Wednesday. Officers say they found Robert Aaron Long, 21, thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information. Cherokee County sheriff Frank Reynolds said cops then used that information to track and find him, adding: 'Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension.' Police Captain Jay Baker said: 'We are really appreciative of the family. Without them, this would not have happened as, well, as quickly as it happened. They were very supportive, and certainly this was difficult for them.' God-fearing gunman Long targeted the locations - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - because he'd visited them before and blamed them for his sex addiction, cops revealed on Wednesday morning. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta, police said. Officers rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody where he is said to have confessed to the killings. Atlanta police on Wednesday released 911 calls made during the shooting. In one a woman inside the Gold Spa whispers as she tells the operator she is hiding and that a robbery is in progress. Ten minutes later in a second call regarding the Aromatherapy Spa a caller says: 'They said some guy came in. We heard a gunshot and, you know, the lady's passed out in front of the door. And everybody is scared and everybody is hiding.' Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that he has a sex addiction and viewed the parlors as an 'outlet' and 'temptation' that he wanted to remove. He confessed to the killings after police rammed his car off the road at 8pm on Tuesday night. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks. He has been charged with four counts of murder and aggravated assault in Cherokee County, where the first salon is that was targeted. He hasn't yet been in charged in Atlanta Pictured is Long's home in Woodstock, Georgia. Officers say they found Robert Aaron Long, 21, thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information. Cherokee County sheriff Frank Reynolds said cops then used that information to track and find him, adding: 'Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension' Jessica Lang pauses and places her hand on the door in a moment of grief after dropping off flowers with her daughter Summer at Youngs Asian Massage parlor where four people were killed Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived. Friends of Yaun say that she and her husband were there for a couple's massage. He escaped but she was killed. Not all of the victims were staff. Yaun's friends say she was a paying customer who was in the parlor to get a couple's treatment with her husband. Initially, police said they were probing whether race was a factor in the attacks because six of the eight victims were Asian women. But on Wednesday morning, they said Long told them that was not why he carried out the attacks. Instead, he said he is addicted to sex and porn, and wanted to remove the 'temptation' of the parlors. He told police that he saw the parlors as an 'outlet' for his sex addiction. Detectives have not clarified if he had ever engaged in sex acts with any of the staff there. Long has been charged with killing eight people. The gunman bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage, police said. Georgia police comments sparked an angry reaction from some online who branded them an example of white privilege in action He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks when he was caught. The Florida locations were somehow connected to pornography, police said on Wednesday without revealing more details. 'He claims that it was not racially motivated... he has an issue that he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places... it's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said at a Wednesday press conference. Baker added that it had been a 'very bad day' for the suspect, and said: 'He was at the end of his rope'. He didn't elaborate on what had happened earlier in the day. Those comments sparked an angry reaction from some online who branded them an example of white privilege in action. Hari Kondabolu said: 'The fact he sees ASIAN WOMEN as 'temptations' for his sex addiction is racial motivation. Not seeing this as racist IS racist. #StopAsianHate.' Qasim Rashid tweeted: 'Retweet if you've had a bad day during this pandemic or ever in life and didn't mass murder 8 people. Apparently that's where the bar is now. White supremacy is a helluva drug.' But Tim Willcutts defended Capt. Baker, writing: 'He wasn't apologizing for him. He was attempting to explain why this happened.' Alicia Gibbs said: 'He's relaying what the investigators said. He wasn't apologizing.' Another Twitter user, Shannon Hillis, said: 'Not everything is about race.' Greg Rook tweeted: 'Two of the six shot outside Atlanta were not Asian. What would you say if he shot mostly WASPs, that he was a racist hating on white people? BTW, I am a very progressive, liberal democrat, but I'm tiring of this constant virtue signaling. Not everything is about race or racism.' Three shootings at spas and massage parlors around Atlanta left eight people dead and police on the hunt for those responsible People with the medical examiner's office wheel out a body on a stretcher from the Gold Spa massage parlor where three people were shot and killed on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia Bodies are wheeled out of Gold Spa in Atlanta where a man opened fire. Two other massage parlors were targeted The shootings occurred on Tuesday afternoon around the Atlanta area. A body is seen being wheeled out of Gold Spa VICTIMS OF GEORGIA MASSAGE SPA SHOOTINGS Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33- DECEASED Delaina was at Young's Asian Massage for a couple's treatment with her husband when friends say she was killed. The mother-of-two's husband survived. Paul Andre Michels, 54 - DECEASED Xiaojie Yan, 49 - DECEASED Daoyou Feng, 44 - DECEASED Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz, 30 - INJURED Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz Elcias was shot in the throat, forehead, lungs and stomach. He survived but he is in critical condition in the hospital. Before he lost consciousness, he called his wife to tell her he'd been injured. His wife, Flor Gonzalez, 27, told The Washington Post that he was likely on his way to a store next door to send money back to his family in Guatemala when he was attacked. Doctors say they expect him to survive, despite the severity of his injuries. Advertisement Long's family - including his youth minister father - are 'devastated' by his actions and are cooperating with the investigation. A classmate who attended high school with Long earlier told The Daily Beast anonymously: 'He was very innocent seeming and wouldnt even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didnt seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. 'He was big into religion.' Long is believed to have first opened fire at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, a city about 32 miles northwest of Atlanta, at 5pm. Four people were killed in that shooting. Then, Long is accused of driving to Atlanta and opening fire in Gold Massage Spa, killing three women. When police were there, they received reports of more shots across the street at Aromatherapy Spa, where the eighth victim was found. Long went on the run after the shootings and was eventually arrested after police rammed his Hyundai off the road. He was arrested some 150 miles southwest of Atlanta in Crisp County. While police say his sex addiction is the motive, many have pointed to the fact that the attacks happened during a period of heightened violence against Asian Americans. President Joe Biden will be briefed over the phone by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray on the shootings later Wednesday morning, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The president is scheduled to travel to Atlanta on Friday to promote his America Rescue Plan as part of his sales pitch on COVID relief but that trip will likely be altered to acknowledge the deadly killings. Biden said at an afternoon press conference that he was making 'no connection at this moment' between the killings and race. But he added: 'I'm very concerned, because as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple months, and I think it is very, very troubling.' Incidents of bias against Asian people have spiked in recent months after the coronavirus was tied to Wuhan, China, and former President Donald Trump took to calling it the 'China Virus'. Biden said: 'I am making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer as the investigation proceeds from the FBI and from the Justice Department. I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed.' The president had already condemned the increased number of hate crimes against Asians in his primetime speech last week, saying they have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated because of the coronavirus pandemic. Its wrong. Its un-American, and it must stop, he said. Atlanta police on Wednesday released 911 calls made during the shooting. In one a woman inside the Gold Spa, pictured, tells the operator she is hiding and that a robbery is in progress Memorial flowers were placed outside Young's Asian Massage salon, scene of four shooting deaths Tuesday Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, a minister, said this kind of violence is driven by hate even if the suspect said that was not his motive. Anybody who takes precious lives in that manner is driven by hate, he told reporters on Capitol Hill. This kind of violence happens too often in America. And we weep with those who weep. But we got to do everything we can in terms of addressing bigotry and hate in our country, he said. Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted: 'Our hearts break for the 8 victims of the Georgia shootings last night, 6 of Asian descent. 'While we await details from Georgia, this much we do know: Hate crimes against Asian Americans have soared during COVID. And it must stop. 'NY will always stand up against bigotry & hate.' At a press conference on Wednesday, the Mayor of Atlanta said that while these killings do not seem to be have been driven by racism, there is a problem with anti-American-Asian hatred. 'Whether it is senseless violence that we've seen play out in our streets, or more targeted violence like we saw yesterday, a crime against any community is a crime against us all.' The suspect was captured by surveillance video pulling up to Young's Asian Massage around 4:50pm, just minutes before the shooting The suspect was captured pulling away from the business in a black Hyundai SUV after the shooting had occurred in Cherokee County near Bells Ferry Road north of Atlanta Many believe the racist attacks were fueled by President Donald Trump referring to COVID as the China virus as it was first seen in Wuhan, China. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in South Korea meeting with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, mentioned the killings during an opening statement. 'We are horrified by this violence which has no place in America or anywhere,' he said, noting that four of the women were believed to be of Korean descent. In a 2018 video on his church's website, Long said: 'As many of you may remember, when I was 8 years old I thought I was becoming a Christian, and got baptized during that time. 'And I remember a lot of the reason for that is a lot of my friends in my Sunday school class were doing that. And after that time, there wasnt any fruit from the root that is our salvation.' The church has taken its website offline. It said on Tuesday that elders would be releasing a statement on the attacks. Georgia governor Brian Kemp said last night that 'our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence', while Sen. Raphael Warnock said that 'my heart is broken after the tragic violence' in Atlanta. 'Once again we see that hate is deadly. Praying for the families of the victims and for peace for the community,' Warnock said. Cops had initially responded to reports of a robbery in progress, but detectives believe nothing was stolen. Details had yet to emerge about the victims. But Adriana Mejia, the niece of one of those injured, said the family was 'devastated' after her uncle was shot and that they were praying for his recovery. 'We never know when we're at the wrong place at the wrong time because this was so all of a sudden,' she said. Two residents of the Atlanta neighborhood, Piedmont Heights, described the stretch where the shootings took place to the New York Times as the 'red-light district' of the local community. After his car was seen pulling up to the Acworth parlor shortly before the shooting, police said footage showed the same vehicle in the area of the Atlanta spas about the time of those attacks as well. That, as well as other video evidence, 'suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County's, who is in custody,' Atlanta police said in a statement. Long was taken into custody after a 'brief pursuit' about 150 miles from Atlanta in which state troopers caused the the suspect's Hyundai to 'spin out of control' until Long was stopped and detained. South Korea's foreign ministry said diplomats in Atlanta have confirmed from police that four of the victims who died were women of Korean descent. A Korean consulate was working to confirm their nationality. Authorities investigate a fatal shooting at Young's Asian Massage where a gunman opened fire before targeting two other businesses Law enforcement officials confer outside Gold Spa following a shooting on Tuesday A police official stands in front of Aromatherapy Spa after a series of shootings on Tuesday At least eight people were reported dead following a string of shootings at three metro Atlanta massage parlors. The proximity of Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa can be seen in this photo Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, recently testified in support of her plan to improve government accountability by legally protecting state employees who speak out about potential problems within their departments. In just the past several months alone, we have seen so much evidence of the need for these reforms, Glenn said after testifying in the Michigan House Government Operations Committee. New criminal charges in the Flint water crisis remind us it potentially could have been avoided altogether if state employees had been able to come forward with concerns immediately without fear of repercussions. Floods in our community raise questions about our states program for dam safety and the need for dramatic, immediate improvements. The governors recent hush money payments to former state employees in key departments, coming in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, raise concerns about what the administration wants to hide. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld a conviction in the high-profile case of a man accused of beating a high school student with a shovel almost killing her in 2008. In 2018, Justin Hansen, now 36, pleaded no contest to attempted murder and aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to 18 years. Brittani Marcell, a 17-year-old Cibola High School student in 2008, was left blind in one eye and deaf in one ear and was in a coma after the attack. It wasnt until years later that Marcell began to remember Hansens name. Detectives collected a discarded McDonalds cup with his DNA on it and it matched blood found at the house. Following his plea, Hansen appealed the case, saying his convictions are barred by the statute of limitations and, if his conviction stands, he should receive credit for the time he spent on house arrest. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The basis of the argument is that Hansen wasnt arrested until 2017 after the statute of limitations had run out. However, two years after Marcell was attacked the state filed a John Doe indictment charging whomever left the blood sample at her house. The courts have not yet ruled on whether a John Doe indictment qualifies as an indictment, but the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Hansens conviction is upheld because he waived his statute of limitations defense by entering a no contest plea. However, it did decide to give him credit for the time he served on house arrest 371 days on pre-trial services plus 14 days in jail. The court said it found Hansens freedom of movement was restricted by pretrial services, therefore the house arrest is confinement. They also complain that Mr. Biden is maintaining the sanctions Mr. Trump applied on Tehran when he exited the nuclear deal, even though Iran had been in compliance at the time. Mr. Kushner referred to this approvingly as a strong hand that Mr. Biden had inherited. The Biden administration has bought the Trump analysis that these sanctions give America leverage, even though the sanctions didnt give Trump any leverage on Iran, said Joseph Cirincione, a longtime arms control expert who consulted closely with Obama administration officials over the nuclear deal. Further complicating the prospects for nuclear talks was Mr. Bidens Feb. 25 airstrike targeting Iranian-backed militia fighters in Syria, a retaliation for militia rocket attacks on U.S. forces in neighboring Iraq. Although the strike was limited, it derailed nascent nuclear diplomacy and risked escalation, Mr. Cirincione said. The strike also angered liberals determined to end what they call Americas endless or forever wars its military and counterterrorism campaigns across the Middle East and parts of Africa that began after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, said the strike puts our country on the path of continuing the Forever War instead of ending it, and he questioned its legal justification. (The White House says it supports congressional action to repeal and replace Bush-era laws that provide presidents with broad authority to use force.) Compounding the frustration is a sense among liberals that Mr. Bidens national security team is stocked with centrists who have supported past U.S. military interventions, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, and the presidents national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. Critics of Mr. Bidens early Middle East policy have focused their attention on Brett McGurk, the National Security Councils coordinator for the region. Mr. McGurk entered government as an aide in President George W. Bushs White House, but stayed on through the Obama and Trump presidencies. He has strong relationships with leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates oil-rich states labeled repressive by human rights activists and that liberals see as exerting an unwelcome influence over U.S. policy. Mr. McGurk helped shape Mr. Bidens decision, decried on the left, not to directly punish Prince Mohammed even after the White House declassified an intelligence report that found that he, the de facto Saudi leader, approved the operation that led to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi in 2018. Many liberals said the moral imperative of barring Prince Mohammed from future visits to the United States, at a minimum, should outweigh the familiar realpolitik of preserving relations with the Saudi kingdom. Last Friday, following a year of widespread cutbacks in local newsrooms, US lawmakers on the Judiciary Committees Antitrust Subcommittee met for a hearing to discuss the journalism crisis. The meeting was the second in a series to consider changing antitrust laws to regulate tech platforms. In recent years, the local news that is delivered through newspapers, online, and local broadcasts has been in a state of economic freefall, Committee Chair Congressman David Cicilline (DRhode Island) said in an opening statement, adding, its clear that we must do something in the short term to save trustworthy journalism before its lost forever. Today, hearings will resume to consider strengthening laws to address monopoly power. Though the focus of last weeks hearing was to consider the role of legislation in ensuring a press unrestricted by monopolistic tech practices, discussion occasionally touched on the outsized influence of hedge funds over local journalism, underlining the complicated nature of political conversations about the economics of information. Is journalism a commodity? A service? A political tool? At various points throughout the hearing, journalism was referenced in all these terms, demonstrating a wide breadth of ideological approaches to saving the free and diverse press. Several witnesses at the hearing expressed support for Journalism Competition and Preservation Actintroduced by Cicilline and three of his colleagues last Wednesdaywhich would allow publishers to negotiate collectively with tech platforms (Digiday lined up the possible implications, should the bill become law). Colorado Congressman Ken Buckthe top Republican on the subcommittee and a co-sponsor of the billtold the Denver Post that while he once believed tech platforms could be challenged without government intervention, he now believes that its necessary to consider a more extreme remedy. Discussions about media markets can be knotty, because the market imbalance coincides with power imbalances and matters of constitutional rights and civil liberties. Though media industry supporters have expressed some hope about last weeks bill, conversations about its salience indicated philosophical divisions among both lawmakers and witnesses. Among committee members on the right, the conversation tended to focus on questions of ideological power and control. We cannot let [tech companies] become the arbiters of truth and the wielders of government-like power, Buck said. Congressman Jim Jordan echoed a similar sentiment. We are living in a new Gilded Age where tech billionairesmaybe soon to be trillionaireshave more power than any elected official in the land, Jordan said, referring to written testimony from Glenn Greenwald that expressed alarm about tech censorship, like Twitters blocking of links to a spurious New York Post story about a laptop that may or may not have belonged to Hunter Biden. Emily Barrpresident and CEO of Graham Media Group, a broadcasting company owning seven local stations across the United Statesspoke for the interests of news consumers, placing the emphasis on journalism as both a service and a political tool. The nations broadcasters represent one of the last bastions of truly local, unbiased journalism information that is still respected by all Americans, Barr told the committee. Your constituents turn to their local reporters and anchors for voices they trust. Sign up for CJR 's daily email This subtle appeal to the interests of elected officialsostensibly acting in the interests of those they represent, but also having a stake in the issueemphasizes that the conversation is about access, but its also about authority. Though the jury is out on who currently holds the most power in the American communication system, its clearly not the American people. Jonathan Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, hit upon this dynamic in his written testimony. The problem we are addressing is not merely the equitable split of money among a handful of giant corporations, Schleuss said. For the local news business, which now faces an unprecedented, dangerous decline, the product is information and analysis that your constituents need to cast an informed vote, to make decisions about their health, and to understand what is happening in their own neighborhood. As lawmakers continue to weigh options and make decisions about how to ensure the flourishing of a robust press, its benefits for the people of the United States ought to take precedence, and solutions should be framed in those terms. Information may, in this case, be a product, but trustworthy information is a basic necessity. And its increasingly scarce. The Journalism Crisis Project aims to train our focus on the present crisis, tallying lost jobs and outlets and fostering a conversation about what comes next. We hope youll join us (click to subscribe). EXPLORE THE TOW CENTERS COVID-19 CUTBACK TRACKER: Over the past year, researchers at the Tow Center have collected reports of a wide range of cutbacks amid the pandemic. Now theres an interactive map and searchable database. You can find it here. CONTRIBUTE TO OUR DATABASE: If youre aware of a newsroom experiencing layoffs, cutbacks, furloughs, print reductions, or any fundamental change as a result of covid-19, let us know by submitting information here. (Personal information will be kept secure by the Tow Center and will not be shared.) Below, more on recent media trends and changes in newsrooms across the world: JOURNALISM JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES: MediaGazer has been maintaining a list of media companies that are currently hiring. You can find it here. The Deez Links newsletter, in partnership with Study Hall, offers media classifieds for both job seekers and job providers. The Successful Pitches database offers resources for freelancers. The International Journalists Network lists international job opportunities alongside opportunities for funding and further education. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Lauren Harris is a freelance journalist. She writes CJR's weekly newsletter for the Journalism Crisis Project. Follow her on Twitter @LHarrisWrites. Protesters clash with police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo) Jan. 6 Commission in Limbo Over Scope and GOP Charges of Hardwired Partisan Slant Legislation that would advance what is meant to be a bipartisan commission to probe the Jan. 6 Capitol incident is stuck in political quicksand, with fundamental differences between Democrats and Republicans over the scope of the investigation and Republican charges that it would be used in a partisan fashion to score political points. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told MSNBC in an interview on March 17 that efforts have stalled to set up a bipartisan commission to probe the events around the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, with the main problem being what the investigation should focus on. In a March 15 dear colleague letter, Pelosi said that one outstanding priority for Democrats is to move forward with an outside 9/11-type Commission, with bipartisan support, to investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6 domestic terrorist attack upon the Capitol Complex and relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power.' Pelosi was quoting from a draft bill (pdf) that she provided to Republicans for their review and feedback last month. We must get to the truth of how the January 6 assault happened, and we must ensure that it cannot happen again, Pelosi wrote in the letter, adding, it is essential that we proceed in a bipartisan way in order to have a respected outcome. Republicans have panned Pelosis proposed legislation, which would give Democrats a 74 majority on the panel, as marred by partisanship. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) several weeks ago rejected the draft, saying it was partisan by design and that an inquiry with a hardwired partisan slant would never be legitimate in the eyes of the American people. Pelosi has signaled some flexibility on the composition of the commission, but the vexing issue of scope remains. Republicans want the commission either to focus narrowly on the Jan. 6 incident or to look at the issue more comprehensively, including probing other forms of political violence, like the unrest in the summer of 2020 during protests over police brutality. Members of the GOP have been critical of what they say is a double standard by Democrats in downplaying riots as peaceful protests while playing up the Jan. 6 event as a domestic terrorist attack and an insurrection. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), speaking at last months Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, alleged that Democrats were exploiting the Jan. 6 incident and using security concerns as an excuse to paint a large part of the Republican base as dangerous. Lets be clear, this is not about security at this point, this is about political theater, Cruz said. Half the country, the deplorables, are dangerous, and [Democrats are] going to turn the Capitol into a military outpost in Baghdad just to have the compliant media echo that message, he added, referring to the enhanced security measures around the Capitol, like barbed wire fencing. Pelosis draft legislation calls for including investigations into influencing factors related to the Jan. 6 breach. One line of Republican objection is around demarcating the scope of the probe, arguing that Democrats would focus on issues selectively for political gain. If Congress is going to attempt some broader analysis of toxic political violence across this country, McConnell said, then in that case, we cannot have artificial cherry-picking of which terrible behavior does and does not deserve scrutiny. We could do something narrow that looks at the Capitol, or we could potentially do something broader to analyze the full scope of the political violence problem in this country, McConnell said, adding, We cannot land at some artificial, politicized halfway point. In her interview on MSNBC, Pelosi said the spat over the scope is the key issue holding up the establishment of the commission. The disagreements that were having about having a bipartisan commissionand it must be bipartisanis on the scope, she said, pointing to Republican requests that, if the commission is to have a broad latitude, then they want it also to investigate the summer riots. They want to treat something like Black Lives Matter peaceful demonstrations in a similar manner as they would January 6th, Pelosi said. We can pass a bill, but thats not the point, Pelosi told the outlet. You want it to be bipartisan. And it cannot be bipartisan if the scope of it is to not draw any conclusion about what happened that day as the premise for how we would go forward and investigate it, she added. If Pelosi did move forward on a partisan basis, the legislation would likely meet opposition in the Senate, where 60 votesincluding 10 Republicanswould be needed for passage. Senate Republicans cast doubt that there was enough support for the commission. My instinct is that is not happening, that the idea that speaker floated was so much in contrast to the way we handled this on 9/11, said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). I think the better way to do it right now would be for the committees to continue to work on it and try to come to quicker conclusions, Blunt added, referring to committee-level probes of the Jan. 6 incident. Blunt also said a commission could take too long to make findings that could improve security around the Capitol. The Associated Press contributed to this report. DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Mining Support Activities Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global mining support activities market is expected to grow from $163.7 billion in 2020 to $187.68 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6%. Major companies in the mining support activities market include CIMIC Group Limited; PT United Tractors Tbk; Downer EDI Mining-Blasting Services Pty Ltd; Barminco Ltd and Boart Longyear Ltd. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $222.63 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 4%. The mining support activities market consists of sales of mining support services and related goods by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that perform support activities on a contract or fee basis for coal, metal and nonmetallic mineral (except fuels) mining. Support activities include exploration of minerals, drilling, draining of mines and other support activities. The mining support activities market is segmented into coal mining support activities; metal mining support activities and nonmetallic minerals mining support activities. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the global mining support activities market, accounting for 54% of the market in 2020. Western Europe was the second largest region accounting for 16% of the global mining support activities market. Middle East was the smallest region in the global mining support activities market. GIS technology is increasingly being used by mining companies to monitor critical factors such as sustainability, geological composition and compliance. GIS systems capture, record, evaluate and present spatial or geographic data. GIS integrates exploration datasets such as geophysical images, geochemistry, geologic maps, radiometric surveys, boreholes, and mineral deposits leading to efficient discovery of new mineral deposits. This technology also provides 3D visualization tools as it integrates data from various data sources. They are also used in allied industries such as production, mine closure and reclamation. The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has acted as a significant restraint on the support activities for mining market in 2020 as governments globally imposed lockdowns and restricted the movement of people and goods to contain the virus. Government policies to support the mining industry is expected to drive the support activities for mining market. Governments are providing subsidies and encouraging foreign direct investments (FDI) in the mining industry. The amount of government support includes the support through governments' public finance institutions such as bilateral development banks and export credit agencies investing in mining projects, fiscal support through budget allocations and tax exemptions, and investments through majority state-owned mining and utility companies. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Report Structure 3. Mining Support Activities Market Characteristics 3.1. Market Definition 3.2. Key Segmentations 4. Mining Support Activities Market Product Analysis 4.1. Leading Products/ Services 4.2. Key Features and Differentiators 4.3. Development Products 5. Mining Support Activities Market Supply Chain 5.1. Supply Chain 5.2. Distribution 5.3. End Customers 6. Mining Support Activities Market Customer Information 6.1. Customer Preferences 6.2. End Use Market Size and Growth 7. Mining Support Activities Market Trends And Strategies 8. Impact Of COVID-19 On Mining Support Activities 9. Mining Support Activities Market Size And Growth 9.1. Market Size 9.2. Historic Market Growth, Value ($ Billion) 9.2.1. Drivers Of The Market 9.2.2. Restraints On The Market 9.3. Forecast Market Growth, Value ($ Billion) 9.3.1. Drivers Of The Market 9.3.2. Restraints On The Market 10. Mining Support Activities Market Regional Analysis 10.1. Global Mining Support Activities Market, 2020, By Region, Value ($ Billion) 10.2. Global Mining Support Activities Market, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Historic And Forecast, By Region 10.3. Global Mining Support Activities Market, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region 11. Mining Support Activities Market Segmentation 11.1. Global Mining Support Activities Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Coal Mining Support Activities Metal Mining Support Activities Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Support Activities 11.2. Global Mining Support Activities Market, Segmentation By Service Provider Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion Independent Contractors Companies 12. Mining Support Activities Market Segments 12.1. Global Coal Mining Support Activities Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Coal Mining Drilling Services; Coal Mining Exploration Services; Coal Mining Draining Services; Other Coal Mining Support Activities 12.2. Global Metal Mining Support Activities Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Metal Mining Drilling Services; Metal Mining Exploration Services; Metal Mining Draining Services; Other Metal Mining Support Activities 12.3. Global Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Support Activities Market, Segmentation By Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Drilling Services; Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Exploration Services; Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Draining Services; Other Nonmetallic Minerals Mining Support Activities 13. Mining Support Activities Market Metrics 13.1. Mining Support Activities Market Size, Percentage Of GDP, 2015-2025, Global 13.2. Per Capita Average Mining Support Activities Market Expenditure, 2015-2025, Global Companies Mentioned CIMIC Group Limited PT United Tractors Tbk Downer EDI Mining-Blasting Services Pty Ltd Barminco Ltd Boart Longyear Ltd For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k1r364 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Mr Daniel, an ally of a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, recently joined the ruling All Progressives Congress. In a move that appeared to have shocked members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, on February 16 announced he was joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He was welcomed into the party by five state governors at his Asoludero residence, Sagamu, where he was presented with a broom, the symbol of the APC. The governors who welcomed him were Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and Abubakar Bello of Niger State. Mr Daniel's action comes barely two years after he resigned from the opposition PDP, saying "he was pulling out from partisan politics." Gbenga Daniel's reign in Ogun politics Mr Daniel served as the governor of Ogun State from May 29, 2003, to May 29, 2011, under the banner of PDP. His election in 2003, according to political analysts, remains the biggest electoral victory in Ogun State after securing 449,335 votes against the then sitting governor, Olusegun Osoba, who scored 231,982 votes. His reelection in 2007 was disputed by Ibikunle Amosun who was the candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) but the state's election petitions tribunal in August 2009, dismissed Mr Amosun's petition. Upon handing over in 2011, he returned to his business but did not stop funding many youth development initiatives in the state. With this, he continues to enjoy support among many youth in the state. First exit from PDP and return Following internal squabbles that divided PDP into factions, Mr Daniel dumped the major opposition party. He later joined the Labour Party (LP) in 2013 and many leaders of the party declared their loyalty to the ex-governor. His media aide, Adenekan Seun, quoted ex-governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State to have described Mr Daniel as "the biggest stakeholder in the Ogun project." Soon, LP became the most popular opposition party in the state, taking over from the PDP. On May 17, 2014, while speaking at the commissioning of the state headquarters of the Labour Party, located at Onikolobo area of Abeokuta, Mr Daniel said: "this is the first time that I'm appearing in a political environment since 2011. I want to tell you today that the Labour Party is the right party," he announced formally. After several reconciliation meetings with leaders of the PDP, Mr Daniel re-joined the party in October 2014. "I have returned to my party. There is no situation in which there are no differences, these differences have been settled. All the challenges we have in PDP have been settled. If Labour Party is actually strong in Ogun state, can it swallow PDP? It is the big fish that swallows the small fish and today PDP has swallowed Labour Party," he said then. Failed ambitions By December 2014, Mr Daniel declared his ambition to run for the Senate seat for Ogun East district in the 2015 elections but the party eventually chose late Buruji Kashamu. Mr Daniel later announced his withdrawal from the race. According to the then chairman of PDP in Ogun, Dayo Bayo, the ex-governor tendered a letter of withdrawal to the chairman's office but did not disclose the reason behind his action. "I can tell you that my leader, the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has submitted a letter of withdrawal for the Senate race to my office and he is not contesting in the primaries," Mr Dayo was quoted. Many months after the election, Mr Daniel told PREMIUM TIMES his reasons for not pursuing the ambition. "I was offered the ticket at a price but I rejected it because I could not come to terms morally and in good conscience with purchasing a ticket to contest election to serve. Some people even tried to pay the price but I stopped them. Insiders are fully aware of these details. Just setting records straight with respects," he stated. "I voluntarily declined, as I was engaged to coordinate President Jonathan's campaign in the South West for PDP, while supporting most of our cheated candidates who went to PPN at that time." In 2017, he ran for the national chairmanship of the PDP, running some of the sturdiest campaigns at the time, but lost to Uche Secondus at the party's national convention. Even as a member of PDP, he refused to support the party in the 2019 governorship election in Ogun due to his fight with Mr Kashamu (PDP candidate). Instead, he threw his weight behind Mr Abiodun of the APC, who won the election. Leading Atiku's campaign In the build-up to the presidential election in 2019, ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar appointed Mr Daniel as the Director-General of his campaign. Mr Abubakar in a statement said the ex-governor "has vast knowledge of the Nigerian political terrain and has a wide network of contacts and friends all over Nigeria, and these are a few of the assets he will be bringing to our campaign organisation. "I am in no doubt OGD is a very positive and welcome addition to our campaign and I look forward to working with him as he leads our campaign to victory come February 2019," he said with full optimism. Alas! The election did not go as planned for him as President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election under the banner of the ruling APC with 15,191,847 votes to Mr Abubakar's 11,262,978 votes. Barely a month after the election, Mr Daniel resigned from active and partisan politics, saying he would concentrate on running his charity and political foundation. The first person to condemn Mr Daniel's resignation was Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation who took to Twitter to describe the resignation as sad. "For the Director General of Atiku's Presidential Campaign Organisation and his closest confidante in the South West to dump the PDP and join the APC even before the conclusion of Atiku's election petition, is sad." Mr Fani-Kayode made the remark even though Mr Daniel did not disclose that he would be going to the APC. Unfounded political retirement His resignation came as a shock to many who believed that there is no retirement age for politics. Having understood this fact, both the APC and the PDP tried to lure him. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State visited him in January 2021, appealing to the ex-governor to return to the PDP as the best person in the position to provide leadership for the party in the state. But a month after, Mr Daniel chose to go with the APC. He told his supporters in a statement that the move was in the best interest of "our people". "Our cause is just, well-considered, not for any personal gain or aggrandisement but in the overall interest of our people. What we all need to do is to be active and proactive with our responses as there will be no time for briefing. "We all know what has happened to the intractable problem in the Ogun State PDP over the last decade or more with no end in sight. We can see the unfolding crisis in the SW (South-west) and the national situation does not look any better. The situation in the country also calls for serious engagement across the board. "Not that there won't be challenges in the other parties but all considered and the benefit of what I know, this is the best thing to do now. If the dynamics change at any time we will take it as it comes. Regards to all," his statement read. How it would affect PDP, APC in Ogun From that statement, one could tell that Mr Daniel's political retirement is not near. The APC in the state welcomed him enthusiastically, saying "for now, the ruling party has colonised the state." The party's spokesperson, Tunde Oladunjoye, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES said Mr Daniel was coming to the party to lead them to glorious showings in next elections. "Let me start by making clarification on behalf of Gbenga Daniel. He did not defect, he resigned after his work for Mr Atiku and said he was leaving politics. What happened last month was that after several thoughts, he joined the APC and not defected. "His coming to APC as it has been seen by many is a big boost for APC because you cannot take away the fact that as a former governor, he has supporters and followers. Having him is a good catch for our party at the national and state levels." He also said Mr Daniel's decision was a further demonstration of his love for Governor Abiodun. "You will recall that prior to the 2019 election, he told his followers to support Dapo Abiodun. They have been friends for decades and they have to support one another. "On the party level, it is clear without sounding victorious, Ogun State is now a one-party state and our party is bound to win subsequent elections. This is the first time in the history of politics in Ogun state to have four governors in a party. We are also having all the deputy governors in a single party not to talk of senators and even former. "APC has colonised party politics in Ogun. This is also the first time of having governorship candidates who lost in the election joining hands to work with the incumbent governor. "If Governor Abiodun is a lover of noise, he would have called Sunny Ade or Wasiu Ayinde to celebrate the recent activities of the party in Ogun. The top guys are the ones reported in the media but we have many people even at the local level and the ward level joining APC. Today, as far as Ogun politics is concerned, you don't tell a deaf man that the market is over. The opposition can see for themselves." Asked how the party would manage its galaxy of political leaders, Mr Oladunjoye simply said "I don't envisage a leadership crisis. As of today, Dapo Abiodun is the leader of the party. There are protocols and there could be issues relating to ambition but I can assure you that there are mechanisms to address differences in the party". The opposition PDP, however, also put a positive spin to Mr Daniel's latest movement, saying he is one of the major influencers of crisis in the party since he fell out with some leaders in 2011. A chieftain on the PDP in Ogun, Oyejide Sunkanmi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the exit of Mr Daniel would allow the party to end most of its internal crisis and work towards regaining power in the state, saying "big names have no relevance like grassroots politicians. "In politics, it is expected that some set of people will say they want to shift ground. Otunba Gbenga Daniel asked his people to follow Dapo Abiodun during the 2019 election, so getting the news that he joined the APC did not surprise us. "The PDP Ogun State is different from what people used to know. It is not the PDP of the big names. These leaders are no longer relevant. We respect the opinions of Gbenga Daniel and we are not disturbed because Ogun PDP is capable", he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said despite not having any "big name" in PDP, the party is still a formidable opposition ready to unseat the APC. "We are trying to put our house in order and ensure that we sort out our in-house crisis. We are interested in people at the grassroots to unseat the APC. This government has not met the expectations of the people and they (people) want us (PDP) to return. "It is not only the PDP that has crisis. Even APC has their crisis. No party is crisis-free. We have our crisis and I am not disputing that fact. Gbenga Daniel who emanated from nowhere and was given opportunity to become governor could not find common ground with other leaders after he left the position as governor "The problem we have today emanated in 2011 from Gbenga Daniel but the national leadership of the PDP has set up a reconciliation team and meetings are ongoing. Very soon, you will see all the warring factions come together. We don't really need any big name to achieve results." Internal crisis management to determine the future Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on the development, a political analyst, Jide Ojo, said the way the two major political parties manage their internal crises will determine their future and strengths in the state. "It is the right of any politician to join any party of his or her choice and in the case of Ogun, people pay more attention to individuals than parties they represent right from the days of Olusegun Osoba. Yes, big names alone do not win elections and local politicians must also be respected. "The normal thing is that people want to migrate to where things are happening. People want where they can get political asylum, contract and many others things. "Considering all of these, it lies within their right if they want to defect or quit the party. What matters now is how the PDP reconciles their warring factions and how the APC manages internal crises that may occur. "If we want to see better politics in 2023, PDP must get its house together. It is two years to the next general elections, it can put up a good fight. The party needs to do better with reconciliation," Mr Ojo said. Another political analyst, Abass Oyeyemi, said "there will always be internal crises but we don't know which party it would affect. All of these guys are people of different political backgrounds. They may not be in the same camp, but they have the same goal. It is expected that if they are not satisfied, they will still defect. "PDP in Ogun state is built on crisis. However, APC may also have problems in the future over the structure, leadership and control of the party. If all of these are not properly managed, they may be detrimental to the unity of the party as well." Mar. 17A Toledo activist accused of misappropriating money from a nonprofit organization pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal money-laundering and wire-fraud charges. Sir Maejor Page, also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, 32, of Toledo is charged in U.S. District Court in Toledo with wire fraud and three counts of money laundering for allegedly accepting for his own use more than a quarter million dollars through Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta. Mr. Page led donors to believe he was using the money for legitimate fund-raising purposes, but spent thousands of dollars on clothing, furniture, entertainment, and a house from May to September, according to the indictment handed up last week by a federal grand jury in Cleveland. During a virtual arraignment Wednesday, Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters continued a $10,000 bond for Mr. Page that had been set shortly after his Sept. 25 arrest. "It is to no surprise that the government wishes to move forward in a criminal case against a social justice activist," Mr. Page wrote in a statement to The Blade last week. "I maintain my position that I did not intentionally commit any crimes, as it is my only purpose in life to fight for those whose voices have been muffled and or silenced. Had I violated any state or federal laws I have no problem owning that and working to correct my actions. I believe that I acted in good faith. I look forward to a fair and just due process under the law." If convicted, preliminary sentencing guidelines show Mr. Page likely faces up to 78 months 6 1/2 years in prison, although the maximum for the charges against him exceeds 20 years, Michael Freeman, an assistant federal prosecutor, said Wednesday. "Page is accused of using unprecedented tensions and uncertainty due to widespread civil unrest and a global pandemic to fill his own bank account," Eric B. Smith, a FBI special agent in charge, said in a statement Friday. "Page allegedly purchased homes, traveled, and spent other people's money to buy luxury items for himself, all on the backs of hardworking people believing they were donating to a worthy cause. The FBI will continue efforts to root out fraudsters who victimize our fellow citizens for personal gain." Story continues Advertisement Mr. Page retained attorney Sandford Schulman, who requested terms of his client's bond related to social media be modified. Mr. Page was previously ordered to stay off Facebook and not participate in any online or in-person fund-raising. Mr. Schulman explained that Mr. Page wished to view the Facebook page in question in order to better prepare for his own defense. Mr. Freeman said he did not take issue with the modification, but he wanted to be sure Mr. Page was ordered not to post on any social media account or to have any communication with other users. Judge Walters asked the defense attorney to submit the bond modification in writing and said that if the request came before him, he would likely grant it. The case is assigned to Judge Jeffrey Helmick and a pretrial hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Summa Silver Executes Drilling Contract for the High-Grade Hughes Silver-Gold Property, Nevada Posted by Publisher Internet Summa Silver Corp. (?Summa? or the ?Company?) (TSXV:SSVR) (OTCQB: SSVRF) (Frankfurt:48X https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/summa-silver-corp/) is pleased to announce that it has engaged National Drilling EWP of Elko, NV to carry out drilling at the Company?s high-grade silver-gold Hughes Property near Tonopah, Nevada in 2021. Drilling is expected to start in early to mid-April. The focus of the drilling will be to expand on previously reported high-grade silver and gold intercepts at hole spacings suitable for mineral resource estimation. Further details on specific targets and total meters to be drilled will be finalized and announced in due course as the Company continues to await assays from the 14 outstanding holes remaining from the 2020 drill program. Key highlights from the 2020 drill program so far include*: 3,760 g/t silver equivalent (1,762 g/t Ag and 19.99 g/t Au) over 2.5 m from 347.1 m within 596 g/t silver equivalent (286 g/t Ag and 3.10 g/t Au) over 18.5 m from 347.1 m in SUM20-06 6,220 g/t silver equivalent (2,910 g/t Ag and 33.1 g/t Au) over 0.7 m from 397.4 m within 3,182 g/t silver equivalent (1,495 g/t Ag and 16.9 g/t Au) over 1.4 m from 397.4 m in SUM20-20 *see news releases dated September 30th, 2020 and December 17th, 2020 for more details Galen McNamara, CEO, commented: ?With the closing of our $10,168,00 financing last month which included a significant investment from Mr. Eric Sprott, the Company has approximately $13,500,000 in cash on hand. We are fully financed to complete aggressive drill programs at both Hughes, NV and Mogollon, NM in 2021 as we push towards mineral resource estimates. National Drilling EWP is a safety, environmental and client focused leader in both reverse-circulation and core drilling in the United States with clients that include some of the largest mining companies in the world. We?re happy to welcome National back to the project after executing a safe and efficient program last year. In addition, we look forward to releasing the remaining results form the 2020 drill program and will do so once results become available.? 2020 Drill Results Update Due to ongoing delays at geochemical analytical labs, assay results for 14 of 29 holes drilled during the 2020 drill program remain pending. Samples submitted to ALS Global of Reno, NV in early December are now being assayed in Vancouver after being crushed and pulverized at preparation facilities in Mexico. The Company will release results once the data have been received, interpreted, and modelled. The Company is currently reviewing all available options to speed up analytical turn-around times for exploration programs in 2021.? Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Galen McNamara, P. Geo., the CEO of the Company and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Summa Silver Corp Summa Silver Corp is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company. The Company has options to earn 100% interests in the Hughes property located in central Nevada and the Mogollon property located in southwestern New Mexico. The Hughes property is host to the high-grade past-producing Belmont Mine, one of the most prolific silver producers in the United States between 1903 and 1929. The Mogollon property features a number of high-grade past-producing mines which operated between the 1880?s and 1942. Follow Summa Silver on Twitter: @summasilver LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/summa-silver-corp/ ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ?Galen McNamara? Galen McNamara, Chief Executive Officer info@summasilver.com www.summasilver.com Investor Relations Contact: Kin Communications Nima Shafigh 604-684-6730 SSVR@kincommunications.com In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements This news release contains certain ?forward looking statements? and certain ?forward-looking information? as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ?may?, ?will?, ?should?, ?expect?, ?intend?, ?estimate?, ?anticipate?, ?believe?, ?continue?, ?plans? or similar terminology. The forward-looking information contained herein is provided for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding management?s current expectations and plans relating to the future. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the closing of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds of the Offering, the participation of Eric Sprott in the Offering, and the exploration and development of the Company?s mineral exploration projects. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual actions, events or results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the requirement for regulatory approvals; enhanced uncertainty in global financial markets as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic; unquantifiable risks related to government actions and interventions; stock market volatility; regulatory restrictions; and other related risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information are based on management of the parties? reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on such management?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management?s best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Photo: The Canadian Press Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States President Joe Biden smile as they say farewell following a virtual joint statement in Ottawa, Tuesday, February 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld A member of Congress says it's vital for the U.S. to help Canada reach vaccine 'parity' in order to get their shared border back open. New York Rep. Brian Higgins is cheering news of a White House plan to lend Canada 1.5 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Higgins has been on a crusade in recent weeks to convince President Joe Biden to come up with a plan to reopen the Canada-U.S. border. He is also among several members of Congress consulted by the Wilson Center in a study of the economic impact of the border closure. Members of that task force are expected to issue some of their preliminary findings later today. Higgins wants the two countries to expand what they consider to be "essential travel" and to develop a system that would allow people who have been vaccinated to cross the border. As Connecticut prepares for a substantial easing of pandemic restrictions Friday, the states COVID positivity rate has fluctuated this week, causing some concern for health experts. Many of the restrictions, meant to slow new infections, will be lifted from occupancy caps on restaurants, retailers and houses of worship, to an easing on limitations for gatherings in private residences and commercial venues. On Tuesday, the state reported a positivity rate of 4.96 percent among new tests administered, the highest number since late January. More telling is the seven-day average for the positivity rate has inched up to just below 3 percent. Summer Johnson McGee, dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven, said any increase is concerning this close to lifting restrictions. This is a precarious time for our state as we attempt to reopen in the midst of a COVID-19 case plateau, McGee said. From a public health perspective, I would have preferred for the state to wait to reopen more until we had a higher level of vaccination across the state. At least one doctor said he wasn't sure whether early numbers from this week were enough to delay reopening. "I'd hesitate to make an assumption based on a single day," said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious disease at Stamford Hospital. "We have to find out if this is a trend or a blip." On Wednesday, the positivity rate dropped back down to 2.43 percent as 373 new infections were identified out of 15,362 tests. The seven-day positivity rate stood at 2.87 percent. There was one fewer patient hospitalized, dipping the statewide total to 402. Eight more fatalities attributed to the disease brought Connecticut's official death toll to 7,807. With COVID numbers not yet stable, some health experts whether the state is reopening too soon. It's just a few weeks too soon, said Dr. Gregory Buller, Bridgeport Hospital's associate chief medical officer and chairman of the department of medicine. We need more people vaccinated. It seems a little bit premature to me. Buller said he understands the need to open things up from a business and social standpoint, but said he felt it was coming with a health risk. Dr. Howard Selinger, chairman of Family Medicine at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, said "we're nowhere near" herd immunity, and the state should wait until more people get the vaccine. We are still dealing with slightly more than three-quarters of the population who are not vaccinated, he said. And we have the potential for variants. It's risky. When Gov. Ned Lamont announced on March 4 he would lift or modify restrictions, the positivity rate was 1.84 percent, the lowest since October, according to state COVID-19 statistics. At the time, the seven-day average for positivity rate was 2.19 percent. Lamont at the time said: It feels good that were able to do this, it feels good that weve been slowly reopening since May 20 and we really havent had to turn back. I hope to god that we dont have to turn back this time, that the metrics stay in a positive direction. Despite a recent bump in the positivity rate, Lamonts office said they are not planning to shift course with lifting restrictions. The infection rate that were seeing now are different than the infection rate we had six months ago, the governors spokesman, Max Reiss said. Young people, he said, are getting sick now. Hospitalizations, another key measure weighed in decisions about restrictions, had dropped a net of about 50 patients from March 4 to the end of last week. Hospitalizations edged up slightly this week with 20 more hospitalizations reported as of Tuesday. The number of hospitalizations still remains about half what the state saw in early February. Lamonts plan on COVID-19 restrictions were conservative compared to other states, such as Texas, which opened everything back up 100 percent and dropped a requirement that people wear masks. Key to Lamonts plan was that people were still required to wear masks and socially distance, while businesses and commercial venues continue to sanitize and disinfect to limit the spread of the virus. But top federal health officials have repeatedly cautioned states from opening too quickly and losing ground against COVID-19 spread. As recently as last weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical advisor, voiced concerns about states easing restrictions, pointing to an increase in cases in Europe. If you wait just a bit longer to give the vaccine program a chance to increase the protection in the community, then it makes pulling back much less risky, Fauci said on Fox News. Connecticut has continued to ramp up its vaccination program, relying on commitments from the federal government that supply will increase in the coming weeks to push up the schedule for universal adult eligibility nearly a month to April 5. When Lamont announced earlier this week that all adults could get vaccinated by April 5, he also moved up the eligibility date for people age 45 to 54 to Friday. The success of the vaccine program was among the measures that factored into the decision to ease restrictions in Connecticut. When Lamont announced the plan, Connecticut had already administered 681,488 first doses of the vaccine. With second doses, the number of fully vaccinated people was 361,046. From these numbers, Lamont said at the time the state was going to have a lot more people vaccinated by March 19. The latest vaccination statistics released Monday show an additional 237,253 people received a first dose and the number of fully vaccinated increased by 134,960 people. Staff writers Amanda Cuda and Peter Yankowski contributed to this story. A large gathering of fish tempts harbor porpoises to search for food around oil and gas platforms, even though the noise from these industrial plants normally to scare the whales away; decommissioned platforms may therefore serve as artificial reefs A large gathering of fish tempts harbour porpoises to search for food around oil and gas platforms, even though the noise from these industrial plants normally to scare the whales away. Decommissioned platforms may therefore serve as artificial reefs in the North Sea. Harbour porpoises are one of the smallest of all whales and the only whale that with certainty breeds in Danish waters. The harbour porpoise was protected in 1967 in Danish Waters, and researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, have previously shown that underwater noise from ships, and seismic surveys of the seabed scare the porpoises away. A brand new study now shows that in some parts of the year there are actually more porpoises searching for food around the largest Danish oil platform, Dan F, in the North Sea than just three to ten kilometres away from the platform. 21 listening stations in the North Sea A team of researchers deployed 21 listening stations at the bottom of the North Sea. The innermost listening station was deployed immediately under the very large Dan F-oil and gas platform, while the outermost station was located 25.6 km away from the platform. One of the many listening stations was placed halfway between the inner- and outermost stations near the old oil well, Ragnar, which no longer produces oil. The listening stations were left in the North Sea for two years to record all sounds below the surface of the sea, including the noise from ships and platforms, but also the sounds produced by porpoises for orientation and the so-called "buzz sounds" telling the researchers that the whales are actively hunting for food. "With this study, we're presenting the first investigation of the presence and feeding activity of porpoises throughout the year around oil platforms, as far as we know," says senior researcher Jonas Teilmann from the Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark, who headed the investigations. The new discoveries have just been published in the British journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence, and the results from the many data surprised the researchers. Food attracts more than noise scares "During the six months from July to January, we heard more porpoises searching for food around the two installations, the Dan-F platform and the Ragnar well, than we did in control areas located 6 and 25 kilometres away from Dan-F. This was even as high as the highest porpoise activity we have seen for Natura 2000 sites in the inner Danish waters," says Jonas Teilmann. According to the researchers, the installations act as natural reefs where porpoises are provided with favourable living conditions as numerous species of plants and animals settle on the structures and provide hiding places and more food to the fish. Moreover, fishing is prohibited within a radius of 500 metres from the platforms why the seabed is undisturbed from trawling. At the Dan-F platform, the researchers heard extensive activity by porpoises when searching for food up to 800 metres from the platform. In fact, the researches know that there were up to twice as many porpoises just below the platforms than recorded by the acoustic recorders as the noise from the platform will often drown the sounds made by the porpoises. Not until a distance of 12 kilometres from the platform, the noise disappeared. The researchers cannot answer the question of whether the porpoises slowly get used to the noise from the drilling platforms, but it is clear that the motivation for finding food is greater than the deterrence effect of the noise. "Our data show that the porpoises ignored the annoyance of the underwater noise to exploit the greater availability of food around the fixed installations," says Jonas Teilmann. Should artificial installations be left in place? Especially during the period from July to January, it is important for the porpoises to consume as much food as possible in order to build up a solid layer of blubber that can bring the animals through the cold winter. It is also during these six months that the mothers need energy so they have sufficient milk for their calves. In contrast, the researchers found that there are far fewer porpoises searching for food around the artificial installations in the period from February to June. "The signals from porpoises were far less frequent during this particular period, but the buzz sounds revealed that the porpoises still searched for fish around the Dan-F platform and the Ragnar well from February to June. The noise from the platform is the same all year round, so we interpret the absence of porpoises as a change in the behaviour or the presence of fish," says Jonas Teilmann. The researchers recorded sounds from porpoises around the clock and could therefore hear that the whales were more actively searching for food at night than during the day, as far as 800 metres from the Dan-F platform. This came as a surprise to the researchers, but they know that light lures zooplankton, squids and fish up into the upper water column at night. This initiates an efficient food chain that ends with the porpoises. This could explain why the Dan-F platform was especially attractive at night, while the day activity was higher at Regnar, where no light was present. The OSPAR Convention, which protects the North Sea, requires that all decommissioned oil and gas installations are removed from the North Sea. However, the researchers are now pointing out that the old installations may be left to serve as new artificial reefs in the North Sea, the so-called "Rigs-to Reef" concept. Platforms and other installations can increase the diversity and biodiversity in areas that have been destroyed by trawling or where the original stone reefs have been removed and used for construction projects on land. ### The studies were financed by Total E&P Danmark A/S. Further information: Senior Researcher Jonas Teilmann, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; mail: jte@bios.au.dk; phone: +45 2142 4291. By Peter Bondo A police officer based in Nyamira county opened fire on two of his seniors before turning the gun on himself. The administration police officer reportedly shot at his colleagues with an AK-47 rifle. He is said to have disagreed with the senior officers over his deployment. He was dissatisfied with impending deployment and was bitter about it. He had disagreed with them over deployment to the governors residence, a police report said. Doctors at Nyamira Level Five Hospital said the officer died on arrival at the facility. Nyamira County Director of Health Silas Ayunga said the policeman shot himself in the head. One of the seniors officers died while the other is hospitalised. Police recovered four spent cartridges at the scene of crime and the AK-47 rifle, which was loaded with 26 bullets. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region For the first time, scientists have documented biofluorescence in an Arctic fish species. The study, led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History who spent hours in the icy waters off of Greenland where the red-and-green-glowing snailfish was found, is published today in the American Museum Novitates. "Overall, we found marine fluorescence to be quite rare in the Arctic, in both invertebrate and vertebrate lineages," said John Sparks, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Ichthyology and one of the authors of the study. "So we were surprised to find these juvenile snailfish brightly fluorescing in not just one, but two different colors, which is very unusual in a single species." In 2014, Sparks and colleague David Gruber, a research associate at the Museum and a biology professor at Baruch College, identified more than 180 new species of fishes that biofluoresce, the ability to convert blue wavelengths into green, red, or yellow light. This ability, which could be used for behaviors including communication and mating in some species, is now well documented in tropical fishes that live in regions where there is an even amount of daylight year-round. But in the Arctic, where days can be incredibly long or incredibly short, researchers were interested in seeing firsthand how prolonged periods of darkness affected fishes' ability to biofluoresce. "The light regime at the poles provides for winter months of near total darkness, where biofluorescence would not be functional," Gruber said. "But given the summer months with the midnight Sun, we hypothesized that it could be present." In 2019, as part of a Constantine. S. Niarchos Expedition, Sparks and Gruber headed to the iceberg habitats off the coast of Eastern Greenland to test their theory. In addition to finding very little marine fluorescence, they observed that groups of fishes that glow brightly in tropical and temperate regions--for example, scorpionfishes and flatfishes--did not fluoresce in the cold waters. But there was an exception: two juvenile specimens of variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus), the first species shown to biofluoresce in the Arctic. The species glows in both green and red, a rare example of multiple fluorescent colors emitted from a single organism. In addition, the authors report red biofluorescence from an adult kelp snailfish (L. tunicatus) collected in the Bering Strait off of Little Diomede Island, Alaska, which was collected and scanned by colleagues at NOAA Fisheries Service. In the seven years since Sparks and Gruber first reported widespread biofluorescence in fishes, it has been found in a number of new lineages, including mammals like platypuses, opossums, flying squirrels, springhares, and even marine turtles. But its exact function remains a mystery. "We are now focusing our efforts on determining the function of fluorescence in various fish groups, including catsharks, where we have shown that bright green fluorescence enhances contrast in their pigmentation pattern, making it easier for individuals to see each other at depth," Sparks said. ### This research was generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation through an AMNH Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition grant, and by the U.S. National Science Foundation grant no. DEB-1257555. Study link: https:/ / digitallibrary. amnh. org/ handle/ 2246/ 7257 To watch a video piece about the researchers' Greenland expedition, click here: https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v= M8UKnEUdojU ABOUT THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (AMNH) The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869 and currently celebrating its 150th anniversary, is one of the world's preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses more than 40 permanent exhibition halls, including those in the Rose Center for Earth and Space, as well as galleries for temporary exhibitions. The Museum's approximately 200 scientists draw on a world-class research collection of more than 34 million artifacts and specimens, some of which are billions of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum grants the Ph.D. degree in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree, the only such free-standing, degree-granting programs at any museum in the United States. The Museum's website, digital videos, and apps for mobile devices bring its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions around the world. Visit amnh.org for more information. 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 fallout continues from the brutally cold winter storm that killed dozens and left millions without power and water last month. The storm has led to a trail of resignations, several financially strapped retail electricity providers and massive power overcharges. Here's what is going on now: $16 million in overcharges The battle between Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over how to address $16 billion in power overcharges from Texas freeze will be decided by Attorney General Ken Paxton. The debate is over retroactively lowering the price of wholesale electricity, as a bill that Patrick pushed through the Senate on Monday would do. During the storm, state power grid manager ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, under an emergency order from the Public Utility Commission, raised the price of electricity to its maximum of $9,000 per megawatt hour to encourage generators to provide as much power as possible and reduce the power shortages. At issue now is whether ERCOT was justified keeping those prices high for several days, even as power reserves rebounded. From one to none The remaining member of the PUC, chair Arthur D'Andrea, resigned Tuesday night. D'Andrea's departure from the PUC, which oversees ERCOT and regulates the state's electric, telecommunications and sewer and water utilities, follows a week of controversy over his reluctance to retroactively lower the power overcharges from last months outages. WINTER STORM: Port of Houston takes a big hit after February storm But the final straw appeared to be reporting Tuesday from Texas Monthly that D'Andrea had privately assured Bank of America analysts in a call earlier this month he would protect their investors' earnings from the crisis. D'Andrea's resignation from the PUC is effective upon appointment of a replacement by Abbott and confirmation by the Senate. Griddy files for bankruptcy Griddy Energy filed for bankruptcy protection Monday. The California-based retail power company's business model exposes consumers to the wholesale market. This translated to massive bills for its customers when wholesale prices hit the state maximum of $9,000 a megawatt hour during the storm, about 300 times the average wholesale price. In the wake of the crisis, Griddy incurred debts in the tens of millions dollars, lost customers who received bills in the thousands of dollars and was hit with a $1 billion class-action lawsuit. More power companies booted Power retailers Entrust Energy and Power of Texas were booted from Texas wholesale power market last week. The two companies were banned because they could not cover bills run up when frigid weather and failing power generators drove prices to the state maximum of $9,000 per megawatt hour. Entrust Energy owes about $290 million, while Power of Texas owes an undisclosed amount. If ERCOT cant collect, the shortfall would be shared among generators, retail electricity providers and other market participants and potentially passed along to retail customers. Simple paperwork Dozens of natural gas facilities had not filled out a three-page application for outage exemptions before the winter storm, resulting in their facilities losing power when their fuel was needed most to feed struggling power plants. Without filing the paperwork, many gas production plants had never been identified as critical facilities, a designation that could have shielded them from outages during emergencies. YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations reports that several roads are closed or difficult to pass across Armenia. The ministry told Armenpress that the roads leading to the Amberd Fortress and Lake Kari in Aragatsotn province are closed. The Vardenyats Pass is closed for trailer trucks. Snowfalls are reported in Hrazdan and Charentsavan towns of Kotayk province. The Georgian side informs that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is closed for all types of vehicles. Drivers are urged to use snow tires. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Concerns have been raised around a rise in knife crime after five people were injured in a "horrific" stabbing incident in north Belfast in the early hours of Wednesday. Police said they received a report just after 2am that a woman had been stabbed and a man had been attacked in the vicinity of York Street in the city. When police arrived at the scene, the ambulance service were already in attendance. Four women reported sustaining injuries as a result of being stabbed. A man aged in his twenties also sustained a minor injury to his hand. Two of the women, one aged in her teens and the other aged in her twenties, were taken to hospital for treatment to their injuries. The other two women, aged in their twenties, were treated at the scene. Two women, aged 26 and 27-years-old were subsequently arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including attempted murder and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. A 20-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent. DUP councillor Dean McCullough said he had been contacted by local residents who were left distressed at the "horrific" sight of blood on the streets. He said he was working to establish what actually had been the cause of the incident and whether it involved people from the local area. The DUP man also expressed concern at a rise in the number of knife related incidents in north Belfast. "It's reprehensible, people from the local area were very concerned as to why this happened and how it could take place on their doorsteps," Mr McCullough said. Expand Close John Blair, Alliance MLA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Blair, Alliance MLA "We want to see the victims make a full and speedy recovery, but we'd also be concerned by the longer-term mental health impact of an incident like this. "There should be absolutely no knives on the streets, the level of graphic violence is very concerning and knives are starting to become a more frequent issue, especially in north Belfast and that's something we want to combat." The DUP councillor said he would be asking for an increased policing presence in the area and called on anyone with information to come forward. Policing Board member John Blair said it was a "very distressing incident". "It is really quite worrying," the Alliance MLA said. "I'm thinking of the victims at this time and I hope that anyone who may have been in the area or driving through it will come forward to police and Crimestoppers." Sinn Fein councillor JJ Magee said the community in north Belfast was shocked at the stabbing. "I would appeal for anyone with information on what happened to bring it forward to the PSNI," he said. PSNI Detective Sergeant O'Flaherty said police "enquiries into this incident, which we are treating as attempted murder, are continuing and we are working to establish exactly what happened". Anyone with information is asked to contact officers on 101. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BOA Biomedical, a Miraki Innovation company, focused on rapidly diagnosing and treating some of the world's deadliest infectious diseases has announced that the company will begin its First in Human clinical trial for GARNET. GARNET is an extracorporeal blood cleansing therapeutic capable of removing a significant number of pathogens and their toxic inflammation-triggering debris directly from a patient's blood. BOA's platform technology has both diagnostic and therapeutic applications and has demonstrated the ability to capture more than 100 clinically relevant bacteria, fungi, parasites, toxins and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide. COVID-19 has already claimed the lives of over 500,000 U.S. citizens and over 2.4 million worldwide. This major milestone advances BOA's mission of revolutionizing the fight against infectious disease and sepsis, by providing governments, nurses and doctors with tools and technology to save lives. The GARNET extracorporeal blood cleansing therapeutic capable of removing a significant number of pathogens and their toxic inflammation-triggering debris directly from a patient's blood. Christopher Velis, Founder and Executive Chairman of Miraki Innovation and BOA Biomedical with the GARNET extracorporeal blood cleansing therapeutic. When it comes to infectious disease, knowledge is power and speed is paramount. For each hour of delay in treating an advanced case of sepsis, fatality rates increase by up to 8%. BOA's technology has the potential to effectively manage infectious disease throughout the patient journeyfrom diagnosis, to tracking to treatment. GARNET also addresses the growing emergence of antibiotic-resistant infection, a significant limitation of existing therapies, and is intended to serve as a medical countermeasure capable of responding to any infectious outbreak, even when the pathogen is unknown. BOA's extracorporeal blood filtration technology was developed at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Miraki Innovation. "Our team has developed this technology to provide a broad therapeutic capability to treat bloodstream infections and prevent sepsis that can be used in patients even when the pathogen cannot be identified or is resistant to antibiotics. It is extremely exciting and gratifying to see the enormous progress BOA has made in rapidly moving it into the clinic," states Donald Ingber M.D., Ph.D., Founding Director of the Wyss Institute, faculty member at Harvard School of Medicine and Engineering, a scientific founder of BOA and a member of its board of directors. BOA has obtained approval from the U.S. FDA to conduct an Early Feasibility Study under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for GARNET. This prospective, multi-center, single-arm study will initially enroll 15 subjects at up to five sites. GARNET is intended to be used in subjects with confirmed or suspected bloodstream infection. Nisha Varma, COO of BOA says "This clinical experience can also be extended for use in patients with SARS-CoV-2". According to Christopher Velis, Founder and Executive Chairman of Miraki Innovation and BOA Biomedical "In the U.S., every 20 seconds a patient is diagnosed with sepsis and $24 billion per year is spent on treating this life-threatening disease. BOA's aim is to put a stop to this. Our goal is to get the best minds in infectious disease to bring revolutionary, life-saving technologies to patients as soon as possible. This medical countermeasure aspires to intervene in pandemic outbreaks, bioterrorism and military operations". Christopher also founded Auris Health in 2007, which was acquired in Feb 2019 by Johnson & Johnson, valued at $5.75 billion (inclusive of milestone payments). About BOA Biomedical BOA Biomedical is a Miraki Innovation focused on infectious disease. Our mission is to provide governments, nurses, doctors and patients with innovative tools to fight the world's most deadly infectious diseases and their outcomes including sepsis, hospital-acquired infections, antibiotic resistance, pandemic infections, pathogenic outbreaks, and the threat of bioterrorism. We have an exclusive global license to technology from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. BOA's platform manages infectious disease throughout the patient journey from diagnosis to tracking to treatment. About Miraki Miraki Innovation is a technology development venture capital firm that identifies global healthcare problems. We source technology and our funds build portfolio companies needed to solve these pressing needs. Our investment strategy balances entrepreneurial creativity with strict, unbiased discipline. We blend the experience of a seasoned venture capital firm with the ingenuity of a highly-efficient and agile management model. Our teams are diverse, skilled and dedicated. We work because we are driven to solve the world's most pressing health problems. Our values of integrity, teamwork and constant improvement enable us to build thriving portfolio companies. Contact: Alan Weinberg Director of Marketing (617) 963-8990 [email protected] SOURCE BOA Biomedical Related Links http://www.boabiomedical.com Baibolat Kunbolatuly is one of the millions of Muslims from China's western Xinjiang region who has a family member imprisoned or in an internment camp amid Beijings oppressive campaign against Muslims. The 40-year-old Kunbolatuly has been staging protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in Nur-Sultan and the consulate in Almaty since early 2020, always holding a portrait of his younger brother, Baimurat. A naturalized Kazakh citizen, Kunbolatuly has been seeking information about his brother, who vanished in Xinjiang three years ago. Locked Up In China: The Plight Of Xinjiang's Muslims Radio Free Radio/Radio Liberty is partnering with its sister organization, Radio Free Asia, to highlight the plight of Muslims living in China's western province of Xinjiang. But Kunbolatulys protests came to an abrupt end when he was detained and sent to 10 days of "administrative arrest" on February 10 for breaching laws on protests. Unsanctioned rallies -- including solo protests -- are banned in Kazakhstan. Kunbolatuly says that, while in custody, he came under pressure from officials who demanded that he end his campaign. He adds that officials threatened that he might end up like Dulat Aghadil, a prominent Kazakh activist who died in custody from an alleged heart attack last year in a death that raised suspicions of foul play. An official told me: 'Your heart might stop, too,' Kunbolatuly told RFE/RL after his release. He says officials told him that his actions could harm his childrens future. They told me: 'When your children grow up, they might want to work in government agencies, but they wont be able to do so [because of your actions]. Then your children would hate you. Youre causing them to suffer, Kunbolatuly said. Officials at the detention facility in Almaty refused to comment on Kunbolatuly's charges when contacted by RFE/RL. Kunbolatuly admits that he is worried about the potential impact his actions could have on his family if he continues his campaign and is rearrested. I think about what would happen to my children if I were to die [in prison]," he says. "What happens to my elderly parents who are already suffering because of my [brother's disappearance]? 'We Don't Know If He's Still Alive' Kunbolatuly lives in a modest apartment in Almaty with his wife and their three children. He arrived in Kazakhstan in 2002 and received a passport six years later. Kazakhstan offers citizenship to ethnic Kazakhs who return to their ancestral country. Thousands of ethnic Kazakhs moved from China to Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2005, Kunbolatulys parents left China to join him in Kazakhstan. Close family members and other relatives followed them. His brother, Baimurat, decided to return to Xinjiang in 2012 to look after an elderly aunt. Initially, Baimurat would frequently call or exchange texts with his family in Kazakhstan. But the family soon lost contact with him. The aunt and other relatives also didn't respond to Kunbolatulys calls and letters. Many people in Xinjiang are afraid to keep in touch with their relatives abroad because even answering a foreign phone call could land them in jail. The only information Kunbolatuly was able to get about his brother over many years were from other ethnic Kazakhs who would manage to call someone in Xinjiang who knew something about him. Kunbolatuly said he heard from someone that Baimurat was sent to one of China's notorious internment camps. Another rumor had it that Baimurat was forced to teach Mandarin to ethnic Kazakhs being held at a camp. Baimurat was fluent in Mandarin, which many ethnic minorities in Xinjiang dont speak, his brother recalls. Kunbolatuly says he doesnt know if what he heard about his brothers fate is true. I dont even know if my brother is still alive or not, he adds. Right groups say about 1 million people -- almost all of them from Muslim minority groups, primarily Uyghurs -- have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang. There are widespread reports of systematic torture, starvation, rape, and even forced sterilization of the people being held in the vast camps, which are located behind barbed wire and watchtowers. In January, the United States declared that China has committed genocide in its repression of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities. Beijing rejects the claims and says the camps are "vocational training centers" where people voluntarily attend classes. Message From Embassy After years of waiting for a message from his brother and looking for information about him, Kunbolatuly had had enough. He began a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Almaty as well as at the embassy in the capital, Nur-Sultan, in 2020, asking that Chinese officials provide information about his missing brother. He eventually got a text message from the embassy that read: On March 20, 2012, your brother shared content on the Chinese social [media] site Baidu Tieba that incited ethnic strife. Therefore, on April 11, 2018, a city courtin Xinjiang sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He is currently serving his sentence. Kunbolatuly says he thoroughly studied all social-media posts shared by his brother and didnt find a single message that could even remotely be linked to inciting ethnic strife. He also doesnt know why it took six years for Chinese authorities to target his brother over the alleged post. Kunbolatuly didnt receive any further comment from Chinese diplomats. There are many other ethnic Kazakh natives from Xinjiang who protest in front of China's embassy and consulate in Kazakhstan. Their stories are similar to Kunbolatuly's: They, too, are desperate to discover the fate of their loved ones who disappeared in Xinjiang. They, too, dont know if their relatives are dead or alive, if they are in prison or being held in the internment camps. Kazakhstan is reluctant to condemn the widely documented human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The Kazakh government says it doesnt interfere in Chinas treatment of its own citizens, calling it an internal matter. The largest country in Central Asia is also wary of harming its relations with Beijing, a major investor in Kazakhstans vast natural resources and other sectors of the economy. Kazakh authorities have been criticized for putting pressure on activists who call on the government in Nur-Sultan to speak up about the plight of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Like Kunbolatuly, several others have been detained by police for protesting in front of Chinese diplomatic offices. The Internet signal often disappears or weakens in certain areas when protesters gather so they cannot organize or post photos or reports online. Kunbolatuly says his Facebook account was first hacked into and then deleted while he was livestreaming a demonstration by ethnic Kazakhs near the Chinese Consulate in Almaty on March 16. An RFE/RL correspondent who was friends with him on Facebook confirms that he can no longer find Kunbolatulys account. Kunbolatuly says he has also lost access to his e-mail account. Almaty police, meanwhile, are always pushing the protesters away from the consulate, demanding they keep at least 50 meters from the building. Despite the pressures, the Kunbolatuly family is determined not to stay silent. When Kunbolatuly was in detention, his mother, Zauatkhan Tursyn, joined with the other protesters in Almaty. The family also says it has not lost hope that one day Baimurat will be freed and join his family in Kazakhstan. Until then, the Kunbolatulys say they will continue to demand answers from Beijing. Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service Gangland lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson says she will take a court fight directly to Google after the Federal Court dismissed her bid to force the search engine giant to reveal who was behind negative online reviews. Ms Garde-Wilson, who rose to prominence representing the whos who of Melbournes gangland war, suspects a rival lawyer is behind a negative Google review left under the name Mohamed Ahmed. Solicitor Zarah Garde-Wilson outside court in 2016. Credit:Eddie Jim Very misleading, terrible service, the review said. Found out ZARA [sic] WAS CONVICTED HERSELF OF CONTEMPT OF COURT ... Be careful because she almost destroyed my career in court. (Natural News) The most overpaid snake oil salesman in the country, Anthony Fauci is pushing President Donald Trump to convince more of his followers to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 since most of them are saying no to the jab. During a recent appearance on Fox News, Fauci told host Chris Wallace that another wave of the alleged virus what is this, wave 46 at this point? is on the way, and Trump supporters need to get injected in order to stop it. Europe always seems to be a few weeks ahead of us, Fauci rambled while fingering a mock toy made in the shape of the Chinese virus, as presented to the world on television. This is absolutely no time to declare victory against the virus, Fauci added, claiming that just because there has been a sharp drop-off in new cases does not mean that the world can now go back to normal. They thought they were home free and they werent, and now they are seeing cases go up, Fauci went on to fear-monger about how really scary variants of the Wuhan flu could soon appear in a city or town near you. Fauci is particularly upset about a poll released by PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist, which found that most Trump supporters are refusing the experimental gene therapy injections. On the other hand, only 10 percent of Biden supporters are planning to forego the shot. When asked by Wallace if Trump should speak directly to his supporters about getting vaccinated, Fauci eagerly responded that he hopes Trump will do exactly that because the numbers that you gave are so disturbing. How such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political considerations it makes absolutely no sense, Fauci whined. Trump says his supporters should get great vaccine that he helped create This strawman by Fauci conveniently mischaracterizes the millions of informed Americans on both the right and the left who have decided to skip the jab not for political considerations, but rather for medical and health considerations. Trump apparently listened to Fauci by urging his supporters to get the great Wuhan flu vaccines that he personally spearheaded through Operation Warp Speed. I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that dont want to get it, Trump told Foxs Maria Bartiromo. And a lot of those people voted for me, frankly. We have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But its a great vaccine, its a safe vaccine and its something that works. Beijing Biden, meanwhile, promised during a makeshift State of the Union that was all about the Chinese virus that come May there will be enough vaccinations available for every person in the United States to receive one. As other countries are halting their vaccination efforts due to high rates of adverse effects, Americas leaders are badgering the public to get injected as quickly as possible. Fauci, as a reminder, heads up a department of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which just so happens to have funded, with your tax dollars, the gain of function research on coronaviruses in Wuhan, China, that ultimately led to declaration of a pandemic last spring. What is the problem here? Fauci further complained during his interview, visibly upset that tens of millions of Americans could not possibly care less about what he has to say. This is a vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for millions of people, Fauci declared. More related news about deadly Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NYPost.com NaturalNews.com Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment By now, most know what the cancel culture is: something you did in your past will be used to silence, stop, and cancel you. Whether its Mike Lindell, whose pillow company lost many retailers after he publicly questioned the election, or Goya Foods, who upset people when they thanked President Trump, the cancel culture doesnt tolerate opposing views. So much for being tolerant. Do you see the irony? The cancel culture protects Cuties on Netflix and loves Cardi B lyrics, but they cant stand Bible verses, worship songs, or views that oppose them. Dr. Seuss is bad, Dumbo is a racist, and Speedy Gonzales offends. Granted, things from the past may need to be changed from time to time, but if you focus on childrens books and cartoon characters and say nothing against child porn, human trafficking, or the killing of innocent children in the womb, youve lost all credibility. The Church Friend or Foe? I am not especially surprised by the actions of the world; it is simply being true to its fallen nature. Rather, its the actions of the so-called church that are disturbing. In 2020, the cancel culture in the church became a reality for me. I was scheduled to speak at a church in Palos Verdes, California, but when the assistant pastor found out that my political views differed from his, he complained to the elders, and just like that, I was canceled never mind the fact that my message didnt even touch on politics. Listen to it here, and let me know if a church should cancel this type of message or if its exactly what we need to hear. I received another surprise in May of 2020. I had been corresponding with Pastor Jack Hibbs about opening our church on May 31. Once we decided to open, I was shocked by how many pastors came against us. I even shared with one prominent pastor in my area how happy I was when Pastor John MacArthur and the elders at Grace Community Church also opened. To my utter dismay, he wasnt happy at all. By this time, the shenanigans and the agendas of many political leaders were becoming apparent (more here). We not only had a legitimate virus to deal with but we had agendas and ulterior motives working against us as well. Would churches capitulate and use Romans 13 out of context, or would they meet to fast, pray, and contend for the truth? Would they be cowards or watchmen? Around this time, our local newspaper also canceled my articles, which had been featured for over a decade. Many liberal Christians no doubt complained and swayed the editor. Facebook also shadow banned me, causing our audience to drop from a quarter-million people per month to around ten thousand. Apparently, my views didnt fit their narratives. They, along with YouTube, also banned my video on vaccines and immunity and removed some of my sermons. My View is the Right View, So They Say One local pastor, who still hadnt opened his church a year into COVID, told me that I was actually hurting the Gospel because of my views. Apparently, youre not allowed to share solid biblical teaching if you hold beliefs that oppose liberal Christians. Youre hurting the Gospel with your views unless your views align with my views, so they say. Then in July 2020 I was hit again. We held church services at JetHawk Stadium in Lancaster, California, and it wasnt primarily unbelievers who were complaining. Other Christians and pastors were gossiping and backbiting. It is telling that none of them seemed to be excited that over 10,000 people attended the 4-month event and we had over 150 baptisms, the majority of which were spontaneous. Sadly, within the church, the cancel culture is often fueled by jealousy and arrogance. They dont think like I think, so God cannot be using them, goes the reasoning. There have been other groups throughout the ages who behaved in similar ways the Pharisees come to mind, as well as the pastors and denominations who have stood against many of the past revivals simply because God had the audacity to use someone else and in a way that differed from them. So while the cancel culture is not a new thing, it is new in America, and its on the rise. Our nation is increasingly polarized, with people unable to have civil conversations with those who have dissimilar views, and who actually take pleasure in destroying the lives and livelihoods of those who dare to have a different opinion. Pleasing Man Rather Than God As I wrote last week in my article on why churches should open, all pastors relate to COVID differently depending on their perspective and circumstances. They are under tremendous pressure and need more grace, not less. Im sure that many do much good in their communities, and for that, I applaud them. However, I dont think cowardliness should go unchecked, for iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). Let me state up front that without the Spirit of God, Im a coward. Without deep seasons of prayer and fasting, Im weak. Without extended times of heartfelt worship where I weep, repent, and realign my heart with Christ, I would drift from God. My heart breaks for the church, but the truth is that many Christians are being influenced by social media rather than by Gods Spirit and spend more time criticizing others rather than looking in the mirror and more time reading left-leaning liberals instead of reading and applying Gods Word. Like Samson, they do not know that the Spirit has departed (Judges 16:20). Sadly, many pastors are joining the cancel culture, keeping their church doors locked and aligning with ungodly organizations because they have either lost the compass of truth or the boldness of the Spirit or possibly both. They are distant from Christ, and therefore seek to be pleasers of men rather than lovers of God: For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10). They may cancel people, ideas, concepts, videos, articles, and sermons, but they can never cancel God! Philip Schofield appeared to take another a dig at Meghan Markle today by suggesting her potential political ambitions are in contradiction with the 'private, quiet life' she wants. The This Morning host, 58, was discussing Donald Trump's calls to the Duchess of Sussex to run against him for the 2024 Presidential race with Camilla Tominey and Nick Ferrari. Royal expert Camilla said that while it's 'always been suggested' that Meghan one day wants to enter the world of politics, speculation seems to have ramped up following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Making what appeared to be a thinly veiled jibe at the duchess, Phil pointed out that any political career she might have means she wouldn't be able to escape the media scrutiny she has fought so vehemently against. It comes a day after the presenter said that Harry and Meghan should 'shut up now', after 'stabbing a knife through the heart of the monarchy'. Speculation of Meghan's political ambitions seems to have ramped up following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey (pictured) 'I love that this idea of Meghan as the next president has really ramped up in the aftermath of the Oprah interview', said Camilla. 'It had always been suggested she had political ambitions. '2024 may be a little bit too soon, when you consider she's pregnant with her next child and may have family matters closer to hand, but that is certainly a presidential race I would want to watch. 'But also, doesn't she want a quiet, private life?', asked Phil. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night, Trump was asked what his take was on Meghan meeting with Democrat operatives and a possible run This Morning host Philip Schofield appeared to take a dig at Meghan Markle today by suggesting her potential political ambitions are in contradiction to the 'private, quiet life' she wants Camilla replied: 'Yes, also she doesn't want much scrutiny and I would suggest if she thinks the British press have been rather intrusive when it comes to her being a royal, if she were to be a candidate, my goodness, a great deal would be unleashed on her. 'So she would have to think very carefully if she is plotting a track to the White house.' Nick, 62, mockingly suggested: 'Let's shake it it up a bit, could we get J-Lo and Jerry Springer involved because then you'll have the whole lot then.' Yesterday, Phil hit out at Meghan and Harry once again, suggesting they had 'stabbed a knife through the heart of the monarchy'. Phil and Holly Willoughby (top left) were discussing Donald Trump's calls to the Duchess of Sussex to run against him for the 2024 Presidential race with Camilla Tominey (bottom right) and Nick Ferrari (bottom left) He asked royal biographer Gyles Brandreth whether it was time for the Sussexes to 'shut up' because they have 'made their point' and can now 'return to their quiet life in America'. His question comes after the couple tipped off a journalist who made public their continuing war with the Royal Family - despite the Queen's hopes that a palace investigation into their Oprah claims would be 'deal with privately'. Schofield went on to comment on how the couple had complained to US TV host Gayle King that senior royals are still yet to speak to Meghan following the bombshell Oprah interview. King revealed yesterday that she had spoken to Meghan and Harry over the weekend, and claimed they were 'upset' that the palace were saying they wanted to sort things out privately while 'disparaging' stories were still being published about Meghan. Harry and Meghan prompted fresh outrage after sharing private conversations with Prince Charles and Prince William with US journalist Gayle King 'No one in the royal family has talked to Meghan yet at this particular time,' King had told CBS. 'They both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that's Harry's family.' Discussing King's claims with panellists Beverley Turner and Brandreth, Schofield said: 'There's been an enormous amount of sympathy over the race issue and the mental health issue... but looking at the polls that sympathy seems to be ebbing away. 'Isn't there this feeling Gyles, that you've made your point, essentially shut up now and get on with your quiet American life, you've stabbed a knife through the heart of the monarchy... but stop now.' Advertisement On this day, one year ago today, the official coronavirus death toll rose above 100 as cases increased by nearly 700, as panic invaded the supermarkets and the stock markets. Schools across England were ordered to close the following day, following leads in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as an under-fire Prime Minister struggled to take initiative. Boris Johnson u-turned on testing, vowing to increase the number carried out each day from 5,000 to 25,000. The Chancellor's frantic 350billion gamble to stave off an economic crisis caused partly by virus panic did little to calm matters, as the FTSE 100 tumbled by more than 5 per cent. Pound sterling plummeted to a 35-year low against the US dollar, while the new Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey hinted at further radical action to soften the effects of the pandemic response. Glastonbury Festival 2020, which would have marked the 50th anniversary of the world-famous music event, was cancelled following days of rumour and 'big staff meetings'. British supermarkets imposed rationing on essential items such as toilet roll, soap and milk as scores of Britons stampeded into stores and cleared the shelves amid the frenzy. The number of cases worldwide hit 200,000, as Italian cases fell following that country's lockdown. Spain vowed to shut hotels and the EU Commission President admitted leaders 'underestimated' the virus. Top scientists at the World Health Organisation warned that coronavirus was killing young people as well as old, while China's Covid expert said 'herd immunity' would not stop its spread. And in North America, Donald Trump shut the US border with Canada and tripled down on talk of the 'Chinese virus' to the general annoyance of the People's Republic of China. Here, MailOnline continues its countdown of the days leading to the anniversary of the March 23 shutdown... March 18, 2020: UK coronavirus death toll rises to 104 and cases increase by nearly 700 - as emergency Westminster morgue doubles its corpse capacity to 200 The capacity of Westminster Public Mortuary is likely to double after the construction of the extension (pictured) Builders were seen moving materials to construct the extension, which lies near the Houses of Parliament On this day, one year ago today, the official coronavirus death toll rose above 100 as cases increased by nearly 700 READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE Britain's coronavirus death toll rose to 104 after the number of new daily fatalities doubled in the space of just 24 hours. Officials announced 33 more deaths, up from 16 the day before and 20 at the start of the week, amid fears of the outbreak spiralling out of control. An emergency mortuary in Westminster revealed it was having to double its capacity from 102 corpses to more than 200, in case the crisis escalated as forecast. The number of confirmed cases rose by almost 7000, with 2,626 patients then known to have been infected across the home nations. However, the true toll was reportedly being masked by officials. Health chiefs were only swabbing patients in hospital, a controversial decision that prompted the wrath of the World Health Organisation which urged countries to 'test, test, test'. Boris Johnson finally vowed a dramatic escalation of the UK's testing capacity to carry out 25,000 tests a day, after stark warnings that Britain cannot fight the pandemic 'blindfolded'. March 18, 2020: Schools across the UK close 'for the foreseeable future' and GCSE and A-level exams in May and June are SCRAPPED as panic takes hold Boris Johnson announcing that all schools in England are to be closed as of Friday, following the lead of Scotland and Wales A petition calling on the government to close schools across the UK surged to more than 672,000 signatures Boris Johnson's old stomping ground Eton College near Windsor was to shut down in order to combat the coronavirus Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, set out the bombshell plans to the House of Commons at the same time as Mr Johnson addressed the nation during his daily coronavirus press conference. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, said she could not make any promises about when schools will be able to reopen READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE The Prime Minister announced all schools in England would close by the end of the week, along with those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Mr Johnson told a Downing Street press conference that when school gates shut on the Friday, they would not reopen for the foreseeable future. A skeleton operation would be kept in place across the country so that the children of key workers - including NHS staff, police officers and supermarket delivery drivers - could be looked after and enable their parents to continue to work. The Prime Minister also said GCSE and A Level exams planned for May and June would be cancelled while nurseries and private schools were also told to close. Mr Johnson's announcement was confirmed by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in a statement to the House of Commons. March 18, 2020: Businesses warn Rishi Sunak 350billion coronavirus bailout is NOT ENOUGH amid fears unemployment could hit 1MILLION Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak said they were acting like a 'wartime government' The package was unveiled in Downing Street (pictured) after the government advised Britons to avoid pubs and clubs READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE Businesses warned Chancellor Rishi Sunak his frantic 350billion bid to stop the pandemic wiping out entire sectors was not enough. Industry leaders warned that providing companies with loans rather than grants could mean they would not be viable in the long-term. The Government faced calls to foot wage bills so staff were not laid off, as well as deferring VAT bills and suspending national insurance. Meanwhile, ministers faced complaints they are doing 'nothing' for ordinary people, the self-employed and renters. The Chancellor said more measures were to come, hinting at direct 'employment support' for jobs and incomes. He appealed for employers to delay lay-offs until they have seen the full package of support, saying: 'We will help them get through this. They don't need to rush these decisions.' The unprecedented bailout would see the Government guarantee 330billion of loans for struggling firms, and pump 20billion into a business rates holiday and cash handouts to smaller companies. March 18, 2020: Glastonbury Festival is CANCELLED and rescheduled for 2021 following 'big staff meetings' on Covid It was reported that the event would be cancelled allegedly due to a 'lack of medical staff [and] police support' Breaking the news to ticket-holders: Glastonbury founders Emily and Michael Eavis made the announcement on Twitter Glastonbury Festival 2020, the 50th anniversary edition of the music event due to be held in June, was cancelled READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE Glastonbury Festival 2020, the 50th anniversary edition of the music event due to be held in June, was cancelled following 'big staff meetings'. Festival bosses chose to pull the plug on the the event before April 1, when festival-goers were due to pay the remaining balance of their 270 tickets. Tickets would be rolled over to June 2021, when the festival was rescheduled for. The full statement read: 'We are so sorry to announce this, but Glastonbury 2020 will have to be cancelled, and this will be an enforced fallow year for the Festival. 'Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week - and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty - this is now our only viable option. 'We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved by the end of June. 'But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months here with the thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.' March 18, 2020: Supermarkets ration essential items such as toilet roll and soap as coronavirus panic-buying intensifies This photo of an elderly man looking for supplies as he is surrounded by empty supermarket shelves in Surrey, was widely shared online to demonstrate the reality of coronavirus-fuelled panic-buying A Sainsbury's worker walks past a customer next to empty shelves at a Sainsbury's store in Harpenden The shelves are empty as panic buying continues at the Tesco Holmbush store in Shoreham A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store after spates of 'panic buying' cleared supermarket shelves People rushed to enter Waitrose as the shop opened in Clapham Junction on March 18, 2020 amid virus panic Customers queuing at Costco in Croydon, south London on March 18, 2020 as virus panic swept the nation There were lengthy queues outside a Saver Centre in Willesden, London on March 18, 2020 as virus frenzy took hold READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE Tesco became the latest supermarket to impose strict rationing measures on items like loo roll, soap and UHT milk to curb coronavirus panic-buying. Britain's grocery industry was struggling to keep shelves stocked in the face of stockpiling, which worsened that Tuesday despite weekend appeals for calm from supermarket bosses and politicians. Sainsbury's announced it was closing its in-store bakeries, meat, fish and pizza counters and cafes from Friday to free up lorry and warehouse capacity, and to free up more staff to stack shelves. Aldi became the first UK grocer to introduce rationing, limiting customers to buying four items of any one product during each visit, while Morrisons was planning to create 3,500 new jobs and expand its home delivery operation. March 18, 2020: Pound slumps to 35-year low against the US dollar as FTSE tumbles 5% - while Bank of England hints at further radical steps to tackle impact of Covid Sterling dropped to 1.175 against the American currency, its lowest level since 1985 Mr Sunak was giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee as the Pound hit its low READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE The pound slumped to a 35-year low against the US dollar as the Chancellor's 350billion coronavirus bailout failed to calm the markets. Sterling dropped to 1.175 against the American currency, while the FTSE lost more than 5 per cent as it teetered on the edge of the psychologically important 5,000 level. The grim slide for the Pound - to the lowest level since 1985 - came as Rishi Sunak defended his package for keeping the UK economy afloat amid the mounting crisis. The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, refused to rule out direct financial payments to workers and business as he hinted it could take radical steps to tackle the impact of coronavirus. Mr Bailey, who took on the top fiscal role only on the Monday, also urged businesses under threat to 'talk to us' or the Government about emergency funding before laying off staff. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Bailey said the 'Bank of England's not done', amid speculation over whether it would consider a new form of so-called quantitative easing - effectively printing money - to boost the economy. March 18, 2020: Boris FINALLY u-turns on testing as he vows to increase number done each day from 5,000 to 25,000 The PM said the number of tests a day will be increased from the current level of around 5,000 to 25,000 Two men wearing suits were pictured carrying a box from ThermoFisher outside Downing Street READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE The Prime Minister vowed to increase the number of tests being carried out each day from around 5,000 to 25,000, with NHS staff being prioritised. However, it was reported the full 'surge capacity' might not be ready for another four weeks - by which time the deadly crisis was expected to be at its peak. The Government was also still only planning to test patients in hospitals, although Mr Johnson pleaded with medical companies to help 'rapidly' develop a swab test that could be used in the community. The announcement came amid mounting alarm about the low level of screening, with anger that NHS workers were being forced to self-isolate because they were unsure whether they had the disease or not. Routine testing of suspected coronavirus sufferers was abandoned the week before, when the Government said it was no longer possible to 'contain' the spread. Instead those with symptoms were being urged to stay at home for a fortnight. March 18, 2020: Commuters urge TfL to INCREASE number of rush-hour services as millions endure packed trains Keith Waller tweeted a pictured from a Tube train, saying: 'So much for social distancing on the District line' Commuters pack onto a Piccadilly line train as Underground commuters travel to work Crowds of passengers wait for a Victoria line train at Seven Sisters station READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE Angry commuters urged Transport for London to increase the number of Underground trains during rush hour as up to two million Britons continued to travel in and out of the capital. Confusion over Ministers' position on pubs, cafes and restaurants remaining open left many in the workforce continuing to make journeys amid a desperation to maintain an income. Travellers said they were still being packed in on rush hour services as TfL confirmed it was now 'matching service levels to the actual demand for travel'. Some said they had to wait up to 12 minutes for a train in Central London - far longer than normal - as people crowded platforms before making it onto trains. March 18, 2020: 'Professor Lockdown' self-isolates with Covid symptoms following doomsday report predicting 500,000 deaths in the UK in the event of no shutdown Professor Neil Ferguson tweeted that he had entered self-isolation with Covid-19 symptoms Professor Ferguson revealed he had fallen ill in a tweet READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson of Imperial College revealed on Twitter that he was in self-isolation with coronavirus symptoms. He wrote: 'Sigh. Developed a slight dry but persistent cough yesterday and self isolated even though I felt fine. Then developed high fever at 4am today. There is a lot of COVID-19 in Westminster.' Professor Ferguson was one of the main authors of a paper which led to the Government ramping up its action plan. His projection that 260,000 people could have died if officials had not announced social distancing measures was one of the driving forces behind more dramatic Government measures. March 18, 2020: Meanwhile, around the world... Global infection toll for Covid-19 surpasses 200,000 Cases of the highly contagious virus exceed 203,000, according to data compiled by the John Hopkins University It came as coronavirus deaths in Europe exceed the toll in Asia for the first time A worker disinfects a room at the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province on March 18 Workers disinfect a corridor at the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on March 18, 2020 READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE The worldwide infection toll for coronavirus topped 200,000 after doubling in less than two weeks. Cases of the highly contagious virus exceeded 203,000, according to data compiled by the John Hopkins University. The global toll reached six figures on March 7, more than two months after the outbreak first began in Wuhan, China, in late December. But another 100,000 people were infected in just 11 days since then, largely due to a surge in cases in Europe. At least 160 countries and territories around the world had reported cases in every continent except Antarctica. The John Hopkins University also recorded 8,006 deaths, suggesting around 4 per cent of patients who catch the virus die from it. WHO says Covid-19 is killing the young as well as the old Most of the 8,000 fatalities recorded across the world were people who were elderly or suffered underlying conditions A young man wearing a face mask passes signs for a COVID -19 Clinic at St Vincent's hospital on March 18 Bruce Aylward (pictured), International team lead for the WHO-China joint mission on COVID-19, said young people are, in fact, dying of the respiratory infection READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE The World Health Organisation warns that young, health people are dying from coronavirus but admit the elderly at most at risk of developing severe illness. Dr Bruce Aylward, who assessed the pandemic in China, said there was an alarming number of young people who had developed complications from the disease. An emergency doctor in Belgium revealed the shocking lung scans of 'young, healthy people', which he described as 'nothing short of terrifying'. Chinese health officials carried out the biggest ever study on the never-before-seen strain of the virus, using data from 72,000 cases. They found 19 per cent of patients who died were below the age of 60 years. EU chief admits leaders 'underestimated' impact of Covid-19 European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen admitted that political leaders had 'underestimated' coronavirus Lithuanian border guards stand next to trucks on the border with Poland, with borders shut across Europe Trucks were tailing back for more than six miles on the A12 motorway from the German town of Frankfurt READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE European leaders 'underestimated' the impact of coronavirus, the EU 's top official admitted as the bloc agreed to shut its borders. Ursula von der Leyen said that 'measures which seemed drastic two or three weeks ago need to be taken now' as much of the continent went into lockdown. The European Commission chief admitted that the virus 'will keep us busy for a long time', in an interview with Bild which was published on March 18, 2020. European leaders had banned travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days to contain the spread of the virus and many governments were taking their own drastic measures. Trump closes the border with Canada amid Covid fears To curb the spread of the coronavirus, the US and Canada worked on a ban of non-essential travel to either country President Trump said the agreement was reached through mutual consent with Canada President Trump said the action was taken 'by mutual consent' and would not affect trade READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE President Donald Trump closed the northern US border with Canada, tweeting that 'non-essential' traffic would be banned. 'We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!' he tweeted. Canada and the United States had worked out the details of a mutual ban on non-essential travel between the two countries amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The President also tripled-down on calling the coronavirus the 'Chinese virus' after Beijing expelled three US journalists from several major news outlets in retaliation for his use of the term. Spain vows to close hotels and UK holidaymakers are told to leave Spanish soldiers stand guard in Puerta del Sol in the capital Madrid, where the Spanish government has ordered a shutdown Military personnel disinfect streets in Santiago de Compostela during the lockdown in Spain READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE British tourists were told to leave Spain within days after the Spanish government announced that all hotels would close the following Tuesday. The Foreign Office warned British travellers to 'make travel plans to return as soon as possible' after Madrid announced the shutdown. Holidaymakers were urged to 'contact their tour operator or airline as soon as possible' to make arrangements to fly home. Spain had imposed a near-total lockdown and banned people from leaving their homes except to go to work, buy food or receive medical care. Italy's rate of infections slowed after implementing lockdown measures This table shows the number of new coronavirus infections in Italy for every day since the virus began spreading there on Febraury 21. The numbers have flatlined in recent days, settling down at around 3,500 new cases every 24 hours This graph shows the rate of increase in Italian coronavirus cases since March 7 Hospital workers prepare coffins at the Ponte San Pietro hospital in Bergamo, in the province of Lombardy READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE Italian coronavirus infections slowed after the country took drastic quarantine measures to stop the spread of the pathogen. The number of daily cases in Italy was fairly stagnant over the past four days, settling down at around 3,500 new patients per day. Wednesday's increase in the overall tally was 12.6 per cent, the second-lowest rate since the virus began spreading in Italy on February 21 - offering hope that the lockdown is bearing fruit even as the death toll rose by 345 to 2,503. Italians were ordered to stay indoors, with schools and universities shut, shops closed except for grocery stores and pharmacies, and heavy restrictions on travel. China's top Covid expert warns 'herd immunity' will not stop the virus The Chinese senior medical adviser (pictured) rebuked the UK's approach to allow citizens to catch the virus to build up a national tolerance strong enough to stop the virus circulating The advisor said that the pattern of the outbreaks outside of China was similar to the trajectory of the outbreak in Wuhan READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE China's top coronavirus expert warned that 'herd immunity' would not contain the global outbreak because the disease is too infectious and lethal. The Chinese senior medical adviser rebuked Britain's approach to allow citizens to catch the virus to build up a national tolerance strong enough to stop the disease circulating. 'Herd immunity won't solve the problem,' Dr Zhong Nanshan said in a press conference. 'We don't have the evidence to prove that if you are infected once, you would be immune for life.' 'Our next step is to develop effective vaccines, which requires global cooperation,' he added. North Korea makes 'impossible' claim of ZERO Covid-19 cases North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un says the country has had no cases of coronavirus, a claim experts greatly disputed READ THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE North Korea boasted that it had no cases of Covid-19, even as its neighbour to the north China experienced more than 3,200 deaths. Kim Jung Un claimed that a 30-day quarantine, a closed border and the suspension of trade with China had kept the nation free from coronavirus. But some experts believed the claim was just a cover-up, with former CIA expert Jung H Pak telling Fox: 'It's impossible for North Korea not to have a single case of coronavirus.' Flowers are laid in front of Gold Spa following the deadly shootings in Atlanta, Georgia on March 17, 2021. REUTERS NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bryant Park Capital ("BPC"), a leading middle market investment bank, announced today that Healthcare Funding Partners, LLC ("HFP" or the "Company") recently closed on a senior secured debt transaction with a global asset management firm with more than $100 billion in assets under management. BPC served as the exclusive financial advisor to HFP in connection with this transaction. "Bryant Park Capital was a perfect advisor and partner to represent our company as we went to market. Even though our assets are relatively complex and nuanced, the Bryant Park Capital team was able to quickly understand our business and produce the analytics and financial analysis necessary to position us for success. In large part due to BPC's support and robust capital markets expertise, we were able to achieve a terrific outcome with an ideal lending partner." Chad I. Sokoloff - Managing Partner, Healthcare Funding Partners Michael S. Hilf - Managing Partner, Healthcare Funding Partners About Healthcare Funding Partners Healthcare Funding Partners provides advance funding to licensed insurance agencies against commission stream receivables generated from the sale of health insurance and related ancillary products to individuals and families in all 50 states. The Company was founded in 2019 and is located in Palm Beach County, Florida. About Bryant Park Capital Bryant Park Capital is an investment bank providing M&A and corporate finance advisory services to emerging growth and middle market public and private companies. BPC has deep expertise and a diversified, well-founded breadth of experience in a number of sectors. BPC has raised various forms of credit, growth equity, and assisted in mergers and acquisitions for its clients. Our professionals have completed over 300 assignments representing an aggregate transaction value of over $35 billion. For more information about Bryant Park Capital, please visit www.bryantparkcapital.com. Contact: Joel Magerman, Managing Partner & CEO 212-798-8212 [email protected] Dan Avnir, Managing Director 212-798-8202 [email protected] SOURCE Bryant Park Capital Armed Congolese raid Uganda, abduct 16 fishermen by Alex Tumuhimbise March 18,2021 | Source: Daily Monitor Armed gunmen suspected to be from the Democratic Republic of Congo have invaded fishing communities on Lake Albert in Western Uganda district of Hoima, abducting at least 16 fishermen. The invasion took place on Sunday at Kaiso landing site of Mbegu parish, Kabaale Sub County, Hoima district. The militiamen also allegedly robbed four fishing boats, four boat engines and several sets of fishing nets from the fishermen. Kaiso landing site Chairperson, Mr Fred Mujuni said that about four armed men put the fishermen at gunpoint and ordered them to surrender their fishing gear and other material possessions. They would later cross with their prey to DRC. The Albertine Regional Police spokesperson, Mr Julius Hakiza said security forces are on ground to rescue the Ugandan citizens. It was too late for the police to pursue the suspected militiamen at the time security teams were alerted. Efforts are ongoing to engage the Congolese authorities to have the abducted Ugandans freed, Hakiiza said. Hakiza identified some of the Ugandan fishermen whose boats have been robbed by the militiamen as Mr Richard Okethwengu, Mr Philemon Kazingufu and Mr Asaba Sirius, all residents of Kaiso landing site. He said it is not yet clear in which parts of DR Congo, the abducted fishermen are being held. Hoima District chairman, Mr Kadiri Kirungi said the matter of continuous attacks against Ugandas fishing community by armed Congolese militias was recently tabled before the president of Uganda who called for a stakeholder meeting that sat in Hoima on Monday and both sides (Uganda and DR Congo) accused each other of fishing beyond designated territorial boundaries. Mr Kirungi told Daily Monitor that he was optimistic about security in the Albertine region after a successful meeting at TIK hotel. We had a deep discussion on matters of cross-border trade conflicts. The disturbing thing is that our people are being attacked by Congolese. Congo accepted that it has some challenges with her errant soldiers and bandits. I believe the meeting will bring this matter to an end, Kadiri added. There have been rampant attacks against Ugandan fishing communities on Lake Albert since 2018. In October 2020, suspected armed Congolese militiamen raided Lake Albert where they abducted 16 fishermen, robbed 20 boat engines and 20 fishing boats. The incident happened near Kaiso and Kijangi landing sites in Buseruka sub-county in Hoima district and Sebigoro landing site in Kabwoya sub-county, Kikuube district. In April 2020, two suspected Congolese militiamen were gunned down on Lake Albert in Hoima district in a fire exchange between the militia and the UPDF soldiers. The two, later identified as Ozelle Opio, 25, and another, only identified as Singa were part of the group that invaded the landing site near Kaiso in Buseruka sub-county where they put several Ugandan fishermen at gunpoint, ordering them to surrender their fishing gear including boats, fishing nets, engines, and hooks. According to the International Alert, a peace building organization- climate change and population increase are adding pressure to fisheries resources in trans-boundary lakes shared by Uganda and DR Congo thereby intensifying intra-and inter-community conflicts in the already fragile region. Nation Media Group Theme(s): Communities and Organisations. A police sub-inspector has been found murdered in Bihar's Saran district, an official said on Thursday. The deceased, Rana Ravi Ranjan Pratap Singh was deployed in the Mufassil police station in Samastipur district. He was on leave at the time of visiting his native village Naraon in Saran district, police said. According to the police, his family said that on Tuesday around 6 p.m. Singh went to the vegetable market and made a call to his relative at 7 p.m., which was his last call. When he did not return home till 8 p.m., the family members called him but his phone was switched off. Aman Pratap Singh, son of the sub-inspector, lodged a missing complaint at the Avatar Nagar police station. On Wednesday evening, the S-I's dead body was found in an agricultural field near the Dumri-Juara railway station. Santosh Kumar, Superintendent of Police of Saran district said: "Prima facie, it appears to be case of murder. We are investigating the incident." CACI battles to keep Cybercom contract CACI International is protesting the loss of an incumbent contract worth a potential $200 million to support the U.S. Cyber Command Booz Allen Hamilton won the contract that was competed through the Defense Intelligence Agencys Solutions for Intelligence Analysis III vehicle. CACI and Booz Allen bid to provide intelligence services for Cybercom's directorate of intelligence. The competition took place over a two-step process. In step one, Cybercom determined the highest-rated bidder. Then negotiations over price with that company would move forward. The agency has estimated the value of the work at $200 million but final price has not been set yet. CACI filed its protest after getting knocked out in step one. The company filed its protest March 10 and a decision from Government Accountability Office is expected June 18. 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. In 2006, the number of foreigners living in Korea surpassed 900,000. Today, there are 1.3 million, accounting for 2.7 percent of Korea's population, a 40 percent increase over the five-year period. The wariness and antagonism has also grown to go beyond hurling verbal abuse at them on public buses. In April, a lawmaker proposed a law giving the same medical and educational benefits to children of illegal aliens as those given Korean children. That prompted a visit to the lawmaker's office by four men, who belonged to a group opposing the government's multicultural policies aimed at welcoming foreigners to Korea. They spoke to the lawmaker for an hour detailing their reasons. There are about five civic groups that are opposed to multiculturalism. They claim that foreigners take away jobs from locals and commit crimes, and that they dilute the racial identity of Koreans. The groups visited the Bangladeshi Embassy early this year and demanded officials educate Bangladeshis about crime prevention. They also rallied in front of KBS protesting against the state-run broadcaster airing programs that they claimed instill fantasies about multicultural families. Last year, the groups posted around 1,500 messages on the Labor Ministry's website demanding an end to work visas for people from Muslim countries. Following the massacre in Norway by a white supremacist, some websites are filled with messages of hate targeting foreigners. They are saying that Korea could suffer the same fate if it does not scrap its multicultural policies. There was also news that the Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik named Korea as a country that needs to be emulated because it became an economic success story without allowing in immigrants and that it is a safe, monocultural society. In Norway and Germany, immigrants account for 11 percent of the population, while the ratio is 7 percent in France and the United Kingdom and 6 percent in Spain. In Korea, foreigners account for less than 3 percent of the population, and 40 percent of them are ethnic Koreans from China. There is an Arabic saying that goes, "Ask me what my virtues are and not my skin color." Racial prejudice is the most blinding form of prejudice and makes many people vicious. Korea cannot continue to develop in a globalized society with such prejudices. But we need to make sure that our policy toward immigrants has a long-term vision. We need to research the appropriate number of immigrants our economy needs and find ways to manage these levels. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! AirAsia India offloaded two middle seat passengers from its Goa-Mumbai flight on Monday, while IndiGo handed over two flyers to security officials during the last three days for not following the COVID-19 rules in flights, said senior government officials on Thursday. While action was taken against two passengers on the AirAsia India flight for refusing to wear PPE gowns, IndiGo handed over two passengers of its two different flights to security officials at the destination airports for refusing to wear masks, the officials noted. Aviation regulator DGCA had on Saturday asked airlines to de-board passengers who do not wear their masks "properly" despite repeated warnings. The aforesaid incidents came to light after media reported on Wednesday that four passengers were handed over to security agencies on Tuesday for not wearing masks properly onboard Alliance Air's Jammu-Delhi flight despite repeated warnings by the cabin crew. The government officials said on Thursday that a middle seat passenger on IndiGo's Delhi-Goa flight on Monday first created fuss on the issue of wearing PPE gown, and then she kept taking off her mask during the flight even after repeated warnings by the cabin crew. The crew handed her over to the security authorities once the flight landed in Goa, they added. A similar incident happened on Wednesday on IndiGo's Delhi-Hyderabad flight where a passenger refused to wear mask even after repeated warnings by the crew members, they said. The passenger was handed over to the security officials once the flight landed in Hyderabad, they added. The officials also said AirAsia India offloaded two middle seat passengers from Goa-Mumbai flight on Monday for not wearing PPE gowns before take off. When asked, AirAsia India spokesperson confirmed the incident and said, "Despite repeated requests, on observation that two guests refused to comply with the safety protocols laid out by the health and governing bodies, AirAsia India deplaned the guests from its Goa-Mumbai flight. The guests were escorted from the flight for further procedures." "We place safety and security foremost in all aspects of our operations and apologise for any inconvenience caused to other guests," the spokesperson added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paris and several other regions in France have tonight been plunged into a new month-long lockdown after President Macron's hand was forced by a faltering vaccine rollout and the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants. Prime Minister Jean Castex said the tougher restrictions followed a clear acceleration in the spread of the coronavirus, with France now in the grip of a third wave. 'The moment has come to go further, with more demanding restrictions where things are most critical,' Castex told a news conference. The lockdown will be imposed on the 16 hardest hit departments, the prime minister said, including Paris and its surroundings, as well as parts of the north. It takes effect from midnight on Friday. Schools will stay open and people will be allowed to exercise outdoors within a 10 km (6.2 miles) radius of their homes. People living in these areas would not be allowed to travel to other parts of France without a compelling reason. The move comes after France on Wednesday announced its biggest daily rise in Covid cases since its most recent lockdown was lifted in late November last year. France, like much of Europe, has been left vulnerable to a Covid third wave due to its slow vaccine roll-out that has left most of the population unprotected. EU bureaucracy and supply issues have been blamed for much of the shambles, but it has been hampered further France's decision to temporarily halt the use of AstraZeneca vaccines. A Parisian crosses the Seine near the Eiffel Tower as the city and its surrounding areas face a third spell of lockdown amid another resurgence in Covid-19 cases in France People walk over a deserted bridge in a cloudy Paris, where people will once again have to fill out a form to justify their movements to authorities Paris was plunged back into a form of lockdown on Wednesday night after Covid cases in France began spiking, reaching their highest levels since a November lockdown While Covid deaths in France have been steadily falling since last year, there are fears the trend could reverse as hospital intensive care wards are overwhelmed The move came amid fears the jab could cause blod clots, despite EU leaders, the World Health Organization and Europe's own medical regulator saying it is safe. The European Medicines Agency is due to give its final ruling on the safety of the jab today, and Emmanuel Macron has signalled that he is ready to 'quickly' resume use of the vaccine once the ruling is public. France recorded 38,501 new cases of the virus Wednesday up from 29,975 the day before, the country's public health body said. The last lockdown in France began to be eased on November 28 last year, and the largest one-day rise since then was 31,519 cases recorded on February 24. The cabinet held an emergency meeting to discuss the figures on Wednesday night, after which spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed new measures would be imposed. Attal said the new measures could include some form of lockdown including in the Paris region, but added that schools will not be closed. Prime Minister Jean Castex will announce the exact measures at a press conference on Thursday evening. Paris has been at the forefront of France's third wave of Covid, with patients evacuated from hospitals in the city on Monday after intensive care beds ran out France, like much of Europe, has been left vulnerable to a Covid third wave due to its slow vaccine roll-out, which has seen just a fraction of its population jabbed France has been using weekend lockdowns in other cities in order to bring down Covid rates, and Mr Castex said on Tuesday that the same measures will be considered for Paris if the situation gets worse. 'We are in a worrying and critical situation and, clearly, measures of the type that have been used in other parts of the territory are on the table,' Castex said. Paris has been at the forefront of France's third wave of Covid as new and more-infectious variants of the virus, such as the one from the UK, take hold. Intensive care units in the city have breached capacity in recent days, with patients having to be evacuated from the city by helicopter to nearby hospitals. On a visit to hospital outside Paris on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron said any new measures would be 'proportionate' and be made on a territorial basis. 'We will take the decisions that need to be taken,' he said. In all, just over 5.5 million people in France have had at least one vaccine shot and nearly 2.4 million have received both doses, official data show. That is compared to 25million people in the UK who have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1.7million people who have had two doses. Macron, who visited hospitals in Paris on Wednesday, said any new measures would be 'proportionate' and made on a territory-by-territory basis That discrepancy led EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen to threaten to block exports to countries with higher vaccination rates than Europe. Von der Leyen, without directly mentioning the UK, said export blocks would be used to ensure 'reciprocity' when it came to exports. She then demanded that Britain hand over AstraZeneca jabs which are being used as part of its roll-out, despite the jab currently being banned across much of Europe. It is thought there are currently 7.5million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine sitting un-used in Europe as a result of the bans. England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, offered a sharp rebuke to European decisions not to use the jab, saying: 'Vaccines don't save lives if they're in fridges. 'They only save lives if they're in arms, and that's a really important fact.' Ms von der Leyen's comments today raise the possibility that stocks of Pfizer jab manufactured in Belgium could be prevented from going to Britain although most of the UK's AstraZeneca supplies are made in this country. WHEELING, W.Va. and SANFORD, N.C., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Planone of West Virginia's largest managed care organizationsannounces a partnership with DisposeRx to enhance opioid prevention efforts throughout the state. In phase one of the collaboration, The Health Plan will purchase DisposeRx at-home medication disposal packets, which will be offered to patients being discharged from substance use disorder treatment facilities. The Health Plan also plans to share packets with patients of Federally Qualified Health Centers. "The Health Plan is pleased to engage in this partnership, which will assist the citizens of West Virginia who are battling substance use disorder," said Christy Donohue, Vice President of Mountain Health Trust for The Health Plan. DisposeRx will provide staff training, as well as comprehensive patient education about opioid prevention measures and the critical importance of proper medication storage and disposal. "From our initial meeting with The Health Plan team, we sensed great synergy between our two organizations," said William Simpson, DisposeRx president. "The Health Plan understands that their state has been hard hit by the opioid crisis and now the pandemic. They are committed to opioid prevention education and member safety, and we appreciate the many creative ideas they have for engaging with and investing in their communities." About The Health Plan As one of the largest locally managed care organizations in West Virginia, The Health Plan has a 40-year history of community and charitable giving. From sponsorship of local youth-focused asthma and diabetes camps to college scholarship programs and sponsorships of dozens of community events throughout the region, The Health Plan strives to make a positive and healthy impact throughout the geographic regions that we serve. The Health Plan is a clinically driven, technology-enhanced, and customer focused health maintenance organization that manages and improves the health and wellbeing of its members. Established in 1979, the West Virginia-based company, with offices in Wheeling, Charleston and Morgantown, WV and Massillon, OH, has offered a complete line of managed care products and services designed to provide health care systems and clients with innovative health care benefits and plans at a reasonable cost across the mid-Atlantic region and nationally. For more information, visit healthplan.org. About DisposeRx, Inc. DisposeRx, Inc., a North Carolina-based company, is dedicated to decreasing the risks of drug diversion, overdoses, suicides, accidental poisonings and antibiotic resistance by facilitating medication management behavior change and eradicating the misuse of leftover medications. DisposeRx's market-leading, patented drug disposal packets and education programs are currently available at 60% of retail pharmacies and through 90% of the wholesale pharmacy and medical distributors across the nation. For more information, visit DisposeRx.com. SOURCE DisposeRx, Inc.; The Health Plan Related Links https://disposerx.com/ Big Joke gets advisory job at RTP THAILAND: Surachate Big Joke Hakparn will work in an advisory position, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday (Mar 17), confirming speculation that he would be assigned to a new post at the Royal Thai Police (RTP). policepolitics By Bangkok Post Thursday 18 March 2021, 09:09AM Surachate: No word on probe. Photo: Bangkok Post. Gen Prayut said the Police Commission meeting yesterday approved the move. The new post, equal in rank to an assistant police chief position, was created at its previous meeting on Friday - but the prime minister denied it was tailor-made for any officer in particular. The position was needed to work out a strategy for the reorganisation and reform of the police force, Gen Prayut said. He declined to say if the RTP would probe Pol Lt Gen Surachate. Gen Prayut said last Tuesday the transfer was linked to the inquiry into Pol Lt Gen Surachate that began at the PMs Office. Pol Lt Gen Surachate could not be reached for comment. The meeting yesterday approved the reshuffle of 75 positions for senior officers that will take effect next month. Media interest focused on which position Pol Lt Gen Surachate would take after he was transferred back to the Pathumwan headquarters from an inactive post at the Prime Ministers Office. Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk said the transfer of Pol Lt Gen Surachate back to the RTP was done according to Police Commission rules. He would act as an adviser to the national police chief in drafting strategies. Pol Lt Gen Surachate was the Immigration Bureau chief before he was moved to the Prime Ministers Office in 2019 for reasons which are unclear. Having been transferred to the Prime Ministers Office in 2019, he was seldom seen in public until the night of Jan 6 last year when he filed a police complaint that a gunman on a motorcycle fired multiple shots at his Lexus sedan which was parked in Soi Sarika near Suriwong Road. No one was injured in the shooting. Pol Lt Gen Surachate was at a business meeting at a nearby restaurant. There were eight bullet holes on the left side of the vehicle, one in the front passenger door and seven in the rear door, according to police. Security camera footage showed two men wearing crash helmets on a motorcycle without a licence plate in the area shortly before. Mar. 18A federal grand jury indicted a Cleveland, Tennessee, man charged with participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., on 12 charges, according to federal court documents filed last week. Joseph Lino "Jose" Padilla, 40, originally faced six charges upon his arrest involving assaulting a police officer and throwing a flagpole during the riot. Padilla, who was honorably discharged from the Tennessee National Guard in 2012, was arrested by the Bradley County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 23 after people who recognized him tipped off the FBI. His new charges include: Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. Civil disorder (three counts). Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon (two counts). Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting. Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings. Act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings. According to the FBI's charging documents, prosecutors note that Padilla is seen on a Metropolitan Police Department officer's body camera wearing a scuba mask over his eyes and pushing a police barricade line while shouting, "Push! Push! F ---- push!" Shortly thereafter, another video posted by an obscure social media entity that has since been banned from YouTube for violating its community guidelines shows Padilla and other rioters using a large, metal sign "as a battering ram against the MPD officers attempting to hold the line." Later that day, a video posted to Instagram by photographer "jrobertson" showed Padilla standing just to the side of the stairs leading up to the archway of the Capitol's lower west terrace doors when he threw a flagpole javelin style at police as other rioters continued attacking the officers. The flagpole landed just in front of the police line. Story continues Since his arrest, prosecutors have argued Padilla should not be granted pre-trial release because he "poses a clear danger to our republic." They point to his actions documented in videos and his own social media statements made on Jan. 6 and the days that followed to support their argument. "By word and deed, Padilla has supported the violent overthrow of the United States government," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Strain wrote, "and his recounting of the events on Jan. 6 represent his continued violent attitude and lack of remorse." "Such conduct threatens the republic itself," Strain added. "Indeed, few offenses are more threatening to our way of life." The motion now sits before Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates. A decision has not yet been made. Federal authorities have arrested more than 315 people from 40 states and the District of Columbia in connection with the attack on the Capitol, during which supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to block Congress from certifying his re-election loss. At least eight Tennesseans have been arrested for their participation in the riot, according to a U.S. Department of Justice database. Contact Rosana Hughes at 423-757-6327, rhughes@timesfreepress.com or follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana. Stegosaurian teeth found at the Teete stream (the Republic of Sakha), in different planes Credit: SPbU Powerful and squat stegosaurs are now one of the most recognizable dinosaurs: they are easily identified by the spines on the tail and the bony plates on the backosteoderms. The representatives of this group lived about 165-125 million years ago, during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. They were five to seven meters long and had a disproportionately small head. Their teeth were therefore quite smallabout a centimeter in height and about the same in width. Paleontologists from St Petersburg University worked together with colleagues from: the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the University of Bonn; and the Diamond and Precious Metal Geology Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research materials were collected during a series of expeditions to the Republic of Sakha in 2012 and 2017-2019. On the banks of the Teete stream, not far from the small Yakut town of Suntar, there is a large, but not yet fully examined locality of dinosaurs. In the Cretaceous, these territories were located close to the North Pole, which means that they can shed light on the life of polar dinosaurs. Was the local fauna different from that of the southern regions? What was the climate here? How were animals affected by the polar day and polar night? The scientists are trying to find answers to these questions, including by studying the teeth of ancient creatures. "We have found teeth of animals of different agesboth adults and cubs," said Pavel Skutschas. "This suggests that the polar stegosaurs are most likely to have been sedentary: they multiplied and raised offspring on the same territory all year round. Additionally, almost all of the finds are extremely eaten away: many of them have two or three facetsworn edges from contact with adjacent teeth." Three-dimensional reconstruction of a stegosaurian tooth found at the excavation site near the Teete stream (the Republic of Sakha) Credit: SPbU This feature prompted the researchers to believe that second dentition in polar stegosaurs could occur sufficiently quickly. The scientists therefore investigated 'temporary rings' - the so-called von Ebner lines, which can be used to calculate the number of days required for odontogenesis. It took Yakut stegosaurs only about 95 days to complete this task, although in other dinosaur species the process usually lasted 200 days or longer. These Yakut inhabitants are most likely not to have suffered from caries since it takes much more time for it to appear. "The fact that teeth formed quickly, grinded quickly and changed quickly is highly likely to indicate that the stegosaurs from Yakutia ate some kind of tough food. We cannot yet say with 100% certainty that we have found polar adaptation, since there is, in principle, very little information about the teeth of stegosaurs. However, their teeth, found in more southern areas, usually have only one wear surface. In a word, this is a new question for palaeobotanistswhat was the hard plant growing in the polar regions that the Yakut stegosaurs ate?" noted Pavel Skutschas. Another remarkable thing made it possible to take a different view on the structure of the jaws of these animals: on the surface of the teeth abrasion, the scientists were able to spot curved micro gouges. Paleontologists used to assume that very simple jaw movements were characteristic of stegosaursup and down, like scissors. However, now, thanks to the patterns of gouges on the facets, it became clear that jaw movements were more complex and included a longitudinal phase. Reconstruction of the pulp cavity inside the stegosaurian tooth. Credit: SPBU Another conclusion turned out to be associated with the wavy structure of the enamel. It used to be thought that it was unique to the younger Late Cretaceous dinosaurs, which had a complex dentition, such as the hadrosaurids. However, the paleontologists saw this feature in stegosaurs from Yakutia and decided to examine the teeth of another Early Cretaceous dinosaur, a primitive relative of TriceratopsPsittacosaurus. This unique feature turned out to have been prevalent among dinosaurs in general. "Stegosaurs are one of the most recognizable and popular dinosaurs that are often seen on T-shirts and various pictures. However, we still know little about them. This research has raised many new questions that can be solved without setting out on an expedition, but by studying materials that have been stored in museums for hundreds of years. We have managed to show what features the polar stegosaurs had. But what is an "ordinary," "benchmark" stegosaurus? This has yet to be investigated," stressed Pavel Skutschas. Explore further New species of stegosaur is oldest found anywhere in the world More information: Pavel P. Skutschas et al, Wear patterns and dental functioning in an Early Cretaceous stegosaur from Yakutia, Eastern Russia, PLOS ONE (2021). Journal information: PLoS ONE Pavel P. Skutschas et al, Wear patterns and dental functioning in an Early Cretaceous stegosaur from Yakutia, Eastern Russia,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248163 New Delhi: The security forces have launched a cordon and search operation in Sopore's Shangergund area in Jammu & Kashmir's Baramulla district. According to reports, two terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area. UPDATE: #11:20 AM: #Killed militants have been identified as Naeem(r/o Sopore) & Aashiq (r/o Pattan), HM outfit # Troops recovered 2 AK 47 & 1 Insas rifle fm spot (earlier reported as 1 AK 47 & a pistol) search on #10:39 AM: Two terrorists of HM killed 1 pistol 1 Ak recovered with there dead bodies. Identification being done searches still on #10:20 AM: Exchange of fire taking place between security forces and terrorists at Sopore's Shangergund area in Jammu & Kashmir's Baramulla On Saturday, a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Ishfaq Paddar was killed in an encounter with security forces in Tantrypora area of Kulgam district. According to the reports, the terrorist killed in the encounter was identified as Ishfaq Paddar, a resident of Machiwa. Ishfaq was involved in the killings of Lt Umar Fayaz, a Kashmiri Army officer. On May 10, a bullet-ridden body of a 22-year-old Fayaz was found in Shopian district's Herman area in South Kashmir. After the encounter of Fayaz, mobile internet services were temporarily suspended in Shopian and Kulgam districts in wake of protests. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi, March 18 : Tightening its noose around absconding Trinamool Congress youth leader Vinai Mishra and his brother Vikas Mishra, who has been arrested, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached their immoveable properties in connection with the cross-border cattle smuggling case. An ED official said that the agency attached the immoveable property of the Mishra brothers in Kolkata, a residential building. The ED arrested Vikas Mishra on March 16 from the national capital in connection with its probe into the illegal coal smuggling case. A court sent Vikas Mishra to six days' ED custody. The ED case of money laundering in the cattle smuggling case is based on the CBI FIR that it registered on September 21 last year against four persons, including some Border Security Force and Customs officers, who were allegedly bribed by the international cattle smugglers. The CBI had carried out searches at 34 locations across the country and arrested then BSF Commandant Satish Kumar and cattle smuggler Mohammad Enamul Haque last year. Haque is currently in judicial custody. The CBI filed a charge sheet in the case in February this year against seven persons. A new study comparing decades of environmental monitoring records has confirmed that Canada's caribou are not faring as well as other animals like moose and wolves in the same areas--and also teased out why. The study used 16 years of data to examine changes in vegetation, moose, wolves and caribou. "Caribou are declining across Canada and have been recently lost in the Lower 48 States," says Melanie Dickie, a doctoral student with UBC Okanagan's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science. "Understanding why caribou are declining is the first step to effectively managing the species--it tells us which parts of the issue we can target with management actions and how that might help caribou." Dickie, along with fellow UBCO researchers Dr. Clayton Lamb and Dr. Adam Ford, describe the decline in caribou populations as an ecological puzzle. Typically, there are multiple factors, all changing at once, making it hard to identify how the pieces fit together. Factors such as predation from wolves and other large carnivores, increasing moose and deer populations, and habitat alteration through resource extraction and wildfires all play a part. The study aimed to sort out the roles each of these play in caribou population declines. Once land is cleared by either wildfire or harvesting, the mature forest transforms into more productive early seral forage. With the tree canopy removed, there is a significant increase in sunlight, allowing understory plants to thrive. These plants provide food that benefits moose, deer and their predators. These predators then have a spillover effect on the rarer caribou, creating apparent competition between moose and caribou. "Changes in primary productivity have the potential to substantially alter food webs, with positive outcomes for some species and negative outcomes for others," Dickie explains. "Understanding the environmental context and species interactions that give rise to these different outcomes is a major challenge to both theoretical and applied ecology." To establish the link between habitat alteration and primary productivity, the researchers first examined satellite imagery to show a link between logging and new vegetation growth. They then used data on moose, caribou and wolf numbers to compare the leading hypotheses on how changes in vegetation influence these populations. The analysis was conducted across a 598,000-square kilometre area located in the boreal shield and boreal plains of western Canada. Ultimately, the researchers determined that lower caribou populations were a victim of an ecological chain reaction. Caribou have a lower population growth rate relative to moose, making them more susceptible to landscape changes. "We found that increased deciduous vegetation on the landscape, which moose like to eat, increased moose populations, which increased wolves, and in turn, means declining caribou," Dickie says. "We also found that human land use, like forestry, significantly increased vegetation productivity, suggesting that these kinds of land uses are leading to caribou declines via changes to predators and prey." Caribou conservation will be a defining point for Canada in the 21st century, adds Dr. Lamb, a Liber Ero Fellow at UBCO. Caribou highlight an unresolved tension between land stewardship, wildlife conservation and resource extraction. Further, as caribou populations continue to decline, Indigenous Peoples are forced to grapple with mounting threats to food security, cultural traditions, and infringed treaty rights. "We can't attribute caribou declines to just one factor or another," he says. "But understanding the relative importance of these factors, and how they interact, can help us understand how we can manage caribou populations in the face of continued climate change and land use." ### The study, published recently in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, was partially funded by the Government of the Northwest Territories, Government of Alberta, the Resource Industry Caribou Collaboration, British Columbia Oil and the Gas Research and Innovation Society, and the Liber Ero Fellowship. COLUMBIA South Carolina's K-12 public schools will share $2 billion from the latest federal COVID-19 aid package, on top of the more than $1 billion already allocated that largely hasn't been spent, according to the state Department of Education. The spending package Congress passed this month represents "the largest influx of federal dollars for public education in our states history," state Superintendent Molly Spearman said March 17. The money must be spent to "keep our schools safely open and address the immediate and long-term impacts of COVID-19 that our students and school communities are faced with," she added. But Spearman has little say in how the bulk of the money's spent. Of the $2.1 billion the federal government sends to her agency bypassing the Legislature altogether at least 90 percent of it must be distributed to local school districts. How much each will receive is still being determined. Whatever that share is, locally elected school boards have until September 2023 to spend it. And they have wide discretion on where the money goes toward meeting the law's broad goals of reopening schools, keeping them open safely and addressing students' social, emotional, mental and academic needs. Twenty percent of districts' share must go toward addressing learning loss, however they decide to do that. The $3 billion allocated in federal aid over the last year is more than three times above what the federal government normally sends South Carolina's K-12 schools annually. "Its obviously transformational and generational amounts of money. This is an absolute game changer," said Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teachers Association. "Teachers hope to see it invested wisely in ways that will pay benefits both short and long term." That means not only catching students up with intensive tutoring and summer learning, but also funding innovations so that achievement leapfrogs where it was before the pandemic, he said. "We would love to see districts get creative and do aspirational things weve said for years would be good," Kelly said. "This gives us the opportunity to put those goals into practice." Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! Examples include pairing a first-year teacher with a veteran teacher in the classroom and offering extended learning in after-school programs, he said, which would replicate the model that Sherman Financial founder Ben Navarro launched in 2014 in a public-private partnership with Charleston County. Teachers also want to see long-term building maintenance issues addressed, particularly on new heating-and-air-conditioning systems in old schools that have done patchwork fixes year after year, contributing to mold issues causing health problems long before COVID-19. Fixing that problem for good would fall under the federal law's goal of "improving indoor air quality." Spearman has encouraged districts to do that. "Its one of the first times ever weve had funding available to work on these problems," she told reporters last month, acknowledging the old ventilation systems are why some teachers have been reluctant to return full-time to classrooms. At the time, she was addressing the $900 million allocated to South Carolina's schools by Congress' last aid package in December. Districts must submit plans to Spearman's agency before they can spend any of their share. Plans are still coming in for that round, said Spearman's spokesman, Ryan Brown. At least some of the $195 million Congress sent to school districts last spring also remains unspent. Districts' quarterly reports to get reimbursed from that pot are not yet due, he said. What teachers don't want the money spent on is "the new flashy product that promises immediate results with minimal work," Kelly said. "Those don't work." But they know the temptation is there, and that administrators and school board members are already getting bombarded by companies eager to sell them their products. "Historic amounts of money are going to flow into the hands of districts without having to be managed at the state level, and were excited about that, but also worried about it," said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association. "In some of these districts, we worry how they spend their money." Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Taran and Minister of Defense of Japan Nobuo Kishi discussed the development of bilateral cooperation during an online meeting in Tokyo. The Japanese side confirmed its intention to take part in the international military exercises to be held in Ukraine this year. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. We agreed to hold the second round of Ukrainian-Japanese consultations on security issues at the level of high representatives of the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry of the two countries in the format of two representatives from each side in the fall of 2021. We also considered the possibility of organizing an exchange of experience between the military personnel of the two countries, in particular the Land Forces and the Special Operations Forces. The Japanese side confirmed the involvement of representatives of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the Sea Breeze 2021 multinational exercises in Ukraine and expressed its readiness to join the Joint Efforts 2021 exercises," Taran said. Minister Kishi reaffirmed Japan's unwavering stance, which respects Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity and considers any attempt to change the country's territorial status quo illegal. In turn, Minister Taran reiterated that Ukraine shares Japan's position on resolving the territorial issue on the basis of the 1956 declaration and the need to ensure free and safe navigation in all waters in line with international agreements. According to the press service, the meeting between the two defense ministers lasted for more than two hours. As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran held a video meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan UTO Takashi, during which they discussed security issues in East Asia and Donbas, as well as Japan's participation in the Crimean Platform summit. Minister Tarans visit to Japan the first-ever in the history of bilateral relations began on March 16. ish Premier Mark McGowans new cabinet has a noticeably greener hue, prompting hope from environmentalists the governments oil and gas fixation wont carry over into the West Australian governments next term. In addition to the Commerce and Environment portfolios, cabinet newcomer and former United Voice secretary Amber-Jade Sanderson will become the Climate Action Minister. New climate action minister Amber-Jade Sanderson with Mark McGowan. Credit:Facebook The government has also tried to boost its green credentials by anointing Alannah MacTiernan as its hydrogen cheerleader on the back of companies such as Fortescue continuing to spruik its potential for use in green steel and as a renewable power source. Green groups clashed with Mr McGowans former government on several occasions during its first term over its refusal to set more ambitious carbon emissions targets and continued approval of big polluting gas projects in the states North West. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. On Monday, Los Angeles County allowed restaurants to resume indoor dining at 25% capacity but not every restaurant has rushed to seat people. Some restaurant owners put the pedal to the metal and relaunched indoor service on Monday. Others are holding off until they can figure out the logistics or more staffers are vaccinated. A few have no plans to resume indoor dining in the near future. Some restaurants need more time to parse the regulations and figure out how to make the rules work for them. Earlier this week, legendary Hollywood joint Musso & Frank announced in an Instagram post: "We are currently analyzing the preliminary guidelines issued by L.A. County... and we are now starting the extensive process of putting the gears in motion for a reopening in the near future... Given the length and the stringent restrictions of this past year's ban on indoor dining, we expect that our process to safely reopen may take several weeks." 'ONE VACCINE SO FAR' For other restaurants, it doesn't make financial sense to resume indoor dining yet. At 25% capacity with tables placed 8-feet apart, indoor service would be too much of a burden on Ayara Thai , a small, family-owned restaurant in Westchester. "If we were to dedicate a whole team and new protocols to a 25% capacity dine-in, it doesn't make quite the financial and business sense," says chef and co-owner Vanda Asapahu. She thinks indoor dining would have to be bumped up to 75% capacity for it to be feasible for Ayara. Then, there are the health concerns. "Most of our staff have only had one vaccine so far," Asapahu says. "For us, as a family business with 26 employees who've been fully employed through the pandemic, we feel it's not the right time quite yet." For now, Ayara Thai will stick to takeout (including a Thai Thursday subscription program) and serving customers outdoors, at a parklet carved out of two curbside parking spots. Like Asapahu, Celia Ward-Wallace, co-founder of South LA Cafe, has no plans to resume indoor dining any time soon -- but for slightly different reasons. "We will definitely be probably one of the last restaurants in L.A. city to open up for indoor dining," Ward-Wallace says. "We're located in South Central Los Angeles, which is a lower income community of color. We've been hit the hardest in the entire city by COVID-19, in terms of infection rates and mortality rates." She has no timeline for reopening indoors, but is keeping an eye on coronavirus infection and inoculation rates to guide that decision. "When we see there's more equity in the vaccinations for people of color in South Central L.A. and the case loads have gone down, then I think we'll be reconsidering," Ward-Wallace says. In the meantime, the 2,200-square-foot coffee shop will continue offering takeout, outdoor dining (its patio seats approximately 25 people) and grocery staples. In fact, South LA Cafe's market has become a crucial part of its business this past year. When the pandemic began in March 2020, Ward-Wallace says revenue plummeted by 70% and she had to furlough most of her staff. She pivoted by adding grocery services, creating a weekly, $35 grocery box. "We actually have had a very successful 2020. The grocery side of our business has grown exponentially during this crisis. And our community has tremendously rallied to support our cafe," Ward-Wallace says. Guelaguezta in Koreatown has a large dining room, but Bricia Lopez, who owns and runs the restaurant with her siblings, is also holding off on indoor dining. She's adamant that she won't offer it until all employees who want the vaccine have received both shots. That probably won't happen until early or mid-April. As of March 1, L.A. County's restaurant workers can get the COVID-19 vaccine but securing an appointment to actually do it is another matter. "Many of our staff have found it very difficult to navigate the vaccination appointment websites that are out there and how it funnels you into the different third-party corporate sites. We've actually had to help make appointments, set appointments, even helping their frontline working family members make these appointments," Asapahu says. Lopez has seen the same issues among her staff. "It was so hard to get appointments. Some of my staff is just getting their first vaccine this past week. And now you're telling the entire city that they're able to dine indoors? That's only going to make people think that we don't want to or that we're not doing things correctly. It puts so much pressure on business owners," Lopez says. "I don't want my customers getting angry at me for not opening." She knows what that's like. After outdoor dining was allowed at L.A. County restaurants, Lopez says Guelaguetza waited a couple of months before offering it. They started out with four outdoor tables and expanded to 16. "I remember when outdoor dining was first starting, we had families of 12 show up and it was like, 'Oh, we're still doing takeout only,'" Lopez says. "What am I supposed to tell people thinking that they're going to eat at my restaurant? They're like, 'Well, we heard that restaurants can open.' I'm like, 'Yeah, but we're not.'" THE PRESSURE IS INTENSE That pressure is real, says Sylvie Gabriele, owner of Love & Salt in Manhattan Beach. She's not sure when her restaurant will reopen for indoor dining but if it doesn't and nearby restaurants do, "That puts us in a difficult position. Because as they open up and we stay closed, we're pretty much just handing over our business to other restaurants. So I have mixed feelings about it." On December 24, Gabriele closed Love & Salt for a full month because of health concerns. "I know everyone's going to gather, and I don't blame them. But I can't, for the sake of business, have everyone come back from that and expose each other just because we need to be open," Gabriele says. She acknowledges that this time around, she'll probably feel the pressure and relaunch indoor dining sooner than she'd like. "People have said to me, 'Aren't you excited?' I can't say that's how I feel," Gabriele says. At other establishments, it's full steam ahead. Marie Petulla, co-owner of Union, resumed indoor dining at the Pasadena gastropub on Monday. "We have been hearing the rumblings about this and have been preparing the space for it," Petulla says. Because Union is small, it will have only six indoor tables with barriers between each and the front doors will remain open. "We have a good airflow within the restaurant so we do feel confident with our setup that we can do it safely and accommodate some guests. And we will still have outdoor dining," Petulla says. She says almost 75% of her staffers have had at least one of the vaccination shots but, "We've been very straightforward with our staff. If they don't feel comfortable doing something, then we don't have them do it. Some have different levels of comfort." Casa Vega Mexican restaurant in Sherman Oaks. (Chava Sanchez/LAist) FINANCIAL RELIEF IS FAR AWAY Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks returned to indoor dining on Monday. At 25% capacity, the restaurant can seat approximately 28 people at six to seven tables, depending on how many patrons in each party. "We were excited to get back to normal operations as much as we could," says owner Christy Vega. "We had massive demand for it, people constantly asking when it was going to open. So we took the opportunity as soon as the state said it was safe to do so." Although Vega had a few days notice from the L.A. County Department of Public Health, she hadn't spent much time planning for indoor dining before then. "According to the metrics, we shouldn't be indoor dining until April. So we were taken by surprise when they said we could do it but we went with it," she says. Chef David LeFevre owns three restaurants in Manhattan Beach. Fishing With Dynamite resumed indoor dining earlier this week and The Arthur J will start offering it later today. MB Post, the largest of his three restaurants, will probably resume indoor dining next Friday. "We've been preparing in the background as much as we can without really being able to schedule it," LeFevre says. "We're trying to figure out the best way to keep the tables in the regulations but you still want to have an energy in the building and you don't want a server to be walking from one end of the restaurant to the other end for two tables." The return to indoor dining, even in this limited capacity, should improve his bottom line. "It definitely helps. It doesn't put us into a situation that's remotely close to where we were previously but it helps. The main goal right now is breaking even," LeFevre says. The famous bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits at Manhattan Beach Post. (T.Tseng/Flickr) Vega echoes those thoughts: "Every table that we can get helps. We're super happy for it. But our bottom line isn't going to see some relief until we can get all our tables back open." Some of that depends on coronavirus case rates and what reopening tier L.A. County is in. Some of that depends on staffing. Vega says that soon as restaurants were able to open for outdoor dining, she hired "every single staff member back plus some" because it takes more staff to run Casa Vega's 9,000-square-foot outdoor dining area than it does its 2,000-square-foot indoor dining room. Now, she's bringing on two more crew members. More employees means more vaccinations. Like Asapahu and Lopez, Vega says some of her employees have struggled to book vaccination appointments. "It's very hard for them so we've actually taken the role, my office staff, in helping them," Vega says. A server takes a guest's order in the outdoor dining area at Casa Vega. (Chava Sanchez/LAist) Ward-Wallace of South LA Cafe says she has been able to make vaccines available to her eight employees and to the volunteers who support the cafe's food distribution program. "Most of us, we've received one out of two of the vaccine shots," Ward-Wallace says. "But in terms of the broader community, we have seen what we would consider gentrification of vaccines, where people from more affluent communities have been coming into South Central and taking up the appointments for the vaccines." This means fewer residents of the neighborhood have been able to book vaccination appointments. That, too, has influenced her decision to hold off on indoor dining. Restaurateurs who do reopen their dining rooms, often face new staffing challenges. When the pandemic started, Gabriele estimates that she had to furlough approximately 50% of Love & Salt's staff. Gabriele says she has reached out to every employee who was furloughed and a handful haven't wanted to come back. Some of them have underlying health conditions and feel uncomfortable working near other people while others worry about exposing at-risk family members to COVID-19. Plus, she's also competing for staff against larger, chain restaurants that have started reopening. "As we're looking to expand our team, I'm seeing that there's not a huge availability of labor," Gabriele says. A "We Are Open" sign on the side of a restaurant as indoor dining reopens in Los Angeles on March 15, 2021. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) Every restaurateur I spoke to who had furloughed employees said they were anxious to rehire as many people as possible, as soon as they could. But the struggle to restaff restaurants is real. While LeFevre is excited to be reopening, he knows, "The more seats we have to gain by opening indoors, the more staff we have to stock." He says many employees have gone to other cities, perhaps to be closer to family members. Whenever restaurants do reopen for indoor service, it's likely to be a strange feeling -- for patrons, servers and restaurant owners. "I haven't served anyone in a year inside. It's going to be retraining staff, a lot of new protocols that we have to figure out," Lopez says. "It's going to be weird." MORE FROM LAIST: By Ritah Kemigisa President Yoweri Museveni has paid tribute to the deceased president of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli. Magufuli succumbed to heart complications at the age of 61 on Wednesday at a hospital in Dar es salaam. In his condolence message posted on twitter, Museveni has described the late Magufuli as a great son of Africa. He adds that Magufuli was a pragmatic leader who believed in and worked for the economic empowerment of East Africans. We join Tanzania in mourning the passing of a great son of Africa. May his soul Rest In Peace, he tweeted. Magufuli had not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumors have been circulating about his health. Opposition politicians said last week that he had contracted Covid-19, but this has not been confirmed. SALEM, Ore. Oregon lawmakers are set to consider a range of possible penalties for the legislative walk-outs most recently employed by Republicans, some of them drastic enough to require amendments to the state constitution. Senate Democrats signaled last week that they were entertaining rules changes that could suspend lawmakers' per diem pay if they are absent from the chamber without a valid excuse. Republicans shunned floor votes in the state Senate at the end of February, the latest in a series of walk-outs by the minority party since 2019. The Oregon constitution requires a quorum a two-thirds majority in attendance in order to hold a vote. According to an advisory from the Senate Majority office, the Senate Committee on Rules will consider four separate accountability measures in a remote meeting on Thursday. Two of them could be passed and implemented by a simple majority in the Senate, while the other two would require Oregon voters to vote in favor of amendments to the state constitution. Senate Bill 261 would prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay for fines and expenses that arise from walk-outs. Senate Bill 262 would disallow a lawmaker from drawing their salary or per diem for an unexcused absence from the chamber, and allow for a fine of $500 per day for such an absence. The two more drastic measures, which require voter approval, are Senate Joint Resolutions. SJR 3 would make 10 or more unexcused absences a disqualification from holding public office for the next term. SJR 4 would change the quorum requirement to a simple majority 16 Senate members and 31 House members. The Senate Committee on Rules meets at 1 p.m. on Thursday, and the meeting will be livestreamed on the Oregon legislative website. The committee is chaired by Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, and is supposed to "take input from Oregonians" on the four proposals. Oregonians can submit testimony regarding the proposed bills on the committee website prior to the hearing. ADVERTISEMENT On this matter, if Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the Deputy Speaker, could be faulted at all, it will be just on the tone of voice he used in this legislative interaction with Hon. Gbillah, but certainly not on the substance. He sounded rather brash than diplomatic, as would be expected between colleagues in such a setting. But then, one can even excuse his brashness A simple error of legislative procedure on the presentation of petitions, which the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase rightly observed and pointed out to Hon. Mark Gbillah at a sitting of the House on March 10, has generated some unfortunate avoidable arguments within our polity. The innocent observation made by the Deputy Speaker, while presiding over that session, has been deliberately twisted and mischaracterised by people who appear to be conflict profiteers to paint Hon. Wase in bad light, especially to project him as a hater of the Tiv people on whose behalf Hon. Gbillah wanted to present the petition, which he said was written by their Diaspora. In a manner of distorting facts and issues to suit certain narratives, most probably to batter the integrity of the Deputy Speaker, some people who appear to be merchants of mischief carefully edited the video of that particular legislative session, especially the part that carried the interactive dialogue between Hon. Wase and Hon. Gbillah, when the latter was presenting the petition said to be written by the Mutual Union of Tivs in America (MUTA). They also projected the Deputy Speaker as a hater of the Nigerian Diaspora, which even misled the global body of our Diaspora Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Continental Bodies to issue a 14-day ultimatum to the House (requesting an apology) over what they erroneously described as the Deputy Speakers derogatory statement against them. Not only that, they also threatened to stop financial remittances to Nigeria, their home country, which will be an unfortunate decision. Such decision, if taken, will be unfortunate because, their remittances are to their family members and other loved ones. So, who will it hurt? The government or their families? In this score, I will love to urge our Diasporans to shun hasty reactions in engaging with Nigerian authorities on critical national issues. They have all the means for constructive engagements with our authorities, and should always explore same, rather than submitting themselves to manipulations by those who use the social media as a propaganda machine to sow discord in our country. Their patriotism and love for the country should make them become circumspect and constructive, rather than destructive. Well, in any case, anyone familiar with the history of the House of Representatives, as well as the history of the legislative activities of a seasoned lawmaker like Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, who has been in the House since 2007, will quickly remember that he was among the pioneering members of the House who worked for the creation of the House Committee on the Diaspora and subsequently the National Commission for the Diaspora, which is currently being led by Hon. Abike Dabiri. So, for such a man to stake his legislative hours to see to the creation of such a committee and commission, and then be accused as a hater of the Diaspora looks and sounds ridiculous. In fact, it simply proves the indiscretion of his accusers. And not done with the accusation that he hates the Diasporans, they went on to ascribe Fulani ethnicity to him which he isnt just to hoodwink the undiscerning that he objected to the petition because it was against what they called Fulani occupation of Tiv lands and communities in Benue State. They also claimed that the Tiv IDPs have been neglected by the Federal Government, and that the petition was meant to address this. While every objective observer of events in Nigeria already knows that the issue of Fulani herdsmen is often twisted, at times to give them (the herdsmen) the toga of ethno-religious bigots, that is not necessarily the case. In fact, such ethnic and religious colouration of the herdsmen phenomenon appears to have been turned into a tool of excuses and distraction for certain failed state governors. Hon. Gbillah ought to have known that he has made several motions in the past in the same House on this same matter, with the House acceding to his requests and the Federal Government consequently acting on the requests of the House. This, for me, will be sufficient grounds for the Deputy Speaker, who was presiding over that particular legislative session, to probe the actual source and identity of the Diasporans in question, and remind Hon. Gbillah to follow the proper procedure of tabling matters from the Diaspora. On this matter, if Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the Deputy Speaker, could be faulted at all, it will be just on the tone of voice he used in this legislative interaction with Hon. Gbillah, but certainly not on the substance. He sounded rather brash than diplomatic, as would be expected between colleagues in such a setting. But then, one can even excuse his brashness in the sense that the issue being brought by Hon. Gbillah and his Tiv Diaspora is now largely viewed by objective and discernible Nigerians as more of propaganda against a particular ethnic group in the country than substance. This will appear so because, one can hardly tell between victims of Fulani herdsmen and those of the terrorist activities of Benue States terror machine under Terwase Akwaza, popularly known as Gana, who was killed sometimes ago by soldiers. I say this considering the kind of violence, killings and destructions done by the outlaw and his gang before, and even after his death. Most discernible Nigerians have come to believe that the late Gana and his terrorist organisation have been moonlighting as Fulani herdsmen, even across to Taraba State where the Tiv and Jukun have been locked in an intractable war for decades with lots of IDPs on both sides of the war till today. In the light of this, one will expect that if Hon. Gbillah and the Tiv Diaspora will want to present a new motion over any security matter in Benue State, it should be a motion or petition asking the relevant National Assembly committees and the Federal Government to do a forensic investigation of the attacks in Benue, Taraba and other Middle Belt states. Such investigation will be to find out whether the attacks were perpetrated by Tiv terrorists like Gana and were ascribed to Fulani Herdsmen for political and religious propaganda or whether the attacks were actually by Fulani herdsmen. Or shouldnt this investigation happen to prove all truths and lies? At the moment, Hon. Wase is in their crosshairs. Propagandists are trying to have a feast of distractions ostensibly to assassinate his character. But then, while they enjoy their brief moments of hay in their sunshine of lies and mischief, the nobility, patriotism and intellectual capacity of refined gentlemen like Hon. Wase to ask critical questions that easily smoke out mischief will always pour rain on their parade of delusions. Sharon Faliya Cham is a public affairs analyst based in Abuja. SOFIA -- A controversial oligarch and media mogul in Bulgaria's parliament has disappeared from the forefront of the country's political scene ahead of general elections on April 4. Delyan Peevski -- known in Bulgaria by the nickname "Shishi" or "Potbelly" -- has been removed from the list of party candidates from his Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which is mostly made up of ethnic Turks. Peevski has also been selling off his vast media holdings, which the Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders estimates had once accounted for about 80 percent of Bulgaria's privately owned media. Despite these developments, Bulgarian political analysts predict that the powerful influence that Peevski wields in Bulgaria is not going to disappear soon. They note that the DPS has been installing people close to Peevski in key party positions ahead of the April vote. In fact, since the collapse of totalitarianism in Bulgaria in 1989, the DPS has held considerable political sway as a swing-vote bloc in parliament -- both within governing coalitions and outside of governments as a purported opposition party. With 25 lawmakers in the 240-seat National Assembly, the DPS continues to hold that clout as the third-strongest political force behind the governing GERB party and the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) -- even though the DPS is not a member of GERB's current coalition. Sofia-based political scientist Daniel Smilov says the removal of Peevski from the DPS's candidate list shows the party wants a strong presence in the next government. He says the DPS appears to be positioning itself now for postelection coalition negotiations. But in order reach a coalition deal with other parties, Smilov says the DPS must truly distance itself from Peevski. "The current format of governance is beneficial for the DPS," Smilov tells RFE/RL. "The only way for it to stay that way is for the DPS to form a clear coalition with GERB and some patriotic formation" after the elections. "In general, nothing in the DPS has changed," Smilov concludes. "The business side of this party remains as it is. The only thing new is that Peevski is not a candidate for parliament." Toxic Issue Sofia-based analyst Andrei Raichev says that, if the DPS manages to get more than 400,000 votes in the elections, it will have a claim to be officially included in power. "The Movement for Rights and Freedoms no longer wants to be in a supporting role" as a parliamentary swing-vote bloc outside of the governing coalition, Raichev told RFE/RL. "It wants to be a partner. They obviously want a leading position." But the behind-the-scenes influence of Peevski has become such a toxic issue in Bulgaria that analysts say no other political party wants to be linked to him -- including the GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Indeed, even though the DPS is not in GERB's current coalition, Peevski's power and influence has been a focus of anti-government protests across the country. Hristo Ivanov, co-leader of the opposition coalition Democratic Bulgaria, claims Peevski has used his media empire, economic clout, and alleged ties to the criminal underworld to control GERB's appointments to top ministry posts and the judiciary -- including Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev and other prosecutors. Anti-corruption protesters link Peevski to what they say is a history of abuse by GERB officials and politicized prosecutors who use the judiciary to target their political rivals. "Corruption and collusion between media, politicians, and oligarchs is widespread in Bulgaria," Reporters Without Borders concluded in a 2019 report. "The most notorious embodiment of this aberrant state of affairs is Delyan Peevski." During anti-corruption demonstrations across Bulgaria in the summer of 2020, Borisov fired three ministers "to refute allegations" they'd been appointed to the posts because of their ties to Peevski and the DPS. But the DPS has a different explanation for the removal of Peevski from its list of candidates in the upcoming elections. DPS Deputy Chairman Yordan Tsonev told RFE/RL recently that "Delyan Peevski himself gave up his nominations for the next parliament and, for personal reasons, did not want to be on the list" as a party candidate. Asked by RFE/RL if the absence of Peevski from the elections is part of an effort by the DPS to rebrand itself, Tsonev said: "Absolutely not." "Delyan Peevski is our friend and colleague. We like him," Tsonev said, adding that both the party base and its leadership wanted to nominate him for reelection. "Both officially and in any other form, we want participation in government," Tsonev told RFE/RL. "Even if Peevski was in our ranks, we would still want that." Scrutiny In Washington Peevski also faces scrutiny in Washington where he's been accused of being the "oligarch in chief" and one of the "key architects of Bulgaria's democratic decline and devolution into a criminal state." In December, just weeks before the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Peevski hired a prominent Washington-based lobbyist to counter such allegations that were circulated among lawmakers in the U.S. Congress. Those allegations have drawn attention from the Biden administration, which vowed during the election campaign that its foreign affairs policies would "revitalize" America's "national commitment to advancing human rights and democracy around the world." Veronica Anghel, a political scientist at the European University Institute in Italy, says "hybrid regimes" in Central and Eastern Europe "are likely to feel the pressure" from the Biden administration to respect the rule of law. Anghel notes Biden's previous visits to Central and Eastern Europe as U.S. vice president when he spoke out "against corruption and in favor of the consolidation of democratic institutions, with an emphasis on the independence of the judiciary." "Biden's declared interest to recommit the United States to its role as a global supporter of democracy is likely to refocus State Department officials' attention on falling standards of democracy in Poland and Hungary, and the stagnating anti-corruption fight in Romania and Bulgaria," Anghel concludes. Ultimately, that suggests the Biden administration will be keeping a close eye on Peevski's influence in Bulgaria regardless of whether he serves as a deputy in Sofia's next parliament. Written by Ron Synovitz in Prague with reporting by Polina Paunova in Sofia and Todd Prince in Washington. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Thursday has paid tribute to the 1965 war hero Air Commodore Mohammad Mahmood Alam (Late) on his 8th death anniversary ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Mar, 2021 ) :Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Thursday has paid tribute to the 1965 war hero Air Commodore Mohammad Mahmood Alam (Late) on his 8th death anniversary. Alam achieved the remarkable feat of downing 5 Indian Air force jets in under one minute during the 1965 war - A record that remains un beaten till date, said a PAF press release. The legendary PAF pilot shot down five Indian fighter jets piloting his F-86 Sabre jet plane, becoming an "Ace in a Day" on 7th September 1965. In total he had nine kills and two damages during a period of 11 days. The war hero was honored with the prestigious 'Sitara-e-Jurat' with BAR for his outstanding performance in the 1965 war. The war hero breathed his last on 18th March 2013, in Karachi after a prolonged illness. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Local Businesses Host Work Placements Local businesses, including MH Bland, One Media & Events and Gibraltar International Bank, are currently hosting University of Gibraltars undergraduate business students as they undertake industry placements. A total of 22 students are currently undertaking their placements in Gibraltar. Each student has the opportunity to be placed within a company or industry related to their area of specialism. Industry placements range from six to ten weeks and form an essential part of the Bachelor of Business degree. Spanish student Jose-Miguel is in his second year of the programme and has chosen to specialise in Finance, I am doing my placement at a family-run finance firm. Last year I also had the opportunity to do my placement at PwC. This is a great experience because I am developing the skills and acquiring the knowledge required to embark on a career in the financial sector, which is my goal. Denise Matthews, Founder of One Media & Events and Chapter Director at Startup Grind Gibraltar is hosting a first year student who has chosen marketing as their preferred major. Denise said, "Welcoming a student from the University to learn and experience different ways of working from remote work to digital marketing for a global brand is extremely rewarding. This placement is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs through our strong partnership with the University of Gibraltar that has been in place for almost four years. We are delighted to support them." Marketing is also the major for first-year student Amelia Lewis-Berry who is spending her placement at local marketing and creative agency, The Bulb. Its CEO, Dylan Trenado, said, The Bulb is delighted to offer a work placement to a University of Gibraltar student. Amelia will be learning about online/offline marketing and how our company operates as a whole to assist clients with their marketing and creative requirements. We believe offering this opportunity to students will help them gain experience that they will carry with them to their careers. The Universitys strong emphasis on meaningful industry placements allow its students to gain essential skills and experience as well as essential networks by the time they graduate. The man charged with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors Tuesday evening had been a customer of at least two of the spas, police said. Deputy Chief Charles Hampton of the Atlanta Police Department said in a news conference Thursday that the suspect had patronized both of the massage businesses that were attacked in the city, where police say he shot and killed four women of Asian descent. Authorities have said he drove to those businesses after fatally shooting four people at a spa in the suburbs, including two women of Asian descent. The police there said they did not know whether the suspect was a customer at that location. As the killings brought a wave of outrage and attention to violence against Asian Americans, Atlanta Police officials emphasized that they were continuing to investigate all possible motives for the killings. Nothing is off the table for our investigation, Hampton said when asked whether the police had ruled out classifying the attack as a hate crime. Atlanta Police officials also sought to distance themselves from the investigation in Cherokee County, where the first four victims were killed. A sheriffs deputy there who discussed the assailants self-described addiction to sex, as well as his claim that he was not motivated by race, later came under fire for saying the suspect had carried out the killings after a really bad day. While the cases are linked by the same perpetrator, said Sgt. John Chafee, a spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department, our investigations are independent of one another, and there are different dynamics to each. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, has been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault and is being held at the Cherokee County jail. His lawyer said Long had waived an arraignment that had been scheduled for Thursday. Long, who is white, said he had targeted the spas because he wanted to remove a temptation, authorities have said. A former roommate of his at a halfway house said Long had tried to stop acting on his sexual desires as recently as 2020 but had continued going to massage parlors for sex. The four victims at the suburban spa, two of whom were white, have been identified, but Hampton said he could not yet release the names of the women killed at the two spas in the city because the police have not been able to reach the proper next of kin. He said the police were working with the South Korean consulate to do so. The police have identified the victims of the attack on Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County as Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Long was arrested about 150 miles south of Atlanta after his parents saw a surveillance image and called police to say that they believed their son was the wanted man. The police said Long told them he had been on his way to Florida when he was caught, where he planned to commit similar violence against a business tied to the pornography industry. Hours before the shootings, he bought a gun from Big Woods Goods, a gun shop in suburban Atlanta, according to a lawyer for the store. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. The two major pitfalls in contemporary politics are 'complacency and arrogance'. These two vices have had tragic cancerous effect on politicians since the days of Napoleon Bonaparte, the self-made Emperor of the old Republic of France. During his colorful life, Napoleon was diagnosed as been mentally left off center. Sadly though, the behavioral pattern of this much acclaimed 'Emperor' is been been imitated by some heads of states and governments with Uganda's former head of state, the outrageous Iddi Amin Dada heading the pack. In today's convoluted politics, at both the global and national levels, we are observing the resurgence of this misguided performance by some national leaders completely oblivious of its self-destructive effects. Former United States President Donald trump learnt this lesson the hard way. His enablers made him to behave in outrageous fashion trampling on centuries old virtuous tradition embedded in the Oval office; in that country's first branch of government and in the Pentagon. In his final days in office, Donald Trump was completely out of sync with the pre and post-election realities in his country. This turned out to be his undoing. It is often said that when America sneezes, this Republic of Liberia comes down with a terminal flue. Since the so-called 'founding' of this Republic of Liberia, the behavioral pattern of her leaders, politicians and the vast majority of our kinsmen and women have imitated, hook bate and sinker, whatever is trending in the land of Abraham Lincoln. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. With the ongoing post senatorial election saga in Liberia, concerned citizens and residents are getting increasingly concerned over the country's governance trajectory. Where ever people converge, in buses, taxis, watering holes, restaurants and most especially in places of worship, the refrain heard is the same.. 'Where are we heading as a nation?. It is now over ninety [90] days since the latest midterm senatorial elections, and yet we seem to be nowhere out of the woods as a nation relative to the final outcome of this defining national election. Not a day passes in this city of Monrovia and in the counties without some concerned citizens, self-anointed civic groups, a heady statesman, Joe citizen, or a disgruntled public official making bellicose statements with the propensity to derail the hard won cardinal peace, this Republic so desperately needs. Political interference in situations, that are by all accounts, constitutional issues is unwarranted and must not be allowed to infect the trajectory of national governance, neither in developed or underdeveloped countries. Just as it is between love and hate, the thin line that separates the three branches of government, constitutionally, must be robustly respected at all times by key players in the governance structures. Only then will the republic enjoy peace, tranquility and national development. Anything less will create fault lines in this Republic's foundation. Northern Irelands chief constable is set to be questioned about the safety of journalists. Simon Byrne will meet MLAs from the newly formed Stormont All-Party Group on Press Freedom and Media Sustainability on Friday. The group has referred to hearing evidence of an unacceptable increase in threats against journalists in the region. Sunday World journalist Patricia Devlin (Patricia Devlin/PA) Sunday World journalist Patricia Devlin was recently the target of sinister graffiti in east Belfast. Ms Devlin along with a number of journalists have also been warned of threats against them. SDLP MLA Matthew OToole said the all party group was founded to do something about the level of threat faced by journalists. He said he welcomed words of condemnation from the chief constable on threats to journalists, but said those words must be turned into action. No democratic society can function if journalists are not free to do their jobs, he said. SDLP MLA Matthew OToole (Peter Morrison/PA) And these threats cannot simply be left unchecked. We will be seeking clarity and action from the Chief Constable when we meet him tomorrow. Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt said police need to do more to engage and reassure journalists who are subjected to threats. I look forward to the Chief Constable detailing the services intentions in that regard to the All-Party Group, he said. It is crucial journalists perceive threats are taken seriously and that starts with engagement at the right level within the PSNI. The group indicated that it will consider possible further recommendations on how best to protect journalists which could then be presented to the Stormont Executive. Amnesty International said it had written to the group to raise concerns around press freedom in Northern Ireland. Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty International (Niall Carson/PA) Patrick Corrigan said journalists particularly those investigating paramilitary and criminal activity are working in a climate of fear. Death threats are an attempt to intimidate journalists from doing their jobs and constitute an attack on freedom of the press and the publics right to information, he said. However, no-one ever seems to be arrested and prosecuted for these threats. The Chief Constable must explain why. Last year, Amnesty supported Ms Devlin in lodging a complaint with the Police Ombudsman in relation to a lack of an effective investigation by the PSNI into a threat to rape her newborn son. North Korea has claimed the US tried to initiate renewed contact in what it dismissed as a cheap trick. Top diplomat Choe Son Hui, first vice minister of foreign affairs for North Korea, said the contact would be ignored until the Biden administration dropped its hostile policies. It is the first formal rejection of a diplomatic approach by the Biden administration since the president took office in January, according to Reuters. What has been heard from the US since the emergence of the new regime is only lunatic theory of threat from North Korea and groundless rhetoric about complete denuclearisation, Ms Choe said. The statement came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited South Korea, as part of the first overseas trip for senior members of the administration. Ms Choe said that the US had tried to make contact by sending emails and telephone messages by a variety of routes, including a third country. Read more: Trump tells his anti-vax supporters they should still get the Covid vaccine Marjorie Taylor Greene demands Guam National Guard be sent home after ambushing her office Biden calls Putin a killer - follow US politics live The White House said earlier this month that it had reached out to North Korea but had received no response and gave no details on its approach. Mr Blinken and Mr Austin are scheduled to fly from Seoul to Anchorage, Alaska, for the administrations first talks with Chinese officials. Attempts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons have stalled since 2019 and the historic meetings between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. Mr Trump became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea but days before he left the White House, Kim called the US his countrys arch-enemy. Mr Biden has decided to take a softer public tone towards North Korea after deciding that provoking it was counterproductive, officials have told NBC News. Additional reporting by Reuters Clear on their values now, Sagittarians are ready to tell all, learn, and teach. See why in your Sagittarius 2021 horoscope. "Astrologer Anne," Chicago-based astrologer Anne Nordhaus-Bike, has published her 2021 horoscope for everyone born under the sign of Sagittarius as part of her "Cosmic Love Letter" series, offering 2021 horoscopes for each of the 12 signs. Sagittarius Leads The Way, Thinks Big To Uplift Others "We're at the dawn of so many new cycles in human history, and Sagittarius is a key player in making sure they all get off to a grand and glorious start," Nordhaus-Bike said. "'Think big'" Sagittarius is the sign that reminds us all that we're so much more than we tend to think or dare in daily life." Jupiter rules Sagittarius and it moved into Capricorn at the end of 2019, so in 2020, "there was no getting around it anymore," Nordhaus-Bike explained, noting Sagittarius "simply had to settle down and do the hard work to cleanse your belongings, grow up regarding personal values, and build a business or career aligned with your true self." Nordhaus-Bike said that humanity has moved into the Age Of Aquarius predicted in the 1960san age more altruistic, humanitarian, futuristic, and idealistic. "Aquarius holds the key and the clues to all Sagittarius's questions," she said. "This zodiac sign oversees your third house, so for the rest of your lifetime, even as you manage other areas of life, you'll focus on a cosmic mission related to third house themes, people, and things. The third house is famous for its role in communication of all kindsprint, blogging, body language, social media, and public speaking." Sagittarius is now "cosmically inclined toward contributions that uplift others by tapping these parts of life," Nordhaus-Bike explained. "You might start a blog or write a book. Or you could help a neighbor or relative edit a manuscript that will go on to inspire countless others. As you love anything foreign and travel-related, you might start a business helping new immigrants or even learn a language just so you can be of service to newcomers in your community." Technology will play a role, "and you may need to upgrade your skills and your computer," Nordhaus-Bike said. "The sky's the limit," Nordhaus-Bike added. "So think big for us, Sagittarius." For Sagittarius's 2021 horoscope, log on to https://astrologeranne.com/69473/horoscope-2021-sagittarius-horoscope-new-year-2021/ 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. I keep hoping things will change. I keep wondering when my labeling Pennsylvania as Land of Low Expectations is proven wrong. I keep asking how much legislative turnover is needed before newer lawmakers alter the self-serving image of an institution meant to serve the public. SEOUL As it ends its first high-level diplomatic tour of Asia on Thursday, the Biden administration is banking on international alliances in the region to help stem the growing threat posed by North Koreas ballistic missiles and nuclear capabilities. But the country that is perhaps in the best position to influence Pyongyang is one that President Biden has increasingly viewed as an adversary: China. Following meetings this week in South Korea and Japan, the administration finds itself facing a diplomatic stalemate of the kind that irritated former President Barack Obama and drove former President Donald J. Trump to declare his love for Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, in a manic but ultimately thwarted drive for a breakthrough. North Korea continues to develop its weapons systems, and international officials have said that its repressive domestic policies, involving surveillance, torture and prison camps, amount to human rights violations. Recent attempts by the Biden administration to open a line of communication were rebuffed by North Korea, leaving it to appeal to its partners in the region to help bring pressure against Pyongyang. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 18, 2021))) ("Rockridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has recently commenced a diamond drilling program at its Knife Lake Copper Project located in Saskatchewan, Canada (the "Knife Lake Project" or "Property"). A minimum of 1,600 metres in 6 to 8 drill holes are planned in the fully funded program. The Knife Lake Project, consisting of 49 claims totaling 32,663 hectares (80,712 acres), is an advanced-stage copper, silver, zinc and cobalt exploration property in Saskatchewan. Knife Lake VMS Project Location Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Knife-Lake-regional-overview-2021.jpg Drilling will focus on discovering VMS-style, predominantly copper deposits along newly defined conductors as well as at depth, underneath the Knife Lake deposit. Several targets in the Gilbert Lake North and South targets will be tested which are approx. 5 to 6 km to the west of the deposit. Infill drilling is also planned in the immediate area of the 2019 maiden resource at the deposit area. Downhole geophysics, borehole electromagnetics (BHEM) will be utilized extensively throughout the program. Knife Lake Project Airborne Geophysical Results: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Airborne-EM-results-03-10-2021.jpg Highlights A minimum of 1,600 metres in 6 to 8 drill holes are planned in the fully funded program Drilling will focus on discovering VMS style copper deposits along newly defined conductors as well as at depth, underneath the Knife Lake VMS deposit Gilbert Lake North and South targets with be drill tested and represent new exploratory target areas with very little historical exploration carried out Infill drilling is also planned in the immediate area of the 2019 maiden resource at the deposit Rockridge completed first work program in the last ~20 years in 2019, with highlight results including 2.03% Cu, 9.88 g/t Ag, 0.19 g/t Au, 0.36% Zn, and 0.01% Co (2.42% CuEq) over 37.6m beginning at 11.2m in hole KF19003 Deposit is thought to be a remobilized portion of a "primary" VMS deposit; most of the historical work has consisted of shallow drilling at the deposit area with little regional work carried out and limited deeper drilling below the deposit Over 300 holes provided data for first NI 43-101 resource estimate of the shallow Knife Lake deposit Knife Lake NI 43-101 resource estimate provides excellent anchor for Project: Ind. resources: 3.8 MT at 1.02% Cu Eq. Or 3.8 MT at 0.83% Cu, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.097 g/t Au, 82 ppm Co,1740.7 ppm Zn. Inf. resources: 7.9 MT at 0.67% Cu Eq. Or 7.9 MT at 0.53% Cu, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.084 g/t Au, 53.1 ppm Co, 1454.9 ppm Zn. There is strong discovery potential in and around the deposit as well as at regional targets on the Property; modern exploration techniques and methods are being utilized with a goal of making new discoveries Jonathan Wiesblatt, CEO of Rockridge Resources, commented: "We are very pleased that the exploration program has started on time at Knife Lake. The regional targets defined through an extensive VTEM geophysical program completed earlier this month have further defined and enhanced our understanding of the geological settings in and around the Knife Lake deposit. Several hundred holes and thousands of metres have been carried out at the Knife Lake deposit historically with very little focus on the opportunities near the deposit and regionally. We are encouraged by the data from the geophysical program and are looking forward to advancing the Project beyond the Knife Lake deposit with this drill program representing the first drilling campaign carried out in decades to test the regional potential of the project. Furthermore, the copper market has been strengthening in recent months amidst a global economic recovery and the continued trend towards more electrification and clean energy initiatives around the world." Knife Lake Priority Target Areas: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Knife-Lake-Airborne-EM-Feb2021.jpg Knife Lake Geology and History: The Knife Lake Project is interpreted to be a remobilized VMS deposit. The stratabound mineralized zone is approximately 15m thick and contains copper, silver, zinc, gold and cobalt mineralization which dips 30 to 50 eastward over a known strike-length within Rockridge's claim area of 3,700 metres, and a known average down-dip extension of approximately 300 metres. Knife Lake Deposit Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/projects/KnifeLake-Fig2.jpg The deposit is hosted by felsic to intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies. The deposit contains VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. The mineralization straddles the boundary between two rock units and occurs on both limbs of an interpreted overturned fold. The Company completed twelve holes consisting of 1,053 metres of diamond drilling in the 2019 winter drilling program. This represented the first drilling on the property since 2001 and had two primary objectives: confirm the tenor of mineralization reported by previous operators and expand known zones of mineralization. Highlights from the drill program included previously reported hole KF19003 which intersected net-textured to semi-massive sulphide mineralization from 11.2m to 48.8m downhole. This 37.6 metre interval returned 2.03% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, 9.88 g/t Ag, 0.36% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 2.42% CuEq. Additionally, previously reported drill hole KF19001 intersected net-textured to fracture-controlled sulphide mineralization from 7.5 metres to 40.6 metres downhole. This 33.1 metre interval returned 1.28% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au, 4.80 g/t Ag, 0.13% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 1.49% CuEq. Compilation and initial modelling indicate potential for expansion of the deposit at depth. The recent drilling focused on resource upgrade as well as infill drilling between historical holes. The program gave the Company's technical team valuable insights into the property geology, alteration, and mineralization that will be applied to future regional exploration on the highly prospective and underexplored land package. The Knife Lake deposit is a near surface VMS deposit starting a few metres below surface and the deposit remains open at depth and along strike for potential resource expansion. Recently Rockridge announced a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Knife Lake deposit (see the News Release dated August 14th, 2019) which consisted of an indicated resource of 3.8 million tonnes at 1.02% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (3.8 MT at 0.83% Cu, 3.7 g/t Ag, 0.097 g/t Au, 82 ppm Co, 1740.7 ppm Zn). In addition, there is an inferred resource of 7.9 million tonnes at 0.67% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (7.9 MT at 0.53% Cu, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.084 g/t Au, 53.1 ppm Co, 1454.9 ppm Zn). Refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Knife Lake Property, Saskatchewan dated September 27, 2019 filed on Sedar. Qualified Persons: Kerry Bates, P. Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a Geologist employed by TerraLogic Exploration Inc., has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release relating the Knife Lake Project About Rockridge Resources Ltd. Rockridge Resources is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and other mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company's Knife Lake Project is in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world by the Fraser Institute. The project hosts the Knife Lake deposit, which is a VMS, near-surface copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit open along strike and at depth. The Company's Raney Gold Project is a high-grade gold exploration project located in the same greenstone belt that hosts the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake lode gold mining camps. Rockridge's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favorable jurisdictions. Additional information about Rockridge Resources and its project portfolio can be found on the Company's website at www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com. Rockridge Resources Ltd. "Jonathan Wiesblatt" Jonathan Wiesblatt CEO For further information contact myself or: Jordan Trimble, President or Spencer Coulter, Corporate Communications Rockridge Resources Ltd. Telephone: 604-687-3376 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@rockridgeresourcesltd.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Forward Looking Information This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.comfor further information. Only 1 in 10 of those who can work remotely want to go back to a traditional commute and work environment full time WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI Multiple pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics are coming to areas of the county most affected by the virus. Washtenaw County Health Department is teaming up with local partners to host multiple pop-up COVID-19 vaccination sites in areas of the county with high Social Vulnerability Index, the county announced in a press release. Clinics will be offered in several church and community settings such as Ypsilanti High School, St. Francis Assisi Parish in Ann Arbor, Second Baptist Church in Ypsilanti or Bethel AME in Ann Arbor. The clinics are being organized with African American and Latinx community leaders and partner organizations with the goal of reaching these community members as directly as possible and increasing vaccination rates, the health department said. The doses come from a additional 2,500 Moderna vaccines the Washtenaw County Health Department was awarded through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Community Outreach COVID-19 Pilot Project, the health department said. These doses are in addition to the health departments normal weekly vaccine allocations and will be given this week and next, officials said. The identified census tracts for the pilot project include parts of the east side of the county as well as parts of Pittsfield Township and Ann Arbor in the 48197, 48198, 48108, and 48105 ZIP codes. In Washtenaw County, 31% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have come from the 48197 and 48198 ZIP codes on the eastern side of the county, data shows. While African Americans represent 12% of the countys population, they represent 27% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 22% of deaths, according to county data. Similarly, the health department reports that Latinx and Hispanic community members make up 5% of the local population but 6% of local cases. The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for all of us, but some areas and communities within Washtenaw County have been more severely impacted, said Jimena Loveluck, health officer at the health department. We are committed to ensuring equitable vaccine access to our African American and Latinx community members and are grateful to have the vaccine to offer additional community-based pop-up clinics. The pop-up clinics are designed to remove barriers to vaccines for communities who have been most susceptible to the harmful effects of contracting the virus, officials said. By embedding vaccination efforts into local neighborhood settings, the health department said it hopes to make shots more accessible. Information and materials will be available in multiple languages, as well as through phone lines and community members. Trusted faith and community leaders, as well as healthcare providers known to community members, will help promote the pop-ups and schedule appointments, addressing barriers related to a lack of Internet access or difficulty with technology. Vaccination pop-up events will be open to individuals 50 years and older with medical conditions or disabilities living in high-priority areas of the county, the health department said. For the events scheduled after March 22, eligibility will be open to everyone 50 years and older in the prioritized areas. All vaccination events require registration to ensure adequate doses and avoid crowding. For each site, community leaders, volunteers, and staff can provide direct registration, officials said. Eligible individuals may also call 734-544-6700 and select the pop-up community clinic option or email wchdpopup@washtenaw.org. The health department is hosting these pop-ups in partnership with Michigan Medicine, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and community partners, including the Washtenaw County Racial Equity Office, local churches, community leaders and Packard Health. Michigan Medicine and St. Joes Ann Arbor are also providing medical and non-medical staffing. We are happy to be able to support this effort to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations with our community partners, said Alonzo Lewis, president of St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. It is our hope that through efforts like these, in addition to other work St. Joes is employing in the community to improve equitable distribution of vaccines, we can remove barriers and continue on the path towards ending this pandemic. Pop-up clinics currently include but may not be limited to: Tues., March 16 at St. Francis Assisi Parish in Ann Arbor, 2250 E Stadium Boulevard, from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 20 at Ypsilanti High School, 2095 Packard Road, from 10 am to 3 p.m. Drive-thru format in Shadford Field parking lot. Monday, March 22 at Bethel AME in Ann Arbor, 632 N 4th Ave, from 10 am to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 23 at Second Baptist Church in Ypsilanti, 301 S Hamilton St, from 10 a.m. to 1 pm. Wednesday, March 24 at New Covenant Missionary Baptist in Ypsilanti, 2345 Tyler Road, from 2 to 7 p.m. Drive-thru format. Scheduling appointments with Packard Health READ MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Ann Arbors TheRide to offer shuttle services to vaccination clinics Tens of millions of dollars in stimulus money expected to pour into Washtenaw County Special revenue fund will support Washtenaw County trails Government featured Key West City Commission meeting postponed due to snafu; new date discussed The clerical snafu that forced the postponement of Tuesdays regularly-scheduled Key West City Commission meeting is a rare occurrence but when it does happen, it slows the pace of government function. Due to a mistake in the City Clerks office, the regularly-scheduled meeting was not advertised as required by state law. As a result, the commission convened for less than a minute Tuesday evening to explain the mix-up and then end the meeting. On Wednesday afternoon, the meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday, March 31, starting at 5 p.m. The agenda, which includes several potentially contentious issues, will remain the same. Mayor Teri Johnston said it would have made sense to move the meeting to next week but City Manager Greg Veliz and City Attorney Shawn Smith are both scheduled to be away on vacation. Veliz said the city is responsible for advertising an upcoming commission or board meeting at least five days in advance to give residents and participants proper notice. While there is nothing on the aborted agenda that needed to be resolved this week, Veliz said postponing the meeting for two weeks slows down everything. It puts everybody in a bind. We put in a lot of effort preparing for that meeting, he said, adding about the mistake. At the end of the day, we should be better than that. Our citizens deserve better than that. Veliz was prepared at the meeting to push back against concerns he would be receiving favoritism if resolution 16 was passed. That resolution requests that Veliz be paid more than city regulations allow for unused sick and vacation hours. Veliz has submitted his resignation to take a position at the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority and will leave in approximately 90 days. Veliz requested a payout for 1,400 hours of unused sick and vacation leave time he has accumulated over his 16 years as a city employee. However, city regulations cap the combined hours for all departing city employees at 960. The 440-hour overage would result in an additional $38,000 above the $121,142 he is eligible to be paid under the current regulations. Veliz said Wednesday he is entitled to the money and that the previous two city managers were also paid over the capped limits when they retired. He added he had actually accumulated more than 500 hours of unused sick and vacation time but was willing to reduce that number by approximately 100 hours. Im not a big taker of time [off], he said. Theres been multiple hurricanes [since he started working for the city in 2005]. Multiple things. You cant take Fantasy Fest off. It doesnt leave a whole lot of time [for vacation]. Veliz said he had looked into other employees who have left since 2017 with large amounts of unused time. Most of them took extended leave prior to their resignations to bring their unused hours down to the capped limits, he said. It doesnt benefit me or the city to burn 400 hours [of paid time off] in my last three months. I think I should be here, Veliz said, adding, I earned those hours. Veliz said that if city commissioners do not agree to the extra $38,00 payout, he will begin taking vacation and sick days prior to his end date. psowers@keysnews.com The DUP has rejected Labour party claims First Minister Arlene Foster is "almost underplaying" the threat of violence against women in Northern Ireland. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Louise Haigh made the claim in a BBC interview while calling for an overarching strategy to deal with violence against women. In response the DUP pointed to Mrs Foster's record on the matter highlighting how she had "strongly backed" a campaign for a strategy to be developed, having committed to such work and having raised the matter with the justice department. The party also highlighted a Twitter post from Ms Haigh in which she praised Mrs Foster for agreeing to develop a strategy. Excellent news that @DUPleader has committed to working with @WomensAidNI to develop a strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without a specific strategy but has enormous and under-reported issues with gendered violence https://t.co/EJmnJaw3CY Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) March 14, 2021 Following the high profile murder of Sarah Everard in London, Mrs Foster was asked on BBC Radio 4 why Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK without a formal strategy to protect women against violence. She commented: "Northern Ireland has a very low record of this sort of activity, but it happens. "Those of us who are in public life are fully aware of the threats of violence that we receive so there is this atmosphere that needs to be tackled. "Because my worry is that it's putting young women off coming forward and getting involved in public life and I think it has a real chill effect and we need to tackle that in a real and meaningful way." Speaking on BBC Good Morning Ulster, Ms Haigh said the DUP leader did not go far enough with her comments. "It's concerning to hear the first minister almost underplay the level of the issue in Northern Ireland. Because Northern Ireland has had a specific issue with violence against women and girls because it is a post-conflict society." She added that research had shown that following the Troubles, some of the violence on the streets had translated into domestic abuse. Ms Haigh questioned Mrs Foster's claim that Northern Ireland had comparatively low rates of violence against women. "There is a significant issue with under reporting in Northern Ireland... because of the nature of Northern Ireland society being a post-conflict society. "So there is more of a need in Northern Ireland than anywhere else to have a specific strategy to tackle this." She said there was "clearly a need" for a gender specific strategy as women are twice as likely to be a victim of domestic abuse as a man. Responding, DUP MLA Pam Cameron told the Belfast Telegraph: "Louise Haigh previously warmly welcomed the First Minister's commitment on working with Executive colleagues to develop a strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. As someone who strongly supports the work of Women's Aid I very much welcome the First Minister's strong backing for their campaign. "Louise Haigh would also not be aware that the First Minister had raised the need for a strategy with the Justice Minister. Everyone will welcome that a paper on this subject is now to be brought to the Executive. "This is an issue where there is support across the political spectrum and the first minister has been at the forefront of highlighting its importance." Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillon said: I think that the first ministers comments around political representatives (that women in public life are often targeted with abusive comments) is not what this is about, its about all women and girls right across the north and the need to protect them." Ms Dillon said the law was still very much on the side of the alleged perpetrator which was most often a man, even in cases of violence against men. She also supported following steps in England and Wales which will see police treat misogyny as a hate crime by this Autumn. Justice Minister and Alliance Party leader Naomi Long denied her department had been slow to tackle the problem, having already passed relevant legislation. Ms Long said she raised the issue of an overarching strategy on violence against women at the Executive meeting on Tuesday. This is not a matter for justice, we deal with the consequences of these crimes when theyve been committed. But this is a much wider ranging piece of work that needs to be done which deals with the route causes of victimhood, she said. As men were most likely to commit the offences, she called for an Executive strategy covering education, health and communities. Megan E. Hall, the woman charged with killing and robbing Pottsville businessman and civic leader Patrick J. Murphy more than two years ago in New Orleans, remains in prison awaiting trial for her alleged crimes. Hall, 27, of New Orleans, formerly of Tennessee, faces charges of second-degree murder, armed robbery and obstruction of justice. She remains in prison in lieu of a $750,000 bond. She is next slated to be in court on March 31, when the Criminal District Court of Orleans Parish has scheduled a pre-trial conference. That could result in a trial date being set or it could lead to the scheduling of another such conference. New Orleans police allege Hall stabbed Murphy, 62, three times in the early morning hours of Feb. 28, 2019, in a room at the Empress Hotel in the citys Treme section. Hall stabbed Murphy once in the neck and twice in the abdomen, according to prosecutors. A housekeeper discovered Murphys body at 11:41 a.m. in a room registered to Hall, prosecutors allege. Video surveillance footage showed Murphy and Hall arriving at the hotel together at 2:10 a.m., according to prosecutors. Hall was seen leaving the hotel room alone and briskly walking out the front door at 3:42 a.m., prosecutors allege. Police said they believe Hall left the hotel with some of Murphys possessions. No one else was seen entering or leaving the room until the housekeeper eight hours later, according to prosecutors. Trials in Orleans Parish, which consists entirely of New Orleans, Louisianas largest city, have been on hold since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Louisiana Department of Health records show there have been 28,924 cases and 775 deaths from the virus in Orleans Parish through Monday. The totals include both confirmed and probable cases and deaths. A parish is Louisianas equivalent of a county. Murphy and his family have operated Murphy Jewelers at the same 115 W. Market St. location since 1913. The business also has locations in Hamburg, Berks County, and in the Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Lehigh County. Murphys civic involvement included service on the Pottsville Parking Authority and Pottsville Area school board. Hall faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of second-degree murder. As is the case in Pennsylvania, a life sentence in Louisiana carries no chance of parole. She also faces maximum prison sentences of 99 years and 40 years, respectively, for armed robbery and obstruction of justice. Defendant: Megan E. Hall Age: 27 Residence: New Orleans, formerly of Tennessee Charges: Second-degree murder, armed robbery and obstruction of justice Asian-American lawmakers on Thursday described harrowing discrimination -- including a congresswoman's personal experience in historic abuse by the government -- as they testified about the national tragedy of racism highlighted by this week's Atlanta murders. A congressional hearing turned personal as Democrats vented about how former president Donald Trump and others have demonized Asians as responsible for the coronavirus, with one warning that such language has put a "bull's eye" on the backs of Asian Americans and Pacific islanders. "I have a responsibility and a moral obligation to speak out about the normalizing of attacks on the AAPI community," said congresswoman Doris Matsui, a 76-year-old Californian. During World War II, the US government forcibly relocated Matsui's Japanese-American parents and grandparents to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona. "They lived in appalling conditions, surrounded by a barbed wire fence, armed guards on towers, incarcerated solely because of their ancestry." Matsui was born in the very camp where her family was held. "Our government, and many of its leaders, advanced the myth that the Japanese-American community was inherently the enemy," she said. "Americans across the country believed it, acceded to institutionalized racism, and acted on it." - 'Please stop' - The testimony by congresswomen Matsui, Grace Meng and Judy Chu, and Senator Tammy Duckworth, came after six women of Asian descent were murdered Tuesday in Georgia. Experts say anti-Asian violence has risen substantially nationwide since the pandemic took hold one year ago. Trump famously called Covid-19 the "China virus," congressional Republicans regurgitated the rhetoric, and attacks on Asian-Americans apparently spiked. "Our community is bleeding. We are in pain, and for the last year we've been screaming out for help," Meng, a 45-year-old New Yorker of Taiwanese descent, told the House judiciary subcommittee on civil rights. Story continues The panel heard how Asian Americans have been verbally harassed, slapped, spat on, and stabbed. When House Republican Chip Roy warned that the hearing was an attempt at "policing" free speech, he drew rebukes. "I am not a virus," congressman Ted Lieu, who was born in Taiwan and served in the US Air Force, reminded Roy. "Whatever political points you think you're scoring by using ethnic identifiers in describing this virus, you're harming Americans who happen to be of Asian descent," he added. "So please stop doing that." Anti-Asian attacks continue. Nearly 3,800 have been reported since last year, the group Stop AAPI Hate says. Erika Lee, director of the Immigration History Research Center at University of Minnesota, said Asian Americans have been "terrorized," and the ongoing abuse marks "a systemic national tragedy" that won't just disappear after the pandemic. "We have heard in the past 24 hours many describe the anti-Asian discrimination and violence as un-American," she said. "Unfortunately, it is very American." mlm/acb Mar. 18ANDERSON The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed the life without parole sentence for Dylan Tate who was convicted in the death of his girlfriend's son, 18-month-old Harlan Haines. Tate, 29, was convicted by a Madison Circuit Court Division 1 jury in 2019 on charges of murder, child molesting, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Judge Angela Warner Sims' sentence was unanimously affirmed in January. The state's highest court looked at two issues raised by Tate in his appeal that the court erred by admitting certain testimony and that there was not enough evidence during the trial to support the torture and child molesting aggravators of the sentence. "We find sufficient evidence supporting these two aggravators and reject Tate's invitation to reweigh the evidence," the opinion reads. The court opinion states that during his trial Tate's attorney didn't raise objections to the testimony. "The medical records alone provide sufficient support for the jury's finding of torture, the decision reads. "Recall that H.H. (Harlan Haines) arrived at the hospital bruised all over, and the doctors and nurses found myriad injuries, including a paper towel stuffed down his throat and significant brain damage from blunt force trauma." The court wrote the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Tate killed an 18-month-old child. The boy's mother, Jennifer Harris, was sentenced by Judge Sims to 40 years in prison for neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Her sentence was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals in February. Tate was charged in 2018 after taking Harlan, his girlfriend's child, to the emergency room at Community Hospital on Feb. 23, 2018, according to a probable cause affidavit. Harlan died two days later. Tate told police he found the child gasping for air when he woke up to get a drink of water that morning, according to court records. He said he drove Harlan to the Anderson hospital without waking the boy's mother, but crashed his vehicle into a pole not far from his Poplar Street residence. Story continues Tate told police a driver in a passing car drove him and Harlan to the hospital, where physicians were able to revive the child, who was not breathing and whose heart had stopped, according to the affidavit. Harlan was transferred to Indiana University Health Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where he died. During the toddler's treatment, doctors noted signs of severe physical abuse on his body, according to court records. Neither Tate nor Harris could explain the injuries to police, officers said. Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863. Tough Talk in Advance of Anchorage U.S.-China Meeting March 17 , 2021 (EIRNS)Unnamed U.S. senior administration officials, one from the National Security Council and the other from the State Department, briefed reporters on background last night on the Biden administrations intentions for the first, face-to-face high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials, which will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, March 18. The meeting participants are National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Chinas Director of the Central Committee Office for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi. There will be no joint statement issued at the end, nor will this be the start of any negotiations, the U.S. officials emphasized. This really is a one-off meeting. This is not a resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process.... This is very much about sitting down, getting an understanding of each other and then taking that back and taking stock.... We are in the middle of a pretty extensive China strategy development process. That was about the nicest thing said. The two officials said Blinken and Sullivan intend to dispel what might be a sense, potentially a perception, or maybe its a hope, in Beijing that our public message is somehow different than our private message. They listed (once again) the litany of charges continued over from Mike Pompeos rampages (Chinas alleged aggressive actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, economic coercion), and so forth. Their repeated assertion that they need the inputs of our allies and partners in order to enhance our leverage, strengthen our hand, and best position the United States for success in this competition with China, did not sound a confident note, however. When a reporter for British news agency Reuters tried to blow up the Anchorage meeting in advance by suggesting the Chinese officials might refuse to discuss matters which they believe are internal matters of sovereignty at todays Chinese Foreign Ministry press briefing, spokesman Zhao Lijian slammed the questioner. We didnt say that Taiwan, Hong Kong- and Xinjiang-related issues cannot be discussed during the dialogue. We will brief the U.S. side on the relevant situation and express our solemn position, he said, characterizing some official U.S. comments as moves to sway public opinion in the run-up to the dialogue in an attempt to pressure China. That will fail, but China hopes this dialogue will follow through on the consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in their phone call, focus on cooperation, manage differences and bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track. For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Horasis The Global Visions Community 1000 World Leaders To Discuss Rebuilding Trust At Upcoming Horasis Extraordinary Meeting On The United States Of America As America moves into the new administration Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon refused to attend a European Parliament committee meeting if it meant answering questions alongside privacy campaigner Max Schrems. Such a session would be wholly inappropriate pending the outcome of a legal action involving both the DPC and Max Schrems, Ms Dixon said. In a blistering letter sent on March 16, the head of Irelands privacy watchdog also accused members of the committee of making up their minds against her agency in advance a scheduled meeting. The letter has been published on the DPC website alongside other correspondence. Ms Dixon, citing media reports, said the committees so-called Shadow Rapporteurs members drawn from the main political groupings who tend to do the heavy lifting on such committees had already drafted a criticism of her agency before hearing from her. The Irish data chief had asked for a chance to speak to the European Parliaments civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, known as the LIBE Committee, to respond to criticism. But when the committee proposed a session for Thursday, March 18, to also include Max Schrems and Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board, Ms Dixon refused the invitation. Expand Close Campaigner: Data privacy activist and lawyer Max Schrems Photo: Lisi Niesner/Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Campaigner: Data privacy activist and lawyer Max Schrems Photo: Lisi Niesner/Reuters Max Schrems is an Austrian data privacy campaigner whose long-running complaints in relation to Facebook have forced wide-ranging changes to the EUs data-protection regime including protections for personal information being shipped to the US. He is also an outspoken critic of Irelands data protection enforcement and is involved in a legal action with the DPC, which Ms Dixon said means she should not enter what was likely to be a debate. Pending the delivery of the Courts judgment, it is not open to me and, indeed, it would be wholly inappropriate to enter into some form of debate with Mr Schrems in an alternative forum, in connection with proceedings that remain live. she said. She also blasted LIBEs proposed procedures to hold the session as deeply objectionable. The Committee has already taken it upon itself to unfairly and unreasonably single out my office for explicit criticism without first hearing from me, and where such criticisms must, logically, be intended to be the subject of our exchanges, Ms Dixon wrote. In response, LIBE chair Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said the purpose of the proposed meeting was not to have a direct exchange among the speakers. However in a follow-up email Ms Dixon said she would not attend such a session. The latest letters indicating a deteriorating relationship between the DPC and European law makers comes just a day after Germanys privacy watchdog claimed Ireland had failed to close any of 50 data protection complaints it forwarded against WhatsApp. That claim was made in an unpublished letter from Germanys top privacy enforcer Ulrich Kelber to the LIBE Committee. He wrote it after Ms Dixon compared Irelands data protection regime favourably to other regulators, including Germanys. It is equally of note that several fines levied by supervisory authorities in Germany have been reduced or set aside by the courts of that jurisdiction in recent months, she wrote in her March 12 letter. In his letter, dated March 16 and also seen by the Irish Independent, the head of Germanys federal Data Protection Commission told MEPs that agency has sent more than 50 complaints about WhatsApp to the Irish data authority since 2018 with none closed so far. He also denied Helen Dixons position that no other supervisory authority moved to implement the implications of Schrems II. This statement by Ms Dixon is simply wrong, he wrote. The PSNI have arrested a 52-year-old man in the Creggan area of Derry under the Terrorism Act. Detectives from the Terrorism Investigation Unit, together with district policing officers and the Operational Support Department carried out the search and arrest operation in Derry this morning. The investigation was undertaken as a part of Operation Ledging, a stand-alone strand of Operation Arbacia - which is the PSNI's long-term specialist investigation into the activities of the New IRA. The man arrested has been taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite where he continues to be questioned. Forensic teams are currently examining a house at the location were the arrest was made. The police have said that the arrest and the search of the house is a significant development as part of Operation Ledging, which specifically is investigating the New IRAs bomb-making activities as well as the groups storage of explosive devices and equipment. Read More Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, Head of Serious Crime Branch, said: The New IRA continues to pose a very real danger, most especially to the communities in the areas where they construct and store their bombs and guns. Previous investigations have shown time and time again that the New IRA has a callous disregard towards who it might hurt or what it destroys. We have witnessed on numerous occasions that they are willing to put the lives of local people at risk in their reckless haste to carry out bombings and shootings. "Most starkly they have a chilling indifference to hiding lethally dangerous weapons and bombs in places where local people can easily stumble across them, unaware of the potential horrific consequences of touching them. He added: We have witnessed this all too often in recent times when they have left explosives and weapons near to childrens play-dens and in the middle of housing areas places that should be sacrosanct and safe. The approaching anniversary of the heartless murder of Lyra McKee and the self-serving justification of it by those who were involved in it, underscores the risks that the New IRA pose to those going about their lawful business. Our focus is on keeping the community safe and protecting them from the threat of these violent groups but we need the help of the public. Our chances of success are vastly improved by support and information from the community in relation to their activities. We have previously stated that Operation Arbacia is a longer term investigation that will look into every aspect of the activities of the New IRA in its entirety. Todays search and arrest is evidence that we have various operations complementing Operation Arbacia and today does not mark the end of them but rather a continuance. Author Ryan Anderson refuted Amazon's claim that he equated LGBTQ+ to mental illness which the retail giant cited as reason to delist his book, "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment." Thursday last week, Amazon sent its response letter to Senate Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana, and Josh Hawley of Missouri who questioned the unlawful delisting of Ryan T. Anderson's book from their platform. "As to your specific question about 'When Harry Became Sally,' we have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness," said Amazon Vice President for Public Policy Brian Huseman. Anderson, who is also the president of the Ethics & Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. refuted this by explaining the two occurences of the phrase "mental illness" in his book. "The only problem here is that my book does no such thing. Nowhere have I ever said or framed LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness," Anderson told The Daily Signal. "The phrase "mental illness" does occur in the book twice-but not in my own voice: once quoting a "transwoman" writing in The New York Times, and once quoting the current University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins," Anderson said. The author said Amazon's timing to the delisting of his book is "highly suspicious" and that the move is an attempt to distort the "marketplace of ideas" which is, in effect, an act of deception to well read thinkers. "The timing of Amazon's move is highly suspicious, coming the weekend before Congress voted on a radical transgender bill-the so-called "Equality Act"-of which I am one of the most outspoken critics. It seems that Amazon is using its massive power to distort the marketplace of ideas and is deceiving its own customers," Anderson said in his email. In February, Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Mr. Jeffrey Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com Inc., concerning the removal of Anderson's book. They argued that "the internet is at its best when it is an open marketplace of ideas that brings people together to share, learn from one another, and engage in a range of commercial activities." "In its decision to remove Mr. Anderson's book from its platforms, Amazon has openly signaled to conservative Americans that their views are not welcome on its platforms," said the lawmakers per The Christian Post report. Writing for The American Conservative, New York Times' bestseller author Ron Dreher assessed that Amazon's decision was not driven by science but by politics. "Amazon is using its unparalleled cultural power to make the public debate over a controversial issue go away," wrote Dreher. As part of the solution, Dreher proposed that Congress "hold hearings about the effect of Amazon's monopsony, and Big Tech's power, on free speech and debate." He also suggested that conservatives create "a big online retailer for dissident books." "If Amazon refuses to sell books that characterize LGBT as mental illness, why would they still sell books that characterize this as sinful? You know, books like The Bible," said Dreher as a side note. Those who want to get Anderson's book, "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment," can still get it via Barnes & Noble. New Delhi, March 18 : While the Maharashtra government has confirmed that Param Bir Singh has been shunted out as Mumbai Police Commissioner, the incoming top cop, Hemant Nagrale, has had run-ins with controversy due to a troubled past with his wife. Just a day after Singh was removed as the police commissioner, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday that he was transferred after some of his colleagues' committed "serious and unforgivable mistakes". Singh has been transferred to the low-key Home Guard department by the state government, with acting Director-General of Police Nagrale replacing him. Deshmukh said he was shifted to ensure that the probe into the Sachin Vaze episode in connection with the SUV case is conducted "properly and without any hindrance". As per media reports, in March 2008, Nagrale's wife Pratima wrote a complaint letter against her husband Nagrale to different government departments, including then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh. Pratima, in her complaint, had stated that her husband tried to force her out of the residence and threatened to put her in a mental hospital if she didn't keep distance from him. Pratima had alleged that Nagrale, a 1987 batch IPS officer, had been physically torturing her to get a divorce. "If he can prove that I am mad, it would be easier for him to get his way," she had told a press conference at that time. As per reports, in 2009, Pratibha went to Nagrale's official residence in Colaba, but he refused to allow her in. Following this, she filed an application at the Colaba police station about the perceived threat from her estranged husband. Despite being married for 20 years, she filed numerous cases against her husband alleging mental and physical harassment. On Nagrale's complaint, a family court granted permission to dissolve the marriage. However, the Bombay High Court set aside the order passed by the family court grating divorce to Nagrale, then 46, from his wife Pratima Nagrale, 41, saying that the trial court had committed manifest error in exercise of discretion. More details are emerging about the Texas man who was arrested outside of Vice President Kamala Harris' residence in Washington D.C. on a weapons charge. According to the Associated Press, Paul Murray, a 31-year-old San Antonio man was arrested by D.C. police when he was found near the Naval Observatory home, which is traditionally the residence of the vice president. Harris and her family were not at the home at the time, as it is undergoing renovations. No one was hurt in the incident. RELATED: Since the arrest, news of the local tie has spread throughout the city. Though reported as a San Antonio man, his local presence is not profound. Most of his connections are tied to the Brazos County area. See below for what we've learned so far. He lived on the North West Side at some point Records show a North West Side address in San Antonio for Murray, but it is unclear how long he lived there. He last lived in Brazos County Local media outlet KBTX reported Murray last lived in Bryan, which is outside of College Station. Murray attended Texas A&M University KBTX also found that Murray was previously enrolled as a graduate student at Texas A&M. University officials told the news station he is not enrolled for this semester. He was a U.S. Army drone pilot CNBC reported the U.S. Army confirmed Murray served from March 2010 to April 2014 as an unmanned drone pilot. He was arrested with multiple weapons and plenty of ammunition A D.C. police report obtained by MySA shows Murray was in possession of an "AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of registered ammunition and five 30 round magazines." Earlier this month, he said he wouldn't hurt himself, but might hurt others On March 3, the College Station Police Department released an Intelligence Bulletin on Murray after the Brazos County Sheriff's Department conducted a wellness check. Murray told officials he didn't want to hurt himself, but could hurt someone else "if it was justified," according to the widely spread bulletin. By Danny Ramos and Monica Machicao LA PAZ (Reuters) - The daughter of former Bolivian president Jeanine Anez raised concerns about her mother's health on Wednesday after authorities confirmed she was taken ill in prison but an ambulance called for her was later sent away. Karina Figueroa, governor of the La Paz Womens Jail, said earlier that Anez, who was arrested on Saturday over allegations she helped foment a coup in the Andean nation, had been taken to hospital suffering from high blood pressure. However, Reuters witnesses outside the prison said the ambulance later left empty and authorities confirmed the former president was being treated at the prison. Carlos Limpias, director of the prisons service, said Anez was receiving all the care she required. "At the moment her health is stable," he said. "She was taken ill this afternoon and given medication. It is worth noting that her lawyer was present and an ombudsman who can verify her state of health and that everything necessary has been done," he said. Carolina Ribera said her mother suffered from hypertension for which she took medication and needed medical attention or could risk a stroke. "I haven't seen her since Monday, since they took her to prison, and I'm desperate, anguished and worried about her," she told reporters outside the hospital. "Our mum is everything to us. What this government is doing is inhuman." Anez, 53, and two of her former ministers were detained over the weekend on allegations they participated in a coup to oust longtime leader Evo Morales in 2019. The current administration, run by Morales' socialist party under President Luis Arce, has sought the arrest of a number of former officials, military and civil leaders over accusations they conspired to oust Morales. Anez denies the allegations and claims she is the victim of political persecution. (Reporting by Danny Ramos and Monica Machicao in La Paz; Writing by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Richard Pullin) With an urgency that Republicans never summoned to confront the deadliest pandemic of the century, the GOP is waging a nuclear war on voting rights. Theres some debate over whether the 253 bills introduced this year to restrict voting in 43 states constitute the worst attack on ballot access since Reconstruction, or just since America elected its first Black president. But whats obvious is this: The Republican Party is heeding former President Donald Trump's cynical cry to pass comprehensive election reforms inspired by his deadly Big Lie. And the chief "reform" they have in mind is making it harder for Democrats, especially Black voters in key states like Georgia, to cast a ballot. For this GOP, 530,000 dead Americans will never be as much of an emergency as 81 million votes for a Democratic presidential candidate. Voters will love these election reforms All Americans should be appalled by this coordinated assault on what Ronald Reagan called the crown jewel of American liberties. But Democrats in Congress, especially in the Senate, dont have time be disgusted. They need to focus on the sad fact that this pathetic plot to steal the elections for the next decade or more could very well work. Easily. Yet it could also be prevented, almost as easily, and with widespread support from voters. We know this because its already happened in my home state of Michigan. First, here are some numbers that show that we know this plot against majority rule could work: Joe Biden got 7 million more votes than Trump. House Democrats won nearly 4.7 million votes more than their Republican opponents. The 50 U.S. senators who caucus with the Democrats represent over 41 million more Americans than their 50 Republican colleagues. And despite their massive deficits in the popular vote, Republicans could control every branch of government right now if about 90,000 votes had flipped their way. Voting polls on Jan. 5, 2021, in Atlanta. Out of 155.5 million votes cast, 90,000 votes is a rounding error on a rounding error. Yet if theyd just kept that many Americans from the polls, Republicans would have been rewarded for Trumps failures with complete control of Washington. Story continues But here are the numbers that show we know we can fix it and voters will love the fix. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by just 0.23 percentage points. In 2020, Biden's winning 2.8-point margin was over 12 times that big. But what happened in my home state two years earlier, in 2018, may be even more important. In the one midterm election of Trumps presidency, 61% of Michigan's voters passed Proposal 2 (creating an independent, nonpartisan redistricting committee) and 67% passed Proposal 3 (amending the state Constitution to include automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and no-excuse absentee voting.) Voting rights: The Georgia Republican Party wants to set voting rights back decades. Is your state next? Both did better than a victorious proposal legalizing marijuana, which has been an issue in my state since December 1971 when John Lennon visited Ann Arbor to play a concert to free John Sinclair, who was jailed for selling two joints. Proposals 2 and 3 make up many of the key components of H.R. 1, The For the People Act of 2021 passed by the House. H.R. 1 would "thwart virtually every single" attempt state-level Republicans are making to suppress the vote, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. Elizabeth Hira, a Brennan Center attorney, calls it the next great civil rights bill. Don't hand our democracy to the GOP These massive upgrades of our federal electoral system are desperately needed. So is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the power of the federal government to review potentially discriminatory changes to elections before they go into effect. Passage of the two bills would make the GOPs effort to suppress votes futile gestures from a party that believes it can only win by denying its fellow citizens their most essential right. A recent poll found that 67% of voters back H.R. 1, almost the exact percentage that passed Proposal 3 in Michigan. Thats a supermajority of the American public, yet a super minority of Republican senators 41 out of 100 can make sure the GOP continues to nuke ballot access across the country by filibustering these bills. But that's only if Democrats let them. Racist past and present: End the Senate filibuster so America can move forward Stacey Abrams has suggested that Democrats kill the filibuster for voting rights legislation, much as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell killed the filibuster to get Republican nominees onto the Supreme Court. Another option is to bring the filibuster back to where it was before the early 1970s, when the senators trying to block a bill had to hold the floor with non-stop Mr. Smith Goes to Washington talking filibuster. This would force Republicans to defend their attacks on democracy, a highly unpopular position, for days or weeks or months on end. Even President Biden is warming to the idea of reforming today's perverse version of the filibuster. It's the least Democrats can do. H.R. 1 and the John Lewis voting act arent just priorities. They are necessities. And if Senate Democrats dont do everything they can to give the entire nation the universal ballot access we now take for granted in Michigan, we wont be able to say Republicans are stealing elections. Well have to say that Senate Democrats handed over our democracy to a party bent on destroying it. Jason Sattler, a writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a member of USA TODAYs Board of Contributors and host of "The GOTMFV Show" podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @LOLGOP You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats will be to blame if they let Republicans make voting harder COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police believe that a longtime Columbus lobbyist charged in connection with the House Bill 6 probe who died earlier this week took his own life, officials said on Thursday. Michelle Batten, a spokeswoman for the Collier County Sheriffs Office in Florida, said the Collier County Medical Examiners Office will make the final determination on the cause of death. But investigators are treating Neil Clarks death as an apparent suicide and dont suspect foul play was involved, she said. The sheriffs office also on Thursday released a new version of an incident report documenting their initial investigation into Clarks death. They previously released the report on Tuesday, but it was heavily redacted. The report says police found Clark, 67, around 11:30 a.m. on Monday lying on the ground about 400 feet off the roadway, and about 350 feet from his vehicle, near the brush line by a retention pond in the area close to his home in Naples, Florida. A passerby who called police said that Clark appeared to be beyond help. Police said Clark had a single gunshot wound to his head, and recovered a handgun that was near his body, according to the report. Clarks attorney, William Ireland, didnt immediately return a message. He told the USA Today Ohio network earlier this week: This is a tragic loss for his friends and family. Neil remains not guilty. We lost a good friend. Clark was arrested last July and charged with racketeering as part of a federal investigation into HB6, which bailed out two Ohio nuclear plants owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. Clark was a close political ally of then-House Speaker Larry Householder, who also was arrested and charged as part of the probe. Like Householder, Clark pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Prosecutors say he played a role in a $61 million bribery scheme, funded by FirstEnergy and its affiliates, to pass HB6, which bailed out two Ohio power plants owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. The money flowed through political groups and bought campaign advertising, hired consultants and funded other means to help Householder gain his leadership position and push for HB6 to become law, according to charging documents. Clark was one of the most well known lobbyists in Columbus since the 1980s, representing dozens of influential state interest groups. He grew up in Cleveland, and started his career in Ohio politics as an aide working for the Ohio Senate Republican caucus. Are you, a family member or a friend in crisis, or do you need mental health or substance use services? Heres a list of agencies that can help. Ohio CareLine: Emotional support call service from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Toll-free at 1-800-720-9616 Frontline Services: 24-hour crisis hotline 216-623-6888 Suicide prevention hotline: 800-273-TALK or 800-SUICIDE Cuyahoga County suicide prevention, mental health/addiction crisis, information and referral hotline: available 24 hours at 216-623-6888 Frontline Services: 24-hour crisis hotline 216-623-6888 Suicide prevention hotline: 800-273-TALK or 800-SUICIDE Cuyahoga County suicide prevention, mental health/addiction crisis, information and referral hotline: available 24 hours at 216-623-6888 Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services: Online resource for COVID-19 related information and services available amid the pandemic Ohio Crisis Text Line: Text keyword 4HOPE to 741 741 Find Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment: https://findtreatment.gov Disaster Distress help line: available 24/7 at 1-800-985-5990 or TTY at 1-800-846-8517. Also available by texting TalkWithUs to 66746; Spanish-speakers can text Hablanos to 66746. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 18.03.21: The internal domestic crisis is on its high in Armenia. Today PM Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia will hold snap parliamentary elections on June 20, 2021. His remarks came following a meeting with the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan. According to the PM, the best way out of the current domestic political situation is to hold snap parliamentary elections. Later, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction Edmon Marukyan noted that his "parliamentary faction accepts June 20, 2021, as the date for the snap parliamentary elections." Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, in turn, noted that it is necessary to form new power and a new government in the country. And in an interview with Tert.am, leader of the opposition Homeland Party, former director of the National Security Service of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan said his opposition Homeland Party will be running in the snap parliamentary elections, but didnt mention the format. The Homeland Salvation Movement, in turn, said it will later 'make an official position on the early parliamentary elections.' Meanwhile, Armenian ex-ruling bloc member Armen Ashotyan wondered under what electoral code and under what electoral regime will the elections be held. According to the European Platform for Election Observation, snap parliamentary elections in Armenia should only be held under the reformed electoral code. "The adoption of amendments should be done as soon as possible, even if this goes against general international rules concerning timelines for the calling of elections," the statement said. The Office of the Armenian Prime Minister has issued a clarification in connection with the Administrative Court decision on securing the lawsuit accepted in an administrative case, and which concerns the dismissal of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan. Their remarks came following reports that Onik Gasparyan was present at his job place. According to the office, on the basis of the constitutional norm, Onik Gasparyan was relieved of his post on 10.03.2021. "The Constitution has not envisaged the possibility of reversing the act that came into force by virtue of the mentioned constitutional norm," the PM's office added. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is increasing in Armenia. As of Thursday morning, 1,024 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 181,165 in the country. Also, 19 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,301 cases. Meanwhile, Armenian health minister Anahit Avanesyan noted that the number of people contracting COVID-19 continues to grow in Armenia, and therefore new hospitals and beds are being put into operation in the country. She also touched upon the vaccination issue and said that the processes related to the import of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Armenia depend on the results of research and the course of events. It is not ruled out that Armenia will import this vaccine against COVID-19, she added. The court session on the criminal case against the third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and others resumed Thursday. The case also includes flash fuel company owner of Barsegh Beglaryan, former Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan, and Gevorg Harutyunyan, Head of the Plant Breeding Department of the same ministry. The court hearings, in this case, had been put off for a long time. Defendants Sergo Karapetyan and Samvel Galstyan have died as a result of the COVID-19. Serzh Sargsyan has been charged under the Criminal Code article on large-scale embezzlement or squandering. The third president, however, does not accept the charge against him. And his lawyer Amram Makinyan claims that the charge is concocted. US Congressman Brad Sherman discussed the issue of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan with Philip Reeker, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs According to Sherman, Azerbaijan is in violation of the ceasefire agreement by not having released all POWs. "I am glad to hear the State Dept has had multiple, substantive conversations with Baku calling for the release of all POWs. It seems to be that Baku gave POWs access to @ICRC in response to US efforts. I will continue to work with the State Dept to release all POWs," he tweeted. Investigating Gobbler Harvest Rates TWRA is conducting a wild turkey gobbler leg-banding project beginning the winter of 2021. The purpose of this project is to obtain survival and harvest rate estimates of wild turkey gobblers from across the state. Eastern wild turkey populations have declined throughout much of the southeastern United States over the past decade or more, including in parts of Tennessee. There are many possible reasons for these declines. Habitat loss and deterioration, poor reproduction because of recurring bad weather, increased predation on turkeys and their nests, and impacts associated with legal hunting are just a few of the possible reasons. However, as a state wildlife agency, the only one of these factors that we have direct influence to change is the impact associated with turkey harvest. In order to make wise management decisions, state wildlife agencies need good science to understand the relationships between hunting regulations, harvest, and resultant population impacts. Therefore, working with researchers at Tennessee Tech University and with the cooperation of the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, we are conducting a four-year, statewide banding project to investigate gobbler harvest rates in Tennessee. The project will allow us to collect data that we can use to determine which biological, landscape and regulatory factors are influencing male wild turkey harvest and survival rates across Tennessee. Harvest rates influence wild turkey populations in two possible ways: through direct removal of juvenile and adult gobblers, and by removing dominant males from the population, which may affect reproductive rates of females. Unlike other upland game birds in North America, wild turkeys are hunted and harvested during their breeding season, making hunting regulations (e.g., the timing, duration, and bag limits) of spring turkey season critical for population management. Therefore, it is vital for state agencies to understand the harvest rates of gobblers across different regulatory frameworks to better inform their season-setting recommendations. To measure harvest rates, we will use a statewide band-and-recover approach so that data can be collected from all regional units of the state. Each year in January, February, and March of 2021-2024, TWRA biologists will trap and band approximately 300 wild turkey gobblers from sites across the state. As these birds are harvested, hunters are asked to report the band number stamped on the band. Hunters can keep the band as a memento of their hunt but reporting the band to TWRA is essential to our obtaining good estimates of harvest rates. Data collected from hunters reporting banded turkeys will provide us a wealth of information. Our overall project objectives include: 1. Documenting survival and harvest rates of adult and juvenile gobblers across Tennessee, 2. Identifying biological, landscape, and hunting regulation variables that influence observed harvest rates and determining which variables have the strongest influence, 3. Predicting how various regulatory changes could influence harvest, and 4. Gathering data to use in conjunction with summer turkey survey data to calculate relative turkey abundance. The situation on the border must be hurting politically. On ABC, Biden told the folks to say home and "don't come." How convenient! Imagine if President Trump had told the migrants to stay on their towns. How many times would we hear that he is a racist? The situation on the border is out of control, as a sheriff is pointing out: An Arizona sheriff said Wednesday that the current border crisis is worse than the Obama years, as the Department of Homeland Security indicates that the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border is expected to hit a 20-year high. Pinal Country Sheriff Mark Lamb told "Fox & Friends" that it was "ridiculous" and "unfair" that illegal immigrants, many of whom he claims have not been tested for coronavirus, are able to enter the country while schools and businesses in many parts of the nation remain closed. Of course it's a mess on the border. The crisis was not inherited. It was created by misguided decisions and executive orders. It's also the height of dishonesty for Biden to say this now. Why didn't he say it during the campaign? Could it be that they were pandering to Hispanic voters in large cities? Worse than that, was the campaign keeping immigration activists in line by promising to kill the Trump policies? It's time for Hispanics to reconsider the Democrat party. At least President Trump spoke clearly. The Democrats tell them what they want to hear, and then it's a different once in power. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk). Image: Gage Skidmore. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Charleston, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Charlestowne Premium Beverages Inc. (OTC PINK: FPWM) (the "Company"), seeking to become a dominant presence in the premium cannabidiol (CBD) infused alcohol space announced it has reactivated an agreement with WOG International South America SAA, an agricultural aggregator, to be their agent in Peru to source high quality, natural potato vodka and premium hemp oil. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6891/77729_a6536631e47ea9f2_001full.jpg Martin D. Ustin, Charlestowne Premium Beverages, Inc CEO, commented: "As COVID-19 barriers begin to fall, we are pleased to rekindle our agreement with WOG International South America SAA, that will provide Charlestowne Premium Beverages Inc. with large enough supplies of artisanal potato-based vodka and CBD oils that can be used with the vodka to fuel our growth in appropriate markets." "Having identified reliable sources of base materials and processors, we can now refine our quality standards and move into the pre-production stage. We will announce further developments via press release as they occur", remarked Ustin. Cannabidiol or CBD, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in hemp - meaning it will not give the user a "high", unlike THC. Since the Farm Bill was passed in the US in 2018, CBD has been experiencing a large growth in use in consumer products and has experienced increased demand in the food and beverage, and health and beauty sectors. Charlestowne Premium Beverages Inc's portfolio includes spirit brands PAPA Vodka and Proprietors Reserve Whiskey. PAPA Vodka, its main product, is an artisanal vodka made from Peruvian potatoes with and without infused hemp oil, which complements and enhances the flavor of the drink in those markets where it is permitted. About Charlestowne Premium Beverages Inc: Charlestowne Premium Beverages Inc (FPWM) is a company that develops, produces, markets and distributes alcoholic beverages worldwide. The Company's portfolio showcases spirit brands such as Papa Vodka, Crocodile Tears Vodka, Proprietor's Reserve Whiskey, and Special Reserve Whiskey. Charlestowne Premium also has Wholesaler and Import permits from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau - the governing body for spirits in the U.S. under the Department of the Treasury. To learn more, please visit www.charlestownepremiumbeverages.com and follow us on Twitter at @CharlestowneCB1 IR Contact: ir@charlestownepremiumbeverages.com Safe Harbor Statement: This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E and or 27E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements as to the future performance of the company and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward- looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward- looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to raise necessary financing, retention of key personnel, timely delivery of inventory from the company's contract manufacturers, timely product development, product acceptance, and the impact of competitive services and products, in addition to general economic. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77729 Washington: An Indian national from Gurgaon has been sentenced to three years in federal imprisonment on charges of call centre fraud that intended to cheat Americans of millions of dollars, a US attorney said. Sahil Narang, 29, who was in the United States illegally at the time of his arrest in May 2019, is described in court documents as a key participant in a sophisticated so-called Tech Fraud and Refund Fraud online telemarketing schemes that targeted technologically unsophisticated computer users, usually senior citizens. Narang had pleaded guilty on December 11, 2020, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and ten counts of wire fraud. He was sentenced on Wednesday to 36 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, said the Acting United States Attorney Richard B Myrus. According to federal prosecutors, Internet pop-up advertisements were used in the Tech Fraud scheme to deceive computer users into believing that they needed computer protection services. The pop-up ads provided a telephone number to call and when the victims dialled the number, they were routed to call centre operators who perpetuated the lie that malware had been detected on the victims' computers. They offered the victims supposed computer protection services at exaggerated prices. In the Refund Fraud scheme, call centre operators telephoned those who had fallen prey to the Tech Fraud and offered to refund the sum previously paid. Through manipulation that usually involved the display of false bank account balances on the customers' computer screens, the operators convinced the victims that sums far in excess of the refund amount had accidentally been deposited into the victims' accounts. As the victims had not in fact received any money, those who 'returned' money were actually sending more of their own money to the fraudsters, federal prosecutors said. According to information presented to the court, between August 30, 2019, and May 1, 2019, Narang and others worked together to manipulate thousands of callers employing the Tech Fraud scheme, seeking to obtain from them an estimated USD 1.5 million to USD 3 million. An FBI investigation determined that over a nine-month period Narang routed on average more than 70 calls to call centres every day. It is also estimated that Narang's Tech Fraud scheme was successful 30 per cent of the time. In round two of the scheme, the Refund Fraud scheme, executed during the same nine-month period, Narang and others associated with call centres sought to obtain from their victims cumulatively USD 560,900. Live TV The FBI investigation identified at least nine individuals who fell victim to the Tech Fraud Scheme at a total loss of USD 110,900, which the FBI was able to intercept and return to the victims. During the investigation, the FBI interceded and prevented loss when a tenth victim was on the verge of losing up to USD 450,000 to the fraudsters. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Wednesday condemned the latest wrong move by the U.S. Department of State under an update to the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act", which continued to put 24 officials of the Chinese mainland and the HKSAR on a sanctions list. "We are extremely disappointed that the current U.S. administration, instead of rectifying the blatant mistake made by its predecessor, has chosen to pursue the same wrongful path of disregarding international norms and interfering in HKSAR affairs, which are internal matters of the PRC (People's Republic of China)," said a spokesman for the HKSAR government. "We deeply regret that the U.S. administration has clearly not taken heed of the collective voice of some 70 countries which had spoken in support of the PRC in respect of two key decisions to uphold the principle of 'one country, two systems' at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council," he said. The spokesman said that HKSAR's high degree of autonomy is guaranteed under "one country, two systems", but foreign entities have repeatedly ignored this fundamental principle and the correct relationship between "one country" and "two systems". The HKSAR is an inalienable part of the PRC and is directly accountable to the Central People's Government. National security and political structure are matters within the purview of the central authorities. "As the highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC) has the constitutional authority to make the decisions to improve the electoral system and safeguard national security in the HKSAR in March 2021 and May 2020 respectively. Taking into account the actual situation in Hong Kong, both decisions are timely and necessary," the spokesman said. In respect of the national security legislation, its positive effect, in restoring peace and stability and safeguarding individual rights and freedoms, has been felt throughout Hong Kong, by Hong Kong residents as well as expatriates living and working in Hong Kong, the spokesman said. "The NPC's recent decision to improve the electoral system in the HKSAR is to ensure 'patriots administering Hong Kong'. No country would allow its governance power to be vested in people who are not patriotic and who will endanger the interests of the country." Events in the past years clearly revealed that there were people who had exploited existing loopholes in the electoral system to enter the political institutions and used that platform to advocate for the so-called "Hong Kong independence," engage in acts of subversion, and even collude with external elements to endanger national security. They posed huge risks to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, the spokesman said. "To countries that consider national security to be of paramount importance on their own soil yet threaten officials of other countries for acting to defend their territory, the adoption of double standards is evident. Any claim that the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy and freedoms have been undermined by the NPC's decisions is also totally groundless." "The U.S. 'sanctions' will not create an obligation for financial institutions under Hong Kong law. Our financial institutions and our financial system as a whole are robust and resilient. They will continue to operate normally and smoothly despite any undue pressure from the U.S." "The chief executive and the HKSAR government officials who have been targeted by the U.S. administration over the past year will not be intimidated by these hostile acts of hegemony. They will continue to discharge their duty to safeguard 'one country, two systems' and national security in HKSAR in accordance with the law without fear or anxiety," the spokesman said. Anti-Asian bigotry isnt new in San Antonio, but the coronavirus pandemic has amplified and expanded it, members of the Asian American Society of San Antonio and other groups said Thursday at a gathering where local officials denounced recent examples of it. It shouldnt happen here, they said. Now Playing: Video: Nancy Preyor-Johnson, San Antonio Express-News San Antonio is a place where neighbors help each other, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said, adding, The only way to drive out hate is through love and compassion, which San Antonio demonstrates every day. The news conference on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse followed escalating reports nationwide of harassment and violence against people of Asian descent, including the deaths of six women in the Atlanta area this week and recent vandalism at a restaurant on the Northwest Side. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio restaurant vandalized with anti-Asian hate speech The restaurant, Noodle Tree, was spray-painted with graffiti last weekend after its Vietnamese American owner spoke out against Gov. Greg Abbott's rollback of the states mask mandate during an interview on CNN. Mike Nguyen / Police Chief William McManus said graffiti is bad enough, but its much worse when its the vehicle of a racial or ethnic attack. Theres nothing worse than a bigoted coward who writes their bigoted feelings on a structure, he said. But McManus could offer no new information on the investigation. Police have made no arrests and have declined to say if they had witnesses, video footage or suspects. District Attorney Joe Gonzales also declined to comment on the investigation but vowed to use every charging instrument possible to enhance a sentence if a hate crime can be proved. Racially motivated bigotry and violence cannot be tolerated in Bexar County, said Gonzales, flanked by at least 30 people representing a half-dozen organizations. It is important that we speak out, and its important that we denounce this sort of hatred that is happening across this nation. It is important that San Antonio knows that this is not who we are, he said. Mike Nguyen has received an outpouring of public support since the graffiti was discovered Sunday. He said he had been prepared for the hateful blowback he received on social media in response to his comments about Abbott, but not the ethnic and other slurs painted on the windows of the noodle shop and on a bench outside. They included the phrases, Go back 2 China, hope u die, commie and NO MASK. Christina Lew, president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance San Antonio Lodge, said the organization is working with civic leaders to create an advocacy group to support victims of hate crimes. She agreed with other speakers who said the recent trend had shocked generally tolerant San Antonians. Growing up, I would get the snarky ching chong racial slurs, but never something so blatantly just out there as we saw at Noodle Tree, she said. Im really hoping that everyone can see how great San Antonio is. Last year, a 70-year-old Chinese American restaurant owner was assaulted after being called inappropriate names related to the coronavirus, some recalled before Thursdays event. He has declined to be identified, they said, but the attack put him in a hospital for a week, and he has not regained full mobility of his wrist. Asians keep to themselves, Lew said. He didnt want to make a big wave about it. He didnt want people to know he was afraid that he would get retaliation or that his business could get hurt because of it. She also recalled Chesters Hamburgers advising patrons to Dont buy Chinese Buy American on a marquee last April. The chains owner said it referred to communist China, not an ethnic group, but took it down when he heard complaints. If he had just put Buy American, thats great, Lew said. But you dont need to single out our culture and bring more hate to it. Several other anti-Asian incidents have made local headlines since the pandemic began. Days after the City Council passed a resolution denouncing hate speech directed at Asian Americans, a small airplane flew over parts of the city with a banner directing people to use a racist name for the virus. On Thursday, Nguyen said the death threats against him and his family made him cancel plans to reopen the dine-in portion of his restaurant to customers. Especially with the events that happened in Georgia, I cant take that risk, he said in an interview before the news conference, which he did not attend. A white man, 21, was arrested after eight people were killed Tuesday at three spas in the Atlanta area. Six were Asian women. On ExpressNews.com: Messages of 'love and support' replace anti-Asian hate speech at San Antonio's Noodle Tree In the United States over the past year, anti-Asian hate crime has increased. A preliminary analysis of police data in 16 of Americas largest cities showed that such incidents soared by 149 percent in 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. That occurred even as hate crime in these cities dropped 7 percent overall, the center found. The report said anti-Asian incidents first spiked in March and April last year amid a rise in COVID cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic. San Antonio wasnt included in that analysis, and the Police Department was unable to immediately provide statistics on local reports and charges. Councilman Manny Pelaez said his District 8 has the highest concentration of Asian families in the city. These are the most American people Ive ever come across because they stand for all the values we hold dear, Pelaez said. Love, hard work, worship ... and standing next to each other when moments are hard. This isnt about one restaurant and one restaurant owner being scared, its about all these people being scared, he said. But the beautiful thing about San Antonio is, you know weve got your backs. Staff writers Marina Starleaf Riker and Madalyn Mendoza contributed to this report. jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA (Newser) President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a prominent COVID-19 skeptic in Africa whose populist rule often cast his East African country in a harsh international spotlight, has died. He was 61 years old. Magufuli's death was announced on Wednesday by Vice President Samia Suluhu, who said the president died of heart failure, the AP reports. "Our beloved president passed on at 6pm this evening," said Suluhu on national television. "All flags will be flown at half-mast for 14 days." Although the vice president said the cause of Magufulis death was heart failure, opposition politicians had earlier alleged that he was sick from COVID-19. Magufuli had not been seen in public since the end of February and top government officials had denied that he was in ill health even as rumors swirled online that he was sick and possibly incapacitated from illness. story continues below On Saturday, police said a man who spread rumors that the president was ill had been arrested and other arrests would follow. Magufuli was one of Africa's most prominent deniers of COVID-19. He claimed last year that Tanzania had eradicated the disease through three days of national prayer. Tanzania has not reported its COVID-19 tallies of confirmed cases and deaths to African health authorities since April 2020. But the number of deaths of people experiencing breathing problems reportedly grew and earlier this month the US embassy warned of a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Tanzania since January. First elected to the presidency in 2015, Magufuli was serving a second five-year term won in 2020 elections that the opposition and some rights groups said were neither free nor fair. (Read more Tanzania stories.) Austria shares Israel's goal of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons, Austrian president Alexander van der Bellen said Wednesday. He was speaking in Vienna during a news conference alongside Israel's president Reuven Rivlin. "We share the concern about the security of Israel and we share the goal to prevent Iran from developing and procuring nuclear weapons," van der Bellen said. Therefore, he said, Austria supported international efforts to resume negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran. Rivlin, for his part, said there could be no compromise with Iran. "The international community must recognize the threat posed by Iran and follow a path of no compromise when it comes to the nuclear developments by Iran and its terror organizations," the Israeli president said. Their meeting came as the International Atomic Energy Agency - which is based in Vienna - said it had confirmed that Iran has begun operating a cascade of advanced centrifuges at an underground site. The use of the advanced centrifuges in the Natanz facility is another violation of the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in 2015, which allows it only to enrich with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges. The deal was meant to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, which the country insists it does not intend to do. Tehran has said its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. After their meeting, both Van der Bellen and Rivlin, who is on an official state visit to Austria, laid wreaths at Vienna's Judenplatz square for the victims of the Holocaust. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) March 11, 2021 The Idaho State University Alumni Association will host a virtual Town Hall featuring ISU College of Business Associate Professor of Management and Director of Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Dr. Jeff Street. Street will be joined by students Rituraj Yadav, Dylan Brown and Dr. Jared Barrott, Assistant Professor in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Join us to learn about ISUs College of Business CEED services, including the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge, and how these innovative programs help advance our student's experiences at Idaho State. We're excited to have you join us for our next virtual Town Hall event. Participating is easy: Mark your calendars for Friday, March 19 at 3 p.m. The Town Hall will be available for live stream through Zoom. If you cannot join us live, a recording of the Town Hall will be available to watch on the Alumni Association Facebook page by Monday afternoon. Questions? Contact the ISU Alumni Office at (208) 282-3755 or alumni@isu.edu. Oil plunged by 7 percent, the most since September, as vaccination efforts in some parts of the world stalled, casting uncertainty over the speed of an economic recovery and a full rebound in global oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined for a fifth session, the longest stretch of daily losses in more than a year. China lifting less crude and U.S. Gulf Coast refineries still recovering from a cold blast last month have put short-term pressure on physical oil demand. Meanwhile, some efforts to distribute Covid-19 vaccines have faltered and a stronger dollar is reducing the appeal of commodities priced in the currency. The collapse in prices has wiped out more than two weeks of gains for the U.S. benchmark crude and represents a setback for a market that has otherwise staged a remarkable recovery since the depths of the pandemic. Oil futures are still up well over 20% since the start of the year with the worlds largest oil producers reining in supply and travel around the world recovering post-lockdowns. Short-term supply and demand considerations are temporarily casting a shadow over the bright future that is likely to arrive in the third quarter of the year, said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. Global benchmark Brent also notched considerable losses, falling by the most since June on Thursday. Oils move lower may also be linked to some unwinding of long positions by commodity trading advisors as daily price gains or losses of more than 3 percent can often trigger funds to quickly unload. This is a risk-off moment with some of the cyclical trades, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Beyond headline prices, crudes closest timespreads are signaling that, despite the outlook for a longer-term recovery, near-term demand remains fragile. WTIs front-month contract is trading at a discount again to the following month, while Brents backwardation -- a bullish structure signaling tighter supplies -- is weakening. The plunge is all about the demand outlook, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. This will be a temporary retreat, but the concern is that we dont have any strong signs that Europe is about to turn the corner here. The global recovery from the pandemic remains uneven. In Brazil, Covid-19 cases are expanding by record numbers and crimping activity, while in the U.K., delayed shipments of AstraZeneca Plcs vaccine will cut supply this month. Demand hasnt gotten as far back to normal as we expected, with the vaccine news out of Europe definitely concerning in terms of short-term demand, said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. Thats making people think that the time for $70 Brent has not yet come. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 17, 2021) - Silk Energy Limited (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has completed its acquisition of the ownership of UnionField Group ("UnionField") by the Company's wholly-owned Norwegian subsidiary, Silk Energy AS ("Silk AS") and substantially restructured the US $21 million convertible debenture that was issued to Right Way Ltd (the "Vendor") of UnionField. Background Silk Energy Limited is a Canadian resource company focused on the identification and exploration of oil and gas assets in Kazakhstan through its wholly-owned Norwegian subsidiary, Silk AS. Its particular focus is the Ustyurt Property, in the Mangystau region covering more than 6,400 km2 which is classified by the Ministry of Energy and the Kazakhstan Prime Minister's office as a "strategic license" due its potential and its proximity to numerous significant and established oilfields. The Ustyurt Property will be developed through a Kazakhstani limited liability partnership (the "LLP") comprised of two limited partners, each holding a 50% participating interest: KazMunayGas National Company JSC, Kazakhstan's state-owned leading vertically integrated oil and gas company, and UnionField, a British Virgin Islands company which is 100% owned by Silk AS. Drilling on the property is expected to commence during the course of 2021 with the objective of converting estimated prospective resources into established reserves. This initial drilling program will target the Salken prospect on the concession which has an area of approximately 75 square kilometres. Silk AS had contracted to purchase all of the shares of UnionField from Right Way Ltd. (the "Vendor") through the issue of a US $21 million convertible debenture, bearing interest at a rate of 6% plus the assumption of responsibility for funding UnionField's contributions to the LLP. This US$21 million convertible debenture has been restructured as follows: Outstanding interest of US$1,260,000 has been converted into 4,095,000 common shares of the Company at a price of C$0.40 per share US $15 million of the principal amount of the convertible debenture has been converted into 47,625,000 Class A Preferred Shares of the Company at a deemed price of C$0.40 per share. The Class A Preferred Shares are convertible into common shares at the holder's option. The term of the remaining US$6 million principal amount of convertible debenture has been extended to 31st January 2022. These changes have had a substantial, positive impact on the Company's working capital. Delisting The Company was previously listed on the CSE under the name Inspiration Mining Corp. The Company has been advised by CSE that Inspiration Mining Corp. has been delisted from the CSE. Contact Information: Steve Kappella Chief Executive Officer Silk Energy AS Phone: +1 (647) 777-8375 E-mail: info@silk-energy.com IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimates of future events. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's oil and gas exploration activities in Kazakhstan. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (known and unknown) that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to inability to fund exploration efforts, unanticipated difficulties in carrying out exploration efforts, including staffing, and general risks related to the global COVID-19 pandemic.,. The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws in force in Canada. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The CSE has not reviewed and does not take responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77703 Cherry blossoms in full bloom on Yeouido's Yunjungno in southern Seoul, in this photo taken on April 5, 2020 / Korea Times file By Jun Ji-hye Spring has finally arrived after a long winter to herald the blooming of cherry blossoms despite continued social-distancing measures. Cherry blossoms generally sprout in mid-April, but warm weather these days has caused the flowers to bloom sooner than in previous years. Last year, the first cherry blossoms in Seoul were observed on March 27, the earliest on record. It was seven days earlier than April 3 in 2019, and 14 days earlier than the average date of April 10 between 1981 and 2010. The annual cherry blossom season gives families, friends and lovers a chance to enjoy leisurely strolls under the white-and-pink cherry blossom trees and take pictures against the blooming backdrops. This year, people may continue to be asked to refrain from visiting cherry blossom sites to stem the spread of COVID-19, but digital travel platform Agoda shared ideas of where to experience them in Asia for future travel. Korea: Seoul, Jeju Tourists are invited to take a stroll along the lake at Seoul Grand Park that is located just south of Seoul, or visit old palaces in the city, which make great spots to admire and photograph the flowers while learning about Korea's rich history and architecture. Agoda said Walkerhill Hotel Seoul's Douglas House, which is surrounded by woodland, offers a relaxing ambience for guests. On Jeju Island, one of the top travel destinations in Korea, king cherry blossoms, which have the largest petals of all cherry tree varieties, can be seen all over the Seogwipo downtown area. Hotel Seogwipean is a stylish minimalist hotel that is close to the downtown area for people wishing to see Jeju's king cherry trees blossom. Japan: Tokyo, Yamanashi Springtime sees Tokyo's Yoyogi Park and Meguro River come alive with color, but tourists should not miss out on an alternative yet beautiful way to see these blossoms at Yanaka Cemetery which bursts with expansive cherry trees. In April, it is recommended to head up north as visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of the blooming cherry blossoms against the picturesque Mount Fuji located in southeastern Yamanashi. Nagasaki Park is a popular spot for many locals to enjoy walks under canopies of white and pink cherry blossoms. Taiwan: Taichung, Nantou Wuling Farm in Taichung is one of the most popular viewing spots for cherry blossoms in Taiwan, with over 20,000 cherry trees. An hour's drive from Puli Township of Nantou County is the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area located behind the Wanda Reservoir, home to the indigenous tribes of Sediq and Atayal. Tourists can see an abundance of cherry blossoms and butterflies in spring as well as the majestic Aowanda Bridge that connects the beautiful pine forest area and the intersection of the north and south streams of the Aowanda River. Malaysia: Kedah, Penang Every year from February to April, the streets of Alor Setar, the state capital of Kedah, are lined with ethereal trails of pink and white. Known as Tecoma trees, these flowers resembling cherry blossoms transform the city. While the flowers can be found in most parts of the city, by far the best-known hotspots are along Jalan Kuala Kedah and Jalan Langgar. When venturing down south, another destination Penang boasts dazzling Tecoma blooms alongside its famous foods, culture and heritage. These beautiful flowers typically bloom during the dry season between February and April, carpeting the roads with petals of pink, white and purple. Philippines: Palawan, Cavite In addition to its pristine beaches, Palawan offers another remarkable attraction the Philippines' own cherry blossoms. Known as the balayong, or the Palawan cherry, these trees produce white and pink flowers that bloom every March to April. Seen is a small lagoon in Palawan. Palawan is known for its pristine beaches and also an abundance of cherry blossoms in spring. gettyimagesbank STONY BROOK, N.Y., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Softheon, a leading cloud-based health insurance exchange and service provider, ranked on Inc. Magazine's fastest-growing private regional companies list. Encompassing the New York City Metro region, this list represents the most successful independent small businesses with an average growth rate of 214%. Softheon ranked on the Inc. 5000 nationally in 2018 and 2020. "It is an honor and privilege to be placed on the Inc. 5000 Regionals list," said Eugene Sayan, CEO and Founder of Softheon. "I take great pride in our team's drive to make healthcare affordable, accessible, and plentiful. Achievements like these reinforce our mission and push us to continue solving healthcare's biggest challenges." Currently, Softheon plays a large role in the new Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Equipping health plans with financial billing, premium payment processing, and account reconciliation technology, Softheon helps insurers face the influx of up to 30 million new entrants into the marketplace. "This list proves the power of companies in the New York City area no matter the industry," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "The impressive revenues and growth rates prove the insight and diligence of CEOs and that these businesses are here to stay." The companies on the 5000 Regionals list employ more than 48,000 people and added nearly $9 billion to the New York City Metro area economy. In the past year alone, Softheon welcomed around 50 new employees, while seamlessly transitioning into a virtual working environment. Even with headquarters in New York, Softheon has virtually expanded its workforce across the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. For more information on Softheon's solutions, visit www.softheon.com or email [email protected]. About Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Softheon Founded in 2000, Softheon's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Business Process-as-a-Service (BPaaS) solutions solve complex operational and service challenges for health plans and government health agencies. By offering modular solutions designed to integrate with existing systems, Softheon reduces administrative burdens by streamlining critical processes in healthcare. Our rapidly adapting technology and agile approach to implementation enables our clients to rapidly adapt to changing regulatory environments. Softheon is an Agent, Broker, and Merchant of Record for health insurance marketplaces. We have been consistently recognized as a leading SaaS and BPaaS provider by Gartner, IDC, AHIP, ACAP, and HCEG. Trusted by CMS and 8 State agencies, Softheon's clients span across multiple industries. In 2018, we were ranked the 23rd fastest growing company in the United States on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500. About Inc. Media The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com. SOURCE Softheon Related Links http://www.softheon.com Natural8 Ambassador Kitty Kuo Victorious in APT Taiwan Main Event March 18, 2021 Natural8 After two successful online editions on the GGPoker Network, the Asia Poker Tour (APT) has resumed live poker activities in the Asia-Pacific region. The APT Taiwan festival took place at the Chinese Texas Holdem Poker Association (CTP Club) in Taipei, and has already crowned several winners. Among them was Natural8 Team Hot Ambassador Kitty Kuo, who is the new APT Taiwan Main Event champion! Head to the NEW Natural8 Hub Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest Natural8 news right here on PokerNews? Why not try out the new Natural8 Hub! Find Out More Kitty Kuo Takes Down Main Event On February 26, the NT$16,500 (~$590) Main Event got underway and came with a guaranteed prize pool of NT$2,000,000 (~$71,500). Thanks to a total of 196 entries, the total prize pool was boosted to NT$2,851,800 (~$102,320) and the top 20 spots were paid. APT Taiwan Main Event Final Table Results Place Player Country Payout 1 Hui Chen Kitty Kuo Taiwan NT$724,200 2 Chi Ying Tsai Taiwan NT$482,200 3 Po Cheng Yang Taiwan NT$335,600 4 Kun Yu Chiang Taiwan NT$242,400 5 Yu Sheng Lin Taiwan NT$181,300 6 Zhi Hao Huang Taiwan NT$139,900 7 Chen Yi Serina Liu Taiwan NT$111,100 8 Kar Wee Chee Malaysia NT$90,500 Read More: Get to Know Natural8 Streamer Rebeca Rebuitti After the starting days, another 46 entries emerged during registration period on Day 2. The day ended with 25 players remaining. Five spots away from the money bubble, Natural8 Team Hot ambassador Kitty Kuo was second in chips and trailed only Cheng How Pan. It took three-and-a-half hours to burst the money bubble on the penultimate tournament day, and Ting Nan Kuo ended up as the bubble boy in a three-way all-in. Natural8 Team Hot ambassador Kuo reached the final seventh in chips alongside Chen Yi Serena Liu and Chi Ying Tsai. Final Table Recap The only non-Taiwanese player was the first casualty on the final table, as Kar Wee Chee had to settle for 8th place and NT$90,500. Liu was also unable to turn her short stack around and bowed out with king-jack against pocket queens. However, the other two female contenders went all the way. Kuo doubled through Yu Sheng Lin in a flip with ace-king versus pocket nines, and four-handed play then lasted three hours. Tsai showed her prowess with plenty of aggression to take the lead, while Kuo lost two all-in showdowns to get short. Kun Yu Chiang then hit the rail against Tsai with kings versus aces, and Po Cheng Yang fell in a three-way all-in to set up an all-female heads-up duel. Tsai had a massive lead with 68 big blinds versus Kuo's 12 big blinds, but the Natural8 ambassador doubled right away. After 90 minutes of heads-up they were all but even in chips and Kuo's top pair in a three-bet pot with king-seven held against a king-high flush draw. Kuo received the APT Champion's Ring, APT Golden Lion Main Event Trophy and top prize of NT$724,200 (~$25,980). Victory "Feels Amazing" says Kuo Following her victory, Kuo spoke exclusively to PokerNews, and said that it felt amazing to win a trophy in her own country. "I don't play in many Asia events, especially in Taiwan, so its very special for me. I took a long break from playing live poker so now that I am back live again, I have a fresh mind and a great mindset." With seven Taiwanese players at the final table, Kuo says that quality of Taiwanese poker is very strong. "I would say definitely top 3 in Asia. They study a lot, play lots of international events, so the quality is very good and there was a decent field." Going heads-up with another female for a major title was "very special" says Kuo. "I believe that we can influence more women to be interested in poker." "It doesn't happen a lot in my experience. I believe that we can influence more women to be interested in poker. I felt really happy and proud to win the Asia event for Natural8 since we are the biggest Asia online poker site. The Natural8 team is also very happy and proud of me!" Kuo says that she will now aim to play in the United States later this Spring, and is also looking forward to scheduling a vaccine. "My next event will hopefully be in Florida on April 22. I will be back in the USA for all the cash game and poker tournaments!" YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Head of the UK-Armenia parliamentary friendship group Tim Loughton has applied to the UK government over the issue of the Armenian prisoners of war held captive by Azerbaijan, following the meeting with Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, the Office of the Ombudsman of Armenia told Armenpress. The meeting which took place last week on March 8 and was attended by the British top officials has been organized by the Armenian National Committee of UK during which the Armenian Ombudsman has introduced the international humanitarian and human rights rules which demand the release and safe return of POWs. The Ombudsman also stated that presenting POWs as terrorists by Azerbaijan is also a gross violation of the international humanitarian law and the rights of POWs, as the talk is about the continuous armed conflict. Ombudsman Tatoyan also provided the meeting sides with information about the war crimes and the crimes against humanity committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during the recent war in Artsakh. As for the processes relating to Armenias border, Arman Tatoyan has introduced his new concept according to which a demilitarized security zone must be created in Syunik province for guaranteeing the security of the locals. He also presented concrete evidence and facts for his new approach. On March 11, during a Q&A session in the UK Parliament, Baroness Caroline Cox has raised the issue of Azerbaijans inhuman treatment against the Armenian prisoners of war and the issue of the banned weapons used by Azerbaijan during the war. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 00:58:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close STOCKHOLM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among children is increasing in Sweden. Two weeks ago, nearly one in five new infections was found in people aged 19 or younger, the daily Dagens Nyheter reported on Wednesday. In comparison, less than 13 percent of the infections confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic involved people younger than 19, according to the Public Health Agency. The coronavirus strain first discovered in the United Kingdom (UK) is believed to have accelerated the spread of the virus, Dagens Nyheter said. "We know that it is more contagious, and now we see that as much as 75 percent of all infections in the region were caused by the UK variant," Johanna Wiechel Steier, communications director in the Halland Region in the southwest of the country, told the newspaper. Nearly 600 children aged nine or younger and around 3,700 people in the ten to 19 age group have been confirmed to have been infected with the strain in Halland. The mutation is also the dominant strain in the Stockholm region and in the Jonkoping and Kalmar regions in the south. Pressure is mounting on schools and preschools in many of Sweden's regions, with an increasing number of educational institutions switching to distance learning. In their most recent situation report, Sweden's County Administrative Boards warn of "significant difficulties" in maintaining the quality of teaching as a result of distance schooling. "It can affect the children's ability to get a final grade that they need to enter university and college," the report said. Enditem Chinese President Xi Jinping sends a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence on March 17, 2021. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. [Xinhua/Li Xueren] BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a video message to an event held by Bangladesh in commemoration of the centenary of its founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth, also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese people, Xi extended sincere greetings and best wishes to Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the Bangladeshi government and people. Stressing that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the People's Republic of Bangladesh 50 years ago, Xi said Rahman, an old friend and a good friend of the Chinese people, visited China twice and developed friendship with Chinese leaders of the older generations. Xi said the two sides should keep in mind contributions made to the bilateral relations by leaders of the older generations and carry forward bilateral friendship. Since its independence, Bangladesh has made remarkable achievements in national construction, Xi said, adding China is glad about that as a friendly neighbour. China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbouring countries since ancient times, and the friendship spanning over a thousand years was witnessed by the Silk Road, Xi said. Over the last 46 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and on an equal footing, offered mutual support and worked hand in hand, Xi added. As China and Bangladesh are both at a crucial stage of national development, Xi said the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of Sonar (golden) Bangla are interconnected, and the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has delivered tangible benefits to the two peoples. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have been making joint efforts to overcome the difficulties and rendering mutual help, Xi said. Major projects in Bangladesh Chinese enterprises participated in have made groundbreaking progress, and the treatment of zero tariff for 97 percent of the taxable items imported from Bangladesh into China has officially taken effect, Xi added. Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Bangladesh ties, Xi expressed the hope to work with Bangladesh to better align the two countries' development strategies and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road, so as to take the China-Bangladesh strategic partnership of cooperation to new heights. (Source: Xinhua) 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. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet in Atlanta on Friday with community leaders and state lawmakers from the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and cancel a planned political event, the White House announced on Thursday. Given the tragedy in Georgia on Tuesday night, President Biden and Vice President Harris will postpone the evening political event in Georgia for a future date, officials announced in a news release. During their trip to Atlanta, they will instead meet with Asian-American leaders to discuss the ongoing attacks and threats against the community, meet with other local leaders, and also visit the Centers for Disease Control to receive an update from the team of health and medical experts helping lead the fight against the pandemic. Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris had been scheduled to visit the city as part of a promotional tour for the $1.9 trillion economic relief package that Mr. Biden signed into law last week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported details of the meeting with community leaders. On Thursday, Mr. Biden ordered that flags outside the White House, other public buildings, military posts and naval stations in the District of Columbia and throughout the country and its territories be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings. Four passengers on board Alliance Air's Jammu-Delhi flight were de-boarded on Thursday for not wearing masks properly inside the aircraft. The passengers were charged as "unruly or disruptive" and handed over to security agencies at Delhi airport. This is the first such incident after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order last week, asking airlines to strictly comply with the Covid-19 norms. Reacting to the development, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri tweeted: "I appeal to all air passengers to strictly follow the laid down Covid-19 protocol to safeguard themselves & others around them. Precaution is always better than cure...& disrupted travel plans! Fly Safe." Also read: Ban on international passenger flights extended till March 31 The DGCA on March 13 issued a strongly worded circular, saying passengers will be de-boarded if they don't wear masks properly inside aircraft or don't follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. "If a passenger violates protocol despite repeated warnings, then the passenger will be treated as 'unruly passenger'," it said. The aviation regulator said some travellers undertaking air journey don't adhere to Covid-19 protocols, which essentially involves wearing of masks properly i.e. not below the nose, during all times of the journey from entering the airport for departure to exiting the airport after arrival. "It has also been noted that some passengers after entering the airport do not wear masks properly and also do not maintain social distance while being in the airport premises," it said. Also read: Passengers not wearing masks properly to be de-boarded, treated as 'unruly passengers', says DGCA The DGCA has said the failure to not follow these guidelines could lead to de-boarding of the passenger. Those not following the guidelines despite repeated instructions should be treated as "unruly passengers" and strict actions should be taken against them, said the DGCA. The latest DGCA guidelines comes as the country has seen a sudden spike in coronavirus cases. India reported 35,871 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, highest in 2021 so far. The country also recorded 17,741 recoveries and 172 deaths, suggests the Union Health Ministry data. Also read: Pilots, cabin crew won't fly for 48 hours after vaccination: DGCA Moodys ESG Solutions Group announced today that Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs) has selected Sovereign Climate Risk Scores powered by Moodys affiliate Four Twenty Seven for use in its ESG evaluation of sovereign risk. The dataset provides a detailed view of the future exposure of the global population, the economy, and agriculture to a range of physical climate hazards. As the impact of climate factors such as higher temperatures, drought, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events are expected to increase over time, Goldman Sachs will use the dataset as an input to its own proprietary Sovereign ESG framework. This assessment of climate risk exposure will be combined with qualitative analysis by Goldman Sachs investment teams on countries capacities to adapt to physical risks. Sovereign bonds are an integral part of our fixed income portfolios, but intrinsic uncertainties make it challenging to quantify the long-term impact of climate change on countries, said Prakriti Sofat, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Using this dataset will help us assess this evolving risk and reflect it in our investment decisions. The Sovereign Climate Risk Scores launched in December and are the only known dataset matching physical climate risk exposure to population location, GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) and agricultural areas within countries, with detailed metrics including both percent exposed and total amount exposed to each climate hazard. Understanding multiple dimensions of sovereigns exposure to floods, heat stress, hurricanes & typhoons, sea level rise, water stress and wildfires informs targeted risk management strategies. Understanding exposure to physical climate hazards is critical for investors and credit institutions in order to price climate risk, and also to help direct finance flows towards adaptation and resilience where theyre most needed, says Emilie Mazzacurati, Global Head of Moodys Climate Solutions in Moodys ESG Solutions Group. Were extremely pleased that Goldman Sachs has chosen to use our new dataset to enhance its ESG evaluation of sovereign risk. ABOUT MOODYS ESG SOLUTIONS Moodys ESG Solutions Group is a business unit of Moodys Corporation serving the growing global [demand for ESG and climate insights. The group leverages Moodys data and expertise across ESG, climate risk, and sustainable finance, and aligns with Moody's Investors Service (MIS) and Moody's Analytics (MA) to deliver a comprehensive, integrated suite of ESG and climate risk solutions including ESG scores, analytics, Sustainability Ratings and Sustainable Finance Reviewer/certifier services. Moodys ESG Solutions Group includes V.E and Four Twenty Seven, both affiliates of Moodys. For more information visit Moodys ESG & Climate Risk hub at www.moodys.com/esg ABOUT GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which supervises more than $1.9 trillion in assets as of December 31, 2020. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005402/en/ You might be eligible for a vaccine, but if you don't have an appointment yet, the fact that you're allowed to get one doesn't mean the process will be easy. In South Carolina, everyone 16 and older is eligible for a coronavirus vaccine starting March 31, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. As of March 28, roughly 1.3 million people in South Carolina had at least started the vaccination process. That leaves a lot of people who still want a shot, and not nearly enough supply to accommodate them. The state health agency encourages people to use its website, vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov, to find an appointment. The site is updated multiple times a day. Where should I try to get a vaccine shot? Many hospitals are reporting they don't have enough vaccine available to schedule any new appointments, or if they are, those appointments are limited. After a period of low supply, hospitals began to schedule new appointments in the second and third weeks of March. Keep an eye out for announcements about large vaccination events in your community or close by. Know that for the moment, the majority of available shots are at retail pharmacies such as Publix, Harris Teeter, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Ingles Pharmacy and others. A sizable portion of vaccine also went to the state's community health centers. Find a listing of those centers at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov. And if you are tech-savvy, try exploring scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine-allocation to pinpoint which vaccine providers still have shots left. DHEC provides an update daily about how much vaccine each site has received and how much it still has left over but keep in mind that won't account for doses booked through an appointment. When should I try to get a vaccine shot? Starting March 31, everyone is eligible, with the exception of children younger than 16. As for when to look for an appointment, Nick Davidson, senior deputy for public health at DHEC, said that most often, vaccine deliveries come on Mondays. But he said the best method is just to keep trying. Davidson said people should check the website, call the DHEC vaccine line at 1-866-365-8110 and "keep your ear to the ground." Staff at DHEC's call center are able to book appointments for people in most cases, officials said. Where is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine going? As of March 25, the state's health care providers had received 72,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, much less than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. About a fifth of that amount has gone to Walgreens, CVS and Walmart, and the rest has been distributed in shipments of a few hundred doses each to other pharmacies across the state. The manufacturer had a stockpile available it was able to send to states soon after the vaccine was authorized in the United States on Feb. 27. But that stockpile emptied, and the manufacturer's shipments to states temporarily fell off while it ramps up production. Are there medical reasons not to get a vaccine? Scientists are still studying how people with various conditions respond to the vaccine. Dr. Danielle Scheurer, chief quality officer at the Medical University of South Carolina, said for patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments, for instance, "your response won't be quite as robust." Still, Scheurer said people undergoing cancer treatments should still get the vaccine. In short, Scheurer said she is not aware of any medical condition that would result in a doctor recommending their patient not get a vaccine. According to the CDC, people who are pregnant and those who have had COVID-19 and recovered are both eligible for the vaccine. Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! Researchers remain unsure of how long COVID-19 immunity lasts after contracting the disease, and there are variants of the virus to consider. What's more, current research supports that the vaccine will provide longer-term immunity than what you would have from getting sick, according to AARP. Is South Carolina getting less vaccine than other states? The amount the federal government sends to each state is directly proportional to the size of the adult population, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The adult population in South Carolina accounts for about 1 percent of the country's population, and that's also about the portion of the nation's total doses the Palmetto State has received. Each state or jurisdiction then chooses where the vaccine is sent, an HHS spokesman said. How do I get on a waitlist? DHEC recommends each vaccine provider keep a waitlist of willing recipients they can call in a pinch. That's because each day presents the possibility of no-shows, and no one wants vaccine to go unused and wasted at the end of the day. Nick Davidson, senior deputy for public health at DHEC, said some good, old-fashioned networking might do the trick for anyone who wants to attempt this method. Inquire with local providers near you if it's possible to be added to the waitlist, Davidson said, keeping in mind the government isn't tracking each organization's waitlist, so it's hard to say which ones are already full. Should I plan my vaccine around travel plans? It's true that scientists aren't sure for how long the COVID-19 vaccines are protective, but Davidson, of DHEC, argued getting the vaccine as soon as possible is the logical choice. "You should get the vaccine that's available to you when you can get it," he said. "There's no known benefit to delaying vaccination, but the potential harms of COVID-19 infection are well-known." Can I swap appointments with someone else? If you have an appointment, but feel like someone close to you needs it more, you can't simply give the other person your appointment time, said Dr. Linda Bell, the state's chief epidemiologist. Bell said if people swap an appointment with someone else, the important health information they entered to book the slot will not match. Scheurer, of MUSC, said it may be possible to change the recipient if you call the provider in advance. Are there other tricks to finding an appointment? Health officials urge everyone who wants a vaccine to keep trying. The amount coming into the state is steadily increasing each week. Davidson, of DHEC, said people should feel free to utilize online tools that help find appointments, like www.vaccinespotter.org/SC, but people should generally stick to sources they trust. "DHEC tries to provide information as thoroughly and quickly as possible," he said. People should not give out their health information to untrusted sources, and any website offering vaccine spots for cash is likely a scam. The federal government has warned of cybersecurity threats as people clamor for appointments. This article will be updated as we learn more. Visit postandcourier.com/covid19 to stay up to date. Arad border police discovered 46 migrants from Afghanistan and Iran, who tried to leave the country illegally, hiding in nine trucks with goods, with the intention of reaching Schengen countries, according to AGERPRES. Thus, six foreigners were found in a truck driven by a Bulgarian citizen carrying bottles of wine to Sweden on Thursday morning at the Nadlac I border crossing point. "The people in question are citizens of Afghanistan and Iran, aged between 11 and 28, asylum seekers in Romania," reads a press release issued on Thursday by the Arad Border Police. Also, the border police discovered migrants in eight trucks checked at the exit from the country, driven by Romanian, Turkish drivers and a Bulgarian driver, at the Nadlac II border crossing point. Drivers carried polystyrene, steel cables, chipboards, car parts, plastic rollers and metal parts for companies in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Hungary. Among the goods, there were 40 migrants from Afghanistan, aged between 14 and 29, who are asylum seekers in Romania. In all cases, border policemen are conducting investigations. Suspect in Atlanta shooting spree charged with multiple counts of murder Xinhua) 09:36, March 18, 2021 File Photo WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The lone suspect in three shooting incidents in Atlanta, U.S. state of Georgia, that killed eight people was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of murder. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said Robert Aaron Long, 21, had been charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault for the shooting rampage Tuesday at a spa in that suburban county near Atlanta that killed four people. The Atlanta Police Department's Homicide Unit announced later Wednesday afternoon that Long was also charged with four counts of murder for the killing of another four people in two adjacent spas in the City of Atlanta. Long is currently detained at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center, and police have not yet offered a motive for the attacks. President Joe Biden has asked domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and White House public engagement director and senior adviser Cedric Richmond to conduct community listening sessions in the wake of the shooting spree, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Psaki told reporters at a daily news briefing Wednesday that the listening sessions would be part of the administration's "longer-term, strategic, comprehensive" review of the impact of domestic violent extremism on society and future government policies. Earlier Wednesday, Rodney Bryant, acting chief of the Atlanta Police Department, told a news briefing that the investigation was still in the "very early" stage, and that investigators cannot determine at the moment that the shooting spree was a hate crime, although multiple calls received by the police department sought to confirm that conclusion. Police on Tuesday evening arrested Long, who during an interview with law enforcement at the night claimed responsibility for the three shooting incidents. Of the eight victims, six were Asians and two were Whites, and the only surviving victim was in non-life threatening condition. Long claimed that the attacks were not racially motivated, and that he had a "sexual addiction" and saw the massage parlors as a "temptation" that he wanted to "eliminate," according to authorities, adding that Long, when caught, was on the way to Florida, where he planned to commit similar crimes. Formula 1 will visit Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2021 for a race on the street circuit of Jeddah. The layout of this circuit has now been announced by Formula 1 for the first time. Longest street circuit Formula 1 will come to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2021 to race on the street circuit of Jeddah. Until now nothing was known about the circuit, but with this video the Formula 1 presents the new lay-out. The new circuit will be the longest street circuit on the calendar, with a length of 6.175 metres. The circuit in Jeddah is similar to Baku. Also in Azerbaijan we find a street circuit where high speeds can be reached, although the lay-out in Jeddah seems to give away that there are more technical corners to be found here. The circuit has a total of 25 corners and on average a speed of 250 km/h can be reached. Welcome to the fastest street circuit in #F1. Average speeds of 250km/h+ 27 corners Stunning Red Sea backdrop This is Jeddah. This is the #SaudiArabianGP. pic.twitter.com/6jD37ZkEkp Formula 1 (@F1) March 18, 2021 Read more Column | Poor Vettel is already regretting that he did not retire Sorry! This content is not available in your region Massive layoffs due to the Covid-19 pandemic led to a Shs168.5 billion shortfall in Pay as You Earn (PAYE) among other taxes, a new report by the Ministry of Finance shows. All the major tax heads registered shortfalls against their respective targets for the half year, according to the report. Direct domestic tax collections amounted to Shs3.314.7 billion, below the target by 10.5 per cent, which is equivalent to a shortfall of Shs388.8 billion. Shortfalls were registered for collections of PAYE, corporate tax and rental income tax (short of target by Shs168.5 billion, Shs108.5 billion and Shs87 billion respectively), among others. The Ministry of Finance explains that PAYE registered shortfalls as collections from formal employment remained subdued due to layoffs associated with Covid-19, for example in the education sector. Corporate and presumptive taxes were also lower than their target as profitability of most firms was affected by the pandemic. "Government had projected to collect indirect domestic taxes amounted to Shs2.432 trillion in the first half of 2020/21. However, only Shs2.159 trillion was realised during the period, resulting in a shortfall of Shs273.5 billion. This shortfall was both in excise duty (Shs127.7 billion) and Value Added Tax - VAT (Shs145.7b). VAT collections for the period were Shs1.443 trillion against a target of Shs1.589 trillion, implying a performance of 90.8 per cent," the Ministry of Finance says. The Ministry of Finance explains that most of the low performance under VAT was recorded in the services sector, including wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, as well as transport and communication that were mostly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. On the upside, the Ministry of Finance says VAT collections performed above target in the manufacturing sector, buoyed by cement and milk products. Excise duty collections during the half year were Shs715.78 billion against a target of Shs843.51 billion. The new report shows that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic affected tax revenue collection, leading to a Shs3.530 trillion shortfall in government expenditure. The report shows that total government expenditure for the first half of FY 2020/21 amounted to Shs16.976 trillion against a programme of Shs20.506 trillion due to revenue shortfalls from the domestic revenue collection and reduction in grants. This implies that government expenditure stood at 82.8 per cent. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Business Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The Ministry of Finance explains that revenue collections amounted to Shs9.746 trillion in the first half of FY 2020/21 against a target of Shs10.869 trillion. This resulted in a shortfall of Shs1.122 trillion (representing 10.3 per cent below target). Of the total revenue collected during the half, Shs9.054 trillion was tax revenue while Shs691.9 billion was non-tax revenue. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance says the revenue and grants received during the half half of 2020/2021 amounted to Shs10.572 trillion against a target of Shs11.797 trillion. However, in spite of the shortfalls, total domestic revenue collections during the first half of 2020/21 represented a growth of 7 per cent from the same period of last Financial Year. During the period under review, the government received a total of Shs825.7 billion in form of development assistance from development partners against a target of Shs927.9 billion, performing at 89 per cent. African Agenda Food insecurity in Africa has remained the continent's biggest problem, despite its vast agricultural potential. Save for a few countries, the majority of the African countries have remained net importers for the past three decades, heavily putting a dent on the financial resources they should be using for capital development. The 2019 Sub-Saharan Africa's food import bill stood at US$43 billion in 2019, attracting mounting attention in the region, and questions on why Africa cannot produce and feed its own people. As the region's population grows and gets richer, the demand for food, especially high-value crops and livestock products, will continue to grow, a development that now requires member countries' collective response to reduce food deficit in Africa. Coronavirus has highlighted the need for a more robust and responsive food sustainable system, not only in Africa, but globally, after the pandemic brought a demand mismatch, where people were consuming more than what both the farmers and the industry could produce. The lockdowns that ran through the major part of 2020 also disrupted trade flows, forcing countries to look within their borders for solutions on feeding their own people. It is against that background that Africa now needs to build on the food flow disruption to improve on its food production as a long term goal to insulate the continent against food imports and hunger. Outside the natural phenomenon such as droughts, farmers are hyper-aware of the multiple crop varieties, economic trends, and micro-environmental conditions that would help them predict failure or success. That information, coupled with adequate funding, is what African countries need to improve food security and reduce the food importation bill. At a country level, investing in different agricultural initiatives is one the quickest and effective ways of creating a solid foundation in food security. For Zimbabwe, resuscitation and sustenance of agriculture is proving to be a game-changer in food security and propping up productivity, amid indications that the country will this year cut down on its food importation bill after achieving a bumper harvest in the current farming season. The bumper harvest is coming on the backdrop of the Government's decision to fund a coterie of farming initiatives as part of its long-term goals to improve food security in the country from the current 45 percent to 100 percent, as the nation strengthens agriculture in line with the aspirations of the National Development Strategy 1. From the country's various farming initiatives, including the recently launched Pfumvudza programme where close to 1,8 million households benefited, the country is now enjoying the benefits of proper planning and investment in agriculture. Recent maize projections by the Grain Marketing Board, where it is expecting to receive more than 3,1 million tonnes of maize this season, a surplus of 1,2 million tonnes after all local demand including that of the farmers is met, clearly puts the country on a positive trajectory on food security. In a recent post on social media platform Twitter, President Mnangagwa said: "In 2017, f5 percent of stock in Zimbabwe's supermarkets was locally manufactured. Today, 45 percent of our supermarket supplies are proudly made in Zimbabwe. The worst of our economic woes are now behind us. Zimbabwe shall rise once again! With the key agricultural sector on the rebound, thanks to good rains." As a result of good harvests, the country will save up to US$40 million every month, which it can use to prop up other areas such as energy, education and infrastructural development. However, such feat will need to be sustained by policies that look at close monitoring and support of agricultural projects, encourage diverse production, invest in water sources and improved farming techniques. Improved farming technologies, and shorter supply chain production become key elements in this shift, while food distributors that can respond to the need for convenience, as well as the demand for fresh and nutritious food get the necessary support from the Government. The paradigm shift calls for the nation to produce more of what we are good at, such as maize, export the excess and buy what we are not yet capable of producing in large quantities. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Food and Agriculture Zimbabwe Climate By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. As the nation revels on this year's good farming season, we need to start planning for future harvests, to ensure that the country edges closer to become a food exporter after years of relying on imports. For Zimbabwe, resuscitation and sustenance of agriculture is key in ensuring food security and propping up productivity because of the downstream effect that agriculture has. With the world population expected to swell by two billion over the next three decades, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to step up and become a major global food production hub, to feed the local market and the region at large. The bumper harvest sitting on the country's door step is not a novel experience, Zimbabwe has done it before. With the right agricultural policies and the right attitude and expertise of the farmers, the country can produce more and restore its status as a major food producing country in Africa. The soils are wet and the dams are bursting their seams with enough water to get the country to the next rainy season. [email protected] Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (FSE: 6MR1) (the "Company" or "Kuya") is pleased to announce that it has commenced the Phase 1 drill program at the Bethania Project, located in Central Peru. Kuya has planned to drill 5,000 metres in this Phase 1 program (see Figure 1 for drill plan). The first diamond drill is currently on site with two additional drill rigs arriving in the coming weeks to complete the program. This initial program will be split into two parts, approximately 4,000 metres are planned for the western third of the property testing all seven veins that make up the historical resource (see the Independent Technical Report on the Bethania Silver Project, dated August 29, 2019 and filed October 1, 2020 under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com). The assays and geotechnical measurements taken from this portion of the drill program will be used to complete the underground mine production plan, including an expansion from 100 tonnes per day to 350 tonnes per day. In addition, Kuya expects to complete a National Instrument 43-101 technical report, including a resource estimate on completion of the drill program. The remaining 1000 metres will target the Espanola 2 area in this initial phase to confirm the extent of historical mining from the Espanola 2 adit, as well as testing other newly identified veins at surface that may be related to this mineralization. This series of drill holes is to be located approximately 900 metres east of the main adit and could substantially extend the strike length of the Bethania vein system. Kuya's President and CEO, David Stein stated, "Starting this very exciting drill program is a huge accomplishment for Kuya's team in Peru. Given the recent challenges with COVID-19, our team's ability to assemble the logistics and expertise required for this program has been a significant undertaking. The first phase of the drill program is just the beginning, designed to provide data that will allow us to confirm and complete our underground mine plans as well as to begin to test the depth extension of the veins below the mine workings. Upon completion of this first program, we would look to step out even further along strike and at depth with our next phase of drilling. Internally, we have very aggressive resource growth targets that we will strive to achieve over the coming year." Fig 1 Phase 1 Drill Program at the Bethania Project - Drill Hole Plan Map To view an enhanced version of Fig 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5945/77731_79c49dd584b14a89_001full.jpg National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Chairman of Kuya and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Kuya Silver Corporation Kuya is a Canadian-based silver-focused mining company that owns the Bethania Project, which includes the Bethania mine, located in Central Peru. The Bethania mine was in production until 2016, toll-milling its ore at various other concentrate plants in the region, the Company's plan is to implement an expansion and construct a concentrate plant at site before restarting operations. The Bethania mine produced silver-lead and zinc concentrates from the run of mine material, until being placed on care and maintenance due to market conditions and lack of working capital. For more information, please contact the Company at: Kuya Silver Corporation Telephone: (604) 398-4493 info@kuyasilver.com www.kuyasilver.com Reader Advisory This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77731 Bengaluru, March 18 : Karnataka Police arrested 10,556 persons involved in drug peddling in the last three years and filed 7,943 cases in this connection, the state Legislature was told on Thursday. Replying to BJP legislative Councillor Mahantesh Kavatagimath's question, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the war on drugs is an ongoing process and it needs support from all quarters. "This problem can not be dealt with by the police alone... we need support from society as well. I want both Education and Health Departments to join hands with the police department to stem this rot," he said. Bommai said that the government did not succumb to any pressure in taking a tough stand on drugs-related cases. "Cotton pet drugs case is case in point, where we took on the mighty and the influential," he said, referring to what is known as the Sandalwood drugs case, involving some members of the Kannada film industry. Last year, the Arizona's Veteran Hall of Fame honored an esteemed member of staff from University of Phoenix. Retired Command Sergeant Major John Ramirez is the dean of operations for the University's College of Doctoral Studies. Ramirez entered Arizona's Veteran Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020. "University of Phoenix congratulates John Ramirez for this recognition that honors his distinguished military career and his selfless commitment to serving others," said Brian Ishmael, vice president, Office of Military and Veteran Affairs and Strategic Government Partnerships, University of Phoenix. "He has demonstrated a commitment to service - first proudly serving our nation in the United States Army and now continuing to assist veterans who are transitioning back to civilian life. John is both an admired member of the University's staff and a revered leader in the Phoenix community." Before working at the University, Ramirez served in the U.S. military for 27 years. During that time, he held a variety of high positions in the service including that of Command Sergeant Major. Additionally, he was on the committee for the U.S. Army's Special Executive Review Board for the Center for Strategic Leadership. This is not the first time that Ramirez has received a notable honor of this nature. In 2004, he was named one of the 'Top Hispanic Leaders' in the Army. His resume is remarkably impressive, showcasing his many achievements and experiences. He holds a Sergeant Major of the Army William Bainbridge Ethics Award and is a graduate from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy. Ramirez earned his master's degree in Administration of Justice and Security/Global Homeland Security from University of Phoenix. He joined the University as a staff member in 2004 and has since held various roles. He now holds the acclaimed position of dean of operations for the College of Doctoral Studies. Aside from his professional role at the University, Ramirez holds positions within community organizations. He dedicates much of his energy into helping, supporting and mentoring young Latino students and professionals. He is passionate about fostering the talent of the future. Thanks to his ongoing efforts, he received the Association of Latino Professionals for America Veteran of the Year Award in 2016. His latest honor with the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame recognizes Ramirez's remarkable contributions after his military career. The society includes astounding individuals who have made post-military contributions to either their local community or on a state or national level. The Arizona Hall of Fame Society says that it blends "together the unique backgrounds and talents of Veterans who have been recognized for their outstanding efforts and achievements to our communities outside of their military service." Recognized by the governor of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services, the program is an annual celebration of exceptional individuals. The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame started back in 2001, making Ramirez a member of the 20th class of veterans. Needless to say, this is a huge honor and achievement. The Arizona Hall of Fame Society is planning an Induction Ceremony for the class of 2020. Currently, the society has scheduled the event for October 2021. In the meantime, team members have held individual induction ceremonies across three locations: Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tuscan. The smaller events took place in February 2021. About University of Phoenix John Sperling, PhD, founded University of Phoenix in 1976. The Cambridge-educated economist, professor and entrepreneur saw that there was a need for change within the modern workplace. The aim of the University was to provide adults with the higher education that they needed throughout their professional lives. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, University of Phoenix offers higher education opportunities to help students foster their knowledge and skills while propelling them toward their professional goals. The University provides courses that help individuals boost their leadership skills while serving their communities. The University's faculty of experienced practitioners in their fields develops a far-reaching curriculum integrating theory, professional practices and lifelong learning. The team designs courses to speak directly to the needs of adult learners, helping students foster skills and experiences to excel in every area of their lives. With 45 years of experience, the University focuses on the current needs of adult learners. University of Phoenix offers flexible schedules, online learning and a variety of courses. Regardless of your aspirations, finding the correct course for your professional needs is simple with the University. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering programs across the United States and online. Follow University of Phoenix on Youtube @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Gov. Charlie Baker provides an update on COVID-19 vaccination Wednesday at The Shaws Center in Brockton. For the next 30 days, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department will issue warnings to those who are caught speeding in school zones by the countys school zone speed safety cameras, according to a press release. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been slammed for claiming he was 'living through Zoom school' despite his children returning to class months ago. The father-of-four has been accused of failing to understand the concerns of parents with his children attending an elite Sacramento private school. The Democrat, 53, sent children Montana, 11, Hunter, 9, Brooklynn, 7, and Dutch, 5, back to school full-time in November. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been slammed for claiming he was 'living through Zoom school' despite his children returning to class months ago But he told CNN: 'I've been a strong advocate for safely getting our kids back in person for instruction. 'I have four young kids myself, I've been living through Zoom school and all the challenge related to it. 'We put out a detailed proposal to our legislature. It's brutal.' But California's public schools have largely remained shut with teachers still holding online lessons for their pupils. Marcelino Valdez, a parent and school-opening activist, told the Washington Free Beacon: 'It's hard for him to relate to parents like myself and the 500-plus members of our group who have kids in public school. 'He's had his kids in private school. It's a real lack of understanding and a lack of leadership on his part.' The Democrat, 53, sent children Montana, Hunter, Brooklynn and Dutch back to school full-time in November Most of the state's public schools are not set to reopen until early April with many only holding in-person classes for one to two days a week. Newsom visited an elementary school on Tuesday to show the progress he has made in reopening, but critics say he is posturing to fight his recall. California now ranks last of all 50 states on school reopening. Newsom announced a $2billion reopening plan in December, two months after he broke his own Covid rules to attend a party with lobbyists at Napa Valley's renowned French Laundry restaurant. Recall petition signatures skyrocketed after the scandal as the governor faced a huge backlash for the rule violation. Organizers claim the petition has amassed more than two million signatures, which will be validated before April 29. Recall supporters had to submit 1.5million signatures by Wednesday to make the ballot. A series of bureaucratic checkpoints must be cleared before the secretary of state's office determines that the requirements for scheduling a recall election have been satisfied. The father-of-four has been accused of failing to understand the concerns of parents with his children attending an elite Sacramento private school The agency is headed by Shirley Weber, a former Democratic legislator Newsom appointed in December. Recall organisers believe Newsom and leaders in the Democratic-run Legislature will do everything possible to delay the election, hoping that his fortunes turn as virus cases fall, vaccinations increase and schools and businesses reopen. 'They can't win at the ballot box, said recall senior adviser Randy Economy, who is confident recall supporters will surpass the required signature threshold. 'The only way they can win is to delay the system and delay the process.' Newsom acknowledged mistakes in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but insists the recall effort against him has more to do with politics than the public health crisis. The effort gained steam over the winter as coronavirus cases spiked in California, keeping schools and businesses shuttered to the frustration of many residents. Newsom said about 9,000 of the state's roughly 11,000 schools have either reopened or have a 'firm date' to reopen. He said billions of dollars in state and federal aid recently approved should help ensure that schools can offer summer programs and other supplemental learning to make up for lost time. Legislators of the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC) in collaboration with Environment and Sustainable Development and NGO Affairs of the National Assembly, yesterday adopted the Petroleum Commission Bill 2020. Presenting the report on behalf of the two joint committees, the chairman of the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC), Hon. Halifa Sallah, noted that the two committees worked together with efficiency and effectiveness to prepare the report on time. He acknowledged the diligent efforts of subject matter specialists, Justice Aminatta L.R. Ngum and Mr. Foday Bojang and also hailed the clerks of the National Assembly for giving their best to enable the joint committee attain its goal. According to him, the minister of Petroleum and Energy and his team displayed tremendous commitment, consistency, humility and professionalism in defending what is defensible, while acknowledging all gaps matched by options to redress. He said the minister and his teams were able to address all the concerns of the committee members and showed remarkable diligence in incorporating the recommendation that is fit for purpose. He pointed out that the 5th Assembly of the 2nd Republic, sitting on Thursday 2nd July 2020, during the third ordinary session of the 2020 legislative year, witnessed the introduction of a bill entitled Petroleum Commission Bill 2020. He further said after the introduction of the said bill, the members debated on the merits and principles of the bill and at the conclusion of the debate, the minister of Petroleum and Energy gave his reply. Responding to some of the questions posed to him, Hon. Fafa Sanyang, Minister of Petroleum and Energy said, local content is a whole matter that requires more policy regulations and that law will establish a commission which will coordinate everything including local content. "The plan is that local content itself as a whole Act and Policy will expand the benefits of the people and the people will participate in the industry as their participation will come in different ways depending on where they participate" Minister Sanyang affirmed. 23rd Critics Choice Awards Show Santa Monica, California, U.S., 11/01/2018 Actress Gal Gadot (Photo : REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni) Fans disappointed by 2017 film "Justice League" will finally be able to see the original director's vision for the movie that united several DC Comics superheroes on screen for the first time. Zack Snyder's cut of "Justice League" debuts Thursday on HBO Max, a subscription streaming service launched last year by AT&T Inc's WarnerMedia. Advertisement "This movie would not exist at all without the fans, without the fans' pressure and without their constant drumbeat and without their dedication on such a level that you can't even imagine," Snyder told Reuters in an interview. Snyder and his wife Deborah, a producer, left the original film before it was finished following the death of their daughter. The movie was completed by "Avengers" director Joss Whedon and fell flat with critics and fans who thought the storytelling was disjointed and the visual effects messy. Fans began lobbying for WarnerMedia to release Snyder's version of the film. They even bought a billboard in New York's Times Square in October 2019 to promote their cause. In an unusual move, the company agreed and let Snyder rework a black-and-white version that he had completed in 2017. The new movie goes into greater detail about many characters, which include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, and explains the motives of their enemy, Steppenwolf. Stars include Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Critics have generally applauded Snyder's version. The film scored a 77% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates reviews, as of Tuesday, compared with 40% for the 2017 movie. The new film runs four hours and is divided into chapters of around 30 minutes each to give options for viewers watching at home, Deborah Snyder said. "They can watch it, binge watch it all the way through or they can watch it in parts," she said. Race-based attacks against people of Asian-heritage are on the rise and victims reluctance to report incidents to police is prompting new ways of collecting information. Experts and victims say a spike in such occurrences happened after politicians, most notably former President Donald Trump, spread hateful rhetoric by falsely tying the coronavirus to Asia and calling the virus the China flu. Since then, people have been verbally harassed, physically assaulted, and killed. On Tuesday, a white man fatally shot eight people, six of whom were Asian women, at an Atlanta spa. The suspect, who was charged Wednesday, told police the attack was not racially motivated, but rather a way to reduce his sexual addiction. However, politicians and community activism worry the attack has been spurred by anti-Asian sentiment. Clearly, there is an increase in instances of bias and violence towards people of an Asian-heritage, but the situation in Michigan is less clear, according to James White, director of the states Department of Civil Rights. The department has seen a steady and troubling increase in the number of complaints filed by residents of Asian-heritage, though the number of filings remains low. Between 2016 and 2018, the department received 26 complaints and 14 complaints were filed in 2020 alone. People may file a complaint with the Department of Civil Rights if they are discriminated against in employment, education, housing, public accommodation, public service and law enforcement for their gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion. More information about the MDCRs investigative process can be found here. Data on hate or bias crimes are collected by local law enforcement and reported to the Attorney Generals Office. In 2019, there were nine hate or bias crimes reported to the Attorney General. The office told MLive there was no other statistical information available. Lori Dougovito, a public affairs representative at Michigan State Police, said law enforcements role is to collect data and we cant speak to whether the reports we receive reflect occurrences. Still, White said simply because the numbers are not there, it does not mean the incidents are not happening. They could very well be happening, and there could be some reluctance to make those complaints with law enforcement, White said. There has been a lot of hate speech towards the Asian American community at the highest level around the country, and particularly over the last year, with the onset of this horrific virus, and there could be some concerns as to if those complaints are going to be taken seriously or investigated. Hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the surge across the country. The late Vichar Ratanapakdee, (seen in the photo on the left) was an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, who was violently shoved to the ground in a deadly attack in San Francisco. , during a community rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes, in response to the string of violent racist attacks against Asians during the pandemic, held at Los Angeles Historic Park near the Chinatown district in Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) AP People are harassed but do not report it to law enforcement officials for various reasons, such as culture, not being taken seriously by police, or that they didnt know such instances can be reported. Such reporting barriers prompted the creation of Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate, a website where people can self-report harassment in their first language. Several Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy organizations created the website to get a better understanding of how often people are getting harassed, the type of harassment and where it takes place. Manjusha Kulkarni, of Los Angeles, who co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, said collected data can help push for policy changes, like education and community resources for victims. On the website, users can pull up any state and find information about the kind of incidents reported there. Kulkarni approached the California Attorney Generals Office to see if it would be interested in the self-reporting method but was told local law enforcement is responsible for collecting data. Stop AAPI received 3,795 reports from all states and the District of Columbia between March 2020 and February. A majority of the harassment, 68%, is verbal and 20% involved shunning, the deliberate avoidance of a person based on their race. Businesses are the primary site of discrimination followed by public streets and public parks. Twenty-five people in Michigan reported hate incidents to Stop AAPI Hate. Of those reports, 40% of the victims who reported the incidences are Chinese, 80% of incidences were verbal harassment and 60% of them happened in a workplace setting. We came to realize this is in fact a phenomenon, it was systemic and it is not isolated, Kulkarni said. Even though Im a former civil rights lawyer, Im still shocked when I see things like this happen. Its extremely disheartening. Melissa Borja, a University of Michigan assistant professor and the point person for collecting Michigan data for Stop AAPI Hate, said the disjuncture between experiences people are having and experiences being reported to law enforcement or nongovernmental organizations, like Stop AAPI Hate, is because people may not know they have such options to report hate incidents. The incidents are affecting a wide range of people, but women are twice as likely as men to be the victim of an (incident), Borja said. In summer 2020, one of Borjas students conducted an informal survey among Asian American business owners in Detroit. Borja said the results showed 40% of respondents did not know what to do if an incident of hate occurred at their business. Lisa Bee owns Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea Cafe and is among the people who did not know there was a way to self-report incidents of racism. Bees extended family also own several restaurants in the Detroit area. While Bee has not experienced direct harassment, she noticed peoples behavior toward her in public changed since the pandemic started. We definitely felt that there was a little bit of thought that just because youre Asian you must have COVID, Lee said. Bees two oldest sons, who live in New York where 517 reports of hate incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, have changed their habits as a result of the rising hate incidents. They dont take the subway late at night, in fact, they try to avoid it altogether, Bee said. Its not great, I feel like we have kind of moved backward. Linh Song, the only Asian City Council member in Ann Arbor, spoke about the issue publicly at a recent meeting following multiple incidents of anti-Asian sentiment in her ward. Two of her constituents, both Asian, were talking on the sidewalk when a woman coughed on them and her neighbors son was told to go back to China, according to Song. Song has experienced anti-Asian harassment herself when running for city council. This is something most people of color have had to deal with in some fashion, Song said. We dont want our children to have to face these racist outbursts. We prepare them. But its still shocking and its still surprising, Song said. Our instinct is to walk away. Just get away from the situation. But we have to understand that we have options to defend ourselves and to stop that from happening again. Even when people are aware of their options to report, they may feel reluctant to get the police involved for cultural reasons and fear of retaliation. An Ann Arbor store owner, who asked not to be named out of fear of his family or business being attacked, is among those who have been harassed but did not report the incidents to police. Last year, the man was working when a white older gentleman wandered into his store looking for rice because many grocery stores ran out of it during the beginning of the pandemic. When the man approached the customer to help, he started backing away from him and asked, Are you Chinese? Are you sick? Will you give me the virus? It was the second time the store owner, a second-generation Taiwanese American, was racially profiled within a year. The first incident occurred a few months prior when a group of college-aged students gathered around a pizza shop near his store yelled at him. They said you dont belong here and to go home. I am home, Ann Arbor is my home, the store owner said. The store owner moved to Ann Arbor when the city was mainly a rural area and the population was primarily white. As a kid, he faced racism at school where kids made fun of him for his eyes and skin color. However, he said the city is more diverse than ever now--about 17% of its population is of Asian-heritage. The store owner thought the harassment he faced growing up was an issue of the past, something he hoped his children would not experience, but he believes the pandemic and the politics surrounding it changed things. I thought things were better and things were different, but it looks like maybe things were just under the surface more, and then the pandemic seemed to bring out this kind of nastier side of people, the store owner said. My first instinct when there is conflict is to avoid it and not to call the police. From our perspective, especially immigrants, we dont feel like law enforcement is on our side or that they are not going to protect us. Im just as scared of police as I am of these people that are racially profiling me. Borja said reporting barriers can be lowered with the presence of community organizations, informing people of reporting options in their own language, and resources that connect people to bigger institutions for help. More so, people can step in and intervene in hate incidents, whether its a student being bullied at school or someone being harassed at the grocery store. This can be done by meaningful bystander intervention, Borja said. If a person experiences a hate incident, it is important to have a friend or neighbor show concern and support them, and to also help that person report it to government institutions or non-government institutions, Borja said. People can self-report instances of hate or basis at https://stopaapihate.org/. For more information on the program in Michigan, contact Borja at mborja@umich.edu. Michigan residents can report hate crimes by email at hatecrimes@michigan.gov or by phone at 313-456-0200. Residents can file complaints of unlawful discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender, or religion by contacting the Michigan Department of Civil Rights by phone, 800-482-3604, or email MDCR-INFO@michigan.gov. An investigation has been launched after it emerged the Chief Operating Officer of a Chicago hospital was able to get the vaccine for 72 employees at the building where he lived, almost three weeks before they were officially eligible for the shot. Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the COO of Loretto Hospital, located in the city's Oak Park neighborhood, purchased a condominium on the 43rd floor of the Trump building in downtown Chicago in October last year for $2.7 million. Ahmed, 37, is said to have told acquaintances that he vaccinated Donald Trump's son, Eric, an executive at the Trump Organization and sent a picture around of himself posing with Eric Trump, although he later said that it was 'a joke'. Soon after the meeting, 72 workers at the building where Ahmed resides were all treated to the shot weeks ahead of others in more vulnerable categories, reported Block Club Chicago. Eric Trump stands with Anosh Ahmed, the chief operating officer of Loretto Hospital. Screenshots and video show Ahmed sent this photo to people along with a message saying he vaccinated Trump but then later claimed that he was joking Dr. Ahmed, 37, the COO of Loretto Hospital in west Chicago owns an apartment in Trump Tower in downtown Chicago An arrangement appears to have been made after Doctor Ahmed claimed to have vaccinated Donald Trump's son, Eric, to have 72 workers from the Trump Chicago building vaccinated Dr. Ahmed, 37, purchased a condominium on the 43rd floor of the Trump building in October last year for $2.7 million Eric Trump is an executive vice president and trustee of the Trump Organization, which owns the Trump Tower hotel and residence, but the millionaire would not have been eligible to be vaccinated in Chicago. The workers from the Trump Tower in Chicago had its workers receive the shot on March 10th despite city guidelines saying the employees of hotels and residential buildings would not be eligible until March 29th. At the time, Chicago vaccination centers were limiting the vaccine to vulnerable populations, including people over 65, prisoners, teachers and first responders, not hotel workers or those in hospitality. The action for the 72 injections was approved by the hospital's chief executive, George Miller who justified the injections by noting that the employees were 'predominantly black and brown,' and the event had been requested by Trump employees who live on Chicago's West Side, near the hospital according to Block Club Chicago. The small 122-bed hospital is nine miles from the luxury tower block in downtown Chicago and situated in a mainly black neighborhood where people have been hit hard by coronavirus and few have been vaccinated. Dr. Anosh Ahmed is the COO of Loretto Hospital, located in the city's Oak Park neighborhood The small 122-bed Loretto hospital is located in a mainly black neighborhood where people have been hit hard by coronavirus and few have been vaccinated 'We were, at the time, under the impression that restaurant and other front line hospitality industry workers were considered 'essential' under the City of Chicago's 1B eligibility requirements,' Loretto Hospital's CEO George Miller, pictured, said in a statement The hospital has said it 'mistakenly vaccinated' the workers and that their mission is to provide vaccines to the 'minority communities hardest hit' by the pandemic. 'We were, at the time, under the impression that restaurant and other front line hospitality industry workers were considered 'essential' under the City of Chicago's 1B eligibility requirements,' Miller said in a statement. 'I now understand, after subsequent conversations with the Chicago Department of Public Health, that we were mistaken.' The Democrat Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot said she was 'disappointed' at the news. 'We have a finite amount of vaccine in the city. We've been really, really careful to make sure that we're using it in a way that prioritizes the most vulnerable people who are most at risk and most at risk of spreading it,' Lightfoot said on Wednesday. 'We cannot have something like this happen again.' The Democrat Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot said she was 'disappointed' at the news 'They know it was a mistake. I've asked Dr. Arwady to dig deeper to make sure that to trust but verify. To make sure that what they told us, the COO who decided to host this event, that it was limited to hotel workers and not some other circumstances. 'But they recognize that this was a mistake and absolutely can never be repeated. It's a cautionary tale for any other provider.' Dr. Ahmed has also since said that his claim of him vaccinating Eric Trump was in fact a 'joke'. 'Eric Trump happened to be in the building but we did not vaccinate him,' Ahmed said in a statement. 'A few residents including myself did take a photo with him. My post was meant as a joke...', he wrote. His personal Facebook page remains offline. There is high demand for the vaccine in Chicago with just one in six Chicagoans having received their first dose as of Wednesday - just over 10 per cent of the city's 2.7m population. There is high demand for the vaccine in Chicago with just one in six Chicagoans having received their first dose as of Wednesday - just over 10 per cent of the city's 2.7m population Statement from Loretto Hospital On March 10 and 11, 2021, The Loretto Hospital infectious disease team vaccinated 72 predominately black and brown restaurant, housekeeping, and other hotel support personnel at Trump International Chicago. Stemming from requests from West side residents who work at the hotel and were unable to leave their jobs to be vaccinated during regular in-hospital hours, this effort was one of multiple off-site community vaccination initiatives undertaken by The Loretto Hospital in accordance with its mission of ensuring vaccine accessibility to the minority communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine doses used were from The Loretto Hospital's vaccine allotment, not from Protect Chicago Plus allocations, which are reserved specifically for Austin residents. The Chicago Department of Public Health has been in contact with hospital leadership to clarify the department's guidance regarding community vaccinations moving forward. Advertisement MARINA DEL REY, Calif., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LeaseLock , the world's leading insurtech platform for real estate, today announced that Frank Jachetta has joined the company as Regional Sales Director. He will focus on driving security deposits extinct for rental housing operators in the Mountain Region, based in Denver, through the implementation of LeaseLock's fully integrated lease insurance product, Zero Deposit. Jachetta has 14 years of multifamily and single-family rental expertise. Most recently, he served as Senior Professional Account Executive for CoreLogic, where he led the single-family rental charge driving growth and cultivating strategic relationships. He has also held various roles at TransUnion in both multifamily sales and account management. "Like multifamily, single-family rental housing is not immune to the struggles associated with antiquated security deposits and failed deposit alternatives," said LeaseLock CRO Ed Wolff. "Frank's unique understanding of both these markets will help us eliminate deposits and their alternatives for all housing operators and renters." As the only AI-driven financial technology platform for rental housing providers, LeaseLock deploys through native property software systems and back-office workflows to integrate into the online resident leasing. Operators market their communities as Zero Deposit, creating a seamless resident experience and conversion lift. Residents pay a small monthly fee to replace upfront security deposits while operators receive $5,000 in rent loss and damage coverage on every new lease with the standard coverage plan. NMHC Top 50 operator LeaseLock clients include Greystar, Cushman & Wakefield, Avenue5 Residential, Harbor Group Management Co., LMC, and RKW Residential. Top ownership clients include Goldman Sachs, ColRich, GoldCor, Olive Tree, TruAmerica, White Oak, Trinsic, Strata Equity Group, Goodman Real Estate, and Elevation Real Estate and Management. About Us LeaseLock is the world's leading insurtech platform for real estate. Our flagship lease insurance product leverages artificial intelligence to eliminate security deposits from enterprise operating infrastructurepowering a faster, simpler, more affordable rental transaction. LeaseLock seamlessly deploys within the native online leasing checkout, resulting in significant conversion liftwhile instantly generating industry-leading coverage for the property on every lease. LeaseLock has insured over $1 billion in leases backed by insurance rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. Our global investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia, Wildcat Ventures, Westerly Winds, Vertex Ventures US, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, American Family Ventures, Moderne Ventures, and Mucker Capital. Media Contact: LinnellTaylor Marketing Marlena DeFalco Account Director (303) 682-3943 [email protected] SOURCE LeaseLock Related Links http://www.leaselock.com A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Victorian police maintain a heavy presence outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 3, 2006. (William West/AFP via Getty Images) Two Melbourne Men Face Terrorism Charges, Including for Links to ISIS Two young Melbourne men suspected of having extremist motivations are facing terrorism charges. The 19-year-old and 20-year-old Epping men were arrested along with a 16-year-old Pascoe Vale boy following counter-terrorism raids in Melbournes north on Wednesday. The 19-year-old will appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with an attempted terrorist act, intentionally causing injury, an act in preparation of a terrorist act and being a member of prescribed terrorist organisation, ISIS. The 20-year-old was taken to hospital after his arrest because of a medical episode. He will also face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday accused of an attempted terrorist act. The 16-year-old boy was released without charge. The trio came to the attention of police after a fire in bushland about 30 minutes from Epping on Feb. 18 and an assault in a public place in metropolitan Melbourne on March 10. Investigators believe the incidents may have been motivated by Islamist religious extremism. Assistant Commissioner Scott Lee from the Australian Federal Polices counter-terrorism and special investigations unit said the nature of fire, in particular, had raised suspicions. There is an ideology, and a violent extremist ideology, that has caused us concern, and its as a result of that ideology that were looking at these incidents being connected to a terrorism motivation, he told reporters on Wednesday. There are certain aspects to the lighting of the fire that leads us to suspect it was a terrorism motivation. Lee said counter-terrorism teams across the globe were encountering a younger and younger demographic. Acting Premier James Merlino said the arrests highlighted the need for police vigilance. We rely on the expertise, the courage, the diligence of Victoria Police and again theyve done an outstanding job, Merlino said. Its a reminder that there are dangers lurking. Thats why we need to give our police the powers, the resources that they need to make sure that they can foil terrorist attempts, such as the one were reading about in latest reports. By Callum Godde in Melbourne IBM has announced the opening of its first IBM Cloud Multizone Region (MZR) in Latin America. Building on its existing data centre footprint in Brazil, IBM says that the MZR is a result of the company's continued investment in cloud infrastructure to accelerate hybrid cloud adoption and help foster business growth in Latin America. In 2019, according to the website Data Centre Dynamics, IBM had one data centre in Sao Paulo. Plans to extend it to an MZR in 2020 to offer customers reliable web services got delayed, not too surprisingly given the pandemic. The region finally went live this year with two new data centres, also in Sao Paulo, but the centres are on three separate sites. An MZR is composed of three or more zones that are independent from each other to ensure that single failure events affect only a single zone. IBM expects to have customers from financial services, government and telecommunications, among other sectors, and has already announced some significant customer wins in Brazil, including footwear and accessories firm Arezzo & Co, fintech firm Stone, and Digisystem, a Brazilian technology company, all of which have migrated some or many of their solutions to IBMs cloud. IBM now has eight MZRs around the world. Not to be outdone, or so it seems, Microsoft has announced Azure Availability Zones (AZs) for the south of Brazil in Sao Paulo State. AZs allow customers to spread their infrastructure and applications across discrete and dispersed data centres for added resiliency and high availability. The announcement is part of Microsoft's More Brazil plan, which also includes training and support for cloud migration, as well as help meeting security and compliance regulations. The company has also promised to expand its zone coverage during 2021. Microsoft opened its first data centre in Brazil in 2014. The country now has multiple Microsoft zones (or data centres), geographically separated, and with independent power and cooling, but close enough together that customers can improve reliability by setting up redundant backup to multiple zones. Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died aged 61, the country's vice-president has announced. He died on Wednesday from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Samia Suluhu Hassan said in an address on state television. Mr Magufuli had not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumours have been circulating about his health. Opposition politicians said last week that he had contracted Covid-19, but this has not been confirmed. "It is with deep regret that I inform you that today... we lost our brave leader, the president of the Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli," Vice-President Hassan said in the announcement. She said there would be 14 days of national mourning and flags would fly at half-mast. Mr Magufuli was declared president on his 56th birthday in October 2015. He was elected for a second term following a disputed poll last year. He was one of Africa's most prominent coronavirus sceptics, and called for prayers and herbal-infused steam therapy to counter the virus. Tanzania has not published details of its coronavirus cases since May, and the government has refused to purchase vaccines. Mr Magufuli was last seen in public on 27 February, but Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa insisted last week that the president was "healthy and working hard". He blamed the rumours of the president's ill-health on "hateful" Tanzanians living abroad. But opposition leader Tundu Lissu told the BBC that his sources had told him Mr Magufuli was being treated in hospital for coronavirus in Kenya. On Monday, police said they had arrested four people on suspicion of spreading rumours on social media that the president was ill. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Convoso will speak on a panel about call blocking and flagging at Lead Generation World, March 22 in Orlando. Sales and lead gen teams are having a harder time getting through to potential customers. An outbound call center needs to understand the different factors that can determine whether or not calls are getting flagged and/or blocked."Bobby Hakimi, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder, Convoso Convoso, innovator in outbound contact center software, will participate on a discussion panel about a top issue for call centers in 2021: Blocked calls and calls flagged as a spam risk. The session, Why arent your calls getting through and what can you do about it?, will be moderated by LeadsCouncil Executive Director Rob Seaver. Speakers include regulatory compliance attorney Michele Shuster (Partner, Mac Murray & Shuster, LLP) and Convoso Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder Bobby Hakimi. The audience of primarily call center operators and performance marketing professionals can attend the discussion at 10:15am ET, Monday March 22 in the Main Hall of the Hyatt Regency at the upcoming Lead Generation World March 22-23 in Orlando, Florida. The discussion will focus on how outbound call center owners and managers can be more competitive and boost ROI in a rapidly changing and increasingly regulated industry. The participants will share best practices for smart tools and strategies that support legal customer acquisition methods and effective outreach to TCPA compliant leads. Sales and lead generation teams are having a harder time getting through to potential customers, said Bobby Hakimi, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder of Convoso. Were talking about prospects that have consented to be contacted by businesses that have valid reasons for doing so. An outbound call center needs to understand the different factors that can determine whether or not calls are getting flagged and/or blocked. But its a multi-faceted issue, so before we can talk about solutions, we have to look at whats causing the problem. Thats what Michele and I will be talking about with Rob Seaver at the conference. More information about the issue of call blocking and flagging, read this article in the series on 2021 outbound call center trends. Theres so much thats evolving in the lead gen world today, said Rob Seaver, Executive Director of LeadsCouncil. Changing consumer behaviors and preferences, new and ever-changing compliance regulations, and technology developments. With all these transformations, its a challenge for call center managers and owners to drive their operations to peak performance. Im looking forward to delving into our discussion topic on how to overcome the challenges with the panel. The Convoso team will be talking with conference attendees at Booth 30/32. Related topics around improving contact center performance can be found on the Company's blog. About Convoso Convoso is the industry leader of omnichannel contact center software for sales and lead generation teams. The solution couples the power of an advanced cloud-based dialer with support of a dedicated product expert to drive customer success. Convoso is continuously innovating to help outbound call centers maximize profitability while supporting TCPA compliance. About LeadsCouncil LeadsCouncil is a lead generation association of vendors, buyers, and sellers that helps members adhere to industry best practices. About Lead Generation World Lead Generation World (LGW) is the home for lead generators, performance marketers, and the service providers that support their efforts. LGW brings together the brightest minds in the industry and those that want to improve their lead generation campaigns from creation to close. LGWs primary focus is to help Advertisers and Lead Buyers successfully navigate the lead generation ecosystem by providing highly targeted and insightful content alongside exclusive networking opportunities with companies that can support their efforts. 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. YEREVAN. Zhoghovurd daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: Onik Gasparyan has not been relieved of the post of Chief of General Staff of the RA MOD [Armed Forces], and he can go [back] to [this] work by virtue of law and fulfill his General Staff duties. The thing is that Judge Mher Petrosyan of the RA Administrative Court has accepted the lawsuit of the chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan, and in this case, Article 83 of the Code of Administrative Procedure clearly states that if a challenge has been filed against an administrative act and the court has accepted [it], the implementation of that act is suspended by virtue of law until there is a final judicial act on the case. It turns out that Onik Gasparyan has to return to work [as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces]. Let us recall that on February 25, the RA Prime Minister had submitted to the President of the republic a proposal on dismissing the Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan from his post, attaching the draft of the respective decree. The President returned it, with objections. On February 28, a letter was sent to the RA President with relevant justifications, and Onik Gasparyan was relieved of his post by virtue of law. And now it turns out that after applying to the court, Gasparyan remains the chief of the General Staff by virtue of law. RA Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan is [in] tense [relations] with the generals. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Department of Health still does not see a need to require prospective vaccine recipients to undergo a COVID-19 test prior to immunization. At this point in time, (there are) no changes in our protocol, Dr. Beverly Ho, Health Promotion Bureau and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Director IV, said Thursday in a briefing. Ho added no other country in the world requires testing as part of their pre-vaccination protocol. The remark came after a healthcare worker died of COVID-19 more than a week after receiving the coronavirus vaccine made by Chinese firm Sinovac. DOH and the Food and Drug Administration ruled out the vaccine as the cause of death, adding the shot cannot cause disease. Dr. Rommel Lobo, vice chairperson of the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee, said in the same briefing the vaccinated medical worker was a 47-year-old woman with diabetes, hypertension, and bronchial asthma, and these comorbidities put her at risk for developing COVID-19. The frontline worker underwent a swab test on Feb. 22 and on the same day, her result came back positive. On the next day, she took another COVID-19 test but yielded a negative result. On the day of her vaccination on March 4, she wrote in her health declaration form that she was not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms at the time. Under the current protocol, those who report exposure to a person infected with COVID-19, or exhibit coronavirus symptoms will not be given the vaccine. People with COVID-19 are advised to wait at least three months after they are clinically recovered before getting a vaccine. Current evidence suggests that reinfection is unlikely to occur 90 days after the initial infection. But why was the healthcare worker cleared to receive the Sinovacs CoronaVac despite testing positive nine days before her scheduled inoculation? Lobo said it was initially thought the RT-PCR test may have picked up remnants of the virus since the frontliner already had COVID-19 last year that is why she was allowed to receive the shot. But on March 8, the healthcare worker tested positive for coronavirus anew, indicating she might be incubating or asymptomatic at the time that she was vaccinated, Lobo said. Upon diagnosis, she was advised admission, but she refused, Lobo added. She was admitted to a hospital on March 10. On March 13, she succumbed to the disease. FDA Director General Eric Domingo said testing positive for COVID-19 after inoculation is not "unusual" because it takes about a few weeks for the vaccines effect to kick in. Domingo also said they notified Sinovac, through its local distributor, about the death of the healthcare worker who received CoronaVac. He said they asked Sinovac whether there are similar occurrences in other countries where its shot is being used. Deputy Director of Legal Affairs of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Baba Jamal says his former Deputy General Secretary, Koku Anyidoho is wrong to accuse the partys National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo of not punishing Sammy Gyamfi for his verbal attack on the NDC leadership in Parliament. According to him, Koku Anyidoho being a former Deputy General Secretary of the party knows it is impossible for the National Chairman of the party to single-handedly carry out punitive measures against any member who may have gone wrong in the party. So if Koku Anyidoho says that the National Chairman should come out to punish him or he should resign then he is expressing his opinion but not the position of the NDCs constitution as he mentioned. This is because the constitution of the NDC must be respected, and the constitution states the process to go through to penalise a member of the party, he explained. Citing Koku Anyidohos suspension on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show to buttress his point, the former Member of Parliament(MP) for Akwatia Constituency said that just as Koku Anyidohos suspension went through constitutional processes before it came out, Sammy Gyamfis case must pass through the same processes. He added that in the spirit of fairness, Koku Anyidoho should know that Sammy Gyamfis case should officially be reported to the party and then the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) will have to meet to decide his fate, then refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee and not the party Chairman. So, everybody deserves to be treated right. If we took him [Koku Anyidoho] through the processes and he was referred to FEC before a decision to suspend him was taken, even though I have heard that he said he has not received any suspension letter, officially as far as I am concerned, FEC took that decision to suspend him and a letter has been written to that effect, he indicated. It went through the process because some of us will not sit aloof as we have suffered for this party. Someone like Koku Anyidoho, we know the role he played in terms of worshipping this party, but if it gets to a point where things are not going right, we need to be fair to people, he stressed. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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. Featured Video Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Help India! The attack on Dr. Truschke is not because she wrote in support of Aurangzeb, it is because she dares to offer a narrative that is different, rational, and objective, thereby puncturing the rightwing Hindu narrative that only centers around vilifying Muslims. Md Asif Khan, TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots ~ Marcus Garvey These words of Garvey were, at least theoretically, meant for African-Americans. Yet, they would not be out of context when talking about modern-day India. The attack on an eminent scholar, academician, and historian Audrey Truschke, the Associate Professor of South Asian History at Rutgers University, by the Hindu rightwing, shows us how hard the people in power try to silence voices that dissent against their narratives and versions. It would be fair to say that the attacks on Dr. Truschke are neither new nor novel in their approach: ever since she took on Hindu right-wing while maintaining academic standards, many fringe groups based both in India and the US have tried incessantly to harm her career, reputation, and even made threats of violence against Dr. Truschke and her family. Yet, undeterred, she remains steadfast in her views. History is never black and white, and this is the principle which eminent historians have used time and again to explain complex and complicated pasts. A country like India, with its rich history and narratives, will never have one definitive history. This is an anathema to the Hindu right-wing, who believe every positive aspect and influence of India has its origins in Hinduism, and that every negative aspect or incident must always be blamed on Muslims, especially the Muslim rulers. Naturally, then, they target the greatest dynasty that the sub-continent has seen: the Mughals. Take, for example, the recent issue at the helm: the ongoing vilification of Dr. Truschke is another instance in the long and blemished history of the Hindu right-wing. The attack on scholar AK Ramanjunam, the author of Three Hundred Ramayanas, comes to mind. For a society that claims to celebrate pluralism and diversity, the works of Ramanujam would not just be important, it would be considered invaluable. Yet, nearly a decade ago, not only was his work attacked, but even teachers who defended him were attacked by right-wing goons. A decade later, they stand emboldened by a government that not only promotes hatred against minorities through its IT cells on social media platforms but also on the ground as visible in the 2020 Delhi pogrom and the huge surge in violence against Muslims, Christians and other marginalized communities over the past few years. The discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act is only an extension of the same. So, when a scholar like Dr. Truschke challenges the norms that all Muslim rulers were bad and all its victims were Hindus, the Hindu rightwing has no recourse but to stoop to online bullying, threats and running vicious hate campaigns. The role of social media, and especially the right-wing ecosystem, is extremely important in such an event. I did a digital analysis of the vicious Twitter campaign against Rutgers University and Dr. Truschke over the last two weeks and found that it is part of a well-planned smear campaign led by the members of far-right groups both in India and the US. I analyzed comments on two statements put out by Rutgerss @Rutgers_Newark Twitter handle on March 4th and 12th. Out of 481 accounts that commented on these tweets, only 79 accounts were real, the rest were all fake with some created only for the purpose of targeting Dr. Truschke. Most of the accounts that made announcements of withdrawing admission from Rutgers or sought boycott of the school for extending support to Dr. Truschke were fake. The tirade on Twitter was amplified by some prominent figures within the right-wing ecosystem including the senior members of Mr. Modis party. Kapil Mishra, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India is one of the leading figure who has been spearheading the vicious Twitter campaign against Dr. Truschke. He is best known for making inflammatory speeches that led to anti-Muslim riots in Delhi last year, resulting in the killing of nearly 50 people mostly Muslims. Over the years, he has gone on a violent anti-Muslim tirade that has helped him gain access to the mainstream media and nationwide popularity. Recently he founded Hindu Ecosystem, a network of over 20,000 people, who use Twitter as a primary tool to spread anti-minority hate and bigotry. The same network has been extensively used to target activists, journalists and scholars including Dr. Truschke. The attack on Dr. Truschke is not because she wrote in support of Aurangzeb, it is because she dares to offer a narrative that is different, rational, and objective, thereby puncturing the rightwing Hindu narrative that only centers around vilifying Muslims. Shefali Vaidya, who leaves no stone unturned to paint a negative image of Muslims is another popular right-wing influencer, amplifying the smear campaign against Dr.Truschke on Twitter. Vaidya, recently, called the farmer protests fake because the farmers were eating pizzas. The rightwing believes that everyone dissenting voice must not only be trolled, but it must also be silenced or discredited. Rajiv Malhotra and Vivek Agnihotri are two other far-right figures who have been consistently targeting Dr. Truske for her scholarly work on India and played a prominent role in the recent hateful campaign. An Indian American, Malhotra is a rightwing author and CEO of Infinity Foundation, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a 95-year-old paramilitary Hindu nationalist outfit that wants to convert India into a Hindu nation where non-Hindu minorities are subjugated and relegated to the status of second-class citizens. In 2015, Richard Fox Young of Princeton Theological Seminary and Andrew J.Nicholson who authored Unifying Hinduism accused Malhotra of plagiarizing their work. Agnihotri is a conspiracy theory filmmaker, who spends more time swearing at dissenting voices than film making. His achievements include making abusive, bigoted tweets and cracking rape jokes. It is only logical that the Hindu right-wing has found sympathizers in American right-wing personalities like Mike Cernovich and Robert Spencer. Both these took to Twitter to foul-mouth Dr. Truschke. But why? For this, you only need to see the collusion between the Hindu nationalist front organizations in the US and Trump supporters. Krishna Gudipati an active member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (America), an organization labeled as a religious militant organization by CIA for its violence against Muslims and Christians was one of the participants during the violent Capitol Hill insurrection. Gudipati is an associate of the infamous Member of Indias Parliament, Subramanian Swamy, who heads the Virat Hindustan Sangam of which Gudipati is a member. Dr. Swamy wants Muslims denied voting rights, a view that prompted Harvard University to drop his course. The link between the Hindu right-wing and the American right-wing, at least when it comes to Muslims, shows the global nature of Islamophobia. The term may have western origins, but it finds its natural home among Hindus who believe India belongs first and foremost (or only) to the Hindus, especially the upper-caste Hindus. There is no room for logic, or rationality, in their arguments. And Dr. Truschke challenges that at every level, whether it is through academic works or articles. Every rational and peace-loving person must respect and support Dr. Truschke through these tough times. Md Asif Khan is a social activist. He tweets at @imMAK02 Drayton Manor theme park's operators have been fined 1million over 'systematic failures of safety' which led to the death of an 11-year-old girl on its water rapids ride. Evha Jannath was 'propelled' from a vessel on the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Manor in Staffordshire in May 2017. Eva, who was visiting the park during an end-of-year school trip with friends from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester, then plunged into a 12ft pool of water where she drowned. Lawyers for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution against the park for not properly ensuring the safety of its guest - saying the operators had overseen a 'systemic failures of safety' on the river rapids ride. Staff had flagged safety issues in an after-hours work meeting 27 days before the fatal incident, the court heard. It also heard there had also been four incidents in which customers been ejected from the ride between 2011 and 2013 - including a 10-year-old boy four who had to be rescued. Drayton Manor Theme Park Ltd admitted breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. But the court heard the 1million fine will never be paid, because the attraction's owner company collapsed into administration last year. The park has a new owner. Mr Justice Spencer described the incident as an 'utterly tragic waste of a young life', in sentencing the now-defunct company at Stafford Crown Court today. And he said that no sentence could 'reflect the tragedy of this case for Evha's family'. Evha Jannath drowned after she was 'propelled' from a six-seater vessel on the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire in May, 2017 Aerial view of the Splash Canyon attraction at a deserted Drayton Manor theme park near Tamworth, Staffordshire, following the incident which was ruled an accident by the coroner Evha, who turned 11 just four days before the accident, 'had a bright future, she was doing well at school and had said she wanted to be a teacher herself', he said. Former MP says last four years has been 'torture' for Evha's family Former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who has been supporting the family of Evha Jannath since the incident in 2017, said the past four years had been 'torture' for them. In a statement on their behalf, he said: 'We welcome the decision of Mr Justice Spencer, the verdict he has given and the sentence he has imposed. 'However this process has taken nearly four years to conclude. It has been torture for them. 'As a result, the company in its original form no longer exists. Former Leicester East MP Keith Vaz, who has been supporting the family of Evha Jannath since the incident in 2017, said the past four years had been 'torture' for them 'Nothing will ever bring Evha back. The whole family lives every day with the human consequences of this tragedy. They remain devastated by her loss. 'When we all visited the site a few days after Evha's death we pointed out to the police, the company and the health and safety executive the faults that existed in the system at Drayton Manor. 'However, we allowed justice to take its course. 'No-one has lost their jobs as a result of this, the company will not pay this fine, no individual has said they are responsible, but there remains a hole in the heart of the family. 'They will never forget little Evha. 'Lessons need to be learned. After the lockdown is over, water rides such as this one should not be allowed to reopen in the UK and elsewhere. 'I urge all companies to heed the words of the judge. 'The sentence is a powerful message to all others to act immediately. If they do not, this tragedy will happen again.' Advertisement He added that Evha's family, including her parents and older brother, had been deeply affected, adding her mother 'is still trying to come to terms with Evha's death'. However, despite issuing the 1million fine, the judge said there was 'no prospect of it being paid' given the company operating Drayton Manor at the time, Drayton Manor Park Ltd, had since gone into administration. But he added: 'In my judgment it would be wholly inappropriate to do other than impose the fine which the offence merited. 'The public and Evha's family must not be led to think that this serious offence, which resulted in the death of a child, can properly be met by only a nominal (financial) penalty.' He added: 'I bear in mind there are other similar rides in the United Kingdom, I bear in mind that this theme park has been sold to another operator and the staff transferred over. 'It is important that lessons are learned and the seriousness of the defendant company's failing in this case is marked by an appropriate punishment.' The firm's assets - including the park - were sold under a 'pre-pack sale', the court heard. They are currently under new ownership, with the attraction set to welcome visitors from April 12, according to its website. A spokesperson for the current Drayton Park operators said: 'Drayton Manor Resort acquired the Park out of insolvency in the summer of 2020 when it was forced into insolvency due to coronavirus. 'We are unable to comment on the outcome of the case as it involves the insolvent business, Drayton Manor Park Limited, which is no longer the owner or operator of the Park. 'Our thoughts are with the Jannath family and all those affected by the tragedy at this time.' Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Spooner said: 'As a result of Drayton Manor's failings, 11-year-old Evha Jannath died at the end of what should have been a fun day out. 'The risks from ejection from the raft had been evident to Drayton Manor for some time, yet they still failed to take the action that could have prevented Evha's death. 'This tragic event should never have happened and my thoughts and the thoughts of HSE remain with Evha's family and friends.' Responding to the fine, Hilary Meredith, of Hilary Meredith Solicitors - who act for Evha's parents, said: 'This is one of the saddest cases we as a firm have ever had to deal with. 'We are well known for acting on behalf of the Armed Forces and their families but when a case involves a child on a fun day out which ends in such needless tragedy it impacts on us all. 'Our heart goes out to Evha's family and friends.' Evha, 11, died after being airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital from Drayton Manor theme park on May 9, 2017. Pictured, the Splash Canyon Ride in a file photo At the start of a two-day sentencing hearing yesterday, James Puzey, barrister for the HSE, told the judge the accident happened 'in context of the systemic failures of safety on this ride'. 'The control measures they had were failing every day,' he added. Why will Drayton Manor's 1million fine never be paid? The park, which had been run by three generations of the Bryan family since opening in 1950, collapsed into administration last year. The attraction was flooded in the wake of Storm Dennis last February and had to remain closed due to the Covid pandemic. Administrators said at the time that this had 'exacerbated' cash flow problems. The firm's assets - including the park - were sold under a 'pre-pack sale', the court heard, and were now under new owners. On Wednesday - the first of a two-day sentencing - lawyers for Drayton Manor Theme Parks Ltd explained how the firm's administration meant that whatever fine was levied, it would go unpaid. In 2017 the park's turnover was 24.9 million, then 22.9 million the following year and 24.5 million in 2019. But the operator's lawyers said that in none of those years had the company turned a profit, with the Covid-19 pandemic then forcing the parks closure for 2020. Richard Matthews QC, representing the firm, said: 'We don't suggest for a moment that if your lordship fixes a fine and imposes it, it will be prejudicial to any of the ordinary creditors. 'There has never been the possibility of the creditors receiving any payment. 'This was an administration brought about because the company no longer enjoyed and had the support of the lending bank which was vital to its continuing trading. 'The company was a loss-making entity over three years before, for obvious reasons the pandemic meant the cash flow position placed it in an impossible position. 'For understandable reasons, the bank was no longer able or prepared to continue to support the company. 'In what is described as a pre-pack sale, with the administration, the assets and the goodwill was sold to an arms-length, independent, wholly unconnected and substantial European operating entity. 'To be entirely fair I hope, to the banks, notwithstanding that sale, they haven't recouped the extent of their losses.' He added: 'The park is already reopening under the new leadership of the corporate entity that now owns it.' Advertisement The court heard from the park's own barrister Richard Matthews QC, who said it was 'a corporate failing'. Evha was ejected from the boat while standing up out of her seat. She later fell into 12ft of water after plunging from the conveyor belt which takes vessels to the ride exit. Evha also suffered significant blunt force injuries, the court heard. The HSE's lawyers said there was 'inadequate' signage for those on the ride telling them to stay seated, 'inadequate training' for staff, an element of under-staffing and a lack of emergency planning. Mr Puzey said static ride CCTV only covered 50 per cent of the course and was 'not an effective means of monitoring the boats' or their passengers' behaviour. The court heard that although signs warned passengers to stay seated, people still got up - but Mr Puzey said the management of that risk was the ride operator's responsibility. A technical analysis found that people standing up on the ride was 'relatively frequent' and that on '9 per cent to 16 per cent' of journeys, passenger 'misbehaviour' was observed. Re-watching CCTV of the ride on the day of the accident, experts recorded 70 occasions of people standing up in the boats. The court also heard that in separate incidents between 2011 and 2013, four people plunged from boats - or ended up being swept - into what was the deepest part of the ride's course, known as the trough, which is where Evha ended up drowning. Although none of those falling passengers were injured, the court heard details of one involving a 10-year-old boy in August 2013 which bore similarities to the fatal incident. The boy was ejected from the ride at the same point as Evha and - like her - was not spotted by ride staff, instead being pulled to safety by a quick-thinking member of the public who climbed a safety rail. After the fatal incident, a review concluded it was 'an essential requirement' that those overseeing the water ride made sure people stayed in seats, and could 'detect and react' to passengers falling in. 'A passenger who is in the water and is in the trough is in immediate danger from a number of immediate hazards which pose risks of death or serious injury,' it said. The review concluded: 'It appears that the past experience of the defendant of having people go into water but thereafter being rescued were taken as assurance this was not a high-risk situation. 'Such an interpretation would be seriously flawed.' The court was told how a risk assessment from 2014 was in place but an out-of-hours meeting three weeks before Evha's death had raised concerns over public safety. Mr Puzey added: 'There are nine CCTV cameras that were in use at the time of this incident at various points around the ride and at the station. 'In total, the coverage by the CCTV cameras covers around 50 per cent but these cameras provide a fixed view and do not have the ability to pan about or zoom. 'There is a camera covering the final bend at which Evha fell from the raft. Evha's brother Muhammed Islam, left, arriving at the inquest into her death in November 2019 'A report from April 26, 2017, only two or three weeks before the incident records that it was recommended to improve the CCTV to improve monitoring of the ride. 'Mr Ecclestone, the ride manager, recalls that when certain cameras broke it was decided by management that 100 per cent coverage was not required. 'The operator on duty that day had not observed any misbehaviour therefore he had not used the PA system to make any announcements. 'He accepted the CCTV did not cover the whole ride and he had no training in attempting a rescue on this ride and no rescue equipment on the course such as life belts and poles. 'But the staff had a critical role to play in ensuring the safety of members of the public. 'A further review was undertaken in April 2017 only three weeks before this incident as an opportunity for operators and attendants to discuss the ride. 'Amongst the topics talked about in the review was the boat condition, signage and boat signage missing. 'It was noted that there should be additional signage around the lift area advising guests to remain seated until the ride stops. 'Issues were also discussed about the emergency stop button being relocated and viewing the CCTV was not ideal as images were poor and there was glare from the sun. 'There were only 27 days between this meeting and the tragic incident to Evha in that short time nothing had been done to address these matters.' Mr Puzey said Drayton Manor 'accepts it failed to appreciate the seriousness of risk identified in this case - falling out and not being rescued'. Splash Canyon has never reopened since Evha's death. A worker at one of Whakatane's biggest employers has warned at least half of the 200 people being made redundant will struggle to find work. The Whakatane Mill confirmed this week it will close at the end of June, a huge blow for the Bay of Plenty town. For more than 40 years, Rua Williams has worked at the Whakatane Mill, but soon he'll be clocking out for the last time. The First Union delegate will retire now the mill is closing, but he's worried about how his other colleagues will fare. "We've got middle-aged people, it's going to be difficult for them to find employment - young fullas, they should be able to make a go of it," says Williams. While the fitters and electricians will easily find a new job, Williams says it will be difficult for those working on the production line. But he hopes their strong work ethic will hold them in good stead. All of the 210 staff at the mill, which makes paper and packaging products for export, will lose their jobs. Over half of them are Maori. Williams says many are trying to find jobs now, but are faced with a tough choice. "People are racing around looking for jobs now but the company has put out a thing that if you're not here ... you don't get your redundancy, so it's a bit harsh on our workers because some of our young fullas, they've got to secure their futures." Whakatane Mayor Judy Taylor says the town has been left reeling, and the closure will affect more than just the mill workers. "There's all the private contractors who rely hugely on the mill for their work programme, and their workers, and the implication there and we have no sense yet of how many other jobs are going to come into question now that it's a definite closure," says Taylor. The mill decided to shut down after losing its biggest customer, Swiss packaging company SIG. East Coast MP Kiri Allan is hoping the business won't stay closed for long. "My sincere hope is that there is a commercial party that will come to the table and see this as a prospect for the town, so that we can retain those jobs and retain that mill as an operational mill," she says. If that doesn't happen, Allan's confident people will be able to find jobs on regional projects such as the new commercial boat harbour. "Those types of those industries... heavily rely on skills that are transferable from industries like in the mill; welding fitting, engineering and the like," she says. The Minister for Economic and Regional Development, and Forestry, Stuart Nash, says closing manufacturers such as the Whakatane Mill is not sustainable for local economies. "We've got a reputation as one of the largest exporters of logs, I don't think that's a very good space. We want to be one of the largest exporters of processed lumber," he says. He's working with companies and unions to reform the forestry industry. The importance of the closure of the Whakatane Mill to our community and Aotearoas forestry industry cannot be underestimated, says Labours Tamati Coffey. Everyone here knows someone that has or works at the mill. We need to come together in the face of this latest adversity set against Whakatane, to ensure the continued resolve of our whanau to recover and survive. After Whakaari, the Apanui School fire and the restrictions brought by Covid-19, we cant leave any stone unturned. As we focus on immediate whanau first support, we must also look to solution-focused opportunities for our future, that offer our rangatahi just as many pathways to rewarding careers at home without moving away." Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi wants to set up a "transit lounge" for kaimahi, where social services and upskilling is readily available to those leaving. "These services will be requested and determined by them and that is what the Whanau Ora approach is, that this particular process must be driven by those kaimahi to support them and their whanau," he says. Local iwi are also stepping up to help. In a statement, Te Runanga o Ngati Awa chief executive Leonie Simpson says they're finding jobs for people within iwi-led projects. These include, Kainga, a new cultural hub and visitors centre, and Te Ara Mahi, a technical marine training school. -RNZ/Meriana Johnsen. OTTAWA - Several family members of women killed in the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will no longer be welcome at annual commemorations unless his government strengthens recently tabled gun-control legislation. Police enter the Ecole Polytechnique after gunman Marc Lepine opened fire at the school in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989. Several family members of women killed in the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique shooting say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will no longer be welcome at annual commemorations unless his government strengthens recently tabled gun-control legislation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Shaney Komulainen OTTAWA - Several family members of women killed in the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will no longer be welcome at annual commemorations unless his government strengthens recently tabled gun-control legislation. In a letter to Trudeau made public Thursday, relatives of victims, survivors of the shooting and witnesses say the "dismal" Bill C-21 will not make society safer. The bill proposes a buyback of many recently banned firearms the government considers assault-style weapons, but owners would be allowed to keep them under strict conditions, including registration and secure storage of the guns. The letter to Trudeau says the buyback must be made mandatory to ensure it cannot be easily overturned by the Conservatives, should they form government, given the party's opposition to the firearms ban. The legislation would also allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation a move the letter says would create an ineffective patchwork of laws across the country. "If this bill is not radically changed, if the buyback program is not made mandatory, if a simple decision by a future government can overturn the assault weapons ban, we lose the battle, and we lose faith in you and your government," the letter says. "If you carry on with this bill, we will never again accept to have you by our side as we mourn the death of our daughters, our sisters, our friends, during annual commemorations." Suzanne Laplante-Edward, whose daughter Anne-Marie was among the 14 women gunned down at Polytechnique, signed the letter, copied to several federal ministers. In a statement Thursday she accused the prime minister of throwing in the towel and letting the gun lobby win. "If Trudeau goes ahead with C-21, he will be a traitor to the cause of gun control, a traitor to me and my family, and a traitor to the memory of my daughter and her 13 classmates," she said. "If that is the case, he had better not show his face and cry his crocodile tears at any future commemoration that me or any relative of Anne-Marie attends." The Prime Minister's Office said Trudeau would respond to directly to those who sent the letter. "We share their desire to strengthen gun control in this country and thank them for their work and their commitment," the office said in a statement. "We will continue to listen and work with provinces, municipalities and stakeholders who want to tighten gun control." Mary-Liz Power, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, noted the banned firearms could not be legally used, transported, sold, transferred or bequeathed by individuals in Canada. The planned measures in the bill will also give the government "information about where these prohibited weapons are, and who has them," Power said. The government will ensure the changes "cannot be easily undone" through amendment of the Firearms Act to explicitly include the banned guns, meaning their classification as prohibited firearms cannot be changed by regulation, she added. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2021. The pandemic caused the world's middle class to shrink for the first time since the 1990s last year, according to an estimate based on World Bank data. Another estimate showed that almost two-thirds of households in developing economies reported that they had suffered loss in income in 2020. A study from non-partisan research group Pew Research Center, published on Thursday, found that last year the global middle class fell by 90 million people, to almost 2.5 billion. The middle class counts as those earning $10 - $50 per day. This increased the numbers of people considered poor, or living on less than $2-a-day, by 131 million, the research centre estimated. Shrinking middle class numbers reflect the contraction of the global economy. The pandemic caused the world's middle class to shrink for the first time since the 1990s last year, estimates suggest, as the world's economy shrank. Pictured: A police officer stands guard as Filipinos out of work due to the coronavirus lockdown queue to receive government cash giveaways in May 2020 Pictured: Graph showing the estimated change in number of people (in millions) in each income tier in 2020: High income, upper-middle income, middle income, low income and poor Pictured: A graph showing the estimated number of people in each income tier in 2020, before and after the global recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic In January 2020 as reports of the coronavirus were slowly emerging, the World Bank projected the economy would expand by 2.5 percent that year. One year on, however, the World Bank estimates it actually shrank by 4.3 percent. 'The economic downturn is likely to have diminished living standards around the world, pushing millions out of the global middle class and swelling the ranks of the poor,' the report says. 'At the same time, the path to a recovery is clouded with uncertainties,' it adds. The study's author also noted that the Pew data on the middle class actually understates the impact because the pandemic caused an estimated 62 million high-income people - those earning $50 per day or more - dropped into the middle class. This means that over 150 million people who went into the pandemic as members of the global middle class actually fell out of the category, according to Pew's data. This is more people than the population of France and Germany combined. 'In modern history it is hard to come up with examples where you saw such a sharp downturn in global economic growth,' Rakesh Kochhar said in an interview with Bloomberg. The drop off in the global middle class was felt most in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and it stalled growth that had been seen in the years before the pandemic, according to the report. South Asia, specifically India, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for the largest increase in poverty, reversing years of progress. If the Pew estimate is found to be correct when actual World Bank data comes in - which is still being gathered - it would mark an end to a trend that has seen the global middle class grow without fail since the 1990s. This is largely thanks to developing economies such as China and India. Pictured: Unemployed Chilean workers line up to do paperwork in the unemployment fund manager (AFC) in Santiago, Chile in May last year. A study from non-partisan research group Pew Research Center, published on Thursday, found that last year the global middle class fell by 90 million people, to almost 2.5 billion In 2011 - when Pew last calculated the size of the global middle class - it made up 13 percent of the global population. By 2019, that number had risen to almost 18 percent, Kochhar told Bloomburg. An average of 50 million people joined the middle-income ranks over the last ten years, he added, and before the pandemic, some 1.38 billion people were expected to be counted in the global middle class by 2020. Pew 's report said that the erosion of the middle class may have been even deeper were it not for China - home to over a third of the world's middle class - managed to avoid the same economic downturn witnessed in other countries. In a separate paper published Monday, in which researchers at the World Bank surveyed 47,000 households in 34 developing countries, it was found that 36 percent of households saw job losses, and almost two-thirds saw a drop in income. The bank's researchers wrote that the result was the first increase in global poverty since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, with the number of people living in extreme poverty projected to have increased by 119 million to 124 million in 2020. Pictured: People wait on a long line to receive a food bank donation in New York City, US. In January 2020 as reports of the coronavirus were slowly emerging, the World Bank projected the economy would expand by 2.5 percent that year. One year on, however, the World Bank estimates it actually shrank by 4.3 percent As was the case in many rich countries, the economic burden caused by the pandemic in less well off countries such as Colombia, Burkina Faso, Indonesia and Vietnam fell on women, young people and the self-employed in urban areas. The World Bank researchers also point to the impact slower recoveries are expected have on people. While larger economies - such as the US that has sanctioned an unprecedented fiscal rescue - have been able to draw on their large pool of resources, many developing economies cannot afford to do the same. By 2020, advanced economies had spent 7.4 percent on GDP in 2020 on so called 'above the line measures', such as fiscal support, according to the World Bank. Government in emerging markets and developing countries, however, have not been able to match such spending. In 2020,fiscal measures amounted to 3.8 percent of GDP in emerging markets, and 2.4 percent of GDP in low-income countries. A group of lawmakers in the US have urged President Joe Biden to support the move by India and South Africa before the World Trade Organization for emergency temporary waiver of some Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) rules to enable greater production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests. The move comes after India and South Africa, along with several other countries, have urgently gone to the WTO seeking a time-limited waiver of the TRIPS agreement. The previous Trump administration had opposed such a move. At a news conference here on Wednesday, the lawmakers -- Rosa DeLauro, Jan Schakowsky, Earl Blumenauer, Lloyd Doggett, Adriano Espaillat, and Andy Levin -- said this while urging President Biden to support the emergency temporary waiver at the WTO as requested by countries led by India and South Africa. The lawmakers said more than 60 US representatives would collectively write to Biden to announce support for the TRIPS waiver proposed by India and South Africa at the WTO. The temporary TRIPS waiver would allow countries and manufacturers to directly access and share technologies to produce vaccines and therapeutics without causing trade sanctions or international disputes, they said. The Biden administration has an obligation to reverse the damage done by the Trump administration and reestablish our nation's global reputation as a public health leader, said DeLauro. As we see every day, the COVID-19 pandemic knows no borders. Our globalised systems cannot recover if only parts of the world are vaccinated and have protection against the virus. We must make vaccines available everywhere if we are going to crush the virus anywhere, and we need to make public policy choices, both in the US and at the WTO, that put people first, DeLauro said. Congress has appropriated billions of dollars of emergency relief for the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries and is planning billions more. The faster we can bring this emergency to an end, the faster these industries can recover. President Biden's support for the TRIPS waiver is key to the end of the pandemic and the beginning of a strong global recovery. Schakowsky said big pharma companies are adamantly opposed, claiming in their letter to President Biden that "intellectual property is the foundation for both the development and sharing of new technologies," not mentioning their own profits, or the billions of dollars that tax payers have contributed to their research and development. As a global community, we must come together and use every tool at our disposal to stop this pandemic. We have seen that WTO intellectual property rules and corporate greed have disastrous impacts for public health during past epidemics, and we need to ensure that this doesn't happen again, said Blumenauer. The Biden administration has already shown that we are in this together with our allies. They understand that a deadly pandemic does not stop at any one border. Working to ensure that trade rules do not stunt the developing world's access to vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests is the next step, he said. Mindful of COVID variants from Brazil and South Africa to stop this deadly virus, we need widespread immunisation everywhere around the globe, not just in the wealthiest countries, said Doggett. While we have lacked sufficient vaccines in America, immunisation has been almost non-existent in poorer countries, he said. America has an obligation to support the global community with the tools and vaccine resources we developed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, said Espaillat, adding that a global conundrum exists with countries having to wait months or even years to vaccinate their citizens a delay that will only allow the virus to continue to mutate, spread, and kill more people. We simply cannot allow this to happen. During this time of crisis, rather than protecting wealthy pharmaceutical companies' bottom lines or intellectual property derived from our collective investments, we must remove all impediments to vaccine distribution, including maximising capacity worldwide to ensure every person who wants this vaccine has access as soon as possible regardless of economic background, race, or nationality, Espaillat said. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has the ability to accomplish this task, and I encourage the Biden administration to urge the WTO and partner member-nations to use the tools at its disposal to do so, he said. I desperately want a return to normalcy, said Levin. But I want that normalcy to be sustainable! I want to be sure that this virus isn't going to keep spreading, keep mutating - potentially in a way that's resistant to the vaccines we're getting right now. I don't say this to fearmonger, he added. Also read: US to provide funds to Biological E for making 1 billion doses by 2022 Also read: India to produce COVID-19 jabs for Indo-Pacific region under Quad initiative TV series on poverty alleviation efforts receives acclaim Chinadaily.com.cn) 11:30, March 18, 2021 A scene features Luo Jin (second from left) as an official to help locals battle poverty in rural Hunan province. [Photo provided to China Daily] Nestled in the southernmost mountains in Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan province, Mudixi village is a picturesque paradise with the lush woods, clean streams and distinctive stilted houses built by local ethnic Miao people. But the village was not well-known until A Land So Rich in Beauty -- a popular TV series which recently ended its first run on Hunan Satellite TV and the streaming Mango TV service -- made it an online sensation. With the major shooting taking place in the village, the 33-episode drama has raised its profile, bringing it a tourism revenue totaling more than 30 million yuan ($4.61 million), said the producers at a recent seminar held in Beijing. The drama starring stars Luo Jin and Yuan Shanhan has also been released overseas via the international broadcasting network of Hunan Satellite TV, making it a window to help foreigners to know more about China's effort to get rid of poverty, said Ding Cheng, deputy head of Hunan Broadcasting System, the parent company of Hunan Satellite TV. Actress Yuan Shanshan plays a journalist who is assigned to assist villagers to get rid of poverty in the TV series A Land So Rich in Beauty. [Photo provided to China Daily] Receiving critical praise at home, the drama has so far accumulated 10 billion clicks online and obtained 7.8 points out of 10 on the popular review site Douban. Scriptwriter Wang Chenggang, a former veteran journalist, said the show is inspired by true stories of Hunan, a province which saw 56,000 grassroots cadres consisting up of 12,000 teams dispatched to far-flung areas to battle poverty. "When we trekked into the mountains to conduct interviews, I was surprised to see that many of the cadres are born in 1980s or 1990s. It made me realize the drama could be more relatable to young audience if the protagonists are set as young people," said Wang. Gao Changli, director general of the TV series department with National Radio and Television Administration, said the series deeply reflects the "miracle" of China's fight against poverty. "One of the biggest social values created by the drama is that it has seized attention of youngsters, making it possible to encourage more young people to return to their hometowns to help develop local economies," added Gao. Poster of A Land So Rich in Beauty. [Photo provided to China Daily] A quarter century ago, I and other members of Bill Clinton's cabinet urged him to reject the Republican's proposal to end welfare. It was too punitive, we said, subjecting poor Americans to deep and abiding poverty. But Clinton's political advisers warned that unless he went along, he jeopardized his reelection. A real-life test programme launched on 15 March 2021 for 4 weeks, in addition to the one currently being tested on Air France flights from Paris to Pointe-a-Pitre and Fort-de-France; Passengers testing the ICC AOKpass app will benefit from priority airport channels thanks to a partnership between Air France, Groupe ADP, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles World Airports On 15 March 2021, Air France and Groupe ADP launched a new test programme of the ICC AOKpass solution for digitising COVID-19 test results, developed by MedAire/International SOS. The four-week trial will focus on outbound and return Air France flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Customers travelling on these flights can test the ICC AOKpass mobile app free of charge. Available on smartphones, it allows customers to securely record the results of COVID-19 tests carried out in a partner laboratory. Through this test in live conditions, Air France and all its partners involved wish to improve the customer experience by streamlining the checking of test result documents, which has become mandatory since the COVID-19 crisis. Thanks to a partnership between Air France, MedAire/international SOS, Groupe ADP, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles World Airports, customers testing the app will benefit from dedicated airport channels, with priority access at boarding and passport control on arrival in Paris. This programme is in addition to the one launched by Air France on 11 March 2021, on flights departing from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and Fort-de-France (Martinique) in the French Caribbean. It is entirely free of charge for customers and is carried out solely on a voluntary basis in the following four stages: 1. The customer downloads the ICC AOKpass mobile app available on App Store, Google Play Store or Huawei App Store, and takes the required PCR or LAMP test (according to the regulations in force for the destination concerned) in one of the partner laboratories. 2. Once the test has been taken, the laboratory provides the customer with the results with a PDF document and a QR code, which can be securely downloaded into the ICC AOKpass app. 3. At the airport, on the day of departure, specific signage directs the customer to a dedicated lane during boarding. When travel documents are checked, customers show the QR code displayed on their smartphone as a proof of their Covid-19 negative status instead of a paper certificate. The ICC AOKpass then confirms that the test presented is valid and complies with the regulations of the country of destination via a network secured by blockchain technology. 4. On arrival in Paris, customers will see the same specific signage and benefit from priority access when going through passport control, where they once again present the QR code on the AOKpass app. The "ICC AOKpass" solution complies with all applicable GDPR standards. Customers taking part in the test can access or delete their data at any time. Alain Bernard, Chief Operating Officer Air France, declared: "Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we have been calling for a worldwide health-related standard. This new experimental programme is an example of what could become the standard for travel document verification in the future, and we are pleased to implement it with Air France partners. Collaboration between governments, airlines and airport authorities is essential to find solutions combining health safety with a smooth travel experience." Sebastien Bedu, Airport Services Product Manager - MedAire, an International SOS company added: "The launch of this second large-scale test programme between Paris and the airports of San Francisco and Los Angeles is a major step in the international recognition of ICC AOKpass as a trusted-third-party and the emergence of a new international standard. This is an essential condition for the resumption of international travel. From the medical laboratory and at every step of the journey, ICC AOKpass makes it possible to certify the negative COVID-19 status of passengers, to the entire air transport chain, for a safe return to travel." Marc Houalla, Executive Director of Groupe ADP and Managing Director of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, said: "We are convinced that the ICC AOKpass solution that we are testing with our partners at the departure and arrival points of the Paris airports will facilitate passenger channels through our terminals, by guaranteeing both greater fluidity and better control of health checks. The sustainable recovery of traffic firstly requires the restoration of air links between countries, and this pass has every chance of contributing to this by establishing itself as a new standard." ENDS View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005730/en/ Contacts: For further information contact: Suzanne Withers Group Head of PR, International SOS T +44 (0)20 8762 8494 M +44 (0)7825 425 500 suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com Chris Potter Marketing Manager, MedAire +1.480.316.4148 chris.potter@medaire.com Russia's President, Vladmir Putin has reacted to US President Joe Biden calling him a killer and saying that he would pay a price for 2020 US election interference. When asked about Bidens comments during a video call on Thursday March 18, that was aired on Russian state TV, Putin said he wished his counterpart in Washington good health and was saying that "without irony", but charged that the comments reflected America's own troubled past. The Russian leader who praised the American people, said the legacy of slavery and the country's treatment of Native Americans weighed heavily on its dealings abroad. He added that for Biden to call him a killer, it takes one to know one. Putin said; "In the history of every people, every state, there are a lot of hard, dramatic and bloody events. But when we evaluate other people or even other governments, we always look as if into the mirror. We always see ourselves in it. "I remember when I was young and I got into fights with my friends, we always used to say 'whoever calls names is called that himself. It takes one to know one. "And thats not just a childrens joke. The meaning is quite deep psychologically. We always see our own qualities in another person and think that he/she is like ourselves. And coming from that, evaluate his/her actions and evaluate him/her overall. As he [Biden] said, we know each other personally. What would I reply to him? I would say: I wish you health. I wish you health. I say that without any irony or joke. Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian parliaments upper house, had also said that Moscow would likely take further steps if the American side does not offer an explanation or apology. Kosachev said Bidens comments were not acceptable under any circumstances and sent any hopes of an improvement of relations under the new administration down the drain. Russia also recalled its ambassador to the United States on Wednesday for "consultations" just hours after Biden's remarks, which the Kremlin later said were very bad and without precedent. 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 Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. On the basis of a license agreement with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), the Dresden-based start-up "Neuron-D GmbH" is developing a high-throughput system for testing drug candidates to treat neurodegenerative diseases. The technology is based on a 3D cell culture method jointly developed by the DZNE and IPF, which replicates key features of neurons in the human brain and the pathology associated with neurodegeneration much better than conventional methods. The development of new drugs requires extensive testing. Before promising compounds can enter human trials, they must first prove their value in the laboratory. This requires appropriate analytical devices, so-called assays, to test the effect of pharmaceutical substances as realistically as possible. For this purpose, Neuron-D applies a special technique for the production of cell cultures. "In most methods for creating cell cultures from human neurons, the cells only interconnect on flat surfaces. Using our approach that involves innovative biomaterials called starPEG-heparin hydrogels, the cells link in three dimensions. This results in structures that are very similar to the human brain's plexus. And the way individual neurons develop in our cell cultures also recapitulates what happens in our brains. We therefore speak of a reductionist, experimental brain model," explained Dr. Caghan Kizil, co-founder and CEO of Neuron-D. Dr. Kizil, who co-developed the cell culture technique as a research group leader at the DZNE's Dresden site, adds: "We can replicate relevant physiological features of human neurons better than with conventional cell cultures. This allows us to draw more realistic conclusions about the effect of the substances under investigation. Our patented 3D brain model is customizable, cost effective and delivers fast results, making it unique and innovative." Service Provider for Pharmaceutical Research The resulting cell cultures can be tailored to the specific requirements so that either the situation in the healthy brain or pathological conditions can be mimicked. "Our technology is aimed in particular at screening drugs against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. We see ourselves as a service provider and technology partner for pharmaceutical companies and research institutions," said Dr. Kizil. Neurotoxic tests are also feasible, he explained: "We can use our cell culture model to study whether chemical substances trigger undesirable reactions. Such analyses are required, for example, as part of efficacy or toxicity tests." Small Samples The technique for producing these neuronal models was jointly developed by the DZNE and IPF and a patent application was filed in 2016 based on the previous development of the hydrogel technology by the IPF. In this approach, which is based on stem cells derived from healthy adults or patients, human neurons intertwine within a special gel that serves as a substrate to form a three-dimensional network. The cell cultures each comprise tens of thousands of neurons; however, the cultures are not larger than a piece of cube sugar. Based on the license agreement, Neuron-D can now utilize this technology for commercial purposes. Further Technical Development Neuron-D was founded in 2019 by Dr. Caghan Kizil, along with Prof. Dr. Carsten Werner and Dr. Uwe Freudenberg, two researchers from the IPF, who are the developers of the hydrogel technology and have vast expertise thereof. The start-up has so far attracted private investment of more than 1 million euros. "We aim to build a high-throughput screening platform based on our cell culture technique. This will allow thousands of compounds to be tested quasi on a piecework basis. The system will be fully automated by using state-of-the-art technologies. Our platform will enhance the reliability of pre-clinical in vitro testing by providing a human brain-like microenvironment. This will provide substantial cost benefits for the end-users", said Kizil. "Our screening platform will be available in 2022. Potential end users can already discuss their needs with us at Neuron-D. This gives us the opportunity to adapt the system to customer requirements already during the current development phase." First DZNE Spin-off In the course of its about 10-year history, the DZNE has already licensed various technologies to companies. Now, for the first time, this applies to a newly founded company whose business model is largely based on know-how co-developed by the DZNE. "Neuron-D is the first spin-off for DZNE and an example of how self-motivation of scientists paired with support from the technology transfer and specific internal promotion of innovation lead to the further development of scientific results up to the point of application. This shows that our research creates promising innovations," said Dr. Bernadett Simon, head of the DZNE's Technology Transfer Office. ### Interview with Dr. Caghan Kizil, CEO of Neuron-D: https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v= E7N0onzSCp0 More on Neuron-D: http://www. neurond. de On the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) The DZNE investigates all aspects of neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in order to develop novel approaches of prevention, treatment, and health care. The DZNE is comprised of ten sites across Germany and cooperates closely with universities, university hospitals, and other institutions on a national and international level. DUBLIN, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Commercial Services Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global commercial services market is expected to grow from $3858.88 billion in 2020 to $4366.32 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13. 1%. Major companies in the commercial services market include Adecco Group; Randstad Holding; Manpower Inc; Waste Management Inc and Iss A/S. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $5864.34 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 8%. The commercial services market consists of sales of commercial services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that perform support activities for the day-to-day operations of other businesses or organizations. Examples include office facilities management services, travel arrangement services. The commercial services market is segmented into office administrative services; facilities support services; employment services; business support services; travel arrangement and reservation services; waste management and remediation services; investigation and security services; services to buildings and dwellings; and other support services. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the global commercial services market, accounting for 30% of the market in 2020. Western Europe was the second largest region accounting for 29% of the global commercial services market. Africa was the smallest region in the global commercial services market. Artificial intelligence is widely being used by business organizations in customer support activities as it considerably reduces operational costs. Artificial intelligence systems perform tasks that normally require human intelligence such as speech recognition, translation between languages, visual perception, decision-making. This technology enables handling of customer grievances and other interactions without human intervention, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing operational costs. It also helps manage support tickets in bulk, provides multi-language support and auto responding of bulk emails. According to a study by Oracle, nearly 8 out of 10 businesses have already implemented or planning to adapt artificial intelligence in customer support by 2020. Some of the companies using artificial intelligence in customer support include China Merchant Bank, Fiat Argentina, Toshiba France, KLM airlines. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Report Structure 3. Commercial Services Market Characteristics 3.1. Market Definition 3.2. Key Segmentations 4. Commercial Services Market Product Analysis 4.1. Leading Products/ Services 4.2. Key Features and Differentiators 4.3. Development Products 5. Commercial Services Market Supply Chain 5.1. Supply Chain 5.2. Distribution 5.3. End Customers 6. Commercial Services Market Customer Information 6.1. Customer Preferences 6.2. End Use Market Size and Growth 7. Commercial Services Market Trends and Strategies 8. Impact of COVID-19 on Commercial Services 9. Commercial Services Market Size and Growth 9.1. Market Size 9.2. Historic Market Growth, Value ($ Billion) 9.3. Forecast Market Growth, Value ($ Billion) 10. Commercial Services Market Regional Analysis 10.1. Global Commercial Services Market, 2020, by Region, Value ($ Billion) 10.2. Global Commercial Services Market, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Historic and Forecast, by Region 10.3. Global Commercial Services Market, Growth and Market Share Comparison, by Region 11. Commercial Services Market Segmentation 11.1. Global Commercial Services Market, Segmentation by Type, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 11.2. Global Commercial Services Market, Segmentation by Mode, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, $ Billion 12. Commercial Services Market Segments 12.1. Global Office Administrative Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Business Management Services; Hospitality Management Services; Health Management Services; Other Office Administrative Services 12.2. Global Facilities Support Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Maintenance Services; Security & Guard Services; Reception Services; Other Facilities Support Services 12.3. Global Employment Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Employment Placement Agencies; Executive Search Services; Temporary help Services; Professional Employer Organizations 12.4. Global Business Support Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Document Preparation Services; Telephone Call Centers; Business Service Centers; Collection Agencies; Credit Bureaus; Other Business Support Services 12.5. Global Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Travel Agencies; Tour Operators; Convention and Visitors Bureaus; Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services 12.6. Global Waste Management and Remediation Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Waste Collection; Waste Treatment and Disposal; Remediation Services; Other Waste Management Services 12.7. Global Investigation and Security Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Investigation, Guard, and Armored Car Services; Security Systems Services 12.8. Global Services to Buildings and Dwellings Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Exterminating and Pest Control Services; Janitorial Services; Landscaping Services; Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services; Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings 12.9. Global Other Support Services Market, Segmentation by Type, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Billion) - Packaging and Labeling Services; Convention and Trade show Organizers; All Other Support Services 13. Commercial Services Market Metrics 13.1. Commercial Services Market Size, Percentage of GDP, 2015-2025, Global 13.2. Per Capita Average Commercial Services Market Expenditure, 2015-2025, Global Companies Mentioned Adecco Group Randstad Holding Manpower Inc Waste Management Inc Iss A/S For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/umzd50 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Parents whose children are studying at Singapore International School in Da Nang have expressed their concern about the news that a gym teacher was once accused of having child pornography in the US. F (first right) A parent told VietNamNet that he heard the information from another parent who posted the news on her personal page. He immediately called other parents. We feared that the matter would affect childrens psychology. We dont know if anything happened during the teaching process, he said. We wanted the police to investigate this case to find out if there are any photos or images, he said. He said that when parents discovered the problem, the school terminated the labor contract with the teacher. We raised our voice so that schools will become more cautious in considering candidates background when recruiting foreign teachers, he said. Deputy director of the Da Nang Education and Training Department Mai Tan LInh on March 16 told VietNamNet that the school has reported the case to the department. According to Linh, in 2013, the man was arrested by police in the US when he was discovered storing images of children. However, US police, after the investigation, came to the conclusion that he did not show any behavior of abusing children, and had only stored sensitive images. In 2017, the international school signed a contract with the man to work as a teacher. In his curriculum vitae, the man did not mention the arrest in the US. The problem is that he did not report to us about this. The Singapore International School has terminated the contract with him. The teacher was loved and esteemed by students and did not commit any violations, the official said. Some parents said they received a letter from the school dated March 15, saying that the school was sorry about the case. The letter said the school received information about the man on March 7 and had a meeting with him the next morning. He was dismissed as he had not made an honest declaration. The school affirmed that recruitment is implemented in accordance with strict procedures. Candidates are required to fill in a form answering questions about personal information and legal status. The man declared that he did not have a criminal record. Teachers have to satisfy requirements on experience, qualifications and working permits, and provide legal records that national security agencies or judicial centers certify on personal information and the legal status of candidates. All the foreign teachers of the school were certified as having no criminal records. In July 2014, abc7news reported that a man, aged 45, was taken into custody when flying from Vietnam to San Jose for owning pornographic images. Thien Thanh - Huu Duc - Ho Giap HCM City stops piloting foreign syllabus at international schools The HCM City People's Committee has recently asked four international schools to suspend their foreign syllabus from the 2021-2022 school year following Decree 86/2018/N-CP. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, on Tuesday morning (17 March 2021) held meeting with the Regional Director of Munazamat Al-Dawa Al-Islamia (Mada), Dr. Lobna Abdal Aziz Muhamed to discuss the plight of Gambian students in Sudan. In a dispatch from the communications unit of the aforesaid ministry, Dr Muhamed was at the Foreign Ministry on the invitation of Minister Tangara. During the meeting, the Gambian minister raised among other thing concerns of Gambian students studying at the Islamic University of Africa in Sudan. The dispatch stated that the minister was looking at possibilities of addressing the plight of Gambian students in Sudan who went under the scholarship of Munazamat. Minister Tangara appealed for her office's intervention in remedying the situation so that Gambian students in Sudan can continue learning in a better environment. "On her part, Director Muhamed informed the Hon Minister that Gambian students at Islamic University of Africa were enrolled through Munazamat, who announced and shared the scholarship forms for all interested candidates to apply. She said upon admission, Munazamat further provides tuition fees, accommodation, feeding and that any other needs are at the students' own cost. "She further informed the Hon Minister that the Ministry of Higher Education Research Science and Technology normally provides students with an annual stipend of $300 in addition to provision of air tickets. She also informed the Hon Minister that before the air ticket is purchased for the students, they sign a form with Munazamat in terms of what is provided in the scholarship package," the dispatch indicated. The Director used the opportunity to share their reports with Minister Tangara and interventions in the Health and Educational sectors for 4 decades whilst appealing for further collaboration, the dispatch stated. Meanwhile, Minister Tangara has on the same day held audience with the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Seraphine Wakana, in his office in Banjul. The two exchanged views on local and regional issues. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the North Korean Embassy in Beijing on June 21, 2018. Pyongyang recently appointed a trade specialist to head its embassy in Beijing. Yonhap By Do Je-hae Prospects of revived economic cooperation between North Korea and China have increased following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's announcement of a five-year plan for economic development during the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in January. Stoking such expectations, Pyongyang replaced its ambassador to China for the first time in 10 years with a seasoned trade specialist. On Feb. 19, it was reported that Pyongyang named as ambassador to China, Ri Ryong-nam, a former vice premier in charge of trade policy in North Korea's Cabinet from June 2016 to January 2021. Ri replaced outgoing ambassador Ji Jae-ryong. Previously, Ri served as trade minister from 2008 until 2016. The career trade official also served as economic affairs secretary at North Korea's Embassy in Singapore, according to media reports. North Korea's focus on economy It is extremely rare for North Korea to name a trade specialist as ambassador to China. The move was seen as a strong sign of the North's intention to revive economic cooperation with China. Bilateral trade and economic cooperation have been severely reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest reports, there have been some notable developments that underscore Pyongyang's drive for more active cooperation with China since Ri assumed his new post. One is a reported visit by a North Korean chemical industry delegation to Tongchuan City in China's Shaanxi Province earlier this month. The South Korean Ministry of Unification said it is closely monitoring the situation in the China-North Korea border. In addition, some Japanese media reported on March 16 that the two countries were getting ready to open a new 3-kilometer bridge called the New Amnokgang Bridge linking North Korea's Sinuiju and China's Dandong regions. The bridge, according to Japanese media, could open later this year depending on the COVID-19 situation. The bridge was built in 2014, but has not been opened due to the cash-strapped North's inability to cover necessary expenses for road and customs facilities. If opened, the bridge is expected to significantly contribute to increasing trade and travel between the two countries. The New Amnokgang Bridge that was designed to connect China's Dandong New Zone, Liaoning Province, and North Korea's Sinuiju. According to some Japanese media reports, North Korea and China are getting ready to open the bridge later this year. Korea Times file Experts say Kim's renewed focus on rebuilding North Korea's economy in the post-COVID-19 period has resulted in top economic priority being placed on resuming trade with China, given Pyongyang's longstanding dependence on Beijing as a trade partner. "It is clear that the North Korean economy has suffered significantly as a result of the COVID-19-related shutdown, thus the need to boost trade links with China (has increased). There are no real alternatives in the short term, especially for the markets that have become the backbone of the North Korean economy," said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, associate professor in International Relations at Department of European & International Studies, King's College London. Donald Kirk, a columnist on Korean Peninsula affairs, stressed that China is indispensable for North Korea's survival. "It's extremely important for North Korea to resume trade with China. North Korea imports almost all its oil and half its food from China and also counts on Chinese industry for important manufactured products. China is North Korea's ally, both militarily and commercially. North Korea cannot survive without Chinese support," Kirk said. When the COVID-19 pandemic eases, analysts said the two countries are likely to restart their cooperation in various areas essential to North Korea's economy. But analysts did not expect much progress in cooperation in tourism, an area that Kim sees as a key impetus for economic development. "I would expect North Korea-China economic relations to first start in the areas that were doing better before the COVID-19 pandemic: watches, fake wigs and eyelashes, some minerals and other non-sanctioned goods from North Korea to China, and food from China to North Korea. I would also expect trade in sanctioned goods such as textile exports from North Korea to resume. And I would also expect China to continue to provide oil to North Korea," Pardo said. "Chinese tourists should also return in due course, but China's cautious approach to border management as a result of the pandemic means that it could still take a while for this to happen." "North Korea exports coal and other natural resources to China. The Chinese also are in a position to offer technical and economic advice that North Korea needs to revive its economy. Tourism will be important, but secondary to much bigger deals for China to send natural resources to North Korea while receiving virtually all oil along with food and vital manufactured products from China," Kirk said. The dominant view in the policy community is that resumption of tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and other large-scale investments will not take off until the pandemic stabilizes, not only along the Sino-North Korean border, but on a global level. Pyongyang named Ri Ryong-nam, a former vice premier in charge of trade policy in North Korea's Cabinet, as ambassador to China last month. Yonhap "Security and control matter most to the Kim regime, and public health surely falls under both those categories. Given all the vaccinations that will first have to occur in North Korea and northeastern mainland China, I can easily imagine cross-border trade and investment not resuming in earnest until 2022 sometime," said Sean King, senior vice president at Park Strategies. At this point it is difficult to ascertain whether and when Sino-North Korean trade will return to pre-pandemic status. Some analysts said the unforeseen restrictions on foreign trade posed by COVID-19 could prompt North Korea to further emphasize "juche" (self-reliance) and promote domestic production for a multitude of essential supplies such as coal and consumer goods. Impact on Korean Peninsula China's significance as a factor in jump-starting the stalemated denuclearization process and the inter-Korean peace process has been reduced. The multilateral forum, such as the six-party talks, for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, where China played a visible leading role, has been defunct for a long time. So what impact could active North Korea-China economic cooperation have on the overall mood on the Korean Peninsula and possibly in resuscitating President Moon Jae-in's peace process? Under the circumstances, experts had mixed views about the impact of a strong North Korea-China relationship on accelerating peace on the peninsula. "Gradually restoring trade with China will hopefully alleviate the plight of the North Korean people, but may detract from sanctions enforcement and give the Kim regime the luxury to continue rejecting aid and assistance from South Korea," said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from right, and their wives drink tea during a luncheon hosted by Xi in Beijing, March 28, 2018. The two leaders recently exchanged friendly greetings through letters during North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea congress in January, but have not met in person since June 2019, when Xi visited Pyongyang. North Korea's engagement with China with a focus on trade is expected to help to bring Pyongyang out of its self-imposed isolation since the COVID-19 pandemic. Korea Times file Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 17:51:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close REMBAU, Malaysia, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia on Thursday started to inoculate its people with the COVID-19 vaccine made by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech as it pressed ahead with its national vaccination drive. Malaysia's Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin became the first recipient of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine in Malaysia, who received the jab at the Rembau Hospital in Negeri Sembilan state. Khairy told a press conference following his taking shot that he was feeling well. The minister stressed that the Sinovac vaccine had been used in many countries and by state leaders including Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "This proves that many other countries recognized the safety, efficacy and stability of the vaccine for use and to be administered to their people," he said. He noted that the Sinovac vaccine passed the requirements of Malaysia's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and encouraged the public to participate in the government's national immunization program. "So I want to tell the Malaysians, that if you get your appointment and you go to your vaccination center and that the vaccination center is giving you the Sinovac vaccine, please take it. It's a safe and good vaccine," he said. Malaysia received a batch of finished Sinovac vaccines doses from China on Monday after Malaysia's regulators gave the vaccine a conditional approval. Another shipment is expected later this month. Sinovac has also inked a partnership with Malaysia's leading pharmaceutical company Pharmaniaga to provide 14 million doses of its CoronaVac vaccine, which will go through a fill and finish process in Malaysia. The first delivery of the Sinovac vaccines in bulk arrived in Malaysia on Feb. 27. The Sinovac vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine for use in Malaysia's vaccination drive after the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. The Malaysian government has planned to inoculate at least 80 percent of its over 31 million population in the national immunization program started in February, with 20 percent of the population being expected to receive the Sinovac vaccine. According to the plan, Malaysia's vaccination program to go through February 2021 will be conducted in three phases, with the first phase for frontline workers covering about half a million people, the second phase for high-risk groups and the third phase for adults aged 18 and above. The Southeast Asian country reported 1,219 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing its total tally to 327,253 with 1,220 deaths. Enditem The Morrison government is weighing up whether to revive divisive measures to reform workplace laws, including criminal sanctions against wage theft, after it abandoned most of its original bill in the face of a Senate defeat. In almost 10 months of negotiations, the government, led by now-absent Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter, failed to win agreement between unions, business groups and crucially, the Senate crossbench, for its changes. Acting Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash only changed the rules for casual employment with the support of Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff. Alex Ellinghausen Instead, it was forced to pass only a new definition of casual employment, a broader right for casuals to convert to permanent jobs and a fix to double-dipping backpay claims in what acting Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash said was still a significant win. But the government ditched tougher penalties and an easier process to address wage underpayment claims, the one provision supported by all members of the crossbench, sparking fury as it looks toward a vote in the House of Representatives scheduled for Monday. How can they do this? Shame on you all for trashing such an important amendment. Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff How can they do this? Shame on you all for trashing such an important amendment, Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff said when he learned of the move. Senate voting on the bill was rancorous and chaotic, with the government desperate to hang onto support from three crucial crossbenchers from One Nation and Centre Alliance, triggering a split within the South Australian minor party. It also canned sections of the bill dealing with issues such as pay bargaining, industrial awards and pay deals on big construction projects that the government and businesses had promised would help address Australias sluggish wage growth and boost employment. Humiliating defeat! Labor industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke rubbished the governments claim the outcome was anything but a failure for it, calling it a humiliating defeat. He and Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus were still furious about the remaining casual changes, which they said would increase insecure work. Major employer groups including the Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia welcomed the casual changes but vented their disappointment at the crossbenchers who opposed the majority of the bill. It is important that the government does not abandon the rest of the Bill and further efforts need to be made over the months ahead to secure support, a statement from five employer organisations said. Mr Morrison said the workplace changes could play an important role in the economic recovery but took a pragmatic approach to whether any of the package could be brought back to the Parliament. There are many in the Senate, and the Labor Party in particular, who dont share my passion for creating jobs, he said. So they are working against the government as we are seeking to create jobs. But I am a practical person, too. That means if this Senate is saying they dont wish to support those measures, then we will have to consider that in terms of how we go forward. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said longer pay deals on big infrastructure projects were an example of what the government might try to resurrect from the bill. Centre Alliance rift Senator Griff voted with the government alongside One Nation on the casuals changes after the government agreed to a new provision to let casual workers challenge refusals to convert them to permanent employment more easily. Casuals will be offered the chance to convert to permanent jobs after six months of regular shifts and 12 months of employment, backed by appeals to a small claims court. However, small business casuals will have to request conversion and there are exemptions. That stance opened a rift in his party, with Centre Alliances lone lower house member, Rebekha Sharkie, issuing a statement moments after the bill passed the Senate rebuking Senator Griff. She said the party had an agreement to support both stronger laws against wage theft and the casual changes as a package, subject to amendments crafted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia. Where this landed is totally unacceptable, Ms Sharkie said. Senator Griff rejected that, saying the casuals changes stood on their own merits and blamed One Nation for, he said, pulling support on the wage theft laws. A One Nation spokeswoman said the party remained committed to that section of the law, though voting records indicate Senators Hanson and Roberts did not vote for the section amid the chaos in the Senate. "Each of the young engineers from the U.S., Canada and Sweden have demonstrated their ability to design, develop and execute new, impactful technologies within each of their respective areas of interest, academic institutions, research labs and across a variety of industries," said Robert Willig, SME executive director and CEO. "We're looking forward to watching their careers continue to unfold and transform manufacturing as their role model and award namesake, Dr. Boothroyd, once did." SME has highlighted the accomplishments of young manufacturing engineers for over four decades through this award. While membership in SME is not required for this recognition, each of the 2021 SME Geoffrey Boothroyd Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers are part of the SME community, having been members prior to their selection: Michael P. Brundage , PhD, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland PhD, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Elizabeth Bullard , Ford Motor Co., Royal Oak, Michigan Ford Motor Co., Andrew Honeycutt , PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville, Tennessee PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Nick Horvath , PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Powell, Tennessee PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Ethan Hughey , Ford Motor Co., Royal Oak, Michigan Ford Motor Co., Saurabh Kajaria , Vault Pressure Control, Houston Vault Pressure Control, Arkadeep Kumar, PhD, Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, California PhD, Applied Materials Inc., Tsz-Ho Kwok, PhD, Concordia University, Montreal PhD, Chao Ma , PhD, Texas A&M University, College Station , Texas PhD, , Austin Mann , Boeing Research & Technology, St. Louis Boeing Research & Technology, Miguel Saez , PhD, General Motors Research & Development, Warren, Michigan PhD, General Motors Research & Development, Dinakar Sagapuram, Texas A&M University, College Station , Texas , Sourabh K. Saha , PhD, PE, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta PhD, PE, , Xi "Vincent" Wang, PhD, KTH Sweden, Stockholm SME has highlighted the accomplishments of over 450 young manufacturing engineers and the overall impact their work has made in manufacturing for over four decades through this award. It is currently seeking nominations for the 2022 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers Award by Aug. 1, 2021, at sme.org/oyme. About SME SME connects manufacturing professionals, academia and communities, sharing knowledge and resources to build inspired, educated and prosperous manufacturers and enterprises. With nearly 90 years of experience and expertise in events, media, membership, training and development, and also through the SME Education Foundation, SME is committed to promoting manufacturing technology, developing a skilled workforce and attracting future generations to advance manufacturing. Learn more at sme.org, follow @SME_MFG on Twitter or facebook.com/SMEmfg. SOURCE SME Related Links http://www.sme.org A former principal who built an illustrious teaching career on criminal lies has been spared an immediate jail term after a judge recognised the enormous contribution his work had on students and the community. Neil Lennie was headmaster of Caulfield Grammar and held senior positions at three other private schools between 1976 and 2000, telling them he was registered as a qualified teacher and had tertiary qualifications when he had neither. Neil Lennie leaves the County Court on Thursday. Credit:Joe Armao Despite the lies he told to land jobs, Lennie was an influential and exceptional educator in the classroom and inspired students to succeed in advanced mathematics, science and physics. County Court judge Patricia Riddell, who had been urged by prosecutors to jail Lennie for his deceptions, on Thursday found the 72-year-old significantly contributed to his schools, that his students gained much from his teaching abilities and that the broader community had benefited from his dedication to inspiring young minds. US President Joe Biden told ABC News Wednesday that he had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin about alleged Russian interference in US elections and that he will pay a price, although Biden did not elaborate. The statement, in the first lengthy interview Biden has given since taking office, follows a recent report in the New York Times that the Pentagon was preparing a cyberwarfare attack on Russia in the coming months. Biden speaks to George Stephanopoulos on ABC News "Good Morning America" Biden did not discuss the consequences of such an action with his interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, but escalating conflict between Moscow and Washington has the most ominous implications. It raises the prospects of a tit-for-tat exchange between the worlds two largest nuclear powers. Stephanopoulos sought to portray Putin in the harshest terms, asking Biden, So you know Vladimir Putin. You think hes a killer? and eliciting an affirmative response, Mmm hmm, I do. One can only imagine if a major media outlet in Europe or Russia had broadcast a similar comment from Putin applying the killer label to a US presidentone which would be perfectly justified, given the number of people slaughtered by drone missile strikes, American bombing, and other military and covert operations ordered by the White House over the years. The American media would be apoplectic. Besides that double standard, it was noteworthy that Stephanopoulos did not ask Biden whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are killers, or the leaders of a dozen other US allies and client states around the world. That label is reserved for the president of Russia, together with the false charge of genocide against China, because these terms are useful for inflaming public opinion in America against the two principal targets of US imperialism. Bidens comments Wednesday followed the report issued the previous day by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that sought to revive the discredited anti-Russia campaign of the American intelligence community, charging that Putin authorized efforts to subvert the Biden campaign and boost the prospects of then-President Trump. The report doubled down on the claims that Putin intervened in the 2016 US presidential campaign, alleging further Russian influence operations in 2020, although on such a small scale that they actually influenced very few people and had negligible impact on the outcome of the vote, which Biden won in a near-landslide. The DNI admitted that neither Russia nor any other foreign country actually attempted to affect either the casting or the tabulation of votes, confirming the assessment made by the top cybersecurity official of the Department of Homeland Security, Christopher Krebs, that the 2020 elections were the most secure in American historyfor which he was fired within days by President Trump. The DNI report released Tuesday is the unclassified version of a classified document sent to Trump, other top Trump administration officials, and senior congressional leaders of both parties on January 7, the day after Trump supporters attacked Congress and attempted to shut down the certification of Bidens victory over Trump in the Electoral College. We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process, the report said, adding, we did not see persistent Russian cyber efforts to gain access to election infrastructure. The report thus attempted to square the circle, upholding the validity and security of the US balloting against attempts by Trump and his fascist supporters to claim voter fraud, while still peddling allegations of a vast effort by Moscow to undermine and discredit the US election, and influence its outcome in favor of Trumpalbeit with no success. The substance of the claims against Russia revolves around efforts to spread allegations against Bidens son Hunter, who held a highly paid sinecure with a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, during the period that then-Vice President Biden was in charge of Ukraine policy for the Obama administration. It goes without saying that Hunter Biden was put on the Burisma board of directors and paid close to $60,000 a month for several years in an effort to buy goodwill with the US government. This type of influence peddling is commonplace in American politics. No evidence has yet emerged that Burisma was able to buy any specific decision from the vice president, or that he was even in a position to deliver such a favor. Efforts by Trumps deputy for the Ukrainian-based smear campaigns, Rudy Giuliani, failed to provide any usable material, and the issue was largely downplayed by the American media, which was heavily pro-Biden. The activities of Giuliani and his interlocutors, such as Ukrainian member of parliament and alleged Moscow agent Andriy Derkach hardly caused a ripple, despite efforts by the New York Times and other US media to create the impression of a vast Russian intervention in the US election. The report also claimed that Russian-backed troll farms in Mexico, Nigeria and Ghana promoted claims of vote fraud related to mail-in voting, but the scale of these efforts is trivial compared to those of Trump himself, virtually the entire Republican Party, and their media allies like Fox and Newsmax. This molehill was immediately transformed into a mountain by Democratic congressional leaders. Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, declared, Russia interfered to support former President Trump, hurt President Biden, and undermine confidence in our electoral process. He added, Through proxies, Russia ran a successful intelligence operation that penetrated the former presidents inner circle, a reference to Giuliani. More significant was the statement by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who warned, These efforts by U.S. adversaries seek to exacerbate divisions and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions. The reference to the supposed effort to exacerbate divisions is an indication of a major purpose of the anti-Russia campaign: to outlaw any effort to give voice to the very real social divisions in America, above all the yawning gulf between the financial aristocracy and the working class, as the product of foreign subversion, or, as the defenders of Jim Crow used to call civil rights activists, outside agitators. President Jair Bolsonaro has praised his supporters for staging anti-social distancing protests as Brazil announced a record of more than 90,000 daily infections. 'Logically, I was happy,' Bolsonaro said of the protests which swept the country. 'They show that the people are alive ... we want our freedom, we want the world to respect our constitution.' Brazil, Latin America's largest country with a population of 211 million, recorded 90,303 new cases on Wednesday - a day after it set a new record for deaths, with 2,841 fatalities on Tuesday. For months, it has been recording more deaths and cases than any other country in the world but Bolsonaro's supporters refuse to bow to their regional governors who, in many states, are placing them under strict lockdowns. SAU PAULO: Anti-lockdown protesters and supporters of Bolsonaro pack the streets of Sau Paulo on Sunday BRASILIA: Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro protest during a motorcade and demonstration in Brasilia on Sunday PORTO ALEGRE: People take part in a protest last Wednesday after the Rio Grande do Sul state government mandated further restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Porto Alegre. The sign reads:'Lockdown is not the solution.' Demonstrators poured onto the city of Sau Paulo on Sunday, holding banners and placards denouncing new lockdown measures as they cheered for Bolsonaro. In Brasilia, last week, a motorcade rolled through the city to protest new measures announced by the governor. And in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, demonstrators also raised signs warning: 'Lockdown kills.' The healthcare system across the country has been overwhelmed and in Sau Paulo, the wealthiest state, patients have died while waiting for intensive care beds. Doctors have been desperately calling for a package of federally mandated restrictions to combat the spread of the disease. Over the president's objections, the Supreme Court last year upheld cities' and states' jurisdiction to impose restrictions on activity. Even so, Bolsonaro consistently condemned their moves, saying the economy needed to keep churning and that isolation would cause depression. Governors have been torn between a special Covid council set up among themselves to agree measures and their political loyalties to the president. The president this week sacked yet another health minister - hiring a cardiologist to takeover as the fourth since the pandemic started. In recent days, Bolsonaro nominated a cardiologist to become the country's fourth health minister since the pandemic started. Dr. Marcelo Queiroga replaced Eduardo Pazuello, an active-duty army general with expertise in logistics who landed the position last May despite having no prior health experience. Queiroga said on Tuesday that the coronavirus policy he will implement 'is of the Bolsonaro administration, not of the health minister.' 'I came to work for Brazil and other ministers of the Bolsonaro administration. The president is very worried about the situation,' said Queiroga, who insisted he is against any lockdown measures. Some Brazilian cities are implementing restrictive shutdowns to halt the spread. Queiroga lauded Bolsonaro 'a great Brazilian' and his social media channels have not made any criticism of the president's handling of the pandemic and pushed for a quick vaccine rollout. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro is escorted by security guards as he arrives at Alvorada Palace on Wednesday Bolsonaro talks with supporters as he arrives at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia yesterday Countries reporting most Covid deaths and cases CASES: BRAZIL: 66,849 UNITED STATES: 54,639 INDIA: 25,147 FRANCE: 25,035 ITALY: 22,635 DEATHS: BRAZIL: 1,841 UNITED STATES: 1,220 MEXICO: 476 RUSSIA: 441 ITALY: 374 *Latest 7-day average Advertisement Pazuello had presided over the health ministry for the longest period of the three pandemic ministers before Queiroga. The revolving door reflects the challenges for the government of Latin America's largest nation to implement effective measures to control the virus' spread -- or even agree which measures are necessary. Pazuello's two predecessors resigned from the position amid disagreements with Bolsonaro, who criticized broad social distancing and supported the use of an unproven anti-malarial drug to treat the disease. He continues to hold those positions, despite health experts' admonishments and studies showing the drug has no effect on COVID-19. Pazuello proved more compliant. Immediately after taking the job, his ministry backed use and distribution of the malaria pill. On several occasions, he said that his boss tells him what to do, and he obeys. Bolsonaro told supporters at the entrance of the presidential residence in Brasilia on Monday that there will be a transition period of up to two weeks with the outgoing and the incoming minister. 'Pazuello's work was well done in the management part. Now we are in a phase that is more aggressive in the fight against the virus,' Brazil's president said. Brazil has recorded almost 280,000 deaths from the virus, nearly all of which were on Pazuello's watch. The toll has been worsening lately, with the nation averaging more than 1,800 deaths each day in the last week. SAO PAULO: Supporters of Bolsonaro protest on Sunday with a sign that reads 'military intervention with Bolsonaro in power' during a motorcade and demonstration in favor of the government amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Supporters of the president in Sau Paulo on Sunday A supporter of Bolsonaro drives through Brasilia as part of a motorcade last week People participate in a motorcade to protest against the lockdown decreed by Brasilia's Governor Ibaneis Rocha to slow down the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contagion in Brasilia, Brazil, March 12 Health care systems of major cities are at the brink of collapse, and lawmakers allied with Bolsonaro have proposed suitable replacements for Pazuello, while threatening to step up pressure for an investigation into his handling of the crisis. The country's top court is also investigating Pazuello for alleged neglect that contributed to the collapse of the health care system in the state of Amazonas earlier this year. That probe will now be sent to a low court judge. In a particularly embarrassing episode, his ministry accidentally dispatched a shipment of vaccines intended for Amazonas to neighboring state of Amapa, and vice versa, after confusing the abbreviations for each state. Pazuello has faced intense criticism for Brazil's slow vaccine rollout. According to Our World in Data, an online research site that compares official government statistics, only 5.4% of Brazilians have been vaccinated. Almost all were shots from Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac, which Bolsonaro repeatedly cast doubt upon. The only vaccine deal Pazuello had signed at the time, for 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab, has brought few shots to the arms of Brazilians so far. His ministry has since scrambled to cobble together agreements with other suppliers, recently concluding deals to acquire the Pfizer and Sputnik V shots. Photo: The Canadian Press Japan said Thursday it would end a months-long state of emergency in the Tokyo area set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus, despite concerns the spring party season and next weeks Olympic torch relay could fuel a resurgence. The emergency measures are set to be lifted on Sunday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced during a government task force meeting. The move underscores the governments eagerness to minimize burdens on businesses and keep the economy going. However, some experts warned that although Tokyo has managed to bring down the rate of new infections, the decline has levelled off and could rebound. Cautionary measures after the end of the emergency will be crucial, said Shigeru Omi, a doctor on a government panel of coronavirus experts. We must prevent a rebound of infections. We must avoid putting strains on the medical and public health systems like before, Omi said. Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures have been under emergency measures since Jan. 7, mainly requests for restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and take preventive measures, as well as asking companies and employees to do more remote work. Similar emergency measures were lifted in six urban areas late last month. Japan has managed to keep virus cases and deaths relatively low without enforcing a hard lockdown, with the Health Ministry tallying more than 8,700 deaths out of 450,000 total cases throughout the pandemic. Suga said indicators such as daily new cases and hospital bed occupancy rates have come down to levels that allow the emergency to be lifted in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures. Suga thanked people for coping with restrictions and sought their continuing co-operation, saying measures to prevent a resurgence still are necessary, as new cases in Tokyo are not declining steadily. In order to prevent the resurgence of the infections, we will do all we can to ... get the coronavirus under control while co-operating with local authorities, Suga said at a news conference. It is my responsibility to protect the lives and health of the people. Fears of a potential resurgence are rising outside the Tokyo area as well. The governor of the northern prefecture of Miyagi issued a non-binding local emergency after new cases spiked this month. Experts also said that some of the areas, including Osaka, where the emergency was lifted last month are showing signs of a rebound. The prime minister said the government will expand testing and step up monitoring of new variants of the virus believed to be more contagious, while carrying out vaccinations safely and promptly. Restaurants and bars can stay open only an hour longer until 9 p.m., though those who co-operate will get a 40,000-yen ($370) in return. Since last year, the Japanese economy has been slammed by a drop in consumption, tourism, exports and manufacturing. The decision to lift the measure comes just days before the nationwide Olympic torch relay begins in Fukushima prefecture on March 25. With campaigns taking places warmly and voters' registration almost on, many are hoping that the upcoming election would be fair, free, credible, and democratic more than ever before. Many also anticipate that the 6th general election will lay the foundation and light the candle of hope for democracy. The public's optimism about the chances of ensuring democratic elections in the country is increasing. In fact, Ethiopia's election comes at a very important juncture of national reforms. Going through various improvements, the country is bracing for one of the major milestones in the history of the country. Having amended its electoral law, and increased the number of contending parties and appointed impartial election officials, the country is expected to hold fair and free poll. Leaders of Prosperity Party (PP), Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek) forwarded various ideas in connection with this year's poll with Ethiopian Press Agency. Zadig Abraha, head of the ruling Prosperity Party, concerning the upcoming election said, "Despite the ruling Property Party belongs to incumbent regime and shoulders a broad range of responsibilities, it will push beyond its limits in furtherance of ensuring a free, fair, and democratic election throughout the national territory. "The election will be held across the nation except in some polling stations where the law enforcement oppression has been taking place," As to him, political parties' internal readiness plays a major role in conducting free, fair, credible, and democratic elections. Apart from getting an election roadmap ready, we have prepared a code of ethics for political party members. Furthermore, we have been raising awareness to political parties to comply with the code of ethics. Yeshewas Assefa, Chairman of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) for his par said, "Our party will partake in 450 polling stations in the whole country. However, on account of the law enforcement operation that has been taking place in Tigray, the election will not be held on the same day. He elucidated that in the present climate, the peace and tranquility of the country are heading in the right direction as compared to the past. Moreover, most political parties and the population as a whole have been expressing the aforementioned reality on the ground. Concerning making the upcoming election a peaceful one, the ruling party has been undertaking law enforcement operations with flying colors. He went on to say, "Despite the ruling party gets the lion's share of making the upcoming election a free, fair, peaceful, and credible one, media outlets and the community at large should play an important role. Furthermore, society as a whole does not have to lend ears to everything said by political parties. Above and beyond, they have to give the cold shoulder to inflammatory language," "In a similar fashion, print and electronic media outlets of the country should play a significant role in reporting genuine information more essential than ever, and crosschecking facts before disseminating. Besides, political parties and journalists who undertake efforts to disseminate fabricated stories should discharge their duties and responsibilities as they should be," he continued. He stressed that political parties, non-governmental organizations, activists, and the government should work in close collaboration for ensuring democracy on a national scale. According to the party evaluation, in earlier times, although five elections were held across the country, the intended target could not be achieved. Even worse, they exposed people to danger and made democracy-building a dream. He expounded that in the upcoming election, EZEMA will discharge its responsibilities responsibly. This is the stance of the party. Therefore, everyone without exception should give their all to ensure democratic elections across the country. Kejela Merdassa, former Public Relations Head of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) on his part said, "OLF runs for an election in most Oromia region. We will partake at the federal and regional levels. Other than that, we will partake in some parts of the Amhara region, Benishangul-Gumuz, Harari, Addis Ababa, and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region," If the Oromo Liberation Front and other political parties do not take part in the election, it will be a challenge to ensure a democratic election. Even though OLF has got its strong reason for distancing itself from the election, the chairperson will be accountable. Yeshewas stands against the above idea. He said, "As far as I am concerned, simply saying, if political parties fail to take part in elections in consequence of their internal problems, there will be a problem or concede the election result means the entire population need only my views. This kind of thinking does not help the country. It is not necessary. "We were told to collect 10,000 petitions to partake at the national level and 4,000 at a regional level. As we have a fully-fledged structure, we accomplished the mission shortly. Some parties did not encounter any problems given that they collected the required petition with no trouble. But some political parties could not meet the requirements and got registered. This is the truth," "What is expected of all political parties is abiding by the rules and regulations. Failing to meet the requirements does not have to be considered as the problem of the country. This year's election is unique in a wide variety of ways from the previous ones. In the present climate, we managed to prepare an establishment proclamation with the participation of political parties with flying colors, said Birtukan Mideksa Chairperson of NEBE Board. The leaders have been selected on the basis of their qualifications, work experience, credibility, and other things of a similar kind. From the very beginning, we have made a lot of amendments to electoral rules of procedure. While on the subject, there are political parties who would like additional amendments to be made. We will make a lot of amendments down the road. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In a similar vein, we have been effectuating a broad range of undertakings that can make the National Election Board of Ethiopia credible, modern and turn the vision of the institute into reality in a little while. What is more, we have been putting a wide variety of accomplishments with the purpose of reaping the fruits of accomplishment, she added. When we compare the amount of capital and the number of manpower allocated for the 2015 election, and the upcoming one, the difference is very huge and visible. This in black and white shows the depth and breadth of our works compared to the past. For instance, the government has allocated 3.6 Billion Birr for the upcoming elections. It is also allocating additional budgets. The amount of capital allocated for the 2015 election was around seven million Birr. When the election campaign kick started the National Election Board of Ethiopia will follow up the whole thing very closely. Aside from buying the necessary technological equipment and assigning around 30 professionals, we have already put a media monitoring center into effect. As there is a binding law political parties' elections campaign or political speech, all and sundry will comply with them. We will implement this. The Ethiopiam Herald March 17/2021 Dar es Salaam Tanzania has written to Kenya, seeking details of a Tanzanian woman, Ms Maimuna Amir, who was arrested on Sunday in Mombasa County over allegations of being found carrying 5.3kg of heroin worth Sh317.24 million. Mr James Kaji, the commissioner general for the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA), told The Citizen yesterday that they heard the information from Kenyan media outlets but did not receive any details from Kenyan authorities. Kenya's Daily Nation reported on Sunday that Ms Amir was arrested by a multi-agency team at the Moi International Airport. She travelled with the consignment from South Africa, through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hiding the substance in a false bottom and a false top of a suitcase she had. "We've heard the reports from the media, but until now (yesterday) the Kenyan authorities have not communicated with us. We decided to write them through the proper channel (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), unfortunately they have not responded yet," he said. According to him, it was too early to say with certainty whether the woman was Tanzanian until DCEA obtains more details regarding her from the Kenyan government. Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd's ( )(CSE:XOP) Arthur Millholland joins Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam to discuss the completion of the acquisition of Atomic Oil and Gas. The Atomic deal is worth a total of US$54mln, comprising a US$1mln deposit, US$26mln of assumed debt, US$23mln of debt and cash payments, plus US$4mln in shares. Coleen Rooney stepped out in low-key style on Thursday, just hours after it was revealed that she branded Rebekah Vardy's 900k legal costs 'grotesque'. The WAG, 34, wore a tracksuit with a black coat layered over the top while she scraped her back into a ponytail for her low-key outing to her local Cafe Nero. She remained steely-faced during the trip which comes amid her bitter court battle with fellow WAG Rebekah, 39, who has slapped Coleen with a High Court libel court case over reported story leaking to tabloid newspapers. Fury: Coleen Rooney stepped out in low-key style on Thursday, just hours after it was revealed that she branded Rebekah Vardy's 900k legal costs 'grotesque' Coleen cut a low-key figure as she stepped out in her comfortable ensemble while grabbing a coffee and a treat and getting into her swanky Mercedes. Rebekah launched her high-stakes High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an October 2019 Instagram post of being the source of leaks to the media. The court heard how peace talks between the warring women had broken down during mediation and the case was expected to go to a full trial. It is is estimated that the loser in the case will be charged 1.5million. Out and about: She remained steely-faced during the trip which comes amid her bitter court battle with fellow WAG Rebekah, 39, who has slapped Coleen with a High Court libel court case over reported story leaking to tabloid newspapers Shock: Rebekah launched her high-stakes High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an October 2019 Instagram post of being the source of leaks to the media On Wednesday, a preliminary hearing heard that both women should try and settle 'if they can' as costs in legal fees continue to spiral. If the case does go to a trial Rebekah's budget to fight the case is '897,000, the estimated costs of which are 465,842. This compares to Coleen' estimated costs in her cost budget of 402,312. Coleen described Rebekah's budget as 'grotesque', while her lawyer said, 'this has got way out of hand'. Homeward: Coleen cut a low-key figure as she stepped out in her comfortable ensemble while grabbing a coffee and a treat and getting into her swanky Mercedes Coleen's barrister John Samson asked the court to 'reject the claimant's cost budget and ask them to review it because, in the words of my lay client, it is grotesque'. Mr Samson told Judge Roger Eastman that the sums involved were 'huge', telling the court that 'the claimant's budget to date, including incurred costs, is double that of the defendant'. Rebekah's barrister Sara Mansoori said her client's 897,000 budget 'reflects the complexity, scope and scale of the legal and factual issues'. She added: 'Mrs Vardy's cost budget reflects the very serious nature of the highly damaging defamatory allegation made against her - which continues to be published by Mrs Rooney. Coleen and Rebekah are seen as they celebrate England's win against Wales at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in France 'It has caused enormous distress to Mrs Vardy and led to her being targeted by hostile and abusive online messages, as well as causing extreme upset and anxiety to members of her family. 'It was necessary to take steps to seek to understand the allegations made by Mrs Rooney, which involved technical expertise, as well as to seek to resolve the dispute. 'Regrettably this was not possible and further costs have been incurred in pursuing the claim to this stage.' Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The logo of Japanese messaging app operator Line Corp. in Tokyo, Japan, on June 10, 2016. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images) Messaging App Line Exposed Users Data to China-Based Company Japans popular messaging app Line recently conceded that its users personal data stored on its server in Japan could be accessed by engineers at a China-based affiliate company. In an official response, Line said that user data had been accessed more than 32 times and that its now setting up a committee to rectify the situation. According to a report by Japans public broadcaster NHK, Line had outsourced its system maintenance since 2018 to a company in Shanghai, which allowed four China-based engineers access to Japanese users personal data and information stored on servers in Japan, including users names, phone numbers, emails, and even the contents of users communications. The foreign access to the personal data of Japanese nationals may have been in violation of Japans Personal Information Protection Act, which requires that if a users personal information is transferred to a foreign third party, user consent is required. Lines parent company, Z Holdings, stated that four Chinese engineers were involved in the data breach, but its still investigating whether any data was abused. Z Holdings has also said it will set up a committee within the company to investigate and rectify the situation, according to Japans TV Asahi. We cant say yet if Line breached regulations or not, and we are conducting an investigation to find out, a government official responsible for overseeing privacy regulations told Reuters. The popular Japanese app currently has more than 194 million users across 230 countries, including 86 million users in Japan and 21 million users in Taiwan. The company said it changed its data authorizations in late February, which makes it impossible for Chinese engineers to view user information. Line also stated that it will explain how it manages user personal data in a simpler way going forward. Line Taiwan expressed on March 17 that Line wont cooperate with any government to give them free access to user information, nor will it cooperate with monitoring or censorship. Regarding privacy, such as user data and message content, Line Taiwan said that it has never provided any personal information of Taiwan users or users in other countries to the Chinese government. The global user data, including Taiwan users, is stored in servers in Japan and South Korea but not in China. Judging from the current login records, the personal data of Taiwanese users has not been exposed to any unauthorized access, the company said. Line Taiwan has apologized publicly for the unease and security concerns among its users. Communications minister Ryota Takeda admitted Thursday that he dined with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. President Jun Sawada, as had been reported by a weekly magazine. "It is true that I joined the dinner," Takeda said at a meeting of the communications committee of the House of Representatives. Takeda said that he left the table after having two to three glasses of beer without ordering anything to eat, and that he paid Y10,000. "I think my attendance at the gathering was not something that conflicts with the Cabinet's ministerial code of conduct," Takeda said, noting that he did not receive any request from participants regarding the ministry's approval for specific matters. His action could be a violation of the National Public Service Ethics Law prohibiting central government officials from receiving favors from companies in sectors they regulate. Meals expected to cost more than Y10,000 must also be declared beforehand. More than one year on from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, East and South East Asian communities in countries around the world have reported spikes in hate crimes Credit - Getty Images For Mai-Anh Peterson, hearing the news from Atlanta, Ga., that eight people, six of them Asian-American women, were killed at three spas on March 16 was the latest painful incident in an unrelenting timeline of global anti-Asian violence. Were all feeling a collective trauma, says Peterson, who is a co-founder of besea.n, Britains East and South East Asian Network. It also has a wider ripple impact on the Asian diaspora worldwide, because of course, we know that this isnt just a problem for North America. Officials have since released the names and ages of all eight victims: Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49 and Daoyou Feng, 44, were identified Wednesday, and Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Soon C. Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; and Yong A. Yue, 63, were identified Friday. A ninth person, Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was shot and injured. A white man has been charged with eight counts of murder, and assertions from police that the shooter was not racially motivated were met with widespread criticism and disdain Wednesday. The shootings appear to be at the intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia, said state Rep. Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives. The killings have sent waves of grief through the Asian-American community, amid a rising spate of attacks against Asian Americans in recent months and a broader increase in anti-Asian hate in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. The situation in the U.S. is one facet of a global increase in anti-Asian attacks, and for East and South East Asian (ESEA) communities around the world, the events from Atlanta are a painful reminder of the ongoing anti-Asian violence thats been on the increase over the past year. Story continues In May 2020, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering and urged governments to act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate. Nearly one year on, communities worldwide say the situation hasnt improved, with many countries reporting spikes in hate crimes. For many, the pandemic has only amplified longstanding and violent racism toward Asian people. Racism was always there, says Meng Foon, race relations commissioner at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. Were not surprised by continuous racism that rears its ugly head. Fears of anti-Asian hate crimes across the world The rise in hate crimes targeting Asian communities is global, with increased reports coming from Canada, and a number of cases involving anti-Asian discrimination and xenophobia reported by Human Rights Watch in Italy, Russia and Brazil last summer. In New Zealand, research by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission released last month found that 54% of Chinese respondents had experienced discrimination since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 55% of Maori respondents had also faced discrimination since the start of the pandemic. U.K. police data suggests a rise of 300% in hate crimes toward Chinese, East and South East Asians in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019. Over the past year in the U.K., Chinese takeaway owners have reported being spat at and attacked, nurses of ESEA heritage working in the National Health Services have reported incidents of racial abuse from patients, and people of ESEA descent have been victims of violent and racially aggravated street attacks. Many fear what will happen when the U.K. emerges out of lockdown later in the spring, with restrictions enabling more public interactions. As the U.K. eased out of its first lockdown in May 2020, data from Londons Metropolitan Police indicated an increase in attacks on people of ESEA descent, with figures significantly higher than in previous years. Even though London-based Amy Phung, a graphic designer and a besea.n co-founder, has been committed to staying at home during the pandemic, she has felt anxious and has suffered three separate racial incidents during the times she has ventured out. Its rarely happened to me before, I would say never, and every single time, Ive been the only one to speak up for myself, she says, adding that she hopes more people will become aware of the role that active bystanders can play in such incidents. The Asian Australian Alliance received 377 reports of COVID-19-related racism between April and June last year. Its founder, Erin Wen Ai Chew, says that the organization has now recorded more than 500 incidences of COVID-19-related racism since April 2020, with about 40% of those being casual racist slurs and around 11-12% involving physical intimidation. There is pressure on the Australian government by the countrys race discrimination commissioner to adopt a new national anti-racism framework to address prejudice against the Asian community due to COVID-19. And some feel that the violence in Atlanta may be a sign of things to come for the community worldwide. Although Australia and New Zealand have strict gun laws, advocates say that some perpetrators may now feel more emboldened to carry out physically violent, copycat attacks. What happens in America tends to replicate itself in its own way in Australia, Chew says. We will see more racial and possibly quite violent attacks against Asian Australians, and that is a major concern for sure. A problem well before the pandemic Rhetoric from former President Donald Trump deeming the coronavirus the China virus made international headlines, and experts say the inflammatory comments helped fuel hate on social media and in real life. As TIME reported in March 2020, people deemed as other or foreign and of ESEA descent more broadly, including those who are not first-generation immigrants, have been targeted, blamed and associated with the coronavirus. History shows us that minorities dont tend to fare well during pandemics, says Tim Soutphommasane, Australias former race discrimination commissioner and now a sociology and political theory professor at the University of Sydney. Minorities can be made easy scapegoats. And pandemics can unleash underlying hostility that exists towards some groups. And although the pandemic has highlighted the prevalence of anti-Asian racism, its part of a long history of exclusion, mistrust and stereotyping of the community. It is relentless and has been particularly relentless this year, but we shouldnt discount the fact that this was a problem well before the pandemic, says Sarah Owen MP, who is the first female member of parliament of Chinese descent and the first of South East Asian descent in the U.K. In the U.K., people of ESEA descent have faced decades of structural discrimination and racism, including racial profiling, discrimination in the workplace, and poorer health outcomes than their white counterparts. ESEA people in Britain are one of the fastest-growing groups, with a high percentage of international students. But a lack of in-depth data collection and understanding of the diversity and differences within the community, as well as a lack of representation in politics, leadership institutions and media, means anti-ESEA racism is less understood and often minimized. I think we have in the past lacked voices to speak out about the hatred and the division that we experience, the racism that we experience, says Owen, who has also experienced online attacks targeting her heritage. In the Australian and New Zealand contexts too, anti-Asian racism has a long history. A series of laws directly aimed at restricting Chinese migration to Australia were passed starting in the late 19th century, morphing into a White Australia policy at the beginning of the 20th, leaving a painful legacy still felt today. A similar story of struggle, rejection and discrimination has played out in New Zealand. Asian people are unfairly picked on for over 150 years in New Zealand by governments, as well as the community, says race relations commissioner Foon. Quite often, I think in New Zealand, its a very quiet type of racism, more institutionalized, Besea.n co-founders Peterson and Phung point to the constant association in the U.K. news media of images of people of ESEA descent paired with articles about the coronavirus, thus reinforcing a false narrative around a broad and diverse community. They have been campaigning against the use of such imagery in the media, saying its part of a long history of damaging representation that helps fuel stereotypes with real world consequences. What we see is this invisibility of our community as a whole within the media, but then we have a hyper visibility when it comes to negative portrayals, says Phung. Community organizers and experts also say that geopolitical tensions have had a role to play in heightening stigma and anti-Asian racism. In Australia, there seems to be a blurring of lines between criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, and criticizing Chinese people, says Chew. Felt by the whole of the East and South East Asian community Theres a feeling of frustration combined with the horror and grief at what has happened in Atlanta, Peterson says, because ESEA communities have been warning about racist attacks, yet they dont seem to have gained widespread attention among the public. I think the frustration is, does it really take a mass shooting to bring this into peoples consciousness? she says. Not many people believe anti-Asian racism even exists, agrees Phung. So its hard to try and bring our causes to greater visibility, because its sort of dismissed, and its easily disregarded. But there have been some signs of positive change and intergenerational work at the grassroots level, through campaigns, advocacy and actions on social media to highlight these issues. Last month, a group of men verbally abused university lecturer Peng Wang, who is a Chinese national, with racist slurs and physically attacked him while he was out jogging in Southampton, in the south of England. His story inspired solidarity walks and actions on social media from the British ESEA community. Groups like besea.n, Racism Unmasked Edinburgh and End the Virus of Racism in the U.K. have organized and mobilized, and more established groups, like the Asian Australian Alliance, have channeled efforts into reporting mechanisms. Chew says that the ongoing situation in the Australian context has actually pushed a lot of Asian Australians to start going public with incidents of racism, although one of the organizations biggest concerns remains that many more incidents happen than are reported. Ultimately, a violent attack in the U.S. brings home the realities of painful racism that ESEA communities face worldwide, despite the geographical distance. It doesnt matter where its happening and it doesnt matter who its happening to, says British lawmaker Owen. Its felt by the whole of the East and South East Asian community. With reporting by Amy Gunia/Hong Kong With both Pt Fortin hospitals now converted to Covid-19-only facilities and no 24-hour accident and emergency service, Kay Arjoon was yesterday forced to deliver her nephew while parked on the Otaheite roadside. Arjoon, 37, her nine-month-pregnant sister-in-law, Christene, 34, and brother Ricardo, had driven from Cap-de-Ville in Point Fortin in an attempt to reach the San Fernando General Hospital before delivery. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Female federal MPs are reaching out across party lines to set up a group that seeks to grow their ranks at coming elections and could function as a forum for women in Parliament to push for a better workplace. Its expected the group being drawn together by the Women for Election Australia organisation will be established within the next couple of months. Liberal Katie Allen, independent MP Zali Steggall, the Greens Sarah Hanson-Young and Labors Anika Wells are supporting the establishment of a group that could function as a forum for women in Parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen/Dom Lorrimer The cross-party push comes as one of the most experienced members of the Coalition, Russell Broadbent, has asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison to convene a national gathering of women representing all parts of Australia and womens organisations to work out how to create real and lasting change in response to the tens of thousands who marched this week for justice and safety. Hes also asked that all cabinet submissions, new policies and legislation have a gender impact statement, saying everyone was responsible and accountable for change but that politicians need to be quiet, listen and learn. The Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa has asked publishers of the 'juju-loving' textbook to render a proper apology to the chiefs and people of the Volta Region. The publisher of the textbooks, Badu Nkansah Limited has also apologized for their ''offensive description'' of Ewes in the publication saying we sincerely regret this which wont happen again. Unfortunately, while undergoing the review, a limited quantity of the unpublished draft found its way into the market. We have seen certain snapshots on social media which has generated justified public uproar due to their offensive tone. Though it is not a deliberate attempt to berate such a huge section of our society, we wish to unreservedly apologize for the slip. Our brand stands for national unity, and we currently employ workers who originate from all parts of the country. Once again, ours is a brand that values National unity. We apologize to all those affected and we apologize to all Ghanaians that such thing will never happen again, a statement from the publisher read. Mr. Ablakwa, speaking to this in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' said the apology "has not gone down well...they have to do better. I've spoken to some of the chiefs in the Volta Region and they are not pleased. If you read their apology with all due respect; they seem to be making excuses...it's as if they are insulting our intelligence. Their apology becomes an apology of an apology..." Listen to him in the video below Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/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. Featured Video Up to 50 Percent of Illegal Immigrants Estimated to Have COVID-19: National Sheriffs Association As concerns over the surge of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border grows, the National Sheriffs Association is calling on the Biden administration to secure the border and protect Americans. Among the dangers that come along with the thousands of illegal border crossings that occur every month, which include human trafficking, drug smuggling, potential terrorism, death at the hands of coyotes, bandits, and harsh weather, significantly complicating the challenges border patrol and law enforcement face is the COVID-19 pandemic, the association said in a draft border security resolution set for a vote at a meeting in Arizona in June, according to The Washington Examiner. Up to 50 percent of illegal immigrants are testing positive for COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes, the sheriffs association wrote. We are already seeing strains to the public health system of border communities. The suspension of deportations has led to the release of undocumented persons into border communities. We then have an affirmative responsibility to provide medical care for them if they are infected with COVID, the statement reads. This at a time when our communities are already grappling with this public health emergency and desperately trying to roll out the vaccines. We now face a serious potential public health crisis along the border. Border Patrol agents arrest seven illegal immigrants who tried to evade capture near Penitas, Texas, on March 15, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) In any other construct, infection rates that high would be cause for alarm by public health officials. Yet, we are currently engaging in policies that have potentially opened, rather than restricted, undocumented traffic into the U.S., the sheriffs said in the resolution. In February, Border Patrol apprehended over 100,000 illegal immigrants at the southern border, and about 26,000 evaded capture, according to Jaeson Jones, a former Texas Department of Public Safety captain who received the provisional Border Patrol data from internal sources, which was reviewed by The Epoch Times. Many of those crossing now are unaccompanied minors (9,457 in February), who are meant to be passed to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours, but the sheer number of minors has overwhelmed the system. HHS has just opened a second facility for the burgeoning number of minors. When asked what he thought was driving the trend, Miller said, Theres certainly economic instability in the region thats unparalleled. All you have to do is look at the pandemic the COVID rate infections down in South and Central America, he said. We recently had a hurricane, continued violence, unemployment. So if you put all those issues together, youre going to see folks looking for a better way of life. Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report The House of Representatives has again failed to meet in its regular session for the second time in a month. The first time they failed to meet was when nearly all the lawmakers accompanied President George M. Weah on his county tour and the second was on this Tuesday. According to Rule number two of that body, they are to meet in daily Session every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 10 am to 12:00pm and from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Additionally, in the House's Rules, members of that body are to have two-third majority during each session to have a quorum. Sadly, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, members of that body could not have a quorum to do the work for which they were elected. When staff at the House of Representatives first called the roll, at that time there were only 8 (eight) lawmakers present out of 38 members. Speaker Chambers mandated the Sargent-At-Arms of the House of Representatives, General Martin Johnson to visit each lawmaker's office to remind them of their regular session. Reporting to the Speaker after making his rounds, General Johnson informed the Maryland County lawmaker that some of the representatives have gone to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the signing of the book of condolence of a deceased statesman. The roll was called for the second time and fourteen lawmakers were recorded this time. Speaker Chambers said because they could not raise the simple majority which is 38, they should be dismissed. "We are saying that just last week we had Decoration Day, yesterday was Joseph Jerkins Roberts birthday. People had to leave from here in my view to the leeward areas and knowing the challenges along the ways, perhaps it might have effected their being here on time" Speaker Chambers said in a walking interview with legislative reporters. He further stated that, "Thursday is not long. It is the day after tomorrow" adding that they have lots of works on their plate which will be dealt with when they reconvene next Thursday and the upcoming days. Preston Green and Bruce Baker In this months episode of the NEPC Talks Education podcast, NEPC Researcher Christopher Saldana interviews Drs. Bruce Baker and Preston Green, leading experts in K-12 school finance and school choice policy. Baker is a professor in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Administration at Rutgers University. Green is the John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Saldana, Baker, and Green discuss the Biden administrations proposal to allocate $130 billion in support to K-12 schools. While Baker and Green are encouraged by the administrations decision to provide additional funds to schools and target those funds to schools serving students in poverty, they are concerned that the funds are temporary and being considered for uses that may not provide much benefit to students, such as measuring learning loss. They explain that one of the mistakes made in the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession was offering short-term federal funds that expired before state economies had recovered, creating a fiscal cliff for school funding. A better approach to school relief, they argue, would anticipate a slow recovery and incentivize states to return per-pupil funding to pre-crisis levels. Further, they advocate for funds to be spent on facility improvements and health supplies that will ensure students and teachers are safe during the pandemic. Baker and Green also raise concerns over the US Supreme Courts recent decision in the Espinoza v. Montana case. They explain that while the Biden administrations relief proposal provides additional federal funds for schools, the Courts decision in Espinoza threatens to divert funding from public schools to religiously affiliated private schools through tax-credit scholarship programs. Baker and Green explain that the Courts decision is one in a long line eroding the separation of church and state in educational policy. They fear that future decisions will further erode what little is left of this separation. Baker and Green conclude this months episode by describing their recent work developing a reparations framework for considering school finance. They explain that their framework would address the Black-White gap in funding for schools. They argue that implementing such a program would be a significant step towards providing racial justice for Black students. A new NEPC Talks Education podcast episode, hosted by Christopher Saldana, will be released each month from September through May. Dont worry if you miss a month. All episodes are archived on the NEPC website and can be found here. NEPC podcast episodes are also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher, under the title NEPC Talks Education. Subscribe and follow! The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: https://nepc.colorado.edu The companys technology will be deployed to heat and cool cannabis plants while driving yield with Puerto Rico representing a large opportunity as the region now has 31 licensed cannabis producers. Exchange probe technology being used to increase cannabis plant yield. ( ) has secured a new sales contract for its proprietary Root Zone Temperature Optimisation (RZTO) technology valued at A$51,700 from Puerto Rico-based cannabis farm Caribbean CBD Farm Inc. This sales contract consists of more than 2000 units of Roots revolutionary probe product, which will be inserted into pots located around the farm. The technology will utilise a heat pump, circulation pump and an electrical panel, which will be deployed to heat and cool the roots of the cannabis plants. Mobile and PC application developed by Roots provides the farmers with real-time feedback from sensors of temperatures and functionality readings of the system. Validation of RZTO technology Roots executive chairman and CEO Boaz Wachtel said: This sales agreement with Caribbean CBD Farm provides further validation of the considerable benefits that our RZTO and probe technology bring to the cannabis industry. System installation is soon underway and we expect it to be finalised in the coming weeks. The technology The Roots heat exchange probe technology was designed to be inserted into the tops of plant pots and grow bags to significantly simplify working procedures and ease of operations. RTZO technology optimises plant physiology for increased growth, productivity and quality by stabilising the plants root zone temperature year around. Previous test-work has shown that the companys probe technology increases cannabis yields by 20% or more. Additional sales in the cannabis cultivation sector are anticipated and this is the largest and most prospective market for RZTO globally. Large addressable market Puerto Rico represents another large addressable market for Roots. In 2015, medicinal cannabis was made legal and since than Puerto Rico has been witnessing a steady increase in patients utilising it for treatment. The territory now has 31 licensed cannabis producers, providing a number of potential opportunities for Roots. International sales growth Wachtel added: We are also progressing a number of business development initiatives across the region and international markets to drive sales growth. Roots has a strong business development pipeline and we look forward to updating shareholders on progress in the coming weeks. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A young woman on Thursday accused U.S. actor Armie Hammer of raping her four years ago in Los Angeles and police said they were investigating the matter. Hammer's lawyer called the allegation "outrageous" and said that all the actor's sexual relationships were "completely consensual." The rape allegation follows claims on social media in January by several women who accused the 34-year-old actor of emotional and physical abuse, and said he shared violent sexual fantasies. Hammer said at the time that he would not respond to what he called "vicious online attacks", but he was dropped by his representatives and from two Hollywood projects. On Thursday, a woman who identified herself only as Effie, told a video news conference that she had been in a four-year romantic relationship with the actor, who was married to TV personality Elizabeth Chambers at the time. "On April 24, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face," Effie, now 24, told reporters. "He also committed other acts of violence against me, to which I did not consent," she said. Effie's attorney, Gloria Allred, said the woman had given evidence to police. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said that "Armie Hammer is the named suspect in an alleged sexual assault investigation" that was opened on Feb. 3, 2021. Hammer's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, said in a statement that the woman's own correspondence with his client "undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations." "From day one, Mr. Hammer has maintained that all of his interactions with (Effie) and every other sexual partner of his for that matter have been completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory," the statement added. Brettler said that as recently as July 2020, the accuser had sent graphic text messages to Hammer detailing her sexual desires. Story continues Effie, who lives in Europe, said she met Hammer on Facebook in 2016 and fell in love with him. After the alleged rape, she said she had suffered traumatic flashbacks and had felt suicidal. She said she felt guilty about not speaking out sooner and hoped Hammer would "be held accountable." Hammer and Chambers split up in July 2020 after 10 years of marriage. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Richwine; Editing by Daniel Wallis) Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The Hamilton County Health Department will expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and include adults 55 and above, ahead of the state of Tennessees Vaccination Plan. This change is effective immediately, officials said late Thursday morning. Officials said, "Many first dose appointments are currently available for various days and the Health Department does not want them to go unused." People in the eligible phases (1a1, 1a2, 1b, 1c & Adults 55+) are encouraged to visit vaccine.hamiltontn.gov and make their appointment online. Those who do not have access to the internet can call the appointment call center to make an appointment over the phone: First dose appointments: 423-209-5398 Second dose appointments: 423-209-5399 Spanish appointment line: 423-209-5384 All three call center lines are open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Due to high call volume, callers may experience a busy signal and need to hang up and call back. The Health Departments general COVID-19 hotline 423-209-8383 is available to connect people to vaccine and testing resources. Hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Bilingual representatives are available. Current Phases/Eligibility COVID-19 vaccine appointments are for people who live or work in Hamilton County and meet current eligibility. For a full list of eligible phases, visit vaccine.hamiltontn.gov and click on the Current Phases/Eligibility tab. To see the list in Spanish, visit the Spanish website and scroll to the bottom. Important Information to Know Prior to Appointment Do not arrive more than 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. Wear appropriate clothing to get a shot in upper arm Bring proof of Hamilton County residency (if applicable) Bring proof of Hamilton County employment (if applicable) Bring proof of age (if applicable) Print and complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Encounter form for both 1st and 2nd dose appointments. Click here to download the form: https://bit.ly/3caxvL3. Forms are available on-site, but bringing a completed form to the vaccination site will accelerate the process. Be prepared to wait 20 minutes after shot Be prepared for the entire process to take an hour or more Vaccination Record Card When patients receive their first dose with the Health Department, they will receive a Vaccination Record Card with the following important information. The vaccine manufacturer (either Moderna or Pfizer) The date the first dose of vaccine was given The date the second vaccine dose is due. This date is not an appointment. Patient must schedule a second dose appointment. Additional Resources Stay up-to-date on new vaccine appointment information. Follow the health department via their email newsletter and social media accounts, available at this link: health.hamiltontn.org/ AllServices/Coronavirus(COVID- 19)/ConnectWithUs.aspx . Transportation is available to the vaccination site. Call 423-209-8383 to schedule a ride. 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). A monumental step to ensure the highest standards of ethics for the first of its kind end-to-end solution for public web data gathering VILNIUS, LITHUANIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Oxylabs, a leading proxy and data gathering service provider, has signed an exclusive wholesale contract with a long-term partner Honeygain, a crowdsourced web intelligence network. For Oxylabs, this contract serves to reinforce its dedication to ethical and transparent business practices in the data-gathering industry. "Upholding the highest standards of ethics throughout the residential proxy acquisition procedures is our top priority," - says Julius Cerniauskas, CEO at Oxylabs. "We are extremely proud to strengthen Oxylabs' long-lasting partnership with Honeygain. Partly, our move to secure the exclusivity contract was encouraged by the disheartening events in the industry. We want everyone to understand that the unethical actions of the few do not reflect the attitudes, values, and behaviors of everyone. Oxylabs' relationship with the public, our valued partners, and residential proxy network participants is built on trust. We will continue to prove that with bold action, not just words." Since Honeygain was established, it has distinguished itself as the trailblazer of the industry. The company promotes user-centric values that have transformed old proxy acquisition models. Honeygain was among the first in the market to set up an end-user reward system, which was a strong indication that the company shares Oxylabs' values to promote fairness and transparency in the business environment. To this day, Honeygain's platform is one of the few solutions in the market meeting Tier A+ criteria, which encompasses absolute transparency and financial rewards for their network participants. The Tier A+ category is hard to come by among residential proxy providers because ethical onboarding and management of residential proxy network participants require constant effort. Namely, there is a need to familiarize end-users with proxy service practices, which requires the business to inhabit the role of an educator. A survey conducted last year of nearly 16,000 Honeygain users revealed that the app is highly trusted by the public. 82.8% of people would recommend the platform to a friend or a colleague. Around 90% of respondents also said they return to the app daily, with 73.1% checking it multiple times per day. For Oxylabs, strengthening the ties with Honeygain was a natural continuation of a long line of proactive actions geared towards creating a fair, ethical, and transparent web data gathering community. "We are very proud to have Honeygain as the main source of residential proxies and look forward to a successful continuation of our partnership in the future," - reaffirms Julius. "Together, we share a common vision to create an ethical and balanced proxy service ecosystem, where all parties are treated fairly and are equally rewarded. Also, we hope that our example will inspire others to pay attention to the legitimacy and transparency of residential proxy sourcing. It is our firm belief that only when ethics are taken seriously by everyone, the industry can fully restore the public trust in web data gathering practices." About Oxylabs Oxylabs is a leading global provider of premium proxies and data scraping solutions for large-scale web data extraction. The company's mission is clear: to make sure that every company, no matter big or small, has access to big data. With unmatched hands-on experience in publicly available web data gathering, Oxylabs is in trusted partnerships with dozens of Fortune 500 companies and global businesses, helping them unearth hidden gems of business intelligence data through state-of-the-art products and technological expertise. Media Contact: Vytautas Kirjazovas Oxylabs.io Tel: +447593365814 Email: press@oxylabs.io SOURCE: Oxylabs View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636281/Oxylabs-Signs-Exclusive-Contract-with-Honeygain New Delhi: Nirmala Sitharaman has been named the new Defence Minister in the BJP-led Centre government after the Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday. Sitharaman, 58, a Rajya Sabha Member is the second woman to take charge of the crucial Defence Ministry after Indira Gandhi. But, she will be the first woman to take the complete responsibility of the department. Indira Gandhi was the first woman to serve the position of defence minister but she had Defence Ministry as additional incharge while holding the post of prime minister in 1975 and 1980-1982. Sitharaman was one of the four ministers elevated to cabinet ranks. She took over the Defence Ministry from Arun Jaitley, who had the ministry as additional in-charge. Also Read | Modi cabinet reshuffle highlights: Disgruntled Shiv Sena threatens to break alliance with BJP Sources in the BJP said that Sitharaman rose in party ranks quickly. She had made a mark as the party spokesperson when BJP was in opposition. Before being elevated as Defence Minister, she was charge of minister of state of commerce. Recently Sitharama participated in China for a Brics meeting where she engaged her counterparts in discussion on China-India row over Doklam. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A new true crime series is exploring how a journalist struck up a chilling relationship with the most prolific serial killer in American history Samuel Little and got him to confess to dozens of murders for the first time. Premiering on Starz on April 18, Confronting a Serial Killer details author Jillian Lauren's race to identify Little's unknown victims using the drawings he made in prison. He claimed to have killed 93 people, mostly women, over the span of four decades, and the FBI believes all of his confessions are credible. 'Little was like, "You want to know about the first one?" It took me a minute to realize he's confessing,' Lauren recalled in the haunting trailer for the five-episode docuseries from Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Haunting: The new true crime series Confronting a Serial Killer details author Jillian Lauren's chilling conversations with Samuel Little, the most prolific serial killer in American History Lauren first learned about Little in 2017 when she asked LAPD homicide detective Mitzi Roberts about the case she was most proud of. In 2014, the serial killer was convicted of the murders of three women in California in the late 1980s. 'Roberts told me she suspected him of many more killings across the country, and after she got him, she figured other police departments would start connecting him to their own unsolved murders. To her frustration, that never happened,' Lauren explained in an essay published by The Cut in 2018. 'She thought maybe it was because Little preyed on the less dead, people who live on the margins of society and whose murders have historically tended to be not as thoroughly investigated as those of their wealthier, whiter, and perhaps more sober counterparts.' Nightmare: Little claimed to have killed 93 people, mostly women, over the span of four decades, and the FBI believes all of his confessions are credible Confronting a Serial Killer highlights the glaring issues in the criminal justice system, including the racial and gender bias against marginalized victims that allowed Little's crimes to go unchecked for so long. Several female investigators, survivors, and victims' family members were interviewed for the series, and in the trailer, they share a similar sentiment about the failures of the criminal justice system. 'It's mind-boggling,' one woman told the cameras. 'He would have never gained that title [of America's most prolific serial killer] had the system dealt with him correctly.' One victim's family member said that she felt the police didn't deem her relative's death 'important enough to investigate.' 'They failed me,' survivor Laurie Barros said of law enforcement. 'They failed every woman after me that was killed.' Barros, then 22, was working as a prostitute in San Diego, California, when Little attacked her and left her for dead in a pile of trash in October 1984. 'He was used to getting away with it and getting away with it,' someone else said. 'It's shocking.' Killer: Little, who had been described by detectives as both a genius and a sociopath, had been a career criminal who had been in and out jail for decades. He is pictured in 1975 and 1995 Unraveling: Lauren built a rapport with Little when she started visiting him in prison in 2018 and got him to confess to dozens of murders for the first time When Lauren first made contact with Little, he was in his late 70s and known to be in poor health. 'I started reaching out to him to bring justice to these cold cases and restore the names of these victims,' she said in the trailer. Lauren first started writing letters to him while waiting for clearance to visit him at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County, and in their exchanges, he maintained his innocence. On her first visit to the prison, she spent hours building a rapport with him. The next day, after about six hours total of talking, he told Lauren about his first murder. The docuseries features audio recordings of Lauren's conversations with Little, and when she asked him how many women he had killed, he replied, 'I was killing for pleasure,' and then started laughing. 'If you weren't locked up, I'd probably be dead by now,' she said at one point. Mystery: Little drew pictures of the women he killed and gave them Lauren as she raced to identify his unknown victims Mission: 'He did these drawings for me. I'm determined to help identify them. That's my job,' she said in the trailer for the five-episode docuseries 'You're right,' he agreed. Little drew his murder victims, and in one scene, Lauren can be seen studying the images on her wall. 'He did these drawings for me. I'm determined to help identify them. That's my job,' she said. 'I have access to him, so my deal with the devil is you will not die alone if you tell me the truth.' Little's first known victim was Mary Brosley, an alcoholic mother of two, who had run off to Florida, leaving her family in Massachusetts. The two loners found each other in a Miami bar on New Year's Eve as they prepared to drink at the start of 1971. But before the clocks chimed midnight, Brosley, 33, was dead. Little had driven her to a secluded spot along Route 27 and strangled her. 'I had desires. Strong desires to choke her,' he later told cops. 'I just went out of control I guess.' Little had a throat fetish formed, he claimed, because he became sexually aroused watching his fifth-grade teacher touch her neck. He was already dreaming of killing a little freckled girl in his class. Pictured left: Black male, age 18, killed in 1971 or 1972 in Miami. Victim possibly called Mary Ann or Marianne. Pictured center: Black female killed in 1992 or 1993 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Pictured right: White female between 23-25 years old killed in 1996 Left: Female, possibly of Cuban descent, between 25-35 years old. Killed in 1971 in Kendall, Florida. Victim possibly called 'Sarah' or 'Donna'. Center: Black female between 30-40 years old killed in 1982 in New Orleans. Right: Black female, age 40, killed in 1993 in Las Vegas Left: White female between 33-44 years old. Killed in 1982 in New Orleans. Center: Black female between 28-29 years old killed in 1984 in Arkansas. Victim picked up in Tennessee. Right: Black female, age 24, killed between 1987 and the early 1990s Monroe, Louisiana He claimed he had to avoid looking at the necks of friends or family as he never wanted to hurt those he loved. But strangers, especially those on the margins of society such as prostitutes, the mentally ill, alcoholics, and drug addicts were another matter. He drew pictures of those he killed. Nearly all of his drawings focus as much on the neck as the face. Little traveled the country, killing in at least 19 states. His victims were usually young women nearly three-quarters of them African-American. The former boxer, who became known as 'the Choke and Stroke Killer,' strangled most after he had knocked them out with a single punch. His modus operandi helped protect him for so long. Many of the deaths were initially ruled as accidents or overdoses as there was no sign of a struggle. In many cases, local law enforcement had only carried out a cursory investigation. Police admit that if he hadn't confessed, most of the murders would never have been solved or even seriously investigated. Brosley's badly decomposed body wasn't discovered for three weeks. Tests showed she had drunk so much she probably died of alcohol poisoning. The death was labeled suspicious as someone had gone to the trouble of burying her body, but not a homicide. Failure: One victim's family member said in her interview for the series that she felt the police didn't deem her relative's death 'important enough to investigate' 'They failed me,' survivor Laurie Barros said of law enforcement. 'They failed every woman after me that was killed The Washington Post discovered an interview with authorities from Ohio in which Little had referred to his victims as 'succulent fruits he could enjoy without penalty.' 'I'd go back to the same city sometimes and pluck me another grape,' he said. 'How many grapes do you all got on the vine here?' He bragged about avoiding people who would be immediately missed. 'I'm not going to go over there into the white neighborhood and pick out a little teenage girl,' he said. While Little was successful at hiding his murders, he was in and out of prison all his life for lesser crimes. It all started when he stole a bicycle as a 13-year-old and was sent to a reform school in Ohio. Two years later, it was burglary in Omaha, Nebraska, then he was sent off to juvenile detention for a store break-in in Lorain, Ohio, according to the Post. He took up drawing while in prison and painted a mural on the Dade County jail wall in Florida in 1976 that led to him being interviewed by a reporter from the Miami News. 'I'm looking forward to the day I can get out and open a studio on the beach,' he said. 'The next time I'm out, it's do or die.' He had already been jailed more than 30 times by that stage and it was five years after he had killed Mary Brosley. According to Little's later confessions, at least 10 other women had already died at his hands. 'It's mind-boggling': One woman insisted that Little would have never become America's most prolific serial killer if 'the system dealt with him correctly' Bargain: Lauren told Little he would not die alone if he told the truth, but he did In the years after his release, the killing intensity rose alarmingly in places such as Granite City Iowa; Houston, Texas; Macon, Georgia; Plant City, Florida; and Cleveland Ohio. In cities large and small throughout the country, Little killed and authorities barely noticed. In 1982 he was arrested in Pascagouola, Mississippi, and finally charged with murder. The victim was 22-year-old Melinda LaPree, but a grand jury declined to indict him. However, while in custody he was transferred to Florida for the murder of Patricia Mount, 26. Witnesses identified him as the man Mount had spent time with the night before she disappeared. But still, he was acquitted. He moved to San Diego and was arrested for attempting to strangle Barros. A month later he was found in a car with an unconscious woman who had also been beaten and strangled in the same spot where he had tried to kill Barros. He served two-and-a-half years in prison. Upon his release, he moved to Los Angeles and committed at least 10 more murders. The final killing, he said, was in 2005. It wasn't until 2012, seven years after the murder spree had stopped, that he was arrested at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, and extradited to Los Angeles where he was charged with three murders. Lonely death: Little (pictured during a court hearing in LA in 2014) died in a California hospital in December 2020 at the age of 80 Frail: Once a strong, strapping boxer who used his powerful hands to strangle his victims, Little had been using a wheelchair to get around before his death Justice: Little was seen raising his fist as he was led out of the courtroom in 2014after being sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison without parole for murdering three women in the late 1980s He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2014. He continued to protest his innocence as DNA evidence began to link him to three dozen murders across the country. Three months after he started talking to Lauren, he made the sudden decision to officially confess all to Texas Ranger James Holland in 2018. Holland was questioning him about a murder that it turned out he did not commit and he suddenly opened up in return for a move from Lancaster. In some 700 hours of interviews, he provided details of scores of killings that only the killer would know. And then he gave Holland the drawings of the women he had killed, sometimes with their names and details of where he had dumped their bodies. Authorities say they have confirmed 60 of those murders and have no reason to doubt the other confessions. The FBI played along as he spilled the beans about how he killed and killed and killed again. But the transfer never came, and less than three years after he started to open up about his run of murders, he was still an inmate at the prison, 70 miles north of downtown LA. Little, who had serious long-running health problems, including diabetes and heart trouble, died in December 2020 one day before the 50th anniversary of Brosley's murder. Unable to walk and in constant pain, Little was alone apart from the guards who constantly watched over him when he passed away in a California hospital at age 80. CAIRO Egypt announced March 10 its intention to sign an agreement with Libya and Chad to establish a new road linking the three countries, opening the door for Chadian products to the Egyptian market. This came on the heels of a March 1 visit to Chad led by the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel. The Egyptian high-level military delegation visited Chad with the aim of boosting cooperation between the two countries and discussing ways to combat terrorist organizations in the landlocked state in north-central Africa. Egypt has previously sought further rapprochement with Chad in a bid to support bilateral relations. On March 5, Egyptian Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed said that Egypt provided Chad with medical aid and support to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Egypt provided free treatment to Chadian citizens, set up field hospitals for ophthalmic surgeries and brought in Chadian specialists for training at the hospitals affiliated with the Health Ministry. In a March 8 report, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted sources saying that Kamel paid two visits to Chad in the past month, where he met with officials and confirmed Egypts readiness to upgrade its military, security and technical support to Chad, by organizing military exercises and offering grants for the military. According to the same sources, Kamel agreed with Chadian officials on future mutual presidential visits. He noted that Egypt has turned its focus on Chad because Egyptian intelligence reports confirmed that Turkey has been seeking to establish a foothold in the country and the rest of the African Sahel region. Chad is, in fact, preparing to host an international conference called for by the World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) in Turkey, which is designed to promote tourism in the country and increase tourism investments and the number of incoming tourists. The Chadian Ministry of Tourism and WTFI signed an agreement in December 2020, in an attempt to boost tourism in Chad. Hiba al-Bashbishi, a professor of political science at the Institute of African Studies and Research at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor that Egypt began to move toward African countries after years of neglect. Under several previous regimes, Africa had remained neglected for decades. But Turkeys intention on gaining a foothold in Chad was Egypts wake-up call. Egypt is late to the party while Turkey has already a strong presence in Chad, she said. On Nov. 24, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a phone call to his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby, assuring him of Ankaras desire to deepen trade and economic cooperation with N'Djamena, in all fields. During the coronavirus crisis, Turkey intensified its support for Chad. On May 26, 2020, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it was dispatching a military cargo plane carrying medical aid to help Chad cope with the outbreak of the pandemic. On June 18, 2020, a military cargo plane carrying medical supplies and ambulances, took off from Turkeys Etimesgut air base to Chad at the directives of Erdogan. On June 25, 2020, Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Mismari, spokesman for the Libyan National Army (LNA), said that Turkey has been making efforts to infiltrate in several African countries, including Niger, Chad and the Horn of Africa. According to Bashbishi, Turkey has been exploiting the crises gripping Chad, including poverty, famine, terrorism and internal conflicts. She argued that Turkey has been trying to gain a foothold in Chad at all levels be it educational, economic or military with the aim of creating areas of influence in Africa and bring about complete control over Libya, and tightening the noose on Egypt. On May 5, 2020, Turkeys Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) announced the building of an applied agricultural school in Chad, in support of agricultural development in the African country. TIKAs Chad Coordinator Melih Mucahid Ates said back then that the school that would be built within the framework of the Chad-Turkey Friendship Complex Project would significantly contribute to the countrys progress. On Feb. 28, 2019, Erdogan signed with his Chadian counterpart four deals, including a military framework agreement, and other agreements in relation to cash assistance, cooperation in education and cooperation in the cultural field. Bashbishi argued that Chad represents national security for Egypt, as it is a country with a pivotal role especially in relation to its influence on the situation in both Sudan and Libya. Through Chad it is possible to create chaos in and pose a threat to the Egyptian borders, she said. She added, Chad has a direct road to Sudans Darfur, with no presence of any Chadian forces. Chad is also connected to Libya via a desert road, where weapons and individuals are smuggled. Therefore, Turkeys control over Chad threatens Egypts security." Shifa al-Afari, an Eritrean writer and political analyst specializing in African affairs, concurred with Bashbishi. He told Al-Monitor that Egypts approach toward Chad has clear objectives, namely protecting Egyptian national security from any threats, as Chad is an extension of Egypts strategic depth. This is also a move to cut off the path to Turkish hegemony in the region, and the emergence of Cairo as a strong competitor to Ankara in the field of military logistic support, Afari said. He added that during his recent visit to Chad, the Egyptian intelligence chief discussed ways of military and logistic support that Cairo could provide to Chad to combat terrorism and armed groups. On July 27, 2020, it was reported that the Turkish government had signed a military agreement with Niger and was preparing to announce a similar agreement with other countries neighboring Libya, including Chad, as part of Turkeys attempts to tighten control over Libya. Afari believes that Egypt is also trying to gain a foothold in Egypt because Cairo wants to compensate for its loss in Libya, after the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) defeated Egypts ally strongman Khalifa Hifter, leader of the LNA, which further increased Turkish influence in Libya. On June 4, 2020, Hifter was dealt a series of defeats at the hands of the GNA, prompting him to completely withdraw from Tripoli. On June 20, 2020, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the Libyan provinces of Sirte and Jufra were a red line for Egypt, for fear that the GNA, with Turkeys support, would control the eastern Libyan border with Egypt. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts for the full episode. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing a breathtaking variety of scandals right now. First there were the accusations that Cuomo covered up COVID-19 nursing home deaths. That evolved into a scandal over workplace bullying, which then became a crisis about sexual harassment. To date, three former members and one current member of his staff have come forward with allegations of his misconduct, ranging from inappropriate comments to unwanted kissing and touching. Prominent Democrats in the state and on Capitol Hill are now calling for Cuomos resignation or impeachment. But Jimmy Vielkind, a Wall Street Journal reporter who covers New York politics, has heard from someone close to the governor that Cuomo has no intention of going quietly: He will never give up. He will never surrender. He is not rolling over. On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke to Vielkind about the governors response to the scandals and the prospects for his removal. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary Harris: When that first accusation came out, it was really just deny, deny, deny. Aggressive pushback. Then, as more and more allegations surfaced, in early March the governor had a press conference where he apologized. But then more recently, hes been saying that voters know the difference between a real allegation and cancel culture. And he even went so far as to say, I am not part of the political club, which is a weird thing to say when your father was governor of New York and you are now governor of New York. Can you talk about the governors evolution here? Jimmy Vielkind: His response has shifted as the world around him has shifted. It became clear that, on the one hand, hes responding to accusations that were made and are floating in the public sphere. But then it became a question of those accusations prompting a political response that he needed to address, the political response being this impeachment investigation and calls for his resignation from elected officials. And with respect to those latter two things, he has been defiant. He has pushed hard. He has said that lawmakers calling for his resignation are motivated by politics. He has said that he will not resign because of accusations, mere allegations. And he said hes not part of the political clubAndrew Cuomo has been working on political campaigns since before I was born. Advertisement Cuomos responses to the accusations are in some instances prompting more people to come forward. Jimmy Vielkind He is the political club in New York, or has been. It was a statement that struck many people, I will say. Hes doing all of this at the same time that he is also expressing some level of contrition over how he behaved toward his accusers and how he, in his office culture and demeanor, comported himself. It is a dissimilar approach, and its an approach that I know from my reporting has moved people to come forward and react. There is a fourth woman whos not been named publicly who said that the governor touched her inappropriately during an encounter at the state executive mansion in 2020. And my reporting reveals that this woman, who currently works on the governors staff, watched his apology press conference on March 3 and became upset by it, and that her story came to light to her colleagues when they saw her get upset in her office watching the governor speak about this. So at this point, Gov. Cuomos responses to the accusations against him are in some instances prompting more people to come forward. Advertisement The reporting is that the governor put his hand under her blouse, right? Advertisement Thats what the Albany Times Union has reported, yes. To me, that allegation is a step beyond some of the allegations that came out beforehand about language in the workplace and feelings that women had that they were being demeaned. Yes. Many lawmakers have said exactly that. And I dont think its any accident that that fourth allegation, when it was first publicized by the Albany Times Union, thats when you heard Democrats who control the state Assembly say they were launching an impeachment investigation. And its after that fourth allegation that you heard top leaders in Washington, including Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and members of the states congressional delegation, Democratic members, say that Gov. Cuomo needed to step aside. Advertisement Youve had your own run-ins with Cuomo where hes sort of knocked you around publicly at press conferences, not physically but verbally. Is the kind of behavior youre hearing about now behavior that you and other reporters have known about for a long time? I think its been clear that Gov. Cuomo drove his staff to work very, very long hours. Its been known and clear and reported that he raises his voice at times, I will say diplomatically. Advertisement But is the sexual harassment new? I know that a former reporter for Politico talked about a similar instance at a Christmas party where the governor touched her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, and she even joked with other reporters about it afterwards. So it seems like even that was known earlier. And it just made me wonder, why wasnt it reported on until now? Advertisement In my reporting whats happening now is people are willing to speak with detail and depth about the effects on them of this behavior. And while there was some knowledge, be it specific knowledge or general knowledge about some of these behaviors, I think whats happening now is that people are describing the effects in a way that is recontextualizing these behaviors for the public and sort of fueling the moment that were now in. Cuomo seems to be in the fight for his political life, but hes making this point that theres a difference between losing the confidence of politicians around you and losing the confidence of your constituents. There was this poll that came out on Monday finding that the governors favorability rating had gone down, but only 35 percent of New York voters said he should resign. I wonder whether you think that kind of information is going to prevent impeachment efforts, calls for the governors resignation, from moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That poll was seen by the governors allies as not terrible news. In particular, it showed that 69 percent of Black voters surveyed did not feel that the governor should resign, and he keeps appearing with Black and Latino clergy at events, usually to talk about the coronavirus and to talk about coronavirus vaccinations. But the subtext, political observers and state lawmakers say, is quite clear. Hes showing that he has support in this community which is, of course, a critical constituency in the state, but also in Democratic politics in the state. So I think what its going to do is its going to give Andrew Cuomo fuel to continue his fight and to keep pushing. And we have to wait and see exactly where thats going to lead. Advertisement There are multiple layers to whats going on right now. The attorney general is investigating the harassment allegations, and the state Legislature could act, but I think theres been some back-and-forth about whether theres foot-dragging here, whether some members, especially the Democratic caucus, want to surge ahead and move forward quickly with impeachment, and others dont. Can you explain whats going on? Advertisement Yeah, the Democrats who control the state Assembly are divided about this issue. First, just to go into math, there are 150 members of the Assembly, there are 107 members of the Democratic conference, and of them, we know that 40 signed a letter calling for Gov. Cuomo to resign. Twenty-one members signed a letter saying Attorney General James investigation should be allowed to continue. Eight of them are on record saying that Gov. Cuomo should be impeached and saying that they support his impeachment. And so Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has to manage all of these constituencies, and hes put forward what some people have described as a middle ground in which he is having this impeachment inquiry, its gathering fact. As of Wednesday, St. Patricks Day, the Assembly announced it had hired a Manhattan law firm, Davis Polk, to lead its investigation. And its unclear how long that investigation will take or what will be yielded at the end. So in the one way, the Assembly is marching toward impeachment, but there are questions as to how fast it is marching and whether it is marching fast enough. Advertisement Subscribe to What Next Get more news from Mary Harris and her team every day. Subscribe Ive heard a lot of talk about how whats happening in New York is revealing fault lines in the #MeToo movement. Some people look at whats alleged about Cuomo and say, well, I dont know if thats something that someone should leave a job for, and other people see something really different. But I wonder, too, if in New York its really revealing the fault lines in the Democratic Party. For years, Cuomo fought off a kind of progressive surge and really kept the Legislature under his control. And he lost that battle. And now hes dealing with a Legislature where there are a lot of progressives, but theyre not in charge of the Democrats entirely. And so what youre seeing is a little back-and-forth as the Democrats figure out where they stand here. Advertisement Advertisement There definitely seems to be overlap between these progressive lawmakers who are, first of all, newer to arrive in Albany and, generally speaking, younger people. And they seem to have a different perspective on these allegations than people who are older, who were elected with more support from the party establishment and who are generally more willing to give the governor a little bit of breathing room. This is a question, this question between the progressives and the institutionalists, that the Democratic Party has been playing out in elections for, well, you could trace it back to 1968. But of course, the contemporary spats are between people like Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. And Gov. Cuomo is very clearly in that Joe Biden wing of the Democratic Party and of the Democratic constituency. Advertisement Here in New York, what we saw were the progressive wing of the party make serious legislative gains in the 2016 and particularly in the 2018 elections, and again this past year in the 2020 elections. What we havent seen is, on a broad, statewide basis, progressive challengers to Gov. Cuomo and his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul. We havent seen success on that scale and on that level. So to the extent that this is a question about impeachment, which is driven by lawmakers each responsible to a smaller subset of individual constituents, Im loath to predict exactly whats going to happen and exactly what response there will be. Advertisement Joe Biden was asked about it this week, and he said he thinks Cuomo should resign and that Cuomo will probably be prosecuted if these allegations are found to be true by independent reporting. It made me wonder about the Democrats in New York and whether theyre painted into a corner here where enough of them have come forward and said Cuomo should resign, Cuomo should be impeached, that the relationship with the governor is now pretty broken. You know, theres that line from The Wire, You come at the king, you best not miss. Once youve gone this far, its really hard to reel things back in. If you dont move forward and get him out of office, then you have a pretty bitter guy that youre having to work with in the executive suite. Thats exactly right, and March in Albany is normally about the budget. Its normally about decisions that will impact taxation, that impact how many teachers local schools can have, that impact what kind of health care is available to people who dont have the means to pay for it themselves. Its going to be an uncharted dynamic to see how leaders of the Legislature will work or not work with the governor to make those decisions, make those important governmental decisions. But lawmakers with whom Ive spoken say that there are continued challenges in working on real policy with Gov. Cuomo, given the situation that hes in. Some of the people who have called for the governors resignation have explicitly said its not a question of the allegations and whether or not its believed that the allegations are true or not true, but simply that at this point they feel Gov. Cuomo is just too distracted to govern. And at the end of the day, that seems to be an argument: whether or not he can just do the job that he was elected to do. That strikes me as very salient and is something that more and more people, even those who dont want to necessarily say theyll support an impeachment or even call for the governors resignation, are repeating. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! A new proposed legislation in California is discriminating against police officers who express religious or conservative views. Titled California Law Enforcement Accountability Reform Act (CLEAR Act) and introduced by the state's Assembly Member Ash Kalra, the proposed legislation aims to quash the "infiltration of extremists in our law enforcement agencies" and would require a background check for police officers who have "exchanged racist and homophobic messages," The Federalist reported. The California Law Enforcement Accountability Reform Act or AB 655 is believed to be important to prevent "the apparent cooperation, participation, and support of some law enforcement" in the January 6 attack at Capitol Hill. The proposed California bill defines hate speech as that which "[advocates] or [supports] the denial of constitutional rights of, the genocide of, or violence towards, any group of persons based upon race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability." Pacific Justice Institute Senior Staff Attorney Matthew McReynolds was the first to oppose the language of the proposed California bill for its definition of "hate speech." McReynolds said the definition was broad and purposefully arbitrary, paving the way for some to classify Christians and conservatives as propagators of "hate speech," especially on topics such as abortion and same-sex marriage. McReynolds argued that the proposed California bill that targets police who express religious or conservative views will most likely affect members of the Muslim community, whose faith is also opposed to homosexuality. McReynolds accused the authors of the proposed California bill of diverting their attention from police gangs to "inexplicable, unwarranted, and unprecedented" targeting of "peaceable, conscientious officers who happen to hold conservative political and religious views." He argued that the proposed California bill that will bar police who express religious or conservative views was such a blatant move to condemn and quash "freedom of association and freedom to choose minority viewpoints." Director of Capitol Engagement with the California Family Council Greg Burt also spoke out to oppose the proposed California bill, questioning whether the law should discriminate against qualified police personnel who do not share the same views as the Surpreme Court on topics such as gender identity and abortion. Burt argued that the proposed legislation is "a blatantly unconstitutional violation of religious liberty and freedom of speech. It is also a tyrannical abuse of power from a politician seeking to ruin the lives of those he disagrees with." The news of the proposed California bill to bar police who express religious or conservative views comes alongside the announcement of the state's black Democratic Senator Steven Bradford's new law that decertifies misbehaving police officers, Associated Press reported. According to the report, Sen. Bradford's proposed California bill will not only investigate police officers but will revoke their eligibility if they are found using excessive force, committing sexual assault, making a false arrest or report, or participating in a law enforcement gang. The California Police Chiefs Association and police unions have expressed opposition to the bill, accusing him of "making a political point instead of creating good policy." Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University Amid news that the Biden administration will soon launch a wide-reaching public relations campaign aimed at improving COVID-19 vaccine confidence and inoculation rates across the U.S., Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund is available to discuss the role religious leaders can play in encouraging their congregants to get a shot. A recent front-page New York Times article focused specifically on how religious institutions and leaders are doing just that. Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Science and director of Rice's Religion and Public Life Program, has conducted significant research in this area and agrees that scientists, doctors and public health professionals need the support of religious leaders and organizations to most effectively vaccinate people. "Our research finds that religious leaders have considerable influence around issues of science in many communities, but especially white, evangelical Christian communities, those who represent more than 20% of the U.S. population" Ecklund said. "In my book, "Why Science and Faith Need Each Other: Eight Shared Values that Move Us beyond Fear," I show that 34% of evangelical Protestants and about 17% of all Americans say they would consult their religious leader with a question about science, especially science that seems to have moral implications. We in science need to be sure that religious leaders have accurate and up-to-date information about vaccination to pass on to their congregations in order to slow the rate of disease spread." Ecklund said that between 40% and 50% of Americans belong to a religious organization and nearly 130 million attend once a month or more. She said faith leaders on the ground must connect vaccination efforts to the norms and morals of their traditions. "For example, the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, quoted in the March 15 New York Times article, draws on the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan to explain to his congregation that 'in getting yourself vaccinated, you are helping your neighbor," she said. "The pandemic has laid bare and makes massive societal inequalities inarguable," Ecklund said. "Religious organizations can be incredibly effective in organizing people around a shared mission like vaccinating a large group of people, especially in communities where religious leaders are trusted authorities. This is why is it so important to have scientific and religious organizations cooperating in intelligent and thoughtful ways to get the vaccine disseminated." Explore further Some faiths more likely to turn to religion for answers to science (Natural News) Emails extracted from Hunter Bidens laptop suggest that the entire Biden clan is guilty of aiding and abetting Chinese espionage against the United States. Hunter specifically was involved in numerous business dealings linked to his father that appear to have given communist China backdoor access to our country. The evidence found on Hunters laptop also points to many other significant security breaches that deserve attention. Jack Maxey, a former co-host on Steve Bannons War Room, shared the incriminating files with Life SiteNews. Maxey also shared some of the more incriminating details to his Twitter account before Jack Dorseys social justice warrior army suspended his account. Corroborated by former Biden family business partner Tony Bobulinski as well as federal authorities, the emails found on Hunters laptop confirm full-scale treason against the U.S. by the Biden Crime Family, which belongs in prison, not the White House. One email sent by Hunter to Chinese colleagues back in February 2015, when Joe Biden was vice president, discusses plans to house a proposed BHR employee at the White House. BHR refers to Bohai Harvest Reserve Partners, an investment fund co-founded by Hunter and several Chinese state-back companies back in 2013. Prior to the partnership, Hunter had minimal success in finance. Thanks to BHR, however, which is backed and supported by Chinas state-run central bank, ultimately Hunter made bank. I think we all feel it is critical to have someone at this level engaged on a full time basis to assist in coordinating the U.S. Team input and communications to and from Beijing, the email reads. This would include monitoring all deals and advising where the U.S. Team could add value, and keeping the Beijing Team informed as to our fund raising and other efforts. BHR responded warmly to Hunters suggestion that this new employee be housed at the White House. After 10 days, he or she was then scheduled to travel back to China for a 30-day briefing, which Maxey says was clearly for the purpose of espionage. They force him to hire a chosen American of Chinese extraction clearly trusted by Beijing. She gets an office next to his office with a separate outdoor entrance, Maxey told Eric Metaxas. She is defined as the new communications director for Beijing, and what do they do with her after they get her? Immediately shes sent to Beijing for a several-week training course on communications. And what does she need to do? Learn how to use Zoom? Learn how to use email? No, shes learning how to covertly communicate espionage for the benefit of the Chinese. Joe Biden works for China, not for America This office with a separate entrance that Maxey talked about was directly connected to those of a firm called Rosemont Seneca Partners, a BHR partner led by Hunter and Christopher Heinz, the stepson of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Having close access to these high-level politicians and their respective corporations naturally would have been a major boon for Chinas extensive, wide-ranging espionage efforts, notes Raymond Wolfe of Life Site News. Other emails obtained by Life Site News further confirm that Hunter and his Rosemont Seneca colleagues maintained regular communication with top Obama regime officials, as well as foreign diplomats, corporate and civic leaders, and then-Vice President Joe Biden and his other family members. This makes the entire Biden clan complicit in the operation, which gave communist China an even greater foothold into the inner workings of American politics. Perhaps this is why the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic that would emerge several years later was able to spread with relative ease, accomplishing many of Chinas subversive plans against our nation. More related news about the Biden Crime Family can be found at Treason.news. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NaturalNews.com By Jarrett Banks and John Jannarone California wine producer Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. (ticker: NAPA), backed by private equity sponsor TSG, saw its market capitalization surge above $2 billion on the first day its shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares opened at $18.60, a pop from the IPO price of $15. The company, founded in 1976, is the largest pure-play luxury wine supplier and the 11th largest wine supplier by sales value overall in the U.S. Duckhorn is based in St. Helena at the center of the Napa Valley wine region. We work hard to perfect the blend of business and art in winemaking, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Alex Ryan told IPO Edge in an interview Thursday. We remain focused on luxury and are interested in a lot of companies to fit into our family of brands. President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Alex Ryan The company has as long track record of growth, with sales rising 500 percent since 2010. Looking to 2021, revenue is expected to rise 13 percent from a year earlier to $307 million, according to Renaissance Capital. Duckhorn sells its wines in all 50 states and over 50 countries at $20 to $200 per bottle under a portfolio of brands including Duckhorn Vineyards, Decoy, Goldeneye, Paraduxx, Calera, Migration, Canvasback, Greenwing, Postmark and in 2018 acquired American Pinot Noir winery Kosta Browne. It now includes 600 acres of estate vineyards across California and Washington, four winemaking facilities and three visitor centers. Mr. Ryan said he was proud of how the company handled the dual challenges of California wildfires and the Covid pandemic. Were well-diversified in how we manage our supply chain, he said. We have the flexibility you need when you have to react to changing agricultural conditions. One major selling point: Luxury wines command strong margins and Duckhorns financials confirm it. The company has Ebitda margins of nearly 40 percent, considerably higher than a spirits company such as Diageo. Story continues When you come to our sites, you walk out an evangelist, Mr. Ryan said. We delight our old customers and add in new ones at a price point that makes them feel special. Duckhorn stands apart from other companies such as Altria Group, Inc. and Constellation Brands, Inc., which own some wine assets but not enough to significantly impact overall financial performance. An important part of Duckhorns growth story is likely to be M&A. The wine industry is extremely fragmented and there can be opportunities to benefit from Duckhorns distribution platform when it acquires other winemakers. Theres an exciting amount of great producers out there, Mr. Ryan said. There are a lot of exciting regions we arent in yet. Mr. Ryan has spent his entire career at Duckhorn and will remain at the helm as the company begins its life in the public markets. Contact: Jarrett Banks, Editor-at-Large IPO-Edge.com Editor@IPO-Edge.com Twitter: @IPOEdge Instagram: @IPOEdge A couple and four men have been charged for the alleged sexual and physical abuse of a teenage boy as part of an investigation into the supply of prohibited drugs. Officers from the Brisbane Water Police District established Task Force Bloomsbury in February to investigate the alleged supply of MDMA and thylamphetamine on the Central Coast. Following inquiries task force officers executed a search of a Narara home, prompting the arrest of a 47-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy on February 26. A couple and four men have been charged with the alleged sexual abuse of a teenager on the NSW Central Coast Police located and seized swords, knives, knuckle dusters, an electronic stun device, mobile phones, methylamphetamine, MDMA, cannabis and cash from the home. The woman and the boy were charged with drug and weapon offences and are currently before the courts. Following the analysis of items seized during the February arrest warrant, detectives began an investigation into the alleged abuse of a teenage boy. It is alleged the teenager was a victim of sexual offences between 2016-2020, with police arresting a 48-year-old man at Gosford Police Station later the same day. Police found knives (pictured), swords, an electronic stun device, cash and drugs at the Narara home on February 26 The man was charged with ten offences including three counts of intentional sexual acts with a child and two counts of the production of child abuse material. The 47-year-old woman was charged with twelve offences, including two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14 years. Police will allege in court the man and woman sexually abused the teenage boy - who was known to them - on several occasions in a Narara home over four years. The couple were refused bail and will appear before Gosford Local Court on May 7. Following extensive inquiries, detectives began to investigate an alleged kidnapping and assault of a 16-year-old teenage boy on February 11 of this year. Analysis of the seized items (pictured) prompted officers from the Bloomsbury Task Force to begin investigations into the alleged kidnap and sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy Four men have been arrested in relation to the crimes, with police first arresting a 17-year-old man from a Narara home on March 10. Police arrested another 17-year-old man, an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old man on March 18, at homes in San Remo and Narara on the NSW Central Coast. Both of the 17-year-old men and the 18-year-old man have been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and kidnap in intent to commit a serious offence and occasion actual bodily harm. One of the 17-year-old men was refused bail and appeared at a children's court on Thursday March 18. The other 17-year-old and the 18-year-old man were also refused bail and are due to appear before a children's court on Friday March 19. Police will allege in court the 47-year-old woman and the 48-year-old man sexually abused the teenage boy from 2016-2020 The 19-year-old man was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and the possession of a prohibited drug. He was refused bail and appeared at the Gosford Local Court on Thursday March 18, where he was formally refused bail to reappear in the same court on April 9. The 48-year-old man has also been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and kidnap in company with intent to commit a serious offence and occasion actual bodily harm. Police will allege the 48-year-old man and the four men aged from 17-19 kidnapped the teenage boy and assaulted him at a Narara home Police will allege the 48-year-old man and the four men aged from 17-19 took the 16-year-old boy to a Narara home and assaulted him for a period of time. Brisbane Water Police District Commander, Detective Superintendent Brett Greentree has commended the continued efforts of the Bloosmsbury task force. 'What began as a drug supply investigation very quickly transformed as detectives continued to examine the items seized during the February search warrant', he said. 'I am extremely proud of the exceptional work from the Brisbane Water detectives, their tenacity has resulted in two persons, who we allege posed a threat to our community's safety, behind bars and facing very serious indictable offences.' Investigations under the Bloomsbury task force are ongoing. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 ISTANBUL - The request presented to the Turkish Constitutional Court by the prosecutor general of the Turkish Cassation requesting a ban on the pro-Kurdish HDP party for ties with "terrorists" of the PKK also includes a five-year ban on the political activities of 687 party officials, including the charismatic leader and former presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas, who has been in jail for over four years, said Anadolu news agency. The prosecutor general of the Turkish Cassation on Wednesday presented a request to the Turkish Constitutional Court to dissolve the HDP party, with the charge of "attempt to destroy the indivisible integrity of the State". The closure request was presented by prosecutor Bekir Sahin, who held that "HDP members attempt, with their statements and their actions, to destroy the indivisible unity between the State and the nation". The constitutional court will now have to decide whether to accept the charges, eventually setting a date for the discussion of the case. In addition to Demirtas, other key officials that the prosecutor is calling to ban from political activities include the current co-leaders of HDP, Pervin Buldan e Mithat Sancar, and well-known members such as Sezai Temelli and Sirri Sureyya Onder. "There is no difference between the HDP party and the PKK," said the prosecutor's brief, further details of which were provided on Thursday morning. "HDP is the political arm of the armed terrorist organisation PKK. HDP carries out an active role in recruitment of elements of the armed terrorist organisation PKK," it said. It said the dissolution of HDP "is legally indispensable to ensure the integrity of Turkey, as well as the security and peace of the nation" because it would be "the fulcrum of actions that target the unity and integrity of the State". The pro-Kurdish party, which in the most recent elections obtained six million votes and is the third-largest party in the Turkish Parliament, has always denied any link with PKK, denouncing the attempt to ban the party as an attempt at a "political coup" by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Burma Myanmar Regime Charges Rival Vice-President with High Treason Mahn Win Khaing Than. / The Irrawaddy Myanmars military regime has accused the elected lawmakers appointee as vice-president, Mahn Win Khaing Than, of high treason. He is the third person accused by the coup leaders of high treason. The police on Wednesday said Mahn Win Khaing Than faces the charges for accepting the appointment from the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Parliament) or CRPH, made up of deposed National League for Democracy parliamentarians. Mahn Win Khaing Than, a former speaker, was re-elected in Myawaddy, Karen State, in Novembers general election. The CRPH was formed following the Feb. 1 coup to undermine the legitimacy of the regime at home and abroad. The coup leaders detained the civilian leaders, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. The case was opened against him on Wednesday at Myawaddy District Court under Article 122(1) of the Penal Code for giving a speech as a rival government head of the country and calling for the overthrow of the regimes governing body, the State Administrative Council (SAC), according to the military-controlled state media. Article 122(1) carries the death sentence or life imprisonment. Mahn Win Khaing Than urged the security forces and civil servants who have not yet joined the civil disobedience movement to show allegiance to the citizens not to the interests of a group of people during his first address to the country on Saturday. His warning came as the juntas security forces stepped up the killing of peaceful protesters and bystanders. By Wednesday, at least 216 people have been killed by the security forces in crackdowns on protesters and beatings of detained civilians. On Wednesday, the regime also issued an arrest warrant for U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmars permanent United Nations representative, who was charged with high treason for his speech to the UN General Assembly on Feb. 26. U Kyaw Moe Tun says he still represents Myanmar as he was appointed by the democratically elected NLD government, which is still recognized internationally. He said he stands with the CRPH and urged the international community to help restore democracy. The regime said he had been sacked as a civil servant the following day and accused him of high treason for appealing for global help and attempting to destroy the SAC. But U Kyaw Moe Tun continues to represent Myanmar at the UN. He is charged with high treason under Article 122(2) of the Penal Code, for those committing the offense outside Myanmar. This week the regime also issued an arrest warrant for Dr. Sasa, the CRPH-appointed international envoy, for committing high treason for his efforts to topple the coup leaders. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regime Announces Fresh Corruption Case Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Six More Shot Dead in Myanmar by Juntas Security Forces A San Antonio man who admitted to the fraudulent purchase of eight .50-caliber rifles for another person, three of which were recovered in Mexico, has been sentenced to federal prison. A federal judge sentenced Clarence McFarland, 40, to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the Department of Justice. Editors Note: First Baptist Senior Pastor Darin Wood has written an article about the migrant crisis that will appear in the Weekend Edition. --- A collection of churches, nonprofits and individuals from Midland, Odessa and around the Permian Basin have come together to meet a need for the migrants at the facility in Midland County. Dawn Weaks, a pastor with Connection Christian Church in Odessa, told the Reporter-Telegram on Wednesday afternoon that officials at the migrant facility responded about a need for the hundreds of juvenile boys currently staying there. She said that officials said they wanted art supplies, and in a short period of time, people from around the area delivered with enough supplies for hundreds of people. She called the response miraculous and typical of what happens in Midland and Odessa when people are determined to meet a need. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of individuals, nonprofits and churches that have asked, How can we help? Weaks said. The needs came from officials with the Department of Health and Human Services and American Red Cross. Weaks said it is important that people just dont show up with what they believe could be of use, but that natural disasters and situations like the creation of migrant facilities require a different system. Managing the response is a challenge, because people are so generous, said Weaks, who added that those she has communicated with in Midland and Odessa are ready to meet other needs as they come about. Weaks said immigration is a tricky situation because of the politics of a region, state or nation, but taking care of ones neighbor is not. The Bible, she said, is clear cut about treatment of immigrants or foreigners by people of faith. The heart of our response is clearly outlined in scripture, Weaks said. There is not a lot of wiggle room in what our response should be. First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Darin Wood has written an opinion article for the Reporter-Telegram, and in it, he wrote that while there are deep and profound political elements in this moment and political remedies are rightfully called for, let us remember these young people are indeed still that -- people. People for whom Jesus died. As your pastor and your friend, let me ask you to pray with me for these people and for their protection. For their future. For their salvation. To be clear, I dont blame anyone who has concerns political or safety about their presence here. At the same time, lets remember Jesus came for all people. Maybe we need to be reminded of what Jesus said after he questioned the man about the story (of the Good Samaritan). Jesus said, Who is this mans neighbor? The man rightly answered, The one who showed mercy. Jesus simple command still applies now: Go and do likewise. Weaks again thanked the coalition of churches, nonprofits and individuals that came together to meet a need. She added that we will activate that network if we get other needs. Construction of a new building began after the tribe received its first batch of funding from the federal government last year and helped offset the tribes losses in casino revenue. The recent funds will be used to help complete the project and further stabilize the tribes economy. This will allow for those nurses who work with us, and eventually a doctor, to have a facility where they can provide services, Mr. Forsman said. Included in the relief package is an injection of more than $6 billion to the Indian Health Service, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Indian Health Service was created to carry out the governments treaty obligations to provide health care to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The health service struggled to cope with the pandemic in some of the hardest-hit areas in the country. The agency said the new money would help with coronavirus testing and vaccination programs as well as with hiring more health care workers, expanding availability to mental health services and providing better access to water, a major issue in many tribal communities. Beyond health care, the legislation addresses a range of other issues important to Native communities, including $20 million to establish an emergency Native language preservation and maintenance grant program, as tribes race to ensure that their languages are not lost with time and the deaths of older members during the pandemic. It took a lot of time just to sort of educate people about Indian Country and the structural just the historic lack of basics, said Senator Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico. There is a number of things converging, but I do think that the conversation around race also opened the door for people to realize, wait a minute, we never got around to getting running water and electricity and all these things, broadband, to Indian Country like theyre not starting at the same place. While the $2.2 trillion stimulus law approved nearly a year ago included $8 billion for tribal governments, a portion of those funds remains frozen in a legal battle over who is eligible. Alaska Native corporations, for-profit businesses that serve tribal villages in Alaska, have sought to receive some of the money, prompting a monthslong battle over the definition of a tribal government. by Austin Bay March 17, 2021 From the beginning of the COVID-19/Wuhan virus epidemic, China's communist government has lied about the disease, its origin and its transmissibility. It has also avoided an accurate accounting of the contagion's health and economic consequences within the Peoples Republic, always insisting Chinese Communist Party leadership has minimized the pandemic's effects. We know for a fact that since early January 2020, CCP lies, denials and obfuscations have exacted a heavy worldwide price in human illness, in human lives lost and in economic damage. A Wall Street Journal article recently revealed Chinese officials didn't inform their own Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the December 2019 outbreak. That decision surely delayed China's own domestic response. As CCP elites conducted political damage control, Chinese citizens died. I've written that by late December 2019, the CCP dictatorship confronted a strategic threat: a domestic epidemic that would damage China's economy. So, the dictatorship decided to "export the contagion" and let the virus spread internationally so the world would also suffer. Failing to inform its own CDC supports that scenario. Without accurate epidemic data from China's CDC, the World Health Organization, to which China belongs, spouted medical nostrums. Riddled with Beijing sympathizers, WHO officials failed to confront Beijing's opacity and essentially served as a legitimating prop for CCP lies. Lying is the CCP's internal and international operating system. Cold disdain for prudent international norms, followed by yet another disinformation campaign, is a typical CCP one-two punch. The Philippines got it when Beijing ignored The Hague arbitration court's 2016 ruling that China violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory and stealing natural resources. China is a UNCLOS signatory. In early 2020, Chinese propagandists began blaming the U.S. for the virus. One agit-prop anti-America howler accused a U.S. Army reservist of bringing the disease to China in October 2019. China's 2020 lie mimicked a Cold War-era Soviet KGB lie about the origin of the AIDS virus. Kremlin communists claimed U.S. biological warfare scientists created AIDS in 1973. The KGB lie appeared circa 1983. Over time, the lie mutated, as all sick gossip does. A 1986 version I read in a Southeast Asian paper claimed that the virus was engineered to kill black and brown people. In 2002, while visiting east Africa, I heard this version again. Twenty-first-century Chinese and Russian lies have become both more pervasive and more sophisticated in targeting audiences with disinformation that seeds fear, doubt, despair, anger and confusion. In fall 2020, China's virus disinformation campaign added another target: Western-manufactured vaccines, particularly the U.S.-backed Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. According to the U.S. State Department, Russian operatives also smear Western vaccines. They magnify fears that the vaccines' approval process was hasty. State's Global Engagement Center recently released a list of Russian disinformation outlets targeting vaccines that are "directly linked to Russian intelligence services." They "inject" misleading tales of risky side effects and doubtful efficacy into mainstream media. Russian and Chinese smears have a marketing angle. Russia is peddling its Sputnik V vaccine as a medically equivalent alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. It isn't. China touts its Sinovac vaccine, which is about half as effective as Pfizer and Moderna. In the last three months, I've read several reports of "vaccine hesitancy." It increases the time it takes to achieve herd immunity and can affect military readiness. According to the Pentagon, a third of all U.S. service members have rejected vaccinations. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is personally urging military personnel to get vaccinations. Did propaganda sway soldiers and sailors? Possibly. Vaccinations can produce adverse reactions, and some people are particularly vulnerable. Stories circulate of severe reactions to Desert Storm's anthrax vaccine. Senior Navy leaders reportedly want to make the vaccine mandatory. They have seen the virus force warships to return to port and are sure vaccination enhances readiness. Australians have gone wild for an all-you-can-eat KFC offering more than 50 different items on its menu - only to find out the restaurant is in Japan. The fast food chain in 2019 opened a buffet-style branch in Tokyo offering customers Colonel Sanders' famous dishes like chicken, chips, salad, seafood, pastas and lasagne. For an additional 1,250 ($16.45), adults can also upgrade their dining experience with an all-you-can-drink alcohol package. Australian KFC fans were left salivating at the chain's new dining experience after a photo of the mouth-watering buffet table was shared online. Scroll down for video KFC in 2019 opened up a new buffet-style restaurant in Tokyo offering unlimited Colonel's famous fried chicken, nuggets, wings, fries, salads, pasta dishes and desserts Thousands of hungry diners are flocking to Tokyo to dine at all-you-can-eat KFC - but Australians have been left on the outside looking in Australian KFC fans were left salivating at the chain's new dining experience - but it can only be found thousands of kilometers away 'Love KFC in Japan much better than in Australia,' one person wrote. 'I'm on my way - I can eat that for six hours straight. There won't be any left by the time I'm finished,' another said. One KFC fan even joked they were 'moving to Tokyo'. Lunch at the restaurant runs between 11am and 5pm for 1,980 (AUD$26) for adults, junior and high school students aged 13 to 18 - and 980 (AUD$12.90) for elementary students aged between six and 12. The dinner menu is available after 5pm until 10pm for 2,580 (AUD$34) for adults, junior and high school students - and 1,280 (AUD$16.85) for elementary students. Both lunch and dinner are available for children under the age of six for 480 (AU$6.30) and toddler kids under three can eat for free. Lunch at the restaurant runs between 11am and 5pm for 1,980 (AUD$26) for adults Hungry diners can eat unlimited fried chicken with its signature 11 herbs and spices The dining experience lasts 80 minutes and includes all-you-can-drink soft drinks. But to secure a table for lunch, there's a waiting system in place to avoid queues. The restaurant only dishes out 100 tickets per day with a number between one to 100 allocated to diners - meaning you'd have to arrive early to grab a ticket so you don't miss out. Numbers one to 25 can eat from 11am, 25 to 50 can secure a table from 12.30pm, 51 to 75 can dine from 2pm and 75 to 100 can head in from 3.30pm. Diners are spoiled for choice - with up to 50 items to choose from the Japanese buffet There's a salad bar where you can create your own salad with ingredients and dressing The menu offers 50 different items, including exclusive meals such as a 'special fried chicken soup curry' (pictured), rotisserie chicken and pan-baked potato casserole To secure a table for lunch, there's a waiting system in place to avoid queues. The restaurant only dishes out 100 tickets per day with a number between one to 100 allocated to diners - meaning you'd have to arrive early so you don't miss out After indulging yourself with savoury foods, diners can end their dining experience with a selection of desserts to choose from, including parfaits, jelly, cakes and more Lunch runs between 11am and 5pm and the dinner menu is available after 5pm until 10pm Diners can indulge in the Original Recipe fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices, create their own salads at the salad bar and enjoy never-before-seen meals. Other items on the menu include fried rice, garlic bread, chicken nuggets and wings. After indulging yourself with savoury foods, diners can end their dining experience with a selection of desserts to choose from, including parfaits, jelly, profiteroles, cakes and more. Located at the Minami-Machida Grandberry Park, the restaurant has a 'KFC home party' theme, featuring a family-style layout - making it very different to a standard KFC fast food store. The Tokyo restaurant, which opened in November 2019, also offers a children's 'school corner' so students can learn about cooking and kitchen safety. Before the latest opening, there were multiple pop-up all-you-can-eat KFC stores around the city. But Tokyo foodies will no longer have to wait around as the permanent Machida buffet officially marks the second permanent all-you-can-eat KFC to open in Japan after a restaurant rolled out in Osaka in 2015. ST. LOUIS, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartech, a leading manufacturer of engineered thermoplastics and custom packaging solutions is pleased to announce the following organizational changes to the company's McMinnville, Oregon location. Jeff Freeman is promoted to Plant Manager and will oversee the facility's safety and safety culture, business process improvement, quality, and revenue growth. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York and serving in the U.S. Army for seven years, Jeff joined the Spartech Goodyear, Arizona facility in 2015 where he was responsible for quality management and scheduling. In 2018, he relocated to the McMinnville facility, gaining extensive sheet extrusion experience. Jason Bell is promoted to Quality Supervisor. After joining Spartech in 1995 as a third-shift packer, he steadily worked his way up as an Operator Trainee, Assistant Supervisor, third-shift supervisor and first-shift supervisor. Throughout this process, he has been recognized as an influential supervisor and packer and operator trainer. He will now be responsible for ensuring product and shipping quality control. Alberto Martinez is promoted to Shift Supervisor. Beginning his Spartech career in 2002 as a packer, he has also performed other roles, including Operator Trainee and Operator "A" on all three shifts. He was also a first-shift Leadman before his promotion to Shift Supervisor. Alberto is a 2021 "Circle of Champions" award winner for distinguished Spartech service and is the first McMinnville employee to receive this honor. Mike Kirby announces his retirement. After a 42-year Spartech career, he will be leaving the company in March. He led or worked at facilities in Warsaw, Indiana; Redlands, California; La Mirada, California and McMinnville. An excellent supervisor and plastics manufacturing expert, Mike was well-liked by all and made a lasting and much appreciated contribution to the organization. "We are proud of our talented team members and each of these individuals is a great example of the attentive and helpful brand we have created for our valued customers," says McMinnville Manufacturing Manager Jay Bonk. "People are our company's greatest asset and we congratulate these employees in their new roles." About Spartech Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with a unique innovation center and 15 manufacturing facilities located throughout the United States, Spartech is a leading plastics manufacturer of engineered thermoplastic materials and specialty packaging products. Meeting exact standards for everything from food packaging to aerospace and automotive applications, Spartech continues to make a world of difference with sustainable, diverse, reliable and innovative products including UltraTuf, Royalite, Korad, PreservaPak, and Polycast. https://spartech.com/ Media Contact: For Spartech Sheldon Ripson [email protected] 636-751-5733 SOURCE Spartech (Natural News) Following a spate of deadly blood clots all across Europe, Germany has decided to join more than a dozen other European nations in halting all further administration of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines from AstraZeneca. Though the European Medicines Agency (EMA) still insists the jabs are safe, Germany, Iceland, and several other EU nations have decided to stop injecting people due to prominence of extreme adverse events. While the EMA is supposedly planning to investigate the situation in the coming days, Germany and the other allied countries have chosen to be safe rather than sorry by putting all further injections on hold. Once upon a time, they used to do these BEFORE the vaccine was authorized, tweeted Zero Hedge, pointing out the lunacy of conducting post-market science on vaccines, especially those that qualify as experimental gene therapy. We suppose its just one of the sacrifices that must be made in order to develop a vaccine within 12 months. The following countries have likewise halted all further administration of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines made by AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford: France Italy The Netherlands Ireland Iceland Denmark Norway Bulgaria Luxembourg Estonia Latvia Lithuania Austria Romania Thailand Democratic Republic of Congo Indonesia This same AstraZeneca vaccine is slated for approval in the United States towards the end of the month. It remains to be seen if regulators here follow the lead of Europe or go their typical route of just declaring the jab to be safe and effective. Last fall, multiple volunteers in an AstraZeneca clinical trial developed a rare neurological condition after getting jabbed. This resulted in the trial being put on hold, and now the Chinese virus jabs from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have taken the lead in the U.S. market. Twitter advertises fake news article declaring no link between AstraZeneca jab and deadly blood clots Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced that his country will wait to hear what the EMA has to say before deciding whether or not to approve for use the AstraZeneca injection. France, Italy, and the others are taking a more proactive approach by stopping the jabs administration now before more people are harmed by it. Officials in The Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany say this is a necessary precaution to protect public health. Meanwhile, the worlds free speech police force, also known as Twitter, put up a story advertising the claim that no link has been found between AstraZenecas China virus injection and the deadly blood clots that have been emerging all across Europe post-vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) also insists that the AstraZeneca needle is completely safe and totally effective, and that people should line right up to get it in order to quell their fears about catching the Wuhan flu. Germanys decision to join the other countries in halting the drugs further administration is significant because Germany maintains strong influence across Europe, being its biggest economic driver. Early on, Germany only approved the AstraZeneca jab for people under the age of 65. Since Great Britain thinks the vaccine it created is perfectly safe and wonderfully effective, it has been mocking Germany and the EU ever since. I still have not heard a convincing argument for why anyone should take any vaccine, wrote one Zero Hedge commenter. Its all BS. Seems a reasonable stance to me. Since there were no long-term experiments, science can say nothing about future consequences from vaccination, wrote another, making a poignant point about the snake oil nature of these rushed-to-market so-called vaccines. To keep up with the latest news about injuries and deaths caused by Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines, visit Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com ( ) is one of those innovators that has thus far flown below the markets radar but for how long? Its technologies are designed to stimulate the immune system of plants, says chief executive, Dr Christopher Richards, trying to keep things reasonably high level for me. Think of them as vaccines for plants, he continues. Normally, that stimulation is designed to repel the onset of stresses and diseases that can decimate crops. Its main product today is Harpin , a powerful bio-stimulant with multiple applications. It is also at the start of the commercial journey with an exciting platform technology, called PREtec, which has the potential to create many differentiated products. Truly disruptive Richards believes in the world of agriculture these bio-scientific advances could be truly disruptive, adding that the market opportunity is worth in excess of US$5bn. Earlier this month, trials of the first treatment from the PREtec platform, PHC279, delivered some stunning results following field trials in Brazil. Named Saori for the local market, it was deployed on 16 fields to tackle Asian Soybean Rust, which is caused by a fungus that can result in a crop yield loss of up to 90%. The data demonstrated the potential to deliver disease control and increased crop yield worth an average of US$85 per hectare, or a six-times or more return on investment. PHC said it has now begun commercial discussions with leading crop protection companies in Brazil. Many of them have planted their own soybean trials to independently confirm the performance of Saori. The PREtec platform creates chains of amino acids called peptides designed to encourage and increase growth rates, or enhance disease resistance, and are the result of eight years R&D and more than US$20mln of investment. Just the start of the journey Brazil is just the start for Saori / PHC279 with a broader authorisation being sought in the US, where it works with Wilbur Ellis, one of the countrys large agrichemicals businesses. We have a joint development agreement with them, and we're looking at a whole bunch of different uses for PHC279 in fruit and vegetables in the US, says Richards. We're also looking at seed treatment in the US for soy and corn, but probably first out of the box will be fruit and veg. It is worth pointing out that PHC279 is the first cab off the rank with other PREtec products to follow. Richards says PHCs patent estate around its use of peptides in agriculture is significant and broad-based, while casual analysis suggests that three main competitors in this field are some way back on the development and commercial timeline. High-margin The gross margins from the PREtec platform are likely to be at least comparable with Harpin (which are estimated to be around 70%), while the utility, stability and shelf life of these new products are likely to be best-in-class. About the huge potential of PHC279 and 949 and 414 (which are next off the production line), Richards says this: PREtec is potentially blockbuster disruptive technology. Januarys trading statement from PHC revealed the company saw an uptick in revenues to US$6.6mln, which Richards describes as still modest. Certainly, compared with the big beasts of the agrichemical world PHC is small fry; however if the PREtec opportunity crystalises this could change over the coming years. Not that demand for Harpin is standing still. Sales to Brazils sugar cane farmers were three times those of 2019, business with corn producers was up 180%, while sales to Wilbur Ellis doubled. As well as the proprietary Harpin and Myconate products, the company has a Mexican business that is a third-party distributor of complementary plant treatments. Substantial opportunity, says broker The broker Arden has taken an in-depth look at the PREtec opportunity. It said its market analysis indicated a substantial market opportunity with genuine demand for strong performing yet sustainable crop treatments. In its latest note, it said it had modelled PHC279 achieving a 2% share of a market worth US$5bn. With excellent gross margins of more than 70% and addressable markets likely to be larger than we model, we expect valuation in the long-term to be materially above this, said analyst Andrew Simms. His 30p price target (double the current market valuation) reflects a staged de-risking of the business as milestones are achieved - notably the recent registration of PHC279 in Brazil and the expected launch of the first product in the second half of this year. Judging from the share price action of the past year, the market is (slowly) tuning into PHCs potential. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland Standing on a subway platform now, it looks as if Riverdances big 25th anniversary show just opened, David Byrnes American Utopia is still enjoying a limited Broadway run, and Mrs. America, the Phyllis Schlafly miniseries, is set to hit Hulu next month April 2020. In stations across New York City, LaKeith Stanfield and Issa Rae have now been touching foreheads in ads for The Photograph for two Valentines Days. Its the same on the streets: Cars driving into the Midtown Tunnel from Queens throughout the year were reminded that A Quiet Place Part II was supposed to open on March 20; the film wont hit theaters until this May, but the billboard stayed up nearly until March 2021. The zombie ads have stayed up simply because no one is buying new ones. Outfront Media, the company that handles the advertising in MTA stations and trains, reported spending on transit ads was down 76 percent and billboard spending was down 36 percent for the first half of the year, according to the companys August earnings call. Billboard and subway space in the city were discounted as much as 85 or 90 percent in the spring, says Brian Rappaport, CEO Quan Media Group, a New Yorkbased advertising agency. My industry is called outdoor advertising and people were being told not to go outdoors, he says. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland Going back and forth from Long Island this summer, he started to wince at that Quiet Place billboard taunting drivers with the word March, the month that felt like it never ended. If Im the studio, Im like, Take this down, he says. Its a bad look. But blank ad squares are bad business when youre trying to sell more ads in big transit systems like the MTA, according to Andy Seraita, the director of outdoor advertising for Inspiria, which places ads on subways, buses, and billboards around the city. So instead of sending in a crew to remove, say, a massive Quibi billboard that far outlasted the short-form, short-lived streaming service itself, these zombie ads are just left up. This is by no means the first time a major upheaval has haunted the city with old ads. When white flight happened in the 1950s and 60s, they picked up and left and they took all the services with them and left behind the signs of all those stores on all those buildings,, according to Frank Jump, who wrote the book Fading Ads of New York City in 2011. Its just the way we kind of mark time in a way in the city. Itll be interesting to see what becomes the ghost ads of this era. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland The ghost ads of 2020 stand in stark contrast to the new ones that have gone up: anti-microbial clean wraps for grabbing a Citi Bike, touchless payment, designer masks. Last year, Cellino & Barnes, the injury attorneys behind the ubiquitous billboards, broke up shortly before Barnes died in a plane crash. In a year when not much changed, the injury-attorney ad space has changed dramatically, with Cellino Law billboards blanketing the city and trains. You can find a Barnes looking out over many a bus stop, but its a new one: Steves brother Rich, who took over his brothers firm. For all the ways they have muddled our sense of time, this is likely the last era of ghost ads. Outfront has contracted with the MTA to add more than 31,000 more digital ad screens to subway stations and trains, and will remove 24,000 slots for physical ads over the next 11 years. In the near future, there will be no more zombie ads, only bright, constantly updated screens. The days of print ads in the system are kind of on their last legs, an MTA spokesman told me. Landmarks in Slovenia join Global Greening 2021 News Slovenia will join Tourism Irelands Global Greening 2021 Five municipalities across Slovenia - Ljubljana, Bled, DobrovaPolhov Gradec, Skofja Loka and Rogaska Slatina have joined in the Global Greening initiative. The Slovenian buildings and sites are lighting up in green to mark Irelands national day and to celebrate their connection with Ireland, as well as a symbol of hope and connection at this time. The annual Global Greening initiative started in 2010, with the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland 'going green' and this year will be the most ambitious ever Global Greening. Around 670 sites in 66 different countries are signed up to take part for 2021. From Rome to Rio and from London to Las Vegas, and a host of famous buildings and sites around the world will be turning a shade of green this week. The full Global Greening line-up is available here. 2021 Greenings in Slovenia The Butchers' Bridge, Ljubljana 17/03/2021 The Butchers' Bridge, built in 2010, is a footbridge crossing the river Ljubljanica. It is Ljubljana's love bridge. It is a place where countless lovers have symbolically padlocked their love and dropped the keys into the river Ljubljanica, which flows underneath. https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/poi/butchers-bridge/ Bled Castle, Bled 17/03/2021 In terms of written documents, Bled Castle is the oldest castle in Slovenia, first mentioned in 1011. Perched atop a steep cliff rising 130 metres above the glacial Lake Bled a symbol of Bled and Slovenia. The fame of Bled and its beauties was spread around the world by world travellers, including Janez Vajkard Valvasor and his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola of 1689. https://www.blejski-grad.si/en/default.asp Square below Skofja Loka Castle, Skofja Loka 16/03/2021 18/03/2021 Skofja Loka is an authentic medieval town with the picturesque streets in the vicinity of Ljubljana. The name Skofja Loka literally means 'bishop's (wet) meadow', referring to its ownership by the Bishops of Freising dating back to medieval history. It is home to the Skofja Loka Passion Play, the oldest Slovene drama from 1721 and the largest outdoor theatre production. During the time of the Passion Play, visitors to the town can become a part of the staging of the play, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Skofja Loka area is dotted with numerous castles and mansions. The earliest date back to the 13th century. There is a wealth of history and legends amongst them. https://www.visitskofjaloka.si/en/ https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/regions/ljubljana-central-slovenia/skofja-loka The Capuchin Bridge, Skofja Loka 16/03/2021 18/03/2021 This bridge over the Selca Sora river, built in the mid-14th century from carved stone in a semi-circular shape, is the only one of its kind in central Europe. In 1888 it was renovated and equipped with iron railings. In the centre there is a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, with the Skofja Loka coat-of-arms on the plinth. In the Middle Ages the Selca Gate with a guard tower stood beside the bridge. https://www.visitskofjaloka.si/en/experiences/cultural-sights-of-interest/bridges Municipality Building, Rogaska Slatina 17/03/2021 Rogaska Slatina is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is health and spa resort with more than 400 years of tradition. The name Rogaska Slatina literally means 'Rogatec springs', referring to a source of mineral water. Awarded as Slovenia Green Destination place with the unique mineral water Donat Mg, that contains more magnesium than any other water in the world. Rogaska Slatina is also known as a place of glass production Rogaska Glassworks and beauty Cosmetics. The green heart of Rogaska Slatina is park and its promenade located between Secession buildings. https://www.visit-rogaska-slatina.si/en/ https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/regions/thermal-pannonian-slovenia/rogaska-slatina Cultural Centre, Rogaska Slatina 17/03/2021 The Cultural Centre Rogaska Slatina is managed by the Culture Institute of the Municipality of Rogaska Slatina. The centre is the central building for events and the house of culture in Rogaska Slatina. https://www.visit-rogaska-slatina.si/en/providers/3903-rogaska-slatina-cultural-centre-hall Polhov Gradec Mansion, Polhov Gradec 20/03/2021 The Polhov Gradec Mansion which dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries acquired most of its present look in the baroque period. Count Blagaj, an enlightened Mecean of art and a botanist after whom the protected plant Blagajev volcin (spurge laurel) was named lived here in the 19th century. http://visitpolhovgradec.si/home http://www.grad-polhovgradec.si/ *The details are based on information provided by our Global Greening partners. Previous Item | Next Item Prince William is supporting wife Kate Middleton after Meghan Markle claimed the two women had a tearful confrontation days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 2018 wedding, a royal author has claimed. The Duke of Cambridge, 38, is 'very protective' of the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, following Meghan, 39, and Prince Harry's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey last week. During the couple's tell-all, Meghan addressed reports she made her sister-in-law cry over a disagreement regarding bridesmaid dresses ahead of the royal wedding. 'The reverse happened', the duchess told her friend Oprah, claiming she was the one who teared up. 'For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse [for Prince William] than being attacked himself,' royal biographer Penny Junor told People. She added: 'William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry.' The Duke of Cambridge, 38, is 'very protective' of the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured together last Thursday), 39, following Meghan, 39, and Prince Harry's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey last week The Duchess of Sussex said she was not sharing the information to be 'disparaging', but added it was 'really important for people to understand the truth'. 'It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something,' Meghan said. 'But she owned it, and she apologised and she brought me flowers and a note apologising.' It comes as Kate is said have found it 'mortifying' that the allegations have re-emerged two years ago after first being reported in 2018, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl. Ms Nicholl noted how you 'never hear' about the Duchess of Cambridge falling out with anyone because she is 'very careful with how she treats others.' Speaking to OK! magazine, Ms Nicholl explained: 'Kate has never wanted any suggestion of a rift with Meghan to come out in the press, so for this story to be circulating is very hard.' During the couple's tell-all (pictured), Meghan addressed reports that she made her sister-in-law cry over a disagreement regarding bridesmaid dresses ahead of the royal wedding The Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte and other bridesmaids arriving at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018 Katie added there are 'different versions' of the story and claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle know the mother-of-three is 'not in a position to respond'. 'From what I hear, there are different versions of the bridesmaid story, not just the one Meghan discussed,' the royal expert told the publication. 'Kate felt it was all sorted, so to have it brought up again was mortifying. Kate is not in a position to respond and Meghan and Harry know that.' The royal expert went on to claim that Kate has been left 'saddened, disappointed and hurt' in the wake of Meghan and Prince Harry's tell-all interview with Oprah . The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex in the Royal Box on Centre Court at Wimbledon in July 2019 She added it has been a 'very hard' few days for the Cambridges, who stepped out together last Thursday during a visit to School2 in east London - their first engagement since the bombshell interview. Meghan claimed in her interview with Oprah that she experienced more negativity towards her than the Duchess of Cambridge because of the colour of her skin. The Duchess of Sussex was also asked about a memorable joint-outing to Wimbledon in July 2019, where the pair put on a united front and were pictured laughing together. During the interview she appeared to cast doubt on the authenticity of that seemingly affable appearance, saying: 'Nothing is what it looks like'. A lightning bolt struck and killed three men and seriously injured one at Mhembwechena business centre in Makonde district last week. Tongai Gandiwa (32), Stewart Phiri (23) and Shadreck Bvudzijena (age unknown) struck while sitting under a tree and where pronounced dead on arrival at Kenzamba clinic. Tongai's brother, Shine (30) who sustained serious burns was taken to the same clinic where he was treated. Mashonaland West police spokesperson, Inspector Margaret Chitove, confirmed the incident and said the four where under a musau tree when the unfortunate incident happened. "The four were struck by the lightning bolt while under a musau tree. A local businessman, Bhanasi Muchenjekwa (37) rushed the four to the nearby health care facility where the three were pronounced dead upon arrival," she said. She said the injured was still nursing wounds sustained from the bolt. 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. In this file photo, US dollar notes are seen on Aug. 28, 2009. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP via Getty Images) Arizona Man Sentenced for Scamming Millions From the Elderly An Arizona man was sentenced to serve 16 years in jail for scamming millions of dollars from the elderly, officials announced in a Monday press release. Kent Maerki, 78, misrepresented two companies he founded while on the radio, including in a presentation of a wireless spectrum he called Money From Thin Air and in other ways to receive investments, court documents said, according to a Department of Justice press release. Maerki founded Dental Support Plus Franchise, LLC, and Janus Spectrum, LLC. Maerki was involved in a plot, which stretched across the country and scammed more than $23 million from people, according to the press release. The Arizona man and others involved in the scam operation managed numerous entities that sold purported franchises and private equity opportunities through salesmen across the country. The scammers salesmen misrepresented and left details out when they pitched illiquid, highly speculative investment vehicles sales to people approaching or in retirement, a number of the elderly, according to the press release. The victims withdrew retirement funds and transferred the funds to Maerkis companies, not knowing large amounts of the money went towards companies overseen by the scammers. Maerki received more than $4 million from scamming the victims, some of whom were blind, disabled and couldnt work, according to the press release. Maerki kept making investment sales even though a federal court in 1984 forbade him from selling securities, the press release said. The Arizona man also continued the sales without disclosing that he and others involved in the operation were under fraud investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and the Arizona State Corporation Commission, according to the press release. U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson sentenced Maerki, the press release said. The United States Attorneys Office Eastern District of Virginia didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. By Mary Rose Corkery From The Daily Caller News Foundation Chandigarh: Terming the spread of Covid in Punjab as alarming, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced to extend the time period of night curfew in nine districts from 9 pm to 5 am, instead of the previous 11 pm to 5 am. He was addressing the media at a function to mark four years of the Congress government in office. Night curfewHe said he was meeting medical experts in a day to take stock of the situation before announcing further stricter measures to check the spread. The way the things are going, I fear it requires strict measures like restricting gatherings and punishments. The Chief Minister said 2,039 fresh Covid cases and 35 deaths had been reported till Wednesday evening. At least 283 people were on oxygen support. At every life stage I have been privileged enough to pass through with my health and safety intact, yet I have still encountered gun violence. As a child, I went to school five miles from Columbine High School. I remember vividly the fear and grief of our community as we struggled with the senseless violence and loss of innocents. As a mental health professional who has worked with survivors of gun violence I have been a firsthand witness to the pain of survivors of suicide, domestic violence, and community violence where firearms were weapons of mass destruction. As a mother to a small infant I watched the breaking news of the horrific, senseless loss of Sandy Hook elementary school students. As an adjunct professor I practiced active school shooter drills with my students the week the Parkland mass shooting occurred. I felt tears on my face and grief in my heart for the loss of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Edwards and countless other black children who have been gunned down. Why do Tennessee legislators want to risk the lives of constituents, law enforcement, and children by further de-regulating firearms? Governor Lees permitless carry bill currently under review by the Senate allows any adult to carry a loaded handgun in public, either openly or in a concealed manner- without a background check or training. This bill would strip away the permitting systems requirement of training on how to carry a firearm responsibly in public. As the current permit system stands, anyone subject to an order of protection, and anyone convicted of multiple DUIs, is prevented from getting a permit. If this bill passes, how would law enforcement officers know exactly who is a threat and who is not? But dont just listen to me. Listen to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, who opposes this bill. The TBI points to the nearly 5,500 people who were excluded from permits or had their permits revoked in 2020. They also cited 63,000 other Tennesseans who are legally excluded from carrying guns due to mental health or behavioral reasons. Listen to Glenn Scruggs, a 26-year veteran law enforcement officer, who says, I cannot express how truly bad an idea I think this proposal is. I am not alone in that assessment. The majority of the chiefs of police and district attorneys in our state and across the country feel the same way. Listen to Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich. Allowing permitless, open carry of firearms in a large urban area makes no senseIs it really asking too much for someone to get a permit to carry a deadly weapon on our streets? Listen to the Tennessee Sheriffs Association. This bill, as it is written, has no method or procedure for law enforcement to identify if an individual is unable to lawfully carry a firearm. If you want to get involved with gun violence prevention by becoming an informed citizen and advocating for safer gun laws in your community, you can sign up at the Moms Demand Action website. Anabel Garner * * * I would like to ask Anabel a question. Did your father take you out and hunt and show you how to shoot a gun? You ask a question about how do they know now? They dont till something happens. The people you speak of will still carry one with or without permission. They drive everyday around with no insurance, no license, and warrants out for their arrest for all kinds of stuff. You are living in a fairy tale world and you better get some strength in case you should ever happen to face one of the people I am talking about. A piece of paper does nothing to stop them. We citizens that carry that abide by the rule of law that are being pushed away from our Bill of Rights that was written to protect us, not some law enforcement to check us is why it was given to us. The men that died for that Bill of Rights knew what the government would do to its citizens given the chance to disarm them to take over them. Period. I bet you moved here from another state that thinks all can be solved by talking. I could go on but I wont and I will never give up my rights to appeases people that what to take them away. Reggie Walls * * * Thank you, Reggie Walls, for pointing out this act is for the American law abiding citizens whom are punished by fees and restrictions to exercise their constitutional right. Im glad you have common sense to understand this bill cause apparently, the ones bashing it, have no common sense and are ignorant to the fact criminals dont follow the rules of permit, training, and policy - criminals dont care. Im glad to know level-headed intelligent Americans are among us, such as yourself, well done with your response. Troy Brown * * * I have had a gun permit for some time. Having one and having to take a class is the right thing to do. Making it so anyone can walk around without the knowledge of the law or training is a disaster waiting to happen. The two gentleman who wrote in and said they won't stand for their right to bear arms to be taken from them and I agree with that. But why not do it in a way that helps stop gun violence and not encourage it? If every woman and man goes out now just to purchase and carry then, oh now they have a gun to pull and threaten each other or kill each other and innocent people just because they can now carry it. You have to learn to drive a car or a motorcycle to be responsible. Why not get the training to carry a gun and a permit? Alex Claiborne * * * Good points are given, especially Mr. Claiborne's. I have been around and owned firearms for over 60 years, and am familiar with all types of firearms. The thing that concerns me most is the newbies just now purchasing firearms with no prior experience with gun handling or safety and have never shot a firearm. If a person doesn't go through a handgun carry class, the next best thing would be to have a capable friend that is familiar with firearms go over the dos and don'ts of firearm safety and take them to a range to experience first hand what it's like to shoot a firearm. Gun ownership is not as simple as some might think; a lot of responsibly goes with it, you need to be informed of what it entails. Even if the firearms class is not mandated, I think it's prudent to attend one. If you check around, classes are conducted in our area on a regular basis. I think that anyone who carries a firearm should go through a firearms training class. Every law-abiding citizen should have the right to defend and protect their loved ones and property. I hope all first-time gun owners heed my advice for their safety and others. Jim Rosenbloom A man will face another 152 charges after allegedly sexually abusing young children and sharing footage of the abuse online. The 31-year-old from St Clair in Sydney's west was initially arrested in May last year and charged with 44 child abuse offences including multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child under ten. He is now facing a total of 196 charges relating to child sexual abuse and bestiality offences and is due to appear in court on Thursday. The man was arrested under Operation Arkstone - a large-scale investigation into a global online network of alleged child sex offenders. A 31-year-old Sydney man is seen being arrested over child abuse charges AFP investigators uncovered a network of alleged offenders when examining a mobile phone seized from a NSW Central Coast man during his arrest for abuse offences. On Wednesday a separate 31-year-old man became the 20th person arrested when federal police searched his home at Willoughby in Sydney's north. He was charged with one count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed online and using a carriage service. He will appear in Downing Centre Court on April 15. The investigation has now charged 14 men in NSW, three in Queensland and three in Western Australia. The group faces a total of 1026 charges related to child sexual abuse and in some cases, bestiality. The AFP investigation has now charged 14 men in NSW, three in Queensland and three in Western Australia Since Operation Arkstone began, there have been 53 children removed from further harm in Australia. AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said every day that police could not identify a child being harmed was another day of potential abuse. 'We need to remove these children from harm and importantly, with law enforcement in Australia and across the globe, we must arrest those who carry out these heinous crimes,' Commander Sirec said. During the Covid-19 pandemic the prevalence of child exploitation has increased. 'Australia has stood shoulder to shoulder to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. We also need the country to use the same sense of purpose and urgency to help fight the exploitation of children,' she said. From left are Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung and Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong. Courtesy of each firm By Lee Min-hyung The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is facing growing pressure to mitigate disciplinary punishment on leaders of Shinhan Bank and Woori Financial Group, as the regulator continues to face accusations of abusing its power. The watchdog sent an advance notice in February threatening tough sanctions against the top management officials of the lenders, citing their failure to supervise the sales of soured fund products offered by Lime Asset Management. The FSS warned that Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung will be suspended from duty and Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong will be reprimanded. All of those measures are classified as tough forms of sanctions. When the FSS makes its final decision on the sanctions, the bank heads will be banned from working at financial institutions here for at least three years after they end their present terms. But after the regulator delivered the advance notice early last month, the FSS has faced an escalating backlash. The banking industry has stepped up its opposition to the FSS' decision, as the regulator is widely viewed as attempting to shift the blame for the soured loan fiasco onto the lenders. The FSS took issue with the bank chiefs' failure to closely monitor what fund products they sell. Commercial lenders here, however, claimed that the long-held custom of slapping tough sanctions on bank leaders should be discarded unless their wrongdoings can be clearly justified under the law. "The FSS' attempt to slap tough sanctions on bank leaders remains legally controversial here, so it is not proper for the regulator to seek such suppressive punishment on the lenders," a financial industry source said. Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) Chairman Kim Gwang-soo also urged the watchdog not to take severe disciplinary action against banks' top management, as they are not fully responsible for the soured fund scandal. "The logic used by the FSS appears to be inconsistent with the principle of clarity required by the Ministry of Government Legislation," Kim told reporters in a recent press conference. "The financial industry cannot predict such punitive measures, which will escalate uncertainties and stifle management activities at major financial groups here." He demanded the watchdog maintain consistency when slapping sanctions on financial firms, so they can predict and minimize any damage their businesses could suffer from a possible management reshuffle resulting from punitive measures. The FSS is holding Jin and Son responsible for poor supervision of the banks' sales of troubled funds linked to Lime Asset Management. Woori sold 357.7 billion won ($318 million) worth of Lime funds, while those from Shinhan reached 276.9 billion won. Late last month, the FSS held its first sanctions committee meeting which was attended by Son. The FSS held the second meeting on Thursday focusing on Shinhan's case. Aside from the Shinhan Bank leader, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung also received a warning from the FSS for his poor supervision of the funds sold by Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Investment. But the warning was a minor punishment and will not cost him the chairmanship. Officials from the two lenders said they have not confirmed what moves they intend to take following the punitive measures. But the two companies are widely expected to file lawsuits if the FSS decides on tough sanctions. This is the second time that Son has been slapped with sanctions from the regulator regarding the soured fund scandal. In January 2020, he was reprimanded for his mishandling of troubled derivatives-linked fund products. But he filed an administrative litigation against the regulator and succeeded in extending his third term in March last year. "The FSS will be under growing pressure to stop abusing its power against financial firms, since the punishment, which is widely considered as being unilateral, will keep dampening morale at major banks," an official from a major lender said. "The role of the FSS is crucial in light of the growing importance of customer protection in the aftermath of a series of banks' involvements in the soured fund scandal," the source said. "But any punishment should be made under a clear legal basis." According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the nation's top five lenders are scaling down their sales of private equity fund products rapidly. The balance of their sales of the funds reached 12.92 trillion won as of the end of January, down 32 percent from a year earlier. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-19 01:30:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he would like to invite his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden to an online meeting to continue their discussions of bilateral ties. Putin told a local TV program that the first phone call between the presidents in January was initiated by Washington. "I want to invite President Biden to continue our discussions, but on the condition that we do this actually live, as they say, online," he said. The discussions could be held on Friday or Monday, and the Kremlin is ready at any time convenient for the White House, Putin said, adding that he would give relevant instructions to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Earlier in the day, Putin said that the United States has to take into account Russia's interests and Moscow is capable of protecting them. He emphasized that Russia is prepared to work with the United States in fields of mutual interest, but only on terms that are favorable for Russia. Putin made the remarks amid escalating Moscow-Washington tensions after a U.S. intelligence report on Tuesday accused Russia of "denigrating" Biden's candidacy during the elections to increase support for former President Donald Trump. Enditem Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Nairobi Kenya recorded the highest COVID-19 cases yet on Wednesday after 1, 279 infections were detected, marking a 17 percent positivity rate Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the 12 patients succumbed to the virus raising fatalities in the country to 1,937 since March last year. Kagwe said the new cases were detected from 7, 450 samples which were tested on Tuesday raising the country's caseload to 116, 310 infections. With the country's positivity rate standing at 17 percent by Wednesday, Kagwe said Kenyans' input in the fight against the virus going forward is crucial. "Our actions shall determine how fast we sink or swim. Unlike before when virtually all our cases were asymptomatic, we are seeing a steady increase in hospitalisations," he said. Kagwe stressed that the adherence of Kenyans in observing the containment measures was the only solution to flatten the curve. "We are asking for cooperation and responsible behaviour in the fight against COVID-19... I urge Kenyans to be determined to fight this wave. This is not the time to tire but to invigorate our determination so we do not fall on the wayside," he said. With the ongoing vaccination exercise in the country gathering momentum, Kagwe reiterated that the Oxford AstraZeneca jab is not a silver bullet insisting that the compliance of the basic protocols like regular washing of hands and wearing of face masks is the ultimate remedy to defeating the virus. "There are those who see a contradiction between increased containment and vaccination. Getting a jab doesn't mean relaxing in wearing a mask, sanitizing... Until we sufficiently inoculate the entire population and create immunity, we will remain at risk," he said. Kagwe said that so far close to 20, 000 people have been vaccinated in the ongoing first phase that has largely covered the frontline health care workers this as he also revealed that people aged 60 and above and with underlying conditions will be given priority after reports indicated that most elderly people were dying. Kenya's COVID-19 vaccine advisory taskforce Chairman Willis Akhwale in the meantime reassured the country that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and no serious side effects had been reported in the country so far. "I want to assure Kenyans that there is no cause for alarm," he said adding that out of the 17 million doses of the vaccine which have been administered globally only 41 cases of blood clots were identified which are unrelated to the vaccine. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In Africa, he said, out of the 850, 000 doses, 1,110 cases have been reported to have had mild effects but only five have warranted an investigation. Until otherwise, Akhwale said that Kenya will continue to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine as it monitors the development across Europe where most countries have halted its use. AstraZeneca's shot, among the cheapest available, was billed as the vaccine of choice for poorer nations and the clot reports have had an impact beyond Europe. Countries that have halted or delayed the rollout range from Indonesia and Venezuela to Sweden and the Netherlands. The World Health Organization experts are still studying the vaccine safety data. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Jessica Gomes has spoken out against racism after a deadly shooting in the US on Tuesday, which left six people of Asian descent dead. A total of eight people were killed in the horrific shooting at three massage parlours in Atlanta, following a recent increase in Asian hate crimes. The 35-year-old model shared a photo of herself in tears in the wake of the shooting on Instagram on Thursday. Devastated: Jessica Gomes has spoken out against racism after a deadly shooting in the US on Tuesday, which left six people of Asian descent dead 'This is for my Mother, my Grandmother, my Aunties and to all my fellow Asian sisters. I love you!' she captioned the powerful post. 'I'm so proud of you! I'm so proud to stand with you! I'm so proud to be an Asian woman! I'm here with you! 'I'm so proud my Asian blood is running through my f**ken [sic] veins!!! F**K WHITE SUPREMACY & F**K RACISM.' 'I'm so proud my Asian blood is running through my f**ken [sic] veins!!! F**K WHITE SUPREMACY & F**K RACISM,' she wrote According to a report by CNN on Thursday, hate crimes against the Asian community have been on the rise in the US since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. There have been at least 500 reported attacks on Asian Americans in the first two months of 2021, according to a report by Stop AAPI Hate. A 21-year-old white man, Robert Aaron Long, was arrested over the shootings, but denied they were racially motivated. 'This is for my Mother, my Grandmother, my Aunties and to all my fellow Asian sisters. I love you!' she captioned the powerful post 'I know Asian-Americans are very concerned...' US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday in the wake of the Atlanta shooting, as reported by The New York Times. 'I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think it's very, very troubling.' Jessica's mother is Singaporean, while her father is Portuguese, and she's spent several years living abroad in the US. New Delhi: Ahead of the cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has denied about any information regarding inclusion of JD(U). He asserted that there are no talks about it. "We have no information, no talks about it. We got information only from media," said Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on cabinet reshuffle. The statement came at a time when there are many reports suggesting that JD(U) might be included in the cabinet. Earlier on Thursday, Union ministers Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Faggan Singh Kulaste and MoS Water Resources Sanjeev Balyan resigned from cabinet. The cabinet reshuffle will take place on Sunday at 10 am. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. RTE has agreed to pay 20,000 to three charities after an Irish republican socialist group were falsely accused of murder on air. Political commentator John McGuirk mistakenly stated Eirigi was responsible for the murder of journalist Lyra McKee on a March 2 episode of Prime Time. Dissident republican group the New IRA claimed responsibility for the murder in Creggan, Derry, shortly after the April 2019 killing. Mr McGuirk, who is the editor of news website Gript, also claimed on air that Eirigi endorses terrorism. The statement was corrected by Miriam OCallaghan at the end of the show and a public apology was furnished. The broadcaster agreed to pay the funds to charity. RTE has made payments of 10,000 towards a Lyra McKee investigative journalism training bursary, 5,000 to the Capuchin Day Centre and 5,000 to Inner City Helping Homeless. RTE agreed to make another apology, to remove from the RTE Player the defamatory comments, and to upload the full apology to the player, while it also agreed to pay Eirigis legal fees. An RTE spokesperson said: On March 2 last we broadcast an item about the protests held in Dublin City centre the previous Saturday. One of our live contributors wrongly said that the political party Eirigi was responsible for the shooting of a journalist and endorses terrorism in Northern Ireland. We corrected that statement on the night and have been asked by Eirigi to clarify that it is an open, registered political party that has never been involved in shooting a journalist and does not support violence. We are happy to do so and apologise sincerely for what was said. The Irish Independent contacted Eirigi but the group stated it was happy for the newspaper to refer to its statement on its website in response to the issue. The statement noted the claims were completely untrue and added the apology was part of a wider settlement that has now been reached between Eirigi and RTE. There is no evidence to ever suggest Eirigi are a terrorist organisation. On its website the group says it was formed in 2006 in response to a deeply undemocratic, unequal and unfair country. It states that its policy is to campaign for a new Republic that will put the needs of the many ahead of the greed of the few On March 2, following the Prime Time programme on which he discussed violence at an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre the weekend previous, Mr McGuirk wrote on Twitter: Just a sincere apology: On TV earlier I got my Republican groups mixed up badly, in a slip of the tongue I want to apologise publicly to Eirigi for the error and thank RTE for correcting it. Acknowledging that chronic underfunding of public health contributed significantly to the nation's fragmented response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats included more than $100 billion in the recently enacted relief package to address urgent needs and enhance future efforts. "The pandemic has given us possibly the best chance we've ever had of getting on the right track to shore up our public health resources," said Jeffrey Levi, a professor of health management at the George Washington University School of Public Health. "Tens of millions of us have directly experienced what happens when our country is not prepared." Even so, Levi and other public health advocates worry that momentum will wane once the pandemic abates, as it has after past crises and natural disasters. They also say that more sustained funding will be needed over the next decade and beyond to address long-festering problems. "We heartily support this new law," said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "But many of its provisions are for one-time and time-limited increases in funding for Covid-related needs and financial distress. What we hope is that this will be a down payment on a long-term commitment to enhancing public health infrastructure and hiring more public health workers at the federal, state and local levels." He pointed to long-term public health issues that existed before the pandemic, such as high rates of obesity and uncontrolled diabetes, that compounded Covid-related hospitalization and deaths in the U.S. The law steers $49 billion toward enhancing coronavirus testing, contact tracing and genomic sequencing, to help identify and track virus variants. Even if the number of infections declines, the money assures these efforts continue for the rest of this year and into 2022 if needed. Another $50 billion goes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support vaccine distribution and logistical and social support in areas hardest hit by pandemic-related job loss and financial strain. This includes such activities as food distribution. States and local government agencies are allotted $350 billion to make up for lost tax revenue amid the pandemic-caused recession. Some of that money is expected to be spent on pandemic response and public health programs, but it comes with a deadline. It must be spent by Dec. 31, 2024. The law also set aside $7.6 billion for hiring more public health workers, but experts said that won't be enough over the long term. The Biden administration touted this element of its pandemic plan in January, recommending that 100,000 nurses and other workers be hired as part of a new "U.S public health service corps." The proposal, mentioned often in media coverage in January and early February, stipulated that the new corps would initially provide support for vaccine distribution, contact tracing and the nation's network of more than 1,000 public-funded community health centers. After the pandemic ended, those hired would retain their jobs and serve as an enduring upgrade to local public health services and preparedness, the administration indicated. The concept of the corps is not in the final law, however, which instead specifies that the $7.6 billion be spent on "establishing, expanding, and sustaining a public health workforce, including by making awards to state, local, and territorial public health departments." That language, public health experts said, permits the federal government more flexibility while it determines who should be hired for what and in which states. But the language could bog down the program in red tape. "Some state and local public health departments will need and be better able to absorb new workers than others," said Levi of George Washington University. "The flexibility makes sense, but we will need to carefully monitor how this unfolds." The Biden administration initially estimated that hiring 100,000 workers would triple the size of the public health workforce. But it's unclear how many people work in the field nationwide now, including public health nurses, disease intervention specialists, epidemiologists, contact tracers, community health workers, lab technicians, IT specialists and support staff. A White House spokesperson said the new law "will allow us to build our long-term public health capacity, particularly in low-income and underserved communities," in part "by hiring workers from the communities they serve." Dr. Umair Shah, Washington state's secretary of health, said more "boots on the ground is definitely part of what we need," but he added that "recruiting new people takes time." Shah also noted that many public health leaders and workers are burned out after the past year, in part because they often were vilified for messaging on mask-wearing, physical distancing and restrictions. Some left their jobs because of that intimidation. Adriane Casalotti, chief of government affairs at the National Association of County & City Health Officials, which represents the nation's nearly 3,000 local health departments, said "the backlash was harmful. I hope we can move beyond it now and that lawmakers and the public see more clearly that what we do is critical." Determining what the U.S. spends on public health is not straightforward. Federal and state spending for emergency programs, disaster relief, preventive health and social services commonly overlap with public health funding. Also, public health programs are spread across dozens of federal and state agencies. Trust for America's Health, a nonpartisan public health advocacy group, estimates that about 3% of all health spending in the U.S. goes to public health and disease prevention in 2020 more than $100 billion. Not content with the funding in the new law, public health advocates are pressing Congress for an additional $4.5 billion a year in annual funding for public health. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has introduced legislation to provide funding at that level. "It's critical we end the cycle of crisis and complacency when it comes to funding for public health," Murray said in a statement. "The simple fact is: public health saves lives." Carolyn Mullen, senior vice president for government affairs at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, concurred: "The money tends to increase in times of crisis and natural disasters, then declines after the crisis abates. That's not the way to sustain preparedness." Mitchell's Plumbing & Heating, run by Andrew Mitchell and apprentice/brother-in-law, Isaiah Pinnock, made the journey South after hearing firsthand how devastating the aftermath of the storm was from a family member living in Houston. Upon learning of the plumbing company's generosity, SupplyHouse.com was eager to offer its support. Donating a range of supplies, from tool kits to clamps and everything in between, this donation is just one of many that the New Jersey-based plumbing and heating company has received and will put to immediate use to help restore some of the most ravaged areas of Texas. "It was amazing to see members in the heating and plumbing community, like Andrew Mitchell, go beyond the call of duty to offer to help those who were impacted by the natural disaster in Texas," expressed Julie Costello, Engagement Team Lead at SupplyHouse.com. "Heat and running water are luxuries that many people depend on, and we are so fortunate to be able to donate products that will directly impact those in need," she continued. Mitchell's Plumbing & Heating has serviced over 100 homes so far and plans to stay in Texas for at least two months in order to offer as much help as they can. They are utilizing the donations received to run the Pinnock-Mitchell Texas Relief Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit which they opened on March 3rd of this year. About SupplyHouse.com SupplyHouse.com is an e-commerce company that focuses on providing excellent customer service in the plumbing and HVAC industry. SupplyHouse.com has a total of 564 employees across its four locations in Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio, with a fifth location opening in Texas. With core values centered around Generosity and Respect, as well as a unique company culture that emphasizes Innovation and Teamwork, SupplyHouse.com strives to make a positive impact on its customers, employees, and the greater community. SOURCE SupplyHouse.com Related Links http://supplyhouse.com Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, has announced the appointment of Ahmed ElSayed as Regional Channel Manager for Middle East and South Africa (MESA). In this new role, ElSayed will drive the companys growth and expansion in the region by assuming overall responsibility for the channel partner ecosystem, including distributors and managed service partners. He will spearhead strategic and tactical sales planning, partner recruitment and training and enablement. Commenting on the appointment, Sherifa Hady, VP, Channel Sales, at HPE Aruba says: Enterprises today are accelerating their digital transformation plans in the light of remote working which has become a business imperative brought on by the pandemic. Against this scenario, Arubas AI-powered cloud-native solutions that transform the network to support innovation and the future of work, is seeing a huge amount of interest from regional customers. With the high growth potential that we see in the market, we decided to appoint a result-oriented channel leader like Ahmed. We believe that through his inspiring vision and strategy, partners will be able to deliver Arubas value proposition in line with customers business priorities. ElSayed has worked at Aruba since 2012 and has a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience. He has successfully held a number of positions within the company, ranging from Channel SMB Account Manager in GCC, Pakistan and Iraq to Middle East Distribution Manager which expanded to the larger MEMA/ MESA region. Prior to joining Aruba, he was the Partner Account Manager for Saudi Enterprise and SMB market at Cisco. Over the years at Aruba, ElSayed and his team have managed to drive consistent double-digit growth on Aruba Instant On (AIO) portfolio business, building Arubas Application Acceleration Service (AAS) foundation in multiple countries, accelerating SMB channel-led business by a double digit YoY growth, driving transactional revenue growth and developing and executing strategies for Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform), a key solution in the companys portfolio. I am excited to officially take over as channel manager for MESA. Our partners are a big part of our success as an organisation and I look forward to deepening our engagement with them and taking our channel ecosystem to the next level, concludes ElSayed. -- Tradearabia News Service CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2021) Moldovan President Maia Sandu will not hold consultations on the parliamentary majority's decision to nominate ambassador to Russia, Vladimir Golovatyuk, for prime minister, the presidential administration said on Thursday. Moldova's Party of Socialists challenged Sandu's decision to nominate Igor Grosu, the head of her political party Action and Solidarity, for prime minister. The Party of Socialists nominated Golovatyuk as its candidate after forming a new parliamentary majority with the Pentru Moldova group. "The presidential administration received an extract from the transcript of today's parliamentary meeting ... New consultations with parliamentary factions and groups can take place only after the decree issued after the previous consultations [on Grosu's nomination] enters into force," Sandu's administration said in a statement. ATTRACT is a pioneering initiative bringing together Europe's fundamental research and industrial communities to lead the next generation of detection and imaging technologies. A consortium of big research organisations will be explicitly leveraged to capture value and create jobs and growth. The aim is to create an entirely new, European model of open innovation that can become an engine for jobs and prosperity. The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The ESRF is one of the 9 European research institutions that co-lead this project. Start date: 01/08/2018; duration: 28 months The aim of BEATS is to design, procure, construct and commission a beamline for hard X-ray full-field tomography at the SESAME synchrotron in Jordan. The project will develop and consolidate the scientific case for a beamline for tomography and implement actions to fortify the scientific community. Built upon the OPEN SESAME project, BEATS will address the issue of sustainability of operation of SESAME by preparing medium- to long-term funding scenarios for the tomography beamline and the facility. The BEATS project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The ESRF is coordinator of this project. Start date: 01/01/2019; duration: 48 months Battery Interface Genome - Materials Acceleration Platform (BIG MAP) This EU H2020 project, which is part of the European research initiative BATTERY 2030+, will develop AI-assisted methods to accelerate the discovery of new materials and battery concepts. It is based on creating new computational models and experimental methods that can go hand in hand towards an understanding of the complex reactions that take place within the battery. It seeks to understand which electrode materials and electrolytes can be best combined to get a battery to store as much energy as possible or to be able to charge quickly in different situations. The project has 34 partners representing 15 countries. The ESRF is one of the six partners in France. Start date: 01/09/2020; duration: 36 months CALIPSOplus is aimed at promoting the international exchange of scientists and transnational access to the light sources in Europe. Other priorities are to integrate the relatively less active regions of Europe and to initiate research projects with small and mid-sized companies. The project is submitted by 19 European lightsources. The ESRF is a contractor in this programme, which is coordinated by Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf. Start date: 01/01/2017; duration: 48 months CREMLINplus (Connecting Russian and European Measures for Large-scale Research Infrastructures - plus) is a Horizon2020 funded project. It is the relaunch of the successful EU project CREMLIN in a significantly expanded form. It will pursue CREMLIN's activity to promote cooperation between large-scale research infrastructures in Russia and the European Union from 2020 onwards. The CREMLINplus consortium brings together 35 partners, 10 from Russia and 25 from the EU and associated countries. The ESRF is contractor of this project. Start date: 01/02/2020; duration: 48 months ENRIITC will build a pan-European network of Industrial Liaison and Contact Officers (ILOs/ICOs). This will be done in a community-driven, cross-functional, cross-sectoral, multiplier-based way which will be inclusive and enable all interested parties to actively participate. With a timeline of 36 months, 11 partners from seven countries, and a strong support from 61 Associates from around Europe, ENRIITC will 1) establish a sustainable European network of ILOs and ICOs which enables mutual learning, 2) map collaboration potential between research infrastructures and industry, 3) develop and refine strategies and best practices to foster these collaborations, 4) raise awareness among industry for collaboration opportunities at research infrastructures, and demonstrate impact. The ESRF is a contractor in this programme, which is coordinated by the European Spallation Source Start date: 01/01/2020; duration: 36 months InnovaXN is a doctoral training programme bringing together the expertise of large-scale research infrastructures with the R&D needs of European industry. Supported by an H2020 MSCA COFUND Programme, 40 PhD students will study a wide variety of subjects driven by industrial challenges, focussed on exploiting the advanced characterisation techniques of the large-scale European facilities in Grenoble, the ESRF and ILL. Start date: 01/10/2019; duration: 60 months LMCat - Liquid Metal Catalysis Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, silicene and others, are currently amongst the most intensively studied classes of materials that hold great promise for future applications in many technological areas. However, the main obstacle preventing a practical utilization of 2DMs is the lack of effective mass production techniques to satisfy the growing qualitative and quantitative demands for scientific and technological applications. The aim of the LMCat project is to develop an instrumentation and methodology capable of studying the ongoing chemical reactions on the molten catalyst. The ESRF is a contractor in this programme, which is coordinated by Leiden University in The Netherlands. Start date: 01/01/2017; duration: 48 months PANOSC - Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud The Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud is a European project for making FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible) data a reality in 6 European Strategy Forum Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). Research Infrastructures such as the ones on the ESFRI roadmap are characterised by the very significant data volumes they generate and handle. These data are of interest to thousands of researchers across scientific disciplines and to other potiential users via Open Access policies. PANOSC will ensure the connection of the research infrastructures identified in the ESFRI roadmap to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). PANOSC received funding from the EU Horizon2020 research and innovation programme. The ESRF is coordinator of this project. Start date: 01/12/2018; duration: 48 months STREAMLINE is a Horizon2020 funded project that will complement the ESRF-EBS upgrade by enhancing user operation through new procedures and systems. The ESRF is the sole beneficiary of the project. Start date: 15/11/2019; duration: 48 months. TEESMAT is a Horizon2020 funded project. It is a platform (or Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB)) dedicated to material characterisation for Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries, Li all-solid batteries, Printed Zn/Li batteries, Lead-acid batteries, Metal-air batteries, redox flow batteries, supercapacitors and any kind of other electrochemical energy storage device. The ESRF is a contractor for this project. Start date: 01/01/2019; duration 44 months. Google Maps A man standing on the ledge of an overpass Tuesday has forced the closure of a part of Interstate 35 near South Park Mall. San Antonio police responded to calls of a man on the interstate near the area of I-35 and Zarzamora Street at around 11:30 a.m. Since then, police have attempted to convince the man to come down from the overpass. Police have not divulged many details. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 21:35:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- If the United States truly intends to promote and protect human rights, a diplomat in Geneva said, it should take effective measures to cope with the pandemic and prevent the heavy loss of lives in the first place. -- Several reports submitted to the working group of the review indicated that racial disparities persisted throughout the U.S. criminal justice system, and African Americans were nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated. -- A number of questions were raised during the review. Has the United States adopted any measure to redress arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and other human rights violations committed by the CIA and other intelligence agencies overseas? GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted on Wednesday the outcomes of its Universal Periodic Review of the United States, shedding light on the appalling state of basic human rights in the country. During the review, a U.S. representative underscored the country's pride in its human rights records, whereas a series of alarming facts painted a different portrait of the self-proclaimed "leader of the free world." For example, a group of UN recognized NGOs told the council that discrimination and inequality have been long-standing challenges in the country, with incidences of harassment and discrimination accelerating over the past two years. It remains uncertain whether the report could propel change in the world's largest economy, long used to highlighting human rights concerns in other countries. "ALARMING INEQUALITIES" The United States, home to less than 5 percent of the world's population, has logged about a quarter of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases and one fifth of global deaths from the disease. During the periodic review, several countries urged the country to respect right to life and health of Americans and quit politicizing the pandemic. A man wearing a face mask walks past the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 24, 2021. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) "We would strongly recommend the U.S. government that they establish a public system guaranteeing the right to health for their people who have been decimated because of COVID-19," noted a representative of Venezuela. In a written recommendation, Turkey said the United States should guarantee free health care to all segments of American society during the epidemic. Cuba said Washington should guarantee the right to health, especially in the context of COVID-19, and Singapore suggested the United States continue its efforts to build a more inclusive society and reduce inequalities, including updating its strategic plan to address the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on vulnerable populations. If the United States truly intends to promote and protect human rights, a diplomat in Geneva said, it should take effective measures to cope with the pandemic and prevent the heavy loss of lives in the first place. For UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, what stood behind the widespread protests affecting hundreds of U.S. cities last year were the "alarming inequalities" exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Racial minority populations in the country often experience higher hunger rates linked to poverty, according to review documents. "In the United States, protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd are highlighting not only police violence against people of color, but also inequalities in health, education, employment and endemic racial discrimination," said the UN human rights chief. A protester holds a sign near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "BLACK LIVES DO NOT MATTER" Racial discrimination and police brutality illustrate the extent of human rights violations in the United States. Several reports submitted to the working group of the review indicated that racial disparities persisted throughout the U.S. criminal justice system, and African Americans were nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated. For instance, George Floyd, an African American, died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes in May 2020, which soon triggered protests against racism and police brutality across the globe. "Black lives do not matter in the United States of America," said George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, addressing an urgent debate held by the UN Human Rights Council last year. During this round of the review, Professor Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, noted the long-standing structural discrimination on the basis of race, saying the United States remained a segregated society, while several other UN experts warned that racism and xenophobia were on the rise in the country. Mass incarceration, police violence, housing segregation, disparity in the quality of education, labour market segmentation, political disenfranchisement and environmental degradation continued to disproportionately impact Black people, according to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. A police officer raises his gun during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua) Institutionalized racism, especially within law enforcement, was another issue raised. India suggested the United States strengthen gun legislation to combat racial injustice and killings. Russia called for effective measures to end racial profiling by law enforcement agencies, and Austria raised the issue of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials. Despite strong evidence of excessive and often lethal force, officers were often not criminally charged or otherwise held accountable, the review showed. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The number of human rights concerns continue to pile up for the United States. Rural communities in the country lack access to basic sanitation, with little political will to rectify the problem through adequate infrastructure funding. De Schutter noted that almost a quarter of full-time workers and three quarters of part-time workers in the country receive no paid sick leave. Medical workers wheel a patient into the emergency room at Maimonides Medical Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, March 8, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua) Punishing and imprisoning the poor were distinctively American responses to poverty. Workers who failed to repay their debts, those who cannot afford private probation services, minorities targeted for traffic infractions, the mentally ill and fathers who cannot pay child support were locked up. A number of questions were raised during the review. Has the United States adopted any measure to redress arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and other human rights violations committed by the CIA and other intelligence agencies overseas? Have those responsible for perpetuating or ordering such violations been held accountable? Does the United States plan to end its military interventions in other countries and stop killing their civilians wantonly? A representative of the Chinese delegation pointed out Wednesday that the United States "neither apologizes for its evil past of genocide nor provides reparation to the victims," but instead "maliciously slanders other countries out of political motivation." A Syrian representative on Wednesday asked that since some recommendations to the United States have been addressed under the banner of national security, does this mean that crimes as a result of U.S. military aggression are legal and justified under its national laws? As a representative from Belarus commented, "the Americans wish to put other people's houses in order in the field of human rights," and that should not serve as justification for a dismissive attitude towards their own problems. (Video reporters: Nie Xiaoyang, Du Yang; video editor: Hong Lin) Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. [March 18, 2021] Peptomyc's Omomyc-based therapy, OMO-103, has obtained approval for first-in-human phase I/II trial to assess the efficacy and safety of a novel Myc inhibitor BARCELONA, Spain, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Co-founded back in 2014 by VHIOs Laura Soucek, CEO of the enterprise, and Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the company, VHIO-born spin-off Peptomyc S.L. has just announced that it has received approval from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices for conducting clinical trials in Spain (AEMPS), to initiate the first-in-human Phase I/II clinical trial with its first compound - a disruptive Myc inhibitor, Omomyc (OMO-103). Building on the proven preclinical efficacy and safety of the Omomyc cell-penetrating peptide (CCP) in mouse models, and Peptomycs companys successful development of anti-Myc peptides for the treatment of several tumor types, this latest milestone represents a greatly anticipated leap into the clinical research setting and an important step forward in becoming the first ever clinically viable and direct inhibitor of Myc a protein implicated in the formation of most tumor types. Commenting for VHIOs Global Communications, Laura Soucek, Principal Investigator of VHIOs Mouse Models of Cancer Therapies and an ICREA Research Professor said, MYC has been considered an undruggable cancer target for many years. We have previously shown that Myc blockade has an excellent therapeutic effect in several mouse models, with mild side effects that are well tolerated and reversible. Now that we have received approval to initiate our early phase clinical trial, we can further progress in testing the safety and efficacy of our Omomyc-based therapy for the benefit of those who matter the most our patients. Over the last 20 years Lauras determined research efforts have centered on proving countless cynics wrong in her ambitions to combat resistance to therapy andcancer regression through clinically inhibiting the Myc oncogene. Found deregulated in most, if not all tumor types, and as a key driver of cancer progression and maintenance, Myc is consequently a major contender as a cancer target and yet, its promise has not yet been successfully translated into benefits at the patient level. At the preclinical level, we have reported the efficacy of Omomyc as a cell penetrating peptide essentially, a mini-protein with the ability to enter cells and reach its target compartment, namely, the nucleus. The successful intravenous systemic administration of our mini-protein MYC inhibitor against lung cancer and other malignancies, has led to this weeks exciting development, said Marie-Eve Beaulieu, Peptomycs Chief Scientific Officer. She added, Our strategy differs immensely from other previous approaches aimed at inhibiting Myc. Our Omomyc mini-protein is large enough to accurately fold and adapt to Myc's disordered structure, which determines the specificity of inhibition. At the same time, it is small enough to penetrate tumor cells and nuclei in order to reach its target. By conducting our first-in-human early phase clinical trial, we hope to drive this novel therapy into the clinic for the more effective treatment of multiple tumor types. Twenty patients with advanced solid tumors across various cancer types, whose disease has progressed after previous treatments, will be enrolled in the Phase I study. This clinical trial will be carried out at three different Spanish sites: our Vall dHebron University Hospital (HUVH), also located within the Vall dHebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, the HM Sanchinarro University Hospital, and the Fundacion Jimenez Diaz University Hospital (Madrid). VHIOs Elena Garralda, Director of our Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer (UITM) la Caixa Foundation, and Head of Early Clinical Drug Development at our Institute, is the Principal Investigator of Peptomycs clinical study at Vall dHebron. She noted, I am honored and privileged to participate in this study of a VHIO-developed molecule. Since Myc has traditionally been considered as an impossible drug target, this clinical trial represents a pivotal development. Confirmation of OMO-103s safety and efficacy in patients would be extremely important for the future treatment of cancer. To get to where we are today has been a long and challenging journey. While we have had to overcome many obstacles, we have successfully proven our hypothesis about Myc by achieving amazing results in animal models. We very much hope that Omomyc will meet the same expectations in clinical research lso that we can ultimately provide new hope for cancer patients, particularly for those suffering from advanced disease, concluded Laura Soucek. PEPTOMYC S.L. Office email: info@peptomyc.com Centre CELLEX - C/ Natzaret, 115-117 - Barcelona, Spain, 08035 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The police have opposed moves by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to take over the prosecution of a former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, who was charged with harrassmsent and criminal intimidation of his former mistress, Chinyere Amuchienwa. A lawyer from the AGFs office, Bagudu Sani, on Thursday, appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja, announcing the decision of the office to take over the case from the police which instituted the charges in November last year. The move was opposed by the lawyer to the police, R.F Dimka. PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported in details the dirty fight between Mr Ohakim and Ms Amuchienwa. An offshoot of the dirty fight is also pending before Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court in Maitama, Abuja, where the police had on November 11, 2020, arraigned Mr Ohakim on charges of giving false information against Ms Amuchienwa. PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately verify if the the AGF is similarly taking steps to take over the case at the FCT High Court. Thursday hearing Mr Ohakim, who was governor of Imo State from 2007 to 2011, and his co-defendant, Chinedu Okpareke, were scheduled to be arraigned on five counts before the Federal High Court on Thursday. But the judge, Taiwo Taiwo, had to defer the arraignment following the dispute arising from the AGFs move to take over the prosecution from the police. The office of the AGF has taken over prosecution of the case from the police via a letter dated March 17, 2021, Mr Sani said after the matter was called on Thursday. He said the letter had been sent to the IGP whom he said had also acknowledged receiving it. But opposing the taking over move, the police lawyer, Ms Dimka, said the police were the complainant in the case and were responsible for the filing of the charges. The judge then asked the lawyer from the AGF office to serve copies of the letter sent to the IGP on all the parties to the case. He also asked parties to file written addresses on the issue to enable him to take a decision on the propriety of the AGF offices moves to take over the case. The judge adjourned the case till May 6. Charges The police, in the case marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/287/2020, accused Mr Ohakim and his co-accused, Mr Okpareke, of harassing, intimidating and bullying Ms Amuchienwa. In the charges dated November 25, 2020, the police alleged that Messrs Ohakim and Okpareke, knowingly and intentionally transmitted communication through a computer system to harass and bully Ms Amuchienwa, an alleged offence said to be punishable under Section 24(1)(a) of the Cybercrime Act 2015. Part of the charges read, That you Chinendu Okpareke m 49, and Ikedi Ohakim m and others now at large on Aug. 13, 2020 within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire among yourselves by knowingly and intentionally sending messages by means of computer system or network in a grossly offensive, pornographic, nude of an indecent obscene and menacing character of one Chinyere Amuchienwa f and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1)(a) of the Cybercrime Act 2015. That you Chinendu Okpareke m 49, and Ikedi Ohakim m and others now at large on Aug. 13, 2020 within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire among yourselves to cause annoyance and criminal intimidation to one Chinyere Amuchienwa f and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1)(a) of the Cybercrime Act 2015. ADVERTISEMENT FCT court charges In the charges pending at the FCT High Court, Mr Ohakim was accused of giving false information against Ms Amuchienwa. The prosecution alleged in the case marked CR/993/2020 that Mr Ohakim gave false informarion that Ms Amuchienwa threatened him with a gun. It also alleged that the ex-governor made a false claim to her that he had a plot of land for sale in Lagos State. Mr Ohakim was equally alleged to have unlawfully used the name of Raji Fashola as the owner of the purported land situated at Ikeja, Lagos State. The offences were said to be punishable under various provisions of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968. The former governor was arraigned before Samira Bature of the FCT High Court, Maitama, on November 11, 2020 and was immediately granted bail by the judge. ORANGE The union representing school security officers employed by the Board of Education has filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, triggered by the layoffs of three officers at local schools. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed the complaint against the Board of Education on behalf of AFSCME Local 1303-486, the entire bargaining unit, as the layoffs caused unilateral changes regarding working conditions for those still currently employed, said Renee Hamel, spokeswoman for the union. In the complaint, the Council 4 union alleges the Board of Education failed to bargain with the union. In the layoff notice received by John Winchell, who was a security officer at Turkey Hill School, the Board of Education stated that revenue to pay the security guards salaries had declined due to a drop in after-school enrollment this year. I was shocked to get my pink slip, said Winchell, who became a full-time security officer in 2018. School officials did not respond to requests for comment on the complaint or possible changes as a result of the loss of the employees. In the layoff notice to Winchell, provided by the union and on Board of Education letterhead, also reads: As you are also aware, we have also had to layoff several members of the staff who work in the after school program. The notice also says, regarding Winchells layoff, We regret that we were forced to make this decision. There has been public outcry on local social media sites about Winchells layoff. I know these kids, its like an extended family, Winchell said. The parents know I have a vested interest. Ive never done this for the money, it was always about my love of being there and around the kids. The names of the other two laid-off security officers were not released, Hamel said. The complaint also alleges employees were discharged because they signed a union petition. The bargaining unit won its union election in late January and was certified by the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations, Hamel said. Before that, they were the only Board of Education employees without union representation. Part of their motivation to organize, Hamel wrote in a release, stemmed from demands to perform other work, such as custodial duties. We wouldnt mind helping out and keeping our environment clean, but it was taking us away from our desks and monitors where were keeping an eye on things and doing what we were supposed to, Winchell said. He said the board laid off the officers before they could sit down at the table and work out a contract. AFSCME Field Representative Alex Guzman said, in a release from the union. These workers want fair treatment, respect, and dignity. The actions of the Orange Board of Education are shameful, especially in a global pandemic, and proves why they need a contract. A preliminary conference has been scheduled for March 30 at the Board of Education offices. The complaint makes numerous allegations, including that the board didnt use seniority in the layoffs, failed to bargain with the union, and made unilateral changes in the condition of employment, which was not prior practice before the union was established. The union is seeking to have attorney fees paid for by the board and to make all affected parties whole. The AFSCME bargaining unit maintains that laying off dedicated public servants in the middle of a global pandemic...is a demonstration of bad faith by the Orange Board of Education. In their February 9th budget meeting, a Board of Education member discussed hiring retired police officers to replace currently employed security monitors, the union release states. NISKAYUNA - A town police officer said that ongoing stress and an unhealthy work environment that the former police chief and some town leaders ignored for years are among the reasons the department has suffered and he is leaving. The resignation letter to Acting Police Chief Frances Wall, which was obtained by the Times Union, includes a reference to former Badge #49 and not the officer's name, but several members during Wednesday's special virtual meeting of the Town Boards Police and Public Safety Committee identified him. The Times Union is not identifying him because his name was not on the letter. The officer also said the department is short-staffed, lacks the proper training and equipment, and did not receive support or funding from previous administrations and town leaders. "The town was consistently made aware of the unhealthy work environment, need for officers, need for training and equipment but seemingly did not care," wrote the officer, who joined the department about seven years ago. "This ultimately creates a public safety hazard not only for the officers but also for the town residents. " Specifically, he mentions that before Wall took over in July, the department had gone almost 11 years without any active shooter drills "even though an incident in the town took place." "It has been too many years of headaches and hope of a possible turn around that I have decided to seek better employment," states the officer, adding that the department "has gone understaffed causing undue stress, mandates and tired officers." Deputy Police Chief Michael Stevens countered Wednesday that he could recall at least three active shooter training sessions in the past 11 years and that Niskayuna also late last year participated in countywide one. He said it was unclear to him what active shooter incident the officer was talking about. Councilman Bill McPartlon said Wednesday he had asked Wall to be at the committee meeting to address some of the issues in the letter and talk about the "plan going forward." She was absent and some board members said they told her that the personnel matter should be discussed behind closed doors. Wall did not immediately respond to an email Thursday seeking comment. Stevens told the committee Wednesday that the officer appears to be a disgruntled employee. "It's been my experience of 19 years of doing this that when officers become disgruntled, there's two things they always do - they always say morale is down and we get no training," he told the panel that included several board members and department heads. Supervisor Yasmine Syed said Wednesday that letter is unsettling. "We want to address the issues that were brought up and try to get to get to the bottom of it, and try to figure out a way to mitigate and solve those issues that exist, provided that they do," said Syed. "We really want to hear from her(chief), how can we assist you in addressing the needs of your department." While the officer credits Wall for being the one person to show support for your employees and trying to make things better, he said the police force suffered under the leadership of now retired Police Chief Dan McManus. Ever since the promotion of former Chief McManus the morale of the entire police force was on a steady decline ultimately reaching a breaking point causing anonymous letters and accusations to be made, the officer writes, adding this has now made it even harder to find and keep good officers Wall was appointed acting chief when McManus was placed on paid leave while the town investigated allegations that he and another police administrator may have violated town policies. McManus retired in early September and the town ended the probe into him. But an investigation into possible violations by Stevens the deputy chief is ongoing. Last fall sources briefed on the matter, but not authorized to comment publicly, said the investigation of McManus was to examine allegations the ex-chief had a personal relationship with a female staffer with ties to the owner of a local business that successfully bid to repair the departments police cars. The officer who wrote the letter says the department has gone downhill over the past decade, is no longer a destination, and that he will miss my NPD family. The departing officer, who is done at the end of the month, ends by offering colleagues some advice. I hope and encourage all of the officers of the Niskayuna Police Department to seek better employment because the town will never support their officers in the capacity or fashion that is needed and required during these trying times, he said. A look at the J&J vaccine to be produced by Hyderabad's Biological E Hyderabad-based drugmaker Biological is set to produce Covid-19 vaccines developed in the US including the Johnson & Johnson candidate. A report in ThePrint provides a closer look at the vaccine. The inoculant is a single-dose vaccine, unlike most others such as the Pfizer and Moderna shots that need two doses. While the Pfizer and Moderna products are mRNA vaccines, the J&J shot is an adenovirus vector vaccine that works on a principle similar to mRNA but uses a different virus. A big advantage for the J&J shot is that it does not need ultracold temperatures, unlike the mRNA vaccines, the report said. Read more here Maharashtra is in the beginning of second wave of Covid-19: Centre The Centre has pulled up the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra for not adequately enforcing norms to curb the spread of the virus, a report in the Scroll said. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte urging the state to focus on containment strategies. The letters are based on the assessment of a central team that visited the state between March 7 and 11. Bhushan said Maharashtra is in the beginning of a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic" and asked the authorities to step up contact tracing and vaccination. Read more here Health insurance coverage jumped in months after pandemic hit Health insurance coverage surged by69.8 per cent in the months after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the finance ministry informed the Lok Sabha earlier in the week, a report in ThePrint said. In his written reply to a question, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said insurance regulator IRDAI has informed that the total number of lives covered under health insurance business (excluding Personal Accident & Travel Business) from 1.4.2020 to 30.9.2020 has been 30.22 Crore (provisional data) as compared to 17.83 Crore for the period from 1.4.2019 to 30.9.2019 showing a growth of 69.8%. Read more here Why increased use of hand sanitisers may be bad news in the long term While the increased use of hand sanitisers since the pandemic hit has helped in containing the transmission of the coronavirus, it could also present problems for human health and the environment in the long term, a report in The Wire said. Hand sanitisers are mainly made of alcohol and and may be toxic when misused. One study noted that regular use of ethanol-based hand sanitisers resulted in low but measurable blood concentrations of ethanol. While the levels were not toxic, the continuous application can result in chronic toxicity, increasing the risk of health problems such as eczema or skin cancer, the report said. Read more here Mosquito protein inhibits viruses, raises hope against Covid: Research According to a new study carried out by scientists at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), a mosquito protein called AEG12 inhibits the family of viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, Zika, and also weakly inhibits coronaviruses, a report in The Indian Express said. The protein works by destabilising the viral envelope and it does not affect viruses that do not have an envelope. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS, could lead to therapeutics against viruses that affect millions of people worldwide, the report said. Read more here Aiming for fast, resilient, high-capacity service capabilities, Cinia, a provider of secure high-availability data network, cybersecurity, and software solutions (with a fiber-optic network of approximately 10,000 miles) upped its game in the digital transformation space with an upgrade to its backbone transport network in Finland and Northern Europe. Real-Time Communications (RTC) and Digital Service Providers (DSPs) are increasingly challenged to address the massive growth of digital traffic driven by mobile applications, multimedia services, VoIP, social media, and cloud computing. The performance enhancements delivered by 5G are supporting the expansion of automated systems, industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and general IoT solutions. Real-time gaming, augmented reality, virtual reality, and other advanced services, including the evolution of smart cities and regions, autonomous vehicles, and more, will drive the need for 5G, especially for mobile computing. Tapping technologies including transport and switching platforms from Ribbon Communications (News - Alert) , the service provider is leveraging Ribbons Apollo 9600 series of optical transport platforms and Apollo 9900 series OTN switching at critical nodes for wavelength grooming and route protection. The flexgrid backbone accelerates service provisioning by using colorless, directionless ROADMs (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers) to map services onto wavelengths. The solution also transports and monitors alien lambdas, enabling Cinia to offer other carriers transit services with their own wavelengths. The importance of connectivity platforms including transport networks has clearly increased in todays digital society, and this applies directly to Cinias customers as well, said Taneli Vuorinen, Executive Vice President from Cinia. Our long-term co-operation with Ribbons IP Optical team (former ECI) has been successful, and by deploying Ribbons optical transport networking (OTN) solutions into Cinias backbone network, weve increased our flexibility and offering to respond to market demand. Cinia offers a very specific set of capabilities to its customers, and seamless transport continuity is paramount, said Steve McCaffery, Ribbons Executive Vice President Sales of EMEA and APAC. Our modular optical networking solution enabled them to upgrade their network capabilities with no interruption while further enhancing the quality of their commercial offering. Additionally, the deployed platform with Ribbons TM800E programmable transmission blades enables transport of 400GbE client connections, adding the latest generation of high-speed service functionality while maintaining network efficiency. According to a Modor Intelligence report recently published, the Optical Wavelength Services Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2021 to 2026. Optical Wavelength Services (OWS) are fiber networking solutions that give customers with dedicated broadband, framing-independent transport networks. Modor says, The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and developing automation trends have exponentially enhanced data traffic, whereby creating expanded bandwidth demands for large companies and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) acknowledging the need for OWS. According to Cisco Systems (News - Alert) Inc., the average smartphone will produce 11 GB data traffic per month by 2022, which is more than a four-and-a-half-fold jump over the 2017 average of 2 GB data per month. The rise in mobile traffic will generate a massive opportunity for the optical transport network market. Optical Transport Network (OTN) interface technology, Modor says, is poised to record the highest growth during the forecast period. With the advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, a substantial amount of data is expected to be generated. Modor also indicated OTN gives numerous benefits over traditional WDM transponder-based networks, including reliability, improved efficiency, and protected wavelength-based private services. Furthermore, OTN switches at fiber junctions facilitate the optimal use of the optical spectrum. Edited by Maurice Nagle 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. Mexicos likely approval of a law legalizing marijuana possibly next month could make it the worlds most populated country to authorize cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. That would have a big impact on the United States. Some marijuana industry advocates, such as Mexicos former President Vicente Fox, say the countrys expected passage of this law will push the Biden administration to legalize weed at the federal level in the United States. On March 10, Mexicos Chamber of Deputies approved the marijuana-legalization bill, which the pro-government majority Senate is expected to pass. It then would be signed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Mexicos Supreme Court has given an April 30 deadline for Congress to pass the bill. Fox, who is on the board of the Khiron Life Sciences Corp. a Colombian-Canadian partnership that sells marijuana for medical uses told me that he expects Mexico to become a major exporter of legal marijuana to the United States. The new bill leaves the door open to imports and exports of marijuana products, Fox said in an interview. And marijuana production is five times cheaper in Mexico than in the United States. Even if U.S. or Mexican authorities place regulatory hurdles, Fox said that, Mexico will take advantage of this opportunity. There are 1 million border crossings a day to and from Mexico to the United States, and Mexico will have a big (price) advantage in U.S. states where marijuana is not legal. Mexicos legalization of cannabis would come two years after Canada authorized the possession, sale and distribution of the product. That means that the United States would be sandwiched between two major markets that allow marijuana for medical and recreational use. If the whole world is going in that direction, the United States wont stay behind, Fox told me. Mexico, with a population of 130 million, would be the worlds biggest legal-marijuana market, followed by Canada, with a population of 38 million. In 2013, Uruguay was the first country to legalize production, consumption and sales of marijuana. Story continues Fox foresees the day in which the United States, Canada and Mexico will produce and export marijuana to the rest of the world. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, It will be an impressive boom, he told me. Biden has not yet indicated support for legalizing pot for recreational use nationally. More than 30 states already allow marijuana sales for medical use, and 14 others have legalized consumption for recreational use. There are high expectations among marijuana advocates that Biden will at least de-criminalize marijuana nationally. Most cannabis research firms are skeptical about Foxs forecast that Mexicos legal marijuana sales will skyrocket. Marijuana consumption is still low in Mexico, there will be many regulatory burdens and it will take years for the cannabis business to develop, they say. A preliminary estimate by the Chicago-based Brightfield Group, a cannabis research firm, says the Mexican market will hit $327 million by 2025. By comparison, the firm expects the U.S. market to grow to $45 billion in 2025. Also, many experts doubt the 1-million-a-day border crossings will translate into massive marijuana smuggling, because of strict customs controls. Still, there will be an impact on the United States, they say. Jamie Schau, Brightfields research manager, says that Mexicos legalization would put more pressure on neighboring U.S. states that have not legalized marijuana, such as Texas and New Mexico, to move toward legalization. Texas and New Mexico have massive populations that are influenced by Mexicos culture, Schau told me. If it becomes more normalized by Mexicos population to use it, more culturally accepted, less demonized, the fear around it will subside. Mexicos legalization of pot could also have some potential impact on Florida and even markets where its legal, because, There will be a wider de-stigmatization, and that leads to more acceptance, she told me. I agree. We probably wont see the impressive boom in Mexicos legal pot sales to the United States that Fox talks about, or a North American legal weed market, anytime soon. But as late Mexican Nobel laureate poet Octavio Paz once told me, Geography is the mother of history. If both Mexico and Canada have legalized marijuana, it will be only a matter of time until it spills over to the United States. Dont miss the Oppenheimer Presenta TV show at 8 p.m. E.T. Sunday on CNN en Espanol. Twitter: @oppenheimera TALLAHASSEE, FL The Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Department of Health have issued a statement detailing their new partnership with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to provide vaccinations to individuals living with HIV in Florida. Their statement reads as follows: "State of Florida Provides 9,000 Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine to AIDS Healthcare Foundation for Vulnerable Populations Today (3/12/21), the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Department of Health announced a new partnership with AIDS Healthcare Foundation to provide vaccinations to individuals living with HIV in Florida. According to the CDC , people who are in an immunocompromised state from HIV may be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. By providing vaccine directly to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the state is ensuring that this population has access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Through this partnership, AIDS Healthcare Foundation will be administering this vaccine at 18 locations in the following eight counties: Broward Miami-Dade Duval Escambia Lee Orange Palm Beach Pinellas AIDS Healthcare Foundation is a global nonprofit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.5 million people in 45 countries. AIDS Healthcare Foundation is currently the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the U.S, and covers approximately 30 thousand individuals in Florida. According to the latest data, there are approximately 134,900 Floridians living with HIV. At this time, under Executive Order 21-47, individuals deemed extremely vulnerable by a physician are eligible and can be vaccinated by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse or licensed pharmacist if they have a completed Florida Department of Health Form. To find a list of all sites currently administering the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida, please visit https://floridahealthcovid19. gov/vaccines/vaccine-locator/ ALL FOR NAUGHT: The pipes which were in the Oyen area which were ready to be put in the ground for Keystone pipeline project during the summer of 2020. A failure to cut pollution will cost governments around the world billions, according to University of Cambridge economists who used artificial intelligence to forecast climate changes effect on sovereign credit ratings. If emissions continue at current levels, 63 countries will see ratings downgrades of more than one notch by 2030, acording to the group, which includes Moritz Kraemer, S&P Global Ratings former chief sovereign ratings officer. The U.S. grade would drop by two notches, and as much as three levels for Germany, India and the Netherlands. Even meeting Paris Agreement commitments will mean an average cut of 0.65. Additional interest payments on sovereign debt caused by the climate-induced downgrades alone could cost Treasuries between $137 billion and $205 billion increase in annual interest payments in the next eight decades, and would represent a mere sliver of the economic consequences of untrammeled emissions, the team of economists said in a statement. The warning comes as countries issue historic levels of debt to cope with the pandemic, and regulators caution that largely unregulated climate information opens the door for greenwashing and bubbles in the booming market for securities that address environmental, social and governance ills. The researchers urged ratings companies to integrate into assessments, citing their failure to anticipate the financial crisis of 2008. As batters national economies, debts will become harder and more expensive to service, Matthew Agarwala, an environmental economist at Cambridges Bennett Institute for Public Policy, said in the statement. need credible, digestible information on how translates into material risk. The researchers used artificial intelligence to calculate climate changes effect on S&P ratings for 108 countries over several time periods. They said that without serious emissions reductions 80 countries will see ratings cut by an average of 2.48 notches by 2100, with India and Canada dropping by more than five notches and China by eight. By comparison, the pandemic has so far led to 48 sovereign downgrades by the three major agencies between January 2020 and last month, the researchers said. Hit to GDP Bond buyers need to start factoring into investment decisions as countries with the highest risk to climate change could see more than a fifth of their economic output wiped out by 2050, according to an analysis by index provider Russell. The U.S. is projected to lose 20 per cent of its per-capita by 2050 in a worst-case scenario, with nations closer to the equator or with high-carbon economies even more vulnerable, according to the Russell report. Malaysia could see the worst economic hit at 31 per cent. The projections, based on trends of greenhouse-gas emissions and countries mitigation efforts, show the risk for investors of long-term bets on sovereign bonds. Investors are holding government bonds with ever-longer maturities, Kraemer said. The agencies short time horizon increasingly leaves investors without a reliable yardstick for credit exposures that can extend up to a hundred years. Environmental considerations are becoming increasingly relevant when Moodys Investors Service assesses credit quality. A report the ratings firm published in December showed 18 sectors have a combined $7.2 trillion of debt with high inherent exposure to physical climate risks, such as devastating wildfires, storms and other calamities. To put that in perspective, only the U.S. and China have a thats larger. Japan, the worlds third-largest economy, has a GDP of about $5 trillion. Developing nations with lower credit ratings are expected to suffer more from the physical effects of climate change, while top-rated nations will probably face more severe downgrades, the Cambridge team said, noting that this fits with the nature of sovereign ratings: those at the top have further to fall. Missing Briton Sarm Heslop's parents have told of their heartache at the disappearance of their 'beautiful and cherished daughter' in the Caribbean. Peter Heslop and Brenda Street said they still had 'hope of finding her alive' and would 'never give up' looking for Sarm. They urged the islands' authorities to ensure that 'everything possible' is being done to find the missing 41-year-old former air hostess and thanked the people of the United States Virgin Islands for their help in the search. In a statement the family said: 'We are shocked and distraught that Sarm is missing. Sarm Heslop (left), from Southampton, was last seen on a catamaran in the US Virgin Islands. Her American boyfriend Ryan Bane (right) claims he was woken by the sound of the boat's anchor alarm the following morning and discovered Ms Heslop was missing 'We would like assurance that the authorities in the Virgin Islands are doing everything possible to find her and that the investigation into our beautiful and cherished daughter's disappearance includes a comprehensive fingertip search of the boat. 'Our daughter is a UK citizen and we ask for all of the support that the UK authorities have to offer. 'Our thanks go to the local people of St John's [island] who continue to search for Sarm. 'We will never give up looking for Sarm and we still have hope of finding her safe.' Sarm, from Southampton, was last seen on board the 47-foot 500,000 yacht Siren Song where she had been living with American boyfriend Ryan Bane, on March 7th. Mr Bane, 44, claims he was woken by the sound of a boat's anchor alarm at 2am the following morning and discovered Sarm was missing. Her best friend Andrew Baldwin said it was completely out of character for her to disappear and revealed that all of her personal belongings had been left on the boat. He said: 'We have heard that Sarm's phone, passport and all belongings were left on the boat, where she she was living with her boyfriend. 'She would not just disappear, leaving no trace. 'She is savvy and sensible, it's not like her at all, it just does not make sense.' Mr Baldwin revealed that investigators from the Virgin Islands Police Department were now in possession of Sarm's belongings but they had still not searched the boat. He said: 'We understand that even now, 11 days later, the boat has not been searched by the police. Ms Heslop's parents said they still had 'hope of finding her alive' and would 'never give up' looking for their daughter The 41-year-old was last seen on board the 500,000 yacht Siren Song where she had been living with her boyfriend 'We are asking for an urgent and immediate investigation into this incident as her friends here at home are devastated and just need her disappearance to be made a critical priority as there seem to be many discrepancies in the timeline of what we have heard. 'We would appeal to Ryan to provide as many details as possible.' Mr Baldwin added there were remained many questions about Sarm's movements. He said: 'Sarm was last seen having dinner with Ryan in a restaurant on St John's. 'They got back to the boat at 10pm. 'We are keen to understand what happened between 10pm and 2am and in the hours before the alarm was raised with the US Coast Guard at 11.46am' Mr Baldwin added: 'We would like to thank all the local community for their support in searching for Sarm both on water and land. They have been so amazing but we urge them not to give up until she is found or we have more information.' Sarm, who previous worked as an air hostess for FlyBe, sailed to the Caribbean in January last year and became stranded after the Coronavirus cut off travel to the rest of the world. She met yacht owner Mr Bane in July last year. Sarm took up a job in a call centre in Malta in October last year as world travel opened up. But she stayed in touch with Bane returned to the Caribbean to be with him at the end of last year. She is described as 5 feet 8 Caucasian female of slim build. She has a coloured tattoo on her left shoulder. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - BELGRAVIA HARTFORD CAPITAL INC. (CSE: BLGV) ("Belgravia Hartford", "Belgravia" or the "Company") wishes to announce that on Friday, March 12, 2021, it served a motion for summary judgment to be heard in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List), seeking payment from Zonetail Inc. (TSXV: Zone) on its promissory note in the amount of $325,000 plus accumulating interest of 18% annually. Belgravia's legal position is that Zonetail has no right of set-off against amounts owed. In July 2018, Belgravia issued a demand unsecured promissory note to Zonetail in the amount of $325,000 plus interest at a rate of 18% (the "Promissory Note"). Belgravia demanded payment on the Promissory Note on November 1, 2019. One year of interest at 18% has been paid by Zonetail, however, since November 2019 unpaid interest has been accumulating on top of the debt. In Belgravia's view, Zonetail has continuously delayed payment of the friendly structured Promissory Note through frivolous litigation tactics. Belgravia's motion for summary judgment seeks immediate repayment on the Promissory Note plus accrued interest. Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO of Belgravia Hartford, said, "The outstanding debt owed by Zonetail with its rapidly growing interest ($403,000 as of March 1, 2021) and the current equity position held by Belgravia (1,425,000 shares of Zone) represents less than 3% of the Net Asset Value of Belgravia Hartford's total portfolio. Accordingly, Belgravia remains extremely confident, committed, and determined to collect the outstanding debt owed by Zonetail." About Belgravia Hartford Belgravia Hartford Capital Inc. is a Canadian publically traded investment holding company which invests in public and private companies in legal jurisdictions and under the rule of law. Belgravia Hartford and its investment holdings are high risk business ventures and expose shareholders to financial risks. For more information, please visit www.belgraviahartford.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding planned investment activities & related returns, the timing for completion of research and development activities, the potential value of royalties, and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, changes in market trends, the completion, results and timing of research undertaken by the Company, risks associated with resource assets, the impact of general economic conditions, commodity prices, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory, environmental, and governmental approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. For More Information, Please Contact: Mehdi Azodi, President & CEO Belgravia Hartford Capital Inc. (250) 763-5533 mazodi@blgv.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77783 LATEST March 18, 10 a.m. Police said Thursday a 2-year-old boy who was abducted earlier this week has been found and is safe. March 18, 8:30 a.m. Officials issued an Amber Alert on Thursday morning, asking for help finding a 2-year-old boy who police said was abducted in Oakland earlier this week. Michael Hamilton is described as being 3 feet tall and weighing 35 pounds; he has brown eyes, brown hair and medium complexion, according to a statement from the Oakland Police Department. The kidnap victim was wearing a blue sweater, blue pants and blue shoes when he was last seen on Tuesday. Police said the boy was abducted by a family friend named Tanisha, described as a Black woman 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet tall, 200 pounds and medium complexion with acne on the cheeks. "She was last seen wearing a blonde wig with ponytails, black jacket, black pants, and has rings on all her fingers," police said. The suspect was last seen driving a 2021 Black Nissan Versa rental car with California license plate 8TYX914. If you see the boy or suspect, call 911. CHP Michael was in the back seat of a rental car with his aunt and his aunt's friend Tanisha on March 16 when they made a stop at a store in the area of East 27th Street and Fruitvale Avenue, police said. When the aunt went inside the store, Tanisha drove away with Michael still seated in the rear seat and hasn't been in contact since, police said. Anyone with information about the incident can call Oakland Police Departments Missing Persons Unit at (510) 238-3641. CHP The alert was issued by CHP on behalf of the Oakland Police Department. Amber Alerts are messages distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding children who have been abducted. Beauty brand said on Thursday that it has closed its Rs 175 crore Series C funding round with investments from Ascent Capital, and Consumer. This also marks one of the first investments made by e-commerce giant in a beauty brand in India. With the Series C round becomes the fastest D2C (direct to consumer) beauty brand to cross the $100 million valuation mark in just three years of launch. was founded in 2017 by Darpan Sanghvi and Priyanka Gill. The brand offers a range of over 600 cruelty-free and vegan products across makeup, skincare and personal care. While it is digital-first, MyGlamm also has over 10,000 offline points of sales across 70 cities in India. We are really excited about all that we will be able to learn from both, and Consumer along with the financial rigour that Ascent Capital brings, as we move forward to fulfil our vision of building Indias largest beauty company leveraging DTC, digital, and data, said Darpan Sanghvi, founder and CEO, MyGlamm. The company will utilise its latest funding to invest in product development, support data science and technology research. The funding would also help it increase offline expansion, fund working capital requirements and expand content creation capabilities and digital reach of POPxo and Plixxo. With this fundraising, we will further invest in enhancing our content and influencer capabilities to not only build out MyGlamm as Indias largest beauty company but also consolidate POPxo as Indias leading digital destination for women and Plixxo as Indias most engaging influencer platform, said Priyanka Gill, co-founder and president, MyGlamm. Ascent Capital was the first investor in Indias largest online grocery delivery service BigBasket. It also backed other consumer brands such as FreshToHome (Indias largest seafood and meat brand) and Curefit (a fully integrated wellness platform). With its formidable founders and clear strategy the company is poised to be a significant player in direct-to-consumer segment, said Vasanthakumar, partner, Ascent Capital. Priyanka Gill, Co-founder & President, MyGlamm MyGlamm witnessed strong growth and user retention within 18 months of launch. In 2019, it grew 400 per cent, and on the back of which, it began its Series C round in early 2020 with an aim to announce the fundraise in April 2020. But with the national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, revenues came to a screeching halt, down to zero, as a result, the Series C round was put on hold. Once the lockdown was lifted, existing investors LOccitane, Bessemer Venture Partners, the Mankekar family and Trifecta Capital re-initiated the Series C round with a renewed investment in MyGlamm. We have been tracking MyGlamm for over 15 months and are very impressed with the way they handled Covid uncertainty as well as built strong internal capabilities including POPxo acquisition, said Sumit Keshan, managing partner, Consumer Ventures. We are very confident in their growth story and excited to be part of it and backing them. The company made some bold moves. It exponentially increased its digital reach by acquiring POPxo, Indias largest online community of women with 88 million female users and Plixxo, an influencer marketing platform with 75,000 influencers onboarded. The firm also doubled down on offline retail expansion by increasing its point of sales from 500 to 10,000 while also investing in opening Indias largest beauty experience store in Mumbai. These moves paid off, as MyGlamm came out of Covid-19 with revenues that were nearly 200 per cent of pre-Covid levels while also achieving EBITDA profitability. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-17 22:03:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it had detained a resident from Central Asia plotting a terrorist attack in the country's Republic of Adygea in the North Caucasus. According to a statement, the individual was preparing the attack in places of mass gathering. Homemade explosive devices, a flag of the Islamic State, communications equipment with information about potential terrorist plots, terrorism-related content, and forged migration documents were seized from the detainee's place of residence among other items, the statement read. A criminal case has been launched against the detainee. Enditem Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. (CNN) -- With people spending more time than ever indoors due to lockdown rectrictions, many have been reappraising their life choices and looking to move to more spacious accommodation. And city dwellers wanting to flee to the countryside might be in luck. An auction house is selling an entire rugged Scottish island at an opening bid of 80,000 ($111,700), an amount that wouldn't even buy a tiny apartment in London. Deer Island, in the Scottish Highlands, boasts 11 acres of land and is "nestled" in a "stunning and tranquil" loch on Scotland's "dramatic" west coast, auctioneers Future Property said in the sale listing. The uninhabited island, on Loch Moidart, is a space that can be "enjoyed with zero chance of intrusion" owing to its remote location, said Future Property. It is being sold after being owned by the same family for 500 years, property manager Stephen McCluskey told CNN on Thursday. The future owner will be a distant neighbor of the family of British businessman Richard Branson, whose sister Vanessa Branson owns Eilean Shona -- the closest island to Deer Island, McCluskey said. "They use that as a business -- Eilean Shona is bigger, significantly bigger, but they've got chalets and a retreat there where a number of celebrities go and stay," McCluskey added. Closer neighbors will include red squirrels, seals, and the occasional dolphin. Also nearby is the striking Castle Tioram, built in the 13th century and now in ruins. "It's rock and trees really at the moment -- there's nothing on it -- and never been anything [built] on it, or any application to have anything on it," McCluskey said of Deer Island. "There's nothing at all. It's been completely uninhabited for 500 years." The online auction will take place on March 26, but McCluskey has already had interest registered, including from someone who wants somewhere to park their yacht and from another person who wants to use it as a base for kayaking, he said. The buyer will need to seek relevant planning permissions to build anything on the island, McCluskey added. He expects the land to sell for between 150,000 and 200,000 ($209,000 - $279,00). "With something like this you get all different types of buyers -- you get overseas investors, wealthy landowners, and you get the romantics who fall in love with the idea of owning a Scottish island," he said. Brokers and travel industry experts told CNN last year that, since the beginning of the pandemic, they had seen an increase in prospective buyers and renters looking to escape to an exclusive island. Islands put up for sale in the past year have included Little Ragged Island in the Bahamas, which boasts 730 acres of rolling forested hills and pristine white beaches, listed at a minimum price of $19.5 million. In July, an unnamed European buyer snapped up a 157-acre island southwest of the Irish mainland for $6 million. Horse Island, with views of the Atlantic Ocean, was sold after negotiations took place mostly over WhatsApp. This story was first published on CNN.com, "'Stunning' Scottish island up for auction with bids starting at $112,000" Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. prepares to sign the tribes new Public Health and Wellness Fund Act on March 17 inside the W.W. Hastings Outpatient Health Center in Tahlequah. Retired Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt has donated 150 laptops, valued at $40,000USD, to schools in rural Jamaica through his charitable foundation. The eight-time Olympic gold medallist shared the news today in an Instagram post captioned, The best thing about my life is being able to give back Happy to announced a donation of 150 laptops to schools in Rural Jamaica The Foundation, in a release, said that these initiatives are pivotal to honor his commitment in ensuring that the children of Jamaica benefit from his hard work. Bolt was quoted as saying, The current global pandemic has forced many children to do only online classes and highlights the need for technology in schools. We will keep working to provide much needed equipment and support the education of the next generation. The Foundation focuses on children at the basic and primary school level, according to the release. It continues to impact children across the country and that its caring hands will continue to ignite hope and assist, where possible. Last year, the Usain Bolt Foundation donated printers and other supplies to twenty-one (21) Early Childhood Institutions in rural Jamaica and seven (7) schools in his home parish of Trelawny received computers or tablets. In 2020, Bolt also donated medical equipment to the Nuttall Hospital in Kingston to assist in its COVID-19 response. analysis Namibia celebrates its 31st independence day this month. But Namibians are not in a festive mood. A 2019 survey by Afrobarometer, the independent African research network, showed a significant loss of trust in the country's governance. Worse: 2020 became "a year like no other" since independence in 1990, as the COVID-19 pandemic compounded the effects of a prolonged recession which began in 2016. The legitimacy of the former liberation movement, the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), has steadily been eroded due to a combination of factors. These have included socioeconomic decline, SWAPO's increasingly outdated populist narrative, financial scandals and elite self-enrichment. In addition, opposition has grown in the form of electoral support for new parties. After independence from South Africa in 1990 it won elections by huge margins, enabling it to entrench its power. Like other former liberation movements, its legitimacy centred on the idea that citizens owed the party unconditional loyalty in return for liberation. But heroic narratives tend to have a sell by date. Since 2015 it's become increasingly clear that SWAPO has lost appeal among the younger generation as the struggle for liberation passes into history. This generation expects good governance and measures it not in rhetoric but in delivery. After all, they were born into an independent state. Their number as voters is about to become a majority. Downward spiral The election results of 2019 and 2020 indicated the decline in support for the erstwhile liberation movement. The National Assembly and presidential elections in November 2019 marked a turning point. SWAPO's National Assembly votes dropped from 80% in 2014 to now 66%. For the first time since 1995, it no longer holds a two-thirds majority. Beneficiaries were the official opposition Popular Democratic Movement and the new Landless People's Movement, which came third. President Hage Geingob was re-elected for a second (and last) term with only 57% of the vote (2014: 87%). His votes were snatched by Panduleni Itula, a party rival posing as an independent candidate. He personified the internal party power struggles. After being expelled, he founded his own party, the Independent Patriots for Change. The November 2020 elections for the regional and local authorities shifted the ground further. In the changing political landscape only SWAPO's traditional stronghold in the northern region suffered limited damage. The results everywhere else were disastrous. On average, SWAPOs' aggregate votes in all regions dropped from 83% in 2015 to 57%. In the 57 local authorities the party won only 40% of all votes (2015: 73%). It maintained control over just 20 of the 52 local councils it previously held. Most urban centres, including the capital Windhoek, were seized by other parties or coalitions. Main winners were the Independent Patriots for Change and the Landless People's Movement. Notably, the Popular Democratic Movement could not improve its scores significantly. Economy on the rocks Namibia recorded annual economic growth rates of up to 6% until 2015. But the global economic crises and the ailing neighbouring economies of Angola and South Africa, in combination with a lasting drought, created severe setbacks. Since 2016 Namibia has been in recession. The World Bank has Namibia classified as a upper middle-income country. The annual average per capita income peaked at US$ 6,274 in 2015 and dropped to US$ 5,766 in 2019. This contrasts - despite the crisis - favourably with US$ 1,596 in 2019 for sub-Saharan Africa in general. But the relative wealth is anything but fairly distributed. Inequality remains at staggering proportions. According to the latest United Nations Human Development Report, over half of employed Namibians earn less than US$95 (N$ 1,400) a month. Even among those in paid employment this amounts to less than the average per capita income for sub-Saharan Africa. The full effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on rising unemployment remains to be seen. Public debt has risen to over two-thirds of GDP. The economy contracted by an estimated 8% in 2020 and regressed to 2013 levels. Economists assume that a return to the 2015 level won't be achieved before 2024. Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Namibia to "junk status" in August 2017. It has negatively adjusted Namibia's status since then, most recently in December 2020, to three notches below junk. A further downgrade looms. Corruption Namibia was rocked by a bribery scandal over fishing quotas in November 2019. The #fishrot scandal implicated two ministers and leading officials of state-owned enterprises. They are awaiting trial in prison. Evidence suggests that other leading party members are also implicated. Instead of tackling the issue head on, President Geingob decided on an evasive approach. He declared 2020 a "year of introspection". But an increasingly infuriated public witnessed further cover-ups and denialism. The government commissioned an internal report into shady deals by the state-owned diamond trading company Namdia, but its contents have not been disclosed since it was submitted to Geingob in 2018. Another state-owned enterprise, Air Namibia, became a showpiece of mismanagement, using up enormous state subsidies and bailouts while amassing liabilities. It was eventually liquidated in February 2021. Battle for legitimacy As the election results of 2019 and 2020 show, even a dominant party regime needs to use its authority and space to show that it serves the interest of the people. If people feel neglected, their loyalty will decline. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Other parties also have to earn legitimacy and show that they are not more of the same. The Popular Democratic Movement as the official parliamentary opposition party has not gained from SWAPO's decline in the November 2020 elections. Instead, two new parties - the Landless People's Movement and the Independent Patriots for Change - are setting the tune. In-fighting rages in all parties of political influence. Whether it's a sign of decline among the established parties or one of ascendancy among the new kids ones, the fight over their future seems in full swing. New dynamics suggest that the political culture is damaged. Parliament has seen physical contests, insults and sexist remarks. Lingering question Days before Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990, a poem on a wall in what used to be a compound for contract labour asked: Now that the Namib sings And the tear of the Katatura child washed away Who will keep the fire burning? After 31 years of independence, the answer remains pending. Henning Melber, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria Sheriff Kamara was yesterday remanded at the Male Correctional Centre on Pademba Road after his maiden appearance before Magistrate Mark Ngegba presiding at Court No.1 Pademba Road on allegation of murder. Police alleges that te accused, on Friday 5th February, 2021, at Mahama Village in Karena District, murdered Mariama Kongaima. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Ibrahim Sheik Mansaray who is prosecuting the matter disclosed that witnesses linked to the case were yet to come to court, but was hopeful that they will avail themselves before the court on the next adjourned date. Magistrate Mark Ngegba sent the accused to jail, and adjourned the matter to Monday 22nd March, 2021 for the first prosecution witness to testify. "Ideally, this study could lead to development of innovative tools for early detection and monitoring of chronic inflammation that affects the long-term, well-being of feline patients," said Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation Chief Scientific Officer. "What we learn may also help cat owners understand the relationships between physical and cognitive health so they can support maintaining quality of life for their pets as they move through different life stages." The award, which funds up to $200,000 annually for three years, is designed to support impactful companion animal research for which there is a pressing need, with the potential to make rapid, meaningful progress. Recent surveys of cat owners indicate approximately 28% of cats aged 11 to 14 years old develop signs of behavioral issues and cognitive decline, with prevalence increasing to over 50% in cats aged 15 years or older. Some experts believe these figures underestimate the true number of cats suffering from significant mental decline. "There is an increasing body of evidence that shows the immune system and inflammatory response have an influence on behavior, but we don't yet have enough data on cats," said Siracusa. "We want to investigate how physical health influences mental health and vice versa." Siracusa, along with his university colleagues and a team at Italy's University of Milan, will study 100 client-owned cats age 7 years or older. Researchers first will perform a routine veterinary exam on each cat to look for signs of chronic inflammation, including specific blood markers and physical changes. Qualified veterinary behaviorists then will assess the cats' behavior, their living environment and their cognitive abilities using validated questionnaires and behavioral tests. Siracusa, Chief of the Animal Behavior Service and Primary Care Education Section at Penn Vet, is a leading voice in behavior medicine for companion animals. He earned his DVM from the University of Messina, Italy, and his PhD of Animal Medicine and Health from Spain's Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. He is a Diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and European College of Animal Welfare and Behavior Medicine. First awarded in 2016, the Mark L. Morris Jr. Investigator Award was created to honor the legacy and vision of Dr. Mark Morris Jr., son of Dr. Mark Morris Sr., the Foundation's founder. Mark Morris Jr. was renowned for his pioneering work in small and exotic animal nutrition, and his dedication to Morris Animal Foundation's mission to advance animal health through excellent science. About Morris Animal Foundation Morris Animal Foundation's mission is to bridge science and resources to advance the health of animals. Headquartered in Denver, and founded in 1948, it is one of the largest nonprofit animal health research organizations in the world, funding more than $136 million in critical studies across a broad range of species. Learn more at morrisanimalfoundation.org. SOURCE Morris Animal Foundation Related Links http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and Feeding America announced a new partnership aimed at increasing equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine by providing trusted clinical information that highlights the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination. Through this partnership, BCBSA and Feeding America will lean into a network of 200 food banksthat reach more than 40 million people across the United Statesto share clinical information and educational materials highlighting the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of the partnership, BCBSA will provide Feeding America and food banks nationally with English and Spanish educational materials, such as social media posts, posters and question-and-answer documents that draw on information from trusted sources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and BCBSA clinical experts. The goal is to help dispel common myths about the vaccine that may prevent people from getting it. Local food banks will be able to leverage these materials on their own digital channels and at their brick and mortar food pantry locations. BCBSA and Feeding America will also partner to create web-based public health modules and additional materials over the next twelve months, covering critical health topics such as COVID-19, vaccinations, and the importance of health equity to help enhance health education within the communities that Feeding America network food banks serve. These modules will build on Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies' commitment to ensure the equitable rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and further promote vaccinations. "To stop the pandemic, we must work together to help people get vaccinated and support our communities especially those that are most vulnerable," said Kim Keck, president and CEO of BCBSA. "With its nationwide network of community food banks, Feeding America is a tireless advocate for millions of Americans. We are pleased to work with them to build confidence in vaccines and to start to regain normalcy in our lives." "Feeding America is uniquely positioned to help identify and address systemic barriers to ending food insecurity in the United States," said Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer at Feeding America. "Partnerships with organizations like BCBSA help us work with member food banks to invest in underserved communities in many ways, including investments in health equity." To date, BCBS companies have invested over $7 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCBS system continues to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine effort to save lives and lessen the severity of the disease thanks to its deep community roots and localized approach to serving its members, with a particular focus on helping the most vulnerable and at-risk populations. To learn more about how Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are combatting the pandemic, visit https://www.bcbs.com/coronavirus-updates/stories About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 35 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog. About Feeding America Feeding America is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Africa Oil & Power and AFROCOM in Partnership to Drive Russian Investment in Africa A police officer stands guard as debris is seen from a Ukrainian plane which crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2020 in which 55 Canadians on board were among those who lost their lives. (Ebrahim Noroozi/The Canadian Press/AP) Irans Report on Shootdown of Flight 752 Doesnt Explain Why It Happened: TSB OTTAWACanadas Transportation Safety Board says a report from Iran on the downing of a passenger jet by its military in January 2020 doesnt explain why the tragedy happened. Board chair Kathy Fox says the final report does not include a detailed explanation or evidence about the underlying factors that caused Irans military to fire two surface-to-air missiles at Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. All 176 people on board the jetliner were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens, 30 permanent residents and dozens of others bound for Canada. Fox says the TSB, Canadas air-safety investigator, does not believe the results from the review will reduce the risk to commercial airlines operating in Irans airspace. It is unusual for the TSB to comment on the results of a report into an incident that took place in another country. Under international civil aviation rules, the country where the incident took place is in charge of the investigation. But Fox says the unprecedented situation where the Iranian military effectively oversaw the investigation, the agency felt it had to speak out about its concerns with the final report. The final report from Irans civil aviation body blamed human error as the reason why the Revolutionary Guard shot down the jetliner minutes after it took off from Tehran on Jan. 8 last year. The Canadian government has rejected the report outright, describing it as incomplete and devoid of hard facts or evidence. Irans Civil Aviation Organization said an operator fired two surface-to-air missiles after misidentifying the Boeing 737-800 as a hostile target and despite not getting a green light from superiors, per procedure. Fox says Iran has not provided evidence to support the scenario, noting it is a plausible explanation for what happened. A group representing families of the victims also dismissed the report findings as riddled with inconsistencies and fabrications that are grossly inadequate to explain the shootdown. Iran initially denied responsibility for the crash, but three days later said the Kyiv-bound aircraft was shot down by accident after being mistaken for a missile amid heightened tensions with the United States. The admission came after video footage on social media appeared to show at least one missile striking the jet. The disaster unfolded hours after Iran launched missiles into Iraq at two American military bases in retaliation for the U.S. having killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani near the Baghdad airport by order of then-U.S. president Donald Trump. Fox says the report only partially explains why the airspace remained open and active for commercial airlines after the military action. It does not explain any of the underlying factors behind why the missiles were launched at PS752, the stated cause of this tragedy, Fox says. In short, the report says what happened, but doesnt address the why. Ralph Goodale, the former Liberal public safety minister who was named Canadas special adviser on the response to the crash, called the report unconvincing, shambolic and insulting to loved ones. Britain, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sweden also lost citizens when the plane was destroyed, and the countries formed a coalition with Canada to deal with Iran, demanding reparations and a more transparent report. By Jordan Press 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. Sarah Gao had a busy job. As the head of a $76.8 million investment fund, she was often flying across China on business trips. Then she became pregnant. Her pregnancy was unplanned. But Gao, who was 40 and unmarried, thought she would not have many more chances to have a child. She decided to keep the baby. She could not have predicted that her decision would lead to a nearly four-year legal battle for her protections and rights as a pregnant woman and then as a mother. Gaos experience is an example of the difficulties Chinese women face when they raise a child outside of a marriage. Most single mothers cannot receive public benefits, including paid maternity leave and usual pregnancy exams. Some may even face financial punishment. Gao and some other single mothers want to change this. They are part of a small group that petitioned the Legal Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress at its recent yearly meeting. The women do not expect immediate action. But they hope their needs will be better represented in the future. Chinas population is aging quickly. The government wants to see higher birth rates. In 2015, it eased restrictive family planning laws so that each family could have two children. Yet, the laws have not changed as quickly when it comes to single parents. There is no official information on the number of single-parent households in China. But a 2014 study carried out by Chinas National Health Commission estimated that there would be nearly 20 million single mothers by 2020. Following a difficult pregnancy, Gao gave birth to her daughter in November 2016. She went back to work after seven months of sick leave and maternity leave. Throughout her sick leave, her company, KunYuan Asset Management, paid her 1,000 yuan ($153) a month. That was a huge drop from her usual monthly earnings of 30,000 yuan ($4,606). The company did not pay her during maternity leave. Gao tried to fight the company for her full earnings and maternity leave benefits. Part of those benefits would have come from social insurance. Companies are required by law to give money to the insurance. In Beijing, where Gao lives, an employee can seek those public benefits only through their company. But Gaos company refused her request. It said her materials were incomplete because she lacked a marriage license. When she forced the issue, the company asked her to resign, but she refused. She was later dismissed. However, the company refused to give her an official letter that confirmed her dismissal, making it difficult for her to find a new job. The company did not answer requests for comment by e-mail from The Associated Press. Phone calls to the head office in Beijing went unanswered. Gao is seeking legal action against the company for 1 million yuan ($153,645) in back pay, in addition to her maternity leave payment. She has lost two times in court since July 2017 and is appealing for a third time. Each time, the court said that Gaos unmarried status while giving birth is not in line with national policy, and therefore lacked the legal basis for her to receive a salary during her maternity leave. Chinas family planning policy does not bar unmarried women from having children. But it does say that the state encourages a husband and wife to have two children. At the local level, officials have come to understand that only a married couple can have children. This becomes a barrier for single women trying to seek maternity benefits. Many local governments require a marriage permit during this process, said Dong Xiaoying, the founder of Advocates for Diverse Family Network. The network organized Gao and other women into the group that petitioned the Legal Affairs Committee. There have been some changes, however. In Guangdong province and Shanghai, governments have changed requirements so that a woman does not have to provide proof of marriage before getting maternity benefits. The changes helped women like Zou Xiaoqi, a single mother and activist in Shanghai. Zou sought legal action against a Shanghai government agency in 2017 to get her maternity leave salary and the public insurance benefits. After years of media and court appearances, Zou received her benefits earlier this month. Single moms and activists are hoping that a change on the national level can make it easier for single mothers in the rest of the country, like Gao. Gao said, I just want to know in the national policy, as a single parent, as an unmarried woman, do I have the right to give birth? Im John Russell. And I'm Ashley Thompson. The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story fund - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose maternity - adj. relating to the time when a woman gives birth to a baby benefits - n. money that is paid by a company (such as an insurance company) or by a government when someone dies, becomes sick, stops working, etc. license - n. an official document, card, etc., that gives you permission to do, use, or have something status - n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization, group, etc. basis - n. something (such as an idea or set of ideas) from which another thing develops or can develop salary - n. an amount of money that an employee is paid each year encourage - v. to make (someone) more likely to do something The Florida teenager who hacked the Twitter accounts of over 100 high-profile people has been sentenced to three years in prison. Graham Ivan Clark on Tuesday agreed to plead guilty in return for the sentence to multiple fraud charges after scamming people around the world out of more than $100,000 in cryptocurrency. Ars Technica details how Clark was only 17 at the time of the hack. In the summer of 2020, he and two other menMason Sheppard of the United Kingdom and Nima Fazeli of Orlandoleveraged their computer skills to get into Twitters internal systems in order to create an authentic-looking scam. From there the three proceeded to take over 130 profiles, including the accounts of Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Kanye West, and the future president, Joe Biden. With Clark as the mastermind behind the entire scheme, the three published tweets that claiming that the hacked celebrities were giving back to the community. In order to get in on this burst of generosity, all Twitter audiences had to do was give a little something themselves. I am giving back to the community, read the tweet published to Bidens account. All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled! If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000. Only doing this for 30 minutesEnjoy! Clark was tried in state court instead of federal court as he was still a minor at the time he committed the crime. The plea agreement additionally bans Clark from using computers without permission or supervision. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A former church warden serving a life sentence for killing a university lecturer following a campaign of physical and mental torture has lost an appeal against conviction. Benjamin Field was found guilty of killing Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money after driving him to think he was losing his mind following a period of gaslighting. He asked three appeal judges to overturn his conviction earlier this year, at a Court of Appeal hearing in London. Lord Justice Fulford, Mrs Justice Whipple and Mr Justice Fordham ruled against him on Thursday. Field, 30, of Olney, Buckinghamshire, was ordered to serve at least 36 years behind bars in October 2019, after being convicted of Mr Farquhars murder, after a trial at Oxford Crown Court. Peter Farqhuar (right) and Benjamin Field (Thames Valley Police/PA) A barrister representing him had argued, at an appeal hearing in January, that trial judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, had misdirected the jury and said the murder conviction was unsafe as a result. David Jeremy QC argued that directions given to jurors before they started deliberations left the defence with nothing to say when in fact there was much that could be said on Fields behalf on the issue of causation. But appeal judges disagreed. we consider that the approach of the judge was correct, said Lord Justice Fulford in a written ruling on Thursday. The judges directions captured the essence of the issue in a clear and admirably succinct manner. He added: We dismiss the appeal against conviction. The United Auto Workers union has criticized Ford Motor Co's plan to build a new vehicle in Mexico rather than at an Ohio plant, suggesting it might be in violation of the automaker's contractual commitments. In a letter made public on Tuesday, UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem said Ford intends to build a next-generation vehicle in Mexico. 'We 100% reject the company's decision to put corporate greed and more potential profits over American jobs and the future of our members. We expect the company to honor its contractual commitments to this membership and when it fails to do so we will take action,' Kariem wrote in the letter. 'We are intensely exploring our options at this time,' he added. United Auto Workers is promising to act on behalf of Ford employees if jobs promised for the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake are sent to Mexico In 2015, then candidate for president Donald Trump announced a major victory in claiming that because of his persistent criticism on the campaign trail, Ford Motor Company had halted plans to construct a $2.5 billion factory in Mexico and would instead set up shop in Ohio. Trump took credit for the decision and bragged that his rivals would not have been able to do the same. But Ford still went ahead with building a massive facility in Mexico and nothing Trump tweeted at the time changed the company's plans. The UAW said Ford in 2019 as part of its four-year contract agreement had committed $900 million for the plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, including a next-generation product to be added in 2023, which the UAW letter said would secure the plant's 'employment well into the foreseeable future.' During his presidential campaign in 2015, Trump claimed to have convinced Ford to halt plans to construct a $2.5 billion factory in Mexico and set up shop in Ohio Ford issued a statement on Tuesday that did not directly address the union's criticism but said in a letter to employees on Monday that conditions had changed since 2019. A company spokeswoman said Ford had invested more than $185 million since 2019 at its Ohio Assembly Plant, including plans to increase capacity to build additional Super Duty trucks. The plant has about 1,600 UAW-represented employees. Ford said in November it was planning to build an additional electric vehicle at its plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, where the Mustang Mach-E is produced. Automotive News cited a person familiar with Ford's plans that the automaker had been considering building electric vehicles in Ohio and had instead decided to assemble them in Mexico. Ford declined to comment. Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, said Ford planned to launch production of electric crossovers at the Mexico plant in June 2023 under both the Ford and Lincoln brands. UAW President Rory Gamble said in a Detroit News essay last month that new subsidies and tax breaks for electric vehicles must come with 'a commitment to locate any new jobs that are part of this transition in the United States in exchange for any tax dollar investment.' No matter what administration is in charge in US, it is only one disaster after another. The White House in DC really needs to be appropriately re-named as Disaster House MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has been recalled for consultations, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has been invited for consultations in order to figure out what to do and where to move in terms of relations with the United States, the statement reads. Source: Russia recalls ambassador to US for consultations Russian Politics & Diplomacy TASS Stupid is as Stupid does America. Now we call Putin a killer and the Russians are going to change things In an interview with the ABC news channel published on Wednesday, Biden was asked by Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos whether he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin was a killer. Mmm hmm, I do, Biden replied. Source: Biden says killer Putin will pay a price for alleged US election meddling, as Russia insists claims just pretext for sanctions RT Russia & Former Soviet Union When you believe your lies and fake rhetoric and forget the truths? You step on broken glass as you walk WtR Update: WASHINGTON, March 18. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov will fly to Moscow on March 20 for consultations concerning future bilateral relations, the Russian embassy said on Wednesday. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov will fly to Moscow for consultations on March 20. He will hold meetings at the Russian foreign ministry and other government agencies to discuss ways of correcting the Russian-US ties, which are now in a crisis, the embassy wrote on its Facebook account. According to the embassy, the current crisis in relations between Russia and the United States stems from Washingtons policy and certain statements by US senior officials pose threats of collapse to the bilateral ties. The current situation stems from Washingtons deliberate policy. As a matter of fact, Washington has been deliberately driving bilateral cooperation to a dead end in the recent years. The US administrations non-constructive policy towards our country is in the interest of neither Russia nor the United States and certain reckless statements of US senior officials pose a threat of utter collapse to bilateral relations, which are already excessively confrontational, the embassy wrote. Russia calls for establishing dialogue with the United States and insists that good and pragmatic relations are in the interests of both nations, the Russian embassy in the United States said. We stand for establishing dialogue between two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council that are responsible for international peace and security, the embassy stressed. The Russian side is convinced that good and pragmatic ties between Russia and the United States are in the interests of our countries and the international community, it noted. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary earlier on Wednesday that Ambassador Antonov had been summoned to Moscow for consultations in order to analyse what needs to be done in the context of relations with the United States. Source: Russian ambassador to US to fly to Moscow for consultations on March 20 Russian Politics & Diplomacy TASS I suspect soon China will make some of the same moves? What is scary is that so many Americans will read the situation in the wrong way? It is getting serious and the USA is on the low road An unused toilet could help solve the persistent mystery of Russell Hill and Carol Clay who vanished during a camping trip amid their decades-long affair. Mr Hill, 74, who was married, and Ms Clay, 73, haven't been seen since their campsite in Victoria's remote and rugged Wonnangatta Valley was found burned to the ground in March last year. Despite having few clues to work with and no witnesses, investigators say they are 'very close' to cracking what has become one of Australia's most baffling missing persons cases. Russell Hill (pictured, left) had been friendly with Carol Clay (right) for decades before they ad an affair Mr Hill's white Toyota Landcruiser was found with minor fire damage at their burnt campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the valley on March 21. The toilet (in blue) was unused Forensic testing has revealed the toilet set up at the couple's campsite was never used. Detectives believe that indicated the pair were murdered soon after Mr Hill made a final high frequency radio call to friends. The one car seen in the area at the time - a white ute - remains unaccounted for, along with the couple's sleeping bags, prompting speculation they may have been used as body bags. This Saturday, March 20, will mark one year since the pair were last seen. Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said there were a number of persons of interest, including the driver of the mystery dual-cab ute. The four-wheel-drive was seen in the area on March 20, and Detective Inspector Stamper said it has not been ruled out of the investigation. 'It might seem like only a very small possibility that those in the white ute will have information about Russell and Carol's disappearance but we can't afford to leave any stone unturned,' he told A Current Affair. The vehicle was spotted at a public 'long drop' toilet in the Valley the day before the camping companions last made contact with friends. Russell Hill and Carol Clay were last heard from on March 20, with Mr Hill's wife unaware he was travelling with another woman Victorian detectives released this map of an area where a mystery white ute was spotted on the day the campers went missing Detective Stamper also confirmed police were open to the possibility Mr Hill and Ms Clay were shot by deer hunters, and revealed he was increasing the size of the investigation team by 50 per cent. Campers, deer hunters and four-wheel-drive owners are known to frequent the Valley area. Early speculation suggested that Mr Hill and Mrs Clay may have witnessed something they shouldn't have - either personally or with Mr Hill's still-missing drone - and were silenced. Detective Stamper said officers are still following multiple lines of inquiry. 'There's a number of scenarios we are looking at,' he said. 'Certainly that's one we can't eliminate. I'm not wedded to any specific scenario.' It has also been revealed a the toilet Mr Hill and Mrs Clay brought to the campsite was never used, suggesting they may have been ambushed soon after arriving. The new development followed recent confirmation a drone found in the area didn't belong to the pair. The drone, though to be a breakthrough in the year-old case, was handed in to Victoria Police at East Gippsland last weekend but officers confirmed it wasn't the DJI Mavic belonging to Mr Hill. Mr Hill's $2,000 drone was missing the scorched scene, along with phones, car keys and bank cards The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne Mr Hill left his home in Drouin, in Victoria's Gippsland region, on March 19, 2020 and collected his Ms Clay from her home in the southeastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham in his white Toyota LandCruiser. They travelled through Licola, spending one night at Howitt High Plains before heading into Wonnangatta Valley. Mr Hill was last heard from on March 20 over HF radio, while Ms Clay had told friends she was heading away and was expecting to return by March 29. Authorities found the couple's campsite burned to the ground near Mr Hill's car days later, before it was discovered their their sleeping bags, phones, and his drone were also missing. Recently, the bushman's best friend, Rob Ashlin, claimed the pair could have been slain by illegal hunters after the drone - which Mr Hill was flying that day - captured footage it shouldn't have. Mr Ashlin had been camping with Mr Hill (pictured) on a number of occasions, and described his friend as 'cautious' 'The fact that it's been reported that those sleeping bags were missing, makes me feel that those sleeping bags were carted out of there and... used as body bags,' Mr Ashlin told Liz Hayes on Channel Nine's Under Investigation. 'There are a lot of places - the country is very rugged - where they can be got rid of, never to be found again.' High country musterer, Lachlan Culican, who helped police during the search, also believes the pair may have accidentally captured footage of illegal hunters in the area. He was shocked by the the sheer quantity of dead deer in the area where their scorched campsite was found, explaining he saw a new carcass every '200m or 300m'. Mr Ashlin, who was friends with Mr Hill for 30 years, also suggested there might be someone sinister lurking in the mountains. Carol Clay, 73, who was once the President of the Country Women's Association of Victoria, had been in a relationship with Russell Hill for many years in the lead up to their disappearance He had a friend who was hunting deer in the region and set up camp for the night with someone else. As they sat around the fire, they saw a person standing at the edge of the light, staring at them. 'One of them shot over to his vehicle and this person who was standing there just wandered behind the shadow of a tree and was gone,' he said. 'They were being stalked without knowing about it for some time.' Mr Ashlin said the idea that there could be a suspect hiding in the mountains was 'driving' him to search for answers. He also found the image of their burnt campsite, taken by two passers-by a week later, startling because the site was not set up the way Mr Hill arranged his campsites. He said the experienced camper would have known better than to make a campfire close to flammable material such as gas bottles or their tent. The pair were in a secret relationship and didn't tell anyone where they were going. Ms Clay (pictured) just told friends she would be gone for a few days Mr Ashlin went camping with Mr Hill on many occasions, and described his friend as 'cautious', so photos of the burnt equipment in a scattered fashion indicated there must have been an intruder at the camp site. 'I knew straight away in my own mind that something really unforgiving had happened,' he said. Fire forensics expert Greg Kelly experimented with tent fibres and ropes to see if the fire could have taken hold accidentally, but said the materials burned slowly and extinguished themselves. There were also no burn marks across the doors of the nearby car doors, the rubber tyres weren't melted, and the esky - which was underneath the car - was intact. Mr Kelly said the scene suggested the fire was short and hot, which was likely caused by an accelerant - such as the gas canisters inside the tent. Detectives have believed since December that the potential attackers torched their campsite to destroy forensic evidence of a crime. Police are confident the pair did not fake their own deaths and do not believe it is case of murder suicide. University of Cape Town students protesting against the financial exclusion of those who are unable to pay fees or who have historic debt (file photo). analysis The Student Representative Council of Wits University wants Parliament to intervene in student leadership 'victimisation' by the university and to call for a meeting with the police to discuss how they act during student protests. The Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has, during an appearance before Parliament on Wednesday, 17 March, refuted some claims made by the university's management. Wits, with other stakeholders in the higher education sector, including the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Universities South Africa and the South African Union of Students (SAUS), were called to Parliament's higher education oversight committee to provide an update on recent events in the higher education sector. University of Witwatersrand students protest over financial exclusion on 15 March 2021. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sharon Seretlo) Over the past week, protests have erupted at campuses across South Africa over issues of historical debt. There has been one death, in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, where a 35-year-old man was killed when police opened fire on unarmed students last Wednesday. On Monday SAUS called for a national shutdown of all of South Africa's 26 universities to protest against issues including student debt, financial exclusion and police brutality.... Spain's health minister warned that a seven-week decline in the national COVID-19 infection rate could have bottomed out after cases ticked higher in a handful of regions. "We could be facing a possible change in trend," Carolina Darias told a news conference. "So maximum caution should be exercised to avoid a fourth wave." The infection rate as measured over the preceding 14 days has fallen from a peak of nearly 900 cases per 100,000 people at the end of January to below 130 cases as authorities brought a post-Christmas third wave under control. But the pace of decline has slowed recently, and infections inched higher on Wednesday to 127.9 cases per 100,000 from 127.8 cases a day earlier. Madrid, Catalonia and seven other regions reported slight increases in the incidence, Health Ministry data showed, though the national rate remained at its lowest since August. The ministry added 6,092 new cases, largely in line with recent increases and bringing the tally to 3.21 million. The death toll climbed by 228 to 72,793. The Future of Travel research reveals that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are the most recommended destinations for traditional food, street food and places to shop for food. The joy of discovering and enjoying delicious dishes while exploring new places can make ones travelling experience very special. As travel starts to resume in a gradual and phased manner, the global accommodation platform Booking.com has recently conducted a survey about eating habits of travelers. Hoan Kiem Lake at the leaf-changing season. Photo: Yeu Hanoi The survey shows that 53% of travelers are keen to taste and indulge in local cuisine while traveling, with 45% wanting to eat out more often with the money they have saved from not traveling abroad due to the closure of borders. According to result of the survey, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities top the list of traditional food, followed by Hoi An, Hue and Nha Trang. In the Street food category, the two biggest cities of Vietnam Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are also on the first and second positions. Additionally, Da Nang city is the preferred choice for travelers who love food as the city ranked first in all other three surveys categories of Seafood, Local food and Culturally Diverse Food. Traditional food in Hanoi The dish of Bun Cha or grilled pork with rice noodle. Photo courtesy: Bun cha Kinh Ky While Hanoi is most popular for giving travelers the experience of appreciating French-colonial architecture, as well as discovering the history of the Old Quarter, it is also equally rich in showcasing diverse and traditional cuisines in Vietnam and the world with colorful flavors. Hanoi cuisine is characterized by the elegant style of Trang An (denoting Thang Long - Hanoi) ancient people. Along with the development of all aspects, Hanoi cuisine also imported the culinary essence from many regions throughout the country, tweaking it with its own style. The best dishes in Hanoi are inexpensive, yet tasty treats that can be found within the Old Quarters narrow alleyways and bustling street markets. The Cha ca or grilled fish with rice noodle. Photo: Vua Cha ca This is where you can find the familiar and world-renowned pho noodles served with bagel twists or the original bun cha that was once enjoyed by President Obama during his visit in Vietnam in 20216. Bun dau mam tom, a stinky yet tasty and crispy delicacy originated in Hanoi, is a definite must for daredevils undisturbed by the idea of pungent shrimp paste. Besides Hanoi, the most endorsed destinations for traditional Vietnamese food by Vietnamese travelers include Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Hue and Nha Trang. Street food in Ho Chi Minh City A Saigon (the old name of Ho Chi Minh City) typical dish- Hu tieu or braised lean meat with noodle. Photo: Hu tieu Minh Chau HCM City never sleeps, appeals to traveler tastebuds with its countless food stalls and markets that are open 24/7. A city trip to the city is incomplete without indulging in all-time favorites such as bot chien fried in a large flat pan with whipped eggs, the legendary Vietnamese pizza or quesadilla grilled on the coal stove, duck embryo in tamarind sauce and beef offal steamed in coconut milk served with local banh mi. One of the city's funkiest characteristics is the clear distinction of tastes in dishes, once a dish has sweet tastes, it must be really sweet and when a dish is spicy, it must be so spicy that diners shed tears when trying. A 'Banh mi Sai gon'. Photo: Banh mi Bay Ho With all the finger-licking and creative dishes the city has to offer, it is no surprise that travelers have pinned Ho Chi Minh City as one of the top endorsed destinations for street food on Booking.com. The last but not least, other ideal destinations for food tours around Vietnam are Hoi An ancient town, Da Nang, Hue, Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Phu Quoc and Da Lat. Hanoitimes Anyone has tasted all the street food of Hanoi? Hanoi street foods have become a nostalgia for travelers who have once enjoyed them. FLINT, MI -- Flint water prosecutors are opposing a request from two former top state health officials for a new judge in the criminal cases against them. Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Gallant Fish, an assistant attorney general, filed the response to the request Wednesday, March 17, accusing attorneys for Nick Lyon and Dr. Eden Wells of speaking from both sides of their mouth in requesting their involuntary manslaughter cases be move from Judge Elizabeth A. Kelly to Judge Joseph J. Farah in Genesee Circuit Court. Lyon is the former director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Wells is the departments former chief medical executive. Both served in the cabinet of former Gov. Rick Snyder, who has also been indicted by a one-man grand jury on two counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with the Flint water crisis. In their joint motion for reassignment ... Lyon and Eden Wells seek the reassignment of their cases .. Speaking from both sides of their mouth, Defendants concoct an elaborate, years-long conspiracy theory to explain how their cases ended up before Judge Kellywhile simultaneously admitting that they are requesting reassignment to Judge Farah precisely because they believe (he) is sympathetic to their legal arguments, Hammouds filing says. Defendants request should be denied for two reasons. First, the relief sought ... is simply not authorized under the court rules. Second, even if the court rules did provide for the relief sought, reassignment would not be warranted under the facts of this case. Lyon and Wells last week asked Chief Genesee Circuit Court Judge Duncan Beagle to reassign their cases to Farah, whom both Lyon and Wells appeared before previously when their original water crisis cases were bound over in 2018. Both the Lyon and Wells cases, along with six others, were later dismissed by the Michigan Department of Attorney General in 2019 following the election of Dana Nessel, but both were charged again in January after the investigation restarted under the leadership of Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Lyon, 52, faces nine counts of involuntary manslaughter, each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a count of willful neglect of duty. Wells, 58, is charged with nine counts of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and or a $7,500 fine, as well as two counts of misconduct in office and one count of willful neglect of duty. In their motion for reassignment, the pair say Farah became deeply knowledgeable about the underlying facts and novel legal theories involved in the original cases against them. Judge Farah presided over two days of oral arguments on Mr. Lyons motions to quash and dismiss, and he posed questions for the prosecution about the viability of its legal theories, especially as to the involuntary manslaughter counts, the filing says. Kelly was assigned six felony water crisis cases, including the cases of Lyon and Wells, because of an order of judicial assignment signed by Beagle on Jan. 14. The order states that because Kelly was the criminal duty judge for the week that the Flint water arraignments took place she was assigned all of the cases. Criminal cases against Snyder and former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft were assigned to Genesee District Court because the two were charged with only misdemeanors. Attorneys for Wells and Lyon claim water prosecutors selected the arraignment dates -- and thus the judge -- by directing counsel to surrender clients on a specific date without any accommodation whatsoever, their court filing says. It was hardly a coincidence that all charged parties had to appear on the same date at the same time for a media frenzy, which was followed by the attorney generals press conference. Things appear to have been orchestrated by the attorney general, not done randomly or fairly. Hammoud said in her response that Lyon and Wells are contending they were victims of an elaborate, years-long judge-shopping scheme ... This argument has no basis in fact or logic. Read more on MLive: Former top Michigan health officials ask for new judge in Flint water cases Former Gov. Snyder, 8 others criminally charged, accused of trampling trust of Flint people Flint water crisis: Whos being charged and what were their roles A former U.S. State Department employee who used his embassy computer in Seoul to sell over 5,000 counterfeit Vera Bradley designer bags and other products to customers across the United States was sentenced Thursday to a year and a half in prison. Gene Leroy Thompson Jr., 54, and his wife, Guojiao Becky Zhang, 40, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. The two worked with an unidentified accomplice who stored and shipped the goods from a home in the small Oregon city of Nyssa along the Snake River on the Idaho border. Prosecutors said Thompson abused his position to carry out the crime as an information program officer for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. He held an exceptionally trusted role with the highest level of security clearance within the U.S. government, they said. While responsible for ensuring the cybersecurity of the embassy, Thompson used his State Department computer to create online accounts to sell the counterfeit bags on eBay, Poshmark and Mercari and then provided the login credentials for those accounts to his wife, prosecutors said. Zhang communicated with customers and procured merchandise and sent it to Oregon, the government said. She would convey transaction information and prepaid shipping labels to an unidentified co-conspirator in Oregon, who stored the knock-off goods and shipped them to customers across the United States, prosecutors said. The goods bore counterfeit versions of the Vera Bradley trademark, according to the government. The criminal scheme lasted from September 2017 through December 2019. Thompson has since voluntarily left his employment with the State Department, retiring with full benefits, a pension and a sizable retirement account, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane sentenced Zhang to eight months of home detention with GPS monitoring and ordered that she have limited ability to leave her home. In my mind, the misuse of government facilities to facilitate this crime makes it more onerous, the judge said. The couple also must forfeit $229,000, a substantial amount of their life savings that represents the gross amount of their counterfeit sales but more than they gained from their enterprise, and pay $740.17 to Vera Bradley. There is a need for deterrence in these kinds of crimes, McShane said. Privileged people dont get to engage in it and walk away, while we are sending underprivileged marginalized young men and women every day to prison in this country. The judge said he believed the couple, whom he described as healthy and educated with good jobs, simply got greedy. McShane said he considered that Thompsons use of a government computer enabled him to circumvent fraud protections and that the couple continued their counterfeit sales even after Vera Bradley put them on notice. Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence for both, arguing that Thompsons abuse of trust was an aggravating factor. Thompson was responsible for securing the IT infrastructure of the U.S. embassy in South Korea, which sits on a disputed border with one of our most pressing adversaries, said Frank Lin, the governments senior counsel on computer crime and intellectual property. Many individuals commit intellectual property offenses because they believe they will not be held accountable, Lin said. This case is a perfect demonstration of that. After Vera Bradley sent Thompson and his wife 50 cease-and-desist letters, terminated over 50 of their accounts and removed more than 1,500 of their bag listings, they did not stop. They continued the crime. They are not taking this seriously even as of now, the prosecutor said. Lawyers for the couple sought probation with home detention and community service for both, arguing that Thompson and his wife have no prior criminal history and wont commit any new crimes. If the court imposed a two-year prison sentence, the couples 10-month-old son would become a ward of the state, Thompsons lawyer Bryan Boender told the judge. The judge cut Boender off, saying he doesnt respond well when someone starts holding out a child as a hostage in front of me. Dont make me responsible for their actions and how it impacts a child, McShane said. Its flat out offensive to me. Boender apologized. Instead, he argued that Thompsons public serve in the U.S. Navy and for the State Department should be mitigating factors. Attorney Daniel Kruse said the sales were really Ms. Zhangs project and that she asked her husband to help, without recognizing the severity of her conduct. Zhang was born in a rural part of China, grew up in poverty where intellectual property rights just really werent a thing, consistent with the cultural and economic norms in place in her native country, Kruse said. I didnt realize it was such a serious crime, Zhang told the judge, speaking by video from her home in Virginia. I never meant to hurt anyone. She said she was responsible and damaged the career and reputation of her husband of 18 years. Thompson apologized to Vera Bradley and to his foreign service family. I hope they can forgive me, he said. After 25 years of working my dream job, he said he plans to make amends. I hope by accepting responsibility for my actions, I can move past the problems that I have caused, he said. Thompson, born in South Korea, had lived around the United States while his father was in the U.S. Army and graduated from high school in Nyssa in 1985. Thompson met his wife while he was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, Marshall Islands. The couples lawyers also argued that their actions didnt undermine government security. They have learned an important lesson from this, Kruse said. Mark Dely, legal counsel for Vera Bradley, also had urged a prison term. Suggesting we should ignore federal law because China does not regard electronic property rights is frankly insulting to Vera Bradley as the victims of the crime, he said. Its insulting to this court and insulting to the entire American legal system and the system of intellectual property rights. -- Maxine Bernstein Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Today marks the birth anniversary of the legendary actor, Shashi Kapoor. While many of his fans and family members are remembering the late actor on the occasion, his co-star from many films and yesteryear actor Tina Ambani also shared a heartwarming tribute for him. She also shared a throwback picture with the actor from their film Alag Alag which was nostalgia personified. Talking about the picture, the still from the film has Shashi Kapoor looking handsome in his suit and spectacles. While on the other hand, Tina Ambani can be seen looking pretty in a red traditional attire. The still is presumably from a scene that has a fun banter between them. The Yeh Vaada Raha actor also penned a heartfelt note for him in the same. Also Read: Here's 10 Unknown Facts About The Veteran Actor Shashi Kapoor! Tina Ambani stated that they do not make them like Shashi Kapoor anymore. The actor described the Namak Halaal actor to be debonair, handsome, erudite and fabulous. She also mentioned that she misses his presence. Tina ended the tweet by stating, "Toasting Your Birthday." Take a look at the tweet shared by the Baton Baton Mein actor. They just don't make them like Shashi Kapoor anymore. Debonair, handsome, erudite and fabulous. Miss your presence and the old days. Toasting your birthday. pic.twitter.com/kInGUurMLa Tina Ambani (@AmbaniTina) March 18, 2021 For the unversed, Shashi Kapoor and Tina Ambani have worked together in many commercially and critically successful movies. Some of them include Pyar Toh Hona Hi Tha, Ek Do Teen Chaar and Alag Alag. The late actor was well-known for his impeccable acting skills and his charming good looks. Some of his well-known movies include Kabhi Kabhie, Deewar, Kaala Patthar, Shaan, Namak Halaal, Silsila, Pyar Ka Mausam, Pyar Kiye Jaa, Chor Machaye Shor, Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Do Musafir, Ilzaam and many more. Also Read: Boney Kapoor CRIED After Receiving Tina Ambani's Gift In Sridevi's Memory! On Shashi Kapoor's birth anniversary today, his son Kunal R Kapoor also shared some beautiful pictures of his father on his social media handle. In one of the pictures, the legendary actor in his later years can be seen posing with his family members. Kunal also shared a picture of a young Shashi Kapoor playing with a little Kunal in the swimming pool. Kunal went on to share a childhood picture of his father too in the post. Take a look. Early findings in an ongoing four-year study of enhanced oil recovery of heavy oil in Alaskas North Slope have shown promising results that could potentially unlock billions of barrels of oil, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reports. Alaskas North Slope holds heavy oil, and although it has not been precisely quantified, officials at the Department of Natural Resources think the volumes could be in the range of tens of billions of barrels, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. The joint study of Hillcorp Alaska and the University of Alaska Fairbanks was launched in 2018 to examine the feasibility and economic viability of injecting a synthetic polymer to enhance the recovery of heavy oils on the Alaskan North Slope. At the start of the comprehensive $9.6-million research program over four years, the researchers said it had a high probability of success since polymer flood had been proven effective in Canada and China. In a paper in October 2020, the petroleum engineers and researchers said, Encouraged by the promising results of this pilot, Hilcorp Alaska is planning to apply polymer flood technology in the Schrader Bluff reservoir throughout the Milne Point Field. We have not failed; let me put it that way. We have succeeded so far, Abhijit Dandekar, chair of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Petroleum Engineering Department, said in an interview with Elwood Brehmer of the Alaska Journal of Commerce this week. Related Video: Why The Oil & Gas Rig Count Matters Yet, Alaska and its heavy oil will not benefit from President Joe Bidens shift to support green energy and halt temporarily new leases on federal lands and in federal waters. Rystad Energy has estimated that around 72 percent of Alaskas remaining recoverable oil resources could stay in the ground, although the effect on production will be felt only after 2030. Alaskas remaining recoverable oil reserves are estimated at 23.3 billion barrels of oil and condensates. About 16.8 billion barrels of those may never see the light of day if President Bidens temporary bans on oil activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and on new lease sales on state-wide federal lands and waters are here to stay, Rystad Energy said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Emraan Hashmi Feels The Era Of Glorifying Heroes In Cinema Is Over, Roots For Flawed And Relatable Characters The era of glorifying heroes in cinema is over, believes actor Emraan Hashmi, who says audiences today relate more to flawed and imperfect characters on the screen. In his close to two decade-long career, Hashmi started out in the industry with movies such as "Footpath", "Murder", "Jannat", "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" and "Shanghai", and in the process, stood apart from the conventional Bollywood stars. He has often played the roles that were neither black nor white and tapped into the grittier side of his characters. In an interview with PTI, the 41-year-old actor said the definition of a hero has changed over the years and for him anti-hero roles are more fascinating. "I have always gravitated towards characters that have certain edge, that break status quo and are gritty. Heroes that have left an impact in cinema are characters that are closer to home and relatable. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Emraan Hashmi (@therealemraan) "The only way you can make characters more relatable are if they are flawed or have more shades. None of our lives are that easy, especially in today's time. We all in our lives have a moral compass and that doesn't necessarily make us bad people," Hashmi said. What the actor is striving for in his professional life, he said, is to break the status quo and play characters that have a "certain edge". At the same time, Hashmi said he can't be a part of a film where characters are presented as dark just for the sake of it. "There are some filmmakers who make films like that but I won't be part of them. I want to bring something aspirational to the characters I play so that even though it is a little dark or grey, there is a reason behind their actions. "It is justified, although it is wrong. You are rooting for it because they have some core values that they connect with, maybe human aspect, ambition, family values, etc," he added. It was this sensibility that led the actor to collaborate with Sanjay Gupta for the upcoming "Mumbai Saga". He plays the role of a police officer, named Vijay Savarkar, in the crime-thriller slated to be released Friday in theatres. Hashmi, who often refers to Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese's movies for his performances, said he wanted to explore his character's ambition in the film. "We all have that drive, ambition in various degrees and the goal is to achieve. I connected to that. Savarkar was so driven to get to that point and achieve the almost unattainable. There is a certain drive and ambition the character has and it reflects with my drive and ambition in my career to do best," he said. In the movie, Hashmi is up against John Abraham's Amartya Rao, a gangster. "Mumbai Saga" is an attempt to return to cinema halls, one of the most affected sectors amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said the actor. "With 'Mumbai Saga', we have taken the step to come back to cinema halls. We would want as many people as possible to see the film but the core thing is to give that shot in the arm to theatre owners and release our films out there so at least people start venturing to cinema halls." The actor said there was a lot of back and forth happening over how to showcase the film -- via OTT or in theatres. "The film was coming on OTT and suddenly it came in theatres. I am happy about it as you can't gauge or predict the audience. I don't know what will happen with 'Mumbai Saga' but I am hoping that it gets a good opening and has good collections. We have rolled the dice," he added. "Mumbai Saga" also stars Kajal Agarwal, Mahesh Manjrekar, Suniel Shetty, Prateik Babbar, Rohit Roy, Gulshan Grover, and Amole Gupte. The film is produced by T-Series, White Feather Films and Sangeeta Ahir. DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Devetry , a software consultancy that provides technology solutions ranging from organizational strategy to custom software development, today announced it has joined global digital agency Dept . Devetry and Boston-based Rocket Insights , which joined Dept in 2019, form the backbone for Dept's fast-growing digital product and technology services in the U.S. The two Dept agencies are already collaborating to help U.S. clients build and accelerate their digital businesses. Founded in 2015, Devetry is Denver's largest independent software engineering organization, with expertise across renewable energy, education, cybersecurity, and SaaS products. They help clients like Arizona State University, NREL, and Intel with strategy, product management, UX/UI design, firmware development, technology, and innovations that span mobile apps to enterprise technologies. Devetry has been one of Denver's fastest-growing privately-owned businesses, experiencing over 100% revenue growth each year. "Our mission is to simplify the complex world of software and deliver the best results for our clients," said Brett Truka, CEO and Co-founder at Devetry. "Joining Dept enables us to immediately expand our global footprint and our service offerings in data, digital marketing, and commerce to provide more value to our clients across a diverse range of technologies. We both share a strong commitment to our clients and our people, so we couldn't be more excited about the years ahead with Dept." Headquartered in Amsterdam and backed by investment firm The Carlyle Group , Dept is one of the fastest-growing digital agencies in the world, represented in 13 countries with over 1,750 people across the globe. With a purely digital DNA, Dept brings together creativity, technology, and data experts in integrated teams for clients like Bose, Indigo Ag, Patagonia, Netflix, and Formula E. Devetry joins Rocket Insights BASIC , and Byte to form the heart of Dept in the U.S. "Devetry has built a talented team stacked with a variety of languages, frameworks, databases, and tools, enabling them to deliver value to our clients from day one," said Dimi Albers, CEO of Dept. "The addition of Devetry will add to our strong technology and engineering capabilities in the U.S., as well as open up exciting new markets for us in Denver and Portland." Now part of Dept, Devetry will continue to operate under the leadership of Co-Founder and CEO Brett Truka and Co-Founder and CTO Allan Wintersieck. About Devetry Devetry is a software consultancy based in Denver that provides technology solutions ranging from organizational strategy and product management to custom software development and DevOps. Devetry's diverse expertise allows its partners to rapidly develop software products, optimize internal processes, and create new revenue streams with technology. About Dept Hi, we are Dept - a digital agency for creativity, technology, and data. We help our clients build and accelerate their digital business by creating leading digital products, services, and campaigns. Our team of over 1,750 thinkers and makers spans 13 countries across Europe and the Americas. We proudly work for top brands like Samsung, Bose, Bugaboo, Indigo Ag, Triumph Motorcycles, Netflix, and more. www.deptagency.com . Media Contact: Kristin Cronin kristin.cronin@deptagency.com Related Files WhatsApp Image 2021-03-12 at 11.37.44.jpeg SOURCE: Dept View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636078/Dept-Expands-Fast-Growing-US-Presence-With-Software-Consultancy-Devetry The Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIET), uniting about 26 thousand Turkmen businessmen, held an exhibition and a conference in Ashgabat marking the day of establishment of the UIET. About 200 Turkmen companies presented their capacities at the expo center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, including large enterprises and business entities that implement large-scale projects in Ashgabat and the regions of the country. The exhibition featured the products manufactured by private enterprises operating in the food industry, consumer electronics, clothing, footwear, perfumery, carpet industry, etc. In the afternoon the office of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan hosted a conference that reviewed the achievements of Turkmen businesses. The conference discussed issues relating to enhancement of activities of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, implementation of large government orders and investment projects, as well as measures to promote Turkmen goods to foreign markets. TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021 THE Government will soon have to provide Irish citizens with EU-compatible Covid-19 vaccine, test or recovery certificates or digital green certificates on request. Here are the facts. Who are these certificates for? The certificates are for EU/Irish citizens, residents and their families who want to travel to another EU country, and who have been vaccinated, tested or have recovered from Covid-19. Non-EU citizens can obtain the certificates if they are staying or resident here and are allowed into other EU countries under the terms of their visa or by EU law. What are these certificates for? The EU hopes the certificates will put an end to the various quarantine, testing and paperwork requirements that are currently in place. Read More They are a single, secure format for tourists or workers to show whether and when they got vaccinated, tested or recovered from Covid-19. Where can I get a certificate? It will probably come through the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive or a designated testing or vaccination centre. It has yet to be decided. When will I be able to use these certificates? The European Commission wants the rules to be in place by June. MEPs and governments have to approve them first, which can take several months although EU justice chief Didier Reynders says he is in talks with both institutions to fast-track a deal. So is this a free pass to the Greek islands or the Spanish coast? No. Each country is responsible for setting its own public health rules, and non-essential travel is still effectively banned across the bloc. But the EU hopes the certificates will give national authorities more confidence to lift those restrictions. Expand Close What the Digital Green Certificate could look like. Source: European Commission / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp What the Digital Green Certificate could look like. Source: European Commission Is this a free pass into the EU? No. This is about travel around the bloc for citizens, residents or EU visa-holders. There is a separate agreement on the gradual lifting of non-essential travel restrictions for low-Covid countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and China. What will the certificates look like? They will come in the form of QR bar codes which can be scanned by border or health authorities. You can get them in paper form if you dont have a smartphone, and they can be printed multiple times. So will my medical records be sent around the EU? No. The Commission is setting up a kind of two-step authentication process, so only the Department of Health/HSE, your GP or the vaccination or testing centre will have your data. The QR code is just a digital signature to assure health authorities in another country that you have been vaccinated or tested according to international standards. It does not contain your data. I got my vaccination abroad. What are the rules for me? You should be fine as long as you can show reliable proof of the vaccine you got abroad. You can also apply for an EU certificate. What if I got the Sputnik or Sinopharm vaccine, which havent been approved by the EU? Under the new rules, EU countries are only required to accept certificates from travellers that got the Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs, although the government can decide to accept others if it wants to. Will I be asked to show my certificate in a restaurant? Its possible, but again, it will be up to each country to decide. If Im not vaccinated, can I be refused entry to my holiday destination? The EU insists vaccination cannot be a pre-condition for the right to travel around the bloc. How long are the certificates valid for? There are no hard and fast rules for vaccine or testing certificates. But the recovery certificates can only be issued from the 11th day after your first positive Covid test and should be valid for a maximum of six months. The EU hopes all certificates can be phased out when the pandemic is over. Cape Verde's Supreme Court on March 17 ruled that a businessman close to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who was arrested last year can be extradited to the US to face money-laundering charges. According to AP, the West African country had arrested Alex Saab last June when his jet made a refuelling stop on a flight to Iran. The United States believes that Saab holds numerous secrets about how Maduro, his family and top aides allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars in government contracts amid widespread hunger in the oil-rich nation It is also believed that at the time of his arrest, Saab was allegedly travelling to Tehran to negotiate deals to exchange Venezuelan gold for Iranian gasoline. Saabs attorneys, on the other hand, argue that their client is immune from prosecution as a result of the many diplomatic posts he has held for Maduros government since 2018. Geraldo Almeida, one of the Cape Verde attorneys representing Alex Saab in his fight against extradition has also said that his legal team would appeal the decision at the countrys Constitutional Court. We're hopeful the Constitutional Court will overturn the Supreme Court's decision, Almeida said. Humanitarian mission to Iran Meanwhile, authorities in Cape Verde said they made the arrest in response to an Interpol Red Notice, spurred by the money-laundering charges. Following Saabs arrest, Venezuela identified him as its diplomat on a humanitarian mission to Iran, an argument Cape Verdes Barlavento Court of Appeal rejected. According to Bloomberg, the Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice, based in Nigeria, on March 15 ruled that Saab should be freed because he was detained before the Red Notice was issued. (Image: AP) After nearly 30 years of playing Indigenous characters, Gary Tsoodle finally played someone from his Kiowa Tribe. His star may be rising after his role as the chief in News of the World, starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel. Tsoodle, 62, who has acted in Last of the Dogmen and Last of the Mohicans, learned he would portray the Kiowa chief shortly after arriving at the casts hotel in Sante Fe, New Mexico, in 2019. I immediately felt honored, he recalled. I stood up a little straighter at that point. To be doing something like that, to be in that position, I took it as a feather in my cap. Tsoodle, who works for the city of Anadarko, Oklahoma, has been answering casting calls since the 1990s. He said he appreciated the Kiowa research that was done by News of the World producers and their use of Kiowa actors. This particular instance, they contacted the Kiowa Tribe because the Natives in the movie were Kiowas, he said. So I thought that was a good positive step, you know, get Kiowas to play Kiowas, because Ive been Cheyenne three times in different movies. Although there have been several movies loosely based on other nations, such as the Lakotas in Dances With Wolves, the Apaches in Geronimo and the Mohicans in The Last of the Mohicans, few have been specifically about the Kiowa Tribe, Tsoodle said. Its about time that Kiowa culture started getting better representation in the film industry, he said, adding that hed like to see a movie where Kiowas are at the center. They were nomadic and they were warlike, and they were horsemen, Tsoodle said. They didnt really go around like all Natives have been shown to be in movies, where they were the savages and they were the out-of-control beings that they were. You know, they were pretty sophisticated, and had their way of life and lived it. Didnt bother nobody unless they were bothered. In the movie, Johanna is captured by the Kiowa after her German family is killed in Texas. Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Confederate Civil War veteran who goes town to town reading the news to settlers, encounters the girl and arranges to return her to an aunt and uncle. Johanna, however, remembers nothing from her days before the Kiowa, and shes reluctant to be rescued. In one scene, Johanna has a life-saving encounter with a band of Kiowa who kept watch over her during her long journey with Kidd. Without their assistance, Kidd and Johanna likely would have perished. The Indigenous film industry will be prominent this year in Oklahoma, as the Osage story Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, and the Muscogee Creek television comedy series Reservation Dogs are set to be filmed in the state. Tsoodle said his career began when he was cast in the television miniseries North & South (1985-94), based on John Jakes novel about the Civil War and its effect on two families. In 1995, he appeared in Last of the Dogmen in Mexico and Canada, and after that, he said, people were calling him for different things. And so I kind of thought I might have been on to something, but I had a daughter at home and I was single and raising her, Tsoodle said. I couldnt just up and leave. But now with News of the World, hes ready to take the casting calls again. Gaylord News reporter Nancy Marie Spears is a member of the Cherokee Nation. Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Cronkite News has partnered with OU to expand coverage of Indigenous communities. For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org. It seems bizarre, but the most powerful political leader in the center-left camp, Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid, has still not announced that he is running against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the position of prime minister. As head of the opposition, Lapid has been growing stronger over the last few weeks. Polls show him winning as many as 20 seats, and his standing is improving in rankings of which politician is best suited to serve as prime minister. Nevertheless, he will not admit that he is running for prime minister. Two other party leaders are often mentioned as candidates to replace Netanyahu: New Hope chair Gideon Saar and Naftali Bennett, the head of pro-settler Yamina. Lapid is far ahead of them both. Saar has already collapsed in the polls, with his party expected to win seats in the high single digits. Bennett is doing slightly better with an expected 11-13 seats. As they both insist that they are running for prime minister, Lapid's name appears nowhere near that lofty title. In an interview yesterday with the English-language Jerusalem Post newspaper, Lapid coyly said that Yesh Atid is ready to take over the prime ministers office. It seems a strange approach, but according to insiders this strategy is the result of lengthy research. Lapid is likely convinced that it is the only way he will be able to push Netanyahu out of power. Lapid is surely aware that he is a somewhat weak candidate, especially against Netanyahu. He lacks the diplomatic and security experience needed to run head-to-head against Netanyahu. There is thought to be strategic coordination between Lapid and the other players working to replace Netanyahu, including Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman as well as Bennett and Saar. The last two are working to draw right-wing voters away from Netanyahu by assuring them that they are firmly aligned with the right. If this group concluded that centrist Lapid is the alternative to Netanyahu, many of them will return to the Likud. If so, the strategy seems to be working. Speaking on Channel 12s Council of Influential Figures March 7, Lapid announced that he is much more interested in Netanyahu being removed than in becoming prime minister himself. It is more important to me to remove Netanyahu from office than to become prime minister. Until I know the final results, I am not ruling out rotation. He said, Extortion has turned the political system upside down. Five minutes after the election, we will need to restore the publics trust, calling upon the political players to act responsibly and not be drawn into political extortion. It is a clever message of reassurance to right-wing voters that contests Netanyahus claim that the choice is between himself and the left and only he stands between Israeli settlers in Judea and Samaria and evacuation. People seem confused as to who is running against Netanyahu, but they should not underestimate Lapid. He is a an ambitious, hardworking and focused individual. According to those close to him, he has never abandoned his dream of one day becoming prime minister and believes that he is ready. At the same time, Lapid must consider new ways and unconventional approaches to reach this objective, as he is competing with the best campaigner in Israel. A former strategic consultant for Lapid described this strategy to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity as individuals sneaking in to the premiers Balfour Street residence. He contended that Lapid is managing a campaign to become prime minister without saying so explicitly because he is aware that people are uncertain about him. Therefore, it is easier for him to put to put Saar or Bennett up front and keep the focus away from himself. Just two months ago, Netanyahu was strategizing on the assumption that Lapid would put himself up against him. In that case, it would have been easy for him to do what he does best: sow fear that the left will take down a right-wing government. To his surprise, however, Lapid is staying in the shadows and gives very few interviews. Netanyahu is doing everything he can to drag Lapid into the ring and has spent the last two weeks piling on the pressure. His campaign spots mock Lapid for hiding and warn that if you look behind Bennett, you will find Lapid. And yet, much to Netanyahus frustration, he has not been able to convince the right to abandon Saar and Bennett and come back to him. It is now estimated that Saar has support worth three or four seats, Likud supporters who are fed up with Netanyahu. If Netanyahu manages to convince them that they would actually get Lapid instead, he could win back two or three seats. As usual, Netanyahu remains focused. He repeats his message everywhere he can: in interviews, at a growing number of appearances at campaign events and with campaign slogans like The choice is clear: Vote Bennett and get rotation with Lapid. At election gatherings, he asks: Who do you want bringing back the economy, me or Yair Lapid, the worst finance minister in all of Israels history? Who will bring more peace agreements, me or Lapid? Netanyahu has just one week to convince the electorate. To Lapids credit, he has been able to maintain campaign discipline and has not gotten dragged into a fight. Netanyahu could be right. If he fails to put together a government, the next option is a rotation coalition headed by Bennett, who would serve first and be followed by Lapid. If that comes to pass, it is in Netanyahus interest to for Lapid to serve first. If Bennett went first, he would be crowned leader of the right and cost Netanyahu his electoral base. Then again, there is a third option: a fifth round of elections. DETROIT, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Detroit Mercy recently earned national recognition from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for its fundraising over the last three years. Specifically, Detroit Mercy's University Advancement Division is one of only three in the category of private research/doctoral institutions with less than $740 million in endowment that is being recognized nationally with the CASE 2020 Education Fundraising Award in Overall Performance. "We are delighted to receive this unexpected but much appreciated CASE national award for overall fundraising performance," said Antoine M. Garibaldi, president of the University. "Detroit Mercy's $114 million comprehensive campaign exceeded its goals because of our excellent advancement team and dedicated alumni, friends, foundations and corporate partners who believe in the transformative impact of a Jesuit and Mercy education." Arnold D'Ambrosio, vice president for University Advancement, agreed. "This award is the result of a strong foundation established by my predecessor, the dedication and positive energy of the entire advancement staff and, most importantly, the many generous alumni and friends willing to invest in the future of Detroit Mercy," he said. CASE is the global non-profit association dedicated to educational advancement alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and advancement services that shares the goal of championing education to transform lives and society. Each year, the CASE Educational Fundraising Awards recognize exemplary development programs based on a blind review of data. Winners are determined through a number of variables in addition to the amount of funds raised. As described by CASE, Detroit Mercy was recognized for not only demonstrating the "highest levels of professionalism and best practice in its fundraising efforts, it has contributed to the betterment of educational advancement worldwide by serving as a model to which others can aspire." Generous gifts from Detroit Mercy alumni and friends have assisted the institution to achieve significant success over the past decade. Detroit Mercy's most successful fundraising campaign ever was completed in December 2019. Following the campaign, the institution announced its first major investment, the McNichols Campus Renovation Project, which will significantly change the University's McNichols Campus. Ground broke on the expansive project in November 2020. For more about the CASE 2020 Education Fundraising awards, please click visit here. To learn more about Detroit Mercy's University Advancement Division, please visit https://www.udmercy.edu/giving. For more on the McNichols Campus Renovation Project, visit https://www.udmercy.edu/about/news/articles/2020/02-27-campus-project.php. SOURCE University of Detroit Mercy Related Links http://www.udmercy.edu Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 49F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Advertisement Another boat has been spotted 'floating in mid-air' off the coast of Britain in a bizarre optical illusion which makes it appear as if the cruise ship is hovering above the water. The unusual sight has been seen across the UK, with sightings in Cornwall, Devon and Aberdeenshire in just a matter of days. The latest viewing was spotted by Ryan Rushforth off the coast of Bournemouth, Dorset, yesterday evening. The floating phenomenon is known as Fata Morgana which is created when the sun heats up the atmosphere above either the land or the sea. The warmer air sits above cold air which then causes the light from the ship to bend. The latest viewing was spotted by Ryan Rushforth off the coast of Bournemouth, Dorset, yesterday evening The Anthem of the Seas cruise ship, an 168,000-tonne Royal Caribbean liner, looked like it was hovering above the water. The 347-metre ship has a capacity of 4,180 and was spotted near Bournemouth Pier. Mr Rushforth said: 'Is it me or is this boat floating? Was really, really amazing to see it in person, it looked incredible I must say.' The Anthem of the Seas cruise ship, an 168,000-tonne Royal Caribbean liner, looked like it was hovering above the water While sightings of superior mirages are often seen in the Arctic, they are uncommon in the UK. A mirage is created when the sun heats up the atmosphere above land or sea, which creates a gradient of temperatures. A layer of warm air sits on top of a layer of cold air, causing the light from the ship to bend as it passes through gaps in air currents. The brain assumes that light travels in a straight paths, so when it bends, it thinks the object is where it would be if the light's path runs straight. David Braine, BBC meteorologist explained that the phenomenon is caused conditions in the atmosphere which bend light. 'Superior mirages occur because of the weather condition known as a temperature inversion, where cold air lies close to the sea with warmer air above it,' he said. 'Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears.' While there have been many examples of people spotting objects floating above the water, Mr Morris noted people have also witnessed items below the horizon which have then become visible due to the optical illusion. The world is awaiting a decision from Europe's top medical regulator on whether its initial investigation into whether there is any evidence to show the is linked to a small number of blood clots reported in people across the continent. The European Medicines Agency's expert committee is set to announce the results of its investigation later Thursday. Earlier this week, more than a dozen countries including Germany, France, Spain and Italy suspended immunization using the COVID-19 vaccine after reports of unusual blood clots in several people among the 17 million who have received at least one dose in Europe. Both the EMA and the World Health Organization have said there is no current evidence to suggest the vaccine was responsible and that the benefits of immunization far outweighed the potentially small risk of getting vaccinated. said after a careful review of its COVID-19 immunization data, it found no evidence of any increased risk of blood clots in any age group or gender in any country. On Tuesday, EMA executive director Emer Cooke said the agency's priority was the the vaccine's safety and that it would consider issues including if extra warnings needed to be added for the AstraZeneca vaccine. She noted the daily toll COVID-19 is continuing to take across the continent and said vaccines were critical to stopping its spread. We are worried that there may be an effect on the trust of the vaccines," she said. "But our job is to make sure that the products that we authorize are safe and we can be trusted by the European citizens. The pause in vaccination using the AstraZeneca shot comes as COVID-19 is surging across the continent and as Britain is expecting major delays in its vaccine deliveries. Tens of thousands of new daily cases have prompted new lockdown measures in Italy, caused hospitalizations in France to spike and led German officials to announce that a third wave of COVID-19 has begun. Any time vaccines are rolled out widely, scientists expect some serious health issues and deaths to be reported, simply because tens of millions of people are receiving the shots. Determining whether or not the vaccine is to blame can be difficult, since most of the people getting inoculated first are those most at risk of the coronavirus. But because there are no long-term data on any of the COVID-19 vaccines, any potential signal of trouble must be thoroughly investigated. (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.) Ochsner Lafayette General has 5,000 new appointments available for the two-dose Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, hospital officials said Thursday in a prepared statement. Louisiana expanded eligibility March 9 for COVID-19 vaccines to include all adults who have a qualifying health condition, which includes obesity and being overweight. However, many adults remain unaware that they are eligible, the statement said. In conversations that weve had with patients and members of the community, it has become apparent that many people are not aware that they are eligible, so we want to help get that message out," said Ochsner Lafayette General Chief Medical Officer Amanda Logue. "Anyone 16 or older who is overweight or who has a condition the CDC considers likely to put a person at a high risk of serious COVID-19 complications, including conditions like asthma or hypertension, is now eligible to receive the vaccine." COVID variant on the rise in a recovering Lake Charles; demand for vaccinations slackens An increase in cases of the more transmissible U.K. coronavirus variant in southwest Louisiana has added urgency to vaccination efforts there. Since Dec. 15, the health system has administered more than 35,000 vaccine doses, according to the statement. About 5,000 new appointments for th Pfizer vaccine are now available and can be scheduled at OchsnerLG.org/vaccine or by calling 855-206-9675. Walk-ups will not be accepted. Vaccines are administered from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The hospital expects to be adding more Saturday clinics in coming weeks. OLG's vaccination site at the Heymann Convention Center will remain open until March 31. On April 1, the operation will move to the Martin Luther King Recreation Center, at 309 Cora St. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The vaccination site is open to those without insurance regardless of their patient status at Ochsner. We are committed to caring for our community and offering anyone who is eligible the opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly and safely as possible," Logue said. "Vaccination is an important step in controlling this pandemic and ultimately preventing hospitalization and death related to COVID. A full list of criteria can be found at https://ldh.la.gov/covidvaccine/. For a full list of frequently asked vaccine questions, visit https://ochsnerlg.org/vaccine. Single-dose COVID vaccination sites in Acadiana announced by health department The Louisiana Department of Health has announced two upcoming locations to received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Acadiana. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 11:37:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENTIANE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The preparatory work for construction of the Mekong hydropower project in northern Laos is 80 percent complete, with all works expected to be finished in July, local daily Vientiane Times reported Thursday. The 1,460-MW Mekong hydropower project, located about 25 km from northern Lao city of Luang Prabang, is to be developed by the Luang Prabang Power Company Limited, a firm established by the Lao government and PetroVietnam Power Corporation from Vietnam, and will generate electricity mainly for sale to Thailand and Vietnam when commercial operation begins in 2027. Meanwhile, government approval for construction of the dam is awaited before work on the plant itself begins, said the Lao daily. Among the preparatory work, the construction of an 11-km access road is 98 percent complete; a 500-metre bridge over the Mekong River 41 percent complete; three temporary ports have been built and construction of 115kV and 22kV transmission lines and a small electricity station 64 percent complete. About 69 percent of compensation payments to people who had to give up their land or other property to the project have been made. The progress of project preparation work was briefed to the Lao President of the Lao Front for National Development Xaysomphone Phomvihane, who visited the project site last week, according to the report. Xaysomphone advised project officials to adhere to the project timetable so that work was completed promptly. He also advised them to consider the possible effects on the environment, and the safety of workers and technicians with regard to COVID-19. Last year, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) organized a forum for Lao authorities to hold talks with other Mekong nations before going ahead with construction of the Luang Prabang hydropower project. The forum discussed the possible impacts of the dam and considered the draft Basin Development Strategy for 2021-2030, a 10-year strategic direction for development planning within the region. Among the many recommendations made were increased stakeholder engagement, strengthening cooperation among the four MRC member countries - Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, and increasing open and transparent sharing of information. Enditem EUGENE, Ore. -- Cities across the nation are expected to get millions of dollars in relief from President Joe Biden's COVID-19 relief package. According to the National League of Cities, Corvallis and Springfield are expected to get $13.8 million and Eugene is expected to get $35 million. Now, the question is how the cities will use that money. RELATED: Oregon cities receiving millions from coronavirus relief package KEZI spoke with local mayors and spokespeople to learn more. "Not surprisingly our hospitality industry, all of the places where people eat and gather," Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis said. "And our arts community. We will put our funds to support our arts." Vinis also said the funds will be used to address the homeless crisis in the city. Mayor Sean VanGordon explained how Springfield will use the relief. "In the city of Springfield, the actual impacts around our budget revolve around the transit impacts. Because no one is traveling," VanGordon said. "We're a huge tourism area and no one has traveled here." In Corvallis, the city said they will use the funds on infrastructure improvements. "In places like Corvallis, the students may not be using water because they are studying remotely," Corvallis spokesperson Patrick Rollens said. "This makes the water usage go down, which reduces revenue for the water fund, which in turn reduces revenue that goes into capital improvement and long range improvements to the infrastructure." KEZI also reached out to Albany Mayor Alex Johnson II. Their city is expected to receive $9 million. Johnson said he plans to speak with the city council on Thursday to talk about how the funds will be allocated in the city. CAIRO Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have called for Syrias return to the Arab League nearly 10 years after its membership was suspended. Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said during the opening session of a March 3 meeting of the Arab League Foreign Ministers Council, Syrias return to the Arab League as a stable and active state would be vital for maintaining Arab national security. However, Shoukry stressed the need for Syria to pragmatically demonstrate a will to move toward a political solution based on the Security Council resolutions. He added, Accommodating the [Syrian] national opposition would reduce the intensity of the conflict and pave the way for Syria to emerge from the furnace of this ongoing war to safety. Days later, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan called for regional cooperation to end the war in Syria and ensure its return to the Arab League. Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on March 9, Nahyan said, Syrias return to the Arab fold is essential and has nothing to do with who wants or who does not want it. It is a matter of public interest and the interests of Syria and the region. In 2011, the Arab League foreign ministers suspended the participation of Syrian delegations in the meetings of the Arab League and all affiliated organizations and agencies and imposed economic and political sanctions against the Syrian government. They also called on Arab countries to withdraw their ambassadors until protection is secured for Syrian civilians protesting against President Bashar al-Assads regime. Diplomats and political analysts in Cairo who spoke to Al-Monitor believe that suspending Syrias membership in the Arab League not only produced no positive results, but led to an increase in foreign interference. They said that Syrias return to the Arab League would give Arab parties an opportunity to contribute to resolving the Syrian crisis. Syrias return to the Arab League would help Arab countries play a role in finding political solutions and settling the crisis there, former Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed el-Orabi told Al-Monitor. He added, Suspending Syrias membership in the Arab League led to increasing foreign intervention, especially Turkish and Iranian meddling, in the Syrian crisis. Besides, Arab countries must have a clear role in helping resolve the crisis to protect Arab national security. Ahmed Youssef Ahmed, a professor of political science at the University of Cairo and former dean of the Institute of Arab Research and Studies, told Al-Monitor over the phone, Suspending Syrias membership at the Arab League has been a mistake from the start, since the Syrian government continued to represent Syria at the United Nations and participate in all deliberations related to the conflict there. Ahmed said, The Arab League did not gain anything from suspending the membership of Syria, except for reducing chances of settling the conflict. In fact, removing Syria from the Arab League did not have any positive effect. The conflict has exceeded 10 years and the situation is stagnating. He went on, Restoring Syrias membership in the Arab League would be a positive decision because it would help deliberate with the Syrian government, listen to it, advise it or even pressure it into reaching a solution to the conflict that has deeply harmed a major and influential Arab country in the Middle East. Ahmed said, I now feel a shift in the stances of some of these countries. I hope this will facilitate a majority decision to bring the Syrian government back to the Arab League. With the increasing calls for Syrias return to the group, Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Abdul Rahman Al-Thani stressed his countrys objection to the Syrian government reentering the Arab League in a March 11 press conference, saying, The reasons behind the suspension of Syrias membership in the Arab League are still valid. In September 2011, the Arab League presented a 13-point initiative to settle the crisis in Syria including an immediate halt to violence against civilians, serious political contacts between Assad and opposition representatives and multi-party presidential elections. Ahmed said, The countries that consider themselves against Assads regime and support the opposition against him believed that distancing the Syrian government from the Arab League would expedite his fall. But this did not happen. Abdul Menhem Said, a political analyst and member of the Egyptian Senate, told Al-Monitor over the phone, Egypt wants the situation in Syria to stabilize. The current Syrian government must be given some incentive by restoring it to the Arab League, especially since it represents Syria at the UN. Besides, its return to the Arab League is logical as negotiations on a solution to the crisis would be more appropriate and reflective of the situation on the ground in Syria. He added, Syrias return to the Arab League is important because it would give Arab parties a chance to take part in resolving the Syrian crisis. Egypt is especially interested in stability in the Middle East and in calming the areas of conflict and tensions. Khaled Okasha, director of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, The Egyptian call and the subsequent Emirati demands for the return of Syria to the Arab League are important and reflect major strategic awareness. The region needs Arab efforts to solve its crises and to take control of Syrias future amid foreign intervention, especially from Ankara and Tehran, which have deeply harmed the Syrian internal arena. Okasha said, Returning Syria to the Arab League, allowing it to rehabilitate its political life, will help maintain regional security for all Arab states. [March 18, 2021] Notice of Lead Plaintiff Deadline for Shareholders in the CytoDyn, Inc. Class Action Lawsuit Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the Western District of Washington on behalf of purchasers of CytoDyn, Inc. (OTC:CYDY) common stock between March 27, 2020 and March 9, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case is captioned Lewis v. CytoDyn, Inc., No. 21-cv-05190, and is assigned to Judge Benjamin H. Settle. The CytoDyn class action lawsuit charges CytoDyn and certain of its executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased CytoDyn common stock during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the CytoDyn class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the CytoDyn class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the CytoDyn class action lawsuit. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery of the CytoDyn class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the CytoDyn class action lawsuit or have questions concerning your rights regarding the CytoDyn class action lawsuit, please provide your information here or contact counsel, J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller, at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058 or via e-mail at jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the CytoDyn class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than May 17, 2021. CytoDyn is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of a drug named "Leronlimab" which hs long been promoted as a potential therapy for HIV patients. The CytoDyn class action lawsuit alleges that since the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, CytoDyn has begun to aggressively tout Leronlimab as a treatment for COVID-19. Consequently, after CytoDyn's pivot to hyping Leronlimab as a treatment for COVID-19, CytoDyn's stock price rose exponentially. The CytoDyn class action lawsuit further alleges that while CytoDyn's stock price was sufficiently pumped with the COVID-19 cure hype, defendants dumped millions of shares at artificially inflated prices. Moreover, the CytoDyn class action lawsuit alleges that CytoDyn also engaged in a wrongful scheme with its lender, Iliad Research and Trading L.P. and its principal John Fife whereby Iliad and other Fife entities operated as an unregistered securities dealer for CytoDyn. In connection with Iliad lending funds to CytoDyn, Iliad obtained a convertible promissory note from CytoDyn and converted the note into newly issued shares of CytoDyn and sold those shares into the public market at a profit, in alleged violation of the dealer registration requirements of the federal securities laws. On August 26, 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that, despite earlier representations, CytoDyn was not being considered for Operation Warp Speed. According to a senior administration official interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, "CytoDyn had only completed a preliminary qualification for being included in the initiative." On this news, the price of CytoDyn shares dropped more than 17% over the next two trading days. Then, on September 3, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") filed a lawsuit against Iliad, Fife, and certain Fife-related entities, calling Fife a "recidivist violator of the federal securities laws." Specifically, the SEC alleged that Iliad and its related entities operated as unregistered securities dealers in violation of the federal securities laws by buying convertible promissory notes, converting the notes into newly issued shares of stock, then rapidly selling those shares into the public at a profit. Thereafter, on November 10, 2020, CytoDyn entered into an amended $28.5 million Secured Convertible Promissory Note with Fife's company, Streeterville Capital LLC, a related entity that was not specifically named in the SEC action against Iliad and Fife. On this news, the price of CytoDyn's shares fell. Finally, on March 5, 2021, and continuing over the weekend, CytoDyn issued a flurry of press releases describing the results of Phase IIb/III data on Leronlimab. Hidden in press releases with titles like "Cytodyn to File Accelerated (News - Alert) Rolling Review with MHRA and Interim Order (IO) with Health Canada for COVID-19" and "Cytodyn's Phase 3 Trial Demonstrates Safety, a 24% Reduction in Mortality and Faster Hospital Discharge for Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Treated with Leronlimab," however, was a disclosure that the primary endpoint of the study -lowering all-cause mortality at Day 28 - was not statistically significant. Following the flurry of press releases, CytoDyn was accused of "massaging the data" and squeezing good news out of a failed study, the results of which CytoDyn reportedly sat on pending regulatory discussions. On this news, the price of CytoDyn's shares fell more than 28%, further damaging investors. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world's leading law firms representing investors in securities class action litigation. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history. For seven consecutive years, ISS Securities Class Action Services has ranked the Firm in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report as one of the top law firms in the world in both amount recovered for shareholders and total number of class action settlements. Robbins Geller attorneys have helped shape the securities laws and have recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved victims. Beyond securing financial recoveries for defrauded investors, Robbins Geller also specializes in implementing corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Robbins Geller attorneys are consistently recognized by courts, professional organizations, and the media as leading lawyers in the industry. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005936/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] An exit poll published immediately after voting ended in the Dutch general election suggested that caretaker Prime Minister Mark Ruttes conservative party won the most seats, putting him first in line to form a new ruling coalition. Mr Rutte, 54, has been in power for more than a decade at the head of three different coalitions and could become the countrys longest-serving prime minister if he manages to form a new coalition. Two gardai including a female officer were brutally assaulted when they attempted to deal with a man who was urinating on the street in Dublin city centre last night. The well respected community garda was hospitalised after the assault and underwent CAT scans after suffering a head injury in the sustained attack which happened on Mercer Street. The male officer sustained minor injuries during the incident. The female garda was kicked a number of times in the head after she fell to the ground when confronted by the suspect who is a 35-year-old man from Palmerstown in west Dublin. Read More He was arrested and brought to Pearse Street Garda Station and is expected to appear in court at a later date. The female garda was discharged from hospital today. Gardai said that the brutal assault is not linked to low-key anti-lockdown protests that happened in the city centre yesterday, St Patrick's Day. Damien McCarthy, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) representative for the DMR South Central Division division said: Firstly, I wish the two members injured last night a speedy recovery. The levels of aggression directed towards gardai working out of Pearse Street is alarming. We had two injured last night, we had the incidents on Grafton Street recently and we also had a detective recently injured. It was an extremely busy night for officers from Pearse Street Garda Station who were involved in a joint operation with their colleagues in Store Street that led to the arrest of a crazed suspect who was responsible for four knifepoint robberies on both sides of the River Liffey. Read More The 34-year-old English national who is the subject of a deportation order allegedly robbed phones and cash while issuing chilling threats to his terrified victims in a crime spree that lasted less than an hour. One of the robberies happened at North Wall Quay, while an attempted robbery occurred on Samuel Beckett Bridge and the other thefts happened at Lime Street and Windmill Lane. The suspect in the case was arrested on Hannover Street at around 11.15pm by two unarmed uniformed officers. After his arrest gardai obtained a search warrant for his home which is located close to where he was arrested. When officers searched this property, they discovered a significant and highly sophisticated cannabis grow house. The suspect who also had an existing bench warrant for his arrest is due to appear before Dublin District Court tomorrow. birds trapped Bird lovers have long denounced it as a barbaric French exception while local hunters argued it should be embraced as an age-old tradition. On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that trapping songbirds with glue is illegal and cannot be authorised by the French state, handing a major victory to "twitchers'". Using glue sticks to catch birds has been outlawed in Europe since the 1979 Bird Directive, except in specific circumstances where the practice is controlled, selective and in limited quantities. Since 1989, on these grounds France has permitted glue-trapping in five south-east departments on the grounds that it is traditional. The first birds caught are placed in cages and act as lures for their feathered friends. Last year, the European Commission threatened France with legal action and fines, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to suspend the practice pending a ruling by the EU court. On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the European Union announced that the French exception must end. The judges ruled the practice was not selective - meaning different bird species were indiscriminately trapped - and contravened EU rules. Hunters, who have quotas for catching individual species, disagree. trapped bird Frances Bird Protection League (LPO). The judgment is very interesting because it says that tradition is no excuse for this and that it is absolutely not selective, which is what we knew and argued." The Bird Protection Association hailed the move as a great victorywhich it has been advocating for years. Glue trapping, it went on, was a "cruel and hateful" practice at odds with a society in which animal welfare was far more prominent than bygone eras. France should join other EU nations in outlawing it completely, it said. Bird lovers argued that as well as capturing birds that glue hunters claim to be targeting, the traps also ensnare protected species. Hunters insist they free such birds, clean their feathers and let them go. Bird groups say they are often fatally injured by this stage and have released footage of scores of other birds - from robins and blue tits to warblers and finches - caught and killed. Story continues In a statement, the EU court agreed that the captured birds can sustain irreparable harm, since the glue can damage feathers. It also rejected the hunters arguments that the practice should be tolerated in the name of maintaining traditional activities saying these had no primacy over the EU Bird Directive. The court has taken into account animal suffering, which is a remarkable step forward, said LPO president Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, who added: Im split between happiness and bitterness at having lost so much time to protect birds. Hunters refused to lay down their arms, with Eric Camoin, head of the national association for the defence of traditional thrush hunting, saying: People who cry victory should re-read the courts decision. It doesnt ban anything but only passes on (the ruling) to the (French) State Council, which will now have to decide. Were going to prepare our case and present it to the State Council by inviting them to come and see the reality on the ground. The fight continues, he said. Frances State Council initially sided with the hunters but in 2019 asked the EU court to rule on its legality. The blocs 2009 birds directive bans methods of mass or non-selective capture or killing of birds, notably glue trapping, but allows for exceptions when there exists no other satisfactory method. Until this year, the French government fixed a quota of thrush and blackbird that hunters in five departments in southeastern France - Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhone, Var and Vaucluse - could catch. In a Tweet, Frances ecology ministry, Barbara Pompili welcomed the European stance, saying: France decided to suspend glue trapping, considered a non-selective practice. The Court of Justice of the European Union upholds this measure for the protection of biodiversity. U.S. prosecutors are seeking a life imprisonment sentence for Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez's brother, Juan Antonio "Tony" Hernandez. According to an Aljazeera report, Tony Hernandez was convicted in October 2019 for running a state-sponsored drug trafficking conspiracy with Honduras' current president. Tony Hernandez, a former Honduras congressman, allegedly participated in a conspiracy to smuggle cocaine to the U.S. that involved machineguns' use. "The defendant trafficked cocaine on a monumental scale, corrupted his elected office, contributed to the already deteriorating conditions in Honduras, and repeatedly lied to the Court," the prosecutors said in a report. President Hernandez, who has not been charged with a crime, has denied the allegations, Reuters reported. In addition to a life term, the U.S. government also wanted Tony Hernandez to give up the $138.5 million in "blood money" from his drug trafficking and pay an additional $10 million fine. His lawyers have yet to file a response to the government's sentencing memorandum. Tony Hernandez was arrested in Miami on Nov. 23, 2018. RELATED ARTICLE: "False Testimonies": Honduras President Hernandez Refutes Drug Dealing Allegations Tony Hernandez's Case Aside from the drug conspiracy and weapons charges, Tony Hernandez was also convicted for lying to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). A two-week trial in 2019 highlighted the lucrative drug trade between the U.S. and Honduras. U.S. prosecutors at the time argued that the Central American country's government protected the drug conspiracy trade, The Guardian reported. A testimony that the convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman gave $1 million in bribes to Tony Hernandez to pass along to his brother surfaced during the trial. Even though President Hernandez was not charged, he was labeled a co-conspirator. The president earlier tweeted that the prosecution's allegations were 100 percent false. Emil Bove, the assistant US attorney, said that the drug conspiracy was already more than six years old in 2010, the time when Tony Hernandez and his associates gained control of the government and protected drug traffickers. "Beginning in 2010, the defendant worked on massive cocaine shipments sent to the United States on a monthly basis," Bove said in the report. Bove added that the president of Honduras also deployed the military to Guatemala's border to protect the defendant's drug turf, and the latter used the national police to murder one of his drug rivals. Tony Hernandez's sentencing has already been delayed multiple times, according to a US News report. Judge Kevin Castel would be the one who will sentence Tony Hernandez on Tuesday in New York. Castel is also the presiding judge in Geovanny Fuentes' trial, another Honduran accused of drug trafficking. President Hernandez's name has already been mentioned repeatedly in the trial as U.S. prosecutors continue to argue that drug traffickers spurred the president's political rise. An alias Jose Sanchez was the Honduran who testified in the trial that he fled Honduras as he felt that his life was in danger after seeing two meetings in which Fuentes paid bribes to now-President Hernandez in 2013. Sanchez arrived in the U.S. in 2015 with his family. As he overstayed his visa, he decided to approach prosecutors in Chicago to tell them about the two meetings he witnessed back in his country. Prosecutors in Chicago at the time told him that it was his word "against the president's." He was then asked to go back to Honduras for evidence. However, he said he received a call from a past coworker, warning him that Fuentes is looking for him to kill him. Sanchez, who is a 45-year-old man that worked as an accountant for 15 years for rice company Graneros Nacionales, said the meetings with President Hernandez were recorded by security cameras inside the firm's offices. READ MORE: Immigrant Child Crisis: Honduran President Blames Drug War for Immigration of Children to US WATCH: Brother of Honduran President Is Arrested for Cocaine Trafficking as Migrants Flee Violent Drug War -From Democracy Now Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. New Delhi: Following Ghaziabad authorities decision, Gautam Buddh Nagar authorities on Thursday (March 18) imposed COVID-19 restrictions, under Section 144 of CrPC, between March 17- April 30 as a precautionary measure against the rising cases in view of upcoming festivals. As the calendar marks a series of upcoming festivals, including Holi, Good Friday, Maharishi Kashyap Jayanti, Ambedkar Jayanti, Navratri and Ram Navami the Gautam Buddh Nagar police is putting in place numerous precautionary measures starting from March 17 till April 30. Meanwhile, Ajay Shankar Pandey, Ghaziabad District Magistrate has issued orders to prevent gatherings amid rising COVID-19 infections and upcoming festivals, under section 144 criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). No festival-related activity will be allowed in the containment zone and no resident the containment zone will be allowed to participate in any kind of event outside. Persons over the 65 years of age and children under 10, sick and pregnant women have been urged to sit at home unless there is a health emergency. As many as 28,903 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Wednesday (March 17). The death toll stands at 1,59,044 including 188 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, over 3,50,64,536 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the country. Additionally, Uttar Pradeshs Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said, the government machinery is concentrating more on preventive steps like focus and contact/target testing to arrest the cases before it takes an alarming proposition. He also stated that the situation in Uttar Pradesh is not as alarming as other states in the country, so there is no need to impose any night curfew or lockdown. Meanwhile, amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka and others, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers of the states on Wednesday (March 17). "We will have to immediately stop the emerging second wave of coronavirus, and for this, we will have to take quick and decisive steps," said PM Modi in the meeting. Live TV 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. Longford woman Margaret Norton was illegally adopted when she was only three days old in 1972. While she enjoyed a happy childhood with her adoptive parents, she embarked on a journey to find her birth mother when she became a mother herself and it took her 12 long years to find her. Margaret is now working on the development of a new documentary where she hopes to help others just like her find their birth parents, with leading Irish independent production company Waddell Media. Margaret says: I know how hard it can be to start this process, the stigma that still exists for many around adoption can make it even more difficult to come forward. Then theres the emotional anguish that can follow, as there are often no official records for most illegal adoptions that took place in Ireland. I got lucky eventually, but it wasnt easy, I hope my positive experience can help others like me. But I have to be honest from the outset and say that we wont be able to help everyone, nor can we take on every case. So please get in touch with us now to start that conversation. Sadly, illegal adoption was going on for so long in Ireland, many birth mothers could well be in their late 70s or 80s now. I knew from a young age I was adopted but it was only when I was pregnant with my first child that I began to wonder about my own birth mother. I had a birth certificate, which was strange instead of an adoption one, but it gave me the address of the Doctors surgery in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, so I had somewhere to start my search. I hit many dead ends in my search for the truth but by taking a chance on a DNA search I found out I had a first cousin nearby and that connection gave me the opportunity to reach out to my birth mother. Now Im in touch with both my birth parents and Ive met my younger brother and sister which has been a beautiful reunion for all of us. If you are interested in finding out more about your illegal adoption with a view to taking part in this documentary currently in development by Waddell Media, please email info@waddellmedia.com in complete confidence. It is important to include a short description of your circumstances including details of any attempts youve made already to find your parents, along with a contact number so the team can get in touch with you to discuss further, if they feel they can help. The payment market is expected to see big changes with the appearance of Mobile Money. After the Prime Minister released a decision on deploying Mobile Money on a 2-year trial basis, commencing from March 9, 2021, Viettel, MobiFone and Vinaphone, the three largest mobile network operators, said they would officially provide this service from the second quarter. Partner or rival? Analysts say that the appearance of Mobile Money on the payment market will increase pressure on commercial banks. However, they said banks and Mobile Money will be partners for mutual benefit, not rivals. Can Van Luc, chief economist of the Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV), said once a new player turns up, the competition will increase but it is healthy and necessary. As in other countries, Mobile Money in Vietnam will only serve payments for goods and services with small value. As such, it will not compete with banks in capital mobilization and lending, which are the two major operations of banks. Banks will even benefit from the presence of Mobile Money in the payment market, because it helps promote the habit of making payments online, thus having positive impact on the market. Lawyer Truong Thanh Duc said some years ago, when fintechs were established, they were considered by banks as rivals. But later, banks identified fintechs as partners that cooperate to provide better services to customers. Nguyen Dinh Thang, president of LienViet Post Bank, said Mobile Money, which mostly serves small payments, is not a direct rival to banks. We support the development of the model and hope it will become our 'extended arm, Thang said. A representative of TP Bank said the banking sector cannot hold a monopoly in the field of payments and it "cannot do everything well". We consider Mobile Money a partner, not an opponent, he said. Mobile Money and fintechs target niche markets and specific market segments that banks cannot reach. Mobile Money is more complementary than competitive to banks. It can, together with banks, familiarize people with non-cash payments, bringing benefits for both sides. Other bankers also said Mobile Money and fintechs target niche markets and specific market segments that banks cannot reach. Mobile Money is more complementary than competitive to banks. It can, together with banks, familiarize people with non-cash payments, bringing benefits for both sides. Banks will have to change However, according to Nguyen Dac Hung, a respected banking expert, banks will have to become stronger to get pieces of the "payment service pie". The advantages of Mobile Money are speed and ease of use. If telecom carriers offer competitive service fees, many people will use the service, which means that payments via banks will decrease. A report found that revenue from services accounts for less than 20 percent of banks total revenue. Banks are trying to collect more from services, as this source of revenue is more sustainable and less risky than credit. Therefore, their payment fees are on the rise. However, the appearance of Mobile Money with competitive service fees will force commercial banks to rethink their strategies. In theory, Mobile Money targets niche market with clients in remote, rural and mountainous areas where most people dont have bank cards or the conditions to use modern payment services. People without bank accounts will be the important clients of Mobile Money. However, if Mobile Money is attractive with its low service fee and convenient transactions, even people who have bank accounts and live in urban areas will use Mobile Money as well. This could be a concern for banks, because this may lead to a lower growth rate in capital mobilization and lending. However, economists stress that banks have no other choice than accepting the competition. They need to reform and develop a network to increase opportunities to advertise their products and expand market share. They also need to improve service quality and reduce fees to attract more customers. Duy Anh Mobile Money users may be charged: authority Customers using Mobile Money, a freshly-approved pilot project, may be charged a certain fee, according to the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communications. A global survey of mostly larger family-owned firms shows Irish employers are significantly more likely to have cut jobs than peers in Europe and globally. Cutting wage bills especially through temporary lay-off was the single most common tactic among firms surveyed here to deal with the effects of the crisis, the survey found. A year on, employment levels in Irish family businesses are 15pc below pre-Covid levels, significantly worse than the global figure (-8.5pc) and the European fall of 4.3pc. When asked which actions they took to reduce labour costs, Irish respondents to the survey indicated that they favoured placing employees on furlough above implementing a hiring freeze or reducing pay. "This is perhaps reflective of the range of supports provided by Government over the past 12 months to support retention of employees, according to KMPG which published the research. The Irish Governments initial economic response to the Covid pandemic included large-scale wage subsidies and increased unemployment benefits to maintain income levels for individuals forced out of work as a result of lockdowns. The research by KPMG Private Enterprise and the STEP Project Global Consortium surveyed the effects of the pandemic on family-owned business and compared the effects between regions. The research looked at 2,500 family businesses globally, including 59 in Ireland, and more than 500 non-family businesses. The family businesses surveyed in Ireland were predominantly larger businesses, with more than two-thirds having over 200 employees and a further 22pc having between 51 and 200 employees. While the new report is called Mastering a comeback: How family businesses are triumphing over Covid-19 the findings show the scale of the fallout and ongoing reliance on Covid wage supports to prevent a sharp drop in household incomes. In Ireland, 68pc of these mostly larger family businesses say that revenues have decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Just 5pc of Irish family businesses said Covid-19 has resulted in revenue increases, compared to 11pc in Europe overall. The survey also examined actions businesses took to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their business. In Ireland, that predominantly focused on reducing labour costs (35pc) followed by reducing operating costs or planned investments (34pc), actions to restructure costs or payments (23pc) and reducing top management compensation (8pc). Globally, similar numbers focused on reducing labour costs but there was a greater emphasis made on operations costs and reducing investments. PORTLAND, Ore., March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chevron Federal Credit Union, a leading credit union based in Oakland, Calif., will go live with Tyfone's omnichannel nFinia digital banking platform later this year, bringing tremendous improvements to both internal operations and the member experience. "We were looking for a modern platform that can leverage open banking concepts and allow us to integrate what we want, where we want, when we want," said Sachin Kundra, the credit union's CIO. He added that the nFinia platform will enable the rapid integration that is necessary in today's environment. "We need to move at the speed of digital, not the speed of banking," he said. The credit union has committed to a strategy of digital transformation that aims for seamless and frictionless experiences for both members and staff across all of their interactions. "Developing leading-edge digital capabilities is of paramount importance to us and our members, and the partnership with Tyfone will help us to achieve our vision," said Jon Berlin, President and CEO of Chevron FCU. "More than ever, progressive credit unions like Chevron need to remain nimble and able to act quickly. The competitive landscape demands it," said Dr. Siva Narendra, Tyfone's CEO. "At Tyfone, we're committed to staying ahead of the curve so that our community financial institutions can stay ahead of the curve, too." About Tyfone Inc. Based in Portland, Ore, Tyfone is a leading provider of consumer and commercial digital banking services for community financial institutions throughout the United States. The company understands that an elegant, engaging, intuitive user experience is the minimum requirement for any digital banking provider. What differentiates Tyfone is its unwavering commitment to exceptional collaboration and communication. The company considers each customer a true partner and places the highest value on every relationship. Additional information is available at www.tyfone.com. About Chevron Federal Credit Union Established in 1935 as a member-owned, not for profit organization, Chevron Federal Credit Union (Chevron FCU) exists to help their 135,000 members achieve personal financial success. Chevron FCU is ranked in the top 1% of credit unions by asset size with over $4 billion in assets* across its two brands Chevron FCU and Spectrum Credit Union. The membership is primarily made up of employees, retirees, contractors and affiliates of Chevron, Bechtel and other small and medium sized employers. Headquartered in Oakland, California, with branches from coast to coast, Chevron FCU employs over 300 people dedicated to delivering trusted banking and lending services that help members grow and prosper. For more information, visit https://www.chevronfcu.org/ Federally insured by NCUA. *Source: Callahan and Associates data as of Q4 2020. Contact: John San Filippo Phone: (619) 467-0431 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Tyfone Inc. Related Links http://www.tyfone.com Fulton Man Jailed on Marijuana, Fleeing Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff n officer attempted to stop a vehicle driven by 31-year-old Michael Papierski after he could smell the odor of marijuana coming from inside. The officer activated his lights and siren, but Papierski continued for approximately half a mile before stopping. During the stop, police reportedly found 7.7 ounces of marijuana, a marijuana joint and a bottle of simulated urine. Papierski was lodged at the Graves County Jail on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of controlled substance, fleeing or evading police, trafficking in marijuana, criminal simulation and possession of drug paraphernalia. MAYFIELD - A Fulton man is facing multiple charges following a traffic stop in Mayfield Wednesday.The Mayfield Police Department said a It's been more than a year since the spirits in the Haunted Mansion came out to socialize and Big Thunder Mountain offered the wildest ride in the wilderness, but soon, Disneyland will reopen for a limited capacity crowd. Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC on Wednesday that Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim will reopen on April 30. "We've seen the enthusiasm, the craving for people to return to our parks around the world," he said. The parks both closed last March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this month, California, which has seen an increase in vaccinations and decrease in COVID-19 cases, announced new guidelines for reopening theme parks, saying it could be done beginning April 1 if virus transmission rates remained low. Chapek said Disney needs until the end of April to hire staffers, and will recall 10,000 workers and train them on new safety standards, including ensuring visitors stay socially distanced and wear masks when not eating and drinking. To start, the theme parks will only be open to California residents, at 15 percent of total capacity. Tickets will have to be reserved online in advance. Read more at the Los Angeles Times. More stories from theweek.com Beware the lonely, angry men Is Rand Paul a real doctor? Both Fox News and Russian state media are trying to get Biden to debate Putin Achim Wambach: President of the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research; Professor of University of Mannheim; Former Chairman of the Monopolies Commission, Germany Feng Xiaohu: Professor and doctoral supervisor of University of International Business and Economics (UIBE); Doctoral Supervisor of Humboldt University of Berlin; President of Research Academy Chengdu, UIBE; Director of Sino-German Economic and Trade Research Center, Academy of China Open Economy Studies Xiao Lianbing: Secretary-General of the Center for International Exchange, Cooperation and Communication, Guangming Daily At the beginning of the crisis, we saw such a regression to unilateralism Xiao: Dear Professor Wambach and Professor Feng, as we all know, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has exceeded 100 million. One year has passed, and the pandemic has not yet ended. Whats your opinion on the situation and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic? Wambach: As the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the global economy, We are experiencing the deepest economic recession since World War II. Governments around the world have quickly adopted a series of large-scale economic stabilization and stimulus measures to help us regain economic recovery, and our further measures to deal with this pandemic will determine whether the recovery is stable. Unfortunately, especially at the beginning of the crisis, we have seen certain countries regress to unilateral strategies, establish trade barriers and emphasize domestic supply. Europe has now regained a firm footing and is coordinating response to the virus, vaccinating the population and purchasing medical equipment jointly. I think politicians are learning the lessons of supply chain disruptions caused by pandemic, and what we need now is open trade borders and broader diversification, not delinking from other markets. Feng: I was in Germany when the pandemic started. At that time, many people in Germany queried about the necessity of cutting off Wuhan from the rest of the world. Of course, they also donated a large quantity of medical supplies to China. During the entire period of the pandemic, Germany's attitude towards China was relatively friendly on the whole, and Germany did a better job in responding to the first wave of the pandemic. However, Im appalled by the ideologization of the pandemic in American political system. While some Americans view wearing masks as a political symbol, I understood that the pandemic in the United States could no longer be controlled. Though EU countries are generally more rational, they cannot surpass themselves either. The impact of the pandemic on the economy is obvious. Bill Gates said that the economy cannot be restarted unless the pandemic is under control. However, the Trump administration denied this simple truth, and Gates has been criticized as a public enemy, which made me confused and speechless. The development of the pandemic now proves that Gates is right. Xiao: What is your comment on the measures taken by China, Europe and the United States to prevent and control the pandemic? Wambach: China has achieved great success in preventing the spread of the virus. One reason for Europes relatively difficult response is its lack of experience in dealing with large-scale pandemics. I think Europe will be better prepared next time. Furthermore, different attitudes towards individual rights also account for part of the reason. For example, data protection is highly valued in Europe, so tracking applications are not fully functional. Taking school education as another example, if there is no guarantee that student photos will not be leaked to the Internet, video teaching will not be conducted, therefore the government can only try to avoid closing schools. The German standard is that any intervention in personal life needs to meet the necessity and appropriateness. If there is doubt, it is usually not the politicians but the judges who make the final decision, and many measures of the local government will be rejected by the court. Feng: Professor Wambachs opinion hits the point. I think there are three main reasons why European countries have not responded well to the second wave of the pandemic. Firstly, after Europe has entered modernization, it has put more emphasis on individual rights and interests, while Asian cultures, with Chinese culture as backbone, have generally given priority to collectivism. During the pandemic, the Chinese government called on people not to go out and use big data to fight against the pandemic, and the public were very cooperative. Although most people in Europe also cooperate, a considerable number of people put personal freedom in the first place, and because their voices are too loud, they were more frequently reported in the news, thus obscuring the focus on fighting against the pandemic. Immanuel Kants definition of free boundary is not to interfere with the interests of others. However, going out without a mask when the pandemic is severe obviously deviates from this definition. Until New Year's Day of 2021, although the German government had to issue a lockdown order, it was completely incomparable with the lockdown of Wuhan. In the first wave of the pandemic, Germany also launched a personal tracking app after fierce controversy, but its use was not compulsory, and eventually it was abandoned due to low usage. Therefore, in high-tech Germany, tracking people into restaurants or cinemas relies on paper registers, which are almost useless because many people fill in false information. Secondly, frankly speaking, the systems of government and political parties in Europe and America have caused great difficulties in fighting against the pandemic. When the pandemic hit New York, President Trump (Republican) wanted to send troops into New York, but the Mayor of New York (Democrat) said this was a declaration of war on New York! Different political parties have different views on the fight against the pandemic in the US. All Republican governors supported what President Donald Trump said, while all democratic governors opposed it, creating a strong sense to us that partisan interests were overriding the fight against the pandemic. During the pandemic, many officials in China were held accountable or even removed from their positions, while few in Europe and the US were punished only because they were "popularly elected" and can only step down when their terms of office expire according to the law. Thirdly, Professor Wambach mentioned that if there are doubts, it is usually not the politician but the judge who makes the final decision. This is also one of the big puzzles that this pandemic has brought me. Usually Europe and America believe that their own system of separation of three powers is conducive to "closing power into a cage." However, during the severe pandemic, European and American administrative officials' anti-pandemic decisions are not only hindered by partisan disputes, but also often rejected by the judiciary. In the end, its as if the judge made the administrative and medical decisions, and of course the correctness of that will be called into question. Xiao: While seeing the crisis brought about by the pandemic to human society, will you also discover the development opportunities arising from the response to the pandemic? Wambach: Digitization enables us to better respond to crises. Imagine if this crisis had occurred 20 years ago, video conferencing, working from home, online shopping, etc. wouldnt have been possible. A study conducted by our research institute showed that in the financial crisis of 2009, companies with a higher degree of digitalization were better able to cope with the crisis. I think the same is true for handling the current crisis. This crisis will also help overcome obstacles that were previously insurmountable. Telemedicine in Germany is a good example. Before the crisis, video consultation was banned in Germany, but now it is fairly common. In addition, a special advancement is that the crisis has even pushed small shops to go digital. After the lockdown of the city, no customers came to the store, and the store either offered goods online or closed. Feng: When there is a crisis, there is an opportunity, and a huge crisis is usually accompanied by a great opportunity. The opportunity brought by this pandemic is the rapid advancement of the digital (online) economy. Among the top 10 in the Global top 100 companies 2020 released by PwC, from second to eighth are Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Alibaba, Facebook, and Tencent, with seven companies related to the digital economy. The most impressive experience concerning digitization for me personally is online teaching. After I returned to China in February 2020, I used "Tencent Meeting" to teach remotely during home quarantine, and I became a loyal user since then. The power of China's digital life is clearly visible in this pandemic. Now almost all Chinese universities can switch from offline teaching to online teaching within a day based on the anti-pandemic situation, and the teaching experience with most courses are relatively good and satisfying. Most of my courses for the two semesters from March to December 2020 are taught online, And now many academic conferences are held online, including the launch of the Chinese version of Professor Wambachs new book, "Uneasy Change: Market Competition and Public Welfare in the Digital Age", and received very satisfactory results. According to my experience, in terms of digital applications, Europe does lag behind China in many aspects. Now many European countries are following the United States in rejecting 5G technology and even banning 5G companies from China. As a scholar familiar with Europe, I think it is completely incomprehensible. Fortunately, Germany has kept a clear mind in this regard and has always advocated not rejecting any company to participate in the 5G construction competition on the basis of ensuring national security. Digitalization brings huge benefits but also risks Xiao: The Chinese version of the book "Uneasy Change: Market Competition and Public Welfare in the Digital Age" written by Professor Wambach was published in China at the end of 2020. Why is the digital economy called an uneasy change? Wambach: Digitalization has brought huge benefits but also risks. In a very short period of time, internet giants have emerged all over the world, dominating the entire economic sector, more and more jobs are being automated, and there is a widening gap between digital beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in society. Therefore, policymakers must actively participate in shaping the changing social structure so that everyone can keep up with the pace of digitalization. Therefore, my book is titled "Uneasy Change:Market Competition and Public Welfare in the Digital Age". Take the theme of work for example: digitalization is realizing job automation. Some studies believe that digitization will eliminate almost half of the existing work types. My research institute has specially researched and analyzed which jobs may be replaced by automation, and found that only about 10% of jobs would be automated for most tasks, and those jobs would probably disappear in the future. Some tasks in other jobs may be automated, but most won't, so those jobs will remain, but their focus will change. Therefore, digitization will only change our work, not eliminates our work. Employers must ensure that workers can accept and participate in this change. Consequently, continuing education will become more and more significant. Feng: This view of Professor Wambach is very important. Just because economic digitization is vital for China, its healthy development has always been a concern of the Chinese government. The new book by Professor Wambach has also received special attention in China. Karl Marx said that the essence of capital is profit. The essence of monopoly is monopoly profit, and monopoly profit must lead to stifling innovation. There are no exceptions in ancient and modern China and abroad. However, the foundation of the digital economy happens to be innovation, and the secret of China's rapid digital economy is bold innovation. From this perspective, it is undoubtedly a correct decision for Chinese regulatory authorities to stop internet giants from entering the community to sell vegetables. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" believes that monopoly is "price monopoly", that is, a company will definitely pursue the highest price after obtaining a monopoly position. This view has long been considered correct. After entering the 21st century, huge changes have taken place in economic patterns, and price monopoly has evolved into platform monopoly, with the goal of monopolizing users' personal data. The strategy of platform monopoly starts with free" offers, but the internet does not have free products. If the product is free, then you are the product. The upgrade of platform monopoly is to monopolize all platforms. The latest form of monopoly is the attention monopoly, an upgraded version of the "eyeball economy". It can obtain users' personal data by winning their attention, and then continuously dig deep to create super value wealth. A typical example is likes in WeChat Moments. Likes represent social recognition, which will release dopamine from the brain and give users a sense of pleasure. It's almost "social death" not to click "like" in WeChat Moments. But what mobile phone users dont know is that likes and reading tendencies will expose your attention preferences, allowing internet companies to track and evaluate your preferences, so as to target tailor-made articles and pictures. This is the platform knows you better ". The end result may be that if you just want to travel to the Maldives, and you have not searched on your phone at all, but Maldives travel advertisements keep popping up. Some people call it the Internet of Behavior (IoB), a carnival of facial recognition, location tracking, and big data. This is the "eyeball economy 2.0". It is said that by 2025, more than half of the world's population will participate in at least one IoB program and become the prey of advanced artificial intelligence and algorithms. It can be said that if there are no restrictions, the profit goals of all companies will automatically lead to monopoly. At that time, the only things that can restrict these data giants are the law and the government. In fact, governments have already seen this. Since 2017, Google has faced 27 investigations in Europe and America, 22 in Amazon and Apple, and 13 in Facebook. The European Union has imposed antitrust penalties on Google for three consecutive years, with a cumulative amount of $9.6 billion. In November 2020, the Chinese government launched the "Guidelines for Anti-monopoly in the Field of Platform Economy (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)", which fully demonstrated the determination and courage of the Chinese government. In terms of anti-monopoly, Germany has taken the lead. Germanys economic miracle after World War II was praised by the world, which was led by Ludwig Erhard, Minister of Economy back then and later the second chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. And one of the most important economic institutional legacies that Erhard left to the German economy is the Federal Cartel Office (Anti-monopoly Agency). Together with Deutsche Bank, another of Erhards important legacies, Deutsche Bank, this regulatory agency still guards the healthy development of the German economy. In China's new round of more ambitious reform and opening up, China and Germany are undoubtedly the two major countries in the world that should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of anti-monopoly. Xiao: Indeed, after World War II, the social market economy theory played an important guiding role in the economic and social development of Germany. In the digital economy, what are the constants and changes of social market economy theory? What measures has Germany taken in anti-monopoly in the digital economy? Wambach: The fundamental basis of a social market economy is free competition between companies. Companies are responsible for their actions. They enjoy profits exclusively, but they also have to bear the losses. But in the initial digitalization, we saw that monopoly companies could take no responsibilities for the losses occur on their platforms, because they are "just" an "intermediary." We therefore need to formulate new rules to better identify the problems of competition in the digital economy and to better coordinate responsibilities and obligations. Politicians should act for this purpose and thats why Germany reformed its anti-competitive laws. The European Commission recently proposed the promulgation of the "Digital Market Law" and the "Digital Services Law." Large platforms, so-called "intermediaries", will be subject to specific rules. In this regard, I can sum it up in three points. One is to formulate rules for the dominant platform. Large platforms dominate the market and play an important role in competition. Rules need to be set to guide their behavior. One of the rules is to prohibit self-interested preferences, which is of great benefit to maintaining competition. The other is to force the adoption of alternative dispute resolution procedures for illegal activities on the platform, which helps to better allocate responsibilities. The second is to standardize data acquisition. Data is the foundation of the prosperity of the digital economy. The prosperous development of big data applications and artificial intelligence is based on access to data, and new markets can be created by acquiring data. The method of obtaining data is either to allow third-party providers to access digital user accounts, or to access public data in accordance with rules. If the government allows them to access mobile data, companies can enter and provide new services, such as better control over the rental of self-driving cars and bicycles. The third is to create a competitive environment. Rules and regulations must ensure that other companies have access to the market as well. For example, companies need to cooperate in order to share data or build private platforms. However, it is not clear from the law whether such co-operation is feasible or illegal. Therefore, we need to answer new legal questions raised by new types of cooperation between companies in the digital field. Feng: In China, internet platforms infringe on the privacy of customer data abound. Capital invasion of privacy is unavoidable, because profit-seeking is its nature. The excuse of these internet platforms in the past was "Chinese people are willing to trade privacy for convenience." The unethical behavior of these internet platforms was rampant for a while since the laws and regulations did not clarify the boundaries of the platforms collection and use of customer data in a timely manner. At present, the Chinese government has implemented drastic rectifications on platforms that infringe on users data privacy. In the era of digital economy, not only China, but also European and American countries are all anti-monopoly, because this is an important measure of national governance now. The issue of competition in the digital economy is not just one countrys issue Xiao: The digital economy is booming all over the world. How do you look at the internationalization of the digital economy and its subsequent impact? Wambach: The competition issue of the digital economy does not only affect a certain country, but affects all economies in the world. All parts of the world are actively taking measures to address these problems. Nevertheless, there are still many problems have not been resolved. For example, when internet giants acquire start-up companies, when is it harmful and when is it harmless? The so-called "killer acquisition" refers to the fact that a dominant company acquires a small company to close it down and eliminate competitors. How often does this happen? What kind of problems will arise? Perhaps the "killer acquisitions" will prompt entrepreneurs to prioritize doing business well. When the business is booming, they may not sell to large companies but compete. For example, for data access, which data involves trade secrets and should be kept secret by the company? What data should be made available to everyone? I think China and Germany can learn a lot from each other, such as how the market works, which regulatory measures are purpose-oriented, and so on. Feng: The greater danger of monopoly on the digital economy comes from internationalization. The criticism caused by Amazon in Germany is a very direct example. Economic digitization has made cross-border acquisitions and operations of large companies more convenient. While promoting economic development, it has increased the impulse and speed of international speculative capital to evade regulation and chase excessive profits. Faced with such potential threats, a single country, especially a country with a relatively open economic and financial system, may not be able to withstand the impact of large multinational companies. Therefore, international anti-monopoly cooperation is particularly important. I think that the governments of the world's major powers will recognize that international anti-monopoly cooperation in the digital economy is necessary. At the end of 2020, the main content of the "China-EU Investment Agreement" negotiated between China and the EU is related to international cooperation on global anti-monopoly. Xiao: What is the prospect of China-EU digital economy cooperation? Wambach: Both China and the European Union have benefited a lot from economic cooperation, but there have been some twists and turns in recent years, partly because of the differences in economic models between the two sides. The European single market is based on competition between companies, with China's state-owned enterprises playing an even heavier role. For further cooperation, the signing of investment and trade agreements between the two parties should be favorably received, as these agreements will help to clarify the conditions for state intervention and the areas in which companies can compete. Feng: Professor Wambach has talked about the basic rule of the German social market economy: the government is only the watchman of the national economy. It intervenes only when the market is on fire. When the fire is extinguished, it automatically exits and cannot operate in the market as a market entity. But there may be more than one correct view in economic research. Judging from the corporate activities I have participated in in recent years, Chinese state-owned enterprises usually do not put profit first, and their more important task is to ensure market stability and labor stability. An example I know: an international insurance company established a company to operate agricultural insurance in a southern province of China. Later, a large-scale natural disaster occurred. The company really couldnt afford it and filed for bankruptcy with the local government. The government did not allow it: you have to pay, or you will have no chance to do any business in this province henceforth. In the end, the company had to transfer funds from the headquarters to compensate and suffered huge losses that year. Some people would say its an operation against the laws of the market economy, but if we ask those farmers, they will definitely support the government 100%. The German government is actually doing the same thing. Lufthansa was hit hard by the pandemic. The German government did not let it go bankrupt, but invested heavily in rescue. The Chinese fully understand this. What the Chinese cannot understand is that the German opposition party has been criticizing the German government for paying huge sums of money in exchange for the corresponding holdings to "nationalize" Lufthansa. At this special moment of the global pandemic, it may be more necessary to put ideology aside and let everyone have work and food. Needless to say, the Chinese government did a better job in this regard during the entire pandemic than any other country in the world, and the vast majority of Chinese people are also genuinely satisfied. Just after New Year's Day of 2021, a BBC reporter visited a small shop in Beijing and asked: "How is China recovering now?" The shopkeeper replied, "It must be better than your country." This is the voice of ordinary Chinese people. (Translation: XIA Luran, Central Univeristy of Finance and Economics Proofreading: WANG Xiaomeng, Academic Assistant of Research Academy Chengdu, UIBE) [ Editor: SRQ ] AKRON, Ohio The Ohio Secretary of States Office has requested a protective order to prevent Secretary Frank LaRose and Elections Director Amanda Grandjean from being deposed by lawyers for the Summit County Republican Partys Executive Committee. The state sought a protection order Thursday in response to deposition notices sent by Attorney Stephen Funk, who is representing the Summit GOPs Executive Committee in the suit filed Friday challenging LaRoses rejection of Bryan Williams reappointment to the Summit County Board of Elections. The case is before the Ohio Supreme Court, and Chief Justice Maureen OConnor ordered the GOP to respond to the states motion by 12 p.m. Friday. At issue is LaRoses March 3 letter rejecting Williams reappointment to the board of elections, which coincided with Grandjean penning a letter notifying the board that it had been placed under administrative oversight. LaRose and Grandjean each listed the same seven reasons for their decisions, including the boards poor handling of the November presidential election and how the board maintained its voter rolls. The problems at the board, LaRose contends, likely led to the disenfranchisement of qualified voters namely, people convicted of a felony but not incarcerated and eligible to vote and at least one instance of voter fraud through a dead persons active registration. Williams has claimed that LaRose a Summit County native developed a political animosity toward him after he sponsored a fundraiser in 2018 for a potential Republican opponent in LaRoses race for secretary of state. He said he views LaRoses rejection of his reappointment as political retribution against me for a perceived lack of political support for him in my capacity as Chair of the Summit County Republican Party. The party is asking the court to order that Williams serve a four-year term at the election board through Feb. 28, 2025. Williams has been a member of the board since March 2014, and from 2004 to 2010, he was director or deputy director. The court announced Monday it will expedite the case: the states response to the partys initial filing is due Saturday, with briefings due March 23 and 26 and another reply from the GOP due March 29. [The Summit County Republican Party Executive Committee] seeks to delay this expedited case so that it can depose Secretary LaRose and the Director of Elections Amanda Grandjean, the states motion for a protective order says. The state said time is of the essence, since Ohio has a primary and special election on May 4, so in the coming days and weeks, boards of election will be preparing absentee ballots and completing voter registration lists, among other election tasks. Until this matter is resolved, the Summit County Board of Elections will be operating with only three board members and it will not be in bi-partisan balance as required by Ohio law, the state said. In the filing, Assistant Attorneys General Julie Pfeiffer and Michael Walton said Funk and the GOP are not entitled to discovery because the case is expedited, and that LaRose should not be deposed because he is a high-ranking official. They also claim the depositions are seeking testimony that is unnecessary and irrelevant. As much as the [Summit GOP Executive Committee] would like to make the Court think that the Secretarys rejection of their recommended candidate is because of some alleged political animosity towards Williams, the Secretarys rejection of [Executive Committees] recommendation of Williams is not really about Williams personally, the filing states. By placing the Summit County Board of Elections under Administrative Oversight, the Secretary has made clear that there are problems at that Board that must be addressed. And in the Secretarys view, the way to begin addressing those problems is to change the leadership at the Board level. A sadistic murderer already serving a 46-year sentence for stabbing his niece to death and throwing her naked body off a cliff has had his non-parole period increased after images on a USB stick found by chance revealed the full extent of how he raped his victim before killing her. Derek Barrett, now 32, was initially sentenced to at least 34 years in jail in December 2017 for the murder of Mengmei Leng, a 26-year-old university student from China who had been living with Barrett and his wife, her aunt, at their home in Sydneys inner west. Derek Barrett, left, with his niece Mengmei Leng, whom he raped and murdered in 2016. Credit:AAP Ms Lengs bound, naked and mutilated body was found by tourists at the bottom of a cliff at Snapper Point, 100 kilometres from the Campsie home where she was killed two days earlier, on April 22, 2016. She had been stabbed more than 30 times. But it wasnt until November 2019, when a member of the public stumbled across a USB stick in Strathfield containing horrific sexual assault images and videos, and handed it to police, that the full extent of Barretts crimes against Ms Leng would be known. Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body The evolving landscape of cyber infrastructure and homeland security took center stage Tuesday as Auburn Universitys McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security hosted Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y. and ranking member of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, during a virtual session. One of the biggest threats to homeland security right now is cybertheres no question about that, Katko said. Its a cause for great collaboration and its quintessentially bipartisan and one of the reasons Ive been so attracted to homeland security is that I like trying to get things done. To me, being bipartisan cant be better explained than in the cyber realm. Katko has served a number of leadership roles during his time on the House Committee on Homeland Security before being named the ranking member in December. He cited several top priorities for the committee, including rethinking our fragmented approach to dot gov security by consolidating security within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; developing the understanding of the nature and extent of third-party risks; reducing that risk through a certification regime that, instead of just creating perfunctory compliance exercises, actually works and is workable; driving better software insurance development across the entire system; and the fifth, and perhaps the most important, imposing real costs on our cyber adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, he said. Moderated by McCrary Institute Director Frank Cilluffo, the hour-long conversation highlighted the cyber threats posed by countries such as Russia and China, strengthening the authority of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, and the need to increase collaboration between government agencies and the private sector with regard to reporting and addressing cyber incidents. Katko estimated that CISA only receives notice of a small fraction of all the data breaches that occur in the U.S. How can you properly craft better defenses and best practices when youre not getting information from the private sector to do that? he asked. Information sharing amongst agencies has to be turbocharged but we also have to make the private sector feel comfortable enough to share the information with us. Cilluffo distilled the idea of a public-private partnership around cyber security down to trust, and Katko agreed. The more you can have the cross-collaboration, the better because we cant do it alone and the private sector cant do it alone, Katko said. We need each other and its got to involve a lot more trust. A full recording of the conversation can be viewed here. The McCrary Institute is focused on practical, interdisciplinary research and innovation in infrastructure and cybersecurity. Founded through a gift from the Alabama Power Foundation in 2014, the institute is tasked with developing next-generation technologies aimed at improving the security and operation of the nations infrastructure. Tanzanian President John Magufuli died Wednesday aged 61 from a heart condition, his vice president said, after more than five years of divisive, authoritarian rule capped by his refusal to take Covid-19 seriously. Magufuli, popularly nicknamed the Bulldozer, had been missing from public view for almost three weeks, fuelling wild rumours of his ill health, with opposition leaders claiming he had contracted the virus. It is with deep regret that I inform you that today on the 17th of March, 2021 at 6:00 pm we lost our brave leader, the President of the Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli, said vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan. She said Magufuli had died of a heart condition known as chronic atrial fibrillation characterised by an abnormal heartbeat, which he had suffered from for a decade, at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He had first been briefly admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute on March 6, but was subsequently discharged, Hassan said. But Magufuli had again felt unwell and was on March 14 rushed to hospital, this time to the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam. Hassan announced a 14-day mourning period. Magufuli last appeared in public on February 27, and the fervent Catholic had missed three Sunday services, sparking concern. Opposition leader Tundu Lissu cited sources saying that the president had caught Covid-19 which had exacerbated his existing health conditions, which could not be independently verified. Meanwhile demands grew for information on his whereabouts and rumours took off that Magufuli was seeking treatment outside the country. The presidents supporters mourned his death, and the uncertain political road ahead. I am saddened personally. Ive lost hope because I relied on him as my leader, he was a leader of the poor and now we are wondering how things will be now that our leader has died, said 24-year-old Lewis, in Dar es Salaam. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted he was sorry to hear of Magufulis death. Meanwhile the United States State Department expressed condolences, adding: we hope that Tanzania can move forward on a democratic and prosperous path. People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be wondering if they should get a COVID-19 shot, and the answer is definitely yes, an expert says. "The big takeaway message is the COVID-19 vaccine is strongly recommended for patients with multiple sclerosis," said Dr. Nancy Sicotte, director of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Program at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. "If you have an opportunity to get a vaccine, get itand the sooner, the better," she urged in a Cedars-Sinai news release. Her recommendations are based on National MS Society guidelines. Sicotte is chair of the society's National Medical Advisory Committee. More than 1 million Americans have MS, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. COVID-19 vaccination is especially important for patients who have progressive MS; are older; have a physical disability or have chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure; or are Black or Hispanic, according to Sicotte. She noted that some daily medications taken by MS patients may make COVID-19 vaccines less effective, but they'll still provide protection, including reducing the risk of severe COVID-19. "Unless your health care provider advises against it, patients who get the COVID-19 vaccine should continue taking their disease-modifying therapies," Sicotte said. "Any protection is better than no protection." The recommendations for MS patients also apply to people with other chronic diseases, according to Dr. Michael Ben-Aderet, associate medical director of hospital epidemiology for Cedars-Sinai. "People with chronic illness or weakened immune systems may be at higher risk for severe COVID-19 disease, and the vaccines are particularly effective at preventing that," Ben-Aderet said in the release. "There is also no evidence that people with weakened immune systems are at any increased risk of adverse events from the vaccine. While everyone should consult their own physician if they have questions, the vast majority of people with chronic illnesses can and should be vaccinated against COVID-19," he said. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19 vaccines. SOURCE: Cedars-Sinai, news release, March 15, 2021 Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. NEW YORK, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cinnamon market will register an incremental spend of about 39.45th Tons, growing at a CAGR of 2.95% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Cinnamon sourcing can unlock several opportunities for buyers. This report also offers market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download free sample report Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Cinnamon Market Procurement Research Report Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Get a free sample report for more information Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers: Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Cinnamon market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Cinnamon pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives. For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, Click here. Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth: The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers. Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 2.00%-5.00%. Identify favorable opportunities in Cinnamon TCO (total cost of ownership). Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes. Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities. Some of the top Cinnamon suppliers listed in this report: This Cinnamon procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Archer Daniels Midland Co. Associated British Foods Plc E.H. Worlee & Co. (GmbH & Co.) KG Olam International Ltd. Sun Impex International Foods LLC ROYAL SPICES Bart Ingredients Co. Ltd. Koninklijke Euroma BV Marlene Traders Co. Ltd. Greenfield Bio Plantations Nature's Agro Products Lanka Co. McCormick & Co. Inc. To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment, Subscribe Now for Free. Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix Get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights to our digital procurement platform- Contact Us. About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more: https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge Rise Partners added third-party commercial brokerage advisory services to its array of offerings, serving investors, tenants, and institutions over a wide variety of property types in the Southeast. Vice Presidents of Brokerage Services Wilson McGinness and John Tugman joined the firm recently to head up the new division. Mr. McGinness and Mr. Tugman bring over 35 years of combined real estate experience in the industrial, office and retail commercial markets including pre-leasing big box industrial, retail leasing, land acquisition, dispositions and urban redevelopments. The brokerage team will cultivate strategic opportunities for clients by applying its deep relationships, entrepreneurial instincts, and comprehensive marketing platform. John and I are thrilled to join the Rise team. Their reputation is testament to the companys accomplishments, said Wilson McGinness, vice president of Brokerage Services. "We believe our capabilities are a natural complement to their development experience and will support Rise Partners as a full-service real estate solution." Mr. McGinness, vice president of Brokerage Services, is responsible for the growth and performance of the brokerage division. Bringing extensive knowledge of the industrial market, McGinness has represented tenants and landlords in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of over 15 million square feet. Prior to joining Rise Partners, McGinness was the director of leasing at JDK Real Estate for over 10 years. While there, he was responsible for an approximately two million square foot portfolio of industrial space in Tennessee and Georgia. He also performed site selection and tenant representation across the country for one of the nations leading third-party logistics companies where he represented multiple Fortune 500 companies. Mr. McGinness is a graduate of The University of Georgia where he received a degree in finance. Mr. Tugman, vice president of Brokerage Services, will also be responsible for the growth of the brokerage division. He is a native Chattanoogan and attended The McCallie School and The University of the South. His 21-year career in commercial real estate started at CBL as district manager of leasing, followed by similar positions with Highwoods Properties and M.D. Hodges. Tugman later served as vice president and regional director of leasing at DCT Industrial. Moving back to Chattanooga, Mr. Tugman directed companywide restaurant site selection for Craftworks Restaurants and Breweries as their vice president of real estate, growing the companys site pipeline. District of Columbia police on Wednesday arrested a man near the vice presidents residence on a weapons charge. Vice President Kamala Harris does not live at the home yet. The man was seen on Massachusetts Avenue and was detained by Secret Service officers stationed near the residence following an intelligence bulletin from Texas, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. Harris and her husband have not moved in yet because of renovations to the home in Northwest D.C. near the U.S. Naval Observatory. Shes staying at Blair House, a guest home for the White House. Metropolitan police said Paul Murray of San Antonio was held on charges that he carried a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device, a dangerous weapon, a rifle and unregistered ammunition. No one was injured. The Secret Service referred questions to the Metropolitan Police. It wasnt clear if Murray had an attorney who could comment on the charges against him. Ing. Ebenezer Aidoo an indigene of Ahanta who is also a Mining Engineer has reacted to the current publication by Badu Nkansah Publications which has seen backlash from section of Ghanaians. In the last couple of days, Badu Nkansah Publications has come under fire for a book they have published which was ideally meant to be a text book for Ghanaian basic schools. The content of the book was deemed derogatory by Ewes who have since registered their displeasure and threat to burn all materials from Badu Nkansah Publications. The Education Ministry and other regulatory bodies in charge of Ghanas educational curriculum have distanced themeselves from the book, saying it has not yet been approved for use. The Publishers have apologized for what they described as an oversight and a mistake. However, reacting to the infamous publication, Ing. Aidoo is also shocked at how the Ahanta tribe has conspiciously been excluded from the Badu Nkansah history book for basic schools when they were listing tribes that fall under the Akan Ethic group. Ing. Aidoo said, it is not proper for a book that is meant to teach about Ghanaian culture in our schools be segregating tribes and saying distasteful things about other tribes like it did about Ewes. He, however, added that, just as Ewes are demanding an apology from the publishers and recalling of the book from various outlets, Ahanta is demanding same. Ing. Aidoo said not until Ahantas are included as a tribe within the Akan Ethnic group in the book, they will not be pleased with the book. Citing how vast the land of Ahanta is and how important they have contributed to the gains of Ghana there is no way Ahanta must be excluded from the history of Ghana. Ing. Ebenezer Aidoo said he feels there is a deliberate attempt by the Publishers to purposely sideline the Ahanta tribe for reasons best known to them. He said they are giving Badu Nkansah Publications a one week grace period to do the needful by adding all relevant details of the Ahanta tribe to Akan lineage or before the youth of Ahanta advise themselves. 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. Featured Video "Our intent is to have an immediate impact on student borrowing decisions that result in lower loan obligations." an improved, responsively designed student financial aid portal to enhance student self-service capabilities; to enhance student self-service capabilities; Advisor Assist , which allows financial aid counselors to view a students' portal interfaces for real-time, interactive guidance and question resolution; and , which allows financial aid counselors to view a students' portal interfaces for real-time, interactive guidance and question resolution; and the implementation of Smart Borrowing and My Plan functionality, to provide students with increased control and visibility into borrowing options, insight into full program costs, future awarding, and projected indebtedness to help students borrow responsibly and minimize debt. In early February, Regent Education extended its financial aid software deployment with Brigham Young University-Idaho to add the new capabilities of Regent Plan for the university's students. "Our student solutions deliver dynamic, informed planning and forecasting along with increased self-service and stronger counselor support," said Jim Hermens, Chief Executive Officer at Regent Education. "Our intent is to have an immediate impact on student borrowing decisions that result in lower loan obligations as well as to dramatically improve the financial aid process and visibility for students and counselors." About Brigham Young University-Idaho Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-Idaho) is a private university in Idaho founded in 1888 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU-Idaho provides a unique educational experience with the goal of preparing students for lifelong learning, for employment, and for roles as leaders in the home, Church, and community. It enrolls 34,000 on-campus and 15,000 online undergraduate students, and offers over 87 bachelor's degree, 26 certificate, 20 associate, and 11 online degree programs using a unique three-semester system also known as "tracks." To learn more about BYU-Idaho, visit https://www.byui.edu/. About Regent Education Regent Education is the leading provider of SaaS solutions that automate financial aid verification, packaging, and disbursement for not only traditional academic years but also borrower-based academic year (BBAY) and competency-based education (CBE) using standard and nonstandard terms as well as non-term enrollment models. Regent offers a suite of solutions encompassing the automation of financial aid management, verification processes, student financial planning, and state financial aid application. Regent's financial aid management solutions offer institutions an unprecedented ability to automate the financial aid process to increase efficiency, mitigate compliance risks, expand enrollment, improve the student experience, and enhance financial management and financial aid lifecycle visibility. To learn more about Regent Education, visit https://regenteducation.com. Contact Regent Education Diane Eves, Marketing Director (301) 662-5592 or [email protected] SOURCE Regent Education Related Links http://regenteducation.com 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. From left to right, Kenedy Leach, Scarlett Rutherford and Mya Corklin glide in to the party with Snow White (YWCAs Amy Sines). Snow White showed the girls that princesses require grand entrances. Armenia acting health minister on citizens' demand for her resignation Karabakh's new State Minister Artak Beglaryan on his appointment and future activities Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani representatives hold consultations in Moscow 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight injuries after incident with Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia's Gegharkunik Armenian boy weighing 5 kg born at Goris Medical Center "Armenia" bloc representative presents purpose of participation in elections and plans Isaac Herzog elected President of Israel Rouhani: Main issues between Tehran, Washington resolved in Vienna Charles Michel calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume constructive negotiations US Department of State responds to Pashinyan's proposal to deploy international observers on Armenia-Azerbaijan border Head of Armenia 2nd President's Office: Robert Kocharyan's public meetings are held in warm atmosphere Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative on photos and videos showing bags of deceased servicemen's bodies Armenia Ombudsman, AGBU President discuss war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during Karabakh war Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representatives to hold briefings three times a week Opposition "Armenia" bloc member: Blood-freezing photos and videos from morgue in Abovyan are authorities' reflection Yerevan mayor receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Health Ministry, Investigative Committee keep info about sending remains of dead soldiers abroad confidential Armenia Prosecutor General's Office launches case regarding leaving sacs of servicemen's bodies/remains in basement Peskov: Putin and Biden to discuss cybersecurity issues Armenia's Pashinyan meets with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo Armenia acting MOD receives Netherlands Ambassador Armenia Police: 3 citizens apprehended during protest demanding acting health minister's resignation NATO warns Minsk about further consequences of Ryanair incident Armenia economic competition protection commission: Experts forecast inflation of butter prices Armenia citizens' protest against acting health minister is over Pashinyan visits France, judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku, Jun. 2 digest Armenian Ambassador, FMO representatives consider opportunities for expansion of cooperation in Armenia Armenia Prosecutor General is on working visit to Russia Armenia acting PM meets with European Council President in Brussels Armenia citizens throw polyethylene bags at Health Ministry building, police apprehend protesters Acting deputy minister: Armenia authorities plan to build 46km section of North-South highway in 2021 Dollar is stable in Armenia Armenia official: Large number of projects being prepared in construction sector Identity of man killed Wednesday morning in downtown Yerevan is found out Armenian lawyer: Azerbaijan poses a threat to security in Europe Deputy economy minister: There are signs of rapid tourism recovery in Armenia Azerbaijan grossly violating 2 Armenian POWs rights, says international law expert Armenia MOD: Azerbaijani defense ministry disseminated disinformation about 40 Armenian soldiers crossing border Armenian Republican Party: It's possible to restore borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast with Lachin corridor Missing Armenian soldiers' relatives hand letter to Russia Embassy with request to solve captives' issue Georgia Internal Affairs Ministry reveals international narco crime, narcotic drugs were sent from Armenia Advisor to Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan brought up generation of Armenophobic Azerbaijanis and is proud of this Armenian advocate: Azerbaijan is creepily expanding towards Armenia Armenian acting minister: Armenia has potential to introduce major changes in high technology sector Armenia 2nd President: Authorities put country's future in jeopardy with their actions Man killed in downtown Yerevan is bodyguard of "criminal authority" Construction of Eternity Square launched by Tovmasyan Foundation begins in Armenia Armenia deputy police chief refuses to comment on murder in Yerevan at daytime Acting finance minister: Armenia state employees were paid AMD 22bn in bonuses in 2020 Missing soldiers relatives stage picket outside Russia embassy in Armenia Acting minister: Armenia high-tech ministry for first time received military development budget in 2020 Armenia President to pay working visit to Kazakhstan Several Artsakh roads to be improved this year Judicial farce against Armenian POWs kicks off in Baku Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We will give such pace in terms of jobs that we will look for good professionals Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let railway be opened but using the word "corridor" is outright crime Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips Netherlands acting FM: Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan must be released immediately BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri Murder takes place in downtown Yerevan 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region New York, March 18 : As NASA wants to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s, a new study has found that astronauts in crewed missions to the Red Planet could misread vital emotional cues. In testing, research participants were more likely to identify facial expressions as angry and less likely as happy or neutral, said the study published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology. The research showed that living for nearly two months in simulated weightlessness has a modest but widespread negative effect on cognitive performance that may not be counteracted by short periods of artificial gravity. While cognitive speed on most tests initially declined but then remained unchanged over time in simulated microgravity, emotion recognition speed continued to worsen. "Astronauts on long space missions, very much like our research participants, will spend extended durations in microgravity, confined to a small space with few other astronauts," said Mathias Basner, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine in the US. "The astronauts' ability to correctly 'read' each other's emotional expressions will be of paramount importance for effective teamwork and mission success. Our findings suggest that their ability to do this may be impaired over time." Previous studies have shown microgravity causes structural changes in the brain, but it is not fully understood how this translates to changes in behaviour. Head-down bed rest at a slight 6-degree angle is the standard way of simulating the effects of microgravity on Earth. Participants for this research were kept in that position for nearly two months. "Participants regularly completed 10 cognitive tests relevant to spaceflight that were specifically designed for astronauts, such as spatial orientation, memory, risk taking and emotion recognition," explained Basner. "The main goal was to find out whether artificial gravity for 30 minutes each day -- either continuously or in six 5-minute bouts -- could prevent the negative consequences caused by decreased mobility and head-ward movement of body fluids that are inherent to microgravity experienced in spaceflight." Artificial gravity countermeasures consisted of spinning participants on a centrifuge. Positioned like an arm on a clock with their head in the middle, the participants were spun round at the speed of 1 revolution around the 'clock' every two seconds. "There are 2 ways to produce gravity in spaceflight: rotate the whole spacecraft/station, which is expensive, or just rotate the astronaut. The centrifuge could be self-powered, doubling up as an opportunity for exercise," said Alexander Stahn, study co-author and Research Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "Unfortunately, we found that the artificial gravity countermeasures in our study did not have the desired benefits. We are currently performing additional analyses using functional brain imaging to identify the neural basis of the effects observed in the present study." In the future, the team plans to test longer duration artificial gravity countermeasures and to vary the degree of social isolation. A US lawsuit is shining a light on how Greensill Capital drifted from the pedestrian world of working capital finance to a more speculative business. The suit, in which coal miner Bluestone Resources alleges it was defrauded by Greensill, says the UK-based firm would lump in loans based on actual receivables with those made against purchases that had not yet occurred. Bluestone said Greensill made specific predictions about who would buy the companys coal in the future and for how much, and then would make loans against those forecasts as if the sales had happened. At least 35 people employed in Australia by Lex Greensills firm Greensill Capital have lost their jobs after the Australian operations were shut down this week. Credit:Peter Braig Greensills collapse this month has made waves on multiple continents and raised questions about how much risk Lex Greensills startup was taking in its lending. In its own court filings submitted as part of UK insolvency hearings, Greensill says it had three main businesses. Two of them - accounts receivables financing and supply chain finance - involved the purchasing of invoices at a discount in order to speed money to suppliers or to accelerate payments from customers. Those are scale businesses also done by many large banks at narrow margins. Canada China Detained Canadians FILE - In this file image made from a March 2, 2017, video, Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China. The Canadian government says China will begin trials in March 2021 for two Canadians, Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were arrested in 2019 in apparent retaliation for Canadas detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. (AP Photo/File) TORONTO (AP) Canada said Thursday that its consular officials have not received permission to attend the trials of two Canadians who were arrested in China two years ago in a move widely viewed as a pressure tactic over Canadas detention of an executive at Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, were arrested in December 2018, days after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver, British Columbia. The U.S. wants her extradited to face fraud charges related to her companys dealings with Iran. Kovrig and Spavor face spying accusations, and the Canadian Embassy in Beijing has been notified that court hearings for the two are scheduled to take place Friday and Monday. The official notification received from Chinese authorities indicated that these trials are closed to both the public and the media. Despite several official requests to Chinese authorities, Canadian officials have not yet received permission to attend the trials, Global Affairs spokesperson Christelle Chartrand said. We remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings. China has demanded Mengs immediate and unconditional release, saying the U.S. engineered her detention as part of a drive to contain Chinas growing rise. Canadian authorities say Kovrig and Spavor were arbitrarily arrested to put pressure on Ottawa and say they should be released without charge. Meng, the daughter of the founder of Huawei, remains free on bail and living in a mansion in Canada while her case winds its way through the courts. Little information has been released about the charges against Kovrig and Spavor, or their conditions in detention, although the ruling Communist Party newspaper Global Times this week said the pair were allegedly part of a conspiracy to steal Chinese state secrets. Mengs arrest enraged Beijing, which has also retaliated by restricting various Canadian exports, including canola oil seed, and handed death sentences to another four Canadians convicted of drug smuggling. Story continues The legal tussle is expected to be raised at a meeting later Thursday in Alaska between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomats. Blinken has pledged absolute solidarity with Canada in calling for Kovrig and Spavor to be freed. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, called the upcoming trials a very worrisome development. The sentence will be dictated by the Communist Party of China. It becomes a lot more complicated to extract them from China, Saint-Jacques said. In Vancouver on Thursday, Mengs lawyers told an extradition hearing Canadian officials abused their power when they conspired with the U.S. to arrest her. Defense lawyer Tony Paisana said Canadian Border Services Agency officers took Mengs phones, obtained their passwords, then handed to them to Canadian police so the data could be shared with the FBI. Paisana said Meng was never told during questioning that she faced an arrest warrant in the U.S. Had she known, she would have immediately asked for a lawyer. British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes questioned why border officers didnt question Meng more rigorously if their exam was actually a covert criminal investigation, as her lawyers said. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia contributed to this report. A two-minute video clip showing former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu's demeanor in court has left Kenyans with much to discuss on social media. Brian Ndungu, the politician's son, found himself on the wrong side of the law after he was reportedly nabbed by Police driving while under the influence of alcohol. But in the video that has widely been shared on social media, the chap, apart from a striking resemblance with his controversial dad, appears anything but remorseful within the corridors of justice. Instead, Waititu junior is spotted smiling around and making calls to his friends. He at one suggests in a telephone call with a friend his father has refused to pay the Sh30,000 fine required in exchange for his freedom. "Just come and bail me out, my dad has told them to lock me up but I don't have any problem with him, he has on many occasions told me to stop drinking so I don't have any issue with him" explained Ndungu. "I hear people are surprised that I drive a Probox and that I'm arrested. I even ride motorbikes and board matatus, I don't know what is surprising them," he adds. The call goes on for a while and he reveals to his friend on the other side of the phone, whom he calls Mark, the amount of money he needs to pay to secure freedom. "I'm good, I have been fined thirty thousand, that's what I'm trying to sort out." He claimed. Ndung'u's brush with the law is another trait he's picked from his parents. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. The senior Waititu has been in and out of the court for the better part of the last two years, mostly on corruption-related charges. These allegations led to his impeachment as Kiambu boss, making him the first-ever governor in Kenya's history to be kicked out of office by both his County Assembly and the Senate. Ndungu's mother Susan Wangare was once arrested alongside his father on corruption-related offenses. She was also arrested by Nairobi county askaris in 2018 and with the occupation of a building structure without permission from the county government and released on a cash bail of Sh80,000. Brian was sentenced to serve 3 months in jail or pay a fine of thirty thousand after he was found guilty of driving under the influence. He is reported to have spent a night behind bars at the Industrial Area prison. Hazleton, PA (18201) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. What you need to know about Pa.'s UC system going offline Thursday 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. Our constitutional republic was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal. Supporters of the Orwellian-named Equality Act, which recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now being considered by the Senate, claim that their bill protects this foundational American ideal. But, in reality, this legislation would deliver inequality for Americans, including small businesses and faith-based nonprofits that serve the most vulnerable. Like sexual orientation and gender identity laws enacted at the state and local levels, the Equality Act would punish creative professionals who happily serve all people but decline to express messages that violate their religious beliefs. In 2018, I had the opportunity to meet one of the more famous victims of these laws: Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, who, after being dragged through court by hostile government officials for years, had just won an overwhelming victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared that the state of Colorado had wrongfully punished Jack for living and working consistently with his religious beliefs about marriage. While Jack gladly serves everyone, like any creative professional, he declines to express messages or celebrate events that violate his deeply held beliefs. For this, Colorado officials attempted to use the states anti-discrimination law to punish Jack, and the Equality Act would allow the federal government to do the same to creative professionals in every state. Punishing people of faith is the opposite of equality. Equality demands that all Americans enjoy the full breadth of their First Amendment freedoms. And respect for good-faith differences of opinion is essential. The government shouldnt be able to force a pro-abortion graphic designer to create art for the March for Life, nor should the government compel a Democratic speechwriter to use his talents to write for a Republican candidate. Similarly, the government should not force artists like Jack to violate their religious beliefs about marriage. In fact, the so-called Equality Act would destroy equality by denying Americans their constitutionally protected freedoms. This fact is further apparent in how these types of laws have been wielded against faith-based nonprofits. Last November, the Supreme Court heard arguments for such a case in Fulton v. Philadelphia, where government officials attempted to bar Catholic Social Services, a religious child-welfare provider run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, from placing children in foster homes because of its religious beliefs. On behalf of the State of Alabama, I joined a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing for the protection of faith-based providers, because when the government ensures a diversity of providers, doing so better serves children, their birth moms, and their adoptive families. Under the Equality Act, children longing to find a forever home would be harmed, and birth moms seeking adoptive families who share their faith would be denied that opportunity. Nobody benefits from policies like this. As we grapple with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and economic recession, too many charities have already been struggling to survive, leaving vulnerable those suffering from abuse, addiction, hunger, and homelessness. I can confidently say that the people of Alabama do not want this problem compounded by D.C. power brokers shutting down religious charities that selflessly serve our local communities, leaving vulnerable the people who desperately need them. Americans have weathered many threats to their First Amendment rights throughout our history. Today, however, those rights seem to be facing an unprecedented attack across our society, from the halls of Congress to the board rooms in Silicon Valley, with tech oligarchs eager and willing to pick up the baton and run with it whenever constitutional hurdles trip up government officials. Our government cannot forget that its role is to protect all its citizens freedoms not just those beliefs currently en vogue among elites. Lawmakers should take note: History hasnt smiled on those who deny Americans their First Amendment freedoms. No present piece of legislation would do more violence to those freedoms than the Equality Act. I encourage the Senate to act accordingly and vote to place this legislation in the dustbin of history, where it rightly belongs. Kenya's female rapper Wanjiku Kimani alias Femi One has been appointed as the first African female brand ambassador for the international Monster Energy drink. Femi One, who is signed to Kaka Empire, announced the news on her social media page on Wednesday evening. The excited "Utawezana" hit maker said the appointment is a big win for her and the country at large. "A Big Win for Kenya, A Big Win for Africa! And another Win for the female Rap game, you're looking at the FIRST AFRICAN FEMALE Monster Energy Brand Ambassador. Cheers to more wins ," she posted on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Femi One (@femi_one) Kaka Empire CEO, rapper King Kaka was among the first to congratulate the talented rapper. "I am one of the happiest person in the world, Today We Celebrate A Win For Kaka Empire, A Win For Kenya, A Win for @femi_one. You are now looking at 1st Female African Official Monster Energy Drink Brand Ambassador." God Is Good. Thank you for your continued support over the years," Kaka posted. h_arttheband wrote, "cheza na mpesa mtu wetu anyways, congratulations ." djjr254 wrote, "What An Amazing Journey It Has Been, And We Thank GOD For This Far You've Come, Since Tuanze. God Is Happy, Let's Keep On Keeping On, Queen katmirero posted, "Super proud of you doll, you deserve this and so much more. To more wins queen ." Owls are more often heard than seen. In New York, there are eight species of these interesting raptors, with the majority most active at night. Some live here year-round, some are migratory. They range in size from the huge Great Horned Owl to the tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl. The following are brief descriptions of the states owls and the unique sounds that they make. Information was taken from Cornells All About Birds website, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the DECs Conservationist magazine and other websites. Chris Lajewski of the Montezuma Audubon Center was also interviewed for this story. Not all owls hoot, Some beep, screech or hiss. And many species make a variety of sounds, the sources noted. 1. GREAT HORNED OWL Description: With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks, according to allaboutbirds.com. They are mottled gray-brown, with reddish brown faces and a neat white patch on the throat. They are the states largest owls, standing about 18-25 inches tall with a wing span of three to four feet and weighing up to about 5 pounds. Interesting facts: Year-round resident. When clinched, their strong talons, which are often used to sever the spine of larger prey, require a force of 28 pounds to open. They dine on a wide variety of prey, including rabbits, geese, groundhogs, many species of birds, rats, and even other raptors. They also dine on daintier fare such as mice, and frogs -- and due to their poor sense of smell, frequently prey on skunks. Their sounds: These birds advertise their territories with deep, soft hoots with a stuttering rhythm: hoo-h; HOO hoo-hoo. The male and female of a breeding pair may perform a duet of alternating calls, with the females voice higher in pitch, according to allaboutbirds.org. 2. BARRED OWL A Barred Owl. Photo courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Kenneth Cantley photo. Desciption: This owl is a year-round resident. The Barred Owl is a large gray-brown and white bird with a round head and no ear tufts. While most other owls have yellow eyes, the Barred Owl has dark brown or black eyes, according to naturemappingfoundation.org. This owl is considered one of the most vocall, if not the most vocal of the states owls. They get their name from the bars on its chest. Reaches lengths of up to 24 inches, wingspan of 44 inches. Interesting facts: This owl lives here year-round. Barred Owls eat many kinds of small animals, including squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rabbits, birds (up to the size of grouse), amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. They may perch over water and drop down to catch fish, or even wade in shallow water in pursuit of fish and crayfish., according to allaboutbirds.com. Their sounds: These birds are really vocal. They have a distinctive hooting call of 89 notes, described as Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all? according to allaboutbirds.com. Mating pairs also make a riotous duet of cackles, hoots, caws and gurgles. 3. BARN OWL A Barn Owl. Description: Ghostly pale and normally strictly nocturnal, there owls are mostly active at night. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day, according to allaboutbirds.org. Adults have a length up to 20 inches and a wingspan of up to 44 inches. Interesting facts: This owl is rarely seen in (Upstate) New York and has declined at an alarming rate in the past 20 years (due to loss of habitat), according to the DEC. It is a secondary cavity nester that breeds in open habitats including grasslands, marshes, and agricultural areas. Appropriate cavities range from barns and outbuildings to cliff crevices to man-made nest boxes. Most known nesting areas are on Long Island and Staten Island (Coastal Lowlands), where nest boxes are seemingly critical. Release of captive-raised owls in western New York beginning in 1974 has been ineffective in establishing a breeding population but may account for at least some of the records (of sightings) upstate. And allaboutbirds.com notes that the ability of these owls to find prey by sound alone is the best of any animal that has ever been tested. It can catch mice in complete darkness in the lab, or hidden by vegetation or snow out in the real world. Their sounds: No hooting with this owl. They make a long, harsh scream that lasts about 2 seconds. Its made mostly by the male, who often calls repeatedly from the air. Females give the call infrequently, said allaboutbirds.org. 4. EASTERN SCREECH - OWL A pair of Eastern Screech - Owls (gray coloration). These owls may also have a reddish color. Description: The Eastern Screech-Owl is a short, stocky bird, with a large head and almost no neck. Some are gray colored; others, reddish. Its wings are rounded; its tail is short and square. Pointed ear tufts are often raised. Adults reach a length of about 10 inches and a wingspan of 22 inches. Interesting facts: Year-round resident. Eastern Screech-Owls eat most kinds of small animals, including birds and (small mammals) as well as surprisingly large numbers of earthworms, insects, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, and lizards according to allaboutbirds.org. In addition, this owl occasionally preys on bats, and on rare occasions its own kind. Their sounds: Both males and females sing. Their most common sounds are an even-pitched trill, often called a bounce song or tremolo; and a shrill, descending whinny. The tremolo is used by pairs or families to keep in touch and is 36 seconds long, according to allaboutbirds.org. Among the sounds made by this owl are soft, low hoots; loud, sharp barking calls that indicate alarm or agitation; and, true to their name, screechestypically given by adults defending nests or fledglings. Below is example of the trill sound. For more of their calls/songs, go to allaboutbirds.org. 5. NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL A Northern Saw-whet owl stands out on this early March day in the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area in St. Lawrence County. Photo by Colby Bowman Description: The states smallest owl. They have a catlike face, big head, and bright yellow eyes. As adults, they can be up to 8 inches long with a wingspan of 17 inches. Interesting facts: This owl gets its name from one of its calls that sounds similar to a saw being sharpened. Saw-whets are highly nocturnal and seldom seen. They feed primarily on mice and vols, eating them in pieces, over the course of two meals. Hunts almost entirely at night, mostly by waiting on low perches and then swooping down on prey. The often roost in dense conifers -- particularly during the winter. This is the species of owl that was discovered hidden in the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City during the 2020 holiday season. The tree was originally cut down and transported from Oneonta, N.Y. The owl, named Rockefeller, was taken to the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Ulster County and later released back into the wild. A migratory species that winters across the central and southern U.S. However, this owl can be found year-round in many places in Central and Eastern New York. Their sounds: Northern Saw-whet Owls have a distinctive too-too-too song, an insistent series of whistled notes on roughly the same pitch, given at a rate of about 2 notes per second. Males calling to advertise their territory can be heard up to half a mile away, according to allaboutbirds.org. They also can make whines, guttural sounds, high tssst calls, squeaks, and high-pitched barks. They also snap their bills when captured or approached closely. Below is an example of the birds too-too-too song. For more examples of this birds sounds, go to allaboutbirds.org. 6. SNOWY OWL In this file photo, a snowy owl was among several that spent the winter hunting open farmland near Morrisville. Photo by Nick B. Hunter. Description: Snowy Owls are very large owls (nearly the size of a Great Horned Owl) with smoothly rounded heads and no ear tufts. Theyre mostly white with black or brown markings. They have yellow eyes. They reach lengths of up to 27 inches, with wingspans of up to 55 inches. Interesting facts: In the Harry Potter movies Harrys pet owl, Hedwig, was a snowy. These birds are native to the Arctic tundra and pass through New York each winter sporatically, depending on their numbers and food situation. Snowy owls are among the irruptive species of birds, meaning they move out of their natural range at irregular times. Ornithologists offer two main reasons. The one theory is based on the fact that the owls primarily feed their young lemmings and other rodents found on the Arctic Tundra. The birds have the unique ability to lay more eggs if food is plentiful resulting in a boom of numbers. If there is a population boom coupled with a sudden drop of lemming numbers, the snowy owls migrate southward in search of food. Recent research, though, has shown that the older birds, particularly the females, stay put regardless of the lemming numbers and its the younger birds that migrate south during the winter a trend that appears to be rising in recent years. Thus, increased migrations are merely reflective of increased numbers up north. Areas where theyre commonly seen in Upstate New York during the winter are lake shores, airports and wide-open agricultural fields preferring areas that are low and flat, with short scruffy plants and grasses, and theres an abundance of small mammals and birds to eat. Their sounds: Both sexes, but particularly the males, make low, powerful, slightly rasping hoots. Theyre often given two at a time but may include up to six hoots in a row. In defense, Snowy Owls will hoot, whistle, and hiss, Below is an example of a Snowy Owl hooting. For more snowy owl sounds, go to allaboutbirds.org. 7. SHORT-EARED OWL A Short-Eared Owl. Courtesy of Montezuma Audubon Center. Description: Short-eared owls are medium size owls with small ear tufts on the top of the head. They have round, beige facial disks similar to those of barn owls. The underparts are white/buff (male) or tawny/rust (female), and streaked with brown, while the back is brown and mottled with white, according to DEC. They reach length of up to 17 inches and wingspans of 41 inches. Interesting facts: Theyre listed as an endangered species in New York due to habitat loss. Short-eared owls are the most diurnal (active during the day) of all the northeastern owls, according to DEC. They are most often observed in the late afternoon and at dawn or dusk. These birds eat primarily small mammals, but they occasionally take small birds and the young sometimes eat insects. New York is at the southern edge of this owls breeding range. Best time to see them is during the winter months when many migrate south. Their sounds: Short-eared owls are not especially vocal, according to allaboutbirds.org. The primary call, a series of a dozen or more hoots, is given by males during courtship flight and also from the ground or from an elevated perch. Both males and females may bark, scream, or whine when defending the nest and offspring. Females sometimes utter a chickenlike cluck. Below is an example of this birds primary call. 8. LONG-EARED OWL A Long-Eared Owl. Courtesy of Kevin McGowan of Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. Description: A secretive, slender crow-sized owl, the long-eared owl often perches immobile next to tree trunks, appearing invisible. It has long ear tufts, a reddish-brown facial disk, yellow-orange eyes, and reaches a length up to 16 inches with a wingspan of 39 inches,according to an article in the DECs Conservationist magazine. Interesting facts: Long-eared Owls are secretive, nocturnal, and superbly camouflaged. During winter, these owls often roost in large numbers, and this can make them easier to find, according to allaboutbirds.org. Good places to find them include pine stands or shelterbelts near grassland or pasture for roosting owls, often close to the tree trunk among dense branches. That said, this owl often winters in the state, but some individuals migrate long distances. Birds banded in the northern US and southern Canada have been recovered in Mexico. Normally migrates only at night. Their sounds: Long-eared Owls are often silent, but during the breeding season draw on a complex repertoire analogous to a songbirds song, according to allaboutbirds.org. Males give a series of 10 to more than 200 whoo notes evenly spaced about 24 seconds apart. This deep and forceful utterance, akin to the sound made by blowing across the lip of a very large bottle, can be heard more than half a mile away. The females nest call is higher pitched than the males advertising song, and richer in harmonics; it sounds more like a bleating lamb, or like blowing through a comb and paper. Below is an example of one of this owls calls. For more, go to aboutbirds.org. MORE UPSTATE NY OUTDOORS DEC: Hunters killed more than 1,700 black bears during 2020 seasons DEC will again be offering in-person hunting, bowhunting safety courses starting April 1 Violators of annual statewide residential brush burning ban face $500 fine Along flood-prone Lake Ontario shore residents have one wish: A normal year A magical experience: Rochester angler honored for catching releasing 81 muskies last year Otisco Lake tiger muskies: CNY group advocates catch and release of big ones UPGRADE YOUR OUTDOOR GEAR Fishing Gear | Camo Face Masks | Hunting Gear | Camping Supplies WAARDENBURG, Netherlands, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tensing was recognized by Esri as a Cornerstone Partner during the closing session of the 2021 Esri Partner Conference, held March 15-17. With this recognition, Esri marks Tensing's accomplishment in reaching a significant milestone20 years of partnership with Esri, coupled with consistent dedication and commitment to Esri and the geospatial information community. The Esri Cornerstone Partnership award is for partners that have proven their expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Cornerstone Partners help make GIS and geodata available to more people over time while also acting as an ambassador for Esri's innovative technology. Tensing received the award from Esri in a ceremony conducted virtually. "Congratulations to Tensing on their 2021 Esri Cornerstone Partner," said Robert Laudati, Director, Global Partners and Alliances, Esri. "Tensing's ability to combine extensive technical knowledge of Esri products and technology with understanding the needs of enterprise businesses enables them to add unique value in the geospatial market. That combination has truly been an asset in serving our joint customers for more than 20 years." For Tensing, this award comes after a string of previous Esri recognitions over the last years. Just last month, the company received the Esri Utility Network Specialty. In addition, it holds the Release Ready Specialty, the ArcGIS Online Specialty, and an award for delivering innovations on the ArcGIS Marketplace. In addition, Tensing is currently an Esri Gold Partner with one of the largest teams of certified ArcGIS and FME specialists in Europe. Peter van Es, CEO of Tensing: "Esri technology is a crucial tool in our strategy and has proven itself repeatedly. We are very proud to be recognized in this way after years of intensive collaboration. Tensing, now as part of the Avineon group, is extending the roll out its services and industry leading knowledge of ArcGIS internationally. For example, he Esri Utility Network plays an important role in this as Esri customers around the world adopt the next generation of GIS technology. We will continue to invest in talent development on Esri products and our clients can rest assured that Tensing will remain state-of-the art with respect to the latest innovations in Esri technology." Cornerstone Partner recognitions are awarded annually at the Esri Partner Conference. This international event offers Esri and its partners a platform to discuss trends in the GIS industry as well as business and networking opportunities. Due to the Covid-19 regulations this edition of the conference was conducted virtually. Dave Laurier, Managing Director of Tensing: "I dedicate this award to my colleagues! I am especially proud of the craftsmanship they demonstrate on a daily basis. Their knowledge of ArcGIS has grown to an incredibly high level thanks to our talent development program. This professionalism enables us to democratize the use of complex GIS technology and to be a dedicated ambassador for innovative technology." About Tensing Tensing is an Esri Gold Partner with more than 30 years of experience in the field of GIS and data integration. Based in the Netherlands, the consulting company delivers its high-end data services and innovative projects at a global scale. Tensing wants to make geographical data accessible and applicable to a wide audience. With a large team of certified ArcGIS and FME professionals, Tensing helps organizations in their transition towards data driven operations and optimizing their business processes through the application of spatial intelligence. Since 2020, Tensing is part of the international Avineon Group. For more information, visit www.tensing.com. About Esri Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. For more information, visit esri.com. SOURCE Tensing Flash Tanzanian President John Magufuli has died of heart disease at the age of 61, the country's Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on Wednesday. "With great sadness, I announce the death of our brave leader President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli who died today at around 6 p.m.," said Hassan in an announcement televised by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation. Hassan said President Magufuli was admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute earlier where he was treated for chronic atrial fibrillation, a heart condition he has suffered for more than 10 years. According to Tanzania's Constitution, Vice President Hassan shall be sworn in and become the president for the unexpired period of the term of five years. John Magufuli was re-elected the president of Tanzania in October 2020. Hassan also announced a 14-day national mourning following the death of Magufuli. "During the 14 days of mourning all national flags will fly at half-mast," said Hassan, adding that funeral arrangements will be announced later. Magufuli was born in Chato, Kagera region, on Oct. 29, 1959. He attended several schools for his primary and secondary education, and then enrolled for teacher training at Mkwawa College of Education from 1981 to 1982. Magufuli earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Dar es Salaam, majoring in chemistry and mathematics, from 1985 to 1988. He received his doctoral degree in chemistry in 2009, from the same university. In 1995, Magufuli was elected member of Parliament in Chato constituency. He served in the Ministry of Works as deputy minister in 1995-2000 and then as minister in 2000-2005. He also served as minister at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development in 2005-2008, the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries in 2008-2010, and at the Ministry of Works for a second time in 2010-2015. Attacks on Asian Americans have increased since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and Tuesdays killings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors have just made an already jittery population even more worried, New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim said Wednesday. A lot of people are frightened, said Kim, the first Asian American elected to Congress from New Jersey. This one has hurt very personally, Kim said about Georgia. This is something I worry about. Six Asian American women were among the eight people killed at three spas. The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was charged with eight counts of murder and homicide, according to law enforcement authorities. Investigators are still looking into whether the murders can be classified as a hate crime. The shootings came on the same day that a new report by Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group, found 3,795 anti-Asian incidents across the nation from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021. The list includes 59 in New Jersey, which is tied with Florida for the eighth highest number of incidents in a state. In all of 2019, there were 37 anti-Asian bias incidents, according to the New Jersey State Police. There are 941,057 Asian Americans in the state, more than 10% of the population, according to Jersey Promise, an advocacy group for Asian Americans in the state. Only California and Hawaii have a larger percentage of Asian Americans. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the investigation was continuing and the motivation of the killer remained unknown. But whatever the motivation here I know that Asian Americans are very concerned, because as you know Ive been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months and I think it is very troubling, Biden said, according to pool reports. A House Judiciary subcommittee plans to hold a hearing Thursday on discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. There has been a long history of anti-Asian racism in the United States, especially during times of social or economic unrest, said committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. Unfortunately, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this bigotry has reared its ugly head once again. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Kim said he spent Wednesday on the phone with officials in the White House and U.S. Justice Department and top congressional aides to discuss the attacks on Asian Americans, fueled in part by descriptions of the coronavirus as the Chinese virus or kung flu. While New Jersey and New York were the states initially hardest hit by the pandemic, the virus actually migrated to those states from Europe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of his concerns: Ask Asian Americans what they need to feel safe. I worry about my parents, Kim said. Could something happen to them? Or any other loved ones? There was a mass shooting in America last night. Sadly that is not uncommon. Many of the victims were AAPI. Tragedy sits at the intersection of multiple broken parts of our society. To honor victims and save lives, we must make progress across all. #StopAsianHate (THREAD) pic.twitter.com/Ei1HSPNtYT Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) March 17, 2021 The shooting followed action last week in the House to require background checks for all gun purchases. Only eight Republicans backed the bill, including Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist. I find it hard to feel we need another argument for gun regulations, said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., who made the issue a major plank of her successful 2018 congressional campaign. Is this another example of why we need to do that? Yes. Is it an argument? I think we have enough arguments. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDSalant. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Sign up here to get the latest stories on COVID in New Jersey, straight to your inbox. The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has broken his silence for the first-time following days of media reports that he had met New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives in the Ashanti Region to lay the grounds for his presidential ambition. In a statement, Dr Akoto confirmed meeting party executives but said he had only travelled to Kumasi to rest following ill-health and also decided to grant audience to the regional leadership on various issues. However, he said the agenda of the said meeting was not to court support for his presidential bid. I decided to go Kumasi and have some rest during the weekend and try to recover from a fever I was running after I attended the budget reading in parliament on Friday 12 March, 2021. As a former member of parliament in the region and as a senior member of this government, I accepted to grant audience to some party executives who had been making calls for a meeting to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the party. However, such meetings will end with an amount given as a transportation to guests who came from far and near, he said in the statement issued on Thursday 18 March. Below is the full statement detailing what transpired at the meeting per the ministers narration: STATEMENT BY HON. DR. OWUSU AFRIYIE AKOTO ON DETAILS OF MEETINGS HELD WITH EXECUTIVES OF THE NPP IN THE ASHANTI REGION. I have taken due notice of an information making rounds on both traditional and social media claiming to be summary of an outcome of a meeting held with party executives in the Ashanti Region to supposedly announce my bid for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party. The narrators for reasons best known to them, mischievously sought to court public disaffection for my person by making outrageous claims and allegations. Hence with, I would like to put forward the following facts: 1. Per the constitution of the New Patriotic Party, nominations have not been opened for interested candidates to announce their intentions to contest for any position in the party. It is therefore unfortunate for anyone to seek to create the impression that I held a meeting to announce my bid for the flagbearership position of the party. 2. I decided to go Kumasi and have some rest during the weekend and try to recover from a fever I was running after I attended the budget reading in parliament on Friday 12 March, 2021. As a former member of parliament in the region and as a senior member of this government, I accepted to grant audience to some party executives who had been making calls for a meeting to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the party. However, such meetings will end with an amount given as a transportation to guests who came from far and near. 3. The narrators claimed that I spent up to GH 1, 000,000.00 Ghana Cedis at the said meeting to announce my bid for the position. This is not only incorrect but it could only be in the imaginations of the one making those claims. Meeting 17 constituency executives for each of the 47 constituencies in my house meant I was receiving about 700 delegates. My house does not have the capacity to accommodate such numbers. How therefore can one assume that I paid almost One Million Ghana Cedis to these NPP executives in one day? 4. Furthermore, the narrators claimed I promised to distribute tractors and motorbikes to party executives. This is another lie. Being mindful of the fact that these tractors are purely meant for farming purposes, I will never use their allocation or distribution for my personal political ambition. Processes for the acquisition and distribution of these equipment are clearly spelt out and there is no way it will be compromised for other purposes apart from being given to deserving farmers and farmer groups in the country. 5. Another regrettable claim by the narrators is that I sought to ride on the back of my long-term relationship with President Akufo Addo to prosecute my political ambition. It is no secret that I have a very close relationship with President Akufo Addo which predates our political careers. But it can only be a figment of ones imagination to assume that I will put the President in such an uncomfortable situation by using his name to campaign. Especially when he has issued a strong warning to members of his government to refrain from such conducts. I think my relationship with the President should rather be the reason why I should continue to give off my best in order to help make his second term a continued success. 6. It is therefore regrettable to note that I with this understanding, would be the one to cause distractions and try to derail the focus of our government by announcing my ambitions at this time. There is a deliberate effort by my detractors from within and outside my party to cause disaffection between me and the party and between me and the government for which I have worked so hard in the last four years. Such people think the easiest way to go is to introduce tribal politics. 7. The issue about roads in Ashanti Region is a typical example of the tribal politics I am referring to. The fact is that during the cause of the meeting, some executives raised concerns about the infrastructural deficit in the region and appealed to me to use my close ties with the President to lobby for the construction of more roads and other infrastructures for the region. In response, I explained to them that the Government of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, had over the last four years done a lot to bridge the infrastructural gap not in the Ashanti Region but all over the country, despite admitting there were lot more to be done. How someone could interpret this as me saying the Government has neglected Ashanti Region roads really beats my wildest imagination. 8. As people who know me would attest to, I dont subscribe to tribal politics. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that I believe in decent political discourse devoid of insults, lies and mudslinging. I will therefore encourage each and everyone, including the media, to refrain from acts that have the tendency to derail the historical gains made by the Government of His Excellency Nana Akufo Addo and ensure continuation in development. Let me take this opportunity to renew my unflinching commitment to the goals set by the President for his second term. Signed Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto Minister for Food and Agriculture 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 Johann Chuckaree is the epitome of the modern Indo-Trinidadian. The 31-year-old is a proud descendant of East Indian indentured labourers. Prays to Jesus Christ. And plays the pan. The Woodbrook-born musician exuded equal passion for all three during a virtual sitting with the Kitcharee on Thursday night. You are the owner of this article. The Hisbah Command in Jigawa has intercepted a 25-litre jerry can of local beer, popularly known as "Burukutu" in the Kazaure Local Government Area of the state. The Hisbah Commander in the state, Malam Ibrahim Dahiru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse that the command also intercepted 364 bottles of assorted alcoholic drinks. Dahiru said the items were intercepted in a Toyota Corona vehicle in the area. He explained that the vehicle was intercepted at about 9 a.m., on March 17, after receiving an intelligence report about its movement in the area. Also read: Nigeria Sovereign Wealth fund cuts USA's treasury exposure He explained that the command recently destroyed 2,875 bottles of beer and four gallons of 25-litre "burukutu" beer seized during a different raid carried out at beer parlours in the area. The commander said the items were destroyed after it secured an order from Court to do so. Dahiru noted that the consumption of beer was prohibited in all parts of the state. He, therefore, appealed to the public to support the command with vital information to enable it to carry out its duty effectively. He advised residents to desist from engaging in immoral acts capable of destroying society. Vanguard News Nigeria Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) As the Philippines marks the 500th year since Spaniards came to its shores, President Rodrigo Duterte called on Filipinos to learn from their ancestors' past and "never again allow" their sovereignty to be compromised. "History should make us reflect on the past and look beyond our future," Duterte said in his speech at the unveiling ceremony of the quincentennial marker in Guiuan, Eastern Samar on Thursday. "I therefore call on our kababayans [fellow countrymen] to appreciate our rich history and learn from the experience of those that came before us, so that we may never again allow any other [...] to compromise our sovereignty," he added. The historical marker was unveiled on Homonhon Island, where Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under Spanish flag, landed and stayed for eight days with his crew in 1521. Duterte acknowledged that while the events being celebrated led to the beginning of the Spanish invasion in the country, he said much has since been done by Filipinos "to correct the mistakes of the past." "We should therefore honor those who toiled so that we may become the nation we are todaymodern, progressive, and ever-thriving," the President added. Despite the centuries-long Spanish colonization, Duterte also said a silver lining can be found in the advent of Christianity in the Philippines. "This is a historic event. And though there may somehow...we may differ in our interpretation, the fact is that they were here, and that contributed something that was good for the country," he said. Magellan was credited with introducing the now-predominant religion to the country before he was slain in a battle with Mactan chief Lapu-Lapu and his warriors. The President added that he hopes the celebration will help fortify the Philippines' ties with Spain. March 18, 2021 U.S. Aggressiveness Will Accelerate Its Demise The foreign policy of the current U.S. administration is exactly the same as the foreign policy of the previous one. In short: disastrous. There are dozens of examples: The "maximum pressure' campaign against Iran continues, the sanctions on Venezuela will be upheld or even strengthened, the bombing of Syria, no change on Yemen and so on. The problem is that none of these 'we are tough guys' policies achieves any purpose. From the outside world the behavior and tough talk of U.S. officials is seen as juvenile. It demonstrates a lack of knowledge, wisdom and strategy. Consider these recent headlines about China: > The United States will take an uncompromising stance in talks with China on Thursday in Alaska, officials have said, in the first face-to-face meetings between senior officials from the two rivals since U.S. President Joe Biden took office. Beijing has called for a reset to ties, now at their lowest in decades, but Washington has said the Alaska talks will be a one-off, and any future engagement depends on China improving its behavior. < Then, after days of badmouthing China, it finally dawned on Blinken that he needs China's help. Why, after so many bad words towards it, would China help the U.S. with solving the North Korea problem? It has zero incentive to do so. The same aggressive behavior can be seen with regards to Russia. Baseless accusations of Russian election interferences are followed with more sanctions and threats topped off with Biden calling Russia's President Putin a 'killer'. As the Canadian Russia expert Paul Robinson writes: As for Bidens comments, well what can one say? Didnt he just order the bombing of Syria. Doesnt that make him a killer too? Politicians should avoid this sort of language. I suspect, though, that what this and the intelligence report mentioned above indicate is that Russiagate, with its allegations of Trump-Putin collusion to undermine American democracy, has done irreparable damage to US-Russia relations. One gets the impression that there is now a deep, deep hatred of Russia within the US government, a hatred that prevents any sane analysis of Russian intentions and actions, as well as of US national interests . I fear that this will last for quite a long time. Andrei Martyanov adds: [The] degradation of the American political institutions, top-bottom, and its speed are mind-boggling. As for the class and culture--US political elite and US media machine don't have any. Biden merely confirmed it today. ... One Russian saying posits that one can still negotiate with scoundrels, one cannot negotiate with idiots. When the opposite side is both, boy, talk about the United States turning into the third world country. The hostility the U.S., by its behavior and words, creates against itself is not restricted to Russia and China. Last week the French "Armed Forces Joint Reflection Circle" CRI, an independent think tank of former generals and high officers of the French forces, issued an open letter to NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg in which it accused him of having acting solely in the interest of the U.S. during the development of his NATO 2030 plan. The letter details how Stoltenberg, NATO and the U.S. have caused the bad relations with Russia. It says that the U.S. is trying use a fictional 'Russian threat' to pressure NATO countries into morphing into a global force, under U.S. command and independent of the United Nations, to then use it against China. This while the real threat to Europe is Islamic terrorism caused by the U.S. interferences in the Middle East and north Africa. The U.S. led NATO is thereby becoming a danger for Europe. The accusations the French generals are launching against the U.S. go beyond anything one might hear from Moscow or Beijing. The next 'allied' nation that will have sound reason to turn hostile towards the U.S. might well be Germany: The Biden administration Thursday stepped up its rhetoric against a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, calling on all those involved in the project to immediately abandon their work. The Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks US sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Nord Stream 2 is of vital importance to Germany's energy security. The German public was rather hostile to President Trump and Biden's victory was seen with relief. But when it sees how Biden pursues the same policies, and with a similar tone, it will turn on him. A more general 'anti-Americanism' would then arise. The uncompromising and ever aggressive behavior the U.S. shows towards competitors as well as friends will not lead to a stronger U.S. position in the world. People and nations will learn to work around it. These rushed attempts to prevent the ending of its unipolar moment will only accelerate the move towards a new multilateral global system. Posted by b on March 18, 2021 at 18:48 UTC | Permalink Comments next page Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Montgomery County on March 10, 2020, the county, like the rest of the world, has changed from this pandemic. Work, school, the economy, and daily life all look very different from one year ago. Since that first case, the county is now reporting 47,666 total cases as of March 17, along with 261 deaths. But there is good news as the county reports 24,649 recovered cases. In a release from the Montgomery County Public Health District on March 10, 2020, the county classified the risk to Texans as low, but encouraged regular hand washing, disinfecting surfaces, and staying home if you felt ill. The first case found in Montgomery County was that of a Patton Village man in his 40s who attended a barbecue associated with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. When Harris County was notified of the positive case, the rodeo was canceled. School districts that were on spring break this time last year extended their vacations by a week to come up with a plan, but before students could return the governor closed schools for the remainder of the year. Districts had to find a way to provide education from a distance for the last nine weeks of the year. The countys second case was reported just two days later on March 12 and County Judge Mark Keough declared a state of disaster that has yet to be lifted. By April 2 there were 101 cases, and by April 14 there were 208. At its peak, the county was reporting 10,774 active cases on Jan. 14, 2021, but has been on a steady decline since then. Making decisions From the beginning, Keough was against measures such as the stay-at-home order, mask orders, or forced closures, arguing that they violate personal freedom and describing them as draconian. A year ago, he said he remembers struggling with having to make decisions or having these decisions made for him by the state on whether or not to implement these measures. Early models from the health district indicated that the virus would spread quickly, and would be extremely deadly. They were operating on models like everybody else, nobody intentionally tried to deceive anybody here, but their models were telling me about this time or getting towards the end of March, we were going to have 100,000 cases in Montgomery County, Keough said. It was on this information that he issued a stay-at-home order. A few weeks later the models turned out to be incorrect and cases were not rising as fast as predicted, so he ended the order. Economic impact One of Keoughs priorities throughout the pandemic has been keeping the local economy open, which overlaps in several ways with his disagreement for strict regulation of masks and closures. He does not deny that COVID-19 is real he was diagnosed with the virus last year but when the survivability rate of the virus turned out to be higher than early models predicted it would be Keough was more convinced that strict regulations were not necessary. His mantra became You cannot have a healthy community without a healthy economy. I am not putting the economy over human life, he said. They are not mutually exclusive. He does not have any regrets regarding his reaction to COVID-19 over the past year and sees keeping businesses open, challenging the wording in the governors orders, and focusing on the survivability rate of the virus as his accomplishments. The economic effects of the pandemic cant be denied, and they hit hard and fast. Unemployment claims in the county jumped from 289 the week ending on March 14, 2020, to 3,227 a week later. In early April claims peaked at 5,929 and didnt get below 1,000 until August. According to data from the Texas Workforce Commission, for the week ending on March 6, 2021, there were 718 claims in the county. Need for assistance Social service organizations like the Montgomery County Food Bank, Interfaith of The Woodlands, and the Community Assistance Center, among many others, saw a dramatic increase in demand for services starting last year that continues to this day. Mental health and domestic violence hotlines have also seen an increase in demand as the pandemic and its side effects took a toll at home. When schools closed, students access to free lunch and a connection to mandated reporters outside of their homes was lost, the total impact of which may never be known. It became obvious how big of a role in-class school plays in the well-being of students. Since several versions of the vaccine have been made available, 51,639 residents have been fully vaccinated, which is more than the number of active cases locally. Keough himself has been vaccinated and encourages others who would like to get vaccinated to do so. At this point, vaccination events are the main focus of the COVID-19 response of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management. Coordinating response Last year, before the first case was reported locally, the OEM had been preparing for the possibility of COVID-19 spreading locally since January. Jason Millsaps, executive director of the county OEM, said the office started ordering PPE months before the first case and is still providing PPE for county agencies and first responders while also managing the vaccine roll-out. COVID and COVID vaccines are taking up about 50 percent of my day, my day has just gotten longer now, Millsaps said. It has been a daily thing since last March. Not a day goes by, even on the weekends, that Im not on the phone, dealing with emails, responding to phone calls and inquiries whether it be about COVID, COVID testing, hospitalizations, moving assets around to assist with agencies, sourcing PPE, or providing logistics for the vaccine hubs. So, its a definite full-time job, times two. His biggest takeaway from the past year is that models can be wrong. Like Keough, Millsaps saw the early models predicting 100,000 cases. What weve learned is dont overreact, but react appropriately, he said. The biggest thing we can do is to ensure we dont ever run out of supplies to mitigate the spread in public places, or in our law enforcement, or our first responder agencies that have to be out no matter what. Over the past year models and predictions changed rapidly as more was learned about coronavirus. When the first case was found locally residents were urged not to touch their faces and the recommendation of masks didnt follow until several weeks after. Now, the CDC guidelines continue to include wearing a face-covering in public, social distance, wash your hands regularly, stay home when youre sick, and regularly disinfect highly-used areas. The Montgomery County Public Health District continues to recommend these guidelines and urges residents to get vaccinated. A year has not been enough time to return to normal, at least not yet. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com The United States was joined by Russia, China and Pakistan on Thursday in calling on Afghanistans warring sides to reach an immediate ceasefire, at talks that showed Washingtons determination to win backing from regional powers for its plans, Reuters reports. Just six weeks before a deadline for the United States to pull out troops that have been in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, Washington sent a senior official for the first time to participate in regional peace talks convened by Russia. The Moscow talks were meant to breathe life into negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatars capital Doha, stalled over government accusations that the insurgents have done too little to halt violence. At this turning point, our four countries call on the sides to hold talks and reach a peace agreement that will end more than four decades of war in Afghanistan, a joint statement said after Thursdays talks. The statement called on the warring sides to curb violence and on the Taliban not to declare offensives in the spring and summer. It also said the four countries were committed to mobilising political and economic support for Afghanistan once a peace settlement had been reached. by Sumon Corraya Bangladesh celebrated the 101st anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth. Christians also held a solemn liturgy in honour of the friend of Bengal. Independence Day will be celebrated in a few days time. Pope Francis is expected to send a video message while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit. Dhaka (AsiaNews) Bangladesh yesterday celebrated the 101st anniversary of the birth of the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, marking also the start of a ten-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of its independence. Known as Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the country's undisputed leader, architect of its independence. Born on 17 March 1920 into a respected Muslim family in Tungipara, a village in present-day Gopalganj district, he was the third of six children (two boys and four girls), of Sheikh Lutfur Rahman and Sheikh Sayera Khatun. As a young man he studied at a Protestant missionary school. Christians also celebrated the founders birthday yesterday with a prayer meeting and a Mass. The initiative was organised by the Bangladesh Christian Association and the Christian Religious Welfare Trust. At Tejgaon Church in Dhaka, about 300 Catholics and Protestants attended the service for the eternal repose of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Without his true leadership we would not have this independent country, said Father Jhlak Anthony Dasai in his homily. As a missionary school, we are proud of what he learnt from us. His love for the country inspired us all. Fr Dasai also urged the faithful to follow Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's ideals to be true patriots. During the celebration, the President of the Bangladesh Christian Association, Nirmol Rozario, paid tribute to all the freedom fighters who fought against Pakistani soldiers in the war. Thanks to their sacrifice we have a flag and an independent country. As a Christian community we hold Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's values dear, to develop the country in peace and prosperity, working with the government. Sister Mary Prashanta, of the Associates of Mary Queen of the Apostles, explained to AsiaNews that Bangladesh, step by step, has become a developing country thanks to the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. His words inspired so many people, she said. He wanted a secular country and we have to fulfil his dream. For Francis D Costa, a Catholic, Although he is no longer of this world, we hold his teachings in ourselves. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also paid tribute to Bangabandhu, who was her father. To mark the nations 50th birthday, a series of initiatives will take place until 27 March. A number of foreign leaders are expected in Bangladesh. The President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, is already in Dhaka and took part in yesterdays celebrations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make a two-day visit starting on 26 March. Other foreign leaders will not be present in person, but will join remotely. Pope Francis is expected to speak on 24 March. Indias growing demand for oil and its plans to rely less on crude from its biggest supply region, the Middle East, is set to support demand for oil tankers traveling on longer routes to the worlds third-largest oil importer. India, which imports more than 80 percent of the crude oil it consumes, has been hinting in recent years that it needs to look beyond the traditional Middle East suppliers for oil. As fortunate as it has been for the country to have some of the worlds biggest oil exporters so close to its shores, India is now looking to boost its energy security by having more choices when it comes to oil suppliers. Its also looking to pay less for oil from beyond the Arab Gulf, arbitrage and price spreads permitting. Indias diversification drive has become more urgent this year. The recent oil price rally and the OPEC+ decision to keep markets tight through April has angered the worlds third-biggest oil importer as its import costs soared and domestic fuel prices hit record highs. Indias more aggressive plans to diversify oil purchases away from the Middle East would likely support the global oil tanker market, both in the short and the long term, analysts and shipbrokers say. With Indian crude oil demand set to grow in the foreseeable future, possibly becoming the key driver of global growth, the more diversified Indias imports will be, and the more ton-mileage demand for tankers they would generate. Oil Tanker Market From Boom To Bust The tanker market, for its part, went from boom to bust in the year since the pandemic started. This time last year, tanker rates were surging through the roof as the biggest oil exporter in the world, Saudi Arabia, made good on its promise to flood the market with oil when it broke up brieflyits OPEC+ pact with Russia. The Saudis rushed to book supertankers, on top of their own fleet, to send record high volumes of crude oil to the most transparent market, the United States, and its traditional destinations in Asia. Related Video: Why The Oil & Gas Rig Count Matters The collapse in oil prices and demand flipped the oil futures curve into a deep contango, with the state of the market signaling a glut and rendering the act of storing oil for future sales profitable. This created an additional tanker run from traders and the trading arms of oil majors who were looking to charter vessels to use as floating storage. In just one week in March 2020, the daily rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) skyrocketed from the low $30,000s before the Saudi-Russian break-up to $200,000-$300,000 a day, depending on the destination of the oil cargo. One year later, in March 2021, VLCCs are lost money on some routes, Clarksons Research estimates, as carried by The Wall Street Journal. And its not just the OPEC+ cuts and the extra Saudi cut that are limiting the availability of crude for shipping. Its also a tanker glut on the market after most vessels used for floating storage have rejoined the tanker fleet to ship oil. The tight oil market and expectations of accelerating global oil demand in the second half of the year have removed the incentive for traders to store oil for future sales because in the current market backwardation, prompt prices are higher than those further out in time. The surprise decision of OPEC+ not to boost production next month is further weighing on the tanker market, and oil tanker owners and shipbrokers are set to suffer longer than expected from the massive OPEC+ production cuts. Related: Rarely-Used Recovery Method Could Unlock Billions Of Barrels In Alaska Eventually, this oil tanker market downturn is unlikely to last longat some point, OPEC+ will ease the cuts. In the meantime, the tanker market is likely to benefit from Indias plans to haul in more crude oil from places farther than its next-door neighbors in the Middle East. Indian Diversification Music To The Ears Of The Tanker Owners After OPEC+ decided to roll over the cuts into April, India is asking its state-owned refiners to aggressively look to diversify imports away from the Middle East, as it isnt happy with the tighter oil market and higher oil prices. India is estimated to have boosted significantly crude oil imports from the United States in February, while it slashed purchases from Saudi Arabia to the point of America overtaking the Saudis as Indias second-largest oil supplier. Indian state refiners are reportedly looking to more supply cuts from Saudi Arabia in the coming months, sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters this week. Indias push to diversify away from the Middle East with more oil purchases from Russia, Venezuela (U.S. sanction reliefs permitting), and possibly the worlds newest oil producer, Guyana, may displace some volume of supplies from two of the countrys largest current suppliers, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which would ultimately support tonne mile demand, Gibson Shipbrokers said in a report last week. The combination of rising demand and refining capacity indicate growing trade flows to the country both short, medium and long term, meanwhile a drive by the government to diversify imports will only further boost tonne miles, Gibson Shipbrokers added. Tanker owners have been more closely following Chinas oil demand because it is the single largest growth driver of global demand and because the longer China route from the Arab Gulf, compared to Gulf-India shipments, is more supportive of ton-mile demand for tankers, shipping market intelligence firm Poten & Partners says. A barrel of crude going from the Arabian Gulf to India generates much less ton-mile demand than the same barrel going to China, Poten & Partners said in a report last week, adding: That is why the recent reports that India intends to reduce its dependence on Middle East OPEC and buy more crude oil from suppliers in the Atlantic Basin is music to the ears of the tanker owners. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Customs and Border Protection agency confirmed to Congress today that four people arrested at the southern border since Oct. 1 match names on the FBIs Terrorist Screening Database, a congressional aide briefed on the correspondence told Axios. In the group, three people arrested were from Yemen and one was from Serbia. The four arrests are more than the number of similar people taken into custody during recent full fiscal years, according to the source, Axios adds. Throughout the entirety of 2018, six people from the Terrorist Screening Database were arrested. The revelation follows Todd Bensmans National Pulse commentary and podcast highlighting how porous border have been exploited by terrorist groups across Europe. As discussed at length in Americas Covert Border War, The Untold Story of the Nations Struggle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration, Europes experience showcases a new terrorism travel phenomenon on the world stage: that malevolent long-haul migrants from countries rife with Islamist terrorist organizations now routinely cross land borders of western nations and do so far less noticeably when high volumes of benevolent economic migrants have overwhelmed border management systems, he notes. Source: FBI Terror Watchlist Offenders Arrested At Southern Border. - The National Pulse New York, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Solar Power Bank Market Research Report by Battery, by Type - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06036857/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. 1. The Global Solar Power Bank Market is expected to grow from USD 3,128.58 Million in 2020 to USD 4,672.82 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The Global Solar Power Bank Market is expected to grow from EUR 2,743.19 Million in 2020 to EUR 4,097.21 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The Global Solar Power Bank Market is expected to grow from GBP 2,438.70 Million in 2020 to GBP 3,642.43 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The Global Solar Power Bank Market is expected to grow from JPY 333,898.76 Million in 2020 to JPY 498,708.30 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The Global Solar Power Bank Market is expected to grow from AUD 4,543.11 Million in 2020 to AUD 6,785.55 Million by the end of 2025. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Solar Power Bank to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Battery, the Solar Power Bank Market studied across Lithium Polymer and Lithium-ion. Based on Type, the Solar Power Bank Market studied across Fold Out Models and Small, Portable Models. Based on Geography, the Solar Power Bank Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Solar Power Bank Market including ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., Advantage Computers Pvt. Ltd, Ambrane India Pvt. Ltd., Anker Technology Co. Ltd., Asustek Computer Inc., China BAK Battery,, Duracell Inc., EasyAcc, Intex Technologies Ltd., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Lenovo Group Limited, LG Chem Ltd., Microsoft Corporation, Mophie Inc., Oneplus Technology Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, PNY Technologies, Inc., Romoss, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., Shenzhen Topband Co. Ltd, Sony Corporation, Syska, TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd, Uimi, UNU Electronics Inc., Voltaic Systems, Xiaomi Inc., and Zendure. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Solar Power Bank Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Solar Power Bank Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Solar Power Bank Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Solar Power Bank Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Solar Power Bank Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Solar Power Bank Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Solar Power Bank Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06036857/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. An international team of scholars studied how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Europeans' stress levels and their trust in their national governments and the healthcare systems. They found that respondents were most stressed by the state of the national economy, and only after that, by the risk of catching COVID-19 and possibly being hospitalized. The results of the study were published in Royal Society Open Science. The authors of the study represent over 50 universities. Among them is Dmitrii Dubrov, Junior Research Fellow at the HSE Center for Sociocultural Research, who developed and organized the global survey, COVIDiSTRESS. The researchers studied the psychological consequences of the current pandemic-related crisis, as reflected in stress levels. Over 150,000 respondents from over 50 countries participated in the study. The results (below) include answers from 75,570 respondents in 27 countries of the European Union (EU), who were surveyed from March 30 to April 20, 2020. The general level of respondents' stress was measured on a 10-grade scale developed by psychologists Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein (1983). This scale illustrates people's stress levels over the course of a recent week. The study participants were asked, for example, whether they experienced a lack of control over events, felt pressure due to growing difficulties, or disappointment due to unexpected change. Scores over 2.4 points were considered moderate, while those over 3.7 were considered high. 'Stress is a natural human reaction to negative change. We wanted to find out how humans would behave under stress, during the pandemic, whether they would follow recommendations by the WHO and authorities on how to protect oneself and others from COVID-19,' explains Dmitrii Dubrov, Junior Research Fellow at the HSE Centre for Sociocultural Research. In many EU countries, levels of stress were moderate or even low. Poland and Portugal demonstrated the highest levels of stress in Europe, while the lowest rates were registered in Denmark and the Netherlands. Women worried more about the pandemic's consequences than men. The respondents were 74.18% female and 24.63% male. The study participants also talked about the reasons of stress. The results showed that Europeans are most of all concerned about the state of the national economy, with the risk of catching COVID-19 and being hospitalized coming in second place. A total of 24 factors were indicated, including concerns about family and friends, work, or feeling isolated. The respondents were also asked about their trust in the six key institutions, such as the healthcare system, the WHO, the police, social services, and national governments. Europeans demonstrate the highest levels of trust in their national healthcare systems and the WHO. Trust in national governments was lower than in other institutions. Finland and Denmark demonstrated the highest levels of trust in their governments. On the contrary, people in Bulgaria and Poland were much less inclined to trust their respective national governments. The participants also evaluated the adequacy of anti-COVID measures implemented by their governments. Citizens of Slovenia and Slovakia believed the national measures to be excessive, while people in Hungary and France thought they were insufficient. Populations in countries were people trust their governments' efforts better, also better comply with social distancing guidelines. 'We have learned that COVID-19 denial depends on people's trust in social institutions, a belief that the government won't leave them on their own with their problems. Institutional trust in impacted by many factors, such as the level of corruption in the country. The results of our study can be used to prepare recommendations on how governments should communicate with people in situations of uncertainty. As we discovered here, the problem is global, which means that systematic work with citizen's demands is needed,' Dmitrii Dubrov said. ### President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appreciated the foreign ministers of the G7 countries for supporting the Crimean platform and countering Russian aggression. "It is a true gesture of friendship to support our initiative to establish an International Crimean Platform to consolidate the international community's efforts on Crimea and to stop Russian aggression. Ukraine moves towards peace," Zelensky wrote on his Twitter page. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba is also grateful for the strong G7 support of Ukraine, condemning Russian aggression. "Russia is a party to the conflict, not a mediator, must unblock the peace process. Attempts to legitimize Crimea occupation will never succeed. Strong support of Crimea platform," he said on his Twitter page. The Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the High Representative of the European Union are united in our condemnation of Russia's continued actions to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, according to a statement released on the UK Foreign Office website on Thursday. "We unequivocally denounce Russia's temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Russia's attempts to legitimize it are not, and will not, be recognized. We condemn Russias violations of human rights on the peninsula, particularly of Crimean Tatars. We call on Russia to respect its international obligations, allow access to international monitors, and to immediately release all those who are unjustly detained. We welcome in principle Ukraines initiative to establish an International Crimean Platform to consolidate the international communitys efforts on Crimea," the foreign ministers said in the statement. In addition, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries firmly oppose Russia's continued destabilization of Ukraine, especially Russia's actions in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. "The full implementation of the Minsk agreements is the way forward for peace. Russia is a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, not a mediator. [...] We reaffirm the importance of respecting the ceasefire as fundamental for any progress towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We commend France and Germany's tireless efforts as part of the Normandy Format to pursue a diplomatic path to resolve the conflict and affirm our readiness to provide further support to these efforts," the G7 said. Thus, the ministers called on all sides to fully implement the Minsk agreements and underscore Russia's responsibility to engage constructively in the Normandy Format and the Trilateral Contact Group with a view to achieving a fair and lasting political solution to the conflict. "The G7 remains fully committed to the implementation of sanctions and will continue to stand with Ukraine in support of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Crimea is Ukraine," the ministers said. (Newser) President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to meet Friday with Asian-American leaders in Georgia in the wake of the deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors. Meanwhile, authorities said the investigation could still result in hate crime charges, the AP reports. "Our investigation is looking at everything, so nothing is off the table," a police official said. The president and vice president were already scheduled to travel Friday to Atlanta to tout the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, but the trip took on new meaning after the shootings that killed eight people, six of them Asian women. A ninth person was also shot but survived. Biden and Harris, the first vice president of Asian descent, will postpone an evening political event in Georgia to attend the meeting. They also plan to visit the CDC for a pandemic update. story continues below Authorities have charged Robert Aaron Long, 21, with murder in the worst mass killing in the US in almost two years. He told police that Tuesday's attack was not racially motivated. He claimed to have a sex addiction, and authorities said he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. Long's statements spurred outrage in the Asian-American community, which has increasingly been targeted for violence during the coronavirus pandemic. After Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker drew criticism for saying Long had "a really bad day," Sheriff Frank Reynolds released a statement Thursday acknowledging that the comments stirred "much debate and anger and said the agency regrets any "heartache" they caused. (An elderly Asian-American woman fought back against her attacker in San Francisco.) Detained migrants infected THAILAND: A police investigation is under way because 77 illegal migrants, most of them from Myanmar, appear to have contracted COVID-19 while being detained at an Immigration Bureau centre. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthMyanmarimmigrationSafety By Bangkok Post Thursday 18 March 2021, 08:56AM People receive COVID-19 jabs from a mobile vaccination unit at the Siri Setthanon market in Bang Khae district of Bangkok where a cluster of cases was recently discovered. Around 6,000 people are expected to be vaccinated here. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill. National police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said the detainees had been kept in detention rooms at Bangkoks Bang Khen and Lak Si immigration offices and the Disease Control Department was investigating. The 77 migrants are Myanmar, Lao and Cambodian nationals who have been detained for illegal entry and include a number of Rohingya migrants currently detained in Don Muang district, said IB chief Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang. Since learning of the infections, the bureau has asked public health authorities to help set up a field hospital to screen more detainees and implement COVID-19 control protocols, he said. He insisted none of the immigration officers handling detained migrants had contracted the virus. According to a report by the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), up to 68 of the 77 COVID-19 infected migrants were from Myanmar and had been detained together in a small cell. More than 2,000 illegal migrants are being detained at the bureaus detention facilities across the country. Half of them are at the Suan Phlu immigration offices facility, where none has yet tested positive for COVID-19, the report said. Yesterday (Mar 17), Nit Auytekkheng, vice president of Ranongs chamber of commerce, said many locals were concerned about media reports that the province was being designated as a temporary shelter for political asylum seekers fleeing escalating violence in Myanmar. They were afraid the province would end up becoming a permanent refugee centre, he said. A source said Maung, La-un and Kra Buri districts in Ranong and Tha Sae district in neighbouring Chumphon province were being prepared as locations for temporary shelters for Myanmar asylum seekers. Army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae on Wednesday reportedly visited Ranong and inspected locations earmarked as temporary shelters. The cabinet previously approved a B438 million budget for seven border provinces. They are Tak, Chiang Rai, Ranong, Songkhla, Chanthaburi, Sa Keo and Nong Khai, all of which handle migrants detained on illegal entry charges. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The suppression of Covid-19 continues in Laois but the national shows that containment has come to a standstill, the latest National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) figures reveal. The daily statement from NPHET shows cases detected on St Patricks Day. It reveals that there were 5 new cases in Laois on March 17. This means that the average number of new cases each day over five days is 4 day. The incidence in Laois continues to fall. NPHET says there are now 76.7 cases per 100,000 on average over a 14 day period. This is calculated on the back of 65 new cases in the past fortnight. The Laois population incidence is about half the national rate of 150.8 per 100k. It now has the sixth-best containment record in the country. SEE COUNTY BY COUNTY TABLE AT END OF STORY. Nationally, there were no deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on March 18 when the latest figures were published. There has been a total of 4,566 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. However, people are still in hospital and more than 80 Irish people are critically ill with the virus NPHET says that as of 8am today, 345 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 83 are in ICU. 24 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. The national figures confirm that containment has, at best, stagnated. As of midnight, Wednesday, March 17, the HPSC has been notified of 582 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 228,796* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 290 are men / 291 are women 74% are under 45 years of age The median age is 32 years old NPHET highlighted 156 in Dublin, 23 in Meath, 19 in Donegal, 15 in Louth, 14 in Kildare and the remaining 198 cases are spread across 20 other counties. The 7-day incidence 76.3 per 100k of people in Ireland while the 5-day moving average has risen to 489 new cases a day. On the day when the AstraZeneca vaccine got a clean bill of health, NPHET said that as of March 15, 620,580 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 455,182 people have received their first dose 165,398 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. A Vietnamese woman was arrested in Germany on Wednesday for allegedly forcing smuggled compatriots into prostitution. The suspect, 43, was arrested in a Berlin raid following an investigation launched in June last year. Police said she had been on authorities' watch-list from previous trafficking cases, AP reported. Besides the aforementioned woman, another 25-year-old Vietnamese and a 64-year-old German are also being probed for allegedly trafficking foreigners and enforcing prostitution. Police and prosecutors said the 43-year-old woman allegedly made her victims work in nail studios or massage parlors. All three are accused of profiting from 10 people staying in Germany illegally, who allegedly paid off debts to their smugglers by working for the 43-year-old woman. They are also being accused of illegally securing residency in Germany for the immigrants through sham marriages and forging paternity acknowledgements. The mother of a 2015 Jersey City murder victim is making a public plea for information that will lead to the arrest of his killer. Deloris Gibson says that the fatal shooting of Darcel Rivers, son of former Jersey City Fire Chief Darren Rivers, on June 4, 2015 feels like yesterday to her.. It was June 2, 2015, and at the Boys and Girls Club of Hoboken where I am the director, we had all dressed in orange in recognition of Gun Violence Awareness Day Deloris Gibson said. Two days later, my son, Darcel Rivers, was shot to death. Rivers, who was 35, was visiting Jersey City from Rhode Island, where he was in culinary school, when he was shot and killed during a robbery at 3:45 a.m. on Fulton Avenue just a few steps from his mothers house, authorities have said. Rivers was a father of four, including three under the age of 6 when he died. Gibson said the kids Zaire Rivers, 18, Zyla Rivers, 10, Zakie Rivers, 8, and Zaria Rivers, 7 have been especially impacted. The Jersey Journal reported at the times that Rivers was in Jersey City to visit his children. I want to tell whoever did this, You took a very beloved father away from his kids. He enjoyed life he would never take a life. The person who did this, how does that sit on your conscious? said Gibson. We just want to know who did this and why? Why? Anybody who has info we would be so grateful. His kids need closure, so please just think about them. The Hudson County Prosecutors Office Homicide Unit continues to actively investigate this case, a spokeswoman said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/ homicide-tip/. I am hoping someone out there who has information will have a heart and will do the right thing, Gibson said. Gibson said Rivers was always the first of her children to call her on her birthday and on Mothers Day. He said I am the one that made you a mother, so I have to be the first one to call you and that was one of his traditions every year, Gibson said. Gibson also said that Darcel ... was a good person and he loved to be around kids. He always wanted to be a chef and that was one of his dreams he accomplished before he was taken from us. He did it and I am always going to proud of him. New Delhi, March 18 : Actress Shilpa Shetty recalls how superstar Shah Rukh Khan taught her the trick to deal with lip-syncing during songs, while shooting "Baazigar" in 1993. Shilpa, who is currently judging the music reality show "Indian Idol", opened up when contestants Nihal and Sayali performed the songs "Aye mere humsafar", "Kitabein bahut si", Chura ke dil mera" from the film on the show. "Baazigar was my first movie and I was very nervous but Shah Rukh was very sweet. He used to always calm me down and help me with the scenes. When we were shooting for the song Ae mere Humsafar and I had to lip sync the lyrics, I was not getting it properly. SRK being the gentleman he is, he immediately popped in and helped me with the lyrics and told me a technique on how to get the lip-sync on point," Shilpa said. The thriller film was directed by Abbas-Mustan and also starred Kajol. The disappearance of Sarah Everard has prompted thousands of conversations on social media about the fears women have when they go out alone at night or after dark. Since Everards disappearance, local police have reportedly warned women not to go out alone at night in the area, which has resulted in social media users protesting the idea that women should change their behaviour in order to prevent themselves being attacked. Instead saying that the primary focus should be on potential perpetrators. Many women are now calling on better education of men and boys, as well as calling on men to do more in terms of supporting women against misogyny and violence. The grief and distress from women reacting to what happened to Sarah Everard shows just how differently women experience public space compared to men, Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition tells The Independent. The fact that the public conversation has for so long revolved around what actions women must take to keep themselves safe rather than what drives perpetrators is really worrying, and only fuels a victim blaming culture. On BBC Radio 4s Today show on Thursday, MP Jess Phillips said: The message that [the Met Police] should be sending out is not one about what women should or shouldnt do. It is about how serious violence against women and girls is and how it is an epidemic that we have to we have to put far more attention and resource into. In the Houses of Parliament, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP spoke about male blindness saying that while men and women are equal we have very different life experiences and also made reference to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women. Read more: How the pandemic is setting womens rights back decades On Twitter, men have been asking how they can make women feel safer when they are out on the street at night with ideas such as crossing the road, or deliberately hanging back if you sense they are afraid, giving women space and not running past them in the dark if you are jogging. But beyond small daily actions on the street - what else can men really do to help women feel safer from misogyny and violence? The Independent asked experts in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector for answers. Call out problematic behaviour when you see it A simple way for men to support women against misogyny and violence is by calling out problematic behaviour from other men when they witness it, whether its a problematic joke or an inappropriate comment. Men are very much part of the solution and can be an ally in this conversation, says Andrea Simon. They can call out problematic behaviour when they see it and hold their friends and family to account if they act in ways that make women feel uncomfortable. On Thursday, MP Jess Phillips told ITV News: What men can do in the very first instance, is take some of the load of talking back. If you see it if you see somebody shouting at a woman, if you see somebody sidling up to a woman on a street or on the tube, and think it is inappropriate, say something. If you hear somebody cat-calling a woman as shes trying to go to work, you be the one who tells them that they shouldnt do it because it cant always be on us to seem as if were just not joining in with the fun. It makes us feel unsafe. Challenge your own behaviour Speaking about Ms Everard at a press conference on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer has urged men to examine their own behaviours and speak out against violence against women. If we are to really confront this, the first thing we need to do is recognise the scale of violence against women and girls, he said. Im not sure everybody appreciates just how prevalent and pervasive that is. The second is we have to tackle it at root, we all need to recognise how we need to understand the issue, challenge behaviours I think this is particularly an issue for men. It is very important for men to speak out on this issue. Have conversations with one another about womens safety and consent Much has been posted on Twitter about what men can do to support women, with one of the main things being having more conversations with their male friends about issues like consent and womens overall safety. For example, the actor and activist Jameela Jamil tweeted: Its true that #notallmen harm women. But do all men work to make sure their fellow men do not harm women? Do they interrupt troubling language and behavior in others? Do they have conversations about womens safety/consent with their sons? Are #allmen interested in our safety? Confront harmful perceptions surrounding masculinity that can lead to violence against women In a research paper published by the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women, one of the ways in which it suggests men can help to prevent violence against women is by confronting problematic perceptions of masculinity. The paper states: Men who work to end violence against women are challenging the dominant culture and the understandings of masculinity that maintain it. Thus, male activists are often met with suspicion, homophobia and other questions about their masculinity. Men and women who feel threatened by this work often discredit male activists efforts and persons . At the same time many men are grateful for the example set by male activists and for modeling a different way of being male. Opportunities should be created to discuss and critique prevailing understandings of masculinity and mens discomfort with them, as well as mens misperceptions of other attitudes and behavior. Speak openly about domestic violence Domestic violence has been one of the primary concerns for women during the pandemic, given how Covid restrictions have put women living with abusers in a more vulnerable position. As a result, helplines and charities have recorded a surge in calls, with Refuge reporting around a 50 per cent increase in demand for its helpline in the initial stages of the pandemic. One of the things that men can do to help combat this, according to Womans Aid, a grassroots federation working to combat domestic violence, is to educate themselves about domestic abuse and speak openly about it. Both men and women have to talk openly about domestic abuse being unacceptable so that young people know what a healthy relationship is, a spokesperson for Womans Aid tells The Independent. We have to all stand together and speak out against domestic abuse to make a difference to how the future will look for the next generation, they added. Help campaign for more funding for womens refuges and services Womans Aid is currently running a campaign for local authorities to fund womens refuges and domestic abuse services. These are safe spaces for women who are not safe at home. One simple thing that men can do to support this is sign the organisations parliamentary petition. which is calling for the government to require local authorities to fund lifesaving womens domestic abuse services. Speaking further about the campaign, Womens Aid chief executive, Farah Nazeer tells The Independent: Women-led domestic abuse services are under threat, and there will be severe consequences for women and children if we do not stop this now. Anyone who requires help or support can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline which is open 24/7 365 days per year on 0808 2000 247 or via their website www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk More details are emerging about the man who was arrested outside of Vice President Kamala Harris' residence in Washington D.C. on a weapons charge. According to the Associated Press, Paul Murray, a 31-year-old San Antonio man was arrested by D.C. police when he was found near the Naval Observatory home, which is traditionally the residence of the vice president. Harris and her family were not at the home at the time, as it is undergoing renovations. No one was hurt in the incident. RELATED: Authorities arrest San Antonio man near residence of Vice President Kamala Harris, report says Since the arrest, news of the local tie has spread throughout the city. Though reported as a San Antonio man, his local presence is not profound. Most of his connections are tied to the Brazos County area. See below for what we've learned so far. He lived on the North West Side at some point Records show a North West Side address for Murray, but it is unclear how long he lived there. He last lived in Brazos County Local media outlet KBTX reported Murray last lived in Bryan, which is outside of College Station. Murray attended Texas A&M University KBTX also found that Murray was previously enrolled as a graduate student at Texas A&M. University officials told the news station he is not enrolled for this semester. He was a U.S. Army drone pilot CNBC reported the U.S. Army confirmed Murray served from March 2010 to April 2014 as an unmanned drone pilot. He was arrested with multiple weapons and plenty of ammunition A D.C. police report obtained by MySA shows Murray was in possession of an "AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of registered ammunition and five 30 round magazines." Earlier this month, he said he wouldn't hurt himself, but might hurt others On March 3, the College Station Police Department released an Intelligence Bulletin on Murray after the Brazos County Sheriff's Department conducted a wellness check. Murray told officials he didn't want to hurt himself, but could hurt someone else "if it was justified," according to the widely spread bulletin. Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, and the Kooperation E-Medien Osterreich (KEMO) / The Austrian Academic Library Consortium, including the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), have agreed on a three-year pilot to support continued reading and open access (OA) publishing for Austrian researchers. This pilot allows OA publishing in Elsevier's hybrid journals together with an additional one-year agreement that will support Austrian researchers to publish in fully gold open access journals. This agreement complements Elsevier's transformative and pilot agreements across many European countries and represents libraries, the funder and the publisher coming together to support open access. Elsevier will support the Austrian researcher community's ambitions, making their latest research freely available at the point of publication. Elsevier is determined to find the right solutions for our customers and meet our customers' diverse OA requirements across different academic institutions worldwide. We do so while critically ensuring published research remains trusted and of a high quality. This agreement will support over 40 Austrian institutions, helping them share their latest research globally. The new agreement program will take effect from January 1, 2021 through to the end of 2023. We continue to test and learn from the OA agreements that are already being put into practice with institutions and governments worldwide, which enables us to work with our partners to continually improve our OA offerings, such as building new workflows and submission processes to provide greater visibility, transparency and a best-in-class publishing experience for authors. Brigitte Kromp, University of Vienna, Head of the Austrian Central Library for Physics and Chemistry Library and representative for Open Access in the Austrian Academic Library Consortium said: "This agreement with Elsevier represents a significant step towards our goal of making Austrian research accessible to all. An important feature of this pilot agreement is that articles in the eligible hybrid and gold open access journals are included, offering full flexibility to researchers at participating institutions. We will continue our discussions with Elsevier on including the Cell Press portfolio and other journals that are currently excluded from the agreement." Ulrike Fenz-Kortschak, interim director of the KEMO Head Office, emphasizes, "that it has been possible to unite several member types represented in KEMO, including: public universities, private universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes and a research funder in order to cover a big spectrum of the tertiary education sector in Austria with this read and publishing agreement." Gino Ussi, Executive Vice President, Elsevier said: "This pilot contract with KEMO is a great opportunity to explore new ways to support their researchers to share their research globally, and we welcome the participation of FWF as the leading national funder in Austria. The Elsevier team is looking forward to supporting Austria's world-class researchers to access and publish credible, high quality, trusted research. In 2021, the importance of helping researchers advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society has never been more critical, and we are committed to helping make Austria research available to all." The agreement is the latest in a series of transformative agreements Elsevier has reached with customers across Europe, the US, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In 2020 Elsevier published nearly 81,000 gold or pay-to-publish OA articles an increase of 65 percent over 2019, making us one of the largest open access publishers in the world. Nearly all of Elsevier's 2,600 journals now enable OA publishing, including 500 fully OA journals. Elsevier enables researchers to stay up to date with the latest science, technology, and health findings worldwide via ScienceDirect, Elsevier's leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature. Overall, ScienceDirect gives researchers access to 18 million articles from over 2,600 journals published by Elsevier and our society partners. About Elsevier As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems. In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders. Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,500+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our 40,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world. Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. Contacts Andrew Davis Vice President, Elsevier Communications UK andrew.davis@elsevier.com www.elsevier.com SOURCE: Elsevier View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636146/The-Austrian-Academic-Library-Consortium-and-Elsevier-Agree-to-Pilot-for-Reading-and-Open-Access-Publishing The Massachusetts State Police on Thursday added five new suspects, who are accused of crimes that range from murder to statutory rape, to its list of Most Wanted fugitives. During a news conference on Thursday police released photos of the men and asked anyone with information about them to call state police at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873). We seek justice for their victims and their victims families, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. These men have taken the lives of others or have assaulted victims in ways that cause lasting physical or emotional damage, leaving holes in families and physical or emotional wounds that may never heal. They need to be brought to justice. The men added to the list include Mario R. Garcia, wanted in a 1991 murder in Attleboro; Marvin Veiga Jr., who is wanted in connection with a murder in Brockton in October of 2020; Alexander Keen Grant, who is wanted in connection with a sexual assault in Yarmouth in 2012; Wesly Jordan Alcin, who is wanted for armed assault with intent to murder in Salem in January; and Jeffery Cancel-Muniz, who is for aggravated rape with serious bodily injury, kidnapping, and strangulation in connection with a sexual assault in May of 2020. The Massachusetts State Police added Mario Garcia to its most wanted list on Thursday. Garcia is wanted for a murder in Attleboro on Nov. 16, 1991. Police responded to a fight at Dean and Bank Streets, authorities said, and found an unconscious man suffering from apparent stab wounds. The victim later died from his injuries, police said. Police said Garcia immediately fled the area and is actively avoiding apprehension. A native of Guatemala, Garcia would be 49 years old now and was described as 5-foot-4-inches tall, approximately 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, police said. He has used the aliases Mario Rivera, Rene Agusto Rivera, Mario Rene Garcia Rivera, and Mario Robles. Garcia also has ties to Connecticut, Georgia, and Utah, police said. The Massachusetts State Police added Marvin Veiga Jr. to its most wanted list on Thursday. Veiga is wanted for murder and firearms offenses stemming from a shoting on Oct. 13, 2020, police said. Brockton Police responded to a Shot Spotter activation on Belmont Avenue, last October and found a man with a fatal gunshot wound to his head, authorities said. Police said they identified Veiga and a second man as the assailants, and arrest warrants were obtained for them. The second suspect was quickly arrested, but Veiga remains at large, police said. Authorities said Veiga is considered armed and dangerous and has a lengthy history of violence, including a previous armed confrontation with Boston Police and prior convictions for assault and battery on a police officer and possession a large capacity firearm. Veiga is is 32, 5-foot-6-inches tall and approximately 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. The Massachusetts State Police added Marvin Veiga Jr. to its most wanted list on Thursday. Police said he has numerous tattoos, including a cross under the corner of his right eye and a tear drop under the corner of his left eye, a cross on his right chest, the letters KC on his neck, and additional ink on his arms and left lower leg. The Massachusetts State Police added Alexander Keen Grant. to its most wanted list on Thursday. Grant is wanted for in a 2012 sexual assault in Yarmouth. Police said Grant provided alcohol to an underage victim and then committed the assault while the victim was intoxicated. Grant was charged with statutory rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, police said. In November 2014, Grant didnt appear for his court date in Barnstable Superior Court and a warrant for his arrest issued. Grant is 49, 5-foot-11-inches tall and approximately 200 pounds, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Police said he may be altering his appearance by changing the length, color, and style of his hair, and he may have grown a beard. Police said Grant is an avid boater, typically goes by his middle name Keen, and has ties throughout the United States, including in Vermont, Rhode Island, Kentucky, and Arizona. The Massachusetts State Police added Wesly Jordan Alcin to its most wanted list on Thursday. Alcin is wanted for armed assault with intent to murder, home invasion, and a firearms offense in connection with a January shooting in Salem police said. On Jan. 24, 2021, Salem Police responded to a shooting at 32 Perkins St. and officers found a woman with nine gunshot wounds and a man with three gunshot wounds, authorities said. All shots were fired during a home invasion, police said. Both victims survived. Police said an accomplice is in custody but Alcin remains at large and is also wanted by Malden Police for multiple firearms offenses. Alcin is 23, 5-foot-10-inches tall, approximately 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and with tattoos on his arm. Police said, Alcin may go by his middle name Jordan, has ties to Everett and is considered armed and dangerous. The Massachusetts State Police added Jeffery Cancel-Muniz. to its most wanted list on Thursday. Cancel-Muniz is wanted for aggravated rape with serious bodily injury, kidnapping, and strangulation in connection with a sexual assault that occurred in May 2020 in Deerfield, police said. Cancel-Muniz is a Level 3 Sex Offender and has a lengthy criminal record, including prior convictions for indecent assault and battery, statutory rape, carrying a dangerous weapon, threats, and assault and battery, police said. He has been the subject of 11 civil restraining orders in Massachusetts and has multiple convictions for violating protection orders, authorities said. He is 40, 6-feet tall and approximately 185 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, police said. The Massachusetts State Police added Jeffrey Cancel-Muniz to its most wanted list on Thursday. He uses the alias Chillin and has multiple tattoos on his arms, legs, chest, and back, including the nickname Chillin on his upper left back and a cross on his upper right back, police said. Cancel-Muniz is a native of Puerto Rico, has ties throughout western Massachusetts, and may be frequenting homeless shelters, police said. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. The Department of Justice is reportedly scrutinizing Google's plans to block third-party tracking cookies in Chrome and stop targeting ads based on individual browsing history. According to Reuters sources, the agency is looking into whether the move to a more anonymized form of ad targeting will harm smaller advertising networks. Investigators have been asking ad industry executives about the shift, according to the report, including questions about how changes to the way Chrome handles cookies will impact the advertising and news sectors. They are seemingly curious as to whether Google is putting itself in a position to gather data about users while preventing other ad companies from doing so. People want their information to stay private as they browse the web," a Google spokeswoman told Engadget in a statement. "That's why were working in partnership with the industry through Privacy Sandbox on privacy-preserving alternatives to third-party cookies that support the free and open internet. And as weve said, we will not replace third party cookies with alternative methods to track individual people across the web. Although the line of inquiry may not lead to legal action, there's a chance that the DoJ could join an antitrust lawsuit from several states over Google's plan to introduce a Privacy Sandbox to Chrome. UK regulators are also investigating Privacy Sandbox. The Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the company of holding an unfair monopoly in search and ads related to search. The case is expected to go to trial in 2023. A group of 38 attorneys general filed a separate antitrust suit related to Google Search in December. Update 3/18 2:05PM ET: Added a comment from Google. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. MTN Nigeria has acquired an additional 10MHz spectrum from the 800MHz band from Intercellular Nigeria Limited. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved the transaction and assigned the frequency to MTN Nigeria. The acquisition is expected to improve customer experience, "in line with our commitment to deliver excellent service quality to our subscribers," the telco stated. Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said, "Through this acquisition, we will be better positioned to support the deepening of broadband penetration in the country. "The added resources will also greatly impact our customers' experience providing even better internet connectivity. It is our goal to keep finding ways to grant everyone access to a modern connected life." Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 11:13:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai (L) speaks during a joint interview with Chinese media in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States, March 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) ANCHORAGE, the United States, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said here Wednesday that China will not compromise on core interests during the upcoming high-level strategic dialogue between top diplomats of China and the United States. "I think the minimum and most basic prerequisite for dialogues and communication between any countries is that both sides should have a spirit of equality and mutual respect," Cui told Chinese reporters at a briefing, one day ahead of the dialogue that is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, a city in the U.S. state of Alaska. "There's no room for China to compromise or make concessions on these core interests," including issues related to China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity, Cui said. "That is the position we will make clear in this meeting." If some people believe that China will compromise or give in under the pressure of some unilateral demands just for the sake of the so-called "fruits" from the dialogue, they should give up, said Cui. Cui also said that China does not expect one dialogue to resolve all the issues between the two sides, adding that it does not have "overly high expectations or illusions" about the upcoming high-level dialogue with the United States. The veteran diplomat said he hoped that the dialogue can set in motion a process of frank, constructive, rational conversation and communication between the two sides. "If we can do that, I think this dialogue will be a success," Cui said. "I hope that both sides come here with sincerity and leave with a better mutual understanding." At the invitation of the U.S. side, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the upcoming high-level dialogue. Cui's remarks also came as the U.S. administration under President Joe Biden repeatedly said that the United States will work with allies to engage China "from a position of strength." "It is not necessarily useful for the United States to make some noise or build a campaign with other countries before meeting with China," Cui said. "If you have any issues to discuss with the Chinese side, feel free to talk straightforwardly." Cui noted that most countries, including some U.S. allies in Asia, actually have some doubts and concerns about U.S. policies. "Can the United States truly act as a responsible stakeholder in global affairs? Is the United States truly ready to return to multilateral cooperation and contribute to it as it should? Is the United States truly prepared to show due respect for the interests of other countries and to listen to the voices of other countries?" the ambassador asked. These concerns are in the hearts of most countries in the world, including U.S. allies, but some countries just do not speak up openly, Cui said. "I hope that the United States could understand everyone's concerns." Enditem By TERRY TANG, The Associated Press Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with attacking three Atlanta-area massage parlors and killing eight people, most of them Asian women. Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings that happened Tuesday evening. I think the reason why people are feeling so hopeless is because Asian Americans have been ringing the bell on this issue for so long. ... Weve been raising the red flag, said Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, executive director of the Atlanta-based Asian American Advocacy Fund, which does political and advocacy work across Georgia. Many were also outraged that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was not immediately charged with hate crimes. Authorities said Long told police the attack was not racially motivated, and he claimed that he targeted the spas because of a sex addiction. Six of the seven slain women were identified as Asian. Law enforcement needs some training understanding what a hate crime is. This man identified targets owned by Asians, said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups. The gunman was very clearly going after a targeted group of people. Being Asian American herself, Huang said the shootings felt personal. She is worried that not classifying the attack as a hate crime will absolutely discourage others from coming forward and seeking help. She also cringed at the comments of a sheriffs captain who said of the gunman, It was a really bad day for him. FILE - In this March 13, 2021, file photo, Chinese-Japanese American student Kara Chu, 18, holds a pair of heart balloons decorated by herself for the rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)AP The remark appeared to be trying to explain and justify the suspects actions. Hopefully it was a misstatement, Huang said. Mahmood said Asian American business owners in the Atlanta area were already fearful because of incidents like graffiti and break-ins. The shootings will raise that worry to new heights. A lot of Asian American business owners in the beauty parlor industry and food service these are often the most visible front-line faces in the community, Mahmood said. Her organization is partnering with other groups like the Atlanta chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer resources in multiple languages, including mental health assistance, self-defense training and bystander training. Meanwhile, from Phoenix to Philadelphia, Asian American organizations nationwide organized events aimed at showing unity. Asian Americans United, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and several other partner groups held a vigil Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphias Chinatown neighborhood. After the month and year we had, we knew our folks needed the time to come together safely just to grieve and heal and mourn and speak to whats happening, said Mohan Seshadri, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance co-executive director. As much despair as Asian Americans feel, Seshadri said, the shootings also mark a flashpoint. Our folks are pissed off and ready to fight, Seshadri said. The way we get through this is together by organizing our people and feeling solidarity. Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce CEO Vicente Reid is planning a vigil next week in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, which has a high concentration of Asian American-owned shops and restaurants. He thinks the slayings have galvanized the local community to go beyond vigils. I think there is this whole outlet of this younger generation whos passionate and has the energy. They just need someone to step up and lead them, Reid said. FILE - In this March 13, 2021, file photo, a man participates in the rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. Asian Americans were already worn down by a year of pandemic-fueled racist attacks when a white gunman was charged with attacking three Atlanta-area massage parlors and killing eight people, most of them Asian women. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) For the past several weeks, Asian Americans have questioned how to deal with a recent wave of assaults many on the elderly that coincided with the pandemic. The virus was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racial terms to describe it. Numerous Asian American organizations say Trumps rhetoric has emboldened people to express anti-Asian or anti-immigrant views. Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center for Asian American Pacific Islanders, and its partner groups, since March 2020. Nationally, women reported hate crimes 2.3 times more than men. Following the release Wednesday of a report showing a surge in white supremacist propaganda in 2020, the Anti-Defamation League told The Associated Press that a significant amount of the propaganda included anti-immigrant rhetoric. The anti-hate group said 10% of propaganda descriptions in its inventory contained negative references to immigration, multiculturalism or diversity. The 522 physical flyers, stickers or banners included the use of words such as invasion, deport, disease, illegal, infection and virus, the ADL said. There were also seven propaganda incidents with direct anti-China references to COVID-19. Meanwhile, the shootings have drawn support for Asian Americans from many non-Asians. Asian Americans need allies to continue speaking out against racism, Mahmood said. The path forward for us is really just standing together and making sure we dont let these types of tragedies divide our communities. March 16th is Marie's birthday, one of the kids left behind by Journalist Deyda Hydara after he succumbed to bullets of the hit squad of former President Yahya Jammeh. This year, she's greeted with news of the arrest of one of her father's killers in Germany. Marie sounded emotional when The Point, Banjul-based newspaper co-founded by her late father, contacted her yesterday: "Am struggling here, as it is times like these I miss my dad the most". To many birthdays are a source of joy. But for her, it brings memory of how she still misses her dad. In the early hours of today (16 March 2021), Bai Lowe was arrested in Hannover, Germany, by officers of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the police of Lower Saxony on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General of Germany. "An arrest warrant had been issued by the investigating judge of the Federal Supreme Court on 3 March 2021. In addition to his arrest, the suspect's flat in Hannover was searched," a statement released by the German Federal Prosecutor General of yesterday morning, 16 March. Bai Lowe still maintains he usually served as a driver for the hit squad when they conducted the killings on the orders of the former President. He is the third to face indictment outside The Gambia as authorities in Banjul decided to release from custody other members who were arrested and detained by the Gambia Armed Forces soon after Jammeh fled Banjul in 2017. As former Inspector General, State Guards Commander and Interior Minister Ousman Sonko faces judicial investigation in maximum security remand in Switzerland, Michael Correa faces indictment in the United States since June 11, 2020. Bai Lowe is strongly suspected of crimes against humanity, murder and attempted murder (section 7, paragraph 1, no. 1 of the Criminal Code, 211, paragraphs 1 and 2, 25, paragraph 2, 22, 52, 53 of the Criminal Code). In the arrest warrant, the accused is essentially charged with the following facts: Between December 2003 and December 2006, Bai Lowe belonged to a so-called "Patrol Team" of the Gambian Armed Forces (also known as "Junglers") as a driver. "This unit was used by the then-President of the Gambia to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things. The aim was to intimidate the Gambian population and suppress the opposition. Against this background, the accused was involved in a total of three such liquidation orders," the charge sheet stated. "At the end of December 2003, the accused's unit received an order to kill a lawyer in Banjul, the capital of The Gambia. In his capacity as driver, the accused transported the other members to the site of the attack. There, a member of the unit fired several shots at the lawyer, who survived the attack injured," it added. The lawyer who survived this attack was Ousman Sillah, a veteran human rights lawyer and former Police officer who was defense attorney for Jammeh's ex-right hand man and now demised Baba Jobe. The lawyer survived the attack with grave injuries after dodging bullets and hiding behind his car at his house. A year later, the "Patrol Team" killed a Gambian journalist who was critical of the government (Mr. Deyda Hydara, Co-publisher of The Point). "For this purpose, the unit, with the help of Bai Lowe, stopped the journalist's car on a road in the town of Kanifing. Subsequently, two members of the unit killed him by shooting him several times, with Bai Lowe transporting one of the shooters in his vehicle," the charges said. At a later point in time, probably in 2006, members of the unit shot and killed a suspected opponent of the Gambian president near Banjul airport. As before, the accused transported the other accomplices to the scene. Bai Lowe is expected to be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal High Court in the course of today (16 March 2021), who will present the arrest warrant to him and decide on the execution of pre-trial detention. President of The Gambia Press Union Sheriff Bojang Jnr said the arrest of Bai Lowe in connection with Deyda's murder is a welcomed news. "The arrest of a man implicated or named in the assassination of Deyda Hydara... . Anybody who has a hand in the assassination must be brought to book. I hope this arrest leads to him facing justice in The Gambia. We will follow the events with keen interest," Mr Bojang said. For the 70 year old Mr Pap Saine, Deyda's youthful friend and co-partner of The Point, this is a moment to return all thanks to God and the German authorities, for the arrest of Bai Lowe. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Deyda's death threw more weight on Mr Saine's shoulders in running The Point and looking after the family. His relation with Mr Hydara dates back to 1969 when they were both jobless. The two started their career with Radio Syd in 1970 as first commercial radio in Africa. In 1988, Hydara resigned to start private business. In 1992, Mr Saine also resigned from Radio Syd. The two also worked part time with "Senegambia Sun" weekly paper for the SeneGambia Confederation between 1982 and the 1989 dissolution of the Confederation. Deyda worked for AFP for 33 years and RSF for 20 years. Pap Saine today believes Mr Lowe's arrest will shed more light on the killing of Deyda Hydara. For almost 17 years, Mr Saine spent time immortalizing Deyda Hydara each year The Point anniversary comes. Now, he believes such an arrest is long overdue. "He (Lowe) was among the junglers who killed my dear brother and friend Deyda Hydara. He should face justice," Saine said. For Mr Baba Hydara, brother to Marie Pierre Hydara, the family is closely following the case with keen interest as things unfold towards justice for their father. Although he doesnt screen in Australia, no doubt most readers are familiar with the now-infamous TV walk-off by Britains Piers Morgan (destined to be known as doing a Piers). The UK media regulator Ofcom, which began in 2003, has confirmed that 57,121 complaints lodged over his Meghan Markle on Good Morning Britain is the highest number of complaints it has ever received. That puts it above an episode of Celebrity Big Brother when some 44,500 complained in 2007, when Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty was targeted by Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd. Morgan, who left ITV in a huff, hit back in typical style over social media. Only 57,000? Ive had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me. https://t.co/bVYbU1RcHA Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 17, 2021 Meanwhile in the USA CBS yanked The Talk off air for a week while it is investigating complaints surrounding Sharon Osbourne, who defended Morgan but also made an apology. The Talk airs in Australia on 10. Source: Deadline Related Postal services provider TTPost yesterday shut its branches in Port of Spain and San Fernando after dozens of people rushed to collect senior citizen pension and public assistance grants and would not adhere to physical distancing rules. Eventually, police were called to disperse the crowds. Several elderly people at the St Vincent Street branch in Port of Spain complained about not being able to collect their pension cheques because other unruly ones refused to socially distance and abide by the law amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Stella Griffith, 68, of Diego Martin, said she was adhering to rules of social distancing, but there were other people who came for their public assistance and disability grants and were refusing to listen. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The acting General-Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU-Ghana), Mr. Morgan Ayawine, has appealed to the government to put measures in place to cushion the people against the effects of the new taxes and levies contained in the 2021 Budget. He said new taxes such as COVID-19 Health levy, increase in road toll, gaming, sanitation and pollution levy, including a one per cent increase in the VAT rate, were a sad commentary on the economy. According to him, the development would aggravate the already precarious economic status of workers and the ordinary people and could also affect the governments effort at job creation. Mr. Ayawine was speaking at the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regional ICU-Ghana delegates conference at Abesim, near Sunyani in the Bono Region, last Tuesday. The delegates discussed activities of the union in the region and also conducted elections for the youth, women and regional council of the union, as well as adopted resolutions for its upcoming 11th quadrennial delegates conference, which is expected to come off in Accra in August 2021 to elect national executives to steer the affairs of the union in the next four years, as required by the ICU constitution. Banking clean-up Mr. Ayawine said the financial sector clean-up exercise carried out by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in 2018-2019 had already taken a toll on businesses and labour through the loss of jobs and livelihoods. He said the union had to open its arms to some affected workers who were not their members to help them get their exit packages and other entitlements from the BoG. Mr. Ayawine said it was also a wake-up call for workers to register with a trade union organisation to protect their interests. On COVID-19, Mr. Ayawine asked workers to ensure their safety, both at home and the workplace, by strictly adhering to COVID-19 protocols. He said despite the existence of the disease, the union would not shirk its responsibility of rendering quality services to members at all times. Lock-up funds A regional officer of the union, Mr. Ernest Yaw Otoo Addo, entreated the government to expedite action on the release of locked up funds of some rural banks to enable them to improve on their businesses to save jobs. He said interactions with some of the affected rural banks indicated that if the government fulfilled its promise of freeing their locked up investment, they could turn the banks around. Mr. Addo further explained that the conference was to enable members to reflect on the successes of the union in the regions, identify their challenges and chart the way forward. 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 Come July, California Will Swap Juvenile Jails for Reform-Minded Rehab Centers Starting in July, Californias youth prisons will no longer be accepting new inmates, with a few exceptions. The state is moving most of the estimated 750 children it currently houses in its three remaining detention centers to rehabilitation facilities. In California, the percentage of Black youth among incarcerated juveniles in California is nearly six times the percentage of African American children in the state. Children serving time in juvenile prisons are 30% Black and about 60% Latino even though African Americans account for nearly 6 % of Californias total population of about 40 million people. Latinos make up about 39 % Once the state shuts down the juvenile prisons it currently operates, youth convicted of violating California law will be subject to the local county rehabilitation rules that will be set up in the jurisdiction where the young person commits the crime. The newly formed California Office of Youth and Community Restoration is sending hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to the states 58 counties to fund the creation of the programs that are replacing youth detention centers. ADVERTISEMENT We have learned a great deal about what youth rehabilitation may truly look like; this includes trauma informed programming, mental health resources, ways to address issues like substance abuse, de-escalation, stronger academic supports, family counseling, and so on, Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) told California Black Media. This approach is a reimagining of care needed to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline, continued Gipson, who is chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus and represents a district that covers parts of Los Angeles County, including Compton, Dominguez Hills, Watts and sections of Long Beach. Californias current push decarerate youth was preceded by widespread calls for criminal justice reform in the state and several pieces of corresponding legislation proposed by several lawmakers. California Legislative Black Caucus members Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood), Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) and Gipson were among the legislators who championed the reforms. Gov. Newsom signed the bills into law last year. We heard those calls for action loud and clear and today are advancing reforms to improve policing practices by ending the carotid hold and requiring independent investigations in officer-involved shootings, Newsom said in September of 2020 as he signed the bills. The carotid hold is a maneuver that restricts blood flow to the brain, causing a victim to become unconscious or even die. Newsom also made it a point to mention that stakeholders on all sides of the youth imprisonment problem are involved in rethinking what juvenile justice should look like in California. ADVERTISEMENT Working with our youth, faith and community leaders, law enforcement, the legislature and countless others demanding change, my Administration remains committed to the important work ahead to make our criminal and juvenile justice systems fairer and safer for all Californians, Newsom said. Jamilia Land is a Sacramento resident, member of the Abolish Slavery National Network (ASNN) and founder of A.S.A.P., an organization focused on assisting children who have run-ins with the criminal justice system. She described the minors she encounters through her programs outreach. The majority of the youth that we work with come from lower income, impoverished communities, Land said. Oftentimes, these youths have experienced being in foster care, being raised by a third-party adult not a biological mother or father. A lot of these children are being raised by extended family. Land says youth imprisonment is not a coincidence or unfortunate consequence, but an essential function built into the structure of a flawed juvenile justice system. It was designed to incarcerate anyone whos impoverished or of color in this country. We often hear that the system is broken, its not. Its doing exactly what it was meant to do, Land said. Over the years, many California-based organizations have worked to remedy the problem of youth incarceration. One of them is the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. The national organization, headquartered in Oakland, celebrated the states decision to replace juvenile prisons with rehab centers. Since 2001, the Ella Baker Center has highlighted the abuses of the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to young people and their communities through the Books Not Bars campaign which successfully fought to close five of the eight California youth prisons, resulting in an 85% reduction in the youth prison population, reads the organizations website. Gipson was sure to note the importance of organizations like the Ella Baker Center. The value of grassroots initiatives and organizations often behind them is critical from an effective advocacy lens gathering interests of our communities, Gipson stated. Those who practice in these spaces are boots on the ground and play a key role as change agents when change is needed. But however historic and radical this change might seem to many, youth advocates like Land remain cautious. She says half measures may not be enough to solve deeply entrenched problems. There is no redesigning the system. There is deconstructing it and reconstructing components that actually promote safety and overall community wealth, warns Land. The prison industrial complex is now being reshaped and refashioned to look like rehabilitation. Dont be deceived, it is still the same thing. Gipson, on the other hand, remains optimistic about the future of the juvenile justice system. Yes, of course I am optimistic moving these youth out of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and into the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Department of Social Service (DSS) because they will have a better understanding of what Justice Involved Youth need. They will be able to provide them with a more well-rounded approach to focus on rehabilitation and less on punishment, Gipson said. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 19:12:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (1st R), Japan's Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi (2nd R), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd L) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (3rd L) attend the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee meeting in Tokyo, Japan, March 16, 2021. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via Xinhua) Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States takes advantage of its cooperation with Japan, trying to meddle in the Asia-Pacific's regional affairs and engage in creating an anti-China "encirclement." by Xinhua writer Ye Shan TOKYO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Japan's collusion to interfere in China's internal affairs and malign China after their top diplomats and defense chiefs' "2+2" meeting in Tokyo reflected a typical hypocrisy and arrogance of the alliance. The ministers -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of Defense Kishi Nobuo -- accused China of "aggressive and coercive behavior," and "expressed serious concerns about recent disruptive developments in the region, such as the China Coast Guard Law," according to a joint statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee on Tuesday. To start with, China's coast guard law is only a piece of domestic legislation and does not target any specific country, which is also totally in line with international law and practice. China loves peace. Settling maritime disputes through friendly consultation and without the use or threat of force has been the consistent position of the Chinese government. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China has been holding dear peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and upholding its fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development. Surface-to-air missiles are seen over Syria's capital Damascus on April 14, 2018, as the Syrian air defenses were responding to U.S. attacks. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani) The United States, however, as the world's most powerful nation, has long been the top threat to world peace and security. In the nearly 250-year history of the United States, there were only 16 years that the country was not at war, not to mention its hundreds of military bases around the world, and the endless chaos and bloodshed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria that were related to U.S. involvement. Clinging to the Cold War mentality, the United States takes advantage of its cooperation with Japan, trying to meddle in the Asia-Pacific's regional affairs and engage in creating an anti-China "encirclement." Such an evil intention would risk stoking regional turmoil and goes completely against the trend of the times. What's more, Japan's behavior exposed its selfishness to contain China's rise and revival. To this end, Japan was willing to serve as a strategic vassal of the United States and invite the wolf into the house, at the cost of undermining China-Japan relations and betraying the overall interests of the region. The tricks of muddying the waters can neither change nor bend the truth, and the despicable behavior of smearing China cannot win the heart of the international community. Instead, the United States and Japan should render their cooperation more conducive to peace and stability in the wider Asia-Pacific region. Sherry Liang and Rachel Priest reflect on the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings, where a white man killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Liang and Priest are two of the few Asian editors to work at The Red & Black. ANN ARBOR, MI Local officials are inviting residents to a community information session about the Gelman dioxane plume Thursday, March 18. The virtual meeting starts at 5 p.m and is being organized by U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and Washtenaw County. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy are expected to be on hand to answer questions from the community and local officials about the status of the plume and discuss potential next steps. Officials from Ann Arbor, Scio Township and Ann Arbor Township also are expected to be in attendance. EPA answers lingering questions about possible Superfund cleanup in Ann Arbor The toxic plume of pollution has been spreading through the Ann Arbor areas groundwater for decades, coming from the old Gelman Sciences filter manufacturing complex off Wagner Road in Scio Township and posing threats to drinking water supplies, among other concerns. Local officials are simultaneously seeking a federal Superfund cleanup under the EPA while continuing litigation against the polluter in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Thursdays meeting includes a question-and-answer session and an opportunity for public comments. Members of the public interested in attending the Zoom meeting are asked to register online. The county website also has a form to submit questions ahead of the meeting. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Ann Arbor gets pushback from landlords on banning criminal background checks Ann Arbor residents can call 911 to report abandoned rental scooters, officials say More garage apartments in Ann Arbor? Code changes head to council for approval Ann Arbor to put $476K in new marijuana revenue to social equity programs Pop-up COVID vaccine clinics coming to Washtenaw Countys most at-risk communities [March 18, 2021] BDSwiss obtains quality and information security ISO certifications LIMASSOL, Cyprus, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial services provider BDSwiss Holding Ltd. (BDSwiss) is pleased to announce the achievement of a significant operational milestone in receiving two International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) certifications from external certification bodies, TUV Cyprus and TUV Hellas (TUV Nord Group). In January 2021, BDSwiss secured the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) and ISO 9001:2015 (ISO 9001) certifications relating to information security management system and quality management. Following an exhaustive verification process over the course of 2020, BDSwiss implemented a series of initiatives to satisfy ISO requirements, leading to the granting of both certifications earlier this year. The achievement means BDSwiss is one of the first investment firms within the retail trading space in Cyprus, as regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), to receive the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) and ISO 9001:2015 (ISO 9001) certifications. The milestone demonstrates both BDSwiss' ability and commitment to information security risk management, while in tandem, validating the company's dedication to the optimal delivery of its quality products and services to over 1.5 million users. ISO/IEC 9001:2015 Quality management systems The ISO 9001 certification sets out the criteria for a qualty management system (QMS) with over 1 million companies already certified globally. The ISO's harmonised standard is based on seven distinct quality management principles (QMPs) including requirements for strong client focus, efficient productivity throughout the firm's hierarchy, a provable commitment to consistent processes and cast-iron audit trails to ensure full transparency between BDSwiss, its clients, regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies. Achieving the ISO 9001 certification means BDSwiss has successfully demonstrated the integration of quality processes while considering a broader scope of impacts upon the company's operations including the provision of trading services, client support and trader education. ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information technology The most recent version was adopted in 2013 and specifies the requirements BDSwiss must fulfil to establish, implement and maintain an information security management system, as well as stipulating requirements in assessing and remediating information security risks. Obtaining an ISO 27001 certification validates BDSwiss' bolstered security infrastructure and demonstrates the company is well-protected against the most sophisticated cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, BDSwiss has expanded its capacity in managing information security risks by installing an information security management system. Despite contending with an ongoing global pandemic that put tremendous pressure on its client services, security and trade execution systems, BDSwiss developed and implemented a security strategy that significantly bolstered its cybersecurity capability to counter the growing problem of online fraud, including sophisticated phishing attacks, malware and cyberhacking. Christos Alatzidis, Chief Information & Technology Officer of BDSwiss commented: "The combined acquisition of these particular ISO classifications is not a very common occurrence, but one that continues to gain popularity across all industries and rightly so. "Considering the growth and evolution of malicious cybersecurity threats within the trading industry, we want to ensure neither we nor our clients fall victim to heinous online impropriety. "To operate in the fiercely competitive financial services sector requires maintaining cutting-edge security as well as consistent product quality. Both classifications are validations that we're doing just that," said Christos Alatzidis. About BDSwiss Holding Ltd. BDSwiss is a registered trademark of BDSwiss Holding Ltd, an investment firm authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) since 2013. BDSwiss Holding Ltd. is a subsidiary of BDSwiss AG, a leading group of financial companies, offering Foreign Exchange and Contract for Difference (CFD) trading services in more than 187 countries and serving more than 1.5 million registered users. BDSwiss provides trading services to a global audience through four user-friendly trading platforms: Metatrader 4, Metatrader 5, BDSwiss Web Trader and the native BDSwiss trading app. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1458577/BDSwiss_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] OleksiiLiskonih/iStockBy BENJAMIN SIEGEL, MIKE LEVINE, LUKE BARR, ABC News (WASHINGTON) -- In recent days, as the Biden administration faces a new surge of migrants along the southwest border, Republican lawmakers are renewing warnings that international terrorists are trying to slip into the country through Mexico. But U.S. officials and experts say such warnings don't accurately capture how unlikely it is that international terrorists could access the United States through the U.S.-Mexico border. "The notion that the Southwest border is open to terrorists is ludicrous," said Alex Nowrasteh, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. "The government has shown no evidence that terrorists use the Southwest border to get into the United States." Speaking before reporters and cameras during a visit to the border in Texas on Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., disclosed that border patrol agents had just told him that suspected terrorists were recently apprehended trying to enter the United States. "You saw in their eyes, they're on the list ... the terrorist watch list," McCarthy said. "They are now finding people from Yemen and Iran and Turkey, people on the terrorist watch list," he added. Other Republicans offered similar warnings. "Individuals that they have on the watchlist for terrorism are now starting to exploit the southern border," Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., said at the news conference with McCarthy and a dozen others. Specifically, on Jan. 28, a Serbian national apprehended at the border in New Mexico was a positive match for someone on the U.S. government's Terrorist Screening Database, or TSDB, according to a source familiar with the matter. In addition, three others on the database -- all from Yemen -- were recently caught at the border, the source said. But showing up on a terror watchlist doesn't mean someone is necessarily a terrorist, and it's exceedingly rare for someone encountered by a Border Patrol agent or a customs officer to be on that terrorist watchlist. "Less than 0.0001 percent of total [Customs and Border Protection] inadmissible encounters and apprehensions involve persons who are watchlisted on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB)," a senior Homeland Security Investigations official told Congress in 2018. "It's an alert, it doesn't mean you arrest that person on site and charge them," David Lapan, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump, said of the watchlist. "There are many different ways that people end up on the terror watchlist. Sometimes it's a mistaken identity." Others end up on the watchlist simply because they are "a cousin or a friend or a house cleaner" to a known terrorist, one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, noted. Furthermore, the U.S. government has established systems to prevent terrorists from entering the country -- as exhibited by the fact that four people on the government watchlist were successfully intercepted in recent months, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas suggested to lawmakers during a House hearing on Wednesday. Terrorists trying to sneak into the United States is "not a new phenomenon," but "it is because of our multi-layered security apparatus [and] architecture that we have built since the commencement of the Department of Homeland Security that we are in fact able to identify and apprehend them," Mayorkas said. "We actually deny them entry based on our intelligence and based on our vetting procedures, which have only grown in sophistication over the years." As for Nowrasteh, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, he studied the topic in a report on the risk of foreign-born terrorists in the U.S. between 1975 and 2017. In that time period, nine illegal immigrants of the more than 31 million people who entered the country illegally became terrorists including three Macedonian brothers who entered the country as children and were raised in the United States. "There are more people in the country illegally that overstay their visas than come across the southwest border," Lapan told ABC News, referencing the 9/11 hijackers, who all entered the United States on airplanes and overstayed their visas. "It's not that there's zero chance of that happening, but we've just never seen evidence that it's a significant risk," he said. In fact, "There has never been a terrorist attack in the United States by someone who illegally crossed the southern border," the U.S. official added. Copyright 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. A former soldier accused of keeping a woman in a cage and forcing her to wear a steel collar allegedly told her that being his slave was all about 'women's power'. James-Robert Davis, a self-proclaimed 'kinky sex overlord', allegedly made the woman sign a 'slave contract', which she believed was a legally binding document. If she broke any of the 'protocols' in the contract Davis would allegedly punish the woman with extreme violence or warn she could be charged by a court. Davis has now been charged with possessing a slave, reducing a person to slavery and causing a person to remain in servitude. He is accused of forcing the woman to seek his permission to use the toilet - even if he wasn't home - and to answer the front door naked then kiss his feet when he returned. A former soldier accused of keeping a woman in a cage and forcing her to wear a steel collar allegedly told her that being his slave was all about 'women's power'. Police raided his property in northern NSW last week and allegedly found property including a barber's chair (pictured) James-Robert Davis, a self-proclaimed 'kinky sex overlord' and former soldier who served in Iraq, allegedly had a woman sign a 'slave contract', which she believed was a legally binding document Davis has been charged with possessing a slave, reducing a person to slavery and causing a person to remain in servitude. He is pictured centre with lingerie-clad women The 40-year-old appeared before Armidale Local Court in northern New South Wales on Wednesday, supported by five women with whom he is in a polyamorous relationship. When police executed a search warrant on his home at nearby Yarrowyck last Thursday they allegedly seized metal slave collar rings and found Allen keys used to open them in his wallet. They also allegedly located multiple slavery and servitude contracts between Davis and other women. One 'contract of fealty to Master James' was signed by him and a 'hand maiden'. The charges relate to a woman Davis met in 2012 when he was serving the Army. The pair soon began living together at Maroubra in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The woman initially consented when Davis began to introduce bondage, discipline sadism and masochism (BDSM) during sex because it did not intrude on their day-to-day lives. But two months into the relationship Davis allegedly punched the woman with a strike she described as between a slap and a jab and she fell to the ground into the gutter. 'If I can do this to you in public with all these people around, imagine what I can do to you in private,' Davis told her, according to a statement of facts tendered in court. Davis allegedly began isolating the woman from her family and friends and took over handling her financial matters. About three months into the relationship BDSM allegedly began to be incorporated into all aspects of the couple's lifestyle. images released by the Australian Federal Police following the raid on the property where Davis lived with five women outside Armidale show small wooden huts with single beds (pictured) James-Robert Davis (pictured), 40, appeared before Armidale Local Court via videolink on Wednesday having been charged with slavery offences. He was refused bail 'The accused told the victim that they were gong to be in a master/submissive relationship,' the statement of facts said. 'The accused had the victim study "submissive protocols" and told the victim she had to wear a "submissive collar".' The collar was described as a thick stainless steel ring which was secured by an Allen key and worn around the woman's neck at all times. By the end of 2012 a second woman was introduced to the relationship, followed by a third. Davis allegedly told the victim she was being promoted to 'slave' and asked her to sign a 'slave contract' which had accompanying 'slave protocols'. 'The accused told the victim that being slave is all about "women's power",' the statement of facts said. 'The victim believed that the relationship would improve and she would have more power if she was his slave. 'The accused informed her that the contract was a legally binding contract and if she breached the contract she could be criminally charged in a court. 'The accused informed the victim if she did not comply with the contract and the protocols there would be ramifications which he would document.' Davis was supported by five of his girlfriends inside Armidale Local Court on Wednesday. His barrister said the women were in consensual relationships with Davis and free to come and go. They are pictured outside the court Davis allegedly punched the woman in the face and knocked her to the ground when she broke on of the protocols by sitting on a couch without seeking permission. He allegedly told the woman she was 'worthless', 'broken' and useless each time she broke the rules. 'The accused made the victim repeat over and over, "I am worthless" or "I am broken",' the statement of facts said. Once the victim was his slave Davis allegedly replaced her 'submissive collar' with a 'slave collar' and said she could give the old device to a woman of her choosing. The victim was allegedly forced to ask Davis for permission to perform everyday activities, including going to the toilet. 'If she could not get hold of the accused, she was not allowed to go to the toilet until she had sought his permission,' the statement of facts said. 'If the victim did not seek permission she would be severely punished.' Davis allegedly forced a woman to have a slave number tattooed on her body. 'The victim recalls the slave number started with S/N 95, followed by a unique number,' police allege Australian Federal Police are pictured at the moment Davis was arrested by officers outside the Bunnings hardware store in Armidale, northern New South Wales, on March 11 One of the punishments was allegedly being hit with a cane until she bled, which had led to permanent scarring. 'The victim stated to the accused that she feared and hated the cane and as a result the victim stated that the accused regularly chose this as his method of assaulting her,' according to the statement of facts. 'On one occasion the accused struck the victim 29 times with the cane and the victim felt extreme pain where she had been struck for days.' The woman allegedly had to be naked at the front door when Davis returned home and remove his shoes so she could kiss his feet. Police will allege Davis choked the woman to the point of unconsciousness multiple times and locked her in a cage for two nights and three days in a row. 'While the victim was in the cage he would assault her by repeatedly ramming a pole through the bars of the cage and into the victim,' the statement of facts said. In 2014 the couple moved to Emerald in Queensland where Davis worked as a security guard for a strip club and the woman worked as the madam, without being paid. 'At this time the accused informed the victim she was to registered on an on-line slave register,' the statement of facts said. The Australian Federal Police raided the sprawling rural property of James-Robert Davis about 30km outside Armidale, northern New South Wales, last Thursday 'The accused forced the victim to have her slave number tattooed on her body. The victim recalls the slave number started with S/N 95, followed by a unique number.' While living in Emerald Davis allegedly punched the woman in the face then stomped on her inner right thigh with his boot when she fell backwards. 'The accused had previously told the victim to be proud of her bruises as it was a sign of the abuse she "could take",' the statement of facts said. On another occasion Davis allegedly grabbed the woman by the throat and pushed her against a wall with her feet off the ground. he then allegedly headbutted her. 'She did not report the assault to the police on this occasion as she believed that the accused would get in trouble and she would potentially ruin his life,' the statement of facts said. Davis is also accused of coercing the a woman into prostitution without payment when the pair moved back to Sydney in 2015 and the woman began work in a Surry Hills brothel. Police allege Davis told the woman she had to work as a prostitute because neither had a a job and they had no money. 'The AFP further alleges the victim at this stage had lost all normal autonomy as a functioning member of society and was solely reliant on the accused's ownership of her as her "master",' the statement of facts said. The woman worked at the brothel six nights a week and was paid cash which Davis allegedly collected from her each morning. In 2015 the woman escaped and moved into share accommodation. The 40-year-old has shown his BDSM lifestyle at his home dubbed 'The House of Cadifor' Four large wooden sandboxes with women's names engraved on the side are pictured on Davis's property. It has not been explained what the boxes were used for The allegations against Davis do not relate to any of the women with whom he lives outside Armidale in an arrangement that has been described as a cult. His barrister told magistrate Vivien Swain on Wednesday the charges against his client which related to the woman he lived with at Maroubra and Emerald would be be defended. 'My client won't be on trial for being a member of a cult even if, ultimately, that was accepted as a fact,' Mr Lloyd said according to The Telegraph. 'There is no crime in lifestyle choices, no crime associated with consensual BDSM, these matters are not crimes and he has not been charged.' Mr Lloyd pointed to Davis's five girlfriends sitting in the back of the court room - including two who are university students and one who is 17 weeks pregnant - and claimed they all had 'no fear about their wellbeing'. The women were all in a consensual polyamorous relationship with Davis, Mr Lloyd told the court, and they each had a car and bank accounts in their name. 'Each of these women - if they're a slave - has had the opportunity to run away; they have not done so,' Mr Lloyd told the court. The AFP prosecutor told the court much of the case information came from videos Davis posted online and allegations aired by the ABC, including the use of a cage. Mr Lloyd told the court any cage Davis had used with the woman could be easily unlocked and had no bottom, adding it was a form of 'affection'. Davis allegedly constructed a dungeon with an A-frame in his basement as part of his polyamorous lifestyle. He will defending charges of engaging in sexual slavery Pictures provide a glimpse inside the 'The House of Cadifor', where Davis refers to himself as the patriarch, police allege Davis had in 2018 featured in the television series 'Cadifor: A story about love, family and slavery'. He has described himself as a 'rope performer, fetish photographer, BDSM writer, kink educator, lifestyle dominant and consent advocate'. The AFP alleges Davis referred to himself as the patriarch of a group known as the 'House of Cadifor'. Davis - a 17-year veteran of the Australian Defence Force - was arrested outside the Armidale Bunnings on Thursday after the AFP spent 15 hours raiding his sprawling rural property at Yarrowyck, about 30km outside of Armidale. More than 50 AFP investigators and forensic specialists spent last week searching Davis' Yarrowyck property and seized phones, cameras and computers. Images released by the AFP after the raid show the property is dotted with several wooden huts located several hundred metres away from the main home, featuring single beds, no air-conditioning and curtains that do little to keep out the light. Four large wooden sandboxes engraved with women's names were pictured on the property, along with a shed complete with a barber's chair and boxes filled with whips, collars and other sex instruments. Magistrate Vivien Swain refused Davis bail. He will next appear in a Sydney court in May. HISTORY THE EMPEROR'S FEAST by Jonathan Clements (Hodder 25, 320 pp) British cuisine may have its fair share of strange foods faggots, jellied eels and haggis, to name a few but when it comes to stomach-churning dishes, the Chinese are in a league of their own. Those of a squeamish disposition will need to steel themselves before embarking on The Emperors Feast, with its gruesome list of ingredients that includes tigers, dolphins, monkeys, pangolins and dogs, as well as a historical cast of blood-thirsty tyrants, lecherous emperors and scheming concubines. Jonathan Clements explores the history of Chinese food in a fascinating book, revealing the cuisine did not begin to spread abroad until the 19th century (file image) Much of what we know about early Chinese food comes from the Book Of Rites, compiled some 2,500 years ago and packed with details about royal banquets, seating arrangements and table etiquette. It contains a list of exhortations, such as: Do not keep picking the teeth . . . do not crunch the bones with the teeth. Food hygiene was also strictly enforced: one unfortunate royal servant was sentenced to death for dishing up undercooked bear paw. By the 7th century AD, when China started trading with Central Asian states, meals became increasingly elaborate, with centrepieces like the Musical Troupe, a 70-piece orchestra made of pastries. Most extravagant were those of Empress Wu, during the Tang dynasty. An ambitious maid, Wu joined the emperors harem, then, as he lay on his deathbed, she seduced his son and married him. In 690 she declared herself the ruling empress, controlling China with an iron fist. Wu had a harem of 120 handsome youths, who egged her on in her love for outlandish food. Their ghastly culinary experiments included a donkey fed nothing but barbecue sauce and then roasted alive. By the 13th century, European travellers began to arrive in China. The most famous early explorer was the Venetian Marco Polo, who became a great favourite with the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan. Kublai attended many court banquets, which must have been deafening affairs his musicians would play a fanfare every time he took a swig of his drink. Grandson of the fearsome warrior Genghis Khan, he was so fat that he could barely lift himself off the dais where he sat lording it over everyone else. THE EMPEROR'S FEAST by Jonathan Clements (Hodder 25, 320 pp) During the Mongol era, from 1271 to 1368, Chinese food became a fusion of different cultures, with traditional Chinese dishes mixing with the exotic ingredients brought back along the Silk Road the trade route from China to the West. Chinese food did not begin to spread abroad until the 19th century, when men left China to try to earn their fortunes as labourers in the silver mines of Peru, the vineyards of California or the sugar plantations of Cuba. Some gambled everything on striking gold in the American West. They brought their own cooking style with them and, in Chinatowns across the world, the locals got their first opportunity to sample Chinese food. Many of these restaurants served very basic food, most often a random stew which became known as chop suey and was hugely popular, although no Chinese would eat it, according to a disapproving Chinese journalist who visited America at the turn of the century. Fortune cookies are also a foreign invention; originating in Japan, they were seized on by entrepreneurial restaurant owners as a gimmick for their non-Chinese customers. Today, there are Chinese restaurants and takeaways in just about every corner of the globe. In the U.S. there are more Chinese restaurants than branches of McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut combined. The speed of change in China in the past few decades has been dizzying. Now there are Western fast-food franchises all over the country although there is little sign that the sale of wild animals in the notorious wet markets has stopped, even though it was made illegal last year. The Emperors Feast is a terrific read and historian Jonathan Clements writes with erudition and humour about this vast, perplexing country. Its contradictions are neatly summed up in the Chinese name for a Big Mac: if youre ordering this in Mandarin, you need to ask for The Immense Tyrant Without Compare. Mom-to-Be Was Told to Have an Abortion but Pins Hopes on Miracle Insteadand Her Miracle Is Now 11 While pregnant with her daughter, Nataliia Martyniuki was shattered when doctors recommended she have an abortion. Amidst complications, her baby was not expected to survive, but Nataliia chose to place her faith in a miracle instead, and declined. Eleven years later, that miracle became a beautiful, thriving artist named Anna. I have learned to believe in miracles and expect them, even in difficult circumstances, Nataliia, from Ukraine, told The Epoch Times. Every child is special, its no question, but I could not expect that this baby under my heart would change my life so much! At 20-weeks gestation, Nataliia had visited her doctor, brimming with excitement. I loved my baby already despite the gender, she said, adding how she dreamed of a little girl! I dreamed of how I would teach her that all girls are princesses. I would also teach her to draw, to play with colors like instruments. When Nataliias doctor became concerned, she suggested getting a second opinion from a specialist. If he proves my diagnosis, dont waste time; there are no chances for life, Nataliia recalled her saying. The would-be mom was told the babys kidneys were covered in cysts, her abdomen distended, and bladder not visible. She was told that the best outcome to expect would be that her baby would survive birth, yet die soon after. But it will suffer, the specialist added, according to Nataliia. Make an appointment for an abortion. She was devastated. But she did not follow through with their advice. Instead, she turned to her faith for guidance. I remembered the passage from the Bible in Luke 1:37, For with God nothing shall be impossible, she shared. So, the mom-to-be turned her focus toward the due date. (Illustration Paul shuang/Shutterstocks) A natural birth would be too risky to have Anna, owing to the size of the babys abdomen, doctors said eventually, and so they prepared for a caesarean section. After birth, Anna did not die. She spent a week in intensive care and left the hospital with an official diagnosis of bilateral polycystic kidneys, requiring weekly urine tests, monthly monitoring of creatinine levels, and immediate hospitalization in the case of poor results. I was terrified when I saw her huge belly, Nataliia recalled. I was afraid to hurt her I had this weird feeling that I was able to teach other mothers how to take care of their babies, and didnt know how to take care of my own. Once again, the new moms faith allowed her to focus on the positives. Anna took her first steps at the age of 2. A shy, quiet child, she quickly developed a love for books and painting, just as her mother had dreamed. Numerous trips to different hospitals in different countries followed, but the mom-daughter duo persisted. It was not easy, but I was happy I had chosen life, Nataliia reflected. Anna, now 11, paints cheerful, dazzling pictures for display in hospital childrens wards. For an exhibition of her work, she chose the slogan We pray to live, we live to create. Today, Nataliia homeschools her daughter and runs an art club, Art Princesses, where Anna teaches a student of her own, another budding artist named Darynka, who uses a wheelchair and wields her paintbrush in her mouth. Nataliia also conducts Sunday School lessons at church alongside her daughter, and helps other moms publish their very own experiences of miracles. The story of Anna was immortalized in Dont Tell Nonsense! I Am a Miracle of God!, a book in Ukrainian which may soon be published in English. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Northeast Ohio steelhead trout fishing streams are all filled with spawning fish right now, but the low, clear waters are foiling fishermen. The trout are hunkered down in the deep pools in the rivers, and are very wary of noisy wading anglers. Fresh runs of trout are also staging around the mouths of the Lake Erie tributaries, waiting for the rains that will facilitate swimming upstream. Hopefully, Thursdays rains will trigger a bit of a fishing frenzy along the waterways from the Vermilion River to Conneaut Creek. If the rains kick up the river levels and muddy the streams, another fairly dry spell is in the forecast and the good trout fishing will quickly return. Because of the good numbers of staging steelhead trout, anglers are finding success around the mouths of the rivers and streams and from harbor piers. Some are casting from shore with small spoons and in-line spinners, as well as working a marabou jig baited with maggots or minnows under a float. With the harbor launch ramps now open, small boat fishermen are trolling small diving plugs in the lower waters of the rivers and along the Lake Erie shoreline. Silver and blue have been the predominant lures colors. Metroparks splurge on rainbow trout: The popular spring stocking of rainbow trout by the Cleveland Metroparks arrived last Monday, when park officials poured a hefty 1,200 pounds of fish into the East Branch of the Rocky River. The foot-long trout give a lot of local trout fans the chance to catch a fish from the smaller waters between Route 82 in Strongsville northerly to almost Wallace Lake in Berea. The trout will chase a small spinner or spoon, nibble marabou jigs tipped with maggots or, for fly fishermen, take a small nymph, streamer or egg pattern. One of the most popular areas for locals, though, is out of action right now. The park removed the aging dam at the Bonnie Park Picnic Area, located off Valley Parkway in Mill Stream Run Reservation, just off Pearl Road in Strongsville. A lot of local fishermen relished sitting on the banks of Bonnie Park to socialize and fish for trout. The river bank reconstruction is still too fragile to accommodate fishermen. Size a surprise for steelheaders: Most steelhead trout anglers are catch-and-release fishermen. The trout that run the Northeast Ohio rivers to spawn will return to Lake Erie afterward to feed all summer, and run the rivers again the following year to spawn. Salmon, which were once released in the Lake Erie watershed, spawn and then die. While the size of Ohios steelhead trout seemed to decline a bit in recent years, this years trout run has given up some spectacular trophies, said aquatic specialist Mike Durkalec of the Cleveland Metroparks. The big story this year has been the size of the steelhead trout were seeing caught, said Durkalec. A 30-inch trout had become a rare creature, but this year were seeing many more of them than ever. Weve got a world class steelhead trout fishery in Ohio, and now anglers are catching more world class steelhead trout. Spring trout transfusions scheduled: The Ohio Division of Wildlife hatcheries will be sending foot-long rainbow trout to ponds and inland lakes all around Ohio in the coming month, and among the first waters to receive a trout transfusion will be Forest Hill Pond in East Cleveland and Shadow Lake in the South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Theyll receive the bonus trout the week of April 2. Punderson Lake in Geauga County and Silver Creek Lake in Summit County get trout the week of April 9. Hinckley Lake in Medina County, Little Turtle Pond in Summit County, Clevelands Ohio & Erie Canal, and Painesville Recreation Park and Veterans Park, both in Lake County, get trout the week of April 16. For other Ohio trout stockings, visit the ODOW website at wildlife.ohiodnr.gov. ARISS ham station in Columbus module is once again operational Some 6 weeks after going silent following a spacewalk that installed new antenna cabling, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) ham station in the Columbus module is once again operational. The Columbus station, which typically uses the callsign NA1SS, is the primary ARISS amateur radio station used for school contacts and other activities. A January 27 spacewalk replaced a coax feed line installed 11 years ago with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. While the specific cause of the problem has not yet been determined, a March 13 spacewalk that restored the antenna cabling to its original configuration provided the cure. The plan to return the ARISS cabling to its original configuration had been a "contingency task" for a March 5 spacewalk, but the astronauts ran out of time. The ARISS work was appended to the to-do list for astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Victor Glover, KI5BKC, to complete a week later. "On behalf of the ARISS International Team, our heartfelt thanks to all who helped ARISS work through the cable anomaly investigation, troubleshooting, and ultimate repair," ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said. Bauer praised NASA, the ESA, Airbus, and ARISS-Russia lead Sergey Samburov, RV3DR. While the Columbus ham station was off the air, ARISS school and group contacts were able to continue using the ham station in the ISS Service Module on the Russian side of the station. During the weekend spacewalk, Hopkins swapped out a cable for the Bartolomeo commercial payload-handling platform that had been installed in series with the ARISS VHF-UHF antenna feed line, returning the ARISS system to its pre-January 27 configuration. Hopkins raised a question concerning a sharp bend in the cable near a connector, but no further adjustments were possible. On March 14, ARISS was able to confirm the operation's success when Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) signals on 145.825 MHz were heard in California, Utah, and Idaho as the ISS passed overhead. ARISS team member Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, was able to digipeat through NA1SS during the pass. With additional confirmation from stations in South America and the Middle East, ARISS declared the radio system operational again. Work during the March 13 spacewalk also made Bartolomeo operational. "Yesterday was a great day for all!" Bauer exulted. "Ad astra!" ARRL Secured long-term loan facility agreement in the amount of USD 35.3 million Tankerska Next Generation Shipping Joint Stock Company (hereinafter: the Company) has signed a long-term loan facility agreement in an aggregate amount of USD 35.3 million. The loan agreement was concluded with the current creditor ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for a loan tenor of 5 years. The Company will utilize the majority of funds for the early repayment of the existing loan facility of the same creditor maturing in January 2022, which partly financed M/T Velebit, M/T Vinjerac and the purchase of newbuilding M/T Pag during 2015. The remaining funds will be invested in the above-mentioned vessels in order to maintain their high level of competitiveness. The signing of this financial arrangement confirms the Companys recognized position in the international banking market and provides continuous cooperation with a prominent international creditor who has placed its trust with the Company and recognized it as a reliable and long-term partner. Following its strategy of maintaining financial stability and liquidity, the Company has now fully implemented the plan to refinance its credit liabilities maturing in 2021 and 2022. By concluding this financial arrangement, in addition to the one previously finalized in late 2020, the Company has now secured competitive refinancing for the whole fleet for the upcoming five-year period. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! analysis Nairobi Months to a possible referendum to amend the country's Constitution and next year's General Election, electoral processes have been singled out as one of the major drivers of violent extremism in Kenya. It is a complex situation coupled by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has led to an economic meltdown, with thousands losing their jobs, while those still working, are retained on reviewed salaries. Officials at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) said political statements by politicians pushing a certain narrative have ended up radicalizing a section of Kenya's population. "We are engaging politicians," an official at the National Counter Terrorism Centre told Capital News. Other factors include integrity issues with the voting process that leave a section of the population disgruntled with an outcome they do not believe in. Notably, the country's political landscape is ethnically driven rather than issue based. Already, the National Counter Terrorism Centre has raised alarm over a growing wave of extremism in the country, specifically between March 2020, when the pandemic struck the country. Other drivers of violent extremism in Kenya as captured in a guideline on Child Safety and Security Against Violent Extremism (CSSAVE) for basic education institutions are violent resource competition, ethnic tensions, poverty, indoctrination and terrorism. "This is the first of its kind guide book in the world," NCTC Acting Director Joseph Opondo told Capital News. Kenya has for years bore the brunt of the ugly face of terror posed by the Al-Qaida linked Al-Shabaab terror group and while the group has continued to launch small pockets of attacks along the border towns, the country has enjoyed some relative calm this year. In 2013, the terror group killed 67 people during a 4-day terror attack at the Westgate Mall, in April 2015, the group killed 148 innocent students in Garissa University and in January 2019, some 21 people were killed during the 14 Riverside Complex attack. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Governance Conflict By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "To keep the tempo of attacks, groups like Al-Shabaab need to continually recruit and build a base of sympathy. A bulk of these efforts are aimed at the young; they exploit "push" factors such as inequality, marginalization, unemployment, weak family ties and extremist religious indoctrination," reads the report. Other "pull" factors worsening the situation according to the report include peer pressure, perceived material incentives, desire for revenge, ideology and negative internet and media influence. "Violence is often fueled by extremist positions held by opposing parties, whether individuals, groups or community," the report states. The report warns of plans by terror groups to recruit students, including those in secondary and university, through inducement and radicalisation. Kenya has recently witnessed high-level of indiscipline among students, a worrying trend that has since been documented by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC). The perturbing wave of learners' unrest between August 2016 and 2017, while this year, cases of students attacking teachers, in some cases attempted murder, have been reported. This, the report warns, provides a fertile recruitment ground for extremist groups and criminal gangs like Gaza, China Squad, Chinkororo, Sungu Sungu, Mungiki among others. "These diverse criminal actors seek to recruit students through inducement and radicalisation. Such practices interfere with curriculum delivery, lowers access to education and undermine teacher's authority in instilling school discipline," Opondo said. Scientists have created a model of an early human embryo that will revolutionise research into the causes of early miscarriage, infertility and the study of early human development. The team of scientists led by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia have generated the model and research is published in Nature. According to the study, the discovery is a breakthrough for future study of early human development and infertility. The research led by Professor Jose Polo from Monash University has successfully reprogrammed these fibroblasts or skin cells into a 3-dimensional cellular structure. They are morphologically and molecularly similar to human blastocysts. These are called 'iBlastoids'. Professor Polo said iBlastoids will help the scientists in the study of human development and causes of infertility and congenital diseases. He said, iBlastoids will allow scientists to study the very early steps in human development and some of the causes of infertility, congenital diseases and the impact of toxins and viruses on early embryos - without the use of human blastocysts and, importantly, at an unprecedented scale, accelerating our understanding and the development of new therapies. In the process, the researchers changed the cellular identity of human cells that they placed in 3D 'jelly' scaffold known as an extracellular matrix. According to the study, iBlastoids model the overall genetics and architecture of human blastocysts. This includes inner cell mass like structure made up of epiblast like cells surrounded by an outer layer of trophectoderm-like cells and a cavity that resembles the blastocoel. In human embryos, the epiblast develops into the embryo proper while the trophectoderm develops into placenta. An iBlastoid is not generated by an egg or sperm. In the study, lead author on Nature paper Dr. Xiaodong(Ethan Liu) said when the data together pointed out the same thing, we could believe "that we had made such a discovery". Co-first author and PhD student in the Polo Lab, Jia Ping Tan said, Data-driven transit advocacy, with a side of cloud A National Science Foundation-supported program seeks to ease the use of Baltimores public transit system for low-income residents. With a grant from NSF and additional support from CloudBank, another NSF-funded initiative, Vanessa Frias-Martinez, an associate professor at the University of Maryland, is working to put data collection in the hands of residents to enable self-advocacy. In response to longtime complaints about late buses and other transportation problems, Frias-Martinez proposed to build a toolkit, which is basically a mobile app and a dashboard, she said. The mobile app will allow residents to collect data about their door-to-door mobility patterns, so its kind of a digital diary. When residents leave home to use public transit, they start collecting data about their trip on the phone. During the journey, the app asks about their perception of the quality of the service theyre receiving. At the same time, Frias-Martinezs team collects real-time information from the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and data on how long the trip took. Using artificial intelligence algorithms, all the data is analyzed and presented on a dashboard. The goal is for participants to use the data to support their claims in meetings with MTA and Baltimore City Department of Transportation representatives. Ultimately, that data-driven advocacy could effect changes to the transit system, said Frias-Martinez, who leads the universitys Urban Computing Lab. We want to collect the data that will allow them to back these types of assertions about lateness or routes that dont go where jobs are, she said. If we have data from multiple residents from multiple neighborhoods in Baltimore City, and they can show with the data that thats whats happening, we felt that would give them a stronger argument in those conversations. Ultimately, Frias-Martinez said she hopes to have a toolkit that other cities and even state governments could adopt. The main outcome of this project will be to test whether these types of tools are actually useful for what we think they might be useful for, which is collecting data that will allow neighbors, residents to back their advocacy efforts, she said. In our proposal, we said that the software were going to design was going to be open source, then other cities and other departments of transportation could use it. Her team is partnering with five local university researchers and two organizations to identify participants. One is the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, which oversees public housing, and the other is the Central Maryland Transport Alliance, a public transit advocacy group. Theyre also working with CloudBank, a facilitation service to help researchers access and use public clouds. It went into production in August, about two months before Frias-Martinez received her grant. Both are four-year initiatives. The primary purpose of CloudBank is to support researchers who get NSF awards through other solicitations that have requested cloud resources, said Mike Norman, director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center and a physics professor at the University of California-San Diego. Modeled after a commercial bank, CloudBank holds grant funds on accounts and pays them to cloud providers based on customers usage. When researchers win an NSF grant that requires cloud access, the funds requested for cloud resources go to CloudBank, which works with Strategic Blue, a U.K.-based company that helps organizations procure cloud services. Strategic Blue pays the cloud providers for usage, and researchers can see their rates at the CloudBank online portal. Currently, only NSF Computing and Information Science and Engineering directorate solicitations may use CloudBank. Frias-Martinez is the first -- and so far only -- researcher taking this route. Norman said he expects more projects to take advantage of CloudBank when NSF makes more awards at the end of the fiscal year. Another way into CloudBank is through CloudBank Enterprise, Norman added. It facilitates a conversation between an institution and Strategic Blue about cloud infrastructure onboarding. A third aspect is CloudBank for the classroom. Instructors fill out a form on the CloudBank website and ask to have a data hub spun up in the cloud for their courses. Students and instructors can click a link, and all course material will be pulled into CloudBank. About six customers use CloudBank this way now. The idea is that these universities who may or may not have current relationships with the cloud providers, would like to take advantage of our financial engineering, Norman said. By and large, scientists dont use the cloud for their computations. They use resources under their desk or they use campus resources. Theres an aspect of this project of evangelizing the value of the cloud and getting adoption. Frias-Martinez said her project will use CloudBank for its duration. Benefits include having one point of communication for all cloud needs, including understanding or disputing charges or engineering help. I think in the long run, we will also save money, she added, because for some of the services that the project is running, CloudBank has suggest less expensive options. CloudBank works with all of the major cloud providers: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, which is what the Baltimore project uses. She hopes other researchers take advantage of CloudBank. Working with cloud services is a lot of work. It has a really steep learning curve, and my hypothesis is that a lot of researchers try not to use it because its hard to learn and use, she said. If they knew theres CloudBank to provide this type of support, I think more people would be encouraged to develop technologies together with them. It might be a matter of not knowing that the service is there. BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese regulators recently summoned 11 domestic technology including Group, Tencent and for talks on use of 'deepfake' technologies on their content platforms, stepping up scrutiny of the sector. China's cyberspace administrator said in a statement on Thursday that it and the public security ministry met with the to talk about potential problems with deepfake technologies. Kuaishou Technology and Xiaomi Corp also attended the meeting, it said. All the did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic but fake videos or audios where a person appears to say or do something they did not. has increased scrutiny of its internet giants in recent months, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour and potential infringement of consumer rights. Regulators also told the companies to "conduct security assessments on their own" and submit reports to the government when they plan to add new functions or new information services that "have the ability to mobilize society", the statement said. (Reporting by Yingzhi Yang and Tony Munroe; Additional reporting by Josh Horwitz in Shanghai and Pei Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) (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.) Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. SAN ANTONIO -- March 18, 2021 -- Working with a team led by French astronomers, Southwest Research Institute scientists helped identify incredibly powerful winds in Jupiter's middle atmosphere for the first time. The team measured molecules exhumed by the 1994 impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 to trace winds in excess of 900 miles per hour near Jupiter's poles. Jupiter's distinctive red and white bands of swirling clouds allow scientists to track winds in the planet's lower atmosphere, and the SwRI team members have particular expertise in the vivid Jovian aurora, associated with strong winds in the gas giant's upper atmosphere. Until now, wind patterns in the cloudless stratosphere, between the two atmospheric layers, have eluded observation. "The team of astronomers led by Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB) in France had to get creative," said SwRI's Dr. Vincent Hue, co-author of an Astronomy & Astrophysics paper describing this research. "They followed fallout from that long-ago comet impact to track molecular evidence, specifically hydrogen cyanide, to measure stratospheric 'jets' -- like Earth's jet streams -- on Jupiter." The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope facility allowed scientists to measure stratospheric winds in what they refer to as a unique meteorological beast in our solar system for the first time. "The most spectacular result is the presence of strong jets, with speeds up to 400 meters per second (900 miles per hour), which are located under the auroras at the poles," said LAB's Thibault Cavalie, lead author of the paper. "The stratospheric jets could behave like a giant vortex with a diameter up to four times that of Earth," said co-author Bilal Benmahi, also of LAB. Previous studies predicted that upper-atmosphere winds would decrease in velocity and disappear well before reaching as deep as the stratosphere. The new ALMA data beg to differ, finding surprisingly strong stratospheric winds near Jupiter's pole. SwRI scientists study the Jovian aurora using the SwRI-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, providing their expertise in interpreting these measurements. Using 42 of ALMA's 66 high-precision antennas, the team measured the Doppler shift of hydrogen cyanide molecules -- tiny changes in the frequency of radiation emitted by the molecules -- caused by the winds in this region of the planet. "By measuring this shift, we were able to deduce the speed of the winds much like one could deduce the speed of a passing train by the change in the frequency of the train whistle," Hue said. In addition to the surprising polar winds, the team also used ALMA to confirm the existence of strong stratospheric winds around the planet's equator. The jets spotted in this part of the planet have average speeds of about 370 mph. "These findings also set the stage for similar yet more extensive measurements to be made by the JUICE mission and its Submillimetre Wave Instrument," said SwRI's Dr. Thomas Greathouse, another co-author, referring to the European Space Agency's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer. JUICE is expected to launch into space next year, carrying the next generation of SwRI's Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument. ### ALMA is an international astronomy facility -- managed by a partnership between the European Southern Observatory, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences of Japan -- in cooperation with the Republic of Chile where the array is located. For more information, watch the YouTube video at https:/ / youtu. be/ JPtsAVAFryo or https:/ / www. aanda. org/ 10. 1051/ 0004-6361/ 202140330 . STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Friends and family of the victim left paralyzed from the neck down from a horrific car crash will host a fundraiser Saturday for the woman and her daughter. Diana Petrone, former owner of Not Just Bagels in Dongan Hills, suffered her traumatic injuries following the Dec. 12 incident in New Springville, and is undergoing intensive physical therapy in-hospital, family friend Billy Contreras said Wednesday. Contreras and the organization he heads, Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), organized Saturdays family-friendly event, to be held at 155 Claypit Rd., site of the Low Riders Motorcycle Club clubhouse. Petrone is a BACA member. The event will be open to the public. Flyers advertise the fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Courtesy: Billy Contreras) Shes able to communicate, but she gets some very bad days,' Contreras said. Some days are tough for her, but her communication is good. This has been a tough road. Prosecutors allege that Petrone suffered her injuries after Robert Mustari, 48, intentionally drove the SUV she was a passenger in into a tree with the intention of causing them both harm. Mustari was able to walk away from the incident, and is currently on trial facing several felony charges, including attempted murder. His attorney previously told the Advance/SILive.com that it was a tragic car accident and nothing more. A breathalyzer found Mustari had a .09 blood alcohol content level over the legal limit to be operating a vehicle, authorities said. His next court date is April 9. Since the crash, BACA and Petrones family and friends have shown an ongoing outpouring of support, with Saturdays event being the latest. In a show of prayer and support for Petrone, they organized candlelight vigils outside Staten Island University Hospital during her stay there, and at Historic Richmondtown shortly after the crash. 11 Diana Petrone vigil An online fundraiser has raised almost $30,000 to date, with donations coming in consistently since the car crash occurred near the intersection of Travis Avenue and Forest Hill Road. Previously, Petrone was a long-time owner of Not Just Bagels in Dongan Hills and had worked to help her own business and the broader community recover after Superstorm Sandy decimated the Island. She worked 12 hours every day for two months to rebuild the popular Hylan Boulevard business after Hurricane Sandy, when the shop was submerged in about nine feet of water, wiping out all the equipment and inventory. She was honored with a Louis R. Miller Leadership Award in the Established Businessperson category in 2015 for her contributions to the borough. The best part of the job is making people happy and seeing smiles on their faces, she said at the time. Diana Petrone adds another tray of bagels to be cooked to a rack in this 2014 file photo. (Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)staten island advance The awards are co-sponsored by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Advance. Starting at 2 p.m., Saturdays event will feature live music, with the last band going on at around 9 p.m., along with food and raffles. Contreras asks that all attendees make a $20 donation at the door. He added that all proceeds will go to Diana and her daughter, and that the organizers will ask attendees to adhere to the proper coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines. While forecasts predict clear skies, there will be a rain date of April 10. Its a family-friendly event, Contreras said, stressing that he anticipates a great event, open to the community. [March 17, 2021] Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Market to Grow by USD 33.83 Billion during 2021-2025|Increasing Traffic Congestion and Road Accidents to Emerge as Key Driver |Technavio NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The intelligent transport system (ITS) market is expected to grow by USD 33.83 billion during 2021-2025, expanding at a CAGR of almost 10%. The report also throws light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market and the new opportunities and challenges market players can expect. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth. The report offers a detailed analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market in optimistic, probable, and pessimistic forecast scenarios. Download FREE Sample Report Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Market: Increasing traffic congestion and road accidents to drive growth. Growing urbanization and the ever-rising use of automobiles are intensifying traffic congestion. These factors are more prevalent in developing countries such as India and China than in developed countries. Increased disposable income is fueling automobile sales and urbanization in developing countries. Increased vehicle sales and the rising urban population in Asian countries have triggered road traffic congestion. Government organizations in developing countries implement ITS solutions to control traffic congestion. Improper traffic management is another major factor for the increasing traffic congestion and rising number of road accidents. With the increasing number of road accidents, the demand for smart traffic management systems (part of ITS solutions) is rising. The abovementioned factors drive the demand for ITS across the world. Is there any relief during this COVID pandemic? Download FREE Sample Report As per Technavio, the growing road freight logistics market will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2021-2025. Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Market: Growing road freight logistics market. Road freight logistics is one of the major application segments of the ITS. Road freight transport is witnessing moderate growth across the world. Increased trade has led to a rise in imports and export volumes, which is driving the demand for road freight logistics. With a rise in the number of vehicles, traffic and the number of fleets of freight operators have increased. Consequently, opeators in road freight logistics services, government organizations, and other related parties are demanding ITS. Hence, growth in road freight logistics is driving the demand for ITS. Vendors operating in the global ITS market have expanded their road freight logistics offerings to address the growing demand. These factors will drive the intelligent transport system (ITS) market over the forecast period. "The implementation of ITS solutions and the rising number of smart cities will further boost market growth during the forecast period", says a senior analyst at Technavio. Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Market: Major Vendors EFKON GmbH Hitachi Ltd. Kapsch TrafficCom AG Neology Inc. Q-Free ASA Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the intelligent transport system (ITS) market by application (Traffic management, Toll management, Automotive, and infotainment telematics, Public transport, and Others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA). The North America region led the intelligent transport system (ITS) market in 2021, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North America region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as growth in the number of smart connected devices. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and Gain competitive intelligence about market players. Track key industry trends, opportunities, and threats. Inform your marketing, brand, strategy, and market development. Download FREE Sample Report Related Reports on Information Technology Include: Global Satellite Phone Market- The satellite phone market is segmented by satellite type (GEO and LEO), geography (APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, and South America), and key vendors. To get extensive research insights: Download FREE Sample Report Global Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) Market- The industrial internet of things (IoT) market is segmented by end-user (manufacturing, energy and utilities, automotive and transportation, healthcare, and others), geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA), and key vendors. To get extensive research insights: Download FREE Sample Report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Market Challenges Market Drivers Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Report Page: https://www.technavio.com/report/intelligent-transport-system-market-industry-analysis View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intelligent-transport-system-its-market-to-grow-by-usd-33-83-billion-during-2021-2025increasing-traffic-congestion-and-road-accidents-to-emerge-as-key-driver-technavio-301249061.html SOURCE Technavio [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The President of the Kwara State Baptist Conference, Victor Dada, has said the missionaries are not fighting Muslims but the state government over the status of their grant-aided schools. The fact that they have helped us at one time or the other does not make them owner or co-owners of the schools. Christian missionaries are not fighting Muslims but the state government over their grant aided schools. Mr Dada, who is the leader of Baptist churches in Kwara and parts of Niger State, spoke on the lingering controversy surrounding the use of the Hijab by Muslim students in schools founded by Christian missions in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday. A lot of people have been misconstruing it as if the Christians and Muslims are fighting. We are not fighting Muslims, we are fighting the government the government that wants to forcefully take over our schools, our heritage, he said. They have been helping us and we are grateful to them. But for them to wake up overnight and say the schools are now public schools, thats the narrative we want to change. According to him, the government is reluctant to release the schools to the missionaries because they have built one classroom or the other and they are paying teachers salaries. The fact that they have helped us at one time or the other does not make them owner or co-owners of the schools. That is what we are saying, he told PREMIUM TIMES. When asked about the concerns over students who have been at home for more than three weeks because of the crisis, Mr Dada said that is the fault of the government and not of the churches. Posterity will judge the Kwara State government if they truncate the educational life of these students. Let the whole world tell the government of Kwara State to respect the rule of law. Mr Dada said the government should wait for the Supreme Court judgment on the ownership of the schools before taking any action. On the status of the churches appeal at the apex court, Mr Dada said no date has been fixed yet for the hearing. For nearly a month, the use of hijab in the grant-aided schools has generated a controversy amongst members of two religious communities in the state which later led to the closure of 10 schools. The affected schools are C&S College, Sabo-Oke; St. Anthonys Secondary School, Offa Road; ECWA School, Oja Iya; Surulere Baptist Secondary School, and Bishop Smith Secondary School, Agba Dam. Others are CAC Secondary School, Asa Dam road; St. Barnabas Secondary School, Sabo-Oke; St. John School Maraba; St. Williams Secondary School, Taiwo Isale, and St. James Secondary School, Maraba. The government had set up a committee to resolve the misunderstanding and later announced that the schools would resume on March 8 with willing female students allowed to use the hijab. The government, however, reconsidered the reopening order over safety concerns after some Christians rejected the governments decision. It later announced March 17 as the resumption date. Meanwhile, the controversy degenerated into a clash on Wednesday at Baptist Secondary School, Surulere. According to the Baptist leader, about 20 people including pastors were injured during the clash. ADVERTISEMENT PREMIUM TIMES also observed that the school gate and signpost were destroyed while the front of a nearby Baptist church was defaced. As of Thursday, out of ten schools, only ECWA Secondary School, Oja Iya, has resumed academic activities. Muslim leaders react The spokesperson of Muslim Stakeholders in Kwara State, Isiaq Abdulkareem, said those involved in the clash of Wednesday do not represent the Islamic group. They are just passers-by and members of the community who felt the use of hijab is the fundamental rights of students, Mr Abdulkareem said on Thursday. We will remain patient with the government because they told us they are on top of the situation, as people who cherish peace, he added. Mr Abdulkareem said the head covering is a symbol of faith which is harmless and does not hinder learning. The whole world has moved on. In a multicultural and religious society like this, you cannot say female students must not use hijab. Hijab is a symbol of faith and they are denying them. For Abubakar Aliagan, a professor of Islamic studies in the University of Ilorin, the government should take action to salvage the situation. I dont know why the government will give a directive and the Christian fundamentalists will decide to go against it. From what happened yesterday, it is clear who is fomenting trouble. The government needs to take action, he told our correspondent. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, however, said the police will not tolerate the reoccurrence of the Wednesday scenario. We will not allow such to repeat itself again. Anyone that breaks law and order will be arrested and duly prosecuted. It should be noted that the military government, in the 1970s, took over these schools from their owners. The schools, now grant-aided by the government, had their names changed, but some, like those in Kwara, retained their names. The missions in Kwara have challenged the government take-over of the schools in court but lost at the high court and appellate court. However, the missions, comprising different Christian denominations, have taken the case to the Supreme Court. UNIVERSITY College Dublin (UCD) has distanced itself from an anti-lockdown professor who spoke at and promoted a protest yesterday in Dublin. Professor Dolores Cahill, who is the chair of the Irish Freedom Party, created the Facebook event page for the Le Cheile Day protest in Herbert Park, which was promoted as being a demonstration highlighting mental health issues arising from the pandemic. Several hundred people attended the protest, where Prof Cahill spoke to the crowd. Read More Video footage on her Facebook page shows Prof Cahill speaking to the crowd through a microphone, saying that the globalists are enforcing the wearing of masks because oxygen-deprived people are easy to manipulate. If everybody just stopped wearing masks this would be over. The WHO has said that in the battle against Covid-19, masks should be used as part a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives. This lockdown is based on lies, Prof Cahill said, to cheers from the crowd. She said that it is a disgrace that our beautiful elderly people are locked up in nursing homes. She added that if people wanted to invite their grandparents for Sunday dinner, they can. Under Government guidelines, nursing home residents will soon be allowed to have visitors for a limited number of hours each week as part of the vaccine bonus. Asymptomatic people do not exist. They are healthy people, Prof Cahill said. Prof Cahill went on to say that children who wear masks in schools will never reach the IQ and job potential because their brains are starved of oxygen. There has been no evidence to support Prof Cahills claims about children wearing masks and IQ. UCD, which employs Ms Cahill and has a staff profile relating to her on its website, distanced itself from her comments. In a statement to Independent.ie, the university said it does not discuss individual staff members. It also said that Prof Cahill is not scheduled to teach students or co-ordinate modules this semester. "The views expressed by Dolores Cahill are her own. They do not reflect the position of the University, said a spokesperson. "Dolores Cahill is not scheduled to teach or coordinate modules this semester. The University does not discuss individual staff members. It said that the university continues to fully support the public health position taken by the Irish Government concerning Covid-19. This includes vaccination rollout, treatment for Covid-19 patients and societal restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, the spokesperson added. A new dental office in the Camp Hill area will be exclusively for children. The Verber Dental Group plans to open a new pediatric dentistry office, Cumberland Valley Pediatric Dentistry in May at 201 St. Johns Church Road in Hampden Township at the former BB&T building. Inspired by the struggle many young patients experience in finding specialized dental care in the area, the practice is the latest effort by the Verber Dental Group to build a local dental health system, the company said in a press release. The facility will include eight dental suites along with interactive spaces for kids to enjoy, the dental group said. The facility will also have tooth fairy booth with deposit tubes, a photo wall and more. Dr. Jacqueline Caster, a Mechanicsburg native, will be the managing dentist. Caster, who has a pharmacy degree and a doctor of dental medicine degree, completed a general practice residency at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Illinois and a pediatric dentistry residency program at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine while serving as chief resident her last year. Pictured is the rendering of the future Cumberland Valley Pediatric Dentistry. (Provided) The dental group said that the project is expected to cost $1.5 million. Dentistry has traditionally been a cottage industry, Verber Dental Group CEO Dr. Michael Verber said in the press release. This fragmented landscape has presented challenges to patients who need interdisciplinary care, specialized attention, or advanced technology. CVPD is an important addition to our integrated network because it allows our doctor owned practices to provide the youth in our community with more access to high quality dentistry. Laura Martin of SVN Latus Commercial Realty represented Golden Molar Real Estate, an affiliate of Verber Family Dentistry in the purchase of the property. Verber Family Dentistry was founded in 1974 by Dr. Stephen Verber on Main Street in Mechanicsburg and in 1994 the practice relocated to Market Sreet in Hampden Township. Verber Family Dentistry expanded and renovated that location in 2013. --Business Buzz You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like him on Facebook. Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged the National Assembly to fast track legislation that would allow Nigerians in Diaspora to vote in the 2023 general elections. In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday, Moghalu, the 2019 Presidential Candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) said allowing Nigerians in Diaspora to vote would give them a higher sense of belonging. Diaspora voting is the ability of people who are outside their home country when an election takes place to exercise their right to vote. Moghalu who is also the Convenor of To Build A Nation (TBAN) said Nigerians must have the ability to vote from abroad as was the case in Ghana and many other countries. "Nigerians living and earning their living abroad is not a crime. It is their right. Their citizenship shouldn't be denigrated because of where they live. "Every country has a diaspora, some at leisure (people who just want to live in foreign lands), others by force of circumstances (economic migration)," he said. He noted that fast-tracking the constitutional review to accommodate diaspora voting now would give INEC enough time to fine-tune the process. "2023 may seem far but is by the corner especially for INEC as it needs ample time to register and accommodate every eligible Nigerian living abroad to be part of the voting process. "If the Central Bank of Nigeria can woo diaspora remittances, we need to woo their votes too," he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, in October 2020, urged the National Assembly to amend sections of the Constitution and the Electoral Act (2010 as amended) to enable Nigerians abroad to vote. Mahmood had opined that INEC believed that Nigerians living outside the country should have the right to vote as citizens interested in the affairs of their own country. He said many of them made considerable contributions to the economy through huge financial inflow to the country, and that Diaspora voting remained consistent with global best practices. Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, in October 2020, had visited the leadership of INEC to make a case for Nigerians in Diaspora to be part of the electoral process and to exercise their franchise. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Sen. Rose Oko, chairman of the committee, advised the commission to consider enabling Nigerians in Diaspora to vote. She assured that the committee would do everything possible to facilitate the amendment of the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to accommodate people living outside the country in the electoral process. NAN also reports that the House of Representatives on December 2020, passed for third reading, a proposed Bill on Diaspora voting in subsequent elections in the country. The Bill sponsored by Rep. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe and 15 others, sought to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, Cap. 23 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. The bill sought to amend section 77 Subsection (2) of the Principal Act to now read "Every citizen of Nigeria, who has attained the age of 18 years residing within or outside Nigeria at the time of registration of voters for purposes of election to a Legislative house, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for that election. Vanguard News Nigeria A GARDA believed she was going to die as her businessman husband "strangled" her on the kitchen floor of their home during a domestic attack, a court heard. Mother-of-one Meihan Meng said she had to use her fingers to tap the floor to show husband Kai Zhu she could not breathe as he choked her during a row. Kai Zhu (39), an importer of vital PPE equipment during the pandemic, has admitted assaulting her but disputes the extent of the violence and maintains his wife "started this" by hitting him with a child's chair. A former personal trainer, he told investigating gardai: It was a domestic fight, I didnt realise it was so serious. In China it is common." Expand Close Meihan Meng pictured leaving Dublin Circuit Court / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meihan Meng pictured leaving Dublin Circuit Court Judge Karen O'Connor adjourned sentencing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Zhu pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to his wife, and criminal damage to a phone at their then home at Sallymount Avenue, Ranelagh, on May 14 last year. Garda Oliver McStravick told the court Ms Meng said in a statement she arrived home that morning following a lengthy work shift needing sleep and asked her husband to take their daughter out to play. He was "ignoring" her as he prepared food in the kitchen and she called his mother in China on Facetime. She asked Zhu what was wrong with him and he turned around and slapped her across the face, she said, before punching her five to six times. She said he used his left hand to choke her against a press while slapping and punching her with his right hand. Ms Meng said she blacked out after one of the blows and told Zhu you have just punched me six times, why are you so angry?" Expand Close Kai Zhu / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kai Zhu He then lifted her up holding her neck, she said, and kept punching her face as he dragged her to the living room, where he pushed her down on the floor and started hitting her again. He dragged her back to the kitchen and tried to close the door, she said. He got on top of her, slapped her face and she felt a sharp pain and lost her hearing. His mother was still on Facetime and the accused grabbed the phone and smashed it. Ms Meng told gardai when Zhu was choking her she thought she was going to die because it was done so hard. A medical report stated she had contusions, bruising and swelling to her face and clinical signs of a fracture to the base of the skull, but this did not show up in a CT scan. There was also a reference to attempted compression of the neck, diminished hearing and psychological distress. In interview, Zhu said it was a small home, they were both under stress and an altercation started "because of trivial family issues. He said his wife hit him with their childs chair and he got angry and started to fight with her. He said he slapped her on the mouth, she grabbed his collar, he slapped her again and she punched his eye. He slapped her maybe 10 times and did not intend to hurt her, he said. He said it was just slaps and denied choking her, saying he put his arm on her chest to push her away. If I were to punch her it wouldnt look like this, I was a personal trainer back in China, he said of photos of her injuries. He accepted he threw the phone on the ground because he did not want his mother to see them fight. In a victim impact statement, Ms Meng said the assault was life-threatening, frightening, unfamiliar and scary. She said Zhu used his two hands to strangle her until she lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes, he was still on top of me with one hand gripped around my neck, she said. I believed I would be dead, plain and simple, as I could only see all red and black from my eyes and I could barely breathe. I used my fingers to tap the floor to indicate to him that I could not breathe. When taken to hospital she said she had clearly visible fingermarks around her neck and face. After the assault I was questioning myself about where did I go wrong, and why he would hate me so much, she said. Ms Meng said she had difficulty sleeping, had nightmares and lost 20kg in weight. She said she was still in a lot of fear but was strong and independent and I refuse to live my life as a victim of him. Defence barrister Keith Spencer said Zhu was remorseful and can only apologise for his completely disproportionate actions but was adamant that he did not start the physical altercation. Zhu had been importing PPE for use in the pandemic, had spent three weeks in custody after his arrest, and his life had been destroyed but he was trying to rebuild it. The relationship had now irretrievably broken down. Mr Spencer said the times conspired to bring this about and the incident happened in a situation that many families find themselves in at the moment- -confined to a small physical space, irritable and frustrated. This erupted into a situation that should never have occurred," he said. The hearing continues next Wednesday. PEOPLE Former DIA director joins Deep Water Point The former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashely, has joined the consulting firm Deep Water Point as a principal. Hell support the companys defense and intelligence business. Ashely retired from as director of DIA in 2020 and had a 36-year military career that included leadership positions in operational combat, intelligence, global security, cybersecurity and risk management. Deep Water Point has a track record of recruiting top civilian and military leaders to its consulting practice, including deputy commanding generals, the commanding general of the Army Special Operations Command and the former chief of staff of U.S. Cyber Command. "Providing exceptional service to our clients requires us to recruit and sustain the best people industry and government have to offer," said Howard Seeger, Deep Water Point's managing partner, in a press release. "General Ashley will be joining a very strong team of former senior government, military, and industry executives who understand the market and provide real value to our clients. During this pandemic Britons have returned in their droves to their favourite comforting pastime: baking. Last year we made a billion loaves of bread, while visits to the BBC Food website soared by 74 per cent and The Great British Bake Off enjoyed record-breaking viewing figures in September. Now, as The Great Celebrity Bake Off is enlivening our Tuesday nights once more, avid bakers can even subscribe to a Bake Off subscription box, 2021s answer to our obsession with cake. At long last, after a decade of watching contestants whipping up meringues, cutting out cookies and turning out sensational showstoppers on screen, you too can become a Star Baker from the comfort of your own home. Sarah Rainey (pictured) gives her verdict on a selection of recipes from the Bake Off subscription box The makers of the beloved series have created a monthly package, containing dry ingredients, a recipe card and a bespoke piece of baking equipment, all developed by experts behind the show. At 19.99 a box, its not cheap, but its the closest we home bakers might ever get to that coveted gingham tent, without the stress of competition and those cutting comments from Paul and Prue. It sounds ideal, and early reviews from former contestants are glowing. Peter Sawkins, the 2020 champion, says he audibly squealed when he received the box, which has also been praised by 2020 finalist Laura Adlington, and 2018 winner Rahul Mandal. So does it live up to the hype? As a lifelong baker who has even made a cake for Mary Berry, Ive got high expectations to say the least. To put the recipes to the test, Im sent three sample boxes. And when they arrive at my door, bearing that familiar logo, it feels as comforting as an old friend. CHOCOLATE CAKE First up is a signature chocolate cake, swirled with ganache and covered with fresh raspberries, which eagle-eyed fans will recognise from the opening credits of the series. While the box contains dry ingredients and the recipe, youll need your own baking equipment: cake tins, greaseproof paper, wooden spoons, a whisk and weighing scales are a must. Sarah admits she was disappointed by the long list of extra ingredients she had to source herself to make chocolate cake The recipe looks straightforward, and theres a nice bamboo cake stand included in the box, but Im disappointed at the long list of extra ingredients I have to source myself milk, oil, eggs, butter, cream and raspberries which comes to more than 10. All thats in the box is a flour sachet containing weighed-out flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, some caster sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate drops, which seems a bit mean. I start by lining two cake tins, mixing the dry and wet ingredients and then baking the sponge for 35 minutes. Once cooled, I make a ganache otherwise known as thick icing from cream and chocolate, and swirl this over the top and sides in an artistic fashion. All thats left is to top the cake with raspberries the recipe says 300g, but I need far more and marvel at my mouth-watering creation. I last about 30 seconds before digging in. It tastes utterly delicious: moist, melt-in-the-mouth sponge with an indulgent topping. BANANA LOAVES Sarah said her banana loaves didn't look as pretty as the ones in the photographs, but were full of fruity flavour While many home bakers might have had their fill of banana bread from the first lockdown, the second box contains the ingredients you will need for a batch of miniature banana and walnut loaves. I get sugar, a flour sachet, icing sugar, dried banana chips and walnuts. The box creators have also included a silicone tray, which is handy if, like me, you dont have cupboards full of equipment. This time there arent nearly as many extra ingredients for my shopping list just bananas, butter and eggs and I get started by mashing the bananas and whisking in the rest of the ingredients. There are clear, concise instructions and overhead photographs to show whats going on in the bowl at each stage. Once baked in the oven for 30 minutes, the loaves are easy to pop out of the moulds and I let them cool before topping with buttercream and decorating with chopped nuts and banana chips. Mine dont look half as pretty as the ones in the pictures, but theyre full of fruity flavour. LEMON SLICES This recipe is for the sort of classic, homely bake Mary Berry would approve of. And although it looks tasty, its a little simple for me I dont need an expensive subscription to teach me to make a traybake. Sarah said the recipe options are all reasonably bland, boring cakes that aren't great for those with more ambition The box contains flour, sugar, fondant icing, a pot of lemon curd and candied lemon slices. I stock up on butter, eggs and milk, whisk the sponge ingredients together and use the zester included to grate peel from two lemons. Its quite a nifty gadget (a similar one at John Lewis is 15), so I feel like Im getting my moneys worth. While the sponge bakes, I make a lemony syrup, followed by fondant icing, both of which go on top of the cooled traybake. All thats left is a few flourishes with some candied lemon slices (also included), and my bake is done. Sharp and sweet, with a crumbly sponge and thick oozy icing, I cant deny they taste good but this ones a bit basic for a Hollywood handshake. THE VERDICT While the Bake Off Box does exactly what it says on the tin by offering simple, speedy and tasty recipes for home bakes, whats sorely missing is the creativity from the Bake Off contestants, who sadly seem to have had no input in the boxes content. We fans would have relished the opportunity to recreate the dazzling illusion cakes from series eight, or to attempt Nancys amazing windmill cake from series five. Instead, the options are all reasonably bland, boring cakes presumably intended to appeal to all ages and abilities but not great for those of us with a little more ambition. Saying that, at a time when we could all do with a bit of cheering up, a delivery of baking essentials to your door each month is a lovely treat. Is it worth 19.99 a pop? Probably not, but at least you can bake your way out of boredom. And as you still cant invite friends and family over yet . . . theres no option but to eat all the cakes yourself. BAKE IT YOURSELF KITS: BEST OF THE REST BOOZY DELIGHTS The BakedIn Baking Club, from 7.50 a month or 10 one-off, bakedin.co.uk Ideal for grown-up bakers, try your hand at mojito or espresso martini cupcakes with this postal kit. You get the dry ingredients, instructions and extras such as baking paper, as well as membership of an online club with the monthly subscription. CUPCAKES FOR KIDS Little Bakers, from 9 a month, littlebakers.co.uk Designed to teach children to bake, this contains weighed-out dry ingredients, step-by-step recipes and an activity card. Theres no minimum age and the subscription can be paused or cancelled at any time. Previous bakes include monster cupcakes, cake pops and flapjacks. COOKIES GALORE If I Knew You Were Coming, from 19.99 for 3 months, ifiknewyouwerecoming.co.uk If you're keen to master a particular bake, this is the box for you. You can choose from muffins, brownies or cookies and youll get recipes in the post. The box includes everything, except eggs, butter and milk, and suits all abilities. FOR ECO EXPERTS Honeywell Bakes, from 14.99 a month, honeywellbakes.com The ingredients arrive in recyclable packaging, and are probably for the more experienced bakes include pistachio macarons and bao buns, but there are kits for young bakers. FREE-FROM FAVES Bakd Cake, 15 per box, bakdcake.com These boxes are for bakers with allergies and are all gluten- and nut-free. You can choose from birthday cake, lemon drizzle or honeycomb crunch as a one-off kit. boxes include ingredients, instructions and a tin. U.S. SHOWSTOPPERS Mon Chic Baking Box, from 13.49 a month, monchicbakingbox.co.uk This box offers American bakes such as whoopie pies with a childrens option, extras and a gift. You can order as a one-off or a monthly subscription. Advertisement bakeoffbox.co.uk Sign up by April 1 to receive your first box in May. Business Reporter ProParco -- a private sector financing arm of Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), has extended US$25 million to Zimbabwe and the region's biggest seed producer -- Seed Co Group for its expansion in Africa. The seven-year support loan will go towards development of maize dryers in Zimbabwe and it's other operations in Africa. The loan will go a long way to improve farmers' production capacity, double harvest and address climate risk. According to ProParco, the loan is divided into two US$12,5 million tranches and will finance the seed giant's international expansion via a loan to Seed Co Zambia and the development of Seed Co Zimbabwe. "This loan will allow Seed Co to finance a corn dryer in Zimbabwe which will double the harvests of farmers (one in the summer and one in the winter) and help improve efforts to address the climate risk. "It will also allow the Group to increase its production capacity, in particular in Zimbabwe and Zambia, enter new markets (West Africa) and diversify its activity through the development of new types of seed -- vegetables, rice. "By supporting Seed Co Group, whose activity is improving food security in the region by helping to increase agricultural yields, ProParco is contributing to the development of the economic fabric of the region, job creation, the promotion of quality industrial facilities with high environmental and social standards and the adaptation of Sub-Saharan agriculture to climate change," said ProParco. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Company Zimbabwe By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Apart from mining, agriculture is central to the region's economies. In Zimbabwe and Zambia for instance, it employs 65 percent and 75 percent of the population, respectively, and accounts for 15 percent and 19 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It is estimated that over the next five years, a million more people in Zimbabwe and Zambia will have access to corn from Seed Co seeds. The group -- set up in 1940 in Harare before growing into a leading seed company in Africa selects -- produces and markets hybrid field seeds, including corn, wheat, soybean, sorghum, groundnuts, beans and cowpea. "The project should contribute to creating some 95 additional direct jobs and should support some 14 000 indirect jobs. "In terms of the climate, the installation of a corn drying unit by Seed Co will allow external farmers to harvest their wheat earlier in the year (May or June instead of September) and thereby considerably reduce losses due to disruptions in rainy seasons," said ProParco. ProParco has been working for 40 years to promote sustainable economic, social and environmental development. It supports companies and financial institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East whose activities contribute to job creating jobs and decent incomes, the provision of essential goods and services, and the fight against climate change. Buffalo Public Schools were forced to cancel remote learning Friday because of a ransomware attack, the district said. The attackers had not made any demands by late Friday afternoon as the FBI and district experts investigated. We are in the midst of an investigation to determine what has occurred, what is the scope of the problem, how much time will it take to fix it and what is required to fix it, Superintendent Kriner Cash said at a news conference. Schools have increasingly become targets of cyber attacks with the widespread adoption of education technology. The FBI has said schools are attractive targets because they hold sensitive data and provide critical public services. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Cyber K 12 remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in 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. STAMFORD A Norwalk man was busted with a loaded gun and high-capacity magazine following a weeks-long narcotics investigation, police said. Roy Wilson, 20, has been under investigation by Stamfords Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit since late February for a drug operation run out of his Norwalk home, Capt. Richard Conklin said. Based on the investigation, officers received three search warrants for Wilson, his car and his Norwalk home, which were executed on Monday. Wilson was arrested by police as he arrived at his job in the South End of Stamford, while Stamford police aided by Norwalk officers raided his home. Conklin said police recovered a 9 mm pistol for which he did not have a permit, an illegal high-capacity magazine, $540 in cash and an ounce of marijuana. As always, we are glad to get another illegal gun off the street, Conklin said. Wilson was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, carrying a pistol without a permit and possession of a high-capacity magazine. He was held on a $75,000 bond and given a court date of May 11. Mar. 18In the sometimes Byzantine world of the New Mexico Legislature, there might be nothing that rankles a lawmaker more than when their bill lingers in a committee, waiting days or even weeks for a hearing. Many delays are caused by the sheer number of bills lawmakers consider in a legislative session. More than 900 were introduced in this year's unprecedented 60-day session, held amid a pandemic that prompted remote proceedings and other precautions. But some holdups are intentional, two Democratic state lawmakers said in a virtual news conference Wednesday. Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Rep. Patricia Roybal-Caballero, both Albuquerque Democrats, accused Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat, of deliberately obstructing a pair of environmental-protection measures they believe he doesn't support. While disputes among lawmakers from the same party are not uncommon in the Legislature, it's rare for lawmakers to host a media event to air them. "The chair of judiciary has a lot of power in deciding which bills go forward," Sedillo Lopez said, speaking at an event with representatives of environmental advocacy groups, including WildEarth Guardians and Food & Water Watch. "Some chairs are power sharers and some are not," she added. Environmental advocates speaking at the news conference said there were at least 100 pieces of legislation awaiting a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee a critical stop for many measures aiming for a vote on the Senate floor. Cervantes did not respond to messages seeking comment on the accusations. Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, a member of the committee, defended its process. She said the committee "prides itself on getting bills right it's often the last stop." A logjam in the committee is "typical" at this point in the session, she said, with little time to get a measure to the finish line. Story continues The session ends at noon Saturday, heightening the sense of urgency at the state Capitol. Noting there were some 20 bills scheduled for the committee's Wednesday evening hearing, which was expected to go late into the night, Stewart said it's difficult to "do a good job vetting them in five or six hours. I don't know if that's even enough time." A pair of bills that would legalize recreational cannabis for adults a high-profile issue for this year's session were lingering at the bottom of the agenda. Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, another member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, agreed the bottleneck is usual at the session's end. "It's the legislative process," he said. "And just because you introduced legislation doesn't mean it's good legislation," he added. Asked if he thought Cervantes was deliberately delaying legislation, Moores said, "No, he's not holding up bills." At stake, Sedillo Lopez and the environmental groups said, are Senate Bill 149, which would impose a yearslong ban on new fracking operations, and Senate Joint Resolution 3, which would let voters decide on a change to the state constitution giving residents the right to clean air and water and a healthy environment. Sedillo Lopez is a co-sponsor of both of bills. Roybal-Caballero, another co-sponsor of SB 149, said committee chairpersons control agendas. If a bill doesn't fit within a chairperson's vision, she said, "then somehow ... it isn't given a priority on the agenda-setting process." Some environmental group leaders noted Cervantes receives campaign support from the New Mexico oil and gas industry. A 2020 Common Cause report said oil and gas businesses gave $12,250 to Cervantes' 2018 gubernatorial campaign and $5,450 to his 2020 campaign for state Senate. Margaret Wadsworth, a Food & Water Watch organizer, said, "There is no doubt this is influencing his scheduling bills in the committee." The same report said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales received close to $240,000 in oil and gas donations in that period. Sedillo Lopez said her efforts to find out why the environmental bills have not had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee have led nowhere. "You get little response or a very unsatisfactory response," she said. "There's a lot of 'pass the buck,' " she added, "and that's unsatisfactory, too. ... People say, 'Go to the chair, talk to the chair. You have to have consensus. We prioritize bills based on whether they're ready. We prioritize bills on whether they are divisive.' " Stewart said people call her every week to ask for help moving their bills through the process more quickly. She said she always tells them to call the committee chairperson. "There are way too many bills," Sedillo Lopez said. "... They created an environment in which they had to prioritize bills." During Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the committee members took about 75 minutes to debate and vote on the first bill. The committee then went through three or four House bills in quick succession, quickly voting to move them on without much debate. Cervantes, no doubt aware of the criticism, said to the House members virtually, of course "Whatever you've heard about this committee, it's just not true. We're very efficient!" By Cissy Makumbi Two students of St Josephs college Layibi in Gulu city were shot dead after they escaped from school. The deceased and eight others are senior four students who sneaked out of Layibi school and went to Bright Valley girls school from where the night guards opened live bullets. The deceased have been identified as Brian Okello and Emmanuel Okeny. According to the Gulu DPC Dickens Bindeeba, one of the students is currently nursing gun wounds at Lacor hospital while seven are currently detained at Gulu Central Police station. Bindeeba says preliminary investigations show that the students were shot at after the guards mistook them to be thieves. The motive behind the boys escape to the girls school is not yet known. Our reporter says the management of the two schools are currently engaged in a meeting and will soon come out with a final communication regarding the matter. A political analyst has told the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to deal with the emerging political violence in Lower Shire ahead of March 30 by-elections. Humphrey Mvula is tipping MEC to take a bold step in curbing spates of political violence ahead of the March 30 by-elections. This follows reports that four six people were injured in a political violence in Nsanje Central constituency on Sunday. MEC spokesperson, Sangwani Mwafulirwa has threatened that MEC will disqualify candidates whose supporters are perpetrating the violence. Six people have been seriously injured in political violence on Sunday during a highly charged campaign exercise in Nsanje central. The six are admitted to hospital after they sustained injuries during a fight between Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters. Meanwhile, Police in Nsanje have arrested two following a political violence which erupted in the area of Senior Chief Tengani on Sunday. Nsanje police Officer In-charge Senior Superintendent Seleman Mtambo has confirmed arresting Philip Chiku and Divason Meke on charges of assault occasioning causing actual bodily harm. It is alleged that the two assaulted a first group of people which was at Tengani police getting a police report after they were allegedly stoned at Tengani railway station on their way back from a political rally. Police say they have arrested two people following a political violence which erupted in the area of Senior Chief Tengani. Nsanje police Officer In-charge Senior Superintendent Seleman Mtambo has confirmed arresting Philip Chiku and Divason Meke on charges of assault occasioning causing actual bodily harm. It is alleged that the two assaulted a first group of people which was at Tengani police getting a police report after they were allegedly stoned at Tengani railway station on their way back from a political rally. The theory that Covid-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab has been abandoned by WHO experts investigating the origins of the pandemic, a Chinese scientist says. The joint WHO-Beijing panel is due to issue its politically sensitive report next week following a visit to Wuhan in January and February which raised further questions about China's transparency. The WHO says the report is not yet finished, but Liang Wannian, the head of the Chinese wing of the panel, told state media that the lab-leak theory had been deemed 'extremely unlikely' and would not be investigated further. 'Future virus origins-tracing missions will no longer be focused on this area, unless there is new evidence,' said Liang. He added that the findings were the 'consensus' of WHO and Chinese scientists - denying that the report was delayed because of disagreements between experts. Liang Wannian, the head of the Chinese wing of the expert panel, says experts have agreed that it is 'extremely unlikely' that the coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan lab The Wuhan Institute of Virology, pictured, has come under scrutiny since the virus was first identified in the Chinese city in December 2019 before spiralling around the world The highly-anticipated report is due to examine a range of theories about how the virus first jumped from animals to humans - with bats among the prime suspects. But Washington and others have touted theories that the outbreak was not caused by nature but by a leak or accident at a secretive Wuhan virology lab. The Trump administration claimed in its final days in office that some researchers at the lab had become sick in autumn 2019, before the first cases were confirmed. China has always denied these suggestions, and has sought to sow doubt about whether the virus originated in Wuhan at all. The WHO experts were tasked with finding answers but their mission to Wuhan was marred by claims of a cover-up by Chinese authorities. The UK and US both raised concerns about China's transparency during the WHO trip, which followed months of negotiations with Beijing. Liang, the Chinese expert leading Beijing's side of the panel, rejected the US claims by saying that no infections had been found earlier than December 2019. Asked whether the report was delayed because experts disagreed, Liang said the results of the joint study 'are the consensus of Chinese and foreign experts'. Members of the WHO's expert panel arrive to visit a museum exhibition about China's fight against Covid-19, on a visit which raised doubts about China's transparency 'We want to present a complete, rigorous and scientific report at the maximum level, so this process takes some time,' he told the state-run Global Times. 'It is hard to expect 30 or so scientists on both sides to give clear answers to all the questions in a month's time.' Liang asserted in his interview that 'the virus is of natural origin', saying 'it is extremely unlikely that the outbreak was caused by a laboratory leak.' He said the experts had visited the virology institute at the centre of the lab-leak theory and claimed they had 'candid, deep communication' with experts there. 'After their field visits and study, the experts team agreed unanimously that it is extremely unlikely that the virus leaked from the lab,' Liang said. 'So future virus origins-tracing missions will no longer be focused on this area, unless there is new evidence.' WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters on Tuesday that the findings would likely be published next week, saying it was 'simply not ready' before then. 'What we hear from the technical experts, from the mission members, is that the report most likely will come out now next week,' he added. Chinese security operatives keep watch outside the virology lab during the WHO panel's visit to Wuhan earlier this year Lindmeier said that the team of experts, who are drafting the report with their Chinese counterparts, were still finalising the document. 'The experts are drawing it up together, and... the more people involved, the more people will have to have a say in it,' he said. 'They want to get it right. That is the important part.' The team had initially planned to quickly publish a preliminary report, but that plan was shelved in February without a clear explanation. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had subsequently promised that the full report would be published sometime this week, promising to give member states an advance peek at the conclusions. But the epeated delays have sparked renewed criticism of the UN health body's slow response to a calls for a full and independent investigation. It took months to select the 10 international experts, including epidemiologists and animal health specialists, amid diplomatic wrangling with China. In the end, they arrived in Wuhan more than a year after the virus was first identified there before erupting around the world and killing more than 2.6million people. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 18, 2021 / Silver Range Resources Ltd. (TSXV:SNG)(OTC PINK:SLRRF) ("Silver Range" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on exploration work conducted at its wholly-owned Stinson and Lucky Boy Properties in Nevada. Stinson Property Area Exploration The Stinson Property is about 38 kilometres north of Ely in White Pine County along the east flank of the Egan Range. Exploration by Silver Range in 2016 and 2017 located gold-bearing shear-hosted quartz-hematite veins in sericitic gouge hosted in Cambro-Ordovician quartzite and limestone. Sampling during 2016 at the Stinson Mine returned grab samples up to 6.94 g/t Au and a chip sample grading 1.6 m @ 8.16 g/t Au (Silver Range News Release dated November 7, 2016). In 2017, work at the adjacent Ben Hur Mine returned grab samples assaying up to 248 g/t Au and a best chip sample of 1.5 m @ 20.6 g/t Au (Silver Range News Release dated June 20, 2017). The gold occurrences on the Stinson Property together with six other known gold showings are associated with north-striking faults and contacts in a 7-kilometre-long corridor terminating in the Steptoe Warm Springs Pluton, three kilometres north of the Stinson Property. Speculating that the known high-grade gold mineralization in the area might indicate the presence of a larger system, Silver Range defined a 47 square kilometre area of interest and staked four additional claim blocks covering the known gold showings last fall. Initial grab sampling of dump material collected during staking returned up to 9.99 g/t Au. In addition, stream sediment sampling at the mouth of drainages was completed during the work program. Systematic fine fraction stream sediment sampling will be completed throughout the area of interest during the coming season. Lucky Boy Property Exploration Lucky Boy is a high-grade silver prospect located 18 km north of Lovelock in Pershing County. The property covers the Lucky Boy Mine, a silver exploration target, and extensions to the east. Silver Range staked and briefly explored the property in 2016, collecting grab samples returning up to 1,535 g/t Ag and 2.17 g/t Au from dump material (Silver Range News Release dated February 21, 2017). Last fall, the Company conducted a soil geochemical survey over the property, collecting 247 samples on a grid consisting of 100 m spaced lines and sample stations spaced 25 m apart. In addition, the crew conducted geological mapping and additional rock sampling. Work to date has defined a series of mapped and inferred east to east-northeast trending faults cutting the granodioritic host rocks on the property. These faults locally contain quartz-chalcopyrite-galena-pyrite bearing veins, up to 1.8 m wide and traced for 200 m near the Lucky Boy Mine. Both gold and silver soil geochemical responses occur over the known workings and at other locations along the inferred or defined fault traces. The soil response in gold is unusually strong in light of the relatively low tenor of gold noted in rock samples collected to date. Total magnetic field and high frequency electromagnetic surveys followed by trenching are planned to locate new mineralization on the property and define drill targets. Results from work to date at Lucky Boy are available on Silver Range's website at www.silverrangeresources.com. A video interview with Proactive Investors discussing these developments is available here. A total of 55 grab samples were collected on targets near Stinson. Gold values ranged from below detection limit to 9.99 g/t Au with 6 of 55 samples returning more than 1 g/t Au. Silver values ranged from below detection limit to 774 g/t Ag with 3 of 55 samples returning greater than 100 g/t Ag. At Lucky Boy, a total of 14 grab samples were collected. Silver values ranged from 0.5 to 302 g/t Ag with 2 of 14 samples returning values greater than 100 g/t Ag. No gold values in excess of 5 g/t Au were returned from the Lucky Boy rock samples. Rock samples from both programs were secured and transported under chain of custody to ALS Minerals facilities in Reno, Nevada for sample preparation. Pulps were shipped to North Vancouver for assaying and geochemical analyses. Rock samples were analyzed by ALS Ultra-TraceTM Aqua Regia ICP-MS (ME-MS41) and fire assayed for gold (30 g sample) (Au-AA25). Samples that exceeded routine method detection limits for silver were assayed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-MS) (Ag -OG46). Soil samples were dried, screened to -80 mesh and analyzed by ALS Labs Super TraceTM procedure (AuME-ST43) employing ICP-MS and a 25 g aliquot to ensure reproducible gold analyses. Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mike Power, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and CEO of Silver Range Resources Ltd. and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. About Silver Range Resources Ltd. Silver Range is a precious metals prospect generator working in Nevada and Northern Canada. It has assembled a portfolio of 44 properties, 10 of which are currently under option to others and one which has converted to a paying royalty interest. Silver Range is actively seeking other joint venture partners to explore the high-grade precious metals targets in its portfolio. ON BEHALF OF SILVER RANGE RESOURCES LTD. "Michael A. Power" President and Chief Executive Officer For further information concerning Silver Range or its exploration projects please contact: Investor Inquiries Richard Drechsler Vice-President, Communications Tel: (604) 687-2522 NA Toll-Free: (888) 688-2522 rdrechsler@silverrangeresources.com http://www.silverrangeresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results. SOURCE: Silver Range Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/636115/Silver-Range-Resources-Ltd-Advances-Stinson-and-Lucky-Boy-Properties Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has jumped to the defence of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), stressing they are effective in executing their duties. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) has been bombarded with criticisms over their work in the brouhaha surrounding some offensive textbooks that passed first approval rating by the Council. The textbooks titled History of Ghana and Golden English contain offensive contents which disparage Ewes and Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Particularly, the History of Ghana describes Ewes as ''juju-loving'' people and goes ahead to include a song that further slights this ethnic group. Critics have slammed NaCCA for their oversight in detecting the derogatory contents before giving an approval, though not a final approval to the publishers of the textbooks, Badu Nkansah Ltd and Golden Publications for the books to go on the market. Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Dr. Asah Asante extolled the virtues of NaCCA saying ''if you're an author and present your book to them, you may end up crying because they thoroughly assess your work. If you don't have the strength to wait, you may leave your book, pick your bag and run away . . . They do a fantastic work''. "Their eyes are like that of a witch. Whatever it is that is not good, they will throw it away because those who do the assessment are experts and they carefully assess everything to ensure it is accurate before approving it," he added. He was therefore saddened that these offensive textbooks have soiled NaCCA's reputation. ''It's just unfortunate that this has happened . . . if you look at their work critically, NaCCA will not allow anything that is inappropriate. I talk with authority because I am close to them and know how they work," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Turkey's prosecutor's office applied to the constitutional court with a request to ban the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the country, the Anadolu agency reported on Wednesday ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2021) Turkey's prosecutor's office applied to the constitutional court with a request to ban the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the country, the Anadolu agency reported on Wednesday. Prosecutor Bekir Sahin has initiated the request, according to Anadolu. Earlier in the day, HDP lawmaker Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu was stripped of his lawmaker status after he received a prison sentence of two years and six months for "terrorism propaganda". In November 2016, 10 HDP party members were arrested over allegations of having links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. During latest elections in 2018, the party received more than 11 percent of the vote and secured 67 seats in the parliament. I dont want to block it, I just want to give the neighbors a chance to get involved, and, I hope, to get excited about the idea, King said of the Waters museum plan. Right now, anyone, by right, can just open a museum in the middle of a block of homes in Chicago and start welcoming busloads of visitors. Thats something that people who live on a block probably didnt sign up for. They should get a chance to learn about it and have their voices heard as part of the process. Rajya Sabha approved a bill to increase the foreign direct investment limit in insurance sector to 74 per cent by voice vote on Thursday. Responding to the debate on Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that higher foreign investment in insurance industry will supplement domestic long-term resources as well as facilitate insurance penetration in the country. The Bill aims to amend FDI provisions on Insurance Act, 1938. As per the document, the purpose of the amendment is "to achieve the objective of Foreign Direct Investment Policy of supplementing domestic long-term capital, technology and skills for the growth of the economy and the insurance sector, and thereby enhance insurance penetration and social protection, it has been decided to raise the limit of foreign investment in Indian insurance companies from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent". ALSO READ: 1600% jump in LIC's ULIP premium in a year The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 seeks to provide for substitution of sub-clause (b) in the definition of "Indian insurance company" in clause (7A) of section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1938, so as to raise the limit of foreign investment in an Indian insurance company from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent and to allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards, the report further said. The amendments to Insurance Act propose to appoint resident Indians on majority of directors on the board and key management persons, with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors, and specified percentage of profits being retained as a general reserve. For investor protection, an investor charter would be introduced as a right of all financial investors across all financial products. ALSO READ: Centre kicks off privatisation drive; NITI Aayog submits list of 12 PSUs This would be the second revision in FDI limit for the insurance sector. In 2015, the government had hiked the cap on foreign investment in Indian insurers from then 26 per cent to 49 per cent. During the debate on the bill, Sitharaman said government is proposing to increase the FDI limit in Indian insurance sector considering the liquidity pressure bothering companies. She added that the hike in foreign investment limit to 74 per cent will help meet the growing capital requirement of insurance companies. Majority of directors and other key personnel will be resident Indians, the Finance Minister assured while talking about the safeguards in the bill, adding that a percentage of profits will be retained in India. ALSO READ: Cabinet nod to amendments in Insurance Act to allow 74% FDI limit Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Philippine Hospital Association is asking the Department of Health to request government agencies to lend their nurses who are currently not doing health-related work, to help address the rising number of COVID-19 cases. "Since there is an acute need, we really have to borrow personnel," said the association's president Dr. Jaime Almora in an interview with CNN Philippines' News.PH on Thursday. Almora said nurses have moved to government agencies such as uniformed services, seeking higher salary. He stressed hospitals in Metro Manila are "maxed out" over the recent coronavirus surge. As of March 17, the DOH said 66.67% of intensive care unit beds for coronavirus patients or 492 out of 738 beds in the National Capital Region have been occupied, while isolation beds are filled at 58.27% or 2,555 out of 4,385 beds. https://doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker In all the 150 facilities in Metro Manila that have allocated spaces for COVID-19 patients, 23 are in critical capacity, or more than 85% have been occupied. There are also 23 hospitals already at high-risk level (70% to 85% filled), 17 at moderate level (60% to 70%). However, 87 facilities are still in the safe zone (less than 60% occupied). Treatment czar and Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega earlier said hospitals should increase their bed allocations to accommodate more patients amid the surge. U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer may provide Vietnam with 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses within 2021 as negotiations with the health ministry continue, Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said Wednesday. Vietnam is still negotiating with manufacturers in the U.S., Russia and other countries as part of an effort to diversify Covid-19 vaccine sources, said Long. The country aims to obtain a total 150 million doses this year to cover 70 percent of its population. Besides imports, Vietnam is also developing its own domestic vaccines. Nanocovax, produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, began the second phase of human trials last month, while Covivax, produced by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, only entered the first phase of human trials Monday. The Ministry of Health aims to hasten the development of domestic Covid-19 vaccines so they could be used in 2022, Long stressed. Vietnam has ordered 30 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, with 117,600 having arrived late last month. The country will receive over five million additional AstraZeneca vaccine doses through global access mechanism Covax, UNICEF and other contracts by April. The country expects around 60 million AstraZeneca doses within 2021. Vietnam began its mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign on March 8, prioritized for frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight. So far, 24,054 people in 12 cities and provinces have received their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Several of these have suffered complications including high fever, blood pressure and anaphylaxis, but experts said the ratio of people with side effects is "within expected levels." The AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been approved for use in over 70 countries and territories, has raised global concerns as cases of deaths and blood clots were recorded in several nations following inoculation. About a dozen countries, including France, Denmark, Italy and Germany, have temporarily suspended using the vaccine as a precautionary measure. AstraZeneca and European Medicines Agency have said there has been no evidence to prove the vaccine caused blood clots, and stressed its benefits far outweigh the risk of contracting Covid-19. The process of humanitarian demining and the opening of entry-exit checkpoints in Donbas near Schastia and Zolote may start already by Easter holidays, if the Russian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on conflict resolution (TCG) in Donbas agrees the relevant proposal of the Ukrainian delegation, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov said. "Oleksiy Reznikov suggested that on the eve of the Easter holidays, jointly take two steps: to start the process of 'humanitarian demining,' namely, demining the areas where cemeteries, infrastructure facilities (water, gas and electricity supply, and others) are located, where systematically carry out routine maintenance and other types of work; unblock the operation of the Schastia and Zolote entry-exit checkpoints. We are waiting for the relevant decisions of the Russian delegation," the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG said on its Facebook page following the results of regular negotiations on Wednesday, March 17. According to the statement of Coordinator of the security subgroup of the head of the OSCE SMM, Ambassador Yasar Halit Cevik, the mine action mechanism and the draft document on the demining of 19 new areas on the contact line, previously agreed upon during the Paris summit, are ready. As noted, "the position of the Ukrainian delegation is unchanged: the basis of the settlement is the clear implementation of joint decisions adopted within the work of both formats and the TCG, which include the necessary mechanisms both for establishing a comprehensive ceasefire regime and for resolving the humanitarian and economic situation in the occupied territories, which later became the basis for the implementation of the political part of the agreements." At the same time, according to Reznikov, who replaced head of the Ukrainian delegation Leonid Kravchuk this time, "the TCG must return to the trilateral format of Ukraine-OSCE-Russia negotiations, that is, without the participation of public 'experts' from ORDLO." "The presence on the Russian side as a consultant of a citizen of Ukraine Maya Pirogova, who was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court for participation in terrorist activities, is unacceptable," he said. As reported, "the economic subgroup agreed that by March 26 the sides will provide lists of candidates for the working group on monitoring the environmental situation in ORDLO." The regular TCG meeting is scheduled for March 31. Irul, the Fahadh Faasil-Soubin Shahir-Darshana Rajendran starrer is all set to release on Netflix, on April 2, 2021. The team recently revealed the much-awaited Irul trailer to the excitement of the cine-goers. The highly intriguing official trailer has totally raised the expectations from the crime thriller, which is directed by newcomer Naseef Yusuf Izuddin. Read Irul trailer review here: The 1.47 minutes long trailer begins with some mysterious visuals, accompanied by western classical music playing on a gramophone. We are later introduced to Fahadh Faasil's character, who questions a novelist (Soubin Shahir) about his crime novel and its central character. When Fahadh's character speaks about the murders of 6 women committed by the character, Soubin corrects that it was 5 murders. When the novelist reveals the character's reason behind committing these murders, Fahadh's character disagrees saying that the motive is not clear in the novel. After that, all hells breaks loose. In between, we are introduced to the character played by Darshana Rajendran, who seems to be playing the love interest of Fahadh's character. From the highly promising trailer, it is evident that Irul revolves around a spine-chilling murder mystery that involves the three characters played by Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir, and Darshana Rajendran. The trailer hints that all three actors are playing layered, performance-oriented characters in the movie. Apart from the name 'Alex' nothing much has been revealed about any of these characters. Irul trailer hints that this Naseef Yusuf Izuddin directorial is something to watch out for this summer. Interestingly, the crime thriller is a 3-actors film that only features Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir, and Darshana Rajendran. The movie, which is produced by Jomon T John, Shameer Muhammed and Anto Joseph under the banners Plan J Studios and Anto Joseph Film Company, definitely seems to be ready to join the bandwagon of experimental films from Malayalam cinema. Also Read: EXCLUSIVE! The Lockdown Worked In Favour Of The Priest: Writer Shyam Menon Drishyam 2: SS Rajamouli Reviews The Mohanlal Starrer, Sends Appreciation Message To Director Jeethu Joseph Xavier Becerra, nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, answers questions during his Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 24, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters) Californias Becerra Narrowly Confirmed as Bidens Health Secretary The Senate on March 18 narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra as health secretary, due to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) crossing the aisle and voting with Democrats. Collins joined all the Democrats present in the 5049 vote. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) missed the vote. Collins announced last week her intention to vote for Becerra. Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS Secretary. I look forward to working with the Department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people, she said in a statement, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans for weeks had said they opposed approving Becerra, arguing he wasnt qualified. Mr. Becerras lack of healthcare experience, enthusiasm for replacing private health insurance with government-run Medicare-for-all, and embrace of radical policies on immigration, abortion, and religious liberty, render him unfit for any position of public trust, and especially for HHS Secretary, a group of Republican senators and House members wrote to President Joe Biden last month. Becerra previously served as Californias attorney general. His appointment as health secretary caused confusion because the roles have little to do with each other. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) questions Xavier Becerra during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Feb. 23, 2021. (Leigh Vogel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Youre a very highly trained attorneygreat, impeccable credentials. Im a physician. What would you as the attorney think if I, the physician, were nominated to be the United States attorney general as opposed to Merrick Garland? You would say the guys not qualified, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told the nominee during his confirmation hearing in February. Becerra highlighted his experience as a congressman, telling senators during the hearing that he helped pass the Affordable Care Act. He also noted hes been involved with prosecuting people in the medical industry. If confirmed, I will work with you to strengthen our Medicare and Medicaid lifeline, to reduce the cost of health care and prescription drugs, and ensure we are accountable, spending resources wisely and effectively. And I wont forget the other H in HHShuman services. I want to work with you supporting our vulnerable children, those in foster care, strengthening Head Start, and expanding access to child care. Finally, we must restore faith in our public health institutions. That starts with putting science and the facts first and showing respect for our career workforce, he said at the time. Biden noted during his announcement of the appointment that Becerra had 25 years of experience as a member of Congress. Xavier spent his career fighting to expand access to health care, reduce racial health disparities, protect the Affordable Care Act, and take on powerful special interests who prey on and profit off peoples healthfrom opioid manufacturers to Big Tobacco, he said. During the pandemic, hes protected the safety of frontline healthcare workers, rooted out fraud from bad actors taking advantage of people, and stood up for homeowners trying to pay their mortgage during the devastating economic crisis. Seoul: The United States punished 24 Chinese officials on Wednesday for undermining Hong Kongs democratic freedoms, acting days before the first scheduled meeting of senior Chinese and US diplomats since President Joe Biden took office. In diplomatic terms, the timing of the action was intentional, continuing a testy start to relations between the Biden administration and China after a tumultuous four years under former President Donald Trump. Golden Bauhinia Square, in Wan Chai area of Hong Kong. Setting a confrontational tone ahead of meetings in Alaska, the United States punished Chinese officials involved in eroding democracy in Hong Kong. Credit:New York Times The State Department announced that it would impose financial sanctions on a raft of officials, including a member of the Communist Partys 25-member Politburo, Wang Chen, over an issue that Beijing has repeatedly said is an internal political matter. Earlier sanctions imposed by the Trump administration had barred the same officials from traveling to the United States and frozen their assets in the country. Millions of over-40s wont be vaccinated against Covid before May because of a supply shortage which Matt Hancock today blamed on a delayed shipment of 5million doses of AstraZenecas jab from India. Senior Government sources last week sparked hopes of a faster route out of lockdown, saying that everyone over 40 could be offered their first dose by Easter because stocks were expected to double. But with the delivery delay from the Serum Institute of India and the hold-up of another batch of 1.7million doses that need to be re-tested, ministers have had to kill hopes of a faster roll-out next month. The Health Secretary last night said the mammoth NHS inoculation drive will need to focus on second doses, using first dose supplies to mop up over-50s who have yet to accept their invite. But it means that No10's unofficial targets that Britain's vaccine roll-out could move onto over-40s by Easter were seemingly based on the hope of getting an extra shipment of Covid vaccines from India. Ministers were expecting the other half of their 10million ordered doses to arrive this week from the Serum Institute of India, the largest jabs manufacturer in the world, after penning a deal at the start of March. But the Institute has pushed back the shipment amid mounting pressure from the Indian Government to ensure it supplies them first. The firm also claims it did not agree a timescale for any deliveries even though Mr Hancock today said it was 'scheduled'. The jabs shortage means millions of people under 50 will now have to wait until May for their first vaccine appointment, much later than ministers had hoped. One Department of Health source said it still hopes to do people in their forties next month. No10 insists it is still on track to offer 32million Britons in the top nine priority groups their first dose by April 15. Here, MailOnline delves into what is causing the shortage, which vaccine supplies have been affected, and whether it could delay plans to ease lockdown: Where do our vaccines come from? The vast majority of the UK's AstraZeneca vaccine supply is manufactured on home soil in factories in Oxford, Keele and Wrexham. These are thought to be making at least 2million doses per week between them and have been mass-producing throughout most of January and February and March. Some doses at the start of the rollout were imported from a facility used by the company in Leiden, Netherlands, and a shipment of 10million was ordered from the Serum Institute of India, which is producing the vaccine with AstraZeneca's permission. British operations are making enough vaccines to provide all the doses the country needs for its rollout plan, but ministers hoped the India order would be a boost that could help them speed up the programme. All the Pfizer vaccine doses used in Britain come from a plant in Puurs, Belgium. Supply figures for the vaccines were always expected to dip in April and May, according to projections published by the Scottish Government in January before the UK had struck a deal for 10million doses from India. Therefore, the India delivery delay is believed to be separate from these figures Why do we need them from India if so many get made in Britain? The 10million doses ordered from the Serum Institute are believed to have been intended as a booster for the country's pre-arranged jab supplies. Agreements for regular supply have been set up with AstraZeneca, to provide millions of doses every week, but the UK jumped at the chance to get hold of 10m more 10 per cent of its total supply so it could make hay while the sun shines. The Serum Institute is the world's biggest vaccine factory and is churning out astronomical numbers of doses, committing to making one billion this year. Matt Hancock today said Britain was in the middle of a 'bumper' supply phase, accelerated by the first 5m delivered by the Serum Institute, which has allowed the NHS to rattle through the top priority groups and get jabs to 25m people. Ministers were hopeful that, with the extra imported vaccines, the UK would be able to smash its vaccination schedule and finish weeks early, but these hopes have been scuppered by the delivery delay. Why do we want to roll out vaccines faster? The faster people can get vaccinated, the faster the risk of death will come down and the more chance Britain has of coming out of lockdown on time. All efforts in the UK the ongoing lockdown, mass testing and vaccinations are targeted at stamping out Covid and bringing the lockdown cycle to a permanent end. But this cannot be done safely until people who might die if they catch the virus have been vaccinated so their risk of death is lower. It takes around two weeks for someone to develop significant immunity after a vaccination so the Government want to reach all the high-risk groups everyone over 50, with a serious health condition or a health or care worker by mid-April so it can lift most lockdown restrictions in May. The more successfully it can do this, the lower cases, hospital admissions and deaths are likely to be in the event of a third wave and the more sure officials can be that it is the right decision. Likewise the decision to end lockdown completely in June will be a surer thing if as many people as possible have had at least one dose of a jab. Is the Indian factory delay to blame for April's vaccine shortage? No10 sources claimed last night that the shortage was down to a delayed shipment of 5million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine from India. Britain was expecting 10million shots from the Serum Institute of India, the largest jabs factory in the world, after securing a deal at the start of March. Its boss said today that the first half of the shipment 5million doses had already arrived and that there was 'no stipulated contract' for when any of the doses needed to be delivered. Adar Poonawalla claimed the firm was helping the UK 'as and when' it could, while prioritising their own country and poorer nations around the world. The Institute has pledged one billion doses to low and middle income countries, with experts saying it is crucial they get the jabs to end the pandemic. The SII was also told last month to prioritise Indian demand. Mr Poonawalla told the Daily Telegraph: 'There was never a commitment to supplying doses to the UK in any stipulated time. We just said we will offer our help. 'India has allowed 5million doses to go to the UK. The balance doses will be decided to be given to the UK at an appropriate time by the Indian Government.' How does this affect the vaccine timetable? The delay leaves Britain with five million fewer doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine than planned, stalling the roll-out to the over-40s until at least May. Ministers are racing to inoculate all 32million in the top nine priority categories with at least a first dose by April 15. This is because millions of top-up jabs need to be dished out from next month when they hit the crucial 12-week deadline between doses. The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) widened the gap between doses to 12 weeks to get the jabs to as many people as possible quickly. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last night the focus of the drive would turn to circling back round to ensure everyone in the top nine groups is offered a jab, with supplies reserved for second doses. Sources also warned deliveries of Pfizer's jab will slow in May, with current deliveries already being earmarked as second doses to ensure the NHS has enough available. The drop-off in deliveries coupled with the demand to start dishing out second doses will slow the roll-out as far fewer first doses will be available. Has the timetable changed? The NHS warned last night that there would be a four-week delay in deliveries. India has stalled sending 5million doses to Britain, and the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today suggested they were also expecting a cut in shipments from other nations. This is thought to refer to the Pfizer vaccine, which is manufactured in Puurs, Belgium, and then shipped to the UK via the Channel Tunnel. The lost doses, however, and the pressing need to administer second jabs when the deadline expires will see doses for the over-40s pushed back. They were next in line to get the shots after all 32million in the top nine priority groups had been vaccinated. The disruption to the UK's Covid vaccine supply is said to be caused by a delay to a delivery from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, which is producing some of Britain's supply of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab What have ministers promised? The Government has committed to vaccinating all over-50s against Covid by April 15, and figures show they are well on their way to meeting the target. There are 32million Britons in the top nine priority groups - including NHS staff, care home residents and severely ill adults - and 25.2million of these have already received their first dose of the vaccine with a month still to go. Jabs are being dished out at an average of 351,000 a day, suggesting these groups could all be covered by the end of this month. NHS England officially opened jabs to over-50s this week amid 'bumper' supplies. But senior Government sources also appear to have over-promised after privately briefing that the roll-out was so successful they could vaccinate over-40s in April. Mr Hancock was forced to dampen expectations yesterday, when he warned the drive would be focusing on the top priority groups in the coming weeks as it will also need to give out second doses. Are other factors involved? Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today said the Government had learned of Covid vaccine supply issues 'in the last few days', and suggested the problem is not due to reductions from a single nation. 'We have learned from some of our manufacturers that there are going to be some supply issues in the last few days,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The CEO of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla, hit back against allegations 'A number of global manufacturers are experiencing issues.' Pressed if the issue was vaccine coming from India, he said: 'It's not that there's any one factory responsible for this or any one country.' AstraZeneca jabs are mostly being supplied by factories in the UK - in Staffordshire, Oxford and Wrexham, and the pharmaceutical giant has said supplies from these are not an issue. Deliveries from a factory in Leiden, the Netherlands, and one in Germany, were also received before the start of the year. It is thought these factories are no longer sending shots to the UK. Pfizer is supplying all its doses from one factory in Puurs, Belgium, and says it is on track to meet its commitment of supplying 40million by the end of this year. A leaked Scottish supply document suggested its deliveries would be reduced from the start of April, and are mostly expected to be reserved for second doses. Why is the UK even getting AstraZeneca doses from India? Britain has ordered 100million doses of the Oxford vaccine to be supplied by Anglo-Swedish company. The majority of these shots are being produced at three factories in the UK, with some also coming from Belgium and Germany before the start of the year. But seemingly in order to speed up the roll-out, the UK also penned a deal to get 10million doses from the Serum Institute of India. Charities warned the agreement would likely stir concerns that rich nations were taking jabs from poorer ones. But the UK Government said the agreement followed assurances from the Institute that the delivery would not impact supplies for poorer countries. A spokesman said: 'The UK has ordered 100million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, of which 10million doses will come from the Serum Institute of India.' Is Pfizer's supply affected too? Health sources warned yesterday that deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine would be 'challenging' from April. A leaked Scottish supply document also suggested deliveries would be affected from next month. It shows Pfizer would be sending 1.5million doses a week throughout March. But by April this was expected to tail off, dropping to around 950,000 shots every seven days. The fall, however, coincides with when deliveries of the Moderna vaccine are expected to begin. These will start at 50,000 a week, the figures suggest, before rising to 160,000 a week in May. The Scottish document was leaked in early February and its figures were multiplied based on the Barnett formula, which is how ministers are divying up doses between UK nations. Ministers are expected to start to reserving Pfizer vaccines imminently, to ensure they have enough to dish out second doses. Britain widened the gap between doses to 12 weeks in order to protect as many people as possible quickly. But time is fast running out, and millions will soon need to receive their second jab because when the roll-out began in December the country was mostly dishing out Pfizer doses. Health experts have said Britons should have two doses of the same vaccine, and that large-scale studies would need to be carried out to determine whether people can receive a different second dose jab to their first. The MHRA said an estimated 10.7million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been dished out by February 28, compared to 9.7million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. If the same 54/46 per cent split is still being used, it would suggest the Pfizer figure now stands at 13.6million The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines. Pictured: A pharmacist giving out jabs in Kingston, London Why is supply so challenging? Ministers have repeatedly warned that vaccine supply will be the 'limiting factor' in Britain's national roll-out. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last night that they were expecting deliveries to remain 'lumpy' in the coming weeks. And Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam last month claimed it was like 'brewing beer', with every yield producing a different amount. AstraZeneca is makes its doses using living cells, which create different amounts of the vaccine each time. This process was behind the delay in deliveries to the EU, with the company's chief executive Pascal Soriot saying the same issues initially did not affect the UK because the factories were set up earlier meaning there was more time to 'iron out' issues. Pfizer's vaccine is produced in Belgium, and then shipped to the UK. But work to expand production capacity at the factory last month meant that deliveries were temporarily reduced. The EU has threatened to stop sending vaccines to the UK unless it starts to receive more doses of the AstraZeneca jab despite 19 countries on the continent suspending its use based on unproven blood clot fears. The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Will Britain get any other vaccines in the coming weeks? The UK is also expecting to start rolling out the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines in the coming weeks. The Moderna jab is billed to start arriving from April, and the UK has ordered 17million doses. Johnson and Johnson's one-shot vaccine is also expected to become available in a matter of weeks following successful trials. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs in the UK, is currently reviewing the vaccine. The UK has secured 30million doses of the jab, with the option of getting another 22million doses if needed later down the line. Will delays scupper lockdown-easing plans? Ministers have been desperate to reassure people this won't scupper plans to get the country out of lockdown. All four UK nations are working on different schedules, with Scotland and Wales planning to move slightly faster than England and Northern Ireland. Boris Johnson has said at least some of England's restrictions will remain in place until June 21 at the earliest. But ministers have insisted today delays in the roll-out will not disrupt plans to ease lockdown, saying they will be led by 'data not dates' on the spread of the virus. They added that vaccine shortages won't affect the timetable for administering second doses. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which designed the UK's jabs priority list, says it is crucial Britons get a second dose no later than 12 weeks after the first - amid a lack of evidence to show a longer gap is possble. A boss on the group today rold Radio 4 the jabs could be delayed a little if necessary, but not for a significant period. NHS chiefs have said the expected supplies needed for second doses were always going to be reserved, with the roll-out only able to continue offering first doses if they had a bumper supply - which they were hoping would be bolstered by India. Mr Jenrick said: 'Nobody who has an appointment should be concerned, you are still going to get your second vaccine, all those appointments will be honoured.' What warning did the NHS send out yesterday? The NHS has written to GPs, hospitals and councils to warn of a looming fall in the supply of coronavirus vaccines. It said the Vaccines Task Force (VTF) had warned of a significant reduction in supplies from the week starting March 29. The VTF, which agreed vaccine deals on behalf of the Government, predicted this would continue for four weeks and blamed reductions in national inbound vaccines supply. The letter said volumes for first doses would be significantly constrained. But jab manufacturer AstraZeneca insisted last night the UK supply chain was not being disrupted. The Department of Health and Social Care said 25,273,226 in the UK have received their first dose of AstraZeneca of Pfizer vaccine between December 8 and March 16 What dose this mean? People would no longer be able to book a jab at a vaccination centre or pharmacy from March 29 to April 30. Anybody already booked in for their first or second dose will not be affected and those in priority groups one to nine can still book for dates before that. The NHS will continue to focus on ensuring as many as possible in these groups, including all over-50s and the clinically vulnerable, receive the jab. GPs will run pop-up clinics in the likes of retail parks, where eligible people will be able to get the jab even if they have not booked. But people in lower priority groups, including the over-40s who were next in line, now face a longer wait than was previously expected. The pause in new bookings will be reviewed at the end of March. Are delivery delays linked to EU vaccine supply threats? Brussels yesterday threatened to block exports of coronavirus vaccines from the EU and complained about a shortage of AstraZeneca supplies. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted 'reciprocity and proportionality' in exports, pointing out that 10million doses of vaccine had gone from the EU to the UK. Although Pfizer jabs were crossing the Channel to the UK, AstraZeneca vaccines are not heading the other way, she indicated. She warned the bloc would 'reflect on whether exports to countries who have higher vaccination rates than us are still proportionate'. But Government sources last night insisted the two issues were not connected. The UK is not volunteering any of its supplies to the EU and none of its orders are being siphoned off by AstraZeneca, insiders insisted. Mr Hancock said the supply of vaccines to the UK from EU production facilities was 'fulfilling contractual responsibilities and we fully expect those contracts to be delivered on'. Is the UK exporting vaccines to the EU? There is no evidence the UK has exported any vaccine doses to the EU and there has been no public announcement about a deal. The Department of Health said it didn't know whether there had been a deal between AstraZeneca and the EU to ship doses from Britain and the vaccine maker has refused to comment. Boris Johnson told the House of Commons last week that 'we have not blocked the export of a single Covid vaccine or vaccine component'. However, Mrs von der Leyen claimed yesterday: 'Indeed the UK is producing AstraZeneca. In our contract with AstraZeneca there are even two sites in the UK that are put in the contract for potential deliveries for the European Union. 'We are still waiting for doses to come from the UK, so this is an invitation to show us that there are also doses from the UK coming to the European Union so that we have reciprocity.' How does it affect Government targets? The Government is confident it will be able to offer a first dose to everyone in the top nine priority groups by April 15. And it is still expecting enough supplies to be able to offer a first dose to all adults by the end of July, as previously promised. Everyone will be able to get their second dose within 12 weeks of the first, as advised by the medical regulator. Mr Hancock said the nation was still 'ahead of schedule' on the April 15 target. And Mr Jenrick said on Sky News today: 'This isn't anything that people should be worried about. We are still on course to meet our targets.' When will over-40s get their jab? The over-40s are next in line to get Covid vaccines, once 32million Britons in the top nine categories have been offered a dose. Mr Hancock said last night the focus would turn to circling back round to ensure a very high take up of second doses. Data suggested Britain was on track to expand the roll-out to adults in their 40s before the end of March - especially with bumper supplies expected. But this is now likely to be delayed until May because the NHS letter warned of a four-week delay in deliveries. But some over-40s could be invited for their vaccine after April 15 if supplies allow, sources suggest. How many jabs have been given so far? The bombshell letter came as the Government celebrated reaching the milestone of vaccinating 25million people in the first 100 days of the programme. The Department of Health and Social Care said 25,273,226 in the UK have received their first dose of AstraZeneca of Pfizer vaccine between December 8 and March 16. Around 1.7 million have also had their second dose. Half of the adult population of the UK is 26.3million. Officials said the milestone brings people 'one step closer to safely seeing our friends and family again'. Some 95 per cent of people aged 65 and over have had their first dose, as have nine in ten of those clinically extremely vulnerable. Boris Johnson said: 'This latest milestone is an incredible achievement representing 25 million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society.' Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. New Delhi, March 18 : Minister of Women & Child Development Smriti Irani while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday said that the government was committed to the safety of women. She said this while specifically replying to questions concerning Tamil Nadu. Irani replied, "In Tamil Nadu, 800 help-desks have been set up in the police stations while one stop centre is in each of the 32 districts. The 181 helpline has answered the calls of over two lakh women in Tamil Nadu." Irani said the agencies involved in combating crimes against the women and children are also being fiscally supported. She said in Tamil Nadu and Chennai in particluar, for instance, CCTV cameras were installed for safety purposes. "In Chennai, there are over 1,37,000 CCTV cameras operational," she says. "Be it the establishment of CCTV cameras or fast track courts, or even child protection agencies, we periodically take it up with the state governments," she said She also said that the ministry has launched in June 2020 against the backdrop of Covid, SAMVAD -- an integrated program for child & adolescent psychosocial care in collaboration with NIMHANS. SAMVAD aimed at enhancing child and adolescent psychosocial well-being through training and capacity building of mental healthcare service providers. It has so far trained over 41,000 professionals across 28 states of the country. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text OpenEye's Orion molecular design platform uses the power of hundreds of thousands of CPUs at Amazon Web Services to provide fault-tolerant computational capacity required to meet high LSVS demands. Also, Mcule's large and diverse library of purchasable compounds, now available in Orion, can help provide faster and more efficient screening of these molecules, which can be easily purchased afterwards. "This collaboration between Mcule and OpenEye Scientific is a win-win for everyone involved," said Matthew Geballe, Vice President of Product at OpenEye Scientific. "OpenEye customers can not only screen 2D and 3D molecules from Mcule's databases at high speed due to Orion's powerful search methods and computational resources, but they're also able to identify more hits and leads and get these compounds synthesized and delivered from Mcule in record time." Mcule developed its ULTIMATE database a high-quality purchasable compound library in collaboration with major pharmaceutical partners. Their ULTIMATE database currently contains more than 120 million molecules, 96% of which are not available from other marketplaces. "We are excited to collaborate with OpenEye Scientific," said Robert Kiss, CEO of Mcule. "They have sophisticated tools and sufficient computational power to help scientists select the right compounds from large databases. The required samples can then be conveniently sourced in an assay-ready format via Mcule's aggregation services." About Mcule Mcule operates chemical marketplaces for drug discovery with services based around small-molecule compound sourcing. While the traditional Mcule database aggregates a wide variety of supplier catalogs, Mcule ULTIMATE database contains novel, synthetically accessible compounds. Mcule SynthAgora is a custom synthesis marketplace that enables our clients to receive offers conveniently for structures that are not available in any catalogs in the world. Mcule also provides solutions for sample preparation, solubility inspection, and independent QC analysis. About OpenEye Scientific OpenEye Scientific is an industry leader in computational molecular design, based on decades of delivering rapid, robust, and scalable software, toolkits, and technology and design services. Our scientific, physics-based approach to molecular design historically focused on molecular shape and electrostatic potential to inform and guide molecular discovery and optimization. OpenEye now has integrated its applications and toolkits into Orion, the only cloud-native, fully integrated molecular design platform. Combining unlimited computation and storage with powerful tools for data sharing, visualization and analysis in an open development platform, Orion offers unprecedented capabilities for the advancement of pharmaceuticals, biologics, agrochemicals, and flavors and fragrances. Founded in 1997, OpenEye is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Fe, N.M., with offices in Boston, Mass.; Cologne, Germany; and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, go to www.openeye.inc . Contacts: Marshall Poindexter OpenEye Scientific +1.617.849.8670 [email protected] Benjamin Kovats Mcule +36.1.781.5983 [email protected] SOURCE OpenEye Scientific Related Links http://www.openeye.inc The Expo Centre Sharjah recently received a delegation from the Egyptian Commercial Office in Dubai to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The meeting was aimed at getting the most out of Expo Centres accumulated expertise and experience in organising and hosting major exhibitions and events, and boost the participation of Sharjahs business community in the exhibitions held in Egypt. This came during a coordination meeting held at Expo Centre premises between Saif Mohammed Al-Midfa, CEO of Expo Centre Sharjah, and Counselor Ashraf Hamza, Egyptian Commercial Attache, Minister Plenipotentiary, in the presence of Dr Khaled Makled, Secretary-General of the Arab Entrepreneurship Union, President of Irtiqaa company, and a number of department directors at Expo Centre. While welcoming the visiting delegation, Al-Midfa underscored the importance of enhancing the presence in the economic and business events that are held in the two countries as this will pave the way for holding permanent investment partnerships. Al-Midfa pointed out that the diversity in the Egyptian products makes it a preferred option by a large number of consumers across the country, calling the Egyptian exhibitors and companies to boost their presence in the Emirati market by participating in the events hosted by Expo Centre to get the most out of its organisational, marketing, and promotional capabilities with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Lauding the distinguished experience of the UAE and Expo Centre in the exhibitions industry, Hamza underlined the importance of holding such meetings to enhance bilateral cooperation and exchange experiences. He pointed to the importance of utilising Expo Centers expertise to develop Egypts exhibitions and conferences sector, inviting Emirati handicraftsmen to participate in the Turathna exhibition, the largest handicrafts exhibition across Egypt.-- Tradearabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-18 23:53:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close COLOMBO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will undertake a state visit to Bangladesh from March 19 to 20, on an invitation by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, his office said in a statement here Thursday. The PM's office said the visit will coincide with the celebration of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh. Local media reported that Sri Lanka's Health Ministry had granted approval to undertake the state visit to Bangladesh within a bio-bubble while adhering to strict COVID-19 preventive measures. During the visit, Prime Minister Rajapaksa will hold high-level bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Hasina, Bangladesh President Mohammad Abdul Hamid, as well as the foreign minister of Bangladesh and the governor of the Bangladesh Bank. Enditem Confucius Institute at Tufts University Set to Close Amid Protests Tufts University announced on Wednesday that it is not going to renew its contract with the Confucius Institute after it expires in September this year. The decision was made in response to a 13-week long protest against the controversial educational program. The Confucius Institute (CI) is a nonprofit educational collaboration between Tufts and Beijing Normal University (BNU) that promotes Chinese language and cultural programs, and facilitates educational and cultural exchange and cooperation, according to the Tufts University website. The Confucius Institute at Tufts University (CITU), which was set up in 2015, is currently the only Chinese-language program in Massachusetts that is sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The universitys contract with the CI program expires in September 2021 and will not be renewed, according to an announcement released on March 17. On March 13, about 100 protesters rallied in front of the CITU building in Medford, MA, marched through the campus, and demonstrated near Ballou Hall, where the presidents office is located, demanding the university to close the CI. I want to be clear, this is not a question of opportunities to study Chinese culture or language, we know that Tufts can find any other Chinese exchange program that isnt directly sponsored by the authoritarian state, Massachusetts State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven (Democrat) said at the rally. Its about distorting academic discourse, silencing defenders of human rights, and repressing open dissent or discussion, and its a growing threat to the integrity of our academic institutions, and threat to democracy everywhere, she added. Massachusetts Representative Erika Uyterhoeven (Democrat, left) and protest organizer Olo Bayul urge Tufts University to close its Confucius Institute in Somerville, Massachusetts on March 13, 2021. (Learner Liu/The Epoch Times) Protest Members from the Tibetan, Uyghur, Taiwanese, and Hongkonger communities, together with Tufts students and faculty, and human rights activists from Massachusetts and mainland China took part in the protest on March 13. Demonstrators march through Tufts University to protest against the Confucius Institute in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 13, 2021. (Learner Liu/The Epoch Times) The protesters chanted loudly: Chinese government out of Tufts! CCP out of Tufts! Hey-hey-ho-ho, Chinese government got to go! Most of them held up banners, posters, brochures, and sign boards. Were here every Saturday from 1:00 [p.m.] to 2:30 p.m., to remind them [Tufts University] that they need to terminate their financial and contractual relationship with the Chinese government, Olo Bayul, the protest organizer and local public school teacher, told The Epoch Times at the rally. He said his Tibetan parents had been persecuted by the CCP in China and then they fled to the United States as refugees. Bayul said that they had protested for 13 weeks, appealing to the university and its president, Anthony Monaco, to shut down the Chinese language program sponsored by the repressive Chinese regime. Human rights groups protest in front of the Confucius Institute, demanding Tufts University to close the program in Somerville, Massachusetts on March 13, 2021. (Learner Liu/The Epoch Times) CITU The Confucius Institute has been controversial in the United States for allegedly promoting the CCPs propaganda and censoring discussions about human rights conditions in China. On Aug. 13, 2020, then U.S. President Donald Trump designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS) as a foreign mission. The National Association of Scholars counted a total of 51 CIs in the United States on March 17, seven of which are scheduled to close in 2021. Confucius Institutes in Massachusetts have sparked protests since 2018. In January 2019, the University of Massachusetts Boston announced that it would not renew its contract with Hanban, a Chinese government agency that provides funding and staff for CIs. Tufts University held public hearings about its CI program when its last contract with Hanban expired in June 2019. During the hearings, it was revealed that Chinese language teachers who are hired by the CI have to sign an agreement which prohibits them from participating in activities that harm Chinas national interest and they cannot join Falun Gong or other illegal groups. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that originated in China. Its surge in popularity in the 1990s saw some 70 million people practicing by 1999, according to official estimates at the time. Threatened by this popularity, the CCP launched a persecution against the practice in 1999. Since then, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been thrown into prisons, psychiatric wards, and other facilities, while hundreds of thousands have suffered torture, according to estimates from the Falun Dafa Information Center. A protester asks Tufts University to close its Confucius Institute, a language training program that the Chinese regime uses to promote Communist mentalities, in Somerville, Massachusetts on March 13, 2021. (Learner Liu/The Epoch Times) In October 2019, Tufts University announced a two-year renewal of its contract with the CI after a committee of the school claimed no evidence of suppression of academic freedom, pressure or censorship associated with the activities of the Confucius Institute at Tufts. Sarah Phillips, a member of the Somerville School Committee, said in her speech at the March 13 protest that the CCP and its affiliated organizations are good at disguising themselves and hiding their agenda. I know Tufts professors and administrators are top-notch. But this is the Chinese government that were talking about. They were able to hide the internment of one to three million Uyghurs and Turkic speaking people in concentration camps for more than two years, Phillips said. Phillips added that she was concerned about the CIs plan to set up Confucius Classrooms in local public schools. CHICAGO, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading telemedicine provider First Stop Health (FSH) outperformed targets for its newly established Virtual Mental Health service by adding three times more members than expected after the service launched in July 2020. "In 2019, as the result of growing interest from our clients, we identified virtual mental health as a crucial adjunct to our telemedicine services. As a patient-centered company, we realized the growing need to combine physical and mental well-being for the patients we serve," said FSH CEO Patrick Spain. "Once the pandemic hit, the rumble from employers for virtual mental health became a roar because of the increasing mental health challenges employees faced from isolation, working from home and social distancing. We worked with our employer and university clients to address those needs quickly." With demand for mental health resources exceeding supply in many regions of the U.S., people are looking to their employers to connect them with easy-to-use, no-cost-to-them mental health care. As a recent survey showed, employees expect employers to do more to address mental well-being in the workplace. Thoughtful employers responded by offering employees virtual mental health resources, as a surge in demand for those benefits occurred in 2020. While COVID-19's initial impact on mental health in the U.S. has been well-documented, health experts worldwide also predict that increased need for mental health resources may remain long after the pandemic is over. Employers are exploring new approaches to employee benefits to ensure adequate support for ongoing mental health concerns in many instances, increasing employee access to those resources through a virtual care delivery model. Visit First Stop Health's website for more information on how the pandemic has impacted mental health and what potential benefits employers can offer to connect employees with the mental health resources they need to maintain their health. About First Stop Health First Stop Health provides care that people love. Patients can access care 24/7 via mobile app, website or phone. We help them save time and money with safe, convenient, high-quality care. Our Telemedicine and Virtual Mental Health services are available as an employee benefit from employers, and to students/staff at higher education institutions. Media Contact Nick Severino | VP, Marketing | First Stop Health 888-691-7867 x-410 | [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE First Stop Health Women walk past hijabs displayed for sale at the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta, March 16, 2021. Women and girls face increasing pressure to follow religious dress codes in workplaces and schools amid growing Islamic conservatism in Indonesia, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch on Thursday. A recent decree prohibiting public schools in the Muslim-majority country from enforcing religion-based dress codes such as headscarves and long skirts does not include Islamic schools, or women who work in the civil service and government offices, the HRW report said. Over the past two decades, women and girls in Indonesia have faced unprecedented legal and social demands to wear clothing deemed Islamic as part of broader efforts to impose the rules of Sharia, or Islamic law, in many parts of the country, the report said. These pressures have increased substantially in recent years, said the report titled I Wanted to Run Away: Abusive Dress Codes for Women and Girls in Indonesia. HRW said that compelling women and girls to dress a certain way is discriminatory. Responding to HRWs report, an executive at Indonesias semi-official authority on Islam denied that women had been forced to wear hijabs. Amirsyah Tambunan, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, also questioned why HRW said urging women to wear headscarves was discriminatory. What I see in society is that wearing a headscarf for Muslim women is voluntary and there is no coercion, Amirsyah told BenarNews. On what basis is HRW reporting that calling on women to wear headscarves is a discriminatory act against women? Have they done research with correct methodologies based on facts on the ground? An official at the Ministry of Womens Empowerment and Child Protection said the government needs to take reports of discrimination against women seriously, especially when victims experience bullying and harassment. The ministry would respond to any cases of such discrimination, said Lenny N. Rosalin, the deputy for child development. Such discrimination has an impact on children and we must take action, Lenny told BenarNews. Jilbab bullying Pressuring girls and women to wear garments such as long skirts and the jilbab a cloth that covers a womans head, neck and chest is an assault on their rights to freedom of religion, expression and privacy, and an attack on gender equality, HRW said. This compulsion also affects girls and womens physical and mental well-being, the report said. Ifa Hanifah Misbach, a psychologist in Bandung, spoke to HRW about what she called jilbab bullying teachers and colleagues punishing girls and women and harshly ridiculing them for not strictly adhering to what they consider modest dress. HRW recommended that the government take strong disciplinary action against institutions that pressure women and girls to wear the jilbab or other religious dress. In some parts of Indonesia, women are forced or pressured to wear jilbabs and long skirts instead of long pants, HRW said. In February 2020, 10 Girl Scouts wearing their uniform long skirts died when they were swept into a river during a hike in Yogyakarta, local media widely reported. Wahyu Efendi L., the Yogyakarta head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), told The Jakarta Post that the girls long skirts caused them to be dragged away by the strong flood current and limited their physical movement. In its report, HRW recommended that Indonesias scouting authority repeal provisions of the uniform regulation that have been interpreted as requiring female scouts and schoolgirls to wear the jilbab and other religious dress. Decree needs to be applied broadly In 2014, the Ministry of Education and Culture issued a regulation on public school uniforms which was widely interpreted as requiring Muslim female students to wear headscarves. Even when school officials have acknowledged that a 2014 national regulation does not legally require a jilbab, the existence of the regulation adds to schools applying pressure on girls and their families for the girls to wear one, HRW said last month. Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim, who co-signed the Feb. 3, 2021, decree allowing students to choose what they wear to school, told HRW at the time that the schools have misinterpreted the 2014 ministerial regulation. The latest decree, she hoped, would correct that misinterpretation, HRW said. Still, the new decree applies only to state schools under the management of local governments and the Education and Culture Ministry. The rights group recommended that the government review dress codes in Islamic state schools and universities under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which makes mandatory jilbab [a] requirement. The February decree does not apply to publicly funded institutions either, where female civil servants are pressured to wear a jilbab and decent clothing, HRWs report said. A lecturer at a public university in Jakarta who wished to remain anonymous told the rights group that she had been under pressure to wear a jilbab even though there was no campus regulation on the garment and the university mandated only decent clothing. The constant pressure to dress a certain way prompted the lecturer to resign last March. She took a new job at a private university where she says she is not judged for teaching without a jilbab, HRW said. The Indonesian government must also work with Islamic organizations to create a public messaging campaign against requiring or pressuring women and girls to wear the jilbab and promoting tolerance and inclusivity, the HRW report said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. San Francisco, 18 March 2021: The Report Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Drug Type (Generic, Branded, Biologic), By Product (Vials, Ampoules, Bottles, Cartridges & Syringes), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028 The global pharmaceutical glass packaging market size is expected to reach USD 30.87 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period. The product demand is projected to be driven by the growth in the pharma industry in emerging regions, such as Asia Pacific. The cost-sensitivity in the healthcare sector and the growing significance of biotech drugs have resulted in the establishment of stringent regulations related to drug delivery products. Many pharmaceutical drug manufacturing companies are focusing on increasing the shelf life of a drug and are therefore making investments in the research and development of glass vials. The newly-developed products are expected to boost the demand for glass vials. Generic drugs has been the fastest-growing drug type segment and is expected to maintain rapid growth over the forecast period. This is due to the significant increase in the volume of generics, which is estimated to face a change in the market dynamics primarily due to the increased competitive intensity and customer consolidation in the U.S., which has a strong presence of several global pharma companies. Glass packaging is highly preferred in the pharma industry as it is easy to sterilize with heat and does not react with most of the drugs and medicines being chemically inert. The colored glass can protect the medicines from different wavelengths including UV rays. In addition, the raw material is easily available and can be recycled, which has made it an ideal for the packing of pharma products. The market in North America is expected to witness steady growth on account of the presence of several global players in the region. With the rising volume of generic drugs, glass packaging is being increasingly adopted owing to the preexisting established supply chain. The recent outbreak of Covid-19 had a positive impact on the global market due to growing product usage for the packing of immunity-boosting drugs. Access Research Report of Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/pharmaceutical-glass-packaging-market Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Market Report Highlights In terms of revenue, the generic drug type segment is projected to ascend at the fastest CAGR of 9.5% over the forecast period Distrust in the quality of unbranded generic medicines by physicians/patients, high out-of-pocket patient spending for drug purchases, and insufficient government promotion of unbranded generics are likely to promote the use of branded generic drugs over the coming years Ampoules product segment accounted for a significant revenue share in 2020. Ampoules have been widely used for the primary packaging of injectables Glass delamination has been a growing concern and has been highlighted by the FDA for better compatibility testing of container & drug However, the development of glass vials that reduces the chances of delamination and breakage is estimated to result in the continuation of the trend of vials occupying a major market share over the coming years Companies in the market are trying to improve the product strength to reduce breakage during the filling of these vials. In September 2019, Corning Inc. got approval from the FDA to market its Corning Valor Glass, which enables superior chemical durability and improves resistance to breakage, damage, and particulate contamination List of Key Players of Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Market Corning Incorporated Nipro Corporation SGD S.A. Stolzle-Oberglas GmbH Bormioli Pharma S.r.l West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Schott AG Gerresheimer AG Beatson Clark Ardagh Group S.A Piramal Enterprises Ltd. Sisecam Group Owens-Illinois, Inc. Access Press Release of Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-pharmaceutical-glass-packaging-market The removal of principals from the teachers union is among sweeping changes planned for public education in the province and one the Manitoba Teachers Society plans to fight with full force. The removal of principals from the teachers union is among sweeping changes planned for public education in the province and one the Manitoba Teachers Society plans to fight with full force. On Monday, the province published Bill 64 (Education Modernization Act), the K-12 education review, and its plan to implement the commissions 75 recommendations "in spirit and principle." Three of the recommendations target effective school leadership: reinforcing principals as instructional leaders; creating a principals association; and designing business manager positions in schools to take over maintenance and accounting roles so principals can focus on school leadership. "Are they trying to impose some sort of business model onto schools? Schools arent businesses; schools are places of learning," said James Bedford, president of MTS, which represents upwards of 16,000 educators. Bedford said he questions how many of the changes including the controversial proposal to replace 37 English language school boards with 15 regional entities that report to a centralized authority board of government appointees will improve the student experience. If principals and vice-principals are represented by a different bargaining unit, he said the "collegial working environment" in schools will disappear and ultimately, trickle down and affect student learning. The commission made that proposal to remove the potential for conflict of interest when management and employees are in the same union. "This will resolve many issues related to hiring, work assignments, and performance management," states the 180-page report. Retired school principal Rick Haley said awkward situations arise when the same union represents a principal and teacher during a grievance meeting, but he sees this move as the province trying to "drive a spike" between staff. "So much of this is a slap in the face to educators," wrote Haley, an instructor at the University of Winnipeg, in an emailed statement. He added, "The title, (Education) Modernization Act implies that we are still teaching with blackboards... The government implies that we dont care about low test scores. Maybe they are right. Test scores are not the be-all and end-all, but there is not an educator who doesnt lose sleep over students who are struggling." Cameron Hauseman has his fair share of critiques about the provinces blueprint from a loss of local control to the recruitment of parents who want to engage in "toothless" volunteer councils. The assistant professor of educational administration at the University of Manitoba, however, said recommendations to both create a college of teachers and a principals union are promising. "We want to make sure our teachers arent overburdened with work intensification or extreme challenges in their work, but I do think tension could be a good thing. It could light a fire under the whole system," said Hauseman, adding that in Ontario, where he is a certified teacher, student outcomes have improved under the provinces multiple-union model. As for a college of teachers, Hauseman said it would provide transparency; anyone can search an educators teaching records, including disciplinary files, on the online Ontario and B.C. college registries. Bedford said there is no need for a college, citing MTS ensuring accountability and providing robust professional development. The province stopped short of accepting the college recommendation in full, as it announced only plans to further explore the option. "I dont know how they can cherry-pick some recommendations and not others," Hauseman said. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio has admitted that not even AC-12's golden trio are safe from being killed off. The award-winning police drama, starring Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston and Vicky McClure as an anti-corruption team on the hunt for 'bent coppers', returns to BBC One on Sunday night after a two-year break. The sixth series will see the squad face their most 'enigmatic adversary' to date, DCI Joanne Davidson, played by Kelly Macdonald. The Scottish actress takes on the role of a senior investigating officer in an unsolved murder case. Superintendent Ted Hastings, DS Steve Arnott and DI Kate Fleming, portrayed by Dunbar, Compston and McClure, are at the heart of the drama but Mercurio has teased that not even their characters are safe. At a media Q&A, ahead of Sunday night's opening episode, Mercurio was asked if he had ever considered killing off one of the three. He replied: "Oh, it's never far from my thoughts, honestly. "We all get on brilliantly, but everybody knows that we're serving something bigger than ourselves, which is Line Of Duty, and one of the things about the show is that nobody's safe; it's what keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. So, I know that it would be a sad day, but I think all the main cast realise that it's possible, and we talk about it, we joke about it, and it's something that no one would relish, but everybody would understand." Mercurio hasn't shied away from getting rid of key characters since the show started in 2012. Memorable deaths (spoiler alert) have included DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James) walking out onto a motorway into the path of a lorry, the shooting of DI Lindsay Denton and AC-12 newcomer Georgia Trotman (Jessica Raine) getting thrown out of a hospital window. Other central characters have also been killed off. Filming of the new series got under way in Belfast last year - its home since series two. But the Covid-19 pandemic meant the shoot had to be postponed for six months. Mercurio said there had been "a little brush" with the virus early in the shoot and that testing had made the situation "straightforward". But when community testing was withdrawn, he said he took the decision to shut down. "We weren't able to test our people, so therefore we didn't know where the virus was, and I just phoned Simon (executive producer Simon Heath) and it was a very straightforward conversation," he said. "I just said, 'I think we have to shut down', and he said, 'I agree, we've got to shut down'. "So we filmed the rest of that day and, at the end of that day, I told the cast and crew that we were shutting down, and we then spent the summer waiting for a test and trace system to materialise and then came to the conclusion that we had to devise our own." On the future of the drama, Simon Heath said: "Let's see how this season performs. We just enjoy making one season at a time." And when asked if he thought there was going to be a scene in series six that had the potential to break the internet, he replied: "Yes, I do." Line Of Duty returns to BBC One on Sunday, March 21 The extreme initiatives of California Governor Gavin Newsom compared to that of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to curtail coronavirus cases reportedly didn't work based on data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to FaithWire, a report from CBS News based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that California's extreme lockdowns during the pandemic did not help curtail COVID cases nor prosper businesses, as well as, safeguard American freedoms. FaithWire presented the CBS News report that compared California's initiatives to that of Florida's and said that the opposite approaches nevertheless have similar outcomes in terms of COVID-19 case rates. FaithWire highlighted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that showed Florida never opted for a lockdown unlike California did and yet have almost identical 8,900 cases per 100,000 people. The two states' death rates due to the coronavirus were also similar such that Florida ranked 27th followed by California at 28th among U.S. states. Unemployment rates were recorded at 5.1% for Florida and 9.3% for California. In addition, DeSantis proudly reported in his recent State of the State address that Florida's schools, businesses, and communities remained open. There were no restrictions in the state, not even to penalties for those not wearing a mask. "Florida schools are open and we are one of only a handful of states in which every parent has the right to send their child to school in person," he said. "Every business in Florida has the right to operate. Over these many months we've stood up for small family owned businesses and saved thousands of them from ruin," DeSantis stressed. While Newsom, as per FaithWire, was the first to order a statewide shutdown that saw strict limitations imposed on indoor dining, schools, among others; due to the pandemic alongside the implementation of a mask mandate. "Working together with parents and teachers and school leaders, we've turned the conversation to whether to reopen to when," Newsom revealed. FaithWire said California is scheduled to reopen come April citing the Republican governor in saying that "we're not going to come crawling back" but instead will "roar back" in his State of the State address. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last August 2020 revealed that social distancing can reduce hospitalization and deaths due to COVID-19 by 90% "if all groups (those less than 60 years of age) reduce their contacts with others." While a recent study released on Monday by the said center showed that mask mandates and reducing on-premises restaurant dining do decrease COVID-19 case and growth rates. "Mask mandates and restricting any on-premises dining at restaurants can help limit community transmission of COVID-19 and reduce case and death growth rates. These findings can inform public policies to reduce community spread of COVID-19," the report said. Aligned with these studies' results, CBS San Francisco Bay Area reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated people can forego wearing masks when gathering with others. "We know that people want to get vaccinated so they can get back to doing the things they enjoy with the people they love," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. These studies were actually the basis government officials created their COVID-19 initiatives such as President Joe Biden's Adminstration who is reported by Health Day as weighing options to put a national face mask standard for the workplace in the face of 38.3 million Americans fully vaccinated and over 109 million waiting for their dose to be completed. LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nespresso invests CHF 117 million to expand its Avenches production center in Switzerland to meet increasing consumer demand for its high-quality premium coffees and support international development, creating 50 new jobs by the end of 2022. The investment supports the increase of production capacity, by including three new production lines, and the expansion of its distribution center, augmenting the current logistics capacity. The Avenches production center acts as Nespresso's global distribution center, shipping capsules to over 80 countries around the world, and is dedicated to the production of Nespresso Original and Professional coffees as well as Starbucks by Nespresso. "This investment speaks of our long-term sustainable business approach," said Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso. "All Nespresso coffees sold worldwide are produced in Switzerland. Over the past eight months we have announced a total of CHF 270 million investment in both our Romont and Avenches production centers. We are very proud to be able to continue to invest in Switzerland and support our economy, even more so in challenging times such as these." "In the current context, I consider Nespresso's announcement as very good news. This very important investment demonstrates the attractiveness of this region, including in the industrial sector. By creating several dozen additional jobs, Nespresso is expanding its Avenches site and strengthens the positioning of the Swiss Food Nutrition Valley, an initiative launched by Nestle and the Canton of Vaud to promote Switzerland as an innovation hub in the field of food and nutrition," emphasized Philippe Leuba, Director of the Department of Economy, Innovation and Sport of the Canton of Vaud. Growing consumer demand has led to the need to expand Nespresso's logistics operations in Avenches, ensuring higher turnover in order processing and dispatching, as well as increased production capacity. The expansion of the distribution center is set to start in July 2021 and expected to be fully operational by September 2022. The three new production lines are planned to be operational by March 2022. Nespresso opened its production center in Avenches in 2008, with an initial investment of CHF 300 million, later complemented with CHF 200 million invested in its infrastructure and operations in Avenches, a total of CHF 500 million since 2009. This announcement today joins the CHF 160 million investment communicated July last year for the expansion of the brand's Romont production facility, which will result in the creation of up to 300 new jobs in the next 10 years. A positive impact on the local economy Over the past 10 years, in addition to ongoing investment in its business, Nespresso has invested CHF 700 million in its three Swiss-based production centers in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg. Sustainably grown coffee beans are transformed into the highest quality coffees through the know-how and passion of more than 1,000 skilled factory employees. In 2020, and despite the pandemic situation, Nespresso recruited over 150 new employees for its three production centers in Switzerland. "As the Mayor of Avenches, I welcome the expansion project and I am delighted with the 50 additional jobs that will boost and sustain the attractiveness of our local economy," said Roxanne Meyer Keller, Mayor of the Avenches town. Over the past 10 years, Nestle has invested, on average, CHF 300 million every year in its infrastructures and operations in Switzerland. Strongly rooted in its home country, Nestle has 11 production centers and 4 Research & Development sites located in Switzerland. Sustainable operations While investing in supporting its operations, Nespresso is also committed to its sustainability ambition, that every cup of Nespresso coffee has a positive impact on the world. All three Nespresso production centers are 'zero waste to landfill' and production processes have been optimized to ensure heat and water are recovered and reused whenever possible. 100% of the green coffee is delivered by rail to our production centres. In the Avenches production facility, the energy generated during the production processes is used to heat the factory, saving, per year, the equivalent of the electricity consumed in 700 households in Switzerland. The green coffee pre-heating system in place allows to save a total of 357,000 m3 of natural gas per year. Facts and figures about the Nespresso Production Center in Avenches Second Nespresso production center in Switzerland (2008), after Orbe (2002). Romont (2015) - worldwide production in Switzerland production center in (2008), after Orbe (2002). Romont (2015) - worldwide production in Total investment in infrastructures and operations (since creation): CHF 560 million Total investment in production facilities in Switzerland since 2010: CHF 700 million since 2010: Total site area: 16,587 m 2 Total site area after expansion: 21,310 m 2 Current number of employees on the site: 730 Production of Nespresso Original, Professional coffees and Starbucks by Nespresso About Nestle Nespresso Nestle Nespresso S.A. is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality portioned coffee. The company works with more than 110,000 farmers in 15 countries through its AAA Sustainable Quality Program to embed sustainability practices on farms and the surrounding landscapes. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with the NGO The Rainforest Alliance, the program helps to improve the yield and quality of harvests, while protecting the environment and improving livelihoods of farmers and their communities. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nespresso operates in 82 countries and has 13,900 employees. In 2020, it operated a global retail network of 816 boutiques. The brand currently has more than 100,000 points to collect its used capsules globally, enabling 91% of its consumers to recycle. For more information, visit the Nespresso corporate website www.nestle-nespresso.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1457432/Nespresso_Avenches.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1201367/Nespresso_Logo.jpg AstraZeneca Vaccine Deemed Safe by EU Agency After Countries Suspend Use The European Unions drug regulator announced March 18 that the AstraZeneca CCP virus vaccine is safe and effective following reports of recipients developing blood clots or even dying after getting the shot. The European Medicines Agency, in essentially clearing the vaccine for usage, said the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot isnt associated with an increase in the overall risk of developing blood clots, and the benefits of using the vaccine continue to outweigh its possible risks. There is no evidence of a problem related to specific batches of the vaccine or to particular manufacturing sites, the agency said in a statement. However, the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets (elements in the blood that help it to clot) with or without bleeding, including rare cases of clots in the vessels draining blood from the brain (CVST). The number of reported events exceeds those expected, and causality although not confirmed, cannot therefore be excluded. However, given the rarity of the events, and the difficulty of establishing baseline incidence since COVID-19 itself is resulting in hospitalizations with thromboembolic complications, the strength of any association is uncertain. In a separate news briefing on March 18, the World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, called on EU countries to use the vaccine for now. As of now, we do not know whether some or all of the conditions have been caused by the vaccine or by other coincidental factors, Kluge said. At this point in time, however, the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh its risksand its use should continue to save lives. The announcement came after Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and Sweden joined a list of countries to suspend using the AstraZeneca shot. In Italy, a local prosecutor in the Piedmont region said a criminal manslaughter probe would be opened into the death of a 57-year-old music teacher who reportedly died hours after receiving the shot, while prosecutors said they seized about 400,000 doses of the vaccine. Before that, a 60-year-old Danish woman died after developing what Danish health officials described as unusual symptoms, prompting Denmark to suspend usage of the vaccine. Some European nations such as Greece and Belgium have continued using the vaccine. Australia, Canada, and India have also continued to use it. The vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the United States by health regulators. The United Kingdom, where AstraZeneca developed the vaccine, has criticized EU countries for suspending usage, with some officials saying the move may have been political in nature. The AstraZeneca shot is the worlds most widely used COVID-19 vaccine. Ascension Island, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a part of the British Overseas Territories. (NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen) UK Could Use Overseas Territories for Space Launches, Experts Say The UK can use its overseas territories to get ahead in the space race, according to experts, as it prepares to launch spacecraft from home soil for the first time. Some of the British overseas territories are positioned in incredibly strategic spots, Robert Clark, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society think tank, told The Epoch Times on March 16. For example, Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Ascension islands, and the Falklands. These are perfectly suitable for things like space-based programs, and satellites, and radar facilities, he said. Experts have called for the UK to develop its own space capabilities as space becomes more contested both commercially and militarily. In the biggest military spending boost since 1991, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in November last year that the UK will establish its first Space Command and launch satellites and its first rocket from Scotland in 2022. However, theres a limitation to space launches in Britain owing to the islands location. Spots near the equator can take the most advantage of the Earths orbiting speed so that less propellant is needed to launch a bigger spacecraft. This disadvantage, Clark said, can be compensated for by the UKs overseas territories. The overseas territories that I mentioned, for example, especially the Ascension islands, are extremely close to the equator. Diego Garcia is [also] close to the equator, he said, adding that they are geographically and strategically placed to help with UK space more broadly. These are capabilities that, for example, other European space powers dont necessarily have, he said. Robert Clark, a defence research fellow at UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society, speaks to The Epoch Times during an online interview on March 16, 2021. (The Epoch Times/Screenshot) Mark Hilborne, a lecturer at Kings College London Defence Studies Department, also set his eyes on these islands. He told The Telegraph on March 9 that the UK can plant sensors on these territories to monitor satellites from adversaries. Its sort of theoretical footprint on the ground, and that will give you coverage of different areas, he said, noting that the UK could help fill in gaps in the Southern Hemisphere not covered by the United States to get an overall picture of whats in space and whos doing what. From a military perspective if China does things, we need to know about it, and the same with Russia, he added. UKs New Space Approach Meets Challenges China Will Pose Space plays a significant role in modern defence in terms of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Integrated with cyberspace, it will give the UK a much more clearer understanding from the intelligence aspect, Clark said. With China completing its BeiDou satellite-based navigation system, the West has recognised that demilitarisation of space is increasingly impossible, or, as some say, delusional. A boy looks at the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening up at the National Museum of China in Beijing on Feb. 27, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Clark said that space has already been militarised for a while, and is increasingly militarised by Russia and China, in particular. If we look at the Chinese space programme, particularly from next year onwards, theyre looking at launching their own International Space Center, and the incorporation of their civil and military technology will only potentiate the role that Chinese military will have in space, he said. BeiDou, Clark added, is fundamental to Chinese space ambitions going forwards more broadly, and it really heralds the fact that China is an ever-increasing space power. In the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy (pdf) published on Tuesday, the UK government promised to make the UK a meaningful actor in space. The review laid out an integrated space strategy which brings together military and civil space policy for the first time. Clark said he thinks its the right time for the UK to take such an approach, which will be to meet the challenges that I mentioned China will pose to the space domain going forwards from a military perspective. Another thing that needs to be discussed further, Clark said, is how to devise a particular set of internationally agreed laws and treaties that can limit and safely coordinate military activities in space, and will suit the benefits of all parties concerned. To young Evelyn Carter, what she did was no big deal -- just a little detour in her normal day at the Destrehan pool where shed gone to an aquatic exercise class. But to her mom, Andrea Carter, and Scout Leader Holly Phister, Evelyns mature-beyond-her-years reaction likely saved a life and was an act worth honoring although COVID would push the celebration back almost two years. It was July 2019. A strong swimmer, Evelyn was heading toward the diving board when she noticed a boy in the deep end of the pool struggling to tread water. She called out to him, but getting no answer, she jumped in and pulled him to safety. She was only 10 years old. I wasnt thinking, just reacting, Evelyn, now 12, said recently. There was a lifeguard and lots of kids and some adults. I noticed first that he was in trouble -- Im sure everyone else thought he was playing, or couldnt help him -- a lot of them were younger kids. For her efforts, Evelyn, now a Cadet with Girl Scout Troop 20179 in Destrehan, recently was awarded the Girl Scouts USA Medal of Honor Award. She is only one of two girls to receive the prestigious award in the history of the Southeast Louisiana council. It is reserved for Girl Scouts who have performed acts of heroism beyond the degree of maturity and training expected for their age. Girl Scouts Louisiana East CEO Rebecca Pennington presented Evelyn with the award in February. Evelyn is truly a hero. Her demonstrated fortitude and heroism saved a young child that day, and we couldnt be prouder, Pennington said. +5 Jesuit student designs house floats to perk up nonprofits and the community With Mardi Gras 2020 in pandemic meltdown, Andrew Bruce wanted to find a way to spread a little purple, green and gold happiness around the ci I definitely had some grown-up sensibilities even then, Evelyn said matter of factly. One of the reasons is Girl Scouts. They taught character traits and mindset, and because of who I am, I matured quicker. Shes been in Scouting for about four years, beginning as a Daisy in North Carolina and picking up as a Junior after her family, including father John Carter and younger sister Leah, moved to Destrehan four years ago. Scouts are aimed at a variety of different things and at becoming capable. Theyre fun activities to do and explore the world. They contribute to self-confidence and maturity, Evelyn said. Her quick reaction at the pool surprised even her mother. Shes (Evelyns) wise beyond her years. You could tell when she was real little that she had a maturity about her, too, Carter said. When she wants to do something shes strong in her ways, so shell do what she decided to do. But the ability to instinctually react and help someone is shocking. Information learned after the incident made Evelyns quick action all the more important. An instructor said the boy looked like he was splashing around, but not calling out for help. Unbeknownst to people, he was nonverbal. Afterward we found out he was not supposed to be in the deep, Carter explained. +13 Renovated Lakeview cottage offers a simple, uncluttered lifestyle for a pair of empty-nesters While renovating a tiny house on Florida Boulevard in Lakeview, Mary Ann and Doug Cardinale went back and forth: Would they move into it, or w Although the boy was only 7, he was not short compared to me, not much smaller, Evelyn recalled. He didnt struggle with her, but there was some squirming, Evelyn said. He was a worm. I got him to the edge of the pool and my camp peers came and helped me out, and some lifeguards and adults helped and checked up on him. I dont remember that much, but he seemed surprised and a little shaken. Evelyn wasnt shaken at all though, nor did she experience an adrenalin rush. After I was just like, that just happened, Evelyn said coolly. Then she went back to her exercise class. She didnt think much of it at the time because it was something she just did. I think shes realizing the significance now more than she did then, Carter said. Up next for the sixth-grader at Harry Hurst Middle School is working to earn her Girl Scout Bronze Award for her troops project on bat houses, which provide a safe place for bats to live and reproduce. Why bats? People dont really mention them, some say theyre slowly becoming extinct .. nobodys trying to take care of them. They eat mosquites and other bugs. They also pollinate plants, Evelyn said. The manager of an eastern Jefferson County convenience store has been charged with dozens of tax-related crimes. Christopher Coker, a 46-year-old Warrior man, is facing 45 felony charges, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Thursday. Coker is the manager of Melvin Super Stop, a business owned by his family. A Montgomery County grand jury on March 4 returned the indictment against Coker. The indictment contends that Coker willfully failed to collect or pay sales taxes for the store from March 2015 through November 2018. The Attorney Generals Special Prosecution Division joined with the Alabama Department of Revenue to investigate the case. Coker surrendered to the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office Wednesday and was released on $75,000 bond. If convicted, Coker faces a maximum of one to 10 years of in prison and up to a $15,000 fine for each of the charges, which are Class C felonies. By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States was joined by Russia, China and Pakistan on Thursday in calling on Afghanistan's warring sides to reach an immediate ceasefire, at talks that showed Washington's determination to win backing from regional powers for its plans. Just six weeks before a deadline for the United States to pull out troops that have been in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, Washington sent a senior official to participate in regional peace talks convened by Russia. The Moscow talks were meant to breathe life into negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar's capital Doha, stalled over government accusations that the insurgents have done too little to halt violence. "At this turning point, our four countries call on the sides to hold talks and reach a peace agreement that will end more than four decades of war in Afghanistan," a joint statement said after Thursday's talks. The statement called on the warring sides to curb violence and on the Taliban not to declare offensives in the spring and summer. It also said the four countries were committed to mobilising political and economic support for Afghanistan once a peace settlement had been reached. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's presence was a sign of Washington's increasing effort to attract support among regional powers for its plans for Afghanistan. President Joe Biden must soon decide whether to keep forces on past a May 1 deadline to withdraw, agreed with the Taliban last year under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. Khalilzad has been trying to drum up backing for a proposal that includes an interim government. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani opposes an interim government, and a Taliban leader has said the group would not join it, although it supports replacing the current administration. Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, wrote on Twitter after Thursday's Moscow talks that the state negotiation team was ready to discuss any topic with the Taliban. Story continues "We called for an end to targeted killings and a comprehensive ceasefire to begin the next rounds of the talks in a peaceful environment," Abdullah wrote. The Moscow gathering will be followed by a meeting of regional players in Turkey next month and a summit that Khalilzad has asked the United Nations to organise. (Corrects paragraph 2 to remove first visit reference and deletes paragraph 8 which incorrectly described format of talks) (Editing by Peter Graff) The Takeout YouTube eating sensation Raina Huang visited StevOs Pizza n Ribs in Aurora, Colorado, in order to film herself tackling that restaurants OMG 28" eating challenge for her YouTube channel. Huang and a friend planned to conquer a 28" pizza within an hour; the prize was not only a full (and probably sore) belly, but also $100. And of course internet fame. But the owner, Steve Wieand, wasnt buying it. He accused Huang of being a professional competitor and a scammer, and he kicked her out of the r Imports to Ireland from Great Britain dropped by more than 900 million euro in January following the end of the Brexit transition period. New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed a 65% drop 906 million euro to 497 million in January compared with the same month last year. The beginning of 2021 marked the end of the Brexit transition period, bringing an end to the free movement of goods between Great Britain and EU member states. CSO senior statistician Orla McCarthy said: Traders reported that a combination of factors contributed to the large reduction in imports from Great Britain in January 2021. These included the challenges of complying with customs requirements. Other factors identified by traders were stockpiling of goods in Q4 2020 in preparation for Brexit, substitution with goods from other countries, and a reduction in trade volumes due to the impact of Covid-19 related restrictions throughout January. The largest decrease was in the imports of live animals, falling by 75% or 187 million euro to 62 million. It was followed by mineral fuel imports such as coal and gas, which fell 71% or 139 million euro to 57 million. Chemicals, machinery and transport equipment also saw significant drops. Exports to Great Britain also fell, by 14% or 149 million euro to 946 million. GB accounted for just 7% of exports from Ireland. Expand Close Trucks pass through a customs post at Dublin Port (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Trucks pass through a customs post at Dublin Port (Niall Carson/PA) The largest declines were in exports of food and live animals, which fell by 33% or 92 million euro to 188 million. Machinery and transport equipment decreased by 106 million euro to 101 million, a decline of 51%. But chemicals and related products increased by 56%, up 157 million euro to 437 million. Since January 1, all trade in goods with Great Britain is treated as non-EU trade. This brings considerable red tape that has caused significant delays for hauliers at ports. During the Brexit transition period, trade rules remained the same as when the UK was an EU member state. However, since that period ended at the beginning of 2021, incoming trade from Great Britain has remained persistently low. Customs officials say Brexit alone is not to blame for this, with high levels of stockpiling and the coronavirus pandemic also contributing. But the Department of Transport has voiced its concerned, saying it would like to see trade volumes pick up quicker. Much is made of China's dominance in the rare earth elements (REE). Currently, China controls over 90% of the refined or processed market for REEs. Most advanced technologies, including weapon systems, depend on REEs, and adequate substitutes do not exist. On the surface, China's monopolistic control over refined REEs induces a severe case of the vapors among U.S. national security analysts. But how extensive and stable is China's control of the REE market? If China's market control is neither extensive nor stable, perhaps doing nothing or policies that target China's Achilles heel would be the U.S.'s best course of action. A close look at the data seems necessary before any U.S. response is undertaken. Synonyms for REE include rare-earth metals (REM), rare-earth oxides (REO), and lanthanides. Unless writing technical papers, distinguishing among the various synonyms isn't worth the effort. In general, REE are 17 elements that are critical in our high-tech world. REE are not rare but are typically not found in significant concentrations anywhere in the world. For example, large ore deposits with concentrations above 6% are virtually unknown outside South Africa's closed Steenkampskraal mine. Refining REEs presents its own problems, since the refining process often produces significant amounts of toxic and radioactive waste, like thorium and uranium. The takeaways are (1) feasible mining concentrations of REEs are scarce and (2) refining REEs imposes environmental risks. The graph below uses data from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Minerals Information Center (USGS/NMIC) and plots the world share of REE mining production for China, the U.S., and the rest of the world (ROW) over the last thirty years. Source: Data for 19902017 from the USGIS/NMIC Mineral Yearbooks 19942017 (Table 6: 19942016, Table 8: 2017); USGIS/NMIC Mineral Commodity Summary 20182021. As seen in the graph, China's production share rose sharply through the 1990s and reached a peak of 97.5% in 2005. From there, China's share suffered a steady decline that dramatically deepened in 2017, until China accounted for 58.3% of global REE ores in 2020. The accelerated decline is largely due to the Trump administration's push to increase U.S. REE mining, which grew from nothing to the world's second largest producer, and the rapid growth in REE ores from Myanmar, which increased from nothing in 2017 to the world's third largest producer. With the discovery of new deposits and mines reopening outside China, such as Burundi's Gakara Rare Earth Project and South Africa's Steenkampskraal mine, the outlook is poor for China to regain its overwhelming dominance in REE mining. In this regard, China is beginning to look like a paper tiger, suggesting that the best U.S. response would ensure the operation of normal market forces. However, mining is only half the story. Raw ore is useless. Our high-tech world depends on processed or refined REEs. In the realm of refined REEs, China is a vicious tiger, with a market share of nearly 90%. The only significant REE refining facilities outside China are those in Russia and the controversial Lynas Advanced Materials ("Lynas") plant in Pahang, Malaysia. This means that, except for Russia and Australia, nearly all REE ore is refined in China, including ores mined in the U.S. The highly toxic and radioactive wastes produced by refining REEs explain China's disparity between its market shares in mining and processing. The lack of refining facilities creates a chokepoint that China exploits. Eliminating the refining bottleneck could cause China's share of refined REEs to mirror its share of mining REE ore less than 60% and falling. This suggests that China's lead in REE processing is highly unstable. Unlike its own REE reserves, China does not have territorial control over REE ores mined in other countries. Instead, China relies on commercial contracts to secure foreign ore to process, and long-term international contracts are often subject to re-negotiation, re-interpretation, and repudiation. Eliminating China's stranglehold on refined REEs requires only the political will by the U.S. and other countries to build or expand REE-processing sites outside China. This is easier said than done. People generally resist being neighbors to industrial sites that create toxic and radioactive waste. Careful site selection and research into new refining techniques that reduce toxic wastes could lessen public resistance. However, it is extremely unlikely that all public concerns will be abated, at least in the near term. This illustrates the absolute necessity of political leadership and resolve to protect our high-tech world against the manipulation by China through its leadership in refined REEs. There is another problem to consider. The folks running China aren't stupid. We can expect China to fund political and environmental groups to stop new REE-processing facilities, much like how Russia funds U.S. environmental groups that lobby and protest the development of U.S. fossil fuels. We can expect China to release or fund stories in the press opposed to new REE-processing facilities. We can expect China to use every imaginable coercive means necessary to artificially prop up its power in the REE markets. Make no mistake: the fight over new REE-refining facilities will be heated and very public. There are promising signs. Canada recently announced that a new REE-refining facility will be operational in 2022. President Trump's leadership brought MP Materials, LLC's Mountain Pass mine back to life. President Trump's Executive Order 13817 encouraged MP Materials to build the U.S.'s first REE-refining operation. Other U.S. firms have answered the call, such as U.S. Rare Earth's Mine-to-Magnet project. Moreover, President Biden's executive order on February 24, 2021 has initiated a review of U.S. supply chains, including REEs. These policies and projects are new and relatively small, but they are an important start. Is China a rare-earth paper tiger? At this time, the answer is no. China's overwhelming control over REE-refining guarantees significant power in the markets for REEs. Presently, China controls a key component of our high-tech world, which has national defense implications, given that most modern defense weapons systems require REEs. Yet the China tiger is standing on ice. China's world share of REE mining has fallen below 60% and likely to fall farther in the future. China's REE-refining dominance will disappear if additional refining sites are developed. Since REE-refining produces significant toxic and radioactive waste, taming the China tiger will require significant U.S. leadership and resolve. President Trump started the effort, which resulted in the U.S. becoming the world's second largest producer of REE ores within three years. Canada and former president Trump also took the difficult step of building REE-refining facilities. The question is whether the Biden administration is up to the task and continues this vital and difficult work of taming the rare-earth tiger. Image: coracii via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. A 52-year-old man has been arrested by police in Derry's Creggan area as part of an investigation into dissident republican activity. Detectives from the PSNI's terrorism investigation unit made the arrest during a search operation on Thursday morning. Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, Head of Serious Crime Branch, said: Today detectives from the Terrorism Investigation Unit have made an arrest as part of Operation Ledging. This is a discrete, stand-alone strand of Operation Arbacia, looking specifically at the New IRAs bomb making activities as well as the groups storage of explosive devices and equipment." The 52-year-old man was arrested under the Terrorism Act and is to be questioned in Musgrave Serious Crime Suite by detectives. Det Chief Insp Murray added: A detailed forensic examination of a house is currently under way at that location as part of the investigation. Operation Ledging is one of a number of ongoing investigative elements relating to the activities of the New IRA. Todays arrest and examination of a house is a significant development, in a long term enquiry, into this aspect of the gangs activities. The New IRA continues to pose a very real danger, most especially to the communities in the areas where they construct and store their bombs and guns." He said that previous investigations had repeatedly demonstrated the New IRA's "callous disregard" towards who it might hurt or what it destroys. "We have witnessed on numerous occasions that they are willing to put the lives of local people at risk in their reckless haste to carry out bombings and shootings. Most starkly they have a chilling indifference to hiding lethally dangerous weapons and bombs in places where local people can easily stumble across them, unaware of the potential horrific consequences of touching them." He said this had been demonstrated in recent times when explosives and weapons were left near to children's play-dens and the middle of housing areas. "The approaching anniversary of the heartless murder of Lyra McKee and the self-serving justification of it by those who were involved in it, underscores the risks that the New IRA pose to those going about their lawful business." He said the chances of success in such operations were greatly improved with support and information from the public. We have previously stated that Operation Arbacia is a longer term investigation that will look into every aspect of the activities of the New IRA in its entirety. Todays search and arrest is evidence that we have various operations complementing Operation Arbacia and today does not mark the end of them but rather a continuance. [March 18, 2021] Zayo Announces Significant Expansion to Network in Vancouver, B.C. Zayo Group (News - Alert) Holdings, Inc. today announced a significant expansion to its infrastructure in Vancouver, British Columbia with two key projects: a network upgrade to 100 gigabytes (100G) capacity, now complete, and an increase in the fiber capacity to its existing terrestrial route between Vancouver and Seattle, scheduled for completion by mid-year of 2022. The upgraded network in the Vancouver area will enable Zayo to support 100G of Internet Protocol (IP) services, including IP Transit and Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) services. The upgrade marks a ten-fold increase in the existing cable capacity which allows for higher bandwidth services and competitive pricing, further enriching Vancouver's position as a growing global tech hub. The Vancouver - Seattle route is the primary fiber path between Canada and the U.S. on the West Coast. Zayo's increased fiber capacity on this route will better support the region's growing commercial marketplace, meeting demands for higher speed and increasing volume. Additionally, the route will provide key infrastructure for the Vancouver-Seattle technology corridor, an innovation ecosystem that is home to some of the world's leading technology, research and medical organizations. "Our delivery of 100G enabled service capabilities to the Vancouver market and increased capacity for the Vancouver-Seattle technology corridor reflects Zayo's commitment to building our network based on customer needs," stated Dennis Kyle, SVP of Zayo Networks, Mountain Region. "We look forward to collaborating with innovative businesses and organizations in the region, helping them drive transformative changes that disrupt the way we live and work." The increased demand on networks, including the need for capacity, continues to grow as the number of networked devices and connections is anticipated toreach 31 billion globally in 2025. In response, Zayo is upgrading its extensive network and infrastructure assets across North America and Europe to support remote working, remote education, telehealth, business critical applications and a global increase in public IP traffic. Zayo's expanded service capabilities will support the demands of high bandwidth-consuming businesses in Vancouver as well as the region's business trends for 2021 and beyond. Vancouver Economic Commission forecasts Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will rebound in 2021 with 6.8 percent growth. The technology sector, which includes AI, Software as a Service ( SaaS (News - Alert) ), social media, business intelligence, security and fintech, e-commerce and web technologies, will play a key role as it generates more than $23 billion in revenue and $15 billion in GDP in British Columbia. For more information about Zayo's IP and fiber solutions or our Global Reach, visit us at www.zayo.com. About Zayo Group Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. provides mission-critical bandwidth to the world's most impactful companies, fueling the innovations that are transforming our society. Zayo's 126,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. Zayo's communications infrastructure solutions include dark fiber, private data networks, wavelengths, Ethernet, dedicated internet access and data center connectivity solutions. Zayo owns and operates a Tier 1 IP backbone and through its CloudLink service, Zayo provides low-latency private connectivity that attaches enterprises to their public cloud environments. Zayo serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises. For more information, visit https://zayo.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210318005136/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] After conversations with the Morristown National Weather Service throughout the day and out of an abundance of caution, Hamilton County Schools will open on a two-hour delay on Thursday. Officials said the decision is "because of severe weather predicted for later tonight." The time the bus arrives to pick up students, the time schools open for drop-off, and the time schools start will all be moved back two hours from the normal start time. To find out the start time for schools, visit the district website. HCS at Home students will follow their home schools schedule. School-aged childcare locations will be open at 7 a.m. Cleveland City Schools will be closed on Thursday due to expected inclement weather. There will be no in person or virtual school on Thursday. School principals will work with groups regarding after-school activities. Bradley County Schools will also be closed. Also on a two-hour delay will be Catoosa County Schools, Dade County Schools, Walker County Schools, Polk County Schools and Chickamauga Schools. All campuses of Georgia Northwestern Technical College will delay opening until 10 am on Thursday due to potential severe weather. Reconstruction of an ankylosaurid armored dinosaur digging with its forelimbs. Credit: Yusik Choi. Newly excavated skeletal remains of an ankylosaurida large armored herbivore that lived during the Cretaceous Periodmay indicate that members of this family of dinosaurs were able to dig, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The specimen, known as MPC-D 100/1359, may further our understanding of ankylosaurid behavior during the Late Cretaceous (84-72 million years ago). Yuong-Nam Lee and colleagues excavated the skeletal elements of MPC-D 100/1359 from a deposit of the Baruungoyot Formation in the southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia, where it was discovered in the 1970s. The authors suggest that several anatomical features of MPC-D 100/1359 could indicate that the ankylosaurid was adapted for digging. The bones in its forefeet are arranged in a shallow arc, which could have enabled it to dig soft earth. The fusion of several vertebrae and the decreased number of bones in its hindfeet, compared to other dinosaurs, may have helped anchor MPC-D 100/1359 when digging or moving its tail. The body shape of MPC-D 100/1359, which is wider in the middle and narrower at the front and rear, may have helped its body to remain straight when digging. The authors speculate that MPC-D 100/1359, may have dug the ground in order to reach water, minerals or roots for food and may even have crouched in shallows pits to protect its soft underside from predators. As similar anatomical features have been reported in other ankylosaurids, the findings suggest that the ability to dig may have been common to other members of this family of dinosaurs as well. Explore further Big-boned marsupial unearths evolution of wombat burrowing behavior More information: A new ankylosaurid skeleton from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia: its implications for ankylosaurid postcranial evolution , Scientific Reports (2021). www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-83568-4 Journal information: Scientific Reports A new ankylosaurid skeleton from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia: its implications for ankylosaurid postcranial evolution ,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83568-4 Delivery of Covid vaccine supplies to Wales face delays of up to four weeks, says health minister This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 18th, 2021 Covid-19 vaccine supplies to Wales will delivered up to four weeks later than originally planned, the Welsh Government has confirmed. It comes after UK Government Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons this morning that over one-and-a-half million vaccine doses are to be re-tested. There is also delay to vaccine doses arriving from India. Today Welsh Government said it is working through exactly what the reduced forecast means for our programme in Wales. Dr Gill Richardson, Chair of Wales COVID-19 Vaccine Programme, told BBC Radio Wales this morning that the country recently received quite a large consignment of AstraZeneca. However in the coming weeks well only be receiving half of what we were expecting. Weve given that out to our health boards who distributed it at the GP and vaccination centre level last week, explained Dr Richardson. They still have plenty of those supplies. And we know that it will not affect any appointment scheduled before the end of March. The vaccine rollout has ramped up across Wales recent weeks, with 1,180,155 first doses and 304,411 second doses have been administered. However according to reports Wales will receive 240,000 fewer vaccines next month because of the supply issues. Wales Health Minister Vaughan Gething issued a statement today on the supply delays, however he was not specific in terms of the number of doses Wales will not receive. He added that the drop in supply should not impact the mid-April milestone of offering all the top nine priority groups a vaccine. Mr Gething said: More than 1.1 million people have now received their first dose and almost 300,000 people have received their full course. The data over recent days shows the pace at which our vaccination teams can work when the supply is available; vaccinating around the rate of 1% of the population a day. I have been clear throughout that supply is the limiting factor in our programme. If we had more supply, we could vaccinate more quickly. Members will be aware of reports yesterday evening (Wednesday) of a reduction in supply available across the UK. We have been informed by the UK Government that some of the supply we had been expecting to arrive in the UK before mid-April will now be delivered up to 4 weeks later than originally planned. The UK Government has provided assurances that this should not impact on delivery of our commitments to offer a first dose of the vaccine to the current 9 priority groups by the middle of April and all other eligible adults by the end of July. However, as we have every step of the way, we are working through exactly what the reduced forecast means for our programme in Wales. We will continue discussions with the UK Government with a focus on ensuring we meet the milestones in our national strategy. Significant supplies of vaccine were delivered to vaccination centres and GP practices last week and additional supplies are being delivered this week. So there will be no impact on those who have received their appointment for vaccination. The is planning to open jewellery retail outlets and promote the yellow metal with 'Brand Karnataka' image. The government is also planning to produce and sell with state emblem 'Gandaberunda' (mythical two-headed bird) embedded in them, and aiming to partner with private jewellers. "Gold bars will also be sold in the retail outlets. The state government is planning to produce gold jewellery on the lines of Mysore Silks and Mysore Sandalwood Soaps which have huge market and reputation among customers," Minister for Mines & Geology Murugesh R Nirani. He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Jewellers Association and jewellery designers here. "This landmark initiative will help government generate more revenue and employment opportunities. Since gold is one of the most popular investment choices of the people, the government's venture is expected to achieve great success," Nirani said. The success of Mysore Silks promoted by Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation Ltd (KSIC) and Mysore Sandalwood Soaps promoted by Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL) has prompted the decision to produce gold coins, jewellery and run shops with brand Karnataka promotion. Initially the retail outlets will be opened in Tier-1 cities and based on customer response they will be opened in Tier-2 cities. The government is also planning to set up a Special Economic Zone exclusively for jewellery in the 'Kalyana Karnataka' region, where it is proposing to set up a jewellery park in one of the locations. The government is also planning to rename Hutti Gold Mines Ltd as Karnataka State (Hutti) Gold Mines Ltd. (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.) ROME, N.Y. A man was shot in the leg outside of the Byrne Dairy in Rome Wednesday night, according to Rome police. Officers responded to a shots-fired call at the gas station around 11 p.m., where they found the man suffering from one gunshot wound to the leg. Police say he was shot with a handgun by a white man near the Canal Street entrance. The victim was taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Tom Geise // WKTV Tom Geise // WKTV The suspect is not yet in custody, but police say the incident was not random, and they have no reason to believe the public is in any danger. Anyone with information should call the Rome police tip line at 315-339-7744, or leave an anonymous message at www.romepd.com or www.mohawkvalleycrimestoppers.com. 'We marry disorder with order' He and his research group have found a way to more precisely determine the properties of these materials, because they can better account for the underlying disorder. Their article has been designated "ACS Editors' Choice" by the editors of the American Chemical Society journals, who recognise the "importance to the global scientific community" of the Leipzig researchers' work and see it as a breakthrough in the accurate description of phase transition phenomena in disordered porous materials. In mesoporous materials, the pore openings are far smaller than in a normal sponge: their diameters range from 2 to 50 nanometres and are invisible to the naked eye. Nevertheless, they have a number of interesting properties, including with regard to separating substances. This occurs as a function of molecule and pore size, for example. Until now, scientific experiments have only been able to approximate the desired properties of these materials. "So it is more down to experience whether you can determine which of the structures can be used for which applications," says the physicist. The problem is that these materials are mostly disordered, which means that pores of different sizes in the material form a complex network structure. Researchers at Leipzig University developed a model that determines the features that can be observed in such complex pore networks. Professor Valiullin describes the approach as follows: "We can statistically describe how the individual pores in these networks are coupled to each other. We marry disorder with order." This makes it possible to determine the physical phenomena that need to be understood in gas-liquid and solid-liquid phase transitions, for example. And not only in theory: using special mesoporous modelling, it was possible to prove with the aid of modern nuclear magnetic resonance methods that the theoretical results can also be directly applied in practice. This should make it easier to use such materials in the future, for example to help release drugs into the human body over an extended period - precisely when necessary and desired. Other potential applications for such materials include sensor technology or energy storage and conversion. ### Original title of the publication in the American Chemical Society journal Langmuir: "Impact of Geometrical Disorder on Phase Equilibria of Fluids and Solids Confined in Mesoporous Materials", doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c03047 Jorg Aberger This story has been published on: 2021-03-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Update: Noodle Tree reopened the dining room on Friday using a reservation model. Customers are able to reserve their spot online. Original post continues below: Noodle Tree owner Mike Nguyen said the continued harassment directed towards him and the restaurant, following Sunday's racist vandalism, has forced him to close the dining room. The restaurant is typically open Thursday through Sunday. Thursday marks the first day of operation since anti-Asian graffiti was found on his storefront Sunday morning. The incident followed Nguyen's vocal rejection of Gov. Greg Abbott's recent handling of the pandemic. Nguyen, who is battling lymphoma, did not agree with the end to the mask mandate in multiple interviews with CNN. Though Nguyen has received an outpouring of support, the agitation has also increased since Sunday. He filed a police report on Wednesday after online harassment included comments like "Hope You Die" and "Hope Your Shop Burns Down," according to the report. Nguyen also alleges death threats have been made to his home. RELATED: Asian American groups offer support as Noodle Tree reopens this Thursday Given the killing of eight women six of which were of Asian descent in Georgia at the hands of a white gunman on Tuesday, Nguyen is concerned about the safety of staff, customers and himself. He said dine-in will not be offered on Thursday. He hopes to reopen the dining room on Friday with police presence. Nguyen, who spoke from the restaurant Thursday afternoon, said all he's currently experiencing is support, but the threats are still looming. "Especially with the events that happened in Georgia, I can't take that risk," he added. READ MORE: San Antonio shields Noodle Tree owner with support after racist attack spurred by masks The local FBI office is also aware of the situation and is standing by. We are aware of the incident at a local restaurant in San Antonio, Texas and are in regular contact with San Antonio Police Department," spokeswoman Michelle Lee said in a statement. "If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate. We would encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of a crime to contact law enforcement," she added. Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL) between October 2, 2020 and March 2, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 7, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased XL Fleet 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 XL Fleet class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2055.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 May 7, 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) XL Fleet's salespeople were pressured to inflate their sales pipelines to boost the Company's reported sales and backlog; (2) at least 18 of the 33 customers that XL Fleet featured were inactive and had not placed an order since 2019; (3) XL Fleet's technology had been materially overstated and offered only 5% to 10% of fleet savings; (4) XL Fleet lacks the supply chain and engineers to roll out new products on the announced timeline; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about XL Fleet's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the XL Fleet class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2055.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, 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: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A. Related Links www.rosenlegal.com Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Low plasma levels of protein TGFB1 and polymorphisms in gene TGFB1 act as biomarkers for the prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma, according to a study led by the University Complutense of Madrid (UCM). In particular, these variants are 12% more frequent in patients with metastatic tumors, "which indicates their importance in the clinical progression of this disease", stated Jose Manuel Martin Villa, Professor of Immunology and researcher at the Department of Immunology, Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology of the UCM. In addition to identifying patients with poorer progression and high mortality, these markers also identify individuals at risk of developing this stomach tumor. The finding, published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, "helps establish newer and more appropriate therapeutic regimens", according to Martin Villa. In addition to the UCM, the study counted on the participation of the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of University Hospital Principe de Asturias (Alcala de Henares, Community of Madrid, Spain) and the Gregorio Maranon Healthcare Research Institute (Madrid, Spain). Possibility of extrapolating the data Regarding the detected serological marker, Martin Villa explains that, "the role of the TGFB1 protein in the progression of cancer, modulating the immune response, is controversial. However, these data indicate that this cytokine has a direct effect on the disease, because its absence causes these tumors to become malignant and more invasive, aggravating the patients' condition". To reach these conclusions, the researchers obtained genetic material from a Spanish population and determined the variants using molecular biology techniques. The patients were stratified according to internationally established criteria for disease stages (I to IV). Statistical approaches were employed to determine the association between these genetic markers and the development and progression of the disease. "This study was conducted over the course of 5 years, which has enabled us to associate these genetic variants with patient survival in the medium term", added Martin Villa who also leaves the door open to the possibility that the identified genetic and serological markers are also involved in other tumors such as colorectal cancer. ### Hurricane season 2021 is here: How do storms get their names? Advertisement Exclusive video shows gunman Robert Aaron Long parked outside Young's Asian Massage Parlor Tuesday afternoon, sitting patiently in the driver's seat of his black Hyundai Tucson for exactly an hour and eerily watching people enter before he stepped inside and opened fired, killing four. A short while later, the surveillance video obtained by DailyMail.com, shows the door swing back open and Long step out. The 21-year-old rushes back to his vehicle, hops in and speeds off to continue his massacre at two other Atlanta area spas. Moments after he drove off, the video shows a few lucky survivors exiting the spa, followed by the arrival of cops and paramedics a few minutes later. One victim was carried out and left on the sidewalk with blood flowing from a bullet wound in the back of their head. One man who'd been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn't identified a suspect at the time and restrained him as a precaution. Video shows Robert Aaron Long sat in car for an entire hour, exactly 60 minutes, before stepping out Exclusive video obtained by DailyMail.com shows gunman Robert Aaron Long parked outside Young's Asian Massage Parlor Tuesday afternoon and eerily watching people enter before he stepped inside and opened fired, killing four Moments later he's seen rushing back to his vehicle, hops in and speeds off to continue his massacre at two other Atlanta area spas Within minutes the video shows a few lucky survivors exiting the spa, followed by the arrival of cops and paramedics as one victim is seen on the sidewalk with blood flowing from a bullet wound to the head One man who'd been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs, as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn't identified a suspect, so restrained him as a precaution. Long shot dead eight people including six Asian women at three parlors - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - on Tuesday. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody Three woman who'd just exited the spa and were standing on the sidewalk. 'Somebody inside, they shot, they shot!' one of the women cried out Alex Acosta, who works with his wife Rita Barron at Gabby's Boutique next door, was washing his hands in a sink in the back of his shop when the first shot rang out. He told DailyMail.com he heard four shots in short succession. Robert Aaron Long, 21, killed eight people - six Asian women, a white woman and a white man - in a three-hour crime spree at three different spas on Tuesday Running to the front of the store, he saw three woman who'd just exited the spa and were standing on the sidewalk. 'Somebody inside, they shot, they shot!' one of the women, of Asian dissent, cried out to him, her English limited. Acosta called out to his wife, directing her to 'call 911!' Barron was inside the shop, which one of the bullets pierced, leaving a tiny hole in the shared wall. Acosta saw the man who'd been placed in handcuffs. He recognized him as Mario Gonzalez, whose wife Delaina was inside with a fatal bullet wound. 'Mario looked at me and he told me his wife was still inside,' Acosta recalled. 'He told me to tell the police.' When Acosta's wife told a cop about Delaina, the officer replied, 'I know.' Rita Barron had know Delaina for years. She said Delaina would shop in her boutique. Barron would also see her at a nearby Waffle House where Delaina worked as a waitress. 'I feel sad for all the families because we knew all the people who were involved,' Barron said. Alex Acosta, who works with his wife Rita Barron at Gabby's Boutique next door, was washing his hands in a sink in the back of his shop when the first shot rang out. He told DailyMail.com he heard four shots in short succession Flowers and candles are left at the scene of Tuesday's deadly shooting on Thursday . Pictured: Young Asian Spa Tributes are paid to the shooting victims Thursday. One man who'd been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn't identified a suspect at the time and restrained him as a precaution Long shot dead eight people including six Asian women at three parlors - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - on Tuesday. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody 'I feel sad for all the families because we knew all the people who were involved,' shop owner Rita Barron said. Her friend Delaina was killed in the spa Small droplets of blood can be seen on the ground next to flowers and cards memorializing the victims of the shooting Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived Long shot dead eight people including six Asian women at three parlors - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - on Tuesday. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody. Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, was killed in the first parlor in Acworth. Her friends claim she was a customer and had gone to the parlor in Acworth to get her own massage when she was killed Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived. Friends of Yaun say that she and her husband were there for a couple's massage. He escaped but she was killed. Not all of the victims were staff. Yaun's friends say she was a paying customer who was in the parlor to get a couple's treatment with her husband. Initially, police said they were probing whether race was a factor in the attacks because six of the eight victims were Asian women. But on Wednesday morning, they said Long told them that was not why he carried out the attacks. Instead, he said he is addicted to sex and porn, and wanted to remove the 'temptation' of the parlors. He told police that he saw the parlors as an 'outlet' for his sex addiction. Detectives have not clarified if he had ever engaged in sex acts with any of the staff there. He has been charged with four counts of murder and aggravated assault in Cherokee County, where the first salon is that was targeted. He hasn't yet been in charged in Atlanta. The gunman bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks when he was caught. The Florida locations were somehow connected to pornography, police said on Wednesday without revealing more details. 'He claims that it was not racially motivated... he has an issue that he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places... it's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said at a Wednesday press conference. Baker added that it had been a 'very bad day' for the suspect, and said: 'He was at the end of his rope'. He didn't elaborate on what had happened earlier in the day. Three shootings at spas and massage parlors around Atlanta left eight people dead and police on the hunt for those responsible Robert Aaron Long is being held here at the Cherokee County Detention Center The suspect was captured by surveillance video pulling up to Young's Asian Massage around 4:50pm, just minutes before the shooting People with the medical examiner's office wheel out a body on a stretcher from the Gold Spa massage parlor where three people were shot and killed on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia Bodies are wheeled out of Gold Spa in Atlanta where a man opened fire. Two other massage parlors were targeted The shootings occurred on Tuesday afternoon around the Atlanta area. A body is seen being wheeled out of Gold Spa Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN on Wednesday that she wanted the most severe charges possible against Robert Aaron Long, 21. 'I think whatever the stiffest most appropriate charges there are, this guy should face those charges,' said Bottoms. 'In Georgia, you can be charged with a hate crime. 'It covers a variety of areas and I personally think it would be appropriate, but I will defer to the prosecutors to make that determination.' Long, who was arrested shortly after the shootings, has told police that his attack was not racially motivated. He said he was suffering from a sex addiction, and wanted to 'remove temptation'. Yet Bottoms said it was hard to ignore that Asian Americans were singled out. 'This is a man who murdered, eight people in cold blood, so it's very difficult to believe what he says,' said Bottoms. 'It's difficult to ignore the fact that many of the victims were Asian, all of the victims in Atlanta were Asian, in fact, and that he targeted these Asian massage parlors.' Bottoms said it is important that people stand in solidarity with the Asian American community at this time. 'They are being targeted unfairly and in Atlanta, what we've seen the worst has happened,' she said. She spoke hours after Georgia police were branded racist for saying the gunman was having a 'bad day' when he killed six Asian women, a white woman and a white man. Four of the women were of Korean descent. President Joe Biden also said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference that he was making 'no connection at this moment' between the killings and race. He said: 'I'm very concerned, because as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple months, and I think it is very, very troubling.' Long told police that he has a sex addiction and viewed the parlors as an 'outlet' and 'temptation' that he wanted to remove. He confessed to the killings after police rammed his car off the road at 8pm on Tuesday night. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks. He has been charged with four counts of murder and aggravated assault in Cherokee County, where the first salon is that was targeted. He hasn't yet been in charged in Atlanta Pictured is Long's home in Woodstock, Georgia. Officers say they found Robert Aaron Long, 21, thanks to help from his parents, who recognized him from surveillance footage posted by authorities and gave investigators his cellphone information. Cherokee County sheriff Frank Reynolds said cops then used that information to track and find him, adding: 'Theyre very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension' Incidents of bias against Asian people have spiked in recent months after the coronavirus was tied to Wuhan, China, and former President Donald Trump took to calling it the 'China Virus'. Biden added: 'I am making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I'm waiting for an answer as the investigation proceeds from the FBI and from the Justice Department. 'I'll have more to say when the investigation is completed.' But online, some Twitter users have argued Capt. Baker's bad day comments are an example of white privilege in action. Hari Kondabolu said: 'The fact he sees ASIAN WOMEN as 'temptations' for his sex addiction is racial motivation. Not seeing this as racist IS racist. #StopAsianHate.' Qasim Rashid tweeted: 'Retweet if you've had a bad day during this pandemic or ever in life and didn't mass murder 8 people. Apparently that's where the bar is now. White supremacy is a helluva drug.' But Tim Willcutts defended Capt. Baker, writing: 'He wasn't apologizing for him. He was attempting to explain why this happened.' Alicia Gibbs said: 'He's relaying what the investigators said. He wasn't apologizing.' Another Twitter user, Shannon Hillis, said: 'Not everything is about race.' Greg Rook tweeted: 'Two of the six shot outside Atlanta were not Asian. What would you say if he shot mostly WASPs, that he was a racist hating on white people? BTW, I am a very progressive, liberal democrat, but I'm tiring of this constant virtue signaling. Not everything is about race or racism.' WASPs refers to white Anglo-Saxon protestants. Long's family - including his youth minister father - are said to be 'devastated' by his actions and are cooperating with the investigation. His parents are said to have called 911 to report their son after seeing surveillance photos of him released by police during the rampage. Capt. Baker said: 'We are really appreciative of the family. Without them, this would not have happened as, well, as quickly as it happened. They were very supportive, and certainly this was difficult for them.' Geopolitical boundaries can have a profound effect on the protection of threatened species. A case in point is the native cycads of the United States. A recent review paper written by researchers at the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center at the University of Guam highlights extinction risks of cycad species that occur in U.S. controlled lands and the profound effect geopolitical boundaries has had on the protection of these threatened species. The paper appears in the December 2020 issue of the MDPI journal Diversity. Cycads are the most threatened plant order worldwide. This is due to a combination of factors including habitat loss, poaching predation by invasive species, and lack of appropriate conservation measures. As a native habitat for this most endangered group of plants in the world, the United States has a responsibility to protect members of this group from extinction. Species arise over time via several mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is called allopatric speciation, which is separation and isolation through geological time. The eventual result is a distinct species that is different from the original population. This is especially true for islands where plants and animals are isolated and evolve without defenses from plants and animals that do not occur naturally in their environment. Since the dawn of the Anthropocene, humans have made attempts to classify life based on a hierarchy. Additionally, countries have been established and each country has unique laws pertaining to the conservation of nature. The United States is one such country with a rich history of geopolitical expansion. Over time, U.S. geopolitical changes have altered the number of cycad species that come under U.S. political purview. There are presently five cycad species that come under U.S. jurisdiction: Zamia integrifolia in the Southern United States; Zamia erosa, Zamia pumila, and Zamia potoricensis in Puerto Rico; and Cycas micronesica in Micronesia. The only cycad species endemic to Micronesia, Cycas micronesica, is listed as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service and "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Once the most abundant tree in Guam forests, the Cycas micronesica has drastically declined in number since the accidental introduction of several invasive insects to Guam. Additionally, extinction of this cycad would constitute the loss of the only native gymnosperm in the region. Due to the shifting geopolitical designations, this cycad is found within four different political entities. The authors highlight that species were distinct long before geopolitical boundaries were erected. For example, saying that these are "U.S. cycads" is purely a human distinction. Furthermore, the classification of life into a hierarchy is an anthropogenic attempt to understand biology. "As taxonomy changes in light of new morphological and genetic evidence, the need becomes clear to use the best available science to inform conservation efforts. Coordinating conservation measures across multiple governments and countries often presents unique challenges but is necessary to mitigate extinction risks," said Benjamin Deloso, a cycad specialist at UOG. ### : noever (noever), : Stock : Apple Cuts Off Chinas Ofilm Over Xinjiang Labor : BBS (Wed Mar 17 10:13:29 2021, ) Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has severed ties with Chinese component supplier Ofilm Group Co. over allegations its involved in a government program that transfers ethnic minorities from Xinjiang to other parts of the country for work, a person familiar with the matter says. The iPhone maker is thought to have terminated its contracts with Ofilm over the concerns a few months ago, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Ofilms shares tumbled by the 10% daily limit, closing at the lowest level since August 2019, after saying in an exchange filing that an overseas customer will stop buying its products. The Chinese company, which did not name the client, said it is evaluating the impact of the change on its earnings. It was unclear whether Apple -- which has drawn fire in the past for alleged rights violations within its massive Chinese-centered supply chain -- knows if the allegations about Ofilm are true. The worlds most valuable company has in recent years begun to clamp down on suppliers and in 2020 suspended iPhone-assembler Pegatron Corp. on suspicion of labor abuses. The issue of Chinas actions in Xinjiang is a particularly thorny one in the U.S., where its been likened to genocide. The Shenzhen stock exchange on Tuesday asked the Chinese company to clarify the situation, including when exactly its major client terminated orders. The U.S. company didnt respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday, while calls to Ofilms office in Shenzhen werent answered. Who Are the Uyghurs and Why Is China Locking Them Up?: QuickTake China has been accused by the U.S. and other Western governments of detaining more than 1 million Muslim Uyghurs in camps in the far western Xinjiang region and pushing them into work programs. The U.S. government and lawmakers in Canada and the Netherlands have said Chinas actions constitute genocide. Washington has also banned cotton products from the region, and there have been some calls to boycott next years Winter Games in Beijing over the issue. China has repeatedly denied the allegations, dismissing them as lies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular briefing Wednesday in Beijing there was no truth to allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang. He decline to comment on Apple and Ofilm. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said in a report last year that Ofilm used at least 700 Uyghur laborers from Xinjiang at a factory in the southern province of Jiangxi. The workers were sent there in late April 2017 as part of a state-sponsored labor transfer program, the think tank said. The Uyghurs were expected to gradually alter their ideology and express gratitude to Chinas ruling Communist Party for their work assignments, the think tank said, citing Chinese-language news articles. Workers from Xinjiang have no way to refuse the government-ordered assignments because of all-pervasive surveillance blanketing Xinjiang, backed by the threat of arbitrary detention in internment camps, said Kelsey Munro, a senior analyst at ASPIs International Cyber Policy Centre. Companies professing ethical manufacturing values have an obligation to invest resources in understanding their supply chains and ensuring theyre not contributing, however indirectly, to this state-backed form of coerced labor, she said. Ofilm employs about 300 people from Xinjiang at a unit in Jiangxi, according to a statement on the provincial governments website. An official with a bureau that handles ethnic and religious affairs visited the company on Feb. 21 to check on the work of ethnic minorities, the statement said. The U.S. government added Ofilm to its entity list in July 2020, saying it was among 11 Chinese companies implicated in human rights violations and abuses in Xinjiang. The move meant the firms would face limits on access to U.S.-originated items, including technology and commodities. Ofilm announced last month it was selling some camera-making assets to Wingtech Technology Co. to focus on core operations such as consumer electronics. (Updates with China Foreign Ministry comments.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 082021 Bloomberg L.P. -- iPhone 1.24.11 -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 2600:387:2:812:] Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The on Thursday set aside Madhya Pradesh High Court's order granting bail to a man accused in a molestation case on a condition that he would tie 'Rakhi' to the victim. A bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar issued a slew of directions, which included training modules for sensitization of judges and emphasized that judges should avoid any kind of stereotyping. The Attorney General (AG) K.K. Venugopal had also opposed the bail condition. The plea was filed by advocate Aparna Bhat and eight other women lawyers against the July 30 order by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where an accused of sexual assault was asked to get a 'Rakhi' tied on him by the victim as a condition for bail. "The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of 'Raksha Bandhan' being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialization of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case", said the plea. The petitioners had argued that the bail condition by the High Court should be set aside. Bhat had contended in the plea that order has been passed by a constitutional court such as a High Court of a state and there is a strong likelihood that such observations and directions may result in normalizing "what is essentially a crime and has been recognised to be so by the law." The plea said: "It is highly objectionable for the High Court in the present case to put the complainant in a position where she is forced to accept the sum of Rs 11,000 as part of the customary ritual of Raksha Bandhan. Moreover, the said bail condition also goes a step further by stating that Respondent No. 2 (the accused) tender Rs 5,000 to the son the complainant." (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 New Jersey gym owner, who is charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and punching a police officer, is a QAnon believer who allegedly boasted he would go again and has previously threatened a congresswoman, authorities said in court documents Wednesday. In seeking to have Scott Fairlamb, of Sussex, detained pending the outcome of his criminal case, prosecutors said Fairlambs actions most of which were caught on video on Jan. 6 show an absolute disregard for the rule of law coupled with a willingness to engage in violence. Based on peoples tips and video footage of the attempted insurrection, authorities said Fairlamb participated in the riot and could be seen assaulting a police officer, carrying a baton around Capitol grounds and standing on scaffolding outside the building, according to an affidavit. His actions and words on that day all indicate a specific intent to obstruct a congressional proceeding through fear, intimidation, and violence, including violence against uniformed police officers, prosecutors wrote in seeking detention. After being one of the first people to breach the western front of the Capitol, Fairlamb later harassed a line of police officers outside the building by shouting in their faces and blocking their movement, according to citizen video and body camera footage. Fairlamb can be seen screaming at police officers moments before video shows him punching one of them. As one officer attempted to move Fairlamb out of the way, Fairlamb, a former mixed martial arts fighter, forcefully shoved the officer and stuck his finger in the officers face. When the officer pushed Fairlambs hand away, Fairlamb punched him in the face, according to the videos. The officer did not seek medical attention, according to court documents. After being initially arrested in January, Fairlamb, whose brother was previously a Secret Service officer assigned to protect Michelle Obama, was indicted on 12 charges last month, including assaulting a federal officer, entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds with a deadly weapon, and act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds, among other charges. Fairlamb, who runs a gym in Pompton Lakes, is one of more than a dozen New Jersey residents to be charged with participating in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was ordered to be released by a magistrate judge following his arrest, but has been held after the government said it would appeal the decision. Fairlambs attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. In their memo filed Wednesday, prosecutors said Fairlamb appears to subscribe to the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to information seized from search warrants of his social media accounts. QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory movement that falsely believed a powerful group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles were undermining the 2020 election and former President Donald Trumps re-election hopes. One theory, which Fairlamb believed, according to prosecutors, was that Trump would become the first President of the new Republic beginning March 4, which did not happen. Prosecutors also said Fairlambs social media postings indicate he traveled to the Capitol prepared to commit violence, and that he has no remorse to the events that occurred. On Jan. 9, three days after he was seen storming the Capitol, one Instagram user asked Fairlamb what would happen if Trump did become the new president on March 4. War Vs patriots, he reportedly said. They dont want that lol. That same day, according to court documents, a tipster sent the FBI a post Fairlamb made on Instagram threatening U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a newly elected Black Democratic legislator from Missouri. It includes threatening messages others sent to Bush, including one that read, I wish someone would put a knee on your neck for spreading lies. #whitelivesmatter. Authorities attempted to interview Fairlamb on Jan. 14, but he declined. The next day, he messaged an individual saying the FBI was aware he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. All good, Fairlamb reportedly said. Id go again. He was subsequently arrested on Jan. 22. During a search warrant of his home, authorities discovered the baton he is seen holding during the riot, as well as ammunition shells. Prosecutors expressed concerns that Fairlamb, who has previously posted himself on social media with firearms, removed weapons he had after the FBI initially contacted him and in the time before he was arrested. Prosecutors described Fairlamb as a danger to the community, as evidenced by multiple previous assault convictions, his actions at the Capitol and his social media activity before and after Jan. 6. They also noted that Fairlamb defied stay-at-home orders when he re-opened his gym in May amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fairlamb, prosecutors allege, has a history of defying lawful orders weighs heavily towards detention in this matter. Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. More: Pa. woman charged in U.S. Capitol riot accused of inciting the crowd, filming trashed room New charges filed against Palmyra Capitol riot suspect A carjacker from Maryland has been sentenced to eight years in jail after he stole an SUV and ran over the vehicle's owner as he tried to make a quick getaway. Kenneth Davis, now 20, along with his girlfriend, who was 16 at the time, had spotted the Mercedes SUV idling on the entryway of a gas station in Germantown, Maryland in September 2019, and decided steal it. Davis had jumped into the driver's seat when the owner came running back to the car from inside a 7- Eleven convenience store, in an attempt to stop him. Kenneth Davis, 20, was at a Maryland 7-Eleven when he spotted an idling SUV, bottom right Kenneth Davis, 20, was sentenced to eight years in jail after footage captured him running over the owner of a Mercedes SUV as he stole it from a gas station The victim managed to open the passenger side front door when Davis suddenly slammed the car into reverse. It all happened so quickly the victim didn't stand a chance and was not able to get out of the way in time. The man was pulled underneath the SUV as he was run over and was very nearly hit again by a second passing car. He suffered a fractured skull, lacerations to his face and lost consciousness. After running over the owner, Davis stopped briefly and got out of the car to pick up a bag he had dropped as several eyewitnesses ran towards him, before he got back in the car and sped away. Davis and his girlfriend fled south and were eventually arrested in North Carolina. 'It's distressing, obviously, to see a person who was in front of me as a kid,' said Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Richard Jordan sentencing Davis to eight years. Davis jumped into the driver's seat, quickly followed by the car's owner Davis slammed the car into reverse pulling the vehicle's owner underneath 'There were a lot of opportunities to become the man that we were encouraging young Kenneth would be. It was sheer luck that he was not killed,' Judge Jordan said. 'It was uncalled for,' Davis said in court. 'I am very sorry for what I did.' Judge Jordan said that at any point in the carjacking, Davis could have stopped what he was doing and walked away. 'I don't think it's asking too much for somebody that wants to be a car thief to realize, "I don't want to be assaulting somebody like this."' The victim was pulled underneath and suffered a fractured skull, lacerations to his face and fell unconscious The victim was left unconscious on the forecourt of the gas station while Davis sped away Samantha Sandler, a lawyer for Davis said that he had a troubled childhood and adolescence explaining that he began smoking marijuana at the age of eight, had been to eight different schools and by the age of 17 was using street-purchased Xanax to try and curb panic and anxiety disorders, according to the Washington Post. It wasn't the first time the judge and Davis had met who had worked to get the troubled teen into Silver Oak Academy, a residential school designed to help turn around the lives such as Davis'. But while at Silver Oak, Davis stole a van and had to be moved to a more secure facility. 'Those placements were difficult to get,' Judge Jordan said. 'I remember being very distressed about that.' Others in the gas station rushed out to help the victim and urged Davis to stop Other customers inside the gas station came rushing outside just as Davis sped away After his release from the facility, Davis was then caught in a 125mph car chase in a stolen car. It was nine months later that the carjacking at the 7- Eleven occurred. Davis claimed that he needed the vehicle to get his girlfriend to Atlanta saying she was 'in danger'. His lawyer asked the judge to spare him jail time. 'Mr. Davis had a hard life, a hard time. He needs to learn to cope,' she said. But prosecutor Assistant States Attorney Kelly McGann managed to persuade the judge that the crime was so violent only a custodial sentence would suffice. 'It didn't maybe start off as violence, but it certainly ended as violence,' said McGann. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police officers who responded to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. The measure passed by a vote of 413-12. All the no votes were from Republicans. Five people, including a member of the U.S. Capitol Police, died in the violence when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the building trying to stop Congress from formally certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory. They overpowered Capitol Police officers for hours before law enforcement agencies seized control of the building. Some 300 people have been arrested over the attack. In addition to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries sustained from the event, two law enforcement officers died by suicide afterward. The bill honors Sicknic and mourns Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood and Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith - the officers who died by suicide. It also celebrates Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who moved protesters away from the Senate chamber on the day of the insurrection. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police officers who responded to the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol The bill specifically honors Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the aftermath of the attack, and celebrates Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who moved protesters away from the Senate chamber on the day of the insurrection Migrant children and teenagers from the southern border of the United States being held a temporary facility in Midland, Texas The bill mandates the creation of three Congressional Gold Medals to be given to the U.S. Capitol Police, Washington's Metropolitan Police Department and to the Smithsonian Institution for display and research purposes. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to give its approval. Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said he voted against the proposal because the Democrats made editorial comments about January 6th in it. 'It's just offensive that we literally logrolled recognition of the Capitol Police. We didn't give it its own dignity. We had to combine it with these editorial comments about the January 6 sequence of events, and then we had to logroll it with this exhibit at the Smithsonian, and I -- that was a little much for me,' he told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. In this image made from video and provided by HuffPost, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman calls for backup as an angry mob gives chase outside the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 The bill described the Capitol as 'the temple of our American Democracy' and called the attackers as 'a mob of insurrectionists.' 'I have a problem with the term insurrection,' said Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who voted against the bill. 'It could have implications for somebody's prosecution later. That if we give weight to the word 'insurrection,' that then that comes up in somebody's prosecution.' A separate bill, passed in the Senate unanimously to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Goodman, still needs to clear the House. London, March 18 : British actor Ralph Fiennes, who played the role of Lord Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" film franchise, has defended the author of the books, JK Rowling, who was slammed for her comments that most felt offended the transgender community. However, the 58-year-old Fiennes agreed that Rowling's criticism has gone a bit too far. "I can't understand the vitriol directed at her," he said in an interview with The Telegraph. "I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational. I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing," added Fiennes. Talking about the controversy surrounding Rowling after she repeatedly offended members of the transgender community last summer, Fiennes said that he would "hate a world where the freedom of that kind of voice is stifled". "We need to have those voices that risk being offensive," Fiennes continued, explaining that the world needs art that "could shake the scenery, that could get inside us and make us angry and turn us on". Former journalist Safronov to remain in detention until May in treason case Moscow's Lefortovsky District Court 13:39 18/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 18 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld extension of detention of ex-newspaper journalist Ivan Safronov charged with treason until May 7, the courts press service told RAPSI Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that Safronov had been charged over his activities as advisor to a head of the state corporation Roscosmos but not for his journalistic work. Allegedly, he transferred information to officers of one of the European intelligence bodies, Putin added. Safronov was apprehended and detained in early July 2020. After the arrest, the Roscosmos press service said the case was not connected with the work in the company. Treason charges were brought against him on July 13. Investigators claim Safronov has transmitted secret military information to the Czech intelligence services which, as it known, are linked to the U.S. security agencies. The defendant pleads not guilty. The former reporter of Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers was appointed as advisor of Dmitry Rogozin in May 2020 after a scandal related to the publication of an explosive article about possible resignation of the Federation Council head Valentina Matviyenko. 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. He and Gagik Tsarukian acknowledged during their meeting on Thursday that the snap elections were the best way out of the ongoing political crisis, Pashinian wrote on his Facebook account on March 18. Taking into account my discussions with President [Armen Sarkissian], the My Step faction, the leader of the Bright Armenia faction Edmon Marukian, early parliamentary elections will be held in the Republic of Armenia on June 20, he said. Marukian said that he had a telephone conversation with Pashinian and that holding early elections on June 20 was acceptable to his party. The opposition has been pushing for Pashinian to resign after the defeat suffered by Armenian forces last year against Azerbaijan in fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. A coalition of opposition parties has been holding anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and other parts of the country in a bid to force Pashinian to hand over power to an interim government. Pashinian, whose My Step faction dominates parliament, has refused to step down but had hinted at accepting early parliamentary elections under certain conditions. Opalescent inshore squid is some of the most experienced shapeshifters on the planet. These curious cephalopods are covered in a special skin that can absolutely jingle to a kaleidoscope of colors. Researchers have long been captivated by the remarkable disguise and communication of this squid. A new study has taken scientists even closer to finding out how they can carry out such a diverse wardrobe that enables them to hunt close to the opalescence of the shore, slip by pradators without notice, or even escape threatening suitors by flaring one of their fake testes. The Compact Disc Past findings have revealed the bright squid has a complicated little machine in its skin: a tiny film of collected cells with the ability to expand and contract like an accordion in order to show the entire visible span of light, from orange and red to green and yellow, to violet and blue. These little trenches are an example of what you see on a compact disc, scientists say, showing a rainbow of colors as you bend it underneath the light. But this skin also uses something to heighten its colorful noise just like a CD. Read More: Deep Ocean Dweller Ram's Horn Squid Caught in Video for the First Time Attempt to Genetically Engineer the Skin When scientists made an attempt to genetically engineer the skin of these squids, they realized that something was off a little bit. The motor that tunes the trench in the skin of the squid is motivated by showing proteins, which react to various neural signals and navigate deep pigment cells. Synthetic materials that contain reflecting proteins have revealed a shimmering look just like what is seen in squid's skin, but these synthetic materials could not shimmer or glimmer in the same way. Something was obviously lost, and new findings in living squid and genetic engineering have illuminated light on the problem. As it appears, protein reflection can only shine bright if they are included in a pensive membrane box. This box is what encompasses the accordion-like system, and joining below, you can start to see how it operates. Protein reflection is usually resisted by one another, but the brain of the squid's neuronal signal can go off that positive charge, enabling the proteins to knot firmly together. When this occurs, it encourages the overlying membrane to pump water out of the cell, reducing the thickness and distancing of the grooves, which differentiate light into several colors. Collision Between the Grooves This collision between the grooves also inflates the concentration of reflection, which enables the light to return even brighter. However, the authors reveal, this complicated process "tunes [dynamically] the color while at the same time increase the energy of the returned light", and this reflection is what enables the bright squid to glimmer and shimmer, sometimes making use of color and sometimes without the color. Engineers have been attempting for many years to clone the remarkable skin of the bright squid but they have not been able to get there. The recent study, which was backed by the Army Research Office of the United States, has assisted in pointing out what is going on. Related Article: Cephalopods Alert! Octopus, Squid Are Invading The Oceans Due To Population Boom For more news, updates about squids and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! VIPdesk is a Certified B Corporation, committed to the triple bottom Line of People, Planet & Profit Inc. magazine revealed that VIPdesk a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, specialized in utilizing a remote work-at-home model has been ranked No.160 on the Inc.5000 Regionals list of fastest growing companies in the DC Metro Region. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the DC Metro Region economys most dynamic segment its independent small businesses. Sally Hurley CEO of VIPdesk commented on the companys achievement: We are very happy to rank among the fastest growing companies in the Inc. 5000 DC Metro Region. Our company roots have always been in Old Town Alexandria, VA and while we are serving clients throughout entire North America, we are grateful to work with a growing list of marquee brands in this beautiful, economically striving region Making the Inc.5000 list and ranking among the fastest growing companies in the DC Metro Region is a testament to VIPdesks ongoing success as a premium provider of Outsourced Customer Service solutions. VIPdesk has not only been recognized for its innovative virtual service delivery model, VIPdesk is also unique in the industry as they became a registered B-Corp, complying with the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. The uncompromised focus on the well-being of their purposefully recruited team-members allows VIPdesk to consistently deliver elevated and memorable customer experiences for their family of iconic brands. While the company has expanded to serve clients throughout all of North America and Europe, being a strong player in the DC Metro area was always an important focus for VIPdesk. The companies listed on the Inc.5000 DC Metro Region show stunning rates of growth across all industries. Between 2017 and 2019, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 211 percent and, in 2019 alone, they employed more than 120,000 people and added nearly $15 billion to the D.C. area economy. Companies based in major metro areasBaltimore, Maryland, the Washington, D.C. area, and Richmond, Virginiabrought in the highest revenue overall About VIPdesk VIPdesk, a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, utilizes a select team of remote work-at-home Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals), located throughout the U.S., to provide elevated customer experience for luxury and premium brands. As a certified B-Corp, Women-Owned-Corporation and Best Workplace winner, VIPdesk is on a fast mission to elevate the human experience with its team members and its partners. Talented team members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services include Omni-Channel Customer service handling including all traditional and digital contact channels, full AI and assisted AI solutions, social media management, back office support and customer experience consulting. Visit http://www.vipdesk.com for more information or @VIPdesk on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology The 2021 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2017 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2017. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2017 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. About Inc. Media The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com CONTACT: Othmar Mueller von Blumencron 703-348-2236 A border guard who had previously served as a cross-border drug prevention officer in the north-central Vietnamese province of Quang Tri has been arrested for his involvement in a drug trafficking ring. Nguyen Viet Hung, stationed at the Con Co Border Station in the Con Co Islands District in Quang Tri, had previously served as an officer in the special force for drug and crime prevention under the provincial Border Guard Command. Hung has been suspended from his duties since his arrest for his role in a drug trafficking case related to Nguyen Duy Bang from Tam Thuan Ward, Thanh Khe District, Da Nang City, and Pham Cong Hoang Huy from Cam Ha Ward, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province. Bang and Huy were arrested on October 13, 2019 and were subsequently found criminally responsible for trafficking 277.1 grams of heroin. The duo was sentenced for their crimes in Da Nang on November 20, 2020, with Bang receiving a life sentence and Hoang given 20 years behind bars. During the case, Bang claimed to have met Hung through a friend in Da Nang. On October 12, 2019, Bang and Huy met Hung in Lao Bao Town, Hung Hoa District, Quang Tri Province. Hung and Bang met at a pub to confirm the shipment. Then, Hung left to pick up the drugs and hand them over to Huy at a nearby cafe. He then returned to the pub to receive payment from Bang. Bang and Huy were later caught by police in Da Nang near the Hai Van Tunnel at around 00:30 am on October 13, 2019. Hung was still working as an officer in the special force for drug and crime prevention, under the Quang Tri Command of Border Guard, at the time of Bang and Huys arrest. Hung was transferred to the Con Co Border Station at the end of 2019. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Joe Biden has triggered a massive border surge, with the latest stats showing 100,000 detentions in last month alone. Count the people who escaped detention, as much as 80% of them, according to this 2019 exploration of the issue from leftist PolitiFact, and the total is much, much, higher. What's old Joe, who created this mess with his many invitations to illegals to come on in, to do? Instead of warning of deportations, or vowing to yank amnesty, or promising new fences, or warning of prison, or something, his cowardly solution is to deny it. Anybody notice that suddenly, there are no news pictures? No kids in cages, no human squalor, such as leaked out during the Obama administration, when Obama triggered a surge. The Border Patrol, meanwhile, reports that it's under gag orders from the White House. According to The Hill: President Biden's administration is preventing Border Patrol agents and sector chiefs from speaking to the media via an unofficial gag order passed down verbally, NBC reported Wednesday. NBC reported that Border Patrol staff have been told to refer all media requests, even those from local outlets, to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staffers in Washington and to deny all "ride-along" requests. The network attributed the information to officials who asked to remain anonymous. NBC News had itself requested and was denied access to "overcrowded border processing facilities holding unaccompanied migrant children" according to its report. No facility inspections, no interviews, no ride-alongs for reporters? Every request for information to be processed with the bureaucrats in Washington, who are undoubtedly going to be too busy? Here's Jen Psaki, Biden's spokeswoman, telling everyone to ask the Border Patrol for whatever they want to know. Q Is the White House or DHS instructing Border agents to refuse ride-along requests from reporters? Because that's what a lot of our folks on the ground are hearing. MS. PSAKI: Again, I think we've seen, watching a number of the reports you all do, a number of Border Patrol officials who are quoted in them, who appear in them. And certainly from the White House, we support that. It's coordinated through the Department of Homeland Security, and I'd point you to them for any additional questions about the logistics of press access. Q But, I mean, our reporters used to be able to get ride-alongs during the Trump administration MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. Q and you all came in and promised to be the most truthful and transparent administration. And you all, you know, oversee the Department of Homeland Security. So if you all wanted to grant access to the press, couldn't you just tell DHS to do it? MS. PSAKI: Again, we fully support transparency, and I would encourage you to talk to the Department of Homeland Security about any requests you have for press access or what you're looking to accomplish at the border. And the Border Patrol, of course, will bounce the requests back to Washington. See how this works? Meanwhile, Biden says he has "no plans" to review his self-created disaster at the border. Out of sight, out of mind. Sure as heck sounds as though someone is covering something up. And it's likely to make the media, which prefers to fawn if it can, actually much curiouser. The gag action is definitely an outrage, a cover-up, a stupid action by an incompetent administration sure to make the surge come harder. Cartels and human-smugglers are watching this, of course, and can note that with Joe Biden providing a news blackout for them, they can surge in migrants, and drugs, harder. Nobody's going to know, except them, who are busy counting the cash. The press is torn between fawning over Joe and reporting news, particularly with cable ratings down. With a bona fide surge, and high ratings in the offing, as well as the likelihood of leaks going to competitors, you can bet that the media is not going to let up. Someone is going to leak those pictures of mass migration and squalor; photos of gang tats en masse; and single moms with kids, demanding diapers, and it's all going to come out. But President Transparency is going to do all he can to suppress the news in the meantime. In a way, it's to be expected. Doddering old Joe is sort of an echo of Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader who presided over the Soviet decline before its 1990 collapse. A story that went around in the waning days of the Soviet regime was that the great train of Sovietism was crossing the trans-Siberian railroad, and somewhere in Siberia, it broke down. When Lenin was in charge, he ordered the Soviets to get out of the train and push. The train carried on and, as in any communist system, broke down again. This time, Stalin was in charge. He ordered guards to shoot half the passengers and tell the other half they'll be next if they don't get out and push. The third time the train broke down, Nikita Khrushchev was in charge, and saboteurs had destroyed the tracks. He ordered the passengers to get out of the train and take the tracks from the back and put them in the front. The train carried on and broke down again, this time with Brezhnev in charge. Brezhnev was old and doddering like Joe, and he ordered the passengers to pull down the shades and start bouncing up and down, to imitate the train motion. Sounds a lot like old Joe. Image: Screen shot from a camera shot aimed at a live television set, filtered with Foto Sketcher. Global fast food and restaurant chain Nandos has selected payment platform provider Adyens unified commerce offering for deployment across its Australia and New Zealand market network. Adyen says its UC offering was selected by Nandos to help deliver on its mission of providing cutting-edge customer experience, across every touchpoint - and for its ability to provide a single view of the customer across all payment channels online, in-restaurant, and in-app and to deliver insights that enable Nandos to personalise each interaction. Nandos also sought a partner with strong risk management and fraud prevention capabilities as it continues to digitally transform, Adyen said. We wanted a modern, world-class engine that would help us access customer insights across all channels. We cast a large net to see which providers could truly deliver on our vision for unified commerce and exceptional customer experience, and Adyen stood out, said Ed Tollinton, CIO, Nandos Australia and New Zealand. Not only do they have strong market momentum and great credentials, Adyen also align with our purpose-led values. Nandos is rolling out Adyens unified commerce platform across its website, app, and network of 200-plus Australian and New Zealand restaurants. The rollout includes mobile ecommerce, which launched in February 2020 and reinforced Nandos sales channels throughout the coronavirus pandemic - and also includes Nandos Delivery, which launched in September 2020, and mobile ordering via in-restaurant QR codes both of which provide greater choice for contactless dining. Our digitalisation strategy allows customers to choose how and when they would like to interact with us, including how they order and pay, said Tollinton. We are now adding new payment options, and provisioning these through Adyens unified platform. Were also using Adyens tokenisation technology in our new PERi Perks mobile app to help with repeat ordering. Through tokenisation we can now recognise our customers, wherever they order, while also ensuring their details are kept secure. We can also track conversions and compare to industry benchmarks which allows us to confidently act on payment insights and create seamless, consistent, cross-channel experiences for our customers, Tollinton concluded. The two organisations are also working together to fortify Nandos payment channels utilising Adyens RevenueProtect technology to assess the risk associated with customers through a combination of device fingerprinting, algorithmic matching and behavioural analytics. Adyen is excited to partner with a beloved brand like Nandos that acts with such purpose-led vision and recognises the role of payments and unified commerce in creating exceptional customer experiences, said Michel van Aalten, Adyen Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand. We look forward to working closely with the Nandos team as they continue to drive technological innovation across their Australian and New Zealand operations. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit The Senate on Wednesday (local time) unanimously approved the nomination of Katherine Tai as President Joe Biden's chief trade negotiator. Senators voted 98-0 to confirm Tai as the next Trade Representative, making her the first woman of colour and the first Asian American to serve as the nation's top ambassador on trade policy. Her nomination was unanimously approved by the Senate Finance Committee on March 3 after endorsements from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, reported The Hill. Tai had been the top lawyer on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade policy, since 2017. She joined the committee in 2014 and played a key role in negotiations between the Trump administration and the House of Representatives over the US-Mexico-Canada agreement. Tai has also worked in the Office of the Trade Representative since 2007, rising to chief counsel for China enforcement in 2011. Her bipartisan credentials and expertise on China will be used as Biden administration faces several challenges in trade with other countries. According to The Hill, four years of US isolationism and steep tariffs have alienated Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and Japan, posing a major obstacle for Biden as he attempts to repair frayed relationships with close economic partners and create a united front against China's abusive trade practices. US-China relations have also deteriorated over Beijing's imprisonment and sterilization of Uyghurs, attempts to limit Hong Kong's independence, and growing fears that it could invade Taiwan within 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.) LOS ANGELES, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Cobalt (OTCQB: CCOB), the cobalt exploration and development company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, announced today that it has been presented with an opportunity to expand its asset base and change its strategic focus. Accordingly, the Company is pleased to announce that together with Block Commodities Limited, it entered into an option agreement to acquire 70 percent interest (the Acquisition) in a Medicinal Cannabis licence granted to Magnus Cannabis Group (Private) Limited (Magnus) by the government of Zimbabwe. Block Commodities Ltd. is listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange, trading with ticker code BLCC.PL (BLCC). The Acquiring Parties will each hold 35 percent. The stake in the Magnus licence, will secure supply of medicinal grade cannabis for the production of Nutraceuticals. The option is for an exclusivity period of 90 days to complete the Acquisition. The proposed terms of the Acquisition are as follows: Payment of an Option fee of 50,000, to be apportioned equally between the Acquiring Parties, and Payment by BLCC of 1.5m through the issue of 2,142,857,142 fully paid ordinary shares in BLCC (calculated at 0.07p per share) upon exercise of the option, and contemporaneously the payment by CCOB of 1.5m of CCOB fully paid ordinary shares, price based on a 30 day VWAP (using the US$/GB closing middle market exchange rate published by Bloomberg on the day immediately prior to completion). The Directors believe that this opportunity will make best use of the Companys OTC listing to generate shareholder value over the longer term. The Board is currently exploring further options regarding the monetization of its Emperium Cobalt Project, which may include the sub-licencing or sale of the assets. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement. About Century Cobalt Century Cobalt Corp. was created to focus on identifying, assessing and developing high-potential, economic, early-stage cobalt production opportunities in North America to take advantage of growing demand for secure, ethically-sourced conflict-free cobalt supplies. The Company currently holds a 100 percent interest in 695 lode claims in America's largest and most prolific cobalt mineralization trend: the Idaho Cobalt Belt. Cobalt production to date is heavily influenced by very large companies, often focused on other mining sectors due to most of the world's cobalt being mined as a by-product of large-scale copper or nickel operations. Century Cobalt Corp. is solely focused on primary cobalt deposits, where the main metal mined is cobalt. By targeting domestic cobalt sources and utilizing local infrastructure and expertise, the Company has the potential to establish secure cobalt production within a stable political and economic climate. For a detailed overview on the Company and its property please visit: www.centurycobalt.com or the Century Cobalt YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sX-phkxTfnuEcSCs9y9GA Forward-looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward looking-statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include such factors as uncertainty of consumer demand for the Company's products, as well as additional risks and uncertainties that are identified and described in the Company's SEC reports. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company does not undertake, and it specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, events or circumstances after the date of such statement. For further information, please contact: Century Cobalt Corp. 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Century City, Los Angeles California, CA 90067 Toll Free IR Line: 1-800-856-8417 Email: ir@centurycobalt.com www.centurycobalt.com Syracuse, N.Y. -- On Tuesday, Connecticut announced that all adults could sign up for Covid-19 vaccines starting next month. Massachusetts said the same thing Wednesday. In Ohio, all adults will be eligible March 29. New York, by contrast, nudged open the vaccine window only slightly this week by adding some public and nonprofit workers to the list. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 vaccine appointments within a two-hour drive of Syracuse remained available all day Wednesday. Now the state appears to be drawing lines around certain employment categories, and that doesnt make sense, said David Larsen, an epidemiologist and public health professor at Syracuse University. Id say open it up. President Joe Biden said he wants all U.S. adults to be eligible for the vaccine by May 1. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered guidelines on how the vaccine should be rolled out, but decisions of who will be eligible when are up to each state. About 10 million people in New York are eligible now, including front-line workers, anyone 60 or older, and residents with underlying health conditions such as obesity and cancer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasnt said when hell expand eligibility to all adults, as other states have. In his briefing Wednesday, Cuomo said about 3 million New Yorkers have been fully vaccinated, and opening the shots to all adults would swell that pool to 15 million people. Youd have 12 million people eligible who havent received a vaccine, and then a tremendous allocation coming in very quickly, Cuomo said. So this is a logistical nightmare for the state to perform. Yet there are plenty of slots already unfilled. At 5 p.m. Wednesday, at least 100,000 vaccine appointments combined were still open at the five state-run sites within 120 miles of Syracuse: the New York State fairgrounds, SUNY Oneonta, Binghamton University, Rochester Dome Arena and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica. Those appointments run through May 31. Those are just the Central New York sites run by the state Department of Health. It doesnt include 10 other sites run by the state across New York that still have openings, or dozens of clinics run by pharmacies and counties. In Oneida County this morning, more than 1,700 appointments remained open over the next few days, including more than 300 for today. Onondaga Countys clinic this morning still had slots open at every 10-minute interval on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Just before noon Wednesday, Larsen noted, appointments were still available at Onondaga Countys clinic for the same afternoon. Why is there vaccine still available today? he asked. At 12 p.m. I dont think there should be any slots available. When the vaccines started rolling out to the public in February to limited groups, appointments were snapped up as huge demand outstripped limited supply. Now, with the addition of a third approved vaccine and ramped-up production, appointment slots are filling more slowly. Larsen said the first waves of vaccines were designed to protect those most vulnerable to contracting the novel coronavirus or suffering serious illness: nursing home residents, health care workers and first responders, older people, and those with certain underlying conditions. Now, he said, we need to shift toward preventing transmission of the virus, and that means vaccinating as many people as possible. Neighboring states are doing that. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday that by April 19, any resident who is at least 16 will be able to sign up for a vaccine. In Connecticut, all adults will be eligible April 5; in Ohio, residents 16 or older can get shots starting March 29. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for ages 18 and up. Pfizer has been tested in, and approved for, anyone 16 and older. Clinical trials are underway to see if the vaccines are safe and effective for children. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS How to get Covid-19 vaccine appointments in NY: Search tips, websites to check Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources Cuomo lifting curfew for gyms, casinos, other businesses, but not restaurants Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com AIICO Pension Fund Manager has denied media reports that it had mismanaged its pension assets. The company stated this in a statement recently. Titled "Media Reports on Probe of Mismanagement of Pension Funds by the House of Representatives," the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) explained: "We are aware of recent reports in the media citing a probe by the House Committee on Pensions on the alleged mismanagement of pension assets in which AIICO Pension and our Managing Director, Mr. Eguarekhide Longe were mentioned. "We would like to clearly state that we have always enjoyed a cordial relationship with the legislative arm of government and routinely, in the past when we have had cause to be invited to interactive sessions such as the one cited in the media reports, we have always honored the invitations. "On this occasion, in spite of the short notice, our Managing Director intended to honor this invitation in person." It stated further: "However, shortly before he was expected to travel to Abuja, he realised he wasn't feeling too well, and given the strict travel protocols occasioned by the coronavirus disease, he thought it wise to stay back and have our Regional Manager resident in Abuja, Mr. Temitope Ajogbeje, attend in his stead. "Because of the impromptu circumstance surrounding his inability to travel, there was no time in which to formally inform the Committee of his inability to attend." The company further explained that in response to the content of the invitation letter received from the Committee, the management ensured that all documents requested by the committee were submitted. The documents requested were its annual reports and audited accounts for 2017 - 2020, evidence of remittance of pension contributions to our pension fund custodian, list of our shareholders, minutes of our Annual General Meetings, among others. NDRF join SDRF to rescue five trapped coal miners in Meghalaya 02 Jun 2021 | 11:23 PM Shillong, June 2 (UNI) The Meghalaya government on Wednesday requisitioned the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assist the State in evacuating five miners who are trapped inside a deep flooded abandoned coal mine inside a flooded coal pit at Umpleng village in Meghalaya on Wednesday. see more.. Meghalaya government should be ready for third wave 02 Jun 2021 | 11:18 PM Shillong, June 2 (UNI) Leader of Opposition in Meghalaya Assembly, Dr Mukul Sangma on Wednesday cautioned that learning from the past pandemic, the government should be ready for a third wave and be prepared for an element of surprise, even as he felt that the second wave was perhaps flattening. see more.. Doctors urges common people not to take any medicine without proper guidance from a medical practitioner 02 Jun 2021 | 10:49 PM Chuchura, Jun 2 (UNI) Doctors and psychologists have urged the common people not to take any medicine without proper guidance from a medical practitioner and at the same time urged them to take healthy food to combat Covid-19 disease at a webinar titled Impact of Covid Pandemic on Mental Health organized jointly by the Regional Outreach Bureau, Kolkata and Field Outreach Bureau, here on Wednesday. see more.. UPI AutoPay debuts into MFI segment with Satin Creditcare Network 02 Jun 2021 | 10:05 PM Kolkata, Jun 2 (UNI) Satin Creditcare Network Limited, one of the leading microfinance institutions in the country, continues to digitize its payment landscape. see more.. California's COVID-19 vaccine system is generally operating on an honor system. When you make a vaccine appointment online, you may be asked to check a box, say "food and agriculture" or "chronic pulmonary disease," that indicates you fall into one of the groups eligible for inoculation. But when you show up at the clinic or pharmacy, you're unlikely to be asked for documentation proving you're a nurse or have severe lung diseasea profession and a medical condition that both make you eligible for inoculation. They take your word that you qualify. Due to the lack of oversight, some people who aren't eligible can easily get vaccinated just check a box indicating you're eligible and this is called skipping the line. While the California Department of Public Health didn't offer comment on the issue of skipping the line, health experts seem to agree that anyone who flat out lies to get a vaccine for no good reason is acting unethically. Exactly who might that person be? "I would say somebody who is completely healthy and fine and wants to go to Cabo San Lucas for spring break," said Dr. George Rutherford, director of the Prevention and Public Health Group at UCSF. Who isn't that person? People who may not be eligible, but who hang out around outside mass vaccine sites in hopes of getting a dose that would be thrown away if an arm wasn't available. "That doesnt bother me at all," he said. COVID-19 vaccines are in short supply and while getting appointments may be slightly easier compared to a month ago, they remain scarce. People are scrambling to get the shot and even those who are eligible may have to spend several days looking for an appointment. The state of California has a prioritization framework, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, that recommends which groups of people public health departments and vaccine providers should give shots to first. The framework is meant to help people who are at a higher risk for severe infection and death from the coronavirus get the vaccine. But ultimately, counties and health care providers can decide who to vaccinate. The state put health care workers and seniors at the front of the line, and vaccine entities, from counties to providers, aligned with this recommendation. But as more groups have been added, counties are no longer lining up exactly with the state, and the rules vary widely from place to place. While eight Bay Area counties are vaccinating seniors age 65 and over, Solano County announced this week it is opening vaccines to individuals age 50 and over. What's more, there are now multiple occupation groups eligible, broadening vaccine availability to a huge array of people. A grant writer who works for a university may get the vaccine as all education workers are eligible. Because she works from home it may seem unfair. Some may even say morally wrong. But is she technically skipping the line? As the number of different types of eligible groups increases, the rules are becoming increasingly hard to follow, creating a fuzzy line between what may be considered cutting the line and what might not be. Many are engaged in convoluted discussions with friends and family around whether certain situations qualify them for the shot. Some pass judgment on those who bend the rules, while others encourage it, likely with good intentions or reason. "I know there will be people who will frustrate the system," said Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease and vaccinology professor emeritus at UC Berkeley. "I know colleagues who are psychiatrists who jumped the line and got vaccinated at the same time as doctors on the front lines. But theyre seeing all their patients by Zoom. They say Im a healthcare provider, Im entitled to this. I know colleagues in that position who would say, 'I wouldn't do that for the world.' I understand the issue on both sides, I feel conflicted on both sides, but I come down thinking, people with underlying conditions, they do need to get vaccinated and they need to get vaccinated as soon as possible and I think we have to trust human nature and the integrity of human conscience." California on Monday expanded eligibility to those ages 16 to 64 with disabilities or with qualifying health conditions, opening the flood gates to millions of people. Those people with high-risk conditions or disabilities won't be required to provide documentation to verify their diagnosis to get vaccines, but they may be asked to sign a self-attestation that they meet the criteria, according to guidelines from the Department of Public Health. Dr. David Lubarsky, CEO for UC Davis Health in Sacramento, released a statement expressing concern that with so many people now becoming eligible and deciding for themselves that they are eligible patients who are truly sick and poor will be pushed farther back in line. "Doctors know, for example, that immune-suppressed patients should go before patients with increased risk due to obesity," Lubarsky wrote in a statement. "Unless providers are involved and are allowed to prioritize patients, those critical judgments will not happen. People with ways and means and flexibility will make their appointments first. They may have paid time off from work, schedule flexibility, and know what to say in order to jump to the front of the line. That person may actually have a condition that makes them eligible, but may not be at risk of catching COVID-19 as much as someone who lives in a multi-generational household, and is at higher risk of dying from it because they are immune suppressed." The state lists 10 conditions that qualify individuals for vaccines: cancer; chronic kidney disease of stage 4 or above; chronic pulmonary disease; Down syndrome; weakened immune system due to solid organ transplant; pregnancy; sickle cell disease; heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies (but not hypertension); severe obesity; and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. What if you have a severe medical condition that's not on the list? If you go ahead and get vaccinated, are you skipping the line? Rutherford pointed out that cystic fibrosis isn't on the list and there are very few adults who have it, but the ones who do have it face "very bad disease." "Just because its not listed in the literature doesn't mean that you're not at a higher risk for severe COVID," he said. "If you have cystic fibrosis, should you go ahead in this round? I think any doctor would say yes." Swartzberg said California's list of medical conditions is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that identified which conditions people who died from COVID had. "Who is most likely to get hospitalized or die is much more nuanced than that," said Swartzberg, referring to the conditions listed as "guideposts" in determining who should get vaccinated first. Ideally, the highest risk patients would get vaccinated first and each person's unique case would be considered, but many experts agree a system to vet people's health conditions would require immense human power and expense. "I think having an honor system which is what we have and having a few people jump the line is probably a less wasteful system than requiring a prescription or an elaborate system for vetting people," said Rutherford, noting that appointments are filling up with the current system and doses are getting used up rather than spoiling and being thrown away. If there were a system, Swartzberg said it would be difficult to enforce and would result in inequities. He pointed out checking eligibility based on age is straightforward, but with all the various groups, it's challenging. "You can do it if someone has a drivers license or any ID with a birth date because someone can show you how old you are," he said. "But if you're requiring a doctor's note, what about all the people who don't have doctors?" He added, "The system of trying to enforce some sort of documentation breaks down quickly as it defeats the purpose. I dont think it would work." While Lubarsky said getting vaccines to vulnerable communities is crucial, he expressed concern around the lack of enforcement in his statement. "We know people are anxious to get vaccinated, but opening the floodgates without a gate tender will cause more harm than good. While vaccine supply remains limited, we must make sure the people who are most at-risk are among the first to get vaccinated." The head of UC Davis Health called on the medical community to help direct the effort. "Doctors and health systems are in the best position to do this right and ensure we move quickly, and equitably, to use the vaccine and prevent the deaths and hospitalizations of those most at risk," he wrote. "We strongly support the states push for equity and reaching underserved communities where people may not have access to computers, or are too sick to use one. We have conducted a number of vaccine outreach clinics in underserved zip codes in Sacramento, where we work to ensure underserved people who need the vaccine most are the ones getting vaccinated. Unfortunately, the state has been directing fewer and fewer doses to most health care systems each week, and this undermines the goal of a fast, effective, and equitable vaccine program." Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 This article first appeared in the 2021 Vow Magazine, created in partnership with Mazzone Hospitality. Read the full editors note from Times Union Features Editor Sara Tracey. Renovations, paperless systems and updated cleaning protocols may be upgrades venues were able to implement during the pandemic, but are cold comfort in a season of lost business. The industrys been hit hard with weddings with limited guest allowances and venues are struggling with cancellations and dialed down affairs. There has been solidarity. A number of competitors met at the Franklin Plaza to offer each other support and navigate the restrictions. We basically just got together to figure out how we could all work together as a community of caterers going forward. We all said, hey, well go back to being competitors at another point, said Michael Fusco, the owner of Franklin Plaza in Troy. Were just trying to figure out what we can do because were all in the same boat as far as losing business, dealing with people crying because they can only have 50 people. Some people just want their money back, he said. Mostly, theyve been waiting for restrictions to ease up or for a vaccine. You do a small party, you lose money. You cancel the wedding completely, you lose money. During this time, theyve been able to complete restroom renovations. Hes hoping therapeutics and vaccines will be available by at least January so they can open fully by March. These are monumental days that people booked on specific dates that have just been torn apart and had to be all arranged. Its not just the caterers, its the photographers, the videographers, the DJs, the bands. The bands especially because they cant do anything. At least the caterers can do 50 people bands and DJs -- theyve been put out of business completely because theres no dancing. Prohibiting dancing has changed the industry completely, said Phil Brown, the director of weddings at the Century House in Latham. We feel like we can still do dancing safely, whether that means a larger dance floor to accommodate the guests for square footage purposes. Were ready to have dancing back. In the meantime, Brown has found himself easing the nerves of brides worried about whether their gown will get here in time due to supply chain issues. At the Century House you get a wedding planner, so were right along with you, holding your hand during the whole thing. ... Its our job to ease the nerves of the bride but were fully aware of whats going on in the industry as well so were not just the banquet space, he said. Were really touching base and asking them how theyre doing. Hes also been working with other vendors to come in and help out. It really has brought our industry community together, he said. The venue already had strict cleaning protocols and air filters, but contracts are now executed online. We havent changed too much. Its just the size of the wedding thats changed, he said The elopement packages are doing very well. And that is the current trend, he said. At Revolution Hall in Troy, Carrie Ryan Harkin, the private events manager, also said elopements are popular. Elopement is a great option and I do see it continuing; we host many celebrations after couples elope. I know the large celebrations will continue when allowed and safe. Couples love to share their exciting news with family and friends, she said. Before COVID restrictions, Revolution Hall of Browns Brewing Co. could accommodate wedding ceremonies and receptions for up to 250 guests in an industrial beer hall setting on two floors. During the pandemic, they replaced the outdated flooring throughout Revolution Hall and are now more conscientious about ensuring common touchpoints are incorporated into routine cleaning. There is nothing typical about any wedding right now; not allowing dancing has encouraged couples and families to be extra creative in their reception fun. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 18) The Philippines has been in talks with the Israeli government for a possible donation of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Thursday. Yes meron po (discussions for donation), Galvez told CNN Philippines The Source, stressing that the two countries maintain a good relationship. Meron kaming arrangement, tinatawagan na namin ang embassy natin sa Israel. [Translation: Yes there are discussions. We have an arrangement were already calling our embassy in Israel.] Galvez, in particular, bared that Israel is planning to donate its excess vaccines to the Philippines, which he said may go through different channels including the COVAX facility, a global initiative that seeks nations equitable access to the products. So it can be given through COVAX or can be given as donation to us, he pointed out. Galvez, however, did not provide details on the particular brand or amount of vaccines that may be shipped out. The Israeli government on Wednesday announced it has inoculated more than 30,000 Filipinos currently residing in the Middle East country, with free Pfizer shots given to caregivers, agriculture students, and embassy staff. Aside from Israel, China also earlier donated Sinovac vaccine doses, the first shipment to arrive in the Philippines. Another batch of 400,000 doses donated by China is likewise expected to come in this month, Galvez had said. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. A first look has been shared of the men competing on the next season of The Bachelorette. The hit reality TV series revealed 34 men who could be trying to win the heart of Katie Thurston for the upcoming 17th season. Photos of the new batch of men hoping to win the 30-year-old's final rose were added to The Bachelorette's Facebook page on Thursday. The next Bachelorette: The Bachelorette revealed 34 men who could be trying to win the heart of Katie Thurston for the upcoming 17th season The final cast, including bios for each of the men, won't be released until a later date. The group includes men mostly in their 20s, with 11 out of the 34 hopefuls in their 30s. The youngest contestant is 25 while the oldest is 36. Most of the men reside in the United States, but there is one hailing from Toronto, Canada. Welcome! Aaron, 26, from Walnut, CA, and Brendan, 26, from Toronto, Canada, were among the new batch of men hoping to win the 30-year-old's final rose Photos: Austin, 25, from Mission Viejo, CA, and Bao, 36, from Concord, NH, were some of the guys added to The Bachelorette's Facebook page on Thursday Contestants: Brandon, 26, from Mokena, IL, and Christian, 26, from Newburyport, MA, may make the final cast, which will be released at a later date The group includes men mostly in their 20s like Joshua, 25, from Pembroke Pines, FL, while 11 out of the hopefuls are in their 30s like Karl, 33, from Miami, FL The final cast, including bios for each of the men, won't be released until a later date. The potential suitors are Aaron, 26, from Walnut, CA, Brendan, 26, from Toronto, Canada, Austin, 25, from Mission Viejo, CA, Bao, 36, from Concord, NH, Brandon, 26, from Mokena, IL, Christian, 26, from Newburyport, MA, Karl, 33, from Miami, FL, and Joshua, 25, from Pembroke Pines, FL. Also gearing up for the competition are Andrew S., 26, from Waukegan, IL, Conor C., 28, from Edmond, OK, Cody, 27, from Montclair, NJ, David, 27, from New York, NY, Dennis, 26, from Chicago, IL, Greg, 27, from Edison, NJ, Gabriel, 35, from Charlotte, NC, and Garrett, 29, from Salinas, CA. The Bachelor: After The Final Rose episode revealed Monday that Thurston and Michelle Young will both star in back-to-back seasons of the series in a surprise announcement. Ages: The youngest contestant is 25, the oldest is 36, and Andrew S., 26, from Waukegan, IL, and Conor C., 28, from Edmond, OK, land in the middle Americans: Most of the men reside in the United States, like Cody, 27, from Montclair, NJ, and David, 27, from New York, NY International: One of the contestants hails from Toronto, Canada, but not Dennis, 26, from Chicago, IL, or Greg, 27, from Edison, NJ Potential suitors: Gabriel, 35, from Charlotte, NC, and Garrett, 29, from Salinas, CA, are among the potential suitors The bank marketing manager from Renton, Washington, will star this summer in the series' 17th season, while Michelle, 27, a schoolteacher from Edina, Minnesota, will appear in the 18th season this fall. They both competed for the heart of Matt James, 29, on season 25 of The Bachelor. Also in the running for Katie's love are Tre, 26, from Covington, GA, Michael A., 36, from Akron, OH, Jeff, 31, from Cranford, NJ, Justin, 26, from Ellicott City, MD, Hunter, 34, from San Angelo, TX, John, 27, from Santa Cruz, CA, Connor B., 29, from Columbia, IL, and James, 30, from New York, NY. And rounding out the group of eligible bachelors are Landon, 25, from Bakersfield, CA, Kyle, 26, from Sarasota, FL, Marcus, 30, from Vancouver, WA, Tanner, 28, from Del Mar, CA, Mike P., 31, from Surprise, AZ, Marty, 25, from Reno, NV, Thomas, 28, from San Diego, CA, Quartney, 26, from Arlington, TX, Viktor, 32, from Galveston, TX, and Andrew M., 31, from Walnut Creek, CA. Looking for love: Tre, 26, from Covington, GA, and Michael A., 36, form Akron, OH, are also in the running for Katie's love Nature fans: Jeff, 31, from Cranford, NJ and Justin, 26, from Ellicott City, MD, both seem to be fans of the great outdoors judging by their photos Great teeth: Hunter, 34, from San Angelo, TX, and John, 27, from Santa Cruz, CA, both showed off their amazing teeth in their snaps Guns out: Connor B., 29, from Columbia, IL ,and James, 30, from New York, NY, put their guns on display for their images Katie said she was ready to find love during the After The Final Rose special: 'And not just the temporary kind I'm talking forever, my husband. And I'm in a place in my life where I feel like I'm the best version of me.' She admitted that despite it not working out with Matt, she was still optimistic about finding the one. 'Matt was the first person I was able to be 110 percent myself with and it didn't work out, so that's tough. But I just have to remain hopeful that my person's still out there,' she said. Opposite coasts: Landon, 25, from Bakersfield, CA, is representing for the west coast, while Kyle, 26, from Sarasota, FL, is showing up for the east coast Muted backdrops: Marcus, 30, from Vancouver, WA, and Tanner, 28, from Del Mar, CA, both posed in front of muted backdrops for their smiling snaps Jewelry: Mike P., 31, from Surprise, AZ, and Marty, 25, from Reno, NV, both sported shining jewels in their photos Bachelor ready: Thomas, 28, from San Diego, CA, and Quartney, 26, from Arlington, TX, looked ready to become the next The Bachelor Nice guys: Viktor, 32, from Galveston, TX, and Andrew M., 31, from Walnut Creek, CA, both looked as sweet as can be in their snaps ABC confirmed last week that longtime Bachelor host Chris Harrison would not be hosting the next season, with fan-favorite alums Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams stepping in his place. The cast and crew have already begun quarantining in New Mexico ahead of shooting at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, according to TMZ. Season 17 of The Bachelorette is expected to premiere this summer on ABC. Double duty: The Bachelor: After The Final Rose episode revealed Monday that Thurston and Michelle Young will both star in back-to-back seasons of the series in a surprise announcement The internet has done exactly what its meaning stands forit has interconnected the world. With interconnectedness, people from all walks of life from any part of the world can communicate with any other person located anywhere else in the worldas long as both of them have internet connectivity and devices to send and receive messages. This technological breakthrough has also made it easier for thieves, frauds, and hackers to target potential victims. In a seamlessly networked world, hackers have also found such a networked environment to their advantage. Even in places as friendly as Australia, hackers have been known to wreak havoc. Good thing there are many talented and tech-savvy remote network engineers working as IT support Sydney and in other major cities. A lot of the work they do is through remote troubleshooting software (RTS). Keeping Hackers At Bay If you think your business is vulnerable to hacking, then learn more about how you can safeguard your companys computer network from being breached by hackers. Here are five safety tips to help you make your computer network more secure. 1. Enforce Strong Password Protection Password protection is still one of the best ways to balance your need to have a more secure computer network with the reality that a network that cant be accessed even by your employees. Thus, you need to have a strong password security protocol. The stronger password conventions are based on letters, numbers, and symbols, which dont contain any reference to the individual, such as common terms, standard colloquial terms, and easy-to-guess numbers like birthdays. You should require access to all equipment, wireless networks, and sensitive data to be protected by strong password security protocols. 2. Require Periodic Change Of Passwords Even the strongest password protection is susceptible to relentless attacks from persistent hackers. And with the advent of password breaking software and AI-powered password guessing applications, youd have to think of further improving your account protection protocols. One of the things you can implement in your business is to require your employees to change their passwords periodically, such as, say, every 60 or 90 days. This best practice would further lower the chances that a password-breaking software or password-guessing bot would breach your network. 3. Use Two-Factor Authentication Another layer of security that you can implement in your network is the use of two-factor authentication protocols. This security protocol was developed because more and more companies realized the need for better cybersecurity. You can choose from among the various hardware authentication devices and software authentication applications. Some of the hardware authentication devices are token-generating gadgets. Youll have to configure the gadgets to your personal computers, laptops, tablets, or other devices. Once configured, each time anyone attempts to log on to your computer or laptop, something will prompt on the screen asking the user to generate and input an authentication token. Another commonly-used token generator is the mobile phone number configured to the account. 4. Design Systems That Are Safer You can further prevent data hackers by installing limitation parameters on your network infrastructure. You can do this by creating layers or classes of authorization and access. Limit access to critical infrastructure, database, hardware, and software only to those who have the absolute necessity to have access and privilege to such systems. As much as possible, keep the potential points of failure to the barest minimum by grouping the administrators and users in your network according to their need for access to specific networks, groups, domains, folders, and files. If they dont need access to certain sensitive parts of your network, dont include them in groups with privilege or access. Rationalize and streamline your reasons for giving access. 5. Provide Training And Reminders On Hacking Patterns Some of the most devastating information security breaches in network engineering occurred due to a single user who made the mistake of doing what looked like an innocent search command or clicking a seemingly harmless link. You can further improve your companys network security protocol by providing training and periodic reminders to your employees on typical hacking patterns so they would think twice if they see the red flags. One of the most basic things you can nurture among your employees is an emphasis on network security. This could be done by giving training on best practices regarding strong password protection, the need to change passwords every so often, and why they should never let anyone borrow their token devices or mobile phones. You can even make training videos they can view during their break time or mentoring sessions. Keeping Your Network Safe And Secure There really is no full-proof network system infrastructure. In the end, it takes just one careless user to let a hacker in. So, keep in mind these best practices and share them with your workers through training and constant reminders: enforce strong password protection; require a periodic change of passwords; use two-factor authentication; design digitally safer systems; and provide training and reminders on hacking patterns and red flags. Hendry Scrafford Hendry Scrafford is an IT specialist with a cybersecurity background. He inspires novice tech professionals by sharing his knowledge and skills through blog articles. Hendry is athletic and loves scuba diving, playing golf, and mountain climbing. He is a bachelor and has a German shepherd named Scott. The proposal to create a $5-billion International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB) has been submitted to the UNs International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by Georgia, Greece, Japan, Liberia, Malta, Nigeria, Palau, Singapore, and Switzerland. Denmark now joins as a co-sponsor, and its expected several other nations to voice their support for the proposal at the next meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in June. The sponsoring nations have done a very thorough job, mapping out in detail the framework required to get the R&D programme up and running as quickly as possible. We are very pleased to see Denmarks support, as one of the leading maritime nations. The IMRB is a crucial step on the path to decarbonise shipping, and we have no time to lose if we are to meet the UN climate goals, says John Butler, CEO of WSC. The GHG reductions required to meet the IMOs 2050 50 per cent reduction and zero-carbon emissions goals will only be achieved if technologies are developed that enable ships to use the zero-carbon fuels that are critical to a transition in the sector. There are several potential solutions, but the technologies to use these fuels do not yet exist in a scale or form that can be applied to large transoceanic ships. A host of complex technical questions remain to be answered. The IMRB is an IMO-supervised, industry financed, $5 billion programme that will drive the progress needed to build a zero-carbon shipping industry. The mature regulatory proposal from a coalition of leading shipping nations and developing countries - Georgia, Greece, Denmark, Japan, Liberia, Malta, Nigeria, Singapore, Switzerland - includes a new draft Chapter 6 to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention. It is also co-sponsored by all the worlds major international shipowners associations: BIMCO, Cruise Lines International Association, IMCA, INTERCARGO, INTERFERRY, International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO, IPTA and World Shipping Council. The new proposal addresses various legal operational, administrative, legal and governance aspects put forward by governments at MEPC 75. Tradearabia News Service (Newser) North Korea conceded Thursday that the US had attempted to establish contact between the two governments. The Biden administration sent emails and tried several ways to deliver telephone messages, even involving a third country. But the Americans' effort was nothing but a "cheap trick," a foreign ministry official said, to buy time while the US tried to sway public opinion. "What has been heard from the US since the emergence of the new regime is only lunatic theory of 'threat from North Korea' and groundless rhetoric about "complete denuclearization,'" Choe Son Hui said. She also criticized the US for keeping sanctions against her country, Reuters reports, and for conducting military drills with South Korea. story continues below "We dont think there is need to respond to the US delaying-time trick again," Choe said in a statement, per the AP. "We have already declared our stand that no US contact and dialogue of any kind can be possible unless the US rolls back its hostile policy toward" North Korea. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are in South Korea, where Blinken told Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong the US will work with his nation and other allies to get North Korea to denuclearize. It's the first time the US secretaries of state and defense have met with their South Korean equivalents in five years. Blinken and Austin had similar talks in Japan before traveling to Seoul. (Read more North Korea stories.) King-qualityca.com scored 41 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 21 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the king-qualityca homepage on Twitter + the total number of king-qualityca followers (if king-qualityca has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the king-qualityca homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if king-qualityca has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the king-qualityca homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the king-qualityca homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the king-qualityca homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. Basic Information PAGE TITLE ..: Bienvenidos a KING QUALITY :.. DESCRIPTION Bienvenidos a King Quality, con la mayor seguridad, comodidad y servicio de primera! KEYWORDS king, quality, king quality, turismo centroamerica, turismo ca, turismo, el salvador, nicaragua, honduras, guatemala, costa rica, tapachula, viajes, centro america, flota, buses, tarifas, destinos, vacaciones, paquetes vacacionales, vacaciones, viajar, KQ OTHER KEYWORDS The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE Spanish WINDOWS-1252Spanish DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. Character set and language of the site. The language of king-qualityca.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for king-qualityca.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND